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valntinemorgenstern · 3 years

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An Ocean of Darkness; an elriel one-shot

Summary: *Set post-ACOSF / post B&M extra* *ACOSF SPOILERS*

Azriel meditates on Nyx's birth and tries to settle with himself what his new future will look like. He encounters Elain in the grounds outside the House of Wind. Angsting and sexual tension proceed.

There was something almost wrong about this feeling. Swaddled in the finest cloth, nestled in his arms, the little body was surprisingly weighty; compact. Hot. Its head was barely as wide as his fist. Its scent, sweet as honeysuckle at twilight, billowed around him as it breathed, the motion barely perceptible through the swaddling. Only if he peered close: there. A flutter against the fabric, delicate as a bee’s wings.

Azriel knew it should not have been like this. But the sight of Nyx sleeping, so effortlessly perfect, unleashed something ravenous inside him. Dark as a moonless night; seeping. It spread with the consistency of newly-spilled of blood. Tangible, like seeing an old acquaintance outlined in the doorway.

His shadows began to rise around him.

Where did this feeling come from? Why was he slipping, just at the sight of an infant? It was as if his foot had slid over ice-smooth rock, where he had expected to feel a foothold. And now he fell. And fell, and fell, it seemed, in every direction.

Everything about this was hard to accept. This improbable creature, only two years ago, could never have existed. The fact that in some long-distant eon of time, he himself would have resembled this miniature thing. This thing so fragile, despite the tips of its wings poking out above the blankets. This thing that knew nothing but the everlasting worship of everyone in their Inner Circle. Mor had held onto him for hours; Azriel had only wrestled her into relinquishing her prize by reminding her that her presence was needed elsewhere.

In that long-distant eon of time, had he, too, shut his eyes so? Slept with such trust, in a stranger’s arms? His cheeks, were they as apple-round, as faintly blushed? His nose as tiny? Surely even he, as a babe, would have been set into the cradle of someone’s arms like this, however briefly. Would they have seen his skin as Nyx’s was? Dusky and glowing. Whole, silk-thin. Unruined.

Azriel brought a fingertip up to his forehead, tracing a reverent line across his skin. The intensity of that softness astonished him. It was like a sun-warmed rose petal, rubbed between your fingers. He had forgotten that this was what children were like: their bodies so foreign, so killingly soft. No wonder this had been beaten out of him.

A scrap of a memory danced before him. A whirling hem of a dress; a hand, thrown backwards. Elegant, and pale. Faint lines of dirt circling the fingernails.

His gaze lifted, as if to follow it.

Instead, his eyes collided with Rhys’, who, it appeared, had been staring at him.

There was no time to tuck away his thoughts. They were breaking the surface even as Azriel straightened, and he knew how gasping-loud they would be. All this time, and I thought it would just be us, together. And now, I am the one alone. The next followed, swimming on its tail, but of course, it would always be this way. This is the way it was always supposed to be. It was always going to be. In the end, there would only ever be him. Azriel would always be there, really, chained on the floor of that dungeon. Head cast back in the stale darkness, seeing only the faint light of his breath on the chilly air.

His brother’s expression was twisted into a wellspring of deep sorrow. For him.

Rhys stepped forwards. “I’m sorry.”

It was like some snag in time: already, the resemblance between father and son was so strong. This was just a vision of what the boy in his arms would be in so many years.

Get out of my head. It surprised him, the anger. Like someone had rushed him by mistake and he stumbled, casting around for who had done it.

“I’ll take him.” Rhys said, coming closer, arms extended.

Azriel glanced down at Nyx, suddenly unable to remember why he had petitioned Mor to hold him in the first place. What did he want with this child, so loved? What did he want with the memories and the feelings he invoked so slickly, so powerfully?

As his arms were relieved of the burden, he considered that he must be the only person in all of Prythian who was not interested in handling the babe. Once the news of Nyx’s existence became widespread — and it was already leaking, fast, his sources informed him — the child would be hunted for the rest of his existence.

Then he was in the air, feeling the wind whip about his wings, whirling up and up. It just this side of dusk, the sky quietly darkening, the horizon splayed plum-purples and blues. Rhys and Cassian, both, now had their mates and their homes, but this was Azriel’s only real home. The empty sky. The smell of the air, turning into night. The soothing cold. Breathing so deep as to let the chill infuse his skin, down to his bones, over and over, as if he could bottle this precious sensation, so that it would be always with him.

Azriel let himself circle, flying aimlessly, until the night stretched itself over the heavens in its full glory. He had seen so many courts, visited so many places — probably even more than Rhysand. But no other could compare to the fabulous majesty of the night court sky, this high, this late. Velvet-black, all-encompassing but for the light of the stars that glittered like drops of crystal inlaid into a seabed of darkness. And just like an ocean, it seemed to move, to breathe a life of its own. A darkness that you could reach into, and it would reach back.

When eventually he returned to the House of Wind, he lingered outside, unwilling to step across the threshold. For there was only his solitary bed, and sleep, mocking him. Taunting him.

From the smell of vacancy about the place, he could tell that Cassian and Nesta were not inside. For once.

Some thrill that felt oddly like freedom curled around him. Or was it rebellion? But how long had he been playing this game with her now? Waiting. Loitering in the grounds. Just on the off-chance. It was never an off-chance.

The rush that coursed through him when he spotted her — curled up on the ground, near a rose bush, her hair like a shadow-splashed coin — was so heady it dizzied him.

She glided to her feet. “Why are you here, Azriel?”

Something inside him seized, at the sound of his name, spoken on her lovely, melodious voice.

She walked forwards. “Why? Why are you here?” This time, the edge in her tone had given way to something else. A pleading.

If he reached out his hand, he thought, he could have had her body, so much more petite than her sisters’, flush against him. And then everything in the world would have melted away apart from the shape and the feel of her. The too-exquisite cloud of her scent that floated around him.

He remembered Rhys’ words. You are to stay away from her.

How terribly he had managed so far. Every day he was only sliding further downhill. And enjoying it so deliciously.

He was about to say, I thought we had an understanding. But of course, there was no understanding. No words about this had passed between them. It was something that was forming, half-knowing, between them both. And neither had the will to stop themselves. What if I lingered here? What if I went down this corridor? What if I allowed myself to look too long? What if I were to drive myself half-mad, searching for an excuse to touch you? “I…could not bare the thought of going to my bed.”

It was like someone else had said the words. He almost checked himself, as if to see that he were actually still master of his own body.

A small nod. And then, suddenly, with no warning, she stepped up, her hand covering the side of his face. “It has been this way for you too long, has it not?” Her thumb was stroking, backwards and forwards, across his cheekbone.

Immediately, he felt his shadows sing, his body begin to thrum with something keener than mere pleasure. Yes. Yes. He had caressed her neck just so, at Solstice. When they had nearly kissed.

The memory swirled in her eyes, too.

Stay away from her.

This feeling, this touch of hers. He could live in it. Eat from it, drink from it. Survive in it. This wildness. He would submit himself to anything for it.

“I have something for you.” A moment later, there was coldness were her hand had been, and she had drawn out something from the pocket of her skirts, holding it aloft.

“What is it?” The liquid inside was some purple-brown, shimmering fluid.

“It will help you sleep.”

“Ah.” He understood. “And I mustn’t take too much, I assume?”

She frowned. “It will not steal consciousness away. It will ease the unquiet inside you, that is all.”

How do you know? He stared into those doe-brown eyes, so large, considering all the different things he could say, and do. In his mind, he laid out the options, and weighed them up. The only one drawing him was the version of events where he dove down into the crook of her neck, and breathed in, open-mouthed, frantic, pulling in her scent; letting his teeth and tongue cover every single scrap of skin he could find. Instead, he said, “We need to stop this.”

“Stop what?”

“This. You know.”

A determined shake of her head. “I have made my choice.” He shook his head, trying to dispel the hazy image of Lucien; playing unsuccessfully with the idea of introducing more space between them.

“It is more than that.”

“Rhysand?” A noise of contempt left her.

He stared. Had she heard the entire conversation he’d had with him, in his office? It was possible. But then, there were other things. “How did you know?”

“Does it not occur to you…What if Rhysand were in your position? Can you imagine him obeying some order to stay away from my sister? No. Never.” She pushed closer, defiant. Heat radiated from her. The effort of not touching her was like sinking underwater, allowing himself to drown. Stopping himself from the urge to throw up his arms and gasp for breath. “I care nothing for his orders.”

This girl, who seemed so pure and innocent; who had been holed away for so long. And yet she seemed to have a more accurate grasp of the High Lord’s character than some who had known him years. “How do you know — all this?”

She made a light shrug. “My power rises in me, still. I see, hear, feel — odd things. But I keep seeing you. Your arm under your head, sheets back. You don’t even shut the curtains, now. You do not even try to close your eyes.”

She had been seeing…him? In his bed?

Before he had time to worry what else she had seen of him, she had grabbed one of his hands, thrusting the vial into his palm. By instinct, his fingers shut around the glass, clasping, too, the edge of her fingers. And then she was ducking her head, pressing a warm, firm kiss to the grotesque half-flayed skin that coated his knuckles. “Please.” Her beautiful eyes implored him. “For my sake.”

#my fanfiction #i have not written a fic in so long #and this one is angsty as hell #coming back to my roots #elriel #azriel #elain archeron #acosf

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inkedtae · 3 years

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hey bee!!! how are you after the boys dropped that amazing album (named after yourself 🤭) I was watching the boys promotions and I just can't get over how fucking amazing jk looks😭 based on how horny I am rn for jungkook, can u create an scenario with the Golden Gills couple? As jk is a gold fish, I'd kill to see both of them at the beach and Yn listing at how buff her man looks.

heyy friend~~ the fact that the album was so obviously named after me and i love every single track cannot be a coincidence. i am just in awe of the entire comeback, completely ruined and yet still feeling so comforted and at home. it’s such an odd combination ik lmao how are you doing?? what’s your fav track?? jk did look fucking fabulous!! i hope you like what i’ve come up with!!

warnings; sexual implications, extremely unedited

He comes here often. At least, that’s what he told you when leading you to his favourite spot on the beach. It’s just behind a few layers of jagged rocks and rough waves. Lounging on your shoulders, you watch, from your place under the sun umbrella, Jungkook disappear under the waves. Whenever he pops his head back up, smile wide and gills pulsing, you can’t stop yourself from shifting in your seat.

His buff chest huffs. Nipples taut, abs tight, he gleams of droplets under the sunset. The peachy oranges swirls of the sky halo around his muscular frame. Jungkook pushes his long hair out of his face, showing off his undercut. It does more for you this time than ever before. It might have something to do with his wet body, or maybe the way he smirks back at you.

You press your legs together, swallowing a whine. Why must he make it impossible to just sit and read?

“You can finish your homework later,” he calls to you.

You shake your head. He knows full well you can’t swim. Still, he waves you over. “Go dive, Jeon!”

Raising your book up to create a visual barrier, you try to forget about how good he fucking looks and focus on the assigned chapter. Not even a minute later, you feel water drip on your legs. You drop your book to find him towering over you.

He holds his hand out.

You tsk.

“Come on, hun.”

“I wanna read.”

“I’ll hold you the whole time; you have nothing to worry about.”

“No, you have nothing to worry about it. You can breath underwater. I rather not drown.”

He scoffs, raising a brow. “You really think I’d let an ass that good drown?”

You glare at him fighting off a smile. You bring your book back to your face, muttering, “I don’t trust you.”

He crawls over you. Your breath hitches at the cool droplets scattering all over you. Slipping under your book, Jungkook nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck. He peppers tiny kisses upon your skin, licking those goosebumps away. “Don’t you wanna swim with me?” He questions in a whispers. Kissing up to the shell of your ear, he darkly hisses, “Let’s get more than just this cunt wet.” Cupping your sex, he growls lowly in your ear.

You shudder, thighs clamping around his vein laced hand. “Promise you won’t let go?” You sound so pathetic, tiny and scared, but he doesn’t tease you about it.

Removing his hand from the apex of your thighs, he nods and whispers, “I promise, babygirl.”

[create a moment with me]

#create a moment with me #jungkook drabble #jeon jungkook smut #jungkook smut #golden gills jjk

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sophi-s · 2 years

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Cost of Kindness

Chapter V: Way Back Home

By: sophi-s

Words: 7,230

Characters: Fury, Original Characters, Raphael, Ulthane

Warnings: Mention of Injury, Swearing

Summary:

After an encounter Nicola and Raphael survived by the skin of their teeth, the Black Rider - under the isistence of the human - leads both back to Haven.

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"Who.. who are you?"

Nicola's hesitant question in voice still quivering from the encounter with the Fallen wasn't met with great approval from the fabulous stranger. If anything, the woman who'd been a massive, blazing demon just a couple of seconds ago has a rather bored look on her marked face. As if what she'd just done was nothing more than an evening stroll or an easy and uninteresting household chore. As if for her it was a standard. Though, honestly, who’s to say it wasn’t. Her magenta hair swayed gently in the nonexistent wind, almost seeming as though it was underwater as she moved her hand to rest it on her cocked hip, regarding a human and an angel huddled together in a ruined house.

"An annoyed Horseman who goes out of her way to save your sorry hide. The name's Fury."

Oh. Oh, a Horseman. Another Horseman (Horse… woman?), if that man in red was one too. Great.. Well, she did save both Nicola and Raphael but still, the former didn't feel comfortable thinking that this strange woman in front of her is capable of decapitating a huge-ass demon like it's nothing and becoming one herself. Besides, there's no need to be an ass about it. Not letting go of her beaten up friend, Nicola gawked at the woman - Fury, as she called herself - in wonderment as she measured the unusual pair with a raised eyebrow. But only for a short moment before she reached for something on her belt. Nicola shrunk down in alarm but unnecessarily, it seems. Because instead of a weapon, in Fury's extended hand rested a flat stone bearing light blue intricate engravings. Somewhat familiar ones too.. And as the Horseman pulled it out, she spoke.

"Alright, let go of the dead bird and get over here."

Nicola protested, too late realising that she may have just made a mistake by addressing her savior with a tone like that, especially if the said savior can turn into a colossal monstrosity which could probably snap her in half like a goddamn Kit-kat using two fingers and nothing else. Fortunately, Fury only rolled her eyes and groaned with exasperation, muttering something about "humans always making it difficult" while someone else answered Nicola. Out of thin air a puff of black smoke materialised behind the armored woman and formed into another weird creature. A thin, spindly entity, also feminine in appearance. Pair of vestigial wings on her back, chains around her wrists and waist and no mouth in sight on her face from which two pairs of blue eyes - blue like the odd runes marking her body - blinked at Nicola, startling a yelp from her.

"He's not dead! And he's my friend!"

"He is already as good as dead. Not worth your time, Mistress."

She speaks with a reverberating voice, turning her hairless, smoking head to Fury and making Nika's hairs stand on the back of her neck. She has no idea what that is - maybe a servant, or a slave if the chains and the talk of “mistress” are any hint - but she'd be damned if she cared at this point. It creeps her out and that's all that matters now. After meeting a mad healer in a stinky sewer and surviving an encounter with the worst sorts of demons (like, c'mon, so far she met a Trauma, a Fallen twice, a Shadowcaster and the freaking Destroyer even if he never saw her), she thought nothing would surprise her and yet this ruined world kept proving her wrong on every turn. This madness never seemed to end. All this was so.. so very tiring. She just wanted to go home.. Can one of the otherworldly creatures involved in all this mess decide this sucks in the end and turn back the time to prevent all that from happening? Give her her goddamn life back? Please?

Despite her defeated and tired attitude however, she did not like the way this creature spoke about Raphael. He'll surely be okay! Those are just broken ribs and a bunch of nasty bruises. Though, considering how hard he hit his head, he probably has a concussion as well. Still, it's nothing a regular human cannot pull through, so why not him? No matter the case, Nicola knew that whatever happens now, she is not leaving without him. Because at the back of her mind, she'd have the thought that on top of abandoning him (like she swore she wouldn't) he may have survived and suffered even longer before something certainly got him. And she couldn't live with herself if she left him for dead here. A promise has been made and she isn't backing out of this. Even to Fury's clear annoyance.

"Human, just come over and touch the Bridge. It'll take you to safety."

"No, I'm not leaving him behind! And if that safety is not synonymous with Haven, I'm not going either way."

Nicola cringed inwardly at the way her words came out. It sounded like she was asking for death and a trip to the blissful afterlife! Out of context, someone could think she was suicidal! Honestly though, what human isn't at least a tiny bit suicidal lately? After fire and demons came raining down on their heads, anyone would want to get the fuck out of here. Besides, come on. She's literally just been throwing rancid eggs at a goddamn Fallen. This is practically asking for her head getting torn off. Maybe she was just being wary, maybe already borderline paranoid, but she didn't want to blindly trust a large woman armed to the teeth and with Hellish fire burning underneath her sallow skin. She's cool, badass and all but that does not necessarily mean trustworthy. The Destroyer looked cool too after all! And he is far from trustworthy from what little she knew about him. Better to be safe than sorry.. As she replied, Fury's face suddenly brightened with something akin to recognition.

"Ahh, so you are the runaway human Ulthane was losing his mind because of the last time I saw him!"

Okay, that made Nicola's jaw go slack with astonishment. First of all, Fury knows Ulthane, which probably means that yes, this "Bridge" can take her to Haven, somehow (unless she lies but that's doubtful because only someone Ulthane trusts would possess such information). Second of all, the maker was truly worried about her and it made her feel warm inside. It felt good to know that he cares that much about her as a person and not only about the group of survivors as a whole. That each of them matters to him equally. She knew that he did but hearing that from someone else was.. heartwarming. And also making her slightly uncomfortable. Ah, shit, he's gonna be super mad at me.. If Fury is familiar with the kind giant, then maybe she can be trusted after all? But that still leaves her in a difficult situation. Raphael's heavy breath tickling her neck and for some reason sending shivers down her spine (usually it was demons breathing down her neck so it was probably just a bad memory..) was constantly reminding her of that. What about him? Fury impatiently extended her hand further

"Yes, yes, I know your guardian. And if you care about the angel so much, I can take him to the rest of his people so that they take care of him for you. Now get over here and touch the damn thing already!"

"I have a healing shard! You can have it if you take us both to Haven. I'm sure it will come in handy.. Please?"

Nicola clenched her jaw. She wasn't going to change her mind. Either she's going back with Raphael, or she isn't going at all. For getting her out of trouble three times already and healing her twice, that's the least she owes him. He agreed to come and didn't seem too keen on going to his friends, from what she'd heard. He left them on his own volition after all. Why, she still had no clue. Alright, she wants to see everyone in Haven again, apologise to Ulthane, Yarin and Elanya for disappearing like that but… Gah, damn it! Why is she always faced with such difficult choices?! She was about to repeat herself like a broken recording when suddenly her right side was shielded by a wing, as though Raphael intended to hide her from any eyes that were watching. Glancing at him, his head still resting on her shoulder, she noticed that his eyes were wide open, staring at Fury who gave him a murderous look, seeing that he's taking Nicola's side. He tried to speak but all he managed was mouthing two words, directed to the woman before them. Black Rider, he tried to say if she isn't mistaken. Do they… know one another? Highly doubtful, unless Fury's… well, furious look means that he is familiar to her and not in a positive meaning of this word. Maybe he's been unhinged long before the Apocalypse started and Fury just was having none of it back then. Anything can happen! Armageddon proved that with barely any space for arguments. To defuse the situation, she tried to placate the already frustrated warrior with an offering of payment. And to try and be more convincing, she pulled out the crystal glowing with healing magic, unwittingly catching Raphael's short lived interest.

Bribery usually worked on Vulgrim exclusively (not that any other demon gave her a chance to parlay and angels she steered clear of until now) but it didn't hurt to try with someone else. A warrior would surely welcome payment in the form of a quick way to heal some wounds. Fury first narrowed her white eyes and pursed her lips, her gaze shifting between the shard and Nicola while the black, floating creature continued to sabotage human's attempts at finding compromise.

"Mistress, this is a waste of time. The Council's patience isn't limitless."

"I know that, Watcher."

