#why am i so freaking unable to spell this was supposed to say now not faceless originally | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wingsofkpop · 3 years

Text

Hiraeth - I.X: Was it Worth it in the End? Part Two

pairing(s): Hybrid!Im Jaebeom x Reader, Witch!Mark Tuan x Reader, Werewolf!Jackson Wang x Reader, Vampire!Park Jinyoung x Reader, Supernatural!Got7 x Reader

genre: Supernatual!AU, Dark Magic!AU, very heavy Angst, eventual Smut

warnings: Mature language, violence, explicit descriptions of fighting and injury, weapons, blood and gore, brief mention of a mutilated animal corpse, minor character death, description of trauma and mental illness, brief mention of suicide, mentions of murder, satanic themes and ritual, etc.

Trigger Warning: This chapter does contain graphic and explicit themes regarding violence, trauma, and death. Please do not read if this will harm you. This is your final warning.

word count: 10,6k

synopsis: How far are you willing to go to find out the truth about Moon Dye Bay?…

chapter directory

The nighttime is hushed, almost anxious as Minho maneuvers his way past gravestones and overgrown shrubbery. It’s almost like nature itself is too afraid of accidentally provoking the witch, sensing the torpedo of dark magic and violent sorrow stirring through his veins. He peers up at the crimson moon, grateful for the illumination it provides, and continues down his path—ignorant of the cold air bleeding into his flesh.

Minho knows this is probably not the best time for a visit, aware that his ex-covenmates are likely plotting some sort of mission to overthrow him, but he doesn’t care—he can’t care anymore. A part of him, the shameful, guilty part of his mind. actually hopes they will succeed, at least then, he would no longer have to endure the pain that comes with bearing this black magic. He can feel its poison rushing through his veins, seering his body from the inside out, killing his soul over and over and over again…

But isn’t this what he wanted? Revenge? Retribution? Minho performed that spell to hurt the very friends that hurt him—to hurt Mark, and he got his wish… so why does it feel like the world is caving in around him, swallowing him whole?

Once he reaches his destination, Minho collapses to his knees, unable to bear the weight of his burdens. His eyes burn with tears, but he doesn’t allow himself to cry. A silent gust of wind strokes his cheeks, painting his skin red with bitterness and anger. He welcomes the cold air, accepting the punishment, before lifting his hand to splay his fingers against the even colder surface of the headstone.

“I’m sorry…” Minho whimpers, “It didn’t have to be like this…”

The silence heightens his anguish—deepens the wounds in his heart.

If he could take it all back, he would… but he can’t.

“I wish you were here, noona…”

His murmur is lost to the wind, but it doesn’t matter. He climbs back to his feet before sparing one final glance at the burial place of his lost friend. After a deep inhale and a wordless goodbye, Minho turns and hastily begins back toward the mausoleum.

He was allowed this one moment of weakness—now he must get back to the horrible reality he manifested for himself.

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

“Can you be any more obvious…?”

Mark quickly awakens from his mindless trance, discovering, to his dismay, Dahyun looking down at him with a single raised, all-knowing eyebrow. He fakes a cough into his elbow before shrugging his shoulders, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re kidding me, right?... You literally haven’t taken your eyes off of her since we met up in the forest.”

Heat immediately rises to Mark’s cheeks. As if on instinct, his eyes trail back to his subject of interest, watching as you wipe the sweat from Jaebeom’s girlfriend’s forehead and neck before shifting to do the same to Felix. It’s such a simple action, but you somehow look so ethereal—almost like an angel sent from heaven.

He curses himself for his own cheesiness, then releases a defeated sigh.

“We got into a pretty big fight earlier.”

“Then don’t you think you should—I don’t know—talk to her instead of staring her down like a creep?”

“I think the last thing she wants to do is talk to me.” Mark drags a hand through his hair. “I… said some really stupid shit in the heat of the moment. She probably hates me.”

Dahyun scoffs, “God, you are such a fucking idiot.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you need to get your ass over there and apologize to that girl.”

Her harsh tone doesn’t falter beneath his glare, nor does her tenacious expression as the two proceed with their silent staring contest. After a minute or two, Dahyun breaks off the competition with a long, heavy sigh. Her eyes are soft when she looks back at him, and suddenly Mark finds the dried mud on his shoes a lot more interesting.

“Mark, anyone can see how much you care about her—how much she cares about you.” Even when a gentle hand caresses his shoulder, the witch keeps his attention to the floor. “(Y/N) could never hate you—no matter how much stupid shit you pull.” She snickers, “And you pull a lot of stupid shit, so that has to account for something.”

He can’t help the amused chuckle that falls from his own lips.

“Thanks, Dubu.” Mark says, tilting his head to finally meet the warmth of her gaze.

“She’s a good one—a really good one, Mark.” The wolf hums, “Don’t let it be your fear that pushes her away.” She doesn’t give him a chance to reply further, pacing to a nearby corner to join a conversing Bang Chan and Yugyeom.

Sparing the wolf trio one final glance, Mark musters up the remaining courage he has left and pushes from his perch against the kitchen countertop. He forces himself to walk in your direction—each step releasing more butterflies into the confines of his stomach. Once he reaches you, close enough to touch your turned back, he almost chickens out, content with spending the rest of the night watching you like hawk, but the sound of Felix’s breathy voice locks him in place:

“—Channie-hyung and I have always wanted to go to Chicago… Is-Is it as windy as they say?”

“Even windier.” You say with a laugh. “I can’t tell you how many scarves I lost, and don’t get me started on how freaking cold the winters are.”

Felix laughs too, although it resonates as more of a wheeze than anything.

You shrug, “It’s a gorgeous city though—probably my most favorite place I’ve ever lived.”

“Then why did you leave? If you loved it so much?”

Mark’s interest piques when he notices how your figure grows tense at the young boy’s croak. He’s heard his fair share of stories of your heartfelt time in the Windy City, but he never quite figured out why you ultimately decided to move to Moon Dye Bay. You’ve always been reluctant to reveal certain details from your past, especially regarding your time in the foster system, but even then Mark has been able to pry the worst memories from your brain.

This subject, however, has been a brick wall.

“Because I couldn’t stay.” You finally answer, “It’s complicated, but something happened and basically I—”

“(Y/N)?”

He silently cusses as Felix interrupts your explanation, but his annoyance dissipates at the panicked expression etched along the teenager’s sweaty face.

“What is it, Felix?” You shift your position on his bedside to better face the boy, leaning forward to place a gentle hand on his forehead. Mark can only imagine how hot the skin is to the touch.

Felix’s words crack as they leave his lips, slicing at the witch’s heart like a dagger:

“Am… Am I gonna die?”

“Of course not.” You immediately say, but Mark can sense the uneasiness in your tone. “Everyone is doing everything they can to help you, okay?... You’re gonna get through this, and one day you and your brother are gonna go see Chicago yourselves and try not to get blown away into the next century.”

Felix sleepily chuckles, “Thanks, (Y/N).”

“You should get some sleep.” The moment the command leaves your lips, Felix is already closing his eyes and diving headfirst into dreamland. Not wanting to startle you, Mark waits a couple seconds—partly to give you time to regain your composure, and partly to give himself time to think of what to say. However, he doesn’t have much of a choice when you suddenly turn, growing aware of his presence. A frown overtakes your face, and he instantly regrets ever leaving his countertop.

“Did you need something?”

“No—yes, I mean—shit.” Mark buries a hand in his tresses to tug at his roots, attempting to juggle between putting together the right spoken words and reminding his body to breathe. “(Y/N), I—”

“If you came to apologize, I don’t want to hear it.” He helplessly watches as you rise from the bed before tossing your used rag on a nearby table. “I think you made yourself pretty clear back at my apartment.”

“I shouldn’t have said what I said—” Before you can storm away, Mark latches his fingers around your wrist. “—please. Just give me a chance to explain.”

Your shoulders rise and fall in a heavy sigh, but you make no move to tear away from his grip and he takes it as a chance to continue:

“After my mom died, I was so fucking angry…” Mark notices your surprised gaze when you lift your head, but he doesn’t meet your eyes. “I was angry at the world, at her, at myself… and when my magic began to show up, things got a whole lot worse.” He shakes his head, “I thought about just ending it—jump into the bay or maybe drink myself to death—but then I met…”

“Then you met Jackson.”

“He taught me how to deal with the anger—to use it as a tool, not a weapon.” His eyes begin to burn at the countless memories that reel through his mind. “It was because of him I learned how to control my powers, and I was able to bring the coven together—hell, he was the one who told them to nominate me as Regent, which right now, seemed like the worst fucking decision on the planet.”

Mark takes a moment to blink away his tears before taking a seat on an empty cot. He still can’t find it in himself to glance at your face, keeping his eyes trained to the wooden flooring.

“But when Jackson had an idea, there was no stopping him.” He chuckles sarcastically, “The bastard was as stubborn as a goddamn mule.”

“What happened to Jackson, Mark?” Your voice is both a sweet lullaby and a screeching siren against his ears. “How did he die? Really?”

“The initial plan was to infuse enough magic into Jackson’s werewolf form so his venom would be lethal to the Primes, or at the very least, to Jinyoung. It all went smoothly in the beginning, I was able to channel enough power to complete the transformation… but something went wrong—

“—Jackson was different when he shifted. He was ruthless… He didn’t want to just kill the Primes—he wanted to slaughter every vampire along with those who protect the secrets of their existence… no matter if they were witch, werewolf, human—they all deserved to die…

“The combination of his determination and the bloodlust drove him fucking mad… If Jaebeom hadn’t ripped out his heart, there’s telling what he would have done—who he would have killed…”

Mark leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees, attempting to hide his shame beneath the curl of his bangs. “—Jaebeom may have dealt the final blow, but Jackson died because the dark magic I used turned him into a monster—he’s dead because of me…”

Silence encompasses the room like a vice grip to the throat. For a moment, Mark believes you left him, too disgusted and ashamed to even breathe the same air as him, but the entrance of your worn boots into his vision proves otherwise. The image is replaced by your face when you kneel in front of his broken figure, laying your hands over each bicep. He notices your touch is gentle, but not hesitant, and warm—always so warm.

“You can’t blame yourself for his death, Mark.” Mark doesn’t realize he’s crying until you wipe a tear from his cheek. “How could you have known what that spell would do? You couldn’t have—”

“Magic always comes with price—especially dark magic.” He whispers, unable to hold back more liquid sadness as it trails down his skin. “(Y/N), if I ever lost you the same way I lost Jackson, my mom, I—”

Mark’s voice cuts out into a sob, and once your arms wind around his form, he completely breaks, releasing every ounce of repressed sadness and despair and pain into the crook of your neck. He knows he’s selfish for melting into your embrace—for consuming your comfort like a demon expelled from the heavens—but he doesn’t care.

When you guide his eyes to meet your own, Mark can spot the glassiness of your own orbs in the artificial light—along with enough compassion and ardor to send another flood of tears down his face.

“I’m not going anywhere, okay?” You affirm, your tone unwavering and stern. “I’m here—and no matter how many times you fall, I’m gonna be here to pick you up…

“I’m here, Mark… Do you understand me?”

He nods with a sniffle, tightly squeezing your hands between his own.

“I’m sorry.”

You smile at his apology.

“I’m sorry too… for everything.”

“Just… No more secrets. For real, this time.”

“For real, this time.” Mark’s heart rate picks up when he suddenly notices how close his face is to yours. From this angle, he can count the constellations glistening within your eyes and map the delicate curves of your facial features. If he were to lean just an inch closer, just one tiny inch, his lips would be on your own—

“Sorry to interrupt, but we have an issue.” At Yugyeom’s statement, you and Mark immediately wrench away from one another, almost as if having been caught engaging in forbidden territory. Mark pretends he doesn’t miss the weight of your hands inside his own as he rises from the cot, making sure to put an appropriate amount of distance between his and your shoulders.

He clears his throat before humming, “What’s going on?”

“Chan wants to go and find Chaeyoung’s body.” Although Yugyeom’s face remains neutral, Mark can see the sadness lingering within his eyes at the mention of his fallen packmate. “He doesn’t remember exactly where she was, so him, Dahyun, and I are going to search the forest.”

You immediately shake your head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Sunrise isn’t for at least another hour, and we have no way of knowing Youngjae broke the curse yet.”

“I’m with (Y/N) on this one, Gyeom.” Mark agrees, “We’re safest here in the bunker.”

“We can’t just leave her out there. I mean, she—” Yugyeom cuts himself off with a heavy sigh, before continuing in a softer tone, “You know how it feels to lose someone, hyung… Chaeyoung is—was… our family.”

Mark takes a moment of silence to ponder, conflicted between his common sense and Yugyeom’s pleading gaze. As you said, sunrise is an hour away—but Youngjae, the coven and the Primes should have overthrown Minho by now, right? Plus, he literally blew Changbin’s head off with that shotgun. There’s no way his body could regenerate that quickly…

“We’re all staying together.” He finally says, moving toward the kitchenette to grab his weapon from its perch on the counter. “And if anything seems shady, it’s an immediate retreat.”

Yugyeom delivers a nod before heading off to gather the other wolves. Mark moves toward the bunker exit, but is stopped by your form. A heavy sigh cascades from his lips—just from your expression, he knows this conversation isn’t going to go his way.

“(Y/N)—”

“If you’re gonna tell me I can’t go with you, don’t even bother.”

He shakes his head, “It’s too dangerous…”

“If someone tells me that one more goddamn time—” He can’t help the tiny smile that spreads across his face at the sassy way you roll your eyes. And he doesn’t protest when you move to follow Dahyun up the ladder.

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

Youngjae inhales a deep breath, taking the moment to feel his lungs expand, before releasing the air in an even deeper exhale. Even with the relaxation attempt, his body remains tense and his thoughts disorderly. He can’t help but feel as if Minho is waiting somewhere in the darkness of the crypt, ready to pounce on him like a predator to its prey.

Would he toy with his catch first? Or would he skip the pleasantries and go right in for the kill?

A hand appears on his shoulder, wrenching Youngjae from his morbid daydream. He angles his head to meet Lia’s concerned gaze and immediately tries to mask his fear beneath an expression of indifference. Unsurprisingly, the female witch sees right through his facade:

“I’ve known you practically my whole life, Youngjae. Whatever it is, you can’t hide it from me.”

His shoulders sag in defeat as a sigh blows past his lips.

“I’m just… worried about Mark-hyung. He’s powerless out there.”

“Mark is smart—he’ll know what to do if he finds himself in trouble.”

“And if he doesn’t?... I-I mean, what if Minho or Changbin found him before he could warn the pack? He could be dead for all we know—”

Lia silences his desperate quip with a shake of her head, “You shouldn’t think like that right now—”

“What else am I supposed to do?” Youngjae runs a frustrated hand through his hair before gesturing toward the main exit of their underground penitentiary. “Even with yours and Jisung’s energy, I don’t have enough power to take down the barrier spell.”

“Help is on the way—”

“How do you know that for sure?”

Lia remains silent, simply continuing to stare at Youngjae. He feels almost uncomfortable beneath her gaze, resisting the urge to shrink back and become one with the shadows.

“I don’t know… but I have faith.” She murmurs after a brief moment. “We’ve lost a lot, but I still believe that we’ll all somehow manage to come out of this alive. You should try doing the same.”

With that, Lia leaves to speak with a dangerously quiet Jisung. Youngjae spares the pair a single glance before heading toward the crypt entryway. A single beam of moonlight illuminates the exit stairway, almost as if mocking him about his inability to escape the dingy prison.

Youngjae knows Lia is right—of course she’s right. Worrying about the possible pitfalls of this plan won’t help him, or Mark, or anyone. He can only pray that his mentor safely found his way out of the cemetery and is sending backup right this very moment.

He needs to have hope, if nothing else.

“What if we somehow lure Minho down here?” Youngjae’s thoughts quiet at Lia’s suggestion, angling his head to meet her gaze. “Technically Youngjae just needs to touch him to siphon his magic… so why don’t we bring him to us?”

“Minho-hyung won’t step past the barrier.” Jisung dissents, dragging his fingers through his already tousled hair. “He probably knows we’re planning something against him, so there’s no way he’ll believe whatever ruse we try to pull.”

“Then we have no choice. Youngjae, are you sure you can’t take down the spell?”

Youngjae sullenly shakes his head.

“Is there something else you can siphon? Maybe the crypt itself?”

“The crypt was built by humans.” He answers, “I can only draw power from the supernatural—”

“Then it’s a good thing my dear brother and I weren’t turned into superwolf bait.”

Youngjae, along with the other witches, nearly leaps a foot in the air at the sudden voice. He whirls around to face the stairwell, which to his surprise, is now occupied by the last person he ever expected to see:

Im Jaebeom.

Jisung chokes, scurrying backward into the shadows as the hybrid approaches the trio. After taking purchase against the doorway, he offers his signature sly smirk.

“Evening, Harry Potter and friends… Funny meeting you down here.”

“Now is not the time for games, hyung.” Youngjae breathes a sigh of relief as Jinyoung’s voice echoes throughout the stone walls. Seconds later, he comes hustling down the staircase before shoving Jaebeom out of the way. The vampire then peers into the crypt, his gaze burning with the determination of a man at war. “Is anyone hurt?”

“No. We’re okay.” Lia steps forward. “If you’re here, I’m guessing Mark reached the wolf pack?”

“Your guess is correct.” Jinyoung nods, placing a hand against the invisible doorway. “My brother and I will do everything we can to help disarm the rogue, but I think it’d be best to free you all first.”

Youngjae joins the conversation. “I can take down the barrier spell, but I’ll need to draw energy from one of you to do so.”

“Let’s do this quickly then.” Jinyoung goes to roll up the sleeve of his white shirt, but is halted by his immortal companion. Surprise filters through Youngjae’s veins as Jaebeom shrugs the leather jacket from his shoulders with a huff:

“With my luck, he’ll drain you dry and I’ll have to deal with this voodoo fucker myself. I think it’s best we use my energy—sorry not sorry.”

“Alright, then.” Youngjae hums, “I’ll need you to push through the barrier just enough that I can touch you… It’s gonna hurt. A lot.”

“Good thing I’m a sadomasochist.” Jaebeom snickers at his brother’s unamused expression, “Too much?”

“Move your hand through that goddamn barrier before I throw you to the superwolf myself.”

The hybrid rolls his eyes, but follows Jinyoung’s instructions and proceeds to force his limb past the invisible blockade. He remains silent, but Youngjae can spy the uncomfortable twitch of his eyebrow and the tension along his stone-cold features. Blood begins to bud along his knuckles like a patch of blooming roses before flowing down his pale skin the more he presses against the barrier.

The siphoner raises his hand in preparation. “Just a bit more.”

A mere couple seconds later, Youngjae feels Jaebeom’s bloody flesh brush against his own. The skin-to-skin contact is slight, but enough, allowing the hybrid’s energy to spread through his veins like wildfire. Youngjae almost cries in relief as the magic conquers his entire body—a new kind of hope sparking somewhere within his chest.

“Phasmatos Siprum… Emnis Abortum…” Youngjae murmurs, positioning both hands against the invisible wall. He feels it crumbling beneath his fingertips, unable to withstand the power flowing through his figure. “Fasila Quisa Exilum San… Fasila Quisa Exilum San…”

A proud grin stretches along his features as the barrier buckles, then completely shatters. With Lia and Jisung in tow, Youngjae beelines out of the crypt and into the stairwell where Jaebeom, who’s cleaning the crimson from his knuckles, and Jinyoung reside. The latter nods, which Youngjae is quick to return.

“‘Kay, they’re free… Now what?”

“Now we find Minho and end this once and for all.” Lia answers, not sparing the hybrid a glance as she dashes up the stairs. Youngjae and the rest of the group try to keep up with the female witch as best as they can, not faltering until they reach the surface. The cemetery is quiet when they emerge from the crypt, Youngjae notices—almost too quiet.

He takes a short moment to breathe in the fresh night air before turning to a tense Jinyoung, “I need to get close enough to siphon Minho’s magic to perform the counterspell. You think you and your brother can find me a way in?”

Jinyoung nods. “You can count on us.”

“Stay close…” Lia warns with a sigh, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the bastard already knows we’re free—”

Lightning suddenly strikes a mere few feet from where Lia is standing, earning a chorus of screams and surprised gasps from the witch trio. Youngjae watches as Jinyoung speeds forward, grabbing Lia just in time to avoid being burnt to a crisp by a second bolt. With Jisung at his side, Youngjae quickly takes shelter underneath the overhang of a nearby tomb as even more lightning bombards the earth. He surveys the area, searching for the perpetrator responsible for the weather abnormalities.

“Minho!...” Lia screeches from behind a large tree, her tone far less than friendly. “Quit being a fucking coward! Come out here and face us goddamnit!...”

Youngjae huddles closer to Jisung as the wind suddenly picks up, ripping at his hair and clothing like a vengeful spirit. He moves to speak to his younger companion, but his words die on his tongue as the subject of the hour waltzes into view. The heavy gusts don’t seem to affect him, though that’s no surprise since the wretched weather is his doing.

Minho smirks, “They say lightning never strikes one place twice… You must be really special then, Lia.”

“Oh fuck off! We’re tired of playing your stupid games!”

“This only ends one way, Minho—” Jinyoung says, cautiously moving from Lia’s side to approach the powerful witch. His steps, however, are halted by another vicious bolt of electricity. Youngjae attempts to make out Jaebeom’s form through the blurriness of his wind-induced tears, but the hybrid is nowhere to be found. “—so we can do it the easy way, or the hard way! The choice is yours!”

“Last I checked, this isn’t your fight, Prime.”

“It became my fight the moment you threatened my family and my friends!”

Minho snickers, “Trust me, I had every intention of ridding this town of you and your brother’s filth.”

“Was it also your intention to kill an innocent werewolf girl!?” Youngjae’s heart drops at the vampire’s following statement. “Son Chaeyoung is dead because of Changbin—because of you!”

“Every war has its casualties.”

“And what of Felix!? Will his death just be another trivial loss in your obsession for revenge!?”

This time, Youngjae notices the cockiness melt from Minho’s features into something akin to trepidation. The wailing of the wind picks up to a screech, nearly drowning out the dark-haired witch’s weak inquiry, “What are you talking about?”

“Felix was bitten… and is dying as we speak!” Jinyoung shakes his head frantically. “Do you believe he deserves this, Minho!? Do you believe Chaeyoung deserved to die!?... You can fix this—make this right!”

Minho remains silent, and for a moment, Youngjae wonders if the witch will actually come to his senses and call off this whole ordeal. But just as soon as it appeared, the pained look along his features transitions into something more sinister.

“We’re all gonna die someday, so what does it even fucking matter!?”

“Are you hearing yourself!?” Lia screams from behind a nearby tree, “Look what you’ve become, Minho! How would Nayeon see you right now!”

“Don’t bring her into this!” Minho’s hiss blends with the moans of the wind. Massive raindrops begin to pelt down against the earth, immediately soaking Youngjae to the bone. For the first time, he notices the dark witch’s position in relation to his own. Realistically, Youngjae can be at Minho’s side in mere milliseconds, before he has a chance to blink. If only he can get him to move a bit closer…

As if reading his thoughts, Jinyoung attempts to coax the witch another step forward.

“Please, Minho… I don’t wish to hurt you.”

The latter shakes his head with a chuckle. “It’s too fucking bad that you think you can.”

Minho raises his hand, harshly forcing the vampire down against the muddy earth. Youngjae watches in horror as Jinyoung’s limbs begin to contort and rearrange against his own will—the sound of cracking bones and the vampire’s pained groans filling his ears like a haunting melody. He forces his gaze away from the gruesome sight and prepares to advance on the dark witch, but Jisung stops him with a hand to his shoulder:

“Not yet, hyung.”

“But Jinyoung—”

“Trust me.” His eyes are wide with determination—Youngjae can’t remember a time he’s ever seen Jisung so fierce. “I have a plan. Wait here until my signal.”

Though filled with confusion, Youngjae does as the young witch requests and stays in place while Jisung himself carefully maneuvers his way through gravestones and buildings, attempting to remain out of sight. A sudden burst of lightning cracks through the atmosphere, and at first, Youngjae fears Jisung has been caught, but quickly realizes Minho has his sights set on another party:

“I was wondering when you’d join the fun—I looked forward to tearing your bitch-ass apart.”

“I would say I’m flattered, but I rather like my ass.” Jaebeom saunters across a nearby rooftop. In the midst of the storm, he almost reminds Youngjae of a superhero—or more likely in his case, the psychotic supervillain. “Look, you’ve had your fun, kid. Now I suggest you release my brother and cut out all this petty-teenage bullshit before I break your body in places you never thought possible.”

“That’s it?... And here I thought you’d want the antidote?”

Jaebeom’s face darkens.

“...So there is a cure?”

“Of course. Every spell has its loophole.” Minho finally lowers his hand, ceasing the painful reconstruction of Jinyoung’s skeleton. Youngjae watches in confusion as the former retracts something from his pocket—some sort of vial, it seems—and offers it toward the hybrid. “The blood which Changbin drank to turn—it’ll heal anyone fallen victim to his bite.”

“You better hand that over before I rip your teeth from your skull.” Jaebeom growls darkly, hopping down from his overhead perch.

The witch shakes his head, “Not so fast, Mr. Wolf… See, there was only so much left—enough to heal one lucky soul.”

“You’re a sick fucking bastard,” Jaebeom spits. “You wanted this to happen—”

“Your little bloodsucking girlfriend is dying, isn’t she?” Minho tosses the vial toward the hybrid, who effortlessly catches it between two trembling fingers. “If you want to save her life, then I suggest you go before the venom does its job.”

“Jaebeom-hyung, don’t—!” Jinyoung gasps, slithering across the muddy earth like an earthworm lost to the world.

“You know she doesn’t have much time—”

“We can’t do this without you—we need you!... I need you, hyung!”

Jaebeom, staring at the tiny container in his grasp, doesn’t reply to his incapacitated companion. Youngjae curses the smirk that spreads across Minho’s face—a sign of victory—and attempts to spot Jisung and Lia somewhere between the ferocious raindrops. He has no such luck, and instead decides to pray for a miracle instead.

