#[[ he's knowledgeable about 1[one] subject and that's aura ]]

[blowflyfag]

Wrestling World : FEBRUARY 1995

A NIGHT OUT WITH THE BAD GUY

You’ve seen what he can do in the ring. Now, Wrestling World shows you what he’s like outside the ropes! Get ready for a night on the town with Razor Ramon.

By Jose Padua

THIS IS A story about good versus evil, money versus poverty, knowledge versus ignorance. It’s a story about the subtle power of poetry versus the blunt force of a closed fist, the seductive charm of a beautiful woman versus the explosive temper of a maniacal beast. But it’s mostly a story about a guy with a toothpick in his mouth whose perpetual five o’clock shadow bespeaks of street fights, hard times, and a distaste for proper grooming-though not necessarily in that order.

We’re referring, of course, to “The Bad Guy,” Razor Ramon, that hairy behemoth of a man who since bursting onto the scene in the WWF a few years ago has made an impression on wrestling fans all over the world. That it’s a “bad” impression is, as wrestling fans have learned, no reason to shun him. On the contrary, it is the very reason we have all embraced his aura and taken him for what he truly is-a man who has weathered “the dark night of the soul” and come out on top to server as both inspiration for us working stiffs, and as a role model for today’s youth culture.

Indeed, Razor’s influence has extended well beyond the world of wrestling to the point that he’s become something of a hero to fans of the alternative music scene. Nowadays it’s just as common for hip twentysomethings to identify themselves by purchasing a block of tickets to a Pearl Jam concert as it is for them to sport a Razor Ramon tee shirt complete with paint stains and strategically placed rips in the cloth. And one recent Friday night found “The Bad Guy” in the company of some of that very same crowd.

Celebrating his recent victory over Diesel for the Intercontinental title, Razor was having dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 89th St. in Manhattan. Although he’s been known to frequent such posh restaurants as Alla Sera on the Upper East Side, this was a much more modest place.

“I like it here,” Razor explains. “Though sometimes I go to them fancy restaurants, I always have a better time at places like this. Places where real people go to have a good time.”

Success, it seems, has not gone to Razor’s head: He’s the people’s bad guy. But that wasn’t always the case.

“When I first started out. I was just like Shawn Michaels,” he continued, bringing up the source of his major feuds. “I was bad for the wrong reasons, Chico, stepping all over my people, people who had it rough like me…who came from the streets like me. But I learned to have respect for my roots, man.”

Among his entourage this evening are a couple of kids sporting the grunge look, some pals from the old neighborhood, and a former centerfold model named Lisa. When the waiter comes to take everyone’s order we hear requests for standard Mexican fare-dishes such as enchiladas, tacos, chimichangas- until it’s Razor’s turn to order. Pulling the toothpick from his mouth, Razor looks intently at the waiter and says, “I’d like a special order, Chico. Fried chicken.” It seemed an odd choice, but no one’s going to argue with Razor about what he wants to eat. If he were to order spaghetti and meatballs at a Chinese restaurant he’d undoubtedly be obliged.

While waiting for dinner the subject of The 1-2-3 Kid comes up. Razor’s unexpected defeat the the hands of The 1-2-3 Kid was the turning point in his career, the darkness merged-where the void and the bad kicked out the ugly to create a force Razor never imagined could exist.

“My Main Man,” Razor says, referring to The Kid. “He took me by surprise, Chico. Here was this little guy who could wrestle with the biggest dudes, man. He showed me that you could be ‘good’ too.”

“So now you’re The Good Guy?” we ask.

“No, I’m The Bad Guy. But now I understand what’s good. See why I’m sayin’?”

Whatever the case may be, Razor’s style is, to say the least, different from that of The 1-2-3 Kid. Where The Kid is all finesse and dazzling acrobatics, Razor is brute force and methodical determination. In fact, if football announcer John Madden were to open his “All-Madden” team to professional wrestlers, Razor Ramon would be first on his list. Not necessarily the most skilled or scientific, Madden’s team is made up of real “tough guys,” the ones who are most willing to get down in the dirt and do whatever it takes to win-which is as good a description as any of Razor Ramon’s “bad” style.

[Razor Ramon cuts a striking figure in, or out, of the ring!]

When dinner is served Razor immediately digs in with his hands. Picking up a drumstick, he devours it in a single sloppy bite, then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand: Like his wrestling style, his table manners aren’t all that elegant. But what matters most is that they get the job done. “Anyone want to try some of this chicken?” he asks, looking around at his guests. “It’s good.”

After dinner Razor and his friends pile into a couple of cabs and head downtown to the East Village. Getting off on Avenue B, they gather in front of a grimy performance space that goes by the name of Chez Rollo where down-and-out writers congregate to spit out words of rage and wisdom. It seems that although Razor is known for a lot of things, one thing that never gets much attention is the fact that he is something of a patron of the arts-especially those arts that speak of the street, of that world from whence he came. On entering, Razor is immediately recognized by a number of people, including a couple of the poets.

“Hey Razor!” says one of them. The poet walks up to Razor and introduces himself. “I’m Carl Watson; I’m a big fan of yours.”

“Oh yeah,” says Razor nodding. “I know your work. I like it…it’s good stuff, Chico.”

While waiting for the reading to begin Carl explains how he became a fan of “The Bad Guy.” “I got into wrestling when I got an assignment to do a story on Lucha Libre for the Village Voice,” he says. “After going to some the Lucha Libre matches in Brooklyn I started to watch the WWF or get some perspective on how the Luca Libre scene differs from other wrestling promotions, and of all the wrestlers there the one who really stood out the most was Razor Ramon-‘The Bad Guy.’ He’s got the good, Chico.”

Soon the reading starts. First is Ron Kolm, who reads a series of short, insightful poems on such diverse topics as getting drunk and going to war.

“He’s bad,” Razor comments.

“You mean you don’t like him?” Lisa asks.

“No, I mean he’s bad. Like me.” Later on Carl gets up and reads a story about the seedy side of the city and life spent in dingy bars and transient hotels.

“He’s been there, man,” Razor comments nodding his head appreciatively.

Last is a guy named Bob wearing a pork pie hat, a polka dot shirt, and baggy black trousers. Like Razor he also sports a good amount of stubble on his cheeks, but on seeing him Razor starts to sneer. “Something ain’t right with this dude,” he says shaking his head.

Bob commences his portion of the reading with an attempt at rap style poetry. Watching Bob perform, Razor gets agitated, shifting in his seat and clenching his fists. “He don’t know what he’s talking about,” Razor mumbles.

“He’s acting like he’s down, but it ain’t no way, Chico. He’s a poseur just like Shawn Michaels.” A few poems later Razor stands up in anger and is about to approach the stage when Lisa stops him.

“Hey, Razor, it’s okay,” she says. “He’s harmless.”

“Yeah, but someone needs to make this gringo shut up.”

Luckily for Bob it’s the last poem of the night, but before he steps down Razor yells a warning toward the stage: “It’s all right for now. But I’ll be back, Chico.”

In need of a nightcap, Razor leads his entourage, which at this point includes Ron and Carl, to The International Bar on First Avenue. Taking a nip from a bottle of Dos Equis, he begins to relax again. Later in the evening, at that point when most people take to reminiscing about the past, Razor Ramon (always one to do things his own way), looks instead toward the future.

“I’m the Intercontinental champion now,” he tells Ron, who hangs on the Razor’s every word, “and it feels good, Chico. But pretty soon I’m going to get a shot at the big title. And you know, to have me go against Bret Hart will be one of the greatest matches of all time. The two baddest guys in the WWF. But first there are some people who need to be taught a lesson. People like the Million Dollar Man. Bam Bam Bigelow, and Jeff Jarrett. They make me mad, Chico.”

“And don’t forget Bob, the bad poet,” Ron suggests.

“Bad? He ain’t bad, Chico,” Razor says raising his voice.

“Well…I mean Bob the good poet.”

“He ain’t good either.”

“Well, you know what I mean…” Ron says nervously. Then adds. “I better shut up.”

“Hey, Chico, it’s cool, man. Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Razor picks the tab up from the bar, lays down a couple of hundred dollar bills, then lifts his bottle and extends it towards Ron and the rest of the group.

“To all my good friends.”

And so ends a night out with The Bad Guy. A night which despite the occasional misunderstanding, turned out to be a good one. Or should we say a bad one. Whatever the proper word is, it’s a distinction that Razor Ramon understands very well, and perhaps one day when the time is right he’ll teach us all a lesson.

[Inspired by the work of Ron Kolm and Carl Watson, Razor tries his hand at writing some poetry!]

[howlingday]

Godzilla in Remnant: What are the odds when Atlas tests their new Anti-Kaiju weapon or when the Kingdoms digging out space for an Anti-Kaiju bunker that a new Kaiju is discovered?

So I've been talking with a buddy of mine at work, who is also a RWBY fan. And he brought up some really good points and ideas for the Godzilla in Remnant story.

First, he said he liked the idea of a pure white beam for his "atomic breath". He also suggested having Godzilla breathe dust crystal, which I thought would be pretty cool, too. However, he also mentioned that RWBY already has so much going on, with magic, semblances, Grimm, aura, alternate dimensions, that throwing Godzilla into the mix would be tricky.

He said it would be a tricky subject, too, since Argus is now flattened and the Grimm are going to start swarming over the area due to the DEVASTATING amount of negativity Godzilla brought. Also, the fact that Salem's biggest Grimm was destroyed so easily is going to set off a chain reaction across Remnant, especially since it's WAY bigger than what Huntsmen are normally equipped for.

As we were walking and talking on the subject, an idea came to me. The Relics. Specifically, The Relic of Knowledge. Every one hundred years, the Relic of Knowledge permits three questions to be asked and answered. So I thought, "Hey, what if Ozma asked about Remnants greatest threat and it turned out it wasn't Salem?" Then I learned that 1. You can't ask about the future. And B. Ozma spent them all in The Lost Fable.

So I thought, dang. What now? Because there was an idea I had that would've given humanity an edge. Something that would make them able to protect themselves from Godzilla and any other Kaiju that comes their way. And that's when I found the loophole... The gap.

See, RWBY's events are so greatly spaced between whenever The Brothers gifted humanity and when the Relic was last used that we could find our questions before Ozma asked. Among these questions, one of them could have been "How can we protect humanity?" And Jinn shows them an image of a human as tall as a tower, stepping on Grimm and striking even larger Grimm. Which leads us to my idea... The Guardians (name is a work in progress).

The Guardians are essentially giant magic mechs designed to protect humanity from enormous threats. However, such power would be too dangerous in human hands, so humanity locked them away and sealed them like they did the Relics, and to ensure that they could not be used in tandem, the Relic Vaults were hidden in one location, with the Guardian Vaults hidden in another, maybe even requiring high-level magic to unlock, instead of a maiden. I don't know. I'm just brainstorming at this point.

What do you guys think? Should there be Guardians? Should there be other Kaiju tossed in? Should I start designing Grimm to fight Godzilla? Please let me know! I'm having a lot of fun with your questions, suggestions, and feedback!

Until then, keep up the good work!

[the-art-in-arthesia-is-loud]

If that's the case, tell me all about your OCs!

ahh ok!

idk where to start jejddnfkfnfm i recently did introduced a new oc universe (silently glances at epidemic stellaria) so i really wanna talk more abt the characters there. i've written a few character descriptions for them, but it's not ALL OF THE CHARACTERS YET LOL. i'll just put some of the ones i've already written under the cut lel

1. Naoki Sakaguchi

A normal boy who was living a normal enough life up until the Stellaria Epidemic happened. Despite spending most of his high school life indoors even until graduation, he was still cheerful and positive about his situation. However, he's also rather fed up by all of this, so he then sets up a goal to find the person who started the Stellaria Epidemic and put a stop to it once and for all.

2. Miyu Takemoto

Naoki's best friend who he befriended in the midst of their online classes back in high school. Miyu is mostly pessimistic and a realist, always looking at things in a logistic sense and never really likes the thought of even daydreaming once. She's very skilled in the piano, and has harnessed her abilities to use it as self-defense against the Stellarias.

3. Koshiro Nakano

A young teacher who didn't really want to become a teacher to begin with. Skipping a lot of grades and having a lot of skills in any school subject, Koshiro is a smart individual who's parents forced him to become a teacher at the young age of 17. It's been a year now since then, and even if he enjoys sharing his knowledge, he wishes he could do something more than just teaching a bunch of teenagers around his age all that he knows.

4. Stella Namia

The mastermind behind the Stellaria Epidemic, it's unknown why she even caused it to begin with. A girl who seems nice and approachable, but her intimidating aura immediately draws people away. Little does anyone know, there's something hidden behind her nearly empty eyes.

5. Alex Vignetta

The oldest of the Vignetta siblings and is the leader of the Reality Haxxors. A man who is very distant and cold towards others, even to his own relatives. He's always busy occupying himself within his work, so he never really has the chance to spend any time with his family. However, deep down inside, he secretly does care about them and the members of the Reality Haxxors.

6. Arthesia Vignetta

A member of the Reality Haxxors, Arthesia can be classified as the youngest Vignetta Data Bank wielder so far (even if her age is close to the Minase siblings). Not that talkative in real life, but more outspoken on social media, that's how she usually is. Used to be very introverted and quiet, but nowadays is willing to blabber on about whatever she likes a little more. It's all thanks to a certain someone.

7. Aaron Vignetta

He isn't actually a Vignetta biologically. He was just an accidental experiment result who then got taken in by the Vignetta family and became one of their own. Has always taken an interest in music and playing the guitar, and is currently learning how to play one. He's struggling, but he's trying, at the very least.

8. Haruki Motome

An up-and-coming idol! A rising star in the industry! His charming looks and melodious voice captivates those who have only seen him once. With a flashing smile, Haruki is sure to make you swoon~

9. Rumi Narukami

Once a world renowned musician, now is a music teacher for a high school. The reasons as to why she quit is...still unknown. However, she lives her life to the fullest despite everything. Despite being...what, 25 years old? She still isn't exactly familiar with modern technology for whatever reason. Arthesia and Yuta are helping her with that, though.

10. Yuta Minase

One of the Minase siblings, Yuta is a flirty, yet annoying boy who fails in his flirtatious attitude everytime. He has a loud and upbeat personality that never seems to die down unless someone calls him out for it. He's all bark but no bite.

11. Yuka Minase

One of the Minase siblings. Unlike her brother Yuta, Yuka is more quiet and serious. She's willing to help others if possible, but not without any cost, of course. Very skilled in robotics and engineering, and is able to fix anything around the Reality Haxxors's base if needed. Is really annoyed and absolutely done with her brother's antics, however.

12. Tyler Morrison

He serves as some kind of...guardian spirit to Arthesia. Has been with her for many years now, and has closely watched her growth throughout every single one of them. A man who can come off as rude and aggressive, but deep down inside, he has a little soft spot of his own.

THAT'S ALL I'VE DONE SO FAR LOLOL. i think there are a few familiar names for the og the-art-in-arthesia-is-loud followers™ like arthesia and tyler. but new names here and there too (hi stella)

thank you for talking to me btw anon i really really do appreciate it <3

[revexant]

just so y’all know one of the first running jokes on this blog was aaron breaking vending machines by accident and getting lots of free food from them

[sparkbeast20]

Your Past doesn't scare me (Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Brothers)

Summary: The biggest sign for a Demon to trust anyone is to let them hold and even read their grimoire, however since you're human and The brothers are high ranking demons. He scared of you seeing what his past is.

Part 1 (Lucifer, Mammon, and Leviathan)

Warning: Mention of past Misdeed and Cannibalism(?), Killing, Lesson 16, and Implied Sexual Content.

Satan

Is ironic, knowledge gives strength… But now all that Satan can do is wait and watch the clock in his room tick, as you read through his entire existence.

Never in his life did he fear written words in a book. Sure you stood and refused his request for a pact and he threatened you for it. But this was different, you are going to know every vile and sinister acts he did throughout his time being the avatar of wrath.

