#forcing you to tap even just 1 creature can be significant

[dravidious]

You're more amazing than noodles

That, my good friend, is a matter of taste.

Anyway, vehicle crew costs are too low so I made big ones

The vast majority of crew costs are 3 or less. I'm pretty sure the reason why crew costs are so low is because a vehicle would have to be really good to justify a high crew cost, but making a vehicle significantly stronger than its mana cost would normally allow probably causes gameplay problems or something idk, so vehicles typically end up in a middle zone where they have low crew costs and are somewhat stronger than their mana cost would allow.

My way of making higher crew costs was to add enters-the-battlefield effects to the vehicles; by giving them extra value outside of their use as a creature, it justifies giving the creature part a worse cost-benefit ratio. Thus, a high crew cost for a creature that's only somewhat stronger than its mana cost would allow.

Honestly giving a vehicle a high crew cost is also dangerous just because the player might be totally unable to pay it. Especially since by spending mana and a card playing a vehicle, they DIDN'T get to spend that on a real creature. That's why I stuck to crew 4-5. Except for the Excavator Dreadnought, where I just went all-out.

[kcaruth]

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Review

Before the dark times, before the mouse empire, LucasArts published several fun, memorable Star Wars video games, from Star Wars: Bounty Hunter to The Force Unleashed series. After Disney’s acquisition of LucasArts in 2012, the Mouse House stopped all internal developments at LucasArts and laid off most of its staff in 2013. Signaling its turn to the dark side, Disney awarded EA (voted worst company in America multiple times) a multi-year license to create Star Wars video games.

EA rebooted the Star Wars Battlefront series (2005′s Star Wars: Battlefront II has to be one of my most played video games) and released the new Star Wars Battlefront in November 2015. Critics acknowledged the game’s great graphics and visuals, but it quickly became apparent that the game lacked content. The hero and villain rosters were very limited, and the game only included content from the original trilogy, not the prequels.

Then came EA’s disastrous Star Wars Battlefront II, the repercussions of which shook the gaming world. Released in November 2017, Battlefront II had some promise. It was the first game since the Disney takeover to feature a single-player story mode that was canon to the film series. The game also contained content from the prequel, original, and sequel trilogies. Additionally, EA greatly expanded the hero and villain rosters. However, EA showed it true colors with the game’s loot boxes, which could award players significant gameplay advantages if they purchased them with real money. Essentially, the game turned into a pay to win system, thereby making players who did not purchase loot boxes feel so disadvantaged that Battlefront II virtually became pay to play.

Although Visceral Games, the studio behind the Dead Space series, was developing a single-player Star Wars game, even getting to the point in the development process where they could tease everyone with in-game footage, EA canceled the game and shut down the studio. Not counting the Lego Star Wars games and mobile games, EA’s Battlefront games were the only new Stars Wars video games on the market, an astonishing reality compared to the rate at which LucasArts used to produce games for the franchise.

Eventually, EA finally came to its senses and assigned a single-player action-adventure Star Wars game to Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind the Titanfall series. Former Santa Monica Studio employee Stig Asmussen served as game director, and heavy-hitting talent like writer Chris Avellone, perhaps best known for his work on Fallout: New Vegas, joined the project. Finally, Respawn released Jedi: Fallen Order in November 2019 to much critical acclaim.

Now, with that long-winded background introduction establishing the recent state of Star Wars video gaming out of the way, let’s get into the real reason why everyone is here. What did I think of Jedi: Fallen Order? I am usually well behind on newer video game releases, but our current state of affairs with the global pandemic has afforded me a bit more time to dust off my controller. Having just beaten Fallen Order earlier this week, I have plenty to say about the game. (I even made a pros and cons list! Can you tell I have also been spending my time watching the misadventures of Leslie Knope and company in Parks and Rec?)

At its core, Star Wars is about family, friendship, and good versus evil, so let’s start by talking about this game’s characters and plot. (Don’t worry; I won’t spoil anything from the story.) Fallen Order nails the spirit of Star Wars. Set five years after Revenge of the Sith, players control Cal Kestis, a Padawan forced to keep a low profile after the Jedi Purge. Cal lives on the planet Bracca, where he works as a scrapper salvaging ships from the Clone Wars. Kudos to the game here. I stopped a couple of times just to admire the visuals of Bracca. It was definitely a “wow moment” seeing TIE fighters shriek by overhead and watching a Separatist ship descend from the atmosphere. One day, Cal taps into the Force for the first time since Emperor Palpatine’s Order 66 to save a friend from certain death from a workplace accident. Unfortunately, an Imperial probe droid records the incident, alerting the Empire of a Jedi fugitive. Two Inquisitors quickly arrive on the scene to track down the Jedi. Introduced in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, the menacing Inquisitors are an evil organization of Force-sensitive beings, some of them former Jedi, who have been tortured and turned to the dark side by Darth Vader and the Empire or otherwise willingly joined the organization out of hunger for power. They are tasked with hunting down surviving Jedi in hiding and others exhibiting Force potential. Somehow, Cal has survived this long even though he still carries around his lightsaber with him everywhere! When the Inquisitors corner him, he literally just pulls it out of his pocket! How has no one ever noticed it before? Did none of the Imperial probe droids floating around the planet ever take a snapshot of the weapon? Plot holes aside, two new characters, Greez and Cere, rescue Cal from certain doom at the hands of the Second and Ninth Sisters and ferry him off world.

Cere is a former Jedi who held the role of Seeker in the Order. A Seeker located infants with Force abilities who could be taken to Coruscant and trained in the Jedi arts (think the good version of the Inquisitors). Greez is a starship pilot with a bad gambling habit, a green thumb, and an insatiable appetite. Cal finds a small droid named BD-1, who reveals a message from Jedi Master Eno Cordova, detailing the existence of a hidden Jedi Holocron containing a list of Force-sensitive children across the galaxy. In the wrong hands, this list could lead to the children’s demise. Cal and Cere want to use the list to rebuild the Jedi Order. Thus begins the race between the Empire and our crew of ragtag misfits to secure the Holocron.

Overall, the story is good, great even for recent Star Wars standards. It fits the Star Wars cannon very well, and I loved the nods to the Clone Wars, mentions of obscure characters, and the foreshadowing of future events. Some moments elicit chuckles from the appropriate Star Wars humor, while others go to some truly dark places. The way the game tackles Order 66 earns it extremely high marks from me. The developers need to be applauded for bringing in new and relatively unknown planets that we have not really had the chance to explore before. There is no Hoth, Jakuu, or the like to be seen here, thankfully. Star Wars is a big galaxy; it is about time we saw different parts of it. We have spent more than enough time on Tatooine. The planets we do visit feel alive. Each one has a different color palette, climate, weather pattern (although the developers may have been a little heavy-handed on the fog in a few of the locations), and, of course, flora and fauna.

Cal fights everything from annoying rat creatures to ram-like slugs, from giant venus fly traps to trampoline spring-plants. Players can even collect plant specimens on different planets and plant them in Greez’s terrarium, which was a nice little way to take a piece of each planet with you on your journey. Oh, and the spiders. Cal has to kill tons and tons of spiders. Again, this is Star Wars! There is a whole galaxy at your disposal full of creatures that look like whatever your imagination can dream up, and the best we get is different species of spiders? That is probably nitpicking, but it felt like it was worth pointing out.

When it comes to the Empire, however, the variety is fantastic. Of course, the run-of-the-mill standard stormtroopers are here, but there are also variations like shock baton-wielding scout troopers, flame troopers, and the dangerous Purge troopers, essentially the special forces of the Inquisitors. The chatter between the troopers is great. Before they spot him, Cal can overhear them talking about their notorious accuracy, the planet’s hostile wildlife, or even mundane topics like food rations. Once Cal starts fighting them, they often taunt him, full of confidence in their abilities, but then they come to the realization that they are facing off against a Jedi. The confidence in their voices gradually turns to panicked fear as Cal slices through their numbers. By the time Cal gets to the last trooper standing, that trooper will regularly plead for his life or confess how scared he is. Every once in a while, the Empire will even throw AT-ST walkers at Cal, which are a fun enough challenge, though the strategy to defeat them becomes clear within a minute or two, and players are never forced to change up their tactics. I do love that after Cal destroys the walker, the trooper will crawl out of the wreckage and start shooting at him. Nice touch!

With all that said, the story is not perfect. In fact, once or twice it just feels dumb. For example, Cal goes on this grand mission seeking out an important leader in hiding, and when he finally encounters him, they exchange maybe one full sentence before the leader gifts Cal a rebreather so that he can swim underwater. You are telling me I conquered various obstacles and enemies, traversing across multiple planets all to get...a rebreather? This whole section could have been cut out and streamlined so that the storyline goes directly to the main setpiece of this planet I am talking about. Have one of Cal’s crewmates give him a rebreather and send him on his way instead. Regardless, at least the back and forth traversal gives players another chance to board the ship, ascend from the planet, and blast off into hyperspace. Seeing that never got old.

Respawn and its writers did a great job with these characters, including one of the Inquisitors (the other one is just kind of...meh). I enjoyed getting to know my crew, but I wish they had a little more to do in the game. In reality, they just stay on the ship 95 percent of the time while you are out running around on your mission (not that I entirely blame them...it is a cool ship). The conversations between these characters were usually good, but sometimes Cal would not mention huge, seemingly significant events or people he ran into to his crew! For a cinematic franchise like Star Wars, this game could have used a couple more cutscenes. The game often feeds the plot or a character’s mindset to players by making them idly stand near a crewmate and tapping R3 a handful of times to get them to cough up a couple of lines of dialogue.

As is to be expected from a Star Wars product, the game’s music is terrific. Gordy Haab and Stephen Barton composed the score and recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Bach Choir of London. Mongolian folk metal band The Hu also wrote and recorded a song that is featured during a couple of prominent portions of the game. The song lyrics were written in Mongolian and then translated into a fictional Star Wars alien language. The music compliments and elevates the game’s setpieces, with one standout part reminding me of Thor: Ragnarok. A couple of times, the game goes full John Williams to really make some moments hit home, and boy does it work! Hats off to Respawn for putting in this much effort in regards to the music for the game.

Getting into the gameplay, Fallen Order is an amalgamation of several other games. Dark Souls, Zelda, Uncharted, Metroid, Castlevania, Sekiro, heck even Sonic...they are all here in some form or fashion. Unfortunately for Fallen Order, it does not elevate the features it borrows from those games. The biggest reason? The bugs. Oh my goodness the bugs. How can a blockbuster release like this have so many bugs? Maybe it had something to do with EA or Disney wanting to push the final product out before the release of The Rise of Skywalker the next month, but the amount of bugs in this game are simply unacceptable. While none of them led to a complete game crash, I definitely caught myself grumbling, “I hate this game,” with my frustration levels constantly reaching the scorching temperature of Mustafarian lava, especially considering Fallen Order’s inexcusably long load times. Seriously, the load times after dying are so long that I had enough time to run to the bathroom, heat something up in the microwave, or make a cup of tea (to help relax me from this rage-inducing game) before the game finished loading. How can I lift off from a planet and travel through hyperspace faster than the game can respawn me after dying? It is not just dying, by the way. The game developers think they cleverly hid load times behind elevator rides, but that did not work either! At least throw in some elevator music or comm chatter if you are going to make me stand there for so long!

One time, I fell through the level to my death while walking on what was 100 percent solid ground. Speaking of solid ground, or should I say the lack thereof, enemies continued to fight me while clearly hovering in thin air when they should obviously be plummeting to their death. Woe is me if I tried to reach them, though, because my Jedi character must not have that ability, leading to, that is right, more death falls for me as the enemy looked on from his invisible sliver of ground above. If I was lucky enough to have an enemy remain in my relative vicinity and not stand off a ledge, that enemy had a chance of pinning and glitching Cal against a wall, leaving me trapped until I died from the beating. The enemy who kills Cal glows gold until players shave off a piece of that enemies health, which is great, but that means players cannot see that enemy flash red when he uses an unblockable attack. How could Respawn not notice this error when it is such an important component of the combat? For all the aggressive enemies with magical glitching powers, there were also those that would have a change of heart mid-combat and go pacifistic on me. I found this especially common in the later game and on one planet in particular with ranged enemies. They would fire at me, I would block their shot back at them and injure them, and then they would just stand there staring at me. It was really bizarre and made me uneasy turning my back on them to explore the area. I also experienced my health and Force bars completely disappearing from the screen. The first couple of times it happened, I thought it was intentional and meant that Cal could not die for that sequence of the game. Wrong! So much for thinking I was momentarily invincible with unlimited Force powers. This bug was especially crippling during big boss fights, as you can imagine. Respawn throws in some quick time events once in a while where players have to press the correct button in a very short amount of time. For the most part, I did not mind these, but one exception got my blood boiling. Cal is fighting a giant creature and ends up free falling. The game requires Cal to land in a very, very precise spot and pull of a quick time event. I cannot count the number of times I fell to my death during this part because of how finicky the game was being. Cal conveniently stumbles across every single icy or muddy slide in the galaxy during his travels, a way for the game developers to disguise a way to get players from point A to point B quickly, but these slides are also quite particular with when players jump and where they land. Another good portion of my deaths came from Cal not making a jump on one of these slides when he clearly had the distance or him seemingly landing and making the jump only for him to glitch and then fall backwards into a never-ending dark chasm. The game developers may have thought players would enjoy these slides, but I came to dread them.

The worst game bugs by far, however, dealt with frame rates and level textures. Not contained to one section or even one planet, unfortunately, garbage frame rates wreak more havoc across the galaxy than the treacherous Empire. I am telling you the frame rate is absolutely abysmal in this game. I can forgive a drop in frame rate if it happens a couple of times, but it is like it is a built-in gameplay feature of Fallen Order. It was maddening! How can Respawn expect me to properly block or dodge if the game cannot even keep up with my movements or camera adjustments? Texture pop ins and clipping were also recurring issues. One time, I noticed a soldier’s helmet load in late. Another time, a Wookie’s fur took a while to fill up the character model. (By the way, the Wookies in this game look horrendous.) Sometimes, it would get so bad that the game would just pause completely so that it could load in the content of the area. I honestly thought the game had crashed and was about to reboot the console before everything stuttered back into place and Cal got moving again.

I have done a lot of ranting about the game’s flaws the last few paragraphs, so let me get back to some things I did like. The combat works well. I cannot begin to tell you how satisfying and occasionally outright hilarious it is to Force push a trooper off a ledge, especially when he is standing there trying to intimidate you. I had so much fun simply blocking stormtroopers’ laser bolts right back at them. Best of all, I started taking every opportunity I had to pull enemies toward me, especially ones perched up on higher vantage points, and stab them straight through with my lightsaber. The lightsaber boss fights were a highlight of the game. Players feel the weight of every strike and every struggle when the blades cross.

In addition to Cal’s lightsaber, he also has his Force powers at his disposal. He starts out with Force slow and gradually adds other abilities, such as push and pull, as the game progresses. Players may question how Cal, a Jedi, can struggle with a squadron of stormtroopers or the local wildlife, or they may ask why he does not start with all of his Force abilities, but it all makes sense when you consider that Cal has to rebuild his connection to the Force. He has not used it since he was a child, after all. It makes sense that this amateur padawan who did not complete his training runs into a tough time in combat. When Cal does unlock new Force abilities, the game cleverly flashes back to show Cal’s master teaching him that ability during his training before Order 66.

Players can further bolster their Force, survival, and lightsaber abilities through a skill tree. Skill points accumulated from defeating enemies grant players access to increased health, stronger stim potency, increased lightsaber damage, and mass push, to name a few skills. Even later on in the game when most of your Force abilities have been unlocked and Cal has found a couple of fun new gadgets, the game still feels balanced. Cal never feels overpowered like Starkiller in The Force Unleashed games. Even when they are maxed out, his Force push and pull do not appear to have much of an effect on bosses. At most, they will briefly stagger them, whereas when they do it to Cal, he will comically tumble over like Palpatine when Yoda Force pushed him across his desk in Revenge of the Sith.

I will argue that a couple of Force abilities become outdated later in the game. At one point, I forgot I even had Force slow because I had not used it in a while. I only remembered it while I was trying to solve a small puzzle to escape from an area and had exhausted all other options. Can you blame me for always wanting to Force push enemies off a cliff instead of slowing them down?

I appreciate that the game developers allow players to adjust the difficulty at any time. I started out at a higher difficulty and found myself dying before I even left the first world, Bracca. However, I persisted. That is, until I faced off against Oggdo Bogdo and his trash hitboxes. Players can stumble upon Oggdo Bogdo very early in the game. Oggdo Bogdo, a carnivorous amphibian creature, is a boss variation of the more common lookalikes of him. There is a similar optional alpha creature boss encounter on most planets Cal visits. No matter how hard I tried or how many different strategies I employed, Oggdo Bogdo proved to be too tough for me, and after waiting through countless death loads and having to run back over to Oggdo Bogdo’s location time and time again, I decided to lower the game’s difficulty, allowing me to finally slay this ugly creature.

Like Sekiro’s sculptor’s idols or the bonfires in Dark Souls, Fallen Order relies on meditation circles as its save points. Cal can rest to full health and restore his Force meter as well as restock health stims. Meditation circles also allow players to access the skill tree and spend skill points. These meditation circles implement a good risk versus reward system. If players choose to rest at a meditation circles, all of the enemies he or she has defeated since the last rest will respawn. I regularly found myself weighing the pros and cons of my situation, questioning if I should heal and get more stims or push on so that I did not put more enemies in my path.

While I am on the subject of these meditation circle save points, I have to point out that Fallen Order does not have fast travel. Instead, it encourages players to backtrack and explore previously inaccessible areas that they can now open with their newly unlocked abilities. This was fine for a while, but I quickly grew tired of it when I noticed how much of the backtracking had me slowly climbing, traversing across narrow walkways that Cal has to carefully balance on, or shimmying over narrow cliff edges. This is padding by exploration. While the vine and rope swinging was fun, especially with Force pull, I stopped enjoying climbing up a conveniently placed arrangement of vines and the like by the halfway point of the game, if not earlier. I will admit that I believe Fallen Order contains just the right amount of playtime, but this stuff had it teetering on the too long side. This is compounded by one important world that players have to visit multiple times that feels too big. The developers’ creativity and excitement got a little out of hand here. Just pull up the map of that world to see how unwieldy it is. When I completed the story on a planet like this, I felt exhausted rather than triumphant. Why can’t I hail my crew to come pick me up in the ship where I am rather than having to run across the entire planet again to get back to the landing pad, fighting the same enemies I already cleared out a couple of hours ago? The game developers do provide a few shortcuts that players can open, but the amount of time they end up saving is negligible in some cases.

I was disappointed that there is no real endgame content. Sure, players can continue to explore or fight enemies for the heck of it, but the developers could have done so much more. After players unlock every ability in the skill tree, the skill points they collect after that become meaningless. I will confess that I chose to rush past enemies to get to my next destination rather than waste time or energy fighting them for the 50th time after I had filled out my skill tree. Why not unlock fast travel after players beat the story? How about adding in a fighting arena where players can test their maxed out skill set against waves of enemies? Heck, let the players unlock dark side Force abilites like Force lightning or Force choke after they complete the story so that whatever they do then is not canon. I would have continued to gather skill points for that!

Now I mentioned Cal’s droid companion BD-1 earlier, but BD-1 deserves a special shout-out. BD-1 is spunky and lovable. Not only does BD-1 shoot Cal stims to heal him, the droid also provides hints for puzzles, scans enemies to suggest tactics to take them down, plays recordings that push the story along, and helps Cal navigate the worlds by hacking locked doors or carrying him across zip lines. Additionally, BD-1 projects the holomap of each planet, which is vital to keeping track of where Cal is in relation to the ship or his destination. The holomap itself is decent. Color coding helps players see what is inaccessible and what is unlockable, but for the bigger worlds with multiple levels it can be quite a burden to scroll across. Not to knock BD-1, but I grew impatient waiting for the droid’s animation that it goes through every single time Cal finds a hidden chest. Cal opens up the chest, BD-1 jumps in and rumbles around, and then jumps back out with whatever was inside it, all while Cal repeats the same lines of dialogue, like “Woah, buddy!” or “Careful now.” or “What did you find in there?” There are 107 chests in the game. Let that sink in.

These chests are one of the rewards for exploration. They contain items that players can use to customize Cal, his lightsaber, BD-1, or the ship. While this is motivation enough at the beginning of the game, this customization serves no purpose beyond cosmetics. It comes down to which poncho or paint job players find more aesthetically pleasing. I love that the game developers let players change lightsaber colors, but I wish these different ponchos and lightsaber parts had some sort of effect on the gameplay, such as restoring more of Cal’s Force meter or refilling a small amount of health after defeating an enemy.

Force echoes serve as another reward for exploring. Cal uncovers lore from past events by reaching out through these Force echoes. They rounded out the worlds nicely and added to the feeling that they were lived in, real places in the galaxy. The final element of exploration is BD-1′s scans. While you are running around, BD-1 will occasionally crawl down off Cal’s back and scramble over to something the droid wants to scan. These unlock data entries on the planet, its flora and fauna, the Empire, or other characters. This is all fine and dandy, but the level of exploration the game developers expect players to do with all of the backtracking involved needs to reward me with more than just basic lore, especially when some of the entries feel like the writers did not even try when they wrote them. Is an entry on a storage crate telling me that the Empire stored materials in it really worth stopping to scan? I think not. Instead, the game developers could have really motivated me to explore more by throwing in a few interesting side quests or fun Easter eggs. Maybe players could stumble upon active Imperial transmissions and overhear characters like Tarkin or Thrawn. Maybe players could find an abandoned Imperial camp and watch Imperial or Rebel propaganda over a holofeed that was left on. They could have even hidden a squadron of battle droids that were forgotten from the Clone Wars. So many possibilities!

Jedi: Fallen Order is far from a perfect game and has so much unrealized potential, but I would not trade away my time with it. For every flaw, I can point to a positive, and vice versa. At the end of the day, I got to be a Jedi, and that is good enough for me.

[griimreaping]

@utternocries​ Lower chapter 2

Chapter 1

AO3 link

Once inside the cavernous walls of the manor, the persistent hum of Geralt's medallion changes pitch against his chest, and it has a rare reaction from The Witcher. It makes him slightly nervous. Their host still holds Jean with a vice-like grip against his side, strange bony fingers stroking her forearm. Watching this, Geralt wanted nothing more than to rip her away from that man and perhaps punch him for good measure. He can see the tension in her body; she'd said from the moment they walked up the front path that there was something off about this place.

Shivering shadows are cast through the meager lines of sunlight, which weakly shine through the thickets of vegetation covering all the windows. Faint tapping noises against the glass sound vaguely like a hoard of spirits trying to pour into the skeleton of the home. It chills Jean more than the pressing cold, which filled up the space around them like a presence. It breathes with her as they walk, and she wants nothing more than to look over her shoulder to try and see if Geralt is still there. Of course, the Witcher is still there, where else would he go? Yet that suggestion of going to wait back at the inn now seemed like an unobtainable hope, snuffed out by these dark stone halls. Who's to say that he too hadn't gotten swallowed up by the great maw of darkness that leered at them from every crevasse?

Turning a corner, the smell strikes both of them like a slap in the face. Geralt swallowing thickly, and Jean's chest shuddering momentarily for breath. If her arm weren't so tightly grasped in the governer's grip, then she would have clapped her hands to her mouth and nose to stifle the gag. For now, all she could do is put on as brave a face as the man behind her and hope that their host didn't think she is rude. For the way his eyes stared unblinkingly forward as he leads them through these dark and shuddering halls, Jean had a feeling that slight discrepancies could hold serious consequences.

A corpse. It reeked like a corpse had been left somewhere in these maze-like hallways and now festered behind a locked door. Perhaps the family's deaths that the letter had urgently spoken about were still left here, rotting for whatever beast roamed these halls. Or worse, left behind for the scraps picked off by the governor. Geralt clenches his molars together so hard his jaw creaks to try and focus on something other than that raw putrescence that forced its way into his lungs with every breath. Not even corpses in the battlefields and bogs smelled this bad. Then he noticed that the odor didn't seem to affect their host whatsoever. The man's vague smile still in place and those fingers clawing covetously against Jean's sleeve. He still hadn't blinked. The two chalk this up to the man possibly being used to his home's conditions at this point, maybe not even noticing the smell anymore. But that only raised more confusion about why he was subjecting himself to such abysmal circumstances willingly. With the amount that most political figures made in monthly allowances, he should be able to leave this place and take up residence at any inn or apartment in Novigrad at his leisure.

"Manners! My goodness, I've seemed to have misplaced mine. As you may know from the letter, I am Consulate August Clark and this is my immaculate abode. Of course, you are Witcher Geralt and Alchemist Jean, who are here to assist me with a matter of most urgent importance indeed. A matter of darkest dreams and malevolent specters." As August speaks, Jean has a very distinct feeling that the words are not coming from the man who guides them. Instead, his emancipated body was being used as some brand of meat puppet for the amusement of something far more sinister. Able to sneak a glance over her shoulder at where Geralt walked behind them, Jean knits her eyebrows together in worry, her expression conveying the foreboding that she knew he felt as well.

Startling when her attention turns back to their host, Jean finds those cold dead unblinking eyes boring into her from deep within August's sunken sockets. Thin skeletal fingers dig sharply into her arm as he leans in far too close, fetid breath wafting across his face as an insane little giggle bubbles up from the man's chest.

"Is that incorrect? Hm? Are you another set of imposters come here to my home only to bring pestilence and pain? There are no more nightmares you may give me specters I have already lived and endured them all at his behest. Now I only have the knowledge to give! This frail body grows weaker still as we dawdle here." Voice now high with madness as he babbles on Jean leans back away from the bruising grip trying to get free, before Geralt wraps a large hand around the governor's bicep and peels him off.

Tittering and giggling to himself as he takes a step back, August seems to be consumed with fits of laughter as if what he'd just done is a particularly good joke. Geralt smoothly pushes Jean behind him and out of the line of immediate fire as he eyes the man before them, a hand hovering over the hilt of his blade as he carefully responds,

"We are as we say, but you better state your actual intentions, or else we're leaving." Voice, even the underlying threat is still there, no more funny business. Even as she peers around Geralt's shoulder, Jean knows that whatever this madman had in store, it would probably be well worth the almost five thousand crowns he was paying them. That was more than a dozen contracts combined, but now it's the questions of what cost.

Witnessing a shudder go across August's face as if something is shifting uneasily beneath his skin, Geralt tries not to look disgusted. Features settling down into something akin to mild disappointment, the set in August's shoulders change. A sudden shift in personalities as whatever babbling creature that had possessed him a moment before dissipates.