“If you hadn’t fucked around with the few people I care about, I might have actually liked you.” Jaebeom murmurs with a sigh before tucking the vial into his pocket and sending the dark witch a malicious sneer. “Well isn’t that too fucking bad.”

Youngjae leaps almost ten feet in the air as lightning strikes for what seems like the millionth time, although this time, it’s inches from where Minho is standing. After searching the area, Youngjae discovers Lia and Jisung across the way, hands clasped, eyes bright with passion, uttering some sort of offensive charm. Minho attempts to sprint in the opposite direction, but Jaebeom easily tackles the witch before he can get far.

“Now Youngjae-hyung! Do it now!”

At Jisung’s cue, Youngjae takes off into the rain. The bitter feel of Mother Nature’s tears against his skin quickens his movements, wanting nothing more then to end this hurricane, both literally and figuratively, once and for all. He reaches Minho in what seems like hours and hurries to grab his wrist—but just like the tides during a storm, the tables quickly turn.

At the wave of Minho’s hand, Jaebeom goes flying across the cemetery, crashing into a stone statue and collapsing into the resulting rumble. White-hot pain spreads through Youngjae’s veins like a poison, freezing his muscles and immobilizing his limbs from any further movement. He collapses to the ground, where mud immediately clings to his clothing.

Minho rises to his feet before stepping on Youngjae’s hand with a cackle, “Don’t you fuckers get it!? I’m untouchable! You can’t fucking win!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Minho…” Youngjae chuckles, curling his fingers around the tread of the dark witch’s boot. Minho realizes his mistake as soon as the former’s hand begins to glow, foolishly attempting to squirm from his touch.

Thunder roars in the distance as Youngjae grins in triumph:

“Because unlike you… we’re not alone.”

The last thing Youngjae sees before he loses consciousness is a flash of white and the bewildered face of the dark witch as he collapses beside him.

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

“I take it Mark apologized?...” You nearly leap out of your own skin at the sudden inquiry. With a less than agitated frown, you turn to acknowledge the culprit for your almost heart attack. If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear some of these supernaturals have powers of teleportation or something…

“Goddamnit, Dahyun. Not all of us have superwolf hearing.”

“Sorry, dearie. Force of habit.” The she-wolf offers an apologetic smile, moving forward to hook her arm with your own. She allows Yugyeom, Chan and Mark to gain a bit of distance ahead before repeating again, “So Mark…?”

“We both talked it out and apologized… so everything’s okay now.” You hum—the tiny fib leaving a bitter taste in your mouth.

Truthfully, your encounter with Mark left you conflicted. Of course, you’re more than glad he finally opened up about his past, and even more glad that he trusts you enough to reveal his lingering feelings of trauma, but there’s still a pretty big fucking elephant in the room—one involving his dead best friend and the fact you can talk to him beyond the grave.

You should have told him then and there—right after you promised to abolish all secrets—but something inside you couldn’t do it… and you don’t know why.

“Why are you so interested in Mark and I’s relationship anyway?” You utilize your curiosity as a distraction from the guilt breathing down your neck, angling your neck to peer at Dahyun’s side profile. “Is there… history between you two?”

“No, no—nothing like that. Mark and I have just known each other since we were kids. Our moms were close friends, so Mark, Yugyeom and I pretty much grew up together.”

“He never told me that.”

“Don’t take it personal, sweetheart. Mark doesn’t like to talk about his past—” Dahyun sighs, “—too many bad memories between his dad and the bullshit that happened with his mom. He’ll come around eventually… he just needs more time.”

“I know his mom passed when he was a teenager, but Mark never actually mentioned how she died…” You bite your lip, sending a curious glance to your wolf companion. “It’s really not fair to ask you, but—”

“Mark found her in their own kitchen with her entire throat ripped open.” Dahyun’s blunt answer leaves your throat dry, unable to speak another word if you wanted to. “The sheriff ruled it as an animal attack, but I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure out what really happened.”

Your heart sinks, and you choose not to say anything further.

“Dahyun! (Y/N)! Don’t get too far behind!” Chan’s voice echoes from somewhere up ahead. With the black of night beginning to fade, you can just make out his, Yugyeom, and Mark’s silhouettes a couple dozen feet away. Dahyun gives your forearm a gentle squeeze before releasing your conjoined limbs to catch up with her packmates. You do the same, meeting an armed Mark about halfway.

His eyes glitter with concern underneath the fading starlight.

“Everything okay…?”

“Yeah, Dahyun and I were just catching up.” You inhale a deep breath before releasing it in an even heavier exhale. “But there is something I need to talk to you about—about Jackson and the whole resurrection thing.”

Mark shakes his head, “You have every right to make your own decisions, (Y/N), but I wish you and Youngjae would have come to me.”

“I know that, but it was more complicated than that—” You try to gather your thoughts while also attempting to make sense of your words. “I couldn’t tell you because, well—because Jackson told—”

“Mark-hyung! We’ve got an issue!” Yugyeom’s warning immediately cuts off your explanation. Mark shoots you an apologetic glance before hurrying the two of you forward to join the wolf trio. It only takes seconds for you to distinguish the cause of the beta’s distress.

A deer carcass lays precariously on the forest floor, and albeit it’s practically torn to shreds, you can just make out a single word carved into its bloody flesh:

Die.

“Shit—we need to go. Now.”

“We’ve already come this far. Chae should be around here somewhere.” Chan ignores Mark’s directive, stepping over the animal corpse to traverse further through the forest. He barely takes a step before the witch is grabbing his wrist. “Let me go, hyung.”

“Don’t be an idiot.”

“Don’t tell me what to—”

“Shut the fuck up. Both of you.” Dahyun quietly hisses, “Listen.”

You try to do as the she-wolf says, but all that meets your ears is the combination of your own labored breathing and uneven pulse. Judging by the confused expression along Mark’s face, he’s probably dealing with the same situation.

“What is it?”

“We’re being watched.” Yugyeom answers Mark’s inquiry in a whisper. “Mark, you and (Y/N) need to find somewhere to hide right now—Chan, Dubu, get ready to fight—”

As soon as the command leaves Yugyeom’s lips, Mark takes you by the arm and drags you behind a broad tree trunk. You fish Jinyoung’s pocket knife from your pocket while Mark cocks his shotgun in preparation. Who knew the day would come that you’d actually be grateful for the presence of two dangerous weapons…

“If anything goes wrong—you run like hell, got it?”

You shake your head at Mark’s demand. “I’m not just going to leave you—”

“Yugyeom! Above you!” At Chan’s warning, you’re suddenly shoved to the ground by the witch, watching in horror as a deranged Changbin descends from the treetops onto the beta himself. His skin is a sickly ashen shade, and his black veins so prominent it would make a nurse weep. There’s no human emotion left inside his dark eyes as he strikes Yugyeom over and over again with his lengthy sharp talons, tearing open his skin like a birthday present—he’s a complete animal.

“Bin, stop!” Chan throws his arms around Changbin’s shoulders in an attempt to pull him from Yugyeom, winding a tight arm around his throat before thrusting a knee against his spine. “Think about what you’re doing!”

With Dahyun’s assistance, the two wolves manage to separate the dark wolf from that of Yugyeom’s wounded self. Even so, Changbin clearly does not appreciate being stolen away from his prey. He easily escapes from Chan’s hold, landing a couple heavy hits against the latter’s nose before shoving him to the ground. Dahyun takes the moment to strike, bringing the dark wolf to kneel with a harsh kick to his knee, but the action does minimal damage. Changbin punts the she-wolf a dozen feet away as if she weighs nothing. You wince as Dahyun connects with a nearby tree trunk with a vocal thud before dropping to the ground with no movements of rejoining the fight.

“Shit…” You curse to yourself, “They won’t be able to take him down by themselves—he’s too fucking strong.”

“Watch your ears.” You notice Mark aiming his gun toward the dark wolf, waiting for an opportunity with his finger on the trigger. At his discretion, you cover your ears just in time for him to fire a first and second shot. A ferocious growl echoes through the trees, spreading goosebumps across your flesh like wildfire.

You watch both Chan and Yugyeom take advantage of Changbin’s distraction. The alpha delivers a swift, yet heavy hit against his wounded shoulder while the beta goes for his legs. Similar to Dahyun, they manage to pin Changbin to the forest floor. For a moment, you almost believe the fight has concluded in your team’s favor—but the tides shift. In the blink of an eye, Chan is impaled with a large jagged branch and sent tumbling into some foliage whereas Yugyeom is dealt punch after strike after kick, unable to escape the barrage of Changbin’s wrath. He eventually, like the former two, collapses to the earth and makes no move to rise.

Changbin cracks his neck before stalking toward where you and your companion stand.

“Mark—”

“I got it!” Mark quickly feeds another couple shells into the shotgun barrel, cocks the weapon, then aims down sight. He manages to sink a bullet into your target’s abdomen, followed by another in his bicep, but Changbin merely releases an annoyed snarl and continues charging forward.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck—(Y/N), move!” You leap out of the way just in time to avoid a powerful strike. Changbin’s hand splinters the trunk of the tree, sending pieces of bark in every direction. A particular shard catches the bridge of your nose, causing blood to warmly cascade down your skin. You quickly wipe the liquid from your right eye, ignoring the nausea fluttering inside your gut, before focusing back on the situation at hand.

You look up in time to watch Mark swing his shotgun harshly against Changbin’s skull. Taking advantage of his disorientation, you rush forward to stab your pocket knife into the wolf’s back. Changbin practically roars in fury, angling backward to land a hit to your face before you have time to react. The force of his strike throws you to the ground, a sharp pain lingering in your left cheek.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Mark throws himself against Changbin, delivering hit after hit to anything and anywhere. Still, Mark’s human strength does little to outbeat the dark wolf, and you watch in horror as Changbin effortlessly pins the witch against his chest with a bloody hand around his throat. You desperately search for something, anything, in hopes of saving Mark from whatever deadly fate awaits Changbin’s bloodlust, but fate doesn’t seem to be on your side.

“Changbin—please don’t do this!” You cry, praying to some type of deity that the wolf is sane enough to understand your words. Even so, your confidence is low, seeing as talking clearly had no effect during your last encounter, but you’re fresh out of options at this point. “You know this isn’t who you are!”

To your surprise, Changbin actually answers, “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Maybe not, but I know you don’t actually want to hurt anyone…” You cautiously rise to your feet with a shake of your head, wary of the tight hold Changbin currently has on Mark’s jugular. “Your thoughts are all sorts of fucked up right now because of the dark magic, so why don’t you just let Mark go and we can—”

“Don’t you fucking get it! This fucker—” He yanks at Mark with more force than necessary, “—took everything from me! He took my pack, my alpha—the only people I ever felt safe with!”

“I understand you—”

“No, you don’t!” Changbin wails, “You can’t even imagine how I feel! How fucking hard it is to wake up in a world you know you’ll never belong! How much it fucking hurts just to go on and pretend like everything’s normal when it’s fucking not!”

“Tell him it’s okay to feel angry—” You whirl your head around to find a seemingly exhausted, yet wild-eyed Jackson Wang at your side. “—but none of this was Mark’s fault.”

You’re mortified at first, having never encountered the ghost anywhere outside your bedroom—but whether it’s the desperation etched along his features, or the flush of purple that overtakes Mark’s complexion—you quickly transfer back to reality:

“Changbin, it’s perfectly normal to feel angry and cheated, but this wasn’t Mark’s fault—deep down, I think you know that.”

“What does it fucking matter anymore? I’m all alone anyways.” The pure agony etched along his face has your heart splitting in two.

You’ve never seen a creature so strong and so powerful look so… vulnerable.

“You said the exact same thing to me when we first met…” Jackson murmurs softly.

“You told Jackson you were alone at one point too…”

An obvious wave of tense silence washes through the forest, making the beat of your heart that much more prominent in your ears.

Changbin’s whisper is dark—dangerous. “How the fuck do you know that?”

“Because… Because he’s here, Changbin.” You say, your eyes meeting Mark’s as the words leave your tongue. “You’re not alone because Jackson is still here.”

You don’t know what kind of reaction you expected from your revelation, but it certainly is not the heinous laughter that spills from the dark wolf’s lips.

“You must have lost your goddamn mind… Jackson-hyung is dead!”

“Maybe physically, but his spirit still remains.”

“You mean—” You turn to discover a bewildered Yugyeom unsteadily leaning against a tree, “—his… ghost? You—You can see his ghost?”

You nod.

Changbin sneers with a low growl. “I don’t fucking believe you.”

“There’s a cliffside back along the bay about twenty miles from the lodge,” Jackson begins, his tone a blend of nostalgic and sorrowful. “Changbin and I used to go there to watch the full moon rise before we turned into our wolf forms… I-I’ve missed that so much…”

“You and Jackson would always watch the full moon rise on a cliff overlooking the bay before you transitioned,” You repeat. “He says he misses those moments with you…”

“Stop it!” Changbin frantically shakes his head, “You’re lying!”

“He’s here, Changbin… He’s really here.” You move forward again, more confidently this time, and raise your hands in a sympathetic gesture. “And the last thing he wants is for you to make the same mistakes he did, so please—let Mark go and let us help you…”

It’s as if time freezes for a moment. Changbin seems to fight a battle with himself—countless emotions rushing through his teary eyes. You watch the dark wolf glance toward an unconscious Dahyun and Chan, then to a silent Yugyeom, before finally setting his focus back to you. You can only pray your face reflects the hope swirling throughout your veins—pray that Changbin will do the right thing.

To your delight, the blackness of his veins gradually begin to fade and the sharp claws protruding from his fingertips recede. You don’t realize you’ve been holding your breath until Changbin finally retracts his hold from Mark’s neck. You’re quick to take the unsteady witch in your own arms before sending the now normal wolf a thankful smile.

“Thank you, Changbin…”

He nods shyly before wiping a couple tears from his cheeks. You watch as Yugyeom cautiously makes his way toward the younger boy, murmurs something, then tugs the latter into a tight embrace that pulls even more liquid sadness from his eyes. The sight has your heart melting into a puddle of warmth—the emotion doesn’t last though, not when Mark’s dark croak enters your ears:

“You… can see Jackson…”

You shrug sheepishly, “I wanted to tell you, but he said not to… He didn’t want to hurt you anymore than he already had.”

Mark remains silent. You try to search for his features for some kind of anger or disappointment, but are only awarded with his surface level blank stare. Worry flooding through your veins, you look to Jackson for any possible guidance, but the ghost merely shakes his head.

After a couple tense seconds or so, Mark finally murmurs, “Jack… I—I’m so sorry. For everything.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Jackson says immediately, “If only I had listened to you, then maybe things would have played out different.”

“He says it wasn’t your fault—he should have listened to you.”

“We both made some pretty shitty mistakes.” Mark hums, “I miss you, man. So fucking much.”

You don’t wait for Jackson to reply, already knowing his answer.

“He misses you too, Mark. Just as much.”

“How is this even possible…?” You and Mark turn to find the shocked gaze of Yugyeom, who is closely followed by the despair of that belonging to Changbin. “Supernaturals can’t even see spirits, much less mortals…”

“We never exactly figured that out. Jackson said he felt drawn to me from the Other Side—he kind of just showed up in my bedroom the night after Mina and Momo died.”

“Any contact with the dead usually requires some sort of spell or medium.” Mark bites his lip in confusion. “I’ve never seen anything like this before, not even in any of my mother’s grimoires—”

“Jackson!” Your body grows rigid as Jackson suddenly collapses to the ground with a pained groan. You hurry forward, kneeling next to the man, and reach for his shoulder. The realization of his phantom existence hits you like a bag of bricks when your fingers phase through his form. You settle for calling his name again instead, “Jackson—what’s wrong?”

“What the hell is going on?” You hear Changbin stress from somewhere behind you, but your focus is completely on the ghost in question.

Jackson lifts his head with a gasp, revealing a line of blood dripping from his nose. “I-It’s the witches!... They know about our plans—they’re trying to force me back to the Other Side—”

“(Y/N)?”

You shake your head feverishly, “It’s, uh, it’s the witches on the Other Side—they don’t like Jackson crossing over, so they’re trying to bring him back…”

Mark nods. “Witches, dead or alive, will do anything to maintain the balance of nature.”

“(Y/N)—shit—I don’t have a lot of time—” Your chest tightens at the urgency behind Jackson’s words. “I know so much just went down, but—”

“Don’t worry, Jack. I won’t let you disappear again.” You affirm before climbing to your feet to face your new subject of interest. “Mark—I need you to perform the resurrection spell.”

“Woah, wait—” Mark shakes his head, “(Y/N), I can’ t—”

“If we don’t resurrect him now, then Jackson is gone forever!” Your warning spreads a new tension across the atmosphere, manifesting in the form of sullen and panicked expressions. “Please, Mark—we have a chance to bring him back!”

“I can’t do the spell because I don’t have any magic…” Your heart sinks at Mark’s revelation. “Minho absorbed all my magical energy back at the graveyard… I’m so sorry, Jackson…”

“Hold on, you told me that there’s different types of magic…” You push, “Can’t you draw energy from something? Like the forest, or the moon, or, or—”

“Or me.” You turn, discovering the speaker of the response to be none other than a determined Changbin. “Minho-hyung’s spell may be gone, but I can still feel the magical energy lingering through my body.”

Mark hesitates, “I-I don’t know if it will work… and if something goes wrong—”

“Do you want Jackson-hyung back or not?...”

A moment of silence passes after Changbin’s question. You keep an eye on a repeatedly wincing Jackson, and the other on the witch’s face, attempting to decipher his thoughts inside the glow of his gaze. For a moment, you wonder if Mark will even provide an answer, until the words finally leave his lips:

“Fuck the balance of nature. I’ll bring you back, Jackson—I promise.”

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

Jinyoung stares at the sun as it gradually rises past the horizon, bathing his skin in a warm, celebratory light. His gaze wavers across the cemetery to the notorious mausoleum, where he watches Lia and Jisung carefully assist a barely conscious Youngjae past the doorway. After this crazy night, the siphoner definitely deserves a good, long rest. Then again, so does everyone else.

He releases a heavy sigh before shifting away from the witch trio. After sparing one final glance to the sunrise, Jinyoung allows his feet to carry him through the early morning glow, past countless tombstones and other structures, and settles beside a second figure in front of a particular burial site. He silently reads the engravings along the headstone before addressing his companion without so much as a glimpse:

“I assumed you would be halfway back to the bunker by now.”

Jaebeom doesn’t respond, not that Jinyoung really expects him to. He peers at the hybrid through the corner of his eye, attempting to seek meaning beyond his blank features. Centuries later, Jinyoung still can’t predict the workings of Jaebeom’s inner thoughts. Especially when it comes to the situation at hand.

“Mark called. Changbin is no longer affected by Minho’s spell.” He explains, “They’re also preparing a ritual to resurrect Jackson Wang—”

“Tzuyu…?”

Jinyoung’s chest tightens as the name falls from Jaebeom’s lips.

“Their youngest, Ryujin, is looking after both her and Felix.”

“So she’s still alive…?”

“It seems so.”

A brief moment of silence passes between the pair. The earth grows brighter and brighter as the seconds roll by, reminding Jinyoung that time is a friend to no one.

“Hyung, did you… truly switch off your humanity?”

“I did, at first.” Jaebeom’s answer is quiet, and Jinyoung can detect the subtle hint of vulnerability hidden beneath his gruff tone. “But I guess I can never completely turn it off.”

“It’s alright to feel, hyung—be it anger… or passion… or fear…”

Jinyoung notices Jaebeom shift uncomfortably before glancing down at the glass vial in the palm of his hand. For once, he can actually distinguish the emotions present within the hybrid’s dark eyes. The knowledge only jabs at his heart.

“Everything is taken care of, right?”

“The night has ended, and Minho is safely sealed away in the crypt.” Jinyoung nods, “We live to see another day.”

He watches his companion tuck the precious vial into the pocket of his jeans before turning away from the headstone. Jinyoung is not sure where the urge comes from, but he abandons his perch, grabbing Jaebeom’s shoulder before he can leave the cemetery. He ignores the hybrid’s confused expression and pulls him into a tight embrace.

“Thank you for staying, hyung…” Jinyoung’s murmur is slightly muffled against the fabric of his jacket, but he knows his companion heard them loud and clear.

Jaebeom hesitates for a moment, clearly taken aback by the sudden act, but eventually winds his arms loosely around Jinyoung’s back with a gentle murmur of his own:

“You will always be my family, Jinyoung… Always and forever…”

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

“I’ve never used magic like this before, so I can’t promise this will work.” Mark glances to where he assumes Jackson’s spirit is located inside the white circle makeshifted out of a bag of flour Dahyun managed to find in a bunker cabinet, before glancing to the companion at his side. “You sure you’re up for this? It’ll feel like I’m literally sucking the life force out of your body…”

Changbin nods, “If it means bringing Jackson-hyung back.”

“Okay, then.” Mark turns to the surrounding crowd next, “In order to do this, I’ll need to lower the veil to the Other Side. This will create a temporary door that Jackson can pass through to physically enter our realm. Once he crosses over, he should become mortal again.”

“Seems easy enough.” Dahyun snickers, although the sound is dry and forced. “Anything else we need to know?”

“Whatever happens, do not enter the circle.” His eyes drift from the she-wolf to your silent form. As if sensing the scrutiny, your gaze connects with his own, and knowing he has your attention, Mark continues in a darker tone, “Just as spirits can pass into our realm, we can cross to the Other Side… so for the love of god, don’t do anything stupid.”

Your and Mark’s staring contest ceases when your head snapes toward the circle. Seconds later, you break the tense silence with a soft murmur, “Jackson says it’s getting worse. He can feel the witches trying to drag him back.”

“Then I guess that’s our cue.” He sighs before nodding toward the circle one last time, “I’m gonna do my best, Jack. Just hold on.”

With one final glance to the grimoire you gave him earlier, Mark inhales a deep breath and takes Changbin’s outstretched hand into his own. He closes his eyes, focusing every part of his brain on the electrifying sensation of the magical energy coursing through the wolf’s body. Bit by bit, he feels Changbin’s power bleeding into his own veins, awakening the slumbering supernatural nature of his soul. Once he’s sure enough he’s acquired enough magic, Mark opens his eyes and begins the incantation:

“Vita mortem, mortem vita est… Partis inferioris velum, partis inferioris ante illum vetum…” Almost instantly, the wind picks up while the air grows uncomfortably cold. He ignores the violent shivers wracking through his limbs and proceeds to repeat the words as the temperature continues to drop. With each spoken syllable, Mark’s head becomes dizzy and his flesh feels as if it’s being scorched off, but he continues.

No amount of pain could ever dull the hope of seeing his best friend alive once more.

“Holy shit—it’s actually working!”

Mark doesn’t realize he had shut his eyes until he opens them, nearly yelping in delight when he discovers the image of said friend standing in the center of the white circle. Jackson looks no different than the day he last saw him, and he can’t decide if he wants to laugh out of irony or burst into tears.

“The veil is down! I’m gonna start the spell to cross you over!” Mark yells over the howling of the wind, clutching Changbin’s hand tighter as he transitions to the next phase of the spell. “Ohto eestanay as vazat esvet ohnaz eespalit… Ohto eestanay as vazat esvet—fuck!”

A brutal force comes down against his head, almost resembling that of a punch, before spreading hot fire down his neck and to the rest of his body. Mark doubles over with a wheeze, attempting to fight against the painful sensations by grounding himself in Changbin’s touch. However, as soon as the first wave concludes, a second, even more excruciating one follows. He feels as if someone is trying to crush his brain—to kill him from the inside out.

“Mark-hyung! What’s wrong!?”

“It’s the witches!...” Mark is thankful that Jackson answers Yugyeom’s panicked inquiry, “They’re trying to break the spell!”

“Like… hell they will…” Mark hisses, righting himself with a pained groan before grabbing Changbin’s other hand. “I’m not going down without a fight—hold on!...”

He jumps back into the spell, weakening the manipulated pain through the absorption of more of the wolf’s energy. Borderline high off the power, he pushes everything he has into the ritual, determined to see it through to the end. After a minute that passes like a decade, Mark detects a shift in the atmosphere, indicating the near completion of the spell, and shouts:

“Jackson—get out of the circle! Get out now!”

As if in slow motion, Mark watches Jackson quickly move to escape the white border. But just as soon as his toe brushes the edge, he is wrenched away and lifted from the ground.

Dahyun cries, “What the hell is happening!?”

“They won’t let me cross over!” Jackson squirms and writhes, attempting to escape whatever invisible grip is holding him hostage. His efforts are futile, and he continues to rise higher and higher off of the ground.

“Hang on, Jack!” Mark releases Changbin’s hands and raises his own palms in Jackson’s direction. However, the same torturous pain from before returns once more, hitting his nerves like a sledgehammer to a brick wall, and throws him to the earth. “Shit—no! H-He has to pass through the circle!”

“(Y/N)! Don’t!”

Mark raises his gaze at Dahyun’s shriek, only to watch in horror as you rush past the flour boundary and grab hold of Jackson’s hand. A blinding light immediately erupts from your clasped palms, expanding through the area until all Mark can see is white.

After a long moment, his vision eventually returns, and he finds the forest completely silent. The temperature is no longer frigid, he notices, and the strain within his brain is gone. For a moment, Mark is filled with prowess, victorious at the fact he successfully carried out an ancient resurrection ritual, however, his triumph is temporary, especially when he notices your form laid motionless in Dahyun’s arms.

“(Y/N)—fuck!” Mark hurries to where you lay, stealing your figure from the she-wolf to cradle you in his own hold. “Shit, shit, shit—she’s not breathing! Fucking goddamnit!”

His panic only grows tenfold when he hears the murmur cascade from Dahyun’s lips:

“Mark… where’s Jackson?”

