#he's one of the few units we never see casting any kind of spell

[soubiapologist]

ok so i've speculated on what kind of home environment[s] mimuro and mei might have before but like the kind of home environment that produces people who just like lie like that. well. smiles.

[mishafletcher]

Are you a Gold Star lesbian? (Just in case you don't know what it means, a Gold Star lesbian is a lesbian that has never had the sex with a guy and would never have any intentions of ever doing so)

So I got this ask a while ago, and I've been lowkey thinking about it ever since.

First: No. I am a queer, cranky dyke who is too old for this sort of bullshit gatekeeping. 

Second: What an unbelievable question to ask someone you don't even know! What an incomprehensibly rude thing to ask, as if you're somehow owed information about my sexual history. You're not! No one—and I can't reiterate this enough, but no one—owes you the details of their sex lives, of their trauma, or of anything about themselves that they don't feel like sharing with you.

The clickbait mills of the internet and the purity police of social media would like nothing more than to convince everyone that you owe these things to everyone. They would like you to believe that you have to prove that you're traumatized enough to identify with this character, that you can't sell this article about campus rape without relating it to your own sexual assault, that you can't talk about queer issues without offering up a comprehensive history of your own experiences, and none of those things are true. You owe people, and especially random strangers on the internet, nothing, least of all citations to somehow prove to them that you have the right to talk about your own life.

This makes some people uncomfortable, and to be clear, I think that that's good: people who feel entitled to demand this information should be uncomfortable. Refusing to justify yourself takes power away from people who would very much like to have it, people who would like to gatekeep and dictate who is permitted to speak about what topics or like what things. You don't have to justify yourself. You don't have to explain that you like this ship because this one character reminds you a bit of yourself because you were traumatized in a vaguely similar way and now— You don't have to justify your queerness by telling people about the best friend you had when you were twelve, and how you kissed, and she laughed and said it was good practice for when she would kiss boys and your stomach twisted and your mouth tasted like bile and she was the first and last girl you kissed, but— 

You don't owe anyone these pieces of yourself. They're yours, and you can share them or not, but if someone demands that you share, they're probably not someone you should trust.

Third: The idea of gold star lesbians is a profoundly bi- and trans- phobic idea, often reducing gender to genitals and the long, shared history of queer women of all identities to a stark, artificial divide where some identities are seen as purer or more valuable than others. This is bullshit on all counts.

There's a weird and largely artificial division between bisexuals and lesbians that seems to be intensifying on tumblr, and I have to say: I hate it. Bisexual women aren't failed lesbians. They're not somehow less good or less valid because they're attracted to [checks notes] people. Do you think that having sex with a man somehow changes them? What are you so worried about it for? I've checked, and having sex with a man does not, in fact, make your vagina grow teeth or tentacles. Does that make you feel better? Why is what other people are doing so threatening to you?

Discussions of gold star lesbians are often filled with tittering about hehe penises, which is unfortunate, since I know a fair few lesbians who have penises, and even more lesbians who've had sex with people, men and women alike, who have penises. I'm sorry to report that "I'm disgusted by a standard-issue human body part" is neither a personality nor anything to be proud of. I'm a dyke and I don't especially like men, but dicks are just dicks. You don't have to be interested in them, but a lot of people have them, and it doesn't make you less of a lesbian to have sex with someone who has a dick.

There's so much garbage happening in the world—maybe you haven't noticed, but things are kind of Not Great in a lot of places, and there's a whole pandemic thing that's been sort of a major buzzkill? How is this something that you're worried about? Make a tea, remind yourself that other people's genitalia and sexual history are none of your business, maybe go watch a video about a cute animal or something. 

Fourth: The idea of gold star lesbians is a shitty premise that argues that sexuality is better if it's always been clear-cut and straightforward—but it rarely is. We live in a very, very heterosexist culture. I didn’t have a word for lesbian until many years after I knew that I was one. How can you say that you are something when your mouth can’t even make the shape of it? The person you are at 24 is different to the person you are at 14, and 34, and 74. You change. You get braver. The world gets wider. You learn to see possibilities in the shadows you used to overlook. Of course people learn more about themselves as they age.

Also, many of us, especially those of us who grew up in smaller towns, or who are over the age of, say, 25, grew up in times and places where our sexuality was literally criminal.

Shortly after I graduated high school, a gay man in my state was sentenced to six months in jail. Why? Well, he’d hit on someone, and it was a misdemeanor to "solicit homosexual or lesbian activity", which included expressing romantic or sexual interest in someone who didn’t reciprocate. You might think, then, that I am in fact quite old, but you would be mistaken. The conviction was in 1999; it was overturned in 2002.

I grew up knowing this: the wrong thing said to the wrong person would be sufficient reason to charge me with a crime.

In the United States, the Defense of Marriage Act was passed in 1996, clarifying that according to the federal government, marriage could only ever be between one man and one woman. It also promised that even if a state were to legalize same-sex unions, other states wouldn't have to recognize them if they didn't want to. And wow, they super did not want to, because between 1998 and 2012, a whopping thirty states had approved some sort of amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Every queer person who's older than about 25 watched this, knowing that this was aimed at people like them. Knowing that these votes were cast by their friends and their families and their teachers and their employers. 

Some states were worse than others. Ohio passed their bill in 2004 with 62% approval. Mississippi passed theirs the same year with 86% approval. Imagine sitting in a classroom, or at work, or in a church, or at a family dinner, and knowing that statistically, at least two out of every three people in that room felt you shouldn't be allowed to marry someone you loved.

Matthew Shepard was tortured to death in October of 1998. For being gay, for (maybe) hitting on one of the men who had planned to merely rob him. Instead, he was tortured and left to die, tied to a barbed wire fence. His murderers were both sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. This was controversial, because a nonzero number of people felt that Shepard had brought it upon himself.

Many of us sat at dinner tables and listened to this discussion, one that told us, over and over, that we were fundamentally wrong, fundamentally undeserving of love or sympathy or of life itself.

This is a tiny, tiny sliver of history—a staggeringly incomplete overview of what happened in the US over about ten years. Even if this tiny sliver is all that there were, looking at this, how could you blame someone for wanting to try being not Like This? How can you fault someone who had sex, maybe even had a bunch of sex, hoping desperately that maybe they could be normal enough to be loved if they just tried harder? How can you say that someone who found themself an uninteresting but inoffensive boyfriend and went on dates and had sex and said that it was fine is somehow less valuable or less queer or less of a lesbian for doing so? For many people, even now, passing as straight, as problematic as that term is, is a survival skill. How dare you imply that the things that someone did to protect themself make them worth less? They survived, and that's worth literally everything.

Fifth, finally: What is a gold star, anyhow? You've capitalized it, like it's Weighty and Important, but it's not. Gold stars were what your most generous grade school teacher put on spelling tests that you did really well on. But ultimately, gold stars are just shiny scraps of paper. They don't have any inherent value: I can buy a thousand of them for five bucks and have them at my door tomorrow. They have only the meaning that we give them, only the importance that we give them. We’re not children desperately scrabbling for a teacher’s approval anymore, though. We understand that good and bad are more of a spectrum than a binary, and that a gold star is a simplification. We understand that no number of gold stars will make us feel like we’re special enough or good enough or important enough, or fix the broken places we can still feel inside ourselves. Only we can do that.

The stars are only shiny scraps of paper. They offer us nothing; we don’t need them. I hope that someday, you see that, too. 

[sepublic]

Belos’ Day of Unity

            This episode confirmed a HUGE detail for us, and it’s that the Day of Unity involves merging the human and Demon Realms together! This better explains why Belos wants the Portal… If he just wanted to access the human world, he could do that with regular Titan’s Blood alone, but he needs something on a level that can maintain a lasting, open connection between the two! Not only that…

         But as Boscha so ‘kindly’ reminds us later this episode, Luz’s glyphs don’t work in the human world! Magic is a gift from the isles… And with the association of wild magic as ‘elemental’, how Luz’s glyphs take an elemental form… How they were the first form of magic, learned from observing the isles themselves and whatnot-

         It seems wild magic, at least as how Belos defines and hates it, takes a lot of cues and even draws power from the Boiling Isles! From the Demon Realm itself… Which, is interesting because;

         Belos clearly wants to control magic. He sees it as something witches have to more or less earn back… But ideally, they have to earn it from him entirely! Bile magic is something Belos can control, it’s confined to people’s bodies and he has the coven bindings to do so- Belos can control bodies, he can override that autonomy, and it comes from a source he can regulate. You can even see it with staffs, especially the one that Hunter has!

         Staffs can be taken away, they can be broken and drained. They’re external, but in a way that Belos can easily separate a witch from… And with Hunter, this takes on a whole new twisted meaning, because Hunter’s staff is (or rather was) his ONLY source and means of magic… 

        And as someone who created that staff no doubt, Belos can easily tamper with and restrict the spells that Hunter can access with it, no doubt- I wouldn’t be surprised if Belos could turn off Hunter’s staff at will! It’s his to give and take as he pleases, and given Belos’ unwillingness to create more Palismen, we still see plenty of carefulness with staffs as an external source of magic as well. Belos might intend to replace magical staffs with his own version that he can control!

         But wild magic and glyphs? They come from the isles, they come from the very land itself… And Belos CAN’T restrict the very fabric of the reality he lives in. Glyphs are an outside-context problem, you don’t need a bile sac to wield them; And they completely bypass the issues of coven bindings. You can’t restrict glyphs, the way you can’t restrict knowledge- It’s always bound to slip through Belos’ grasp, no matter how hard he tries. And once a secret is out, it tends to spread like wildfire…

         Belos can’t just apply some massive coven binding to the Demon Realm entirely… Can he?

         That’s of course where the Day of Unity comes in. Where OUR world comes in… If magic, specifically the wild magic that fuels glyphs, is sourced directly from the Demon Realm itself… And our world has no magic, glyphs are useless there? 

        Belos might intend to neutralize the Demon Realm’s magic entirely, by fusing it with the human world! And/or, with how the human world seems more vast than the Demon Realm (the Boiling Isles is only the size of Vermont), the magic inherent to it will be spread so thin that it’ll be too weak to utilize.

         And that’s… As Luz might put it, fiendishly clever! Belos recognizes his limits. He knows he can’t control the knowledge of glyphs, the memory of them- And even if he could, people can still learn directly from the isles itself, from the Demon Realm itself- The Light Glyph can be found in the stars! So long as the original source exists to learn from, nothing is truly stopping someone from paying attention and finding it on their own, potentially by accident!

         If Belos can’t truly, physically control this magic and restrain it- Then it’s a liability, especially since it can grant coven-bound witches access to full magic again, and allow them to turn the tides. It makes Belos and his system redundant… So he has to remove the original source of wild magic, WITHOUT destroying his own world and of course himself in the process!

         In comes our world. With the Demon Realm’s magic neutralized and/or diffused, the only source will come from the bile in witch’s bodies, which Belos CAN restrict. Sure, some witches might escape here or there, slip through the cracks and have unbound children… But that’s nothing compared to the threat of glyphs, which anyone can learn at any time!

         And if Belos plans to somewhat conquer the human world, at least to defend and maintain his own utopia- It works out again! Because our technology is based on knowledge, nothing is stopping the witches of Belos’ society from learning and adapting to our own technology, repurposing it for themselves. We already see technology exist to some degree anyway, such as in the Abomitons, and Belos’ own creations! It’d be easy for witches to repurpose our own technology for themselves.

         But humans? We can’t cast magic. We have no bile sacs… And even glyphs, the one form of magic we COULD wield, would be rendered powerless by our own world! Sure, there might be a few witches here or there that would come to our side, that would oppose Belos’ conquest and imperialism… 

        But those select few wouldn’t make up for the vast differences in numbers, nor could they have kids who’d grow up at a fast enough rate. Magic can replicate technology’s uses in its own way –scrolls can access a magical version of the internet- and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Day of Unity will also empower Belos as some kind of all-powerful, magical god who could easily handle what us puny humans throw at him, anyway.

         Aside from a much smaller population… Again, it seems magic is a good way for Belos to ensure his own power and conquest over our world, too- Or at least to keep us out of his own borders. Perhaps Belos only intends to rule his select portion of the Demon Realm within Connecticut, and bar out everyone else to their own devices, occasionally checking in to make sure we don’t ‘invade’ his own bubble.

         Maybe Belos doesn’t even intend to transport the entire Demon Realm, just the Boiling Isles itself, to the human world… Which of course isolates witches from that source of wild magic even more.

         There is an issue of course- And that gets down to how witches create magical bile. With how magic is a gift from the isles, it’s possible witches are simply able to convert the innate magic of the atoms and molecules around them in their digestive system, and turn that into bile- Meaning without this ‘magical radiation’, eventually a witch will run out of magic bile and be depleted, should they stay in the human world without any access to the Demon Realm.

         Does Belos know, or even care? Maybe this is his way of also removing magic entirely… Or as I said, with how magic will be spread thin when our worlds fuse; Perhaps it will exist in enough of a capacity in this fused realm, that biological witches can still harvest this magical radiation and produce bile. 

        Or, based on how King described it in The Unauthorized History of the Boiling Isles, witches just naturally produce their own magical radiation in the form of bile- They don’t need to be connected to the Demon Realm to do, they are their own sustainable source!

         Either way, Belos’ plan makes a disturbing amount of sense… It’s the final nail in the coffin as a way for him to physically control magic, and it’s the outright death and eradication of wild magic as well! He has no interest in conquering our world, not necessarily- Just in bringing his over so he can kill off the final source of magic that manages to elude his control.

         Any imperialism may come as a natural byproduct of this type of crossover, but it’s not what Belos specifically intends from the fusion- So in a way, he wasn’t lying when he said that it wasn’t his plan to conquer the human world. 

        Belos didn’t say it’d NEVER be his plan… Just that this specific goal doesn’t involve that, not necessarily. Plus, he’d argue that any conquest would come fully as a means of self-defense, which… Would not be wrong either, because there’d definitely be humans who’d reject the society that Belos would bring in, and seek to eradicate and/or control it for themselves too!

         Once the Day of Unity’s crossover ensues, it seems the only magical liability that Belos would have to worry about is… Unbound biological witches, witches who DO have a bile sac, but aren’t under Belos’ control! Hence why he stresses to his coven heads;

         “The larger your covens grow, the more power we have to unite our realms, where the worthy shall inherit a utopia free of wild magic.”

         It’s possible Belos plans to use his coven bindings as a means of powering whatever magic he needs to pull this crossover off- I’ve speculated before on the demon realm’s solar system forming a glyph combo to do this, but it’s not out of the question that Belos would need a little extra power for such a massive event. 

        Perhaps Belos intends to drain the unused magic of every bound witch- After all, about 8/9ths of every bound witch’s magic is sealed away, presumably unused… So to Belos and his coven heads, they’re not really depriving anyone of anything by draining that unused magic?

         Especially if witches’ magic can still replenish over time anyway (unless you’re cursed), plus spreading the individual cost that each witch will have to fork over for the Day of Unity, across more witches, is arguably the moral thing to do anyway! 

        Hence why coven bindings are necessary, not just to fuel the Day of Unity, but to also remove the final liability that Belos would need to deal with. Ideally, Belos wants every witch bound before the Day of Unity, so he won’t have to worry about any biological witch when the crossover occurs…

         But at the same time, I doubt it’s strictly necessary- So even if it’s ideal, Belos is obviously going to go ahead with his crossover if there are still unbound witches. He can still deal with them later… They might have a bigger world to escape out into, which is why he stresses this be done sooner, rather than later, when witches are more confined to a smaller space and easier to find- But Belos still ultimately wins, one way or the other.

         Belos’ plan and Day of Unity is unimaginably grandiose, horrifying, and worst of all… Makes so much sense, it connects everything together in a reasonable way! Though it only makes sense from a viewer’s speculative perspective, and in-universe from the perspective of Belos, for the kinds of goals he’s looking for of course. 

        From a general and moral perspective this plan is completely nuts and terrible, but in terms of what Belos is actually trying to accomplish, a society where magical is truly bound… (Albeit not an actual ‘utopia’ like he claims), I hate to say it but this works perfectly, and that’s terrifying! Unfortunately, it seems this fucker does know EXACTLY what he’s doing, very much! And Belos is batshit nuts.

        And there’s a good chance that somebody in this meeting is very understandably not enthused with Belos’ plan, even outright intimidated, and determined to stop it as a result...

[amedetoiles]

@suibian-chenqing​ ME TOOOO!!! It is my ultimate endgame in any version of cql/mdzs. Just Lotus Pier in some way, shape, or form being the home where everyone returns to.

So please consider a universe where everyone makes better choices, has healthier conflict resolution skills à la conversations over soup, and lives happily ever after. Hear me out:

We all know that the chaotic Jiang disciples are the unsung heroes of the story, always merrily dragging their grumpy grape sect leader from danger and picking up after his dramatically discarded capes across various parts of the country.

What if after that staged fight while Jiang Cheng angrily copes with brozilla wedding planning (they hear him crying yelling multiple times at all the notebooks full of wedding ideas Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng have jotted down over the years), they decide that this is just not conducive to the happiness of their two favorite Young Masters?

Or equally important, the continuation of their beloved tradition of monthly Lotus Pier lake parties. A Jiang pool party without their resident chaos king and undisputed champion for the highest caliber splash swan dives? This Will Not Stand!

Obviously it is their Duty and their Right as the protectors and purveyors of Jiang culture for a few of them to secretly stow away while Jiang Cheng is having an epic meltdown over fabric.

“800 thread count? Are you out of your goddamn minds? My only sister, and you expect us to throw her a wedding with disgraceful eight hundred thread count fabric?! Do we Jiangs look like barbarians to you?!”

The Jiang disciples go to Yiling, rush up the Burial Mounds, and shout very convincingly, “Da-shixiong! Da-shixiong! Zongzhu, he – he –”

Wei Wuxian, war-torn, living with ten thousand ghosts, and constantly on edge, panics immediately, jumps to the absolute worst conclusion, and doesn’t even clarify before he rushes down the mountain because oh god, oh god, no, not again, didn’t he leave so his siblings would be safe, didn’t he promise to keep Jiang Cheng safe?????

Wen Qing warily agrees to come along because they clearly now have this well-established ongoing unspoken agreement to constantly save each other’s little brothers.

If the Jiang disciples have caught Jiang Cheng brooding over a pretty redwood comb wrapped in a silk handkerchief more than once, then they don’t say anything. Just share silent looks of glee when no one is watching.

By the time they reach Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian has worked himself up into such a state of frenzy that he bursts through the doors of Lotus Pier like a black thundercloud of overprotective fury and worry, screaming, “JIANG CHENG! JIANG CHENG!”

.... Jiang Cheng is sitting on the floor of the Sword Hall, surrounded by a mountain of square fabric samples, with bits of thread stuck in his hair, totally gobsmacked at the sight of his windswept big brother.

Wei Wuxian, still panicked, falls to the floor in front of him, grabs Jiang Cheng by the arms before he can even react, and frantically checks him over. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened – I thought –”

Jiang Cheng stares at him. Wei Wuxian blinks. The Jiang disciples have all conveniently disappeared.

Behind them, Wen Qing heaves a big sigh, slow and long through pursed lips. She bows respectfully, says “I will be outside,” and gets the fuck out of there.

There is a tense silence. Wei Wuxian realizes he’s been tricked, but he is so overcome with relief after all that soul-crushing fear that he doesn’t even get mad, just sags forward with his face in Jiang Cheng’s chest as the adrenaline leaves him all at once. He pretends he’s not shaking.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t know if he wants to shove Wei Wuxian away, hug him back, or wrap him in as many blankets as he can possibly find until a-jie comes home. He does none of those, just demands, half-strangled, half-something-like-worry, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“They said – I thought you were in trouble or – or –”

[long pause] “You – came all the way here shouting like a possessed lunatic because you thought I was in trouble?”

Wei Wuxian hunches a little defensively and starts to move away. “Of course I did.” He makes sure to add, with emphasis, “Idiot.”

It doesn’t matter if Jiang Cheng can’t make up his mind because apparently his hands can, and they grip both of Wei Wuxian’s elbows to keep his brother from pulling away. They stare at one another.

”You said you didn’t want anything to do with the Jiang sect.”

Wei Wuxian looks away, grumbling. “How else was I supposed to keep you and shijie safe? Besides, you’re the one who stabbed me.” He is very pouty about this.

Jiang Cheng, immediately incensed and indignant, shouts, “You broke my arm! I had to be in a cast for a whole month!”

An almost smile flashes over Wei Wuxian’s face. “Hey, it was only your left arm. You were still able to write.”

Jiang Cheng glares at him and shoves his shoulder. Wei Wuxian instinctively shoves him back. They stare. Wei Wuxian scrubs his face tiredly with his hands. Jiang Cheng has to push away the urge to motherhen with blankets again.

He says, “I never asked you to protect me.”

Wei Wuxian gives him a look. “I don’t need to be asked.”

Jiang Cheng grits his teeth. “I don’t want you to protect me, idiot.”