Would… Would you see him differently? Would that knowledge make you distrust him? Would you fear him? He dug his nails on the armrest and clenched his jaw just thinking about it. Then he remembers all the times he almost got you hurt or killed… that halloween…

Then the door of his room slowly opened and closed. He was scared if it was you who just walked in. He never took his eyes off the grandfather clock. As the step got louder so as his heart beat. Then he felt a weight on his lap and the foot step walked towards his bed. He glanced down to see his grimoire, and he turned his head where he saw you sitting. You hug your knees to your chest as you look out through his window.

Silence filled the room, none of you spoke which made Satan anxious. Silence is far worse than hearing you scream in fear or anger at him. He took the initiative and got up from his chair, slowly walked over to the bed and sat at the end by the edge.

“Am I… just another test subject? Another strange thing that you want to experiment with?”

Satan physically wince at you quiet words, of course you would think that, after all he did more torture and mad test on humans just to help his connection.

“No… Sure I was about to be used to spite Lucifer back then…” Satan hated himself for tricking and threatening that day. “I know that my past is written in blood… if I’m being honest… most of my proud moments were back then… But now just thinking about all of the things I did makes me sick. Because it benefits me and only me due it was a distraction of my own insecurities but now… I have you and your non-demonic way of coping. And you made me see things in a different light” He turns and looks at you, and you turn your head at him.

“Did… I make such an impact on you, that makes you see things in a different light?”

“Yes…” he moved closer slowly, reaching down to take your hand into his and place it on his chest. “You might tease me… But I know that you never see me as wrath, but as Satan…” He reached up with his free hand and caressed your cheek as he said that. You chuckle and lean in to his touch.

“Of course, you might be wrathful. But you are the cat loving, bookworm, and slightly sadistic Satan I fell in love with.” He can’t believe what he is hearing right now. But this put his anxiety and fear to rest.

He grinned before instantly leaning forward, capturing your lips with his. You return the kiss.

Both of you wrap your arms around each other, and you feel a surge of aura, you pull back to see Satan with a grin on his face, shifted to his demon form. He lays you on your back on the bed hovering over you and whispers into your ears.

“You’re wrong in one thing, my pet…” he pulls back enough for you to see the glow in his eyes. “Slightly doesn’t even describe how Sadistic I can be”

Asmodeus

In any other moment he loves seeing himself in the mirror admiring himself… But now all he can see is a demon who did terrible things to satisfy his sin.

Asmo sat in the middle of his bed, where he changed his room so every wall is covered in mirrors. It is like making himself judge his appearance as he waits for you to finish reading his grimoire.

The last thing he wants is to lose you and your trust because of his actions in the past.

His head hangs low, doesn’t have the courage to look at his reflection. He immediately flinched when the sound of his door opened, and a few moments later he felt another weight add on his bed and felt a presence right behind him. There was a few minutes of silence when Asmo heard you speak.

“Will you discard me as soon as you have your fill?” Asmo quickly took a sharp inhale through his teeth, wincing at your assumption. He can’t blame you, after all you did read through his history. But that doesn't mean it hurts any less or stops the tears falling from his eyes.

He quickly turns around and wraps his arms around your torso and arms then places his forehead on your back in between your shoulder blades.

“I know it seems that way. But NO! I will never be filled at all-” he wraps his fingers on your upper arms. “They see me as Asmodeus! The king of lust and one of Solomon’s demons! But you see me as Asmo! A selfish narcissist who only thinks of himself! And you gave me the chance to show you more of myself that I didn’t realize! Whether you believe me or not. Know That I see you as the one thing I place over myself. Please!! Don’t see me as others do!” He starts to cry, his tears soak your shirt. 

Then he choked on his tears as he felt your hands running up and down on his arms soothing him. Which made him hold you tighter. The two of you slowly fall on your sides, Asmo not letting go.

“Now, Now. enough of your ugly crying… Your eyes will get puffy” You heard him chuckle and nuzzle his face into the crook of your neck.

After what seems like an hour, Asmo finally moves and turns you on your back while he straddles on your hips. You look at him and he smiles at you then reaches down to run his fingers through your hair. You watch as he shifts into his demon, his wings spread wide and his eyes glows pink.

“Now Darling. Don’t think that this night is over, because we’re just getting to the good part.”

Beelzebub

Even all the food he cooked is just sitting there on the giant table he set up in his room that he shares with Belphie is ready to be eaten. Beel is way too nervous to eat. He's waiting for you to come back. This part needs you and him sharing the food he prepares, but that wasn’t the reason he's too nervous about, but rather what you're going to read from his grimoire.

From the first day you two met, you already know that he is not opposed to eating humans. Even threatening to eat you, but after some time to get to know him, Beel can’t bring himself to do that again, he still has fears of accidentally eating while his under his rage filled hunger state. Consciously he never wants to eat humans again, but he can’t be sure about his subconscious self. He is still under the mercy of his sin.

Once Beel hears the door open and footsteps coming in, he takes a deep breath and turns around. You close the door and turn to face him with his grimoire in your arms. He stares at you holding his wrist out of nervousness as you look around the room before landing your sights on him. “Hey…”

“Hey…” He responds as a whisper, then silences the two of you looking at each other. Neither of you talk or say something for a few moments. Then Beel broke the silence. “I… Know I looked and did bad things back then… But know that I… was never proud of them…” he looks away hiding his glossy eyes as tears start to form. “At times I hate when I get like that, a demon who is never full. As much as I love food, not everything I ate was… pleasant or tasty but I had to swallow just to satisfy my endless hunger… I cry…” Beel trails off, he doesn't want you to pity him, but that’s how he felt and thinks at the moment. “Knowing that there is a chance that hunger can make me hurt you by accident… I don’t want that. Please when I get like that, use the pact or cast a spell. Anything to stop me from hurting you!” Beel drop down on his knees and start crying, he grab his face and bents over.

He heard you rushing over to his side, placing the book to the side before wrapping your arms around him. “I know Beel… You came so far from what you were compared to you are now… seeing you change and learning what you were back then, I’m so proud of you… you are not the same demon, and that you grow for the better”

Beel quickly turns to face you and immediately wraps his arm around you and buries his face into your hair. After a moment in each other's embrace, Beel scoops you up and walks towards the table. “Now, time to eat. And I made room for dessert”

Belphegor

It's been an hour since Belphie gave you his grimoire. It was tradition for Demons to let their partners read their grimoire as a sign of trust. Even after an hour has past Belphie can’t get this sinking feeling in his chest off his chest. The Grimoire records every misdeed and acts that a demon makes, and his no exception, especially he did something recently-

“Belphie?” He flinched and turned around towards the door of the attic. There you stand closing the door with his grimoire under your arm. “I skimmed through your Grimoire and… I’m in it” Belphie turns around, and you notice his shoulder trembling. “Belphie…?” He quietly reaches down to grab his pillow and clench it close to his chest.

“I hate this… Back then I didn’t care what I did. But now, everything hits me like a truck! I want us to move on past that. But I know that thing I did to you is unforgivable-”

“Really? Sure, it was fucked up… I can't ever forget it… But I’m willing to forgive as long as you really regret it.”

“I do regret it!” Belphie turns around, eyes are red as tears flow down his cheek. “I was fucking blind by hatred. And needed to blame someone for Lilith’s death! But instead… I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.” You can hear the panic in his voice.

You slowly moved towards him, sat on the edge of the bed beside him. Then place his grimoire on his lap. “You're more human than you think Belphie… Other humans wouldn’t act like this right now.” His eyes widen and look into your eyes as you continue “Human would've done worse out of spite and hatred, and won’t regret it. And try to trick themselves that they're in the right to do that and their actions are justified but never think their action affects others” You lean forward, lay your forehead on his, close your eyes. “Feeling regretful is a sign that you’ve grown Belphie… That’s all that matters”

In reality he doesn’t deserve a second chance at all but you, the human he did wronged, give him a chance. And that chance he's not going to lose it. He moved closer for a passionate kiss. 

He gently lays you down on the bed, as he shifts to his demon form, he pulls away and slowly caresses your cheek. He moved his tail to tickle your neck, which made you laugh and a chuckle from Belphie.

“There’s still one more thing we have to do… if you're okay going through this courtship thing?” Belphie asks 

“Will it hurt?”

“Not in the way that isn’t pleasant” You think for a moment, but ultimately agree, Belphie smile as his eyes glow purple. “Then be prepared, my lamb. But because the night just started.”

Note:

Finally I have the motivation to finish this! After six month XD

Anyway thanks to @juhlydrawsblog for the push I needed to write this.

If there’s grammar or spelling error, please let me know and don’t be shy to leave a comment or reblogging with cute tags. I just love to see you guys thoughts on this :3

[dewdrop-writes]

The firstborn

YALL i just finished the event quest and like. Mihoyo give me answers NOW Anyway this has spoilers for the event so turn back if you want to avoid them!!!

I was thinking about the imposter/fake Albedo/subject 1 in the context of the SAGAU so I wrote this as a sort of stream of consciousness, it’s pretty short and just a way to put my ideas down, but I think this character has a lot of potential (WHICH IS WHY I WANT MORE)

At first, all he had felt was bitter, crushing resentment for the one that so easily replaced him. He’d been the first to be brought to life, but as quickly as he had been forged, he had been discarded, left in the dark about all matters regarding the world around him, swallowed by his powerful brethren and cursed to lie dormant within its vast belly.

He was scared, abandoned, unwanted.

Slowly, fear became anger that weighed down his very being as he simmered, alone with his thoughts for far too long.

Then, he managed to free himself.

Once again, he could breathe in the life he’d been denied, and he’d been content with that, at first.

Until he discovered his replacement.

Albedo was so much like he was, made of the same components, life gifted to him by the same creator.

But he was loved, unlike himself.

He’d been gifted a name, knowledge, and guidance - all that he had failed to receive. 

How was that fair?

Though their creator, their mother, no longer lingered around, Albedo had built a life for himself. He commanded respect, friendship and powers respected by all in the land. And he’d felt burning hatred and jealousy bubbling inside him at that. He could have had all of that, too.

So, he watched and waited, learned about the world around him as he hid in the shadows. He learned of the Creator, who was more powerful than his mother, more powerful than Albedo, revered and loved by even the archons themselves. The creator, who seemingly had endless love for their creations, using their divine power to guide others around, their godly aura protecting the ones they favored. 

He’d frozen in place as he watched Albedo one day, suddenly feeling a gentle warmth radiating from the alchemist. His brother’s cold and calculating eyes overcome with a proud joy as he was led around to complete tasks otherwise unrelated to his work and research, but he happily obliged.

And as he, the failure could feel his own sorrow and bitterness easing away ever so slightly as he trailed Albedo. He felt the love of the creator, albeit muffled and not truly directed at him, but it was love and care that he had never before been blessed with.

And he yearned for it.

It was intoxicating.

He felt himself seeking out Albedo more and more, hoping that the creator would bless his brother, and in turn, him with their warm embrace.

But one day he realized that that was not enough. Why should he settle for the crumbs of Albedo’s glory, hide in the dark like a scared animal and pine for what he had desperately? No, as the firstborn, he had the right to that love. That warmth.

So, he worked on honing his skills, stealing notes from Albedo and inhaling knowledge with the hunger of a starving man. He learned to create life of his own, imagining the Creator proudly smiling down at him for his achievements.

And then, he decided he’d put into action the next part of his plan. He would take Albedo’s spot. He’d gain his place in society, be surrounded with friends and admirers, and he’d be blessed with the Creator’s time and guidance. 

He deserved it.

He was the firstborn.

And if the Creator truly was as all-loving as they seemed, he would earn their love and attention, even if it meant using deceptive ways.

Albedo had been blessed with all he himself had been deprived of for far too long.

It was now his turn.

And this time, he would not be deemed a replaceable failure - he’d make sure of it.

[saltymongoose]

Hey this is project nexus 2 anon can you do the same player who chooses unarmed build but this the time the main 3 and 2bdamed are self aware and maybe add the auditor. I really like the self aware au

"Hey this is the unarmed build player self aware au thing anon can you add that they can hear the player like when the player beats a hard level like the murdertime arena the players like “woah!! We did it baby! Sanford, hank, Deimos! We did it bros!” FYI player is unaware their self aware the player just likes to do that because it was a team effort" - 2/2

Alright, glad to finally be posting these! :D Sorry for the long wait, been having some issues with my uni stuff which is why I was MIA for a bit. Just a note: this takes place in a different timeline from the main headcanons, as Arena Mode happens before the main story of M:PN. The Auditor will be in the next part to keep the number of new characters even, but the boys will also be included too. :) ❤

[Part 1] They Find Out About the Unarmed Character's Player ft. Hank, Deimos, Sanford & 2BDamned

(TW: Yandere, Obsessive Behavior, Violence.)

Out of everyone in Nevada, the so-called “Player Characters” were the ones who had the deepest connection to you from the beginning. Even before the Auditor and the Employers had decided to tap into your microphone, they could hear your voice. The only reason Subject 1v02P_6 was so successful in their work was due to your support, and the same could be said for your most recent character.

Waking up on that bus and having to fight past other grunts, while having no previous experience with combat whatsoever, was very harrowing for them. They held firm in the belief that your constant presence is what made them survive and grow to be so strong. It was through your gentle influence and strategic knowledge that they masterfully completed every mission and developed specific skills.

They thoroughly enjoyed the warmth you provided as you guided them about, and were overcome with pride when you cheered them on. Everything about your character was carefully molded by you, so of course they’d be grateful for you. If anything, they thought of you as both a guide and a close friend (their best friend, if they were honest); someone who they could rely on for anything at any time. In the face of the immense confusion and existential dread they had to deal with, given the role they had to play for the safety of Nevada, it was comforting to have someone like you at their side for all of this.

The others had always known that something was a bit off with their newest comrade. Firstly, it was extremely odd that they grew so strong so quickly, especially when they shared that they had absolutely no previous experience in this field at all. Then there was that weird feeling they got around them. Even when they weren’t directly interacting, or really even paying attention to each other, there was always this surge of powerful warmth they felt when in their presence.

2BDamned simply assumed it was because they were a G01. Grunts from the earlier generations always had the capability of being more powerful, and Nevada itself seemed to react differently to them. It was a plausible enough theory for the weird aura they had. It could also be an effect of enmeshment, for all he knew. But this hypothesis would soon be disproved.

He had been in the HQ for a short moment, ready to tell his new agent about an important mission in person. He turned his head when he heard their familiar footsteps, ready to greet them when he was cut off by an unfamiliar voice.

“Oh shit chat, look, it’s Doc! I wasn't expecting to see him again so soon." What?

It was clear that the voice came from the agent's location; the only other person there was Bossman, who didn't even react to the sound of another person. (Unbeknownst to Doc, he'd grown used to the other voice occasionally heard from your character. They seemed fine, and it wasn't really any of his business anyway, so he didn't bother bringing it up to anyone.)

Your character was startled by the way 2BDamned looked at them, as if he'd just seen a ghost. They stood there for a few minutes, the air filled with an uncomfortable silence as neither of them spoke. Thoroughly unnerved at this point, your character leaned forward and waved a hand up near their face, which snapped Doc out of whatever he was overcome with.

The man took a step closer to them reaching out to put a hand on your character's shoulder. "Do you have a comm on you?"

"...No?"

His grip tightened slightly and he looked around the space before nodding his head in the direction of the stairs. "We need to have a discussion," he muttered to them, and they gave a slow nod in reply, face full of confusion. Doc's hand fell from them and he started the short walk to the Loft, your character following after shrugging to themselves. They didn't know why he was so concerned. Maybe he wanted them to carry something with them on missions? It made sense, given the importance of their task.

As soon as they entered the Loft, he turned to them. "I am familiar with only the basic side effects of enmeshment, but this is a side effect that I may have overlooked. That voice. Do you know what it is?"

