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blooddrop-palace · 3 years

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DMC-OC-Week Day 4

(No images this time. I ran out!)

Seraphina Valkyrie

Something she likes:

“There’s so much I couldn’t believe I missed during my twenty-something years being lost in Hell. It’s strange to think that during that time, Vergil was also suffering in a similar way… often not himself, broken, desperate, and searching. Since coming back, I’ve had so much worry on my mind. On the first opportunity back in Fortuna where I could afford a little peace, I didn’t know how I was going to go forward with either Nero or Vergil. But then Kyrie, blessed little Kyrie who was barely a year old last I had seen her, made her mother’s tiramisu recipe for us all.

“It was one of my favorite desserts back when her parents invited me over for dinner. And I had shared some of this dessert with Vergil once before. To know that Nero also has a fondness for it, especially since it’s from Kyrie, makes me feel that everything is going to be okay. We will have more shared experiences to bridge off of this. Maybe I wouldn’t have to choose between Nero’s comfort or Vergil’s feelings. Maybe I’ll be able to have them both in my life, and bring them closer, too. We won’t make the most fairytale of families, and that’s okay. I simply wish to give them the love that they deserve.”

Something she dislikes:

“There’s no one singular way to describe this dislike of mine… but perhaps it’s simple to say that I loathe injustice. The problem with justice, however, is that it can often be a personal view.

“But I’ve suffered injustice. Nero has suffered similar injustice. Vergil, too, has suffered injustice. Would I be able to flay Sanctus alive, or to also go up against Mundus, I would not hesitate. People who will make others suffer just to make themselves feel better or bigger are a blight upon mankind. I have no sympathy for the fool that scorns love and promotes pain. And I am not above spilling the blood of villains.”

Kassandra King

Something she likes:

“It’s a bit cheap for me to say this, since this is somewhat of a family trait ingrained into our bloodline, but I like children. We all eventually become parental.

“That said, it’s one of the reasons why there are usually a lot of children in this family. We thrive as a family and as our own little community. And children are an absolute blessing, even when they are at their worst. To care for them and teach them how to become their own individual person is something that satisfies the Hive blood within us, because family is everything.”

Something she dislikes:

“This might sound odd from someone like me, who knows how to seduce and works at a strip club for fun… but when it comes down to more than that, I don’t do well with the whole ‘no strings attached’ thing.

“I feel guilty every time. I guess I just… crave a meaningful connection.”

Arabella

Something she likes:

“Oh, I’ve always liked peace and quiet… but I don’t think that’s the question here. I suppose I could count seafood as something I like. Does it provide much sustenance for a devil like me? Not as much as blood and red orbs. But seafood and the way humans might prepare it is not something we have in Hell. Fortuna being an island city was a good thing for me, even centuries after Sparda had left. I would mingle among the populace like a wraith, working part time here and there to earn the money just to enjoy human food and even check out what new establishments are built over time. The simple joys were like lovely little dreams… and devils seldom dream for enjoyment.”

Something she dislikes:

“The greatest dislike I have is when others take from me without my permission. I am, after all, very territorial and possessive. I can tolerate the human concept of borrowing, but in the end I am still a devil. Still, there is much I have learnt from humans. I can tolerate a little trespassing here and there while I’m in the human world. I would rather my children be able to live happily here, than to struggle for their survival in the Underworld.”

Snow

Something she likes:

“Oh there are a lot of things I like! Alfredo pasta, stuffed crust pizza, peach cobblers with French vanilla ice cream… okay, those are all pretty boring answers. Here’s something I really like and I’m really good at: music rhythm games. DDR, Band Hero, or any other number of music arcade games? I will high score and perfect-combo all of them! My name is on top of the charts for all of the local arcades, and yes, I’m proud of myself. Devil Hunter’s gotta have some fun, after all!”

Something she dislikes:

“Look. When I first brought this up, a number of people found this amusing and laughable… specifically the people from the, uh, Devil May Cry side of things.

“But olives suck, okay? And you know what I don’t understand? How is olive oil so amazing, but olives suck so hard? Olive oil is this lovely soft but fragrant taste but the stupid olive itself has a flavor that stings my senses!

“I think dad has the right idea. Olives can go to hell.”

Noel

Something she likes:

“Something I like? Uh…I like pasta, I guess?

“I should give more specific or in-depth examples? I don’t know… I try not to want too much. I guess I like fruits. Strawberries are good. I mean… okay so I guess I like sweets?

“This is tough. I don’t think too much about what I like. If I think too much about what makes me feel good right now, all that comes to mind is the… the rush from fighting demons.

“And I don’t like that. I don’t want to relish it. It feels… wrong.”

Something she dislikes:

“I don’t want to be alone. Don’t like not belonging. I guess that’s about it. There’s too much that I could really dig in about, but I have so little left that I can’t be worrying about what I dislike. I need to grasp what I do like and never let go. That’s what I need to do.”

Anthony and Caesar:

Something Tony likes:

“Eh? Sure. Plenty. I like pizza. But who doesn’t like pizza? I like rock and punk and metal and grunge. Nothing wrong with that, right? Alright I like to jam, too. I like to wrestle with dad… could add Uncle V to the list, too. Caesar doesn’t like to do a lot of fighting and stuff, but I hope he’ll like the idea of maybe us two challenging Dad and Uncle V to a fight at some point. I also like video games. Caesar also studies all that fancy programming stuff so I get to playtest. It’s pretty great.”

Something Caesar likes:

“You’d be surprised to know that I’m only lukewarm about books. Literature isn’t really my thing. Technology is a more fascinating avenue for me. There’s a lot of potential and a lot to look forward to in the future for the advancement of technology. I do a bit of hacking work but it’s not really my main thing. Still, if I don’t keep an eye on the security around the house, we’d have problems other than demons in our house. What, fighting? I don’t hate it. But I guess the difference between me and my older twin is that he’s the sporty one and I’m the more academic one. Don’t treat me like a pushover, though. I’m far from it. If Tony needs me at his back, I’m there, and I’m no slouch.”

Something Tony dislikes:

“Fuck olives. And also fuck any demon critter that is too fast for my axe. But I guess that’s why I deal with the heavyweights and Caesar can deal with the critters.”

Something Caesar dislikes:

“I tend to dislike…lack of effort. What I mean is… if something is preventable, why not make sure to take care of it? Inefficiency just takes away from the long run. Hefty things with too much excess weighing it down… both literally and metaphorically, I’m not fond of it. But I suppose that’s why I handle the details and the intricate problems, and I can always trust Tony to handle the clunkier things.”

#Devil May Cry #dmcocweek #oc #original characters

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jedimaesteryoda · 4 years

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Euron: The Deconstruction of the Romantic Pirate Captain

Portrait courtesy of Mike Hallstein.

Warning: Spoilers for The Winds of Winter

Pirate fiction is a popular sub-genre with a rich history in both literature and film from Treasure Island to Pirates of the Caribbean. As David Cordingly pointed out in Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates, pirate fiction’s popularity can be given to these stories often taking place in far off places with many of the readers coming from the colder Northern hemisphere, and the bulk of these pirate stories taking place in the tropical Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy (1650-1730). It is also the adventure providing a form of escapism with many readers and viewers often living monotonous lives. As a result, pirates have been embedded in public consciousness from real-life pirates like Blackbeard to the fictional Long John Silver. Of course, as we’ll later get into, these fun images often contrast with real-life pirates.

In A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin creates an entire culture of pirates known to themselves as the Ironborn though they are less the pirates of the Caribbean and more pseudo-Vikings. Piracy is enshrined in the Old Way, which has the Ironborn “pay the iron price,” or obtain plunder (which can even include people) by taking them at the point of an axe or sword. Many Ironborn have made names for themselves through daring raids, and it is through these exploits that they raise their standing in society, both in material wealth and reputation. However, there is one such Ironborn who stands out.

"Some men look larger at a distance," Asha warned. "Walk amongst the cookfires if you dare, and listen. They are not telling tales of your strength, nor of my famous beauty. They talk only of the Crow's Eye; the far places he has seen, the women he has raped and the men he's killed, the cities he has sacked, the way he burnt Lord Tywin's fleet at Lannisport . . ."

-A Feast for Crows, The Iron Captain

Euron “Crow’s Eye” Greyjoy is introduced in A Feast for Crows right after the death of his brother Balon who had exiled him. In a family of pirates and reavers, he is the black sheep of the family, the one who’s hated by everyone else. He manages to stand out from his family and all the other Ironborn through both his cunning and his sadistic cruelty as well as by boldly sailing places where no Ironborn has gone before like Asshai and (dubiously) Valyria. He is the Ironborn closest to a romantic pirate in appearance (which is intentional).

Euron’s character, from sailing to far-off places and his treasure to his charisma and even his eye patch, makes it clear that Martin borrowed from other pirates in fiction.

Let’s start with the titular character in Captain Blood: His Odyssey, who is not a Romantic Pirate Captain™, he is the Romantic Pirate Captain™. The book was adapted into the 1935 film seen by a young George R.R. Martin with Blood portrayed by the ever-handsome, charming actor who was typecast as the dashing swashbuckler, Errol Flynn. The film’s final duel between Blood and Levasseur (portrayed by Basil Rathbone) is ranked as one of the top sword fights on-screen, with Martin himself ranking it alongside the duel between Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black in The Princess Bride.

A common trope in pirate fiction (though less so in real-life in the Golden Age of Piracy) is the pirate captain being an aristocrat or an educated man of some standing in society who is forced to become a pirate as a result of unfortunate circumstances. Peter Blood is a sharp-witted, handsome Irish doctor and veteran who is arrested for treason for attending to a wounded rebel during the Monmouth Rebellion. Blood is later sold as a slave and transported to Barbados to serve under the brutal master, Colonel Bishop, and manages to form a relationship with Bishop’s niece, Arabella. Subsequently, he is forced to become a pirate after the Spanish attack on Barbados, leading a crew of his fellow convict-slaves to freedom, and becoming one of the most feared and well-known pirates in the Caribbean. However, he manages to adhere to his own personal code and maintain some semblance of honor as a pirate while the legitimate authority figures in this story like Deputy-Governor Bishop, French commander Baron de Rivarol and Admiral Don Miguel de Espinoza as well as King James II (unseen) tend to be worse than the actual pirates. He preys on only Spanish ships and settlements (enemies of Great Britain who are treated as stock villains in the story) never on English or Dutch ones, operating more as a privateer than a pirate. He also chivalrously rescues women from other pirates and Spanish soldiers.

I have said already that he was a papist only when it suited him.

-Captain Blood, Chapter XVI: The Trap

No godless man may sit the Seastone Chair."

-A Feast for Crows, The Prophet

Peter and Euron both can claim descent from island nations (Ireland and Iron Isles) with a history of nationalist sentiment against domination by a larger neighbor (England/Great Britain and mainland Westeros under the Iron Throne). Euron is sharp-witted and “the most comely of Lord Quellon's sons,” coming from the most powerful noble house on the Iron Islands, and is forced to leave after being condemned and exiled by his brother Balon. Euron then pursues a life of piracy, and earns the moniker of “as black a pirate as ever raised a sail,” one of the most feared pirates in the known world. In their respective stories, Euron and Peter demonstrate themselves to be brilliant, talented commanders, always managing to defeat their foes and win battles with their wits, with examples being Blood’s gambit in managing to escape past Espinosa in the raid on Maracaibo and Euron’s strategy in the taking of the Shield Islands. They are also known for their boldness and daring among their fellows.

