#i heard someone call her Agatha once and it stuck in my soul

[mythical-lotus]

I think about Alastor's mother an unhealthy amount. We know next to nothing about her. We've written so much about her. Alastor is the Radio Demon, old and antiquated and proud of it. He was once her little boy who she fed and played with and loved (maybe, because we don't know). She has to be in Heaven, because she can't be in Hell, unless she is, or unless she was, and regardless, something has gone horrifically wrong.

Anyway.

[extremelyblackandwhite]

heiress - 4

pairing: bucky barnes x oc!reader

a/n: based of today’s wandavision episode i’m bringing you the flashback part of this series. also i no longer know if this is gonna be a four part series or how many parts theres gonna be so we’ll see. hope you enjoy xx

“letters strewn across your bedroom floor. such beautiful words but you can’t remember who they’re for“

“if i had only felt the warmth within your touch. if i had only seen how you smile when you blush or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough i would have known what i was living for all along”

previous chapter

The soldier held her hand as they rushed through the dark halls, trying to make the least silence as possible. A black duffle bag hanged from her shoulder, gun holstered to her thigh with one of his knives. The plan was simple enough; the soldier had discovered a plan from one of the girls in the Red Room to escape along with one of the protectors, Alexei, and instead of busting it, he bargained a deal to take her with them. She was good, too good and in no time they were gonna snatch her way from him and make her prove her worth, make her prove to them she is ready to leave the Red Room and become one of their operatives and he would not allow that. He wouldn’t allow them to force her to kill someone; no, she was too good and if there was any good he could do it would be to protect her own goodness. It was simple enough, simple enough had it not been ...

     - Find her now. She can’t be far. - he could hear Madam B barking orders from further up the hallway, following my an inundation of steps. The soldier grabbed the girl by his side, pushing her against the wall.

    - You have to go, Daisy. - he whispered. - Now.

    - I’m not leaving you here. I promised you I wouldn’t. - she held his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly to calm down her own problems.

    - Listen to me, doll ... - he cupped her face in his hands, appreciating every single detail of her face from the colour of her eyes, to the warmth of her skin. He wanted to look at her one last time before he forgot what she looked like, before he forgot she ever existed. - You have to go have a life, okay? A good one, do something else, not this. You can do so much more.

    - I am living my life and I am definitely not gonna go and start a new one at your expense. We can do this. 

    - No, we can’t. The longer they take to find you the most likely they’ll find me and make me hurt you and I don’t want to hurt you. - he took his own gun from his holster handing it to her. - You gotta shot me. They can’t force me to go after you if I’m wounded.

   - No. - she moved her head side to side, stepping away from him, gun lowered to the ground. 

    - GO GET THE ASSET. SHE’S NOT LEAVING THIS FACILITY. - one of the Red Room protectors shouted.

Y/N looked around her surroundings, she had been trained for this, she should be able to get out of situations like these but on one side was Alexei waiting for them to make a move and on the other side the Red Room operatives were on the move for her and the soldier. Bucky watched her internal struggle, that tinge of doing what’s right, the spark which ensured she would have a good life. He had no internal struggle, he knew what he had to do. He put the gun barrel against the limit between his skin and the metal of his arm before pulling her flush against him.

     - I will find you, I promise. 

     - No ... we can go some other time. It’s fine. - she tried to reassure him, but her words seemed to reassure. her more than him. She could buy them more time, she could do something, she had to do  something.

     - I love you, Daisy. - he brushed her hair which had flown from her red hair tie away from her face, leaning down too kiss her one last time. Y/N made sure to make it last as soon as she could, maybe they could get caught, maybe they could have more time, maybe they could do  something. He had a different idea and took her distraction to push her finger against the trigger, causing the bullet to go through his shoulder. She pushed back trying to hold him as his muscles relaxed and contracted due to the pain. - GO!

    - No!

    - We have to go. - Alexei looked over the hall but Y/N remained static, looking at the soldier pressed against the wall. - We’re running out of time. 

    - Go, Daisy. Right now. 

    - I’m not leaving you here, I’m not gonna let them hurt you. - the tears started forming on the corner of her eyes. - Please, we can figure something out.

    - Go. It’s only for a bit, I’ll find you. I promise you, I’ll find you.

    - Y/N. - she held his hand in hers for the last time. - That’s my name, okay? I’m gonna be waiting for you.  You better show up.

She stared at him with lips half opened as her ears filled with static noise sound. It was as if the walls were closing in on her and she could no longer breathe. She had always known what to do since she left the Red Room, she had prepared for everything, she knew how to act in every situation but this? This she did not know how to act in. 

     - Y/N. - she looked over Bucky’s shoulder to see Wanda standing in the kitchen. - Calm down.

Y/N looked over at her hand glowing white mist. She relaxed her hands, the mist disappearing within her skin. Bucky stood there waiting for the answer, not having even noticed her powers, he just noticed her. Maybe he was too naive to expect an answer as once Wanda walked towards her and placed her hand on her shoulder, escorting her out the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder, looking at him as Wanda took her away. She didn’t know if to thank Wanda or not for saving her from that moment. What she knew was that whatever the soul stone had given her manifested when he asked that and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him again. Wanda led her into one of the control rooms within the hex, closing the door behind her before leaning against it. 

