#AND HER NAME IN THE SHOW WAS OPHELIA THE WAY I WAS SCREAMING AT THE FUCKINV TV BRO

[kembleford-midsomers]

“Too Much of Water”, Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators // “Ophelia” by John Everett Millais

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Hello can you do the prompt 22. ‘’How can you be so blind?’’ with Ajax Petropolus please :)

—

As the tradition followed, cards were distributed to respective students on Valentine's Day morning. Reactions varying from glee to surprise, confusion and disappointment.

You took a subtle glance at Ajax, watching him opening his card. By the surprise on his face, he was not expecting anything. A shy smile curled on his lips as he read the message, followed by a frown when unable to find the identity of the writer. He showed it to Xavier, whispering something, but the psychic shrugged.

‘’Maybe it’s Enid? The paper is pink and written in sparkly gel-pen,’’ you heard Xavier say during lunch. 

He and Ajax were sitting together in the quad two tables behind you and you could hear their conversations almost perfectly. 

‘’Enid?’’ Ajax sounded unsure. ‘’I don’t know…’’

‘’Or the girl who sits behind you in history? Gorgons are shy. Maybe that’s why she didn’t sign her name.’’

‘’Kendra? That's a good guess!’’

You sighed sadly.

Later in werewolf reproduction class, Ajax sat at his usual seat beside you and slipped you the mysterious card. You thought he had finally figured it out that it was from you, but ended up disappointed the moment he opened his mouth.

‘’Y/N? You’re a girl, right?’’

You rolled your eyes as you took your textbook and opened it to the page indicated on the chalkboard. ‘’According to my birth certificate, yes,’’ you replied with a chuckle.

‘’It’s gonna sound weird but, could you help me decipher who wrote this valentine?’’

Your face dropped, just like your hopes of Ajax reciprocating your feelings. 

You faked a smile. ‘’Sure.’’

‘’Xavier thinks it’s Enid, but she put glitter in all the cards she sent this year and this one didn’t have any. You sit beside Kendra in Botany class, right? Do you recognize her handwriting?’’

Boys are so dumb, you decided as you made your way to your dorm to scream into your pillow. Your roommate was on a date with some siren so no one would hear your laments or see you ugly crying over a dumb boy.

Ajax was cute and clueless, but his cluelessness was making you want to put magnifying glasses over his pretty brown eyes so he could see all the hints you've been dropping about your feelings for him. You even tried to ask him out on a date a few times, but he didn't get that you wanted to do that activity with him — only him. 

You took a turn to take the stairs that would get you to Ophelia hall and collided with the one person you didn’t want to see.

‘’Sorry!’’ Ajax quickly apologized although you were the one not looking where you were going, too caught up in your frustrations. His hands grabbed your arm before you could kiss the floor.

If you hadn’t been so upset, you would have internally screamed at this rom-com-esque moment.

‘’I…I’m avoiding Bianca. She’s looking for me,’’ he said before you asked any questions.

You drew your eyebrows together in confusion. ‘’Bianca is your...mystery valentine?’’

‘’No!’’ Ajax immediately corrected you, holding his hand. ‘’God, no. She’s looking for Xavier. Not me.’’ He shook his head, laughing awkwardly at the thought of going on a date with Bianca Barclay. She was out of his league and not at all his type. ‘’She tried to make plans with him in hopes to get back together, but he’s not interested in rekindling and went hiding in his art shed. Please, do not tell Bianca where he is.’’

‘’His secret is safe,’’ you promised. ‘’Have you found who your mystery valentine is?’’ You tried to conceal your heartache and kept your voice casual. 

He shook his head, visibly disappointed. ‘’No. Unfortunately.’’ 

The pink card was peaking from his blazer pocket, right over his heart. It almost made you smile.

‘’I even asked Enid, but she didn't—’’ 

‘’How can you be so blind?’’ you asked out of frustration, the words slipping from your mouth. ‘’It was me who sent you that card. Me. Not Enid. Not the gorgon girl sitting behind you in history. Me.’’

You held your breath, bracing yourself for having your heart crushed, but that's not what happened.

‘’Why didn’t you say anything?’’ Ajax asked, his lips curling into a soft smile, feeling a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.

‘’I tried — many times —, but you never got the hints. I even used a strawberry scented gel-pen because I know you love strawberries.’’

‘’That's what smelled so good every time I opened the card!‘’

You laughed nervously.

‘’Do you...do you want to go for a walk? It's a lame date, but curfew is in an hour so there's not much to do.‘’

You nodded and Ajax took your hand in his, smiling.

—

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[baziutawrites]

In the dark

Xavier Thorpe x Female OC (Valerye Zamoyski)

Beginnings part 6

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8]

Other smut fics through my Masterlist.

Summary: A year prior to Wednesday's arrival at Nevermore, surprises await both Valerye and Xavier at the Eco-friendly themed Rave'N dance. Not all of them are good.

Warnings I guess: Angst. Almost no fluff. Missed signals, miscommunication. Bit of smut. Slow burn. Two oblivious idiots being idiots hard. Recreational drug use (weed). Alcohol consumption.

“I swear I will rip my fangs out if Thornhill gets to come up with a theme next year yet again.”

Yoko stood in the middle of their dorm room, kicking piles of clothes from one side to another.

“But you have so many clothes. Surely there is something you can wear again?”

The dance turned out to be a theme party. This year - something about the environment, being eco and reusing the things they already own. Preferably in earthy tones.

Their dorm mother was having a field day with the Rave’N. 

Most recent Botany classes were spent on moving heavy pots of plants to the inside of the auditorium. As if there weren’t enough of them already.

At this point, the dance could just take place in the middle of the forest.

“Usually I’d just go to the shop and throw some money at a dress and have it all sorted out. But this?”

Yoko kicked at the lone shoe in frustration.

“What about your wardrobe? Can I have a look?”

Before Val could answer, she made her way over to her side of the dorm and started digging through her things.

“This one is great but the fit is not my style.” She held up a hanger with a dress Val wore a few times to the Nightshades parties. “It screams you, tho. Wear it tonight. Cameron didn’t see you in this one yet, right?”

Val shook her head, laughing.

“Even better.” The dress flew towards the bed. “Now what in the hell am I going to wear?”

-***-

She should thank Yoko for choosing that dress later.

The way Cameron gasped at her sight was enough to make her blush.

“I am beyond honoured that you grace me with your presence, miss Zamoyski.” He bowed in an exaggerated manner and offered her his hand. “Care to accompany me?”

“Ah yes, my good sir,” Val had a really hard time keeping a straight face. “I would gladly do so.”

Yoko just went past them to meet up with Divina, making a retching sound. But Val could see her smiling nonetheless.

The four of them made their way to the auditorium and the closer they got, the more a pleasant tingling at the back of Valerye’s neck got.

The place looked nothing like a school ground’s building anymore. Various plants and flowers covered almost every surface. Intertwining with each other, forming various intricate formations. Weaving in and out of the pots and curtains in dense walls of greenery.

In between, there were tiny lights scattered around the entire place. Lighting up the space just enough for them to see but not to take away from the mysterious feel of it.

It looked as if it was taken straight out of a fairytale.

Miss Thornhill greeted them with a wide smile.

“The dance starts in five. Also, beautiful dresses, girls. And you, mister Moser. Dashing.” She went on to point them towards their seats. “Have a drink, the table is over there.”

She trotted back to the entrance, her heels clacking on the wooden floor.

“Dashing indeed, mister Moser.” Val teased and Cameron shook his head.

“I’ll get you something to drink. The green punch?”

She waved her hand around.

“Will do. Bet it’s virgin so I’ll take whatever.”

Drinks in hand, although vile in colour, as Divina pointed out, they settled at the table, waiting for the rest to show up.

Ajax found them soon after with a girl they didn’t know the name of - a shy one from the Ophelia Hall a year down. She didn’t say much for the entire time she was at their table.

A curious, sharp pang jabbed through Valerye’s chest at the sight of Xavier entering the dance room. She took in the way Bianca’s hand was wrapped around his arm.

Why didn’t she feel happy for them?

-***-

The off putting green drinks turned out to be much better after they ‘fixed’ them.

Soon after the opening ceremony, the dance floor was packed.

But Xavier wasn’t feeling the party, even after some alcohol entered his system. His eyes followed the one couple, laughing and doing faces at each other. And it made him feel angry.

Angry at himself, angry at Cameron, even angry at Val. How could he let that happen? How could the bloodsucker be first to get her? How could she agree?

“Hey, come on.”

Bianca stood in front of him now, her hand outstretched, a small smile on her full lips. He had to admit, she looked beautiful tonight.

“You’re asking me out?” He joked, standing up and taking her palm into his. Bianca blushed slightly.

“Only if you want to.” Her broad smile made him warm.

If it wasn’t for the alcohol, he would stare at her in disbelief. But now, he laughed as she led him to their friend group. 

They danced for what seemed like forever, joking around and doing weird moves. Kent almost knocked Divina to the floor with his attempt at doing ‘the worm’. To say he was unsuccessful wasn’t very surprising. Xavier and Ajax had to grab him so he wouldn’t fall over as well when he tried to stand up.

But the good mood he managed to get into slowly dissipated as the lights started to dim. The gnawing feeling of déjà vu settled itself in the pit of his stomach.

The fabric of Valerye’s dress flashed before his eyes as she twirled to an upbeat song. The very same she wore before on the rooftop party. The very same she wore in his dream vision.

The dream vision in which he kissed her, dancing to a slow tune in a dimly lit room.

Goosebumps erupted on his skin.

As if on cue, a slow tune played from the speakers. He felt his now shaky palms start to sweat. She was right next to him. If he just reached out, he could touch her shoulder. If he just took a step, he could wrap his hands around her.

His heart beated painfully against his ribs. He could not make a sound, the air repeatedly getting caught up in his throat. It all looked so familiar.

His visions never lied to him.

Xavier cleared his throat and moved.

But there he was. His pale hand extended towards her in an exaggerated, almost clownish manner. She took it, her cheeks flushed from all the dancing and alcohol. Her giggles was the last thing Xavier registered, as he watched Cameron sweep Val into a slow swaying, his fingers brushing her sides. He watched, unblinking, as the other one’s arms wrapped tightly around her middle, bringing her further away from him.

Away from his dream.

-***-

Ajax sat next to him soon after he reached the table.

“Bro, they are not official yet.”

“Yet.” Xavier sneered, downing his drink in one gulp and wincing at the burning sensation in his throat. “I tried, Jax. I fucking tried. And now this… Ah, fuck it.”

He tried very hard not to look at them. He watched Bianca sway her hips to the music with Kent at her side instead. Yet his gaze kept flickering back towards the other couple.

As if he wanted to torture himself further.

“Dunno what to say, man. Told you to get a move on.”

“Yeah, way to make me feel better about my fuck up. Thanks.”

“Big fuck up.” Drunk Ajax was sometimes even more clueless to any social cues than a sober one. “And now look at her. Look at how she looks at the Camerel - no, Cameron dude. Like they are in loooove.”

“Shut the fuck up, Ajax.” 

“Serious, man. Look.”

“I do not fucking care that she looks at the fucker like she’s in love with them or some shit. We never were a thing. Why should I even care?” He stood up, abruptly, startling Ajax out of his dazed state. “It is none, fucking none of my…”

Xavier’s eyes followed his friend’s gobsmacked stare.

“...business.”

Cameron was kissing her. 

In this dimly lit place, slowly dancing to a slow song, in her god forsaken dress. And the realisation crashed down on him so hard he could barely breathe.

His dreams were just that - just dreams. Not visions, neither things that were supposed to be, nor could be.

They were purely and utterly made up by him.

He wished his feelings were too.

-***-

Val was first to pull away. 

Despite her heart beating like crazy and a sudden tightness in her throat, she felt weird. Like, something was not right.

Cameron didn’t say a word either. He stared back at her with his dark eyes, his eyebrows furrowed slightly and a confused look on his face. His expression mirrored her feelings perfectly.

“It… This… Uhm, this…” She struggled to find the words and she pulled away from his embrace. “This felt…”

“Wrong?” Cameron offered, a small grin forming on his lips. “Incorrect? Abysmally off? Cataclysmically abhorrent? Grotesquely foul? Help me out, I’m running out of adjectives here.”

They both laughed. Val shook her head, feeling her shoulders relax a little. She didn’t even realise she was this tense.

“Yeah, exactly that. Like… I don’t have siblings but it felt exactly like kissing a sibling would?”

“Well, I do have a sibling and it felt exactly like kissing a sibling does feel like.” He pulled a face that made her snort in disbelief. “We were in kindergarten. Don’t ask.”

“Fuck no, I will not.”

There was a long pause before any of them spoke again.

“I hope this won’t change anything between us?” Val’s voice was now small. “I don’t want to lose your friendship.”

“Like hell you would.” This was Cameron’s turn to snort. He pulled her into a tight hug. “You are way too deep to get rid of me now.”

“God damn, I hoped that would work.” She smiled against his chest. It rumbled with laughter.

“Shit outta luck I guess, V.”

-***-

Ajax watched her with bleary eyes as Val sat down next to him and poured herself a glass. She looked over at him and caught his eye.

“Having fun?” She nudged him, offering him a kind smile that faltered quickly at the sight of his green tinted face. “Need me to get you some water?”

A small grunt was all she got in response. He definitely had a bit much to drink tonight.

After a glass of water and some food Val picked up along the way, Ajax straightened in his chair. His face no longer as pale as it was before.

“Thanks. I would die without you.”

“Where is your date?”

“She left. Didn’t want to dance with her.”

“Ouch.” Val pressed her hand over her chest.

“But I saw you did more than just dance tonight, though.” He wiggled his eyebrows and rested his head on his hand.

“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed a little. “Yeah… that.”

“So, you two are official now?”

“No, actually.” She twirled the drink, staring at the alcohol inside. “It was more like a break up.”

A small silence followed her words. Ajax stared at her, incredulously, through squinted eyelids.

“Fuck,” he breathed, “I feel like I’m not stoned enough to get that right now.”

Val threw her head back, a loud belly laughter escaping her lips.

“No, serious. How in the world kissing someone means breaking up with them?”

She chortled at how perked up he was now, leaning in to catch her every word. He might be shy at times but god damn the man was nosey. Just like Enid.

“Didn’t feel right.” She shrugged. “So. We both decided this isn’t gonna work.”

“So… you’re single?” He drawled, blinking stupidly up at her. 

“Yes, Ajax. I am single. No need to rub that in my face like this.”

“Oooh, Xavier would die to hear that.”

“What?” Val’s head snapped back to the gorgon, only to see him vanish in the crowd.

She felt the familiar heat spread in her chest. Did she hear things right? Xavier?

-***-

Xavier felt angry, hurt and sad but also determined. A mixture he would never think he could feel without bursting at the seams.

The second he saw the horrendous scene unfold right before his eyes, he had to leave. Had to get out at least for a moment. To clear his head.

He never thought that his waiting around would have this much of a butterfly effect. How fast the consequences of his inaction would follow.

And how pissed he would be at that.

He asked someone standing near the back door of the auditorium for a smoke. 

He rarely did anything other than weed and he mentally cursed himself for not buying a pack when he was out the last time. And he swore not to do that - smoking made his runs hell.

The person was kind enough to light the cigarette up for him and he thanked them. The cold night air was good at making him calm down.

But it didn’t help with the venom now coiling inside his chest. The resentment burned his throat with every long drag he took. How could he let this happen? 

But he did try… or was the pathetic attempt at asking her out even worth calling ‘a try’, he was not so sure of it now. And he mentally kicked himself yet again.

The images of his most recent dream - not a vision, as he painfully found out today - flooded his mind. Her taunting grin turning into a grimace of pure bliss as his fingers pushed inside her, stretching her heat with slow strokes. How throaty his name sounded when his tongue swirled around her clit. How sated she was when he then enveloped his arms around her, brushing his fingers through her dishevelled hair. Watching it glint with green under his fingertips. How happy he felt, holding her like this. How he wished to stay in this dream forever.

He couldn’t have dreams like this anymore. He could not jerk off in the bathroom during breaks to her pictures no longer. As much he hated Cameron, this wouldn’t be right.

He needed to find something to make him get over her. Fast.

As if on cue, the door burst open and he threw the cigarette bud to the side. Thankfully, it was Ajax and not miss Thornhill, or worse, principal Weems.

“Yo, bro, I’ve been looking for you. But…” His best friend froze, looking at him thoughtfully. Or, as thoughtfully a clearly drunk and stoned person could do. “Can’t remember what for.”

Xavier hissed in mock hurt and they both chuckled.

“Wanna smoke?”

“Yeah. I could really use a hit right now.”

A content silence fell between them. Halfway through the joint, Ajax piped up again.

“Bianca was looking for you.”

Xavier stopped in the middle of the step towards the ashtray. An idea popped into his high mind. A crazy one for sure.

But trying was surely better than doing nothing.

-***-

He found Bianca near the entrance, as she was about to leave.

“Where in the hell were you–?”

“Hey,” he jogged up to her and blurted out, “about that asking me out thing from earlier. How about a date?”

She looked up at him, disbelief mixed with a pleasant surprise etched onto her face. Xavier watched her intently, his breath caught up in his throat.

“A date?” A smile lightened up her features and he couldn’t help but smile back. His mind was swimming.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” She stated, her piercing silver eyes trained on his. “Monday evening?”

“Sounds good.”

“Alright. See you then.” Bianca turned to leave. But before she went through the curtains, she looked back at him. “Text me when you’re available.”

He only nodded in response. A bittersweet taste coated his tongue, making him unable to voice anything now. He noticed Valerye, sitting at their table, alone, watching him in such a way he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Her hair glinted with green as the lights from the dancefloor glided over her head.

But with all his might, he did. She was out of his reach.

He had to move on.

And for the first time in a long time, he hoped things would work in his favour.