Their face changed from bewilderment to recognition in a second. "Oh, yeah I know who-Wait, you heard them?"

His gaze narrowed. "Yes. I did. What are they?" He asked again, more stern this time. If there was a chance that he'd messed up the imprinting process and more than one S-3LF was inhabiting their body, it could mess up the plan they had. That's not to mention the effects that having two "souls" in the same body could have on them.

"They're my Player," they answered simply, speaking in a casual tone. "I hear them all the time, really. They just help me out, nothing's wrong, don't worry about it." But this wasn't enough to satisfy his concern.

As Doc continued his prodding, your character was forced to open up about you for the first time. And it was very weird. They could fully understand his concern about a "new" presence in their life, but he didn't seem satisfied with their explanation of who you were. If anything, this just made him ask more questions about you.

He'd come to understand that the weird feeling they got around your character was because of you. He'd never been around when you weren't there, so he couldn't tell if anything had changed with them. They said you'd helped them, even speaking praises of your abilities, but Doc was still suspicious. You knew who he was, but that could be explained by you tagging along with the agent. Why you decided to assist them was the biggest question he had.

It never ended well when an otherworldly force got involved in Nevada. It was this way with the Employers, and he wouldn't have pursued this venture with your character in the first place if The Machine wasn't an issue. Why would this "Player" be any different?

He knew he couldn't keep your character from their business in an effort to examine you. But perhaps there was a way to look deeper into this without interfering in the SQ's business.

The very next day, your character was shocked to find Sanford, Deimos, Hank, and Doc sitting at a table in the dorms. Visits from them were common enough, but they were never here at the same time. This must've happened because of their discussion yesterday. Your vessel sighed.

A part of them was annoyed. Was their explanation not enough to quell their suspicions of you? You had ample opportunity to harm the SQ, but you never took them. The only thing you ever did was assist them on the missions Doc gave them, and it was only through your efforts that they'd become the person they were today. Hell, they wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for you using your skills to pilot them around the battlefield, dodging the enemies' attacks the best you could with their inexperienced body. If anything, they should be asking how they should thank you instead of hanging around and trying to investigate. But, they were technically their superiors, and it wouldn't do any good to resist them. They gave a strained smile as they waved to Deimos and neared the table.

From there, they were sent on missions regularly, instructed to just go about their business as usual. However, instead of the hirelings you helped them choose, Doc had his own group members tag along. They just shrugged once they received the order. At least they didn't have to worry about how they'd fare in combat.

And things really were normal for a while. At least, until the others noticed the impact you actually had on the way things were.

They'd all been standing in an elevator when an unusual coldness overcame them, the three taking a moment to look around as your character simply leaned against one of the walls.

"Is there a draft in here, or something?" Deimos asked aloud, pulling his jacket closer to his form. Sanford nodded, shifting uncomfortably as Hank switched his gaze over to your vessel.

"Nah, Player just left for a moment, it happens. They should be back in a few," came your character's response, already used to your antics. They weren't worried; even if you left for longer, you made sure they were strong enough to take care of themselves. It just felt a bit weird when you stopped using them, but they were always quick to adjust.

However, the rest couldn't say the same. They'd grown used to that weird warmth your vessel emanated, so going without it was oddly uncomfortable. It was chilly, and they couldn't say they liked it very much. They all relaxed once your presence returned, and that aura along with it. Your character just looked at them oddly. Was the effect really that bad for them? The others at the HQ didn't seem to care much.

It wasn't long before your characters' friends started exhibiting deeper interest in you. More than what they'd consider normal.

It all started once you suddenly started talking again- which your character was happy with, they were the slightest bit concerned at your prolonged silence. (You'd just mistakingly left the mic unplugged for half an hour before noticing someone in your chat pointing it out. "Shit, sorry about that guys. Bruh moment.") The boys, however, had a different reaction.

"Ah, there we go, back with my boys. Look at 'em, they're so cute!" Wait, what?

They were already told that you could talk to them but they didn't think it would be anything like this. They expected cold orders like what any higher being had shown before, not genuine compliments and praise.

"Okay, we'll put Hank here. Sanford, you'll go to the right, and Deimos, you stay over there on the left. I have full faith in you, so don't let me down." "Aaand that's the final wave completed. Great job as always, babes! Let's get back to HQ."

While your character just took these comments in stride, the others were far more impacted by them. Deimos would grin whenever you'd comment on his tech skills (which he made sure to show off more often). Sanford would perk up whenever you said anything about how well he was doing his task, and Hank would try to do more than the others to, well, hog your praise so to speak. They'd never really had anyone so powerful give them positive attention like this, so it was perfectly normal if they wanted to hear this talk from you again and again, right? (They also grew to like the smooth cadence of your voice, and the cute way you laughed. But it was certainly too soon for them to be developing crushes on you. Then again, love at first sight was a thing, so maybe it wasn't too outlandish.)

When Doc met with them again, they were quick to jump to your defense, quickly explaining that you didn't do anything suspicious, or cause them an inconvenience as they completed their objective. But 2BDamned still had his reservations, especially when he realized that they seemed far more fond of you than they should be after spending such a short time with you.

(You and your chat were surprised then the grunt was listed as one of the squadmates for your next venture. It would be fun to see how his ranged style could be used.)

From then on, the four accompanied your character on all of the missions you took. They were always there to witness how you made their friend attack the enemies, tearing through the opposing forces as you stopped them from damaging the goods they were sent to retrieve. You even protected them when they got hit badly, making your vessel move even faster to lay waste to those who harmed the four. This, along with your frequent concerned comments, was enough to persuade Doc that maybe you weren't so bad.

(He tried to keep up this cold facade, but it wasn't fooling anyone. The stunned glances they exchanged when they heard him chuckle warmly at something you said was proof enough of this.)

They all genuinely enjoyed being in your presence, even if some weren't as open about it. The warmth they felt from your vessel was cozy, and made them feel safe even in the most dangerous of battles. (Your character noticed how close they'd stick to them when you didn't tell them to stay anywhere. It was weird, but as long as they didn't get in their way, it wasn't an issue.)

Even better were your cheers once you all finished a mission. They remembered a particularly long battle in the Slaughter Time™️ arena that had left them on their last legs. Even your character had taken a few hits. But their weary expressions brightened once they heard an excited shout from you.

"Woah! We did it baby!! San, Dei, Hank, 2B, we did it bros! Ah, I'm so happy..."

They'd go through as many difficult trials you needed them to just to hear your gratitude time and time again. There was something so immensely fulfilling about being around you. They didn't want to give that up just yet.

In the beginning, your character was overjoyed that they seemed fine with you. But now they had another problem on their hands. They thought they'd be free to go about their business without taking the other's time, but they seemed to double down on going with them. Instead of just accompanying them on missions, they simply never left.

Hank, Deimos, and Sanford were always at their sides no matter what they were doing; sitting down with them to eat, training alongside them, even sitting close to the Sleepwalker bed when they got in it for another session. Doc set up an office space in the HQ but chose to carry around a tablet instead to do his work wherever they you were.

It was starting to get uncomfortable for their vessel. It didn't make any sense, to suddenly go from having near-complete independence to having them watch their every move. It seems they couldn't do anything without the others there. They knew they liked you, but this was just too much.

They thought that bringing this change up with Doc would do something to remedy this but to no avail. The only thing it did was make the four defensive, which just made it harder to tell what they were planning.

In their minds, they shouldn't have to explain anything to your vessel. Didn't they understand just how desirable your presence was, and how lucky they were to have you? It made perfect sense that they stuck around, how else could they have access to you?

Then again, this made it clear that maybe they didn't get how grateful they should be for having your support. And from knowing you and your power, they decided that you deserved better than that.

Huddling together in a corner of the Loft, long after you left and your vessel headed to bed, they discussed how perhaps you should play as one of them for a change. Maybe Doc could find a way to make the enmeshment of the Mandatus happen sooner. Then, with your vessel having completed their central purpose, it was only logical for you to choose them instead.

The bitter jealousy that they felt whenever they caught a glimpse of those phantom strings on the agent's fingers had reached its breaking point, though even they remained unknowing of just how far they'd go for your attention. All they knew for sure was that they didn't want to leave your side, and as long as they had it in their ability, they wouldn't let you.

[apiscircensis]

I had been meaning to draw some updated portraits of my twst fcs so I went ahead and drew portraits and wrote short bios for all of the ones I have so far

this is part one, mi main fcs, the octacrew

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

bio transcripts and links to full bios under the cut

Blake Margolis

Octavinelle Dorm School Year: Third Birthday: July 9 Zodiac Sign: Cancer Age: 18 Height: 183cm Dominant Hand: Right Club: Film Studies Club Best Subject: Magic Pharmacology Hobbies: Trying on clothes Pet Peeves: Being looked down upon Favorite Food: Apples Least Favorite Food: Pottage Talents: Giving pep-talks

"If you have something to say, I might be saying something as well."

Hedonistic and vain. He has an appreciation for the finer things in life but not necessarily the taste for them, caring more about appearances than actual quality. He's probably maintaining the local designer knock offs market all by himself.

He is cunning and persuasive, getting along well with his younger/weaker/less talented classmates, whom he sweet talks into doing his bidding. He's greedy but not selfish, and is willing, even happy, to share his exploits with those he finds worthy of his grace.

He is loudly friendly and over familiar to people he finds interesting. Loves gossip and meddling in people’s businesses, both for fun and for the chance of finding out things that can be used as leverage.

He brings along his familiar, a capuchin monkey named Jacob who is a cute little pillager of pockets and general bringer of mayhem.

Inspired on Hector Barbossa (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)

[full bio]

---

Morgan Heerser 

Octavinelle Dorm School Year: Third Birthday: February 28 Zodiac Sign: Pisces Age: 18 Height: 168cm Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous Club: Board game club Best Subject: Magic History Hobbies: Gambling Pet Peeves: Liars Favorite Food: Shrimp, pastries Least Favorite Food: Stale bread Talents: Playing the piano

"Are you prepared for what's next?”

He’s gloomy, distant, and temperamental and is perfectly willing to demonstrate it. He has little patience for incompetence and becomes angry easily when people get on his nerves. He values loyalty and a strong will.

Though he was knowledgeable about it, he had no actual experience with life on land before coming to the NRC, and his human body can be a bit frail. His true merman form however is massive and incredibly strong.

Despite being a reclusive loner, he’s also a hopeless romantic. He’s an avid reader of poetry and lover of music. Though he would never admit it, he yearns to one day find a love as strong and vast as the sea itself.

Inspired on Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

[full bio]

---

Jacob Quinn 

Octavinelle Dorm School Year: Third Birthday: November 18 Zodiac Sign: Scorpio Age: 18 Height: 175cm Dominant Hand: Right Club: Science ClubBest Subject: Ancient curses Hobbies: Miniatures Pet Peeves: Frogs Favorite Food: Jambalaya Least Favorite Food: Bland foods Talents: Pyrotechnics

"If I don't thrash a man every now and then, they forget who I am."

A straight up thug. As charismatic as he is vicious, he has an affinity for turmoil and often starts and instigates fights with and among other students just for the fun of it.

He has an exuberant manner and a penchant for theatrics, which give him an enchanting aura despite his dry wit and general bad attitude.

He has a younger sister that he loves very, very much. She's the light of his life and the one person he genuinely cares for. He enrolled at NRC on her request, as she hoped it would help him straighten up.

Inspired on Blackbeard (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)

[full bio]

[crystalsenergy]

how to improve Saturn placements? - evolving our personality #1

the purpose of this text is to bring a possibility to improve negative points in us from other positions [which you may or may not have in your natal chart]. sometimes the potential for improvement is already outlined as a trend inside yourself. other times the potential will need to be created. but as long as you assume that you need to improve, you are already taking the first step.

I'm going to put positions according to this post here about the shadows of our personality, leaving from the assumption that what brings us more suffering may be precisely in these positions cited in the post.

SATURN PLACEMENTS

Saturn in Aries / Saturn in 1st house -> Jupiter in 1st house

in other words, you need to learn to have more self-confidence, a dose of trusting yourself more easily, being less afraid of starting things, getting to know something new, or picking up on something you've already started. you need more willpower, to notice more positive things about yourself. it's also important to note that you may have a tendency to be more closed in admitting your problems. the construction of awareness about your individuality needs to take place. you must be optimistic and less pessimistic about yourself and your potential.

Saturn in Taurus / Saturn in 2nd house -> Venus in 2nd house / Venus in Taurus

Saturn in Taurus or in the 2nd house brings the problem of lack of self-worth, of not being able to feel good enough for some situations. there may be a certain pessimism (not as strong as that of Saturn in the 9th house), but a "certainty" that things won't work out in the area of ​​finance and love. it may be that ppl feel bad about they value to someone, it may be that they have trouble finding satisfaction in things, they may have difficulty feeling loved enough and/or supplied by the things around them. thus, those who have this placement need to notice patterns in themselves of not valuing themselves, not feeling good enough for a specific goal or person. self-worth in the sense of beauty, aesthetics and value seen by others is something to be worked on, primarily from the inside. taking as an example Venus in Taurus, excellent position to notice where you need to improve, it is important that you see your value, know how to relax, enjoy small pleasures in life, learn to invest in yourself, see the value of money and your efforts, and always continue to be persistent.

Saturn in Gemini / Saturn in 3rd house -> Mercury in Gemini / Mars in 3rd house

considering what a native with Saturn in Gemini or in the 3rd house tends to feel, it's important that these people learn to incorporate some points, which necessarily need to include: self-confidence in speech and ability to express themselves without censorship. this can be helped especially by Mercury in Gemini and Mars in the 3rd house (or also Mars in Gemini). It's important that you understand the need to speak what you think, not unthinkingly - which I imagine would be very difficult to happen, knowing this position -, but in a more confident way, even a little impulsive in some situations (emphasizing: some situations). It's important to allow your head to function naturally with regard to your mental processes and thoughts so that you will learn to express yourself without so many internal limitations.

Saturn in Cancer / Saturn in 4th house -> Uranus in 4th house

in other words, you need to develop less emotional dependency. you must be more open about your inner life, and you must learn to develop a healthy dichotomy, not the duality that this placement tends to bring: Saturn in Cancer / in the 4th house brings a tendency to become more emotionally closed, conveying an impression to others that you are very well resolved and live well with almost everything in life. this is a need Saturn gives to people: need for control. but this control may not always be healthy, as it's most often. Saturn tends to create a strong possibility of extreme behaviors, due to the internal fear and rigidity that are generated. the person is constantly closing in, but she/he is extremely vulnerable. however, what must be learned from Uranus in the 4th house is another duality, a little healthier and more advantageous for those who have this position: that of being more open about internal issues, but also not being dependent.

Saturn in Leo / Saturn in 5th house -> Sun in Leo

there is no way for me to talk about improving this Saturn placement without mentioning Sun in Leo. bearing in mind that Saturn in Leo and the 5th house gives a tendency to ppl feel less able to express themselves, less able to show the world their potential, their abilities, or simply appearing, it's important that the opposite is nurtured by the native: it's necessary to understand that yes, you have an individual power, you have potential that can be worked, we all do. you have the capacity to achieve something, to ascend, to lead, if necessary. and it's also necessary to work on the idea of ​​self-esteem and on the construction of a less fragile ego (which exists in a healthy Sun in Leo).

Saturn in Virgo / Saturn in 6th house -> Mars in Virgo, Uranus in 6th house

two things need to be worked on at the same time: discipline and your ability to be less rigid. yes, it's quite dual, almost opposite. but that's what happens with Saturn in Virgo / Saturn in the 6th house, often the natives can't move because of an excessive concern with details, because they think too much about everything, charge themselves even before the task is started, which it brings an air of rigidity and discipline, but it's exactly what keeps them from moving out of place: excess. with regard to the excess rigidity that causes a person to freeze, Uranus in the 6th house can help, given the energy of more unpredictability and independence from patterns and the like. another thing that is also likely to occur with this Saturn placement is procrastination and wasting time on frivolous things, as well as an aura of laziness (which creates tremendous guilt). with regard to this problem, Mars in Virgo (or Mars in the 6th house) can help, as this placement of Mars is pure fuel to be practical, agile, diligent and organized.