    -  Now, if Monica asks I never deleted anything but ... -  she pressed one of the keyboard keys, the screens lighting up with footage from the recent Red Room mission. She watched as the old cameras recorded the moment, the white beam of light expanded from her and made every object that it touched disappear. - As someone whose powers get stronger when life decides to fuck me up, I thought you might need that hidden. 

    - He knows, Wanda. - she sat on one of the conference tables’s chairs. - He knows and he asked me if I loved him and I couldn’t even answer.

    - I think Agatha got to him ... whenever I try to get into his mind it feels exactly like it did when I tried getting to hers. Y/N, she’s trying to see what you can do under pressure and as long as he’s here, the more uncontrollable it’s gonna become.

     - What do you suggest? It’s not like element control is that great for world domination so whatever she wants is to use me to get to you most likely.

     - I might not know as much as Agatha thinks she knows but there’s chaos, destruction and creation and both of us seem to fit nicely in the three categories. I don’t want you to make same mistakes I did, Y/N.

   - What? Create a Bewitched-themed like reality where I’m married to him? Because you know, my father much like Endora would not like it. I don’t think I can do that. 

   - We don’t know what you can do. I think we should try and ... train you.

   - Wanda, you barely know how you did this and I don’t even know how I did that or what it is inside of me for that matter. - Y/N sighed, looking at the paused video on the screen. - It has only happened one time before. 

   - It has happened before? - the Scarlet Witch cocked her brow, sitting in the chair close to her. - When? There’s no report of it and you know Hayward, he would’ve definitely used it to his advantage.

   - Red Room. - she mumbled. - I don’t really wanna talk about it.

   - Do you want to show me? - Wanda rose her palm up. She had been working on allowing other people to show her select memories. So far she had gotten Billy and Tommy to show her their first memory of her and had even gotten Yelena to show her some memories too. - You don’t have to.

Y/N rose her hand up to Wanda’s and reality melt away to show the dorm where she used to sleep. Things were so different from what she remembered, the room was smaller than she remembered and even she was different from what she remembered in her dark leggings and shirt issued to her by the supervisors. She was sat on her bed, hands on top of her mattress as her eyes looked to the door every second, waiting for the soldier to come fetch her. Back then, she didn’t know his name; his handler called him the asset but she hated that name so she called him soldier or Winter. 

The clock kept ticking and ticking - one hour, two hours past the time he told her he had told her he’d come fetch her. As the third hour approached, she gave up her wait and grabbed her bag from under the bed.  He was never late, he was as precise as time itself. If he wasn’t here it had to be because of something else and she did not like it one bit. The halls were dark with flickering fluorescent lights as a much younger version of herself passed down the hall, towards what she could still remember as his own quarters. It was nothing special, in all honesty it was even worse than the girls’ quarters; metal bed, thin mattress and old grey sheets. Peeking inside he wasn’t there, there was no sign of him, just the jacket he had left lingering on the floor. She grabbed it, searching for any indication he had gotten hurt. She would soon get her answer when she heard screaming coming from down the hall. She holstered the jacket over her shoulder before running down the hall to find those screams came from one of the medical bay. 

They had him shackled to a chair like an animal, mouth guard stuck in his mouth which prevented which screaming from being louder as a head cage like structure shocked his head. Her hearing ceased as all she heard was static noise and the further voices of the doctors and guards were mere echoes.

      - Get away from him! - she yelled out, her eyes glowing white as the guards. pointed their guns at her. - Please, you’re hurting him.

A white beam surrounded her and expanded throughout the whole room. The static sound returned but she ignored it, running over to the soldier whose shackles had disappeared. He looked at his own wrists, wondering if this was a case of his own hallucinations but no, she was there. Everything was gone, everything was gone but him and her, but it didn’t matter, she stood there in front of him, duffel bag over his shoulder.

      - Y/N. - Wanda pulled her own hand towards her, removing both of them from the memory she had hidden from the front of her mind for so long. - What happened to those people?

      - I don’t know. I tried tracking them using SWORDs data after I escaped but they have never showed up again. - she sighed. - Whatever I am, Agatha knows. 

      - You’re not suggesting dwindling with Agatha, are you?

      - I don’t know, Wanda. What I do know is that right now I’m a danger for everyone and that Buck ... - she stopped herself before she could say anything she would regret sharing. - Agatha knows more about this than we do.

     - Let me try and help you, Y/N. Let me try. I know what you’re going through but if you ask Agatha for a favour she will use your own pain against you, she will make you a means to an end.

     -  You’re the Scarlet Witch, Wanda ... - Y/N got up from her chair and walked to the door, stopping to collect her own thoughts. - I’m just my father’s project gone wrong. 

It was late and she didn’t want to think anymore so she just left; after all, she was very good at leaving, leaving Bucky, leaving Wanda. Yet what could she do? It wasn’t like she had a magic mirror which she could ask what she could do or what she controlled or manipulated. She barely even knew who she was outside of who she had been so far. She knew her Red Room file, she knew her SWORD file, she knew her birth certificate but outside of that who was she? She wasn’t really anything outside of that and her bedroom was the picture perfect definition of that. No photos on the walls, no photographs, just a standard bedroom. Except for one thing ... 