A/N: Knew I've forgotten something. @dumplingsjinson Sorry for tagging you so late. I've used one of the prompts, number 10 from here. Thank you for your service, beautiful bestie. 🖤

[aezyrraeshh]

pspsps spare some morana lore if you've any to share?? 👀 i'd love to know what her story is!!

aaaaaaaaaaaa ty so much for the ask ophelia <33 i have quite a lot of info for her already teehee

so, her name, as you could've probably noticed, references the goddess morana, who is associated with rebirth and death, and these motifs are the main ones for morana and her story.

morana was born in menzoberranzan unfortunately, however, she wasn't born to a powerful house or a trading clan, so her early life in the city was very tough, and the way of the city, of course, shaped her character greatly. lolth worship, lack of trust, cruelty are all of the things morana was introduced to since the earliest stages of her life. living in the city of chaos was tough, but she actually did have one person she could rely on-- rylor or ry. they knew each other since they were kids, and they survived together through everything the city threw at them.

morana wanted to attend one of the academies of menzoberranzan to get something out of the city, but she knew she had an almost zero chance in it, but she showed a great potential at manipulating the weave so she used it to her advantage whenever it was needed.

fortunately or unfortunately for her, morana got what she desired and she was noticed by a powerful wizard, lytha, who noticed morana's potential. it wasn't the most.. pleasant apprenticeship bc lytha actually saved morana's life and then kind of made her to serve herself, while also teaching morana magic. morana hated doing lytha's bidding, of course, bc her teacher often forced morana to do things she despised, but morana would still cling to that life bc it was better than the one that was before, and lytha in the unexpected show of mercy, allowed morana to bring ry with her. lytha totally used their desperation for her own gain, but morana knew how to get something useful for her and her greatest friend from this so she pushed through all the bad stuff.

after quite a lot of time, lytha did start to see morana as more of an equal, and taught her the ways of the necromancy. but when it seemed like good times were finally approaching, ry died during one of the raids on the surface, and morana was crushed. the only person she could ever trust, the only stability in her life was gone, and she was overcome with grief and rage, and she couldn't allow it to happen, and the decision to bring ry back was made, and morana made death her enemy, but it never ends well, we all know.

she retrieved ry's body and preserved it as well as she could, and after that she became obsessed. her only purpose was to bring ry back, and she tried so hard, but her attempts always failed. she could make a puppet of his body, could talk to him for a limited amount of time, but ry was never there, what made him him was gone. she was constantly controlling the body, but she didn't want that. she wanted ry back, as it was. each failure meant loosing ry again, so every attempt felt like he died again and again, and morana wasn't managing it well. now, she looked like the dead one, she barely ate, barely slept, she never left her home, and whenever lytha tried to stop her, morana wouldn't listen, she would just double down on her efforts.

so despite the respect and perhaps affection that lytha held for morana, was bled dry, and she dismissed morana, threw her away bc she was no longer useful to her (and lytha secretly hoped that by cutting morana's resources, she would sooner or later abandon the idea all together). after that, she travelled the underdark in search of the way to bring ry back, and during her searches she stumbled to the shadowlands, and there she started to loosing her mind even more. eventually the curse claimed her, and she died near ry. and i imagine her crumbling mind filled with guilt and felling of failure, but also peace bc all is finally over.. crying and screaming

but fate played a cruel joke on her for morana was brought back to life under mysterious circumstances with only fractures of her memory that come to her in her dreams and a void deep within her soul as if she lost something but can't remember what.

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites: The Wrath of Ophelia Ch. 1/Prologue

20th Century Fox Presents

In the opening, fog and smoke appears as an oracle starts a monologue.

Oracle: *monologue* For when hope shall meet again? From dusk still dawn or as sun to moon? When a Shlorpian finds his way… but don’t let pride deceive you… when you become self-centered and greedy and uncaring… for you shall pay the price…

The scene then explodes with a christening happening. It shows baby Terry wailing after being a dunk a bit in water as he recives a strange mark on the back of his neck while Jessica and Teraformus gasp in joy.

Jessica: Oh little Terald, look at you.

Teraformus: There's our little man.

Baby Terry sniffles. Suddenly, the door opens as everyone gasp. It shows an empress name Ophelia who approaches Jessica and Teraformus.

Ophelia: Hello there.

Jessica: *holding baby Terry close* What do you want?

Ophelia: Charming christening. Now let's get down to business. I waited a long time for this day. What about my new source?

Teraformus: What new source?

Ophelia: That I need more than everyone. I wouldn't have supported you for all these years if I thought you were running... a charity.

Shlorpian Guard: You will not be taking anymore lives!

Ophelia: Then it's time for a new source, and I vote for *pointing to baby Terry* the cursed sproutling.

Baby Terry starts crying even louder while Jessica gasp and holds her baby close.

Teraformus: You will not take him!

Ophelia: Then come at me then!

The Shlorpian guards battle cry as they attack Ophelia. Opehlia knocks them one by one and charges at Jessica who gasp as she holds baby Terry close. Then, a Shlorpian guard grabs Ophelia and slashes arm as she screams in pain and snarls at Teraformus.

Ophelia: One day that cursed sproutling will be mine! And soon enough, ALL OF YOU WILL BE MINE!

The Shlorpian guards fire their arrows at Ophelia who heads outside and shuts the door behind her while blocking it with a stool as arrows flew into the door. Ophelia then stares at the Shlorpians one more time as she vows vengeance.

Ophelia: I’LL BE BACK! I’LL BE BACK!

The doors close. Jessica and Teraformus then runs off back their apartment while Jessica holds a crying baby Terry. They made it back home while Jessica cradles baby Terry and soothes him as he continues crying.

Jessica: Shh… shh… it’s okay…. Mommy’s here… you’re safe…

Baby Terry stops crying and whimpers

Jessica: There now… *sets baby Terry down in his crib and tucks him to bed* oh dear Terald… one day… I think you’re gonna grow up to become a brave person… *rubs Terry’s forehead* sweet dreams my little baby…

Baby Terry closes his eyes and coos softly. Jessica kisses baby Terry in the forehead as she and Teraformus kiss and heads to bed. The scene then shifts over to Terry, who is now an adult Shlorpian sleeping, until he heard a baby crying. Terry groans and yawns as he stretches his back and looks at a crib.

Terry: Hey Jesse… you feeling hungry?

Baby Jesse: *cries*

Terry smiles and picks up baby Jesse. Then, he pours sproutling nutrient liquids in a baby bottle, puts a sipping lid on it and feed them to baby Jesse, who coos.

Terry: Aw that’s a good girl Jesse-bear… you almost done having your favorite juicey?

Terry looks out the window and sighs sadly

Terry: Don’t worry Jesse. One day, I’m gonna find a lifemate of my own. And we’re gonna get out off this planet and find normal lives.

Terry puts Jesse in her crib and sits on the bed. He then starts sobbing. Suddenly, Terry hears shouting below and then sees a red male Shlorpian cursing at Korvo who is holding baby Yumyulack in a baby carrier.

Red Male Shlorpian: Watch where you’re going asshole!

Korvo: You watch where you're going!

Korvo groans but then smiles as he watches baby Yumyulack cooing in his sleep. Terry then gasp and blushes a bit.

Terry: Whoa. He's beautiful...

Cue the opening titles with the theme music from the 2023 Hulu movie “No One Will Save You”. Cue to the title

”Solar Opposites: The Wrath of Ophelia”

[chryzure-archive]

ChrysiArchie rant you say…? 👀👀

YES, OKAY, SO.. this is a little bit of world-building / just general storyline stuff i’ve added, and i’m putting them in random bullet points, so if they don’t make sense… alas <//3 but i’ve been thinking abt them sooo hard even though i haven’t even gotten to archie in my reread yet (i think i’ll die when i see him again, fr!!!), SO:

on selene, it’s… semi-normal for you to take on a consort in a marriage. it happens a lot if it’s an arranged marriage (as is chrysi’s with her fiancé, who i have been thinking will be elias bloom for extra fury and helplessness :)), so in an attempt to find any hope in her future, chrysi chooses jacks to become her legal consort. obvi he jumps on this chance bc it’s THE only way for him to be with her, but okay. we move.

vaguely related to that… chrysi was technically “arranged” to marry azure waaaaay back before she’d even been shipped off to the pole. she was the executioner and he was some noble (forgive me, my world-building hasn’t gotten this far ;;; i was thinking w chryzure soulmate brain instead of writer-brain

anywayyy, azure dies :) and UGHHH, ophelia learns allll about chrysi and her tragic past through the engagement ring set azure gave chrysi :((( she didn’t mean to read the past in the objects, but she touched it and chrysi’s grief was so overwhelming that it dragged her into reliving chrysi’s pain over losing azure… and later going deeper into the rings’ memories to see how much azure truly loved chrysi. it kills me inside. it shocks ophelia, since chrysi seemed to give her heart so wholly to archie. lots of things going on there.

that follows up w a scene between chrysi and ophelia, where chrysi talks abt soulmates… and bc in the mirror visitor series, the population doesn’t believe in god anymore (…. except the god they talk of isn’t even god, it’s a woman named eulalia gonde, and her name has been mispronounced and warped into “god”. sorry, that’s a major spoiler, but we move, okay), chrysi goes on to say, “i don’t know if i believe in a god like the ancients did, but i do believe there was some higher divinity that made azure for me and i for him. everything about our love was ordained. i could believe in a god with him at my side.” SOBBING. IMAGINE BEING ARCHIE WALKING IN ON THAT AND FINDING OUT THAT CHRYSI HAD A WHOLE ENTIRE SOULMATE BEFORE SHE DEDICATED HERSELF TO ARCHIE AFTER AZURE’S DEATH. I’M GOING TO SCREAM AND CRY AND THROW UP.

also, vaguely related to that: on selene, i’ve decided that even though religion has moved away from the concept of a “god”, they do still have saints that they worship (esp since they’re such a dreamlike people, it makes sense to me??? but also i wanted jacks to still swear by using the saints’ names hehe)—and that chrysi, as the current executioner, has gained such a foothold in politics (on accident), that she’s on her way to becoming a saint. even jacks, when she takes him on as a consort (after she left archie and archie… kinda left her too, unintentionally), will whisper that she’s his saint alone and he doesn’t want to share her. also he calls her “saint chryseis” bc. i want to have some chrysijacks crumbs in this universe, okay.

since selene is highly inspired by venice as well, i figured the combination of the arts and religion being so deeply ingrained in the arts leads to a reasonable assumption that selene would still be more religious than the rest of the arks. …. yeah :)

….anyway, unrelated, archie shows up during chrysi’s engagement party. we’ve been over this. he doesn’t realize it’s chrysi’s engagement party at first though???? and when he sees chrysi walk up to elias bloom + he sees that she’s taken off all of her rings so elias bloom can put his singular stupid fucking trophy ring on chrysi’s finger, archie feels such a sense of horror that he doesn’t know how to explain.. then he realizes, oh, he loved how much chrysi was independent, even though it frightened him a little bit, how little he understood her… :((

elias bloom is the one that dies unexpectedly :) on that same night where chrysi’s washing the blood off her hands and archie shows up mid-hand wash and chrysi’s terrified and confused by her spotty memory :) both archie and jacks are thrilled chrysi’s no longer engaged to that bastard, but it’s pretty obvious that this doesn’t look good for proving her innocence.

anyway, also jumping to another point: chrysi never let archie use his ability of transparency on her bc she was frightened that if he did, he would feel her pain and realize that she was sick and dying. she didn’t want him to grieve her while she was still alive. well, jokes on her, bc archie’s also dying, but you know. whatever.

that said… their happy ending is him using his powers to create their own little communion of souls (pretentious, but it is kinda a romantic concept. i hate him) and they’re finally no longer hiding any secrets from each other + now they trust each other… they make me want to gnaw on drywall.

[hilarychuff]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ♥️

ok before i do mine i just want to shout out yours!!! everybody go check out @cellsshapedlikestars' fave five fics (especially the crime noir one) ❤️

ok now back to me looks like i’m going with a counting down format

5. in any world (in any way) - sansa aus

link to ao3 and link to tag

i put two on here but i couldn’t pick just one more!!! i love overboard i love anastasia i love parent trap i love miss congeniality i love house of wax i love princess diaries

there are a couple i did not mention specifically but genuinely truly truly i love all of them they are each a little labor of love putting together the graphics and sometimes trying to be very intentional with those but as i talked about earlier even when the graphics are done and how i like them these days i never share them if i don’t also have the blurb where i want and if i haven’t also figured out how everything slots into place

it is so fun to do a little au like this because it’s like a puzzle figuring out who is who and how you can make it work being true to the source material you’re using as your framework while also adapting as necessary for your character’s actual character arcs like!!!! they are much bigger in my head then they make it onto the page, also. i wish i could fully write all of them out but it would take me forever 

4. while you were sleeping jonsa au 

link to blurb and link to drabble and link to tag

related to what i was just saying..... i did write out a scene for this one actually!!!!! this movie makes my heart so warm and thinking about it in terms of jonsa made my heart so warm and i just love that scene and i loved writing it out and i had a few other blah blahs that i’ve shared in my tag too

3. sweet/vicious - sansa and arya au 

link to blurb 

this one may not have an audience anywhere other than with me bc i feel like i am the only person who didn’t work at mtv who watched this show while it was airing but i have shown sweet/vicious to approximately one million friends and it is just such a little gift of a tv show and i feel like the dynamics fit really well for sansa and arya. i love love love a sister moment and the way that jules and ophelia care about each other but also fight sometimes and are so different lends itself really well to these two girlies. also jon as tyler is really truly honestly very special to me too (although i do hate to make the stark sisters unrelated bc then i’m always like ok do i give them last names lmao who gets what parent how does all that stuff work)

2. i carry it in mine - jonsa soulmate au

link to ao3 and link to tag 

i think this one speaks for itself. it’s the most popular thing i’ve ever written, which isn’t really that important to me in a numbers sense, but it’s very special to get to talk about a story that i wrote with people who liked it and the larger number of eyes on it provided that opportunity. it’s also been a fun experiment in switching perspectives, because i usually just stick to one at a time. and there is just a lot in there that i love. it is very much still like an adaptive work but trying to come up with solutions to these plot issues that people have with those works or trying to guess where things are going when we don’t have the real answers yet (not necessarily in an attempt to get things all right but just to make sure they make sense!!!) has been a hard and interesting challenge too. 

1. howl 2 (but also all of howl) - jonsa scream au

link to ao3 and link to tag 

look clearly i love working in adaptations and mash ups and that’s why this is just my absolute fave i think. sansa/jonsa/sansa and her siblings plus the scream franchise!!! and howl 2 specifically because while i love howl 1 i like marathon churned it out in a 72 hour period basically just plagiarizing and novelizing the scream script without pouring in too much additional effort. i just thought it would be like a fun halloween drabble sort of deal. but then howl 2 i put a lot more time and thought and effort and love into and it felt more like writing an actual story. also there are more jonsa feelings in it!!!!! idk it just was the most labor of love too bc i was like..... truly nobody is going to read this i am only writing this for myself and i still finished it!!!!!! go me

[asmobabe]

400 followers celebratory smut!

Mirror

Warning: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERRACT

Word count: 1906 words

Content warning: Smut, dubious consent, alcohol consumption, slight exhibitionism, mirror fucking, semi-public sex.

Pairing: Female!MC x Asmodeus (Obey Me!)

They move to the dance floor, Asmodeus's hand on Ophelia's back. Her head is wrapped in a haze, equal parts of booze and beat coursing through her veins like liquid gold. It's dizzying, and it's exciting, and it burns. It's the best she's ever felt. Asmodeus pulls her closer so that when her hips swing it grinds against his, and she lets him, the usual shyness diluted by the neon lights. 

- I love this song! - she yells over the noise.

- I know, I do too! That's why I requested it!

Ophelia throws her head back with a smile, resting it on Asmo's shoulder. He can peek at the hem of her bra when she moves, and the Avatar of Lust relishes the thought that others might be seeing it too. The way her strapless dress threatens to give in, the mounts of her breasts already exposed. Asmodeus can sense the entire club watching them like vultures. Unfortunately, she soon notices and pushes the dress up, earning a whine from the demon. 

- Hey, not fair! I was enjoying the view!

- Sorry, dear. - she chuckles, turning to face him - We're in public, you know?

- And why is that a bad thing?

At the moment, Ophelia can't think of an answer. Maybe staring into the eyes of the Avatar of Lust while drunk wasn't the most exceptional idea. He couldn't charm her with magic, but those eyes worked an effect similar enough. 

- Like, we're not going to see anyone here ever again. What's the big deal? You're not afraid of a little crowd, are you? - his hands snake up her waist - They want to see. It's just a little skin anyway.

- Yeah, I guess... 

His gaze is heated, almost glowing under the neon lights. Ophelia meant to say something more, she's sure, but, little by little, all her thoughts turn into mud. Head empty, and at last, she relents. The words are breathed inches away from her lips, boiling with anticipation: 

- You'll put on a show, won't you, pet?

There's nothing left for the human to do but to melt into the kiss, throwing both arms over his shoulder to bring him closer. Asmodeus's touch leaves scalding wounds all over her body while his tongue licks away her last bit of caution as soon as access is granted. The feeling is intoxicating, dizzying, even, and it burns. He smells so good and tastes even better. It's strange, knowing they have an audience, and still, she doesn't feel uncomfortable. It's actually kind of thrilling! The moment the demon grabs a handful of her ass, Ophelia knows she's done for. 

- Asmo...! - she breaks the kiss, gasping for air. 

- I adore it when you say my name like that... You're so cute!

Asmo's grin is hectic as he starts to nuzzle her neck, tasting the sweat on her skin. He's playing dirty, and he knows it. Without even realizing it, the girl tilts her head to give him better access.

- Let's just... Let's just leave, ok? 

- Oh, I'm so sorry, dollface... The party's only getting started, and I don't want to go yet. But...  I did see that the bathroom is free right now... We could have some fun and come back later. 

