#we don’t spell it magick in this house

[witchyshit123]

Not my best but definitely my favorite herb! All of these are from my own experience working with and growing so it will be different for you!

[blithesharem]

Day 6 - 9 Days of Solomon

Day 6 - Snow

Solomon...I want to kiss you in the snow.

SFW Fluff Gender Neutral reader.

“Never?”

“Never,” Solomon laughed at the incredulous look on your face, “Am I truly missing out on such an important experience? I’ve had snowball fights, and we’ve made snowdevils with the brothers…”

“Well, sure, but snow forts are totally different,” you scoff, leaning back in your chair. You tap your pencil on Solomon’s desk, where you’ve set up your studying materials and he’s scrawling out a new spell idea. Decisively you put it down and flick your textbook shut, standing as Solomon watches you with amusement.

“Come on, go get your snow gear!” you order, clapping your hands.

“Oh? Right now?” Solomon raised his eyebrows but obediently closed his own tome, following you to the front closet of Cocytus Hall.

“In the human world, we usually would wait for a snowplow to make a big pile,” you chatter happily as you step into the snow pants you’d purchased on your last trip to town, “But I suppose we’ll have to use magic. Only a little though! Otherwise it’s cheating.”

“Ahh, yes, we wouldn’t want to cheat at snow fort building,” Solomon hummed gravely, and you swatted at him with your mittens, sensing the tease behind his act. He laughed and finished dressing himself for the cold, gesturing you to the lead the way out the front door.

The snow storm that had prompted your conversation was waning, fresh, heavy snow coating everything in an unblemished blanket of white. Solomon gives a sigh beside you, and you have to agree with his unspoken admiration of the beauty.

BUT! You weren’t here to admire it. You were here to get to work.

“Okay let’s see…we can shove right up against this wall here,” you instruct, studying the stone wall that encircled Cocytus Hall’s courtyard. Solomon held his tongue, heart giving a happy pang at how serious you were taking things. But it was rare that you got to teach him something, instead of the other way around, and you wanted to do it right!

Together, you magicked a large pile of snow to heap against the wall. You grabbed the snow shovels that had been sitting propped against the house and together you got to work, burrowing a hole into the base. Soon you had to abandon the shovels, wiggling into the tight space to use your hands and burrow, slowly increasing the space. You were frequently scolding Solomon to take things more seriously, trying to frown through laughter as he sprinkled snow on the back of your warm neck and demanded kisses as rewards for particularly good work. He did however refrain from using magic like you’d asked, something that did not go unnoticed by you.

After a while you both fell silent, working together until there was a nice little space. It wasn’t much, but you both could lay down on your backs beside one another, cast in the dark blue glow of the snow around you. Solomon had shed his hat and his hair was damp against his brow, and you were pulling wet mittens from your hands. The snow dulled the sounds from outside, making it seem like you were both sheltered from the whole world.

“We did it,” you declared after you’d caught your breath, giving a small laugh, “You know, I have to admit that snow forts seemed a bit more grand when I was smaller.”

“It’s a little snug,” Solomon admitted with a sideways grin, “But I don’t mind.” He pulled off his own glove and found your hand, squeezing it. You glanced over to him, finding his eyes tracing lazily over the dips and valleys of the tiny oasis you’d created together before finding yours.

“In fact,” he went on, smile widening, “I think there’s just enough room.”

“Oh? For what?” you ask, though you had a guess. Solomon rolled to lay over you, giving you a deep, slow kiss.

“For this,” he murmured against your lips, and you squeezed your arms around the bulk of his winter gear.

Yep. Plenty of room for this.

[manicfoxmagick]

Chaote Tips #3

Get creative with your spell work and look towards the items you have laying around the house for inspiration. I once did a very successful working for luck by writing a letter of intent and mailing it to myself, the idea being it would activate when I opened it. Chaos magick has a strong emphasis on a DIY approach, and you can turn common household items into workings with just a little imagination. A few weeks ago I used an old pill bottle as the container for a spell jar.

On the other hand, don’t be so quick to dismiss traditional methods either as they can be just as powerful.

At the end of the day, what makes a spell powerful is how much you vibe and connect with it. If you hate the process, well you’re probably not going to see the success.

Develop you own correspondences. It’s useful to have tables and charts with the traditional values of herbs, crystals, colors, or whatever, and that can serve as an excellent starting point. However, those associations were once assigned to that specific item by another practitioner who was also just going off their intuition. These associations have power because we give it to them through belief. In the end, your personal beliefs are going to be the most powerful for you since they’re the ones you vibe with on the deepest level.

Become proficient in a divination practice, any at all, doesn’t matter. This is like one of the biggest tips I’ve got because learning how to divine answers and receive insights on all manner of circumstances is majorly beneficial. Plus, I always recommend doing a reading before you do any spell work, to get an idea if you actually should or not, as well as after to get an idea on how well it went. I prefer tarot personally, along with other cartomancy methods like oracle cards, because they’re so rich with information you can gain so much detail. The pendulum is okay, I guess, but unless you have a pendulum board with the alphabet and other things like that, you’re restricted to yes/no questions, which is severely limiting. Runes are better, but they’re difficult to learn and there’s a lot of UPG being passed off as tradition within the practice. Geomancy is something I just gave a shot, and it’s a lot of fun, and it’s very insightful. Play around with a bunch of different types and see which one you vibe with the most.

[jomiddlemarch]

While You Were Sleeping

Epilogue

“We’re never going to sleep again. Ever,” Hermione said from her end of the circuit around the kitchen, before Draco could head into the conservatory detour that Neville had suggested might at least help with their mental health, if it did nothing to aid in the ultimate goal of the twins sleeping for more than an hour at a time. She’d had to raise her voice a little, so Draco could hear her over the babies’ crying, but she couldn’t get too loud or strident, because then the crying would become howling on Rose’s part and a glass-shattering shriek on Scorpius’s. Any significant pausing in walking yielded the same response. 

“If you agreed, we could get a House—” Draco began. Again. His grey joggers were low around his hips, his feet bare, a ratty tee-shirt that couldn’t be made any rattier by regurgitated milk thrown on hastily when she’d called him from the nursery.

“Don’t start the ‘House-elves make perfectly fine nannies, see how I turned out argument.’ You know how I feel about it, even if we paid an exorbitant amount, and though I love you dearly, I wouldn’t say the nannying you received did you any favors at Hogwarts. You were a preening little prat for the first few years, when there was some pretense we were children and not pawns,” Hermione replied. “I also don’t want to hear about Black family magicks that would do the trick, either from you or your mother.”

“We’re not following Molly Weasley’s advice and using gin,” Draco said, patting Scorpius on the back in a rhythm that seemed to soothe their son. Or it didn’t and they were deluding themselves. Sleep deprivation could do that to a person, Hermione recalled, from a time when she had done research in a library, wearing a clean jersey and drinking a cup of tea hot from the pot, not stewed and cold and generally disgusting but charmed not to grow Wizarding penicillin on the surface. 

“She might have meant we should drink the gin, not that we’d dose the babies, now that I think about it. It’s all fuzzy when I look back,” Hermione said. 

“I hate gin,” Draco said. “Simply loathe the stuff.”

“I know. I remember that about you. From a time when we had drinks on a trolley in the sitting room or went to the pub,” Hermione said. He liked wine, preferably red and full-bodied, though he’d get a pint of Guinness if they went out with friends. He’d rather drink Butterbeer than a G&T and forget about a martini, dirty or otherwise. Her craving for cocktail onions had been rather a sore point during her pregnancy, though he’d fetched them and learned not to turn up his nose at her when she ate a jar’s worth in a sitting.

“What’s a pub?” Draco said wryly. 

Scorpius squawked. If his Patronus wasn’t some avian species, Hermione would eat her hat. She’d have to fit her traditional pointed witch’s hat first, but then she’d eat it. Maybe she’d chase it with a Gibson.

“Shh, darling boy, it’s all right, Papa’s got you,” Draco murmured, brushing his lips against Scorpius’ wispy blond curls. 

Despite the screaming and the exhaustion and the near-constant desire to hex her earlier overly confident and entirely wrong self, the one who’d said things like, twins won’t be so terribly difficult and maybe it’s more efficient to have them together, the babies can keep each other company and they won’t be lonely when they went off to Hogwarts, really, it was a blessing to have twins first, Hermione couldn’t help melting a little whenever she heard Draco talking to their babies, especially when he referred to himself as Papa. She opened her mouth to say something fond and tender, but Scorpius yelped and gurgled and Draco sighed.

“Another geyser. Perhaps we should get those disposable cloths Potter was on about, since we can’t risk Vanishing the spit-up,” he said. Spells around magical infants could be dicey and with a mother as powerful as Hermione, they’d had to play it extra safe.

“He’ll be hungry now,” Hermione said, not even bothering to answer the remark about the burp cloths. Once, her mind had been filled with complex runic equations and the Zaragosta variations on the Berenicean charm progression. Now, she was too tired to even spend one neuron’s worth of attention on the question of burp cloths.

“Time to trade,” Draco said. 

Hermione walked over to the rocking chair, settling Rose on her lap for a moment. The novelty of the perspective change would buy about 90 seconds of relative quiet. Draco came over, put Scorpius into the crook of Hermione’s arm and scooped up Rose. His exceptional Quidditch skills were being put to this exclusive use but Hermione suspected both the babies would be avid players, Rose the more likely Seeker. She fiddled a bit with her top and got Scorpius latched on, stroking his plump cheek very lightly so he wouldn’t get distracted and fall off, screaming with frustration. Nursing, he looked very serious, like Draco drafting a response to the Chinese delegation.

“Now, then, ma chére Mademoiselle Rose, let’s take a turn about the room and let Mummy take care of Scorpius,” Draco said. Rose made a series of noises which weren’t quite cries and could possibly be a language no adult was fluent in.

“Molly said it won’t always be this way,” Hermione offered. Scorpius was growing dozy against her breast, still nursing but with less vigor. He’d fall asleep this way but they’d probably only get an hour of rest from him and Rose’s hazel eyes were alert, peering over Draco’s shoulder.

“She would know. Circe’s garters, seven of them. It doesn’t bear contemplating,” Draco said. “My mother says we ought to be grateful, two healthy babies, no sign either will be a Squib, and I am. I am grateful and I love them—”

“You’d just like to get a full night’s sleep,” Hermione said. The first week, the babies had been drowsy and they’d had to wake them to nurse. It had been the right thing to do and Hermione still couldn’t believe they’d done it. Rose had gone nearly five hours when she was four days old and Hermione had faffed about writing thank-you cards for the new baby gifts and peering into the cradle to make sure Rose was breathing when she could have followed directions and slept when the baby slept, letting Draco be the one on duty to make sure the twins were awakened to feed. 

“I’d take four hours,” Draco said. 

“Three would do me,” Hermione yawned. Draco kept walking, Rose on his shoulder, and Hermione drifted for a bit, lost somewhere between dream and memory.

“You thought it would all go away when we came home. That it wasn’t real,” she said.

“Well, I was a fool and also besotted with you and hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for about ten days,” he said. “Also, we were faking being married. I was your fake-husband.”

“This is real,” she said. She shifted Scorpius to her shoulder, patting his back until he burped, praying he’d stay asleep through it. Draco smiled, too wise to risk laughter.

“It’s as real as it gets, love,” he said. Rose grizzled a bit but lowered her head, her silky dark curls shining against his fair skin, the faint silver stubble of his five-o’clock-now-three-am-shadow. He was tall and fit and terribly kind, terribly clever; he’d do anything for the three of them and he’d gotten her all those jars of pickled pearl onions and had snogged her silly when she had Gibson-breath. He had turned out well after all…

“I might have been overly rigid about the House-Elf proposal,” she said. “A few nights can’t do any harm and we’ll make sure they have exceptional benefits, a pension. The villa in Majorca—”

*

And that was how Pithy came to be the Granger-Black-Malfoy night nanny, the first House-elf with her own Gringotts vault, and the reason Hugo was born. 

Well, a reason. There was a responsible adult creature in the household and there was that villa in Majorca.

[mortemersgf]

Hi I don't know if I'm characterizing Beckett correctly but he seems like someone who would be really soft with his partner and would show a sweet side that others typically don't see right?

What if you wrote a fic where he's cuddling or just spending some sweet time with a partner (is female! reader okay?) and they get interrupted by the rest of the Pend Pals that are surprised?

Thanks!

The warm August weather sends a soft breeze filtering through the windows, gently rustling the curtains. In the distance, you hear Aster shrieking with delight as Zeph yells, “Cannonball!” Shreya screeches for Atlas to ‘get away from her’ while Griffin laughs uncontrollably, endeared by the sight of his friends letting loose and having fun.

Vacations at Shreya’s lake house are always filled with raucous laughter and endless shenanigans, most of which you would participate in on regular bases. It might be the blazing sun or the food you ate this morning, but a pesky headache has rendered you rather sick and unable to join in on the fun. Instead, you’re curled up on the velvet sofa, resting your head on Beckett’s chest. Being the darling boyfriend that he is, he refuses to leave your side, wanting to make sure you’re taken care of.

You wish you had more energy, but the heat and the pain leave you disjointed and unable to cast a Blood magick spell to take the headache away. You simply lay there in Beckett’s arms, letting him stroke your hair and your back.

His touch is soothing and light, and despite the fact that it’s only five in the evening, you find yourself growing drowsy. It doesn’t help that he’s speaking in that saccharine tone to distract you from the irksome throbbing in your head. Beckett has a soothing voice in general, one that’s able to induce sleep in you within minutes.

He’s speaking about some recent advancements made in portal magick, and you hum absentmindedly, groaning as you shift to get some blood circulating in your arm that’s fallen asleep.

“Sure you don’t wanna go take a swim?” you mumble, glancing up at him.

“I’m quite sure, my love,” he says, “I want to spend what little alone time we have together.”

“Even if it includes cuddling with your sick girlfriend?”

“You say that as if I would ever turn down the opportunity to be with you, indisposed or not.”

You laugh, charmed by his comment. “Well, if you’re certain… c’mere, gimme a kiss.”

He tilts your head up, cupping your cheek with one hand to meet you in a sweet kiss. Satisfied, you settle back into your original position, murmuring, “Keep talking about portal magick.”

An hour passes by like this, your limbs tangled, laughter on your lips. By the time the sun sets, you’re asleep.

The rest of Pend Pals pad into the living room, still giddy from spending the day on the lake. Beckett pins them with a death glare and a finger to the lips, and they halt at the sight. A beat of silence passes between them.

Beckett grows pink. Aster coos quietly while Atlas pushes past everyone to get to her room, making an exaggerated face of disgust as she passes by. Zeph and Shreya hold back giggles, and no doubt a slew of teasing comments, as Griffin smiles fondly.

Moments later, they all disperse to prepare dinner. Atlas reemerges from her room with a blanket and tosses it at Beckett wordlessly, gliding away to pester Aster for scraps of food. Beckett straightens out the blanket and settles it atop you, brushing your hair to coax you back to sleep as you mumble incoherently.

The sound of a camera click goes off. Beckett’s head snaps up. Shreya gives him a pointed look, smiling when she says, “What? You guys look adorable. I’ll send it to you.”

She’d better.

a/n: hii anon tysm for the cute request!! i had fun writing this one :3 you characterized beckett perfectly, he’s a big softie when it comes to his s/o!

taglist: @mm2305 @holystxne @simpforbeckett @itsjustwinter @theclassycandy @sylviefilms @bluebellot

[forabeatofadrum]

Just Some Guy (2/9)

Notes: Welcome back to Matty's second year at Watford! This year, he and John will meet some new friends and I am happy to introduce them to you. They were all named by @raenestee. Thank you Raen!

AO3

--

Year 2

MATT

It’s time for another year at Watford and I already miss the summer. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind being at Watford, but I am not looking forward to classes, especially Greek.

At least John is here. He couldn’t hang out during the summer due to ‘not existing outside the main story beats’ or something. He said he’d look into it for next summer.

Look, I like John. He’s probably my best mate at the moment, but that’s because he’s my only mate. I don’t mind. I’ve met loads of people last year, but we never became friends. Now it’s time to change that. This is going to be my year!

Sports might not be it for me, though, but according to John there is a Watford Chess Club.

“I’m joining,” he says one day, “You should come along.”

“I don’t know how to play chess,” I say, “I didn’t even know you played chess.”

John shrugs.

“Learnt it over the summer ‘off-screen’,” he uses air quotes when he says that last word. I have no clue what he means. “I can teach you. Come on, it’ll be fun!”

To everyone’s surprise, I am amazing at chess. John teaches me all his tricks but after a week at chess club, I surpass him. Chess club is huge. It’s actually quite nice to be part of something. I recognise some other members from our year. We hang out at chess club, but also outside of it.

Friends. What a concept. I had friends before Watford, but living at an exclusive boarding school does put a damper on those friendships. I saw my mates during the summer, but it’s different.

We’re sitting on the Great Lawn, eating crisps and drinking soda.

“Did you all see Agatha Wellbelove at lacrosse?” Arnold says.

“Don’t start,” John says, “You have no chance.”

“No one does,” I grumble. I admit I like looking at Agatha Wellbelove too. I think every guy in our year does, except Ryan, who is gay.

As a result, Ryan rolls his eyes in an exaggerated way.

“Please, let the poor girl live!”

“That’s because you have a little crush on the Chosen One!” Leslie teases.

“I do not!” Ryan sputters back.

Scott, his roommate, snorts. “Sure, mate.”

“You did seem to be interested during Magic Words,” Sam adds.

“Well, that’s because he was fighting that Pitch guy again!” Ryan says. He has a point. The Chosen One seems to have an ongoing rivalry with the Pitch Heir.

Politics, amirite?

Others agree with Ryan as well. You cannot ignore the Chosen One. If he’s not out there leaking magic, he’s fighting our classmate Tyrannus, or he’s doing some weird shit. The other day, the Humdrum sent counting sheep. I luckily wasn’t affected, but John was. The Chosen One broke the spell on his friend and Agatha Wellbelove and for some reason that broke the entire spell.

I’m glad he saved John, but apart from that, I do not really keep track of the Chosen One’s antics. That’s what I tell my friends when Sam asks me for my opinion on him.

“Honestly, I agree,” Luis says with a shrug, “Simon Snow can do all that saviour stuff. I just want to pass the upcoming Magickal History exam.”

I almost choke on a crisp.

Shit. I completely forgot about it.

--

“Aren’t we breaking the rules?” I whisper to John. The two of us are roaming the grounds past midnight.

“It’s common decency to stay in the dorms after a certain hour,” John answers with a mischievous grin, “But there is no hard rule. Look.”