Wei Wuxian heaves a very resigned sigh. “Then what do you want?”

Several answers come up, all too serious and too revealing without the support of a-jie’s soup and copious amount of alcohol. So Jiang Cheng just throws a handful of fabric samples at Wei Wuxian’s face. “Help me pick through these until a-jie comes home. You should have fucking heard Jin Zixuan’s suggestions last week. If we let the peacock plan a-jie’s wedding, it’s going to be an absolute disaster.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile this time is real and genuine and lasts the entire afternoon of bickering over fabric squares until Jiang Yanli rushes into the pavilion with many Jiang disciples in tow and hugs both her brothers for the first time in months. They manage to not horribly cry all over each other.

Jiang Yanli insists Wen Qing has dinner with them. There’s plenty of soup after all. Jiang Cheng is awkwardly stiff and doesn’t look Wen Qing in the eye the entire time, and Wei Wuxian pokes him repeatedly with silent  what the hell is wrong with you.

They talk about growing turnips, purifying rice wine, that the scariest thing about Wen Ning is his ability to create a disturbingly large variety of dishes from turnips, and how Wei Wuxian has essentially adopted baby A-Yuan as his own.

Later, Jiang Yanli tells Wen Qing, with a smile, her eyes alight like a flame, that she will take care of it. Wen Qing has no idea what this means. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian share a look as only little brothers with intimate knowledge of their big sister’s stubbornness could and wisely choose to remain silent.

Jiang Yanli enlists the help of both Jin Zixuan and Madam Jin and somehow does indeed take care of it.

Many back door conversations occur between Jiang, Jin, Lan, and Nie sects. Jin Zixuan is the sole Jin representative. Nie Mingjue is initially leery but comes at the behest of Huaisang and Xichen.

At some point, Wen Ning tells Wei Wuxian that if they are going to do this, then it’s best if they have no more secrets. Wei Wuxian glares and tries to pretend that he has no idea what he is talking about, but neither Jiang Yanli nor Jiang Cheng allow Wei Wuxian to run away this time.

There is an emotional golden core reveal, followed by an equally emotional I didn’t go back for their bodies, with lots of shouting, shoving, crying, and clinging. In the aftermath, the Jiang siblings form an even stronger co-dependent unit around each other.

Jiang Yanli coordinates with Lan Xichen (and a begrudgingly cooperative Jiang Cheng) to bring Lan Wangji to Lotus Pier to help Wei Wuxian control his powers. Wangxian are desperately cute, and Jiang Cheng makes pointed gagging sounds whenever he’s around them that leads to several incidents of lake shoving, an excitable gaggle of Jiang disciples swan diving into the water after them, and a very, very confused Lan.

In the end, Wei Wuxian refuses to hand over the Stygian Tiger Seal to any of the sects, but he does agree to destroy it if Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and the remaining Wens are granted clemency and allowed to live freely without persecution. Jiang, Lan, and Nie sects agree.

Jin Guangshan tries to make an uproar, but in a surprising turn of events, Jin Guangyao (grateful for Jiang Yanli’s non-judgmental kindness over the past year) reveals all of his father’s treacherous secrets, including ordering the slaughter of Wen civilians, pardoning and releasing Xue Yang, and purposefully fueling the mob against Wei Wuxian to acquire the seal for himself. Jin Guangshan is shamed, sentenced, and dies imprisoned some months later.

Jin Zixuan formally recognizes his newly renamed brother Jin Ziyao.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian decide that their sister is even scarier than they had believed.

The Wens leave the Burial Mounds and build a small village together in Yiling where they branch into farming non-turnip crops much to the delight of Wei Wuxian. Jiang disciples are dispatched to help with the construction of several buildings, including one extremely beautiful apothecary. Jiang Cheng is seen in Yiling fairly regularly.

Jin Zixun, the most vocal opponent against the pardons for Wei Wuxian and the Wens, tragically falls off a cliff one day. Sect Leader Yao tries to pin it on Wei Wuxian, but Jiang Cheng shuts him down with scathing ferocity.

Someone also puts a Silencing Spell on Sect Leader Yao and keeps it going. Every Lan swears it was not them and thus cannot remove the spell. It lasts for two glorious months. Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji get along disturbingly well from that point on.

Wei Wuxian is there when Jiang Yanli gets married in a magnificent splendor of red and gold. He is there to see Jin Ling born, to watch Jiang Cheng tie a purple bell to their nephew’s robes, and to gift little A-Ling a bracelet on his first month birthday. He is there to watch Jiang Cheng rebuild their sect with unending grit, respect, and loyalty. He is there to see Jin Ling and A-Yuan grow up underneath a sky he helped clear, loved and adored by all the different parts of their family. And some years after he and Lan Wangji are happily married, Wei Wuxian is there when his little brother dons red robes and bows to the heavens, to the earth, and to a woman with a redwood comb in her hair whose life became entwined with theirs so very long ago.

[sly-merlin]

T h e      E n c h a n t e d      C a n v a s

Pairing :: doyoung x reader ft simmi and her moots

Word count :: ~4k

Genre :: Hogwarts soulmate strangers to ?? Fluff

Synopsis ::

Y/n , a muggle is called to Hogwarts not because of her exceptional talents but due to the fact that her soulmate is a pure/half blood studying in Hogwarts. Her destiny takes her from an average household to the enchanting world of spells and charms. Would she found the one she sought? or sh’d end up losing herself in the new world!

A/n :: this is a Christmas gift for lovely nini - @dvrlingrenjun​ under @neoculturechristmas​ event. Thank you admins for letting me talk to her. And nini!! I'd be happy if you enjoy this even a little bit. I hope you can get some time out from your responsibilities to relax and then we can cry over twice's beauty!! MERRY CHRISTMAS NINI.

With love ,

From simmi(stocking anon)

tagging :: lovely @danishmiilk​  ( warning :: donot expect too much) @astroboy-lele​ (oops! i opened discord and just remembered i was supposed to tag you furou! sowy)

networks :: @neowritingsnet​ @kafenetwork​ @nct-writers​ 

thank you aria @adamfoolcry​ for hyping me up!!!

"A MAGIC SCHOOL?DO I LOOK LIKE A FOOL TO YOU?" you screamed at your parents, their pleading eyes instantly making you guilty.

"Darling! That woman showed us what she's capable of. You can go and learn and it's not like you have much of an option." Your father said, caressing your arm.

They were right. The woman, who called herself the professor of Hogsy or something school, had explained to you the two tier unscripted path of your future. The first thing being that you were invited to study at an elite magic school, the evidence of which was provided by summoning your sketchbooks from your room. Second being, your soulmate was a boy of the magical community so you,inevitably, were a part of it and there was no escape from it. 

"I don't want to leave you alone!" Tears threatening to fall, you requested your parents. 

"Please sweetie. Don't make this harder than it already is. We do not have enough money to provide you with quality education. At least you are getting a chance to improve your life. Do not let this chance pass because of us. Besides it's like a boarding school. That lady did say you'd be visiting us twice a year and that too for two whole months! I see no harm sweetie. You possibly cannot refuse your soulmate right. They need you as much as you need them. So go and live your life. Make your parents proud!" 

Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry,

Year - third

"Then the battery is placed in this small compact space in a very specific way to make the clock work. This small cylindrical unit called battery has very complicated working so we'll discuss that next week. And this week,I won't be bothering you with any homework so go and enjoy. Have an enchanting day." Your professor dismissed the class with a brightening smile.

"Y/n" she called as you were packing your bag.

"Yes mam?" You asked her, hands respectfully crossed in front of your skirt.

"I just wanted to say thank you so much for the automated battery clock that you got. The ones we have are very old and it's a long and tiring process to ask for new ones. Do know how delighted i am to have you in my class. I'm glad you chose muggle studies as elective." She smiled at you and you bowed just a bit to show your gratitude and walked outside for your other classes.

Being a ravenclaw was all about wisdom, intellect, being sharp minded and laced with logic and creativity or this was what the book that prof McGonagall gave you read. The almighty sorting hat, the pillar on which walls of Hogwarts stood, had placed you in ravenclaw. Though the hat did contemplate between every single house, you ended up with ravenclaw. You believed neither in the semi-animate object nor the popular saying that Sorting hat knows you better than you do yourself for you failed to find your own kind. The smart ravenclaws were too bright for you. It didn't help that you were the only muggle in your year. You weren't able to keep up with them and if it haven't been for willy, your only friend in ravenclaw, you'd have ended up going home,without finding your destiny. Not that you were any better at the moment but life was fun with willy and aria, your hufflepuff friend. 

But nothing remains stationary right!

“How are you here already?” you questioned lazily.

“Arithmancy professor fell sick this morning. I've been free since then.” said Aria. You turned to William, who was busy toying with his alligator bracelet. “And you willy?” 

“Huh?” he mindlessly asked. 

“I asked, did you run away from divination again?” you repeated the question, changing the words to suit his ears. 

“Oh no! We just had a small accident in class today.” he giggled, his glasses falling off as he doubled over with laughter.

The potion classroom was soon jammed with third year fellows, all chatting in their own friend groups, enjoying the few minutes before they would be bombarded with over expectation of brewing a girding potion.  At the precise moment, the door was closed shut.

“STOP THE USELESS GOSSIP AND SPLIT INTO YOUR BREWING GROUPS. NOW!”

Prof. Snape thundered as all the students, without a second wasted, dispersed and settled. “Mr. brown.” he called a hufflepuff, “collect the ingredients and mr. kim, care to move yourself and help him.” he instructed two students who complied immediately. “Not that i expect any from you little incompetent students, you shall not prepare more than two vials of the potion or else i won’t hesitate to make you do your laundry in the same foul liquid. Understood!” his warning earned silent gagging from several students at the mention of the awful smell, of which you were not excluded. 

As you got busy in discussing the recipe, noise of shattering glass and a shrill cry pierced through your ears. Before you could raise your head to witness the happening, your left wrist burned as if it was set on fire. Knees buckling, you fell on the floor as sudden inflammation blocked your senses, heart wrenching screams leaving your throat.Your wailing alerted your friends as William instantly unbuttoned your sleeve to view the reason of your pain and gasped at the damage. 

“Prof. snape! Her soulmate mark is burning.” he shouted but your ears were too clogged due to choked sobs to feel the distress in his voice. You slowly opened your heavy eyelids as your wrist was pulled swiftly. With blurred vision, you saw prof. casting a spell,his wand releasing a blue light circling your mark which entered your wrist, momentarily soothing the pain. Your cries softened into tiny sniffles as the spell did it's work. You lifted yourself up with Willy's help while sloppily rubbing at the darkened spot. 

“Oh yes, it’d leave some itching and for the spot and further treatment, you need to immediately go to the hospital wing. Ms. y/l/n and mr. Kim, you both are excused and for your foolishness, 100 points from slytherin.” Upon his command, your head snapped towards the man standing across the room in dishevelled state,probably matching your own,his hand clutching his wrist, eyes holding your gaze.

“Out!” 

Nodding your head, you made your way out, the male following after you. 

Either you were too slow in your steps or he was too brisk, but he seemed to be way ahead of you. Gripping your tingling and heavy hand, you were tracing his path when a pair of shoes met your vision, halting you in the middle of the corridor. 

“It’s stinging y/n. We have to run!” and before you could reply, he was sprinting for the stairs, taking you with him.

“You both are in the same year?” the nurse asked, examining the burnt swans on your wrists. 

“Yes” you both replied in unison, eyes meeting for a second before you  averted your gazes. The head nurse noted something in her register before she went to extract some bandages and potions.

“is the skin still burning?" The nurse queried, taking doyoung's hand but he pulled his hand and pointed for you. 

"She's more hurt. Check her first please" he mumbled, noticing your incessant scratching and ragged breathing. She shook her head and proceeded with the treatment.

"Why were you playing with the potions?" She scolded Doyoung while applying the healing potion. 

"I wasn't!" Doyoung retorted as he straightened his back in defence. "It got spilled by mistake when I was finding seaho-RSES!" He screeched as the medicine stung.

"Seahorses are kept in see-through containers mr. Kim and don't you nincompoops know that golden marks are sensitive to heat. Why were you wearing a folded shirt in a potions class when clearly you were exposed t-

"The temperature madam!" Your eyes never left his face as you witnessed the misery he went through in the past few minutes and which you were going to experience in a few seconds. 

"Give me your hand miss y/n" 

The liquid ignited it again but as she massaged on it, the skin felt cooler than before and when she wrapped the white bandage, the sharp needles alleviated into cold jingling. You carefully glanced at doyoung through your peripheral vision only to find him staring at you with wide eyes. Saving yourself the humiliation, you tried to hide your face into your neck which only annoyed you further due to the wetness of your fresh tears mixing with sweaty moisture, creating what felt like a puddle but you endured it, calculating the weight of the outcomes.

"Do stop by every day for a change of bandage unless you want to live your whole life with black wrists which I clearly don't have any problem with kids!" She jested before leaving for her office. 

You stayed seated beside doyoung, the newfound soulmate, wondering if he was as nervous as you were. Fisting your clammy hands, you mustered all the courage you could, ready to introduce yourself but the greeting travelled back through your throat when he hopped off the hospital bed and departed without uttering anything. 

Your recently dried eyes were sprayed again with his callous action as millions thoughts ran through your throbbing head, heart constricting under the weight of silence. 

Did the man for whom you deserted the whole world for, rejected you?

"HE DID WHAT?" Aria hollered and looming forward, slamming her hands down on the table. At her reactions, you felt your own anger bubbling again but the disorder generated by the recent incident and William's reasoning, you stopped yourself from forming any conclusion.

"Will you calm down." 

"No willy, don't you want to rip that sly boy apart. How dare he! I’m going to- wait you told him before me! That's not fare." She whined, diverting her own attention.

“stop shouting aria. Let people eat in silence. An-and we don't know why he left. It could be--maybe he wanted to use the washroom or he wanted to hide his pai-

"Stop defending him willy or I'll pour this porridge over your head" willy pouted at her remark and slided down his chair to avoid her.

"Stop bickering and tell me what should i be doing now! I have a soulmate for god's sake!"

You had finally found the reason for your presence in the castle, your soulmate, kim doyoung and you didn’t know how to proceed.

"I guess wait y/n and at least you were saved from the awful odour of the gird today. Sicheng almost fainted in front of professor but that was a hilarious sight girl. You missed it" you saw rolling her eyes at the mention and you mirrored her reaction,resting your head on the table as Willy's ironic statement only intensified the pounding.

Wait! But for how long?

"YOUR FROG BRAIN DID WHAT?" Simmi jumped off the bed to face doyoung, her hand reaching for the transfiguration book.

"I-i- i got nervous!" He whined and cringed at his pathetic excuse. He was busy folding and unfolding his poor ear,apparently in nervousness, when his best friend thwacked his bicep with the heavy book.

He cried out loud, grasping his arm with one hand, “do you want to die!” he glowered at her. 

“How could you miss your soulmate when she was right there in front of you for two years." She said before working on his arm again. 

“I’m not the only one! She also missed me.” he reasoned, holding his hands up in refuge from her neverending attacks. “Wait!” he exclaimed, pondering over his words. “How could she not know I was her soulmate when almost everyone knows I've got a gold swan embroidered.” his face fell in despondency and the horrible and hurried conclusion his thoughts took him to. “Simmi what if she- what if she never wanted to find me and that-

“Merlin’s beard shut yourself up and mail your family. They need to know their baby boy is all grown up now!”

He nodded in acknowledgement of the suggestion but his wandering mind refused to rest until he was sure of his qualms. 

Maybe he should wait! But for how long?

My love was sleeping, but there was fragrance in the air

Doyoung roamed around in circles, his heart unevenly drumming, body so warm under the strain of muddled thoughts that the moisture was seeping through the bandage. The response of his parents, lying on his bed in the form of a letter, had relieved him of the worries of any prospective opposition. Not that he didn’t know his family, he wasn't too convinced how their family would address the sudden revelation of his soulmate being a muggle. You were going to be the first muggle in his family and the first ravenclaw after his great grandmother. The first line of the letter “we are elated to know that your soulmate is a human and not your piano” had eased him for the remaining part. Now that the dragon was out of the dungeon, the subsequent troubles were giving him splitting migrains. 

In the past week, he had tried to approach you after a painful shove from taeyong and simmi but he had to retreat due to your very malevolent comrades. The mental conversations he had with you continued to be in the confines of his head but nothing arrested him from searching for you in the crowds. You had always been there, in the same classes, in the great hall, in the corridors but you were nowhere when his eyes sought you. Just a week has passed and he found himself getting more and more conscious of your presence. He wanted to hijack and become a part of your convivial life yet he lacked the needed courage. 

So he resorted to wearying his legs by moving around. Maybe Some blood rush from his branches to brain would give him some clarity.

By degrees, the thumping of his spirit corresponded to the swooshing of the sea creatures.

He might have been too young to fall in true love but slowly, he knew, he was falling for that little golden swan.

Hidden from the rest, you were completing your assignment when the chair besides you was drawn out. You raised your head with the intention of getting the chair vacated for your friends but watching the Kim doyoung occupying the seat, you shot up instantly,ready for your escape. Fumbling with the ink and books, you whirled around only to be stopped by the boy.

 You glanced at him for a moment before pulling your hand ,which he was tugging at , back. 

"Stay. Your friends won't be coming today. I won't say anything. Please" he requested with his doe eyes looking up in a hope to catch yours. 

Wordlessly, you sat down.

He kept his promise. 

No word was spoken that day or the next day or the next week. 

The intense silence that engulfed you that day soon morphed into a tranquil one. The one of the familiarity, of the silent exchanges and of the growing unbreathed bond.

By the end of the month, the green leaves sacrificed themselves for the birth of fiery red ones as the days became shorter, the sun became mischievous and the gold on your wrists started gleaming more than ever.

One month later 

“Gamps’ law of transformation? Didn’t we read it last year?” doyoung asked perplexedly, taking the reins of the conversation, again.

“Prof. told me to prepare an assignment which would be used for the younger students.” you replied sheepishly, dipping the quill in the ink. 

“Pure ravenclaw” he muttered, looking lovingly at you. These days, he did it more often than he could count. He wanted to say more but the fear of your refusal always held him back.

“Not so much” 

you heard his muttering! He wanted to pry further but saved it for a later discussion. 

He shifted himself towards his own chair and worked on his sheet as the ticking of the grandfather clocks muddled with scratching of the quills filled the empty corner. 

It wasn't home but it certainly felt like one!

Two months later

“Give us our y/n back” aria whisper yelled to taeyong.

“She’s doyoung’s soulmate, doyoung is my best friend hence she is my best friend as well.” taeyong retorted, dramatically flaring his nostrils. 

“Don’t forget we live at the same place taeyong and simmi won’t be there to save you baboon face.” amused smiles adorned everyone’s faces as they saw both of them quarelling. Some things were always constant. 

You sipped on your hot chocolate that warmed you up as you and doyoung went through the revision for the last exam. Without being asked, he helped you with his encyclopedic knowledge. you were grateful for his assistance but never said anything for you felt like the feather silence between you was too delicate to breach. 

So you spoke through your eyes.

And he never failed to hear you.

Wrapping the scarf around your neck, you sprinted for the dining hall, tightly holding onto the white chocolates tightly. 

At the end of the hallway, you saw another figure running over in the same state as you.

“Did you get shorter?” he said, grinning ear to ear. Glancing up at him, you scanned through his features, in case you had forgotten in the christmas holidays. 

“This is for you!” you both said simultaneously, extending your hands

“Open it for me!” you requested.

Under the emerald covering was an elegant and vintage fountain pen, engraved and decorated with turquoise stones. “This is so beautiful.” you told him before taking it from him. You traced over the name kim carved onto the nib of the pen. You raised your brows in question to which he responded quickly , “it’s my great grandma’s. This is your Christmas gift from the Kim family. I know it’s small but you are invi-

“It’s precious. You are giving me a family heirloom when all i got are some homemade milk chocolates for you.” your smile faded as you avoided his sight.

“How did you know white chocolates are my favourite?” he exclaimed, a bit too loudly.

“Mom said you’d l-

Before you could complete your sentence, he prised the chocolate box out of your grip, sprinting for the great hall.

“OH KIM DOYOUNG! GIVE ME MY SHARE!” 

YEAR - FOURTH

“Why are you always so quiet?” 

“I’m never!” you defended yourself. 

Doyoung didn’t know why he was talking about it now and here, out of all places, in front of whomping willow.

“Tell me!” he pressed.

“I talk to a few and it’s enough.”

“Do you know you are intimidating?” you raised your chin to scrutinise the sincerity in his words.

“I am not!” 

“To those you don’t know you, you radiate passive energy. My slytherin friends wanted to introduce themselves but they got scared and ran away. Honestly, i was also a bit-

He trailed off, slouching on the bench as your eyes bored into his. His head hung low in apology for he knew, he must've crossed the line but for the first time, you decided to show him your dauntless side.

