#and like she's hiding behind her faith too saying she's being attacked for it

[wereh0gz]

Ok this post is gonna sound really fucking petty but this furry on yt got "cancelled" for saying that being gay/trans is a sin and shit like how she's not gonna use the new pronouns feature bc pronouns are assigned with your sex or whatever and she made a whole ass 11 minute video on how she's leaving the furry fandom

And I'm just sitting here trying not to laugh bc literally almost all the comments in any related posts are either agreeing with her or very respectfully disagreeing and saying they still respect her opinion and support her. And even those who I've seen say they won't support her aren't being particularly rude and are just rightfully mad calling out how insensitive she's being

Like idk maybe she's deleting any really bad comments but like from what I can tell she isn't getting harassed or anything for her homophobia and transphobia so like

Make it make sense

[tadc-ragatha]

You Abstracting in Front of Them

TW: Abstraction/death (basically)/going insane, self-blame, bullying, mental health, angst no comfort, pleading/screaming, abstraction body mutation stuff

Type: Headcanons; ambiguous.

A/N: "Circus crew react to finding the reader in the process of abstracting." Spoilers. Use of Y/N. As of posting, only the pilot episode has come out.

Caine

If you're just a human he's not close with, he just chucks you in the cellar. Never before has someone come back from abstraction, so he's just putting you down there before things get any worse and you start attacking people. This means you're still semi-aware of what's going on, which makes it so much worse and makes the abstraction quicker. He'll send you down there with you kicking and screaming and pleading if he has to.

If he is close with you, he is pretty upset. He considered the two of you friends (or more, up to you), and seeing you half-abstracted is pretty bad. You probably hid your abstracted parts of your body as best you could, but it was no use. He had almost complete control over the world and wasn't about to let a risk get loose in the digital circus. So, off to the cellar you go.

"[Y/N]'s abstracting?! Where?!"

"Well, off to the cellar you go!"

Bubble

Bubble usually hangs out with Caine when it's not being popped and sent to wherever it goes then. So, either it'd alert Caine to the situation by being there close to him or it'd just go to find him. Bubble's an AI programmed to be able to deal with abstracted people. So, no matter how much you try and plead with it to not tell him and to get someone like Ragatha to help you calm down, it'll just go an get Caine anyway.

"Uh-oh!"

"Boss, [Y/N] abstracted!"

Pomni

Pomni freaking loses it. She had just sort of adjusted to living in the digital world being the newest member, and you were her rock. You kept her sane while also sharing her need to find the exit and searching for it with her. So, when you disappeared to search around for the exit somewhere else, she didn't think much of it. She assumed that since you never showed signs of slipping like Ragatha or Kinger, you certainly wouldn't be having trouble now, right?

Little did she know--and soon was she to find out--you had left to try and calm down somewhere. Your thoughts were getting to you due to all this exit-searching, and by the time you had found somewhere private to try and cool it, it was too late. Pomni found you almost completely abstracted hiding behind a curtain.

She immediately freaked out, and while she wanted to stay with you and help you, she was also scared of ending up like Ragatha did after Kaufmo abstracted. So, she decided to go off an search for help instead. Only, when she finally found someone, she found Caine dropping you into the cellar anyway.

Pomni instantly blames herself the moment she sees you. She knows it was the exit talk that was sending you over the edge. She starts scream-crying and pleads with Caine to try and fix you. Caine, of course, knows this is out of his control--as does everyone else--and has to explain to her that you're not coming back. This only makes her worse.

"Ragatha! [Y/N]'s abstracting!"

"Oh my God, this is all my fault. Oh my f-%$@!#-ing God, this is all my fault!"

Ragatha

You had been there about as long as Ragatha had. Your arrivals were only weeks apart, and through that time you kept each other sane. Growing used to the new world beside each other, you got to share the same experiences together. But you also had to watch the other members abstract and how that affected everyone else. So, it was no surprise it took a toll on you.

Ragatha knew her own mind was slipping, but she had faith in you. You never seemed too bothered with it all. Not to say you weren't having crises either, but you made do. You even managed to stick through Kaufmo's abstraction--though it was only for a short while.

Ragatha had noticed the signs of you going downhill and had tried to talk to you about it. But you always pushed her away, insisting you were fine. But deep down, she knew what was coming, even if she tried to ignore it. So, when you did what all the others had done and didn't show up for the morning performance, her heart dropped.

She booked it to your room as fast as she could. Ringing your doorbell nearly a thousand times, she could feel herself getting more and more anxious. So focused was she on you that she didn't notice Jax walk up behind her and shove your bedroom key into the lock. Opening the door, you were found lying in your bed facing away from everyone. Ragatha walked towards you hesitantly and slowly she turned you over to find the front of your body covered in darkness and eyes.

Ragatha blames herself heavily for your abstraction. She saw the signs, and although she did what she could, she still blames herself. Maybe if she just checked up on your more--or maybe if she was just a better listener--you'd still be here. No matter what, she'll always find a way to blame herself.

"[Y/N]! [Y/N], listen to me! Please, listen to me!"

"Is everything alright? You seem really different lately."

Jax

Jax is smart. How do you think he pulls off all those complicated pranks? But he's also bad with emotions, and has trouble recognising them properly sometimes. He knew something was wrong, but he also didn't know how to talk to you about it. So, he just put it off. Never did he think it'd get this bad.

He sauntered over to your room one day when you hadn't shown up for a while. Having stolen your key long ago, he shoved it into the lock and opened the door. Only, while he expected to find you moping in your bed or at your desk, he instead found you sitting in the middle of the room drawing scribbles on paper, nearly a hundred already stacked up on the side.

Jax was properly freaked out, to say the least. He knew you were reaching some point in your downfall that was critical, but he didn't want to consider what he was seeing what that. Yet, when he called out to you, you didn't answer. So, mustering up all his courage, he walked over to look you in the eye--only to find your face gone.

He freaked the hell out. Nobody was around for him to put up a front for, so he just panicked. He doesn't know what to do. He tried to slap you out of it, but when he does his hand gets glitched. Unlucky for him, though, Caine appears to check up on you, only to find you in your current state. He immediately sends you off to the cellar while Jax can only watch.

After you're gone, he's a lot more of a jerk. Poor Gangle gets it the worst, being the easiest target. She might just abstract herself. He's also just a lot quieter, not making the usual snappy comebacks, instead choosing to just give an "mhm" and roll his eyes. He doesn't blame himself per se (because I bet he struggles with accepting the blame for anything), but he's still depressed you're gone. No more making jokes with or teasing you, or having somebody to confide in. No more of anything.

"[Y/N]! Hey! Snap out of it! HEY!"

"Yeah, whatever you say."

Kinger

Hoo boy. How do I start.

Well, Kinger knows all too well what abstraction looks like. Hell, his closest person (and possible lover) abstracted. He knows the signs better than anyone else. If anyone should be able to stop someone from abstracting, it would be him.

But you were just too good, weren't you? You were too good at hiding it. You knew what was going on, but you were better than everyone at keeping your cool on the outside. Even better than Zooble, and you had been there way longer than them! He honestly thought you were doing alright. Better than him, at least.

But he was wrong. After the morning's intro performance, you walked off without talking to anybody. You were clutching your wrist with your hand. Following you, Kinger found you curled up backstage looking down at the wrist you had covered with your hand. Where your usual skin colour was was instead an ink-black splotch. And it was quickly spreading.

Kinger freaked out, but tried to keep his cool. The last thing he wanted to do was alert Caine to the situation. He'd always been too late before, but maybe if he just tried this time he'd be able to help you. He tried talking you through your emotions, letting you vent, and distracting you with silly nonsense, but nothing worked. The abstraction was showing up on more parts of your body and spreading.

Kinger does not bother running away once you're fully abstracted. He just stands there and tries to plead with you. He's having flashbacks to his experience with Queener and all the other abstracted people he knew, and it's horrible. Once you're caught by Caine, he pleads and pleads for you to not be kept in the cellar. Even if you're kept in an impenetrable fortress made of glass above ground just so he could see and talk to you, that would be enough. But he never got it.

Once you're gone, Kinger blames himself for your "death" of sorts. He becomes genuinely extremely paranoid (because I know there are theories where he's faking it), and also very depressed. He spends most of his time in his pillow fort moping. If anything was going to drive him over the edge himself, it'd be that.

"AH!"

"Caine, please, you need to listen to me, please!"

Gangle

Gangle's a very lonely person. All throughout her time in the real world, she assumed people didn't like her and pushed them away. She was never really popular in general, either, being into "cringe" interests like anime. So, having you as a friend meant a lot to her. Never did she expect to see you abstracted.

Gangle didn't know what an abstracted person looked like before Kaufmo, so it's still pretty new to her. When she sees you take your food away from the dining table after the day's activity, she's scared to follow you. She doesn't want to intrude on your privacy after all. But after some worried words from Ragatha and Pomni, she decides to investigate.

Turning the corner to the bedroom hallway, she expects to see it empty. However, instead she sees you crouched over yourself on the ground outside your door. The food has been dropped, and your holding your head in your hands and scream-crying. Gangle sees almost all of your body is abstract black lumps covered in eyes. She runs over to try and help you, but is barely holding it together herself--or not at all. You're her best friend is this digital hellhole, and she doesn't know what to do without you.

Gangle tries to calm you down herself, but it's no use. You just keep abstracting, which sends her into a panic attack. It's likely she doesn't run when you're fully abstracted, instead too deep in her anxiety to move. So, she gets bashed about the hallway and thrown aside in favour of finding over people or things to attack. Gangle wants to run after you and stop you, but she can't get herself to move.

Gangle's very quiet about the whole situation after. She's in a state of shock. Watching you disappear into the cellar is traumatising on its own. It's like watching you get an unceremonious burial. She, of course, blames herself for it. She thinks it's her fault for not "trusting her gut" and going to look for you. There's a chance she'll abandon fixing her comedy mask once Jax breaks it next. She's just given up.

"[Y/N]! No!"

"Why did they have to go?"

Zooble

Zooble's shocked, that's for sure. They expected you out of all people to have a grip on reality. You always seemed so hopeful; no matter how many times you were tortured with trauma or bullied, you always got back up on your feet. It was exhausting work, of course, and no dainty task, so it was bound to drag you down. He just didn't expect it to be so soon.

You and Zooble had been hanging out in her room. You'd been talking about random things when the topic turned to Pomni and the exit. Zooble said they thought she should just give up, but you suddenly startled rambling about what if there was an exit and how to get out. Quickly, it turned to you having shortened, quicker breaths and rambling fast and faster. Zooble tried to calm you down with reason and logic, but it was no use. You were just snowballing downhill.

If he wasn't already freaked out and worried by this, he was when you started mutating. Your body shifted to be larger and lumpier with sharp corners. Everything was turning pitch black, and eyes were opening all over your new skin. She kept trying to calm you down, but by the time you were almost fully abstracted they knew they had to run.

Watching you get put in the cellar was hard. You were Zooble's closest friend and confidant (possibly more). It was weird without you there anymore. Zooble knows they did everything she could, but it's still difficult not to blame himself. If only you were still here; you'd know what to say.

"[Y/N]! Hey! Look at me, alright? Look at me! I need you to focus!"

"This feels...Weird."

[whorefordaemon]

Anon asked: Imagine daemon and daughter fucking and getting caught by criston cole. How would they react?

The pious holier than thou guy would lose his fucking mind!

How dare they engage in such depravity?! How dare she break her marriage vows that she made in front of the Faith of the Seven?!

He'd not be able to stop himself, just barge in the room and startle the pair.

Daemon immediately pulls out of her and she screams out, going to hide behind her father and trying to right her dress.

Daemon stands in front of his daughter, ready to protect her from this raging fool. He's still hard, his blood pumping in his veins, making him all the more violent for being unable to finish inside his daughter.

"Ser Crispin, to what do we owe this visit?" He asked nonchalantly, as if he and his daughter hadn't been committing treason just now.

The man's hands were shaking, eyes wide open as he pointed at them. He seemed to be choking on his breath trying to even say what he and his daughter engaged in almost daily.

His daughter, precious little girl, came to stand beside him. Her eyes wide and yet she smirked, looking so much like him then. "Ser Criston, I didn't realize I was making so much noise. Did I disturb your slumber?" She asked him, her tone one of mockery.

Daemon laughed, loud and sharp before looking at his daughter. "Oh! Well then, off you go. We'll be quieter in the future. Promise?" His arms snaked around his daughter's waist, pulling her to himself.

His tunic was still open and his breeches still unlaced. The soft silk shift she had on did nothing to hide his hardness from her back.

She instinctively leaned back into him, soft moans escaping her as she felt his throbbing cock so close to her cunt. She wanted him so bad!

"You two! Have you no shame?! You..You are married! With children! Father have mercy on my soul! What have I witnessed?!" His incoherent babbling was getting on Daemon's nerves.

"Yes you saw us fucking. You saw my cock sheathed inside her warm cunt. Yes we Targaryens have queer customs. There, I said it for you." Daemon snapped, his hard on was getting painful and being unable to satiate himself on his daughter was making him angry.

"Now, I shouldn't have to explain why literally no one will believe you and you'd only end up getting your sad little head put upon a spike for even daring to accuse me or my daughter." Daemon told the trembling knight who he could tell was burning with rage. "So just calm down and go the way you came."

"You think I'll just sit back and let this.. this depravity continue?!" His eyes were wild and Daemon wondered if he was going to pass out.

"And what do you suppose you can do?" His daughter asked, pouting as she held his hand and slowly rubbed herself on him. "I'm not going to stop. My blood is too hot and only my Kepa can help me. You can watch if you want." She bit her lip to hide her smirk at the last words.

Daemon's grip on her waist tightened and he pulled her even closer, their bodies grinding together. He groaned. "Yes, perhaps he could watch. Ser Crispin?" He looked over at the knight who had gone stiff.

He let out short puffs of breath as he tried to contain his horror. This kind of sin will not go unpunished! He won't let it! He wouldn't let such sinners continue to live and plague the world!

His hand was reaching for his sword as Daemon began to reach for Darksister left by the side of the bed, pushing his daughter behind him again.

His eyes no longer danced with amusement but cold, ruthless anger. Did this cunt from no where think he could draw blade upon his daughter?

"The last time we fought, you attacked me from the back. I never repeat my mistakes." Daemon warned but before things could get worse, his daughter stepped closer to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to herself.

"No! You will not waste your blood on this mongrel! You were here to please me and that's what we'll do now." She sounded so much like a stubborn toddler sometimes.

She then turned to the knight. "And you! Begone! Any more of your continued presence and I'll scream. I call the guards and nobles and shout about how you tried to force yourself onto me." Her eyes were cold, so much like his. No shame. Nor remorse could be found.

"Ah! How dare some lowly peasant think he'd get away with touching royalty? A dragon no less?" Daemon smirked, knowing it was about Rhaenyra as well as his daughter.

"Away with you, now!" Daemon moved, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him out of his daughter's quarters.

Crispin fell on the floor, his white cloak dirtied and eyes burning with fury. But at this moment, without his precious Queen to save him, he was helpless.

He glared. Using his eyes to convey his hatred for the vile, depraved man. For his spoiled cunt of a daughter.

Daemon barely even looked at him as he went back into his daughters chambers, shutting the door behind him. On Criston's face.

Soon, soft moans and groans were heard from inside the chambers.

They hadn't even waited to make sure he left. They didn't even attempt to be quiet!

[goodboyaudios]

Just to feed my brain worms on this- by any chance have you thought of an AU where Zed actually JOINS Makkaro? If so, what would happen? Would he still have tiny feelings towards the Guardian?

Hmm...an AU where Zed joins Makkaro...let me think...the goals of each character don't exactly line up. Zed wants the Guardian to be freed, Makkaro wants to take over the world for his idea of love. Doesn't quite work, so we'll go the route of sneaky covert ops!

Okay, here's what I've thought up (using my canon names so don't get confused):

Let's say Gienne trusts Zed enough to be willing to tell him her secret. That she's the wife of Makkaro and only wants to put things back to the way they were. Just she and him living happily together.

Zed agrees to help, but at this stage, they've probably also got Mirrin with them considering Gienne would need time to get used to them.

Gienne would probably blackmail Mirrin into helping considering he doesn't want anyone finding out he's in Scimitaria looking for the Guardian as it might stir conflict between the Sultans and the remaining Jarls of Fusfeimyol. And if they here the princess of Manas City was involved that brings in a large portion of Manasia too.

So Mirrin agrees if it means they have a plan to get in with Makkaro.

Gienne's plan is to go back to Makkaro after being "saved" by Zed, who will also bring him news that the Jarl of Senthine is in the Scourge Lands as well.

Makkaro takes this pretty well and decides to admit Zed under his wing s an apprentice of evil, but he's not fully trusting of him and decides to block off access to high profile information to add better internal security until Zed can be trusted. This includes Raze.

As Makkaro continues plotting, making the vampires, suffering from Guardian Blood poisoning, Zed and Gienne are recording any and all information and sending it back to Mirrin, who has teamed up with the Sultan of Hilts on the front lines attacking the Tower of Ordos.

