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ughgoaway · 8 months

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playing on my mind

content warnings: swearing, referring to Matty as tall (look we all lie for plot purposes okay), dilf Matty and rushed writing... i think that's it? word count- 3.3k ish

a/n: woah this was quick but I am nothing if not impulsive!! this is just a one-shot but if y'all want a series I might do one?? idk it depends on how inspired I am lol. but yes this is just my little blurb-thing from yesterday fleshed out into an actual story!! I'm so glad people liked the idea, I hope this doesn't disappoint <333

(I didn't proofread this so I apologise if its utterly shit </3)

“And off you go! If you need your pencils sharpened or help, make sure you raise your hand! I’ll come to see you!” You say to the group of 30 little balls of energy in front of you. 60 eyes looking up at you might seem intimidating to most, but when it's a hyperactive group of 5-year-olds; the fear wears off slightly.

It was family tree week in your classroom, and you had given your little ones the usual task of drawing their family, each set up with pieces of paper and various pencils and pens to create their masterpieces. Seeing them smile and talk about their older sisters and brothers or how much they love their parents always warmed your heart.

You originally got into teaching with every intention of working with teenagers. You were sure you shouldn't be moulding such young minds - you were never sure your mind was a very good example. But one test week in a year 1 classroom changed your outlook entirely. Seeing the pure, unadulterated joy on a young child's face was something beyond comparison.

Getting to watch them grow and develop into little people brought you so much happiness that it could never compare to standing in front of a group of grumpy teenagers. Each teen boy clearly trying to get you over to their desk to “flirt” with you, well as much firting as a 15-year-old boy can do.

Seeing a child come out of their shell, make friendships, and discover their passions made your heart warm in a way nothing else did. So as soon as you qualified you jumped at the opportunity to teach these little ones, this class might be your first but you are sure it will always be your favourite.

And of course, despite what every teacher tells you, they have a favourite student. You were adamant when you began that you really wouldn't have a favourite but then little Annie Healy came bounding into your classroom with a mop of curly hair, untamable energy and the cutest slightly wonky smile you've ever seen.

She very quickly stole your heart, always wanting to tell you stories and going off on tangents rather quickly, organising tea parties but soon getting distracted leaving you at a small table surrounded by teddy bears giving a toast. Her little body seemed to be filled with enough energy to power the world 3 times over, and you couldn't love her anymore. The idea that she would be leaving your class broke your heart every time you thought about it, despite people telling you not to get attached - you did,

You had just settled at your desk after explaining for the 4th time to Zach that sticking pencils up our noses isn't a very good idea. You ended up telling him if he pushed too far, he'd touch his brain, and soon after that, the pencils stayed firmly in his hand rather than up any nose. If any student was the problem child, it was him. You couldn't hate any student, but let's just say he's given you one too many impromptu haircuts this year to be in line for your favourite.

Soon your real favourite student stuck her arm into the air and wiggled it around in an attempt to get you to see her sooner, little Annie Healy was ever impatient- a trait that is only endearing on her. You quickly nodded and started wandering over, trying not to laugh at her large toothy grin back at you.

“Hi sweetheart, do you need some help?” you say, crouching down to her eye level, flashing a sweet smile.

“Hi miss y/n!” she began, her eyes flittering around your face before landing on your hair, and soon, her hands were stroking your head.

“Wow! I like your hair! It's got sparkly clips in it! You know I asked my daddy for some like that, and he said-” you gently placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to stop the tangent before it started. You knew she'd somehow end up keeping you there for 20 minutes, giving you a detailed list of all of her Barbie dolls and their jobs if you didn't redirect her quickly enough.

“Thank you, Annie! I saw your arm wiggling in the air earlier. Did you need some help?” her eyes light up as she remembered why she called you over here.

“Oh! Yeah, I want to write what's in my daddy’s hands, but I don't know how to spell it. Will you help me?” she says, bringing her attention back to her drawing and grabbing the black pencil to continue her work. It's the first time you actually looked at her drawing, and to say you were concerned would be an understatement.

Most drawings of family consist of the same basic elements; a mum, a dad, a sun in the corner, and a house that is wildly disproportionate to everything else.

So imagine your surprise when you look down to see 4 men in what seems to be leather jackets, holding various musical instruments, and a very tall dog next to them.

You blink a few times. Just checking what you're seeing is right. The lineup starts with a tall man holding a guitar, next to a slightly shorter man also holding a guitar with a mess of black scribbles on his head. Next up is a very tall man with drumsticks in his hands and a kit behind him, and finally another very tall man with a beard and a bass. The concern briefly melts away as you consider how impressive it is she knows the difference. In the bottom left corner is a black dog with very long legs and a big pink tongue sticking out, the dog was almost as tall as the first man but you're aware kids aren’t known for their skill with proportion.

No one had prepared you for this in teaching school, there was never a lecture about what to do if one of your kids does a mildly troubling family drawing of 4 men in leather jackets and a horse dog. You try to stutter a response to Annie, but no real words are leaving your mouth. Just a jumble of sounds, each one sounding more confused and stressed than the last.

You flash a look at her only to be met with a confused head tilt and sad eyes. Oh god. She thought you hated her drawing. Shit.

Time for damage control.

You make the decision then and there not to ask her about the details of her drawing, desperately trying not to make her cry.

Maybe you could go and see her mum in the playground? Yes, that's what you'll do. You'll walk her out, have a brief discussion with Mum, and make sure Annie knows her family isn't 4 men in a band and then leave her be. That sounds like the professional thing to do.

You take a deep breath and smile at Annie, and soon her downturned lips flashed that cheesy grin you knew so well. You tighten your hand on her shoulder and grab a pen, ready to help her any way she needs.

“Do you mean the word ‘guitar’ Annie?” she gives you an excited nod as you continue speaking, “Ah yes, that's a really hard word for even grown-ups to spell. Let's work it out together, hmm?”

With your mind racing you help her sound it out and label her drawing, even stopping to sharpen her black colouring pencil for her- there's a lot of black for young girls drawing but she's committed to an aesthetic, and part of you respects that.

On the walk back to the desk, you begin practising your speech in your head, trying to figure out how to ask why she’s drawing a band as her family without unknowingly offending mum. Maybe she just really likes music?

You run through your memories trying to think of her mentioning a band before, but nothing comes to mind, Annie doesn't even stay on track long enough to talk about her family. Always seeing something shiny and discussing that instead.

You flick your eyes to her one more time just to see her animatedly talking with another little girl on her table, her hands gesticulating wildly and her curls bouncing as she tells her story.

The sight calms you slightly, seeing the little girl you know so well acting exactly as she should be. You have the fleeting thought that you might be overreacting, but eventually, you collect the drawings to see Annie had dated her work “1975”. Yup, that discussion with her parents was definitely happening.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell rings, and you manage to catch Annie just before she runs off into the playground without you, “Hi Annie! I have your drawing from today. Should we show it to mummy and daddy together?” her eyes light up as her curls bounce from her excited nods.

You walk hand in hand out onto the playground, crouching down you make eye contact with Annie before asking, “Can you point out your mum or dad Annie?”

She nods and begins scanning the playground. You stifle a laugh at the look of concentration on the young girl's face. Her nose is scrunched along with her eyebrows, one hand pulling at a curl by her ear and the other holding yours. Soon, you see her face brighten, and her eyes fill with joy.

“DADDY!!” is the scream that comes from the little girl as her hand shoots from her head to point to the corner of the playground, she starts dragging you before you even look up but as you do, you feel your heart drop.

As a student teacher, you'd definitely seen some hot dads, but they were still dads. Most were slightly creepy, partially balding, and talked about nothing but golf and their “annoying” wives. You were used to that kind of dad, not exactly this kind.

Standing nonchalantly in the corner of the playground was a tall man. A pile of salt and pepper curls sat on top of his head; untamed but effortlessly and obnoxiously cool. The white t-shirt he was wearing did nothing to hide the patchwork of tattoos that snaked up his arms. The low neck of the top even teased the top of his chest tattoo. Sunglasses sat on his face, they gave him an "I'm too cool" rocker vibe that, for some unknown reason, made you dizzy.

In one hand, he had a lit cigarette, something that was not allowed on school property, but the way his cheeks hollowed as he took a drag had you forgetting that rule completely. He dropped the butt of the cigarette to crush it with his heavy boots before taking a sip of the can of coke that was in his other hand.

As he noticed you coming over, a dazzling smile broke out on his face. You felt your knees weaken as you tried to brush off how hot he was.

You then realised you actually had to speak to this man. Fuck. You're not sure you even have a voice currently. If you opened your mouth, you're sure incoherent noises would come out, followed by wild hand motions trying to explain your insane behaviour.

The closer you got, the less you stared at him, feeling too intimidated to keep looking in his direction. This did mean you almost tripped 3 times, but you would rather fall than risk making eye contact with this intimidatingly attractive man.

Annie dropped your hand as you finally reached the man, and she jumped into his arms. He grunted at the force but soon began pressing kisses all over her face, smiling at her uncontrollable giggles.

Quickly, the man noticed your presence and stuck a hand out to introduce himself, “Hi! Sorry about that, you know what it's like when kids miss you. I’m Annie’s dad, Matty.”

And this is where a normal person would introduce themselves, stick their hand out, and shake Matty’s. Maybe even say their name and start talking, but oh no. Not you. You stood there motionless and just said “Matty” breathlessly to yourself 3 times over.

Time dragged on in the 10 seconds Matty stood there with his hand out. If you weren't aware of how time worked, you would swear you stood there in stilted silence for 10 minutes.

By some grace of god, little Annie Healy saved you and introduced you, “Daddy. This is Miss y/n. She wanted to come and show you my drawing."

Matty retracted his hand and pushed the sunglasses that sat on the bridge of his nose up to his mess of curls, just as wayward as his daughters. His deep brown eyes met yours as he tilted his head questioningly at your behaviour. His smile remained wide at you, his tongue swiped over his bottom lip, and you felt your heart stutter. A litany of inappropriate thoughts swirling through your mind.

He quickly diverted his attention back to his daughter, “Oh really munchkin? Is your drawing just that amazing? Is Miss y/n going to send it to all the museums?” he said whilst tickling her sides. You smiled at the pair of them watching Annie throw her head back with erratic laughter.

Finally, you manage to right yourself and begin speaking, “Right. Sorry about that, long day,” you explain, looking apologetically at Matty, who only nodded and tried to hide his widening smile at your flustered state.

“I'm just here to talk about Annie's drawing,” you pause briefly and look at Annie in her dad's arms. Not wanting to disappoint her, you form a plan in your mind. “Hey Annie, why don't you go practise some hopscotch! I'm just going to have a quick chat with your dad, okay?”

Before you’d even finished your sentence, Annie was wiggling out of her dad's arms and running off.

“She's got endless energy that one hasn't she?” you say wistfully, staring off in the direction she ran, watching her jump around and giggle with some of her friends.

“Ah like father like daughter, I suppose” Matty says, grinning at your clear love for his little girl. He feels his heart warm at your caring eyes. “So what seems to be the issue? I'm sure you're not over here because the Louvre has asked for Annie’s drawing?”

You laugh at Matty's joke, perhaps a little too hard. Nervous laughter was one of your less attractive traits, but you try to shake it off and have an actual adult conversation with Matty.

“Ah no, no phone calls from Paris yet,” you begin laughing lightly, you pull out Annie's drawing and pass it over to Matty and start to analyse his reaction as you finish speaking, “I was just coming over to ask why Annie's family portrait is seemingly a band? I wanted to make sure she knows her family isn't 4 tall men in leather jackets and a surprisingly tall horse dog.”

As you finish your sentence, Matty bursts out in hysterical laughter, folding over as his chortling laughter takes over his whole body. Your face scrunches up at his reaction, your eyebrows are pinched, and a small frown overtakes your features.

Eventually, Matty catches his breath and looks up at you only to realise how strange his reaction appears. His hand shoots up to your arm and begins to stroke it lightly as he attempts to explain himself.

Each featherlight stroke of his fingers made your breath hitch. You felt your eyes fogging over, and your ears felt as if they were stuffed with cotton wool, the surrounding sounds suddenly becoming muted.

A shake of your head brought you back to earth as you fought to focus on the words Matty was saying.

“Oh I'm so sorry, once you know the story you’ll understand my reaction” Matty began explaining with wide apologetic eyes, “basically Annie's mum isn't in the picture, it's just me and my 3 best friends,” he said smiling.

