power is power

marmoream relinquo, quam latericiam accepi

[lordmulciber-blog]

“I’ve been at the receiving end of your pathetic attempt at a right hook too many times to disagree. It’s funny, cause I always thought you were more a badger than a snake. Perhaps the sorting hat does make mistakes.” 

[octaviusyaxley]

“My punch is perfectly satisfactory. I’ve just done you a mercy. I don’t want to completely ruin your looks; you’d be pretty useless without them, honestly. And there was no mistake. Every Yaxley has been a Slytherin. Some snakes are just better at slithering than biting.”

[octaviusyaxley]

lordmulciber:

“What would an evening be without a little cursing to liven it up, eh?”

“I can think of several other, better ways to liven up an evening, none of them involving you. I’ve always considered myself as much of a lover as a fighter.”

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“Nice to know I can beat a naked man.,” she said pointedly, noticing that Octavius was still watching him, even as he left. When he turned back to her, she had her eyebrows raised, doing her best to look serious. It was a weak attempt, even before his next comment distracted her. “You mean I don’t have to sit through any more of these to qualify? Oh, thank God,” she laughed, mostly messing with him, “I half expected you to say it wouldn’t count after just the one show.” 

“Well, you’ve got the looks and something interesting to say. To be honest, half of the wizards who work here are completely thick, and not where it counts,” he said with a laugh, barely even recognizing her weak attempt at seriousness. “But no, not tonight anyway. I’m easing you into the lifestyle, can’t just go all out on your first night, can you? Baby steps. One show tonight, and a lap dance next time,” he said raising an eyebrow.

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

In truth, Anastasia had more or less forgotten about the performance they were supposed to be watching. Looking back to the stage when Octavius did, she raised her eyebrows in surprise to find the man had on even less than the last time she’d checked. “I’m sure you’ve seen it all more than enough times,” she said, laughing. “Missing the one performance won’t hurt.”

“That’s true; I have seen it quite a few times over. And hearing what you had to say definitely made it worth it,” he said, eyes still on the man on stage as he finally strutted off and disappeared into the backroom. Octavius had the urge to follow him, to go back and change into his own ridiculous costume and have his own performance. But he was certain Anastasia wouldn’t appreciate that; he was also certain not many patrons would be turned on by the scar at the base of his neck and that problem that still hadn’t been resolved. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, though, and looked back at Anastasia. “Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed the show. I think you’re now officially a creature of the night.”

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“I better be, or I’ll go running to my father as soon as he’s back from Russia,” she teased, as if he’d do anything worse than give Octavius a disapproving look then next time they were at the same event. “A little?” she snorted and shook her head, not bothering to hide her incredulous tone. “Besides, after spending anymore time with you, maybe I’ll end up doing both. You never know.” 

“The fewer Russians who want me dead, the better. So I suppose I’ll keep you from making any decisions that I would make tonight,” he reasoned, although he was fairly certain nothing of that sort would happen anyway. “True enough. I mean, you did say that I’m a bad influence,” he laughed, before finally glancing back up at the stage, just in time for the music to end, the nearly naked man striking a pose before bending down to collect the galleons on stage. “All of the chatter made me miss the best part,” he said with mock disappointment, giving her a grin.

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“Really, who would you say’s worse? Plying me with alcohol and sitting me in front of a half naked man is pretty hard to beat.” She only shook her head at his protests, trying and failing not to laugh. “Fine, fine. I believe you,” she said, when she clearly didn’t, “and I appreciate it. If I start whining and moping half as much as you did, I won’t even get cross if you stage an intervention.”

“If that’s the worst anyone’s done, then you’re in fantastic hands,” he said with a shrug, trying to keep the smile from his face as she started laughing. “That’s all I ask for; a little appreciation. I won’t let you get to that point. And now that I’m clear-minded again, I suppose the way I was acting was a little ridiculous, but I know you wouldn’t act like me. You’d probably end up murdering someone in that state, when all I did was have a few unfortunate one night stands,” he laughed.

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“Oh, don’t tell me that. I live for making people jealous,” she said, grinning away. “You’re the worst influence, Octavius.” Anastasia’s eyebrows furrowed in bemusement as she took in his expression. “You know you’re starting to sound like you’re living vicariously through this, right?”

“Cheers. I’m absolutely flattered that you consider me the worst influence considering some of your other friends,” he laughed. His smile fell slightly when she went on. “I’m not living vicariously through this, I’ve already been through this. I’m just trying to make sure you don’t end up like poor, old me. I’m just offering you a few bits of retroactive wisdom, so things stay fun,” he said as seriously as he could--which wasn’t very--given how tipsy he was. 

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“I guess not. So long as I don’t end up going home with anyone else in here, I’ll call it a success.” She turned back to him and shrugged. “It’d be more for entertainment than anything. That, and I’d get the chance to make a few jabs at his poor choices. Always fun.” Putting her arm across the back of the chair, she leant her head on it. “I think it’s pretty safe to assume I don’t know, but I’ll take your word for it,” she laughed. “Sounds like a simple enough plan.”

