#and fragments for blue wizards

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

One hope I have for S3 of Rings of Power is the writers really start to streamline all the major plot threads. Although it has its charms, I do think the Stranger/Nori plot is something that should be incorporated into one of the other plots next season or just cut altogether. It feels like something that is there more out of obligation than anything else, that this is Tolkien so there needs to be hobbits and wizards somewhere, and while I don't really have an issue with that on principle, the fact is they haven't really found a way to work it into the show well and now it just seem to take screentime away from more important plot threads, namely Númenor. That one has really suffered this season, not getting the focus it really needs despite being far more important to the overall story being told. I also feel like the Southlands plot has run its course, but I think they've stranded Isildur there to set the stage for the founding of Gondor.

[odileeclipse]

In Eyes I Almost Knew (In the Presence of Truth spin-off?)

(I just want to preface this is like a super old Idea of what I thought would happen of course, I love the amnesia trope but then I scrapped it but if I had stuck with it I wrote a small blurb for it just because I wanted to explore the idea before committing to the bit....I had the time so I polished it from the original. In this version I wanted for MC to walk alone with no friends which is why their friends don't appear but again scrapped it. I would prefer they don't walk the path alone)

It was odd, you thought, how the Faerie Kingdom felt at once completely familiar and utterly foreign. The silver pathways glistened beneath your feet, winding endlessly beneath canopies of strange, luminous flowers whose petals opened gently, glowing like captured moonlight. It was beautiful and utterly frustrating.

Frustrating because you couldn't remember anything.

Well, almost nothing. You remembered names, at least three of them: Chai Latte, warm laughter wrapped in mischief. Hazelnut Biscotti, solid and steady like stone walls. Earl Grey, quietly precise and annoyingly right, always.

But aside from them, your mind remained stubbornly blank. Elder Faerie Cookie had taken great care in cloaking you, hiding you away beneath enchantments that felt heavy and safe at once. He had murmured softly, eyes gentle yet burdened, as he'd draped the fabric over your shoulders.

"Keep your hood up, little one. Your safety depends upon secrecy."

He never elaborated, of course.

So here you were, hood drawn low over your eyes, following Elder Faerie quietly along silver paths. Your feet moved on instinct, careful yet curious, tracing the winding veins of the kingdom. You tried again to pry at your memories, nudging at them like bruises gentle but insistent. Still nothing. You huffed quietly in annoyance.

Just as you were readying yourself to protest Elder Faerie's quiet, mysterious guidance, you rounded a corner and nearly stumbled directly into a group of Cookies already deep in hushed conversation. You stopped abruptly, Elder Faerie’s gentle hand steadying at your back.

“Oh!” the loudest of the group said, bright-eyed and enthusiastic, a candy cane slung confidently over his shoulder. “Hello there!”

You blinked beneath your hood. He seemed friendly enough, if not a bit overly eager. Beside him, a wizard fiddled nervously with his oversized hat, mumbling something about sudden interruptions. A shy Cookie in a strawberry hoodie peeked from behind them, her eyes barely visible beneath the hood’s shadows.

Then, the fourth Cookie turned, and the quiet murmurings ceased entirely.

He wore robes of white and gold that shimmered softly like sunlight caught in honey. A soul jam, gentle and radiant, pulsed at his chest. But what stopped your heart was when he lifted his gaze to meet yours directly eyes gentle, patient, and achingly familiar.

One eye was golden like warm sunlit amber, the other as blue and deep as forgotten oceans.

Something deep within your chest shifted painfully. Your breath caught, lodging somewhere tight and burning in your throat. You didn't know him couldn't possibly know him. You searched your fragmented memory desperately, yet found only smoke and emptiness.

So why did those eyes look like something you’d once cherished, once trusted more than anything in the world?

Your fingers clenched tight at your sides beneath the cloak, as though gripping reality itself. The confusion must have shown, because Elder Faerie stepped forward quietly, his voice soft and low beside your ear.

“Do not fear, young one,” he murmured gently. “The ache you feel…it is not for Pure Vanilla Cookie. Though he may resemble one your heart once held close, it is not he.”

You blinked hard, barely breathing. “I don’t understand,” you whispered back, voice tight with something you couldn’t name. You had no choice but to trust him…Elder Faerie but it felt as though he was hiding the truth. There it was again that dull ache in your memory.

He only squeezed your shoulder lightly. “Your heart knows what your mind does not. Let it rest for now.”

You inhaled slowly, deliberately. Fine. Logic dictated arguing was futile. If you couldn’t even recall why these eyes made your heart twist so sharply, there was no point fighting Elder Faerie’s cryptic warnings.

Pure Vanilla Cookie gentle, patient smiled softly, stepping forward. “It is wonderful to finally meet you. Elder Faerie Cookie speaks highly of you.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat, forcing your voice steady, cordial. “Thank you. Likewise.”

He inclined his head, eyes lingering with subtle curiosity, yet he asked nothing more. He seemed aware, somehow, of the careful lines you both danced around.

You turned slightly toward Elder Faerie again, unable to keep your question buried. “Can I ask...why exactly I need to stay hidden? I mean, is it a ‘dangerous assassin chasing me’ kind of thing, or more like an ‘ancient evil prophecy’ thing?” you asked lightly, using humor as a shield against the uncomfortable ache in your chest.

Elder Faerie Cookie looked briefly surprised then his expression softened slightly. He sighed, fond yet exasperated, and you felt a surge of pride in having cracked his serious demeanor, if only just a little.

“You remain hidden,” he explained carefully, “because who you were once mattered greatly. There are those who might seek you, yes…but not assassins, I assure you.”

You nodded solemnly. “So, an ancient evil prophecy, then.”

From behind Elder Faerie, GingerBrave laughed brightly, and even Pure Vanilla’s lips twitched in amusement.

“You have not changed entirely, it seems,” Elder Faerie murmured softly, shaking his head. But the corners of his mouth curled faintly upward, betraying quiet relief.

You smiled sheepishly beneath your hood, feeling just a little lighter. “Well, memory loss apparently hasn’t erased my impeccable comedic timing, at least.”

Wizard Cookie gave an exaggerated sigh, glancing aside dramatically. “Oh good. Another one who thinks they’re funny.”

Strawberry Cookie muffled a soft giggle behind her sleeve, peeking cautiously from beneath her hood. “I-I thought it was funny...”

“See?” you gestured triumphantly. “Clearly, I’m hilarious.”

Pure Vanilla Cookie chuckled gently, eyes warm with an unspoken fondness. “Indeed. We are lucky, then, that humor endures even when memories fail.”

Your smile faltered only slightly. He was right. Humor endured your favorite defense against pain you couldn’t yet face.

Your eyes lingered a moment longer on Pure Vanilla’s, still aching softly beneath your ribs. He was beautiful, gentle, kind but Elder Faerie was right. Your heart didn’t ache for him. No, the ache felt older, deeper. Whoever it was that Pure Vanilla reminded you of someone you’d lost and forgotten they still lingered just beyond your reach.

You looked away before the ache could sharpen, forcing a bright grin beneath your hood.

“So,” you began lightly, breaking the tension deliberately, “am I at least allowed snacks while in magical witness protection, or is the whole ‘mysterious-hooded-figure’ thing just for dramatic effect? I’m craving…” your heart ached for a minute. “Pineapples…?” Yeah you love pineapples don’t you?

Pure Vanilla’s smile widened, gentle amusement dancing softly in his mismatched eyes.

Elder Faerie sighed again but this time, openly amused. “You will have whatever you wish. Though if it quiets your humor, perhaps double portions.”

You beamed beneath your cloak, triumphant. “Perfect.”

And as laughter softened the lingering ache in your chest, you thought perhaps just perhaps you might be okay here in the kingdom of silver and secrets, hidden away until memories decided they were ready to return.

At least until then, you had your jokes.

A/N This isn't supposed to really even be angst it's a little confusing to me but I wanted to put it out there. I feel a little conflicted but ultimately when this does happen in canon, it will be a lot different and a lot more fleshed out than this.

[aethon-recs]

This Week in Tomarrymort (23 – 29 August 2024)

An exciting week in Tomarrymort land! 🎉 Some highlights and news:

aurora polaris (E, 217k, Voldemort wins AU with a side of amnesia!Harry) by @aglassroseneverfades finished with a 2-chapter update.

A Dangerous Game (E, 316k, Diary Tom in Harry's time) by @cybrid updated with a 9-chapter drop, and we are one chapter (only the epilogue!) away from the end.

AO3 user beetaker dropped a 135k completed fic this week alone??? (Dulce Et Decorum Mori - E, 135k, Harry Potter & Tom Riddle grow up together) It’s rarer than a blue moon that we see huge drops like this in Tomarry, so be sure not to miss it, as the whole fic posted all in this week.

The @tomarryverse Discord server is running a fest (AO3 collection link).

See below for a list of either ongoing Tomarrymort fics that I’m subscribed to or one shots that I found while browsing that were updated in the last week.

