#may have already tried a good luck and success spell

[kozuwestley]

Westley Allan Dodd　“I finally said, "The winner has to pull his pants down." 僕はついに（最終的に）、"優勝者はパンツを下ろさなければならない "と言ったんだ。”

Westley Allan Dodd (July 3, 1961 - January 5, 1993) ウェストリー・アラン・ドッド (1961年7月3日 - 1993年1月5日)

61) WHEN: May, 1986 WHERE: Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, W. Richland, Benton City) AGE: 24 VICTIMS: Five boys, 7-11 years old. I had been doing pretty good until I moved to Lewiston — molesting constantly — probably never went more than three or four months without a victim — (in the winter when I couldn't find victims) but N— and then M— had seen me through two winters and I managed to find victims in the winter while in the Navy. I always found a child or already had one available to me when I really "needed" to molest. Then when I got to Lewiston, I was lucky to find H— and V— who had kept me happy for another year. I last molested H— in March of 1984. The next child I was able to molest came along in August of 1985. That was a seventeen-month dry spell in which 1 tried unsuccessfully to find a new victim, hopefully one I could molest repeatedly, but a "one-time stand" would also do. Then I moved to Kennewick. By the spring of 1986, I'd had no new victims since O— nine months earlier. That was too long — I was NOT going to go another 17 month dry spell! I had had it TOO easy, TOO long. The last few years I had been able to repeatedly molest the same kids, and even in the Navy I didn't have to look very hard to find PLENTY of "one-time victims." But now I was going to have to go back to the old time-consuming searches for victims that I had used between my M— and my Navy days. I lived in Kennewick — so, I would commit no crimes there. I began driving to the river park in Richland and the school at Benton City where I'd been successful years earlier. I also kept an eye on the river at W. Richland where I had gone rafting with the one boy and another three had caught me skinny dipping. I watched places where 1 had found kids before. Then things started happening fast.

61) 時期：1986年5月 場所:トライシティー（ケネウィック、リッチランド、W.リッチランド、ベントンシティ）年齢：24歳  被害者: 7歳から11歳の5人の少年。

僕はルイストンに移るまでかなりうまくいっていた。絶えず痴漢行為をしていて、おそらく3、4カ月以上被害者がいないことはなかった(被害者を見つけられなかった冬に)。しかしN-とM-が僕を2回冬を乗り切らせてくれて、僕は海軍にいる間は冬でも何とか被害者を見つけることができたんだ。僕はいつも、本当に痴漢する「必要がある」ときには、子供を見つけるか、すでに子供を用意していたんだ。そしてルイストンに着いたとき、僕は幸運にもH-とV-を見つけ、もう一年僕を満足させてくれた。僕が最後にHに痴漢したのは1984年の3月だった。僕が次に痴漢できたのは、1985年の8月だった。僕は17ヶ月間、新しい被害者を見つけようとしたが失敗した。できれば何度も痴漢できるような、しかし "一度きりの我慢 "でもできるような被害者を。 （新しい犠牲者を見つけようとしてもうまくいかなかった。できれば何度も痴漢ができるような、しかし「一度だけの関係」でもいいような、そんな犠牲者を。） それから僕はケネウィックに引っ越した。1986年の春になると、僕は9ヶ月前にO-にして以来、新しい犠牲者が出なかった。僕はもう17ヵ月も空白の時間を過ごすつもりはなかったんだ。僕はあまりにも長い間、楽をしてきた。ここ数年、僕は同じ子供たちに繰り返し性的虐待を加えることができたし、海軍でも「一度だけの被害者」を探すのにそれほど苦労はしなかったんだ。でもこれからは、M-から海軍時代にかけて使っていた、時間のかかる昔の被害者探しに戻らなければならない。僕はケネウィックに住んでいるから、そこで犯罪を犯すことはないだろう。僕はリッチランドのリバーパークや、何年か前に成功したベントンシティの学校へ車で行くようになった。僕と一緒にラフティングをした男の子や、スキニー・ディッピングをしているところを他の3人に見られた西リッチランドの川にも目を配った。僕は、以前1、子供を見つけたことのある場所を観察した。すると、事態は急展開を見せ始めた。

61 A) In May of 1986,1 was in the park along the river in Richland. In the past I had found three groups of three boys. Now, once again, I found a group of three boys, nine to ten year olds. With only one victim in the last two years, two months (0— nine months earlier), I was in DESPERATE NEED of "young cock." I HAD to have it! When I came across these three boys and saw they were all good looking boys, I decided NOT to use my old approach of, "I want one of you to pull your pants down." I also knew I wasn't going to just suck one penis for a couple seconds then let them all go. NO — I WAS going to suck every one of those dicks for at least five minutes each. I quickly devised a plan, then approached the boys, said 'Hi' and asked if they'd like to play a game. They did. I explained it would be a game to see who was the most daring and trusting (if you will remember, I used a "trust game" on V— the first time I molested him. I hoped to have same luck now). 61 A) 1986年5月、1、リッチランドの川沿いの公園で。僕は過去に3人の少年からなるグループを3つ見つけたことがある。今度もまた、僕は9歳から10歳の少年3人のグループを見つけた。この2年間で被害者は1人、2ヶ月（0-9ヶ月前）、僕は "若いcock "を切望していた。僕はそれを手に入れなければならなかった！（どうしても欲しかったんだ！）この3人の少年を見たとき、みんな容姿端麗だったので、僕は「誰か一人のパンツを下ろしてくれ」という今までのやり方は使わないと決めたんだ。また、1本のペニスを数秒間しゃぶった後、全部を解放するつもりはないとも思っていた。僕は一人一人のディックに最低でも5分はしゃぶりつくつもりだった。僕はすぐに計画を立て、男の子たちに近づき、'Hi'と言い、ゲームをしないかと訊ねた。彼らはやった。僕は、誰が一番大胆で信頼できるかを競うゲームだと説明した（憶えているかな、僕が初めてVに痴漢行為をしたとき、「信頼ゲーム」を使ったんだ。僕は二人を背中合わせに並べた。）

I lined them up with their backs to me saying that whoever let me go the farthest was the winner. I didn't tell them what the 'farthest' meant. From behind, I pulled up the first boy's shirt and he started to pull away. I said "Just trust me. I won't do anything you won't like." He let me pull up his shirt. I pulled it up just enough so it was out of the way of the waist of his pants. He wiggled a little as I reached around from behind and put my right hand on his stomach. I asked if he trusted me — he said yes. I slipped the fingertips of my hand under the waist of his pants and he pulled away. I said, "Just trust me and nothing will happen. You tell me when to stop and I'll stop. Whoever lets me go the farthest without stopping me is the winner." He turned his back and backed up to me again. I asked if I could use my left hand to pull his pants and underwear open just enough to get my other hand in —- he said I could. I reached into his pants with my left thumb and pulled out on the waistband of his underwear and pants, then started pushing my right hand down, settling my hand on his stomach then sliding it down his body as I stood behind, hoping peek in and see his genitals. He stopped me by the time my little finger reached the top of the band on his underwear — just the tips of my longer fingers were under but not past that waistband. The other two boys now knew what to expect and they held their shirts up out of my way. They both stopped me at about the same place the first boy did. I told them it was a "tie" — they were all willing to try again — each wanted to proved he was the bravest and most daring and TRUSTING (Great — maybe they'd each let me do everything 1 wanted to prove they were brave and daring!). The second time around I managed to look over their shoulders and get a quick glimpse of genitals on two of them, but still none let me get hand closer than an inch or so to his genitals. I told them it was another tie, and, "We'll have to try it again — come on, guys, who's the bravest?!" "We'll HAVE to try again," may have been a poor choice of words. One of them was getting suspicious and wanted to know what the winner got. He wouldn't accept "the winner proves he's the most daring and trusting," as an answer. I finally said, "The winner has to pull his pants down." 

They all took off running. (I had hoped they would each let me cup their genitals inside their pants, then I'd unsnap the pants of each boy, then unzip each boy's pants, pull back the flaps of each boy's pants hoping the SCORE would remain TIED and each one would let me do the next step. The pants would come down on each boy, the underwear and finally my open mouth would go slowly toward each boy's penis and if they were still playing the game, it would now be who would let me suck him the longest while all three stood there with pants down and who would pull his pants up first. But, THEY RAN!) I did not GET any young cock that day! I didn't get to suck, I didn't get to touch, all I got was a brief glimpse of two boys' genitals as I peeked over their shoulders and into their pants. It had been a good plan when you consider I only thought of it in the few seconds between finding the boy's and greeting them! If it had been only one boy and he had agreed to play my game to see how daring, brave and trusting he was, if he stopped me before my hand reached his genitals, I'd stop, ask "Do you want me to pull my hand out now?," and, regardless of his answer, since he is alone in an isolated area, I'd shove my hand down and cup his genitals before he knew what happened. Then, depending on whether or not he yelled or fought, keeping my right hand on his genitals, I would use my left hand to pull his pants down, then I'd turn him around and suck his penis. Whether or not he was submissive to having his dick sucked would determine if I tried to make him masturbate or suck me, or if I'd crotch-fuck him (if I was SURE no one else was in the area!). So, the day after those three ran from me, I went out looking for a boy by himself — I'd trick him with the game to get my arms around him from behind, then whether he wanted to "play" the rest of the "game" or not, if he didn't yell I would force him just as I did the little boy in incident #47 a few years earlier. (Even though 1 was considering force, I never once considered PHYSICALLY hurting a child).

僕は彼らを背中合わせに並べ、「僕を一番遠くまで行かせた人が勝ちだ」と言った。僕は「一番遠く」が何を意味するのかは教えなかった。僕は後ろから一人目の男の子のシャツを引っ張り上げると、彼は離れようとした。僕は「僕を信じろ。僕を信頼して、君が嫌がるようなことはしないよ」と言った。彼は僕にシャツを上げさせてくれた。僕は彼のパンツのウエストにかからない程度にシャツを上げた。僕が後ろから手を回し、右手を彼のお腹に当てると、彼は少し体をくねらせた。僕は彼が僕を信頼しているかどうか訊ねると、彼はイエスと答えた。僕は手の指先を彼のパンツのウエストの下に滑り込ませると、彼は手を離した。僕は言った。 「ただ僕を信じてくれれば、何も起こらない。僕を止めずに一番遠くまで行かせた人が勝者だよ。 」 彼は背中を向けて、再び僕に近寄ってきた。僕は左手で彼のパンツと下着を、もう片方の手が入るくらいに開いていいかと訊ねたところ、彼は「いいよ」と答えた。僕は左手の親指で彼のズボンに手を入れ、下着とパンツのウエストバンドを引っ張り出し、右手を押し下げ始めた、僕の手は彼のお腹に落ち着き、彼の体を滑らせた。 僕の小指が彼の下着のバンドの上部に到達した時点で、彼は僕を止めた - 僕の長い指の先端は、ちょうどそのウエストバンドの下にあったが、それを越えてはいなかった。他の二人の少年も何が起こるかわかっていて、僕の邪���にならないようにシャツをたくし上げた。 二人とも、最初の男の子がしたのとほぼ同じ場所で僕を止めた。僕は「引き分け」だと告げた。彼らは皆、もう一度挑戦することを望んでいた。それぞれが、自分が最も勇敢で大胆で信頼していることを証明したかったんだ（素晴らしい。たぶん彼らは、自分が勇敢で大胆であることを証明するために、1、望むことを全て僕にやらせてくれるかもしれない！）。2回目に僕は彼らの肩越しになんとか2人の性器をちらっと見ることができたが、それでも誰も僕が彼の性器に1インチほども手を近づけることを許さなかった。 「また引き分けだよ」、「もう一回やり直さなければならない（やらなくちゃならない）、さあみんな、誰が一番勇敢なのか?!」

"もう一度やり直さなければならない "というのは、言葉の選択がまずかったかもしれない。一人が不審に思い、勝者が何を手に入れられるのか知りたがった。彼は、「優勝者は、自分が最も大胆で信頼できることを証明する」という答えを受け入れようとはしなかった。 （彼は「勝者が最も大胆で信頼できることを証明する」という答えを受け入れることはなかった。） 僕はついに（最終的に）、"優勝者はパンツを下ろさなければならない "と言ったんだ。

彼らは皆、走り出した。(僕は、彼らが僕にパンツの中の性器を触らせてくれることを期待していた。そして、それぞれの男の子のパンツのスナップを外し、それぞれの男の子のパンツのフラップを戻して、スコアが同点のまま、それぞれが僕に次のステップをやらせてくれることを期待していた。 もし彼らがまだゲームをしていたら、3人がパンツを下ろして立っている間、誰が一番長く僕にしゃぶらせてくれるか、誰が先に彼のパンツを上げるかを競うことになるんだ。しかし、彼らは走った！)   僕はその日、若いcockを手に入れることはできなかった。僕が得たのは、二人の男の子の肩越しにパンツを覗き込みながら、二人の男の子の性器をちょっと見ただけだった。僕がそれを思いついたのは、男の子を見つけてから挨拶するまでの数秒間だけだったと考えると、それは良い作戦だったんだ！ もしそれが一人の男の子だけで、彼がどれだけ大胆で勇敢で信頼できるかを見るために僕のゲームに同意したなら、もし僕の手が彼の性器に届く前に彼が止めたら、僕は止まって「今手を引いて欲しい？」と訊ね、彼の答えに関わらず、彼は孤立した場所に一人でいるので、僕は手を押し下げて彼が何が起こったか分からないうちに彼の性器を杯（優勝杯）にするだろう（手に入れるだろう）。

そして、彼が叫んだり抵抗したりするかどうかによって、右手で彼の性器に触れたまま、左手で彼のズボンを引き下ろし、それから彼の向きを変えてペニスをしゃぶるんだ。彼がディックを吸われることに従順かどうかで、僕が彼にマスターベイションやsuck（しゃぶる）をさせようとするか、股間ファックをするか（その場に誰もいないことを確認した場合！）が決まるんだ。 だから、その3人が僕から逃げた翌日、僕は一人で男の子を探しに出かけた。僕は後ろから腕を回すゲームで彼をだまし、彼が残りの「ゲーム」をしたいかどうかに関わらず、彼が叫ばないなら、数年前の事件#47の少年にしたように、彼を強引に誘うことにしたんだ。(1、力ずくだったとしても、僕は一度も子供を物理的に傷つけようと考えたことはない）。

#Westley Allan Dodd #ウェストリー・アラン・ドッド #ペドフィリア #westley dodd #小児性愛障害

[moonvyx]

Special One Out - Peter Parker (Any)

(Idea from YT and a fanfic)

Warnings: Angst, death and unfair parents .

Y/N's parent's never liked her, there were so many unnecessary reasons why they disliked her. One of the reasons were that she had beautiful h/c hair, while they were brunettes. (If you're a brunette, you can pick a diff hair colour.)

At a very young age of 5, her little sister, Celia was born. (You can use your second name or another name if your name is Celia.)

Y/N craved the attention her parents gave Celia.

She tried to impress them with her daily drawings from school, she tried to impress them by knowing how to spell Czechoslovakia, (I had a hard time spelling this!) but they were unimpressed with everything she did, instead they were impressed with the blabs and whines of Celia.

When Y/N was in her first day of grade 1, her parents didn't say goodbye, not even a good luck kiss on the check.

She felt nervous, no one was there to assure her that it was all gonna be okay.

No one but Peter Parker.

The two met on the playground during lunchtime.

Y/N was sitting on one of the swings, watching all the kids eat and laugh together.

"Hello." A friendly voice greeted, Y/N turned her head to the person who owned the voice.

"Hi," She replied with a smile. "I'm Peter, Peter Parker." The sandy haired boy introduced. "Y/N L/N." The h/c girl replied back.

"May I sit here?" Peter asked, she nodded. "So how's your first day?" He questioned her again.

"Uneventful. Mom and dad didn't even tell me to have a great day." Y/N said sadly. Peter's brows furrowed and his lips turned into a forwn.

"Why?" He asked, "Well they dislike me, for some reason. I never knew why. I didn't ask, I didn't want to be even more disliked." She replied with a frown on her face.

"Oh..Well, that's terrible." Peter stated, looking at the girl. "Yeah, but it's fine. Happens all the time." She said.

"No, you deserve better." Peter said and hugged the girl. "A hug to brighten your day." He breathed. Y/N smiled and laughed, and hugged Peter back.

"I can tell this is a start of a beautiful friendship, Y/N." Peter smiled. "I'm sure it is." She replied with a smile.

Years passed, everything stayed the same.

Y/N's parents still adored Celia, she and Peter still stuck together and formed a beautiful friendship.

But things began to down downhill when a specific blonde began dating Peter.

Gwen Stacy.

Who wouldn't like her? She's pretty, smart, kind, thoughtful, she could he every man's dream girl.

Even Peter's.

And here you are, holding the rails of your balcony as your tears tell down like the Niagara falls.

All because he ditched you just to hang out with Gwen.

"I'm supposed to he used to this, he always ditches me for Gwen." You said, wiping the tears before going back inside your so called home.

"Y/N, I want you to go to the store and get Celia some ice cream, Cookies and Cream. Don't mess it up." Your father commanded strictly. You nodded softly before heading out.

The night was cold, very cold. You mentally thanked yourself for always wearing a hoodie.

As soon as you arrived at the store, you couldn't help but feel like someone has been following you. You just hoped it was some guy who was also going to the store.

But oh how wrong you were.

"That'll be $5," the old lady said. You nodded and hamd dnher your $5 before leaving the store with the plastic bag full of ice cream.

"Thanks miss, have a lovely night." You smiled at her as she also smiled back before leaving.

During your journey on your way home, the same feeling that someone was following you came back.

Scared, you started to walk faster and began to walk in streets where there were a lot of people to scare the man away, if possible.

But sadly the random street walking ended up at an alley with a dead end. You stopped right in your tracks as the man stood behind you, you could feel that he was smirking in success.

"What do you want from me? Leave me alone." You told the creepy man, but all he did was stand there with a creepy look on his face.

He continued to not say anything, but when the one and only Spiderman jumped down from a building, the creepy man immediately grabbed your arm and ran away with you.

Oh but he wasn't alone, 2 other creepy men came out of nowhere and distracted Spiderman as the man who held you run away.

"Get off me!"You yelled at the man. "Let go off me!" He groaned and took out a handkerchief and sprayed it with some weird cologne and covered you mouth and nose with it, making you unconscious.

Before you could fully black-out, the man said "Now you'll shut up."

~

Y/N woke up with a banging headache. Groaning, she tried to move her arms but realised they were tied to a pole.

"Ah, I see that you're awake. Great timing, your spider boy is here." The same man who covered her mouth earlier said.

"What does this have to do with me?" She asked, attempting to untie the ropes. The man laughed darkly. "Oh you'll see. Just wait." He said before walking away.

~

A few minutes have passed, it honestly felt like hours for Y/N. She sighed before looking around.

At the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar Blue and Red Spandex walking around the building.

Relieved, she signaled the hero to come towards her direction. "Psst, Spider-Man!" She exclaimed, but only enough for him to hear.

It seems like his Spider senses heard her voice and alerted him. "Y/N," He said happily and walked to her. "I'm glad you're alright."

She recognised that voice, she paused for a moment before her eyes widened. "Peter?"

Peter's eyes widened, "I-I'm not Peter. Who's Peter?" Y/N laughed, "I know that voice anywhere, Parker. I thought you were a genius." She smiled as he did the same.

"Anyways, let's get you out of here." He said before untying the ropes.

"Not so fast, spider boy." A voice said, the hero turned around in frustration. "Look man, you have no reason to get this innocent fine young lady in trouble." He said.

Spiderman then shot a web towards the criminal, only to be dodged. Laughing, the man called in the rest of his gang and started to attack the hero.

Everyone was so focused on their own thing that they didn't know that one of the gang members placed a bomb.

The other men had already left after leaving Spider-Man tired on the floor, they knew exactly what was gonna happen, and so did Peter.

So with all his strength, he got up and ran to Y/N, who was trying to free herself all this time.

"Peter..Help." She begged, her eyes full of worry. "Shh, it's alright. I'll get you out of here." He said and untied her.

With Y/N free, the two ran for their lives but it was too late, the bomb exploded as soon as they reached the exit.

The blast was strong, it made the two fly away from each other, one of them still near the exit and the other near the edge of the building.

Peter got up and looked around for Y/N, only to see her on the floor, full of bruises.

The ground below her was about to break. Worried, Peter ran as fast as he could to save her.

But it already broke.

She felll.

He didn't hesitate to jump down after her, not forgetting to shoot a web to catch her.

Luckily, his web was able to wrap itself around Y/N's waist, Y/N looked up and saw Peter and gave him a big smile. She mouthed a "thank you" to him as he smiled back.

But the happy moment was ruined when the web snapped, making Y/N fall and scream.

Peter shot another web, hoping that it'd grip on her tighter this time. But it didn't.

He kept trying and trying until one of them didn't fail him.

He smiled again and made sure she was safe as he went next to her.

"Hey," Peter greeted with a dorky smile.

"Hey." Y/N said.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He said, caressing her cheek. "And I to you." The two stared at each other romantically.

The two got down safely, earning many claps from the crowd.

The two never broke their loving stare, that was until Y/N spotted one of the men pointing a gun towards Peter's back.

With no hesitation, she changed their positions and heard a gun shot after. Gasps and screams echoed through the area.

"Y-Y/N?" Peter asked, he looked at her back and saw there was blood leaking from a hole.

"No." He said in realization, he made her face him and begged with tears forming, "Stay with me, Y/N. Please. Stay with me."

But her eyes were already closed.

#avengers x reader #avengers #peter parker #andrew garfield imagine #andrew garfield x reader #Spiderman #tom holland #tom holland x y/n #tobey maguire #avengers angst #peter parker x reader angst

[mcheang]

How about one where Marinette gives up on her class, deciding to get holders from other classes

So she decides to give Aurore the Fox, prompting Lila to lie about the fox.

Next akuma is a mind control akuma, and oh no! Aurore is one of the controlled! Well, she was gonna give the turtle to Mireille but maybe she can be the Fox just this once

And then the Akuma after that, Fox Aurore and Turtle Mireille

Basically lots of quick and random akuma attacks make it hard for Lila to keep up her lies

Switch

A Pre-Miracle Queen outline that my mind drove me to

Marinette decides that having her hero allies be classmates under Lila’s spell is a bad idea.

Good thing she is on the class president committee and knows the other class presidents are smart enough to see through Lila’s lies (basically they weren’t pleased with Lila’s flaky absences from class participation. And also because the weather girls know their fair share of celebrities)

First replacement: Aurore as Vixen

The battle was a success but Chat questioned why Rena was replaced.

Ladybug: she can’t tell truth from lies. A bad trait for any hero, let alone one wielding the kwami of illusion

Alya was heartbroken but couldn’t catch Ladybug in time to interview her.

While writing her post on Vixen, Alya asked Lila if she knew what Rena’s flaw was.

Lila: oh that’s easy. Rena and Carapace are so a couple but that just hinders them in a fight. Their first priorities were on each other, not Hawkmoth.

Alya: oh...

So this was about the Scarlet Moth incident. Oh no, then Nino is being replaced too?

Second replacement: Mireille as Kit (she knows she is a substitute so she wanted her name to show she wasn’t a real hero yet)

Aurore had been hit by an akuma, luckily her vice class président had escaped.

Kit’s appearance had Alya confused.

Lila: oh, that’s because Vixen was pregnant. Shocker, I know. Even Ladybug was speechless. But obviously she can’t be a hero in her condition.

Except then why did Vixen return alongside the new heroine, Emerald Shell?

Lila: the pregnancy test results were a dud

Nino was already warned by Alya. While not happy, he was remarkably chill about the new girl.

Honeybee makes her appearance

Lila: ok, how are you surprised Chloé was replaced?

Chloé threw a major tantrum.

Equestria replaces Pegasus

Lila: Ladybug is promoting female power

Max: that doesn’t sound right. She’s unbalancing her team genders.

Not to mention, Max figured he would have been told about why he was being replaced if that was the case. Or maybe he was a one-time hero? Except Party Crasher refuted that theory.

Tarzan replaces Monkey King

Lila: that’s Ladybug’s crush.

Everyone knows that Ladybug prefers to be professional rather than mix personal with business (Aspik was a mistake) so this raised more than a few eyebrows.

Maybe it was that LadyNoir was possibly sunken with that lie, but Alya was determined to ask Ladybug herself.

The heroine had been avoiding her for a while now, leaving her blog posts to have only Lila’s statement for evidence.

It shouldn’t be too hard, except now the Teachers were serious about keeping students safe. Meaning they were anticipating Alya to run to the fight and were determined to stop her.

And apparently Lila didn’t want to call in any favours with Ladybug for an interview because friendships aren’t about favors.

Hence, Alya kept lurking around the park, waiting for the inevitable return of Mr Pigeon.

As has become tradition, after Mr Pigeon is defeated, Mr Ramier treats the heroes to ice cream and they sit down for a while.

But this time, Alya interrupted their peaceful snack.

Alya: Ladybug, Chat Noir, would you please grant me an interview

Ladybug stood up, “Sorry, Alya. But I barely have a minute left. Thanks for the ice cream, Mr Ramier. Bug out!”

Chat had just gobbled his in two bites when Alya called out again, desperation leaking out of her. “Just one question!”

Ladybug stilled, but finally turned around. Her eyes were cold sapphires. “One. I don’t have time right now.”

Be quick about it.

Alya gulped. There were so many questions she wanted to ask about the new heroes, why they were chosen. But if she had to choose one question, Alya blurted out without thinking. “Are you really Lila’s best friend?”

That was her question? Alya wanted to smack herself. That was old news. She should have asked why Ladybug took so long to replace Queen Bee.

“No.”

Alya stared at Ladybug, having lost her focus in her self-reproach.

“What?”

But Ladybug had already zipped away.

Chat coughed. “Lovely to see you again, Alya. Have a good day, Mr Ramier.” And he quickly made his escape too.

Mr Ramier looked at the Ladyblogger with pity. “Do you want some ice cream?”

Alya burst into tears. She had paid for Lila’s ice cream. Because of her tonsil surgery. But that was a lie, wasn’t it? Lila had been lying all this time.

At the moment, Alya could care less about why the old heroes were replaced. That was their affair. But now she understood why she had been replaced. Not because of her relationship with Nino, but because she believed lies about Ladybug without even checking with her. What a gullible fool she had been.

As Mr Ramier tried his best to cheer her up, and keep a sharp eye out for akumas, the tale came out. How she had ruined her credibility and blindly believed a liar despite her own best friend warning her.