The Horseman bites back, still weighing her options as Nicola glared at the so-called Watcher. It's really not helpful.. What does she have against Raphael? For a couple long seconds Fury held Nicola in uncertainty. Please, agree. Her eyes stared cooly at Nika as she huffed. Thinking.. Before piercing screeches of Duskwings swooping down towards Fury interrupted the staring contest, making the Horseman twirl around and… her head spontaneously combusted. Like literally caught fire. Her swaying locks shot up like an agitated serpent seemingly possessing a mind of their own and burst into very real flames. Nicola couldn't help a startled shriek as Fury swatted a bat-like beast out of the sky with her whip and quickly finished it off before scaring away the rest of the small group.

"Shut it! I'm having a conversation!"

She snaps before turning back to Nicola who was still gawking owlishly at the inferno on her head. Even Raphael was noticeably tenser than before this happened. How the Hell does having a goddamn Hades head not bother her?

"M- miss, y- your hair is on fire!"

"For the umpteenth time no, it isn't."

Fury sighs exasperatedly and just like that, not even moving a finger, makes the flames vanish. And true to her word, her magenta hair is unharmed - falling into its resting state, freely swaying and figuratively spitting into the face of the laws of physics - her skin isn't burned or blackened. This day keeps getting weirder by the second.. Not going to lie though, that was ultra badass. Eventually, Fury jabs her finger at Nicola.

"Let me be clear, human."

She spat out the last word as though it was an insult (ah, so she's one of those people…) narrowing her eyes at the addressee still half covered by a dusty wing on her flank. The way it quivered made Nicola shoot a glance at Raphael, only now noticing how shallowly he was breathing, his eyes unfocused as he clearly struggled to stay conscious just a little longer, leveling the Horseman standing before the hole in the wall. Instinctively, Nicola tightened her grip on the weakening angel, silently begging him not to fall asleep. If he would just hold on just for a little while it would be fantastic. The flaring heat in her chest responded to the motion and the close proximity of the angel who made her realise its existence. Unbothered by his fading glare, Fury continued.

"You're an annoying little pest that vexes my very existence. I do not have to help you. But Ulthane promised to aid me in return if I do. If you want the bird with you, then fine. But test my patience or waste my time again and I'll make sure you regret it."

"Mistress.."

The Watcher hummed insistently and disapprovingly, frowning at Fury and then glaring at Raphael with something that Nicola could only describe as a silent grudge for something he likely hadn't done. Just contempt in its purest form. Prejudice, perhaps? Luckily, she was rebuffed by the Horseman right away.

"You've made yourself clear when I spared Usiel. No more on the subject."

Another name, another unknown person to Nicola's list. That list just keeps getting longer and longer.. Azrael, Usiel, the uh… the other guy who got murdered.. also something starting with "A" and she's pretty sure she'd heard it somewhere before she heard that angel woman call it (she'll have to recall it if she wants to ask Raphael about it). There was also "Dis", mentioned by Vulgrim when Jones asked the demon if he had some spare ammo in the stash and he said he would ask Dis before disappearing. Well, at least one of those people she saw in person while others were just dull voices and shapeless faces with colorless eyes. Though, he's kinda dead as Hell so it doesn't really count. Still, hearing all those names, not knowing who to associate them with, lit up a spark of irritation in Nicola. Always making her feel like she's less of an intelligent creature somehow. Especially because she felt her companion perk up at the sound of the name spoken by the Horseman. The reply to her request that Fury had given wasn't all that clear and so she found herself asking.

"Is that a 'yes' then?"

Without another word, still glowering, Fury came closer and taking advantage of his daze hauled Raphael's arm over her shoulder, her nose wrinkling at the foul smell surrounding both the angel and the human. A flash of pain passed through healer's face as his hand reflexively reached for his side when he was pulled up by Fury, who - despite her smaller stature - didn't appear hindered. Seems like angels are much lighter than they look. Or maybe it's just him, considering how skinny he is.. This thought never fails to give Nicola a twinge of pity.

Time, as the Fallen proved before, wasn't working in their favor. Fury wasn't really waiting for Nicola as she pulled the injured angel along and while he still could somewhat walk, the support was surely appreciated. Well.. that's good enough to Nicola. At some point, not exactly sure when, the Watcher just as suddenly as it appeared, vanished with nary a trace aside from rapidly fading smoke. Where to, Nicola had no idea and wasn't sure whether she wanted to or not. At least the sprite stopped being an ass to Raphael.. After a moment of astonishment because, wow, the lady actually agreed to help even though she made herself clear that she hates the idea of it, Nicola grabbed the golden staff Raphael dropped when he was picked up by Fury. And oddly enough, the staff seemed to respond to her touch as a couple of bright sparks ran across its length before fading to nothingness but Nicola dismissed it as something magical items do sometimes and paid it no mind.

The thing that served partially as an ornament, partially as a cane for support and partially as a deadly weapon and catalyst for sorcery turned out to be surprisingly light. Its weight was excellently balanced to make it easier to wield, even for Nicola whose head was pretty much on the same level with its tip where necks of the gilded serpents cross. A masterpiece of angelic craftsmanship. Not that she has seen a lot of such creations and can say she has a taste.. It's still very pretty though! Okay, staff, backpack, shotgun.. where's her shotgun? Ah! There it is, just where she'd dropped it after firing into the demon's ugly mug. Still proud of herself after that.. Nicola shudders at the sight of the Fallen lying still on the cobblestone near her weapon and its blood pooling under its neck stump while its severed head - monstrous face previously contorted in rage and pain now slack and expressionless - is a couple feet away. It alone makes Nicola's stomach churn as she goes to follow the one to behead the demon in the first place (and honestly, it scares her a little). Better not to look at the thing any longer lest she wants to throw up. And to think all it would take as a second of hesitation. No. Stop it. She reprimands herself when the thought makes her head spin.

Seems she took everything she needed. Though.. she had a feeling she was forgetting something. Listing through the stuff she gathered, Nicola desperately tried to determine what she was missing. Then, a sad and quiet meow comes from somewhere to the side, and it clicks. Fury is immediately on guard, glancing about vigilantly as Raphael forces his head up to search for the source of the soft cry of a lonely animal. Right, how could she have possibly forgotten? Gesturing to Fury to be calm, Nicola sits on her hunches and begins to call out to the kitten, hoping it would listen to her. You never know with frightened cats.

"Ps ps ps ps, here, little fella.. It's okay, it's safe to come out."

It doesn't take long for it to show up. The black and white furball leaps out through the broken window and meowing anxiously runs up to Nicola. The kitten must've belonged to someone before the Apocalypse since it came up to her and immediately climbed into her lap and then onto her shoulder, pushing its claws into her tattered vest, kneading and purring but still shaking. How quickly it has warmed up to her.. Goddamnit, why are kittens so adorable? Grinning like an idiot, Nicola turned around and saw Fury gawking at her with a raised eyebrow and Raphael dropping his head again with a sigh that almost sounded relieved. Looks like he'd grown fond of his little friend too.

"What is that thing?"

The Horseman asks with a note of distrust and Nicola barely holds back a bark of laughter. She doesn't know what a cat is? Okay, not only does it seem ridiculous but also absolutely hilarious. And good, Nicola needed something to improve her mood after the shit today and yesterday had prepared for her. The vision of soon coming back home and seeing this otherworldly, feisty woman - a fierce demon slayer who hates her on principle - confused by the small, fuzzy animal on her shoulder did just that.

"It's a cat. We sometimes used to keep them as pets. This one's still a baby."

She halfheartedly explains as Fury eyes the purring kitten holding tightly onto Nicola's clothes and now staring up at the floating hair with dilated pupils like hypnotized. And the look in Horseman's white eyes is.. Nicola knows this look far too well. It's a look of someone who would sooner die by ingesting ricin than let somebody else know what they're feeling at the moment. Her face is like chiseled out of stone but Nicola can tell that she's inwardly struggling. There are few people who could resist the cuteness of a little kitten and those who do are usually heartless bastards who dump the poor souls in sacks and either drown them or throw them away like garbage. It would appear that Fury is not among them. Perhaps the harsh attitude is really just the exterior or she is having an awful day and she's a big softie on the inside, who knows? Seriously though. Has she really never seen a cat before? Huh. Weird. What an irony. All those creatures that arrived on Earth seemingly out of nowhere are so strange and unnatural to its inhabitants but it seems that humans' habits and behaviors, and creatures of Earth are just as strange to them. Whenever a bloodthirsty demon isn't trying to commit homicide on her poor arse, Nicola can't help but find it absurdly funny.

"Well, yes, it's charming and all, can we go now?"

She elects to grumble instead and Nicola cannot refuse the proposal. The sooner they go, the better. Even if it means an inevitable confrontation with an overprotective maker who - as Fury said - has been freaking out about her disappearance. Oh boy.. this is gonna be rather interesting… How this will go, Nicola can only try and guess. One thing she knows for certain though. She is definitely getting grounded forever after this one.

Moving through the ruined city on foot was taking long but that's to be expected. Maneuvering between the crumbling buildings, obsidian spikes and pits of molten lava, and avoiding any sort of confrontation as best as possible was enough to hinder any progress but an injured angel barely capable of moving forward surely slowed the journey down to a crawl. Nicola kept close to Fury supporting Raphael on her shoulder, constantly watching him warily. After a head trauma it's better to be on alert when it comes to monitoring the injured. Not that she could do anything should something life threatening happen... And just to reassure herself and try and calm her pounding heart down a little bit, Nicola held one fold of the cloth hanging around his waist but oddly enough it appeared to work on him as well. Her presence alone seemed to work like a sedative on the battered angel as much as it baffled her beyond human comprehension. In the meantime, the kitten - much more closely connected to Raphael probably because he saved its life - climbed from its spot on her shoulder onto his and then made itself comfortable in his hood which in turn fell, creating a small cradle for the fluffy cutie. While Raphael’s silver hair was a total mess - a wild tangle framing his thin, sickly and grime smeared face - it thankfully bore no stains of blood. Well, not the fresh ones at least. His recent head trauma did not cause any breaks in the skin but his dusty strands were still marked by long dried ichor in many other places. Good Lord, this man desperately needs a bath probably. If a possibility ever presents itself, Nicola is totally convincing him to do so even if she has to stand on her eyelashes and clap her ears. Can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want to agree. After all that mess he surely had been through even before she found him, refreshment should be much welcome.

All this time she had, Nicola decided to dedicate to thinking how she would tackle reunion with Ulthane. And honestly? The longer she thought about it the less clue she had how to handle it. It looks like improvisation will be her best and only option unfortunately. An inward groan is hard to suppress to the point it stays away from her mouth and turns into an actual sound of frustration. She hated improvising. Whenever forced to, she felt like her heart was about to burst from how hard it was pounding in her chest. It stressed her way too much. But it seems that there's no other choice as of now.. Thank God that this maker has a soft spot for her race. She could use this weakness against him to lessen the likelihood of it going poorly.

An hour or two passed and the sun was beginning to set behind the western horizon when three sets of feet found the surface of one of the huge and tangled roots of the great tree reaching far into the city, reassuring Nicola to some extent. Seeing the source of warm light descending inevitably towards the ground and the sky changing colors to that of fire, Nicola couldn't help but feel anxious. Being out after the nightfall is a bad idea. Her recent encounter with a snake-ass only served to fasten this belief. Her stomach began to rumble again, displeased that it had been deceived by a single candy bar earlier. Jones is probably going to laugh his arse off as she inhales whatever meal she is given at home even if it would be fried locusts.. Luckily, the passage of time also helped Raphael to pull himself together and walk more or less on his own when Nicola gave him his staff back. The face Fury pulled when he slid his arm off of her shoulders was nothing if not one screaming "fucking finally". Though, this wasn't what Nicola was focused on as she accepted that Fury doesn't feel like being friends with either of them and that she isn't one for pointless chitchat to make the road seem shorter. Receiving help from her was good enough for Nicola.

Glancing at the struggling angel, Nicola can't help but wonder.. The scars on her thigh and on her forehead prickled at the thought. Going back to the memories of Raphael effortlessly closing her wounds like it's the easiest thing to be done has birthed confusion that only grew in amount the longer she looked at his own injuries. At the cut on his lip. A scabbed over slash on his ribs. A bloody bandage on his shoulder. Broken fingernails and scuffed skin on his palms hidden by makeshift bandages. And now with the eye of her mind, his surely broken ribs and a bruise on the back of his head, hidden in his disheveled hair. If he can heal her so easily.. Why can't he do that to himself? All it takes is a single touch to will the torn flesh to start mending. Yet another question for the angel was added to the long list. It intrigued Nicola as much as it didn't make sense why he wouldn't tend to his own wounds. Even as unstable as he seems, she doubted he would be in denial of them, especially now considering how he's doubled over and clearly in severe pain.

Broken ribs was not something Nicola had experience with. All her knowledge on this subject came from books and other similar sources. In her practices as a future nurse she was only permitted to tend to minor injuries, do physical examinations on someone who wasn't feeling well and vaccinate. Or sometimes draw blood for testing under the supervision of a higher rank doctor if she was lucky. But while assisting in some more serious cases, she often heard patients describe the feeling as excruciating. That every breath they draw makes them want to cry. And looking at her friend now - curled up, stiff and breathing shallowly - she could tell that they weren't lying.. For now, all she could do was pray to God that the broken bones have not and were not about to puncture his lung. She'd read about the case of a collapsed lung quite a lot as the subject was of interest to her and she knew well that in the current situation there would be no way to assist the sufferer. And in the worst case scenario, the result would be death. Please, do not let that be the case..

Sighing quietly, Nicola flexed her toes and felt how sore her feet really were. Not only her feet, her whole legs from the said toes all the way up to her hips and with most of the ache concentrating in her freshly healed thigh to the point she started to walk with a subtle limp. Now we match, Nicola chuckles to herself mirthlessly, recalling when she saw Raphael walk for the first time. It's not really that funny when she thinks more about it. Hours of walking and the previous day were beginning to take their toll on her body. It has its limits clearly contoured and when those limits are exceeded, it protests rather noticeably. And it seems that such limits aren't a foreign thing even to creatures from different realms.. This realisation dawned on Nicola when Raphael stumbled all of the sudden and dropped to his knee, his free hand wandering up from his side to his chest as the other clutched the staff tightly.

With a quiet gasp, she rushed up and took a hold of his arm in concern and with a wordless question for his well-being. Some part of her was annoyed. Why does he have to keep scaring her like this? Is he really going to force her to get used to it? While Nicola was no longer oblivious to the torture he's enduring day after day, she quickly realised she hates it. She hates seeing her new friend in pain. When those foggy, white eyes looked up at her unfocused and frightened, a twinge of sadness in her chest was almost physically painful. Nicola felt like she can't just stand idle. But she was clueless what she could do.. The memory of his first full smile - this soft and genuinely happy expression - as the rays of sun fell onto his face passed through her mind. She'd do anything to have this smile return, if only for a short moment. Not much could be done to stop her hand from resting over the angel's cheek until it was too late. When Nicola realised what she was doing, her heart began to race in slight panic. Especially when Raphael subtly leaned into her palm. Is he actually… that comfortable with her? They barely know each other. And he is an angel while she is just a frail, weak human. What is she even thinking about? In a moment like this, in the middle of the Apocalypse? Shame on you. She kicks herself with irritation.

"Surrounded by horrors.. It cries from within.. Blessed Creator… Balance is no more, the darkness spreads… Black Rider-… The Council watches.. always watches. Counts our sins and transgressions…"

Before any other conflicted thoughts could surface, Nicola heard him mutter jumbled words that didn't make a lot of sense to her. And that's when it clicked. He wasn't looking at her like she previously assumed. Just like in the beginning, his sunken eyes looked past her at some invisible point suspended in the ether. His skin that should hold the natural warmth was.. cold. As Nicola moved her hand from his cheek and to his forehead to confirm her dire suspicions, his head almost fell to his chest heavily. It would have, if it didn't once again stop on her hand. A pang of dread dropped into her bottomless stomach. She hadn't noticed it before but Raphael felt like ice to the touch. Why, she couldn't tell. Could it be that Angels do get ill? That's an actual thing? Normally, she'd probably find it interesting or even fascinating if it weren't for the circumstances of making such a discovery. Raphael wasn't leaning into her touch earlier but rather trying to rest on something firm, seeking warmth in his half conscious state. The absent look and the mingling words without context added up and pointed to one conclusion. Not only did he look in pain but also on the verge of passing right back out. No, no, not now! Murmuring curses to herself, Nicola lifted Raphael's head to try and maintain eye contact. Even Fury stopped for a moment to see why neither is following.

"Oh, for the love of- Human, do try to gather your bird up. Haven is barely fifteen minutes of steady march away! Somebody's going to die if you request me to carry his butt all the way there."

"Phel! Phel, look at me. Don't. Fall. Asleep!"

"I'm on it, hold up!"

Good news at long last! Fifteen minutes.. Only fifteen minutes separates her from the safety of her newfound home. If Raphael would stay conscious for just a little longer. She turns briefly to Fury to inform her that she is in fact trying her damndest.

Then, ducking under Raphael's arm, she uses her weight to try and help him stand upright again, all the while talking to keep him awake. That's all she really asks of him right now. Keep his eyes open, stand up and keep moving at least until Haven is in the line of sight. Being jostled in the hood, the kitten complains loudly and jumps out, electing to follow the group on foot. On paw? Whichever works. Supported by both his staff and Nicola, Raphael thankfully does stand back up, still muttering to himself and not looking her way. Though, what he says - even if it's just madman's gibberish - catches Nicola's attention.

"Lucifer's corruption runs deep.. every human knows its alluring touch, every single one of them. How? Azrael, tell me, how are they capable of fighting it..? Nicola, can you not feel its icy claws so insistently clutching at your mortal heart?"

It almost escaped her that he actually addressed her in the last sentence, so confused she was. And truth be told, she didn't know what to answer. Okay, everyone knows of Lucifer (though, being now aware that he is an actual living creature, which can most likely kill her just as easily as any demon or possibly even easier, and not just a concept or an evil spirit made her more than very uncomfortable) and all that stuff but what is the deal with his "corruption"? Maybe he's talking about the idea of urges to sometimes do things that aren't necessarily good or about many people just being a bunch of arseholes in general. Without the right understanding of it, Nicola cannot hope to answer correctly. Instead, she settles on something simple and frankly quite dismissive.

"I'll try to tell you once we get to Haven and you rest up, okay? We will have all the time we need."

"Hmm.."

That was the only response she got. But he wasn't pressing her so it's kind of a success? Supporting the angel, trying really hard not to hiss at the more or less phantom pain in her thigh, Nicola follows the annoyed Horseman who thankfully slows down a bit to let them catch up (even if she looks like she's about to eat someone alive because of that). And true enough, soon the main trunk overlooked by a tangled and twisted canopy, and the entrance to the safe shelter for humanity came into view. No coherent words would be capable of describing the full extent of Nicola's relief and joy at the sight of it. Finally home.. safe and sound. After an escapade that almost cost her her life. Three times, might she add. It probably will be better not to mention any of this to Ulthane… Once they get ten, maybe eight feet away from the place, Fury turns around to Nicola and breathes out through her mouth, simultaneously extending her hand in an expectant gesture.

"A deal's a deal. You and your companion are safe. Now, your end of the bargain."

True. From here, no problems should arise (unless Nicola tripped and fell on her head into the streets below but she isn't that clumsy..) until the unlikely pair is safe. Fury fulfilled her task and Nicola did promise to repay the favor. With little to no hesitation, she fishes the shard out of her vest pocket and places it in Fury's waiting palm with the widest - albeit unbelievably tired - smile. The Horseman definitely pulled her weight.

"Here you go! Thanks, Fury. Good luck in whatever it is you're doing out there. Maybe we'll see each other one day again.."

"Likely. I drop by every now and then to maintain my equipment. If I catch the sight of you in need in the city or hear you ran off again, human, I swear I am going to strangle you."

"We're almost there. Come on, just a little further."

With those (quite threatening) words accompanied by a finger covered by a gauntlet with sharp metal tips serving as an apparently temporary farewell, Fury takes her prize and walks off back into the crumbling city to resume her work she spoke of before, paying no more mind to her charges who she deems good to go on their own. Raphael - now a little more aware of his surroundings once again - watches the Horseman leave, murmuring foreign words Nicola once again sadly cannot understand. Sighing, she taps his shoulder to get his attention and smiles when he looks first at her, then up at the ginormous tree and lets his jaw fall just a little, looking a bit like an awed boy.

"Magnificent.. only the Tree of Life overshadows this one in size and grandeur. The maker must be dedicated to his work. Yes, I can see it even from here."

