#this entire ball snatching quest

[loonatic-moon]

These games are so special

[astrophobica]

the one where virgil finds roman post-quest

warning: description of graphic injury, mild gore, unlicensed medical treatment

something was wrong. something was very, very wrong.

virgil didn't know what, but he could feel it in every fiber of his being. it rattled through him like how a lawnmower rattles windows in the early morning, like how a motorcycle hums and growls right before it takes off. he had barely woken up, still laying in bed. still, he couldn't shake the feeling.

he pushed himself up and out of bed, grabbing a once-worn shirt from the floor. slinging it on haphazardly over his pj pants, virgil padded out into the hallway, frowning as he paused outside the bathroom. the light shone through the crack at the bottom of the door. when he tried the handle, it was locked. from an outside perspective it was entirely innocuous; however virgil knew for a fact that it was 7am at that moment and he was always the last one asleep and first one awake. he raised his hand to knock.

"hey, what's the deal?" he called, low enough so as not to disturb the others in the house. "everyone knows i get first dibs."

there was no response. he knocked again. "hello? sleepyhead?" still, nothing. "you get a count of three until I'm busting in there, and if it turns out there's nobody in there i'm going to kick remus' ass. ready?"

"one," virgil jiggled the doorknob in warning. "two, three-" he paused, waiting for any kind of last minute response. "alright, i'm coming in," virgil warned, summoning a bobby pin and deftly popping the lock open. all his alarm bells went off at once upon pushed the door open.

the bathroom was covered in blood. more specifically, roman's blood. the prince was sitting passed out against the wall with a sizable stab wound in his gut, which still looked relatively fresh. the medicine cabinet was open, and various ointments and bandages were scattered on the floor next to him.

"holy shit," virgil breathed. "fuck, fuck princey, okay- okay hold on-" he dropped to his knees beside roman, breathing ragged as he pressed shaking fingers to roman's wrist. luckily his pulse was still beating weakly, and the bit of movement caused him to stir, eyelashes fluttering.

"virge?" he mumbled, dazed green eyes floating up to just left of virgil's face. "wh..."

"shut up- shut up about that and tell me how to fix you," virgil whispered fiercely, brushing roman's hair out of his eyes.

"shirt off," he said. virgil picked at the fabric around the wound, peeling it away and wincing at the blood. why was there so much blood? were people supposed to have this much blood? "peroxide," roman instructed next, and virgil fumbled with the bottle cap, dropping it with a clatter that made the prince wince.

"sorry," virgil muttered, then spotted the hand towel. he snatched it down, pushing it against roman's lips. "bite," he said, and waited until roman did so before dipping a ball of cotton into the alcohol and pressing it against the wound. roman's jaw flexed on the fabric as virgil cleaned the injured area with the sharp precision that came with adrenaline.

he finished quickly, looking back up at roman for instruction. roman's eyes looked more alert than before, and virgil wasn't sure if he was grateful for it or guilty. "stitches," he said, and virgil felt his stomach drop. sure, he had stitched on the patches to his jacket, but that was fabric! fabric was easy. fabric didn't move under his fingers or bleed or die-

"virgil," roman said, more urgently, and virgil winced.

"yeah, hold your horses, princey," he said, scanning the floor and snatching up the medical thread with shaking fingers. it took him several tries to thread the needle, and then several more deep breaths until he felt grounded enough to start the stitches. ladder stitch, simple enough- if he let his vision swim enough it almost looked like purple plaid.

he bit off the end of the thread and pulled it through, tying it off with quite a few more knots than he probably needed for it to be secure. "okay," virgil said, voice rough. "okay, princey, where are we going?"

roman's eyes had drifted shut. virgil flicked his cheek, harder than strictly necessary. "my room," he mumbled, lashes fluttering as he raised his arm to hook around virgil's shoulder. virgil nodded, taking his time to heave them both upright.

the pair stumbled down the hall, and virgil had to stop to flick roman awake more than a few times. he shouldered the door to roman's room open, helping him inside. virgil noticed he had a prominent limp, and couldn't help but wonder what the hell got him into this state.

roman sank into his plush duvet with a sigh. his breathing rattled out unsteadily, and virgil immediately started helping him lay in a more comfortable position. finally roman looked at ease- or rather, in less pain than before, so virgil seized his opportunity.

"what the hell happened, huh, princey?" he demanded. "how'd you get hurt this bad?"

"quest," roman mumbled, already dozing off. virgil flicked roman's cheek again.

"hey. no sleeping until i get answers. the hell kind of quest did this?"

"fought a..." his face scrunched up as he tried to remember. "a giant...beetle. had big metal spikes."

[hopepaigeturner]

I hope you don’t mind me saying this but you’re my favourite benophie ao3 author in the fandom by far - I reread your gardener-designer!Sophie fic wayyy too often to be healthy :P and your s4 speculation posts are brilliant!! You don’t have to reply to this ask at all, but in your s4 rewrite, how would Genevieve, Anthony and Benedict figure out that Araminta’s thrown Sophie in jail?

An Offer From an Avid Reader: Anthony and Benophie Pt.4

Firstly in response to the message...

I'm so glad you like The Light in These Shadows!! It's the fic I care and am most proud about and I'm actually planning on getting it finished this summer. And thank you thank you for such high praise!!

Ands ofcourse I'll answer the ask! I love answering you guys--thanks for being patient! Let's dive right in!

✨The Context✨

So...the title.

I wrote the scene below and I've realised that this scene is a really good way of rounding off Benedict and Anthony's arc during this season. The arc goes from Anthony being blind to the support Benedict gives him, to recognising it, to then returning it when his brother needs it the most. Hence why this is part 4 of my Anthony & Benophie post.

But first, as it's been a while, let me remind you of context for the scene below.

Scene: Ginny, Anthony and Benedict pairing up to find Sophie. Call back to 'What is it to admire a woman' which finally gets Anthony to understand how important Sophie si to Benedict.

Eloise being visited by a certain someone who gives her some useful gossip...

Sophie in prison pt. 1 ending with the arrival of Araminta...

The scene below.

✨The Scene✨

Benedict, Anthony, and Genevieve Delacroix enter the frame. The latter two talking and the former unnaturally withdrawn. They pass in front of Bridgerton House.

“I insist you come in for refreshments—we have kept you the entire morning,” Antony says. It seems in their little quest he seems more at ease around Genevieve.

“Oh, I do not think it would be proper.”

“Neither would be my brother marrying an illegitimate daughter,” Anthony quips back earning a smile as they ascend the stairs. It seems he is not the only one whose ice has thawed during this encounter.

“We must find her first,” Benedict mumbles. Genevieve’s face falls.

“I cannot think of another place she could have gone…perhaps you should try the docks? She would muse about saving money and boarding a ship to America…a place where class is not so rigid.”

“America?” Anthony cries.

“I have already asked around the docks, but none are sure they have seen her.” Benedict exhales wearily. “But if she is on a boat then she will be safe…safe from all who could hurt her or failed her.”

“Benedict you have never—”

“I have failed her far too many times.” His eyes are distant; the ball, Penwood Place, the lake, the studio.

The trio start climbing the stairs.

“But if she has gone to America what would you do?” Anthony asks, looking pained at his brother’s drawn face. Benedict rolls his shoulders as if winding himself up then gives a smile—a pale imitation of his usual grin.

“Never fear, brother, I will still be useful. I shall shower your children with presents, be their greatest conspirator for pranks and corrupt them when they turn of age—you better watch out Anthony, your children shall adore me and I will be undoubtedly the best Uncle of them all."

“You could find another—”

“No.” Benedict’s voice is determined but gentle, as they stand in front of the door. “No. There is only Sophie. I knew it two years ago, I know it now and I shall know it on my death bed.”

“Benedict…” Anthony says, hand reaching for his shoulder. Benedict steps away.

“Please, do not—”

The green door slams open.

“We found Sophie!” Hyacinth cries, barreling into them as they go into the hall. The other ladies are following—Violet at the front. “That new gossip sheet found Sophie!”

“What?”

Benedict snatches the paper away—his entire frame trembles when he sees the words.

“Benedict? What is it?”

“There was quite the scene along the cobbles of Grosvenor Square two day ago, when a young woman was accosted by Countess of Penwood on the grounds of the woman stealing from her. Considering the most recent scandal the countess has found herself in, this author cannot guarantee the validity of the countess’ claims. But the constable had no such quibbles when he carted the young woman off to jail…

“That damn witch!” Genevieve remembers her surroundings and curtsies, “I apologise my ladies and gentlemen.”

“Not at all, I can agree that Lady Penwood is an utter b---,” Kate says without flinching. Meanwhile Anthony is reading the paper. In the background is Benedict pacing, running his hands through his hair, his face in anguish.  

“She’s in prison—oh god—she put Sophie in prison. She could hang, she could…”

Anthony looks and sees Benedict ready to bolt—or hyperventilate. He grasps Benedict by the shoulders.

“Look at me. Look at me!”

 Benedict does, his eyes seeking support. And for once he finds support in Anthony’s eyes—not the other way around. Anthony continues, words slow but full of feeling.

“We shall rescue her; we shall free her, Benedict. And you two will be married and you will live the rest of your lives in love. I swear it on my title, and on father’s name. Do you hear me?” Benedict mumbles. “Do you believe me?”

“Yes,” Benedict’s voice is hoarse. “Yes, I do.”

“Good. Now, let us fetch a carriage and free Sophie.” Anthony straightens up and fixes his waistcoat. “After all, if my title means that I am a hoarder of privilege, power and wealth that was built on the backs of the oppressed—then I might as well use it for some good.” he smirks at Eloise whose mouth is open at the parroting of her words.  “Let us go.”

“Wait for me!” Violet Birdgerton calls, grabbing her purse from Mrs Wilson and walking towards the doors.

“Absolutely not,” Anthony states. “I will not have you exposed to—”

Violet brushes him off.

“Oh, Anthony, it is not as if I am a wilting flower. And this is not up for discussion.” Violet does not make a habit of using the divine right of mothers, but when she does it is felt with force. “Also, I can vouch for Sophie’s character.”

A staring match between Anthony and Violet…Violet raises her eyebrow. Anthony breaks the stare. Violet smiles and walks out, calling over her shoulder,

“Now, we must make haste!”

Benedict and Anthony share a look, Benedict nods slightly and follows his mother—still visibly distraught.

Anthony reaches back and pulls Kate in for a kiss.

“We shall be back anon.”

“Bring her home safe, my love.”

“Ofcourse. And make sure Madame Delacroix has something to eat—she has not broken her fast yet.”

“Lord Bridgerton I am quite capable—” but Anthony does not hear the seamstress as he runs out and bundles into the carriage. As soon as the door is shut Anthony, Violet and Benedict cry,

“Ride on!”

And they’re off! But ofcourse the question is—can they save Sophie in time?

*~*~*~*~*~*

As always I’d love to hear your ideas/corrections/opinions and always open to chat or requests.

Concerning this series I think I will be uploading a little more--but right now my focus is going to be on The Light in These Shadows which I want to finish before S3 comes out. I've got some stuff in the pipeline, (Eloise, Kanthony & Sofa scene) but I'll proabably do this series on a request basis.

So, check out the list here, for more of my ideas.

Or check out the general arcs of my prospective S4 here.

[tomriddleinafrillydress]

Bound into insanity — Bound into eternity

Tom Riddle x Moaning Myrtle

Part 1/31 < here

Story summary: Myrtle Warren never becomes Moaning Myrtle, moreover, she never dies, and most importantly, she gets rid of her acne. In her quest for revenge, she decides to seduce the most handsome (and incidentally hated by her) boy at Hogwarts, Tom Riddle, but even her makeover from ugly duckling into a beautiful swan has not prepared her for the unexpected complications caused by a badly brewed love potion.

Is it a WIP?: No. This is a series; first part "Bound into insanity - Bound into eternity" is around 200k words long and I've finished writing it in late March 2024. The second part is titled "Bound into eternity - Bound into depravity", and is currently a WIP sitting at around 100k words (I'm not really stuck in the middle, but writting middles is the worst, please sedate me lmao). I always finish my fics, so there's no danger of getting invested in a story only to find out it's been last updated in 2009 (I know the pain). The publication schedule will be once a week, usually Fridays mornings.

Most important tags: slow burn (a painfully slow one, believe me); Tom Riddle: a manipulative,possessive cute little thief 😇🚩; mild? stockholm syndrome; mind games; horcruxes; BODY SWAP; yule ball; school play; dubious consent (when we finally arrive there); and of course last but not least: Tom Riddle is his own warning (and he's so babygurl at it).

What do I as an author love about this fic the most?: The humour. There's copious amounts of it included, a lot of it rooted in the body swap itself (it lasts for several chapters and includes some gender-specific 'occurences'), however Myrtle being both boy-crazy and a prude at the same time definitely is a treat in itself.

Please do keep in mind that this story is being translated from Polish. I'm not an English native speaker. I'm open to discussion and concrit.

A sneak peak of how Myrtle views Tom:

Had she said he was not ravishingly handsome, she would have been sent straight to the ninth circle of hell for such an outright lie. The contrast between his alabaster skin and black curls gave him such a noble appearance that he could easily have passed for a member of one of the most prestigious pureblood families. This image was only reinforced by high cheekbones, a gaunt face full of sharp angles, and black eyes framed by long lashes, which, with their charm, made it impossible for girls to look away. Aside from looking like a young man snatched alive from the pages of classic romances, Tom Riddle also presented himself to the world as such. Questioned about him, Myrtle would have said she hadn't been paying him any attention, though the truth was much different. No, by no means did she stare at him with her tongue hanging out (only occasionally), but she watched with envy as he wrapped everyone around his finger. She believed that their academic results were similar in many areas (excluding Defence Against Dark Magic, in which he was second to none), but it was he, the golden boy, who collected all the accolades and was lavished with points. Myrtle once stole his graded essay and compared it with hers - apart from the different means of communication, the information contained in their essays was identical with the difference of one extra sentence. By mere peculiarity, Riddle got an outstanding grade and she got an exceeds expectation grade, which she considered to be favouritism mixed with sexism. Not without reason did the Slug Club consist entirely of boys.

If you're interested in reading, you can find the first chapter HERE.

[worldmains]

Psychonauts 2 scavenger hunt guide

Pick up your canned corn and be on your way. employ your pyrokinesis to ignite the campfire you go into first, near the Aquato family campsite, and employ the fiery air erstwhile anew to ascend up and snatch the ledge. The can of corn, for whatever reason, is proceeding to be in the Sassyclops Cave, which you will readily distinguish from the heavy yeti standee exterior. The Questionable Area itemsįour fascinating items on our list are in the ably mentioned Questionable Area. Hop on your levitation ball to traverse securely and pick up this media relic. Agent orientation laserdiscĬome the lab, which is direct across the Quarry while occurring from the Motherlobe, and go behind Otto to an area with some galvanized floor between you and the laserdisc. Theres fair one item we want to hitch from Ottos Lab, thus lets get in and away speedy. Go interior, stage up some rock formations, and bind onto a stone pillar whither the knife is delaying. Her garden is placed on the correct side of the area, with a cave entrance fair beside it on the left. Our further item in the Quarry is discovered near Lillis garden. The live bomb is reposing critically on the edge. employ your levitation ability to employ this updraft to scope a plank of wood dangling from a crane overhead. employ your pyrokinesis to ignite it up, inducing a stream of fiery air to form. In the Quarry, go through to whither you can passage into the Questionable Area and face for an dark campfire fair outside the entrance to the mine. The pursuing two scavenger hunt items are in the Quarry area. employ this last computer to accept your astronaut ice cream. Interact with that one, echoing the process until the last computer along the wall, beside the entrance to Trumans Grotto, powers up. Interact with it, and a diverse terminal will swap to immature. It will be the solely one that faces like this, so it isnt also tough to place. commence out by heading into the Nerve Center in the Motherlobe, and discover a computer terminal on the key platform with a immature screen. This item is maybe the best to discover on the total scavenger hunt list. You dont want to do fountainhead, but fair keep hurling the ball down until rather of the ball the deck of cards will be tiff out of the ball return. You have to employ your telekinesis to pick up a bowling ball and hurl it down the lane a some times. Our set of playing cards is delaying in the bowling alley, which will become obtainable to search as you advance the primary story. This time, employ your projection ability to open the closed door interior and skip up on top of the lockers to snatch the drone. Once you can astral project, go into the Artifact Storage closet, which you will recall as being the area you were locked in by the further interns at the start of the game. While were yet in the Motherlobe, this payable isnt one you can get until you hear the Astral Projection ability, meaning this will likely be one of the closeure ones you close up becoming. The one signed Storage pursuing to Millas is mechanically Coach Oleanders office, thus hitch this tag for your collection. Make your way over to the Agents area of the Motherlobe, and stop out the doors. On the port end of the buffet line, pursuing to the lunch ladys post, you will place the lousy sushi gleaming on the counter. Rottens sushiįirst upward, head to the cafeteria. Well commence off in the Motherlobe area for the first some items on our list. The better badges in Psychonauts 2 Psychonauts 2: Nuggets of wisdom locations Psychonauts 2: All part-a-Mind locations The Motherlobe items If youre scraping your brain testing to discover any of these scavenger hunt items in Psychonauts 2, our guide will clean up any intellectual blocks in your way. In fact, this quest isnt level entirely completable until youve thumped the game. There are 16 items considered Mission Critical Psychonauts Assets that youre proceeding to want to discover throughout the heavy hub, but not all will be approachable until youve opened particular abilities. In Psychonauts 2, this quest can be picked up by talking to Norma since shortly since youve been rigged with your fresh clothes from Ssinceha. The scavenger hunt is one side quest that creates a return from the original. Youre by no means demanded to diverge from the primary path, but youll omit away away on some big extras and unlockables if you dont. This hub is ganged with fair since lot side content since it is creativity, which is to say a lot. While the primary story will concentrate on coming diverse characters minds, there is too a brand-fresh overworld to search. Raz is rear in action for Psychonauts 2, and this sequel is fair since entire of original and fascinating characters, locations, and activities since the first game.