What but ruin and disaster could be the end of this grotesque pretension? How could it be hoped that England would ever swallow such a Perkin? And it was on his [James, 1st Duke of Monmouth] behalf, to uphold his fantastic claim, that these West Country clods, led by a few armigerous Whigs, had been seduced into rebellion!

“Quo, quo, scelesti, ruitis?” [Latin for “Where, where are you rushing to, wicked ones?”]

-Captain Blood: His Odyssey, Chapter I: The Messenger

“I shall give you Lannisport. Highgarden. The Arbor. Oldtown. The riverlands and the Reach, the kingswood and the rainwood, Dorne and the marches, the Mountains of the Moon and the Vale of Arryn, Tarth and the Stepstones. I say we take it all! I say, we take Westeros."

- A Feast for Crows, The Drowned Man

Of course, while Blood saw the Monmouth Rebellion as madness with his only involvement being healing a wounded rebel, Euron (described as madder than Balon) actually fought in the Greyjoy Rebellion (where Balon like James, 1st Duke of Monmouth, unsuccessfully tried to crown himself), and hatched the plan to burn the Lannister fleet at port. Blood is an innocent man unjustly condemned for following his Hippocratic Oath while Euron is a guilty man condemned for raping and impregnating his brother’s salt wife. Euron's crew is made up of slaves like Blood’s, but unlike Blood, he was never a slave himself whose slave crewmen joined him willingly, but a slave master who bought or captured them, and then compelled them to serve in his crew. Captain Blood returns after being pardoned (after the king who convicted him, James II, is overthrown) for saving Jamaica from a French assault, and chosen to be its governor, replacing his nemesis, Colonel Bishop, who ironically, was removed for abandoning his post in search of Blood. Euron likewise returns to the Iron Islands after arranging Balon’s death, and takes his post as King of the Iron Islands and Lord of Pyke, at first through intimidation, violence and bribes and later through a kingsmoot. Although, I would argue that like Colonel Bishop, Balon was an unsympathetic, incompetent ruler with an ultimately doomed invasion of the North and uprisings to go with Bishop’s doomed pursuit of Blood.

Blood looks out for his countrymen, and went to great lengths to avoid the sacrificing of his own men while Greyjoy only looks out for himself, even sacrificing and murdering his fellow Ironborn for his own ends. Peter rescues women from would-be rapists and kidnappers while Euron kidnaps and rapes them.

If he resisted so long, it was, I think, the thought of Arabella Bishop that restrained him. That they should be destined never to meet again did not weigh at first, or, indeed, ever. He conceived the scorn with which she would come to hear of his having turned pirate, and the scorn, though as yet no more than imagined, hurt him as if it were already a reality. And even when he conquered this, still the thought of her was ever present. He compromised with the conscience that her memory kept so disconcertingly active. He vowed that the thought of her should continue ever before him to help him keep his hands as clean as a man might in this desperate trade upon which he was embarking. And so, although he might entertain no delusive hope of ever winning her for his own, of ever even seeing her again, yet the memory of her was to abide in his soul as a bitter-sweet, purifying influence. The love that is never to be realized will often remain a man's guiding ideal. The resolve being taken, he went actively to work. Ogeron, most accommodating of governors, advanced him money for the proper equipment of his ship the Cinco Llagas, which he renamed the Arabella. This after some little hesitation, fearful of thus setting his heart upon his sleeve.

-Captain Blood: His Odyssey, Chapter XIII: Tortuga

"Who knows more of gods than I? Horse gods and fire gods, gods made of gold with gemstone eyes, gods carved of cedar wood, gods chiseled into mountains, gods of empty air . . . I know them all. I have seen their peoples garland them with flowers, and shed the blood of goats and bulls and children in their names. And I have heard the prayers, in half a hundred tongues. Cure my withered leg, make the maiden love me, grant me a healthy son. Save me, succor me, make me wealthy . . . protect me! Protect me from mine enemies, protect me from the darkness, protect me from the crabs inside my belly, from the horselords, from the slavers, from the sellswords at my door. Protect me from the Silence." He laughed.

-A Feast for Crows, The Iron Captain

Peter is loyal to one woman, Arabella, never finding companionship with another, and even rescues her from Don Miguel. Euron, by contrast, never had a single romantic relationship, just taking the daughter of the Lord of Oakenshield as his mistress, and later cutting her tongue out, and having her chained to his ship’s prow. Peter named his ship for Arabella, whose name means “yielding to prayer.” As well as reflecting his love for a certain woman, it represented his personal commitment to keeping to some semblance of honor and morality. Euron, in direct contrast, named his ship Silence, as a way of mocking his victims’ prayers of protection that are answered with only silence from both the gods and with death. The ship itself tellingly has a black iron likeness of a beautiful woman without a mouth.

Peter is shown to be merciful as he spared his enemies like Colonel Bishop and Don Miguel, as opposed to Euron’s mercilessness shown by having Blacktyde cut into seven pieces and Lord Hewett killed after capturing him. Peter is a noble gentleman and honorable rogue while Euron is an ignoble, black-hearted scoundrel. I would argue that as a character, Peter Blood is closer to Jon Snow than he is to Euron Greyjoy, or if you’re going for characters on the Iron Isles, he is closer to Lord Rodrik “the Reader” Harlaw with a shared scholarly disposition, and Harlaw’s attitude towards the Greyjoy rebellions being virtually the same as Blood’s towards the Monmouth Rebellion.

GRRM likely also had at least one other pirate in fiction in mind when writing Euron.

Long John Silver is the prototypical pirate from Treasure Island where many pirate tropes in pop culture get their inspiration from, and in Long John’s case, he has the talking parrot and the missing leg. He is the ship’s cook who turns out to be the pirate captain organizing a mutiny on the Hispaniola.

intelligent and smiling. Indeed, he seemed in the most cheerful spirits, whistling as he moved about among the tables, with a merry word or a slap on the shoulder for the more favoured of his guests.

Now, to tell you the truth, from the very first mention of Long John in Squire Trelawney's letter I had taken a fear in my mind that he might prove to be the very one-legged sailor whom I had watched for so long at the old Benbow. But one look at the man before me was enough. I had seen the captain, and Black Dog, and the blind man, Pew, and I thought I knew what a buccaneer was like — a very different creature, according to me, from this clean and pleasant-tempered landlord.

-Treasure Island, VIII: At the Sign of the Spy-glass

Euron had seduced them with his glib tongue and smiling eye

-A Feast for Crows, The Reaver

Euron and Long John both manage to stand out from their fellow pirates in a number of ways. What people often miss in Treasure Island is that Long John being a pirate captain is a plot twist. Jim doesn’t suspect Silver of being a pirate upon meeting him given while the first pirates we met in the book clearly gave the impression that they’re pirates though their heavy drinking, cursing and violent, threatening behavior, Silver by contrast is polite, well-mannered, courteous, warm and charming. He is usually sober and self-controlled, and greets you with a warm smile on his face. Likewise, the Ironborn reavers tend to display the same rough characteristics as the pirates in Stevenson’s book while Euron by contrast is charming and well-spoken, and we usually see him with a smile on his face. Long John also stands out through his intelligence which is shown in the way he manages his money well rather than spending it all away like other pirates, thinking about long-term planning, and coming up with a plan to find Flint’s treasure by deceiving Squire Trelawney into recruiting his men as crew members on the Hispaniola. Euron is shown to be intelligent and cunning as well when he takes the Shield Islands by not following the coastline and sailing out to sea to avoid being seen, and marrying Asha off to Erik Ironmaker, effectively removing her as a threat. Both men win their leadership positions through their charisma, force of personality, intelligence and lofty promises with taking Flint’s treasure in Long John’s case and all of Westeros in Euron’s case. Of course, Euron’s plan like Long John’s will likely not end well for his followers.

However, both pirates are basically con men with their friendly demeanor being masks. Ben Gunn noted that Captain Flint feared no one, but added the exception of Silver. One could see why as Silver could be charming and courteous on the outside, but upon reaching the titular island, one witnessed the rage and capacity for violence that existed within this man when he coldly murdered Tom Redruth for refusing to join him. Euron likewise can be charming on the outside, but his true nature comes out in certain moments like drowning Lord Botley in a cask of seawater, and cutting Lord Blacktyde into seven pieces for refusing to submit to him.

The similarities seem to end there. Look more closely, and you’ll find plenty of contrasts that separate the two characters.

I’m [Long John] fifty mark you; once, back from this cruise, I set up gentleman in earnest.

-Treasure Island, XI: What I Heard in the Apple Barrel

Lord Balon's eldest brother had never given up the Old Way, even for a day. His Silence, with its black sails and dark red hull, was infamous in every port from Ibben to Asshai, it was said.

-A Clash of Kings, Theon II

Long John Silver has a talking parrot that repeated phrases while Euron in direct contrast has an entire crew of mutes. Silver is actually missing a leg while Euron wears an eye patch despite not missing an eye. Although to be fair, many pirates wore eye patches despite having both eyes, since they frequently had to move above and below decks, from daylight to near darkness. Keeping a patch over one eye adapted it to the darkness, and if a pirate went below decks, he could just switch the patch to the other eye and see in the darkness more easily. In this case, Euron keeps his eye patch to hide his black “crow’s eye” and show his blue “smiling eye,” symbolically showing how he uses his smiling, charming light exterior to hide his dark side. Long John Silver also managed to be a legitimate businessman by owning a pub in Bristol in between acting as a pirate, and he planned to use his share of Flint’s treasure to settle down as a gentleman and retire from piracy. Euron was never engaged in anything resembling legitimate business as he stuck to piracy, and he only left piracy to set himself up as a reaver king of the Ironborn, and basically just do a large-scale version of what he did before.

While Long John Silver did employ murder, he used it in a calculated manner in pursuit of a larger goal. He didn’t kill people randomly, but to get rid of the people likely to stand in the way of his obtaining Flint’s treasure: the sailors who wouldn’t mutiny with him and the people commanding the voyage. Euron also uses murder in a calculated manner against people who oppose him such as his brothers and dissident lords, but he also engages in random acts of violence that don’t provide any clear benefit to himself such as when he murdered a hedge wizard and cut out the tongue of Falia. There is also a level of sadism to his actions that Long John’s lacked such as feeding a warlock to his cohorts, chaining people to the bows of ships, and making the Hewett women serve naked.

Long John Silver also does have some redemptive qualities such as seeming to genuinely care for Jim Hawkins to the point of risking his life when his crew wanted to harm him. Euron wouldn’t have stuck his neck out for Jim, but had the kid’s tongue cut out and used him as a slave at best. Long John also seems to be good to his wife going by the level of trust he put in her while Euron never really seems to genuinely care for anyone but himself. He is unmarried, and doesn’t seem to treat the women he’s laid with well if his mistress Falia is anything to go.