You lightly laugh and say, “Ah I'm assuming they are the man with the guitar, the one with the bass and the other with the drumsticks?” You finish with a teasing tilt of your head.

Matty's fingers encircle your wrist as that smile you've quickly grown to love appears on his face once again at your teasing.

“Yes those are the ones. You see we’re all in a band - hence all the instruments. I always tell Annie that Uncle George, Ross, and Adam are our family. So when you asked for a family drawing...”

“She drew her family!” You finish his sentence for him, staring at his hand and holding your wrist as you do. He quickly drops it, and you curse yourself for bringing it to his attention.

You wrap your arms around your stomach protectively in an attempt to hide your mounting embarrassment.

Matty smiles and starts to speak again, only to be interrupted by you, “Wait I understand that, but why did she date it ‘1975’?”

Somehow, Matty's smile grew again, “Our band is called the 1975. Weird, I know, but it comes from me being young and pretentious with a Jack Kerouac book.”

Before you could respond, Annie came bounding over and wrapped herself around her dad's leg, “Dadddd” she complained, pulling out the last letter to announce her annoyance to the world.

“Annieeee” Matty teased back in the same tone as her, picking her up as he did.

“Can we go home now? I want to see mayhem!!” she said, excitedly clapping her hands as she finished.

You shoot Matty a questioning look, and he quickly answers your silent query, “the horse dog” he says teasingly, parroting your earlier words back at you.

“Okay darling, let's get going then,” Matty says with a grunt, putting Annie down, grabbing her hand, and taking her backpack from her.

“Say bye to miss y/n Annie,” he says, smiling sweetly at you, but you can see the mischief brewing in his eyes.

His eyes keep your attention so long you almost miss Annie's sweet goodbye, “bye miss y/n! See you tomorrow! Can we talk about your sparkly clips tomorrow?” she asks with a tilt of her head.

“Of course, little miss Annie!” You say smiling at the young girl. You focus solely on her in an attempt not to get lost in her father's eyes again.

You watch them walk away but after a few steps they pause, Matty turns over his shoulder and waves with his free hand, “Bye miss y/n” he says with a teasing lilt to his voice and a flirty wink.

Before you can even process what just happened, he's strolling away casually, and all the mums in the playground are silently lusting after him.

A heavy breath leaves your chest as you start to watch him leave.

“Isn't he gorgeous” a voice behind you whispers, causing you to jump and let out a small scream. You hold a hand to your chest and look at your colleague with wild eyes.

“Oh my god, Amanda, please do not sneak up on me like that! I'm fragile” you say, now laughing at your ridiculous reaction.

“Sorry, sorry,” she begins giggling, “but isn't he just so hot? Annie was in my class last year, and I used to count down the days until parent’s evening! I mean, who wouldn't want to sit across a desk from a man who looks like that?” Amanda says, wiggling her eyebrows flirtatiously.

She begins to teasingly poke your sides at your awkward silence, and you quickly brush her off and straighten up, “Amanda! You can't talk like that about a parent!” You say, trying and failing to have any conviction in your voice.

“I can when the parent looks like that!” she says, smiling and watching Matty stroll away.

You huff at her behaviour and walk away, desperate to sit down and process what just happened.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your desk chair squeaks as you sit down behind your desk. You spin the chair and pick up a pen to begin marking some spelling tests from last week, but before long, you give up.

Staring off into space with endless thoughts poisoning your mind, only one thing can come out of your mouth.

“fuck."

#matty healy #matty healy fanfic #matty healy fic #matty healy fluff #matty x reader #matty healy x reader #the teacher reader obsession was too real #once again an obnoxious number of hashtags but we move #i hope you dont all hate this #unsurprisingly i do hate it <3 #teacher au!

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ahfrickenfrick · 2 months

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red robin, nightwing, and red hood are on a stakeout

dick: i don’t eat french toasts enough to put it above pancakes, no matter-

jason: if you gave french toast a shot-

tim: guys

jason: -you would like it way more

tim: guys

dick: i’m not saying that i’m-

tim: GUYS

jason: -you have to give it a fuckin’ shot!

tim: woah! hey!

jason: next time try it!

tim: the aggression..

jason: why don’t you give ‘em a shot

dick: shut the fuck up! please

jason: i don’t even remember the last time you attempted to enjoy a good french toast

dick: can you listen to what i’m gonna say?

jason: no, cause i know what you’re gonna say

dick: in this given moment, i have not had french toast enough, to put it above-

jason: i don’t know why you care so much *points to tim*

tim: why do I care so much??! did i say a fucking thing? why do I care so much? you just went on a fucking 3 minute tangent about how much YOU care! i was actually trying to interrupt you guys to say… this is a fucking hypothetical question! tomorrow we’ll wake up there’ll still be waffles, there’ll still be pancakes, there’ll still be French toast!

dick:

jason:

tim: and i care too much?? i couldn’t give a fuck less!! dick can wake up and eat all three tomorrow!! what are you saying i CARE too much! i’m literally waiting for you too stop

#tim drake #dick grayson #jason todd #red robin #nightwing #red hood #dc comics #batman #dc #batfamily #sturniolo triplets #incorrect batfamily quotes #incorrect quotes #tim is so nick tbh #i laughed so hard when i thought of this

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vibingpyro · 5 months

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Sickly Sweet Part II

I shuffle about in the kitchen, buttering two pieces of toast onto a plate before walking over towards the stove, stirring the pot of soup with the spoon sticking out of it. The atmosphere is almost peaceful if it weren't for the sound of a ball bouncing off of a wall coming from the bedroom down the hall.

Tap...tap...tap.

Then silence.

"Baaaaaabe?" Hobies stuffy voice rings out from the open bedroom door, and I can't help the small tinge of frustration in my tone.

"Yes, Hobie?" I call back over my shoulder, opening up a cupboard above the stove to grab a tray as well as a bowl for the soup.

Another beat of silence passes.

"That ain't right...you callin' me by my government name jus cause you're upset with me." He whines.

At that, I can't help but roll my eyes.

"Well, sweetheart if you weren't kissing all up on me when I was sick we wouldn't be in this position." I throw over my shoulder, before facing the soup once more, filling it up to the brim with homemade chicken soupy goodness, placing it on the tray next to the two slices of toast on the small plate.

Another beat of silence before a sneeze rings out from the bedroom, an small irritated groan following afterwards. I begin to walk towards the bedroom, tray in hand and once I enter the doorway I'm greeted with the sight of Hobie, burrowed underneath at least four blankets with a cold compress on his head looking absolutely miserable.

"I ain't pleading the fifth..." He murmurs, looking at me with tired puppy dog eyes, the lack of eyeliner apparent due to him feeling too sick to put any on himself but his natural eye bags are as present as ever. I give an amused huff as I walk closer, setting the tray of hearty food on the makeshift-crate before sitting beside him.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, removing the cold compress on his forehead and replacing it with the back of my hand, checking his temperature. 'still hot' I think to myself.

"Miserable, I think this may be it for me." Hobie grunts, but leans into my hand regardless of how gross he feels right now.

"I'd like to write my last will and testament." He groans. "You'll get everything of course, lovey, but Pav gets my record player, he's been eyeing it for months I swear it-" I interrupt Hobie's tangent with a gentle shove to the forehead, making him lay down on the pillows.

"You're not dying, my god. Are you always this insufferable?" I question although I already know the answer, and letting out a small laugh, I had the same thing not even a week ago and I wasn't nearly as bad as Hobie.

Hobie merely sniffles, and nods. "You love that about me." He comments, familiar cocky smile shining on his lips.

I merely sigh and nod, "Yes, I do love that about you." Unable to stop the small smile of fondness in my face, my hands move and gather the tray of food from the side table, and place it on his lap.

"C'mon, eat and get your strength up." I gently urge, and Hobie sits back up, eyeing the food before taking one of the toasts from the plate and dipping it into the bowl of soup before tearing a bite out of it. He hums in quiet delight at the taste before swallowing.

"Thank you, Sweet pea. Mean it." He says, tired eyes squinting up as he smiles at me, before snuggling himself further into the pillows behind him.

"I don't suppose your bedside manner includes kisses and cuddles?" He suggests with a cheesy smile and eyebrow wiggle, taking another bite of the soup damp toast.

I let out a laugh, shaking my head. "Not happening." I say to which Hobie nods, shrugging his shoulders. "Was worth a shot." He smiles anyway.

#hobie x reader #hobie brown x reader #astv hobie #hobie spiderverse #spiderman atsv #hobie brown

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galebrainrot2024 · 4 months

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Gale x Tav Enemies to Lovers Part 12

Oh boy, I am excited about this one. Enjoy it folks. Gale's point of view.

As Gale handed Tav the variety of spices, her expression suggested she was presented with something vile and putrid. Gale couldn’t suppress the chuckle that bubbled from his lips and when she shot him a withering glance, he blushed sheepishly, his lips turning into a lopsided grin. “Sorry - it’s just - if you could have seen your face… you would have thought I was handing you lumps of Myconid flesh to cook.” Gale gazed down at Tav, his chest tightening as she studied each of the bottles carefully. It was endearing, how her eyes narrowed and brow furrowed in confusion, trying to deduce what was in each glass.

Gale bit the inside of his lip and sat beside her, resting his fingers over hers on the jar she was holding. He wanted - needed - to chase the rush that clouded his judgement anytime their skin made contact. He had forgotten what it felt like, to touch mortal skin in this way… where there is an undercurrent of things unspoken, where the fabric of one’s DNA shakes with anticipation. It was electric, intoxicating and it was a sensation he had forgotten. One benefit of being mortal, he supposed.

“This is thyme,” he said, fingering the plant and relishing in the warmth of her finger against his. He felt redness flower across his face, betraying his desire despite the innocent topic. “It can be peppery and sweet…” Gale frowned and laughed, pulling his hand back to brush his thumb across his lip. “I’m not sure I’ve ever tried to describe its flavor before. It’s more difficult than I anticipated.”

“Gale admitting a flaw?” Tav said, clutching her chest in mock astonishment. “Mark it in the books.” Was she teasing him? After she had been yelling at him moments ago? Gale shook his head from the whiplash although he found it exciting, curious. Like the unsolvable puzzles that stumped many of their classmates, Gale needed to understand her. He realized despite all their time together, both in youth and at present, he hardly knew anything about her at all.

Gale pursed his lips and felt the desire stir. It provoked him, a budding irritation meshing with something more. Despite his endeavors, the feeling would not be ignored. His brows rose and he let out a low, deliberate laugh and made a light ‘tut’ sound. “It doesn’t happen often, so don’t get too confident alright? You don’t even know what thyme is.” Gale felt his mouth go dry when he saw the red that streaked Tav’s face after he spoke, how she looked up beneath full lashes, her eyes set on his.

My gods.

Perhaps it was the way the fire danced across her skin and hair, or the way she held the glass like it was drow poison. Perhaps it was her sudden vulnerability, or ineptitude with this basic survival skill. Gale’s mind went off on a tangent, bewildered: Seriously, how could she not know how to cook? Anything? Not even an egg? Not a piece of toast? Truly, nothing? With that clever mind of hers? How did she take care of herself? She must have been living off something... she didn’t even try to learn? That can’t possibly be.. I must have learned how to cook my first meal when I was eight, at least… did she try to use the weave, I mean I just…

But the thoughts were simply a distraction from how he felt unsteadied. As if he was asked to stand on one foot and someone pushed him over. It was a surreal experience and felt outside of his body, his face moving towards hers as if by magnetic force. The way her breath hitched as Gale began to lean brought him back to the present and he paused.

He inhaled steadily, his lips parting and pulled his head back from her. “Well…” Gale cleared his throat though his voice was thick with arousal, “it goes well with lemon, rosemary, and it can take a chicken and make it fresh, vibrant even. Erm…” he sighed, the air thick between them and felt almost as if it would materialize as a solid wall.

“Am I interrupting?” Astarion’s caustic voice cut their tension and Tav scooted away from Gale, her eyes flashing to Astarion and then back to Gale. Her brows furrowed softly and her eyes hinted at a deep, unaddressed sadness. Gale felt his heart reach out for hers, begging her to stay with him.

But she wouldn’t. Of course she wouldn’t - he’d given her no reason to.

So when Tav spoke it took him entirely by surprise. “I’m not sure - Gale?” When Tav’s eyes locked with his he felt his stomach implode on itself and he nearly lunged for her lips. He shook his head a little and for the first time in a long while was at a loss for words.