Mirrin is then using that information to get an upper hand and actually helps the Sultan defeat the undead and capture Ordos AND the Demonomicon, but the fight between Mirrin and Mahann still happens, with both parties living as Mahann escapes.

Upon hearing of the loss, Makkaro's pain expands tenfold from pure stress and paranoia. He calls in a full retreat to his castle and declares that the only way this could've happened is if they have a spy in their midst.

He interrogates each of the vampires, including Mahann who says that perhaps it might be his new young apprentice who has been behind the scenes this whole time. Or maybe even his wife.

The mere mention of Gienne being a traitor causes Makkaro to snap and permanently scar the vampire's body. He then keeps him locked up without any food, water, or blood until Makkaro is satisfied.

However, Mahann's words still echo in his head. Makkaro confronts Zed about why he wants to join and what he's wanting to achieve.

Zed simply says that he believes in Makkaro's ideals and tries to make it sound like Makkaro is actually doing a good thing by uniting everyone under one mindset.

Makkaro is taken aback by how nonviolent Zed's take is on his conquest. Believing there isn't a bad bone in his body, Makkaro decides to grant a request for Zed as a reward for being so faithful. Zed asks to see Raze, because he's always wantd to meet such a powerfully divine figure.

Makkaro agrees on the condition that he not approach her. Zed agrees and is taken to Raze. Zed has to hide his horror and worry at the sight of Raze, but Makkaro also remarks that he's never seen her in such a disgusted state.

Just then, Makkaro feels Shee Khan awaken as the castle is being attacked! Makkaro and Zed leave, but not before Zed gives a hopeful glance to the Raze as if to say, "I'm coming back for you".

The attack is an air raid led by the Sultan of Hilts and on the backs of sandrakes. Shee Khan is batting the attackers out of the sky wit it's tail and nothing is getting passed or hitting the castle.

Gienne is furious with Mirrin who went ahead and told the Sultan where Makkaro was. It wasn't part of the arrangement and Makkaro could be captured, but from what Mirrin has gathered, Makkaro is beyond any saving.

Zed rushes in and tells Gienne where Raze is and that maybe she might know how to save Makkaro. Zed has to stick with Makkaro so it's up to Gienne to get Raze out.

Gienne finds Raze, but before she finds a way to break the lock, she begs the Guardian to save her husband. She knows that she has no right to beg for such things after what she has allowed to have happen to Raze, but all the same, she just wants peace.

Raze, reluctantly, agrees. Upon releasing Raze, she uses her magic to search for Makkaro's location, uses magic to teleport over to him and takes away his necromancy. The catalyst is gone. Zed sees her and falls to the floor in shock.

As Shee Khan falls, Raze then teleports outside as Taurus bursts through the castle and joins up with Raze. Together, they cast a spell simply called, "know divinity". A spell that would let them all know that the Guardian is here to declare an immediate ceasefire.

Raze looks around. She sees all the people desperately looking at her for answers on what they should do. All she can think of is the times where she never could get through to anyone. Why would now be any different? She tells all of them to begone and never speak of what has happened here.

Once they do, Raze is alone, floating above the castle, thinking of what to do, now that she's free. Eventually, Zed calls her from down below.

She descends and Zed gives her a big hug and starts crying. Raze, taken aback, had been thinking that Zed might've betrayed her, but seeing this has made her confused and shaken.

Zed explains that this was all to get her free and that he had no choice, to which Makkaro will overhear what had transpired and immediately turn on Gienne for tricking him so horribly.

Gienne protests that she had no choice. That it was the only way to see the man she loved again. Makkaro, still grieving the loss of his entire army and the remains of his best friend, collapses from a mix of raging emotion and newly nullified power.

Gienne rushes to her husband, but not before Zed says one last goodbye as Raze teleports away with Zed in tow.

What happens then...might spoil MotH 20 so I'll leave it alone, but it would pretty much end the same way, funny enough. On a side note, I definitely think Zed would put some underhanded magic in the creation of the Vampires. Perhaps a dormant explosive enchantment to kill them should the need arise.

(wow this ended up being long lol)

[logically-asexual]

i wasn’t going to post this outline because i had faith when i started it that i would quickly be able to finish it and write it into a proper fic to post. but after several weeks of being stuck i am beginning to lose hope so i’m sharing it here as it is:

set at some point during season 3

mayura and hawkmoth were on the streets following a lead on the guardian’s house, but nathalie was feeling so sick she involuntarily detransformed and they couldn’t keep going.

Hawkmoth brings her to hide in an alley to check on her. she says she was fine, just tired, but hawkmoth refuses to leave her. then nathalie suggests he transforms back so they can walk home together. he agrees but before he can do anything

they are caught by Ladybug and Cat Noir. Hawkmoth pushes nathalie to the side and faces the heroes.

Ladybug and Cat Noir ask what he’s up to. he says it’s none of their business. Nathalie tries to think quickly of a lie to cover them: she steps forward and says “kids, don’t worry. he wants me to give him a book mr agreste owns that apparently has information about the miraculous. i already told him i’d get it for him and no one had to get hurt.”

“you should listen to the secretary” hawkmoth holds her by her arm/shoulder “you can leave now and no one gets hurt.”

“we cant let you get away with it” ladybug says as they pull out their weapons. cat noir says “let go of her now!”

it’s clear from his voice but also hawkmoth can feel that cat noir is very nervous. he wonders if the boy has some personal issues that make him so worked up about seeing the woman in danger. and concludes that he should use it to his advantage.

hawkmoth teases if he has a personal connection to this woman, then grabs nathalie closer, pressing the cane against her neck and tells them that he changed his mind. give him the miraculous so nathalie doesn’t get hurt.

nathalie doubts for a moment if she should worry about her safety, since hawkmoth can be reckless and unpredictable. panic in her face is visible for the heroes and strong enough for hawkmoth to feel, and he relaxes the press on her throat slightly.

hawkmoth also threatens that he will kill her if they call their powers

at first ladybug is trying to think of a plan but hawkmoth is counting down or pressuring them in some way and cat noir is extremely stressed and neither of those things is allowing her to concentrate. she pretends to give up like she usually does when she’s in a tight spot like this, while she analyses their surroundings to come up with something.

but this time cat noir can’t take it and jumps into action. he is extremely quick so maybe even if hawkmoth did want to hurt nathalie he wouldn’t have had time to react before cat noir kicked his weapon away. however if he didn’t care about her he probably wouldn’t have instinctively moved to shield her after losing the cane.

in the chaos ladybug calls the luck charm. she tries to start a plan that involves it but it’s hard when cat noir is being so reckless.

cat noir is super angry. he yells at hawkmoth and jumps around him trying to find an angle to attack but it’s impossible with him holding nathalie so close. hawkmoth plays along with banter which only makes cat noir angrier.

cat noir jumps behind hawkmoth, who turns around fast, which leaves them in a position where nathalie is behind him and cat noir finally has an opening. he goes to cataclysm the butterfly miraculous, but nathalie gets in the way and he hits her right on the center of her chest.

they’re all shocked like why the fuck did she do that!!!!!!

she falls to the floor as her skin begins turning into ash.

hawkmoth and cat noir lean beside her. cat noir is openly panicking and hawkmoth is too but he has a small part of his brain still trying to hold back from saying something that reveals his identity.

cat noir turns to ladybug and screams at her to fix it. for half a second she hesitates because she had come up with a plan to finally defeat hawkmoth, but cat noir says NOW!! and she immediately throws the lucky charm in the air and the swarm of ladybugs surround them.

the ladybugs leave and they all look to find nathalie now healed from the cataclysm. she is physically fine but still dizzy, tired, and trembling. a beat goes by when everyone is relieved, but then ladybug looks at hawkmoth, ready to finish this.

he notices this and acts quickly. he akumatizes nathalie, using mostly the fear she’s feeling. she turns into a knight and protects him as they run away.

cat noir and ladybug try to make sense of the situation. if he akumatized nathalie then it means she wasn’t akumatized when she protected him. maybe its some kind of stockholm syndrome case??

and here is where i get stuck.

i want conversations to happen between nathalie and adrien and between nathalie and gabriel after this, but i don’t know in what order or how to make them happen.

in adrien’s case i want him to first be suspicious about what happened and while he talks to nathalie and she tries to defend herself he figures out somehow that she was helping hawkmoth. not necessarily that hawkmoth is his father or that nathalie is mayura but the way nathalie speaks about hawkmoth makes it clear to him that she’s on his side. and he feels betrayed and snaps at her and nathalie can’t lie to him and she knows he’s right to be angry so she does nothing to stop him when he leaves.

and with gabriel i have zero idea. i want him to first yell at her, he tells her off for putting their identities at risk of being found, but what he is really angry about is for scaring him so much. but he doesn’t tell her that. he’s still in shock about almost losing her and of course his way of “dealing” with it is with rage.

and this outburst only makes nathalie upset because he doesn’t care about her, he only cares about keeping his secret. not that she does what she does for his approval, she does it because she loves him. but it still hurts.

and then i don’t know where i would want the conversation to go from there. maybe gabriel and nathalie have this fight first, then he leaves her room and in comes adrien for what i described above, and then later, after having time to think nathalie and gabriel speak again.

he finally confesses how scared he was for her but also how grateful he is for everything she does. and it’s very beautiful and there’s almost a love confession there. almost.

no idea what to do about adrien though. i just. like this idea of him being angry at nathalie for helping hawkmoth but they just can’t talk about it because nathalie doesn’t want to confess anymore than what he already figured out and she’s got nothing to defend herself. don’t know how to fix that.

that’s all i got. maybe at some point later i’ll figure out a way to make this into a coherent story. for now have this.

[altocat]

Anon, sorry but you don’t get to say DM-ing is scary or Alto is the one who is acting like she’s never wrong. She means what she says and you have literally no right to accuse her of not giving you a chance to explain your side or some shit, because YOU are the one hiding to begin with and being nasty over an interaction where she was allegedly rude to you. Something that I am 99% sure you probably misinterpreted, because as Alto’s rather faithful witness, I have not seen her be rude or abrasive to anyone even once. She’s only been rightfully combative against hate mail on a few occasions. Even mostly just having fun with it. Like anyone would be.

There is literally no excuse on your end. Alto has every fucking right to consider that you’re a troll, making shit up, VERY likely the one that sent other anons that were worse, and that you could be lying. You have given no reason for her to assume anything positive or innocent about you. None. That’s what happens when you decide to start insulting and personally attacking people behind anon instead of DM-ing them over your hurt feelings FIRST.

Tough shit, but now you gotta face the music or face silence. Alto also has every right to ignore you from this point on until you decide to talk to her straight up. Now’s your chance to make things right. So do it.

(Sorry Alto, but I think you deserve real support here. This anon is being hella unfair and needs to hear it from an outsider’s perspective too. Hope ya don’t mind 🖤).

❤️❤️❤️❤️Thanks, Crow.

I don't need to add anything. Ball's in your court, bro. Until then, see ya.

[dumbbitchenergy17]

Mimic Chapter 41

The first time heroes lost and time to recuperate was not going to be given. The world had lost faith in heroes.

Words- 1570

Izuku Midoriya x Reader

Warnings: Angst, slight violence, blood, hospitals, (TW: PTSD), MHA WAR ARC SPOILERS

“Is it safe to wake her up…? I mean she is his sister we don’t know..” A voice muffles as you floated in darkness coolness covers you like a sheet.

“That’s not our decision if the patient is in a stable condition you can’t force her to stay comatose.” Another voice speaks up and light touches grace over parts of your body and you continue to let the darkness consume you.

“Now begin pushing .02 mg of Zolpidem.” The voice returns again and trembling hands grace over your wrist before a liquid flood your body. It trails up your wrist through your heart spreading throughout your body before reaching your brain.

TENKO

Your eyes shoot open ripping a scream from the one nurse as they jump back and the other one comes closer to you.

“Ms. Shimura…can you hear us you’re safe.” A feminine voice speaks above you shining a light in your eyes and you groan swiping your hand out and she jumps back. Forcing yourself up your body screams in pain as you look around, seeing the male nurse pressed against a corner and the other holding her hands out to you.

“Just calm down Ms. Shimura…you’re in no condition to be up and moving.”

A ringing fills your head and you slam your hand against your head to stop the ringing. Flashes past through your vision of the battle. Hands grab your wrist to stop yourself and you swing your other hand out pushing her back.

“don’t….touch me!” Your voice is raw and you stumble out of the bed hitting the floor and shaking slightly your wrist bleeding from the IV being removed. Pushing yourself to your feet you stagger hitting the wall your ears ringing the lights too bright.

Shimura~

You swing your arm out in the direction of the voice letting out a screech. Like a rabid animal, you act savagely to the area around you and the two people in the room cower back. Falling through the door in the hall you hit the wall on the other side trying to catch your footing,

SHIMURA

His voice rings in your head shadows reaching out from the corners grabbing at your clothes and ripping through and carving up your skin. Stumbling forward dodging an attack to get caught in another, pool trails behind you. The thundering booms follow behind you.

SHIMURA!

Hitting another door you fall forward hitting the floor with a smack your hands barely catching you as your body cries out in pain. Snapping your head up your gaze meets multiple people in the room, nurses and doctors stand frozen in the middle of their duties. People dressed in regular clothes, men and women, and children all look at you as you stare back at them.

“SHE’S HERE!!”

Chaos rushes as screams fill the hall people shoving and trampling one another trying to escape somewhere. Your hands slam against your ears trying to dull the ringing. Scrambling to your feet a body crashes into you and you slam into someone grabbing them to stop yourself from falling. You make eye contact with a woman and she screams shoving you away from her and you crash into a desk your back seizes. A hand grasps your throat and you let out a shriek as you’re thrown against a wall. Their fingers tighten around your neck as you claw at their face looking up and seeing him standing in front of you. His skin was covered in injuries and scuffs from the battle his white hair was a shade of grey from the rubble. Your father’s hand covers his face but behind it, his scarred face hides behind it.

Shimura~

“SHIMURA!”

You gasp for air pulling your hands back and pressing yourself further against the wall a different man stands in front of you. He stares at you in surprise his face has a few scratches on it but it is currently hardened. Kirishima….

“Get everyone out of here!” He says his voice firm but his eyes are still focused on you, you look over seeing who were still left standing behind people you knew…Iida...Uraraka…Kaminari...Mina. They all look at you surprised almost scared to be near you. Fighting within his grasp he holds onto your shirt tight.

“L-et me go!” Your voice cracks shaking within his grasp and your hands shove against him and he stumbles back and you hit the ground your head on your knees clutching your hair by the roots.

“Y/n…” Kirishima’s voice is light as he crouches down in front of you his hand reaching out but you flinch back your fingers digging tighter into your head flashes of the fight fill your vision the screams and the smell clear in your senses.

“Hand over One For All, Izuku Midoriya.”

“YOU WILL BE MINE….LITTLE BROTHER.”

Shigaraki slams Gran Torino into the ground a crater forming and blood flies into the air.

“SENSEIII!” A scream rips through your throat as the bullet hits Eraser’s crimpled leg just as fast as it hits him his leg is a stump of the limb on the floor.

Looking at yourself you look in horror as your arm barely hangs onto your shoulder and the gash running across your chest is similar to Shigaraki.

“A connection runs deeper than you think Y/n! You will feel the pain I feel!” 

“KACCHAN!”

“Never let that hatred die. Tomura.”

“LET HER GO…ALL FOR ONE!!”

“Very well…I will be taking something for me though.” He says and his hand slams against your face red smoke flooding from your face into the hole in his palm.

“Y/NN!”

Your scream fills the air as you thrash in his grasp feeling every ounce of your body be stripped from you.

Rivets dig straight into your chest and stomach as you stare at him in horror.

“Y/N!” A voice has your head snapping up to look to see Kirishima looking at you, tears streaming down your face, your fingers bloody from clawing at Kirishima shakes taking over your body erratically, blood slides down your forehead mixing with your tears. Those red eyes look at the boy in fear.

“Shimura.” A new voice speaks out and you flinch shoving yourself further against the wall and seeing the new people joining you. Hawks and Best Jeanist stand further away looking at the scene before them. A sharp pain rushes through your arm looking down you see a needle being pulled from your arm. Looking up at Kirishima as he tosses the needle aside as a wave of dizziness floods you. Sluggishly shoving him aside you try moving away from him but your legs give out and you are grabbed by the boy as he catches you.

“why…why would…” Your words slur as more doctors crowd around you and you fail at getting them away from you dark spots filling your vision.

“I’m sorry…”

Then everything stops.

“Ms. Shimura…” A voice calls out and you shuffle trying to ignore the voice…the light through your closed eyes irritates you, “Ms. Shimura…” Slowly your eyes open your vision blurry before it clears and there is a woman sitting in a chair across from your bed her voice echoing in your head. You let out a groan trying to move your hand to cover your face but nothing happens, letting out a noise of confusion you look down at your hand that lies limp on the bed.

“It’s just a sedative to keep your calm Ms. Shimura…we need to make sure you’re stable mentally before we can lighten the dose.” She explains and you frown after a second of staring at her, “I know this might be a bit confusing but you were involved in an incident and you’re in the hospital. You’re safe…” A knock fills the room and the door opens a man walks in dressed in a suit his hair yellow like straw two long strands falling in front of his face.