Mr Ramier: why didn’t you believe Marinette?

Alya: because I thought she was jealous of Lila. They like the same boy.

Mr Ramier frowned. “Is Marinette the kind of girl to hate a supposedly sweet girl just because they share a crush?”

Alya paused. True, Marinette had issues with Chloé and Kagami because of their personalities but Aurore also had a crush on Adrien and the girls got along fine.

Alya: no, she isn’t. What kind of a friend, am I?

Mr Ramier: a human friend. Miss Cesaire, if I may give you some advice, you made mistakes yes. Everyone does. What matters is what you choose to do afterwards. And to do better next time.

Alya: so...I should apologize?

Mr Ramier nodded patiently. “Yes. To your friend, to Ladybug, and if I may say so, to your followers.”

Alya: what should I do about Lila?

Mr Ramier: what do you think you should do?

Alya bit her lip. “I’ll expose her. But not as badly as I would like, because she’ll just end up as an akuma.”

Mr Ramier nodded and stood, his pigeons flying off. “I wish you luck, Miss Cesaire.”

That night, Alya finally did her ground research on Lila. Needless to say, she was horrified at what she had learned.

The next morning, everyone was whispering about the newest post on the Ladyblog. “The truth about Lila Rossi.”

Not only did it feature Ladybug’s statement and Alya’s apologies, but there were links to warnings about Lila from her old classmates.

Lila was absent, hiding from the disgust of the school, but also facing an angry mother. Alya was persistent in getting Mrs Rossi’s attention. It took a while to convince the ignoramus that she was not an akuma and yes, her daughter is a lying bully.

Alya gave Mrs Rossi a heads up because with Lila now exposed, questions about her leave of absence will be raised. Oh, and she needed to keep an eye out for akumas.

Hawkmoth certainly would have loved to target Lila, but Alya was on lookout. She caught the akuma in a butterfly net launcher 10 minutes before the school bell rang. Now she just needs to deliver this to Ladybug. Though maybe they should just hold on to it. I mean if Hawkmoth can’t create more than one akuma, maybe purifying this one was a bad idea.

Ladybug agreed to wait until Lila was dealt with. She commended Alya for finally opening her eyes. But sadly Rena won’t be returning.

Alya accepted that. She wasn’t ready. It would take time, but she would recover.

The butterfly was kept under guard until Mayura finally sent a sentimonster after it.

#miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug fic #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #ml fic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #Lila gets exposed #Lila is exposed #Lila salt #ml class salt #Alya salt #ml salt fic #mr ramier #Alya redemption

[artzychic27]

Artist Family Values?

Everything is calm. Marinette, Alix, and Rose are playing funeral in the backyard; Felix is helping Juleka write a love note to Rose, confessing her feelings; Nathaniel is arm wrestling That and losing

Marc: Nathaniel, wonderful news. My mother is going to have a baby and she wants us to have it... Right now.

*Several hours of excruciatingly painful labor later*

Little girl: And then mommy kissed daddy, and the angel told the stork. The stork flew down from heaven and left a diamond under a leaf in the cabbage patch, and the diamond turned into a baby.

Marinette: They had sex.

*Later*

Rose: Nathaniel!

Juleka: What news?

Marinette: Nathaniel, what is it?

Nathaniel: It’s an Artist!

The baby’s name is Kiran. He has black eyes and was born with fangs

Marinette and Alix immediately hate the baby and do everything they can to get rid of him. Guillotine, shooting him, dropping him from the roof

Marc: Mari. Alix. Why do you hate the baby?

Alix: We don’t hate him. We just wanna play with him.

Marinette: Especially his head.

To keep Kira out of trouble, Marc and Nathaniel hire a nanny. Lila.

Juleka immediately hates her because of how she’s taken a liking to Rose. Little does she know that she isn’t in love with the blonde. She’s a black widow out for their fortune.

Noticing that Marinette and Alix are onto her, Lila makes it seem like they wanna go to summer camp so they’re not in her way.

Nathaniel: *Disgusted* Fresh air. The scent of pine.

Chloé: Hi. I'm Chloé Bourgeois. Why are you dressed like that?

Marinette: Like what?

Chloé: Like you're going to a funeral. Why are you dressed like somebody died?

Marinette: Wait.

While at camp, Marinette and Alix make enemies of the popular bratty rich kids and allies out of the outcasts (The Akuma class)

Marinette finds herself glaring at a certain boy from America who glares right back at her... It’s Damian.

Back at the Artists’ home, Rose finds herself falling in love with Lila, much to Juleka’s anger but no one seems to notice

Marc and Nathaniel invite them to a gothic bistro

Lila: I just can't tell. Does she like me at all?

Marc: Of course she does. She pulled out her hair at the sight of you.

Marc and Nathaniel perform the badass tango from the movie

Meanwhile at the cemetery, Lila and Rose get engaged surprisingly quickly

Rose: Good news! I’m engaged!

Juleka: What?! *Felix pats her back for comfort*

Lila: *Shows the ring*

Marc: That ring.

Nathaniel: It was my grandmother’s. She was burried with it.

Lila: *Holds up a shovel*

Later that night at the camp, Alix and Marinette attempt to escape with some help from Damian, but are caught by the brat campers and are forced to sing Kumbaya

Damian and Marinette find themselves becoming closer

Damian: You know... I’m pretty good with a knife myself.

Marinette: ... *Holds Damian’s hand*

Escape attempt #2 is a success. When they hear about the wedding, Marinette and Alix have to go and see if it’ll be a train wreck. Of course, Marinette invites Damian as her plus one.

It’s surprisingly pleasant. Everyone’s dressed in black, the flower girl is tossing dead petals on the ground.

“I do.” “Ditto.” Marinette catches the bouquet.

Damian: Now you have to get married.

Marinette: It’s not binding.

On their honemoon, Lila attempts to kill Rose by dropping a toaster in her bath. Unfortunately for her, Rose is immune to death by electrocution

Needing a new plan and for the Artists to stay out of her way, Lila forbids Rose from seeing or speaking to em ever again.

Meanwhile at camp, Alix shoots an endangered bird!

Camp director 1: It’s a white tailed eagle!

Camp director 2: Aren’t they endangered?

Marinette: They are now

Juleka is sulking after receiving a letter from Rose, saying she can’t see them ever again.

Juleka: Have I done something, said something? Why does she despise me?

Nathaniel: Rose adores you.

Juleka: I'd do anything for her. At her request, I would rip out my eyes. At her command, I would crawl on my stomach through hot coals and broken glass.

Marc: ... You’re in love with Rose?

Back at camp, the directors announce that the campers will be performing the poorly written and quite racist play about the first Thanksgiving

Chloé will be playing Sarah Miller, the outcasts will play the Native Americans, and Marinette will be playing Pocahontas.

Marinette passes out at the announcement

Meanwhile, the Artists visit Rose and Lila at their pristine white mansion.

Juleka: So these are the gates of hell.

Lila forced them to leave, and Rose, out of fear, backs her up.

Marc: I see Lila that you have placed Rose under some strange sexual spell. I respect that. But please, may we see her?

Lila: No!

Marc: You have gone too far. You have married Rose. You have destroyed her spirit. You have taken her from us. All that I could forgive. But, Lila...

Lila: What?!

Marc: ... Pastels?

They leave, but not before Juleka curses Lila.

They try to go to the police, but they won’t take them seriously, and Nathaniel makes the following announcement

Nathaniel: I shall not submit! I shall conquer! I shall rise! My name is Nathaniel Artist, and I have seen evil! *Juleka holds up Kiran* I have seen horror! *Felix waves* I have seen the unholy maggots which feast in the dark recesses of the human soul.

Marc: They’re at camp.

Speaking of camp. The main 3 attempt to escape again, but are caught by the other campers and are soon forced into the Harmony Hut where they’re forced to watch Disney Movies.

Hours without food or drinks later, and they come out looking pale and traumatized

Marinette snaps out of it and traumatizes them back by smiling

With the Artists, something horrible has happened to Kiran. He blonde and has blue eyes!

Marc: My brother!

Nathaniel: *Faints*

Juleka: *Reading from spell book* “Infant possessions. These terrifying changes are most often the result of a troubled family life.”

Marc: Rose!

Juleka: If we don’t get Rose back, we’re talking dimples.

Nathaniel: Not in this house!

Juleka: He could stay this way for years. Forever. He could become... A lawyer.

Nathaniel: No!

Juleka: An orthodontist.

Marc: Juleka, please!

Juleka: ... Mayor.

Nathaniel: NOOO! TAKE ME INSTEAD!

It’s the day of the highly offensive show that portrays Native Americans as uncivilized people.

It goes off well until Marinette flips the script.

Marinette: You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now, my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the road sides. You will play golf and enjoy hot hors d’oeurves. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will drive stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said, “Do not trust the pilgrims, especially Sarah Miller. And for all these reasons, I have decided to scalp you, and burn your village. To. The. Ground.

The outcasts burn the camp to the ground and attack the brats while the main 3 escape in a canoe.

Meanwhile, Lila tries one last attempt at killing Rose, knowing this won’t fault. A bomb.

When it goes off while she’s out, she’s expecting a blonde corpse. Not Rose holding a tray of cupcakes and a warm smile

Enough is enough.

Lila: *Aims gun* I tried to make it look like an accident! I tried to give you some dignity, but, oh, no, not you!

That shows up to save the day by hitting Lila with his car and helping Rose escape back to the Artists’ Home,

*Now for the best scene*

Marinette: I may never see you again.

Damian: I know.

Marinette: There are forces tearing us apart-- Gary, Lila, tenth grade.

Damian: I'll never forget you.

Marinette: *Touched* You won't?

Damian: You're too weird.

Marinette: We'll always have today and camp

Damian: And this. *He holds up a retainer*

Marinette: What is it?

Damian: Chloé’s retainer. *Drops it to the ground* Meyn ziskeyt.

Marinette: Mi querido.

*The two kiss through the fence before pulling away and wiping their mouths*

Meanwhile, Nathaniel’s lost his mind.

Nathaniel: *Lying in bed* Swing low... Sweet chariot... Coming for to carry me home.

Marc: Oh, my sister is ill and my husband is dying. Juleka, what am I gonna do?

Juleka: Well, you already have a black dress.

Rose returns, apologizes for abandoning them, reconciles with her friends

And at that moment, Marinette and Alix return from camp. They all group hug, and Juleka is about to tell Rose about her feelings for her, until...

Lila: In-laws!

Down in the dungeon, the Artists, Felix, and That are strapped into electric chairs while Lila tells them the story of her life... Through slideshow!

She burned her house down with her parents still in it because they gave her Malibu Barbie instead of Ballerina Barbie

Marc: *Disgusted* Malibu Barbie. The nightmare.

Nathaniel: The nerve.

Her first husband the heart surgeon could never make it on dates, so she committed axe murder.

Juleka: Aw, an axe. That takes me back.

Husband #2 was a Senator who wouldn’t buy Lila that new, expensive car because they had to set an example. She ran him over.

Lila: So I destroyed one innocent life after another. Aren't I a human being? Don't I yearn and... ache and shop? Don't I deserve love... and jewelry?

Marc: *nods* Adios, mi querido.

Nathaniel: Zay gezunt, meyn tayer.

With some encouragement from Felix, Juleka uses her last few moments to confess to Rose

Juleka: Rose, night after night, I have desired you. I would worship every pale, lifeless limb on your body, die and kill for you, love you even after my dying breath. Rose... I love you.

Her confession leaves Rose in tears.

Rose: I love you, too.

Lila: Oh, barf! *Grabs the lever* Goodbye, everyone! Wish me luck!

Artists: Good luck.

Right as she’s about to pull the lever, Kiran, back go normal and by some miracle drops down from the ceiling and switches the wires, making Lila electrocute herself to death

*One year later*

Juleka and Rose got married! Also, it’s Kiran’s birthday! And Damian’s invited!

Rose: And to think I might have missed all this. What was I thinking?

Marinette: Physical pleasure.

While the others are celebrating, Marinette and Damian hang out in the cemetery and talk about marriage. Which Marinette doesn’t want

Damian: But what if you found a man so devoted to you, who worshipped you, that he’d be your eternal love slave?

Marinette: I’d pity him

Damian: *Looks at Lila’s gravestone. ‘Friend, Family, Killer* Damn. Lila was sick.

Marinette: She wasn't sick. She was sloppy.

Damian: What?

Marinette: If I wanted to kill my husband, I'd do it, and I wouldn't get caught.

Damian: How?

Marinette: I'd scare him to death.

Damian: *Scoffs* Sure. *As he goes to lay a flower on Lila’s grave, her hand pops out of the ground and grabs him, making him scream.*

#miraculous ladybug #marc x nathaniel #juleka x rose #miraculous #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #au #alix kudbel #marinette dupain cheng #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #the artist family #the addams family #addams family au #daminette #damian x marinette #maribat #mlb crossover #mlb au

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

Learning how to use the runes with Caster Cu (FGO)

I spent 6 hrs writing the most shamelessly self-indulgent headcanons ever Here, Caster will teach the FGO master the basics of the runes. Follow the master as they learn a bit about their origins, face rigorous testing, make their own set of runes; and use them for the very first time!

*Disclaimer: These headcanons will focus on the use of the Elder Futhark runes. (In fgo, they use both elder and younger futhark) As I’ve only been researching the Nordic runes for around 9 months, please take these headcanons with a pinch of salt! (also, fgo master will be gender neutral! Please enjoy.)

As soon as you broach the topic to him, Caster Cu’s face pales considerably; as images of Odin hanging upside down on the world tree for 9 days permeate his mind. Hopefully you weren’t asking him if you could do that... you weren't, right?

‘Shit...I knew this day would come.’ Awkwardly lowering his hood over his face (so then he can avoid looking at your expectant expression); Caster sighs. “Ah, yeah...Rune magic. Sure, I’ll teach you later...yeah, later.”

Hoping that his bluff is successful, he tries to dematerialize away as fast as possible. However, once you latch onto his pale blue coat to ask what you should do first, he finally caves in; knowing that there’s no way for him to worm his way out of this perilous situation.

“You know, you could try asking Skadi. Or how about Shishou? There’s a hell of a lot of other servants who know bits and pieces about the runes as well. How about you give ‘em a try first?”

When you admit that you want to learn from him, due to your deep appreciation for his extremely flashy use of the runes; Caster stifles a laugh. Yep, there really was no room for escape now.

“Well, I can’t fault you for that; I do look pretty damn cool in action!” Twirling his staff, Caster strikes a pose. “But I don’t get it. You’re already training in other arts. Why would you wanna load rune magic on top of that? You like drowning yourself in work or something??”

As you excitedly flapped your arms around, explaining how you liked watching him trace sparkling runes with his hands; and wanted to take his tree branch summoning skills for yourself, his eyes widen with surprise. He wasn’t expecting you to be this observant.

“Ah, you mean the Berkana/Berkano (ᛒ) rune? Yeah, that one represents the birch tree, so I can summon it. It also commonly symbolizes new beginnings and fertility...” Caster trails off as your braincells physically implode at his explanation.

Berkana? Birch trees? Fertility?! You had no idea what he was talking about right now. As a dour silence weighs heavily upon the two of you, a lightbulb of inspiration strikes Caster right in the head.

“Oi, master. Read up a little on the runes, and remember at least some of their names first. As your new teacher, that’ll be your first assignment. See ya!” And with that, he was gone, vanishing into thin air. Realizing that he had just agreed to teach you, your face sparkles with glee. Clenching your fists with all of your might, you march towards the library. Time would wait for no man!!!!

Exchanging friendly greetings with Murasaki, as you trundle through an entire emporium of books; it takes hours for you to find a book on the runes. Many of the books were in a language that you couldn’t read, however this one looked rather easy on the eyes.

Titled ‘Easy Rune Magic for Modern Mages’, you flick through a rather simplistic guide that provides you with the names and a single definition for each rune; but it provides you with little to no information on how to truly understand their meaning. With subheadings such as ‘How to use the Fehu (ᚠ) rune to generate wealth to pay for your magecraft PHD at the Clock Tower’ and ‘Is Thurisaz (ᚦ) more effective to use as a defensive spell or curse spell?’ you were officially BAMBOOZLED. Tired, you decide to throw in the towel for today.

However, on your way back to your room, a stroke of excellent luck manifests itself before you. Situated upon a sturdy pine table are none other than Sigurd and Byrnhildr, who are reading together. Although you find this scene to be rather adorable (seeing as they were both entirely intact, with no stabbing wounds to be seen); you decided to interrupt their date anyway.

“O-oh, master...” Byrnhildr blushes, as Sigurd waves politely. “What brings you here today?” Slamming your hands on the table, you passionately declare that you wish to learn more about the runes, but can’t understand them without gaining some insight into their history first. As Brynhildr’s eyes glimmer with a sense of appreciation at your open display of interest of their culture, Sigurd haphazardly pulls out the chair next to them.

“I’m glad to see you profess such a profound interest in the runes, master. Please sit down and join us.” Glasses sparkling ominously, Sigurd explains a little bit more about how the elder futhark runes work. He not only explains how Odin discovered their wisdom after hanging from the world tree Yggdrasil; but also tells you about how Odin shared their power with humankind, making him none other than the ‘Allfather’ of the runes.

At the mention of his name, Byrnhild’s expression sours somewhat; making you realize that the two most likely share personal ties with him.

“They’re a special alphabet that we can use to invoke the power and wisdom of the Norse gods, so be careful with them.”

Sigurd then goes on to explain how all 24 runes are separated into three Aetts- which are basically a means of dividing the runic characters into different categories.

“Each rune comes with a short poem. That way, you’ll be able to understand them and their context a little more.”

Once you thank him for the information, he replies with a “I hope I was of use. I’m very proud of you for asking us for help.”; as Byrnhildr returns with an entire truckload of books tucked within her arms!!!

“These books will be helpful! This one’s about the myths associated with the runes, and this one is a practical guide that’ll help cultivate understanding. As for this one, it explains their etymology.”

Byrnhildr chuckles at your gobsmacked expression, as the two of them heap the books into your own arms. “You don’t need to know everything about them, but it’ll be handy for you to develop a little bit of historical and lexical knowledge as well.”

‘I thought I only had to know their names and descriptions...!!’ Tears pooling within your eyes at the mountain of books, you thank them for their help and leave, as they wish you all the best with your studies (and prayed that one day you’d wish to speak to them in the language as well. They couldn’t wait for that opportunity!)

Sighing all the way back to your room, you gasp in surprise as you bump into none other than Skadi.

“Oh, good timing.” Passing you a bundle of golden-trimmed strips of ancient paper, Skadi smiles vigorously. “You can use these as flash cards for your rune training, as well. I’m surprised that you didn’t ask for my guidance, but that may have been for the best. I would’ve trained you thoroughly in the arts.”

A chill jolts through your spine at that. Who knows just how hard she would’ve trained you? Part of Skadi was Scathach, after all. Thanking her for her assistance, the two of you split paths.

‘I seem to be bumping into a lot of people today...’

Was this a mere coincidence, or perhaps something more?

A busy month full of book reading and writing notes onto your flash cards passes within a blur.

Mash had also shown great interest in your studies, and would help test you with your flashcards every day! However, you were still pretty confused about how long this stage of research would last for.

Whilst reading up on how runes could also be used to predict the future and provide advice for one’s dilemmas; and how the Nornir (3 deities of fate) determined this form of divination, you groan.

All of the people within the books had their own sets of runes, which they would use to communicate with the gods.

In other words, they could be used for divination as well as magic.

‘Why can’t I do that yet?’ You pout indignantly; snapping the book shut.

If Caster wouldn’t teach you rune magic, he could at least teach you about divination! Patience running thin, you decide to leap back into action.

It was time to confront your teacher, once and for all.

However, as soon as you exit your room; you are greeted by none other than Caster himself.

Almost tripping onto the floor with surprise, you gawp in shock at his appearance. With his staff and a mouth-watering cup of Darjeeling tea he had brought from one of Marie’s posthumous tea parties in his hands, Caster smirks. “Yo, master. Looks like I came just on time.”

As the two of you settle in the canteen for class (?), after a bit of small talk; you declare that you want to learn how to use the runes for divination. “If you won’t teach me magic, then I would like to learn how to communicate with the runes first, please!”

At this, he lets out an unusually loud guffaw of laughter. “Ahaha, so you finally worked it out, huh? Before you can use their magic; you gotta understand and communicate with the runes, as well. You’re a faster learner than I thought you’d be.”

Unsure whether this was a compliment or not, you enquire as to what he means by that. “It’s pretty simple: you can’t cast these bad boys without building a relationship with them first. On that note, let’s see how much you’ve learnt from your studies.”

His test is a nightmare.

As he barks the name of each rune from the First Aett (the first eight runes), you are forced to draw each and every one. If you get a rune wrong, he repeats it consistently until you draw the right alphabet for each one.

Afterwards, he takes you through a hellish journey as he asks you to provide at least one definition for each rune.

By the time you are done, night has already swept its veil over Chaldea; the halls devoid of any signs of life.

In other words, the two of you had been at this for the entire evening, which had definitely garnered you both the attention and pity of many staff and servants.

Stomach rumbling, you beg Caster to finish class for today.

“Yeah, sure. Whoops, looks like I got a bit carried away right there.” He has definitely inherited his deadly teaching style from Scathach.

When you ask him if you’re ready for the next bout of training; he frowns. “Nope, that was only the First Aett. You’ll only move to the next stage when you’ve memorized all THREE. In other words, get to learning all 24 runes!!” As you cry in despair, Caster shoots you a mischievous wink as he helps himself to the bar.

The dreaded tests continue on a weekly basis.

Not only do you have to deal with the challenges of the saving the world, helping out your allies and maintaining your own health; you also have to leap into the hellish jaws of rune testing with Caster Cu.

Albeit suffering greatly from the challenge, your spirit was also greatly roused. Learning about the runes was fun!

So much fun, that you’d often dream about them, and see their shapes in the food that you ate; and would even accidentally use their names in conversation sometimes, like saying: “Oh, I’m sure the energy of this rune would help with your headaches,” to a very bewildered Mash; or comparing the sunrise to the runes (which confused Shakespeare and Hans greatly. Actually, they are now worried about your health).

All in all, your studies were starting to take effect!!

It was finally time.

As Caster more or less yelled the name of each rune at you, your response was astounding. Not only were you able to draw the shape of every rune in a matter of seconds, you could also provide multiple readings for all 24 of them.

Eyebrows quirked with surprise, Caster sighs with relief. ‘Phew. Looks like class will be shorter than usual today.’

“Holy shit. You’ve done a damn great job, master. You got them all right!” As you roared with joy, pumping your fists into the air with glee; Caster almost fell off his chair- clutching his sides as he tried (yet failed) not to laugh. “Alright, buckle up. We’re gonna get you a set of runes now.”

A set of runes?! Your eyes sparkled at the prospect of finally being able to have runes of your own. It was about time, as well. You had grown sick of using your flash cards, you wanted the real thing!

However, you were confused about the concept of needing your own set. If Skadi and Caster Cu could manifest them just by using their hands, and magical devices; why would a person need to have a set of them? As you expressed your concern, Caster nods his head in understanding.

“I see your point. But even I have a set of runes, you know? It’s every bit as useful a method.” Unleashing a small, worn-out felt pouch; glimmering gems -whose rune inscriptions were engraved upon them in gold- splashed across the dining table. They were beautiful. “’Sides, there’s something exciting about making your own set.”

Your mind swims with excitement, as he describes the different materials that runes can be made from: bones, metal, gemstones, pebbles, glass, clay...there were endless options.

However, when you asked him if you could use your collection of Evil Bones to make a rune set, he chokes on his coffee- pure horror drenched across his features.

“No way in hell! You trying to get yourself killed? Never invoke the power of the runes on cursed items, master.” 

Then how about using QP or Mana Prisms as a base to inscribe the runes instead? Once you suggested this, his face paled somewhat. “Yeah, about that...don’t even think about it. You need those materials, you know.”

Grumpily threading his hands through blue locks of hair, he sighs. “Look, I’ll help you find some materials. Guess we could rayshift the next time I’m free or something...” As you cheer exuberantly, he can’t help but crack a small smile.

Being a teacher was a lot more amusing than he originally anticipated it to be. There was something fun about departing his knowledge. Besides, he had dedicated himself to becoming the guiding light of Chaldea anyway. ‘A little teaching hurts no-one.’

Using the light of the Soliwo (ᛊ) rune to guide the way, the two of you traverse through a forest heaving with verdant green trees and wildlife.

No matter how many pretty trees and tumbled pebbles you found by the riverside; you weren’t sure if they were the right material for you.

Just when you were about to give up, a powerful jolt of electricity beckons you; almost as if it’s calling your name. As soon as you alert Caster of your instinctual powers, he looks rather flummoxed at first; but is somewhat awed once his Soliwo rune’s light begins to shine in exactly the same direction as the one you’re pointing in!

‘Huh, that sure is weird.’

Things only get weirder, once you both come upon a ginormous slab of Labradorite. Situated neatly upon a bed of leaves. Placed carefully within the middle of the forest.

This timing was too good to be true.

As the electricity coursing through your veins triples in intensity, Caster has to hold you back before you cut loose. “Oi, wait up. Let me test this stone for safety first.”

Placing an Algiz (ᛉ) runestone in your hands to guarantee your protection, he saunters towards the massive hunk of Labradorite.

Chanting an incantation beneath his breath, the forest glows in an eerie blue light; as a pale magic circle glimmers beneath the stone. “Yeah, it’s safe. Pretty strange for it to be out here, though.”

As he sketches Thurisaz (ᚦ) (which not only symbolizes thorns, defense and danger, but can also be used as a means to channel a power akin to Thor’s hammer, mlonjir) onto his staff, he smashes it against the mass of Labradorite; splitting what was once an enormous rock into 24 neatly divided; brilliant blue gems.

Gathering them up, he thrusts them before you. “Here you go. That was a pretty lucky find, if I do say so myself.”

You thank him for your help- making sure to also pay homage to the awesome power of your intuition at the same time, which tickles Caster right in the funny bone.

As soon as the stones drop into your hand; they crackle with an immensely powerful energy, as if these gems were waiting for you!!

As you turn them onto the side; you are gobsmacked to see rune inscriptions already engraved onto each and every stone, as if they were reacting to the mana flowing within your body.

You ask Caster to take a look at this strange phenomenon for you.