His tone, warm and coaxing, makes it evident that he's enjoying the situation way too much. The truth is that he'd take the girl right there if she wanted him to. 

- What do you think? Do you want me to fuck you against the mirror? I have to say, the thought of dancing with you in my arms, cum dripping down your thighs... That really turns me on. You'd like that too, wouldn't you, pet?

Ophelia nods, unable to ignore the warm feeling deep inside her stomach. She lets him take her hand in his, guiding the exchange student through the crowd to the handicapped toilet. Asmodeus closes the door behind their back, and seconds later, the girl finds herself sat on top of the sink with her arms around him, way too dizzy to remember if he put her up there or if she climbed on her own. 

Their kisses have something desperate in them. Ophelia's fingers thread through Asmo's now messy curls, pulling him as close as she possibly can. Every bit of his mouth tastes like expensive liquor. The demon squeezes her waist so tightly it almost hurts, clearly as frantic as the human to have his wants satisfied. Hands cupping her breasts, his mouth travels south, pressing wet kisses on her neck and nibbling at her collarbone, sending shivers through her spine. Later she'd be sporting the most beautiful love bites, and there wouldn't be any doubts left over who she belonged to. He hoped she'd mark him too - it'd be lovely if they matched. He pushes her bra up and the dress down. The music blasting from the other side of the door is still audible, and Asmodeus meets the feverish tempo with the griding of his hips, meeting Ophelia's core. Flustered, she begins to work on undoing his belt. 

- You're so cute when you're impatient. 

The demon giggles, stopping her mid-action. He grabs both of her wrists, lifting her arms on top of her head with one hand, the other moving to move her underwear to the side. "Let's get this out of the way, shall we?", he whispers lightly to her ear. The girl can feel her blood boiling with want and, desperate, throws herself on his neck, taking advantage of their short distance and attacking the skin with needy lips. Asmodeus was granted his wish and reveled, groaning at the open-mouthed kisses pressed onto his throat. He spreads her legs further, caressing her thighs as if they have all the time in the world until finally cold air and cold fingers meet the wetness of her core as he teases her entrance. 

- Please, just fuck me already! - the girl whimpers. 

He inserts a finger and circles her clit with the heel of his palm. 

- You're making it hard to resist, doll... So wet, and I barely did anything.

Asmodeus goes back to ravaging her mouth, his kisses hungry like he means to consume her soul. Ophelia is lightheaded enough to consider letting him had he proposed it. He pumps in and out of her, soon adding a second finger to the equation as the girl struggles to free herself from the hand holding her arms up. She whines into his mouth, frustrated. 

- Asmo, please... Please, please, please!

- I gotta say, dollface, I love it when you beg. Do you think you're ready for me, baby?

Ophelia nods, so eager that it is almost pathetic. But it doesn't matter; nothing matters. The demon seems content at last and lets go of her arms, setting her free to continue what she'd previously started. She undoes his pants in record time, pushing the fabric down with a feverish craving in her eyes. All the teasing was worth it for that moment, for that look in her face, the Avatar of Lust thought. He feeds on it, on her hungry hands pumping him once, twice, before guiding him towards her aching cunt. They both grunt as he begins to enter her. 

His length drags through her velvet walls at a slow pace that soon picks up speed at the girl's request. Holding on to him for dear life, Ophelia rests her forehead on the demon's shoulder as he pounds into her with a wilder and wilder rhythm, making the sink shake. Without warning, Asmodeus pushes her off the washbasin, only to bend her over it. 

- Asmo! - she yelps.

He grabs her by the neck, a devilish grin on his lips. 

- Sorry, pet, I just couldn't handle depriving you of the view any longer.

Now grabbing onto the sink, she looks up to see herself in the mirror. Her face is a flushed mess of mascara running and lipstick smudged, and the hairstyle that took so long to perfect is nothing more than disordered curls. Her breasts are lolling out of the dress, and her bra is undone, resting somewhere on the bathroom floor. She's too focused on the mist covering her eyes to care about it. It's such an erotic image. Asmodeus pounds into her from behind, and she can do nothing but watch. He feeds on it, the demon himself the vision of lust. 

Ophelia bites her lip, trying to hold back a scream of pleasure as he hits her sweet spot. Asmodeus grabs on her waist, strong enough to leave fingerprints, utterly lost in the moment. The exchange student might paint a pretty picture as she watches herself get fucked, but nothing like the demon. He grunts and moans with reckless abandon, citrine eyes glued on his own reflection, sparing the girl a glance or two every once in a while. Contrasting with Ophelia, his appearance is still fairly in order. 

- Yes! Yes! Just like that! - she pleads. 

He keeps on, just like that. The girl's knuckles turn white as she holds on to the sink. The words fall out of her mouth like a jumble on the floor, a mantra of spilled words.

- I love you. I love you so much. Please, just like that.

- You're doing so good, doll. I love you too, so, so much! You're such a good pet. Now, focus on the mirror. See how pretty you look? You've never looked more beautiful.

Her cheeks flush more if that's possible. The heat on the bottom of her stomach is about to explode in a ball of fire. 

- I'm so close! - she cries.

That's music to Asmo's ears. He doesn't change a thing, even as he gets close himself and the usual stammered pace should come. Only when he can feel her walls clenching around him and see her eyes close with satisfaction that he allows himself to change speed. His hips stutter once, two, three times, and with a final moan, he empties himself inside of her. 

- You're such a pretty little whore, do you know that? - he asks, taking his cock out of her, watching the white cum spill. 

Ophelia can only nod. A frown reaches Asmodeus's face as he inquires:

- Are you tired? Do you wanna go home and sleep?

- What about the party? - she looks up.

- I don't care about the party, if you're not okay to dance, then I don't want to dance.

The exchange student thinks for a second. Her mind feels so soggy... A nap wouldn't hurt... 

- Yeah, let's go home.

She puts on her bra and gets her panties right, trying to ignore the feeling of Asmodeus' cum drenching the fabric. Her hair is such a mess. 

- I'll fix that for you. - says the demon, taking out a plastic comb from his back pocket. 

He sits on top of the toilet and starts running the comb through her hair, peppering her head with kisses every two seconds. She fixes her dress. 

- You did, so, so good, doll. Really. 

- Really? - she looks up at him, puppy-eyed.

- Really. I love you so much.

She smiles through the smudged makeup. 

- I love you most. 

[keiratheraven]

Everything was perfect for Angela Pleasant.

Her relationship with Lilith, her twin sister improved a lot and they became best friends after they left the toxic Pleasant family house. Then they made a squad and band at once named Bentley 8 with Dustin Broke, Dirk Dreamer, Johnny Smith, Ripp Grunt, Ophelia Nigmos, and Puck Summerdream. They moved from Bridgeport to Starlight Shores for chasing fame.

Her beautiful boyfriend turned good after he left his criminal career, and now he married her.

Couldn’t be better, Bentley 8 reached its peak in its career from a garage band to the world-renowned chart-topper.

Everything was so perfect, but not many people know about her past, especially in middle school. Everyone only thinks that she was a vain queen bee AKA the alpha bitch in high school.

Until she gets that nightmare. 

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!” 

Angela woke up from her nap.

“Oh, that dream sucks.”

“Relax, Angie. It’s just your past. They aren’t in your life anymore. You have to forget about middle school memories.” Angela talked to herself while tears ran down her face.

In the morning, she made some breakfast for her household/bandmates. Dustin sat next to her, and he noticed something wrong with Angela.

“Sweetie, why do you have the panda eyes? Haven’t you slept last night?” Said Dustin.

“Don’t worry about me. It’s just another insomnia.”

“I heard you screaming last night, Angela,” said Ophelia.

Lilith rolled her eyes.

“Sis, I know you just had another nightmare again. I bet it’s about middle school, am I right?”

“Shut up, Lilith! You know nothing.”

“Oh, I guess my sister won’t tell us about her past that makes her change her appearance.”

Angela stared at Lilith furiously.

“Why won’t you tell us about it, Angie? We’re your family.” Said Johnny.

“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just a bitter past.”

“Don’t keep it for yourself, Angie. It’s not good for your mental health. We won’t tell anybody. Please, sweetie.”

“Okay, I guess I can trust you guys. Actually, I used to be a nerd in middle school. Well, My classmates liked to bully me then.”

All of them, except Lilith, looked surprised. Because The Bentley Queen turned out to be the victim as well.

“Well, they liked to grab and pull my hair. They called me ugly, fat, and a shitty nerd who doesn’t deserve to be popular. That’s why I changed my appearance in high school to be pretty, popular, became the cheer captain so I won’t be bullied anymore, and you know... I became bulimic. Plus mom and dad put pressure on me to be flawless. I was very unhappy back then, although I was always acting like a perfect princess.”

“But they didn’t slap you, yell at you and blame you for everything, right sis?” Said Lilith.

“Well, I’m sorry for you both, Angie and Lil. But you guys can’t just keep blaming each other and your parents. All of us have dark pasts, and it’s okay to be not okay. Everyone makes mistakes, but we have to be elevated, forgive ourselves and others, and move on.” Said Dirk.

“Yes, Dirk. You’re so wise, no wonder you became a psychiatric apprentice.”

“Thank you, Angela. You have to be wiser as well because soon you’ll become a psychologist,”

“By the way, we have to perform an acapella live show in Brotherhood of Fine Fellows Hall this evening.” Said Johnny.

“Nice. So we became a vocal group instead of a band and have to abandon our instruments? That’s sucks.” Said Ripp.

“Come on, guys. It’s just a challenge from the venue owner. We will get paid more after that.”

“I’ve got an idea. Besides our songs, what about covering some popular songs?”

Later that night...

They sang their songs on the stage, but also covered some popular songs: Team by Lorde, Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay, and lastly: Learn to Let Go by Kesha.

Been a prisoner of the past Had a bitterness when I looked back Was telling everyone it's not that bad 'Til all my shit hit the fan

I know I'm always like Telling everybody you don't gotta be a victim Life ain't always fair, but hell is living in resentment Choose redemption Your happy ending's up to you

I think it's time to practice what I preach Exorcise the demons inside me Whoa, gotta learn to let it go

The past can't haunt me if I don't let it Live and learn and never forget it Whoa, gotta learn to let it go

Had a boogieman under my bed Putting crazy thoughts inside my head Always whispering, "It's all your fault" He was telling me, "No, you're not that strong"

I know I'm always like Telling everybody you don't have to be a victim Life ain't always fair, but hell is living in resentment Choose redemption Your happy ending's up to you

So, I think it's time to practice what I preach Exorcise the demons inside me Whoa, gotta learn to let it go The past can't haunt me if I don't let it Live and learn and never forget it Whoa, gotta learn to let it go

I'm done reliving my bad decisions I see now maybe there's a reason why I've been through hell and back Yeah, honestly, it's all made me who I am Holding on to wasted time Gotta learn to let go in life

So, I think it's time to practice what I preach Exorcise the demons inside me Whoa, gotta learn to let it go The past can't haunt me if I don't let it Live and learn and never forget it Whoa, gotta learn to let it go

Learn to let go, learn to let go

[cabensonsgirly]

👼Baby's Got Trouble. Don't Know How To Live. Don't Want To Die. (Cordelia Goode)👼

Cordelia Goode x fem!reader

👼Part 6 of SP getting reader pregnant👼

👼Slice 1👼

Co-authored with @billiedeannovak

Somewhat au but more so later xx

👼Wordcount: 3422👼

👼Posted on AO3: Read Here👼

👼Content: Your mum sucks, slow-burn, fluff, angst, alcohol, more to be added later👼

👼“No, ma’am. It isn’t crazy hippie rubbish. As I said, your daughter has a place here at the academy. She will start classes upon arrival. It is best she bring all the clothing she has and any other personal items she might wan-“👼

“Hello? Is this the Robichaux or whatever place?”

“Robichaux Academy, yes it is. My name is Cordelia Goode, I’m the Headmistress of Robichaux Academy. How may I help?”

“Brilliant. My daughter, Yn, has somehow managed to break our wine glasses while we were- my husband, son, and I were sitting eating at the dining table. She then managed to fix them once the initial shock wore off but this can’t go on. She’s a disgrace to the family. We heard tales from her great grandmother about witches in Salem but we just thought she was going batty in her old age. Regardless, can you fix our daughter?”

“I- Ma’am, I understand that to people like you- er, I mean, people without magical abilities, that it is scary when these abilities show themselves, but it doesn’t mean your daughter needs to be- to be fixed. Yes, she can come to the academy, there should have been a letter in the-“

“Oh. That place. We got the letter and threw it out thinking it was some crazy hippie rubbish.”

“No, ma’am. It isn’t crazy hippie rubbish. As I said, your daughter has a place here at the academy. She will start classes upon arrival. It is best she bring all the clothing she has and any other personal items she might wan-“

“She will take what she can fit into that stupid bag of hers before we kick her out. We don’t want her in the house any longer. She’s a disgrace and is putting us in danger.”

“I think- I think she’s the one in danger, not you. People still- There are people out there that still want us dead. She will be safer surrounded by her sisters. Someone will come by to make sure she makes it here safely.”

“Good. I suggest someone come quick because after I hang up, she’s no longer welcome.”

“I- Okay ma’am. Very well then. Someone will be there shortly. Have a pleasant evening.”

You have always hated the dark ever since you were a little kid, it’s not the darkness itself that scares you but rather the inability to see what could see you. The lights that lined the streets offered little to no visibility, they were as useful as soldiers would be standing in their place, in fact, they were probably what made you most unnerved about sitting outside on the curb at night, they had this uneven yellow glow to them that only managed to give off light in a very small orb around them. The only thing that would make your current situation more unpleasant than it already was, would be if a thick fog rolled in, trapping the light in an even smaller radius, and making the darkness around you all that more ceaseless.

It was a relatively quiet part of New Orleans, and at the moment you couldn’t tell whether this was a blessing or a curse. Sure, there weren’t random people approaching you and asking if you have money or if you need help, but there was also no one around if something were to happen to you. Yes, your scream could be heard but no one would come running to see where it had come from or why it had been made.

Your parents hadn’t really explained much about where you were going, they said “gather your shit in that bag of yours and get out” followed by a “someone from that hippie academy will pick you up” but that was all they had said before the door hit your ass on the way out of the house.

There weren’t any hippie academies that you could think of, you doubted they were even a thing. Wouldn’t a hippie academy be counterintuitive to the whole hippie thing? Why were you even being sent away? It wasn’t your fault that the glasses broke, it was an accident! And you had fixed them so why were you suddenly sitting on your ass on the curb?

The low hum of a car draws your attention from your phone and makes you jump up and back from the curb so you don’t get hit by it. It’s a fancy car so surely it wouldn’t be here for you. Why would a black Mercedes A-Class Sedan pull up in front of you?

Maybe it was one of those gross rich people that wanted to give you a nice place to stay and anything you could desire in exchange for sex. No Bueno. One of the doors swing open and a young blonde woman steps out, brushing down the front of her knee-length black skirt before smiling shyly at you. “Are you Yn?”

You narrow your eyes and tighten your grip on the straps of your backpack “Who’s asking?” Despite current circumstances, the woman doesn’t come across like she would do anything to hurt you, she seems kind and has a certain air of innocence about her.

“Oh! My apologies, I’m Cordelia Goode. I’m the Headmistress of Robichaux Academy. I’m here to take you there. Have- Did your parents explain where you’re going and why?”

You shook your head and looked down briefly, toeing the dirt with your shoe before glancing back at her. “No. They pretty much told me to get my shit and leave, and that some ‘hippie academy’ person would come get me. Are- are you that person? Not- not a hippie person but- not- not that there’s anything wrong with if you are.”

Cordelia laughs softly and moves closer to you, offering her hand to carry your bag “Let me take that for you.” You hand her your bag, quietly apologising for it being heavy but she seems to hold it with ease. “So they told you none of what I discussed with them on the phone? That’s- that’s to be expected I guess. We can discuss this in the car on the way, okay?”

You nod and follow her back to the car, climbing in after her and closing the door. She whispers something to the driver before the car sets off, turning her attention back to you. “Do you know anything about witches and covens?”

“A little? My great grandma use to talk a lot about what happened to family in Salem but mom and dad always said she was just getting batty in her old age. She said that witch hunters would tear people from their homes and slaughter them, sometimes whole villages of people that were believed to be witches or- or even harboring them.

She use to show me magic tricks as a kid, making her purse disappear then reappear in my school bag. I never knew how she did it but- but it fascinated me. I talked to mum and dad about it, how amazing it was but they just told me to stop talking and never talk about it again. Other than that… I have no idea.”

“Your- your parents- mother- did briefly mention that your great grandmother use to talk about it but she, as you said, put it down to her being batty in old age. Unfortunately for your grandmother- great grandmother, sorry- what she talked to you about was- in some cases, still is, true. Witches, all though now have safer places and are more widely accepted, they- we, are still at danger of being killed by witch hunters.

At the academy, Robichaux, we are safe, the Supreme is incredibly strong and capable of protecting us, and there are a number of other older witches who help too. But like most covens, we are stronger together than we are divided. We are here to protect and help new witches grow. With us you will have a new family who will never turn their back on you when you are in a time of need.”

Looking out the window it was just a blur of colours from the lights and neon signs that lit up the streets signalling that New Orleans night life was just waking up. “What do you do when you grow up licking poison off knives and now that you’re finally going to be in a situation where you're fed on milk and honey, all you can think about is running because something that sweet can’t be anything other than poison? What is that quote…

I don’t know how to stay tender-“

“with this blood in my mouth? Ophelia, act 4, scene 5. It is… appropriate considering your situation but… if I’m going off my impression of you, you are going to find it easy to continue being kind, even if you feel like you’re only good at hurting people. I can see that you have a good heart, Yn. Although my mother does tell me I’m not good at judging people.”