Saturn in Libra / Saturn in 7th house -> Venus in Libra, Uranus in 7th house

this position generates in people a dichotomy of being closed to love and emotional situations, but, at the same time, being very dependent on loving relationships, for fear of loss, of being alone. to the point of a person who blocks too much from getting into relationships, Venus in Libra can help by bringing a desire to be with someone in a healthier way, from the idea of ​​sharing something with the other person, of living together and feel good from the company of other. on the other hand, as it's also necessary to take care of the dependency issue, Uranus in the 7th house is very useful, so that the person doesn't have an extreme need for the other to the point of getting lost in the middle of it and not being able to go out anymore. It's important to be open to love, but always understanding that a little independence, valuing the individuality of the other, can also be good.

Saturn in Scorpio / Saturn in 8th house -> Mars in Scorpio, Uranus in 8th house

these Saturn placements bring a great fear of change, an aversion to being psychologically open. here, there is a person who seems impenetrable because he/she hides his/her fears, traumas and problems. these people don't like to break taboos. for being somewhat conservative and closed minded to everything that the sign and the house placed means, it's very important that they know the need to be more open to different circumstances of life. it's important to understand that it's part of life: being intimate with others, knowing deeper and even 'dark' sides of yourself, understanding sex as something natural (Mars in Scorpio will help with these things); besides it's also important to understand that it's part of life to have psychological transformations, a greater openness to taboos and to understand human complexity (Uranus in the 8th house will help with this). thus, you'll be able to reach another level in your life.

Saturn in Sagittarius / Saturn in 9th house -> Uranus in 9th house

one of the marks of Saturn in Sagittarius is the issue of redemption to some philosophy or ready-made idea that aims to explain life. here, the native has a great fear of being impacted by the depth of knowledge - depth that marks the uncertainty of life and its ephemerality -, and therefore, the tendency of this native is to hide behind a philosophy or 'certainty' that supports and gives comfort. therefore, people tend to close themselves off and live in a tremendous comfort zone, or rather a bubble, in which only what they have decided to accept as the general premise of their life makes sense. it can also generate a lot of pessimism, a more closed and even prejudiced view of other people. thus, it's more than necessary to understand that life is much more than what you heard in some corner when you were child and that you share within yourself today, there are several truths, but none of them is absolute. and that's the grace of life, knowing more and more, and understanding the value of diversity and the impossibility of being sure of something all the time. open up to other philosophies of life, religion, get out of your comfort zone, question things and your limiting beliefs more. don't cover yourself so much in relation to higher education and have more autonomy when knowing a deeper subject, don't depend on someone for that. all of this can be learned through Uranus in the 9th house.

Saturn in Capricorn / Saturn in 10th house -> Mars in Capricorn

this position of Saturn is one of the least painful that Saturn can bring, however, on the other hand, it can increase in the dose of rigidity and vision totally focused on what is concrete, objective, earthly, forgetting other sides of life. and despite not being one of the worst positions to have on Saturn, it brings many difficulties with regard to career and achieving goals. either because the person feels incapable, having some internal blockage, a mistaken idea of ​​her/himself, of her/his potential, or because during her life the person ends up encountering many barriers to finally ascend professionally. in this situation, it's extremely necessary for the native to use all the energy she/he has in order to put the will and potential out. this is made possible more powerfully by what represents Mars in Capricorn, a placement of great ambition, but which represents the capacity that may be lacking in these placements of Saturn.

Saturn in Aquarius / Saturn in 11th house -> Venus in Aquarius, Uranus in 11th house

one of the things that these positions bring most difficulty to a person is the tendency for them to exclude themselves from others, either for fear of group acceptance, or for not feeling good about being with other people, preferring solitude. this positioning brings a behavior of being more independent, having few friends and being more closed to others. you may also be more closed-minded to try original, new, and surprising things, even if you have the creativity to do so. another problem to be faced is a strong tendency not to trust people. Venus in Aquarius and Uranus in the 11th house help with this because the first placement is more focused on living in a group, making friends, representing a more sociable person, and the second doesn't fail to cultivate people's independence, but still remains open to friendships.

Saturn in Pisces / Saturn in 12th house -> Sun in Pisces, Moon in Pisces

this is a dense, complicated position, which gives people a feeling that they must be completely rigid and closed to their inner life, their inner space, but the more people try to escape, the more they are led to face this side of their personality. this position represents problems with mental health, issues of closing oneself to deeper contacts with people, difficulty with empathy, altruism. the person can be made to think more often about life, and have existential crises. Moon in Pisces and Sun in Pisces can help with these strong sensations as the placements bring greater openness to introspection, which makes the person less tempted to close off from the inner reflections - which will arise!! -, making the person too able to be more selfless and to show her/his compassion and empathy for others more openly.

[holykillercake]

FRIED EGGS

KOBY x Pirate!Reader

word count: 2k

summary: Being infiltrated as a Marine and keeping your feelings under control was easy until you were assigned to work with Marine Captain Koby. How you wished he was a jerk.

highlight: ¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨

warnings: read under the risk of developing diabetes.

notes: Hey, guys! This was a lovely request from @pure-kirarin! <3 I had to stop other projects to make this one because Koby threw me out of my comfort zone hahaha I really hope you like!! ALSO 1) Happy Birthday Sabo-kun! ALSO 2) In order to add more dept to the story, the main character is part of a Yonkos´crew, but I wrote in a way that all fit, so choose your favorite! ALSO 3) ART ALERT!

Leave comments, hearts and love!

¨You have been doing a remarkable job in such little time, Commander L/N. We all have great expectations regarding your transference to our Marine Headquarters.¨ 

The words of the Rear Admiral barely scratched your mind as you discreetly observed the pink-haired boy´s reflection on the crystal clear window. 

He maintained a similar posture to yours: chin up, chest out, shoulders back, and stomach in. However, while your fingers remained paralleled to your trousers, you took a glimpse of his clenched fist, thumb fidgeting the side of his index finger. 

¨Vice Admiral Tsuru was reluctant to sign your transfer. She said you remind her of herself in the past, which is always an excellent compliment to hear.¨ you nodded, acknowledging his words  ¨We´re glad we convinced her.¨

Your heart warmed with his words, and you almost felt bad because you knew the disappointing outcome O-Tsuru-san would have at the end of this. She trained you with the iron face of a merciless soldier, and the elegance that resembled the animal of her name.

It has been three years since you received the green card from your captain to part ways in a long-term solo mission. A journey to excavate the putrid secrets of the so-called defenders of the law. You learned after a short time that justice is not so black and white.

Not that you planned to reveal the dirt, no. That intel your captain could sell to the Revolutionary Army and keep the capital running. You were interested in the arms race, the corrupt diplomacy, and more importantly, the dark pipes where traitors flowed.

Someone from inside the Yonkos was feeding the Marines with crucial information about the Emperors´ activities. And in such a close fight, you could not take those risks.

All other Emperors must have their own undercover agents within the Marines, but even that was a dispute. You could point some names to your boss, who confirmed what was suspected. Those would usually be the best of the best, extravagant and loud.

But not you. You didn't have to make that much noise. You slid between the floors of New Marineford like a snake swimming with the current. Earning the respect of your superiors and being promoted without ringing any bells. You accepted each medal with a firm salutation and relentless performance. 

¨The trip must have been displeasing. Submerging ten thousand meters underwater and rising to these fiendish waters require a good rest. Our Marine Captain Koby will escort you to your quarters, Commander Y/N. The remaining instructions shall be presented tomorrow.¨

You saluted the Rear Admiral in front of you and turned to the exit, passing by Koby, who waited for you to leave first.  When your paths crossed, the pace of your heartbeats quickened, pumping more blood through your body and leaving a burning sensation on your cheeks. 

The involuntary response was instantly interpreted as alertness to danger, which needed to be handled with caution. 

Can´t let my guard down around this one, you thought.

In fact, you planned to keep as much distance as you could from him. An officer let slip that he has been gaining incredible control over his Observation Haki since the Paramount War. 

But the wind seemed to change direction, and you began to swim against the current. When the morning came, you were assigned to be his partner for an undetermined time, and he would act as your superior. The idea of being bossed around by a younger marine got your temper sparked. 

Only he was not like the others, treating you in a patronizing and condescending way. He spoke to you with the same cordiality and politeness he addressed everybody else. 

Slowly, your concrete cold expression began to soothe. You would still remind yourself how annoying his good manners were, though. So annoying, seriously!

¨Good morning, Y/N-san!¨ he greeted as you joined him for breakfast. 

¨Good morning, Koby.¨ 

¨Our Border Force correspondent sent his report early in the morning with information about possible Yonkos´ alliances in the Wano Country. We are arranging a meeting as soon as possible.¨ 

You didn´t like to handle work so early, but this subject, in particular, raised your spirits. ¨Good. It was about time.¨

You noticed that he wore a different headband. ¨What happened?¨ 

¨Hm?¨ he brought the soup bowl close to his mouth. 

¨The bandana. Green, with the fried eggs.¨ he choked on the miso soup, coughing like he had swallowed poison. 

You reached for a paper tissue and handed it to him. ¨K-Koby, are you ok?¨

¨Y-Y/N... Y/N-san...¨ he coughed some more ¨They´re not... fried eggs...¨

¨Oh...¨ your brows raised slightly ¨What are they?¨

A depressive aura grew around him ¨They are flowers, YN-san...¨

The edge of your lips contorted as you tried to hide a smile. You haven´t felt like smiling genuinely for years. Annoying boy!

From that moment on, ignoring him became more difficult. He started to ask you to train with him or invite you to spend some time with him and Helmeppo whenever you had free time. Eventually, he began to ask you how he looked before an important meeting. 

Most of the time, you would reply something like ¨ok¨. But sometimes, the mouth was quicker than the brain, and you would let an ¨impeccable¨ slip out, followed by an awkward throat clearing and blushed cheeks. 

From both sides.

•

¨Oh my-¨ you stopped yourself from finishing the sentence. 

You were chosen to complete this mission due to your excellent skills in hiding emotions and acting calm under stressful situations. No one could break you. 

Within the Marines, no joke could make you crack a smile, and no torture could make you spill secrets. 

Why did you want to ask if he was ok?

Koby had entered his office with bumps and bloody bruises over his face. His always neat uniform was blotchy, and he carried a first aid kit. 

¨Garp-san paid a visit.¨ He sat on the couch and opened the white box, throwing everything on the coffee table. ¨I bet it wasn't like this with Tsuru-san.¨ he chuckled. 

¨No. She would beat me up, wash me and hang me up to dry.¨ 

You shot from the chair, moving towards the clumsy pinkette, who struggled to attend to his injuries. He tried to hold the mirror with one hand and suture his gash with the other. 

¨Thank yo-¨

¨Shh. Don´t move.¨

You leaned closer to have a better look, giving Koby the same chance. Your delicate perfume smelled like it was tailor-made for you. Your breathing was slightly irregular, and your lip twitched with every given stitch. Your fingers felt like feathers on his skin, so much that he didn´t even feel a sting. 

The job was fast and efficient, making Koby wish Garp had put more effort into his Love Fist. Grabbing a piece of wet cotton, you cleaned the dried blood.  

¨Alright...¨ you whispered.

¨Alright...¨ he whispered back.

You were inches apart from his face, your eyes traveling across the scar on his forehead, the pink locks, and kind features. Your mind traced back all the way to the Paramount War. You had very little knowledge about him, but the words he spoke that day have always made your heart pound like cannonballs. 

You will make an excellent Admiral one day, Koby. 

I hope you don´t hate me. 

¨Y-Y/N-san...¨

¨Hm?¨

¨Your smile is beautiful.¨

¨What?¨ The stupid scene of yours was interrupted like a DJ stopping the record player. 

With cheeks getting pinker than his hair, you shot up and marched back to the chair and your newspaper. ¨You clean this up.¨ 

He left a low chuckle out and began gathering the mess. 

Oh, no, Y/N. You have got to be kidding me. 

He is a freaking marine. Breathe. 

There were a vast number of reasons why you couldn´t like him: from him being a Marine Captain and you being a pirate to the fact that your mission was coming to a conclusion.

Meaning that your journey as his partner would be very soon reaching its end. The meeting with this mysterious correspondent regarding the Yonkos´ operations in the New World would be the last move in this chess game. You would be going home. Mission completed. Everything perfect, right? 

Right, perfect. Impeccable! Ugh!

•

¨... confirm secure line.¨

¨This is Border Officer code 404890. Secure line confirmed.¨ you spoke with a low but clear voice through the nail transponder. 

¨What´s the status on our birdie?¨

¨Positive. The birdie is located at 03:24:01.¨ you gave your boss a coordinate to the name of the Marine informant. The answer you took three years to find out remained on file number one, third page, suspect number twenty-four. 

An amused laugh echoed on your end, and you buried the speaker on your jacket to muffled the sound. 

¨At least he is not one of ours.¨ a chuckle ¨Great job, Y/N.¨

¨Thank you, boss.¨

¨I know this mustn't have been easy, but you were impeccable as always.¨

Yeah, impeccable. 

¨You know the protocol now. We´ll see each other in a few days. You´ll have a party waiting for you, kid.¨

¨Aye, aye, boss. But I want the good booze.¨  Both of you laughed. 

You finished the call, and the smile on your lips died as the image of a pink-haired boy invaded your mind. You wished he was a jerk like everybody else. 

It would have been so easy. 

¨Who were you talking to?¨ your chest contracted, pushing the air out of your lungs and sending extra blood supply to your muscles. 

You hid the transponder into your jacket and turned, facing your Marine Captain. 

¨Eavesdropping, Koby?¨

What should I do?

¨Y/N-san, who were you talking to?¨ he repeated himself, offering the benefit of the doubt. You sighed.

¨My captain.¨ 

Why the need to be honest with him?

¨Y/N-san, please don´t tell me-¨

¨I´m sorry, Koby. I wish I didn´t have to do this.¨ you couldn´t bring yourself to face him.

¨A-Are you a pirate? Why?¨

You chuckled ¨Why am I a pirate?¨

¨Why did you do this?¨ his face was pale, making your guts twitch in guilt.

¨I´m on a mission. But I´ll leave soon.¨

¨You are like... Vergo-san.¨ he sounded disappointed.

¨I am nothing like Vergo. You know this.¨ or at least you hoped he did. 

He closed the door slowly, eyes fixed on your figure. The bright light from the window made him look like an ethereal painting.

While you tried to predict his next move, whether he was going to interrogate you or kick your ass, Koby acted calm and collected, not hesitating. He trusted his Observation Haki to guide his next move. Or maybe his heart.

You saw a pink blur closing distance like a missile, and before you could dodge, his hands pulled you by the waist, connecting your bodies and lips. 

He forced your back to meet the thick window with a gasp that was muffled by the kiss. His touch was rough upon the fabric of your uniform, but his mouth felt soft against yours.

Your hands moved to his hair, removing the round pair of glasses and the green bandana so you could get lost in his locks. His grip was harsh under the fabric of your uniform, but his hair felt soft on your fingertips. 

A moan escaped your lips when he parted the kiss with a loud snap and struck the glass with both hands, keeping you trapped in the middle. You let go of his hair and grabbed him by the collar, not letting him go away.

¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨ his breath was heavy and carried with a myriad of emotions. 

¨I know... I am sorry.¨

¨Why?¨

¨Because I like you, Koby. A lot.¨ he paused for a second, fighting the urge to admit the same.