She knelled by her bed, pushing a large black box from under her bed with her initials monogramed on gold on top of it. Most of her memories were there; from the photo of her and Monica’s class at SWORD, the first Christmas with the twins outside of Westview,  a group photo of everyone after a successful mission to the jacket she had kept from Bucky on the night she escaped. The leather was still almost as shiny as it was when she first saw him in it; however, his scent had long faded away from nightmare filled nights, his soldier number ripped from the tag. She watched herself in the mirror, caged by the ghosts of her own repressed memories and so she made a decision. She grabbed the jacket from the box and yanked his dog tags from her neck, exiting her room and walking towards the west wing. She knocked on his door, a sleepy Bucky opened the door followed by whining from Sam and she lost her courage.

    - I just wanted to give you this. - she extended his jacket and dog tags towards him. Sure, that won’t make you look weird or anything. Bucky rubbed the sleep off his eyes, taking the jacket and his tags from her. - Huh, yeah. Uhm, if you want we have a laundry service so you can get that properly washed.

    - Is that all? 

    - Yeah. - she scratched the back of her neck turning on her heels to return to her bedroom before she stopped dead in her tracks. - Sergeant Barnes ...

     - Yes?

     - About what you asked me later ... - she stared at the hall in front of her. Somehow, she could do this when she wasn’t staring at him. - She did love you. I don’t think she ever stopped.

Bucky’s mouth dropped open as he tried to find the words he so certainly had prepared to say the moment he asked her that question; yet now she had the upper hand. Yet again he shouldn’t have been surprised, Y/N had always had the upper hand even when he thought he did. She was a smart girl, too smart for her own good. Before he could even collect himself to say something other than mindless mumbling, she was already gone. He looked around like a crazy fool, wondering where she could’ve gone.

She, as per usual, had taken to go to the outside swing Vision had tried to set for the twins and ended up giving up on it leaving it for Wanda to try. The twins rather play with their own new found abilities rather than a swing; yet Y/N particularly enjoyed it. It stood near the limit of the hex, giving the outside world a blurry sort of glow. It was peaceful, at least it was peaceful enough for her. It meant while she was inside the hex, nothing could harm her. She couldn’t particularly blame Wanda for Westview, were she to be able to do that, she would’ve done it the minute she left the Red Room. Despite Agatha having put a version of Bucky she had never met in Westview, the emotions and the experience of having him at home with her as if they were a regular couple in suburbia. 

   - I’m starting to think I taught you too well. -  she turned her head to the side to see Bucky sat on the swing next to her, jacket in his hand. - I thought to bring the jacket if you were cold. 

   - I’m fine. - she held onto the rope. - It never gets too cold inside the hex. 

   - So ... what is this thing we’re in?

   - An alternate reality within our reality. Wanda can warp everything she wants into anything she wants. The only thing she can’t do is bring people back from the dead in our own reality. 

   - What can you do?

   - Element control mostly and the rest I don’t know. Turns out HYDRA does not give you an instruction manual after they’ve experimented on you as a baby. - she chuckled dryly. 

   - I owe you an apology, Y/N. I prom...

   - Please do not apologise to me about that. - she interrupted him. - You don’t even know the half of it.

taglist: @lookiamtrying​

[scarlets-maximoff]

of falling stars and crescent moons

a wandagatha oneshot (also on ao3)

pairing: agatha harkness/wanda maximoff

au - gods and goddesses

word count: 3472

_

In the beginning, there was nothing.

Nothing, however, was already something and, when the Elder Gods looked upon the blank canvas that one day would become the universe, they saw it was good. Life could be nurtured here, they would say. Their children would gasp excitedly, Papa, papa! Will you make me a star too? Ah, she already was. His little star.

Soon, my child, He would answer softly, bouncing his daughter on his knee.

And then, in the blink of an eye and a whispered command-

Nothing became everything.

An explosion. The Big Bang, some of the Elder Gods liked to call it.

Light flashed in unimaginable directions. Colorful waves of matter spread across space with unrestricted power and every once in a while the Gods would hear their rumble reverberating as thunders in the sky. All that was necessary for life to flourish was already coming together.

Nebulas and constellations now decorated the universe like splashes of paint on a black canvas. Stars colliding and galaxies being formed. Upon seeing part of their hearts and souls coloring their creation, the Gods rejoiced. Their creation was good.

But something was missing.

The universe couldn't be left barren. It was not made for that. What was the point of it all if not for life to be created and appreciated? To be lived? They needed a place where life could bloom and grow in all its glory. From birth till death. Where all creatures could exist.

So, hand in hand with one another, the Gods closed their eyes and imagined their second creation: the Earth. A small blue planet, born from the fire and blossoming under divine light. But darkness still lingered there, hiding just beneath the myriad of clouds and thunder. No living beings could settle in such an inhospitable environment.

He looked down on his child clinging to his legs. His beautiful Wanda. Running his fingers through her hair, he knew a decision had to be made.

"My darling, Papa needs to tell you something." His voice was deep but soothing and it reached the little girl's ears as if it were a breeze. She glanced up at him with curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

"Yes, Papa?"

"You're my light, Wanda. You always have been and always will be. But this world needs you to shine on them. To guide them when darkness looms over their heads." Tears threatened to fall but He stood strong. A little hand grasped his in a surprisingly firm hold.