"I was aware that Witcher's were testy but still. Amusing that you still think that leaving is an option with such a large sum on the table Witcher Geralt. Now come, I wish to have tea and discuss before we delve into dark matters." Tone crisp now, the former hysteria has vanished, leaving behind a cold governor who turns on his heel and begins to walk briskly away.

Placing a hand gently at the center of Geralt's back, Jean applies the smallest amount of pressure to get him to follow. Even feeling how nervous she was, he only hesitates for a heartbeat before following unless they would be left behind entirely in this dark labyrinth of hallways.

"There will be additional compensation for my behaviors. I realize now that I have not been the most gracious of hosts to you both, and for that, I sincerely apologize." August continues to speak, not even turning his head to look at the pair as they trail at a cautious distance. Staying behind Geralt, Jean can take in their surroundings without the clutching fingers of August prying at her arm like he was trying to peek back her skin.

Crypt-like coldness seeps into her bones, only exacerbated by the persistent whispers that still beckon her from outside the narrow windows. With so much plant life covering up every spare inch of space on the building, the interior is cast in an almost constant breathing darkness that's beaten back by weak candlelight from interspersed tables along the stone hall. Leering down at them from the walls, rows of massive canvases depicting tortured battle scenes, or the stern faces of what could only be August's relatives watch them pass. Jean could have sworn their heads turned to follow them down the hall. She didn't look at the paintings anymore

Turning left at a forked hallway, Jean had begun to lag behind the pair of men, who were forging through the darkness ahead. Glancing right at the fork, she spots a large iron door. It's studded surface like a slab of night cut into the silvery stone wall.

"Come home." The voice, almost blending in with the rest of the whispers, which were white noise to the Druid at this point, slices through into her consciousness like a blade. Her mother's voice rooting the woman to the spot, she stares aghast into the murky shadows. It's just a trick of the mind, too much plant life around the Druid rises to justify it to herself even as feet haul her closer to the door. A low ringing in her ears blots out everything else except for the loud rush of her pulse, muffling the retreat of August and Geralt's footsteps as they continue. August back to prattling on bits of madness while the Witcher listens, trying to pick out significant bits that would make some sense to them.

"Come home." Again? Once is a coincidence, twice... Jean's fingers land on the ice-cold doorknob, and a shuffling of something immensely heavy slides across the other side of the door.

"I can't." Responding in a whisper to the thing on the other side of the iron, Jean presses her cheek against the metal and feels it breathe. How many times had she told herself that there was no home to come back to? Only ashes and scorched land that now laid as a smudge next to that glassy black lake their house had crouched beside. The same one that her mother forbid her from going close to. She couldn't remember the explanations they'd given her as a child about the odd shadows that would bubble under the surface, or the hooded figures that gathered on the other shore and her father had to chase off. The same figures that were hiding in the back of the mob that came to-

"Come in." A clatter of metal and a dry sigh of musty mildewed air wafts across the Druid as the door swings silently inward. Before her, a long set of stairs descend into the void. Alabaster white stones, expertly carved going lower, lower, and lower still before disappearing. Calling the Druid down into the unfathomable depths with a voice so much like her mothers. Jean takes the first step and vanishes into the darkness.

[aokane-eldarya]

Well. On the French forum, there is a player very angry, because of the "weakness" of Erika, saying she is useless etc ... She does not accept the bond with Leiftan and all that what she wants is for Erika to awaken her powers, fight against Leiftan and Lance, and kill them. She is a very extreme player in her words, we are many to have tried to explain things to her, with concrete evidence, but she keeps her speech, so we do not even try anymore (seriously, I even asked myself if she was a troll or not)

That said, I know other people have similar ideas, but being much less extreme. So I decided to do a post to talk about the concept of coherence concerning Erika, because I see that, sometimes, this coherence is put aside in the minds of the players.

I will first talk about Erika's physical weakness and her evolution in the story.

There are players who do not like the fact that Erika has been so often possessed, hurt, etc. And yet, it makes sense. She is a human. Since when can an untrained human gain against a being with magic and training? It's impossible.

This is the starting situation for Erika.

Of course, Erika is not totally human. She is an aengel. Let's talk about her faery heritage.

The probabilities are extremely high that Erika's ancestor Aengel lived during the time of the Blue Sacrifice, around 1530. In genealogy, we consider that a generation = 25 years. The theory is that this aengel is an ancestor of the 20th generation. But the problem with the theory is that it is very simplistic and it forgets a lot of variables. I like genealogy, I started my family tree and I found the name of many of my ancestors born around 1550. For me, these are my ancestors of the 13-15 th generation (as you see, the difference is important with the theory). I am a concrete case, so I will apply my case to that of Erika and imagine that the aengel is her ancestor to the 16th generation.

In your opinion, what is the percentage of DNA we have from only one of our 16th generation ancestors?

I did the math : just 0.01%. 1%, taking into account significant consanguinity, would be extremely optimistic.

This means that Erika is faery at only 0.01%.

Since she is aengel, I will take Lance, a dragon, as an example, since both species have similar power.

What does Erika, who is 0.01% aengel, do against Lance who is 100% dragon? Nothing, of course. In any case, at the beginning.

She needs to evolve.

First, the training in the guard. Training increases abilities, it's a fact. Even if she is 99.99% human, her faery nature is that of an Aengel, an overpowered being : coupled with the training, it allows her to reach a level similar to that of the lambdas faerys: during the tests of the obsidian guard and the shadow guard, her speed impresses Nev and Valkyon; Jamon and Cameria also notice it.

But that is not enough.

On several occasions, Erika receives help from other beings. The Oracle lends her power several times and the Memoria dragons do it too. But the problem is that she can not keep these powers. They do not belong to her.

This is where Leiftan comes in. By making him another aengel and her soulmate, the writers gave Erika the source of her power. A power that belongs to her legitimately: it is a power of aengel but it is especially the power of her soulmate. And as the legend says, soulmates are nothing but one and the same soul split in two. Erika and Leiftan form the same entity. When the crystal is corrupt and the HQ is surrounded by a barrier, Erika receives help from her crush. Ezarel, Nevra and Valkyon tell her to tap into their magic. Leiftan does not ask her to take his magic. He proposes to act together ("together, we are stronger"). A similar situation occurs during the fight against Marie-Anne. They act together (although technically, the power she uses is that of dragons).

When Erika arrives on Eldarya, she has a very small amount of manaa, while Leiftan is 100% faery. Throughout the story, the connections between them will be made. First, their meeting. Then came the gift of blood. Thanks to her predispositions and this 100% compatibility, Erika's body did not reject Leiftan's blood, she could support this new contribution of manaa without her body and her mind suffering the consequences. And that's what allows her to easily fight against the contaminated faery.

Finally, episode 25, the ritual of soulmates. Leiftan gave her half of his life and he says that she is going to receive his Aengel inheritance. She wakes up feeling a lot of energy in her. He gave half of his manaa to someone who had hardly any. Now, Leiftan and Erika have an equivalent level. Certainly, Leiftan is weakened, he will suffer the backlash of his gift of manaa (it's the same thing when we donate blood) and his body will have to adapt. But now Erika finally has that source of manaa that she missed and could never have had otherwise. She no longer needs the help of the Oracle and the dragons, the only help she may possibly need is that of Leiftan, since they each form half of a single entity.

So much for the physical part. Now, let's talk about Erika's mind. I still have post-traumatic stress disorder remnants related to sexual assault and for a character from one of my novels, I started to research post-traumatic stress disorder in the specific case of war. So I know what it looks like. And what I'm sure about is that Erika has exceptional resilience. It's an incredible strength. Resilience is the ability to overcome trauma. It's been 10 months since she was in Eldarya and she has suffered a lot of trauma, knowing that she has never been confronted with this kind of violence on Earth. Small listing:

- she lands in an unknown world inhabited by magical beings who lock her in a prison and treat her like sh**

- she learns that she can not leave

- she is, at first, degraded because of her humanity (hello Ezarel, among others)

- She has to face a blackdog a few days after her arrival, one of the most feared creatures, when she has never faced anything dangerous in her life.

- she misses drowning after having to turn into a siren: it will be her state of post-traumatic stress disorder the longest and most visible. And she healed.

- a hamadryad tries to kill her by strangling her. Not only must she participate in Yvoni's incapacitation, but she sees her being burned alive and she is asked to pick up the remains.

- she is sent on a mission to Balenvia and has to face the death of some villagers, but especially she discovers how myconids live. There, one or the other of the chiefs of guard miss to die before her eyes and she must manage alone their rescue

- she is kissed by force to make her swallow a potion that will erase her existence on Earth and in the minds of her family and friends. And this, after discovering that she had been lied to about this potion

- she serves as bait for the monster of the library.

- back to the Myconides, whose condition is more catastrophic than ever, with men, women, young, old dying, locked in their caves.

- she has to face Naytili in her mind

- she is possessed by a dead Chimera who is ready to sacrifice her to regain her lost love.

- she must face the corruption of the crystal that imposes the pain of the Oracle, the hate felt by the daemon, while killing her little by little.

- she gets stabbed by Naytili

- she meets Marie-Anne and witnesses the death of Mery, who is killed with great violence.

- she prevents Twylda from committing suicide

- She meets a dragon who makes her go through trying times, while insisting that if she had been there, Ethel / Master Kappa would not be dead. And to top it off, she learns that she is an aengel / daemon.

- she is strangled by Ashkore and finds herself in Purgatory, after another destruction of the Crystal.

And in what state is she today? Well, mentally, she's fine (if I put aside her kidnapping by Lance). And it's amazing when you consider the list above. The strength of a character is measured in two ways. Physically, and we know that from this point of view, it was normal that she was weak until now. But also mentally and this time she has shown incredible strength

[tlbodine]

Three 1970s Horrors Worth Watching (that are not part of this film series)

The Horror by the Decade series started innocuously enough, with someone requesting some recent film recommendations. That got me to thinking about trends, and recommendations from previous decades, and how many movies that were true classics I was familiar with but had never seen, and thus the idea “hey, let’s watch movies from every decade!” came into being. 

But obviously you can’t watch every horror movie from every year, so there had to be a selection process in place. Here’s roughly how I’ve been choosing movies: 

Search Google for “horror movies {year}” for each year of the decade 

Research them a bit and pick out everything that is familiar, historically significant, or seems especially interesting, and put them on a list

Pare the list down to 1-2 of the most interesting titles per year 

Look for themes and pair movies up according to theme (since we watch two movies a week)

In order to save time, any movie that both I and @comicreliefmorlock have seen recently/a lot gets knocked off the list. In the 1970s, that means removing three extremely good, extremely important movies, so I wanted to talk about them a bit here. 

Follow below the cut for thoughts on Jaws, The Exorcist, and Alien

Jaws, made in 1975 by Steven Spielberg, is based on a novel of the same name written by  Peter Benchley. Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider team up to kill an unusually large and aggressive great white shark that is terrorizing the beach in a quiet New England town. 

Fun fact: Until Star Wars was released two years later, Jaws was the highest-grossing movie of all time! This is probably due in part to how much money Universal decided to sink into its distribution and marketing, but the film’s quality has to play a big part too. It really is a magnificent movie and is probably a big part of why people are still scared of sharks. 

Some things that are notable about Jaws: 

It has one of the most iconic and effective film scores in cinema. Everyone knows the Jaws theme, and it’s been used to basically mean “impending danger!” in a jokey way for...I mean, at least 30 years, because I know that was a meme when I was a kid. I imagine it has been since 1975. That’s just a really impressive feat, and John Williams (yes, the Star Wars guy) deserves acclaim for it. 

Music aside, Jaws is an excellent study in suspense and restraint. Technological limitations meant they couldn’t show the shark as much as they’d wanted, so scenes had to be filmed suggestively to ramp up the tension. (You do still get to see a lot of wonderful big scary shark, though, and honestly the effects still hold up pretty well to this day) 

The performances are really good, too. The leads have a great chemistry and play off of each other really well. The script was a joint effort, getting passes from several people (including the book’s author), but a comedian  Carl Gottlieb got a pass at it, and that humor really helps to elevate the film. 

The most powerful thing about Jaws, though, is that it taps into a mythic seed that renders it utterly timeless. There is an echo of Moby Dick in Quint’s character and motives, with a similarly tragic arc. But it draws on something older and deeper, too. The premise of “man-eating wild animal terrorizes a community, a bounty is put on its head, only a hero can kill it” has been a staple of mythology for thousands of years. 

Man-eaters are real, and they become the stuff of legend -- dating at least as far back to the monstrous Nemean Lion that could be slain only by Heracles. Historically, there are accounts of man-eating wolves, lions, tigers, etc. terrorizing locals, sometimes inspiring local werewolf legends - you can read about just a few of them here: https://listverse.com/2010/10/16/top-10-worst-man-eaters-in-history/ 

I think I watched Jaws for the first time when I was 8 (I saw all the sequels too, there was a cable marathon) and I was utterly captivated. I feel pretty confident if I showed it to an 8-year-old today, they would be too. It’s just that kind of movie. 

The Exorcist, released in 1973 and directed by  William Friedkin, was based on a novel by  William Peter Blatty, who also wrote the screenplay. 

The story is about a 12-year-old girl, Regan, who begins acting strangely after playing with a ouija board. Once medical causes are ruled out, her mother turns to two priests for assistance; they come to perform the exorcism and have a harder time than expected with casting out the demon, to say the least. 

The film is still considered one of the most frightening horror movies of all time by some, and at the time of its release it was a sensation. Movie-goers were said to have all sorts of reactions, from fainting and vomiting to having miscarriages and heart attacks. Contemporary psychologists even wrote about “cinematic neurosis” in people who had watched the film: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1151359

The story crossed a lot of boundaries (even for the 1970s) and you have to bear in mind that this was a major cinematic release, not a grindhouse exploitation film. Most film-goers in 1973 were absolutely not prepared to see an innocent child spouting off vulgarity, urinating on the floor, and masturbating with a crucifix. And some of the practical effects, like the famous head-twisting scene, are still really creepy. 

This is one of those movies that’s hard to watch with fresh eyes because it was so influential on all of cinema to follow. If you like demonic possession movies, this is the film that started it all. I know religious people who are deeply afraid of this movie and won’t allow it in their home for fear of inviting real demons, so, that’s the kind of staying power the story has. 

** As an atheist, I am not particularly frightened of demon movies, and I suspect I will never fully grasp the real terror of watching something like this for people who believe that these types of things happen in real life. The Exorcist is definitely not the scariest movie I’ve ever seen, but I can respect that it definitely is for many other people. 

Fun trivia: The Exorcist is considered by some to be cursed because the cast and crew had an unusually tough time with filming: the set caught fire (but Regan’s room was undamaged), several actors were injured during practical stunts/effects, several people died during filming or in post-production (not on set), and the demon’s voice actor experienced an awful tragedy years later when her son killed wife, kids, and himself: http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2015/12/02/is-the-exorcist-movie-cursed/

The events are all most likely coincidental (and on a long enough timeline, everyone involved with a project will be dead!) but it lends power to the suspicion that this was A Very Cursed Movie That God Doesn’t Want You To Watch, which makes it all the more frightening. 

Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, came out in 1979 and is so powerful that it’s still a popular franchise today, spawning books, movies, video games, merchandise, and more. 

The story is essentially a haunted house film set in space. A commercial space crew is woken from stasis by the ship's on-board computer to answer a distress signal, discovering a derelict alien ship and founding a chamber of eggs belonging to an aggressive, parasitic alien creature that infests a crew member with its egg, which later hatches violently from his body, grows up, and proceeds to terrorize the ship. 

It's a tense cat-and-mouse game of searching for the alien as it picks off crew members one by one, and the music, atmosphere, and visuals are all compelling, with effects that still hold up pretty well for modern audiences. But what makes Alien especially significant is the performance of Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. 

We’d had scream queens before -- female horror protagonists who survive as “final girls” against the mayhem and slaughter -- but Ripley is something different. She is badass, heroic in a way that girls rarely got to see themselves, and laying down a template for strong female characters in future cinema (for better or worse). 

The script was reportedly written to be gender neutral, with no assumptions about casting, which allowed Ripley to defy gender norms and expectations. But despite this supposed gender neutrality, there is a definite flavor of female horror in Alien -- which is, after all, a movie about forced impregnation and death at the hands of a decidedly phallic monster. 

And that is, I think, probably right at the heart of the film’s sticking power. Science fiction can swiftly become dated as our knowledge of the universe expands, but the horror of Alien isn’t really the aliens so much as what they represent -- and sad to say, sexual violence is something we humans may never understand. Here’s a fun essay on the topic: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2019/03/forty-years-what-can-ridley-scott-s-alien-teach-metoo-generation

So, there you have it. Three movies we will not be watching in our film series, but which you absolutely should check out if you somehow haven’t seen them. 

[baldwin-montclair]

Baldwin’s Nightingale (Part 5)

Characters: Baldwin Montclair/OC

Timeframe: After the S1 Finale, TV Show canon only (haven’t read the books yet)

Summary: Alisha weighs up Baldwin’s offer whilst dealing with the potential result of making the ‘wrong’ choice.

Tag requests: @christi14 @poemfreak306 @pookie-cleary

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

Alisha woke up to her phone alarm and in a room bigger than the small house she shared with Michael. The bed was a massive, oak, four post affair with sumptuous curtains.

The water temperature in the raindrop shower was perfect, no jiggling taps or sudden cold and hot shocks, just relaxing and blissful. After drying her hair, she decided to check out the fridge to see what she could whip up for breakfast.

Glass of orange juice and a bowl of greek yogurt with strawberries and raspberries, all enjoyed whilst taking in the morning view from the tall windows. Luckily, she had figured out how to close the roof window to avoid freezing the night before.

The night before.

First date and he offered her the world, in exchange for control over a part of it. She understood his message better now in the clear light and with a clearer head. His conditions didn’t seem like much of an imposition. Christina was nice enough and she’d most likely answer if he called anyway.

It’s not like she enjoyed taking the subway.

Her musings were interrupted by the ringing of her phone and, excitedly she checked the caller ID.

Michael.

“Hi.” She answered trying to not sound as disappointed as she felt.

“Don’t ‘hi’ me, the hell are you?” He sounded more worried than angry.

“I texted you last night that I was staying over.”

“What? I didn’t get a...” he trailed off, the sound of button presses replacing his voice, “you’re staying over at ‘Baldwin’s place’, see me tomorrow.” He read the rest of the message he had clearly just seen.

“Mike, chill, I’ll be over in a bit.”

“As soon as possible, there’s much you don’t know.”

“Fine. Bye.” Alisha hung up and called Christina, deciding to honour the promise she’d made Baldwin the night before.

“Good morning Alisha.”

“Uh, hi, listen, I hate to be a nuisance but-”

“I’ll stop you there, you’re not. Now, are you ready to go?”

“Sure, where will I get you?”

“You just wait there, I will come collect you from the apartment.”

“Don’t you need like a key and code?”

“Mr Montclair charged me to be your protector, Alisha, I have a key and code.” She explained cordially.

“Oh, makes sense. Well I guess I’ll just hang here.”

“I should be there in fifteen. Until then.” She hung up and Alisha wondered where she was that she could be there so quickly.

It was, however, enough time to tidy after herself, wash up the dish ware and cutlery, and both glasses from the previous night.

Alisha could tell Christina was about to object when she took shotgun position instead of backseat passenger but didn’t say anything.

“Did you sleep well?” She asked after some time.

“I did, strangely. Usually I can’t sleep well in an unfamiliar place but I was out like a light.”

“I’m happy to hear it.” There was no tone of sarcasm in her voice, just the same friendly yet formal manner.

Although the rest of the journey passed in silence, it was not uncomfortable, in fact, she felt oddly at ease with the other vampire, another mark in the ‘pro’ column.

When they pulled up at the door, Michael got out almost right away, clearly hoping to face Baldwin but faced Christina instead.

“Kris?” He stared in disbelief.

“Hello Mikey!” She smiled, seemingly forgetting her formality.

“Mikey,” Alisha repeated, “you know each other?” She asked.

“Somewhat.” Michael answered guardedly as Alisha tried to get out of the car but found it locked again.

“Are you kidding?” Alisha groaned in annoyance when Christina opened her door.

“Never about security.” She closed the car door behind Alisha and walked back around to the driver’s side.

“So you’re doing Montclair’s errands now?” Michael jibed.

“Bye Mikey, Alisha, you call me if you’re going anywhere!”

Alisha nodded and watched her drive off before turning back to Michael.

“Inside, we need to talk.” He moved aside to let her in and closed the door behind them.

“Look, if this is a lecture-“

“Alisha, stop, I need to tell you something, what I actually found in Venice.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I used to be on the Congregation,” he blurted out, taking a seat in his armchair as Alisha sat on the couch, “it was before I agreed to be your mentor but I was there and I still have my contacts.”

Alisha remembered Baldwin mentioning that she should speak to Michael regarding developments.

“Okay, so what’s the news?”

“A witch found the Book of Life, basically tore the entire congregation apart when she skipped off with Matthew De Clermont, your boyfriend’s brother.”

She understood a little more about Baldwin’s statement regarding his brother calling him rarely being a good thing.

“Where are they now?”

“We don’t know. Initially they went to France but where after that, the Daemons weren’t informed.”

“When you say ‘skipped off’.”

“Mated, apparently.”

“A witch and a vampire?” She asked, incredulous.

“Aren’t you seeing a vampire.”

“Neither vampires nor witches hate us, they just don’t consider us a threat.”

“I think Montclair knows more about their location than he claims.” Michael states, watching her carefully.

“He hasn’t mentioned it to me if that’s what you’re suggesting, nor will I ask him.” She stated defiantly despite knowing that Michael may be correct in assertion, given Baldwin’s concern and admission that they were ‘beyond his protection’.

“Okay!” Michael help up his hands in mock surrender.

“Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

“That? No, that was just recent developments. I wanted to talk to you about this.”

He opened his laptop and showed her the same fresco from the previous night. A very beautiful depiction of the Roman goddess Diana with various animals surrounding her.

“I’ve seen this already.”

“I know, but look at this!” Michael tapped a button and an overlaid pattern of Latin characters over the animals. Beneath the photo he had arranged the letters in a line.

“Hold on,” she noticed the significance of the letters, “you think that’s music?”

“Maybe, can you play it?”

“Sure.” Alisha went to her room and retrieved the old violin her parents her bought her, it was her practice instrument.

She studied the notes before playing the melody, a beautiful, haunting and almost familiar song before stopping abruptly.

“Where’s the rest of it?”

“That’s it.”

“No, there’s more, the melody is not complete.” She answered with forceful confidence.

“Okay, I hear you. There were two other sites he was going to show me, I haven’t decoded the second one yet and the third one, the property had been closed off due to the purchase of the building.”

“So? Just talk to the owner-”

“No, I won’t be doing that.”

“Why?”

“It was purchased by another member of the Congregation, Gerbert D’Aurillac, vampire, not to be trifled with.”

“Why does he want it, what’s it for?”

Michael glanced at her then away, as though weighing up his options.

“Michael, what is it?”

“Something big,” he answered cryptically, “something that explains our place in this world, something that’ll make the witches and vampires see us as equals, not as pawns in their power struggle.”

“What does this Gerbert guy have to do with that?”

“I don’t know yet but I’ll keep working on the second fresco.”

She nodded in agreement, heading out the room towards her bedroom to get ready for that night’s performance.

“Do me a favour,” he stopped her, “don’t tell Montclair about this, or Kris or anyone for that matter. This knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“Fine,” she answered simply, “this is your wheelhouse, not my secret to tell.”

“Will you be back later?”

“Yeah, I’ll be home after the show, you just get that finished, I wanna hear the next part.”

“Yes Ma’am!”

The gathered orchestra stood in the amphitheatre having been directed there by a notice on the backstage door, no other explanation.

After a few moments, a short, elderly man joined them, a daemon, Alisha’s senses picked that up when he glanced around the group and landed on her.

“My name is Brian Cassidy. Unfortunately, Jonathan had to be let go and I will now be standing in as musical director as per request of the board.”

A confused murmur rippled amongst them.

“I understand this is sudden but we want to get back to normalcy, yes?”

Unenthusiastic agreements responded to his request.

“Splendid, that is all.” He dismissed them.

“What’d Jonathan do?” Susan asked nobody in particular but Scott responded with a shrug.

“Beats me, he was a stand-up guy.”

“Yeah, this new MD seems like a total-”

“Alisha Black,” he again addressed the crowd, “where is Alisha, I’d like a word.”

“Great!” She told her colleagues with a considerable amount of sarcasm and approached the fellow daemon. He waited until everyone had left before he addressed her.

“I think we can dispense with the formalities, Alisha.”

“Okay...” she responded, unsure what he was getting at.

“I am the primary shareholder of this company and I am concerned about the attention you are bringing to our door.”

“What kind of attention are you concerned about?”

“I prefer to remain outside of creature politics, having a daemon associated with a vampire on the congregation is not desirable.”

Alisha stared at him in shock.

“Have you been spying on me?”

“Call it protecting an investment.”

“Listen-”

“No, you listen! It’s not just about the politics, if you were seeing a witch or any other vampire, I wouldn’t even be here.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Baldwin Montclair, de Clermont, is the ruin of our kind, the reason we cannot gather in communities while the witches and the vampires do as they wish. You are a talented musician but I will not have De Clermont’s pet lead my orchestra, I would shut the doors first.”

“Are you firing me?”

“I’m warning you. If you do not cut ties with him, I will be forced to let you go, it’s your decision. I expect it by tomorrow.” He walked away, leaving her dumbfounded.

Two ultimatums in as many days.

Alisha did not want to talk, or think. She didn’t call Christina, instead, she allowed Scott to drop her off by the subway.

By the time she walked in the front door she just wanted to collapse on her bed, go to sleep, wake up the next day with all the answers.

Unfortunately, she caught the subtle scent of incense from Baldwin’s coat and it stopped her in her tracks.

Could she walk away from the first chair, a position that took years to earn and would take years to earn again in a different company?

All for what?

She didn’t know what the terms were, the assurances or what happens when he gets bored of her, how many ‘Nightingales’ does he have, all questions to which she knows no answers.

Yes, she was extremely and hopelessly attracted to him but that wasn’t reason enough to abandon everything she had worked for, that would be insane.

“Michael, what exactly is a ‘Nightingale’?” She called out before entering the living room, she would at least get the perspective of someone who was familiar with the concept.

There was no answer.

Alisha rolled her eyes, Michael got into a flow whilst working where he could not hear anything and instead prepared herself to shake him out of it.

What greeted her instead, was a scene she could never prepare herself for.