Previous Tomarrymort weeklies: 7-15 August 2024 | 15-22 August 2024

*

Tomarrymort One Shots and Completed Fic

Chapters 38 and 39 (complete) of aurora polaris by @aglassroseneverfades

Chapters 1 through 10 (complete) of Dulce Et Decorum Mori by beetaker

One Shot | Big Things by @dividawrites

One Shot | phases of the moon by @jjaegerb0mb

One Shot | fundamentals of internet safety by @cindle-writes

One Shot | New Category: Pining Homosexuals by kcg07

One Shot | The Snake Speakers by sparrowshellcat

One Shot | Dawn Over Dust by Wolf_of_Lilacs

*

Tomarrymort Ongoing Fics

Chapters 52 through 60 of A Dangerous Game by @cybrid

Chapter 6 of Ills of Murder by @shadow-of-the-eclipse

Chapter 6 of Anytime, Anywhere, Always by @moontearpensfic

Chapter 31 of Part One - The Solitude of Suffering by @iseliljathedreamer

Chapter 6 of Like we were before by tzutzutrain

Chapters 1 and 2 of Hole in the Wall by tomrddle

Chapter 5 of Saint Harry by @alenablack @chaos-bear

Chapter 32 of Terrible, But Great by @isalisewrites

Chapters 114 through 116 of Liquida Tenebris (Remastered) by @dymis

Chapter 14 of Learning to love by @l-archiduchesse

Chapter 9 of Lovely and the Lion by @skellington24

Chapter 13 of Outrunning the Villain in You by @zenyteehee

Chapter 9 of Unfamiliar Recognition by @karnage-tsurugi

Chapter 8 of A Snake in the Grass by @teaandsweaters9

Chapter 3 of the silence in between by ermineah

Chapter 19 of What In Me Is Dark, Illumine by @telelli-writes

Chapter 1 of In My Lover's Room (i am free) by @bunnieblair

Chapter 7  of we made universes out of bitten lips and broken hands by @boyneptunee

Chapter 2 of quid pro quo by marshall_1300

Chapter 6 of His condition by @ciacconne

Chapter 16 of Date Ideas for the Linguistically Inclined by Antique_Mango

Chapter 4 of These Fragments We've Shored by @rowena-rain

Chapter 1 of friend of the devil (a friend of mine) by @shyinsunlight

Chapter 3 of Cane Sugar by @blogalinda @cindle-writes @reggieblk @telectronique

Chapter 1 of before the day is done by @midsummersins

Chapter 3 of midnight train by @girl-with-goats

Chapter 5 of God is a Wizard by @onehitpleb

Chapter 4 of In a world where you and I dance by thelxiepeia

Chapter 19 of Occultation by TimaeusKosmou

*

[utilitycaster]

Wizard Breakdown Tracker, 2x13 (ft 2x12 retroactively)

utterly forgot to do this last week, but as I have run out of keys in my current Blue Prince day let's do it RIGHT NOW.

We remain, of course, stuck at One Wizard NPC. There were some wizards we don't see quite yet (whoever dealt with the Zauberspire attack; whoever dealt the Zauberspire attack, who's possibly going to get consecuted in Zadash); and hints of Oremid Hass, whom real ones know people kept asking me about during the original late C2 breakdown tracker despite us not having any updates on him for like 50 episodes. But now, in the early days, NPCs beyond Pumat remain a few more episodes out of reach.

Pumat Sol: Laura's nightmares aside the Nein love this guy and are giving him quite a great deal of business now that they've gotten a huge influx of platinum. Fjord buys the cloak of protection he wears for almost the entire campaign because the Nein walk around with a fragment of a god for like 35 episodes and one (1) vestige for less than half the campaign and otherwise mostly pretty standard items because they're literally so good they don't need the assistance of a million items. Soapbox aside, the relationship they build with Pumat will serve them well but right now it's just very fun! He's doing great. Maybe 1/10 but the Zauberspire situation seems to be under control.

[sunseed-fandump]

What are Wizard's friends 😎 (idk the Gingerbrave gang or idk any of ancients or literally anybody else) opinion on his new probably permanent post-devil's encore markings or whatever you wanna call it 🔥

For Gingerbrave, it is a feat. The changes are a testament to the hardships that had to be overcome. It was a difficult adventure to be sure, but one that they were able to get through; a chapter they have thankfully left behind. In his eyes, they're a testament to Wizard's strength.

For Strawberry Cookie, it is a promise. A promise to herself and her friends, that she will be there for them no matter what. A promise to be strong in the face of adversity. A promise to help forge a safe place for themselves and others. A promise to help make the world a sweeter place. A promise to never let anything like the events of Devil's Encore to happen ever again.

For Pure Vanilla Cookie, it is a reminder. A reminder of how he had failed to protect these children he had promised himself he would protect. Though he managed to keep his vow to the children in the end, he will never forgive himself for allowing Shadow Milk Cookie to take Wizard in the first place. That attack had been meant for him. If he had been paying better attention, if he had been fast enough to throw up a shield, if he had just been able to act, then maybe it all never would have happened. But what is done is done, they were lucky things worked out the way they did. But every time he looks at Wizard now, he is reminded to never turn his back on the enemy.

For White Lily Cookie, it is a warning. Before, she had only heard how formidable the Beasts were, but seeing it first hand has shaken her to her core. The misery caused by Shadow Milk Cookie was awful, and that was only a fragment compared to the suffering he and the Beasts had inflicted before being sealed. So she cannot afford to fail her duties, cannot afford to back down, cannot afford the luxury of feeling sorry for herself. That streak of blue, those mismatched eyes, that laugh that sounds wrong, they are a warning of the harm the Beasts can do to the innocent. A warning that she will be sure to heed as they march into an uncertain future.

[galedekarios]

gale's evil ending: devnotes

this post will take a closer look at the devnotes for gale's evil ending. they aren't that revealing, most of it is exactly what is shown in the cinematic that goes along with it, but they do have some interesting tidbits.

synopsis

Avatar Gale has delcared his intention to destroy all gods. Using the token of Mystra he still has (her earring) he casts a spell upon the city of Baldur's Gate, 'awakening' them and inciting them to rid the city of religious worship. He opens a rift to the heavens and sets off to destroy the rest of the pantheon with his army of nautiloids in tow.

dialogue + devnotes

Narrator: *They bow before you, prayers and pleas mingling into a single, submissive drone. But you are not here to yoke them - you come to set them free.* devnote: Gale turns his back on the awestruck, kneeling crowd and spreads his arms wide, dark energy crackling around him as he begins to float upwards. Narrator: *The Absolute lies broken at your feet. The first god to fall - but not, perhaps, the last.* devnote: Short from behind Gale's back, upwards at the heavens. With a gesture, Gale splits the dark skies, opening a rift through which brilliant, otherworldly light spills. [TagCinematic]  devnote: As Gale ascends, he lifts a hand to his head. CLOSE UP as, almost idly, he carresses the earring gifted to him by Mystra - then unclasps it, allowing it to fall behind him as he rises with a fleet of nautiloids lining the way before him. [TagCinematic]  devnote: CLOSE-UP as we stay with the earring, tracing its path downwards as it begins to break up, fragmenting into streamers of blue Mystran magic. Almost gently, they descend upon the watching crowds. As the spell settles on them, they rise to their feet, and begin to riot. The streets roil with anarchy as the enraged mob tears down the tokens of the old religions - statues, clerics, and temples. [TagCinematic]  devnote: A single magial streamer (spelling?) settles on a statue of Mystra, facing gazing upwards, and runs down her cheek like a single tear - before the statue is torn down and broken upon the cobbles. Narrator: *The heavens are waiting. And you have work to do.* devnote: Final shot of the wide split in the heaves, a fleet of nautiloids preparing to pass through.

i found the devnotes interesting in so far as they confirm a few things i had been wondering:

the earring was indeed a gift from mystra to her newest chosen (it was touched on in an item description in idle champions as well, but i wasn't sure how trustworthy that information was)

The Chosen's Earring A symbol of Mystra's faith in me. Former faith, I suppose...

2. the earring was likely, in addition to being a symbol bestowed upon him by mystra, gale's spellcasting focus:

An arcane focus is a special item designed to channel the power of arcane spells. A sorcerer, warlock, or wizard can use such an item as a spellcasting focus.

they used to be relegated to being a hand-held object like a wand, staff, orb, or something of that nature, but the rules have been a bit more lax now and we do know that larian bends the lore (and sometimes breaks it) in bg3 as well. a chosen should not need one either, then again mystra did withdraw her favour.

either way, it makes sense why he would discard it in his evil ending, both as a statement for his newest goal (destroying the entire pantheon), as well as him no longer being in need of such a token, now instead using it and the magic it's imbued with to incite the people of baldur's gate to rally against the "old" gods.

[neowqing]

There are fragments of memory that are forgotten because they are insignificant, those that are forgotten to preserve the psyche, and those that Sirius himself throws into the corners of his life, hoping never to remember.

Sirius Black is a prominent professor at Hogwarts, a favourite among students and staff, he lost a lot during the war, his friends, his family, his freedom, which he was deprived of for 4 years, and then he was free again, acquitted, with little Harry in his arms, and the Black fortune in his treasury. He spent time raising Harry, and then, together with his godson, he went to Hogwarts and got a job. He has a quiet, measured life, thinking of the past only as his safe place.

Sirius wakes up with the alarm going off and everything is the same, but something is different, he's going to deal with it later, after an early walk, which is meant to scan the grounds, looking for naughty children. It's still foggy and chilly outside, and Sirius exhales a cloud of warm air as he walks away from the gate, down the path, towards the lake, the willow, the forest, Hagrid's cabin. The curfew is 6 a.m., and at 5:07 a.m., as Sirius's watch shows, there should be no children outside, but he finds one.

"Hey, you can't be in here" Sirius walks over to see the robes and deduct a symbolic 5 points from the house.

The boy turns around and it's not what Sirius expected.

"Excuse me," the boy's voice is small and quiet, his robes are stained with something, and his lips are blue, has he been here long? No, he shouldn't be here at all, Severus Snape is an adult, he left school a long time ago, he's not 11 anymore, or how old is this version?

"Who are you?" Sirius looks openly, is this a meeting?

"Severus Snape, sir."

