#have candles and crystals around me.. damn it would be lovely!

[i-think-i-did-it-again]

The Tour I

“Stop looking at me like that all the damn time,” you growl. Even his stare now is making your insides tighten.

“Like what?” he quirks his eyebrow in confusion, swirling his thick metal ring around his index finger absentmindedly.

“Like I’m the most important person in the room,” you whisper.

“But you are.”

“I knew I should’ve never agreed to do this.”

You drag yourself off the couch and head for the door but his hand wrapped around your wrist stops you.

“Let you pay me…I feel so dirty,” you sigh and look anywhere but at his crystal blue orbs.

“What the fuck do you mean pay you?!”

Oh fuck…

3 months, 2 week and 1 day earlier

Kells was on a downward spiral and everyone could see it but no one knew what to do. No one knew why though. Any time someone attempted to talk to him, to try and help him, he’d bite their head off and say he was fine. You hadn’t tried to talk to him, though. You knew him well enough to know that trying to talk to him was pointless and you didn’t particularly feel like being yelled at by him. Everyone else was finally starting to get the hint and everyone was avoiding him like the black plague. It was going to be pretty hard for everyone to pretend he didn’t exist when their American tour began in 2 weeks. 3 months, a tour bus and a bunch of hotels meant being in each other’s pockets on a daily basis. 

You were thankfully not going because as just a friend in the group, with no part in the band, tour or managerial capacity, you don’t have to go. Sure you miss your friends when they’re all away on tour but you and Colson have an unspoken agreement that while he’s away on tour, you have free reins on his massive house in the Hollywood Hills. Sort of like a house sitter without the pay and you don’t have to spend the night every night if you don’t want to. You usually do though. 

Colson always ensures the fridge and pantry are stocked with your favourite snacks and sodas. His big ass flatscreen is connected to all the streaming services and well as the latest gaming consoles. Not to mention the very large heated pool in his backyard that overlooks the city. The guest room, just down the hallway from the master, is about the same size as your apartment. A large king size bed sits in the middle of the room, a small sofa in front of the tv mounted on the wall opposite, a large window bench seat that overlooks the small garden below and a walk-in wardrobe that puts your pocky closet to shame. 

Colon ensures your favourite candles are scattered around the room to make you feel more at home. He always teases you about your candle obsession but that doesn’t stop him from feeding into it. You secretly think he loves them too but is too macho to admit it. You always catch him inhaling deeply whenever he steps into your apartment.

Being at Colson’s house is the reset from your life that you need sometimes, you hadn’t realised how much you relied on it until the thought of it not happening becomes a big possibility.

Ashleigh had been nervous about going on tour for months now, ever since Colson’s antics became more extreme, bit by bit. You weren’t overly surprised by her desperate phone call a few weeks before the tour, inviting you over to her house for a chat. She confided in you a lot more than anyone else because she knew anything she said to you would stay between the two of you. 

At the beginning, the spiral was pretty on par with Colson’s usual antics. Drinking, way too much weed, partying. After a few weeks though, the group began to get worried. He kept upping the ante. Drinking to the point of a buzz became drinking until he blacked out. Weed turned into trying to buy pills at 3am in downtown Hollywood and getting arrested because the ‘dealer’ was an undercover cop. Luckily the record labels lawyers were able to talk the cops down to a fine. The partying remained pretty much the same, the parties just went for days and days. 

Everyone was concerned but it didn’t turn into full blown panic until Colson cancelled plans with Cassie. She was due to come during the summer for a month before the next tour began and Colson just…called it off. Cassie was devastated. You still remember the pain in her voice when she called you in tears to tell you. It was heartbreaking. You got straight in your car to go and see Colson and tear him a new one but he was too hammered to even understand what you were saying. He never blows off his daughter. The one time he truly opened up to you, he told you how guilty he feels about how much of her childhood he’s missing out on. That was the first time you felt that pang of overwhelming fear that something was desperately wrong.

You walk straight through Ashleigh’s front door, dying to get out of the California heat. You hear the sound of muffled voices coming from her kitchen. A deep male voice is the most prominent, mostly because he sounds pissed. You don’t recall Ashleigh mentioning having a meeting today so you assume it’s ok for you to interrupt whatever the discussion that’s happening. When you step into the kitchen, everyone stops talking and there’s 4 pairs of eyes on you. Ashleigh looks sympathetic and borderline mortified but the 2 men and woman look less than pleased.

“Hey, Y/N, thanks for coming on such short notice,” Ashleigh says, giving you a small smile.

When you take in the appearance of her guests, you suddenly feel very underdressed in your short linen sundress. Ashleigh looks nervous when she invites you to sit before turning her attention back to the very red looking man in the crisp, definitely expensive suit. His eyes scrutinise you with a terrifying gaze, so intimidating you have to look away after a few seconds.

“Sorry to interrupt, I didn’t know you were in a…meeting?” it unintentionally comes out as a question because the stare of the man is still on you and it makes you unsure.

“You’re late,” the man grumbles and his voice is as commanding as you’d imagined. “Look, I don’t have a lot of time to beat around the bush so let's cut to the chase.”

“Francis,” the woman says with a warning tone and she frowns softly when he finally looks at her. “None of this is her fault, let's remember that shall we?” she gives you an apologetic smile that immediately puts you at ease and suddenly you’re not as intimidated. 

“Fine,” Francis grumbles and you can see him make a strained effort to relax the vein pulsing in his neck. “Colson’s actions lately are making us and frankly our lawyers very nervous. As I’m sure you can understand, normally we’d drop him for not meeting his contractual obligations but with a tour starting in less than 2 weeks that just isn’t a viable option. Many people have spent too much time and money making this happen and we’re not wasting all of that by cancelling.” 

“And you wouldn’t want to disappoint the fans, right?” you interject knowing full well that the thought didn’t even cross their money hungry minds.

“Yes, of course,” he gripes at you and Ashleigh begs you to keep your mouth shut with her eyes. “That’s where you come in,” he points a pudgy finger at you and you grimace internally. “We need you to join them on tour and make sure everything runs smoothly.”

You look at Ashleigh with your jaw on the floor and for the first time since you got there, Ashleigh avoids you. Why would they need you to go on tour to keep Colson in line when that’s Ashleigh’s job? Did she get fired? No way would you replace one of your closest friends just to satisfy some lawyers and record execs. Before you can open your mouth to decline, the woman speaks again.

“We understand that this is a lot to take in and obviously you will need time to think about it-”

“We will need your answer within 48 hours, we have a tour to plan after all Kathy,” Francis interjects and Kathy’s jaw flexes with irritation. You get the feeling Francis interrupts a lot.

“And we will of course pay you for your time, pay for any and all expenses associated with your hotels, food and flights. Once we have your answer we can work out all the finer details but we will give you time to talk it over with Ashleigh and your current employer.”

You blanch internally. As of 3 days ago, you’re actually unemployed after your company decided to make some ‘necessary cutbacks’, translation: layoffs. You hadn’t told any of your friends because even though they never make you feel any less, you know you have a hell of a lot less money than them and this will only make money tighter for you. 

You never want to feel like a charity case with them so you always make sure to pay your own way, never take advantage. Even when you stay at Colson’s house when he’s on tour, you ensure you keep the house clean, collect his mail, water the few plants he has and keep the pool clean. Last time he was gone, you even reorganised his pantry for him. He spent months calling you to ask where certain things were even though everything was labelled.

The suits didn’t stick around for too much longer after their proposal. Ashleigh walks them out and you hear Francis insist that they have an answer within 48 hours, again. You’re tempted to get up and rip into him about how to speak to people but you decide against it when you hear Ashleigh’s reassurances. You know in a way that Ashleigh deals with Colson’s record label more than he does and you don’t want to make the relationship more strained for her. When she comes back to the dining room, you want to stand and envelop her in a hug. Her face just looks defeated. Has she looked that way for long? You feel guilty that you hadn’t noticed that everything going on with Colson has taken a toll on his oldest friend in the world.

“When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?” you ask her, concern lacing your tone. You don’t want to tell her but she looks awful.

“Depends, what month is it?” she tried to make a joke but her face was too exhausted to muster a smile.

“Ash…what the fuck is going on?”

“They…they don’t think I can handle him on my own anymore and to be honest, I don’t think they’re wrong. Between trying to keep him from an early grave, keep his bad publicity out of the media and keep the upcoming tour on track and organised, I’m drowning. I had to send Ashton to stay with my mom so I could work around the clock. The record label wanted some PR lady to take over and I just-I couldn’t let them do that. Not only would Colson flip at the idea of a ‘babysitter’, he would just rebel even harder against whoever they sent and that would make everyone’s lives miserable. They demanded I come up with a solution and I just panicked. I blurted out your name and the plan just formed as I spoke. I’m so sorry to drag you into this but I just thought if it was you, Colson would go easier on you and I’m just…I’m exhausted.”

You convinced Ashleigh to go and lie down for a little bit, to try and catch up on some much needed sleep. You take her phone off her to ensure she’s not disturbed by anyone. You assure her, multiple times, that you’re not upset that she talked the record label into asking for your help. You know she was just trying to protect Colson from a stranger who wouldn’t understand him or what he needs. 

Still, the thought of going on tour makes your stomach twist into knots and a burning sensation begins in your throat. You can honestly say you’ve never had any desire to go on tour with your friends and it has absolutely nothing to do with you using Kells’ house while he’s gone, although that is a huge perk. The thought of going to all those different cities, different time zones, living out of a suitcase, eating nothing but greasy food and living off potato chips and coffee doesn’t appeal to you in any way. Of course, they always come back with wild stories from their time on the road but they also always look completely exhausted and a little irritated with each other. It’s the one time you get to hang out with each of them one on one because none of them like to see each other for at least a week after the tour is over.

The more you thought about it, the more you’d talked yourself out of going. That was until you spent an hour with Ashleigh’s cell. The thing did not shut up. Text messages, emails, phone calls, media updates. The thing was a notification love bomb. There were things about the tour, messages from Francis pressuring her about Colson’s latest behaviours. Rook had to drag him out of his car last night to stop him from driving while half-baked, half drunk and half belligerent about needing a burger at 3am. You can tell by the messages from Francis that Colson is on his last strike when it comes to the law. The last thing that he can afford is to be arrested again. No lawyer would be able to save him from his second arrest in a month.

You know you came into this group because of your friendship with Rook but everyone feels so important to you now that you feel like it’s your duty to help them in any way possible. Everyone has been trying their best to keep Colson in line and everyone up until this point has been struggling. That kind of made you wonder why Ashleigh thought how you getting involved could end any differently than anyone else so far. You make a mental note to ask her that question while you’re making some dinner for her to eat once she wakes up.

You place the spaghetti in a bowl on her bench and cover it in plastic wrap. You leave a post-it note on top of the food with a love heart and tidy your mess up. Once the dishes are done, you put her phone on Do Not Disturb with an hour timer and sneak it onto her bedside table before leaving. You drive in silence, not bothering to connect your phone to your ancient Bluetooth system, because you need your mind to be completely clear. You run through a list of pros and cons in your mind.

Pros: you’d get to spend time with all your favourite people, you’d get to see new cities, you’d actually be a part of a fun tour story instead of just hearing about it after the fact, you’d get to see Colson live in concert every night and see a whole new side to him, you’d make some money out of it.

Cons: tour hasn’t even started and you’re already exhausted by the thought of it, you don’t want to live out of a suitcase, you’d miss your own bed, you need to find a new job which you can’t do on the road, you have bills to pay, you have no one to look after your apartment or collect your mail, you don’t know if you’ll be able to handle spending so much time around Colson.

That last con has you almost calling Ashleigh to decline on the spot. When you first started hanging with Rook’s best friend you developed a crush, bad. Spending time with him was hard because there were all these things you wanted to do or say but you just had to bite your tongue and sit on your hands. Eventually, after pushing your feelings down hard enough, they began to lessen but it took a lot of effort on your part. Watching Colson parade a different woman around every weekend helped but still, it was hard. You’ve made it a point not to spend a lot of one on one time with him in order to keep your feelings in check but going on this tour for the sole purpose of keeping him out of trouble means spending a lot of time with him. 

You think you’ve come to the inevitable conclusion you were pretty sure was always going to be your answer, no, but then Ashleigh’s exhausted face crosses your mind. Your shoulders slump and you take a deep inhale. Pulling your car to a stop out the front of your apartment, you pull your phone out and dial Ashleigh’s number.

“Hey!” she answers on the third ring, sounding much chipper after her nap. “Thank you so much for the spaghetti, it was delicious!”

“Hey, you’re welcome. I wanted to give you my answer so you don’t have to spend the next 48 hours stressing.”

“Oh, please don’t rush on my account. Take your time. Francis gave you 48 hours for a reason, it’s a big decision,” she sounds absolutely terrified.

“I’ll do it.”

“Oh my god! Thank you so much Y/N! I owe you big time. I’ll call Francis straight away so they can organise your contract and pay,” she sounds almost giddy and her enthusiasm begins to rub off onto you.

“I’m just glad I can help alleviate some of your stress. I am worried about how I’m going to tell Kells that I’m coming as his official ‘handler’,” you chuckle but Ashleigh doesn’t laugh along with you.

“I’ll let Kells know you’re coming,” her tone is clipped like she’s annoyed you’d want to let him know yourself but then her voice relaxes a little. “I’m so excited you’re coming hun.”

“Me too,” you agree with a smile. 

You say your goodbyes and hang up the phone, suddenly feeling very unsure about your decision. Maybe you were acting a bit rash but you just can’t stand to see your friends struggling like Ashleigh was. You’re not 100% sure how you’re going to make her life any easier because you haven’t exactly been dealing with Colson like everyone else but you’ll have to just wing it and hope it works out.

Well…here goes nothing.

#colson baker #machine gun kelly #mgk #tickets to my downfall #mgk imagine #ttmdf #colson x reader #colson baker imagine #machine gun kelly imagine #mgk x reader #colson baker x reader #mgkxx #est19xx #machine gun kelly x reader #mgk fanfic #mgk angst

[blueflameart]

To lose another

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 spoilers

Taking care of gojo after the death of geto ☹️

Warnings/notes: implied satosugu x reader, major character death, spoilers, heavy angst, you and gojo take a bath together, sfw

Two drained and dirtied sorcerers slumped their the door of their shared dorm. Clean streaks along their cheeks from previously crying, they turned to look at the pictures and Polaroids along the dresser and their face visibility falls.

The strongest sorcerer turns his body to the dresser completely staring at the photos of when everyone were just first years. No emotion crossed his face, even when his beloved crashed into his back sobbing and tugging at his clothes. Crystal blue eyes close completely as another stream of silent tears fall from his own eyes cleaning the rest of his face.

Gojo turned his body around to hold you close in his arms, he pressed his face on the top of your messy hair, you both stayed like that for a while. The white haired male was the first to look up, completely exhausted he still needed to take of you, because now you really are his one and only. He leads you to the bathroom still holding you close in his arms, keeping your face in his chest as he prepared a bath for the both of you.

No bubbles, No bathbombs, no candles or roses or even music, not even laughter like their used to be, just your sniffles and occasional sobs. Gojo could tell that every time your bottom lip trembled that old memories of him, you and geto.

‘Oh god. Oh god what have I done’

Even in the bath the boy leaned over to pull you to his chest as quickly as possible and finally…finally his own emotions took over him as sobs racked his body and he shook. “I’m so sorry! I killed him! I killed Suguru!” Once again you broke down in sobs, small arms wrapping around his neck as you pulled your knees to your body against his chest, between his legs. His fingers desperately clawing at your body, trying you impossibly closer to him, it wasn’t enough to hurt you, he could never. Never.

It must’ve been ten minutes since but it felt like hours and the both of you couldn’t let each other go, the mere thought of letting go mortified the two of you, almost as if that if one let go they would suffer the same fate as their beloved friend. “You didn’t kill him Satoru, it’s not-not your fault..” fat tears dripped into the cool bath through his beautiful white lashes. Gojo closed his legs around you and buried his face in your hair.

“I’m so sorry Y/n, I’m so fucking sorry-“ chocked whimpers where filling the room, other then that and the drips from the faucet where the only sounds in the room.

“Satoru”

“Satoru it’s not your fault I-I promise. There was no other choice, it’s not like your purposely killed him..”

He moved his head to look you in the eyes, blood shot red and heavy with exhaustion, “We- we talked just for a second… even after what I did, he still smiled at me..! And looked at me with so much love Y/n.. and I took his life.” Your own eyes watered again, staring past him as the image played in your head, you yourself watched the scene when Suguru lost his arm. It truly wasn’t Gojos fault.

It was for the better. The better of the school. The city. The students. The world. The better for You.

Y/n L/n you truly are his one and only.

Damn. Got caught in my emotions during this I had to take a break and cry lmao 😭

I’m sorry for not answering any requests I’ve been so bummed lately and my exams are coming up ☠️

#gojo x reader #gojo satoru #geto x reader #suguru geto #jujutsu x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk x reader #jjk angst #gojo angst #geto angst #god kill me #i’m sorry #itadori x reader #megumi x reader #toji x reader #nanami x reader #choso x reader #mahito x reader #maki x reader #inumaki x reader

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Melaka Mystica (Part 2/3)

November 27, 2023

Notes - This month has been pretty dang good as I got a car, marched in a parade, made Thanksgiving dinner on my own for the first time (and didn't burn anything other than my energy and my mom's only remaining brain cells 😂), but then my uncle's cat, Budweiser (Buddy) who was 17 and I loved as my own, passed away after getting his final fill of turkey. He was an amazing old boy and I'll miss him dearly, but at least he's with the rest of my family, getting all the attention he could ever want! Honestly, though, I'm proud of myself for getting this done before the end of the month with all that happened around me! This is pretty much just 33 pages of me going off the rails at 3am and typing until my hands hurt, but it's worth it in the end! Anyway, I might need to invest in a wrist brace for carpal tunnel at this point 🙈😂

You all are clearly in over your pretty, little heads.

Metal dragged across old bricks, scraping a pile of leaves into a growing heap by the side of the road. As much as Mick hated being relegated to raking the sidewalk outside of her family’s shop, it got her away from the overbearing smell of incense packets and burning sage. Ever since the incident on Halloween, she had been suffering through her days at work. Things at the store had never been difficult for her before Halloween, but if the books Miles had been sending her excerpts of were anything to go by, all of her new problems were partly due to the possession she’d faced. Whatever had possessed her that day had left lingering traces of itself in her, making it damn near impossible for her to get through a workday. Whatever it had been, must have hated sage and incense, which, if she thought about it, made sense as negativity was supposed to be pushed out with a sage cleansing.

Regardless of how often she stepped out to breathe, her headaches only increased when someone would pull an incense stick from the wicker basket by the shop door to see how it smelled. She had tried to use one of the aromatherapy inhalers Carrie had bought her - something the blonde said she used to keep her sinuses clear during the winter if she had a show to perform in - but those only helped so much in the little shop. With customers pulling incense sticks from their packages to smell them properly, teens opening candles or essential oils, and groups of kids on field trips being obnoxious during Carrie’s performances, Mick was ready to down a bottle of Tylenol and pass out.

Thankfully, business had slowed down a considerable amount once Halloween passed. However, there were still the odd tourists coming and going in search of souvenirs and regulars looking for new crystals or a refill of their favorite incense. Once the local schools let out, they would get swarms of children and teenagers alike, pushing and shoving their way into the small store for cheap drinks or snacks. Some days were better than others, where they would get mostly older people coming in for replacement items or wanting a tarot reading. However, there were days when there would be an ignorant, middle-aged person looking to speak with the manager or owner - someone other than some “twenty-something little shit,” as most of them put it. On days like those, Mick wondered why her parents would give her the store if she had to deal with people like that all day. 

Then again, they weren’t entirely retired, and people who knew and loved her parents would sometimes come in asking specifically for them. Mick never minded stepping into the back room and quickly calling either of her parents, asking them to stop by. After Halloween, however, the stress of everything had been too overwhelming. More often than not, Mick wanted nothing more than to call up her parents and give the shop back to them, telling them that she just couldn’t handle it. However, she had managed to fight through the first week of November without having to call her parents for anything more than a friendly visit and felt as though things would get better over time.

Then came the eleventh. Due to Veteran’s Day, the schools were closed, and the city’s parade was set to go through the streets, honoring those who had served in any branch of the military - alive or dead. Parade days meant busy business, and, to her dismay, many of those who had marched through the streets had come to the Coven’s Cottage for a hot cider and some of Mrs Murphy’s homemade cider donuts. With so many different emotions coming at her from everyone who stepped in the door, Mick got overwhelmed quickly. After a sobbing woman and her children came inside, Mick realized she was shaking like a leaf. After sending the girl to the back to calm down, Miles and Carrie were left to fend for themselves while an overwhelmed Mick hid in the break room to cry through the pain of a slaughtering migraine. Once things had calmed down and Mick was able to think properly, Miles convinced the brunette to wave her white flag, and she asked her parents for help. 

Later that night, Mick had Miles and Carrie go home with her as witnesses so that her parents would see that she wasn’t just talking out of her ass. With his previous knowledge of magic, Brady was, understandably, concerned for his daughter’s health and mental well-being and began pacing - showing an anxious, overthinking side of the man that none of the young adults had seen before. On the other hand, while Mack had no magical ties of her own, the woman was determined to find a way to help her only child, looking into books and articles that could help cleanse Mick of any lasting effects from her possession. After sitting the older couple down once more and having them take the time to read over some of the things Miles and Carrie had found in their research for Mick, Mack and Brady agreed to put their daughter on lighter duty at their family shop, resuming their original positions as co-owners.

While the slightly lesser traffic in the shop and her parents helping out made things a bit easier on Mick’s headaches, she still felt physically drained just sitting in her family’s shop. Unlike Vivien or Royce, she didn’t have the ability to say her lungs were tight when someone tried to light sage or incense or claim her blood pressure was acting out whenever she got dizzy sitting at the register. In reality, with her parents and friends hovering almost every day, she was forced to get out and walk around town more frequently, giving her some fresh air. However, on days when the air outside was sitting in the forties, and the wind was like a cruel slap to the face, Mick despised being sent outside. She knew that, all too soon, the air would be too cold to breathe without a scarf over her face, and the ice on the ground would make it too difficult to make it from one place to another without slamming into the sidewalk, but that didn’t make her appreciate the moderately chilly autumn. 

Heaving a huff of frustration as a nearby car barrelled down the street to beat a changing traffic light, the icy breeze dragging off of the vehicle and scattering her hard work into the wind, and Mick rolled her eyes. She was sick of raking meaningless piles of leaves, sick of being pushed aside and asked to do menial tasks just because she had a hard time sitting around in the shop. She could have been doing so much more to help out around the shop! She could organize the storage room, put new stock out on the shelves, or help give aura readings or something - anything! She was so tired of being useless to everyone she cared about.

With a shake of her head, Mick sucked in a breath and sighed before turning back toward the shop. The bell above the door chimed - a replacement for the cackling witch sound they had put up for Halloween - and Mick leaned the rake against the wall by the door before tugging her gloves and hat off and shoving them into the pockets of the maroon, fleece-lined coat her parents had bought her years ago. The pocket zippers had been melted open after she had unceremoniously tossed the coat in front of the heater once, the faux fur lining around the hood was slightly matted after having used it for so many frigid winters, and the elastics in the cuffs of the sleeves had lost their grip a long time ago, but the coat kept her warm and, to Mick, that was all that mattered.

The smell of burning sage filled the small shop, and although Mick would have usually taken a big whiff of it to calm herself, she refrained as a woman with a bag of incense sticks stepped around her to leave. As Mick ditched her coat on the rack behind the counter, she stepped up behind her mom and pressed a kiss to the woman’s cheek before taking a caramel from the dish on the counter and making her way to the back room to see if Miles and Carrie were on their breaks yet. Instead of finding the pair curled up on the couch, talking through the entirety of their break, Mick found her dad sitting in her usual chair, a cup of something in one hand and his phone in the other.