“Hogwarts did that to me.” you said, wearily. “I was happy with my parents, drawing and colouring in my art books when suddenly i was told that i’ve been living in a wrong way. That there is a secret magical place where i have a soulmate. I was angry because i had to leave everything behind. And then i was sorted into ravenclaw. And i was distorted when i found out that i wasn't smart enough for them. I couldn't solve the riddles! William was the one who showed me how to do it properly. It felt awful knowing that the only place that was supposed to be my home for next seven years wasn't the place where i belonged to.” you spoke calmly but doyoung felt your distress and let you continue without any interruptions. 

“I was an eleven year old. I never wanted to fend for myself in a place full of strangers. I -i imagined my life to be a canvas full of colours that i wanted to design for myself. The borders, the paint, the drawing, i wanted to design it for me. But then an owl screeched and i felt like someone had shortened my canvas and after all these years, i feel it’s completely disappearing.” it sounded like someone snatched the life out of your voice. But your visage remained soft, drawing doyoung in. 

“So you like art.” he asked with curiosity. 

“Yes. i love art.” you said, eyes fixed at the movements of the branches of whomping willow.

“Can you please teach me?” he urged and within a second , the air filled with the fragrance of your happiness.

“ why wouldn’t I. what do you wanna do in future doyong? Aria wants to arithmancer, william would be a healer and sicheng, he would be a star quidditch player.”

“I don't want to worry about it right now. Let’s just live in today.” he answered back, smile gracing his lips at the thought of a future with you.

You both relished each other’s company until the temperature froze the both of you.

Removing a  snowflake from your lashes, he made a promise to himself that he’d help you find something that’d put ice on all the bitter memories you had. 

YEAR - FIFTH

THE GREAT HALL

 “Doyoung’s got a howler!” yuta and simmi fist bumped each other, already too excited for the letter to be opened. Of all the howlers they have received, doyoung and yuta’s were record establishing and they expected mrs. kim to maintain the status quo this time as well.

The howler jumped in the air and as the seal opened, doyoung’s heart dropped at the voice. It was not from his mother but his sister and it shouted humiliation, if he was being polite towards her. 

“MS. Y/N!” 

You choked on the juice as you heard your name. 

“MY DEAR TO-BE-SISTER-IN-LAW, HELLO! I’M IVET, THAT DENSE DUDE’S LITTLE SISTER. MUM HAS SENT YOU SOME ART SUPPLIES AND SHE WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU COULD PAINT HER SOMETHING TO DECORATE THE EMPTY WALL IN HER ROOM. SHE’D BE DELIGHTED AND IF YOU GET TIME,PLEASE DRAW SOMETHING FOR ME TOO. AND DOYIE BRO! BRING ME CHOCOLATE FROGS FROM THE TRAIN! SHOP FROGS DOESN'T TASTE THE SAME. FORGET THIS TIME AND I’D MAKE SURE YOU REGRET YOUR EXISTENCE. I hope we can meet soon ms. y/n. By.”

The howler exploded and so did the whole room. Several snorts, chuckles, happy curses were exchanged as doyoung lowered himself under the table to avoid the shame. 

You checked your paint supplies attached with the howler and as your lips curved up, he knew what he was going to pursue in his life. 

Your happiness and immortality.

When i found you, there was magic 

“Mr. kim if you wish to ogle at ms.y/l/n instead of paying attention to my words then i’d suggest please fail your o.w.l.s so i don’t have to face your affection filled face from next year.” prof snape growled, throwing the head of vial on doyoung’s face. 

He was going to fail potions, you thought gesturing him to apologise.

“And 20 points from slytherin and 10 points from ravenclaw!” you both ducked your heads in an instant, forcing a poker face to save yourself from further trouble.

When i found you, rain smelled good

YEAR - SIXTH

When i found you, desires awakened

“No simmi! This is a slytherin dungeon. I cannot go inside!” you warned simmi, who, all of a sudden was adamant on showing you her room, at midnight. 

“I love you but please don’t call this a dungeon.” she held out her hand before you could correct her. “Yes i know this is practically a dungeon but we call it seascape.  Close your ears, you don’t wanna hear the password. You nodded, palming your ears.

“Yutaisthegreatestbeingintheworld” you snickered as she recited the words.

“Our prefect is a dung brain so please excuse.”

Door opened to darkness but a dim light slowly floated towards you as you walked inside “Nox”  your wand rose high up in the air. You made out doyoung’s figure and before you could calculate, the whole room resonated with a syncless birthday song.

And you knew, you were enthralled by this boy.

You heard my prayers, you answered my heart’s call

“I love you aria. Would you give me the honour of being the snitch of your life?” sicheng, aria’s ravenclaw soulmate confessed to her with a promise ring. 

“The ice prince finally melted!” You and william, hands joined, jumped in joy as you watched aria’s eyes glistened with glee.

You rushed upstairs to find doyoung as you forsaw the end of your wait.

Panting heavily, you dragged doyoung out of prof’s room, his step gracefully flowing with yours in a instant.

“What are yo-

“What do you smell in amortentia?” you stopped abruptly and asked him, gasping for air.

“Wh-a-t” he giggled nervously, his hand patting his chest to control his own breathing. “What has gotten ov-

“Answer me kim doyoung.” you whispered, strictly.

He was quiet but you understood the stillness of his heart veiled by the thumping and you felt him losing his composure when his hands cupped your face, 

"I-i smelled white chocolate, lovely lillies-

"Hurry up Kim." You hit his chest with your fist with requirement of the answer.

He chuckled, his bunny teeth enlightening his chiselled face while he looked at you like you were something special to him and you no more just wanted to feel it. You wanted him to say it, express it like he did when he read the poetry from your book or like the random scribbles on his notebooks. You wanted him to move on from the shy glances and profess that you were his and he was yours. 

he licked his lips as he gulped harshly before continuing,

"And you. You-your hair. Your lavender scent. Your innocence. Your d-dreams. Your colours. Your paints yo-

Pulling him by his tie, you placed your lips on his soft ones, leaving them with a smack. His hands wrapped around your waist to embrace you in the warmest hug you'd ever received from a loved one. As your head laid on his chest, you heard his heartbeat for the first time, making you feel closer to him than ever. 

"How would i ever requite your love Kim doyoung" you asked, closing your eyes.

"Maybe a portrait would do!" 

Kim doyoung became the canvas of your life,giving you the liberty to paint him in your colours and  your love and you became the smudged ink to his enchanted diary, without whom he would've failed to fill the pages.

You'd grow old but the swans born out of you would tell the stories of the years gone by.

[adenei]

Summer of Jily Week 4

It's week 4 for @efkgirldetective's Summer of Jily challenge! You sure did send me for a loop with this one, but I've managed to keep the one-shots turned multi chap story going!

This week's prompts: Picking Berries and "I know I kissed you before, but I didn't do it right."

Read on AO3

************

James didn’t sleep at all that night. He couldn’t stop thinking about the carnival. His thoughts shifted between being mad at Sirius for winning that damn prize and presenting it to Lily—that was his stupid, cheesy plan that his best mate had hijacked—and the Ferris wheel ride.

About saving your letters or waiting for you to ask me out?

How could he have been so thick? And how is it that he keeps royally mucking things up? He’d had the perfect opportunity to kiss Lily right there on the ride, but then it had to move again, and he’d gotten sidetracked at the feeling of flying on a muggle contraption.

Hadn’t he come along with the boys to crash the girls trip so he could spend more time with Lily? He’d devised the perfect opportunity to sweep her off her feet, and he swore to himself he would only ask her out if she made it blatantly obvious that she wanted him to. As much as it killed him, he’d rather not lose her friendship over pressing her one too many times.

But now, she had made it clear that she was waiting for him to make a move, and what does he do instead? Lets her walk away after the sunrise, hits her with a ball by the lake, and then avoids her throughout the entire carnival until their friends force them to share a compartment on that bloody ride.

He’d had the perfect opportunity to kiss her right there, to ask her to be his girlfriend, and what does he do instead? Freezes. James Potter, master of smooth pick-up lines, carefree, easy-going Gryffindor heartthrob (says the Hogwarts gossip circle, not that he pays attention to any of that—why would he when he’s got his heart set on one girl?) freezes.

Well, he didn’t totally freeze. After they’d apparated back to the cabin, he and Lily were the last two in the sitting area before they went to bed. He walked her to the door of the girl’s room and kissed her on the cheek before bidding her goodnight.

It had taken all of his willpower to not pull her into his arms and snog her senseless after her confession earlier that evening. Yet, after seeing her disappointed face before she shut the door to the bedroom, he wished he had. She’d thrown his entire game off, and he needed to fix it before he lost his chance with Lily for good.

Resigning himself to the fact that he was awake to see another sunrise, James dragged himself out of bed and picked up his glasses on the nightstand before stepping around the mattress on the floor where Peter currently snored away. He grabbed the nearest shirt he could find and threw it on before slipping out of the bedroom.

It was lighter out than he was expecting, meaning he’d probably missed the sunrise. The boys preferred to sleep in pitch black, but the spell they cast on the window the night before was fading, allowing the daybreak to sift through and consequently throwing off his sense of time. He started the coffee pot and leaned against the counter while he waited for the pot to brew.

Caffeine would be necessary to stay awake today, or maybe he could sneak a nap in at some point. Hell, maybe he’d be able to convince Lily to join him for said nap. He could think of plenty of things they could get up to whilst they were in bed together. James let his mind wander to thoughts of getting to know her in a more intimate setting. The kind that he’d often wank to when he needed a release.

The rich smell of dark roast wafted through the living area. James forced his thoughts away from images of Lily writhing beneath him as he reached for a mug. He only barely heard the click of a door as he pulled the pot off to pour himself a cup.

“Another early morning?”

James looked up to see Lily standing there, her hair messy from sleep. She ran her fingers through it in an attempt to comb it out. The green of her eyes were barely visible under still somewhat droopy eyelids. Something stirred within him, and despite the fact that he was only seventeen, it was a view he knew he could get used to.

“That would imply I slept. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, but I couldn’t resist the smell of coffee. Why couldn’t you sleep?”

“Peter’s snoring reached new levels last night.”

The lie slipped off his lips with ease, although it wasn’t altogether convincing. A simple Muffliato charm would have allowed him the peace and quiet he needed to fall asleep. Her skeptical look wasn’t lost on him as he absent-mindedly began fixing the cup he’d poured with the amount of milk and sugar Lily preferred. He wasn’t aware he was doing it until he handed it to her.

“Thanks,” she said. “Since when do you know how I take my coffee?”

“Come on, Evans, you don’t think I’ve noticed? Some things stick after eating breakfast with someone over the last year.” James smirked.

He grabbed another mug from the cabinet and poured his own cup without adding anything to it. James blew over the dark brown liquid to help cool it off as he watched Lily take a minuscule sip of her own.

“That’s fair. I still don’t know how you can drink yours black.”

“Some say I’m sweet enough on my own.” The quip was automatic as Lily laughed at his humor.

Merlin, her laugh is infectious. James swore the reason he said half of the stuff he did was so he could hear her laugh.

“Do you want to go for a walk?”

The question came from nowhere, but the early morning was so peaceful that he wanted to experience it with her, preferably hand in hand.

“Sure.”

They left their coffee mugs abandoned on the Formica as they headed to the door and slid on their shoes. Lily grabbed a jacket off the coat rack and zipped it up halfway. James closed the door quietly behind him then led her over to the trail he and the boys explored yesterday. The path wasn’t terribly long, but it ended up in a quiet and secluded area where the lake met pebbled terrain.

“So, was the dolphin a good sleeping partner?” James’s voice cut through the light layer of morning fog.

Lily chuckled. “I don’t know, I let Marly sleep with him instead.”

“Ah, Sirius will be heartbroken if he learns of your betrayal.” His words were meant to be a joke, yet they didn’t come across as lighthearted as he’d hoped.

“Well, good thing you won’t tell him. Right?” Lily’s questioning eyes made James’s heart skip a beat.

“I suppose I can keep your secret, Evans, but it’ll cost you.”

“Oh? And what might that price be, Potter?”

The green of the trees and shrubbery only enhanced the sparkle that glinted in her eyes. James wondered if she was testing him. Shouldn’t she know by now that he never backed down from a challenge?

“Ditch your friends and spend the day with me instead.”

“Like a date?”

“Yes, Evans, like a date.”

“Well, good thing we’re getting an early start. Now we can make the most of the day.”

James grinned at Lily’s acceptance as they continued down the trail.

They were nearly at the clearing by the water when Lily stopped, causing James to turn around. “Is this the path you and the boys were on yesterday afternoon?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, when Mary asked if you found anything interesting, you said no.”

“Because there isn’t…”

“That’s not true! Look at the blackberry bushes over there!”

James’s head turned to the direction Lily was pointing at, and sure enough, there were several bushes, low to the ground and full of clumps of blackberries. Lily bent down to pick a few off the branches.

“How do you know they’re blackberries and not nightshade or something?”

“Honestly, Potter, did you not pay attention when Sprout taught that unit on edible plants and where to find them in the wilderness?”

“No? Guess I was a bit distracted.”

“Nightshade grows off the stem in one circle. They look more like blueberries, except they’re shinier and darker. Blackberries have all the little bumps on them like this. Almost like a raspberry, but a different color.”

Lily picked a handful of berries during her explanation and stood when she was finished. James saw her holding them delicately in an effort to stop them staining her hands. Using her forefinger and thumb, she picked one up and held it to James’s mouth.

“Try it.”

James opened his mouth and let her place the berry on his tongue. He locked eyes with her as his lips closed around her fingers. An explosion of flavor bursts on his tongue as he bit down on the fruit. The tartness caused him to squint and pucker his lips slightly. Lily smiled at his reaction as she popped a couple berries in her mouth.

She was right—they tasted way better when picked fresh. He held out his hand for more, and she gave him a couple to munch on as they continued walking through the woods. James’s brain was fixated on the way she fed him as his feet moved him forward. Their hands grazed against each other, and James held on after the third bump. He felt her fingers intertwine with his as their steps aligned on the dirt path. As they inched their way toward the rocky clearing of the lake, a plan formed in his mind, and he knew exactly what he needed to do to match Lily’s brazenness of the night before and kick off their day-long date properly.

“Oh, wow,” she whispered as the trail gave way to the stunning view of the calm water ahead of them. The fog had settled across the still water, preventing them from seeing the other side of the lake.

“Lily—”

“Okay, the berries were one thing, but hiding this view from us? How—” Lily froze mid-sentence as comprehension dawned on her. “Did you just call me Lily?”

“Yeah, I did, but please go on about how we didn’t tell you about this.”

“No, I think I’d rather hear what you have to say instead.”

“You sure? I know how much you love being able to prove us wrong.”

James paused, waiting for Lily’s reaction. He loved riling her up like this. The way he alluded to something but then held it just out of her grasp to ensure that she truly wanted to know what he had to say. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he waited.

“What do you mean, am I sure? Would I have asked you to tell me if I wasn’t?”

He thought about keeping up with the banter, but he was tired of waiting.

“That’s fair. Look, I know I kissed you before—y’know, last night—but I didn’t do it right, and I’d like to make up for that right now if you’ll let me.”

There was a sharp intake of air, and if James could pat himself on the back for catching Lily off-guard, he would. But she regained her composure before shooting a challenging look in his direction.

“Since when does James Potter ask permission before kissing a girl? I thought he—how did Sirius put it? Sets his eyes on what he wants and goes for it?”

James chuckled and cringed at the same time, remembering how Sirius explained James’s intentions during fifth year.

“Well, as true as that may be, I still try to be a gentleman about it. I’d never make an unwanted advance if that’s what you’re implying.”

“Interesting, considering I thought I made it clear what I wanted last night.”

Were his eyes playing tricks on him, or did Lily just take a tiny step forward?

“Is that so?”

“It is. And it sounds like you’re stalling.”

“Please, Evans, you’d know when I’d be stalling.”

“What are you waiting for, then?”

The words barely escaped her mouth, James didn’t waste any more time as his hands lifted to cup Lily’s face. He leaned in and captured her lips with his, the tangy taste of the berries still lingering on her mouth. Everything about Lily’s lips were soft and inviting as her hands found a home on his lower back. He felt her mouth open slightly as her teeth grazed his bottom lip, eliciting a small moan from his mouth.

James deepened the kiss as his tongue swiped across her lips. Her hands pushed him closer as her mouth widened, inviting him to explore. A quack in the distance was the only thing that reminded them where they were, as James slowly broke away. She was more beautiful than he remembered, with her lips swollen from his kiss and the dazed look of bliss on her face.

“Well, I’m used to ending the date with a kiss, not starting it,” her words were breathless.

James chuckled at Lily’s words. “Am I to take that as a good or bad thing?”

“Good. Very good.”

“And just imagine, we’ve got the whole day ahead of us now.”

“This is true. Should we head back and get ready for the rest of the day?”

“Sounds brilliant.”

James had no idea what they were going to do for the day, but he planned on making the most of their time spent together. Nothing could go wrong.

[maaaddiexo]

The Within Series | Legolas Greenleaf

Book 1: The Devil Within - 1.8

Mainlist | Serieslist

Nyx of Tyndall does not know love or kindness. Cursed at a young age by a jealous witch, Nyx has lived a life of solitude and death.

Until Gandalf the Grey requests her presence and uncontrollable skill in assisting a young Hobbit across Middle-Earth with nine others to destroy a ring so powerful all fall victim to its evil.

Not only must Nyx face Orcs, demons, and creatures she’s never seen before, but also the devil inside. Controlling the devil is the key to finding freedom in a spell that can’t be broken. But it will not be so easy for Nyx when every obstacle she faces pushes her to an edge she cannot return from.

Chapter Eight

Nyx marched through the halls of Rivendell angrily. Flight of stairs after flight of stairs she went until she was at the highest lookout point the Elves of Rivendell had built. The sound of water cascading down the mountain drowned out the sound of blood pumping angrily in her ears, but she could still feel it nonetheless. She crossed a small arched bridge in front of waterfall. The mist that came off put out the smoke on her cape.

Nyx discarded her cloak angrily, throwing it on the floor and kicking it away. Her face burned with anger and she rubbed her face, frustrated tears running down her cheeks. Not even a week she’d worn the ring and already it had torn down the defenses she’d spent over a decade building up. She braced herself against the stone balcony railing.

“Focus, Nyx. Like Gandalf taught you.”

“Milady Nyx?” An Elf stood timidly at the top of the stairs. Clearly, he knew he was interrupting something. “Dinner will be served in fifteen minutes.”

“Tell Elrond and Gandalf I will not be attending. They will understand.”

The Elf hesitated and then bowed. “Of course, Milady Nyx. Would you like to have it sent to your room?”

Nyx hesitated and then nodded curtly.

The Elf bowed once more and then descended the stairs quickly and Nyx felt her knees give out, splitting when they hit the stone. Her fingers gripped the stone spindles and her head rested against them. Nyx couldn’t find it in herself to move. Not even as the sun began to set and the temperature dropped.

Nyx was tired. She could go no further.

⍥⍥⍥

When Nyx woke up the next morning, she was still on the outlook, her cloak wrapped around her like a blanket with leaves in her hair.

Someone was touching her shoulder. She saw the familiar staff before she heard the voice.

“My dear, why sleep on the floor when you’ve been offered a bed.”

Nyx looked away. All around her were burnt leaves and grass. Her fingertips were black with ash. She’d spent a long time trying to control her anger the night before. And though she hadn’t burned down a gazebo, Rivendell wasn’t completely unscathed. “What time is it?”

“The Council is about to begin but Frodo refused to start without you. He insists you be part of the meeting.”

Nyx frowned. She wanted no part of the Ring and its journey, wherever it led. Not after what it did to her in less than a week. She felt the anger in her, glowing bright. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly.

“Come on. Up you get.” Gandalf helped Nyx to her feet and began to fret over her, pulling the leaves and twigs out of her hair and brushing down her cloak. “That’ll do.”

Nyx frowned and self-consciously pulled her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck. They descended the stairs quickly, Nyx trailing behind the grey wizard. “Gandalf, I do not want to go with the Ring.”

“You do not have to. But attend for Frodo’s sake. Here,” he grabbed Nyx’s scythe and placed it in her hands. There was still dried blood on it from the last time she used it. “Come.”

Everyone was already seated in the Council Room and Nyx moved to stand behind Frodo’s chair. He smiled gratefully at her over his shoulder. She tried to smile back but wasn’t sure how convincing it was.

“Strangers from distant lands,” Elrond began. “Friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall.”

Nyx found Aragorn’s eyes across the circular room, fear brimming in her eyes. Her gave her a calm smile before turning to look at someone else. The Elf from the day before. They shared a familiar look with one another. A look of familiarity and friendship.

“Each race is bound to this fate – this one doom,” Elrond continued. “Bring forth the Ring, Frodo.”

Frodo stood on shaky legs, looking at Gandalf and then Nyx behind him. She nodded encouragingly at him. He reached into his pocket as he walked towards the small stone table in the middle, octagonal in shape. He placed it on the stone gently but still, everyone heard it thud, like a boulder hitting the bottom of chasm.