What the "Tree of Life" is, she has no idea but she was too preoccupied with the ecstasy of finally coming home from her (not quite) little adventure to wonder about it. Raphael's words were more of him muttering to himself again but in spite of herself Nicola still laughed shortly and shook her head, already feeling her heart pick up the pace at the thought of the oncoming lecture from pretty much everyone. Earning a bemused look she did not notice.

"You have no idea.."

And you're probably gonna see with your own eyes soon enough. She adds in her mind, deciding not to think anymore and just take it head on and be done with it as soon as possible so that she can eat and then collapse for the next twelve hours at the very least. Following the pathway she already knows so well, Nicola finally sets first steps into the tree with Raphael at her back. She is finally at Haven. No more running from demons in the nearest future, no danger, nothing. Only a group of traumatized people and a bunch of overbearing makers. Though, with utmost certainty, she would take them over blood hungry monsters any day. No arguing about that.

Finally, Nicola felt the lightness in her chest at the sight stretched out before her eyes that almost started to water from the sheer happiness. This was the place Nicola so dreadfully wished to find herself in again after a nightmare of a journey through the town that used to be her home instead. A large chamber carved inside of the biggest tree she'd ever seen, a solid stone bearing marks after a sculpting drill sitting in the middle, candles faintly flickering in the wall facing the opening she and Raphael walked through and the wooden bridges swinging above all this. But most importantly, beside the piece of stone, stood a couple of wide eyed humans staring at her. Survivors from Haven. Her friends. Family..

Jacob, the handsome young man with his hair and beard the color of charcoal, messed up as always and his wide brown eyes staring at the newcomers through the simple rectangular glasses sitting on his nose. Hiding behind his leg and gripping his coat was his six years old daughter, Marie - an exact opposite of him - fair, silken hair and bright blue eyes. A splitting image of her poor mother deceased in an accident four years, prior to the Apocalypse as Jacob once said. Red-headed woman with long braids and freckles over her cheeks and nose. Leslie, a soon-to-be mother who was lucky enough to survive until she was discovered by Ulthane and led to the Tree. And at her side, always watchful, was her silent older brother Sebastian. Just as freckled and read headed as she. Rest of survivors were probably in other chambers but the ruckus would surely draw them out soon enough. A warm feeling of joy and safety washed over her. Home…

Flustered by the situation, Raphael gripped Nicola's shoulder for reassurance and she - no less nervous - shrunk down a little while the cat rubbed against her ankle demanding some attention, and muttered a quiet "hey guys", especially because after the initial shock wore off, all humans backed away (likely at the sight of the angel that looked like he was chewed by a Trauma and spat out directly into the tree). Marie actually squealed in fear and shrunk behind her father who tried his best to hide her from any eyes behind his leg. However, everyone froze all over again when they suddenly recognised her.

"M- Miss Nika..?"

"Holy crap! You're alive?!"

"Nicola!"

Leslie - probably her closest friend right next to Jones - almost, just almost ran towards her but seeing the scrawny angel at Nicola's back made her regard both newly arrived warily. Her brother however, who was far more focused on prevention than analysis, actually grabbed a bloody rifle that was leaning against a nearby wall and trained it on Raphael, prompting him to try and hide behind her while eyeing the group with non hidden shock. Seems like he did not really believe Nicola when she said that more humans still live. The sudden feeling of Raphael's slender fingers digging into her right shoulder tighter almost made her wince but she decided his fright is fully justified. Her stomach turned hollow as she spread out her hands to the sides, terrified that Sebastian was about to shoot Raphael. She did not even notice when the kitten suddenly got scared by sudden movement and vanished in some nook of the chamber.

"No, no, wait! Seba, he's a friend! It's okay!"

"Like Hell, it is! Nika, we thought you're dead, you absolute dumbass!”

Leslie yelled at Nicola - both mad and ecstatic to see her well - while Sebastian refused to put the gun down, frowning at the angel still. The stalemate possibly would have continued but then before Nicola has a chance to apologise to her friend-...

"What's with all the commotion?"

All heads simultaneously turned towards the source of a new voice with a thick nordic accent up on one of the bridges. Standing over the entire chamber were three large silhouettes of the giant makers, like three grim statues. One, a woman with long blonde braids, second, a man with a dark beard and bald head. Elanya and Yarin. But it was the third one who made a knot of unease twist in Nicola's stomach. Sturdier than the other two, older. Brown hair pulled back into a braid, a scruffy beard and pale blue eyes settled on each side of a large nose. Two shaggy eyebrows descended low over those eyes as soon as they stopped on Raphael. Oh no.. But the moment he noticed her, those misty eyes widened and soon he was stomping over to where she was standing unsure how to tackle this, making the ground shake underneath her feet. Oh, NO. Shit, shit, ABORT! And eventually, Nika elected to do the only thing her instinct allowed for while in the state of pure panic. With a nervous chuckle (silently wishing that Raphael was the one hiding her and not the other way around) she shot her guardian a broken, uncertain smile.

"H- Hey, Ulthane…"

--------------------------------------------------

Hey, it’s finally here, not even half as good as I liked it to be and without picture but hey! At least it’s something, is it not? Merry Christmas, homies :D

Also, no beta, I die like poor Rampage ;-;

Oh, and guess what? My sister is apparently pregnant again! I’m gonna be an aunt for the third time :3

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eryiscrye · 4 years

Note

I feel like "meeting at a party whilst drunk au" (17) would be a hella interesting concept for Braime.

#17-Meeting at a Party Whilst Drunk AU

Prompted by my fabulous beta @lewispanda. This... mostly hits the prompt. They are both drunk and there is a party xD. I couldn’t help it. The prompt came and then the idea came and it just wouldn’t let go so I wrote it. MWAHAHAHA. So much love to you!!!

Brienne stabbed her icy drink several times with her straw and attempted to get more out of her pina colada with noisy drags that resulted in her mouth being filled with sweet flavoured air and tiny bits of ice. She could have just gone to the bar to get another one - the drinks were unlimited at the resort Catelyn had dragged her to for Spring Break!™ - but that would mean having to give up her relatively isolated spot sitting on the ledge behind the pool bar where the music wasn’t as loud and she didn’t have to see the other spring breakers making an absolute nuisance of themselves partying the night away.

In truth, she kind of wished she had the nerve to join all of them. They seemed like they were having fun flirting, laughing, screaming, getting sloshed, and taking turns spiking a beach volley ball at each other’s faces, but she wasn’t that kind of person. She was pretty bad at interacting with people she wasn’t good friends with in general, and she didn’t want to make Catelyn feel as though she had to spend the whole night with her just because she was socially inept.

Brienne tried for another loud slurp and wondered if it would be better to just go to bed. With everyone partying the night away, she would get the resort to herself bright and early the next morning.

She was about to pull her legs out of the water when a dark shadow torpedoed towards her and latched on to her ankle, causing her to shout and kick out. A golden head popped out of the water, droplets spraying everywhere as Jaime laughed while trying to avoid a blow to the chest. “So this is where you’ve been, freckles!”

Brienne blushed a blotchy red and scowled, “Let go of me Lannister!”

“I’ve only just found you,” he crowed merrily and tugged on her ankle with just enough force for her to fear being pulled into the pool, but not actually enough to move her. “For being so tall, you can be really damn hard to find.”

Brienne frowned and noted that his eyes weren’t their usually emerald colour, but more like sea glass. “How many drinks have you had?”

Jaime chuckled and wrapped both his arms around her knees, effectively anchoring himself to her, soaking her thighs, and preventing all means of escape. “Only a few. Why aren’t you wearing your bikini?”

Brienne looked away and tried to yank her legs free of his grip. She had worn the darned thing on the first day - with Catelyn’s encouragement - but when Ronnet had pointed and laughed, calling on his friends to come view the ‘spectacle’, she had spent the rest of her time at the resort in board shorts and rash vests. Oddly enough, she hadn’t seen Ronnet or any of those guys since.

“The blue looked really nice on you,” Jaime continued.

“Don’t mock me!” Brienne hissed.

Jaime frowned and held onto her tighter, “I’m not mocking you, freckles!”

“And what’s with that nickname anyways?” Brienne snapped.

Jaime gave her an easy drunken grin, “Also why I liked that bikini, I could see all almost all your freckles.” And then he laid his head on her lap. “You should come join us. I’ve been waiting all night for you,” he murmured and then nuzzled.

“No you haven’t,” Brienne muttered and stirred her slightly melted drink. Maybe she wasn’t as sober as she thought she was if she was softening up to Jaime this quickly. It usually took a few more barbs.

“I have been,” Jaime retorted, “I only found you because of all the racket you were making with that drink. Here, let me get you another one.”

Before she could tell him no, he had swam off to the pool bar.

Brienne sat there for a bit wondering if she should just go back to her room. The relationship that she had with Jaime was a… strange one. They had started off on the wrong foot – Catelyn’s dislike for him influencing Brienne’s opinions and her friendship with Catelyn influencing Jaime’s – but through multiple encounters in and out of university they had discovered that they had a lot in common, and even, weirdly enough, that when they were together they were pretty good at lifting each other up. Sometimes literally. She felt things for him, many things that confused and calmed her. But still… they weren’t exactly what anyone would define as friends.

Brienne decided to wait for him to return, and it turned out not to be a humiliating decision when she saw him tip toe around the pool bar, the water lapping at his chin as he tried not to drown while also guarding his two drinks in hand. “You just had to choose the deep end of the pool, freckles!” Jaime shouted teasingly, and then his face went underwater as he quickly paddled to her and she took both of the plastic cups off of him so that he could breathe.

Instead of using the ledge, like a normal person, to hover in the water, Jaime crossed his arm on her lap, rested his chin between her knees and held his cold drink against her thigh. Brienne hissed at him and Jaime just grabbed her ankle again and lazily swung it about.

“So why don’t you come join us? You could smack that ball into Edmure’s face and end all of our misery.”

Brienne swirled her drink and then drank half of it in one go. It went down so fast she barely tasted the coconut and pineapple. “I’m always afraid of putting my foot in my mouth and saying something that will hurt someone’s feelings,” she admitted, “Interacting with people makes me anxious.”

“Whoa,” Jaime’s eyes widened, “Slow down freckles before you end up sprawled in the aloe bushes come morning. Also, that doesn’t seem to stop you from insulting me.”

Brienne snorted and had to force the corners of her lips not lift, “That’s because you’re easy Jaime. You tell me how you feel loudly and with no reservation. I don’t need to worry that I’ve hurt your feelings and don’t know, because you’ll make sure I know.”

Jaime pursed his lips and seemed to contemplate something, “So if I don’t directly tell you how I feel, you don’t have a clue?”

Brienne bit her lip. “Well, that’s what I’m afraid of.”

Jaime ran one of his hands through his hair, “Well fuck, that explains a lot.” He took his drink and set it down beside her on the pool ledge.

Brienne looked down at him inquisitively. “Explains what?”

Jaime rolled his eyes and then finally tugged so hard on her foot that she fell into the pool with a shout. Her drink spilled out of her hand, and she only took a second to ponder how often the pool was cleaned. This couldn’t be an uncommon occurrence.

The moment she resurfaced, Jaime had her pressed up against the pool wall, a hand brushing aside her wet locks of hair. Before she could yell at him, he spoke lowly, “Last time, when I did this, and told you, you had astonishing eyes…”

Brienne’s eyes widened and her heart sped up in her chest. She knew what she had wanted his actions and words to mean. But Jaime had backed off when she told him, ‘Why thank you. You have very nice eyes as well.’

“…You’re telling me I should have just told you I love you, let’s fuck—“

“What?” Brienne squeaked.

“And you would have taken that at face value?”

Brienne’s brain was all in a flurry, “You what? You want to what?”

Jaime leaned in and pressed his lips to the junction of her neck and shoulder, warmer than the water surrounding them. “Not now because you and I have enough alcohol in us that it’ll only be good and not great, and Brienne…” he pulled away and smirked at her, “I want it to be great.”

Brienne whimpered and pressed her thighs together.

“Do you believe me? Do you want to fuck?”

Brienne blinked, took a couple deep breaths, and then she murmured shyly, “Can we at least kiss until then?”

And for a moment Jaime looked bewildered, “By the Seven, that was all I had to say?”

And then he pressed his mouth to hers frantically and he felt so unbelievably warm as she wrapped herself around him. In the end, she didn’t join the others, but instead dragged Jaime up to her room, where they fondled until they were sober and promptly fucked until they fell asleep.

And it was great.

The morning after - while they were floating around in the empty pool on a large inflatable flamingo, Brienne back in her blue bikini - she startled slightly and popped her head up to shout at Jaime in horror, “You know I love you too right Jaime?”

Jaime grinned and kissed the freckles on her collarbone, “Now I do.”

#jaime x brienne #braime #prompts #my fics #kinda?#let's see if i get into the tags this time #i just... i'm obsessing with pulling people in to a pool #it's not a good thing #but i'm obsessed #how wet can you get #😂

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whoisbxcky · 4 years

Text

In Heaven An Hour

request: Hi darling! Would you mind writing an imagine where Bucky thinks you died in battle (he loves you but hasn’t told you) and he holds you at the end but you’re alive and he saves you? Sorry if you think it’s stupid

pairing: Bucky x Reader

word count: 1200

warnings: all of the angst, because it’s me. (death, injuries mentioned.)

author’s note: First of all, I would like to stress that there is no such thing as a ‘stupid’ request. Please never think your idea isn’t worth my writing because I assure you, even if initially I don’t see your vision, I will work through it until I can write it to the best of my ability for you (obviously with the exception of some topics).

Second, THANK YOU anon, this was a rad idea and I loved writing it. Bucky is, if it wasn’t obvious, my absolute fave and angst x Bucky is just *chefs kiss*.

I hope you all enjoy this little emotional roller coaster, stay safe, stay fabulous. Peace and love. ~ Toria <3

“Bucky… Come on pal…”

“Barnes…”

“I’m so sorry…”

“Oh, Bucky…”

Bucky dropped to his knees; his shoulders slumped in defeat. He could hear the sound of his teammates calling to him, but Bucky paid no mind to them. Their voices were far away, muffled to his ears, as if they were all underwater.

That was how Bucky felt right now. Underwater. Trapped. Unable to breath. To reach the surface. To reach the light.

To reach you.

You lay a mere inch in front of him, and yet, you had gone where he could not follow. You were in another place, far from the catastrophe of the battlefield. Somewhere peaceful, he guessed from the blissful expression on your bloodied, bruised face.

As one trembling flesh hand reached out to wrap around your waist, pulling you into Bucky’s lap, the other, sturdy and cold, tangled in your hair that was slick with blood that was not your own and dirt from the ground on which you lay. Bucky choked back a sob, burying his face in your chest as he rocked you both backwards and forwards gently.

“Oh… Y/N… I’m so sorry doll…” He whispered to you between gasping breaths.

You couldn’t be gone. You just couldn’t be.

And yet.

You were.

Bucky faintly noted the sobs and gasps coming from behind him, dully aware that he was not the only one in mourning right now. But he could not bring himself to pull away from you and allow anyone else near, instead tugging you closer into his broad chest, as if he could somehow protect your lifeless form from the truth.

A truth he himself refused to believe.

“Doll… Please… You can’t be gone. You just… You can’t.” He murmured into your tactical gear. “I never… Never got the chance to… To…”

He broke off again with an anguished cry, and for a few minutes the only sound audible in the desolate ruins of New York was that of the weeping Soldier.

No one spoke. Nor did they make a move to console him. Not even Steve dared approach, well aware that nothing he could do or say in that moment would comfort his best friend.

After some time, Bucky’s sobs had reduced to sniffles and gasps for air, and finally he pulled away from your chest, staring down at your listless face in defeat.

Sighing, he released his grip on your waist in order to brush the stray strands of hair from your face. You’d always hated when your hair got in your eyes. You once threatened to shave your head entirely, when those stray hairs had caused you and him to lose a bowling match against Steve and Nat. He had laughed in response, but silently considered how you’d look radiant no matter what you did with your locks.

He swallowed hard, smiling wistfully down at you.

“I should have told you sooner. But I always thought we’d have more time…” He mumbled to you, gingerly stroking his fingers over your cheek.

“I love you, angel.”

Bucky let out a shaky sigh, leaning down to press a tender kiss to your forehead as his eyelids fluttered shut. He allowed his lips to linger on your chilled skin, savouring the feeling of your closeness, trying to etch it into his memory forevermore.

Suddenly, a strained whisper broke through the silence around him, as warm breath tickled his chin.

“Quite rightly so, too.”

Bucky pulled back with a start, inhaling so sharply he almost choked. Wide-eyed and panicked, he glanced into his lap to find you, unmistakably alive, eyes barely open, soft smile on your lips.

“Y/N! I thought you were… You weren’t breathing… How…?” Bucky stumbled over his words, gripping your face in his hands so tightly you couldn’t help but groan in protest, causing Bucky to flinch and hastily loosen his grasp.

You met his frantically puzzled gaze and covered his metal hand with your own, offering him a wry smile.

“I couldn’t very well die after a confession like that now, could I?” You mumbled, wincing as you tried to sit up.

Bucky stared at you incredulously for a moment, gently pushing you back into his lap instinctually as you groaned in pain once more.

You might be alive, but getting crushed under a Leviathan hadn’t exactly left you unscathed.

You hurt. A lot.

Bucky let out a breath, chuckling as tears of relief streamed down his cheeks. Your face cracked into a warm smile in turn, and you reached out with trembling hands to wipe away the droplets as they fell.

“I just can’t believe…” Bucky let the words out in a breath, staring at you in wonder.

“Believe it. You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Barnes.” You whispered back, gripping his flesh hand in yours and bringing it to your lips, smiling through tears as your pressed a gentle kiss to the skin there.

Bucky nodded, roughly wiping his eyes with his free hand. He let out a shaky breath before clearing his throat.

“We should get you out of here, doll. Get you to a medic…” He trailed off, busying himself with manoeuvring his arms in such a way that he could scoop you up without causing you too much pain. You merely nodded in response, exhaustion seeping into your very core as the adrenaline began to wear off, and the pain from your injuries began to amplify.

After deftly lifting you up bridal style in his arms, Bucky turned, and began to make his way back through the battlefield. You were vaguely aware of your teammates’ presence as you passed them. Some were simply staring in disbelief, others cried with relief, shock, joy. But you paid them little mind. All of your focus, or at least all that you could muster as your mind slipped into unconsciousness once more, was transfixed on Bucky.

“Hey… Bucky?” You murmured into the crook of his neck, your voice thick with fatigue.

“Yeah, doll?” He murmured back, tightening his grip on you ever so slightly as he walked.

“I love you too, you know.” You confessed with a delicate whisper, nuzzling your face into the warmth of his skin, relishing in the familiarity of his smell.

Entirely at peace in the arms of the man you loved, you felt yourself giving in to the exhaustion as it overcame you like a crushing tidal wave. You faintly noted the sensation of Bucky’s lips against your forehead once more, and a small smile crept onto your lips as you considered the future you would enjoy with him once you woke.

And with that, you surrendered yourself to the welcoming darkness.

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tar-oh · 4 years

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Pick-a-Pile: Who’s crushing on you?

I thought we’d have a little bit of fun today and see who has a crush on you (and why not? You’re fabulous!) So, pick one of the Lovers cards from my decks. Remember, this is a general reading so it may be that the piles don’t resonate with you. Also, it could be that more than one pile resonates.