At first glance, Euron Greyjoy has a lot of the qualities that invite admiration of the romantic pirate captain: intelligence, charm, charisma and boldness/daring. However, he lacks the human qualities, ie the honor and nobility often found in these characters that keep them from being just villainous rogues. He is a handsome aristocrat who turns to piracy after being exiled from his home, but unlike other pirates in this trope, neither his backstory nor his present situation evoke any sympathy. He isn’t a good man who is unjustly condemned, but an admitted rapist and murderer who managed to avoid justice for his deeds. He uses the pirate tropes to win support from the Ironborn who esteem the Old Way that glorifies piracy. Martin effectively uses Euron to deconstruct the romantic pirate captain trope by showing how romanticism is often used to pretty up ugly things, in this case, piracy, by revealing the dark reality behind them. Piracy is, at the end of the day, a profession of armed robbery with pirate captains usually being capable of savage cruelty and violence. In real life, good pirate captains like the fictional Peter Blood amongst others were incredibly difficult to find given good people generally avoided such line of work. Even so, no matter how good a man a character like Blood was, he still obtained much of his wealth and prestige from robbing ships and settlements with the justification being that they were Spanish, enemies of Britain. Essentially, it is an argument based on the premise of total war. The Ironborn philosophy is practically the same mindset, but unlike with Blood, we got to see the side of the victims of their predations on the Shield Islands and the North.

The way the Ironborn view piracy can be similar to how plenty of people in the real world view piracy in fiction and even real-life. The reader could ask how could the Ironborn admire people like Euron, to which one could just as easily ask how could people esteem Sir Henry Morgan to the point of naming a popular rum label for him (with the slogan “Live like the Captain”)? Euron and the rest of the Ironborn effectively have the reader critique the romantic attitudes towards piracy found in popular culture.

On a final note, another key difference between Euron and the romantic pirate captain will likely be how his story ends. The pirate captain usually gets a happy ending, settling down with all the considerable wealth he acquired over his career in piracy. After his victory against the French in Jamaica in a final battle, Peter Blood gets his pardon, is made Deputy-Governor of Jamaica, gets the girl, Arabella, and settles down to a comfortable retirement from piracy. Long John Silver, even though he was the main antagonist rather than the protagonist, escaped the Hispaniola with "three hundred or four hundred guineas” likely to reunite with his wife. Euron’s story likely won’t be a happy ending with him winning a glorious final battle before settling down to a comfortable retirement with the beautiful girl, Daenerys, but more likely him being killed with the battle turning out to be a disastrous defeat for his fellow Ironborn.

In this story, where the romantic pirate captain is the villain, he and his fellow pirates will get no hero’s reward, but instead their comeuppance.

We will likely see how his story ends in The Winds of Winter.

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #euron greyjoy #euron #treasure island #long john silver #captain blood #pirate #robert louis stevenson #grrmartin #grrm #george rr martin #a feast for crows #pirates #game of thrones #piracy #balon greyjoy #house greyjoy

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cassandraclare · 5 years

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June snippet!

A bit of an Anna excerpt from Chain of Gold for Pride month! I do love Anna. (I looked for a Anna and Ariadne excerpt, but those are all VERY SPOILERY so will have to wait!)

Chain of Gold:

“Good work, Cordelia,” said Anna, swinging her legs off the edge of the settee. “Arabella, how are the drinks coming on?”

Cordelia turned to see a faerie woman with tumbling blue and green hair standing by a sideboard at the far end of the room. Her hands waved in midair like fronds in water, unstoppering decanters and crystal vials full of red liquid, and busily pouring them into a variety of goblets and flutes.

“Just ready, darling!” Arabella said, and walked over to distribute drinks. Matthew accepted a drink with alacrity. Cordelia noticed that Arabella walked with a rocking, unsteady gait, as if she was a sailor unaccustomed to treading on the land.

When Arabella gave Anna her drink, Anna pulled Arabella into her lap. Arabella giggled, kicking up her French heels. Her long legs were shockingly bare, and covered in a faint iridescent pattern of scales. They flashed in the golden light like a rainbow.

A mermaid. So this was Hypatia’s “friend from the seaside.” They were rarely seen on land, since their human legs caused them pain to walk on.

Arabella noticed Cordelia’s gaze and shrugged, shoulders moving fluidly beneath her heavy masses of blue and green hair. “I have not been on land for many years. The last time I visited this city, the Downworlders and Shadowhunters were trying to form the Accords. I was not much impressed with Nephilim then, and I have not been fond of Shadowhunters since. Still, exceptions can be made.”

Before the Accords were formed. The faerie woman had not been on the land for more than thirty years.

Arabella leaned into Anna as she spoke, and Anna’s scarred fingers drifted gently though the waves of the mermaid’s hair. Tiny fish, small as sparks from a fire and bright blue, stirred when disturbed and leaped from strand to strand chasing Anna’s graceful movements.

“My lovely, your hair is like a beautiful stream,” murmured Anna. “Because there are fish in it.”

Arabella blushed. Apparently Anna could seduce multiple people in one evening ..

#anna lightwood #tsc #cog2 #chain of gold #tlh

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kittenintheden · 8 months

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Not Your Sweetheart Ch 28 - Wake Up

Not Your Sweetheart Chapter 28 - Wake Up

The one where I absolutely delight in reminding everyone that Astarion has a dead average 10 charisma and an 18 CHA Tav gives him a run for his goddamn money in all the best and most angsty ways.

AKA "gets away with it bc hottie w/a body" meets "wins every social interaction and is also troubled and hot."

AKA the seducer gets seduced and he's mad about it, until he isn't.

But also it's a whole campaign? You know. Do not enter unless you're expecting true-to-life D&D -- everyone hot as hell but stupid as fuck. Get your top-shelf found family and hotties battling for flirt dominance tropes here.

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Astarion has a flashback (it is bad) and then has to comfort a child (gross) and then Ori gives him a kiss (better). Shadowheart stares down the Sharran Trials. Read on AO3.

Commissioned piece of the dorks by the fantastically talented @hamrikaa (see the full thing in Ch 10).

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Elias smirks and tilts their head toward Arabella. “She could use some company, probably.”

“Oh, absolutely not,” Astarion says. “That’s a hard pass. Go find Wyll.”

They huff a laugh. “What’s the deal with you and kids, anyway?”

“I just think they’re weird,” Astarion says, leaning to the side and wrapping one arm around himself. “And sticky. No, thank you.”

Elias cocks an eyebrow. “Do you… know what a child is?”

“Not my problem, is what,” he says.

“Uh huh.” They consider him a moment, then raise a finger. “You… do know they’re kind of a sticking point with Ori, yeah?”

“Difficult not to know, isn’t it?” he snarks. “They’re off limits. I don’t eat them and I don’t go out of my way to be an arsehole to them. I also do not pat them on the head and give them a treat.”

“Again,” Elias says. “Are you sure you know what a child is?”

#astarion #astarion bg3 #astarion x tav #astarion x oc #astarion x female tav #astarion x f!tav #astarion x female oc #kitten writes #not your sweetheart

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peccatumincarne · 4 years

Text

&&. rumor has it ( arabella li liu ) has stepped into rosewood. ( she ) is a ( 24 ) year old ( sub ) currently residing at the manor as ( a celebrity model ). it’s been said that ( she ) resembles ( dilraba dilmurat ) and is into ( bondage & power play ) but not ( infantilism & bathroom play ). ( she ) has been said to be ( insightful & rational ) but also quite ( hesitant & fragile ). let’s hope the manor doesn’t devour them whole.

The Basics

Name: Arabella Li Liu

Age: 24

Sexuality: Bisexual, with a slight preference for men

Type: Submissive

Occupation: Celebrity Model / Guest

Positive: Insightful, Rational, Curious

Negative: Hesitant, Fragile, Shy

The History

(TW: Abuse, Prostitution) A famous model and multimedia sensation, Arabella Li Liu is, at least on the surface, a woman who has it all. However, her life has never once been something within her control. Her mother, a media mogul affiliated with a number of organized crime syndicates, has always been behind the scenes manipulating her dear daughter in order to achieve her own power-hungry ambitions. As a child, Arabella was isolated from her peers, living a lonely life with only her personal tutors for company. She had never learned how to make friends, nor did she understand the notion of compassion. What she knew very well, engraved into her very bones, was that to get ahead, one needed to be able to wield both fear and power. A soft-hearted person by nature, Arabella was never someone who held either, but by associating herself with stronger people, by allowing her mother to use her for her own ends, she could survive one more day and maybe, just maybe, earn some of the affection that she was so desperately starved for. As she grew older, others took notice of her appearance. Always looking to gain an advantage, Arabella's mother shoved her daughter into the spotlight, making a name out of her through sabotage and deceit. The new fame drove Arabella further away from her understandings of a normal life, and threw her into a new kind of hell. Now, rather than sinking into the shadows as she always had, Arabella was forced to seduce executives, appease clients and further her mother's political ambitions using whatever means she had available. Knowing no other way, she complied with all their demands with her body, locking away what was left of her bruised heart as she took anyone of importance back to her bed. Then, only months ago, her mother's crimes came to light and a massive scandal broke out. It was never certain who had leaked the information out, but given how many people her mother had burned, it had only been a matter of time. Now undergoing a massive damage control campaign with the media, Arabella was whisked away to Rosewood, with explicit instructions to continue building connections with the other residents. Uncertain and alone for the first time in her life, Rosewood has been Arabella's first taste of freedom in her adult life, and she has no idea how to use it.

Fun Facts

Arabella has been involved in the kink world for a while, but now that it’s on her own terms, she’s rediscovering what she likes, and is interested in exploring it with others

Despite her occupation, Arabella is actually quite timid once she’s off the runway. She finds looking at her image highly embarassing

Arabella is especially good at reading others, as it’s a skill that she was forced to develop in order to survive her mother’s schemes

A part of her still longs for romance, but Arabella believes that she’s too corrupted to be loved by anyone, at least in the way that matters. Still, she hopes Rosewood might change somthing about how she sees herself.

Wanted Connections

Manager - Arabella did not come to Rosewood Manor without some level of supervision. Her manager has been with her since the beginning, and while they still work for Arabella’s murderous mother Liling, they share a special relationship with Arabella and remains a close confident of the reclusive woman.

Bodyguard - Arabella is a high-profile celebrity, and one currently in the midst of an earth-shattering scandal. As such, she has her own security on top of Rosewood Manor’s regular guards. Though they remain on Liling’s payroll, they have an ongoing agreement with Arabella on the side. They stay quiet about Arabella’s activities, in exchange for special favours from Arabella herself. It’s not a healthy relationship, but it is immensely gratifying.

#rhqintro #doll without strings: arabella #doll without strings: bio

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damndaehyung · 4 years

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Coffee Shop Revenge

John Tucker Must Die AU Part 3

Included : Daniel, Emily, Sungjae , M , Minah, Jane,Tara, Arabella Mentioned : Tyler , Maude, Heavily Alluded to : Mindy

“You really don’t need to follow me everywhere,” Emily said with a laugh as Daniel pushed the door of the cafe open. “It’s not even that bad, “ she said with a shake off her head. “And don’t you have a class?” she asked raising an eyebrow. “Skipping class already?” she frowned. “Daniel you said you were going to try -” she continued.

“Emily, the professor is off sick, I am meant to be studying which i can do here so,” he grinned. “I am just keeping any eye on you, I just want to make sure you are okay and that they don’t overwork you,” he said. “I’d even fight Sungjae to keep you healthy so that should say a lot,” Daniel huffed.