He pulled her up in his arms with a choked sob.

"You need to be their sun, little one." The girl tried to wiggle out of his embrace such was the excitement she felt. "I'll make you a star. Their star."

A tear fell.

Twinkle, little star.

The Sun was created.

—

Wanda sighed dejectedly.

Being the sun goddess was total, utter boredom. She had to wake up early every day to shine on those hideous living beings down on Earth—just a bunch of microbes, for dad's sake— and when nighttime came, there was no one to talk to! Not even a falling star! Asteroids were rude so she didn't even bother with them. It was lonely.

She knew her dad had been right. She knew how important her mission was and how essential for life to exist it was. In spite of all that… Wanda felt unbearably alone. Don't get her wrong, solitude was becoming to her. Even though she was an actual goddess, she only felt like one when she gazed down upon her kingdom. Her planet. And yet-

There was no one by her side. No one to share the sky with her. The days were bright and beautiful; the nights, dark and rueful. And it's been like that for the past 4 billion years. Wanda's lips trembled at the sudden realization.

4 billion years on her own. What kind of existence is that?

When the first tear fell, others soon followed. The night was silent if not for the sorrowful cries of the Sun. Up there, in the starry sky, the morning star wept. For her loneliness. For her family that wasn't there. For her heart, which thundered inside of her just like the rain that fell down on Earth. That night, Wanda prayed.

Her dad didn't talk to her much anymore. Until that moment, she hadn't tried to reach out either. There were no hard feelings between them—'Tis the right thing to do, my daughter— but after years of isolation, they grew apart. Or maybe, she just drifted away from him. A lost star in the endless void of the universe. How fitting.

Still, she prayed. A desperate plea from a chilling heart.

"Father-" Her fiery red hair fell like a curtain around her face. Shoulders heaving with each sob. "Please. Please, leave me alone no more, for I cannot bear it any longer. You said I would shine and bring light to this world. What world, Father?" Between sobs, Wanda screamed at the sky above. Each tear sizzled as they touched her skin. "How can I shine so brightly if there's no one to see me, dad? N-no one to share my light with?" Wanda, the morning star. Lost star. Dimming star.

Twilight in the sky.

From above, her creator observed the scene regretfully. How much He ached to be with her. To hold his daughter again. In an attempt to right what was wrong—Listen to my prayers, Father!— He waved his hand in a difficult motion, eyes swimming in tears that had yet to fall. As you wish, darling one.

"Let there be the Moon."

—

Bleary-eyed, the Moon rises.

What is she doing up there in the sky? It's quiet but eerily so. No star is close enough for her to speak with, only capable of seeing their light from afar. Glancing down, she notices her hands. They are pretty hands. Long fingers stained purple—why purple?— and pale skin. Agatha can almost see the little blood vessels underneath.

It is then that she notices her surroundings. The night is a lilac sky with drops of light in it, planets a million miles away and stars shining so brightly her eyes sting. Agatha herself is glowing. Or rather, reflecting the glow. There is a woman on the horizon. It's too far for Agatha to see what she looks like, but even from far away, she can see how much she shines. A beacon in the dark. Warmth sweeps through her in gentle waves. It comes from the woman too.

In a bout of courage, the Moon waves at her. She has no idea if it will work, given how bright is the space between them. She tries. There's something magnetic in this woman as if she was the Sun and Agatha, the satellite stuck in its orbit. But isn't that exactly what they are? And suddenly, as if heaven itself had illuminated her mind, she realizes that she is the Moon.

Agatha, Goddess of the night and the dark.

Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't notice the Sun wiping away her tears, nor does she hear the surprised gasp the other woman erupts. Father listened!

"Hello?" Wanda calls out, confusion present in her tone. Dark hair flails wildly as Agatha focuses her gaze on her. She is so beautiful, the redhead thinks as she watches her from afar. Raven black mane of lustrous hair gently falling down on lean shoulders; pale, almost silver skin catching the light coming from Wanda in a soft glow. A reflection. Not quite her mirror but her opposite. This is the Moon in all her glory.

“You there!” She has to shout if she wants the other to hear it. “I’m the Sun. Or Wanda, if you prefer.” The star feels ridiculous shouting at someone who’s so far away, almost unreachable in the night sky. “What is your name?” A hopeful smile lights up her face by the time she finishes.

“I’m Agatha, dear.” The Moon smiles back. “Charmed to make your acquaintance. Now, is there any way we can meet up without all this screaming?” As if to make a point, Agatha puts a hand around her own throat. “Give a break to these vocal cords, ya know?” If she squinted her eyes just a bit, Wanda would see a teasing smile gracing the woman’s lips. However, having heard what she’d said, the Sun laughed merrily.

Thank you, Dad.

They talked the night away. What was once a sorrowful evening quickly became a cheerful night. However, when dawn starts to break, Wanda notices the Moon beginning to fade away. She tries to shine brighter, stronger in her light, desperation clutching her heart at the prospect of being alone again.

“Agatha,” The Sun is set ablaze. “Will I see you again?” The Moon is almost gone now. Giving up her place in the sky for the sunlight to shine. It would be poetic if it weren’t for the pain in her chest. How come the Moon missed her already?