Pile 1:

Cards: 4 of pentacles, page of wands reversed, ace of wands reversed, 10 of pentacles, 8 of wands, 10 of cups, six of swords reversed, whip, mouse, bear, berkana, wunjo "I tend to focus on the past and not the now." - Curveballs by the Wombats

"I think about you way more than anything else." - Quiet Light by The National

Pile 1, I'm not really sure if your person seems to know what they want for themselves, so if you have an idea of who this is and you may return their feelings, I don't think things will work out well. That's at least for now. This could change in the future. I also feel bad, because not a lot came out about this person. I feel like looking at what did come out, this became clearer, but I feel bad since I had so much to say about pile two. Though, that one was a little similar, so if you were choosing between both piles, then maybe check it out. It was only a little similar. Firstly, this is a person who has a lot of anxiety and can be prone to being stressed easily. They could be a boss of some type. Though, its funny because I do read the bear card as that, but I also see that they may have issues with rules. They may clash with authority figures. Though, if you think about it, working their way up to being a boss may be the best way to overcome this so that they don't have anyone telling them what to do. I see that financially they're stable, I can't tell you if they're rich or not, but I can tell you that they're doing okay with themselves. They are a hard worker, even if they get stressed easily. And despite these stresses, they do see the bright side of things, and I think they have the possibility of becoming really successful (with whatever that means for them). I think they can sometimes be a perfectionist, though I also see them as someone who has trouble focusing. So it may be that they start something, put their all into it, but then something else catches their eye. Now, here's where it gets a little iffy. First off, they're holding their feelings in for you (which I guess is the point of this whole reading), but I believe its to the point where they're guarding their heart closely. I think they've recently gone through some change that brought on a new beginning, though I'm not seeing if this is something painful or not, just that they're at a point in their life where they're beginning something. I also can't tell you what kind of change this is, just that they went through a big enough change that it showed up in the reading. Now, for some of you, I see this as someone who's already in a relationship, in which case I'd steer clear of them if they do decide to stop guarding their heart and feelings. This is probably just for a few of you, but I do see this. For all of you, this is a person who's argumentative. They love to start things, though I don't have a lot of sword cards, so I almost feel like it's not the debate they enjoy, but rather riling people up. Also, they're a big show off, though I feel like they're mostly all talk. Possibly super nostalgic, too. They may reminisce a lot about their childhood, or the past. I see that they're not really sure what they want in terms of love, so a lot of them are non-committal right now. If you're into that, then I guess that's great! This person, when their mind is made up, they're fast moving. So, I'd watch out for that. Though, I have to tell you that they're really passionate about you. I asked what they felt for you, and I got Queen of Wands, so they're really attracted to you and they're feeling passionate about you. They also think about you a lot ( your lyrics mention this, but also a cover of Losing My Religion came on, and I feel like maybe they hear someone laugh and think it's you or something. I think your laugh is significant to them). Just remember that they seem to move on quickly once something else catches their eyes. Looks wise, this is going to be pretty general. I see a LOT of blues, so I think there's a possibility they may have blue eyes or wear the color blue a lot. A lot of whites and yellows, too, so maybe their hair is dyed white or maybe they got white hair already (so maybe for some, this is someone who's older). Possibly blonde hair, or just plain yellow, so perhaps they dress a little unconventional and have dyed their hair yellow. For others this person has dark hair. I don't think anyone has long hair, and if it is a little longer, it only goes to the shoulders. In terms of signs, I think they're probably a fire (aries, sagittarius, or leo) or earth (cap, taurus, virgo). Songs:

Curveballs - The Wombats (is this song going to come out for every pick a pile? lol) Quiet Light - The National Cocoon - Catfish and the Bottlemen Intermission - Catfish and the Bottlemen Fallout - Catfish and the Bottlemen Glasgow - Catfish and the Bottlemen (wow they really wanted catb to play lol) Losing my Religion - Movement’s cover

Pile 2:

Cards: the sun, the world, page of wands, ten of cups, 8 of cups reversed, ace of cups, three of cups, knight of pentacles, flowers, tree, heart, wunjo, gebo "I'm addicted to the soundtrack. I need the noise." Don't Know Yet - Silversun Pickups "Love is patient, it's a trip to the beach, and a week to resuscitate." - Breathe Underwater by Big Scary Whoever this person is, Pile 2, they're a little closed off at first. It makes me think that they take a while to get to know about. But then, I was actually getting A LOT about this person. Like they weren't sure at first, but now they want to talk.The first being that they may already be in a relationship (gosh, second pile to maybe have that, but this one I actually really believe this), or you may be in one. Either way, someone is already with someone else, so there's intense pining in this pile. Though, you got two major arcana's to describe them, ten of cups, ace of cups and the heart, so I really feel like this is a strong connection. Like, you two met and were immediately into eachother. So, I do also think this could be mutual. And despite them not seemingly available, they actually seem like a catch. First off, they're an optimistic person. Either they're usually in a good mood, or they're always trying to see the bright side of things. They're well traveled, or at least aware of other cultures and try to stay informed. They could even be bilingual. They're a hard worker, and can be quite enthusiastic. Like the last pile, I do see that they're someone who may start things and rush into other things while in the middle of the other things. Though, unlike the other pile, I do feel like this person follows through eventually. I think that even though they may jump around with projects, they're still pretty good at managing their time. They're really creative, and for most, I'm seeing that they express this through music (the lyrics from Silversun Pickups back this up.) I think this person may like the outdoors. Or, they could be really into nice things, like nice cars and clothes and the like. I don't think they're super materialistic, just that they like nicer things, though some of them may put a little more importance on money and material things than there needs to be. I do think they're very caring and giving to others. But I also think they care about you too. I think you two are friends, though I get that this may have ended or there's a least been little communication for a bit. At least things have been quite stagnant (Road to Nowhere came on when I was thinking this, so yeah. I'd say.) I think you two are going to be getting back into contact. I can't tell you how things will go, or if they're still with someone else. But, I pulled lyrics from Big Scary's song Breathe Underwater, and they seem to indicate that if you guys want this connection to continue either as a friendship or as more, something may need to be resuscitated. The song says "Love is patient, it's a trip to the beach and week to resuscitate." So, I see that there is hope, but only if you both want this. And, again I need to reiterate the fact that there is possibly a third party, but this could also be a job or something else and not a person, but I'm still telling you to be upfront to this person about things. If you don't want to get tangled in something like that, be clear. There is a possibility it will happen, just not now. I also think for some this could be a karmic connection. I first thought this when Karma by Marina came on while I was shuffling the cards, but I was kind of like "Nahhh" but then I pulled the tree card, and that can mean karmic connection. It can also mean that they're going through a personal evolution, or they're really analytical (or I guess both for some). They may even be spiritual, though I don't see that as coming through really strongly, just because I only really see that in the tree card. I asked what they felt for you and I pulled the 4 of pentacles and Page of Cups. I think they're a little possessive of you, though on the defense too. I don't think they like seeing you talk to other people, but I also do not think they're ready to tell you how they feel. I also think they feel like this is a new love, like it's still blossoming (I see that with Ace of Cups too), but with 10 of cups, I think it's possible they could see something with you. I also had a spider walk across my cards and now I'm really jumpy, but that might mean something to you. It can mean connection on all levels, so I think this could mean that you two really are connected in a way that is hard for others to understand. It's possible you met them and thought that they felt familiar, like you'd known them before. It can also mean patience, and I did point out that there is a possibility for this to work, but not now, so patience is key. Think about that song by Big Scary I mentioned, it said that it takes a week to resuscitate. Do I think this will take a week? No. Honestly, I think it could take longer, but like, I think there's a possibility here. I don't want you to wait around for them, tough. Do your own thing, and if it happens, it happens. Spiders can also suggest creativity and creating the life you want. I think this may be a message for some to take action. For others I'd suggest looking it up for more meanings, in case there's something else that jogs your memory or you feel resonates. In terms of signs and appearances... I see a lot of water signs (cancer, pisces, scorpio), and a little bit of earth and fire, but mostly water. It kind of came through overwhelmingly. Though, if they have fire in their chart, I think it would most likely be leo. In terms of earth, Taurus (especially because of their love of the finer things), and for water, Scorpio. For looks, I see a lot of oranges, pinks and blues. I think they may have reddish hair, or an auburn. Maybe a light brown. I think they're probably really attractive (I mean like to you but also to others). I think their hair may be on the curly side. I feel like I need to keep saying that this is a general reading, so this may be different for people. Songs:

Don’t Know Yet - Siversun Pickups Breathe Underwater - Big Scary Karma - Marina Drive Me ‘Round - Mallrat Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy - Fall Out Boy (okay that is such an old video lmao) Baby, You’re a Haunted House - Gerard Way Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads Feels So Nice - The Wrecks Tiger Teeth - Walk the Moon

Pile 3:

Cards: 10 of cups rx, 2 of cups, the hierophant rx, 10 of wands rx, ace of cups, 7 of cups, 4 of swords, the road, the ship, the sun, eihwaz, algiz "Come back honeypie. I'm kinda bored of swimming 'round the bottom of oblivion. Come play out tonight, 'cause it feels like something's changing. It feels like I'm a bit undone. Come back honeypie." Honeypie by Love Fame Tragedy "There's nothing you've got when you die that you keep. You were all that you were, were you all you could be?" - The Wolf by Manchester Orchestra For pile 3, I see that this is someone who might live a distance for you, so maybe you two met and one of you moved or someone was just traveling. Or, it could just be something online. This is someone who is successful, though I don't know if I'd say they're content. I think there might be something unconventional about them (and for some, I'm sensing that they're the same gender as you). And by unconventional, I mean, just not what people in their life expects them to do. So maybe their job isn't very conventional (and with the ship card, maybe they work on or near water). They could also travel a lot ( Madman by Black Bra came on and a line in that is "Citizen of Nowhere", so perhaps they are kind of nomadic, in that they don't really have one set place they live? This could be what's unconventional about them). Though I think the road card goes with the 7 of cups, and that they just have a lot of options right now. And by that, it could be with people for relationships, or anything really. Either way, I think they're facing a lot of decisions right now. I think they could be feeling lonely right now, and maybe that's why they're making decisions right now. They perhaps are trying to better their life. I definitely see them as someone who is in the "YOLO" mindset, because I pulled a line from the Wolf by Manchester Orchestra, "There's nothing you've got when you die that you keep. You were all that you were, were you all you could be?", which really throws out that vibe of you really only do live once. Though, I don't think they're a huge risk-taker. Nothing in the cards indicate to me that they are, and I'm more inclined to say that they're more of a daydreamer than someone that acts. In that case, I don't really think they're going to tell you how they feel any time soon. I do think they want to offer you something eventually, but I don't think right now is the time. I think they're currently resting. I think in the past they were in a place where they were feeling burdened, but now they're feeling a little better. They're also definitively a strong-willed person, and could (and might have already) gone through some tough things. For some, I think you two may have had something previously, and I think you might have stopped things before they got really far. I think they want you back, but as I stated earlier, I don't see that happening soon. I think they're trying to get their life in order (maybe instead of traveling a lot, they could be sofa surfing, or something along those lines. Just nothing really permanent). I asked how they felt about you and got 2 of swords with 9 of cups to clarify this. I think, again, they have choices, but I do think you're kind of what they've been looking for. I also think even though you are the embodiment of what they've wanted, I also think for the most part, they're not sure what they want. Like, their life as a whole. I almost want to say they don't want a traditional life (you know, marriage, kids, 9-5 job, granted it's not really traditionally anymore, but I think you get the gist). I think this is a person who is really unique and they don't like being stuck in constraints, so if anything were to happen with them, I think it'd be a very open relationship (but not in the "open" sense where you date around, more like you both spend time apart but are happy with that?). Looks wise, I see darker tones. Darker skin, darker hair. Though, I also see a lot of reds and oranges too, so maybe red hair. Though, I almost want to say if they have red hair, it's more like dyed red, so like BRIGHT red. And, going with the unconventional thing, I think they may express themselves with their appearance, so dyed hair is definitely something they could have. I also want to say tattoos for sure, even though I don't really see them on any of the cards. I just get that vibe. Signs I see are Taurus and water signs. Maybe Leo. Songs: (Not a lot came on that seemed to really be apart of the reading, sorry!) Honeypie - Love Fame Tragedy The Wolf - Manchester Orchestra Thinking About You - Big Scary Superposition - Young the Giant Madman - Black Bra Pile 4:

Cards: queen of wands, judgement, 7 of swords reversed, the high priestess reversed, king of pentacles reversed, page of pentacles, page of swords, ehwaz, wunjo, the man, the clover, the child, the mouse " 'Cause I can't get you out of my head." Pink Honey by Houses "I was so ahead of the curve, the curve turned into a sphere." - this is my trying by Taylor Swift Pile 4, there is a possibility there are two people who are crushing on you right now, but I will read this like it's only one person. I do think that if you were drawn to one of the other piles, go read that one, because maybe it can give you more insight on one of the people. I think this person is really mysterious to you. You can't quite seem to figure them out, though, I feel like you get the feeling that you can trust them. I think you can, because a lot of these cards/runes indicate someone who is trustworthy. I just think that this person is mysterious because they themselves are a little wary about other people and their intentions. I think this is also someone who is very giving to others, as well as accepting of others. I think they have the ability to be stable within their life, but I feel like they lack the confidence to get there. This kind of makes me think that the whole mysterious bit is both intentional and unintentional. I think there are parts of themselves that they don't quite trust (but I think this might be a skewed perception). Perhaps they're worried they'll hurt someone along with the feeling they'll get hurt too.

They can be a little immature (well, with two pages, I'm reading this as pretty immature), but I think they have a chance to grow in terms of maturity. Again, I think their confidence could be better. They probably have a lot of anxiety, and this probably hits their self- esteem a lot. I think this plays into the immaturity, but I don't really see them as someone who is super obnoxious. More just that they may not be great with money, or not know quite how to respond to some things in the most efficient way. I can tell you that they're very passionate, and maybe when they're in their power they come off as quite fiery. I don't think they're the most responsible, but I think it's more things like misplacing homework if they're in school, or perhaps sleeping past an alarm. I don't think they lack focus, but I do think they sometimes are forgetful because they're focused on something else. I think they know what they want in life and where they want to go, but that they're just currently having trouble getting there. Kind of an in between period that might be full of a lot of lessons. I think they may see you as their destiny, because I asked what they felt for you and I got wheel of fortune. I also got 4 of wands, and to me that says they may want to celebrate with you. Maybe party? I don't know but I think they see you as someone really fun, but then they also see you as their destiny. And right when I started this paragraph, Soulmates by Placebo came on, so...Uh. Yeah. Take what you want from that lol. Also, I want to note that the deck I used to pull clarifiers is usually really good with the illustrations and jogging my memory with what the Rider-Waite deck version looks like (though it’s not as similar as the Modern Day Witch tarot I used for the main portion of your reading, it still gets the image across.) Except for the 4 of wands to me! For some reason with this deck I pull it and draw a complete blank on what this card means outside of maybe celebrating, but as I stated Soulmates came on while I was writing this, and I completely forgot until like a week later that even though I mentioned that maybe destiny and soulmates played a part in how they see you, I forgot that the 4 of wands is one of those “soulmate” cards! Like, jeeze! Looking back, it’s almost like the music came on just to be like, “No. Sara. What are you doing? Keep going with the destiny part!” But I also was trying to be inclusive to people who don’t really believe in that stuff, and this person, though maybe seeing you as their destiny (but maybe more an “It’s inevitable we end up together” kind of thing), may also just want to party with you too. I see a lot of sky blues, so maybe they have light blue eyes. For one of you, they could have blue hair. Like, dark blue hair. The Judgement card in this deck has an angel with dark blue hair and its really standing out to me. For others, darker hair. I'm seeing mostly earth and air signs, but nothing standing out too much. There's some fire as well, especially with Queen of Wands, she also stands out, so does the sunflower in her hand. I think yellow could be significant to them.

Songs: Pink Honey - Houses this is me trying - Taylor Swift No Faith in Brooklyn - Hoodie Allen Soulmates - Placebo Destroyer - Panama Pile 5:

Cards: 9 of swords reversed, 10 of swords, 2 of wands reversed, 3 of wands reversed, queen of swords reversed, death, the hanged man, 6 of cups, clouds, star, cross, eihwaz, hagalaz "You know it's gonna get better." - Carry On by 5sos "If I leave my love in your hands, tell me you'll keep it safe for me." Tokyo Hotel by Roadtrip The person that has a crush on you, Pile 5, is (or recently) going through some serious heartbreak. Whether it's a bad break up or the loss of a loved one, they're going through it. That's really the biggest message coming through and I think it's really defining their life right now. I think its changing how they're living their day-to-day life, as well as the path they're going down. I think they're having to rethink what they want in their future. This is someone you've known a while and you're friends with them. You'll probably know who I'm talking about because whatever this was, it is a HUGE loss to them. They're really grieving, and as I said, this is changing their life. It's not only changing the trajectory of their life, but also who they are on the inside. But despite all of this grief, they still have a lot of hope. They're still looking ahead, and they are starting to recover. Though, this will take a lot of time because currently, even if they have hope, they're only seeing the obstacles. I do think that you should be patient with this person right now. I don't think they're looking for anything in terms of a relationship, but I do think they could use a friend. Be gentle with them, even if they lash out at you. They're going through a lot inside and outside. Like A LOT. Most of the cards I pulled were about endings, depression, and destruction. When I asked how they felt about you, I got judgement. I think they're worried you're going to judge them, that you won't return the feelings. But, I also pulled the sun, so I kind of think they're seeing you as their sun right now. The one shining light in their life. For looks, I get a lot of dark purples, oranges, yellows and grays. Also pinks. So, maybe they wear a lot of those colors. Perhaps they have dark eyes, or gray or light blue eyes. I get dark hair mostly. A lot of darker tones. Signs, I have a lot of air and fire. I get Scorpio with the death card, so a little bit of water but mostly Scorpio. I'm sorry I didn't get a lot about them. I think right now their focus is really on this pain their feeling. All of the songs that came on when I was doing this reading had a really somber tone to them, and if they weren't completely sad songs, they had parts that were pretty sad. So, I think you just need to be patient for this person. If they are a friend and you know them well, I would say be there for them. Songs:

Carry On - 5 Seconds of Summer Tokyo Hotel - Roadtrip Moon Song - Phoebe Bridgers Dreams - The Cranberries Apartment Story - The National Lonely Eyes - The Front Bottoms

#pick a pile #pick-a-pile #pick a card #tarot

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manage-mischief · 4 years

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Regulus Black and the Darkest Shadows: Chapter 11

Read on AO3 or FF.net

Summary: Kreacher returns…

Author’s Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! You all are the best! I’m pretty sure you all know what’s coming in this chapter, but I hope you enjoy regardless! For excerpts/asks/requests, follow @manage-mischief on tumblr. Thanks to @leahstypewriter for being a fabulous beta reader!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 11: Everything Changes

January 11th, 1979

The next evening, Regulus lounged lazily in the living room, waiting for his parents to get home from work. His arm was thrown carelessly over his forehead as he listened to the quiet popping of the fire. A loud CRACK suddenly ripped through the air. Regulus fell off of the sofa in surprise.

Swearing, he pushed himself to his feet and searched for the source of the noise. In the corner of the room, Regulus saw a small, shivering thing covered in a tea towel. Kreacher. Confused, Regulus approached the elf slowly and kneeled before him. “Kreacher?” Regulus said gently. Kreacher flinched when Regulus placed a hand on his bony shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

The elf turned his head towards Regulus, and peaked an eye out from behind his hands, which were covering his face. “D-d-dead. Army of the dead. Didn’t know Kreacher could escape. Didn’t know Master Regulus had asked Kreacher to come back.” The elf stuttered. Regulus felt cold and empty. He had been so happy to have survived his encounter with Voldemort that he hadn’t even stopped to think about Kreacher’s safety. What an idiot! How could Regulus think for a second that his loyal elf would be safe with that monster? No one was safe! Not with Him.

Carefully, Regulus gathered Kreacher in his arms and brought him to his bedroom. He laid the quivering elf on his bed, and covered him in blankets. Regulus poured Kreacher a glass of water from the jug on the windowsill. Kreacher gulped it down greedily. Regulus poured him some more. “R-Regulus is too kind to Kreacher.”

“Nonsense,” Regulus said, “I am so, so sorry I let you go with him, Kreacher. I-I didn’t know He would hurt you.” Regulus’s excuse sounded feeble, but Kreacher seemed to appreciate the words.

“No. Kreacher wanted to help. Kreacher wanted to make sure the Dark Lord was pleased with Regulus. Regulus was worried. Regulus is in danger. Kreacher heard Narcissa say. Kreacher doesn’t want Regulus to get hurt.”

Regulus was surprised at the elf’s astute assessment of his current predicament. He hadn’t even noticed that Kreacher had been in the room during him and Cissa’s conversation. That made him feel worse. “Kreacher…can you…can you tell me what happened?”

Kreacher’s golf-ball eyes filled with tears. “Kreacher went with the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord took Kreacher to a cave.”

“A cave?”

“Yes. A cave. An underwater cave. Kreacher and the Dark Lord had to swim to find it.”

“And what was in the cave, Kreacher?” Regulus’s mind was racing. Why had Voldemort need his elf to take a trip to a cave in the middle of the ocean?

“Kreacher and the Dark Lord entered a cavern. Kreacher had to cut his hand to open it.” The elf held up his right hand, which, sure enough, had a long gash running across the palm.

