#!!!!!!! when the moon slid over and the sun went dark i said WOW so loud it echoed

[wretchie]

3pm april 8, 2024

+ crescent shaped shadows on the path afterwards

[suntory-toki-senpai]

Eyes on Fire | Chapter 4

Excerpt:   “You’re not very good with small talk, are you?” I asked.            

 “No,” he responded. “But I do know I like being around you,” he replied. 

  I spent the next few weeks at the Tavern anxiously awaiting another message from the Fire Lord. I paced back and forth behind the counter balancing scrolls, making lists, and ordering supplies. I restlessly ran through the Tavern to check on customers, filling their drinks  and trying to make small talk. None of it could distract me from thinking about the Fire Lord’s message.

           “Sayuri, you are more anxious than usual. Is everything okay?” my grandfather asked, his voice filled with concern.

           “Yes,” I responded. “I just haven’t been sleeping well.”

           “Your aura is off. The duality in you is becoming unbalanced. You should see the Fire Sages for counsel.”

           “The Duality,” I repeated. “I will when things calm down here. I’ll talk with them.”

           “The sooner the better. It is important to keep your duality in balance.”

           I glanced over at Kira, who was sitting in the shop reading a book for one of her classes at the Royal Academy for Music. She was studying to be a music teacher and was currently working on a music history assignment.

           I went behind the bar to pour a second cup of ginseng tea for Kira and me and walked over to sit with her for a minute.

           “Hello, Sayuri. Kira,” an upbeat, familiar voice called out.

           I looked up from my tea to see an unwelcome visitor standing in the middle of the Tavern.

           “Seira Ito. What brings you into the shop today?” I asked annoyed.

           “Oh, I was just stopping by to see if this place was still standing. To my surprise, it is, and you’re still here,” she replied smugly. She pulled her left hand from her hip to reveal a ruby engagement ring gracing her finger. Ever since we were kids, she’d always had to be the best and the brightest, to the point where she would step on everyone else around her to get ahead. We were always neck and neck for the top spot in our shared fire bending classes, until I dropped out.

           “I just stopped by to tell you. I’m engaged! To a nobleman who lives in the Royal Capital! Can you believe it?” she gushed over her ring.

           Kira and I both looked at each other, unimpressed.

           “Wow, Seira. A member of the nobility! You sure are moving up in the world,” Kira said, with a tinge of sarcasm.

           “Yeah, I’m going to have servants and a maid. Ugh, I can’t wait!” she replied.

           Just as Seira opened her mouth to brag further, two guards appeared at the door to the Tavern and a member of the Royal Officials came in. My grandfather went up to greet the attendant.

           “Good afternoon,” he said, bowing, “To what do we owe the honor of a royal official in my humble Wandering Lotus?”

           “Lieutenant Mori, we are looking for your granddaughter, Sayuri Fujiwara. We have a Royal Message for her and her alone, under strict instructions from Fire Lord Zuko,” the official stated. My grandfather turned to me with a shocked expression on his face, while Kira grinned widely.

           “I’m Sayuri, sir,” I said, standing up to greet him. I took the scroll from his hand and opened it to see that it was the Fire Lord letting me know he was back home and inviting me for an official “date”.

           “Fire Lord Zuko also wanted me to ensure that you  received these,” the official explained, as he gestured to several attendants coming in with gifts. “For Lieutenant Mori, a porcelain teapot and fine teas from Ba Sing Se. For Tatsuo, a sake and wine set also from the Earth Nation. And finally, for Sayuri, a silk robe and dress.”

           The attendants unfolded the robe and the dress in front of me and I stood there, scroll in hand, my eyes wide, completely dumbfounded. My grandfather smacked my arm .

           “Oh, uh, thank you so much for presenting these beautiful gifts to my family and me,” I said, bowing. “Please send His Grace the Fire Lord my sincerest gratitude.”

           The attendants went back out into the carriage and the Royal Official followed after them. The gifts they left on the bar. Luckily, there was just one other person in the Tavern besides me, Kira, Seira, and my grandfather. I grabbed the silk robe out of its gift box to admire it. It was a fine black robe with red flower details and gold edging. The dress was plain black with gold trim.

           “Ugh!” I heard Seira storm out of the Tavern, looking like a boiled moon peach.

           “Don’t worry, Seira,” Kira commented. “I’m sure your noble betrothed can get you a nice pair of pants.”

           The day of my date came, and I hurried to finish the scrolls early and get home. Kira came over to help me with my hair and some light makeup.

           “Your hair has always been so beautiful, Sayuri,” Kira commented as she brushed.

           I took a good look in the mirror at my dark hair and dark amber eyes. I have my mother’s hair but my father’s features. His hair was jet black and my mother’s is a chocolate brown. The difference isn’t really noticeable, until I stand next to Kira, who looks like many other girls in the Fire Nation. Dark, jet black hair, sharp features, and light amber eyes. Kira pulled my hair into a half bun complete with jeweled hair tuinga she swiped from her mother’s vanity. I put on the black silk dress and Kira helped me adjust the collar. I turned toward the mirror and saw myself for the first time. Kira stood behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders.

           “Sayuri, you look like a beautiful princess worthy of the Fire Lord,” she said, proudly..

           “Thank you, Kira,” I replied. “I feel beautiful.”

           I turned to Kira to give her a hug when I heard a knock at the door. I peeked out into the hallway to see my grandfather welcoming  a royal attendant.

           “Good evening, sir,” my grandfather said. “Sayuri will be out shortly. Sayuri!”

           “This is it,” Kira remarked behind me. She followed me out to the doorway where I said goodbye to my grandfather.

           “Bye, Pop. I’ll be back soon,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

           “Sayuri, you look marvelous, my sweet dove,” he replied.

           Kira and my grandfather trailed behind me as I walked out the door of the house. Fire Lord Zuko stood there in full royal dress in front of a carriage. The three of us took to the ground in a kneeled bow. As I got up, I caught a glimpse of my neighbors pressing their faces to their windows and my other neighbors peeking through slightly opened doors.

           “Good evening, Your Highness. Thank you for coming to pick me up,” I said.

