#Hestia Espinosa

[dementedfilament]

John Isaac De Cartes

The flame before Gavin ceased at his breath.

And he cringed, acutely aware of the energy radiating from his former club leader. “You did what with my knife?”

“I’m sorry!! I-I didn’t mean to!!”

Hestia looked as though she were about to pop a vein. “The minute we’re finished here, you’re coming with me and repeating what you did!”

“Huh?!”

“I’ve been trying to contact the entity bound with it for months! You’re going to show me how you did it so I can open communication with them!”

“I-I don’t think that’s a g-good idea!”

“He’s right,” Cedric said. “Given how rapidly the situation escalated, it wouldn’t be wise to repeat it carelessly.”

“I…understand.” She sank, letting out a defeated sigh.

“We can examine it safely at a later time.”

“Of course.”

After examining a nervous Gavin, Cedric brought them back on topic. “For now, let us continue.”

“Please do,” the boy said.

“I don’t know,” John chuckled. “I’m feeling a bit intimidated after that.”

“S-Sorry…”

“Don’t be.”

***

The early riser that he is, John paced through near-empty halls still only lit by the inner lights. Hair gelled, tie straightened, he headed straight for his first hour to begin sorting paperwork and scheduling his day.

Then, a thought hit him. ‘Ah, there’s a sub today, isn’t there?’ The chance the room may not even be available occurred to him, since the sub probably wouldn’t arrive this far before class. However, he could always visit another of his teachers’ rooms for morning planning. A minor inconvenience.

Swerving ‘round the hallway to his class, he was relieved to see the light spilling from the open door. An itinerary began swimming through his mind, but he stopped upon hearing the sub’s voice, speaking as if they were in conversation.

‘Oh…is someone else in there? Maybe I shouldn’t interrupt…’

He remained just outside the door frame, listening in long enough to determine if he needed to relocate for the morning.

“Ah…what is this? I don’t get it…”

Furrowing a brow, he kept his ears open.

“Gah…this is so itchy…” Only the sub’s voice streamed out. “It’s necessary, isn’t it?

But it’s so itchy. And I don’t understand this work.

You’ll figure it out.”

Did they not understand the work for the day? He’d be happy to show them if they’d accept help from a student, but….

“Itchy…

Then scratch it.

So damn itchy…”

With a gulp, he crept in anyways. Maybe his presence could be a distraction for the sub’s…whatever it was.

“Itchy itchy itchy…

Scratch it.

So damn itchy!

It hurts!”

His narrow, violet eyes flew open as the sub came into view.

The man placed firm fingers on his chin, then pulled outward. Lines around his face slowly became visible, like the seams of something adhesed to another. Then, his expression froze completely. Like a sort of mask, he peeled the fleshy plate from his head, skin and veins stretching with it before snapping from the distance.

His other hand dug into the weave of red muscle underneath. “Itchy…” Blood popped from under his fingernails, and flowed like a river down his arm. “It hurts!!”

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[nyssasorbit]

Farewell.

[tilmyworldfadesaway]

FEMALE CHARACTER LIST

2D & 3D

♡ = personajes que están en mi álbum y a los que les busco más actividad, sin embargo yo feliz de rolear a cualquier niña de esta lista.

2D CHARACTERS

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Azula

Katara

Black Clover

Noelle Silva

BLEACH

Rangiku Matsumoto

Orihime Inoue ♡

Yoruichi Shihōin

Bambietta Basterbine

Castlevania

Lenore

Maria Renard

Sypha Belnades

Chainsaw Man

Himeno

Makima ♡

Power ♡

Code Geass

C.C ♡

Kallen Kōzuki

Euphemia li Britannia ♡

Cowboy Bebop

Faye Valentine

Darkstalkers

Morrigan Aensland ♡

D.Gray-man

Lenalee Lee ♡

DanMachi

Ais Wallenstein

Hestia

Devil May Cry

Lady

Dr. Stone

Kohaku ♡

Amaryllis

Yuzuriha Ogawa

Dragon Ball

Zamasu Female

Bulma ♡

No. 18 ♡

Edens Zero

Rebecca Bluegarden

Fairy Tail

Lucy Heartfilia ♡

Fate

Artoria Pendragon ♡

Ereshkigal ♡

Fujimaru Ritsuka (Gudako) ♡

Gilgamesh Female ♡

Ishtar ♡

Jeanne d'Arc ♡

Karna Female

Mash Kirielight ♡

Mordred ♡

Nero Claudius ♡

Okita Sōji

Rin Tohsaka ♡

Scáthach ♡

Arjuna Female

Final Fantasy

Aerith Gainsborough

Tifa Lockhart ♡

Free!