“Darling, you’re the center of the universe.” Her voice is but a gentle whisper in the forenoon. Despite the distance, Wanda can hear it as if it had been whispered right by her ear. “Wherever you go, I follow.” And with sad blue eyes and a wistful smile, the moon Goddess disappears in the aurora.

—

173 days had passed since their first and only conversation. For some reason, on each night they shared, it became harder and harder for them to hear one another. And each time the Sun had to see her friend disappear in the sky, she took a little piece of her heart with her. She knew she was being dramatic. And if Agatha were here she would probably make fun of her too. Now, did she care? No, she didn't.

Wanda yearns for the Moon. Craves her soothing voice and cheeky remarks. Teasing smiles and soft eyes. The Sun felt seen under her gaze. After billions of years with only herself as company, the sun Goddess can't help but feel attached to her. Even though moths still didn't exist and she was the actual flame, Wanda was attracted to the moonlight just the same.

A little voice, however, just hidden in the confines of her mind, tells her that there was a purpose to this. This distance that they always try to close but never do. Yearning for someone she could never hold in her arms. Maybe this is just another way for Father to punish me again, Wanda thinks bitterly. She'd never been so wrong before. This was no punishment.

It was salvation.

Brooding up in the sky, the Sun hadn't noticed when night started to fall. Nor had she noticed when—instead of the Earth blocking her vision of the Moon—the object of her thoughts suddenly appeared right in front of her.

It's during a solar eclipse when they meet for the first time.

"Agatha? Is it really you?" Jumping to her feet from where she sat, Wanda feels her heart skip a beat. Nothing could compare to the Moon up close.

"It is. Come here so I can see you, darling!" A delighted smile curls on dark red lips. The goddess reaches up to softly cradle Wanda's face, a thumb brushing the warm skin of her cheek. "You're really here…"

The redhead leans into the touch. "I am. You have no idea how much I wanted to see you, Agatha. To talk to you eye to eye." The black-haired woman revels in the way green orbs gleam under her light. Their light. "To touch you." Hands to her hips pulls her closer. The Moon buries herself in those arms. It feels like being hugged by the Sun but literally this time. She giggles at her own silliness. A husky voice laughs along.

"Why are you laughing?" Wanda whispers in the crook of her neck. Agatha gives a small intake of breath, and her laughing subsides.

"I just realized the Sun is hugging me. A strange metaphor, don't you think?"

"Perhaps. Do you want me to-"

"No!" Agatha says, startling them both. She speaks quieter, "No. S-sorry, I'm just too silly for my own good. Comes with loneliness, I guess." She gives a bit of a laugh but her gaze finds the ground. A finger under her chin lifts it up.

"Hey," A soft smile spreads across the Sun's face. "It's okay. Maybe we could be silly together?" And as if to emphasize her point, she makes a silly face. Agatha can't help the guffaw that comes out. They laugh together again.

Hand in hand, they walk through the night sky. Talking about everything and nothing, they discover little things about each other, such as Agatha's liking for the sea and her influence on the tides, or Wanda's love for early mornings and summer evenings. Both women feel at home with each other, their past sorrows all but forgotten memories in their minds. Day and night. Light and darkness.

Total eclipse of the Sun.

—

It didn't take long for them to realize that they only had time to meet in person during eclipses. Solar ones, in fact. As such, whenever they got the chance, the two goddesses would always try to get the best out of the few hours they had together. Today is no different.

It was also in each other's company that they discovered the ability to incarnate themselves. In their human forms—Dad needs to create them soon—they would head down to their shared planet and take walks on the small patches of land they could find.

They're laying side by side on the ground. "Dear gods, Wanda, whatever those poor things have done to you? It's just phytoplankton," Between giggles, Agatha tries not to let a full laugh come out as she watches Wanda turn and glare at her, the redhead's own lips twitching as if she too were having a hard time not laughing. "Why do you despise them so?" Agatha is actually curious about that.

"They're just so bland! Father said that He would create mankind when I was little but apparently He forgot." She says grumpily but with a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Photosynthesis is the only thing they do all day. Not to mention under my account too!" Wanda puts on a serious face for a few moments, only for it to fall away as the twinkling laughter of her Moon hits her ears. It occurs to her, like a flash of lightning, how beautiful Agatha looks under the penumbra.

Their human forms came with the inability to display their god-like features, which was why Wanda didn't shine as the actual sun and Agatha didn't reflect her rays.

She is glad for it, really. Mortality looks heavenly on her Moon.

"You're a goofball!"

"Am not!"

"Yes, you are!" Agatha turns fully on her side, arms under her head and tenderness coloring her ocean eyes. Her gaze trails over the woman beside her. Without thinking, her hand finds Wanda's. Their laughter ceases to give space to a companionable silence. There's no need for words right now.

Despite knowing each other for months now—It feels like I've known her for years, they both think—it's at this very moment the goddesses realize how important and vital the other's presence is in their lives. Wanda found a friend in Agatha, something she had longed for as long as she could remember. Solace and understanding the foundation of their budding relationship. Yet, a flame started inside of her chest. It was small at first, barely there. A candle in the dark. Now?

Fire overtook her entire being.