           “It’s my pleasure, Sayuri,” the young Fire Lord responded. He stepped to the side and opened the door to the carriage. I climbed inside and scooted over. I had never been in a carriage before. Especially a royal one. The Fire Lord climbed into the carriage and sat next to me, folding his hands neatly on his lap.

           “To the plaza,” the Fire Lord ordered.

           The carriage moved forward at his command. I pushed the sheer curtains covering the windows to the side to see that the sun had begun to set. The light had started becoming the bright orange and red that was  synonymous with Our Nation and people.

           “Where are you taking me, Highness?” I asked.

           “How long until you start calling me Zuko?” he replied.

           “Let’s see where this date goes, first.” I winked at him and he swiftly turned his head forward to hide the redness creeping across his face.

           We arrived at the main plaza of the city. It was filled with shops, restaurants, and a large outdoor market. I stepped out of the carriage with the help of an attendant and the Fire Lord followed behind me. The people in the marketplace stopped in their tracks and flew to the ground when they realized who had come out of the carriage.

           “Citizens of North Harbor City, please rise to your feet. I’m only here with my companion to tour this fine marketplace as a guest,” he said loudly.

           The people remained on the ground, terrified that his offer was a test of their faith in the Fire Lord’s command and power, rather than a true offer of goodwill. They were not easily fooled. One young boy stood up and grabbed a fig from a market stand and walked over to present it to the young Fire Lord.

           “Here, Your Highness,” he said. “My family has grown these figs for generations. They are the best in the city. It would be an honor to have you try them.”

           The Fire Lord took the fig from the young boy’s hand and held it for a moment before an attendant snatched it to test for harmful agents.

           “Thank you. What is your name?” he asked.

           “Lee, sir.”

           “Lee, a good name.”

           The attendant saw that the fig was good to eat and handed both of us a slice. I took a small bite and relished the sweetness of the fruit.

           “This fig is delicious,” I remarked.

           “Yes, it is,” the Fire Lord agreed.

           “See, I told you!” the young boy said.

           I laughed out loud. Slowly but surely, the people of the marketplace began to stand at ease. They realized Fire Lord Zuko did not want to destroy them but rather, wanted to be among them. The marketplace began to return to life, and we walked around and sampled many different kinds of delicious fruits, sweet treats, and fine foods. Many shop owners refused to take Fire Lord Zuko’s offer of payment. But even after fighting and losing with several people, I heard the young Fire Lord telling his attendant to write down the shopkeepers’ names to ensure payment later. After walking side by side for a while, we returned to the carriage.

           “To The Spot,” he ordered.

           “The Spot?” I asked.

           “Yes, I said this would be a tea date. But I would like some privacy.”

           A pang of nervousness shot through me as I tried to figure out what being “alone” with the Fire Lord meant. After a longer ride, we arrived at “The Spot” and Fire Lord Zuko got out first. I slid over on the seat to see his hand outstretched toward mine to help me get out of the carriage. His hand was warm compared to my notoriously cold hands.

           “Your hands are cold,” he remarked.

           “They always are,” I said.

           Attendants quickly began taking out cushions and other small supplies for a picnic-style date. I sat on the cushion and watched as the attendants set up a small pile of wood and a burner plate.

           “Please, leave us,” he ordered. The attendants bowed and left the area. The young Fire Lord began to prepare tea by shooting a small amount of fire on the wood pile, filling a kettle with water and grabbing a teapot out of the small picnic box. He pulled out another large metal dish set and some ceramic bowls.

           “I had some fire noodles made. I figured after the marketplace you wouldn’t be too hungry,” he said.    

           “You’d be wrong,” I thought to myself. “Thank you,” I responded aloud. I reached over to begin serving but he stopped my hands.

           “Please allow me,” he said softly. I pulled back my hands and watched as the Fire Lord served me a dish. I took a small slurp of the noodles. They were delicious. We ate our meal and sat with our tea for a long time, in silence.

           “You’re not very good with small talk, are you?” I asked.

           “No,” he responded. “But I do know I like being around you.”

           “Whew, that was smooth,” I thought.

“That’s a very nice compliment, thank you,” I said aloud. “How was your trip to Hira’a?”

           “Very eventful. I was able to retrieve something that was lost to me. It was a good trip,” he replied.

           “That’s wonderful, I’m glad to hear it.”

The young Fire Lord began to fidget with the edging on his robe. He looked like he was about to burst.  

           “My mother left us when I was young. I wasn’t sure what had happened to her until recently.”

           “I’m so sorry,” I said.

           “It’s okay. She’s back home. I’m very happy to have her next to me as we start fixing what my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather destroyed,” he said, with a half-smile forming on his face.

           “What’s she like?” I asked.

           “She’s the reason why I didn’t become like my father. She is kind and gentle but has always fiercely looked out for me…” he trailed off.

            “I’m glad the best parts of her are alive in you,” I said, gently reaching over to touch his hand. I moved my cushion closer to him. He moved closer, too.

           I gently moved my hand up to his face to pull it closer to me. I rested my hand on his cheek, careful not to touch his scar. I looked down and saw  his hands were balled into loose fists, as if he was unsure what to do with them. I glanced back up into his golden eyes and felt my heart leap into my throat. I moved my lips towards his, and as we kissed, my body felt like I had just swallowed an entire box of fizzling fire flakes. I pulled back for a moment but I wanted more, so I kissed him again. And again. And again. When we finally broke for air my head felt like a swirling puddle.

           “I’m sorry if that was too forward,” I said, blushing.

           “It wasn’t,” he replied. “I’ve wanted to do that the whole night.”

           I smiled.

           “I suppose I should get you home, though. I don’t want your grandfather to be upset with me,” he said.

           “I don’t think he can really be too upset with the Fire Lord,” I chuckled. Truthfully, I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want to leave his side. He called for his attendants and they began to pack up the picnic basket and cushions. Fire Lord Zuko ensured the fire was put out completely. We walked back to the carriage and he helped me get inside. Once he got inside, I made sure to sit as close to him as possible.

           “To Sayuri’s house, please,” he instructed. The carriage moved forward. I leaned over to rest my head on his arm, and he instinctively moved his arm around me, settling his hand at my waist. I closed my eyes to savor the moment. When we arrived in front of my house, neither of us wanted to move from our spot.

           “When can I see you again?” he asked.

           “Is tomorrow too soon?” I responded with a smirk.