¨What was your mission?¨

This is the last lie, I promise, Koby. ¨The Marines possessed vital information about something my boss wants. I needed to get it.¨

¨Now that I know that you´re a pirate and that you stole Marine´s assets, I´m gonna have to hunt you down.¨

¨I´ll be waiting for you.¨ 

You stared him in the eyes, and he kissed you to stop himself from saying what he really wanted. 

I love you, Y/N-san.

Diary of Koby-Meppo: The Fried Egg Life Crisis.

💕 @vemuabhi

[thecreaturecodex]

Rakshasa, Arakkan

“Rakshasa Demon” © Clayton D’mello, accessed at his ArtStation here

[One of the things I find amusing about Ghosts, Monsters and Demons of India is that it takes the time to explain to its (mostly native to India) audience why rakshasas on the internet are dapper men with tiger heads. The book obviously covers creatures that fit into the more mythologically accurate category of rakshasa, so I wanted to cover one of them. The Arakkan is a Tamil giant (the name is used in both Tamil translations of Jack and the Beanstalk and the Mahabharata), so I figured it would be a good match for a big, fangy rakshasa. The stuff about it having a hidden soul comes from one of the stories related in Ghosts, Monsters and Demons of India]

Rakshasa, Arakkan CR 19 LE Outsider (native) This red-skinned giant has four arms, each ending in clawed hands, and a pair of horns growing from his head. He has a tusked mouth and wears clothing decorated with skulls.

Arakkans are powerful rakshasas that have lived many lifetimes, but have missed incarnation into a majarajah by inches. Their bodies are incredibly powerful, but they have been denied any further advancement through reincarnation. When an arakkan is created, its soul is tethered to the life of an animal, and although it can be reborn quickly and with great control, it can never reincarnate into another being. If an arakkan’s hidden soul is severed by killing the animal it is tied to, the arakkan is dead forever. As such, arakkans guard such animals incredibly closely, keeping them comfortable and well protected behind layers of secrecy.

Despite their brutish appearance, arakkans are skilled magicians by human standards. They prefer to use spells that enhance their physical attributes or weaken opponents, as they do delight in physical combat. Enemies that keep their distance are pelted with a rain of magically conjured stones, and few creatures can survive multiple of these barrages. An arakkan typically fights to the death, arrogant in its power and convinced it will return to life via its hidden soul, unless it knows that said soul has been killed.

Arakkans are rather bitter towards other rakshasas, as they are still part of the cycle of reincarnation. They enjoy inflicting fates worse than death, like enslavement and petrifaction, on lesser members of their own kind. Arakkans are as indolent and desirous of luxury as most other rakshasas are, but they tend to dwell in remote fastnesses instead of in the heart of civilization. They can disguise themselves as ordinary humanoids or as giants, and some live as kings among giant civilizations. These arakkan are likely to come into competition with oni, a struggle that culminates with the death of one party or the other.

Arakkan        CR 19 XP 204,800 LE Huge outsider (native, rakshasa) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +25 Defense AC 32, touch 11, flat-footed 29 (-2 size, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +21 natural) hp 333 (23d10+207) Fort +18, Ref +15, Will +19 DR 15/good and piercing; SR 34 Defensive Abilities hidden soul Offense Speed 50 ft. Melee 4 claws +32 (2d6+11), bite +32 (2d8+11) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks conjure barrage, detect thoughts (DC 25), rend (4 claws, 2d6+16) Spells CL 16th, concentration +20 (+24 casting defensively) 8th (3/day)—moment of prescience 7th (5/day)—power word blind, waves of exhaustion 6th (6/day)—flesh to stone (DC 20), stone to flesh, true seeing 5th (6/day)—hold monster (DC 19), overland flight, persistent image (DC 19), wall of force 4th (7/day)—dimension door, enervation, greater invisibility, wall of fire 3rd (7/day)—arcane sight, heroism, protection from energy, tongues 2nd (7/day)—bull’s strength, eagle’s splendor, mirror image, scorching ray, touch of idiocy 1st (7/day)—alarm, identify, mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement 0th—acid splash, detect magic, detect poison, ghost sound (DC 14), light, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation, resistance Statistics Str 33, Dex 15, Con 28, Int 14, Wis 23, Cha 18 Base Atk +23; CMB +36; CMD 49 Feats Ability Focus (conjure barrage), Acrobatic, Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Quicken Spell, Stand Still Skills Acrobatics +24, Bluff +25, Climb +26, Fly +16, Intimidate +25, Knowledge (arcana, planes) +23, Knowledge (local) +18, Perception +25, Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +23 Languages Common, Infernal, Giant SQ change shape (humanoid or giant, alter self or giant shape II) Ecology Environment any land Organization solitary or pair Treasure standard Special Abilities Conjure Barrage (Su) As a standard action three times per day, an arakkan can cause a magical barrage of stones to fall. This acts as a cylinder 40 feet high and with a 20 ft. radius, centered on a point within 300 feet. All creatures caught in the area take 19d8 points of bludgeoning damage (Reflex DC 27 half) that counts as a lawful, evil and magic weapon for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. The area where the barrage fell counts as difficult terrain for 1 day, whereupon the rocks evaporate into mist. The save DC is Charisma based. Hidden Soul (Su) An arakkan’s soul is hidden inside of a mundane animal. This counts as an ordinary animal of CR 8 or less, except that it radiates an aura of strong necromancy when subject to a detect magic or other spell. As long as this animal lives, the arakkan’s hidden soul allows it to be automatically resurrected, as per the spell, 1 day after it is slain. If the animal is killed during this period or kept in an antimagic field, the effect fails. An arakkan knows the location of its hidden soul animal at all times, as per a discern location spell, and can designate a new animal to hide its soul through a ritual that takes 1 week to complete. Spells An arakkan casts spells as a 16th level sorcerer. It does not gain access to any other sorcerer class abilities, such as a bloodline.

[writesowhatnext]

the solution is outsourcing // fred weasley

Summary: the reader is awkward… really awkward, but quite brilliant, really. Maybe that’s why Fred’s so interested

Request: hi lovely, love your writing! can i req a fluffy fred weasley x ravenclaw!reader please? maybe the reader knows something that’ll help him with a prank or something?

A/N: I had such a hard time writing this if not purely because I fell down a hunger games rabbit hole and felt like I was 12 again BUT ALSO halfway through this I was creasing because I kept having to tell myself that I absolutely could not name this ‘the highs and lows of high school quidditch’

Reader: Ravenclaw

Warnings: 1 swear word maybe?

Hogwarts, as you discovered pretty early on, was not at as boring as most schools in the area. First of all, there weren’t any other schools in the area due to it being a castle nestled just within the Scottish Highlands and all. Secondly, being a school for wizards, it had its fair share of perks that came with the territory: from learning about thestrals to broomsticks to sleeping draughts and everything in between, life at Hogwarts had a certain je ne sais quoi that most schools just weren’t cut out for.

After the second time Harry Potter, a boy in the year below, was almost killed, you figured that Hogwarts’ flair came less from its magical subjects and more from the drama of constant near-death experiences. Regardless, though, you wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

Amidst the chaos, it was easy to forget sometimes that Hogwarts was still a school. A school full of teenagers. A school full of incredibly gifted and incredibly impressionable teenagers.

Not only were you extremely blessed to be learning all that you were but you were also fairly bright, and so you were often very dedicated to your studies, making sure to soak up all the knowledge you could from every possible source. But even you weren’t immune to the consequences of a high school social hierarchy; a fact that would probably explain why your mouth was drying up faster than the Sahara Desert watching Fred Weasley across the room.

He always had this look in his eye like he knew something everyone else didn’t, you thought, your attention divided somewhat unequally between him and your History of Magic textbook. He also always managed to look attractive. You hummed as he turned, starting to approach your table. Wait, what? Your table?

Undeniably, Fred was one of the most popular boys in school.

Both handsome and hilarious, he and his twin brother George were infamous for their pranks and notorious for their quidditch playing. Everybody knew who they were and if they didn’t, they would soon enough.

Your friends, usually so engrossed in their own discussions, grew silent and your hands stilled on your textbook, your fingers pinching at the old pages. It’s not like you often watched Fred Weasley across the courtyard… or classrooms… or the Great Hall.

Well.

To your defence, though, you were usually a lot less obvious and he was usually a lot less heading in your direction.

Why was he coming over to your bench? He probably wasn’t, you thought. It was probably just a detour. Or a prank. You swallowed, unable to tear your eyes off of him. The courtyard was loud with chatter, but you’d wager your heartbeat was louder. Why was he still heading your way?

“Hi,” he said leisurely, crossing his arms over one another as he stood next to your bench. His lean muscles strained under his jumper and though your perspective was warped by your goo-goo eyes and the fact you were sat down, it was still fairly obvious that he was tall. He had the aura of someone tall, you decided, and if his crooked grin was anything to go by, he was apparently completely aware of the effect he had on you and everyone else, for that matter.

You looked behind you, your confusion growing when you found only air and realised that he was, in fact, talking to you.

You frowned, your lips puckering as you tried to form a word, any word.

“What?”

Maybe not that word. In fact, maybe any other word would have been better.

“Uh,” he said, leaning backwards and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Hi?”

You cursed yourself under your breath.

“Hello?” you replied, your tone unsure.

“I’m Fred,” he said, his uneasy expression replaced quickly with the same charming smile.

Before your brain could catch up with your mouth, you scoffed. “I know.”

“Merlin,” you muttered under your breath, blinking and swallowing back the dryness in your throat. “I’m Y/N.”

“I know.”

The amused smirk playing on his lips almost definitely blew a fuse in your brain.

“I’ve been looking for you actually,” he said, placing his hand on your table and leaning over.

If his words weren’t enough to send you over the edge, his proximity plummeted your brain into some alternate reality where it was unavoidable to say awkward things to attractive strangers.

“Well, it’s your lucky day!” you chimed, your cheerful grin dying on your lips as you heard your own words. Why you couldn’t just behave normally was beside you.

Fred didn’t seem to mind nor notice how painfully awkward you felt.

“Isn’t it just?” he said, his surprised expression relaxing into a smirk. He turned to one of your friends opposite you and pointed to the empty space next to him. “D’you mind if I sit here, mate?”

“’Course not,” your friend said, shooting you an entertained smile and sliding up so Fred could sit facing you. His knees touched yours as he clambered over the bench.

“Now,” Fred said, his tone serious as a decidedly playful glint flickered in his eyes. “I need your help.”

You opened your mouth, probably sucking all of the air out of the quad in the process as your eyebrows knitted together. You didn’t think Fred Weasley even knew who you were. Thankfully, he didn’t wait for your brain-cells to cooperate to form a reply.

“My sister says you’re a genius. I’ll assume that’s true; I’ve never seen anyone actually read this,” he gestured towards your textbook with a lopsided smirk. “So, are you actually a mastermind or are you just fooling the rest of us?”

His eyes were so bright as he spoke, so expectant as well. Expectant? Oh, a question.

You let your gaze trail down his face slowly. His eyes were warmer up close, you thought, and he had lots of tiny freckles.

“Hello?” he said, waving his hand in front of you with a half-smile and an amused frown.

“Um,” you stalled, swallowing. “Your sister. Oh, yes, Ginny. Your sister. Ginny Weasley.”

You nodded, letting your mind catch up to the conversation and avoiding any glances towards his smiling features. “I tutored her last year. Can’t see why: she didn’t need my help. She’s rather sharp herself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Fred rushed, already bored of the topic of his sister as he dismissed you and leant in closer. “She said that you were brilliant, though. Especially at Charms.”

Your face warmed at his words and Fred watched rather curiously as you looked away, placing your hands into your lap and fiddling with your quill under the table.

“I’m pretty good,” you said, mulling it over. “I think Flitwick just likes me.”

“Yeah, right, anyway,” he snorted disbelievingly. He pursed his lips before leaning forward on his elbows. “I need your help with a charm for a prank.”

“A prank?”

“A prank, indeed.”

You looked to your left, watching your friends pretend not to listen to your conversation. Your brain hadn’t fully caught on to idea yet that you were sat even in close proximity to Fred Weasley, let alone that you were talking to him. And now he wanted you to help him? You couldn’t decide whether stranger things had happened.

“Please?” he said, tilting his head to the side and widening his eyes. Before he sat down at your table, you didn’t know Fred Weasley; you only knew of Fred Weasley and so, what you didn’t know was that he was born with a gift. A gift that involved possessing a pair of the world’s greatest puppy dog eyes. He watched smugly as your indecision faltered and you cracked a smile at his silly expression. Something stirred in his chest at the sight of you.

“What’s the prank?” you asked, keeping up the façade of reservation. Fred knew, though: he’d got you hooked.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you said, waving your hands around wildly. Your friends had long since disappeared from the courtyard, off to their classes or to study elsewhere. “How are you going to give him the hair dye?”

“Ah,” Fred sighed animatedly, stretching his back from his hunched-over position. “That’s for me to know, isn’t it?”

You smiled, pursing your lips together as you shared a conspiratorial look.

Being around Fred, it seemed, was much easier than first anticipated. When you got over the initial shock of him a) knowing you exist and b) talking to you, you found yourself falling into a comfortable rhythm, a light banter of ideas. Every so often, though, you were struck by the slope of his nose or the crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes. You were lucky, you realised, that you had such a good excuse to distract you from just staring at him the whole time.

“Alright,” you said tightly, frowning at the parchment you had ripped out to scribble notes on. Fred’s eyes followed your face. “I think I can do it.”

“Really?”

His face lit up and your stomach dropped at how cute he looked, butterflies fluttering in its wake.

“How?”

Your brows drew together and you bit your lip, fingers drumming lightly on the paper.

“Let me-“ you said, standing up abruptly and circling around the otherwise empty bench, slotting yourself beside him without a second thought.

“Right, so I think that if you take a simple transfiguration charm and then layer it-“ You paused as a deep crease imprinted on Fred’s forehead. “Look,” you insisted, leaning closer to him and pushing your notes around, using your finger to point at your words. “All you have to do really is layer the charms to make them harder to undo and then…”

Fred didn’t listen to the rest. He couldn’t, really. Not when he could feel your warmth next to him, your shoulder pressed against his and your breath fanning against his cheek every time you looked up. He couldn’t figure out how he never noticed you before. Gruffly, he swallowed, forcing himself to pay attention.

“You top it all off with a pre-emptive counter charm and the hair dye will last a while,” you nodded, pleased with your work. “His hair will probably grow out sooner than he can fix the colour.”

Turning to Fred, only slightly surprised that he was already looking at you, you grinned as he let out a deep throaty chuckle.

“Y/N, Y/N, Y/N,” he muttered, shaking his head with his tongue poking out between his lips. “You are bloody brilliant.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he snatched up the piece of parchment, swung his legs over the bench and raced off, his cheerful demeanour almost making up for the way your heart sank at him leaving. You watched him disappear down the corridor and sighed, letting your head loll backwards. The idea that things would just go back to how they were plagued your mind as you packed away your books, resting your knees on the bench.

He’d always be Fred Weasley, the most popular boy in school, and you’d just be you. Back to normal.

“Oh,” Fred said breathlessly as he appeared behind you. You couldn’t help the smile that lifted your cheeks as you raised your eyebrow.

Your smile dropped, though, when he leant closer and pressed his lips ever so delicately to your cheek. Your eyes fluttered shut at the contact and you could feel the rush of blood to your face.

“I’ll find a way to thank you for your help,” he said, beaming at your surprised expression. “Promise.”

It took a week for them to finalise the prank, it seemed. You wondered whether you’d just missed the outcome until one morning, Draco Malfoy stormed into the Great Hall with a scowl and bright orange hair. His entrance was met with whistles and cheers and as you looked over at the Gryffindor table, your eyes widened as they met Fred’s. Whilst his brother and their friends laughed and jeered, he just grinned at you. With a small burst of courage, you waved. He pursed his lips in amusement before he lifted up a paper aeroplane in his hand, gesturing to throw it.