Emily beamed up at him, “Even though it’s not necessary i appreciate it,” she said. “Go get your normal booth, i’ll send over your usual in a minute,” she waving for him to go. He looked over to the counter glaring at M and Sungjae who looked up only to see Daniel making I’m watching you motion. He meant what he said if he had take Sungjae down if something happened to Emily. Turning on his heels he strutted to his booth, now hopefully free of Ty Dollar Sign and his french girlfriend, well ex-girlfriend unless she really was as dumb as she looked.

He grinned at the sound of silence as he settled in his booth, ready to get working on a project. “Banana bread and a Mocha,” Sungjae said placing a plate and a mug on the free patch of the table.

Daniel looked up from his computer, plastering the most seductive smile on his face and licking his lips. “I believe i ordered your number as well -” he said sweetly.

“That comes with our loyalty card, on your fifth coffee with us you get my number, on the tenth you get date with M,” Sungjae joked but that Daniel decided that was close enough to flirting for him. After all, he got the feeling Sungjae was shy a guy, something Daniel would have no problem helping him overcome in the future.

“And what if i wanted a date with you instead?” Daniel asked.

“Ah i am not sure you want to settle for a date with me,” Sungjae said scratching the back of his neck, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink.

“You’d be wrong,” Daniel said. “So when should we go out?” he asked, getting straight to the point. He was never one to beat around the bush and Sungjae won’t be any different. Sungjae blinked owlishly at him before avoiding eye contact altogether, a sheepish smile on his face. Daniel couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across his face, he was in.

He was about to get his response when a feminine figure pushed past Sungjae, the person didn’t look suspicious at all, i mean who would find someone wearing a wide brim hat, Chanel sunglasses and a trench coat suspicious. Daniel rolled his eyes, coughing to get Sungjae’s attention back. “Well -” he started again but was interrupted by a loud are you kidding me coming from the blonde who has just entered the club. Daniel looked over at with a harsh glare noticing that it was the club girl, Jane if he remembered correctly. He swirled back around to Ms Subtle and frowned, even with the glass and stupid hat he could tell it was the French girl. Why did these women hate him, he just wanted to seduce his cute barista boy in peace but no.

“Is this a setup?” Jane asked as she stomped over to the booth, her face red and a scowl on her face. Daniel frowned knowing his chance had slipped by, the drama of the two girls ahead of him was too much, especially since everyone in the cafe had turned to look at them.

“Save your dramatics Jane,” The French girl said dismissively as she pulled off her shades. “Do you honestly think i would plan this? Please spending time near you is the last thing on my to-do list -” she huffed. “Let me guess T messaged you as well?” she with a frown. “Do you think she is going to apologize for her brother?”

“No, I am definitely not doing that,” The sister said, making her appearance known, beside her was the other blonde, Daniel looked at the girls curiously. He expected the french girl, the blonde and Jane to look a little worse for wear considering they just found out their boyfriend was cheating on them but the sister seemed to be taking it worse, her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, her eyes rimmed red with deep circles under her eyes suggesting that she stayed up all night crying and she was one of those ugly jumpers with the college’s name on it.

“I should go serve them,” Sungjae whispered. “If i don’t make it back tell M that he can have my comic collection,” he continued. Daniel’s nose wrinkled up, oh my gosh he is a nerd, a very cute nerd but comic books. God help Sungjae if he ever tried to drag Daniel to one of those convention things.

“Tara,” Jane said softly, “Are you okay?” she asked softly. “Did something else happen you know between -”

“Jane shut up, god i know your blonde but really,” The french girl spat harshly. “Tara, as someone who has also felt the crushing disappointment of men let me tell you that your real friends will be here for you,” she said softly, “any time,” she said tapping the booth beside.

“Real friends please,” the other blonde said under her breath.

Tara was saved from sitting or speaking by Sungjae who Daniel noted sounding rather done despite barely dealing with these girls. He knew Sungjae had similar interests to him, but he assumed he was bi, maybe he was wrong and woman wouldn’t be a problem for him it all in the future. With that joyous thought in mind, Daniel turned back to his work, happy that this college thing was working out exactly the way he planned it.

He looked away only to watch the trainwreck that was M trying to place the girls’ orders down. As much as he could tolerate which was a surprising amount considering he wasn’t directly related to him and he wasn’t particularly attracted to him, it was still funny to watch him be intimidated by the girl, so much so he almost dropped Tara’s croissant. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he took a sip of his Mocha re-reading what he had just written.

“THAT BASTARD DID WHAT?!” Daniel jumped drink almost spilling from his lips as Jane’s voiced echoed throw the cafe, her fist had down on the table so hard Daniel had heard plates clang back down, Daniel chanced it taking another speak at the table watching as Jane shrunk on herself as she noticed that everyone was looking at her. The french girl was wiping furiously a scowl on her face while Tara was looking down, shaking her head. “I’M GOING TO KILL HIM,” she continued, her voice lowered slightly.

Daniel really should have stopped listening and went back to focusing on his work but he loved drama, especially the type that involved potential murder and didn’t include his name. He figured the bastard was Tyler Lee, but if Jane wasn’t going to kill him after cheating on her with three other girls he had to wonder what Tyler did to fuck up this badly.

“Wait so Maude told you?” The French girl asked, “How did she know?” she asked.

“She is friends with Min-”

“No T don’t say her name, that bitches name doesn’t deserve to be said by you,” the other blonde said. “And yes Olivier couldn’t wait to brag about how Tyler trusted her with this, how she has a deeper connection with him - ten guesses to why she wasn’t invited -” she said bitterly.

“I am going to kill her as well and that little Cindy bitch-” Jane said once again causing Daniel to smirk. In another life, he was sure he and Jane could actually get along but her shocking taste in men had all but ruled that friendship out.

“Anyway,” The French girl said, Daniel could tell she was rolling her eyes right now, it was obvious in her voice. “Is that why you called us here Tara?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” Tara said.

“And this is where i leave,” the other blonde spoke. “I want to get revenge on that asshole and his friends but I don’t want to be apart of Tara ruining her relationship with him and i certainly don’t want to work with you two -” she said, Daniel smelled a scheme and bit in his banana bread happily. He was going to get a date with Sungjae and if these girls were any good plotting he’d never have to worry about seeing Tyler Lee and voyeurism kink ever again.

“It’s a bit late for that don’t you think since you know Tyler complete ruined her life -” The french girl spoke contempt dripping in her voice. “And do you honestly think i would want to work with you? I am sorry i don’t play with children -” she said.

“You -”

“Ara! Minah! Stop it!” Tara shouted not nearly as loudly as Jane had earlier but it was still enough to get a few looks from the cafe’s customers. “Stop talking about me like i am not here and stop being so childish, we are all victims of my brother’s schemes so can we just stop with the animosity for five seconds,” she said. Daniel couldn’t see her but he’d like to imagine her rubbing her temples wondering why she had to deal with such fools. “If Ara doesn’t want to be involved in my plans that is fine,” she said. “That is her choice and i respect that, i know that it’s been hard for her to-” she trailed off before the sound of laughter rang okay. “Okay yeah yeah me too,” Tara said.

Daniel watched as the other blonde, Ara walked past him, glancing at him briefly before raising an eyebrow and continuing. “Look i am all for revenge but are you sure you want to do this Tara?” Min-Frenchie asked. “He is your brother and -” she trailed off.

“He needs to be taken down,” Tara said. “He took things way to far, the thing with Mark, dating one of my friends and then cheating on her with several of my other friends who also think they are dating him and being so desperate to get his dick wet that he would….” she said with a gag. “With Maude Olivier, no Tyler needs a wake-up call,” she said.

“And what is your plan anyway and why do we need to be involved?” Jane asked. “Because for all the little pranks that have been happening haven’t worked,” she said just as their phones chimed. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” Jane and Minah both spat angrily. Daniel turned to see them both furiously staring at their screens, a sleuth of colourful threats and curses were being said about one Tyler Lee. Daniel wondered if his ears were burning right now, he hoped they were.

“What happened?” Tara asked curiously craning her neck to look at one of their phones and gasping. “Oh no,” she said. “He didn’t,” she said.

“I can’t believe that little chipmunk,” Minah ranted, Daniel’s nose scrunched up in disgust, chipmunk what vile inducing pet name. “He dumped me over a text message,” she said followed but what sounded like a muffled screen. “Forget your little revenge plan, I am calling Suho -” she said.

“Dumped you, wow shocking, but what about me?”

“Oh come off it Durand you were never a girlfriend just a bed- “

“Guys stop and Minah put your phone down,” Tara said with the authority of teacher scolding her kindergarten class. “ I think it's time to give Tyler some off his own medicine,” she said before launching into her plan. As Daniel found it out, much to his disappointment didn’t involve murder or any violence at all but it was simply to break Tyler’s heart. How silly from the sounds of it Tyler Lee didn’t even have a heart so why bother.

“So who would be the ultimate heartbreaker?” Jane asked. “I mean he can be pretty charming -” she trailed off. “He did manage to have four girlfriends at a time,” she spat bitterly.

“I hate to agree with Jane but she is right a regular girl won’t do, they’d be eating of his hand in a day,” Minah said.

“How about her -” she said, Daniel swirled around looking to where she was pointing only to find it landing on Emily. Daniel sucked in a breath to stop himself from snapping.

“Her?” Minah laughed. “No, Tara, she’d be on her knees for him in a minute,” she said. Daniel growled, his hands balling into a fist, his nails digging into flesh. Do not react. Do not react.

‘Well from what i heard she isn’t the biggest fan of my brother, plus she is friends with Eunmi Kim, you know the girl who hates Lucas and by association hates everything my brother stands for -” Tara explained. The glaring girl, of course, she would have to somehow ruin things for him.

“She is a little young,” Jane commented as Daniel nodded in agreement. She was too young. Way too young. “Does she even go here or is she a high schooler?”

“Well, Tyler likes them young apparently,” Minah laughed. “Maybe Tara is onto something, hey if this heartbreak plan fails we might be able to send him to prison,” she snorted. “Seriously Tara, that girl wouldn’t last five minutes with Tyler, and even if she did Tyler wouldn’t look at her twice, she is a little how do i say this… plain?”

“Plain?” Daniel snapped getting out of his booth and glaring at the girls. “Like you can talk, that hair colour you aren’t Blair Waldorf and it isn’t 2008 anymore,” he said if looks could kill him and the french one would have committed double murder. “Keep my cousin out of your mouth the only thing that belongs there is Tyler Lee’s dick and apparently he doesn’t even want it anymore,” he said with an eye roll. “Getting dumped by text - tragic,”

“Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that and why were you listening to our private conversations,” she said eyes lit anger.

“You two are making a scene,” Tara said with a shake of her head. “And i don’t think your cousin would like it she gets fired because you were eavesdropping on a deeply personal conversation of one of this cafe’s best customers,” she said. Daniel apparently underestimated the sister. “Now sit, I’ve made some changes to the plan,” she smirked.

---

“Are you kidding?” “Him?” Jane and Minah said at the same time.

“You want me to do what?” Daniel said laughing in surprise. “Are you on drugs? I know a rehab clinic i can get you in,” he said as Minah muttered a wow shocking under her breath. “Is he - He won’t do it, I’ve seen your brother and he is strictly interested in cats if you know what i mean -” he said.