           “I do have a few meetings tomorrow, but I can come by later in the evening. If that’s alright.”

           “That’s perfect.”

He slid over and opened the door of the carriage to get out and once again extended his hand to help me get down. Even after I had both of my feet on the ground, he held onto my hand a little longer than necessary. I grabbed a hold of the front of his robes and boosted myself on my tiptoes to kiss him again.      

           “Goodnight, Zuko,” I said.

           “Goodnight, Sayuri,” he responded.

I walked into my house as quietly as I could. Inside, I saw Kira and my grandfather sitting on one of the sofas.

          “How did it go?” my grandfather asked.

           “Good,” I responded.

           “When will you see him again?”

           “Maybe tomorrow,” I said.

            “Oh, good. The Hunk Lord awaits!” Kira said with a grin.

author’s note: this was BY far one of the most difficult chapters for me to write. I didn’t know how to actually write a kissing scene! ah! special kudos to my lovely editor M for helping me draw this scene out from my brain. She’s the bees knees. 😍

taglist: @imcravingyou​ @abuskinswarrior​ @sarahsaint​ @nats-the-geek​

[fanficshiddles]

Be mine, one shot

Thank you for the prompt. Hope you likey :-)

laramoonworld submitted:

Hey there, I was wondering if you could make a one shot about a sexy vampire!King Loki searching for his soulmate. If you could use my name (Lara) I won’t mind hehe😋, but that’s up to you, kisses 😘

Warning: Kindapping, dub con. Not too NSFW though.

King Loki was pacing back and fore on his balcony, looking out over his kingdom. He had been antsy of late, feeling like he had an itch that couldn’t be scratched.

The sun had been down for an hour now, the moon was high in the sky and illuminating over the houses below his castle. He could see the hustle and bustle of the village as it came to life.

Anyone arriving to the desolate village during the day would think it was a ghost town. That was because it was the home of vampires. And Loki was the King vampire.

He did his best to keep his people happy and sated. But it wasn’t always easy. Less and less people were coming near the city now, after hearing about all the weird and sudden deaths that were happening. His hunters were having to go further afield to find fresh blood.

But lately, the King had been feeling rather lonely. He was yet to find his soulmate, but the yearning had grown so much stronger in the previous months. There was an almost constant burning under his skin. He knew that meant she was nearer than she had ever been before. But it was finding her that was the issue…

There was a knock on his chambers that tore him from his thoughts. He spun around, his dark green cape flowing out behind him as he marched over to the doors and opened them.

‘My King.’ One of his servants bowed. ‘We are ready to leave on your command.’

‘Very well. Let’s go.’ Loki nodded.

Loki and some of his men were traveling to the nearest city, to see if there was any sighting of his soulmate. He had heard that there were possibly some new vampires there, so it was worth a look.

Mounting his horse, he took lead for the group of ten vampires and they set off. It was a few hours ride away, so they planned to take back as much food as possible. But also without causing too much alarm, they didn’t want to scare the entire city away. Since it was their largest and closest food source.

Loki’s trusty steed never let him down. While he often just flew to his destinations, he enjoyed being at one with his horse. And they needed the horses to pull the carts of food back. Hoping to get enough for the entire village.

They arrived not long past midnight, which would hopefully give them enough time to gather food and for Loki to find his soulmate. If she was here. But he knew she was, he could feel it in his bones.

He had his men go off to find suitable food while he rode through the city for an hour. He used his vampire senses to guide him, in turn guiding his horse to where he needed to be.

And then, finally, he found her. At the very edge of the city, in a park.

But to his horror, she was a human. But he knew that was just a slight hitch, it wouldn’t take much to change her.

Lara was out for her usual late-night stroll. She always went to the park to watch the bats. They always fascinated her for some reason.

Oddly, she heard the sound of hooves coming along the gravel towards her in the park. She looked over and saw a man riding a horse coming into view, out of the darkness and into light.

He was the most breathtakingly beautiful man she had ever seen.

Yet, she felt a hint of danger and a chill run down her spine. Something was telling her to run, to get away from him. But another part of her was oddly drawn to him.

The stranger halted his horse a few feet away from her, and he dismounted. He was wearing all black, with a really dark green cape. He had long black hair and the most beautiful green eyes. He was very pale, but had a lovely face. Like a model.

He grinned at her as he approached. God, he was so tall too. She had to crane her neck to look up at him. Wait, why wasn’t she running? A stranger in the dark, the middle of the night, in weird clothing. And here she was, just standing there like she was stunned.

There was something fluttering around inside of her. She couldn’t put her finger on it though.

Loki wanted to pounce on her there and then. To kiss her sweet looking lips. To bite her… Turn her. Sink his teeth and cock into her at the same time… He mentally slapped himself, getting himself under control. This wasn’t like him, he was the King and always in control of his urges.

‘I’ve finally found you.’ He purred, reaching out to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand.

She looked unsure at first, but her skin did tingle under his touch. Even though he was wearing leather gloves, it still felt really intimate.

‘F… found me?’

The smell of fear, yet curiosity, reached Loki’s nostrils. He stepped in closer and took her hand, bringing it up to his mouth he kissed the back of it and then he turned her hand around. He couldn’t help himself from pressing his nose to her wrist and in-haling deeply. Letting out a moan, he had to dampen his urges down quickly again. She smelled absolutely divine. His fangs were already starting to come out of their own accord, wanting to take a bite.

He coughed and kept his lips closed, not wanting her to see his fangs. Not until he had her.

‘Who… who are you?’ She asked, trying to take her hand back but she found he wasn’t letting go.

‘My name is King Loki. What is your name?’

‘L… Lara... King? Of where?’

Loki grinned wickedly and slid his other hand through her hair. ‘So beautiful…’ He murmured low, making her eyes widen and heart flutter. But she was still unsure and a bit scared. ‘You will see. I am taking you back home with me.’

‘Wh… WHAT?’ She suddenly realised what he’d said and her eyes widened.

Lara tried to pull away, but Loki’s grip was too strong. ‘What are you doing? Let go of me! This is ridiculous!’ She screeched and tried hitting him, but it was as if he was being hit with a soft toy, he didn’t even flinch when she put her full strength into it.