Smiling to herself as she decided to make her presence known, Mick asked, “What happened to doing a tarot reading for Mrs Anderson?”

Looking up from his device with a grin, Brady replied, “She got what she wanted and left already.”

“Let me guess,” Mick began as she perched herself on the armrest of her dad’s chair, “she thought her husband was cheating again and wanted to see if it was her sister or the new neighbor?”

“Almost,” Brady chuckled, placing his phone on his leg as he handed Mick his drink for her to try. “She thought it could be the mailman.”

Grateful she hadn’t taken a sip of her father’s drink, Mick let out a bark of laughter, “She thought Mr Anderson - the pastor of their church - was having an affair with her husband?”

Brady hummed, nodding in confirmation as he rhetorically asked, “Who doesn’t she accuse her husband of cheating with?” 

Mick snickered as she handed her father his drink, “Ironic from the woman who has been divorced five times because of her cheating.”

With a shrug, Brady said, “It’s not our place to judge.”

“True.”

After taking a sip of his drink, Brady said, “Your mom and I are heading out early to meet with some friends from school who are back in town for the week. Do you think you, Miles, Carrie, and the kids can handle the shop until closing?”

Nodding, Mick smiled at the idea as she said, “Yeah, of course. We handled it for months on our own before.”

Groaning at the twinge of pain that had grown familiar in his lower back, Brady regretted all of the reckless things he had done in his teen years as he pushed himself out of his chair. Despite only recently turning forty, his body felt as though it belonged to someone nearing eighty. Brady suppressed a grimace as he stretched before turning to his daughter and saying, “That was before you were possessed by ancient magic.”

Taking in a deep breath, Mick slowly nodded in understanding. Regardless of how much she despised how easily that was everyone’s excuse for giving her lighter tasks, Mick understood where they were coming from. If what happened to her had happened to anybody else in her immediate circle, she would have acted the same. Offering her dad a slight grin, Mick allowed him to lean down and press a kiss to her forehead before saying, “I get it, but honestly, I’m doing pretty well today.”

“Good,” Brady mused. “Try to keep it that way.”

“I will,” Mick claimed as the door to the basement opened, allowing Miles and Carrie to come in.

Brady hummed appreciatively before turning toward the young couple with a smile, “Did you two find that book I told you about?”

“We did,” Carrie said, offering the man her signature smile as Miles held up the thick hardcover book. “Do you really think it’ll help the kids?”

“It should,” Brady stated. “I didn’t get much use out of it, as you know, but it’s been in the family for many generations. If it helped them, why not let the kids use it?”

Miles nodded as he examined the book. The leather bindings were worn and peeling, the spine flexible yet delicate, and it smelled of an old library book that had been left on the shelves for a couple hundred years, but the pages were still crisp, and the ancient calligraphy was very clearly legible. While on the outside, the book certainly looked aged and well-loved, the pages still read as clear as day, making Miles question if it had some sort of protection charm that stood the test of time. Grinning to himself, Miles fleetingly wondered if the book in his hands was the origin of people saying not to judge books by their covers.

Lifting his gaze to meet Brady’s, Miles spoke, “Thanks again, Mr Birch. I know the kids would be interested in diving into actual spells and potions.”

Brady waved him off, “It’s not like I’m getting any use out of it, Miles. However, I do suggest asking your mother to help them with anything involving baking.”

“She is one of the best bakers in Salem,” Mick mused. 

Before Brady could say anything more, the back room opened, and his wife’s head poked inside. “I hate to interrupt,” Mack began, “but it’s almost two, Brady.”

Heaving a sigh, Brady clapped his hands and said, “Well, duty calls, kids.”

As her husband gathered his belongings, Mack asked, “Mick, honey, are you going over to Miles’ house after work?”

“I was thinking about it,” Mick shrugged. “The kids wanted to work on some beginner-level potions.”

“Are you staying for dinner?” Brady asked.

“She’d better,” Miles said before Mick could answer. “My mom said she’s making pizza casserole.”

Mick snickered, “I guess I’m staying for dinner then.”

“Alright,” Mack said with a smile, “well, we’ll be back home around six or seven to watch the eclipse if your father can get his butt in gear.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Brady claimed as he pulled his coat around his shoulders. Leaning down, Brady kissed the top of his daughter’s head before whispering to her, “Bring me back some of that casserole.”

“I will,” Mick said with a grin.

“You don’t need any casserole, Brady,” Mack claimed with a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips. “We’re going out to Hanna Devine’s.”

Brady’s expression said it all. Unlike most of the little bistros and restaurants in the city, Hanna Devine’s was a large building on the corner of a busy street that charged prices through the roof for a portion barely significant enough to qualify as a meal. Between the hassle of finding a parking spot and the extensive waitlist for a single table, the restaurant was usually only inhabited by insane people who didn’t mind paying forty dollars for a small piece of steak or twenty-five bucks for a side order of steamed vegetables. Despite attempting to get his point across with a pleading look, Brady found his wife’s piercing gaze and quickly schooled his expression as he sighed, “Yes, ma’am.”

Rolling her eyes with a smile, Mick turned her gaze back to her daughter and said, “If there’s enough, bring us both back some. Chances are, we’ll still be hungry when we leave.”

Making his way to the door of the room, Brady beamed, “This is why I love you.”

“Because I let you get leftovers?” Mack questioned as Brady kissed her cheek. “What about when we got married or when I had to endure nine months of Mick’s punches to my bladder?”

“Of course I loved you then,” Brady stated. “It’s just that I really wanted that casserole.”

“And because I let you have it,” Mack slowly stated, “that’s your primary reason for loving me now?”

As Brady floundered, scouring his mind for something to say, Mick snickered, “Way to word things, Dad.”

“Good luck getting out of that one,” Carrie chuckled.

“There’s a store you can stop at on the way to Hanna’s that sells shovels since you seem to be in a hurry to dig your own grave, Mr Birch,” Miles said with a grin.

“None of you are helping!” Brady exclaimed, looking around at the three young adults with a gleam in his eyes that begged for them to shut up.

Choosing to end her husband’s struggle, Mack snickered, patting him on the arm fondly, “I’m just screwing with you. Now, come on, let’s get on the road before school gets out, and we’re stuck behind eight different buses.”

With a sigh of relief, Brady relaxed, turning back toward the kids with a small smile as he said, “Be good, remember to lock up the shop, and please, for the love of all things holy, remember to bring us back some casserole if there’s any left.”

As Mick gave her dad a mock salute, Miles chuckled, “We’ve got everything under control.”

“Enjoy your dinner with friends,” Carrie said, offering the older couple a wave as they left the room. Once the door was closed, the blonde turned to Mick with a smile and asked, “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fine, for once,” the brunette replied. “I haven’t had any headaches since this morning when the trash truck came, and I’ve gotten through most of the day without needing to step out.”

“That’s good,” Miles said thoughtfully as he set the book for the kids on the couch. “Do you feel up to taking the register until closing?”

Eager to feel useful again, Mick quickly nodded as she said, “Yeah, of course. Are you going to restock or are you going to pick up the kids?”

Checking his watch, Miles said, “I’ll probably pick them up. If I get there early and find their bikes, I’ll put them on the rack before the bell rings.”

Leading the way to the main room of the shop, Mick mused, “Soon, they’ll be needing a ride every day.”

“Especially since it snowed two nights ago,” Miles sighed as he rounded the counter.

“Don’t mention that word,” Carrie said with a shiver. “I was hoping it would hold off until Christmas or something and then never come back.”

“Wishful thinking,” Mick snorted.

Carrie sighed as she slumped against the counter, resting her chin in the palm of her hand, “At least we’re not supposed to get any more for a while.”

“When did you hear that?” Mick wondered.

Tugging her phone from her pocket and unlocking it, Carrie swiped around for a moment before showing her friend her weather app. “My phone says the next week or so is clear.”

Mick examined the weather listing before tapping on the screen, “We’ve got rain on Saturday and Wednesday, though. That can become snow if it gets cooler out.”

“But the app says it’s just rain,” Carrie said hopefully.

“It’s New England,” Miles chuckled as he zipped up his jacket. “The forecast lies.”

Carrie let out a resigned sigh, “I know, but I’m staying as optimistic as possible.”

“Good luck with that,” Miles muttered, his breath brushing across Carrie’s cheek as he leaned in for a kiss. “Do you guys want anything while I’m out?”

“A million dollars,” Mick joked.

“Weathermen who won't lie,” Carrie added.

“A will to live.” 

“Magical powers.”

Glancing between the pair, Miles sighed and rolled his eyes, “I meant things I can pick up from the gas station.”

“Ah,” Carrie breathed. “In that case, I’ll take some cherry Twizzlers.”

“I guess I’ll take some cheesy popcorn,” Mick said with a grin.

“Puffcorn or Smartfood?” Miles asked.

“Smartfood,” Mick said before thanking her friend.

“Weirdos,” Miles mused as he typed in their requests on his phone, knowing the pair would be sharing snacks in no time.

“Proud of it,” the two girls said in startling unison before turning to each other and laughing.

With a shake of his head and a fond smile, Miles pulled his keys out of his pocket and headed out the door, passing the shop’s picture windows on his way to his Jeep. Smiling to herself, Mick turned her attention to the music playing over the store’s speakers, switching the radio station to one she knew both she and Carrie enjoyed. As something other than smooth jazz filled the shop, Carrie bopped her head to the beat with a smile before turning her gaze to Mick once more. 

The last two weeks had felt like an eternity. She had watched Mick struggle the first couple of days - the brunette unable to pull herself out of her thoughts. Carrie had spent some time talking things over with Mick during that time, listening to her ramble nonsensically about all that had happened to her and all the struggles she faced. The first two days, Mick had been in a daze, operating on a repetitive cycle out of habit more than anything. Carrie spent a lot of time helping at the register as Mick would often stare off into space or lock herself away in the back room due to headaches. The first few days were difficult as Mick asked people to give her time to think and process, but it seemed to everyone that she had closed herself off from everything and everyone. 

Mick’s relationships with everyone who was there that night had grown strained in that time - the only ones not suffering being Butchy and Lela, as they were only there for the aftermath. Whilst saying they hadn’t always gotten along well in school was an understatement, Carrie and Mick had grown close after Miles started dating the blonde. Over time, a bond had formed, but after Mick’s possession, Carrie could feel the distance between them growing once more. Everyone could. Though the brunette never outright pushed anybody away, they all knew she had come close to it more than once.

Carrie had never seen Mick so despondent and detached as she was in those first days. It took Miles climbing the tree in the Birch family’s backyard and climbing in through Mick’s window for her to begin talking to anyone who had been there. Understandably, Miles was the first person she opened up to as they had always been inexplicably close, but then she opened up to Carrie, and the blonde got to see more of the girl’s inner thoughts laid out before her like a jigsaw puzzle.

The strain Mick felt was palpable. Her hurt was nearly insurmountable, the stress was overwhelming, and the pain she felt whilst reliving and retelling her side of things was evident in her eyes. It took just shy of a week before Mick felt comfortable having the kids around her again. The thought that whatever was left in her might come back to hurt the kids had plagued her night and day, but after hearing that Vivien blamed herself for the older girl being distant, Mick forced herself to meet with them in the Common. They sat on opposite sides of the pavilion Saturday night, Mick asking Miles to tie her to the table with a scarf to keep her from hurting anybody, and that was the first time Carrie felt like crying about Mick’s situation. The thought that the bubbly, doting brunette was so afraid of hurting the kids made Carrie saddened and sick at the same time. Mick didn’t deserve to be scared of every move she made.

By the end of their conversation that night, things had begun to heal, but anyone who knew them could still feel the remnants of strain between Mick and Vivien. Things were slowly getting better between them, but Carrie quickly took note of the wistful glimpses Vivien would sneak of the older girl. Though Carrie, like everyone else, was sure things would return to normal - or some semblance of it, at the very least - she knew it would take time. 

Listening to Mick hum along to the radio, Carrie glanced around to guarantee the shop was empty of customers before clearing her throat and asking, “Speaking of magical powers, I heard that Vivien was trying to find a way to give you some the other day.”

Brown eyes lifted from Mick’s phone and fleetingly met Carrie’s azure gaze before Mick shrugged and returned her focus to her phone, “She was, yeah.”

“I think it’s sweet that she’s trying so hard.”

To Carrie’s chagrin, Mick only shrugged again, “I guess so, but I wish she wouldn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Carrie questioned. “I thought you wanted powers like theirs?”

“That was before I was possessed,” Mick admitted, meeting Carrie’s gaze once more. “I would have done anything for some magic back then.”

“But now?”

“Now I’m scared to even think about having magic.”

Carrie’s smile faltered at the weight of Mick’s statement. In a way, she should have expected that to be Mick’s answer, but in reality, she hadn’t thought about it from the brunette’s perspective. Vivien had gone to Carrie looking for help researching how to give someone magic, and although the pair had spent hours scouring through old books filled with runes and spells and potions, they hadn’t found anything that would allow Vivien to do what she wanted to.

Attempting to appear unfazed, Carrie asked, “How come? With your family’s long, magical bloodline, I would’ve throught you’d want to follow them.”

“I did,” Mick sighed, setting her phone aside in favor of the conversation at hand. “I wanted it more than anything. But now that I know how dangerous I could be if I let power get to my head, I’m sort of glad my dad cut off the line when he did.”

Taking in a slow breath, Carrie asked, “That really bothered you, huh?”

Mick hummed with a nod, “It’s hard to act as though it doesn’t, but I’m trying. I just-” Mick cut herself off with a sigh, “I wish I never read that damn book.”

“What-?”

Before Carrie could get anything more out, Mick cut her off, “If I’d never read that book, I wouldn’t have to live with constant headaches or people looking at me like I’m made of glass or everyone acting as though they need to walk on fucking eggshells around me!” Stopping to take in a breath, Mick ran her hands over her hair before sighing, “What hurts the most is living with the fact that all of this is my fault.”

Though Carrie didn’t want to push her luck with Mick, she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “How on earth is any of this your fault?”

“If I hadn’t tried to weasel my way into magic,” Mick began slowly, meeting the blonde’s gaze with nothing but sincerity in her caramel eyes, “we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“It wasn’t like you read the book on purpose,” Carrie offered. “Even Butchy said that Casper knocked it over and you just read the first page you came across.”

“He’s right,” Mick confirmed, “but that doesn’t change the fact that, if I hadn’t made the black flame candle or been so determined to give myself magic, none of this would have happened.”

Carrie sighed, placing a hand on Mick’s arm in the hope that it offered the girl some semblance of comfort, “You don’t know that for a fact.”

“That’s just it,” Mick said, a dry, humorless chuckle falling from her lips as her exhausted brown eyes found Carrie’s vibrant blue, “I do.”

“Have a great night,” Royce said as he handed a paper bag to the last customer of the day. He didn’t know how Miles and the girls could handle working there all day, dealing with people in various moods, and handling children being generally obnoxious; he could only handle it for a few hours without wanting to leave. He didn’t mind most of the people who came and went, but there were a select few who were just pure negativity. While Mondays were usually slow in the shop, Royce was surprised to find the clock already ticking over to five as he looked up at the clock. Maybe the time had flown because he, Bentley, and Vivien had the chance to get their homework done between customers for once. Or, as Miles had teasingly suggested, it was due to the fact that he kept watching Vivien help people find crystals.

Royce discretely rolled his eyes at the thought - of course, Miles would tease him for something so small. It was payback for when Royce teased the shit out of Miles when he got with Carrie. Although Miles kept his relationship with Carrie under wraps from their mom, he hadn’t been so lucky when it came to his brothers. At first, his relationship with Carrie was nonexistent, but after a little over a year of them being together and seeing their mom gradually grow to enjoy having the blonde around, Royce found himself not minding Carrie nearly as much as he had initially. Now that he got along alright with Carrie, it was easier to tease Miles about the relationship, ironically giving Miles the right to tease him about Vivien in return.

It wasn’t like Miles and Bentley hadn’t teased him about his fondness for Vivien long before Carrie came into the picture, but it seemed as though Miles felt the situation evened out the playing field. It made sense in a way. Not only was Vivien one of his best friends, but everyone around them knew he had a thing for her. It wasn’t exactly a secret. In a way, he was sure Vivien knew as well, but he couldn’t tell how she felt on the matter. She never pushed him away - it wasn’t in her nature to anyway - but she also never acted upon what was going on. If she felt anything toward him, she never said, but then again, he never really did either. All he knew was that he adored her and, regardless of her feelings toward him, he would care about her until she told him to do otherwise.

Tearing his gaze away from Vivien once more as the door clicked shut, the bells tinkling a final farewell, Royce took in a deep breath and looked around the store for his younger brother. Almost on cue, Bentley pushed himself from his seat on the floor where he’d been reading comic books and scurried to the door, flipping the lock into place with a smile. Turning back to his brother and Vivien, the blond excitedly asked, “Is it potion time now?”

Chuckling as Royce tugged the cash register drawer from its confines, Vivien nodded, “I think it is.”

Setting the drawer on the shelf under the register, Royce leaned against the counter and asked, “Why don’t you go back and tell them that the lady finally left and that we can leave?”

Sending his brother a mock salute, Bentley beamed and set his comic book on the counter before saying, “Sir, yes, sir,” and taking off for the back room, the door swinging back and forth upon his departure. Royce shook his head, sighing as Bentley disappeared. For the greater part of the last week, he’d been subjected to Bentley’s ramblings on potions and which ones he was willing to make. While Royce was glad his younger brother was excited, he sort of wished it wasn’t the only thing they talked about when nobody else was around.

Vivien chuckled, leaning against the counter with a smile, “You know, I think it’s pretty cool that he’s so interested in all this witchy stuff.”

“Yeah, it is,” Royce agreed with a nod. Taking in a breath, Royce began sorting the money from the cash register as Vivien picked up the logbook and started writing down how many of each bill they had. As he finished with the twenties and set them aside, Royce turned to Vivien and asked, “Wait, didn’t you say something earlier about a magic thing you needed to talk about?”

Penciling in the number of bills Royce had counted, Vivien glanced up and nodded, “I did, but let’s finish this first and we’ll talk with the others about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.”

Despite his visible skepticism, Royce gave the brunette a slight nod and said, “Alright, if you’re sure.”

Vivien nodded her confirmation before urging Royce to continue counting. By the time they were done and the money was put into the safe under the register, the shop’s speakers had been turned off, and the streetlamps outside were on, moths fluttering around them and casting shadows on the sidewalk. Closing the safe and locking it, Vivien followed Royce to the back room where Mick and Miles were debating whether the herbs they had received in the latest shipment should be placed with the hanging herbs or ground and placed with the jars of herbs while Bentley talked Carrie’s ear off on the couch. As Royce latched the swinging door to keep it from moving, Mick paused in her tirade, glancing over at the young pair as they entered the room.

Sensing Mick’s gaze as the conversations in the room stalled, Vivien slowly turned in the older girl’s direction, raising a hand in a wave as she spoke, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Mick returned as Miles dropped the issue in favor of observing the interaction. Vivien and Mick hadn’t talked often since Halloween, and although Miles had encouraged both of them to step up and put in the effort, his advice seemed to go in one ear and out the other as the two danced on eggshells around each other. After Miles nudged his longtime friend, encouraging her to put in a bit more effort, Mick smiled and said, “I like your hoodie.”

Vivien glanced down and allowed herself to grin. Her blue and yellow hoodie had been bought off of Etsy and was embroidered with a subtle nod toward the most recent Five Nights at Freddy’s game - a small logo for the Security Breach’s daycare declaring Vivien as a staff member. She had bought more than just the one hoodie from the Etsy shop, blasting her way through most of her first official paycheck as she bought one of each of her favorite characters’ fleece hoodies and matching sweatpants. Despite her love of the game, Vivien had chosen to take the more discreet route in choosing her outfit for the day, keeping things moderately simple to avoid unnecessary attention. Although her hair had covered the design for most of the day, she had pulled her hair back while counting the money, so it seemed only fitting that the one person who had gotten her interested in the franchise was also the one to notice the detail. 

Lifting her head, Vivien smiled and began indirectly quoting the game, “I figured we could finger paint, tell some stories, maybe drink some Fizzy Fazz until our heads explode, and then stay up all night.”

“As fun as that sounds,” Carrie began, “I would much rather we keep our heads intact, thank you very much.”

Sighing as she theatrically rolled her eyes, Vivien huffed, “You’re no fun!”

Mick let out a slight snicker, “As long as we keep the lights on, I doubt any of us will lose our heads.”

As Vivien snorted, dissolving into giggles at Mick’s hinted joke, Carrie glanced between the pair and said, “I’m just going to assume that’s something from the game.”

“It is,” Bentley confirmed.

“And you’re not missing much,” Miles added as he crossed the room to gather his belongings.

“Just a murderous animatronic daycare attendant who hunts you down and kills you if you turn the lights off,” Royce finished with a smirk aimed at the blonde, “that’s all.”

“That’s all?” Carrie echoed, mildly concerned that they had all found an interest in such a game. Attempting to process the thought as both Royce and Bentley nodded in confirmation, Carrie’s eyes widened slightly before closing as she shook her head and sighed, “I don’t know how you can find that entertaining.”

“You would if you played it,” Vivien chuckled. 

“Doubtful.”

Choosing to steer the conversation away from the topic at hand, Miles leaned against the armrest of the couch and tucked his hands into his pockets as he said, “Anyway, does anyone need to grab anything before we go?”

Despite the others shaking their heads, Royce said, “Viv said she wanted to talk about something after closing.”

Though she hated the feeling of having everyone’s eyes on her, Vivien was surprisingly calm as she nodded, “I did, yeah.”

“What’s up?” Bentley asked as he moved to sit criss-cross on the couch.

Taking a deep breath as Mick pulled a chair out from the table they usually ate lunch at on weekends and sat down, Vivien thought back to her time at school as she said, “I was on my way to the vending machine at school and I ran into Serena.”

“How is she doing now that she and that other girl have gone their separate ways?” Carrie asked.

“Yeah,” Mick began, “are they leaving you guys alone now?”

“I mean, yeah, but that’s not the point,” Vivien said. “The point is, when I went to walk around her, she grabbed my arm and it was like the whole school lost color.”

Curiously, Miles’ head tipped to the side as he asked, “Like the lights went out?” 

“I didn’t notice anything,” Bentley mentioned.

“No, not like that,” Vivien sighed. Taking a moment to think of something to compare it to, Vivien gestured to the group as she spoke, “Okay, do you guys remember that scene from Harry Potter where Harry meets Dumbledore in the limbo version of the train station and there’s that creepy Voldemort thing under the bench?”

As everyone began nodding, Mick asked, “After Voldemort tried killing him in the forest?”

Vivien nodded, “Exactly. Serena held my arm and the whole school looked like that. Then, when I looked back at her, she was standing in some kind of glass case, banging on the walls and screaming.”

As though Vivien had unplugged a hidden speaker, the room grew silent. Carrie’s sapphire eyes flickered to Mick before landing back on Vivien as Mick’s chocolate eyes flitted down to the floor. Miles took in the seriousness and sincerity in Vivien’s face before moving his gaze onto Mick, wondering to himself if what Vivien described was something she had seen two weeks prior. As Bentley searched Vivien’s face for any sign that she was joking, Royce took a seat beside his younger brother. 

Looking up at Vivien, the middle Murphy brother asked, “Is that why you looked so pale when I found you?”

“That’s part of it,” Vivien nodded. “My blood pressure was low anyway, but the whole Serena thing didn’t exactly help.”

Miles uncrossed his arms as he asked, “How are you now?”

“I’m fine, but that’s not what matters right now,” Vivien sighed. “After Serena let me go, everything around us went back to normal, but there was something about her that just felt off to me.”

Cautiously, Carrie asked, “Like what?”