Haruka Nanase Female ♡

Fullmetal Alchemist

Winry Rockbell ♡

GANTZ

Reika Shimohira ♡

Genshin Impact

Lumine ♡

Raiden Ei ♡

Yae Miko ♡

Yelan ♡

Jean Gunnhildr ♡

Beidou ♡

Zhongli Female ♡

Granblue Fantasy

Sandalphon Female

Hibike Euphonium

Reina Kousaka

Honkai: Star Rail

Kafka

Horimiya

Kyoko Hori ♡

Howl's Moving Castle

Sophie Hatter

Hunter x Hunter

Hisoka Female

Kurapika Female ♡

Machi Komachine

InuYasha

Kagome Higurashi ♡

Inuyashiki

Mari Inuyashiki

Jujutsu Kaisen

Nobara Kugisaki ♡

Mahito Female

Utahime Iori

Kasumi Miwa

Kanojo, Okarishimasu

Chizuru Ichinose

Kimetsu no Yaiba

Shinobu Kocho

Mitsuri Kanroji ♡

Daki

League of Legends

Ahri ♡

Caitlyn Kiramman ♡

Evelynn

Jinx

Kai'Sa ♡

Luxanna Crownguard ♡

Nami ♡

Seraphine ♡

Vi

Xayah ♡

Irelia ♡

Sona ♡

Akali

Alune

Life is Strange

Chloe Price

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Kougyoku Ren ♡

Metal Gear Solid

Eva Sears

Naomi Hunter

Quiet

Erina Volkova (OC) ♡

My Hero Academia

Katsuki Bakugō Female

Shōto Todoroki Female ♡

Momo Yaoyorozu ♡

Nejire Hadō

Rumi Usagiyama

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED/Destiny

Lunamaria Hawke

Nana

Nana Osaki

Layla Serizawa

Nanatsu no Taizai

Elizabeth Liones

Naruto/Boruto

Hinata Hyūga ♡

Ino Yamanaka ♡

Sakura Haruno ♡

Sarada Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha Female

Ada ♡

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Asuka Langley ♡

Noragami

Hiyori Iki

One Piece

Hiyori Kozuki

Koala

Nami ♡

Reiju Vinsmoke

Trafalgar Law Female ♡

Ulti

Yamato ♡

Nico Robin

Vivi Nefertari

Boa Hancock

One Punch-Man

Fubuki

Ranma ½

Akane Tendō

Ranma Saotome Female

Shanpū

Re:Zero

Emilia

Resident Evil

Ada Wong ♡

Ashley Graham

Claire Redfield

Jill Valentine

Rebecca Chambers

Sherry Birkin

Rurouni Kenshin

Tomoe Yukishiro

Kaoru Kamiya

Shingeki no Kyojin

Historia Reiss ♡

Mikasa Ackerman ♡

Sono Bisque Doll

Marin Kitagawa ♡

Spy x Family

Yor Briar ♡

Street Fighter

Cammy

Chun-Li

Sword Art Online

Asuna Yūki ♡

Quinella

Alice Schuberg

Suguha Kirigaya

Tenjō Tenge

Maya Natsume

The King of Fighters

Athena Asamiya

Mai Shiranui ♡

Iori Yagami Female

The Legend of Zelda

Zelda (TP, SS ♡, BOTW-TOTK ♡)

Tokyo Ghoul

Touka Kirishima

Tokyo Revengers

Emma Sano

Hinata Tachibana ♡

Izana Kurokawa Female ♡

Manjiro Sano Female

Akane Inui

Wolfs Rain

Cheza

Yū Yū Hakusho

Keiko Yukimura

3D CHARACTERS

DC comics

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl)

Donna Troy (Wonder Girl)

Kara Zor-El

Mera

Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy)

Selina Kyle (Catwoman)

Euphoria

Cassie Howard

Jules Vaughn

The Walking Dead

Alicia Clark

Rosita Espinosa

Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon

Alicent Hightower

Cersei Lannister

Daenerys Targaryen

Lyanna Stark

Margaery Tyrell

Rhaenyra Targaryen

Sansa Stark

MARVEL comics

Christine Palmer

Gwen Stacy

Jean Grey

Wanda Maximoff

Yelena Belova

Maze Runner

Teresa Agnes

Star Wars

Padmé Amidala

Qi'ra

The 100

Lexa

The Vampire Diaries

Elena Gilbert

Katherine Pierce

The Witcher

Yennefer de Vengerberg

Faceclaims asiáticos para diversas tramas

Hanni Pham / NewJeans

Jin-ri Choi (Sulli) / F(x)

Jennie Kim / BLACK PINK

Kiko Mizuhara

Soo Jung (Krystal) / F(x)

[icariahq]

The following people are off hiatus! If you still need a hiatus please send us another message so we can update our pages! 

Jade (  Luna Espinosa, Macaria “Maci” Russo, Nova Osborne, River Davis, Thea Forbes ) semi-hiatus until April 12.

Chelsea (I do not feel like listing all the characters here) semi-hiatus until April 19.

Lex ( Cole Daniels, Dylan Dempsey, Harley Carmichael, Levi King, Lyric Beckett, Kelly Cromwell, Noelle Park, Remi Bellamy, Tyrese Bixby, Wesley Sullivan, Zoey Katz ) semi-hiatus until April 19.

Dee hiatus until April 19th.

Jess ( Elijah Roman, Ivanna “Ivy” Molotov, Lucas “Luke” Decker, Marceline Drake, Vivienne Holt) semi-hiatus April 22.

JJ ( Abigail ‘Billy’ Franklin, Blake Reilly, Eleanor Wallace, Hestia Jr. Violet, Jane Doe, November Li, Ryelle Richards, Ruelle Richards) April 22.

[vademecumherbal]

ALGUNAS FLORES EN WITCHCRAFT🌼

Publicación original de yunihong

Abundancia : Árnica

Balance: brezo

Desterrando la energía negativa: Lila, Snapdragon

Belleza : Amaryllis, Pentas, Wolf's Bane

Clarividencia : amapola, encaje de la reina Anne

Comunicación: Datura (con deidades), Foxglove (con Fae), Pensamiento

Coraje: geranio, rey protea

Creatividad : Rey Protea

Adivinación: Achicoria, Damiana, Datura, Hibisco, Pensamiento, Amapola, Rosa

Sueños: caléndula (sueños psíquicos), diente de león, datura, amapola

Energía: clavel, girasol (energía solar)

Exorcismo: angélica, diente de león, datura, beleño, lila

Fertilidad: Daffodil, Damiana, Foxglove, Geranium, Heather, Myrtile, Poppy, Queen Anne's Lace, Sunflower

Amistad: Hortensia, Flor de la Pasión

Felicidad: caléndula, jacinto, lirio de los valles, pensamiento, pimpinela escarlata, girasol, tulipán

Armonía: Gardenia, Iris, Jazmín, Lavanda, Amapola, Rosa, Violeta

Curación: Árnica, Angélica, Caléndula, Clavel, Achicoria, Gardenia, Geranio, Brezo, Lavanda, Rosa, Pimpinela Escarlata, Verbena

Esperanza: margarita, violeta

Inocencia: Margarita, Fresia

Invisibilidad: Poppy, Wolf's Bane

Alegría: aves del paraíso

Amor: Buttercup, Daffodil, Daisy, Damiana, Datura, Foxglove, Gardenia, Geranium, Heather, Hibiscus, Hyachint, Iris, Jasmine, Lavender, Lilac, Orchid, Pansy, Pentas, Poppy, Queen Anne's Lace, Tulip, Vervain, Violet, Flor de milenrama

Suerte: clavel, achicoria, narciso, diente de león, madreselva, amapola, violeta

Lujuria : Damiana, Heather, Hibiscus, Queen Anne's Lace

Matrimonio : Ranúnculo, Flor de Milenrama

Dinero: bergamota, manzanilla, madreselva

Pasión: manzanilla, flor de la pasión, rosa

Paciencia : Aster

Paz : Gardenia, Iris, lavanda, flor de la pasión, amapola, violeta

Placer: guisante dulce

Prosperidad: jazmín, amapola

Protección:  Angélica, Árnica, Clavel, Datura, Cornejo, Dedalera, Geranio, Brezo, Acebo, Jacinto, Lila, Lirio, Caléndula, Rosa, Pimpinela Escarlata, Dragón Dragón, Tulipán, Verbena, Violeta, Perdición del Lobo

Habilidad Psíquica : Árnica, Caléndula, Damiana, Orquídea, Rosa, Flor de Luna

Purificación : achicoria, diente de león, lavanda

Relajación : manzanilla, jazmín, lavanda, amapola, verbena

Eliminación de maldiciones / maleficios : achicoria, datura, hortensia, lirio

Segunda vista: beleño, encaje de la reina Ana, pimpinela escarlata

Sensualidad : brezo

Sexualidad : Damiana, Foxglove

Sueño : manzanilla, flor de saúco, tilo, amapola, violeta

Espíritu : árnica (mantiene a raya a los espíritus no deseados), bergamota (levanta el espíritu), diente de león (convocando espíritus), brezo (conjurando espíritus), madreselva

Espiritualidad : jazmín, encaje de la reina Anne, rosa

Fuerza : clavel, achicoria

Éxito : bergamota, achicoria, girasol

Tranquilidad : lavanda, amapola, rosa, violeta

Transformación : Datura, King Protea, Moonflower, Scarlet Pimpernel

Visión : Angélica, Damiana, Datura.