‘You are coming with me, because it is our destiny.’ Was all Loki said as he dragged her towards his horse.

When they reached the horse, he stopped and looked at her. His green eyes pierced into her own, though she was sure she saw them changing colour slightly for a moment when he licked his lips.

‘Are you going to behave and get on the horse with me, or are you going to make it difficult for yourself?’ He asked, his tone calm.

‘Why the hell would I willingly go with you!’ She snarled and tried pulling free again.

Loki simply sighed, and with a flick of his wrist there was rope wrapped around both of her wrists, binding them together. The other end of the rope was attached to his horses saddle. She watched in horror as he mounted his horse and squeezed him on into a slow walk. She quickly realised she had no option but to walk along behind the horse, unless she wanted to be dragged through the mud of the park, since he decided not to stick to the path.

Loki didn’t push the horse on at a quick pace, it was quite a slow one. He didn’t want his love to be dragged. Just wanted to show her that the easier option will be to ride with him. Soon, she would realise they were meant to be together. But until then, he couldn’t let her out of his sight.

They’d barely reached the other side of the park when she changed her mind.

‘Stop, please. I… I will ride with you.’ She said, her voice quiet. But Loki’s radar ears picked it up easily. And his heart soared at her change of heart.

He got off the horse and put his hand out towards her. ‘Come.’ His command was simple but firm.

She knew there was no way out of this. He was obviously not human, with some weird magic ability. She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out if he had a nasty streak in him, so thought it best to do what he said.

Putting her hand into his, the rope around her wrists vanished and she was suddenly lifted up onto the horse. Loki mounted again behind her. So he was able to clamp an arm around her, holding onto her firmly in-case she tried to get away.

The ride back was quiet, Lara didn’t know what to say or do. She didn’t dare do anything. Loki had sent a message to his people, telling them he would meet them back home. He didn’t want them to scare her anymore than she already was.

When they came to the top of the last hill, Loki’s village came into view with his magnificent castle looming over it.

‘Wow.’ Lara gasped at the beauty of the place.

‘Welcome to your new home.’ Loki whispered into her ear, making her shiver for some reason… In a good way, a way she didn’t understand. She was being kidnapped for crying out loud!

But she was starting to struggle to remember that. She had started to enjoy feeling Loki’s arm around her and his body against her back. When they rode through the village, everyone bowed to their King. Some looked ravenous when they looked at her. But she didn’t understand why, exactly.

On arrival at the castle, there was someone waiting to retrieve the horse for Loki. When he slid off, he helped Lara down too. She was in too much awe at the castle to even think about attempting to run.

So she simply followed Loki inside, looking around at the place. Before she knew it, he had taken her to his chambers.

Then it hit her again, the situation she was in.

‘What am I doing here?’ She asked bravely, trying not to show how scared she felt.

‘Oh, my dove. Don’t be scared.’ Loki said softly, cupping her cheek. She had gone to move away from his touch, but instead found herself leaning into it and closing her eyes. Feeling a weird comfort in it.

‘Why… why are you making me feel… weird.’ She asked, her lower lip shaking slightly.

‘You feel it too?’ Loki asked, his voice full of hope and happiness.

‘What?’ She opened her eyes and looked up into the Kings eyes.

‘You, are my soulmate. And I am going to make you my Queen.’ He whispered and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

‘Wait… What?’ She gasped and stepped backwards from him.

Loki chuckled and took off his cape and gloves. He then grinned widely, his teeth on show, including his fangs.

‘Oh my god. You’re a… the rumours, they’re true!’ She screeched and so wanted to run for the door, but her legs wouldn’t let her.

‘Yes, they are. But you need not fear me. Vampires have soulmates, they only have one love. I’ve been waiting three thousand years to meet you, Lara. My soulmate.’ He moved in close to her again, his eyes turning a darker shade of green as he gripped her arms.

‘Are you… going to kill me?’ She squeaked.

Loki’s eyebrows shot up and he actually looked genuinely hurt that she would think that.

‘No, I am not. You’re my soulmate, Lara. Why would I do that? You are safe with me, and I know you can feel it.’ He stroked her hair and then slid his hand down to her neck, his fingers landing on her pulse point.

He licked his lips, thinking about sinking his teeth into that lovely neck of hers.

‘But I will need to bite you… To change you.’ He growled low.

‘WHAT?’

‘Shhhh. It won’t hurt, I can make it pleasurable.’ He said seductively and moved in on her, flicking her hair out of the way he attacked her neck with kisses and licks, making her moan almost instantly.

His left hand slid down her arm and he gripped her wrist, holding her pulse point there. He could feel the blood rushing through her veins. Just a little taste is all he needed for the change.

‘Be mine, Lara.’ He growled against her neck.

Lara was torn. Her mind at a battle with itself. This was so wrong, but so right at the same time. She was kidnapped, by a vampire no less. Who wanted to suck her blood? To change her? How could she trust him. Yet, she felt like she was home. Like she could trust him. Was it the connection he was on about, soulmates?

Loki moved his hand from her wrist to her hip, then he slid it down her front and between her legs. She gasped when he pressed firmly against her centre, even through her clothing he could feel her heat.

And she gave in.

‘Do it.’ She whimpered.

That was all that Loki needed to hear as he sank his teeth into her neck.

[enkelimagnus]

A Winx Club Shadowhunters AU - Clizzy, Malec & others

Her name is Clary Fairchild, and she’s an entirely normal 19-year-old human girl.

Except she isn’t. That comes at a complete surprise just as she’s about to die a horrible death at the hands of a yellow ogre. That’s just what she gets for trying to save Isabelle, a fairy Princess from the planet Solaria.

Her life is changed forever as she embarks on a journey that will give her more than she could ever hope for.

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Event - On AO3

Amber Fairchild let her fingers trace over the black smudgy lines of her daughter’s charcoal drawing of a landscape of Gardenia. In particular, it was a drone-view of the area where the Fairchilds’ house was located.

Behind it, on the cork board, was pinned another charcoal drawing, these times of fairies. Amber could only see two but she knew there were 3. They were quite beautiful. Clary was getting better at facial expressions.

On the drawing desk were a couple of more sheets of paper. Two versions of the same castle, a fairytale-worthy structure, complete with thin flags flowing over the towers, from different views. And a portrait of a woman. The woman strangely looked like Clary. Like a family resemblance.

