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ask-spider-man-61610 · 3 months ago

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Her Love

(content warning for blood, violence, and manipulation/mind control)

When the term 'blood magic ritual' comes up, one might automatically think of it as taking place in some hidden sanctum, or a grandiose temple... a setting befitting of the term 'blood magic', or even just the word 'ritual'. A furnished basement in the middle of suburbia, in all of its possible aesthetics, is far from it, and yet that was where Hannah and Melly had been brought to by Mrs. Clearlee, entering the room just as seamlessly as they had left their own bedroom.

The room was already populated by a half-dozen other individuals as the three new arrivals made their appearance. Their appearances-- equally as white, suburban, and Karen-esque as Mrs. Clearlee herself-- made the gathering feel like an HOA meeting. The outskirts of the room were lined with stacks of pink and teal cardboard boxes, emblazoned with the Clearlee Cosmetics logo. The topmost boxes of each stack had been opened, with products having been pulled out an arranged into lace-draped baskets and floral-printed cases.

"I'm back, ladies!" Mrs. Clearlee chortled, confidently strolling towards the group. The six of them perked up, excited to see the return of their leader.

"Mrs. Clearlee!" they greeted her, scurrying over to cluster around her and Hannah. Each one of them bored a fanged smile: vampires, all of them.

"Ladies, please-- let's not crowd Miss Alba, now," Mrs. Clearlee said, waving her hands in front of her. The group parted without further prompt, allowing Mrs. Clearlee to lead Hannah further into the room.

"Just over on the table should be fine to set her down," Mrs. Clearlee said to Hannah. She called back to her underlings "Ladies-- a tablecloth, please."

The two nearest vamp-Karens jumped into action, hurrying off to a nearby closet and withdrawing a set of painter's tarps. They took them to the table Mrs. Clearlee had indicated, spreading them out just as Hannah stepped up alongside it. Mrs. Clearlee indicated for Hannah to put Melly down once the two had stepped away, and Hannah did so.

"Good, good-- now, everyone gather 'round," Mrs. Clearlee instructed the group. The others quickly made their way over, chattering with excitement. "I know I've mentioned her before, but tonight I'd like to officially introduce you all to Miss Alba, the newest member of our exclusive Clearlee Cohort!"

A chatter of various greetings swelled up from the ladies. Hannah, however, did not greet them in return, continuing to stare blankly at them.

"She's... interesting," one of the ladies said skeptically.

"She seems a bit unrefined," another added more bluntly.

"Now ladies," Mrs. Clearlee interrupted, "there's still a lot of work to do to make Miss Alba a true Clearlee lady-- in image, most of all. But! No time for a makeover tonight, girls. You see, I have something very special in mind for Miss Alba tonight."

Mrs. Clearlee pushed herself up onto the table, living herself to be just ever so slightly taller than the others in the room.

"Miss Sasha-- the book, please?" Mrs. Clearlee asked, turning a commanding gaze to one of the ladies.

"Of course!" Miss Sasha replied. She skirted over to a Clearlee box sat apart from the others, opening it and reverently retrieving the tome that rested inside.

The Malsanguis Dux Libri, as seen in the photos provided in Prim's file, had an air about it that fit its contents. Black leather binding, gold-leaf pressed into its ridges, and weathered pages that were softened by time at the edges. Its original state, however, was nowhere to be seen in the item that Miss Sasha carried back towards Mrs. Clearlee. The leather cover had been replaced by a plastic facsimile of the original -- pink, teal, and white to match the aesthetic of Clearlee Cosmetics. A rainbow of sticky-notes poked out of the side, bringing attention to certain pages that were labeled in handwritten cursive.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Clearlee said to Sasha, who bowed before backing into her place in the group. She began to thumb through the book as she continued, revealing a series of penned-in notes and highlighted portions written in alongside the blood-ink lettering. "Now, I'm sure you all have noticed that Miss Alba has brought her first downline bond with her tonight, yes?"

"So that's who that is?" one of the ladies asked.

"She's a cute thing," another added. "Could make a decent Clearlee lady herself.

"Or a group snack..." a third proposed. "Some of us had to delay our bonding sessions with our downlines to be here on such short notice."