He holds out his lantern in a certain direction and I see more people sneaking around. I wonder if we’re going to a party or something. John was very vague, or more vague than usual. He just insisted that we had to go outside.

“John, where are we going?”

“Shhhh,” John stops abruptly and he pushes me behind him. I look over his shoulder and I see the Chosen One. He looks like he’s been crying and he’s walking towards Mummers House.

“Do you think he’s okay?” I ask. Unlike Ryan, I do not really pay attention to the Chosen One outside of class, but he looks harrowed. It would be an asshole move to not worry about him.

John shrugs, which is odd. He’s usually so in tune with everyone.

“I think he’s going through some shit,” John answers.

“What could he be going through?” I ask, “He’s our hero.”

John raises an eyebrow, as if I said something stupid.

“He’s still a boy, Matt. I think he’s realising that being the hero is not all fun and games.”

We watch the Chosen One walk away and he does look awful and beat up. John is right. He’s my age. I can’t imagine having the weight of the world on my shoulders and being a twelve year old at the same time.

The Chosen One.

Simon Snow.

Maybe I should stop referring to him by his title and start thinking of him by his name. We will never be friends. We pass each other in the corridor of our rooms and we know each other from classes, but that’s it. Because of that, he’s always been this elusive entity in my life. The Chosen One, the Saviour of the Magickal World, the Mage’s Heir and all that jazz.

But when I see him like this, cheeks wet from the tears, shoulders hunched, I am reminded that he’s just Simon Snow.

I heard that he’s chasing two snakes for the Mage. What kind of snakes must they be? Simon Snow really looks terrible.

When he enters the building, John and I snap out of weird concentration. We look at each other and I shrug.

John shrugs too.

What else can we do?

“Well, let’s keep going,” John says and he starts walking. Really, what else can we do? “The others are waiting.”

“What?”

That distracts me from my Simon Snow sadness.

John and I walk to the drawbridge. My friends from chess club are there as well. Luis is holding ice cream.

“Gentlemen, let’s indulge!” he says.

“What’s the occasion?” I ask.

“My twelfth birthday.”

My eyes widen, but it’s clear I’m not the only one who didn’t know this fact. Leslie throws her arms around him.

“Luis! Oh my God, congrats!”

Luis hands out his treats and the eight of us have an impromptu party. The Chosen One- I mean, Simon Snow is long forgotten. How can I care about him when I have my own life with great friends? I am so glad I joined chess club.

--

I did it!

Well, I had to bitch and moan for it, but I did it! I convinced my parents to gift me one of those fancy smartphones for my birthday. Now I can surf the internet on my phone and send memes to John in the summer. John looked into his situation and he says he exists in the summer as long as I keep messaging him, or whatever that means.

I’m just glad I have an easier way to talk to all my new friends.

Another year has gone by and we’re at our last breakfast for the school year. We’re sat relatively close to Simon Snow, and it’s noticeable. His magic is leaking, as usual, and he’s pushing scones down his throat, it’s almost grotesque. He’s eating as if he’s expecting to go hungry in summer.

Huh.

Where does he go during the summer? He’s famously an orphan. He has no family to go to. But then I see his chatty friend sit down next to him. I assume he’s going to her place in the summer.

I push any thoughts about Simon Snow out of my mind. I don’t have to see him for weeks.

[banannabethchase]

Supernatural, Cocky - also on AO3

~

Julia and Brody have to deal with the consequences of their actions: babysit the amnesiacs.

~

*wiggles magic fingers* We do not question the timelines of this series. The magic is creating time compressions. Shhhhh. Tis the finale of the House of Black Magic series! It is also the finale of my Bingo board for square G3! A double finale in one. This series was incredibly hard to write - brand new tropes, my least favorite fic framing device (supernatural/magical elements in non-magical canon my eternal rival), and the Pressures made this series a kick in the pants. But it's done, and I'm proud of it, and I hope other people enjoy it! Title from Moonlight Magic, like all the fics in this series. And, without further ado:

~

Julia’s blinded for a second before she hears Matt Jackson speaking down to Page like he doesn’t know him.

“Malakai,” she says. “Malakai, what happened?”

He starts swearing. “Get them in here,” he says. “And then you and Brody are getting everybody you cursed in here.” He sighs. “I think my magic was premature. I intended to wipe the lingering magical effects, not their entire identities.”

Julia stomps out and grabs Matt’s arm. “Get in here.”

Matt turns to her, giant, pretty eyes blank. “Who are you?”

“I’m your worst nightmare,” she growls. “Now get in the room.” She looks down at Page, looking surprisingly innocent and sweet on the floor. “You, too. Get your boyfriend to cooperate.”

“Boyfriend?” Matt says. Julia turns to him, and he’s lit up like a Christmas tree as he stares at Page. “You’re my boyfriend?”

“If the lady says so, I suppose.” Page draws himself to his feet, almost sheepish as he smiles at them all. “C’mon, sir. Let’s get in the room. I’m ain’t feelin’ quite myself.”

“Do I have a boyfriend?” Cutler asks, looking sad. “Or a girlfriend? I don’t even know my own name and I’m already a third wheel.”

“Jesus Christ,” Julia grumbles. “Just – go sit! Malakai will figure you out.”

She slams the door behind them. She has to find Brody – he has the worst timing to go get lunch. She misses her magic in the moment. She keeps bumping into people she would otherwise be able to skip past.

Brody’s snacking on some carrots, mid conversation with Danhausen, when Julia gets to him.

“You, go anywhere else,” she snaps.

“Danhausen does not appreciate your attitude,” the weird little creep says. “But he understands that this must be stressful for you what with losing your powers, so Danhausen will depart.” He stares at her. “But he will request an apology at a later date.”

“Whatever – Brody, come on.” She grabs his arm and yanks him toward the room. “We have to check on everybody we, um, interfered with. Magically.”

“Why?” Brody asks. “Danhausen and I were planning a toy run.”

“Yeah, well, Matt fucking Jackson opened the door when Malakai was mid-spell, so everything got messed up,” she hisses, low and quick under her breath. “So we’re on collection duty.”

“Collecting what?”

“Everybody we magicked,” Julia says. “Jesus, Brody, keep up!”

“You could be kinder about it,” Brody grumbles, allowing himself to be dragged by Julia. “Who’s next?”

They find Danny and Yuta, bickering with each other even without memories, and throw them into the room with Matt, Brandon, and Page. Malakai looks more and more furious as each person joins the room.

“Have you stumbled upon Castagnoli and Nick?” he asks.

“We didn’t affect them with our magic,” Julia says. “Why would we?”

Brody snickers. “Oh, I know what happened.”

Julia turns to him. “Share with the class.”

“I used my magic on Castagnoli back in WWE,” Malakai says, dropping his head into his hands. “And, from what I understand, he used the…gift, I gave him, you could say, with Nick.”

“Hah!” Julia says. “You aren’t perfect after all with the magic.”

“Watch yourself, Princess,” Malakai demands. “And go find them.”

Brody yanks Julia by the arm before she can say anything else, and they continue their search. It’s not hard to find the younger Jackson - Nick is walking around confusedly with a headset on, as if looking for someone. And they manage to find Claudio frowning in the BCC’s locker room.

“Oh, hello,” he says, annoyingly charming as always. “I don’t suppose you would be able to assist me with something.”

“With what?” Julia asks.

“I seem to have forgotten my identity,” Claudio says, and it’s so casual Julia could almost mistake it for a normal conversation.

“You’re Claudio Castagnoli, Swiss, and you like coffee,” Brody says. “Now come with me so we can get that identity back.”

“Of course I like coffee,” Claudio says, but at least he walks with them willingly.

“Get – go sit,” Julia says. “And nobody make out or anything.” She specifically glares at Nick, who’s looking at Claudio like he’s a piece of meat and Nick is hungry. Malakai is flipping with absurd speed through a glowing blue book Julia’s not even sure is corporeal.

“Isn’t he my boyfriend?” Matt asks, pointing to Hangman. “Wouldn’t we be expected to make out?”

“Not when you have no memories. God, you – watch the stupid show.” She turns on the channel to the feed of the network. “Great. Jurassic Park. You’ll love this.” Julia turns to see Brody watching the screen. “Get – Brody, come on!”

They search the venue and can’t find the Dark Order anywhere. After some attempts at covert questioning, they’re not booked today.

“I’ll text Alex,” Brody says. “See if he’s okay.”

Julia’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean text?”

He looks down, frowning. “What, I’m not allowed to have friends?”

Brody texts Alex, then gets a call back.

“Hey,” Julia hears Alex say. “What’s up?”

“Do you know who you are?” Brody asks.

Julia rolls her eyes. “That is not how you ask.” She takes the phone from his hand. “What’s your name?”

“Alex – Reynolds, is this Julia?”

“Yes,” she says. “Where are you?”

“I’m at home,” Alex says slowly. “Are you okay?”

Julia frowns. “Good.” She hangs up and gives the phone back to Brody. “Looks like people were only affected if they’re close enough to the venue and were strongly affected by the magic.”

“Which means we also need to find Kris and Willow,” Brody says. “And Mox.”

Julia groans. “Goddamnit. I hope his boyfriend isn’t here.”

“He’s not,” Brody says. “He’s got some house show.”

Julia raises an eyebrow. “How do you know so much about Seth Rollins?”

“Leave me and my google search history alone,” Brody grumbles. “Come on. Let’s go find everybody else.”

~

Mox is in the shower, staring at a wall in his clothes, in the BCC locker room. He hadn’t made a sound when they were in there before, which might be the strangest part of all of this.

“This is – fucking weird,” Brody says, turning to Julia. “Moxley? Hello?”

Mox turns to them, face blank. Julia’s beginning to wish she had her powers just to be safe. “That me?” he asks. “Moxley?”

Brody nods. “We can help.”

“Cool,” he says, frowning. “Woke up with no memory. Figured a shower would help, but…” He trails off as Julia turns off the shower, his clothes dripping. “Forgot to take my clothes off.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” Julia says, as gently as she knows how to be. “Come on. We can probably fix this.”

“You’re not gonna, like, kill me?” Mox asks.

“Definitely not,” Brody assures. “We save that for the ring.”

“Ring?” Mox looks down at his hand.

“Wrestling ring.” Julia leads Brody and Mox toward what she’s now referring to, in her head, as the cat herding room.

“Stay here,” she says, “see that guy in the back?”

Mox turns and nods. Malakai is hard to miss even without magic that allows you to see beyond the corporeality.

“You got questions, anybody messes with you,” Brody explains, “you talk to him.”

“New guy,” Matt says, “why are you wet?”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Julia says.

“Be back soon,” Malakai says, voice deadly calm. “I’ll need both of your assistance.”

~

After mild begging, Julia gets Kris’ phone number from Chuck.

“Are you gonna try to kill her with your weird magic again?” Chuck asks, frowning. “She told me everything.”

“I’m going to try and protect her from magic,” Julia says.

Chuck frowns. “What the hell did you do now?”

“Just give me the number so I can fix it!”

She calls Kris five times in a row. She’s about to panic when, on the sixth ring, someone answers. They sounds out of breath.

“What the hell is so important you can’t let me get laid?!”

“Willow?” Julia asks.

“Yes, it’s Willow,” she snaps. “Six calls. In two minutes. I can only assume this is Julia.”

“Where’s Kris?”

There’s mild snipping and shuffling, and a new voice speaks. “I’m between Willow’s legs. Can you call us in, like, an hour? Or never?”

Julia blinks. “So you two – you know who you are?”

“Yes, somebody trying to get laid in a hotel.”

“And your names are…?”

 Kris groans. “Oh my god. I’m hanging up.”

There’s a click.

“Did you just cockblock Willow and Kris?” Brody asks. Julia decides not to acknowledge that he’s fighting laughter.

“Shut up,” she grumbles. “You have Ricky’s number, right?”

Brody nods and dials. Maybe, if they’re lucky, Ricky and Eddie are off in the hotel, as well. Maybe it’s just people here right now.

“Hello?” Ricky says. “Surprised to hear from you, Brody, after everything.”

“Where are you?” Julia demands.

“I’m sorry, how did you get my number and why do you think you get to demand a goddamned thing from me?” Ricky says on his phone.

“You remember who you are, but you’re booked this week so you’re definitely not at home,” Julia says mostly to herself, frowning. “How? Are you at the venue?”

“My boyfriend and I,” Ricky says, ice in his tone, “are attempting to have a nice lunch out together without interference from meddling idiots. Apparently, we didn’t do enough to prevent it.”

“Fine,” Julia says. “You two seem to have avoided the magic.” She hangs up while Ricky’s still complaining. “Brody, Eddie and Ricky seem okay.”

“That’s good,” he says, exhaling. “So…”

“So now we have to get back and see if Malakai has fixed things yet.”

When they arrive, Malakai is flaring reds and stark whites. Never a good sign.

“Are you good, man?” Brody asks. Buddy is next to Malakai, his magic a pool of soft, dusky oranges and forest-floor greens around him as Malakai borrows his magic.

“I’m fine,” Buddy says, “but Malakai here may be ready to commit murder.”

“Ready implies I’m ever unable to do so,” Malakai says, not lifting his eyes. “Glad to see the two of you back.” He closes the book and stands, using magic from his hand to lift Buddy to standing. At the very least, Buddy looks content and happy. “The only responsible magic user of mine and I must go solve this problem without people bitching around me nonstop.” His glares land on Matt, Nick, and Mox. “So, now you two get to babysit them,” Malakai says, striding to the door, gesturing to the rest of the people in the room. “I have to go do research on my own.”

“What?!” Julia and Brody yell in tandem.

“You two caused these problems,” Malakai says, leveling them with a glare. “You two will help me fix it. And the only way for you to help is if the two of you stop getting in the way for five minutes and I lock you in a room.”

“It was all her idea,” Brody says. “You know that, right?”

“Suck up,” Julia mutters, but the worst part is that he’s right.

“Your responsibility is to keep them in this room to the best of your abilities and escort them anywhere else they have to go to,” Malakai says. “Buddy and I will be elsewhere solving this problem of yours.” He reaches up and runs his fingers through Buddy’s hair. Buddy arches into it, and Julia is suddenly very struck by how much she screwed up here.

“Okay,” she says. She hasn’t felt like she’s disappointed Malakai like this before.

The door closes behind the two of them, and she and Brody turn to see all the others staring up at them.

“Matt,” Brody says, “why are you braiding Nick’s hair?”

There’s no response for a second.

“You, the one braiding the hair,” Julia says. Matt’s head snaps up. “What are you doing?”

Matt shrugs. “He has nice hair. I like braiding. I was bored.”

“Did – did you ask him to do that?” Brody asks Nick.

Nick shrugs. “No, but it’s nice.”

“Ugh, brothers,” Julia says, flopping on the couch next to Claudio. He offers her a bland, almost politically polite, smile.

“Brothers?” Matt asks. He drops Nick’s braided ponytail and steps in front of him. “We’re brothers?”

Brody nods and sits on the arm of the big chair that a dripping wet Mox seems to have commandeered. “Yeah. It’s a whole thing with you two.”

Matt flops onto the couch next to Page, who moves an arm to throw around Matt’s shoulders without a second thought. “You must be the older brother,” Matt says, and Julia’s a little baffled at how easily he curls into Page’s side, even without a memory.

“Why?” Nick asks. Despite being fully in a conversation, Julia catches him repeatedly glancing over at Claudio.

“Well,” Matt says, gently, “you’re a little taller, for one. And you’ve got that hairline thing going.”

“I do?!” Nick stands and looks at himself in the mirror. With a little shuffling, he yelps when he finds a bald spot. “I must be older, based on the hair.” He looks over at Matt, with an expression surprisingly bitchy for the Buck Julia can usually stand a little more. “You’ll lose yours soon, I assume.”

Julia snickers. “This is fun. I genuinely don’t think I’ve enjoyed myself like this since I got my belt.”

“Why?” Matt snaps, leveling her with a glare.

“Because you’re all still just as annoying without your memory.” She stands and gestures to the couch, where Brody sits easily. When he puts his hands on her waist, she drapes herself over him. “Also, Matt’s the older brother.”

Matt’s jaw drops. “I am?!”

���He is?!” Nick asks. He looks at himself in the mirror, pushing back his hair. “Fuck, I’m screwed.”

Julia blinks. “Did you just swear?”

“Yeah,” Nick says. “Why?”

“You and Matt have a thing about swearing,” Julia tells them. “You say second-grade shit like ‘what the eff’ and ‘eff you’ instead of being an adult and saying fuck.”

Nick wrinkles his nose. “That can’t be right.”

“Maybe we’re above that kind of language,” Matt says, and he mirrors Julia’s position, only on top of Page. Julia rolls her eyes. Even mind wiped they’re cute.

“From the look of it, you’re just annoying,” Mox says.

Danny and Yuta pause from where they’ve been bickering quietly in the corner. It strikes Julia as very possible this is the first time they’ve realized other people are in the room. “Do I know you?” Yuta asks, frowning toward Mox. “I feel like – I think I’ve heard those words from that voice before.”

“You two are in a faction together, along with this one,” Brody says, clapping Claudio on the shoulder. Claudio jumps. “Oops. Sorry.”

“I’m alright, thanks,” Claudio says. “Faction?”

“Like – okay, we’re all pro wrestlers. Right?”

Julia watches as Matt’s, Nick’s, and Danny’s eyes lightup like sunbeams. “We are?” Danny breathes.

“Yeah,” Julia says. Unfortunately, this is kind of fun. “Yeah, most of you guys in here have won some sort of big ass match or whatever.”

Brandon grins. “We have?!”

Julia grimaces. “Well. Okay, maybe not big matches, but big for you?”

“I can’t get anything,” Brandon mutters.

“You do have a boyfriend, I think,” Brody says. “He’s at home though.”

“It appears statistically unlikely that all those in this room would be partnered with men,” Claudio says. “Are you joking with us?”

“Okay, first off,” Julia says, “we’re in wrestling, so we’d call it a rib. Second.” She pauses as Brody adjusts her on his lap so she can get a better look at everyone in the room. “Second, no, I’m not joking.”

Claudio huffs. “Well then. I suppose at some point we have to prove a rule using the exceptions.”

“Why are you fucking with the vibes, man?” Mox asks. “You’re not the one dripping wet in a…” He trails off. “Is this merch for the channel where they show Doctor Who or something?”

Julia can’t help but laugh a little. “No, that’s the BBC. You – and him, and him,” he points to Yuta and Claudio, “are all part of the Blackpool Combat Club. The BCC.”

“I can assure all of you, I’m not from Blackpool,” Claudio says. Which is weird for someone with no memory to claim.