[sailorhyunjinz]

~ ℙ𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕣!𝔽𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕩 ~

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤: SMUT! sub!felix x gn!reader. Pillowhumping, panty sniffing, exhibitionism?? (getting caught alright?), masturbation (m), orgasm (m), cum, dumbification, hickies, mommy/daddy kink, sliiight humiliation, sliiight fear kink. 

𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕕 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 1,6 k (oops...me intending on the series being drabbles)

ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖: clothes don’t have gender and so that is why this is gn!reader.

also sorry for everyone that wants to see felix as pure. we dont do pure in this household AKSHASJKASH

Felix looked up at the clock in boredom. 

“20 minutes left” 

He mumbled under his breath, impatiently shaking his leg as he zapped through multiple TV channels, trying to find something to pass time and distract from his ever growing that created a tent inbetween his legs. The minutes on the clock ticked unsufferably as his erection became harder to ignore. His hand trailed down his abdomen eventually landing on his bulge as he palmed himself through the rough fabric of his black jeans. Felix knew you’d be mad but his desire for release was stronger than his pride leading him to turn off the TV and sneaking into the bedroom. 

The room was a mess. Disorganised piles of papers and mugs that had been left in the window sill were crowding up the cozy room. With not a care in the world he stripped himself off his pants and underwear, pulling them down swiftly, causing his dick to spring free from their clothed prison. The pretty pink tip beaded with precum as veins cascaded down his length, the cold air brushing up against it causing shivers down Felix’s spine.  

He layed down in the unmade bed, shuffling under the covers as he took one of the many pillows that decorated the bed and straddled it, putting the soft fabric against his already twitching dick as he covered himself with the duvet. His sweet release waited for him but before he could begin humping the pillow like the dirty puppy he was Felix noticed something hanging off the side of the bed. He stretched his arm out to grab the piece of fabric, his gentle eyes widening upon realizing what he held in his grasp;

A pair of light pink lace panties.

He let out a questionable scoff, laughing at your disorganized self that happened to leave stuff everywhere, almost as if you made a trail with your belongings. Funny enough, those were Felix’s favorite panties on you. The thought of the semi-see through panties hugging your plump butt didn’t help with his painful erection that was resting against the pillow. 

Hesitantly, he lifted the fabric closer to his face, being hit with your familliar smell. His breath hitched, momentarily scared that you’d walk in and see him smelling your underwear like a creep. After many hesitant glances at the door he placed the soft fabric on the pillow, his sensitive head rubbing against it as he shifted in a quest to find a comfortable position. 

Small whines escaped his soft parted lips as his hips rolled against the pillow, the friction making Felix bunch up his fists. The contrast between the soft pillow beneath him and his rock-hard erection made the boy roll his head backwards, his neck on full display as his adams apple bobbed, harshly swallowing from the suspense his looming orgasm brought. 

“mhm,,, y-y/n,, j-just like that”

The horny boy kept on blabbering incoherently, occasionally forming a sentence as his pace increased, the crimson tip leaking with a string of precum, creating a wet patch on the pillowcase. His mind was clouded with thoughts of you, more specifically of you naked, standing infront of him as you pushed him down onto the bed. How your hair fell in your face as you looked down at the poor boy that was whimpering for you wrapped around him, so desperatly wanting to be inside you. His whines turned to moans as his dick was helplessly rubbing against the pillow, imagining that you were here to see how dirty of a boy he is. 

“f-faster y/n,,, pleaseee~” 

His breathing got heavier as his orgasm was approaching faster than he thought, his abdomen tightening as a flash of heat spread throughout his body. His knuckles whitened upon holding the pillow, bunching up the fabric in his small hands. A haphazardly smile contorted on his lips that were now red from him biting them repeatedly, trying to stifle the loudest of many moans. 

Felix didn’t succeed in that since the faint moans hit your ears as soon as you stepped into house. This was unusual for Felix. He was always such a good boy for you, letting you ruin him however you pleased so for him to masturbate behind your back made you wonder how much he’d fantasied about you. 

“y-yn,,, im gonna c-cum,,, please” he stuttered out, his eyes tightly shut as his hips slamming against the pillow that was decorated with your panties.

“Don’t think so” you clicked your tongue, lifting up Felix’s face by his chin. A tiny shriek ensued in the room, Felix hopelessly pulling the covers in order to cover up his shameful act. 

“W-when did you...?” He tilted his head, confused and pale as a ghost. 

“Since when did you have a thing for panties?” you asked, pointing at the bit of lace fabric that was sticking out from under the duvet. A bright blush fanned out on his freckled cheeks, his hand hastly grabbing the fabric and hiding it inside of his duvet fort which he surrounded himself with. You laughed at his pathetic attempt to hide away from your sharp gaze. The weight of the bed shifted as you sat down, putting a hand on his back and smiling at him before you snatched the lace fabric from his grasp, making him throw himself after your now standing figure. 

“What? You want these?” you swinged the panties in front of his wide eyed face, his brows furrowed upon your humiliating laugh. 

“G-give them back!” he stammers nervously, his ears turning a deep shade of red as he looks up at you from the bed. 

“They’re even wet” you cooed at the boy, feeling the fabric in your right hand, looking briefly at the panties before looking at the blushing boy whose gaze had dropped to the carpeted floor.

“Did you cum, babyboy?” 

Your voice ringed in Felix’s head as he quickly shook his head, his sweet brown eyes filling with dispair, desperate to feel you. You inched closer to the boy, bending down to look in his teary eyes, his orgasm in ruins. 

“Open,,, ahh-” 

You grabbed his face in one hand, prying his mouth open by squeezing his hot cheeks. His eyes twinkled as his mouth opened, shoving the panties into him. He tried to complain, whining but only being able to get out a couple of muffled sounds. 

“You’re way prettier when you shut up, lixie” 

He nods diligently, quietly slipping his hand to his sore dick underneath the covers. The covers moved slightly from his hand pumping his length and it didn’t take much time until you realized what he was doing. Yanking the covers from him you saw his throbbing dick, his hand wrapped around it as the tip glistened in the light. His hand rested on the fluffy pillow as he swallowed harshly, scared of what cruel fate awaited him. 

“Ride it”

Your voice was deadpan. Fear crawled in Felix’s skin as his whole body froze. 

“You must be stupid babyboy, I said ride it” 

You tsked, putting an emphasis on the last two words to which Felix snapped out of his lewd thoughts, shaking his head slightly, causing the part of the panties sticking out of his mouth to shake with him. His hips timidly yet again rolled against the cushion, his arms shaking from supporting himself as he felt the contact he’d been yearning for, rutting infront of you like a puppy. His hair bounced in his face, the poor boy sweating bullets underneath your intense stare. 

The orgasm for earlier made it’s way back, causing a tight knot to form in his abdomen which could unravel at slightest touch. You traced lightly along his thigh with your fingertip, goosebumps forming on his skin as a couple of muffled whines were let out from between his soft lips. His inaudible murmur got louder, eventually calling out your name weakly. 

“mommy/daddy,,, p-please” 

He clenched his jaw, biting down brutally on the thin fabric as the tension in his stomach built up from your touch. You leaned down to the side of his head, putting your lips on his ear before nibbling on it slightly, your hand automatically wrapping around his flushed neck. The bed shook from his slamming of the hips, hunting down his heavenly release. 

“hnng,,,mhhhm,,” 

Felix was struggling to keep himself focused on not spilling his seed everywhere, wanting to appear perservering infront of you but failing as his body cowers over the pillow, rounding his shoulders. The poor boys shakes as his pace quickened, longwinded whines dripping down his fragile body. 

You could tell that he was close by the way his spine arched forward, the cold air hitting his already erect nipples. You moved down to his neck, placing light butterfly kisses over his warm neck, licking tiny strokes before placing your lovebites precisely, marking him as yours. The last couple of grinds were uneven, the red tip leaking all over the pillow as his dick pulsated. The knot in his stomach resolved, melting him into a whiny puddle of hormones. Felix’s entire body shook as the white liquid trickled down his tip and creating a wet stain on the pillow. The overwhelmed boy panted heavily, his figure leaning into your arms slowly, wanting nothing more but to cuddle and make you forget about his sinful action but you had other plans. As soon as the thousands of small sparks in his brain went out and his eyes were no longer clouded with lust you removed the panties from his mouth, the poor boy panting and coughing. 

“t-thank you,,, mommy/daddy,,, i’ll-”

You scoffed causing Felix to feel scared once again, scared that he’d done something wrong. The panties were now slightly damp, coated by his saliva and bunched up into a ball in your tight grasp. Felix’s doe eyes dilated upon hearing the words coming out of your mouth. 

“I’d think you’d cuter wearing these” 

[kohanayaki]

.:Time and Time Again:. (Marauders Era x Reader) Ch 6

You continue the tale of how you, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter became known as The Marauders.

LINKS:   CH 1   CH 2    CH 3   CH 4   CH 5   CH 6   CH 7   CH 8

___________________________________________________________

Ch 6 .:The Making of the Marauders:.

~Previously~

“That was when they were first starting to put the map together,” you continued, “but that wasn't even the biggest secret they had. Of course, I wouldn't find out about that for another year. . .”

“So at this point I knew that they were hiding something else, but not what it was,” you told Harry, continuing on with your story, “But one night we had planned to meet up and use the invisibility cloak to map out the underground tunnels that ran through the storage cellars, and they never showed up. So I snuck into the Gryffindor common room through the secret passage and found their dorm completely empty. But what was there was our work in progress map. . .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   1975  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This isn't going to work,” Peter said flatly, watching James and Sirius draw a large circle in chalk on the floor of the Shrieking Shack.

“Not with that attitude it's not,” James said, “if there's a way we can speed up this process I'm willing to give it a go. I don't know how long I can go on with this bloody leaf in my mouth.”

“Is this even real?” Peter sighed, “it looks like what muggles think magic is.”

“It's real all right,” Sirius said, “old, but real. I mean, Transfiguration was founded on the principles of magic circles! I'm not really sure what these runes on the side mean, but it's probably not important.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Peter retorted, “Remus, back me up here.”

He turned towards Lupin, but he had long since dozed off, arms crossed as he leaned against one of the nearly decaying walls in the corner. Peter sighed, taking a piece of paper from the ground and crumpling it into a ball before promptly throwing it in the sleeping boy's face. Lupin jolted awake, realizing what had happened and chucking the paper back at Peter in annoyance.

“Not a moment of peace,” he huffed under his breath.

“Sounds awfully boring,” James said over his shoulder.

“Blimey, what time is it?” Remus said, panicked as he noticed the light had completely gone from the sky, “It's long past sundown.”

“So?” Sirius shrugged.

“So, we told (Y/n) we'd meet them to work on the map at dusk,” Remus said, “They're probably looking for us right now!”

“Oh, they are,” you announced your presence, an unimpressed look on your face as they jumped, whipping around to look at you.

“(Y-Y/n)!” Sirius stuttered, “how did you—”

You held up the map, raising a brow at the four guilty looking boys.

“Right. . .”

“You snuck into our rooms?!” James said incredulously as he saw the map, which he was sure he had left on his bedside table, in your hands.

“You've snuck into my shower before, Potter,” you glared lightly at him.

“Point taken.”

“Okay, look, I'm sorry we didn't show tonight, and I know we've been acting weird,” Sirius sighed, “the truth is—”

“Lupin's a werewolf.” 

The color drained from Remus' face, slightly mortified that you already knew.

“Come on, guys,” you said, “the claw marks and you lot disappearing whenever there's a full moon kind of gave it away. You aren't exactly subtle about it.”

You could sense the intense nervousness in the room, especially from Remus. Ok, so maybe coming right out with it wasn't the best course of action.

“Look,” you said, “if you're worried about anyone else finding out, they won't. I mean, the only reason I even knew you were here is because I'm literally helping you make a magical map that details all the secret passages and shows where everyone is. I won't tell anyone, I swear.”

They still seemed a little unsure, and you bit the inside of your lip slightly.

“If it'll make us even, I'll let you know a secret of my own,” you said, “it can even be future blackmail me if you really don't trust me.”

“No, it's not that, (Y/n),” Remus said as he stepped forward, his throat feeling dry, “it's just, well, I've never really told anyone except the people in this room. Having someone else know. . . it's just a lot to process, but if had to be anyone I'm glad it's you.” He paused for a moment, feeling oddly self-conscious as he regarded you. “When I turn into a werewolf I can't recognize any human as someone I know. I have no control over myself in that state. In the worst case scenario, I could injure or even kill someone I didn't mean to. We originally started taking note of the secret passages and rooms to find a place where I could turn safely and not hurt anyone, and we settled on here. I don't remember much when I come out of it, but. . . I do feel this painful sense of separation each time. Werewolves are pack creatures by nature, so being isolated in that state is. . . agony, if I must be honest. They all figured, I can't recognize humans, but perhaps I could recognize other animals, so. . .”

“They're trying to become animagi,” you finished, “so you won't have to be alone. That's. . . that's actually really sweet,” you said, a breathy laugh escaping you.

Remus thanked Merlin the Shrieking Shack was as dimly lit as it was so his beet red face was at least somewhat less noticeable.

“I agree,” Remus said, turning to his friends and sharing a rare, genuine moment with them. “And, you don't have to tell us your secret,” he said, turning back to you, “it's okay.”

“Hey, I wanted to know,” Sirius said, Peter swiftly elbowing him in the ribs.

“I was actually planning on telling you anyways,” you said, “If you guys are trying to become animagi, I can help you.”

You took a few steps back, bracing yourself against the wall.

“Promise me you won't freak out.”

After receiving a few quick nods, you kicked off the wall. Your body seemed to morph in mid-air, shrinking and re-configuring so fast that by the time you landed on the floor you had been entirely replaced by a large, (e/c)-eyed wolf with fur reminiscent of your hair.

Peter yelped, instinctively putting Sirius in front of him who was gawking at the sight. Remus was in complete shock and you could have sworn you saw James' glasses slip down his face.

In your animal form your heightened senses could sense their fear, and you tried your best to assuage it. You padded around in a circle, sitting down and blinking up at them to try and show them you were in control of your actions. After you figured they'd seen enough, you crawled back into your robes, which had pooled on the floor when you'd transfigured, and willed your body to turn back.

James, Sirius, and Peter looked somewhere in the intersection of shocked and terrified, but Remus looked nothing less than impressed.

“That's amazing, (Y/n),” he said breathlessly, “your transformation was seamless, how long have you had this ability?”

“My aunt had me go through the process when I was nine,” you said, a bitter edge to your voice as you fastened your clothes back around you, “it's not fun, but obviously useful. And thank you, but trust me, it didn't come at all naturally to me. I spent a good part of my winter break stuck with a wolf's hind legs, which is just as inconvenient as it sounds.”

“But this proves that it's possible!” James said, a new rush of energy invigorating him, “we can actually pull this off.”

“If I can manage to keep this sodding leaf from choking me every ten minutes,” Peter grumbled.

“Here, this should help with that,” you said, drawing your wand and pointing it at Peter's mouth. With a simple sticking charm, he suddenly felt the odd sensation of the leaf in his mouth disappearing, only to find it had melded with the flesh on the underside of his tongue.

“It's a long process, but yes, it's possible,” you said to James. Your eyes drifted to the floor where the magic circle and pages of runes were still scattered about, “if you were thinking of taking shortcuts, you might have wanted to read the warning about this spell requiring a blood sacrifice.”

The quartet paled and you laughed at their dumbstruck expressions.

“Kidding,” you grinned, “but seriously, there's no shortcuts. Now look alive, boys. We have a lot of work to do.”

_________________________________________________________

From then on, you helped the four wizards along on their quest to become fully fledged shifters.