Immediately, the Ring began to hum and sing, and everyone sat forward in their chairs, drawn to it. Except for Nyx. She took a step back in fear. Her fingers began to warm.

“So, it is true,” a man murmured. He stood up slowly. “In a dream, I saw the eastern sky grow dark. But in the west, a pale light lingered. Voices crying. Our doom is near at hand.” He moved closer to the Ring. “Isildur’s Bane is found.” He reached his hand forward. “Isildur’s Bane.”

“Boromir!” Elrond shouted. The man stood up with a fright, shaken out the Ring’s lure, and looked to the sky in shock as it began to darken.

Gandalf stood, reaching a hand to the sky. He began to chant in Black Speech.

Ash nazg durbatulûk

Ash nazg gimbatul

Ash nazg thrakatulûk

Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul

Nyx stared at the Ring, reciting the translation under her breath. It was the inscription on the Ring.

“One Ring to rule them all,

One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all

And in the darkness bind them.”

With Gandalf’s word, the sky brightened as fast as it darkened and everyone sat back down except for Nyx, who had no seat.

“Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris.”

“I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond,” Gandalf said to Elrond. “For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the west. The Ring is altogether evil,” he reminded the people in front of him.

Boromir shook his head. “It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay! By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy! Let us use it against him!”

“It cannot be used against its true master,” Nyx said angrily. “All it does is pull the evil from within and make you a monster.”

“And what do you, a mere girl, know about the Ring?” Another man spat at her. The rage bubbled in Nyx and her fingers did more than warm. Someone laid a hand on arm. Gandalf.

“Nyx is right,” Aragorn said. “You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master.”

“And what would a Ranger know of this matter? You are no more experienced than the girl!”

“This is no mere Ranger.” Nyx watched as the silver-haired elf stood up. “He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance.” Aragorn and the Elf did know each other.

“And it would not be wise to insult Nyx,” Elrond added. “For she has the nasty habit of catching fire.”

“Witch!” A man hissed. Nyx glared at him, her eyes flaming orange. It was one of the few tricks she’d picked up over the years. The man gasped and then fainted, and Nyx smirked. She swore she heard Gandalf chuckle too.

Boromir looked at Nyx and then Aragorn. He chose to focus on the latter. “This is Isildur’s heir?”

“And heir to throne of Gondor,” the Elf added. Nyx winced. Salt in the wound, if you asked her.

“Havo dad, Legolas.” Nyx glanced at the elf as he obeyed his friend’s words to sit down. So his name was Legolas.

“Gondor has no King,” Boromir said. “Gondor needs no King.”

“Then what does that make you?” Nyx wondered.

Gandalf spoke before Boromir could respond to Nyx’s angry words. “Aragorn is right. We cannot use it.”

“You have only one choice,” Elrond added. “The Ring must be destroyed.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” The Dwarf with ginger hair and a thick Scottish accent stood up and swung his axe. His axe should have shattered the Ring. Instead, the axe splintered into pieces and the Dwarf was thrown onto his back.

Frodo flinched, grabbing for his head. Sauron’s Eye flashed in his mind.

Nyx dropped to the ground, feeling a stabbing pain in her chest as images flashed in her mind. White hair. Fire. A blade dripping in blood. Somebody screaming. She coughed and black liquid splattered onto the stone. Ichor. Her cheek burned.

“The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Glóin, by any craft we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.”

Nyx wiped at her lips with the sleeve of her dress and stood up on weak legs. Gandalf offered her his arm.

“One of you must do this.”

There was silence all around.

“One does not simply walk into Mordor,” Boromir argued quietly. “Its black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly.”

“Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said?” Legolas demanded. “The Ring must be destroyed!”

“And I suppose you think you’re the one to do it!” Gimli argued.

“And if we fail, what then?” Boromir added, standing up. “What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?”

Gimli stood up – not that it made him any taller. “I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!”

The other Elves stood at Gimli’s insult and, soon enough, everyone was standing and yelling over one another. Frodo sat still, staring at the Ring as it called for him.

“Nyx?”

“Yes, Frodo?”

“I think it needs to be me.”

“Are you saying that because It calls to you or because you are strong enough to fight Its call?”

“I’m doing it because I don’t want to do it. Everyone is fighting to be the one because they don’t want somebody else to do it. I just want it done.”

Nyx smiled. “Then say so.”

Frodo’s announcement went unheard the first time. And the second. Nyx huffed and grabbed her scythe, which she had placed on the ground at the beginning of the meeting. She lifted it and swung it down against the concrete as hard as she could. The blade embedded itself in the concrete until no more metal could be seen. The crack echoed all across Rivendell and across the ponds and ocean, bouncing off the sides of the cliff. The Men, Elves, Dwarves, and Wizard stopped arguing instantly.

Elrond sighed indignantly. “Why must you always break something when you visit?”

“Because you ignorant and stubborn men never listen. Now, shut up and sit down. All of you.” She stepped back as Frodo stepped forward, swallowing thickly. His hands were so sweaty.

“I will take the Ring to Mordor. Though…I do not know the way.”

“I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins.” Gandalf gently touched the young Hobbit’s shoulder in reassurance. “So long as it is yours to bear.”

Aragorn stood. “If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will.” He walked across the circular room and knelt at Frodo’s feet. “You have my sword.”

“And you have my bow.” Legolas moved to Frodo too, passing Nyx on the way.

“And my axe,” Gimli promised.

Boromir stepped forward slowly. “You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done.”

Nyx stared at Boromir a moment longer. She didn’t like the way he spoke to Frodo, and she certainly didn’t like the faraway look in his eye.

“Heh!” Something brushed the side of Nyx’s skirt and she watched as Sam jumped from behind some bushes and ran to Frodo’s side, crossing his arms. “Mister Frodo’s not going anywhere without me.”

Elrond looked down at Sam in both disappointment and pride. “No, indeed. It is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not.”

“Doing some gardening again are we, Master Gamgee?” Gandalf asked with a pointed look in his eyes.

Sam looked down at his feet awkwardly. Nyx smiled.

From the other end, someone shouted. “Oi! Wait! We’re coming too!”

Nyx bit back her laughter at Elrond’s expression as the two cousins rushed to stand beside Frodo as well.

“You’d have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!” Merry insisted.

“Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing.”

Merry looked at Pippin. “Well, that rules you out, Pip.”

Pippin looked offended. Frodo turned around to look at Nyx, who was standing separate from the group.

“What about you, Nyx? Will you come with me?”

“You want me to?”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Aragorn said. “We could use a dragon in our company.”

Nyx smiled. For once, the name she’d been given wasn’t be used in anger or fear. “Then you shall have her.”

“Ten companions. So be it,” Elrond announced. “You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring.”

Part 1.9 ➺

[myboipotterimagines]

Anywhere - Charlie Weasley x Reader

Request: I have a Charlie request where he goes off the study dragons without telling anyone, even his good friend Hufflepuff. Preferably they then unite after a few years and she is a healer in St. Mungo’s for some burn treatment and they kind of confess. I know it’s confusing but if you do I will be grateful.  _______________________________________________________

You never thought you would see him again. His flaming red locks were hard to miss as he was wheeled into your unit, burns covering his already scarred body. His in too much pain to notice you, let alone recognize you were his long-forgotten best friend.  “What happened to him?” you asked the other healers wheeling him in, standing only a stride behind him, fearful to fully take in the sight before you. “We think a dragon did this to him. He hasn’t said much and we haven’t been able to contact any family.” “His name is Charlie Weasley, his dad is Arthur Weasley, from the ministry.” One of the younger healers nodded and ran off, presumably to contact his family. 

Burn spells were your specialty. So were cuts and poisonings. Basically, anything dragon related. It was all Charlie talked about. You knew that one day he would run off to study them. The way his eyes brightened when he talked about them was enough for you to be certain. You were sure that you knew before he even did. When you received the call from Molly, you knew it was a long time coming. It didn’t ease the pain, though. 

You had been friends for your entire lives, at least it seemed that way. In reality, you met at Hogwarts during your first year. Your friendship slowly turned into something more. Your romance was a slow burn, like a piece of wood that had once been soaked. Still, it blazed. Charlie’s dragons were the puff of air it took the extinguish the flames. You were left alone, cold, and heartbroken. 

You cast spell after spell, operating in auto control. Finally, the last remnants of his burns faded, and his vitals returned to normal. You inhaled a shaky breath, allowing yourself to relax only slightly. 

“I didn’t know you became a healer,” a familiar voice called from behind you.  “Oh, Molly,” you cried, wrapping your arms tightly around the woman you knew so well. “I’ve missed you so much.”  “We missed you, too, dear. We wish you would’ve came to the Burrow more often. You know that you’re always welcome.” “I know, it just felt strange without Charlie there.” Molly smiled sympathetically. “Well, how’s he doing?” You smile gently. “He’s going to be fine. He just needs to rest for a while.”

Molly nodded, going towards the bedside of her son. Arthur joined her, casting a light smile your way before turning his back to you. You knew that they wanted to be alone with their son, so you left. 

The farther you got from Charlie’s room, the faster the tears fell. You finally made it to the break room and allowed yourself to break down. Why did he leave you? You had a life planned out, one that you hoped he would join you in. You were foolish to think that the adventurer would ever settle down. You were pinning your hopes on nothing. You stood, recomposing yourself. There was no way you were going to be caught crying over a boy who abandoned you. 

You returned to your patients, seldom letting your mind wander to the boy in room 318. Eventually, the end of your shift arrived. Just as you were buttoning up your coat, you felt one last pull on your chest. You wouldn’t abandon him now. While Charlie may have left to follow his passion, that didn’t allow you to forget all the times he’d stood by you. 

Your hand lingered on the door as you fought one final urge to return home, however you pushed it away and the door open. Charlie was alone, lying down on his inclined bed. The light from the window was all that illuminated the room, allowing you to see his still bright red hair.  “Charlie?” you asked, hoping he was still even a bit awake.  “Hey, (Y/N),” Charlie said, a smile coming to his face. “I thought you weren’t going to come.”  “You know that I’d go anywhere for you, Charlie,” you said, now sitting beside him on his bed.  “Then why didn’t you come with me?” Charlie’s voice was shaky, showing a vulnerability he was usually able to mask from the world.  “What?” “I wanted you to come with me. I know it was a lot to ask at the time but I was in love with you, (Y/N). You always said we’d go anywhere together.” “You never asked.” 

The words lingered over both of you, the only noise in the air the humming of the equipment tracking Charlie’s vitals. His fingers brushed against yours, slowly interlocking with yours. “I shouldn’t have left you,” he finally whispered.  “It’s your dream, Charlie. I would never take that away from you.” “It is my dream, but so are you.” “Then take me with you, really this time. I’m an expert in healing anything dragon related. I would be very useful.” “Are you sure? I would take you in a heartbeat, but it’s dangerous work.” “I’m ready for dangerous.” Charlie smiled, properly this time. “Alright then, let’s go.”

[thorne93]

The Stars Made Us (Part 22)

Prompt: In this world, you’re one of the “lucky” ones who got a soulmate, but what if the universe gives you more than you bargained for?

(Prompt challenge – You live in a world where your soulmate can write on their skin and you will get the writing on your own and vice versa. Where they can wash away the ink on their own skin, however, the writing is forever scarred onto your skin until you meet face to face)

Word Count: 1921

Warnings: angst and language throughout

Notes: This was supposed to be for @sorryimacrapwriter​​​​​​  and their challenge like a year ago, I think? I still loved the prompt though and have been working on this story for quite some time. This aesthetic was made by @dontshootmespence​​​​​​, thank you so much! Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes​​​​​​, couldn’t have done it without you, as well as @carryonmyswansong​​​​​​ and @arrow-guy​​​​​​ and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​​​​​

Also, I’ve never really liked the whole soulmate AU thing idea, but this felt so right and it was amazing to write. I hope y’all love it too!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week flew by and Stephen had read all of his materials. When he wasn’t reading one, you were reading it. You decided to go with him to the library to see if they would let you read some things.

“Mr. Strange and Ms. Y/L/N,” a man greeted politely.

“Uh… Stephen, please. And you are?”

“Wong,” he answered evenly. 

“Wong. Just Wong? Like… Adele?” he joked and you couldn’t help but smile and laugh a tiny bit, trying to hide it. “Or… Aristotle. Drake. Bono. Eminem,” he continued to prattle off one named artists. 

Wong took the books and examined them. “The Book of the Invisible Sun, Astronomia Nova, Codex Imperium, Key of Solomon. You finished all of this?” he asked, a bit incredulous.

“Yup,” he answered, knowing how it looked.

“Come with me.”

Stephen and you traded a look of intrigue before he said, “Alright.”

The two of you followed him into a room that sat down a few steps and every book was chained in a special book shelving unit.

“This section is for Masters only. But at my discretion, others may use it. We should start with Maxim’s Primer. How is your Sanskrit?” he asked as he walked around, gathering books. 

“I’m fluent in Google Translate,” Stephen Responded and you shot him a look as if you were scolding him. He just shot you a smile. 

Stephen found some books that seemed to be glowing and looked a bit more prestigious than the other books. When he asked about them, he was told they were the Ancient Ones private collection. Naturally, both you and Stephen assumed they were off limits and mentioned this to Wong. Wong said no knowledge is forbidden, only some practice. The only thing was the knowledge in those books were too powerful for anyone but the sorceress supreme to handle. Stephen pulled the book down and began reading. You glanced over his shoulder. 

“That’s the book of Cagliostro. The study of time. One of the rituals was stolen by a former Master. A zealot called Kaecilius. Just after he strung up the former librarian, and relieved him of his head. I’m now the guardian of these books. So if a volume from this collection should be stolen again, I’d know it. And you’d be dead before you ever left the compound.”

You balked in response as Wong took the book back and refastened it in its chain holder. This Kaecilius seemed like a very bad character.

“What if it’s just overdue? You know? Any… late fees I should know about? Maiming, perhaps?” 

You couldn’t help but snicker, trying to hide it, trying not to seem disrespectful 

But Wong didn’t even make a face. 

Stephen clearly thought the joke was funny and now felt uncomfortable from Wong’s hard gaze. “Uhm…Uh, you know, people used to think that I was funny.”

“Did they work for you?” Wong fired back and all laughing stopped. You made a face of surprise before laughing a lot louder now.

“Alright. Well, it’s been lovely talking to you, thank you for the books and for the horrifying story and for the threat upon my life.”Stephen and you gathered his books and began walking across the courtyard. 

You were still laughing quietly.

“Shut up. You laughed too.”

“Yes, but you have to admit, he did catch you there.”

“I still think I’m funny.” 

You pressed your lips together to keep from laughing and teasing him further. 

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

You stood in the courtyard, watching Stephen train with about twenty five or thirty other people. They were teaching him hand motions, how to move his body, how to clear his mind, and when it came time for him to cast magic, he was the only one in the group who couldn’t do it. 

You felt sorry for him, but you also had a sense that he wasn’t giving his all to this. He was reading the literature, and he was attending all of the training, but he wasn’t connecting the two. He needed to connect with his soul, and he made it clear that he didn’t believe in that. 

Later that night, when you two got done eating, Stephen started to head towards your bedroom but you began heading toward the courtyard. 

“Where are you going?” he wondered.

You gestured with your head. “Come with me.” You swung by Master Mordo’s quarters and asked him to join you in the courtyard. 

It was late at night, the moon hung high in the sky. It lit up the whole courtyard, as did flaming torches. 

“Master Mordo, would you care to remind Stephen how to open up a portal?” 

“Of course.” He walked over to the box of sling rings, opened them up, and gave one to Stephen. “Focus, visualize. Let yourself see the destination. See beyond what is right in front of you.” 

Stephen nodded. “Got it, visualize it.” He held his left hand up, and spun his right hand. Only sparks appeared. He was already frustrated. 

“Here,” you offered, holding out your hand. “May I try?” you asked both Mordo and Stephen at the same time. 

Stephen gave you his ring and Mordo nodded. You slipped it on and thought of Charles’s kitchen. You focused, allowing yourself to really visualize being there, seeing the kitchen, smelling the smells… You held your left arm up, and began to use your right hand to spin in the air. 

Sparks at first, and then, suddenly the sparks took shape, and made a circle, going bigger and bigger until you could see the entire kitchen. You couldn't believe you actually did it, so easily. You thought on your first try you’d fail, but you wanted to give it a go, to see if maybe you could unlock something to help Stephen with. But you never dreamed you get this close this fast. You were actually practicing sorcery, right this second and your mind couldn’t comprehend it, but you felt alive with promise and hope. 

You were giddy with excitement both from the success of the spell and seeing a familiar sight, being this close to Charles. 

“Very good, Y/N,” Mordo complimented. “How did you learn that so fast?” 

“I’ve just been reading with Stephen. I applied what you said and what I’ve read.” 

“How--How do you do that?” Stephen asked, stunned. “I’ve been trying for weeks and I can’t get anything and you try it one time for ten seconds and you can jump through portals?” 

“I suppose the Ancient One was right about you.” He eyed you up and down. “I trust you to keep training him for this evening, hmm?” 

You nodded. “Yes, Master Mordo.” 

With that, he left, and you returned Stephen’s ring. “Here you go.” 

“Teach me what you just did,” he ordered.

“I will, if you promise to open your mind.”

“I will. I am. Let’s just do this.” 

You raised your brow, clearly not satisfied. “I’m serious, Stephen. If you don’t actually commit to this, believe in it, you won’t learn.”

“You don’t think I know that?” he barked at you and you gave him a stern look. He apologized. “I’m sorry. I know. Let’s try.” 

And so you did, but he didn’t get much better. He still struggled, he still got frustrated. But you kept at it, night after night. You continued to bring him out into the moonlit courtyard and try to teach him in various ways to master the spells and magic he’d been taught. Sometimes it was from books you two had read, sometimes he had to really what the Ancient One had taught him. 

But, despite your best efforts, his skill wasn’t improving. You felt like you were failing him and that caused a bout of guilt to build in you. 

One night in your bedroom, you decided to take a break from practicing and get back to the literature. 

“So, there you have it. What is a focal point?” you quizzed.

“A spot you focus intensely on. Come on, Y/N, really? We aren’t in undergrad getting quizzed for a final.” 

“No, but clearly whatever I’m doing out there isn’t helping. Maybe if we just revisit the literature we’ll see something we missed.” 

“We didn’t miss anything. I just can’t do this. My hands won’t work.”

“Stephen, it’s not about your hands--” you tried, exasperated.

“How is this not about my goddamn hands?” he questioned angrily and you sighed, taking a deep breath and closing your eyes.

“Alright. Okay, how about we take a break. Maybe this is too much, too fast. I’ve been like a drill sergeant and obviously that isn’t working.” You shut the book and put it on the desk behind you. “I’m sorry. I’m failing you.” 

You hung your head in despair, wishing you could help, wishing you could do more. 

“Hey,” Stephen said, putting his fingers under your chin. “You aren’t failing me. I’m failing you. You’re doing a lot here. I just can’t seem to get the hang of it, but that’s not your fault, it’s mine. Maybe if I wasn’t so stubborn.”

“Yeah, but then we’d have to wait for Hell to freeze over and we don’t have that kind of time.” 

“Ooh, okay,” he responded with a bit of a chuckle. “Smartassed today, I see.” 

“Just today? You’re slow on the game there, Sherlock.” You winked at him. 

In an instant, the air changed. 

For the first time since you met, the atmosphere wasn’t anything but tense, riddled with a desperate desire to break through the barrier of air that divided you and Stephen. Time stood still. All melted away. All you could see, smell, think about -- was the man in front of you.

He must’ve felt it too because his hand slowly moved from your chin to your hair, his other hand following suit. His eyes searched yours, for what, you weren’t sure. Permission perhaps, or perhaps he was trying to decide if he wanted to take this plunge. If he stepped over this line, he could never go back. He knew that this would almost surely bind you two. You would go from every other role you had held to -- his. All his. He was your soulmate, and you were his. This kiss would solidify everything he knew and everything he feared. 

With your eyes searching his, you slowly raised your hands to wrap around his wrists. In a silent plea, you granted permission and he must’ve sensed the feeling in you because he didn’t waste another second. 

His mouth crashed on yours and it felt as if it sent 1000 volts inside of you. His kiss spread out like the best medicine from your mouth to your toes. You saw stars behind your eyes and never imagined kissing him would feel this damned good. You never knew you needed this, but it was clear the instant it happened, that you in fact did.

He tasted almost warm, like spices used in baking. Clove, nutmeg, pepper. 

Hunger seemed to ravage you both as you pressed more and more on each other. 

All too soon, you pulled apart and he rested his forehead on yours briefly before kissing it, then rested his forehead against yours once more. Both of you were panting, smiling messes. 

“I didn’t… expect that,” he admitted.

“The kiss?” you questioned. 

“How...good and right it felt,” he clarified.

You pulled back, peering up at him with wondrous eyes before he pulled your face to him again, repeating the same amazing action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[the-littlest-goblin]

Everyone pretend I posted this on Monday for @shadowgast-week​ day 3: ritual

Also, I’m sorry.