Amber wondered if Clary was drawing what she thought her birthparents looked like. Amber and William Fairchild had never hidden the fact that Clary was adopted from her. It had never seemed to be an issue for Clary, but maybe she was starting to want to know more.

That was knowledge that the Fairchilds didn’t have. William had found Clary in a house fire, eighteen years ago.

Clary had turned nineteen less than a week ago.

It was a bit of a shock, for Amber. Her baby was all grown up now. She was going to start her second year at the prestigious Gardenia Academy of Art in a couple of weeks, and she was growing into a fierce and wonderful young lady.

Amber stepped over the clothing and the books that were scattered over the floor. Clary was maybe an adult now, but she was still a messy teenager.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" Amber called, slightly louder than she usually would. "The sun’s been up for ages!"

The dog that they owned, a fawn-and-white one-year-old whippet named Kiko that was surprisingly human some days, was napping in his basket next to the bed.

Clary shifted in her bed, only her red hair visible in between her pillow and the duvet.

"Five more minutes, Mom," she grumbled and buried her face impossibly further into the pillow. Amber smiled widely and moved a little closer.

"You’re late, Clary!" She said softly, in a sing-song voice, right next to her daughter’s face.

There was a second-long beat, during which Clary put two and two together and suddenly she bolted out of bed. "FUCK!" She cursed loudly as she ran around the room. "How the fuck did I miss my alarm?"

Amber winced at the curses. Yes, they had allowed uncensored swearing to Clary on her 18th birthday, but that didn’t mean it was easy to get used to.

"It’s the first day of the school year, none of my things are ready, what the fuck was I thinki-" Clary stopped, one leg down her jeans and looked up.

"Hang on a sec," she said softly, before turning towards her mother. "YOU. That’s SO not funny," she grumbled.

Amber chuckled. School was not starting again before a couple of weeks. "You fell for it, didn’t you?" She crossed her arms.

Clary finished putting on her black croptop and ripped jeans, before falling bad onto the bed dramatically. "I don’t care. I’m going back to bed."

Amber sighed. "It’s 9am. Late enough."

Clary huffed and slid under her duvet again. Kiko jumped onto the bed and snuggled against her.

Amber looked at her softly. "You should try going to bed earlier, you know. You were up really late last night." William and her had gone to bed relatively late, and they had seen the light under the door of her bedroom.

"I was reading..." Clary sighed.

Amber grabbed the book she was pointing at from the floor. The cover had a fairy on it, just like Clary’s drawings. She sighed. This was a little more mature and scientific, if there was such thing as the scientific study of fairies.

""Fairies: Myth or Reality?"" She read out, and huffed. "Urgh, don’t you ever get tired of these silly things?" She asked softly.

Clary shook her head. "I don’t. I like them."

Amber nodded. "Alright then. Who am I to call them silly if you care about them so much?"

Clary sat up on her bed. With her messy hair and her tired look, she still looked like a child to Amber. Her smile was still as contagious.

"Thanks, Mom," she said softly.

Amber waved it off. "Oh, It’s nothing, darling. Now, come get coffee."

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

Since she’d woken up early, Clary guessed she got to be doing some stuff. She’d decided to take Kiko on a trip to the park. The park allowed for dogs to be unleashed, as long as people were careful.

It was Clary and Kiko’s favorite place to go. Usually, Clary would run around and play for a while, before sitting down by her favorite tree and drawing while Kiko either went to run around or laid by her feet.

Clary rode her bike, with Kiko secured in a basket, to the park, where she settled at her usual spot. She put her back against the tree and grabbed Kiko’s toy.

After a few rounds of throwing and running and playing, she decided to sit down. Kiko still seemed to have a bunch of energy so she let him go play."Go on Kiko, but stick around, alright?" She called.

She sat down on the grass and grabbed her sketchpad. She barely had time to get drawing that Kiko came back, howling, absolutely terrified.

"What’s the matter Kiko?" Clary asked, gently patting the terrified animal. She stood up, looking towards the part of the park Kiko had come running from.

It was a deeper, wilder part, where people went a little more rarely. She swallowed and stepped forward, grabbing the pepper spray from her bag and walking into the bushes.

Kiko followed, whining at her feet, almost trying to tell her not to come. Clary stopped next to a clearing, as strange noises were coming from it.

From behind the tree, Clary saw something that she couldn’t really explain.

It was a woman. More exactly, it was the most beautiful woman Clary had ever seen. Her tan skin radiated with a glow that definitely couldn’t come from only body glitter. Clary swallowed. She wore shorts and a one-shoulder crop top, made of a glittery golden orange material, that hugged her curves perfectly. She had matching heeled boots. Her dark hair was parted into two low pigtails, held with golden orange bands.

Clary’s eyes opened wider. From the woman’s shoulder blades sprouted translucent blue wings. They were delicate and beautiful, glittering gently with every motion of her body.

She was fighting, kicking at strange monsters. She had a cyan-blue scepter with a sun-shaped circle at the top, in her left hand, and Clary focused on that rather than the rest of the seriously wrong things happening in front of her.  

"Rising Sun!" The woman shouted, and a blast of blinding golden light erupted from her right hand, sending one of the monsters tumbling down, screaming in pain, before it quickly disappeared in a pile of ash.

"Wow!" Clary heard herself say. She could feel the power that came from the woman. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. "Goodness, did you see that Kiko?" The dog was hiding, trembling, behind a log.

"Solar Wind!" This time, the wave of light was more diffuse, but it still was successful in burning away a number of the small monsters. It was... it was like the woman was doing spells. That and the wings... Clary felt a headache forming between her temples.

“I am warning you," the woman spoke out. Her voice was calmer than Clary’s would have been in the same situation. "Leave this realm now or you will feel the magical wrath of the Sun and Moon fairy!"

The yellow monster erupted in a loud laugh, that turned into an animalistic snarl, and then it charged. It started running, full speed, towards the relatively small - if unnaturally powerful - woman.

She put up a fight, but was violently shoved backwards. Clary saw her fly over a short distance and land painfully on the grassy ground.

"Oh my god!" Clary exclaimed.