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

Jaebeom scales the final rung of the ladder before making his way toward the corner where the snoozing trio resides. He moves cautiously, mindful not to awaken the young werewolf caretaker, yet eventually finds himself perched on the edge of a familiar cot. His heart thunders inside his chest, and he cannot tell if it’s out of anxiety or hope. Though at this moment, Jaebeom can really care less to find out.

“It’s about time you showed up…” He winces at the broken husk of his companion’s voice, attempting to keep his expression as neutral as possible. “I thought you were actually going to leave me to die in the hands of a neurotic teenage wolf…”

Jaebeom doesn’t respond to her quip—he can’t find it in himself to do so.

Tzuyu raises an eyebrow, “What’s with the face? Did you take down the witch or not?”

“We did.” He hums, “The spell is broken.”

“Good thing—” The vampire pauses to cough, and the sound is like broken glass against his ears. “—you and your brother are safe for the eternity to come.”

“Tzuyu… I found the cure.”

“What are you waiting for then? My consent?” She snickers playfully, “We fuck for over a century and this is the most gentlemanly behavior I’ve ever seen from you, Beomie.”

Again, Jaebeom remains silent.

Recognizing the obvious tension in the room, Tzuyu’s face falls. “But… I guess it’s more complicated than that, hm?”

“There’s only enough for…” He’s unable to finish his sentence, not when his companion’s eyes are gazing at him with such sullenness and sympathy. Jaebeom has to look away for a moment, though the action does little to relieve the tightness of his chest.

“Ah, I see.” Tzuyu hums, glancing across the way to a slumbering Felix. Her pale lips twitch, as if attempting to upturn to a smile, but it instead appears as a weak grimace. “You know, I really never meant to hurt (Y/N)… or you.”

“Tzuyu—”

“I’ve known you for decades… but I’ve never seen you look at someone the way you look at her.” Another violent cough wracks through her body, expelling a mass of dark blood past her lips. Jaebeom is quick to wipe the splotch from her skin with the blanket, trying not to dwell on the fact that her skin is ice cold. “I’ll admit, I was jealous at first… I’ve always wanted someone to look at me like that…

“I know you’re afraid to care—to love, Jaebeom.” Tzuyu murmurs sadly, lifting a hand to rest against the hybrid’s cheek. “Especially someone like (Y/N)… and you’re right to. She’s too good… too human.

“One misstep and you could lose her forever.”

“I want to be selfish…” Jaebeom whispers, “I want to be selfish so fucking bad—”

“But you can’t be, Beom. Not with her.”

“Then let me be selfish with you.”

Tzuyu smiles.

“I’ve lived over three lifetimes, and he is barely a ways into his one—so you’re going to give the cure to that damn kid, Im Jaebeom.” He leans further into her touch as she caresses the apple of his cheek. “Promise me that you’ll stay away from her—to keep her safe?”

He nods.

“Good… Can you hold me for a moment? I’m cold.”

“I’ll hold you as long as you want me to.”

And so Jaebeom takes Tzuyu into his arms. However, it’s not until the vampire grows still does he allow a single tear to cascade from his eye, staining the bloodied bed sheets with the agony of a heart that has been broken too many times to count.

60 notes · View notes

fandomout · 4 years

Text

Neville Longbottom X Reader

One day in class, Professor Sprout had motioned you over at the end of class.

“Evening Y/N.”

“Evening Professor Sprout.”

“I called you over here because your grade is suffering. You just aren’t doing so well this year. You’ve been a bit preoccupied?”

“You could say that. Your right. I should pay more attention and try harder.”

“I like that attitude. That’s why I will be putting you with my best student.”

“Wait, you mean, Nev-”

“Yes. Neville. I have arranged for you two to come here at the end of you classes today, so you can catch up a bit.” You simply nodded and headed out of the classroom unsure of how to feel about the situation. You didn’t dislike Neville. You actually thought he was really nice and seemed like a decent person, but you also didn’t know what to make of him. He was the center of sprinkles of chaos. He always managed to end up in terrible situations. In all the times you’ve ever talked to him, he hardly said a word, or he’d end up talking about class, which would make you think it's hard to get to know him. It is; however, through observation you came to realize he’s reserved, kind, smart, and shy. After countless attempts at friendship, you gave up as you thought it was pointless. You decided to just not put anymore thought into it since it probably wouldn’t do much good.

Later that week, after all of your classes had finished, you and Neville met in private. Professor sprout expressed her utmost faith and trust in both of you , especially since she believed Neville was so familiar with everything. As you and Neville were left alone, you waited for him to say something. After a minute, you decided that wasn’t the right way to go.

“Neville, how do you want to do this?”

“Uh...Well, what don’t you know?”

“Uh...I don’t know.”

“Do you remember the past few lessons?” You let out a sheepish laugh and shook your head and answered, “No...”

“What do you remember?”

“I think I left off on our lesson about that one weed that gives you gills or something like that.”

“Gillyweed.”

“That’s the one.” You smiled at him. He seemed to avert his eyes immediately from you and answered, “That helps.” He walks over to one of the shelves wordlessly and presents a few herbs you didn’t recognize. He began to state their name and uses and quiz you on it throughout. This went on for two weeks, which allowed you to get closer to him as he got more comfortable. He’d mention a hobby here or an incident there. You were starting to be thankful for not getting a good grade in case since it allowed you this rare oddity of time with Neville. He was a lot different from the students and friends you’d come across. Thus, after getting better in herbology, you decided to just study with him as you were worried that without the tutoring that he’d stop having contact with you again. Along with this new hint of friendship to look forward to, you started to get love letters. They appeared a few weeks after the tutoring thing. At first you were unsure of what to make of the sweet words. Quickly, after receiving a second one, you started looking forward to them. Sadly, you were unable to find the secret admirer in the past few weeks as there was no pattern to be found from the fact that the letters came at random times of the week, sometimes more than three. In the morning, you had received one. It was earlier than usual for you, so you were taking your time reading out the words. You happened to be outside on the benches, big mistake. As more people began to crowd the courtyard, Fred and George were a pair of them as they snatched the note out of your hand. You let your things fall to the ground not caring where. You reached for the note, but their heights were at an advantage here. Not to mention, even if that weren't the case, they were casting spells to float the note back and forth, and you were caught in the middle.

“George-” You dash over to Fred. “Fred-” You dash back to George. ”Give it here, you nimwits!”

“Is that a love letter?” George taunts.

“You guys are gonna wreck it!” Fred lets out a small chuckle and begins to say , “We are not gonna-” You interrupt his words as you use a spell to interrupt their spell. The note flings downwards. All three of you are rushing for it. Fred and George get there before you. One of the twins uses a spell, but they trip and the spell ricochet and hits the letter. It rips in pieces. You rush over. The twins stand with a guilty expression. “Sorry, Y/N,” They both say.

You simply take the scattered pieces, get your now muddy books, and dart away from the vicinity. You find yourself in the garden area as the class wouldn't start for hours, and you just wanted to be alone. You start to cry a bit at the note and try to read it out. Suddenly, you hear a noise in the back. You walk over to see Neville organizing things. You wipe your eyes a bit.

“Sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here. I’ll go.” You say to him. You stop walking away as he says, “Why are you crying?”

“It’s nothing. I'm not crying. You are. I’ll go.”

“No. Stay.”

“I-”

“Just tell me. I won't say anything…”

“I know you won't...Find…” You pull out the shredded note and present it to him. “Just my letter….”

“What is it?” He stood up straighter with intrigue.

“Someone dear in my heart wrote this for me. They’ve written me= countless words. I was taking my time reading this one when Fred and George were messing with me and this happened. I can barely make it out.”

“But, I mean if you have so many others-”

“You might find the reasoning silly.”

“No. I won't.” He said dead serious, which almost made you laugh.

“It’s just. There’s this person that’s writing all this nice stuff about me. Making me feel good and warm in ways no one ever has. I cherish letters to begin with, but something about these...Anyway...One of them got ruined...I don't’ know I feel guilty…”

“Guilty?”

“I mean I would never treat these words without any respect or care because they do matter...Feeling anything less feels like a brutal or disservice to the secret admirer. I mean what if they found out about this...maybe they'd stop and think I’m not worth it...”

“You got all that from accidentally getting it torn?”

“Yeah….See? I knew you’d think it was silly.”

“It’s not!” He opened his eyes a little wider with a raised voice. He’d never pegged you as someone to ever really yell. He looked at you bug eyed and a little flustered. Fidgeting began. “It’s meaningful…“

You nod. “Yeah. you get it.”

“Let me see it.” You hand it over to him. He lays it on the table and tries to set it together.

“The letter reads, Dear Y/N, you’ve been shining a bit brighter these days. Of course, your natural glow is still nothing compared to a beautiful smile on your face. To see you happy, it makes me happy.” The last of the note seems to be covered in dirt; you can’t make anything out of it, so it surprises you that Neville keeps reading, “I know you're probably curious as to why I started writing these letters. The truth is, I’ve had thoughts like this before I started to do this. They were small thoughts as I saw your kindness and nature. As I hope you smile and are filled with warmth, I hope you stay that way until the next letter, so you can stay happy. From your Secret admirer.” As he read in a heartfelt and sincere manner, it felt like they were his words. You look at his expression, and he was tomato red. He was physically this way, despite his unwavering read? Suddenly, you think you realize something. You say, “Neville?”

“Yeah.” You grab his face with both hands. Since he starts to freak out, he rushes backward into the wall a little roughly. You don’t grab onto him again, but you take a step up to him.

He fidgets and asks, “What-What are you doing?”, uneasy.

“Are you my secret admirer?” His eyes leave yours immediately and he looks to the sky. “You are! You are!” You smile brightly at him

“No?” He answers, still not meeting eyes.

“Neville?” He swallows visibly. “Will you look at me?” He hesitantly meets your eyes. He sighs and speaks so lowly that you don't hear him. ”Sorry, Neville, you're going to have to repeat that.”

“You weren't supposed to find out. At least if you did, not-not like this...”

“Sorry?”

“I had some kind of plan.”

“Really?”

“You seem...Happy?”

“I really am. Did you not just hear what I said about the secret-What I said about your letters. How they made me feel? Now, that I know it’s you, I just feel a little bit happier than when I read the letters.”

“This is all wrong. I just didn’t plan for this…” He scratches at his head nervously.

“Well, that’s okay. I didn’t plan for this either. This doesn't have to be complicated Neville. You like me, and I like you, simple.”

“I-Wait, here.” You waited patiently. When he came back, he handed you an assortment of flowers.

“No one ever brought me flowers before….”

“Do you not like them?”

“...I love them, thank you.” You reached out to hug him, but you stopped yourself. “I assume you’d want to take things slow.”

“Yes…”

“Can we be together?”

“Yes.”

“Can I at least hold your hand as we head to class?”

“Not as we head to class. It would be a little odd.”

“What about for a few minutes now before we go to class?”

“That’s alright.”

“Yay!” You instantly grip his hand. However, you both notice how dirty your hands are by now. You from earlier, and him from the letter. He led you over to the sink.

“Why don’t we wash our hands? Your books are wrecked too. I’ll help.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I want to.” He gave a small smile, and you blushed at him. Maybe thanking Fred and George were in order since it led to this beautiful time.

Hope your day got a little better

#harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fluff #harry potter imagine #neville x reader #neville fluff #neville imagine #neville #neville longbottom #neville longbottom imagine #neville longbottom x you #neville longbottom x reader #fluff #cute #imagine

167 notes · View notes

novelist-becca · 4 years

Text

Could these walls come crumbling down

Fandom: The Owl House

Rating: Teen

Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda

Summary: A look at “A Lying Witch and a Warden” from Eda’s POV. Title is from the song “Into the Open Air” by Julie Fowlis. Italics are Eda’s thoughts.

AO3 link here

FFN link here

Eda had sent Owlbert back through the portal after their brief trip through the human realm. She was unable to find any good stuff, plus she was getting tired. So she went back to wait at her booth while he found more garbage. That was an hour ago. The bored witch watched as random citizens walked by. A part of her worried he was caught and captured by a curious human. He was supposed to be back by now!

Then, as she was tapping her foot in impatience, she heard the door finally open, and the owl flew through the curtain dragging a half-full sack of human garbage.

“Finally, you're back!” Eda said with a sigh. Nevertheless, she gave Owlbert a quick scratch on his chin as a thank you. Eda thought she heard a voice from inside the tent, but she ignored it and turned to the sack. “Now let's see what we've got here.” She said as she screwed Owlbert back onto the staff.

Eda rubbed her hands together in anticipation and looked through the assortment. A small dark box thingy? Nah, she could never figure out how to work those strange box things. “Garbage…” A diamond ring? No, everybody here's already seen those. “Garbage…” and a golden glowing goblet! Nope, she needed something rare! Something different!

Then as if the sack could read her mind, Eda gasped pulled out a large pair of strange glasses with bloodshot eyeballs. “Now this…” she said as she tried them on. “This will make me rich!” To her amusement, the eyeballs popped out and sprung for a few seconds.

It's horrifying. Perfect!

“And this…” The next item Eda pulled out was a book. It was…eh. She's seen a few witchlings carry it around. Whatever. Her candle was starting to go out anyway. “Well, this'll make good kindling.”

But as soon as she held the book over the flame, some kid burst out of the tent and snatched it out of her hand. “Excuse me sorry that's mine thank you!” She said quickly.

Now where the hell did she come from? Eda thought. Then a quick look at her ears confirmed that she was a human.

Now she could be…useful.

Before the little intruder could escape back through the portal door, Eda closed it with the key. She wasn't going to get away that easily.

“You're not going anywhere.” She said sternly. It seemed to scare the kid enough that she escaped from under the tent’s cover. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, the witch followed her. Soon enough, Eda found the girl standing at the edge of a cliff, visibly freaked out and confused, and also smacked down a stray pixie. The witch internally laughed at the child.

Classic humans.

“Where am I? Did I DIE?! Am I in the Bad Place?” The girl frantically asked nobody in particular. Eda grabbed her shoulder, startling her for a moment.

“You wish.”

The older witch dragged the girl back to the booth by her arm, sitting her down on a stool. Yup, she's human. Eda told herself. No doubt about it with those round ears. She looked to be in her teens, with dark skin and short brown hair. Said human had her knees pulled up to her chest, looking up apologetically at the woman before her.

“I-I'm so sorry, I just wanted my book! If you're gonna eat me, just make it quick- just do it now!” The human stuttered out, holding out her arm.

The witch internally laughed at this kid’s complete overreaction. Alright Eda, time to drop the tough guy act. Don't scare her too much.

“Eat you? Why would I eat…a potential customer?” Eda said to the girl, presenting her stash of junk. Her words seemed to confuse her, but the kid seemed to calm down, and looked up with interest. Nailed it! She's hooked! “Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes? A bar of green human candy? Oh, oh, how about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?” Eda spoke as she went through whatever assortment of objects she found interesting.

And, interestingly enough, instead of rejecting the offer and walking to the next stand, the human laughed a little bit at the presentation.

“That's not all it can do.” The human says, getting out of her seat. “Here, let me see it.” Eda allows her to take the offered “shadow box” and observed as she takes something from the “human candy” bowl and inserted it into the object. Then she pushed a button and…it lit up with loud music, showing a person dancing. To Eda’s surprise, some demons and witches heard the noise and were immediately attracted. Oh, so that's how it really works.

“Huh? What's that?”

“That sound, it's so alluring…!”

One demon held up some money. “I'll pay 40 snails for the screaming box!”

Another demon held up his too. “I'll give you 100!”

“Can I eat the tiny person inside?”

Eda watched in awe as more people offered up their goods for the device. All thanks to this kid. She turns to her with great interest. “What did you say your name was?” She asked with an impressed smirk.

If she's a human, then maybe she can help King. Eda thought, remembering the other reason for pulling her aside.

“I'm Luz! Luz Noceda!” The kid said, smiling at her. It's incredible how she hasn't run away screaming from the demons and monsters of the Isles, as most normal humans would.

“Well, Luz, that was pretty clever…for a human.” Eda adds, taking the offered money from her customers.

“That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say.” Luz says, raising an eyebrow.

Oh, right, the bandana!

“Oh, dear child…” Eda started before swiftly taking off the bandana disguise to reveal her own pointy ears. “I'm not like you.”

The witch stepped on top of her table to speak. Might as well entertain the kid.

“I'm Eda the Owl Lady! The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!” Eda declared proudly.

“A witch?” She heard Luz say in wonder and delight.

Oh, I like this kid.

“I am respected! Feared!”

“-Busted!” To her dismay, the loud device was smashed by none other than…an Emperor’s Guard. Customers ran away in fear, but Luz stayed by the table for whatever reason. Dammit.

“Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors!” The guard spoke in a gruff voice.

“Woah, witch criminal.” Luz said from her spot by the table, watching with great interest. For some reason she…stayed.

“You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformitorium!” He demanded, grabbing Eda’s arm.

She yanked it back in annoyance. The guards were stalking her…a lot today. “Would you guys quit following me around? I haven't done squat.” Why do they call it “misuse” anyway?

Unfortunately, the guard noticed Luz and lifted her up by her shirt. “And you're coming too. For fraternizing with a criminal!”

“What? That's not cool!” Luz exclaimed, eyes widening.

Quickly, Eda formulated a plan. “Oh alright alright, you win. Just let me get my stuff…” she answered, getting her staff. Swiftly, she swung it at the guard, knocking him flat on the ground. These chumps are too easy!

Quickly, Eda cast a spell to wrap up everything in a sack, hanging it on her staff. But not before pressing the button on her key. “Whoops, can't forget this!” She ran towards Luz, remembering her mission. “Follow me, human!” And she did.

As Eda ran, Luz rambled frantically beside her. “This is crazy! If I die here my mom’s gonna kill me!”

The witch laughed. “Ha! I won't let him hurt you. A human like you is much more valuable to me alive than dead.” Eda promised. If she is to earn Luz’s trust, she can't get hurt. No matter what.

“Wait, what's that supposed to-”

Eda didn't let her finish as she suddenly hooked her arm with Luz’s, whooping as she swept her off the ground and into the air with her on the staff.

As expected, Luz was frozen in her place on the staff, tears leaking from her closed eyes.

“You can open your eyes now, human.” Eda told her.

Luz opened one eye, then another before letting out a whimper and nearly falling off. “Flying staffs, crazy monsters, you're a witch! What is this place?” She asked as Eda pulled her back up.

“This is the Boiling Isles.” Eda explained to the girl. “Every myth you humans have is a bit of our world leaking into yours.” Just then, a large griffin flew by, sparking Luz’s interest.

“A griffin!” And when it started breathing spiders, “I knew it!” She exclaimed happily. Eda marveled at Luz’s great fascination with this world. She loved the enthusiasm.

“Yup! Griffins, vampires, giraffes…” Eda recounted.

“Giraffes?” Luz asked, confused.

“Oh yeah. We banished those guys. Buncha freaks.” Eda said with disgust. Those super long necks had always unnerved her. She stepped off her staff once she arrived at their destination. Luz stayed on, unsure. Until she noticed Eda's detached hand and jolted off.

Jumpy isn't she?

“Whoops, that happens sometimes.” Eda said nonchalantly, screwing her hand back on.

Luz got to her feet. “Well, I've had enough adventure for today. This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about. So, can you help me get back home?” She said. Eda held her staff in front of her before she could walk away, making her freeze in place. She needs her for this. And she's not getting away so easily.

“Only if you help me first!” Eda insists. “Ha! Now come along, human.”

As she and Luz approached the door, Luz piped up again.

“Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?” She asked, looking behind them nervously.

Eda looked to her and gestured at her house. “Nope! My house has a state-of-the-art defense system.” As long as Hooty’s around, she and anybody that chooses to stay is safe. But…not from his voice.

“Hoot hoot, password please.” Hooty said. Eda rolled her eyes and poked his eyes. “Ow!”

“We got no time for this, Hooty. Let us in.” She answered with two fingers still held up as a warning.

“Alright alright, jeez! You never wanna have any fun! Ow! Hoot!” Hooty scoffs before letting Eda and her new aquaintance in. She let the girl take a brief look around before snapping her fingers.

“Welcome to…the Owl House.” And with a snap of her fingers, everything came to life. Candles lit up, the broom sweeping, the fireplace blazing, and the ceiling lit up with that beautiful picture of a bird. Luz looked around in amazement and walked around.

“Where I hide away from the pressures of modern life.” Eda explained. “Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends, ha!” She added with a snort.

Luz placed her book down on the coffee table. “This place is beautiful. So do you live here all alone?”

As if on cue, the house seemed to shake with King’s angry stomping. That damn demon.

“Actually, I have a roommate.” Eda frowned.

“WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON I, THE King of Demons!” King demanded as he entered the living room in his towel and…holding a rubber duckie.

Instead of getting scared, Luz gasped in delight at the sight of him. “Ay que lindo!” She exclaimed, and then she quickly scooped a confused King into a tight hug. “Eda he's so cute! Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you, is it you? Mmm!!!” She cooed excitedly to the now frightened demon. Not that Eda could really blame her, he is really adorable.

“NO! I don't know who your little guy is! Eda! Who is this monster?!” King cried as he tried and failed to push the girl off him.

“Oh, this is Luz, the human.” Eda tells him, restraining Luz with her arms around her torso and prying her away, then putting her back down. “She's here to help us with our…situation.” She explains with a hand on Luz's shoulder.

King lit up. “Oh! Hurray!”

But Luz backed away, apprehensive. “Wait wait wait. I don't like the sound of this 'situation.’”

Eda stepped in front of her before she can back out. “Just…let me explain.” She says before drawing a spell circle to help illustrate their objective. “King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen, and he became…this.” She noticed Luz had picked up King again.

“You mean this little bundle of joy?” She interjects.

Eda continued. “The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath, and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through. A human like you.” She lifted the spell and looked at Luz. “If you help us retrieve his crown, we’ll send you back to your realm.” And while Eda may be Public Enemy #1, she intended to keep her end of this deal. “So what do you say?” To convince her, she picked up King by his head. “Plus, who could say no to this cute face?”

“No! Please don't encourage her!” King cried, squirming in her hold.

Eda dropped him. “I mean, we're kinda your only way home.” She reasons. There's not any other portal to the human realm. That she knows of, at least.

Luz averted her eyes to the side. “So I don't really have a choice, do I?” She guesses.

“Nope! Now we've got no time to lose!” Eda urges, picking up Luz and holding her over her shoulder. The girl didn't struggle. Behind her, Eda hears King talking to his duck.

“Where are we going?” Luz asks over her shoulder.

“Somewhere super fun!”

“The Conformitorium, a place for those considered 'unsuitable for society’.” Eda explains with distaste when they reached their destination. She remembers how guards would throw people in that damn place simply for being weird. Most of them haven't committed any real crimes!

Beside her, Luz had found one of her famous Wanted posters. “Whoa. These guys really have the hots for you.” She observed.

She's not wrong.

“Yep. But we were never caught because we were too slippery.” Eda proudly says with a smirk. That poster would always be one of her proudest moments. She looked good in it! A part of her feels overjoyed that this child didn't judge her for her criminal status.

“Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease, I'm a squirmy little fella.” King remarked in his place on Luz's head. Luz, who probably just found it weird, tilted her head so the demon could slip off. “You and I will sneak up to the top of the tower where they're holding my crown.” He explained to her.

“And I'm gonna make sure the warden’s distracted.” Eda added.

Luz gasped in excitement. “Will I need a disguise?”

“Uh…” Eda didn't really answer. Nobody's seen her before, so does she really need one?

“I've been waiting to use this.” Luz said, and put on her hoodie, flicking the cat ears up. “Meow meow!”

Oh why not let her have some fun. Besides, it’s kinda cute!

“It's hideous.” King commented.

“Oh you'll fit right in.” Eda agreed, smiling. Then she planted her staff to the ground, creating a glowing yellow disk. “Hang on tight!” Then it lifted Luz and King to the air, elevating them to a tower window. After they were dropped off, she flew away on her staff to begin her search. “Meet you guys at the top of the tower!” She said.

Eda flew around the halls of the Conformitorium, passing cells, making sure no guards were around while also searching for the Warden. Eventually, she heard someone at the end of the hallway. She peeked around the corner and sure enough, there was Warden Wrath, holding a tiny creature with a big nose hostage.

Good. Just where we want him. Eda flew back the other way to go update the human girl.

After a few minutes of searching, Eda found Luz walking around the halls with her hood down, looking…dejected. “Hey, I just checked, the Warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature. He won't coming around here anytime soon.”

Luz didn't respond, and her expression didn't change as she walked past Eda. She looked deep in thought.

Where's that enthusiasm from earlier?

In front of them was a large door labeled “Contraband”. This was the room where King’s crown was!

“My crown, it's close! I can sense its power!” King said excitedly. He scrambled quickly to the door, desperately trying to get it open. Of course, with his tiny body it would take a while.

“Aw, he's so cute when he's thirsty for power.” Eda cooed.

Then Luz finally spoke. “It's not fair that they're all in here. They just want to be themselves!” She said sadly. Eda assumed she probably talked to a few of the prisoners. “Why does everyone think being a weirdo is so bad?” She asked, looking up at the witch with sad eyes.

She understands. She knows what it's like to be stifled. Eda thought fondly. I really like this kid.

Before Eda could come up with a response, a noise snapped both of them out of their thoughts, King finally got the door open, and was now laughing to himself as he excitedly sprinted into the room.

“Come on, before he hurts himself.” Eda sighed. And as if on cue, she heard an “ow!” followed by a zap.

In the room, King was repeatedly headbutting the barrier, failing over and over again to get through.

Ha, cute.

“We have a human, remember?” Eda reminded him, looking up at Luz, silently telling her what she had to do.

“Oh yeah!” Said King.

Luz took a deep breath as if to prepare herself, and slowly stepped through the barrier. Eda and King stood outside, waiting for the human to find what they needed. And sure enough, Luz stepped back out, holding the crown, looking confused.

King took it from her, putting it on. “Yes, yes! I can feel my powers returning! You there, nightmare critter! I shall call you Francois and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness!” He pointed excitedly to a random stuffed rabbit. “Ha, ha!” He laughed triumphantly.