“Here, let me fix that.” Regulus carefully took the elf’s tiny hand in his own and began waving his wand and muttering healing incantations. The cut stitched itself back together before their eyes.

“Kreacher thanks you, Regulus. You are the kindest of all of his masters,” said the elf.

“What happened next, Kreacher?”

“The cavern wall fell away, and Kreacher and the Dark Lord entered a larger cavern, with a lake.”

“A lake? In a cavern? In an underwater cave that you have to cut yourself to enter?” Regulus questioned. None of the elf’s tale was making any sense.

Kreacher nodded. “Yes. And then the Dark Lord conjured a boat, and rowed him and Kreacher across the lake, to a tiny island. There was a basin on the island, filled with black liquid. The Dark Lord order Kreacher to drink.” The elf began shaking again. Regulus was furious—at Voldemort for hurting his elf, and at himself, for once again being a coward and doing nothing to stop the pain and misery that Voldemort had caused. Regulus placed a comforting hand on Kreacher’s shoulder. “What was in the basin, Kreacher?”

Kreacher took a shaky breath. “Kreacher does not know. But, it made Kreacher see and feel terrible things. Terrible. Kreacher was afraid. But the Dark Lord ordered him to drink until the basin was empty, so Kreacher continued. And then, when Kreacher was finished, the Dark Lord laughed and placed a locket at the bottom of the basin, and then filled it back up and rowed away.”

“He left you there?”

“He rowed away and Kreacher was so thirsty and there was no water. Kreacher tried to drink from the lake, but…but they pulled him in.” He locked eyes with Regulus. “They-they pulled Kreacher into the lake.” Kreacher broke down in sobs once more.

Regulus’s vision went red with fury. He attempted to steady his voice as he pressed Kreacher for more information. “How did you escape?”

Kreacher regarded the young wizard. “Regulus told Kreacher to come back,” he said, matter-of-factly. “So Kreacher came back.”

“You were able to Apparate out of the cave?”

��No wizard would be able to. But for an elf, it was easy. You told Kreacher to come back when the Dark Lord was finished with him, so Kreacher did as he was told.”

Regulus stared incredulously. None of this made any sense. “Did the Dark Lord say anything to you, Kreacher? Anything at all? Did he tell you why you were there?”

“He told Kreacher that he was testing his defenses,” said Kreacher, “and when he left Kreacher on the island, he apologized.”

“He apologized?”

“He said, ‘I am sorry, dear elf, but I must sacrifice your life this day, so that I may live forever,’” Kreacher said in a perfect imitation of Voldemort’s voice. The hairs on the back of Regulus’s neck stood on end.

“So that I may live forever…”

But what had Voldemort meant? No magic could make someone live forever, no matter how powerful. And if such a power did exist, Regulus certainly had never heard of it. However, if it were possible, if Voldemort had somehow discovered such a power…Regulus’s stomach turned at the thought. If Voldemort could live forever, then they were all doomed. If he couldn’t die, he couldn’t be beaten. He thought of Sirius and his Order of the Phoenix. He thought of Des and the Muggles who had raised her. Of Broderick, the intelligent, understanding Muggleborn. And selfishly, he considered his own life. If Voldemort couldn’t die, none of them would ever be free.

---

The first day of classes after the winter holidays had hardly been remarkable. Regulus felt like a zombie, dragging through the hours, longing for sleep. But he couldn’t sleep. He wouldn’t. Not until he knew what exactly Voldemort was up to, and how exactly to stop him. Since he had heard Kreacher’s tale, Regulus had spent every waking moment researching dark magic, hoping to uncover the secret. So far, he had found nothing. Besides the Philosopher’s Stone, which was apparently safely hidden somewhere with its creator Nicholas Flamel, there seemed to be no way to ensure immortality.

But what did the locket have to do with it? Regulus had asked himself this same question hundreds of times in the past weeks. When he closed his eyes at night, the scene of the lake that Kreacher had described haunted his dreams. Ultimately, these nightmares would force him awake in the early hours of morning, during which he would start his day’s research anew.

After he had finished his last class of the day, Regulus headed towards the library, determined to continue working. Pulling out several books from the restricted section, he set up camp at a table and began to read.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Regulus became vaguely aware of someone sliding into the seat next to him. When he looked up, he found Des staring at him, concerned. “You missed dinner,” she said.

“I did? Wow. Times flies.” Regulus turned his attention back to his book. In a flash, Des flicked her wand and the book slammed shut. “What was that for?” he exclaimed, frantically searching for his lost place. “I was reading that!”

“What’s going on, Regulus?” Des crossed her arms over her chest. “You look like you haven’t slept in a year! And now you’re avoiding us! Is this because of what happened before the holidays? Are you…have you gone back to him?” Regulus could sense hurt behind the tough façade she was presenting.

“No! No! Nothing like that at all! I haven’t gone back. It’s sort of the opposite, actually…And I missed you, Des. All of you,” he added. She looked relieved.

“Ok, so, you’re not back with the baddies. That’s good. But something’s bothering you?”

“It’s just…I…I can’t say right now.” He glanced furtively around the library. There were too many prying ears.

Des rolled her eyes. “You know, the fact that you’re acting like you don’t want to tell me just makes me want to know more.”

Regulus hesitated. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to work out a believable lie. Unfortunately for him, his companion was not easily fooled.

Des cocked her head to the side, analyzing him. “You’re really not going to talk, are you? Merlin, Reg, if I didn’t know you better, I’d think you murdered someone.” She narrowed her eyes. “Wait, you didn’t…”

“No!” Regulus cried, forgetting he was in the library. He earned himself a few dirty looks from some of the more devoted students. A loud SHHHHHHH echoed from beyond the bookshelves, courtesy of Madame Pince. Regulus blushed. “No,” he whispered. “I didn’t kill anyone, Merlin, Des!”

“I’m sorry, but with all that’s going on in this bloody world right now, you never know.” she spread her hands defensively. “Ok, so, you didn’t kill anyone, and you haven’t gone back to…you know…so, what is it?”

“You just don’t give up, do you?”

“Not when my friend is in trouble.” Des shook her head defiantly. “And you, mate, are clearly in some kind of trouble.”

Regulus put his head in his hands. “I just can’t say! It’s too dangerous. I want to tell you, but I can’t!”

Des bit her lip, deep in thought. Her eyebrows scrunched together quizzically. “There’s a Hogsmeade trip this weekend,” she said, after a beat.

“Ok…?” Regulus replied, suspiciously. This seemed like an odd time to change the subject.

“I know the last time we all went to Hogsmeade was…hectic…but, I know a place where we can talk without any other prying ears. If you want to talk,” she cautiously suggested.

If Regulus was being completely honest with himself, this was not the type of trip to Hogsmeade he would have preferred to be taking with Des. But, he felt he could trust her. At least, partially. There was no way he could reveal everything he knew. It would be too dangerous for her, as she would likely want to get involved. No. This was definitely a journey Regulus had to undertake alone. Still, perhaps, Des would have valuable insights. “Alright,” he agreed. She smiled softly.

“Perfect. Meet me in the Great Hall for breakfast Saturday. We’ll go from there,” Des said, making her way to exit the library. “Oh, and Reg?” she called back to him. “Try and get some sleep. You look like a vampire with a hangover.” Regulus chuckled before returning to his studies.

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lost-in-time-marie · 4 years

Text

Into the Shadows: Chapter Three

“Okay, so what’s going on with you and James?” Natasha asked, eyeing his slim, muscular frame from our table in the middle of the mall food court.

“What do you mean?” I replied, dumbfounded, taking a bite of my extremely messy, extremely delicious burger.

“You guys have been inseparable since he got here weeks ago,” Natasha clarified leaning close, intrigued. I laughed. Natasha sat across from me at a plastic food court table, picking at fries. Loud voices echoed around the tall room, restaurants surrounded us, and people weaved around one another trying to reach their destinations. The mall was busy on Saturday afternoons, full of teenagers free of school for the weekend.

“I don’t know, I guess I understand what it’s like to be the new kid in school, having moved like six thousand times myself. I didn’t want to leave him scrambling all by himself to fit in and find friends,” I replied with a shrug, stealing a fry off Natasha’s plate.

Natasha snorted, smacking my hand away, “With a face like that he wouldn’t have had any trouble finding friends.”

“I wanted him to have real friends; it’s my instinct to help. Besides, I was a little intrigued too,” I smiled. Natasha rolled her eyes.

“More like you thought he was hot,” Natasha muttered around a mouth full of fries.

“Speaking of thinking people who are hot, what’s going on with you and Aleks over there?” I asked, raising a brow, and jerking my thumb behind me. Natasha’s dark eyes flitted over my shoulder and rested on the tall, thick body of Aleks standing in line for food beside James.

Natasha looked thoughtful, then replied “James is very friendly and has a great sense of humor. He’s smart and can keep up with us easily. I hear good things about him through the information grapevine; very popular, well-liked by everyone. He’s just…very private. I know I’ve only known him for a few weeks now, but I still know almost nothing about him, not even his favorite food or color,” Natasha observed, entirely avoiding my comment about Aleks. I nodded, carefully mulling over her opinion, before drawing her back to Aleks.

“Nice evasion, but I invented that tactic,” I grinned.

Natasha rolled her eyes, “There is nothing going on between Aleks and I. It’d just be weird,” she hedged, not meeting my gaze.

“Yeah, and I can breathe underwater,” I retorted sarcastically, giving her a disbelieving look.

“Okay, okay,” Natasha laughed, trying to keep down her fries, “I find him kind of, a little, extremely attractive. It’s no big deal. I just stalk him from afar and imagine a relationship with him.”

“You are so hopeless,” I managed to utter between our uncontrollable laughter.

“Hey guys, what’s so funny?” Aleks asked, walking up to the table with a tray in his hands and taking a seat beside Natasha, who looked quite pleased. James followed closely behind, taking a seat beside me. Everyone chatted happily and ate their lunches. Natasha and Aleks, after a while, got pulled into their own private debate, as they were accustomed to doing, so I entertained myself by interrogating James.

“So what school did you go to before the fabulous Jefferson High?” I teased.

“It’s a little ways South of here, you wouldn’t know it,” James half-answered, his charming smile spreading across his face. I loved that smile, it made my head swim a little, the way it made the corners of his dark eyes crinkle and seemed to radiate warmth and happiness.

“Believe it or not, James, but that was not an actual answer to my question,” I persisted, no way he was getting off that easy. Maybe his head-swimming smile made the other girls forget he hadn’t really answered a single question since he arrived at our school, but no way I was so easily fooled.

He chuckled, “Alright, you caught me, I was homeschooled before Jefferson High.”

“A real answer, at last!” I joked, nudging his shoulder. He smiled again, staring down at me with those intense dark eyes. The lashes surrounding them were thick and black, enough to make any girl a little jealous. Perfect ringlets of dark brown hair fell into his eyes and I resisted the urge to brush them away.

“So what do you want for your birthday tomorrow?” Natasha asked, pulling me back to reality.

“Oh,” I thought turning to look at her, “You really don’t have to get me anything,” I said, having completely forgotten it was even tomorrow.

“Not that garbage again,” Natasha complained loudly.

“I don’t know, I really don’t need anything,” I shrugged.

“What do you want then?” Natasha stressed. An image of a masked figure warning me to stay away from dark streets flitted through my mind without my permission. I attempted to violently clamp down on those thoughts. I didn’t like to engage my clearly delusional thinking any more than I had to. I wasn’t entirely sure I wasn’t losing my mind or imaging the figure altogether, but it was too late, and my imagination took off without needing any prodding. I hadn’t seen the figure in almost a month, since the last incident. I obediently heeded the warning and didn’t go out at night. Better not test my chances three times. I wanted to see him or it or whatever it was again, I needed to know what was going on.

“I don’t want anything either, just spending time with you guys is fun,” I smiled. “Although, I do need to go to this one store before we leave, I’ll be right back,” I announced, getting up from the table, eager to remove myself from the topic of conversation.

“I’ll go with you,” James offered, standing up.

“You really don’t need to come with me,” I replied, “I’ll just be a minute.”

“I insist,” James said, flashing me his most charming smile, “Besides, I don’t think they’ll really miss my company.” He nodded his head in the direction of Aleks and Natasha, already pulled back to each other’s gravity, leaning closer to each other with every passing minute. I laughed and rolled my eyes, before looping my arm through his and strolling through the mall. I looked down to hide my smile and slight blush.

“What do you need at this store anyways?” James asked as we wandered through the mall.

“Somehow, Natasha convinced me going to a club in the city for my birthday would be a good idea, so now I need an outfit,” I answered, thinly veiling my slight distress. I recalled the months of begging it had taken her to convince me to go. Partying had never really been my thing, and as much as I wanted to do something fun and different for my seventeenth birthday, a club was not the first thing that came to mind. Not to mention the fact her plan involved lying to my mom and telling her I was having a sleepover at Natasha’s, another thing I was also not fond of.

James simply raised a brow before shaking his head and chuckling, surely imagining the scene.

“Exactly,” I said, laughing with him.

“And what does one wear to such out of character, unplanned nights?” James asked.

“God only knows, Natasha will probably complain no matter what I get, honestly,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

It took another three circles around the huge mall before I finally settled on a silver sparkly tank top and black skinny jeans. James assumed the role any male plays when uncomfortably watching a girl shop, getting distracted by non-clothing related items and awkwardly standing around while I browsed. He was patient though, and cracked jokes about the various people and stores as we walked. When we reached the register to pay for the new clothes, he quickly pulled out his wallet and paid for it all before I could even react.

“Why did you do that? I could have paid for that myself,” I complained once we exited the store into the dimly lit mall hallways.

“Oh, don’t freak out, it was no trouble,” He smiled charmingly, his brown eyes softening, practically melting. I poorly attempted to force my head to stop swimming under his gaze.

“But-” I started, still slightly dazed.

“Happy birthday,” He whispered, interrupting, before handing me the bag and placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

I jiggled my knee anxiously as I sat in the soft leather seat of Natasha’s car, the leather from my tall black boots made an irritating scratching noise against the seat.

“Would you calm down?” Natasha sighed, peeling her eyes off the road momentarily to give me an annoyed glance. Natasha’s hair hung pin straight tonight, occasionally drifting into her line of vision before she expertly twisted it in place behind her ears. Her blue jeans, black high tops, and green tank top wouldn’t exactly fit in with the typical club crowd, but she didn’t care.

“Well, Miss Lip-Piercings-And-Wrist-Tattoo, I’m not used to being bad and lying. What if something happens?” I worried, biting my lip and staring out the window as we crawled along the highway into the city. I shifted uncomfortably in my own sparkly, silver tank top and black skinny jeans tucked into my favorite tall leather boots; a very different outfit choice compared to my usual t-shirt, jeans, and converse. Everywhere we went, I felt like everyone stared, a sensation I was not used to, nor did I grow to appreciate.

Her hand flew to the two piercings in her lower lip defensively, before she rolled her eyes and retorted, “Now you sound like your mother, and nothing will happen, for the ten millionth time! Don’t be such a goody-goody.” Despite Natasha and I’s long standing relationship, my mother never approved of her “bad influence”, and by that she always meant her wrist tattoo and multiple facial piercings. In reality, my mother was extremely uptight and overprotective, Natasha helped loosen me up, and although I thanked her later, breaking the rules always twisted my stomach a little. Quite an unlikely pair we made, but I wouldn’t survive without my best friend.

I sighed, mentally calming myself. “You’re right, tonight I am officially seventeen. We’re going to be two carefree teenagers having an excellent time,” I said, mostly for my own benefit.

“Exactly,” Natasha concurred.

It wasn’t long before Natasha’s sleek, white car, pulled smoothly into the dim parking garage next to the club. After searching for a spot, we continued down to the club and got in line, all the while chatting idly about school, boys, and my birthday. The line was short; it didn’t take long to get in the club. In under an hour we were surrounded by sweaty, grinding bodies, dizzying strobe lights, enough fake smoke to make you gag, and pounding music so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. Exactly what we came here for.

We quickly joined the throng and swayed to the music. Somehow, I always looked much less graceful and beautiful compared to Natasha and the other dancers, but tonight I didn’t care. I came here to not think or judge or be anything but one synchronized member of this dancing pack.

“Thank you so much for taking me here!” I shouted to Natasha over the beat of the dance music. Somehow, Natasha always knew me better than myself. I didn’t realize it before I was lost in the chaos of the night, that I had needed this, an escape, a chance to just be normal. She nodded and laughed, clearly pleased the world was still in its usual order and she was right, again.

“I’m going to get a soda, you want anything?” I asked. She nodded again and together we squeezed through the pack to get to the bar at the very back of the large, open room. I ordered us two Dr. Peppers and the bartender promptly placed two cans in front of us.

“This is such a rush,” Natasha enthused, her freckled face slightly pink and shiny with exhaustion and sweat. I nodded, the only response I could form between chugging down my soda, trying to twist my brown hair off my sweaty neck, and tugging on my silver tank top to let some air reach my stomach. When I wasn’t dancing and embracing the sweet anonymity of the crowd, the claustrophobia and anxiety started to set in immediately.

“Oh my god! Kristin? Is that you?” A high-pitched voice screeched from the dance floor. I cringed inwardly. I recognized that voice all too well. Please, let it not be her, I prayed silently, but this time no one was listening to my pleas apparently. The short, thin, overly enthusiastic Kim bounced toward the bar in all her dyed brown hair, brown eyed glory. I noticed the taller, even thinner figure of Stephanie trailing behind her, with matching shades of long brown hair and brown eyes. Their skin gave a sickly appearance, a combination of off-tone concealer and the dizzying strobe lights. Last in the line was Elizabeth, the same height and build as Kim, but with blonde hair and tan skin, for a change in pace. I suppressed a groan. It wasn’t just Kim; it was the entire pack.

“Please, just dry drown me in my soda,” I begged Natasha softly as the girls bounded over. Natasha folded her thin, pink lips around a laugh as I plastered on my best cheery smile.

“Hey, Kristin! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Elizabeth gushed, the three of them stood before us now in skimpy, flashy clubbing clothes. My back pressed against the bar and my three least favorite human beings on my other side, did little to ease my sense of claustrophobia.

“Mmm,” I murmured sipping my soda, the edge of the bar really digging into my spine now, as if I pressed myself into it further it might somehow incorporate me into its form.

“This isn’t really your scene, what are you doing here?” Stephanie asked, the calmest, least excitable of them all.

“Birthday celebration,” I responded, speaking as little as possible. Stephanie just nodded coolly.

“Ooh, happy birthday!” Kim cooed, “And you actually look like a girl tonight, too!” She enthused, a devilishly sweet smile on her round face.

“Yeah, I just discovered the girl’s section in Wal-Mart. Who knew that was there?” I replied sarcastically; mock cheer dripping from my every word. Kim and Elizabeth cringed and looked at me as though I were some kind of alien. Natasha was trying very hard not to spit out her soda and bust out laughing behind me.

“So, do you want to dance with us for awhile?” Stephanie asked, changing the subject. I pulled my phone from my back pocket.

“Ooh, sorry, I have to go. Curfew and all, maybe next time,” I lied, suddenly eager to go back to Natasha’s. They said goodbye and headed back to the dance floor.

“Thank god,” Natasha groaned, “I hate them so much.”

“Tell me about it. ‘Oh, you actually look like a girl tonight’” I mimicked Kim’s high pitched squealing exactly, “I hate how condescending she is,” I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

“Whatever, don’t let them ruin your night. It’s hot as hell in here and I don’t want to run into them again, I’m going to go pull the car around, wait for me out front,” Natasha said, throwing down a couple bills to pay for our drinks.

“Wait, I’ll come with you,” I replied, following her out to the front of the club. It was cold outside in my thin tank top; I shivered and hugged my arms against the breeze.

Natasha rolled her eyes, “It’s fine, the garage is right up the road. It’s your birthday, I won’t make you walk. I pity the person that tries to take me,” Natasha laughed, joking easily. I sighed. It’s pointless to try to argue with her once she’s made up her mind.

“Fine,” I replied begrudgingly, “Be careful!” I called after her as she walked just up the road to the car. The road had really emptied out since we first came into the club, it was darker somehow now, and the stench of the city floated through the air. There was no quiet here though, the way there sometimes could be on Long Island. Honking horns, yelling voices, stray animals fighting for survival in the alleys; inescapable noise constantly rising and swarming the ears of the city residents. We certainly were not in the nicer part of town, garbage mixed with stale alcohol assaulted my nose. The eerie desolation of the street made my hair stand on end.