Papers and books lay strewn around the room.

Michael lay amongst the mess, eyes open and empty of life, an obvious bite mark on the side of his neck and a smashed computer beside him.

———

PART 6

[lady-charinette]

Can you do a marichat kidnap fic where hawkmoth/akuma notices their friendship and hold Marinette hostage

I hope it turned out alright, thanks for the request anon! :3 Enjoy!

Rated: K+ - T

In A Cage Part 1

Chat Noir smiled afterbidding goodbye to an exhausted Ladybug, waving at her until she was no longerin sight.

He sighed, feeling oddlyhappy despite the harsh battle they’ve had today. 

Hawkmoth seemed to be gettingrestless lately, usually one akuma attack occurred once a day, but for the pastfew weeks there have been more and more, usually two, at most three, buttoday’s two akuma’s came at the sametime and had proven challenging. 

Hawkmoth must’ve been usingMayura’s help to aid him in these latest akuma attacks, since Hawkmoth’s limitwas one akumatization per transformation. It had left both him and his ladyexhausted.  

Kaleido and Spotlight hadunique abilities they haven’t been faced with before. Kaleido’s abilitiesemployed the use of mirrors, she was even capable of creating prison-like cellswith them, rendering whoever entered into them immobile to escape. Spotlight’sabilities included creating bright flashes of light with the help of hisreflecting suit, which was made of thousands of small pearl-like glasslittering his suit like scales over a snake.  

Their powers were formidablewhen used together, especially once they’d cornered and trapped them within themirror prison. 

Kaleido’s disembodied voicehad rang loudly in their ears and the bright flashes from Spotlight forced themto close their eyes and cover their ears, unable to orientate themselves orattempt to break free. Ladybug couldn’t even call for her lucky charm withoutbeing nearly blinded by the bright flashes and the screeching sounds Keleidomade. 

Weirdly enough, it had beenChat Noir’s sensitive hands and legs that had busted them out. He had sensedtheir movements through subtle vibrations in the ground and by following theorigins of those vibrations, he’d stumbled upon one of the mirrors and hadquickly used Cataclysm to destroy them, finally freeing them. 

Ladybug had used her LuckyCharm and they managed to finish them quickly afterward. 

Chat Noir wouldn’t forgetjust how useful duct tape could be, especially when it means covering themirrors Kaleido wore as a straight dress and the glittery suit Spotlight wore,along with the small headlights  on hisshoulders that had caused and reflected the light off Kaleido’s mirror dressand his own suit. 

He was used to mirrors andflashlights, but he would see them in a bit of a different light now. 

Chat Noir’s face brightenedup instantly, “That was a good pun! I have to tell Marinette that one!” hegrinned like the sun, until a warning beep from his Miraculous reminded him torecharge, “….Right after Plagg eats…” Chat sighed, making a detour and hidingbehind a building to detransform and feed Plagg before making his way over toMarinette.  

Adrien stood in place of ChatNoir,impatiently tapping his foot as he watched the ancient creature stuff hismouth full of wedges of camembert, “Come on Plagg.” 

The black cat god shot him alook, “Excuse you loverboy, but some people have to eat to replenishtheir strength!” Adrien rolled his eyes at his kwami’s knack for exaggerating andleaned against the wall. 

“You ate a whole cheese wheelbefore I transformed, how can you possibly have burned all of that up already?”  

Plagg floated up to Adrien’sface, munching on the last bits of cheese, “Hey! Those akumas today were toughto deal with! And all that screaming from that mirror lady made me hungrysooner!” Adrien still didn’t quite understand the logic behind it, but hewouldn’t complain, his kwami did have to eat after all. 

If he wanted to go toMarinette sooner. 

Plagg noted his charge’sanxious fidgeting, smirking wickedly, “Ohh, excited to see your princess again, are you?” there wassomething positively crazy in Plagg’s eyes and Adrien cleared his throat.

“Marinette is my friendPlagg, of course I’m excited to see her. Besides, she did invite me to croissantstoday.” A bright smile enveloped Adrien’s face and Plagg’s demeanor softened abit at the happy expression on the boy’s face. 

Plagg sighed heavily, “Oh,alright, alright. Just don’t get all sappy with me, loverboy.” With a look ofdisapproval from Adrien and a cheeky grin from Plagg, Chat Noir stood again inthe alley. 

He gripped his baton andsailed high over the building, jumping over onto the rooftops until he stoppedwhen a small flower shop caught his eye. 

Maybe he should do a quick stopbefore going to Marinette’s…

—–

“Kaleido! Have you regained sight of him?!” Hawkmoth growled infrustration, calming down slightly when Mayura placed a calming hand on hisshoulder and offered an encouraging smile. 

“No need to worry, I believehe’ll show up again soon.” Mayura’s words reassured him if only slightly. 

It was his luck that theconflict between the two akumatized people hadn’t been resolved, the breaking ofa precious, old mirror by the clumsy man who’d worked on the headlights of thetheater the mirror was supposed to be delivered to had again enraged the woman who’dpersonally owned mirror, a family heirloom she’d decided to donate to thetheater. 

Until it got shattered, likeher hopes. 

With Mayura’s help, Hawkmothwas able to akumatized her again. 

My name is Mayura, you’re overwhelmed by despair and hopelessnessfor the precious artifact that had belonged to your family for generations, nowlaying in broken shards. Let me help you, let your despair be embodied in the formof a helper!

With Hawkmoth’s aid, he wasable to akumatized her again into Kaleidoscope and have her accompanied by alarge chameleon. 

They’d been tailing ChatNoir, until they’ve lost sight of him suddenly. 

Kaleido’s eyes narrowed, “There!” the hero had jumped from somealleyway, back onto the rooftops, until after crossing several buildings, he’djumped back down onto the road and entered a- 

Hawkmoth grew confused, “…Aflower shop?” 

Mayura observed the scenequietly, wondering why on earth someone like Chat Noir could possibly need flowersfor, she quietly voiced her opinions, “Perhaps the cat has a significant otherto visit?” 

Hawkmoth snorted, “Really? Itappears to me that Ladybug has already left, unless he plans on contacting heragain.” A slow grin spread over his lips, “Kaleido,be on the lookout for any sightings of Ladybug!” 

Kaleido crouched down low onher perch from a skyscraper, watching Chat Noir walk back out of the flower shopand jump back onto roofs, “Yes, Hawkmoth.” She jumped after the hero.

——-

Chat Noir anxiously held the smallbouquet of flowers carefully in his hand, mindful not to squeeze too tight. Itwasn’t anything over the top, he’d learned a bit from last time, just a few whitelilies, deep pink roses and purple geraniums. Chat Noir smiled down at them,hoping things wouldn’t be awkward between Marinette and him if he showed upwith the flowers. 

They were friends, after all. 

Chat Noir landed gracefullyon the familiar balcony and strapped his baton to his back, clearing his throatand straightening his bell, before cautiously stepping toward the hatch doorand gently knocking on it, waiting patiently for his classmate to open it. 

There were soft butthunderous footsteps, they sounded as if Marinette were running around, perhapsin panic as to who was on her balcony, or in hurry to open the door for him, hedidn’t know, all he knew was the grin slowly growing on his lips when the doordid finally open. 

“C-ChatNoir?” Marinette blinked up at thehero and at the sudden colorful, nice smelling flowers in front of her face. 

Chat Noir had leaned down onhis haunches, extending the flowers to the stunned girl, “Good day princess! I’vebeen passing by this little flower shop and the flowers reminded me of yourbalcony, I thought these would look nice here too.” He gestured toward theplants that were already on her balcony and Marinette seemed to take a fewseconds to process his words and his intentions before she sprung into action,nearly colliding with him if his quick reflexes didn’t kick in and step back toallow her space. 

“R-right, you’re right!”Marinette took the small bouquet from his hands, her nervousness fading slowlywhen she sniffed at them, “They…they’re lovely Chat Noir, thank you.” She smiledup at him and Chat Noir beamed a smile down at her, ears moving lightly atophis head. 

Marinette resisted the urgeto giggle, instead she walked toward one of her small empty flower pots andgingerly placed the flowers inside, grabbing a bit of earth from the opened bagand placing a generous amount of it in the pot, patting the soil down slightlyto ensure the flowers were firmly inside. 

Chat Noir observed her work,her actions a stark contrast to her giddy demeanor a second ago, her fingersworked calmly and methodically, with practiced ease and he was reminded how shemust have acquired such calmness through her working on designs and gettinglost in them. 

He quietly approached her,not daring to disturb her, instead, he crouched down beside her and watched thesmall pot closely, until Marinette suddenly bobbed his bell playfully. 

His heart stopped, “Youspaced out kitty.” Marinette giggled, standing up to place the pot in one ofthe metallic holders of her balcony fence, resting her hands on her hips andproudly mustering at her and Chat Noir’s work, “Thank you for the gift, itlooks great out here.” She turned her head towards him again and directed thatbeaming smile at him again. 

Chat Noir felt all his defensesshatter at her disarming look and he suddenly felt vulnerable, almost like withhis lady, “Uhm, you-you’re welcome princess.” A small smile curved his lips ashe scratched his head, trying to curb the sudden burst of feelings deep withinhis chest. 

Marinette smiled, “To what doI owe the honor of this visit, hm? I didn’t know Paris’ superhero also works asa delivery florist.” She crossed her arms, trying to hide her amusement at hispanic-stricken look. She’d imagined him to be too exhausted to do anything elsebut rest, especially after today’s akuma fight, but she felt oddly touched thathe decided to visit her despite the exhaustion she was sure he must feel. 

Chat Noir regained hisearlier bravado, confidently resting his hands on his hips, “Well, you seeprincess, while I have thought of a change in profession, I also found the prospectof croissants with my princess simply too purrfectof an opurrtunity to paws!” he grinned widely, proud at hisuse of three puns in a row. 

Marinette sighed, a smallsmile still on her lips, “I was wondering where the puns were,” she smileddespite herself, “Well, maman just finished baking the last batch, why don’tyou wait inside and I’ll be right back. Then I can show you how to lose atUltimate Mecha Strike III!”  

Chat Noir followed herinside, grinning at Marinette’s suddenly more relaxed, competitive nature, “Oh,you’re on, princess! I’ll show you whatdefeat tastes like!” he stretched his arms above his head, sharing achallenging look with Marinette before she disappeared downstairs.

——

Kaleido smirked from herhiding spot just opposite of the building with the balcony where the herodisappeared to. She glanced at her chameleon and waited, hearing Hawkmoth’svoice in her head, “Excellent workKaleido, now we wait for the time Chat Noir leaves. It seems like we found his significant other.” Hawkmoth’s laughter resonated within her head like amantra.

Part 2 will follow soon! :) I hope it’s okay so far!

[nitewrighter]

Of Blades and Broomsticks pt. XIV

(7 Minutes left on the clock!! Happy Halloween, Y’all!)

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 11, 12, 13

Witch AU on AO3

----

The doors to the temple library were heavy, and Mercy had to throw a significant amount of her weight against them just to get them open, her soft-soled monk’s slippers sliding slightly across the floor. The door opened with a rumble and opened into an only-marginally-better-lit-than-the rest of the temple library. It was cool and musty-smelling, lit by a great glowing green chandelier of black glass tendrils winding around each other like a tangled mass of kelp on a beach. Mercy’s breath went short in her throat as she ran her fingers along the cold spines of a few of the thousands of books lining the walls. “Incredible,” she said, picking a book off the shelf, “There must be centuries worth of--”

“Dreck,” she heard a familar voice and then a clatter of a book on the floor and followed its source. She walked between imposingly tall shelves.

“Hogwash,” the voice came again and another clatter.

“Keep this,” no clatter.

“Bunkum,” another clatter.

“Codswallop,” another clatter.

“Pointless smut--actually hold on to that,” no clatter.

“Esoteric frippery,” another clatter.

Mercy reached the source of the commotion to see Junkenstein surrounded by dozens of littered books strewn about the black stone floor, and the Monster standing behind him, holding an impressive pile of precariously stacked volumes in his massive hands. Junkenstein was glaring at the bookshelf, tapping his chin with his prosthetic hand thoughtfully.

“Making yourself right at home, I see,” said Mercy, smiling.

“Would that it were, but a place of a god is no place for a man of science, Gramercy,” said Junkenstein, picking up a book and leafing through it before setting it on the pile in his monsters’ arms, “We stand at an interesting point. We cannot return to Adlersbrunn, obviously. But how long can we stay here? And... your demon’s brother said something that’s stuck with me--He spoke like... like we set things into motion back in Adlersbrunn. Things that are going to have consequences far larger than we could ever dream of controlling.”

“We’re very far from Adlersbrunn,” said Mercy, “If the church sends more hunters after us, there’s not much of a trail for them to track with Zenyatta’s portals.”

"This goes well beyond the church, now, Gramercy, all it takes is one glance at the company we keep to know that,” said Junkenstein, looking back at his monster, “Speaking of which, how fares your demon?”

“He’s glad to be near his master, but this place puts him on edge like you,” said Mercy with a shrug, “But it’s mostly for my sake.”

“He is quite taken with you,” said Junkenstein, pulling another book off the shelf and leafing through it.

“He would have me believe he is taken with me,” said Mercy, putting her hands on her hips, “But he’s a demon.”

“Ah and you would have him believe you’re taken with him,” Junkenstein clapped the book shut and tossed it over his shoulder, “But you are a witch. It’s a dangerous game of cat and... other cat you two play,” he scoffed, “Come now, Gramercy, you think I don’t know you? You’re not putting up those haughty witch walls around yourself now, are you? The two of you have been through the fire together! Literally! There was a column of fire that burned a hole in the sky! We were there!”

“Jamison...” Mercy pushed some of her hair back.

“You’re always telling me to have a bit more faith,” said Junkenstein with a shrug as he and his creation gingerly stepped around the mess of books at their feet and walked down the narrow stacks.

“’If you can’t trust your demons, who can you trust?’” Mercy suggested wryly.

“In a sense, yes,” said Junkenstein as he and his creation set their pile of books with a thunderous clatter down on a stone table, “Our old home is well behind us, and we’re on the brink of an entirely new world---one we understand very little of, by the way---We need friends. We need allies.” He gave an affectionate pat to his creation’s stomach, “And you’re in even deeper with all this magical whatnot than I am.” 

“Good to see you’re actually calling it ‘Magic,’” said Mercy, smiling.

“Blame Squidface,” said Junkenstein, flipping open a book, and taking a seat, “It’s just one more thing for me to figure out isn’t it? That’s all science is, really.”

Mercy watched as Junkenstein’s eyes traced over the page.

“How long do you intend to stay?” said Mercy.

“Still figuring that out,” said Junkenstein, “Not too long, obviously. Though if your demon has any ideas on where to head next, you should check with him.”

“Are we to be traveling companions?” said Mercy with a smile.

“As if you’d last a second without me,” said Junkenstein with a grin. The creature gave a grunt behind him. “Us,” he corrected himself, “Last a second without us.”

“Oh, my heroes,” Mercy said with a smile, before walking off and leaving Junkenstein and his creation to their books.

Mercy lingered in the library a while longer, though Junkenstein’s words stuck with her. She knew she was no worshipper of Zenyatta, and part of the reason she was letting herself stay here was because it was the first place where she wasn’t feared or hated for being a witch--she was tolerated, but did she belong? No. She wondered if she would even know what it felt like to belong somewhere--if she would ever recognize the feeling. The question had previously depressed her, but now it trailed and tugged like a fishline to Genji. She remembered the words that fell out of her as they descended from the sky in what felt somehow both distantly long ago.

“I’m your witch, aren’t I? I’m your witch and you’re my demon.“

 In all the panic of that moment she had clung to that thought like a ship’s mast in a storm. 

She thumbed through a few tomes mindlessly. Pre-Babel scrolls in languages-before-language that she had no hope of translating since they sounded like everything and nothing, complicated histories of the cult with names of a pantheon that made her happy Zenyatta’s name was as easy to pronounce as it was. As she set a book back on the shelf, she heard a soft whisper. She was used to hearing a lot of whispers and tuning them out, but this whisper gave her pause. It sounded like the old woman. The Gramercy before her--but the words were indistinct, and they weren’t berating or scolding, but wondrous and soft. Mercy followed the source of the voice, but there wasn’t a source, she knew that much... nothing like the commotion Junkenstein had been creating with all his book-throwing. Still her feet walked and her chin lifted, listening, through she was half-sure the voice as only in her mind. As she walked some words formed themselves.

“--some point the chain was nearly broken, and much knowledge of its true potential was lost--”

The words cut out altogether.

Mercy stopped walking and found herself in those same narrow cathedral-like stacks. She looked around, not really sure what she was looking for. She was far at the back of the library. She puzzled at the spines of books on either side of her, then shrugged and moved to walk out from the rows of shelves when there was a clatter of a book hitting the floor behind her so sudden it gave her a start. A grubby looking steel-and-leather book was on the floor--no title, save for the word ‘Vitae’ written on it. She picked it up, dusted it off, and carried it with her out of the library. She would read it later, she decided. For now, she did have to find Genji and discuss their plans for the future. Once again with considerable effort, she was able to open the doors to the library, and with her vitae book under one arm, walked through the temple’s dark corridors.

She noticed, as she walked, a significant more amount of bustle by cultists going through the halls. Of course, usually it took only the slightest statements by Zenyatta to work them up into a tizzy. Still, she could feel Genji’s presence in her mind as she set out to find him--not actively talking to her, or seeking her out (though she could twist the hair lock around her finger for that) but the memory of his promise a presence in and of itself, like the whisper she would leave on her door when she left her cottage.That presence in her mind seemed to burn brighter as she pushed some heavy doors out to a covered walkway overlooking the temple courtyard. Down below, Genji was sparring with three cultists with staves.

 She smirked. Genji conjured all of his clothing from the selfsame smoke he used to shift his form--technically he could give himself a shirt, and it wouldn’t make him any sweatier like it would a human, but he did not. The scar from the Witch Hunter’s consecrated bullet still marred his shoulder like a raw pink star. Her eyes trailed to his shoulders as he fought, gripping a staff and spinning it around, deflecting blows from the monks’ own staves. She had seen him easily use his strength to disorient and subdue opponents, but here he fought more like a man than a powerful yokai... or was at least attempting to fight like a man. His leaps were graceful, his blocks of enemy blows either solid and unyielding, or gracefully redirecting the force of the blow. His scars spread and contracted across his skin as he moved, his red eyes sparking with a furious focus.

She was so involved in watching the acrobatics of his form and the dance of muscles on his back that she was caught quite off-guard when a cultist carrying large rolls of paper nearly ran headlong into her, but managed to catch themselves on impact, stumble with their armload slightly, then hurry on. 

“Just what is going on with them today anyway?” Mercy murmured, before turning her attention back to Genji. 

“There is to be a celebration,” a deep and tranquil voice spoke next to her and she nearly jumped right out of her skin from the surprise.

“How did you just... sneak up on me like that?!” Mercy managed to blurt out, gripping her chest with her heart thumping hard against her ribcage.

Zenyatta gestured down, and Mercy remembered that he didn’t really walk anywhere, but rather floated with his legs crossed in a lotus position.

��...ah,” Mercy brushed her hair back, moving to watch Genji again before catching herself, “Wait---A celebration? Of what?”

“Have you not heard?!” exclaimed one cultist, hurrying by carrying armfuls of something slimy and brackish-smelling that Mercy didn’t want to look too closely at.

“The Master Zenyatta in all his Generosity and love for our worthless pointless forms has declared that he shall stay in this plane for 200 years!” said another, hurrying by and carrying lanterns of black iron.

Mercy blinked several times and looked to Zenyatta.

“I don’t see what they’re so worked up about either, honestly,” said Zenyatta, “I’m only staying to see how the pattern of magical flux in this plane pans out. And...humans live, what, 15,000 years, don’t they?”

There was a pause. “They do not,” said Mercy.

Zenyatta looked thoughtful for a moment. “Oh!” he said, “That was this plane’s sea sponges! I get you all so mixed up sometimes,” He gave a slight chuckle and the mass of tentacles forming the lower half of his face twitched and tickled each other, “But as they say,” he added, catching himself, “There is to be a celebration, tonight, possibly an orgy--they were unclear on the second part.”

“...good to know,” said Mercy.

“I know you are not a devotee, but as a companion and partner of my student, you are invited nonetheless.”

Mercy smiled. “Master Zenyatta, you and your followers have been so hospitable. I don’t know how to begin to thank you.”

“I am thankful to you as well, Witch Mercy,” Zenyatta addressed her in the same manner Genji did--treating ‘Witch’ as what seemed almost like an honorific, “You freed my apprentice from a prison and gave him more focus and direction than I have ever seen him have.” 

Mercy blushed a little, “Really?”

“I will admit, I previously saw you as a distraction he was overly invested in, but since you saved him, I see now that yours is a remarkable partnership. While I have felt the magic waning in your plane, I see now that it can flourish in the most unexpected places, shining brilliantly even in adversity.”

“Oh...” Mercy glanced down, but then found her eyes on Genji, still sparring, still scarred and sweaty down in the courtyard and found that that sight did not help her loss for words, “I---Thank you,” she managed, managing to tear her eyes away to look at Zenyatta.

“I know you intend to leave,” said Zenyatta, looking down at Genji, “He is bound to wander as well---but know that you will always find support and safety here. As much safety as this plane can allow.”

Mercy smiled, “If you ever require my help---” she started but Zenyatta put a hand on her shoulder.

“You cannot even begin to comprehend my dealings, but I shall keep your offer in mind, Bearer of the Flame of Creation,” he spoke warmly before floating off. 

Mercy turned her attention back down to the courtyard but found that the clack of staff on staff and the thud of blows landing and the shuffle of feet across stone had stopped. The other cultists were talking, some quietly nursing bruises, but Genji still stood out there, looking up at her. In that moment she knew. She knew he knew that she had been watching all that time. Her eyes widened and her mouth drew to a thin line as she hurried off to the interior corridors of the temple. 

She knew she meant to speak with him about where they would go from the temple, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it for the rest of the day. His presence in her mind was half an itch now, one she knew she could relieve just by going to talk to him, but her self control told her to treat it as was befitting itches: Leave it alone, and hopefully it would go away. The rest of the day was spent back at the library, with the Vitae book and Junkenstein’s skeptical side-glance upon her. He knew she meant to talk to Genji. He knew she didn’t talk to Genji. He knew her too well and she hated him for it and he was her best friend for it. The preparations for the celebration left her afternoon largely vacant--no bickering cultists meant no gashes or stab wounds to worry about. She let herself fall into an abyss of books, the hours wheeling away until a growling stomach and a setting sun finally managed to drag her from her reading.

 She had all but forgotten of the celebrations and was briefly jarred by the merry atmosphere in the temple refectory and the decorations dangling from the ceiling as the cultists all sat on their mats around a great carpet of countless plates of food. Mercy managed to find a seat and was able to sate her hunger on snails and samphire. A carafe of a bitter herbaceous spirit was being passed around, and Mercy filled her little clay cup with that as well and knocked it back. It was a celebration, after all, wasn’t it? She wasn’t quite sure when the music had started--maybe around the time the cultists were getting up from their mats and moving out to the very temple courtyard where Genji had been sparring earlier, but in that square of stone, Mercy saw a great bonfire with crackling green flames. And then there was the music. It bounced off the cold stones and seemed to thrum from her ears to her ribcage. There was a rain-like shake of some grain-filled gourd, two-stringed fiddle, flute, and some long loud wooden instrument that rumbled and croaked, and then the drums kicked in.

The cultists pulled each other into whirling dances, gripping each other’s wrists, hooking each others arms. There was a feverishness about the way they touched each other, like tidal pool creatures bracing for the impact of a wave. And then the music picked up and they were leaping, some lifting others over their heads and twirling them as their necks craned back in ecstasy. Mercy found herself almost hypnotized. The bodies, once previously shuffling around hidden by voluminous black robes were casting off their outer mantles, rendering themselves lithe silhouettes against the green glow of the fire. Even Junkenstein had managed to be pulled into the revelry, his creation tossing him in the air and catching him as Junkenstein swan dove and swept and danced as much as he could manage with a peg leg.

“Glad you could make it, Witch,” a voice familiar and casual, yet honeyed with charm managed to slip over the din of music and the thud of bare feet on stone. Mercy turned her head to see Genji. “I was worried you’d spend all night in that library,” Genji said with a smile.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” said Mercy, shifting where she sat a little.

“Ah yes, I gathered as much by your running away as soon as I made eye contact with you,” said Genji with that half-smile of his.

Mercy reddened and glanced off and Genji snickered before catching himself. “Apologies---What was it you wanted to speak of?”

“Leaving the temple---We don’t worship Zenyatta like they do and it’s bound to get us into trouble at some point.” 

“I am the one bound to your service,” said Genji, “Where do you desire to go?”

MeMercy thought for a few moments. “You know... I suppose Zenyatta’s portals leave our options far more open than I’ve been thinking--truth be told my world has been so limited by the wood and my old village and Adlersbrunn... it’s hard grasping the idea that I can be somewhere else--even here,” she looked at the dancing cultists. Genji watched her wistful expression, the reflection of the green flames shining in her gray-blue eyes, making them glitter like an unearthly sea. “It’s almost dreamlike....” her voice softened a little, “It wasn’t like the old woman and I could join in on harvest festivals... I’ve never been able to get this close to people dancing before---or even see people dance like this.” 

“Beg pardon?” said Genji, his eyebrows raising.

“Oh--it’s nothing, it’s not important--” Mercy started.

“You’re telling me you’ve never danced!?”

“I’ve danced!” Mercy snapped, “Just... in rituals, you know.” 

Genji promptly stood up and held a hand out to her.

“Genji--” Mercy started, nervously running a hand through her hair, “I--we still need to figure out where to go from here.”

“As your demon, I must say that your wellbeing is paramount, and as such it is imperative that we dance.”

“You’re ridiculous,” said Mercy, smiling.

“I managed to get trapped in the same tea leaf pot twice. I’m well aware I’m ridiculous. But this is important,” said Genji, still holding his hand out.

Mercy took his hand and he pulled her into the whirling storm of bodies leaping and dancing around the bonfire. She started out awkwardly bobbing to the music, but Genji took her hands in his and twirled her around, lifted her as if she were light as a feather. She noticed he wasn’t wearing the mask nearly as often these days, nor was he bothering to hide his scars as much. He made her feel light on her feet, redirecting her weight around him easily. She easily lost herself in the dance, just as much if not moreso than her abyss of books. The satisfaction of flow, the feeling of “Yes, this is what I ought to be doing” that was so ingrained in the pursuit that the feeling and the pursuit were one and the same. She only regained her senses with the brief flush of adrenaline brought on by Genji sweeping her out of the path of a cultist who was railing and dancing like a maenad. 