The Sun burns for the Moon's touch and her smile; her azure eyes and sharp tongue, quick wit and soft words-

Wanda, the sun Goddess. The only morning star. The lost star. Once dimming but never giving out. Enters the Moon and she falls. A falling star in the dark night sky. And woe is Wanda, for she hopes Agatha catches her. Never to fade away. Never to let go.

"Wanda?" The hand Agatha holds trembles slightly. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, I'm just- it's nothing, really." There are tears in her eyes but she wills them not to fall. She is my only friend, I can't lose her for this-

"Honey, don't do this. I know there's something upsetting you. I won't force you to talk to me but know that I'm here, Wanda. I'm not going anywhere." She pulls her hand away to run her fingers through soft auburn hair. The Sun feels fire spread within.

"Promise we can still be friends?" Never in her life had she felt so insecure. But she had to know.

"Darling, how could I not be your friend? You're my sun, superstar. But yes, I promise you." Agatha tried to joke around to see if she could bring a smile to the woman's face. It is to no avail.

Wanda rests a warm hand on her cheek. Caresses the skin just beneath her eyes, brushes her nose. Ghosts over lips. With each touch, Agatha's heart plummeted in her chest. A crescent moon, thundering core.

"I've always wanted to be a star. When the Gods created the universe, I was there. I've seen things you can't even imagine. Whole galaxies colliding with each other, the death of a million stars." She closes her eyes briefly, and her voice cracks as she continues. "And when I became one, I felt completely happy. Excited even. I was to shine upon a whole world, the entire solar system. And yet… I was lonely. I was alone for so long, Agatha. But then- Then you came along. I prayed for someone, anyone to come and put me out of my misery.

My light was going out but you brought it back. You are my light, Agatha. You're the reason I still burn and will continue to burn until the end of time itself, if it means you're by my side." By the time she finishes, tears have long started falling. And by the time they fall, the Moon has already pulled the Sun into her embrace.

Black nails into her scalp. Murmured words of comfort in her ear.

The Sun sets and lays in her chest.

"Remember that thing I said on the day we met?" She waits for Wanda to nod, her mane of red hair tickling Agatha's nose. "Wherever you go, I follow. That's the truth, Wanda. Not only am I incapable of getting away from you, I also don't want to. And do you know why?" Green eyes red with crying look up at her. "Because I can't bear the thought of not being with you. The very prospect of not seeing you shine so brightly in the sky saddens me so much that-" Her voice chokes. "That sometimes I can't breathe. But when morning comes and you're up there in the sky being your sunny self," They both laugh tearfully. "I feel alive. You make me feel alive, Wanda."

It doesn't really matter who leans in first.

Day and night find each other's lips in a searing kiss. Wanda might have witnessed many things in her long life, but never had she seen the collision of a satellite and its star. What a spectacle it was. Lucky her for having the pleasure to participate in it.

They are a mess of limbs curling into one another. Not once separating from their kiss, Wanda manages to straddle Agatha with dexterity, her hands pining those of the woman to the hard surface. Tongue against tongue in an elegant and passionate dance. Total eclipse of the Sun, full Moon its only spectator.

Then, coming from the heavens above, a deep rumble sounded.

"No." A whispered command. Father had come back.

And the falling star and her crescent moon were no more.

—

Wanda opens her eyes with a silent gasp.

Sunlight hits her face lazily as if it had just woken up as well. Agatha sleeps by her side. Looking out, she sees the snowy mountain tops and the woods that surrounded their cabin being grazed by the morning sun.

Her girlfriend murmurs something in her sleep the younger witch can't quite comprehend. Trying to calm her rabbit-heart, Wanda pulls her closer and breathes into her hair. Feels her own breathing slow down. It was just a dream, it was just dream-

"Well, good morning, sunshine." Violet eyes hazy with sleep slowly blink at her. A soft smile on red lips. "What's with the long face?" Agatha taps her nose. The warm breeze coming from outside suddenly feels too hot.

Too much.

"Nothing, I- I just had the strangest dream…"

Up in the sky, the Sun wept.

[saharamae21]

Never Ran Smooth (Part 1)

Hey guys! Here’s a preview of a fanfic that I’m writing! The full story will be on wattpad and if enough of you guys like it, I’ll post it all on here. This is the unedited first chapter! It’s a little shorter than I wanted, but oh well! Let me know what you think. Chapter 2 is up on my wattpad! | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven |

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My soul is in the sky.

I laid in the backyard of the hotel as my parents assessed the damage that took place a few days ago. Hurricane Agatha really did it’s worst. I could feel the damp ground soak puddles into my t-shirt. The grass stains this would produce would give my mom a heart attack, but the coolness felt good. There wasn’t a care in the world for me for the first time in days. I simply closed my eyes and enjoyed the damage that had been done. With the yard like this, my dad would have no choice, but to move all the workers outside to help. This meant that I would have the day off.

I live in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It’s the kind of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. I was the latter. In the hierarchy of the town, the Stryker clan ranked towards the top, even if we didn’t seem like it. We were like kings in the Kook community. My dad owns the 4 star hotel on the rich side of the island, which means we take all of the touron’s money during their trip. We didn’t let our wealth get to our heads like other families though. My dad always tells me that you work for a living, so everyday I work at the hotel. Today would be my first day off all summer.