“Happy birthday,” A playful voice called. A figure somersaulted off the roof of the club behind me and landed in front of me. I jumped in surprise, a squeal escaping me before I could stop it.

“Calm down,” The figure laughed, “it’s just me.”

“Oh,” I sighed in relief, my body relaxing of its own accord, “I was a little worried for a second; I broke my no going out at night rule.”

The figure chuckled and leaned against the unlit streetlamp on the sidewalk across the street from me. A strange thought occurred to me just then. This street had been well-lit when Natasha and I had first arrived, it wasn’t just my imagination. I peered down the block, and sure enough, every lamp sat dark and empty of their former glow. With no moon tonight and not even a hint of artificial light, I could barely make out the figure’s black mask and pale face; the shadows seemed to swallow him, hiding him away from my view. I decided that the figure seemed distinctly masculine, it was the deep tenor of his voice and the cocky air about him, unmistakable for a precocious young male.

“How’d you know it was my birthday?” I asked, squinting, attempting to recognize any feature of the figure. I tried and failed to form the image of someone’s familiar face hiding under that mask. “What are you doing here, anyways? I’m not in danger.” I asked confused, taking another step forward. Is that dark hair? I couldn’t tell when he ended, and shadow began, or vice versa.

“It’s not every day I save the same girl twice, usually it’s just strangers, I figured I could at least stop by for your birthday,” He laughed in the same easy, musical way, taking a step back to match my every step forward. It gave me the strange sense of being locked in a dance.

“How’d you know it was my birthday?” I asked again, taking another eager step forward.

“Remember, dark streets are dangerous at night,” He grinned, the echo of his laugh reached me before he disappeared into the shadows. I raced forward to catch him knowing he was already long gone. A little box with silver wrappings gleamed on the ground in the place he stood just moments ago. I smiled, picked up the box, and gingerly tugged it open. A small, intricate rose charm on a silver chain fell into my hand. I smiled at the beautiful trinket and clasped the necklace around my neck.

“Thank you,” I whispered mostly to myself, staring into the dark that had enveloped him, and fingering the charm. The bright headlights of Natasha’s car suddenly blinded me as she turned the corner.

“Get in!” She yelled, honking the horn. I turned away from the dark alley my figure had retreated into, quickly snapping back to reality. I ran across the street and jumped into the familiar interior of Natasha’s Prius. At least there would always be one stable, sane thing in my life. As we peeled off down the street, I stole one last glance behind me. The street was somehow unchanged following my encounter, dirty and empty, just as it had been. This time, however, I noticed gold light filtering down on the dirty asphalt street from every well-lit streetlamp going all the way down the block, their light illuminating every discarded bottle and stray cigarette butt in their wake. I struggled to find some meaning to this and failed. My head began to spin, all the images from the night flashing behind my eyes, out of order and without any sense to them. I let my head rest against the cool glass of Natasha’s window as we drove towards familiar roads and neighborhoods.

#writing #writers on tumblr #spilled writing #excerpt from a book I'll never write #excerpt from a story i'll never write #excerpts from my life #excerpt from a book i'll never finish #spilledink #spilled ink #spilled poetry #spilled thoughts #literature #lit #shortstory #short fiction #book #bookblr #intotheshadows

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thebestpersonherelovesbucky · 5 years

Text

WIP Wednesday

didn’t know about this, but here’s a little passage from my upcoming original piece This is How We Burn

@captainrogerrsbeard @luninosity thank you for the support you’ve already shown!

Wet hair stuck to his face by the time he arrived at the restaurant. Nothing fancy. Sasha didn’t even think to take note of what type of place it was before he walked in through the doors. Only that there were St. Patrick’s Day decorations painted on the front windows. But the place was small. Nothing particularly fancy or charming about it. Nothing that really stood out, anyway. People were even there with their kids. Strike one against this being a date.

A couple stood in front of him, waiting for the hostess to seat them. This gave Sasha ample time to try to fix himself up before seeing Trystan. The tie around his wrist -- somehow -- remained there. Sasha peeled wet strips of hair away from his cheeks and secured it all behind his head--all but the few locks that never stay in place. He tried to push the rest behind his ear. Over and over just to have it fall back out again.

About to threaten to cut it all off, Sasha took a handful of it and sighed. He hoped, hair related calamities withstanding, that he still looked all right. Sasha knew he’d never been any Don Juan. No Adonis or even anybody’s wet dream. He wouldn’t go so far as to call himself unattractive. Just plain. Average. A bit rough around the edges. Someone who might catch a stranger’s eye as they passed each other on the street and then be forgotten the second he was gone.

When the hostess, who assured Sasha that she’d help him the second she returned, took off to seat the couple who’d been waiting before him, Sasha caught a glimpse inside the restaurant. At one of the booths in the back sat Trystan, running his finger around the rim of his water glass and chatting the ear off of one of the waiters.

The waiter held a tray of empty glasses that probably needed to be bought back but Trystan kept right on talking anyway. Whatever the conversation was, it held the waiter’s interest and smile and a spark in his eyes despite the table calling for his attention across the dining hall. Of course, all of that could have just been Trystan himself.

He looked exceptional. Even a little out of place among sweaters and fake Uggs and blue jeans. It could have been that New York was currently underwater. Good thing Sasha ducked in when he had otherwise he’d’ve ended up drenched. But seeing Trystan in this light -- in the swirling blues and hanging grays while the sun hid behind thick, lazy clouds -- made something just magical about him. New colors played throughout tidy locks of shimmering hair. A light flush kissed fair skin though it was hardly warm in here. Even his eyes, which lit up at the simple prospect a fresh cup of coffee on any ordinary day, had a different sparkle. Almost like they’d been hiding something all along. He looked like a fairy prince trying to blend with the commoners and doing a very poor job of it.

He also, and Sasha had difficulties ignoring this, looked like he’d gone out of his way to dress nice for the night. Cozy, yet elegant in that wool turtleneck. Cream-colored. Complimented his complexion. And his eyes. So maybe this was a date. In which case, Sasha had seriously underdressed.

While in the middle of another laugh with the waiter, Trystan happened to glance over and spot Sasha waiting in the lobby. Already smiling, Trystan straightened even more and waved. The waiter, turning to face that way, smiled as if also waiting for him and then pinched between his eyes before possibly giving a farewell to Trystan. He finally went back to the kitchen.

“Hello, sir,” the hostess greeted when she came back over. “How can I help you?”

Sasha, who hadn’t taken his gaze away from Trystan, said, “I’m meeting someone. I see him, though, thank you.”

She might’ve said to go on in, Sasha couldn’t really be sure mostly because he started doing this on his own already. The closer he got to the table Trystan sat at, the larger that dazzling smile of his grew. Sasha also couldn’t help notice Trystan’s… unusual choice of footwear.

“Hi!” Trystan said when Sasha was almost at the table. “You’ve made it just in time! Someone must be in a very sour mood, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hello,” Sasha said back, envying Trystan’s optimism about everything and all things, even something so casual as greeting someone. “Why would I say that?”

“I should say it’s rather obvious, isn’t it?” He gestured toward the windows, still taking a pretty hard beating from the rain. “Nature certainly wouldn’t make it rain like this out of nowhere. Had to be the work of a cranky weather mod.”

While a person with strong enough a Weather Modification Gift did have the ability to cause such weather, Sasha wasn’t so sure he agreed with Trystan’s point of view. Just because he taught history didn’t mean he lost all knowledge of basic high school science. Some moisture to form clouds and rain. Add some unstable air, relatively warm and could rise rapidly. Finally, toss in some lift that could be found in the form of fronts, sea breezes or mountains. Voila. A thunderstorm. No Gift needed.

Sasha chuckled. “I don’t know if this is the work of any Gift, but I do believe you might have a curse on you.”

Eyes narrowing, Trystan took a very long sip of his water and then pursed his lips, already wise to the games Sasha played. The wheels in his mind turned and must’ve come up empty-handed. He sighed and dropped his hand on the table.

“Okay, I yield,” he said. “Why do I have a curse on me?”

“Why else would you be wearing bright blue rubber shoes with yellow laces and black bat wings flapping out of them?”

Trystan gasped and kicked his foot out from under the table, nearly tripping a waitress in the process. Stretching his lips and fumbling through several words of an apology -- though it doesn’t appear to be necessary since she batted her eyes and twirled a strand of her hair and smiled at him long enough that Sasha worried Trystan might actually get up and leave with her -- Trystan showed off the, in his words, fabulous work of art.

“And just what is wrong with these?” he asked. “They’re perfect.”

“You’re wearing rain boots.” Sasha chuckled. “That look better fit for a child, I might add.”

“They are galoshes, you uncultured swine,” Trystan teased. “And they give me the power to fly.”

Though Sasha initially intended to remind him that they were, in fact, in America, and the term boots and galoshes tended to be used interchangeably, the second half of that statement had a good chance to settle in. Whatever he wanted to say changed to something else entirely.

“I’m sorry,” he grumbled in a failed attempt not to laugh, “they give you what?”

“The power to fly.”

No hesitation. Straightfaced. Even a nod at the end for good measure. Trystan said this as though he truly meant it.

Levitation, a rare and sought out Gift, had forever been something people tried to duplicate via technology. Whether it happened in real life, as with airplanes, or in science fiction, like hoverboards, people wanted to fly. Sasha, however, did not. He already knew what it meant to crash and burn. He certainly never wanted to find out what it felt like physically.

“And how, pre tell,” Sasha asked, “do they make you fly?”

Trystan rolled his eyes and dramatically fanned his hand out toward the shoes. When Sasha, who still had no idea what he meant, just shrugged, Trystan gave him an exaggerated moan and pointed directly to the wings.

“They have wings, of course.”

“Oh, wings.” He nodded. “That makes perfect sense.”

“You know what, my boots are fan-bloody-tastic, thank you very much.” Trystan pulled his leg back under the table and crossed his arms. “Do not whine to me if you step in a puddle wearing your stinky shoes and your socks get all wet and soggy.”

“Maybe I’ll just go around the puddle.”

“Maybe the puddle is too big to go around.”

“Maybe I’ll find an alternate route altogether.”

“Maybe there’s water covering the entire city.”

“Maybe I’ll take a boat.”

“Maybe the boat springs a leak.”

“Maybe… maybe…” Sasha knew he couldn’t break his own rules. Any more than a few seconds and it didn’t count. “Okay.” He sighed and twisted his lips. “You win.”

Gasping, Trystan threw his hands up in excitement. He shimmied in place on his seat, squeezing his tongue between his smile. And, oh. Oh, Sasha didn’t expect to have such an intense reaction to fake showboating. Warmth blossomed in his belly. Tingled through the rest of his body.

#my stuff #text post #wip wednesday #original fiction #this is how we burn #my fic #sasha and trystan

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carrottheluvmachine · 5 years

Note

If I may be so bold as to make a request: Stephen tries to un-do weight gain using magic due to being a little vain (read: due to insecurity about how others *coughTonycough* will see him if he's in less than perfect shape), but it backfires and Tony's got to patch him up.

Heeeere it is. I’m actually not happy with it, but I promised it would be done.

Stephen landed gracefully on the groundbeside Tony, whose suit was retracting into its nanotech housingunit. The moment his feet touched down, his outfit shifted from hisrobes to a casual t-shirt and jeans. The cloak transfigured itselfinto a scarf and wrapped itself around Stephen’s neck before goinglimp and doing its best attempt at being normal fabric.

Tony had tasked Peter with the job ofdropping the Villain of the Week (Trademark pending) off at thestation (the teenager was more than happy with this decision). Stephen was thankful he didn’t have to do it since he had otherissues to concern himself with in the current moment.

Though it appeared to be a perfectlynormal outfit to the human eye, Stephen’s clothes were anything but. He had placed a spell on his entire wardrobe to help bind him andhide the fact that he had been steadily gaining weight. It hadgotten to the point that it was easily visible through his clothesand Stephen could no longer stand it. He had a paunch of a bellywithout the spells he had placed on his clothes—one that hung overthe waistband of his pants and rounded out from the rest of him. Hehadn’t gained it anywhere else, so other spells such as to concealweight gain in his face and chin weren’t needed.

It wasn’t anything dramatic, but it wasa big deal to him. Stephen was hiding himself from the world, andmore importantly, from Tony. The two had been dating ever since TheSnap had been reversed and Tony’s engagement to Pepper had faded away(they were still good friends). One thing Tony had fallen in lovewith was Stephen’s body. It was for that reason that Stephen neededto hide himself. Tony couldn’t know anything had changed with him.

The voices around him sounded far awayand Stephen’s vision blurred. The spell wasn’t perfect by any means. It worked the same way a particularly good binder would and it wascurrently busy stealing his breath. He tried to focus on what theAvengers around him were saying, but he was getting tunnel vision andthe voices sounded like they were underwater.

He took a deep breath, hoping to forceair into his lungs, but it only made his vision swim that much more. Luckily the others around him didn’t seem to notice. What they didnotice, however, was Stephen pitching forward the second darknesstook him over and he passed out into Tony’s arms.

Tony had been in the process of askingStephen if he was okay when the wizard fainted. Evidently, he wasnot okay. He had taken several hard hits during their battle butTony couldn’t find any visible signs of injury on him. In the end hehad decided to take Stephen back to his penthouse which was closerthan the Sanctum. Besides, Stephen had half of his things at Tony’salready. He would be comfortable.

Once inside, Tony set Stephen down onthe bed to look him over more thoroughly. It was then that herealized that Stephen’s breathing was shallow. His lungs didn’tappear to be filling up with enough air, almost as if something wasconstricting him.

Grabbing his shirt, Tony pulled it upand over Stephen’s head—and was greeted with a shock. A big, roundbelly spilled forth from the fabric, filling out quite nicely fromStephen’s usually thin form. It rounded out above him, though itappeared to be the only thing about the sorcerer that was pudgy. Therest of Stephen remained lithe as it had ever been, minus his pecswhich were ridiculously muscled, much like his arms. His stomach,however, had increased greatly in size. It was large enough thatTony felt he could use it as a pillow—not that he was going to. Hewasn’t even going to touch it. He was just going to admire it fromafar.

Stephen’s breathing had returned tonormal and Tony let out a sigh of relief. His eyes traveled backdown to that belly. How had he not noticed it before?

A spell. Stephen had put a spell onthe shirt. That was why the stomach surged forward the moment Tonyhad removed it. Which meant that Stephen was hiding it from him.

Tony worried his bottom lip, unable totake his eyes off his boyfriend’s stomach. He had gained a bit ofweight recently as well, but not enough to match Stephen by anymeans. Still, Tony hadn’t felt the need to hide it. Why should hewhen he looked the way he did? Even if he were fat he would still befabulous.

Did Stephen think Tony would love himany less if he found out he gained weight? Did he think he wouldleave him? Or maybe it was a personal problem. Either way, Tony wasdetermined to show Stephen just how much he cared for him no matterwhat he weighed.

“Mmnn…”

Tony’s eyes snapped up and he was metwith a pair of green-blue wizard eyes. He smiled gently. “Morning,sleepyhead.”

Stephen blinked. “What–” Hiseyes fell and he noticed the absence of his shirt. Scrambling,Stephen grabbed one of the blankets from the bed and used it to coverhimself. But the damage had already been done. Tony had seen.

“Steph, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” Stephen shook hishead and looked anywhere but at Tony. “I’ve been using spells tohide it. When you removed my shirt—”

“Your spell was the reason you passedout.” Tony broke in, voice firm. “It was too strong. You werehaving a hard time breathing.”

“Then I’ll have to adjust it.”

“No.” Tony shot back, voice theleast bit argumentative. He gestured to Stephen’s stomach. “Ifit’s to hide this from me, I’ve already seen it. I don’t mind.”

Slowly, Stephen’s gaze met Tony’s own. Tony noted the blush that had spread to Stephen’s ears. “You…don’t?”

Tony smiled and shook his head. “MayI?” His hand reached out to grab hold of the blanket. He waitedfor Stephen’s scarred hands to release it before he pulled it awayand threw it to the ground. In an instant, Tony had his hands onStephen’s warm, plush stomach. He felt around, a blush rising up hisneck and cheeks as he poked and prodded the flesh. He could hearStephen making little noises above him, but Tony was far too busylowering himself to kiss at the belly in his hands.

“T-Tony…” Stephen gasped, hishands fisting themselves in brown hair.

“Fuck,” Tony breathed, nipping atthe skin around Stephen’s bellybutton. “You’re gorgeous, Stephen.”

It was at that moment that Stephen’sbrain gave himself a 404 error. There was no way he heard thatcorrectly. Tony Stark did not just tell him that even though he wasfat he was still gorgeous. And Tony Stark definitely was not bitingat his stomach, sucking the pliant flesh into his mouth, and leavinglittle bruises all over his skin. Nor was he gripping his lovehandles to hold him in place.

Maybe he had heardcorrectly.

Tonylifted his head after sucking one more hickey into Stephen’s belly. “Is it completely selfish of me to have a thing for you like this? Because fuck, Steph, I have a thing for you like this.”

Stephenhad been about to reply when he felt something hard brushing againsthis thigh. His eyes widened and he stared at Tony in shock. “You’renot lying.”

Tonydidn’t even bother shaking his head. “I’m not lying.”

“Ilike it too,” Stephen admitted, moaning when Tony pinched the puppyfat around his hips harshly. “It…feels good…to be touched likethis.”

Awicked grin spread across Tony’s face. It took all of a second forTony to pounce of Stephen, crushing their lips together. They kissedheatedly, all the while Tony kept hold of Stephen’s lovehandles.

#colie writes #ironstrange #chubby!Stephen #weight gain #Avengers

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mastrmiscellaneous · 5 years

Text

Writing Colab: Time Turner Mishaps; Part 3

Summary: a continuation of the colab I did with @son-of-aurlius-piscius let’s see what is in the vault...

the final part will be up on his blog in the next few days.

part 1 part 2��

so, here we go...

“You can’t. I don’t know how dangerous this is gonna be, I’m not letting you risk your life.” Thomas looked sturn, shifting his welcoming and kind personality and look into an intimidating and harsh one. This made both Merula and Charli shudder slightly, intimidated by the tall, broad young man’s harsh tone.

“Is that so? Tell me Donner, how many times have gone in search on the vaults and worked together?” Merula walked up to him placing a finger on his chest. “Don’t expect me to miss out on this because of your saying of “no”, am I clear?”

“Well that,” Jason couldn’t help but start laughing but started to get teary eyed. “Excuse me for a moment.” Jason walked to the other end of boat house and hid behind one of its corners. He knew that this wasn’t his Merula but the feeling was slowly driving him mad to the point of crying softly. He hoped they’d solve this soon so he could see “his” Merula.

“What’s with that one?” Merula looked confused then back at Thomas irritated. “I’m helping Donner.”

“Fine. you can help.” Thomas hugged Merula’s shoulders as he looked over at Jason, confused. Charli had walked over to him and appeared to be checking on him, a small, comforting smile on her face. “You ok over there?”

Charli held her hand up, giving him a thumbs up, then a ‘1 second’. She placed her hand on Jason’s shoulders and forced him to face her, muttering something to him, before running her hand through her short hair and pulling Jason back to Merula and Thomas.

“You ok to go in?” Thomas asked Jason, looking concerned.

“Yeah, I’m just um…” Jason wiped his tears. “Sorry, um let’s get to it. We got a job to do, right?”

Thomas grabbed Jason’s shoulder and nodded. A weird whooshing noise sounded in the girls’ ears, as the air around the boys twisted, popping them away somewhere. Merula looked at Charli and forced an awkward smile, but Charli avoided looking at her.

“What’s up with you?” Merula asked, leaning forward, forcing Charli to look at her.

Charli stuttered and blushed as she spoke. “Umm… I… I don’t…” she sighed and looked off to the side, biting her lower lip to stop herself from crying. “In my universe, I accidently got you killed. It’s hard to look at you.”

Merula’s eyes widened, remembering the last year she had at Hogwarts. Specifically where she accompanied Thomas to the vault, and almost died from the guarding spell. In another universe, that killed her? If it was that, why did Charli say she did it? She hummed, sadly, and attempted to smile a comforting smile at Charli, but the girl didn’t look up.