Sirius would have laughed, is this a joke? A practical joke? If the adult Snape were here, he'd even make something up, tell him how the years have only made Snape more disgusting, but he's a child, just like the bunch of wizards he teaches, so Sirius simply leads Severus into the great hall to sit him down at a table and call for a cup of tea, placing it in Snape's hands.

"What happened? Why were you there?"

The boy presses his lips together as if he doesn't want to say anything, because they won't believe him, Sirius had done that once before, with his mother, when he told her he was innocent and that it was Bellatrix who broke his great-grandfather's portrait, and they didn't believe him then.

"It just happened," comes the easy answer, and the boy lowers his face to the side, leaning over the cup, exposing his neck and face, which had been covered by his hair. There's redness mixed with bits of dirt and a bruise, and Sirius touches it without hesitation, which makes Severus jump in his seat, feeling it.

"What happened?" Sirius presses with questions, removing his hand, meeting Severus's eyes, black with small drops of brown that you can't see from a distance, and his crying tears. Severus looks pitiful, but not disgusting, more like a little kitten in the rain with no place to hide, left on the side of the road.

"There are some people, they, well," Severus says in a way that is not used to complaining to anyone, to express himself, he points to his face, lowering his hand back. "They did it." Sirius nods, understanding.

"What exactly did they do?"

"They pushed me, threw a handful of dirt at me."

Then Sirius remembers, second year, they dragged Severus outside late at night, faking a note from Lily, and Severus actually came, ignoring the curfew that was about to come, making him wait until he was cold first. They taunted him, saying how disgusting and obsessive he was and how dirty he was, pushing Snape into the mud and then throwing a cold, frozen ball at him, it then hit him in the face and Severus' cold fingers couldn't hold the wand properly, it was planned, after the marauders escaped using a secret passage to get into the school. At the time, Sirius didn't think about the consequences, or the fact that Snape wouldn't be able to get back in.

"Boys will be boys..." How should Sirius explain this to Severus? And could he explain it to himself now? The problem was that Severus was a Slytherin, he was openly loyal to the house, he was smart and capable, he held his head high, it was annoying how he was the embodiment of the house, but, for Sirius, it was also personal, the way Severus looked at him, as if he could see the true essence of Sirius, his distorted soul hiding in this body, but was it really enough. Sirius thinks about saying something about children's actions, and how it happens that children know no boundaries, but Severus interrupts him.

"They are not boys, they are monsters." His voice is full of hurt, not even anger, as if he were crying without shedding tears.

Monster is a trigger word for Sirius, a memory. The way he started touching Severus more often in his fourth year, turning spell exchanges into physical fights, he remembers one night in bed thinking his arm was around Severus' neck and laughing in his face, and the next moment he was kissing Severus. Then Sirius shook the dream away, he wouldn't do that, not with Snape. But then it happened in his dreams, in his thoughts, it was his 15 years, he was just going through some changes in his body, and these thoughts, they were just thoughts. Until a realistic dream came, where Severus was crying under him, moaning, a complete mess, bending to meet Sirius's thrusts. And Sirius became afraid of himself, he's not a rapist, he's not a monster, so he shoved those memories and thoughts as far away as he could, going back to cursing, this time something harsher to punish Severus for what Sirius had seen.

So, he really monster.

Sirius' head starts pounding, he puts his hands to his ears, squeezes his eyes shut, and wakes up.

He's in his room, he switches on the alarm clock, and he sits up on the bed. Could this dream be an echo of the guilt that must have been deep within him, since he didn't mention it? Or maybe he would meet Snape later, they hadn't seen each other since the graduation, and Sirius hadn't heard from him in a long time, but he often thought about him.

Severus is still the youngest teacher at Hogwarts, he just found out that Sirius was going to be the new teacher and ran away. When he runs out of money, he'll go back to work. He threatened the others that if they mentioned him in front of Black, he would make their lives hell, which wasn't very convincing because they weren't 11 and couldn't be intimidated, but everyone agreed that Severus wouldn't want to. Sirius will have time to redeem himself.

[savingsallow]

Love & Shadows

[Chapter 01: Fragments in Glass]

Summary: Memories in ruins that keep Val (F!MC) awake at night.

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Tags: HL Game Spoilers (The Final Repository), Fairly Canon Compliant, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Action, Drama, Healing, Self-Discovery, First Person POV.

Content Warning: This story contains character death, themes of grief and mourning, mentions of anxiety and panic attacks, descriptions of magical battles with implied violence, emotional distress with depictions of crying and despair, references to nightmares and traumatic dreams, and dark themes exploring despair and the burden of responsibility.

★ word count: 1.1k

There I stood, legs trembling from the aftermath of the fierce battle, overwhelmed by fatigue enveloping me like a suffocating veil, binding me in its grasp.

The solid stone beneath my feet felt alive, quaking as crimson and black orbs of magic swirled around me like hungry predators, ready to devour me whole.

Air heavy with the acrid scent of burnt earth and charred stone, mingling with the bitter tang of corrupted magic that clung to every surface. The underground repository showed no mercy; rocky walls trembled, and jagged boulders threatened to collapse above me, their groans echoing ominously in the cavernous space.

This could be my final moment.

I could feel it in my bones, a chilling resignation creeping in, resonating with the burden of despair in the air. But I couldn't leave just yet—not when the responsibility to contain all this magic lay so heavily on my shoulders.

Panic surged through me, intertwining with desperation like poison in my veins. I braced myself and pushed against the threatening force of a massive boulder careening toward me. I had to stop it; I had to contain the crimson orbs, but first, I had to survive.

As a bright blue ray erupted from my wand, the prick of strain shot through my arms, a pulse of raw power that throbbed in tune with my racing heart. The boulder felt heavier than it should, its weight defying my initial expectations as each second stretched into an eternity. Then, a crackle of purple light illuminated the chaos beside me.

“You need to contain it!” Professor Fig’s voice cut through the confusion, a steady anchor amidst the swirling madness as he leaned into the collective effort.

Without thinking, I summoned every ounce of magic I had left, my heart pounding in tandem with the looming threat. But the black mists encroached, wrapping around me like tendrils of despair, trying to tear my focus away.

In the middle of my struggle, a gentle whisper echoed to my ears, soothing yet fierce: “You are stronger than you know.”

A surge of unexpected power welled up from the depths of my being, igniting a visceral light that pierced through the darkness. In that blinding moment, I felt clarity wash over me, drowning out the ringing in my ears, and somehow...

I did it. I had found my strength.

As my vision cleared, I frantically searched for Professor Fig. My heart raced, anxiety coiling tightly within me until I found him, sprawled on the rocky ground, his face pale and pain etched deeply across his features.

“Professor!” The word tore from my throat, desperation flooding my voice.

“Miriam—” he gasped, and I reached for his hand, pressing into it the wand of his late wife, retrieved from the remnants of battle.

A flicker of joy ignited in his eyes, illuminating the shadows of pain lingering in their depths. “Miriam would have loved you, my young friend,” he breathed, his words a fragile thread woven with sincerity.

“The wizarding world could not be in more capable hands—”

His last words hung in the air, a final gift before everything dissolved into darkness.

With my heart beating like raging lightning coursing through my chest, I jolted awake in my bed, drenched in a cold sweat that felt like ice water clinging onto my skin. My breath came in uneven gasps as my trembling body instinctively curled up, burying my head in my arms. I yearned for the comfort of an embrace, a fleeting warmth that felt distantly out of reach.

Weeks had drifted by since Fig’s death; I made sure, with the best of my knowledge and capabilities, that Professor Fig's effort and memory wouldn't go in vain. And only now did the grief strike me like an anticipated brewing storm.

Yes, I had shed a few tears here and there, but the weight of responsibilities—the duties I had desperately imposed upon myself to cling to—had pushed my unresolved feelings into the shadows, where they lurked like restless phantoms. It was suffocating and exhausting, like carrying the burden of an entire starless sky on my shoulders.

As the midnight's darkest whispers ebbed and flowed, blurring the line between dreams and reality, I began to rock gently back and forth. Hot tears cascaded down my cheeks like a sudden summer downpour, while every sob reverberated in the silence of my room like thunderclaps echoing across a desolate landscape.

The cold stone walls seemed to close in around me, oppressive and unyielding, while the flickering flames in the fireplace cast wavering shadows that danced like spectres, witnessing my unravelling alongside the gentle whispers of the ocean waves outside, murmuring their secrets.

With every tear that fell, I felt a glimmer of lightness trying to break through the dense fog of sorrow that surrounded me, a reminder that even the heaviest clouds can feel lighter after a passing rain.

Slowly, as if testing the waters of my own resilience, I stood up and approached the mirror hanging on the wall—a seemingly ordinary surface, yet it felt like a portal between my past and the fragility of my present.

The cracks crisscrossed across the glass, deeper than I had ever noticed, jagged and unforgiving yet somehow familiar, like scars of a shared story.

My trembling fingers carefully traced the fragile patterns, seeking understanding in their imperfection. Then there was my reflection who stared back, fragmented and fragile, a haunting image of a girl lost to grief, each piece telling a tale of heartache.

I gazed at her for what felt like an eternity, entranced in that stillness, and within that moment, clarity began to shine iridescent light upon me. A tentative smile crept onto my lips.

"I may be broken," I thought, the realization gleaming within me, "but I am not irreparable."

With newfound resolve, I straightened, feeling warmth radiate from my core. I smiled gently at my reflection, slowly embracing my scars, understanding that with time and care, like shards of glass, I could be mended.

Yes, I'm well aware that the nightmares would still haunt me, but I also recognized an undeniable truth: just as glass could be reshaped, so could I.