“In order to become an animagus, a wizard must keep a Mandrake leaf in their mouth for an entire month, even when eating and sleeping,” Peter read aloud from the book they'd snatched from the restricted section, “Next, under a full moon, the wizard must place the leaf in a vial full of dew that has neither been stepped on nor exposed to the sun. The resulting potion must be stored in a dark place, and the following incantation: Amato Animo Animato Animagus, must be recited every morning until an electrical storm arrives, at which point the potion can be taken.”

“Blimey, all that to turn into a bloody cat?” Sirius said, exasperated.

“Well we have the first part almost done,” James said, feeling the faintest outline of the leaf still under his tongue, “Next full moon we'll have to go dew-hunting, I suppose. Looks like you'll have to stick it out for a few more cycles, Moony,” he said to Remus.

“That's alright,” he said, “I've made it this far.”

“He won't be alone for those,” you said, “I'll spend the full moons with him until you guys are ready.”

“What?” James said, looking at you like you'd just told him you were off to join Voldemort, “not a chance, that's way too dangerous.”

“Aw, don't act like you're all concerned about me all of a sudden, Potter,” you smirked. When his expression didn't change it took you aback slightly. He was actually worried about you. “Look, I'm probably the best suited for it anyways,” you said, coughing a bit to coast through the awkward tension, “Remus and I are both wolves, or at least partly. If one of you end up turning into a sheep or something you might be dead meat, not to freak you out or anything.”

“That's reassuring,” Sirius said under his breath.

____________________________________________________________

“You really don't have to do this,” Lupin insisted as you sat on the floor together in the Shrieking Shack later that month.

“I want to,” you assured him, “take it as a thanks for helping me pass Arithmancy. Besides, it's a perfectly fine excuse for me to practice interacting with other animals in my animagus form.”

The boy beside you was quiet for a moment, shoulders tense and jaw set tight. It wasn't that he wasn't happy you were here, he was more grateful than you could know, but he was terrified that he was going to end up hurting you. On top of that was the fact that he didn't want you to see him as he transformed. It wasn't pretty, and it was visibly painful. He didn't want you to think any lower of him, though he knew that fear was irrational.

The calming jazz record that spun on the other side of the room was the only noise between you two for quite some time, but you understood that he needed time to gather his thoughts. This was something so deeply personal you were surprised and a bit honored he allowed you to be here at all. You noticed the photograph that he held in his hands; it was of Hogwarts, taken from the very edge of the forest. The sun was peeking over the horizon, spilling out between the complexly constructed towers that made up the castle's exterior, and casting a warm, golden hue over the landscape.

“It's beautiful,” you said, “the picture.”

“It is,” Remus smiled to himself and nodded, “James gave it to me, as a reminder. He said that matter what happens during the full moon, the sun will always rise on us again.”

“Huh,” you mused softly, “perhaps he isn't such an insufferable jerk after all.”

“Oh, no, he is,” Lupin chuckled, “but he is also a very good friend, and endlessly thoughtful even if he denies it.”

You let that sink in for a moment. You supposed he was.

“Well,” you said, laughing a bit as you shifted in your seat, “this isn't as deep and meaningful as the photo, but I brought something for you.” You reached into your bag, retrieving something that made Remus' eyes widen.

“Where did you get that?” he said, elated as you held out his favorite chocolate bar which had been out of stock at Hogsmeade for weeks now.

“You guys have a secret tunnel that goes right to the Honeydukes cellar and you've never taken advantage of their storage?” you grinned.

Lupin hesitated as he held the bar in his hands.

“So you stole it?”

“I left five dracma in the tip jar,” you rolled your eyes, “I'm not a death eater.”

His smiled returned at that, and he ripped open the familiar foil gratefully.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

“It's the least I could do,” you said.

“It's really not,” he said, turning to face you fully. You were left a bit breathless as the unexpected intensity of his eyes. “None of this is the least you could do, because the least you could do is nothing,” he continued, rambling, “we were so horrible to someone you consider a dear friend, and you were willing to look past that. You're risking your life by even being with me right now, (Y/n).”

“You don't—”

“I do know that,” Remus said sharply, “I've never been in contact with anyone as a werewolf. The one time I was, I. . .” he trailed off, and it hurt you to see his pained expression, “I just don't know how I'll react.”

“You're saying that as if something bad's already happened,” you said gently, “it'll be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked quietly, equally full of frustration and admiration.

“I'm willing to put my trust in you, Remus. I think it's time you put some trust in yourself.”

Lupin's heart pounded a little harder in his chest. Had you ever called him by his first name before? You looked at him so reassuringly, so confidently. He couldn't understand it, but your words reached him to his core.

“(Y/n). . .” he trailed off, blinking rapidly. A shaky breath escaped him, and your stomach dropped.

“Remus?”

Suddenly you saw something shift in him. His breathing became heavy and his pupils dilated, completely filling his irises in a matter of seconds. He braced himself against the wall as he stumbled to his feet, his skin slowly taking on a gray hue.

“It's happening,” he said, voice deeper and strained, his neck convulsing, “you have to transform, now!”

You didn't waste any time, taking the shape of your wolf form and padding away a cautionary distance. Your stomach churned as you watched Remus yell out, his expression full of pain as his body grew in size, his cries slowly becoming reminiscent of howls. His face contorted in agony as his head morphed into a more animalistic shape, ears growing from his scalp and fur appearing as if his werewolf was fully formed inside him, physically escaping through his skin. You've seen werewolves before, but seeing someone you know actually turn into one, it was completely different. Nothing could have prepared you for this. Seeing anyone in this much pain made your chest tighten harshly.

At last it seemed the transformation was complete. Remus Lupin was gone, and in front of you stood a creature of at least eight feet, perched on his hind legs and towering over you especially in your animal form. You could hear how ragged his breathing had become, his body convulsing with the motion; growing and retracting like a beating heart. You heard a whimper escape his throat, and you could tell he was still recovering from the pain.

You steeled yourself, making the decision to alert him to your presence subtly. You tilted your head upwards, releasing a similar sounding whimper to his. Immediately the werewolf across from you was on high alert, his head snapping towards you and his lips pulling back into a snarl as his ears lowered. You took an instinctive step back, lowering your head slowly. He seemed puzzled by your behavior, which made sense seeing as Lupin told you he never interacted with any other animals during the full moon. His head tilted inquisitively and he took a heavy step forward. You forced yourself to not back away, testing the waters. His eyes narrowed again as he saw you standing your ground, but you quickly sat down, your head tilting to expose your neck slightly. You made doubly sure not to show any signs of aggression; you knew you had no chance against a werewolf at full strength.

However, he seemed to take your queues well. His tail seemed to relax a bit, his eyes returning to their full, round shape as he looked at you with curiosity. You sniffed up at him and he hesitated, but eventually circled around you and did the same. You could almost see the turmoil in him, as a werewolf you doubted anyone he came across treated him with anything less than terror in their eyes, but you were completely relaxed.

He whimpered again, and you were shocked at the sign of submission. You rose to your feet, and he didn't back away. You let out a friendly yip, which he returned, and you felt the weight lift off your chest. You leaped to the side, and he followed you, running alongside you as you bounded across the room, practically leaping off the walls. You jumped at each other playfully, rolling across the floor in a mess of fur. You smiled inwardly as this continued throughout the night, no longer seeing fear or pain or aggression in his eyes when you looked into them. Even if he wouldn't remember most of this, you hoped he would at least feel better in the morning than all the times he had to go through it alone.

Exhausted from all the playing around, you padded softly back to your robes, crawling inside yours and and gesturing over to him with your head. He followed you, coming down to all fours before laying beside you. You weren't sure when sleep came over you, but it was like the world's most comfortable blanket had been thrown over your shoulders, and your eyes drifted closed of their own volition. . .

“Merlin's beard, just what were you two doing last night?!”

You and Remus both jolted awake at the sound of James Potter's aggravatingly loud voice but quickly came to your senses. Remus' arms were wrapped around you, your back facing him. You were just barely covered by your robes with nothing underneath as a result of your transformation. As you scrambled to get decent your face heated even more as you saw Remus was currently without a shirt, his pants ripped considerably. You scrambled away from each other, trying to make yourselves decent.

Peter was howling with laughter, James looking smug as ever. Sirius was oddly quiet, but you were too wrapped up in the embarrassment to notice his behavior.

“What was that about being 'endlessly thoughtful'?” you grumbled to Remus.

“Right, I completely take back what I said,” he scoffed, “ 'insufferable jerk' is much more accurate.”

“Close your eyes, you perverted git!” you yelled at James, who was blatantly staring at you, “toss me my clothes at least, would you?”

James bit back a smirk as he grabbed your bag that was sitting in the corner of the room— clothes you had brought with the intention of changing into after returning to your human form when Lupin fell asleep. He tossed it over to you and you began to change under your robes. As his back was turned to you his mind began to wander. You'd always been attractive, sure, but since you'd always been his rival he hadn't really given you a second thought, especially when he'd been trying to get Lily's attention for ages. But just now, thinking about how downright adorable you looked when you'd yelled at him, something in him shifted. He shook it off quickly, turning to Lupin with a grin he'd managed to put on concernedly fast.

“You cheeky bastard,” he said to Remus, who was furiously changing into a new shirt, “you just wanted her alone, didn't you? Do you really need us to become animagi after all?”

“You're the worst, Potter,” the werewolf glared at him.

“Don't listen to him, Remus,” you grumbled, straightening out your tie as you slipped it on over your shirt, “he's an even bigger idiot than he looks.”

“Are you implying I look stupid?”

“Implying may not be a strong enough word.”

__________________________________________________________

It had taken months of brewing the potion and getting all the necessary preparations in order, but they were finally ready. Remus sat with you in the grass, wand at the ready to undo any untoward transfiguration that happened on accident. Peter, Sirius, and James stood across from you, standing at the edge of a stone ledge about five feet off the ground. You'd said that a leap of faith is what would best trigger their first transformation. They looked nervous, but they were prepared as they'd ever be. Over the last year you had grown considerably closer to the four boys you had miraculously come to know as friends.

“Remember, focus on your emotions,” you said, “you need to pick a strong one, let it fill your body and flow through you. If you block the magic off from any part of your body, it's not going to be pretty.”

“Right, but how do I—”

“James, I swear, I'm really rooting for you to be a mute animal.”

“But how do you choose-”

“Just do it already!”

“Oh, sod it,” James squeezed his eyes shut, not giving himself time to second guess before jumping off the ledge. For a moment he was certain he was about to land face first in the dirt, but then it happened— a moment where time seemed to freeze and his body felt completely weightless. He felt this sensation where his arms and legs vibrated with an intense, foreign energy. Images flashed through his mind in that brief moment in the air; Sirius manically laughing as they ran away from Filch, Remus snapping off a piece of chocolate to offer him after he'd lost Gryffindor a Quidditch match, and, unexpectedly, you. A feeling of warmth spread through his chest, and he grasped onto it, letting it flow through his body like you said. In an instant he felt torso shift, his shoulders narrow, his neck elongate; and when he landed on the ground he still landed face-first as he predicted, but in a completely different form.

He could see you and Lupin in front of him, mouths agape. He was about to say something when he found his vocal chords only allowed him a gruff whine. Shocked, he lifted his head, which felt much heavier than he'd last recalled, and as he looked down at himself he was taken aback to be met with a pair of hooves right beneath him. He staggered to his feet on wobbly legs, of which he now had four. As he tilted his head he could see the shadow of a pair of antlers twisting into brilliant shadows on the grass.

“Potter, you did it!” you exclaimed, “you actually did it!”

“Well how about that,” Remus chuckled, “a stag.”

“It fits him, I think,” you grinned, looking over at Sirius and Peter who looked determined and terrified respectively. “Well go on, it's your turn now!”

Sirius braced himself for the jump, but somehow he found no fear in his system. After seeing James shift in the air right before his eyes, he knew he could do it. He looked over at Peter who was nearly shaking.

“Come on, Peter,” he said, “we'll go together.”

“I-I don't know about this, Sirius,” Peter said, “I'm not ready, I don't think I can do this.”

“It's just a little jump,” Sirius said encouragingly, “you can do this.”

After a few nerve wracking deep breaths Peter gave him the smallest nod one could manage.

“We'll go on three,” Sirius said, “Ready? One—”

“AaHH!”

Sirius shoved Peter off the ledge, knowing he wouldn't jump on his own, before taking the plunge himself. Peter's screams became higher and higher pitched as he shrank at an alarming speed, almost an undetectable size by the time he hit the grass. A small brown rat scurried across the field towards you and Lupin.

The stag in front of you made a sound, dragging his hooves across the grass in what you could imagine as James' unadulterated laughter at his friend.

Sirius began to morph almost as soon as he left the ground, something you were surprised by. He landed on his hind legs, landing gracefully as his front two followed, and a shaggy black dog looked back at you with mischief in its eyes.

You couldn't help but go over and pet him. You laughed as he nudged you with his nose, a resistance that was quickly halted as soon as you started scratching him behind the ears.

“I have to say, I didn't think you would actually manage that on your first try,” you said, secretly prouder than they could have known, “but if anyone could have done it, it's you three stubborn goons.”

James huffed as he saw you continue to pet Sirius, using his antlers to prod the dog out of the way. Sirius barked, lunging at him playfully. It was quite a scene to see the two interact.

“Honestly, this is a pretty solid group,” you said, “you've got James who blends perfectly with the surrounding wildlife so he wouldn't be suspicions, Sirius who could probably do a fair bit of damage as a dog if he needed, and Peter who can fit through small spaces and snoop around the castle virtually undetected.”

“Quite an odd pack,” Remus chuckled.

“Definitely,” you agreed, “but a pack nonetheless.”

And that very week, Remus Lupin was able to spend his first night as a werewolf with his four friends by his side.

__________________________________________________________

“So, how did we choose which animals we turn into?” James had asked you the next day at breakfast, “I specifically tried for a dragon.”

“You don't get to choose,” you rolled your eyes, “You're a stag, that's the end of it. It's pretty much up to chance.”

“I'm sorry, you're telling me I could have turned into a fish and died right there on the ground?!”

“If only,” you sighed dreamily, earning you a playful shove from James. “Alright, it's not completely random, but you're definitely in the unknown the first time you turn,” you went on to explain, “and once you turn for the first time, that's it. That's your animal. A wizard takes on the animagus form of whatever animal most closely resembles their personality. So, a horny bastard for James, a loyal little puppy for Sirius—”

“A bitch for you,” Sirius quipped.

“Never heard that one before,” you scoffed, purposefully messing up his hair.

“Hey, watch it!” he shoved you off him, twisting each of his curls back into form.

“Well, look who's a high maintenance pup,” you chuckled.

Around the same time that year, you finally completed the map. It came together beautifully, each different way of folding the paper revealing a different level of the castle for easy navigation. You'd included the surrounding forests as well as the parts of Hogsmeade that applied for the secret passageways, all of which were marked with symbols and the unique names you'd all come up with. Every student and staff member at Hogwarts had a tiny scroll with their name that appeared in their location. Remus had added the nice detail of including footprints at the last second, so you could see which way they were facing and walking as well. It was fireproof, rip proof, and prone to insulting anyone else who tried to read it. It was the pinnacle of your magical (and slightly illegal) achievement.

“We should write our names on it,” James said, looking down proudly at the finished map, “it belongs to us, after all. We don't want anyone else taking the credit.”

“Yeah, fantastic way to get caught,” Sirius rolled his eyes, “what if Filch comes across it? That's like leaving your signature at a murder scene.”

“You should use code names, then,” you suggested, “I know you guys call Remus 'Moony' as a joke, but I kind of like it.”

The scarred boy blushed lightly at the compliment, a brow raised to his other three friends.

“Alright then, I guess you should all say hi to Rudolph over here,” Sirius said, jutting his thumb in James' direction. The bespectacled boy narrowed his eyes before shooting back.

“Right! And this is my good friend, Snuffles.”

Sirius lunged at him and James swatted him away in laughter.

“Come on, you two,” Remus said, “or we won't put anything down for you at all.”

“I've got an idea for Peter,” you piped in, “When my mom used to garden she said she didn't mind having rats there because their tails resembled worms, which were an old a sign of healthy soil, I know it's odd, but I think Wormtail sounds pretty cool.”

Peter seemed to perk up at your acknowledgment and nodded. It suited him somehow.

“Should we pick animal features too, then?” James mused, “I guess Antlers doesn't really sound that cool. What's another word? Horns? Give me some analogies, guys. What else do they look like?”

“Yours honestly kind of look like a couple of bent forks,” you snickered.

“Prongs?” Sirius snorted, the laughter that followed nearly splitting his sides.

“Oh, go on, what have you got then?” James scoffed.

“I was thinking Padfoot,” Sirius said, “like a dog's paw prints.”