“That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?” Luz asked, disappointed and confused.

“Uh, no.” Eda replied. Luz gave her a skeptical look. “Oh, look at us, Luz. King and I don't have much in this world, we only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it important to me.” She says, trying to convince the girl that this wasn't a total waste of time. “Besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?” She concluded with a wink. Luz looked at her and smiled, pink tinting her cheeks.

I knew you'd understand.

“Well, we owe you one. Now let's get outta here before the warden finds us and loses his head.” She stated.

“Too late.” A sinister voice said behind her.

The owner of that voice swiftly and effortlessly cut of Eda’s head, which Luz caught in her hands. The girl screamed.

“AAHH!!!”

“OW! Oh I hate it when that happens.”

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Luz held Eda’s head close, looking at her with terrified eyes. “Eda! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, this just happens when you get older.” Eda said nonchalantly.

“Does it?” Luz asked, horrified.

Well it started happening when I got older, I don't know about other witches…where's my body?

Warden Wrath approached them. “Finally, I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady.” Then he took King’s crown again, crushing it easily in his hands.

“Weh?!”

“My guards could never get you, but I knew if I took your pet’s toy, you'd come running.” He crushed the crown easily in his hands.

“NO!” King sobbed. “My power!”

Luz and Eda glared at him. “What do you want with me?! I've never actually broken any of your stupid laws…in front of you!” Eda glowered. They came all this way just for King! Nobody makes him cry like that!

“I want you…” he kneeled down on one knee. “To go out with me.”

What the hell?

“Wha?”

“What?”

Warden continued. “You've always eluded our capture. You've always been the one who got away. I found that alluring.” He said.

What the fuck?

“I hate everything you're saying right now.” Luz said, disgusted. Eda was even more disgusted. These guys never ever got the message to back off. All that, just because he wanted a date? What a load of bull.

Warden snapped out of his lovestruck state. “You stay out of this!” He threw a goopy arm at Luz, knocking Eda’s head out of her hands. As she struggled, he picked Eda’s head up by her hair and stared her in the face.

“So how about it, Owl Lady? The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple ever.” Warden said. Eda cringed. “I mean, it's not like you can say no right now.”

Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse.

Eda looked to Luz, then to King, who was now struggling to get out of a guard’s arms, and formulated a plan in her head.

“Alright, Warden, you win. I'd just like to say something first.” She sighed. “Come closer.” He brought her head closer. “No, just come a little bit closer. Just… yeah that's good-” and Eda blew a raspberry right in his face, breaking his concentration and making him drop Luz. While he was groaning in disgust, Eda was cackling from where she hung.

He's so gullible! I knew he'd fall for that!

“Impudent wench! Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth? Yuck!” He sneered.

“Get over it! You had your guards stalk me and then you cut off my head! I am NOT going out with you!” She said angrily.

“If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to-”

WHACK!

Her staff came up from behind, knocking him on the head, making him drop Eda’s head. It was none other than Luz!

Eda chuckled. “Nice!” What a smart girl! Quick thinking!

Then she got her body to come over and pull the guards’ hoods over their faces, distracting them. Luz ran over and picked up Eda’s head and grabbing King back from a guard, getting on the staff, trying to figure out how to make it fly.

“Expecto…flying? Magicusescapicus!” Luz said, but nothing happened.

It doesn't really require enchantments, kid…

“Gun it magic stick!” Eda barked, and immediately, the trio was flying through the air. They haphazardly flew through the halls, passing jail cells. Luz looked to Eda and held out an arm.

“Eda, lend me a hand!” Luz said to the head. Eda, knowing what she wanted to do, linked her arm with Luz’s, giving them enough strength to move the levers to open the cell doors, freeing whoever the prisoners were. Then they all burst through a door, and the warden finally caught up to them. He launched a goopy arm at them, and they crash-landed to the ground.

The warden morphed his hand into an axe, and Eda put her head back on, feeling the satisfaction of being able to move again. She jumped to action, and pulled out her key. “Luz,” she said to the girl. “Go back to the human world.”

She's already helped us, I owe it to her to let her go home safe.

“What about you guys?”

King ran over to try to help Eda. “If you think this guy is bad, you shoulda seen her last boyfriend!”

“Not my boyfriend.” Eda said, grabbing King and jumping out of the way of the warden’s attack. Not in a million years.

Eda, seeing how Luz was still standing there, lifted Luz, forcing her to sit on the staff, ignoring her protests. She may have only just met the human an hour ago, but she feels the instinct to keep her safe.

“But-but I-”

“Go, go!” Eda urges, forcing her on and slapping the staff, cuing it to fly. Luz went away on the staff, yelling, out of sight, and hopefully to safety.

Eda prepared herself when the warden took off his mask to reveal a hideous mouth and spat fire. She drew two spell circles. One to absorb the fire, and one to redirect it back at him, slamming him to the wall.

Ha! Too much fun!

However, a few minutes of fighting led to her being knocked to the ground by the warden, King following suit, who she caught in her arms, holding him close.

“No more running away, Owl Lady. Today I capture you once and for all!” The warden growled, raising his hands. King whimpered, huddling close to Eda, who held on tighter and glared at their attacker.

“-GO GO GO GO!!!” Luz’s voice yelled.

Wait, what? I thought she went home!

Luz flew past her, three former prisoners following suit, tackling the warden to the ground.

“Luz?” Eda said in disbelief. Did she seriously come back for us?

Eda stood by and watched as the trio of prisoners got on top of the warden, standing up to him and restraining him.

“I ate my own eye!”

“I think the world is a triangle!”

“And I practice the ancient art of fanfiction!”

Incredible!

The eye demon had tangled the warden’s tentacle-arms together and turned him over, so he was facing Luz.

“You! Who do you think you are?” He snarled.

“Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath, for I am Luz, the human, warrior of peace!” Luz spoke triumphantly. Then she grabbed what looked like a bunch of fireworks tied together. “Now eat this, sucka!” She shouted, using the staff to hit it into the warden’s mouth, effectively blowing it up.

She had that with her the whole time? Amazing thinking, Luz!

Eda stood next to Luz, smiling proudly and placing a hand on her shoulder. What a brave kid. I'm impressed. She wanted to say, but didn't out of pride.

“That was actually one of her better breakups.” King joked.

“Not a breakup,” Eda reminded King. “Anyway, let's bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me.”

Seriously, kid. You were amazing. I really owe you.

“Well, a deal’s a deal, let's get you home.” Eda said, calling forth the key and pushing the button. The door appeared, waiting for Luz to open it and step through. But she stood there, deep in thought. Eda smiled at her, silently thanking her for her help.

Luz looked at King and stepped forward, kneeling down. “Before I go…” she took out what looked like a tiny plastic head that had a tiny golden crown on it. “I know it's not the same, but…a king shouldn't be without a crown.” She said, giving the demon the crown.

He took it, placing it on his head. “This shall suffice.” And he pointed to one of the houseplants. “You there, plant! You are now under my command!”

Eda then gave Luz back her book that she almost burned earlier that day. “Oh, and don't forget this.” Luz seemed to really value that book.

Luz walked back to the portal door, and Eda and King waited behind her. Eda saw her hold up her book, thinking. Then, she did something Eda did not expect. Luz turned around.

“Okay. I know you got your head cut off, and we started some kind of prison riot, but this was the most fun I've ever had.” She said to the witch and demon. Eda looked at her, shocked.

What is she saying? Is she going to…

“I don't fit in at home. You don't fit in here. If I stay, we can 'not fit in’ together.” Luz looked at the pamphlet that was on top of the book and stared at it. “I am not going back to summer camp.”

Eda chuckled, confused. “Wha-what's ‘summer camp’? What are we talking about here?”

She's staying?! Why?

“I wanna stay and become a witch like you! And Azura!” Luz declared happily, holding up her book.

“What? Alright, that's crazy. Humans can't become witches.” Eda stated, dismissing her. I love the enthusiasm, but why?

But Luz didn't give up. “Maybe that's because they haven't tried!” She insisted. “If you teach me to become a witch, I'll do anything you want.”

Okay, she's got a point there. And an apprentice? I kinda like the sound of that.

“Let her stay!” King urged, pulling at the hem of Eda’s dress. “She can make us snacks.”

Eda smiled and picked up the demon. “Well, I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards.” She said. “All right, I'll teach you how to be a witch. But you have to work for me before you learn any spells.” She held out her hand for Luz to shake. “Deal?”

But instead of taking her hand, Luz just went straight in for a tight hug.

Whoa whoa whoa! “Ugh! What's going on?!” Eda froze in Luz’s hold.

“Too tight, too tight!” King protested.

After Luz relinquished from the hug, Eda told her she could sleep in the attic upstairs. She didn't protest and gladly brought her stuff up. Eda was left there, thinking about what just happened.

That kid was so brave today. Better than any kid, much less a human kid, I've ever seen.

She thought about what having a teenager living in her home might be like. She knows it will be messy, and she’ll probably try to stare danger in the face like today. But she's willing to give it a shot. Who could say no to that confidence?

What Eda didn't know is that since that day, she would witness this human girl's endless wonder and courage. She didn't know the pride she would feel whenever Luz learned a new spell or made new friends. She didn't know that Luz would start to give her a reason to look forward to tomorrow. She didn't know how much she would grow to care for Luz as if she was her own child.

She didn't know how much she would love this light that lit up her life.

73 notes · View notes

fulokis · 4 years

Text

Fulokis WandaVision Rewrite- Chapter 1

Hey wanted to take my two cents at something that made more sense than what they actually did to quicksilver. Hope you like it!

Peter stood staring at the man in front of him. He hadn't spoken for what seemed like a few minutes, still processing what Peter had told him. Peter sighed, he hadn't meant to let it slip, he still wasn't sure how it had happened. One minute the two were arguing with each other and then the next the room was enveloped in an awkward silence.

"Why didn't you want to tell me?" Erik asked. He had assumed that Peter was his son since the Pentagon, but he didn't want to freak the kid out.

"Just forget it." Peter said quickly trying to bury his feelings in his chest.

"Pietro, why didn't you want to tell me?" Erik asked knowing he was pushing.

Peter looked down at the floor, "I haven't been called that since the Cuban Missile crisis. Not even in the house."

"Those damn soviets am I right?" Erik attempted to joke.

"No." Peter said, "It was so that me and Wanda could go to school without getting harassed. So we could live life. So that we could protect ourselves when we didn't have a father to protect us."

"Wanda?" Erik asked, "Peter if I had known..."

"But you didn't because you left. You left and Wanda died!" Peter said, surprised at his own reaction and his anger. "Not because of the Russians, not because of the Americans, because of you. Because you left us, Wanda died. You know what killed her Bullets. Bullets from guns. Both things made of Metal! You could have stopped them, you could have saved her. But you were too busy killing the president to care about your family."

"Peter..."

"No. It's too late for that." Peter said storming out of the mansion.

Peter ran. He always ran, it helped him think. But all he could think about was his twin sister, her body laying there on the pavement. Him helpless to do anything. That's why he'd developed speed, he was too late, and running became an obsession. When his mother had gone into labor with Lorna his powers developed. He didn't even realize that they had until he was sitting by his mothers side in the hospital watching his newborn sister asleep.

Peter stopped running, he was probably an hour's drive from the mansion by now. He looked around his surroundings, he was in New York City. The sounds of horns from angry drivers, and the buzz of the electricity made the night loud and bright. The buildings loomed over head, one caught Peters eyes in particular. It was shorter than the rest only about four stories tall, the most noteworthy feature of its appearance was the large circular window on the top floor. Something about it reminded him of his sister.

Peter walked up to the door, to his surprise it was unlocked. Walking inside he shouted "Hello?"

"Pietro?" He could hear a woman's voice call out.

"How do you know my name?" He asked walking in the direction he heard the voice.

"Because I am the Sorcerer Supreme." The woman replied walking down the right side of the twin staircase that circled the entry room. "I know all Pietro."

Peter looked up at the woman "Yeah, Yeah and every old person claims they know all. Tell me something I haven't heard."

"Wanda is alive, in another universe that is." The sorcerer said finishing descending the stairs, "I can bring you to her."

Peter thought for a second, "How do I know I can trust you? And were you stalking me?"

"I won't force you. But I Think you're curious." She said, "I think you want to know how your sister would have turned out. Who she is." She rose her hand in front of the door and Peter looked through.

A woman stood in front of a cradle singing a lullaby in a language he didn't recognize. She looked up from her children as if almost sensing that he was there. Peter gasped, she had mom's eyes. He chuckled how many times had he seen those eyes look at him with disappointment. But this time they weren't, they were looking towards him with adoration. A look he'd only seen a few times from his mother since Wanda's death. The woman's hair was even the same color he had been jealous he didn't inherit.

"How did you do that?" He asked, unable to take his eyes off of the door.

"With a spell of course." She replied.

"What's that language she's speaking?" Peter asked, watching as someone else appeared on the screen and talking to who he assumed was Wanda.

"It's from a country that does not exist here."

"This isn't possible. You're messing with my..."

"I'm a twin." Wanda said, "I had a brother, his name was Pietro."

"What?" Peter said looking at the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Keep watching Pietro." She said nodding towards the door.

"He was killed by Ultron, wasn't he?" The other woman said.

Peter turned around, "So you're saying that there's this universe where Wanda is alive and I'm dead?"

"Fascinating isn't it?" The woman said, "A universe where you're dead and one where your sister is. Pietro the Multiverse works in strange ways, if anything this is destiny."

"It's fake. It has to be." Peter replied, "There's no way that its real."

"Then how is it possible that your father can bend the electromagnetic fields of the earth to change its polarity? Or that your beloved professor can send a message to the minds of every person on the planet? You know its more than possible Pietro, you know more than anyone how probable it is."

Peter swallowed, "I should go back, they're probably worried about me."

He turned to walk away but the woman stepped in front of him, "We both know they're not. We both know they don't care where you are or what you're doing."

"I should go." Peter said getting choked up thinking about what the woman in front of him was saying. Wanda was there, in another universe, but she was there. There and she clearly loved him and missed him, more than his father had. It wasn't like any of them would miss him if he popped over for a few minutes if only to give her a hug.

"You don't want to go do you?" The woman turned her head inquisitively.

"No." Peter admitted, "Maybe its too late for her here, but there I doubt it is."

"You want to go?" She asked.

"Yeah, so do I just step through this door or like..." Peter asked.

"It's a little more complicated than that." The woman said motioning for him to follow her up the stairs. Peter followed resisting the urge to use his speed to explore the building. The woman led him to a library that reminded him of the one at the x-mansion. There were books on everything, from simple fake magic tricks to forbidden spells. Peter's eyes were drawn by a particular book. The title was almost impossible to read from the spine, so he picked it up and looked at the cover. The Strange Phenomena of the Witch Blessed Mutants the title read. Peter had seen the book before, strangely not at the mansion but in his own house outside of D.C. "What are you doing?" The woman asked popping right next to Peter.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked her.

"Do you want to see your sister or are you here to snoop?"

"You know more than you're letting on." Peter said, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Pietro, why would you think that?"

"This book, its in the wrong spot. It shouldn't be with the A's it should be with the H's if we're going by last name." Pietro said.

"Oops my bad." The woman said through gritted teeth.

"Either that or you wanted me to find this and its all some part of an elaborate plan to trap me in this other universe for some shady reasons." Peter watched as the woman's face dropped and he smiled, "I'm kidding, lighten up will ya?"

"That's a good one." She said awkwardly throwing up a fake smile, motioning for Peter to follow her. Peter followed her until they got to an open room. "Stand in the middle." She commanded.

"Okay." Peter gulped his anxiety resurfacing. He stepped into the middle of the room and a purple ring surrounded him.

"In order to travel through dimensions you need a protection spell. It keeps you from loosing your mind at the possibilities and the infinite outcomes between dimensions." The woman explained. She threw her hands up slightly and nothing happened.

"Was that supposed to do anything?" Peter asked looking around the room.

The woman ignored his comment and started chanting in Latin. The circle around Peter lit up with a purple glow. Peter attempted to touch it but yanked his hand back when he felt the heat the magic was producing. Peter watched intently and imagined Wanda doing something similar with her magic. The woman pulled out a necklace and made it float near the circle. The necklace began to syphon the energy off the circle, making the air around Peter unbelievably hot. Peter tried to stay conscious but the heat was unbearable and he hit the ground a few seconds later.

The woman kneeled over him and shook him gently. Peter startled looking up in confusion. "Uh..."

"Relax Pietro," The woman said "It's normal to feel overwhelmed by magic, especially when it's your first time."

"First time? Pfft I'm not that lame lady. Least you could do is take me out to dinner first." Peter said attempting to sit up.

"Take it slowly." The woman almost barked "Going to fast could potentially be fatal."

"Fatal? What is there like a list of side effects?"

"All the standard Magical ones." She said standing up, "Nausea, Heart attack, stroke, cancer..."

"I'd have said no if I knew it was going to kill me." Peter said easing onto an elbow.

"Possible side effects darling." She replied flipping through a worn out book.

"Darling? That's a little fast even for me."

She sighed and walked over to him, extending a hand down to help him up. "You should get going, after all your sister is waiting for you."

"Is it weird that I feel like I'm gonna barf?"

"No." She replied to him "Oh before I forget, you'll need to put this on before you go through."

Peter took the necklace and slipped it over his head "And you're sure this will work?"

"Of course it will. My magic never fails." She said and looked at him with a smile leading him down the stairs.

"By the way what's your name? You know if I want to come back home and what not."

The woman stopped dead in her tracks, "I'm... Agnes." She said.

"Coolio." Peter replied following her to the door.

Agnes motioned and the doorway led to a small field, "This is the closest that I can get you, you'll need to run a few miles to the west. There's a wall around the town your sister lives in, it's a security measure against humans harming the perfect little mutant community that lives there."

"So what your saying is my sister has a bunch of mutants that live with her?"

"Yes Pietro, she found her people." Agnes said pushing Peter through the portal and closing it behind him.

Peter fell landing in a mud pile. "Not cool!" He shouted "So not cool." He took a breath and stood up. The night was cool a slight wind blew through the trees. Peter looked around, he had landed in a corn field, the stocks were brown and fragile. He smiled to himself as he saw a scarecrow sitting in front of him.

"You stuck here too buddy?" He asked the limp sack of hay. Before smiling and starting to run. Peter ran and this time instead of thinking he enjoyed the air running across his face. The feeling of his feet hitting the ground, the sounds that each foot made when coming into contact with the mud. Peter kept running until he nearly collided with a military vehicle.

Seeing the vehicle he decided to take a look through the area. There was a drone on a table glowing red. A guy in a quarantine unit, being questioned by medical staff. Peter kept running, there seemed nothing related to mutants anywhere in the facility. He figured that they had no idea that there was a mutant community.

Peter kept running until he found the wall. Taking one look at it he decided to run through it. Running through he could hear and feel some of the most painful times of his life and he stopped as he could feel apocalypse trying to crush his skull. The pain was so real almost like living it again, almost like nearly dying again. Out of breath Peter collapsed on the ground, a new sensation spreading across his body. His body burned, it felt like his blood was causing his body to burn. He could feel the pain everywhere in his body, circular areas burned the most. Then he opened his eyes again and Peter couldn't explain what he saw. Metal corpses littered the ground even more were flying around shooting concentrated fire of some sort. Peter tried to call out to his father, he tried to call out for the professor or someone for help, but all he could feel was the burning hot pain from his injured nerves. Then it was quiet the dust and metal settled and everything was dark, but he could hear someone calling to him. Wanda he thought smiling before passing out.

"My goodness Ralph!" Agnes cried, "You're filthy and tracking mud into my kitchen!"

"Aw cut it out will ya?!" Ralph said back "At least I'm not running around the house getting in your way."

"You're not supposed to be running at all. If they find out you were using your powers..."

"Ha, if they do I'll be long gone."

"I swear it won't be my fault if you end up in prison for twenty." Agnes said.

"It'd be a blessing if I did." Ralph mumbled.

"What was that?" Agnes asked in a shrill tone.

"I said you look lovely tonight."

"Why yes I do don't I?"

"What's the reason?" Ralph asked.

"Of course you forgot! Why did I think you would remember?" Agnes sniped.

"Because you forgot your self?" Ralph offered up.

"Forgot? Ralph you know I don't forget." Agnes said, "Tonight is the night we're having a picnic in the yard. Go clean up."

"Why not just the gazebo in the town square?" Ralph asked after he had run upstairs and changed in a matter of seconds.

"We've been over this Ralph, it's best for you to not draw attention to yourself. Which means..." Agnes prompted.

Ralph sighed "No powers, No criminal activity and most of all no doing things that the people in town will think as of odd. But I'm pretty sure that having a yard picnic would be considered odd, gazebo not so much."

"Ralph people don't care what you do in your own yard, besides if you really are that worried you can tell them I asked you to."

"That's the reason I married you, because you asked me to. Though I do question that decision, what with the creepy basement and all."

"Oh Ralph you charmer." Agnes said leading him out of the house. She walked over to where their yard intersected with the next door neighbors yard. With a wave of her hand she placed down a picnic blanket and a bunch of food.

"'It won't be my fault if you end up in prison for twenty' yeah right, totally won't be your fault if you keep using your powers." Ralph said sarcastically under his breath.

"What was that?" Agnes asked from on the blanket.

"Nothing important." Ralph said.

"Come join me, please." Agnes said, "Look I know the move hasn't been easy on you. Especially since we've literally had to become different people. But Ralph I don't regret it, I can't regret it."

"Eh didn't much like it there anyway, here is nice it's quiet. No trouble for you to get into, no weird sorcerer fights I have to save your ass from."

"I'm still a witch Ralph."

Ralph chuckled and looked up at the stars, "No you're not, you can be anything you want, but not a witch not anymore."

"Do you miss teaching?" Agnes asked eyeing the house behind them.

"Teaching?" Ralph asked vaguely remembering something like it "Feels like a lifetime ago." He said slowly.

"Interesting." Agnes said.

"Huh?" Ralph asked.

"Nothing it's not important."

Ralph shrugged it off and continued looking at the stars in silence, "You ever think how massive the universe is, and how little you really know?"

"Yes I do." Agnes replied keeping focused on the neighbors house.

"I want to know how life got here. On earth I mean. Out the trillions of planets out there, why this tiny hunk?" Ralph said glancing over at Agnes. "What's something you want to know?"

"How she did all this." Agnes said a dark tone seeping into her voice. Agnes turned to face Ralph and started to cast a spell.

"You freak me out when you do that without a warning you know." Ralph said watching her guide the purple energy flowing out of her hands.

Agnes ignored Ralph and continued to chant until the spell was ready. Without warning she shot her magic at the necklace her companion wore, smiling as it hit the beads. Something seemed to stir inside the man and he stood up. Using his super speed he ran to the front door of the neighbors house and stood there.

Peter felt weird, he couldn't remember how long he had been running. Or even how long it had been since he left the mansion. The last thing he could remember before blacking out was his body on fire and hearing Wanda calling to him. He looked down, some how he had managed to change clothes. Instead of his typical jacket he wore a brown one, much like the one he had seen his father wearing every once in a while. His shirt was a purple flower print. He smiled, maybe it was weird to wake up in these random clothes, but at least they had his second favorite color.

Peter looked up at the door. This was it, after nearly 15 years he was about to look his twin sister in the eyes again. Only he knew it wasn't quite his twin sister. Peter swallowed nervous at the action he was about to perform. He rose his hand and considered using his speed to get the nerve wracking action over with. Deciding against it he firmly pressed against the plastic button of the doorbell.

The shouting from inside the house he had heard earlier had been replaced with hushed voices, that were seemingly surprised at a sudden visitor. The door swung open with a creak and a young woman stood in front of it. Peter stood there looking at her, waiting for some semblance of recognition.

"Wanda who is this?" A man from slightly further inside the house asked.

Peter waited for a second before extending his arms out and stepping forward slightly. "Long lost bro get to squeeze his stinkin sister to death or what?"

The woman stared for a second processing what was happening. "Pietro?" Her voice cracked.

Peter made a movement with his head to indicate that it was indeed him. Wanda sighed softly and took her brother in her arms. Peter closed his eyes at his sisters embrace, it felt good to have his second half here in the same room with him. Wanda broke contact and Peter glanced around the house. It was quaint reminded him of their moms house, simple yet useful. Peter locked eyes with the man who asked Wanda for his identity. "Who's the popsicle?"

Next >>

#quicksilver #dadneto #peter maximoff #pietro maximoff #wandavison rewrite #agatha harkness #agnes #ralph bohner #wanda maximoff #xmen #x-men #magneto #erik lehnsherr #vision #the vision #fanfic

44 notes · View notes

sinner-as-saint · 4 years

Text

Hostage Of Your Eyes - 4.

Mob!Bucky x reader.

Part 4 of this series.

Run-through: You accept an unusual offer made by a very familiar, but dangerous mob boss. And despite the bizarre situation and all the troubles that come along; old flames rekindle – and you find love again, where it wasn’t supposed to be.

Themes throughout the series: kidnapping, gang stuff, mentions of violence, smut, fluff, mob!bucky, angst

a/n: THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. If you are NOT COMFORTABLE with ANY of the THEMES above, please click away and read something else.

You woke up disoriented.

Unable to figure out where you were in the dark, all you could do was wait. You weren’t tied up, you were simply in a very dark room and you didn’t know what was in there so you couldn’t move around. There were windows, you could make that out with the little light which came from under the door.

It was dark outside, you figured.

The last thing you remember is a sharp pain in your neck, and then passing out in that hotel room in Paris. You wondered if you were still in Paris or did they take you somewhere else.

The mere thought of Bucky caused tears to run down your face.

“I’m sorry babygirl, I hope you can forgive me one day.” Was the last thing he said to you before you blacked out. And given that you were actually taken, that meant that he willingly gave you away to your mom.

But why? The Bucky you knew would never do that. He would never leave you here alone with these people

Or maybe, he wasn’t the Bucky you knew anymore. After all, you had heard that he had become a merciless, ruthless monster. But you never believed anything people said about him because for you, no matter how dangerous he got; he’d always be your Bucky.