“None of you are,” comes Brody’s soothing rumble from behind Julia. “It’s a long story, but you guys have the name in honor of another dude. William Regal.”

Mox blinks. “That…somehow feels familiar.” He turns to Julia. “Is my name Dean?”

“Oh, no,” Julia says. “Not, um. Not anymore.”

“Okay,” Mox says, but he looks uncertain. “Then who am I?”

“Jon Moxley,” Julia says. “That’s who you are.”

The room goes silent for a moment. It’s a little unsettling.

And then the Shield theme rockets through the room.

“I think that’s you, Mox,” Julia says gently. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.”

Mox pulls out the phone and reads. “Seth…” He looks up at Julia. “I love Seth, don’t I.”

“You do!” Brody says. Julia can feel his excitement.

“Hello?” Mox says. “Hi, yeah – I love you, right?”

Julia can just make out Seth saying, “Yeah, of course you do. And I love you, too. Are you okay?”

“I think my memory. Um.” He looks up at Julia. “I don’t know what to say.”

Julia takes the phone. “Hey, Seth.”

“Who am I speaking with?”

“Julia,” she says. “Julia Hart.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line. “Oh, god. Did you make him the feral animal man again when I’m not there?”

“No!” Julia says. “No, that, um. That one was actually on Malakai. Sort of.” She pauses. “It’s not relevant. You know who you are?”

“I do,” Seth says slowly. “Does Mox?”

“Actually,” Julia says, “he heard the ringtone – your old Shield theme – and knew he loves you.” She tries not to gag at how infuriatingly romantic that is. “Which is, I don’t know. What he feels for you overrode elemental chaos magic. That’s pretty impressive.”

Seth, and the whole room, are silent. “Can you put him on the phone?”

Julia hands it back to Mox.

“Hi,” Mox says. Julia’s never heard him speak this way.

She can’t hear what Seth says on the other end of the line, but Mox starts tearing up.

“Here,” Page says, leaning over Matt. He hands Mox a box of tissues. “It’s alright, man. Let it out.”

“One week he’s drinking blood, another week he’s being emotionally aware while being mindwiped,” Brody mutters in Julia’s ear. She laughs.

“What?” Page asks, frowning. “You got somethin’ against men showin’ emotion?”

“No!” Julia says. “Just – okay, recently you got in a match with a guy where you drank his blood. It’s a big shift.”

Matt’s eyes go wide and he turns to Page, who looks similarly disturbed. “You drank somebody’s blood?”

“I – apparently so,” Page replies.

“Don’t worry,” Matt says, shifting on Page’s lap. “I think that’s kind of hot.”

“Oh, god,” Yuta says, rolling his eyes.

“You get covered in blood all the time, too,” Julia says. “He,” she nods over to Mox, who’s hung up the phone and is patting his cheeks dry, “beat the crap out of you in a match, and you wrote BCC on your chest in your own blood.”

Yuta’s face goes a bit blank.

“Damn,” Danny says. “Okay, big man. Maybe you would win in a fight.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole fucking time,” Yuta mumbles. “Hey, lady in charge.”

“Me?” Julia asks.

“Yeah, you,” Yuta says. “Are he and I a thing?”

She nods. “Yeah. We, uh. Brody and I body swapped you while back and you two have been together ever since.”

Yuta turns to Danny. “You wanna make out?”

“No!” Julia says. “Nobody is making out when you don’t have memories!”

Danny grabs Yuta by the front of the shirt and hauls him in, and Julia decides that fighting their basest instincts to fuck and fight each other really isn’t worth it.

“I assure you, ma’am, I will not be participating in any of this,” Claudio says. Julia’s eyes flick to where Mox is scrolling something on his phone with a smile on his lips, where Matt and Page and gazing into each other’s eyes, where Danny and Yuta are practically going at it on the floor.

“At least somebody’s listening,” Brody sighs.

“I’m listening!” Brandon says. He stands up and falls on the couch next to Claudio. “I’m not making out with anybody.”

“That’s because Reynolds is at home,” Brody replies. “Don’t worry. You have your own person.”

Brandon visibly relaxes. “After all this, I’m going to call him. Just to…just to know.”

Nick grumbles from where he’s still messing with his hair in the mirror. “Glad to hear everybody else is in love or whatever.”

“I –”

“I wouldn’t get into that if I were you,” Brody murmurs in her ear. “That one was Malakai’s fault, in the end.”

“Good point.” She looks back over at Nick. “I’m sure your memory will come back any time, and then you’ll remember that you and your friends and your brother created this company and you’ll be all happy again or whatever.”

Nick pauses. “I…created a wrestling company?”

Julia nods. “You and Matt, a guy named Tony Khan. Big wrestling mark, our boss. Two guys named Cody and Kenny, but Cody’s not here anymore.” She tries her best sincere smile. “This exists because a bunch of weird nerds took a chance.”

“The insult feels unnecessary, but okay,” Nick says. He relaxes, looking content.

The rest of the afternoon ticks by so slowly Julia feels like clawing out of her skin. She puts on another movie – Transformers seems least likely to cause problems – and waits for Malakai. And waits. And waits.

“The show’s going to start soon,” Brody says. His leg is bouncing so hard Julia’s slipped off of his lap and next to him. She’s a little squished between Claudio and Brody, but she’s distracted.

“I know,” Julia mutters. “Do you think we’re in serious trouble?” She glances around the room. Not everybody in here has a match, but most of them have something to do this evening. She leans in closer. “Should we start worrying about their memories yet?”

“No,” Brody says quietly. “I think we’re good.”

“Think?”

“Hope.”

Julia buries her face into his arm until he reaches out and pulls her in. “It’s going to be okay, Jules.”

“I know,” she says with a sigh. “But I miss my magic.”

“I miss mine, too,” Brody says. He adjusts her hat.

There’s a lot more she wants to say. She can see the effects of her actions around the room, though some are less negative than others.

She waits a little longer, until the ending scenes of the movie.

“We’ve got it.”

Everyone in the room looks up at Malakai.

“Everyone affected, stand.” His glare toward Julia and Brody is clear as day. They stay seated.

Malakai turns the deepest red, blood and rubies sparkling in a sunrise before a storm. He spins his magic in front of him. “Return their minds,” he speaks, in a language Julia doesn’t know how she understands, “return their memories but take none of the past few hours. Keep them whole.”

The red is almost too powerful. Looking at it hurts, somewhere deep in her mind, but she forces herself to keep looking. She wants to know how the magic can fix all of this.

If she knows how to fix it, maybe she can use it better next time.

It swirls and grows, with Malakai carefully instructing its placement. The magic seems to have a mind of its own, but Julia can understand that they’re lucky the ideas of the magic seem to align with theirs. She’d never known how powerful it was until she sees it laid over the bodies of her coworkers, working to turn them back to themselves.

Time, she’s fairly certain, has stopped. And then it hasn’t.

The room settles back to normal, the red dissipating until it’s nothing but a faint fog, and then gone.

“Okay,” Page says, shaking his head. “That was the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me, and that’s saying something.” He wiggles his hand at Matt, who laughs.

“I don’t want to know,” Malakai says, dropping his head in his hands.

They go around the room, Malakai asking very pointed questions to ensure all memories have returned.

“Alright,” he says, nodding. “It feels appropriate to release all of you at this point. If anything – and I mean anything­ – feels like it’s wrong, you come to me.” He glares at Julia and Brody again. “You hear me? Me only.”

The group of recently re-memoried wrestlers nod and mutter in agreement as they leave.

“Thank god that’s over,” Brody says, falling sideways on the couch. Julia would be annoyed, but she’s just as relieved.

“Oh, it’s not over,” Malakai says. “Buddy, find a safe seat. We need to have them meet with the true origins of their powers.

“Meet with – what?:”

She can’t react. The world is swirling colors and patterns that Julia can’t name or understand, and she feels suspended.

Now you understand the responsibility of the magic, she understands through what’s around her, now you know that your motivations come second to mine.

“Who am I speaking with?” she asks. It’s less words than lightning coming from her.

The deepest of magic is the most dangerous, Julia understands, but lighter level magic also harnesses my power. Your Malakai has done his best to educate you on his own, but you required further reminders of your powers.

“I’m sorry,” Julia says with sparks. “I didn’t – I hadn’t realized –”

But you do now, Julia understands. And using magic as a toy is your way to lose it forever. And possibly your life.

Julia feels fear like liquid ice run up her spine. “Is this how I die?”

No, child, Julia understands, death is not for you for many years, if ever. Immortality can be given to those who wield power well and carefully. Do you think yourself capable of this?

“I don’t know,” Julia whispers with the flicker of a candle.

Good, Julia understands, for if you were sure so early, it would be proof you are not. Julia feels the whisper of a caress against her cheek. You are prepared to be a leader, little Princess. You will become Queen. But lessons will be learned along the way. Julia feels the liquid ice melt into comfort. And you’ve learned your first.

“Thank you.” Julia’s voice is a spark again. “I won’t – I’ll be more careful next time. More intentional.”

My princess, Julia understands, you may have some of your magic back. You will continue to earn more as the years go by, as long as your intentions remain true and you demonstrate the intentionality. It’s a brush like lips against hers, a touch Julia would do anything to feel again.

And then her eyes open. And she’s on the couch next to Brody.

“Holy fuck,” Brody says, his eyes opening. “What was that?”

“That,” Malakai says, looking far too calm for the situation. Buddy’s got his head on his lap, content. Little suckup. “Was the Goddess.”

“The Goddess?” Julia asks. “We – we spoke to the person we get our powers from?!”

Malakai nods, carding fingers through Buddy’s hair.

“I thought we got our powers from you,” Brody says. He rests his hand on Julia’s thigh until she takes his hand.

“If you’d listened,” Buddy says, “you’d know we’d always gotten our powers from the Goddess.” He looks up at Malakai with unbridled adoration. “Malakai is our conduit.”

“Did she forgive the two of you?” Malakai asks. “Do you have your powers back?”

Julia presses her lips together and holds out her hand. Her colors are slightly different now – a hint of magenta instead of pure red, but the majority is ocean-teal instead of pure green. “They feel…different,” she says.

“They represent the nuance you understand now,” Malakai says. The blue-grey of his skin, the deep blackened purple of his eyes. Julia’s never understood the meaning before.

“That’s why Cutler had yellow and blue,” she murmurs. “Why we had green, and blue, and pink.”

Malakai nods. “And why Buddy here has had sages, forest greens, and sunset oranges,” he murmurs. “He understood the responsibility from day one.”

“Always the perfect one,” Julia mutters.

“No one is perfect,” Buddy says. “But, yeah, I am.”

Brody chucks a pillow at Buddy using his newly orange-pink and ocean-teal powers.

“Hey,” Julia says, showing Brody her own greyish teal, “we match now.”

He beams over at her. “We do.”

~

Mini Playlist: Moonlight Magic - Ashnikko Magic - One Direction Magic - The Cars God is a Woman - Ariana Grande

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Waiting and Watching

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

Funny story about this chapter. As I wrote it, stuff was just... happening. Stuff that I was not expecting XD I swear, it felt like the characters were taking over fshjdaklh In this part, Marvin and JJ regroup after their two separate adventures and try to figure out what to do next. Obviously they have to get Anti back, but how? Then the next morning they get a strange phone call that changes their plans slightly. Enjoy reading :)

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter

Marvin and JJ sat at the table together. It was past midnight, but JJ insisted on making tea for the both of them. He said it would calm their nerves, and Marvin agreed. So they sat in silence with a cup of mint tea each.

Jameson was the first to speak. So... these are the cards you lost?

“Yes.” Marvin’s fingers nervously tapped the deck. “I recognized t’em right away.” He spread them out in a line. The back of each card was unique, a different symbol surrounded by lines that crossed and curved in elaborate patterns.

And Henrik just went in there and got them? JJ asked.

“If we’re believin’ him, which I don’ see why we wouldn’.”

Jameson shook his head. This is incredible. When the rest of us went into that house, we barely made it out. And he just did it.

“In his note he said t’at Distorter had left. T’at probably made it easier.” Marvin began idly rearranging the cards on the table. “T... t’ere’s some way to mess with t’ese, I know it. Some way to use t’em for magick... but I can’ remember...”

These symbols are part of a runic alphabet, Jameson said, indicating the back of the cards. Runes are often used in magick, so you’re right. There’s definitely some way to use these cards for rituals. Perhaps the meanings of the runes could help us out? I know I have a couple references for rune alphabets in my books upstairs.

“T’at’s as good a place to start as any,” Marvin said. “What about you? Did t’at Magic Circle help you out like t’ey said?”

Jameson nodded. He explained what happened that night as quickly as possible. Turns out, there was a gigantic facility hidden there the whole time, he finished. Persephone said there was no time limit to the effects of the group spell, so I should be able to find it and walk through whatever was hiding it. He paused. The strangest thing was... it didn’t... feel like magic.

“What didn’?” Marvin prompted.

Whatever we broke through. It wasn’t a ward, or any spell, it felt... different. 

“Different how? Can ye put it in words?”

Jameson thought about it. This energy felt... artificial.

Marvin raised an eyebrow. “Fake magic? Is... is t’at a t’ing?”

I’ve never heard of it. And all the other magicians were just as surprised by how it felt.

“Huh.” Marvin pushed all the cards back into a stack, then picked up his teacup and took a sip. “But... you’re sure t’at Anti is in t’ere?”

Positive, JJ said, nodding. I don’t know why, but we can figure that out once we get him out of there. Though... if we’re going to break into a place like that... perhaps you should stay behind...

Marvin bristled. “What do you mean?”

Your leg IS still broken, Jameson reminded him.

“I managed jus’ well enough tonight, didn’ I?”

You did, and that’s great, JJ agreed. But you didn’t see this place. It’s huge. We’ll have to do a lot of walking, and I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere like that had a whole host of security. I don’t want you to hurt yourself further.

Marvin opened his mouth. Then closed it. His fist curled tight around the teacup handle. He took a few deep breaths, and finally said, “We’ll talk more about t’at tomorrow. We’re both tired righ’ now. We need rest.”

Jameson frowned. His eyes drifted towards the kitchen entrance, and the front door beyond.

“Jems, if you won’ let me hurt myself by goin’ out with a broken leg, I’m not gonna let you hurt yourself by goin’ out on no sleep,” Marvin said, sounding exhausted. 

JJ shook his head. You’re right. You’re right. I’m just... I’m worried about Anti.

“I am too,” Marvin said softly. “But we can’ help him in t’is condition.”

You’re right, JJ said again. We should go to sleep soon. We can come up with a plan tomorrow.

They finished their tea in silence and went to bed right after.

———————

The next morning at breakfast, Marvin got a phone call. He was sitting at the table in his usual spot, one-handedly messing with his cards while stabbing a fork into waffles with the other. JJ was refilling Mr. Fluffington’s bowl, and hadn’t yet sat down to have his own plate of recently-refrozen waffles (neither of them had felt up to cooking.) That was when it happened. Marvin’s phone started to ring, and he glanced down at the screen. He sat up straight. “T’at’s the number!”

JJ looked over at him, confused.

“It’s Volt!” Marvin dropped his fork and fumbled to pick up the call quickly. He’d checked the call history out of curiosity earlier, and had been intrigued to see Schneep had used a strange number instead of his own. That strange number was calling again. Marvin hit the speaker phone button and said, “Hello?”

“Marvin, did you get them?” Schneep’s voice came from the other end of the line.

“The cards? Yes. How’d you get t’em? Did you really jus’ walk in?”

“Well I waited outside the house for a couple hours, then I saw him leave, and then I waited some more, and then yes,” Schneep said.

Tell him he’s an idiot for doing that! JJ said, dropping the bag of cat food and hurrying over to the table.

“Marvin? Are you still there?” Schneep asked.

“Yes, I was listenin’ to Jems,” Marvin said. “You’re on the speaker so he can hear you, and he says you’re an idiot for doin’ t’at.”

“Ah. Well. Perhaps.” Schneep chuckled. “But I made it out of that place, confusing as it was. So? Are they your cards?”

“Yes, t’ey’re mine,” Marvin said. “Distorter told me he had t’em, taunted me with t’em a couple times.”

“Oh. I-I am so sorry, Marvin.”

“It’s in the past,” Marvin said, already regretting that he’d impulsively shared that. “Anyway. Where the fuck have you been?!”

“Marvin, I had to get out of the city. That detective was onto me! I would not be surprised if she still was.”

He could have called us! JJ said.

“Jems said you could’ve called us, and he’s right!” Marvin repeated.

“I meant to!”

Did you?! Why didn’t you?! JJ’s signs were sharp, and Marvin relayed them in an equally sharp tone.

“Because I—” Schneep made a frustrated noise. A few seconds passed, then he sighed. “For the first few days, I was not... in a sound mental state. I took my medication, but the problem was not my psychosis, it was... I was afraid. I didn’t want to risk anyone else knowing about me, or about being friends with you all. And then... then I found something.”

“What?” Marvin asked, intrigued despite himself. JJ also sat down, ready to listen.

Schneep paused. “In the next city over, Henshilling, I found a small office space for a company called IRIS. It is a long story that I don’t think I have time for, but... I found out they were doing some... strange things in that rented office. And they found out I knew about that, and... that confrontation did not go well. I... was unable to contact you because of that.”

Marvin raised an eyebrow. He looked at JJ, whose expression was one of pure shock. Then he looked up into the corner of the room, where a device was attached to the ceiling, watching everything. “This IRIS company wouldn’ happen to sell cameras, woul’ it?”

“I think that is one of their products, yes,” Schneep said. “But their products are not important. They are just ways for them to fund their true goal.”

“Which is?”

Schneep didn’t answer.

“Come on, Volt,” Marvin groaned. “You’ve said so much already—”

“More than I should,” Schneep interrupted. “The reason I cannot talk for too long is because they are fully capable of listening in on phone conversations. If they know you know, they—I-I don’t want to think about what could happen.”

So ignorance is bliss then? Jameson asked.

Marvin repeated that, then added, “Also, you shoul’ know t’at Jems got t’ese fancy new cameras recently. He installed t’em in our house, t’ey’re from a place called IRIS—”

Jameson looked at him, alarmed, as if he wanted to keep that a secret. But that was nothing to the way Schneep immediately shrieked. “Get rid of them!” he shouted. “Right now! Tear them out! Break them! IRIS probably already knows too much! Mein gott, das ist ein Desaster...!” His voice got quieter as he walked away from the phone.

“Volt?” Marvin asked. “Schneep? Henrik?”

Schneep didn’t return. After a few seconds, the line disconnected.

Marvin hung up his own end as well. Then he stared at Jameson. “Well?”