“You know, for someone who was just making fun of code names a second ago you sure have given a lot of thought to yours,” you teased.

“Shove it,” he smirked, “What about you? Can't very well have a second Moony.”

You stared at him in momentary disbelief.

“Me?”

“Well, yeah,” Sirius chuckled.

“We couldn't have done any of this without you,” Remus reminded you with a smile.

“I think you've more than earned an honorary title as one of us,” James said.

“That is, if you want to,” Peter said timidly.

You looked at the four of them, genuinely touched.

“I. . . I don't know what to say,” you smiled.

“You could say 'yes',” James piped up.

“Alright, you loons,” you laughed, “if you leave Severus alone for good, then yes.”

“Hey, I think we've been pretty good about that lately,” James pouted.

“Yes you have,” you admitted, “It's the only reason I bothered to give you the time of day, but this time it's a promise.”

James rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face was undeniable. He'd never admit it out loud, but being friends with you was more fun than messing with Snape ever was.

“Alright, fine. (Y/n) (L/n), I solemnly swear that I will leave tormenting our dear old friend Snivelus behind us forever,” he said dramatically, putting a hand up at his pledge.

“Oh, bother,” you laughed, “the only thing you'll 'solemnly swear' to is that you're up to no good.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

“Then that's settled,” Remus smiled, “you'll need a code name too.”

“Let's see,” Sirius hummed in thought, “What other defining features do wolves have besides. . . well, their. . . fangs?”

“They're canines, you numbnut,” you huffed.

“Close enough, I'm writing Fangs.”

“Oi, I didn't agree to that!”

“Too bad, I'm already writing it~”

“Okay, well if that's the stupid name I'm getting saddled with them I'm going to write it myself,” you said stubbornly. You actually didn't mind the name at all.

“Well that's it, then,” James said, “Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs, and Fangs. We could join the bloody circus.”

“All we need is a group name,” you said, half joking.

“We've already got one,” James said proudly.

“Oh? Let's hear it, then.”

“The Marauders.”

“. . .”

You kept your face straight for exactly three seconds before you burst out laughing. The four boys flushed with embarrassment.

“The Marauders?” you chortled, “what are you, pirates?”

“It's what McGonnagall called us the first time we got ourselves into proper trouble,” James defended himself, his cheeks reddening, “You rowdy mob of marauders, she'd said.”

“Huh,” you chuckled, coming down from your laughing fit, “Well, then I suppose that would make this The Marauders Map. I'll admit, it actually kinda has a ring to it.”

And despite your group's joking quips and bickering, they couldn't agree more.

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

“Wait,” Harry said, eyes wide at your story, “So, my dad was an animagus too?”

“Sure was,” you smiled warmly.

“This whole time I thought 'Prongs' was just because his patronus was a stag.”

“Your animagus form is usually the same animal as your patronus,” you explained, “In some very rare cases they can be different, but they work in the same emotionally driven vein of magical ability, so it would make sense that they'd be linked. Your father was extraordinary at both, because as much as he would deny it, he felt everything very deeply.”

Your eyes drifted to the wall opposite you in the living room, and a small but sad smile graced your features.

“Love is often the most powerful emotion a witch or wizard can draw from,” you said softly, “but you already know that.”

Harry followed your gaze over his shoulder. There, posted on the wall among a collage of photographs from the Order was a picture of his mother and father. It was one he'd seen a hundred times, and one he had his own copy of: them in each others' arms in a London park, autumn leaves swirling around them as they danced without any music. Even from this distance he could see the emotion in their eyes as they looked at one another— like they were the only two people in the world.

“Yeah,” Harry said, wiping a stray tear from his eyes, “I do.”

Read chapter 7 here!

Taglist:  @sleep-i-ness, @blackpinkdolan, @parker-natasha, @ornella0910 @undertaker1827 @thatwierdo-koemi @nxstalgicnxbxdy @calaryssia @aleksanderwh0r3 @juggysgirlfriend @beautifulsweetschaos @kattirin @mialupin1

[marshmallow-phd]

Book of the Dead

Genre: The Mummy AU

Pairing: Junmyeon x Reader

Summary: After traveling to the fabled city of Hamunaptra, you read from the Book of the Dead and accidentally resurrect an ancient mummy with extraordinary powers and quest for revenge. The only thing to do now is try and convince your less-than-traditional guide to help you save the world. 

Part 1 I Part 2

**

“I just said a few sentences!”

“What did you do that for!”

“Well, I didn’t know that that would happen!”

You stared at the aggravating, self-absorbed, cocky Korean soldier and wondered why on earth you had decided to negotiate for this man’s life. 

Alright, you did know why. You needed him to show you to Hamunuptra - the fabled City of the Dead. 

Too many times you had stood in front of the museum curator with pages and pages of references and evidence that the place existed and just needed a small team of archeologists in order to track it down. He’d shot you down every time. And each time he took the liberty of reminding you that while your father was an exceptional explorer who had many successes under his belt, you were a woman whose life had been spent between the shelves, cataloging. Your adventures consisted of the fictional kind, devouring any novel you could when you weren’t archiving the latest crate of artifacts and texts. 

Then your cousin showed up. Your normally useless, hare-brained, erratic, drunkard cousin showed up at your apartment with a “fun new artifact” he found on his latest trip. And suddenly your luck had completely turned around. 

Or so you thought. 

Now you were standing in the middle of Hamunaptra, feet sinking into the unstable sand, with an empty sarcophagus and everyone blaming you because you did what you did best - read.

It was only a book. Albeit, a very heavy, possibly-made-of-painted-solid-gold book that was written in the dead language of ancient Egypt, but still. What harm had ever come from reading a book?

Kim Junmyeon stared at you as if you were the one who had risen from the dead. You were still stunned at how different he looked from when you had first met him in that smelly prison, minutes away from being hanged. His hair had been long and stringy, clumps of dirt clinging to the dark brown strands that brushed his shoulders. Now it was shorter, cut above his ears and gelled back in the current style that almost made him look like a gentleman. The several days’ stubble was long gone to reveal smooth skin and a sharp jawline. He was actually very handsome - when he was cleaned up. 

Stupid, you hissed at yourself. Now was not the time for this. Because right now there seemed to be a reanimated mummy running around here. And by the looks of Barney’s husk of a body lying deep within the temple underground, it was hungry. 

As it should be, given the three thousand years it spent locked up under piles of sand. 

“Really, you should have been more careful!” your cousin, Baekhyun, scolded. 

You scoffed. “You’re one to talk. You were the one who snatched the key off of Mr. Kim here at one of your seedy bars and then proceeded to lie to me and say that you found it on a dig in Thebes which in turn brought us here!”

Baekhyun opened and closed his mouth as he searched for a possible retort. 

“I think this is more your fault,” Kim Junmyeon’s own cousin and traveling partner, Oh Sehun, said. “You told us to go down a level and dig under the statue, which in turn,” he mocked your tone almost precisely, “caused the mummy to be able to get out of his sarcophagus. If we had dug somewhere else entirely, then he’d still be trapped under the statue of Anubis.”

“Despite the fact that it was two layers deep, nothing would have been able to hold a victim of the Hom-Dai.”

“Would have given poor Barney a chance,” Kim Junmyeon muttered under his breath. You shot him a glare that he hardly noticed. 

“I say that we get out of here and to the safety of the city before the mummy finds us.” Oh Sehun swallowed thickly. “Or worse. The beetles find us.” The supposedly brave soldier who had two pistols hanging under each arm was more terrified of the flesh eating bugs than he was the living mummy that was bringing about the ten plagues of Egypt. You’d already lived through the locust infestation, but that was always the most minor of the plagues. In your opinion. 

“We told you to leave,” Ardeth said in that low, monotone voice that made him seem centuries old. You had only known him for a few hours, but you already feared and respected him. Despite the fact that he had attacked your campsite the night before. “Now you have condemned the whole world to the very monster that we have spent three thousand years keeping hidden.”

Kim Junmyeon finally tore his face away from yours. “I told you. I shot him. He went down.”

“Mortal weapons are useless against this creature. None can kill him.” Stepping up, he stood toe to toe with the soldier who led you here. “A gun is nothing more than a fly to him. He will never eat. He will never sleep. And he will never stop. Not until this world is only sand.”

Though still not completely backing down, Kim Junmyeon took hold of your arm. “Come on. We’re going back to Cairo.”

**

The camel ride back to the city was long, tiring, and a bit painful, if you were honest. The inside of your thighs were sore from keeping you up right on the animal’s back for hours on end under the blazing heat. You were used to the comfortable back seat of a car, even if the roads here tended to be on the bumpier side. Kim Junmyeon stayed at your side the entire time, up until you were back in your hotel room. All your things were still in there. That was nice, even if it was to be expected. The desk clerk had sworn he would keep the room reserved for you until you made it back. And now that you had, you were on to the next fight. 

“We’re not going anywhere!” 

Kim Junmyeon pretended not to hear you as he started emptying the dresser drawers of your clothes and stuffing them in your suitcases lying open on the bed.

“Excuse me! I said we’re not going anywhere!” As soon as he stepped away again, you slammed the suitcase shut. A stray white cat that you didn’t have the heart to remove from your room took advantage of the newly available space and laid down on the surface of the luggage. Unbothered by the argument taking place in its presences, it purred as it curled into a ball and closed its eyes. 

“You keep using the word ‘we’ and I’m not sure why,” he said. “I believe you were the one who woke him up in the first place.”

“Yes, I get it!” you shouted. “Everyone can blame me because I read the damn book, but that is why we need to stop him.”

He closed the empty drawer and turned back around to face you. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that? You heard Ardeth. No mortal weapon can kill this guy.”

“That’s why we’re going to find some immortal ones.”

He pulled a pair of rounded glasses from his pocket, wiped the lenses with his shirt, and stuck them on the bridge of his nose. “There goes that ‘we’ business again.”

You huffed, trying not to focus on the newest version of the soldier now being presented in front of you. “Yes, we. Because this curse will continue to get worse until the whole world is destroyed.”

“And that’s my problem?”

“It is everybody’s problem! You live here, too!”

Kim Junmyeon stepped up until he was mere inches away. “Listen. I appreciate you saving my life and all, but when I agreed to this idiotic mission my objective was to show you the way and then bring you back here. I have done that. End of job. End of story. Contract terminated.”

You tried not to show how his last few words affected you. Though you had been a little intoxicated two nights ago, you still very much remembered how sweet he had been, how he had listened to you go on and on about your parents and how much you wanted to be a famous adventurer like your father. And how you almost kissed him. And how he was going to kiss you back. Stupidly, you had thought that there was something growing between you. Apparently, you had been wrong. 

“Is that all I am to you?” you whispered. “A contract?”

Kim Junmyeon blew out haughtily from his nose. His Adam’s Apple bobbed as he swallowed. He opened his mouth and then closed it. You waited in hopes that he would contradict you. That he would say, no that was not all you were to him. And it really seemed like he would be saying something along those lines. But other words came out instead. 

“Look. You can either come with me or you can try and stay here and save the world. So. What’s it going to be?”

You didn’t even hesitate. “I’m staying.”

“Fine.” He headed for the door. 

“Fine,” you bit back, following him. 

“Fine,” he threw at you again as he barely glanced over his shoulder.

“Fine!”

“Fine!” 

He got the last word in before slamming the door to your room shut. 

You huffed as you crossed your arms. Yet, as angry as you were, you still hoped that he would come back. That he wouldn’t let you take this on alone. But the footsteps on the other faded away and you were alone.

Looking around your room, you didn’t think there was much you could do. So, you did what you were best at. You grabbed all the books you thought could help you and got to reading. 

While sitting in the wicker chair in the corner, you skipped around the books and pages, clinging on to any small word that you thought could lead you to a possible solution. There wasn’t much to be found, unfortunately. Most works spoke of how to perform the Hom-Dai and how it should never be performed due to the curse that awaits should the victim ever be awakened. You already knew that. You needed specifics on what to do after the victim came back. 

“(Y/n)!”

Kim Junmyeon came bursting back into your room. You slammed the book in your hands closed, feeling very high and mighty indeed.

“Ah. Mr. Kim. Have you changed your mind?”

“Doesn’t matter now, he’s here!”

“What!”

He didn’t clarify as he hoisted you up out of the chair and pulled you out of the room, and into the hall. Through the windows, you watched in horror as fire fell from the heavens. The balls of flame engulfed anything it touched when it landed, whether it be plant or human life. Turning a corner, Kim Junmyeon ran into a room you knew was occupied by another one of the Americans that you had ran into on your way to Hamunaptra. You gasped. 

In the chair, now nothing more than dried, husky skin and hollow bones was… oh, dear you couldn’t remember his name. You hadn’t bothered to learn them. You and Baekhyun had simply referred to them as the “Bloody Americans”. You were feeling a bit awful about that at the moment. 

But you didn’t have much time to dwell on that. Standing in front of the fireplace was a new version of the mummy. His skin was starting to come together, though patches were still missing, allowing you to see the gray bone and lack of organs underneath. Kim Junmyeon pulled out both of his guns as the mummy stalked forward. 

“We are in deep trouble,” he murmured before opening fire. The loud pops banged on your poor eardrums. You stumbled back a few steps to try and soften their blows. It didn’t work. 

The bullets passed through the mummy as if they didn’t exist at all. Even when Oh Sehun and the other Americans came running into the room and firing off their own guns, the mummy still kept going. He shoved Kim Junmyeon back into the others as if he were nothing more than old wrappings. Then he turned on you. 

Completely unarmed, you stumbled back until you were betrayed by the bookshelf behind you. There was nowhere to run. Instead of sucking out your liver, however, he spoke. 

“You were the one who saved me from the afterlife.” His words were haunting, echoing as if he was speaking in a cavern. And the language he spoke… ancient Egyptian. You weren’t sure why you expected to speak anything else. Coming in closer, he lowered his voice. “I thank you.” 

He leaned in his head, those very human eyes lowering to your lips. You turned your head away to try and avoid the kiss, confused as to why he was trying to seduce you. 

Sharp, unpleasing notes from the piano pierced through the air. The mummy turned and gasped when he saw the white cat from your room walking across the keys. In a whirl of sand, he fled from the room. 

“Oh, thank god,” you said with a heavy breath.

“No kidding,” Kim Junmyeon groaned as he sat up. 

You ran to his side, fearful that he might have been injured. “Are you alright, Mr. Kim?”

“Yes,” he huffed. With a very odd expression, he added, “And I told you to call me Junmyeon.”

To be honest, after your fight, you didn’t think you would be allowed to anymore. A strange silence settled between you. He was trying to say something with his gaze, but you couldn’t interpret it. So, instead, you helped him to his feet. “Come on. I know who we need to talk to about all of this.”

It took a while to get back to the museum that had employed you for the past year or so. Every street was full of panicking people. Flames no longer fell from the heavens, but little fires still raged on homes and carts. The Americans had declared that they were coming along, so your group was slower in moving. Although you didn’t really want the mummy bait to be anywhere near you, Junmyeon and Sehun decided that it would be better to keep an eye on them and - hopefully - keep them out of the mummy’s grasp. 

“Dr. Bey!” You ran into the museum’s main storage room, happy when you saw the curator. But then you skidded to a stop at the sight that he wasn’t alone. 

Ardeth was talking with him in hushed tones that stopped the second you appeared. Both men turned towards you, the curator wearing a very readable expression. It was one that stunk of “I told you so”. The others were only a few steps behind. As soon they, too, saw the unexpected visitor, Junmyeon, Sehun, and the Americans pulled out their guns while Baekhyun simply squeaked in surprise. 

“Gentlemen,” Dr. Bey greeted as if this were any old meeting on a Tuesday. 

“What is he doing here?” Junmyeon demanded. Even with the black tattoos etched under Ardeth’s eyes, you could tell that he was tired, dark circles from lack of sleep bruising his skin. 

Dr. Bey raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to know? Or perhaps you would prefer to just shoot us?”

“Either sounds good.” Junmyeon cocked back the hammer of one of his guns for emphasis. 

“Stop it,” you hissed. “Bullets won’t do any good here. Besides, you might damage some of the artifacts.”

Junmyeon failed to suppress a laugh over your concern. Despite the present danger, you still didn’t want to see the carriages or sacred jars damaged because someone got trigger happy. So, Junmyeon holstered his guns and the others soon followed suit. “All right. I’ll give a little faith.”

Dr. Bey motioned for the group to follow him in deeper. “We’re part of a secret society-”

“Aren’t they all?” Baekhyun muttered. Both you and Dr. Bey shot him glares that made him snap his mouth shut. 

“For over three thousand years, we have guarded the City of the Dead. Once we reach manhood, we swear an oath to do anything and everything in our power to stop the high priest Imhotep from rising from the grave.”

“And now we have failed. Thanks to you.” Ardeth gave you a particularly pointed look. 

By now, you were getting very irritated with the constant finger pointing. What was done was done. You were not going to show him any cowardice. “And that justifies the murder of innocent people?” 