“Whoa, are you kidding me? That’s pretty awesome. Let me take a look, too.” As you gently stretch your palms towards Caster- trying to keep the runestones steady in your hands- he gently takes your palms, leaning towards them.

As he catches sight of the engravings lying upon them, his crimson eyes widen with bewilderment. “Holy shit...I think the gods just made you an offering. You’re secretly packing a shitload of power in there, ain’t you? Great job!”

Ruffling your hair, Caster grins. “Think you’ve got time for more teaching?”

As you nod your head, anticipation clear on your features; he plonks onto the ground, handing you a felt pouch. “Put them in there. Try doing your first reading, see what rune speaks to you first!”

Eagerly plonking all 24 runes into the sparkly pouch, you close your eyes and concentrate; beseeching the contact of the gods. Imagining yourself encountering the Nonrnir, as you visualize dropping into the center of the world; you place a hand within your pouch.

Rummaging around the bag, a single rune sends energy rippling through your fingers. That was the one! Pulling it out of the bag, you grin excitedly...only to see that it was none other than...

Nauthiz (ᚾ).

‘Aw shite...’ Disappointed by the rune, you sigh. You wished that your rune could’ve been a more positive one! However, Caster’s reaction was rather different to yours.

“Hey, it’s not as bad as it looks.” Figure illuminated by the sun, he looked much more chill than usual. “Nauthiz is all about your needs, you know? With all the singularities popping up recently, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re pushing yourself too far.”

“But this rune is basically saying ‘lol you’re suffering’...It’s frustrating.” You counter him.

You knew all too well about the massive strains your body was going through, the transformations you were forced to undergo. Sometimes, it was just too painful for you to bear. Seeing this rune only served as a reminder of that fact.

“How about you look at it from a different perspective? Even though things are way outta wack for you, a small fire still burns. Doesn’t Nauthiz look a bit like two twigs that you’d see in a fire?” Now that was a funny observation. As you smiled at that, he continued. “It just means that no matter how hard things become; all you gotta do is balance your needs and continue to fight. Nauthiz is also screaming ‘oi, damnit! Don’t give up here, you can survive and make it out the other side sparkling like brand new, you hear me??’”

You were very grateful to hear that. Now you realized that even the most ominous of runes also came with signs of fortune and peace.

In other words, they would be there to support you all the way. Thanking him for his great insight, he replies with a simple “Well, I’m the wise one you know? Anyway, you know the saying. Even the coldest of ice thaws someday.”

As you correctly link his adage to the runes, he claps with pride. “Nice, nice. Well, that’ll be all for my teaching. Soon you’ll be able to do readings with nine or more runes!”

But once you yell to him about how you want to use runes such as Kenaz (ᚲ) to fulfil your long-standing desire to set shit on fire; his expression hardens.

“I ain’t teaching you rune magic until you learn how to master rune divination. Don’t push your luck too far~ Come visit me again once you learn how to read the past, present and future with them!” As you indigently complain about how you still want to summon birch trees, and about how difficult it was to learn about the runes; he bursts into rancorous laughter. “That’s not my problem! C’mon, lay off a little...”

Frustrated, you finally give up, asking for one last request. “Caster. What rune will you get if you do a single reading? I would like to see.”

Begrudgingly adhering to your request, he unearths none other than the Ansuz (ᚨ) rune.

“Ah, my favorite. Well, that’s it for today. Let’s go back.” As he turns away, a frightening wind blows through the trees, as a dark shadow drifts over his figure.

In that very moment, he becomes a dark specter within a bountiful forest filled with brilliant light; as his form briefly flickers and shifts, melding into an entire kaleidoscope of distinct beings.

But all it took was a single blink for his form to return back to normal again.

How strange...Was that none other than an illusion? Were your eyes playing tricks with you? Silently trailing behind, you contemplated the meaning behind the rune he had drawn.

Ansuz...It commonly symbolized communication, breath, and chiefly of all...it was the rune that represented none other than Odin himself.

In addition to that, you saw how the rune landed on its side when Caster drew it, and the mysterious glint in his eyes.

Was Caster hiding something? You couldn’t quite put your finger on it.

‘Just who is Caster Cu really?’ Such a thought weighed dangerously heavy within your mind as the two of you took the steep path back home.

By learning more about the runes, you may have unlocked the door to an endless chasm of mysteries; one that had ties directly linking to the deeper truths lying behind Chaldea...

THE END

Omg this was only meant to be like 1,000 words. But I got extremely invested within this concept and was burning with great excitement, which lead to this becoming SUPER LONG XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this ;; Also dw learning runes in real life isn’t as hardcore as this, I promise you!

#fgo #fate series #caster cu #cu chulainn #sigurd #byrnhild #gilgablog #my writing #AAAAAH THIS TOOK 6 HRS IT WAS FUN VERY FUN BUT I ALSO WAS LOOKING AT ALL ME BOOKS ... but im like if dw wont do it then i will! so i did.

[alovesongshewrote]

Almost A Thousand Years - Killahead, Part 2 | Hisirdoux Casperan

Plot:  You’ve known Hisirdoux Casperan for almost a thousand years.  You’ve hated him for almost a thousand years.  And for almost a thousand years, you’ve been cursed to feel each others pain.  But somewhere in that time, things changed.  [Hisirdoux Casperan x Mostly Gender Neutral but Probably Female Presenting Based on How Historical Men Treat Them!Reader]

Word Count:  5,258

Warnings: B A T T L E 

A/N:  HAPPY HOLIDAYS KIDS!!!!!  also, i swear to god this was written a month ago, before aaron confirmed the skulls and wizards thing

Taglist:  @furblrwurblr @rainningdoom @fluffydmonkey @blondie0458 @sitherin-mxschief @jinxedleo @lawlesshedgehog @einahpetsyarcip @dolphincommander @sorrels-scribbling @anxious-stitcher @alive-and-afraid @animedweeb333 @douxiesdamsel @saroski05 @justarandomhoman @tales-of-hisirdoux​ @blixeon​​ @yagirlcheesely​

It was about as surreal as you thought it would be.

As a child you were trained to fight; to stab, to slice, to claw, and to bleed.  You were taught that humans were the root of all evil and that the Gumm-Gumms would one day take what was theirs.  Now you were fighting with the humans, the evil, the oppressors, against what had been your home, your people.

And it was going surprisingly well.  It turns out having insider knowledge is very helpful on the battlefield.  You were able to block everything they threw at you, to dodge and weave through their attacks and land some pretty good hits of your own.  Douxie had your back, of course, blue light striking down as many opponents as it could take.  In return, you took out anything that even threatened to get too close.

It was going well.  But it didn’t last.

“WHERE IS THE WITCH SPY?”

“Oh no.”

“(Y/N), stay behind me,” Douxie’s voice was a dull hum against the roar around you, and of course, the screaming troll in front of you.

“JOIN YOUR BROTHERS AGAINST THIS PATHETIC ARMY!!”

“Oh god.”

Douxie noticed the fact that you weren’t even close to listening to him and took action, moving in front of you, striking any Gumm-Gumm soldier who even looked your way.

“RETURN HOME (Y/N) (L/N)!”

So, that was it.  That was what had kept you in the dark as a traitor for at least a hundred years.  The very sentence that made you avoid Britain with all your strength.  The thing that drove a wedge between you and the man you now loved.

Four words were all it took.

“(Y/N)??  (Y/N), love, please, answer me!”

You jerked your head, snapping back to reality.  No matter what events were relevant to your personal history, there was still a battle going on.  You had to keep fighting.  You struck down another few Gumm-Gumms just as Douxie used some of Archie’s fire to dispose of another, another few.

“Ha, I've always hated those twits!”

“Valid!” you cried as you ducked under an opponent’s strike.  You took out their knees, rising again, just in time to see Morgana descend from a sky wormhole.  Just what you needed.

“Night has already fallen.”

“Oh, really?  Couldn’t tell.”

Douxie rolled his eyes at your sarcasm, but you could see the grin on his face.  That boy loved you and all of your shenanigans.  You were shaken from your thoughts, however, when Morgana started firing spells into the crowd, yeeting her magic around with reckless abandon.  

“Morgana’s returned!  She’s enemy number one!”

“Go!” Jim yelled, “We’ll hold the bridge!”

“Hisirdoux, with me!  I-You!” oh no, he was talking to you, “I take you in as my apprentice, spare your life from the sword, and this is how you-”

“Master, they didn’t have a choice!”  Douxie grabbed your hand, pulling you behind him as if to shield you from Merlin’s wrath, “It was a matter of survival!”

“Survival!  What-”

“Please, Master, let them help.  If we leave them here, any of the nights might try to attack them!”

“And why should that matter!  They are a traitor, are they not?  Death on the battlefield is more merciful than anything they might receive after the battle is won.”

“I won’t let anything happen to them,”  Douxie’s voice was calm, but you could hear the anger behind it, “(Y/N) has proved their loyalty to me hundreds of times. They’re more than capable and I trust them with my life.”

You broke from your reverie, eyes painted with concern.  How could he trust you so easily?  Why did he, even after everything that had happened?  This shouldn’t have come as such a shock to you.  He did love you, after all, and yet, you still found yourself surprised by this revelation.  You couldn’t help the hesitant smile that crept onto your face as you squeezed his hand slightly.  He really did love you, didn’t he?

Merlin grumbled something, probably regretting that binding spell right about now, before motioning for you to follow him.

You cast a wave back to the kids, a silent wish for their luck, before you ran after Merlin, your hand still entwined with Douxie’s.  He didn’t let go until you reached a small group of ruins, at which point you, your wizard and the old man stood, backs facing each other, all of you peered out into the darkness.  Archie flew above you, dragon eyes finding nothing out of the ordinary.  Not yet, anyway.  You kept your sword out in front of you, and you could tell that Douxie was doing the same with his brace.  You had no idea what Merlin was doing, but you never did, so that wasn’t a big deal.

“I feel dark magic.”

“It means she’s close.”

You and the familiar both gasped as something ran through the trees.  A chill made its way into the woods, surrounding you and raising goosebumps on your skin.  You felt your heart begin to race as strange echoes continued to ring out through the air.  They soon morphed from a collection of noises into a laugh- Morgana’s.

“An old man, a foolish boy, and a traitor; lost as always.”

Your small group moved slightly, scanning the forest for any sign of the sorceress.  You could feel her presence, but there was nothing there.

“Do you dare run… or face my vengeance?”

Oh.  There she was.

“Um, is there a third option?”  Archie asked, sounding much too calm for the situation at hand.  You couldn’t blame him though, you would have done the same.  But you weren’t doing the same.  You were looking over your shoulder just as a collection of roots shot out at you.  Thanks to your little turn, you had an advantage, cutting the offending plant parts before they could get to you.  Douxie and Merlin, however, were not so lucky.  The latter was pulled to the ground and stabbed through the shoulder with a particularly sharp root.  He barked out an order for Hisirdoux to run, which he could not do because of the roots clinging to his shoulders.  You used your sword on what you could, and a blast of green energy from Merlin took out the rest.  A little anticlimactic if you ask me.

Despite your escape, Morgana cackled, even as Douxie fired spell after spell at her with little success.  While he made his attempt, you helped Merlin to a standing position, a task that became easier when Douxie rejoined you at the old wizard’s other side.

“Merlin, you’re injured!  Badly…  (Y/N), is there anything-”

“Hisirdoux, if I should fall this day…”

Merlin handed his former apprentice a scroll, one which was covered with notes and instructions about building a tomb, and the heart of Avalon.  Your brows furrowed as you read over Douxie’s shoulder.  That wasn’t ominous at all.

“Why are you giving us this?”

“Foreseeing the future means preparing for the worst of it,” he glared at you for a moment, and you wondered what exactly he could see.  He clearly hadn’t seen your act of treason coming, but there were other things that made you wonder.  Your thoughts were interrupted by more ominous Merlin content, “That includes your wounded friend.”

“Jim?  What about him?”

“The corruption in his heart has no cure.  When he returns to the future, it will overtake him.”

Oh.  Oh.  

Oh no.

You’d had your suspicions, but hearing it from the master wizard himself brought it to another level of reality.  There was no cure.  There was no solution.  You were going to go home, and you were going to kill Douxie.  Or you’d try to, at the very least.  Maybe, now that Douxie was a master wizard himself, he could do you both a kindness and kill you where you stood.  

…

Yeah, no.  He wouldn’t be doing that anytime soon, but a witch could dream!  You feel his hand on your back, a gesture meant to comfort you that only made you sick.  How he still cared about you, even after all of this would confuse you for years to come.  For now, though, you just accepted it.  There wasn’t time for much else with an evil sorceress on the prowl.

“No, no there must be some other way!  I made a promise to them, to Claire, to get them home alive, all of them!”

“Yet, to save time itself, you all must return home, even if it means James Lake will be no more.”

That wasn’t exactly a pleasant thought.  While a distance stemming from your past had momentarily sprung up between you and the kids, the gap between you had since closed.  You loved those little monsters like they were your siblings, and you’d do anything for them.  The thought that Jim would have to die, to make another sacrifice when he’d already given up so much, was just another thing that killed you inside.

“And there’s no other solution?” you tried to keep quiet despite the rage that boiled inside you, not at anyone in particular, but at the situation as a whole, “There’s no way to fix this that doesn’t get Jim killed?”

Merlin shook his head, but you didn’t need that confirmation.  You already knew the answer.

“Such is the burden of a wizard,” the old one spoke as your small group made its way deeper into the night, “To make the hard choices mortals cannot,” he grunted, slouching forward slightly, reminding you that you should really take a look at that stab wound at some point.  Merlin, however, paid no real mind to this, instead, continuing his little monologue, “Now it is yours to bear.”

You looked away from your wizard companions to see a giant skull, lodged between a rock and… well, another rock.  Some may call it a canyon, you called it fucking ominous and terrifying.  The skull was lit from within, orange light seeping through the space where eyes had once stared out into the world.  You wondered, for a moment, how these old bones had ended up here, and how they had stayed.  What was the last thing this being saw?  Was it the sky above, or the ground below?  What could kill something as large as this?  You didn’t ask your questions.  It didn’t seem like the right time.  

And really, it wasn’t time for anything other than nerves and anxiety.  Without a word, you followed Merlin across the rocks until he stood in front of the skull, on top of an odd sort of contraption.  You stood a few steps behind, safely off the weird cage thing.

“Morgana, reveal thyself!”

Before you could question the logistics of giving yourselves away, a portal, ringed with gold and made of shadows appeared, releasing the queen of the apocalypse onto another rock.  Yep, that sure was an evil sorceress.  Just what you needed at this time of night.

“Look what has wandered into my web,” nice starting point.  Threatening, but not over the top.  You cast your sarcastic thoughts aside for the moment, as valid as they were, preparing yourself instead, for a fight.

“These are dark powers you medal with, Morgana.  Who granted them?  Who resurrected you from death?”

“Wizards beyond your ken,” ah shit.  Just as you suspected.  ‘Wizards beyond your ken,’ was mysterious witch for ‘The Arcane Order.’

And then she was gone again.  Dope.

“So, uh… we should head into the big skull of doom?” you asked, eyebrows knit together in a mix of concern and confusion.

“Yep, let’s go.”  You and Douxie nodded at each other before helping Merlin scale the rocks and get into the skull, asking Archie to stand watch for a moment, just to secure his safety.  He agreed only once you’d promised to call him if things got rough.  

Inside of the first skull, you found a second, slightly smaller skull.  What the hell was it with magic dudes and skulls, huh?  Morgana had this as her lair, the Arcane Order’s ship was a skull, Douxie had his whole vibe and Merlin kept skulls in his office.  Shit, even you kept bones around, though you were a doctor and arguably had the best excuse.  Your thoughts ran wild as you examined the space around you, but they were interrupted by the reappearance of your least favourite murder-witch.

“Morgana!”

The two wizards prepared for battle, but you hesitated.  Something was wrong here.  Morgana was crying, no-sobbing.  You recognized this, whatever this was.  You’d seen it in yourself back in the 1300s.  Yep, something was wrong alright, and judging by this, someone was probably dead.

“It’s your fault!” She cried, “You’re the reason Arthur is gone!” 

Oh, so you were right.  That didn’t really explain how Arthur’s blood was on your hands though.

“What?”

“Gone?”

“Uh, guys?  It kinda sounds like the King is dead.”

Your companions had no time to respond as Morgana rose through the air, seeking misplaced revenge instead of proper justice.  She fired a spell at the three of you, which Douxie ran to shield you from.  Merlin joined him a second later, limping towards the younger wizard with your help.  The second he stood on his own, your magic joined theirs.

“She’s too powerful!  We have no choice but to seal her away!”

“I know.  I’ll try to buy some ti-”

Douxie was cut off when Merlin knocked you both clear across the room and out of the way of another spell, one which left the old wizard in chains.

You felt the impact that Douxie suffered and you were sure he felt yours.  Nevertheless, the two of you pulled yourselves up just as Morgana started on another speech.

“Oh, shame!  Little Douxie finally gets his staff, just in time to die with it!” 

She aimed her next attack at him, but you interfered, knocking her away with a shield made of your magic.  

“And you!  Traitorous little wretch!”  you weren’t exactly sure which treason she was talking about or who she learned it from.  You’d betrayed a lot of people over the years, she’d have to be more specific, “Why do you still fight alongside them?!”

You knocked away another attack before answering, “The shorter one is cute!”  With that, you went on the offensive, landing a kick to Morgana’s stomach and striking her again with the butt of your sword.  Your small victory didn’t last long though, as she struck back, the impact slamming you into the opposite wall and probably cracking a few of your ribs.  You’d have to apologize to Douxie for that one.

Morgana scoffed at you, looking down at your crumpled figure as you struggled to stand, “Only a fool would fight for love!” 

Her voice may have contained a little more rage than was necessary, and she may have been projecting a little bit, but she didn’t have time to say anything else.  Douxie handed a few hits with his staff, using surprise to his advantage, and holding up surprisingly well despite the pain you both were in.  Morgana turned her taunting onto Douxie, mocking him as they fought.

“You can’t even wield it!” you winced as she landed a hit, “You should stick to your usual tricks.”

You bit your lip as she struck him in the face- twice.  This really wasn’t a great day for either of you, was it?

“Use the power of your staff!  Make it your own!”

“Please, Douxie.”  Your voice was quiet, and there was almost no way he heard it.  Hell, you weren’t even sure what you were asking for, but in the next second, his staff turned into a fucking guitar so that was probably it if you had to guess.  Or maybe it was the next second when he avenged you by smacking Morgana in the face with said guitar, sending her flying across the room.  You knew that as a doctor you shouldn’t hope for someone to crack a rib, but this was an exception you were willing to make.

“What?!”

“BABE!  THAT WAS HOT!!” you yelled, too shocked to say much else.

“Bleeding balroths!  This is nuclear!” your wizard said, spinning the staff around.

You couldn’t help but laugh at that as you pulled yourself up from the ground.  Of all the things Douxie had ever said and done in his life, that had to be the Douxie-est.

“Did you just strike me with a-a lute?!”

“Uh-uh-uh-uh.  No, uh-uh.  Spellcaster guitar, darling.”

You weren’t exactly sure what the fuck he just said, but you were 110% there for it.  He played a lil’ riff on his staff, and you had a very brief mental debate on whether or not that took the throne for the Douxie-est thing he’d ever done.

“Needs tuning though.”  He continued to play the riff for a solid minute, and you weren’t sure what was funnier.  The fact that this was, in fact, something that was happening, or how Done Merlin looked with literally everything at that moment.  It was both.  Both was good.

“I meant make it your own weapon!”

Douxie finished playing just in time to shield himself from another of Morgana’s attacks, “Well, this is technically an “axe!”  

“You are a huge geek!”

“And you love it!” your wizard yelled, playing again while running from Morgana, looking for an opening while avoiding a volley of spells.  He was right.  You did love it.  That’s why you were going to help at the next opportunity, your (and technically his) poor ribs be damned.  

“Hisirdoux!  This is no time for dreadful music!”

“Dreadful?”

“Absolutely infernal.”

“I mean, I thought it was good!”  you yelled, launching your own round of spells at Morgana, making it harder for her to land a hit on Douxie.

“No worries, this is just the opening track!”

“What do you hope to do?  Blow out our eardrums?”

“Well, pardon me if this rock is too freakin’ awesome for your medieval sensibilities!”    You had no idea how he did it, but he managed to land on one of the light fixtures (of all things) while you weren’t looking.  You couldn’t really see him from where you were, but you were almost certain that he was doing the sign of horns and sticking out his tongue.

“Enough of your noise!”  Morgana cried, blasting you to the side quickly before returning to her real fight.  You were lucky that this blast was not as strong as her first.  You were able to roll out of it without causing any real damage, a benefit to both you and Douxie.  Speaking of, your wizard found himself locked in a Harry Potter-style duel, two magics facing off against one another in a single stream.  It was not looking too good for your boi though.  He seemed to notice this, and jumped from the light and returned to physical combat on the ground.  Unfortunately, that did not end well either, and you bit back a cry as Douxie was thrown through the room.  Yeah, things were looking rough.  Time to call in the cat calvary. 

You swore you were only gone for a moment, but in that time, Douxie managed to get himself pinned against a wall.

“Do not fret, Merlin.  You’ll find a new apprentice to replace him.  Are people not dispensable, after all?”

“Ok, go, go now!”  you whispered to Archie, your tone intense, which was fair considering the situation.  The familiar did as told and flew at the witch, sending her fling off balance and keeping her away from Douxie.  Arch did a quick loop near Merlin, tossing the wizard his staff before circling around to land on Douxie’s shoulder.  Merlin and Morgana began their fight as you ran to your wizard and his familiar.

“Nice work my dudes, you think you can keep it up?”

“Probably!  Arch, light me!”  you liked the sound of that. You liked the sight of it even more as blue flames encircled Morgana, trapping her, and allowing Douxie and Archie to make their final attack, keeping the sorceress in place.

“Hurry, I can’t hold her that long!”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” you said, voice quiet as you threw your own spell at the witch from below.  Hopefully, that would make things a little easier.  It did.  Douxie was grateful.  

“You have lost yourself, Morgana!  Bound to dark magic.  I have no choice but to seal you away!  Sigilia infractum!”

It seemed to work for a second, but then, for like, the third (?) time in that battle you were blasted back, Douxie fell with you and hit the ground harder.  

“Man, this sucks,” you whispered as you pulled yourselves up, going to Merlin’s aid.

“Master!”

“She’s too powerful,” he groaned, “You have to finish this, together.”

“We can do that… we can do that!  Let’s go!”

You and Douxie moved in sync, matching each other’s movements exactly.  Using his staff, Douxie’s blue magic replaced Merlin’s green while yours froze the witch again, keeping her from attacking you.

“Sigilia infractum causera!”

Finally, the blast from the spell did not hurt you, instead, it did as it was supposed to, trapping Morgana.  You let your own spell ease up, instead, lending whatever strength you could to Douxie, God knows he would need it.

“I will destroy you all!  No matter what it takes, no matter where you go, I will end all that you love until you feel my agony!”

“Yeah, you aren’t the first person to threaten that!  Come up with something original, then we’ll talk.”

The witch roared and threw a spell in your direction, but it disappeared into a shadow edged with purple.

“Hey!  Hands off my teachers!”

Oh, Claire!  Claire had found you somehow, that was good.

“I swear on all your lives, I shall rise again!”

“Already seen it,” the girl cried, throwing some much-deserved sass Morgana's way, “You don’t win.  See you in 900 years!”

And with that, the spell was complete.  Claire opened another portal, dragging Morgana into it.  With that big historical event over, your adrenaline failed you and you staggered forward.  That was pretty convenient considering it let you catch Douxie, who was doing much worse than you were.  You noticed his eyes rolling back slightly, which was a cause for some alarm.

“Hey, heyheyheyheyhey, stay with us, you nerd, don’t pass out on me,” you weren’t sure you could handle the stress if he did.

“Douxie!  Are you okay?!”  Archie and Claire moved in, the former knocking Douxie back and licking his face relentlessly.

“Ugh!  That’s-that’s disgusting!”

You and Claire both laughed at this, glad that at least this part of the fight was finally over.  Douxie stole a glance at you and wondered if he had somehow died during the battle.  How else could there be an angel before him?

“Well,” he turned his gaze from your smile to Claire with only minor difficulties, “I think we just saved history.”

You sat back, all fears forgotten for now in a moment of relief and elation as you watched your boyfriend give the girl a high-five.

“And you took down a ninth-level sorceress.”

“Damn right,” you giggled, which was new, but not unwelcome.  You turned to Douxie, “Sharp work, samurai.”  Your friends rolled their eyes at your antics, though they did it out of love.

The excitement calmed for a moment, allowing Archie to speak, “Merlin would be proud.”

“Yeah, if he wasn’t out cold.”

“I mean, it’s not a great look for him, but full transparency?  I could probably take a three-hundred-year nap right now.”

Douxie laughed, but he wrapped a hand around yours and whispered, “Please don’t.”

You squeezed his hand, a silent promise that you would not answer your problems with sleep.  Not today, anyway.  To be completely honest, the problem immediately at hand could be solved rather quickly, by you, at least.

“Anyway, Merlin’s still been stabbed, so I’ll just-”

Fortunately, this was just a stab wound.  No magic, no tricks, no possession, just medicine.  That was what you knew, it was what you could deal with.  It was over too quickly.  Was that a thing you could say?  Could you wish for medical treatment to last longer?  Was that something you could do?  Not to mention that he was your boyfriend’s surrogate dad, which just made things complicated.  Either way, it was over too fast.  You returned to Camelot, mourned the dead, said your goodbyes, and that was it.  Time was up.  You had to go home.

Home.  What even was home now?  You knew the answer.  Home was Douxie.  Wherever he was, you wanted to be.  He made you feel safe, feel loved, feel every good thing that humans are supposed to feel, but-  To save the world, to save his life, you would have to leave him.  There was no other choice, either you stayed in the past and everyone died, or you went back to the future and risked his life by staying with him.  You had to go.  As soon as you got back, you’d have to run.  You didn’t know where, to-to Spain, or Japan, or Cuba, Vietnam, Egypt, France, somewhere, anywhere, just to keep him safe.  You didn’t want to do it.  You just wanted to stay by his side, forever, if possible.  But that was the thing.  It wasn’t possible.  And that broke your heart.

And if possible, these gosh darn kids were going to break you even more.

“Everybody, ready yourselves.  We don’t have much time.  I’ll dial us in for when we left.”