“All Might..” She says and a slight grin forms on your face hearing that name. He was that hero..he was super strong. A silent giggle causes the two adults to look over at you as your eyes almost glazed over giggling at his presence, “The sedative usually relaxes the patient sometimes in a loopy sense but it’s good that she isn’t acting agitated.” She says and a dopey smile crosses your face as the two adults look at you almost in pity.

“Young Shimura…I’m…so sorry. I wasn’t there for you.” He steps forward kneeling down in front of you his hand heavily pushes your hair back stroking your skin and your smile at the feeling.

“why….you didn’t..do anything,” You mumble blinking slowly, “you’re number one.” He frowns looking away and a stray tear slides down his face he quickly wipes it away turning back to you.

“I’m going to be there for you…I promise you.” He says leaning down and pressing a kiss onto your forehead and a drop of water hits your face.

“izuku…i..i want izuku.” You mumble and he stiffens above you pulling away and you frown in confusion. His face held many words he wanted to say but knew they would destroy you, especially in such a fragile state you are right now.

You may have lost everything nothing hurt more than finding out from him…

Izuku Midoriya was gone.

A/N: AHHH THIS CONCLUDES THE 1ST ARC/HALF OF MIMIC!! I'm so grateful for everyone who enjoyed this story and has either been here since the beginning or has just joined! I want to take a short break from this story to try to give the anime some time to release more episodes so I wouldn't be giving out manga spoilers but after a bit, I will return to this story. DO NOT WORRY! I have literally 10 chapters already written! I'm not leaving though! I will be posting chapters of Fallen Angel and a new story I hope you all like called the Hellish Todoroki Family! Thank you for all the love and support and I can't wait to continue this amazing story!

TAG LIST-

@jazzylove @coochiehaitachi @me-e-mo @galaneiaeris @nothingtoseehere-01 @endlessmari @twitterpat @one-hell-of-a-potato29 @stxrrielle

[berenwrites]

Beyond the Battle - Chapter 44 - Stranger Things - Steddie

Beyond the Battle­: Action & Consequence

Click here for All Posted Chapters

Summary: Steve hits things with a bat or gets hit depending on who you ask. He definitely does not have anything to do with the psychic stuff. That is El’s domain. However, as Vecna is defeated, the rules change.

Pairing: steddie (Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson)

Other Relationships: Steve & Robin, Steve & Dustin, Eddie & Dustin

Rating: Teen

A/N: Multi-chapter story, updated regularly. Honestly not sure how many chapters it will have yet because it's still a bit hand wavy in the middle, but definitely more than 12. Thank you to my beta for find my mistakes and to all those who read/like/reblog.💖 Follow #st:beyond-the-battle for updates.

Also on AO3

Chapter 44. Panic Over?

How he got through breakfast Steve would never know, especially after Robin appeared and kept giving him looks. Clearly, he was not doing as well as he thought, but it wasn’t like he could just ditch when there were guests in the house.

However, the moment breakfast was done, Steve hightailed it to his room with Robin and Eddie close behind. He sat on the bed, doing his best not to overthink himself into a hole.

“Okay, what am I missing?” Robin asked the moment his door was closed.

“I think my mom suspects about me and Eddie,” Steve blurted out as Eddie came and sat next to him.

“Holy crap,” Robin said, sitting down on his other side. “Are you okay? What did she say? Are you sure?”

“Steve, tell me if I’m reading this wrong, but I think she was trying to be supportive,” Eddie added.

Steve nodded.

“Well, that’s good,” Robin said, “that’s great … um … isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he replied, sounding kind of unsure.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want his mum knowing and being okay with it, it was just all the doubts crowding in the back of his head that were doing a number on him. What if they were wrong? What if his mom had just been talking and didn’t have a clue about him and Eddie? Too many what ifs.

“I think,” he added.

Robin took his hand.

“Tell me everything,” she said.

“Turns out I have lesbian aunts,” he said, because it was the first thing that leapt into his head.

Robin’s eyes went big and round and for a moment she looked like she might be having a heart attack.

“Well not actual aunts, but I’ve always called them Aunt Marie and Auntie Annie,” he explained. “God I am so stupid. I never … not even after you came out to me … it never occurred to me.”

“Stevie,” Eddie said, since Robin still seemed to be processing, “when we grow up believing something, we don’t always question it. Your mom literally said, they pretend to just be friends to a lot of people. When did you last see them?”

“About six years ago, I think,” he replied. “They came to visit. They stayed in separate rooms.”

“Yeah, well this is Indiana,” Robin said. “Safest for them, safest for you.”

“I hate they thought they had to hide it from me,” he said quietly, “and they were probably right.”

“No, stop right there,” Robin told him firmly. “I came out to you, and you were nothing but sweet.”

“Yeah, but that was after the Upside Down and Russians, that was after King Steve,” he pointed out.

“And that didn’t all just give you a personality transplant,” Robin insisted. “Maybe it made you think and reassess a few things, but you didn’t just become a different person. It would probably have shocked your socks off, but you wouldn’t have done anything bad.”

Her faith in him was gratifying, but he wasn’t sure he completely believed her. He might not have done anything deliberately, but he’d been a stupid kid. Getting drunk and blurting it all out to Tommy and Carol being one distinct possibility.

“She’s right,” Eddie said from his other side. “You were a bit of a dick at times, but you were never outright mean. If you had been an asshole like Billy Hargrove, I never could have fallen for you.”

“So, back to the point, you have lesbian kind-of-aunts and you mom brought them up at breakfast?” Robin asked.

Steve nodded and began to explain the whole backstory of breakups and girlfriends and falling in love, with Eddie adding in the odd comment.

“Yeah,” Robin said when he finally finished, “must agree with Eddie, I think that was your mom letting you know she’ll be there for you if there’s something you need to tell her. The whole ‘shining example of how love is always right’ part was about as subtle as a brick through a window.”

“So, what do I do?” he asked, because his thoughts were all over the place.

“What do you want to do?” Robin asked.

“I don’t know,” he said, a little bit louder than he had intended to.

“Do you want to talk to her?” Eddie suggested gently, rubbing the back of his hand.

“Yes,” he replied immediately, “but no. God why am I so scared?”

“Because this is scary,” Robin replied. “You have no idea how many times I have played over possible scenarios of coming out to my parents in my head. Most of them are trainwrecks because it’s a really, really scary thing.”

“The scariest,” Eddie agreed. “When I came out to Wayne, I had a bag packed and was ready to make a run for it.”

“What happened?” Robin asked, just before Steve blurted out something similar.

“He hugged me and told me he didn’t care who I loved as long as I was happy,” Eddie explained. “Then he sat me down and gave me the most embarrassing sex talk, I nearly died. I had no idea Wayne knew anything about gay sex, but I guess I must have been giving off some signals, because he had pamphlets.”

“Oh my god,” Robin said with a smile. “I love your uncle more the more I hear about him.”

“My mother better not have pamphlets,” was what came out of Steve’s mouth.

“She’d probably get your dad to do that part,” Robin commented.

“Oh god no, that would be worse,” Steve said, shaking his head. “Mom had to do the whole birds and the bees talk because when Dad tried, he was so awkward about it.”

“Think we might be a bit beyond the safe sex talk anyway,” Eddie commented.

Robin’s gaze flicked between them.

“So have you two..?” she asked.

“I wish,” Steve said, before his brain caught up with his mouth.

His face heated up quickly.

“What Steve is so eloquently trying to say, is no, we haven’t gone all the way yet, but we’ve done more than kissing,” Eddie revealed, “and if you want more details, you can ask Steve when I am not in hearing range.”

At least Eddie’s cheeks were flaming as well.

“So, back to my mom,” Steve said before the conversation could get any more awkward.

“You should talk to her,” Robin said confidently, “but you don’t have to do it right now. If you need time, you can take it.”

“I think this morning might have been your mom’s way to give you an opening,” Eddie added. “That’s probably why she didn’t just come out and say it directly. She doesn’t want to push you.”

“What about you?” Steve asked, looking his boyfriend in the eye.

“Well, I’m kind of terrified your mom might give me a shovel talk to end all shovel talks, because your mom is scary as hell, but I can cope with that,” Eddie replied, leaning into him for a moment. “This is about you, not me. So, whatever you need is okay by me.”

Steve took a deep breath and squeezed Eddie’s hand.

He had never thought about coming out to his mom or his dad, it just wasn’t something he had considered, given how long he had known he had anything to come out about. Maybe in the back of his mind there had been a vague idea, but it had been an amorphous thing. He’d more thought about revealing him and Eddie to the party than to his parents. The last few days had been such a whirlwind on top of weeks of upheaval that it was all a bit much.

“I’ll talk to her,” he decided as he let himself process it all, “but maybe not today.”

“If you need backup,” Eddie said, “I’m always here.”

“Me too,” Robin agreed.

“When you do decide, let me know and I’ll talk to Wayne too,” Eddie added. “He’s far too observant for his own good so probably has us pegged already, but it couldn’t hurt to have another adult who can vouch for the fact I’m not a serial killer.”

“My mom already thinks your adorable,” Steve replied.

He gave them both a smile, dropping their hands and pulling them both into a three-way hug. This was something he was pretty sure he had to do by himself, but he was grateful for their supports.

~*~

When they had come back downstairs after Steve’s freakout, his mom had been perfectly normal, entertaining Robin’s parents and even inviting them to stay for lunch so they could all watch the press conference together. It was due at one pm.

Steve spent the morning with Eddie and Robin, going through their packets of cover story information and discussing it between them. Owens had provided them with an outline, enough to answer questions if anyone threw some at them, but Eddie was a consummate storyteller. As they talked it through, he came up with details they could use to sell it more, which in turn inspired Robin and Steve to come up with their own too. It helped solidify the story in Steve’s head as they fleshed their interactions out a little.

Eddie suggested they get all the kids together to do the same thing at some point, and he could only agree.

He helped his mom put together a light lunch around midday and he was perched on the arm of one of the couches next to Robin with Eddie beside her and Wayne in the last seat, while his mom and Robin’s parents took up the other couch and his dad had an armchair. They had the TV on, on the local news station, but had it turned down for now.

Steve wasn’t sure why he was nervous, but from the way Robin was gripping his hand, he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one. He wished he could have been holding Eddie’s hand as well, but Wayne seemed to be doing a good job of that.

The cover story was thorough, clever, and covered all the bases. It made them all out to be heroes, which made Steve feel a little uncomfortable, but he understood why. This was to protect them from shady government types by making everyone remember them. He didn’t feel like a hero though. He never had. He’d done what he had to do and that was just the way he saw it.

In his opinion, heroes were people who chose to be soldiers or firefighters or doctors, he’d just been thrown into it every time.

“Here it comes,” Robin said, pointing at the screen.

Steve’s dad turned up the volume.

“And now we go live to Hawkins and our reporter Denise Wellman,” the anchor was saying.

“Thanks, John,” a woman with a microphone, standing in front of the ruins of the town hall said. “Hawkins has been the site of some very strange and tragic happenings since the end of March, but we have been led to believe that these are linked to other incidents which have plagued the town. We are just waiting for law enforcement representatives to begin the press conference.”

Denise went on for a little longer, going over the recent earthquake, the murders and more as she filled in while activity started on the platform behind her. Steve tuned most of it out, just watching as familiar faces appeared on the small stage that had been built for the purpose. Hopper was wearing a suit, which just looked bizarre to Steve.

“Hop scrubs up well,” Eddie commented.

The reporter lowered her microphone as the camera panned away from her and focused on the group of people on the stage. Hopper was in the front, with Owens just behind his left shoulder and Chief Powell behind his right.

“Good afternoon,” Hopper began as silence fell. “Thank you all for coming today. My name is Jim Hopper and many of you will know me as the ex-chief of Hawkins’ police. I’ve been officially dead since the summer of last year, but I will get to that later. I stand here today as a representative of the government and of our town. I know everyone has questions, but I will take them at the end as I have a prepared statement and I thank you for your patience.”

He looked round at his audience with a grave expression on his face.

“Our town had been under a shadow for several years,” Hopper went on. “The first incident which alerted us to this was the disappearance of Will Byers, but unfortunately it goes back further than that. Until now, we were unable to reveal the truth because of an ongoing investigation, but that is now complete. Hawkins had been at the centre of a very dangerous international drug ring.”

A murmur went round the gathered crowd at that.

“A new and incredibly dangerous drug came to the notice of the federal government four years ago, one no one had ever seen before,” Hopper went on. “It was known only as Vecna on the underground scene, and it could be deadly with only one use. No one could figure out where it was coming from. What no one realised at the time was the fact the group behind it were highly organised, from countries all around the world, and had government contacts in those countries.”

“There were no clues until the disappearance of Will Byers. He was the first victim in Hawkins. We believe he saw something he was not supposed to, was exposed to the drug, and left for dead. That he was found by his family and friends and survived is a miracle. Unfortunately, he could not recall what he had seen.”

“Barbara Holland was not so lucky.”

Hopper paused to give the reporters and towns people time to digest that. Steve closed his eyes for a second as that night flashed behind his eyes. He still couldn’t shake the guilt. Robin rubbed his hand.

“Hawkins Lab was being used by its head scientist Dr Martin Brenner and a few select members of his team to manufacture Vecna type 1. Every disaster this town has seen since has been caused by the same source,” Hopper continued. “The accident at the lab which caused its closure and the hallucinations among people in town, the Starcourt mall fire, the murders of our children, and the earthquake.”

“Each of these was the drug cartel attempting to take over our town. They caused the accident at the lab and a chemical leak to drive the government presence out of Hawkins. They built Starcourt mall with the help of Mayor Kline, burning it down to cover their tracks when they were discovered. And their secret, illegal mine under our town, and their testing of their drug on our kids caused everything this year. It has been terrible, but it could have been so much worse.”

“I was recruited by the DEA in 1985 to help them figure out if there were still any cartel agents in town by playing at being a cop who would look the other way for enough cash,” Hopper explained. “And when the mall was torched, I had a chance to go deeper into the cartel. I’ve been undercover since. However, and I cannot stress this enough, we owe our town not to government law enforcement, but to a group of kids and young adults. They are why this town is not a battle ground, and the incident in Lock Nora a few days ago was the cartel’s attempt at revenge.”

The noise from the crowd became much louder and Hopper had to hold up his hand to quiet it down.

“I know that sounds fantastic,” Hopper told everyone, “but it’s the truth. After Will Byers’ brush with death, his friends, his family and those closely associated with them became hypervigilant. These kids don’t let anything get past them. It wasn’t the DEA or the FBI who figured out Starcourt was a front, it was these kids. It wasn’t the government who discovered the illegal mine under the town, it was these kids. Without them, the damage to our town would have been far worse. It was their quick thinking, their heroism which prevented a far bigger explosion that would have turned most of this town to ash.”

“Who are these kids?” someone called out.

“I’ll get to that,” Hopper promised. “First there are a few things you must understand. Hawkins was targeted originally because there is a rare mineral under our feet the cartel needed to produce their new designer drug. The earthquake was their mine going up in flames and the heat opening fissures to the surface. The fissures closed once the fire finally burned out. There was also an underground storage facility of other chemicals which had they burned would have caused an explosion that would have taken out the whole town.”

“The three murders this spring were the cartel testing out Vecna 3.0,” Hopper went on. “They targeted innocent high school kids by doctoring ordinary prescription medication. The drug causes catastrophic seizures and contortions when ingested at too high a dose and can cause psychosis at lower levels.”

“So there was no serial killer?” someone asked.

“No,” Hopper replied. “These innocent victims were targeted by faceless scientists with no conscience.”

“What about Eddie Munson?” another bright spark piped up.

Steve’s heart beat harder at that, even though he already knew what was coming.

“Okay, let’s talk about Eddie. Eddie is the opposite to the lies and slander that have been spread about him,” Hopper said in a tone that begged someone to argue with him so he could punch their lights out. “Everyone in Hawkins knows Eddie used to sell weed. More than a few of you have bought from him. What you don’t know is when he heard whispers about a new dangerous drug making its way into Hawkins, he came to me, way before I was recruited by the DEA. He even deliberately failed to graduate the second time so he could keep an eye on what was going on at Hawkins High. He was also my only contact with the outside while I was undercover.”

“No one is ever going to believe that,” Eddie muttered, the first person to do more than breathe as they watched.

“If I didn’t know the truth, I’d believe it,” Robin said quietly.

“Eddie nearly died trying to get the word out about the mine when he found out about it,” Hopper went on.

“Where were you?” someone asked.

“Chicago,” Hopper replied. “We didn’t know why Hawkins was a focus until we knew about the mine. It’s the puzzle piece that made the picture make sense. After Starcourt we thought the cartel were only mildly interested in Hawkins anymore. Eddie would have died if it wasn’t for his friends, who also happen to be friends of Will Byers. The kids I am talking about are Robin Buckley, Will and Jonathan Byers, Gareth Emerson, Argyle Franco, Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, my daughter, Jane Hopper, Jeff Newton, Max Mayfield, Lucas and Erica Sinclair, Frank Thomas, and Mike and Nancy Wheeler. Some of them have been involved since the beginning, some only more recently, but they have all saved this town.”