“Like she wasn’t herself,” Vivien explained. 

“She’s always kind of snarky and rude,” Royce mused with a roll of his eyes.

Vivien nodded, “Well, yeah, but there was this sort of direct, emotionless, borderline-cold tone under it all. It was kind of like - well, I don’t know, actually. It’s hard to describe.”

For the first time since Vivien explained what her interaction with Serena was like, Mick spoke, her tone soft but tense as she asked, “Sort of like she was in the car, but someone else was at the wheel?”

Vivien’s head turned, slowly finding Mick’s form as the brunette’s head lifted, her dark eyes finding Vivien’s with relative ease. Taking in the older girl’s expression, Vivien took in a breath and slowly nodded as she muttered, “Yeah.”

Although the room had grown tense, Carrie scooted to the edge of her seat and attempted to smile as she suggested, “That doesn’t mean Serena’s possessed. She could be having trouble at home or something; that can change someone’s behavior.” 

“But what about the vision Viv saw?” Bentley asked.

Before Carrie could answer, Mick spoke again, “From what I remember, I never gave anybody visions.”

“You didn’t,” Miles confirmed with a slight shake of his head, “but that doesn’t rule it out entirely.”

Trying to offer something other than the worst possible scenario, Carrie stood from the couch and made her way to the growing pile of books the kids had left by the bookshelf as she said, “What if it’s something different entirely?”

“Like what?” Royce asked sarcastically. “It sounds a lot like Serena is possessed.”

“And maybe she is,” Carrie said as she began pulling books from the pile and setting them aside. Taking a book from the stack with a smile, Carrie held it up for the others to see as she asked, “But what if there’s a different way to go about this? That way, we don’t have to go about doing another exorcism.”

“What do you have in mind?” Mick asked as Carrie began flipping through the old, worn book.

“My first thought was astral projections,” Carrie confessed. “I’ve been looking through some of these books to see if I could figure out how the kids’ abilities could branch into other forms of magic over time and training, but the only one to offer any help was this one.”

Peering over the blonde’s shoulder as the pages flicked by, Vivien asked, “What did you find?”

Carrie hummed until she found the proper page, pointing to an extensive paragraph as she began reading aloud, “‘Astral projection, also known as astral travel or out-of-body experience, is the practice of separating one’s consciousness from their physical body and traveling to the astral realm. The astral realm is said to be a non-physical realm that exists parallel to the physical world, where energy and consciousness exist in a different form. In this realm, one can explore different planes of existence, communicate with spirits and other entities, and gain a deeper understanding of themselves and the universe. Some records in history suggest that witches as far back as medeival times used these projections to communicate with others possessing the same abilities. One of the most infamous records of astral projection was written by a supposed witch who was later hung for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. The document speaks of witches talking to one another on another plane of existence, warning other accused witches of what was to come.’”

Following along as best as she could over Carrie’s shoulder, Vivien said, “That could be what happened.”

“It sounds like it,” Bentley mused.

“I would prefer that over having to deal with another possessed person roaming through Salem,” Mick piped up.

“Hang on,” Royce began as he stood from his seat. “What if it’s both?”

“Both?” Miles asked.

Royce nodded, “What if the real Serena is possessed, but she’s projecting to Vivien as a way of asking for help?”

After a moment of silence passed over the room, Mick said, “That makes sense. When I was possessed, it felt like I was trapped inside myself. The real Serena being trapped inside a glass box is sort of fitting.”

“So,” Bentley drawled as he glanced around at everybody, “what do we do about it?”

“We could lure her to the church,” Miles offered.

“No, we can’t,” Mick sighed. “Most of the churches in the area are either having meetings for Thanksgiving food donations or hosting events tonight.”

“How did you find that out?” Royce asked with a raised eyebrow.

“My parents were going to use one of the dining halls for their school reunion,” Mick shrugged.

“Alright,” Vivien breathed. “Where else could we take her?”

“What about a cemetery?” Carrie suggested. “Those are hallowed ground, right?”

“Yeah, because nothing screams serial killer quite like luring someone to a cemetary after dark,” Royce snipped, earning himself a nudge to the ribs from Bentley.

“How about we lure her to our house?” Miles offered.

“Are you insane?” Bentley asked as everyone else began arguing over the thought. “Not only would it be stupid to bring a possessed witch to our house, but Mom’s home tonight. If Serena tries to fight us, we can’t fight back in front of her.”

“Hear me out,” Miles began. Once the room was quiet once more, he continued, “Because mom bakes a lot, she’s got a ton of salt in the pantry. If we go around the house and put up a salt ring to protect ourselves inside the house, Serena can’t touch us.”

“Her magic would bounce off,” Mick said thoughtfully. 

Miles nodded, “Exactly.”

Once the concept had settled within everyone’s minds, Royce spoke up, “How are we going to get her there?”

Before Miles could come up with anything, Carrie gestured between Vivien and Royce as she asked, “Do either of you share a class with her that has a test coming up; something that would require a lot of notes for?”

Vivien shook her head, “We both have science with her, but we don’t have any tests until next Friday.”

“I have geography with her,” Royce sighed. “We’ve got a test on Thursday for the semester’s closing grades.”

“Well,” Carrie began, a devilish smile tugging at her glossy lips, “you could text her and say that you have a bunch of notes for the test that she can use if she needs them.”

“How would that draw her in?” Miles wondered.

“Normally, it wouldn’t,” Vivien explained, “but if she is possessed, whatever it is won’t know that.”

“Exactly,” Carrie agreed, beaming proudly at the brunette.

Royce thought for a moment before slowly speaking, “So I lure her to the house with geography notes - that much I get - but what do we do after that?”

“We’ll figure it out as we go,” Mick said as she rose from her seat. “For now, let’s gather some protection crystals and get going before we lose our opportunity.”

“What do you suggest?” Carrie asked.

Instead of answering directly, Mick turned to Vivien on her way to the front of the shop and asked, “Vivien?”

“What?” the young brunette asked as she followed Mick to the shop.

With a proud smile, Mick held the door open for the others as she explained, “This is your area of expertise, gremlin; what do you think?”

As a surge of pride coursed through Vivien’s veins, she beamed. Reining herself in, Vivien glanced over the round tables covered in baskets of crystals before humming, “Maybe some black obsidian or malachite to keep toxic energy away, and moldavite for some good luck?”

Royce and Bentley descended on the tables, pulling crystals from their containers and tucking them in their pockets before making their way back to where Vivien and Mick stood. “Anything else?” Bentley asked.

“What about fluorite or citrine?” Royce asked. “You said those are pretty lucky.”

“They are,” Vivien agreed, “but more for personal luck than anything.”

“I think we should be good with what we’ve got,” Mick said. “I have some sage in my car that we can leave on the front steps to ward off any evil intentions.”

“And we’ll have enough salt to keep her out just in case,” Miles agreed as he fished his keys from his pocket.

Clapping her hands together, Carrie smiled as she said, “In that case, let’s hit the road before it gets much darker out.”

Though the others followed Carrie and Miles to the back room to lock up, Vivien stared at the crystals before her, wondering if she had made the right call. Glancing back over her shoulder at the group, Vivien sighed and took a step forward, shoving a small slab of black onyx, a few pieces of smithsonite, and a couple of shards of moonstone into her pocket before turning and following the others out, slipping the lock into place behind her. Trailing behind the others, Vivien picked up the pace, pulling the already locked door closed after grabbing her coat and backpack from the hooks on the back wall and rushing to catch up with the others who had already begun rounding the building. As she tugged on her coat, Vivien allowed Bentley to hold the gate open for her, thanking him as she slung her backpack strap onto her shoulder.

Miles unlocked his Jeep and opened the passenger side doors for his brothers and girlfriend as Mick made her way to the beat-up Volkswagen she had bought from one of the older guys who frequented the shop. Before Viviuen could climb inside the Jeep, Miles closed the door behind Bentley. “Not so fast, kid.”

Looking up at her pseudo-older brother, Vivien raised an eyebrow and asked, “What; are you planning on shoving me in the trunk?”

“Not after last time,” Miles said with a snort. “Look, Ethan left his junk in the back seat this morning and I barely have enough room for the boys as it is.”

Noticing the way Miles refused to look her in the eyes, Vivien sighed, “You just want me to ride with Mick, don’t you?”

Apologetic, icy blue eyes flickered up to meet Vivien’s as the brunette crossed her arms over her chest. “Sorry, mon étoile, but I think she needs you now.”

Slowly tearing her gaze away from Miles and letting her eyes drift onto the older brunette who appeared to be struggling to open her old bus’ driver’s door, Vivien let out a deep sigh, “Fine, but you owe me.”

“I know,” Miles said with a gracious smile, bringing an arm around the girl as he walked her to the back of the Jeep. “Thank you, kiddo.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Vivien brushed off, leaning her head against Miles for a moment before moving out from his hold and making her way to the old Volkswagen just a few parking spaces down. Upon approaching the vehicle, Vivien called out, “Did you lock yourself out again or something?”

Jumping at the sudden voice, Mick looked up and laughed, “For once, no. The doors have been sticking lately because of the cold. Do you think you could climb in through the passenger side and kick it open?”

“Why not just climb in before me and we can go?” Vivien asked, gesturing to the car as Miles started his Jeep.

“I have the door partially open and it won’t stop dinging unless I close it, but how come you’re riding with me?” Mick asked as she let go of the latch. “I thought you’d be riding with Miles and Carrie.”

Vivien shrugged in an attempt to act nonchalant as she rounded the large vehicle and yanked the passenger door open, “Ethan left a bunch of shit in the car, so there’s no room, but I also just wanted to ride with you anyway.”

“You do?” Mick asked as she stepped away from the door, her voice muffled by the thick metal and glass of the car.

“Well, yeah,” Vivien said as she dropped into the driver’s seat and began kicking the door. Once the heavy door popped open, she leaned out to Mick and said, “I feel like we haven’t really hung out since Halloween and I miss you.”

Hoping the younger girl couldn’t see the pain in her eyes as she took her spot in the driver’s seat, Mick spoke softly, “I miss you too, gremlin.”

As the old bus’ engine roared to life and the clunky radio sputtered through static to the first available station, Vivien tugged her seatbelt on and offered the girl to her left a smile as she said, “I’m sort of glad you missed me.”

“You are?” Mick asked as she pulled onto the streets behind Miles’ Jeep. “How come?”

“It felt like you were shutting me out after everything that happened,” Vivien admitted as she watched the shop’s storefront disappear in the rearview mirror.

“I’m sorry,” Mick muttered. “Things have been hard since Halloween.”

“I get it,” Vivien nodded, looking over to the older girl. “Believe me, after almost setting our kitchen on fire the other night, I get it.”

Despite offering the younger girl a laugh, Mick shook her head, “Somehow, I don’t think it’s quite the same.”

Vivien chuckled but took in a deep breath as she admitted, “I get what you mean, though. Things just aren’t the same anymore.”

“They aren’t.”

For a while, the only noise in the car was the radio between them, the sound of Harry Styles’ voice coming through the faint static of the scratchy speakers as his song As It Was began playing just loud enough to be heard over the engine. Vivien tried not to scoff at the irony of the situation, choosing to take in a slow, deep breath as she softly admitted, “Sometimes, I wish we never got magic in the first place.”

Pulling to a stop at a red light, Mick’s dark eyes flitted over to her young friend as she asked, “Why on earth would you want that?”

A ghost of a grin tugged at Vivien’s lips as she turned to Mick and admitted, “If we never got our magic, things never would have changed. The boys and I wouldn’t have to keep secrets from everyone we care about, we would all be able to live normal lives, you never would have been possessed…” taking in a deep breath, Vivien allowed her words to drift off and looked away as she finished, “you and I would still be close.”

“We can be close again,” Mick reminded her as she reached over and took hold of Vivien’s hand. “We can go back to our mall trips and sleepovers and stuff. It’ll just take some time getting there again.”

“I know,” Vivien breathed, squeezing Mick’s hand as she turned back toward the older girl. “It’s just… there are times when I miss just being a normal girl - worrying about prom and grades and friendships instead of having to worry about setting fire to my chemistry lab or summoning some ancient demon because I read a spell wrong.”

Sending the girl a wary look as the light turned green, Mick asked, “You didn’t actually do those things, did you?”

“No,” Vivien laughed as Mick pulled away from the traffic light. “I’m just saying that things were easier before and I sort of miss having that simplicity.”

Nodding in understanding, Mick took in a deep breath and said, “Well, if it means anything to you, I think you guys are doing amazingly. You’ve really come into your powers.”

“Thanks,” Vivien said with a smile. “I just wish I could give you some of it.”

Sending the girl a quick smile as she turned onto Forrester Street, Mick said, “I know you do, gremlin, but I guess some things just aren’t meant to be.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Mick said as she pulled into the driveway behind Miles. “I’ve sort of come to terms with it all.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Vivien offered.

“It is.” As Mick pushed her door open and released Vivien’s hand, she said, “Just know that I’m grateful to be able to watch you and the boys grow into your magic.”

“Thanks, Mickie,” Vivien said with a smile.

Mick nodded before siding out from her side of the car and slamming the door shut, making her way to the front of the vehicle, where Vivien met up with her. Following the others inside through the garage, Royce said, “I texted Serena, and she said she would be over after having something for dinner.”

“That should give us more than enough time to salt the house,” Miles said. 

Bentley hurried up the steps to the door leading inside the house as he said, “I’ll distract Mom if you guys want to start grabbing salt.”

Stepping inside the kitchen, however, the group was surprised to find Dorothea tending to the crock pot on the kitchen counter. The older woman turned to her children and their gaggle of friends with a smile as she spoke, “You’re late.”

“Sorry, Mama,” the Murphy brothers replied on instinct.

Dorothea brushed them off with a slight wave before urging them into the kitchen, “Come get a bowl. I think we’ll eat in the living room tonight. We can watch a movie if you’d like.”

Cautiously stepping up to fulfill his role, Bentley said, “That sounds great, Mama, but can we set aside some food for Mick’s parents first? They’re going to something at Hanna Devine’s, and they said they’d still be hungry later.”

“That’s fine,” Dorothea claimed, glancing over Bentley at the girl in question. “You should know I always make enough for leftovers.”

“Thanks,” Mick said with a smile. 

As soon as the woman turned to pull bowls from the cabinet, Miles grabbed Royce by the wrist and pulled toward the pantry. However, before they could do more than open the door, Dorothea’s voice stopped them, “Not so fast, boys.” Stilling against the door, Miles and Royce shared a startled look before leaning back to see their mother slowly turn back toward them with a knowing look on her face. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Grabbing popcorn for movie night?” Royce offered tentatively.

“No need, I already got it out,” the older woman said, gesturing to the box of microwavable popcorn bags on the counter. “What were you looking for this time? More salt?”

Miles tried to appear as nonchalant as possible as he stammered, “Wh-What? What are you- what do you mean?”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice all of my salt going missing on Halloween,” Dorothea said with a shake of her head. “Or Royce’s laundry not needing to be done at all in the last two weeks, or the cookies in the jar never moving despite the crumbs all over the counter, or Bentley’s chocolate milk magically refilling every morning when I’m not looking.”

Stunned by the woman’s intuition, Bentley’s eyes widened as he slowly turned back toward his mom and asked, “You saw that?”

“I’m not blind, mon âme,” Dorothea told Bentley, a glimmer of something knowingly mischievous in her eyes as she smiled at her youngest. “Even without my own magic, I would be able to figure it out eventually.”

“Your own magic?” Carrie repeated curiously.

“You have magic?” Mick asked.

“That I do, lutin d’eau,” Dorothea said with a nod. “How else would my children have their abilities?”

“My parents don’t have magic,” Vivien said with a shrug.

Sending the young girl a look that made her begin doubting herself, the woman asked, “Are you sure about that?”

Vivien opened her mouth to reply but found the words dying off in her throat as she slowly admitted, “Not anymore.”

“So, wait,” Miles began, “Mom, you’re a witch?”

Dorothea nodded, “Have been since I was about sixteen, yes.”

“And you knew we had magic?” Royce asked.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out,” Dorothea chuckled. “Most people who have had their magic for a while can tell when another magical person is around. The energy is different.”

“What are your powers?” Bentley asked.

Gesturing to the food on the counter, Dorothea claimed, “Most of the time, I use magic in my foods. Before you leave the house, I make breakfast with protection charms or herbs. Before bed, you have some of my special cookies to make you sleep peacefully. I make sure that, no matter what, you are protected and happy while eating the things you like.”

Although every other person looked reasonably impressed with the matriarch’s claim, Miles was the first to ask, “How did we not know?”

“Because it’s all you’ve ever known from me,” Dorothea shrugged as she leaned against the counter. “I wasn’t always a master chef or baker.”

With his jaw practically on the floor, Royce grinned as he asked, “Have you ever spelled us without us knowing?”

“Of course,” the woman replied. “Why do you think I always offered you goodies when you thought you would be in trouble?”

“Those were magic brownies?” Vivien asked, stepping up to the woman and rifling through one of the overhead cabinets before pulling down a glass jar of cookies and brownies. Setting the jar on the counter and pulling a brownie from the jar, she asked, “Can I have one? What will it make me do?”

Curious to see the outcome, Dorothea smirked and gestured for the girl to eat the baked treat, “Why don’t you tell me?”

Vivien eyed the brownie for a moment before quickly taking a bite, keeping anyone from stopping her. As Carrie gasped and Mick and Miles stepped closer, Dorothea raised a hand and shook her head with an amused smile, making them stop in their tracks as Vivien hummed around the brownie, “You always make the best brownies.”

“Thank you,” Dorothea chuckled. 

“No, like, seriously,” Vivien muttered as she swallowed. “I swear, if I ever get married, I would want a giant tray of just your brownies instead of a cake.”

“I’ll be sure to write that down,” the woman said with a smile. “Now, do me a favor and turn toward your friends.”

Not one to disobey the woman, Vivien turned, fluttering the fingers of her free hand in greeting as she took another bite of her brownie, “Now what?”

“Tell me what you think of each of them.”

Glancing curiously at the older woman, Vivien shrugged and swallowed the food in her mouth before allowing her gaze to land on Miles as she spoke, “Miles is the older brother I always wanted but never got. I can always call him if I need help with anything, and he’s supportive of everything I do. If it weren’t for him and Riven, I would be overworking myself constantly and struggling with a lot of mental health issues.”

Despite appearing minutely worried for Vivien as she took a final bite of her brownie, Miles’ expression softened as he asked, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Vivien said, clapping her hands together to rid them of crumbs. “I have a tendency to throw myself into things without any regard for my own well-being, but you always make me step back and think first. Riven helps when he can, but you’re always there for me, sort of like the big brother I always pictured in my head, but never got in real life.”

Before Miles could say anything more, Dorothea nudged the girl and asked, “What about Mick, Carrie, or the boys?”

“Well,” Vivien began, “Mick has known me since I was a baby and has been looking out for me like a sister for as long as I can remember. We used to hang out a lot, but since she was possessed on Halloween, she’s been distant.” Mick’s gaze fell to the old, creaky planks of wood beneath her feet, but she didn’t get much time to think as Vivien said, “I don’t know how to approach her most of the time, but I love her no matter what.” 

Carrie placed a hand on Mick’s arm, sending the brunette a smile as her gaze snapped up to Vivien once more. “We’ll work on it together,” Mick offered.

“I know,” Vivien said. “Anyway, as for Carrie, I wasn’t sure what to think of you growing up because Mick said you were stuck up and prissy, but Miles liked you because you because you got along really well when you worked together on a project. Also, when the town was doing The Wizard of Oz a few years back, I wanted to be Dorothy, but you got the role instead because I was way too young, and I didn’t like that at the time which made me not like you until we started working on the show together and you were actually pretty cool with me. I really like you now and think that you’re a great addition to our little group.”

Despite the evident confusion on Vivien’s face as she finished speaking, Carrie’s signature smile appeared as she thanked the younger girl. Before giving Vivien the chance to ask questions, Dorothea cut in, “What about Bentley? How do you feel about him?”

As though a rubber band had snapped her back into place, Vivien’s gaze landed on Bentley, and she began, “Bentley is a lot like Oliver, and I would protect him with my life if I had to. He’s like this little golden retriever puppy that just showed up in my life one day, and I decided to keep him out of love. Even though he plays it off like no big deal, he’s very talented and is very emotionally intelligent. He knows when someone isn’t feeling right and will go out of his way to help them. He’s been family to me practically my whole life, and I think that, if platonic soulmates are a thing, he’s definitely one of mine.”

Deciding to wrap everything up instead of talking about what Vivien had said, Bentley looked to Royce and gestured to him as he asked, “What about Rolls?”

“Actually,” Dorothea interrupted, placing a hand over Vivien’s mouth before the girl could give more information than she wanted to, “I think that’s enough for now.”

As the woman slowly released Vivien and handed her the glass of water she had been sipping out of while making dinner, Vivien asked, “What was in that thing?”

“That was one of my truth-seeking brownies,” Dorothea claimed. “With a small dose of a potion mixed in the chocolate, one bite would make the one eating it tell the truth until the magic wore off with time or, in this case, water. Anytime the boys would get into trouble growing up, I would give them something like this to make sure I knew what had actually happened.”

“So that’s how you got me to tell you about the broken vase!” Bentley exclaimed accusatorily. Although Bentley hadn’t been the one to break their mother’s newly made, handmade vase - Royce had - he hadn’t been able to keep things under wraps long enough to fix the vase himself. His mom had given him a fresh-from-the-oven cookie, and he found himself spilling the beans without hesitation. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time as he had a tendency to ramble things without thinking, but now that his mother had made it clear that she was the reason, it all made sense.

“That’s right,” Dorothea said with a nod. “We can speak more about it later. For now, who would like to tell me why you feel the need to sneak into the pantry?”

Before giving anyone else a chance to speak, Vivien blurted, “One of our friends from school might be possessed by dark magic, and she’s coming here to get notes from Royce, so we planned on making a salt ring around the house to keep her from coming in.”

With a raised eyebrow, Carrie asked, “I thought you said water was supposed to get rid of the truth potion?”

“It takes a few minutes to work through,” Dorothea explained as she patted Vivien on the shoulder sympathetically.

“Oh, yay,” Vivien sighed sarcastically.

“Anyway,” Dorothea began as she turned toward the rest of her children and their friends, “since what she says is true, we’ll need to work fast. Miles, Carrie, and Mick, you three stay with me. I have some sage and other herbs we can hang by the doorway to ward off dark magic. Royce, Vivien, and Bentley, you three take the salt and follow each other around the house with it. The thicker the salt, the better. Just make sure it isn’t too obvious and keep the line as close to the front door as possible.”

As Vivien followed Bentley and Royce to the pantry to retrieve the salt, Dorothea turned the slow cooker onto low heat and waited for the kids to run outside through the back door before heading into the pantry and sliding open a panel on the back wall. Inside was a rotating, lazy-Susan-style shelving unit filled with bottles that contained either liquids, jars of various ground items, or herbs, and a rack of wrapped herbs dangling from above.

Examining the hidden unit, Miles asked, “When was that built?” 

“Not long after your father left,” Dorothea answered as she began pulling things from the shelves. Holding out a bundle of wrapped sage, she said, “Now, split this evenly between you three and go smudge the doorways and windows while I make up a quick potion to drizzle over the salt circle. By the time the kids are done and the potion is ready, the girl should be on her way over.”

Without any argument, Miles took the sage from his mother and began unwrapping it, heading into the kitchen to grab a lighter from near the stove before handing out sage to Mick and Carrie. Watching her son and his friends move toward the front of the house, Dorothea took in a deep breath and pulled out her cell phone, tapping a few different things before bringing up the group chat she had with Mick’s parents, letting them know their daughter had arrived safely, and they would set aside some food for them. After receiving a message from Mack in return, thanking her for letting them know, Dorothea pocketed her phone once more and silently prayed that she would be able to protect the children in her care as she closed the pantry once more.