Your eyebrows creased at the idea, but you watched with your heart beating in your chest as the aeroplane soared over to you, dropping gently onto your empty plate. Looking up at Fred, you frowned, unable to keep the smile off of your face. He urged you to open it, making faces as if to say ‘what are you waiting for?’.

You chuckled; the paper rough on your fingertips as you unfolded it. Written in rather jaunty handwriting, was a simple question signed off with a simple ‘-F’.

You, me, Hogsmeade, this weekend?

You could’ve got whiplash from how quickly your head shot up. Even from so far away, the nervousness and anticipation on Fred’s face were beyond evident and painfully endearing. You nodded, biting your lip to suppress your smile. You’d have thought it was infectious given his own shit-eating grin. He shot you a wink and turned back to his friends and you found yourself working out exactly how long you had until your date with nonother than Fred Weasley.

harry potter tag list: (added later bc braincells - some didnt work)

@creator-appreciator @decadentwastelandtrash @loveisblindness @xinyourdreamsx @brainlesspasta @hariosborn @staringmoony @rexorangecouny @alittletoomanyobsessions @peachesandpinks @yuptha-tsme @obsessedwithrandomthings @dreamer821 @iprobablyshipit91 @in-slytherin-we-trust @haphazardhufflepuff @princesof-theuniverse @whovianayesha @msmimimerton @extra-trash77 @potterverseimagine @my-own-mindpalace @sxrensxngwrites @damonwhitlock @susceptible-but-siriusexual @answer-the-sirens @thisismysketchbook @ickle-ronniekins @harrysweasleys​

[soyeahitsmiddleearth]

(Gen Start-Up) Not Worth It pt. 1

{Reader gets sent from our world to middle earth and falls in love with either Fili/Kili/Thoron or heck maybe all three, I'll leave that up to you, and upon coming to middle earth they get the healing powers. All they gotta do is put their hands on the person and concentrate. BUT these healing abilities have a cost if the injury is severe. Maybe they either transfer the injury to themselves until it evens out between the two? Or it takes a lot of energy from them and if they use it too much they will die. Then Reader tries to heal Thorin/Kili/Fili at the end." --- Britishfajita}

Fluff and Slight Angst

Authors Note: This is the beginning of a wonderful three (or maybe more) part connected series! Same reader for all three of the Durin's who I plan to make this for. There may be multiple parts for them, idk yet. We'll just see what happens :D!

The Durins/Reader

----

You could have been so extraordinary in your past life.

Special, wanted, powerful.

And, to some extent, you were wanted and desired, but you could never deliver on those expectations and hopes.

Your special ability to heal, ease pain, and help others was never anything special where you lived. Many people had healing abilities similar to and better than yours, and most, if none, had the drawbacks that yours did.

Where normal healers can use their powerful auras to mend and strengthen others to accelerate the healing process, yours is much more of a give and take, parasitic relationship between 'doctor' and patient. Instead of your aura enhancing the healing ability of others, it instead participates in a transfer that can leave you wounded yourself.

You retain your ability to heal and, essentially, switch auras in a wound transferral. You do not always inherit the wounds of those you heal, however.

Depending on the severity of an injury, you may be left winded, tired, or extremely hungry, but in more serious instances, the damages completely transfer to you instead.

The best way to exemplify this would be to explain how you found out about this horrible symbiotic relationship in the first place.

Your parents knew you were a healer from a young age, for there are individuals who test all children in schools to determine what classes they will need to hone their abilities, and they figured out your ameliorative nature rather easily.

The fatigue and pain you sometimes felt during training and classes was just chalked up to your control and aura being weaker, for your parasitic power was something very uncommon at the time.

It happened during your first ever shift at the local hospital.

Up to this point you've only ever dealt with smaller wounds because of your easy fatigue and exhaustion, but this day was different.

A disaster struck a nearby bank that left 40 people, and counting, injured, and it was all hands on deck. Every person on staff had somethings to do, and when a young woman with debris sticking out of her abdomen came rolling in, you were the only one free to help at the time.

You took up the assignment without hesitation, but as soon as you began to heal her, something felt different.

There was no weakness at first, something very alien to you, and you were able to heal her in record time for even one of the most skilled (and normal) healers, only, you eventually realized that something wasn't right.

The pain you felt that day was horrible and unimaginable, and you went down in a matter of moments.

It wasn't until 5 minutes later that someone found you unconscious on the ground, pale and barely breathing. If it weren't for your current location, you certainly would've died that day.

That young woman had been saved and, somehow, her power had been enhanced as well after your treatment, but it left your aura damaged and practically sucking the life out of you following her miraculous recovery.

The whole premise of your power is the nature of give and take. You give a piece of your aura to someone else to heal and enhance them (be it their power, strength, wakefulness, or anything else), and in return you take a part of theirs and become weakened depending on how much you give, needing to rest and regenerate what you gave away in that moment. You can also heal yourself of your own, personally received wounds without incident, which is rather strange.

For most, there is a finite amount of their aura that they can ever have throughout the duration of their lives, but your supply is nearly endless. However, the more you spend healing or helping, the more you lose. You can regenerate your aura forever, but if you keep going without ceasing, then your life will eventually begin to drain too, to compensate for your loss.

It isn't an instant process, though, for it takes time for your body to catch up to how much of your power you spend, so you had to train really hard from that moment on to ensure that you never spend more than you've earned.

If it weren't for this fateful vice of yours, you'd probably be one of the most powerful healers in your world; the only limit to the wounds you may heal is your own aura and life force, and the amount of time it takes all depends on your concentration and intent.

Because of this, you became unwanted.

Unwanted in a sense that, people did want you to help them become stronger, but no organization or job wanted to hire such a liability, and those with such horrible vices are always subject to horrible criticism and scrutiny, so you eventually just stopped using your ability altogether.

It isn't until you fall into Middle Earth that you start to habitually use your powers again, and it's because of the life-threatening journey you're forced to join.

Here in Middle Earth, however, you're one of a kind.

There is healing magic and those gifted with the knowledge of higher level healing, but your ability to heal simply using your hands and mind is something totally unheard of.

The Company of Thorin Oakenshield were the poor unfortunate souls that you scared half to death on the day you arrived in Middle Earth.

You came, quite literally, out of nowhere.

One second you were washing the dishes in your house and the next you were unconscious in another world.

From their perspective you came falling out of a tall tree, nothing to break your fall other than the cold, unforgiving dirt below, and it successfully gave everyone a huge scare.

Your right arm seemed to have broken and you were horribly battered and bruised, and the dwarfs, hobbit, and lone wizard couldn't just leave you there.

They made camp for the night and made you as comfortable as possible, hoping above all else that you'll wake up at some point, and you eventually do. Though, it isn't a nice or very calm occurrence.

When you finally woke up to a new hat and 4 thick wool blankets smothering you, you freaked out.

At first, you thought someone had kidnapped you or something, but the calm, old wizard named 'Gandalf' managed to calm you and explain that you're not healthy enough to be thrashing and panicking so frantically.

That's when you shocked them all.

You managed to kick off those pesky blankets and shake off that too-warm, but also soft hat, and get a look at yourself, and you were dismayed to see so much of your skin marred with bruises, cuts, scrapes, welts, etc, and your broken arm was unsightly enough to make you nearly sick.

"I-I'll fix it then, I guess." You grumbled nervously, laying back down in the heaping pile of blankets to focus on mending your broken and shattered bones, re-weaving your muscles together, and accelerating the healing of the more superficial wounds.

By the time you were nearly completely healed you were too tired to finish fixing the cuts, scrapes, and other lacerations, so they were left as week-old injuries that had been scabbed over and mostly fixed.

When your eyes fluttered open again you were, once again, shocked to see multiple people leaning over you with awestruck expressions, and you realized in that moment that things were even less right than you initially feared.

Rather quickly did you realize and accept that you were no longer in the same place or time as you were before, but the news was actually fairly easy to accept because of the nature of your past life.

You were probably accidentally sent here by someone with power over the space-time continuum, and it's impossible to come back from one of those accidents. You didn't trouble yourself with coming up with a way to go back home, because you knew for a fact that it was over. You'll be here until the day you die.

You made fast friends with the two younger Durin brothers, for they were always full of questions and curiosity for you and your abilities. Many times have you had to heal them as well, for they're quite prone to trouble.

Small things were always easy to heal, so your powers proved to make you not only a very desired part of the group, but the subject of heavy praise and kind words; it's wonderful and new, for you were neither wanted nor praised in your old home once your crippling vice made itself present.

Night after night you helped them to sleep, gave them the strength to carry on, rid them of discomforts and small, painful wounds, and, essentially, made the original healer of the group, Oin, obsolete (in a good way for him, of course). Oin taught you some things about natural medicine and was, ultimately, allowed to focus on rest and fighting (which you assume is good for a dwarf of his age).

Being needed and relied on feels like heaven, and for the first time in 5 years, you have a purpose.

The true nature of your healing powers didn't become apparent to them until the fight following the Goblin Tunnels, for Thorin Oakenshield is nearly fatally wounded in his fight against Azog the Defiler, and he's left weak and dying.

The group runs as fast as their feet can carry them as those wargs and nasty orcs draw near, chasing all of you to a cliffside with plentiful trees and nowhere to go.

It's a dead end, and those foul creatures know as much.

You aren't much of a fighter so Bofur and Fili keep you ahead of them, urging you to climb the far tree with Gandalf and some of the others, and you do so without hesitation.

Fear drives your frantic climbing and trembling muscles, and, with great effort, you manage to climb far enough that those horrible dog beasts cannot reach you.

Everyone manages to climb a tree and avoid a violent death that would leave them in pieces, and you're relieved to see that there isn't much the enemy can do in this moment; that is, until they begin to uproot the trees and push everyone further back into the barely hanging on tree you already reside in.

There is absolutely no way this flimsy tree will hold all of you for long if the wargs loosen the soil around the roots, and it seems that you're not the only one to notice this.

Gandalf prepares the perfect pinecone ammo that serves as an excellent enemy deterrent, for the flames burning within the heart of the pinecones spread easily and set the cliffside alight.

The wargs retreat to escape a fiery death, but the triumph doesn't last long, for the tree begins to creak and groan as it dips beneath the weight of all 15 of you.

"T-The tree's going to fall!" You cry hopelessly, unsure what to do.

A fall from this height would kill everyone before you even had a chance to try and heal them, and this knowledge leaves an empty, useless hole in your heart.

"Everything will work out the way it's supposed to, Master Healer." The grey wizard tells you, though you can hear the unease and slight panic in his voice as well.

You open your mouth to say more, but movement catches in your peripherals and you turn your head to see what it is.

There stands Thorin Oakenshield on the thick trunk of the tree, facing the white orc with murder and hate shining in his blue-gray eyes, and your heart drops all the way down to the violent deaths below you when you realize what it is he plans to do.

The to-be King Under the Mountain abandons the tree and meets the orc in a battle, albeit short, and he loses.

Just by looking at the way that albino dog uses him like a chew toy is enough to fill you with dread, and when another orc goes in for the dying blow, you're fully prepared to experience this horrible tragedy, only it never happens.

That brave little hobbit, Bilbo, challenges the rest of the goblins one on one, and his bravery encourages everyone able to get back up and fight.

Only, this secondary fight doesn't last for terribly long, for these huge, magnificent birds come soaring out of seemingly nowhere, and they scoop up each and every one of you.

Cue a short, but also liberating, journey to the nearest, safe area (which just so happened to be a secluded and inaccessible mountain top).

As soon as your feet touch the ground you're being scooped up into a strong pair of arms, and the perpetrator breathes your name with relief on their lips.

"Are you alright?" It's Kili, the taller of the two Durin brothers.

You nod your head once and hug him in response, winding your toned healer arms tightly around his shoulders for a few beats before you pull away.

A quick glance around shows you that some of the others still have yet to touchdown on the peak with all of you, so you instead move to Fili, who had rode to his brother, and hug him next.

The blond heir firmly locks his thick arms around your middle and holds you to him for a moment, but his arms disappear as soon as Thorin is gently dropped to the ground, bloodied and broken.

Gandalf rushes over to the heavily wounded dwarf and kneels down next to his unmoving form, and Bilbo runs up behind him with wide, stunned eyes.

You pull away from Fili and rush to Thorin's side without hesitation, falling to your knees beside him as you immediately hover your palms over his body to find the biggest issues ailing him.

The internal bleeding catches your attention right away, caused by the bone crushing bite from the white warg, and you start working on healing that without hesitation.

You know that a wound such as this will hurt you, but it doesn't halt your frantic healing for even a second.

The mountain peak is dead silent while you work your magic on the unconscious Thorin, the knowledge that they would be lost without him spurring you on, and in a matter of 5 minutes he's groaning and his eyes are opening.

You feel nothing at first which tells you that soon his damaged aura will begin affecting you, so you slowly rise to your feet and move away from the still grounded Thorin to avoid falling on him if you do go down.

Pats on the back and praises are thrown your way as you separate yourself from the king, but they cease the moment Fili worriedly asks, "Wait- What... what's wrong?" He seemed to have noticed your shaky movements right away as your health begins to deplete.

You step up to Gandalf and place your hand gently onto his shoulder, mumbling with slurred words, "Gandalf, I should've told you before..."

The old man looks up at you with worried eyes, and he rises to his feet so he can grasp your trembling arms with gentle hands, "You should have 'told me before'? Told me what?"

"I..." You begin to speak, but you're unable to form another coherent thought as your legs suddenly give out from beneath you, and you slump forward into the cloaked wizard.

Gandalf releases your arm at light speed and catches you around the waist, slowly lowering you down to the ground before your eyes slide shut and your consciousness fades in place of Thorin's.

---

Gandalf the Gray was not too happy with you when you woke up sometime later, having had to save you after you saved Thorin with no prior knowledge regarding the truth about your ability.

He scolded you first, calling your actions foolish and scaring you with information on how you could have died had it been any worse and had he been any worse at his job, and then he thanked you.

"But even so, still must I say with the utmost gratitude; thank you. The service you provided was well beyond what we asked for, and much more than we deserved. After all you've been through and done for us, you would have been right to keep to yourself and not heal him. You are a very good person, Y/N, and I should like to see you survive this journey."

Is he telling you not to heal people anymore, or is he telling you to be more careful, you wonder.

Apparently this situation scared everyone shitless, because as soon as Gandalf was done getting on your case, you received countless apologies for having you heal small, meaningless wounds and for the other things you've done for them.

Of course, you tried to explain that the smaller boosts and injuries are nothing for you, but you were still apologized to a whole bunch anyways.

Fili and Kili's apologies stuck out to you the most, however.

When everyone felt better knowing that they'd informed you that you no longer need to waste your power healing them and the excitement died down, the two brothers approached with sad expressions darkening their handsome faces.

"You should have told us that we were hurting you." The dark-haired dwarf informed you sadly, taking up one of your hands in his carefully.

"We wouldn't have bothered you so much if we knew." The blond-haired brother agrees, swiping up your other hand in one of his.

Their words make you grimace, and you try to console them. "No, the smaller things don't hurt at all! I don't 'get hurt' because I heal you, I only suffer when it's a major wound that needs to heal more than just the body."

Their expressions don't change and they don't seem to fully believe you, so you try to explain in simpler terms.

You squeeze both their hands weakly, still needing rest to regenerate your own aura, then reiterate, "Think of it this way. You've got a huge jug of water about this big," you make a big circle with your arms, " and it's completely full. Now, if you take a sip of the water when you get a little thirsty and look inside again, it will look the exact same, and you can refill it super quickly... now, if you and a few others are super thirsty, dehydrated, and you need to take big drinks then it drains even more, and very soon it's almost a quarter empty. It takes longer to fill it up then, because there's way less because of how thirsty you were."

They both look at you and nod their heads slowly in understanding, but you simplify it a little more after that.