After all, I've come to realize that fragility is not inherently negative, as I once thought; it reflects my capacity for love and the essence of being alive.

Before the pull of sleep could ensnare me, I stole a final glance at the fractured reflection in the mirror. A shiver ran down my spine as a chilling thought crossed my mind:

Am I truly prepared to carry the heavy burden of fate?

Or was I merely a pawn manoeuvred by an unseen master in this elaborate game of chess?

I sighed, "Fate is so dramatic sometimes."

[additional notes:]

☁️ non-native english speaker here! so teeny tiny grammatical errors may be present 😅

☁️ just writing for fun & slowly learning to be good at it!✨

☁️ i'm elated to be able to finally post this here after 8 months of rewriting, rearranging, studying, and translating val's lore ❤️‍🔥

[tag list:] my darling angel @light-of-the-room 💕

[cursedtrans]

Stars in Lobotomy Corporation and Libary of Ruina

Spoilers for Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina

Stars in Project Moon are a incredibly eldritch and horrific concept, and they have massive implications for the story of Limbus and Project Moon as a whole.

Let's start with the origin point of the Project Moon universe, Lobotomy Corporation, and the references to Stars and the Galaxy as a whole there.

Note: While many Lobotomy Corporation abnormalities are based on mere trauma or city lore (such as W Corp inspiring Dimension Shredder or the Head inspiring the Bird Trio), I believe there is extremely important info thanks to several real characters and events having references to the Cosmic Trio's events in their logs.

There's three specific abnormalities that call out the concept of Outer Space and everything it contains. In my opinion this is very notable, as other groups like the Wizard of Oz, Magical Girls, and Bird Trio are all highly important abnormality groups that take up multiple abnormality slots.

First off is the TETH level abnormality Fragment of the Universe.

They're the lowest risk rating of their outer space related brethren, but subsequently have some of the least cosmic horror. While their cry is enough to damage both the mind and body, and is incomprehensible to mortals, it's not that relatively dangerous compared to other concepts.

Likewise, it's by far the most innocent of it's kindred. It's a mere part of outer space that is trying to 'sing' to mortals to convey it's love to them, and it's entire physical form is created by it's connection with a small child. (it wanted to make the child happy, and thus took on the form it uses now)

It doesn't seem to understand the damage it's doing, but it seems to have a permanent effect on certain individual's in it's lobotomy corp logs. All of them seem to be repeating the phrase "coming, coming, still coming" and other incomprehensible noises, and staring into the sky.

Second off, Child of the Galaxy, HE Level.

Child of the Galaxy is a very interesting abnormality that never breaches, but does get extremely violent when someone they care about seems to forget them by instantly killing them. While not uncommon in Lobotomy Corporation, it is a significant thing for them to have the instant kill at any range and no limit on their number of targets.

Additionally, it seems aware of what it's doing. It's extremely possessive in it's log and seems to know that it's very presence and pebble is haunting the person writing the log. Of note is his final two logs, which will show some themes that repeat over and over. I can't take it anymore. I can't escape him. I thought I was in charge, but the truth is I was just a pebble in his hands the whole time. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I hear his whispers. (I have to end it, but I’m not even sure if I can.) -- "...I came from afar. I'm so glad to meet you. Become a pebble, and let's walk the galaxy together..." I hear his whispers and breath. Pitch black darkness follows... just like the night I met him."

Finally, Blue Star, the Aleph level.

Blue Star is an extremely potent abnormality that seems to break out if the person working it is not competent enough, and is capable of massive areas of sanity damage. Even moreso, when they do finally wear down someone's sanity, they absorb them into themselves.

Their abnormality log details some very important details, including the rising of a cult that is infected with certain thoughts, that want to willingly throw themselves into the center of certain abnormalities (read:blue star). Additionally, one of these infected members writes a letter detailing some very important info.

"We are all sinners, and our Blue Star is the only sanctuary that accepts us. We will be cleansed of our sins there. We all go back to that place someday. This is an instinct. You thought Emily died when she threw herself into the Star, but she simply returned to her rightful place. She's a martyr. She has become an eternal star. The rise of a star is a brand new beginning. Don't you hear the everlasting sound of the trumpet? When you stand close to the Star, you can hear the welcoming cheers and singing. If every employee returns to that place, only Blue Star will remain here. Let us meet again as stars."

This begins some of the themes of Stars and Outer Space as a whole in Project Moon, and one of the key ones is rebirth. The employee writing a log ends up being requested to become another pebble by the Child, and each of the cultists of Blue Star firmly believe that they will be reborn as stars when they end up in Blue Star.

Ruina compounds on these cultists by showing us them and their idol in tandem. Notably, Blue Star is not fought, a trait shared solely by Apocalypse Bird (a symbol of the omnipresent and invincible head that rules over the City) and WhiteNight (a symbol of the omnipresent ghost over the City that distorts people into monsters) The only way Blue Star is beaten is by destroying it's Shrine, which ends the fight immediately. Additionally, Blue Star's only action in this is to emit a simple sound through it's Shrine. It does not slam the floor like Apocalypse Bird or emit circles of hell like WhiteNight. It's so far out of our reality that all it can do is show itself and sing through it's statue. Blue Star is also arguably even more important in Limbus, because of the host of connections it has to both the Blue Man Group and several different Star related abnormalities, but that's a post for a different day.

All that is to say for now is, don't be afraid of the stars in Project Moon. All they want is a new life for you...

(as usual thanks to @lu-is-not-ok for inspiring posts and getting me to think about the unregistered abnormalities in Limbus, and sending me down a Star rabbit hole)

[isleofdarkness]

You can’t convince me that there’s isn’t anemia rampant on the Isle.

Here’s a snippet of chapter 2 for the link I sent you:

Harriet tilted her head and rested her elbow on the desk, letting her cheek rest in her palm and used her other hand to softly drum her fingers on the old, and torn desk. Her blue eyes were drooping due to boredom and threatening to get some shuteye, but she tried her best to stay wide awake as she as well as the other students in Weird Science class watched Sophie, a new and young assistant teacher nervously and an apprentice of Yen Sid since the old wizard was off to do some errands for the day.

Harriet breathed and sighed, still drumming her slender fingers to the point that she winced and stopped. She then brought her injured hand up to her face to examine and noticed that there was a splinter pierced under her fingernail. The pirate girl sighed again as this wasn’t her first time she’d gotten splinters or any minor injury. Since there was no bandages on the Isle, Harriet would have to either use an old and worn out cloth to stop the bleeding or just let the wound heal itself, as in this case when she gingerly took out the splinter from under her fingernail and threw away the tiny fragment of wood. She looked back at her finger and saw that it was bleeding. Harriet hummed as she curled her fingers into a fist. The thing with Harriet’s blood was that it’s not crimson red as how a normal color of blood would look like, instead the color of her blood was paler than the handkerchief that was tied around her head. Harriet’s blood has been pale for a long time but according to her, it was normal and she lets it slide.

Absolutely. Anemia is so common that everyone on the Isle considers it normal to get extremely dizzy when you stand up. They even know how to tell a seizure from a bad vasovagal syncope (they can look similar if the syncope is bad enough.) Someone send these poor people some iron

[cleverqueencommander]

Harriet and Anthony angst one shot 🏴‍☠️🐱

Harriet tilted her head and rested her elbow on the desk, letting her cheek rest in her palm, and used her other hand to softly drum her fingers on the old, and torn desk. Her blue eyes were drooping due to boredom and threatening to get some shuteye, but she tried her best to stay wide awake as she as well as the other students in Weird Science class watched Sophie, a new and young assistant teacher nervously, whom Harriet and the other students in the class found annoying due to her high pitch squeaky voice. Sophie was also an apprentice of Yen Sid since the old wizard was off to do some errands for the day.

Harriet breathed and sighed, still drumming her slender fingers to the point that she winced and stopped. She then brought her injured hand up to her face to examine it and noticed that there was a splinter pierced under her fingernail. The pirate girl sighed again as this wasn’t the first time she’d gotten splinters or any minor injury. Since there were no bandages on the Isle, Harriet would have to either use an old and worn-out cloth to stop the bleeding or just let the wound heal itself, as in this case when she gingerly took out the splinter from under her fingernail and threw away the tiny fragment of wood. She looked back at her finger and saw that it was bleeding. Harriet hummed as she curled her fingers into a fist. The thing with Harriet’s blood was that it was not crimson red as how a normal color of blood would look like, instead, the color of her blood was paler than the red handkerchief that was tied around her head. Harriet’s blood has been pale for a long time but according to her, it was normal and she lets it slide.

At least what she knew of.

While Sophie was still nervously stammering and writing the lesson on the broken whiteboard with an old semi-dried-up marker, Harriet’s vision suddenly became blurry. She groaned softly as she blinked but nothing happened, her vision was still blurry. Then, instead of listening to the assistant teacher (which most of the students weren’t listening to), Harriet pushed her notebook further, folded her arms on the desk, and rested her chin in her arms. The curly-haired girl tore her eyes away from Sophie and looked straight through the shattered windows on her right, and saw the perfect kingdom of Auradon. Well, Beast’s castle that is.

Harriet sighed sadly as her blue eyes were glued to the distant kingdom of Auradon, with the sun blanketing its warm and radiant glow the kingdom making it look like heaven on earth with some parts of the castle sparkling brightly.

As she stared longingly at the distant kingdom, there was a tinge of jealousy brewing inside of Harriet, and honestly, you can’t blame her for that! She had been miserable for the past 18 years or so living on this disease-riddled, death plague of an island, and sometimes she pondered if she as well as the rest of her crew and the other kids would be able to leave this Isle at all? Maybe this was their fate; to suffer every day for the rest of their lives.