Before she could make her way to the living room, though, the door leading to the garage opened, and a faint surge of fiery power coursed through her. Curious, Dorothea turned and watched as a head of shoulder-length blonde hair pulled into a pair of half-up space buns stepped into the house, ditching a messenger backpack on the floor next to the door as it closed. Kona was quick to tug her detachable roller skates from her sneakers and shove them into her backpack as Dorothea smiled at her. Pushing her bangs from her face with a smile, Kona said, “Hey, Mrs Bentley’s Mom.”

“Kona,” Dorothea began, examining the shades of pink and teal that flooded the energy surrounding the girl, “I didn’t know you were coming over. We’re just about to eat; would you care to join us?”

“I can’t, actually,” Kona said with a sigh as she grabbed a cookie from the counter. “Dad’s making a traditional hawaiian dinner for Mom tonight, but I wanted to come over to talk with Ben, Royce, and Vivi.”

“They’re out back at the moment, but they should be in soon,” Dorothea said. “Is it something for school?”

“No, just friendship stuff,” Kona shrugged before taking a bite of her cookie. “Ben and I argued a bit this morning, but I talked it over with Zack and Gus after school and figured we could work things out tonight as a group.”

Nodding in understanding, Dorothea gestured to the dining table and said, “In the meantime, would you like to talk with me about it? I might offer an unbiased opinion.”

“I don’t know if I’m really supposed to say anything,” Kona began as she tugged one of the chairs out from the table, “but I assume that, if what he was saying is real, then you’d know about it too.”

“Most likely,” Dorothea agreed with a hum as she sat in Miles’ usual spot at the table. Sending the girl a comforting smile, she gestured with her hand and said, “The floor is yours.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Kona glanced around for any trace of Bentley before allowing herself to ramble, something she had always found relatively easy in the woman’s presence. She started her retelling of the morning - how her cat had woken her up by smothering her, her younger sister had refused to put clothes on before daycare, and her first attempt at waffles had made a disaster of the kitchen counters - then, she brought the story into the beginning of her school day. Quickly, she got into Bentley’s story and how he had pulled her aside like it was some big secret before telling her about all that had happened on Halloween. 

Nodding along as though she hadn’t already surmised what happened that fateful day, Dorothea listened as Kona told her side of the conversation before asking a single question, “And you don’t believe him?”

Kona heaved a sigh, “It’s not like I don’t want to believe him - I do - it’s just really hard to. He sounded nervous, but that also made it sound like he was lying through his teeth.”

“I understand,” Dorothea nodded. “But, if you were in his shoes and you had to tell him that you possessed magic in some way, wouldn’t you be nervous as well?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Kona breathed. “I just didn’t think about it at the time.”

“Again, that’s understandable,” Dorothea said with a smile as she watched the array of colors around the girl swirl and shift with every thought that ran through her head. “So, what did Zack and August have to offer?”

“They sort of pointed out that Bentley’s a terrible liar and that I should maybe try sitting down and talking with him more to get the whole story,” Kona admitted. With a faintly nervous chuckle, she said, “So, here I am, ready to try a bit harder.”

“And you want Royce and Vivien there to verify everything?” Dorothea surmised. 

Kona nodded, but before she could say anything, the front door opened, and like a herd of elephants, Bentley, Royce, and Vivien hurried into the house. As he led the way, Bentley called out, “Mama, we finished the salt circle. What do we do now?” 

Upon finding Kona sitting across from his mother, Bentley’s voice faded into silence. While Bentley scrambled to find something to say and Royce’s eyes widened, Vivien offered a hesitant smile as she said, “Kona, what are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” the blonde said as she pushed herself out of her seat. “Bentley told me about this whole witch business this morning and I want to have an actual conversation about it.”

“We can’t right now,” Royce stated apologetically as he checked the time on his phone. Serena would be there any minute; they didn’t have time for this!

“Why not?” Kona wondered, crossing her arms over her chest. Nodding toward Mrs Murphy, she said, “She let me talk with her. Why can’t we talk now?”

Before anyone could think of an answer, Carrie’s voice came from the stairs as she, Miles, and Mick came down from the upper floor, “We finished smudging the house.”

“Yeah,” Miles continued as they entered the kitchen. “What do we do now-” As his eyes landed on Kona, he asked, “What’s she doing here?”

“Looking for answers,” Kona replied. “What are you guys doing?” 

Faintly feeling the effects of the brownie she had eaten earlier, Vivien replied, “Smudging and making salt circles to protect against dark magic.”

Sensing the growing frustration boiling within Kona’s small frame, Dorothea stood from her spot at the table and placed a placating hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I’ll explain in a moment. For now, you all need to keep an eye out for Serena. Go sit in the living room and do whatever you think is necessary before she gets here. I’ll handle this.”

Despite Royce and Vivien allowing Carrie and Mick to guide them into the living room, Bentley swallowed thickly as Miles tried guiding him away, muttering a soft, “I’m sorry, Kone,” as he turned back toward her for a fleeting moment.

Once Bentley was out of sight, Kona turned to Dorothea and asked, “What’s going on?”

“As I said, I’ll explain everything,” Dorothea said softly, gently guiding Kona back to her seat. “But first, I need you to sit. This will be a lot to take in all at once.”

“What do you mean, you told her?” Miles asked.

“I told her about us,” Bentley explained. “We talked about telling her the other day, so I figures it would be fine.”

“Well, there’s no backing out now,” Carrie claimed from her spot near the picture window. “She knows and, in the long haul, I think it’s for the best.”

Pulling his notebook for geography out of his backpack, Royce said, “I actually agree.”

Slapping a hand to her friend’s forehead, Vivien smirked as she asked, “Are you sick or something? I could’ve sworn I heard you say you agree with Carrie.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Royce deadpanned as he pried Vivien’s hand from his face. “I just think that Kona was bound to know eventually.”

“True,” Mick said from her perch on the coffee table.

Vivien hummed in agreement as she took the notebook from Royce and pulled the thin slab of black onyx from her pocket, tucking it inside the notebook before handing it back to him. Opening the notebook to the hidden crystal, Royce asked, “What’s that for?”

“It’s black onyx,” Vivien explained. “It’s supposed to draw out negative energy. I figured it might help Serena if we give it to her in a way that she won’t notice it.”

Closing the notebook again and feeling just how flat the book still felt, Royce grinned, “Sneaky.”

“Just one of the many reasons you love me,” Vivien claimed proudly. Before allowing him to respond, she said, “I figured it’s flat enough that she won’t realize it’s there, and if she does, you can always claim it’s a pencil or something.”

“Smart,” Mick mused with a smile as she watched over the young pair.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Vivien taunted, shoving the girl’s knee with a smile. “I think those years of spending every afternoon in the shop with you have paid off.”

“I suppose they have,” Mick chuckled.

Moving away from the window, Carrie pointed toward the outside as she exclaimed, “She’s coming up the driveway!”

“Alright,” Miles said, patting Royce on the back as his younger brother stood. Holding the brunet by his shoulders, he asked, “You know what to do?”

With a nod, Royce began counting on his fingers as he listed, “Act normal, talk about the test, offer to let her in, give her the notebook either way, and once she leaves, we decide what to do next.”

“Good,” Miles said, running a hand over Royce’s chocolate curls before pressing a quick kiss to his forehead. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Royce muttered.

Squeezing his brother’s shoulders, Miles reassured him, “You’ve got this, RJ. Remember, it’s just Serena; she’s your friend.”

“She’s just possessed, that’s all,” Royce huffed as the doorbell rang.

“Be nice,” Miles reminded him, sending a meaningful glance in Mick’s direction despite the girl not being able to hear their hushed conversation. “Your friend is still in there somewhere.”

Nodding more for Miles’ sake than his own, Royce turned toward the door and sucked in a deep breath as he crossed the gap between himself and the heavy, oaken frame. Forcing a small smile onto his face, Royce let out the breath he’d been holding and tugged the door open, allowing the chilled autumn air to brush calmingly across his face as he found Serena leaning against the column at the edge of the porch. “Hey, Serena.”

“Royce,” the redhead greeted in return, a sort of grin tugging at her lips. “Thanks again for letting me borrow your notes.”

“Yeah, of course, anytime,” Royce replied. Stepping to the side and gesturing to the inside of the house, he asked, “Do you want to come in? It’s kind of cold outside.”

Royce took note of how the girl’s hazel eyes flickered to the old, wooden beams that made up the porch, her gaze minutely trailing the thin line of salt trailing into the coarse artificial grass of the doormat. Although Royce knew the moment only lasted a second or so, time felt slower as Serena’s gaze landed back on him. Forcing his smile to remain plastered across his face, Royce watched as she shook her head with a somewhat distant smile and replied, “I would, but I have babysitting duty.”

If there was one thing Royce remembered about Serena, it was her hatred of babysitting. After years of being made to watch the young kids of her church and being forced to sit at the kid’s table every year, the last thing Serena would ever want was to babysit. He could vaguely recall hearing her have a shouting match with her mother in the school parking lot about having to babysit a kid that wasn’t hers - presumably in reference to her younger half-sibling, Sawyer. If Serena was willingly babysitting Sawyer, something had to be up.

“Oh, well, that’s okay,” Royce brushed off despite his mental notes saying otherwise. Instead, he held the notebook out with a smile and replied, “Maybe next time, then.”

“Yeah, sure,” Serena replied with a quick roll of her eyes that Royce supposed he wasn’t meant to see. However, as Serena latched onto the book and brought it close to her chest, he watched as her eyes flickered rapidly, the color in them gradually shifting from hazel to crimson as they moved from one side to the other faster than Royce could register. Then, all at once, it stopped as Serena’s eyes dissolved back to fear-filled hazel. “Royce?” she questioned breathlessly.

“Serena?” Royce asked slowly in return. “What’s going-”

“How did you make it stop?” Serena interrupted, her eyes wide and glossy with unshed tears of relief. Though Royce had begun to open his mouth in response, Serena quickly shook her head and said, “Actually, nevermind; it’s not important right now.” Reaching out and taking Royce’s arm, she found his eyes and pleaded, “You have to help me. I don’t know what happened, but I’ve been stuck in my own body for weeks now and I can’t get out.”

“What do you remember?” Royce pressed.

“Halloween,” Serena claimed, swiping under her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. “You guys came to the church to look for something and I left, but then I came back and you all were gone, so I cleaned the mess you left and then I-” Serena choked on a breath, shaking her head as she breathed, “the next thing I know, it’s like I’m trapped in my head and nobody hears me screaming for help.”

Taking in as much information as he could from the rambling girl, Royce nodded, “I know Vivien talked to you.”

“It wasn’t much, but I tried,” Serena agreed. “I can’t hold her off for long.”

“Her?” 

Serena nodded, releasing Royce’s arm to wipe the streaks of tears from her face as she replied, “The other me. She’s strong and powerful and I know it has something to do with magic.”

“Magic? Like ancient magic?” Royce restated. When Serena shrugged with a hum of confirmation, he asked, “How do we help you out of this?”

“I don’t know,” Serena muttered, her voice shaking with every heave of her shoulders. “You, Vivien, and Bentley were always the ones to know everything about magic, not me. That was never my strong suit. All I know is that she can’t touch salt and-”

As Serena’s words died in her throat, Royce took a step back, watching her eyes begin flickering once more. “And what?” Frustratingly, Serena’s mouth moved despite no sound coming from her lips, and Royce gripped the door frame with wide eyes as her eyes clenched shut, and he heard a dull cracking sound come from the book in her hands. Royce sucked in a breath as he realized the crystal tucked inside the notebook had broken.

Like a rubber band, Serena’s eyes snapped open, and a dark, ruby glare settled within her gaze. Despite both of them knowing she couldn’t do anything to hurt him because of the rings of salt around the house, Royce still felt his fight-or-flight instincts screaming at him to do something to preserve himself, and the people he knew were watching from the window. Serena took a half-step back, the blood-red hue of her eyes diminishing gradually the further she got from the doorway. Tilting her head to the side with an almost demonic smile, Serena let out a dark cackle of laughter before speaking, “Just because you and your little friends defeated me once does not mean I will let it happen again.”

“Says you,” Royce hissed.

“Precisely,” Serena spoke. Stepping down from the porch, Serena’s smile turned eerie as she waved a hand toward the window, sparks of fire flitting from her fingertips. Turning back to Royce, she said, “Watch yourselves, children. Your magic may be cosmic, but mine is ancient. I will take it from you eventually.”

Not wishing to anger the woman further, Royce chose to keep his mouth shut, watching as Serena’s figure turned and stalked off toward the end of the driveway. As she neared the edge, she dug into the notebook, pulled out the broken shards of the onyx slab, and held them up for them to see before holding her fist over the wheeled trash can Bentley hadn’t yet brought back into the garage and crushing the shards in her fist. Dumping the shattered remnants of the crystal into the empty trash can, Serena gave a final, dramatic bow before releasing a cackled laugh, slipping into the driver's seat of her violet-wrapped Audi, and pulling away from the house with a squeal of her tires and a deep growl from the engine.

#Melaka Mystica

[creative-soul-22]

Madame Leota for the Character Asks #’s 2,4, 10, 23, and 37! 🥰

Hi @jedimasterbailey !

Thank you for these amazing asks! Let's go

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Harriota! I'd love to see their interactions, their relationship...

But also I'd love to see more of her interactions with William Gracey!

And PLEEEEAASSSEEEEEE we need Madame Leota and Travis interactions! Imagine how cute it would be if Travis showed her his toys and carried her around in this way too big crystal ball! That's why I'm writing "Madame Leota babysits" at the moment.

And of curse we need to expand that "she was once popular but then Hattie trapped her inside her crystal ball and tables turned" trope!

I headcanon a scene where Leota stays with a royal family. So, as she arrives, she walks down the hallway of a huge ballroom to meet the king and there is an Orchestra playing and a choir chanting "Leota! Madame Leota!" as she walks towards the king.

Ahhhh damn just give a Haunted Mansion prequel called "Leota"!

4. "I know you don't believe in yourself but I do." (please correct me if I misquoted that line, I've only got the German version so far)

It's not only so beautiful but there is also SO MUCH to it! And this scene is so painfully cut short it's almost a crime.

Harriet runs right to Leota when the teams sees that Harriet isn't powerful enough to ban Hattie and when the stakes are getting high. They know they are dead without Leota's help. Keep in my mind: this after the scene in which Ben opened about his grieve for Alyssa. It's after the scene Harriet opened about her sisters and how she feels like isn't a real medium. So, at this point, nobody believes in Harriet, not even Harriet herself does (Ben and Bruce didn't believe in her from the very beginning). And then, just right then, Madame Leota says right this. She believes in her. The one and famous Madame Leota who Harriet has been looking up ever since. Madame Leota trusts Harriet so deeply that she is able to free her that she even begs Harriet to do so. She, Madame Leota, begs. It's more than just Leota's approvement. It's her way of honoring, respecting and acknowledging Harriet's power. It's her picking Harriet up and put her on the same step Leota is standing on. Harriet no longer needs to look up to Madame Leota, she is now equal with Leota. And of course it's a very cute Harriota moment because it's just them at the séance room and they're tender with each other...

I'm still not over how short cut it was! It's an important moment for both Harriet's and Leota's character because it shows how Harriet had gone from "I'm qualified. Bonafied. Certified. And I can get rid of what died." to "I need your help, I can't do this alone!".

Also it shows how Leota had gone from "I can show you what happened but it will cost you $3." to "Please, set me free so I can help you." While we see Harriet more often in the movie and her change is shown throughout the movie (living room scene), Madame Leota's change comes out of the blue because she has criminally little screentime. Character changes are great but PLEEEASSSSEEEE show them to us! They are a process, not a switch!

10. Best moment on screen

The scene when she and Harriet defeat Hattie together with Ben. It's Harriet and Leota stepping up to the true greatness of their characters: Harriet being finally able to use her full powers, Leota being finally able to face her greatest fear: Hattie.

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they taste like?

Madame Leota would be a Febreze Ocean candle.

37. What they really think about themselves

Ooh I think Madame Leota blames herself for a lot of things that happened in the past. I'm sure she blames herself for not being able to reach Eleanor Gracey, for Hattie being around and therefore William Gracey's death. She also thinks she was so stupid to keep holding séances every night just to have more money against her gut feeling. Also she thinks that being stuck inside her crystal ball sucks but that she deserves it as punishment. Because inside the crystal ball, she is never happy. She never smiles. She only smiles when she's outside the crystal ball and Hattie is defeated. That's when she's happy again. And then she is able to look at the bright side of things: "It's actually quite spacious in there" (she also says that to calm Harriet down who is extremely worried).

Ahh thank you for letting me rant about my favourite lady at the moment!

ASK ME MORE OF THESE!! ALSO FOR OTHER CHARACTERS, I HAVE A LOT OF FAVOURITE CHARACTERS!!

#disney #haunted mansion 2023 #haunted mansion #madame leota #character ask game #ask 22 #ask games #hey my first not-anon-ask! #thank you for asking me

[aphvanity]

The other day I took my lovely friend on an excursion. It was a Sunday and the first day that week without work or school. 

So I organized a nice breakfast at a place we like. I had eggs and toast and she had Nutella crepes with ricotta. The next step of the excursion was to a local crystal shop that my sister and I enjoy. For my birthday a few weeks ago my father got me a 50 dollar certificate to the store, so I told her that we would each get a 23/24 dollars worth of stuff and the extra would count towards tax.

We eat, I drive us to the store. We have a lovely time! I buy a small bowl after saying “hey do you think I need a bowl. I know that I’d really enjoy having this bowl. but is it MORAL to get this bowl? I don’t really need it. It doesn't serve a purpose. I could put little crystals into it and put it on my bedside table next to the candle. but do I NEED the bowl? I do not. Should I get it anyway? I don’t NEED anything here, but I have 23 to 24 dollars to spend. Why not on a bowl?” at least 15 times. It was resolved when she told me “just go get the bowl” so I went and got the bowl. I appreciated it. The bowl is on my nightstand next to my candle right now.

We pay, we leave, and I remind her of the third step of the excursion. Near me there is a Book Barn. As in a 4 story house filled with used and vintage books at a discounted price. I love it there. The only downside is that they mix theology and philosophy together so you’re forced to sift through books about why Satan is found in troubled marriage to find one annotated copy of On Liberty. 

My friend does not like reading. This is why I decided to come to the Barn on our third stop; she should not start an excursion on a boring note. I knew that no matter how much she said she disliked the bookstore, she’d find something to amuse herself and would have just as much fun as anywhere else. The same way that I don’t particularly enjoy watching theatre if she’s not with me or in the production. The presence is what counts. 

I got a text from my manager asking if I could come in to help out, and I accepted. I could have NOT accepted and continued to stay with my friend because it was a really nice day and we hadn’t seen each other all week but I felt guilty! and I thought the day could still be good and fun even if it was a few hours shorter.

All that I have said leading up to this point is not particularly important and is more to set the stage for what is to come. I felt that the Event could not be completely understood without a full understanding of what had come before it.

We walk through the philosophy, history, sociology sections. We are passing through the biography section when I feel the blood trickle down my back. The air is freezing.

“Look! Its you!”

My friend has ruined me. The book in her hand damns us both. 

I think back to every flutter on the cheek. When did they turn from affection to betrayal? When did her hair coarse? When will the 30 pieces of silver fall into her hands?

I feel the breaths of senators around me. 

How could she liken me to this? What have I done. Am I so terrible? Must I look down to the ground and see something to raze? Something to own? Am I who I am not. Am I who I cannot. Who I will not stand for.

How must I repent to cleanse myself of this statement. This implication that I am one and the same. This marriage of character.

How do I unbind my wrist from that of the man on the cover?

Her smile is beautiful. She is a doe in a meadow with flowering crocuses. 

Her hands are still holding the book. The book! I have not fully beheld its cover. Appreciated its craftsmanship. Seen the mans name on the cover.

“Its you!” is it? No; it is not me. This moment is. Your eyes and mine and this book. 

I have not said its name. 

Every minute before this I was someone else. Every breath taken this day was free, and now it is chained. Every movement pure, now soiled. Every thought whole, now scattered. 

I am betrayed.

I look down. I hate.

“The Biography of Napoleon Bonaparte”. 

#dramatizing is so so so much fun #after this i laughed and said she was a book about jesus #im not napoleon #i do not like napoleon #originally this was the other day my friend implied that i am napoleon and it was awful but this seemed like more fun #writing this EXCLUSIVELY to send to her #i think shes asleep #and if we fall as lucifer fell! #napoleon #bonaparte #tags

[survey--s]

418.

What are your plans for the day ahead? Absolutely nothing, haha. I have to go and brave the Christmas supermarket shop tomorrow so today I’m just enjoying being at home and out of the cold, wind and rain. I’ll probably just carry on watching movies.

What was the last thing you cleaned? The inside of the fridge ready for tomorrow. I need to go and get a chicken, yorkshire puddings and potatoes, as well as some kind of dessert, plus some savoury snacks etc. We have SO much chocolate Ihat I feel like we need some crisps and stuff to balance it all out, haha.

When do you go to your soonest appointment? Uh, the next appointment is work really, which isn’t until January 3rd. What did you last order online? Toby’s cat biscuits - he needs special urinary food as he’s been diagnosed with crystals so every month I need to find the cheapest place and order them lol. Luckily I found them for £30 as the place I normally get them from wanted to charge me £60 lol.

Can you see any bottles from where you're sitting? No. There are loads of bottles in the cupboards and the fridges, though.

What time do you usually try to wind down in the evening? Around 5-6pm. I don’t like having busy evenings so I normally try and get everything done before then.

What's something you have been putting off? Cleaning out my car lol. I was intending to do it after riding tomorrow but my lesson’s been cancelled and the forecast is awful so it probably won’t get done until after Christmas now.

What restaurants do you frequently eat at? Just a few local, independent places. Do you like banana pudding with a lot of bananas or more vanilla wafers? I’ve never had banana pudding before.

How many books would you guess you've read in the last 5 years? Maybe twenty or so.

What was the last message you sent? "Yeah I know, he’s just sulking ‘cause you went without him” Have you ate anything green today? No. What's your favorite way to add greens to your diet? I try and add them to soups or sauces.

When did you last light a candle or incense? Today. If I’m home and awake, the wax burner is always going. I currently have a scent called “Spiced Chocolate Maracons’ on the go and it smells exactly like hot chocolate and Christmas.

Is it currently warm where you are? No. Probably around 6-8 degrees?

Have you ever fallen out of bed? Yeah, several times when I was younger. Never as an adult.

What do you like on your hot dogs or burgers? I really don’t like either that much, but on burgers I would generally go for bacon and blue cheese, or a BBQ bacon cheeseburger. I quite like buttermilk chicken burgers too.

Are you currently listening to anything? I’m watching Alice Through the Looking Glass.

What did you last put in storage? I stuck the extra cat food and litter in the cupboard under the stairs.

What's your favorite thing to do outside? Ride horses, walk the dog, go to the beach.

Are there any celebrities that you are a big fan of? Not really. I don’t pay much attention to celebrities.

Do you ever watch award shows? Nope.

Do you usually run out of shampoo or conditioner first? Conditioner.

Do you have any LED lights in your home? Yeah, all our lights are LED’s as they’re so much cheaper to run.

What is your biggest challenge? Not giving in to all my food cravings, hahah.

What was the last sweet thing you've eaten? Some of my Christmas chocolates.

Do you prefer buying new clothes or thrift shopping for clothes? I prefer new clothes.

What is something you need right now? Nothing in particular.

What's something you like that is blue? Blue skies.

Have you treated yourself today? Kind of? Yeah, I had a massive lie-in followed by breakfast in bed, lol.

Have you ever traveled alone? Yeah, plenty of times.

What color is your most worn jacket/hoodie? Black or purple.

Who is someone you would like to get to know more? Susie.