Vitalidad : clavel

Riqueza : flor de saúco, madreselva, jazmín

Sabiduría : beleño

🌈Colores de flores y correspondencias mágicas🌈

BURDEOS NEGRO Y OSCURO: The Crone, desterrando, rompiendo hexes y eliminando negatividad

AZUL: Elemento de agua, curación, sueño y paz.

MARRÓN Y BEIGE:  hogar, estabilidad y mascotas

VERDE: El Dios, elemento de la tierra, hadas, curación, dinero, suerte y fertilidad.

ROSADO:   Amistad, hijos, cariño y amor.

PÚRPURA: Poder, habilidades psíquicas y pasión.

ROJO: La Madre, elemento de fuego, lujuria, amor, sexo, curación y protección.

BLANCO: La Doncella, para todo uso, purificación, protección y magia de luna.

AMARILLO: Elemento de aire, sabiduría, poderes mentales y adivinación.

NARANJA:  Energía, vitalidad y éxito.

🌻🍂Flores del mes🍃❄️

Enero : clavel (otorga energía, curación), gota de nieve (simboliza nuevos comienzos)

Febrero : violeta (amor, protección), primavera (protección, amor)

Marzo : narciso (fertilidad, amor)

Abril : guisante dulce (amistad, fuerza), margarita (amor), lirio (mantiene alejadas las influencias negativas [Blanco: símbolo del arcángel Gabriel])

Mayo : lirio de los valles (te anima, levanta el ánimo [toda la parte de la flor es levemente tóxica, no debe ser ingerida]), espino (fertilidad, felicidad, buena suerte en la pesca)

Junio : rosa (amor), madreselva (prosperidad)

Julio : espuela de caballero (salud, protección), lirio de agua (curación, emociones, poderes psíquicos [utilízalo en hechizos de agua, rituales])

Agosto : gladiola (relaciones finales, situaciones finales), amapola (suerte, prosperidad)

Septiembre : gloria de la mañana (se puede usar en hechizos vinculantes, paz, felicidad), aster (se puede usar en hechizos de amor)

Octubre : caléndula (fuerza, curación, justicia)

Noviembre: crisantemo (protección, te protege de la negatividad)

Diciembre : acebo (protección, planta masculina), hiedra (fidelidad, amor, planta femenina)

🔱Diosas y plantas asociadas🔱

AFRODITA : violeta, gloria de la mañana, rosa, tilo, brezo, encaje de la reina Ana, margarita y todas las flores azules verdaderas      

APOLLO: Arnica, Henbane

ARADIA: Rue, Vervain, Verbena

ARIANRO : tilo

ARTEMIS : Artemesia, Daisy, Damiana    

ASTRAEA : Aster, Michaelmas daisy

BAST : Catnip

BIL : beleño

Brighid O NOVIA : Diente de león, azafrán, Helebores          

CERNUNNOS : Manzanilla

CERRIDWEN : Verbena / verbena

CHRONOS : Beleño

CYBELE : Crisantemo

DEMETRO O CERES: Amapola Roja

DIANA : Rue, Henbane, Rose

DRYADS : Margarita

FAE: Daisy

FREYA : Helecho de doncella, Daisy, Rose, Primrose y Arnica

GANESHA : Damiana

HAADES : Datura

HATHOR : Rose

HECATE : Cyclamen, Lavender, Willow, Hensbane, Datura, Wolf's Bane and Monkshood (aconite)

HEL : Crisantemo

HERA : Iris, Willow

HESTIA : flor de la pasión

HOLDA : Rose en plena floración

HYPNOS : flor de la pasión

IRIS : Iris, Rose

ISIS : rosa, brezo y púrpura Iris

JUNO : Iris

JÚPITER : clavel

KALO : Hibisco

SEÑORA DE GUADALUPE : rosas rojas y rosadas, flores de Pascua

LILITH:   Lily; Rosas de color rojo oscuro, espinosas, estilo jardín

LUNA: encaje de la reina Anne

MAE LABRAID: Heather

MAIA : Pimpinela Escarlata

MARTE : Narciso

MEDEA : Lavanda

MERCURIO : Manzanilla

MINERVA : cardo, oliva y moras              

NATURAJA : Datura

NECHTAN : Heather

NEFTHTHYS : Lily

OESTRE : Margarita

OSHUN : manzanilla, flor de milenrama

PERSONA : perejil, granada, beleño

RA : Árnica, Manzanilla

SATURNO : Datura, lavanda

SELENE : Rose, Bluebell, Nicotiana, Queen Anne's Lace y todas las flores blancas y de noche

SHANGO : Hibisco

SHAVA : Linden

SHIVA : Datura

ST . ANNE : manzanilla

VENUS : violeta, gloria de la mañana, rosa, hibisco, encaje de la reina Ana, brezo y todas las flores azules verdaderas  

YEMAYA: flor de la pasión, flor de milenrama

ZEUS : Damiana

Fuente: Garden Witchery - Magia desde cero por Ellen Dugan

Publicación original de tumbleweede

[jamariyanews]

Prove (e foto) dei legami tra i trafficanti e le Ong "State pronti, arriva gente"

Le conversazioni a bordo della nave Iuventa registrate dall'agente infiltrato svelano le collusioni con gli scafisti. La corsa per cancellare immagini e video dei soccorsi: «Tenete tutto pulito»

Fausto Biloslavo - Sab, 12/08/2017 - 08:09

 Gli incredibili dettagli della complicità con i trafficanti libici documentati dall'agente sotto copertura infiltrato a bordo della nave di una Ong. Le foto delle facce dei trafficanti, che si sono presentati sotto bordo dicendo: «Sta arrivando gente» ovvero i gommoni con i migranti da portare in Italia. Il ruolo ambiguo di un giornalista del Manifesto imbarcato su nave Iuventa, il natante dell'Organizzazione non governativa tedesca Jugend Rettet, sequestrata per il reato di immigrazione clandestina.