It’s a tragedy honestly.

The pirate girl breathed softly as she continued to watch Auradon from afar, wondering what her life would look like if she was in Auradon since her younger sister, CJ somehow found herself in Auradon but didn’t stay long there.

Unbeknownst to Harriet, Anthony Tremaine, the son of Anastasia, who was sitting beside Harriet in the row to her left, had his dark green eyes weighing on her, concerned.

“Hm.”

…..

After school…

Anthony was standing at his old, worn, and dented locker as he placed his notebooks inside when he felt someone brushed past him, startling him.

“What the..?”

By the time Anthony turned his head to see who it was, the person already vanished into the hordes of students exiting the catacomb-like hallway.

Anthony raised an eyebrow and frowned. ‘Who was that?’ He thought and just then, he felt something in his palm, like a piece of paper.

The dark-haired boy frowned again as he brought his right hand up to his face and slowly opened his hand. As if his guesses were correct, it was a piece of notebook paper! Anthony furrowed his brows and hummed. He guessed that the person who brushed past him did this.

With that said Anthony took the paper from his palm and began to unroll the crumpled-up paper and saw it was a message scribbled with black ink on it. The message reads:

Meet me at the docks.

Harriet.

Anthony’s shoulders slumped. ‘Oh,’ he thought but he wondered why Harriet wanted him to meet her at the docks. Usually, Anthony would meet the pirate girl at her quarters with the other members, but at the docks? That means this was something personal.

Very personal, intimate even.

Anthony breathed as he shoved the message in his pocket and slammed the locker shut before leaving the hallway and the school altogether to meet his pirate. To Anthony, he felt as if Harriet had something important to tell him.

At the docks….

It didn’t take long for Anthony to spot Harriet sitting at the pier with her voluminous raven curls dancing softly in the cool November wind as she watched the glowing kingdom of Auradon.

Anthony raised a brow at Harriet as he breathed and quietly made his way over to Harriet.

As if she felt his movements coming towards her, Harriet tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and scooted over so that Anthony could sit beside her.

Anthony fixed his dark green eyes on Harriet, who still had her eyes on the faraway kingdom. Concerned, Anthony turned his head and saw the kingdom for himself, well the fraction of the kingdom.

And he wasn’t going to lie, Auradon does look stunning! It was almost ethereal; like Auradon had descended from heaven with its warm and glistening glow emanating from the kingdom.

Anthony continued to gaze at the kingdom for a few more moments before he averted his eyes from Auradon to Harriet, who still had her eyes locked on the kingdom.

The dark-haired boy arched an eyebrow and asked, breaking the silence between them. “Why are you looking at Auradon, Captain?”

As she heard her first mate’s question, Harriet closed her eyes and inhaled before she turned her head and opened her eyes, looking up at Anthony. Harriet then parted her lips to say something but struggling to find any words to say, and Anthony noticed.

Anthony sighed. “Okay, lemme say it differently. Why are you having a sudden interest in Auradon? Like I’ve never seen you invest in Auradon till now. What gives?”

After a couple of moments of silence, Harried replied, “It’s like…I dunno but I feel like I’m being called to live there,” she slowly gesticulated. “There’s something about Auradon that is calling out to me today and I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Anthony nodded slowly, but he still couldn’t comprehend what Harriet was saying. “Ok…? I do not get what you’re saying because yeah sure, Auradon may be pretty and all but this is the same country that dumps leftovers and doesn’t give a rat's ass about us for over two decades!”

“True, but I’m pretty sure that there are at least some good people over there who will acknowledge that this place is shit. And be honest with yourself, wouldn’t you want to live there? Like to at least smell the fresh air like Mal and her crew and to eat foods that aren’t rotten or spoiled?”

Anthony pursed his lips firmly then bit his lip as he let Harriet’s words cement in his mind and mulled over what she said.

Harriet glanced at the taller boy and realized he didn’t respond, guessing that he saw where she was coming from.

The curly-haired girl continued. “You see where I’m coming from?”

Anthony nodded wordlessly after thinking about what she said earlier.

“Also, it seems like my health is deteriorating lately. Not that I cared about it as it’s been like this for years. But, it’s gotten worse. I’ve been tired almost every day, feeling dangerously dizzy and I can’t even drink my whiskey, which in of itself is alarming.”

Anthony wore a shocked expression on his face as he looked at Harriet.

“Captain…is that the main reason you wanted to see me? To tell me that your health is failing?” Anthony asked slowly as worry started to crease his brow.

Harriet exhaled. “Yeah, it seems like it. Plus, the sprats that I caught couldn’t help building my system. Also, I don’t want to be seen as weak.”

The pirate girl then took Anthony’s arm and wrapped his hand around her shoulder as she rested her head on his shoulder. The way Harriet did this, was almost as if it was natural.

Anthony gasped softly at Harriet’s actions. If he was honest, he did not expect someone tough and mean-spirited like Harriet to make a gesture that the Auradonians did. It made her look so….soft. These kinds of gestures were not allowed on the Isle as they show signs of weakness.

Not to Harriet though.

Anthony’s mind was racing. A part of him wanted to take Harriet’s head from his shoulder and scold her for being crazy, but another part of him didn’t want to because looking at his Captain, she looked smaller than normal, and her skin felt cold as ice. Not to mention that Anthony showed some feelings towards her for a long while now but he kept it at bay.

Anthony sighed in defeat; his mind was made up and decided to go with the latter. He reluctantly drew Harriet closer to him and squeezed her arm in an attempt to comfort her. Harriet hummed softly when Anthony did this.

“Hmm…”

As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, Anthony enjoyed this bonding with Harriet. It felt so nice and natural.

……….

This piece was taken from my story, Going to the Isle of the Lost and you can read it here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62884750/chapters/161021167

Them 🥹💔🖤

[sailorgoon13]

Regulus Black

Basics:

Full Name: Regulus Arcturus Black

Nickname: Reg, Reggie

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: 28 June, 1961

Heritage: English

Blood Status: Pure Blood

Wand: Walnut, Phoenix feather, 11", Rigid

Appearance:

Hair Color: Black hair, natural curl

Eye Color: Grey eyes

Skin Tone: Light

Height: 5'9"

Body Type: Slender, lean.

Style: Tailored robes of rich, deep colors—charcoal black, midnight blue, and emerald green. Beneath his robes, he favored crisp, white shirts paired with fitted trousers. His hair, dark and tousled, fell effortlessly across his forehead. Around his neck, he wore a simple pendant

Features: His hair dark and possibly slightly unkempt. His stormy grey eyes. Stoic exterior

Personality:

Traits: Determination, Integrity, Compassion, Selflessness

Likes: Music, Art, Nature walks

Dislikes: Arrogance, Close mindedness, Prejudice, Injustice

Hobbies: Quidditch, Reading

Fears: Voldemort, What Voldemort planned on doing

Family and Friends:

Father: Orion Black

Staunch believers in the supremacy of pure-blood wizards and witches

Likely authoritarian parents who expected strict obedience and adherence to family traditions from their sons. Their rigid upbringing likely contributed to the conflicts and tensions within the Black family.

Mother: Walburga Black

Was infamous for her enchantment of the Black family tapestry, which displayed the family's tree.

She blasted off the names of any family members who were disowned or deemed unworthy, including Sirius when he left home.

Friends: Regulus upbringing within the pure-blood supremacist Black family, suggests that he may not have had many genuine friendships, especially outside of those who shared his family's beliefs. His relationship with his brother Sirius suggests that he may have harbored feelings of loyalty and affection towards him, despite their differences. Though strained by their ideological divide, their familial bond could have provided a foundation for understanding and mutual support.

Magic:

Special Abilities: Was taught Dark Magic at a young age

Boggart: Voldemort

Patronus: He could not produce one

Polyjuice: Would appear to be black with silver specks. Smells like old parchment and ink, mixed with earthy tones. The taste would be subtle and similar to dark chocolate with a hint of bitterness.

Amortentia: Subtle undertone of smoky incense or burning parchment, a faint scent of lilies and fresh air after a storm

Backstory:

From a young age, Regulus Black was groomed to uphold the traditions and beliefs of his prestigious pure-blood family. His parents, Orion and Walburga, had high expectations for both him and his older brother Sirius, expecting them to excel in their studies at Hogwarts and uphold the family's legacy of loyalty to the Dark Lord Voldemort.

As children, Regulus and Sirius were inseparable, bound by their shared experiences and the weight of their family's expectations. They dreamed of making their mark on the wizarding world together, fueled by their ambition and thirst for recognition.

But as they grew older, Sirius began to question their family's beliefs and rebel against their parents' authority. His defiance strained their relationship, leaving Regulus torn between his loyalty to his family and his affection for his brother.

Desperate to prove himself to his parents and earn their approval, Regulus stepped up to fill the role that Sirius had abandoned. He embraced the teachings of Voldemort and joined the ranks of the Death Eaters, believing that he was serving a noble cause and fulfilling his family's expectations.

However, as Regulus became more deeply involved in Voldemort's dark agenda, he began to witness the true extent of the Dark Lord's cruelty and ruthlessness. Horrified by the atrocities committed in his name, Regulus started to question his allegiance and the values instilled in him by his family.

It was during this tumultuous time that Regulus learned of Voldemort's Horcruxes—objects containing fragments of his soul that ensured his immortality. Fueled by a sense of duty and redemption, Regulus resolved to atone for his past mistakes by destroying one of the Horcruxes—the locket hidden in the cave.