I smiled widely as I sat up and waved at my mom, who was motioning for me to go. She didn’t need to tell me twice. Suddenly I was on my feet and making a break for it. I waved to the cooks, the front desk workers, and the house cleaners as I sped past. These people were like family to me. I slipped into the locker room for employees and fumbled quickly with the padlock. I cycled through the three sundresses I kept in there for emergencies and quickly got changed. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I pulled my hair down from it’s ponytail and walked around town for a bit. I could feel a skip in my step as my feet carried me towards the Boneyard. The Boneyard was a local beach and I got word that there was a party out here today.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are my eyes deceiving me or did Savannah Stryker finally escape her father’s grasp?” I heard a familiar voice ask. I turned around to see Kiara. She was a Kook just like me and we had similar morals, but she was friends with the Pogues. She just didn’t agree with the other rich folk in the area and her parents didn’t control her. I wish I had her freedom. In all honesty, I may be a Kook by association, but none of them really liked me. I spent my whole summer slaving away at the hotel and the others looked down on me for working with the other 99% of the population. Kie was the only one in school who was worth hanging out with. Even if I didn’t get to see her outside of school, it was nice to know I had a friend in her.

“Hey Kie, how’s your summer been?” I asked and rubbed my neck. I felt a little awkward all of the sudden. Parties weren’t really on my radar unless they were held by the Island Club.

“The usual,” she said, her eyes flicking between three boys. “Keeping the idiots out of trouble.”

I knew the boys, but only because of what I heard through the grapevine. John B was sort of famous. Everyone on the island knew who he was because nine months ago his father disappeared at sea. I wondered how he was doing with everything. Then there was Pope. He was Heyward’s son and I’ve seen him make deliveries to the hotel. Everyone said he was a genius and what he lacked in social skills, he made up for in brains. Finally, there was JJ. I’ve heard a lot about JJ. He works as a busboy at the hotel. I’ve never seen him this close before though. He was the loose canon of the group. Suddenly JJ’s eyes looked up and met mine and I turned away, silently cursing to myself. Did it look like I was staring? Oh god, he’s walking towards us.

“Hey JJ. Do you know Savannah?” Kie asked the blonde boy. JJ just stared at me and grabbed Kie.

“What is she doing here?” he asked in almost an annoyed tone. I looked up at him and wondered if it was a good time to introduce myself or not. “Did you invite her Kie? She’s my boss's daughter and I really don’t want any more Kooks here.” I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, I gathered my courage and stuck my hand out.

“Hi, I’m Savannah,” I spoke loud and clear, waiting for him to shake my hand.

“Yeah, I know Princess,” he muttered. He turned his back towards us and called out one last thing over his shoulder. “Grab a drink or get out.”

It took me a second to process before lowering my hand. The feeling of burden welled up in my stomach. Kie assured me that JJ doesn’t leave good first impressions and that the more I see him the more he would warm up to me. I smiled at her and decided not to worry about it.

***

The party seemed to really take off after I arrived. More and more people began to show up and more drinks were being served. I held my cup tightly in my hand as I sat next to Kie by the fire. The sun had already set by now and I was nearly about to call it a night when the shouting began. My head snapped towards the water as I saw Topper throw a punch. At first I couldn’t tell who it was, but as soon as Kie got to her feet I knew. John B recovered quickly and tackled Topper to the ground. I didn't know John B well, but I knew Topper. He was a grade A asshole and didn’t know boundaries to save his life. The fight escalated quickly and before someone could stop him, Topper was drowning John B.

“STOP!” I pleaded. Kie held my arm so I wouldn’t interfere. “He’s going to kill him!” My breath was hitching. “Topper, stop! Sarah do something, anything!” I yelled at Topper’s girlfriend.

There was nothing I could do, but watch as the next few events unfolded. I watched as JJ marched up to Topper confidently and held something to his head. I was frozen in fear. I could hear Kie and Sarah yelling frantically as JJ stood his ground. Then it was over. No one was shot, but JJ fired two warning shots into the sky while demanding people get off their side of the island. Then, he looked at me.

“You stay Princess. We have to talk.”

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Jeff York on The Establishing Shot: MY 10 FAVORITE IMAGES FROM FILMS IN 2019

Every year at this time, I choose my 10 favorite images from films in the year. These are those particular shots that really stuck in my mind, made an impact, or became an indelible memory of the film for me. So, without any further ado, here are those ten that affected me the most. (Oh, and as always, there are spoilers ahead, so you’ve been warned.)

PARASITE The movie PARASITE, by filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, starts out as a comedy of manners. A low-class family cons their way into the home of a rich family to be caretakers of their children and household. It’s a dark comedy about the class system in Korea, but it’s really commenting on anyone’s station in life and how difficult it is to get to the next stage. Before they take over the Park family’s swank home, the Kim family thought they had it bad living in a below-ground-level apartment. Soon enough though, they’ll discover someone living a much lower existence – right there in the secret basement of the Park’s house. The little Park boy has seen him roaming the home at night, thinking it was a ghost. A flashback shows us exactly what he saw and indeed, it’s a terrifying sight. Hands down for me, it was the scariest and most memorable moment in any 2019 film.