Sconto del 20% con Valtur

Prenota oggi la tua vacanza! Super sconto e soggiorno gratis per il primo bambino fino a 13 anni

Sconto del 20% con Valtur

Prenota oggi la tua vacanza! Super sconto e soggiorno gratis per il primo bambino fino a 13 anni

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E l'ammissione degli attivisti «umanitari» tedeschi di voler nascondere tutto alla polizia italiana. La seconda parte degli atti di sequestro di nave Iuventa disposto dalla magistratura di Trapani fornisce un quadro inquietante dell'attività di alcune Ong di fronte alla Libia. L'AGENTE SOTTO COPERTURA SVELA GLI ACCORDI CON I TRAFFICANTI Le Ong tedesche non sono le uniche a fare quello che vogliono nella vicenda migranti. Negli atti del tribunale di Trapani «si riportano (...) due conversazioni (da intercettazioni ambientali, ndr) dalle quali è emerso che il 23 maggio scorso la Iuventa (la motonave sequestrata dell'Ong Jugend Rettet per immigrazione clandestina ndr) si è coordinata con la Vos Hestia (imbarcazione di Save the children ndr) al fine di organizzarsi «parallelamente» alle indicazioni ricevute da Imrcc (Centro di coordinamento della Guardia costiera a Roma ndr) nell'ambito di «un'operazione di soccorso». Il 19 maggio si infiltra a bordo della Vos Hestia l'agente si polizia sotto copertura Luca B., che scopre le collusioni con i trafficanti libici. Gli episodi sono noti, ma negli atti di sequestro di nave Iuventa vengono elencati nei dettagli, che risultano inquietanti. Il Giornale li pubblica nelle parte salienti per dare un quadro preciso al lettore di cosa è accaduto di fronte alle coste libiche per colpa di alcune Ong. «Episodio del 18.6.2017 di fronte a Zwuara (hub di partenza dei migranti dalla Tripolitania ndr) ore 6.15» che coinvolge: «3 barconi in legno con migranti a bordo partiti dalle coste libiche, 1 motovedetta della Guardia costiera libica, 1 barchino con alcuni trafficanti, la nave Iuventa con 2 Rhibs (gommoni di supporto per le operazioni)». Negli atti si legge che «all'inizio dell'attività di osservazione l'undercover (agente sotto copertura ndr) ha avuto modo di osservare che la motovedetta della Guardia costiera e il barchino dei presunti trafficanti si sono allontanati dallo scenario dirigendosi verso le coste libiche. Successivamente sono iniziate le attività di recupero dei migranti da parte dei Rhibs (gommoni) della Iuventa e della Vos Hestia e gli stranieri sono stati trasbordati sulle citate imbarcazioni. In particolare uno dei natanti con migranti a bordo era contrassegnato da due lettere KK di colore rosso». Il dettaglio non è secondario. «Successivamente 2 dei menzionati barconi in legno sono stati legati tra loro con una cima e gli operatori che si trovavano a bordo del Rhib della Iuventa li hanno trainati vero le coste libiche» denunciano gli inquirenti. «Il natante contrassegnato dalle lettere KK di colore rosso (...) è stato lasciato in direzione di alcuni barchini di trafficanti che si trovavano nelle vicinanze. (...) Il menzionato natante è stato nuovamente utilizzato dai migranti partiti dalle coste libiche e soccorsi nel corso delle operazioni del 26 giungo scorso» si sottolinea negli atti. Da notare che le raccomandazioni della nostra Guardia costiera sono di affondare i barconi per evitare che vengano riutilizzati. «Alle successive ore 11 del 18.6.2017 si presentava il seguente scenario» secondo il rapporto dell'agente sotto copertura. «Motonave Vos Hestia, motonave Iuventa con Rhibs di pertinenza in mare, motonave See Fuchs (imbarcazione di un'altra Ong tedesca ndr) battente bandiera olandese». Il poliziotto infiltrato Luca B. fotografa e filma il tutto a tal punto che «nella circostanza è stato osservato un vero e proprio rendez vous tra operatori della Iuventa e presunti trafficanti finalizzato alla consegna di alcuni migranti». Gli inquirenti descrivano passo dopo passo la collusione: «Il Rhib della Iuventa di colore verde e di piccole dimensioni si è diretto verso le coste libiche e da quei luoghi è sopraggiunta una imbarcazione verosimilmente con migranti a bordo. Il menzionato Rhib e il barchino con i presunti trafficanti, dopo essersi incontrati sono restati affiancati per qualche minuto. Dopo qualche istante il Rhib si è diretto verso la Iuventa, mentre l'altro natante ha proceduto verso le coste libiche. Successivamente quest'ultima imbarcazione è riapparsa sullo scenario scortando un gommone carico di migranti e arrestando la navigazione solo in prossimità della Iuventa». Gli inquirenti sono convinti che «proprio la dinamica con la quale avveniva questo secondo viaggio del barchino consentiva di acquisire piena contezza che le persone a bordo fossero dei trafficanti». Non solo: «Gli stessi trafficanti, dopo aver intrattenuto un dialogo con gli operatori della Iuventa si sono allontanati a bordo della propria unità rivolgendo un cenno di saluto verso la menzionata motonave». Alla fine gli inquirenti registrano che «i migranti soccorsi sono arrivati nel porto di Crotone il 21 giugno». Grazie a intercettazioni ambientali è stato identificavo chi pilotava i gommoni che hanno riportato i barconi ai trafficanti. «I ragazzi (sono) indicati nella conversazione di seguito trascritta - si legge negli atti - come 2 soggetti di nome Miguel, una donna di nome Laura e un'altra di nome Zoe (che) potrebbero identificarsi in Castillo Soares Duarte Miguel, Roldan Espinosa Miguel, Martin Laura e Mickausch Zoe». La scoperta più incredibile dell'agente sotto copertura avviene il 26 giungo e coinvolge nave Vos Hestia di Save the children. La descrizione dei fatti lascia senza parole: «Alle ore 6.19 è sopraggiunto un gommone con 3 trafficanti a bordo che, arrivando sottobordo (di nave Vos Hestia ndr) in lingua araba hanno riferito agli assetti presenti che stava arrivando gente, come riferito da alcuni esponenti di Save the children allo scrivente». L'infiltrato della polizia fotografa i trafficanti con magliette polo e tutte da ginnastica. «Successivamente sono arrivati diversi barconi e gommoni, ognuno con centinaia di persone a bordo» si legge negli atti. L'aspetto paradossale è che «in serata sono sopraggiunti altri assetti militari (inviati dalla Guardia costiera italiana ndr) per completare le operazioni di salvataggio, in quanto la Vos Hestia non poteva accogliere tutti a bordo». In questo recupero di migranti, su invito dei trafficanti, ricompare anche il barcone con la sigla KK, che era stato restituito una settimana prima dal personale di nave Iuventa. LE ALTRE TESTIMONIANZE E SOSPETTI SULLE ONG A incastrare le Ong è riportata agli atti anche la testimonianza di un migrante sbarcato da pochi giorni in Italia. «Il 13.6.17 è stato escusso (interrogato ndr) presso l'hotspot di Mineo (in Sicilia) il cittadino nigeriano Awale Jeuray soccorso in data 10.6.2017 dalla citata Sea Watch 2 (dell'omonima Ong radicale tedesca) al largo delle coste libiche (...). L'Awale, circa la presenza di barchini in vetroresina (con i trafficanti ndr) ha fornito un rilevante spunto investigativo, laddove ha affermato che: «Quando navigavamo (sul gommone dei migranti ndr) siamo stati affiancati da una barca in vetroresina di colore bianco e nero con una persona a bordo che aveva i capelli rasta lunghi e indosso un cappello di paglia. Quell'uomo era un arabo e ha navigato per un tratto parallelamente al nostro gommone indicando con il dito la direzione da seguire per raggiungere l'imbarcazione (della Ong tedesca Sea Watch ndr) che ci avrebbe poi soccorso». L'altra Ong tedesca Jugend Rettet è sospettata pure di contatti con una possibile nave madre dei trafficanti. «Di particolare interesse investigativo è apparso quanto comunicato da Imrcc in merito all'avvicinamento della Iuventa in rotta verso Lampedusa lo scorso 4 maggio, della Shada, una nave fantasma, in passato battente bandiera boliviana, attualmente priva di bandiera dopo essere stata radiata da quello Stato - riportano gli inquirenti. Secondo quanto comunicato mentre la Iuventa «temporeggiava» rispetto alle disposizioni impartite da Imrcc di dirigersi verso Lampedusa è transitata a poche miglia di distanza dalla Shada facendo rotta verso la stessa e lasciando intendere che le due imbarcazioni fossero prossime a un rendez vous. (...) In quella circostanza una nave della Marina militare ha proceduto al controllo dela Shada sulla quale sono stati identificati cinque membri dell'equipaggio, tutti provenienti da Paesi di lingua araba (compreso un egiziano residente a Zwuara, hub di partenza dei migranti dalla Libia ndr)». LO STRANO RUOLO DEL GIORNALISTA DEL MANIFESTO IL 20 maggio si scopre che l'equipaggio di nave Iuventa, oggi sotto sequestro per immigrazione clandestina, ha chiesto a Gianluca Solla, giornalista del Manifesto a bordo «in quanto italiano, di mediare con Imrcc, cosa che lui ha fatto». Lo stesso Solla in un'intercettazione telefonica spiega, il 29 maggio, che «sulla Iuventa hanno tutti una visione da ventenni e quindi un po' rivoluzionari (...) e dice di dover essere intervenuto più volte per loro anche a Lampedusa quando la polizia stava controllando» la motonave. Poi il giornalista cita un episodio che dimostra la linea morbida, se non di sudditanza, della Guardia costiera. «Il comandante della CP (Capitaneria di porto ndr) alla fine dell'ispezione ha detto - racconta il giornalista - però magari il cartello toglietelo (Fuck Imrcc esposto sulla prua ndr), ma lo ha detto con un sorriso». Sempre Solla, che non deve averlo scritto sul Manifesto, ammette che per la Jugend Rettet «l'emergenza migranti è l'occasione di profilarsi dal punto di vista politico e per far emergere una presunta violenza come verità delle istituzioni». Il ruolo di Solla è ambiguo come dimostra la testimonianza del comandante Gianluca D'Agostino della nave della Guardia costiera Diciotti durante un recupero di migranti del 19 maggio: «Notavo inoltre che nave Iuventa aveva issato la bandiera di cortesia libica e si trovava all'interno delle acque territoriali libiche (...) in una chiacchierata con il giornalista (del Manifesto) mi veniva detto che si trattava di una situazione normale, che erano autorizzati e che la loro Ong si trovava in quelle zone da diversi anni». I TEDESCHI CANCELLANO LE PROVE DELLE COMPLICITÀ CON GLI SCAFISTI Il 15 giugno un volontario, probabilmente della Ong tedesca Sea Watch, nel porto maltese di La Valletta parla con Katrin, coordinatrice dell'equipaggio di nave Iuventa. La cimice a bordo intercetta una dichiarazione incredibile: «La donna ha precisato che loro (riferendosi i suoi collaboratori) in caso di escussioni (interrogatori ndr) da parte delle Autorità di polizia (italiana) si preparano «a tenere pulito tutto», evitando di consegnare materiale video-fotografico relativo alle fasi dei soccorsi. La stessa ha precisato che non avrebbero mai fornito le immagini relative ai soggetti che conducono le imbarcazioni dei migranti, in quanto la polizia potrebbe arrestarli». Il ragazzo, non identificato, chiede se sono a conoscenza di essere indagati. La pasionaria tedesca risponde in maniera sorprendente: «Indagati no, non più di altri. (...) Non eravamo certi per cui avevamo un centinaio di avvocati in posizione di partenza che aspettavano». 