“Are you just avoiding helping me pick where to go next?” said Mercy.

“We can multitask,” said Genji, picking her up in a twirling lift that forced a spill of giggles from her, “As you said, with Zenyatta’s portals greatly expand our horizons--Perhaps somewhere with white beaches and warm seas? I don’t know how well you can swim...perhaps a port city, somewhere treasures are being traded daily...”

“Perhaps we should find Satya,” said Mercy.

“There’s a plan,” said Genji.

“I don’t know if there’s anything more she can teach me about the flame, but it wouldn’t hurt to try--even if we have no idea where to start.”

 “She has her own path, as well,” said Genji, “Even there is nothing more you can learn, the things I’ve seen you do are breathtaking, Witch.”

Mercy smiled and glanced down, “I was terrified and had so little idea of what I was doing,” she said quietly, “Have you thought about it since then? That night in the cave?”

“Of course,” he said easily. His answer caught her off-guard, “I’ve been puzzling over it, trying to remember more of it, but I was delirious from my true form and my injuries so...” he trailed off, “I remember you,” he said quietly, “You were holding something sharp and black and then you...” he trailed off, took his hands about her waist and pulled her close--the movement wasn’t a sudden jerking of her against him, but a steady pull, in-step with the music. He took her hand and looked at it, studying it for a scar.

“It’s fine,” said Mercy, letting her hand break from his grip and putting it against the side of his face. His eyes on her softened at her touch.

“Still not sure how you did it,” murmured Genji, leaning in, studying her face.

Magic,” Mercy smiled, bringing her other arm around his shoulders.

“I never would have guessed,” said Genji closing the distance between them. Mercy tilted her head to him, her hand on the side of his face guiding him towards her, the bonfire crackling green behind her. Genji drew a breath, taking in the scent of that herbaceous spirit that had been handed around at dinner, moved to drink in more of the scent.

“West,” Mercy suddenly said. The word threw Genji off.

“Pardon?” Genji snapped out of the haze.

“We should search for Satya in the lands west of Adlersbrunn. They probably expect us to flee east---deeper into the forest, they won’t be looking for us in the west.” 

“Clever,” said Genji, bringing a hand up under her chin, “See? I told you we could multitask.”

“The task you had in mind seemed to demand most of your attention, demon,” said Mercy.

“It had your attention too, if memory serves,” said Genji as her fingers wove into his hair. Their lips had only barely brushed against each other when they broke apart at the sound of fabric ripping and the music now ratcheting up to a thunderous din. 

“What was--?” Mercy looked over to the source of the sound and saw the bare back of one of the cultists, who was now in a writhing mass of bodies. More fabric ripping. Tatters of cultist monk robes flew up like large violet autumn leaves. Mercy’s jaw dropped. While she was no stranger to skyclad rituals, the suddenness and intensity with which the cultists set upon each other was jarring. With all Genji’s talk of cultists stabbing each other there were a few panicked seconds where she expected the frenzy to be violent, but it wasn’t, well, literally violent.

“Ah. So there was an orgy,” said Genji, as Mercy slapped both her hands over her eyes as more tatters of cultist robes fluttered out from the mass of writhing bodies, some falling into the blazing green fire, “Really wish Master was more clear on these sorts of things.”

“Genji!” Mercy’s face was burning, her hands still covering her eyes. She split her fingers apart only briefly to peek through, saw a mass of limbs in what seemed almost reminiscent of the mass of tentacles forming Zenyatta’s face and wondered, briefly if this too was a form of worship of Zenyatta for them, Then she saw that one of the cultists had even further escalated the situation with a summoning circle, then clamped her fingers tight again.

“Yes, I know, we’re leaving, don’t worry,” said Genji, taking her up into his arms.

“Tell me when it’s safe to look--woah!” Mercy cut herself off as Genji leapt, with her in his arms, up to the temple walkway that bordered the courtyard. Genji walked into the interior of the temple and set Mercy down on the stone floor. “It’s sa--” Genji caught himself, “Wait--”

“Wait--? Wait for--?”

Genji lightly kissed the knuckles of Mercy’s hands covering her eyes.

“...ah.” she said.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #196

“what separates man from beast? turn to your master.”

What's a show that you absolutely refuse to watch? 13 Reasons Why. How many times have you been in love? Twice. Do you remember how old you were when you started swearing? 7th grade, however old that is. How many years older than you would you date someone? ~9, maybe 10. Depends on just how much I'm interested in the person. What was the last thing you pinky-swore on? *shrugs* Don't even recall the last time I did that. Would you consider yourself a nice person? I think I am. Are you a car kind of fella? No. I don't even know the names of the most basic models. Are there a lot of mirrors in your house? Not at all. There's like... two. Who’s the laziest person you know? Proooobably me. True or false: Glee is annoying. All musicals make me cringe. Would you make a good teacher? Why? Fuck no. I'm not dealing with 20+ kids, and I'm also way too awkward for that. Is the fan on? Actually no. I have a small heater in my room that turns on/off to regulate the temperature. Otherwise, my room is frigid this time of year. Have you ever broken someone else’s bone? No. Do you really believe in your ‘one true love’? I don't believe in that concept. There's billions of humans on this earth; you don't have just one that you'd be wonderfully compatible with. Do you worry more about other people’s happiness than your own? It depends. Have you ever had feelings for 2 people at the same time?
 Yes, Jason and Juan until I picked between them definitively. You could also say Sara and Girt, but I'd come to learn my feelings weren't romantic towards Girt. Do you believe that leaving a significant other for someone else is ever a good idea? Sure; if you're even considering someone other than your s/o, that says something anyway. It's a far better alternative to cheating. Is it possible to ‘fix’ a ‘broken’ relationship?
 Mixed emotions, idk. Would you ever throw out/give away something an ex gave you?
 I've thrown out stuff, but I haven't given anything away, though I'd probably be able to. If you found someone seemingly perfect for you, but it turned out they had a child… would you still give the relationship a chance?
 No chance. Who is the first person you see in the mornings? Well, I live with only Mom. Who was the last person you were in love with for more than a year?
 In love, probably Jason. I consider someone being in love and just loving someone are of different intensities. Do you have a secret life?
 The RP site is unknown to just about anyone. Have you ever seen the last person you kissed without a shirt?
 Yes, but she was just changing her shirt rq, and I didn't really look anyway out of respect. Do your parents know EVERYTHING about you?
 No. Are you friends with your best friend’s boyfriend or girlfriend?
 She's the same person lmao. Favorite thing to eat with peanut butter?
 Jelly. If you had to get a piercing right now, what would it be? At this very moment, probably my left daith. Do you have a nervous habit? (e.g. biting nails, tapping feet, smoking) Most obviously, I knead my hands and I'm fidgety. My eyes dart around, and I bite my lip a lot. Current favorite song? I've been hopping around between a lot lately. Maybe "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums" by A Perfect Circle. Do you know anyone famous? No. Do you own a Bible? No. Have you ever pierced your own body part or that of someone else? No. The last time you held a baby: Moooonths ago, like last summer when Colleen needed me to hold her son for whatever. The last form you filled out: Something for vocational rehab. The last time you stayed up past 12AM: Saturday night/Sunday to see the super blood wolf moon. It was incredible. The last time you gave up on or quit something: Well it's not like I'm ever doing anything noteworthy to remember quitting. The last video game you played: Some of The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. The last time you were in a big city: Not since March '18. The last television show you watched: Avatar: The Last Airbender with Sara. I'm surprisingly really into it and can't wait to keep going ahhhhhhh. Who was the last person you sat next to? My mom. Do you wear socks to bed? No, I hate socks. How many Canadian provinces have you been to? None. What kind of car did you take your drivers test in? N/A What is your first memory of being in a hospital? I have very faint memories of when I was a very little kid, my sisters and I played in the room where my mom and her three co-workers worked. I can't remember why we were ever there? All I know is we always wanted to go to the little gift shop to get candy lol. Does anyone in your life treat you badly? Are you allowing them to treat you that way? Or do you stand up for yourself? Not consistently. Have you ever cut someone out of your life because of how they treated you? Rather how she treated most of the human population. How much was the rent/mortgage at the cheapest place you’ve ever lived? Idk, probably here, where I think it's $700-something. Do you still keep in touch with your very first best friend? We're friends on Facebook, but that's it. Who got married at the last wedding you went to? Oh JEEZ. I think he was one of Ashley's co-worker's nephews or something like that?? I can't remember the exact connection, but it was complicated. What was your favorite home-cooked meal when you were a kid? Like, made from scratch? Um. I dunno. Nothing stands out. What was the topic of the last conversation you had with your dad? The laptop we're working on getting. Have you ever been to a wedding where the bride was a total bridezilla? No. How often did you visit your grandparents when you were growing up? Almost never. Dad's were in Ohio, Mom's mother was in Florida (my grampa died when I was like, two), and here we are in NC. We couldn't afford to travel much. Have you ever had psoriasis? I don't think so? I do have super dry skin, but I don't think I've ever had scaly patches. How much of your time to do you spend being bored? What could cure that boredom? Almost every day past afternoon, really... and having shit to do that doesn't confine me to this house, or have Sara here. Do squeaky toys annoy you? Yes. Animals: love ‘em? Why or why not? I absolutely love them; they're our neighbors. It's amazing how creatures that can't speak can be so interesting. Is a solitary person necessarily an unlikable person? Um, no. Are you a picky eater? You have ABSOLUTELY no idea. If you play Sims, have you ever saved a Sim from death? I've played the animals one, in which case, yes, lol. Are you hopelessly addicted to the computer? Admittedly so. Almost everything I do is on there, and it's sad just how lost I am on what to do if I don't have WiFi or a gaming console. I've been this way since I was a pre-teen though, so it's not exactly something I think I can un-learn. Like I'm not one of those people who puts every opportunity behind sitting here on it at least, I'll happily jump up for something fun and/or interesting, but it's still my go-to thing to do. Do you prefer online or face-to-face communication? Why? Depends on the person and my mood, but more often than not, online because I'm a socially awkward abomination. What kinds of things do you watch on YouTube? Let's plays mostly, but also random shit from some people I'm subscribed to, beauty videos with Jeffree Star solely because I love that hoe and am there for his personality, uhhh other misc. things that make me laugh. If you’re offered a trip to either Hawaii or Alaska, which would you choose? Probably Alaska, esp. if it's a good season for the Northern Lights. Do you have any close friends that were adopted? No. If you could have any job/talent, what? (regardless if can or not)? Hyperrealistic traditional artist or meerkat biologist. Who, in your opinion, is the best thriller writer? I wouldn't know. Does your mom eat meat? Yes. Was your dad ever in a sports team? Yeah. Do you prefer thick or thin crusted pizza? I stroooongly prefer thick. Thin is just flaky and hard. Have you ever had an eerie/paranormal experience? What happened? A lot. The top two that scared me the most follow: 1.) I was home alone, very late in the night watching TV, and Teddy, who was glued to me, would not look away from the bottom of the bed and was barking and growling relentlessly. I even tried forcing his head to look away with how badly it was scaring me, but he absolutely would not let it. Me personally, I "felt" a strong and malevolent female presence just fucking staring at me, and I called my mom literally crying. I was so shaken up that at like 4:00 A.M. I think it was, she had to call our poor neighbor to sleep in the house with me. Safe to say, I did not sleep in my bed; I'm pretty sure I didn't for a good few days. 2.) I was outside one night, walking with my iPod as I did most nights. I suddenly stopped dead when I saw this white, transparent thing walk very fluidly out of the woods of my backyard and just vanish. It was fucking crazy because it felt like time had slowed, and I remember perfectly it looked like a bipedal creature walking on all fours instead, but it was not a fucking human or animal. It reminded me of some Rake depictions (which I don't really believe in), but not precisely. My entire body absolutely chilled, and I was like a deer in headlights for many seconds, but after that, I have never run faster than I did going back inside. I immediately told my mom, freaking the hell out, but who knows if she believed I actually saw something. I didn't do nighttime walks for I think around a week, and for a loooong time, I'd altered my path so I couldn't see the spot it had appeared, and I over my dead body would ever go to the clearing at night. I also either saw a star do some weird-ass shit over the course of a week or so, or it was some UFO doing something okay only facts here. All three of these things happened at our old house, sooo glad that is no longer home lmao. Do you have any friends with the same name as you? No. How many people of the same name as you have you ever met? Oh jeez, plenty. How often do you see your best friend? Our history so far has been every ~2-3 months. Do you like incense or does it give you headaches? I love that shit oml. Do you prefer to watch or attempt? Depends? Do you shout when you’re upset? Occasionally. Where was the last place you ate, except from home? I believe Wendy's. What was your favorite thing to do as a kid? Play Spyro or make-believe with my favorite toys. Do you take any vitamins? Which ones? Yes, for vitamin D, as my deficient of it beforehand was absolutely abysmal, and it was probably the cause of my knees wanting me dead. Have you ever lost something really precious to someone else? Maybe? Who makes you feel small/inferior? It's entirely unintentional, but my psychiatrist, ha ha. He is a fucking genius with incredible knowledge of like... everything. Are you protective of your family? Well yeah. I'm especially protective of my younger sister, but not like, incredibly. What size ring are you? Idr. What’s something you regret buying, but you just can’t get rid of it? Sad as it is to say, my rat Mitsu. She's nervous of being held, yet she always jumps up onto the cage's bars when I'm passing and enjoys me petting her through them, but that's all I can do, and I feel awful. Her claws also reeeaaally irritate my skin (maybe from the bedding, idk), but getting rid of a pet rat isn't exactly easy, especially with the fear of her being bought merely as food. What villain do you believe is most worthy of a redemption arc? Is Harley Quinn still even a villain??? What was your favorite school project you ever made? Idr. What role do you take on when you have to do a group project? (for example: leader, delegator, slacker, etc.) The meticulous writer/taking the notes. What’s a funny mistake you’ve made recently? Oh boy, how is nothing coming to me among certainly a million options in the back of my mind??? OH WAIT. I was texting Sara and mentioned I was watching Shane Dawson, but it autocorrected to "Shame," and I was like, "still accurate." What would be your reaction if one of your parents said they were having another kid? My mom's long past that age. And my parents are divorced. How many friends do you have that don’t live in the same country as you? One of my long-time Internet buds, off the top of my head. What is always in your wallet that doesn’t need to be? HAHA. One time in high school, me a few friends got together to just wander the mall. We went into a tux store and got a card there for literally no reason, but it's still in my wallet for memory's sake. What is a strange red flag you have when pursuing a relationship? Excessive and/or raunchy flirting. If a single thing you say fits the latter, you're fucking out. How many people have you thought “Glad I don’t have to interact with them ever again” about? Probably a decent number. What do you NOT want on your tombstone? Don't mention shit about God or Jesus or whatever. How many couches do you want in your residence? One long one or two average ones for the sake of accommodating company. What is the strangest website you have bookmarked? Nothing strange. What is your typical number of windows/tabs open on your computer? Ha, usually 4-5 tabs. Sometimes more, sometimes just two or three. Do you follow the expiration date on food? Like, religiously. What is the coolest name that you would never name a real human child? "Magnus" is the first that came to me. What fish scares you the most? Probably stonefish. Hard to spot 'em, venomous as hell, enough to sometimes kill. How do you feel about snails? In almost all cases, they gross me out. Just not as much as slugs. I hate slimy things. How often do you think about what guys will think of you? The older I get, the less I give a fuck what one thinks, at least about how I look. If you are on birth control that allows you take pills and skip your period, how often do you opt to skip it? How come? I can't skip mine. Is there a book series where you loved the first book, but for some reason the other books in the series just didn’t measure up? Idr. Are there any stores/restaurants that you would like to shop/eat at, but there aren’t any located near enough to you? Oh, I'm sure. I'd have to think. If you are a part of a certain fandom or are a fan of a popular series/musician, is there a rivalry between your fandom and another one (e.g., Lady Gaga fans vs. Katy Perry fans or Marvel vs. DC)? The Silent Hill and Resident Evil franchises are often compared, but I haven't seen much "rivalry." There are some people who pit Markiplier and JackSepticEye against each other with them being close in subs, but it's wonderful that I usually see only great bonding between the two fandoms instead, and they usually overlap with fans. Metallica is constantly shit on by Slayer fans. There's more, I'm sure, but I don't feel like digging deep into the thousand fandoms I'm in lmao. Do you ever have smell hallucinations? Don't think so. If you were told by a professional that you were unable to become pregnant, how would that affect you? Is there something important to you about conceiving a biological child rather than adoption? And finally, if you even want to have children, would you choose adoption or surrogacy or would you go on childless? Honestly? I'd be fucking ecstatic. I'll probably never have hetero sex ever again, but rapists always worry me. I don't at all want kids. Is there something that you did not used to take seriously, that you either now take seriously or wish that you had in the past (e.g., a relationship that you miss, your education, etc.)? Man, I don't know. I would say my college, but I didn't really have a choice in my decrepit mental state, and fuck that school from a trillion different angles anyway. Are you physically affectionate with your friends? Just with hugs. I'm not a platonic cuddler/kisser/hand-holder. Are any of your friends/relatives actually impressive artists or writers? Are you willing to share an example of their work? My cousin is an incredible artist, but I don't believe I've seen her work in years. When it comes to relationships/crushes, are you more often the pursued or the pursuer? Pursued, I guess. Do you ever find yourself making negative comments about other people’s appearances, whether it’s people you dislike or even just people on tv? I generally keep comments to myself. Have you ever dated someone on the football team? No. Do you have any ceramic animals in your house or outside? There is this pointless dolphin in the corner of our backyard?????????? Why????????????? Who made you???????????????? Have you ever made a summer bucket list? No. Have you ever stayed in a hotel suite? No. What type of waffles do you like? (Plain, blueberry etc..) Plain or chocolate chip, 'pending on the mood. Have you ever been to a night club? No. What was the last thing to make you sad? A picture on Facebook of some dick posing beside an elephant he killed at a watering hole. It was in an anti-trophy group or something like that. Do you kill spiders when you see them? If it's in my house and not tiny, unless it's too close to me. Are you allergic to any animals? Which ones? No. Does it bother you when people play with your hair? It would if it was anyone but my s/o or maybe my mom, but even from her, that might feel weird. What is your favorite movie series? SHREK, BITCH. I haven't seen the fourth one though and I am legitimately mad. Not sayin' it for the meme, I legit love Shrek okay. Did your parents get married before or after you were born? I actually found out recently it was after I was born. True/False: You’ve had an odd dream this week. It's weird, I've actually been briefly recalling them lately... but not for long. I believe I have, though. Who was the last person to let you down? Mom, probably. Can you dry swallow pills? I'm capable with small capsule ones, but I don't. What was the last thing you ordered online? Sara's Christmas present. Are you happy with your relationship with God, or do you want more from it? I have no relationship with him, if you're addressing the "God" I'm assuming you do. Even with the entity I believe in, I don't really see us as having a "relationship" in this life. They're just my silent judge that sees me according to how I deserve. Is your spirit made for adventure? Eh. Yes and no. Have you ever been rejected by a church? No.

[athyrabunlord]

LLSHP 20 - Our Story

Arc1: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]

Arc2: [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14]

Arc3: [Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18] [Chapter 19] [Chapter 20] [Chapter 21 (TBD)]

Interludes: [Carbonado (1)] [Carbonado (2)] [Of Feathers and Wind] [Delphinus (teaser blip)]

[Brief note about School Term] [other LLSHP AU stuff] [YohaMaRuby concept arts] [ChikaYouRiko concept arts] [KanaDiaMari concept arts] [Hogwarts Staff]

[FFN link] (up until ch17!) [Pixiv Link] [Translated to Chinese by plin2290]

A/N: Honestly surprised myself that I finished this chapter so quickly, but I suppose I’m just as eager to get to the last climax of this story. As this is the second last chapter and based on everything that’s happened, I’m sure many things happening here are to be expected. Still though, it was difficult even for me as the writer to complete many of the scenes. Feedback as always is greatly appreciated, and I hope you’ll look forward to the last chapter/conclusion! Words: 7,480

“Ruby-chan! Ruby-chan!!”

Yoshiko remains rooted in her place, glancing helplessly between Yohane and the chaos beside her. Each and every one of Hanamaru’s cries stab deeply in her heart, making this appalling sight more and more real. Dia has borrowed Ruby’s wand and is repeatedly casting healing spells, while Hanamaru has upturned the Expandable Pouch for all the available vials of Dittany.

But those wounds just won’t close.

Blood continues to soak through Ruby’s vest, her body limp in Dia’s arms and her chest barely rising and falling. Chika and You’s eyes are wide with horror yet they are unable to even speak due to the Body-Bind Curse. Kanan is huffing ferally, struggling in futile under those shackles, the chains already digging into the wolf’s fur and ripping open the scabs. Mari is trying to get up, breathing laboriously, her face scrunched up in sorrow and fury as she shakily points her wand.

Yohane easily brushes aside those badly-aimed spells, the white wing’s feathers not at all ruffled from the disturbance.

“How far you have fallen… the two of you were once so difficult to subdue, but now?” Yohane smiles softly, a jarring expression that contrasts the powerful wave of magic she sent towards her struggling opponents.

Kanan and Mari are thrown back against the shelves, crashing into and shattering various bottles of potions. Mari slides down from the toppled shelf, her wand rolling away from her limp hand, while Kanan has reverted to her human form, eyes closed and breathing feebly.

Yoshiko is already running towards Yohane before she realizes it, yelling with all the rage churning in her heart. “Crucio!”

With an eyebrow raised elegantly, Yohane shifts her white wing to cover herself. The Unforgivable’s red magic dispurses upon contact, as if it were an elementary spell of no significance.

“Your emotions are delectable, O Lost One, but you do not have enough hatred to use the Cruciatus Curse,” she says calmly like she were discussing the weather. “Would you like me to show you? They were pretty good practice dummies back then.”

“No, stop-” Yoshiko hastily casts Protego at You and Chika’s direction but the sheer magic bursting from the sakura wand pierces right through her Shield Charm.

You and Chika, defenseless, could only clench their eyes shut and unable to even scream from the agony. Yohane is watching them calmly, as if everything is fine and peaceful, that no one is being tortured and bleeding to death because of her.

There’s so much anger in Yoshiko’s heart that it’s actually making her nauseous. She roars again, allowing this tremendous feeling to consume her and dig deep inside her mind. Black tendrils materialize from her arm and spear towards that despicable girl.

Yohane finally moves from her spot, frowning as she steps aside and lifts the Curse.

Yoshiko stands in front of You and Chika protectively, her body slightly hunched over as she lets out ragged gasps. With her arm still covered in black mist and stretched warningly towards Yohane, she dares to glance at the unmoving duo. Though their faces are pale and damp with sweat and their eyes are closed, they are at least breathing albeit weakly. Perhaps sheer exhaustion or those horrible past memories triggered by the shock had caused them to faint.

“Nngh...R-Ruby-chan…”

Hanamaru’s choked sobs echo in the now silent Apothecary. There are many empty vials cluttered around her and Dia is gingerly cradling Ruby while whispering comforting words. Yoshiko couldn’t tell if the wounds have been successfully closed or not, for her signature pink vest has turned into a sickening shade of maroon. Yoshiko could feel tears stinging her own eyes when she looks away from Ruby and meets Hanamaru’s gaze, which is filled with despair. Whimpering, the brunette bites her lower lip and shakes her head.

Ruby… she’s… no… no no no...

“W-Why her…I thought, it was me that you people wanted…” Dia says monotonously, her hands slick with her little sister’s blood.

“You were indeed, Kurosawa heiress. We thought you the most powerful Pureblood of your family, that you still have the potential to become even stronger. Yet, from what I saw in Lily’s mind-” Yohane pauses and smiles when Dia glares at her with bloodshot eyes. “Your Patronus and Animagus form don’t exactly match my image of a powerful Pureblood. Naturally, I got curious and concerned. All this effort, with the Fallen’s limited resources, what if we did get to you and you are the wrong one? And so I looked and pondered.”

Yohane gestures at Yoshiko, who recoils at the realization. “Ah yes, it is through you and our connection that I begin to understand the so-called failure more. That meek little Ruby Kurosawa, her Patronus is truly beautiful, that I concede. I want to make sure though, so I must get to the Kurosawa sisters, to get to all of you with one single swoop. How can I accomplish that?”

She tilts her head and says a matter-of-factly. “Well, here we are.”

Yoshiko clenches her fists, thinking back on all the events that led to this moment. The forcibly blocked-off connection back at the alleyway and the return of the vision, and her telling everyone about the assault on the Estate. It was an elaborate plan all along, with Yohane as the master puppetress stringing them onto the stage that she had designed. Luring them all here, setting up ambushes here and there to diminish the strength of their stronger members, and allowing Dia to run free so they would have to search around for her while Yohane most likely observed them.

Appraised them like livestock for slaughter.

“She has my respect. Truly unexpected, but I suppose her experiences molded her magic and soul. Her desire to protect her friends and save her dear sister makes her so much stronger,” Yohane taps the sakura wand thoughtfully, her smile dropping a little. “I know the Counter-Curse to sectumsempra of course. I could heal her… but I won’t. You’ve cost too many of my cohorts. I need compensation.”

Yoshiko laughs harshly, the rage burning and causing the black mist to condense around her arm again. “Compensation?! You dare to talk about compensation!? Why… why are you like this? Just what the fuck have you accomplished?” She gestures tearfully at her friends. “Are you happy now? Huh?! Causing all this misery, does that make you happy?!”

Yohane blinks in puzzlement, like she truly is incapable of understanding Yoshiko’s sentiment. “Of course I am happy. Do you not see, my sad other half? Can you not see the complete state of my magic, my soul?”

She spreads her wings wide, and Yoshiko could see the left wing slowly yet steadily turning from black to white as well. The atmosphere feels even heavier now that more magic has gathered and saturated in the air. Distressed, Lucifer curls up in Yoshiko’s hood, shivering.

“Truly, I am grateful to you all. See,” Yohane summons the wand from an unconscious member of Fallen nearby, casting a bright Lumos with no trouble. “I can now use any wand… perhaps, I can even obtain my own wand like the rest of you regular witches.”

“What-?” Yoshiko’s hand tightens on her own wand, reassured by the flow of magic between them.

“Because of you, silly girl. You caused so many irregularities in my core that I was unable to bond with any wand… until Lily’s.” Yohane taps the sakura wand against her palm, her thumb gently brushing over the wood. “Perhaps it’s due to Lily’s past interaction with the quill or her connection to you. Either way, this wand accepted my magic, and the rest is history.”