Jameson stared at him. Then raised his hands and slowly said, It’s still rather helpful to know what’s happening—

“For the love of god, Jems!” Marvin threw his arms into the air. “Get diff’rent cameras, t’en! Jus’ don’ use the ones our friend literally jus’ said belonged t’some shady company!”

Jameson nodded quickly. Right. You’re right, I’m sorry, I just—can we at least wait to take them down until we have new ones?

“No! Jameson, for fuck’s sake! You have a problem if ye can’ exchange a few days of not bein’ alert for gettin’ rid of the shady company’s devices! Not’ing’s goin’ to happen!”

“We thought nothing would happen to Anti!” Jameson shouted. “Now look where we are!” He broke into a coughing fit, bracing himself against the table and turning his head to the side.

“Are you alrigh’?” Marvin asked, leaning towards him.

Jameson pressed a hand to his throat, gave a few more weak coughs, then nodded.

“Good.” Marvin nodded. “Go get some water if ye need it.”

I’m alright, Jameson insisted.

“If you’re sure.” Marvin sighed. Idly, one hand began messing with his playing cards, spread out on the table next to him. “Jameson. T’is a serious problem. In such a short span of time, you’ve become... well... concerned with t’ose cameras.”

Jameson stared at him. I’m alright, he said again.

“No, you’re not. T’is isn’ normal, Jameson. You jus’ heard t’at the cameras are made by some company t’at had Schneep freakin’ out, and you want to keep them.”

We can get rid of them. I just think we should wait until we have replacements ready to install.

Marvin laughed. “T’at’s not as reasonable as you t’ink it is. ‘Let’s keep the possibly dangerous cameras from the sketchy company until we have more cameras ready t’watch us at every moment.’ T’at’s what you jus’ said.”

Jameson stared for a moment more, then looked away. I can’t let anything happen to anyone else, he said.

“Why are you the one who has to stop all danger?”

Because I know I can, Jameson explained. I just have to be there. So many times when I wasn’t there, you got hurt. If I’d just been in the house at the time—

“If you’d been t’ere, who’s to say Distorter wouldn’ have hypnotized you to ignore it?” Marvin asked. “Or the last time, he used Anti t’get to me. You know you would’ve let him inside. You know he could’ve hit you when you were turned, t’en done the same t’me.”

Jameson sighed. You’re probably right. But that idea won’t let go of me. I don’t know how to make it go away.

“Well... I don’ either,” Marvin admitted. “It sounds like you need t’talk to someone who does.”

So I’m going to tell a therapist about magic?

“No. You can jus’ tell them t’at bad t’ings have happened and ye keep t’inkin’ it could’ve gone different. Or, if you want someone who can probably help more, and who knows about all the insane t’ings goin’ on, you can talk to Jack.”

Jameson nodded slowly. I forgot about him.

Marvin chuckled. “Honestly, he’s probably jus’ gonna tell you to talk to a therapist, too.”

Maybe. But... I can start with Jack. A stepping stone. Jameson sighed. And in the meantime... we will have to get rid of the cameras.

“Damn right we will. Before we do any plannin’ about rescuin’ Anti and all t’at, we—” Marvin suddenly shrieked.

His sleeve was on fire!

Jameson stood up. He made a circular gesture with his hand and cool blue magic splashed on Marvin’s sleeve, extinguishing the flames immediately

“What the hell?!” Marvin gasped. He glanced at the table. There was nowhere that fire could’ve come from!

Except...

Three of his playing cards were arranged to form a triangle, their short ends meeting each other. In the middle of this triangle was a floating ball of smoke that gradually faded away.

Both of them stared at that. Then JJ chuckled. Well. Maybe that’s how your cards work.

“They have to be arranged,” Marvin muttered. “Of course! T’at—I remember t’at!” He grinned, swaying back and forth in his seat with excited energy. “Look at t’is! The patterns on the back! T’ese lines match up!” He traced the curving lines on the back of the cards. They formed a continuous shape, each end matching up with another where the cards touched.

I don’t know much about magick, JJ said, but I know the arrangement of runes plays a key part. These lines in the design are guidelines for how to arrange them, I think.

“Yes...yes!” Marvin nodded, grinning. “Last night ye said you had some rune references upstairs. Let’s go up t’ere and look at t’em.”

Actually, I’ll bring the books downstairs, JJ said. It’ll be easier. We can look at them in your room. He glanced at the camera in the corner for a split second.

Marvin followed his gaze. Was Jameson actually wary of the cameras now? Well, that would make sense. Anyone would be, after hearing what Schneep said about IRIS. But with the conversation they just had, JJ saying they could work somewhere out of sight of the cameras felt like a sort of peace offering. “Yes, t’at sounds good,” he said. “And maybe after, or even during our search, we can talk about what to do about Anti and t’at facility.”

———————

It didn’t take them long to figure out most of the runes on the back of Marvin’s cards. They all belonged to a runic system known as the Dlú’et alphabet, which was one of the oldest rune systems used in magic and magick. Each symbol had a couple different meanings. They made phonetic sounds, like any letter, but they could also stand for things or ideas.

The three that Marvin had accidentally arranged into a triangle and conjured fire with made the sounds “ee” “r” and “wh,” but they also could mean “flame” “mark” and “dust”, or they could mean “passion” “creation” and “death.” It was all very elaborate, and Marvin ate up every detail. He nodded frequently and muttered “yes, yes! I remember!”

And he did remember. With every new bit of information, he became aware that it wasn’t actually new to him. It had simply been hidden by Distorter, deep in his own mind, and seeing it all again was bringing it back.

But he also aware there was still something missing.

“We’ve found all the runes but t’is one.” Marvin held out the two joker cards that had been included in the deck. They had the same symbol on their backs: an angled spiral with two lines crossing it in an X shape. “Are you sure t’ere’s not’ing in the books?”

JJ nodded. It’s a very old rune system, and these cards are also old—though not nearly as old as the system. He chuckled. Maybe this rune just fell out of use in recent decades. I’m sure we could find it in the library somewhere.

Marvin nodded slowly. This rune in particular was nagging at him. He knew it was important, but he didn’t know what for. “I... suppose we’ve done enough with the runes for now,” he said reluctantly.

JJ closed the book he had open. The two of them were sitting cross-legged on Marvin’s bed, facing each other with the books and cards in between them. So, JJ could look directly at Marvin as he said, I still think you shouldn’t go into that facility.

“I—you’re... right,” Marvin admitted. “I-I wouldn’ be much use with my leg broken. But I have t’help. Anti’s my friend too, and if he’s in t’ere—”

I know. JJ nodded understandingly. So, last night, I thought of a solution. You can come. But you’ll stay in the car. We can get a camera—not an IRIS one, more like a GoPro or something. I’ll wear it so you can see what’s happening. And maybe we could get me an earpiece or something, so you can help me out. Give me advice and point out things I miss. Stuff like that.

Marvin chuckled. “You want to go full-on spy for t’is, huh?”

We won’t have any gadgets that are as high-tech as the movies, but we do have magic, JJ said. I think that can work. I don’t want to leave you behind, Marvin.

“I don’ want t’be left behind, either,” Marvin muttered. “But... I know t’at’s not what you meant when you said I should stay back from goin’ in. You’re right. I said t’at earlier. But I’ll help however we can.” He paused. “I suppose we’ll have t’go shoppin’ for supplies, t’en.”

Maybe I can ask someone if they have a mounted camera we can borrow, JJ wondered. But we do need to get new cameras. And get rid of the old ones. He sighed. After all the trouble we went to, putting them up...

“Hmm.” Marvin thought about it. “If you want, maybe call Aoife or Jack t’help take t’em down? Since we had help gettin’ t’em up.”

Probably a good idea. JJ nodded. I can do that now. Best get started as soon as possible. And then I’ll start asking around for supplies for our... heist.

“Heist? Yes. Yes.” Marvin grinned.

JJ raised an eyebrow. You sound really excited about that.

“I’m ready t’start doin’ stuff. The sooner we check out t’is place, the sooner we can get Anti out. What time frame are we lookin’ at?”

If we’re lucky, we might be able to check this place out later today. If we’re not, we’ll definitely be there tomorrow. Jameson nodded firmly, resolved. We won’t leave him behind in there.

———————

“Have you ever experienced a terrible occurrence that has impacted you significantly?”

He didn’t know what it meant, but it had to be important. They kept asking it, to adverse effects. Why? And why didn’t they ask him that question while he was with them? Or... maybe they did? His memory of that time was a bit... unreliable...

“Have you ever experienced a terrible occurrence that has impacted you significantly?”

He wanted to run in there. Sitting in the bushes outside wasn’t exactly comfortable—or safe. Any security guard who walked too close might notice him there, crouched close to the ground with his new laptop perched on his knees. But he had to be close to get into their system. For some reason, it didn’t work remotely.

“Have you ever experienced a terrible occurrence that has impacted you significantly?”

He didn’t want to see this. It pained him, caused his heart to ache. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to fast-forward through the footage.

“Stop!”

“Subject’s exposure has increased to concerning levels. Suggest moving to second phase, pending board permission.”

“What is this? What did you do to me?

...What did you do to me?”

He winced at the desperation in his voice. No, he couldn’t watch this anymore. He forced himself to fast-forward. There probably wouldn’t be anything interesting over the next while, anyway, judging by their pattern of leaving him in there.

Or maybe not.

“Wait… wait, I don’t understand. What do you mean, ‘special’? I’m… I’m just a guy. He doesn’t even seem to like me.”

That was... strange. He didn’t really know what to make of it. Who was he talking to? It couldn’t be him, he wouldn’t talk to him like that.

“Whisper?”

In the end, it didn’t amount to much. For now. He made a mental note of it and began fast-forwarding again, shifting position slightly and causing the leaves around him to rustle.

More of this.

“We’re not a bad company, Anti.” 

“Kuhscheiße,” he muttered.

“That, Anti, is ALTR 53815. We recently discovered its existence.”

Recently? Interesting. Was that why they were in the area? How long ago was “recent”? A month, perhaps? Three weeks, maybe? No... no. It had to be longer. There was no other reason for them to be there in the first place.

Oh...

Oh no...

“What do you mean ‘used to be’?” 

No, it wasn’t true. They were fucking with him. They had to be. Creating a whole person, that multiple people saw and interacted with, it was impossible, no matter how strong his powers of hallucination were.

Right?

He couldn’t watch what followed. But even though he knew it would probably be easier to skip to the next day, he fast-forwarded instead. Even though he didn’t want to see it, he couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t happening. His friend was unraveling, and they knew it. There was no way they didn’t.

His fists clenched.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. McLoughlin, we need to take you somewhere more secure.”

Well this was new. He leaned closer to the screen.

“We do this a lot, Mr. McLoughlin, we move people around to free up space.”

No they didn’t.

The camera in the room was useless as soon as they dragged him out, so he switched around, following them through the facility, watching him struggle and plead and—

The footage went to static.

What?! What happened?! Frantically, he skipped forward by the minute, looking for the moment it returned—

And it did. Briefly. For a few seconds, the camera in the hallway came back online. Just long enough to catch the image of a man, standing there, blood dripping from his eyes down his obscured, smiling face. He was looking straight into the camera.

And then it was gone again.

He skipped fifteen minutes before the static cleared, showing... nothing. Well, it showed quite a lot, actually. Emergency red lights. People lying unmoving on the floor. But it didn’t show him. Or him.

He rewound back to the moment where he stood, looking at the camera, and glanced down at the time stamp.

One hour ago.

He was just barely too late.

Slowly, he closed the laptop. He bent forward, breathing heavily through the fabric mask he wore. This was bad. This was worse. At least before, he knew where he was, and had an idea of what they wanted. He didn’t know anymore.

Of course, that was why he had left the house! To come here. To torment him.

And he’d wasted time going inside instead of following him, maybe if he’d chased him down he could have—

No. Stop. Breathe. Calm. It wasn’t the end of the world. He could figure this out.

A few minutes passed before he straightened again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone he’d been using, dialing a familiar number.

———————

“Wasn’t it only a few days ago I walked in on you guys putting these up?” Jack asked.

“Yes, well... we decided they weren’ a good idea,” Marvin said slowly.

Be careful! JJ added.

“I got it guys, don’t worry.” Jack was currently standing on a chair in the hallway, using a screwdriver to carefully disconnect the camera. JJ stood nearby, hovering anxiously, while Marvin was sitting in his wheelchair in his bedroom doorway. Sam flew around Jack, nerve-tail flicking back and forth. They seemed more hyperactive than usual. “You don’t have to be here watching me, you know. You can start on the other cameras while I do this.”

Marvin nodded. “Right, ri—”

His phone rang again.

Both Marvin and JJ tensed. Marvin wheel backwards into his room and grabbed the phone from where he’d left it on the dresser. JJ walked over to take his place in the doorway. “It’s him,” Marvin whispered, and put the call on speaker phone like he had earlier that morning.

“Marvin, things are bad,” Schneep’s voice said.

“Bad?” Marvin repeated. “How?”

“Am I on speaker phone again?”

“Yeah.”

“Are there cameras nearby?”

“T’ere’s one in the hall, but we disconnected it,” Marvin said, glancing past JJ out at the hall. “It can’ see in t’is room, anyway.”

“You never know,” Schneep muttered. “But if it is disconnected, it is fine. Marvin—and I assume Jameson, as well—I know where Anti was.”

“Yeah, so do w—”

Before Marvin could finish, Jameson was hurrying over, signing, What does he mean, “was?!”

“Wait.” Marvin blinked. “Y-yeah. Schneep, what do you mean, you know where he was?”

“Because he is not there anymore,” Schneep explained. “There is this old facility north of Mirygale. It used to be a prison, but it looks like it was taken over and converted into some other complex. I suspected he was here, so I hacked into their cameras this morning. As of one hour ago, he is not in there anymore.”

Jameson and Marvin stared at each other in shock. Where is he? Jameson asked, and Marvin repeated it for the phone.

“...that is what’s bad,” Schneep said gravely. “I am not sure what happened. The—the cameras, they—something went wrong, their footage was corrupted. But... it was him. It was Distorter, he was in there, I-I can only assume—”

Schneep didn’t get to finish before Marvin cut him off with a bout of violent swearing that made Jameson wince. “I knew it!” he finally shouted. “I fuckin’ knew he was involved!”

But Distorter didn’t take him in the first place, Jameson pointed out. So who did?

Marvin took a few deep breaths while the others waited. “T’at’s a good point, Jems,” he muttered. “Who owns t’at facility?”

“It...” Schneep’s voice was quiet. “It is... IRIS.”

“...wait, the same IRIS?” Marvin asked. “Who kept you from reachin’ us and made the cameras?”

“The very same. They are an American company who has been in this country for at least half a year, though probably not much longer.”

“So... t’is company’s in the business of kidnappin’ people?” Marvin asked. “Why? Jus’...why?”

Schneep laughed. “Strange, is it not? But it’s true. Get rid of your cameras. They already know too much.” And before Marvin or Jameson could respond, he hung up.

Marvin and Jameson stared at each other. Neither one was sure what to do now. They were having trouble processing all this new information.

“Um...” A voice came from the doorway. “Was I... not supposed to hear that?”

They looked around and saw Jack there, Sam hovering nearby, holding the disconnected WTCHR camera in his hand.

How much did you hear? Jameson asked.

“Everything after Marvin started swearing up a storm,” Jack said. “So. Distorter’s the name of this weird creature after you guys. And now we’ve got this IRIS company involved. I’ve been doing research on them, you know. There’s not a lot of information to find, which is really weird considering how big they are, and how fucking impossible a lot of their products sound.”

“We’re... sorry t’get you into t’is,” Marvin said slowly.

Jack shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m not sure how much I can do to help you find Anti, but if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

Actually... Jameson said slowly. Do you happen to have a small camera that can be worn?

“Like a GoPro? Sure, I think I have one somewhere. I definitely bought one thinking it would be useful, but I’ve never used it, so it could’ve gotten lost.”

“Jems,” Marvin said quietly. “D’you want to try and get into the facility, still? We... we know he’s not in t’ere. He’s probably... in the house.”

Jameson frowned. He turned his head to the side. His mouth moved quietly, and his eyes briefly glowed blue. Then he shook his head. He’s not there right now. That tracking spell worked, and you know it wouldn’t if Anti was in there.

“T’en we need to find him before that bastard takes him t’ere!” Marvin snapped.

Now?

“Yeah! Who knows how close t’ey are to the house! We might have a small window!”

Jameson looked surprised, but then he nodded firmly. You’re right. This is our best opportunity. But he might be far away, and I can’t drive and keep up a tracking spell at the same time.

“I can drive you guys around,” Jack suggested.

Jameson frowned. I thought you didn’t know how to drive.

“I know... a little,” Jack said slowly. “Not enough to be... safe... most of the time. But it’s probably better than you being distracted. Unless Marvin can drive with a broken leg?”

“I can’ drive at all,” Marvin muttered. “No matter how bad you are, it’s better t’an me. And we don’ have much time to find other solutions. So if Jack’s offerin’, and he’s okay with whatever we’ll find...”

Jack nodded firmly. “It’s the least I can do.” He walked over and set the disconnected IRIS camera down on the nightstand. Sam flew at it and threw their tiny ‘body’ at it over and over, violently bonking against it. “Whoa! Careful, Sam.” Jack reached out a hand and stopped them midair. “I know you don’t like these things, but don’t hurt yourself.” He then looked at Marvin and Jameson. “So... we’re going now, then?”

Marvin and Jameson nodded in unison. 

As the three of them hurried out of the room, they didn’t notice the camera make a faint whirring noise, or see its lens focus slightly on them.

[eddiemunsonappreciationsociety]

MY WORD IS MY BOND

Part Three: But you had to have him, and so you did

I stomp around the house, fuming at my inner witch. I think about breakfast but I don't want to eat anything made by me in this negative mood, I'd be able to taste the self-disappointment. Chance snoozes in a patch of sunshine streaming through my windows, belly full, heart happy. I reach down and scratch behind her ears and she lets out a long, slow rumble of appreciation. She has no clue her human mum is a top-tier moron.

I make myself another iced coffee and bring it to my bedroom with me, along with my half-smoked joint, to get ready. I grab my makeup bag and bring it to the floor with me. Sitting crossed leg in front of my large mirror, I switch on the lights that surround the frame and go to work. I do a pale pink smokey eye, winged black eyeliner, and some lip balm. I contemplate some false lashes before deciding on the affirmative and putting on my usual OTT pair. I take the black eyeliner and draw some dots along my bottom waterline and brows.