“When Eddie went to ground and was taken captive by the cartel, these kids went looking for him,” Hopper told the enrapt crowd. “Just like when they heard coded messages at Starcourt mall they went looking too. They found Eddie, got him out and together they all prevented the explosives in the chemical storage facility from going up. Without them this whole area would be a crater. There was also information in the facility which allowed the DEA and other organisations to finally close in on the puppet masters in the cartel. We owe so many lives, local and international, to a bunch of very brave kids, and several of them wear the scars to prove it.”

Steve’s hand went to his neck without his conscious consent. Hopper made it sound like a badge of honour.

“There are more details in the press packs,” Hopper said as he wound up his explanation. “Now I will take questions.”

A barrage of sound came from the reporters and members of the public in the crowd and Steve’s dad turned down the volume.

“Who knew Hopper could be more dramatic than me,” Eddie commented.

 “Maybe he’s a closet thespian,” Robin said in kind.

“Closet what?” Steve asked.

“Actor,” Eddie said without the remotest hesitation.

“Well, he’s definitely got my vote,” he replied. “I would have believed every word he said.”

He couldn’t help noticing that all their parental figures were looking at them a little bit strangely. Possibly their coping mechanisms were showing.

End of Chapter 44

Chapter 45

[carewyncromwell]

“We blow in like a hurricane -- We kill all the good, And we hurt one another -- hurt one another... Don’t take this life for granted -- We need second chances, as hard as it is... (Come on, people, now!) Why can’t we all just get along? Do we wanna be here ten years later, Singing the same sad song? It don’t have to take our last breath To admit that we're wrong... Why can't we all just get along?”

~“Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?” by Jacob Whitesides

x~x~x~x

Hey guys! I drew this today while being considered for Jury Duty...honestly, I’m really happy with how it turned out, especially since it’s been such a long while since I’ve drawn Charlie and Ben in their canon!

But yeah -- this is based off a scene in Year 6: Chapter 13 of the game where, after Charlie confronts MC about the Wizard in White being after them, Ben hexes Charlie and MC has to intervene. In Carewyn’s canon, however, things get a bit more heated. 

The main spark behind the argument wasn’t just Carewyn keeping the Wizard in White’s pursuit from her friends, but also her pulling away from them and sneaking out of school for reasons unknown. For Charlie, who was so badly affected by Rakepick betraying his trust that he now has trouble trusting any authority figures, the fact that this person who he saw as a surrogate twin sister hiding so much from him hurt him deeply, and in the heat of anger, he said something he ended up deeply regretting later --

 “More of this, then? More lies? Even after we know about that assassin now -- even though we know you’ve been meeting Jacob in secret and stopping into the Hog’s Head to meet Mundungus Fletcher and sneaking out of school to skulk around Knockturn Alley, you’re still going to act like everything’s fine? Treat us like we’re stupid -- not trust us with the truth, while expecting that we’ll just blindly place our faith in you, no questions asked? You and Rakepick are two of a kind!”

It was this that prompted Ben to swoop in seemingly out of nowhere and hex Charlie with Langlock. Unable to verbalize any spells in retaliation or even snap at Ben to mind his own damn business this is a fight between siblings, bugger off!!, Charlie made a furious move toward his dormmate, landing a punch right in Ben’s face. Soon the two Gryffindor boys were in a full-on tussle, and Mama Bear Carewyn had to jump between them and push them apart just to get them to stop. Once she’d used the proper countercurse on Charlie, the two landed a couple more verbal smacks on each other.

“What the hell is wrong with you!? I was talking to Carey -- ”

“Attacking her, more like.”

“Me being angry with Carey does not mean I was attacking her! You, on the other hand -- ”

“I did what I had to, to protect Carewyn. Something you should maybe think about doing, rather than saying stupid things -- ”

Carewyn finally had to shut down the fight by urging Ben to leave. Ben finally (rather resentfully) stepped away, but he didn’t leave the Courtyard, staying off to the side and keeping a beady eye on Charlie as Carewyn turned back to her surrogate “twin.”

“Charlie...I’m not asking you to trust me...I know how hard that is, and after what happened with Rakepick...I couldn’t ask that of you, I wouldn’t. But just...please, don’t worry. The Aurors are handling things...there’s nothing you have to worry about -- ”

“So you’re still not going to tell me the truth?”

“...Charlie...” 

Too steamed to come up with a proper response, Charlie strode past Carewyn and left. Ben glared at Charlie as he went. He waited for Carewyn to walk back toward the entrance hall so he could walk beside her, but instead, the Slytherin Prefect turned her back on Ben and left in the opposite direction, out toward the grounds. 

She needed to clear her head...and, more importantly, compose herself, before she let anyone see her again. 

[inukag-archive]

Favorite story where for some reason Kagome become demon/hanyou?

You got it, anon! Here’s a list of stories where Kagome either starts off as or becomes demon/hanyou. Happy reading!

The Little Human by Silken Ink (M)

She is willing to break all the rules, leave everything behind, even give up her own voice...and maybe her very soul... for the freedom to be herself, to see beyond the walls of her tiny world, and to choose to stand by the side of the one she loves. Will Kagome find love and life, or will she fail and be consumed?

--

Metamorphosis by King Baka (E)

"Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction." An unusual youkai attack transforms Kagome's very being. Can she come to terms with her new self, and can Inuyasha accept, perhaps even love, the new Kagome?

--

Holding Out for a Hero by @lavendertwilight89 (E)

Inuyasha has always lived alone until the new lord of the Western Lands banished all kinds of beings onto his lands. Now he is tasked with rescuing a princess from a dragon for the lord can marry her. But what happens when they fall in love along with way?

--

Two Sides of the Same Moon by SailorChibi (T)

After participating in a ritual to save Inuyasha's life, newly hanyou Kagome awakens to find herself trapped on her side of the well. But the story isn't over... it's just continuing in a different way in a new time with the same players as before.

--

Through Another’s Eyes by @that-one-nerdy-gal (T)

All a witch wanted was some peace and quite, but apparently that's too much to ask for these days. Especially when a specific silver haired young hanyou and his strangely dressed companion start a screaming match. This witch is about to teach this "so-obviously-in-love-but-won't-admit-it" couple a lesson in actually listening to each other!

--

Shattered and Remade by Gypsyn (M)

Naraku's new demon wields the power to attack the soul directly. His target? Kagome. The attack leaves her barely alive and her soul shattered. Now the only way to save her is if Inuyasha agrees to share a bit of his soul and healing ability with her. But the spell is more binding than anyone anticipated and shows him more of his miko than he ever thought he'd see.

--

The B Word by TheMondayChild (E)

Two half-demons during mating season. What will happen? I think we all know.

--

For Him by Silken Ink (M)

Learn archery, become a priestess, learn patience in the face of unrequited love, fight a crazy zombie ex-girlfriend, get beaten up by flying monkeys, turn into a demon …. there was nothing Kagome wouldn't do …. for him. This is a re-imagining and rearranging of the original plot line, with more romance and a few new elements thrown in for funzies.

--

Turnabout is Fair Play by Ookami-chan (M)

A hazy night and a mysterious tattoo somehow turn out to be the perfect way to balance the odds.

--

Miko Malice by Emilyblood (M)

Trying to escape tension with his family, Inuyasha finds himself gambling at a seedy tavern. When he wins more than he bargained for, our hanyou is forced to befriend a young nekohanyou slave named Kagome who is more than she appears to be.

--

The Captain and the Hanyo by @goshinote (T)

In a world in which youkai have been forced into hiding after the Great War, Captain Higurashi is known as one of the cruelest youkai-hunting pirates. After Captain Higurashi kidnaps Inuyasha, a prized hanyo, a plan is set in motion. Inuyasha will find out Captain Higurashi is nothing like the stories say, and he will discover that nothing is truly as it seems...

--

In the Beholder’s Eye by Sarga (T)

Naraku is dead, the jewel is whole. A wish takes place leaving Kagome in a lifealtering situation. How will everyone react? AN: Story includes all main characters. No explicit content.

--

A Monk’s Curse, A Cat’s Cure by @mrfeenysmustache (T)

Inuyasha is a humble monk learning to devote his life to faith and the service of others, until his fellow monks turn on him for daring to befriend a yokai. Woken up after being sealed away for 500 years, he’s out of time and out of place, until a sweet, friendly Hanyo with an even sweeter family give him a new place to belong.

--

Aftereffects by osuwariboy (T)

The last battle with Naraku has been fought and the jewel is finally complete. With Miroku and Sango down for the count, can Inuyasha and Kagome prevent the jewel from falling into the hands of evil once again?

--

Evolution Charm by BonaFideGarbage (M)

When Inuyasha meets a female half-demon named Kagome, his viewpoint on the world is suddenly changed, but is there more to this half-demon that even she doesn't know about? SlightAU, Inu/Kag, lemon, foul language, etc... You've been warned!

--

Kagome a Hanyou? by Clouds of the Sky (T)

Kikyo has discovered Kagome's secret. In a attempt to turn Inuyasha against Kagome she brings that secret to light. What does Inuyasha think of Kagome now that he found out she lied to him? What do their friends think?

[moongurl95]

Chapter 5 – Defense Against the Dark Arts Class

“You should have seen how she outwitted Natsai in their final round, Ominis. She was bloody brilliant!”

“Yes well, I already heard how ‘bloody brilliant’ she can be if she got exempted from our assignments on her first day.” Sebastian heard his friend grumpily mumble, “Wouldn’t be too surprised if she’ll turn out like most of the insufferable know-it-alls from her House…”

“You heard how she still had additional assignments to keep up with from Professor Ronen—” Sebastian surprised even himself as he went to defend the girl they’d just left behind at Charms, only doubling back to sound nonchalant as he continued, “—I think it’s in her favor to be an 'insufferable know-it-all', as you so kindly put it, if it'll help her catch up on the four years she's missed.”

“And the next thing you know, she's charmed your trousers off just to get her into the Restricted Section to play catch up with her. As if one of you isn't enough already...” Ominis was trying to hide his annoyance as he continued to mutter, “...it troubles me that I can't even get a read on her...”

Before Sebastian could be embarrassed with the first half of what his friend was mumbling on about, the real reason why Ominis was suddenly being snippy became glaringly clear to him, “Wait— you tried Legilimency on her back in Charms???” His question came out as a harsh whisper, all because Sebastian was aware of the mind-aching side effects that would plague both parties if Ominis delved in too deep. He had once been on the willing end of the Legilimens after all.

“I only tried tapping on her a bit just to check if she was the least bit aware of your sorry existence but—” Ominis huffed, adjusting his hold on his glowing wand as his furrowed brows relaxed to express his irk, “—the only thoughts I had the misfortune of hearing came from the disgustingly pubescent mind of a certain Lion cub. To say I'm pleased you weren't one of them, deepens my faith in you, old friend.” Oh, what Sebastian won't give to wipe any sarcastic trace off Ominis' face.

“The least you can do is give me an ounce of respect by not dumping me with that slobbering fool, Prewett! I'm quite keen on maintaining my sense of decency by just appreciating a new face from afar, like a brilliant work of art. Evident with how radiant our new classmate seemed this morning both inside and outside of class.” Sebastian just had to lay it on a bit thick to get a rise out of Ominis.

“Brilliant and radiant. Both blindingly beautiful adjectives to describe a person, Sebastian. I can tell.”

Sebastian frowned, not the least bit pleased with being one-upped by Ominis' smug reply.

“Oi, Sallow!” The two friends were interrupted from their lighthearted banter when a voice called out to Sebastian the moment they'd stepped foot inside the D.A.D.A. classroom. “Care to take our rematch out by duelling instead?” Leander Prewett asked loudly from across the room.

He felt Ominis give a quick pat on his shoulder, wondering off to the side as he quietly said something about placing bets. True enough, Clopton was already going around managing the small lot of Sickles and a couple of Galleons he'd spotted in the mix. He grinned inwardly at that, he's got to make sure to get a part of those winnings.

“Scared, Sallow?” His gaze now focused on the annoying Gryffindor across the room, Sebastian pulled out his wand as he smirked back, “You wish.” Before he let out a swift Stupefy.

The red-headed boy barely managed to cast a quick Protego, fumbling with his own Stupefy to counter, which Sebastian himself easily deflected as he cast back two rounds in offense. This only made Prewett scuttle back as he parried before he half-hazardly casted three rounds in self-defense.

“Is that all you've got?” Sebastian taunted as he effortlessly parried the other boy's attacks. If there was one thing Leander Prewett needed to learn in the heat of duelling, it was never to let one's ego take over-- all that basic casting to let out his frustration? Definitely a waste if none hit its intended target. Now if only the boy listened in whenever Sebastian used to recommend techniques during Crossed Wands to their members, it'll definitely help the stubborn red-head to stop being so narrow-minded.

Wanting to end their mini duel with a bombastic finale, Sebastian pointed his last spell just past the boy’s pretentious quiff, only wanting to jostle the other into falling back on his rump. What he didn't account for however, was Leander to deflect the spell at an upward angle, making the dragon skull above him wobble dangerously before it fell off from the rest of its attachment.

Sebastian's heart caught in his throat just as he was to cast a follow up Control spell when someone beat him to it, “Levioso!”

“Professor Hecat!” Someone from the class called out, a wave of both unease and relief spreading out among the class as their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher steadily descended the stairs from her classroom's office, magically holding up her prized “Hebridean Black” skull as she made a lesson out of it.

Just about managing to calm his beating heart from the rush of adrenaline that came with that duel with Prewett, Sebastian stilled as he then noticed the silent presence of their new classmate. Beatrice stood a little ways beside him, her mouth slightly agape with awe as her eyes seemed to sparkle with unbridled fascination at the levitated dragon skull.

Had he really meant to describe her being radiant, only as a joke? Sebastian felt his mouth go dry then as he now took note that Beatrice's eyes were actually a bright pair of emerald greens, it also didn't help that the morning sunlight reflecting off their classroom's windows casted an earthy brown sheen over her wavy locks that seemed to tickle the smooth expanse of her neck...

“Levioso? A levitation charm?” It was a begrudgingly good thing that Prewett's arrogant questioning broke Sebastian out of his blatant staring just in time to watch their Professor give the redhead a taste of his own medicine.

“A surprised opponent is a weak opponent. Care to defend yourself, master Prewett? No?”

What’d he say? Ego and arrogance wouldn’t help anyone in the heat of a battle. Sebastian thought smugly, not fighting the knowing smirk he had on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, inwardly laughing at the Gryffindor’s levitated condition. It was then he sneaked a quick glance at the girl beside him, briefly locking eyes with her as she now smiled openly at him, clearly amused.

Sebastian stood straighter at that, he guessed it wasn’t so bad to show off during their first day of class.

“Now, let’s practise what we’ve just learned— starting with something small.”

The class took to their respective desks as Professor Hecat left them each a feather on top. Sebastian knew that this short refresher was more for their new classmate’s sake— Levioso was an easy enough spell taught to them as first years, as long as one didn’t explode a couple of feathers in the process. He’d wager she’d get it on her first try if her adept use of Accio was anything to go by.

And true enough, their lesson moved faster from there as Professor Hecat insisted on “trying something a little larger”. As their desks were pushed to the sides, Sebastian caught quick whispers on another round of bets being initiated in the event there was a next duel in class, he’d spotted Clopton long enough to friendly acknowledge him, knowing he had a commission in the earlier winnings made under his name.

Focusing back on how Beatrice handled herself against a training dummy, he frowned at how she seemed to have a slack hold on her wand— it was a weapon as much as it was a part of themselves being wizards and witches— unless of course she held a second-hand one, then he understood why she didn’t seem to share a form of bond with it.

He drew closer just as Beatrice finished the training dummy off as Professor Hecat instructed, only finding himself roped in as their teacher continued, “The best way to practise is by duelling. We’ll start with you two.”

That made him freeze where he stood, meeting Beatrice’s curious gaze as she turned to look at whom their Professor was referring to, her eyes widening in familiarity. Sebastian felt himself relax with a smile, nodding in acknowledgment towards Professor Hecat as she instructed them to take their proper places, “Time for a proper Hogwarts welcome.” He said, still smiling, but chuckled as the girl now gazed at him warily.

“Now, I want a fair duel using only Levioso, Basic Cast, and Protego.”

Sebastian waited for Beatrice to find her footing on the suddenly raised platform, all too aware that another round of bets was definitely happening on either side of them. He decided then to take it easy on their first round, it’ll definitely look bad if he started out rough with her on the onset.

“You may begin.”

“This should be easy.” Sebastian voiced aloud before he casted a quick Protego, expecting the new student to do the same out of instinct from watching him. What he didn’t expect though was for her to use that time to cast a Levioso on him instead.

“Good form.” He had the time to compliment from his levitated position, watching as Beatrice smiled prettily up at him, “I know.” Before she mercilessly casted at him with three consecutive rounds that ended with him flat on his back on top of the duelling platform.

“Levioso!” He shouted over the delighted cheers and gasps of surprise coming from their classmates as he quickly sat up, only for Beatrice to cast Protego at a perfect timing that consecutively hit him with a Stupefy just as he’d found his footing.