"No," Mrs. Clearlee hissed at the third lady, a fierce authority radiating from her. All of the ladies-- Hannah included-- recoiled from Mrs. Clearlee. "Miss Alba put in the work, so this one belongs to her."

Mrs. Clearlee cleared her throat, shifting back to a chillingly cheery tone.

"In fact... that very bond is what we will be celebrating tonight!" she continued. "In what little time she has been a part of our cohort, Miss Alba has only formed this one bond... and yet the time, the dedication she has been able to feed into it is remarkable, beyond anything any of you have accomplished before. So much so, that Miss Alba has maxxed out the amount of influence that can be put out through a downline bond. And that just won't do, ladies-- if we want our profits to grow on, our bonds should be able to do so as well."

Mrs. Clearlee stopped flipping through the book, raising a finger to the page and running it across the surface, skimming the words on the page as her fingers passed by them.

"Ah, here we go-- so! Ladies, tonight I would like to present you with a new incentive to build up those bonds. To reward her hard work, we'll be helping her elevate her bond to Platinum status!"

Gasps were shared throughout the ladies of the cohort, followed by an energized round of excited whispers and speculations.

Hannah, through all of this, had remained stoic. As Mrs. Clearlee's attention focused on the other ladies, however, her gaze had drifted back towards Melly, still laying on the table. Melly's eyes flickered between being half-open and closed, and her hand had slowly rolled itself over in an attempt to reach her. Her mind pushed back, but it couldn't do much against the affect the spell had on her physical body.

"So, Miss Alba," Mrs. Clearlee said, causing Hannah's attention to snap back to her, "are you ready to see your bond go to the next level, and truly claim your place in the Clearlee Cohort?

Yes, Mrs. Clearlee's eyes conveyed, pressing the word into Hannah's mind and out through her mouth.

"Yes..." Hannah spoke in reply.

Mrs. Clearlee smiled at her answer.

"Then let's do so, Miss Alba."

----------

While the other Clearlee vampires set about gathering the last few items for the ritual, Mrs. Clearlee herself took the liberty to explain to Hannah the nature of what they were about to take part in.

"Now you see, Miss Alba," she began, "the magic we deal with is all about bonds. And, through bonds, comes influence. It's Clearlee Cosmetics' secret to success. Every small business gains its first customers through word-of-mouth, and a bit of added persuasiveness to go along with that makes gaining a steady profit all the more easy. The nature of the blood bond makes those in our downlines all the more receptive to expectations and feedback. We get some blood, and they get to have an easier time putting in the work to make their sales quotas. It's a win-win!"

Mrs. Clearlee pushed herself down off the table, cradling the open book in her arm.

"But even the best influencers never truly have control over the influenced," she sighed. "The sway of the bond only goes so far if something else begins pulling on our ladies in the downline: family troubles, job opportunities, their brat's dance recital... bonds outside of blood have a sway too, Miss Alba. And when other bonds vie for their turn, it can weaken the one we form with them. If a downline bond is broken, their own downlines may end up drifting away from us... and that simply won't do. Fortunately for us, our lovely guidebook here has something that could very well be the solution to that problem."

Turning the book around, Mrs. Clearlee showed the page to Hannah. The blood-text on the page was written in Latin, but pink-penned words were squished in alongside them to provide translations into English. Sticky-notes covered a majority of the diagrams on the page, though one drawing that poked out from under one of them seemed to feature a dagger.

"'Blood Thrall' was much too dour of a title," Mrs. Clearlee explained, "so I decided to consider it a Platinum-status bond-- much more fitting with the Clearlee image. The concept itself is simple enough: while the normal blood bond is subject to fraying, the Platinum bond is solid, and-- more importantly-- permanent. The entirety of their being becomes devoted to you, and more importantly, to Clearlee Cosmetics. You cut off their other bonds, and they'll have no place in their hearts to think about anything other than our cause. Granted, it's a bit of a messy process. The 'cutting bonds' part is, to some degree, literal. However! If upgrading your bond goes smoothly, we'll be looking at a whole new era of Clearlee."

One of the ladies-- Sasha, who had retrieved the book earlier-- brought over a long, hinged case and opened it for her sire. From it, Mrs. Clearlee pulled out an oddly-proportioned dagger. While the hilt was of an expected size, the blade was much smaller and narrower than what could have been affixed to it.