“Hm. To stop this creature?” Dr. Bey pretended to think for a moment. “Yes.”

Junmyeon, untroubled by that, raised his hand from the golden seat of a dead royal that he had taken over. “I have a question. Why doesn’t he seem to like cats?”

“Cats are the guardians of the underworld. He will fear them until he reaches full regeneration.”

“Then there will be nothing that he fears.” Worry was very much apparent in the soldier’s voice.

“And you know how he gets regenerated?” one of the Americans asked rhetorically. 

The other one finished. “By tracking those of us down who opened the chest and sucking us dry like a nomad in the desert, that’s how!”

It was completely pointless to go over the things that were already known. Now was the time to try and piece the unused parts together. Two particular moments were sticking out in your head. 

“Back in Hamunaptra, the priest - Imhotep - he called me Ack-Su-Namun. And then just now at the hotel, he….” You cringed at the memory, thankful that you didn’t have to feel the decomposed skin against your own. “He tried to kiss me.”

“It’s because of Anck-Su-Namun and his love for her that he was cursed,” Dr. Bey explained, exchanging a look with Ardeth. “Even after all this time….”

“He’s still in love with her?” Sehun finished with a scoff. 

You appreciated the backstory, however - “As romantic as that is, what does that have to do with me?”

“Perhaps he will try to raise her from the dead once again?” Ardeth guessed. 

“Yes,” Dr. Bey agreed solemnly. “And it would seem that he has already chosen his human sacrifice.”

All eyes in the room turned to you. Wonderful. 

Not only were you the one who read from the book and raised him, but you would also be responsible for the return of his beloved, who was the reason he was cursed in the first place. Absolutely beautiful. 

Baekhuyn came up behind you and patted your shoulder. “That is some rotten luck, dear cousin.”

“Actually, this could work in our favor,” Dr. Bey countered. “It could give us time that we desperately need to kill the creature.”

“We’ll need every second, I think,” Sehun said. He pointed towards the ceiling. “I think he’s getting stronger.”

Through the large window high up on the wall, the sun was in clear view. You all watched in horror as the moon moved too quickly across the sky and blocked the light from reaching Earth. 

“I’m guessing this is the plague of darkness?” Baekhyun said ominously. You nodded slowly. 

“Let’s go,” Junmyeon said softly beside you, his hand coming up protectively behind your back. “We’ve got to get back to the hotel and come up with a plan.”

**

“I’m just saying, it seems very stupid to comdem someone to a curse when the result of that would be for them to come back a supernatural creature who is practically unkillable.”

“The ancient Egyptians believed in balance,” you explained to Baekhyun for the hundredth time in your life. “To curse someone so badly in both this life and the next, there has to be a consequence to balance out the scales. If not, then the whole world could still fall apart, in even worse ways!”

“All of this is kind of pointless now, isn’t it?” Sehun sighed from the small table in the antechamber to your room. His feet were up on the polished surface as he leaned back in his seat. A look of irritation was etched on his face as he stared at your cousin. “What’s done is done. Right now, we need to focus on our next step.”

“Well, I know you two,” you pointed to the Americans, “opened the chest. As well as Barney. Was there anyone else?”

“The Egyptologist that was with us,” the shaggier one answered. “Professor Chamberlain. He has a temporary residence a few blocks over.”

“What about my best friend Beni?” Junmyeon asked. You nearly snorted. You knew the two of them were anything but friends.

“No. He ran out before we took the lid off. Ended up saving his own skin.”

“Sounds like Beni,” Junmyeon said dryly. “Okay. We’re going to go get the Professor. You four,” he pointed to all the men, “come with me. You, stay here.”

Oh, no you weren’t. “Excuse me! I am just as capable as any of them are. I will not- What do you think you’re doing!”

Junmyeon marched over to you, picked you up, and carried you over his shoulder until you were in your room. Then he dropped you on the floor, closed the door, and locked it tight. “This door doesn’t open.”

You didn’t know who he said it to, who he left in charge of watching you like an infant. It didn’t matter. You pounded your fist against the solid wood door. “Baekhyun! Junmyeon! Let me out! Baekhyun, you coward! Help me out here!”

“Sorry, cousin!” Baekhyun yelled on the other side of the door. “But… he’s got a gun.”

“Smart choice,” you heard Junmyeon say. Oh, you were going to kill him. Which “him” was yet to be decided. Perhaps both would be most satisfactory. 

Well, now you were stuck here. 

Crossing your arms, you sat on the edge of the bed and contemplated your choices. Not that you had many. 

A yawn forced its way out. You were tired. Over the past few days, you had hardly been able to get any real sleep. And, well, now seemed to be a time. So, you changed into your nightgown and slipped under the covers. The mattress was soft, like a cloud. The pillows were stuffed into freshly cleaned cotton cases. It was barely a few minutes before you drifted off…

And then abruptly woke up to something moving against your mouth. It started out soft but quickly turned ashen and tough. Your eyes flew open and you screamed, the sound muffled by the kiss of Imhotep!

You tried to shove him off, but he didn’t budge. Your touch meant nothing to him as he continued the unwanted kiss. 

The door to your room burst open, finally taking his attention and allowing your scream to be heard at full volume. Imhotep’s face was half rotten away, his lips completely gone, the cheeks held together by thin strips of jerky-like skin. You scrambled out of reach, to try and get as far away as the tiny room would allow. The movement caused you to fall out of the bed and land hard on the wood floor.

Standing up, Imhotep said something in ancient Egyptian, but your jumbled, still half-asleep brain couldn’t translate it. 

“Oh, really?” Junmyeon mocked. “Here’s my answer.” He held up the poor cat who had saved you earlier, the animal hissing threateningly at the mummy. Just like last time, Imhotep fled in a tornado of sand out the window, terrified of the innocent creature. 

“Are you alright?” Junmyeon asked as he let the cat fall from his hands. The cat landed gracefully on its feet and walked over to the bed with more dignity than you’d ever seen a human radiate. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” Baekhyun answered. After a glare from Junmyeon, he cleared his throat. “Oh. You weren’t- that’s fine. Go… check on her.” Junmyeon did just that. 

Kneeling in front of you, he pushed away a few stray hairs that had fallen in your face. Warm, soft brown eyes searched for any sign of harm. The tips of his fingers brushed against your cheek, setting the skin on fire. Or perhaps that was just the blood rushing up to your face in slight embarrassment. This man made you… nervous in a way. He could be dastardly at times, but… also very sweet. 

Clearing your throat, you pushed yourself up to your feet. “I’m fine. A little disgusted, but I’m fine.”

A smirk and knowing gleam flashed on Junmyeon’s face as he rose. “I’m sure mine was better.”

He was referring to the lip-smash he desperately pulled before he was to be dragged to the hangman’s noose. Not exactly the best first impression. 

You snorted. “No. I wouldn’t say that.” His jaw went slack. Sehun and Baekhyun snickered behind him. “Did you find the professor?” you asked in order to change the subject. 

“Yeah. He stayed out in the sun for a little long by the time we found him.”

“What are you-” Oh. Oh. That was why Imhotep was so far along in his regeneration. He’d found another victim to suck dry. 

“And he has the Book of the Dead,” Sehun added. “According to Beni, that’s what he’s going to use to raise Anacsunmum.”

“Anck-Su-Namun,” you corrected. 

“Yeah, her.”

You rolled your eyes. Why did you even bother?

You started pacing the room, trying to figure out what would be the best next move. You couldn’t keep playing hide and seek with the cat for all eternity. There needed to be a way to end this. Before he read from the book and raised-

The book… 

The book! 

You whirled back to the others. “I have an idea!”

“Care to share?”

“The Black book has always been rumored among scholars to be able to bring people back from the dead. Something I had always thought was nonsense,” you added to yourself. “But since that part is true, that means other rumors must be as well. Such as the Gold Book being able to send a soul back to the afterlife.”

“A balance.” Baekhyun looked awfully proud of himself. At least something finally stuck. 

“Exactly. Now all we have to do is find out where it's hidden.”

Junmyeon frowned. “But I thought it was supposed to be hidden with Anubis?”

“Exactly,” you agreed. “It comes from a translation of an ancient text. A stone that’s at the museum here, actually. It also says where the Black book was supposed to be hidden. I think they got their translations mixed up. So, where the scholars who originally translated it said that the golden Book of Amun-Ra was in the statue of Anubis, it's actually wherever they said the black Book of the Dead was supposed to be.”

“And where is that?”

You swallowed. “I don’t remember. We’ll have to go to the museum so I can read it again.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Junmyeon checked the barrels of his guns, reloaded the revolvers with bullets from his belt. “Then I guess we’re headed back to the museum. Hopefully we don’t run into Ugly Face before we get to the rock.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” you said with the utmost confidence. 

Sehun, who did not share that sentiment, looked up towards the ceiling. “Oh joy. Another book hunt.”

[zapsalis-d]

Bombshell: Epilogue

bombshell’s masterlist || main masterlist

Word Count: 1.8k

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When Din returned to Sorgan a couple months later along with a twice broken Creed, a couple remnants from the forever-destroyed Razor Crest, a completely shattered heart, and a tear-stained face that shattered your own heart, you welcomed him with open, comforting arms.

Din, of course, was overwhelmed by an impassable guilt for leaving you a bit longer than originally expected. In fact, the first thing he'd done when you'd led him into the safety of your shared hut so he could remove his helmet, was apologize. But you'd quickly reassured him that there was nothing to apologize for, that he needed to set all that aside — there was nothing to worry about now.

Apparently, things had gotten pretty hectic during his mission. The Child—or, Grogu now—had been snatched away from Din and kidnapped by Moff Gideon. Which, after your own similar experience, left Din in an absolute wreck. If that Mandalorian—Boba Fett— and the elite mercenary—Fennec Shand—hadn't arrived earlier... the situation would've been plenty more worse than it already was. Thankfully, they'd offered help, and recruited a few other members to the crew, hell-bent on rescuing the Child from the Moff. And in order to salvage the poor baby from the Empire's malevolent hands... Din needed to break his Creed. Once he'd obtained Grogu again, the Jedi arrived and took him into his own hands for training. Which also resulted in Din breaking his Creed again—this time a bit more voluntarily—so he and his foundling could share one final moment together.

And, apparently he was king of Mandalore now... He even returned with one of those reversed... lightsabers? A darksaber? Whatever it was, he didn't so much as touch it once he set it down on a nearby table.

Everything about his little quest was very, very confusing to you.

Nevertheless, you set your own puzzlement aside and remained glued by his side. That night when he'd arrived and departed from the Slave I, he'd explained the entire story with tears brimming those brown eyes, and you couldn't help but pull him close to you, to your chest, and promised him that none of that mattered anymore—"What matters is that you're here, and you're alright. You completed your quest, and did what you had to do. We'll see Grogu again one day, we'll make sure of that."

Those consoling words were spoken in a hushed tone in an attempt not to wake the two-month-old baby sleeping tranquilly in his wooden crib a few feet away. Din had a released a pleased sigh now that he was in your arms after so long without you, drawing you in closer with his own strong arms and breathing you in. You couldn't help the tears threatening to fall from your eyes as well. You'd never seen Din so... vulnerable like this. He cared for that little green baby immensely, no doubt about that. And you were going to stay right by his side the whole time. After everything that occurred in the past, when he'd consoled you and promised to save Kuna before he was even born, when you'd pretty much given up on that chance, you knew you needed to be there for Din. Comfort him, and never release your hold on him ever again.

Over time, that impenetrable weight of sorrow gradually lifted itself from Din's chest, and it no longer weighed down on him as heavily as before. He still missed, Grogu, of course — you both did. There wasn't one day where he wouldn't think of that whomp rat. That round, steel ball Grogu had loved for some unknown reason was frequently held by Din as he reminisced in those memories when he still had him. But then Din would look at you, and his baby, and he knew everything was going to be alright. That he had everything he could possibly want right here with his little family. Sure, there was one particular individual missing, but soon enough they'd be reunited again. One day. He would make certain of that.

So, one morning, he offered to take you and Kuna out for a walk, deep into the beautifully dense forests of Sorgan. Earlier on, he'd told you to throw on a simple white dress, which Din hadn't failed to comment on how it flawlessly complimented your body. It'd definitely been a change from the usual grey or brown dresses you'd grown accustomed to these recent months. Omera had sewn the new dress for you because, apparently—as she'd hinted the day she delivered it to your door—Din had something special planned.

Well, you were clueless.

But you also didn't want to ruin whatever the surprise was, so you didn't bother asking. The anticipation was definitely killing you, though.

As Din led you to whatever unknown place he was planning on taking you, you'd both walked in a comfortable silence, listening to the nearby birds chirping, the leaves in the trees rustling along with the faint breeze, and the soft sounds of Kuna babbling to himself. Din's one arm wrapped around your waist and pulling you close to his beskar-clad body, while the other held the baby boy small and lightweight enough to be carried within on arm.

Your chest fluttered with an unfamiliar, giddy excitement you hadn't felt in what seemed like an eternity.

But any question raiding your mind was quickly shoved aside, because once you'd reached the spot he'd designated for this special occasion, you were left with your mouth wide-open as you took in the beauty of the landscape ahead of you. You'd never visited this portion of Sorgan, obviously. But you wondered why the hell it never crossed your mind. The waves of red, orange, pink, and yellow in the skies above reflected perfectly off the large freshwater lake beneath it, which was surrounded by various types of harmless, native creatures of this green world. The sun barely rose from over the nearby mountains, just over the opposite side of the water source. The tall, rocky hills were adorned with a splashing waterfall that was clearly audible even from the distance.

When you turned, grinning from ear-to-ear, you realized Din had removed his helmet, now setting it down on the lush grass below. Those chocolate hues immediately captivated your attention. By now, he'd removed the beskar from his head countless times in front of you, yet seeing his face bare like this never failed to astound you. You'd often times shamelessly admire him even when he noticed you doing so.

And turned out he brought you here because... he wanted to marry you.

His face and body language only radiated the intense nervousness he was feeling in this very moment as he asked the surprise question. You couldn't say no — instead, you accepted, of course, because how could you not? You both deserved this. You loved each other with no doubt. It was what was meant to happen, especially after everything you'd endured together.

"Is this why you've been going on frequent supposed walks recently?"

Your joking question caused his armored chest to vibrate with a chuckle, lips curling up into the smile you could never get enough of. After that, he apologized, because—"I know this isn't as extravagant and ideal as things would've been on Rainoh, but—"

"No, Din—" you swiftly interrupted him, taking his gloved hand in your own and placing your other on the arm that still carried Kuna. "—This is more than I could ever want. Whatever fancy things I had back on Rainoh is nothing compared to this... This is- it's perfect, Din."

He grinned at that, with you returning the exact genuine smile back at him.

Soon enough, you were both exchanging the Mandalorian marriage vows between each other. You repeated every single word he spoke, while he translated straight after in order for you to understand. Some words were admittedly quite... difficult to pronounce, and you found yourself fumbling over particular phrases, but you managed between stifled giggles and laughs.

And then you'd pulled each other into a sweet, gentle kiss, finalizing the fact that you were now married.

It just all seemed so surreal. Months ago, when you were still on that dreaded icy planet, you never would've imagined that you'd be here — on this beautiful backwater planet, with Din, with your newborn, connected in ways you never believed you could. All that time wasted back on Rainoh, you thought you'd never have a chance with Din ever again. You were so wrong. And you couldn't believe you were on the verge of giving in to your troubles and hardships back then, because if you had, you would've missed out on all this.

When you drew away, and saw those tears present in Din's eyes, you couldn't help the ones that fell down your own cheeks as well. As the both of you dipped your heads down to the baby in Din's arm—the baby you'd created together—you both smiled so sincerely and freely.

Here you had literally everything you could possible desire, and everything you and your Mandalorian riduur deserved in a life — a family. An aliit.

bombshell; thank you for reading.

note: i cannot BELIEVE we've reached the end of this series already, and i am bawling. i'm definitely going to miss writing for din, the princess, and kuna. i  really hope their ending was satisfying enough for you guys!! i can't put into words how thankful i am for all your love and support. bombshell has received so much feedback, whether it be here on tumblr, wattpad, or ao3. when i first started this, i wasn't even sure whether i'd reach the ending or not, but here we are. i'm so thankful for each and every one of you, because i really couldn't have done this without you guys.

i know there were particular plotholes... *cough cough i completely neglected the fact that a pregnant woman can't travel through hyperspace cough cough* and the pregnancy/birth may not have been entirely accurate, but then, i've never been pregnant (and not planning on it anytime soon heh), so i don't really have much experience in that area. i do hope that it was believable enough, though hahah.

this is definitely not going to be the last din djarin x reader fic i'll write. in fact, i've already got one ongoing right now, and once i finish that one i'll be working on a western au (which i'm really excited to get started on). i'm not planning on a sequel for bombshell, but a prequel just may happen on day in the future. but for now, as much as it pains me, i've got to say goodbye to din and the princess.