Perhaps, he wasn’t anymore though.

---

Some time passed, maybe a half an hour or three hours – you couldn’t tell. Time doesn’t make any sense when you’re in a dark room, in complete silence.

But at some point, someone opened the door and walked into the room. Judging by the silhouette, you figured it was your mom. And needless to say, she came to boast and pick at your wounds.

“Did your little boyfriend give you away so easily?” she asked, her voice making you sick. And her words hurt, Bucky really was the only shoulder you had to lean on, and it seemed as though he had abandoned you.

She turned the light on and you looked around but didn’t recognize the room. You stayed quiet, not knowing what to say to her.

“Don’t you wanna why?” she walked over to the couch you were sat on and smirked down at you. “All for money.”

She continued.

“We had a deal that he’d hand you over to me in exchange for a share of your dad’s property. Which you will willingly transfer to my name once I have the papers ready.” She chuckled. And you felt a weight on your chest.

You didn’t know how to react, all of this was a little too much.

“Are you going to kill me now?” you asked, part of you didn’t care anymore.

“Not yet, I still need your signatures.”

And with that, she left the room.

While your heart was having a hard time accepting that Bucky had betrayed you, the situation you were in proved that he never cared about you. Perhaps all of it was fake, from the very first time he broke into your apartment. The first night he made love to you and told you he still loved you, it was all fake. It was probably all part of a plan since the beginning, and you fell for it. You fell for him. Again.

You cried a lot that night. It hurt, a lot. Because to you, Bucky was all you had and his betrayal hurt more than being stabbed a thousand times. You blamed no one else but you, because if you had kicked him out that first night he broke into your apartment, you wouldn’t be here today. But you had been foolish; one look into his deep blue eyes and he had you under his spell, and you followed him wherever he took you.

You had been so stupid.

---

One more day passed, they did bring some food and water into the room but you didn’t touch it. Your appetite was gone. You were devoid of any feeling or emotion.

You’d hear people walk by the room sometimes, but you never saw your mom again. And you were thankful for that.

Then the day finally came when they let you out of the room. Your mother was there to fetch you and drag you to another room.

“Now sign this.” She spat at you, handing you a pen while her husband cock his gun and had it at the ready, as if daring you to defy them.

You looked down at the paper, but couldn’t read a thing because your eyes began watering.

I wish you were here, dad. You left me in this mess, all alone.

You clicked the pen and brought it closer to the paper and were about to sign away everything that you had but then you heard something. A boom, and then a roar. Followed by the ground trembling just a little and the sound of bricks smashing on the ground. It sounded like several, giant sledgehammers were just tearing the house down.

Then you heard the sound of countless gunshots going off at once, and everyone in the room; you, your mom, her husband and all the other guards ducked as they tried to figure out where it was coming from.

Well, you thought, whoever this is, he’s definitely putting up quite the show.

The air started smelling burnt after a little while, and your mom’s husband shouted at her, telling her to keep you safe and away from this mess.

You knew she would protect you right now only because she needed your signature. So she grabbed the paper, and grabbed your hand and pulled you away harshly. The air was smoky and with the tears in your eyes it was hard to see properly. The commotion was loud.

She pushed you behind a closet of some sort, or it might’ve been a bookshelf; your brain wasn’t working correctly at the moment. Then she got back to the scene. You could hear yelling, and gunshots, and sounds of agony altogether.

A few minutes later, it all got silent. No more shouting, no more gunshots, nothing.

And you heard your mother speak up.

“What the hell is this? We had a deal!” she was hysteric, and pissed off clearly. Your heart pounded as you waited there, in the heavy silence.

Then you heard his voice.

“I hope you enjoyed your last days, you sick bitch.” He said, and then all you heard was more gunshots and then there was silence again.

The only sound you could hear was your racing heart. Why was he here?

The whole thing was too confusing, too much to process and bear. And you hadn’t realized that you were still stood there, hiding. Until someone grabbed your hand gently and pulled you into their arms. You caught a whiff of their cologne and then you realized that it was Bucky.

You looked up at him in shock. He was saying something but you were so surprised that your brain couldn’t register whatever he was saying right away.

He hugged you again and kissed the top of your head and pulled you out of the room, and eventually outside of the house. Once you stepped outside, you noticed the sun was just beginning to set and you still didn’t recognize the environment, but judging by the climate you realized that perhaps you were still somewhere in France.

Bucky pulled you against his body again, hugging you.

“Are you okay, baby? God, I was so w-,”

You pulled away from his arms and cut him off by smacking him across the face with the back of your hand, hard. He was shocked for a moment.

“Stay away from me.” You sounded much more calm than you intended, and perhaps much more bitter and cold.

You saw the shock and the repentance in his eyes as he reached out for you again. “Baby… no, no, no I can explain, let’s just get out of here, okay? My guys are gonna h-,”

You cut him off again.

“James, let me go!” you were mad. Beyond pissed off actually.

But he wouldn’t let you go, he tried to get you to walk towards his car but you weren’t having it. You were relieved that he got you out of that horrible situation, but you couldn’t trust him just yet. How could you, after knowing that he purposely let your mom take you away?

“You’re coming with me.” He managed to drag you to his car and opened the passenger door for you to get in.

But you pushed him away again.

“No! I am done with you. I am done with all of this. I want to go home and as far away from you as possible.” You raised your voice a little, and you could tell he was running out of patience as well.

He sighed and looked at you with a blank face.

“You get into this car with me right now, baby. Or I swear to God, I will-,”

You cut him off by smacking him across the face again. And then one more time. And that’s when he lost it.

“Alright, that’s it!” he grabbed both your wrist in one hand and shoved you inside his car and leaned in to grab your face gently, despite being mad at your actions. “Now you sit still. We’re going home, baby.” His tone was stern but caring still.

And you wanted to be mad but for some reasons you couldn’t. So you kept quiet as he got in the driver’s seat and drove the two of you away from where you were.

He was quiet, and the silence was heavy. It was driving you crazy. This whole thing, everything was a mess.

And you needed a proper explanation for all that happened in the past day or two because it made absolutely no sense in your head. If Bucky did it all for money, then why did he come back for you? And if he really meant to come and save you, then why did he let them take you away in the first place? Why didn’t he take them down while he had the chance back there in the hotel room?

Nothing made sense to you.

a/n: uh oh...

---

Tag List for this series:

@bloo-moon-freak

@cinnamon-lady4071

@sweater-daddiesdumbdork

@groovyhumantrashherring

@vousfleurdelys

@hurricanerin

@slcvely

@rookienumber98

@a-really-bi-girl

@cloudynoir13

@end-lessnights

@charmantbarnes

@jhangelface0523

@dumbbitch11

@rebeccccccaaa

@https-bucky

@james-buchanan-bcrnes

@matsumama

@sweetlittlegingy

@thottyantics

@jensenradalecki

@smollest-soybean

@technically-a-little-dragon

@oplunket16

@buckybarnesscrunchie

@sophiesvalkyrie

@hazel0clouds

@thedarkplume

@anxi-tea-d-epresso

@fresa-luna

@thinkaboutmara

@tanelle83

@lollipopdomination

@calwitch

@an-awkward-human-1

@anonymous-its-what-i-do

@were-going-nowhereee

@winterboobear11

@harriemelonsugar

@cloeisme

@rogeriiina

@spookyhunnybunny96

@anarchyandchaos2713

Seb / Bucky Tag List:

@virgoroses

@oliviastan17

@moshymosh

@great-goddess-of-sin

@richhdesire

@nd1998sc

@theoralpha

@nostalgic-bucky

@harrysperfectdimple

@gabypatd

@amirahiddleston

@unknown-salvatore

@1111zxc

@glossierfairy @charlieferret @winterboobear11

Everything Tag List:

@charmed-asylum

@ravenmoore14

@stangirl-fangirl264

@xbuckxnastyx

@qrndevans

@starkerhowlter

@fafulous

@smolandrare-coffee-bean

@alexxcorona113

@heartislubbingdubbing

@buggy-blogs

@livsheph

@tt-nikithakppr

@chowder200

@curlyhairedandconfused

@beckloves

@inez-lannister-stark-martell

@amantedelcalcio

@reniescarlett

@siriusjohnpotter

@scarygoodgirl

@ladymidnightt

@unlikelycandylove

@fentybucky

@marshyrebelcloud

@talk-geek-to-me

@tasteslikeblueberries

@the-jer-bear

@aynaraxas

@dreams-in-blxck

@socksracoon10

@moony-tonks-lupin

@anncutamarica

@secretlyactivated

@xoxabs88xox

@noirwarrior20

@chrisevansgirl

@starydreamer

@shutup-sorry

@sofutostuff

@coconutqueen21

@precious-starkerr

@bangtan-serendipity

@swoonhui

@mayumiirenetheodora

@fvithsxo

@sweetkingdomstarlight-blog

@sambucky8

@marvelrose

@morrellica

@mrsbarneswillseeyounow

@thewitchysoldier

@gogokeener

@fivesosbucky

@trop-mango

@grayxswan

@rvgrsbrns

@buckysegerton

@tonib666

@el-lizzie

@wintersswidow

@snazzyjazzyjayy

@enigma-xlii

@ii-ir-ii

@marvelousell

@banananiqua

@angel-spidey

@the-omni-princess

@nsfwsebbie

@ahappylilybug2019

@babyboyjames

@stonerosedheart

@amirahiddleston

@undeadvampwere

@grincheveryday

@marvelslut-musicalnerd

@lauratang

@krazycags01

@teetles-and-other-stuff

@fckdeusername

@momobaby227

@unknown-salvatore

@lokigonnakmsforbucky

@sizzlinghumanoidfestivalhuman @mushyjellybeans @gabypatd @burninmatches @socksracoon10 @wimpydummy

Permanent Tag List:

@the-omni-princess

@saharzek

@unlikelycandylove

@sparkling-gayyyy

@minetticatinwonderland

@imsoft-barnes

@destiel-artemis

@avnngrs

@pleasforhelp

@randomfangirlonline

@peaceinourtime82

@cupids-quiver

@nec-me-ire

@sexytholland

@isabelcrichards

@ahappylilybug2019

@gentlethunderstorm

@scarlettequinn

@elevatorsnot-worthy

@ya-lyublu-tebya

@everything-is-awesomesauce

@mmyepic

@breatheeagainnnn

@ashlieadelia

@enigma-xlii

@imrisaluk

@grayxswan

@freshprincessofwakanda

@scuzmunkie

@aflightlessborb

@xinyourdreamsx

@starstar1012

@scuzmunkie

@sevenseasofskye

@sebabestianstan101

@mischeviousliar

@stuckybarton

@vnarniav

@wintersoldier1017

@sebabestianstan101

@mannls

@cal-ifornication

@t-kageyamama

@dreams-in-blxck

@miraclesoflove

@stangirl-fangirl264

@lokilvrr

@sedulouswrtr

@fafulous

@tardisin221bst

@yeahhemmings-

@yikes-buckybarnes

@partlybcrnes

@givinggoodvibes

@supernatural-fanfic

@honeyydippaa

@siriusjohnpotter

@bastianbarnes

@luvu3000times

@sebastian-i-stan

@msruchita

@xoxabs88xox

@gingerbread-in-july

@thefridgeismybestie

@buckystanluvr

@babyyysucc

@heartislubbingdubbing

@zainabmmm

@rynabarnesrogers

@rororo06

@xcravingyoux

@morrellica

@134340-cm

@nsfwsebbie

@cerberuxs

@mvrtjnafc

@disaster-rose

@thesumofmychoices

@nickyl316h

@sberumenm

@blindedbyyourgrace17

@ultimatesadboi

@unlikelygalaxygiver

@thefridgeismybestie

@ariesmadness97

@jamierdr

@marshyymello

@saliarheva

@shakespeareanqueer

@xbuckxnastyx

@goodgodimaweirdperson

@dibsonamericasass

@unicornslothfish

@jenn0755

@uhh-katie-griffiths

@joannie95

@jesseswartzwelder

@chennyetomlinson

@wannabetonkin

@darlingtholland

@bucky-lents

@gabbie-is-sad

@2017booklover

@oliviastan17

@kiki5283

@mrsbarneswillseeyounow

@hailmary-yramliah

@notyourtypicalrose

@moshymosh

@jesseswartzwelder

@just-a-littlebit-of-everything

@infinityexe

@dyanna-corona

@marshyrebelcloud

@jenn0755

@sebastianstanslefteyebrow

@sweetkingdomstarlight-blog

@rororo06

@paperrstark

@crazymexicanfangirl

@kelly-fasel

@supernaturaldean67

@marvelsangels

@twsbuckybarnes

@lovvliies

@deadscarlight

@vapingisntmything

@thesoldierrogers

@neerness

@pinkcigar-ettes

@ladymidnightt

@godsaverosemary

@mandi616

@h3xenkind

@sebbysstangirl

@theoria850

@angelsuni

@phantom-soilder

@softboibarnes

@kaetastic

@that-place-called-middle-earth

@squirrelacorngliterfarts

@fckdeusername

@20coldhearts

@marvelismysafezone

@for-the-love-of-the-fandom

@groovyhumantrashherring

@boho-chic-123 @buckybarnesatemyheart @sebastianbarnesandchrisrogers

699 notes · View notes

isthisthingeven0n · 4 years

Text

looking where you shouldn’t: d.d

brief summary: david decides to prank you by hiding in your closet, but as you begin to undress he realises how bad this situation has become

word count: 1.2k requested: yes by the sweet @squishybebe love the username doll warnings: mentions of nudity and blood

* masterlistin’ / masterlistin’ 2.0

(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website know it hasn’t been approved me unless specified. all rights reserved. - i have to start doing this as I had some shit on my other blog with plagiarism)

DO NOT STEAL MY WORK - IT IS ALL MY OWN WRITING

“You know, Dave,” Natalie starts as David finishes explaining his latest prank idea with a bright smile. “I don’t think this is your best idea, I mean, it is Y/n after all.”

David’s smile begins to drop as he shuffles on the sofa. “But that’s why it’s so funny, she’s so easy to freak out she won’t expect it.” David justifies his idea, but Natalie remains unconvinced. “What’s the big deal, anyway?”

Natalie pulls a face, looking over to Ilya for backup. “Because it’s Y/n,” Ilya states, a short laugh following.

“Yeah?” David repeats himself, noting the shared expression shared between two of his closest friends.

“And you’re kinda in love with her, David.” Ilya spells it out, and David laughs forcefully as he leans back in the sofa, crossing his arms.

“I, I do not.” David tries to lie, but Ilya and Natalie know him too well for him to lie with ease. “Am not with Y/n.” He scoffs in response. “It’s just a prank and she’s the easiest to scare.” David explains.

“Sure thing, Dave.” Natalie sighs.

At your current stage in life, you thought you’d be further than where you are now. You recently broke up with your long term boyfriend, moved out of the apartment you shared together and you’re currently living in one of Scott’s spare rooms. It wasn’t what you anticipated happening, but you’re trying to focus on the bright side - whatever it may be.

Walking into the house with bags filled with shopping, you groan loudly as you place it all on the counter. “No one gonna help me?” You call out, taking out food packages. “Jay? Scott? Jac?”

No one responds and you sigh. “Hey, Y/n.” Scott walks into the kitchen, causing you to jump and throw a bag of cashews at him. “Wow, coming at me nuts first?” He jokes, causing you to sigh.

“I thought no one was in.” You raise an eyebrow, but Scott shakes his head. “Everyone’s outside, kinda crashed out after last night. Wanna come in the sauna or pool?” Scott suggests.

“Sounds like heaven.” You say happily, closing your eyes before snapping out of your daydream. “Let me put this all away, and I’ll change into something else.”

With that, Scott wanders back outside and you quickly put away the shopping.

Humming to yourself, you walk into your room, closing the bedroom door and locking it. “Ugh, where’s my top?” You question aloud, oblivious to David being crammed in one of your wardrobes, his camera in hand filming through the small gap.

He watches as you reach into one of your drawers, finding the top as you place it on the bed. “Oh no.” He internally groans as you lift your top up, flinging it to one side as you begin to undo your bra. “Fuck.” He bites his lip, realising how wrong this is.

David shuts off his camera and opens the door, hoping he could get out unnoticed. But as he slides the door open from behind you, his foot gets caught in something and falls face first into your floor.

You scream loudly at the sound, turning around and throw your shoe. “What the fuck!” You yell as David scrambles to his feet, clutching his face as blood pours from his nose.

Outside of your room, Scott and Jay run over. “It’s locked!” Jay exclaims and they begin to force all their body weight against the door until it cracks open.

As they burst in, they freeze as you stand in your bra and shorts whilst David has his camera in one hand as the other covers his bloody nose.

Scott sighs loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “David, I gave you that spare key in case of an emergency.” Scott explains and moves past David over to you. “Are you alright?” He questions, resting his hands on your shoulders as your heartbeat refuses to calm down.

Looking over at David, you can see the horror in his eyes. “Y/n, I am so sorry. It was supposed to be a prank, I didn’t know you were going to get changed.” David rambles, shifting uncomfortably as he moves from side to side.

“David, just give a girl some warning.” You chuckle, trying to keep your eyes level with his as Jay laughs.

“Oh, he’s got a fucking boner!” Jay yells like a child, causing David’s cheek to burn up.

“Alright, everyone out. Let me help David.” You say, guiding everyone out and Scott glances back, raising an eyebrow. “His nose you dipshit.” You groan, trying to hide your smile. “And you gotta fix the door too.” You add as they all wander back outside, leaving you alone with David in your room.

Once you hear the back door closing, you turn back to face David who clutches his nose. “Y/n, I, I really am sorry.” David repeats himself, still standing uneasily as you chuckle.

“David, it’s alright. Come on, let me help you get this sorted.” You motion for him to follow you into the bathroom, and as he does you point to the closed toilet seat. “It won’t eat you.” You joke as David pulls on his jeans, taking a seat.

Sitting quietly, David watches as you tie your hair back. “It’s only a bit of blood, it’s not a problem.” He speaks up, unable to stop the pressure building up in his crotch.

You roll your eyes before reaching into the cupboard. “Least let me clean it?” You ask quietly with that angelic tone causing David to groan internally. As he nods, you kneel down in front of him, reaching up as you place your hand over his.

Removing his hand from his face, you try not to wince at the sight. “Is it bad? Cause if it is don’t tell me.” David uneasily laughs as he rests his hands over his arising issue.

“It could be worse considering you fell face-first onto marble flooring.” You smile to him as you begin to dab away the dried blood. “Is this too much pressure?” You question, but David shakes his head as he closes his eyes, unsure where to look as you help clean him up.

“I know I’ve apologised already, but I was only going to jump out at you, make you scream.” David shrugs a shoulder, opening his eyes to see yours squint as you laugh. “Didn’t mean to be all weird and pedoey.”

You shake your head as you take away the cotton from his face, now looking like his usual self. “If you wanted to see me naked, you just have to ask David.” You smirk to him before rising back to your feet, throwing the bloody cotton into the trash.

David clears his throat as he looks up at you. “I, I’ll bear that in mind.” He mutters as you step away.

“I’ll be outside with the others if you feel like joining.” You slowly walk away, hoping what he saw will leave a lasting impression.

Safe to say, it definitely did.

397 notes · View notes

sage-nebula · 3 years

Text

Neo: The World Ends With You - Thoughts So Far

I’m on Day 6 of Week 1 and I want to compile my thoughts so far — not in a formal post, but at least all in one place, especially since I feel that jotting down what I think / feel as I go through will help me write my review when I’m done. Spoilers under the cut, obviously — and while it should go without saying, do NOT comment on this post with spoilers from later in the game, so help me. Even if I pose a question that gets answered later on — hell, especially if I do — don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. I will find out in my own time.

With that said . . .

So obviously, I’m really enjoying it so far. You can tell that the writers / devs haven’t lost their touch despite it being thirteen years since the first game was made. You can also tell that a lot of love went into this; this isn’t something they churned out just to make money (if they thought this was a moneymaker we wouldn’t have had to wait 13 freaking years for the sequel), but rather something they really, really wanted to make. Not a total passion project, because those aren’t allowed in the world of capitalism, but there is still a lot of love there.

That said, more specific thoughts:

THE MUSIC. It doesn’t really come as a surprise given that TWEWY’s soundtrack was phenomenal, but god, they brought it right back for this game. The remixes (“Someday”, “Three Minutes Clapping”, “Transformation”, “The One Star” etc) are all excellent, but the new tracks are phenomenal too. Tbh I’m not sure how any of the Players get any fighting done when the music makes you want to just bust a move right there in the scramble. It’s so good.

Most of the characters are great too. Of the Wicked Twisters, I think Fret is my favorite; he is pure of heart, dumb of ass, and I love that for him. I do like Rindo too, of course, and his habit of overthinking everything (since Fret has zero brain cells, Rindo has to make up for it), but him being standoffish / socially anxious and snarky makes him feel a bit like a toned down Neku, so he doesn’t catch my interest quite as much. And while I do like Nagi, the way she speaks in like . . . medieval-esque language is a bit off-putting. In particular it’s weird that Rindo didn’t tell her to knock it off with the “Lord Rindo” stuff since using such an honorific would be considered awkward / embarrassing in Japanese. I guess he’s just too socially anxious / awkward to tell her to stop, but it’s still a bit distracting. Other than that, I’m really not a fan of Kubo (one of the Reapers) or . . . Susukichi, I think his name is? The leader of the Ruinbringers. I find them both to be pretty annoying, haha. But I love Shoka, as well as Kanon, and Motoi is a good bean, too. As for the Deep River Society . . . those nerds have issues lmao. Especially their leader. Although I can’t fault him for breaking down sobbing when he realizes that he now stands a very good chance of getting erased, which reminds me . . .

HOW ARE WE ON DAY SIX AND THE WICKED TWISTERS STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT BEING ERASED IS?? We have kind of an inverse situation where where Neku knew right away that he would get erased if he failed the missions / didn’t win the Game, but didn’t find out until later that he was dead. Here, the Wicked Twisters learn that they’re dead fairly quickly (and Fret has some realistic denial going on about it at first, though he gets over it pretty quickly), but they’re still completely in the dark about the fact that their souls will get wiped from existence if they lose despite erasure being mentioned at least a handful of times. Like I guess it was never spelled out for them, but especially as someone who played the first game about a million times, it’s a bit maddening to see them be like, “Why is he crying like his life is on the line? lol whatevs no big deal la di da!” Since the Wicked Twisters aren’t aware of the stakes, a new player wouldn’t be either, and so it rather tones down the urgency that was felt in the original game where everyone was very much aware that they were fighting for their right to exist.

Since I brought up Motoi, I want to say that I just played past the part where he reveals that he was An0ther, who is apparently Rindo’s favorite blogger / poet. I feel like this is meant to be similar to how Hanekoma was CAT, Neku’s favorite artist, but it doesn’t carry the same impact because a.) as far as we know An0ther didn’t have anything to do with how Rindo died; b.) we haven’t seen Rindo bring An0ther or his poetry up that much, much less have anything An0ther said be his entire life’s mantra; c.) we haven’t gotten to know Motoi that well either. Like we met him once before this revelation. That said I’m not sure it was supposed to have the same impact as the Hanekoma = CAT reveal, but if it was then it did fall short. (Also I saw it coming the second Motoi quoted An0ther lmao.)

Speaking of Hanekoma, WHERE IS MY MANS??? I know he has to show up at some point because if I’m not mistaken we saw him in the trailers. And if I am mistaken then he still has to show up at some point because he played a central role in the “A New Day” epilogue chapter of Final Remix, what with Coco being unable to control him and him knowing what was going on, plus he was testing Neku for something in “Another Day” and that has to be whatever is going on in this game. I’m sure he’ll come in for some big reveal later, but like, we have a new street artist in this game (MKN) with no mention of CAT as of yet, and I’m just like . . . where is he. Where is my mans. What is he doing. Bring him to me.

That said, we already got to see my #2 mans (Kariya♥) so I am happy about that at least.

Back to my mans for a hot second: I actually erased my demo save data and started fresh to remind myself of everything when I got the game, and idk if it was in the demo or not, but regardless—at the end of the demo portion there’s this shot of the sky and then this nameless voice is like, “It’s finally starting. I hope you wake up soon. I don’t want you to miss all the action.” My current guess is that the speaker was Hanekoma, speaking to Joshua. Joshua being “asleep” would explain why the Game is as screwed up as it is right now, what with it having been going on for a year and people able to choose to play again and again and again while the rest of the Players—who tbh should also be counted as winners if they survive the week!—are trapped in limbo.

Because that’s the thing: I know that it was partially a lie to cover for the fact that Joshua’s game with Megumi was set to last three weeks, but at the end of the third week Megumi told Neku that a new rule was being put in place that wouldn’t allow repeats of the Game anymore. But even setting that aside, in the original Shibuya UG rules, anyone who survived the Game could get a wish at the end, whether that was to be brought back to life or made into a Reaper. This is why at the end of Week 1, the three winners were Neku, Shiki, and Beat. However, here the Ruinbringers are able to keep everyone trapped and they have been trapped for at least a year, given what Motoi said. It’s completely different rules and I’m sure that this has something to do with the fact that the majority of the Reapers we’ve seen so far are from Shinjuku (at least going by the spoilery trailer, and iirc it was confirmed in “A New Day” that Coco was from Shinjuku actually, but it’s been a while so I could be wrong about that).

Speaking of, has anyone noticed that the possibly-Shinjuku Reapers don’t have wings? No?

ALSO speaking of Coco, at least tangentially: Coco was the one who revived Minamimoto at the end of “A New Day”. However, he’s definitely not how I would have expected. Like despite Coco using the Taboo Noise sigil to bring him back, he’s clearly not in his Taboo form. He’s using psychs as a Player would, rather than a Reaper. And while it’s clear he’s up to some form of nonsense, it’s unclear exactly what form of nonsense he’s up to. I know that he’s here for fanservice and that him looking like Nagi’s bias from Elegant Strategy is a tongue-in-cheek nod to that, but I have too much faith in this series to think that’s all this is. I’m wondering if being revived for a second time fixed whatever screws were loose in his head before? Or if he was revived as a human Player by like, Joshua or something? (Although why Joshua would do that I have no idea. Maybe Hanekoma instead?) Hmmm . . .