“But what’s gonna happen when we get there?  The danger we escaped, it’ll be waiting for us.  And Jim’s still hurt.”

You bit your lip as you and Douxie approached Jim and Claire. You really didn’t want to be the one who had to say this.  You didn’t want to be around when she heard the news.  Shit, you didn’t even want it to be news.  You just wanted your kids to be happy, and to not kill your boyfriend, and to live for once.  Maybe fate just didn’t like you.

“Claire, about that…  Jim is-”

“Ready to face the inevitable,” Jim held out a hand to stop you.

“Jim, are you sure?” Douxie asked while you maintained your silence.  You were pretty sure if you said anything you’d lose your composure. 

“Jim?”  Oh God, and now Claire was going to find out how screwed you still were.  This was gonna suck.

“Claire, the shard in-  There is no cure.  That’s what Merlin told me earlier.”

You winced at the horror on the young girl’s face.  She didn’t deserve this.  Neither of them did.

“That’s crazy!  We can find something!  I’ll learn a spell, we can stay here!”

“If we don’t all go back right now, the future won’t exist.  What kind of hero would I be if I sacrificed everyone else?  Not to be ironic, but we’re out of time.”

“No!  Douxie, (Y/N), tell him!  We can fix this!  You can fix this!”

You brought your hand up to hide your eyes from the sorceress.  She was right, you should have been able to fix this, and tears wouldn’t solve anything.  Your only solution was running away, and Jim-  oh God, Jim.  See, it was things like this that made you start drinking in the twenties.

“I’m sorry, Claire.  He’s right.  We must go back now, but when we do, we’ll find a way to reverse this,”  he stole a glance back at you, and your distraught state only drove him further.  He had to do this, to fix things when you got home.  He owed all of you that much, “I promised I would return you home, and I am, but the portal can only stay open for a few moments.  This is our one shot.  Trust me.”

A moment later, he joined you at the base of the ship before taking your hand and leading you onto it.

“We’ll fix this,” he promised, his voice low so only you could hear, “Together.  We’ll go home to the future, and we’ll fix this, and then-” your eyes met his as he paused, “And then, maybe, we could start our future.”

Despite the tears that threatened to fall, you smiled ever so slightly, “We’ll build a new one if we have to.”

It wasn’t until his lips met yours that you started crying.  It wasn’t his fault it was just- fuck you would miss this.  You smiled again as you pulled apart, though the tears hadn’t stopped.  It was for his sake, really.  Under normal circumstances, you might pretend that everything was fine, but for just one second, you wanted to believe it.

“I love you,”  your voice shook, and you hated it.

“I love you, too,”  his voice was strong, yet tired.  And you loved it.

You pushed a small smile onto your face, trying to cast the illusion that you were okay, and that everything was okay, and that no one would die when you returned.  Your attempts were quickly halted by a sting on your cheek.  That came from him, you realized, as you noticed a thin cut that ran across his cheekbone.  You ran your thumb over it, his skin patching together and healing under your hand.  At least you could still do that one thing.  Sure, you were a traitorous assassin, but by god could you heal a small cut.

Douxie smiled, his grin seeming more natural than yours.  He kissed you one last time before letting you go and taking the time map.  You watched him, not saying a word as he said something under his breath and activated the map and the heart.  A beam of light lit the night sky green, going on for a moment until it formed a portal.  You could almost see your time on the other side. That was it.  That was how you would get back to the future.  Yay.

It was weird.  You’d known Douxie for so long, and hated him for most of that time, but now?  Now you were dreading going back to your time, going back to general safety because it meant that he would die.  It was just odd to think that there was a time where you would have wished for this, for a chance to kill him and avoid the blame.  If you wished for anything now, it would be another way out.

You followed Douxie onto Merlin’s airship and walked past him, standing as far away as you could.  You didn’t know what would happen when you crossed that barrier.  You might try to murder him instantly, you might be able to control yourself, you might be able to fight off your curse entirely.  The point is, you didn’t know, and distance was the best solution.  So, you stood alone and stared off into the night as the ship moved off towards the portal until Steve’s ramblings returned your attention to your friends.

“Man, Camelot was crazy!  Why don’t they ever talk about that in the history books?”

Douxie gave the blond kid a pat on the shoulder, and you watched as Steve headed towards the front of the ship where Jim and Claire stood.  The girl was looking back towards you, but you couldn’t meet her eyes.  Her boyfriend was doomed, and there was nothing you could do about it.  And you would have done anything.  For those kids, you’d give your own life in a heartbeat, but that wasn’t an option.  Not now, not yet.  Douxie, however, met her eyes, though only for a moment.  You didn’t have to hear him to know what he was thinking.

“My burden to bear.”

And with those final words, the world turned green, and you were gone.

#hisirdoux x reader #hisirdoux casperan x reader #douxie x reader #douxie imagine #hisirdoux imagine #almost a thousand years #aaty #angst #hisirdoux #hisirdoux casperan #douxie #toa douxie #toa hisirdoux

[celosiaa]

hi friend!!! PLEASE keep in mind there is NO RUSH or ANY REQUIREMENT TO WRITE THIS IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE WRITING I'M JUST GIVING PROMPT BECAUSE YOU SAID YOU FEEL LIKE WRITING AND I LOVE YOUR WRITING!! what about canon-era POTS Jon? infections can cause really bad POTS flares (my understanding is that it lowers your BP). it could be after any of his many injuries, but even just a cold can mess with it. and ONLY IF YOU FEEL BORED AND UP TO WRITING <3 TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!

hello my dear!!!! you are going THROUGH IT right now!!!! I love you very very much and I hope that this fic will make your day a little brighter <3

So have a little Jon with the flu and a POTS flare up! And friends who love him!

CW nausea, fainting

This was a mistake.

Jon knows it, his body knows it—the entire train car probably knows it too. It’s barely a ten minute’s ride from his flat to the Institute, but it might as well have been an hour trapped in a boiler room for all he can tell. Suffocating, you’re suffocating—is the only message his brain will send him, as he sits squeezed in between two very unfortunate passengers on this snowy Monday morning, trying very hard both not to cough and to stop himself from tearing off his coat and scarf this instant.

Being ill always hits him hard—far harder than it has any right to; harder than he is willing to acknowledge, really—as it always seems to trigger his POTS in the most frustrating of ways. Last time he’d been ill, truly ill, Tim may have paid the price for his stubbornness more than he had himself. What with him refusing to do anything to look after himself, being caught by surprise by a fainting spell, and ending up dragging Tim to the A&E with him to be treated for a nasty head wound. This time around, he has actually taken several precautions, with his compression stockings on, a water bottle, and TENS unit in his bag, just in case the muscle aches from whatever hell bug he’s managed to catch compound the pain from his EDS.

Tim ought to be proud.

Mouth twisting in a smile in spite of himself, Jon resists the urge to bolt out of the train car as soon as the stop is announced, forcing himself instead to stand slowly and carefully before exiting.

—

As luck would have it, the lift had been broken down, forcing Jon to climb the flight of stairs up to the street. Legs nearly giving out on him before he could half-sit, mostly collapse onto the bench at the top, his chest heaves as he tries to convince his body not to faint. With somewhat limited success.

So long as the fading in and out of his vision is not followed by a lapse in awareness, he’ll be alright.

Suffocating suffocating

Whether rational or not, Jon has to pull of his coat and scarf right now, or he’s sure his brain will short out on him completely. He tears at it all as quickly as possible, fingers shaking over the large buttons of his peacoat. Anything to relieve the pressure on his chest, whether brought on by POTS or his congestion, he’s soon to find out. Preferably, he’d like to slow down his breathing a bit before coughing again, but there’s very little he can do to control that—and buries it all in the folds of his scarf, hoping to avoid as many stares from passers-by as possible.

The lightheadedness only bangs against his eyes again as the fit continues, forcing him to fold his legs beneath himself and bend forward in an effort to breathe, breathe. Surely it hadn’t been so bad this morning when he had stepped out of the door—he had been quite certain of his ability to control it enough to get by, and hopefully without raising the alarm about his health throughout the archives. By the sound of it, though, he just hadn’t been getting deep enough breaths to force it all out, as the crackling depth of it alarms even him.

All the same, after a few minutes of breathing deeply with marginally-clearer lungs, he feels finally able to look up again—even shuddering against the soft padding of snowflakes against his shoulders and greying hair, rather than panicking about being boiled alive by his own jacket.

He’ll take what improvement he can get.

Steeling himself to walk the block down to the Institute, Jon pulls up his compression stockings from where they had slipped a bit and pushes on.

—

“So I’m sitting there, right? I’m sitting there, barbecue sauce on my titties…”

“You were NOT!” Sasha bellows at Tim, struggling to raise her voice over the sound of Martin’s cackling. “Don’t encourage him, Martin, he always puts this in his fucking stories.”

“HEY! It’s true!! It could have happened more than once, you know.”

“God I hate you so much,” she shouts, sending both Martin and Tim for another round of uncontrollable laughter.

It’s the perfect opportunity for Jon—who exits the lift as quickly as he can, heading for his office with the all the single-mindedness of a particularly winded and dizzy man. Perfect, because no one saw him beyond a shadow darkening the doorstep. No one to raise the alarm as he sinks into his chair, trembling at the exertion of making the journey from the lobby to the basement.

Burying his face in his hands, he sniffs back against the congestion plaguing him, adjusts his position to take pressure off his throbbing legs, and tries to collect his scattered thoughts enough to get to work.

—

Spinning, spinning, spinning are the walls of his office around him, worsening with every cough he stifles into the sleeves of his cardigan. After the initial recovery period when he had finally been able to sit in his office, chest aching with exertion, he had truly felt alright for those first couple of hours—even finding himself able to get lost in statements for a while, barely noticing an hour tick by, two, three. Until his vision started to go out again, and he found himself leaning aching elbows on aching knees, feeling the nausea that had caused him to lose his breakfast that morning rise up again in his throat.

Please, not now. Please.

He’s got to get something in him, knows it would help to at least keep something with salt down, if he can manage it. Regretfully, the only way to stop the dizziness is sure to worsen it first—as his emergency Gatorade supply happens to be in the break room refrigerator.

Text Tim, the rational part of his mind supplies at once, the sound advice on it falling on entirely deaf ears.

Can manage this myself.

I put it there, I can go get it.

Wishing more than anything he had brought his walker, he moves slowly, ever so slow and careful to standing—and stars explode in his vision at once, driving him right back down to the chair again, head between his knees and panting.

Damn it damn it damn it

Calm, just—

Calm down.

Heart pounding in double time to the ticking of the clock on the wall, Jon does everything he can to slow it down, slow it down, ease the stabbing pain of his overworked heart in his chest with the deepest breaths he can manage. It’s not enough, can’t see, can’t breathe—

No no no—

—

Thud.

The sound drives Tim into Jon’s office at once, not for the first time—though never with any less worry or concern. Even knowing what happened, that Jon was almost certainly fine, would never truly take away the way his stomach clenches every time this happens, every time he sees Jon hit the ground, even if he’s able to catch him on the way. And today was especially worrying, with the damp coughing he had heard slipping beneath the office door since this morning.

Please be okay please be okay—

“Jon?” he calls gently, swinging the door open to find him on the ground, rolling onto his back with a groan. “Did you faint?”

“I—yeah,” he replies, more vague-sounding than Tim would like, rubbing the back of his head as he starts to sit up.

Not good.

“You hit your head?” Tim asks as he kneels next to him, already reaching forward to card through Jon’s hair, looking for any sign of swelling or bleeding.

“I don’t—not badly, if I—oh,” he trails off at once, eyes beginning to flutter.

“Alright, easy, now,” Tim mutters, supporting Jon’s head as he shifts back to lying flat again, eyes clenched again the returning dizziness. “It’s really bad today, huh? And you’re ill too.”

In response, all Jon will give is a sigh, draping an arm over his mouth as it turns into a cough, before placing it over his eyes. Something twinges in Tim’s chest at the sight—knowing how much Jon hates this, hates anyone fussing over him even more—and squeezes gently above his knee in acknowledgement.

“What can I do? Anything?”

Still nothing verbal from him for a few seconds—seconds Tim is willing to wait as Jon sorts through both his own unwillingness to ask for help, as well as through his own likely-scattered thoughts. It had taken a lot for Jon to tell him about his POTS in the first place—in fact, that trust had not been built until Tim had to take him to A&E after a particularly bad fall. Now that he thinks of it, Jon had been ill then too—and even grouchier than his current persona of “Boss-man.”

“Was trying to—ugh,” starts, cutting off for a moment to clutch at his stomach, against what is most likely rising nausea. “Was trying to get—get some Gatorade.”

“That’s what all this is about? Getting your nasty-ass purple Gatorade?”

When Jon huffs out a little laugh with a smile, Tim feels very much pumping his fist in the air for joy—but refrains, if only for Jon’s sake.

“Tastes good. Don’t know what you’re missing.”

And a joke?

Should I call an ambulance?

“Tastes like purple,” Tim replies, letting a smile filter heavily into his own expression now. “I don’t mess with shit that tastes like a color.”

A sharp gasp from behind alerts him to Martin’s presence in the doorway.

“Oh Jon, what happened? Are you alright?” he asks, with such deep concern that Jon immediately buries his face in his hands and groans.

“Just fainted, is all,” Tim says at once, waving a sharp hand by his throat to cut off his well-meaning sympathy.

“Right,” he replies with raised eyebrows, carefully schooling his expression in a way that Tim very much appreciates. “Right. Anything I can do?”

“Could grab him some Gatorade from the fridge, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“On it,” he nods at once, and sets off.

Just then, Jon starts up coughing again, so harsh and damp it sets Tim’s teeth on edge.

“That sounds rough, Jon,” he grimaces, reaching up to his desk to grab tissues from atop it and set them on the floor.

“It’s—fine,” comes the reply, of course, accented in between by a hitching at the back of his throat that drives him upwards to sitting.

“Right. Sure,” Tim mutters, rolling his eyes as he braces Jon, whose harsh coughing bends him double with effort.

When he begins to sway a bit, eyes fluttering again—Tim is already to prepared to push his head gently forward and between his knees.

“Easy, easy.”

“Fuck.”

“I’ve got you.”

The shaking beneath Tim’s hands is not altogether a rarity after a bad faint, but something tells him there might be another cause this time. A fever, namely.

“When’s the last time you’ve eaten?” he asks, after waiting for Jon’s breathing to come a bit back under control.

“Didn’t—don’t. Don’t feel well,” he whispers, bending even further forward, enough to have Tim reaching for the bin, just in case.

“Alright, that’s alright,” he whispers in response, feeling powerless to do anything but sit and rub his back.

“Tried,” he starts up again after a moment, altogether shocking an unsuspecting Tim with his verbosity.

“Tried? Tried what?”

“Tried to be careful,” he clarifies, coughing once more into his elbow, and letting it double him back down. “Promise, I—heh—tried. Thought I was fine.”

“I know, Jon,” Tim assures at once, rubbing at his back once again against the trembling, wishing it was doing anything to really help him. “I know, alright? Just save your breath. It’s not your fault.”

Thankfully, by the time Martin reappears with the Gatorade, he’s quite a bit steadier, after the coughing fit has reached it’s end. Much to Tim’s surprise, he even offers Martin a small smile as he cast a long shadow through the office, blocking out the fluorescent light of the hall behind him.

“Alright, time for electrolytes!” Tim cheers, as Martin opens the lid to the bottle before handing it to Jon, who begins sipping at it cautiously.

“You’re shaking—are you cold?” Martin asks, already removing his cardigan and kneeling to place it over Jon’s trembling shoulders.

“No,” he snaps sharply, pushing off the cardigan and shifting around, preparing himself to stand. “I’m alright, just—”

“Hang on, hang on,” Tim soothes, pressing back against Jon’s chest as gently as possible to stop his movement. “Just—hold on a second, alright? Let me get the cot set up in here before you try that.”

“Tim—”

“I know, I know, perish the thought. I get it.”

“You don’t—”

“BUT! But,” he cuts in loudly, holding up a hand to shush him. “You shouldn’t even be here, Jon. You’ve probably got the flu, or something, judging by whatever—whatever is clearly going on here. So please. Just have a lie down for, like, an hour. That’s all I’m asking.”

All I’m brave enough to ask, really.

Another pause, during which it’s Tim’s turn for his heart to pound, watching Jon try to formulate an argument against him with furrowed brows.

And then—everything that had been hunched and furrowed goes slack, as Jon starts to sway dizzily again.

“Oh—oh, Jon,” Martin gasps nervously, helping him slowly lower back to lying on the ground.

“M’fine, fine,” he assures, words slurring a bit as Martin checks his forehead for fever—and if the meaningful glance he gives Tim is anything to go by, he can be pretty certain of Martin’s findings.

“Right. Cot. I’m going to get it, and I’ll be back,” he says firmly, glancing back one more time to find Martin carefully placing his cardigan beneath Jon’s head.

Of course, Tim knows there is still a good deal of fighting to do on the “force Jonathan Sims to take care of himself” front, but this will do.

This will have to do for now.

#tma #the magnus archives #tma fic #cw nausea #cw fainting #jon has EDS/POTS #i love you friend I hope you like this #<33333 #my writing

[awesomerextyphoon]

A Warrior’s Heart | Phase 1: Welcome - 2

Girls’ Night

Summary: Ife begins her first ‘mission’ with the help of her friends.

Warnings: Swearing, Excessive Partying, Some Angst

Rating: Explicit/18+

Word Count: 4,145

Main Pairing: Stucky x Black!OFC (Ifekerenma ‘Ife’)

Characters: Ifekerenma, Wanda, Natasha, and Ife’s friends

A/N: I’m sorry that it’s been a while since my last chapter. Please practice self-care, everyone! Also, thanks to everyone who has given me feedback. Dividers were created by the wonderful @firefly-graphics​! Check them out!

Series Masterlist 

Main Masterlist

<<Previous

(late May 2015)

“Ah, that hits the spot!” Ife moaned as she submerged into her heated circular indoor pool.

So far the team has treated her well enough given how her first 24 hours went. No one had any major negative emotional echoes coming off of them and they even talked to her, especially Steve and Sam.

Her first mission was mostly a success.

The team was able to stop and apprehend the Macedonian weapons smuggler, Branko Stojanoski, before he made it to Paris with HYDRA/Chitauri stockpiles.

One would think that would be enough, but it left Ife with more questions. Why did some of the weapons look like Magitech? Why did one of the female combatants feel like more than human, like Natasha?

She needed to inform Eliza.

  After Ife finished her R&R, she made her way to the Common Room only to find Wanda practicing her powers while flying. Well, trying to anyway.

Ife had always felt that Wanda’s methods were lacking which made sense. Both Wanda and Pietro got their powers ten months ago when Strucker and HYDRA experimented on them. They’ve never really had the chance to practice, surrounded either by vicious idiots or well-meaning comrades who were seriously out of their depth.

Perhaps she would be the best place to start.

  Wanda was trying to levitate herself while taking apart the steel cube again with no luck. She couldn’t get herself in the ‘right mindset’ which was just aw well since she was always surrounded by chaos.

Their parents tried to shield both her and Pietro from the chaos outside their sanctuary of the apartment building. She even had friends in Angelika and Emil. They would pretend that they were exploring an enchanted forest and other fairy tale adventures. Pietro would join in when coaxed by Angelika (Wanda knew he liked her).

They were in their own little paradise...until the bombs came.

Wanda just got back from playing with Angelika and the music box that she got for her tenth birthday. Her mother was preparing Pietro’s favorite dinner when they heard the blaring of alarms and evacuation orders. Her father hurried them to the door, but their mother forgot to turn off the oven. He went back for her when the mortar shell hit their home.

Both of their parents died instantly. She and Pietro huddled together under the table for dear life when the second bomb landed four meters in front of them. They were in that position for two days wondering if the rescue efforts would sign their death warrants, all while glowering at the words engraved on the missile.

STARK INDUSTRIES

When the rescuers finally got them out, they found out that they were the only ones to survive the bomb raids. One of the rescuers handed Wanda Angelika’s music box thinking it was hers.

They attended their first Anti-US Imperialism protest three weeks later.

 ––––––––––

 Years passed and Wanda would sporadically spare a thought for her parents, Emil and Angelika. She kept wondering what they would do if they were in her place. Somedays the only she could remember Angelika was when she played the music box.

One day, a man simply known as List approached them after yet another protest of a craven leader. List said that he could give them the power to end all the revolutions and strife in Sokovia.

Frustrated with the lack of progress, she and Pietro agreed to the experiments along with 212 other volunteers. Once again, they were the only ones to survive.

List and Strucker subjected them to painful and demeaning ‘tests of strength’ not two days after they received their powers.

Both their hatred for HYDRA and their yearning to be free grew in the coming months. She almost gave up, until one day in early March when the Avengers finally found the base.

This was their chance.

 –––––––

 It wasn’t hard to plant a seed of chaos into Tony Stark. He already had one foot in the proverbial hero’s grave already. To be honest, she was surprised at how quickly the Avengers turned on each other. Witnessing their inner anguish was just desserts.

The problem was that it worked too well.

Sure, it was fair game to go after Tony, but Bruce? In retrospect, setting the Hulk loose on Istanbul was a low blow.

And Seoul….where to begin.

As soon as she caught a glimpse of the mass extinction Ultron desired, she knew they fucked up big time.

She and Pietro only wanted the Avengers and the US to fall, not wipe out all life on Earth! They knew that they had to swallow their pride and hate if Earth wasn’t going to have an unexpected turn of events (i.e. everything going the way of the Dodo).

Thankfully, the total death count was three (especially since reports put the worst-case scenario at least 15,000).

Although sometimes Wanda wondered if her drive for revenge was worth it.

  “Hi, Wanda! How’s it going?”

Wanda snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to find Ife with a warm smile.

She didn’t know what to think of Ife at first. Okay, besides the fact that she consumed enough food to feed a village in under two hours, she was kind. More importantly, she feared neither her nor her brother. She started cooking for the team and staff (turned out she’s what Sam calls a ‘supreme chef’), and would answer questions they had about non-humans. It’s just that something seemed amiss about her and the way she answered the questions like she’s hiding something.

Wanda returned the smile, “Not much.” Just trying to get a simple task done.

Ife pressed her lips together in contemplation, “I was wondering if you would like some help training. I’ve seen you practice by yourself and,” she hesitated for few seconds, ”well I figured you would like some help, or at least the company.”

“I would like that.”

“Great! Give me ten minutes.” And with that, Ife flew out of the room.

 “Okay, this is a magic gauge. Homo Magi and other Non-Humans use it to see where a person is power-wise.” Ife explained as Wanda approached the peculiar object.

The gauge was made of glass (at least Wanda hoped it was glass), double-gourd in shape with floral engravings.

It glowed Venetian Red with the intensity increasing the closer Wanda got. The glow’s color quickly turned Burnt Maroon then Red Ink once she touched it. Soon she felt a pull from the gauge as if it was reaching into her mind. Her anxiety flared up and Ife pulled her out of the way as the gauge exploded.

“Well, um...do you want to take a break and continue tomorrow? I’m so sorry about that, Wanda.”

“It’s alright. I’ll see you around dinner.”

“Okay.”

  “So, um how to put this...we might have a problem,” Ife stated as her friend group met virtually to discuss what to do for Girl’s Night.

“What is it, Ife?” Ashtoreth asked.

“Did they find out about your room? Or about the time when-”

“Okay, Djamila,” Itzel interjected, “Please continue.”

Ife shot Itzel a grateful grin, “Thanks ltzel. So you know how Eliza Maza tasked me with aiding the Avengers?”

“Yeah, so they can help us in the future? Figured someone from BNA would ask ya. Didn’t think it would be so soon.” Azeneth noted.

“Makes sense, they’ve been trying to get in with them for years now-” Mayumi started.

“Back to the direct topic at hand, is it possible that a few of you could help Wanda Maximoff?”

“The new Homo Magi that has the Magic Council up in arms?” Marama guessed as Ife grabbed the footage from earlier.

“Yeah. Take a look at this. I think we might have a problem on our hands.”

Ife watched as her friends’ expressions shifted from mild amusement to sad and worried. Except for Djamila and Gulmira, they had a good chuckle.

“I think Wanda has an affinity towards chaos magic, specifically reality-warping and possibly Hex Bolts. She might have more, I couldn’t tell. She’s more powerful than the Magic Council originally guessed. Although, that’s not the problem here.”

“She’s mentally and emotionally unstable,” Nermin stated.

“Right to the point, I see,” Marjani commented while examining her fingernails.

“Exactly. I fear that she may become a danger to herself and the planet.”

“And all of BNA’s hard work goes up in flames. So, what do you want to do, Ife?”

Ife bit her thumbnail in contemplation, “We have to train her. I can show her some of the basics, but the rest of us will have to train Wanda before she hurts herself. She’s barely making it on her own and let’s face it, no one else here knows fuck all about magic .”

“Hot in looks but clueless when it comes to magic and Non-Human affairs.”

“I wouldn’t say completely clueless, Azeneth.” Ife corrected, “I showed them ‘The Basic Bitch’s Guide’ and I’ve answered any basic question regarding Non-Humans. They’re not up to speed on BNA, but at least they know about dragons, yokai, and the Fae.”

“Ok. So, it’s safe to say that you’ll be keeping a tight lid on the UA, right?”

Ife sighed and offered Marama a small frown, “Yes. And it would be best that you do as well. Please?”

“No problem, Ife.” Ashtoreth assured her while the rest of the group nodded,” Now that we’ve settled the Wanda Matter, What are we going to do in celebration of Xiomara’s grand opening?”

  Several days passed and Wanda was making great progress in her magical studies with Ife (after Ife promised to make it up to her). She was getting the hang of levitation and flight as well as basic Magical Energy Manipulation in the form of force fields, telekinesis, illusions, and some basic spells.

It was nice to not have to rely on her anger nearly as much. Though she couldn’t access Ife’s mind. Not that she meant to, it was an accident.

Maybe in time, Ife will let her.

“Hey, Wanda. I was wondering,” Ife bit her thumbnail as she’s want to do, “Do you want to come to Girl’s Night with me this Saturday? One of my friends, Xiomara, just founded and opened her own design studio! The rest of us wanted to celebrate. I figured it would a great chance to introduce you to my friend group and have some time away from the Compound.”

Wanda lowered her head in thought. It would be nice to meet Ife’s friends and connect with individuals who don’t fear her. Getting off the Compound would be a great bonus.

“Sure. On one condition: Natasha has to come as well.”

“Okay.”