“Daniel what are you doing?” Emily said coming over the table, well hobbling over to the table. Tara grinned at her before turning to Daniel with a smirk.

“Your cousin here was actually offering a sympathetic ear,” Jane commented patting Daniel’s back. “There was a misunderstanding at the start but Minah and Danny boy here are such hotheads -” she said.

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Emily said with an eye roll. “I’ve known Daniel my whole life i can count on one hand the number of times he has been sympathetic,” she said folding her arms. “Daniel what is going on?” she asked.

“I overheard Jane saying she was tired of dating assholes and you know me i can’t resist myself so i suggested M and was just giving her some needed information,” he said as Emily tilted her head before nodding picking up the used menus. Daniel let out a breath only to be whacked in the face by a menu.

“Ow Em, not the face,” He whined.

“You are lying to me,” she said continuing to hit him but notable moving away from the face, “Tell me what is going on or i will tell Sungjae that you used to -” she said before Daniel reached out covering her mouth.

“I am sacrificing myself for the greater good so next time you hit with a menu just remember i got dragged into this because of you,” he said as Emily brows furrowed, a confused look on her face.

“What are you talking about?”

“Emily, was it? You seem… interesting… trust your cousin when we say it’s better you don’t know,” MInah said. Emily’s eyes narrowed at her before turning to Daniel.

“We will be talking just know that,” she said glaring. “And Jane would be lucky to be interested in M, especially considering who she -” Emily said looking down at Jane.

“So is being a bitch genetic in your family or -” Jane asked with a laugh. “And i take back what i said, i think she might have stood a chance against Ty,” she said. “And who is M? Is the short one that has been glaring at Minah? Because ew but i applaud his cause,” she grinned.

“M is the tall one,” Daniel said. “And shut up!” he huffed. “Anyway Tara, your plan is stupid and won’t work and i am so sure of it, I’ll actually let you try and use me,” he said. “Your brother is as straight as a ruler,” he pointed out. “And i am not going to act like i am interested in him until i see some sort of sign he is,” he shrugged. “Now i have to go shower, who knows what i caught by sitting here,” he said pushing past Jane and leaving the cafe.

“Jane do you still have Jaehyun’s number?” Tara asked with a smirk. “I know my brother better than anyone and he would never back down from a dare or a challenge.”

#story

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memoirsverse · 6 years

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Dresden!verse Witch!Evelyn Timeline

November 3, 1984: Evelyn is born to Robert and Isabelle Alvar in Wisteria, Louisiana. Robert Alvar is a wealthy, right-wing politician, and Isabelle has a pretty face for the public, but in private it’s obvious that she isn’t all there, due to extensive memory tampering. Evelyn’s real father goes by the name Soren Masterson, and he is a Sidhe of the Winter Court who is working secretly with Vaelius. However, elements of both Winter and Summer are woven into Evelyn’s DNA, as they were Galatea’s. Her human-ish construct is meant to be a rough mirror of her older construct, so they can be linked together. Of course, Evelyn doesn’t know any of this, and is told nothing at all about her origins or her gifts, and neither does Isabelle-- but Robert knows and is complicit. He received power and wealth in return.

1996: Evelyn, who has had a deep connection with the natural world and has begun to display some of her other gifts, develops an interest in magic and alternative religion. She fumbles around, practicing in secret to prevent her family from discovering it. She has been astrally projecting for years, but on Samhain of this year, she instinctively breaks loose and Travels for the first time in the physical construct known as Galatea. She is caught up in the Wild Hunt and rides with the Erlking, who knows her, and releases her at the end. She thinks it’s a dream, or an exceptionally vivid astral projection, not understanding that she was physically present. She does not share any of this with her family, having long ago developed the habit of keeping things from them for her own safety.

2000: 18-year-old Evelyn leaves Louisiana to attend the Art Institute in Chicago, paid for by her father. Alice Deva befriends her, secretly at the behest of Vaelius, with the intention of both keeping an eye on her and grooming her for Vaelius’ use. She has by this time realized that her Travels as Galatea (though she doesn’t know that name yet because she hasn’t remembered it) are physical. She has begun to bring home souvenirs from her Travels, which carry her all over the world and the NeverNever, and possibly even other worlds altogether. She trusts Alice at this point and tells her about the Travels.

2001: Evelyn realizes that Alice has been grooming her for Vaelius and cuts off the friendship. She feels lost and adrift, and the stress and confusion lead to her dropping out of school. She goes to work in a small antique and curio shop, Boreas Curios, Antiques, and Odditites. She finds she likes it very much, and the owner hands over management to her when he retires. He passes ownership of the shop over to her in his will, rather than see it shut down. This is oddly synchronous with how Arabella Thorne gains ownership of the antique book shop that she runs (Yesteryear’s Scrawl Antique and Rare Books), which is right across the street from Boreas and next door to a charming little coffee shop that they both like to frequent.

2002: Evelyn and Arabella meet. Evelyn is cautious, having been burned in the past, but grows very fond of her fellow witch. They eventually discover that they are distantly related, cousins several times removed. They celebrate the sabbats and esbats together every year, and sometimes do spellwork together.

2005: Arabella moves into Thornebridge Manor, which in the Dresden Files verse is on the shores of Lake Michigan.

2007-2010: Thornebridge Manor (its genius loci) claims Evelyn as its second Guardian, and, after much internal debate, she moves into it with Arabella. The two of them work together as Guardians to contain the rift “ghosts” that try to actualize in that reality. Her Traveling ability as Galatea makes her especially suited to this. This claim, by right of blood (due to Evelyn’s relation to the Thorne clan, though she doesn’t take the name Thorne as is tradition), lessens any hold or claim that Vaelius had on her previously, so he slips back to the sidelines to wait for a more opportune moment.

Thornebridge also, when communicating with her, calls her Galatea, which confuses her. During this time, her memories from her life as Galatea begin to break loose, and many of them are so intense and horrifying that she has a nervous breakdown. She moves out near the end of 2012, walls everything away in her mind, stops Traveling, isolates herself, and tries to be a “normal” human being.

2011: Vaelius takes advantage of Evelyn’s vulnerability, and comes to her directly, using a glamour. He pretends to be a wealthy, magically-gifted, but down-to-earth and highly ethical mortal from California who is in town on business, and seduces her. Very subtly, he gets in her head and begins rebuilding the slave bond he once had bound her with. He eventually gets her to admit to her gifts and begins encouraging her to embrace them once again. His deception is flawless for a time.

Arabella sees through Vaelius’ glamour with her Sight, but Evelyn has pulled away from her enough and fallen under Vaelius’ influence enough that she’s unable to help.

2012: Vaelius marries Evelyn, under his pseudonym Alexander Stone, and they move to his California estate. She is happy with him for exactly three months, three days, and three hours, until the night she accidentally astrally projects and sees the monster hidden behind his glamour. Not wanting to believe it, she investigates and verifies it, and also becomes aware of the scope of his power, and that he is not a mortal man, though she isn’t sure yet what he is. But now she realizes that she is trapped with a very, very dangerous and powerful creature who has goals she can’t begin to fathom, and she doesn’t know how to escape. Some of her inability to escape or leave at first may be due to Vaelius tampering with her mind.

And so instead, she begins working against him from the inside, gathering evidence.

2013: Evelyn steals a large sum of money from Vaelius, escapes, and returns to Chicago under an assumed identity, Emily Bell. She grows her hair out and dyes it red, and wears a ring that projects a glamour around her, subtly changing the shape of her face so she’s less recognizable. She moves into a small apartment (maybe even Harry’s boarding house-- the upstairs neighbors move out and she takes the vacancy) and basically tries to be invisible. She also has her collected evidence against Vaelius but has no idea what to do about it.

In the future, she will return to Thornebridge as its second Guardian.

@blackstonedresden I thought this might be helpful. I can try to write up a starter later today!

#witch!evelyn verse #dresden!verse #about evelyn #about witch!evelyn #long post

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amarauder · 6 years

Text

chapter two ❥ | original

"James Potter, come down here this instant and set me right!" came a screech from the first year girl's dormitory, which could be heard from all across Gryffindor Tower.

James Potter, who was currently daydreaming up more plans to make Y/n l/n's life at Hogwarts miserable, chuckled softly to himself as he heard Y/n scream at him.

Sirius, his best friend, frowned slightly. "Maybe you should give Y/n a break, James," he said seriously.

"No way! Torturing L/n is way too fun to give up. Besides, she's the one who tricked me into thinking that small bottle of water was a Truth Potion! I swear that I'd get her after that."

Remus smiled and said, "Well, James, the teachers are still calling you 'Y/n and James Potter'. The name goes quite smoothly."

James colored. "I told you, the teachers are howling mad. McGonagall obviously wants revenge of some sort, and she's being nice to Snape!" All three boys shivered, and Peter, who was still sleeping, stirred awake.

"Who screamed?" he asked wearily, sitting up.

"You heard L/n," informed James, grinning at the little boy. "She wake you up? That gives me another reason to kill her."

"Not exactly," said Peter, frowning. "I thought I heard her voice—and yours—and she was singing a lullaby to a baby."

Before anyone could say another word, Sirius gleefully cried, "A ha! I told you Jamie-boy, that you and Y/n were going to get married and have a kid! Didn't I?"

James blinked. "Peter," he said, ignoring Sirius and turning to the sleepy boy, "did this dream seem—real?"

"I think so," replied Peter. "I mean, I don't know why I dreamt it, but I saw myself cowering as two men tried to kill me, but this boy—he stopped them. I was yelling, 'Remus, Sirius, have mercy, I never meant to betray Y/n and James', and the boy saved me. He looked exactly like you, James, but his eyes were like y/n's —they were e/c." He shook his head. "I don't know what kind of dream it was, but—it seemed so real."

There was silence all around the dormitory. Peter felt frightened, Remus was thoughtful, Sirius was confused, and James was bewildered at the dream. Peter...betrays him and Y/n? What madness was this?

Then the silence was shattered, again by Y/n's voice.

"That James Potter!" she was yelling. "I'll get him one day! And the teachers call me 'Y/n Potter'. Completely mad!"

"Y/n," said Violet's voice. "Calm down. We'll all help you get revenge from James Potter. Don't worry, and come down and have some breakfast."

The girl's dormitory door burst open, and Y/n was flying out of it. She stormed right into the boy's dormitory, despite her friends' protests, and started to scream right in front of James' face.

"James Potter, you idiot, look at my hair!" she screeched.

It was a very funny sight indeed. Y/n's hair, instead of its h/c, it was dark d/h/c and shining like gold. It would have looked very nice indeed, but it clashed horribly with Y/n's iris-like delicate complexion. Her e/c hues were sparkling malevolently.

"Change it back!" she demanded.

"Not unless I get a kiss," said James, pouting. The effects of these simple words were astounding. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all rolled over on their beds, laughing, while Y/n slapped James with all the strength she could muster. That sent the three boys laughing even harder, while Y/n looked as if she were going to cry.

"If I kiss you," she said, shaking with anger. "Will you turn my hair red again?"

"Depends," replied James smugly, "but most likely."