You smile shyly, feeling your cheeks heat up slightly “Thank you, Cordelia. I hope I can prove your mother wrong and be the good person that you think I am.” You return your gaze to look out the window, admiring the different colour lights you can see and how busy this part of the city was. “It’ll be nice finally having someone that believes in me. That believes I am good.”

“You will find that there will be others out there who will see goodness in you too. But- but even if there aren’t… Know that I see it.”

The rest of the drive was filled with light-hearted banter, the kind you would hear good friends throw back and forth. You wouldn’t consider you and Cordelia to be friends seeing as you two have only just met but you felt as though it wouldn’t take long until you were.

By the time you made it to the academy it was around midnight, the building was grand and imposing, it had this energy to it that gave off the distinct impression that if you tried damaging it in anyway you would be the one that came away worse off. There were lights that lit the pathway and entryway up which somehow managed to make the building all the more intimidating despite feeling perfectly safe.

You went to grab your backpack but Cordelia bet you to it. “I can carry my bag, you know that right? I don’t mind taking my own shit- stuff in. You’ve already saved me from whatever hell my parents were going to impose on me, the least I can do is take my own things inside.”

She shakes her head, a small smile tugging at her lips as she leads the way up the path “I’m sure you can, but you’re new here and you’ve also had a long day, it’s the least I can do for a new coven member.” You let out a dramatic groan as you follow after her, she opens the door and steps to the side to let you in before coming in after you and closing the door behind you both.

“It’s so quiet. Is it always this quiet? I can’t- Nevermind” You shove your hands in your jacket pockets, waiting for Cordelia to take you to where you can hopefully get some sleep.

“It’s only this quiet when the girls aren’t creating mischief and partying, as well as when my mother hasn’t been drinking, mind you, I haven’t seen her since she left to travel the world... You’ll grow to appreciate this rare moment of silence.” She gestures for you to follow her as she leads you up a grand staircase, leading you down a hall before opening a door to your left.

“It’s a small room but I doubt you’d want the girls harassing you with questions at this hour so we’ll move you into their room tomorrow if you would like? There’s drawers for your clothes, a small desk, and of course a bed. The bathroom is next door and if you want hot water I suggest waking up before 7 or else Madison will use it all up when she takes her hour long shower.”

You nod your head and thank her quietly, taking your backpack from her you step in the room, dumping your bag on the desk before moving to close the curtains. “Is- Is there anything else I can do for you before I let you get some rest?” You turn around to look at her before looking at the floor “Is- Is it okay if I turn some music on? I’ll have it quiet so it doesn’t disturb anyone. I just- I can’t sleep when it’s silent.”

Cordelia smiles softly, she finds it rather adorable that you can’t sleep unless there’s noise of some sort but she doesn’t want to embarrass you or herself by admitting this. “Of course you can. I will make sure- or try to get you a radio so you don’t have to play it through your phone. I’m sure it will be nice to hear music rather than the girls screaming at each other over who stole whose makeup. I- I wouldn’t mind hearing what you like listening to” your eyes shoot up to look at her, a blush settling on both your faces.

“I- uhm… I- Good- Good night, Yn. I’ll come see you in the morning so I can introduce you to the others at breakfast. Uhm… Let- let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help you settle in. Good night.” She rushes out, hoping that you don’t notice how flustered she got but also has a gut feeling that you did notice. She gives you a small wave before leaving quickly, the door closing behind her.

You let out a slow breath, feeling the exhaustion from the day hit you like a bat out of hell. You knew this made no sense seeing as you did nothing physical but apparently being kicked out of home for being a witch had the same effect as running a marathon, it left you broken and tired.

You remove most of your clothing, leaving just your shirt and underwear on before climbing into bed, taking one last glance at your phone to see if you have any messages or calls from anyone but unsurprisingly there weren’t any. You turn the volume up a bit so you can hear your music then put it on your small side-table before turning over and trying to sleep.

No matter where you stayed or how exhausted you were, the first night sleeping somewhere new was always the hardest night sleep you had. Nevertheless, you managed to get to sleep relatively quickly but staying asleep was where it became difficult; the days events were playing in this off-kilter manner, like they were somehow glitching and just playing that awful moment where your powers revealed themselves and you saw the look of fear then disgust in your parent’s eyes on loop. No matter how hard you tried to change what you were dreaming about, your dreams would always end up looping back to this.

“We can never have a fucking normal dinner when you’re involved, can we? There is always something going on with you. Last night it was because you wanted to have a glass of wine and ended up polishing the bottle off yourself. And now!? Now it’s because you’re some freak.”

“Honey, that’s not- you can’t call our daughter that. This time it isn’t her fault this happened. Yes last night was unpleasant but you certainly weren’t helping and now you’re berating the poor girl.”

“Oh? It’s my fault? So what, you’re defending our freak of a daughter?”

“No- No that’s not- I’m not defending her. Tonight was- is just- this is out of her control and ours.”

“Exactly. Out of our control. She’s always been like this. I’m going to go make a call to that academy place. See if they can fix her.”

“I don’t need fixing! I’m not broken!”

“You’re right, you’re not broken. Just defective.”

“Mom? Don’t make her leave. She helps me with my homework when you’re not home. Please. I’ll miss her if you make her-“

“Shut up. This isn’t for little children to discuss. Take your dinner to your room and eat there. This is the last time you’ll be seeing your sister.”

“But-“

“No. Say your goodbyes now then go to your room.”

Your little brother gets out of his seat and walks over to you, wrapping his arms around your legs before hugging you tight, mumbling “I’ll miss you. Sorry mom and dad are making you leave. If- if it counts for something I- I don’t think you’re defective.”

You hug him back, giving his hair a ruffle before letting him go, a sad smile on both your faces. “I’ll see you again someday, kiddo. Be good.”

“Unlike you, your brother isn’t a disappointment to this family.”

You wake with a start upon a knocking on your door, you feel panic surge through you thinking it was your mother about to verbally berate you but then you hear a soft voice. “Yn? May I come in? I thought it best to discuss with you what happens in the morning before lessons start.” You feel your cheeks heat up and pull the duvet up to cover you as you sit up, “uhm yeah- yeah you can come in.”

The doorhandle turns and the door swings open, revealing a youthful Cordelia, her long blonde locks tied back in a ponytail; if you hadn’t known who she was, you would have thought an angel had lost its way, she was beautiful. You look away not wanting to get caught staring, suddenly finding the ceiling to be the most fascinating thing you’ve ever seen.

“Hey! Is that the new girl!? It’s the new girl! Co-“ Cordelia closes the door, shaking her head and letting out a quiet sigh before turning back to face you. “And here I was trying to make sure you would have a relatively peaceful morning, but it seems that the girls have other things in mind.”

You laugh lightly and shrug, “I’ll have to get use to it sooner or later so it’s alright.” She hums a bit, clasping her hands together at her waist. “So… We usually have breakfast together. Some mornings it’s a pleasant affair but then there are mornings where Madison decides to start drama…”

Cordelia trails off, a light blush colouring her cheeks “I- I probably shouldn’t talk like that but… there isn’t much point trying to sugar coat things. It was a lot worse when mother was staying here, as soon as she had some alcohol in her there is no stopping her. But that’s in the past anyway. She’s off traveling” she gestures vaguely with her hands “somewhere.”

You cover your mouth with your hand to stifle laughter, it seems like you’re not the only one who has a tempestuous relationship with their mother. “You’re not laughing at me, are you? It’s not a good look for a new student to laugh at her Headmistress.”

You bite your lip to keep yourself from laughing, it’s not that you were laughing at her but the situation in itself was pretty funny. “I- I’m not I swear” you manage to get out through little fits of laughter “It’s just funny that’s all.” She rolls her eyes but smiles “I doubt you’ll be laughing when mother has a fit and tosses you across the room. God… I really need her to stop doing that.”

Cordelia walks over to your curtains and opens them, flooding the small room with natural light, the golden and bubble-gum hues of the sunrise bringing life to the otherwise dull walls. “You’ll be fine. I doubt she’s returning home any time soon.”

She turns to look at you, a small smile on her face. “I should let you get dressed so you can get downstairs to have something to eat. I try getting breakfast over and done with before 10am but there are usually a few stragglers that appear later and pick at what’s left in the fridge. I’ll talk to the girls and try to get them to not hound you.”

You thank her and she makes her way over to the door, she rests her hand on the doorhandle, looking down before looking back at you. “I’m sorry that you came here because you had no other choice. I promise you that I won’t give up on you, regardless of what path you take in life.” She gives you a sad smile before leaving, the door closing quietly behind her.

[blookmallow]

rating spirit halloween’s new animatronics for 2021

or at least what’s showing as New Arrivals on the site for me. looks like we got 15 new arrivals listed here and im HYPE about them so here we go

the caretaker

pretty standard reaper character with a Gravedigger theme to it. hes... fine? nothing about this particularly stands out to me, but i dont dislike it at all. i like his gravestone. would be good for a graveyard set. i guess ill give him... 6.5/10

mr. dark

at first glance he also just looks like a standard reaper character (or voldemort. he definitely looks like voldemort now that i think about it) but it turns out he SPRINGS UP RIDICULOUSLY TALL LIKE A CURSED WACKY INFLATABLE TUBE MAN and the spring motion in the video is actually really fucking fast so, while this isn’t a lot different from other jumpscare animatronics, i gotta give him credit bc i guarantee this would have scared the fuck outta me in person. according to the site he’s almost 9 feet tall at his full height 

i expected him to jump out and scream but i did not expect. That. i feel like if you put him up on a stage or something to make him loom over people even more he’d be very menacing indeed. would also be really good if you put him behind something so you don’t see him until he's suddenly There

i like him, 8/10 springy spook man 

click for more 

grave grabber

pretty much just a zombie but he’s cute i like him. i like the green eyes. i dont know what it is about him in motion but the video makes him kind of endearing to me for some reason and i dont know why. 6/10

ophelia

at first for some reason i thought the monster’s name was ophelia but i think that’s supposed to be the name of the victim? i think the idea here is “girl haunted by a Nightmare” but the fact that the monster itself is so small and doesn’t actually have a body for the most part makes this unintentionally hilarious to me 

like. it. it’s so small. it’s just a little shoulder demon. it’s so cute 

psst. hey do we have any more cheetos

anyway i like how the girl’s eyes move back and forth but the sounds she makes are uncomfortable and she just looks so. stiff and solid and there doesn’t seem to be any movement at all other than her eyes and the monster peeking out so it’s just kind of weird to look at. it’s an interesting concept but the execution is just strange and unintentionally hilarious. 7/10 bc i still think its really funny 

someone should buy this and mod it into chrona and ragnarok 

harriet hustle

WE DID IT KIDS WE FINALLY GOT A FEMALE CLOWN ANIMATRONIC im so happy i could cry i wish my store had her set up i want to meet her  

i love how they have her hanging upside down like this, it makes it so much more visually interesting than the figures that just kinda stand there looking spooky, even though she doesn’t really Do much (she just swings and her head moves around a little, just laughs, doesn’t have spoken lines) 

i love her outfit i love her hair shes SO cute i love this little murder gremlin i love her i love her 

im still waiting on spirit to give us a female clown figure that isn’t “creepy little girl” (ive commented before on how their only female figures tend to be either the Old Hag or the Creepy Little Girl and not a lot else) but i absolutely love this all the same 20/10

this one is fun too because we also have: 

henry hustle

according to the description he’s actually harriet’s dad!! we have an evil clown father and daughter duo here and im LIVING for it

i dont think ive ever seen spirit do characters that are related to each other like this that’s so cute,

apparently his wife/harriet’s mother left them and ran off with the ringmaster. he’s a single father clown trying to raise his evil daughter clown and i support him wholeheartedly

there doesn’t seem to be any more animatronics on this storyline, we don’t have the mother here and the only ringmaster animatronic they have is the rotten ringmaster who was released previously, but i doubt he’s the homewrecker ringmaster in question. he Could Be. imagine if your wife left you for That. we dont even know if henry’s wife was also a clown or not. spirit halloween clown lore going on here

anyway i absolutely LOVE this clown, he does something INCREDIBLY STARTLING AND UNEXPECTED which i dont want to spoil for you. go watch his video and see what he does its great 

my absolute favorite type of halloween animatronic is the “does something completely unexpected” category and this one is ALSO a clown and a GOOD clown at that

and he’s got this great vintage clown style i really like, i love scary clowns like this that actually look like they could believably be a real guy and not just some kind of mutant Clown Monster 

and hes got cards!! card suit motif!!! i love it i love him this is a great clown 20/10 for him too

w. raith 

we have this one at my local store and listen to me. im completely obsessed with this ghost

it’s pretty much just a ghost but it’s SUCH A GOOD ghost. especially in this photo here with proper spooky lighting and everything. i would absolutely LOVE to see this in a haunt attraction, it looks SO good even in bright store lighting. i feel like this under the right lights and in the right environment could look SO fuckign cool  

the shredded rag look!!! the ethereal glow!! the weird jellyfishy movement!!! the classic wooOoO oO o o ooo noises!! this may perhaps be the ideal ghost. it is without flaw. a perfect specimen. i fuckign LOVE this ghost i want it so badly but i do not have the space or the money for this thing 15/10 w. raith my beloved. my true love. maybe one day 

buzzsaw

at first i was slightly disappointed to see that this guy didn’t have an actual name, but then in the description apparently his name is Bill “Buzzsaw” Jackson and his backstory is he tried to be a wrestler but it didnt go very well so he grafted weapons in place of his hands. i guess. you know, to be better at wrestling. i dont really understand it and i definitely would not have gone with “disgraced former wrestler” as the concept for this guy  

but anyway we have mr jackson at my store right now, he’s Big, i like him. he doesn’t really move very fast and doesn’t jump at you, he just kinda swings his saw around. for some reason he just seems friendly to me and i dont know why. makes me think of like an uncle dressed up for halloween rather than an actual murderer guy. i dont know i cant explain it but i like him hes my friend 8/10

wacky mole

this guy’s also at my store this year, i didn’t know his name was wacky mole fsdgjsdg

he’s listed as a new arrival, but i thought i remembered seeing him before, and the description says he’s a returning fan favorite, so. i guess this is a re-release 

anyway pretty standard Scary Monster Clown. his teeth look like candy corn. i like it but i think they should just Be candy corn. i like his colorscheme and his silly giant buttons. light up eyes are always a nice touch. he doesnt really stand out but hes overall a pretty good clown. 7/10

grim

good ol’ classic skeleton. he’s pretty nicely modeled though and i highly recommend watching the video for this guy because he moves REALLY well for a spirit animatronic, he’s got a way wider range of movement than most of them do and his head moves really nicely. one of the benefits of a skeleton animatronic is you don’t have to deal with lip movement, so his jaw movements match with his lines a lot more realistically. i like the animated glowing eyes too, it really gives him a lot of personality. he’s really interesting to watch. like, it’s just a skeleton, but it’s a really really good skeleton, so, 8/10 

BEETLEJUICE!!

i love love love franchise character animatronics and spirit has so much great beetlejuice stuff this seems well suited to them but looking at it............. hm. hm

he just looks so. stiff and his face comes across like, deer caught in the headlights to me. it Does Not look very natural but it looks slightly better in motion (he just swivels from side to side and says a few phrases but it somehow looks less. shellshocked when he’s moving) 

maybe not the greatest execution but maybe he looks better in person and im still hype to see him so 8/10 regardless 

night stalker

we have this guy at my store too, im still not really sure what’s going on with his arms (did he just rip loose from them and leave them behind? did someone do this to him? i dont know) but i love a good spooky scarecrow. love his Wiggles. hes a pretty good boy. 6.5/10

here we have another pennywise, it pretty much just pops out at you, but it’s still pretty good. i like the full size one they had before better, but this one’s slightly cheaper and would be easier to integrate into a haunted house attraction since he comes with a built in set piece. it looks good but doesn’t do much. 7.5/10 i guess 

GHOSTFACE!!!!

FUCK YES I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

please. please spirit halloween set him up in my store so i can see him

anyway hes got kind of the same issue beetlejuice has where the figure just. looks kind of stiff, and he looks more like a spooky ghost decoration than like, A Person. he doesnt seem to have any lines or anything either, he just kinda pops out. but then again i guess whenever we see ghostface in person in the movies he doesn’t usually talk anyway. i dont really know how id make this better but it seems a little underwhelming somehow. still hype to see it though. 7/10 i guess 

now if we could just get a jack torrance and a bela lugosi dracula id be content 

i would LOVE to see Red from Us but i doubt they’d do one. my other horror beloved is norman bates but i know if they made one of him it’d just be him in a dress waving a knife around (not that i wouldn’t still be hype to see him, but, y’know) (anyway. tangent. moving on) 

mr. howle 

it’s. a werewolf. he howls. that’s....... about it 

it’s a very nice looking werewolf, it’s a well designed figure and definitely looks very imposing, but it’s... just a werewolf. there’s not really anything particularly interesting or creative here. its a perfectly good werewolf. i dont have anything to say about this. 6.5/10 

i also just am not a werewolf person so maybe someone out there who has a greater appreciation for werewolves might like him more 

[riddlehoes]

                              Fantasy

  Fred Weasley

                               The first meet                                            

" 9 3/4, 9 3/4, 9 3/4 " I muttered, looking around the station, my owl Ophelia chirping as we passed by muggles

" come on dears, 9 3/4 just up ahead! " a lady said, her 4 kids I assume and brunette nodding and continuing to follow her.

I followed them silently, trailing behind the brunette who looked back at me and smiled.

After the brunette and the short ginger disappeared into the wall, the mother turned towards the two tall gingers, who I'm assuming are twins.

" Fred, you next! " she said, holding onto the only ginger girl. The twins gasped, " He's not Fred, I am! " the other boy said, pointing between he and his brother

I giggled making them look back at me and smirk.

He nodded, " Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother " he spoke, shaking his head

" oh George... " she muttered, her arm now around the younger girl.

She motioned towards the wall, and the boy named George began walking towards it but stopped, " Only joking, I am Fred. " he said, running towards the wall and the actual George following him.