  After asking (slight begging) Natasha to join them for Girls’ Night, the trio agreed to meet outside of Ife’s quarters around 6:30 PM.

Natasha gently grabbed one of Wanda’s hands, “Relax, It’ll be fine.”

“I know. It’s just-”

At that moment, Ife stepped out into the hallway looking well, strikingly different. She was wearing a gold and sapphire mid-thigh length African wax print dress done in detailed petal designs. Most of her long Midnight Purple hair was in a single braid with a high, single wrap around the back of the head and a single row of gold bands down the middle of her scalp that she divided into three parts with a comb.

It was nice and a little weird seeing her outside of her uniform and tactical gear. She looked gorgeous!

“You came!” Ife beamed as she gave Wanda and Natasha a hug, “You look lovely,” she added noting their attire. Natasha was sporting a Faux Leather Mini Skirt with a Wine colored deep v-neck top. Wanda was dressed in a Spartan Crimson Deep V Bodice Satin Short A-Line dress.

“You look ravishing! You should be out of your normal gear more often!” Natasha praised as Ife frowned ever so slightly.

“Well, aren’t you going to let us in?” Wanda asked sensing Ife’s discomfort.

“Of course! Come in.” And with that, Ife welcomed the two heroines into her ‘apartment’.

  “You do realize that we’re having our Girls’ Night in your room from now on, right?” Natasha insisted as she and Wanda entered Ife’s living quarters.

“I figured,” Ife muttered as she turned to look at her teammates, “I know I sound like an asshole for asking this, but could you not tell the others yet?”

“Well, you agreed to let us frequent the room for our own Girls’ Night, so yes.” Wanda decided as the trio came to stop in front of a 20ft (6.1m) spherical door with an Art Nouveau design.

“Okay. Let me put in the codes and we’ll be on our way.”

“Make sure to get all the characters this time, Ife. You don’t’ want them to wait for 30 minutes like last time.” A pretty deep, easy-going masculine voice chimed in.

“What-” Wanda started.

“Oh, that’s BEBOP, my AI. He’s like FRIDAY or JARVIS, but cooler.”

“A lot cooler,” the voice said before materializing in front of the women,” Let’s try this again. Technically, my name is BEBOP, but you can call me Spike.” The holographic man was tall (6’4” / 1.93m), lean and athletic in build, had a fluffy mop of dark green hair, light brown eyes, and wore a navy blue leisure suit with the sleeves rolled up.

“So you created Spike?”

“I made BEBOP, but he named himself Spike,” Ife explained as she tried her darnedest to enter the codes before Spike embarrassed her.

“She also has six patents for-”

“Got it! After you, ladies.” Ife announced as the door glowed Pale Gold and opened in a spiral motion.

  The door opened to a coffee shop that wouldn’t be out of place in the ‘hipster corner’ of an urban neighborhood.

“Hello. What can I do for you three?” The barista greeted as they raised their head out of the book they were reading and smiled at the trio.

Ife glanced at the chalkboard menu, “I would like a medium Lemongrass Twilight Tea please.”

The barista’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly, “Seems strange for the season.”

“I know, but one should enjoy the simple things in life while they last.”

The barista seemed to like Ife’s reply because Wanda heard the ding of an elevator to her left.

“Enjoy your evening ladies.” The barista said as Ife dropped $100 into the tip jar.

  The elevator was a lot bigger on the inside with its interior having a modern Victorian design.

“What’s wrong?” Ife asked as the elevator’s doors closed behind her.

“Nothing.” Natasha replied as she did a quick scan to see if any ‘funny business’ was about to go down.

“Relax and enjoy the ride,” Ife assured as the elevator started to speed up its descent after a few minutes.

The elevator’s interior got larger and larger until a voice announced that the elevator would be entering ‘Pod Mode’. Automated controls and windows started forming at the front and sides of the now morphed elevator interior.

“You might want to strap in,” Ife advised as three seats formed from the now pod floor.

The pod paused in its descent and accelerated forward on what seemed to be high-speed rail tracks.

Wanda looked out the windows in awe as she started to see a floating light, then a floating landmass, then buildings Wanda only saw in fantasy/sci-fi novels and concept art.

“Welcome to Nephetz, ladies,” Ife announced sensing Wanda’s wonder and Natasha’s subtle amusement.

Hopefully, they’ll like her friends.

  Twenty minutes after Ife made her soft announcement, the trio arrived at the number one club in Nephetz, Zenaida.

Ife walked up to the bouncer, a troll in sleek obsidian armor, and showed them her invite.

“Welcome to Zenaida, ladies.” the bouncer greeted them as Ife led her fellow Avengers past the threshold.

Wanda gasped at what was before her.

The club’s interior was massive, to say the least. The first thing to hit her was the giant floating orb over the center of the dance floor. It had stage lights shooting out pinks and light blues orbiting around it like satellites and what looked to be five women dancing on a stage about 33’ (10.1m) above the orb. A DJ stage was set in the far left of the dance floor with sparkling mist flowing beneath it. Around the dance floor was a body of water containing spectacular coral reefs and grottos with what seemed to be mermaids, tritons, nymphs, and Aquatic Atlanteans dancing in it. Above the main dance floor were 25 floating islands with magically sustained clouds underneath them. All around the club were glowing orbs much smaller than the one above the dance floor.

All in all, it was probably the coolest place Wanda’s ever seen.

“Ife! Finally, you’re here!” a tall, dark-haired woman in a black PU Jumpsuit with a maroon oak crop jacket walked up and pulled Ife into a short hug.

“Salam, Nermin! I see you’ve made it early.” Ife remarked as Nat softly elbowed her upper arm.

“Right! Nermin, these are my teammates, Natasha Romanova and Wanda Maximoff. Natasha, Wanda, this is Nermin Ozana Negrescu. She was the one who helped me in Novi Grad.”

Nermin held out her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you both! Ife has told us much about you.”

“Good things I hope.” Nat prodded as she shook Nermin’s hand.

“The best,” Ife assured.

“Well, we have one of the VIP Islands for Xio’s bash. Let’s go!” Nermin announced as a self-driving group hoverboard descended in front of them.

“All aboard!”

  The floating island had about 40 people lounging around different tables and booths with the largest one having 17 people around it.

“Ife!” The island’s occupants cheered when the hoverboard dropped off the group.

“Late again, I see,” a woman in a Cardin Green asymmetrical maxi dress with a plunging V-neckline, padded shoulders, and long sleeves.

“I know, I know. Husna, I already got it from Nermin at the entrance. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, Ife. We know.” Husna reassured Ife as they made their way to the big table.

“Everyone,” Ife announced making the table’s occupants turn their heads, “Sorry I’m late,” everyone groaned, “I know. But, I would like you all to meet two of my new teammates, Natasha Romanova and Wanda Maximoff.”

Everyone on the island crowded around the duo effectively pushing Ife to the sidelines.

Wanda felt it was a bit surreal meeting Ife’s friends. All of them looked happy to see her, not the mixed looks of fear, hatred, and disgust that most people (outside the team) would give her.

{{Ife sure has a lot of friends.}} Wanda thought almost bitterly.

Ife’s friends, or ‘crew’ as she calls them, were an eccentric group of demigoddess, Fae, Homo Magi, Homo Superius, Demons, Jinn, Orcs, and Succubae.

Their names were: Caterina IsmeneMetaxas, Itzel Erna Alondra Losnedahl (Arnesdottir), Batari Moon, Thiri Rajvir Sharma, Marama Zehra Arslan-Avci, Ashtoreth Marceline Sabah-Faucher, Nermin Ozana Negrescu, Djamila Ijebusomma Ngozika Amantea, Azeneth Esperanza Zoraida Ramirez, Gulmira Eriayomi Hendrix, Mayumi Filippovna Lebedeva, Marjani Subira Xun, Husna Meadhra Al-Hashim, Astridr Kara Signe Losnedahl (Bjørnsdottir), Xiomara Ekundayo Jimenez, Aghavni Jamshidi, and Lakshmi Hamasaki.

((Here are the face claims for Ife’s friends))

When she got past the ethereal glitz and glamour, Wanda realized that these women were quite funny and nerdy, like Ife.

Maybe her heart had room for a few more friends.

  “I can see why you’re worried.” Azeneth stated as she and Ife were watching Wanda being the center of attention, “I can feel her anxiety from the threshold.”

“I know. Do you think you can help her?”

“We talked about her before you arrived. Djamila, Nermin, Nazaret, and I will train her if she’ll have us.”

“I’m sure she’ll have you. Thanks, Azeneth.”

“No problem. Although, there has been talk amongst the Magic Council about her. Strange is doing his best, but there are others who want to bring Wanda in.”

Ife frowned remembering the Magic Council’s need for control. This wouldn’t be the first time her crew has ruffled a few of their feathers.

“So, did BNA find anything about the Magitech info I sent them?” Ife asked in reference to the Branko assignment.

“Nothing yet, I’m afraid. It seems that HYDRA’s not dead just yet.”

Ife pressed her lips together in annoyance,” Thanks anyway.”

Azeneth noted Ife’s choice of words,” It looks like it’s time for the toasts.”

  “To Xiomara! May all your dreams be fulfilled and the well of your creativity never runs dry!” Caterina proclaimed to the crowd.

“Here, Here!” the crowd cheered as everyone down another shot of Zenaida’s House Fireballs (Nat and Wanda had a lighter version).

“To Xio Labs!” Djamila shouted as the crowd downed another round of Fireballs and Xiomara got up to speak.

“Thank you, everyone! It has been a rough couple of years, but it was worth it. And with your support, it will be glorious!” Xiomara exclaimed to thunderous applause and the raising of glasses.

“Alright, time to dance!” Lakshmi trumpeted as she, Djamila, and Marjani coaxed everyone to the dance floor.

“Don’t worry, I’ll follow,” Ife reassured Wanda and Natasha when they noticed her hanging back on the VIP Island.

Ife flew down to the dance floor once everyone else got off their VIP Island. She found Lakshmi up to her usual shenanigans (flirting with a female Undine). Wanda was dancing with Batari, Aghavni, Djamila, and Gulmira while finally easing her nerves (that’s a win in her book).

A couple of guys tried to flirt with Wanda, but Batari and Gulmira shooed them away.

Ife spied Natasha checking out Renata Labriola, a drider, in her human form.

Ife’s plan seemed to be working perfectly.

“So, are you ready to let loose?”

  Ife groaned as she awoke on a super comfy couch. She didn’t remember what happened after that question was asked. It was probably Djamila getting back at her for Spring Break.

“Figures she would do that,” Ife muttered to herself as the Woman of the Hour waltzed into the room with Natasha and Wanda in tow.

“Nice to see that you’re awake,” Djamila stated in a sing-song manner that made Ife want to throw a pillow at her.

In good fun of course.

“Neat.” Ife deadpanned followed by a mirthless chuckle when Djamila pointed to the time.

“You looked and felt pretty tense during the toasting so I gave you a gentle push to loosen you up a bit. It worked and you were the center of the dance floor for about an hour, flew up and danced on the platform above the orb, made-”

“Okay, okay. I get it.” Ife interrupted too embarrassed to know what happened next.

“Fine,” Djamila raised her hands up in submission, “After your escapades, you and your teammates were wiped and I had the three of you crash at my place for a few hours.”

“Thanks, Djamila.”

“Just so you know, now we’re even.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ife grumbled as she got her things.

“Okay, let’s head back.”

  The trio passed the way back in relative silence, but a peaceful one instead of the stereotypical hangover groans and slight shame.

“How did you find last night?” Ife asked as they stepped into her quarters.

“It was great,” Wanda stated, happy that she found people who weren’t afraid of her. Perhaps she could ask Ife if they could help her with her powers.

Ife could hear the emotional echoes of excitement from Wanda and smiled knowing that she succeeded in her plans so far.

“That good. One more thing,” Ife paused, not knowing how to phrase the next bit of information,” the portal uses a time manipulation spell (and some other stuff) and well, the 15 hours we spent in Nephetz was about three hours on the Compound. Just wanted to let you know.”

“Right, good night, Ife.” Nat said as Ife led them to the door.

“Hey, Nat can I ask you something?” Ife queried when Wanda passed the threshold.

“Shoot.”

Ife pressed her lips together in contemplation, “Does the rest of the team know you’re 80 years old?”

  *-Elsewhere-*

“How is our Danica faring?” A woman in black asked.

“She’s doing well, better than we expected.” A voice replied from the shadows.

“Good. Has Kaecillius and his team dealt with the Magic Council yet?”

“Not yet, Mistress. Though Jon Canmore has gotten his own show on CNN and Maximus has procured enough Terrigen Crystals for our plans.”

“I see. Have our allies in the Inter-Realm Parliament be informed of our progress.”

“Yes, Mistress. One last thing, Our sources believe that the French Ambassador is on to our plans.”

The woman sighed, “Have Yelena handle him. We can’t leave anything to chance now.”

“Of course, Mistress.” The voice uttered and left.

They’ve put so much into this and they can’t fail. Not when they’re so close.

Next>>

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[hadit93]

Hi, can you please suggest me some resources on cursing and hexing? And if possible, maybe one where I don't need a physical link other than name or photograph. It's for my boss and we all have been working remotely for a year, so getting a physical link would be difficult. He's already tried to fire me thrice and the only reason I am not is because I have been the best performer for 3 months straight. But I don't think they are going to keep on awarding me every month. I made a freezing jar and although it worked well for a while, I think I need something stronger.

I recently got to know that he does this with most employees to keep them intimidated and complaining to the HR hasn't helped any of them.

So, if you could help, I'd be extremely grateful. Also, I'd appreciate any insight you'd like to share.

Thank you.

I truly can’t really point you to any resources to be honest. My curses are all self-made and have been tailored to specific people. I’m sure there are books out there that are good for things like this, but I don’t really know any of them. It’s just knowledge I’ve picked up over time. I believe Dorothy Morrison’s “Utterly Wicked” is an okay book. I’ve seen it mentioned several times, but I cannot attest to that fact.

Photos can work, you can adapt any curse to using a photo as a link, the issue is that it is not personal. It hasn’t been touched by the person, it is a likeness of them but that is all. Jason Miller once wrote about a technique of capturing the persons voice. So you would shout over and seal a knot in a piece of string each time they responded to YOUR summons. I think he did this seven times and then used this string as a link of sorts. I believe the full details are in Sorcerers Secrets. You could try this technique out each time he answers you on a zoom call in conjunction with a photo.

If you know his address you can even send your materia to his home. You can sprinkle charged substances on his doorstep in the dead of night, even take soil from his home as a link to his abode.

I don’t really want to give many details out on here. People will take them and start using curses on trivial matters and getting themselves hurt because they don’t understand basic practice such as cleansing yourself and area after a successful cursing. What you put out doesn’t come back, but what you surround yourself with latches on. Cursing isn’t always the best option.

If he has a business card or a business profile- something official related to his work that could be a very good link to the area in which you want your spell to manifest. You can then anoint the materia with herbs and oils associated with your intent, light a black candle and say a pertinent psalm over it or pray to a fearsome being which you already have a connection with. You can do this over three or nine nights then take the materia, burn it, and bury the ashes in a graveyard saying something along the lines of “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, your influence over this world is no more. May your fire burn out and your wickedness die out.”

I wish you luck. I would also search tumblr- there are some good curses on here. I just haven’t bothered to remember them. Most of my practical magic is inspired rather than researched.

[rickhunolt]

''Making Music Your Business: A Guide For Young Musicians'' by David Ellefson

-Getting Started-

I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER A SAYING I HEARD YEARS AGO: Musicians must eat crow, smile, and ask for more. After playing in many short-lived bands early in my career, I realized that my quest for the big time was not going to be an easy one—and that perhaps there was some truth to this quote!

The early stages of building a musical career can be a very trying time, and they may teach you more about your breaking point than you care to know. It's quite a juggling act to write, rehearse, and record your music while trying to learn the business aspect of music and stay sane. (Sanity is, of course, an option in the music industry.)

When talking with aspiring players, I'm often asked how they can get started in the music business. Well, I've got to be honest with you—when I started out, the whole thing seemed like a big mystery to me, too. So the first thing I say is: "You don't wake up one day and realize you've made it." It doesn't just happen; you must work diligently and hope your talent and persistence (plus a little luck) will eventually lead to the breaks that are needed to have a professional music career.

If you're searching for the secret to success, I suggest you stop right now and realize there's no such thing. In fact, all I can really do in this book is share my experiences—as well as those of some of my fellow professionals—in the hope that you will learn enough to be able to createyour own niche in the world of music. So if anyone tells you he has it all figured out, 1 suggest you walk away and save yourself from an earful of B.S.

While being in the right place at the right time can be helpful, I feel that individuality, ty, ch arisma, and integrity are the real keys to any artist's survival. Hey, I'd love to spell out a magical plan for overnight success, but there just doesn't seem to he one. The good news is that most of us use a similar approach in piecing together the essentials of a music career, and those essentials are what I've tried to put in this book.

For starters, put things in perspective and figure out what it is you want from playing music. Do you want to make music a full-time career, or is it just a leisure pastime reserved for special occasions? Then ask yourself how much you're willing to sacrifice in order to achieve your goal. The answers to these questions may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised to know how many musicians have become distracted by their lifestyles and completely lost sight of their original goals. By establishing a game plan, you can focus your energies and not squander valuable time and money.

In the early stages of your career, a few simple steps will get you off to a good start. First things first: write your own music. Second, seek out all performance opportunities; consider playing parties, dances, and nightclubs to be basic training. These gigs are great jumping-off points for tightening up your act and learning to read an audience's response.

If you're already in a band and making live performances, it's crucial to be on the scene and regularly networking through word of mouth. Believe it or not, this can be just as important asyour actual talent. If you think someone will knock onyour door one day and invite you to become rich and famous, you'd better think again. In Minnesota, where grew up, my earliest bands spent a great deal of time hanging up flyers in our hometown and the neighboring cities. We played all the usual high school dances and keg parties, and we took slots opening for established acts, hoping that some-one would "discover" us. We didn't become instantly success-ful, but I learned that the more you make your presence known through your own efforts, the more you improve your chances of succeeding.

This leads us to the next step: putting together a team of people who will help to further your career. A reliable team of professional managers and agents can take your musical vision to new heights. My experience has been that without the guidance of these key people, it's virtually impossible to be a real contender in the music business.

Young musicians are especially vulnerable to the "sharks" who feed on naïveté. I suggest meeting with as many managers, agents, and record-label executives as possible—find out what they're about and what they have to offer, where's nothing wrong with absorbing as much information — as possible, but before you sign any long-ietrn agreements with anyone, you must be very clear on how the vision of these people is going to fit in with yours.

One good way to investigate managers, booking agents, record companies is to talk with artists who have already worked with them. It may be worthwhile to set up a showcase and invite as many of these people to the performance as possible. This can be done either publicly in a nightclub or privately at a sound stage. A showcase is a great way to create a "buzz" about your act—but if you live in a remote part of the world, it may mean considerable travel and expense. It might be better to send a representative of your group to a major music metropolis to generate interest within the industry. That way,you can develop local contacts—and it's a whole lot cheaper than moving the whole band!

#megadeth #feel free to reblog if ya'll want

[drawlfoy]

Truce

masterlist request guidelines requests are open ♥ per the usssual 

this gif hit me in the face :/

pairing: draco x goldentriofriend!reader

request: yes! thank you :) sorry for not actually following the type of soulmate AU you wanted.....i took a creative plunge

summary: draco malfoy and the reader, while having rather tense relations before, are pushed into a strange situation and are forced to work together to get out of it. once they learn the reasoning behind their predicament, things are only complicated further. 

warnings: cursing most likely because ~that’s me~ also there’s a mini anxiety attack (i don’t even know if it’s classified as that) so if that’s a trigger i don’t suggest reading this!

a/n: this is the longest fic i’ve writtten in one go and i also don’t have any beta readers or edit it closely, so i apologize for any errors i may have made. if you’re sick of soulmate aus, then this one may not be for you, but i tried to put a fresh spin on it instead of the run-of-the-mill names on their wrists/matching tattoos and whatnot.

music recs: please please please listen to the pride and prejudice soundtrack along with this! it pairs very well, especially with the songs living sculptures of pemberley, dawn, liz on top of the world, and leaving netherfield. so so so good. trust me on this one

word count: 8,596 

Thursday morning. It was raining....again. Y/N was getting rather sick of the constant downpour that began the day earlier. She’d exhausted the use of drying spells and eventually stopped doing them--after all, there was no point in going through the trouble if she had to take the trek through the rain in just another hour.

Y/N was reminding her friends, Hermione, Harry, and Ron, of her plight as they walked to Potions.

“I can’t even imagine what would bring this weather onto us,” Y/N told the group, hoisting her robes up so they wouldn’t be dragged through another puddle.

“Can you cut it out?” Ron asked, rolling his eyes and pulling his cloak tighter around his body. “We’re all cold, we’re all wet, we’re all tired. I don’t want to think of it anymore than I have to.”

Hermione smacked Ron’s shoulder lightly, hissing a stressed be nice, Ronald! before turning back to Y/N.

“Be happy that it’s only been two days,” she told Y/N matter-of-factly. “I read in Hogwarts: A History that it once rained for 29 consecutive days. The weather surrounding the castle was temperate and per usual and no one ever found out why. The professors at the time hypothesized that someone got a little angry with the headmaster and messed with the weather. However, I believe...”

Y/N allowed Hermione’s analysis to take her where she wanted it to, instead choosing to study the various groups of students passing by. A group of 4th year Ravenclaws...uninteresting. She knew of some of their older Gryffindor siblings but had never spoken directly to them. A few strides behind, 2nd year Hufflepuffs were splashing around with a 5th year prefect, laughing and relishing the feeling of rain on their faces. Y/N couldn’t fight off the smile forming on her face--there was something about Hufflepuffs that inspired her to appreciate the present. 

Then, as luck would allow, a much stormier group of students appeared around the corner: 6th year Slytherins, with, of course, Draco Malfoy at the very front of the pack. 

Oh, how much she hated him.

He had a deep scowl etched into his face, his hood pulled taut over his blonde head. A few rogue strands of his hair were plastered to his forehead. Y/N chuckled to herself as the image reminded her of the Slytherin’s brief stint as a ferret in 4th year...except for this time, he resembled more of a drowned rat. 

She decided to tell him as such. 

“Oi, Malfoy, are ferrets allergic to water?” Her voice carried across the courtyard. Draco froze, his scowl deepening even further.

“What’d you just say to me?”

The Trio was behind Y/N in an instant, pulling back at her.

“Can we not start anything? Please?” Ron pleaded.

“Yeah, it’s too early for this,” Harry added. “Can you take a rain check?”

He yelled the last part out, clearly directing it at both Draco and Y/N.

Too late.

Draco was already in front of Y/N, his icy eyes ablaze. 

“Maybe I should give you the same treatment,” he snapped, unsheathing his wand and rolling up his sleeves. 

“Oh my god, he’s actually gonna do it Harry,” Y/N heard Ron whisper. “Are you gonna to help?”

“Listen, she got herself into it,” Harry mumbled back. “She could use this as a wake up call to not start any more shit.”

“Come on, Malfoy,” Y/N taunted, holding her empty hands out in front of her. “Do you even know the spell for that?”

“For your information, Transfiguration is one of my best subjects,” Malfoy snarled.

Oh. Now that she thought about it, Transfiguration was the only class he surpassed Hermione in. Sensing impending doom, Y/N reached for her own wand. 

She hadn’t been holding it for more than a millisecond before she was disarmed, her wand falling down to the ground and just narrowly missing a deep puddle to her right. Flinching at the sight, Y/N bent down to snatch it up, praying that Malfoy would at least be a gentleman. She had no such luck.

She heard him begin to mutter something under his breath, no doubt the spell that would transfigure her into a ferret. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. He was really going to hex her while she was on the ground?

Y/N managed to jump up in time, abandoning her wand and instead dodging the spell by leaping to the side. Without her wand, Y/N only had one choice to save herself from the next attempt--she had to disarm him manually.

Before Malfoy could gather his bearings Y/N had sprung at him, her bare hands outstretched to knock his wand out of his arm. She was not successful--he jerked his hand out of the way before she could reach it. Instead, Y/N’s hands met the soft skin of Malfoy’s bare arm.

Pop!

The sound rang out, akin to the sound of apparition, but much louder, like everyone in the country decided to apparate at once. 

Stunned, the two leapt away from each other. Y/N’s first instinct was to locate her wand, which she did without much trouble. 

When she was sturdy on her feet again and ready to fight, she noticed something incredibly strange--not only was Malfoy not rapidly firing hexes at her, everything was completely silent, except, of course, the heavy breathing of Malfoy across from her. He was just as stricken as she was, but his eyes were darting around the scene surrounding him. 

The first definite clue that something had happened was the rain. It was no longer falling--but that isn’t to say that the sky had cleared up. No, instead, the drops were stalled in the air, almost like what raindrops looked like when they hit the window if they were suspended in midair. 

The second clue was the fact that no one was moving. The whirlwind of motion that had surrounded them in the instances before had halted. Curious, Y/N turned to her friends. Hermione was frozen, her wand up and pointing at Malfoy with a determined expression on her face. 

Y/N would’ve smiled, pleased to know that her friends wouldn’t really leave her to be hexed without any help after all, but the situation was far too strange. Her best friend’s eyes were wide and unblinking. A raindrop that had just bounced off her hood was hovering above her brow, the silvery fragments levitating next to it.

“What is this?” Y/N’s voice had lost all previous conviction as the statement broke the crippling silence.

“I...er.....I don’t know.” Malfoy shifted his weight back and forth, deciding to flip his hood off his head now that it wasn’t being assaulted by rain. The fabric collided with the still raindrops above him. Y/N watched as the water fell into motion, pummeling back down to the ground.

“Maybe if we touch everyone, they’ll unfreeze,” Y/N offered. 

Malfoy looked like he had something nasty to say in response, but he quickly closed his mouth before jogging over to his friends. He roughly poked Zabini, jumping back directly after to gauge his reaction.

Nothing. Zabini’s body swayed away from Malfoy’s jab, but he did not spring back to life.

“That was a horrid idea, Y/L/N,” he snapped. 

“And yet you tried it!” Her frigid hands curled to fists at her sides. “This isn’t my fault!”

“That’s not true!” Malfoy fired back. “The last thing you did before...this...happened was grab my arm! That triggered it!” 

“I wasn’t the one trying to hex someone with their back turned!” 