“Your Protego, complicates things…” He stumbled back, trying to shake off the after-effects of both his fall and now her recent spell. “Lucky.” He just about raised his arm to cast back at her, when she beat him to the punch again, “Nothing lucky about it.”

“A perfectly executed Levioso.”

At Professor Hecat’s evidently pleased tone, Sebastian just had to remark as he floated near his downfall, “This can’t be your first duel.” Beatrice only afforded him a sweet smile, “Let’s just say I’m a quick learner.” Before the single cast she’d hit him with blasted Sebastian off the platform and over a pile of books that couched his fall.

The books’ scattered pages floated down on him like confetti amidst his classmates’ obnoxious cheers— not at the new fifth-year's victory, no, but at being given proof that Sebastian Sallow wasn’t undefeatable after all. Those were quickly the thoughts that drifted pass his mind as he blinked away his daze, looking up to find Ominis supposedly peering down at where he lay, the glowing tip of his wand beaming an indication to his current position.

He held a hand out for Sebastian to reach, an unreadable expression upon his face as he deadpanned, “Have you lost your confidence, Sebastian? Because I’m not able to see it from up here.”

“Oh shut your arse, Ominis.” Sebastian huffed out almost petulantly, pulling himself up with Ominis’ help.

“Might I remind you that it was your arse that was shut down just now?”

Having enough of Ominis’ glib humor, he gave his friend a quick pat on the shoulder as he went to intercept the new fifth-year who’d just walked away from the duelling platform, all the while patting away at the remnants of paper that could have stuck to his robes, “Not bad for a beginner. You give as good as you get.” He chuckled good-naturedly, seemingly giving Beatrice a cursory once-over, before he walked pass her.

He hoped he wasn’t blushing, because Sebastian Sallow would never live it up if his classmates voiced out that he’d lost to a pretty face.

Class was dismissed early after that, much to his classmates' delight. Sebastian waited by the room’s entryway as he watched Professor Hecat call the new student over, probably for more additional assignments— he couldn’t fault Beatrice if she wanted to do well in class, really, she did have a lot to catch-up on. Still, to say a bit of his pride hadn’t been bruised after that unexpected defeat, well…

Crossing his arms as he leaned back against the wall, he closed his eyes in contemplation as he pictured the beaming smile Beatrice flashed his way whilst he’d complimented her, green eyes sparkling with mirth… Guess he didn’t really mind silently tending to his own ego, every now and then. He rather liked the idea of being the reason behind her brilliant smile.

Now to say he fancied the new fifth-year? He remembered how Anne voiced her concerns through her letters when he started getting into detention months after she’d stopped attending Hogwarts— said she was doing all that she could to keep their uncle from getting wind of his troublesome ways, and that he should find a form of distraction more suited for his age. So maybe this was it, a form of magical intervention his twin managed to conjure his way— a fanciful distraction.

That didn’t mean he’d stop finding a cure for Anne though, it just meant he’d take a step back and assess the situation that many had claimed they’d exhausted all possible solutions to. It meant he needed to look at the bigger picture with a new set of eyes— ones that didn’t look at him in silent pity or outright judgement— rather a pair that sparkled with insatiable curiosity and openly looked back at him with no hidden agenda.

“Sebastian? Who are you still waiting around for?” Said boy was jostled out of his thoughts, finding Ominis standing by the classroom’s entryway beside him.

“I was actually waiting for—”

“Sallow!” Sebastian’s answer was interrupted by Clopton quietly trying to get his attention as the Ravenclaw surreptitiously handed him his winning commission, though he frowned as he thought it was more, quickly catching onto the glinting Galleons peaking past the pouch in Larson’s hands.

“Sorry Sallow, that other half belongs to Beatrice. The lot of us couldn’t help but bet on the new student who survived a dragon attack, after all.” Clopton supplied helpfully, which only made Sebastian’s frown deepen as he watched Larson comfortably lean over to whisper something to Beatrice as he handed over her winnings. That boy was getting too close to her for his liking.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Clopton.”

The jiggle of coins that came from Ominis made Sebastian’s furrowed brows raise upwards, finding himself gaping at his friend, “Ominis! You didn’t—”

“All’s fair in love and war, old friend.”

“Beatrice! Care for a tour around the castle?” Clopton had called over their new Housemate before Sebastian could give his friend a piece of his mind.

“Professor Weasley’s actually expecting to see me after my morning classes were done—”

“—and Professor Hecat also instructed for Sallow to show Beatrice the best place for duel practise.” Larson grumbled out, which only made Sebastian perk up, his focus glancing over the girl before he steadily met eyes with the blond Ravenclaw who was looking at him warily.

“Oh well, another time then. Try not to get lost on your way around, Beatrice. See yah!” Clopton shrugged good-naturedly, waving Larson over who had turned back to Beatrice to give her a reassuring smile before following his Housemate out.

Sebastian silently watched the Ravenclaw go, only then just noticing Ominis was still there as he suddenly spoke, “Sebastian. Try not to make a fool out of yourself.”

Before he could make a comeback, the boy had already strode out the room, the beaming indicator from his friend’s wand seemingly casting him in a confident light. This left Sebastian to glance back at the girl in front of him, clearing his throat as he said, “Nice work.”

He took notice how Beatrice kept a steady, unreadable gaze on Ominis as his friend left the room before her eyes focused on him, now warm and friendly, “I enjoyed that.”

“That duel was quite something. Everyone'll be talking about it.” And knowing how fast news travel in this magical school, he probably wouldn't hear the end of it...

“It was certainly good practice.”

“Practice?” Sebastian almost guffawed, “It felt more like I was duelling an expert.” And he meant it too as he remembered her stances during their duel, he didn't exactly just get distracted by her face-- “I don't think I've properly introduced myself yet, Sebastian Sallow, by the way. It was certainly a pleasure duelling with you.” He reached out a hand for a proper greeting.

“Beatrice Hayes. I don't think I've ever met anyone who finds pleasure in defeat as you have.” She shook his hand firmly, surprising him with her cheekiness, though Sebastian rather preferred it on her. “Sallow, then?” She then asked how to refer him by.

“Just Sebastian please, as long as I get to have the privilege to call you Beatrice.” He turned up his charm, thumb grazing over her palm before he let go of her hand, “Didn't expect a new student to be so deft with a wand... Then again, perhaps this wasn't your first duel?” He phrased it more as a question, seeing if she'd just shrug it off to sheer, dumb luck but... one didn't get those sorts of callouses she had from just two months of handling a wand. He would know better.

“I've duelled enough. Consider yourself lucky I held back.” Her otherwise haughty words spoken in such a deceptively sweet tone made Sebastian wryly exclaim, “Ha! Fair enough. You owe me an honest duel when you aren't.”

Now that just tickled Sebastian's curiosity for the new girl more, there had to be a reason why Professor Hecat was keen on introducing Beatrice to Crossed Wands. “Now about this 'best place for duel practise'...” Sebastian slowly started as he led the way outside their classroom, heading to a set of stairs that led up the D.A.D.A. Tower, “...I might know of someplace that's a perfect fit-- a certain exclusive, unsanctioned duelling organisation.”

“And yet I'd wager Professor Hecat is all too aware of your 'exclusive, unsanctioned duelling club'? He really did try to make it sound mysterious in order to wet the girl's curiosity, but Beatrice only raised  an eyebrow towards him in amusement, “Count me in.”

“Excellent. Knew I was right about you.” Sebastian grinned as he pushed open the double doors in front of them, not expecting the soft gasp that came from Beatrice as they started to cross the suspension bridge heading to Gryffindor Tower. At first he thought maybe she was uncomfortable crossing these sort of bridges-- he'd encountered some younger years who were-- but when he turned to look at her, she had just stopped to take in her surroundings, staring at the Owlery in the distance with the same solemn look of wonder he had seen of her from last night's Feast.

“You know, there's a lot more beautiful sights to see outside the castle.” He softly spoke beside her, eyes trained on her face.

“I know.” She smiled almost ruefully, turning to meet his gaze, “But being in Hogwarts is a beautiful adventure in itself, isn't it?”

He returned her smile with a mischievous one of his own, “Speaking of adventure, if you want to get the most out of your time at Hogwarts, you're going to need to break the rules now and then. Whether it's joining a 'secret' duelling club or sneaking into the Restricted Section of the Library-- you just have to be clever enough not to get caught.”

As they now walked through the South Wing of the castle, Sebastian watched the pensive look on Beatrice's face as she mulled over his words, almost regretting that maybe he had said too much about him being nothing but trouble—

“I'll keep that in mind.” She finally smiled, the glint in her eye saying much about her captured interest, “Thank you, Sebastian.” He'd managed to tamp down that giddy feeling that might indicate her interest in him as well.

“Speaking of 'secret' duelling clubs, where exactly are we headed?” Sebastian heard her ask, only looking away momentarily as he steered Beatrice pass Peeves' current tormenting of a Hufflepuff student, when he was surprised to see the girl now had a hardbound book in her hand and what appeared to be a map. Where had that come from??

“The— uh, Clock Tower...” His reply came out unsure as he tried to make sense of what Beatrice was actually looking at, and no sooner had she repeated their destination and tapped on the map did something golden pop out, he squinted to confirm what exactly it was he was seeing, “Merlin's beard...”

A short laugh from Beatrice in reply, “I can never get used to your forms of expressions...” As she waved the book she held in her hand in front of him, “This is called a Wizard's Field Guide. Professor Weasley gave it to me this morning, said it would 'help keep track of my learning' in a way.” Beatrice air quoted.

“So other than helping 'track' your way around the castle, how exactly will you be learning from it?”

“Hmm? Oh, this looks like a perfect example to show you!” Sebastian definitely didn't mind when Beatrice firmly held onto his forearm, quickly missing the warmth of her hand as she let go when they stopped in front one of Hogwarts many statues standing about— he honestly never paid much attention to them. So, imagine his surprised when a piece of parchment magically appeared in front of Beatrice at her mere cast of Revelio, the paper swiftly disappearing into the hardbound she was carrying. And just when Sebastian thought this girl wasn't surprising enough.

next chapter ⤜⤏

[iuaraes]

      The moon is a loyal companion. It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human. Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections. The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.

      (  @raisedcold  )'𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 ━ ❛ you know you can always talk to me. ❜ / from misumi !

      In theory she knew that, of course she knew she could talk to Misumi and yet, the voice inside her head that resembled her fallen cousin chastised her for being presumptuous ━ for thinking herself important enough to reach out in moments of need. That voice would blend in with her father’s and remind her of how she was unworthy of her title, unworthy of her place in the shinobi world. Even after all they had been through, the war and all that came with it, Hinata still felt like a scared little girl ━ now more than ever as she watched her teammates go their own ways. She was proud of them, so happy for each and every single one of them and yet she couldn’t help but to feel…left behind. 

      ❛  I—  ❜ she paused, biting her lip nervously as she thought of what to say. She was embarrassed by her self-deprecating thoughts, but she had been like that since Neji’s death. Knowing deep in her heart it should have been her and not him. ❛  Thank you, Misumi-san. You can always talk to me as well.  ❜ The Hyuuga heiress stated, softly just as she said most things, voice as gentle as the middle of the night breeze. 

      ❛  It has been quite a while since we’ve seen each other, how have you been?  ❜ Hinata tried to hide her desolation behind formalities, mindless pleasantries and a gentle smile. It would not be fair for her to make Misumi suffer through her dark and despairing thoughts. ❛  I hope your duties with the village haven’t been too harsh on you.  ❜

[cloudenthusiast2]

To be a human - Scaramouche x reader - Part 5

You knew committing to a relationship with Scaramouche would be no easy task but you loved him dearly and unlike others, you believed he wasn't evil. But as a mortal and the devoted protector of your village you were too much of a good person, too much of a human compared to him and your differences slowly start to show.

Previous: Part 4

Length: not too long:)

Trigger warnings: blood, fighting

You slowly opened your eyes.

The clouds that were orange and pink not so long ago now had turned dark along with the sky.

You've just realised how long you have been sitting on the cliff.

The chilly weather suddenly felt genuinely cold and a shiver ran down your spine. You wore light clothes not suited for a night in Liuye's mountains.

'I should start heading back' you thought. But you didn't move.

A few days have passed since Scaramouche left but it still felt like the wound he caused was wide open. You avoided every interaction with others and luckily they were considerate enough to let you be. No one gave you requests or tasks, they dealt with their problems themselves so you could be alone for a while.

A little guilt stung your chest. You said you would always protect them yet you were selfish enough to only think about yourself for days.

On the other hand, you also felt a little burnout. You still loved the village as much as you used to - maybe even more, now that it was the only thing left that you cared about - but you didn't want to go back to your previous way of living. Even though Scaramouche wasn't a part of your daily routine, everything felt so empty without him. Just thinking about him made you smile any time and you could always look forward to his visits. And when he was actually there, he made everything feel shiny and wonderful.

He sure was the grumpiest man but that just made his soft moment worth even more. How delighted you felt when he laughed at your stupid jokes or gave you a smile that wasn't teasing or (too) smug. When he first held your hand you couldn't stop grinning for days.

You let out a quiet chuckle as you remembered your beautiful memories together. For a few seconds the grief was gone with your smile but when it finally faded away the sorrow became even sharper in your heart.

But it actually wasn't that painful any more. It still hurt really deeply but now you could at least think of the benefits of the new situation.

Something that you always hated about being with Scara was that the village lived in a low-key but constant fear. They were all afraid of the fatui. And for a good reason, as you realised after their last visit.

Now you could at least keep them more safe. They didn't have to be afraid of your lover and his power any more.

You stared at the dark sky one last time then shook your head. You stood up, getting ready to head back to the village but your mind was still invaded by thoughts of Scara.

The rocks under your shoes jingled as you took a step forward.

Another step, another sound of them tinkling together.

Another step and a scream.

You flinched and immediately glanced at the rocks. But they weren't the ones making the desperate sound.

You stared in front of you, your mind numb and empty without any thoughts.

Another scream. Human voices strengthening and getting louder and louder in the distance.

You looked up slowly, turning your gaze to where the village was. It was pitch black. Until red dots started lighting up.

'Oh no' you whispered to yourself.

The realisation hit you and your whole body froze for a moment.

'Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no...'

You finally moved, grabbing your polearm off your back. Then you started running.

There was no time to safely climb down on the mountainside. You threw yourself off the cliff, slashing through the cold air and landing on your weapon. Running and jumping again like your whole life depended on it.

It probably did. The village was the only thing you wanted to live for after Scaramouche left.

Terrible guilt stabbed your heart. You couldn't believe you neglected the place and people you once swore to protect. You couldn't believe you actually forgot about them and selfishly only cared about your wounds even though they needed you.

And now they were attacked.

Fear crawled up on your spine as you jumped up from a cliff. You were pretty close to the village now.

Out of breath, you heart beating at a crazy speed but you were ready to take any monsters down.

You landed on your spear, slipped and fell painfully. But you were up on your feet in a blink of an eye, sprinting again.

The village was in a worse situation than you had imagined.

You ran through the gates and stopped, looking around to see where your help was needed the most.

It was needed everywhere.

Your eyes grew wide open.

The houses were on fire, burning and lighting up the night. People were running around in chaos, monsters chasing them. Abbys mages sent whole blaze bombs after them. They set everything on fire.

An abandoned child crying on the stairs. Her father fighting a mitachurl with a single hack. Mothers desperately trying to find their family.

The blood red flames reflected in your eyes as you stood there, numbed by the terrifying destruction.

You moved on your own as you clenched your fist around the spear.

You jumped at the speed of the light. One moment you were still standing under the gates and the next you flashed your way through a group of hilichurls.

There were just corpses left behind in your way.

An old man cried for your help when he saw you. He was trying to protect his house from an abyss mage.

You landed behind the monster. It heard the noise and tried to turn around.

But before it could've even moved an inch, your whole body strained then let loose. Hydro bursting out of your veins, it broke through the mage's shield in an instant.

It fell but never reached the ground. Your spear cut through it in mid-air.

'Thank you!' The old man panted, his entire body trembling. 'I...'

'Leave the village!' You yelled through the discord of screams and roars. 'Go to the bamboo forest!'

'But my house...'

'Leave. Now.' You ordered in a way that it was impossible to disobey.

Then you moved on.

Your aura was filled with tense hydro vibrating in the dark. It strangled the monsters with one touch but suffocated you as well.

But you didn't feel the pain at all. Everything inside you focused on the fighting and precise killing. You flashed from one side of the village to another, trying to save the people you swore to protect.

But even though your strength was almost non-human in these minutes of crisis it still felt incredibly lacking.

The whole village was on fire at this point. The abyss mages did not care about their puppets, they burned hilichurls as well as people.

Because there were so many of them.

You stopped for a moment to catch your breath and looked around desperately. There were so many monsters. And so many people you still needed to save.

The heat was unbearable. Sweatdrops streamed down your face despite the constant hydro aura surrounding you.

Suddenly the ground started shaking and you nearly fell over.

A lawachurl slammed his fists down. It let out a huge roar and turned to the closest person to it.

A frightened cry left your lips as you recognised the tiny figure.

Little Yu.