Y/n, now blushing beet red, kissed James gently on the lips, which sent Sirius, Remus, and Peter into hysterics again. James, flushed with pleasure, waved his wand, and Y/n's hair turned h/c again.

"My God, Y/n, were you that desperate?" asked Sirius, still chortling.

"Yes," huffed Y/n, and stalked away, still red, back to her dormitory. Shouts of laughter could be heard a few seconds later, and Violet, Arabella, Jennifer, and Y/n burst out of their dormitory and into the Great Hall for breakfast. Y/n was still red from rage, but the rest of the girls were laughing.

"Hello Y/n," came an oily voice from behind them. Severus Snape was hurrying down from the steps of his dungeon common room, beaming.

"Severus," said Y/n, nodding curtly.

Snape's smile faded a little at Y/n's cool manner towards him, but he smiled pleasantly at the four girls. "So, why the laughing faces? Pleasant dreams?"

"Y/n just kissed James!" gasped Arabella, unable to conceal the information any longer. "Oh, it was hilarious!"

It was amazing how someone could change moods so fast. Snape's face twisted in anger, and he glared coldly at all of them with his empty black eyes. "Did you?" he asked, directing his question to Y/n.

"Well, Potter changed my hair into dark brown," said Y/n carefully, "so I was mad. Then, for some particular reason, he said he'd turn it back if I kissed him. And I was not to go into the Great Hall looking like a hag, so"—Y/n was now blushing to the roots of her hair—"I kissed him."

Snape frowned. "Potter likes you then?" he asked softly. "I mean, why would he have asked you otherwise?"

"Oh, probably to embarrass me in front of all my friends and his friends," replied Y/n bitterly.

Snape, sensing Y/n's bitter tone, said brightly, "Y/n, would you—well—care to accompany me to—" He was interrupted by James, along with his friends, talking loudly on their way to the Great Hall.

"My God, Jamie-boy, are you in love?" crowed Sirius in delight.

"Nah, he just wanted to embarrass Y/n in front of us," said Remus sympathetically.

"You know, Moony, I sometimes think you're a mind-reader," said James.

"Oh no, look, there's trouble," murmured Peter, distracted, as he saw Snape with Y/n and her friends.

"Snape," said James coldly, as they approached the girls. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard Y/n kissed you here," replied Snape, his tone equally cold. "I suppose you want Y/n? Well, too bad, she's mine." The words went out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

Everyone stood there, stunned for a minute, but they started laughing the next minute.

"Oh, Snape that was a good one!" cried Sirius, slapping his knee. "Y/n—yours?" He started laughing again.

Y/n smiled wryly, but she had a temptation to burst out laughing like Sirius had done. "Since when have I been yours, Severus?" she asked coolly. "I don't remember belonging to anyone like I'm a piece of property."

Snape was beet red. "Well, what I meant Y/n, was that—" He trailed off, looking quite embarrassed, but controlled himself and strolled over to his friends.

"What have you been doing?" they heard Rosier demand.

"Torturing Potter and his fan club," came Snape's oily voice.

"Good, good. Severus, we must discuss your—er—feelings for the L/n girl..." Their voices trailed off, as James, Y/n, and their friends sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Don't worry, Y/n, we won't tell what happened," said Violet sincerely, as she spread butter over her bread.

"Oh, won't we?" teased Sirius.

"Sirius," warned Violet in a dangerous voice.

"Oh, all right," said Sirius in a would-be disappointed voice. Then he added gleefully, "Still, I can't believe old Snape thought that you were his, Y/n! Oh, it would have been a perfect opportunity for blackmail if we didn't have a camera."

"I've got one in our dorm," said Jennifer suddenly. Then her eyes glinted mischievously.

"Oh, I have an idea! Y/n can pretend to seduce Snape and make him believe that she loves him, or something. Then we can take a picture and blackmail old Snape! What do you all think?"

"Jen, you're a genius!" breathed Violet. "What do you boys think?"

"Ingenious!" the four boys chorused.

"Hey, no one asked for my opinion!" demanded Y/n.

"Don't be such a spoilsport, Y/n, we don't need your opinion," snapped Violet good-naturedly.

"What? Why not?"

"Because we know you'd say no."

"Fine, I'll be considering, but as long as I don't have to kiss Snape. Yuck." She made a face.

"Of course you have to kiss Snape," said Jennifer practically. "That's part of seduction, right? Oh, and maybe you could be really extreme and we can lock you two into a room with a bed all night..." She grinned wickedly.

"I can't imagine a baby who looks like Snape with e/c eyes," put in Sirius.

"Ugh! You two are so disgusting! Me, sleep with Snape? You have got to be JOKING!" Y/n shook her head furiously.

"We are, N/n," reassured Violet, laughing. "We just wanted to pull your leg, that's all. You think we'd make you kiss Snape and sleep in bed with him? That's evil beyond Slytherin-evil."

"We also wanted to make Jamie jealous, too," added Sirius.

"Why would I be jealous?" asked James.

"'Cause you love Y/n too much."

"Sirius, you little—"

"Now what would eight Gryffindors such as yourselves be saying that must be loud enough to scream the Great Hall down?"

They all turned around to see Professor Hurst sneering at them. No one spoke.

"Dear, dear, L/n, I expected better from you." He tutted scoldingly, then returned to his seat at the High Table.

"Miserable bat," muttered Sirius, as he shoved sausages into his mouth.

Y/n and James were in Dumbledore's office. McGonagall, for some particular reason, had sent them there, and the two puzzled Gryffindors settled down and looked at all the strange objects in the office. A phoenix was fluttering its golden plumage, looking at them with beady eyes.

"Why were we sent here?" said James, cursing angrily.

Y/n tutted loudly. "Language, Potter. This is the headmaster's office."

"Hey—what's that?" He pointed to a crystal ball on Dumbledore's desk.

They scurried over and peered inside. It was a crystal ball, but it didn't look like the ones they saw in the pictures of thick books in Flourish and Blotts, and unlike regular crystal balls, it wasn't foggy. Instead, it was clear, and pictures were moving vividly.

As they peered closer, pictures began to form. A girl, who looked like an older version of Y/n, was running through a meadow. A handsome man much like an older James Potter was chasing after her, laughing. Then they drew in for a kiss, which went on for quite some time. The pictures blurred again, and formed a new one. An older version of the girl before was bending over a baby. It had jet-black hair that stuck in all directions, and bright e/c eyes. Then the man bent over the baby and the couple began to laugh. Then this picture disappeared as well, and a new one appeared. A boy, who looked much like James, except for the eyes, was flying on a broomstick, obviously pleased about something. Another boy and a girl were standing on what looked like the Quidditch field, cheering on the boy in the air. The boy on the ground had bright red hair, and the girl standing next to him had bushy brown hair. All three of them started laughing, having a good time. Then the picture dissolved together, and the crystal ball went blank.

"What was that?" said James aloud.

"Looks like a crystal ball," said Y/n. "Maybe it shows the future."

"Yeah, me and you kissing," said James sarcastically. "I suppose that will happen in the future."

"Must be our nightmares, then," snapped Y/n.

"I wonder who that boy was, though," said James thoughtfully. "You know, the one on the broomstick. He looked a lot like me, but he wasn't me, though. His eyes are e/c, like yours, and he had a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead."

"And the boy and girl standing weren't familiar, either," put in Y/n. "Maybe they're just people that are coming to Hogwarts later on."

"So what does that concern us for?"

"I don't know! You think I'm a Seer or something?"

Before the two could say another word, however, Dumbledore had just entered his office. He smiled at Y/n and James, and gestured them to sit down.

"Now, why have you been sent here?" he asked, still smiling.

"Er—" The two looked at each other and James admitted, "We honestly don't know. Professor McGonagall just told us to wait here for you, sir."

"I see." He looked between the nervous kids, and glanced over to where the crystal ball stood. "I think I know what it's about."

He went over and tapped the ball lightly with his wand, and it began to glow. "You see, Mr. Potter, Ms. L/n. This ball is no crystal ball. It tells the future to anyone who looks at it, even people who are not destined to be Seers. It is very rare, and—let me ask you something. What did you two see when you looked through it?"

Y/n hesitated. "Well," she began, "we first saw older versions of ourselves—er—kissing." She blushed furiously. "Then I saw my older version holding a baby, with James bending over it, laughing. Then—I saw a boy that looked like James, except he had e/c eyes like mine and a scar on his forehead. He was on a broomstick, and he and the red-head boy and brown-hair girl below him were laughing together." She frowned. "I don't know what it has to do with me."

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses. "Ah, Miss L/n. It is because that it showed the future—your destiny. The boy on the broomstick—he is your son. And he is James' son as well. But I cannot tell you anymore than this. You'll have to find out for yourselves." He ushered them gently out of his office. "Now, why don't you head off to dinner while I examine this ball more."

Still puzzled, Y/n and James went out of Dumbledore's office, when James broke into a tirade.

"I'm marrying you? And we have a son together? Am I mad?"

"Hey, I'm confused too," snapped Y/n.

"Obviously. But we'd better not mention this to anyone, Sirius will never let me hear the end of it."

"Deal," agreed Y/n.

Their friends were rushing towards them, grins plastered on their faces. "What was that about?" asked Sirius loudly. "Did Dumbledore yell at you or something."

Y/n and James exchanged nervous glances. "Er—McGonagall made some sort of mistake," lied Y/n. "Dumbledore had no idea what we were doing in his office."

"Right." You could tell that they didn't believe a single word Y/n had said.

"So Y/n," began Arabella, "did you make up with James?"

"No!" chorused the two enemies.

The rest all sighed. "So much for that," muttered Sirius.

"Hey, I tried," argued Arabella.

"I wasn't blaming you, Bells. Those two are just so stubborn sometimes!"

"Hey, it's not like we can't hear you," stated Y/n. "We're still here you know."

"I know," said Sirius, irritated. "Just leave me alone." He waved his hand casually and left for Gryffindor Tower.

"What's eating him?" wondered Jennifer as they climbed through the portrait hole.

"Maybe it's a boy thing," suggested Violet.

"Who knows."

As the four girls scrambled into their dormitory, Arabella stopped. "I think I'll go see Sirius," she said, ignoring the whistles that followed.

"Aww, I didn't know you liked Sirius, Bella. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Arabella loftily.

Y/n rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just tell us if any saliva is exchanged between you and dog boy."

They all giggled, leaving Arabella stomping off to the boys' dormitory. Minutes later, James entered the girls' dormitory to find three girls giggling furiously.

"What do you think is happening?" asked Y/n excitedly.

"They're probably having a kissing session," said Jennifer disgustedly.

"How romantic," said Violet dreamily.

James cleared his throat, and the girls turned around.

"What are you doing here, Potter? I didn't remember inviting you."

"I didn't think I needed an invitation," said James dryly. "Though I do think you would want news of how my best friend is doing with your best friend."

Y/n's eyes sparkled. "All right then. I'll be civil to you, and you can tell us what's happening."

James grinned. "As Jennifer predicted, they are currently kissing"—he grinned at Y/n's delighted face, Jennifer's disgusted one, and Violet's dreamy one—"but it took quite a lot of convincing." He explained the whole story, and Violet sighed dramatically.

"That's so romantic," she sighed. "It's just like it's out of a fairy tale!"

"Violet, please," scolded Jennifer. Then she added, "We wouldn't want Y/n and James to be next."