"For you, Miss Alba," Mrs. Clearlee said, taking one of Hannah's hands and wrapping it around the hilt. "Take it to your palm, and draw blood-- might sting a little, but it's all a part of the process."

Hannah did as she was told, though her expression furrowed as the blade drew blood.

"Now hold it there, and repeat after me," Mrs. Clearlee continued. She cleared her throat, then read aloud from the page.

"Sanguis acutus fit, ut transfigat et obsignet."

Hannah repeated the words.

"Sanguis acutus fit, ut transfigat et obsignet."

The blood that had pooled in Hannah's palm stirred, rising up and beginning to curl around the blade in her hand. The wound sealed after enough had been drawn, and the blood coalesced around the dagger's small blade, and solidified into a more formidable, blood-red edge.

"Lovely work, Miss Alba," Mrs. Clearlee hummed. She snapped her fingers. "Alright, ladies! I believe it's time."

The other vampires returned to the table, spacing themselves out into a circle around it. Nodding in approval, Mrs. Clearlee turned back to Hannah, gesturing to the table.

"We'll help you with the words, Miss Alba, but the most vital part of upgrading your bond is up to you," Mrs. Clearlee said. She paused for a moment before continuing, double-checking something in the book. "The blade is of your blood, and of your bond, and is a means to drive your bond deep into the heart of your selected thrall. And so that is the action you must take: drive the blade into her heart, and she will be yours. Forever."

Mrs. Clearlee's face grew more intense for a moment before abruptly shifting back into a crocodile smile and a chuckle. She reached up and patted Hannah's cheek.

"Easy enough. I think you'll do it well, Miss Alba. Now-- hop on up!"

As Mrs. Clearlee turned to join the circle herself, Hannah pulled herself up onto the table, positioning herself above Melly. Her movements, however, had become far less still, and she found herself fidgeting uncomfortably as she waited for the others to begin.

"Alright ladies, let's begin," Mrs. Clearlee announced. "Repeat after me--"

"Ferrum, sanguis, cor."

"Relinquere nihil nisi te ipsum."

"Mea voluntas pro tua."

"Sanguis tuus sum-- meus es tu."

Led by Mrs. Clearlee, the cohort of vampires continued the chant, repeating the lines one after the other, again and again. The stench of blood magic in the air overpowered even the heavily-perfumed scents of the creams and products around them, drawing out an excitement akin to bloodlust. Perhaps they didn't notice it, but they had begun to change as well: their nails grew sharper, their teeth longer, the features of their eyes and ears distorting into something less human as the concentrated blood magic in the room saturated their bodies.

The dagger seemed to hum in Hannah's hand-- a hand increasingly beginning to look more clawed as its grip on the blade tightened-- and she found herself slowly raising it above her head, pointed down at Melly. The words of the others pounded in her skull like a drum, a beat that egged her on to follow through, to complete the spell.

Melly, through the haze, felt her spider-sense rise in pitch. She pushed her eyes as open as she could, looking up at her girlfriend hovering above her and the knife poised to descend into her. Spider-sense begged her to pay attention to the dagger, but Melly instead focused her gaze on Hannah. Hannah, her love. Hannah, who wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Hannah, whose hands had begun to shake as a flicker of light, of presence crept back into her eyes.

"Han... nah..." Melly muttered, eyes sliding shut again.

Hannah's eyes went wide, suddenly realizing where she was and what she was doing. Her whole body shook, trying to fight the control that had compelled her and placed her here. Her teeth clenched, wrestling with the muscles in her arms just as they swung the blade downwards. A yell escaped from her throat.

Thunk.

At the last moment, Hannah had lunged forwards. The dagger came down several inches above Melly''s head, and Hannah's forehead came to rest near Melly's own as she gasped for breath. The chanting around them had fallen silent.

"Miss Alba..." the sicky-sweet tone of Mrs. Clearlee's voce rang out. "It's okay-- we all get nervous about these sorts of things. Why don't you sit back up and try again."

Hannah's body jerked back upright, the dagger dislodging from the table along with the motion. Her eyes glazed over again for a split-second, but with her heart pounding in her chest she snapped herself back into focus. The hand with the dagger attempted to raise back up, but through Hannah's will it was pushed back down.