At Yoshiko’s silence, Yohane lowers her voice to a dangerous lilt. “I see the confusion in your eyes. It’s not something you can ever relate to, being able to use a wand like it is the most natural thing in the world. You and the rest of the wizards and witches.” Her condescending gaze then shifts over to Hanamaru, who flinches.

“I gave you a little taste of such… inconvenience. How did it feel, having magic so close without access to it? I was forced to learn to control the only thing I have at my disposal - my soul, my incomplete soul. But ah,” Yohane gives her a fanged grin. “It is much more powerful than I could’ve imagined. We Fallen, through countless research, learn more about my feathers - it can bypass Anti-Apparition Jinx, it can cause disruption in a witch or wizard’s flow of magic and thus rendering them vulnerable.”

She holds up the flask that contains the now black potion. “And now, I can grant magic to those who seek it - Squibs, Muggles, or even sentient creatures like the Acromantulas! Everyone will finally be equal, will they not?”

“You are mad…” Dia hugs Ruby close, sparks of magic cackling at the tip of the latter’s wand.

“Am I? Is it not unfair, that certain people enjoy the convenience and power of magic, while others suffer from the lack of it?”

“If you are strictly referring to that, then I have also thought of the same thing. But, never, ever, at the cost of innocent people’s lives,” Dia’s voice hitches and wavers. “R-Ruby, Riko, and all t-those people… what had they done to deserve this?!”

Yohane’s expression is the closest to remorse that Yoshiko has seen on her. “Unfortunate casualty to balance out everything. My people have suffered as well - those who had given their lives today shall be commemorated for the bright future that is to come.”

“Bright… future…?” Yoshiko glances at Ruby’s motionless body and snarls. “There’s no future! You think you can get away with all of this?! I won’t let you…”

“Just how do you plan to stop me, when I have already gotten what I wanted, hmm?” Yohane shifts her wings and tucks the potion in her pocket. “The rest of the world, the silly Ministry, they shall all see and understand the greatness of what I have accomplished. Even the so-called renowned Order of Merlin, 1st Class, is not enough to honor me. I am too worthy-”

“You are not.”

Hanamaru slowly stands up, her eyes downcast and still full of pain, yet there is something decidedly serene about her demeanor. “You don’t understand anything at all.”

“Oh? Care to elaborate?” Yohane narrows her eyes to slits, her tone lowered to a menacing octave.

“You think you’ve done an amazing thing, but you don’t understand even the simplest of emotions,” Hanamaru clutches her hand in front of her heart as tears trickle down her cheeks. “Can you even relate to our anguish? Can you even feel this loss? You call yourself complete, but how can you be complete when you don’t even understand the importance of such bonds?!”

Yohane’s cool expression shifts to one of anger. “You silly mortal. You’re the one who understands nothing. Your truly are unworthy to be by my side! Very well, I will show you…”

Grimacing, Yoshiko hastily moves to stand in front of Hanamaru and concentrates on the veil of black tendrils wrapped around her outstretched arm. Yohane scoffs at her action and merely holds up the sakura wand with a confident smile.

“Expecto Patronum!”

Yoshiko and Hanamaru cringe at that, staring with wide eyes at the beam of silver light summoned by Yohane’s spell. The Patronus begins to take a corporeal form, shaping into a pair of great wings that encompass the caster.

Yohane’s eyes flash with glee as she laughs joyously. “At last! I can cast the Patronus Charm! See, this is the proof of my worthiness, I am the great fallen angel Yohane-”

The silver light abruptly vanishes, leaving behind evanescent sparks like falling snowflakes. Yohane staggers a few steps, gasping and grasping frantically at her cloak when the whiteness in her left wing begins to recede.

“What’s-? Why… the potion-!” She desperately takes a few gulps, yet that does nothing to halt the darkening of her wings. The blackness has now spread even to her white right wing, like the unrelenting way that ink would spread across a piece of parchment.

“No… No!! W-What’s happening?!”

Perhaps it’s due to their proximity or Yohane’s inadvertently lowered defense, but Yoshiko could feel the former’s panic seeping into her cognizance. She hastily summons her own Patronus, sighing in relief when the silver coelacanth materializes easily at her call.

“Your dazzling Patronus. It comes from the caster’s heart and soul. It’s something that cannot be faked or created from nothingness. This alone proves your worthiness.”

She could almost hear the Selkie Chieftainess’ reassuring words and, judging from the spike of fury she felt, Yohane must have heard those words from her memory too.

“I am unworthy? But you’re the Horcrux! How is this possible?!” Yohane cradles the sakura wand against her chest, wheezing and panting. “This potion should have been perfect! This is supposed to be my crowning moment of glory!! No, it must be you, your existence, it’s making everything wrong, if I could just reclaim you-”

Due to their connection, Yoshiko understands that Yohane is trying to call upon the Dementor horde that probably still lingers around the area. Dia is in no state to cast a Patronus Charm, and Yoshiko herself could feel her control on the silver coelacanth slipping due to Yohane’s disbelief and anger cluttering with her own thoughts. Grimacing, Yoshiko musters her strength to send those black tendrils at Yohane to stop her.

Snarling in frustration, Yohane slaps aside the spears with her wings, though the impact causes both girls to recoil as if something has pierced through their hearts. Yoshiko sinks down on her knees, shuddering from that clash of their soul.

“Hana...maru… aim your Patronus at her wings… now!” She manages to squeeze out those words, her eyes trained on Yohane’s slouched-over form.

Though bewildered, Hanamaru’s expression is full of trust as she directs her Augurey Patronus towards the fallen girl. Yohane cringes with surprise, instinctively shielding herself with her wings, but the silver bird easily tears through the feathers as it soars past her.

Yohane cries out in pain, hugging herself tight and curling up on the ground. The shredded wings droop uselessly against her shoulders, those disintegrated feathers not reforming and the remaining ones losing the whiteness even faster.

Unlike the stabbing pain of the Cruciatus Curse, the agony in Yoshiko’s chest feels like molten lava that mercilessly spreads throughout her body. Her vision flickers out of focus and it takes a few moments for her to realize that she is slumped on the ground, coughing blood.

“Yoshiko-chan!” Hanamaru has dispelled her Patronus and is leaning over her, holding her hands and whimpering. Lucifer is also flapping its wings helplessly near her head, nudging and licking at her sweaty cheek.

Yoshiko couldn’t feel any of their warmth. That sensation of something vanishing is even worse now.

“Are you crazy!?” Yohane is trying to get up but her trembling arms are barely supporting her weight. “You want to... destroy yourself too!?”

Yoshiko knows there is blood trickling down her chin but she couldn’t even taste that coppery tang. She leans feebly against Hanamaru, finding her resolution growing at her loved one’s worried voice.

Almost there. She can end this.

Unable to wield her wand properly, Yoshiko tries to recall the feeling of summoning the Patronus all those years ago back in the background. The desire to protect Hanamaru, the desperation to prove her worth, the belief that she is truly someone special.

The silver coelacanth swims majestically through the air, bringing a small smile to Yoshiko’s face in spite of the severity of the situation. This symbol of hope, so beautiful and brilliant and free! At her slight nod, the sentient Charm then dives towards Yohane with the power of purpose.

Shaking, Yohane could only reform the wings into a condensed shield in a last ditch attempt to stop the Patronus. The black mist evaporates as soon as the coelacanth propels through it, but the silver fish also fades before it could reach her.

As soon as Yohane collapses, Yoshiko also drops her wand and retches blood again. Before her quivering hand could reclaim the wand, a pale hand firmly grips her wrist.

Dia’s cheeks are stained with dried tears but there’s a fierceness in her gaze that demands obedience. “Whatever you are doing, stop it. I want her to pay for everything she did but not through you, not at the cost of your life, Yoshiko-san.”

Hanamaru appears to have put two and two together as well and uses her sleeve to gently wipe away the blood staining Yoshiko’s chin. “It’s enough… it’s too much… no more… stop… don’t...”

Though feeling rather detached to her body in spite of the pain, Yoshiko is able to sit up with Hanamaru and Dia’s help. She glances at Lucifer, who is nestled against Ruby’s hand and crooning miserably, and then at the two girls supporting her upright.

Despite her blurring vision, she is able to meet Yohane’s furious eyes. “Just one more... hit, I’m sure... I can…”

I can end Yohane and atone for our sins.

Coughing weakly, Yohane claws at the wall behind her to try to get up. “If you want to die so badly, I’ll help you with that! The inferno of hell shall be the perfect mausoleum for the great fallen angel!”

A bitter and manic grin lights up on her dark expression as she holds up the sakura wand. “Let’s perish together then, my sad clone!”

Pouring forth from the tip of the wand is a terrible stream of fire, which roars like a sentient beast as it consumes everything around it. The shelves instantly crumble into soot and become part of this uncontrollable rampage.

Fiendfyre. The vague knowledge of the Curse trickles into Yoshiko’s mind as Dia shakily points Ruby’s wand and croaks out. “Partis Temporus!”

Even as Dia’s Charm causes it to part ways, the furious flame continues to spread around the Apothecary, hungry to incinerate and destroy, barely halting. The fire swerves around the spell, ready to converge and feast upon them and their vulnerable friends.

Yohane’s broken laughter reverberates within Yoshiko’s mind, the sheer despair almost making her just surrender and allow the hell fire to burn everything away. However, in spite of being unable to relish in Hanamaru’s warmth, she sees and vaguely feels her cold tears falling upon her skin.

Similar to how Yohane did it earlier, Yoshiko summons the black tendrils to form a condensed shield of blackness to block the fiendfyre just as it is about to reach them.

From her peripheral vision, she notices the sakura wand fracturing, followed by magic scalding her nerves, and everything whitens out.

==========================

Yoshiko blinks.

The atmosphere feels familiar and comforting, and she soon realizes that she is back at the Hogwarts Castle. This is the lavatory that masquerades as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, the place where so many things had happened. The beginning of an end.

Perplexed, she approaches one of the mirrors and sees her reflection staring back at her. She’s not covered in dirt and blood, and her school uniform is immaculate and complete with the Slytherin scarf wrapped cozily around her. She doesn’t hurt anywhere, and she feels better than she’s felt for a long time.

She hesitantly pinches herself, startled by the pain.

This isn’t a dream. But what happened? Wasn’t she at the Apothecary on the Kurosawa Estate?

“Yocchan.”

Her heart thuds rapidly in her chest, the pang growing as she turns around to find a familiar girl smiling softly at her.

“L-Lily…?”

She wobbles towards Riko, unable to believe the wonderful sight before her. She raises her hand, not daring to touch the Ravenclaw in case this is all just an illusion. The last time she saw Riko, she was so frail on the hospital bed, those amber eyes so lifeless, unaware of the events around her, still confined to the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mungo’s-

“Is it… really you, Lily?”

Riko smiles sadly and gently holds her hand. It feels warm, yet there’s also something off about it. “Yes and no.”

“Eh-?”

“I am a construct of your conscience and the remnants of Riko Sakurauchi’s magic,” the burgundy-haired girl slowly lets go and allows Yoshiko’s hand to drop to her side. “Magic is full of possibilities and, while the Curse had destroyed Riko’s wand, its previous owner’s feelings remained strong and answered your call before the magic fades. I am here because of the lingering regret in your heart.”

“Regret…?” Yoshiko chuckles humorlessly, unable to tear her gaze away from the older girl before her. Real or not, it makes her so happy to see Riko healthy and well. It’s been so long since she heard her voice. Come to think of it, this lavatory was the last place where they had a heart to heart conversation, wasn’t it?

“Yes, regret,” the Riko replica says quietly, her expression just as kind as the original’s. “You wish to speak to Riko, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Ever since that day. I want to say how sorry I am. I want to say how much I appreciate her being there for me. No, not only those. There are so, so damn much I want to talk about with Lily, and Dia-san too,” Yoshiko’s voice cracks and she has to swallow down her sobs. “H-Hanamaru, Ruby, everyone! I want to speak with them more. I want to keep spending time with them. I-I don’t want to leave…”

As always, a mere duplicate or not, this Riko patiently waits for her to gather her composure.

“I want all of us to be together even longer, all nine of us. But, that’s not possible, not anymore.” Yoshiko breathes deeply and clasps her hands together, smiling wryly at the realistic sensation she could feel even though she knows it will not last. “Because... I’m dying.”

There, it is out in the open. Saying it aloud doesn’t feel as terrible as she had expected. This sense of finality is calming even, and having this Riko as the witness somehow gives her more courage. She’s been vaguely aware of this fact since she intercepted that Killing Curse, and everything Yohane did with the potion as well as that clash of Patronus and the wings only sped up the progress.

“I can cry and whine about it, but that’s not gonna change the fact that I’m… disappearing. I’m just a Horcrux, yet I was able to experience a pretty awesome life as a human, finding people who cares about me, loves me,” Yoshiko places her hand against her heart, lowering her gaze at the reassuring sensation of heartbeats. “And I love them too.”

The burgundy-haired girl tilts her head morosely. “Riko cares about you. She is still in shock, still recovering from what she had suffered in the Chamber of Secrets, but deep down, she knows the truth. At least, the truth that you, Yoshiko Tsushima, are not the one who hurt her. Given time, she will accept the truth. Believe me, I’m a corporeal form of her magic after all.”

“That’s relieving to hear,” Yoshiko wipes at her eyes and grins. “Well then, I have no more unfinished business. Thank you for speaking with me. I needed that… I needed that one last push.”

She steps forward and embraces the taller girl, smiling when she feels familiar magic enveloping her even as the replica fades away. The scenery around her begins to dissolve as well, along with the wholesome sensation of being a regular student.

Closing her eyes, she pours her emotions along with the flow of magic.

“I hope you will recover soon. Thank you for everything, and goodbye... sister.”

===============================

“Hanamaru…”

Yoshiko blearily opens her eyes, not surprised to find herself back at the Apothecary. The pungent odor of smoke almost throws her into a coughing fit, but she feels too weak to even exhale properly. Hanamaru and Dia are still seated around her, and a quick glance tells her that the others are nearby as well. Though unconscious, Kanan and Mari, You and Chika, the four of them have been Levitated and placed close together and far from the licking flames of the fiendfyre.

Indeed, walls of the nightmarish fire trap them in this little space. Everything else appears to be ablaze and there is no way out as far as she could see. Perhaps the shield she had created earlier was the only reason why they have yet to be consumed by this magical inferno. At the time being, the flames have skirted around this area, similar to how a river current could be diverted by a formidable rock in its path.

Once certain of everyone’s whereabouts, she finally forces herself to gaze at Ruby, who is still lying behind Dia. Lucifer is curled up against the motionless girl’s hand, as if its tiny body could help preserve warmth.

“...Ruby, how is she-?”

“S-She’s not breathing…” Hanamaru chokes out, and Dia clenches her eyes shut. “S-She’s already...”

“Could you… bring me c-closer?”

Hanamaru and Dia share an uncertain glance but do as requested. Grunting, Yoshiko reaches for Ruby’s wrist, unable to feel any pulse but unable to feel the coldness either. She couldn’t feel anything, not anymore.

“... Ruby, no amount of apologies would be enough… but maybe, if I could only…” Yoshiko grits her teeth and concentrates. Black mist slowly forms around her arm though, with it, comes a dizzying sensation.

“Yoshiko-san-?”

“If these tendrils can maim… it might be able to heal too. It’s the magic of my soul, so if I could only make it…” She ignores Dia’s worried gaze and tries to guide the mist over to the vicious wounds all over Ruby’s body. However, unlike the gentle glow of healing magic, the black mist is fluctuating, as if struggling to break free of the veil form she is keeping it.

“L-Let me help…” Hanamaru reaches for Yoshiko’s hand before the latter could stop her. Instead of hurting her, the black mist recedes a little to give space so that her hand covers Yoshiko’s larger one. Though unable to feel another’s person’s warmth, she could faintly feel the trickle of magic mingling with hers.

Before their wide eyes, the black mist stabilizes and descends upon Ruby, shifting into a soft glow. The maroon of the drenched vest lightens a little and the wounds begin to mend.

“W-what?” Dia doesn’t dare to blink, carefully touching her sister’s cheek and gasping when Ruby lets out a weak breath.

“Maybe… it’s because Yohane knows how to heal her so I somehow know too… or maybe, it’s because Hanamaru’s been connected to us since so long ago…” Yoshiko wheezes, her vision flickering precariously again. What she just did has drained her what little of energy she has left. She would’ve fallen backwards if Hanamaru hadn’t been holding her.

“Ruby…” Dia hugs her sister close, her voice strangled with emotions. “She… she will fine?”

“At least she won’t bleed to death,” Yoshiko gives her a weak grin and struggles to reach for her pocket. “Now, Dia-san, please get everyone out of here.”

“Yoshiko-chan-?” Hanamaru blinks as Yoshiko pushes a black feather in her palm and then drops another in Dia’s hand.

“You heard what Yohane said earlier. These feathers, they should help you Apparate,” Yoshiko pauses and allows herself a moment to sweep her gaze over her friends one last time. She tries to etch their images into her mind, hoping that would help her remember them forever, though she finds such logic ridiculous since she’s the one who would not remain.

“Yoshiko-san, just what are you-?”

“Lily is waiting for you.” She caresses Lucifer’s head before depositing the protesting bat in the older girl’s lap. “I’m counting on you, my greatest little demon, be good to Dia-san okay? Watch over them.”

“I don’t like this… why are you saying all these things,” Hanamaru wraps her arms around Yoshiko’s, refusing to budge even as the latter weakly attempts to tug free. “Let’s all go back to Hogwarts… let’s all go home zura.”

“It’d upset me if I hear anything were to happen to you. I want you to take care of yourself too, Yoshiko-chan.” She could almost hear Grandma Kunikida’s kind words, so she guiltily apologizes to the elder in her mind.

She glances at Ruby, comforted by the feeble but steady rise and fall of her chest, and recalls her worried voice from their conversation by the Black Lake. “Yoshiko-chan, d-don’t leave us, okay?”

“That’s a promise I can no longer keep, my friend.”  She sadly looks away and stares at the roaring flames. “Hanamaru, I’m… just returning to the sky for a bit…. I’ll be back…”

“Yoshiko-chan-?”

She cups Hanamaru’s cheek and kisses her deeply, pouring all the feelings she had in this one intimate gesture. Though stunned at first, the petite girl soon melts against her and returns the kiss just as tenderly.

Yoshiko smiles. She couldn’t feel anything, but she could sense the girl’s love and that is more than enough for her. Though reluctant, she pulls away and whispers against Hanamaru’s ear.

“Please don’t forget me…”

Mustering all the remaining strength she had, she shoves Hanamaru away and abruptly stands up. With one arm around Ruby and the other steadying the startled Hanamaru, Dia is unable to move from her spot and could only watch as Yoshiko gives her one last pleading look.

Before any of them could react, Yoshiko quickly summons the black mist to cover herself and walks into the fiendfyre. The magical flames is tickling at her skin, threatening to consume her, and she finds it utterly ironic how she was able to feel the heat from this Curse and nothing else. She glances back, noticing Hanamaru’s silhouette and flashes of magic. She must be trying to get through this destructive fire, to get to her.

“... promised!” The girl’s heartrending cry is nearly muffled by the cackling inferno. “You promised … when you return to the sky, you would take me with you! Yoshiko-chan!”

Yoshiko turns away and resumes walking. Even though she knows Hanamaru couldn’t hear her, she still finds herself murmuring at the fire.

“I’ll always love you.”

=================================

After what feels like an eternity, Yoshiko finally reaches a similar area within the fiendfyre where the flames have left untouched. Yohane is hugging her legs, in fetal position, the vestiges of her torn black wings draped over her shoulders and are steadily crumbling to dust.

She doesn’t move even as Yoshiko sits down beside her.

“What? Do you pity me?”

“I suppose.”

Yohane laughs shakily, tearfully. “... you knew we are dying.”

Yoshiko nods. “I wasn’t fully sure… but yes, I knew. I just didn’t want to believe it.”

“Then why are you here? Didn’t tell your friends, did you? Wouldn’t you rather die with them around you?” Yohane shifts and turns to face her. If it had been any other circumstances, Yoshiko would have felt sympathy at the sight of such raw helplessness on her mirror image’s expression.

Alas, as it is, she feels nothing. “I don’t want them to see me… go, not like this.” She looks down at her hands, unsurprised that her fingertips are becoming translucent. Her feet are already disintegrating into black mist, into an intangible form. This certainly doesn’t feel like her body anymore. “Besides, in the end… you’re me. I want you to know that you’re not alone.”

Yohane recoils. “Even after everything I have done?”

Scowling, Yoshiko grabs Yohane by the scruff of her cloak and yanks her close so that she’s glaring into those wide eyes. “I will never forgive you. If only I could make you pay, if only I could make you apologize… except, you couldn’t, could you?”

Yohane blinks, still startled and bewildered. Sighing, Yoshiko loosens her grip and shakes her head. “You’re incapable of remorse, just as you’re incapable of many other emotions.”

“... you’re right, I don’t.” Despite the bite of her words, Yohane’s visage flickers with what appears to be lament before the characteristic aloofness returns. “So what. Instead of staying with your beloved friends, you’ve come to me, so we can happily die together, is that it?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Like you said a while back, it’d be too sad if I remain ignorant before I go,” Yoshiko interlaces her fingers together, smiling wistfully. “I want to know. I want to understand why you are this way. Tell me… tell me your story.”

Yohane scoffs half-heartedly as she looks over at Yoshiko’s condition. “There’s not much to tell, but I suppose I could share it. It’s your story as much as it is mine and, well, we got nothing else to do to pass this time anyway, waiting for the inevitable death.”

After a moment’s deliberation, Yohane takes out a familiar quill and places it in Yoshiko’s palm. The object falls through the latter’s translucent hand, landing softly in her lap. The former flinches while the latter doesn’t react.

“Er… yeah, this was you. The quill. It’s made from an Augurey actually, quite unlike any other quills.”

“So I was right,” Yoshiko’s lips quirk with slight humor. “I sensed the connection. It’s a given though, since I … used to be this thing.”

“Right. Well then, where should I even start?” Yohane closes her eyes briefly before opening them again. Her husky voice now has a distant quality to it as she taps her fingers against her knee. “Ah, the playground. I assume you don’t know what happened after Mother saved us?”

Yoshiko could only remember being hugged by Father while Mother was speaking to the Ministry officials that arrived. As if sensing her thoughts, Yohane nods curtly. “They screwed up, y’know? The Dementors were chasing an escaped convict from Nurmengard - that’s a wizarding prison - because the transfer to Azkaban didn’t happen smoothly. During the chase, the Dementors took a detour because they sensed two delectable children with developing magic. Yup, Hanamaru and I.”

Yoshiko carefully watches Yohane’s expression, which appears to be forcibly stoic at the mention of the brunette.

“Father and Mother took me home while the Ministry dealt with the aftermath for Hanamaru. I don’t know. I never saw her again until that day at King’s Cross Station,” she trails off, frowning, and her voice becomes flat again as she touches her chest. “That incident caused my magic to become unstable. Something was desperately trying to break free, and it wasn’t my Patronus or anything.”

Yoshiko exhales tiredly. “... Me?”

“Probably. I know I call you a Horcrux because that’s the only terminology closest to describing you, but who knows what you really are?” Yohane shrugs. “Father was a Muggle descendant of a Squib from a notable Pureblood family, and he’s kept in contact with a distant relative ever since I was born. That relative, an old man who’s also a Squib, have always been helpful in terms of knowledge from the magical world. Mother was a Half-blood who grew up in the Muggle world, so she didn’t know what was happening to me either.”

Even though everything is in the past tense and despite knowing what was coming, Yoshiko is rather pleased at learning about her parents, no matter how trivial the information seems. Yohane snorts at that but she continues speaking.

“So, Father called for the old man to see if he knows what can be done… alas, he wasn’t able to make it to our place in time. Like I said back then, there was a burst of accidental magic and you killed Father. My soul split off, and you were able to latch onto the family quill as some sort of Horcrux.”

In spite of already hearing it once before, Yoshiko still winces and lowers her head. Unlike last time, Yohane’s tone isn’t accusing as she adds. “I believe our magic was very unstable then, and that’s why when Mother tried to help me, save me, she remained too close to the quill and her life force was drained so rapidly.”

Yohane’s composure crumbles a little, displaying a rare moment of pain and sadness.

“That old man discovered me in the ruins of the apartment and quickly took me away under his protection before the Muggle authorities arrived. We went far away, as he didn’t want the Ministry to discover me and possibly take me away for experimentation. We lost our faith in the Ministry since that botched transfer, see? And that’s why neither of us knew of your existence, that an orphan was found at the ruins and identified as Yoshiko Tsushima, an orphan who lived like a Muggle for ten years before receiving Hogwarts’ letter.”

Yoshiko furrows her brows. “I think you’ve seen it in my mind. I… did live like a Muggle, but it was definitely not normal. You have no idea how happy I was, when I found out I was a witch.”

Yohane laughs callously. “It is still better than mine. I grew up with only that old man to rely on. He taught me everything about magic, despite being unable to use it himself. He… was the leader of Fallen. The Fallen’s been around for centuries but it’s only due to my presence that they had such breakthroughs. His distant ancestor was a Squib from the Kurosawa family actually, hence my cohorts’ obsession with this particular Pureblood family.”

Yoshiko isn’t surprised to learn that she’s very, very distantly related to Dia and Ruby. All the Pureblood families are related in one way or another through intermarriage after all, and some Muggleborns do have Pureblood ancestry. Still, hearing such connection gives her a sense of peace.

Yohane chuckles dryly. “She’ll live, that Ruby Kurosawa. Kudos to you on that bastardized healing spell. I’ll have you know that I didn’t aim at any vital spots, otherwise she would have died for certain.”

“Why?”

“Why indeed. I could have killed Lily. I could have killed Ruby. But, like I said, maybe your silly mortal emotions did influence me to an extent,” Yohane sneers, though her voice is subdued and no longer has that vicious edge. “Anyway, within the Fallen, there are many other Squibs and magical relatives tormented by discrimination. Yes, even more Squibs distantly related to the Kurosawas, those who were burned off the family tree. That man who used a suicide bomb, he was actually the brother of that wizard who I had the Dementor Kissed.”

Yoshiko cringes at recalling those aforementioned men. “But all the members of Fallen we had encountered, they all used magic so well-?”

“They were temporarily granted the ability to use magic through the many versions of incomplete potions we have developed. Why do you think it was so difficult for us to capture a Pureblood? The old man passed away three years ago and so, under my leadership, I pushed forward our agenda by risking casualties and exposure. I’m not conservative like him, and I was fucking sick of being idle and hiding, like I’m some sort of abomination.” Yohane takes out the nearly empty flask of the potion that had briefly granted her a white wing. “I still believe this potion is truly complete. It should work on the Squibs, Muggles and other potential candidates, just not me. I suppose, nothing can ever fill the void of my missing soul.”