Just as Merula was about to say something, the door to the shed opened quickly, makin the two jump. Thomas’ face appeared and he nodded for them to come in. “Come on, we have to go. Grab the brooms.”

Charli picked up the brooms and trapsed into the shed, Merula quickly following. Charli handed a broom to Jason as Merula and Thomas climbed into a boat. Jason untied the rope holding the boat in place and handed it to Thomas, who stuffed it under the seat. Jason and Charli climbed onto their brooms and kicked off, nodding at each other, saying they were steady.

“How are we doing this, then?” Charli asked, quietly.

“Did you three idiots forget these boats move themself?” Merula questioned, making the three stare at each other, looking embarrassed and ashamed.

“Yes, Merula. Yes we did.” Thomas finally said, his, tone making everyone laugh slightly.

“You idiot.”

“Why you love me.”

The two leaned forward and shared a small kiss, immediately sitting back down, both blushing slightly.

“You two love birds gonna shut up?” Charli was leaning on her broom, looking impatient. “We need to go.”

“Alrighty, let’s be off” Jason pushed the boat out with Charli as they guided through the lake. The sky was clear and filled with stars as the lights of Hogwarts gleamed of the water surface. Jason did feel slightly jealous seeing Thomas kiss Merula but he did his best to ignore that feeling. “Once, we are there we’ll need to head down into the water. Fancy as swim Tommy boy?”

“Don’t call me Tommy boy. It’s Thomas. And yes, I’m ready.”

“Fabulous.” Charli said. “Because we’re here.”

She flew to the side of the boat and took off her robe, throwing it into the boat along with her tie and shoes.

“What are you doing?” Thomas said, confused. “Why are you taking off your shoes?”

“You ever tried swimming with shoes on? It’s nearly impossible.” Charli slipped off the broom into the water, submerging for a few seconds, then bobbed back up, pushing her fringe back. “You coming or what?”

The rest of the group disrobed and took off their shoes, sliding into the water, and bobbing for a second, getting used to the temperature. They casted the bubble-head charm and lit up their wands, ducking under the water and swimming down. Charli, despite loving the water and her look of bravery, was terrified. She hated the dark, feared it even, and she could only see a few feet in front of her. There were occasional movements in the darkness, making Charli’s heart race at an unnatural pace. She tried to suppress her panic, knowing she couldn’t stop now. The four students swan down for several minutes, until they finally spotted the large form of an underwater, temple-like building.

Jason motioned them toward the main sunken building of the the temple. He looked around before he plunged himself in. The temple inner structure was marked with carving of merpeople and what looked to be a story illustrating what appeared to be their history. This would be fascinating to Rowan he thought and it probably didn’t matter what universe. Jason scanned his surrounds carefully as he directed the rest of the group to a door which appeared to be made of iron and was marked with a trident. He then motioned Thomas to the door so he could then unlock it. But at that moment a school of Grindylows swarmed the students claw and latching on to them.

As the group struggled to release their limbs from the creatures, Charli had an idea. She managed to yank her left hand away from the Grindylow and reached for her wand, that had been knocked out of her hand. She swished it in a large circle and thought of the spell she needed to cast. God, she hated using this spell, but a Rowe never falters to save those helpless. She pushed her wand hand upwards, a giant stream of red and yellow light erupted from the tip of her wand and separated, targeting the creatures. Once the streams hit them, the creatures shuddered violently, releasing their grips on the others, and tried to swim away. Their faces scarred in pain, releasing terrible screeches into the dark abyss. The shudders turned more violent, and suddenly, they all went limp, lifeless looks on their faces.

Charli gestured towards the door, which had opened, revealing a dim light from inside. They swam to the entrance and planted their feet on the ground and walking through the veil, separating the water and room. Charli collapsed to the floor in exhaustion and sadness. She hated that spell with a burning passion. She started to cry, quietly, as memories rushed back to her.

Jason landed right next to her and gently pulling her into a hug stroking her. “It’s okay Charli, you saved us.” He smiled softly at her doing his best to console her nerves. Jason was covered in quite a few bite and claw marks that seemed to fall on his scarred body. Scars were nothing new but he knew the weight of having to bare his own pain on the inside. Visible or not. “You did great.”

Thomas and Merula looked at Charli with concern after healing themselves. “What was that spell?” Thomas asked, after Charli had calmed down a little.

She took a shaky breath, still shaking on the ground. “I horrible spell. My father created it. A rip off of the cruciatus curse. Worse. It stretches and twists the muscles of the victims until the pain is too much. Depending on the size of the victim, it kills.”

She ran her hands around her wrists and shed another tear. “It’s the worst feeling in the world, that spell. Having both watched and felt it, I never want to use it. I hate myself for using it.”

“It’s understandable,” Jason looked at her concerned. “Some spells aren’t meant to be created and therefore used. But we can’t control what others do or make.” Jason himself had his flashbacks for a moment, thinking of stepping in between his father and mothers fights. The fights his father would have with Jacob and this disciple that came with it. No father should have to harm their own child to that extreme. No matter who they are. “Charli, you used it for something good today. I won’t say you should use it as you understand the feeling. But today, I’d say you’re a hero and thankful you saved us.” He stroked her hair like Jacob did whenever he needed it a positive reinforcement. “Thank you Charli.”

“Thanks, Jason.” Charli smiled at him. A genuine, grateful smile, unlike the forced and sarcastic smiled she had presented all day. Jason stood to his feet and held out his hand for Charli to take. She did, and Jason pulled her up.

Merula stared at Charli with a saddened look. She understood the feeling of parents using curses like that on her. She got it all the time as a kid. “Charli, please tell me you don’t live with him anymore.”

Charli shook her head and forced a wide smile. “Yeah, they kicked me out during the Christmas just gone. Living with the Weasleys now.”

Merula smiled. “Good, they’re good people.”

The group nodded at each other, all remembering the acts of kindness their friends’ family had done for them.

“Let’s finish this, okay?” Jason helped Charli to her feet. “We got a vault to crack. Dammit, my shirt is ruined.” He unbutton his shirt revealing a well toned torso and his scars. The group stared at him for a moment confused as to why he took his shirt off. “What? Did I say something funny?”

“Why did you take off your shirt?” Charli asked, after looking at Thomas and Merula, who were both staring at Jason with a deep blush on their faces, and rolling her eyes. “I think you broke them.”

“Sorry, my shirt was bugging me. I get agitated with things are a little taterted. Please excuse um my bareness.” Jason blushed nervously. “This is just temporary. I just had to get it off me. I’m sorry.” He looked away scratching the back of his head.

“Don’t worry, mate, I get that. I hate my hands being dirty.” Charli shrugged, and snapped her fingers in front of Merula and Thomas’ faces, making them snap back into reality. “Just cast reparo on it, so these two can have their wits about them.”

As Jason pulled out his wand and started casting the spell on the tattered parts of his shirt, Thomas and Merula looked at each other and frowned. Merula spoke first.

“Why did you stare?”

“What do you mean? So were you!”

“Don’t make such good and valid points!”

“Oi! Shut it!” Charli scolded, looking fierce. “Bicker later, me and Mr abs over there need to get home, and you need to break this vault.”

Merula and Thomas looked at each other, shrugged, then looked forward at Charli. “You’re right, let’s get this over with.” Thomas said, shrugging and walking forward, lighting his wand so they could see better, and looking around at the walls.

“Sorry if I caused a problem, social skill aren’t so strong. And Mr Abs?” Jason started buttoning his shirt up to the midway point, while Charli shrugged, shooting him a goofy smile. He looked at the walls curiously. “You ever thinking this is the English equivalent to Atlantis?”

“Interesting take. You know, Atlantis is a real popular story in the muggle world. Countless people have written about it. There’s even a movie about it.” Charli chuckled to herself, remembering the good parts of the muggle world. “They’ve also started looking for it. I watched a documentary about it a few years ago.”

“Interesting, I personally prefer the muggle movies from the Asian. This one actor, Bruce Lee if I remember.” Jason looked at the rest of them with smile. “Kung fu movies are amazing. Muggles do know how to make something entertaining. Anywho, see anything Thomas?” He asked as he brushed his wet hair back.

Merula had to turn away for a moment. What was this guys deal? He acted so innocent but was almost like an Adonis of somesort. “Yeah, have you seen anything Donner?”

“Yup, right there.” He stopped in his tracks, and stared forward, looking up slightly. In front of them was a giant stone door, with waves, merpeople, sea plants, and boats etched into it. It sounds sweet, and quaint, but it was quite the opposite. The merpeople had scowls and bared fangs, brandishing tridents, spears, and nets threateningly. The boats were damages and sinking, and on closer inspection, you could see the people in the water, flat on the top, or sinking slowly to the depths below. The plants were pretty normal, but though the gaps, you could see a set of giant, staring eyes peering through, staring into the group’s souls.

“Well, that is utterly terrifying.” Charli said, bluntly, earning a sigh from Merula.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Psychologists have been asking that same question for years, my friend.” Charli shrugged, stepping towards the door. She ran her fingers across the the wavy lines representing the rapid tide. “Amazing. This isn’t magically, done. Someone carved this by hand! Wow, the vaults are so great, so filled with history! I wish i knew more about them.”

“Stop being a nerd, and let’s figure this out.” Thomas said, getting annoyed by the Gryffindor’s lack of severity and concentration.

“No, I think this has something to do with it!” Charli exclaimed, staring at Thomas. “Have you not been keeping track of the look of the vault doors? They’re all magically carved and designed, except this one! Muggles must be the key!”

“Why?” Merula quizzed, pulling an unamused face. “The vaults are magic, not muggle.”

“I guess they want the vaults to be broken by someone who wont limit themselves to one world.” Charli’s stare sent a shiver down the others’ spines. She looked so calm and friendly, but her eyes told a very different story.

“Do you have anything muggle?” Thomas asked, breaking the tension. “You’re the only one that has any relation to muggles.”

Charli sighed, looking sad. She reached down her shirt and pulled out a necklace, letting it hang around her neck, free and in sight. “My necklace, made from an arrowhead. Jacob made it for me when I was eight. Just before he was expelled. Six months later, he disappeared. But it’s made out of muggle products, by hand, no magic involved. I just don’t know how it could open a vault…”

“I think I have an idea. Get your Turners out and Charli bring your necklace to the door.” Jason walked over and pulled his Time Turner from his pocket. “I think with what you have could counter the vaults magic might resonate near these piece of magic. Does that make sense?”

“Quite theory but seems very possible. Well have at it you three,” Merula motioned Thomas to the door. “I don’t expect you to keep me waiting while I freeze here.”

Thomas rolled his eyes and took out the pouch containing the time turners, opening it and handing out the contents. Charli took off her necklace and held the arrow in her hand, on top of her time turner. Thomas and Jason held out their time turners and touched the edges to each other, then held them up to the door.

After a few seconds, a blinding, reddish greenlight erupted from the cracks in the door. The group shielded their eyes, squinting at the door. It opened up, slightly, with a deafening creak, leaving enough room for them to slide into the chamber.

Thomas lead the way, lipping in between the gap, and into the brightly lit room. He scanned the area, looking for something to attack them, but nothing came.

“This is strange… isn’t there usually a fight?” Thomas looked at the trio behind him.

“Normally-” jus then Jason was sent flying into a wall by a spell. “AH!” he looked up wincing in pain seeing his father. “Padre?!”

The group looked at Jason, pinned against the wall by nothing, their worried voices could not be heard by Jason. Whatever was going on was very strong magic. Strong, deadly magic.

“You are nothing but a failure. You ruined this family just like your brother. Stained our name.” Jason’s father spectre floated and grabbed him by the neck. Choking the air out of his lungs. “You will know pain greater than you’d possibly can imagine, mio figlio.”

Jason was gasping for air while grabbing at nothing. “You ruined it padre!” He struggled and snarled at the spectre. “You hurt mom. Jacob. Me! You dishonor the family!”

The image of Jason’s father dissolved in front of his eyes, the sound of his companion’s voices slowly elevated. He collapsed to the floor in exhaustion and breathed heavily. Charli started to surge forward, to check if he was ok, but a sudden, excruciating pain shot through her whole body, causing her to cry out in agony and fall to the floor. Her arms twisted in unnatural directions, her skin shifting with the movement of her muscles. He screams got more and more intense as the seconds went on. Floods of tears fell from her eyes as she fell to her stomach once the pain had stopped. There was no sound. Well, except for a familiar, deep, terrifying voice.

“That is what you get for disrespecting your mother.” Charli looked up, and saw the towering figure of her father peering down at her. The man crouched down and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “You know better than this Charli. This is why we made you leave.”

“Dad… please…” she muttered, painfully.

“Hush.” the man snapped. “You’re a disgrace to the family of Rowe. it’s a pity your brother disappeared. You could have learnt a thing or two from him.”

“Don't… compare… me… to… Jacob.” Charli managed to say, each word paining her, each breath filling her with a fiery pain. “He… was… a terrible… man… he… did everything… wrong… I’ve done good… I'm glad… i got… away from you…”

The image of her father disappeared, and all sound rose back up into her ears. However, it was only for a second, as she passed out immediately, the pain off the family curse finally taking its toll.

The three stared in awe, Merula shaking in fear and concern. The look of Charli’s body contorting in those ways was a sight worse than many of the things she saw growing up. Thomas’ mouth had dropped, and he was holding Merula tighter than he ever had, fearing what would happen next. Jason, a feeling of concern and compassion for Charli growing in him, rushed over to her and cradled her head, checking her for life.

“Charli! Are you okay?!” He leaned in close to hear mouth listening for signs of air. He sighed in relief and held her close. “She’s breathing, thankfully. Thomas, do you have anything in your bag to help? Something strong that’ll snap her awake?”

Thomas rummaged through his bag with a purpose, determination on his face. When he found a potion bottle, his eyes lit up for a moment, but then sighed again when he read the label. “All I have is a simple healing potion. It’s stronger than usual, but still probably not enough to wake her.”

“It’ll have to do. Let’s give it to her.” Jason looked down at Charli and brushed her hair from her face. “Any tubes? A straw? I don’t think she’ll be able to drink it on her own and I don’t want to get punched if we have to give her mouth-to-mouth.”

“Weirdly enough, yes I do.” Thomas pulled out a long tube and handed it to Jason, who slid it in her mouth and held the other end, they propped her up slightly so the potion could slip down her throat, and Jason poured it down, the contents disappearing quickly.

After a minute, Charli’s eyes blinked open. She looked exhausted, and battered, sweat pouring from her head, and her breaths slow and pained. The group smiled and sighed in relief, Jason pulling her closer into his chest.

“Hey.” she coughed, smiling, trying to hide her pain. She didn’t attempt to stand, or even move. She was in a bad shape, but she was awake, and that’s the main thing they needed.

“The curse is one of some of our deepest pains. You got to face whatever comes your way. Don’t let it consume you.” Jason looked down at Charli with a soft smile. “You did good. Thomas. Merula. You have to embrace it as it’s a part of you.” Jason helped Charli to the closest wall and had her lean against it.

Thomas and Merula closed their eyes and thought about their deepest pains, waiting for something to happen.

#Hope this is going well for y'all!#hogwarts mystery #thomas donner #charli rowe #jason piscius aurlius do leone #merula snyde #colab #colaboration