What toy do you miss the most from your childhood? Dreamphone! Damn, I used to absolutely love that game.

Have you ever lost something valuable to you? Yes.

What or who has impacted your life the most? My parents.

Would you say you are toxic in any way? Hmm no, I don’t think so. I think I used to be in some ways, though.

What's one of your favorite memories from the past year? Galloping down the beach in the winter sunshine.

How often do you use a straw? Only when I go to a restaurant or something and get given one with my drink.

What's your current favorite song? Demons by Dolly Parton.

What are some books you'd recommend to someone? The “Alice” series by Christina Henry, the “Rivers of London” series by Ben Aaranovitch and anything by Neil Gaiman, especially Neverwhere.

#survey #surveys

[happyheidi]

#what I wouldn’t do to have a bathtub! omg I miss it sm #cottagecore #plants #I remember we had one when I was younger #but I would appreciate it so much more now that I’m older #have candles and crystals around me.. damn it would be lovely! #so if u have one. take a nice relaxing bath for me #that sounded better in my head #lol but u know what I mean #bathroom #interior #bedroom #cozycore #cosycore #cosy #cozy #greenery #bathtub #flowers #flowercore #warmcore #sunshine #relaxing #soft academia #soft aesthetic

[fredshufflepuff]

flustered adorable mess || f.w

— anon request: can I ask for fred being a flirt with someone he likes or his s/o and them being a flustered mess 😳❤️ thank you! 🥰

— warnings: gn!reader, lots and lots of fluff, like one curse word, i tried using gn!terms :))

— word count: 628

before the two of you started dating fred was never subtle about his feelings.

he always made it known that he liked you, everyone in hogwarts knew that—even the professors and kitchen elves.

it started with small gestures; carrying your book bag between classes, stealing an extra piece of dessert for you, or helping you with your assignments.

they were small, but anyone who knows fred knew he was never the type to keep anything on the down-low.

“coming to see me win the game?” the red headed boy asked, his arm falling on your shoulder as you blushed from the contact.

“you haven’t won yet, fred.”

“exactly, not yet.”

fred always gives you his spare jersey to wear during the game, an exact replica of his with the name ‘weasley’ on the back.

although you and fred weren’t officially dating—even though you both acted like you were—he decided to finally ask you out.

he took you out to the three broomsticks and got you butterbeers, then surprising you with your favorite candy from zonkos.

it was all amazing, but any time shared with fred was.

he took you to the astronomy after and surprised you with candles and a blanket covering the floor.

“is this all for me?” you asked, a small blush taking over your face as he nodded in response.

“you didn’t have to spoil me, freddie.”

freddie.

the nickname made his stomach erupt with butterflies. he loved it.

he loved you.

“there will be plenty more spoiling if you promise to be my (girlfriend/boyfriend).”

the world around you seemed to slow as your breathing stopped, your eyes twinkling softly as fred cupped the side of your face.

he was shaking. he was scared of what you’d say.

he was scared of rejection.

“you’re not joking with me, fred? you’re being serious?” you asked, the boy’s eyebrows furrowing together as he quickly nodded his head.

“i want you to be my (girlfriend/boyfriend).”

as soon as those words left fred’s mouth you leaned in and connected your lips with his, your hands cupping his face as you stood to your tip toes.

his arms wrapped around your waist as he smiled deeply into the kiss, the boy having to lean down a little to reach your height but he didn’t mind.

“yes, freddie. i’d love to be your (girlfriend/boyfriend).”

skip ahead to a year into your guys relationship.

you two were utterly in love and happier than ever, it’s like you guys were made for each other.

and, the best of it all, was that fred made it crystal clear on how much he loved you.

“good morning, beautiful” he would say every time the sun rose, ending up in you whining about how you don’t look good and burry your face into the pillow.

he’d keep you in bed for another hour or two after waking up because he’s ‘tired’ but in reality he just likes to spend time with you.

he likes to lay you next to him—his arms wrapped around your waist—as he admires you from the side, absolutely in love with the sight in front of him.

“more dessert for the (princess/prince)?” he would ask after dinner, knowing damn well how much you enjoyed the chocolate pudding.

“freddie, i can grab some no need t—”

“chocolate pudding for the (princess/prince)! order up!” he yells, although no one is around except for the gryffindor students who just laugh.

your face heats up as you burry it into his neck, a smile not helping but break onto your lips as he squeezes your waist.

even a year into your relationship fred never seemed to fail at making you flustered. he loved to compliment you because of how you would react, it was the more adorable thing ever.

but to fred, everything you did was adorable.

you were adorable.

fred weasley tag list 🏷 @90smalfoy @astoria-malfcy @whipped-for-the-weasley-twins @ang9lic @malfoysbiitch @Harrypotter_Whore @aetheralist @miraclesoflove @amourtentiaa @myloveforluna @bellatrixscurls @an2402lths @marrymetheonott @skaratjung @wh0re4blaise @dreamxnotxfound @arcaneslut @pinkandblueblurbs @roonilwazlibswhore @dlmmdl @letmereadpls @dagirlintheback @onyourgoddamnleft @moonyinthelight @iamnibbsi @6r4cie @samineisntmyname @amourtentiaa @elizabethrosedarling @authorb @justasmolballofstress @persephonestoad @escapingrealitybyreading @happydazzz123 @touchdeprivedwh0re @thescarletweasleywitch @endlessymphony @adnaweasley @g0ldenwanda @harrysamortentia @funnikusu @fleursbabe @onlyfreds @666cookies @sluttylea @Dakota.jones25 @fragmentsofmywand @miss-starkov @henqtic @aarcturuse-blog @v4l3nt1n44 @glossygranger @harmqnia @bakugosbunny @teenwolfbitches28 @reinecoffee @andineverwould @planetweasley @freddieweasleyyy @bay_bay119 @secretlynerdygeekystuff @mollysolo @irlpadfoot

#fred weasley headcanons #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley x you #fred weasley fluff #fred wealsey fic #fred weasly x reader #fred weasley #fred weasley blurb #fred weasley imagine #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter blurb #harry potter x you #fred and george #harry potter x reader

[lune-hime]

Exposed (Sidon x f!Reader)

The ornate silver neck piece made contact with the tiled floor with a satisfying clank. With each clasp undone, Sidon felt his body buzzing at the newfound lightness. The metallic chime of his final piece of garment, his left bracelet, was a beautiful sound that echoed off the vast pillared walls of his chambers. Although it already had been a day since his arrival, his muscles still ached with a dull tightness brought onto him from the journey to Hyrule Castle. A subtle form of tiredness akin to jetlag was quickly draining his energy and he could not wait to submerge himself in the ample pool that laid before him.

Sidon padded to the edge of the water, streaks of ivory moonlight passing over his crimson scales. He kneeled down, wincing as he heard a few of his bones crack, and dipped an experimental hand into the basin. The warmth of the liquid sent a shiver up Sidon’s body and he immediately slid into the water in one fluid movement. The castle maids had prepared his pool with warm water, per your request, to the exact temperature you knew he liked it. Although this was just one of the many guest rooms in the immense castle, he felt your homey presence in every corner of the chamber. It made his heart flutter in adoration.

Sinking lower, he let the water engulf his shoulders. The tension diffused out and a supple moan escaped his parted lips. Lightly treading water, his thoughts circulated through his mind much like the gentle current of the pool. The officials and champions he had rekindled with today, what was he going to eat tomorrow morning, how radiant you had looked in your formal w-

“Prince Sidon, I forgot to ask you on more question before you retired to the room!” Zelda’s melodic voice carried from the hallway. Her small but sturdy frame emerged from behind the towering door, the hem of her gown swaying about her ankles as she danced her way into the entryway. Soon after she appeared, your head peeked its way around the frame.

Perhaps it was the abruptness of the entry, the intimate solitude of the chambers, his discarded garments, or all factors combined, but Sidon suddenly felt hot. Uncomfortably hot; and not from the water.

“A-ah, yes Princess, what did you want to, ah, ask me?” He coughed, awkwardly sinking lower into the pool. He cursed the palace for having such crystal clear water.

Your brow knit into a firm line at his flustered state. Never before had you seen him act like this seemingly for no reason. When his eyes began flicking anxiously from the pile of metal to you, a wave of understanding flooded your consciousness. Sidon felt exposed. And he was embarrassed about it.

It was natural for Hylian habits to rub off on him since the two of you had started courting. When you were in the Domain, the only time you spent away from the Prince was when you were working on Vah Ruta or the one to two hours of his council meetings. With all that contact how could a few things not start to be ingrained in Sidon’s daily routine? It was clear now by the steady reddening of his cheeks that one of those habits pertained to wearing garments. Or more specifically, when one is caught not wearing them.

“Oh, is this a bad time?” She blinked, unclear of what had him acting so strangely. Sidon looked like he was about to expire in the cloud of uncomfortableness that was circling above the pool. As adorable as he looked, shuffling bashfully and avidly studying the carvings on the nearest pillar, you needed to save him. Biting back your laughter you tapped Zelda lightly on the shoulder. Her head whipped around, confusion still inscribed on her face.

“Zelda, it appears that Sidon was not expecting company this late at night.” You stated, giving her a knowing look you prayed she would pick up on. You cocked your head subtly towards the armor and Zelda gasped softly, the tips of her pointed ears running rosy. She then looked to the Prince with panic written all over her features and he returned the expression tenfold. The two of them turned from mimicking rose petals to beats instead, only making the aroma of the room more thick with tension.

“Oh my goodness! My deepest apologies, Sidon. I didn’t realize you were having, ahem, some alone time.” She cleared her throat and dropped her gaze to the floor so fast you wondered if she got whiplash.

“Well, Y/N can just tell me your answer tomorrow morning. Until then.” She stuttered, abruptly turning on her heels and disappearing behind the door. Once the brisk click signaled her departure, every muscle, tendon, and scale in Sidon’s body went lax. He sighed, tipping his head back against the edge of the pool with a gentle clunk. You took a moment to drown in his appearance. He was like a slightly wilted lotus flower with coral petals basking in the rippling droplets of indigo moonlight.

It now physically hurt to restrain your hysterics and you suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, drowning the luminated room in a symphony of laughs not unlike a songbird’s. Sidon poked one eye open and shook his head in mortified distress, still lazily leaning against the tiled rim.  

“Stop laughing, Y/N. I bet she thinks I was doing something lewd or weird. In her castle of all places.” He grumbled, raising his hands out of the water to run them over his face.

Once you had reigned in your cacophony you padded over to the pool and sat down next to his deflated form, feet dangling into the water.

“Nah. It’s okay, Si. She’s my oldest and best friend. If she does I’ll tell her the truth.” You nudged him playfully. He lolled his head to the side in your direction.

“That might be even more embarrassing…” Sidon trailed off, his face contorted into a slight grimace. You returned it with a fond smile.

“Stop looking at me like that.” He huffed, a feigned pout forming on his features. The rosiness on his cheeks bloomed once more as he lightly splashed your feet where they embraced the water’s surface.

“You know, you used to never be embarrassed about being seen without your accessories.” You stated innocently, eyeing him to observe his reaction.“They don’t really leave anything to the imagination, anyway.”

“Hylian customs are rubbing off on me, I guess.” He replied in a small voice, snaking an arm around your calf to press himself into your side. He started idly playing with your toes, offering a squeak from you. You lightly kicked out, hoping to shake him off. Instead he only scooted closer yet he resigned from his tickling.

“What did the Princess want to ask me?” Sidon inquired. He seemed to be mostly recovered from the ordeal.

“She wanted to know what you wanted for breakfast tomorrow. You left before she could put in an order for the chef.”

“Damn, that’s an important question.” He muttered, setting his chin on your knee and looking up at you with anticipation, his eyes large and blinking.  

“I was planning on telling her smoked salmon.” You informed the prince, giving his caudal fin a loving stroke. Sidon’s eyes lit up, his saffron orbs turning a brilliant gold that put the calming hue of the starlight to shame. He could feel himself start to salivate at the mention of the Hylian delicacy.

“Don’t drool on my leg.” You teased, chuckling as he gulped audibly. You were unable to convey your thoughts on the dish as the deep chiming of the castle’s clocktower replaced whatever voice you would have spoken. The twelve bells signaled it had just turned midnight.

“It’s late, we should both get some rest. We need to wake up early for the festivities tomorrow.” You let out a bittersweet sigh, not wanting to break away from the closeness you shared but knowing you would be the walking dead in the morning if you stayed up any longer. As you rose to your feet, Sidon’s head limply fell into the water, his gaze never leaving your form. Just as you were about to deliver a sweet goodnight, he gingerly grabbed your ankle.

“Please stay, my pearl.” He suggested, a gentle plea that caused your heart to skip a beat.

“Can’t get enough of me, hm?” You sang.

“A very true statement, darling.” Sidon cooed, the warmth radiating from his gaze brushing the tips of your ears and leaving a blushed residue in its wake.

“Alright.” You responded through a yawn.

“We can go back to your chambers, if you’d like.” Sidon suggested, releasing his hold on your ankle and making a move to leave the basin. You shook your head and held a hand out to stop him. He halted his movements immediately and blinked up at you.

“You’re soaked. You’ll get my bed wet. I will go get some blankets and return.” You chuckled as you strode towards the doors. He hummed in agreement, a breathy laugh puffing from his chest. Grasping the knob, you turned to face Sidon once more.

“Better keep an eye on this door, my prince. Wouldn’t want someone to see you so exposed now would we?” You warned, tone velvety and blithe. The last thing you heard before you skittered out of the room was a loud groan and the sound of an unlit candle being halfheartedly thrown at the door.

#loz #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #botw #botw fanfiction #loz sidon #prince sidon #sidon x reader #sidon/reader #prince sidon x reader #prince sidon/reader #zora #zelda #botw imagine #botw drabble #drabble #sidon fluff #fluff

[sashi-ya]

Is it ok if I request a Law x Yonko reader? For once the reader is badass and strong 😎 has her own crew and is well respected yet she fell in love with Trafalgar Water D. Law

Hi!! Of course! I fell in love with the idea. I think Law deserves a strong woman on his side, and this type of dynamic is one of my favorites!! It was intended to be a OS but I got too invested on the story so I decided to part it in at least another part that I'll be posting in a few days. I hope you don't mind! Plus I included some NSFW too, because the tension between the Yonkou and Law was really high! I hope you enjoy it and stay tuned for the second part if you like it 💖 Thanks for reading and supporting my work!

NSFW - Trafalgar D. Water Law x FemYonkou! Reader - PART 1

TW: NSFW. 18+ Minors DNI. Rough and unprotected sex. Chocking.

WC: 4.1K

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31973146

Part 2

Part 3

Final/Part 4

“My dear captain, someone is on the coast!!”, your most loyal nakama comes running through the door of your huge castle with the news. “Mmm, I wonder who it could be…”, you tell her. “I’m afraid whoever we’ve been waiting for has arrived, Captain”, she says, looking at the ground. You have always hated how they are afraid to look directly to your eyes, even though you consider them your equals. But you guess it’s because of your powerful aura, or the respect they have for you.

“Let’s be a good host. His crew can come to the castle once we have talked. He would probably be staying the night, so tell the boys to prepare the royal guest room, ok?”, you order your first commander with a lovely smile.

You laugh, some say your laughter is something similar to a demon, but hey, that’s part of your identity as a yonkou, so… You wait for your guest sitting on your throne, admiring your brilliant rings. Suddenly the big door in front of you opens and there he is, the brat you’ve been waiting for.

You lick your lips, wondering when you will be tasting that sweet candy. No man or woman could ever resist your beauty, or your power.

The steps of that tattooed punk echoes all around the huge room. He is wearing a black coat that covers his whole body from his neck to his ankles, a funny looking white hat, and a big katana over his shoulder. “I hope this is not the only bigger thing he carries…” you think while smiling at him, trying to admire those grey eyes you saw on his wanted poster. But he does not show them, he walks slowly, covering his gaze with the visor of his hat. “Oh, you are trying to look mysterious, I get it punk”, you say to yourself.

He is now in front of you, and finally looks at you. He is even hotter than what you thought. It surprised you when your den den mushi rang and it was him requesting an audience with you, but even though you know this brat is dangerous, you accepted it right away.

“So, Trafalgar D. Water Law, huh? what brings you here?”, you ask him, crossing your legs and bending over a little to see his face. Your throne is a little elevated from the floor, so you look down at him.

“I’m here to ask you for an alliance”, he tells you, fixing his cold eyes on yours. “Oh, I see… an alliance. But aren’t you in one with the Mugiwaras? Why would you want an alliance with a Yonkou? Didn’t you lose your Shichibukai title because of an alliance? ”, you inquire him.

“Heh, I see you have more information about me than I thought…”, he tells you with sneering contempt. That pisses you off, hard. Who do you think you are, little rookie?... You stand up, violently, solemnly. Your black feather coat over your shoulders makes a loud noise, your hair flows over your back. You start walking down the little stairs off your throne and stand up in front of Trafalgar Law. He backs up a little, even if he looks like a total badass, you are scary for him.

“Tell me Law, why do you think I am an emperor of the sea, huh? Do you think you are stronger? Do you think you can outsmart me?”, you tell him firmly, centimeters from his face. Law gasps, he is trying not to look scared, but he is, pretty much indeed. He remains silent.

“Do you think you can put me down as you did with my old friend Doffy? Ha! poor Doffy, he was pissed that his little ex retainer fucked his whole life… Well, I guess that’s what you get for not being incredibly strong and intelligent”, you smirk at him, and begin to walk. The sound of your hills resonates on Law’s head. But even if he might be a little scared, you know he is smarter and stronger than he looks, so you must be careful, especially because he is at your back.

“Why don’t we have dinner and discuss your offer?”, you tell him, this time a little more friendly. “Yeah…”, he tells you with that low voice he has, that makes you bite your lip. Of course you are curious about his proposal and his true intentions, but damn, you wish you were devouring him right now.

You turn your head to the side and tell him “Follow me”, over your shoulder. And keep walking to the dining room.

Once the two of you arrive at the dining room, a big table is waiting for you. Candles on each side of the table, several delicatessens served on silver platters. “Take a seat, please”, you invite Law to sit while you sit on yours.

Law and you are face to face on each side of the table. You bend a little over the table, with your elbows over it, and interlocking your fingers. You show yourself interested in him, smirking sexily. “So, I’m all ears. Tell me about your offering”, you say.

Law takes off his hat letting you see his disheveled black hair and adopts the same position as you. “Well, as I told you before, I want to form an alliance with you”. He is short and concise. You raise an eyebrow, what does he want from you?...

“Why? What do you want from me? and what do I get in return?”, you ask before sipping some red wine from a big crystal cup. “You will be able to defeat the other three yonkous, as long as I can see the red poneglyph you have in here”, he says straight to your face.

You widen your eyes, surprised that he knew you have such a treasure in your hands. “I’m surprised Mr. Trafalgar. You have indeed, more information than I thought… I wonder who told you about it. I’m a little concerned at this point, maybe you are some kind of undercover agent from the marines?”, you tell him, fixing your eyes on him.

Law gasps subtly, his lips part and for a moment he remains silent. He is also looking at you, and you can see a red spark in his eyes. “I’m not with the marines”, he tells you firmly. You begin to laugh and stab the bistec on your plate with the knife. “Of course you aren’t, if you were one you would have denied it instantly…”, you tell him and taste a piece of meat.

The tension floods the ambient, you want to show how dominant you can be, but at the same time you wish he were dominating you in your room.

“Fine, if I accept that means that you and the Mugiwaras will be my allies, right?”, you ask him, showing him you are sure, but deep inside wondering if you made the best decision, after all, pirates alliances are often marked with betrayal…

“That’s right”, Law tells you. “Listen to me closely, little brat. If you happen to show the slightest sign of betrayal, you will know exactly why I’m named “The Sadist”. Are we clear?”, you tell -threaten- him. “I know exactly what you are capable of. Don’t worry, I won't betray you”, he assures you, firmly.

“Let’s have a celebration, then”, you tell him and order your subordinates to bring the dessert. “I’m not a man of celebration, could you please show me my room? tomorrow morning I’ll be telling you all about my plan to take down the other yonkous”, he tells you denying your invitation to a little private party. You are upset, angry… but you won’t show it to him, so, you tell your crew members to show him his room with a big smile on your face.

Once he leaves the dining room, you walk to yours with strong steps, frustrated. "Nobody has ever refused my invitation…". A cold shower cools your annoyance a little but not enough. You snuggle into bed and fix your sight on the big ceiling of your room. "Damn brat, why is he so hot? And for what?"... you go to sleep planning the best way to catch your prey in your spiderweb. You are used to getting everything you want, and Law of course is no exception.

Morning comes and the sun outside shines more than ever. You’ve been planning the whole night on how to seduce your guest, so you order your subordinates to prepare a special breakfast next to the pool. You choose to wear a tight bikini, those who show more than what they can cover, and a white semi-transparent kimono over it… after all, he is a man. He shouldn’t be resisting the lure of your beauty.

When you get to the pool patio, he is already there having a cup of tea, with those lean long legs, wearing an unbuttoned black shirt that allows you to enjoy his tattooed chest. You contemplate the handsome man from the arcade that connects the patio with the castle. You took a finger to your lips planning the next step on your plan.

“Good morning my dear guest and ally!”, you greet him, while sitting next to him under the big umbrella. “Good morning”, he salutes you, looking at you with those intense grey eyes. You give him a side smirk and grab a slice of orange, for some reason none of you look down, and you keep staring at each other. Perhaps trying to fight for dominance, perhaps because he wanted to seduce you as much as you do.

You take the slice to your mouth, and a drop of the juice runs through the commissure of your lips. He follows the path the bead of citric trails on your mouth with his eyes. He approaches you with his hand and runs his inked thumb over your lips. The sensation of his soft surgeon fingertip over your lips feels so enticing. You wish you could suck his finger, yet, he is the one who should succumb first, not you.

The moment gets interrupted when one of your maids offers you coffee. The strong black coffee that keeps you going in the morning, sweet, caffeinated elixir that today isn’t necessary, something else keeps you energized. You gaze at the maid, with hate in your eyes for interrupting such an intense moment. You tell her with a false smile, “yes, please”. She serves you a cup and runs away, quickly, scared as hell.

Leaning on the backseat of the couch with the cup on your hand, you cross your legs, letting some skin peek through the opening of the kimono. “So, Law, tell me about your plan”, you tell him. “Right, so I’ll be staying here for a few weeks, if you don’t mind”, he informs you and keeps talking about the plan. You lick your teeth; you don’t even listen to anything about the plan. You are satisfied as you will be having your sweet candy with you for a long time…

“Perfect, so the plan is set. I’m glad we are allies, Law”, you tell him as you stand up, and walk up to him. You place your hand over his shoulder and look down at him with a smile. “Aren’t you hot? let’s enjoy the pool”, you invite him and keep walking to the edge of the pool. You untie your kimono letting it slide off to the floor. You can feel Law’s sight pinned to your back and even lower, yet he is not moving.

“Right, you are a devil fruit user” you tell him pouting, but either way you dip in the pool. When you emerge from underwater, you take your wet hair out of the face, and get out of the lido. Your bikini turns a little bit see thru and you see how Law looks directly to your now notorious erected nipples from the cold water. You have an evil grin on your face, and he seems to be enjoying every inch of your skin.

“Do you like what you see, huh?”, you tease him. He looks at you, with piercing eyes, stands up and walks up to you. “Huh?”, you say but before you could even continue with a cocky phrase, he is already grabbing you by your neck.

You gasp, ‘cause you got slightly scared, but your bossy attitude won’t let you show it. You begin to chuckle with that -demon- laughter you have. And suddenly stopping you tell him, “What do you think you are doing?”. Law squeezes your carotids even more tighter approaching his face to yours and tells you, “Don’t play with me, if you want me to fuck you just tell me”. “Let go of me”, you command him. He sets your neck free, but his nose still is almost touching yours. “Before I let you walk, you gotta show me how you crawl, brat”, you whisper to him. You celebrate internally how he has already fallen into your trap; he couldn’t resist you. Another victim, another candy to taste, this time a spicy rather than a sweet one.