Once I'm happy with my face I pull the bobble out of my ponytail and my hair tumbles around my shoulders. Most of it turned white a few years ago, during a pretty chaotic time of my life and it never went back to its dirty blonde. I make the most of the blank canvas, currently pastel pink on the ends. I style my curls into a half up half down do and pin a silver hair brooch with a triple goddess emblazoned on it.

Before choosing my clothes I check my phone, for the first time since last night, and blanch as I see five text messages and ten missed calls.

STELLA:

WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU GONE?!

I saw Dreamy McBrowneyes leave them you were gone after, did you go home?

Are you alive???

Shit are you actually ok message me back

if you don't answer me by the time I wake up tomorrow I'm calling the FBI

I tap my reply to her quickly, nails clicking on the screen

I'm so sorry, I am alive. I came home and  conked out. I will fill you in later, love you.

Ps we're English, I don't think we have any FBI, stop watching Criminal Minds

My phone pings with her reply almost instantly

the only thing that would stop me is if they scrubbed Criminal Minds from the earth, even then I'd just close my eyes and play it all in my head

ps I'm glad you've not been murdered and/or eaten X

Choice phrasing, the universe is mocking me.

I open my wardrobe and stare at it for a whole minute, looking but not seeing anything. I select a black tiered skirt, that falls to just below my knees, my favourite black Paramore tee, and a black knitted cardigan with little pink toadstools all over it.

I am a fat witch, I prefer the term chunky, but to be real I am fat. And gorgeous.

I adorn myself with my jewelry, each one with some sort of magickal tie, something that can help or protect me in some way. As I place on the necklace I forgot yesterday my mind wanders to Eddie.

Stop it.

I give myself a quick look in the mirror before exiting my room and heading for the door. As I let myself out of the flat Elphaba, my black, flat-faced cat, is sat on the railing of the stairs, waiting to be let in. She glares at me.

"Where have you been, you dirty stop out?" I hold the door open for her and she trots in tail flicking. "Leave Chance alone whilst I'm gone"

I close the door behind me and head down into the shop.

The shop is basically a larger version of my craft room, with rosewood shelves everywhere, filled with various bits and bobs. I sell ingredients and ready-made spell jars. Most of my customers are non-witches but I do have the occasional magickal customer too.

The day is mostly noneventful, I sell a lot of ingredients used in health potions and health spells, which is standard as the weather starts to turn cold. Spells and potions sold to nonmagickal folk do work and make a difference, but in a more subtle way without the inner magic to amplify or activate properly.

There's an hour left of opening hours when my phone pings. I pick it up thinking it's going to be Stella.

I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'd really like a chance to show you I have no ulterior motive other than getting to know you. I hope you got home safe - Eddie.

I feel nauseous. I had been so intrigued, so drawn to him over the last few weeks. I sensed him when he was near, felt - what? Safe? Surely not. So drawn. This was not what it felt like with the other vampires I'd met. The circumstances in which I'd met other vampires were very different. I was usually roped into warning any vampires if they wandered into any coven territory. Not being in a coven myself, it made sense for me to be the middle ma, middle witch? I was also known as a particularly powerful witch, so I was fine to go alone.

I had no reason to trust him, but I wanted to.

His dark eyes kept popping up in my head, the goofy smile, the loud laugh. I wanted to know him before and I wanted to know him even more now.

But it was a massive risk.

For a vampire, the lifeblood of a witch is the ultimate feed. The magic in our blood makes them permanently faster, and stronger and has been known to occasionally pass on abilities to the drinker. I've also heard a vampire describe what our blood tasted like, and the more powerful the witch, the better the drinking.

I serve my last customer before picking back up my phone.

I got home safe, thank you. I don't really how I can give you a fair chance without putting myself in mortal peril, I don't see how it would work.

I start my closing duties, ignoring the phone as it pings. I ignore the huge urge I have to immediately read and respond. I want to talk to him.

Idiot.

I busy myself cleaning all the shelves, scrubbing floors, and doing the stock take, even though I did it last week. I grab my and some lavender from the stockroom to top up my home supply before closing the shutters and heading upstairs. I get  Chance in her collar and out for a walk, eager for all the distractions.

By the time I'm home, it's almost nine and I am exhausted. I get in my pyjamas, roll myself a joint, and order a Chinese. I switch on Community, light up and pick up the phone finally. There are two messages.

I know you have no reason to trust me, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for weeks  - Eddie

I know that's exactly something someone who wants to suck your blood would say but I swear that's not the case - Eddie

Despite myself, I giggle. I can't help but think about how old he is, signing off his name that after each text.

It is exactly something someone would want to eat me would say. PS, you don't have to sign your name off, I will add your number.

I feel myself grin as I type. Stop it, Lilith.

Does this mean you want to keep talking to me?

What was I doing?

Maybe.

There's a slightly longer pause between his next message.

Can I call you?

[alchemy-arts-bookstore]

Stealth Magick

Today we would like to present the concept of Stealth Magick: What to do when you can’t be open with your practice for some reason. Perhaps it’s because of family or community disapproval, or restrictions present in the place you live. Whatever the reason, there are sometimes (unfortunately) situations in which you’re interested in magick, but you have to keep your interest and your workings secret. What to do? First, you have our sincere sympathies. Second, here are a few ideas.

If you live in a dorm or other place where burning candles or incense is not allowed, there are substitutes you can use. There are LED candles (‘flameless’) available in various colors and sizes, or you can experiment with small battery operated lamps. If you can’t have incense, you might try scent diffuser sticks, or anoint your altar items with scented oils, or even include a dish of potpourri on your altar instead. If you can’t find LED candles in the color you need, you can put them on an appropriately colored base, or decorate them with colored tape or stickers.

If you don’t want to risk having an altar because of the possible reactions of those around you, perhaps you could have a minimal altar that doesn’t look like one. Few people would think it strange if you had a few ‘interesting items you’ve found’ arranged on a shelf – pretty stones, seashells, figurines, etc. The items you display don’t have to look like standard ‘altar items,’ they just have to represent something to you. Let everyone else think they’re just cool trinkets.

Love jewelry, but can't wear a pentacle? There are other options, like crystals or semi-precious stones, other mystical symbols like stars or the moon, or pendants with animals or mythical beasts that mean something to you.

If space is an issue, or you don’t have a permanent place available to use, you might choose to have small altar items that can fit easily in a box or drawer and be moved or cleared away quickly when necessary. These could include things like LED votive candles, birthday candles, small statues or photo images of a deity, shells, stones, feathers, and necklace charms.

Whether the candles that accompany it are wax or electric, spellwork can always be disguised as prayer. If you sit in a quiet place with eyes closed, perhaps with a lit candle, who’s to say whether you’re silently speaking a spell, praying, or just meditating? If your situation is such that you can’t have magickal items, all that really matters is your intent, your will, and what you do to help the spell along.

If you can't have magick or occult-related books, again, you have our sympathies. Could you keep books at an understanding friend’s house? Or there’s always the library. If all you can do is look up information on websites, do keep in mind that not everything you find online is accurate or reliable. Don’t believe the first thing you read; look up a variety of sources. Compare what you read online to books in the library or bookstores. Ask the advice of trusted elders or shop owners in the magickal community.

These are only a few suggestions; feel free to add whatever others work for you. We wish you the best of luck, and we hope that you may soon find yourself in a time and a place where you’re able to practice as you wish, without worry or opposition.

[anxious-reblogger]

Mmmmmm. I’m writing this before hand in my notes app so I can keep it for later. What if for chapter 7, Yuu is (one of the ones(maybe more? Idk)) the one who is put to sleep by Malleus? He loves his child of man who befriended him. Who didn’t know of his reputation and even when they did, they didn’t treat him any differently. Maybe they’ve been gathering blot in their body as a byproduct of being exposed to magic that their body doesn’t know how to handle? So to, potentially, save their life and to protect them, Malleus puts a spell on them that is kind of like a stasis thing? Their body won’t age or get any sicker and they won’t need to wake up to eat or drink, BUT, their body still holds the blot, the blood doesn’t go away, it just stays in them. Dormant. Maybe Malleus really thinks of how fragile humans are. How fragile his magickless child of man is but they still tried to help even after being thrown into a world so different from their own.

Maybe Malleus either goes of himself or sends Lillia, Sebek, or Silver(if he isn’t also put under the spell) to do research on blot. To find everything they can about blot. If Malleus is the one looking, he makes sure one of those three are with Yuu at all times, just in case. It doesn’t matter that he’s among the strongest magicians currently. He just wants them to be okay. If he sends one or more of the others, then he’s constantly at Yuu’s side. Just watching their chest rise and fall, a silent reassurance that they’re still there. That they’re still among the living.

The longer it takes for himself or his trusted diasomnia family to find anything, the more restless he gets. The other first years and the housewardens and some of their house members just keep asking questions about Yuu and it’s annoying Malleus. They ask when Yuu will be back and that he needs to lighten up. That they need Yuu to do this, that they need Yuu to do that, it’s always that they need Yuu to do something for them. Don’t they realize they’re part of the reason he’s having Yuu rest right now?!

Maybe, eventually, news finally comes up about blot. But it’s all for those with magick and magestones. Nothing that can help his child of man, his friend. The closest thing he can find to get rid of the blot is… no. He won’t. He won’t hurt Yuu. He can’t. He’ll tear out his own heart before he does theirs.

He’s getting more anxious and aggravated. Then he snaps. What makes him snap? Maybe one of the others, maybe Ace makes a dumb comment like, “I’m sure Yuu’s fine! If anything, it’s their fault for being so weak.” or “You’re overreacting. It’s their own fault if they’re like this. It’s not like we did something to them.” or something like that. And Malleus gets super upset. They claim they have no hand in Yuu’s current state, yet it’s because of them and their trouble that they always bring that Yuu has gotten so much blot in their body in the first place! Now this could split off two ways in my head. In both, Malleus overblots.

In one of them, he throws them all out and away from his friend, his only friend. And then they have to fight their way through blot creatures and other things just to get back to where Malleus and Yuu were, but they don’t have Yuu to help them. Yuu isn’t there to guide or coordinate them. They’re doing this on their own. Meanwhile, Yuu this whole time has been off in dreamland. Yuu has been… talking to, uh, either the great seven, or Mickey himself. Something something discovery of why they’re there something something why them something something something. They’re clueless to the waking world. So they’re kinda in this peaceful kind of… limbo. It’s the first peace they’ve had in a while. It’s a little quiet without the boys keeping them on their toes, but they have the seven/Mickey to keep them company. Malleus is still by their bedside right where they laid when he first cast the spell. He goes to caress their cheek, but sees his own blot covered hands. He swears to them as the prince of briar valley that he’ll do whatever it takes to help them.

Second way this may play out in my head! Malleus also sends THEM into dreamland, off into the world of sleep, where everything is so much easier. Where everyone can live their ideal lives and be happy! It’s okay! He’ll watch over everyone while they rest! He has so many years to figure out a way to save Yuu. He promises them on his crown that he’ll find a way to save them and keep them safe and happy as long as they both live.

Now. In dreamworld. Everyone in NRC has their own… “worlds”. Worlds where they are happy and where everything is right and is going just how they want. Uh. I kinda forgot about Grim until now. Not a clue for him in the first one, but for this one, I imagine he was sent to dreamland with the others, but the difference is, is that he knows that it’s a dream. He knows that this world isn’t real and is just from Malleus’ spell. He goes to find any of the others. But they don’t recognize him. They don’t recognize the name Yuu either. They just brush him off as a weird monster and go about with their dream that they don’t know is a dream. Also, a note, each “dreamworld” is their own separate individual dreamworld. Ace is separate from Deuce’s and Vice verse. There is an “Ace” in Deuce’s dreamworld, and there’s a “Deuce” in Ace’s, but those aren’t the real ones. They’re just part of the dream meant to keep them happy because everyone has their own dreams and ideal life and happiness. Example would be that Jamil and Kalim are in separate dreamworlds. Cause. Well. Yeah.

Maybe the first one Grim found was Ace. Maybe he gets Ace to remember Yuu and their time at NRC together when he somehow baited Ace into a fight and they scorched (one of more? I don’t remember) a great seven statue. Maybe Ace starts to say or is in the middle of saying something before he freezes. Something clicks. Going all the back into his memory, Grim can faintly remember Ace saying the same thing the first time this happened. Grim starts to ask Ace a question, but Ace cuts him off, asking where Yuu is. Grim does his best to catch Ace up on what happened and what he thinks just happened. The two decide it’s best to “wake” everyone else up. They’re still in dreamland, but they’re aware that they’re in dreamland.

Next is Deuce in his own dreamworld where he’s a model student. Uh. Chandelier. Uh. Monster in the mine or eggs make him remember. Ace and Grim explain to him. He joins their quest. They go and find everyone they knew. It takes some effort remembering just how they met to get the others to “wake up”. Dorm after dorm they eventually have all their friends.

Well, wait, before I say the next part, maybe with the dorm leaders plus Jamil, it’s just like how it was in the real world the few moments before the overblots. They have to fight all over again. But it’s just them. There’s no Yuu beside them. Theres no Yuu to guide or tell them what to do. They’re on their own this time. Once dorm leaders plus Jamil are defeated, they, too, “wake up”. For a little more angst, they’re put in their “spots” when the dorm leaders plus Jamil overblotted. Example, even though Ruggie “woke up” he appeared in Leona’s dreamworld slowly being turned to sand. Ruggie remembers this happening before, for Leona, this is the first time this is happening. All the pain is amplified because they knew why these people overblotted and why they’re acting how they are because they saw it all before.

Uh. Umm. Eventually, they get to the “core” of all the dreamworlds. Don’t ask why I put some dreamworlds in quotes and others not because I don’t know. Anyways. The core of the dreamworlds. The core is Yuu. Yuu who is completely oblivious to what’s happening both inside and outside of the dreamworld. They try and try all they want to make Yuu remember, but they just can’t. Nothing is working. Nothing is reminding Yuu. Oh. But another thing. Ya know how all the dorm leaders plus Jamil overblotted in the dreamworld? Well… that blot was real. It was coming from Yuu. With each OB they fought, Yuu began to feel more and more pain. Eventually, Yuu is yelling at them to go away. But they just won’t leave. Why won’t they leave like whenever Yuu wants whatever else in this place to leave when they ask? Why won’t they listen?! Why won’t they just obey?! Yuu is in so much pain from their presences, their body in the real world is thrashing and crying and Malleus doesn’t know what to do.

He does the only thing he can’t think of. He casts the spell on himself so he can enter their dreamworld and find out what’s cause this. Right when Grim was getting in Yuu’s face, a pillar of green fire separates them. Then Malleus appears in his OB form. He sees everyone and he knows that they’re “awake”. Maybe the others yell at him to stop this. To end the spell already. But Malleus doesn’t listen to them. He sees Yuu afraid and in pain. He gets angrier. And he fight. All of them are up against Malleus, even his own Diasomnia family. He yells how Yuu is his only true friend. Yuu is kind just… maybe clinging to Malleus, putting their face in his chest or trying to hide behind them because they somehow know he’s safety.

But. You remember how all that blot in the previous refights were real? So is this blot that is consuming Malleus. And now it’s consuming Yuu too. Instead of fighting though, Yuu sinks deeper into the blot. Like they’re trying to get comfort from the blot that covers both theirs and Malleus’ forms. Uh. If Malleus transformed into a dragon, they’re still clinging to him. Maybe to his neck? I dunno. I’m doing my best here.

The others are losing. Badly. They can’t stand up against Malleus. Grim is on the verge of collapsing. The dorms are all exhausted from this fight that seems never ending. They don’t even seem fake make a scratch on Malleus.

Then there’s a scream.

Malleus stops.

Everyone else stops.

The screaming continues.

Malleus is frantic. He knows that scream. If he transformed into a dragon, he changed back in his more human looking form. He goes to hold Yuu, but when he turns, he can’t even see them. He can’t even see the slightest bit of their skin or hair or clothes. There’s only blot.

The blot that Malleus had from overblotting and from the spells everyone was using. It all went into Yuu. It’s just what Malleus didn’t want, what he was trying to avoid.

—————

Uh. My brain stopped. My brain said that that is enough. Mr brain said that this is it for now and to stop writing. Uh. Thoughts? I forget where I was going with this. Uh. I’d be happy to answer any questions or listen to any input on this idea? I may add more later when my brain decides to continue? If I do, I guess it’ll be in a new post reblogged from this one? I’ve been on this site for years and I still don’t really know how tumblr works.

I kinda went on a ramble and uh. I think I got off kilter some? Uh. I’ve only really played to the end of chapter 3. I’ve read some stuff about 4 and 5 but uh. This is from my own thoughts. If not, I think I got one heck of a fanfiction idea lol

[sasharain23]

Wards

Today we will be talking about Wards.

Now what are wards?

Well wards are a means of protecting and securing yourself and your home against harmful energies and entities.

Wards are an important part of witchcraft as it protects us from outside influences especially when working with the powers that be.

Types of things to ward against are disruptive energies, intrusion, and transient spirits.

First on the list is Disruptive Energies.

What are disruptive energies?

Well, these types of energies are what many consider negative.

They are energies that you yourself have not invited into your home and which are not surrounding you, but rather the place or item around you.

Instances of this are apartments or homes that house a lot of people.

People give off energy every day and not all of it is good and sometimes an energy if strong enough can linger.

Another instance is hospitals or hotels that have now been renovated for housing.

Again, strong energies stay awhile and some people might not always pass on. *More on that when I talk about transient spirits.

Second on the list is Intrusion.

Intrusions are energies or psychic/magickal attention that is directed at you.

To do this type of attack all people really need is a screen name and avatar, so please be careful online. What you do or say online can still affect you in real life.

Types of Intrusion’s are:

Psychic spying which involves someone trying to link to you to gain information. Such information can range from how you are feeling to how strong your shielding is.

Curses which to be frank. Most people that can curse don’t know you and don’t want to expel their energy for silly things online. But curses are directed unwanted energies sent to specifically cause mischief and mayhem.

Unwanted magick. This is something such as praying for someone who didn’t ask for it or lighting a candle for someone who is religious.

Rule of thumb:

ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION.

Third on the list is:

Transient Spirits.

Transient spirits are spirits who come and go like waves on the beach. Most leave. But a few stays, if you catch their interest. Those are the ones that like to stare at you in the corner of the room or scurry on the floor in the hall. They are the problem ones especially if not welcomed.

Now there are things that you can’t ward against. Such as things you have invited in, miasma, and deities.

The reason you can’t ward against something you invited whether intentionally or not is that an agreement was made. You agreed to let these energies in so therefore wards cannot work against them.

Choose your words carefully. Because once said it may be hard to take back.

Miasma is a type of icky blackness that is natural to the world and occurs in places with a lot of disruptive energies. Since it is natural it can’t be warded against.