Small aside, but we all know that Nagi has put herself into hundreds of thousands of yen in debt for Tomonami merch lolol RIP Nagi. (I’m also interpreting that she’s not actually older than Rindo or Fret, but she just skipped a bunch of grades. Like I feel like this might have been lost in translation a bit, and that she’s a senpai to them because she’s in uni but she’s not actually older than them. I could be wrong but that’s how I’m interpreting it right now. She just doesn’t look or act older than them.)

Oh another minor annoyance, but whether it’s due to the partial 3D environment or something else, I’m SO ANNOYED that some of the streets aren’t connecting as they should now. Like, how going in the direction of Molco spits you out at Spain Hill or 104 or whatever? I don’t remember exactly what area it was, but it wasn’t Molco!! I’m sure if I hadn’t played the original a million times like a loser this wouldn’t be such a big deal to me, but I have and it is lmao. Also, they’ve had the Shibuya Underpass / Cat Street blocked off this whole time and I’m like :( let me go to Cat Street :( let me see my mans

I’m relieved that Ken Doi is still making delicious food and I look forward to his ramen curry fusion. I was really upset about RamenDon being gone at first but as long as Ken Doi is still around I am happy.

My dinner just arrived so this is all I have to say for now, but I will update more as I play more. I love this game and I’m so happy to be back in Shibuya, even if the characters pronounce it wrong sometimes (saying “ShiBOOya” like pls . . . you are supposed to be Japanese . . . get it right . . .)

#neo: the world ends with you #no but seriously I will block anyone who sends spoilers lol it will be ON SIGHT

2 notes · View notes

writing-the-end · 4 years

Text

LoL Chapter 19- Exhaustion

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU and Red belongs to @theguardiansofredland )

On their way to lunch, the hermits are attacked. Jealousy rages within the guilds that are losing, but the hermits are unable to fight back. Will they even make it to the event in time?

___________________________________________

“We make a great team, that paper birdy didn’t even know what happened to it.” Tango laughs, grabbing Grian into a headlock and playfully nuzzling his fist into the golden locks. His body aches, and he feels weak, but prideful. The other hermits around them chatter excitedly, walking down the smooth, clean roads of the noble district. Even the canals of swampwater are tiled and cleaned of dirt and debris. Streets Mumbo knows well- he grew up here. So of course he took the chance to go to his favorite cafe.

“I’d say I’m happy with bronze, but I really wanted to beat that Mitch guy. Plus, pirates always love gold.” Cleo hums, looking at the medal around her neck. Of course, she’ll always take beating some 30 other guilds to get this medal, their moans and complaints of being beat in the wrestling challenge. She rubs her wrist, wincing. “Though I’ll admit, I haven’t felt this burnt out from magic in years. It’s like that one event sucked it all out of my body.”

“I feel that way every time I step into the ring.” Tango states, earning a nod from Grian as well. “After day one, I could hardly get out of bed. I felt like a dragon was sitting on my chest.” A few others murmur agreement, and the conversation stops. Not for long, thanks to Grian.

“Scar, Mumbo, are you two ready to show everyone your skills?” Grian grins, fluttering to the front of the group.

“I was born ready for the creative event. I’ve been dreamin’ about this since I was a boy.” Scar sighs, feeling giddy. He’s already got an idea in mind, building and creating within his own head.

“I...I’m not so sure. Can’t someone else step in for me? I don’t think I can get my magic to work well enough, much less to beat the others like you all have.” Mumbo’s terrified. He wishes he had the confidence that Scar just exudes. He has no clue what he’ll build. He’s not even sure if his magic will appear today.

“You’ve got it, man.” Doc appears beside him, patting his shoulder. “Don’t doubt yourself, otherwise I’ll take control and make you believe.” Mumbo freezes, smiling weakly. He’s not sure if he should be comforted or not by Doc’s offer.

He turns, eyes glimmering upon setting his gaze on the cafe. He came here all the time when he was younger, before he joined the hermits. He would come here to study, to relax, sometimes just to get his favorite tea from the shop. Being back here is strange, the nostalgia mixing with nerves. What would his friends think of this place? Are they out of the normal? Doc and Grian definitely are.

Mumbo reaches out, grabbing the door’s wrought iron handle. His hand goes right through the metal, iron warping and wiggling like air in the summer heat. “What in the…”

The ripples cascade out, across the air and townhouses. The mosaics shatter before reforming, and the entire street is empty. But the hermits aren’t alone. “You freaks think you own this place, don’t you? That you’re anything like us? That you can just waltz into the noble district because you’ve won the past two days?”

Doc immediately summons his magic, ready for a fight. More than a dozen other mages appear from the illusion. Torn shoulder pauldrons, glistening with gold spikes, announces them being from the Guild of Gedeon. A council guild. Behind Doc, he can hear other hermits drawing their circles, blues and yellows shimmering off the illusion they're trapped in. “Let us go, you’re messing with the wrong guild.”

“Ohoho, win a couple of events and suddenly you think you’re a guild? No, no.” A burly man with feral eyes stares down Doc, shoving him and Cleo towards Scar and Mumbo. “You’re messing up everything. I don’t know why Magistrate Dolios let scum mar such a prestigious event.”

“Maybe it’s because he realized ‘scum like us’ are better at magic than you. Didn’t want the crowd to get bored of the same old dopey outfits and subpar spells.” Cleo’s words have hardly crossed her lips before fists collide with them, sending her splayed across the ground. Doc needs no further initiative, activating his circle and taking control of the mage that struck his friend. His eyes close, and open again looking at himself. Ugh, this body smells. He turns around, meaty hands instead crashing into the Gedeon’s own guildmembers. Three fly out of the illusion, out of the bubble that traps them where no one can watch the fight. Beneath another, the ground opens up beneath her to reveal hellfire. The flames claw at her feet, dragging her into the open chasm. Swallowing her up.

Doc is thrown out of his puppet, head spinning and blood pooling from his own nose. Grian’s shout rings in his ear, making his head spin and splinter. He looks up, seeing the magical bludgeon disappear like a ghost from a Gedeon member. “You’re gonna regret messing with us. Messing with the order of things. You don’t belong here, none of you do.”

The illusioner stoops low, snapping his meaty fingers and nodding the gang forward. “And we’ll show you why you don’t mess with the Council. The wrath of the Guild of Gedeon is not something you walk away from.”

The fight is intense. Six hermits against about a dozen combatants. What’s worse, the Guild of Gedeon is an offensive group. When the arcane guard can’t do a job, when a strongarm is needed, the Gedeons are the first in line. Cleo holds her own, blood boiling under her dead green skin. Her sword doesn’t back down from a fight, and neither does the poltergeists she summons to aid in the attack. She’s exhausted, but that doesn’t stop her from being in the middle of the battle. Doc jumps from person to person, tapping into their magic and turning it back onto their own teammates. Scar does his best to protect Doc in the process, throwing up walls of rock only for them to be crushed by a volatile spell shot their way.

But they aren’t winning. Cleo and Doc’s attacks aren’t enough to stave off the fights and fragments of magic flown their way. Tango’s magic is all but gone, sapped from his body. Where did it all go? He had it all this morning, and the bird chase event couldn’t have been enough for him to lose it all! Even worse, Grian’s magic sputtered and died halfway through his attack. Mumbo peeks out from behind Scar’s barrier, hissing with pain as a bolt of hot rock is flung against his forehead. “Grian, what in the world is going on with your magic?”

“I...I don’t know, Mumbo!” He flicks his wrists, but nothing happens. His arms snap in a quick dance, and he does manage to summon his spell. The wind is hardly more than a summer breeze in his hair. “It’s not there, I’m drained of magic, of energy! But how, I hardly used anything!”

“It’s like you’re me!” The four hiding behind the wall are crushed as the rocks collapse. Trapped, unable to fight off the onslaught. Scar can only block the worst attacks, but bruises and cuts blossom across the hermits.

Until the bell of the capitol building tolls a single time. As quickly as the fight started, it stops. Scar lowers his walls and arm, brushing the blood from his cheek. Immediately, he searches for his friends. Doc struggles to his feet, ready to fight. But Cleo, Grian, and Tango look like they’ve been fighting for hours. They’re completely out of magic, skin pale and eyes glazed with weakness. Something is very wrong. Is there a suppressor mage here? No, that would affect everyone. Mumbo scrabbles backwards, wrist hanging limp. “Good luck getting to check in for the rest of the events, freaks. We’ll see who’s in the labyrinth event now.”

The illusion drops, and the busy street returns. Bustling crowds, horse-drawn carriages and carts passing by the hermits. As alone as when they first arrived at the cafe. People step around them, glancing at the battered group but never offering help. Scar gasps, wobbling to his feet. “The competition! Mumbo, we’re going to be late!” He pulls Mumbo to his feet.

“You guys go ahead.” Doc growls, sitting down on a pile of rubble. He rubs blood off of his cheek. “I don’t think the others can get up. They’re too weak.”

“What caused that? How could Grian not use his magic?” He’s an S-Class, he has ultimate control of his magic. But he acted like he was...well, Mumbo. And now? Now his friends are hurt. They lost the fight- no, they were thrashed. And he wasn’t even able to do anything.

“I don’t know, but I have a sneaking suspicion who the dark mage is now.” Doc waves the two off, before snarling. “Go! I’ve got the others!” And he’ll be sure Gedeon’s leader, that monster Sidero, gets a taste of what he just did to his friends. He must be the dark mage, trying to stop them.

But as Doc watches Mumbo and Scar flee, and he helps Grian, Tango, and Cleo to their feet, he’s only made them angrier.

_____________________________

“How am I...gah, how am I supposed to take a giant cat statue and make it move?” Mumbo hisses, looking up at the relief. Scar’s winning sculpture for the creative event was incredible. He could practically see every hair and whisker of Jellie, carved from stone using her owner’s terraforming magic. Even her wings are feathered, each barb as thin and interlocking as the real thing. It’s easy to see why Scar won the creative contest, hands down.

And here he is ruining it all with his own magic. The council really outdid themselves, pulling a twist like this. His magic falters, and the redstone dust collapses to the ground. Mumbo’s chest feels heavy, lungs pressed and heart clenching. His head feels dizzy, and his magic is nearly impossible to tap into. Surely this is all just nerves? But even Scar looked exhausted, like he was struggling to breathe, to stand after his magic. Exactly what Grian and Tango looked like.

What’s happening? He can’t help but look over his shoulder. Other guilds are working on the creations their teammates created. Whatever was before them, they had to automate. And from what Mumbo can see, most others are well ahead of him. Especially Ian, deep in the bowels of the contraption Sky had built. He can be heard swearing, the conductive gold making his machine move when he doesn’t want it to. At least Mumbo doesn’t have to worry about that.

But that doesn’t mean he can do it. The redstone dust falls apart, showering the ground beneath him. He’s going to disappoint everyone, he’s going to ruin Scar’s wonderful statue. He’s going to be the only wizard in this event that can��t even get the thing to move! He falls to his knees, the pressure mounting in his lungs. Making it hard to breathe, crushing in on him. And he’s exhausted, even though he’s barely used any of his magic. He can’t even get it to appear. Like always. All this work, all his hopes to win, will mean nothing if he can’t get his magic to summon. He’s a multi-mage, but he can never prove it. He can never show off his powers, and it’s exactly why he could never join any guild. Looking around, he can see all the guilds in the field he applied to. All of them said no, laughed in his face and ridiculed him when his magic failed to show itself. And now here he is, proving them all right. Making a laughing stock of the Order of Hermits.

“You can do it, Mumbo!” He picks his head up, looking around. He doesn’t recognize that voice. It takes him a moment to realize it’s not coming from any of the hermits. The voice is loud, echoing over the crowd’s low roar. It’s Ecto, one of the wanderers. Beside her, the other two teammates are cheering him on as well. Red’s practically bouncing in his seat, about to fall over the railing as he yells as loud as possible.

More voices join them. He can hear Iskall, shouting for him to breathe, to remember his training. He can hear some sort of soliloquy being written across the sky, intertwined with Joe’s voice. Zedaph and Impulse are holding up a sign, nearly knocking False and Wels with the board. Even the rest of Team Crafted was cheering for him. TFC is watching Mumbo, blue eyes gazing through silvery hair. He gives a small nod and a smile, his own way of showing his encouragement.

All of the hermits are his family, the family he never had. A family that would support him, help him, be with him no matter what. That never gave up on him. And TFC was like the father he never had, with a calm voice as smooth as obsidian and as strong as diamond. Someone he could go to with all his fears and faults, and know he wouldn’t be ridiculed or put down. That TFC would listen, and offer sound advice. Advice he can hear echoing in his head now. “It isn’t about the amount of times you fall down, Mumbo. It’s about how many times you get back up.”

So he gets back up again. He brushes the sand and dirt off the black fabric of his trousers, ignoring the physical pain in his chest and the unwieldy way his head spins. He closes his eyes, hand outstretched. In his mind, he can see his magic circle. The ninety degree turns ending in dots, the petal-like curls from the center. His hands move unconsciously, following the pattern of motions he created. It’s like ramming open a door, trying to find his magic. Trying to connect to it. But once he’s in, it washes all over his body.

He opens his eyes, his circle cast and the redstone moving to his bidding. Climbing up and ingraining in the pores of Scar’s stonework, following lines weathered through the rock. Lightning shoots through the circuits, from his fingertips and breathing energy into the cat. The haunches of the massive statue move, toe beans uprooting from the sand as Jellie comes to life. Redstone dances across her granite tail, flicking side to side. Mumbo can’t help but laugh, knocked over into the sand by a giant stone cat head rubbing into his chest. Scar’s incredible creation, brought to life with his redstone magic. Given energy through his lightning.

Statue Jellie opens it’s mouth to meow, but no sound comes out. She turns her head, gazing across the crowd surrounding her. Her eyes stop at the crown seat, where the Council sits in awe. Redstone turns on all across her body, his magic branching out onto each hair as it rises and her back arches. “Whoa, what’s all that about?”

Mumbo has never seen Jellie hiss at anyone, and even if this stone statue is just a version of her, his magic seems to have brought her to life. And her eyes are as thin as paper, ears turned back and hissing as she faces the Council. Mumbo runs over to the massive kitty, trying to calm her down. Lightning spreads across the redstone, forcing the stone statue to calm. For a second, Mumbo swears he can hear Magistrate Dolios’s voice, though his head is swimming from exhaustion. “Well done, boy. What i wouldn’t give for such...raw power. Soon.”

24 notes · View notes

remywrites5 · 5 years

Note

How about “OH you’re jealous!” with wolfstar? 🥰

It was tradition in the Gryffindor house to have someone wear your Quidditch jersey the day before a match. After days of begging, James had finally gotten Lily to agree to wear his. Sirius had given his to Marlene, or more accurately she had insisted he give it to her until he’d conceded and handed it over. Besides, they were good friends and it wasn’t like the person he actually wanted to give it to would ever wear it.

Or at least that’s what he’d thought until Remus showed up for breakfast wearing one of the Prewitt brother’s jerseys. Sirius hadn’t been able to keep his jaw from dropping in shock. “What are you wearing?” he asked, his tone a little sharper than he’d meant it.

Remus blushed and ducked his head down. “Fabian asked me to wear it,” he explained, sitting down next to Peter. “I’m kind of swimming in it a little bit but it was nice of him to ask me.”

Sirius stared at Remus in absolute mortification. “Fabian asked you to wear his jersey,” he repeated dumbly.

“Yes,” Remus said, giving Sirius a funny look. He glanced over at James. “Is he broken or something?”

James shrugged. “I think he’s just caught off guard.”

“You bet I am!” Sirius said indignantly. “A Prewitt jersey, honestly?”

“What’s the big deal?” Remus asked, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s not like anyone else asked me to wear one.” Sirius could have sworn Remus shot him a dirty look but it was gone before he could be certain.

“You – you – “ Sirius sputtered, his mind suddenly going blank. He didn’t have words to express just how angry he was that Remus was sitting there wearing a bloody Prewitt jersey. He was going to give that shifty twin some choice words the next time he saw him.

Remus rolled his eyes. “Very eloquent, Pads,” he said sarcastically, pushing his eggs around his plate.

Sirius took a savage bite out of a piece of bread and stared daggers at Fabian’s jersey while he chewed. He thought maybe he could do a vanishing spell to get rid of it but he didn’t think Remus would appreciate being half naked in front of everyone. Sirius knew he was self-conscious about his scars. He thought smugly about the fact that Fabian Prewitt had probably never seen Moony’s scars. It made him settle a little bit and he could eat his breakfast without tearing his food to pieces.

***

“Here,” Sirius said, holding out his jersey to Remus. It was just the two of them in their dormitory at the moment as Prongs was busy with Evans and Peter was sent to procure snacks for the Gryffindor celebration the next day after the match.

“What’s that for?” Remus asked, his nose wrinkling adorably. Sirius had to tamp down the urge to kiss his nose to smooth it.

“It took a lot of convincing but I finally got Marlene to agree to switch,” Sirius said, pushing his jersey towards Remus again, practically shoving it into his arms.

“But I’ve already got a jersey,” Remus said, still clearly confused. “Besides, the day is already half over.”

Sirius huffed in annoyance. “Just put the stupid thing on, okay?”

Remus’ cute little furrowed brow turned into a scowl. “Why should I?”

Sirius blanched for a moment. He honestly hadn’t expected Remus to fight him about it. He clearly was amendable to wearing someone’s jersey so what was the problem? “You can’t tell me you honestly want to wear Fabian’s jersey instead of mine!”

Remus’s lips suddenly curled into a smirk as if he’d just figured something out. “Oh, you’re jealous.”

Sirius’ carded his fingers through his hair in a way he hoped was nonchalant and not teeming with frustration. “Don’t be ridiculous, Moony. I don’t get jealous.”

Remus rolled his eyes and took a step back, making Sirius’ jersey fall to the floor between them. “Then why would it matter whose jersey I wear?”

Sirius bent down and snatched his jersey up off the floor, stalling for time so he could come up with an excuse. “Because Fabian Prewitt is a git,” he finally said, working his jaw for a moment in disgust. “And you’ll probably get his prattishness all over you if you wear his jersey for too long!”

Remus crossed his arms over his chest, looking thoroughly unconvinced. “What’s the real reason, Pads?”

Sirius kicked at an imaginary piece of dirt and rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. “Come on, Moons, don’t make me say it.”

Remus scoffed. “Yes, my mistake, why would I want you to admit your feelings for me? How silly of me!” The sarcasm was practically dripping off him.

Sirius whimpered and could barely meet Remus’ eyes. He hadn’t expected this conversation to go like this. Of course Remus couldn’t just take the damn jersey and be grateful that Sirius was saving him from wearing something so utterly ridiculous looking. “You clearly already know I have feelings for you. Why do I have to say it?”

“If you can’t even say them to me when we’re alone then how are we ever supposed to get somewhere, Padfoot?”

“You know I’m not great at the whole feelings thing,” Sirius reminded him. He had hoped this would go a lot smoother, that he’d find a way to confess his feelings for Remus. But it had been two years and he was no closer now than he had been before. Every time he tried it was like the words just got caught in his throat. “I just cock everything up.”

Remus reached out and took Sirius’ hand. “Do you want me to say it first?”

Sirius swallowed thickly and then nodded.

“I love you, you daft git.”

Sirius snorted and finally lifted his face up, meeting Remus’ expectant gaze. “Let’s just be friends.” He couldn’t help himself.

“I fucking hate you.”

“No you don’t,” Sirius said with a grin.

“You really are bad at this,” Remus said, shaking his head. Still, he couldn’t fight the fond smile playing on his lips or the warmth in his eyes as he looked at Sirius.

“I’m mad for you, Moony,” Sirius said, giving his hand a squeeze. “Please wear my jersey?”

Remus bent down and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Sirius’ mouth. “There, was that so hard?”

Sirius hummed and leaned in for another kiss. “I suppose not.”

***

Sirius wasn’t prepared for the affect Remus wearing his jersey would have on him. Seeing his name spelled out over Remus’ back in bright gold lettering was the hottest thing Sirius had ever seen. Sirius and Remus were a lot closer in size so his jersey fit Remus much better than Fabian’s had. It was tight across his broad shoulders and it made a funny noise happen in the back of Sirius’ throat any time he moved and those muscles would ripple – distorting the name written across them.

“I’m dead, Prongs,” Sirius said, fanning himself as he watched Remus during Potions class. Sirius and James were sitting behind Remus and Peter, giving Sirius a perfect view of Remus in his jersey. “I’m dead. You can have my inheritance. Spend it wisely. Give it to all your ginger children you have with Evans.”

James rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “He’s just cutting up eye of newts. That isn’t even sexy.”

“Speak for yourself,” Sirius said, feeling hot all over. He tried to calculate how many steps it would be to get Remus into the nearest dark corner and snog him senseless.

“So what did you have to promise Marlene to get her to give your jersey back?” James asked, trying to cut one of their newt eyes without holding it and sending it flying into Peter’s head.

Sirius chuckled as Peter freaked out and tried to get the eye out of his hair. “Told her I’d steal her whatever she wanted from Honeydukes for a month straight.”

“A whole month?” James asked incredulously. “You know she’s going to abuse that power for all it’s worth.”

“Oh I know,” Sirius said, sighing heavily. He dropped his chin into his hand and stared at Remus some more. “But it was so worth it.”

“You’re barmy,” James informed him in no uncertain terms. “Now help me chop up these frog toes.”

Sirius grabbed a knife and began slicing, nearly cutting off his thumb when Remus bent over to retrieve something from under the desk.

***

As soon as the match was over and Gryffindor had won, Sirius touched back onto the ground and immediately his eyes went searching for that familiar mop of tawny curls. All the Gryffindors came down and hugged the team excitedly, celebrating the win. But there was only one person Sirius was interested in finding and celebrating with.

Surging through the crowd and grinning at people who patted him on the back in congratulations, Sirius managed to make his way towards Remus. He looked adorable, wrapped up in his Gryffindor scarf and his cheeks tinged pink from the cold.

“My good luck charm,” Sirius said, tugging Remus forward.

Remus laughed and let himself be pulled gladly. “I’m pretty sure luck has nothing to do with it,” Remus said softly.

“Well I guess you’ll have to wear my jersey before every match,” Sirius said, wrapping his arms around Remus’ middle and holding him close. ‘Just to be sure.”

“Oh right and it has nothing to do with you being unable to take your eyes off me from the moment I put that bloody thing on,” Remus teased, slipping his arms to rest on Sirius’ shoulders. “You better be planning to wash it before I wear it again. You’re a mess.”

“Well now I’m your mess, Moony,” Sirius said, beaming at him.

“I suppose you are,” Remus said, feigning a put upon sigh, tangling one of his hands in Sirius’ hair, using his grip to bring their faces together in a soft, tender kiss that had Sirius’ toes curling inside his Quidditch boots. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, you mutt.”

Sirius laughed and let Remus drag him away from the pitch. “Oh Moony, you take such good care of me.”

“Well someone has to,” Remus quipped, leading Sirius towards the Prefect’s bathroom. After a nice long soak in the tub, with an epic amount of snogging that left Sirius’ lips swollen, and a bit of light groping, Remus and Sirius made their way back to the common room to celebrate with the rest of their house.

Remus had somehow ended up in Sirius’ jersey again with Sirius sporting Remus’ jumper. Sirius wasn’t about to complain, Remus looked really good in his jersey.

“Oi, where were you two then?” James asked, handing them each a butterbeer.

“Just getting cleaned up,” Remus said, looking at Sirius over the top of his glass as he took a drink. “Padfoot was filthy.”

“Still am,” Sirius said, winking at him cheekily.

“Ugh, you two are going to be insufferable now, aren’t you?” James made a face, looking between Sirius and Remus. Neither of them were paying attention to him as they were too transfixed on each other. Sirius was chewing on his bottom lip while Remus licked his own.

“You know it’s kind of crowded in here,” Sirius said, giving Remus a meaningful look.

“What?” James asked, gobsmacked. Sirius was usually the life of the party, making people dance and do stupid things they didn’t want to do.

“You know, I completely agree,” Remus said, tilting his head towards the stairs to their dormitory in a clear invitation.

Sirius grinned and grabbed Remus’ hand, leading him up towards their empty dormitory. Sirius stopped halfway up and tugged Remus close. “You really do look good in my clothes. You should borrow more of them.”

“Yeah right,” Remus said, huffing in amusement, making the damp curls on his forehead move. “I couldn’t pull off half the shite you wear.”

“Oh, I think you can pull it off,” Sirius said suggestively, sliding his finger through Remus’ belt-loop and bringing their bodies even closer together. “I have the upmost confidence in you.”

“You’re an idiot,” Remus said, chuckling softly. He wrapped his fingers around the nape of Sirius’ neck and guided him forward into a kiss.

“You can call me whatever you want as long as you keep kissing me like that,” Sirius told him, sighing happily. He really was so far gone on the feeling of Remus’ lips pressed against his own. He couldn’t think of anything better that had happened to him in the previous sixteen years of his life. And he would continue to soak each one of them up greedily.

“Come on, love,” Remus said, leading the way upstairs. “We’ve still got some celebrating to do.”

“Fuck yes we do,” Sirius said, hurrying up after him.

#wolfstar #I write things #fluff #hogwarts sixth year #maruaders #long post #anon prompt #dialogue prompt #sirius black x remus lupin

231 notes · View notes

zizi-writes · 4 years

Text

Ouija Board

(This is the first oneshot I’ve posted on here. This wasn’t really a request, it was just an silly little idea I came up with on my own. I would love some feedback or constructive criticism!)