I let out a laugh, watching the mother throw her hands around in the air. Making the young girl and her mom look at me. " Oh dear, I'm sorry. Have you been waiting this whole time? " she questioned as I walked closer.

I nodded and shook her hand, " I'm Ashanti, Ashanti Aberra. nice to meet you! " I said smiling at the two.

The younger girl shook my hand, smiling back. " I'm Molly Weasley, and this is my youngest Ginny Weasley " she introduced us then looked at the clock perched up on the wall

" oh dear, you best get going it's nearly 11! " she said, shooing me towards the door. I nodded, " nice to meet you Ginny and Mrs Weasley! " I called out as I ran towards the door, getting enveloped into the hogwarts express station

I walked into the train, looking for a compartment. Finding one with the shortest Weasley and the brunette.

" Hello, would you mind if I sat in here? " i asked after knocking on the compartment door, the two nodded and moved over so I could sit next to either.

I smiled and sat next to the Weasley, who smelled of spearmint. " I'm Ronald, Ronald Weasley, and this is Harry Potter " he said, his eyes glimmering as he said his name.

I smiled and shook both of their hands, " I'm Ashanti Aberra. Nice to meet you! " I said, as the lady with the cart of goods strolled by.

" Anything from the Trolley dears? " she asked as the compartment door opened. Ronald looked excited but then pulled out a messed up sandwich. Harry got up and pulled out more than 5 galleons, grabbing almost everything off of the cart then handed her the change.

-

" no but seriously you really are known all through the magical world as the boy who lived " I said laughing at the two. He just shrugged, " I don't know. I just found out I was a wizard less than a day ago, it was crazy! Hagrid came into the house and was like " you're a wizard Harry " and I was like what and he said " a wizard! " then he made my cousin Dudley grow a tail, a bloody tail! " he said trying to hold his laughter in, but failing. Miserably.

We continued to joke and laugh until the two boys, that I now know of as Fred and George but cannot tell which is which.

" Hello Ron, I see you finally made friends! " one of them said, making each other snicker. " yeah yeah. Ashanti, Harry these twats are my brothers, Fred and George. " he said rolling his eyes, the one on the left raised his hand when he said Fred so I'm assuming the one on the right is George.

" I'm Ashanti, nice to meet you " I smiled, making eye contact with the one on the left who smiled back. " wait wait wait as in Harry Potter? " George asked, squeezing into the small compartment. Harry nodded, " the one and only " he smiled.

Fred squeezed between Ronald and I, beginning to speak " bloody hell, why are you friends with these dorks then " he smirked, pointing between Ron and I

" They were kind enough to me without knowing who I was. Guess that just shows their character. " Harry said shrugging as a girl with nappy hair opened the compartment door

" have y'all seen a frog by any chance? Neville Longbottom just can't seem to keep hold of his bloody pet. " she asked looking around the compartment then her eyes landed on Ron

" you have dirt on your nose " she said, rubbing her finger over her nose. A look of disgust or adoration apparent on her face.

I chuckled along with the other 3 as Ron wiped his nose, " I'm Hermione Granger, and you are? " she asked, her eyes landing on me

" Ashanti Abbera. Are you a first year as well? " I asked her as she fully came into the compartment sitting between Harry and George.

" Yes, I am very excited! What about you guys? " she asked looking around. " my brother Fred and I are in third year. Our brother Ron over here is in his first year as well. What about you Harry? " Fred said then looked at Harry. Hermione's eyes got wide, " Harry Potter? You're Harry Potter? " she asked, staring at the boy

Harry nodded, internally tired of being asked if he was the real Harry Potter.

" I'm in my first year as we- " " I know, I know! " she cut him off, then looked back over at me, smiling.

-

Fred and George sat at a table with their fellow Gryffindors as the first years stayed huddled in a crowd.

" okay, first we need to sort you into your houses, starting with... Ashanti Abbera! " Mcgonagall said loudly, making my cheeks redden as everyone looked my way.

I walked towards the platform and sat down as she placed the hat onto the top of my head. " hmm, tough choice. Have the mind of a Ravenclaw but the heart of a Hufflepuff. You have the soul of a Gryffindor. You show Chivalry, Courage and Determination... " the hat muttered, " I'm gonna go with.. GRYFFINDOR! " it screamed as Professor McGonagall took the hat off of my head and ushered me over to the cheering table. Fred making room for me.

" Well hello miss Abbera. " he spoke, smirking at me. " hello Fred. " I said rolling my eyes.

We stopped talking as McGonagall says another name, " Susan Bones " a red head began walking towards the platform.

" one of yours? " I joked to Fred, snickering as he rolled his eyes. " HUFFLEPUFF " the hat screamed.

" I am gonna enjoy having you here Miss Abbera " Fred whispered, then turned towards his brother that got sorted into our house, as well as Harry and Hermione

-

I shot up, and felt around my bed.

" FRED! " I yelled out, not being able to find him.

He walked out of the bathroom fixing his hair. " I'm here darling. I'm here. Don't freak out. " he said coming back under the covers, and pulling me into his chest.

" I had another weird dream. It was like the first time we met this time though. Instead of you dying. " I said snuggling into my fiancé's chest. He laughed then moved the hair away from my forehead. " I will never die my love, cause then I'd have to leave your side. " he whispered, kissing my forehead.

I smiled, then drifted off back to sleep, alone.

-

[takerfoxx]

So long as I'm getting caught up on all my stuff, here's the next installment of the Walpurgis Nights girls watch The Rebellion Story, this time stretching from Homura shooting herself in the head to her talk with Sayaka the vague-poster!

Reminder:

G=Gretchen

H=Homulilly

Op=Ophelia

Ok=Oktavia

Ca=Candeloro/Mami

Ch=Charlotte

...

=still screaming=

G: Turn it off, TURN IT OFF!

Ok, panicking: I got it, I got it! Off!

=TV winks out=

Ch: Sweet Christ!

=long pause, and then Gretchen gets up and runs off. Homulilly quickly follows=

Ch: This was a mistake.

Op: What. The fuck?

Ca: I should have known. I should have known it would go this way.

Ch: Candy, there’s no way you could have-

Ca: No! There was! I knew how bad it could get! I knew how far we could have fallen! I shouldn’t have let you guys see any of this.

Ok: It’s not your fault.

Ca: I still should have known. I should have at least screened this!

Ch: Yeah, one of us probably should have.

=another long pause=

Ok: So, uh, are we, like, done?

=suddenly Gretchen reenters the room, followed by Homulilly. They silently return to their seats=

G: Okay. Play it.

Op: Gretch, are you sure?

G: I need to know. I need to know what happens to her. I need to know if we turn out okay. Play it.

=everyone exchanges uncomfortable glances, and then look to Homulilly, who slowly nods=

Ok: Okay, if you say so…

Op: We’d better ease it with the commentary. I mean, this isn’t something we can-

G: No! Please, no. The talking…and the jokes…well, it makes it easier.

Op: Sure.

Ch: It’ll be kind of hard to find anything funny about this.

Ca: We can try to do what we can.

=they start the movie, and silently watch as Homura falls in slow motion, blood and brains spewing out. And then…=

Op: Wait, hold up! How is she still moving?

Ca: As I said, something like that won’t kill her. You would need to destroy her soul gem.

Op: So she can straight up just blow her own head off and walk it off?

Ca: So long as the act of healing didn’t use up too much magic, yes.

H: Okay, but why? Why would I do something like that?

Ca: Let’s find out.

…

Ok: Uh…Ooooh.

H: Oh. Really?

G: What’s going on?

H: I couldn’t get rid of the ribbon on my ankle. Every time I tried to shoot it off, Mami would just grow it back. So I tried shocking her so badly that she wouldn’t think to regenerate the ribbon long enough for her to be caught in the time-stop.

Op: By shooting yourself in the head?!

H: Clearly, I have a considerable amount of emotional issues.

Ch: You know, it’s really starting to concern me how you keep referring to her as yourself just now.

H: I apologize. I will try to differentiate between my alternate selves.

Ok: Oh great, now I’ve gone cross-eyed.

…

Ch: So…this is really uncomfortable. Again.

G: Is she going to shoot Cand-I mean, Mami?

Ca: I mean, there’s clearly a moral struggle.

H: Well. At least I didn’t turn out as a complete sociopath.

Ok: This is seriously gross. Can we just skip this part?

Ca: No.

Ok: But-

Ca: No.

Ok: Okay.

…

Op: In the leg. Well, I guess that’s not as-

Ok: HOLY!

G: What’s happening? What’s going on?

Op: Sweet flames, she’s…a ribbon monster? The fuck?

=pause, and then Charlotte starts laughing hard while Candeloro just sighs=

Ok: Charlotte! Explain! Now!

Ch: She did it! She actually did it!

Ok: Did what?!

Ch: You’ll see!

H: Wow, I am…I mean, she is just all tied up now.

G: Wait, Mami’s there? But I thought…then what was…

Ca: Oh, good grief.

Ok: Wait. Wait a second, you can clone yourself?!

Ca: It’s…not so much a clone as it is a puppet.

Ok: Since when could you do that?!

Ca: Um, well, I had figured it out a short time before our, um, deaths. I was training with Kyo…with Ophelia, and we were practicing with her illusion magic. You know, the duplicates?

Op: Uh-huh.

Ca: Well, she suggested that perhaps I could do something similar with my ribbons, since I could use my ribbons to form other objects. And, well…it worked.

Op: Ooooh. Okay, that’s actually kind of awesome.

H: I was fighting a copy the whole time?! How is that fair?

Ch: You can literally freeze time!

H: Hey, wait. How do you know that she could do that, Charlotte?

Ch: How do you think?

Ca: Like we said: our therapist suggested building positive associations around my change. We had to get creative.

Op: Oh, come on, that’s not fair!

Ok: Wait, you were the one betting on her!

Op: I’m not talking about that! When I do my duplicate trick all I can do with them is give Tavi a show! It’s not like she can touch any of them!

Ok: Babe. Relax. It’s honestly fine.

Op: All I’m saying I should be able to give you a lap dance while the striptease is going on.

G: TMI! TMI!

Ch: You, uh, do know that you can give her the lap dance and let your illusions handle the striptease, right?

Op: Do you know how hard it is to handle two kinds of dancing at the same time when you’re horny?

G: Please, I am begging you to stop!

…

Ch: So…I think someone owes me and Fee-Fee some talents.

Ok: Fight’s not over yet!

Ch: It clearly is…

G: You don’t know that! Maybe Homura will drop a hand-grenade to blow the ribbons up! Or maybe Kyoko will come to save her.

Op: Look, if other-me tags in, that’s an automatic forfeit. This is supposed to be one-on-one, and that clone trick is stretching things as it is.

H: Wait, wait, shut up. Wraiths? What are wraiths?

Ok: Dunno.

Ch: Did we miss something? I get that that nightmares replaced the witches, but what are wraiths?

G: Maybe…after I erased witches, wraiths are what replaced them!

Op: We should’ve just watched the damn show first.

Ch: Do you really think it’ll make things make more sense?

Op: Probably not, but at least we’d know about half of these names!

Ch: Jesus Christ, the fuck is that?

Ok: The sky wants to eat that giant walnut, apparently.

Ch: I can see that, but what does it mean?!

G: I think that’s an eye, actually.

Ok: An eye with teeth.

Ch: None of that answers any of my questions.

Op: Nope, this would still be just as weird even if we watched the show.

…

Ch: And here comes the rescue! Via…fire extinguisher for some reason. Sorry girls, Mami takes this.

Ok: Fine, fine. Thanks a lot, Homulilly.

H: Not my fault. None of us knew about the duplicate thing. I had her beat until then.

Ok: Wait, is that a sword?

Op: Guess it ain’t me with the steel chair, then!

G: Well, of course not. It’s a sword.

Op: That’s not…never mind.

Ok: It’s me! I’m coming in to save you!

H: I’m touched. But…why?

Ok: Because I had fifty talents riding on you, and you let me down.

H: Oh, don’t start.

Op: Wait. That ain’t your voice, Tavi.

Ok: Who else has a sword?!

G: Um, who is that?

Ch: Some kind of kid. Candy, do you recognize her back from before?

Ca: No, I really don’t…

Op: Wait, BEBE?!

Ch: Excuse me?!

H: Um…this is…a turn.

Ca: Don’t look at me, I’m as bewildered as you are.

Ch: Oh, so first I’m a creepy idiot doll, and now I’m a fucking child?!

Op: What is this, some kind of alternate universe bullshit?

Ok: I mean, basically. Uh, you okay over there, Charlotte.

Ch: Nope!

Ok: Wanna take a break?

Ch: Yes!

…

=everyone returns after half-an-hour=

Ch: I think I’ve figured it out.

H: Oh?

Ch: Butterfly effect. Like, okay, in this universe, Madoka somehow erased all witches, right? I mean, made it so magical girls don’t turn into witches anymore, right? And did it all through history, right?

H: Presumably.

Ch: So that means that there has to be major repercussions! Like, like, this girl doesn’t turn into a witch fifty years ago, so she doesn’t eat some random passerby, and that rando goes and marries someone that would have married someone else in the original timeline, so they have a completely different set of kids, so the kids they would have had originally don’t get born! So somewhere down the line, things got all screwy and I ended up being born a few years later!

G: Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense.

Op: I guess we’re all super-lucky that we got born at all. And that the rest of us ended up more-or-less the same. Um, no offense.

Ch: Right. That’s all it is. Different timeline, things happened differently, and I’m a little girl in this world. That’s it.

Ok: So…are you okay with this then?

Ch: Oh, absolutely not! But I can at least deal with it now!

Op: Bet’cha anything that good ol’ Bebe here still has a major crush on Mami.

Ch: Oh, God! Don’t even go there!

Op: I’m just sayin’…

Ca: Ophelia…

Op: Stopping, stopping.

H: Shall we continue?

Ch: Yeah, I guess. I’m gonna need major therapy after all this is over, though.

G: We all will.

…

Ok: Okay, I know this is probably a bad time to point this out, but Sayaka has style!

Op: I mean, you’re not wrong. Look at you, being all effortlessly cool! Not that you aren’t already.

Ok: Nice save there.

Ch: Haha, Sayaka’s got it right! Taking on Mami was a dumb idea. Speaking of which…

Ok: Oh, come on! That clone trick was dirty and you know it!

Ch: Oh, I’m sorry. Are you upset that she so happened to have something that counters Homura’s extremely unfair timestop power?

Op: She’s got a point. A bet’s a bet.

G: All right, I guess it’s official. Mami won.

=Candeloro smirks=

H; You don’t have to be all smug about it.

Ca: True. I don’t.

…

G: Wait…

Op: So, what, Sayaka knows what’s going on?

Ok: Of course I do! I mean, I’m the brains of the bunch!

=Homulilly coughs=

Ok: I heard that.

H: I didn’t say anything.

Ch: Well, finally some exposition!

G: I do sort of wish that she’d just tell Homura what is going on without being so vague about it.

Ok: Look, I’ve been pretty much on the wayside this whole movie. Let me have my monologue.

Ch: What’s she getting at though?

H: Oh.

Ch: Huh?

H: I think…Never mind.

G: What is it?

H: I just had sort of a realization, but I’d rather not say it now.

Op: Eh?

H: Hang on. Let’s just watch a bit more.

…

Op: Jesus, Tavi! No need to show Homura up like that!

Ok: Let! Me! Have! This!

Ch: That was pretty cool, though. Shwing! Stopped her cold!

G: Wait, so one of us is the…

=voice trails off=

G: Is it me?

H: Um…

Op: Oh.

Ok: Oh.

Ch: What? Oh, okay. I get it now.

Ca: I sort of put it together too.

G: What? What are…Oh.

=everyone looks at Homulilly=

H: Well, it only makes sense. I guess.

Ch: You don’t seem all that upset about it.

H: Well, at least I get to become my best self in this movie.

G: But…how though? I thought I erased witches or whatever!

Ok: Let’s find out.

Ch: If your other self can ever get to the point.

Ok: Shhh…

…

Ca: Wait, I’m the witch? Is that what she’s implying?

Ch: Pretty sure that’s just a red herring.

Ok: You know, it’s nice that Sayaka is actually being all sympathetic toward witches. I mean, it’s kind of fucked up, isn’t it? That even the magical girls that know the score still hunt down witches instead of trying to help them.

G: I mean, it can’t really be helped, can it?

Ok: I know, I just like that I’m saying it.

G: The Law of Cycles? What’s that?

Op: Probably whatever trippy business you replaced the witch stuff with.

H: Oh, now I’m finally just saying it out loud! Madoka erased witches. Took us long enough to get to that point.

Op: Wait, sacrificed herself? Only Homura remembers her? What?

Ch: Pretty sure this was all explained in the show.

Op: Well, that’s what we get for watching this first. Should we go back and-

Everyone: No.

Op: Cool.

…

Op: Oh, freaky!

Ok: Wait, so I’m the witch now?

Ch: Could mean that in this timeline you turned into a witch before Madoka did her un-witching…thing.

Ca: That is what you looked like. Right before you became one with Charlotte, I mean.

Ch: Er…

Ok: Phrasing…

Ca: Oh, for Heaven’s sake. It is literally what happened. You turned into a witch while we were fighting Charlotte, and then the two of you fused. Then I became a witch and fused with that witch. And then Ophelia became a witch and we all fused together.

Ok: Yeah, but the way you said it…

…

H: Where’d she go?

Ok: Clumsy? You have the gall to call me clumsy? Who just saved who’s ass, just now!

H: Cut me some slack, it’s been a long evening.

Ch: Y’know you still got blood and brains all over your cheek, right?

H: I am certain that Homura does not care.

Op: I am certain that Homura is about to blow the brains out of the first punk-ass that looks at her wrong right about now.

Ok: Headshots for everybody!

H: Except Madoka.

Ok: Except Madoka. She can be the token un-brain-slushee.