Deities cannot be warded against because they are part of the powers that be. They are strong and part of the universe itself. So, they cannot be warded against. If a deity wants to reach out to you they will and you will know.

Types of wards

There are many types of wards but the most common one is charms.

Charms are incantations, songs, verses, objects or acts that are used as part of a spell or act for magick.

Such as an object whose purpose is to protect like a witch bottle. I will explain that later in the post.

Other types wards are;

Chimes. Those made of natural materials are best. Such as wood or sea shells.

Metals like iron are thought to keep spirits way if placed above doorways. Iron horseshoes have been used since the 4th century BC by the Greeks for luck and Romans and Christians for warding off evil.

Plants are considered a living ward and involve making a contract with the plants spirit.

Powders can also be used for warding such as black salt or hot foot powder.

Statues like gargoyles have been used to ward off evil since the 12th century.

Sigils can also be used to ward.

If you work with spirits, you can also use them to help you ward.

Now the last thing to talk about is where can you ward.

Well, the answer is simple.

Anywhere

Your front and back door are good places to set wards as well as doorways in your home.

If you live in an apartment, setting wards and the ceiling, floor and walls is good to keep out disruptive energies.

Mirrors as well as windows can also be warded.

You can also set more than one ward in an area or place. So lay them on thick. The safer the better.

Now, let’s talk about types of charms.

The witch bottle is a common one. It’s a bottle filled with sharp metal pieces and personal items that you place outside the home to act as a decoy for yourself. It does need to be replaced every once in a while and can include a counter curse. To dispose of it, bury it off your property.

Do not bury it on your property.

The next one is the spirit trap.

This bottle or jar is used to trap unwanted spirits trying to enter your home. Placed near and entryway to your home. This bottle contains the same things as the witch bottle but with a lot more sharp and pointy objects. Dispose of when full and in the same way as the witch bottle.

Other charms include:

Rowan twigs bound in red thread and herbal charm bags.

If you would like to know more. I learned this from By Rust of Nail and Prick of Thorn by Athaea Sebastiani.

A great book for baby witches and experienced ones alike. Its only about 89 pages but its full of information and a great read.

[eclectic-ways]

MASTER LIST

My Bio 🧿

My Artworks

[respective on post order here]

Tour de Force of Nature

Cookin’ in Trance

The Dance of Laser Beams & Smoke

Galaxy Projector

Lay All Your Love on Me

A Call for Help

Silence

So Blessed Be

Angry at Fear

Last days of 2022 in Pasadena

Gaze Into The Eye

Gateways Through the Eyes

When the Flame Gets You in The Mood

Stop Wasting Your Time Mortal

Hills Hail The Clouds

Magical Cave of a Pond Mermaid

Spell Through Green Flame Candle

The House of an Outcast Mermaid Transforming into a Siren

I Would Hex You But..

Miscellanea of My Psyche

A Distracting Beauty

Showing off with Green Flame

Turn off the Light

Global Warming at its Finest

Earth Day

Quotes I Love

Call The Midwife

Copying Beethoven

McConaughey

Dirty John

Cathy McClelland

Ivan Turgenev

Arthur Schopenhauer Compilation - Happiness is the Absence of Pain

A Paradox - The Sandman

Films & Shows I Love

My Immortal Beloved

The Originals

My Rendition of Others’ Art

Soul

Color Magick for Health

The World

Arts I Like

Vampire Goth Woman

Autumn Trees

Full Moon in BPD

Me & I

A Healing Light in Misery

Imagine

Wrong Turn at the Wrong Time

Bleeding Through My Own Blood

Hanging in There

Stupid Fucking North Node

My Thoughts, Claims & Suggestions

Quit Chasing

Weakness vs Narcissist

Manifestation Gurus

Anti-Appropriation

Get Off My Page IF You’re Against Duality & Versatility

Announcement to Anti-AI-Art People

Your Hate Feeds Me

Demisexual & I Hate It

Expose the Monster & Disable the Bully

Drowning in My Own Solitary Sea

Optimism & Wisdom

Vicious Circle of Chronic Depression

Memes I Like

The Same Tarot Card

The Tower

Useful Stuff

Bionic Reading

The Perks of Coconut Water

My Polls

Things we do when we’re overwhelmed

Witchy Tips & Shares

Angel Number 1111

Milestone of Awakening

Synchronicities

Soul Pattern Clearing Mantra

Cona - My Love

Collage video 1

Life is Hard

Just Chillin’

This list hasn’t been updated for a while now. I’ll be on it…

Reminder: I don’t and won’t reblog anything but my own posts.

[senorincognito69]

Pigpen's pride (Monthly tale - 47)

(Women into pigs)*

Chapter 5

“Witchcraft is a long, long tradition, as we have studied already, the spell & craft are older than the very concept of civilization itself. Our history isn’t separated from that of the rest of the world, far from it, but it runs parallel with the triumphs and uncountable horrors of mankind, but is not completely shared. As we humans spread from Africa’s heart towards every corner of the world so did witches. Knowledge, methodologies… witchery shares many traits, no matter where it comes from, because our trade comes from a shared lore passed from witch to witch since when, at the dawn of our species, the Moth Mother gave us her teachings. Still, despite the similarities, the way witches conduct themselves can be completely different from coven to coven and, as with many other things in life, from region to region even if there is a distinguishable pattern. Such is the case with yakuza covens from Japan. As humanity spread and matriarchy sadly fell from grace due to the imposition of the farcical patriarchy, witches stepped back into a world of infinite possibilities while men wasted century after century spilling blood in the pursuit of less than nothing. Japan was no different, feudal warlords, brutish thugs in armour who ruined both their own and a larger chunk of the world. What is known only from our history books is that in the shadows, kunoichi ruled. With superb mastery of the art of the markings, covens of witches pulled the strings from behind the scene, their doings dictated the outcomes of battlefields and the rise and fall of lords, governing as a myth that men could only poorly imitate. After the end of the great world wars the kunoichi modernised with the changing times, a coalition of covens swiftly took over the yakuza in less than a year and a couple of decades later their grip on the criminal underworld was completely solidified, their reach, power and skill reaching a peak never seen before…” Cindy looked up from the book. “You all better be paying attention!”

…

The morning sun shone outside the large traditional Japanese house.

The peaceful flow of water in the backyard pond.

The double doors from the main hall to the backyard were open.

Akaryu Xingshi lay face down and bare breasted on the floor, with her head resting against her crossed well toned arms. Sitting by her side on that same floor there was another woman, wearing white and blindfolded, one hand on Xing’s back, the other holding the long thin brush of needles.

Her nails had a faintly black glow.

The ancient painful art of irezumi.

A craft that required both precise finesse and unbroken patience. The blindfolded witch applied the mix of kappa & kitsune ink on the skin canvas one stab at a time. It takes weeks, months, often even years, to finish the painting, thousands and thousands of stabbings, carved by hand, slowly forming a coherent picture.

An act of dedication not just for the artist, but for the canvas.

You don’t get yourself inked just on a whim, it requires commitment, conviction.

Especially amongst the coven yakuza.

It was no mere aesthetic decoration, but a statement of intention, will and power carried on your back. Literal power, such markings enhance the flow of magick, but they also bond the witch’s power to a singular conception of her choice.

Such bonding lasts for life.

The image painted has to be something important for the witch, something that defines them. Xing’s inking was already a full sketch that had taken a few months of carving sessions. It lacked colour, but the image was already fully visualised.

A koi fish swimming downwards, splitting a waterfall in two.

…

The place set for the meeting was in the countryside, far from the cities. Not near any main road, just a few buildings and a lot of open space surrounded by a high wall, in the land records it was registered as a private farming compound.

A handy facade that wasn’t completely untrue.

The car was big, wide, black, with tinted windows. It stopped in front of the heavy gates that were the compound’s main entrance. A woman in a suit came out of the car and rushed to open the passenger's door reverently.

Lady Benten Sakamoto, matriarch of the Hebimori coven, stepped out.

A tall, thin fair skinned woman with long limbs and an uptight face. Her dark hair tied up in the most traditional of manners, she was wearing a regal kimono with an exquisite green and yellow scale pattern and carrying a long, sheathed, katana.

So long that she could even use the weapon sheathed as a staff without a problem.

While the rest of her cohort got out of the car, Sakamoto gave the gates of the farm  compound a cold stare. The noise of the pigs on the other side of the wall gave her a soft chill down her spine, something very unpleasant for a woman of her status.

The bike was so loud it didn’t take anybody by surprise, it’s stormy noise reached them long before the vehicle itself arrived. The Hebimori witches swiftly surrounded their matriarch.

Like thunder the bike, a vintage Harley, reached them, tyres shrieking and smoking before it stopped.

Xing was riding it.

She was shorter than Sakamoto, with tanned skin, bushy eyebrows matching her fierce eyes, black hair loose and wild, with a single blonde bang. Her kimono stood in opposition to the matriarch’s refined clothes, being fiery red with white details, she wore it open and with the sleeves rolled up, showing muscles and abs, barely covering her breasts.

Instead of a katana she carried a long rusty pipe.

“Sup, old crone!” gloated Xing, smiling with dangerous defiance as she dismounted her ride. “Ready to become a pork-chop brood?”

The Hebimori witches didn’t take her lack of respect well. One of them, heated up with anger, broke formation to confront Xing.

“Brutish uncivilised thug! How dare you speak to Lady Benten in such a manner!”

Xing eagerly met the chance of a fight,, with the pipe resting on her shoulder and the nails of the other hand already glowing red she stood up in front of the Habimore witch.

“What’s the issue, girl? You don’t want your grandma to be the only one screwed today? I can help you with that if you are so tired of belonging to humanity!”

Not only her nails, but now her eyes also shone, without an ounce of fear.

The young witch quickly realised her mistake, the pressure that surrounded her, engulfing reality itself. Her nipples stiffened, her vagina clenched, she couldn’t breath, wet, as if she was under water, as if she was about to collapse & splash inside her own clothes.

Sakamoto intervened, putting the hilt of the katana between the two witches.

“YUKI!” she shouted with a dry voice. “Are you out of your mind? You are no match for this monster.”

“O-Onee-sama…” mumbled Yuki. “I… I just…”

Sakamoto continued her scolding.

“I don’t need you to throw your life away for me, idiot! That’s not why we are here!”

With her anger and pride melted into shame and impotence, Yuki stepped backwards with her head down and tearful eyes.

Xing chuckled.

“All very noble on your part, crone, but perhaps you shouldn’t cover for them, just let nature take it’s course and get rid of the weak so your hatchlings can stand up for themselves when you are out of the picture and can’t save their ass.”

Sakamoto glared at Xing, the two witches stood staring at each other, their power crackling in the air.

“It’s of the utmost disgrace that the Sora coven had to fall into the grip of a mixed blood savage like you,” the old matriarch said with calm contempt. “But you will not harm my apprentices. The code will be respected, and our conflict will be resolved peacefully.”

Xing shook her head.

“Peacefully, that’s funny!”

The gates of the compound opened.

The Warden walked out, immediately cooling the scene with her presence.

She was tall, taller even than Sakamoto, with a stiff posture, pale skinned and with bountiful breasts. She wore a kimono of unstained white, her head covered by a large straw hat of the same colour that completely covered her face from her lips upwards, with eye slots in the front so she could see.

“Lady Benten,” she said with a soft voice, bowing with reverence.

Sakamoto bowed back.

“It’s an honour, Warden.”

“Lady Akaryu,” continued the Warden, bowing to Xing.

Xing rolled her eyes.

“Can we be done with the pedantry already?

The Warden nodded.

“My apologies, Lady Akaryu,” the Warden continued with another bow. “I hope I didn’t make your honourable graces wait unnecessarily. As heads of the Hebimor coven and the Sora coven you had agreed and rightfully requested access to the compound to solve a conflict between your covens, is that correct?”

“Yes, it is correct,” confirmed Sakamoto.

“You can be damned sure!“ shouted Xing.

The Warden nodded again.

“Then you are both welcome into the Mud Heaven,” she stepped aside, offering them passage into the compound’s interior. “I would be your humble attendant today, perhaps for the rest of your lives depending on the outcome of today. I’m certain two women of your stature don’t need that reminder, but please, be aware this is the last line, if you follow me past these doors at the very least one of you will certainly be permanently reduced into a breeding sow, so please give it final consideration before any further action.”

The Warden awaited for their answers, Xing didn’t waste a single moment with a second thought.

“Let’s go already!” she grunted, annoyed, stepping ahead with her pipe.

Sakamoto stood still, squeezing her sword’s scabbard, she took another long look at the compound’s gates, feeling her age on her shoulders.

“How could I allow it to escalate to this point…” she mumbled to herself.

Yuki tried to reach out to her matriarch one last time.

“Onee-sama…” she said. “You don’t have to humiliate yourself like this…”

Sakamoto shook her head.

“It is my duty, my responsibility,” she told her apprentices. “Whatever happens today… to me, no matter what, you are Hebimori witches and we stand tall no matter what.”

The Hebimori witches saluted their matriarch, Yuki lowered her head to hide her tears. Sakamoto breathed deeply, readying herself, before stepping ahead with katana in hand.

“Magnificent,” the Warden bowed to the two women. “Please, follow me in peace without disturbing the pigs.”

She walked into the compound, Xing and Sakamoto exchanged stares out of the corner of their eyes before following the Warden. The heavy doors of the gate soon closed behind them, as if they were animated by magic.

The two witches walked closely behind the Warden, the path they were using ended at the largest & most lavish building at the centre of the compound. It was serene in the interior of the walls, off to one side of the path some farmland was being attended by other wardens who wore clothes very similar to the one leading them, at the other side there was a beautiful garden with a pond.

As they advanced the farming side gave way to an outdoor sty.

The Mud Heaven.

A couple of dozen pigs, all sows, rolling around the mud, feasting from the feeders, playing, socialising… Doing the usual doings of their kindred when left undisturbed.

All of them sows.

But even more interesting than that: All of them with elaborate tattoos covering their backs and sides.

“Here is where one of you may end up today,” the Warden explained as they kept walking. “Those sows were all upstanding members of the yakuza, matriarchs, captains… Women of power who put their humanity on the line to avoid bloodshed and lost it. Stripped of their name and form they will live here for the rest of their lives, safe and taken care of, as the pigs they are. It may be humiliating for some, but their choice was brave and not something to be ashamed of, remember that when you are transforming.”

“Why freaking pigs?” asked Xing.

“The same reason why transformations into common porcines are banned outside of the compound: The ancestral witch Kirke. Lady Benten certainly could tell you about that ruling, she was one of her supporters…”

Xing had stopped paying attention to the Warden. Having seen something ahead she rushed forward, leaving both her companions behind. Leaving her pipe on the floor she knelt down before the sty’s fence.

A spotted sow approached, one of the largest in the sty. The splendid beast with a joyful expression had a cloudy sky surrounding a red torii gate adorning her back.

Memories resounded inside Xing’s head… Foggy at first, the half-laughing echo of a calm woman’s voice…

“You need to relax, Xing-chan, let’s go to the onsen…!”

The fog acquired form.

That day the water was perfectly warm…

It was like heaven…

In front of her, the matriarch of the Sora coven, Lady Hayate, was standing butt-naked in the middle of the water… the same tattoo, with the gate and the clouds, on her wide back…

Lady Hayate looked at Xing, not in the least worried about her nudity… She was a plump pale woman, with shoulder length black hair, a bushy crotch, plentiful breasts… she smiled without a single regret…

“There’s nothing else to talk about, Xing-chan! I’m becoming a pig for your sake, so don’t you dare waste it, idiot! That’s my final demand…!”

The memory faded away…

Xing was petting the big headed sow with both hands, which seemed very happy with the attention.

“Fat slob,” mumbled Xing. “I was worried sick and here you are, living the best life, aren’t ya?”

“Oink! Oink!”

“Hmph…” Xing felt an itch in her eyes. “So, were you right? Is the mud as good as the thermal waters?”

“Grunt!”

The Warden put her hand on Xing’s shoulder.

“Lady Akaryu,” she quickly removed her hand when the sow tried to reach it with it’s snout. “We shall move.”

Xing gave the sow’s head a last rub.

“Yeah…” she said, getting up. “Keep doing great, aunty.”

“Oink…!”

“Don’t you worry, Lady Akaryu, this place is called the Mud Heaven for a reason, pigs here have the best life a pig can have. From feeding to breeding to cleaning, all their necessities are covered.”

“Sure, great.”

“You may come to appreciate it if you end up joining the sty.”

“Tshh…”

“You are young, fit, healthy, you would definitely make a good breeder if you became a pig and certainly a cute one, even if your teats may leave something to be desired.”

Xing frowned and stared back at the Warden’s covered face

“It feels like you are looking for a fight, big-titted-moron!”

“Nothing could be further from the truth, I’m just trying to ease what may be a reality for you soon, Lady Akaryu.”

“Fuck off, creep!”

More annoyed than before, Xing kept walking forward. Sakamoto shook her head, she moved in front of the sow with cloud tattoos and gave a profound reverence to the beast. The Warden approached her from behind.

“Lady Benten,” the Warden began before being interrupted by Sakamoto.

“I don’t need you to tell me what fine pork material I am, Warden,” the Hebimori matriarch answered dryly and with her eyes on the sty. “Fat and lazy and so lost in primal hedonistic urges that the dignity of my persona is nothing but a mocking memory, if it's to be my fate then so let it be, but I’m not going to denigrate my pridff to thims of a brat.”

“Certainly,” nodded the Warden. “You’d rather oink than lose your honour, as one of the Seven Goddesses of Luck you would be the greatest sow to ever join the compound.”

Sakamoto’s lips twitched.

The two followed Xing.

They reached the main building shortly afterwards, a temple-like structure placed at the exact centre of the Mud Heaven. Without losing any more time the three climbed the stairs, the Warden opened the doors and they walked inside after leaving their shoes at the entrance.

The interior was a spacious room, mostly empty, walled in dark brown wood. The windows were closed and it was illuminated by square cloth lamps hanging from the high ceiling. At the other end of the room stood a statue, a gigantic bronze statue depicting a naked half-pig woman sitting with her legs crossed, rows of teats along both sides of her large round belly, a serene expression on her snout.

Leading them, the Warden reached the shadow of the statue and knelt on her knees in front of it, placing her back to the pig-woman, on a pillow in the middle of a black circle painted on the floor.

There were two other circles side by side, each with their own pillow-seats, in front of her.

“Please, take a seat,” the Warden instructed. “You go on the right, Lady Benten and you on the left, Lady Akaryu.”

Xing and Sakamoto followed the instructions, sitting where they were told, Xing crossing her legs.