"I..." she growled, teeth bared. "No. I won't."

A look of displeasure crossed Mrs. Clearlee's face, and her eyes narrowed.

"Why are you..." she wondered aloud, before focusing back on Hannah. She moved closer to the table, staring directly into Hannah's eyes. "No, you shouldn't be. You are bound to me by blood, Miss Alba, and you will do as I say. Now take the dagger and complete the spell."

Hannah's grip on the dagger tightened further, her own claws digging into her hand, and though her arm twitched, it did not raise above her. With a yell, Hannah launched herself forwards, past Melly and straight towards Mrs. Clearlee. The dagger swung forwards, burying itself into the scheme-founder's shoulder.

Mrs. Clearlee roared, staggering back with the knife still dug into her shoulder. Blood began to stain her clothes around the wound, and eyes narrowed into slits turned to train their gaze on Hannah. The commanding farce behind those eyes, however, no longer held sway over Hannah.

"You--" she sneered, abandoning the cheery-toned voice, "I am your superior! The one who found the book, did with its magic what no one else had the nerve to do! The one who helped you forge the bond--"

With those words, there was a sharp inhale of breath from Mrs. Clearlee, only just now realizing the absence of her hold on Hannah in her veins.

"...broken?" she muttered, voice growing louder with frustration. "No-- what? What bond of yours could be stronger than--"

Mrs. Clearlee didn't have time to finish before Hannah had lunged at her once more, claws bared. A swipe across her face left a group of gashes, causing Mrs. Clearlee to shriek. A swipe of her own dug into Hannah's arm, and as the two toppled to the ground, Hannah sunk her teeth into the vampire's other shoulder. Teeth gnashed, voices howled, and the two became a flurry of claws and blood.

The other six Clearlee ladies stood poised on the outskirts of the scuffle, the smell of blood making their mouths water. Yet they didn't intervene-- though not through their own choice. The spell had been completed, in a way, though the form it had taken from the point Hannah's dagger plunged into Mrs. Clearlee was far from what was intended. Instead of creating a blood thrall, it had become a contest of dominion, of who would claim control over the other.

Mrs. Clearlee had the book, the blood magic she'd forced onto Hannah. But Hannah had her love-- her love for Melly. Melly, her love. She would never hurt her love. She would not let this woman hurt her love.

Her rage, amplified by her bond, caused the magic in her blood to surge further, becoming visible beneath her skin. Her own sense faded to the background, the vampiric instincts within her taking hold of her mind. They drove her to attack, to protect. And though she was still aware of herself to attempt to resist it, the unbridled urge to kill.

By the time Hannah's attacks slowed down, Mrs. Clearlee was unrecognizable-- though the feeling of her heart weakly beating in her chest indicated that she was still alive. Though not fully aware of it, she had claimed victory. The other ladies of the Clearlee cohort, their own wits caving to the hunger-inducing stench of blood in the air, now looked to Hannah as their queen bee.

Hannah looked back to the table-- to Melly. She smelled her blood, heard her heartbeat. She was alive.

She could feel the hunger gnawing at her-- the magic that had been cast, the sheer potency of it that still hung in the air, had drained the reserves from every vampire in the room. But no-- Hannah couldn't take more form Melly. Her love. She'd already taken too much. And no matter her state, she'd be damned if she let any of the others here take any more from her.

Hopping back up on the table, she reached for Melly with blood-soaked hands, gently picking her up and pulling her close.

Safe. She'd keep her safe.

Her love.

----------

No more than an hour afterwards, a spinning golden portal appeared just outside of Mrs. Clearlee's house. Several figures emerged-- Doctor Strange and Viper from Melly's own dimension, along with three Spiders: Specs, Gwen, and Amari. Using caution, the group descended into the basement.

What they saw invoked the aura of a massacre; furniture that had been in the way of the earlier scuffle was torn and knocked aside, and it along with the floors had been smeared with blood. Mrs. Clearly lay unmoving in the midst of the stains. Hannah turned as the group entered the room, letting out a low growl-- the other vampires jolted to attention along with her. Minds drenched in hunger, the new arrivals were threats... but they had blood as well.