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!! 🤎

Previous Chapter

Tags: @remmysbounty @ginger-swag-rapunzel @theamuz @itsnottilly @ubri812 @zalladane @tibbietibbs @tanzthompson @thewintersoldierswife @beskarboobs

[ariparri]

Here’s the rest of my main crew and Ismelda all dressed up and ready for the ball!

“Here I am, attending the ball with my dates!”

Everyone knows Carson would attend these events alone since he saves a dance for all the single people out there. Because it’s not a fun time if there’s a few people not enjoying themselves. But this time, he’s decided to attend the ball with two of his best girls. He has like five best girls, his mother being number one followed by Veruca then Rowan.

I was debating on giving Tulip a suit. But I wanted an excuse to make her look very pretty especially since JC never gave her a damn outfit for the first dating side quest. Also, girls in suits? (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))♡

“Sorry everyone, but Rowan’s my date.”

Since the event takes place in Year 5, Veruca’s bringing her bestie to the ball. Diego had asked her, but Rowan practically got in his face and gloated about being Veruca’s date. While attending the ball, the two stick together throughout the entire time.

You know as they say, h*es before bros? Sistahs before mistahs? Hens before mens? The primal, intoxicating call of the marauding she-beast before the annoying whine of the breeding partner, whose very presence is viewed as an affront to the goddess-like power of those who are blessed by lunar potency on this day? Chicks before d**ks? Σ(￣。￣ﾉ)ﾉ Take your pick.

“I’m simply here, dressed to impress.”

Obviously it wouldn’t be a dance party of Diego isn’t attending. Sadly his ideal date was snatched away before he can ask. (The image of Rowan flipping him off behind Veruca as she tells him they’re going together plagues my mind). And he went through the trouble of getting a matching outfit too（≧∇≦）It’s fine though, he practically steals her away in the middle of the ball for a dance. Also, him and Jae are practically pals and you can’t change my mind. I feel like they would have such a good dynamic as bros.

🚫No Reposting🚫

[shadowycorners]

What We Left Behind-Chapter 1

“Mr. Hero?”

Legend spun to face Ravio, scowling. “What do you want?”

Ravio shifted under his cold gaze, uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Legend snapped, turning his back on the merchant.

“Are you sure?” Ravio asked hesitantly.

“I’m fine!” Legend growled. He didn’t want to talk to anyone.

Ravio didn’t press the subject, though some part of Legend wished he would. He’d never told Ravio why he’d been closed off for a while after the journey. The last journey, he kept telling himself. His Lourulian other had been pressing him ever since, and Zelda kept pleading for him to tell what was bothering him, but he hadn’t budged.

He went to the door and threw it open, grabbing his sword just in case and slamming the door behind him. The evening air was soothing on his skin, but it seeped into his heart, settling like an ice block and making it throb dully. 

It had been a year. A year since he’d died. A year since he’d left the group of heroes and returned home. 

He wasn’t sure where he belonged now. Ravio and Zelda were among the very few he conversed with, but he was hesitant to get close to anyone and Ravio had begun to get supplies under the guise of a traveler named Bunni. It was odd to see Ravio dressed in something other than the purple robes, but Legend hadn’t laughed since his journey. Or teased. He’d instead snapped and snarled and grumped at everyone.

He sat on a hill and watched the sun sink lower and lower, towards the horizon. Well, more like stared at the sun as it sank. He wasn’t paying attention at all to the vivid golds and reds. 

It was only when someone sat beside him that he snapped out of his gloomy daze. He turned to see Zelda sitting beside him, a concerned look in her blue eyes.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the castle?” The question lacked his usual fury, instead asked blankly and dully.

“It’s been a year since the journey ended,” Zelda whispered. “I’d thought you’d be acting a bit different this week, even more so than when it originally ended. I might not know exactly what’s wrong, but I wanted to at least be there for you if you needed it.”

“I don’t need help,” His voice broke. Why did it have to betray him like that?

Zelda shrugged. “Ok.”

They sat in silence. Legend fiddled with the grass for a moment, then realized what he was doing and froze. It was such a him thing to do it was funny. 

The quiet pressed on, and Legend reached into his bag, pulling out the charm he’d bought near the end of the quest. A small, wooden fairy on a string. Legend had wanted to pay for it, but he’d just smiled and refused, saying “It’s not a gift if the receiver pays for it.”  The idiot. So Legend had bought one with of mermaid tail and slipped it into his bag. 

“I miss him,” He found himself saying. “But I suppose you don’t know how he... how he died.” 

Zelda turned to him, sympathy clear in her gaze. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I will,” Legend’s fingers ran along the smooth wings, and he stared down at it. It was nothing really, just a wooden ball with wings sprouting from it, a sturdy string looped out of the top. He slipped it over his head, holding it tight. And he began to tell the story.

---

Legend ducked past Dark Link, his wrist throbbing dully in the background and the cut across his cheek stinging. Hyrule was limping as he hobbled around opposite Legend, trying to get a hit in. Legend dived for his sword, but Dark Link sent a ball of electricity at him, and he was sent smacking into a pillar. 

He lay there, dazed and wishing they had backup. They had already been exhausted when they’d come across Dark Link due to that room full of monsters. Why were they dealing with him alone?

“Legend!” Hyrule cried. Legend pushed himself up, wincing as his ribs protested. He had to keep going. Neither of them would last if he stayed there and let one of them be the main target.

He went for his sword again, but Dark Link was standing over it, and he stopped just out of sword range. Hyrule was creeping up behind the Dark, but his limp wasn’t exactly the best for stealth, and Dark Link whirled to face the Sprite. Legend took this as a chance.

He launched himself at the Dark, snatching his sword and plunging it into the back of the Dark. But he was too late to stop the sword from flying. 

He let go of his sword and ran for Hyrule, who swayed on his feet, staring at the sword buried in his gut. The entire blade dissolved, vanishing and letting Hyrule’s blood rapidly stain his green tunic

“Hyrule!” Legend caught him as he fell. “Hang on, okay? I gotta get a healing potion...”

Hyrule blinked at him. “Legend... we don’t have any. I gave you the last one... for your broken wrist.”

“No! We have to have one!” Legend rummaged through his bag feverishly. “If not, stay alive until the others get here. Please?”

Hyrule stared at him. Legend saw the slight glaze in the large green bulbs, and that worried him. He gave up on finding a potion and pulled out bandages and gauze, wrapping them around Hyrule’s middle. Blood pooled on the floor, soaking into Legend’s boots and staining his legs and the hem of his tunic red. 

“Legend,” Hyrule murmured. “You said once that you’d die for me?”

Legend nodded, not sure he liked where this was going. “Of course.”

“Then... will you live for me?” Hyrule gave him a small smile. “I’m sorry... I don’t think I’m surviving this this time...”

The traveler coughed, and blood dripped out of his mouth, dripping down his chin. Legend pulled him close, tears threatening to form in his eyes. “Hyrule...”

Hyrule leaned into him, trembling. “Can you tell Aurora and Dawn... I’m sorry...? And the others...? I wish I didn’t have to... leave you guys...”

“Can’t you stay?” Legend whimpered. Gosh, he was losing it. A tear dripped down his face and landed on Hyrule’s cheek.

“No...” Hyrule breathed. “But we’ll see... each other... again... in another life...”

He struggled to breath for a moment and went limp, his eyes staring blankly at the night sky above, and Legend’s eyes blurred. He hugged the fallen hero, his tears falling into the matted curls and not caring that both of them were covered in Hyrule’s blood and his own tear, only that his best friend was dead, and he would never see the traveler’s bright smile in this world ever again.

And that’s how the others found him, kneeling with Hyrule’s dead body in his lap and sobbing his heart out, covered in blood. The flimsy stitches holding the pieces of the Hero of Legend’s heart together had snapped, letting the shards fall apart for the second time.

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

I’m sorry for killing Hyrule... I nearly cried myself while writing this...

Edit: I’m rereading this and decided I really don’t know how to write someone dying properly(Ah, that sounds weird). In other words, I’m bad at writing dying people. Well, I tried...

Edit No. 2: This story combined with my current profile picture makes me seem like a maniac...

Like: ‘Hey, I murdered Hyrule and what are you going to do if I say I enjoyed it?’

I didn’t enjoy it; I felt very sorry for Legend, my heart nearly snapped in half.

[alderaani]

so now that i’ve properly watched the finale of season two of the mandalorian, i gotta say, I have..........thoughts. i generally did quite like ‘the rescue’, but it did feel a bit unsatisfying??

like the whole episode was supposedly about rescuing the kid, but it really felt like he took a backseat in favour of setting up what i presume the new arc will be, to the point where he didn’t really feel present. like, a huge (and i would argue the central) theme this series has been the push and pull of din’s relationship with grogu - his growing attachment to him, his growing acceptance of them truly being a ‘clan of two’, but at the same time the acknowledgement that he fundamentally can’t give a part of grogu what he needs, and this quest to track down the jedi. and then he hands the kid over to luke after a minute of conversation??? you’re telling me that after din sat on the razor crest with grogu for so long ahsoka had to come looking for him, he’s suddenly able to just toss him over with a quick ‘it’s okay to let go kid’? i’m not asking for much - just a few more lines of dialogue, a little bit more interaction with the kid (maybe give him the ball they’ve been using to symbolise their relationship this entire time) and it would have landed SO much better.

(also could they not have had din take grogu into another room for five mins to take his helmet off? as if he’d remove it in front of bo katan of all people, who has been nothing but belittling, untrustworthy and rude to him. it’s not like luke was snatching grogu away in a hurry - he literally waited for the baby to come to him. but anyway, i digress)

i also think that having luke be the jedi to come for grogu made the writers really lazy, and this contributed to the unsatisfactory parting between din and grogu - they were relying too heavily on the audience knowing that luke is a good guy so it’s just accepted that the kid is handed over to him. but din doesn’t know this. it’s established that he knows f all about the jedi, or what they can do, or who they are. he’s risked life and limb and everything that he is to keep this kid safe. and he doesn’t even ask luke any questions about where he’s going to go with the kid or his intentions? after he spends an entire episode with ahsoka discussing the kid’s training? like yeah it makes a difference that grogu wanted to go, and yes, din has trusted the kid’s safety with people he doesn’t know very well (cobb vanth etc.) but even then some work has gone in to establishing their moral character. he speaks to luke for like, one minute, and all he knows about him is that he can crush shit with his mind. 

i dunno. i just really felt like the weight of this episode was far too focused on the darksaber and mandalorian politics, without doing the work to wrap up what has been the heart of the show so far. it’s really a shame because i think they could have fixed that with five extra minutes dedicated to the goodbye, and now so much of the buildup from previous episodes feels unresolved.

[popculturebuffet]

Life And Times of Scrooge McDuck Retrospective: The New Laird of Castle McDuck! “And I’ll Remember It Poppa! There’s Always Another Rainbow!”

Hello all you happy people! And welcome back to my look at the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck! And to make up for lost time im’ doing two instalments this month, and with luck and my schedule holding out I plan to finish the main series in September, doubling up again for the last two months to finish this up. 

Background wise there’s honestly not a lot this go round, as it’s less rooted in history and more Don Rosa’s need to settle an annoying flaw with continuity. Man oh man do I relate to that and having read comics for at least half my life, i’ve seen writers do this by the bucketload to fix decisions from other writers. Sometimes for the write reasons and sometimes because EVERYTHING WAS BETTER ON MY EARTH. Don Rosa, like most writers.. has done both. 

Here though it’s for the good and for understandable reasons: Barks had Scrooge’s origin as a poor shoeshine boy from Glasgow.. but also had a rather famous and awesome story, the Old Castle’s Secret, that also gave them a giant ancestral castle. Rosa fixed this by having the McDuck’s having lost it due to a combination of being driven off the land by a fake ghost dog and poor turns of fourtune meaning they coudln’t pay the taxes to live there and were behind on taxes on it, hence the Whiskervilles having taken it over in part one. 

But obviously the Whiskervilles coudln’t KEEP the castle as Scrooge owned it in present day, thus this chapter explains how he got it. It was a stroke of genius plot wise too as it allowed him to open each act in Scotland and using the castle to measure where Scrooge is in life: As a boy dreaming of getting it back, as a young man who while not a success succeeds at this, and as an older hardned man who realizes he simply doesn’t belong here anymore who has to leave his family’s legacy here behind to start a better one in America. 

The only other real story is that a sequence here was based on the film A Matter of Life and Death, and Rosa detailed in his notes his quest to get a copy as the distribution rights here were a nightmare at the time. Thankfully that’s clearly changed as a quick look on Amazon shows both a standard DVD release, mentioned by rosa in the book and a snazzier release by the Criteron Collection are both easily available. He ended up getting a copy from Canada, and while he didn’t get any insight at least got a neat addition to his collection. Admittedly this dosen’t add much to the story, I just thought it was neat. So with all of that settled, join me after the cut as Scrooge tries to buy back his family’s legacy.

And Scrooge has already arrived in Scotland, having reunited with Downy and Matilda, who as a refresher is more responsible and straightlaced here versus the 2017 incarnation.  Part of me DOES wish they hadn’t glossed over the reunion especially since this chapter is the last time we’ll see Scrooge and his Mom together before her utterly heartbreaking passing a few chapters down the road. But I get why we opened here instead: it’s a captivating open, with Scrooge speeding to the castle, his mother and sister trying to stave the rain off and time clearly of the essence. It sucks you in as we don’t know WHY Scrooge was summoned last time, only that it was bad enough he needed to come home, and thus ratchet’s up the tension until we find out shortly. 

It turns out the back taxes on Castle McDuck are up and the castle is being sold., doing so with some glasses, foreshadowing his iconic specs wearing as the snow and brightness of the praries in various seasons mean his eyes are all done fucked up like mine.  The Whiskervilles are naturally not only the prospective buyer but already trying to take the property prematurely, with Fergus and Jake holding the line, because love isn’t always on time. But Hortense is and when the Whiskervilles mock her daddy and uncle, planning to tear down the castle out of spite, her response reminds us why donald is a ball of rage and badassery...

Have I mentioned she’s my favorite part of this story? Because she is. Her response to scrooge being back is also just pure adorable. 

Scrooge does get a big reunion with his dad and uncle, getting a big hug from Fergus, if squshing his cream cheese sandwitch... and yes that’s apparently a real thing. I mean I do love me some cream cheese don’t get me wrong, but it just feels weird to put it on bread as the only thing, but I guess i’m a bit spoiled with crackers and bagels in my day and age or putting it on tosat with salmon and.. saying all of this both makes me very hungry for cream cheese. So I guess i’ts not all bad it’s just weird to me, especially since I don’t think it’d keep all that well unregrigrated but I also don’t know the times that well. Or maybe when your that poor and hungry, it dosen’t matter how good it is and maybe i’m just spoiled by my upper middle class existance. I dunno. The point is i’m going to go get me some cream cheese be back in a minute. Here have some music. 

For all two of you that didn’t clear out, Fergus naturally for the time, turns out to be sexist, insisting Jake get “The Women” home.

Though Rosa gets a great joke out of it by having Jake wonder if he can even reign Hortense in. And I do love Hortense’s character. Whlie i’ts simple, she’s simply an angrier version of her son without the penchant for half-assed schemes, it works and makes her stand out against the more subdued rest of the McDuck family outside of Scrooge. 

Fergus explains HOW it got so bad to Scrooge: While the McDuck ancestors pooled resources to automatically pay the taxes, eventually only having two poor old men who could barely keep their family fed and a slightly less poor pulp fiction writer somewhere in America meant the taxes piled up and the Whiskervilles are within a whisker’s reach of gettng the castle, something mentioned in part 1. 

It also provides a great payoff to the first part of Scrooge’s journey: while the boy bemoans only having gotten the 10,000 dollar check from the mine sale, and that will only just about cover the castle’s taxes, he feels disheratned as it’s ALL he’s accomplished.. but in a nice moment from Fergus he points it WASN’T all for nothing: Thanks to his work they get their home back. His family can move from the cramped confines of Dismal Downs back to their ancestral homeland like they always deserved. While he may of not achieved his goal of being rich yet.. he still achieved his goal of buying the castle back, the very thing that set him on this path in the first place. It’s telling though that it takes a reminder of that, that Scrooge is loosing sight of the very human, for lack of a better term, reasons he set out: while he’s finally built a better life for his family, if just so.. all he can see is that he’s not RICH. The money is starting to cloud his judgement.. and i’tll roll over him entirely before the series is over. 

The Head of the Whiskervilles shows up with the Sheirff.. whose also a Whiskerville lest you thought unfair and crooked policing was a strictly american thing. But Fergus points out their too early.. and Scrooge flashes his check. And when the Head Whiskerville scoffs at a mcduck having money... Scrooge points out he didn’t believe in ghosts either and brags about his awesomeness in the first chapter, revealing what he did and leaving The SHierff pissed and the older whiskerville ready with a plan: he decide......