She rose her arms, shielding something behind her. She seemed almost fearless as she looked straight into the gigantic monster's eyes. But it was still a ridiculous try to stop the lawachurl.

It lifted its fists into the air, getting ready to cause another earthquake.

It swang it...

But before it could have reached the ground, you appeared in front of him out of blue.

Your spear cut through its left fist. The monster shook and roared in pain. It tried to grab you but you quickly dodged and sprang back.

The lawachurl let out a deep growl and slowly straightened up.

You couldn't help but feel ludicrously tiny compared to the huge figure. It started to manifest its geo shield. You stepped back in slight panic and glanced at Yu behind you.

'Y/n!' She cried out, grabbing the edge of your coat. 'I'm so happy you're here! Please protect us!'

You finally recognised the figure behind her. It was her wounded mother kneeling on the ground, bleeding out. Yet, the look in her daughter's eyes was brave and now hopeful.

She had faith in you. They all had their faith in you.

This thought was the only thing giving you strength.

You grabbed her arm and leaned closer to her as the lawachurl started walking towards you in the background.

Your heart was beating so fast it felt like exploding, the blood streaming in your veins hot and tense. But you still managed to sound calm when you spoke to the child.

'Listen carefully to what I have to say. Do you remember the spot where you met me and the harbinger a few days ago?' She nodded. 'Collect as many people as you can from the village and the bamboo forest and go there. Hide and don't come out until you're completely sure the monsters are gone. Do you understand?'

'Yes' she answered. But she still seemed hesitant.

'What is it?' You asked hastily for the lawachurl was getting closer to you with every passing moment.

'Will you be alright?' She asked, locking eyes with you.

'Of course' you gently pushed her backwards to her mother who seemed to have regained her consciousness. 'Now go!'

She nodded and helped her mother stand up. You made sure they got out of your zone safely.

Then turned around.

Just in time to see the lawachurl slamming down its fists.

You dodged and jumped upwards. Spun in the air and stabbed your spear infused with hydro into the monster's thick skin.

You landed safely on the ground with the bloody polearm in your grip.

The lawachurl roared so loudly that his voice shook the mountains. It swang towards you blinded by the pain but you dodged again.

You straightened up directly in front of it. Clenched your teeth together before quickly telling a quiet prayer.

You were ready to face all monsters.

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Leon brings Merlin and Lancelot in on his underground enterprise;

Turns out, Leon is the biggest Magic Ally out there. Confusion, bonding, and sneaky hijinks ensue.

I imagine it starts fairly normally.

The Gang (King Arthur, Merlin, and the five knights) have literally just arrived back at the castle after a fairly uneventful hunt (I mean... nowadays, getting attacked by bandits only once in three days counts as uneventful).

Merlin is left behind to help the stablehands untack the horses, like usual, except he leaves the stables half a candle mark later to find Leon awkwardly loitering around outside, the evening dimming around him.

He thinks maybe the First Knight had gotten injured, and was too embarrassed to ask for help in front of everyone (something that is common in all of the knights. Merlin thinks it’s very stupid, and has told all of them this at least once), so doesn’t question it when Leon asks Merlin for a quick word, and leads him back to his quarters.

Leon locks the door behind him. Not unusual, the man was very private. It’s when he puts a chair in front of the door and draws the curtains, that Merlin starts to get a little nervous. He’d cast a small enchantment on one of the bandits, to make him confused enough to trip over his own feet (as opposed to skewering Elyan, which is what he’d been about to do) but Merlin was certain that no one had seen him. He was certain.

And... Leon was a knight. He’d been a knight for longer than Arthur had been King, longer than he’d even known Merlin. Surely if he saw... he would've said something, accused him or just killed him.

(He has to remind himself to have a little faith in his friends. But also: “This might be completely unrelated, so just act natural.”)

Leon turns around to look at Merlin, and instantly recognises how nervous the younger man is, despite his poor attempt to hide it. The knight keeps his distance, and gives him a slow nod:

“I just wanted to let you know, Merlin, if you ever need... ah, a way out of the city, unseen, at short notice, then I can sort something for you.”

At that, all of Merlin’s racing, terrifying thoughts, stutter to a stop, and he looks at Leon with nothing but confusion on his face. He tilts his head slightly, asking, ever so eloquently:

“...What?”

Leon sends a soft smile and a knowing wink his way:

“Or, you know, the back up of a noble in court, or an alibi, I can do that to. I have a feeling that, considering you haven’t done a runner yet, you’re planning on sticking around.”

Merlin just furrows his eyebrows, shaking his head slightly in bewilderment:

“I... Leon I have no idea what you’re talking about. What do you mean, done a runner? Why would I need your help in court or... or an alibi??”

Leon just raises an eyebrow, and tilts his head.

Merlin copies him.

A look of realisation crosses the blonde’s face, and he lifts his hands in surrender:

“Ah. Ok, before I say anything else, I promise Merlin, you are entirely safe. I would protect you with my life if I had to-”

Merlin slowly nods, still confused:

“-I know about your magic.”

Merlin gasps and steps back, but Leon just smiles at him again, nodding his head slightly; it does nothing to relax the servant, and his breathing continues to get deeper as he backs himself against the wall, tears filling his eyes.

Leon frowns, his heart cracking slightly, but resists the protective urge to walk towards Merlin to comfort him. Instead he takes a step back, not lowering his hands. Before he can open his mouth to utter more reassurances, a tirade of broken, cracking apologies fall from Merlin’s lips:

“I... Leon I swear I’m not evil, I... I don’t hurt people, I promise. Please, you... please believe me, I would NEVER-”

Leon interrupts him, shaking his head rapidly, and forcing a reassuring smile on his face:

“I know. Merlin, I know that. I know you’re not evil, I know that you use it to protect us, I know. It’s ok, I won’t tell anyone, you’re not in danger, I would NEVER hurt you, or tell anyone, ok? I swear it. You’re safe with me.”

Merlin gulps, but relaxes (only slightly, but it’s a start. Leon doesn’t know why he’s so surprised at Merlin’s reaction, I suppose he thought he had been clear in his brotherly affection and protectiveness towards the younger man. Apparently not; he would have to fix that). He gives Leon an assessing once over, and it strikes the knight how efficient he is. He wonders how many times Merlin’s eyes have flicked over someone: checking their face for any sign of deception, checking how close their hands are to a weapon, checking their stance to see if they’re preparing for a fight.

Leon stays in place, forcing himself to untense, and giving Merlin a weak smile, hoping that the servant doesn’t mistake his slight heartbreak for fear or anger.

After a few moments, Merlin relaxes even further (though is still understandably ready to bolt at a moment’s notice), and steps away from the wall, Leon’s smile widens, and he nods once again, patiently waiting for Merlin to say something:

“You... you offered to smuggle me out of the city?”

Leon nods, glancing to the door behind him before gesturing Merlin to keep his voice down as he replies cryptically:

“You wouldn’t be the first.”

The servant gulps, giving the knight an assessing gaze, magic buzzing under his skin, alert and frightened at the idea of a Red Knight other than Lancelot knowing the truth:

“You’ve smuggled others out?”

Leon nods and moves ever so slowly to sit on the edge of his bed, still holding his hands up placatingly. He doesn’t gesture for Merlin to join him, understanding the other man’s remaining jumpiness, but leaves space next to him, just in case.

Merlin hesitates for only a second before settling on the bed next to him, forcing himself to relax. The knight wasn’t currently armed, and anyway, if Leon had been planning on accusing him or attacking him, then he wouldn’t be doing this. None of what he said could, in any way, make sense as some sort of trick.

Once Merlin settles, still a little uneasy, Leon begins his explanation in a quiet voice, obviously still worried about startling Merlin (and obviously not wanting to risk someone overhearing him):

“It started when I was fifteen. One of the serving girls in my father’s household was born with magic, though it didn’t manifest until years after the purge started. She was my age, sweet, kind, I couldn’t possibly believe her to be evil or corrupt, but under The King’s law, she would’ve been burned. Poor girl was terrified of being found out, but Uther was so paranoid, they were basically interrogating anyone who entered or exited the city; she had nowhere to go. I had already started my training at this point, so I used my knowledge of guard rotations and shift changes to sneak her out. I left her with some family in a village nearer the border, snuck back in a few days later. From then on it just... kept happening. I suppose I got good at recognising the specific brand of fear that magic-users in Camelot suffer from, and I’ve got a good eye; I know magic when I see it-”

He gives Merlin a knowing look, but the servant just turns indignant and says:

“Well, I was also born with magic, and it took you ten years to figure it out, so-”

He sticks his tongue out at the knight, and Leon raises his eyebrow at him, before laughing and nodding, thankful for Merlin’s lessening fear:

“-yeah, I suppose. But still. It started off with just the occasional person; one or two a month. And then it was whole families or groups of people who either had magic, or were scared of being accused and wanted out. It became a bit of a side-career, though I always refused any payment they offered.”

Merlin stares at him, thoughtful and in awe, before yet another look of realisation crosses his face:

“Is this why the Druids are so fond of you?”

Finally, it’s Leon’s turn to look confused, and Merlin continues:

“Whenever we come across them, they always seem less wary of you than the other knights, like they know what you’ve done.”

Leon takes in slow breath, quirking his eyebrows slightly and shrugging:

“I’ve never really noticed, maybe. I’ve never been into a camp, but when someone I was sneaking out had nowhere to go, I’d take them as close to a Druid settlement as I dared, and pointed them in the right direction; I suppose word might’ve spread.”

Merlin nods, looking to his lap, thinking. Leon stays silent, understanding that this is probably a lot to take in, and not wanting to interrupt Merlin’s processing time. 

After a few moments, Merlin, still staring into his lap, reaches across to Leon and takes the knight’s hand in a shaking one of his own. It’s then that Leon notices the slow tears on the other man’s face, but before he can say anything, Merlin looks up at him, his voice shaking as he whispers a rough:

“Thank you.”

Leon smiles, squeezing his hand and bumping their shoulders together:

“Anytime. Like I said Merlin, I would protect you with my life. If you ever need anything...”

Merlin takes a deep breath, standing and wiping the tears from his face quickly before dragging Leon to the door:

“There is one thing. Come on.”

Leon allows himself to be dragged, and Merlin moves the chair to the side before stepping out of the way, allowing Leon to unlock the door with the key hanging around his neck. He doesn’t question where they’re going, though he is slightly confused when he notices that they’re heading deeper into the castle, as opposed to outside or to Merlin’s chambers like he was expecting.

They finally come to a stop outside Lancelot’s door, and Leon nods to himself in realisation. He had suspected that the other knight had known the truth, but hadn’t wanted to ask or push it in case he was wrong.

Merlin knocks rapidly after checking the corridor for other people, and the door had barely been opened before he’s pushing his way through, still dragging Leon behind him. The two men move to stand by the opposite wall, Lancelot still by the door looking increasingly confused:

“Merlin, Leon, is... is everything alright?”

Merlin waves his hand casually, not even needing an incantation as his eyes flash briefly gold and the door shuts of it’s own accord (... or Merlin’s accord).

Lancelot immediately gasps and makes a jump for the sword sat on the table, but Leon holds his hands up in surrender as Merlin rushes to speak:

“Lance it’s fine!! Leon knows about my magic, and he’s been smuggling people out of Camelot for decades, he’s safe.”

Lancelot looks to Leon with a mix of suspicion and relief, still picking the sword up and holding it loosely in one hand, but the older knight is too distracted staring at Merlin in mild outrage:

“Dec- How old do you think I am, Merlin?!”

Merlin looks up at him guiltily, and Lancelot lets go of his suspicion, instead clamping his free hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing at Merlin’s squeaked reply:

“Uh... there’s no safe way to answer that, is there? You said you were fifteen when you started, and I know you’re older than Arthur, so...”

Leon scoffs, rolling his eyes as Lancelot snorts:

“I’m only five years older than him, Merlin. I’m thirty-one, you can say “decades” plural when I hit thirty-five, and not a day sooner.”

Merlin holds in a smirk, and nods. Lancelot clears his throat, dropping the sword back on the table and asking the obvious question:

“So... how much does he know?”

Merlin spends the rest of the night explaining everything, from Kilgharrah calling to him when he first arrived, (”You mean that thing was under the castle the whole time?!”) to just last week, when he had to sneak out of the city to deal with a particularly insatiable Succubus that was causing problems with the border patrols (”Huh. I wondered why the men had just... stopped disappearing. I’m not complaining though, thank you.”).

He included all the information about the prophecies and being Emrys and how Arthur was the Once and Future King and the coming (potential) Golden Age. Leon was especially curious about that, and interrupted often to ask questions.

Lancelot also interrupted rather often, but only to correct Merlin when he underappreciated his own genius or power or selflessness, much to Merlin’s embarrassment and annoyance.

Merlin also tried to miss out as much of his own suffering as he could, but Lancelot wasn’t having it, and Leon was horrified to learn of the Serket sting, the countless, almost fatal fights he’d had with various people (Nimueh, The Cailleach (”I did also wonder how the veil just... repaired itself. Nice one.”), Morgause, Agravaine, etc (Morgana is good in this, though her magic is still hidden)), and all the other terrible things that had happened.

When he finally finishes, Leon is speechless.

The knight had just thought that Merlin had learned a few tricks to keep himself and Arthur safe when they went out and about, but he was actually, apparently, the most powerful Warlock ever, and had a whole series of prophecies and battle scars to back it up. Lancelot’s face was an odd mix of prideful and mournful, and that only drove home to Leon how much Merlin had suffered over the years.

After a few minutes of silence, Merlin awkwardly waiting, as if for judgement, Lancelot pipes up, his voice oddly cheery:

“So, Sir Leon, fancy two extra sets of hands in the little smuggling ring you’ve got going?”

~

And that is essentially... exactly what happens. 

It’s usually Leon who discovers the sorcerers, being the most observant of the three, but it’s Merlin they send on the first approach more often than not. Leon had always been painfully aware of how scary a Camelot Knight going “I know you have magic” must be, so the trio takes advantage of Merlin’s non-threatening look. That, paired with the fact that he’s well known and well loved around the town, makes starting things off a lot easier.

A lot of the time, the people they approach don’t want to leave. They’ve kept themselves hidden for over twenty years, and they plan to continue to do so, but it’s a weight off their back to know that the option is there if they need it.

Merlin introduces Leon to the tunnels under the city, hidden and warded with his magic. The older knight is very much relieved at that; taking advantage of gaps in guard rotations wasn’t the most reliable plan, and he’d been paranoid for years that something would go wrong one day and he’d get caught.

They worked well together, though all three of their lives got a lot more complicated. Lancelot and Merlin were pulled into Leon’s secret smuggling life (despite him insisting that they could sit it out, considering they were already so busy trying to keep Arthur alive, which is apparently a lot harder than Leon had first assumed), and Leon was pulled into Merlin and Lancelot’s secret “bring about the Golden Age” life (despite the two of them insisting that Leon didn’t need to help, considering he was already so busy running a smuggling ring right under the nose of the King).

To be honest, the two lives sort of swirled together. Anyone that they sent to the Druid camps was told to spread the word of the Once and Future King, and when Leon was sent to distract Arthur when Lancelot and Merlin needed to do something Magicky, Lancelot was sent to distract Arthur when Leon and Merlin needed to do something smuggly.

Eventually Gaius finds out. Because of course he does. Because he’s not stupid. And whilst the three of them are unwilling to put him in anymore danger than he’s already in (harbouring a Warlock is... pretty dangerous. Though Arthur would probably forgive the older man anything.), they never turn away the small, portable medkits he passes along to them, and don’t complain when he offers to talk to Arthur about a promising new treatment for the flu for a few hours.

But overall, they have a proper little (unpaid) enterprise going, and no one suspects a thing. 

~

Mistakes are made of course, some a little bigger that others. But most of them get a laugh from the trio when they think back on them later.

Ironically enough, this mistake came when the trio mistook a “need to save Arthur” problem, for a “need to save this poor scared sorcerer” problem.

They’d been getting complacent. No one had tried to kill Arthur directly in a while, so when a visiting Lord brought with him a very nervous, very secretive stablehand, they didn’t even consider that it would be the young servant who wanted to kill Arthur as opposed to the visiting noble (who was an arsehole, and therefor automatically under suspicion).

Merlin, being the most powerful of the three of them, was keeping an eye on the noble; trying to keep him away from Arthur as well as trying to figure out if he knew that his stablehand was a magic-user. Leon was distracting Arthur, with the help of a report Gaius had written, by talking endlessly about certain weaknesses in the knight’s armour and the injuries that Gaius treats most often and the link between the two.

That left Lancelot to trail the stablehand, whose name they had discovered was Alban. He wasn’t wearing any armour and didn’t have a sword, only a small dagger up his sleeve, so as not to frighten the boy.

Which of course was a huge mistake.

Considering how innocent Merlin looks, but how dangerous he actually is, they really shouldn’t have underestimated the boy, but alas, with how well both of the secret lives had been going, their egos had grown, and they weren’t as careful as they should’ve been.

It was only after the Lord had retired to his chambers (and Merlin had come to the annoying conclusion that he was an arsehole, but certainly not smart enough to be dangerous), and Leon had exhausted every possible line of enquiry about armour and injuries, that the two of them thought something might be wrong.