The woman wasn’t getting up. She was laying very close to where Clary was still hidden, and she wasn’t getting up. She was trying, but the painful landing had cut off her breath and she was struggling to regain it.

"Your time is up fairy!" The monster shouted. It turned to the smaller monsters, red, ant-like creatures. "Take the scepter! Give me that scepter!"

The small creatures pounced. Clary almost screamed as they attacked the woman on the ground, holding her down and prying open her fingers to get the scepter out of her hand.

They ended up managing to get it from her when they used their paws to block out her eyes and mouth, keeping her from breathing and seeing. She instinctively let go of the scepter, and the monsters took advantage of that.

The yellow monster smirked as the scepter was given to him. "Not so strong now, are you?" He growled, and moved, aiming towards the fallen woman with the scepter.

Clary moved without thinking. She ran out from the trees and stood in front of the woman, standing tall and looking at the monster with a hiss. "Let her go!"

The monster raised its eyebrows. Yes, it had eyebrows. What the fuck?

"Get her!" It roared.

She saw the monsters coming at her. She felt the flame inside of her. It built from her heart to her fingertips, burning, pulsing, wanting to get out. And it did. She felt the flame leave her skin and radiate around her, and the monsters died as they touched it.

She blinked, her fingers tingling. One of the remaining monsters grabbed Kiko’s tail, making him yelp loudly. "Hands off Kiko!" Clary grabbed a branch and beat it off of him.

Well. She wasn’t that bad at self-defense.

A giant yellow hand wrapped around her wrists, pinning both of them in one crushing grip. She groaned loudly in pain and tried to get away.

She felt it again. With the pain crushing her wrists, came also the flame. It burnt again, from her heart onwards. She closed her eyes and felt it escape her body again.

The monster screamed in agony. Clary pried her eyes open, only to be blinded by a too-bright ray of light. She closed them again, but small light spots still danced behind her eyelids.

"Hey, that was... powerful," the woman said.

Clary opened her eyes again, and her vision was back to normal. She could already feel she would have a headache, and she felt absolutely exhausted, but she could see alright.

The woman, with her dark hair, her wings and her orange glittery clothing, was staring at her with awe. She had dark eyes that held a bright spark, her lips were painted red, and it looked like she’d sacrificed at least a dozen children to some dark deities for her beauty.

She walked closer to Clary and held out her hand, helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?" She asked softly. Her voice was even nicer when she wasn’t yelling.

Even if she was standing in shadows now, she was still glowing.  The Sun and Moon Fairy . If that was true, the glowing would make sense.

"Yeah..." Clary managed to reply, mouth hanging open, trying to  wrap her head around the situation. A stunning woman with wings, who referred to herself as a fairy, was holding her hand like it was something precious, after Clary had protected her from a monster.

Said monster got up from the ground then. The woman - the fairy - turned around. She planted her feet into the ground. "You want the scepter? Come and get it!" She taunted. A burst of golden light caught the monster square in the chest, sending him flying back.

Clary was about to shout at her to watch out for the remaining of the ant-like monsters but the woman was already moving. She snarled with effort, the entire scepter and her hands lighting up with the same gold light that seemed to envelop all her spells.

She jumped, a powerful, unnatural leap aided with her wings’ flying ability, twirled the scepter over her head at lightning speed and suddenly cut through the air.

All around her, following the path of the scepter, light erupted and monsters turned to ash.

She twirled the scepter one more time in her hands, this time more for a flourish, before winking at Clary. Clary swallowed.

"We will meet again, fairy!" The yellow beast warned, before disappearing in a beam of purple light.

A heaviness that Clary had not realized was in the air lifted with the creatures departure.

"Thank goodness," the woman exclaimed. She seemed genuinely relieved, even if she had demonstrated quite the abilities. "They’re gone at last!"

Clary was about to reply, ask questions, do something, but the woman faltered. She crumbled to the ground, and let go of the scepter.

Clary rushed to her side. "Hey are you alright?" She called out.

There was no reply. A bright light enveloped the woman’s unmoving body, and in the blink of an eye, her wings, her costume, and her pigtails were gone. Gone too was the glow that had seemed to radiate from her.

Her boots had changed to less practical heeled sandals, her crop top had changed shapes, with added cyan blue accessories and strings that wrapped around her waist. The shorts she’d been wearing became a skirt, long and flowing, with the same blue strings holding it to her waist.

The bands holding her hair parted were gone, it flowed free against the ground, and on her head rested something Clary recognized as a tiara, a cyan blue headband-like tiara that also had a sun-shaped circle at the back of her head, in the same shape as the top of the scepter.

Panicked, Clary looked around and realized the scepter was gone.

Fuck. She needed to call her parents.

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

Clary stared at the shredded pant leg of her jeans, toying with the straw in her lemonade glass. She hadn’t realized that the creatures had ruined it before she’d been home, with the woman laying on her bed, asleep.

She could hear her mom and dad’s hushed whispers. They were standing in the kitchen, and the kitchen was only a few feet away. They weren’t exactly stealthy.

"Clary," her father started, turning to her and speaking a bit louder. "I’m not sure I understand. Could you run that by me again?"

She sighed deeply, looking up at him and leaning back in her chair. "It’s not complicated. Kiko and I were in the park. He got spooked so I went to see what was going on. She was there, fighting creatures. They called her a fairy. She called herself a fairy."

William sighed. Clary loved her dad, but she knew he was a skeptic when it came to these things. Neither Amber nor William really believed in the supernatural, magical things that Clary believed in.

Clary was very different from her parents. Physically of course, since she was adopted. They were both brunettes, and there weren’t a redhead in their family. Her face was different, her stature was different.

But in their beliefs too. Clary had always like the idea that there was more to the world that the things she could see. She believed in magic, and in the things that went bump in the night.

"Hmm, I see," William mumbled.

"You believe me then?" Clary asked, even if she honestly had little hope that he did.

"No, I don’t! I think we should call the police and take this girl to a hospital."

It was a sensible offer but Clary opened her mouth to refuse. She didn’t have time to.

At that moment, a voice resounded in the room. "No, no please. Don’t tell anyone."

The woman - the fairy - was standing in the doorway to the bedrooms corridor. She looked a bit pale, but perfectly alright. She was still incredibly beautiful.