_______________________________________________________________________

Everything about this is wrong.

It’s wrong that they’re doing it here, in the desolate ruins of Molaesmyr, further scorched and destroyed by the battle that took place. 

Essek’s presence is wrong, a lingering shadow at the edge of the Mighty Nein’s united fellowship. What insufficient aid he was able to contribute to the fight, he is even more useless now.

And, of course, the most egregious inaccuracy that the universe has allowed to take place: the limp body lying in the thin dusting of snow, red hair and purple coat as bright as gemstones against the gray-white ground.

Someone has closed his eyes, Essek can see now, even from here. But he still knows what it looked like to see the life leave those eyes, the utter wrongness of dull vacuity where there should be a sharp spark of intelligence. 

He will never be able to forget it.

The weak sunlight glints against the diamond that Jester produces from her haversack, almost the size of her fist. She exchanges a whisper with Caduceus, holding the gem out between them, uncertain. He inclines his head, touches her shoulder with a gust of warm, divine magic. Jester heaves a deep, steadying breath, and kneels next to the body.

“What the fuck are you doing.” The wet, raw voice is not asking a question. Essek didn’t notice Beauregard approach him, too focused on the scene unfolding a few yards away. A fist wraps around his forearm hard enough to bruise. He doesn’t resist as she drags him into the circle they have formed, but a distant part of him is idly curious that she does not understand what he knows so intrinsically: he should not be a part of this. This is a sacred, delicate ritual, and he is a blight on all that is holy and pure.

Still, once there, he can’t find it in him to argue the point, and none of the others protest as he stands among them.

He waits for someone to point out the obvious, because this is his fault, beginning to end. His actions led directly to this. Essek’s treason allowed Ikithon the dunamantic power that he’d wielded to such devastating effect before they could subdue him, and it was Essek’s spell that failed to bring down the mage before he landed the killing blow.

But no one speaks. No one even acknowledges Essek beyond a gentle pat on his shoulder from Caduceus.

Jester raises her hands, about to begin the ritual.

“Wait,” a voice cries. It is his. The others all look at him in shock.

He shuffles over to Jester, reaching into his components pouch for the pearl. Understanding dawns on her face as he holds it up to her forehead and murmurs the incantation. 

She smiles at him weakly in gratitude, tears brimming in her eyes and falling over the well-worn tracks down her face.

Essek has never witnessed a resurrection ritual before. Apparently, this is a first for the group as a whole. While Jester continues the somatic motions, muttering a prayer under her breath, Caduceus explains,

“We can help her. The ritual requires three offerings - words, objects, whatever you can give to the soul to help it return.”

Veth steps forward immediately. She barely needs to lean her halfling body down to press a kiss to Caleb’s pale forehead. She slips the button necklace from over her head and clasps it around Caleb’s neck, then begins to speak. 

Essek barely processes her words. He hears them, listens to them, feels them, but if asked to recall her speech later, he would be unable to quote a single phrase. The same for when Beau steps up, the unrestrained anger in her tone at odds with the tenderness of her words.

She finishes with a watery sniff and a swipe at her bloodshot eyes. The others begin to look across the group, exchanging silent questions of who will go next, who has something to coax Caleb’s soul back to them.

It takes Essek several seconds of dumb blinking to realize that all eyes have turned to him.

He doesn’t move. 

It’s difficult to keep secrets when traveling with a party like this, as Essek quickly discovered. He knows that they all know, to varying degrees, about the unnamed, unspoken thing that has built between him and Caleb over the months. But it still feels wrong, because they are the Mighty Nein, and he will always be an outsider, and Caleb is first and foremost one of them before he is Essek’s... whatever he is.

Jester pauses her spell to smile up at him. “I think he would like it, if it was you,” she whispers.

Essek has never been able to turn Jester down. Even back when he was ingratiating himself with them only for self-preservation, she had opened her arms and gazed at him with doe-eyed expectance, and the notoriously cold and calculating Shadowhand of the Bright Queen had leaned in and let himself be hugged for the first time in decades.

Gazing back at Jester’s encouraging expression, he becomes aware of an idea in the back of his mind, percolating silently through the whole ritual without his conscious acknowledgement. 

He steps forward. Dropping to his knees next to Jester, he opens his component pouch once again and summons his spellbook from its pocket dimension. 

Tether Essence ends when one of the targets fall unconscious. He has never tried casting it on a dead person. Probably no one has, because it is clearly pointless. 

Veth and Beau both said something as part of their offering, so Essek speaks as well, as he gathers the elements of the spell together.

“When I met you, Caleb Widogast,” it feels strange, addressing the lifeless corpse, but he forces himself through the awkwardness, “I thought that I had at last found an equal. Over our early conversations, I saw how smart you were, how capable, how adept with magic. After years of always being the smartest person in any room - as I thought, in my arrogance, that I was - I had finally met someone I could engage with on my level.”

Heat rises in his cheeks, aware of the Mighty Nein all listening raptly.

“Eventually I realized how wrong I was, because we are not equals; you are so far beyond me in every way. Smarter, wiser, kinder. You proved to me by example that intelligence does not have to mean detachment, that one can pursue the kind of knowledge that we do without cutting themselves off from the world. From friends.”

And here, he risks a glance around. Jester smiles at him encouragingly.

“My soul was damned long before you found me, and I thought that that was the end of the story. But you knew better. You took it upon yourself to guide me beyond my own myopic world and showed me that there was still more I could do. That I could balance the scales, if I wanted. And you were willing to show me how, when there was nothing in me that should have merited a second chance.

“I am still a mere student in the study of atonement. I am not ready to lose my teacher. Please. I can’t do it without you.”

He releases the spell at last. He submits to it willingly, feels it latch onto himself. He altered the mechanics slightly - experimental, probably not advisable outside of laboratory conditions, but needs must - so that it spreads not just to his physical body, but deep into the core of his soul.

He feels it fizzle and snuff out on the other end, Caleb’s body no longer capable of receiving that kind of magic. He sighs, dropping his hands in defeat. He knew it would happen, but that doesn’t stop him from being disappointed.

Except...

The spell is still up. It’s not supposed to work unless it holds on both targets. Essek can still feel the magic humming through him, which means that somewhere beyond this plane of existence, his spell has reached Caleb’s departed spirit, linking them across life and death.

He leans back, but stays kneeling, scared of somehow breaking the tenuous connection.

Jester’s voice grows louder as she reaches the culmination of the ritual, beseeching her god with a conviction in her voice that penetrates the very atoms of their surroundings.

They all wait with bated breath, trembling in fear and suspense. Jester brings the diamond down on the center of Caleb’s chest, and it shatters into a millions tiny motes of dust, glittering and joining the snow.

Essek has never witnessed a resurrection ritual before. He doesn’t know how to read this, if the component shattering means success or...

Caleb’s eyelids flutter. Once. Twice. They open slowly, drearily, like he is merely waking up from a deep sleep.

The spark of life in them is blinding. Essek would gladly stare at those sky-blue stars for the rest of his days.

[aion-rsa]

Why You Should Watch Young Royals

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains some spoilers for Young Royals. 

WIth an overabundance of teenage-oriented romance shows on television at the moment, it can be hard to conjure up a reason to watch yet another one. Every streaming service seems to have something in the genre to fit a need, whether that be a gay protagonist, a female hero, or an ensemble cast. It’s very difficult to stand out amongst the crowd because there are very few places left untapped in exploring adolescent life styles. 

Enter Young Royals, a Swedish-produced LGTBQ romance drama that was released on Netflix at the beginning of July. When Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) is sent to boarding school by the Queen after getting in some trouble at a nightclub, he feels out of his element and overwhelmed with expectations. His only reprieve from the rigidity of this environment comes when he meets Simon (Omar Rudberg), a kind and charismatic child of an immigrant mother. 

Prince Wilhelm and Simon’s burgeoning relationship eventually turns into one of the most evocative and explorative love stories in contemporary queer TV. A keen understanding from the writers and actors of what can make a show like this stand out amongst a repetitive crowd of competitors is what will hopefully lead to enough viewership for many more seasons. Here are some more reasons you should watch Young Royals.

The Teenagers Actually Look and Behave Like Teenagers

Far too often the young people in coming-of-age entertainment vehicles look, act, and feel a little too mature for actual teens to relate to on any sort of deeper level. The actors who are casted infamously have birth dates well before the people they are portraying on-screen (Darren Barnet, who plays 16 year old Paxton Hall-Yoshida on Mindy Kaling’s hit series Never Have I Ever, is a whopping 13 years older than his character!) Not only does this force an unrealistic standard of beauty on the viewers to live up to, it also breaks up the immersive quality that truly great TV possesses to transport us to different worlds that connect to our own.

Edvin Ryding is 18 and Omar Rudberg is 22. With faces spotted with pimples and makeup sparsely used to mask other superficial blemishes on the actors, the people in this show seem like they could show up at any secondary school in your neighborhood and fit right in. This provides an authenticity to the storytelling that you simply don’t get with the majority of teen romance media. Perhaps the reason for such realism is because European filmmakers strive for higher artistic standards when filming, shunning the degrading expectations of sexiness and maturity that directors in the United States have grown obsessed with. Whatever the reasoning behind it is, the show’s casting is a breath of fresh air. 

The Story Skips the Often-Redundant Coming Out Journey

I want to start by getting one thing very clear: the coming out journey is one of the most important tropes used in LGBTQ movies and television; I wrote a whole essay on how Love, Victor’s exquisite and heartfelt depiction of this plot point helped me come out of the closet in my own life. When done properly, this storyline can be both inspirational and important to the young queer community. The problem is that far too often the coming out process is the only focus, and all of the other dynamics of gay teenage life get shelved and under-examined. 

Young Royals gives you a negligible amount of hand-holding when it comes to spelling out the sexuality of the two protagonists: Simon mentions in one conversation with his dad that he is gay, and Wilhelm’s own musings are so focused on the former that we know immediately how smitten he is with his charming classmate. There is a little bit of internal denial from Wilhelm when he tells Simon he “isn’t like that” after they share an awkward first kiss, but we know he’s kidding neither us nor his lover. 

The intense romantic energy is so new, raw, and real that there is no need for anybody to come out; it’s obvious that these two are gay as hell for each other and that discovery is absolutely beautiful. As mentioned, though, Wilhelm is a part of a royal family and publicly coming out as a celebrity is a whole different topic that the show sets up nicely for in a possible second season.

Sexual Expression is Explored on an Emotional Level

The show is rated TV-MA, but it can’t possibly be for nudity or graphic sexual expression. The passion between Wilhelm and Simon is certainly physical to an extent, but the little things, the tiny moments of young love are so much more meaningful than watching two actors maul one another like wild animals or porn stars. Short kisses in the forest, holding hands while watching a movie, and dropping off a quick breakfast in class are all amongst the enviable acts of emotional desire that are displayed from the characters. 

TV shows rarely understand what actual love looks like in the real world. It isn’t always 12 hours spent in the bedroom or excessive PDA in front of classmates and family. It’s what two people feel about each other that words can’t possibly describe. It’s an emotion that bonds a couple into one. Wilhelm tells Simon when professing his love midway through the season that nothing in his life feels real except for how he feels about him (a line improvised by Edvin Ryding). That’s so much more than a one-night stand or a cheap hookup and it’s something every other teen rom-com should learn from and aspire to emulate.    

A Delicate Discussion on Classism in Relationships 

A melancholy sticking point in the relationship between Wilhelm and Simon is their difference in social class. Wilhelm is the second-in-line to the throne of Sweden while Simon is the poor son of an immigrant mother who cannot afford to live on campus at the boarding school the characters attend. When the two boys are together, money and celebrity status become irrelevant. It’s an absolutely beautiful give and take where both kids get to learn how attraction has nothing to do with societal expectations and pressures, but keeping a relationship definitely does. 

When their love affair gets leaked in a sex tape á la Kim Kardashian, Wilhelm is expected to hide his sexuality and his desire for someone low on the social ladder. The way both young men work together to figure out a common ground solution is simultaneously touching and heartbreaking, as homophobia within the Swedish Kingdom makes the love forbidden and creates the main tension in the finale’s climax. Classism is such an underutilized topic in romance stories and Young Royals does a great job finding that fine line between forcing the issue and exploring it thoroughly. 

A Small, Strong Cast

Many shows that follow a romance struggle to give equal screen time to both parties. It can be tempting to flesh out the main protagonist more fully than divide attention among both characters. If you add in supporting roles around the couple it can get really flimsy in the hands of a shoddy screenwriting team. 

This show only has three true supporting roles: August, Sara, and Felice. This leaves plenty of material for both Wilhelm and Simon to be equals in spite of the central focus being on Wille. When you get to see the POV of each person independent of the other, it becomes a much richer experience and you are more easily able to sympathize with both young men instead of taking sides during a conflict. Their personal lives, especially their unique family dynamics help inform the audience about the romance. By the end of the six episodes, you feel like Wilhelm and Simon are amongst your own social circle because you know them intimately. That just doesn’t happen with most coming-of-age series. 

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All six episodes of Young Royals season 1 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Why You Should Watch Young Royals appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3hzINwo

[silverlightqueen]

Mischief Managed: Slytherin Dungeons

Across the United Kingdom, millions of children attend school every day, studying Maths, English and Science, but deep in the Scottish Highlands, a lucky thousand schoolkids get to study Potions, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Whilst the rest of us learn names like Shakespeare, Avogadro and Fibonacci, they learn names like Goshawk, Bagshot and Scamander. Whilst we learn how to do algebra, how to analyse poems and how photosynthesis works, they learn how correctly use a Conjuring Spell, how to brew a Draught of Living Death and how to fly a Nimbus 2000. And naturally, school children will always find a way to misbehave, to get up to no good, to make mischief, but when you add spells, potions and magic into the mix? Let’s just say… they get up to more than just mischief. Welcome to Hogwarts.

hogwarts!au, Min Yoongi x reader - fluff, comedy

Rating: PG (profanity)

Word Count: 1.9k+

a/n: please check the masterlist before you read!! here is the third instalment of my hogwarts drabble series called Mischief Managed! I really hope y’all enjoy this, lmk what you think, I thrive off praise lmao x

silverlightqueen masterlist

Quietus (Quietening Charm)

Type: Charm

Pronunciation: KWIY-uh-tus

Description: Makes a target sound quieter. It is the countercharm to the Amplifying Charm, Sonorus

Etymology: Latin quietus, "calm" or "quiet"

Nox (Wand-Extinguishing Charm)

Type: Charm

Pronunciation: NOCKSS

Description: Extinguishes wandlight. It the countercharm for the Wand-Lighting Charm, Lumos

Etymology: Latin nox, meaning "night"

‘Merlin’s beard,’ I mutter when there’s a loud rumble of thunder, the coffee table before me shaking, and I shiver, bringing my knees up to my chest. I know it’s irrational, but storms are terrifying to me – I always fear they’re going to blow the roof right off, and take me along with it. Being down in the Slytherin dungeons isn’t as bad as, say, Gryffindor tower (losers) because at least we’re underground, and less exposed to the storm. But being in the dungeons, we’re closer to the Black Lake, and the Black Lake during a storm is even scarier than the storm itself.

The rest of the school tends to call it the Great Lake, but we Slytherins know that ‘Great’ is not enough to describe the lake, nor its inhabitants. One of the walls of the common room is made of an enchanted and reinforced glass, letting us see right into the lake, and all that live down there. It’s not a rare occurrence to see Grindylows or Selkies swimming past – some of them even stop to have a look in every now and then, and they’ve unsuccessfully tried break through the glass more than a few times. We even had the Giant Squid latch itself to the window for nearly a week. I saw Professor Snape down in the dungeons more than I ever had before during those few days, attempting to get the squid off – he even tried banging on the glass a few times when he didn’t think anyone was there.

But now? There are no creatures in view – they’re likely hiding at the bottom of the lake, out of harm’s way. Instead, the lake crashes against the glass in strong and brutal waves, the loud sloshing of the water and its collisions with the window echoing around the common room. There is no sign of the moon or stars tonight, the only light coming from the bright bolts of lightning that strike the water. The clouds are heavy and thick, and the sky is completely dark, the water raging on beneath it, rising in great angry mountains and crashing together unforgivingly. Watching the lake, I hug myself tighter as though if I let go, I’ll be dragged out amongst the waves, beneath the storm.

There’s a bright flash of lighting, quickly followed by a loud clap of thunder, the sound resonating within me, and I jump at the noise, unable to stop the gasp that slips out from between my lips. ‘Quietus,’ I hear a groggy voice let out behind me, and I jump again, turning to see Yoongi stood at the bottom of the staircase that leads up to the boys’ dorms, wand in hand. After his spell, the sound of the storm and the lake is considerably quieter, and I feel my fear dissipating, my body losing some of its tension as I loosen my grip on my legs.

‘y/n. What are you doing up?’ he yawns, bare feet padding against the cold floor as he heads over to me, arms stretched out above his head. ‘I… I’m a little scared of storms,’ I admit as he drops his wand onto the coffee table and sits down beside me, slouching back against the sofa with a chuckle. ‘I never knew that. That’s cute,’ he says with a grin, and I roll my eyes, completely distracted from the (much quieter) storm now. ‘Why are you up?’ I ask, and he glances at me amusedly before rolling his neck. The aura of sleep still surrounds him, his black locks messy and soft, his eyes blinking and unfocused, his skin radiating warmth that I can feel even from a few inches away. ‘The thunder was loud, so I thought I’d just come and do a quietening charm, and then I ran into you,’ he grins, voice husky and deep, and I nod, a little embarrassed I didn’t think of performing a quietening charm – I guess my fear made me lose my ability to think rationally.

‘If you’re scared of the storm, why would you come sit in the room where it’s loudest? And where you can actually see it?’ he asks amusedly, and I feel even more embarrassed now. ‘Sitting in my room and listening to it is scarier to me because I can’t see it. I can’t prepare myself for thunder because I can’t see the lightning, and I can’t prepare myself for the waves hitting the wall because I can’t see it coming. When I’m here, it’s like I can… brace myself?’ I say, trying to explain as best as I can, and Yoongi nods, his understanding behaviour making me feel… like I’m not stupid for being scared of storms.

‘Have you had any sleep?’ he asks as he rubs his eyes, and I shake my head. At the mention of sleep, I can feel the tiredness wash over me, and I try my best to stifle a yawn, Yoongi side-eyeing me. ‘Go to bed,’ he says, and I let out a gentle laugh, shaking my head. ‘I can’t – I won’t be able to sleep knowing what’s going on out there,’ I say, motioning to the window, and Yoongi raises an eyebrow. ‘We have Potions with Snape in around… five hours, and the storm doesn’t look like it’ll end any time soon. You really wanna tackle Potions with no sleep?’ he asks, and the prospect makes me want to cry, but I shrug. ‘I’ll be fine. I actually enjoy Potions, and I’m Snape’s favourite anyway – he won’t say anything if I have a little nap,’ I joke, and he lets out a deep chuckle.

‘Well, at least get a bit more comfy then. You’re putting me on edge sitting like that,’ he says, and I laugh as I take my arms from around my legs, relaxing my posture to sit back against the sofa with my legs curled up beside me. Yoongi adjusts his position a little too, getting more comfortable, and I turn to look at him confusedly. ‘Aren’t you gonna go back to bed?’ I ask, and he shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest as he rests his head back on the sofa, grinning. ‘What kind of best friend would I be if I left you down here alone with the big bad storm?’ he teases, and I roll my eyes, holding my middle finger up at him as my heart warms.

‘Aren’t you cold in those skimpy pyjamas?’ he asks, motioning to my t-shirt, shorts and fluffy socks (in Slytherin colours, of course), my legs and arms completely exposed. The fire is raging strong in the fireplace, but it doesn’t radiate enough heat to keep me fully warm, and I nod, Yoongi rolling his eyes as he reaches for his wand. ‘Accio blanket,’ he murmurs, dropping his wand back onto the table again, just as a blanket (presumably from Yoongi’s room) flies through the doorway and lands on my lap. ‘Thanks,’ I say as I pull it around myself, and it’s still warm from when Yoongi must have had it in bed a few minutes ago.

‘You should’ve got one for yourself too. Aren’t you cold?’ I ask, looking him up and down. He’s dressed in a pair of loose pyjama bottoms and a thin t-shirt in Slytherin colours, arms and feet bare. ‘Move over this way, we can share,’ he says, and I shuffle closer towards him, moving the blanket so that it covers both of us. Yoongi reaches for his wand, whispering ‘Nox’, and the light above us dims completely, leaving us in the warm glow cast by the fire. We sit in a comfortable silence, both of us yawning, our bodies losing all tension as we lean on the sofa and each other, eyes drooping with tiredness.