"So, what I'm trying to say is that if I do something small like help you sleep or heal a cut, maybe mend a headache, I'll only feel a little tired if that, but if it's something horrible like Thorin's wound, then it affects me more severely. It almost transfers to me, but not the physical injury, just the effect of it while my 'power' heals yours."

Everyone is listening at this point, and it seems that they all gain a better understanding of what you can do.

It seems Gandalf figured it out, though, judging by his unsurprised expression and slightly proud smile (pride because of your easy to understand explanation, most likely).

"So... what about now, then?" Kili asks, still holding your hand by your side, "What do you need?"

"To rest. Only for a little while until my water replenishes."

---

It's going to take around a day for your aura to heal and your strength to return, but, unfortunately, you don't have the luxury to just lay back and relax like you want.

You all had to stay on the move, so the dwarfs took turns carrying you on their backs.

At first you denied any and all requests for piggy back rides, embarrassed by the mere thought of being hauled around all day while you wait for your aura to heal, but it goes that way regardless.

First it's Fili and Kili, then Dori (the strongest *according to the book*), Dwalin, and, finally, Thorin.

Thorin carried you for around an hour or so, and each step he took was careful. He wanted to make your ride as comfortable as possible, and he was succeeding for the most part (you're as comfortable as someone on a piggyback ride can be).

"How are you feeling?" You ask at some point, adjusting your gentle grip around his shoulders as you do.

"I should be the one asking you that question." He replies without missing a beat, turning his head to the left slightly to catch a glimpse of you.

You don't say anything right away, looking at him with a small frown before countering, "Okay, but I asked your first."

"Truthfully, it shames me to say that I feel very good at the moment. My strength has returned tenfold, and I feel as if I've just recovered from a long rest."

"It shames you?" You ask softly, leaning your head against his carefully, "Don't let it. I chose to do that knowing fully well what I was getting myself into."

Thorin sighs heavily and shifts his grip on your legs, "I do not wish to treat you as a child. I respect your choice, but I must implore that you do not waste your life on me. It simply isn't worth it. You're too precious."

You feel your face heat up and you find that you become slightly embarrassed. "Thank you Thorin, but I think that a king is slightly more important then a commoner from another world."

"No... a king is only as strong as his people, friends, and allies. And I happen to value you as all three."

You don't argue or disagree this time and instead just nod your head once, "Then I'll say thank you again."

The rest of your conversations with Thorin are much more light hearted and wholesome, and you find that this piggyback riding isn't as bad as you initially though it would be.

[th3goldenretr1everboyfriend]

I saw this and thought it would be fun 🖤

1. Are you solitary or in a coven?

I am solitary.

2. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other?

I just consider myself a witch. There are aspects of Paganism I follow and enjoy but if I had to choose a title I'd say "Witch".

3. What is your zodiac sign?

Sagittarius ♐

4. Do you have a Patron God/dess?

I don't currently.

5. Do you work with a Pantheon?

I do not.

6. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or 
any other kind of divination?

I enjoy tarot, pendulums, and reading tea leafs.

7. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any)

Rose petals, elderberry, hibiscus, juniper, lilac and sage are my go tos.

8. How would you define your craft?to.

Oh that's a good one. I would define in as simply witchcraft. I practice my own gifts woth the gifts the Earth and God's provide.

9. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do?

I strongly believe in the rule of 3 so I try not to, and if I do I make sure I am putting out good to others. If others do that is their business, I am in no place to judge how other practice.

10. How long have you been practicing?

Since I was about 14.

11. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars?

I do not currently no.

12. Do you believe in Karma or
Reincarnation?

I believe in karma, I believe in the rule of 3, I believe reincarnation can happen, but I do not believe it is the default for most beings after death.

13. Do you have a magical name?

Nope!

14. Are you “out of the broom closet”?

In-plain-sight yes.

15. What was the last spell you performed?

A spell to rekindle love that's gone cold.

16. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable?

Yes, but always learning!

17. Do you write your own spells?

On occasion.

18. Do you have a book of shadows?
If so, how is it written and/or set up?

I do as well as a hroloir. Both are pretty free form.

19. Do you worship nature?

I wouldn't say I worship it, I am thankful for it and make sure the Earth knows that.

20. What is your favorite gemstone?

Opal.

21. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work?

I don't but I wouldn't say I would be opposed to it.

22. Do you have an altar?

Not a proper one at the moment (small apartment) but I have a shelf of my oddities

23. What is your preferred element?

Fire (it's my own). I like how it embodies both beauty and uncontrollable chaos depending on how you treat it.

24. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist?

I guess I've never thought about it. No?

25. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch?

Nope!

26. What got you interested in witchcraft?

My mother is a witch, as are many of my family members

27. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch?

I have not no.

28. Have you ever used ouija?

Nope.

29. Do you consider yourself a psychic?

Psychic? No. Aware and ability to see potential outcomes better than most? Yes.

30. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it?

I do not.

31. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started?

There is no "right way" to do it.

32. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite?

Yes! Beltane because ya boy likes to bone 😅

33. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children?

Of course, it's in our blood

34. Do you meditate?

Often!

35. What is your favorite season?

Autumn.

36. What is your favorite type of magick to preform?

Anything consumable.

37. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life?

Devotions, prayers, using sachets and stones.

38. What is your favorite witchy movie?

Hocus Pocus (I'm a basic witch I know 🤣)

39. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why?

Funnily enough I haven't read that many.

40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not.

Oh I could never choose just one!

41. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you?

Accidentally setting something a blaze and it reacting as if it was untouched.

42. What is your favourite type of candle to use?

Taper.

43. What is your favorite witchy tool?

Wand! I love my platinum and clear quartz wand I use it daily.

44. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools?

I have not!

45. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fea or spirits?

Yes.

46. Do you practice color magic?

I incorporate it.

47. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind?

My mother and aunt.

48. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies?

Local shops when I can, personally owned online shops if I cat find stuff in person.

49. Do you believe in predestination or fate?

Fate, yes, predestination, no.

50. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice?

Write in my grimoir.

51. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences?

Too many to count.

52. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve?

People who try to push their own rules, gate keep, or scare others.

53. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent?

Yes! Bergamot!

54. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind?

Nope!

55. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster?

Using none organic roses to make rose water and poisoning myself with pesticides.

56. What has been your biggest witchcraft success?

I consider them all to be success because even if they don't go according to plan I learned something.

57. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about?

I always feel a bit silly speaking out loud 🤣

58. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too?

Of course. Gate keeping is fucking gross. You do you babe.

59. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work?baby.

Haven't we all?

60. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain?

Nope.

61. What is something witch related that you want right now?

A unakite geode!

62. What is your rune of choice?

I don't have one.

63. What is your tarot card of choice?

Death because every good reader knows he is never literal

64. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite?

Yes! I love grapefruit.

65. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses?

Nope.

66. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public?

Sometimes a pentacle or pentagram.

67. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch?

Haven't we all?

68. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines?

Nope.

69. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft?

Having an understanding of anything you are apart of or want to partake in is important but being a walking text book isn't helpful.

70. What are your favorite things about being a witch?

The connection with so many things normal people will never see or know.

71. What are your least favorite things about being a witch?

Being an empath can be so painful. Seeing the auras of evil people always hurt me too.

72. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band?

I have a Playlist, I wouldn't say I listen to any Pagab bands, more so Celtic stuff and creepy compositions.

73. Do you celebrate the Esbbats? If so, how?

Nope.

74. Do you ever work skyclad?

Yes. I prefer to meditate nude and do most things in just my underwear (hot wax/embers/sharp tools + my pens = no thanks)

75. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how?

Of course. I have been exposed to so much most people will never enjoy.

76. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice?

Call me basic but it's true: The Earth and Mother Nature.

77. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc)

Can you call them fantasy if they're real?

78. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol?

One I created for impulse control.

79. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not?

Only my own to create magical ties.

80. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice?

I don't think so no.

81. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow?

Healing.

82. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice?

Vanilla reminds me of my Nana baking in the kitchen. She's Chrustian but she inspires me to be a good person.

83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it?

Yes! I meditate naked, burn some blue sage and wash my hands.

84. What real life witch most inspires your practice?

My mother.

85. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity?

Offerings.

86. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients?

Alphabetically.

87. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of?

My mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great aunt, great grandmother, and probably everyone in that line of sucession. I also have a great uncle who was gay so I assume he was too being that I am one of the few males witches in my family and I am gay.

88. How have you created your path? What is unique about it?

I always put intention into things, you can carve a path through a mountain of you acknowledge the fact that as a magical being you can do it. Our biggest hurdles are ourselves.

89. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they?

Seeing auras, being an exceptionally heightened empath, seeing super natural creatures, and premonitions.

90. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven?

I am a solitary witch my blood you tell me.

91. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought?

Tarot cards! I still have them almost 10 years later.

92. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been?

Hmmmm. The house I lived in when I was in Kansas. But not in a good way.

93. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities?

Seek out what feels right. Do not listen to anyone who tells you that you "have to" praise anyone.

94. What techniques do you use to ‘get in the zone’ for meditation?

A bit if wine, some good meditation and honestly some good sex. Not mesacriky in that order.

95. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it?

Practice practice practice.

96. Do you prefer day or night? Why?

Evening because I like times of transition.

97. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work?

Depends on what you're doing.

98. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly?

I was young and stumbled. Don't give up though.

99. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice?

Yes and no?

100. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces?

I am polytheistic.

101. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy?polytheism.

Yes.

102. What is your favorite color and why?

Baby pink because it's my aura colour.

103. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond?

"How does it work???" and "Oh so you're evil?"

104. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest?

Taste.

105. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice?

Don't drink and cast. Ya boy likes mead sorry not sorry (that being said I don't ever do anything woth chemicals or fire while drinking).

[minghaocouture]

Fearless: Chapter 14 + Epilogue

Pairing: Werewolf! Jeon Wonwoo x Vampire! Reader Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Non-Idol AU WC: 2.5k+ Warning: Language, Mentions of blood, mentions of wounds, implied smut AU Lore: Vampire Coven Info/Wolf Pack Info/Lore Info Tag List: @moon-asia @uglychildd @skjdln @darkacrimson @woozisnoots @hwangjangmi @rjsmochii @fluffyhyeju​ @svtjuniverse @karmacqre​ @dwcljh​ @taeyeon-got-shmoney​ @2dmoonenback​ @moonchild9499​

Unable to tag: @Unbaeknownst @peachescherryheart A/N: So first off, don’t judge that Wonwoo edit too harshly lol, it’s my first attempt at editing and with 0 knowledge of what i’m doing >.> also I honestly can’t believe this is the last chapter. I was going to make a last chapter and then an epilogue but it fit well at the end of this chap so I just made them into one <3. Thank you guys so much for supporting me and reading this story!  

Chapter List: Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3/Chapter 4/Chapter 5/Chapter 6/Chapter 7/Chapter 8/Chapter 9/Chapter 10/Chapter 11/Chapter 12/Chapter 13/Chapter 14

You weren’t sure how long you had been in this room. All you knew was that you were tired and hungry. Never before had the thirst been this strong, the feeling almost completely consumed your mind and you weren’t sure if it would ever go away. Cohesive thoughts seemed to escape you as your eyes stared out into the darkness of the room.

You were vaguely aware that you had been brought to the basement and that someone, you weren’t sure who, kept bringing you blood to drink, but everything else was a blur. The only thing you could recall was the limp form of Wonwoo on the ground and the feeling of the frenzy taking over you, a feeling that you couldn’t seem to shake. Being left completely in the dark about his status definitely wasn’t helping, for all you know...he did actually die that night. Yet you couldn’t even ask about him, the feeling of the frenzy seemed to always come back full force whenever someone else entered your room.

The sound of the heavy wooden door creaking open caught your attention, goosebumps pricking up on your flesh as you smelled the strong scent of fresh blood and felt a fresh wave of frenzy rush over you. It wasn’t different from when you were brought something to feed on, the blood this time smelt fresh as if it had just been spilt. The inability to control your actions, the pure primal instinct to feed or fight was all that you knew in that moment. You were on your feet in a second, dashing towards the new comer, and shoving them to the ground before they could even really enter the room. Your arms caging their head as you leaned down and attached your lips to their neck. There was no hesitation as you sunk your fangs into the supple skin and began to drink your fill.

Surprisingly there was no resistance from this new person, they didn’t try to push you away and their aura didn’t exude fear as they usually would. In fact, you felt an arm weakly wrap around your waist as you drained them of their precious blood. The feeling made you feel warm, and it was oddly familiar but you couldn’t quite put a finger on what it could be. 

“Well, that wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for, but they said you’d been really hungry.” The voice was familiar, but in your frenzy clouded mind it was so hard to think. Nothing stuck, not names, not faces, not voices. All you knew was food. The stranger let out a strangled chuckle, his hand rubbing gentle circles on the small of your back as he held you close. It was almost as if he was just...letting you drink your fill, letting you drain him as much as you needed without any kind of resistance.

As the fresh blood filled your system, it was almost as if your brain had been reset and everything was much too strong and too familiar now. Everything seemed to finally click once more as you came to your senses. Carefully yet quickly removing your fangs from your victim, you pushed yourself away just enough to be able to see his face.

He looked ragged, a large patch of gauze was carefully attached to the left side of his face and his hair was cut rather unevenly, most likely to make sure the wound of his face healed properly. His skin was almost an unhealthy clammy color and you were certain that you draining his blood had not helped him. He seemed to notice the look of recognition in your eyes and a small smile graced his face. Just from that one look the fog of your frenzy had completely vanished, as if it had never been there to begin with, and everything seemed to hit you all at once.

“Feeling better now?” 

Unable to find your voice for a moment, you simply dropped yourself back down and wrapped your arms around him as best you could from this position. You heard a small wince from below you as you buried your face into his neck once more, only this time it wasn’t so that you could feed. 

“You ass.” you muttered, doing your best to not accidentally hurt him again. “If you ever pull anything like that again, I’ll kill you myself you hear me.” 

“Of course, can’t die to any hands but yours. But…” the arm around your waist gripped you ever so tightly. “I would appreciate it if you got off...or I might actually end up dying today.”

With a speed you felt was quick even for a Vampire, you were off of him and helping him up and into the room you had previously been in. Laying him down on one of the leather couches before quickly turning on the lights, wincing yourself this time as the light blinded you for a moment. It was now that you noticed the blood that had seeped through his shirt, right where his bullet wound had been.

“You actual idiot!” You exclaimed, searching around for the first aid kits that are kept in each of the feeding rooms. You would think in a room as minimalistic as this one, it would be easy to find. “What were you thinking coming here while you were still injured! Sure, werewolf blood is disgusting but that doesn’t mean that you won’t get attacked!”

“You sure…” you heard a small grunt, glancing over your shoulder you noticed him attempting to sit up as he spoke. “You sure didn’t mind my ‘disgusting werewolf blood’ a minute ago.” 

You almost completely froze in your search as you realized, he was right. It wasn’t normal for the blood of a werewolf to taste as good as if it were a human’s blood. You vaguely wondered if that had to do with you...being his mate. There were a lot of questions to ask later, right now, making sure he survived the night was more of a priority. 

That thought was enough to get you moving again, finally locating the first aid kit and rushing over to take care of the freshly opened wound. Grabbing his shoulder, you pushed him to lay back down as you slowly lifted his shirt up so that you could get to the wound. 

“Did you actually just wake up and come straight here? Cause that would be stupid” Your tone was a bit harsh and contrasted with the gentle touch of your hands against his skin and you did your best to care for him. “Were you actually trying to get yourself killed, or something?” 

“I mean, that’s pretty much what I did.” He explained, chuckling lightly as he thought about how much trouble he was going to be in once it was discovered that he was missing. “I was worried about you.”

His words caused you to tense, eyes focusing in on properly rebandaging his abdomen. It felt like a stone had sunk into your gut as you worked, thankfully he wasn’t bleeding to harshly but it was still enough to cause you to worry.