Law and you keep looking at each other for several minutes more, perhaps playing a game of power, who is gonna be the first to cave in and kiss the other?... Your heart beats faster, the tension is in a way arousing, you hold yourself back while sometimes your gaze wanders over his lips… so enticing.

You were about to cave in when his den den mushi rings. He smiles at you, seductively, and turns around to pick up the transponder. You decide to leave the patio and go to your room, you are way hornier than you think, and falling into his arms that soon it’s not your style. Or so that’s what you think…

You spent the whole day in your room, thinking about your next move. Some of your commanders have come to visit you and asked you about the new alliance, but you seemed so invested in seducing Law that you forgot about your responsibilities.

The night comes, and you are getting ready for dinner. You are excited almost like a little girl, finally you are going to see that face that got your heart beating fast. You have chosen to wear a pretty, draped black dress, not so revealing yet not conservative at all. Your back is completely naked and has a slit on the side of the skirt. Your typical fine jewelry and heels that can kill if you happen to step on someone.

Law is always first in the dining room, this time accompanied by three of his most loyal nakamas. A polar bear dressed in a black suit, and two guys with hats that start drooling when they see you enter the room. The four of them stand up from their seats “Cap… captain…!”, says the one using an orca hat. “Shachi, shut up”, says the other with a hat that puts “PENGUIN” over it.

“Good night sirs, please take a seat”, you tell them. One of the menials runs to your place and moves the chair for you. “Thank you, darling. You can bring the food whenever it is ready”, you tell him, with a big smile. You usually aren’t so sweet with others, but tonight you are in a good mood for sure.

“So, you are the high officials of the Heart Pirates, huh? nice to meet you”, you tell them with your intense gaze placed on each one. The humans swallow, they are intimidated by your imposing presence. The polar bear stands up once again and shouts “AY AY, NICE TO MEET YOU! I’M BEPO!”. You are kind of overwhelmed by how noisy the Mink is, but you think it is kinda cute. Law tells Bepo to sit down and lower the voice, and the bear repeats several times how sorry he is. You giggle a little and tell him “It’s ok, Law! Bepo you are a cutie, nice to meet you”.

The food is served, and everyone starts to taste the wonderful creations of your chef team. You can’t help but peer at your prey while eating. He notices your persistent stare and fixes his eyes on yours. That piercing, grey, icy stare that makes a shiver run through your spine and you’re breathing subtly uncontrollably. No person has made you lose control before, you are known for being cruel and cold, you haven’t felt in love ever in your life, but this brat… this brat has something special.

“Guys get back to the Polar”, Law commands his nakamas. “They can stay in one of the rooms if they want, Law”, you tell him, and the guys start getting excited with red cheeks. “It’s an order, get back to the polar, please”, he orders his subordinates with a cold stare. You roll your eyes back, because you know he is protecting his crew from you, he respects your power and knows well how cruel you can be when you want something. “Fine, fine…”, Bepo, and the guys say and walk away.

“Do you want to have a drink in the garden, Law?”, you offer him after his nakamas have left the place. He looks at you and takes a few seconds to finally respond. “After you”, he tells you and you two start walking to the patio.

The blue night sky looks deep, the sound of the running water of the many fountains competes against the song of frogs and crickets. Some torches light up the path to the lawn chairs. As you walk on the deck, you ask him “Do you always carry your katana wherever you go, Law? Are you afraid of something? He responds from behind “I’m not, I simply take my precautions”. You try to sound strong and petty, but the truth is that the one who is scared is you.

When you finally take your seats on the couches, both of you cross your legs. Your dress allows some skin of your thighs to peek through, and Law can’t resist but scan your whole body with those grey eyes. You do the same, his tight jeans, seems to get even more tighter in between his legs. The unsolved sexual tension between the two of you it’s way too high to ignore, and at this point you are sure Law has on his mind the constant idea of fucking you, as much as you do.

You can’t take it anymore; you are just fed up. This is taking too damn long, you want him in between your legs, now. So, you suddenly and violently stand up, slapping the table with your hands. Law even though got a little scared, he remains still, acting swanky as always. You wait for him to say something, but he just stares. You are tired of this pestering feeling, a flame inside you burns even hotter. Law smiles at you with that cocky smirk and pats his lap. “Come here”, he tells you.

Even if you were dying to sit there, you are just too arrogant to do as a man says, and fighting against your true desires, walk away. “Damn brat”, you say to yourself while walking through the deck stepping strong so your heels sound louder in the middle of the night.

Suddenly, someone grabs you by the wrist and turns you around. You have the Surgeon of Death´s face in front of yours. You gasp, he is not smirking, but his eyes show pure desire, his breathing is accelerated as much as yours. Your hand is directed to his crotch by him. You can feel his hard bulge growing under your palm. You have a side grin. And after a few seconds, he kisses you so passionately, so lustfully, so needy. His inked hands grabbing your hair, pulling your head back, letting your neck exposed so he can dig in like a beast.

“Let’s go to my room, Law”, you gasp in between steamy kisses. “Fine… Room… Shambles”, he says and you two are teletransported to your bed. You land into your mattress while Law is standing up at the feet of your bed. You smile seductively at him, full of desire when he begins to take off his black shirt. The big heart tattooed on his chest that reaches almost to his belly button, his abs slightly defined, the V that his lower stomach muscles form over his pelvis, and a little happy trail that makes you wonder where it finishes, makes you squirm and recognize how needy for this man you are. “Come here, brat”, you tell him with a beckoning finger.

Law is over you in no time, cradling your face with his hand. Your fingers trail the inked lines on his chest. He begins to kiss your neck, lower and lower, his hand is now traveling under the slit of your dress, up through your thigh and even higher. His soft hand caresses the side of your waist, while the other slowly slides off the right strap of your dress, exposing to him your breast.

His tongue plays with your nipple, and you moan his name. A string of saliva forms when slowly relieves the nipple from his lips and looks at you with intense lust. Your hands that were lingering over his bulge are now at each side of his head, and in a simple but fast movement you are now over him, straddling your hips. You grind against his sex, touring your hands over his tattooed chest. You slowly bend over him, biting his neck, playing with your tongue with the little hoops he has hanging from his ears. Law’s hand on your butt, squeezing hard your flesh.

You slide off your other strap, so your dress falls off exposing your torso and beautiful breasts to him. The black dress gets stuck on your hips and you start softly jumping over his aching dick, still trapped in his jeans. Law is sweating, he is about to burst, and you haven’t even touched his sex yet. You don’t even care about the foreplay, you want him to flood your insides, and he wants it too.

He reaches for his zipper and lowers it. You help him by pulling down his jeans and his boxers, letting free his member. To your surprise the left side of his groin area is also inked with a little sword. At first it looked suspicious, but you are so horny that instantly jump over his sex.

Your already wet panties become even wetter when you rub your sex against his. Law closes his eyes, every time your core touches the tip of his cock, like a sweet torture. Until this is too much for him and pushes you to the mattress. You flop down on your back and Law violently tears off your panties. “I’m gonna fuck the hell out of you, bitch”, he tells you gasping, and penetrates you, rough and deep.

“Mh, Law”, you whine, invaded by the pleasure his cock against your walls makes you feel. He has his teeth clenched making his mandible even more sharp. Your bodies are covered in sweat as he pounds you with hard fast thrusts. Your moans would probably make everyone in the castle wake up, but you don’t really care.

Law passes his hand on your back, lifting you as you cross your legs around his waist. You are now seated over him. Your breasts pressed against his chest, face to face, while he keeps penetrating you. The both of you reach climax, you first and then Law. Your core feels how his pulsating member empties inside it. He gets you hugged tight, and you rest your head over his shoulder enjoying how full you feel, how satisfied you feel after relieving that sexual tension between the two of you. n

Even if you insist on this being all just sex, and haven't been in love before, something about being skin to skin with a man after having sex feels better than you thought. Never in your life have you experienced being hugged to someone, so closely, so intimate. His warm breath caresses the skin of your shoulder, and you close your eyes in hope this moment never ends.

Law slowly helps you lay on bed, and he does the same. You are lying on your side while Law is on his back looking at the ceiling. You worship how his inked chest goes up and down with every inspiration and you can't help but put your hand over it. He looks at you and pulls you next to him. Your face is now over his arm, and he caresses your naked back. He probably knows this is a whole new experience for you, as you are known to be heartless… but the truth is that you have always been lonely…

PART 2

#trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgar law #trafalgardwaterlaw #trafalgar one piece #trafalgar d. water law #trafalgar law x reader #trafalgar law x oc #one piece #law one piece #law x y/n #law x reader #one piece x reader #one piece x you #one piece x y/n #one piece x oc #law imagine #trafalgar law imagine #traffy #sashi-ya

[bagsley]

my top ten favorite wincest fics of all time... completely unsurprising that over half of them are candle beck!

Last Day on Earth by candle_beck

PODFIC

Sam has one day to live. You can imagine how Dean feels. (Probably my favorite wincest fic of all time. Dean’s frantic heart-stopping terror over Sam is just the most familiar version of him, you know?? It feels so true.)

Dean turns on his brother, fists Sam's collar and hugs him very hard. His face feels hot and slippery against Sam's neck, and Dean doesn't care, thinks clearly: fuck it. Fuck it, as Sam hugs him back just as fierce, fuck the highway and the night sky and the scripture being read in the background, the heavens and the earth and the light, the cattle and the creeping thing and anything else you can name. Every matchstick, every initialed square of sidewalk, every abandoned heart--fuck it all.

Ascalon by candle_beck

PODFIC

There are dragons in the world. (Breathlessly beautiful. Fantastic use of second person pov.)

You've always loved your brother and you've always been fucked up on one level or another, and somewhere along the line it got all screwed up in your head, all your history rewritten.

You love Dean because you're fucked up. You're fucked up because you love Dean. Being fucked up and loving Dean are the same thing.

Until at last, inevitably: the manner in which you love Dean is fucked up.

You should have seen that coming.

But he makes you so stupid.

American Myth by candle_beck

PODFIC

As long as you have a car, you are free, and other lies my country taught me. (Sam and Dean lose home, but only for about five hours.)

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do about it?” Dean asks, a lace of impatience through his voice. “Apparently I bug you just by existing, so really, Sam, what do you want?”

That blows through Sam like a hurricane, blasting out the corpses and debris, the black curse shadowing his life, the twenty-odd years of vigilante violence and brotherhood, stripping him down to the elemental, and he looks at Dean feeling crystallized, thinking in astonishment, you.

Flying Weight by fleshflutter

Recently soulful Sam, vampire Dean. Sam feels in constant bitter competition with the ghost of his soulless self. (Whew.)

There's a moment he remembers very clearly, one of the last he does remember: He's in the graveyard at Stull, and his arm is drawn back, fist clenched with the force of mountains, and the sun catches his eye, and just for a heartbeat, Lucifer is blind, can't see a damned or blessed thing. That's when Sam sees Dean.

That's the moment Sam hangs his humanity on.

Welcome to Fog City by candle_beck

PODFIC

Sam's one blind spot is big enough to drive a truck through.

It was also mortifying, paralyzing at times, but Dean wasn't even horrified so much as familiarly resigned. Already he'd grown up as a refugee with demons trying to kill his whole family, and now he was irrevocably attracted to his kid brother too. Clearly Dean Winchester's life was a spectacular cosmic joke, a series of rugs to be pulled out from under him, and luckily his sense of humor was dark enough that he could at least appreciate the absurdity of the whole thing. This was just one more ridiculous cross that God had given him to bear.

So Dean went on through the highway world. Radio stations delighted in informing him that the hits would keep right on coming, and Dean didn't know what to expect next. Leprosy, maybe. A plague of locusts. The violent loss of one of his hands.

Instead, Sam left, ran away to California one lovely day in the late summer. It was not the worst thing that could have happened, but it was certainly in the top five. The weight of that particular cross had nearly smashed Dean into the earth.

Second Map of the World by candle_beck

They're on a lucky streak, and then Sam does something ill-considered, and the plot thickens.

Dean drove out of Topeka as if trying to outrun the shock wave of a nuclear explosion. Ninety, a hundred, a hundred and ten miles an hour, blowing past strings of red taillights, huge rattling trucks like dinosaurs with loose bones. Dean had the tape turned up loud enough that the speakers fuzzed. His hands were locked on the wheel.

The Firefly that Loved Metallica by fleshflutter

Dean's soul in a bottle.

[Sam] faces down demons and drives a four-day old corpse across the country on a hope so thin it wouldn't stand up to a light rain.

Waiting Games by Nutkin

Sam's having sex visions.

Dean's dug into himself deeply, become this tricky maze of raised hackles and sensitive spots that he's starkly open about. So open about, in fact, that it's like they've been worn into calluses, like they aren't even vulnerabilities anymore. He can bark out at Sam that he's the most important thing in his life, and it doesn't sound like he's admitting something private - it's just the same way he'd say, Give Satan my best, before ending a spirit. He picks and chooses the things he's embarrassed by, the things he lets become issues, and the way he feels about Sam isn't one of them. It's not a bruise that can be pushed on - maybe it was, once, but in the time Sam was off going to keggers and building a fort of textbooks and love letters, Dean just cemented it into one of the things that drives him.

Be Awake by candle_beck

Dean has a concussion.

"I'm sorry," Sam said as he sat Dean down on the bed, stepped back. He had a hard flush on his face, a downcast shadow in his eyes. "Shouldn't have gotten mad, I, I shouldn't have left you out there."

Dean shook his head, smiling dazedly at him. Sam's edges were blurred and his hair looked funny, fuzzing out like a halo, but the lines of his face stayed sharp, Dean's last remaining constant. He couldn't remember what Sam was talking about, but he said:

"It's okay, Sammy,"

because it was, and Sam would see that, Sam was smart. Dean wanted to get that serious look off his brother's face, win a smile from him no matter how far south the night had gone, but the fog was building in his mind again, rolling down hills to obscure his cities, ground his airplanes, wreck his ships.

Dean held his wavering head steady, fixed his eyes on Sam's face with the last of his focus. He managed to say, "Exit light," and then pitched backwards on the bed.

Gone Again by candle_beck

Harrowing and suffocatingly, inevitably heartbreaking. They never stood a chance.

The dream is different this time.

This time they’re in a motel room and the walls are on fire. It’s Sam’s fault; every time he touches something it goes up in flames.

Dean can hear his hair crackling and he jerks his head, watching the sparks fly. Sam’s close enough that Dean can see the firework reflection in his eyes. He flattens his hand next to Dean’s head and an outline of fire flares around his fingers.

“You gotta stop,” Dean says, barely able to breathe. These motel rooms are as flimsy as cardboard; if one part burns the whole thing will go.

And Sam’s laughing and shaking his head, licking at Dean’s throat and it’s hotter than fire could ever hope to be.

“I was made for this,” Sam tells him. “So were you.”

Dean’s eyes are raw and torn and wet but it might be blood. His shirt is smoldering and growing holes like black-edged tumors that Sam follows with his fingers, smearing soot on the bare skin of Dean’s stomach. Stuff that won’t wash away, like the blisters Sam’s mouth is leaving on Dean, the mad incendiary glee in his eyes.

#wincest #fic rec #spn

[nashibirne]

Gimme Shelter - 6

Sorry, it took me a while to write the next chapter but I was kinda busy. I hope you still want to know how things are going and growing between Henry and Kat. If you like this, please reward me with a comment, reblog or like 💜

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC (Kat Spencer)

Words: ~3.0k

Summary: Henry has to deal with a personal crisis and he finds shelter with his old rugby mate Sam and his sister Kat. She used to be Henry’s best friend a very long time ago. Will they be able to become friends again or maybe even more? Chapter 6: A disruptive factor and The Lonely Hearts Club meets again.

You can find the previous chapters and my other fics on my masterlist!

Warnings: RPF, mention of mental health issues, lots of poetry

Unbeta'ed. English isn't my first language. Mistakes ahead and they're all mine.

Disclaimer: I don’t know the real Henry Cavill or anyone who's related to him in any way, this is pure fiction and nothing more

Credits: Pics for the moodboard from Pinterest. Face claims: Kat = Jennifer Connelly

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @artandotherdelights @notabronte @littlefreya @luclittlepond @eldarwen333 @meowpurrbooks @marantha @liliumdream @enchantedbytomandhenry @greensleeves888 @witcherfan @margauxmargaux07 @radaofrivia @m07belzen @a-little-counter-esperanto @starstruckkittyangel @mary-ann84 @sillyrabbit81

So, enough of the small print...here we go:

**********

As much as Kat enjoyed her time with Henry and the feelings that blossomed between them there was this one disruptive factor called Mel.

When they were sitting on that rock the other day, almost kissing, when they were pouring their hearts out afterwards, it all felt so real, so possible, so tangible but whenever she saw Hen talk to Mel her heart sank and doubt started to nag at her hope. And he not only talked to Mel, he went to her place several times and so Kat went to London for contract negotiations with a publishing house with mixed feelings. 

She wanted to trust Henry who always laughed it off, when Kat asked him about Mel, saying they were just having a neighbourly chat, but she also wasn't willing to be heading for the rocks blindly. She wasn't able to ignore the existence of Mel and the connection between her and the man Kat had fallen for again. 

She missed Henry terribly when she was away though. Five days without him made her realize how close they had grown and how much she enjoyed being around him. Five lonely nights in a hotel bed increased her doubts and her worries, her jealousy and her insecurities. She couldn't stop her mind from creating worst case scenarios of Hen being with Mel. Of Mel seducing him, of Henry having sex with her, falling for the attractive, charming blonde who knew how to enchant a man. She imagined how he got trapped by this woman who'd never tried to hide that she was looking for a new husband, a new provider, after the last one had the audacity to die and leave her with a big, beautiful mansion but not with the amount of money Mel had hoped for. And in all these scenarios Kat was the one who was left behind with a broken heart. Again. 

When she returned to St. Ives on Saturday afternoon she found Lydia working in the garden and Sam in the kitchen, baking bread. Her brother hugged her, leaving handprints of flour on her black shirt.

"How was London?" 

Kat plopped down on a chair with a sigh. "Successful but exhausting. I can't believe that I actually liked living there. The traffic is horrible and all those people and the noise…"

"Good thing you're back in our beautiful, little sanctuary then. We've missed you. Even Darcy came looking for you every day." Sam shoved the loaf of bread he'd just moulded into the oven before he washed his hands and sat down at the table across from his younger sister.

"Really?" An amused smile played on Kat's lips. "And I thought Henry and Kal are all he cares about recently. How's Hen by the way? On the phone he said he's fine?"

"He is, I guess. No more panic attacks as far as I know. He's been in a pretty good mood all week, busy and full of energy."

Sam poured himself a glass of water and offered one to Kat too but she declined with a shake of her head.

"Where is he anyway?"

"At Mel's." 

Kat's expression changed from curious to annoyed in an instant. "Again? What's he doing there?"

"Having a coffee and a chat, I guess," Sam shrugged. "I don't know the details."

Kat rolled her eyes. "Of course not."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Then why do you say it?"

Kat looked at Sam with a frown. "Nevermind."

"No, come on. Spill it. Are you implying I know something I won't tell you?" Sam got a little cross now.

"I'm not implying anything. I just don't understand why he spends so much time at her place and I can hardly believe your old rugby mate hasn't told you." She crossed her arms and gave her brother an expectant look.

"He told me what I've just told you. What do you think they're doing? Having a secret affair?" He let out a snort, laughing just at the thought of Hen and Mel but when he saw the frown on Kat's face it dawned on him. "Wait? That's what you're thinking? That something's going on between them? You're jealous?"

"Does that sound so far-fetched? She tries to dig her nails into every man who seems to be good husband material. She tried it with you and you don't need a crystal ball to know that she's for sure trying it with Hen too. And for the record...I'm worried about him, not jealous." Kat was all worked up now and Sam could easily tell that he'd hit a sore point.

"Henry is not an idiot, Kat. From my own experience I can tell you that Mel is anything but an enigma. I could tell what she's looking for after our first and only date and a man like Hen, who has to deal with gold diggers all the time, will see right through her without problems. There's no need to worry. And no need to be jealous." He grinned at her and Kat made a face. "Did you even listen to me? I've just told you that…"

"That you're not jealous. Yeah...yackety-yack. I know you, sis. You're in love with him. Don't try to deny it." Kat sighed and surrendered with a resigned smile. "Fuck, yeah and I feel like I'm sixteen again, Sammy. Confused and clueless. What is it about him that makes me feel like that? Why does it have to be so damn complicated?"

"It's not complicated. Trust him and listen to your heart."

"It's not that easy."

"No, obviously it's not. So maybe you should just ask him about Mel and work on your trust issues."

"It's not like I haven't asked him about her before. But I guess you're right. I'm gonna try again and talk to him tonight." She gave her brother a nod.

"At the meeting of The Lonely Hearts Club?" Sam winked at her with a grin that made Kat chuckle.

"He's told you about it?"

"Yeah. He's talked about it all week. Running around with piles of books, volumes of poems as far as I could see. Copying entire pages by hand into a notebook. To be honest, I think it's the reason for his good mood."

****

Maybe, Kat thought, or maybe he just enjoys fooling around with Mel.

When Kat climbed up the rope ladder a few hours later she had managed successfully to avoid Henry up to this point. She had spent the rest of the day in her room, brooding over Sam's words, about Henry and Mel for the umpteenth time and about the club meeting of course. She was close to chickening out but she decided to get her shit together and to enjoy the time with Henry on their little stroll down memory lane. And maybe, just maybe, she would even find the courage to ask him about Mel.

"Kat!" Henry flashed her one of those billion dollar smiles when she entered the tree house. "There you are." He hugged her and gave her a look full of relief. "I haven't seen you all afternoon. I was a little worried you'd stand me up." 

"Neighbourly duties?" Kat asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

She gave him a smile and shrugged. "Well, you were not around when I came back…"

"Yeah...I was busy." He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. 

"Huh?"

"Sam said you went to visit Mel."

"Ah, yes. Yes, I did. You know we have a little chat every once in a while. She's...nice."

"How lovely."

"The room looks great, Hen." 

The awkward silence that fell over the room made them both uncomfortable. The unexpected tension left Henry in a state of insecurity. He'd hoped for an easy time with Kat, some intimate moments to share but the start of the night wasn't very promising. He cleared his throat before giving Kat a goofy smile.

"Shall we begin? I've prepared a little something. A few poems and...yeah." He shrugged helplessly and to his big relief Kat nodded with a smile. "Of course."

It was only then that Kat realized that Henry had decorated the treehouse with loving care. Blankets and cushions on the floor and candles in the corner of the room created a very warm and cozy atmosphere and a huge pile of books showed her that Henry was very well prepared for the first meeting of the Lonely Hearts Club since 1999. 

"Thanks, kitty. Let's sit." He plopped down beside the books, his long legs stretched out and Kat sat down cross-legged next to him, placing a little bluetooth speaker on the floor. "Prepare for some 90s flashback. I picked all the cheesy love songs we listened to non-stop." She started the playlist and soft music filled the air. Henry smiled at her and took a deep breath before he started to speak solemnly in his best statesman's voice.

The way he looked at her took her breath away for a moment, his gaze intense and pleading, he seemed so vulnerable it made her heart miss a beat. She wanted to kiss the insecurity and sadness that crossed his handsome face away but her own doubts made her fight the need to be close to him. Instead she took the notebook he handed her over and opened it. She stared at the name of the poem that was written down in Henry's neat handwriting on the first page. 

"I hereby declare the meeting of The Lonely Hearts Club open. Present are the founding members Katherine Elisabeth Spencer and Henry William Cavill."