MARRIAGE STORY My favorite scene in a movie this year is contained in Noah Baumbach’s MARRIAGE STORY. Charlie (Adam Driver) is a divorcing father, fighting his wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) for custody of their young son. He tries his best to impress the social worker (Martha Kelly) evaluating his worthiness one night, but then he accidentally cuts his arm with his pocketknife and tries to be nonchalant about it. As the bleeding continues, the social worker can’t help but notice. The hilarious and heartbreaking scene reaches its zenith when she can’t get the door open to exit. As Charlie watches her struggle, blood escapes down his arm, along with any chance of retaining custody. What a shot.

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE At the end of the eighteenth century, Marianne (Noemie Merlant) is a painter, tasked with capturing the likeness of a reluctant bride-to-be named Heloise (Adele Haenel). What starts as a tempestuous relationship between artist and subject grows into friendship, then lust, and love. They bond over being outsiders, as well as similar tastes in art and literature. They find particular fascination in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, leading to a lively discussion of why Orpheus turned around to look at his wife. As their affair ends, and Heloise’s arranged marriage beckons, she invites the exiting Marianne to turn around. Marianne does and sees her lover in her wedding dress, bringing a shocking and definitive end to their relationship, just like that of Orpheus and Eurydice. The way that director Celine Schiamma shoots the moment startles us as much as it does Marianne, finishing off the stunning image with an iris dissolve to black that makes it all positively chilling.

BOOKSMART Early BOOKSMART, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) drives up to pick up her BFF Molly (Beanie Feldstein) for school. It’s not just a stop though, it’s an opportunity for Molly to make an entrance, and for Amy to join her in an impromptu dance celebrating their friendship. It’s sweet, nerdy, and hilarious as both are eccentrically awkward, lost together in their own little world. Director Olivia Wilde even turns off the soundtrack music halfway through their dance to reveal that the music is all in their heads.

KNIVES OUT Rian Johnson reinterpreted the all-star whodunnit for a modern era with his comedy-mystery KNIVES OUT. He twisted around Agatha Christie’s tropes with relish, yet stayed true to her mainstay of an eccentric detective. Johnson’s investigator Benoit Blanc is a Southern gentleman played to comic perfection by Daniel Craig. Johnson furthered the fun in how he introduced him. Blanc remains a blank for his first minutes of screen time, shot out-of-focus in the background behind the local cop (LaKeith Stanfield). Creating a mystery out of just who is the stranger plinking the piano keys in the background? It killed!

YESTERDAY The movie YESTERDAY isn’t a great film, but it is an intriguing one. After a strange cosmic accident, struggling musician Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) wakes from a coma to realize that in his new existence, no one has heard of the Beatles. Wanting to restore their legacy, as well as make millions singing and claiming their songs as his own, he becomes a worldwide phenomenon. So, if the Fab Four never existed, what became of the fellows who made up the band?  Jack looks up one of them, and the reveal of an older and happy artist living in the country named John Lennon (Robert Carlyle) made for a moment that transcended the one-not idea of the film. Imagine that.

CAPTAIN MARVEL The first superhero movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring a female lead was 2019’s CAPTAIN MARVEL. Brie Larson played pilot Carol Danvers (AKA Captain Marvel) in the 1980’s period piece, and in one scene, flew high into space with fellow pilot Maria (Lashana Lynch) and tagalong tabby Goose. Co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck come from the world of comedy and it shows in wonderful shots like this one where the cat just floats about, quietly enjoying zero gravity.

FORD V. FERRARI In the action-drama FORD V. FERRARI, Henry Ford II wants an American sports car to beat the Italian-made Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966. Thus, he sets out to do so with an esteemed team of designers and drivers. Ford (Tracy Letts) is a bullying S.O.B. and when designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) has had enough of his attitude, he loads him up in the sports car and gives him a 120 MPH test-drive. As Shelby spins him around the dangerous track, Ford is scared shitless, weeping like a baby. It’s a sublime moment with the marvelous Letts letting go as you can see in this hilarious still.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD Few films this year received more water cooler discussion than Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. His story of an aging actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best buddy, an aging stunt man (Brad Pitt), reckoning with the new Hollywood of 1969 was both amusing and elegiac. Age is a bitch in any walk of life, but in Tinsel Town, it’s a horror show. Pitt’s old-timer Cliff Booth is lucky to get a job stunting for the TV show THE GREEN HORNET. Still, he can’t help when the young upstart Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) brags about his prowess as a lethal weapon. Booth calls B.S. on the show’s star and they have a friendly fight. Lee scores a knockdown first, but during the second round, Cliff throws his opponent into the side of a car. It’s one of the best sight gags in a film all year, one talked about a lot at that water cooler.

I LOST MY BODY Few animated films are stranger than I LOST MY BODY. It starts with a severed hand escaping the lab where it’s being held to start on a journey of self-discovery. That means back to the body it came from, as well as the history of the owner. Naoufel, the young man who lost the appendage is a lost soul, trying to navigate his way through a difficult life. He’s such a mess, he can’t even deliver pizzas on time. One customer named Gabrielle calls him out on his shit and their conversation over the building’s intercom becomes a makeshift therapy session. As directed by Jeremy Clapin, and voiced by Dev Patel and Alia Shawkat, the simplicity of this static shot becomes mesmerizing in its simplicity and intimacy. It proves that stillness, even in animation, can be more moving than any action.

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