Preso da: http://ift.tt/2wCDbrD 

http://ift.tt/2vCPMNh

[dementedfilament]

Gavin Ward

With a careful bend, Bast closed a portion of the gap between his breath and the flame, then granted it repose.

Around the circle, distorted expressions of ill were plastered to the young man. “That’s…” Alina spoke first, “Disgusting…”

“It was quite disgusting, yes,” he agreed. “But a fascinating spark of inspiration.”

“Was it…really throbbing?” A disturbed Bristol asked.

“Yes. It was fresh roadkill after all.”

“And you heard its heartbeat?” Cherry uttered, tears along her lashes.

He took a moment, pondering the depths of truth within his tale. “To some degree, at the time, I believed I could hear it, yes.”

Alina trembled. “You’re such a weirdo…”

“With a very creative mind,” Maggie said.

“I consider myself an author, Miss Kotova.” He then turned to his second commenter. “And that use of language didn’t escape me, Maggie.”

The girls avoided his gaze awkwardly.

“Now that I’ve shared my own story, would you like to tell yours?”

Gavin’s visible eye, uncertain and withdrawn, met Bast’s steely golds. “Yeah…sure.”

***

It was an ordinary day…unfortunately. So many magnificent things had happened to his closest friends, and all those popular student bloggers in the district. Just for once in his life, Gavin wished he could have an extraordinary tale he could share about his time at the school.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed open the door to the Paranormal Research Club (known colloquially as the Occult Club) room. It was his day to tidy up, and he did so sulking all the while.