In a daring and selfless act, Regulus defied Voldemort and ventured into the treacherous cave, facing countless dangers to reach the locket. Though he ultimately succeeded in retrieving it, he paid the ultimate price for his bravery, sacrificing his life to ensure that Voldemort's reign of terror would be brought to an end.

Regulus Black may have started his journey as a pawn of his family's ambitions and Voldemort's manipulation, but in the end, he found redemption in an act of courage and self-sacrifice, leaving behind a legacy of bravery and defiance that would inspire others to stand up against darkness and tyranny.

Academics:

Best Subject: DADA

Favorite Subject: Potions

Favorite Professor: Slughorn

Worst Subject: Muggle Studies

Least Favorite Subject: Divination

Least Favorite Professor: McGonagall

Student Life:

Regulus was quite active and had a love for being on the Quidditch team

Was in a few extracurricular activities such as Dueling Club and also Slugclub

He was one of Horace Slughorn's favorite students and excelled at potions

As Sirius began to rebel against their family's beliefs and traditions, tensions between the two brothers would have escalated

Template: @hazyange1s

[voidcatinthesoup]

Another block tales au that’s been in my mind

block tales x isat.

I know someone on here is making one already (whoever you are can I buy you dinner hello?? /vpos /platonic)

but I wanna show my bt x isat au idea

REAL QUICK, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS SOME CANON SHIPS AREN’T HERE

ok so roles:

Mirabelle: Player.

Reasoning - Player is the one sent to collect all of the swords, Mirabelle is the one who is supposed to defeat the king. Simple.

Isabeau: Griefer

Reasoning - strongth. both gay (probably)

Odile: Calypso.

Reasoning - just seems right idk

Siffrin: Blue Noob. Reasoning - she’s my favorite so obviously she shall SUFFER. Also just for fun hehe

Bonnie: Red Noob

Reasoning - ..Who else? Lol?? Also “what about Nile with the sister thing??” Lore changed

King: Cruel King

Reasoning - ..do.. I even need to explain??

Head housemaiden (I CAN’T SPELL HER NAME OK): Shedletsky

Reasoning - One who sent player sooo

Claude: Kitchen Wizard

Reasoning - KW would craft bombs

Ok the changed lore:

Both Red and Blue are from the forgotten island, having being brought to Vaugarde by Noobador shortly before it disappearing.

Red switched to the Change belief (he no remember universe so duh), however, Blue clung to the tiny fragments that she could remember.

Noobador was the one frozen in time, Red and Blue escaping just in time.

Unlike Mirabelle, Player isn’t aroace. gay ass mf (toxichero we all shout!1)

ok that’s all bye :3

[ruggiesears]

pedi pro chat revisar minha gramatica nisso LKJALKA Crystal Daisy Cookie was created in one of the oldest laboratories hidden deep within the Dream Constellarium, a forgotten chamber where dream ingredients once flowed freely under the stars. Long after the age of Moonlight Cookie, and some time following the stardust-borne birth of Stardust Cookie, the Sugar Witches decided to attempt another dream-crafted Cookie, this time not to chase the cosmos, but to preserve what remained of beauty and warmth within a broken sky. The base ingredients were similar to those used for Moonlight Cookie — sweetened moonwater, crystallized fragments of lucid dreams, and star-sugar. However, this time, they added something else: dried daisy petals infused with sunrise dew, and sugar crystals collected from the slumbering sweet dreams of Moonlight Cookie herself. And from that delicate alchemy, Crystal Daisy Cookie was born.

Unlike Stardust Cookie, who held the cold beauty of the stars and the isolation of the cosmos in his heart, Crystal Daisy Cookie radiated warmth, hope, and gentleness. The Witches who helped create her were surprised at her deep empathy and eagerness to connect with others. She was quick to comfort, to share joy, to offer kindness without needing to be asked. She sang to the laboratory plants, cleaned the dusty floors without complaint, and learned potion-making not for power, but simply to help others. She was admired and cherished.

But admiration fades when the world changes. As the age of Dream Creation declined and most of the Witches disappeared one by one, she was left behind with only one remaining figure — a reclusive and bitter old Wizard who had once assisted the Sugar Witches but now wanted no part in their dreams or kindness.

The Wizard secluded themselves in a small cottage buried deep in a forest on the edge of the dream realm. Crystal Daisy Cookie went with them, thinking she could bring light to that lonely space. But time passed, and the cottage became her cage. The Wizard, once fascinated by her bright spirit, grew cold and impatient. She reminded them of what had been lost — of the Witches, of wonder, of warmth. Her presence no longer soothed them; it only made their loneliness worse. They didn’t hurt her, but they made her feel like a burden. They ignored her questions, dismissed her efforts, and left her alone for days at a time. That silence was worse than cruelty.

Crystal Daisy Cookie began to wonder if she was wrong for existing at all. Was she truly made to bring joy, or had she failed even at that? When she tried to speak with the dream creatures in the woods, the Wizard scolded her for wasting time on "imaginary things." When she tried to make the cottage more lively, he told her not to touch anything. Her heart, once full of hope, began to quietly crack.

One night, after being left alone again for days, she stood outside beneath the stars and remembered a time before the cottage — a time when she had sung to the night sky and believed that even in a crumbling world, someone out there might still care. 

That night, for the first time, she didn’t sing. She made a wish instead. A wish upon the shiniest star across the dark blue sky. A wish for a home that didn’t make her feel like she was too much or not enough. A place where she could simply be.

The next morning, she left the cottage. She didn’t know where she was going — she just walked, guided by a feeling, not by logic. The forest was deep and full of echoes. Some days she’d hear voices whispering in the wind, tempting and strange. But Crystal Daisy Cookie never stopped. Coming back to the one place she hoped to find love: City of Wizards, where she didn’t knew what was left behind was nothing but memories.

______

Crystal Daisy Cookie wandered aimlessly through the outer edges of dreamspace. Her departure from the forest did not go unnoticed; stray dreams and fading star fragments whispered of her movement. Moonlight Cookie, still recovering after the events of The Forgotten Dream Garden, briefly sensed an unfamiliar dream signature drifting through her domain — warm, lucid, but unrooted.

During the events of Song of the Night Sea, when Stardust Cookie’s shadow began appearing in the City of Wizards and Moonlight Cookie became more aware of dream anomalies, a new ripple was detected: the presence of a Cookie who wasn’t tied to any known dream route or constellation. Crystal Daisy Cookie had unknowingly stepped into the outlying districts of the City of Wizards — not the restored core, but the decayed fringes left behind by the Wizards and untouched by recent visitors.

Moonlight Cookie sent a few small dream familiars to investigate, but before they could reach her, Crystal Daisy Cookie had already drawn the attention of the Sanctuary of Faded Stars. The structure, which Stardust’s shadow often visited, responded to her presence not with resistance but with quiet resonance. The Sanctuary recognized her dream-born essence — one not created to fight, but to preserve, to remember, to mourn gently. This drew the attention of Stardust’s shadow, who witnessed her silently resting among the garden ruins near the sanctuary.

Their first meeting was brief. Stardust Cookie’s shadow, lacking the clarity and voice of his full self, only observed her from a distance. Crystal Daisy Cookie, worn and quiet, did not try to speak to him. Yet even in silence, something unspoken passed between them — not recognition, but the shared ache of abandonment, of asking the sky for answers and receiving only silence.

While Stardust Cookie himself traveled through dreams during Across the Galaxy of Dreams, Crystal Daisy Cookie remained in the ruins of the Sanctuary. She repaired broken structures, tended to star-plants nobody had touched in ages, and gradually gained the attention of Moonlight Cookie, who began investigating her presence more directly. Moonlight Cookie did not immediately bring her into the restored City; she was cautious. But what she sensed in Crystal Daisy Cookie was no threat — only sorrow, patience, and quiet hope.

When The Eternal City of Wizards arc began and Stardust Cookie descended again upon the City, drawn by the weight of his pain and purpose, Crystal Daisy Cookie was still in the background. She witnessed the falling stars from a distant terrace of the Sanctuary, far from the central chaos. She felt the tremors in the dreamworld as Stardust Cookie unleashed his fury on the Wizards’ legacy. It wasn’t until his battle ended — after he fell into Moonlight Cookie’s dream, after the Memory Flower was recovered — that Crystal Daisy Cookie was finally brought into the core of the City by Moonlight herself.

At the conclusion of The Eternal City of Wizards, as the City began its second restoration and the stars slowly calmed, Moonlight Cookie introduced Stardust Cookie to Crystal Daisy Cookie. She did not frame it as a formal meeting but as a suggestion: “There’s someone I believe you should meet. She reminds me of something we’ve both forgotten.” They crossed paths in Dreams, their encounters fading with the morning light. Yet somehow, Moonlight Cookie always remembered, even if she wasn’t the one who dreamed.

THIS IS SO PEAK???? there's a few things that are lore heavy that I don't understand but I GET THE GIST OF IT AND I FEEL SO BAD FOR MY GIRL💔💔💔 SHE DESERVES SM MORE OH MY GOODNESS MY POOR BABY💔💔💔💔

Her, Stardust and Moonlight can become a little found family and I think that's so cute, Crystal Daisy Cookie suddenly got a bf and a sister in law (Moonlight is Stardust's sister, right? Correct me if I'm wrong)🩵🩵

[merchant-wizard-and-jerry]

“Hello, I’m the friendly wizard _____. My name got taken by a fey prince but it hasn’t really hampered my life. Anyways I am new to this wider wizard community and would like to get along. I have a magic book, a cart, and a friend. His name is Jerry, he is a fungus colony that has taken over my magic book and acts sort of as my patron. He…is a little weird but great fun.”