It had been hours since they had heard from Lancelot, and by the sounds of it, no one had seen him in that time either.

The stablehand also couldn’t be found.

They tried not to assume the worst; all of them (Merlin, most often) had disappeared for longer before, so before they panicked, the two of them went about methodically searching for the other knight.

The wards down in the tunnels hadn’t been disturbed, Lancelot’s room was untouched (the sight of his armour and sword laid out on his bed did nothing to quell their growing anxiety), and no one had seen him leave the city. The Camelot stablehands had no idea where the visiting servant was, and had apparently barely seen him in the stables since he’d arrived anyway.

Now it was time to panic.

The two men rushed back to Lancelot’s room, shutting the door behind them, Merlin hurriedly asking:

“What’s the last thing he touched, do you reckon?”

Leon raked his hands through his hair for the dozenth time, looking around with wide eyes:

“Uh... we had training this morning, and he took his armour off after that, and immediately went to follow Alban, so his armour? His sword?”

Merlin picks the sword up in careful but hurried hands. He closes his eyes, concentrating, as he mutters a quick spell. The sword shimmers for a moment before Merlin throws it back down on the bed with a huff:

“Nope, the trail is there but it’s weak, I need something more recent.”

Leon curses quietly to himself:

“Try his water goblet? Or the wash bowl? God knows that man doesn’t like to be grimy.”

Merlin hums, walking to the wash bowl before halting in his tracks:

“Wait... no, you’re right. He doesn’t like being dirty,-”

With that, Merlin changes direction, heading to the small desk in the corner and opening the draws at random, rifling through them. Leon walks up behind him:

“Merlin? What are you-”

He’s interrupted by Merlin exclaiming in victory, and straightening up. He turns around with a grin on his face, holding out a small comb:

“-he will have run a comb through his hair after washing,-”

He pulls a short, brunette hair from between the wooden teeth:

“-and an actual piece of him is WAY better to track him with than something he’s just touched.”

He repeats the spell from earlier, the smile returning to his face when he begins to feel the pull in his heart, leading him to the lost knight.

The two of them leave the room hurriedly, Leon trailing after Merlin, both of them trying to look an inconspicuous as possible.

They walk briskly down the corridor, hope and excitement blooming in their chests at the idea of finding the friend they’d been so worried about. Leon puts a hand on Merlin’s shoulder, but neither of them stop moving as he speaks lowly:

“Can you tell how far away he is?”

Merlin hums, before replying equally quietly:

“Yeah, I think he’s about... actually... no, no I can’t- what?”

With that, he stops dead in his tracks, stumbling when Leon runs into his back with a gentle “oof”. The knight looks down at him, his face back to looking panicked. They’d stopped at a crossroads in the corridor, and Merlin’s head twitches from side to side, like he can’t decide which way to go.

Leon shakes his shoulder slightly:

“Merlin, he’s been gone for hours, we need to hurry. Close your eyes, breathe, which way is Lancelot?”

Merlin does what Leon says, shuffling on his feet slightly before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and relaxing his shoulders:

“Where are you, Lance?”

He mutters it quietly to himself, and Leon barely dares to breathe, not wanting to distract him. After a few moments, Merlin’s head twitches to the right, the corridor that leads to the servant quarters. The servant opens his eyes, nodding briefly at Leon, before turning and walking down the corridor. 

He passes the first few doors without hesitation, thankful for the late hour; all the servants are either eating their own dinner, or serving dinner to their masters. Which is probably where Merlin should be right now, but he had more pressing matters, he could deal with Arthur later.

He slows as he reaches the end of the corridor, frowning in confusion. There are no more doors, they’ve reached a dead end, and Merlin tilts his head whilst Leon stares at him expectantly, periodically checking the corridor behind them. Merlin begins muttering to himself again, flexing his hands as if he were in pain:

“This is... wrong. I don’t come down here very often but... there’s... this is wrong. I can feel it and I can... see it, like there’s something out the corner of my eye that shouldn’t be there-”

He gasps, turning and looking at a specific part of the wall, hovering his hand over the stonework:

“-or something that should be there!”

Leon’s gaze flicks between the wall and Merlin as he quietly asks:

“A hidden door? Can you... unhide it?”

Merlin takes a second to snort and roll his eyes, before pressing his hand against the wall, muttering spells to himself. Leon turns around, hand on the hilt of his sword at his hip as he stands guard. After a few minutes of Merlin getting more and more frustrated when the wall stays... well... a wall, he finally lets out a whispered exclamation; Leon glances behind him to see the stone rippling, and finally fading to reveal the door. 

With one last check down the corridor, they enter the room slowly, shutting the door behind him. Leon whispers Lance’s name into the darkness tentatively, but Merlin just shakes his head, summoning a light.

It’s just a normal storage room filled with dusty shelves and empty crates, but Merlin moves through the debris to the back, cursing under his breath when he finds what he’s looking for. Leon moves up behind him, staring over the younger man’s shoulder to the precise symbol drawn onto the floor:

“Merls?”

Merlin huffs speaking lowly, not looking away from the symbol:

“It’s a teleportation spell, it’s why I was being pulled in two directions. Lance went through this portal, but it probably took him somewhere outside the city limits.”

Leon gulps, before taking a deep breath and gripping Merlin’s shoulder again:

“Can you activate it? Do we follow through the portal, or track him out of the city??”

Merlin shakes his head roughly:

“No, that would take far too long, we don’t actually know how long he’s been gone, it could have been all afternoon, remember? Look around, there should be a crystal or an orb or something, like a switch I have to push magic into to activate the spell.”

It only takes a few minutes of rummaging for Leon to uncover a rough looking crystal, and Merlin smiles weakly at the comically fearful look on the knight’s face as he holds it as far away from himself as he can; he may trust Merlin’s magic, but he is still logically... unnerved by things he doesn’t understand.

Merlin takes it from him, eyes turning briefly gold as he mutters an incantation and his hand is engulfed in a blue flame. The flame dies down after a few seconds at Merlin’s command, and he hides the now glowing crystal back where Leon had found it, before looking back to the symbol on the floor.

It takes only a few moments for the lines to start softly glowing, and when nothing else changes, Merlin takes a deep breath, reaching behind him blindly for Leon’s hand, and muttering:

“Well, here goes nothing.”

He feels the knight take his hand and step up next to him. With one last nervous glance to each other, they nod, and step into the circle.

~

MEANWHILE

Thankfully, whilst Lancelot hadn’t been seen in a while (on account of being camped out in the hidden storage room, waiting for his stalkee to reappear out of the weird glowy circle thing), he had only actually been kidnapped by Evil Alban the Not-Stablehand for about half a candle mark.

And he was currently very bored. The younger man finally reappeared, only to fly into a rage at the sight of another man, crouched like a gremlin, almost asleep in the corner of the entrance to his secret lair.

His eyes had flashed sickly yellow, and Lancelot found himself falling over the edge into sleep, and waking up an undetermined amount of time (like five minutes, but it was so fucking dark where he was, he had no way to guess what time of day it was) later, tied to a chair (not gagged, thankfully).

He had realised the trio’s mistake fairly early on in Evil Alban the Not-Stablehand’s monologue; something about vengeance and sins of the father and yadda yadda yadda. Honestly? He tuned it out pretty quickly, he’d heard it all before... multiple times, and he wasn’t too worried; he had faith that Merlin and Leon would arrive to rescue him soon (though he wasn’t looking forward to all the comments along the lines of “who’s the real princess?”).

It was when he almost nodded off that Alban stuttered slightly:

“...after all, surely someone who is strong enough to take the crown should... should deserve... it... are you falling asleep?!”

Lancelot’s head whips up with a quiet snort as he blinks the sleep from his eyes, and looks at the outraged criminal with guilt in his eyes:

“Uh... no? You’re doing wonderfully, Alban, very riveting, keep going.”

The knight’s words do nothing to calm the other man down, and he exclaims slightly as he stamps his foot petulantly. Lancelot bites his lip to stop himself laughing, but before he can get himself under control and say something else, Alban puffs his chest out and grins triumphantly:

“Your mind games shan’t work on me, Sir Knight. I will not be distracted by your mocking or... or distractions.”

Lancelot raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything. Alban huffs, shaking his head roughly before looking back at Lancelot with wide, expectant eyes:

“Well? What do you think of my plan, noble Sir? Ineffable, no?”

Lancelot purses his lips, once again looking guilty as he chooses not to point out the younger’s misuse of the word ineffable (definitely NOT ineffable, considering he’d banged on and on for half a candle-mark):

“I don’t suppose you could... sum up the last twenty minutes or so worth of... plan? Then I could.... let you know my thoughts?”

Alban let out an inhuman screech, stamping his foot again, much to Lancelot’s hidden amusement. The Great Villain stalked off into the darkness, huffing and grumbling to himself, and Lancelot just rolled his eyes, murmuring under his breath:

“For fucks sake. Better not leave me here. Where the fuck are you guys?”

As if the Gods themselves answered the knight’s question, he hears another inhuman screech come from the darkness; though this one was a lot more high pitched, and was immediately followed by Leon’s unmistakable voice growling out:

“Where is he you pre-pubescent piece of shit?!”

Lancelot allows himself to snort at the likely look of terror on the Not-Stablehand’s face before yelling:

“Don’t make the kid shit himself Leon, if he does, you’ll be the one carrying his unconscious body back.”

He hears Merlin’s laugh and the distinct sound of a skull making contact with the hilt of a sword, before the two of them appear like ghosts, lit only by the glow of Merlin’s golden eyes, and the magical light floating between their heads.

Lancelot gives them a grin, shuffling in his binds slightly as he says:

“Took you long enough, he’s been banging on about how clever he is for fucking ages. Cut me loose, would you?”

Merlin clicks his fingers, the ropes falling the the floor as Leon checks him over for injury, and affectionately ruffling his hair, much to the other knight’s chagrin.

The three of them move to crowd around Alban’s crumpled form, hands on their hips as they stare at him, unimpressed. Lancelot sighs:

“You really didn’t have to hit him that hard, I don’t think he was that much of a threat.”

Merlin huffs and stalks off to reactivate the teleportation spell, leaving the chastising for Leon to deal with:

“Not much of a threat?! Lance no one had seen you in hours, we thought you were dead!”

Lancelot frowns and shuffles, suddenly looking apologetic:

“Ah, sorry. He took me less than a candle-mark ago, though I guess I lost track of how long I’d been sat waiting for him before that. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Leon huffs, but drops the subject as Merlin calls back to them. The curly-hired knight picks Alban up, laying him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before following Lancelot in Merlin’s direction. They stand around the glowing symbol, and Lancelot rolls his eyes at Merlin’s glower:

“Oh, don’t give me that look, Mister I regularly show up after three days covered in bruises and blood with “The Tavern” as my only excuse.”

Leon snorts and Merlin rolls his eyes but smirks, and with that, the trio step into the circle, reappearing back in the storage cupboard with no one else in Camelot even vaguely aware of the mini adventure they’d had.

~

This happens for a while. Saving people (mostly Arthur) from the batshit insane things that happen in Camelot that no one but them seems to be aware of.

Of course, rumours fly about the oddly close connection the three men have. Lancelot is head over heals in love with Guinevere (which he ardently denies, despite Merlin and Leon’s repeated dramatic attempts to get them together) and everyone knows it, but even Arthur starts to (jealously) suspect something is going on between Leon and Merlin, especially when Merlin’s lack of talent when it comes to making up excuses is displayed yet again.

Leon and Merlin had been sneaking out of the castle, on their way to meet the teenage son of a noble who desperately needed to escape. Lancelot, who had a late patrol, was to meet them by one of the tunnel entrances outside the city limits, and assure that no other guards were nearby.

Unfortunately, the pair came across a sleepy King, on his way to the kitchens for a midnight snack.

The King stared at them with wide, shocked eyes, and the pair stared back. Leon grimaced slightly, and after a few moments of awkward silence, Arthur slowly asks:

“What are you two... doing?”

Leon takes a deep breath desperately trying to come up with something to say, but before he can find an excuse, Merlin pipes up:

“I was teaching him poetry.”

Leon lets out his breath before slowly covering his face with his hands as he shakes his head slightly. Merlin immediately realises his mistake and bites his lip, furrowing his eyebrows as he says:

“What I mean, is that-”

He’s cut off by Arthur holding a hand up, his face looking mildly put-off as he shakes his head:

“I don’t want to know. Yeah, I changed my mind, I really... don’t want to know.” Before turning around and heading back in the same direction he’d come from, hunger forgotten.

Merlin holds his breath until Arthur turns the corner, before letting it all out in one go and staring at the floor wide-eyed. Leon keeps his head in his hands as he mutters:

“You fucking idiot.-” before looking up at the man besides him incredulously:

“-Why??”

Merlin looks at him indignantly, and loudly whispers:

“I don’t know!! It was just the three of us in a dark corridor like last time and it just popped into my head and I said it! At least he didn’t push, I suppose.”

Leon shakes his head again, before a look of realisation crosses his face and he looks at Merlin with dread in his eyes:

“Yeah... except when you used that excuse on me- shut up, of course I knew you were lying, I’m not an idiot- I thought you and Arthur were uh... well, I thought you were sleeping together...”

Merlin’s eyes go wide and he sputters for a response before he lets out a quiet, deranged laugh, and shakes his blushing head:

“First off, no. Second off... at least he didn’t push.” he repeats. Leon squints at his friend, before he gasps and grins:

“Oh my God, you like him!-”

Merlin scowls at him, and Leon laughs gleefully (though still quietly) before whispering:

“-all this time we’ve been ribbing Lancelot about Guinevere, and we should’ve been ribbing you! Oh my God, wait ‘til Lance hears this.”

Merlin turns on him, face bright red as he angrily (or as angrily as he can, when he’s the colour of Leon’s cape, and the knight is trying not to wake the castle up with his laughter):

“I swear to God, Leon, I will turn you into a fucking toad if you breath a word to anyone! I’ll do it, I swear I’ll do it!”

Leon forces himself to breath and coughs slightly as he catches his breath, putting a hand on Merlin’s shoulder:

“Fine, fine. I won’t say anything, but only if you help me hang mistletoe up in Lance’s doorway next week.”

Merlin rolls his eyes, but nods his head with a grin, and with that, they resume their sneaking around.

~

This happens for what feels like years and years, but really, Merlin only gets one day into looking at Leon with a shit-eating grin and saying that the old man has been doing this for “decades”, when suddenly... they don’t have to do it anymore.

Arthur repeals the ban on magic. 

And to be honest, it was a complete surprise to everyone. Of course, the whole Kingdom knew that he was more tolerant than his father had ever been; he hadn’t executed anyone in years, and unless accusations were serious or life-threatening, he rarely ordered investigations.

As it turns out, he’d been working on it in secret for months, with only  Morgana’s help (not that he knew about her magic, she was just the only person in his life who’d always been vocally against the ban). All the work they’d put in meant that when it came time to present it to the council, all Arthur had to do was hold his head high and say something along the lines of “I am your King, you do this, or you lose your seat.”.

The drafts were so well-worked, so perfect, the council had nothing to argue against, no excuses worth more than a roll of the eyes and a dismissive wave of the hand.

The repeal went through seamlessly, and Arthur was announcing Merlin and Morgana as his Court Sorcerers within a week (after of course a few hours of raging at the lies and deception, in which they defended themselves and each each other with sharp tongues and entirely valid descriptions of their terror, and with Leon and Lancelot stood behind them the whole time ready to pull their swords at a moments notice).

Leon, Lancelot, and Merlin told the King about all their adventures saving his arse, which he floundered at before abashedly thanking them, but they never mentioned the now obsolete smuggling ring they had going.

Of course, there were moments when they missed the excitement of sneaking out at night, the victory of seeing a family off to the Druid’s, or to a safe village, but ultimately they were ecstatic that they weren’t needed in that capacity anymore. It was undeniably a good thing.

Their plan to keep their heroics to themselves failed miserably however, when a crowd of around two-hundred gathered in the courtyard, led by a woman in her mid-thirties who looked mighty familiar to Sir Leon.

The gang met them down there, armed and worried at first, but quickly relaxing when they realised this was the furthest to an attack a group this large could get.

The King led the party, Morgana, Elyan, Gwaine, and Percival to his left, and Merlin, Leon, and Lancelot to his right, Guinevere and Gaius waiting by the castle entrance. It was only when Lancelot gasped, and grabbed Merlin and Leon’s sleeves to point at a specific family near the front of the crowd that they understood. All these people, all these happy, joyful, alive people... were people they’d saved over the years.

The three of them gulped, suddenly teary as more and more of the crowd pointed their way, wide smiles on their faces. They knew that this wasn’t even half the people they had saved (if you include Leon’s sixteen years doing it alone), but still, it was astounding to visually see it.