Kat couldn't help but chuckle. He was such a dork.

"Would you do me the honor of reciting the first poem, dear kitty?" 

She knew it all too well and yet she'd almost forgotten it existed. Forgotten or repressed, it didn't really matter, she still knew it by heart, since it was the very poem she had read countless times after Henry had broken her heart. The fact that he knew it too, that he'd chosen these verse to be read out loud made her wonder if it was as familiar to him as it was to her. She cleared her throat, closed the book and her eyes and started to recite.

"When we two parted by George Gordon Byron."

She paused and took another deep breath.

"When we two parted

In silence and tears,

Half broken-hearted

To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold

Colder thy kiss;

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this."

Kat flinched slightly when she felt Henry's warm hand in hers. She looked at him and she wasn't surprised when he continued, his voice warm and soothing like thick, golden honey.

"The dew of the morning

Sunk chill on my brow—

It felt like the warning

Of what I feel now.

Thy vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame:

I hear thy name spoken,

And share in its shame."

The game was the same it used to be back in the days at Stowe. They took turns to read the stanza. The only difference was that they were holding hands now. Kat spoke the next words with a steady voice although on the inside she was trembling.

"They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;

A shudder comes o'er me—

Why wert thou so dear?

They know not I knew thee,

Who knew thee too well:

Long, long shall I rue thee,

Too deeply to tell."

She smiled at Henry, sensing that he needed her reinsurance for the last paragraph. He returned the smile and went on. 

"In secret we met—

In silence I grieve,

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive.

If I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee?

With silence and tears."

They sat in silence for several minutes, comfortable silence this time, the quiet connecting them in a way words never could.

"I've got another one you might like." Henry said softly after a while. He reluctantly let go of her hand, took the notebook and searched through the pages. "Here it is."

"Bring it on." Kat smiled at him, hardly able to hide the loving feelings that spread inside her chest and her belly. Henry nodded and began.

"My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety."

"That's beautiful, pop." Kat blushed under Henry's smirk when he heard the nickname slip from her lips. "William Wordsworth?" she guessed.

"Yes. I'd never heard of it before, but Mel showed it to me the other day."

Kat's smile faded like a shadow in the dark.

"Oh really, did she? So that's what you're doing when you meet? You read poems to each other?" Her voice had chilled in an instant, her body language switched from open hearted to closed off. Henry was confused by the sudden change of tone.

"Yes, she told me about it when I mentioned that I was looking for romantic poems by british poets. And no, that's not what we usually do."

"And what do you do? Usually?" 

"Nothing special, as I've told you before. And honestly, Kat..it's none of your business anyway."

That felt like a slap in the face to her.

"Right...yeah...you're absolutely right. It's none of my business what you do or who you're fooling around with." Kat got up, tapping off non-existing dirt from her jeans with determined motions that showed how touched and churned up she was.

"Fooling around?" Henry got up too in a hurry, knocking his head on a branch that was part of the treehouse's roof. He cursed before he turned to Kat again. "You can't be serious. You don't really think I f...that I sleep with Mel, do you?"

"I don't know what to think, Henry. You spend so much time with her lately…"

"And I've told you it's harmless and I just visit our neighbour from time to time." He tried to take her hand but Kat took a step back, turning around to stare out of the window with a deep sigh.

"You still don't trust me." His voice was sad now and there was a note of disappointment too. 

"I really want to, Henry. But it's so hard…" Her shoulders were trembling and her soft sobs told him she was crying. He hugged her gently from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I know, kitty. And I know that I'm the one to blame for this dilemma. But you have to believe me. There's nothing between me and Mel. I don't fuck her and I'm not interested in her. I only care about you. Okay?" The last words were nothing more than a whisper in her ear, a light breeze of tones that made her want to believe him. She nodded, leaning into his embrace but she wasn't able to give him a proper answer. The truth was she had no answer. She knew she loved him but what she didn't know was if she was going to allow herself to act accordingly. 

"Listen, Kat. This might not be the right time nor place to do this, but I need to ask you something. I'm going to Jersey next week for my mum's 70s birthday and I wonder if you'd want to come with me?"

Kat turned around in his arms abruptly, taken by surprise by his question. He didn't let go of her waist and so she found herself closer than ever to him, his gorgeous face right in front of her. "You want me to go to Jersey with you?" He nodded. "As my plus one. Yes." She freed herself carefully from his embrace. "But…"

"Let me explain." Henry took a step back to give her some space. "My mum invited me months ago and I accepted...of course...but to be honest, I've dreaded that family gathering since day one. All eyes will be on me, everyone's gonna try to wrap me up in cotton wool, walking on eggshells around me, wondering if I'm okay." He sighed and shrugged. "Don't get me wrong. I'm beyond grateful to have a family that is worried about me, loving people who care, but it also stresses me out. Having you by my side would be very helpful and besides that, I would hate to be separated from you again. Those five days last week were long enough, Kat and don't even make me start with the 22 years prior. You have no idea how much I missed you." He gave her a sheepish smile and she couldn't help but return it. "I missed you too, Hen. But I'm really not sure if this is a good idea. Your parents hardly know me."

"Don't be silly. They remember you very well. You spent Christmas 1998 with us. Please don't say you forgot about that...my parents invited you after I spent the summer with your family here in St. Ives."

"Of course I remember that. It was the most lively and jolly Christmas of my childhood. All those people at your parents house, the chatter and singing and goofing about, it was such a stark contrast to Christmas with my family."

"See...you can have that again. A crowded, noisy place, loads of laughter, alcohol, fun and food. When I asked my mum if it's okay to invite you she was so excited, Kat. She'd love to see you again and so would my dad and my brothers. And I'm sure you're gonna like my sisters-in-law and all my nephews and nieces." Kat smiled.

"That sounds good."

"So you're in?"

"I don't know. Where would we stay? At your parent's?"

"No. I always stay at a small cottage near the beach when I visit them. I bought it a few years ago."

Kat started to chew on her lower lip.

"Two bedrooms." Henry added with a wink before making the next try to take her hands. This time she didn't pull back. "Please say yes, Kat. Let's spend some time together. We can stay there for a week or so. When the whole Cavill bunch leaves after the celebration, it will only be you and me and lots of time to...to bond again. So what do you say?"

*******

#henry cavill #cavillry #henry cavill fandom #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill rpf #henry cavill slow burn #slow burn

[the-broken-truth]

Howdy! I was wondering if I could request some Yandere stuff from Resident Evil 8? I was thinking the reader is a 👩(female) 👻(Reincarnated), 🏠(Local) who was really close to Alcina before their death. Now back to life she wishes to leave the village and travel the world without Alcina becoming aware of just how similar the reader is to that person. But she gets caught attempted to flee in the end. If not thank you anyways!!

Broken Truth (Looks at the username and eyes widen): Isn't this strange? I was looking at your page when you sent me this ask and followed me. Thank you for both. Now, I shall make an answer worthy of a fellow yandere writer's eyes! Let the words weave together!!!

Broken Truth: Since - as it is told - When a soul reincarnates, they lose their memories of past lives but they tend to look or act the same. I think I can make this work. Also - The Reader Shall me named Antanasia due to the fact the name means 'One Who Will Be Reborn.'

SUBTITLE: Soulful Lavender Eyes

[In The Realm of Dreams]

"Floarea mea de lavandă?" The voice of the taller figure of the 2 sitting on a bench waiting to sunset called out as she turned her shrowd face towards the smaller figure to her right.

"Da, contesa mea?" The smaller figure questioned.

"I know you have said it before but I must know... shall we always be together?" The 'Countess' asked.

"Of course, My Love - not even time shall keep us apart." The smaller figure answered - causing what looked to be a smile on the taller figure's face. The two of them leaned in closer - as if for a kiss - but the light of the sun began to flare and consumed them both in its light, dissolving the dream into nothingness.

[In The Home of Antanasia Frost - Bedroom]

The eyelids that protected the lavender eyes opened - allowing the keeper these unusual color of eyes to gaze upon the ceiling of her bedroom. Closing those eyes again, she groaned as she face-palmed herself and lifted her upper body to sit upright in her bed - letting her head hang in her hands as they wiped the sweat from her face.

'That dream again... That's the 5th time this month. This damn village is driving me crazy; I can't wait to get the hell out of this deathtrap.' The young woman echoed in her mind.

This young was Antanasia Frost - a 35-year-old resident of the village who's dreamt of leaving the cursed village since the moment she lost her mother; who - against her father's wisdom - told her not to go out during the night but she failed to listen and lost her life when she was torn apart by a pack of lycans.

Antanasia's Father - Thomas Frost - worked as one of the village's best apothecaries; when your village is converted with death at every turn, a visit to them at least kept you alive along, giving you a chance to live. When her father died, Anatanasia took over the business and she's been working as hard as she can to save every last Lei so that she could leave this accursed place, and maybe the damn dreams will stop.

Little did she know - She was not the only one having a hard time sleeping.

[Castle Dimitrescu - The Catacombs]

The sound of water dripping through the creaks of the old stone that was illuminated by the light of the 3 candles perched upon the candlestick that rested in the hand of the golden-eyed woman that made her way through the stone tunnel. She walked until she reached a door but this door wasn't like all the others in his hall that were decaying away or already fallen apart into a pile of black wood - this door was fresh & made of fresh black wood with the golden Crest of Castle Dimitrescu right in the center of the door. The woman ran her free hand along the golden crest before she reached into her nightgown pocket and withdrew a small silver key that held her insignia as well. She inserted the key into the hole and turned, listening for the click, and pushed the door open, her long black hair - that would normally be in a black bun - was slight blown back as a cold gust of wind came from the newly opened room as she stepped inside.

The room was around a stone cell - the light of the moon that enter from the caged hole in the ceiling shined upon the crystals that were placed on burners around the room & in the center - was a large glass casket. The golden-eyed woman walked to the casket - her eyes beginning to water as she looked at the frozen figure that rested in the glass box, dressed in a lovely lavender silk gown, her skin ghostly white and her once silky brown hair was losing its pigment. The woman placed her hand on the glass box before speaking in a hushed voice.

"My Love... Forgive me for not coming to visit you for a while - the work with Mother Miranda has been rather time-consuming. She says that she is close to figuring out a way to return her beloved daughter from the grave...maybe she can do the same for you, my love. I've been dreaming a lot about you - about our time together. Could that mean...you shall return to me, My Beloved Flower?" She questioned the eternally silent woman in the glass box before her.

[The Next Week - Monday - The Awaited Day]

Map - ✔

Warm Clothing - ✔

All the chests packed onto the cart - ✔

2 Horses, well-fed - ✔

Horse food for 2 weeks - ✔

Small chests of Lei - ✔

Frost Herbal & Elixir Book - ✔

Lily's Locket - ✔

The Frost Family Photo Album - ✔

"That's everything." The lavender-eyed woman smiled as she checked off the last item on her list. She was finally ready to leave this place and never look back. She just closed the deal to sell her father's shop & her home for a hefty fee, it was the last little bit she needed to get everything she needed to the trip to the nearest major sit in Romania & buy a small home or a room at the inn.

Antanasia smiled at the cart of stuff before she walked over to her horse and stroked their manes - both of them snorting in glee.

"Don't worry, guys - packing took a lot longer than I thought but we still have some daylight to get to a safe place to get to before the sun goes down all the way." Antanasia looked at the setting sun with a smile, "We're gonna be free, guys. Now, let's get a move on; we've been here long enough." The girl said as she closed her eyes with a smile and began to board the carriage's driver seat when the horses began to freak out. Antanasia looked around with wide eyes to see what could have scared her horse when she saw 3 clouds of flies that seemed to be coming from 3 different directions - the bugs stood before her and gathered...into 3 bodies.

The Bodies of the Castle Dimitrescu's Heirs - The 3 Daughters.

"What do we have here, sister?" The eldest one - Bela - asked as she tilted her head like a cat.

"I don't know - it looks like a sheep is trying to leave the herd and we can't let that happen." said the middle child - Cassandra.

"Wait." The youngest - Daniela - said as she looked into the eyes of the woman before her & her sisters, 'Doesn't she look...familiar?" Daniela asked.

"What are you going on about, Dani?" Bela asked, confused at her sister's words.

"It's...I feel like I know her - something about her eyes making the back of my brain itch." Dani said without taking her eyes off the woman.

"You have a brain? When did you find it?" Cassandra chuckled - Bela was about to tell her off but something unexpected happened.

"Cassandra Dimitrescu - what have I don't you about disrespecting my dandelion?!" barked out Antanasia's mouth - causing her to slap her hand over her mouth when she realized what she said and the daughters - mainly Dani - got wide-eyed at those words.

"Dandelion? That's what... That's what Mama used to call me." Dani began to tear up, "I knew I recognized you... It's really you - you're back, Mama!!!" Dani yelled out with a smile but the woman before her shook her head.

"No, you have me mistaken for someone else! I am no mother of yours!" Antanasia barked out again as she backed away, bumping in her cart but it was for not when the daughters looked at each other, nodding and charged her.

[A few minutes later - Castle Dimitrescu - Alcina's Study]

"Mother, we have something for - something that you lost a long time ago," Bela said as she walked over to her mother sitting in her chair while her sisters held the struggling woman in their drip. The Lady of the Castle rose to her feet and turned to look at her daughters holding an unknown woman.

"What is the meaning of this, daughters?" Alcina asked.

"Mother, we have reason to believe that..." Bela began but Dani - in her excitement - her off.

"IT'S MAMA, MOTHER! SHE'S COME BACK BUT SHE WAS GOING TO LEAVE THE VILLAGE BUT WE CAUGHT HER BEFORE SHE DID!" Dani yelled out.

"LET GO OF ME! I'M NOT YOUR MAMA! I'M NOTHING TO YOU!" The woman yelled out.

'That Fury...'

It was indeed familiar.

"What makes you think she is my lost love when my beloved sleeps for eternity in a frozen glass box?" Alcina asked as she walked over to the struggling - looking down at her but couldn't see her eyes as they were closed in the struggling.

"Mother, she called Dani 'Dandelion' when Cassandra made fun of her." That name made Alcina's eyes widen and she looked at the woman before grabbing her face to keep it still but the woman still had her eyes closed.

"Open your eyes." Alcina demanded.

"Let me go!" Demanded the woman.

"OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES BEFORE I SLICE YOUR THROAT!" Alcina roared and her demand was met.

Gold Met Lavender.

Amber Met Amythest.

And the Dragon of Dimitrescu smiled again.

"MY BELOVED ANTANASIA, YOU HAVE RETURNED TO ME!" Alcina yelled as wrapped her arms around the woman and held her close, lifting her off the ground.

"Hey, let me down! How the hell do you know my name?" The lavender-eyed woman asked with a glare.

"My dear, are you well? Surely you remember your own wife?" Alcina questioned.

"I don't have a wife and even if I did, it damn sure wouldn't be you!" Antanasia yelled as she struggled - Alcina was stunned at her words but didn't let go.

"My love, what is the matter with you? Why are you like this?" Alcina asked.

"I'm not your love! I'm not their Mama! I just wanna get back to my cart and leave!" The woman yelled.

"Cart? What cart?" Alcina asked.

"As Dani said, Mother - she had packed a cart that was being pulled by two horses and was going to leave the village, she was going to leave us." Bela explained. Alcina looked wide-eyed as she returned her gaze to the glaring woman.

"Antanasia, my heart - does our daughter speak the truth? Were you really going to leave us?" Alcina asked.

'FOR THE LAST TIME - I'M NOTHING TO YOU, EITHER OF YOU! I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU KNOW MY NAME OR WHO YOU'RE CONFUSING ME WITH BUT I'M NOT HER AND I DON'T WANNA BE HER! I JUST WANNA LEAVE THIS HELLISH PLACE AND LIVE MY LIFE!" The lavender-eyed woman yelled and began panting to catch her breath.

"You are not going anywhere." Alcina's voice came out as a growl.

"What?!" Lavender eyes widened again at anger bleeding in gold.

"Do you know how long I have been waiting for you to come back to us? To make our family whole again? To light these dark halls with your love and life? Too long. Far too long. I lost you once - now your soul returns to me in this new form but I'm glad you retained your lavender eyes; the eyes I fell in love with." Alcina purred.

"I'm not the woman you fell in love with!" She pleaded.

"No, you're not, but give it time & you will be again. It doesn't matter how long I have to wait - your soul has returned to us and I shall rekindle that love. As you said before I lost you - Not even time can keep us apart." Alcina smiled a dangerous grin.

[End]

#resident evil 8 #alcina dimitrescu x female reader #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu

[toh-writings]

Fortunes of Love Pt 1 (Eda x OC)

Summary:

When King needs his most loyal soldier fixed, Eda decides to take them to an old acquaintance of hers to get it patched. What starts as a visit turns into another visit, then another, then another. Eda begins to wonder why they were never friends before.

Warnings: None

It was a surprisingly quiet afternoon. Luz was still at school, Hooty was taking a nap, and King was off somewhere playing. And Eda had every intention of taking advantage of the break in the chaos. She slumped onto the couch with a sigh, a steaming mug of tea in her hands. She took a sip of her drink, closing her eyes and relaxing, a lazy smile on her face. This was the stuff.

Eda’s peace was shattered when a screech rang out through the house. She sighed, putting her mug down on the coffee table. Looks like her tea would go cold. She crossed her arms, scowling at King as he dashed into the room, but her face softened when she saw him. He looked like he was on the verge of tears, his little stuffed rabbit clutched tightly in his arms.

“Eda!” he screeched, running into her legs and toppling over. He was quick to get back to his feet.

“I’m right here, King, you don’t need to screech.”

“Eda, Eda, The worst thing ever has happened!” He continued to screech, not bothering to lower his voice a bit. “Francoise’s been injured!”

He shoved the rabbit in her face, showing the arm hanging on by a thread, the stuffing spilling out.

“He needs immediate attention or I fear he’ll lose his life!” The little demon insisted, looking quite devastated at the turn of events. Eda sighed, a soft smile on her face.

“Alright, alright, let me see.”

She gently took the rabbit from him and took a closer look. The thread attaching the arm to the body was in pieces, bits poking out of the worn fabric. It had probably just gotten too old, played with too much, something like that. She wasn’t the best at sewing, but it looked easy enough to fix.

“Guess I can fix it. Just let me get some things.”

She handed the rabbit back to King and gave him a little pat on his head. She had a bunch of junk in the closet to look through.

It was tougher than she thought it would be just to find a needle and thread. Luz had returned from school before she had even found anything.

“Eda? What are you doing?”

The witch huffed from her pile of stuff, the shelves of the closet empty. She grumbled, wading through her pile and standing by Luz.

“Looking for a needle and thread. King broke his doll.” She said dismissively, idly drawing a circle in the air. All the junk on the floor jumped to attention and flew back to their spots. “Clearly, I didn’t find anything.”

“Awww, that’s why King looks so depressed.”

They looked back to the couch where King sat, still clutching his broken rabbit with big crocodile tears in his eyes. He sniffed.

“Yeah. We need to fix that thing.”

Eda went quiet as she thought, pacing the living room. Okay, maybe she couldn’t fix the damn thing herself. That meant she would have to find someone else to do it. She went through all the people she knew in her mind. Half of them hated her, so it was easy to cut the list down. None of the first people she thought of actually knew anything about sewing or stuffed animals. She had to dig deep before she remembered someone who might be able to help. It was a long shot, but they had to try.

“Alright you two, I have an idea.”

She turned to them with her signature cocky smile.

“We’re going to the market.”

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

The Market was busy this time of day, the witchlings who just got out of school running around through the crowd. Eda hated being at the market when it was like this, but desperate times they say. The market was large and there were many stalls, but only one of them was the one they needed. She wished she remembered where it was better. She had never actually been there before, she just passed it every once in a while. After several wrong turns and irritated mumbles, she finally spotted the familiar stall.

“Ah, here we are! Told ya I’d find it.”

She crossed her arms, a prideful smile on her face, but Luz and King looked doubtful.

“It looks like a … fortune-teller?” Luz said, cocking her head to one side.

And so it did. The dark blue stall was decorated with white glittering stars and a crystal ball sat on the counter alongside various other tools. A group of teenagers were clustered around it, giggling and squealing at each other.

“How is some palm reading supposed to help Francoise?” King shouted, looking irritated.

“Just come on, ya little demon. Trust me.”

King continued to grumble his doubts as the approached the stall. The group of teenagers dispersed as they approached, talking amongst each other and staring at their hands in wonder. As they left they could see the witch waving goodbye. She looked friendly enough, her black curls tied back and what looked like a snake hanging on her shoulders. She smiled at them as they approached, though she looked a bit hesitant when she saw Eda.

“Hello! How can I help you?” Her voice was small and quiet.

“There you are! What was it again? Nila or something?” Eda’s voice boomed in contrast to the other witch. She leaned against the counter, a hand on her hip.

“Niliana.”

Eda gave a dismissive wave.

“Whatever, close enough. Listen, Nily, we have a bit of a problem here and need your help.”

She nodded to King. He still looked doubtful, but jumped on the counter and showed the witch his rabbit. She focused on it instantly, brows furrowed as she inspected the damage, humming thoughtfully.

“You want me to fix it?”

Eda nodded.

“It’s desperate! We must heal Francoie immediately!” King shouted, waving his arms around. “I don’t want to lose my best buddy!”

The woman smiled at him, giving his head a few pats.

“He’ll be fine. I can fix him. Come on then, my supplies are in the back.”

She left her stall, leading them into a tent behind it. Luz gazed around it in wonder. It was dark, little balls of light floating around the ceiling giving all the light they needed to see. There shelves upon shelves of stuff surrounding them, crystal balls, crystals, various jars of herbs, and other mysterious substances. Even more dried herbs were hanging from the ceiling alongside various fabrics. In the middle of the room were several comfy looking chairs and a love seat surrounding a round coffee table with a few unlit candles.

“Take a seat, I’ll get working on this.” Niliana told them in her soft voice, motioning to the chairs. Luz hopped into a chair, giggling as she bounced slightly. Eda sat with a sigh, sprawling out over the love seat, but King couldn’t sit. He followed the witch, right on her heals as she walked to what looked like a work table. The shelf above it was lined with various stuffed animals in various rates of decay and mismanagement. King crawled onto the table, watching anxiously as she got to work. The snake on her shoulders slithered away due to some unspoken command, curling around a nearby staff and turning to wood.

“This is a nice place ya got here!” Luz said, still staring around in wonder. “I haven’t meant anyone who was really good at oracle magic before! Can you tell the future? How? What’s your favorite way to do it? What’s all the herbs and crystals for? How…?”

“Slow down, kid!” Eda said, laughing. “Not everyone can talk as fast as you.”

“Oh, right sorry.” Luz said, looking a bit sheepish and shrugging.

“No, dear, I can’t tell the future. Not exactly. Oracle magic is actually quite complicated. It’s more like I see pieces what could happen. I do it by connecting to others magic. I like reading tea leaves the most. The herbs are for the tea. The crystals can be used to focus someones magic so I can read it and use it to tell the future.”

She answered easily, not missing a beat as she worked. The rabbit was empty of all stuffing now, the broken thread removed and the arm sitting next to it. She got herself a bucket and filled it with water, adding an herb here and an herb there. Once the concoction was completed she put the pieces of the rabbit in to soak.

King stared into the bucket, then looked up at her, confused.

“What are you doing?” He asked, the nervousness creeping into his voice. She smiled at him again.

“He’s just taking a bath is all. It’ll make his fur soft and stronger.”

King nodded, keeping a close eye on the bucket.

“What do you mean you see pieces? What does that mean? And what does tea have to do with telling the future?”

Niliana sighed.

“Why don’t I just … show you? Would that appease you?”

Luz’s eyes went wide and she nodded, almost bouncing with excitement. So, she started putting together a pot of tea, heating the water with a magical floating fire. With nothing left to do but wait, she finally sat with a sigh, grabbing a deck of cards to fiddle with.