Sadly not with children’s trading cards but with swords, and gets past the legality issue by simply challenging Scrooge’s pride and angering him into accepting. Argus, the head whiskerville whose name I just got from the comic, reveals his plan to the Shierff: While he’s dueling Scrooge Sheirff can snatch the bank statment.. though why Scrooge didn’t you know, cash it before coming and how an american banks tatment is valid in early 1900′s Scotland...

So the Duel is on.. and like the money he’s made, the Duel is another Marker of how far Scrooge has come and how despite still not having made his fortune yet he’s rich with EXPERINCE. His experince fighting cattle rustlers and pirates means he has the reflexes to easily outfight his opponent.. though him saying he learned how to fight “Injun Style from Buffallo Bill”, i.e. learned how to fight like a native american from a white guy and beat Sitting Bull with it just makes me feel like i’m watching that episode of Saved by the Bell where Zach has to learn not to be racist but then thinks this outfit is acceptable. 

Scrooge also tracks the guy using the tracking skills he learned from the blackfeet which again feel like the picture above , but send Argus running.. only to lure Scrooge into a fight on the castle battlemnt in the pooring rain and disarming him. Luckily the spirit of Sir Quackly gives the lad his sword back and Scrooge wins the fight.. but promptly gets hit by lighting while celebrating Caddyshack style. 

No really Scrooge is.. or close as he got knocked into the water and is now in heaven. Sir Quackly naturally doesn’t want to see the last hope of the Clan McDuck dies and goes to talk to the tribunal of McDucks to sort it out hence the Matter of Life And Death connection. 

The Tribunal is made up of former McDucks.. it turns out Scrooge is here because of Quackly: the lighting was SUPPOSED to hit the tower, distracting Argus, and they prepare to write Scrooge off because their more concerned with golf than the fact that their whole clan’s future is on the line.. which I do not get because unless you are Tiger Woods or the Film Caddyshack, golf usually is the boring garbage water of sports and this is from someone who dosen’t like sports to begin with. I do like the Missing Links of Moorshire though so there’s that. And golf episodes of shows are usually good.. the sport itself is just incredibly boring. And I sat through Mank. I know boring. I know wanting hours of my life back. Golf is the Mank of Sports. 

What we get is a pretty tiresome sequence honestly: Quackly points out the tribuanls faults while their just dicks who only care about golf. Which again, Mank of sports. Or if you prefer the Cloud Atlas of sports but with SLIGHTLY less untetionall racisim and sadly much less Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant. The point is golf sucks and while I ilke the REST of this chapter this bit just dosen’t work for me and was clearly funnier in Rosa’s head, with the assholes not thinking much of Scrooge’s achievements and only liking him when they find out he’ll be a tight wad, the only funny joke in these draggy as hell three pages, not counting the start and finish of the sequence which arnet bad, as they send him back to earth with Quackly mentioning the dime, but not giving out WHY it’s important. That he has to figure out on his own and all that good stuff. 

So Scrooge uses his dime to unscrew the bolts and back at the castle while Argus TRIES to pawn it off as Scrooge being a coward and depart with the bank draft.... 

Damnnnn that’s badass, he gets the bank note back (only knowing because one of his ancestors mentioned it, though with his memory of the dying dream gone he dosen’t know WHY), and has Fergus run into town to pay the taxes tonight before any other shenanigans happen while he keeps the two scheming dogmen captive long enough for Fergus to get too far for them to catch up.  Argus plans to go with plan “Do a murder on Scrooge”.. but fines Scrooge is far from unprotected and not the only badass in his family.. I mean Hortense exists but I mean that ther’es more than two... you know what jut look at the ghost heads. 

So the two run for their lives..... also they forgot you know Hortense exists.. she’d revenge murder all of them and they both know it. 

So with the land safe and the taxes paid so the Family can implicitly move in, we end on a beautiful sunrise as Scrooge prepares to leave soon. Despite all the setbacks and hardship Scrooge is deterimend to still make it and knows he won’t fail forever. When Fergus mentions Gold at the end of a rainbow, Scrooge takes that, and the golden dawn as a sign. WHen Fergus understandably asks if he’s sure he’ll make it this time.. we get a nice nod to Bark’s best and most notable painting “always another rainbow to close us out”

It’s a beauitful and inspiring statment.. no matter what you face.. there’s always a light at the end of it. Always another opportunity, another goal to reach, another hill to climb.. and life to live... and it’s one i’ve taken to heart and always will.. and one that will land Scrooge his fortune yet. 

Final Thoughts: This chapter is alright but like I said the two page sequence in heaven dosen’t really work for me. It’s just not funny enough and really shoudl’ve been trimmed down a page so we could get more character stuff with Scrooge and his family> Otherwise it’s a tightly paced thrilling chapter in Scrooge’s life, showing just how far he’s come and how far he has left to go. The DIsmal Downs chapter serve as a good marker of where Scrooge is and where he’s heading as I mentioned earlier, with this one showing that while he’s not hit his goal yet, he still got his family their true home back, beat his enmeis and is a legend to be. Ther’es always another rainbow.. and he just needs to find it. All in all a decent chapter outside those two pages, and a good setup for the next three glorious chapters. 

Next Month on LIfe and Times: One is Scroogey and the other is FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD, as Scrooge meets his arch enemy and rides a motherfucking lion. And if “rides a motherfucking lion” doesn’t make you come back I do not know why you read this.  Next Time On This BLog: What is that, that Freaky Thing? It’s A naked Mole rat as we return to Kauai this time with Kim Possible and Co as Drakken tries to capture stitch and Jumba wonders if Rufus is one of his or not. 

See you at the next rainbow

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Icy Is The Avatar Of High School; The Essay

I would like to begin this essay with a song. While reading this essay keep in mind that Icy has the exact same energy as this song which (imo) embodies prep & jock with a touch of nerd. No goth tho, press f in the chat.

Wow I put way too much into this. I hope y’all love it.

Okay so lets get into this! We will begin with the obvious one, goth:

*Gestures to all of the snow*

Edit: that was supposed to say show but snow works too.

Next we will talk about Jock.

So think of your typical jock. A stereotypical jock has a few qualities; reckless bravery and determination, large ego, usually at least kind of an asshole, doesn’t know when to quit, craves them gainz, and makes impulse decisions. 

Icy is definitely a very brazen person. It takes balls (and a large ego) to get banned from your campus and then very boldly strut back onto said campus in the middle of dinner while the whole school is assembled. She looked at Lord Darkar, shadow phoenix of the underworld and was straight up like, “yeah, whatever dude.”  Dude is such a jock word. 

So onto determination! Okay look, we have like 7 whole seasons of her trying to take over the world. She was arrested, what? 5 times? She literally doesn’t know when to stop. Give up??? Who’s that??? 

I feel like the large ego thing also speaks for itself she is constantly talking about how she deserves to be Darkar & Valtor’s main witch. She is well aware that her plans are usually fantastic. She just exudes an I’m better than you energy. It’s in her posture, her gestures, her tone of voice. Icy is absolutely certain that she is the shit and in the 4kids version one of her demands to the professors was to stand before the student body and say, “Icy rules, Icy’s the greatest.” *Spoiler alert* she is. I promise that she is not holding me hostage. 

Which brings me to the next point, getting dem gainz! Your average jock is at the gym, drinking protine shakes, and building muscle! While Icy is not in a gym trying to get 6 pack abs, she 100% chases them magical gainz! The dragon fire is just a really hot protine shake.  

In the 4kids version, upon overrunning Cloud Tower, she addressed the student body by welcoming them to her pep assembly. Ya know who else likes pep assemblies? Football jocks. 

Also that whole scene in episode nine (Spelled) where she rallies up the witches and they all chase Musa. That’s like the goth equivalent of getting the entire football team to chase after the nerd (or a member of the rivaling team).

And let’s not forget the ‘nerd run’ from season two where she rode this dinosaur thing and chased Timmy, the stereotypical nerd type. (It’s funny because she doesn’t know that she’s a nerd too). 

Okay so now that we dug deep into jock, it is time to discuss Prep!

I tend to use prep & always wears pink, blonde, mean girl interchangeably. But wiki says; Characteristics of preps in the past include a particular subcultural speech, vocabulary, dress, mannerisms and etiquette, reflective of an upper-class upbringing. Both definitions hold up in my book. 

So we’ll start with wiki’s. Icy (depending on whether or not we’re going with the season 8 retcon) is from an upper-class upbringing. Tbh she’s like Stella but a witch.  Icy is Stella’s goth phase and that’s why Stella fears Icy because she knows that that’s what she could be. I feel like Icy also has the most preppy dress style of her sisters.  Also pretty sure preps are known for being over-achieving perfectionists. Icy was actually pretty good with her academics. 

As for the Regina Gorge type prep; Icy is totally your classic mean girl bully, but make it witchy. I really think that this speaks for itself. It sings for itself too in 4kids OST. One of the lyrics in the Mean Girls song is that they will steal your boyfriend and trash your makeup. If that doesn’t scream prep, Idk what does. 

She reads them magazines. I don’t remember which one but I do remember her mentioning that there was a question posed in said magazine about ‘what would you do if you took over the world’ and apparently she wrote, ‘you’ll find out soon enough, loser’ and sent it in. 

Loser, pixies, nerds, dweebs. Icy has a whole list of mean and petty insults to put in her burn book. Like bye girl. 

Literally all of the Miss Magix contest. That is peak mean girl shit. The Trix literally went to a beauty pageant for the sole sake of making everyone look stupid and to trash on everyone’s fashion and makeup. On top of all of that she did that just because Lucy agreed to do their homework for ???? amount of time. Let’s be real, it was a life sentence.  

Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Nerd!

Literally every time she calls anyone a nerd or a loser I wheeze because, girl, check yourself! Prior to getting kicked out (for being a dumb jock), it is heavily implied that Icy, Darcy, and Stormy were at the top of their classes. Like these three were Griffin’s best students. And I am inclined to believe that Icy was thee top student. This woman was an overachiever whether she wants to admit it or not. 

Icy is the plan person. She’s the one who keeps the Trix on task. Though Darcy exudes ‘group mom’ energy, Icy is usually the one to snap at them to stay focused. She’s the organized one  and the one who seems to do most of the scheming. That takes some deep thinking and brain power. She knows how to summon monitors, banish trolls into oblivion, astral project into virtual reality using voodoo dolls, summon nightmare monsters, and summon an army of rot. Like how does she know all of this?  Studying. I almost said that I have no proof except in the Winx comics (this one) she is seen venturing to the library to research dark magic and spells. 90% she has done some extensive research and reading into all of these things because I highly doubt that Cloud Tower teaches things like summoning the army of decay. That was all down time research because this nerd enjoys learning about dark magic. Ya know who else enjoys reading and learning? Nerds. I know, I’m a nerd who loves reading and learning. Just because she likes learning about ~cool~ thinks like dark armies, doesn’t mean it’s not a nerdy quest to know everything about the subject she knows. 

Speaking of which (lol get it, witch), Icy also knows about history. She was the one who told Bloom all about what happened to Sparks and all about the coven. Why? Because that knowledge is floating around in her brain and she chose to retain it. I have a feeling her knowledge of history goes beyond the coven and Sparks too because she also knew that the Ring Of Solaria had fragments of the dragon fire.  She knows too much about this shit. 

I think that her nerdiest moment though, had to be when she solved that riddle at Red Fountain to get the codex. Like you have to have brain power to solve a riddle with the added pressure of being surrounded by your foes on enemy territory. In general her nerdiness just bled through in that season because she was snatching those codexes left and right. 

Also lets get into the fact that she (especially in the comics) has a tendency to humiliate herself, whoops. She managed to get her own (and Darcy & Stormy’s) memories erased, she got them trapped in an avalanche (and then dated a fellow nerd for two seconds and pretended like she didn’t hate it), and she is constantly pulling ‘we’ll be back’ speeches every time she gets defeated. Like seriously this is the evil equivalent of ‘lol I meant to do that’ or ‘haha, that didn’t happen, you didn’t see anything.’ And then she will make her next attempt as if she had never gotten defeated at all. Because losing is for losers and Icy ‘totally isn’t’ a loser. 

And honestly what’s more nerdy then prattling off your entire evil plan? Like this is her trying to flex her intelligence. 

Let’s not forget how she had her nerdy fangirl moment. She simped for Darko for like two or three whole comics. Like full on simping over here. If she could have bought a T-shirt with Darko’s face on it, she would have. Bonus, he was her childhood crush.

And finally, I am also very  inclined to believe that Icy is the fake it until you make is sort. With her it’s all about presentation. The only thing that saves her from being an obvious nerd is confidence. I touched on this with the whole ‘you didn’t see anything’ bit. But legit, pretty much everything she does would be kinda nerdy if she didn’t make it look good. 

Please feel free to add if you think that you have more examples of Icy being a nerd. 

[barryjeanblues]

taako meets death (again)

(also posted to my ao3)

taako has met two raven queens in his life before now.

well, close enough, at least. most - though not all - of the worlds the starblaster had traveled to had gods, and surprisingly enough, those gods were usually - though not always - strikingly similar to their homeworlds gods. (this was useful, because one of the crews number relied very heavily on a certain nature god for his magic. luckily, the nature or life god of each world always seemed to have a soft spot for little old merle, even if they werent merles traditional cloven-hoofed pan.)

twice, taako had met the death god - someone equivalent to faeruns raven queen. 

this had led to taakos understandable trepidation upon kravitz finally putting his foot down and insisting taako meet his mother boss. 

the first time taako had met a raven queen, she had been… overwhelming. the light of creation had fallen into a forest dedicated to her and her followers, and the head acolyte refused to give the wandering crew the light unless they first received permission from the queen.

the crew had agreed, with no other option, bracing themselves to firmly explain the direness of the situation. surely a goddess would be intelligent enough to understand. 

that raven queen had burst into a forest cleaning in an explosion of black feathers, half illusion, half steel, so that when lup brushed the smoky feathers from her eyes they blurred and dissipated, but when magnus tried the same thing he yelped and brought his hand back bleeding. 

that raven queens laughter had been eerie and echoing, almost but not quite mocking, almost but not quite infectious, almost but not quite joyous. the crew had stood firm and offered their argument, and the queen had given them tests and tokens and bargains and tricky promises with too many clauses and loopholes and at the end of it all the ipres numbers had been halved and the rest were weary and worn as they caught the light of creation and fled with only minutes to spare, the faelike laughter of death following them terribly even through the overwhelming cacophony of the hungers assault. 

that laughter had trailed after them longer, if only in their heads. taako would be making stir fry, planning outfits, swapping merles shampoo for hair-loss potions, when hed have to sit down suddenly and breathe through the musical trills of the raven queens cruel pleasure. it had seemed to bounce in his head the way a rubber ball might, ricocheting off thoughts and feelings until it rolled under a couch to be forgotten about, till some slight movement sent it rolling and bouncing about once more. 

davenport had died in an illusion, thinking he was saving his crew. poor merle had been choked by his own plants, betrayal writ across hos face. barrys skin had grown sickly purple with poison - ten to one odds arent very good odds. taako doesnt forget easily. he decides the goddess of death can go fuck herself. 

the second raven queen taako had met much later in their journey, and taako had met her alone. 

lup and barry had become liches a few cycles back. it was something taako had still been coming to terms with. 

taako loves lup. this is an immutable fact of any and every universe. taako loves lup and lup loves taako and not death or memory or space can separate them, not for long. but seeing your sister die, and then… go beyond death, to twist herself and latch on to a chance that she may never return except in madness and spite - thats a hard thing to grasp, even when she succeeds. taako had still found himself shivering when his sister forgot she had a body again and grabbed a hot pan off the stove, crying out in pain. taako still woke sweating from nightmares in which his sister and his friend flew apart and reformed as cackling red robed horrors of insanity and cruelty, too far for him to reach. 

until that cycle, though, barry and lups choice had only been an asset. 

but some raven queens do not take kindly to anything they see as a perversion of their domain. 

barely a week into that cycle, taako had awoken from the guilty non-elven pleasure of a nap only to find himself in some cold, hard court, fashioned seemingly of steel and silver and concrete, onyx lining the floor and the only color coming from sparse sapphires sparkled throughout the long echoing hall. 

at the end of it - and taako had known his eyes must have played tricks on him, because at first the being at the end of the hall seemed, while large, not much larger than a giant, but when hed called a nervous greeting his voice had echoed so awfully he knew the hall stretched much farther than hed thought and the goddess at the end of it must have been unimaginably huge. 

her eyes had glinted a flinty sapphire in her carven steel face when she ordered him to defend the existence of his sister and his sisters lover. 