“Now,” the Warden continued. “Renounce your weapons so we can begin.”

The katana and the pipe were immediately put down on the floor, outside the circles.

“Bare your chests, witches,” was the next thing the Warden told them.

Without any hesitation both women removed the tops of their kimonos, rolling them around their waist and exposing their breasts. Xing’s nipples were small and stiff,  her tits medium sized above her abs. Sakamoto had slightly larger, but saggier, boobs, veiny and with ample areolas.

Sakamoto’s back was covered by a tattoo displaying a myriad of snakes of a green and yellow tone, surrounding a larger white one in the middle of a jungle. Xing’s defiant waterfall-splitting koi was still just a finished sketch of ink.

The Warden gave them the next step of the ritual.

“Bow and be humble. Unleash your magicks, bind them to the markings on the floor without any restraint or subterfuge.”

And so the two witches did.

They put their hands on the circles and bowed until their foreheads touched wood.

Their nails shone with power, red for Xing, greenish for Sakamoto. Their glows were  slowly suctioned by their surrounding ritual circles, replacing the black with their signature colours.

Around the Warden her own circle pulsated with darkness.

The Warden raised her voice.

“Benten Sakamoto! Akaryu Xingshi! Are you willing to risk those names meaning nothing to end your dispute?”

Sakamoto and Xing answered together at once.

“Yes!”

“Then you no longer have names,” concluded the Warden. “If you step out of the markings you will become a pig,” she stretched her arm forward. “If you reach an agreement one of you will become a pig. If you run out of time you will both become pigs. You are women no more, that pretension is now bound to the markings, you are sows of the Mud Heaven,” the Warden touched her pulsating circle with the tip of her nails, calming the magic. “You have only half-an-hour, sows” she said, straightening up. “Please, proceed, deliberate and I will judge.”

The Warden waited.

The witches raised their heads. Xing took a quick glance behind her, at her back her red circle had begun to slowly blaze, but not to slow, the red consuming in both directions of the circumference, leaving only a burn mark in the floor. The exact same thing was happening to Sakamoto’s surrounding markings.

Xing felt her muscles tensing, sweating, and the temperature raising.

Sakamoto straightened herself, like the Warden, she cleared her throat and spoke.

“The punk sitting at my side is not worthy of being part of the yakuza, nor humankind. She’s reckless, unthinking and violent. The previous matriarch of the Sora coven already sacrificed her humanity, joining the Mud Heaven, to save her and not even six months after she has made that sacrifice meaningless. Under her command the Sora coven has been trying to expand into the Nigata prefecture.”

Xing’s eyelids had been narrowing as Sakamoto made her accusations, her fuzzy eyebrows frowning.

“You are a lying old hog!” she finally shouted.

Showing her lack of self-control she leaned forward, trying to reach Sakamoto with a punch, but as soon as her hand was out of the circle her fist was opened by the magic. Thick hairs covered the skin as it turned pinkish, her wrist cracked and fingers swelled and retracted into clumsy digits.

It took merely an instant for her arm to end in a pig trotter.

Xing remained in shock until she felt the tusks against her lips and the flattening of her nose, she recoiled back into her circle.

“Do us a favour, pig” Sakamoto told her, cold and undisturbed by the failed punching attempt. “Leave your clothes on the seat and crawl out of the markings, it would be far easier and more honourable for all of us.”

“Screw you!” barked Xing at her rival, her changes having reverted as quickly as they happened once she had retreated back inside the circle, she shook her fingers and then her whole hand. “Fuckin hell…!”

“Do you deny the accusations of the old hog, young sow?” the Warden asked, making both witches lips twitch.

“Tch! Of course I do, ma’am, it’s bull… nah!” she chuckled, sitting like a thug, with her legs open. “Pig-shit, wouldn’t it be? Pig-shit and lies! Do I look like the kind of witch that would have any interest in stupid land-grabs?”

The Warden nodded.

“No, no indeed… But you do look like the kind of hot-blooded sow that would love to have an excuse for a fight.”

Sakamoto shook her head.

“There’s plenty of evidence, Warden, I sent them to the compound as soon as I received the calling! You must have seen them, haven’t you?”

“I have, old hog.”

“Then the sow has no excuse! She’s trying to play smart, but she’s just an idiot! The Sora coven has been vandalising our store and marking our territory! The Sora coven is attacking the Hebimori coven! They want to start a war!”

Xing rolled her eyes.

“You sure love to grunt a lot considering you just want to oink nonsense, old hog, but none of that is true and you know it. The Sora coven isn’t doing crap.”

A vein inflated in Sakamoto’s forehead, she stroked the floor with her fist.

“You call me an oinking liar, but you offer neither any counter argument nor evidence for your innocence. What, are we supposed to believe that you are a pig of peace when you can’t even stand in our most sacred institutions without showing your disdain for our traditions?”

Xing shrugged.

“You can believe pigs can fly for all I care, but I can assure you the Sora coven hasn’t put a single hoove in your sty, hog!” she burst into laughter. “Moth Mother, we are really riding this bacon-speech to the mud, aren’t we?”

“Why are you certain the Sora coven hasn’t made any attempt on Hebimori territory, sow?” intervened the Warden. “You have barely been matriarch for a few months, your underlings could be conspiring against your interests.”

“Which would be yet another reason for her to stay in Mud Haven!” Sakamoto pointed out. “It doesn't matter if she is inexperienced and can’t lead her coven properly, it would still be her responsibility and she would still be no better than any common swine.”

Xing calmly, or as calmly as she could manage, glared at the other two, then smirked.

“I know the Sora coven isn’t doing anything for one simple reason: I’m the only remaining Sora witch.”

That revelation caught both the Warden and Sakamoto off-guard, they needed a moment to assimilate it.

“What do you mean,” Sakamoto asked slowly.

Xing looked directly at her.

“I mean what I mean. When good ol’ Lady Hayate took the hit for me and joined this lovely Mud Heaven there were seventeen witches left in the Sora coven not counting me. Seventeen good for nothing hags that couldn’t tolerate a mixed blooded being their new matriarch. Those darn traditions! They didn’t know better and before I could even get my ink they made sure I was aware of their complaints and demands… with an ambush. So we fought and now they are in the pond, where they belong.”

“The pond…?” the old sow enquired further.

Xing’s smirk sharpened.

“They tried, they fought, they were so sure… Until eggs began to pour out of their cunt, the scales covering them, their weakening limbs turning into fins… They didn’t plead for long when their gills grew. So that’s why the Sora coven isn’t attacking your turf, old hog. Hayate is already here and a sow, the other seventeen are koi in the pond.”

Sakamoto shook her head.

“You can’t be serious.”

Xing raised her fist, her nails glowed red, seventeen small red figures appeared around her arm, seventeen nude women. Sakamoto recognized them as they swam in the air, doing circles around the arm… opening and closing their mouths, wiggling, deforming…

Seventeen koi fish.

“That’s my evidence and the truth,” Xing opened her fist and the fish vanished at once. “I am all that's left of the Sora coven!” she focussed her attention on the Warden. “Which would mean that the hog’s accusation is false and she should be the one crawling naked out of the markings, I am right, ma’am?”

The Warden fondled her chin.

“Impressive,” she said. “Very impressive… It would seem so, certainly, that your allegation is stronger than the hog’s…”

Sakamoto panicked in a moment of weakness.

“W-Wait!” for the first time since the deliberations began she felt the nudity of her chest. “Even if what the sow claims is true that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s not the one attacking Hebimori territory!”

“Your colours are showing, hog and they are rather pink!” Xing gloated.

“Shut up, insolent! Warden, I implore you, this sow’s hate is obvious, transparent, her only goal is to harm our organisations! This is nothing but a ploy to cause my downfall!”

Xing shook her head, disappointed.

“You are just becoming plain pathetic now, hog.”

Sakamoto pierced Xing with her eyes.

“Pathetic…?” her voice was trembling. “I have devoted my life to the yakuza! Every choice! Every action! What do you know about duty? Loyalty? Honour?! You want nothing but our ruin!” she bowed, pleading to the Warden. “Warden, listen to me, make me a pig, I accept it, but if you allow her to walk free it will be the doom of the yakuza!”

Xing stomped the floor and rose up, angrier at Sakamoto’s begging display than of anything that had happened so far. She removed the rest of her kimono and stood at the edge of the half burnt circle wearing only white socks, sweat shining on her tense muscles, her puffy shaved pussy tight between her legs.

“I’m not a scheming snake, hog! You think you can throw away your humanity to tear down my pride?! I don’t hide my beef with you and the rest of the lucky oldies, but I didn’t want this! I want a fight! A fair fight! But you had to drag us both down to the mud, didn’t ya? I haven’t even started and this the best you can do to stop me? Okay then! Fine with me! Stop squealing and whining and show your guts! Clothes off, we are sow! Let’s step out of the markings at once and oink together for life!”

Sakamoto stared at the young woman in front of her with wide open eyes, she was unflinching even in her nudity. Her heart beat hard in her chest, as it hadn’t for many years. She shut her eyes, disgusted by how frail and old she had allowed herself to become.

“Fine with me too…” she finally said with a calmer voice. “You win, let’s be swine,” she began to pull down her kimono. “But you are the one that brought us here, not me, this is what YOU wanted…!”

“Cut out the pig-shit! You are the one that wanted to settle this in the Mud Heaven like the good old hog you are!”

“What insanity are you babbling now? You are the one who requested our meeting here!”

Xing crossed her arms.

“I did not!”

Sakamoto stopped with her butt out.

“That’s… impossible…” she mumbled.

Laughter.

“Fufufufufufufu!”

The Warden’s laughter, she even clapped a couple of times.

“You truly are incredible, Akaryu Xingshi!” she chuckled, cheerfully. “You transformed them all into fish? Astounding! I have to thank you, you’ve saved me a lot of work with that one!”

“Big-titted-moron…” mumbled Xing.

“My plan was to make both of you end up in the sty, but you have impressed me!”

“This is outrageous!” cried Sakamoto. “What’s the meaning of this defiling of the code?! Who are you?!”

The Warden looked at Sakamoto from behind her face-covering straw-hat, her voice sounding way less friendly.

“I’m a Warden, old hog, I have no name, just like you. That’s the code, that’s the tradition.”

Xing pointed at the Warden.

“Be done with the pedantry and explain yourself!”

“Do you know how Wardens become Wardens, Xing-chan?”

Xing lowered her arm.

“No clue.”

“Any woman born in the coven that can’t perform the arknae without aid will be sent  for Warden-hood, stripped of her past or future, to live serving the yakuza.”

“So who are you?”

“I am your sister, Xing-chan.”

“Uh?”

“I am Lady Hayate's biological daughter.”

“Oh…! Oh…” Xing paused for a moment. “Did you do it yourself?”

“Do what, sis?”

“Make a sow out of aunty?”

“I did, yes. I can still hear her squealing voice echoing around these walls,” the Warden cocked her head. “Are you mad about that?”

Xing shook her head.

“No, I’m not. That mess… It was my fault, but it was also her decision to take the blame. At this point, disrespecting that would be an insult, both for the woman she was and the pig she became. I will never be able to repay her, but I can at least pay her that respect. Did she go with some grace down onto all fours?”

“Of all the yakuza I have seen become swine, my mother was the most dignified of the sows, you’ve seen her in the mud, she was born for it.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

“Sis, do not commit the mistake of idolising her. It was thanks to that bank incident you got involved with that I found out that she was my mother, but when we met here and I told her who I was and what my plan was, she just took her clothes off and oinked. Her, every leading yakuza, this pathetic old hog in front of us… They are all the same, their code, their traditions, that’s all they care for, be the world damned.”

“You have no right, you treacherous weasel! Our code exists for a reason!” shouted Sakamoto. “Look at what you've done! Your actions are a demonstration of why Warden-hood is necessary! Power has to be kept in control to keep the peace! Sacrifices must be made!”

“But sacrifices are conveniently always for others to make, aren't they?”

“You know nothing!”

“I know enough! I wanted a mother! A childhood! You took that from me! You and the Seven Goddess of Luck, bablering despot hags bloated in greed! Look at what YOU have done! All the lives you have ruined! And know it has been for nothing, you are going to pass the rest of your miserable existance with your trotters deep in the mud, watching impotently how the yakuza gets destroyed while a boar fucks you down as the hog you are!”

“I will not allow it!”

Sakamoto’s nails and back tattoo glowed green, her circle began to burn quicker.

In an instant her neck sprung forward, stretching to inhuman lengths, sending her head flying like a rocket as her mouth opened monstrously wide. She collided with the Warden’s leg and bit it down with fangs and rage.

The Warden screamed in pain, a red stain formed in the fabric of her white kimono, her hat fell off.

Her black hair was shaved short.

Xing realised that the Warden had Hayate’s eyes.

“Let me go! Let me go!” cried the Warden, struggling to shake Sakamoto off. “You are a pig! You are nothing but a pig!”

Sakamato’s assault wasn’t stopped by the Warden’s hits, she bit down more viciously and she wouldn’t have stopped if it wasn’t for the ritual she was bound to. As she snarled on the Warden’s leg her head quickly changed into that of a black pig.

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” screamed the Warden as fangs became tusks inside her flesh, she grabbed Sakamoto’s head, the circle around her seat glowed white. “Pig! PIG! That’s all you are!”

The head of the Hebimori matriarch mutated into the porcine, she lost her hair, became covered in black fur, her eyes became dull, her ears expanded like bat-wings… a very angry grunting hog.

It was when the skull cracked, pushing into a full snout that her tusks lost their grip and the arknae she was consuming to stretch her neck flickered.

Her neck sprang back into her body.

“GEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH!” she squealed all the way back.

Inside her almost gone markings she continued squealing in impotent frustration. A naked mature woman with the head of a black pig.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEIH! EIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!”

In the same way that Xing’s arms had a while back the humanity of Sakamoto’s head was restored, she was left panting on the floor, grabbing her neck, blood dripping from her mouth.

The Warden tried to get up, but her injured leg forced her to sit back.

“Stupid old-ass pig!” she yelled, holding her hurt limb. “Do you see, sister? Always the code this, the code that, but once she realised she was the loser for once she attacks even in this so-called sacred heaven that is supposed to not know violence! Attacks like the ravaging swine she is on the inside! But this is her end and our beginning!” the Warden smiled at Xing. “You and me, sis, let this be our beginning, you and me, Akaryu Xingshi! We will destroy the yakuza… and become the new rulers!”

Xing eyelids narrowed.

Sakamoto coughed, almost sobbing.

“Please… Make me a sow, make me a sow… but not my coven… leave my girls…” she whispered.

Xing bit her lips…

And shouted loudly.

Screaming in rage she jumped forward and landed right out of her markings, between Sakamoto and the Warden. Her eyes and her nails glowing red.

Both the Warden and Sakamoto were surprised by that sudden impulsive act.

“What are you doing!” cried the Warden not believing what her eyes were telling her.

Sakamoto stared at Xing’s rear with her mouth open, a tail sprouted and curled above those firm buttocks.

“OLD HOG!” yelled Xing as her ears stretched and her nose rounded. “OINK! This changes nothing, pick my slag or let’s go to the mud, it’s up to you!”

Flaring her red glow she gave a step towards the Warden, nipples growing under her breasts. Sakamoto reacted, leaning forward she put her fingers over her markings and ignited her arknae.

Closing her eyes she concentrated.

In the darkness was a bright red flame in front of her.

“Goddess, give me strength…!” she groaned between her clenched teeth whilst tusks sharpened against her lips.

The tail receded back into Xing’s ass… only for Sakamoto to feel it growing from her own butt. She began to soak the changes into her own flesh. After the tail grew in her arse her butt-cheeks expanded - wide and porcine, exposing her anus, she grunted.

Xing kept walking towards the Warden, with stoic determination,one step at the time, her magic focused on combating the rule of the ritual. When the porcine features appeared in her body, Sakamoto sucked it towards her flesh.

The Warden shook her head.

“No, no, no! You stupid swine!” she shouted. “You idiot sows! You only had to stand and wait! Why are you doing this?! Some twisted sense of pride?! You two deserve each other! Deserve the sty! Pigs! NOTHING BUT PIGS!”

Enraged she put her hands on her marking, the ritual magic flared into dancing whites and blacks.

A backlash hit Xing right in the chest, she was about to fall down… down onto all fours… but at the last moment her feet landed firmly, she snorted and kept walking.

“Stop! STOP! Stupid! Moron! Get down on your hooves!” The Warden cried, watching Xing’s flesh fluctuate between woman and sow.

The flickering magic roared in the air.

Flashing between forms, Xing was a very angry yakuza witch with glowing red eyes  one moment and an avatar of the pig-woman statue behind the Warden the next.

Sakamoto’s back trotters slid on the floor as her legs shrunk, her lower body was entirely that of the fat female black sow magic had dictated her to be.

Her back bowing, her neck bloating and shortening.

Her markings were almost gone.

If she was to transform completely, even if Xing managed to overpower the ritual rule, her future would remain pork.

“Xingiiiii! XIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINSHIIIIIiiiIIK!” squealed the matriarch in despair.

Xing stepped inside the Warden’s ritual markings.

“Why don't you stop!” the Warden carried on crying. “Don’t get any closer! Don’t you dare touch me! Don’t touch me, pig!”

Xing stretched out her arms and grabbed the Warden’s kimono, then with a single pull tore it apart. The Warden’s plentiful boobs bounced free, large soft spheres with equally large areolas topped with inverted nipples.

“Bare your chest, sister!” gasped Xing. “Your tits are awesome, you're sure gonna make a prize breeding sow!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Xing kissed the Warden, silencing her scream.

The Warden’s pupils dilated.

She fell naked into the dark void, fell and fell until she landed butt first on a floor of soft mud. She splashed and sank, sank and sank until she was gone, her breasts the last thing to disappear.

The mud’s surface remained still for an instant.

With a powerful squeal a large sow emerged from the sludge, covered in mud, squealing loudly beyond the void.

In the room, what was left of the markings burned off simultaneously in large flames of red, green, black and white. Everything abruptly returned to calmness, as if the raging action of the last few minutes hadn’t happened at all.

The three women, or mostly women, were left panting.

The Warden sobbing on her pants.

Xing checked her body was human again just in time to see and touch the nipples disappearing from under one of her breasts. She smirked and looked back at Sakamoto.

“Hey, granny hog, still human?”

She saw Sakamoto, fat and bloated, laying on the floor on her side, only missing a litter of piglets suckling her many teats. A black sow with snakes adorning her back, the only remnant of the woman was a vaguely human face on the pig’s head.

Far away from her usual upright dignified persona.