*sound of an explosion in the background, a book flys by being chased by goblin shamans casting fire ball*

“He is…”

“He is fine.”

“Anyways, I am here to sell goods and make a small profit. If you need something I’ll see what I can do : ) ”

“Also apparently I helped smuggle an amnesiac @fattocatto-wizard out of the city in my wagon. That was a shock, though he was just a cat.

Character Cheat sheet

( 3 currency to 16 silver crowns and 2 copper crowns)

(3 skulls to a coin)

(2 currency to 1 gold)

(100 currency to a 1000 grams gold bar)

(1 currency per 10 grams of gold)

(Current balance 89,359.250,001 currency, one penny, 23 meat pucks, 14 pounds, 2 gold coins one with Julius Cesar on it, 3 naturally-grown mana stones, 2 highly enchant able metal pieces, and one bar, 1 special bug corpse, 1576.5 gold, silver 18, 70 aus, 5kg silver, magic dirt house size. 24 counterfeit currency. Moss/lichen-coded bio stone. An inverse cold torch. 99 BG silver. EMERALD LINCOLN, GOLDEN CARROT, 200 SALTED MEAT DISKS, 200 POLISHED ROCKS, 82 FIGET SPINNERS!, A FULLY EQUIPPED LICH'S DUNGEON, and a cardboard box (magic black marble).” Invisibility stone, a bundle of drake feathers, quantum locked rock, raw gold. 9 Gold coming from the green goblin empire, 50 mushrooms, 92 secret society emblem. 5 trans enchanted gold coins, 2 skull coin, ancient lost civilization fragment, 5 glistening green metallic coin, 31 writhing bugs of gold, jade coin. Pile of gold coins and gold coin bugs, pile of shines from harpy, dust, quantum glass shards, bag of tooth shaped candy, 6720 candies from the festival, bag of holding money bag, 68 money bags, 500 flat Foxen, double sided dollar coin, 3 floppies, a Brahman horn, a medkit, a few candy bars, and an umbrella, 130 goblins eggs (goblin cooked chicken eggs.), 17 bars of pure gold, 1 crate of guns, temp singularity potion. 762 grasshoppers glow in the dark.Book on the formation patterns of natural portals - @serious-tabaxi. Edward Evandrian’s expired library card. Gems and frenicx mother gem and a junkarian leap amethyst. white mithril sapling. Timeseed, infinite note book, time tunnel. A nice gold bag. bag full of candied scorpions 💰, large gem stone. 💰 💰 💰, gems = 70currency. 1/3rd a gold bar. Compass map, it's keyed to the Island of Silence. N=10^7 menger sponge. 2416 shadow cloaks, 52 shiny stones. 20$, 3 gold coins 100 grams. Gummy worms. 100 journals of Ventus Asamuran, Last Peacekeeper of Har Aminas. car keys, box of a 27 rusted necklaces with warding spells. an amulet made of stone, with blue rectangular crystals growing out of it. 48 shiny stones, 30 currency worth of silver. 3 sets of custom made chips @crickled-thorn-thug. Gold potion It opens a portal to the realm of metals! It causes any land within 20 feet to be transmuted, temporarily, into a variety of metals. If left untouched, the land reverts after a day. If harvested, the stuff stays metal and can be used. It also causes uhh 20 gold peices to spawn, and anyone within the radius to get a bit of vertigo. Causes slight iron deficiency, for some reason. 23 bouquets of metalic flowers. They're grown beneath volcanic chambers, uses the heat of magma as a supplement for sunlight. Given their environment, they grow petals sharper than claws and harder than steel. They can be used for creating armours and weapons. one box of nightmare inducing Mac and cheese)

(Currently holding baby dire bunnies. A ring of mana (covers energy into mana. Only suitable if you don’t have mana)

(Jerry’s balance 13 gold, a fancy rock, 1 coin, flower petals (snacks for later), harpy eyes, feathers, vocal cords, and talons, a coin with @informis-the-many-faced on it, it is locked away for emergencies. bottle of magic mold rejuvenation powder, wooden key @crickled-thorn-thug)

(Warlocks of Jerry @fungal-boy-witch-yay @ignisuadaroleplay @life-is-okay-rn2 I think that is who it was…)

(Possessions - wealth stone, Antidote stone)

Owner of membership cards

——————————

@the-final-knight-2

@confused-sorcerer

@bi-gender-sorcerer (+ 10% off for employee discount)

@the-mighty-dalob

@detectivewizzard

@goblin-wizard-in-the-making

@serious-tabaxi

@weltreths-wanderings

@ignisuadaroleplay (will)

@shittest-wizard-ever

@wizard-wylin-wylerian

@akronus-and-associates (the primordials)

—————————————

@hallowed-the-silver-gun

@jormungand-seas-champion

@crow-natures-wrath

@antros-ember-of-fear

@akronus-the-redeemed

@clockwork-time-watcher

@aldira-born-anew

——————————

@wizard-ghost

@yeast-wizard

@crickled-thorn-thug

@sorcererest-sorcerer

@damnable-druid (+ 10% off for employee discount)

@informis-the-many-faced

@kittycatwizard

@gun-sorcerer

@crime-wizard-conglomerate

———

Perks

———

5% off all purchases

Special requested items

More favorable bartering

———

[psychooomind]

Mixed Signals - 8

Severus Snape x reader

Summary: Set between 1989 and 1998, Severus Snape and Katya Borislova attend the European Potioneers' Assemblies, where they meet and begin a pen pal friendship that confuses them both.

This is a prequel to another of my Harry Potter fanfics, The New Founders.

A multi-entry, slow-burn, colleagues to lovers, smut

Chapter 1. Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7

You can also read it at AO3 here.

Katya woke up early, as she had done for as long as she could remember. Morning light filtered through the purple velvet curtains that adorned the elegant flat Nikita had lent her for her stay in London. Located in the Mayfair district, she loved how easily she could explore the neighbourhood since her arrival in the city. She dressed slowly, rummaging through her suitcases. Although she enjoyed the privacy and comfort of staying in her friend's flat, there was always something to remind her it wasn’t truly hers—like not being able to organize her clothes properly in the wardrobes.

Nikita's flat was filled with shelves of ancient books, bold colours, magical artefacts, and Muggle paintings decorating the walls. The clock on the living room wall read 6:15 a.m. when she finally finished dressing. She had chosen a blue skirt and blazer set paired with a white blouse. Ready for another day at the office, she slung her briefcase over her arm.

She walked to the bus stop, glad to be in what was perhaps the quietest area of London, a peaceful corner of Holland Park Lane. While riding the bus, Katya took a seat and leafed through her leather-bound notebook. It was a seemingly ordinary object, but it was enchanted with complex concealment spells of her own design. Only she could read it, and any attempt by someone else to open it would result in blank pages. In it, she meticulously recorded every relevant detail about the Malfoys and their movements, just as her father had instructed when presenting the agreement.

Every time she did, a tightness gripped her chest. Her father had been clear: she had to fulfil her mission of spying on the English pure-blood families if she wanted to earn her freedom.

Arriving in central London, the city’s bustle greeted her. Muggle life fascinated her, though it wasn’t entirely new territory for her. Londoners seemed far more talkative compared to Muscovites.

When she reached Diagon Alley, she made her way through the day’s early shoppers. The sight of magical shops and narrow alleys comforted her in some way. She entered Gringotts Wizarding Bank, where she worked as a personal accountant for the Malfoys. Her office was located in a left wing of the bank, far from the main hustle and bustle. There, Katya focused on analysing transactions and managing family assets, tasks she carried out with meticulous precision.

Lucius Malfoy had proven to be a demanding client but was sociable and courteous, and Narcissa, his wife, though somewhat distant, maintained a polite façade with her. However, Katya knew her role in the family went beyond the obvious. As she worked, fragments of conversations from the gala replayed in her mind. Veiled words, cryptic remarks about the "new order" and the need to protect the purity of magic. Each word she wrote in her notebook brought her one step closer to completing her mission, but it also deepened her fear of being discovered.

During her lunch break, she decided to walk through Diagon Alley. The sun had come out, and the street was brimming with life. She passed Flourish and Blotts, where a display of old books caught her eye, but she didn’t go in. She figured she’d have time to browse the shop another day.

Suddenly, a tall man standing with his back to her caught her attention, and she couldn’t help but let her thoughts drift to Severus Snape. The encounter at the Malfoy gala had been an unexpected blow. She didn’t understand what he was doing there. Yes, she knew he was English and taught at Hogwarts, but to be at the same gala as her? To know the Malfoys? Could he be a supporter of blood purity? Katya had assumed she’d never see him again after Vienna, but now it felt like fate was cruelly toying with her.

Her steps led her to the Apothecary shop, a place she had noticed on her first day in the area. Brewing potions was an activity that allowed her to disconnect from the chaos of her life. The owner, a kindly witch with greying hair, greeted her with a warm smile and let her browse the shelves at her leisure. Katya lost herself among the aisles, examining jars and packets of exotic ingredients.

As she wandered, her mind drifted back to the agreement she had made with her father. She would work for the Malfoys for a year, gather information for the Russian Federal Confederation of Magic, and, in the end, she would be free. Free from her family’s influence, far from her brothers and the dark dealings of Borislov Enterprises, free to live the life she chose.

The sound of a conversation interrupted her thoughts. At first, she paid it no attention, but when she heard a deep, familiar voice, she froze—it was Severus Snape. Her heart began to race as she deliberated what to do. She didn’t want to confront him, not there, in such a public place so close to her work. However, before she could move, the wooden floor creaked nearby, and she remained rooted in place, listening to the sound of approaching footsteps.