Luz never stopped talking, but once the witch had settled the girl went oddly silent. Niliana looked over to her to find the girl watching her with intent, curious eyes.

“Sooooo…” She started, a smirk on her face. “How do you and Eda know each otherrrrrrr.”

“We went to school together,” Eda spoke up before Niliana could, but she didn’t seem to mind. She just nodded.

“We were both in the potions track, at least for a short time.”

“Ugh, those classes were so booooring.” Eda groaned, slouching even further in the love seat at the very memory of them. “It was nothing but stirring and stirring. I don’t know how you managed it.”

“Clearly, I didn’t.” She said, twirling a card between her fingers. “I transferred to the oracle track shortly after you left.”

Eda snorted.

“I’m amazed anyone's making potions these days with a class like that.”

Niliana shrugged.

“I didn’t think it was all that bad. The monotony was calming, especially when I was having a bad day.”

Eda waved her hand aimlessly, clearly unimpressed.

“Awww, you guys were friends?” Luz asked, but Eda shook her head, confusing the girl.

“Not really. We were more like … Aquaintances. We knew of each other, but we didn’t hang out or anything.”

“We only really talked when we were paired up for a project.” Niliana added.

“Yeah, I remember that! I always got a passing grade with you watching my back!”

“You made me do all the work.”

“Not like I was learning anything anyway. I still did some of the stirring, didn’t I?”

“Mmmm, I suppose. Not much. You were too busy getting into trouble releasing spirits in the locker room or something.”

Eda snickered, remembering all her troublesome pranks.

“They never could get rid of those spirits. They made me do it!”

Niliana looked doubtful.

“And how exactly did they manage that?”

Eda just smiled, sitting up so she could ruffle Luz’s hair.

“I had to get Luz here into that school somehow.”

They spent a while retelling some of there adventures from school. Well, Eda retold some of her adventures. NIlly occasionally would add something here or that, mentioning something she herself remembered. Otherwise, she busied herself with other things. The tea needed to be finished and handed out and the rabbit needed dried off after soak and restuffed. The tent was filled with laughter. Even King was laughing at some points, though he kept his attention mostly on his rabbit.

“I finished my tea!” Luz piped up. “Do you read the leaves now?”

“In a bit, hun, let me just finish this real quick.”

King bounced anxiously, watching her carefully as pulled the needle through the fabric. Finally, the string was tied off and snipped.

“He’s done! Ya fixed him!” King shouted, eagerly grabbing for the rabbit, but the woman pulled it away.

“One last thing.” She said, opening one of her drawers to pull out a black ribbon. She tied it around the rabbit’s neck, forming a cute little bowtie. Only when that was done did she hand it to the little demon. He snatched it from her hands, giving it a big hug.

“Francoise! You’re all fixed!” He cheered. “Thank you, lady!”

He jumped off the counter, dashing over to Eda to show her his newly fixed rabbit. She whistled.

“Dang, it almost looks brand new! I knew you did this sort of stuff but I didn’t know you were good at it.”

Niliana shook her head.

“How did you even know? I don’t remember telling you about it.”

Eda shrugged, moving to the side so King could sit next to her, Francoise in his lap.

“I don’t know, you mentioned something about fixing stuffed animals during one of our projects.”

“And you remembered?”

“Yeah, I know. I even shock myself sometimes.” She smirked smugly, crossing her legs and putting her hands behind her head.

Niliana rolled her eyes, sitting down and putting a hand out to Luz. The girl eeped gleefully, rushing to give her the tea cup.

“Now, what do you want me to focus on?”

“Uh, what?” Luz asked.

“I need something to focus on. So, what do you want to know?”

Luz thought for a moment, then beamed.

“Oh, oh, I know! Will I ever fall in love?”

Eda rolled her eyes, mumbling something about teenagers and love. Niliana smirked at that before gazing into the cup. A moment later her eyes started glowing teal. Luz watched, fascinated. Several moments passed in silence before Luz got too impatient.

“Well? What do you see?”

Niliana closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. They were no longer glowing, returned to their usual golden brown. She thought for a moment, Luz staring at her intently, slowly inching closer to the witch.

“You will fall in love. In fact, you’ll fall in love with someone you already know and who you’re already close with.” She finally said, placing the cup down on the coffee table.

“Whoa, really? How do you know?”

“When I read your tea leaves, I focus intently on you and whatever you want to know, in this case, love. When I go into my trance, I don’t really see things, I feel things. They're more like impressions. I felt love, that’s how I know you will fall in love with someone. But I also felt a sense of familiarity, which is how I know it’s someone close to you. I’d advise you to figure out if any of your friends like you.”

“Whoa…” Luz whispered, looking amazed. Eda chuckled. It was amazing that her face didn’t freeze like that.

“Alright, hotshot. If you’re so good at this then read my stupid leaves.” She said, leaning forward, her teacup hanging off a finger. Niliana snatched it before it could fall and shatter. She shot the other witch a hard look.

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know, just tell me something about my love life or whatever.”

The witch stared into the teacup for a moment before her eyes lit up once more.

“This is all nonsense anyway,” Eda added, sitting back and crossing her arms. Luz looked taken aback.

“What? Why?”

“Simple. There’s no such thing as a set future. It hasn’t happened yet! Sure, you can be told what might happen and give all sorts of random advice or whatever, but it’s you’re own actions that determine what really happens. That’s not something she can control.”

Luz looked a little downtrodden by her mentors' words, but brightened almost instantly.

“So she can’t tell exactly what’ll happen, but she can point me in the right direction! It’s like well-informed advice.”

Eda waved a hand dismissively.

“Whatever you say, kid. Personally, I don’t let this stuff get to me.”

Niliana blinked, her eyes returning to normal once more.

“... alright, there’s a lot more to go through here.” She commented, looking rather thoughtful.

Eda frowned, just a bit irritated.

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

The woman didn’t seem affected by Eda’s steely tone, continuing with her even, soft voice.

“You have a pretty crazy love life already, it can be hard to sift through. You feel a lot of love for the people around you, so it's hard to say if there’s anything new there … There will be others that’ll come into your life and join your little family, that’s for sure. For a wanted criminal, you really draw them in.”

Eda huffed, her irritation fading as a soft smile spread on her face.

“I suppose so... “

She tried not to react to the look Luz was giving her.

It was a few more seconds before Niliana spoke up again.

“For someone who’s dated a lot, you haven’t felt a who lot of romantic love before. But there will be someone someday. Probably someone from your past. You may be nervous about it, it’ll be odd and new, but It’ll be worth it. My advice would be to not go searching for anything, but don’t shove anyone away who might want to get close to you. You may never find love if you stay closed off. But make sure they’re making an effort, too.”

She gave a little nod, satisfied with her reading, and put the teacup next to the other.

“My turn! I want a reading too!” King piped up. Niliana nodded and made him a cup. He snatched it out of her hands with a “nyeh’ and gulped it down. He shoved the now empty cup into her face. “Do your magic, Lady!”

Niliana chuckled, taking the cup from him and reading it.

“You, dear, are going to live a very happy life surrounded by the ones you love. You’ll be very pampered like you are now.”

“Yes! Only the best for the King of Demons!” King said, puffing his chest out. Eda pat his head, nearly knocking him over.

“Whatever you say, tiny.”

They left shortly after that, all waving as the left. Niliana waved back from her tent.

“I liked her. We should visit again sometime!” Luz said, looking up at Eda expectantly. King did the same from Luz’s arms, tail wagging. Eda sighed, a smirk crawling onto her face.

“Fine, if you want.”

The two cheered, running ahead a bit. Eda smiled at them.

#edalyn clawthorne #the owl house #toh #toh eda #eda x reader #eda x oc #eda clawthorne #edalyn clawthorne x reader #edalyn clawthorne x oc

[sunkisseddaffodils]

Ahhhh I love your Sherlock imagines! I was wondering if I could request one where the reader and Sherlock were engaged before his “death”. The reader watches his death along side John. And when he comes back they are reunited. Reader is angry at first but comes around?

If you don’t want to write it it’s no worries ❤️

Have a good day!

Pairing: Sherlock x reader

Genre: angst (heavy)

Warnings: suicide, depresssion, anger issues

Song to listen to: heavy hours by crooked fingers

Note: here’s a link to suicide hotlines if you ever need to talk to someone

A/n thanks for requesting anon! Sorry if this isn’t exactly what you wanted but I hope you’ll like it ☺️

-

Your emerald, silver band wedding ring glinted in the sunlight as you were on your way to Barts via a cab. With a soft smile, you admired how gorgeous it was. It was a symbol of a new life. A symbol of a new start with your husband to be, Sherlock Holmes. It meant even more to you he took the care to have it custom made with the stone for your birth month. Emerald: the gemstone representing May. Sherlock didn’t take much fancy in these silly arbitrary things like gemstones and crystals. But he knew it made you happy, and he would do anything to make you happy.

‘I told you not to ring them!’, Sherlock screeched at John through the phone. The latter held up his hands in an apology. John was anxiously standing, looking up at Sherlock, who was currently standing on a ledge on the roof of St Bartholomew’s Hospital. John acknowledged very that Sherlock was in a vulnerable position, literally inches away from taking his life. What he said mattered. He gritted his teeth, trying to get through to his best friend.

‘Please, if you won’t listen to me. Then please listen to your fiancé(e). Whatever’s happened, we can get through this. Together. We all love you dearly’

Sherlock signalled from the rooftop for John to move further away from him. John did as he was told. Sherlock’s heart sank in melancholy when he saw a black cab arrive. You were strolling towards the entrance to Barts when you noticed that John was standing outside chatting on the phone with someone. Shouldn’t he be inside by now? You jogged over to him, mouthing ‘are you okay?’. He said nothing, looked at you solemnly and handed over his phone. To your wonder, you heard Sherlock’s voice. But his voice was shaking. There was something that was very wrong. Simply, Sherlock muttered:

‘Look up’

You glanced upwards and realised that Sherlock was standing on the roof of Barts. You could feel your life smashing down around you, but you had to keep control of your emotions. If you did the smallest thing wrong, it would mean life and death.

‘You don’t have to do this. I’m here. I will always be here for you’

At first, there was silence, a devastating still quietness. You needed to his answer, to hear his voice. But then the silence was gone, and he said:

‘Thank you for everything. Both of you. I love you, Y/N.’

Then the called dropped. Sherlock threw his phone behind him. And he jumped.

Without a seconds thought, you sprinted towards the hospital. But John dragged you back, trying to prevent you from witnessing your fiancé(e)’s body splattering horribly on the cement pavement. He had seen enough death and destruction for a lifetime. He didn’t want you to experience it too. John might have been a soldier, but you had enough adrenaline pumping through you to fight back. The struggle between you and John carried on for a few seconds too long. When you finally got free and ran over, Sherlock’s body was already limp, lying lifeless on the ground. Blood was pooling around his head, staining the grey concrete scarlet. You collapsed next to him, tears gushing down your face, screaming desperately at John to do something. For him to do anything that might save the love of your life.

‘You’re a so-called doctor, right? So do your job and SAVE him’.

John kneeled down, putting a finger on Sherlock’s neck, feeling for a pulse. Then he hovered over his face, listening for any breath from his friend. But it was a futile attempt; Sherlock was as clear as dead. All it took was a shake of the head from John to let you know it was too late.

The next few months after Sherlock’s death were a blur. You could hardly remember the paramedics coming, his funeral and moving away from Baker Street. It was like someone else was living your life, not you. That was the only way to cope with the never-ending grief. Your life continued on like that for a long, painstaking three years.

It was a chilly Thursday evening when you had left your flat for the third time that week to get a takeaway. What did it matter if you ate junk food? You didn’t care about looking after yourself anymore. You were dressed in baggy grey jogging bottoms, an oversized black hoodie and your hair was a mess. It wasn’t like you had anyone to dress up for. While waiting for your order at the fish and chip shop, you recollected about your deceased lover. Last week was the three-year anniversary of his passing. You had attended a memorial at Barts, the place where he fell to his death. Everyone brought flowers, lit candles, and quietly said their personal prayers. Mrs Hudson and John and his new partner arranged it. It was only really on the anniversary of his death that you saw them anymore. They reminded you of him too much. So you thought it was best for you to stay away. You could practically hear what Sherlock would say if he could see you now.

‘Y/N? Is that you?’

Your ears must be deceiving you. You could have sworn you heard Sherlock in real life. Not just in your head. You brushed it aside, taking your order from the server and wanting to get home as quickly as possible. But then you turned around. Saw the distinct navy blue trench coat. Saw Sherlock’s beautiful face. Sitting at one of the corner tables in the small takeaway was your dead fiancee. It must have been a figment of your imagination. But then he spoke again.

‘Y/N, I’m back, he pronounced, a slight grin creeping upon his face.

Rage blew up inside you, and you threw your chips vigorously on the hard floor. This caused a commotion and everyone turned to look at the two of you. You could already hear the server shouting for the manager behind you. You pointed towards Sherlock, stating loud and clear:

‘Piss off! I’m not dealing with this right now!’

You bolted out the door, sobbing all the way home. Every day for the next week, Sherlock visited your flat, but you refused to listen to him. You just couldn’t understand why he would do this to you. Do that to everyone he loved. All he had to do was say one word and let you know he wasn’t dead. On the seventh night, you allowed him to explain himself, but he had to do it through the front door. The two of you sat on opposite sides of your front door, him slowly explaining why he had to pretend to take his life. At the end of it, you stood up and gradually opened the door. You couldn’t forgive him fully yet. It was damn well cruel what he did, even if he did it for good reason. However, you couldn’t help but rush forward and embrace him in a tight hug.

‘I’m so glad you're alive'

#sherlock fanfic #sherlock #johnlock #bbc sherlock #sherlock bbc #sherlock holmes #bbc #john watson #sherlock reader insert #sherlock x y/n #sherlock x reader #sherlock imagine #sherlock au #sherlock holmes x you #sherlock holmes x reader #benedict cumberbatch #sherlock fic #sherlock fanfiction

[wheresmybuckyhoes]

Shut up and Kiss him

Summary: You and your boyfriend Steve have been apart for too long and your ready to ‘get it going’ when Bucky happens to get in your way. So instead you decide to...encourage them to ‘play’ together.

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x reader

Warnings: Swearing, suggested smut

Note from yours truly: Hey guys thanks for reading! Feel free to give me suggestions and feedback. Love you x

‘What the fuck’ you groaned, feeling every ounce of oxygen drain from your lungs momentarily as your flung against a wall, falling flat on your back.

 You tried to heave your exaughsted body of the ground, but slumped back down in defeat. You saw a metal hand obstruct your wonderful veiw of the sky through the glass ceiling, attached to a body with an all-too smug grin plastered on his face. You grumbled as you reached out to take his hand, being swiftly pulled back to your feet. ‘I won’ said Bucky as he walked to the side of the training room to grab his shirt, pulling it on in one swift motion. You felt a weird sense of disappointment to see his perfectly sculpted body get covered up. You wondered what he would look like next to your boyfriend’s perfectly sculpted body...no what on earth is going on in your brain. Stop getting distracted.

‘How are you not sweating?!’ you asked, quite literally wide - eyed. He shrugged in your direction and turned around to grab a drink of water from his avengers branded bottle Peter made you all buy. You knew this was your chance. Although you were a highly trained assassin, almost as skilled as Black Widow in hand to hand combat, and much more skilled with using a knife, you could never beat Bucky with only your fists. His super soldier strength and reflexes mixed with his fucking metal arm made it near impossible for you to win against him. But with Bucky’s back turned, this was your chance.

You ran at him with all you had and jumped onto his broad shoulders, trying to slightly cut off his oxygen supply with your legs. But he turned towards the mats, held you by the waist and flung you forward like the gentleman he is, sending you tumbling. But getting riled up now, you grabbed his leg as he tried to walk away again, pulling angrily at his ankle, making him fall on his back. He groaned loudly as he tried to get up but you quickly swung your leg over his chest so you were straddling him, finally pining him down by the arms. The soldier smiled at you from underneath your legs, making you want to punch his perfect teeth. Your faces were inches apart, panting and staring each other in the eyes, almost daring the other to make a move. Bucky knew he could easily have you pinned down underneath him, but he had heard Steve walk in.

‘We’re you 2 fucking while I was gone’ your boyfriend asked proudly as he strolled into the training room. ‘What...no...I would never want to fuck y/n, god no Steve’ (he said that last part with a very over the top tone of disgust). You and Bucky’s eyes met for only a second, but it was enough to make it weird as you made a disgusted face quickly getting of Bucky and holding out a hand to help him up. ‘Yeah Steve what the fuck Bucky is...is... is a gross ehh human’ you replied angrily. Bucky took your hand graciously, almost bringing you down again as he weighed just a bit more than you. You ran over to Steve, jumping into his arms and wrapping your legs around him. ‘Your back!’ you cried, kissing him fondly, pulling back to look at the eyes you had missed so badly. ‘I missed you too’ he laughed, gently placing you down and giving you a kiss on the forehead before going to greet his best friend Bucky.

You watched as your favourite boys tried to greet one another in a dignified way with you watching, but quickly gave up and gave eachother an adorable hug. You left the training room and hopped into the elevator, pressing the button for the 10th floor which you had to yourself. Although Bucky doesn’t sweat a drop, you were drenched from head to toe and were in desperate need of a shower. You hummed happily as the elevator climbed up, opening the doors to a beautiful living room Tony had designed just for you. It also had a small kitchen on the same floor, in addition to your bedroom and master bathroom. It was perfect.

-——————————-(<>)-——————————-

After you got out of the shower, feeling much more revitalated and fresh, you wrapped a fluffy white towel around your chest. Before you could reach for your hairbrush you heard a knock, making you jump slightly. ‘Who is it?’ you questioned vaguely as you brushed your wavy hair that only seemed to be nice when wet. The voice on the other side grumbled. ‘Bucky’ it replied. You opened the door making extra sure you had a hold on the towel so it woudnt slip down. ‘Hey wassup?’ you asked as his newly - showered smell hit you. A scent like a forest after a light sprinkle of rain crept into your nose, making your head spin from just how wonderful he smelt. ‘Just wanted to let you know you did great today. I really see the improvements’ he spoke as his eyes unwillingly trailed over your towel, the only thing separating him and your naked body. You noticed him trail off and waved a hand in his face, laughing as you asked ‘you good buddy?’ He shook his head as he focused again on your beautiful hazel eyes that seemed to change colour depending on the weather. Oh my god Bucky focus for fucks sake. ‘Fine sorry just zoned out... oh yeah your boyfriends looking for you’ he said before turning around and quickly slipping into the elevator, disappearing behind the doors. You stood at the bathroom doorway for a bit, slightly confused. Bucky was acting all weird, unlike his usual cocky self. You had no idea what had gotten into him, as usually he was perfectly collected (winter soldier history and all). You shrugged it off to your overactive imagination and whisked yourself to your closet to get dressed. You pulled on a short plaid skirt and a simple white vest top, pulling on your thigh sheaf because you wore that dam thing under every skirt you had, sliding in a small knife into one of the two slots. As an avenger you sort of had to be prepared at all times, and like Thor always says; ‘There’s always someone waiting to turn into a snake and try to kill you, even your own brother’. I’m not sure how revelant that is to you considering you don’t have a brother and you’d probably kill any snake that got within a 10 mile radius of you but, whatever you say god of hammers. You entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

You stepped out of the elevator onto the floor where you fondly remembered hulk tossing Loki around like a rag doll that one time, pulling up your skirt slightly as you loved to be a hoe for Steve. You liked to hang out up here when you were trying to get some thinking done, often joined by Steve, so you assumed he was waiting for you here. Just as you had thought, as you walked to the balcony you saw Steve standing there waiting for you. You smiled at him as you walked outside into the warm summer air, eyes widening at the trail of lit candles illuminating the night.

‘What’s all this baby?’ you asked as he took your hand like the gentleman he is and kissed it tenderly. ‘I missed you y/n. So, I got you a little something I think you might like to apologise for my absence’ he replied. Oh my how you loved this man. He held out a small box, around the size of your open palm, and placed it nervously in your hand. You tugged on the satin ribbon which held it closed, and pulled of the lid excitedly. Your jaw dropped all the way to the ground. ‘I didn’t know if you’d like it because I know you have an acquired taste but I thought this would be nice and...’ Steve began to explain but you lept into his arms and kissed him hungrily, his hands going immediately to your waist and pulling you in close.

You pulled away to hurriedly take out your new toy. It was a small pocket knife, the hilt made out of a rose coloured crystal, the golden blade engraved with intricate roses. You twirled it around in your fingers expertly before tucking it away in your thigh sheaf, that looked more like a lace garter then something to hold a deadly weapon. You looked up at Steve who looked utterly entranced by your magic fingers, noticing the hard on that was developing quickly in his tight pants. Steve scooped you up smoothly, allowing you to wrap your legs around his waist, placing one hand on your bum for support and the other on your neck, pulling you in for a deep sultry kiss. He slipped his tongue expertly into your mouth as he carried you back inside into the elevator, pressing the button for your floor without breaking the kiss even for a second.

You were devouring eachother desperately, missing each others touch after spending a long week away from eachother. You had already discarded your top and skirt, with Steve’s shirt flung on the floor in the elevator when the doors opened. ‘Oh my...fuck sorry shit I should have expected this I just needed to ask you...fuck’ you heard a voice shout in alarm from the direction of your couch. Steve let you down quickly in shock and your hand jumped over your mouth in suprise.

Your brain was whirring at 60 miles an hour. You had your beloved boyfriend, half naked behind you, and Bucky was sitting upright on your couch shirtless with his oh so tight training pants. The thoughts you were having early were filling your mind. You bit your lip in deep thought. ‘Y/n?’ Steve asked as he gently lay a hand on your arm, sending electric waves down your spine. Steve noticed the mischievous look in your eye and raised his eyebrow in question. ‘You want Bucky to fuck you? If you want you can I don’t really mind just watching you. It might be kinda hot and-‘ Steve began as you shook your head, hearing a small high pitched ‘what’ escape Bucky’s mouth. ‘Not exactly Stevie’ you replied. You slid over to Bucky, walking over to the couch and pulling him up by his god damn metal arm as Steve trailed behind you. You leaned in to kiss Bucky quickly, gently teasing his lips with your tongue before pulling away to watch his face contort from a confused look to one of lustful intrigue. You then turned to Steve, looking between the two boys and stepping back.

As Bucky and Steve realised what you wanted them to do, Bucky’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as he looked between the pair of you, pink crawling up his cheeks. ‘Wait y/n...what do you...you want us to...’ he stuttered shyly before Steve stepped right infront of Bucky, cupping his face gently . Steve gave a questioning look towards you as you nodded hurriedly. ‘Just shut up and kiss him’ you smirked, falling back onto the couch to watch the show.

Steve caught Bucky in a gentle, loving kiss, as Bucky’s body melted into Steve. His hands quickly found Steve’s shoulders, as the two insanely attractive men slid their tongues into each other’s mouths. As the kiss became heated, Bucky moaned oh so pornographically when Steve dragged his strong hand over his hard cock. You bit your lip watching the two men, feeling tiny butterflies go wild down below. This was everything you had ever dreamed off.

Just as you had spread your legs comfortably, closing your eyes to begin rubbing your swollen clit with the obscene noises of the boys echoing in your ears, you thought you heard a weird whispering but continued doing your thing. But you felt a hand grab your wrist and your eyes fluttered open in suprise. ‘What are you...’ you asked as Bucky pulled your hand out of your pants and picked you up, swinging you over his shoulder to your delight. ‘Let us take care of that for you’ your boyfriend grinned as he smacked your ass hard, causing you to yelp from the sudden sting. ‘We’re gonna make you feel so good, doll’ Bucky whispered as Steve lead the way to your bedroom. Did he just call you doll? What the fuck is happening. This is going to be a long night.

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