“Oink… Grunt…!” gasped Sakamoto, exhausted, as her body gradually changed back into humanhood.

“You didn’t change all the way? Sad, the form sure fits you!”

Sakamoto touched the pair of woman’s tits swelling above her rows of teats with her trotters.

“Go to heeeeeeeeell… sassyyyyyy iiiiidioink!” was her answer.

Xing chuckled and focussed her attention back on the Warden.

Any pretension of villainy in the Warden was gone, she was whimpering over her boobs with her head down.

“What’s up, sister?” Xing asked her. “Ready for the sty?”

“Why…? Whyyyy?!” she whined, lifting her tearstained face. “Whyyyy couldn’t you just stand asiiideeee?! We have alreadyyy won!”

Pointy tusks had come out from between her lips, her nose was starting to flatten and turn upright, thanks to her shaved hair the gradual stretching of her ears was plainly evident as they became wide and floppy.

Xing's stoic expression didn't change.

“I’m not gonna scheme to get what I want.”

The Warden shook her head, causing her ears to flap.

“You are stupiiiiiiid… if you thiiiiink you can OINK put down the yakuza by strength you are delusional!”

“Eh… That’s what your mother told me… Yet you are the one joining her today.”

“You’re gonna wasteee your existenceees! Weeeeeh could had doneeee iiiiiit together… Now… Noik I’m just a piiiiiiiiiig!”

Xing snapped, she grabbed the Warden’s kimono and ripped off what was left, then made the Warden stand naked, putting her hands on her shoulders. The Warden shook, her face adorned by porcine features, beneath her large boobs a pair of nipples had sprouted, a curly tail twisting from her rear, her belly swelling above her shaved crotch.

“You tried, you fought and you lost, there’s no shame in that!” Xing told her, staring directly into her watery eyes. “Don’t whine, squeal with pride! I will carry out your will, sister, you can be sure of that!”

But the Warden couldn’t contain her tears, snot dripping from her rounded snout.

“Iiiidiot! Damn iIIIIiidiot! IIIIIDIONK! OINK! GRUNT! GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!”

Squealing like swine, the Warden jerked forward as more teats grew on her chest and a black spot appeared in her forehead, and her wounded leg would have made her drop onto all fours, but Xing was there to hold her up.

“Let me help you to the sty.”

The Warden oinked and nodded.

Xing began to carry the transforming pig-woman towards the exit, she accidentally kicked her pipe in the process.

“Are you coming, granny hog?” she asked Sakamoto when they passed her.

Sakamoto was back in her fully human form, her piggy ass having finished re-humanizing a moment before. She also nodded, grabbed her katana, and followed the other two leaving her clothes behind.

Xing opened the doors of the ritual room with a kick and helped the Warden climb down the stairs. The warden grunted with each step, her arse was expanding, buttocks spreading to expose a swollen anus and her cunt, bloated and leathery, sliding closer to that butthole.

“Fuuuuck…! Fooooink! Am soooink hornnnyyyy…” she babbled, her face had slightly started to push into a snout shape.

“We are almost there,” Xing mumbled, giving her spreading back a soft pat.

Xing could feel against her skin how the Warden’s lost some of his softness whilst turning pinkish, the weight of the pig-woman increased as she became shorter than her, but that didn’t make it any more difficult for her to carry on.

As the rows of teats finished forming down her inflated belly the original pair began to deflate, losing their feminine grace. The Warden’s back bowed forward, limbs began to shorten, toes and fingers to lose dexterity, neck stiff in line with her spine.

The three of them stopped a moment when they saw, at the entrance of the sty, that the rest of compound Warden’s had gathered. A dozen or so women in white kimonos, nameless, faceless, with their heads hidden by straw-hats.

They bowed with respect and opened a path to allow Xing, Sakamoto and the soon-to-be sow pass, each of them silently kneeling with reverence for their transforming sister, some even softly rubbing her side, as she was led to the mud.

“Akaryyyyu XingshiiiIIIiik!” the Warden was way more pig than woman when they stopped before the sty’s entrance, on the other side the spotted sow with the torii gate on her back was waiting for them. “I wiiiiish… I wiiiiiish weeeeeeeik were goink the chanceeeesh to really beeeeee sishteeeeeeeeeersh…”

Xing shook her head annoyed.

“Don’t say stupid crap like that!” she said firmly. “Tch! A yakuza only loses when they accept defeat!”

“Oink…!”

The Warden couldn’t hold up any longer, not even with Xing’s help. She slipped and fell forward and landed on four sturdy trotters. She grunted, squealed and oinked as the few last remains of her humanity were claimed by the sow.

Bloated pink.

Four legs so short that her many teats almost touched the ground.

Her neck cracking, retracting back in line with her quadrupedal spine.

A female pig was all that remained, not as large as her mother, but still big and plump, with a single black spot on her forehead. The only one in the Mud Heaven without ink on her back.

One of the Warden’s opened the gate to the sty.

The young sow looked back at Xing.

“Go on, nothing to be ashamed of, enjoy yourself…” mumbled Xing, gently patting her round snout.

No longer bound by duty the new pig entered the sty, her hooves sank in the mud and she was greeted by her porcine mother. There was a moment of hesitation on the part of the youngster, but it didn’t last long and soon both pigs were meeting and rubbing against each other.

The Wardens watched the scene of porcine fondness from behind the fence.

Sakamoto and Xing were witnessing the scene too, standing at each other's side, nude, sweaty and dishevelled, Sakamoto carrying her katana near her chest.

“Like mother, like daughter,” muttered Sakamoto with a detached tone.

Xing chuckled.

“You sound envious, granny hog. Maybe you should join them, you're still in time!”

The old witch closed her eyes, breathed deeply… the mud smelt fresh, it was magical after all, the grunting of the socialising sows rang in her ears…

“You are right,” she declared finally. “I am and I’m going to”

“What?”

They looked at each other.

“You have defeated me, Akaryu Xingshi.”

“Is your brain still half-bacon or something?!”

Sakamoto gazed around at the silent Wardens.

“My blood daughter… She serves here, in the Mud Heaven.”

“Uh…?”

“She was made a Warden because she lacked talent. I don’t even know who she is, how she looks… I don’t deserve to be her mother and after today… I don’t want to carry on pretending to be a person.”

“This isn’t funny, hag!”

The matriarch put her katana between Xing’s breasts.

“Take it, it’s yours, I don’t have any use for it, my hands are hooves.”

“What about your stupid apprentices?!”

Sakamoto smirked fondly.

“You were right about that too, I guess, my hatchlings can’t live under my shadow forever.”

Eye to eye, both women looked at each other and Xing realised there was no doubt in Sakamoto’s sighs. She grabbed the katana.

“I don’t accept this…!” she growled between her clenched teeth.

Sakamoto let go of the weapon.

“Good, that’s my last lesson, to you, to my coven. Yakuza, witch… it doesn’t matter, you have to learn that you will not always get what you want in life, nor can you know what you may end up wanting.”

Xing tried to think of something to say, but Sakamoto had already taken a step back… towards the sty.

“Wardens, don’t close the sty, this old hog is still out!” the matriarch shouted.

The Wardens whispered among themselves.

“Are you certain, Lady Benten Sakamoto?” one of them asked after a while. “You may want to reconsider…”

“Pigs have no need for brainy thoughts,” Sakamoto interrupted with her last ounce of authority. “Just make sure to feed and breed me well, that is my purpose.”

The Warden nodded.

“Then, you are welcome to the Mud Heaven, old breeding hog, it’s where you belong.”

With that Sakamoto’s fate was sealed, the Warden’s slowly began to surround her, making a circle with enough space for her to transform.

Xing’s fist was trembling, she pointed at the naked old woman with the katanga.

“Are you doing this just to upstage me, hog?!” she screamed.

Sakamoto smiled back at her.

“Perhaps, what else can an old hog like me do? If you hadn’t been here today this would have been my certain fate, I’m just accepting it,” she shrugged without any concern. “Please, be a sport and tell my coven that I’m sorry I was just like a pig.”

“Maybe I will throw them all into a river! How about that?!”

“That’s between you and them,” Sakamoto’s head was surrounded by the circle of straw-hats. “Akaryu Xingshi… My only shame is I’m not going to be a woman to see that koi on your back become a dragon…”

Xing bit her lips.

The Wardens grabbed their hands, closing the circle, and began the chant.

Piggy features grew back onto Sakamoto’s  face, this time to stay. She squealed aloud and changed, she bent forwards and disappeared from sight never to be seen again as a woman.

The chant concluded.

The Wardens moved, in the centre of the circle was a black sow with a peaceful expression and snakes on her back. Xing starred as one of the Wardens knelt in front of the female beast to pet her big head, she kept watching as the old hog was swiftly and gently led to the sty to live with her sisterhood brood.

To the Mud Heaven.

…

The sky was orange when the compound doors opened again.

Yuki, who had been waiting tensely with the rest of the Hebimori coven around the black car, was the first to react. She ran to the doors… and froze…

Akaryu Xingshi was the one to step out of the compound, the top of her kimono wrapped around her waist, her chest naked and carrying the Hebimori on her shoulders.

Xing yawned, scratched her tits.

“I need a bath…” she said and began to walk towards her bike.

Yuki’s mouth hung slightly open, she waited for Sakamoto to come out of the compound, but the doors just closed shortly after Xing left it.

“No…” she gasped. “No!” the witch stood blocking Xing’s path. “What’s the meaning of this?! What did you do, ogre?! Where’s onee-sama?!”

Xing raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, are you dense? Do you need three guesses? Where do you think she is if she isn’t here? She lost, she’s a sow, in the sty, with the other pigs, where she belongs,” Xing sighed and kept moving, hitting Yuki’s shoulder with hers.

Yuki shook her head.

“That’s not possible!” she grabbed Xing’s arm and pulled. “You're lying!”

Quick to anger, Xing confronted Yuki face to face.

“You want a fight?!” Xing stopped herself when she saw Yuki’s tearful eyes, she twitched her lips, annoyed. “I don’t make the rules and you folks get mad if I break them, your hag was a hog, if you wanna know more go ask the Wardens, I’m leaving,” the witch realised something, her eyebrows rose, then her eyes narrowed and she moved closer to Yuki’s face. “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before? Wait… Aren’t you an idol or some pigshit like that?”

Yuki blushed instantly.

“Wha…! No…!”

Xing took advantage of that moment to shake her off, making Yuki fall down on her butt. As the rest of the Hebimori witches approached when Yuki fell, ready to defend their coven sister, Xing hung her katana from her bike’s saddle and climbed onto the saddle.

“What will happen to our coven…!” Yuki asked, staring at the koi carp tattoo on the wide woman's back.

The witch on the bike shrugged, not looking back.

“Not my problem,” she started the engine, remaining still for a moment as the engine roared. “The hog granny… she said she was sorry she was just a pig…”

Xing hit the throttle, the wheels spun leaving a cloud of dust.

The Hebimori coven, gripped by uncertainty, just watched the koi witch ride over the slope in the road and disappear into the light of sunset.

At the other side of the compound’s walls the sows oinked happily in their Mud Heaven.

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[wykwryt]

ok things i know they have to preserve in the new game

the rougelike genre obv and with it the boons system (we straight up saw nova strike in there and dash, attack, special, and cast magick are still here as are status effects and basically just all of that stuff) edit 2: okay wait actually upon reevaluating casts and magick are not the same thing, cast is still a thing we just also have magick. so all the same stuff plus being a witch!!!!!!!!! i wonder what we can do with that... what buttons would we even press.... wait maybe it's more like a god gauge. yeah that'd make sense. maybe we don't quite get godly summons like zagreus did because we're a disciple of hecate but there's something else we can do as a result?????? gah too many theories.

some kind of home base with plot progression and stuff after death

probably a three tiered + bonus level design. i wonder if the bonus will operate differently than the temple, that’s totally a thing they could completely change

keepsakes????????????????????? there must be something like them but they’re such a zag thing to have what with his whole god of bonds and blood thing (god i fucking loved that i love this game so much)

i wonder about the mirror. i think mel in the myths is one of nyx’s kids although obv not here. i think a canon aspect of zag was always tied with hades but i don’t think that’s the case for mel. man that’s funny, he thought he was nyx’s kid but actually wasn’t and she’s not but actually is. idk ignore me i’m babbling. anyways the mirror. i hope nyx is there actually she seems like a good character to keep her role as it was. i really hope we see chaos too i love them. they also provided such a unique boon service, they must come back as is.

FISHING MINI GAME HELLO

oh hey what about the house upgrades? home base will need to be important enough to have that kind of customization make sense. at this point i’m thinking we’re simply going to be in the house of hades for all this. maybe we’re doing repairs again from the damage of whatever kidnapped hades (ha). or maybe they do get rid of this entirely? it’d be a loss of a whole way to spend currency though.

the codex. bet hecate gives it to her maybe. see this is the weird thing to be because it seems like she is to mel as achilles is to zag but unlike him she’s an important character to the main plot.

different weapons for different play styles. we saw her blades already what else? (please give her a sword swords are cool. i feel like her daggers will prolly operate a lil bit like the fists. fists and sword are my faves <3) something to strengthen the weapons too like the aspects (i hope there’s one like the shield of chaos that talks to you but that’s just me) edit 3: ok the trailer shows just the daggers and what seems like a magic staff. i'd say the magic staff could be comparable to the spear but the spear doesn't do magic. there's a lil thrust action but it's all obviously spells. realllly wondering how the magick works because there's way more than just an attack and special here, she's got so many spells. too little here to really tell but it looks like the big difference between the daggers and the staff is the daggers involve more mobile magic and attacks while the staff seems more stationary but with bigger magic effects not to mention all the area attacks. there's no way we can't do magic without the staff so maybe the spells in our inventory are different depending on what weapon we choose. so far the staff looks significantly more powerful than the daggers, i wonder how they'll balance this stuff out. and other weapons???? oh hey wait i bet the spells are dependent on the weapon aspects or whatever they'll be called in this game. yeah okay that seems like it lines up.

bosses. i know this is obvious but i’m giving it a bullet because now i’m wondering who they are. they wouldn’t be any of the underworld staff probably so. wait actually who are the enemies we’re fighting in the first place if not dad’s employees?? so much of this hinges on whether we’re actually in the underworld or not. if we’re dealing with kronos then maybe we’re fighting to go down deeper into tartarus rather than up and out? the game reveal still makes it look like we’re above ground though…

replayability!!! for the three dozenth time idk what to think about this because i have no idea what the story will be like. i repeat, family or fight? and what would keep mel continuously doing the dungeons past the end of the main plot the way zag does it as official head of security?

ayo wait can we have skelly back? please he has to, we need a practice dummy room and there’s no reason to invent a new character when he’s right there. yeah no way they’re gonna get rid of skelly.

speaking of iconic characters… eurydice? need a new iconic ashley barrett song (as well as both her and darren korb song?) yeah ok whatever songs there are they’ll probably be attributed to eurydice and orpheus in game even if the characters themselves aren’t in there. wonder if we’ll be able to buy and collect the soundtrack… OH MY GOD A NEW SOUNDTRACK HOLY SHIT. I MEAN THEY’LL PROBABLY KEEP SOME ICONIC SOUNDS LIKE WHAT WAS IN THE REVEAL TRAILER BUT HOT DAMN NEW MUSIC WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

bonds and something to forge them with. she may not be zag but nectar and the like must still be a thing. (heyyyy any romancable characters?? the dora shade looked interested)

ok the more i keep thinking about this and trying to discern the shape of the new game and add more bullets the more i just end up tracing the original so things that could be different? :

like previously stated, the mechanics of the final level (the temple of styx in the original) edit 4: ok it would be so sick if the bonus level is zagreus boss fight where they slowly bond and then eventually zagreus trusts her and they get along and then they keep doing the fights for fun like in the og after the main plot is over

something is probably going to replace keepsakes. idk how but it’s such a specific thing and very specifically relevant to zagreus’s characterization, this’ll prolly change

the currencies

special rooms like shops and characters. moros and dora’s rooms looked like these although who knows how they function. also the timed rooms and than rooms (very curious if he’ll show up what with the whole time and death thing being the big things in this game edit 1.5: ZAG THAN ROOM).

EDIT: CERBERUS PETS??? where would i be without giving cerberus pets every run? absolutely wild that petting him 10 times was a rare achievement, you guys suck at playing this game.

[arsghostia]

A Tiny Bit of Home Sweet Home

As pictured above you see what essentially is an oil burner with an LED tea light. The burner it’s self was purchased for the astronomical cost of one U.S. dollar from a wal-mart. The LED tea light I just had on hand. But what I found while meditating one what to do with it is that it looks an awful bit like an old stove and honestly could make convincing little hearth in one’s desired place. Being with the flow of mystica we all are no strangers to shrines and sympathetic magic. Why not enchant this little oven into a spirit dwelling for the idea of one’s own personal hearth. Perfect for an altar, or useful while traveling and needed a bit of connection to one’s own familiar space. If you don’t have you’re own space it could be used as a manifesting tool to bring to yourself that which you desire in a space you would like to live.  Get creative, these burners are easily mass produced and available as well as easily altered with paint and other crafting goods. Perhaps you could use it while away from your home while at school by decorating it with bit of your reminders of your true home. Add a bit of dirt from your yard into the paint to give it a tether, write things that remind you of this place even if it hasn’t existed yet. The possibilities are entirely up to you! In the end what you could have is a little space you can call your home a place to do your workings for yourself and family (blood or found), to sit and bask in the spirits of the hearth to connect with ancestors or what ever you wish.

I’ve found that a lot of spells (mostly prosperity) in magick (esp in older manuscripts) tend to call a lot on one’s own home hearth. But what if you don’t have one? The reasons could be numerous. You may be homeless, or in between places. You might live as a Nomad! Not to mention the other factors that may confuse many a witch as to the fact we no longer have what could be considered a grand home hearth as we would have back in ye olden times. Maybe you’re young or in the broom closet and don’t have access to one’s own homes safely. Perhaps you don’t consider the rest of the house your home or space for a variety of reasons. What does one do?

A hearth really is just the focal point of the home. It’s where the family would gather, eat, work and enjoy each other’s company. So way back this would be in front of the fire as this is where meals would be cooked, where everyone kept warm, told stories and generally be. Many workings such as warding and protection center around the hearth; hidden shoes for example, where old shoes would be stored in chimneys to protect those they once shod from witchcraft and general ill.

There are obviously many substitutes one can use today such as the kitchen table, the living room couch a rev room etc. some many even use feng shui to determine wealth and home areas of their dwelling and use these as a substitute. These are all perfectly workable solutions! But if you need a point with a little bit more focus ( or moveability), perhaps try this solution.

Welcome Home Witches