G: Gee. Thanks.

Ca: I’d like to just point out that Homura came very close to turning me into a brain-slushee, but changed her mind.

Op: I doubt she’ll let you off so easy a second time.

Ch: Easy. Hey, may I remind you who won that fight?

H: You’re not going to let that go, are you?

Op: Tell yah what. Losing party treats the winners to dinner at the Tradewinds. Fair?

H: Fair.

Ch: Seriously? With the prices they have down there it’ll be cheaper just to cough up the fifty talents.

G: Yeah, but onion volcanoes!

Ch: Hard to argue with that logic.

Ok: So…on a scale of one to ten, how badly is Homura going to flip out when she realized that she’s the witch.

H: I will accept nothing less than a massacre.

Ok: Cool. Just so long as it’s not of us.

Op: I don’t know. The way this movie is going I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned into a straight-up snuff film.

[rainbows-fanfics]

Our Nightmare (Chapter 12)

Summary: Sally moves in with the man of her screams. But there  is still so much she has to learn of Halloween Town, and what it’s like  living with The Pumpkin King.

A sequel to Two Dearest Friends,  where the Christmas incident never happens. But there are still many  ends that haven’t been met, and much for these two dreamers to learn as  they start to spend their deaths together.

Pairings: Jack Skellington/Sally, Dr Finklestein/Jewel

–

Note: This is a SEQUEL to my other story, TWO DEAREST FRIENDS. To read the original story, go here.

–

“Sally?” 

The name slips off his tongue as desperation lingers in his tone. His fiery pupils frantically search his proximity for the blue ragdoll, only to find no sight of her. This is when he drops his focus on scaring entirely. The flames and straw on his body vanish within thin air as he returns to his skeletal form. He rushes to the path where he last saw her, turning his skull quickly to search the area in despair. He’s using all of his senses at this point - intently listening for any sign of her. 

He is interrupted by the sudden sound of a whimper. Almost as if someone is crying. Cautiously, he approaches the direction it came from all while concealing himself from nearby humans. This is when he finds a figure hunched behind a tree, cradling themselves in a fetal position while hiding their face. It doesn’t take him long to recognize this as his dearest friend, from her auburn hair to her blue, stitched skin. She doesn’t notice him when he finds her. The stitched smile on his lips falls as she continues to cry. 

“...Sally?” 

She makes a startled noise and jumps from her position. He pauses for a second, thinking she is relieved to find him - but that’s far from it! At the sight of the skeleton, she starts scooting away from him on the grass. This gesture pains him more than anything else. He takes a step closer, only to find her getting further. He eventually stops attempting to advance and places a worrying hand on his hip, leaning down to meet at her eye level. His face is sympathetic. 

“What happened!? Are you alright? I thought I heard you scream, and I-”

“P-Pl-ease take me ba-ack….” 

Her voice cracks as the sobs leave her mouth. This is when he feels an unbearable cold sensation in his ribs. It almost pains him as he slowly stands up and offers her his hand. She is hesitant to take it, and only does so to help her to her feet. She withdrawals her hand right away and Jack suddenly feels like his phantom heart is split into two. He says nothing as he starts leading them to the graveyard they came from - worryingly eying his dearest friend as he does so. He wishes he knew what to say at this moment. 

“I…” He opens his mouth to say something but falls short. She doesn’t seem to be listening as it is, rubbing her arms constantly, looking everywhere else but him.

It isn’t long before they return to the Mayor’s currently unattended hearse. The ragdoll turns to him and mutters out her next words. “I-I think I need some time alone....” 

He doesn’t want to leave her, but it doesn’t look like he has much of a choice. “....If you say so…”

She turns sharply towards the hearse and lets herself into the passenger seat, concealing her face after rolling the window up. Jack watches her speechlessly, slowly coming to the door to press his skull against it and listen. He can hear the same small cries from before. He feels his bones throb in pain the longer it ensues. He thinks of opening it up and inviting himself in - wishing to speak with her, asking what is wrong…but he doesn’t want to invade her privacy, as much as it hurts him otherwise. He sighs in reluctance before removing himself from the door. 

He places a stressful hand on his head, beginning to pace in the graveyard. ‘She can’t take long…..I hope she doesn’t...I need to find out what’s going on…’

“Hey, Jack! How’s the scarin’ going?”

The Pumpkin King freezes into place after hearing a voice. He turns on his heel and finds other monsters approaching him with grins and howls. This is when he does something he’s become rather talented at - he puts up his usual front; the same one he used before, during stressful times like these. 

“Just horrible, my fine gentleman!” He replies through a forced smile. “You should have seen how many humans I've frightened tonight..! How is it going for you all?” 

“We’re having so much fun! Everyone’s on edge. It’s awful!” The Wolfman replies eagerly, smelling the fresh dirt in the air. 

“Say, wasn’t Sally with you?” A ghoul inquires as he steps forward, looking around for the ragdoll. “Did she go somewhere?” 

“Ah, yes -- she’s in the hearse, you see. She got tired from all the walking, so we headed in early. She needs to tighten her stitches, and all that.” He lies. 

“Oh. Well, I hope she had a terrible time!” Harlequin comments. “Everyone always has a blast when they get to see the Pumpkin King scare!” 

His lips twitch at that statement, realizing it was the opposite for her. They excuse themselves and leave the graveyard, disappearing back on the streets for another round of terror. The skeleton drops his act once they’re out of sight and bites his lip. His mind starts to fill with overwhelming thoughts - ones that bring anxiety to his bones, and an even worse feeling in his spine…he continues pacing in circles around the graves, much too disheartened at that moment. 

He thinks about their evening. He’s noticed the look on her face every now and then - one of uncertainty and even anxiety after scaring his victims. He feels terrible for not recognizing the look then. He should have known something was amiss when she seemed hesitant watching him scare. Could she have been... petrified ? From only watching him perform? He may have gotten carried away during his fun - wanting to show her his full potential; what he truly can do, as the ‘ Master of Fright ’. 

Now….he regrets ever doing it. 

This is the first time Jack Skellington has ever felt indifferent after terrifying humans on Halloween. He usually feels spirited and alive, in a sense - wishing to sing and dance the rest of the night away, to celebrate a successful night with his fellow monsters and creatures. He has never known a feeling of regret when it comes to what he does so well. And such a thing only occurred because he scared the woman closest to him - someone he wants to keep protected, and far from harm’s way. 

Is she afraid of him? 

His gaze comes back to the hearse, whose walls she is hiding in at that moment. Away from him . His skeletal hands come and rest on his chest, shutting his eye sockets tightly as he slumps against a grave. He wants to return to Halloween Town. To retreat to the Skellington Manor, where he can properly speak with Sally and comfort her. To apologize for his actions and show her that he isn’t a threat. How could he ever be, to the woman he’s fallen in love with..? 

He must have been sitting there for hours until he notices his residents arriving back. He puts on previous demeanor again to converse with them - leaving the impression that nothing is wrong. It feels unpleasant having to do this. It takes up so much of his energy, pretending to be happy around others...he isn’t proud to be doing this again. The skeleton sighs in relief when the Mayor finally makes his appearance, smiling proudly at the crowd before him. 

“Terrible night, folks! Are we all ready to head back, now?” 

He’s met with pleased nods and cheers. This is when he assembles everyone back in the hearse, guiding them inside while the Pumpkin King uncertainly approaches the passenger door. He taps on the window and patiently waits until it’s rolled down. Sally peers outside at him - wincing at his image, which emotionally takes another chunk out of his phantom heart. 

“We’re going to return, now.” He whispers to her. “I hope we can talk once we’re back?”

Her eyes look away from him and to the floor.

They’re interrupted when the Mayor comes in from his side, grinning at the two and starting the vehicle back up. The tall man removes himself and hangs tightly onto its side, a frown settling on his skull. He keeps his head away from the others during their ride back, wishing not to be met with any smiles at that moment. He feels like a heavy burden is back on his shoulders, and he can’t shrug it off no matter how hard he tries…

-----

  “Wheeee!” “What an AWFUL Halloween!” “How fun…!” “Can’t wait to do this again, Jack!” 

The creatures hop off of the car and scurry away to their homes and streets, waving to the politician and skeleton as they go. The Mayor looks proud as he holds onto the side of his hat. The skeleton is wearing a forced smile on his face as he bids farewell, clutching his other hand tightly behind his frame. His friend assumes nothing is amiss when he turns to him and grins. He comes to open the door for Sally and assists her out. 

Jack quickly arrives and offers her his arm. She takes it to help her down, but he notices her eyes are still elsewhere. He can feel her shaking when her body weight shifts onto him - her lip wobbling the longer they share contact. He excuses them from the Mayor, wishing him pleasant nightmares, before retreating to the Skellington Manor for the night. The moment they’re through the doors, he lets out an exhausted sigh. 

He takes off his coat and hangs it on the rack. He turns around expectantly to find his ragdoll by his side - but he doesn’t get that sight. Instead, he finds her picking up Ophelia from her bed and retreating to her room. He becomes flustered as he attempts to chase after her, and catches her only a second before she’s about to close the door to her room. He stops her by holding it with his hand. She appears shocked at this gesture.

“Sally, please talk to me….it’s tearing me apart not to hear from you…” 

She squeezes her eyes and the tears suddenly begin falling again. He goes to let himself in - wanting to open the door and sit on her bed, holding her tightly in his arms. But she fights back. This gesture surprises him so much that he lets go, and she takes this opportunity to close it. His jaw drops open as he stands there. He wastes no time trying for the doorknob again. It adds to his unfortunate luck that night that finds it locked. He knocks on the door a few times and places his hand on it firmly. He feels anguished and desperate as he attempts to get in, not wanting to be separated from her again. Not in any circumstance.  

“My dearest, please ...I did not mean to…” He mutters into the wood, shutting his own sockets and feeling a stinging sensation in them. “You know I would never scare you…” 

He hears her weeping from the other end of the door. Her voice weakly calls from the other side. “I’m sorry, Jack…go-good ni-night...” 

He struggles with the doorknob another time until he hears her whimper again. Trying to impose himself like this must be scaring her even worse…! He unwillingly tears himself away from the door and retreats to his den, where he sits on the cushions in a troubled manner. He hides his face in his hands until he starts to feel a slight moistness. When he pulls back, he finds a few tears of his have fallen onto his fingers.

He wipes them away, shaking his skull in disbelief several times. He can’t believe it. He shouldn’t be crying...he hasn’t cried in years ! Not after he met Sally. He’s had no reason to be upset….not until now. He made a mistake without even realizing it, and now he’s paying the price. 

He slumps back onto the couch and stares blankly at the unused hearth. His gaze comes to the walls - where he notices the photographs and pictures he has hanging in their frames. This is when a painful memory strikes him. That old photograph Sally once found….when she implored him about his scarecrow form - asking what it was, and wishing to know what it looked like….how he assured her then, that he would not impose any harm or fear to her. How he must have fallen back on his word since ….

He clenches his fists in his lap. He’s always been weary of this part of him...the true demon inside of himself - one granted with the ability of fire and true nightmares...he almost becomes a different person entirely on these nights, when he lets free the monster he turns into. In the past, he’s lost control and shook humans to their core - showing no mercy or hesitation in his screams. It thrives on the experience, the gratification of their fears….but even it couldn’t stop him from hearing Sally’s scream. He didn’t notice how far he went with his actions until they were looking right back at him in the face.

Would he have gone too far..? 

He holds his skull in his hands again. No . He wouldn’t have scared Sally. He wouldn’t have laid a finger on her in any way but care….but then he remembers the look on her face. The scared part of her eyes when she looked at his pumpkin in its sockets. She’s always been afraid of it, hasn’t she? He unleashed its power right in front of her - he couldn’t blame her, running away like that...

“I shouldn’t have let it slip,” He mutters to himself. “I shouldn’t have used it at all… ”

There are many other ways he can scare. Just his skeletal being is terrifying enough to scare humans all night…! He got too cocky, too eager to impress….he swears at himself many times in his head, disbelieving how careless he’s been, and how he will make this up to her once she’s willing to see him again…

He thinks of the pain; the numbness in his bones and the tears that have fallen...he can’t imagine hurting her. He’d use every ounce of his willpower from stopping such a thing from happening. Her safety is his priority, first and foremost. He has to show her properly...to become the protective man he’s shown for years now. He’ll have to do that whenever she decides to open up…

He glances at the closed door in the hallway and sighs. He stands and drags himself up the stairs to his bedroom, where he meets with the sleeping form of Zero. He doesn’t address the dog as he prepares for the night. He’s sure he won’t even get a moment’s worth of sleep, and will instead lay there for hours, worrying about the woman of his death…

----

  “JACK! What do you mean you’re not coming in? Today is the MOST important day of the year, besides * the * day!” 

“I’m aware, Mayor...I need to take a personal day. Just this once, this year. I promise you.” 

“But...BUT! How are we going to keep up, if you’re GONE? I’d have to spend my whole day covering your work, and-”

“-And I’m asking that as a favor, from my friend. I assure you, just this one time…” 

“... Hurm… ”

The other voice sounds hesitant before the line is abruptly dropped. The skeleton winces as he pulls down the receiver and returns it to its proper place. His attention is on the floor, staring at the socks on his feet in silence. He has to take a personal day today. He can’t just leave Sally here by herself, in her catatonic state...it would hurt him even worse to hear she’s suffered without him here - or properly comfort her once the time is right. And he is willing to wait for that as long as it takes. 

He glances at the door and finds it still closed from that night. He comes to it quietly and carefully tilts his skull on the surface. The room sounds completely silent. He fidgets with his shirt’s collar as he goes to the den once more, fetching a cup of his morning tea and sitting in his usual chair by the window. He glances outside and watches the skeletal birds go by, and his citizens walking through the plaza below. He feels peculiar not being out there by this time of day, but he pushes that concern aside as he firmly sits his pelvis down. He must wait for Sally. As long as it will take…! 

Zero hovers down the stairs and gives his master a greeting with the wag of his tail. He retreats to the rug in the room and circles on it, shoving his head in his sheet. The dog eventually falls asleep shortly afterwards. Jack watches him do this curiously. As if on cue, his eyelids start to feel heavy. He shakes his skull in an attempt to keep himself awake. He got little sleep last night, what with all the fretting he’d done for hours. And waiting like this makes him feel rather…. fatigued…

His figure loosens in the chair as he slumps back, resting his skull on its soft cushion. His eyes eventually close and his head hangs to the side. He enjoys the peaceful silence of the Manor, instead of the bustling noises of the town hall. Everything will be alright….he was sure of it…

 . . . 

 . . .

 . . .

  “Jack..?” 

 “Huh!” 

The King jolts himself awake when a voice startles him from his sleep. He’s surprised to see the figure of Sally standing before him, uncertainly eying his figure. He sits straight up in his seat and goes to stand - but she motions him back down with a hand on his shoulder. He slowly returns to his prior position and looks at her in concern. Zero floats in the air beside her head, weakly nuzzling the side of his muzzle on her shoulder. She smiles at the creature and lightly kisses his head - a fortunate sign to him, as well. 

“Sally..?” He mumbles as he wipes his socket. “You’re awake…and here…”

“Yes. I have a lot to apologize to you for…”

She stands there with little emotion, before completely scrunching up her face. Without warning, she reaches for him and leaps into his lap - holding him close and dangling her legs over the armrest. He doesn’t pause for a moment as he holds her by the waist and shoulders, to let her nestle her face into the crook of his neck. This moment is quiet, aside from the sounds of her soft cries. He pats her back repeatedly and brushes the strands of her yarn hair from her face. 

He sighs in relief. “You have no idea how good it feels to hold you again.” 

Her eyes shift downwards. “I missed you…I really wanted to be around you last night, but I-I just couldn’t…” 

“Were you scared?” He asks quietly. It’s the most apparent question he wants out of the way. There is a pause before she nods slightly.

“I was.” She confesses in a whisper. “Seeing you frighten all of those people...it was exciting at first, but...I’ve just had this terrible feeling in my stomach that entire night. Like I was getting an image of something unpleasant happening. I think it had something to do with that scarecrow.” 

“....”

“I used to read Finklestein’s books about premonitions. I never had one so strongly until that night. Just knowing what it can do...I felt scared. I shouldn’t have been, but-” 

“I told you I become a different person when I use it.” He interrupts in defeat. “You said you possibly couldn’t be afraid…”

“Jack, do you think something... bad would have happened..?” 

He falls silent at this question. After a few minutes, he hangs his skull low and averts his gaze. “I...didn’t realize it at first. Or at all, really. But I was starting to get in my own world - I didn’t realize how much I’d been scaring, or how intense it became. I used that scarecrow without thinking twice about it, and - I was very close to harming that man…” 

“Would you have lost yourself?” 

“I may just have, if you hadn’t stopped me in time.” He holds her tighter. Closer . “Thank you, Sally. I….I wouldn’t have hurt you. I’m sure of it.” 

“I saw you pounce on him. There was a different look about you that... frightened me. It wasn’t the same way you scared those others. I didn’t recognize you. So, I screamed and I ran, because that’s what I felt was safest to do…” 

Hearing this crushes him to his core. He’s holding onto her so tightly he can feel the pressure he’s applying on her seams. He loosens his grip to run a hand through her hair. This is when he begins to rock them both. Not only to calm her down, but himself as well…

“Sally, I am incredibly sorry you had to see me like that. I would never mean to do that. Sometimes I can’t control what I’m doing when I’m like that, and….it was rather irresponsible of me to put you in that position...” 

She inhales his scent and relaxes her frame. How badly she missed this last night...she’d have asked for his company if she just felt safe in time. It was distressing to lock herself in that room, away from her love as she listened to him pound on that door...she cried in her hands for a long time. For separating herself from him like this...she didn’t want to do it at all ..! But hearing how close he was to losing his composure, maybe it was for the best that she acted in time…Not that he would ever hurt her….she refused to believe it…

“At least I got to see the master of fright in action,” She comments, more to herself. “I wanted to watch you, Jack. Despite knowing what could’ve happened.” 