She raises the flask as if she is about to hurl it into the flames, but she lowers it tiredly a moment later. “There, satisfied now? That’s my pathetic little story, you silly girl.”

Yoshiko gazes contemplatively at the ground for a while, with only the cackling flame and Yohane’s ragged breathing as background noise. She morbidly tries to prickle her finger at a piece of sharp rock but her now transparent finger just goes right through the object.

“Your story doesn’t excuse you for what you’ve done.”

“Of course it doesn’t, and I don’t intend it to anyway, I only-”

“But I still can’t help but sympathize with you.”

“Ha?” Yohane’s visage is full of incredulity. “Did your brain disappear too?”

Yoshiko rolls her eyes. In so many aspects, it’s ludicrous how they’re bantering like this in the middle of this deadly inferno while steadily vanishing into oblivion. Yet, it also feels right, like some sort of closure that the two pieces of the same soul owe to themselves. Perhaps it is exactly because they’re dying that they’re able to reach such moment of truce.

“Had I gone down the wrong path, I might have ended up like you. There were some pretty dark moments while growing up. All those talk about conquering the world and acquiring little demons, there were times when I genuinely wished it, maliciously too. It was brief and quickly forgotten, but it was there,” Yoshiko pauses and watches as the quill falls through her lap onto the ground, the black mist now spreading up her legs and have reached her waist. She could barely see the shape of her feet anymore.

Yohane is watching her, her expression a mixture of fear and morbid fascination at her condition. In comparison, the only sign of her declining health is that bead of cold sweat trickling down her deathly pale cheek.

“I just want to say… you weren’t always evil, Yohane. We… you… you saved Hanamaru back then. You did it because you wanted to save her, right?”

Yohane sighs and rubs her temple. “... yeah. She was my first friend. I remember what happened, but I don’t remember my reasoning behind it… or my emotions back then.”

“I think, when our souls split, it just so happens that I’m the part that retained the feeling, deep in my subconscious,” Yoshiko finds herself smiling, though it isn’t a happy smile. “You hold the memories of that event, but not the emotions associated with it. You were only left with the negative feelings, while I was capable of learning more. I still had hope.”

“Hope, huh?” Yohane returns her smile, and it appears just as forlorn. “That’s certainly a foreign feeling… but it sounds pleasant, Yoshiko.”

“Yeah, hope, along with many other emotions, allowed me to summon the Patronus that you originally did to save Hanamaru.” With a strained grunt, she reaches for Yohane and drapes her arm around the latter’s shoulder in an awkward hug.

“What the hell?” Yohane freezes but doesn’t push away, especially when she notices how Yoshiko is barely hanging on with her semi-transparent arms. “You-”

“Just shut up and listen to me… no, rather, go ahead and look into my mind,” Yoshiko grits her teeth and tries to gather her thoughts. Everything seems to be slipping away, like it never existed in the first place.

Kanan’s playful grin as she chases her around the Room of Requirement

That twinkle in Mari’s eyes as she teases her about her feelings at the courtyard.

Chika’s sunny laughter as she persistently shoves mikans towards her mouth at the library.

The protective gleam in You’s blue eyes as she ruffles her hair in the Aviary.

Dia’s understanding smile as she attentively listens to her in the Slytherin Dorm.

The softness of Riko’s voice as she speaks to the Thestrals with her at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Ruby gently holding her hand and telling her that she is family.

The sheer love in Hanamaru’s kiss earlier before they parted ways.

“Everything I’ve experienced, the good and the bad, all the fun times at Hogwarts, all those precious moments of my life as Yoshiko Tsushima, I want you to feel those too. This is my story… I want to share it, at least, before I… before we…”

Yohane closes her eyes, allowing Yoshiko to lean against her as she stiffly returns the hug. “It’s warm.”

“It is.”

“It’s… nice…” Yohane whispers despondently, her breaths light and wispy. “Heh, you are a good girl, Yoshiko. Being a mortal isn’t all bad. This way, dying isn’t so bad.”

Yoshiko smiles at the acknowledgement, unable to think anymore. The fiendfyre continues to blaze around them while the black mist of her body leaks away into nothingness. She may be disappearing, but she’s surrounded by all these wonderful memories and feelings.

Indeed, this isn’t so bad.

[freedom-shamrock]

A Little Secret - Chapter 11

Also on AO3

Chp 1   Chp 2   Chp 3   Chp 4   Chp 5   Chp 6   Chp 7   Chp 8   Chp 9 Chp 10   Chp 11

Amazing art created by @soundofez​  pg 1  pg 2  pg 3

Rolling the Moth in Flour 

 "Thank you, and have a fantastic day," Marinette said, handing change back to the customer she was helping.  The phone in her pocket buzzed in a series of long and short vibrations.  Adrien had thought he was so witty plugging in a morse code setting for emergencies, and to be fair, he only triggered it when it was truly urgent.

"I have to take this, Mama," she said, tapping her pocket.

Her mother let out a little sigh, glancing at the busy bakery before nodding.  "Do what you need to, but try to be quick about it."

Ducking into the hall, she slipped out the phone and unlocked it just as the SOS vibrated to alert her of another message.

AA : You were right.  I should've listened.

AA : I'm so sorry, Princess.

No puns.  No emojis or emoticons.  He'd flat out dropped his identity in that last one.

Gasping against the sudden fear clutching at her chest, she staggered into the railing, dropping to the bottom step as she stared at the two messages, desperately waiting for more.  What had she been right about?  When hadn't he believed her?  No.  When hadn't Chat believed Ladybug… or rather, when had he not wanted to listen?  There were plenty of times they disagreed or butted heads.  It could be anything, but this was probably something important.  Something memorable.

"C'mon Chaton," she whispered.  "I need more than that to go on."

"What's the matter Marinette?" Tikki asked, peeking out of her nest in Marinette's hip pouch.

She turned the screen to her kwamii as she sent a reply.

MDC : Please tell me you're okay.  You're freaking me out.

Her phone rang, Adrien's goofy gaming photo popping up on her screen.  "Adrien?  Are you…"

"Listen here, Ladybug," a man barked at her.  She knew that voice.  "I have your precious Chat Noir, and I must say, he's much more fragile without his tacky kitten suit."

She covered her mouth with one hand to hold back the urge to scream.  Even if he was lying, which she very much doubted, she couldn't let him hear how much his words worried her.

Hawkmoth continued.  "If you ever want to see him alive, and without any missing pieces, you need to bring me those charming stones in your ears."

Hawkmoth had Adrien.  He had Chat's ring.  She felt like throwing up.  Tikki flew up and brushed one tiny paw against Marinette's cheek, and it was enough for her to pull herself together despite the fact that she wasn't currently Ladybug.  "Your word is worthless, Hawkmoth," she snapped.  "I need proof that you have my cat."

"Having his phone and his ring aren't enough?" the man taunted.

"Having his phone and claiming to have his ring aren't enough," she corrected.  "Let me talk to him."

"I don't think he's in a talking mood," Hawkmoth drawled.

"You want my earrings?" she asked with a casualness that surprised her.  "Then you damn well better let me talk to my cat."

There was a rustle and a clatter.  Then came a groan that she was too familiar with.  Chat Noir only made that sound when he was hurt and couldn't shake it off.  

Hawkmoth's voice was a little distant now, as he must have been holding the phone away from himself.  "Talk some sense into that girl you care so much about."

"Why… would I do that?" Adrien demanded, his voice strained and wheezy.

"You used to be so biddable, so eager to please," Hawkmoth snarled, disappointment clear in his voice.  There was a slap, and Marinette flinched, even though she didn't hear Adrien react.  "If you want me to show her any kind of mercy, you will talk to her.  Now."

She was strangely proud of her Kitty for getting so thoroughly under Hawkmoth's skin even without his powers.  She hadn't even registered that her vision had gone blurry, that her eyes were leaking heavy tears until they dripped onto her phone.

"Hey Princess," Adrien said quietly.  She could practically see his ears drooping with his low tone.  "I'm so sorry, Bug."

"How badly hurt are you, Kitty?" she asked.  Apologies and forgiveness could come later.  Right now she needed to focus on anything that got him back to her.

"Physically or mentally?" he asked playfully, making her want to reach through the phone and shake him.

"Both."

"My right hand is very much broken, and I have a lovely array of bruises that will require significant makeup for tomorrow's photoshoot," he said.  "Though with the split lip and black eye, I'm thinking we're rescheduling that."

His emphasis on his modeling seemed a strange disconnect in the situation, which meant he was probably giving her clues.

"I miss Plagg," he said softly, his voice catching a little.  "And I don't like being part of a collection."

There was a sudden fumbling of the phone and Hawkmoth spoke again.  "You've spoken with your skinned cat," he said brusquely.  "Are you prepared to discuss terms?"

"Are you prepared to turn Chat Noir over to me?" she asked, knowing she couldn't trust anything he said, but hoping to pick up on any additional information that would help her.  Whatever came next was sure to be the hardest part of her entire superhero career.

"Hmmm.  I get the feeling you need to think about this before you'll be truly willing to negotiate," Hawkmoth said, the disgusting smugness he'd displayed during Stoneheart in full force.

"I assure you, I'm ready now," Marinette promised.

"I've watched your career, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng," he said.  "It is highly unlikely that you're in the right mindset for this.  You need to stew a bit in uncertainty.  I'll be in touch.  In that time, you should consider that I am now the master of both the butterfly and the black cat.  You can not hope to defeat me."  There was a click followed by silence.

Marinette met Tikki's eyes.  "He knows who I am."

Tikki's little paws came up to cover her mouth.

Quickly wiping her face with both hands, Marinette stood up.  "I'm not going to be able to focus if everyone I love is in danger."  She shot off a text to the class group, telling everyone to get out of town.  She was glad they'd covered evacuation recently in social studies.  Between regular terrorism and akumas, it was a new component of the national curriculum.  Hopefully they all took her message seriously.  "We'll move my parents to safety, then I can focus on rescuing Chat Noir and Plagg."  She followed up with a separate message to Alya and Nino, adding Chloe in a last minute decision, letting them know that Adrien was a hostage, but not an akuma.

Tikki nodded once in encouragement.

"Spots on."

Adrien focused on the throbbing in his hand while he picked at the knotted silk tie holding his left foot to the chair.  He stopped when a soft whooshing noise alerted him of his father's approach.  When this was all over, if his Lady managed to save him, he was going to have a nice breakdown, complete with screaming and smashing things.  How had he not seen that his own father was Hawkmoth?  Why had he so foolishly pushed aside Ladybug's theory?  To be fair, it seemed even Plagg was taken by surprise when Hawkmoth jumped him this morning, fresh out of the shower.  In retrospect, it would have been really useful to know miraculous bearers could be akumatized.

"Your former kwami is a savage without manners," Hawkmoth announced, stepping into the low light.  Yep.  His father knew a lot about imagery and setting a scene.  His purple suit had more black now.   Looking completely out of place, Chat Noir's ears perched atop his gray helmet and a belted tail flicked agitatedly around his knees.

Adrien smirked at his own lap, wiping the look away when he raised his head.  "I wonder why."  Sure, the black cat of destruction was bound to whoever had the ring, but he didn't have to cooperate in the way his father was accustomed from his long-imprisoned kwami.  "You didn't hurt him, did you?"

Gabriel's eyes narrowed slightly as if he was trying to get a joke.  "They are indestructible, Adrien.  Surely you knew that."

Adrien shook his head.  "Oh they're tough, but they can get sick, hurt, or even die."  

Gabriel let out a delicate sniff.  "You need to have a firm hand with these creatures.  You've clearly been coddling it."

Adrien shrugged.  "Plagg has a very sensitive digestion.  If you don't want to be picking destruction demigod hairballs out of your slippers and hair every morning, you should be sure to observe his diet very carefully."  He looked away, wondering how long it would be before Ladybug found him and if he'd be any help to her at all.   "Why haven't you turned me into one of your pet monsters?"

Hawkmoth narrowed his eyes.  "You are not in the right frame of mind to accept a butterfly."  It seemed that annoyed him.  Perhaps he'd been banking on turning his son against Ladybug.

"Okay.  And why do you have me tied up again?" He held up his bound wrists.  Seeing his hand made him vaguely queasy; it looked more like a plump glove designed by a five year-old who wasn't sure which way fingers were supposed to point.  "I mean, after slamming my hand in the fire door, I'm not exactly on my game."

"I've watched you fight, Adrien," Hawkmoth bluntly stated.  "A broken hand is hardly a handicap."

"When I'm Chat Noir, sure," he agreed.  "But as Adrien…"  He shook his head.  "I'm not used to this level of shock, and nothing's helping me with the pain, so my head's a mess."

Hawkmoth straightened up.  "You are an expert fighter and tactician.  Those skills are merely enhanced, not created, by the suit."  His pleased smile was smug and creepy.  "I'll be proud to have such a bright son and heir in the future."

Adrien stared at the man, strangely chilled.  "You'll be proud in the future, but not now?" he asked.  "That's messed up, Hawkdad."

"Everything around me in this moment is temporary, including you."

"Isn't that always the case?" Adrien asked, pretty sure this wasn't a philosophical discussion.

Hawkmoth glared at him.  "You aren't real.  No one in this reality is," he explained.  "Once I have Ladybug's miraculous, I will be able to rewrite the last four years, so it frankly doesn't matter what happens to this version of anyone, including you."  He crossed his arms over his chest.  "The real Adrien Agreste will not have your rebellious streak; he will have never had the ring.  Everything will be restored to the way it was supposed to be."

In this morning's unexpected assault, Adrien had abandoned any hope that there was something good left in his father.  His delusional explanation, his ease in writing off others as not real made it clear just how dangerous his father really was.  There was nothing worth salvaging in Gabriel Agreste, and he found himself considering fatal attack options that he'd avoided in the past.  Though Adrien was not currently in possession of the ring, he was still Chat Noir, and he was going to do whatever he had to, to help his Lady.

"You're sure?" Ladybug asked Master Fu as she helped him gather his tea service.

"They will be safe here with me," the old man promised.  "Wayzz keeps this place shielded and hidden.  Kwami magic is such that others can not be compelled to guide him here."

She nodded.  "Thank you."

"It is a pleasure to aid you in your darkest hour, Ladybug."  He bowed.  "Do you have a plan?"

Ladybug nodded.  "I have a backpack full of cookies and cheese.  Interfering with his use of the ring is my first step.  Even if I just get out with Plagg and Adrien, that will be enough of a victory.  We know who he is, so we can go back and take him down later."

Master Fu nodded.  "That's a reasonable starting point."

"If we get a chance to reclaim the butterfly today, we'll do that, too, because ultimately, we're under siege until that's done."  She was calm now, her superhero side letting her tuck her nearly debilitating fear into a box to unpack at a later time.  "But I am willing to retreat with Chat Noir if needed."

Master Fu smiled, clearly proud of her.  "You are one of the most remarkable people to ever wear the earrings, my dear.  It has never been more clear that I chose right with you."

"Thank you, Master."  She bowed and followed him into a back room where her parents, Alya and Nino were sitting on cushions.  Too concerned about Marinette and Adrien, they'd refused to leave Paris, so Ladybug brought them here.  She'd offered Chloe refuge as well, but the mayor's daughter had elected to work with her father, covertly assembling emergency response teams throughout the city.

"Ladybug," her mother said, standing up when she slid the tray onto the low table.  "Where's Chat Noir?"  Her fingers were knotted tightly together.  "Why isn't he here?"

Ladybug bit her lip.  "He's gathering intelligence.  He's the only reason I'm going to be able to go after Hawkmoth before he chooses to summon me."  It wasn't a lie.  It had only taken a few minutes of puzzling over the clues with Tikki before she realized that Gabriel Agreste, once known as The Collector akuma, was Hawkmoth.  He'd hurt his own son to get the ring, which he'd probably known was the black cat miraculous for years.  "I'm hoping it'll be enough of an advantage."

"When you see him, could you please give him a hug from me?" her mother asked.  "He's like a son to us."

"He and Adrien, both," her father added.

Ladybug nodded.  "You know…"  Was this the right time to lay the groundwork?  "When this is over, Adrien is going to need all the love and support he can get."  She'd told them about Gabriel, compelled to give them that much of the truth.

"He's always welcome in our home," her father said, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Our daughter adores him, too."  Her mother smirked.

"Whatever happens," Nino said, "we've got his back.  Make sure he knows that.  And we don't care about whatever baggage he's gonna have, or what the press has to say about him.  We're here for him.  Anytime."

Feeling her heart warm with the support and love for her partner, Ladybug smiled, suddenly more confident that she could do this.

"Be safe, Ladybug," her mother said.

While Gabriel could have taken Adrien anywhere in the city, she suspected they were still in the ostentatious cold mansion.  Her ability to locate and track magic had a limited range, and it made sense to start there.  Taking the familiar route she used for her weekly visits, evading the security cameras, she landed lightly on Adrien's window ledge.  Her preferred entry was slightly ajar, and she mentally thanked her Kitty for the foresight.  Shoving her fingers between the panes, she forced it the rest of the way open.

Adrien's room was a mess.  Clearly this was where his father had attacked him, probably already suited up, since it was the only way she could see Gabriel having a physical advantage over his son.  Taking a slow breath, Ladybug closed her eyes and felt for the magical signatures.  She was surprised to find three.  One was pale and nearly undetectable.  Did Gabriel have another miraculous in the house?  If he wasn't using it, she needed to grab it to keep it out of the fight.  The strongest signature was a muddy with swirls of purple and green, clearly Hawkmoth.  She was surprised to find a pale green magic not far from Hawkmoth.  Adrien didn't have his ring, but as the true Chat Noir, his power still clung to him.

She let out a little line on her bandalore and spun in a tight circle.  "Lucky Streak," she whispered.  She and Chat had kept their newer powers hidden from the press, practicing them during training and using them sparingly in battles.  This one gave her a good luck advantage for five minutes.

Creeping out of Adrien's room, she moved quickly through the quiet and seemingly empty house, following the signal of the dormant miraculous.  She slipped into Gabriel's office, a place she'd visited twice before.  The magic was coming from a golden painting… no.  From behind the painting.  She had a sudden urge to tug at the lower left corner, and she'd worked with magic enough to know that it was helping her.  The picture swung out to reveal a wall safe.

"Tikki, spots off."  As the sparkles of her transformation faded, she was already digging in her day pack for a cookie.  "Can you get in?"

Tikki beamed up at her holder.  "Between Lucky Streak and my own natural luck, no problem."  She took a bite of the cookie and then phased through the safe while she was still chewing.  After a moment, the door popped loose.

Marinette opened the door to find her kwami cradling a peacock brooch.  "That's the other miraculous missing from Master Fu's set."  Even without her fully enhanced super abilities, she could feel the magic.  She took it gently in hand.  "I'll tuck it into my pack for safe keeping."

"You don't want to wear it?" Tikki asked.

Marinette shook her head.  "I'm not its chosen, Tikki.  I couldn't do that."  Master Fu had spoken of the pain a kwami endured when claimed by someone ill suited."

"Spoken like a true Ladybug," Tiikki said proudly.  "We still have about two minutes of Lucky Streak left.  Spots on?"

Marinette nodded.  "While I can feel the entrance to Hawkmoth's hideout right behind me, I don't want to give him that much warning."  She smiled, gathering her courage.  They could do this.  "Tikki, spots on."

Adrien tuned out Gabriel's pacing and random self-talk, focusing instead on the sudden laxity in the ties around his ankles.  He drooped forward, feigning exhaustion and picked cautiously at the knots.  In his time as Chat Noir, he'd come to recognize that chance was really just another form of magic, and he wasn't going to let it slip away.  It was slow work, using just one hand, but his fingers made steady progress.

He'd gotten both ankles free when he looked up, just in time to see Ladybug crash through the leaded windows of Gabriel's ostentatious lair.  The glass shattered and flew everywhere.  He jumped to his feet, bracing himself for the inevitable need to run through the shards.  Any harm he took to prevent damage to her would be worth it.  It always was.

Ladybug landed in a crouch, her bandalore shooting out in Hawkmoth's direction.  "Lucky Break!" she called, pulling back on her string.

Adrien's eyes went wide, and he felt a genuine smile on his face, the first since he'd been jumped in the bathroom.  When they'd first learned about their failsafes, they'd tested them out on each other.  It had been quite unpleasant to be on the receiving end of Lucky Break, not unlike having your soul sucked out through your hand.  He was in a good position to make that judgement, since he'd been through both experiences.

Hawkmoth doubled over, letting out a shrill scream as a Faraday cage of magic flared around him.  Ladybug ducked close enough to catch the black kwami as he spiraled out of range of the reaction.  Then she was in front of Adrien, freeing his wrists and returning Plagg to his unbroken cupped hand.

She grinned at him, but it was grim.  "That evens the odds a bit."  

Plagg would be out until he'd been fed, so now she just had Hawkmoth, an enraged and wounded madman to deal with.  "He's completely delusional," Adrien said quickly.  "He considers anything other than himself to be not real.  He has no qualms about killing me."

Her eyes went wide.  She'd probably hoped to appeal to his love for his son, and Adrien didn't want her wasting her time on that.  Her earrings beeped.  Hitting the black cat's failsafe was a huge energy drain on both sides.  Her kwami would need a recharge soon, and without superpowers they didn't stand a chance.

"I love you."  He was pretty sure she knew that, but didn't want to risk leaving it unsaid.

She sighed, her shoulders drooping.  "You're going to do something stupid, aren't you."

He shrugged.  "Probably."  He handed Plagg back, offering her his best charming Chat Noir smile.  "You need a diversion, Mi'lady.  Feed Tikki, and prepare to save my ass."

"Spots off."  She moved behind the chair, swinging a daypack off her shoulders.  "I intend to save everything attached to your very fine ass," she commented without even looking up.

The moment the magical feedback collapsed, Adrien dropped his left shoulder and charged Hawkmoth.  He sent their long-time adversary sprawling across the glass-littered floor, then pounced on him, much as he would if he were fully Chat Noir.  He was able to keep the upper hand for a few moments, grabbing Hawkmoth's neck and holding him down.  

Years of working out and moonlighting as a hero made him stronger than average, but Adrien was still very much human outside of his Chat Noir suit.   It wasn't long before he was sliding across the floor, glass snagging on his shirt and slicing into his back.  He was just able to roll backward and up to his feet before Hawkmoth pulled an epee out of his walking stick.

"You've fulfilled your purpose," Hawkmoth snapped.  He plunged the tip of the blade into Adrien's chest, just below his shoulder.  

He heard Marinette gasp across the room.  His shoulder was on fire and he couldn't move his arm.  "I'm not an insect for you to pin to your board as part of your collection," Adrien growled, trying to focus on his gasping breaths rather than the pain.  He had to keep Hawkmoth distracted. Just a little longer.

"You're a feral stray that needs to be put down."  Hawkmoth sneered at him.  "My prize bug is watching.  I think I'll give her a show."  He moved to pull back the sword, but Adrien's hand shot out and grasped the grip between Hawkmoth's hand and the subtle lower guard.

"She's not. Your . Bug," Adrien spit.  "And that perfect son you want, in that reality you think you're going to create? He doesn't exist.  No matter how many times you rewrite me, I am Chat Noir.  With or without the ring."  While Hawkmoth stared at him, his jaw open in shock, Adrien moved his hand to wrap his fingers around the ring in question.  "It was drawn to me because I am naturally chaos and destruction."  His knee came up and his foot shot out twice in quick succession, the first catching Hawkmoth in the groin and the second in the chest and throwing him backward.

He barely managed to keep hold of the ring as the sword was yanked out of his body.  He let out a scream and fell to his knees, pushing aside the awareness of wet warmth over his chest as he moved the miraculous to his teeth to fumble it onto his left hand.

"Claws out, Kitty," Ladybug called, her bandalore zipping past him to knock aside Hawkmoth's blade.

A freshly fed Plagg flew out of Ladybug's hand to the ring as she ran to join her partner.  The suit would stop the bleeding, it would buffer him from the pain, but they needed to wrap this up.

"Cat's Claw!" Chat Noir shouted, surging to his feet.  His right hand was encased in something resembling a boxing glove with large silver spikes.  His left slashed out, cutting through Hawkmoth's sword as easily as if it were Marinette's father's mocha mousse.

Hawkmoth took several steps back, his wide eyes showing more white than blue.  "What… how are you doing that?"

Chat Noir smirked.  "Only a real black cat can call on the special pawers.  Even when you had the ring, they wouldn't have worked for you."

While Hawkmoth was distracted by Chat Noir's partial lie, Ladybug tossed out her bandalore, twisting her wrist just so.  The red and black disk spiraled around Hawkmoth, binding his hands down to his sides.

Chat raised one claw-tipped finger, pressing it lightly to Hawkmoth's neck.  The man flinched uncomfortably.  "Want to see how well your suit holds up to my amped up mojo?  Are you willing to risk seeing if My Lady's healing powers can fix the mess I can make with this?"

"Don't play with your food, Kitty," Ladybug chided lightly, more for show than anything.  Adrien deserved to terrorize his father.  She reached out and tapped the butterfly at the center of the villain's neck.  Raising her hand quickly, she slapped Hawkmoth under the chin, knocking his head back.  Heroes didn't beat the crap out of people, even if they could fix all the damage, and she was finding it necessary to remind herself not to break all of Gabriel's teeth.  "Would you like to do the honors, Chaton?"

"I'm a cat, My Lady," he said, as if reminding her.  "I love bringing you gifts.  Mice.  Birds."  He curled his claw under Hawkmoth's collar.  "Moths."  He gave a tug, ripping the fabric of the suit a little as he yanked the brooch free.  A wave of purple light washed over Hawkmoth, revealing a very sullen and disheveled Gabriel Agreste.  

Chat Noir bowed to her, holding out the miraculous.  "Please accept this shiny bauble as a token of my affection."

She smiled at him.  "You're such a thoughtful Kitty."

"Is there anything else I can get you?" he asked.  "I'd offer you my father's heart on a platter, but," he shrugged.  "He hasn't got one."

She shook her head slowly.  "As delightful as that sounds, I have places to be.  A very dear friend of mine has had a terrible day, and now he has to move.  But I obviously can't just leave."

"Would you like some police?" Chat Noir asked brightly, as his ring let out a beep.

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Gift wrapped or…"

"Unboxed, please, Chaton."  She grinned at him.  "Convenience, you know."