Amber immediately stood up straighter and walked to her. "How do you feel dear?" She asked softly. She guided her to sit down on the couch. The four of them all moved to the living room.

The fairy sat gracefully, at the age of the couch, back straight and ankles crossed elegantly.

"I’m all right," she said softly to Amber. She then turned to Clary. "Thank you for helping me out."

Clary shook her head. "Why else could I have done? Leave you passed out in the middle of the park?"

The fairy smiled gracefully. "Still. You were very kind to bring me to your home." She looked regal sitting there, in her fancy clothing and the tiara that she still wore. She was silent and elegant.

"I’m Clary," Clary said softly. "Clary Fairchild. And these are my parents. Amber and William Fairchild."

The woman nodded. "It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Isabelle. My friends call me Izzy." There was more to that, but Clary waved it away. They were strangers, after all.

"Can we drive you somewhere, Izzy?" William asked.

Clary almost glared at him. She could feel in his tone that he wanted Izzy out of their home as fast as possible. Now that she looked alright and awake, there was no reason for her to stay longer, right?

Izzy had a small chuckle. "That would be difficult. I come from a place that’s a bit far from here."

"Fairyland?" William huffed.

Izzy raised a perfectly styled eyebrow in his direction. "There’s no such thing. Maybe the Legendarium World would qualify, but that’s only where the Ancestral Fairies came from, not where they reside. I am from Solaria. Not Fairyland." Her voice was cold.

William opened his mouth and closed it right after. Clary’s head felt like it was spinning. She’d read nothing about the Ancestral Fairies or the Legendarium World. She’d never even heard of those before, in all her research about fairies.

"But you’re a fairy, right?"

Izzy turned to her and nodded, smile coming back to her lips. "I am. The Fairy of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars. One day, I will be the Guardian Fairy of my Kingdom, Solaria."

So Guardian Fairies were a thing. Alright, that was something that Clary understood.

"How did you end up on Earth?" Clary asked curiously.

"I was trying to get to Alfea castle in the realm of Magix... It’s one of the magical dimensions, and Alfea is the College for Fairies. It’s the best school out there for fairies."

Clary could almost physically feel the skepticism and annoyance coming from behind her but sighed.

"Those creatures attacked me and I was forced to land here, on your planet," Izzy continued, before she turned to Amber and William. "Your daughter saved my life. I had never seen instinctive magic quite like that."

Clary shook her head. "I... I don’t know what happened. It all went so fast and the flame..."

"It was similar to the fire magic I’ve seen before," Izzy pointed out. "And you don’t actually need to know how. Instinctive magic exists in all of us magical beings, may we be Fairies or not."

William sighed and looked at both Clary and Izzy. "I don’t... I don’t understand what’s going on."

Amber shook her head. "I don’t understand either. But this..."

"It could be some sort of scheme. Acting."

Izzy stood up gracefully. She slid the blue ring she was wearing off of her finger, and it suddenly changed shapes. She was now holding the scepter that the monsters had been trying so hard to get.

Clary exhaled. Now she didn’t have to break it to her than she had lost her precious scepter.

Izzy planted the scepter firmly in front of her and put her two hands on it, one above the other. She closed her eyes for a moment.

Amber gasped as a bright ball of light came out of the sun-shaped circle at the top of the scepter. It danced around the living room, moving between the four of them with elegance, following motions of Izzy’s fingers.

"Can you believe me now?" She asked softly.

Amber looked over at her. "I think I do."

William stayed silent.

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

Clary sat down heavily on her bed. It felt like so much had happened since she’d left it, this every morning.

Now, there was a fairy in her bedroom. She wasn’t as tall as Clary would have imagined a fairy would be. Actually, Clary and her were about the same height. The fairy was maybe a bit smaller even, was she to take off her heels.

Said fairy, Izzy, was currently looking around Clary’s room. She was especially focused on the drawing table and the drawings that Clary had pinned on the corkboard. She reached up and gently touched the one with the fairies.

“Did you draw these?" She asked, tone curious, as she turned around and looked at Clary. Her eyes were shining.

"Yes. I’m an art student.”

“That’s amazing! And so are those drawings!” Izzy exclaimed. There was a hint of black from the charcoal on her fingertips as she pulled her hand back. “I’m a student too. Guardian fairy curriculum, at Alfea College for Fairies.”

Clary raised an eyebrow. “So there are classes on how to be a fairy?”

“Not exactly?” Izzy hummed. “You take classes to learn how to harness all of your power and make sure you’re using your magic correctly. That’s the gist of most fairy programs in the magical dimensions, but Alfea has a special Guardian Fairy program. You learn how to care for your realms, your planets… And you get pushed to reach the ultimate fairy form that Guardian Fairies have to have. The Enchantix.”

Clary chuckled. “You’re speaking Chinese.”

“I’m not. I’m speaking Earth English,” Izzy raised an eyebrow.

“I meant, I don’t really understand what you’re saying. This is so new to me. Real fairies seem very much entirely different from what we learn about fairies on Earth.”

Izzy hummed, walking over to the book about fairies that Clary had been reading the night before. She picked it up and flipped it open, looking through some random pages.

"Is your world like that?" Clary asked softly. “Do they have some things right?”

The woman seemed to hesitate a little. “They have a few things right. But it’s not as pretty as in this book. Not as perfect. There are issues, like in every other world, every other society. And not every fairy is sweet and perfect. Fairies may use white magic, maybe, but not all fairies are good.”

Clary nodded a little, sighing. “I guess… Yeah. It’s just weird. To think that, this morning, I mostly thought it was a fairytale, a story.”

Izzy smiled softly, looking at her. “And now, there’s a real life fairy in front of you?”

Clary sighed. “And I might be one.”

“Your power sure felt like fairy magic to me. I mean, I’m not a professional, far from it. I did just spend a year at a school full of them though. And grew up around a couple. The King and Queen of Solaria made sure I had only fairy tutors.”

Clary huffed, standing up and going to tidy some things. “The King and Queen had something to say in your education? Damn.”

“The King and Queen of Solaria are my parents.”

Clary turned around and stared at the other woman. So that explained the regal manners, the perfectly polished behavior and the way she spoke. It wasn’t just what fairies were like, it was what a fairy princess was like.

“You’re a princess, too?”