But the position I’m sat in is uncomfortable – I struggle to fall asleep in my own bed at the best of times, so sat upright against a sofa designed for good back support (I don’t really know why – we’re at secondary school, not a care home) with my feet tucked beneath me, I’m definitely not going to fall asleep any time soon. ‘For the love of Merlin, can you stop fucking fidgeting?’ Yoongi murmurs, eyes closed, and I let out a soft laugh. ‘I’m uncomfortable,’ I reply, and he lets out a sigh. ‘For fuck’s sake, you’re such a pain in the arse, you know?’ he breathes out as he adjusts his position, bringing his legs up and lying down, his head resting on the arm of the sofa. I’m a little confused as to how this is helping me, and he lets out another sigh. ‘Lie down, stupid,’ he murmurs, and I let out a little ‘oh’ of realisation, slowly moving to lie down in the gap between Yoongi’s body and the back of the sofa.

Our legs are outstretched together and my head rests just beside his shoulder, my arms curled up at my chest, and I can feel myself beginning to drop off again, sat in this comfortable position. But after a few minutes, my arms become stiff, and I don’t want to move them and bother Yoongi again, especially considering he could be asleep in his comfy bed right now, with his own personal space. ‘y/n, you can move if you need to. I’m not going to murder you,’ he whispers amusedly, and I feel embarrassed again at him being able to sense my thoughts. ‘It’s my arms, but I haven’t got anywhere to put them,’ I whisper back, and he lets out another sigh. ‘I swear to God. It’s always something with you,’ he mutters half-heartedly, and I can’t help but laugh. He grabs one of my arms and pulls it across his own body, my limb now fully stretched out, and I feel much more comfortable already, moving my other arm behind me. ‘Thanks, Yoongi,’ I whisper after a few moments, already dozing off, and through my slumber, I hear his deep soothing voice murmur back, ‘You’re welcome, y/n.’

I awake after a couple hours of restful sleep, blinking in the light from the already lightening sky, and see that the storm has already calmed – it’s still raining, but the lake isn’t raging anymore, and I can’t hear any thunder either. I check my watch quickly, the time reading 5.28, which gives me two hours before I have to get up. I drop my arm back across Yoongi’s torso, closing my eyes again, before I realise that my head is on his chest, and my leg is also outstretched across his, as well as his arm being curved around me. And it’s nice – Yoongi would rather fight a troll than let me hug him, so I’m enjoying this rare moment of physical intimacy with him. I look up at his face, his features softened by slumber and his lips parted with a slight pout, and my heart warms at how cute he is. I get comfortable again, letting myself drift back to sleep with a smile on my face and my head on his chest.

[kirishwima]

can you write some headcannons for a mc that suffers from migraines and how the rfa would help her?

sure! i also get migraines and they’re so, so bothersome...honestly one of the worst kinds of pain, mainly bc of the photosensitivity orzsince you specified the pronouns i’ll be using she/her for this! ^^

YOOSUNG:

* MC never mentioned her migraines to him-it honestly just slipped her mind to do so

* So when Yoosung comes home to find MC laying on the couch, all the lights in the apartment turned off, a blanket over her head, he panicked

* He dashed to her, foregoing turning a light on and nearly tumbling over his dropped bag, as he kneeled beside MC’s face, pulling the blanket down despite her groans of complaint

* “MC? Hey, sweetie, no what’s wrong?!”

* When she explained that it’s something she gets frequently and how lights and noise make the pain even worse, he breathed a sigh of relief-seeing MC in pain was horirble, but he was glad at least it’s something she’s used to and not deathly serious

* He didn’t want to bother her too much with talking, but he did ask what he could do to help-anything MC wants, he’d do, just say the word!

* Like the good boyfriend he is, he gathered MC up in his arms and took her to the bedroom so she could rest better, making sure to shut all the blinds and lights in the room before doing so, setting her down gently on the bed as he tucked her in.

* He wanted to go back out to the living room and google on his phone tips to help ease migraines, but MC held his hand, mumbling a complaint as he made to leave. Yoosung turned, seeing MC mouth the words ‘stay’, and well, what sort of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t comply?

* He stayed beside MC, running a hand through her hair and gently massaging at her scalp until he felt her slowly fall asleep, continuing the ministration until he knew she wouldn’t rouse if he got up.

* He’s relieved to see her refreshed and better the next morning, albeit a bit drowsy-the pain did wake her multiple times, but he was there for her every time, and even got up at some point to make her some warm tea and bring some painkillers. She apologises for disturbing his sleep, and Yoosung rolls his eyes, flicking her nose teasingly.

* “You could never bother me MC-no matter what, being able to see you smile like this it’s always worth any effort!”

ZEN:

* MC had mentioned she frequently gets migraines, but so far into living with him, she hadn’t experienced any.

* That is until one night, Zen came home late from rehearsals, opening the door to their home and seeing all the lights in the place turned off.

* Figuring MC must already be in bed, he turned the lights to the living room on, only to stumble back in surprise as he heard MC’s groan from the couch, her complaint of “Turn it off please-ugh” making him instantly turn the lights back off.

* “Baby, what are you doing here? It’s late, you should be sleeping-and what’s up with the total darkness?”

* MC, unsurprisingly, wasn’t up for much talking. “Got a bad migraine. Everything hurts, lights hurt my eyes.”

* Zen nodded, his brow furrowed-he hated seeing his princess in pain. He remembered Jaehee, and how she oftentimes got migraines too, and how she said painkillers don’t really help, but compresses to the eyes and a good night’s rest do the trick most of the time.

* He rushed to the kitchen, closing the door behind him so the light wouldn’t bleed through to the living room, and started warming up water to make some lukewarm compresses with chamomile tea bags, making a cup of tea for MC to drink too if she’d be up for it.

* He walked back out to the living room and picked MC up in a princes-carry as the tea brewed, ignoring her complaints and taking her into the bedroom, placing her on the bed as he leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead.

* For the remainder of the night, Zen held MC close to him, singing a quiet lullaby, urging her to focus on his voice instead of the pain. Despite most noises making the migraines worse, Zen’s voice was deep yet soft, a gentle lull that made MC’s mind drift off and shift its’ attention away from the pain.

* In the morning he brought her a cup of tea in bed, and when she thanked him for the help the night before, he merely shrugged.

* “I’d do anything for you darling. Although, if you really want to thank me...” he tapped a finger to his lips, his smile devious, “I do take payment in kind”.

JAEHEE:

* She also gets migraines! She knows exactly how much they suck, so MC is definitely not alone in this

* (Fun fact: Women statistically suffer from migraines more than men do!)

* When working at the coffee shop with MC, she notices her wincing everytime she turns towards the industrial lights hung at the ceelings, how as the day progresses she starts to become distant, pressing her hands over her ears when the music becomes too loud for her to handle.

* Jaehee is instantly there for her, taking her to the backroom and dimming the lights, leaving only some light bleeding through the shutters of the windows so they could see their own footing at least. 

* “I’ll take care of everything outside. Rest for a bit, take these, and when you’re feeling up for it, we can close up early and go home together so you can get some proper rest, okay?”

* Jaehee brought her a pack of medicine from her bag-usual over-the-counter medications don’t work on migraines, so she had a prescription for a specific type of painkillers, and always had them in her bag just in case. She gave them to MC, making sure she took them before going back out to manage the shop, closing the door gently behind her as she let MC take a nap on the couch.

* Once the medicines kicked in and MC was feeling well enough to take the trip back home, Jaehee quickly locked up and held MC’s hand all the way back, giving MC a kiss on the temple when she winced in pain.

* Baehee’s got her MC covered-from cold compresses to soothing white noise, anything she needs to get through a shitty hangover, Jaehee’s got it-and MC couldn’t be more grateful.

* Later in the night, when MC’s half asleep with Jaehee running a hand through MC’s hair, she could’ve sworn she heard Jaehee hum a song-it was quiet, but there, her soft voice trailing into MC’s mind, bringing sweet dreams through the night.

JUMIN:

* He came home one evening after work, asking the bodyguards how MC was, and the answer freightened him- “MC has come home earlier from work sir, she was feeling unwell and has been resting in her room ever since.”

* Jumin tried to calm his frantic mind, taking slow steps to the bedroom as he gingerly opened the door. “My love-are you there?”

* MC’s groan in response made him frown. Was she that unwell? What happened? What could he do to help?

* He knew MC had frequent migraines-it’d happened before, and as panicked as he was that first time, he made sure to read up on everything he could about the issue, to know fully well how to handle it the next time it came around.

* When MC confirmed that it was yet another migraine, Jumin nodded, giving her a quick kiss on the temple before leaving the bedroom to let her rest.

* He’d only come back a few hours later to make sure she’d take her painkillers, and with a cup of black tea for her to drink even a little-he’d read that small doses of caffeine could actually help, and wanted to make sure she’d get some in her system.

* Overall he’s very calm and quiet-he dims the penthouse lights throughout so they won’t bother her, and whilst he’d usually put a vinyl on the pick-up for them to enjoy, he skipped it that night, settling instead to sit on the couch reading with Elizabeth the 3d besides him.

* At night he held MC close, letting her rest her head on his chest as he trailed his fingers across her back. She already seemed better, and he was thankful for it.

* Of course he’s the type of dude who’d go to a million different doctors asking if they can cure migraines, but the answer was always the same-you can’t cure migraines, there’s a hereditary predisposition towards them, you can only try to minimise the pain and avoid flare-ups, blah blah blah. He’d definitely fund a unit to research a cure to migraines regardless. Anything for his beloved.

SEVEN:

* He doesn’t get migraines, but staring at computer screens for hours on end everyday of the week does cause him to get very frequent headaches in general, so oftentimes both he and MC will be nursing a nasty pain, trying to help one another feel better in any way they can.

* They have a cabinet for painkillers in their kitchen, and have marked the stronger medications from the lighter ones with a red X, so they’ll know what to take when the pain becomes unbearable.

* When MC gets a migraine, he’ll turn all the lights off and dim his computer screen as much as possible-he doesn’t want to leave her alone during those times, but he also can’t completely abandon his work, so they both make do. She’ll usually lay on the couch and he’ll take frequent breaks to check up on her, or sometimes to just squeeze in beside her, holding MC close to him as he pretends to cast spells to take the pain away.

* MC loves when he runs his hands over her forehead and eyes-his hands are always freezing cold, and it’s a welcome soothing distraction from the pain to feel the coldness on her eyelids.

* He wishes he could do more, and does dive into the depths of the internet for advice-but he knows that what MC needs the most is just some comfort and quiet, so his usual cheery meme-ness is gone whilst MC is in pain. Instead he’ll whisper soothing encourangements, promising her dates and kisses as soon as she feels better.

* He’s just such a supportive boyfriend my dudes, give him a pat on the bad for his hard work pls

-send me a mystic messenger headcanon/prompt for characters reactions!-

[pastelwitchwritesstuff]

for the character ask: Gray Lyon Ultear and Ur ice family let's gooooooo (ik it's a lot so u could combine them into a family unit or do any one character whatever floats ur boat) thanks sm ily ❤️❤️❤️

Ok so lets start with the woman who single handedly raised these ice blocks.

Ur

First thoughts, oh wow she's cool( you can hate me its fine) she's really strong!

This woman is powerful. She is a master ice maker mage and an excellent teacher.

She is kind and compassionate. 

She was patient with Gray, because she understood his pain. 

Ur out of everyone in the series was someone who had the biggest impact on Lyon, Gray and Ultear.

She had her flaws yes she could at times be abrasive,but ultimately that is what made her such a relatable character.

When she discovered that Gray was going after Deliora, she went after him without any hesitation. She fought against the demon and willingly gave her life, she wasn't angry at Gray when she died. She was glad that she was able to seal away his darkness.

Now everyone knows Ur was strong later we hear Jellal say she was on wizard saint level.

One of the things I really wanted to see more of was her ice maker magic. We only really saw Rosen Krone, and a few training spells she taught Gray and Lyon.

Personally I think she could utilize both Dynamic and Static Ice make magic given the fact that she could create the roses(dynamic) and shields(static). But this is my opinion..

Honestly if Ur and Ultear had reunited it would have been a very emotional reunion.

Seeing her again and watching her fight against Lyon and Gray just wow. But it also showed us how far the boys had come from when they were just children.

Ultear.

First thoughts: oh she's pretty, wait she's the villain!!?? But she's still pretty

WE STAN THIS QUEEN!!

Ok but out of all the series villains she was my absolute favorite.

She was driven and ambitious,and went through great lengths to get what she wanted.

Yes her actions were wrong in many cases. But there was still some light in her.

She took Meredy and cared for her as her own.

And after learning that her mother truly loved her, she helped Gray and the other.

And then again when she broke Jellal out of prison, and formed a guild dedicated to bringing down dark guilds and Zeref. She was prepared to spend the rest of her life repenting for her wrong doings. 

She died trying to ensure a future for everyone. That was pretty damn selfless of her. In that moment when she cast that spell, it reflected exactly what Ur did, willingly giving their life's for a better future for those they cared about.

Seeing her as an old woman honestly broke my heart. But seeing her finally at peace for the first time in years also made me happy.

When he appeared again in the battle against Dimaria, I was shook. She looks self assured more than any other time before.

She is still willing to do whatever it takes to help Wendy and Chelia. But again that softness that is so uniquely Ultear shown through. She warned them of the danger when you unlock your third origin,but respected Chelia's wish.

Ultear was a wonderful and complex character. Who truly grew in wonderful ways.

Lyon 

What the hell was his Idea with the weird cold emperor mask thing? JK

Lyon was a decent antagonist, he was cool and calculated. Also prepared to do anything it took to reach his goals.

I'm glad he decided to join a guild. It was a good way for him to open up more and be less emotionally distant.

I got a bit pissed when Mashima tried to pull a love triangle between Lyon ,Juvia and Gray.

It took away the emotional maturity that Lyon had. And just made me dislike the Neo oracion seis arc whenever he was shown.

During the gmg we can see how much he has improved, and how strong he really became during those seven years.

Something that I loved was how he had taken a parental attitude towards Wendy and Chelia; he was kind and patient with them both.

Encouraging whenever one of them was sad or discouraged.

I'm glad that he had made peace with what happened to Ur. He was finally able to start putting the past behind him.

Lyon is driven, and very Intelligent. I just wish we could have seen more of his leader skills because he really is a good leader.

GRAY the sinnamon child.

First thoughts, dude NO no stripping.

His calm and composed attitude was refreshing.( when he was)

Gray is one of the characters that I'm most fond of.

He knows he has flaws and actively tries to better himself. 

He worries about his teammates, and tries to help them whenever he can.

He is very empathetic towards others. And would go against orders to ensure that his guild is kept safe.

Something I hate again the whole Juvia thing is how if he was uncomfortable it was used as a joke.

I love how he has so many good connections with people. And how he,has a way of calming others. 

The thing that had me hooked was despite his magic and how strong he became,there was still this humane part of him that was always shown through.

Despite all the pain and sorrow he went through he still fought for good.

The interactions he has had with people, how he is willing to give those who deserve it a second chance shows how caring he really is.

He has his flaws wanting to give his life so willingly,being one of them. But he learns and grows.

He gives his all,he is loyal and kind and smart.

HEADCANONS 

Ur left her husband because he was abusive,and she wanted a happy home for Ultear to grow up in.

Ur and Ultear loved making snowmen and snow angles together,before Ultear became ill.

After losing her daughter Ur thought she would never be able to love again. But over time two young boys had brought warmth back into her heart.

Rosen Krone was the very first spell that Ultear wanted to learn because she loved roses.

After being taken in by Hades, Ultear would spend hours researching time and how to manipulate it. 

Deep down Ultear knew what she was doing was wrong,but she wanted to see her mother so badly that she pushed away her feelings of guilt.

Despite the fact that she only helped Lyon because of personal gain, she actually took a liking to him. His magic reminded her of her mother.

When Gray had helped her see the truth. And after she and Meredy left the island Ultear broke down and cried for the first time in years.

During the seven year gap, she tried to find ways to find Gray and the rest of fairy tail.

And she also kept an eye on Lyon.

Lyon knew that he was being watched,but he never felt in danger.

When Lyon found out that Ultear was Ur's daughter he had pulled her for a hug.

Gray Lyon and Ultear wanted to spend more time with each other, but they never had the chance.

@izukillme

Thanks for the ask

Remember to send a character and I'll tell you my thoughts on them,and do a few headcanons

[four-loose-screws]

FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation (Gen II) - Chapter 11

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———————————

Chapter 11 - The Children of Thracia

The next day, the liberation army began to march. Their destination was Queen Hilda's Chronos Castle.

Along their path was a wooded region, where a mage unit was waiting for them. 

"Rout the enemy, then press onward!" Seliph yelled, then led the charge into the enemy formation. 

His image vividly resembled that of "Blood-Soaked Sigurd," the great hero who'd made his enemies tremble in fear, and inspired his allies.

The liberation army cut down the enemy in the blink of an eye, then trudged through the forest.

After that, no one else interrupted them until they reached Chronos Castle.

"To Chronos!"

In response to his words, all units charged.

Hilda fled, fearing their power.

-

Right after that, they traveled west to Lados Castle, where they were met by a cavalier unit led by General Ridel. 

Ridel had only been carrying out the child hunts, so the sight of the liberation army made him overjoyed.

"It looks like we'll be able to fight our first decent fight in a long time! All units, chaaaarge!"

Ridel's cavalier unit was powerful. However, after fighting so many successive battles, the liberation army had mastered the best strategy to use against cavalier units - endure the first wave, then shift the tide of battle with a counterattack. 

It was a difficult fight, but once it was over, it was clear that the liberation army had claimed an overwhelming victory.

There was a large group of children being held at Chronos Castle, but none of them were from Thracia. The Thracian children had been taken to Grannvale the day before.

"Then we must hurry after them!"

"Please wait. There is still Lados Castle to the west. If we ignore it and all march onwards, the soldiers there will come to threaten us from behind.”

Seliph nodded at Oifey's proposal. "Oifey, you're right. Alright then, just the cavalier unit will attack Lados Castle. The infantry will all head towards Miletos Castle. When we take Miletos, next will finally be Grannvale."

-

The person who took the Thracian children to Miletos was Crown Prince Julius' beloved, Ishtar.

She loved him from the very bottom of her heart, and wished to make him happy, so she did whatever he said, no matter what it was. However, that did not mean that she gladly executed all of his orders. She questioned his orders relating to the child hunts in particular.

They arrived in Miletos at around three in the afternoon. The children were all given a simple meal, then ushered into a room. Afterwards, she went in to check on them, and, probably because they'd been so tired, they were all nestled within a pile of straw and fast asleep.

Ishtar saw nearly twenty children's sleeping faces. They looked completely innocent, as if they hadn't seen any of what they’d experienced on this trip. Some had tear stains on their faces, and every time she saw them, she felt a pain in her chest.

'What if it were my child?'

She had that thought because she'd recently started to suspect that she may be carrying Julius' child.

'If I told him we're going to have a baby, I wonder what he would say?'

When she returned to the castle's main building, Julius was unexpectedly there to see her.

"It's been so long since we last saw each other, Ishtar. I heard you brought the Thracian children here."

"Yes."

"How are they?"

"They are tired, but none of them are ill. They are all smart, cute little children."

"Excellent. I want you to send them to Belhalla straight away."

"I will."

"No, wait. It appears that someone else will take them to Belhalla. I've thought of a better idea for us." A mischievous smile, like that of a child's, crept upon his face. "Would you like to play a game here with me?"

"What kind of game are you thinking of?"

"Tomorrow, the rebel army will come this way. Let's see who can kill one of their soldiers first."

"I understand. If it's a fight, then it will be fun."

"Oh, so it wouldn't be fun if it were some other game." 

Julius glared at her, and it felt as if he could see right through her and at her heart, making her panic. "Of course… I didn't mean it that way…"

"Well, it’s fine, then. But random soldiers won't count. It must be someone with some fame to their name. Someone with the blood of a royal family is best. Look at their weapons and armor, and choose your enemy wisely."

"Yes, Milord."

-

The next morning, as the two ate breakfast, Bishop Zagam appeared before them.

"The rebel army has broken the barrier and invaded this territory. "

"Don't get yourself worked up. There's still two hours left before they get here. Until then, leave things to the front line."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

Julius glared at him, then Zagam walked away, looking confused.

When they finished their meal, Julius said with a smirk on his face, "There's still some time left. Shall we go to the bedroom and rest for a bit?"

As he made love to her, Ishtar thought, 'Should I say it? ...I'm still not entirely sure. ...If he finds out later that I was mistaken, he might get angry. If I wait another two weeks, then I'll know for certain…'

Just before noon, the two lined up and walked out of the Miletos Castle gate.

The rebel army still had not gotten close yet.

"Do not leave here. The fools will probably come to us.”

"Understood, Milord."

As a descendant of one of the Crusaders, Ishtar did not dislike fighting. 'I have Mjölnir. There should be no one who can match me.'

While they waited, the battleground moved closer and closer to Miletos Castle.

'That's it, come closer, so I can show Lord Julius my power.' At that moment, she saw a mage running towards them.

"Lord Julius, I've won, yes?" She said, then gasped.

The mage was running unnaturally fast.