However, as he moved fabrics and dusted crystals, he stumbled over a wrinkle in the carpet and dropped an arm-full of pristine cases and other occult goodies. To his horror, one he was unfamiliar with popped open. Plopping beside him was an item he didn’t believe was allowed on school grounds: a ritual knife.

He scrambled away. Why was Hestia keeping a literal knife on campus? Surely the teachers didn’t know about this…but why was she hiding it??

Wait. Ah, so was this the answer to his pleas? This was his “extraordinary” tale: reporting a hidden weapon and getting the whole club shut down?

Another sigh. If that was really the answer, then he spitefully didn’t want to be known for that actually. Plus, Hestia would hex him if he got the club shut down, and he especially didn’t want that.

Thus, he pushed himself off the ground and carefully picked up the stupid thing. “Man…” As he picked up the case, he flipped the blade in his hands, examining every little engraving, the carefully wrapped cloth, the glint across the shaped blade. “I wish I really had something interesting happen to me.”

Suddenly, he crouched, swinging the blade out towards invisible enemies. ‘Maybe if I had a cool ability…I could at least be a side-kick.’ Dramatically swinging it around as if he were on a stage, he continued his personal play. ‘I could help out on the front lines maybe—not just be useless in the background. I could stand at their sides and it’d be super cool!’

Finally, he slumped. ‘Gahh…what am I doing?’ He moved to grab the knife with his other hand, then cried out.

Blood instantly pooled out of the cut on his finger. ‘Shoot…shoot shoot shoot.’ He hurriedly sucked on the wound while placing the knife back in its case. ‘That didn’t happen. There’s no blood on it. It’s fine. I’ll just put it back and it’ll be no big deal.’

It was the next day when Gavin had accidentally slept in, and made a mad dash through the halls to avoid tarnishing his attendance record. ‘Shoot, I’m gonna be late!! Aaaagh…if only the bell wouldn’t go off, I might be able to slip in without the teacher noticing!’

To his surprise, after he slinked inside the room and collapsed into his seat, lungs heaving, there was an announcement on the intercom that the morning bell was malfunctioning, and asked for teachers to be lenient with tardy students for the day.

‘Thank you…thank you so much!!’

“I’m…definitely going to fail this test…” The boy sitting beside him groaned with a complete lack of self-confidence.

“What? I’m sure you’ll do great!”

“Nah man…I’m toast.”

He smiled brightly. “You’ll do great.”

The boy huffed with a little smirk. “If you say so.”

‘He must not have studied…or maybe he did. He struggles with his academics a lot.’

Once the papers were delivered, Gavin honed his focus on the test.

‘Easy.’

After slipping his to the teacher, he made for the door for a promised early departure. However, he paused and turned his head. ‘...Good luck, Laz. I hope you pass. You need it more than me.’

While making his way down the hall, his gaze idly drifted to the windows, observing the thick cover of clouds in the sky. ‘Ah…isn’t there a showcase for the Robotics Club today?’ He bounced between some particularly dark clouds, having already sprinkled mist upon the city. ‘They’ll have to cancel with this weather. Aw…I wanted to see Fuyuki’s work in action. I wish the weather would clear up.’

The bell ended his class, and Gavin meandered into the hall, only to be met with the awed chatter of students around him. Tuning in, that was when he noticed just how bright it was all of a sudden.

Initially frozen, he then moved to press his body against the window and gaze upon the crystal-blue sky.

The next day, Hestia had sent the group chat a text. She said Kory had fallen unconscious, and she’d have to cancel the meeting for the day since she had to take the girl to the hospital.

‘Oh no…I hope she’ll be okay…’ Gavi ruminated on this as he left for his next period. ‘Hestia was looking forward to today’s meeting too. I hope it’s just nothing, and maybe we can keep our plans. Kory’s been stressed enough…she doesn’t need this too.’

“Gavin! Bro! Hey!” Laszlo sprinted to catch up, slamming a hand on the taller boy’s shoulder.

“Wh-What is it?”

“Look!!” He shoved the paper, unusually deprived of red ink, in Gavin’s face. “I passed! I fucking passed!!”

His visible eye blinked in amazement. “...You did…”

“Yo, man…this saved my fucking grade! I can go to the big game now!”

“Congratulations!” Gavin smiled. “Good luck.”

“Thanks!” The smaller boy did a little happy dance. “Right before the weekend hit too! I’m so damn lucky!”

He was lucky, Gavin thought. And as they headed into the classroom after stopping by his locker, he was met with an unusually disappointed teacher. “Gavin…I’m surprised. Did you not study?”

“...Huh?”

“If the stresses of school are beginning to weigh on you, please visit the counselor some time. And let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

His jaw dropped.

D–

The first in his life.

“Whoa, man,” Laszlo peeked around his shoulder. “Were you asleep or something? This looks like my kinda grade.”

Yes…yes it did.

Still stunned, he allowed his friend to drag him to their seats. “By the way, did you hear about that freak storm over the other half of the state?”

A commotion rose in the lunch room as a student Gavin was unfamiliar with suddenly dropped her tray. It clattered to the ground, and with the spilled contents, her body met the ground and fell still.

Students and faculty rushed to her aid. Before a thought could form in his mind, his phone buzzed.

Turns out, Kory woke up perfectly fine, and the doctors cleared her to return for the day. Despite her worsening health, it was as though she’d never been sick at all.

And, the meeting was back on, per request of their now-healthy club member.

Slowly, his eye moved from his phone to the girl, and back to his phone.

What…the hell was happening…?

Soon after, he was met with other passive thoughts that had been answered as if prayers.

Another classmate in the Gardening Club: he had wished her dying plant well and it sprouted beautifully the day of her contest. Her rival’s impeccable bloom, on the other hand, had completely withered.

His and Laszlo’s passive complaints about the lunch menu that day were met with the cafeteria shut down due to the hazard of spoiled food, despite the fresh ingredients brought in every morning.

Gavin’s desire to put off lab work for his science class was granted a fire that tarnished the entire room and forced the student body to evacuate.

It wasn’t long until he reached his limit. The final straw was when he witnessed a student being regularly bullied. ‘That’s not right. They wouldn’t like that if it was done to them.’

News spread like the science room fire that a student had been hospitalized the next day. Apparently, some drama had exploded on social media, resulting in a mass-harassment on the group of bullies, to the point that the main culprit of the misdeeds had attempted suicide.

Gavin poked his head past the door to the “Occult Club” room. All clear. He slinked in, immediately setting to work trying to find the ritual knife again. He looked high, he looked low. Looked to, looked fro. He could not find that damn knife.

Hestia had since done some rearranging, so there was no telling where she put it, especially since she had obviously…probably, intended for it to be for her eyes only.