“Ugh,” Astarion said, breaking Gale’s trance. Astarion’s arms waved in front of Gale’s face, as if to test if he were awake. “Hello? Is there a Gale in there I can speak to? Or has the orb fed on that brilliant mind of yours too?”

Gale’s face darkened and his nostrils flared. “I’m fine, thank you for your concern. How generous of you.”

“Pah!” Astarion’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth hung wide open, a slight smirk on his lips. Gale read the hunter’s gaze in Astarion’s eyes as he walked slowly towards them, one arm hooked across his chest to support the other. He was looking at his nails. “You know, your personality doesn’t do a lot for you, Gale.” Astarion looked down at Gale from his nails, his lips downturned. “I’m surprised a Goddess picked you as a chosen, let alone a lover. You’re as dull as your food is.”

“Hm.” Gale stood, his fingers curling into his palms, his nails biting into the soft flesh. He cupped two fingers around his lips, the other on his hip and took a step towards Astarion, a smug grin playing at the corners of his mouth. He leaned forward, “Thank you for your feedback. I shall be informing our companions that tonight, you are the chef and if they have any complaints they can take it up with you.”

Gale shot his eyes to Tav who looked mortified, ashamed, and pleading. Gale shook his head almost imperceptibly and headed towards Karlach’s tent.

“The fucking nerve of him…” Gale was shouting, his hands flaying as he paced through the tall grass, arguing with the invisible Astarion. It was late and Gale had dragged Karlach out to seek her counsel. Rather, to rant. As Gale paced wildly, Karlach watched in abject horror and simultaneous glee. Gale knew she was probably getting a kick out of this and would likely try to provoke him further.

“Okay, grandpa, settle down,” she said affectionately but Gale turned and frowned dramatically, pointing a finger. I knew it, he thought.

“This is no time for joking.”

“Actually this is the perfect time for joking.” Gale huffed and Karlach responded with a chuckle. “You need to cool down and I’m just trying to dump some water on those fires there, metaphorically speaking.” She laughed again at her own joke though her voice was kind, “Morbid, but true.”

Gale’s anger was no match for Karlach’s infectious energy. It was difficult to be angry when Karlach was as she was. So earnest and exuding with life. Happy to be alive, and grateful for it, unbothered by what had yet to come. She was not trapped in the endless loop of nostalgia, of what could have been - she lived fully and unapologetically in the present. It was a trap Gale needed desperately. She also shared an intimate understanding with what it meant to be faced with the possibility of death before the tadpoles. Gale couldn’t remember the last time he had a friend like Karlach.

For the matter, he couldn’t recall the last time he had a human friend.

Apart from Elminster, but he hardly counted. The realization struck Gale with a profound sadness and he shuddered involuntarily. “Oh.”

Karlach gave a small head-shake in bewilderment from Gale’s abrupt change in demeanor. “You and her are cut from the same cloth, I’ll tell you that much.”

Gale frowned, crossing his arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh my gods…” Karlach laughed harder now, exasperated and tapped a finger against her skull. “What is it about Wizard’s mate? Always needing to tell them the proper answer? Open your eyes, Gale. Not a few hours earlier Tav was crying over that ring I gave you and then maybe an hour later was chatting you up, flirting, laughing at the fireside.”

“She was not flirting.” Gale shot, insistent, and looked down. That couldn’t be true. It was all in Gale’s head, the energy, the sensations - it was because he’d been deprived of human contact for so long, and she evoked such a visceral response in him. He had loved her before he even knew what love felt like. He then returned his gaze, almost hopefully to Karlach. “Was she?”

Karlach sighed dramatically and closed her eyes, sighing and ran her hands over her face. “I can’t do this with you mate, I’m tired and I’m going to sleep.” She turned to head back, “I’ve already spelt it out for you, since apparently you are incredibly smart and, I say this with love, incredibly stupid at the same time. Open your eyes, or don’t, but don’t say I didn’t try to tell you. Don’t let jealousy or insecuirty get in your way of a meaningful connection. If you could see what I do… you wouldn’t be asking me these questions. I'd do anything to touch someone again - and you have the possibility of that, and more besides. Don't waste that.”

#gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #bg3 gale #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale x tav #bg3 #bg3 brainrot #gale #gale x tav enemies to lovers #gale x tav fic #bg3 fanfiction

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stellar-skyy · 6 months

Text

OH DEER — Cyno x reader.

i. SUMMARY: Cyno celebrates Christmas with the person he loves. ii. CONTENT WARNINGS: Mentions of eating/food, mentions of alcohol, kisses. iii. NOTES: Fluff, modern au, Tighnari, Collei, Kaveh, and Alhaitham make an appearance, gn!reader, they/them pronouns used, 2k words. iv. A/N: Written for Écrin de Littérature's Joyeux Noël event! I wrote this instead of doing my work :D This is my first time writing Cyno, so I apologise if this is ooc... I really want to write for him more :( psst... @ryuryuryuyurboat

By the time [Name] woke, it was late morning.

The rays of sunlight sifted through a crack in the blinds, shining a beam directly into their face. A displeased mumble escaped their lips, followed by a pinch between their brows, and then a hand thrown over their eyes in an attempt to block out the light. Their efforts were in vain, as the sun spilled further into their room and lit it up in a warm glow.

As the terrible ordeal of waking up settled over them, they slowly became aware of a warm, comfortable weight at their side. Cyno had shifted the blankets in his sleep and half-tossed them off the bed, but he seemed content throwing one arm across their chest and absorbing whatever body heat they gave off. At that time, he would have normally been awake for hours, but alas; the festive season seemed to have drained his energy.

They cracked their eyes open, brushing their hand over the tufts of hair across his forehead. He made a tiny noise, moving to press his face into their side.

"Cyno,” They whispered, patting his cheek lightly. He groaned. “I know you’re awake.”

“You don’t know that for certain,” A muffled grumble sounded from where his face was hidden against them.

A small smile tugged at the corner of their mouth. They let their hand fall to the top of his head, running their fingers through his long grey hair. “Good morning, Cyno.”

“G’morning,” he mumbled, his voice still husky with sleep. One crimson eye opened, then the other. “It’s Christmas, isn’t it? Is it snowing?”

They squint through the small crack of the window they can see. “Doesn’t look like it.”

“Hmm… you’re right.” He blinked at the small sliver of light coming from between the blinds. “It looks more like rain, dear.”

A long silence fell between them.

“…Rain, dear? See, it sounds like reindeer, which is hilarious because—”

“I got it,” They interrupt before he can go on a tangent about exactly how his joke was funny. The rest of the blankets fall off them as they swung their legs over the side of the bed. “I’m going to go make breakfast.”

“Wait.” He abruptly sat upright, a solemn look on his face. After a pause, he leaned over and kissed their cheek. “Merry Christmas.”

Breakfast was simple ordeal. There was Cyno’s coffee, that they left on the counter for when he made the effort of moving to the kitchen. A few slices of toast, and some cooked eggs. They would need to put some food in the oven so it would be fresh by the time they had Christmas lunch, but most of the food was already prepared.

Halfway through, Cyno managed to drag himself out of the bedroom and slump over the kitchen counter, lazily reciting as many Christmas jokes as he could recall, while his partner debated throwing a slice of toast at his face to get him to shut up.

After, came the most anticipated part of the morning; presents. The two retreated to the living room, settling cross legged across the carpet floor.

It was a new house, primed and ready for new memories to decorate the halls. Moving in late December had allowed them an excuse to buy the essentials for their home disguised under bright red wrapping paper, hastily shoved under a simple tree. The tree itself was modestly decorated with whatever they could find, and the presents underneath few and far between. Nothing too special, just enough to fit into the corner of their new household, leaving more than enough room to grow into.

Two stockings dangling above the fireplace held the most ‘gift-like’ of gifts. A 1000 silly Christmas jokes book for Cyno, a box of candies for them, two matching pairs of socks with silly puns on them.

Torn up and crumpled wrapping paper decorated the floor of the living room by the time they had finished, Cyno already flipping through the pages of his new book in an effort to find even more of the worst of the worst puns to torment—ahem, entertain them with.

It was almost dizzying, how quickly they went from two strangers meeting by chance, to celebrating Christmas together in their shared home. Something could be said about the domesticity of it all, about the peppered kisses and lingering touches between measuring ingredients in a kitchen just the right size for two. How stolen glances became stolen kisses and making small talk turned to making cookies together.

There was something about the thought that made them feel so warm. Must be the spirit of the season, and all that.

“Do you know what Rudolph said, after Santa Claus tripped over in front of him?” Cyno asked. [Name] paused, hands hovering over the cooking dough spread out across the bench. Cyno stared back at them seriously, with an expression that would be vaguely intimidating if he wasn’t sitting idly on a kitchen bench with his legs dangling over the side.

“Cyno…” They breathed, warning in their tone.

“He said, ‘Oh deer.’” Cyno was silent for a beat, before leaning forward slightly. “Do you get it? See, this joke uses the phrase ‘Oh dear’, which would be an acceptable response to seeing a person fall, however it is also phonetically similar to the word ‘deer’, which is the species Rudolph is.” He paused again. “Do you get it?”

“Yes, I got it,” They groaned, rubbing the bridge of their nose to try and ward off an incoming headache. Unfortunately, they had forgotten they were still baking, and the action inadvertently led to a smudge of sugar being wiped onto their face.

Cyno huffed a laugh, jumping off the edge of the bench. As he stepped across the kitchen to meet them, he cupped their face, bringing it further towards his until he was close enough to kiss the spot between their eyes. He pulled away, licking the sugar off his lips with a slight smile.

“You could’ve just wiped it off,” They chide, but there’s a smile at the edges of their lips.

“Maybe,” He agreed, this time kissing their forehead.

Their smile widened at the gesture, even as they pushed on his chest to get him out of the way. He let himself be moved backwards, settling against the counter so he was out of their space.

“Move, I need to finish these before they arrive.”

The cookies were one of the few things that slipped their mind the day before, leaving them less than an hour to finish making the dough and put them in the oven before their friends arrived.

Wordlessly, Cyno took one of the cookie cutters and pushed them down onto the flattened dough. Together the two of them worked, until the tray was covered in tiny gingerbread men and stars and Christmas trees. Cyno opened the oven, allowing them to place it on the rack.

As soon as they pulled the oven mitts off, an arm slid around their waist. In a second, they were spun around and a breath away from Cyno. They laughed, in between kisses peppered across their lips.

“Do you know what the moose said to it’s family on Christmas Day?” Cyno murmured into their mouth. “Merry—”

A knock from the door startled them both. Cyno glared at it, unhappily detangling himself from them and opening the door.

“We’re here!” Tighnari said as he entered, letting Collei duck under his arm to bustle into the room.

“As the salt and pepper would say, Seasonings Greetings,” Cyno nodded in acknowledgement at the pair. “Do you understand the joke?”

Tighnari groaned loudly. “We just got here, Cyno. Couldn’t you have waited five minutes? Or several hours, maybe?”

“Merry Christmas to you both,” [Name] smiled painfully. “He’s been like this all morning.”

“Hi [Name]!” Collei said cheerfully. Her bright red skirt swished and twirled as she moved around the room, matching the lopsided Santa hat perched on top of her and Tighnari’s heads. Tighnari was dressed just as festive, in a comfortable looking red sweater.

“Hello [Name],” Tighnari raised an eyebrow, smirking at their outfits. “Nice sweater.”

“I didn’t choose them,” [Name] sighed.

Cyno had practically insisted on the matching ugly sweaters. They lived up to their names, the designs were hideous: clashing deep reds and muted greens, striped patterns all up the arms and a gaudy snowman print across the front. His only response to their complaints was that ‘they’re supposed to be ugly, that's the point!’

“They’re in the spirit of the season,” Cyno said stubbornly. Tighnari held up his hands in mock surrender.

“I wasn’t insulting them. They’re… merry.”

Cyno’s vehement defence of the dreadful sweaters was prevented by another knock at the door. Tighnari reached over to turn the handle, right as the door swung open.

“Merry Christmas to you all!” Kaveh declared. Like Tighnari, he was also wearing a sweater, but his was a deep green and covered in spiralling patterns. “I would apologise for our lateness, but it wasn’t my fault.”

“Oh please,” Alhaitham scoffed, trailing in after Kaveh. “If you didn’t spend an hour trying to style your hair, we would have been here ages ago.”