Rated for bad language

~Written in April's journal, told from April's POV~

August 28th,

My Ouija Board Experience,

It was a calm, Friday night. It's been a tradition in the Hamato Lair to have a game night every Friday night ever since I brought "Sorry" a couple weeks after the turtles first brought me the the Lair. The tradition has grown ever since then, as we've made more allies and they've brought new games to the mix. This particular night, the turtles and I were chilling in the living room of the lair, waiting for guests to arrive. We were expecting Casey, Karai, and Shinigami.

One by one, everyone showed up as Raph and Mikey argued over what pizza we should order. They finally settled the argument and Mikey went out to retrieve the pizza. I wasn't paying much attention, I was too wrapped up in the magazine I was reading. Around 7:30, all the guests had arrived, and we were just waiting on Casey to arrive with the new board game he said he'd bring. It was unusual for Casey to buy new games for game night, but none of us put too much thought into it. By this point, Mikey had already come back with the pizzas.

"Come on!" Mikey exclaimed, getting very impatient. "We've been waiting for almost a half an hour now! Where is he!"

"If he takes any longer I'll shove his board game up his-!" Raph was cut off by Casey casually walking in the lair entrance with a shopping bag in hand. "What took you so long?!"

"Sorry dude, the line at the store was huge!"

"What's in the bag?" Leo asked, pointing to the plastic bag dangling in Casey's hand. A square box was bending at the bag, threatening to break the thin plastic open at any moment.

"Oh, just a board game." Well that much was obvious.

Casey took the box out of the bag, purposely hiding the front from us and walked into the kitchen. I glanced over at Donnie, to see that he was just as confused as I am.

"This can't be good." Karai got up from her seat on the couch and made her way into the kitchen. We all followed. The lights were off in the kitchen, and Casey was lighting candles.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?" Raph asked, obviously annoyed. Casey just snickered.

"I'm setting up the board game." The raven said in a sly tone.

"What's the game?" Leo demanded to know.

"It's a Ouija Board." Casey sang out, not looking up from the last candle he was lighting. The brothers looked at each other. I have played with Ouija boards in the past. I'm pretty sure Karai and Shini have too, so we're not really scared of them. The turtles, however, had never played with one before, and I could tell they were all frightened.

"What!" Leo exclaimed, raising his arms in the air with a distasteful expression. "We can't play with that thing! Those things summon spirits!"

"What, are you too chicken to play?" Raph cackled, a devilish smirk on his face. Even though he was pretending to be brave, I could tell he was just as scared of the game as the rest of his brothers were. "You can't possibly be scared of that thing. It's a harmless board game."

"I'm not scared of it!" Leo defended himself. He looked around at everyone, and saw that none of us were buying it. "Fine, I'll play!"

We all took a seat around the table. The Ouija Board was facing Casey, giving me a 10.5 o’clock view of the board.

"I love these types of games!" Shini exclaimed, unable to hold in her excitement anymore. She opened the box and set it up. "Karai, remember when we contacted a spirit back in Japan?"

"Yeah, the spirit was fucking lame though. He only answered questions with yes or no answers."

"Okay, everyone, put your hand on the planchette." Casey instructed. We all did as he said. "We'll take turns asking questions. Who wants to go first?"

No one else volunteered, so I decided that I would give it a go. "What's your name?" I asked the most basic question I could think of. The planchette sat still for a couple seconds, before it started moving.

A - L - E - X - A - N - D - E - R

The planchette moves across the board to spell out the name 'Alexander'. I see Raph's expression fill with horror directly across from me. When he noticed me glancing at him, he quickly changed his expression back to his normal, annoyed look.

"Who's moving the piece?" Raph shouted, raising up his left arm and keeping his right hand down on the planchette. We all swore up and down that we didn't move the piece. After pressing into Mikey more, Raph gave up on interrogating and we continued the game.

"What year were you alive?" Donnie asked the next question.

1-8-6-2

The planchette moved from number to number, earning looks from everyone sitting around it.

“There’s no way it’s moving on it’s own!” Raphael was skeptical again. Karai just rolled her eyes and asked her question.

“Are you a good spirit or a bad spirit.” The kunoichi asked. The wooden planchette stayed still for a couple seconds before moving.

“No?” Leo asked, his face scrunching up in confusion. “What does it mean ‘no’?”

Crash!

The glass cup that was sitting on the counter behind them fell to the ground and shattered.

“Fuck!” Mikey jumped out of his chair, turning towards the sight. He lifted his hand off the planchette during the process. “How the hell did that happen, bros? I’m freaking out!”

“Calm down, Mikey.” Shinigami placed a comforting hand on his shoulder with a chuckle. “Relax, the spirits can’t hurt you.”

Mikey reluctantly sat back down again. It was Leo’s turn to ask a question.

“What age were you when you died?”

1-1

“Eleven.” I read out loud. “That’s terrible, poor thing.”

“Uh, how’d you die?” Raph asked after a little bit of time to think of a question.

F-I-R-E

The planchette shifted through the letters, spelling out “fire”. I assumed that meant their house burnt down.

I saw the fire flare up from a candle out of the corner of my eye, before it settled back down again. I moved my gaze upwards to see if anyone else caught that, but everyone else was to fixated on the board. I fixed my eyes back down on the board and tried to forget what happened. What the hell is going on with this thing?

It was now Casey’s turn to ask a question. I saw the corners of his mouth curl up in a smirk, which alerted me that whatever he was about to ask, it isn’t going to be pretty.

“How’s hell?” That fucking idiot. The planchette shook but remained on the E where it last moved.

“Casey, you fucking idiot!” Karai voiced my thoughts. “You’re never supposed to a spirit questions about heaven or hell!”

“This is about to get interesting.” Shinigami muttered under her breath.

G-O T-O H-E-L-L B-A-S-T-A-R-D

The spirit spelled out quickly, almost so fast that I couldn’t catch what it was saying. The fire from the candles flared up again. This time, everyone noticed as the glare from the flames bounced off the walls, adding to the creepiness of this all. I ducked down and chose to ignore it.

“Good going Casey, you made it angry!” Raph erupted.

“No, I just made this a little more interesting.” Casey pouted. “You should be glad, this game was boring.”

“Mikey, it’s your turn to ask a question.” Shinigami nudged him with her elbow.

“Uh,” He shifted uncomfortably. “What’s your favorite food?”

F-L-E-S-H

That was when it got even creepier. Flesh? What does it mean flesh?

“That’s it!” Leo jerked his hand off the planchette. “We’re not playing this anymore!”

“You can’t just chicken out now, dude! We have to wait until the spirit says goodbye!” Casey argued. Leo rolled his eyes and placed his hand back down.

“What type of flesh do you want?” Shini asked, because of course she had to ask the creepiest question she could think of.

C-A-S-E-Y-’S F-L-E-S-H

“Who’s moving it?!” Casey hollered out, looking more spooked than anyone else has tonight. “One of you has to be pushing it!”

“Obviously it’s Mikey who’s pushing it. He’s always pulling pranks on us!” Raph points his finger at Mikey in an accusatory manner. Poor Mikey, always getting blamed for everything.

“It can’t be him!” Karai defended the turtle in orange. “His teeth are clattering he’ so scared.” Mikey put his head down in embarrassment. “Plus, who’s to say it’s not you who’s moving it, Raph! You pull these kind of things too!”

“It’s not me!” Raph defended himself, getting more and more heated.

“It could be any of us who are moving it!” Casey spoke up. “The only way we can tell if someone is cheating is if we all put our heads down and let April read it.”

“Why me?” I didn’t want to be stuck reading off of the Ouija Board on my own. But, the more I thought about it, this was the only way we can figure out if this is real or not. “Fine, I’m in.”

Everyone promptly put their heads down and I took my hand off the planchette. I set my phone up to record everything that was happening so I could show them what happened afterwards. It’s my turn to ask a question.

“Uh, d-did you have any siblings?” I asked awkwardly. The planchette moved.

“Holy shit” I muttered, almost speechless. That’s when I realized no one had been cheating. The planchette was actually moving on it’s own.

“What happened?” Leo asked. His voice was muffled into his arm, and it took a second for me to process what he had asked.

“The planchette moved to three.” I mumbled out, my eyes were locked on the planchette.

“No way! You’re just trying to scare us!” Raph countered.

“Look up! It did move!” I defended myself quickly, not wanting to be accused of lying. Raph lifted his head up and scrunched his nose up at the sight, speechless.

“H-.....How?” He muttered, though it was barely audible at all. Mikey lifted his head up and looked, too.

“The spirit is real, bros!” He cried out. Everyone else lifted their heads up and looked at the board in, seeing that the planchette had indeed moved while they had their heads down.

“Maybe.... maybe it’s just a coincidence. How about we all put our heads down and Donnie will ask the next question.” Leo stuttered. He wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. They all put their heads down and Donnie asked the next question. I checked to make sure my phone was still recording.

“What were your sibling’s names?” He asked. I knew he asked that specific question because it required a long answer to be given.

T-H-O-M-A-S J-A-M-E-S P-H-I-L-I-P

I gasped. This confirms that the planchette had been moving on it’s own. The spirit was real. I didn’t know what to say out loud. I was in shock, I didn’t know what to say or do now. In all the other Ouija Board games I’ve played, it’s always been obvious that someone was moving the planchette on their own, and I was okay with that. It was all just fun and games. But this.... this is different.

“What happened?” Casey lifted up his head to look at the board. I was snapped back to reality. All he could see was the planchette resting underneath everyone’s hands on the letter P. “What happened, Ape?”

I grabbed my phone and hit stop recording. Everyone else had lifted their heads up from their arms and gave me questioning looks. I turned on the video and fast-forwarded to Donnie’s question. Mikey leaned over my shoulder to watch while everyone else stood behind me.

“What were your sibling’s names?” Donnie’s voice was muffled through my speaker. There was a strange static noise covering the audio. The planchette was clearly being moved, the letters were a little hard to discern with the bad camera quality. They spelled out exactly what I saw before. Thomas, James, and Philip.

What we saw next scared us all shitless.

A shadowy, small figure, stepped into view at the kitchen door for three seconds before seemingly disappearing into the darkness of the lair.

I could hardly believe my eyes. I questioned what I saw but when I looked at everyone else’s expressions, I knew that it indeed had happened.

After that, we stopped playing. We packed the board away and walked out of the kitchen one by one, going back to whatever activities we were doing before.

Even though we tried to forget, things weren’t really the same after that. Weird things started happening in the lair. Things would fall in the other room, lights would turn on and off, all the basic things you hear about hauntings. But that wasn’t all.

The boys all experienced nightmares and sleep paralysis at night, seeing shadowy figures in the corners of the room or next to their beds. This type of stuff isn’t normal for them.

I’m writing this a month later. I hope things go back to normal soon.

(Oop please give feedback.)

8 notes · View notes

keichanz · 5 years

Text

Biggest Fears

yeaaaahhh, so...i ended up just buying the standalone Microsoft word because i’m a finicky bitch with preferences and MS word has spoiled me lmao.

i tweaked the prompt for this one; originally it was darkest fears, but i thought fuck it and made it biggest fears because honestly who the hell cares anymore i want this fucking thinG DONE.

Spooktober Day 29: Biggest Fears

“Mama! Are you watching?!”

“I’m watching, honey,” Kagome called back to her son from her place on the park bench, lifting her head to put truth to her words and watch as he disappeared inside the brightly colored tube slide then reappear at the bottom, grinning and giddy.

Smiling as her youngest laughed and zipped toward the ladder to slide down the, well, slide, once again, Kagome waved to show she was watching and then shifted her gaze to search for her daughter. Izayoi hadn’t moved from her location on the swings, surrounded by Rin and her friends as they chatted and ignored all the little kids and grownups around them. Unsurprisingly Raiden and Kohaku along with a few other boys she didn’t immediately recognize weren’t far away, roughhousing with each other like boys do and generally just having a good time being kids. It was heartwarming and Kagome was glad her daughter had such good friends.

Checking on Tai to find him at the bottom of the slide playing with some other children his age, Kagome felt her phone buzz in her hand and dropped her gaze to read the newest text, secure in the fact that her children were safe.

what r u wearing?

Kagome snorted loudly and quickly typed her reply.

new phone who dis

oh shit don’t tell my wife

She laughed aloud that time and couldn’t stop the stupid grin from spreading as she responded.

That you’re a no good cheating mutt?

u spelled charming and sexy wrong

Your wife is a saint.

yeah i kno, dunno why she puts up with me

You make pretty babies.

is that all?

Kagome bit her lip to stifle the urge to giggle madly. Well okay you might have one or two uses…

oh yeah? care to enlighten this no good mutt?

Liiiiiiike…killing all the spiders :)

not really what i was thinking tbh

She snickered, an impish grin curling her lips upward. Oh no? well what other uses do you have other than jar opener and resident Tall Person among the Short People

think real hard baby 👅🐈

Shoulders shaking in silent laughter, Kagome swiftly typed up her response and she could practically hear his exaggerated groan.

Why are you licking the cat? Do I need to call animal services or

Hitting send, she sat back with a rather smug grin on her lips and waited. Only a minute or so passed before her phone buzzed and this time she burst out laughing at his predictable reply.

fucks sake woman ur damn lucky u ain’t here right now

Cackling gleefully, Kagome typed, OOOOOHHH okay I think I got it now...

A minute passed. Then, i swear to god wench

Kagome felt positively devilish as she sent her response, the contents of which being three emojis.

🍆🍆🍆

Her husband’s reply was instantaneous and there was no mistaking the proud grin that spread across her features as she read it.

😂 god i fucking love u

I know 😘

“...Kagome...?”

“Hm?” Turning her head with a smile, Kagome opened her mouth to greet whoever it was that said her name. Her gaze landed on a slim figure standing a little uncertainly next to the bench, and when caramel brown collided with twin pools of familiar cinnamon, Kagome gasped.

“K-Kikyou?”

Relief flitted across the woman’s face and she offered a friendly, if a bit awkward smile. “So it is you. It’s...been a while.”

Kagome was too dumbstruck to do anything but stare and nod, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted in shock.

Kikyou’s smile faded somewhat and she shifted on her feet, looking a bit uncomfortable. She glanced at the playground, glanced at Kagome, and then hesitantly asked, “May I...?”

She gestured to the bench Kagome was seated on and finally snapping out of her shock, the other woman shook her head and gave a strained smile as she wordlessly scooted over to make room.

While she said a quiet thank you and settled beside her, Kagome thought to herself that her formal rival hadn’t changed a bit. Still drop dead gorgeous with the same sleek black hair, model-perfect body, slender legs, and a flawless complexion Kagome had always been jealous of. She looked older, of course, but she had aged extremely well and didn’t look a day over twenty.

Sitting back with a sigh and crossing one leg over the other, Kikyou rested her hands in her lap and offered another smile. It was small but genuine with perhaps a bit of uncertainty, and her brown eyes held a wealth of burgeoning hope that had Kagome suddenly remember her and Inuyasha’s conversation on their deck the night she’d come knocking on their door.

Having absolutely no idea what to say, Kagome managed to return the smile before looking away, cursing herself for the awkwardness that settled between them. No doubt Kikyou could feel it too because she didn’t say anything, allowing the silence between them to grow until Kagome felt like you could cut the tension with a knife.

God, what did you even say to your husband’s former high school flame that had tried to sabotage your relationship before up and vanishing to another freaking country?

Kikyou sighed and looked toward the playground, hating this tension between them, but unsure of how to clear it. A flash of silver caught her attention and automatically her eyes sought it out, lighting on a child with sterling silver hair and very familiar dog ears that strongly hinted at who his father was.

Her eyes lit up and she smiled. “Is that your boy?” she asked softly, nodding toward the toddler as he chased after a cute little girl with brown pigtails.

Blinking, Kagome followed her gaze her and face softened, instantly finding him among the laughing, playing children.

“Yes,” she answered, her smile warm as she watched her son play. “That’s Tai. Five years old and a complete handful, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

Kikyou sighed and it was a little wistful, but her tone held neither contempt nor jealousy as she commented, “He looks just like him.”

It was obvious who she was talking about and Kagome’s smile broadened slightly.

“He definitely has his looks,” she agreed, “but thankfully that’s all he inherited. All of his attitude, on the other hand, went straight to his first born.”

Kikyou grinned. “Is she here?”

Kagome nodded toward the swings where her daughter and her friends had claimed for themselves. The girls were swinging now with the boys pushing them and their peals of laughter were pleasant as the sound drifted over to them.

“Oooh,” Kikyou murmured, brown eyes glinting knowingly. “His looks and his temper? Tell me, how many broken hearts has she left in her wake?”

Kagome laughed. “More like broken noses.” At Kikyou’s look, akin to confused alarm, she smiled wryly and explained, “Remember Kouga? Well, unsurprisingly his son is a lot like his father and he’s been chasing Izayoi for a while now. Not too long ago his posturing went a little too far and, well…” She shrugged. “Let’s just say my girl is more than capable of taking care of herself.”

Amused, Kikyou’s eyebrows rose into the fridge of her bangs as a little smile flirted with her lips.

“She is her father’s daughter,” she commented, perhaps a little somberly.

Kagome’s smile dimmed a little and she nodded, her gaze drifting to the girl in question.

“Yes,” she breathed, and the two fell into another awkward silence as they watched the children play. Tai was on the jungle gym now and showing off his hanyou skills to the awe-struck human tykes. They were both 100% their father’s children, and Kagome wouldn’t want them any other way.

“Kagome,” Kikyou suddenly said on a sigh and said woman turned her attention to the figure beside her. “May I be frank with you?”

Having a good idea where this was headed, Kagome sucked in a sharp breath and nodded wordlessly.

Kikyou flashed her a quick smile of thanks before shifting on the bench so she was more or less facing her. Kagome did the same, figuring the least she could do as give the other woman her full attention, however she still made it a point to keep an ear and eye out on her children.

“I won’t insult you by beating around the bush,” Kikyou began, doing the other woman the courtesy of looking directly into her eyes. “And I’m not expecting everything to just be okay after this, but for what it’s worth, Kagome…I am truly sorry. For how I acted, for what happened, for what I put the three of us through…for everything.”

Kagome swallowed thickly and said nothing, sensing her companion wasn’t finished.

“I realize now that my behavior was immature and inexcusable,” Kikyou continued, confirming Kagome’s suspicion. She smiled bitterly and dropped her gaze to her lap.

“For years I’ve harbored the guilt of how things ended between us and I suppose it’s not very fair that I ask for your forgiveness, and Inuyasha’s, for what I did. But, here I am.”

She shrugged and Kagome’s heart went out to her. All this time, for over ten years… She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to bear the heaviness of guilt for so long.

“Kikyou…” Kagome began but the woman shook her head. Kagome forced herself to remain quiet, fisting her hands in her lap.

“I was scared,” she admitted, much to Kagome’s surprise. “As a teenager, my world was rather simple and it consisted of three things: shopping, my friends, and…the boy I liked.” Kikyou lifted her gaze and found Kagome’s again.

“So, when Inuyasha started showing interest in another girl—in you—I was terrified and I did things that I am not proud of. And I realize the irony only now, years later when I am an adult with a mortgage and a husband, of how much of a fool I truly was.”

“You can’t pin the entire blame on yourself, Kikyou,” Kagome said, her voice rough, unable to stay quiet any longer. “We were all young and did things we regret. We all made…not very smart decisions, and we let our emotions get the best of us.” She paused. Then, “I was scared too, you know.”

Closing her eyes and releasing a shaky sigh, Kagome bit down on her lip as she gathered her thoughts, a slight frown creasing her brow. Kikyou patiently waited, holding her breath, her cinnamon eyes holding a smidgen of hope that not all was lost.

“When things started getting really complicated,” Kagome began, “My biggest fear at the time was that Inuyasha would get tired of it all—the drama, the fighting, the misunderstandings—and just…decide it wasn’t worth his time anymore. I was scared he’d not only write me off, but forget me entirely and move on with his life without me and I remember how I cried myself to sleep sometimes, thinking about it all.”

Kikyou swallowed thickly and rasped, “You must have hated me.”

Kagome was silent for a beat and then admitted in a whisper, “I did.”

Kikyou closed her eye and nodded. She wasn’t surprised. Because she hated herself, too, for what she did.

“But,” the mother of two continued and Kikyou’s eyes fluttered open, the breath caught in her throat. “I also envied you, Kikyou.”

At the woman’s completely baffled look, Kagome had to smile before elaborating, “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice how completely torn Inuyasha was. He didn’t want to hurt either of us by picking one over the other so it was obvious to me he still cared for you. And I asked myself, why? Why would he still care for someone who’s put us through so much torment and gave us nothing but grief? I was jealous. I didn’t want him to care for you; I wanted all of his attention for myself, for him to pick me, and forget you, and I absolutely hated the fact that you had something with him that I didn’t.”

Kikyou frowned as she tried to determine just what that could be and Kagome’s expression softened. She used to think that her former rival in love was vindictive and knew exactly what she was doing the entire time. Now she realized that she had just been a desperate and brokenhearted girl, fighting to keep her first love’s affection for herself.

Perhaps she and her husband’s old high school flame had been more alike that she’d originally thought.

Kikyou was still looking lost so Kagome finally explained, “Thinking back on it now it’s petty, and I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I envied you, Kikyou, because you knew him longer than I did. You had memories with him that I didn’t. You got to see every side of him before I did, got to know him before me, and it drove me crazy knowing that you were his first kiss, and I wasn’t.”

The freelance writer digested that in silence, her eyes a little wide in wonder. She’d never realized that was how Kagome had felt. But then again, she’d never taken the time to really understand, had she? No, her only goal had been to get Inuyasha back by any means, uncaring who she hurt in the process, and that was one of her biggest regrets.

Sighing, Kagome finally smiled, and though it was small, it was genuine as she locked gazes with her formal rival and decided it was time to extent the olive branch. They were both adults now, with husbands and a career; it was time to put the past behind them and make a fresh start.

“Thank you for apologizing, Kikyou,” Kagome said sincerely, glad they’d had this conversation. “And I’ll gladly accept it, but only if you accept mine, too.”

Kikyou blinked in surprise and Kagome shrugged. “I wasn’t exactly a saint either. I said some pretty hurtful things to you, Kikyou, things I didn’t mean, and I definitely wasn’t my best self. I could have ignored you and not add fuel to the fire by taking your bait, but I didn’t, and I’m sure it didn’t help matters. In fact I made them worse, and then graduation came around, nothing was resolved, and then suddenly you left and Inuyasha was devastated because he didn’t get to say goodbye.”

Unbidden tears sprang to Kikyou’s eyes and she blinked rapidly, fluttering a hand over her mouth. She definitely had not been expecting that.

Kagome gave a wavering smile and reached out to take Kikyou’s hand in her own. Stunned, the other woman let her, staring down at their hands in a combination of wonder and confusion.

“See, Kikyou,” she murmured, throat feeling tight with emotion. “I’ve been dealing with guilt too, because if I hadn’t been so selfish in wanting all of his attention for myself, maybe he would have had the chance to talk to you before you left and things wouldn’t have gone unresolved for so long.

“But you’re here now,” she continued, eyes bright with unshed tears and her smile broadening. “And you were brave enough to approach me first asking for forgiveness, and I’m giving it to you now. Will you forgive me too, Kikyou? For being a selfish brat and denying you two the closure you so desperately needed?”

Kikyou gave a choked laugh and wiped her eyes with her free hand, a smile curving the corners of her lips upward.

“Look at us,” she rasped. “Two grown women blubbering on a public park bench about events that happened in high school.”

Kagome giggled and reached up to dab at her own eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. “Inuyasha always did tease us that we were too emotional,” she said and they shared a laugh, both of them no doubt thinking about how he’d be freaking out right now if he saw them.

Relieved and so utterly grateful, Kikyou got herself together in short order and beamed at Kagome, taking her hand and holding it between both of hers. She squeezed, drawing Kagome’s attention.

“Of course I forgive you, Kagome,” she said and laughed lightly at Kagome’s relieved sigh. “We were young and dumb—”

“And full of c—”

“Ohmigawd, don’t say it!” Kikyou squeaked and Kagome snickered, eyes flashing with glee as she covered her grinning mouth with a hand. Kikyou relented and dissolved into giggles as well and the two of them sat there laughing quietly, feeling comfortable, all previous awkwardness completely vanished.

“And full of the cafeteria’s awful Mystery Meat,” Kikyou finished with a grin and elicited an indelicate snort from an equally grinning Kagome. “And maybe it was that dreadful concoction of questionable food the school fed us or something else entirely that made us act the way we did—”

“Teenage hormones?” Kagome put in.

“I was thinking PMS,” Kikyou opined and once more the two giggled quietly together before the writer continued, “But now it’s in the past, we’ve realized the mistakes we’ve made, so now I’d love to say let us let bygones be bygones and finally put the whole thing behind us.”

Relieved, Kagome smiled and gently tugged her hand from Kikyou’s before extending it.

“A clean slate,” she announced and felt something loosen in her chest when the other woman without hesitation clasped her hand. “And a fresh start. I like the sound of that.”

Feeling like she was going to break down and cry all over again, Kikyou gave a trembling smile, squeezed Kagome’s hand, and breathed, “Me, too.”

Half an hour later, after making plans for the four of them – Kikyou, Kagome, and their respective husbands – to meet up for lunch this weekend, the two women bid each other a fond farewell and went their separate ways. Kagome collected her children and started the fifteen-minute walk home, trailing behind them on the sidewalk and watching with a small smile as her daughter and niece swung Tai back and forth between them. Raiden, Kohaku and their friends left to head home as well, and Kagome had pretended not to notice Raiden tug Izayoi aside to whisper something in her ear before kissing her cheek and leaving the half-demon in a blissful state of euphoria.

As Tai’s laughter rang out in the crisp October air, Kagome smiled and pulled out her phone, bringing up her messaging app with a few taps of a finger.

Inuyasha.

Only thirty seconds or so passed before he responded; he never kept her waiting and it was one of the many things Kagome loved about him.

what’s up baby

Feeling warm all over as her heart burst with affection for her husband, Kagome quickly typed her response, a mere three words.

I love you.