“That was a poor example. I should have never acted that way. Our rules -- we can’t hurt anyone, we’re not mean. And yet…” 

“There’s no need to fret.” She holds his skull in her hands, looking at him in the sockets. “We’re both safe. You didn’t harm that man. And I feel more comfortable right now…” 

He sighs once more, his breath warming her scalp. “Oh, Sally...I will never frighten you again. I won’t use that scarecrow for the rest of my death..! I swear by it!” 

She remains quiet, resting her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed. He takes this time to rub her arms and brush his fingertips over her face. Her breathing starts to slow after awhile and she slumps in his grip. He rests her properly in his lap and wraps his arms around her waist, leaning back in the chair to get comfortable. She must have not gotten much sleep either - as she’d fallen to fatigue quite easily. 

Jack relaxes as he rests with his love back in his arms again. He feels rather tired, too.

 ----

 The barks of Zero and mews of Ophelia wake the Skellington Manor residents from their slumber. The pets are playfully chasing each other around, wishing to obtain the ball of yarn they’re fighting over. Sally rubs her eyes as she removes herself from Jack’s lap. He stands to crack his back as well as the rest of his bones. The animals move their struggle into the other room while the ragdoll and skeleton head to the kitchen. They’re both parched and hungry after these events and decide to settle in for some brunch together, while it is still somewhat early in the day. 

Jack prepares their food and sits at the table, relaxing when he feels her small hand on his own. They eat their portion of eggs and drink from their glasses in comfortable silence. There’s plenty still on their minds, but they’re not fretting over it anymore. He’d rather move on from the unfortunate night and work on making things better. 

Something comes to his mind. He stands from his seat and pushes it in, giving her a grin. “There is still something we’ve neglected to do…!” 

“Oh?” She asks. 

“We need to find a proper spot for your trophy, my dear..!” 

With the same childish excitement, he rushes out of the room to grab her award from the safe spot he’s been keeping it in. He brushes off the slight dust collected on its rim before presenting it to Sally, who takes it uncertainly from his hands. Truth be told, where to put her trophy was the last thing on her mind lately….

“Where do you think it should go?” She asks him. He looks puzzled at this suggestion and tilts his head. 

“That would depend where you want it…!”

“Hmm.” 

She stares at her reflection in the cup and smiles when she reads her name on the placard. She still feels proud of an achievement like this. Just knowing it was from her friends and customers in town gave her butterflies in her stomach. She takes this moment to think before it dawns on her. 

“It belongs where I earned it.” She tells him. “I’ll present it somewhere in my sewing shop..where everyone can see it.”

“Splendid idea! Let me grab my suit before we head out…”

He dismisses himself from the room to get properly dressed. She holds her trophy proudly in her hands as she waits for him by the door. She would think holding this from such a terrifying night would give her unsettling memories...but it doesn’t. She feels proud and almost happy, remembering why she earned it. And she’s sure everyone else will, too, seeing their gift to her presented right in her sewing shop…

 ----

 Jack Skellington has a lot on his mind. 

Spending an entire day away from Halloween Planning would usually give him the liberty to work on his projects or read some books on his shelves...but instead, he spends his time with her . He assists Sally to her sewing shop and helps her pick a place to present her trophy. Then he spends his time looking at her creations and listening to her future plans and projects, all while supporting her and offering his assistance. She even takes her responsible duties as his tailor and finally fixes the ends of his pants - previously torn by the times he’s had to catch her from that window…

When all is said and done, they retreat back to the Skellington Manor, where they spend even more time together. Sally insists on looking through their library and helping him organize a bit - picking out books she’d like to read and swapping for the ones she’d already finished. Then she helps him clean up his study, which takes a substantial amount of time in the afternoon. This part is demanding for the two of them, and by the time they’re done, they’re exhausted right as dusk is about to fall on them. 

During the day, he can’t help but dwell over the other night. How she must have felt with what he put her through - and what’s come from that situation. Had he lost even an ounce of her trust after what he did..? She appears calm and comfortable in his presence again, but he still doubts himself. He wants to prove he can obtain her feelings in a more proper way - to make up for his irresponsibly putting her in potential danger. Someplace he can assure she’s safe, and the two of them can work on trusting each other…

 ...

 …

 After dinner, he thinks he knows the answer. 

It’s one that makes his mind go jumbled and gives his body the jitters. It isn’t a new thought that’s never come across to him; he’s mused about it before, but repeatedly denied such action considering his gentlemanly side. But now he wants nothing more than getting closer to Sally. And doing this will most certainly do that, in a way that puts him in a position of closeness and trust. And that’s what he wants to share with her, after scaring her so far away from him. 

She lounges in their den to let their supper digest. He opens a window to let in the cool, nightly air before joining her side. Zero and Ophelia observe the outside with curious eyes, resting on the window sill together. Jack presses his arm on the back of the couch as Sally closes in the space, resting her head on his chest and listening to the crickets and bats from outside. It’s a peaceful night compared to yesterday’s. 

He waits several moments before mentioning anything. He takes this time wondering how exactly to bring this up. Slowly but confidently, he calls for her name. “Sal…?” 

“Yes, Jack?” 

“I haven’t been the best with your trust lately, considering what I’ve done.” He sighs sadly. “I want to make it up to you in any possible way I can.” 

“Oh, but we’ve spent all day together..! You didn’t even work a minute today. Your attention is all I could ask for…” 

“Yes, but...I’ve been thinking about it  for an awfully long time, and - do you know the reason I gave you your own room?” 

“So I could have my own space to work on the things I want.” She repeats sweetly. He nods along to her words.

“Exactly. But now you’ve got your own sewing shop in town...all of your dresses are there, your machines - of course there’s a couple here for you to work on, but now you’ve got all that empty space in your closet…”

She lifts her head to listen to him intently. She never thought twice about the space now - she just assumed she’ll use it for future things. Regardless - she’s curious on where this is going. 

“Since there’s no need for such a big space anymore...why don’t you…” His words grow quiet. He grows frustrated at his own fumbling and has to force it out. “...Why don’t you share one with me?” 

Her silence throws him back. He grows anxious with the look on her face. “..Share a room with you?” She repeats.

“Not just the room...it would mean the bed, too.” He tugs at his collar, finding himself hot. “I have such a big mattress I sleep on every night. There would be plenty of room for you.” She looks surprised at this suggestion. He elaborates. “--I think it’s a great opportunity to get your trust again. I can be there for you every night, and we can share the space together…”

“...But you would see me in my pajamas?” She blushes. He finds her coquetry adorable. 

“I think that’s something we can get past together. You’ll see me in my own. That could even be tonight..! .” 

She’s growing as red as a cherry at the suggestion of sleeping with Jack...seeing him in such clothes no one else does, reserved only in the hours of the night...the idea is appealing to her. She can’t deny how lonely it feels some nights. Even though Ophelia recently joins her slumber, she’s always felt like she’s been missing something…or some one . She is enamored by the idea of waking up next to Jack, sharing their ‘ good mornings ’ and even ending the day together. It sounds romantic the more she thinks about it. 

‘This is the next step for couples, isn’t it?’ She blushes deeper at the thought. 

“Y-Yes, Jack...we can do that…even tonight ?” 

“I don’t see why not. There isn’t much to move from your room...we don’t even have to do that right now! We can worry about all that tomorrow, and sleep together now...” 

Even he is growing timid with his words, struggling to get them out. It’s always a difficult feat, being a gentleman and wanting such... amorous things. He will still be chivalrous, of course - she can still have the privacy of changing on her own and dressing herself...but he wants to share closeness with her longer - throughout the entire night, in the arms of one other as they fall asleep…the thought makes him giddy, and treasure her presence even more.

“Okay, Jack...I trust you...I know this is good for us.” She tells him shyly. He leans in and leaves a kiss on her forehead, sending delightful tingles on her skin. 

“-If you aren’t ready, Sally, just let me know...but I think, after all this time apart--”

“Of course I’m ready. I-I know about couples sleeping together...” She pokes her fingers together nervously. “I’ve always wanted to-to do that, with you...” 

His eyes widen in delight. “Have you, now?” 

She appears flustered and he chuckles, kissing her again before getting up and discarding their cups. She begins to panic wondering what it will be like to share a bed with Jack, and how his pajamas will look…and if hers will even compare…! Will she look ridiculous? Unattractive ? Sometimes her hair becomes a mess during the night, and she wakes up rather sluggish...that won’t deter him from his feelings for her, right?

She shakes her head realizing she’s overthinking it and takes a breath to calm herself down. He returns to the room after a minute, sitting next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She notices he brought a book with him, clenched tightly in his other hand. She reads the title and notices it’s a romance. She hums in curiosity, her previous thoughts forgotten from this distraction. 

“Why don’t we read a story together..?” He suggests, opening to the starting page with his free hand. She sits up from her seat in delight - enjoying this suggestion spectacularly. 

The man of her screams reads this story to her, about a young woman facing her fears and running away with a man she loves. His voice reads the text so soothingly, showing great emphasis and drama when needed. She melts at the sound the entire time, closing her eyes and picturing the story in her mind. She can’t ask for anything better but to be read to by her skeleton man, relaxing against his frame as the story goes on…

----

 “Take your time; I’ll be in the room whenever you’re ready!” 

His long hand cradles the side of her face as he leans in and leaves a kiss on her soft lips. She closes her eyes tightly and frowns when he pulls away. He gives her one last encouraging grin before disappearing into the room - closing the door slowly after him. She looks at the pajamas in her hands and chews on her lip. Now is the time. It’s finally happening…all she has to do is put on her clothes, and then follow him into the room…where she will be sleeping with him…

She feels herself shaking. She tries to stop herself. What does she have to be nervous about? He’s doing this to make it up to her - to make sure she feels safe and protected around him. She knows she will be; every time she’s in his embrace, she feels like she’s in a better world. He will always keep her close and loved - and she believes it. It’s not even the memory of the scarecrow that bothers her, but rather, the expectations she’s set in her mind....

Will she take up too much space? Wake too early? Or too late? She’ll have to try not to sleep with too many blankets. She doesn’t want to hog anything..! This is his space he's inviting her into, after all…! It sends her mind into a frenzy as she shuffles her feet, begrudgingly heading to the bathroom and dressing herself in there.  She gets this done in a hurry, taking off her dress and easily slipping into her clothes.

She observes herself in the mirror above the sink. She’s moved on from the patchwork dress she used to wear in Finklestein’s Tower - wearing her new creations and dresses instead. But this is the only outfit that reminds her of it. It’s her old nightclothes she used to wear in that tower, sewn from the most comfortable scraps she could find. The different color of browns and beige look almost off-putting on her colorful figure. She starts to play with her hair nervously, not particularly impressed by the image reflecting back to her. 

‘...I hope he doesn’t think less of me’.

 ---- 

  The tall figure uncomfortably shuffles himself in the bed, eyes locked on the currently closed door. He doesn't want to miss Sally's appearance, whenever she decides to come in. He's more than patient waiting for her, understanding this is a drastic change from their usual routine, and that both of them will have to adjust to it. Even he feels somewhat nervous as he sits there, unsure of what to expect, finally sleeping with a woman by his side. The thought alone makes his shirt feel tight.

He's in his own pajamas, a light beige button-up with long sleeves, and equally long pants. He normally wears a night cap to bed, but decides against it for this night in particular. He drums his phalanges on his knee as he tries to pass the time with his thoughts. He glances over and notices his dog fast asleep in his small bed, with Ophelia close by his side. They look comfortable and unbothered together, after such short time of knowing each other.

'If the two of them can do it, then surely, Sally and I can, too...'

He's interrupted by the sound of the doorknob twisting. He sits up attentively as the sight of his beloved slowly comes into view. She modestly steps into the room and closes it behind her, moving her hair behind her shoulders. He's almost awestruck at the sight. To see her in such clothing, her eyes blinking temptingly at his own. She clasps her hands together before shyly advancing forward. This is when he realizes his mouth is agape.

He shuts it and smiles apologetically. "My dear...you look lovely..."

She turns her head to the side, flushed at his words. "You think so..?"

"Absolutely! Why, I - I have never seen you like this...it is..." He struggles to think of a word. "It feels like a privilege..!"

Her eyes travel down to his own body and she hides her smile with her hand. She notices the empty spot on the mattress and assumes that's where she's wanted. She slowly makes her way around the bed and into the covers, all while avoiding Jack's face. When she's properly inside, there's only a few inches between her and the skeleton. This causes her phantom heart to thud rapidly, and a whole bunch of other thoughts come flooding into her mind.

"We'll start moving your things in here tomorrow. I'll clear some space in the morning," He continues casually.

She nods along with him - unsure of what to say or do. She's never shared a bed with anybody, nor does she know what's supposed to happen after this. Whatever it is, it makes her feel small and rather hot, bunching her legs together and watching him out of the corner of her eye. He leans forward to leave a kiss on her cheek, which calms her slightly.

"Are you comfortable?" He asks. She nods right away.

"Yes..! Your mattress is so soft, and the pillow is too. This blanket is warm and comfortable..."

"I'm glad you like it." He sounds relieved. "You can have as much space as you'd like...I don't take much room, as you can tell..."

She feels embarrassed for forgetting about his thin stature. So there is no way she can possibly hog the bed...That makes her feel better, at least. She tucks her hair out of the way as she looks around his bedroom. She notices how dark it is, only illuminated by a set of candles on his nightstand and moonlight from the only open window in the room. She can make out the silhouettes of a few dressers and closets, but nothing else at that moment.

"...Sorry if I seem... shy ." She finally confesses, tugging at her fingers. "I just feel a little insecure about my clothes..."

"If you feel that way, why haven't you made yourself some new ones?" He questions curiously. She looks down at her chest and sighs.

"I didn't think I would be sleeping with you...or anyone at all. I've been wearing these ever since I've been created. I never thought anyone would see me in them. But now that you have - I feel embarrassed..."

"-No reason to be, my love." He takes her hand and kisses it tenderly. "It doesn't matter what you wear - you're always going to be gorgeous in my eyes. Or lack thereof." He chuckles at that last sentence, and she smiles. "--Why, you look beautiful even wearing this..!"

She feels better and relaxes her posture. He motions for her to get comfortable and she does so, laying on her side of the bed and pulling the blanket over her figure. She watches as he blows out the candles, effectively darkening the room beyond the small portion of light coming from the window. He shuffles on the bed - finding the most comfortable position. She feels almost intimidated to move around, but she does so slightly, facing his direction.

It isn't long before she feels his arms come around her figure, holding her close to himself. She finds herself facing his chest and relaxes at the contact. It feels almost natural...being this close to him. It's the most relaxed she's ever felt. Sally eventually closes her eyes and steadies her breathing - falling fast asleep in the contact of her lover. Jack finds himself easily succumbing to his slumber as well - relishing this closeness with her, wanting to keep her safe.

[mysterytickingegos]

At Least We Have Us

Pairing(s): Darkiplier x Platonic!reader

Genre: Angsty with a fluffy end.

Word Count: 1,771

Summary: Strange things happened to those who didn’t leave that dreadful manor in time, and you were one of those people. Becoming something not quite human took some time to get used to, but at least you weren’t alone.

Anonymous Request: Platonic Dark with a soft Y/N that's basically very motherly of him despite being much younger? She cares a lot about him and looks up to him. Maybe she's his assistant and also experienced the events of WKM and Dark basically adopted her after that? Post-WKM please! I need Dark being a wise and over protective big brother rn Thank youuuu

Authors Note: I loved working on this one! It was a fun concept, thank you so much for the request!

Want to read more?

[Image Description: A gif of Mark from a vlog video giving a thumbs up to the camera, it has been edited to be gray with Darkipliers afterimages and colors, red and blue.]

Dark...That was such a strange name to call him, at first.

Damien had been a family friend. He was your neighbor, and your best friend’s uncle. When you were a teenager he was a respected member of the local government, a man who hid away in a study and worked far too hard. Eventually with enough pushing from Ophelia, he was your boss, having given you an internship in city hall that Elli really didn’t want. You considered him a friend. Maybe not a close friend, but he was someone you trusted and respected and he would say the same about you.

You jogged up the stairs to the office, dodging past people while muttering quick apologies to anyone who had something to say about it. When you got there, you heard the laughter of your friend through the door and cracked it open. Ophelia was desperately trying to catch her breath between giggles, of course because Damien was telling another story about your completely sophisticated soon-to-be DA. He was surprisingly relaxed, leaning back on his desk and talking with his hands quite a bit.

“But of course, that doesn’t stop them, they run down the street- Oh, Y/n please come in. You’ll want to hear this.” He gestured to the empty chair beside Elli, but when you didn’t move from the doorway, both their faces fell. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” You tilted your head at them, not realizing how you looked, pale and out of breath. “Damien, they’re done counting. You won.”

He was in shock for a few moments, only standing up a bit straighter as he processed your words. “I won? I’m...?”

“You’re going to be the Mayor.” Ophelia finished for him, just before all three of you started laughing and cheering and jumping around.

In many conversations there were moments where you would catch a glimpse of the person you used to know, and in the beginning you would get a heavy heart. You weren’t ready to let him go, to accept that he was somebody else now. Perhaps that’s because it would mean accepting you were somebody else, too.

None of the guests from that damned party left the manor the same.

You heard it so clearly, a stranger’s voice coaxing you up the stairs, quietly whispering your name over and over as you slipped away from the rowdy party. You were practically hypnotized, not thinking about who it could possibly be or their intentions as they lead you to a room that sent chills down your spine the moment you opened the door. It was a room filled with trinkets of the occult, books with terrifying symbols, and scribbles of a mad man on papers scattered all over.

“You’re not supposed to be in here.” You heard a growl from a new voice, just behind you. The person shoved you inside the room and slammed the door as you hit the ground. “In fact, I could’ve sworn this was going to be hidden from all of you.”