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dietaku · 5 years

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Amazing Quest 1: Chapter 4

The fourth chapter. You know how it is. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4: 2 Million Leagues Under the Sea!- We get another sepia tone flashback, this time of an only slightly-younger Hiro and Emilia. Emilia: Well… your form is good. But you swing your sword like a little girl. Hiro: I don’t like hurting people, sis. Besides, everyone knows YOU’RE the messiah the Pudding tribe has awaited! I’m only here because mom had that bottle of aged tequila lying around. Emilia: That has nothing to do with anything! You need to have more confidence! … Wait, I got just the ticket! Emilia runs behind Hiro and plays with his hair. Hiro: Um. What’re you doing? Emilia: I’m giving you a Pudding Warrior Knot in your hair. It’s an ancient custom of our tribe that when a Pudding Warrior comes of age, he gets one! Hiro: Oh. That’s pretty neat. Emilia finishes, presenting the now French braided hero, Hiro, we know now. Hiro: Somehow I feel more fabulous than before. Can’t quite place my finger on it. Emilia: It’s perfect! You’ll be beating up Dark Puddings before you know it! The scene fades, then returns, Hiro, Ozma, Kimyawa and Loyroll laid out on a beach. Hiro: Ungh. I wonder why I never dream in color. Hiro gets up and the others join him. You’ll soon discover this area is only one screen wide, so you’re left to exhaust every possibility until you investigate the water. Not just any water, though, the ONE specific square, just to the left of center. Many players wasted HOURS trying to find this event flag, and many people wrongly believed it was an anti-piracy measure. Nope. Just shoddy programming. The mermaid from before surfaces. Mermaid: So, thief, ready to pay up? Ozma: Hey! We don’t even HAVE a thief in this party! Hiro: Just a reasonable facsimile. Loyroll: You flatter me, as always. Mermaid: You yoinked the goods from that place without paying its rightful owner! Kimyawa: Isn’t that technically liberating it? Mermaid: QUIT CHANGING THE TOPIC! Kimyawa: What’s your name, Stranger-chan? Mermaid: I’m Mancala! Call me Manny and I’ll punch ya in the mug, got it?! I’m the number one marine merchant mermaid you’ll ever see in the sea! Ozma: Meh, mehmehmeh? Mancala: Ignoring that. The point is you took stolen property. So I’m gonna maroon you here until you pay up! Hiro: (Great. Now what do we do?!) You then get a prompt which can result in some different dialogue options. 1) Barter 2) Lie 3) Beg -Barter- Hiro: Okay. It was just a few things. Can’t be THAT expensive. What’s the tab? Mancala: Well… since you asked so nicely! Mancala brandishes an abacus and begins calculating. Mancala: The items total net value, plus the emotional damage to this delicate mermaid, plus interest, plus tax not withheld, plus tax withheld, social security, deducting the “asked so nicely” fee… it all tallies up to a measly 36 trillion gold! Ozma: Can I crush her head like an overripe melon? Hiro: T-trillion?! Are you MAD?! Mancala: If you’re nice, I’ll even include the “cute boy” deduction! That would knock it all the way down to 34! Loyroll: And certainly a deduction for yours truly, if I may be so bold? Mancala: I’m not into girls. … Much. Loyroll: Pardon? Hiro: There’s no way we have that much. That price is absurd. I refuse. Mancala: SAY WHAT NOW?! -Lie- Hiro: What if I told you I know of a great treasure?! It’d more than make up the difference! Mancala: Okay, I’m listening now. Kimyawa: Hiro-ni-chan! You DO?! You’ve been holding out on us?! Ozma: Hiro, how could you?! Loyroll: Most unfabulous of you, my friend. Hiro: … Mancala: … Hiro: Err. Friendship is a sacred treasure, above all material wealth in the Pudding society! Ozma: (So it was just a lie…) Mancala: *Sigh* -Beg- Hiro: Please don’t make me beg. I am not a proud man. Ozma, Kimyawa & Mancala: (This is about to get really hot…) Hiro: (Suddenly, my pride is flaring up within me and I don’t know why…) Loyroll: Well? We’re waiting. Hiro: On second thought, I think I’ll just take a moment to absorb the scenery instead. Mancala: (Darn…) Regardless of your choice, it comes back to here afterward. Mancala: This isn’t getting us anywhere! Hiro: Is there no way to come to an agreement on this? Mancala: Well… you could be my servants for a while! Y’know, help with this, that and the other for a bit and we could call it square! Hiro: I somehow get the impression you’re more ambitious than that. Mancala: Aww, you flirt~! Hiro: (Not the intended reaction. Why does it feel like my life is in danger now?) Ozma & Kimyawa: *Stare* Hiro: At any rate, we don’t have the kind of money on-hand to pay. So I guess we’ve no choice. Mancala: Well, you’re in luck! I just so happened to overhear some of the Dark Puddings talking about the Water Talisman. Hiro: You did? Where is it now?! Mancala: In the Octopus Garden. It’s some ancient ruins not far from my hometown, Mermania. Regrettably, those have been locked up tight since far back as anyone can remember. But I just so happen to know some juicy gossip that may lead us to a key. The Legendary Ice Key! Hiro: Sounds like a lead! Ozma: Or a diversion from the main plot. Poh-tay-toe, pah-tah-tow. Mancala: Either way, I need some henchmen and you need the talisman, right?! I knew it soon as I saw that birthmark! Hiro takes a moment to examine himself. Hiro: Okay, seriously, where is this birthmark you people keep going on about and why do I not see it? Mancala: But that whole “air-breather” problem… there’s only one fix for that! Hiro: Oh no, not another racket… Mancala: Calm down, calm down. It’s a Mermaid’s Kiss! Hiro: Oh. Is that some kind of stone? Or maybe a plant? Or— Mancala leaps from the water, her tail morphs into legs, allowing her to glomp Hiro. Accompanying in a loud, cartoonish “SMOOCH” sound effect, which always gets a giggle out of me. Hiro: W-whoa. That was… brusque. Ozma: *Furious* Kimyawa: *Envious* Loyroll: *Yawns* Are we ready to go now? Then we can enter the water and dive to the underwater map. Though, thanks to aquatic canyons, we can’t just go anywhere we want… yet. Our first stop is down south a ways at Mermania, a recurring city throughout the franchise. There, we can get the “Bikni” armors for our female party members, which give a serviceable boost in defense to each. Hiro and Loyroll can get the “Trnks” which are a step up, but not as huge of one. How does an armor that covers less protect more? It is one of the long, lost legendary mysteries of JRPGs. Anyways, if we talk around at the merchant’s guild here, we’ll learn that Mancala has lost her trader’s license 17 different times due to “questionable practices”. The others roll their eyes when they learn this news but refrain from commenting. After talking to enough merfolk, Mancala fans out from the party. Mancala: Okay! We got everything we need? The legendary ice key is held in the underwater volcano! Hiro: I’d question the physical possibilities but somehow I feel like I’d just be encouraging you at this point. Mancala: Oh, don’t be so glum, chum! It’s pretty much a straight line there! … With a few curves and bumps. And a giant, angry dragon at the bottom. Hiro: Ah. There’s the hitch. I was waiting for that. Loyroll: Slaying a dragon? It’s a tad cliché but I think we can handle that! Mancala: Then what’re we waiting for?! Let’s do it! Ozma: What? You mean stroll up to the dragon and punch it in the face? Mancala: … Yes? Ozma: Metal. Kimyawa: Sugoi, Ozma-chan! At this point we can move back to the ocean floor and the cave in the top-right area is open now. Had we gone he previously, Hiro would’ve met the Giant Sentient Block, a really existential gag that plagues AQ players for years to come. In fact, in the early-internet era, whether this pseudo-character even existed was up for debate, as most of his appearances in this game are very easily missed. The cave itself is pretty straight-forward, except about midway, where the current puzzles spell out great confusion for those who tried to brute force the puzzles, which would flush them down a comically oversized pit where you’d battle the Toilet Snake monster, which is obsessed with poison attacks. Otherwise, the local monsters like the Munchkinfish, Seaweeder, and Poof Fish are actually quite weak compared to other monsters around this level. Here you can find a Coral Abacus for Mancala, replacing the nonsense “TmSn” Abacus she comes with normally (the Japanese name is “Termite Snack” and I guess they were okay with letting everyone assume it meant “Thompson” or something!). Afterward, you just press on down the stairs… up until you enter the gameshow chamber. Yeah, that’s not a joke. The party fans out and stands behind a podium as a huge, anime octopus-man plops down in a suit and tie. Octopus: Welcome, ladies and gentlefish to Amazing Quest: The Game Show: The Video Game: Home Edition v. 1992! I’m your host, Otto! And you lucky heroes are in for a treat today! You get to try my quiz game challenge! Win and you’ll receive fabulous prizes! Fail and you get… well, nothing! Are we ready to play?! We then get a prompt of “Squid yeah!” or “Fin no!”, but obviously the game won’t let you progress until you at least TRY, so, yeah… Otto: Question 1 will be an easy one to get your feet wet! What tribe is Hiro from? We get a prompt between “Pudding”, “Protagonist” and “Team Laser Explosion”. The answer is quite obvious. Otto: Correct! Question 2: What is Ozma’s family name? This one is a little trickier, being given the possible answers “Trouble”, “Tohrubble” and “Toruble”. Just be aware of what her name REALLY is, and you’ll be fine. Otto: Great job! Really kraken ‘em up! Question 3: What mystical artifacts, when united, unleash a great and terrible power? The answers this time are: “The DisKord Stones”, “Hell’s Bells”, and “The Talismans”. Interestingly enough, the other options are shout-outs to DOS-era adventure titles, which AQ4 later also shouts out to. Otto: Whooo! Now we’re gilly getting into it! Question 4: What elemental affinity is the first boss of this game? The prompt is just Fire, Water and Pie, so the answer is obviously water as it was the monster in Fog Tower. If you say Pie, Otto’s arms drop to his sides, as he turns to face the player directly and will stare at you for 10 tedious, unnerving seconds before prompting you to try again. Otto: ALRIGHT! Last one and this one separates the squids from the suckers! Question 5: Which of these is NOT an element of magic?! The answer prompt this time is four options wide, including: “Music”, “Emotion”, “Boobs” and “Food”. You’d only know the answer to this if you read the instruction booklet – which specifically references the elements of magic in the AQ universe. This is kind of a jerk move by the game devs, as losing the manual in the early SNES era was a foregone conclusion by all but the most dedicated collectors. The answer is technically food, but the AQ manga series actually contradicts this during the “Great Pudding Cook-Off” arc. Otto: N-no way! What an amazing contestant we had on the show! Everyone, put your fins together for our new winners! A bunch of fish suddenly leap-on screen and shake about excitedly as the SNES strains to emulate the sound of uproaring applause. Then they retreat to whence they came. Otto: How do you feel? Hiro: A little drunk? Otto: YOU HEARD IT HERE, FOLKS! Now, enjoy your fabulous prizes! For answering all five correct, we get 3 “Fishy Hats” which are helmet upgrades that anyone in the party can put on. We’re then booted from the quiz room and resume our trek through for a few more rooms up until we reach the boss chamber. There, there’s a huge hole in the center of the room, glowing red. Hiro: I have to assume this is where the dragon awaits us. Mancala: Better go up and check just to be sure, Hiro! We’ll wait back here, where it’s safe! Hiro: *Sigh* Very well. One moment. Hiro walks to the lip and looks down. Hiro: Deep. But I don’t see anything. Hiro kicks a small stone from the lip down below, then puts a hand to his ear to listen for it. Hiro: … Deep. Very deep. But I still don’t— The screen begins violently shaking. Hiro: Well, I’ve been wrong before. -Boss Fight!- Trench Serpent LP: 7500 MP: 1000 This gigantic beast is a real threat at last! I hope you took the time to level up on your way here! Your best bet is use Kimyawa’s Fox Flip, if you’re leveled high enough to have it by now, which can briefly confuse the monster to some considerable effect. However, it mandates being quite a bit over-leveled to use here, so she may be money ahead to spam the Mirror of Kii. The serpent’s most dangerous move is “COWABUNGA!” which sends a killer tidal wave over the party – never mind that we’re already underwater during this fight. Your Pudding Swirls should be sufficient, provided you’re not careless. If you monitor your HP burn, you should come out on top. -Boss Fight!- Hiro: Whew… that was surprising. Mancala: Look! The Ice Key! A banana in a block of ice floats down to Hiro’s hands. Hiro: I lack the words. As usual. Mancala: We have it! Now we can go to the Octopus’ Garden! Hiro: Tell me it’s not a quiz game. Mancala: Probably not! Loyroll: Life is far more fun when you never know what comes next, right? Hiro: I guess so. At this point we –can- go on to the next area, if we wanted to. However, a hilarious and easily-missed Easter egg awaits those who return back to Zaius and Heston. The people gather at a neutral ground once you walk into one of the cities. Hiro: Okay. Everyone. Watch very carefully. I’m gonna bring peaceful resolution to this once and for all. Hiro brandishes his sword, then cuts the Ice Key clean in half. Mancala: HIRO! WHAT THE HELL?! Hiro: Just watch. This is going some place. Hiro takes the banana free of the ice, then peels it from center-out on both ends. Crowd: WHAT?! N-no way! No one has ever… how did he DO THAT?! Hiro: See? Now you understand: there’s more than just two ways to do something! And each is equally valid. And now we all learned an important lesson, right? Crowd: HE HAS ANGERED THE VOLCANO GODS! Hiro: Beg pardon? The camera pans out as a nearby mountain erupts into a volcano, the magma pours out and wipes out both villages in a flash. It then cuts back to the party. Mancala: Oh. Right. This place is ruled by the twin brother gods of volcanoes: Rilk and Klir. They also had very particular food habits. And banana peeling was one of their sacred doctrines. Hiro: … How was I supposed to know that? So with two more destroyed cities under our belts, we find the Melted Blade, a new sword for Hiro as we return to the sea for the Octopus Garden. The garden is a 3D maze, using a really curious fixed-perspective isometric view and water spouts that move Hiro up and down as you run through. People have wasted HOURS of their lives here due to the numerous deadends and confusing layout. This is also only the first screen. The second area has moving platforms which Hiro must traverse in order to cross a river. For some reason, this ordeal seems quite nostalgic, doesn’t it? The third area introduces the garden’s true gimmick – the octopus jars and the red and blue octopi. When you get here, the party fans out. Mancala: Ah. I’ve heard of this room. We have to approach it from a certain angle! Hiro: I don’t suppose you know what it is? Mancala: Grandma said this: red octopi are friendly and will pull you near them for a closer look! Blue octopi are shy and if approached, will politely move you away from their homes! But don’t fear – neither will harm you! Hiro: What on Earth does THAT mean?! Mancala: I dunno. Why? Hiro: … Kimyawa: Nii-chan, I think I understand! The octopi-tachi are different colors here. Red will pull us near from far away and blue will push us from near to far. And the room is full of holes in the floor. So, to progress, we need octopi-tachi to move us from one spot to another. Hiro: So the riddle lies in the color and the distance. I see. This is the most head-scratching moments in the game, not due to the base mechanics, but to how fiendishly clever the rooms that lie ahead really are. As explained, red octopi reach out three or four spaces ahead to grab us, but will ignore us if we’re one or two spaces out from them, and blue octopi ignore us at distances of three or greater, and will move us away from them three to four spaces if we approach. Using this knowledge we must move about the map step by step to progress. The first room is very simple and just a test of how each works. The second room adds more walls and holes in the floor to test your critical thinking. The third room adds floors that collapse once stepped on (which reset if you leave and come back) and the final room adds conveyer belts for a touch of twitch-reflex testing! Even with random encounters turned off for these moments, this still routinely gets ranked in the top 5 most hair-pullingly frustrating dungeons in the series. Once you get to the end, we see another pit not unlike the underwater volcano end area. Mancala: Oh? Is this the center area of the Octopus Garden? Ozma: Ugh. Not a recolor boss fight. How uncreative can you get? The area rumbles as a large, purple Trench Serpent rises from below. Kimyawa: Ozma-chan, Snake-san didn’t like that comment. Hiro: Get ready, everyone! Before the battle can begin, something flashes across the screen, and the serpent roars, sinking back into the abyss. Hiro: Wait, what? Who was that?! ?: Light Puddings! Prepare yourselves! Ozma: Uh. Strictly speaking only one among us is a Pudding! A tall, slender man with an oversized tower shield on each arm stands before the party. Man: I am Praetorian Mih! Hiro: Of course you are. Loyroll: I understand your frustration, my friend, but you must admit, he’s got style! Mih: You’ve done enough damage, Light Pudding! It’s time your little escapade— Hiro: Excuse me. Mih: What? Hiro: How are you breathing right now? Did you kiss a mermaid too? Mih: Huh? Hiro: We’re underwater, so I just wanted to know if we did the same thing is all or if there was a better way. Mih: Kiss a mermaid? What are you on about? Everyone knows mermaids aren’t real. Mancala: *Ahem* Mih: Bah! I tire of this. Enough banter! Have at you! -Boss Battle!- Praetorian Mih LP: 8800 MP: 750 Praetorian Mih is every bit the human wall his massive design and dual-wielding shields might indicate, coupled with by far the most LP of anything we’ve yet encountered. The best thing to do is to use Ozma’s Table Flip in hopes it reduces this giant’s defenses and use Pudding Swirl with Hiro and Kimyawa in order to give him the offensive edge needed to compete. Loyroll should use the Mirror of Kii, exploiting Mih’s middling magic defenses. Mih’s most annoying ability will be “Safe & Sound”, a special technique accompanied by an unusually cool trumpet solo which will render him virtually invincible for two rounds before he opens up with a party-wide physical blow. However, if you can weather this, he has a 3 turn cooldown on the ability, so he cannot spam it. You’ll have to play the endurance game just as much as he does, but if you keep it up, you’ll send him packing. -Boss Battle!- Mih: Hahaha! Not bad. Not bad at all. But it will take way more than that to defeat the Human Wall, Praetorian Mih! Hiro: How many more times are you going to introduce yourself?! Loyroll: It seems our unstoppable tempo has met with an unmoving mountain! Kimyawa: Nii-chan, I think you’re mixing your metaphors. Ozma: Don’t give up. I have an idea! But I’ll need your help, Mancala! Mancala: Huh? Uh. Okay! Lay it on me! What’s the plan?! Ozma palms Mancala’s head in her hand. Mancala: Eh? Wait, what— Ozma then hurls Mancala head-first into Mih, who slides back as she impacts, coming to the rim of the pit behind him. Mancala falls flat, stars circling her head. Mancala: BARF! Mih: Hahahaa! You must be truly desperate to resort to such flailing, desperate measures! Ozma: Oh, am I? Mih: Huh? What did you…? Oh no! Mih panics, desperately attempting to run as the cliff below him gives out and he plummets into the pit below. After a few seconds of a whistling, falling sound, we hear a violent crash below. Kimyawa: Yatta! Hiro: That was, uh, a creative way of dealing with that. Ozma: I’m pretty pleased with myself. Mancala: My poor head… I’m gonna feel that for weeks! Ozma: Oh, walk it off. Mancala: How do you walk off a headache?! Hiro: C’mon, guys. The water talisman must be… huh? Do you guys hear something? The area rumbles distantly. Suddenly, an explosion rockets up from the pit, sending the party skyward. Hiro: He exploded?! Loyroll: Not just him! The serpent too! Hiro: BECAUSE THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, RIGHT?! Something shiny flies among the party. Kimyawa: Sugoi! The water talisman! Guy-nii-chan! Ozma: I got it! Ozma grabs Mancala’s tail and swings her around, causing Mancala to grab it. Mancala: STOP THAT, YOU CRAZY BITCH! Ozma: But it just feels SO RIGHT! How can it be wrong?! Ozma learns the Dual Tech – Fish Slap! She’ll grab Mancala’s tail and swing her about like a flail, dealing great damage to a single target. This move deals water-type damage. And we get the Water Talisman! Ozma: The important thing is that we got the Water Talisman now, right? Hiro: No! The important thing is that we’re ABOUT TO FALL AND DIE!!! Ozma: Such a gloomy gus… The party is then viewed falling, crash-landing in a seaside village on the opposite side of one of the underwater canyons that previously prevented our passage from Mermania. They pick themselves up and survey the town. Mancala: Oh! I know where this is! This is Trackland, the town known for its enormous race track and horrible, crippling gambling debt! Hiro: That seems… informative. Never heard of a place that bagged on their own town when they were naming it. Ozma: Might as well have a look around. I don’t see anything else we can do for now. Here we can buy some upgrades, like Kimyawa’s CatCap helmet, Ozma’s Blaz Knuckles and Hiro’s Shing Sword, provided you didn’t find the Melted Blade earlier. By talking to the locals, we learn the Dark Puddings have already ransacked their town, and now their sole joy remains in the race track – famous for being so long it’s also the main highway to the next town! We then go to talk to the operations manager to find a means down said road. Hiro: Hello. We were wondering if it would be alright to head down the race track to the next town. Ops Guy: No, no, no. You don’t “head down” the race track. You RACE down it! That’s why they call it a RACE track! Mancala: Yeah? Then why do they call something you drive on a parkway and something you park on a driveway?! Ops Guy: Look, I don’t make the rules – I just enforce them. If you try any funny business, I’ll run your butts down and drag you back here for the biggest lecture of your lives! So race properly or don’t race at all! The party leaves the room, then spreads out again. Hiro: Well, so much for the direct route. Ozma: Anyone have any ideas? Loyroll: Why not do what he said? After all, a race sounds like fun! No one can keep up with our tempo! Mancala: We can’t just run the track. We’d pass out from exhaustion before we hit the midway. We need something we can ride. We need a pack mule! Hiro: A town renowned for its race track? Well, there has to be a ranch nearby with animals for such an occasion. Let’s ask around. Heading over to the ranch on the east side of town we can talk to the rancher – a strangely feminine man in a long, white trench coat. Hiro: We need— Rancher: A monster for the race, right? Hiro: Wow, you’re— Rancher: I am pretty awesome. Moreover, you’re wasting your time. The Dark Puddings raided my ranch last month and I’m still putting the pieces back together. Hiro: Isn’t there anything— Rancher: Yeah, if you get a few million going spare, I could lend you one of my thoroughbreds I’ve been raising. Hiro: We don’t have— Rancher: Neither does anyone else, bro. If you want the bargain bin, you’re in luck. This way. Hiro: Are you going to let me— Rancher: No. The rancher leads us over to one particular pen where a sad, squat lizard-like creature with a camel’s hump, two wings and two tails, weighed down by mace-like appendages crawls out. It coughs out dust on Hiro’s boots. Hiro: Is it dying? Rancher: I can only hope. This here is the bottom of the bottom of the barrel. This is the last of the Griffohumps. Hiro: Okay, you’re gonna need to explain that one to me. Rancher: It’s half griffon, half camel-dog. Its eyes also don’t align properly and it’s wantonly flatulent. I’ll let you take it for 100 gold. Take it or leave it. Hiro: Well, that’s a very reasonable price. For an unreasonable animal. I was thinking more of something like a horse… Rancher: Then you’re out of luck, chum. What little I have left other than this guy is for rebuilding and repopulating my ranch. Hiro: Looks like I don’t have much of a choice. We then get a Yes/No prompt, which is entirely pointless as saying no means we just walk around town until we go back and say Yes. In the GBA remake, however, if Kimyawa is level 37 (really, only a few levels higher than the average for this segment) and knows her Fox Inferno technique, this entire segment takes on an entirely DIFFERENT connotation as Kimyawa can replace the Griffohump as our pet in this minigame. But that’s creepy. So I’ll stick with the SNES version, thank you very much. The Griffohump is then dropped into a special Virtual Pet-style menu, which we can access whenever we want by speaking with the rancher. We’re then prompted to name the little guy – his default name is “Stinky”. We can feed it either mundane items, or special items the rancher will offer to sell us, which influence its stats. We can train it in minigames, or by fighting it like it was a monster encounter – which is the most effective means to raise it. Unequip the party and let it beat on the party and its stats will skyrocket, especially if it KOs the party. We can also have Hiro pet it and talk to it, which makes Hiro spout off nonsense jokes that were poorly translated from their original Japanese counterparts. You may persist in doing this as long as you’d like or until you hit the ludicrous 999 stat caps. Really, if you get it to around 150 in everything, Energy, Speed, Acceleration and Defense, you don’t need anything more than that. Return to the ops guy. Ops Guy: You again?! Didn’t you hear me?! Hiro: We’d like to enter the race properly now! Ops Guy: Really now? Well, that’s an entirely different story. Ready to begin? We then get a Yes/No prompt. Select Yes to continue. Ops Guy: Alright! To the starting line! This cues up the race minigame, with Hiro sitting astride the Griffohump, who is barely larger than his owner. The race itself involves running to the right-hand side of the screen as other racers try to jump on/over us. We’re ranked as we go and we must be in one of the top three places in order to win the minigame. Failure to do so drops us off where we started the race and Hiro mumbling something about “Not being on his A-Game today”. Clearing in higher ranks nets us better money and item rewards, but nothing worth freaking out over just yet – but they do get better as the plot progresses. But if we manage to win in 1st, 2nd or 3rd, we reach the chapter’s end! Narrator: And thus, Hiro and his party, riding gallantly atop Stinky, gracefully coast across the valley. What awaits them ahead? Only time will tell… We then get the Griffohump Feather, a key item we can use to access the virtual pet minigame from anywhere, anytime! Don’t forget to feed him from time to time!

#Adventure #fantasy #fiction #science fantasy #writing #infrequently asked questions #Amazing Quest

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