‘Damn it…’ He planted himself in the center of the room, and slowly rotated around, vigilant for the same shape, size, colour, and details that he remembered from before. ‘I still can’t find it…you’d think it’d pop out at me with how different it looked compared to everything else…’

The thought barely finished before a loud crash made him jump.

On the carpet lay the ritual knife, tumbled out of its box from wherever it had previously been hidden.

Hesitantly, he swiped it from the ground. “Hey…make this stop! I don’t want this!”

As one would expect, there wasn’t any sort of reply from the cold metal.

“I’m not meant for this power! Please! Take it back!”

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting by yelling at it, really.

Coming to his senses, he held up the finger he had just ceased bandaging. “...If this is all you need…please, take your power back. You’re very kind, but I can’t watch people get hurt like this anymore.”

Once the blood was drawn, he snuck the knife back to where he believed it had originally been placed.

And, sure enough, the bending of fate to his innocent musing ceased, and things returned to their usual, boring, routine.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[dementedfilament]

Alina Kotova

A grave silence captured the room. Lorelai snuffed her flame.

“And that,” Gavin spoke, “That was a true story?”

“Well…it might have just been a nightmare actually,” she replied. “Since I don’t really remember it well enough to distinguish it. I just remember the…feeling.” Pursing her lips, she brought gentle hands to her throat.

“Do dreams…count?”

They all gazed upon Cedric, who was already deep in concentration. “It is…accepted?” He opened his eyes, but retreated to his thoughts.

“So we can just make up stuff?” Alfie said, with a bit of an edge.

“Maybe it’s because it’s a dream she really had,” Cherry offered,

“Perhaps,” Hestia joined in. “You could consider my story a ‘dream’, though I do believe it was a true encounter. Perhaps Lorelai had a similar occurrence, where she was saved right at the end of her venture, but she doesn’t remember it quite as well as I remembered mine.”

“...Lorelai, I’d like to speak with you later,” Cedric said.

“Hm? Well, okay.” The girl nervously fiddled with her braids.

“Don’t worry. I just want to…confirm something about your story.”

“Alright.”

A beat. “For now, let us continue. Alina?”

She nodded. “Alright. Brace yourselves.”

***

She was beauty, she was grace, she was queen of the stage and the star of this place. The highly fashionable Alina Kotova strutted down the academy halls. It was another ordinary day in her extraordinary boarding school, and after a long day of successful academics, it was high time to retire to her dorm and put her weary head to rest before theatre auditions tomorrow.

However, upon entering her sanctuary for beauty sleep, she noticed something odd. Her roommate was sitting in the middle of the room, staring off into some spot on the wall. And behind her, or rather, from her behind, betwixt the wooden bars of the chair, was a tail!

Some foreign language left the girl’s mouth.

“...Ulrika?”

In the moment Alina processed something atop her roommate’s blue ombré hair, the girl swiftly stood from her seat without a trace of the abnormal. “Yes?”

“...What are you doing?”

“I was practicing my lines.”

“Your lines are in another language??”

“Yes. Latin. I’m auditioning for the role of a witch.”

“There’s a witch character???”

“It’s for another script. If they don’t decide to cancel it. It’s very interesting.”

The student with the perfectly-smoothed black hair thought on it, placing a manicured hand on her hip. “...What was with the tail?”

“Tail?”

“Yeah. You, like…I saw a tail coming from you a second ago. It was blackish, and, like, had a heart shape on the end.”

“Oh.” After a pause, she removed one of the hands from behind her back. “That was my whip.”

“Why do you have a whip??”

“For my audition.”

Alina shook her head in disbelief. Of course! How could she be so stupid? Of course her fabulous roommate didn’t have a tail. How ridiculous a notion! “Well…you freaked me out for a minute there.”

“Sorry. I didn’t realize you were coming back so soon.”

“Yeah, I’m beat. I wanted to take a quick nap so I can get enough rest before auditions tomorrow. Get the lights will you?”

“Sure.”

Wow, Ulrika was so quick, Alina thought to herself. So quick that she practically turned the lights off from across the room.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[dementedfilament]

Shana Lemon

“Why did you never tell me this?” Cedric asked.

“You said you weren’t familiar with the cat, so I presumed it was all a dream.”

He shook his head. “Even dreams have meaning, especially ours. I need to know about these kinds of potential encounters.”

“I apologize…”

“Well…you were still a new apprentice of mine, so you wouldn’t have known better at the time regardless.”

“That’s his way of saying ‘apology accepted’~” His girlfriend, Lilith, winked, earning a side-eye from the older witch.

“...Thank you.” Hestia bowed as deeply as she could while seated.

"What do you believe it was?"

"It felt like…a powerful curse. As if it's been in place for hundreds of years."

"...I see. I'll look into that as well, if I find the time."

She blew out her flame. “I believe it’s your turn then, Shana.”

"Okay!"

***

With her short, blue pigtail extra curly this morning, a young Shana set out for one of her usual haunts—emphasis on “haunt”.

It was no ordinary day. The small bell was blasted by the glass door, but something was…off. The air was heavy with an acidic aroma, and standing on the other end of the counter was a foreign face with a wide smile. She entered upon his greeting, and while cautiously stepping closer, she could see something toxin-colored protruding from his back.

Her mouth opened for questions, but he cut her short, demanding payment before any action could be taken. She silently dug the change, bathed in the blood, sweat, and tears from rigorous part-time servitude, from her pocket, then slowly slid it across the counter.

The man chuckled at the sight of it, adding the numbers through his eyes alone, denying the meager offering without more of her few, precious morsels of silver. With a heavy heart and empty pocket, she placed the remainder alongside her initial pile.

His accepting hand laid claim to her sacrifice, dragging it to the realm forbidden to she, but a lowly human. It was dropped into a greedy, rusted maw.

His dark hair, laying past his shoulders, swayed as he walked her down the dim lights to a roaring creature that wracked her body with emotions. At the mere sight of it, she knew—she could no longer leave this place without enduring its nebulous temper.

Coaxing it to life, the man pressed, incurring the creature to vomit forth the very acid that billowed through the air, the liquid frothing and bubbling as it filled the indestructible container before it.

In a small voice, she begged the man for mercy from his concoction. But, she was met with his laughter and an order for a greater offering.

Swallowing her saliva to spare her throat from the dry torture, she proceeded to try bartering with the man, but to no avail. He was clever, craftty, and wouldn’t accept her pitiful attempts at outwitting the capitalistic demons and their hellish reign over the conditioned masses.

She had no other option. She knew in her heart that it must be done, if she ever wanted to leave that place alive.

Her fingers deftly removed a single coin from her other pocket—the only one within it. A large morsel of pure gold—a hard won prize from her tribulations.

His narrow eyes widened at the sight of it, as Shana graced the counter with it. Satisfaction filled his face, and she sighed with relief at having appeased the acid-dealing overlord.