"Not this again," groaned Y/n. "I told you guys, I hate Potter."

"Then you could marry Snape—"

"Ugh, what do you take me for? I'm not marrying that slimy, greasy hairball git!"

"You're right, Y/n Potter sounds much better," said Jennifer, trying not to laugh.

"Jennifer Dean, you've got some nerve—"

"I'll be leaving now," said James loudly. He turned to go, but then the door burst open and Arabella walked in with a dazed expression on her face.

"Ah, finally done, are you?" he said teasingly, watching Arabella's face twist in fury and horror. "Don't worry, the girls already know." He left without another word.

"You guys know?" asked Arabella, rather shakily.

"'Course we know, Y/n did a bit of coaxing," said Jennifer, grinning. "So...give us the details! Potter would never tell the more juicy parts to us."

"Tomorrow," promised Arabella, trying not to laugh. "Guys—I think I'm in love."

"At age eleven?" questioned Violet, raising her eyebrows. "I wouldn't know, but it's just a minor crush."

"Yeah, whatever."

The snow was finally melting, and spring was in the air, which meant another Quidditch match was approaching. James and Sirius, though they desperately wanted to get on the team, finally stopped pestering the Gryffindor captain and decided to try out next year. Y/n was excited and nervous as well. It would be Gryffindor against Ravenclaw, the second match of the season.

She was quite nasty to Snape as well. Though it wasn't against Slytherin House this time, Severus had been trying to keep the team players out of action along with his Slytherin gang, causing Y/n to slap him harshly one day in the corridors. Sirius had howled with laughter after that, and Snape never taunted any of the Gryffindors in front of her after the incident.

Of course, Y/n and James continued to pull pranks on each other. Y/n, furious at James for turning her hair into brown, had performed a little charm to make Deanna Jackson, the girl James always mooned about to make Y/n jealous, to fall in love with James for a day. This had caused James into one of the worst days of his life, having the second year Gryffindor girl follow him around like a puppy. He had gotten his revenge, however, by declaring to the whole Great Hall that Y/n liked Snape, performing charms that sent shooting stars into the bewitched night sky. Y/n, who was already fuming by then, had stood up and declared that James Potter was a liar and that she hated Snape as well as all Slytherins, then storming out of the Great Hall amid the shouts of laughter heard afterwards.

On this particular day, however, Y/n seemed nervous. Her friends had demanded what was wrong, but she wouldn't say.

"Fine!" she snapped, after the fifth time they asked her. "The exams are in three months, what if I don't pass?"

Violet burst into laughter. "Are you still worrying about that, N/n? Y/n, they're ages away! If James Potter isn't worried, then you shouldn't be, since you're much cleverer than he is."

"Oh, I suppose," sighed Y/n, but she was in a lighter mood after that.

Meanwhile, James was complaining in the boys' dormitory about Deanna.

"If L/n hadn't put that charm on her, then she wouldn't be following me around!" he whined.

Sirius, who was sick of James' complaints, had said, "Oh, come on Jamie-boy, it's not like Jackson's the only girl that's fighting over you. A group of Ravenclaw girls had a catfight in the corridors because they were arguing if you liked them or not, and one of them ended up in the hospital wing with a bloody nose." He shook his head. "Honestly, James, get yourself a girl and settle down."

"I don't even like girls!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, sure Arabella, Jennifer, and Violet are my friends—sort of, but that L/n." He shuddered.

"Y/n's nice," cut in Remus, who was interested in where this conversation was going. "You should be friends with her, James, she has a side to her that you probably never expected."

"She actually studies?" suggested James.

"No. She's actually really funny, and can really help you in your times of trouble. Really, Y/n makes me laugh all the time. You guys should get together as friends, James, or else you'll be missing a lot of great times."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," agreed Sirius. James turned to Peter, and the little boy nodded, showing his assent, which made him groan loudly.

"So how come L/n hates me so much?" he demanded of his friends.

The three boys looked at each other. Finally Remus said in his gentle voice, "Because, James, you hate her. If you two made up, I'm sure Y/n wouldn't hate you so much."

James laughed at the irony of this statement. Y/n had once threatened to tear him apart from limb to limb if he embarrassed her again. Soon their dormitory door opened and Y/n walked in, grinning. James groaned again. She must be planning a new prank, he thought to himself.

"Hey Y/n," greeted Sirius, grinning at the redhead appreciatively. James scowled.

"What do you want, L/n?" he asked.

"I just wanted to see my friends, Jamie," replied Y/n, pouting. "Is that such a crime?" She shot him a smile, which made him relax a bit.

"See Potter, I'm not so bad," she said, nodding and smirking at the black-haired boy.

"Right." James crawled onto his bed and drew the curtains so that everything was hidden from view.

"You know, Potter isn't so bad," remarked Y/n.

James couldn't believe his ears. Had Evans gone mad?

"Really?" he heard Sirius' voice say.

"Yep. Pretty cute, actually. I can actually imagine why those silly girls chase after him like wolves."

James, much to his horror, found himself grinning like a Cheshire cat. Oh, now L/n was humoring Sirius.

"You know, Y/n , James can hear you," said Remus.

"I know," he heard Y/n say. "I'm just going to see what Potter's reaction to this is –"

James panicked. What if Y/n saw him listening through his curtains intently? He quickly lay in bed and pulled out a battered old copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, and began reading. Soon Y/n, pulled the curtains back, and disappointingly, James was reading, not paying any attention to their conversation. Or so she thought.

"Oh, hi L/n," said James, looking up from his book and speaking nonchalantly.

"Potter," she said, smirking. "Nice book?"

"Oh yeah," he replied quickly. "Very, um...interesting read."

"Is that why you're reading it upside down?" she asked, smiling sweetly. James blushed. So this was why she was grinning.

"I was experimenting," he said grumpily.

"Sure you were," said Y/n, still grinning.

"I was," said James, aggravated.

"Do you normally read books upside-down? I didn't know even wizards were capable of that."

"Oh, well—I'm special," said James proudly.

Y/n snorted. "Yeah, well, I'd better get back to my dormitory. I have to put some common sense into Violet, since she secretly 'likes' you. Ridiculous!"

"You're just jealous," said James smugly, sounding oddly like a five-year-old.

Y/n snorted. "Of what?"

James scratched his head before answer. "Er—I forgot."

Y/n laughed.

That night, she had the strangest dream.

Y/n was softly humming to a baby, which she recognized to be the same baby that she and James were laughing over in Dumbledore's crystal ball. An older version of James was standing next to her, his arms around hers, and he was whispering to a tear-streaked Y/n. They were both whispering and comforting the crying bundle in Y/n's arms, and there was a loud bang that shattered the silence. Then James' voice began to panic.

"Y/n, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off..." Then he stumbled into another room while Y/n rushed to the kitchen.

There was a high-pitched cackle, and then silence. All of a sudden, a scream echoed through the night, and there was a thump as something heavy hit the floor. Y/n could only guess that her husband was dead.

Then the cloaked figure who had killed James advanced towards her. He was ready to attack, to kill, as he held up his wand.

Then Y/n's voice rang out. "Please, not Harry, have mercy..."

"Stand aside, you silly girl, stand aside now..."

"Please, I'll do anything, kill me, kill me instead..."

Then Y/n was screaming like she had never screamed before, and fell to the floor with a dull thump. The cloaked figure had advanced towards the baby boy named Harry, but could not kill him. He let out a piercing scream, there was a blinding flash of light, and an eerie silence afterwards. The baby boy was still alive and fast asleep.

Y/n woke up with a start, sweat pouring down her face. Now she understood what Dumbledore had said. She and James were to die, but her son—Harry, he was to live. But what did this all mean?

"Y/n?" She heard a muffled voice, and Arabella was slipping on her school robes, looking exhausted. "Was that you screaming?"

"I screamed?" asked Y/n, confused. Arabella nodded, and Jennifer and Violet began to stir awake, too.

"What did you dream about?"

"I dreamed—I dreamed about this...wizard. He came to my house and he—he killed James. Then he killed me, but only because I wouldn't let him kill a baby boy. But he couldn't kill the baby boy, who was probably my son."

There was a nasty silence after her story. Arabella, Violet, and Jennifer were too stunned to speak. Then their dormitory door opened and James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter filed in, looking as tired as the girls. Sirius looked grumpy, while Remus and Peter were yawning. James, however, was wide-awake with round eyes.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Arabella curiously.

"Well," said Sirius, his voice full of agitation, "I was sleeping soundly, when James here started yelling like a maniac. This woke me up out of my dreams, and then we heard one of your scream. So we came here to investigate."

"Y/n said something about a wizard coming to kill James and herself, but he couldn't kill her son," said Violet, frowning.

"That's what I dreamed about," said James, looking terrified.

Y/n choked back a sob, and Bella put her arm around her best friend. "Don't worry, N/n, it's all right..." She glared at the boys. "What do you think you're doing, scaring Y/n like this? Now, either we all send James to an insane asylum or..."

"Hey, your friend dreamt the same thing!" pointed out James angrily. "I'm not the only one who's insane!"

"Y/n's not insane!" screeched Arabella.

"What in heavens is going on here?" They slowly turned around, only to see Professor McGonagall turn up in a flowered nightgown and holding a lit up wand. She was frowning.

"Boys!" she cried. "What do you think you're doing in a girls' dormitory? Potter, Black, you two should have known better!"

The bowed their heads. Then Y/n said, "Please, Professor, J-James and I, we had a bad dream and the boys came here to see w-what was wrong." Her voice was shaky.

McGonagall looked astonished. Then she said swiftly, "Well, you all get on back to bed. Potter, Miss L/n, I would like a word with you two." She marched out of the portrait hole and near the stone gargoyle with James and y/n at her heals.

"Sherbet Lemon," she barked, and the stone gargoyle jumped to life and sprang aside. She marched into the office and Professor Dumbledore was hurrying out of the dark in his robes, looking concerned.

"Minerva," he said, frowning. "What is this?"

Professor McGonagall nodded her head to Y/n and James. "Those two—they just had a dream about you-know-what."

Dumbledore nodded, relaxing. "Very well, Minerva. You may return to bed now. I will speak to them."

When McGonagall left, Dumbledore turned to the two. "I want you to tell me exactly what your dreams were about," he said, in a gentle, but firm voice.

Y/n and James told the headmaster exactly what they dreamt about, and Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "I knew you would dream this sooner or later," he said, smiling at their stunned faces. "You two have a long destiny together and will change the course of the world. Of course, you probably think it's perfectly ridiculous right now, seeing how much you—er—rather loathe each other. But time will come when you will understand what the right thing to do is. Now"—he glanced at the watch on his wrist—"I think it is time for you two to return to bed. And please do not mention what I have told you to anyone. It's dangerous to share secrets these days."

They both nodded and left the office, whispering to each other.

"What did Dumbledore mean, 'change the course of the word'? Dad must've known something like this would happen, that's why he told me to be nice to you in the letter."

"Letter?"

"Yeah...he sent me one just before Christmas yelling at me and telling me to be nice to 'the L/n girl'. I tried, but you're obviously not easy to get along with."

"There's no point of trying if it's impossible," snapped Y/n.

James was amazed. "Still—it's pretty bad to disobey my dad. He can be powerfully mad when...hey, who's that?"