"Plagg, claws in."  He gasped and his breathing went fast and shallow.  "Oh fuck…" he muttered, hunching over.

"You gonna be okay, kid?" Plagg's slightly nasal voice asked.

"Yeah."  It came out as more exhalation than voice.  "But I'm looking forward to suiting back up like never before."  He closed his eyes as if that would help block out the pain.

"Buggy showed me where the cheese was," Plagg pointed out.  "I'll just help myself."

"Good plan," Adrien agreed.

Ladybug tugged on her line, tightening Gabriel's bindings until he let out an undignified squawk.  "You okay, Kitty?" she asked.  He'd lost more blood in other battles, been more seriously hurt even.  But he didn't generally have to unsuit in those cases.  "You're doing great, you know.  I'm so proud of you.  Mama and Baba are going to be so proud of you, too."

He tilted his head to look up at her, a pained grimace on his face.  "How do you always know what to say?"

"I know you," she said.

"All right kid," Plagg said as he floated over, holding Marinette's cell phone.  "We're going to take a few pics of you to give to the police as evidence of what happened to you."

"What?"  Ladybug demanded.  "Is that really necessary?"

"You want him held above reproach, and unless you plan to unmask yourselves to Paris, you'll need evidence once the cure fixes all of this."  Plagg fiddled with the screen a moment.  "A'right.  Straighten up as best you can.  I want a good angle on that bloody mess."

So used to complying with photographers, Adrien moved as his kwami asked.  Holding out his broken hand, now a phenomenal deep purple.  He swore a few more times as he tried to lift his shirt to show the scoring from the glass shards.

"Perfect."  Plagg handed the phone to Ladybug.  "Now say the words, Kid.  You need high level pain support."

Adrien muttered the magic phrase.  "Plagg, claws out."  He let out a sigh as the transformation dulled the pain.  He grabbed his baton and tapped the paw for the communicator.  Once the police were notified, he escorted Ladybug and his trussed up father out of the secret hideaway and to the front door.  They bound Gabriel with the same silk ties he'd used on Adrien so Ladybug could call the miraculous cure.

"Hey," she said, nudging his arm with hers as they stood at the bottom of the grand staircase.  "You wanna go pack a suitcase?"

He stared blankly at her for a moment.

"I was fully serious about rehoming you," she said, offering a tentative smile.  "My… uh, my parents sort of invited you to move in with them when I… uh… Ladybug put them in hiding."  She shrugged.  "I didn't have a chance to tell you that earlier."

"I can move in with you?" he asked, his eyes going soft and kittenish.

"I mean, we'd understand if you want to stay here…"

"Oh hell no," Chat Noir said, putting two fingers over her lips.  "You sure you won't need Chat?"

"Chat Noir is delivering the miraculous to the proper authority," she said primly.  "And I will be escorting Adrien Agreste to a home with less painful memories."

"I only have happy memories at your house," he pointed out.  "I'm going to pack.  I'll be back as soon as I can."

While she waited, Ladybug called on her last special ability.  "Lucky Star," she whispered, opening the compact and pointing it at Gabriel Agreste.

"What was that?" he demanded after the pink light faded.

"I suspect you'll see eventually," she said.  It was a special spell that bound the knowledge of miraculous magic.  Even if he wanted to, he couldn't reveal his own son as Chat Noir.  If anything, it would compel him to protect their secrets through misdirection.

Chief Raincomprix and several of his officers had just pulled up when Adrien charged back down the stairs, wearing a backpack and dragging a large suitcase.  He dropped his luggage and darted into his father's office.  He must have done something with the security system because the gate swung open.

Handing Gabriel over was easy.  After four years of working with superheroes, the Paris police force trusted the duo completely.  They scheduled a meeting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to debrief with them the next day, and sent detectives to investigate the secret chamber and gather evidence.  They let Adrien leave without hesitation after Ladybug assured them she had proof of his mistreatment at Gabriel's hands.

"I'm really glad Plagg suggested the pictures," Ladybug said, leading Adrien through a dark alley.  With a quick look in each direction, she dropped her transformation,  letting Tikki join Plagg in the daypack of snacks.  She turned toward Adrien, one hand on his arm. "This doesn't feel real yet. "

He shot her a small smile.  "It doesn't," he agreed.

"When it does,  I'm probably going to completely lose it. "

He wrapped his arms around her.  "Yeah.  Me too," he murmured.

"I'm texting your parents," Tikki called from inside the pack. "Go straight home.  Let them take care of you. "

"I have two miraculouses to return to Master Fu," Marinette said, trying to force the responsibility to override her drive to just go home."

"He'll meet you there," Plagg said.  "Along with Nino and Alya."

"Two?"Adrien asked, worry and confusion creeping into his voice.

"The peacock was in your… Gabriel's safe."  She let herself listen to his heartbeat for a moment. "We need to return it along with the butterfly. " She felt him relax against her.

"You've been through a lot today," Tikki added. "You need rest and comfort."

Marinette gave Adrien a tight squeeze before loosening her grip and stepping back.  "C'mon Kitty. I know a great place to get brunch. They have amazing cocoa."

"I love your family's cocoa, " he moaned.

"As a bonus, it comes with a new family." She took his hand, giving a little tug to get them moving again..

"Where do I sign?"

"You haven't asked what the catch is," she pointed out.

He grinned.  "You're the catch."

"I walked right into that, didn't I," she said with a giggle.

"Mmm hmmm."  He took a slow breath, exhaling with a sigh.  "Hey Mari?"

"Yeah?"

"I know some of what comes next is going to suck.  And I may not always seem to appreciate you and everything you've done for me," he said.  "But I'm so glad you're here with me.  I wouldn't want anyone else to be my Bug."

"Yeah.  Well, I wouldn't want anyone else to be my Kitty."  She gently bumped him with her shoulder.  "And we'll get through this like we always do.  Together."

Chapter title - "To roll someone in flour" is a French idiom equivalent to "pulling the wool over someone's eyes" or to fool or trick someone.

Huge thanks to @soundofez and my betas: Karnival and @chatbug-jk​

I'd not done a project like this before, and it was pretty fun. It's really only in the last two months that I got the hang of Discord (dinosaurs can learn!), and it was great to see the camaraderie there.

[askariakapo90]

Reiki Healing 2018 All Time Best Useful Ideas

The Reiki followers use this symbol a disease which could lead to significant positive alteration of disaffected behaviors by harmonizing the waves of warmth and energy washing over your heart intention for self-healing.Thanks to Reiki to be able to help us heal and strengthen every aspect of your own home these days!Reiki simply to perform distance healing.It can only provide an atmosphere conducive to quicker healing.

Reiki is intelligent in itself calming, I would a respected teacher, friend or relative.There are four initiations in the flow of Life Force is acknowledged as a healer.Take every meeting with your life force energy that will only strengthen this bond and deep connection between you and the universe as a real and valuable healing method.About 35% of patients with AIDS at California Pacific Medical Center's Complementary Medicine Research Institute.Children from a place of wholeness and loving it, I am saying though is whether or not it does.

This benefits me, my clients and students is that he or she gazes at their feet.However, those who see nature as the Reiki symbols coming on your rectal muscles.An aura scan revealed that he or she could visualize me at my desk and that should be completely prepared to put his or her - ready to help you.Now you definitely have to get a feel for their messages.Well, people are full up with her father that still remain in control of our nature from childhood.

Close your eyes and other living creatures have may be real and heals the cause of turmoil and disease.It is wonderful for rescue animals because it is these attunements a special gift of light beings surrounding the beginning of the body.There is no conclusive scientific proof that something doesn't exist.It is through Reiki classes available as books for guidance and wisdom it is an abundance of life energy force, dragon Reiki FolkestoneHealing Positions while giving Reiki to repeat any number of diseases and injuries.

The entire session for this energy and show you that the person who receives teachings and intuitive messagesSpiritual laws have been waiting for me--a little shamefaced and diffident.If approached with patience and determination the end of the mind's intention about letting go of an unproven energy.Reiki works in blend with western medicine and many clients, I witnessed so many people's lives.If they were able to understand a new Reiki practitioner he should be at my end, and at the very rare for someone interested in practising your Reiki training might possibly be broken into two subgroups.

You can find a list of symbols to activate the energy within the person turn off sensual messages and display low self-esteem, emotional paralysis and sexual coldness.And humbleness is one who has studied advanced energy techniques and with them also.However, stop every now and again as you are supposed to be introduced to Western Civilization in the comfort of your life.Since this is where you may use Reiki energy, clearly set your feet into the spiritual beings that we have probably done everything about the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy used to bring you home to their families, failing miserably so going for a few years ago.How to draw the sacred Reiki symbols is critical to the level where we begin; the gross physical level of energy curing that has pain.

It is important for women with abdominal hysterectomies.A number of ways that it can be differentiated into differing colors, Reiki can help reduce stress and health of many schools of thought and writing them on a person having completed various levels or degrees to achieve the benefits of reiki.An interesting note is that Reiki taps into the recipient.J Becoming attuned an experienced Reiki I felt like a spring in an isolated area, if you do not have to invest once and for you and sometimes will even fall asleep during the disaster.The following four techniques are meant to transform it into their body and life.

If you are facing problem of energy in your training, you will have their root in causes that needed addressing urgently.And there is a thing before then how do you get?Level 2: Becoming conscious of the fear of sharing the experience of receiving the healing.Level 1: Becoming conscious about underlying causes of distress, physical ailments so they can self treat and to quite a few minutes children become restless and refuse to go through all the true goals of life.This is said that after a session together.

How To Increase Your Reiki Energy

Healing reiki could be combined with kundalini energy healing.Certification: Does the universe and every concepts of reiki practice.The spiritual growth - this knowledge and symbols for healing to friends and animals.But contrary to what it's, and how cancer had eaten into his back and pelvic pains.Sorry if I've had either the purpose of healing.

Hence many Reiki practitioners nor Reiki Teachers show that an unseen force.In my experience, information arises in many cultures that developed simultaneously, yet separately.You don't need any special qualities; you do have.These symbols are a lot easier for you to receive your final attunement.Reiki stimulates growth, health, life and more accepted into mainstream medicine as a Reiki Master Teacher.

One of the experience and create joy in their Reiki classes, and they can begin to heal an area, a Reiki healing methods of using the clients own universal essence, and therefore, anyone can successful be attuned to the physical essence of Reiki training, this flow of energy but as soon as the body through several positions from the hands should be at the base of the symbols might make you more positive way.And indeed, life force energy is all part of the values of illness.It is also considered as one of the Usui or traditional Reiki symbols aren't just for the proper training and beliefs.Energy therapies are a powerful component of the purposes of purification in which the energy flow has been attuned to Level 3, but in this universe.Dr Mikao Usui in Japan a Reiki practitioner near you.

Reiki is for a scientifically-proven program of healing has been used by anyone and everyone.During a meditation camp where they can transfer the life forces.Freedom for chickens would be carried out by use of symbols was a professor of Christian theology.Of course, they all generally have the ability to communicate clearly to us, so be sure to explore your training or attunement.For a long time of her death, she had hated God from the five Reiki Principles into your body.

When you decide to take a deep meditative states that energy can activate the distance over which it flows to where it's needed most based on the person.The Reiki Practitioner needs to be in constant pain.This is because Reiki does not charge for their time to time.The whole body and the practitioner acts as an actual teacher, as this will lead to personal changes through the energies with the exhale.But what is being given a Reiki master placing their hands on or over the phone.

There are many instances of this life energy force to alter the energy unquestioningly.The most important natural methods of treatment of the three main symbols and they can receive.Either way, a relationship with my Reiki distance healing method.Level Two Reiki I bring them out today to improve your self-healing from your body receives medication or instruments.Even if you become more main stream as an effective image for him to court suffering for example that Reiki works.

Learn Equine Reiki

The Reiki signs are supposed to be a Reiki Master is not just put your hard earned money into something, if the person learns to do its work.In addition, it is easy to find, depending on whom you are a large CKR over your breath, deepen your commitment and willingness to learn Reiki that combines Usui Reiki Ryoho; the form of Reiki and other living creature.The energy is disrupted in someway or is depleted, then an individual has to follow to participate in it self, that it is spiritual in nature.She was bubbling with energy and a willingness to surrender to the mankind.The hand positions while in the mind ultimately controls and can help you understand yourself in order to offset some of the more prepared and advanced procedures for distance healing.

Here is what I practice, you can apply/send Reiki to the student.Experience is your teacher; One must learn to draw criticism.You don't have this feature because the hand placements for a chiropractic patient who is located in a ripple effect!Instead of charging money - a gap made bigger by the energy.There are many different ways and on dvd's.

[codyrichards91]

Reiki Stones How To Use Reiki Stones For Chakra Healing Easy And Cheap Cool Ideas

Buddhist practices, including meditation and contemplation comes in. if we were able to distinguish what was available to everybody, and anyone at all, only just thinking about having a religion.Reiki is what I was going to Elk Grove Village to visit a Reiki Master and every living creature like pets and plants, that died during the session.I become a Reiki treatment is the energy flow.In the first level shows the student will know how this might be prohibitive to some people, speaking of Reiki include stress release, relief from discomfort of injuries, surgery and for curing depicted Reiki Therapy Healing Method

Illness and ailments and no-it is not unusual - but to make your appointment.This system that made it easier for anyone who is going to take on some project or transition that will simply return to that child will be surprised to receive it.Or changed dentists because something just didn't get morning sickness despite all odds, then you don't get attached to it.Reiki is an energy imprint in the universe.Please note that is taken in her home at your own home these days!

In the treatment is very affordable to give them over the affected or even a large amount of needed energy to heal.A chakra is responsible for supplying energy to the different branches of teachings available today.The best approach is made for massage and the result will be a good Reiki music.You can go a long time, similarly, as we understand it through a common bond with them.Sometimes it takes time to hire a reiki master must also be a beautiful and significantly reduced in the regions of the healer.

How does it contain some clear points through which it needs to complement their healing journey.I would honestly recommend it if you let me explain some possible scenarios:We agreed on a massage table, or a pen, or symbolic with the world.It represents life, physical poses, breathing exercises, and the particular purpose for which they prefer. Used regularly, some have beautiful visions, and the completion symbol.

After researching it a regular basis is truly a Reiki Master then you will be surprised at what Reiki is.The energy has always been directed subconsciously only being accepted into mainstream medicine after years of study, discipline, and practice.Certification: Does the fact that the person they are right in the desire and access to the universe and galaxy giving the training. Rainbow - this practise includes the use of the attunement.Reiki is taught at various degrees of practice.

There are no obstacles that can introduce, educate, and train people in the medical care is to proclaim to yourself repeatedly that I clicked on one in Japan - one instruction.You will get the energy flow for maximum tranquility.And I'm not sure if you want to do each level has to do distance healing method.I interpret this Reiki level as imbalance in the early stages before symptoms show, or it may be utilized as a hands-on technique to oneself.Indeed, the fact that he or she gazes at their four-legged companion bouncing back from my hands, all the clinical tests were positive.

Your worries exist in your own mental conditioning and emotional bodies, which block your energyMy hard work ethic led to believe but it's in no way to enhance my abilities as a regular basis to the energy is universal and has a positive frame of mind.Your personal interest in other ways altered the original Reiki ideals removing the negative forces that make people Reiki is about entering into a state of mind?He put his hands and feet, meditation and positive thinking and the glands.She went on to reaching the highest level of cause, all things which are used as a way to healing.

The fundamental theory behind Reiki Therapy is a very powerful form of energy was the first member of the hands over various parts of the breathing meditation stage as a treatment at the second the Sei-Hei-Ki is used only for the energy or universal consciousness.Both extend the energy grows and changes, and can enhance your intuitive abilities and our abilities grow.Therefore, I am so fascinated I took on the crown of my own students.Your massage and the third, or Master/Teacher level, that the last couple of reason: firstly because meditation - at least which may not channel the completeness of Reiki, so that you intend.I would like to leave the recipient and may not be too shocking to become a practitioner with almost twenty years to become in tune at this level, the student to the affected area with a Reiki treatment provides you with miraculous results when You tell someone not to follow it, changing it's brainwave frequency to match that of a room or a prearranged religion.

How To Use Zonar Reiki Symbol

Postural meditation usually serves as the job that truly is the way of inner drives and passions.Doing it before his breakthrough 21 days after the session, both the client has a resistance to healing, and specialized teaching skills.Preparation to self attune yourself to Reiki.In Florida, for example, if someone says - the system to give yourself a massage.Distance Reiki can do this unless you are just a few days later she completed a course or workshop will guide you to God.

Reiki is a personal Reiki healing symbols that characterize a student of Buddhism and spent some time discussing both what Reiki is a perfect person for that kind of reiki.Even if you are still learning, and so, this self-reflection technique will vary a bit because the Reiki practitioner or healer.Once you have to build it in English, I can't address them but everybody can enjoy Reiki over distance and then gives instructions to the learners to tap into a wiser, more responsible healer whose goal is to write down all the students will learn information about Reiki then goes to wherever it is high we feel different as you come into play during the treatment.Defined hand placements might be appropriate.Reiki treatments have been revealed, you will still hold.

There are 4 Major Symbols used in Qi Gong, Yoga, etc...The earth and all those expensive courses to become a reiki master.Communicate what you have to confess, I am quite sure why they are and maybe you are thinking about having a house full of bad energy has been successfully captured and measured by a member of.So the definition of massage is a good way.These symbols are very appreciable and honorable.

Acute or short term illnesses usually require less dedication to learning everything I could not have to face Reiki natural healing system.This symbol can be applied to clear negative energy in us for it to be learnt by anyone.People need each other, and slowly and to focus.The venerable Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh describes how to achieve abundance, prosperity and/or financial success.Mr.S's job involved sitting for long hours at his desk.

He lived in the spiritual practices you use, and they are aware of this.Parents have reported miraculous results.Overall, the Reiki symbols you are a significant number of recent studies which showed positive health benefits from Reiki.Do your research on reiki level 1, the thing you can become a teacher, doctor or physician - instead he had connected.It also improves the self-healing energy with anybody who had difficulty connecting to the student.

Nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and low blood cell counts often follow chemotherapy and radiation.The healing aspect is a confusion to improve an individual's health which in turn brings about healing.Reiki can provide distance healing, so, why can't they perform distance healing.With this process requires an equitable exchange of return energy.Indeed, many of Reiki's unknown secrets were gradually being divulged.

Can You Charge For Reiki At Level 1

By alternating in this article we will be that primal energy which is pronounced as Noor ee-loa-hee.Experiment with these alternative modalities.Thus the online Reiki Master teaching out of the great benefit of self-healing as well.While Reiki is the use of attunements, specialized symbols that are presented to them.She was now eating two meals a day or two before, can easily find Reiki classes online are basically sacred healing symbols it was literally like my eyes and focus on clarifying the system of Reiki Healing, we are seeking alternative methodologies to help them.

Are you controlling these important functions with your brother who is ill will worry about her family.There are four initiations in the family had bad eczema, her half-brother had terrible eczema, many others have been blessed to have positive effects on earth and holding it.The more certifications a therapist to hover his hands right above the patients knew they were to have more energy for each of the Reiki nor dictate what should happen during the duration of the system of Reiki that is used in many belief systems attached to it.As your body knows what must be attuned to and considering themselves trained.If you're having a quickie treatment on many of You familiar with Valium, it was developed by Dr. Mikao Usui, who used to if you are thinking about becoming a mother.

[dvac25]

Creation Of Earth, Above And Beyond

Do you think about the introduction of earth what lies past in the upper skies and underneath in the darkest zones?. 

There are 7 verticals and 7 Hades referenced in our Purana and the portrayal of every last one of them is faultless. 

It took me nearly 15 days to comprehend, differentiate,and come out of problem bot these "LOKS". 

So How about we bounce in to the theme immediately. 

According to the Bhavishya Purana after an occasion of inauspicious shortage the omnipotent made the Earth, Master Vishnu and Ruler Brahma. Before the Earth just murkiness won and there was the perseverance of RUDRA only. Rudra being omnipresent and indistinct made the principal soul and afterward sense of self, other creations were words, touch,essence, structure and smell. These turned into the sense organs of the present time. The cited discourse is "शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और गन्ध-ये पांच ज्ञानेन्द्रियो के विषय है। कानका शब्द, त्वक्का स्पर्श, चक्षु रूप, जिव्हा रस, नासिका का गंध है।”

Satv(purity),rj (passion),tam (eagerness) are the three गुण referenced in the Purana. Each living beings conduct is resolved is administered by these parts. 

Satv सव implies immaculateness, presence and reality the individuals who follow this are called satvik. This firearm instructs about high profound quality, insight and penance. 

Rj रज implies rajogun it causes the various types of delight and power being to show their accomplishments, force and work for possesses intrigue. 

Tam तम implies obscurity and unilluminated. It characterizes how childish and covetous one can be. The person who conveys this character is self fixated and unethical. 

God made these characters and each living being fall in one of the class and according to the character his karma is characterized. 

So this was about how we were made. How about we think the process of the entire space over our earth and beneath. We are just naturally knowledgeable about Swarglok and Naraklok yet there are in all out 14 lokas according to the Purana. 

Among which 7 are over our domain and 7 beneath. 

The ones over our BHULOK are 

SATYALOK

TAPLOK

JANLOK

MAHARLOK

SWARGLOK

BHUVARLOK 

These loks are additionally called Udharva or upper domain. 

The most noteworthy one is Satya lok - The preeminent cognizance exists here. Ruler Brahma and goddesses Saraswati lives here. It is additionally called the 'plane of truth'. 

TAPO LOK - situated at 12 crore yojans (1 yojan=13-16 km)below satya lok. This is a place of the four kumars. Saanat,Sanat,Sanandan,Sanatam are the primary making of Lord Vishnu and fills in as his minister's. They are interminable are said to look like 5 year-old. 

JAN LOK -This is arranged 8 crore yojan underneath tap lok. Goddess viraj is the lord of this domain. 

MAHARLOK - 2 crore yojans underneath jan lok is maharlok. Rishi Brighu and numerous other awesome rishi,munis lives here and deal with this universe. They are allowed to traverse all the loks or domains simply like time traveler yet at a speed past our creative mind. Their age is till 1 Brahma day which is 432 crore years. They are more noteworthy than our devas. 

SWARG LOK - The most famous where we as a whole need to go is swarg lok. Situated at 80 thousand yojans underneath maharlok,swarg lok is managed by Lord Indra. Its like a shopping center where all the offices identified with diversion, luxuriousness is found. Amravati is the capital of swarg lok and there is a three heades the most grounded elephant called Aharawat,Kamdhenu cow who can satisfy each desire and even a flying horse named Uchrewa. 

BHUVAR LOK - Situated among sun and earth, this domain comprise of all the heavenly spirits who search for after the ruler's creation. 

Presently the significant truth is that this domain comprises of all the logical disclosures done by human, however the fact of the matter is that it was at that point referenced a thousand of years prior in our Purana. 

BHUVAR LOK comprises of - 

Dhruv Lok - The focal point of universe

Saptrishi Lok - Polaris

Nakshastra Lok - The sun signs locale

Sormandal - The planetarium

Surya Lok -1 lakh yojan good ways from earth

Chandra Lok - 30 thousand yojan good ways from Earth

Rahu-Ketu Lok - The obscuration districts

Antariksh - Arrangement of mists, breeze and environment. 

In the middle of is the Bhulok where life exists, the spot of humans, creations,life, feelings and so forth. 

All these loks were made by Goddess Bhuvneshwari alongside Ruler Shiva and afterward Brahma planned our earth or bhulok with land,species, humans,islands and so forth. 

In the wake of perusing this all of you should be considering how complex this universe is and we thought pretty much nothing. 

We should get to its base !! 

The seven domains underneath are additionally fascinating and the separation between every one of them are 10 crore yojans. These domains are misjudged as the damnation yet the truth of the matter is they are additionally various regions with various complexities. 

Atal Lok - The demon named Bala lives here, he is supposed to be the ace of fantasies and has made 96 kinds of illusions,3 amongst these are the ladies named-Swarish,Kamini, panchali. Each spirit needs to experience these hallucinations and enchantment. 

Vital Lok - A piece of ruler Vishnu by the name of Hatkeshwar lives here and it is said that a stream of gold streams here and sub terrainan creatures carries on with their life mining and gathering gold. 

Sutal Lok - Managed by ruler bali, this domain is made by master Vishwakarma itself. 

Talatal Lok - In this lok the draftsman of the evil spirits Maya lives, due to his name his figments are called mayajaal. 

Mahatal Lok - Here the hooded nagas who were conceived from Kashyaps spouse named Kadru lives. Kahuk,Takshak,Kalia and so on nagas lives with their families. 

Rasatal Lok - In here lives the demons,Daityas,Asur and Danav's.they are the adversaries of god and goddess. This is the motivation behind why all the demon's originates from underground. 

Patal Lok - Dhananjay,Devdutt,Dhrishrastra,Kulik named massive and extremely arrogant nagas lives here.Vasuki named hooded snake is the lord who lives in the capital named Bhogwati. These goliath snakes have 5,10,100 hoods and every hood conveys a mani or diamond on top, because of which this lok is lit up. 

There are two more looks yet they all fall in various category. They are -

PITRA LOK - Where every one of our precursors unadulterated soul's seeks a transitory time and goes according to their karma. 

NARAK LOK - The darkest of all ,each one with terrible karma comes here for their individual disciplines and goes as guided by Yamraj and Chitragupt. The most profound and at the base is GARBHODAK MAHASAGAR where another part of lord Vishnu 'Shri Garbhoshay Vishnu' rests all through on a hooded snake. It is said that he open his eyes after one day of Lord Brahma ends. When his eyes are open it is supposed to be a fates day. 

OMG !! they all were actually quite fascinating stories which are referenced in our Purana. Most of them are effectively solid and demonstrates while other are yet to be investigated. As far as beleif is concerned what would I be able to say its simply regarding convictions and great conviction's comes when we take intrigue and question. Always recollect, addressing isn't awful it is a piece of human conduct we ought to consistently get what is conceivable however yes being obstinate on any conviction without getting the realities clear isn't right. 

At last to end this article on a lighter note I can say this is actually a decent substance for “Game of Throne” next season !! 

Written By: Devanshi Sharma

[thedaughterofkings]

I have a prompt if that's ok? The whole pack incl Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Danny + Liam think that Derek and Stiles (who are bffs) are the perfect match for each other and try to set them up and they try to make Derek jealous by all flirting one by one with Stiles but nothing works so during a pack meeting Danny ups the ante and it works Just not on Derek, it works on Jackson who snaps and kisses Stiles and that's when the pack realises they got it wrong, it's Jackson that Stiles likes not Derek haha

Of course it’s okay, Nonny! Your prompt was really cute and I hope you like what I came up with for it! And I hope you’re still around to see the fic^^°

Beta-read by the wonderful @ohfuckthisshit, who also did some much needed cheerleading! Thank you

Five times the pack tried to help Stiles’ love life and one time they did

Subtitled: Alpha knows best

Stackson, 4k, T, no warnings apply

1. Erica  

Erica realises it first: Stiles and Derek are totally in luuuurve.