The Clearlee vampires were quick to act, lunging at the new arrivals. With webs and silver, however, each of them were bound, leaving only Hannah in the middle of the room. She'd only lunged to attack once one of the Spiders had gotten too close to her, though Viper took the opportunity to pull Melly out of harm's way. Sensing this, Hannah turned with a snarl, only to be met with silver bindings latching onto her from behind. She struggled against them as Viper carried Melly up the stairs, away from her, and even in her starved, enraged state, she found herself starting to cry as she tried to break free and follow.

Her rage, her anguish and confusion did not last long, fortunately. Soon after Melly vanished up the stairs, a golden halo of light crept up in the edges of Hannah's vision. Her body relaxed, ceasing their fight against the bonds, and her mind drifted off into the golden glow that filled her sight.

#melly | crimson weaver #hannah | albatross #spidersona #story #ooc: this was VERY good nix

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ask-spider-man-61610 · 9 months ago

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Congratulations, Morgan!!!

I'm proud of you. I mean, I always am, but now more than ever before. You're a courageous, heartfelt, brilliant person, this just makes that exceedingly clear. We're all lucky to know you.

If there's anything I can do to make the retirement process easier let me know. And if any supervillains unexpectedly come out of the woodwork, I'd be happy to take care of them so you don't have to…and by that same token, if you'd rather I don't do any superhero nonsense in your dimension anymore, say the word and I'll happily honor that. I imagine that'd be a helpful retirement aid too.

Moving on to the other topic: Happy Birthday!!! Twenty years old is a big one! I've got a gift for you--wrapped and everything. Let me know when I can come by and drop it off, alright?

happy 20th birthday to ME. uhmmmm big news

I'M RETIRING!!!!! 🗣️🗣️

as spiderling. for the foreseeable future. potentially forever!!

i've just been thinking, i started being spiderling when i was 13 fresh off the death of harry. that wasn't my fault, i didn't do anything to cause that other than like exist. it took me a really long time to figure that out though. but after that i decided i had to fix what i thought i'd done, i had these abilities that meant i had to use them, right?

so i went out and i helped tons of people and i'll never regret that, but i got myself hurt. a lot.

and then i met the cluster. which is another thing i'll always be thankful for. i absolutely love y'all, don't doubt this because of what i'm about to say. a lot of you were not the best role models for a 13 year old. this is just like a fact i'm NOT upset about it, i can easily recognize that we were all in uniquely weird and/or bad places, but also gang the first time most of us met was ALSO the first time i saw a dead body. but we all met and now you're my family and i know now that if i quit spider stuff entirely you'll still stick by me.

then mysterio happened. and listen there are things that occurred that stay between me, him, gd, and my therapist, beyond what y'all already know. but it fucked me up GOOD, and i still have a lot of problems discerning what around me is real or not.

then a WHOLE lot of other stuff happened and i got angrier and just. bad mentally. i never wanted to fight when i was angry, i still don't, i hate the lack of control and i hate acting like my dad. but i was spiderling i couldn't just not go out. because then the almighty vague "something bad" would happen. and so i'd go out and be reckless and get hurt worse and worse and i'd feel awful about it so OBVIOUSLY to make up for it i had to go out more.

OCD is not a logical disorder.

and things would get better for a bit, then worse, and the "betters" got less great and the "worses" got more extreme and it just get going and going until eventually i hit a point where i realized if i didn't quit i would probably get killed. but by now, patrol was a compulsion. i'd have full anxiety attacks if i didn't have my suit on me at all times. so quitting was much much harder than i thought it'd be.

but i hatched a plan last year, you love me and my plans, and took down my rouges in a way that i believe ensures they can't come back. all of them are big long stories that i WILL be telling but ideally later. and uh yeah. did it!

so i think, it's still hard to retire entirely. because there are good, great things about being spiderling, mostly the community and getting to help people in a way that really matters. so essentially, i'm on call. if there's a situation where you need extra hands and i feel capable of helping, i'll be there. but in 22701? zip, zilch, nada, i am done. i did my time.

i want to be there for fun things too! conventions, events, competitions, all that jazz.

but yeah, that's the spiel. happy 20th to meeeee can't wait until next year to see if i can get drunk

#Morgan | Spiderling #...that tag doesn't apply anymore. how about just #Morgan #yeah that's better #spidersona

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