The familiar woman stepped forward at Arthur’s gesture, and the trio suddenly realise what’s about to happen. “Oh shit.” and variants of the above are muttered by all three as they wait with baited breath. There’s not really anything they can do to stop this:

“Your Highness, firstly I would like to thank you, for accepting my people back into your Kingdom-”

Her voice quietens slightly as she glances to the floor, her eyes filling with tears before she looks up again:

“-many of us haven’t been home in... in a long time, and it’s good to be back.-”

Arthur nods, giving her a smile despite his still growing confusion at the crowd behind her. The woman looks quickly to Leon, giving him a brief smile as he gasps, recognising her. She looks back to the King, raising her voice and her head as she continues:

“-Secondly, I would like to extend an even greater thank-you to Sir Leon, and his two companions, without whom many of us would have died. They risked their lives sneaking us out of the city when your father hunted us, and after, when we were still at risk of execution, but they never stopped, and never gave up. We are but a fraction of the hundreds of people they saved, and we have nothing to offer them but our unending gratitude, and a humble demand that they are rewarded for their service to Camelot’s people. They are heroes to us all, and always will be”

Arthur looks slowly over to a very teary Leon, who doesn’t even glance his way as he stares at the former servant-girl, a weak smile on his face. Merlin and Lancelot meet The King’s gaze in his stead, smiling sheepishly and shrugging as they nod, confirming the woman’s story.

Arthur shakes his head minutely, half proud of his friends, and half annoyed at being caught off guard, before turning back to the woman, the smile back on his face:

“I’m glad to welcome you home, all of you, and I apologise that it took so long for me to right the wrongs committed by this Kingdom. Sir Leon and his companions will indeed be rewarded for their service,-”

At this, Arthur turns to look at the trio, a soft, meaningful smile on his face as he nods at them:

“-and I extend my thanks to them also, for being brave enough to protect my people, when I was not.”

Leon finally meets The King’s gaze, and returns his nod. Merlin and Lancelot each clap him on the back, before the three of them descend into the crowd. A loud cheer goes up around the courtyard, the rest of the knights, Morgana, and Guinevere looking on in shock as the trio greets person after person, accepting thanks and hugs and laughing joyously at the reminder of the good they’d done, despite their fear.

~

THE END!!

I really loved writing this one😄! Honestly this idea started out as crack, but I’m glad that it ended so wholesomely :)

Same as usual lads, someone wants to write it up properly or extend it, go for it, credit and tag me ✌️

[rere-the-writer]

Title- Mikaelsons and a baby : part 4

Warnings- Fluff, A bit of Angst, Overly protective Mikaelsons, Violence

Summary- You and Rebekah are forced to go home after having to leave for the safety of you and baby Hope.

You followed after Rebekah shivering as you held your daughter close after the cabin you both were staying in was attacked and Rebekah told you there was no choice but to take you and Hope back to New Orleans. It was cold in New Orleans as you had no time to pack nor get dress as you were in dressed in pajamas and slippers.

"Beka, what if the boys be angry?"

"They'll understand, my love."

"Y/N? Rebekah?" Elijah questioned seeing you and Rebekah on the street as he was walking with Hayley. Elijah frowned seeing you shivering and took off his coat wrapping you and Hope in it.

"Mother found us." Rebekah answered Elijah as you squeaked when Elijah picked you up bridal style.

"How? We made sure that you three wouldn't be found."

"I know but she sent something after us." Rebekah said smoothing out your hair as Hayley noticed how the two seemed to try to hide you and Hope. You had arrived at the Abattoir and was placed in front of a fire as Kol cuddled up to you.

"So our mother knows of our child."

"It seems so Niklaus." Elijah says running his fingers over your cheek before moving though your hair. Hayley seemed annoyed that you were back as she was trying to get closer to Elijah.

"Can I sleep with Nik tonight? I'm kinda cold."

"Of course baby." Elijah says kissing your head as Klaus moved to take you upstairs. Hope was placed in a bassinet near the bed as Klaus smiled feeling you snuggled closer.

"I missed you,Nik."

"I missed you too beloved." Klaus said softly kissing your head when you jumped feeling Elijah slipped in behind you.

"Elijah?"

"Niklaus thought us both should warm you up." Elijah said rubbing your arms feeling both of your furnaces of lovers you smiled snuggling in their arms. Morning came as you woke on top of Elijah and saw Klaus rocking Hope gently talking to her.

"You are my most precious girl so is your mother. I vow to protect you both Always and Forever."

"What if I want to protect you?"

"That is adorable, love. But Elijah and I would die before you are harmed." Klaus says watching you slide off Elijah who woke with a groan rolling onto his side burying his face in your side. Klaus passed Hope to you so you could feed the baby girl.

"So why is your mother after us?"

"Trying to get us to allowing her to put us in witch's bodies. And thanks to Hayley, mother knows of you and Hope."

"What did she do?"

"Mother thought Hayley and I were dating and darling Hayley didn't correct her so I had too." Elijah muttered sitting up as Kol came in flopping next to you smiling at you.

"You are beautiful in the morning." Kol says as you flushed looking at Hope feeling Elijah rubbing your back while Klaus was drawing you a bath.

"I agree. Kol isn't motherhood just gorgeous on her?"

"It is Elijah." Kol said smirking see your flush getting worst and gently Elijah took Hope from you and Kol took you to the bath.

"Guys, I can d...."

"Shhhh love. Let us take care of you." Klaus says moving behind the tub washing your hair while Elijah was cooing at Hope.

"Good morning."

"Goodmorning Rebekah....Hayley." Elijah said as Rebekah looked between the two with narrowed eyes before heading into the bath to kiss you goodmorning. Hayley looked to Elijah seeing Hope smiling at him wrapping her small hand around his finger.

"So are you still angry with me?"

"Yes Hayley. You gave to realize I am faithful to Y/N." Elijah says smiling softly at Hope placing a kiss on her little hand. Hayley huffed crossing her arms annoyed that you had came home as she liked Elijah and was hoping that he could like her back.

"Look Hope, there is your mother." Elijah cooed holding up the baby as you flushed see the pure adoration on Elijah's face as Hope squealed happily seeing you.

"You guys act like I showed you heaven." You say gently taking Hope as Kol kissed your cheek.

"You gave us our greatest gift and been so brave. So you are our heaven." Your face burn brightly as Kol chuckled they could hear you heart beating fast. They got you and Hope some breakfast happy to have you home.

"Your crazy aunt wants our baby?" You asked rocking the rocking chair you were in feeding Hope with a bottle giving your breast have a break. After the fall of Esther, a new theat, your lover's aunt Dahlia was apparently coming for your child.

"A untapped Enchantress had Klaus's baby?"

"Eli?" You asked confused as the blonde with was unfamiliar while your lovers were a bit surprised.

"This is our older sister Freya. Our mother made a deal with Dahlia to have children and Freya had been taken."

"This untapped Enchantress stuff?"

"I sense the magic coming from you which if Dahlia can, she'll try and take Y/N also." Freya tells everyone as Klaus growled lowly as the idea of you and Hope being taken from them was something that he wasn't going to tolerate.

"And you brought this danger to our door."

"It wouldn't have mattered. Dahlia would know about Hope." Freya said as you frowned burping Hope. Rebekah stayed close along with Kol not liking this new development.

"So what do we do?"

"We kill her and I will help you."

You were in hiding with Hayley and she raised an eyebrow seeing you putting some kind of mixture of salt and sage down the doorways and windows.

"What are you doing?"

"My grandmother would make this mixture of salt and sage to keep witches out and I thought she was crazy but learning all now my childhood makes sense." You tell Hayley getting up getting Hope.

"Hello my dear, I am here for what is mine." You froze hearing Dahlia and turned holding Hope as Hayley glared at the witch.

"Dahlia."

"I take it Freya has told you about me. Seeing how the magic from both child and mother is quite strong." Dahlia said moving forward stopping feeling a burning sensation and stepped back.

"An Enchantress barrier. Tapping in to unused magic."

"You can't have my little Hope."

"Why worry for child when you have a second babe growing within you." Dahlia's words made you freeze as you didn't know as Hayley stared then looked at Dahlia ready to fight the witch.

"Why don't you try to get in and see how well you stand against a hybrid."

"Sweet of you to allow such....beastly woman that holds such affections for Elijah near you or your family."

"I'll return for what is mine."

You were neverous as Klaus plan was to use Esther to stop Dahlia and you had never let Hope out of your sight since your run in with Dahlia. Rebekah sat next to you letting Hope play with her hand.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Of course Elijah. Besides it is to protect our love and Hope."

"What about the second baby?" Hayley asked making all four Mikaelsons freeze as you swallowed when Hayley realized you hadn't told them yet.

"Y/N hadn't told you what Dahlia told her." Hayley breathed as the vampires tune into you listening for a small second heartbeat.

"How?"

"Let's worry about that after we kill our aunt." Klaus said kissing your head the Hope's as he passed to met Marcel to protect you. Elijah smiled kissing your hand as Rebekah kissed your cheek.

"We'll come back safe and sound, baby." Elijah says as Kol kissed your forehead as they left. You sat waiting hoping that they were alright and saw them walk in a bit rough looking but in one piece.

"Oh you're alright." You said hugging Kol and Rebekah as they hugged back smiling softly.

"I told you we'll come home safe and sound." Elijah said kissing your head making you smile.

"Let's get some rest." Klaus said getting everyone upstairs while passing Hope bassinet, you check up on her. Your lovers joined you in bed their hands falling on your abdomen falling asleep happy that you and Hope safe and now a new little one was on the way.

[siennahrobek]

Fic Idea Masterlist

Who He Is – Qui-Gon Jinn, right before the Naboo mission, is tossed forward in time where he meets a young Togruta padawan right off the coast of a battle. As she brings him to the base to meet with the High General, he talks a bit about his own padawan. (Time Travel)

Bending Jedi – The Jedi can bend the four main elements they have been keeping these specific abilities hidden away from the populous when they can, as people tend to fear them with what they can already do, the discovery of bending in Jedi would breed more distrust and fear. But the war has made that too difficult, as the Jedi are desperate to protect, and the clones are the first to discover the Jedi’s abilities, more than what they were told in their training. (Bending Jedi Avatar-Style)

Together Twins – An attack on Polis Massa forces Obi-Wan Kenobi to flee with both Luke and Leia Skywalker.

Chances – Trading their silence and obedience for the clones’ freedom at the end of the war, the Jedi find themselves nearly shunned and hated with the intense anti-Jedi sentiments that run rampant due to Palpatine’s influence. The clones refuse to accept this.

Order & Academy – After being rejected by Qui-Gon Jinn, initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi finds himself forward in time during that of the height of Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy. (Time Travel)

Third Systems Unprepared – During the explosion where he received his iconic scar, Commander Cody’s chip was knocked around to the point of disuse. When the Chancellor calls on Utapau to Execute Order 66, Cody has no idea what it means, therefore unable to send the orders to the rest of the 212th Attack Battalion and much of the Open Circle Fleet. It changes a lot.

Reverse Psychometry – After coming back from his stint with the Dark Side, Quinlan Vos spends some time with Obi-Wan Kenobi and touches his cloak with an ungloved hand. Instead of his psychometry giving him flashes of the past, he’s fairly certain it gives him a flash of the future. One where Obi-Wan’s grief is overwhelming, everyone is dead, and Anakin Skywalker burns without his limbs. (Reverse psychometry)

Kamino Investigation – Instead of chasing Jango Fett off Kamino, Obi-Wan Kenobi stays on planet, giving the tracker to another nearby knight, while he investigates the clones and the events surrounding them.

Space Survival – An explosion goes off on the Negotiator, which is in low orbit over the Republic world for repairs. Obi-Wan Kenobi is aboard and holding as much of the ship together as he can for the evacuation of the wounded.

Bracca Detour – Upon an accidental detour to Bracca after being sent to Tatooine for exile with Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi finds Cal Kestis.

Lothal AU – Owen Lar’s disbelief and mistrust of Obi-Wan chases him away and the Jedi leaves with Luke (or Leia), eventually finding himself on Lothal where he befriends the Bridgers.

Bit Age Swap – Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker has no intention on taking a padawan just as the war is starting, despite being a knight for nearing a decade until his master, Mace Windu, comes to him with an orphaned padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, whose Master died on Geonosis and is determined to fight in this war, whether the Order likes it or not. Skywalker quickly discovers there is more to padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi than first meets the eye. (Smidge of Age-Swapping)

Din Djarin Au – With the Sith and Separatists defeated, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the 212th are finishing the last of the battles against the droids and stubborn Separatist leaders. It is on a planet, during one of these battles, where the droids are invading a city, that General Kenobi rescues newly orphaned and force-sensitive Din Djarin.

Stay Out of it – Obi-Wan and the 212thare in bound to Coruscant for a few days’ rest, refuel and new orders when Anakin and Padme’s marriage comes to light. And then, Obi-Wan can’t get back to the front quick enough.

This is Different – Coming back from Melida-Daan has proven more difficult than anticipated for Obi-Wan Kenobi and it only gets worse when he wakes up, decades later, only to be found – and accepted – by a monstrous Sith Lord, who seems to have some odd soft spot for him. (Time Travel)

Lineage Reconnection – Obi-Wan brings it upon himself to contact Qui-Gon’s lineage and friends to inform them of the news of his death. Yoda does what he does best and meddles. At least, it appears this time, it worked for the better of everyone involved.

Back with Hope – Obi-Wan Kenobi, a while after Order 66 finds himself back in time, reliving events. He doesn’t entirely know where to start with changing things until something changes for him. The Jedi receive a call from an unknown source – it is tiny clone children calling for their only hope – Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Time Travel)

Undying – It is on Bandomeer when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn discover that the former cannot die, and it is used to their advantage. Obi-Wan keeps his secret, even after Qui-Gon’s death, until he can’t anymore. It is the revelation of the Chosen One prophecy that his purpose is revealed – as a Guardian, Obi-Wan Kenobi cannot die until the Chosen One has brought balance to the Force.

Lineage Last – Anakin and Ahsoka both leave the Jedi Order after she is accused – and proven innocent – and although Obi-Wan understands, the fact that he they left, and he is the last of his lineage doesn’t hurt any less.

Amor – Obi-Wan has been to war before; no one needed to convince him to wear at least some armor. Now how much, that is a different story.

Canon Switch – Anakin Style – After saying something he would come to regret; Anakin Skywalker finds himself in a universe where Obi-Wan had died on Naboo... and Qui-Gon had lived. It is not nearly as he dreamed it would be. (Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence – Time Travel)

Canon Switch – QuiGon Style – A heartbroken Qui-Gon survived Naboo while his padawan did not. Barely surviving for the next ten years, Qui-Gon finds himself in a universe where the opposite is true. (Time Travel)

Dooku Set Up – Tired of Palpatine’s schemes, Count Dooku thinks of defecting when the master Sith Lord is killed. Someone is setting him up and Dooku reaches out to the only person he desperately hopes can help - his grand padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Extra Weird Jedi – The Jedi end up being different than the clones had expected. More odd, dangerous, intriguing. The Kaminoans had told them one thing, the populace’s view of the Jedi. But up close, working with them? It’s so much different.

Baby Counselor – Obi-Wan Kenobi is the youngest member of the Council and is known a bit as the Council baby – at least with other masters – and those on it, are not afraid to treat him that way. It just a tad changes things.

Crechemaster Obi-Wan – When the war comes to an end, Obi-Wan Kenobi decides to become a creche master while Anakin and Padme expect their first child. But when the Senator dies of a cause that is no one’s fault, Anakin is left bereft and leaves his children behind. Obi-Wan takes Luke and Leia into his creche clan.

To be Chosen – Jedi Luke Skywalker is thrown back in time to that where the Order still exists. Finding he cannot go back; he constructs a new life and home into the Temple. Several years later, even though Master Yoda tries to keep a specific initiate away from his sight, Luke encounters him anyways and thinks, perhaps he and Obi-Wan were linked, always meant to be. Perhaps it was Luke’s turn to give back to his master. To be Chosen. (Time Travel)

Kamino Defense – Peace is restored after the war, although the work isn’t done. In response to the controversy surrounding his padawans marriage to Senator Amidala, Obi-Wan accepts a post to protect the clones and their young from power hungry warlords and greedy businessmen on Kamino while the Senate debates what to do with them.

Burned Deep – A thousand years ago, the Jedi chained themselves to the Senate and Republic and dismantled their military as a show of good faith. Now the Senate controls the Jed strictly to keep them from taking over. The Temple becomes a beautiful cage, their stringent parameters for missions a leash. In this world, when the war begins, Jedi are let loose as more of attack dogs than Generals. (Alternate Universe – Canon History Divergence)

Jumping Ages – In an attempt to use what she thinks is a Sith weapon, Ventress just ends up causing some chaos for Obi-Wan and the crew as he ends up popping in at different ages and stages of his life over the course of an unknown amount of time. The only one who doesn’t seem to be rattled is Cody. (De-Aging/Age Regression)

Padme Lives – After surviving Order 66, Padme is forced to hide away with her children, leaving Obi-Wan free to find surviving Jedi and learn about the clones’ predicament.

We Are Burning Stars - Instead of on a faraway planet, fighting the last battles of the war, Obi-Wan Kenobi is walking aside his Commander in the Jedi Temple when Order 66 hits.

Revolving Suns - Raised by Obi-Wan Kenobi, teenaged Luke Skywalker finds himself back into the Clone Wars while General Kenobi falls into an unexplainable coma.