'He's wearing a Leg Ring!' She thought as he rushed up to her.

Ishtar panicked and tried to cast a Mjölnir spell, but her opponent was a split second faster.

He hit her with a strong gust of wind, sending her flying to the ground. 

Even upon watching that occur, Julius' expression did not change. He cast a spell on her limp body that revived her.

"You lost." Was all he said. He did not even extend a hand.

'He does not know what death is,’ Ishtar thought, 'so his heart is not moved by the deaths of others.' She felt the area around her chest become cold.

A second later, she was suspended in the air. 'He's warping me.’

When she regained her senses, she was in the reception room of Grannvale's Chalphy Castle.

Emperor Arvis was sitting on the throne.

She walked up to him, then bowed to him in a manner worthy of the emperor. "It's been a long time since I saw you last, your Majesty. I hope you have been well…"

"Ishtar, about the twenty children arrived a short time ago. I heard that they were brought here by your order. Is that incorrect?" He sounded as if he was blaming her.

"Y-Yes, it is.."

"Was it ordered by those who normally carry out the child hunts?"

"Yes. It was by Lord Julius' orders that I do it…"

"Please return the children to their parents. Tell Julius that I said to do so. I think that even you do not truly wish to do this job.”

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."

Just then, Julius appeared between the two of them.

"Father, your selfish actions are causing trouble. Ishtar is my subordinate!"

"Julius! You…"

"You still do no't seem to understand, Father. You just recently promised not to speak out about what I do, did you not? Or are you planning to try to banish me again?"

"No…" Though he denied it, Arvis glared at Julius. 

Julius calmly glared back. Their eyes were locked in a battle all it's own.

Finally, the one to look away first was the father. "I know it would amount to nothing even if I did oppose you. I won't say anything further." There was no power in his voice. It was the voice of a man who knew all of his hopes and dreams in the world had been destroyed.

"So long as you understand. Miletos Castle will fall any moment now. The rebels will target this castle next. Of course, Father, I believe I asked you to guard this castle. Have you sufficiently prepared to do so?"

"I have, but I will go check the unit's deployment status once more." The betrayed father said before walking out of the room.

"Now then, Ishtar, you look tired. Shall we rest for a bit?"

"N-No… It is my duty as well to protect the capital. I must prepare, and…"

"What's wrong? Do you want to run away from me now?"

"No… not at all! I love you."

Julius chuckled. "It's fine, you know. I won't stop you. I never lose, but you should prepare yourself until you feel at ease.”

"Thank you. Excuse me.. "

Julius, now alone, sat on the throne, and relaxed. 

Archbishop Manfroy soon appeared from behind him.

"Is that you, Manfroy?" Julius asked, not moving an inch.

"Yes… Arvis is now only the emperor in name alone. What a miserable man."

"Don't speak of other people's affairs. Nobody else sticks their nose in your business, do they? By the way, how is Julia doing?"

"I moved her from here to Velthomer yesterday."

"Oh, really? Has her memory returned yet?"

"Yes, completely."

"Then I shall go to Velthomer as well. She is my blood sister, after all. I should speak with her at least once before she's killed. You're coming too, Manfroy."

“As you wish, Your Highness."

Julius' body was bathed in a beam of light, and Manfroy followed soon after.

-

Arvis, upon returning to the castle, called the priest of Chalphy, Palmark, into his room.

"How are the children who arrived today doing?”

"The Loptrian priests put them in the dungeon." Palmark answered vaguely.

"I see." Arvis muttered with a grim look on his face, then sat in front of a small desk. He wrote a few words on a piece of the emperor’s stationary. Then he lit a red candle and pressed the melted wax atop the paper. Finally, while the wax was still soft, he pressed his ring on it to make his seal.

"Tonight, while the members of the Loptr Church are asleep, show this to the guard, and have him unlock the children. Then, take them and run. If you cross the bridge over the strait before dawn, then the rebel army will be just beyond there. No, I suppose I should call them the liberation army. If you are found by any soldiers along the way, you should definitely show them this. But it has no effect on Loptrian priests, so be careful. If you’re alone with children, chances are, they won’t overlook the fact that you are taking them somewhere.”

The message on the stationary read, “Palmark's word is my word. Emperor Arvis.”

Palmark took the letter from Arvis. "I will follow my heart, no matter what.”

"There's one more thing I want you to take." Arvis said, then walked up to the wall and opened a hidden cabinet. He took out a single sword and gave it to Palmark.

The scabbard’s design was simple and made of silver, but the guard and hilt were finely carved, and the tip of the hilt was inset with a glittering blue gem.

"Th-This is..."

"You served Duke Byron, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then you should know very well what this is."

 "I-I do."

"Then go. Take care of the children."

"Yes, I will. I will, Your Majesty."

-

When night fell, Palmark went down into the dungeon.

The guard didn't give him any trouble, but it was difficult to awaken the children. And some of them screamed the moment they woke up, making Palmark's heart skip a beat every time. It took much more time for the children to understand the situation and silently follow his orders than he'd thought it would.

They otherwise had no choice but to open the castle gate, so he decided they'd go out the emergency exit instead. The soldiers guarding it also silently let them through at the sight of the emperor's stationary.

Luckily for them, the moon was full, and they didn't need any torches.

Once they were a short distance away from the castle, they reached an area where some soldiers had set up camp.

'There's Loptrian priests among them, so it's too dangerous.’ Palmark thought, and decided to take a detour.

He distanced himself far from the campsite without being noticed by anyone.

'Now no one will be able to hear the children, even if they raise their voices.' Freed from his nerves, Palmark shouted out without thinking, "Children, we're safe now! All we need to do is head straight south and cross the strait."

"Really?"

"He said we're safe!"

"Yaaaaay!"

"He said we should go south!"

"I know which way south is! We should follow that star!"

"Let's go! Hurry, let's go!"

The children started to run away. Some even skipped.

Palmark followed after the children as his breath became ragged. "Hey, hold up! Not so fast! I can't keep up!"

However, the children were so happy that his words had no effect on them.

"He said we should go to the sea!"

"We're almost there! I can smell the saltwater!"

"Let's hurry!"

"Wait! Please, wait!" Palmark finally yelled very loudly.

And the children finally stopped running.

But when he caught up, he realized the real reason why they had stopped.

They were at the edge of a steep cliff. Beyond it was nothing but dark sea waters.

The children all made scared faces and looked up at Palmark.

'The bridge! Where is the bridge?' He strained his eyes and looked left to right, but couldn't see anything nearby that even resembled a bridge.

Finally, he realized that they'd gone the wrong way. 'Oh gods, what we should do?'

"So what are we gonna do now?"

"Are the dragon knights gonna come get us?"

'Gods, I don't care what happens to me. But please save the children.'

"I'm tired!"

"Me too!"

Palmark was completely exhausted, too. "There, there, we can rest here. We'll wait until sunrise."

At his words, everyone sat down. One child even put their head on his lap and started to fall asleep.

'Maybe we'll be able to see a bridge that will lead us over the strait once it is light out.'

However, knowing where a bridge was didn't necessarily mean they'd know where to go. And there might even be a mage somewhere along the way.

'If there's a mage, I'll think of what to do then. For now, all we can do is wait until daybreak.'

The next time he opened his eyes, he felt terribly drowsy.

"Mister? Hey, Mister!"

A little girl's voice woke him up. Before he'd realized it, the night had ended. 

"Some guys are coming this way!" The girl's voice trembled with fear.

"What?"

He looked towards where she was pointing, and saw five or six mages coming towards them in the distance.

And the bridge over the strait was past them. If they ran from the mages, they would be distancing themselves from the bridge.

"What should we do, Mister?"

"They're gonna kill us!"

"How do you know that?"

"Cause that's what happened to the last children who ran away!"

It was indeed the way of the Loptr Church to kill to set an example for others.

"Come on, let's run away!" Palmark said, and started running.

He was moving in the opposite direction of the bridge, but right now, the childrens' lives were at stake.

The mages were moving slowly, so Palmark and the children were able to widen the gap between them, and soon, they were unable to see their enemies.

'Maybe, just maybe, they might not notice us here.'

However, that hope was soon crushed.

Ahead of where they'd run to was the tip of a small cape, with a steep cliff on all three other sides.

'The mages knew the road ended here. That's why they didn't panic.'

Mere moments later, they could see the mages’ heads on the horizon, and their whole bodies soon after.

"What are we gonna do, Mister?"

"Are they gonna kill us?"

"Everyone, close your eyes and pray." Palmark said.

"Um, to who?"

"To the Crusaders?"

"Yes, pray to whoever comes to mind. Ask them to please save us." And so, Palmark began to pray. 'Gods, please save these children.'

[nickelkeep]

Into the Dark

Pairing: Dean/Cas Rating: Explicit Word Count: 7.1K Warnings: Typical Level of Violence. John Winchester’s A+ Parenting Written For: nickel’s Storytime On Ao3

Castiel's day had been too long. There were several deliveries, too many witches in and out of the shop, and of course Gabriel's shenanigans. He wasn't sure what planets aligned that day, or if stupid Mercury was in retrograde again. He left the stars to Balthazar to figure out.

As he climbed the last few steps up to his apartment, Castiel heard the distinct sound of someone sobbing coming from one of the other units. He knew that 2A was vacant, and 2B worked nights. The sound of sobbing shouldn't be coming from anywhere on his floor. Castiel hesitantly closed the distance to his apartment and placed his ear against the door. The sobbing was coming from his apartment.

Castiel took a step back and, instead of using his key to unlock his door, he whispered a spell. He hoped that the clicking of the mechanism was soft enough that it didn't attract the attention of who was inside. Castiel weaved his keys between his fingers and grabbed the doorknob with the other. He took a deep breath and slowly twisted the knob before shoving the door open with all his strength.

What Castiel expected was not what he found.

Curled up on the floor in the fetal position was a large man, and snuggled up next to the giant of a being was his familiar, Cadin. Cadin looked up and purred, flicking their tail in greeting. "What. On. Earth?"

The man on the floor didn't move, except for the shuddering of the shoulders from his sobs. Instead, a man on his sofa spoke up and held his hands up in defense. "Sorry, man. We're not here to cause any trouble. Sam here had a tooth pulled today, and he's a little bit of a hot mess." The man on the sofa looked toward the man named Sam. "Sammy, where's your dignity, man? The cat's witch is home."

Sam started to sob harder, mumbling something about 'soft kitty, warm kitty,' as the other man pushed himself up and walked towards Castiel. "Sorry 'bout this." He gestured around the apartment with his finger before extending his hand out. "I'm Dean."

Castiel looked at Dean's hand and started towards taking it before realizing what was in front of him. "How did you get in here?"

"Little bit of B and E. Nothing's broken. I promise." Dean smiled, and Castiel found himself enchanted a little.

But not that much.

"This place is warded against Demons." Castiel turned his head back towards Sam and focused on him. "How did not just one, but two of you get in here?"

"Wow, you figured that out without casting a spell. You're a smart one." Dean wagged his finger at Castiel before letting his hand fall back at his side. "I do admit, you've got this place warded up pretty damn tight."

"You're choosing to ignore my question?" Castiel glared at Dean. "I know multiple exorcisms."

Dean shrugged. "You can try them." He pointed to Cadin. "Kitty over there scratched at a couple of your sigils. Just enough to let us in."

"You and I are going to have a chat, Cadin." Castiel glared at his familiar then looked back at Dean. "I have salt lines! You can't cross those."

"Yeah... Sam and I? Not your normal run of the mill Demons." Dean looked over at the other Demon. "Sam? A little help?" He held a finger up and smiled apologetically at Castiel. "Sam!" Dean crossed to Sam and tapped him with his foot. "Damn. Those drugs worked now, instead of when they were supposed to."

"He's on drugs?!" Castiel crossed the room and looked down at the passed out Demon. "Are you kidding me?"

"He's on perfectly legal anesthesia. Novacaine. Laughing Gas. Demons just react differently to it." Dean let out a sigh. "He's just chosen the most inappropriate time to pass out."

Castiel ran his hand down his face. "I have two Demons in my apartment. One is passed out on my floor, the other is trying to wake him. I've been betrayed by my familiar. And work today was hell." Castiel shook his head. "What's next? An angel going to come down and smite me for talking to you?"

"Nah, angels are dicks, but they stay up in the castle in the sky." Dean winked as he gestured at the sofa. "I promise that I'm not bad. I mean, not unless you want me to be." He snapped his fingers, and two bottles of beer appeared on the coffee table. "Since I'm going to be here for a little bit, can I make it up to you with a chat?"

"Did you just make a drink appear out of thin air?" Castiel moved to the sofa and sat down, looking at the beer. "I've never seen or heard of a Demon doing that before."

"Well, I'm not your average, run-of-the-mill Demon. Neither's Sleeping Beauty over there." Dean sat on the sofa next to Castiel. "So, you know my name. You know Sam's name. I have to ask. Is your name really Castiel, or is your damn familiar trying to pull one over on me?"

Castiel took a moment to glare at his familiar, who came pitter-pattering over to them. "Yes. My name is Castiel."

"Well shit, how did a witch get the name of an angel?" Dean leaned back on the sofa and kicked his feet up on the coffee table as he took a swig of his beer. "I mean, you don't actually have to answer that, we just met."

Castiel let out a small laugh. "No one has asked the origins of my name in several hundred years." He shrugged. "Parents were highly religious. All of my siblings had angel names. Most of them died when they were supposed to, though."

"Most of them?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "You're not the only one who dabbled in the Dark Arts?"

"No. My older brother Gabriel started. He ran away from home. Parents found me in the stables with another boy, I ran away to find him. We protected each other, guided each other." Castiel shot a look at Dean. "Kept each other away from the Dark Arts."

"Huh. Interesting back story there, Cas." Dean saluted Castiel with his bottle. A loud, sudden snore pulled them out of their conversation. "Looks like now is my chance to wake up Sammy." Dean snapped his fingers into the shape of a gun and aimed it at Sam.

A bright light emanated from Dean's finger and reappeared at Sam's back, followed by a yelp from the Demon on the floor. "The fuck, Dean?!" Sam shot up, kneeling as he looked around. "Where the hell are we?"

"Warm kitty..." Dean started singing.

"Are you shitting me?" Sam's eyes landed on Castiel. "Oh shit. Uh, Castiel, right? I am so sorry. I, uh. I gotta go." Sam snapped his fingers and disappeared, leaving Dean alone with Castiel.

"What a nerd." Dean chuckled as he finished off his beer. "I guess I should follow him. It's been a pleasure, Cas." Dean offered his hand.

Castiel took it. "Cas, huh?" He looked Dean up and down, and realized that the Demon was not at all like the others he'd met and fought off before. "I don't normally interact with Demons, Dean. But you're not like most Demons, are you?"

"Not in the least bit."

"I'd like to talk to you again," Cas stated, his boldness surprising himself.

"I think that can be arranged." Dean winked. "Your sigils are still strong enough for common Demons, by the way. Kitty there's pretty smart. They knew which ones to disable." Dean snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Cas slouched back on the sofa, Cadin joining him. "What the hell has been today, Cay?" Cas gently ran his fingers down his familiar's back. "Am I going to wake up and find out that this was all a dream?" Cadin meowed back at Cas, and he couldn't help but laugh. "I think I can forgive you this time." As he closed his eyes and started to doze off, the distant thought of not getting Dean's information floating across his mind.

...

The next few days were a combination of a mess and a blur. Cas found himself doubting his sanity, wondering if he had a wild fever dream about the two Demons, Sam and Dean. Gabriel had caught him in his self-doubt several times and tried to pull him out of it. When that didn't work, Gabriel told him to go fill some orders.

While sorting through the stack of requests, a familiar voice caught Cas' attention. "Looking busy there, Cas."

"Dean." Cas' head shot up. "I didn't dream you."

Dean bit his bottom lip and smirked. "Or, perhaps, I'm a dream come true?"

"That could be a possibility." Cas looked Dean up and down before blushing and returning to the orders.

"Bold one moment, then shy the next. You never cease to intrigue me." Dean leaned on the table that Cas was working on. He watched for a moment before practically purring at Cas. "So, were you serious when you said you wanted the chance to see me again?"

"Yes," was the only word that Cas could manage.

Dean's grin broadened into a smile. "What are you up to tonight, Cas?"

"Here, 'til close." Cas frowned. "Then, Gabriel and I have plans."

"Well, how about this?" Dean pulled a phone out of his pocket. "I know a good little bar. It's not that well known, but all kinds are welcome there as long as you behave." He handed Cas the phone. "You're busy, and I don't want to keep you from your work. But if we're going to arrange this, I need to know your info. And if I leave without your phone number this time, I'll never hear the end of it from Sam."

Cas took the phone and typed in his information before shooting a text to himself. "I'm free tomorrow evening, and the following. Just choose a time and send me the information for the place." He handed Dean his phone back.

"You better believe I plan on it." Dean gave Cas a salute before turning and walking back towards the front of the shop.

A few moments later, Gabriel came up to Cas, who was still staring at the door. "Guess your demon buddy was real, huh?" Gabriel elbowed him, bringing him back to reality. "Strange, I couldn't read him as a Demon. You sure he is one?"

"I didn't read him as one first, but he is." Cas turned to his brother. "What am I doing?"

"Going on a date with a really hot guy." Gabriel shrugged.

"Shit." Cas ran his hands down his face. "Well, shit."

Gabriel laughed loudly, grabbing the attention of some of the patrons nearby. "Cassie. Look, you know what to do to keep from going dark. And honestly? I don't read Dark off of him. He didn't set off any of the alarms, and Balthazar swears to whoever his deity of the week is, that your guy isn't a Demon." Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at his younger brother. "Besides. Demons aren't inherently evil. Remember, Meg, and I were an item for a while."

"She was a hellspawn." Cas rolled his eyes playfully, remembering his brother's former flame. "She fit you perfectly."

"Yeah..." Gabriel sighed.

As Cas was getting ready to warn his brother against doing anything stupid, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and swiped to his messages. Dean had already sent him a text.

[Dean]: Tomorrow night, 8PM, Toil and Trouble.

Cas smiled as another text came in and, despite having to play keep-away with Gabriel, he couldn't help but feel excited for the following evening.

The next day moved at a turtle's pace in comparison to the days before it. Every time Cas looked at the clock, it never moved more than two to three minutes, despite it feeling like hours for him.

Balthazar teased Cas relentlessly, offering to do tarot and rune readings to figure out how the night would go. Cas had responded to every offer with a single finger salute, causing the other witch to double over with laughter.

...

At the end of his shift, Cas rushed home and changed, slipping into something a little nicer than his work attire. He slid on a pair of dark grey slacks, a white button-down shirt, and selected a navy blue waistcoat to finish his ensemble. After checking himself over several times, he left the apartment a jittery mess.

Cas made it to Toil and Trouble with a few minutes to spare, and when stopped at the door, he provided the password Dean had given him: Poughkeepsie. The bouncer let him in and, Cas found himself a surprisingly swank bar, filled with creatures, witches, and surprisingly, a couple of humans.

"Hello, handsome." Dean's voice quietly sounded directly next to Cas' ear, sending a shiver down Cas' spine. "I see you found the place easily enough."

"How have I never noticed this place before?" Cas turned to look at Dean, finding the Demon next to him, invading his personal space. "I pass here all the time."

Dean chuckled and offered his arm to Cas, who willingly took it. "Glamour Spell. Only those who know about it can find it."

"Isn't that from–"

"Harry Potter?" Dean shook his head. "I swear, for a human, that woman knows too much for her own good. Still trying to find the asshat who has her contract." Dean stopped next to a secluded booth and gestured to Cas. "Get comfortable."

Cas slid into his seat as Dean sat across from him. "You think she made a demon deal?"

"Oh hell yeah. I can't explain how else someone like her got to be as famous as she is." Dean shook his head. "Enough about that, though. How was your day?"

After getting through some small talk, Dean abruptly changed the subject. "I'm really glad that you said you wanted to see me again, Cas."

"Really?" Cas tilted his head. "Why is that?"

"Well, for starters, I wanted to apologize about Sam again." Dean rubbed the back of his neck. "While I'm glad I got to meet you from it, it was out of line."

"How did you guys choose my place?"

Dean shook his head. "Sam remembered your familiar. He may have used a little bit of his power to find your cat, we got there, he jimmied the lock on your balcony." Dean tried to hold back a laugh. "Sammy kinda blanked that you're a witch, and tried to walk right in. It was like watching him walk into a glass door. On top of him already being doped up, it was hysterical. Something right off of America's Funniest Home Videos, I swear."

"Glad to know my runes worked. And that reminds me. I still need to have a chat with Cadin." Cas rolled his eyes despite smiling.

"Nah, don't be mad at your cat. It determined that me and my brother are okay. Otherwise, we'd never have gotten in. It was nice to be reminded that we're not like other Demons. Besides, then I really never would have gotten to meet you."

"You could have come up to me if you knew who I was."

Dean blushed. "Look, as confident as I appear, I am a nervous wreck right now."