“You—It wasn’t me who decided to wait until five minutes before we agreed to leave to get dressed! You have the time-management skills of a three-toed sloth!”

“I simply don’t concern myself with vanity. There is no need to spend hours on my hair, or try and find the perfect outfit… unlike some people.” It was fitting, then, that Alhaitham was the only one in the room without any sort of Christmas themed clothing.

“Maybe it is because I actually have the effort to care about my appearance, instead of looking like I just got out of bed without brushing my hair!” Kaveh paused, squinting at Alhaitham. “Did you brush your hair this morning?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant, when yours took an hour to look just as messy as it did when you woke up.”

“How—”

“Not to interrupt this lover’s spat,” Tighnari interrupted. “But if we want to have lunch anytime in the next several hours, we should probably start soon.”

“We brought pita pockets!” Collei held up a box with a grin.

“Ah, I’m afraid I didn’t have time to cook this morning,” Kaveh sighed, resolutely ignoring Alhaitham’s rolled eyes. “But I did bring a bottle of wine.” He glanced over at Collei. “Um. I am assuming you have non-alcoholic options as well.”

Cyno beckoned them over to the table, moving around the plates to make room for Collei’s pita pockets and Kaveh’s wine. Kaveh and Alhaitham sat down first, opposite each other so they could finish their argument face-to-face. Tighnari was next, and Collei followed, sitting in the seats at the end. Finally, Cyno slipped into the seat beside his partner, giving their hand a quick squeeze.

There was something so perfect about the moment, Kaveh and Alhaitham bickering across the table, while Tighnari rolled his eyes at Cyno’s jokes, and Collei sneakily took another bread roll off his plate while he was distracted. It was the kind of moment they wished they could freeze in time and seal up into a snow globe to display on their nightstand, so they could pick it up and admire the scene within whenever they liked. To spend such a special time, surrounded by the chatter and laughter of the people they loved the most, was truly a gift in itself.

“You should really try to be more like the Christmas tree, Tighnari—and lighten up.”

“Cyno, I will leave, and it will be your fault!”

Yes, perfect indeed.

reblogs and comments are appreciated! ♡

#✒️ — writing #🎄— joyeux noël: 2023 #favoniuslibrary #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #cyno x reader #genshin cyno x reader #cyno x gn reader #cyno x gender neutral reader #genshin x gn reader #genshin impact x gn reader #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin impact x gender neutral reader

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youphoriaot7 · 8 months

Text

"Cellbit, we need to talk," the demon says sternly, sliding into the seat at the head of the table.

The detective sends a bemused look over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow in response. "...okay? What about?"

"Well...a lot of things," Bad admits, the urge to tangent off becoming stronger by the second.

"Can you at least try to narrow it down?" Cellbit teases.

Bad rolls his eyes at him playfully. "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there!" The smile slowly fades from his face as his eyes track Cellbit across the kitchen—getting the toast from the toaster, grabbing the avocado spread from the pantry, checking the fridge for milk, turning the coffeepot off—

Cellbit glances back at him, visibly confused (and vaguely concerned) by the silence. "...okay, can you really not remember, or...?"

Bad sighs, shaking his head. "Have you seen the missing posters up around the island?"

Cellbit nods, turning away as he waves a hand in the air. "Oh, yeah, yeah! The ones about the Masked Man, right?" He chuckles. "I mean—I think we all know who it is, but I don't think they want us to say it."

"...no, not those." Bad scratches his head, watching as the other man pours two mugs of coffee before bringing one and the plate of toast to the table.

Cellbit looks up at him, eyebrows bunched. "Then no, I'm not sure what you mean." He turns back to the counter, grabbing the other mug and the milk.

"Bagi's missing posters? About her brother?"

"Oh!" Cellbit gestures wildly with the milk carton, and Bad can only praise the deities that it's closed. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you're talking about! There's one in the favela. I thought there was one at the main square, too, but it wasn't there when I went earlier."

Bad grins faintly at the memory of Tubbo and Fit ripping it down. "Never mind that," he coughs, shaking his head.

Cellbit sets the carton and cup down in front of Bad before slipping into the seat next to him. "But yeah, I know the posters." He cocks his head slightly. "...why do we need to talk about those? Shouldn't you ask Bagi?"

Bagi definitely isn't the one he needs to ask about this. Bad unscrews the carton's lid, carefully pouring a buttload of milk into the black liquid. "Look, Cellbit," he sighs, "the thing is...I think I know who it is." Rip the band-aid off, right? If he remembers, it'll be a shock, so better to get it over with. If not—

Cellbit blinks over the rim of his coffee cup, face completely blank. "Who?"

...he has no idea.

Bad can feel his heart sinking, a stabbing pain shooting through him, almost like guilt or pity. He swallows hard, recapping the milk as he tries to figure out how to proceed—

"Oh!" Cellbit snaps his fingers, a cheeky grin on his face, so similar to the one Bad used to see in battle so many years ago. "I know what you're saying."

Bad pauses, staring at him. "You...you do?"

"...you think it's Dan, right?" Cellbit's grin widens, just barely holding back a laugh.

...he couldn't have been farther from the mark.

But Bad isn't one to let an opening go to waste. Plus, it had made Cellbit laugh, something Bad hadn't seen nearly enough of recently. At least it had lightened that world-weary look, even just for a moment.

So Bad smiles. "Clearly!" he replies cheekily, chuckling as he takes a piece of toast from the plate. "See? We make a pretty good team."

"That we do." Cellbit shakes his head playfully as he takes another sip of his coffee, and Bad watches on in silence. The white streak in his dark hair, the black outfit—he'd looked even more like Bagi a few weeks ago, before the island's drug infestation. Speaking of which...

"...are you ever gonna go back to your green jacket?" Bad asks nonchalantly, and Cellbit gives him a funny look, glancing down at himself.

"...this is a green jacket," he says, eyebrows furrowing. "The, uh...the one I wore the most got dirty, so I've had to wear the black ones for a bit. But this one is green."

Bad blinks. Fudge. "Oh. Yeah, no, you're right, I see it now!" he lies, nodding. "The lighting was just...messing with my eyes."

It's a viable excuse; the red lanterns dotted around the room don't output much light on a good day, and the sunlight streaming in from the kitchen balcony casts long shadows across the table.

But Cellbit doesn't seem to fully believe him, giving him a curious look before he shrugs. "No worries." He takes a long sip of coffee and lets out a sigh. "But no. I don't know who Bagi's brother is."

"...yeah," Bad murmurs, the lie making the coffee taste bitter in his mouth. "Me either." He swallows the mouthful of bitter cream and grounds, making a face at he stares down at his slice of toast.

"I wish I did." Cellbit's voice softens, and Bad glances up to find him gazing pointedly into his coffee cup. "I want to help her. But...there's so much going on right now, and...well, not to be that person, but the picture on the poster is kinda—well, fudged up, if you know what I mean."

Bad blinks. "You think it's a bad pic?" he echoes in confusion.

Cellbit shrugs. "Well, I mean, it's a side angle, almost a three-quarters view—but to the back. There's so little of his actual face in the photo; how are we ever supposed to help?" He scratches his head. "Plus, that photo looks old, and it's visibly of a little kid." He shakes his head. "He probably doesn't look like that anymore."

Bad nods slowly. "...no, you're right; he probably doesn't." Bad could have pushed the issue, could've pointed out that he's seeing the spitting image of the kid sitting directly across from him—he remembers fighting with that exact kid ten years ago, and Bagi's brother hasn't changed one bit. But he bites his tongue.

"With the eggs missing, it's just...not my priority at the moment." Cellbit gives a helpless shrug. "But she can figure it out on her own, I'm sure. She's smart." Then he cocks his head, glancing back up at Bad. "Besides, who's to say he's even on the island?"

"True," Bad murmurs.

"I mean...honestly? I hope he's not." Cellbit takes a long sip of his coffee, draining about half the cup before he gives Bad a small smile. "I wouldn't want anyone else to be trapped in this...living hell."

Bad nods slowly, watching him. "...yeah. Who's to say?"

Cellbit sighs, shaking his head as he stands. "I should get back to work," he says apologetically, glancing back at Bad. "Youre welcome to stay if you want—?"

His words jolt Bad out of his stupor, and he shakes his head, standing. "I'm, uh...not really hungry," he admits with a sheepish grin, "and I have stuff to do, too. So I should go."

Cellbit nods, picking up the plate with the lone piece of avocado toast lying across it. "No worries, man. See you around."

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, for sure." Bad musters up a small smile, flashing it towards the detective as he moves towards the staircase.

"Hey, wait—Bad!"

Bad glances back. "Yeah?"

"...if she finds anything, let me know?" Cellbit asks softly.

The demon nods gently. "Of course." And before he can blurt out anything he might regret, he turns, making his way quickly towards the waystone at the end of the bridge.

#i...couldn't help myself.#i saw they had a convo yesterday and the obvious deflecting /lh on both sides made me batshit #i had to do it.#(i even got in some colorblind!bbh so that was fun)#qsmp cellbit #qsmp #qsmp bbh #qsmp badboyhalo #qsmp bagi #<- referenced #qsmp fic #qsmp drabble

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cimonim-toasty · 1 month

Text

Reblog for a bigger sample size!!!

fyi I already have my own opinion on this, I just wanna see what others think

#toasted tangents #splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #splatoon headcanons

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incorrect-losers · 2 months

Text

Stan: I don’t eat french toast enough to put it above pancakes no matter-

Richie: If you gave french toast a shot-

Eddie: Guys-

Richie: You would like it way more

Stan: I’m not saying that I’m not-

Eddie: Guyys-

Richie: You haven’t-

Stan: Gave it a fucking shot

Eddie: WoAH

Richie: Next time try it

Eddie: The aggression-

Stan: Within this point in time-

Richie: Why don’t you just give em a shot?

Stan: Shut the Fuck up please

Richie: When’s the last time you even attempted to enjoy a good hearty breakfast-

Stan: Can you listen to what I’m gonna say-

Richie: No. Cause I know what you’re gonna say-

Stan: In this given moment I have not had french toast enough to put it-

Richie *to Eddie*: I don’t know why you care so much?

Eddie:

Eddie: WHY DO I CARE SO MUCH? DID I SAY A FUCKING THING!? WHY DO ~I~ CARE SO MUCH?

Eddie: YOU JUST WENT ON A FUCKING 3 MINUTE TANGENT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU CARE, I WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO INTERRUPT YOU GUYS TO SAY THIS IS A FUCKING HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION! TOMORROW WE’LL WAKE UP THERE WILL STILL BE WAFFLES, THERE WILL STILL BE PANCAKES, THERE WILL STILL BE FRENCH TOAST

Eddie: AND I CARE TOO MUCH!? I COULDN’T GIVE A FUCK LESS

Eddie: STAN COULD WAKE UP AND EAT ALL 3 TOMORROW! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING I CARE TOO MUCH, IM LITERALLY WAITING FOR YOU TO STOP

Richie: Okay, listen-

Eddie: DO YOU HEAR HOW STUPID YOU SOUND!?

Eddie: That’s outrageous what you just said to me

#average streddie interaction #losers club #it #it chapter 2 #it stephen king #the losers club #losers club incorrect quotes #richie tozier #stan uris #stanley uris #eddie kaspbrak #streddie #source: sturniolo triplets #source: tiktok

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ashisgreedy · 8 months

Text

“The Halloween Party”

POV: Garreth Weasley

SFW

This was written as a collab story with the following amazing people(tagged)! We took turns writing for this story and it took off in many hilarious and dramatic tangents! One person would write a few paragraphs then send it off to the next person to continue. It was so fun to be a part of and I am grateful for everyone's involvement! The end of the segments will indicate who wrote which part.

@greedyforgarreth - (GFG), @pandanscafanfiction (Pandansca), @daydreamsonacloudyday - (DOACD) @slytherin-paramour , @cuffmeinblack , @blueraineshadows , @junie-00 , @eternalremorse, @finalgirllx , @grandeoatmilklatte - (Oat), @AurorSrag @sevprince-91 (AS)

(Please see the end where @slytherin-paramour drew amazing fanart of Seb-Skein!)

WC: 9,700

Garreth spent quite a lot of time preparing for his Halloween bash. Several cauldrons were bubbling. Some were filled with a mix of alcoholic drinks while others held concoctions Garreth had perfected over the years that would induce different effects on the drinker. He couldn't decide to tell people what the effects were or if they should just find out for themselves.