taako had tried. he truly, truly had. but while taako is a being of preservation and caution, full of intelligence and cleverness, he is not one of cold hard logic. perhaps lucretia could have convinced this raven queen, the only of their number who had ever been able to grasp true hard reason… but taako doubts it. he had doubted it then and he doubts it even more these days. 

the point is, taako, for all his love for his family and his brilliant wit and devotion (probably, in fact, because of it) taakos arguments couldnt convince that raven queen. she saw past his genuine belief that lup and barry had made a good decision, and into his fears for her, and the goddess of death had based her own argument on those. she won. taako never had a chance. 

he, lup, and barry had woken up in the next cycle, newly resurrected. taako never stops feeling guilty about it. 

so. yes. 

taako is more than a little nervous about meeting the goddess his boyfriend serves so devotedly. but, and youd be hard pressed to convince him to admit it, taako would do anything for kravitz. and despite it all he does actually want to see what the deal is with his sister and his best friends boss, and his patron gods… friend? lover? girlfriend? taako isnt quite sure what fate and death are to each other, but its definitely something.

kravitz lays a warm hand on taakos shoulder, but taako squares them up. he can do this, for fucks sake - hes died a shitton of times, he can meet death. 

the doors open and taakos breath - the only breath in this realm of the dead - catches in his throat.

taako is a die hard istus fan, and shell always be his goddess. but if taako wasnt a taken elf, hed follow the raven queen, he realizes with a startle.

shes beautiful, yes. shes gorgeous, and taakos always been weak for beauty, but hers isnt the cold hard beauty of gemstones and gold, thinks his nimble fingers snatch up and hoard in his endless pockets. the raven queen is beautiful in a way that taako cant describe as anything other than simple.

he cant pin down any features. she has a kind face, gentle hands, bright eyes, but taako can tell she is a goddess because despite staying still the image of her flicks and shifts in his head. at once she seems to have every kind face hes ever seen, even if he doesnt recognize anyone. her hands reach out to comfort him - no more than comfort - but she stands without moving in front of taako and kravitz. her eyes glitter and sparkle and crinkle up with cheerful laughter, except taako isnt entirely sure she has eyes at all, or maybe she has too many. 

he thinks… he thinks maybe she has wings, or maybe theyre arms, or maybe theyre black fabric, draped around and behind and below and above her, shifting with the last breaths of every mortal in the universe. its darkness but its not scary, taako realizes, its solacing, healing, the way that he feels when dusk passes to night and the sky is huge and warm and the brush of lups hand against his as she says goodbye for the night is a relief and a love. 

hello, taako, death says. its lovely to meet you. 

she means it, taako knows. he can tell, somehow. shes just happy to meet him. nothing more, nothing less. 

'oh,' taako says aloud, and kravitz laughs his quiet sweet dorky laugh, and the raven queen laughs too, and its just that. its just a laugh, and its a nice one.

'oh indeed,' kravitz says. 'taako, did you really think id serve a monster or a cruel master?'

'well,' taako replies hesitantly, 'honestly, homie, i kind of thought you were, and id, like, have to start some quest to slay death itself and rescue you.'

the anthropomorphic personification of death laughs again, a note of delight in her tender voice. i like him, my kravitz, she says, good job.

kravitz does the dead-reaper equivalent of blushing. taako grins a little because its very cute. 

'death is different here,' taako hums. 'its… it wasnt like this anywhere else i went. it was cold, or cruel, or empty. i dunno why its different in your world.'

'then i guess we're the lucky ones, huh?' kravitz asks. taako leans up against him and murmurs an agreement. 'its why i love my job so much, why it means so much to me. its not that im some hardass, i just…'

'yea, cha'boy gets it now,' assures taako. 'still.' he looks at the ever-shifting, ever-stable face of death again. 'you better treat my boy kravitz and my lady istus well, capiche? or we will have issues.'

its a deal, taako, the raven queen says, smiling. 

when taako opens his eyes, hes in his home in the material plane, and kravitz is next to him, and theyre both smiling. 

[carewyncromwell]

((Previously on “Quest for the Quidditch Cup”...))

At long last, the long-awaited Quidditch Final had arrived. There was an astounding energy in the air, the likes of which could only have been built up over the course of years. Slytherin hadn’t been so close to winning the Quidditch Cup in a decade, and all of the students lined up in the green-and-silver-decked stands were pumped up.

As the crowd roared, commentator Murphy McNully took hold of the megaphone, his dynamic voice booming out over the stands effortlessly.

“Witches and wizards! Professors, students, caretakers...Mrs. Norris! The time has come! The match that will decide which House team wins the Quidditch Cup is upon us!”

Murphy directed his gaze to the entrance of the Quidditch pitch.

“Presenting your reigning Quidditch champions...Ravenclaw!”

Seven blurs dressed in blue robes slashed through the air, fluttering around the goal hoops at the left end of the pitch and over the blue-decked Ravenclaw stands. They came to a halt in their starting positions, with Andre as Keeper guarding the three goal hoops and their three Chasers at the center of the pitch, with Erika Rath and her Beater cohort flanking their left and their Seeker on their right.

“And the challengers to the title,” said Murphy, unable to hide his clear excitement, “...Slytherin!”

The Slytherin stands began to cheer as their seven players flew out onto the field like emerald-colored hawks in flight.

Carewyn felt like her ears had been completely stoppered by the deafening applause from her house. She flew in formation as she’d seen the Slytherin team do many times before from the audience, stopping near the center of the pitch with Orion and Cara, while Night and Quinn flew to their right and Kaylisa stayed on their left. Ashok had already separated from them, no doubt heading for the Slytherin goal posts.

“Two teams, vying for the Quidditch Cup trophy and glory for their house!” cried Murphy. “Who will be victorious?”

The entire stands were in a frenzy now. Carewyn glanced at the red and yellow sections that belonged to the two houses not competing. She was surprised how many green-and-silver banners she saw -- even Gryffindor, which usually considered Slytherin their mortal enemy, had a few.

‘I guess there are some Gryffindors who want Ravenclaw to lose even more than they dislike us,’ thought Carewyn dryly.

When she looked at the Gryffindor stands more carefully, though, she was a bit taken aback.

One of the largest green and silver banners was being held by a familiar young man with a ginger ponytail, a “C”-initialed maroon sweater, and an army green jacket.

“KICK THEIR SORRY ARSES, CAREY!” Carewyn could just barely make out what Charlie was mouthing as he waved up at her.

Jae, who was sitting on Charlie’s right side, waved too. Ben, who was on Charlie’s left, didn’t wave, instead sitting back with his arms crossed and looking very focused -- he was probably a bit nervous, but trying to show a brave face all the same.

Carewyn waved down at them, her red lips spreading into a tiny smile too.

“Referee Madame Hooch steps out onto the field!”

Murphy’s lively commentary brought Carewyn back down to earth. She turned away from the stands, facing the Ravenclaws on the opposite end of the Quidditch pitch.

Carewyn immediately met Rath’s eyes. The Ravenclaw Beater’s gaze was as fierce as a tiger’s.

Carewyn met that gaze with a steely blue look of her own.

‘I might not have any bad feelings toward you, Rath...but I will NOT let you get in the way of us winning this match.’

“The Bludgers are up!” cried Murphy. “As is the Golden Snitch!”

Carewyn watched both Bludgers bounce off through the air. She thought she saw the Snitch too, but the flicker of gold moved so fast that she had no idea what direction it was heading in before it disappeared completely.

The Snitch, however, wasn’t her focus. Her “gold” at the moment -- if one followed the idea of being as tenacious as a Niffler -- was the scarlet-colored ball Madame Hooch lifted out of the Quidditch trunk with both hands. Her hawk-like eyes drifted from Ravenclaw to Slytherin to back again: then, abruptly, she flung it up into the air.

“The Quaffle is released -- AND WE’RE OFF!”

Immediately one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, Liddell, snatched up the Quaffle. Before she could get far, however, Cara swerved in front of her to block her -- Carewyn then barrel-rolled up from below, snatching the Quaffle out of Liddell’s hands, darting back toward the Ravenclaw goal posts.

“Cromwell’s taken hold of the Quaffle -- moving up the pitch -- she just barely dodges Urquart when he tries to steal! She passes to O’Donnell -- O’Donnell passes back to Cromwell, avoiding Liddell -- Cromwell passes to Amari -- Amari heads for the goal hoops -- ooh hoo! Amari whips out his trademark move, Inspired Broom Surfing! He weaves -- he shoots -- score! Slytherin takes an early lead, 10-0!”

It was incredible how much faster a real Quidditch match felt, in comparison to the friendlies Carewyn usually played in. It felt like there was never any time to breathe -- as soon as one goal was scored, you almost immediately had to try to find a way to snatch the Quaffle back again, purely due to how fast the turnover was between rounds. Soon Ravenclaw and Slytherin were at each other’s throats, with their Chasers fighting over the Quaffle as if it were made of pure gold.

“Cromwell’s in possession -- Rath hits a Bludger at Cromwell -- yes! Cromwell dodges! That could’ve been nasty! Cromwell still in possession, Urquart and Trotter on her tail -- passes to Ama -- NO! Intercepted by Liddell! Liddell’s taking the Quaffle back up the field, toward the Slytherin goal posts -- dodges a Bludger hit by Rhea -- O’Donnell tries to steal -- OUCH! O’Donnell just barely avoids another Bludger hit by Rath -- Liddell in possession, she shoots -- score! 10 points to Ravenclaw! Slytherin still leads 80-60!”

‘We need an at least 70 point lead,’ Carewyn recalled.

She glanced at the Slytherin stands. Somewhere down there, she knew Skye was watching.

Her bright red lips spread into a huge smirk, and in a second, she’d flown after Orion, flying alongside him.

“Orion, let’s pince him!”

Orion’s smirk was even whiter and brighter than Carewyn’s as he took off again. Nearly in tandem, he flew down and slammed his side up against Urquart’s right side, while Carewyn pinned him on his left. Having figured out what her fellow Chasers were up to, Cara dived right at them, knocking Urquart up off his broom from below and making him drop the Quaffle as he struggled to regain his posture.

“A perfectly executed Parkin’s Pincer! Skye Parkin must be full to the brim with pride! O’Donnell’s in possession -- passes to Amari -- he Broom-Surfs up and over Trotter -- passes to Cromwell! Ooh, but it looks like Cromwell’s got Urquart and Trotter on her tail again -- how’s she gonna get out of this?”

‘Buzz off!’ Carewyn thought with an irritable glance over her shoulder at the two male Ravenclaw Chasers.

Her blue eyes narrowing, she kept her focus straight ahead, heading straight for Andre at the goal posts. Andre was already guarded, preparing to block her if she shot the Quaffle at the center hoop --

‘Sorry, Andre -- can’t play nice today!’

Just when she should’ve thrown the Quaffle, Carewyn flew right past the goal hoops, drifting backward on her Comet broom so she could loop around in a backwards “C” and shoot for the far left hoop instead.

“WHOA! Cromwell both shakes off the Chasers and sideswipes the Keeper with broom-drifting! 10 points to Slytherin! Slytherin leads 90-60!”

There was an electricity in the air. It crackled not just through the stands but through the Slytherin team themselves, energizing them and making them feed off of each other’s enthusiasm in a seemingly endless feedback loop. Soon they were all bouncing off each other.

Carewyn swooped in to help Ashok defend his right goal hoop by knocking the Quaffle out of the way with her broom so Cara could catch it and take it back up the pitch. Night tossed her Beater’s bat to Orion so he could defend himself from a Bludger hit by Ravenclaw’s other Beater, Crane. And with every passing minute, Slytherin’s Chasers kept scoring -- 100 points -- 110 -- 120 --

“Score! 10 points to Slytherin! Slytherin leads Ravenclaw 130 to 60!”

The Slytherin stands were in a frenzy by now. If their team caught the Snitch now, they’d actually win the Quidditch Cup!

The Ravenclaws seemed to sense that the tide had fully turned against them. Despite their best efforts to take down Slytherin’s Chasers, Cara, Orion, and Carewyn were too strong of a unit for them to pick apart. Even though Andre had always been a talented Keeper, Ravenclaw’s Chasers just couldn’t keep up with Slytherin’s, and Andre could only do so much to prevent them from scoring on his own. But as long as Ravenclaw caught the Snitch before Slytherin did, the Slytherin Chasers’ work would be all for naught --

Carewyn had taken her position in center field, just as planned, while Cara and Orion played keep-away with the Quaffle. It was as she watched the perimeter that she spotted Kaylisa going into a sharp dive.

‘She’s seen the Snitch!’

Carewyn shot her head around, looking for Quinn and Night. Night had hurried to protect Ashok from a Bludger hit by Crane -- Quinn was closer, but had been forced to smack the other Bludger at Liddell before she could steal the Quaffle from Cara, so she was still about fifty feet away.

“CARA!” Carewyn bellowed.

Cara caught sight of Carewyn waving widely up at her. Unfortunately Carewyn hadn’t been the only one to spot Kaylisa -- Rath had too. The Ravenclaw Beater dived, heading straight for the Slytherin Seeker.

Once Cara spotted Kaylisa and Rath, she chucked the Quaffle at Orion, who immediately tore off toward the goal hoops, while she quickly flew up to get Quinn’s attention.

“QUINN!” Carewyn just barely made out Cara yelling. “CENTER FIELD, RIGHT EDGE!”

“ON IT!” Quinn shouted back.

The Slytherin Beater dived. Carewyn watched anxiously as Quinn flew as fast as she could toward them -- Rath was coming up on Kaylisa very fast -- she was only about twenty feet away now -- fifteen -- Rath looked up and around, and then down at Kaylisa -- she raised her bat --

‘Quinn’s not going to make it!’ Carewyn thought in alarm. ‘And Rath’s too close -- even if I try to distract her now, she’ll see me long before I reach her!’

Kaylisa had stretched out her hand -- Rath swung her bat up over her head --

Carewyn made up her mind very quickly.

‘There’s no other choice!’

Charlie being knocked off his broom in the last Quidditch Final flitting through her mind, Carewyn flew out from the perimeter, not at Rath, but so that she would be on a collision course with the Bludger Rath smacked at Kaylisa.

Unfortunately, Carewyn had waited just a tiny bit too long. Rather than ending up in the same position Charlie had been in the last Quidditch Final and getting knocked off her broom when the Bludger collided with her back, the Bludger instead slammed full-force into Carewyn’s chest.

“URGH!”

Carewyn somehow managed to subconsciously wrap her arms around both her broom and the Bludger in a hug-like vice grip as she fell. She landed four feet below, landing in a crumpled heap on her side.

Somewhere very, very far above her, Carewyn could hear Murphy’s voice ringing out like an excitable cluster of church bells.

“UNBELIEVABLE! CROMWELL INTERCEPTS THE BLUDGER HIT BY RATH, ALLOWING FORTESCUE TO CATCH THE SNITCH! SLYTHERIN WINS! SLYTHERIN WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!”

The Bludger wrenched itself out of Carewyn’s arms and squiggled away through the air.

Carewyn coughed, her arms still clutched around herself tightly. The upper left side of her chest was throbbing with pain.

‘I really shouldn’t have done that,’ she thought to herself grumpily.

She tried to get up, but she couldn’t quite figure out what way was up. Her heart was beating so fast -- she gasped for air, clutching her chest that bit more tightly as she tried to get up again.

“Carewyn! Carewyn, are you okay?!”

Quinn’s voice echoed overheard. Carewyn blinked up at the navy-haired Beater, offering her bravest, prettiest smile.

“Ow...now everyone...can see why I’m not a Beater...”

The last word came out of her throat very badly. Carewyn choked, trying to get a better breath, but it came out as a wheeze -- she hacked up some dark liquid onto the sleeve of her Quidditch robes --

“Carewyn!”

Quinn’s voice sounded panicked.

“WE NEED A HEALER! GET US SOME HELP HERE, NOW!”

The world was spinning -- Carewyn’s heart was pounding in her ears so loudly, it almost deafened her to the sounds of the cheering crowd somewhere far above them --

“Carewyn!”

“Carewyn!”

Was that Kaylisa and Night? Carewyn wasn’t quite sure...she thought she saw several emerald-colored blurs diving toward her, but she couldn’t tell who they were -- one of the blurs collided with the ground very sharply several feet away, while the other three all landed right next to her, coming right up beside her --

“Help me carry her!”

“Orion, help us -- ”

“We’ve got you, Carewyn -- ”

“Careful -- ”

“Orion!”

The female voices overhead were all blurring together, dissolving away into the loudly echoing heartbeat in her ears. Soon Carewyn couldn’t hear them at all -- she couldn’t see them at all -- and she knew no more.

((OOC: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Next update’s tonight/tomorrow morning, I promise. T.T

MC Slytherin players included are, once again, Cara O’Donnell @unfortunate-arrow​, Night Rhea @nightrhea-hphm​, and Sabrina “Quinn” Mercurenius @danceworshipper​!))