She didn’t wait for his response; closing the app, Kagome brought up the keypad and dialed a familiar number before bringing the phone to her ear. When her mother didn’t answer, however, she wrinkled her nose and tried another number.

“Hey, Sango,” she said when her friend picked up. “Listen, would you mind watching the kids for an hour or two? I want—” She paused as her friend interrupted and her eyebrows slowly lifted into her bangs as an amused smile lifted the corners of her lips.

“Oh…he did? And Miroku agreed? I see. Yes, don’t worry, everything’s fine. It’s just…well…I had an interesting chat with someone and I just…I dunno, I want to spend a little time alone with him, is all.

“Not right now,” she said apologetically as her house came into view. “I promise to call you tomorrow though, and tell you everything, okay? Trust me, you’re gonna need a glass of wine for this conversation. Or two.”

Kagome laughed at Sango’s begrudging agreement to wait and with a promise to see her tomorrow, the school teacher hung up and pocketed her phone, increasing her pace to lay a hand on her children’s shoulders and quietly tell them to head to Sango and Miroku’s house. She assured them everything was okay at their questions and she just wanted to talk to their father alone for a bit. Izayoi still looked unconvinced, however she nodded and waited for Tai to hug his mother before taking his hand and leading him across the street to their aunt and uncle’s house. Rin waved and jogged down the street to her own house, and Kagome watched for only a minute before turning and going home to her husband.

The house was quiet when she entered through the side door and she was shrugging out of her coat when two arms suddenly snaked around her waist and a mouth dropped to her neck. Kagome smiled and leaned back against him, reaching up to slide her hand into his hair and find a soft ear, rubbing the flesh gently. She was rewarded by a low growl reverberating against her back and a sharp nip to the ear that had her gasping as her heart beat a rapid tattoo in her chest.

Turning around, Kagome lifted her chin in time to receive her husband’s hungry kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he effortlessly swept her up into his arms. She gasped, he growled, and with a shared, intimate smile, Inuyasha carried his wife upstairs to their bedroom, murmuring against her lips how much he loved her and how goddamn lucky he was to have her.

Kagome’s response to that was a trembling smile, a loving kiss to his lips, and a whispered plea to show her how much he loved her as she tugged the door shut firmly behind them.

#biggest fears #spooktober prompts #day 29 #oneshot #inuyasha #kagome #kikyou #inukag #keizfanfiction #fanfiction #listen i was actually tearing up writing the part between kagome and kikyou al;djkfalkdj #like #theY ARE GONNA BE BESTIES NOW ITS SO EMTIOANL FUCK WHY AM I CRYING #also as a random note #i was gonna make up a fake screenshot of inu and kagome's text conversation but i got lazy hahaha #i could still do it though if a few people ask me

80 notes · View notes

ververa · 5 years

Text

“Monkey...”

@misssmephisto thank you for help <3

Wilhemina Venable x reader

Going to the university you knew that your future was already planned. You’re going to work with your cousin at the company that he had established with his friend. You didn’t really like your cousin Jeff neither his friend Mutt, as you considered them as arseholes. But you didn’t have a choice. And so you graduated and began to work with them, as it had been planned by your parents.

You were sure that you would hate the job, but you changed your mind as soon as you arrived there. Or rather when you met her.

“Wilhemina Venable” she introduced herself

And suddenly all the confidence, that was running in your family, was gone. The woman dressed in purple from head to toe made you speechless. The only thing you were able to do was admiring her beauty and dignity in silence.

“It’s rude to stare, Miss” she said offended

You wanted to say something. Anything. Though you remained silent, as yo u weren’t able to form any coherent sentence.

“I can see that courtesy is an unfamiliar thing in your family” she stated swinging round using her cane for support

“I-I…” you were trying your best to form some apologies, but it felt as if your brain was unable to work

“Yes?” she faced you once again

“I’m Y/N” you offered her your hand “I’m…” you rubbed the back of your neck nervously “I’m so sorry. I… normally I don’t act like this”

“There is no need to excuse yourself, Miss Y/N. Let’s just end this unfortunate conversation already”

You weren’t sure what exactly it was, but it felt as if she had put a spell on you – simply by speaking and being close to you. You were so stunned by her presence that gathering any thoughts was impossible. Since that very moment you wanted nothing more, but to be around her. She didn’t need to talk to you or be nice to you. Her looking at you while passing by your office or just breathing in your direction was enough to make you feel butterflies in your stomach.

You were entranced by every little thing about the woman. Her red hair, lavender suit, the cane, the way she moved or how she was treating other people. She wasn’t particularly nice to them, actually she was insulting them for most of the time, but it only made her more attractive to you.

You had always been an observant and bright person. Somehow you could manage to find the right words in every situation, but not with her.

Every attempt of showing her your interest failed miserably, because that was how Venable was affecting you. You stuttered every time you tried to speak and couldn’t form any logical sentence, especially when she smirked, which was almost all the time when she was around you.

She couldn’t help it, you thought to yourself, as you made yourself come off as a clown or a monkey that desperately seeks attention.

You were sick for any kind of interaction with her. She was just so exceptional, so different to all the women you had met. She was one in million and that intrigued you. However, no matter how bad you tried it always ended the same – with you trying to be funny, but coming up with something so stupid that, when you finally process it, you began to pity yourself.

You hadn’t planned it and you definitely didn’t want it. But there you were. Having the red head on your mind constantly. You were so done with it that once, during the lunch break, when Wilhemina spoke up you snapped. You managed to form one coherent sentence – in which you told her that she makes you wanna cry. It wasn’t what you mean. It didn’t come out properly, but you freaked out too much to explain it, so simply you came back to your office leaving the HR dumbfounded.

After that you got to the conclusion that you’re not able to function like a fully-developed human being in front of Wilhemina. So as not to make things even worse you decided it would be better to get out of her way, and consequently you began avoiding her.

You focused on your work and stopped leaving your office almost completely. And soon the only companion that you had was the computer in front of you.

Your strange behaviour didn’t go unnoticed, by Jeff and Mutt. They weren’t as stupid as you thought and worked out, what seemed for them to be, a perfect plan.

You were furious when you found out that they hacked all your devices. The row you started was beyond anything that ever happened in the company. Not only were you shouting so loud that everyone, including Venable, could here you, but also you broke a few things. Little did you know that it all was a part of their plan.

They had been working with Wilhemina long enough to know how to draw her attention. You shouting and throwing things at them definitely was that thing. She immediately stopped, as she was passing by their office, simply to admire you. And that was probably the moment, when she realised that she may like you.

She didn’t admit it, of course, but when Jeff and Mutt asked her to come to the birthday party they were organizing for you, she agreed without hesitation.

You weren’t the one to celebrate birthday, but they made you. Your cousin and his friend threw the biggest party ever just for you. You had to admit it was a real fun and you did enjoy it.

You were dancing for almost the whole evening and you could swear that Venable was staring at you. Although you didn’t dare to try talking to her.

She was the woman of your dreams, but nobody besides you and your best friend knew it. Your friend was the only person with whom you shared all the thoughts you had. Your messages were, literally, the only evidence for you having feeling for the other woman. But how could you know that anybody, but your friend would read them. You definitely didn’t expect Jeff and Mutt to did. And Venable? If you had any idea at all you would never even dared to refer to her as ‘Wilhemina fuck me Venable’ or any other of this sort.

“Where are you taking me?” you asked as Jeff and Mutt were leading you somewhere you could see, as you’re blindfolded

“You will see” Mutt said

“But you’ll be satisfied with your present, I can assure you”

“What is it? And where am I?” you asked when you stopped

“We’re at your destination, sunshine” Jeff said

“It’s 20 minutes in heaven. Just for you” Mutt whispered

“You don’t need to thank us” Jeff added forcing you to the room, that you still couldn’t see

“Wit! What the fuck?” you asked confused hearing the click of the locking door

You slowly took the blindfold off only to see you were in your room.

“Guys?” you tried to open the door “Hey! It’s not funny”

“Maybe we should change it”

You jumped as you heard a familiar female voice. You slowly turned back only to see Venable sitting in the huge armchair located in the corner of your bedroom.

“M-Miss Venable?” you stood there dumbfound not able to move “W-what are you doing here?”

“Since it’s your birthday today I thought that I should probably give you a present”

You looked at her confused. She brought you a present? Did that mean she does not hate you?

“Y/N!” you were brought back by her stern voice

“Y-yes?”

“Before you can get your present I need you to do something”

“Yes, Miss Venable?”

“Dance for me”

“What?”

“Dance for me” she repeated

“How? What? Why? How do you...” but you weren’t allowed to finish

Venable interrupted you tapping her cane.

“I said dance for me” she said sternly not leaving a place for objections “Move for me, sweetheart” she smirked

“Miss Venable I don’t think I understand…”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake” she rolled her eyes “Dance monkey!”

That was when you realised what was going on. ‘Monkey’ that’s how your best friend was calling you. She had read your messages.

Your brain was speeding. You heart began beating so fast that you were sure you may lose consciousness at any time. You were trying to form some kind of explanation, but before you could say anything Venable was right next to you.

She firmly tapped her cane as she stopped right in front of you and took your chin making you look at her.

“So, monkey” she started “we have a lot to catch up”

You were more than confused, and so you didn’t dare to speak.

“Is it all true? That messages, were they for real?” she asked lightly squeezing your chin

You nodded sighing. That definitely wasn’t how you wanted her to find out

“You’re the most incapable person I’ve ever met”

You closed your eyes wanting to avoid hers. You were sure that after what she had read she must have hated you even more.

“You left me puzzled, but now I understand everything”

“Miss Venable… I’m really sorry. I didn’t want you to find out this way. Well, actually… I suppose I didn’t want you to find out at all”

The woman chuckled freeing your chin

“My god, Y/N, you really are into me, aren’t you?”

You nodded shyly.

“I am” you admitted “I like you since the first moment I saw you. I didn’t want it. It just happened. And after our first meeting it felt as if you were the only thing I could see. I saw you… always. Every time. Only you. And I wanted it so badly that it made me wanna cry…”

“What did you want so badly?” Venable asked smirking

“Oh my God… You! I wanted you topping me. And every time I saw you that was my first thought and I… I just couldn’t stop it”

Wilhelmina came even closer making you took a few steps back. However you were soon pinned against the door with no possibility of escape. But did you want to escape from her? After so long you wanted nothing more, but to be in her arms. Though her stern look made you a bit insecure.

“I’ll be honest with you” she stated

“O-okay”

“You are a walking mess”

You lowered your gaze, sure that she’s mad at you.

“But” she took you chin and made you look at her again “From now on you are my mess”

“M-miss Venable I…” she didn’t give you a chance to finish your sentence interrupting you with a gentle kiss

When she pulled away you were breathless.

“Call me Wilhemina” she said with a smirk seeing how dazed you were “Now, tell me. What do you want sweetheart? Since it’s your birthday today I think we can do whatever you desire” she caressed your cheek

“Wel… I… umm. Just hold me and stay with me and I will be more than happy. That’s all I want”

Wilhelmina smiled and offered you her hand before leading you to the bed.

You stayed in your room for the rest of the evening, talking about your feelings. And as she was holding you like that you were sure that nothing could make you that happy as her being right next to you.

#wilhemina venable #wilhemina venable x reader #sarah paulson x reader #sarah paulson imagine #AHS #ahs apocalypse #american horror story imagine

222 notes · View notes

writeyouin · 6 years

Note

You trade yourself for a sibling you couldn't save. Instead of a goblin, Jareth makes you a servant & has you do everything, even petty tasks like polishing his boots & brushing his hair. He starts to fall in love as you read to goblins or play with wished away children, but he demands too much & you faint during your chores, making him sick with worry & guilt. He nurses you to health, stating you're no longer a servant, but he hopes you'll stay with him as his lover & eventual betrothed.

Jareth X Reader – The Love of a King

A/N – The cat drugs wore off and I’m good to write again ^_^

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

You couldn’t believe you’d failed. You had been selfish enough to wish your sibling away and then you couldn’t even get them back from the ridiculously hard Labyrinth put before you by the Goblin King. Jareth knew you’d gotten farther than most in his game, and because of that he was willing to grant you an audience with your sibling to say goodbye, though it wasn’t a gift so much as a curse, because you would have to see them turned into a goblin as punishment for your failure.

“Hurry it up,” Jareth demanded as you clung to your sibling as if your very life depended on it instead of theirs.

“I’m sorry,” You sobbed hideously, choking on the air itself. “I didn’t mean to- I- I didn’t-”

Jareth rolled his eyes; he’d heard all this before from countless others. It was always the same. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. It was an accident. It wasn’t my fault. Hah, it was always their fault; humans with their pathetic excuses. Then, they would go back and live their lives anyway after barely mourning at all; such inconsequential creatures. Lazily, Jareth pushed himself up, waiting for the part where you would beg for mercy which he would of course deny. On queue with his expectations, you let go of your sibling and threw yourself on your knees before him.

“Please, Goblin King, I know- I know my words were selfish- but please… Take me instead. Don’t punish them for my mistakes… Please.”

Jareth could see your sibling was about to argue, and with a wave of his hand, he silenced them, taking their voice away so he could speak uninterrupted. He circled you like a predator. You sat perfectly still, never flinching or cowering away, though what more was there to fear now you had faced up to everything in the Labyrinth itself and still come to a loss? Jareth didn’t know quite what to make of you. Was it possible you were trying to trick him? He had to test you to find out.

Coming to a stop in front of you, he tilted your chin up to face him. Yes, there was definitely hatred in your eyes and a hint of defiance, but he also found a sincerity that was unusual for humans.

“You would be turned into a goblin for this pathetic creature?” He sneered, letting go of you. “Even after wishing it away.”

“Yes, your majesty,” You bowed so your head pressed against the freezing cold flagstones.

Your sibling shook their head vigorously, willing you to look their way, but you wouldn’t; your only job now was to convince the Goblin King to grant your request.

“You do realise,” Jareth sneered, “that if you choose this path, you will have no memory of your former life.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“You will be my subject, pet and plaything.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“You may even be tortured for my own entertainment. You would really subject yourself to such a future, all for that which you so carelessly wished away.”

“…Yes, your majesty,” You said subserviently, glad to have at least stopped crying, though your voice still wavered.

Jareth smiled darkly, having trapped you into a verbal contract which he could now accept or reject at his own desire. “Very well, I accept your terms.”

With a wave of his gloved hand, Jareth sent your sibling home, to never see you again.

Although you were getting a headache from the cold flagstones, you didn’t move, unable to trust yourself not to cry again. Jareth rolled his eyes irritably, and sneered, “What are you still doing there?”

“Waiting.”

“For what?”

“Seriously?” You looked up resentfully. “You want me to watch when you turn me into a goblin? What the hell is wrong with you? I mean, you- you- you kidnap people! You just take whatever the hell you want and then you- you put me through hell and now, you’re about to turn me into a freaking goblin and you want me to watch!”

Jareth restrained a smile, enjoying the rant thoroughly; apparently you weren’t as docile as he’d suspected, which was bound to be much more entertaining than if he’d have kept your sibling. “My, my, what a temper you have. I suppose it will have to serve as my entertainment for a while.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“I could answer you, but let me first ask, do you really think it wise to speak to me in such an ill-mannered way?”

“Why not. I won’t remember any of this anyway… I may as well say something worth saying before I forget.”

“Such an interesting pet you’ll be.” Jareth paused like he was thinking, despite knowing exactly what he was going to do next; theatrics were all a part of the game. “Indeed, much too interesting to turn into a mere goblin.”

Despite your confusion, you stared at him stonily, unafraid now that it was only your life in danger. You probably should have been at least a little bit frightened, but after everything you’d seen in the last thirteen hours, you were much too exhausted to feel anything but perplexed and a little bit rebellious.

“Well,” Jareth gestured to you haphazardly, “What are you waiting for, chop chop, get to work!” He transformed your outfit into servant rags and a mop appeared in your hands.

“All that magic and you can’t even clean your castle with it?” You snarked.

“Oh, I can do that and much more, but I find watching others work much more entertaining.”

You scoffed distastefully but kept quiet, not daring to challenge Jareth more than you already had in case he decided to break his oath and trade you and your sibling for the sheer fun of it. You started your task with haste, resigning yourself to your new life as a slave within the Labyrinth.

The orders Jareth gave you were exhausting, humiliating, and never-ending, yet as you cleaned up goblin messes and other such nonsense around the castle, you tried to find happiness in your prison. You had accomplished your goal of saving your sibling, so despite the tasks set to you, you found that you didn’t mind as much. Perhaps that was why all those fairy tale characters like Snow White and Cinderella never complained about their own situations; they knew that somehow, life could be worse and so it was best to accept what they had and take it on the chin.

Despite your resolve, you found the cold hands of loneliness threatening to mottle your heart, so you began speaking with the goblin denizens of the city below the castle. Initially, you found it hard to relate to them but after a while, you got used to their strange ways, even learning to enjoy their wild tricks and games. You soon found yourself visiting the city goblins daily, sneaking away from the castle whenever you could to play with them. You believed that you were being subtle in your few escapes, but unbeknownst to you, Jareth saw everything that happened within his Labyrinth. Sometimes he would leave you be, watching in amusement as you learned the goblin traditions and dances, and at other times he would pretend to have found you by sheer chance and send you back to the castle as punishment with even more work to exhaust you further.

It wasn’t long before Jareth had another contestant in his Labyrinth, and he spent more time watching you than them when you found the dungeon where he kept the wished away prisoners. Although you couldn’t get into the cell, you stayed outside it the entire time, neglecting your chores so you could talk to the child prisoner within, telling her stories aimed to allay her worries. When Jareth had to turn the child into a goblin, he believed you would hate him for it, but much to his surprise, you said it was probably for the best because the pain of knowing the past was torture and at least as a goblin, the child seemed happy.

“Hmm,” Jareth held his hand regally under his chin, observing you as the child-turned-goblin was led away into the city.

“What?” You said, self-consciously.

“You are to attend to my needs tonight.”

“Don’t I always?”

“No. In case you haven’t noticed, you attend the castle’s needs, not mine. Tonight, you are to meet me in my chambers where I will give you several tasks before a grand ball I am to host. After you have seen to my needs, you will serve at this ball, and until then, you are to clean the grand hall in preparation for it.” Jareth pointed to your feet, casting a small spell on them, and making you jump up and down on the spot. “Hop to it,” he smiled impishly.

You squeaked indignantly as your bouncing feet led you to the grand hall; once there, you were free of Jareth’s spell. You slumped irritably against a wall, tired from the long days of hard work that were slowly wearing down on you. Remembering the reason you were in the goblin realm to begin with, you groaned, ignoring the pain in your aching back and getting on with the task at hand. You worked until you knew night had fallen; it was hard to measure time in the Labyrinth because the sky seemed to act of its own accord and clocks were only around during a trial, but somehow, after so long there, you were able to actually feel time rather than measure it.

You stood up, stretching as you made your way to Jareth’s chambers where he sat on a stool in front of a black wooden vanity, decorated with carvings of troublesome goblins in all manners of playful poses. You wondered why he chose that mirror in particular because each wall was covered entirely in mirrors, some large and ornate, others tiny hand mirrors. Upon closer inspection, you realised the mirrors didn’t reflect you or your surroundings, instead they each showed different places, some changing occasionally to show somewhere else.

There was no time to speculate on what you believed the mirrors to be, as Jareth said snarkily, “Do you intend to stand around all day, or are you here to work?”

A hairbrush appeared in your hand which you stared at, dumbfounded. “You want me to brush your hair?”

“It won’t brush itself.”

“You- You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Jareth grinned devilishly, “Oh, you’ll know when I’m kidding, my dear. Now come and groom me, you shall have plenty of time for harder work afterwards, I assure you.”

You shook your head incredulously, walking behind him and brushing his hair gently. Jareth raised a curious eyebrow. How hadn’t you noticed that he called you dear? He’d never called you such a high term of endearment before. Perhaps it was plain human ignorance that kept you from noticing his loving term.

Jareth could have told you he loved you and under normal circumstances, whether you returned the sentiment or not, he would have, but these weren’t ordinary circumstances. Fae emotions were clear as day and much stronger than human emotions, but for once Jareth would not say how he felt until he was sure you felt the same. You weren’t fae, nor were you of noble birth. You hadn’t even succeeded his Labyrinth; by all accounts, you were not someone worthy of his recognition and devotion. Yet, Jareth found that after watching you in your caring and hard-working ways that he did indeed love you and it was crushing against him with every breath he took.

With no outlet to his feelings for you, Jareth decided to toy with you. If the work hadn’t been unusual before, then he would put you through everything he could tonight. In human terms this would be the equivalent of children teasing their crushes to get their attention, but Jareth had no time to analyse such thoughts as he made you brush his hair.

He watched you intensely in the mirror, never blinking or taking his eyes from you. You found the image unsettling but said nothing; mostly everything about Jareth was unsettling, though not always in an unpleasant manner, the man was simply unusual to you. You wished you could look away from Jareth’s reflection, but it was like his eyes were holding you in place with the ethereal power he emanated. You stopped what you were doing, holding the brush slackly in front of you and blinking hard as your vision blurred.

“Are you waiting for an invitation?” Jareth scoffed. “I gave you a job you do.”

“I don’t-” You cleared your throat. “I don’t feel so good…”

Jareth heaved a dramatic sigh, “And I suppose this is your best attempt to get out of work tonight? How utterly selfish, though I suppose I shouldn’t have expected better from a mere human. I should turn you into a goblin right now for-”

You dropped the brush and it clattered on the flagstone floor.

“I-” You never got to finish the sentence as you fainted. With inhuman speed, Jareth spun around to catch you, lifting you into his arms so he could carry you to his bed.

He tapped your cheek gently, smiling to hide his fear, “Come now slave, we have no time for foolish games, open your eyes.”

You didn’t respond and Jareth found himself snapping his fingers to summon a pail of water which floated above your head. “Slave, if you do not open your eyes immediately, you will not see the pail of water that I’m going to drop on you for your insubordination.”

Still, you remained motionless. Jareth waved the water bucket away, taking his glove off to feel your temperature. He was no expert in human health, but he thought you were overly warm, and somewhat clammy.

“Slave… (Y/N), are you sick? You would tell me if it were so, wouldn’t you, my darling?” Jareth sighed, thinking of his treatment of you since you became his servant. “(Y/N), my dear… my love. Has the work been so truly gruelling that you have not even had time to rest? Have I been so undeservingly cruel to you, that you should become ill now?”

His heart raced. Had you not been unwell, you would have had some reaction to hearing his confession of love, as understated as it had been for someone as flamboyant as him. Jareth felt guilt flood into him, for a human it might have been a small stab, but to a fae, the guilt felt like poison, ready to kill him unless he put things right immediately.

Hastily, Jareth summoned some of his more competent guards, ordering them to cancel the ball so he could tend to you personally. Just like time, illness was different in the goblin realm when compared to that of your human realm. So, over the course of weeks while Jareth tended to your every need, you did not wake. Jareth wished he could have simply used his magic to make you well, but even he had his limitations and since fae never got ill, he had no healers to summon.

Every day, Jareth would wash your face with only the finest of cloths to keep you cool. He would then apologise once again, speak to you, telling you of his life and requesting to hear more of yours when you awoke. After that he remained by your side, sometimes reading aloud and other times using his magic to keep you clean, ever the gentleman protecting your decency.

It was exactly thirteen weeks into your slumber that you finally opened your eyes. Jareth was sat by your side reading the story of Hansel and Gretel, commenting on what selfish little beasts the children were for eating the old witches house without offering anything in return, when you soundlessly awoke. Jareth sensed the change immediately and put the book down, grabbing your hand tightly in both of his.

“My peach,” he lamented, “do you forgive me?”

Somehow feeling simultaneously tired and refreshed, you turned to face the man who had invaded every dream you’d had since fainting. Dream Jareth had relayed every word the real Jareth had spoken to you in the waking world. In your dreams, you had attended countless balls and moonlit walks with the man who was your King and master.

“Speak! Please, I must hear you speak.”

You mulled over your words carefully, thinking of how many times since you’d fell asleep that he’d called you my love or some other term of endearment. Did you return his feelings? He certainly had some kind of hold on you, but was that just fae magic or was it something more? “I- You love me?”

Jareth smiled in relief, quickly regaining his composure and moulding himself into the very image of a King. “I do, and what have you to say of that?”

“How can you love a slave? You don’t even like me?”

“On the contrary my peach, I have found many reasons to love you.”

“But-”

“Ah yes, the slave thing, well who brought that up because it was certainly not I. You are freed of your slave status and are now a member or the royal court. You shall be treated to only the finest of everything-”

“So long as I say I love you back,” You said sadly, thinking of how everything Jareth did was for something in return.

“No, no, (Y/N), I clearly cannot buy your love, as much easier as that would be for me. I shall however earn it. I have every intention to court you in the hopes that you will become my betrothed. Nevertheless, you are in control here. Should my affections upset you, all you have to do is say the word and I will leave you.”

‘For a while at least,’ You thought, finishing Jareth’s unspoken sentiment.

Whether you returned Jareth’s love or not, you were at least glad to have a modicum of control over your life once more. “I want to go outside now, I’ve been cooped up way too long.”

Jareth stood up enthusiastically, “A marvellous idea. Allow me to accompany you, I can show you some of the more beautiful areas of the Labyrinth.”

Before you could respond, you found yourself in finely tailored outdoor clothes in a garden with Jareth pointing out a new crop of unruly man-eating plants, quite unlike the Venus-fly traps in your realm. You gulped in the air, unsure of what you would do under the attention of the Goblin King. Still, at least the walk didn’t seem unpleasant; maybe you would get used to him. After all, tomorrow was another day.

Like my work? Buy me a coffee and earn preview of the next fic, or commission me on the commissions page.

#the labyrinth #labyrinth #jareth #jareth x reader #the goblin king #the goblin king x reader #jareth the goblin king #jareth the goblin king x reader #reader #reader insert #fanfiction #fanfic #the love of a king #Anonymous

739 notes · View notes