He definitely wasn't in it alone as he implored his friends to assist him with this massive party. Everyone in the school was making an appearance in the Gryffindor common room. He hoped that if any Professor did get tipped off they would turn a blind eye so the students may have one last party before they graduate from Hogwarts. He adjusts his costume and fixes a big smile on his face as he begins walking through the party while the music blasts through the magical gramophones.

(GFG)

Everyone was dressed incredibly festive. It was so cool to look around the large common area and attempt to figure out who was who under their masks and disguises- with the exception of a few. His older brother Oscar, for one, showed up in his quidditch attire ('how original') and Ominis didn't bother to put much more effort in his costume than a pair of cat ears. In any case, he smiled broadly and wore his own proudly, puffing out his chest as he raised a toast of something even he didn't know high in the air. "Cheers, mates!"

As he took a deep swig, Sebastian appeared next to him wearing… was that Azkaban stripes and broken cuffs? "What are you even supposed to be, Weasley?", he sneered.

Garreth pouted, offended that not one person could tell what he was. Wasn't it obvious?

(Pandansca)

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Sallow,” Garreth answered, rolling his eyes at the Slytherin. There had to be one person at his party who would figure out what he was. Maybe she would know, she always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

Before Sebastian could pester him about his costume some more, Garreth clapped him on the back and disappeared back into the costumed crowd, in search of her. (DOACD)

He stumbled a little when someone accidentally stepped on his costume as it trailed out behind him, turning to rearrange himself with a grin. "Woooah, easy there my friend! We wouldn't want to ruin this masterpiece would we?"

He laughed as he gestured to the, quite frankly, fantastic costume that he'd been working on for weeks, before continuing to move through the jubilant crowd in the direction of the cauldron station. He couldn't help but give a little jiggle of his hips to the beat of the music as he went.

A giant, pink gaping hole lined with spikes entered his periphery. Several green leaves were stuffed around the edges of this person's collar. Garreth was very confused until his eyes honed in on a small bespectacled face protruding from the center of the monstrosity.

"Hobhouse? Is that you? What in Merlin's name are you supposed to be? You look like the vagina from my nightmare!"

(Slytherin-Paramour)

Duncan puffed out his chest in a show of indignation, deflating quickly under the stares Garreth's outburst had attracted.

"No! I...do you really not know?" the Ravenclaw shot back in a squeaky voice.

Garreth grinned, a show of friendliness seldom bestowed on the boy. He'd never held any ill will towards Duncan; it just happened to be incredibly fun to wind him up a little.

"What are you meant to be?" Duncan asked, his bespectacled face scrutinizing Garreth's fantastic costume.

"Never you mind," Garreth sighed, his attention caught by a melodic laugh that he'd know absolutely anywhere. "See you later, Hobhouse!"

Garreth dashed towards the source of the chuckle, barely audible over the cheers of 'nightmare vagina' aimed towards the boy he'd just left. (cuffmeinblack)

There she was. Beautiful, radiant, her eyes sparkling like new stars as she laughed, the sound of it making warmth spread through him as he gazed at her. Her cheeks were beginning to get that first pink flush from whatever she was drinking, enhancing her perfection in a way that made Garreth almost speechless.

As he paused to admire his biggest distraction, a tap on his shoulder made him turn, his gaze lifting to meet with a face painted in greys and blacks. Surrounding this mask of horror was a tattered black hood, part of a flowing black robe that draped to the floor. It was enough to make one flinch, however, the warmth of those familiar brown eyes took away the chilling Dementor look that Leander had gone for this evening.

Leander held up a drink, the vivid blue liquid smoking a little. "Is this the one that makes you levitate?" He asked.

Garreth eyed it, a smirk lifting his lips. "Maybe, why?"

Leander's smirk was even bigger. "Have you seen what Sallow has come as? If I drink this, I'm going to float over and pick a fight with an escaped prisoner," he chuckled. (blueraineshadows)

“That would be quite the show for our guests,” Garreth chuckled, “Let me grab MC first, I’m sure she’d love to see prisoner Sallow versus a dementor.” He nodded towards his target before beginning to walk towards her, the curiosity in him peeking when he couldn’t get a good look at her costume that was blocked by the bodies of her festively dressed friends surrounding her.

Leander's eyes roamed over her, a sliver between the students giving him a view of her choice of attire for the night. A quick hand stopped Garreth from moving any further, spinning him around so Leander’s eyes could scan him over, “Mate, are you two…” he paused before glancing in her direction once more, “Matching?”

As if it was the universe giving him yet another reason she was downright perfect for the Gryffindor, students cleared from her, giving Garreth a clear view of the girl who never failed to surprise him. “Brilliant!” Garreth trailed off as he excitedly pushed his way through students, his eyes never leaving the magnificent costume she proudly wore. (junie-00)

The various bells hanging from Garreth's belt jingled merrily as he approached MC with a great big grin on his face. His eyes trailed up and down, studying the ensemble that, in fact, did match his own.

"Seems you're a man of culture as well, MC."

Though his words were simply calm and friendly, the one brain cell in his head was bouncing off the walls of his skull.

"Of course! Though it almost got ruined because of one of your silly concoctions, the one that makes you croak and your throat swell like a bullfrog. Probably not the best idea for a costume party, eh? Nellie's costume got a little torn, actually, but that's probably for the better. It's a weird red suit with clown makeup and green hair. Maybe it's some sort of muggle thing."

MC took a sip of her drink, the metal claws on the ends of her fingers making small scratches in the ceramic as Garreth did the same.

(OPHOCC)

Garreth bit his lip as his eyes slowly trailed down MC’s outfit. If there was one person out of the whole charade of people he wanted to see here, it was her. MC noticed his stare and smiled smugly before nudging his shoulder.

“Now, now, Weasley, the night has just begun. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves with the after-party thoughts already,” she winked.

Garreth chuckled and held up his hands. “Heh, you’re right. But I can’t help it when I see such a gorgeous woman right in front of me.”

MC giggled and a sudden hiccup escaped, her hand immediately covered her mouth in slight embarrassment. She then laughed and looked at her cup. “My word, this drink is getting to me already! It’s good stuff, despite the side effects.”

Garreth looked rather proud of himself in that moment. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re enjoying yourself and my brew. Maybe if you’re a good girl I’ll even give you the recipe for it. Top secret of course!”

MC raised an eyebrow. “Good girl? Garreth, what do you m-“ She noticed a commotion happening over Garreth’s shoulder. “Merlin’s beard! What is happening over there?” (eternalremorse)

Garreth’s head swiftly spun to see the racket happening behind him, and the sight to behold left both himself and MC standing speechless. The surrounding party-goers appeared to have the same reaction, as, seemingly in unison, all attention was suddenly on the spectacle before them.

Someone had gone all out and dressed up as a Hippogriff. But this wasn't just a simple costume, it was a life-size recreation of the beast. The longer Garreth looked, he could gather that one student formed the front while another, less fortunate, was tucked inside the rear, mostly hidden from view. The sheer scale of the costume and some minor collisions (one which even sent poor ‘nightmare vagina’ Hobhouse tumbling) had drawn everyone's focus.

As gobsmacked as Garreth was, he felt a sense of obligation to find out who made up this horrific ensemble. He took a deep breath, gave MC a gentle pat on the shoulder, and mustered some of that Gryffindor bravery to approach the peculiar, two-person costume. He would need a stronger drink after this.

"Um, hello there," Garreth began, wondering if the duo inside the costume could even hear him. “Might I ask who you are?” (finalgirllx)

Garreth heard a soft muffled voice come from the top half of the Hippogriff. He recognized it immediately as Poppy. “Don’t you recognize me?” she shouted, trying to make her voice carry considering the thickness of the costume. Garreth laughed. “Merlin’s beard Poppy, how did you pull this off? And who’s the other half of your costume?”

A symphony of grumbles suddenly came from the second half of the costume. Garreth could not make out what was said, but he could tell whoever was in there was not happy about their predicament. “Imelda!” Came Poppy’s muffled voice once again. “We made bets on the Quidditch game. I bet that if Slytherin lost, she had to be the bottom half of my costume. She was pretty cocky about it, swearing that there was no way Slytherin would lose to Hufflepuff, alas, here she is!” Poppy’s voice was especially cheerful about this as if she was absolutely loving Imelda’s misery.

Garreth was thoroughly impressed. He turned to the table closest to him, grabbing a drink off the table. He went to hand it to Poppy before realizing there was no way for her to drink it. “Well, Poppy, this costume is incredible. I’d toast to your effort, but I imagine you can’t drink through this.”

“Oh actually, you can pour the drink into my mouth, I added a funnel on the inside for drinks. As for Imelda, you can pass her a drink from the back.”

Garreth obliged, pouring a drink for Poppy down the Hippogriff’s mouth, where there was indeed a funnel. He awkwardly made his way towards the back of the costume, jumping as a hand emerged from the Hippogriff’s butthole, snatching the drink from Garreth’s hand. Garreth simply laughed and shook his head, turning away from the Hippogriff to find MC again, the various objects glued to his hat jingling as he walked. (Oat)

But this was Halloween, the night of chaos and Poppy’s Hippogriff was just the beginning of the show.

True to his words, Leander did take the drink that was supposed to make him fly and was prepared to execute his plan. He stretched out his hands, his sleeves being extra-large, covering his hands and he positioned himself like a dementor would and went for Sebastian, who had his back to him right now, talking to Ominis.

Neither of them had any idea of what was coming.

Duncan felt something hovering above his head and he lifted his head out of his pink flourishing tentacles, right in time to see a dementor floating above his head and he gave a squeal.

Everyone looked up and then someone shouted, “Sallow, behind you.”

Sebastian looked up and gasped. The horror of watching a dementor for real made his blood run cold and he forgot the time and place until Leander spoke up,

“Your soul is mine Sallow!”

But instead of a hoarse ghost-like voice that Leander intended to produce, a high-pitched squeaky voice out of the dementor’s robes made everyone roll on the floor with laughter.

“My voice,” Leander pressed his hands on his mouth and swirled backward but alas he couldn’t get himself down. “Get me dowwwwwwwwwn!” He squeaked. “Garreth! Get me down.” He swirled in the air shouting in his squeaky little voice.

Garreth ran underneath him, his arms extended hoping to catch him in case he falls, his bells madly jingling around his belt. MC ran behind him, her wand out and pointed at Leander, trying to get him down.

“Sebastian, Ominis, stop laughing and help us out here.”

MC yelled at the pair, as she ran madly to save her friend, almost tumbling poor Duncan Hobhouse, and his tentacles right into the butt of Poppy’s hippogriff, making Imelda lose her balance as she fell on the ground with Duncan above her and the costume splitting into half, from the middle, turning it into a half-ass Hippogriff now.

“Duncan fucking Hobhouse!” Imelda yelled as she desperately attempted to remove the butt of the Hippogriff costume from above her head and pummel Duncan hard on the face. (AS)

Garreth's eyes desperately sought out the location of his bubbling cauldrons. He really was too sober for this. His eyes landed on a purple brew that he had completely forgotten the effects it had. He decided to take a ladle full of the purple brew into his cup and a ladle full of the pink brew just next to it. He resolved that at least one of them was alcohol and would get him drunk. With his eyes closed, he chugged down the entire cup.

A loud crash of the window made him choke on the last gulp of his drink. Garreth wiped the back of his mouth and turned around to see Everette pummeling through the crashed window on his broom. He was waving something in the air that let off several small fireworks. People below him ducked and weaved out of the way of the sparks.

Garreth smiled at the display of mischievousness from an obviously very drunk Everette, who most likely had been pre-gaming well before the party even started. MC was already using the repairo spell on the window and Garreth gave her a thumbs up.

Garreth poured a second cup of his concoction and rushed over to Everette as he landed on wobbly legs. "Cheers, mate!" Garreth handed him the mixed drink. Everette took it enthusiastically and started to take a sip.

"Thanks! But, uh..." Everette looked Garreth over, the bells and claws decorating Garreth's person making him squint. "What exactly are you dressed up as?"

Garreth frowned "Isn't it obvious?" He swayed, realizing very quickly exactly what potion he'd just downed with his alcohol. (GFG)

Rule number one: never forget your own brews; a mistake he made for not the first time, and especially not the last. He blinked erratically and stumbled over his own feet as suddenly his vision went inverse- the entire room was upside down! Or- well- was it? It certainly seemed so. He didn't remember creating a potion like this but he had mixed two of them together.