This offering, he pocketed with a sly smile. Retrieving her poison, he then added a thick, sweet cream to lighten its effects and spare her from torment.

It was then he asked her name. But! Weak as she was, a great cleverness still hid within her definitely super-wrinkled brain. Huffing and puffing the noxious air with confidence, she announced, “I am LemmyLoaf35, Champion of Gargarion and Devourer of Gluten-Free Snacks!”

Amused at her response, he granted her freedom from her confinement and a blessing for a pleasant day, and she swiftly took her leave before she could be captured again.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[dementedfilament]

Hestia Espinosa

“That’s…” Pippa and Nalo clung to each other, squeezing their hands tightly, “That’s so sad…”

“That story is about the book you lent me, yes?” Cedric asked.

Kory nodded.

“About a person erased so thoroughly, she cannot be found even in private records.”

“She did exist!” The orange-haired girl protested. “She was a student at our school!”

Uncertain glances were traded around the room.

Cedric raised a pacifying hand. “I believe you. However, it is difficult to locate someone who you alone have bore witness to.”

Her expression fell further.

“I haven’t given up. I will find your friend.” Eyes full of skeptical hope met his. “The worlds in which I’m in contact hold many secrets. She is surely one confined within them. And I will unveil it in due time.”

After one last prolonged gaze, her body relaxed. Beside her, Hestia and Kenny offered pats on the back.

“Shall we continue?”

Kory snuffed the candle, signaling to Cedric’s apprentice to speak. “We shall.”

***

In the dead of night, something stirred Hestia from her sleep. Pawing at her legs was a black cat—a cyclops flicking a forked tail of four.

‘Lucky.’ The name arose through the young witch’s intuition. Though, the cat merely appeared to smile at her.

“...Why are you here?”

‘Come with me.’ It leapt away, soaring through the second-story window.

Hestia sprinted to the sill, finding that Lucky had landed perfectly in the grass, and patiently awaited her to join.

After sending a text, she successfully escaped the academy. “Where are we going?”

Whether the creature didn’t respond or she was simply unable to detect it, she didn’t know.

Through the aster meadows, the thousand little flowers parted around them as they strolled into the forest. The stars of the dirt replaced those of the sky. As they traversed, Hestia brought her hands together. ‘Protect me, my Warden.’

Several silent minutes of pitch black.

Eating away at the darkness, an unnatural soft light filtered from an unfamiliar opening. Tangling roots bled into thick, thorned vines devouring the space beyond the forest. Crumbling buildings littered the area, with peaks and towers held into place by the spiraling vines. Brilliant roses dotted the sea of green in a meager attempt to liven the pestilent atmosphere.

“What…what happened to this place?”

Lucky paused, as if to allow the young witch to acclimate. She patted for her phone, but the pocket in which she had placed it was empty. The opposite pocket, her shoes, her bra, even her small buns…the device wasn’t in any feasible location on her person.

Along with that, she could no longer hear the voices of Azokhra. Those plaguing whispers she’d become accustomed to, nor the presence or voice of her Warden. Total silence filled her brain for the first time in several months.

She felt the air leave her lungs.

In only a short time, the cat continued through a safe path for them to walk. Through the wreckage, Hestia felt a weight gradually pressing on her shoulders.

A lone tower stood at the center of the devastation. Vines pouring out the single window indicated the origin of the disaster. And as they drew closer, a haunting melody could be heard streaming across the stagnant air.

Without hesitation, Lucky leapt over the vines, ignoring Hestia’s protests and leading her inside the tower up a cracked, winding staircase. “Where are you…taking me…?” she breathed, placing a hand on the cold stone for support. That terribly burdening aura now rendered her nearly incapable of movement the further she climbed.

Up the merciless steps, they were led to a large, suffocating room. The vines were delicately arranged to allow access to its amenities and furnishings. A garden of roses filled the air with a sickenly pungent smell.

That burden on her back threatened Hestia’s knees, but she forced her body to remain strong in the presence of a young woman; the source of the melody rested by the window. She was still idly singing until she noticed she had company. “Oh? A visitor?”

The woman turned, revealing her vivid red eyes and soft green skin. The dangling vines circling the room all lead back to her—to her head. She wore a gown reminiscent of a princess, green as all the thorns acting as her hair.

Hestia looked towards Lucky, only to find herself abandoned.

“What has brought you here?”

She hesitated. “Do you…need help?”

“...Help?”

“Yes. I…don’t know if I can help you myself, but I know someone who—”

“Oh…” The princess frowned. “You can’t help me?”

Hestia faltered. “No, I…I can, but I, myself, cannot—”

“They never can anyways,” she continued. “Men, women, those inbetween. All have tried, and all have failed. You are no different.”

Blurs of green seized Hestia’s body, pulling at her limbs, piercing her skin, and squeezing her throat.

“You are all food for my garden.” She slowly approached her new captive, stroking the witch’s face with her spiked hands. “You are small, but you have power. The garden will be pleased.”

Slipping around the vines, Lucky appeared and leapt onto the princess’s face. She shrieked as tiny claws thrust into her eye, ripping the organ from its socket. Redness bloomed down her face as she captured the cat and hurled it into her wall of thorns.

Hestia cried out, but the creature phased through the greenery.

“You are always…” the princess uttered through gnashing teeth, “You are always trying to hurt me!!”

Pain seared through the young witch’s body. Unable to speak in their defense, memories of her life in Guatemala and Featherfall flashed through her mind in a desperate attempt to bring her to peace.

But then, the princess’s expression twisted into that of terror.

And Hestia blacked out.

Then, she woke up in her bed. It was a bright, ordinary morning filled with school bells and chirping birds.

Beside her, a text in reply.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[dementedfilament]

Maggie's Misadventures Continue

Guess who's starting anew?!

@starlightmaggie

Maggie's storyline continues in a new era! I'm still figuring out the details of the new setting and whatnot, but eventually I'll start posting all of her plot stuff leading up to where I last left off.

I'm pretty sure this won't be a "live blog" in the regular sense of the word, and I'll just timestamp (well, really only put the date) each post so it'll make more sense why things are out of season, lol.

[nyssasorbit]

~ School Colours Day ~

[nyssasorbit]

~ Festival Hestia Process ~

[nyssasorbit]

Spirit Week 🎉

Day 1: Twins

Day 2: Pajamas

Day 3: School Colours

Day 4: Emo

Day 5: Surprise but my hand was dead so the surprise was that Zeke got sick yayyy 🎉

[nyssasorbit]

My third “main”, Hestia! She’ll be having an arc exclusively focusing on her soon :3c

[dementedfilament]

And finally we have Hestia, who is brand new and even more a side character than Zeke, so hers isn’t filled out much yet 🔮