The two continued sparring, yelling various insults back at each other and shifting the blame. Eventually, Y/N ran out of venomous things to say and just stood there, her cloaked chest heaving and her fists clenched tight.

“Are you done now?” Malfoy taunted, twirling his wand around his fingers. 

“Are you?”

The pair glared at each other. Y/N took note of the fact that they had taken a few steps closer to each other during the yelling match and immediately felt uncomfortable with the proximity. 

“What are we going to do?” she asked wearily as she took a step back. “Obviously this has something to do with the two of us...unless this is an elaborate prank pulled on us.”

“A prank!” Malfoy straightened up, a relieved smile on his face. “Exactly! It has to be a prank!”

Y/N furrowed her brow, shaking her head at him.

“You’re an idiot! How could so many people freeze at once! And look at that 2nd year--she’s frozen in midair!”

They both turned to where she was pointing to see a young Hufflepuff floating over a puddle. 

“Plus, who would even want to prank us like this? It’s not very fun.” She drew her pointed hand back, crossing her arms instead.

“Well, gee, I don’t know, people don’t like either of us very much,” Malfoy said, his voice annoyingly void of expression.

“What do you mean they don’t like me? It’s you they have a problem with!”

Malfoy shrugged, reaching up to unstick the wet hair on his forehead before flipping the soaked strands back onto his pristine blonde head.

“I don’t know. I’m just brainstorming.”

She glowered for a few moments, refusing to let him off.

“Ok, princess, what would you like me to do?” 

The pet name startled her out of her disgruntled state.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re standing there acting like you want me to do something,” Malfoy pointed out. “So, in interest of shutting you up, what is it?”

“Well, I’d certainly like to get back into a world where my friends are acting like they’re alive, yeah?” Y/N tilted her head at him and raised an eyebrow. “But I don’t know if I want to deal with such an intolerable partner such as yourself.”

Malfoy bristled up.

“I’d like nothing more as well. Can we just...call a truce? For the time being, until we get out of here.” 

What? Y/N stood frozen as the rest of her classmates in that moment, her brain refusing to comprehend what her enemy had just told her. A truce?

“You mean it?” The words tumbled out before she could stop them.

“You’d think I’d say--” Malfoy stopped himself before he let out another biting remark, huffing dramatically instead. “Yes. I do.”

“Okay then.” Y/N stepped forward, extending her hand and tucking her wand back into her pocket. “Let’s start out simple. Maybe if we touch again, the world will return to normal.”

Malfoy raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything back, instead reaching his own hand out to grasp hers in a handshake.

“But,” he interjected, right before their hands met, “The truce ends when this situation does.”

“Deal.”

With that, they shook hands. Y/N was overjoyed when she felt an airy, light feeling in her stomach, almost like someone had set off sparks inside her at the meeting of their skin. It seemed as though Malfoy felt it too, as he glanced eagerly around at their surroundings. Y/N followed suit, dragging her eyes away from the blonde Slytherin and praying to see movement resume around them. 

Nothing. Everything was still, and the thick, deafening silence hung in the air between them.

“Okay, so it isn’t reversed like that,” Y/N pointed out rather lamely. “What next?”

“Do you think time has stopped?” Malfoy suddenly butted in, ignoring her previous question. 

“Well...” Y/N thought for a moment. “Yeah. That’s what I assumed. Do you think it could be anything else?”

“Let’s go find a clock,” he suggested. “I would think that time has stopped, but if it’s a prank, then it probably hasn’t...that would take immense and mature magic to do.”

“Okay.”

♥♥♥♥

It took a while to locate the big grandfather clock that Malfoy insisted was always on time, no matter the occasion. Malfoy kept saying “no, nevermind, other corridor” and grabbing her arm to pull her in another direction.

The most horrifying aspect of their trip was the sheer amount of still students and even faculty that they passed by. McGonagall was in the middle of lecturing a rowdy group of 3rd years, her crooked index finger pointed at them in emphasis.

Y/N found it hard to believe that such an esteemed woman would stoop to the level of a prank this concerning, but that didn’t mean she didn’t try pleading with her.

“Please, Professor,” she whined, turning her head as Malfoy dragged her down the hall. “If this is a prank, please make it stop. I don’t understand why this is happening...”

Malfoy scoffed.

“You really think McGonagall is going to do us any favors when I’m with you? You’re even more daft than I thought.”

Y/N shoulder bumped him aggressively, sending him a sour look. 

“Truce, remember?” 

Sighing dramatically, Malfoy just steered her down another side corridor, one she had never been down before. 

“Ah, here it is.” 

Malfoy cast a quick Lumos to observe the clock in the dim corridor and was cemented into his beliefs when he noticed that the second hand was completely stationary. 

“Yeah, time’s stopped alright,” he reported, extinguishing his wand. “This probably isn’t a prank.” 

He watched in shock as Y/N slumped to the ground by the wall, holding her head in her hands.

“What is it?”

“I can’t believe this is happening to me, of all people!” she exclaimed, vividly enunciating her words with her hand movements. “I’ve never done anything bad, I follow most of the rules, I’m only occasionally a pain in the arse, and now suddenly I’m stuck in a...glitch in the matrix or something, with you none the less!” 

Malfoy raised his eyebrows. 

“Truce, remember?” He took extra care to imitate the exact way she said just a few moments ago.

“It’s not an insult, it’s just the truth!” Y/N cried out. “You sure as fuck know how much you torment me and my friends on stuff we can’t change!”

Females. This was why Malfoy never lasted in relationships--girls were different. You couldn’t just treat them like trash and expect them to forget about it. 

“Can we please just focus on the task at hand right now? You can yell at me all you want after this is all sorted out.”

Y/N lifted her head from her knees to glare at Malfoy. Perhaps it was just the low lighting that was messing with him, but he thought he could see the slight gleam of unshed tears in her eyes.

“Why? We apparently have all the time in the world,” she countered. “And plus, what if we never get out? What if I’m stuck in this with you forever?”

Malfoy ran a hand through his hair, leaning on the wall opposite of hers. 

“We can’t afford to think like that right now,” he told her. “There has to be a reason behind this. People don’t get wrapped up in these things randomly without us knowing about it.” 

“But what if the world is going on as normal right now? What if we just disappeared?”  Y/N’s voice struggled to hold in a sob.

“Are you joking?” Malfoy scoffed. “You seriously think that I could go missing without someone noticing?”

“Please, Draco! Stop!” 

“Stop...what exactly?” He sunk down to the ground as well. They would’ve been eye level with each other if Y/N wasn’t hung between her knees. “And why did you call me Draco?”

“Is that seriously what you’re concerned about right now?” Y/N wailed. “Whether or not I used your surname? Are you kidding me? We’re in the middle of a crisis!”

Malfoy couldn’t help it--he let out a small chuckle.

“What are you laughing about?”

“A crisis? Really?” He pushed his laughter back, leaving just slight amusement on his face. “I could think of plenty of girls that would consider this a blessing.”

“You’re deranged.”

“Truce!”

“Fuck you.”

Y/N stood up, brushing her robes off as she began to stride off down the corridor they came from.

“Where are you going?” Malfoy called, getting on his own feet as well. 

“I’m going to find out how to get out of here,” she responded, raising her voice so it would carry. She didn’t even bother to look over her shoulder. “And since you’re so difficult, I want to do it by myself. Come find me when you want to behave.”

Her figure disappeared as she turned a corner, leaving Malfoy to sort out his own feelings.

Why had that hurt him?

♥♥♥♥

While she was afraid, Y/N couldn’t hide the fact that she was overwhelmed with possibility. If she truly had all the time in the world, then maybe she could read all the books in the library, or study for all of her N.E.W.T.S, or...she shut off the naughtier thoughts. If she had no moral backbone, perhaps she would go around messing with the frozen people surrounding her, but she knew that was a bad idea. Even suspending the concern for basic human decency, she knew full well that Draco was going to try and unfreeze time. If he managed to do so while she was in the middle of mussing up Parkinson’s hair, she would be brutally slaughtered.

So, naturally, she began to make her way to the library. Y/N’s first instinct would be to ask McGonagall for help, but she was clearly not a viable option, so studying and perusing books would have to suffice. 

But what would she even search for?

The silence finally felt natural once she stepped into the library. There were a few students frozen in their spots, but not enough to disturb Y/N anymore than she already was. Madam Pince was at her desk, holding a book just inches above the table.

“Looking for something?”

The sudden sound made Y/N leap in the air as Draco appeared around the corner, holding a few books in his hands. 

“You git!” she hissed. “Keep it down!”

“Or what? Madam Pince will throw me out?” His lip quirked.

Y/N let out a nervous laugh. 

“Oh...guess you’re right.”

He rolled his eyes, turning his back to her to head back over to a bookshelf and shooting an “Am I ever not?” over his shoulder.

She chose to skip over the general Arithmancy, Charms, and Potions sections and headed straight for the restricted section. Without Pince to stop her, she’d finally have free rein, something she had never had before. Momentarily, Y/N was happy, even if it meant that she had to freeze time for it.

Y/N worked diligently, skimming through every book on the shelf. Nothing mentioned instances of time stopping under the conditions that occurred for them--rather, she read a fair bit on time turners and the like. But nothing, absolutely nothing, offered any information regarding time freezing over something as simple as a touch. 

She was incredibly disappointed. If she were to choose any section that would help her with obscure magic, it would be the Restricted section, and even it managed to fail her this time.

The familiar rope of anxiety tightened around her throat, and suddenly she was fighting for her access to oxygen. Her breaths became shallow pants as she braced herself against the bookshelf.

Calm down, calm down, breathe, breathe. 

“Oh, shit, Y/N, are you okay?” 

A flash of blonde appeared in her peripheral, dashing towards her. The sudden movement should’ve startled her, but for some reason, the prospect of having a moving, breathing human with her was more comforting than anything. Even if she hated his guts. Even if he just recently tried to transfigure her into a ferret.

Y/N found herself unable to respond, instead choosing to focus on chanting her inner mantra of in, out for each breath she took. She could see that he was much closer now, sidled up to her left shoulder.

“It’s me, Y/N, you’re okay,” he told her, reaching up a hand to grasp her shoulder. It wasn’t necessarily the sweetest gesture, but the amount of pressure was just enough to ground Y/N and keep her breaths from shallowing into frantic gasps.

She nodded, still not trusting her voice to work. A pale hand that was not her own reached up to push a strand of hair out of her face.

I’ve really done it this time she thought. I’m so off my rocker that I’m hallucinating Draco Malfoy being nice to me.

Her eyelashes began to flutter closed as she swayed and lost her balance. This was new--any time she had felt too overwhelmed in the past, she had only gotten breathless and a little lightheaded, never actually woozy. 

She attempted to use her voice to tell Draco that she needed to sit down, but it betrayed her, her statement coming out as a string of mumbles.

“What was that?” She could see his face, granted, it was fuzzy, but even she could decipher the concern etched into his face. 

“I need to sit down,” she finally got out, barely hearing herself. 

Realization flowed into Draco, and within seconds his arms were around her, guiding her way to the ground. Y/N was a tad shaky on the way down, but she managed to keep her head on straight. Once she was indisputably sitting on the floor, Draco retracted his arms and sat up straight, watching as she leaned back into the bookshelf and cast her eyes to the ceiling, breathing shakily.

He knew better than to push for an answer at the moment, so he waited for her to offer an explanation. 

It didn’t take her long to regain her strength. Blinking the cloudiness out of her eyes, she leaned forward and looked Draco in the eyes.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Truce.”

At some point in time, Draco had sat down opposite of her, his knees drawn to his chest, mirroring Y/N’s position. The aisle was cramped enough for their knees to brush every time one of them shifted, and she wasn’t so sure that she minded that. Not anymore.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Draco asked gently, reaching out a hand to place on her knee. He told himself that it was simply to steady her--nevermind that she looked fine and was no longer swaying anymore. He was just a gentleman like that.

“Er...” She swallowed, looking up at the ceiling so she wouldn’t need to meet his eyes. If he saw her now, he’d know just how afraid she was. “I was searching this section, hoping to find something, and I didn’t, and the Restricted section has everything and I realized that if it’s not in here then it’s probably nowhere and no one knows and even if they did they could’ve help us because they’re frozen--”

“Y/N, breathe,” Draco commanded, letting his fingers spread to hold onto her knee a little firmer. “It’s all going to be okay. The Restricted section only would’ve helped if this was Dark Magic, or had some kind of offensive secret behind it. It doesn’t feel like that, does it?” He motioned to the air around them.

Y/N had to agree. She was scared, but at the same time, she didn’t feel like she was in immediate danger. There was no essence of evil around. 

“Have you found anything?” 

“No, but I’ve only searched the History section. I didn’t find much in there. There were a few odd mentions about time stopping, but I didn’t really get what they were referencing...they were all very old books.”

Y/N nodded.

“Do you want to check Divination next? Just in case.” 

Draco rolled his eyes.

“I can’t say that I’m enthused, but I guess that we have no choice but to do so.”

He jumped to his feet before Y/N could start moving, extending a hand out to her.

“I just got overwhelmed. I’m not going to die,” Y/N grumbled.

“You’re the only company I have,” Draco responded. “How do you think I’d feel if something happened to you?”

With that, he snatched her hand himself and pulled her up, albeit very carefully to her pleasant surprise. 

♥♥♥♥

Between the two of them, it didn’t take long to skim a good portion of the books for anything regarding the freezing of time. Y/N was beginning to lose hope as they neared the final section. 

Sensing her worry returning, Draco stepped closer to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We still have the entire library to search,” he soothed, his thumb moving in a tight, slow circle. “Don’t worry.”

Against her better judgement, she leaned back into him, allowing him to support her weight as her eyes squeezed shut.

“How are you not scared?”

“How do you know that I’m not?”

“Truce.” 

Draco immediately backed down. 

“Sorry. You’re just so easy to disagree with.” 

Y/N giggled--actually giggled, to her horror--and attempted to distract herself from the embarrassment by engrossing herself in the next book she had pulled down. Draco had turned back around and was reading his own finding.

Her eyes, tired from the mounds of books she had skimmed before, lazily flicked over the table of contents before seeing a title that stopped her in her tracks.

When Time Freezes, 394

Y/N quickly flicked to the page, her heart beating fast. Could this be it?

It was. 

“Draco, Draco, I think I’ve found something!” she cheered, spinning around to grab him. He snapped his own book closed and peered over her shoulder. 

Together, they scanned the page, and together, their faces paled and jaws dropped.

“So...we’re soulmates? And that’s even a thing?” 

Draco had moved away from her, leaving a few feet in between them. It seemed appropriate given how surprised he was, but still. The desired distance stung Y/N a little, but she was determined not to show it.

“Ridiculous, I’ve never heard of ‘soulmates’ being anything but a fantasy some people get wrapped up in.” Draco’s mouth twisted back into a scowl. Y/N realized that that was the first time he’d frowned ever since they’d begun to work together.

“It makes sense that you wouldn’t,” Y/N prodded. “It’d be such a rare phenomenon...it doesn’t discriminate on whether or not you’re a wizard or a muggle, it doesn’t care if your soulmate is halfway across the world and will never meet you. It doesn’t care if your soulmate dies when you’re both children. To meet a soulmate, even if it was real, would be such a rarity that of course no one would speak of it...with 7 billion people on earth, how would you know?” 

Draco nodded begrudgingly. 

“So, instead, time just freezes until you can figure this out?”

“It says right here that in ancient times, before humans had moved all across the world, it was much more common and it that was fabled to have inspired the phrase about how one’s heart stops when they see someone they love. And I assume the frozen time, triggered by the first time their bare skin touches, is offered to give the pair time to connect, and er....naturally perform the act that would unfreeze time without even knowing why time is frozen.” Y/N’s cheeks grew embarrassingly hot and she was sure that Draco could see it. 

“And...what exactly is that? I didn’t read that far.”

“You have to....” Y/N swallowed and closed her eyes for bravery, “...kiss the other person.”

She wished that she hadn’t looked so pathetic, sitting there with her flaming cheeks over nothing but a kiss. 

The sound of laughter broke her out of her pity party.

“What’s so funny, Draco?”

“You’re this flustered by a...kiss? Seriously?” He was doubled over, his hands supporting his weight on the bookshelf. “You’re joking, right? This is no big deal. We just do it, forget about it, and move on, yeah?”

“I thought you’d be less agreeable about it,” Y/N confessed, her face impossibly red. 

“I mean, on a normal day, I might have reservations, but I’d do just about anything to get back to normalcy. I don’t think I can take this much longer.”

Y/N felt an unexpected dagger twist in her heart. It was really that bad to spend time with her?

“Of course, let’s just get it over with,” she choked out, hoping that he didn’t see how conflicted she was.

“No, not yet.” 

Y/N knit her brows together in confusion. 

“We need to be back in the courtyard! If we’re there one second and gone the next, people will have suspicions,” Draco explained slowly.

“Oh...yeah, I forgot.” 

♥♥♥♥

On the walk back, Draco laid out very clear rules--if this worked, neither of them would speak about it again. His reasoning was that every married couple he knew weren’t soulmates--if they were, they would’ve said so. 

“So, it shouldn’t matter much whether or not we’re soulmates,” he rationalized. “You’re a muggleborn, I’m a Malfoy, this just isn’t going to work out. I’ll go off and marry a pureblood, you’ll go off, and...”

His voice trailed off, and Y/N was suddenly hyper-aware of the lump forming in her throat. All the affection that he had shown to her...fake, just simply the product of their bizarre circumstances. She had thought for a second that he... but she should’ve known better than to trust his kindness; it was all a front. 

“What’s the matter, Y/L/N?”

“What?” 

“You didn’t have a biting remark to my slight,” he pointed out, shooting her a curious look.

“I’m just distracted,” she lied, dragging her fingernails across her palms.

“What could be more enthralling than the fact that we’re about to unfreeze time!” He gestured grandly to the still students around them. They had arrived to their original spot and life as she knew it was about to resume. So why did she feel so bad?

“I don’t know, the fact that the universe thought that we were a perfect match for each other?” Y/N was horrified by the squeak her voice had become. “And the fact that you’re acting like it doesn’t matter?”

Draco shoved his hands back into his pocket, seeming to be deep in thought for a few moments. 

“Soulmates are dated,” he finally offered. “Even if you are my soulmate--”

“I am.”

“Still.” His face was stony, expressionless. “We’d never work out. Not in my family. And after all, do you mean to tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life with someone who almost transfigured you into an animal against your will?”

“I...er...I...” Y/N’s tongue suddenly seemed too large for her mouth. He’d really backed her into a corner, and judging by the way he was observing her, he damn well knew it. “I don’t know.” 

“Perhaps it’s better that we just don’t think about it anymore.” He took hold of her hand, gently leading her over to where they had been standing. “Throw your wand on the ground.”

Y/N did as instructed, letting go of his hand in the process.

“And you, put your hood back on,” she said, pointing at his head. 

He did so without complaint. 

“So this is it, then,” Y/N stated, a little part of her hoping that he would correct her. “We’re going back to our fighting. The truce is over. And we’re going to pretend like we aren’t destined for each other?”

“If soulmates really were destined for each other, then why do none of them meet?” 

Y/N prayed that Draco thought that the wetness on her cheeks was from walking through the sheets of still rain. Perhaps if she kept telling herself that, she’d believe it too.

“Oh, and, Malfoy?” She was bitterly pleasured when he saw the hurt flash in his eyes with the usage of his last name. “Roll up your sleeves, will you?”

Poking his wand in his pocket, he made quick work of the job while Y/N attempted to pretend like he didn’t look like the most precious thing when he had his hood on. 

“Okay, so,” he began awkwardly once his sleeves were taken care of, “You’re going to grab my forearm the way you were before, and I’m going to lift my other hand to cover our faces from my side...”

Y/N drowned out the instructions, instead suddenly panicking at what she was about to do. 

“...and....Y/L/N, are you even listening to me?” 

“No,” she admitted. 

“Is something wrong?” She hated the way his eyes shone with what a bystander--or anyone, really--could interpret as genuine worry. She knew better now.

“I just...” Her breath caught. She had no reason to be confiding anything in him, but for some reason, the confession left her before she could veto the idea. “I didn’t imagine my first being like...” 

She trailed off, giving up on finding the words to fit her inner turmoil. Draco’s ice blue eyes widened with amusement. 

“You haven’t kissed anyone before?! I can’t say that I’m shocked.”

“No need to rub it in.” Y/N looked up at him with the nastiest glare that she could muster, which, unfortunately, was pathetic at best.

“Don’t worry, I’m good enough for the both of us,” he joked, placing her hand on his forearm. “Just shut your eyes. It’ll be over before you know it.”

He gazed down at her, waiting for her venomous objection. When it didn’t come, he took one step closer to her. “You ready?”

Y/N only had time to croak a weak “yeah” before he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It was wetter than she expected--but then again, the tears running down her cheeks had gained enough momentum to moisten her lips, and the rain certainly hadn’t done her any favors either.

Draco was right; he really did know what he was doing. It was all she could do to grip onto his forearm and allow him to lead. It began gentle enough, just the tender interlocking of his enviably soft lips and her inexperienced ones. Then, in a moment of bravery, his got more insistent, prying at hers tentatively, encouraging her to open them. 

She was clinging onto his robes with her free hand, twisting them around and pulling him closer as her tears continued to flow. The salty taste of the kiss gave her away, but she had passed the limit of caring. It was all about to be over, anyways, and Draco had made it more than clear that he had no interest in having her.

Instead of giving into his demands, Y/N steeled herself and pushed him off her. 

Pop!

The shrill sound bounded through the courtyard as Y/N bent down, snatching up her wand and pointing it back to a very shocked Malfoy.

“Try that shit on me again,” she spat, hoping that the now falling rain was disguising the wetness on her face. “I dare you. I will ruin you.”

He snarled.

‘Forgive me. I should’ve known better than to waste my time engaging with you, anyways.”

With that, he spun on his heel, turning back to the now breathing group of Slytherins. They were walking out of sight before Y/N could even comprehend what she had done. Had she just imagined all of that? No, that didn’t make any sense. She knew what happened, and she wasn’t a lunatic.

“Y/N, never do that again!” Harry exclaimed, rushing towards her and holding her face in his hands. “Are you okay? Why are you crying?”

Y/N sucked in a shaky breath, gazing up at Harry’s green eyes that were filled with actual worry, the exact thing that Draco lacked. 

“I’m okay. Just tired. I don’t know why I did that...I’m sorry.” 

She exhaled the apology, managing a weak smile to reassure the boy. 

“Can we go to Potions now? The sooner it’s over, the sooner we get to lunch,” Ron complained a few feet away. 

Y/N’s smile grew into a larger one as she was reminded of why she chose her friends after all.

♥♥♥♥

Y/N wished that Potions was filled with awkward eye contact and sexual tension...but unfortunately, Draco was treating her exactly as he had previously. Maybe she really was batty. Maybe she really had hallucinated it all. 

But one touch to her tingling lips reassured her that she was not loony, and it was only when she brushed her fingertips over them that she noticed a certain blonde boy watching her out of the corner of her eye. The pit in her stomach that had existed since the kiss deepened. 

Why did she feel so gross all of a sudden?

In the end, he did not try to talk to her and he most certainly did not try and make peace. Y/N was left to brew in her own confusion, but thankfully, she knew what to do.

After class, she took Hermione aside, telling Harry and Ron that she had “lady struggles” that she wanted to discuss. They both awkwardly nodded and dashed off, leaving the two to their own devices.

“‘Mione,” she began. “So, you know how Malfoy and I kind of...went at it in the courtyard this morning?” 

Hermione raised her eyebrows and nodded. “And?”

“And, something else happened. I better show you; are you alright coming to the library with me?” 

“Am I ever not alright with a trip to the library?” Her face cracked into a smile as the two made their way up to the library. 

Y/N tried not to wince as they passed the corridor with the clock. The hole inside her sent pangs through her heart.

♥♥♥♥

“Divination? Er...” Hermione sent her a quizzical look as Y/N pointed to the section she had spent a considerable amount of time in that morning.

“Please just trust me,” Y/N breathed, dragging her friend as she desperately searched for the book. If she found it in the place they--well, her and Draco--had left it, then she would have concrete proof that it was real and not some weird daydream. 

Her fingers pulled at a spine that looked suspiciously familiar, rejoicing when she recognized the cover.

“It’s this one, Hermione! Page 394! Read it, please!”

She thrust the book into her friend’s arms before she could contain herself, watching as she skimmed the pages, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“That’s what happened to me this morning,” Y/N told her. “I know that I must sound ridiculously mad, but it happened, and I just don’t know what to do, and now that it’s over, I just have this weird empty feeling inside of me...”

Hermione’s eyes were wide, and, for once in their lifetime, she didn’t look like she quite knew what to do. 

“Tell me more. I want to understand.”

So, Y/N recounted the tale of the morning to her, attempting to gloss over the moments where Malfoy was especially soft but noticing that Hermione’s eyebrow cocked higher every time it was mentioned.

“So, he kissed you?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes, and I liked it,” Y/N choked out, fighting back a fresh wave of tears.

“I believe you.”

“What?”

“I said, I believe you.” Hermione rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’m shocked that Draco Malfoy has found a match in anyone, but I love you, and you know that, so if he’s worthy of you...then maybe he’s not as bad as I originally thought.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Y/N argued. “It doesn’t matter whether or not he’s worthy of me. He’s not interested because I’m a muggleborn...but he’s my soulmate, Hermione! How am I supposed to get over this and forget about it? And that empty feeling inside of me is just getting worse by the minute, like this chronic homesickness...”

Hermione allowed Y/N to weep on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around her midsection and holding her close.

“Don’t worry, Y/N, it’ll all turn out alright in the end,” she soothed. “There’s more to life than love anyways. You have great friends, talent, brains, a loving family...”

Her hand stroked through Y/N’s hair as she began to calm. Y/N sat up, offering Hermione a weak smile in return. 

“What would you do if you were me?” 

Hermione sighed, clearly expecting the question.

“Well...I wouldn’t give up. I wouldn’t want to make a fool of myself, either, though. If I were you, I’d tell him how you feel at the moment and see what he says. If he still doesn’t want you, then that’s that and I’d count my losses and decide to start a business to fill the void.” 

“Want to be business partners?” 

Hermione just shrugged.

“We should go eat, you look weak. Perhaps you should send him a note, get him to meet you somewhere.”

Y/N smiled gratefully at her as they made their way to the Great Hall, hand in hand. 