Garreth looked around the room with wide eyes as he watched everyone walk along the ceiling as though it were perfectly normal. Even Amit was sitting comfortably in the chandelier as though it were an armchair (wait- wasn't it an armchair?) Good Godric, he was plastered), giggling to himself as he sipped on a drink and tried to nail Leander in the head with magical shooting stars.

"Stop moving, Prewett!", he slurred.

The Gryffindor rubbed at his eyes and blinked once more as he took in the Ravenclaw's rather… alluring attire. "Um… Amit? Did you lose a bet?", he squeaked.

Amit looked at the ginger as though he had two heads. "Garreth, my clothes are quite normal.", he called back. But since when was a corset, bloomers, and thigh-high stockinged normal?! "You, on the other hand, are rather confusing." The raven-haired boy mumbled as his eyes grew more disgusted and perplexed by the second. "What are you, again?"

Garreth opened his mouth to reply when a curiously green spell suddenly shot right past his head, singing the wall opposite him. "What in the-?!"

(Pandansca)

Garreth looked to the origin of the spell and saw a puffskein.

Wait–a puffskein?

What in Merlin’s name was a puffskein doing at the party? And why was it floating around, completely unbothered with everyone and everything around it? (DOACD)

He swayed a little where he stood, his eye's trying to focus on the small, hairy creature that he now realized was most certainly gripping a wand between it's teeth. Green wisps of magic residue emerged from the tip of the wand and Garreth let out a bellowing laugh at the sight. Somehow, he made his way to the puffskein without falling on his arse and picked the little fuzz ball up, holding it in front of his face with a grin.

"Hello there fluffy fellow, how did you get in here? And whos wand did you steal?"

He booped it on the nose and tried to pry the wand out of the creatures mouth, only for the Puffskein to clamp down and start writhing furiously in Garreth's arms.

"Woaaah, calm down! Oi!" He had almost dropped the frantic creature when Ominis appeared beside him, panting and trying to catch his breath. He held his wand up and sighed in relief.

"Oh thank Merlin, you found him! Quick, we need to change him back!"

Garreth's alcoholic, potion influenced brain became even more confused by Ominis' words.

"What...change who back?"

The blonde boy gestured to the angry little beast currently trying to roll it's way out of Garreth's arms.

"That's Sebastian!"

(Slytherin-Paramour)

Garreth's eyes slid out of focus as he tried to process the information, not trusting his drink-addled brain's slow responses amongst the thoroughly irate bundle of fur now trying to roll out of his arms. He looked down at the puffskein, noticing the tufty chestnut fur and big brown eyes, his lips curling into a grin as he realised that oh yes, this was Sebastian alright. Ominis' wand was ready, the incantation to return his friend to his human form on the tip of his tongue.

What a waste that would be.

Garreth bolted, clutching the fluffy menace against his chest as he sped through the crowds once again, trying his best not to go arse over tit with the way his vision swam and the room made absolutely no logical sense. Why was the Hippogriff's arse now tumbling across the ceiling? Did the sofas always have mouths? The only thing he knew was that the cocky, self-satisfied, altogether too handsome Slytherin Sebastian Sallow was now a ferocious little puffskein, and Garreth wasn't about to let Ominis change him back before the entire castle got a peek. He spotted MC once again, her beauty just about the only thing not addled by his questionable concoctions, and Garreth held Sebastian above his head with a triumphant grin spread across his face.

"Guess who this is?!" he shouted across the room, ignoring Duncan's hysterical screams. (cuffmeinblack)

The party goers nearest to him glanced up, the irate puffskein now snarling in ways that definitely didn't sound accurate, the wand clenched in its teeth waving dangerously around the room. Laughter echoed and a few names were called out as Ominis pressed himself through the crowd, cheeks flushed and brow furrowed.

"Hand him over, Weasley," he demanded. He aimed his wand in Garreth's vague direction, the tip of it blinking brightly.

Garreth chuckled. "But he looks so adorable!"

MC appeared beside Ominis, her eyes narrowing in on the little growling ball of fur. Her eyes then widened, a gasp leaving her lips.

"I know that wand!" She exclaimed. She put her hand to her mouth, horrified laughter bursting from it. "Who did this?! That's Seb!"

"What? No!" Leander burst past MC, his Dementor painted face aghast as he stared at Puffskein Seb. He gave a panicked look towards MC. "Please tell me he can be changed back?" He squeaked.

MC narrowed her gaze. "Why do you care?"

Leander realised everyone was staring at him and his blush was so dark it showed through his face paint. "No… no reason," he stuttered.

Ominis turned with eerie accuracy, his wand aimed right at Leander's nose. "If this was you, Prewett, you'd better start begging," he said. (blueraineshadows)

Garreth slowly blinked when he tried to follow the commotion unfolding as Ominis pressed his wand against Leander’s nose, but his efforts were in vain when different effects of his mixed potion began to take over his brain. It seemed as if the students were becoming one with their costumes, contorting into ferocious creatures right in front of him. His eyes widened as the students began to close in on them, his palms covered in a thick layer of sweat and his mouth becoming dry from his gaping mouth, paying no mind to the slytherin puffskein wrestling in his loosening hands.

“What the fu-” He whispered to himself before the ball of fur was hastily snatched from his hands.

“Come on!” MC hissed as she tugged Garreth by his arm, nearly dragging him behind her while holding Sebastian snug against her chest. Not so surprisingly, the slytherin turned beast was willingly resting in her arms as she burst through the crowd of students.

Garreth tumbled behind her, his feet failing to meet her fast pace, “Where are we going?” the goggle eyed Gryffindor mumbled as he looked around at every student he passed that looked like they morphed into their costumes. His head shooting to look behind him as he heard Ominis shout their names.

“You’ll see,” she panted as she looked back at Ominis, picking up her pace when she noticed him trailing behind them, “I want to have my fun with Seb-skein before Ominis turns him back!” (junie-00)

MC began sifting through the crowd for a particular Ravenclaw. One that claimed to “feel braver” after she did the dirty work for him finding that Giant Venomous Tentacula, yet he got all the credit for it! But what could she do? She was a naive fifth-year at the time and wanted to be liked by everyone. Maybe it was time for a little vengeance.

She spotted Duncan talking to Amit and Andrew Larson, she smiled and pulled Garreth close, nodding towards the trio. Garreth could barely make them out with the potion effect still in full swing.

MC hushed her voice a little bit. “Seb, I’m going to need your help here.”

She looked down at the brunette Puffskein whose eyes looked up at her with curiosity. She must admit he was super cute as one of the little creatures.

“See Duncan over there? I’d like you to give him the biggest fright of his life for me. For taking all the glory for the Giant Venomous Tentacula leaf he claimed he got himself from the hidden Herbology corridor.”

Garreth heard what she said and his eyes widened. “Waaaaaait, that wasn’t Dun-kein?” he slurred. MC giggled at shook her head.

“It was all me. I felt kind of sorry for him at the time.” She lowered Sebastian to the ground and winked at him. “Go get him, Seb-skein.” (eternalremorse)

Sebastian bounced his way over to the Ravenclaw, whose back was facing him as he chatted with Amit and Andrew. Both of the boys paused when they noticed the angry ball of fur behind Duncan, who was still babbling away, completely unaware.

“Uh…Duncan…” Amit started, trying to get the boy’s attention as Sebastian growled, the wand in his mouth pointed up towards Duncan. But it was too late for the poor boy, as the moment he turned around, he was hit with an array of spells being shot at him from the furry creature.

Duncan screamed as Sebastian continued to shoot little blasts at him. He attempted to run, but tripped, landing on the floor. The entire party stopped what they were doing to watch as Sebastian dropped his wand from his mouth and jumped on Duncan, bouncing on him a few times before he began to nip at him, Duncan screaming and flailing his arms the entire time. Everyone was laughing, but Garreth could only focus on MC’s laugh. His glassy eyes kept darting back and forth between the madness in front of him, and her.

Ominis pushed through the crowd and almost went to grab Sebastian, but he too couldn’t help but burst into a fit of laughter when his wand informed him of the scene he had walked into. (Oat)

Leander came floating at the commotion and attempted to grab Seb-skein as he attempted his final favorite trick of shoving his tongue into Duncan’s nose. He will never be able to get over the nightmare of tasting Duncan’s boogies but the fun was worth it.

Garreth however watched MC with glassy eyes, mesmerized by the tinkle of laughter coming out of her lips that he so wanted to kiss for a long time now. An absurd urge filled him all of a sudden and for a moment he felt like nothing he would do now could go wrong.

So amidst all the commotion of Duncan vs Seb-skein, Garreth almost lunged at MC, grabbed her shoulder, turned her towards him and kissed her! (AS)

A short time later, as everyone forgets the commotion and Duncans's screams, Garreth finds Puffskein Sebastian on the arm of one of the couches in the common room. Someone had put sunglasses on him and replaced his wand with a glow stick. The small creature's head bobbed to the music, eyes closed as he grooved to the beat.

Garreth knew he needed another drink, the room was finally flipping back to right side up. He pet Seb-skein on the head and smiled. "Puffskein must be lightweights, you're positively sloshed." He chuckled and then made his way to the cauldrons again.

Before he could make it all the way, Imelda, the ass of the hippogriff forsaken, popped up in front of him. She crossed her arms and eyed him. "I hate parties." She said, loudly so her voice wasn't drowned out by the music.

"Oh.." Garreth frowned a bit "Well, I could offer you a drink? Or, would you like to play a party game?"

Imelda crossed her arms. "I didn't say I hated YOUR party." She scoffed. "A game then. And be quick with it."

Garreth smiled. "A game it is!" (GFG)

While he ladled a different mix of concoction for the two of them, he mused over what sort of game they could play. His hips swayed to the music while he sipped. The party was getting into the thick of it, now; loud, thumping dance tracks as magic, pulsating orbs of light strobed to the beat in the much darker space. But the flashing lights gave him an odd sense of lost deja vu.

'Wait… Didn't something big happen earlier?' There was an odd lapse in his memory and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember anything past Dunkan getting his bogeys licked by Sebastian up until now… How did he get here, with Imelda? Not that he was complaining; she was lovely company. But even still… wasn't what he was forgetting important?

His brows dipped and he handed Imelda her drink but the thought of losing something brought upon a fabulous idea for a game and his eyes lit up. "How about a scavenger hunt?!", he offered.

Imelda's smirk was downright predatory with her characteristic bout of competitiveness. She took a swig of her drink and huddled close, her arm wrapping around Garreth's shoulder and pulling him close. "State your rules."

"No one else can know about the game. First person to get all items and meet back at the home base wins."

"And what does the winner get?"

Garreth thought for a moment. "A wish granted- Something doable and within reason. And the loser can't deny them."

The gears were already visibly turning in Imelda's mind as her dark eyes roamed over his lips. "You'd better hope you have more endurance than me, then.", she quipped and took a long chug of her alcohol before crushing the cup in her hand and tossing it aside. "You're going to need it for my wish." Garreth flushed fiercely. "Now- What are we hunting tonight, Weasley?"

What to hunt for indeed…

(Pandansca)

Garreth found a spare piece of parchment and a quill amongst the chaos of the party, and he and Imelda began coming up with their list of things to hunt for. There was something Garreth couldn’t quite remember, something at the edge of his memory, but it kept flitting away as they came up with item after item.

It couldn’t be that important, could it?

When they finished, he made a copy of the list with his wand and handed it to Imelda, who shot him a smirk before sauntering off in her ass end of a hippogriff costume. He reread the list, the words swimming in his vision for a second before he got them to focus again. He grabbed another concoction and downed it before setting off to look for the items on the list. (DOACD)

He chuckled to himself as he glanced over the first couple of things that he needed to find. This was going to be fun. Or an absolute shit show. It was a fine line to be perfectly honest. The fuzziness inside his head was giving him a ridiculous confidence boost, and he set off in search of a certain haughty, blonde Slytherin.

Ominis had given up on his quest to turn Sebastian back into a human, for the moment. He had thoroughly enjoyed it when his hairy little best friend had tormented Duncan Hobhouse afterall.

He was sitting on one of the large leather sofas now, swaying side to side and singing along to whatever song was blaring from the gramophone. A goblet of fire whiskey was held precariously in his left hand and he had tucked his trusty wand behind his ear.

The sofa suddenly tilted him to the left when Garreth cannonballed himself into the leather beside him, the shock making the poor Slytherin jump up and spill half of his whiskey backwards over his shoulder.