“Well, I’m make certain you don’t end up with anyone else tonight. I’d be positively jealous. And anyway if you’re going to take the piss out of him for any so-called advice he could give, who am I to suggest otherwise? Always fun indeed,” he said with a laugh. He downed the rest of his drink, and set the glass down on the table a little too hard. “That’s for the best. You don’t strike me as the voyeuristic type,” he grinned. “Simple enough now, yes. But you need to keep your guard up or else the next thing you know you’ll be thinking about actually dating him. And that kind of thinking is always bad news in my experience.”

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

She was beside herself, grabbing onto his arm as if that’d stop him if he’d actually fell off his seat. “Merlin, Yaxley! Think I’m going to be carrying you home, at this rate,” she snickered as soon as her laughter subsided enough. “Maybe I’ll just ask Antonin, give him something new to complain about.” She twisted in her seat to watch Peter better, inhibitions long gone. “Really? And they don’t mind him doing this?” She said, nodding to the lap dance he giving for emphasis. “True… I don’t know anyone it’s done any good.”

“Oh well. That wouldn’t be the worst way the night could end,” he laughed, brushing her hand off of his arm as if he didn’t actually need any help staying upright at this point. It was nice, though. It had been weeks since he had been pleasantly drunk. “As if Dolohov would have anything helpful to say about this. He’s worse than I am. At least I’m open about my affairs,” he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Octavius followed Anastasia’s line of sight back over to Peter, a grin sliding over his face. “They don’t mind it; hell, they come in every week to watch Peter prance around on stage. The two of them get off on that kind of thing. Voyeurism, you know? Sounds fun to me. Anyway, it sounds like you already know what to do about your situation, which is don’t.”

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“I’m only saying you shouldn’t complain.” Scoffing, she smiled and gave him a little nudge. Receiving dating advice from Octavius wasn’t how she’d thought the night would go, but she had to admit it was quite nice, having someone to talk to. She felt like she had some form of strategy now, which helped. “Like who?” she asked incredulously. “Everyone I know’s either sleeping around or married to someone their parents picked. I may as well just ask Peter over there.” Anastasia only shook her head. “Believe me, we don’t need to worry about love.”

“Fair play,” he laughed, reeling slightly from her nudge. He hadn’t realized just how tipsy he was until her nudge made him grab onto the table to keep from literally falling to the ground. He practically giggled at her comment. “Very true. No one I know seems very qualified for this sort of advice. Peter might be better than me, though; he’s at least been dating the same wix for nearly six months,” he shrugged, glancing back over at Peter, who was now giving another witch a very enthusiastic lap dance. “I think you’re right about that. And from what I’ve seen things are easier without love, anyway.”

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“It’s not like it's ever come up before. We’re always talking about your mess of a love life,” she teased lightly. She fell quiet at his advice, looking down at what was left of her drink before knocking it back. In the whole situation, his advice was the only thing that made sense. As much as she liked the way she felt around Evan, she could see it becoming a slippery slope so easily. “You might be right,” Anastasia said, sighing and pushing a hand through her hair. “I think he likes me, anyway. Shouldn’t be too hard to maintain the upper hand.”

“I’m a selfish arsehole who’s great at fucking things up, Anastasia, what else do you expect from me?” he said with a laugh. Still, he could tell how seriously she was actually considering his words. He wasn’t necessarily sure if that was a good thing or not, to listen to his thoughts on that sort of thing, but in the little experience he had with those kinds of deeper feelings the only thing he had learned was that it was best to just not. “I dunno if I’m right or not, might want a second opinion from someone who’s good at this kind of thing. At the very least, though, I’d say keep the upper hand. Love is a dangerous disadvantage, especially for us.” 

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

She scoffed, raising her eyebrows. “Little, innocent Anastasia? Sorry for breaking the illusion, I guess.” Faced with his string of questions, she looked back to the stage. If there was one thing that made her more uncomfortable than the man dancing around up there, it was digging into her feelings and motives. “It was good. It always is,” she said before glancing at him, realising that she would’ve never talked to him about Evan back at Hogwarts. “I mean, we used to kiss at school, usually after some argument or another. But this just… feels different. It has since we started talking again after graduating.” 

“You’ve been kissing Rosier for years and I’m just now finding out? Well, I’m glad you’re telling me know, especially since you say it feels different now,” he said shaking his head slightly. He wasn’t even looking at the nearly naked man on stage anymore. Instead, Octavius leaned back in his seat and picked up his drink, looking at Anastasia as seriously as he could with how much he’d had to drink. “I know what that means. That it feels different now. I can tell what you’re thinking, even if you don’t realize it. And let me tell you, it’s not worth it. Don’t let yourself get tangled up in any deeper feelings. Kiss him all you want, but... it might be for the best that you haven’t spoken to him since Christmas. Strippers are more fun than relationships any day.”