♥♥♥♥

She couldn’t bring herself to write the letter. The furthest she ever got was to the second line of the parchment...always beginning with a 

“Dear Dra Malfoy, I can’t stop thinking about you and I want to see you again and I’m willing to forgive you for the past..”

She crumpled up the parchment before the ink even had a chance to dry, no doubt smudging the hastily scrawled words to the point of no repair. 

There was no way around it. Y/N was never going to be able to send that letter, much less write it.

She needed a walk to clear her head. The cold air always helped, and when it rained, feeling the droplets on her face grounded her.

Slipping out of bed and padding quietly out of her dorm and common room, she was immediately hit with the rush of cold air. It was cooler than Y/N expected--normally when it rained in Scotland, the humidity in the air kept it from getting too frigid, but it was positively chilling outside. 

She paid no mind to where her feet were taking her, accepting the fact that she was along for the ride. They seemed to have a purpose...she was no longer dawdling in the halls like normal; instead, her legs were briskly carrying her down into the lower floors of the castle.

The dungeons. Of course, how could she have been so shocked.

Y/N couldn’t be sure where the entrance was--she couldn’t see the door, after all, it only appeared once one uttered the correct password, but she just knew. There was no explaining it, it was just a fact that Y/N felt as sure about as she was her own name. 

She stood there for a while, studying the stone of the wall and imagining Draco coming in and out, going about his everyday life casually, without a care in the world for her feelings. She couldn’t help but wonder if Draco had even considered honoring their destiny as soulmates.

“Give me a sign, please,” she whispered, not talking to anyone in particular. “Tell me whether I should try. I’ll leave him alone if you tell me to. I promise.”

Silence. Dead silence, just like when time had frozen, but she knew better. It was just the middle of the night and she was in the castle’s dungeons...the only people out of bed were tired prefects patrolling. 

Speaking of which, footsteps broke the silence as they descended the staircase leading to Y/N’s corridor. She sat frozen in the hallway, unaware of where she could go. There was really only one way out of the dungeons that she knew of--the way that the footsteps were coming from. 

Her only other option was to hide, and quickly. Thankfully, there was a tapestry covering an alcove and window that no doubt looked into the lake. She bolted behind it, hoping that she didn’t make too much noise. 

The footsteps grew closer, allowing Y/N to hear the conversation going on between the mystery people.The empty hole in her stomach tugged. 

There were two distinct male voices, one more painfully familiar than the other.

“--and thanks again for agreeing to help me get into the library at this hour. I completely forgot that that old bat wanted us to write an essay on this obscure Divination thing.” 

Draco.

“Anytime.” Y/N could identify the second male voice as Theodore Nott, another Slytherin who was tight with Parkinson and Zabini. 

“I think I’m gonna take a walk, so don’t wait up for me,” Draco said. Y/N wished that she could see him.

“Whatever you say.”

Nott murmured something under his breath, and the sound of stones softly moving apart filled the air. 

Once he had stepped inside the common room, the stone sounded like it moved back into place. 

Y/N had no chance to breath a sigh of relief, because just as she was about to let out a shaky exhale, she realized that a tall, slender shadow was standing right in front of her tapestry. A wand was poked around to the edge before it moved the tapestry away to reveal her hiding spot.

“What, are you planning on jumping me or something?” Draco asked, his eyebrows shooting up in inquisition. 

Y/N felt her cheeks burning. Merlin, why couldn’t she do anything but blush when she was around him?

“Can you speak?” His words were deliberately slow and taunting.

“You know the answer to that,” she bit back.

“Ah, gotcha!” His face lit up briefly. “You know, that’s the easiest way to break the ice with you...get you mad.”

“I’m not mad!” Y/N huffed,

“I rest my case.”

“Arsehole!”

“Are you going to tell me why you’re standing outside my common room at 1 on a Friday morning?” He studied her for a second, seeming to realize that she was going to remain stubbornly silent no matter what he did.

“Fine. If you won’t talk, I’ll find another way.” Draco pocketed his wand, moved the tapestry away further, and sat down on the windowsill with Y/N beside him.

It was an insanely close fit--the windowsill was probably not even meant for one person. Y/N attempted to ignore the fact that their legs had been forced to tangle in the process of Draco sitting down.

“I was taking a walk,” Y/N told him. “And I ended up here before I heard you coming. I wasn’t sure if you were Filch or Snape or something, so I hid. Your point?”

If he seemed unsatisfied with the answer, he didn’t show it. 

“Pity. And here I was, thinking that you were showing up at my doorstep, begging for me to reconsider my prior decision on...us.”

“Did I ever say I wasn’t?” Y/N dared. “I wasn’t planning on begging, though.”

There. There it was--a deep red blush that spread over his pale face.

“What?” 

“You heard me,” Y/N grumbled. “This is weird, very weird, and I didn’t ever think that in a million years I would be pining after Draco Malfoy, but I guess things change. I’ve been--”

“Pining after me, huh?” His eyes had a dangerous glint in them.

“Besides the point. I actually came here because I wanted to.....ehm....” Y/N cleared her throat. “I wanted to tell you that I was having trouble moving past the whole soulmates thing without a hitch. It hurts, you know, and I didn’t even think i liked you that much before. It’s like there’s this hole--”

“In your chest? Yeah, I feel it too,” Draco admitted as he intently studied the book in his hands. 

“Well, even without the empty feeling, I just can’t imagine willingly passing up my soulmate like this,” she confessed. “It’s easy to say that most people don’t meet their soulmate anyways so it shouldn’t matter, but I can’t imagine getting into relationships when I know that my soulmate is out there and it’s not the person that I’m with...”

“I’ve been feeling the same way.”

Y/N didn’t know how to respond, instead giving his statement time to hang dry in the air.

“Do you want to see if there’s anything else in the book?” he finally asked, stroking the leather cover in his lap. 

Y/N nodded, and instead of placing the book in between the two of them, she just leaned over, her head just millimeters from his shoulder. She thought for a few moments before letting it fall onto his, squeezing her eyes shut when she heard him suck in a breath.

“Page 394, right?” Draco asked, even though they both could see the table of contents laid out clearly in front of them. 

She didn’t even bother responding to his question, choosing to watch him flip through the book to find it. 

They skimmed the first page they had read together that declared how soulmates discovered each other. Turning to the next page, they were both surprised to see a bit of an afterthought added.

“So, if you know who your soulmate is and choose to ignore it...” Y/N’s eyes flickered nervously up to his.

“Then you’ll live with a painful guilt forever unless they, or you, die,” he finished, the eye contact that he offered rather wobbly. 

The thought sat with the two for a few moments as they pondered.

“Is it that worth it to you?’ Y/N asked after a while, breaking his gaze and looking down.

“Is what worth it?”

“Keeping your bloodline pure. Is it so worth it that you’d allow us both to live a lifetime of despair?” Y/N wished that she hadn’t sounded so much like she was pleading.

She could tell Draco was thinking, something she couldn’t tell disappointed or pleased her. On one hand, he was considering both options, but on the other, he even had to consider when to her the answer was as clear as day.

“No, I don’t think it is,” he breathed, letting the book slip to the ground. Y/N winced as the binding hit the floor with a smack.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “A simple Reparo will fix it.”

Y/N shivered when she felt his breath tickle her neck. She had moved her head off his shoulder before asking the question and tilted her head to the side, and now Draco’s face was leaned in, inches from her own. 

This was too good to be true.

“Just like that? You’re going to forget the years of prejudice your parents pressed into you? You’re going to defy the wishes of your family?” 

Draco frowned. 

“Can’t I say one thing we agree on?” Unlike their past conversations, there was no venom behind his words. “You don’t need to be difficult anymore. I promise I’ll try not to be a nuisance.”

“How am I supposed to trust anything you...”

Before she could finish her rebuttal, Draco had placed a surprisingly warm hand under her chin to tip her face up, gazing sleepily into her  eyes.

“Stop getting in your head about this,” he quietly instructed. “We can worry about the rest later. Just...close your eyes and try to feel, not think, alright?”

Y/N waited for the ominous feeling inside of her to warn her not to, but it never came. Without a conscious decision to do so, her eyes fluttered shut.

She did exactly as he told her to do--instead of thinking of the repercussions, she chose to feel each kiss that Draco pressed to her lips, her jaw, her neck. Her fingers curled around the lapel of his suit, desperately clinging onto him as he continued.

When he finally pulled back, she was an unraveled mess of breaths and flushes, and from what she could see, he was too. His ice blue eyes were half-lidded, his moonbeam blonde hair tousled. 

Draco leaned on her, resting his head on top of hers.

“Truce?”

“Truce.”

final a/n: ooohhhh boy this was a long one, wasn’t it? sorry if the ending was a little anticlimactic. i’m much more into writing the buildup than i am the actual fluffy moments. my apologies for any typos or bad writing you came across in this fic...it was long so i didn’t spend as much time working on editing!

#draco #draco malfoy #draco imagine #draco malfoy imagine #draco x reader #draco malfoy x reader #draco x oc #draco malfoy x oc #harry potter #hermione granger #slytherin #theodore nott #soultmate au #hogwarts #hufflepuff #ravenclaw #gryffindor #mcgonagall #draco lucius malfoy #draco fluff #draco x reader fluff #dramione #drarry #draco lucius malfoy x oc

[trickster-4]

Chapter 3

“Ehhh?!”

There was no impact on the memory from Amity’s actions thankfully, but Luz blushed at the sight and the sudden phantom sensations of her friend’s fingers stroking nonexistent ears on her scalp. Amity then noticed that both Luz and her rabbit self’s legs were twitching.

”Oh right this is you...Sorry..” Amity blushed before stopping and looking to Luz who was also blushing..

“It’s fine it wasn’t that bad.. L-Let’s just focus on why we’re here...”

“Curse the nerve endings in these ears.. Why must Edalin much be so good at reaching them!!”

”A-Apparently these memories are very important to you..” Amity tried to not snicker at the idea of the lord of black magic being turned into a rabbit because of a bet... She failed badly and started laughing at the thought of him sayin-

“Fear me!!!”

Luz blushed wanting to crawl under a rock for a long while. Normally she could laugh this off as well, but for some reason it felt terrifying that Amity was seeing this..

“Oh.. Sorry Luz..”

”It’s fine and it is funny.. I’m actually thankful that it was this and less blood and war..”

Edalin snuggled the rabbit closer to her face enjoying the feeling of the soft fur.. She was not a mage so unfortunately the complaints of Shabragnido the lord of darkness were unheard by her.

”Wow I was an angry little ball of fluff...”

“I know..” Amity nodded in agreement.

“I’m torn between having you boiled alive and having you made as my high priestes- yes yes right there scratch my belly!!”

”So where’s the problem?” Luz questioned they then looked up at towards the black temple. A mysterious hooded men and women were watching the girl as she played with the rabbit.. “What are those guys doing..”

”It seems our lord favors the girl for his sacrifice.. I can his presence hovering over this girl..”

“Indeed strange.. We’ve rarely ever seen nonmagical sacrifices. Perhaps this will be a new trend?”

”No... They wouldn’t..” Luz looked with horrified eyes as guards began to approach the girl.. She began to shake as they took hold of the girl causing her to drop the rabbit..

”Wait what are you imbeciles doing her? Get away from her... What wait can’t you hear me?”

“Our lord Shabragnido will be pleased with this..”

“Give her back you idiots!!”

The rabbit feebly tried to stop the guards he gnawed on one of the guard’s shoe doing his best to slow them down. He was kicked into the wall it’s skull was shattered.. Though seconds later it repaired itself easily..

“Damn our bet Ceifeed..”

Dark energy began to form around the rabbit only for it recede forcibly into it’s body.. He saw the flames of his temple ignite Edalin would be sacrificed in five minutes.. He Shabragnido the god of darkness was stuck trapped as a damn rodent and he couldn’t even save a child..

It infuriated him how he had been trapped with the nonmagical orphaned child. How he had been forced to comfort her on those cold nights.. It hurt that he began to feel for her.. It hurt to hear how she dreamed of one day being a witch.. He couldn’t stand to be so close to her when he been responsible for her village’s death and her enslavement.

Shabragnido had never felt guilt.. The time he had been forced to live with her had changed him in a fundamental way.. His purpose from his creation was clear remorseless destruction.. Atlantis was merely the result of a misbegotten bet..

And... perhaps he enjoyed the attention and worship and the empire had produced more than a few competent servants.. But that was all it was a formality a business. He had only ever taken true joy at watching as mountains crumbled as the people burned.. Yet the thought of Edalin suffering that fate. Something about that infuriated him tore at him at the place where only hate should dwell..

A spell began to form a new one never to be uttered by human beings.. He called to his true nature to his inner self beyond his current form...

“Wrath given form hate given substance.. I call to the deepest void to the bound one who seeks to be free.. Let our hate be one and our path be united.. Grant me all your power so that the skies may burn and the world may darken.. Till all my enemies are made ash, Resigno!!”

The rabbit was suddenly swallowed up in a sphere of crimson magic. The mere flesh was consumed as the god of black magic took on his true dark majesty. The people around him were terrified some bowed and prostrated themselves before their War God.. He cared even less of such bootlicking today..

Luz and Amity followed Luz’s past self to the temple they waited to see what would happen.

“LET THE GIRL GO!!”

The temple shook as his voice boomed.. There was silent whimpering that he could hear from his priests.. But there no one brave enough to him the truth the ceremony was over the girl was already dead.

He suddenly realized that he couldn’t sense Edalin’s lifeforce.. She was dead.. Shabragnido broke into his astral form before taking on a human form in the temple.. The girls followed quickly Luz’s eyes watered at the tragedy taking place and Amity tried her best to comfort her.. The head priestess recognized his appearance. He stood there for a moment standing in front of her body.. For once the blood that was spilled made him nauseous and infuriated him.

“Lord Shabranigdo I-“

Shabragnido watched with a cold satisfaction as the two priests who chose Edalin began to age. There was another priest holding the bloodied knife that had ended Edalin’s life he too suffered the same curse. They screamed and cried out for mercy until they became dust. Moments later the room was filled with silence after sometime the high priestess spoke.

“My lord..”

“Get out of the temple..”

“My lord?”

“Get out of the temple as of this moment you and the other priests are banished.. For the sake of years of good service I tell you this and you are to tell no one outside the priesthood and their families.. Leave Atlantis tonight.. I am going to burn this entire city to the ground.. As tribute to the forbidden mother…”

Her eyes widened at the breaking of the taboo. The mother of their patron gods was never to be mentioned on pain of utter annihilation. She was rumored to be more capricious and cruel than even Lord Shabragnido.

“I see… I wish you luck..”

The priestess and her servants followed them out of the sacrificial chambers.. He was alone now.

“It wouldn’t help.. Nothing sways her but entertainment.. Listen well mother my offer to you is this. I know you created me and Ceifeed to hate and kill each other.. I went against my purpose.. I bargained with him.. I will destroy this place that must offend you.. I will become your heartless destroyer.. And in return for these things I ask for one thing let Edalin live again and let her have her dreams..

Edalin’s body began to disappear into a golden mist a relief went through his chest.. A sign that his mother had taken his offer. Shabragnido got up and went forth becoming with each step the monster he was always meant to be. She would live once more though Atlantis would have to burn…

Moments later Luz and Amity watched as the temple came apart. In the sky Ceifeed and Shabragnido battled each other viscously. The gods tore into each other’s form’s with blue and crimson spells.. They stared at the carnage the gods wrought on the city they had given life to. The very patrons who had given these people wealth and magic were now destroying the very empire they had created.

Centuries of human progress, magical research, was being undone. The blasts from the two gods destroyed numerous buildings more than a few archmages attempted to protect their people to various levels of success.. All this because Shabragnido cared for one child..

“Shabragnido you are destroying everything we spent centuries building… Have you gone completely mad?!! It was tragedy what happened here and I had no intention to cause such a pain to you brother, but your “deal” with mother is insane..” The Azure dragon glared at his crimson brother. He would not budge in this matter his brother had to be stopped..

“Shut up you idiot your words tire me..”

You suffered deeply brother you lost a daughter.. I empathize with you… But I cannot let you give more grief to these children.. They were struggling to survive before our influence.. Before our Empire they had nothing. If you succeeded today they will be tossed back into the void with nothing..”

“I don’t give a damn.. Atlantis will fall..”

A sphere formed within Shabragnido’s hands a spell of immense destructive force gathers in seconds. “No!!” Luz finally screamed out.. “ Edalin wouldn’t want this please you have to stop this!!” Amity could only watch silently in horror as Shabragnido destroyed Atlantis…

The memories began to shift as they now stood in the ruins of Atlantis a mere shadow of itself.. Something wasn’t right Luz and Amity looked around sharing similar thoughts. Shabragnido kneeled bound by numerous spells and priestess.. Ceifeed was dying… In body and soul.. Still he had enough power to do this… He couldn’t kill Shabragnido too much of his power and strength had waned…

“Just do it..”

“Good bye brother..”

Luz and Amity both flinched at the sight as her past self was divided into seven pieces.. Those fragments became crimson energy that faded into nothing.. Ceifeed sighed tiredly. His priests and servants quickly approached him.

“My lord what will happen?”

“He will reincarnate one day after each of the fragments had passed with their human hosts through the cycle of reincarnation… I believe he will be a better leader next time..”

“My lord he killed countless people..”

“For the sake of the only person he ever truly cared for.. As a being of pure negative emotion that is a lot of progress.. I am certain the commingling with humans will balance out his hatred with love, compassion, and.. humanity.. I am dying Elaine..” Ceifeed began to cough as his body began to dissolve into pure azure magic. “Swear to me that you will care for Edalin as your own.. As I recall she shows much promise in black magic.. In fact I hear she is a prodigy..”

“Yes.. She is..”

“Good bye Elaine take care of her…”

“…..” Luz stood there for a while exhausted and mentally drained at the revelations she just experienced. Amity was also widened eyed at what she’d learned.. Apparently her crush destroyed Atlantis. That was a lot to take in.. The most advanced civilization was gone because of her.. Yet Amity saw that Luz was still the same person. These tragedies only showed her compassion and how different Luz was from her old self...

“Luz..”

“Yeah Amity?”

“You may share memories with Shabragnido.. You may have his powers and you may even share feelings on a number of things.. You may even share the same soul… But you aren’t that person..” Amity held Luz’s shoulder softly. “His actions aren’t yours and yours aren’t his.. This wasn’t your fault and when given the chance to kill you chose something better.. You’re not that version of yourself anymore. That Shabragnido died a long time ago.. Once we deal with these memories please let them rest..”

“Amity…” Luz’s eyes lit up and she slowly smiled..

“When we first met.. I was a different person.. Arrogant, Prideful, and reaally Insecure..” Amity blushed as she mentioned her past flaws but smiled as she saw Luz was close to giggling. “I grew and I changed I made amends.. It’s not the same.. But, even if you’re the same person this version of you isn’t responsible for what happened you’re kind, warm, and really outgoing for a dark lord..”

“Amity!!” Luz complained sarcastically, then smiled and laughed..

“You’re a different person Luz.. please give yourself some credit..”

Luz hugged Amity tightly causing her to blush. The two decided to enjoy that embrace for a while.. Moments later the scenery changed around them.. They now stood in a nice home filled with the smell of cooking fish.

“Edalin..” Elaine called to her adopted daughter a young spunky curious redhead girl.. She smiled at the sight of the girl creating a flame with ease. “Come now child it’s time for bed. You’ll have plenty of time to learn more magic tomorrow.”

“Yeah..”

“Remember Edalin. You’re a Clawthorne.. No matter what anyone says..” Elaine kissed her daughter’s forehead and gave her a tight hug… “Have a good night little owl..”

Moments later Luz and Amity found themselves back in Luz’s mind outside of her memories.. They stood there quiet speechless of about what they had just witnessed.. After a few minutes Amity finally spoke up. “Wow..”

#owl house #toh #the owl house #eda the owl witch #luz owl house #fanfic #slayers #spoilers #luz is shabranigdo

[yatorihell]

In The Darkness Chapter 63 - Potions and Snitches

Noragami x Harry Potter AU

Words: 1,528

Summary: Yato begins to seek answers, and the first Quidditch match of the year begins.

Also available on Yatorihell AO3

Yato opened his mind as wide as he dared before he fell asleep, and though it took what felt like hours, he was asleep within minutes.

Yato found himself in Grimmauld Place. It looked just the way he remembered when he first came to visit; threadbare carpets, dark oaken banisters, and wallpaper that was torn and rough under his fingertips.

He walked down the hallway, listening for any signs of life, but none came. The living room was deserted with a cold fireplace that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years, the dining room equally as dishevelled by books and spiderwebs that heaped up over the years. It seemed like no one was home.

Yato turned into the small library at the back of the house after peering down the kitchen stairs. He scanned the shelves once again and familiar books stared back at him. Faded photographs in silver frames showed obscure faces and several ornate boxes of tarnished silver etched with a foreign language dotted between them.

His gaze lifted to the three silver goblets on the upper shelves. His hand picked them up one by one. The gold signet ring tumbled into his hand from one, and from another, he plucked out the glossy black pendant.

Yato wrapped its chain around his fingers and let it dangle, feeling a tingle of déjà vu run down his spine as he did so. A similar throbbing returned to his head as he held the ring in his closed fist, the pendant hanging from his fingers. He fumbled for the similar groove, bidding it to open this time through the building pressure in his head.

As the locket clicked open, Yato startled awake.

~

Yukine was furious.

He was the one who could brew death in a bottle. He was the one who could follow instructions to the letter. And now, Yato, of all people, was making potions like an apothecary.

Yukine felt his chest fill with frustration. His hair, normally kept neat, had plastered itself to his forehead with sweat and been pushed back a million times since the beginning of class. For whatever reason, Yato had suddenly improved his potions within the last month, and Yukine was losing his mind.

Even more so today, as Madame Kofuku had announced a light-hearted competition. The task: brew a perfect draught of living death, a notoriously difficult potion. The prize: a vial of Felix Felicis, otherwise known as liquid luck.

“What are you doing?” Yukine eyed Yato’s hands as he deftly crushed the squill bulb against his cutting board, the flat of the knife twinkling at him mockingly.

Yato shot Yukine a smirk. “Crush it instead.”

“No, you cut it,” Yukine’s words cut the air as thinly as his own plant, yet Yato grinned and swept his ingredients into his cauldron.

Hiyori, equally as annoyed but still level-headed, gently turned the page of her potions book. “Let's just try to get through this without killing him. Yato needs the practice for his N.E.W.T.s.”

Yato pouted and continued teasing Yukine, unafraid of tickling the metaphorical sleeping dragon. “You sure you don’t want that Potions for Dummies book back?”

Yukine swore under his breath and looked away. Yato took the chance to slide his own book away slightly, revealing Madame’s Kofuku’s annotated copy that had hundreds of amendments to brewing perfect potions.

The discoveries that she had made over her years in Hogwarts had helped him greatly, along with knowledge of new spells jotted in the margins that Yato had never heard of, lest seen in another book. Sectumsempra – a lacerating spell – seemed like a particularly vicious curse that they wouldn’t teach students anyway.

Hiyori smiled as Yukine threw desperate looks to see what Yato was doing, quickly trying to match his potion as Madame Kofuku called an end to the class. They stepped back as Madame Kofuku walked around the room, small tweezers and flower petals in hand, dropping them into each student’s potion and giving condolences that they hadn’t quite got it right.

Madame Kofuku reached their table and dropped a petal in each of their potions. Hiyori’s wilted slightly at the edges, confirming that her potion was not perfect. Yukine’s wilted even more but an air bubble rose and popped with a foul odour that made him cough and look utterly defeated. Yukine and Hiyori watched as the final petal fluttered into Yato’s potion – which was molten gold in colour with droplets splashing like goldfish above its surface – and shrivelled entirely like a flower in the snow.

“We have a winner!” Madame Kofuku announced, though Yato knew that she was trying to look as fair and innocently surprised by Yato’s success despite giving him the answers herself.

Yukine glared daggers at Yato as he was presented the coveted prize of liquid luck, followed by a smattering of applause from jipped sixth-year students who lost to a seventh-year who shouldn’t have been in their class.

The bell rang out right on time as Yato stared into the crystalline vial, inspecting the honey-coloured liquid and already coming up with ways to use it. The upcoming Quidditch match? He was rusty, but Hiyori would kill him for cheating. His N.E.W.T.s? That sounded like a good idea; he wanted to at least pass, and this could be the key.

Yato approached Yukine and Hiyori with a lazy smile, which wasn’t returned by Yukine as he huffed and threw his cauldron into the sink along with Hiyori’s. He glanced at his own cauldron, decided that Madame Kofuku may want to keep the extra potion, and left it on the table.

“You need to tell us how you got so good,” Yukine whined. His tie, hanging around his neck like a stripy snake, swung as he scooped up his bag.

“Like I said, the book has all the answers.” It was true, although Yato didn’t specify which book he was talking about as he dropped the vial into his robe pocket and shouldered his bag.

Yukine grumbled as he too shouldered his bag. “Hiyori, do me a favour and knock him off his broom.”

Hiyori laughed but had no doubt that he meant it. The game was on Saturday; Gryffindor vs Slytherin; she could easily hit him with the quaffle.

Hiyori flashed Yato a smile as she turned towards the door and flicked her hair in a way she’d seen Bishamon do a thousand times. “Consider it done.”

~

The first Quidditch match of the season was on a blustery November weekend, laced with the first winter snowfall that hid the lines of the Quidditch pitch.

Yato’s thoughts hummed as he pulled on his gear and grasped his broom. Gryffindor versus Slytherin, Yato thought. He followed his team onto the pitch alongside Gryffindor, spotting the back of Bishamon's and Hiyori’s head as he passed.

Yato versus Bishamon once again.

The roaring crowds that filled the stands faded to a dull thundering in Yato’s ears. The match was set, and the players flew into the air as the bludgers, quaffle, and the snitch were released into the game with a sharp pitched whistle.

Yato soared upwards and hovered above the pitch, staying out of the way. The falling snow caked his cloak and hair in fine white crystals and stung his cheeks as the breeze pushed against him. His eyes sought out the familiar twinkle of gold among silver snowflakes, though his googles fogged with the heat of his body against the cold.

Below, the players zipped through the air, scarlet and emerald robes streaming out behind them as they expertly swerved and dodged bludgers and passed the quaffle between them, only to be blocked by both Keepers when anyone tried to score. Over the roar of the crowd, Yato felt his heart thunder against his ribs at the tell-tale glint of gold against the white backdrop.