"You have a beautiful singing voice, Ominis!" Garreth's deep tone slurred into his ear from beside him.

Ominis blushed despite his rage at the dopey Gryffindor.

"Garreth! You've fucking soaked my silk shirt! …But thank you for the compliment I suppose."

Garreth leaned in close, wrapping an arm around his friend and brought his lips to the blonde's ear.

"You're very welcome, pretty kitty." His carded his fingers gently up through Ominis' hair to tug on the little black cat ears.

Ominis stilled, his breath caught in his throat. He was about to speak when he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and heard Garreth's voice call out cheekily.

"Yoink! I've got it! Sorry Ominis!" And he jumped up and ran away holding a couple of the Slytherin's beautiful hairs.

(Slytherin-Paramour)

Garreth was on a roll, and feeling increasingly intoxicated. The last concoction he'd thrown down his throat appeared to be mostly alcohol—whisky, he'd guess by the burn in his throat. At least the common room was the right way up now, but it was becoming harder to walk in a straight line as he staggered through the crowds.

The next item on his list should be easy enough, he thought as he plunged his hand into a bowl of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. A Ravenclaw tie. Popping the beans in his mouth, he gazed around the room for his next target, spotting Everett mingling with a now traumatized Duncan. The taller bespectacled boy was rubbing the smaller on the back, suspiciously gently. If he was more sober he could have sworn it was a caress.

"Alright, Everett, Duncan?" Garreth grinned at the pair. "Can I borrow one of your ties?"

"Bugger off, Garreth," Everett replied.

"I...what?"

"This is your party, and look what that fluffy menace did to Duncan!"

Garreth tried to suppress a smirk, but his self control and inhibitions had flown out the window with his last drink. With a snort, he burst into laughter, causing an irate Everett to drag Puffskein Dunkein off through the crowds. By the time he'd stopped chuckling and dried his eyes, they were nowhere to be seen and Garreth was no closer to securing his next scavenger hunt item. He needed another Ravenclaw.

Scanning the room again, he saw MC perched on a sofa petting Seb-skein with a lazy smile, and his stomach gave an odd sort of lurch that had nothing to do with his dubious potions. MC. She'd been something to do with what he'd forgotten, he was sure... The thought didn't have a chance to fully form before he felt a searing pain on the back of his head and his vision faded to black before he hit the floor. (cuffmeinblack)

Snatches of muffled sound teased his ears and blurry images appeared through slow blinks of his eyes as a dull throb clamped around the back of his head. The room swayed dangerously as he was bodily lifted, hands holding his arms and legs, and then he felt a softness against his back.

"He looks a bit pale…"

"So would you if you took a whack to the head…"

"Who levitated that lamp anyway…"

"Merlin knows, it's bloody chaos in here…"

Something brushed up against his forehead, and there was an irritating bouncing pressure on his torso. Garreth flapped his hands at it, his coordination poor, and he thought he heard someone laugh as his hand brushed against something fluffy and warm. He blinked a few times, his vision swimming into focus.

Heads were bent over him, a mixture of amusement and worry on their faces. MC was the closest, her smile just utter perfection as he met her gaze.

"Hello handsome," she said. "Decided to rejoin the party after all?"

Handsome? He'd take that! He gave her a smile, his mouth trying to form words, but he had no idea what he was going to say. He was just happy to see her face. "Heh… wuv… y..you.." He mumbled.

The irritating bouncy pressure returned on his chest and a brown, furry puffskein appeared right in front of his nose, it snarled, brown eyes flashing, before it's tiny mouth clamped down on the end of his nose.

Garreth shrieked as laughter pealed out around him, MC wrapping her hands around a snarling and chaotic Seb-skein in an attempt to get him off. (Blueraineshadows - Raine)

As MC tried to pull the angry ball of fur away from Garreth, it only caused him more pain. The small, but razor sharp teeth had a death grip on the point of Garreth’s nose, clamping down harder with each tug from MC.

“Sebastian! You’re hurting him!” MC yelled as her grip tightened, Garreth’s face being hauled upwards and whimpers escaping his mouth with each desperate pull, “Merlin, you’re a strong son of a bitch!” she murmured through gritted teeth as she yanked Sebastian with all her might.

“MC stop, you’re making it worse!” Imelda shouted as she nudged MC out of the way, replacing her spot in front of Garreth and beginning to pinch and poke at Sebastian in hopes of finding his sweet spot to make him release the Gryffindor's nose.

A quick pluck of one of his whiskers did the trick, the small but deadly creature let out a yelp and set free Garreth, Imelda quick to pick up Seb-skein and put the single whisker in her pocket, “I needed this for the scavenger hunt, thanks you little shit.” Before Sebastian could sink his teeth into her scowling face, Imelda tossed him to MC like a toy she had no use for anymore, making her way next to Garreth to begin comforting him, putting a napkin to his bloodied nose.

MC stood with Sebastian tucked against her chest, her face turning red with anger and jealousy as she watched Imelda cuddle up next to Garreth. As she was about to march over to the two, she heard a familiar slytherin cast a spell towards her.

“Vertohumano!”

The chatter and laughter disappeared and were replaced by gasps and screams. Before she could blink, the once adorable fuzzy ball that rested in her hands transformed into a grown man, a naked grown man, who unfortunately happened to be Sebastian.

Her face glowed a bright red with embarrassment. Her arms were wrapped around his bare torso, the tips of her fingers just barely grazing his manhood. She was quick to yank her arms away with a horrified shriek, the attention that was once on Garreth was turned towards a very naked and humiliated Sebastian. (junie-00)

MC quickly removed the mustard yellow poncho she wore about her shoulders and wrapped it around Sebastian, covering his shame. As Garreth watched this, though, he felt his hands ball up into tight fists, which was rather uncomfortable due to the claws of his costume digging into his skin. But it didn't matter because how could she touch him like that? Especially in that state?

Meanwhile, Sebastian silently thanked MC for her assistance before practically bolting out of the room and back to his bed. It would be safe to assume that he wouldn't be returning to the party out of sheer mortification. However, Garreth only remembered the scavenger hunt when he spotted Imelda plucking a ladle out of one of the drink cauldrons, which was coated in a rather unappetizing thick, green substance. The game was still on, and Garreth needed to catch up quick! (OPHOCC)

As the urgency of beating Imelda in the scavenger hunt weighed on Garreth, he tapped his chin animatedly, plotting his next move. What had he been looking for? A Ravenclaw tie? He'd needed to find another Ravenclaw student and fast, knowing how badly he'd already messed up with Duncan and Everett this evening. Given how scantily clad Amit's costume had been, he'd quickly crossed off Amit as an option. He'd certainly not have a tie to spare.

Garreth suddenly recalled another Ravenclaw he had yet to approach: Andrew Larson. Yes, he'd spotted him before. And if memory served, Andrew had dressed as a... pirate, was it?

Garreth was aware of Andrew's long-standing infatuation with him since their fifth year. He harbored no resentment toward Andrew for this, given how earnestly Garreth himself had pined for MC before she had given him a chance. While he wasn't one to take advantage of someone's feelings, Garreth's frazzled mind somehow rationalized that this might be the perfect opportunity to address his jealousy over MC and Sebastian while securing that elusive Ravenclaw tie. Up the charm a bit, perhaps a slight accentuation of his bum, and he'd be good to go, or so he figured.

With this fool-proof plan in mind, Garreth embarked on his mission to locate Andrew Larson, who’d be lingering somewhere in the increasingly chaotic party. (finalgirllx)

Garreth stumbled through the party goers, locating Andrew standing by one of the cauldrons, pouring himself a cup of who knows what. Garreth walked up to him, prepping up his good ole Gryffindor charm. “Hey Andrew! Great party, huh?” He shouted over the booming music. “You’re a pirate, right?”

Andrew looked up at him, and although Garreth was in no place to talk considering how wasted he was himself, he couldn’t help but notice how drunk Andrew was. “Heeeeeey you…fiery little redhead!” Andrew slurred. “You’re looking real cute tonight! *hiccup* What are…you s’pposed to be anyway? *hiccup*

Garreth sighed, having given up on anyone else besides MC knowing his costume. He ignored the question entirely this time. “Hey mate, could I borrow your tie? I promise I’ll bring it back!” Garreth gave Andrew a flutter of his eyelashes.

“Oh, of course!” Andrew slurred again as he removed his tie from his waist incredibly slowly. “You can undress me any time, baby!”

Garreth took the tie from his hands. “Thanks buddy! I appreciate it!” But as he turned to walk away, Andrew put his hand on Garreth’s shoulder. Garreth turned around, expecting him to say something, but within a second of turning around, Andrew was puking pink sludge onto the floor, with quite a bit of it splashing on Garreth’s big red boots. (Oat)

“Woooooah!” Garreth jumped up. He didn’t know whether he should run or help the poor Larson, who had been puking most likely because of his some eerie concoction. Perhaps comforting a puking Larson would be just the perfect way to show MC. And so he did.

He went around Larson, stood behind his rear, holding his hips instead of his back or shoulder that a normal person would do to help a sick person. He rubbed the side of his hips, mumbling words like, “there, there, better out than in. Let it go Andrew my boy.”

Imelda paused her hunt and watched the pair, her jaw open wide. She winced and cleaned the vomit off the floor. Andrew was now done throwing up and he was now leaning on Garreth’s shoulder, staring up into the depths of his sea green eyes. “Gaarrethhhhhh,” He mumbled, huddling close to him.

Garreth gave one of his cheeky smiles to him and then looked up to see if MC was watching this.

“Ohhh Ayyy, finally Garreth and Larson!” Someone cheered and the entire common room noticed them now, clapping and whispering.

“Get a room, boys.” Someone else jeered.

Garreth looked around and stared at a very fuming MC standing at one corner, fuming. Her face red and her lips curled into a thin line as she watched Andrew leaning over Garreth and their arms wrapped around each other.

It got even worse, when out of nowhere Andrew tried to press a kiss on Garreth’s cheek, but he noticed and shifted his head and his kiss accidentally landed on Garreth’s lips.

A huge roar and whistles filled his ears and he just saw a wild mane of hair whipping out of sight and the portrait of the Fat Lady closing. (AS)

It was less than pleasant, the taste of the kiss. Garreth stumbled back and his hand moved to catch him, but it dipped into the cauldron and he fell back onto the ground. The drunk crowd seemed to understand the situation and pulled Andrew back and helped him sit on the sofa. Garreth stood up, shaking the liquid off his arm.

“Sssorry!” Andrew slurred and dropped his head down.

Garreth gave him a tight smile. “All good, man.” he wiped the back of his arm and looked around for MC. His stomach dropped wondering what she was thinking. He took a scoop of cauldron liquid and swished it around his mouth in an attempt to cleanse it. He spit it into a nearby planter thinking that was the best course of action in his drunken stupor.

“Andrew, huh?” MC’s voice came from behind.

“N-no!” Garreth stumbled dramatically. He tripped forward and MC caught his fall. However, they both tripped with Garreth’s weight and she landed on her back while Garreth was on top.

He popped his head up and their mouths were inches away. He eyed her and his heart hammered in his chest.

“Wow, this guy really gets around.” A Hufflepuff murmured as they watched the two on the floor.

MC heard these words, breaking her trance, and pushed on Garreth’s chest to get him off. Garreth wasn’t helping much since the memory of the scavenger hunt came to mind again.

He leaned in, lips brushing over the shell of MC’s ear. He could feel her hold her breath from this close. He hummed and finally whispered. “I need one of your socks.” (GFG)

MC reeled back and despite the now rosy hue of her cheeks her expression shone scandalized. "My sock?! Garreth- Haven't you done enough crazy things tonight?" She steered him toward an (mostly, I mean- Grace and Nellie were having quite the passionate snog on it) empty sofa before settling next to him. "You're incredibly intoxicated and you're acting so strange."

Okay, yes, he'd probably had at least three too many concoctions this evening. But there was so much at stake now! He couldn't stop! Especially when his double vision caught sight of Imelda snatching a hair from a now incredibly drunk Ominis before disappearing back into the throng. A shiver of dread (and… arousal? Huh.) raced down his spine at the thought of the Slytherin winning. He could guess clear enough what her wish would be.

He turned to MC. "You don't understand! If I don't win this scavenger hunt, Imelda is going to do unspeakable things to me!"