"You?" Cas' eyebrow raised in disbelief. "You're nervous?"

"Dude, have you seen you? And you're even more dressed up right now." Dean leaned forward, resting his hands on his chin. "How does one approach attractive men without being a stuttering hot mess?"

"Apparently, by getting stuck in their apartment."

"Well, shit. If I had known that before." Dean winked.

Cas finished off his drink. "So, Dean, I need to ask. Did you only ask me here to fulfill your promise of apologizing and making it up to me?"

"No." Dean shook his head. "At least not anymore." Dean downed the rest of his drink and looked at Cas. "Can we take this back to your place?"

...

The walk from the bar to Cas' place was long enough that Dean had no problem getting handsy while they walked. Dean's hands found their way from on Cas' shoulders, then brushing down Cas' arm to hold hands, to grabbing on to Cas' hips as they stood in front of the door to Cas' apartment.

Once they stepped inside, and Cas closed and locked the door behind him, all bets were off. The hands that had been on Cas' waist were now on his ass, pulling him against Dean. Their mouth collided eagerly as Cas wrapped his arm around Dean's neck.

Dean backed Cas up towards the door, his hand back around Cas' waist, and pinned him against it. The bold move made Cas gasp into their kiss, before whimpering as their bodies melded together. Dean pulled back from the kiss before diving back in, attacking Cas' neck with fervor, tasting it, sucking it, drawing low, soft moans from the witch's lips.

"Dean," Cas gasped out as he tried to push back against Dean unsuccessfully. "The sofa or my bed is a million times more comfortable for both of us." Cas felt Dean's hot breath against his skin in the pattern of a laugh.

Dean slid his hands back onto Cas' ass, pulling them down to the back of his thighs. "I'm gonna lift you, Cas. I promise I won't drop you." Dean's tongue followed the line of Cas' jaw. "Lift up for me."

Cas obliged, wrapping his legs around Dean's waist as the Demon carried them both back towards the general location Cas' room. "Last door on the left," Cas whispered into Dean's ear as he clung to the gorgeous man holding him.

Dean set Cas down on the bed, his fingers lingering on the buttons of Cas' waistcoat. "Can I, Cas?"

"Please, Dean. I want you to." Cas found his own fingers tracing along the hem of the maroon henley Dean was wearing.

As Dean unbuttoned Cas' shirt, Cas worked on Dean's pants, undoing them, and slowly sliding them down over Dean's hips. He leaned in, despite getting in Dean's way and playfully bit on Dean's hip, earning a soft moan from Dean.

Before either of them knew it, Dean and Cas' clothes were crumpled in a pile on the floor, and Dean was straddled across Cas' waist. Dean traced light circles across Cas' chest as he leaned down and claimed Cas' mouth.

Cas ran his hands up Dean's inner thighs before finding and grabbing his hips. Dean moaned into the kiss before pulling back up into a kneeling position. "I probably should have asked first, but you mind this?"

"As long as I get to do this with you, I'll take or give. I just want you, Dean." The blush that Cas had started to enjoy creating flushed across Dean's skin, highlighting his freckles and causing his green eyes to stand out more. "I do enjoy how reactive you are."

Dean slid down Cas' body, reaching behind him and wrapping his hand around Cas' cock. "You appear to be just as responsive, Cas," Dean smirked as he lined it up with his hole. "I was probably a little bold earlier, prepping myself," Dean commented as he slowly started to slide himself down. "But I'm glad that I went with it anyway." Dean closed his eyes, his head rolling back as he continued working his way down Cas' cock.

"You feel so good, Dean." Cas dug his fingers into Dean's hips, forcing himself to keep from thrusting upwards. "So tight, so perfect." Cas let out a moan as Dean seated him entirely within himself. "You're so beautiful, Dean."

"Well, you're not too bad looking yourself, Cas." Dean blushed as he gave himself a moment to adjust. He rested his hands on Cas' chest as he slowly started to rock his hips forward, rubbing his own cock against Cas.

"What do you need, Dean?" Cas responded to each of Dean's movements with a shallow thrust of his own, teasing Dean into using his words.

"Need you. Just like this." Dean whimpered as he moved faster and harder. "Want to feel you tonight. Tomorrow." A soft curse fell from Dean's lips. "Wanna feel it, so I remember it."

Cas moaned at Dean's admission, and redoubled his matching movements, giving Dean what he asked for.

Dean's movements became more frantic as he approached his climax. His hands clawed down Cas' chest, his hips pistoned in a chaotic rhythm, his words alternated between coherent and unintelligible as he cried out Cas' name.

Cas wrapped his hand around Dean's cock, stroking it at the same pace as his thrusts into Dean. Dean cried out in pleasure, Cas pushing him over the edge. Dean fell forward, barely catching himself. He claimed Cas' lips again, continuing to fuck himself on Cas' cock to bring his witch to orgasm.

After a few moments, Cas fell over the edge, grabbing tightly onto Dean's hips and holding him in place as he came inside of him. He found himself laughing contently as Dean rested his forehead against his. "Hello, Dean."

"Hi, Cas." Dean playfully kissed the tip of Cas' nose before rolling off of him and lying next to him. "I'm not moving."

"You don't have to." Cas rolled over on his side, resting his arm across Dean's chest. "You can stay the night."

"That's even better." Dean snuck his arm under Cas' pillow, giving Cas access to rest his head on Dean's chest as well. "Okay. now I'm really not moving."

Cas placed a soft kiss against Dean's cheek. "All in all, I think I would consider today an excellent first date."

"That means I get another one?" Dean asked as yawned, skewing the words slightly.

"Yes." Cas nodded as he closed his eyes. "And another and another if you so choose."

...

The following morning, Cas woke up to an almost empty bed. Dean was gone, but in his place was a note.

Cas,

I hate to do this and run, but something came up, and I needed to leave. I don't want you to think that I'm at all done with you. In fact, I'm already looking forward to the next time I see you. I just couldn't bring myself to wake you when you looked so peaceful. I'll call you later. Promise.

xx, Dean

Despite his initial disappointment at waking up alone, Cas found himself smiling to the point where his mouth was getting sore. Dean may have had to slip out, but he had written that he was looking forward to the next time they were together, and promised to call.

With his mood bright and infectious, Cas headed to the shop to work his shift. Gabe had kindly swapped their schedules and agreed to open up. He walked in the front door and was instantly harassed by his older brother.

"Forget to do something, Cassie?" Gabriel asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

Cas went over a quick mental checklist in his mind before slowly shaking his head. "I don't think so?"

"Your hair begs to differ. Looks like you got fucked six ways to Sunday." Gabriel winked. "It's a good look on you. Maybe the women will come into the shop more to stare at you. They usually buy more when they do."

Cas shook his head before heading behind the counter. "I'm not working with you or Balthazar today. Any orders for me to fill?"

"You're no fun." Gabriel handed a stack of papers to Cas before shooing him away. "If I can't tease, I don't want to be subjected to your sunny disposition."

Cas worked the orders in relative peace in the back of the store. The occasional patron would stop by and watch him work - that was the whole point of the workbench per Gabriel - but other than that, his brother and his friend left him alone to work.

After lunch, a frantic and somewhat familiar voice drifted up from the front of the shop. Cas couldn't quite make out the words, but the tone was concerning. He stopped pulling out the items for his next order, and instead put them away, moving towards the front of the store. Standing at the register, a tall giant of a Demon glowered down at Gabriel. "Sam?"

"Cas!" Sam froze. "Uh, I mean, Castiel. I need to talk to you. I need your help."

Cas shot a glance at Gabriel, who held up his hands in defense and shrugged. He turned back to Sam. "What can I do for you?"

"Dean's in trouble." Cas tilted his head in confusion as he waited for Sam to continue. "Look, we both got a concerning call this morning. A family friend needed our help. I couldn't go, but Dean said he got it. The family friend called me about an hour ago. Dean never got to them."

"So why's that mean Dean's in trouble, and why do you need Cassie's help, Gigantor?" Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Sam.

"I don't know what Cas does or doesn't know about me and Dean. I'd rather not share it with others until he's okay with all of you knowing."

"Cassie fucked your brother last night. Nothing wrong with fucking a Demon." Gabriel sassed.

Cas watched as Sam grew uncomfortable. "Please, Cas. I wouldn't have come to you if I didn't need you."

"Oh, hell. The giant's making me sentimental. Go, Cassie. I'll watch the shop."

"Okay, Sam. Let's head to my place." Cas nodded at his brother before exiting the shop, the younger Demon in tow.

...

The trip to Cas' was filled with an awkward silence. Cas could tell that there was a lot that Sam wanted to say but was unsure of how to say it. As they entered the apartment, Sam snapped his fingers. "Just making sure no one can hear us."

"What's going on, Sam?" Cas gestured to the sofa and waited for Sam to sit before taking a seat in his favorite chair. "Dean left me a note saying something came up, which is why he had to leave."

"First things first. Did Dean actually tell you what we are?" Sam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "It's kinda important to the rest of the story."

"You're not Demons?" Cas tilted his head in confusion.

"We're Cambions. Half-breeds. Half-Demon, Half-Human. Our mom was a succubus, our father is human."

Cas rubbed his temple. "Well, a lot makes sense now. It's why my salt lines didn't work, and you only needed one or two wards disabled to come inside."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Dean was supposed to explain to you last night." Sam paused. "I'm sure he got distracted, but I know he wasn't going to keep it a secret from you."

"I'm not mad, but I need you to tell me why this is important, Sam. I need to know what's going on with Dean." Cas glared at Sam, trying to make him get his point across.

"We got a phone call from our friend Bobby. He's kinda our surrogate father. He had heard that our biological father was back in town, and he wanted us to come over and make a plan. I couldn't make it this morning, and I promised I would be there this evening. But then Bobby called and asked if I'd heard from Dean."

Cas ran his fingers through his hair as he carefully chose his next words. "So I gather that your actual father is bad news? Duped into loving a succubus?"

"No." Sam shook his head. "Dad loved mom. Even knowing that Dean and I wouldn't be human, he supported her, stood by her, and was very much in love with her. When she died, it warped his opinions on Demons. Bobby, knowing what we are, took us in and protected us from him."

"So, your father grabbed Dean?" Cas started shaking in his seat. "Or at least that's what you think?"

Sam nodded. "Dean doesn't just disappear. Even if he made a run for hell, he would have contacted me." He ran his hand down his face. "I didn't want to be the one to spill our secret to you. We're not really accepted among Demons, and we're not really accepted around Humans. We can blend in easier amongst humans, though, so that's how we've chosen to live."

"Not that I'm going to tell you no," Cas stood up and headed over to his personal stock of reagents. "But why do you need my help?"

"You're really telling me you can't feel it?" Sam stared at Cas. "There's some sort of bond between you and Dean. I don't even know what to call it. It's something profound."

Cas thought to how easily Dean had slid into his life over the past week. It was like Dean filled a hole Cas didn't even realize he had, and the thought of losing Dean made his body ache. "What do you need me to do?"

"I don't know where he is. You're a witch. You can do tracking spells. And maybe because of your connection to Dean, you can find him easier or faster or something." Sam looked down and shook his head. "I can't lose my brother, Cas."

Cas started grabbing ingredients and carried them over to a table set up for spell work. "Sam, next to the sofa, there's a basket of paper maps. Can you bring one here?" Sam did as requested, going a step beyond and spreading it out on the table. Cas combined the reagents before dumping them on to the map and soaking the paper. He pulled out a match and struck it, dropping it onto the sheet as he recited the spell. "Ostende mihi illum quem quaero."

"You realize you did that without anything of Dean's, right?" Sam asked as he watched the paper start to burn away. "How's it going to work?"

"Give me credit, Sam. I'm much older than I look." Cas waited until the flame burned out. "Besides, if he and I do share a more profound bond, then I belong to him and him to me."

Sam picked up the remaining piece of the map and looked at it. "Of course, he would be."

"You know where he's at?" Cas moved next to Sam to look at the scorched piece of paper.

"Yeah." Sam crumpled the paper and dropped it on the table. "Grab anything you might need for spells. We need to leave in no more than five. I don't know what our father is going to do to him."

Cas nodded and went to grab a bag he kept just for occasions like this. He reentered the living room, surprising Sam with his efficiency before whistling for Cadin. Cas tied a ribbon to Cadin's collar and opened the door. "Go to Gabriel, please. You'll know when to come back."

"You really do let your familiar just run wild, don't you?" Sam followed the cat out the door, and Cas followed close behind.

"He's not running wild if he's going to the shop to deliver a message." Cas rolled his eyes as he followed Sam to a car that had not previously been in the lot for his apartment complex. "Do not tell me that you conjured this up from thin air."

Sam shrugged. "Hey, I'm not one to scoff at a gift horse when I need one." He hopped in the driver's side, while Cas climbed into the passenger side, barely giving the witch a chance to buckle up. "The other reason I needed you, Cas? He's going to expect me coming to rescue Dean. It's going to be protected and warded against me. Or he's going to have traps set up for me so he can capture me too."

"That would be a given since he knows both of his sons are Cambions." Cas agreed.

"He'd never expect a witch. You'll be able to get through the wards, maybe even break them to let me in." Sam stole a glance at Cas as he sped through the streets. "Also, I promise to give you a chance to get to know me better. We've certainly only spoken in the oddest of circumstances."

Cas softly chuckled, the only acknowledgment for Sam's attempt at levity. He watched as the houses passed by quickly, and the spaces between open up larger. Sam was driving them towards the warehouses.

...

Sam got them to the Warehouses in one piece, stopping in front of a specific building. "If they're here. He's in here."

"How do you know that?" Cas got out of the car with Sam, looking at the building, looking for anything that would single it out from the rest.

"He owns this one. When mom died, he set this place up as a place to hide. Many frowned upon their relationship, and this is where Dean I spent a good chunk of our childhood until he turned against us."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Sam." Cas offered his condolences before heading towards the entrance. He held up a hand at the door and sent through a pulse of magic - one that, in theory, would be undetectable by a mundane - and waited for a reaction. The amount of warding that his spell detected nearly knocked him off his feet, and if not for Sam, Cas was sure he would have landed on his ass.

"Cas? What the hell just happened?" Sam helped him stand back up straight.

"There's no way you're getting in." Cas frowned at Sam. "There are new runes and sigils all over the building. I wouldn't be surprised if they're actually hurting Dean..." Cas left the if he's still alive unspoken between them.

"I need to get to my brother, Cas."

Cas handed his bag to Sam. "I promise to break anything I come across. But I can't even guarantee that'll weaken this enough for you to enter." He pointed to his bag. "There's a blacklight in there. Do what you can to destroy the ones out here, but other than setting the place ablaze, I can't confirm you can get in."

"This is why I needed you." Sam's shoulders fell. "Go get him. Please. I can watch the door, keep anyone from coming in behind you."

"Thank you, Sam." Cas opened the door and headed into the warehouse, weaving his way through and using his newly realized bond with Dean to guide him. He stopped as he came to an open area of the building. Dean was unconscious, bound to a chair that was centered in a trapping ward. "Dean," Cas whispered, his heart breaking.

Cas pushed another spell through the area, double-checking for any traps that he may not have caught earlier. Confirming that none of them would harm him, Cas stared towards Dean, his senses on high alert from anyone that would be guarding the Cambion.

Cas entered the binding circled as a rough voice echoed around him. "That's far enough." Heavy footsteps fell on the ground, and a figure stepped out of the shadows. "What kind of monster are you?"

"Only monster around here is you, assuming you're Dean's father." Cas took another step towards Dean, carefully dragging his foot along the markings on the floor to destroy them, but not be obvious about it.

"Let me guess. Dean or Sam told you about me." The man came fully into the light, a swagger in his step. "How about a proper introduction, though. I'm John, you are?"

Cas didn't rise to the bait and continued moving towards Dean. He heard a curse from John, once the older man realized what he was doing, and the sound of boots running across the pavement. Cas turned towards John, his hands out in front of him. "Abi!"

John went flying back, landing against some wooden boxes, and slumping to the ground.

Cas didn't waste another moment, not knowing how much time he would have. He got to the chair and started untying Dean's wrists, freeing them before cupping Dean's face in his hands. Dean stirred and looked up slowly. "Cas?"

"Hello, Dean." Cas ran his fingers through Dean's hair, stopping as he saw Dean look behind him and tense up. He turned around and aimed at John again. "Abi!"

John stumbled backward but was able to catch himself from falling. "What are you, a one-trick pony? You need more than that to take me out, boy."

"I don't believe in using my magic to hurt people." Cas squared his shoulders. "I don't even like using them in self-defense. It's almost unfair."

"You think you're going to scare me with words, you pansy-ass witch?" John spat at the ground.

Cas' tilted his head to the side before rolling his head back and around, loosening his neck. "I don't believe in using dark powers, John." Cas cracked his fingers, sparks building up between the tips. "Harming people? That's going dark." Cas shot a bolt of energy at John, knocking him down onto his ass. "But what I'm doing? I'm protecting the one I care about." Cas pointed at John's arm with one hand and mimed a twisting movement with his other hand. John screamed in pain as his arm was broken in dozens of places.

"I don't think you understand who or what you're dealing with, John," Cas replied calmly as his eyes charged blue with his power. He pointed at John's leg and repeated the twisting motion. While John screamed in agony, Cas continued. "Let it be known that your boys are under the protection of the Angelus Coven. You ever come near them again, you won't get off this easily."

Cas watched as John passed out from the pain before rushing back to Dean. He dropped to his knees in front of him. "Dean, are you okay?"

"Holy Hell, Cas." Dean nodded slowly, almost drowsily, "That's probably the most badass thing I've ever watched."

Cas chuckled, his head resting against Dean's knee. "Can you get up? Did I destroy enough of the trap?"

"Yeah, Cas. Just need a hand. It sapped me of my strength." Dean took Cas' offered hand and stood up, leaning against Cas. "You have your cell on you?"

Cas nodded as he wrapped his one arm around Dean and pulled his phone out with his other hand. He handed it to Dean, who took it and dialed a number.

"Sammy? I'm on Cas' phone, so now I guess you've got his number." Dean rested his head on Cas' shoulder. "He's going to help me out of here, but I need you to call Bobby and Jodes. The old man's going to need to be admitted to a hospital."

Cas zoned out, resting his head on Dean's while watching the prone form of John, making sure he didn't move. Dean saying his name caught his attention, though.

"Think you can tie the old man to the chair, Cas?" Dean asked, apparently repeating the question. "We need to get you out of here, but we don't need him walking free before the authorities get here."

"Yes, Dean." Cas moved to get John. "Do you think you can start heading towards the exit? I destroyed all the sigils I could find on the way, and I'll come to break you free if you get stuck in one I miss."

Dean nodded and started moving slowly as Cas dragged John's body to the chair. While John wasn't heavy, he didn't deserve the dignity of being carried. Once John was bound in the chair, Cas turned to exit the building, and found Dean and Sam outside sharing a moment.

...

Once back in town, Sam dropped Cas and Dean off at Cas' apartment. They agreed to keep their heads down until Bobby gave them the okay. And with Dean being in the condition he was in from John's imprisonment, it was decided that Cas would be the best to keep an eye on Dean and help him get better.

Cas had Dean curl up on the sofa while he checked over him. He healed Dean's superficial wounds and helped start the process of mending his mental ones. As Cas fussed over Dean, he felt a soft kiss on his cheek and looked up to see Dean blushing. "Thanks, Cas."

"You're welcome, Dean." Cas traced his finger over a mark on Dean's leg and felt a chuckle go through Dean.

"It's fascinating. Right now, your hands are healing me." Dean took Cas' hand into his. "Not two hours ago, I watched as these were a force to be reckoned with, protecting me and defending me." Dean pressed a kiss against Cas' knuckles. "That was fucking hot, by the way."

"It was. Conjuring energy, converting it? It gets very hot." Cas smirked, knowing what Dean actually meant.

Dean leaned into Cas and nibbled on his ear. "What else can your hands do, Cas?" Dean kissed Cas' neck and pulled back to look at Cas, patiently waiting for a reply.

"Why don't you head to the bedroom so you can find out, Dean?" Cas replied calmly.

Dean moved as quickly as he could off of the couch and headed towards the bedroom. Giving Dean a chance to get into the bed, Cas found the ribbon linked to Cadin's and snapped it, letting Cadin know that he was fine and that they could return at any time.

Cas laid the ribbon on the table and went to his bedroom. Upon entering, he found Dean laying shirtless in the bed, his smile broadening as he saw Cas. Dean patted the spot on the bed next to him. "You going to show me what else you can do with your hands, Cas?"

"I can." Cas climbed into the bed and laid next to Dean, who turned to face him. "My best party trick is putting someone to sleep." He slowly moved to touch his fingers to Dean's forehead when Dean grabbed his wrist.

"That's sneaky. And low." Dean pouted. "Get me all excited, just to pull a fast one on me."

Cas pulled against him and ran his fingers down Dean's back. "We have all the time in the world for you to find out what I can do with my fingers, Dean." He kissed Dean's forehead. "And I'm looking forward to every moment."