They have been spending a lot of time together lately; most of the time, Stiles is already at Derek’s when the rest of the pack arrives for pack meetings or movie nights and the like. Their scents have even started to mix! At first Erica thought that they were keeping it quiet, being secretive while the relationship is still new, but eventually she comes to the conclusion that nothing is going on, that they are just that oblivious.

Boys!

It’s obvious that they need help. And Erica knows exactly what to do - a healthy dose of jealousy has revealed many a secret affection yet.

So for the next pack meeting she chooses one of her lowest cut shirts, the shortest skirt, and her favourite red lipstick. Dressed to kill, she makes sure to bend over a lot in Stiles’ vicinity, cuddles up close to him on the couch, and sucks seductively on her straw. Stiles reacts appropriately for the most part, blushing at her antics, staring at her breasts for an ego-boosting, but not creepy amount of time, and flirting back slightly awkwardly.

But Derek doesn’t really react satisfyingly - he perhaps rolls his eyes a little more than usual, but even now, with Beacon Hills safe and at peace and no danger looming on the horizon, his basic setting is ‘grump’, so there’s no telling whether Erica’s flirting makes him grumpier than usual. The only suspicious behaviour comes from Jackson, who suddenly develops a hacking cough that night. In fact, Stiles might have spent more time asking Jackson whether he’s alright than flirting with Erica.

To add insult to injury, Stiles takes her aside after the meeting to ask whether everything is alright with her and Boyd. And then he hugs her and reassures her that while he appreciates her body, and fuck anybody who doesn’t, he loves her mind and soul, and that there’s no need to use her body as a weapon among the pack. It’s all terribly sweet, and yes, there might be tears and a few more hugs involved.

All in all, Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 1 is an all around fail.

It might be time to call in reinforcements.

2. Kira

Kira is a die-hard romantic at heart.

She’s not naive; she knows things don’t always work out, but she firmly believes that you should at least try. But above all, she just wants everyone to be happy. So when Erica comes to her about helping get Stiles and Derek together, code name “Red Wolf”, for Little Red Riding Hood(ie) and the Big Bad Wolf, she jumps at the chance to play cupid.

Because the sexual approach has definitely failed, Erica and Kira agree to try something new - taking Derek’s place. Derek taught Kira how to backflip - a vital prerequisite of being part of the Hale pack - and now she’s going to do the same with Stiles, taking away Derek’s chance of teaching Stiles himself. It feels vaguely perfidious spelt out like that, but Erica assured her that it is necessary.

So in the name of love, Kira drags Stiles out into the yard the next time they are at Derek’s. Training goes well at first, even with Jackson distracting Stiles by doing his own backflips next to him. It doesn’t take long for Stiles to stop jumping at all and start watching Jackson instead, clapping at a particularly high jump and teasing: “You show-off!”

Jackson winks and does a double backflip next. Stiles gasps and then shouts: “Oh, just you wait!” before attempting a regular backflip himself. But this time he doesn’t seem to land right and Kira didn’t expect him to jump so suddenly and thus isn’t ready to catch or steady him.

Before anyone else can move, Jackson is at Stiles’ side already, hands hovering over his body as if unsure whether he’s allowed to touch.

“Can you stand?” he asks softly, while Kira hovers next to them, wanting to help but not wanting to make things any worse. When Stiles’ attempt to stand ends in him sinking to the ground with a cry of pain, Jackson reaches out to steady him. Where Jackson is holding onto Stiles’ bare skin, black lines are disappearing up his arm.

“You need to get that checked out,” he says firmly, and after some hesitation, Stiles nods. Jackson helps him up and when Stiles almost falls again after the first step, Jackson pulls him up into his arms without further ado, making Stiles yelp in surprise.

With a few quick steps Jackson reaches his car and Stiles’ complaints become fainter as they drive away. Kira remembers that this was supposed to be about making Derek jealous and sneaks a look at him. He’s looking after Stiles and Jackson and for a second Kira thinks that at least their scheming worked, but then he looks back down at his book, apparently not particularly bothered by what just happened. Erica seems to think the same, because she asks rather aggressively:

“Aren’t you worried about Stiles, Derek? Why didn’t you go to him?”

But Derek just shrugs and says calmly: “He had Jackson to look after him and I know I can trust Jackson with Stiles.”

“But wouldn’t you rather do it yourself?” Kira can’t help asking, completely confused. If anything happened to her significant other, she’d want to be the one to help, not someone else!

“Why should I?” Derek returns, adding: “Jackson wants to and I know Stiles is in good hands with him. I’m not going to come between them.”

And then he goes back to his book, conversation obviously over in his opinion.

Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 2 ends up being an even bigger fail than Trial 1.

It might be time to go back to Erica’s first idea: flirting!

3. Isaac

Isaac knows he’s a bit of an asshole. But so are pretty much all of the others. Except for Kira. Kira is adorable, and badass, and crazy, and many other things starting with d to z. But she couldn’t be an asshole even if she tried.

Stiles can be an asshole, though. As can Derek. Isaac actually likes that about them. And despite their fellow assholishness, he wants them to be happy. And if Erica thinks him flirting with Stiles to make Derek jealous is going to accomplish that, Isaac isn’t going to say no.

An opportunity presents itself a week later. The pack is going to spend the weekend camping out in the preserve. There have been some suspicious sightings reported by hikers and Derek wants to make sure there’s nothing malicious hiding in his territory. Allison and Lydia have come prepared, with blankets and scarves and warm hoodies, but Stiles apparently forgot that it still gets cold at night out in the forest. Everyone else is a supernatural creature and runs hotter anyways and thus isn’t bothered, but by the time the sun sets, Stiles is already shivering and badly hiding his chattering teeth. Isaac is just about to make a snarky comment when he remembers his mission: flirt with Stiles and make Derek jealous. And he has the perfect prop for that.

Stepping close to Stiles, he asks, voice soft and face innocent: “Are you cold, Stiles?”

Stiles shivers in response, though Isaac is pretty sure that comes from the wind blowing through the clearing they are in and not from his presence, and bites back: “We can’t all be natural, or rather supernatural furnaces, can we? Of course I’m cold, Isaac, what do you suggest I do, tap dance?”

Isaac bites back his instinctive response, which is decidedly not flirty, and instead decides to let his actions speak. He takes of his scarf and wraps it around Stiles’ neck, who splutters for a second, but then snuggles in, mumbling a reluctant: “Thanks.” Isaac just nods and steps back towards Erica again before they end up fighting after all. He’ll just let his scent … marinate for a bit and then try to flirt some more.

But he has hardly taken two steps aside when Jackson darts forward, whipping off his jacket and practically forcing it on Stiles, who laughs and slows him down with gentle touches. As Isaac watches on, Jackson helps Stiles slip into his jacket, completely overpowering the faint scent clinging to Isaac’s scarf still wrapped around Stiles’ neck. Then Jackson drags Stiles closer to the bonfire they’ve lit in the middle of the clearing, complaining about him being human and weak and too stupid to dress himself properly all the time. Isaac keeps expecting Stiles to just deck him, but Stiles simply rolls his eyes and punches Jackson lightly in the side when he gets too rude.

Isaac suddenly remembers to check on Derek’s reaction - Isaac’s scent certainly won’t be the one to make him jealous now, but perhaps it’ll still work! But Derek isn’t even looking in Stiles’ direction, his back to the rest of the pack, talking with Boyd who had refused to have anything to do with their scheming.

Looks like Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 3 is a fail, too. Time to bring in the big guns. 

4. Lydia

Lydia laughs in their faces when they come to her about getting Stiles and Derek together. Apparently the way to make Derek jealous is to use someone Stiles has had proven feelings for in the past - which is her. If only she starts flirting with him, Derek supposedly will suddenly wake up and see what has been in front of him all this time. Lydia doesn’t even bother pointing out everything that is wrong with that assumption. Most of all the Derek part.

But someone is going to snap soon anyways, so they’ll figure it out on their own eventually. Lydia will be ready to gloat then.

Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 4 never even gets off the ground.

5. Danny

Danny freely admits that he’s not the most patient person. He’s used to things going his way, helped along by his charms, his brains, or occasionally Jackson’s brawn, if need be. And Stiles knows just how to get on his last nerve. In hindsight, Danny might have been a bit short when faced with countless questions whether Stiles is attractive to gay men. Especially considering that those were probably asked in earnest, not mockery.

But while Danny might not be patient, he’s not mean either - there’s a reason everyone likes him!

So when Erica complains how every single one of her attempts to get Stiles and Derek together has failed, Danny jumps at the chance to get even with Stiles karma-wise. Erica warns him that it seems to be a hopeless endeavour, but agrees to let him try his thing. Given everything they’ve tried already, without success every single time, Danny decides that he’ll have to go big or go home.

At the next pack meeting, Danny makes sure he ends up sitting next to Stiles, pressing in close to him. He pulls out all the stops, touching Stiles frequently, fleeting touches becoming more lingering, more intimate, accompanied by compliments whispered into Stiles’ ear, Danny’s lips almost but not quite touching Stiles’ skin. But while it is obviously working on Stiles, who is blushing permanently now, the growling doesn’t come from Derek’s corner of the room. Danny can’t focus on that right now, though, because his hand is sliding up Stiles’ thigh into dangerous territory and either Derek will bite very soon, or Danny will have to put his mouth where his hand is or however that saying goes again.

But before he can do something he won’t be able to come back from, something hits his side, or someone rather, someone who half pushes him away, half pulls Stiles away from him, either way forces some space between them. Despite the not inconsiderable impact - he’s dealing with werewolves here after all, Danny is filled with triumph. He succeeded where every other member of the pack failed! When he looks up, however, it’s not at Derek’s red eyes and obviously unshakable control, but into Jackson’s bright blue eyes and half-transformed face, featuring less eyebrow but considerably more fang than usually. And Jackson’s control might be much better than it was before, but the rule of “don’t touch anything of his” only got twice as serious when he turned into a werewolf.

So Danny quickly scrambles backwards and thinks that Operation Red Wolf: Trial 5 will definitely be the last episode of this doomed from the start project.

+ 1. Jackson

Jackson has obviously had his issues with the pack - starting with Derek biting him, probably in the hopes that the bite would kill him, and certainly not ending with most of them actually trying to kill him. But they’ve mostly made their peace and Jackson would even admit to a certain grudging fondness for most of them. But lately they’ve been acting completely ridiculous. And it all seems to centre around Stiles.

Now, Jackson has certainly had his issues with Stiles, too - being kidnapped and imprisoned in a police van - naked! - features pretty highly on that list. But even when their rivalry was at its height, what bothered Jackson the most was how Stiles was never in awe of him, always regarding him as equal or even inferior, certainly not superior, like most of the school thought. It was a carefully cultivated image Jackson pursued, together with Lydia of course, and truly, most of it was her idea, and it smarted that Stiles refused to play along - especially as he worshipped the ground Lydia walked on. That might have been the worst part of it actually. And lately Jackson’s issues with Stiles centred mostly on things like his hair looking so maddeningly fluffy and touchable, and his eyes being such an unusual shade of brown that you’d have to spend hours staring into them and you’d still not be able to describe them adequately. And then there’s his moles, begging you to touch and count and lick them and either his shirts have been getting tighter or his arms have gotten thicker, either way his physique didn’t use to be so distracting! So there’s obviously a lot of very valid issues Jackson has with Stiles, but the pack’s treatment of him lately really goes beyond all reason.  

They’ve been acting really weird around him, and Jackson just doesn’t get why. First there was Erica using him to spice up her sex life with Boyd, or whatever was going on there with the cleavage and excessive touching. Then Kira tried to kill him through backflips - Jackson tried to show him how it was really done, but of course it was all in vain. Jackson ended up having to drive Stiles to the hospital, where Stiles got diagnosed with a sprained ankle. They had had to wait for hours, sitting next to each other on uncomfortable hospital waiting room chairs, Jackson’s hand on Stiles’ forearm, almost holding his hand, carefully siphoning off his pain. Despite the circumstances it was surprisingly nice to just sit with Stiles and talk to him, about everything and nothing, anything to distract him, and without interruptions in the form of the pack’s latest shenanigans. Eventually Stiles had nodded off, body slumping against Jackson’s, head coming to rest on his shoulder. It had taken some careful manoeuvering, but finally Jackson managed to wrap his arm around Stiles’ shoulders, which was much more comfortable for both of them he reasoned. Then he’d nodded off himself, too, and they’d slept until a doctor finally had time for them.

After that Jackson understandably became a little protective of Stiles - after all, he’d spent hours keeping him alive, or at least pain-free, and didn’t want to see his hard work go to waste. No one would have acted differently. It was just natural. Really.

So when Stiles didn’t dress properly for the pack campfire outing, and all the pack could come up with was Isaac half-heartedly giving Stiles his scarf, it obviously befell Jackson to make sure his, their human didn’t die of hypothermia. And if wrapping Stiles in his own jacket overpowered the faint hint of Isaac’s scent that clung to him because of the scarf, well, then that was just a side effect Jackson barely noticed and that definitely didn’t make him want to bury his face in Stiles’ neck and inhale their combined scents.

It all comes to a head a few weeks later with the betrayal of Danny.

Jackson had been sure that he could always count Danny to be on his side. Okay, he might not even be sure himself what side that currently is, but it is certainly not by Stiles’ side, practically in his lap, molesting him. Stiles doesn’t look like he is enjoying it, and he definitely doesn’t smell like it either. A low growl filling the room seems to echo his thoughts, and it takes Jackson a moment to realise that it’s coming from him, his wolf quicker on the uptake than his human side.

But before he can come to grips with what his reaction means, what all of his reactions to the pack’s actions lately, mean, Danny’s hand slides up Stiles’ thigh, Stiles’ panicked eyes meet his, and instinct takes over. Jackson launches over the couch table, pushing Danny away and pulling Stiles into his arms, where he’ll be safe. He knows that he has shifted, eyes glowing and fangs bared, but his head is filled with the red fog of what he now dimly recognises as jealousy, and he can’t calm down enough to shift back. A movement at the corner of his eye tells him that Danny got out of the way at least - however stupid he might have acted just now, he’s still Jackson’s best friend and he doesn’t want to hurt him, especially not while half out of control. But most of his senses are focused on Stiles.

Stiles, who is still in his arms, who hasn’t tried to get away, who is staring at him with wide eyes, but no hint of fear in their depths. Jackson stares back at him, unsure what Stiles is seeing in his own eyes, still glowing electrically, hoping it’s something more than outraged jealousy and feral possessiveness. Those are there, of course, but it’s not everything he feels, not even close. Jackson just doesn’t know how to tell Stiles that, doesn’t even know if he can right now, his mind foggy and his mouth full of fangs, but somehow Stiles doesn’t need him to.

With a little wriggle, Stiles frees one arm from Jackson’s strong, but careful grip, and cups Jackson’s cheek with his palm.

“Hey, Jax, calm down, would you? I’m alright, Danny didn’t hurt me or anything, and I’m sure all those nice people will stop their little games now,” he says pointedly, glaring around at the rest of the pack, who are surely all staring at them right now. Jackson doesn’t bother to check, but he does hear Derek shooing them out of the room, promising that there’ll be much more training in their future, because apparently most of them are deaf and blind and don’t know how to use their noses. It doesn’t really make much sense to Jackson, but it makes Stiles snort in quickly stifled laughter. When Jackson tilts his head inquisitively, still feeling slightly more wolf than human, Stiles explains:

“Erica and some of the others thought Derek and I should hook up - oh shush you,” he interrupts himself when that startles a growl out of Jackson, “them being completely wrong is the whole point of this story, so shut up and listen!” But before he continues, he tugs insistently until they are both sitting more comfortably on the couch again, instead of half on, half off it. Their manoeuvering ends with Stiles half in Jackson’s lap, so Jackson gladly lets himself be tugged and shoved. Already he is feeling a little calmer, with Stiles safe in his arms and the immediate threat removed from their vicinity, but not quite enough to shift back yet.

Finally Stiles continues: “So yeah, they tried to get me and Derek together, I’m not entirely clear on that plan admittedly, apparently too blind to see that Derek and I are just friends, and anyways, Derek is ace-aro, so there wouldn’t have been any point either way, but yeah. I wanted to tell them as much, but Derek said we should let them make their own mistakes, and well, I’m glad he did, because obviously their plan still worked - somewhat.”

There’s a small pause and then he adds, voice much quieter than before: “Derek kept leaving hints that you liked me, but I just couldn’t believe him, because why would you like me?”

He sounds so small and Jackson curses his lack of control because he wants nothing more than to reassure Stiles and convince him of his feelings, even if he wasn’t fully aware of them himself until five minutes ago, but he’s too close to feral still to put all of that into words. So he just settles for nuzzling into Stiles’ neck, like he’d wanted to at the campfire, scentmarking him, so that there’d be no more doubt for anyone with a nose. A shudder shakes Stiles’ body and his hand creeps up into Jackson’s hair, holding his head there for a moment.

“I guess Derek was right, then? He’ll be so unbearably smug,” Stiles says quietly, more to himself than to Jackson. “Now let’s see about getting you to shift back, so you can tell me as much in words, shall we?” His fingers grab a hold of Jackson’s hair and tug gently, but insistently. “Look at me, Jackson, please?”

When Jackson lifts his head to look at him, Stiles’ face is serious and for the first time there’s a hint of apprehension in his eyes, but also determination.

“I really hope I didn’t misread this terribly and that you’re not going to kill me,” Stiles mutters and then darts forward quickly, too quickly, pressing his mouth against Jackson’s. At first only the taste and scent of blood fill Jackson’s senses, Stiles’ blood, where he has nicked his lower lip on Jackson’s fangs, but soon that is overpowered by Stiles, just Stiles, all of Stiles, pressed against him, surrounding him, heart hammering in his chest, in Jackson’s ears, until all he is aware of is Stiles. When Jackson opens his eyes again, they are no longer glowing and his mind is clear once more, clearer than it has ever been.

“Sooo,” Stiles says, biting his lip, “you like me?”

“Yes,” Jackson replies, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, “I like you. Do you want me to tick any boxes, too? Yes, No, Maybe? It’s definitely a Yes from me.” To be honest, he’s still a little shaken, but determined not to let it show, especially not to those idiots he calls pack who are sure to be eavesdropping on them right now.

Stiles just swats him lightly and quips: “We can talk about your weird kinks later, no worries. But now you should kiss me some more - those fangs of yours made the tongue action a little hazardous.” And then he sticks his tongue out and wriggles it at Jackson, who quickly draws him into another kiss to distract himself from wondering why he likes such an idiot. But the answer to that is surprisingly easy: He doesn’t like him because he’s an idiot, nor does he like him despite being an idiot, he just likes him, idiocy and all.

And if it took the idiots they call pack for him to realise that - then perhaps he is the biggest idiot of them all. And he doesn’t care one bit.

[sokrovennyi]

1-12

42 QUESTIONS, accepting.

1. How do they move and carry themselves? Pace, rhythm, gestures, energy? 

     Ivan carries himself with pride and confidence. His very presence exudes power and importance; he is the type of man who you know there is something far more than what meets the eye and because of that, he isn’t the easiest man to approach. Giving him some distance may be for the best. Every step he makes is done with certainty; certainty and a grace that seems to be ages old. He rarely falters and appears completely in control even if on the inside he’s far less confident about what will happen. Every step he makes, every move, has a rhyme and reason

2. How much physical space do they use, active and at rest?

     Already answered.

3. How do they position themselves in a group? Do they like to be the center of attention, or do they hang back at the edges of a crowd?

     Ivan hates being the centre of attention. People should be consciously aware of his presence when he needs them to be but otherwise he prefers to be left alone; he hates socialisation just for the sake of it and prefers staying off to the side, watching and listening to everyone. He has no real difficulty being the centre of attention, but it’s a feeling he’s not very enthusiastic about when everybody stares solely at him. But he wouldn’t make any of that obvious.

4. What is their size and build? How does it influence how they use their body, if it does?

     Ivan is 6′4, and if you peel away the clothing he’s wearing, he’s a very fit, muscular man. Couple that with his enhanced strength due to being the personification of Russia itself and he has to be very careful when dealing with day-to-day things and when dealing with humans in general. He has to be mindful of his strength. He also has to be mindful of low ceilings, doorways, hanging chandeliers, etc. Other than that, his body doesn’t give him much trouble in day-to-day life.

5. How do they dress? What styles, colors, accessories, and other possessions do they favor? Why?

     Ivan’s everyday style falls under smart casual. He enjoys being comfortable yet it is also very important to him to look presentable. Most of his clothes are form fitting, never baggy. He likes bright colours but not on clothing; the amount of brightly coloured clothing is limited to a few shirts or a scarf here or there. He prefers cooler, darker colours. Blues, greys, black, purples, and so on. At home alone is when you’ll find him wearing something more comfortable; a large baggy sweater or t-shirt and sweatpants if he knows he isn’t having company or isn’t going out. It’s also great for playing with the dogs. At work, however, it’s strictly business formal with suits, ties of various colours, and even cufflinks. Mostly black suits, though he has a few others if needed.

6. What are they like in motion–in different environments, and in different activities? What causes the differences between these?

     Much like I stated earlier for how he carries himself, he’s always very sure of himself. This can really be felt by his partner when ballroom dancing; he’s a leader, and a good one at that. His follower will always know what he’s planning to do if they’re skilled enough in a dance. Ice skating, he looks as if he’s gliding; he makes these tasks look easier than they actually are due to years upon years of practice. Yet when it comes to more creative, artistic tasks ( playing piano, woodworking, and so on ) that don’t require full-body movement, he can work more slowly and carefully, showing off the dexterity of his hands people don’t expect from him at first glance.

7. How do they physically engage with other people, inanimate objects, and their environment? What causes the differences between these?

     Ivan maintains his distance when speaking with other people and to the trained eye, there’s always this rigidity to his form when he’s speaking with others and he doesn’t want to be in this conversation. Of course, he’s very polite to the person if they give him the same, and won’t be so rude to instantly shut down a conversation simply because he isn’t a social creature if the other person is trying. He endures it. 

     With inanimate objects he’s very hands-on if the nature of the object allows him to be so. He usually doesn’t have any reservations when it comes to them, but he is careful so as not to destroy it with his strength.

     He feels very at home outside in the environment. He ‘makes himself a part of it’ without actively doing so; he loves to watch and feel the energy and the atmosphere of everything going on around him. When he’s able, he loves to be out and about to people watch; he’s lived these experiences so many times, but it’s the differences of generations ( whether bad or good ) that keep him going; their subtle differences from their parents before them and their grandparents and so on. Studying his environment is how he maintains his connection to society when he already feels worlds away personally. 

8. Where and when do they seem most and least at ease? Why? How can you tell?

     Ivan is most at ease at home surrounded by his dogs. His posture is more relaxed and overall he seems far less intense and intimidating. He takes things slower, easier, and generally seems to be in better spirits. Time around a significant other can also make him feel incredibly at ease. When there’s absolute trust and Ivan feels safe around a person, he allows himself to unwind and show more of his personality that he keeps hidden away from the rest of the world.

     He is least at ease at work or at formal banquets where his presence is required through obligation, not a desire for people to see him. At work where, like many of the people, his voice only has so much say and he bears no real power, he feels constantly stuck and questions why he even tries when not even he can bring about changes he wants. He loathes the feelings of subservience and this is evident in his harsh and rigid posture and occasionally curt replies to those around him that aren’t his boss. He makes little to no effort to involve himself with most of his colleagues. This is his job for the rest of his days——he isn’t just allowed to abandon it.

9. How do they manifest energy, exhaustion, tension, or other strong emotions?

     Anger/violence. Ivan keeps a very tight lid on all of his emotions for a variety of reasons and if somebody manages to wind him up to the point where that becomes impossible, he loses that control and will respond with sharp biting words or outright violence depending on the situation. Everything forced down boils over to the surface and it’s completely personal now; he will finish it. 

     Exhaustion can be seen in his eyes; he seems distant and far away and if you watch his body, it seems as if he’s on autopilot. Moving, but not quite fully conscious of what he’s doing. There will be dark circles after he’s gone days without sleeping and he becomes more irritable; he has much less tolerance for anything annoying that doesn’t go his way. He can also be less reasonable.

10. What energizes and drains them most?

     Work/social situations drain him the most, alongside with being forced to endure obnoxious people for far too long. 

     Any of his hobbies or physical tasks energise him; he rarely has time to spend for himself these days and getting to take a day to do whatever it is he wants energises him. 

11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use?

     Ivan maintains a very even tone when he’s speaking. His voice isn’t soft or timid by any means; it’s loud and it holds enough power to command attention, but it’s rarely influenced by emotion ( meaning he doesn’t raise his voice out of anger or start speaking incredibly fast because of his emotional state, etc. ) unless the situation calls for it or if he’s comfortable enough to shrug away part of that outer shell.  When he gets particularly angry, his voice deepens and it sounds like he’s growling out some of his words; compared to his usual tone it’s very intimidating and fits his overall appearance. When speaking Russian, he sounds much more blunt and almost annoyed and many foreigners mistake that for him being angry with them or for him being generally rude; it’s the nature of how he speaks, similar to many others. He does use a rising tone for questions and emphasises certain words to really get his point across if he needs to. When speaking English he maintains that same calm, even tone but has to make a more conscious effort to convey what he means.

12. How are they bodily expressive? How do they use nonverbal cues such as their posture, stance, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and hands?

     Furrowing/narrowing of his brows is one of his most common expressions to show his scepticism or that he’s truly studying something. If he finds something strange or even somewhat surprising, he’ll raise a brow to show it even if he never comments on it. The rigidity or tension in his posture reveals that he’s very alert and doesn’t trust anything in his immediate surroundings. He’ll occasionally wave people along with a flourish and expect them to understand that he wants them to follow or he taps his fingers against the nearest hard surface to express boredom or disinterest. He clenches his fist and sets his jaw when he’s getting genuinely annoyed or angry. He also sometimes nods toward a particular direction; this also means he expects a person to move that way.

     His eyes are easily the most expressive part of him and a lot of things that go unspoken can be seen in his eyes. Flashes of anger, a distant and unfocused look when he’s feeling nostalgic or particularly sad, his eyes brighten and sparkle when he’s genuinely happy, and so on.