“Save some of that worry for yourself. I’m not the one currently bleeding out on a couch.” You retorted quickly, doing your best to ignore the piercing gaze of his eyes as they followed you. After carefully taping off the bandages, you began to pull away to clean up a bit, only to be stopped by his hand gently wrapping around your wrist.

Taking a small breath to steady yourself, you finally lifted your gaze and connected eyes with the injured male. You hated how it seemed like he could see through you, like you were just an open book before him. You hated it, but it also made you feel oddly calm. It was just the effect he seemed to have on you.

“I’d rather be bleeding out here with you, than at home with Mingyu.” The tone his voice carried was an amused one, obviously joking, but kept enough weight for you to understand that his words held some truth to them.

“You shouldn’t want to bleed out at all.” You couldn’t find it in you to pull away from him, your wrist practically on fire where he touched. The same fire that you always felt with the two of you touched. It made you almost feel like you were a regular human. It made you think back to the conversation the two of you had right before the battle, about being mates. You hadn’t really gotten the chance to think too hard on the subject, but after seeing him injured. You knew that you didn’t want to see him like that again. So after a moment of silence between the two of you, you let out a small sigh.

“I want...ugh fuck...” the exclamation left your lips with a sense of irritation, you weren’t used to expressing yourself so openly. This was going to be much harder to admit

“I don’t think I can do that right now, if I’m being honest.” Taken off guard by the sudden humor from the male, you quickly pulled your wrist away. You knew that if you were human that your cheeks would be heating up with the tell tale signs of a blush and you were fairly certain Wonwoo was aware of that as well, if his light laugh was anything to go by.

“Hey, I’m sorry. Keep going.” he urged. You could tell he was trying to hold back his laughter not just so you would continue but so that he wouldn’t reopen his wound once more. 

Keeping your back to him, you crossed your arms over your chest and swallowed, hopefully swallowing your pride during the action so that you could continue with what you had been attempting to say. Your mouth felt dry and despite just having fed from Wonwoo, you felt impossibly hungry once again. 

“I want to try this mate thing.” You refused to turn around and face him, but you kept your voice firm to show that you weren’t wavering on your decision. “I can’t say I love you, but I know I care about you. Seeing you...like that made every part of me hurt, and being away from you, well it sucked okay. Especially since I wasn’t sure if you were even alive or not.” Trying to recall that night, all you remembered was being pulled away from him so that his pack could get him medical attention and then...everything was blank after that. You could recall screams, and being restrained, and then feeding but nothing was solid. You weren’t even sure of how long it had been.

“Well I am,” You heard his voice break through your rapid thoughts, bringing you back to the moment and out of the memories of that night. Just the sound of his voice seemed to be like a life preserver that you could hold onto, to keep you above the waters of your frenzy that had held a grip over you. “I’m alive, not perfectly fine yet. But I’m not dead and I’m not going to die anytime soon.” 

His words brought a comfort to your soul that you hadn’t been aware that you could feel, and a soft smile slid onto your face.

“Good, you better not. You’re not allowed to die until you look like your actual age.” You teased, finally turning back around to face him. You decided to push aside the darker thoughts that threatened to creep into your head. Letting yourself live in the moment, you had time. Not just to get to know Wonwoo but to possibly listen to the voice inside your head that was telling you that you couldn’t live without him anymore, and you were inclined to believe it. Not just because of the whole ‘mate’ thing, but because of how he had changed your life more in just a week than you had been able to change in almost a century. He was someone you wanted in your life now, and that was something you knew you had decided without the effects of the mate pull.

Taking a small bit of initiative, you bent down and gently pressed a kiss to the unbandaged side of his forehead. 

“Get some rest Wonwoo.”

“Stay with me?”

***

November 7th, 2021

“Geez guys can’t you lock the door or something!!” 

As the door slammed shut, you couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a loud awkward laugh. 

“I promise I locked it.” Wonwoo muttered, his face flushed red with embarrassment as being caught in the act by his roommate. Unfortunately neither of you had a really private place to spend time together, so this wasn’t the first time that this had happened. 

“Sure whatever you say wolf boy, I think you forgot again and just don’t wanna admit it,” You muttered, leaning down and pressing your lips firmly against his. Reveling in the feeling, kissing Wonwoo made you feel like you were floating. All of your nerve endings seemed to be set aflame when your lips met, which was probably why the two of you had been caught so many times. You just got so...lost in each other. 

Pulling away you examined his face, the marred flesh around his left eye made him look reminiscent of a character in an old cartoon you had watched. His now heterochromic eyes watched you as you stared down at him, lifting a hand to gently press against the permanent scar left over from the incident at the beginning of the year. Not only was the scar a permanent reminder of what had almost happened, but his eyesight as well. Sure it hadn’t been smooth sailing since then but...you were grateful that he hadn’t gotten put in danger like that again. 

“You’re staring again.” He muttered, his hand gently wrapped around the back of your neck before pulling you down into another kiss. It was his…’punishment’ for you, anytime he caught you staring for too long. It wasn’t much of a punishment but you sure weren’t going to tell him that. You loved his kisses. Honestly, you loved him but you decided it would be better to keep that information to yourself a little bit longer. You tried to pretend it was because you didn’t want to move too fast because of the Mate bond or whatever, but really you were still trying to get used to being vulnerable with others. It was something you struggled with, but Wonwoo knew this and was patient with you. He let you do things at your own pace. 

Gently pulling away again, you rested your forehead against his own with a soft smile on your lips.

“God, I love you.” his voice so soft that for a moment you thought you had imagined it. You felt your stomach clench slightly, the tell tale apprehension settling in once again. Letting his words settle in the air, you felt his hand gently caress your neck. “You don’t have to say it too. But I do, I love you.”

You may not have been ready to say the words out loud, but you hoped that he understood that you returned the feelings. You pushed those emotions into every kiss, every embrace. He was your and you were his. It was a relationship that you hadn’t been expecting but it was one that you never wanted to lose. 

[inkribbon796]

Egotober 2021 Ch. 25: Smoke Bombs and Chemistry

Summary: Potions and alchemy are a magical science, one that Logan and one of his fusions want to investigate.

A/N: Brain is our fusion for the day, his Side components are Logan and Virgil, Brain’s pronouns are (he/him).

Prompt: Potion

Characters: Sam, Technoblade, and Brain

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Logan these days had a new hyper fixation. With Thomas downright refusing to even dampen any of their personalities, Logan was becoming more and more sure of his own safety. While Thomas was easily distracted, it did let Logan pursue his own goals and do his own things.

The logical Side’s newest hyperfixation was toying with his new influx of aura. He had learned several things about his aura. One it was extremely hard for him to influence common electronics, something that came naturally to the androids and other glitches like Anti or even Tubbo who was a relatively young glitch. Second, the EMP bursts he thought he’d created with technology had really been the vestiges of his own aura. He had no idea how to purposefully reproduce the effects outside of his suit and tech, but he was certain with enough time and practice he would find a solution. After all, he’d triggered the effect twice in a bout of adrenaline.

But that was one of his background projects, the main fixation of Logan’s attention was on exploring the very concept of magic. Logan had spent his entire existence on the periphery of magic itself, not understanding it or how it worked. He could see its myriad of effects, but he’d always had a distaste of the unpredictability and had been secretly glad that he’d been spared from that.

However, now Logan had aura, he could do magic — only by accident, but that seemed to be because he didn’t know what he was doing most of the time — and he’d seen what Tubbo could do with his magic. The young man treated his magic and aura like a science. And that was enough to convince Logan that there was more to magic itself then unpredictability.

That fact thrilled him. That magic, just like everything else, could be measured and studied. It could be influenced by some force. And there was a magical cousin to chemistry: alchemy.

Logan had torn through all of Marvin’s existing books on alchemy, he was testing his growing knowledge but Marvin was still rebuilding his collection and Logan needed more knowledge. He needed it like lungs needed air.

So he often went out looking for books on the subject, anything he could get his hands on, any information online he could verify.

But during this pursuit of knowledge, he hit a snag. Virgil had come to him, wanting to fuse again.

This was only the second time that Virgil had fused with a Core Side. And Logan wasn’t going to challenge Virgil on the sudden fusing request, especially if it made Virgil more comfortable fusing. Even if he was conducting other business when Virgil had asked.

The anxious Side’s trust and confidence meant everything to Logan.

Virgil always stated he felt like he was losing himself when he fused with Janus and Remus. But with Logan it was different. Virgil didn’t feel as smothered, but it still felt like some other force was consuming him.

So Logan put his books aside and they fused, Virgil making him promise that it wouldn’t be longer than a couple of hours this time, and that they would stay away from Thomas and the other Sides. Virgil was nervous and scared and Logan was quick to agree.

The fusing was quick, and Brain came back to existence. He threw on one of Virgil’s grey hoodies and scooped up some books that Logan had been working on and split from Thomas’s house he shared with the Core Sides.

Logan had been fixated on something, and that bled over into Brain. He felt alive with an odd magic and went to the library that Logan had been scrounging books from.

For a little bit, Brain poured into Logan’s studies, Logan’s hyperfixation had become Brain’s. Even if it was slightly lower in intensity. He was at a local library, reading through some books on alchemy and making cross-references to the nature of chemistry and physics.

Virgil and Logan were busy making comments and Brain himself was curious. All the Sides’ fusions had slightly different auras than the Sides that made up the fusion. Brain had an aura that resembled Virgil’s, but worked like Logan’s. He was closer to a glitch, and Logan’s research might help him improve his magic overtime.

Brain was so taken by his studies that he almost missed chatter going on elsewhere in the library.

“Look it’s not my fault the guy’s an idiot, what do you want me to do about it exactly?”

“Some help would be appreciated, at least.”

“Techno is here!” Logan warned, jolting Brain from what he was doing.

“What?” Virgil almost got Brain split back apart in his fear. “Hide!”

Brain surged up, already slipping on a mask so his face wasn’t as recognizable as he looked over and saw Techno and Sam barely out of eyeshot, almost hidden around some pillar.

The sudden movement made Techno spot Brain and the two Server members locked gaze with Brain.

The fusion froze, two different styles of early self defense eating with each other as Techno seemed to look Brain over as he stepped around the pillar. As he approached, with Sam right behind him, Brain realized something. Both Server members were bigger than him and as this was Brain’s second time being fused they were no doubt stronger than him too.

“Uhh,” Brain started as Logan tried to keep the fusion calm. He quickly grabbed two of the books into his arms. “Hey, come to the library much?”

“Yeah, I do, but I don’t see you much,” Techno commented as he looked down at the notebook and papers still neatly arranged on the table. “An alchemist, huh?”

“Somewhat?” Brain admitted, not sure if he should be exaggerating his skill or not, and if one side of the other would increase his odds of escaping the situation. So instead he started taking the books and papers and slipping them back into Logan’s travel bag.

“You’re a Side,” Sam said, getting a good look at Brain’s slightly diminished aura.

Brain dumped the rest of his papers into the bag, “No?”

“That sounds like a definite yes,” Techno deciphered. “Real convincing, gotta[1] do better than that.”

“Well, gotta[1] go,” Brain decided, Virgil getting more and more nervous the longer he stayed. He had all of his things and decided to go and hide in Thomas’s laundry room from now until the end of time.

“Hey, hold up a second,” Techno cut in, but still gave Brain an avenue of escape. “Saw your notes and you had some . . . mistakes on it, want some pointers before you blow your face off?”

Brain threw a shoulder strap over his shoulder, “Why? What do you want from it?”

“I like learning new potions and skills,” Techno told him. “Plus, if your boss is starting to pick up actual fighting skills, I might get my rematch.”

“Take it,” Logan urged. “Information from the source.”

“Nah, I know a second location kidnapping when I see one,” Virgil warned.

“I don’t think I can trust you,” Brain warned and he felt Virgil get a little less tense.

“One of the smart ones,” Sam complimented. Brain was more than a bit on edge because he couldn’t see his face and it was a bit hard for Brain to get a read on tone with seeing his facial expression. Sam’s normally flat, if slightly sardonic, tone certainly didn’t help.

“Here,” Techno took out a round flask with two chambers in the orb. One was a vivacious grey liquid, the second was murky milk-white liquid. He underhanded it gently to Brain, who thankfully caught it and then pulled a second one out and Brain fumbled to catch the second one. But he held one in each hand.

“What are they?” Brain turned it over, both Brain and his components enthralled by how the different liquids move.

“Noxious smoke bombs,” Techno smiled. “Come on, there’s a park down the road. Let me show you how real alchemy works.”

With two smoke bombs and a text to Bing and Oliver to tell them what was going on, Brain took his bag and followed them.

“Why are you helping me?” Brain asked the two Server members. “Even giving me the potions you did seems counterintuitive.”

“I want a real fight with that Legate, I’ll train him myself if I need to,” Techno told Brain. “Teaching you alchemy might make the fight interesting, and I like that.”

“I want a better look at your aura,” Sam admitted. “Your aura is a lot like the other one in the nanite suit. Did you split off from that one?”

“No, uh,” Brain got fidgety and stopped, the park within sight. Sam stopped before Techno did. “I’m a fusion.

“You know, I’ve heard that through the grapevine, but no one’s been able to tell me what that means,” Techno inclined his head to the left ever so slightly.

“Two or more Sides can make a new person,” Brain explained, trying not to give out too much information. “Typically fusions last anywhere from a couple hours to a couple of days.”

“Huh,” Techno commented, drawing out the syllable. “And which Sides are you?”

Brain took a step back, “Logic and Anxiety.”

“Well that explains some things about your aura,” Sam commented and then kept walking. Which took Brain a little bit to follow after them.

They got into the park and Techno began drawing a huge circle to keep effects trapped inside the circle and Techno motioned for Brain to step out of it.

“Okay, toss one in,” Techno looked over to Brain, and since he had a second one, the fusion tossed it into the circle and the portion shattered, the glass and stopper consumed by the magic and the liquids mixed. Even past the barrier, Brain’s eyes watered and his nose itches.

His form shook, almost splitting as Brain started coughing. “Geez, that’s bad. This is a smoke bomb? The ones I’ve seen go off aren’t usually this caustic.”

“Then the mage is going for a distraction and not and actual smoke bomb,” Techno told him.

“So there are distinctions then?” Brain asked, watching the smoke dissipate. “There are only certain things that constitute explosives.”

“Well,” Techno stalled, “Anything can make a bomb if you’re stupid, or careless.”

“Of course, of course,” Brain agreed.

Techno walked into the circle and began pulling flasks out of his cloak. “Now let me give you some pointers.”

“Don’t you need a whole lab set up for alchemy?” Brain asked, recalling Logan’s memories of Marvin’s set up in his library.

“I mean,” Techno shrugged as he began pulling out random pouches and packets. “You can strengthen effects or make more complex potions by fermenting or distilling potions, but in a fight you won’t have time to do it so when Phil and I would get on the battlefield we got used to mixing simplistic potions on the fly. But like I said, anything can make a bomb. Will was the only one of Phil’s kids that ever got the finesse of potion making. Real shame he’s dead.”

“Oh yeah,” Sam commented dryly. “Real shame, I spend every day lamenting his death. That asshole was a menace to society and his drug running got us into a lot of trouble.”

Brain tried his best to listen in on all the conversation as Techno and Sam were giving him potion mixing lessons. Techno making sure that Brian was throwing or mixing the potions right as Sam offered pointers or coming in to help distract Brain a little bit while he was trying to mix potions. Most of the time Brain couldn’t multitask and the spell backfired or didn’t work but because of the lack of concentration. But Brain was successful exactly once with making a smoke bomb only one time.

Sam had to leave and Brain left with corrected notes and new found knowledge. When Brain broke back apart upon reaching the base, Logan took the notes and the smoke bomb and began examining the compounds inside the potion. Virgil sitting next to him with his earphones in and on his phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

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