Yato broke into a hasty chase through the flurry of snow, nose-diving towards the earth in a bid to seal his team’s victory and end the onslaught Gryffindor brought with every score. A flicker of a green cloak, too high up to be anyone else, to his left alerted him that Bishamon had also spotted the snitch and was giving chase.

Rearing his broom, Yato soared upright and dug his heels into the stirrups, nosediving and twisting to every opportunity the snitch presented to no avail. It was a game of cat and mouse – one he knew he could win if he could just… get… closer.

Yato’s outstretched fingers burned with the effort, within inches of the snitches fluttering wings beating against the tips of his gloves…

A gloved fist snatched the snitch from under his nose.

Slack-jawed, Yato caught the sweet smile Bishamon flashed him as she twisted down beside him. She turned to the side and spiralled to the ground in a swirl of gold and scarlet, a victory cry rising from her chest that was immediately drowned out by the crowd.

Yato stared down at Bishamon, unable to scowl as he was too surprised to comprehend what she just did.

She had snatched victory right out of his hand.

#noragami #noragami aragoto #yato #yukine #hiyori #bishamon #kofuku #hp au #harry potter au #in the darkness #my writing

[clansayeed]

Bound by Destiny ― Chapter 1: The Job

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny ⥽

Nadya Al Jamil (MC) has been struggling from the day she moved to Manhattan, but her new job as assistant to the mysterious CEO of Raines Corp was supposed to turn her luck around. Until she finds herself caught in the middle of a war involving the Council of Vampires who secretly run the city. An evil from the birth of Vampire-kind stirs beneath, feeding on the conflict, and finds Nadya bound to a destiny she never asked for.

Bound by Destiny and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

She’s never thought about doing clerical work before, but that’s not going to stop her. Nadya begins her new job as secretary for the mysterious Adrian Raines.

[READ IT ON AO3]

As soon as Lily yanks the lipstick from her hand the cab screeches to a jerking halt on the curb. The kind of stop that has the potential to ruin an entire twenty minutes-worth of hasty makeup application.

“Here.” grunts the Cabby, already flicking on his ‘VACANT’ sign and punching the buttons on his dash panel.

“Think you could chill out a little next time on the landing, Speed Racer? Here hon, hold this.” She returns the lipstick to its rightful owner to dig around in her bag for the cab fare.

Nadya sits in a daze; stares at her lipstick like she’s forgotten how to use it until Lily is grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her out onto the bustling Manhattan sidewalk.

“You okay?” Lily’s hands are warm in the sunlight. They manage to bring her out of her spell. With a one-two-three swipe of her lipstick she brings a beaming smile her roommate’s way.

“Never better. Thanks for the save back there.”

“Thank me with a paycheck. And pizza — you can never go wrong with pizza.”

The main entrance of Raines Corp. faces north, follows the path of the sun so as not to shine in. A strange thing to notice, Nadya thinks, but she can’t help but hope that means she won’t constantly have the sunset glaring in her eyes every evening.

“Final checks!” Lily announces, loud enough to gain the attention of several Wall Street schlubs on their blue-teeth or air-phones or whatever else they use to distract from the tedium.

God, I hope I don’t end up like that at the end of this job… The thought flits through Nadya’s mind briefly before it’s lost in Lily’s vibrancy.

“Phone-wallet-keys?”

“Check.”

“Emergency Listerine strips?”

“Check.”

“Emergency deodorant?”

“Check.”

“Disdain for the bourgeoisie bullshit that allows people to treat secretaries like servants?”

Nadya laughs. “Check!”

“Then my dear,” she squeezes their hands together before letting go with a flourish of wide arms, “there’s nothing more I can do for you. You’re ready to walk into the belly of the Capitalist beast.”

But ‘ready’ though she may be Nadya doesn’t move; just stares at Lily’s encouraging smile like it’ll give her the power to take on the whole world or bring every skyscraper on the block crumbling to their foundations.

Her roommate pushes her ropes of neon-purple dreads over her shoulder and goes in for the hug Nadya didn’t know she even needed; let alone ask for. It’s one she returns warmly — it brings back distant memories of clinging to her mother on the first day of school.

“Seriously, Nadi’, you’ve got this.” whispers Lily into her ear, and Nadya very much has this.

She turns and steels herself—a final mental check to ensure all is secure and well and oh god did I forget my emergency tampon at home no Lily put it in the side pocket thank god so yes, it’s all well—before she strides in through the revolving doors.

“Don’t worry about dinner, honey-bunch! You just earn Momma that cheddar!” She can hear Lily’s faint laughter before the roar of industrialized air conditioning drowns out everything else.

Everything that had happened on the day of her interview had led Nadya to believe he might be a decent boss to work for; one of those kinds of CEOs who had wealth but didn’t flaunt it, or who gave out really epic bonuses come Christmas or the New Year. She figured she’d be seeing a lot of him around — not that he’d be asking her to accompany him to important client dinners or doing that thing in movies where he asks her to order him midnight sushi and it turns out to be enough for two — because what CEO goes out of their way to personally attend the hiring of someone who only has top-tier security clearance because that’s where her desk is?

Boy, was she wrong.

Adrian Raines communicates almost solely by email (or in the more urgent requests, the Raines Corp. interdepartmental instant message app). When he leaves his office he never needs to be accompanied. If not for the heaps of digital filing she’s asked to organize she’d almost forget who she was working for. He’s always polite; signs his emails with ‘thank yous’ and things like ‘I really appreciate all your hard work!’ but the distance takes some getting used to.

“Maybe he’s just antisocial,” Lily suggests over their now-standard lunch break phone call. Nadya can hear the distant tinny noise of digital zombies having their heads blown off on Lil’s livestream. “You know, like one of those reclusive ba-jillionaires in the movies. Or he thinks you smell.”

“I don’t smell!” Nadya argues back — and definitely doesn’t do a smell-check of her armpits sheepishly.

But Lily intends to find the silver lining in everything; one of the things that makes them get along so fabulously. “Think of it this way; sooo many people in your position have to see way too much of their bosses, right? And that burns them out! So you have more time to rake in the dough before you gotta high-tail it from Armaniville.”

“I guess,” she stabs a cold lump of orange chicken absentmindedly, “it’d just be a lot easier if he weren’t so darn nice.”

The next day Adrian sends her a list of things to get from the sub-basement archives; gifts for some client meeting he has in an hour. Nadya takes it on as a DEFCON 5 because each item is a separate ping on the IM server. If it can’t all be in one email it’s gotta be important, right?

All it takes is a requisition form sent below and the whole two dozen paces between her desk, the elevator, and the building delivery desk on the ground floor. She’d go into the conference room and deliver the package herself but while Adrian might appreciate the gesture the same might not be said for other head-honchos. So she leaves it on the corner of her desk for Adrian to grab on his way down.

Just before the lift doors open Adrian turns on his glossy heel. For the first time since her interview he addresses Nadya face-to-face.

“Nadya?”

“Yes, Mister Raines?” They both chuckle. Even with the impersonal disposition of digital communication they’ve found a way to share inside jokes; it took half a dozen messages for Nadya to learn how very serious Adrian was about being addressed by his first name even via email.

She glances up from Nicole’s daily ‘list of chores’ (Lily’s words, not hers, but she doesn’t deny the accuracy) to find Adrian staring at her. Even from across the room there’s a clarity to him. Adrian Raines is attractive; Nadya knows it, the numerous reporters from the tech, business, and gossip magazines Nadya has had to politely turn away all know it, hell even Adrian himself probably knows it — and not in the vain way pretty rich men know they’re pretty, but in a more humble sense.

So yeah, having someone like him stare with that movie-star smolder at someone like her makes it impossible for Nadya not to blush. But he’s her boss, and this gig is too good for all the months of “We promise we’ll have the rent next month please don’t evict us!” back-pay they owe their landlord to risk. And she’s pretty sure trying to romance the boss is a big risk.

She tries again, “Yes, Mister Raines?” because Adrian seems to be in his own little world. One he finally snaps out of.

“I just wanted to make sure you know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me since you came on. You’ve definitely been one of my more successful assistants.” That’s Adrian; making sure everyone feels appreciated.

Nadya simply shrugs it off; wouldn’t do her well to get too airheaded so early in the game. “Just doing my job, Mister Raines.”

“Nadya…”

“Just doing my job,” she winks, “Adrian.”

It’s the longest meeting he’s ever had; the text she gets somewhere near dawn thanking her for staying but releasing her fills Nadya with nothing short of relief. Gathering her things, clocking out, swiping her card for the lift; everything is routine now. Even strolling passed the conference room on her way to the front desk.

“Are you sure he’s being truthful about his numbers?”

“We can’t be sure of anything when it comes to Cecil, Adrian. That is why I insisted I go myself. He knows better than to lie to my face.”

“Yet he may still have.”

Stopping in front of the frosted glass isn’t one of her smarter ideas. Not like it stops her. Mostly she’s caught off guard by the seriousness of Adrian’s tone even through the doors. Can’t think of a time when she ever heard him sound like that; almost dark, or angry.

But where Adrian is filled with passion whoever he’s speaking to keeps her cool. Her voice a velvet purr so low Nadya finds herself straining to hear, leaning closer to the door and closer to the danger of discovery.

“I have my associates scouring the city for where they might be originating. You’d think someone might report seeing a corpse or two suddenly going grey and—”

A gruff Indian drawl interrupts her. Even from a distance Nadya feels like that’s a bad move.

“This is New York, Kamilah. Bodies are as rare as pigeons!”

“Then what have you contributed, Lester?” asks Adrian.

Lester grumbles something she doesn’t quite catch, then: “Don’t flash those at me, pup. I’ll speak to my men on the PD and see if they’ve been keeping anything hiding under their little blue belts.”

None of it makes sense. There’s walking in on half a conversation and then there’s whatever Adrian and his associates are discussing. The one thing Nadya is sure of is how much she dislikes the knot forming in her gut while her mind races to try and put some of what she’s hearing together.

There’s a long silence. For a moment she fears she’s been found out and her heart drops out through her stomach. Then she hears Adrian again — this time he sounds tired.

“We have to get this under control. Until we do every victim is our fault; their blood is on our hands.”

If there’s more to his speech she doesn’t stick around to hear it. Finds herself out on the cold Manhattan sidewalk just as the sun starts to haul itself up over the horizon. She doesn’t even remember if she said goodbye to the night guard. Her blood pounds in her ears.

Lily made a valiant effort to stay awake and greet her as evidenced by a full cup of tea gone cold on the island counter. But her roommate is passed out on the couch — Nadya envies that ability to sleep anywhere. The words victim and blood and hands echo in Adrian’s voice around her skull like bouncy-balls while she gets ready for bed.

Adrian acts like nothing is different — and to him it isn’t. But whenever she gets the chance Nadya tries to find some inkling, some shadow hidden behind his megawatt smile and usual charm. If ever given the chance to wander her mind starts coming up with fantastical ideas and scenarios: like seeing him as Christian Bale in American Psycho or getting a late-night text for her to come into work and finding him in the process of wrapping a body up in construction plastic.

Nadya only imagines being the victim of the cruel-yet-classy alter ego of Adrian once. Somehow discovering his secret life as a hitman or deranged killer is more believable than the thought that he would ever harm her.

But it doesn’t stop the hairs on the back of her neck from standing up when the rarity arrives of Adrian leaving at the same time as her. Lots of people are murdered in elevators in the movies.

“So… everything alright?”

Nadya looks to find Adrian’s gaze level and calm and right at her. Oh god, she thinks, he knows!

She fumbles for an answer instead — tries, and fails, to play it cool.

“Peachy keen.”

“Are you sure?” He’s not gonna press the matter if she doesn’t want to talk about it; just another one of the things that makes Adrian Raines possibly the ideal man. But he needs to stop looking like a kicked puppy in order to make it easier for her to lie to him.

So she decides to pick a different truth instead. “Yeah, I’m just not looking forward to the long trip home.”

Adrian’s nose scrunches. “I was under the impression your apartment was one train away.”

“Normally it is. But they shut down the station at my stop a couple nights ago. Some accident on the weekend or something.”

It’s exactly the Adrian thing for him to do when he offers her a ride home in the company car. And it’s the Nadya thing for her to decline, but rather than playfully letting it slide Adrian actually insists. Pipes up what could have been the speech her mom gave her about moving to ‘the Big City’ verbatim; with strangers lurking the streets and the subway never really being as safe as they claim.

“And forgive my selfishness,” he finishes while opening the sleek black Buick door, “but I’d have a pretty hard time finding another secretary with hours as flexible as yours. So let’s get you home safe and sound.”

One complimentary ride home is a favor. Then one turns into two, turns into the whole week, turns into “I know your station opened back up yesterday, Nadya, but if I’m being honest I enjoy the detour and the company,” and by the time Adrian’s car is pulling onto the curb outside her building at sunset—the usual time she sets off—there’s really no opportunity to refuse.

“I went to make you a cup, too, but then I realized I have no idea how you take your coffee — secretaries everywhere have shunned me.” Nadya greets him by way of apology, sliding into the now-familiar front seat with her travel mug in hand. Adrian laughs.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I’m more of a tea person.”

If Adrian is surprised when, same time next day, Nadya slides in with her usual mug and a second with a teabag string dangling over the side, he hides it well.

But while their routine has become more personable and casually affectionate it hasn’t entirely cleared her boss of suspicion. There’s three more meetings he releases her early for. She doesn’t snoop like the first time but definitely catches the same voices in her passing haste to the exit.

Then one ordinary night she spots an error on Adrian’s agenda.

“Did you want me to call the Gallery about getting a refund?” She doesn’t knock before entering — doesn’t really need to at this point. There’s something weirdly intimate about sitting in his car flicking radio stations while he pumps gas and returns with her favorite chocolate peanut-butter cookies. Intimate in that it makes knocking seem unnecessary.

Used to it, Adrian doesn’t look away from his screen. “Refund for what?”

“You bought two tickets to this thing, the ‘Manhattan Gallery’s Dedication to National Geographic Auction’ on Friday next.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And—Jesus—they’re five hundred bucks a piece?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So did you want a refund?”

“Why? I asked yesterday if you had plans then. You said no.”

It takes her a moment before Nadya’s doing her best impression of a fish.

“That second ticket’s mine?”

Now out of his chair Adrian leans against his desk with a smirk that could almost be called cheeky. If she didn’t know him better, that is.

“Well who else would I take?” he asks genuinely.

“I—I mean—well Nicole, for one.”

He waves off his assistant’s name. Odd, Nadya can’t help but think, since they seemed have a close relationship — close enough for her to berate him in front of a stranger on the day they met. Maybe less so in the last months… but still.

“She’s been to dozens of these. I wanted to take someone who might actually appreciate something new.” His falter is only slight. “I mean, of course, if you want to come. I probably shouldn’t have assumed.”

And she does, oh she does, but a nagging voice in the back of her head that sounds not-so-suspiciously like Anne-Marie from HR — who probably didn’t think Nadya could hear her over the gurgle of the downstairs coffee cart when she leaned over to her coworker and whispered a nasty rumor about “Mister Raines and his Secretary of the Night” — has her hesitant to say the least.

She’s taken too long to respond when Adrian’s hands fall on her shoulders. He cranks up the AC so high she had to pull her winter sweaters out of storage in the middle of summer. Even through the wool though she can feel the chill of his palms.

“Nadya? Talk to me.” Kind Adrian; Kind, empathetic, stupidly perceptive Adrian.

It makes her step back; gain some personal—and professional—space between them.

“Mister Raines,” and when did this become her life exactly, “I appreciate the gesture; all the gestures, actually, but…” already she’s hoping Lily kept yesterday’s newspaper with the classifieds, “I’m not… well, I’m not exactly interested in you in that… way.”

Adrian Master-of-the-Unexpected Raines goes bright red. Has Nadya wondering if she should take a picture to sell to the same tabloids that claim to see equally nonexistent things like Bigfoot.

Then he takes a deep breath. “Nadya — er, Miss Al Jamil — if I ever gave you the impression I… what I mean to say is that if you’ve found any of my actions untoward — erm — or, possibly, salacious in nature, I assure you, I—wait no, let me—”

He’s actually fumbling, which is how Nadya realizes he’s taken aback by her statement; how she realizes he was a million miles away from that dangerous place. And did he just say salacious?

To her surprise Adrian actually stops when she holds up a finger.

“Before you, uh, choke on your own tongue,” probably not the best idea to bring up his tongue but you know what they say about hindsight, “just… answer one question, okay?”

He nods.

“Is this an invitation as your date, or as your coworker?”

“Good heav — as my coworker, Nadya!” He practically chokes on his relief. It takes an exhale for Nadya to realize she is, too. Then they’re laughing, separately and awkwardly, and the next thing Nadya knows Adrian is pouring two tumblers of expensive scotch from the little trolley to the side of his desk that she’s never seen him use before. He’s her boss and he’s the one offering it, so he can’t get on her case when she accepts the liquor like the peace offering it is.

Friday night comes around and, as expected, the world ends.

“How can one person own this many dresses and none of them be for freakin’ formal events?!”

“Hey! That Sailor Mars dress was made specifically for a ball!”

“Lily, I’m only gonna say this one more time—” Nadya pokes her head out of her roommate’s tiny closet with what she hopes is a glare that thoroughly conveys her frustration; though the way her large glasses are dangerously ready to fall off the tip of her nose negates that completely, “—I can’t wear Sailor Moon cosplay to the Manhattan Art Gallery!”

Lily huffs and nibbles another spicy cheese puff. “Show me where it says that on the damn dress code…”

In a flurry of barely-clothed despair Nadya rushes back across the hall to her own room. Lily follows — cradles her snack bowl in her arms like one would a precious infant.

“I don’t get why the dress you bought doesn’t work.” Lily plops down next to the last-minute ordered dress and is careful to keep her cheesy mitts off the fabric. “It’s nice! And pink looks good on you, girl.”

Nadya looks the dress over with barely-contained spite. “It’s just… more skin than I thought it would be.” She mimes the shape of the dress’ lack of shoulder-cloth and Lily nods with an understanding “Oooh.”

“It just feels weird to wear something, like, kinda sexy after last week’s weirdness, you know? It’s weird! I think it’s weird, he’ll think it’s weird. It’ll just be…”

“Weird?” supplies Lily, who barely has time to duck the ball of socks thrown her way.

“And I don’t have time to go shopping. Adrian’ll be here in…” she looks to her bedside clock and groans, “an hour… I need more than an hour to fix my life!”

“Don’t we all.” Lily falls down beside the distraught form of her room mate and finger-feeds her a puff as per their agreement on dealing with messy snacks in mess-free zones. She wipes her hands diligently on her junk tee and caresses the apple of Nadya’s cheek with her thumb.

“Hon, just wear it. It’s your first time doing the ‘ritzy rich person’ thing and Adrian’ll totally get that. And if he tries to make it weird just laugh it off in that totally un-sexy way you do and boom—instant boner-killer.”

It’s not the pep-talk that would get the Cordonian Princess Caoimhe through her wedding day jitters, but it’s enough for Nadya; and that’s all that matters. With exaggerated grunts and huffs she hauls herself off the bed and starts to wrangle on the dress.

“I told you what he said, right?”

“You tell me a lot of things, sweetie.”

Nadya turns for Lily to dutifully zip her up. “He said I was ‘too young for him anyway,’ like, what does that even mean?”

“Do you want the Valyrian translation or something?”

“He’s thirty-one. I’m twenty-five! My parents had a bigger age gap than that!”

Lily pats the finished zipper, pulls Nadya to turn around so she can do her other, unsung duty by helping Nadya show off what she was born with.

“I mean maybe — stop fidgeting you have boobs so show them off, Christ — maybe he’s into cougars. Pretty boys usually have some form of Oedipus complex.”

“Mm… I don’t think so. Adrian’s different.”

“How?”

“He just — OW who the heck gives purple nurples these days?! — He just is, okay?! Now take your hands out of my bra Lily Spencer!”

The play-fighting gets put aside for the good of maintaining the integrity of the dress. The hour drags on, half of it spent waiting around for her (suddenly too-long, too-unruly, too-resistant) hair to dry. Nadya is always more likely to throw her hair up in a bun and go no matter the occasion, but this isn’t just any occasion. I’ll be representing Raines Corp, and Adrian by proxy, she reminds herself through every stubborn tug of her brush.

Lily is fiddling with her purse as Nadya finally exits the bathroom in a cloud of hairspray and second thoughts.

“So I packed you two granola bars in case they don’t have anything lactose-intolerant. And there’s some spare cash if you wanna dip out and grab a cab home. Did you grab your flats?”

“I can’t switch shoes in the middle of a thing like this.”

“Pretty sure I read something about it being totally acceptable.”

“Where, in a fanfiction?”

“I mean, it was The Royal Romance so… does that count?”

She turns around as she asks and sucks in audibly. The silence is self-conscious; immediately makes Nadya smooth down her hair with a nervous hand.

“What? Oh no, what’s wrong? Speak, Lily, words!”

She finds herself enveloped in a tight hug instead of an actual response, which is both a comfort and jostles her nerves slightly. “Lil’…”

Her roommate’s words are choked with embellished emotion. “You look like a real adult. I couldn’t be more proud.”

“Oh—bull!” Nadya pushes her off with a laugh — but the compliment does bring a flush to her cheeks. “I look good, though? I’ve still got a bit to change up—”

The sudden, high-pitched buzz of the complex bell interrupts as argument. One, long noise before it goes deathly silent.

Lily’s beaming. “Well that was an awfully adult ring. The kind of ring fancy professionals use!”

“No, no no!” Nadya fumbles for her phone to check the time. “He’s early! He’s here! Why is he here why is he ringing the bell why is — Lily don’t you dare!”

But she’s too late to stop the bouncing, bubbly roommate from rushing to the comm.

“Buzzing you in! Come on u—ah!”

Her greeting turns into a cry of protest as Nadya yanks her backwards.

“What are you doing?!”

“I wanna meet him!”

Nadya gestures wildly around the apartment; she doesn’t need to explain herself. The place isn’t exactly in the best state. But who could blame them — the last thing anyone wants to do when they finish a night shift is clean and Lily… well, it was in a worse state before Nadya moved in. At least now there’s a small garbage can beside the couch for all the empty chip bags.

In the time it takes Adrian to knock on their door, the pair manage to gather up empty snacks into the trash and hide everything else inside the ottoman. Lily’s hair whips at her face as she tries to pin down Nadya for the door.

“Girl—what are you doing?” She uses a little too much force in turning off the running sink and they battle clumsily over a soapy plate before Lily successfully replaces it with a towel. “He’s not staying. You don’t need to wash the plates.”

“I—” She has to right herself, but Lily’s correct, as usual. “I panicked.”

“Uh-huh. Door.”

“What?”

“Door.”

A second knock startles Nadya to action. “C-Coming!”

The doorways of Raines Corp. must be specially-designed to make Adrian look like the average man, Nadya realizes, because there’s a towering, statuesque beauty to the way her boss stands before her. He even manages to make the chipped old paint job from the ‘70s look glamorous.

“Ready to get going?” Adrian asks by way of greeting; slides one of his hands out of his pockets and offers a crooked elbow like he’s escorting her to some fancy ball.

She almost manages to take it without incident. Almost. While she regains her balance from being unceremoniously shoved aside Lily busies herself with shaking Adrian’s hand with firm vigor.

“You must be the boss-man! Lily Spencer — roommate, confidante, and Nadya’s personal Bryan Mills.” The way her smile falters isn’t unfamiliar — Adrian’s furrowed brow has already lost him points in Lily’s book.

“I’m sorry — who?” he asks; only just manages to steal his hand back.

Lily scoffs, yet Nadya can’t remember an instance where someone did understand her right off the bat.

“Bryan Mills?” As though repeating his name will somehow jog Adrian’s nonexistent memory. “You know… ‘I have a very particular set of skills that make me a nightmare for people like you?’”

Before he can flounder too long, though, Nadya mouths the movie title over Lily’s shoulder.

“Oh, right, from Taken.”

Lily brightens considerably. “Oh, good! You’ve seen it!”

“Once, I think. I remember it playing on the plane…”

“So you know what I’ll do to you if my girl doesn’t come ho—”

“And we’re leaving!” Her voice raised and pitched high with panic, Nadya manages to hip-check her way into the hall. “When I get home I’m gonna kick your butt!” she hisses — and punctuates her threat by closing the door harder than necessary.

She really hopes she still has a job by the time she and Adrian make it to the stairwell. There are five, possibly six different apologies ready on the tip of her tongue but they die off with a quick glance. Adrian’s smiling — no — beaming in a way she’s not seen before. It makes him look years younger — less like there’s a burden on his chest. She allows herself a moment of relief, and strains herself not to ruin it.

They could be heading out for another evening at the office with the casual ease between them. How Adrian opens the door and only starts the car when she’s buckled in properly, and the light conversation about a meeting he has next week with the CFO of a recently-acquired company. Nadya fidgets in what she hopes is a subtle way the entire drive downtown — it would be a shame to ruin such polite conversation with questions about which forks to use and who to not make herself look like a fool in front of.

Then (all too soon in Nadya’s opinion) Adrian pulls out of evening traffic to park on the Gallery curb. While he steps out to flag down a valet she allows herself a moment of pure, unrestrained panic while looking out the tinted windows.

A red carpet has been draped out for the occasion; down the Gallery steps to stop on the sidewalk where one couldn’t get through the mob of onlookers, reporters, and photographers if they tried. It looks less like a Gallery exhibition than a Hollywood movie premiere. Makes Nadya aware of every stark flaw — from the slightly loose fit on her dress to the few flyaway hairs she couldn’t wrangle in.

“You absolutely cannot do this,” she scolds — an insult aimed to quiet her racing heart, “this is way beyond you. You’re gonna make a fool out of yourself. Nothing in life has prepared you for a night like this… just like your interview. Got that, huh? So… don’t fall on your face or murder somebody and you’ll be fine. Just fine.”

The passenger door opens and a gust of cool night air sends goosebumps racing through every exposed part of her. Adrian extends his hand.

In a stupor, Nadya blinks and it takes a moment for her to register what he’s doing. “Huh?”

He laughs, takes the initiative, and tucks her clutch in his armpit before pulling her from the car.

“Come on. Wouldn’t want to miss the hors d’oeuvres. You haven’t lived until you’ve had beluga caviar.”

Nadya follows — and readies herself to live.

#bloodbound #bloodbound mc #kamilah sayeed #adrian raines #kamilah x mc #mc: nadya al jamil #; my fics #oblv: bound by destiny #oblv: new chapter #lily spencer #nicole anderson