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“Don’t be so dramatic,” she sighed, as if she wasn’t as bad. “It’s not like you’re the last to know - if anything, you’re the first.” Up until then, she hadn’t given much thought to the fact she hadn’t mentioned what’d happened with Evan to anyone, not even Antonin. It was fair to say she’d avoided it, when the times she’d tried to figure it out herself only left her confused, but when Octavius seemed so interested she supposed a second opinion couldn’t hurt. “It’s just Rosier. I stayed with him over Christmas, he kissed me,” she paused to sip her drink, “and I haven’t really spoken to him since.”

“Anastasia, I’m the first? I’m touched!” Octavius said, putting a hand over his heart. There was something strangely nice about knowing that she was telling him first. He knew her, and he knew she probably didn’t realize it, but it seemed like a big deal to him. And things just got more interesting the more she said. “You stayed with Rosier over Christmas and you two kissed? And then you stopped speaking to him? That sounds like something I’d do. Looks like my little, innocent Anastasia is gone. Why’d you stop talking to him, though, was the kiss really that bad?” he asked, his series of questions coming out quickly. The revelation was so good to him that he couldn’t keep himself from asking everything on his mind. It helped that the booze was making his tongue loose.

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“…It wouldn’t surprise me if they did, actually. If you did that at one of my mother’s, I’d be so grateful I could probably kiss you.” The fact that she was actually considering a lap dance, of all things, should’ve been enough of a sign for her to put down the cocktail. Not that she did, of course. “Your past record at secret keeping isn’t great, but that’s not it.” She turned back to him, frowning. “If there might be… something going on with someone, would getting a lap dance from another bloke be considered bad, morally speaking?” She asked, not quite concerned, but certainly confused. 

“I am so tempted to sacrifice my reputation and livelihood just for that,” he joked. If he had been less tipsy, he would have been fazed by her bringing up his secret-keep issues, but he was feeling good enough to just shrug it off. It also helped that what she said next was shocking enough to render him speechless for a matter of seconds. “I’m not really an authority on good morals, but excuse me, what? You have something going on with someone and you haven’t told me until just now? Fuck the lap dance for a second, who the hell is this bloke? I’m absolutely insulted that you haven’t mentioned this before! Details, Anastasia!”

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“Maybe you should get your mind out of the gutter. What if you turn up in one of your glittery outfits and ruin a perfectly nice dinner party?” The little nudge made her roll her eyes, not wanting to dignify his question with a response. She did, however, glance over to where Peter was, pausing to look him over. “I don’t know…” she said, clearly beginning to be swayed.

“My mind lives in the gutter. I wouldn’t be me if it didn’t. And, honestly, I’d say that would just make the dinner party all the more interesting. I bet the guests would thank me,” he grinned even as she rolled her eyes. He was a little more than shocked when she didn’t outright reject the idea he offered. “I wouldn’t tell anyone if you were interested. I just thought you might want to full experience, you know? Hell, I’d be up for getting one too,” he shrugged, as if he was talking about the weather and not lap dances.

[octaviusyaxley]

one of THOSE nights || anastasia & octavius

[octaviusyaxley]

trxvers:

“Understand might be pushing it,” she scoffed, pausing before she added: “…Did they just ask you for a threesome?” There was no denying she was tipsy, her entire demeanour infinitely more relaxed than it’d been when they’d first arrived. She crossed her legs, sipping her drink lightly and pretending to shoot him a dirty look. “I don’t know why you sound surprised. I let loose all the time, just… not usually in a strip club.” Not noticing how he’d trailed off, clearly thinking about something, she was surprised by the question. Even though her smile dropped, it took her a long few seconds to decide on an answer. “Very, Octavius.” 

He laughed but answered her, “Well, they just asked me to come back to their flat for a night of fun, so I guess I’m just assuming that means a threesome. I don’t really know what else they could have been asking for...” Octavius trailed off, finishing the sentence by taking a rather large gulp of his drink. He was starting to feel the alcohol catching up with him and he could tell Anastasia was feeling it too. “What’s the fun of letting loose if it’s not in a strip club?” he said, giving her a playful nudge. “That’s a bloody shame about the lap dance. Peter over there has been glancing over at our table all night, and he hasn’t been looking at me,” he said wiggling an eyebrow.

[shootyourightdown-blog]

you can dish it but can you really take it || octavius & walden

[octaviusyaxley]

shootyourightdown:

“Well, don’t get all sappy on me, now, yeah?” he said, pushing his chair back from the table and standing up, clearing the bags off with a flick of his wand. 

“Yeah, right,” Octavius said shaking his head, brushing off what he had said seconds before. He rose from the table as well pushing his chair in. “Well, surprisingly enough, it was nice of you to stop by. Hopefully the next time I see you, I’ll still be in one piece.”