Peering through the gaps between the potion boxes, Katya spied him. He was a row behind her, dressed in his usual black robes, slightly open to reveal a black jumper underneath and matching trousers. Severus wore a faint frown, as though something had irritated him. Slowly, she tried to move to the next aisle to avoid being seen.

For his part, Professor Snape had woken that morning with a pounding headache and a mood fouler than usual. He had spent two days drowning his frustrations in Firewhisky, a habit he turned to whenever things fell apart.

The cause of his torment was, as always, himself and Dumbledore. The former because he regretted and couldn’t stop dreaming of Katya—a torment that had become exhausting. She invaded his dreams every night, alternating between hurting him and sharing pleasant moments. The dreams had intensified after seeing her at the Malfoy gala, nights ago, in that blue dress. He had dreamt of taking her in a service room, dreamt of bringing her to his home, dreamt of her so vividly that he was certain the woman had cursed him.

And then there was Dumbledore, who had the irksome habit of showing up at his house uninvited. Initially, Severus had no intention of mentioning Katya when asked about the gala, but Albus had noticed his evasive gaze and sensed his hesitation. With characteristic precision, the Headmaster questioned him about Katya, and Severus had no choice but to tell the truth. Severus had been livid when Albus dismissed her as an unnecessary distraction.

"Something tells me Miss Borislova has her own hand in the game,” Albus had said. “If I were you, I’d keep my distance.”

Severus had nodded but found his mind wandering back to her within seconds. Dumbledore had continued talking about rumours of a mass breakout from Azkaban that Hagrid had heard in the forest. He went on to discuss Lupin and how the werewolf was rallying a pack deep within Kielder Forest. Albus confided that they communicated often via Patronuses and that Lupin would need Wolfsbane Potion if he were to return to London and rejoin the Order of the Phoenix. With a pointed but subtle tone, the Headmaster had effectively ordered Severus to mend his treatment of Lupin and prepare the required potions for his next transformation.

And so, there he was, in the Apothecary, grappling with a two-day hangover, sleep deprivation, and what he was sure was an enchantment, all while buying ingredients for a potion meant for a man he detested.

As always, the Apothecary’s atmosphere was thick with pungent aromas and dim lighting, which did nothing to soothe his migraine. Upon entering, the shopkeeper had tried to engage him in conversation about his role as a Hogwarts professor, but he had been curt to the point where she left it at a simple “Good morning, Professor.”

As he moved between the aisles, his gaze caught a pair of eyes watching him from the next shelf. Through the glass of a jar of aconite, Katya Borislova peered at him, as if assessing the situation before deciding whether to approach or flee. Something about her tense posture and darting eyes stirred a mix of unease and longing in Severus. Little did she know, she had already been in his dreams no more than two hours earlier.

Katya, realising he had seen her, tried to hurry toward the exit but tripped on the uneven floor, dropping a glass vial in her hand, which shattered. Severus sighed and, despite his own discomfort, rushed to help her up. Behind him, the shopkeeper let out a shrill cry at the sight of blood dripping from Katya’s hands.

“Oh! I’ll fetch the first aid kit, dear!”

“Are you all right?” Severus asked, his tone harsher than he intended. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “Have you injured yourself badly? Stand up slowly.”

Katya glanced at him sideways, her lips pressed into a firm line and her face tinged with a deep blush.

“Yes, thank you,” she replied curtly, grimacing as she sat on the floor and began picking shards of glass out of her hands.

Severus knelt beside her and wrapped her bleeding hand in a handkerchief.

“No,” she said, her voice cold and cutting. “I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding, Katya,” he said as he tied the handkerchief around her hand.

“I know,” she retorted, shooting him an irritated look before sighing in defeat.

Severus quickly gathered her scattered belongings, noting the ingredients spilled across the floor. He instantly recognised the components for a Calming Draught. He placed everything back into her basket and held it in his hands. As Katya tried to get to her feet, he offered her his hand. Reluctantly, and with a furrowed brow, she took it. For a moment, their eyes met, and Severus had to resist the urge to brush his fingers against her face.

The shopkeeper, panting slightly, arrived with a small first aid kit. Katya apologised immediately.

“I’m so sorry; I’ll pay for everything,” she assured her.

“There’s nothing to fret about, dear,” the woman replied kindly.

Severus noticed that neither he nor Katya had moved, and it didn’t surprise him when the shopkeeper handed him the first aid kit, likely assuming they were together.

The shopkeeper led them to the counter, where Katya sat as Severus cleaned and bandaged her wounds.

“Preparing for a Calming Draught?” he commented awkwardly, attempting to ease the tension as he finished securing her bandage. Her items sat beside his in the basket.

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped sharply, standing up and swiftly distancing herself from him. “Excuse me, may I use your bathroom?” she asked the shopkeeper. The woman nodded, and Katya quickly disappeared from sight.

Her frosty tone left him momentarily stunned, but he said nothing more. On a whim, he paid for both her purchases and his own. As he waited for her to return, he stepped outside. When Katya emerged and discovered that Severus had already paid for her items and taken them with him, she stormed out of the shop, irritation flashing in her eyes.

Outside, she found him smoking by the side of the shop.

“How are you?” he asked, his gaze piercing as he gestured with his cigarette, offering her one.

“No, I don’t smoke anymore,” she replied curtly. “Now, can you give me my bag? How much did my things cost?” she pressed.

He smirked slightly and handed everything back to her.

“Let me cover it as an apology,” he said. “For how things went the other night.”

Katya rolled her eyes, taking her belongings with precision before turning on her heel to head back to the office. Behind her, Severus began to follow.

“Kat,” he called, prompting her to huff and spin around to face him.

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

He gently took her arm and pulled her into a side street, away from prying eyes. Severus was relieved to find the alley deserted at this hour.

“About... about last time... I want you to know that my behaviour in Vienna… I apologise. It was inexcusable,” he said, his voice strained as he struggled to articulate his remorse.

Katya paused and looked at him slowly. For a brief moment, something soft crossed her features, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“Yes, it was,” she replied, her voice neutral, giving him no indication of whether she had forgiven him or not.

The silence between them stretched until Severus, unable to contain his curiosity, finally voiced the question that had plagued him since seeing her at the Malfoy gala.

“Why did you take a job here? Why with the Malfoys?”

“That’s none of your business, but as I explained at the manor, it’s just a job,” she snapped, irritation lacing her words. “I certainly didn’t plan or want to run into you.”

“You’re telling me it’s just a coincidence?” he asked, incredulous.

Katya nodded.

“How long will you be here?” he pressed.

Katya avoided his gaze, her expression closed off.

“That’s also none of your business,” she retorted.

Severus clenched his jaw, frustration simmering within him.

"You’re playing a dangerous game, Katya," he warned her. "They… are not good company."

"And you are?" She raised an eyebrow, then snorted. "I don’t understand what you have against them. I thought they were even friends of yours."

"They’re not my friends," he interrupted, his tone sharp.

"Then why were you at the gala? Are you going to tell me it’s not them who always want to set you up with someone?"

The question caught him off guard, not because it wasn’t true, but because she remembered their letter exchanges. For a moment, he wanted to believe that Katya wasn’t a stranger to him, that she was still the young woman he had slowly fallen in love with.

"My reasons are of no importance to you."

"Of course not, I must tell you, but gods forgive me, if you tell me anything more. As always." Katya let out a bitter laugh. She took a step back, as if wanting to put some physical distance between them.

Severus felt a knot of uncertainty in his stomach. What was really going on with her? Could it be that Katya was involved in something darker? But wasn’t that the same doubt she seemed to harbour about him? The mistrust between them was palpable, yet there was something in her gaze, in the way her eyes seemed to search for his despite everything, that disarmed him.

The young woman snorted and began to leave the alleyway, heading back to her work.

"I’ll take you to Gringotts," he said, returning to her side, as though it was a way to not part from her.

Katya raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback.

"I don’t need an escort, Severus."

"I insist," Severus replied, starting to walk without waiting for her response.

The journey to the bank was silent. Every step was loaded with the latent tension between them, as if either one were waiting for the other to speak first. Severus wanted to ask more, he wanted to know how her year had gone without talking, why she hadn’t replied to the letters, whether she had even read them, but he knew any attempt would be rejected. Katya, for her part, was wrestling with her own thoughts. She couldn’t allow Severus to discover the truth about her time in England, but it was also hard for her to ignore the resentment his presence stirred within her. Part of her also wanted him to tell her if he had thought of her all this time, if he had any hint of regret over how things had ended in Vienna.

Finally, as they reached the imposing doors of Gringotts, Severus stopped.

"Have a good day," he said quietly, his words carrying an ambiguous meaning that Katya couldn’t interpret.

She looked at him, her eyes searching for something on his face. Finally, she nodded, although her expression remained distant.

"Thank you," she said coldly, with formal detachment, before turning to enter the bank.

Severus watched her walk away, his mind filled with unanswered questions. There was something about Katya that didn’t add up, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Perhaps it was him, tormented by his own guilt, for abandoning the path he could have walked beside her.

From the second floor of Flourish and Blotts, Narcissa Malfoy watched the pair reach the bank’s door and part ways. Pleased, she smiled as she saw Severus massaging his temple, looking somewhat disturbed. She knew Severus and was familiar with that tic he had when he was visibly uncomfortable with a situation.

She wondered if there was more that he was hiding. Clearly, Lucius had been right—something had happened between them during those Potion Masters’ Assemblies. The young Borlislova couldn’t be more than ten years younger than Severus, but something told her there was potential in that strange pair.