You stood up as quickly as you could, turning to see the host of the party scowling at you. “I wasn’t...I was just looking for Elli.” You said quickly, brushing off your clothes.

“The same Elli that told you she was going to lay down for the night a couple of hours ago?” He stepped closer, slowly, ominously.

You thought back to that conversation, spoken quietly, just the two of you on the staircase while everyone else was still playing poker. “How could you even know about that?”

Mark grinned at you, sinister and cold. He gestured around the room, to the books and trinkets. “Things aren’t as they seem here, Y/n. Ever since Celine...left me here, the things in this house had opened my mind to things I never could’ve imagined.” A short laugh bubbled out of him. “I can do anything.”

“You’ve gone mad.” You whispered, backing away. You’d heard bits and pieces of the Iplier drama from Damien, having vented his concerns to you over cups of coffee during work since the day you got your invitations. But you knew now that he had no idea.

“Perhaps they were trying to do the same for you, but I’ve come too far for some kid to screw it all up now.” He turned on his feet and left the room, shutting the door behind him. You rushed over to it, trying to twist the knob before he got a chance to lock it. But it was far too late. You banged on the door and screamed for help until your voice went hoarse, but the room had in fact been hidden away. You were surrounded by taunting spirits in a room that nobody existed, for what felt like weeks. You could feel them gnawing away at bits and pieces of you after that, an itchy feeling under your heart, changing you. Truly, time had been warped, and only one day had passed before you were found by someone who was now immune to the houses secrets and cloaks. And he didn’t say anything, but clearly something had happened to you too.

Funny thing about living forever? (Or at least as long as you have,) It’s not that great, in fact it’s actually very lonely. The world changes around you, and you don’t change that much at all. You often have to leave, not wanting the attention of being the same age after living or working somewhere for 20 or 30 years. Or you get too attached to somebody and you know you will lose them, now or later.

But you weren’t alone. Despite his anger towards Mark, how badly he wanted revenge, Dark kept very close to you. Especially after he learned what happened to his niece, he was going to keep you safe above all else. Mark learned that the hard way when he tried to silence you too, only to find an empty house and a rather cheeky note.

“Catch me if you can.”

Another funny thing, you didn’t even know the power that you had when you first wrote that. As far as you knew you were a normal girl waiting out the storm. But eventually waiting got pretty tiresome.

“How could you be so foolish?” Dark called after you as you both stormed back into the house.

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that big a deal.” You huffed, tossing your jacket away.

His image faltered and glitched at what you said. “Not a big deal? You have the gift of longevity, you are NOT impervious to bullets!”

You flopped down into the armchair, crossing your arms. “We don’t know that yet.”

“You sprained your ankle tripping on air last month, I think it’s safe to say.” For a moment you could’ve sworn he smiled. If it wasn’t at your expense, you might’ve been happy. “You wonder why I hover,”

“Someone had to step in and do something.”

“Why did it have to be you?!”

“Because!” You twisted around in the chair to face him, fighting back tears. “I’m bored! I’m sick of living like a hermit! I’m tired of these stupid towns in the middle of nowhere and never having any friends...it’s been almost a century Dark, I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

He pierced his lips, having to look away from you before he got emotional himself. “So this is your plan? Play hero until you run out of luck?”

“Or we can stop hiding. We can try and live our lives, instead of just surviving. I mean, what's the point if we’re completely miserable?”

“And what about him?”

“To hell with Mark, what about you?” Your voice was softer now. “I can work, and shop and be neighborly. But you...you’ve been stuck in the shadows, holding onto your hate all this time. Maybe you don’t believe it after everything that’s happened, but you deserve better.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “What then? Where do you want to go?”

“How about we go home?”

‘Home’ was California, LA specifically. Sure, you could’ve gone back to your hometown but you were both part of a rather famous local mystery and you agreed it was for the best to stay away.

The sun had set a little bit ago and the streets were only illuminated by signs and street lights, that was the only way he’d agree to go out into the city with you, in the dark. Fair enough, he didn’t want to attract attention to himself. Luckily, you’d made some good friends in the last few months, friends like Mike.

“Ah, bonjour!” Mike greeted cheerfully as you and Dark approached the window, before ducking into his shop to get you both a bowl of ice cream. “I was wondering if you were going to show up.”

You nudged Dark over to one of the tables and leaned in the window. “I didn’t mean for it to take so long, thanks for keeping the shop open late for us.”

“Don’t mention it. I actually have a cousin with really bad anxiety, so I get it.” He passed you two bowls with a smile.

Dark squinted at you when you came back to the table. ‘Anxiety?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t have anxiety.”

“You’re right, I should’ve told him the truth. You and your sister possessed your best friend in the 1920′s to escape a place called the upside down, but sometimes you drag bits and pieces of it into the real world and that would probably scare the locals in broad daylight.” You didn’t miss a beat in your little rant, scooping some ice cream into your mouth as soon as you were done.

He chuckled and shook his head at you. “I’m supposed to be the one lecturing you on being subtle.”

“Hey, I’m the one who’s been covering for us the past 91 years. It’s your turn to follow my lead.” You said matter-of-factly, pointing your spoon at him, before you dove back into your bowl. You missed the ‘fair-enough’ nod he gave you and the pride written all over his face, another glimpse of someone you used to know. “You know, maybe you should bring you-know-who here someday.”

His eyes went wide and he shook your words off just a little too quickly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So you don’t have a thing for his new friend that you’re watching out for?”

“Stop it. Stop it right now.”

“Fine,” You put your hands up in mock surrender, “But you know I’m right.”

[ijustwant2write]

Sweet Boy-Bonnie Gold x Reader x Finn Shelby (Part  5/?)

(GIF credit to @discgirl​)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

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Tags: @stressedandbandobessed7771 @bethany-taylo @lovelynerdytraveler @savvy7392 @kingarthurscat @smallheathgangsters @soleil-dor @alyse45 @bloodorangemoonlight @amirahiddleston @captivatedbycillianmurphy @jenepleurepasbaby @haphazardhufflepuff @ravenoussss @ophelias-flower-bed @peakascum​ @mzcrazy2​

Summary: Although the boys thought that they were out of the woods and away from danger, they find that they have made matters much worse, and (Y/N) is in the midst of it all.

Characters: Bonnie Gold x Reader, Finn Shelby x Reader, Thomas Shelby x Reader (platonic)

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of sex, guns, violence, slight fluff, angst

                                 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Y/N)’s P.O.V

Bonnie let himself in, nonchalantly taking off his peaky cap as he walked through. I quickly locked the door, rushing after him before something broke out between the boys (it was bound to happen). Standing in between them, I glanced at them both, hating how tense their shoulders were, the anger in their eyes towards each other.

“Bonnie, I’m so glad you’re alright.” I said, resisting the urge to hug him.“Has something happened?”

“No, just wanted to make sure you were OK over here.” his eyes never moved away from Finn’s face.

“I’m fine, it’s just Finn and I.”

“That’s why he’s come here.” Finn spat.“Thinks I’m gonna try something.”

“I’m safe, don’t worry Bonnie. But you might as well stay, you shouldn’t have come all the way here at this time of night. Especially after what happened to you both.”

“Thank you (Y/N).”

“Where’s he going to sleep?” Finn protested.

“Well, the only other space is in my bed.” 

I enjoyed the scowl on Finn’s face, it almost made me smirk. After our break up, Finn brought many whores into his home and office, parading them in front of me. I would never resort to fucking random men to make him jealous, or to spite him; but this was too good of an opportunity to miss. And he had no reason or excuse to argue back.

“That’s fine with me.” Bonnie smiled.

“Good, because it’s late, and I need to sleep this whole thing off. Good night Finn.”

We left his shocked expression as we left for my bedroom, and I tried to keep calm as my heartbeat increased. I knew Bonnie would be respectful and he wouldn’t expect anything to happen. However, I hadn’t had someone sleep beside me in a long time. As he closed the door, I pulled him closer, hugging him tight against me. Letting out a relieved sigh, I squeezed him slightly, scared that he might be hurt. 

“I was so worried.” I breathed out.

“I’m here, I’m safe.” he whispered, one arm wrapped around my lower back as his other hand was gently placed on the back of my head.

I pulled away, both of us keeping our arms on each other.“Have you seen your family?”

He nodded.“They know I’m alive.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have any spare clothes for you or Finn. I’m not sure how comfortable you’ll be.”

“Well, I sleep best in the nude but-”

I rolled my eyes at his cheeky grin.“If you want to sleep in a comfy bed, you’ll keep your clothes on.”

We fell into silence as we rounded each side of the bed, slowly slipping under the sheets. Of course I was a little nervous, but Bonnie was also hesitant. Perhaps he didn’t want to over step the boundaries that we had already crossed. Both of us were laying on our backs, looking up at the ceiling. A minute or so passed before Bonnie broke the silence.

“How come you didn’t let Finn in your bed?” he softly asked.

I sighed.“The trust I used to have for him just isn’t there anymore, not under these circumstances.”

“What do you mean?”

“For instance, if I was in some sort of danger, or a man started harassing me on a night out, then I wouldn’t doubt him stepping in. But he really hurt me. And how he acted after the breakup only rubbed salt into a fresh wound.”

I hear him move against the sheets, making my head lull to the side and seeing him facing me on his side.

“Isaiah told me about that. Said that Finn had women going home with him almost every night.”

I scoffed.“I was willing to be civil with him, to make work a little easier, you know? Especially since the Shelby’s have been so good to me, and we live so close to each other.”

“I suppose it’s hard to get rid of that label.”

“Of being Finn Shelby’s ex-girlfriend? Yeah, no one seems to take an interest anymore.”

“I did.”

Finn’s P.O.V

My hands clenched up into tight fists, hating how easily she was opening up to him...but also hating how much truth there was behind everything (Y/N) said. Sat beside the door (so they wouldn’t see my shadow under the door frame), I listened to everything as soon as it shut. It made my skin crawl to think that he was lying beside her, in the same spot as I was in; (Y/N) was particular to which side she slept on, it stayed the same for the whole time we were together, she had her side, I had mine, until we cuddled up to one another.

It suddenly went quiet, and after straining to hear anything, I figured that they finally went to sleep. Silently moving from my spot, I saw what I had ended up sleeping on, groaning as I collapsed onto it, knowing I would never get comfortable on it. 

I was woken with something hitting my face, yelping as I bolted upright. Bonnie chucked the cushion he hit me with, though I caught it this time. My eyes were squinting from the natural light coming from the windows, and I could only just make out his silhouette as he walked away.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I moaned as I rubbed my neck, it was aching after my awkward position.

“Waking you up before (Y/N).” Bonnie simply stated.

“Why?”

He leaned against the kitchen counter.“So you can leave.”

I huffed.“Shut up mate.”

He scoffed.“I’m your mate again?”

I didn’t reply.

“You’ve hurt her enough. I don’t know why I agreed to let you come here in the first place.”

Before I could snap back, there was loud shouts and screams echoing through the block. Both of us rushed to the window, faces up against the glass to try and see what was happening. Being blinders, we were on high alert, however, I hoped it was just a fight between a group of people; that hope disappeared when gunshots went off.

“Get (Y/N)!” I ordered Bonnie, who sprinted towards her room. 

“What the fuck have you got me in now Finn?!” (Y/N) exclaimed as she was pulled from her room.

“We need to get out of here.” I said slipping on my jacket, checking how many rounds were in my gun.“Bonnie, you got your gun?”

He nodded as he opened a side of his jacket, revealing his weapon.

(Y/N) was shoving on her shoes, grabbing a random coat before racing back to her bedroom. Before we could question her, she had emerged with her own gun, the gun I had given her for emergencies only.

“You remember how to use it?” I checked.

“Yes, though I don’t want to use it.”

“You won’t have to.” Bonnie tried to reassure her.

This wasn’t a time to make witty remarks. Cautiously opening the front door, I stepped out, looking left and right to check the coast was clear. Gesturing for them to follow me, Bonnie and (Y/N) stayed behind as I went ahead, peeking around every corner for anyone who looked dangerous. We had made it out of the building, but it was too suspicious to me that there hadn’t been anymore noise.

“Right, we need to head to the shop, it’s our safest bet.” I stated as we made it to the streets.

I hadn’t even taken another step when someone shouted,“There’s the peaky bastards!”

Immediately sprinting, (Y/N) screamed out as gunshots went off. Ducking behind a car, I quickly shot back at them, Bonnie joining me as (Y/N) stayed hidden away. I recognised them, they were the ones that were ordered to beat us up after the meeting. It didn’t make sense why they were back, they had got their punches in already, literally. 

“What the fuck do we do now?!” (Y/N) cried.

There was no way for us to run out in the open again. There were four men our age, all with guns, and even if (Y/N) had a good aim, it would still be hard to gain the upper hand. I couldn’t think of a way to get out of this, not all three of us anyway. As the firing ceased for a moment, I called out to them.

“Let these two go, I’m the Shelby here!”

“Finn, what are you doing?” (Y/N) hissed at me.

“Finn, you can’t risk it!” Bonnie also said.

“They won’t say anything, just let them past safely.”

“Oi!” another voice called out.

Shit.

Bonnie’s P.O.V

Tommy had shown up, waltzing around the corner of a house with Arthur, Isaiah and four other peaky blinders. Finn’s eyes widened with panic, and I too felt his fear; we were going to be in deep shit.

“Thought you made things even last night lads.” Tommy tutted.

“Your boys disrespected my father! They were lucky they got away alive!” one of the shooters spat back.

“Right, well, this problem, is between me and your father, alright? And I would hate to be the bearer of bad news.”

“What bad news?”

Tommy said nothing more, except pulling his coat back to show his gun, as did the other blinders. There was more of us, they were outnumbered. Glancing around the car, I saw any colour on the boy’s faces drain away, some of them already taking slow steps back. The power Tommy held was admirable, though also something to be very scared of. 

“Fine, but my father will not be mocked again. This isn’t the last time you’ll see us!” the son shouted at the top of his voice, echoing down the street. 

“You three.” Tommy raised a finger at us and gestured us to go to him.

Finn sighed, putting his gun away as he stood. I copied, holding my hands out to (Y/N). She didn’t look at me, shakily pushing herself off the ground, crossing her coat tighter around her. Her head was hung low as we approached Tommy, awaiting a telling off like small children.

“It’s alright!” Tommy suddenly shouted, making us flinch.“Just boys being boys!” 

He looked up and around at the houses, and we realised how many people were watching. People were timidly looking through their curtains, scared that they would be hurt, even if they weren’t part of the situation. 

“You got your keys (Y/N)?” Tommy asked, a lot quieter now.

She nodded, reaching into her pocket and fishing them out. They rattled against each other as her hand was still shaking. Tommy gently took them from her, handing them to Arthur.

“Brother, take three of these men and check (Y/N)’s building, then her flat. Make sure it’s safe for her.” he instructed.

“Alright.” Arthur mumbled, already walking away.

“Isaiah, help the poor girl to walk.”

Isaiah was hesitant to hold her, or even offer his arm, knowing that Finn and I would rather be doing that. But I held my tongue. She wasn’t happy with us, we had put her in danger, something she had avoided since splitting up with Finn. And it wasn’t just his fault this time, it was mine too. I was the one who said I would never want to put her in that kind of situation, yet here we stood, almost with bullet holes in our bodies.

“We’re all going to have a chat, and you’re going to explain everything.”

(Y/N)’s P.O.V

Isaiah let me loop my arm through his, and I unintentionally grasped at it. I could feel myself crying, but I remained silent, still shocked from what had happened. It had all been so fast. Polly always told me that I had to be ready for this lifestyle, and I had been, the most danger I had been in was a threat from a club owner, who’s business had been taken over by the gang. Although he was rough, he never got to me, and we were always one step ahead. Of course there had been the insults thrown my way, and the name calling; however, that never hurt me, not when I was with Finn.

It was still too early for the shop to be open, making it a perfect place for Tommy to yell at us. I was sat in the seat opposite to Tommy at his desk, whilst he instructed the boys to stand either side of me. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Tommy, embarrassed that he had to come and save our arses.

“Look at her.” Tommy grumbled.“Look at the state she is in. You two did that.”

Finn tried to speak.“Tom-”

“You both owe an apology to (Y/N).”

“I’m sorry (Y/N),” Finn started,“I truly am. I never meant for any of that to happen. You took me into your home and looked after me, this isn’t how you should be repaid.”

“(Y/N), you know I would never want you hurt. And I feel ashamed that I wasn’t able to protect you better. I’m sorry, and I’m sorry that I broke my promise.” Bonnie said.

I hadn’t looked at either of them, still fuming inside, tempted to scream at them. When I remained silent, Tommy cleared his throat.

“Right you two, fuck off.”

Wait, why was I staying? If this was some bullshit about how I should have turned them away after fixing them up, I wasn’t going to stand for it. After the boys slowly exited the office, and as soon as the door was shut, Tommy lit a cigarette.

“Are you alright?”

That shocked me.

“Um, yes, I am now.” I mumbled, finally looking him in the eye.

“I know what’s going on here. Love triangles are dangerous.”

I rolled my eyes.“It’s not like that.”

“You should be flattered, having two boys pine after you.”

I didn’t know how to reply.

“I think you need to stay with Pol for now. Just to make sure you’re safe.”

“You don’t seriously think I’ve been dragged into this, do you?”

“I’m afraid so. You know the drill. They’ve seen you with two blinders, it doesn’t matter what you mean to them, it still sends a message.”

I sighed, suddenly feeling a wave of tears come on.“I thought this had all been thrown away after Finn forgot about me.”

“He never forgot about you.”

“Were we looking at the same person?”

“We were. And you know that deep down. But you need to make a decision about all of this.”

“Yes, I’ll stay with Polly.”

“Not that decision. There’s going to be a lot more people effected by this if you don’t sort this all out now. And (Y/N)?”

“Hm?”

“Choose the right one.”