More confused than ever, MC stared long and hard into her crush's glittering green eyes. Wasn't it not long ago that he'd kissed her…? She could still feel the warmth and taste of him on her lips. She longed more than anything to return his affections, but ever since the kiss he'd acted as though it hadn't happened at all! Her heart fluttered for him but she was receiving so many confusing, mixed signals from him. And his drunken kiss with Larson also hadn't helped matters… Was she just another party game to the Weasley? And after she'd gone through so much tireless dedication to mimic his costume… "Garreth, I don't know…", she muttered.

(Pandansca)

“Please, MC,” Garreth begged, taking her hands in his, the claws from their costumes clinking together. “You can’t leave me to the mercy of Imelda. I have to win.”

MC narrowed her eyes at Garreth, still debating on whether or not to help him. “What exactly does Imelda intend to do to you if she wins?” MC asked.

Garreth swallowed hard, his eyes wide. “I think she wants to devour me,” he breathed, and MC gasped before she furrowed her brows.

“Not on my watch,” MC said, a look of determination in her eyes. (DOACD)

She gripped Garreth's hand tightly in hers before pulling him along behind her. He nearly stumbled with the force that she dragged him with. Her eyes scanned the chaotic room in search of the Slytherin girl who was so clearly trying to get her claws into her Gryffindor. She found Imelda in a secluded corner of the common room, busy packing away a blue tie into her satchel. She looked up with a smirk as MC and Garreth pulled to a stop in front of her.

"Oh, it's the competition." She looked at the red head with sultry eyes and then at MC. "And the other competition."

MC frowned, eyes narrowing.

"I hope you're ready to pay up, handsome. I've got this scavenger hunt in the bag. Literally." She patted the satchel beside her.

MCs grip tightened around Garreth's fingers causing him to let out a small "Ow!"

She took a step closer to Imelda, her magic flaring as she attempted to control her emotions.

"I don't know what you think you're planning, Reyes, but you see this? She gestured at Garreth. He's mine."

With those words, she turned to look at the flustered man behind her, his mossy green eyes sparkling with a mixture of excitement and confusion. She reached up to grip the back of his head and pulled his face down to meet hers, lips pressing against his softly. It only lasted a couple of seconds before they parted, foreheads resting against each other.

Garreth couldn’t take his eyes away from hers as she whispered.

"You're mine."

(SLYTHERIN-PARAMOUR)

Those lips, that taste...they were already familiar. Memories came flooding back to Garreth as MC kissed him, hazy but undeniably real. That's what he'd forgotten, that odd sort of niggle at the back of his mind when he'd looked at her afterwards—they'd kissed, right here at this party! No wonder she was nothing short of miffed about Andrew and now Imelda, and the possessive darkness in her eyes intensified by the intoxicated glaze was startling.

"Since when?!" the shrill exclamation came from next to him, and he looked up to see Imelda's furious face only inches away.

MC was already rounding on her, and the way she settled into a duelling stance and wand appeared out of nowhere indicated she was deadly serious about her claim.

"Go and crawl back into the rest of your hippogriff and I'll forget you ever tried it on with my man," MC spat at her.

The confrontation was already drawing interest, Imelda's wand at the ready as Garreth watched in awe. He vaguely wondered if he'd accidentally brewed something to induce this madness, but the thought was interrupted by a loud bellow.

"FIIIIIGHT!"

Andrew Larson had stumbled into the commotion, another drink in his hand as he pointed at the two girls. Onlookers had started chanting along with him—fight! fight! fight!—it looked too late to stop the inevitable. It might have been dangerous, and he should try to stop it, but never had Garreth been so turned on as he watched the two girls fighting for him.

(Cuffmeinblack)

He blinked a few times, swaying slightly as he eyed both girls, awed by the determination on both of their faces. Imelda held her habitual scowl, eyes piercing towards MC. You had to admire the nerve of her. Facing off against the Crossed Wands Champion was nothing to be laughed at, and Imelda was not backing down. Garreth raised his eyebrows in respect, but then remembered the challenge and her prize. He touched his fingers to his lips and thought of MC's kiss. He'd definitely like more of those.

He swung his gaze to MC. She looked formidable, her face set as she stared down Imelda, her pretty mouth in a determined line. Garreth felt something stir deep inside of him, utterly separate from the cocktail of creations mixing together in there. She was marvellous. And he'd had the balls to kiss her. He puffed his chest out a bit at that.

"You can do it, darling," he said proudly.

Imelda's mouth tightened, her gaze barely flicking in his direction, filled with rage.

MC took advantage of the distraction. To be fair to Imelda, she didn't even see it coming. With one flick of her wrist, MC shot a bolt of magic from the end of her wand in a wordless charm, it speared through the space between both girls and hit Imelda's satchel with a blast of blue and white sparks. Imelda yelped and jumped back, staring in horror as the bag full of her challenge winnings dissolved into ash.

MC smirked. "Not so smug now, huh, Reyes?" She quipped. "I'd like to see you try and win now."

Imelda went pink, then red, then a hideous blend of red and purple as she glared, fists clenched. The growl of rage that left her mouth was impressive, and Garreth immediately jumped behind MC, peering sheepishly over her shoulder.

(Blueraineshadows)

A few heartbeats stretched into an eternity as Imelda contemplated her response to MC's destruction of her finds. She began to take heated steps in MC's direction, the crowd audibly gasping as tensions flared.

As attractive as a fight between two women over him may have been, Garreth realized it was time to summon his lion's courage. He needed to stand up for MC and stop this from getting worse. Just as he prepared to step forward and give Imelda a piece of his mind, an unexpected figure intervened.

"Enough! I said stop it now," Amit's voice boomed with surprising authority. His scandalous costume seems to fuel the respect he commands rather than detract from it. Everyone stopped in their tracks to listen.

"This is meant to be a fun celebration, not some feud!" Amit continued his tone firm. He pointed in Garreth's direction. "Especially not over him," Amit added.

"None taken," Garreth replied with a timid chuckle.

"Enough with the seb-skeins, hair plucking, and potion testing. Let's act like respectable young wizards, for Merlin's sake," Amit pleaded to his fellow partygoers.

The lingering question remained: as sexy as this newfound authority looked on Amit, would they actually listen? (finalgirllx)

Garreth looked over at MC, who seemed to be considering Amit’s pleas for peace. Her expression was soft as she sighed, turning to Garreth. Her mouth opened as if she was about to say something, but within a second of her turning, she was on the ground, Imelda having taken advantage of MC’s eyes off of her and tackling her.

Imelda straddled MC as the two girls began to slap at each other, screaming and blocking each other’s hits, while the other students cheered and began their chanting of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” once again. MC’s wand fell out of her hand when she was knocked down, leaving her defenseless. Although MC was wandless, she wasn’t allowing Imelda to overpower her, giving her a few good slaps in the face as the girls fought. Garreth watched in horror, wanting to peel Imelda off his girl, but being a little afraid to get involved. Deciding once again that it was time to summon his lion’s courage, he came up behind Imelda and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up and off MC.

Once Imelda was up, he watched her turn to face him. He then felt an excruciating pain in his nose as the once loud room fell silent. He wasn’t sure what had just happened, not until he felt a warm liquid begin to coat his lips - blood. Imelda had punched him in the nose, hard enough that he had begun to bleed.

“Oh no! Garreth I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to!” Imelda began to panic, but her panic was interrupted by MC, who had grabbed a handful of Imelda’s hair, shoving her to the floor, her wand pointed in her face. “HOW DARE YOU!” MC screamed, shooting a silent spell at Imelda that resulted in dozens of spiders appearing out of nowhere, chasing Imelda up the stairs of the common room to a symphony of laughs from the other students.

Once Imelda was gone, MC turned to Garreth, who had already been handed napkins by other students, trying to stop the blood that was gushing from his nose. “Oh, you poor thing!” MC shouted. “Let’s get you to the hospital wing now!” She grabbed a hold of Garreth’s hand, leading him out of the Fat Lady portrait and into the quiet halls of Gryffindor Tower (Oat)

MC took Garreth by his hand towards the hospital wing. It seems the commotion has already wiped off the effects of his potions on them both. Garreth was holding on to his nose that was now bleeding profusely under the effect of Imelda’s Chaser strength punch, that was directed towards MC actually.

MC stopped on the way watching him bleeding down his nose to his costume now.

“Oh you poor thing, come here,” she cooed, bringing him closer and inspecting his nose. They sat down on a stone bench nearby and MC brought out a handkerchief out of her sleeves and dabbed slightly at his nose.

Garreth blushed.

The whole evening had been something for him. They have kissed...... twice. And then her and Imelda had been fighting over him and lucky for her that he got the punch. And now he was alone with her away from all the commotion. He blushed heavily as MC dabbed at his blood and pressed onto his nose to stop the bleeding. He winced as the pain hit him again.

“I am sorry.” She whispered, tears forming at the brim of her eyes, her eyes now widened with fear at the sight of Garreth’s never stopping blood.

“It’s okay.” He tried to speak through his broken nose. “It wasn’t your fault. I can handle it. Thank Merlin, she didn’t punch you like that.”

MC closed her eyes and let the teardrop down her eyes.

“Hey, MC, don’t.” Garreth said, now holding her face in his hands.

Sod the bloody nose, he will bleed to death; it doesn’t matter. But right now MC’s tears were more precious.

“Come here you silly girl.” Now it was his turn to console her. “I told you, it’s not your fault. It was all for fun. But I loved how you claimed me like that in front of everyone. You are the Hero of Hogwarts; everyone will want you but you chose me!”

“Of course I chose you. I will always choose you. I have always wanted you, ever since I stole those Fwooper feathers for you in fifth year. Who do you think I am wearing this costume for?” She said, looking up at him now.

Garreth’s eyes darted between their strange costumes of the evening, the one he completely forgot about and now he remembered.

Long forgotten was their trip to the hospital wing. Now they both sat under the star dazzling autumn sky, watching each other like they were seeing each other for the first time again. (AS)

He looked over at MC under the glittering night sky. His hand went up to cup her cheek as a smile grew on his face. The night had been so strange but it felt nice to get some fresh air and to finally be alone with MC.

She smiled at him as they lay in the grass, eyes on one another, completely ignoring the beautiful night sky. MC had yawned first then Garreth realized just how sleepy he was feeling. His eyes became droopy and he couldn't keep them open anymore despite his effort. He felt his body relax next to her then he was swept off into a dreamless sleep.

It felt like only seconds had passed when someone was shaking him awake. He blinked into the sunny bedroom and looked around in confusion.

"Where's MC?" He asks, rubbing his eyes and noticing he's in his pajamas and not his costume. His surroundings were also different. He had just been outside, so why was he back in his dorm?

"MC?" Leander gave his friend a look. "I don't know. She's probably in her dorm? Come on man, you've got to wake up. It's almost noon and we have so much more planning to do for tonight!"

Garreth set up, his head swimming with the sudden movement.

"What do you mean, what's tonight?" He yawned, stretching his arms above his head.

Leander gave him a look. "Mate... it's the Halloween party tonight in the common room. We've still got drinks to make and decorations to put up."

Garreth was suddenly more awake. "The Halloween party?! But that was..." His head swam from trying to recall the night. Had it all been a dream?

He went back into his fuzzy memory and recalled some of the crazy things he saw that could not have possibly been reality. He thought of Seb-skein and Amit's ridiculously sexy costume and furrowed his brows. The kiss with Andrew and Imelda being the ass of a life-sized hippogryph costume...

"Was... none of that real?" He whispered. Garreth looked at his hands as if they were foreign to him.

"Garreth, come on man. We've got a lot to do if we're going to throw an epic party in a few hours!" Leander tossed Garreth's robes onto the bed.

Garreth frowned. That means none of the kisses were real and that him and MC were in fact, not a couple. The more he awoke, the more he realized that he'd dreamt the entire party.

An idea grew in his mind and Garreth tossed off his covers and quickly stood up out of bed.

"There we go! Now come on! We've got to-" Leander's words were cut off by Garreth rushing past him. "Gar!?"

Garreth turned to his friend and smiled "I'm going to ask MC to be my date to the party tonight!" He began pulling on a decent shirt and fluffing his hair in the reflection of the window.

Leander's face lit up. "It's about time you made a move! Maybe you two can wear matching costumes." (GFG)

The amazing fanart @slytherin-paramour drew as promised! Seb-Skein!

Thank you for reading and thanks to those that joined in! This was a blast and really help rein in the Halloween spirit! 🦇🎃

#garreth weasley #hogwarts legacy #ominis gaunt #leander prewett #sebastian sallow #imelda reyes #andrew larson

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