There was a shadow moving along the walls, and Snape came out, very red in the face.

"Oh, hello," he muttered, carefully not meeting their eyes. "I was—er—taking a stroll..."

"In the middle of the night?" interrupted James. "Really, Severus, you out of all people to break school rules—" He tutted the way Y/n would when someone broke a school rule.

"I—" Snape now looked extremely uncomfortable. "You're out of bed," he said instead.

"The headmaster wanted to see us," replied Y/n hardly. She was rather cool to Snape after the match against Ravenclaw.

"Oh, well, that—that's different, then," stumbled Snape. "W-well, I m-must be off." He ran off, not to another corridor, but to the direction of where the Slytherin common room was.

"I took care of him," said James proudly. Y/n scowled.

"I helped!"

"Yeah, well, I did most of the work."

"Arrogant pig."

"Withering flower."

"Daft—" began Y/n, but her eyes filled with tears. "I am not a withering flower!"

"Well, I'm not an arrogant pig and a daft whatever-you-were-going-to-say!"

"Yes, well, a withering flower—" She suddenly ran off to Gryffindor Tower, sobbing. James halted. What had he said wrong?

By the time he got into the common room, all three of Y/n's friends were glaring at him menacingly, their arms around a crying Y/n. When he saw his friends, they were also staring at him coldly and shaking their heads.

"Why is everyone mad?" he asked wonderingly, strolling over to where Sirius, Remus, and Peter stood.

"You called Y/n a withering flower," said Remus quietly, not looking at James.

"So? She called me an arrogant pig!"

"Yes, James." It was Sirius speaking, and he was looking serious, for a change. "You know how strong Y/n is. A withering flower would indicate that she was weak and cannot face the world. And you know how that's not true. Y/n's stronger than all of us, and can go through many hardships."

James' heart sank and he suddenly felt terrible. "Well, I didn't mean...what I meant was..." He trailed off, looking away.

Remus patted his shoulder. "I know you didn't mean any harm when you said it, James, but next time, be careful of what you say to Y/n. She's one girl you shouldn't mess with."

James gave his friend small smile. "You can say that again. I've had too much experience to mess around with her."

Sirius laughed and Remus chuckled. "You're right about that, Jamie!"

Then James walked over to where Y/n was still crying. But before he could say one word, she rushed up to the girls' dormitory, tears coursing on her cheeks.

"You should go after her and apologize," said Violet quietly, watching her friend disappear. "That was a really mean thing you said, James."

"I know," said James, his head bowed. "I—I never meant any harm..."

"Of course you didn't," said Jennifer swiftly. "Y/n's just a bit stubborn, but she'll get over it. Just watch your mouth next time, sonny." She grinned and Arabella stepped forward.

"I'm not mad," she reassured. "But I'll be happy again if you'd apologize to my best friend."

"I will," he promised, and rushed up to the girls' dormitory. Then the girls started to grin at each other excitedly.

"D'you think they'll kiss and make up?" whispered Violet.

Arabella shook her head. "Nah, I know Y/n too well, she and James will still stay enemies after James apologizes. But they'll become friends later, for sure."

"It happens when both people are as stubborn as mules," agreed Jennifer.

Back in the girl's dorm room, James was apologizing endlessly to Y/n.

"Look, y/n, I'm not forcing you to be friends with me, but I really want you to forgive me for calling you a withering flower. I was really mad at that time, and I wasn't thinking properly and...well..." Seeing that Y/n was looking away and not speaking, he tried again.

"Y/n, I think you're beautiful. I've thought that ever since we first met at King's Cross and, well, I've never told anyone. I know that Sirius would tease me to no end, and your friends would probably say 'we knew it'. So—I've kept it to myself. But now I'm telling it to you, and...can you please not tell anyone that I've said it?"

Y/n turned around, and James was astonished to see a smile plastered on her face. "Sure James. You know, you're not such a bad guy after all. When I first met you, I thought that you were the worst thing since rules, but I guess I was wrong and Remus was right. There is more to you than I've ever imagined. But we're still enemies, right?"

Y/n grinned mischievously. "Right. Much to our friends' disappointments of course."

"Naturally."

"So...let's go down to the common room."

They marched down to the common room again, where their friends were waiting eagerly.

"Did you make up?" asked Arabella, though she knew what the answer would be.

"Nope," they both replied.

"And you two would have made such a cute couple," sighed Sirius, pretending to be disappointed.

James laughed. "Come on, Sirius, we know you don't want us to be friends. When we play pranks on each other again, you'll have the pleasure of egging us both on."

"Jamie-boy, sometimes I think that you can read minds."

"Funny thing really—I was thinking that Remus can."

They all laughed. Then James went over to Y/n and said, "Enemies?"

"Enemies...for now," said Y/N, hiding a smile.

"Hey!" exclaimed Sirius suddenly. "You didn't say, 'Enemies forever'!"

"That's right, Sirius," explained Y/n, smiling. "Because James and I know we won't be enemies forever."

tags; @thecurlyhairedwinchester

a/n; go check out my rewritten version! you can find it in my masterlist!

masterlist of it’s a hate-thing original version

masterlist for rewritten version

#amarauder writings #james potter x reader #it's a hate-love thing original version

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wisp-is-trying-to-cope · 3 years

Text

Arabella thought that she would despise the capital, with all of it's smog and people who never cared about your name or the gossip of the day.

However after a month of living in the magic capital, she came to realize that the smog wasn't actually bad, because of magic purifiers and the people could be ignored.

Well, she should have known it wouldn't have been that bad.

Magic was a beautiful thing after all.

Arabella Auclair was a force to be reckoned with, coming in at a height of 4'10 with the power of being small, mischievous, and annoying.

It wasn't actually a power, more like her entire being.

Ara had always been small, coming into the world at a meager three pounds. The midwife had told her mother that she wouldn't make it.

Arabella felt good when she kicked the midwife's son in the shins seven years later.

Her mother always asked her how such a little person got into so much trouble.

Her mother and her were constantly the talk of the town, being in a small farming community of 200 where marriage was sacred and cows were the only form of entertainment. Her mother, Clara, daring to engage in a week-long affair with a traveling man, which was the ultimate cause of her existence, ended up having her blacklisted in the community.

When Arabella asked her mother why she had done it, the woman simply placed a bowl of stew in front of her and smiled as she spoke, "He was the only man worthy of my time and in the end, he earned it."

"But everyone talks crap about you all of the time!" Ara protested.

"Well… while they talk, I earned you. That's worth it, isn't it?" Her mother asked.

Arabella simply didn't think that was a fair trade at all, considering the trouble she got in and how smart her mother was.

Ara got into fights with boys every other day, she had quit fighting with girls after they cried from one hair pull.

Her mother got them out of poverty with one power play.

Ara had spent her first three years of her life sleeping in stables right next to the tavern her mother worked at. Clara's father and Ara's grandfather had kicked the young woman out the minute she turned out to be pregnant. Unfortunately for the bitter man, he had no other children, so when he passed away when Ara was three, her mother earned the farm, made a deal with the nearby farmer which ended with them having a home, land, and work.

Clara ended up becoming one of the most wealthy farmers in the town.

While Ara beat up their sons.

One night, as her mother patched up her battle wounds, she wondered aloud, "Hmmm… maybe your father was a fae after all. With all of the spite you've got, you're surely one."

Her mother wasn't far from the truth.

Because at the ripe age of 7, as Arabella fell into the creek and with no one to save her, accepted her fate as the bastard child who drowned.

At least, until the water pulled her out and then began to talk to her.

Yes… talk to her.

Now, you see, Arabella's magic was something much different than everyone else. While they manipulated the world around them, using their internal mana to create change…

She nurtured it.

Arabella didn't have a hint of mana inside of her. Instead, it was all around her. The world looked at this small girl and instead of leaving her alone, they decided she could interact with everything.

A leaf? She could talk to it. A rock? She had great conversations with one every Tuesday. The world was one big conversation and whenever she wanted magic cast, all she had to do was ask.

Of course, this had its own problems.

Now, while she could ask the world to perform a task, that didn't mean it would perform it. Arabella had to be nice, she couldn't just demand everything.

For a girl with a lot of fire, that was an issue.

On more than one occasion she found herself dealing with things backfiring.

"Why can't you just DO AS YOUR TOLD!" She yelled as she threw a rock at the water.

Then the water threw a rock back and knocked the girl straight out.

Arabella learned to be nicer to the spirits from then on.

She called them spirits because what else could she call them? No one else's magic was like this.

Arabella could listen to the world and while it could listen back, there was no one to listen with her.

One night Arabella finally told her mother about the voices, hoping…. Knowing… that since her mother was so smart, she would have the same powers! She simply had to be waiting for Ara to earn hers… right?

When Clara's face suddenly shifted from her normal soft look to a hardened one, Ara knew she was wrong.

Her father was the strange one.

Of course he had to be, the man who ruined everything, being the one who had fathered this magic.

Clara loved her daughter the same and ended up letting slip that perhaps she could meet her father and learn more about this magic.

And where was her dear old dad?

The magical capital of course. Right where a farm girl like her could never think to be.

So Arabella gathered her mother's smarts and made a plan.

From that day on, she threw herself into school, until school became too easy, then manners came next, she needed to be polite to the spirits.

She still fought with idiot farm boys, of course.

Then she finally proved she had magic. However, she didn't let the true nature of her powers slip. She simply made it seem like she had the elemental abilities of both earth and water, the two easiest spirits to handle, and the town ran with it.

Clara's child was going to be a mage? A wizard!? Maybe she would join the royal court. Magic was rare after all, a gift the old farm town would never see again for generations.

Marriage was suddenly brought up, but Arabella quickly made it clear that she was going to go away to school.

Like she would want to marry an idiot farmer anyways. If anything, she would marry an amazing, intelligent magician.

Her mother laughed when she told her this and said she would have married Ara's father if possible.

Ara thought that her father was the stupidest part of her mother. A no good fae, seducing a smart country girl and then leaving her high and dry with child.

At the age of 16, Ara sent her letter to the magical capital of the world, Icosa. The Academy of Magic in Icosa was simply the best in the world. Arabella would settle for no less.

When she got her confirmation for her interview and magic test, her mother packed her up and shipped her off to the nearest testing location.

And then when her acceptance letter finally came, they both cried in the kitchen for hours, although Ara would deny it.

Saying goodbye to her mother was the hardest thing. The capital wasn't simply a carriage away…. But a two weeks worth trip.

Now… Ara is here… in the magic center of the world, preparing to start at the Academy.

However, she is a child of fire, water, earth, and all of the rest. Nothing could stop her now.

Magic, really was, a wonderful thing.

((I do not own the picture. I simply thought it suited her well until I draw her myself. To tell the truth it's been awhile since I've written something properly and I haven't posted anything I've written here before. This is simply a roleplay character showcase but I thought it would be fun to display here!!! Also there is definitely grammar errors considering I didn't look this over and wrote it quickly.)

#roleplay #rp #writing prompt #kind of?#Arabella really is just a feral child #fantasy #medieval #kind of #its howl castle medieval if that makes sense #magic #spirits #i just really liked the idea of someone muttering to themselves every time they did magic #writing #short story #original character #oc #original story #original rp

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