Izzy chuckled. She stood up straighter, taking the ring off of her finger again and looking at Clary. She took a complicated bow, using the scepter for balance, her dark hair flowing over her shoulders. She looked up at her and smiled.

“Princess Isabelle of Solaria, Princess of the Sun and the Moon, and Fairy of the Sun and the Moon. One day, surely, Guardian Fairy of the Kingdom of Solaria,” she introduced herself.

Clary couldn’t help but stare at her. It was… so much. There was a fairy princess in her bedroom, and she was absolutely beautiful. And sweet.

“And you, my dear,” Izzy said walking towards her and gently cupping her cheek. “might just be the Fairy of Fire.”

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

The grass under Clary’s feet felt unnaturally soft. She guessed it was all unnatural, since they were in what Izzy called a bottomless postcard. Clary looked up. There was a rectangle in the sky, an opening, through which she could see the ceiling of her bedroom.

They stood in what looked, felt and seemed like a normal clearing in the some cartoonishly perfect woods. The trees looked like they had been drawn from the dreams of a ten-year-old, and the birds were singing. The rays of sun on Clary’s skin were so bright and defined that they seemed solid.

In front of her, Izzy had her eyes closed, her head tilted back slightly as she let the sunbeam fall on her features. Her skin was golden then, smooth and perfect. Everything seemed smooth and perfect.

Clary wondered whether it was the fact that it was a postcard that made it like this, almost unreal. Maybe it was just how it was in this magic world.

Izzy re-opened her eyes and for a moment, they shimmered gold, the sunray catching directly in them and transforming the darkness of her iris into light.

“So this is Alfea Castle,” Izzy exclaimed. Clary stopped staring at her and looked over where Izzy was pointing. They were close to it.

It was niched in the forest and felt like a safe haven from the world. Nothing imperfect could happen here, she was sure of it. While the roof was blue and almost blended in with the sky, the walls of the castle were a soft pink with purple accents. It reminded her a bit of cotton candy. But elegant cotton candy.

The buildings had a roundness to them that reminded Clary of the ones she would draw as a child. The whole area felt like taking a step back into her childhood, revising the perfect world that she had imagined fairies lived in. She hadn’t been so wrong, after all.

There were tall windows and balconies over the upper levels of the building. “Do people live there?”

Izzy nodded. “It’s a boarding school. Up to six people can share an apartment, itself divided in rooms. Royalty, like me, usually get solo rooms. You’d be getting a room with a roommate probably. “

Clary didn’t know if she would mind. As long as the other girl wasn’t weird with her because Clary was gay, she would love to share a room with someone and live out some sort of collegial dream that her proximity with her school in Gardenia didn’t allow her. Even if she loved the fact that she didn’t have to pay to live at her parents’. Thinking of Gardenia…

“What about my school in Gardenia? I would waste so much money dropping out of there and coming here… It’s free right?”

Izzy shrugged. “For someone like you? Absolutely. We royals pay entrance fees and donate money so others, with less money, can have it for free. It’s also considered a good deed, and charity is a very important value, especially in the fairy world.”

Clary opened her mouth and tried to think of something to say, but all of what was playing in her head was the stupidities and cruel words that politicians said on tv. About not wanting to pay so others can have access to the same things as them, especially things like healthcare or education.

Maybe some of those people existed in this world, but they seemed to be enough of a minority that prestigious schools like Alfea didn’t work with their model.

“I’m sure you’d like it here," Izzy grinned.

“I don’t know… I have to talk about it with my parents. It’s a big change.”

The idea of letting go of her spot at the Gardenia Academy of Arts, the idea of leaving Gardenia behind, leaving the future she had envisioned behind and diving head first into this new world and this new life terrified her.

She could feel a pull in her heart, a feeling that, if she did not take the chance, she would throw away the chance to follow her fated path. But was it strong enough to counteract the rational concerns about money and future?

“Listen, you have a night to think about it. Talk with your parents, think a bunch. When I’m leaving tomorrow, I can take you with me. But after that… I have no idea when you’d meet another fairy able to get you here…” Izzy said softly. “Though I would probably come back for you.”

Clary opened wide eyes at that. “Really?” She whispered and some kind of weird hope and warmth filled her chest.

Izzy nodded, looking at her softly. “Really. There is something about you… I feel like our paths have crossed for a reason. I was destined to crash on Earth, be saved by you, and bring magic into your life. I can’t explain it.”

Clary didn’t know if she could believe her. Izzy was wonderful and beautiful and almost unreal. What if Clary was just hallucinating this? What if this was just a dream?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Izzy taking her hand in hers. Clary looked down at their two hands joined, her skin looking absolutely white next to Izzy’s darker tone.

“Let’s get out of there, alright?” Izzy asked.

Clary nodded.

“All you gotta do is jump up!” Izzy explained and looked up at the opening in the sky. She looked over at Clary for a moment. Clary nodded at her again. They counted to three and jumped.

Clary could feel herself pulled upwards, and it was a bit uncomfortable, but very quick. It passed easily. She shook her head as she resurfaced in her bedroom, struggling a little to adapt.

She didn’t have much time to do the adjustments however, because a few seconds after they had come back from the postcard, there was a loud crash, coming from downstairs. It was followed by a great snarl.

Izzy’s eyes opened wide at that and she turned to Clary. They rushed downstairs immediately.

It was chaos. The small red ant-like monsters were back, and Clary could see the massive back of the yellow creature. There was another one with them this time, it was blue and it was snarling the loudest. They were making quick work of destroying the living room

"Those girls must be around here somewhere," the yellow one growled.

Before he could ask Amber and William where they were, Clary and Izzy came up behind them. There was a fire in Izzy’s eyes that Clary hadn’t really seen before. She’d already been tired when they’d met in the midst of battle.

"We’re right behind you!" Izzy called out. The yellow monster growled in confusion and Izzy smirked. “Let’s end this, shall we?"

Before Clary could say anything, Izzy was standing in front of her, feet planted wide. “Solaria!” She shouted, and a beam of bright light surrounded her in a blinding pocket of light. Clary lost sight of her, but only for a second. Almost immediately, rays erupted from the light cocoon, and the cocoon exploded.

Gone were the royal garments and the tiara, and back were the fairy wings. She wore the same outfit Clary had seen on her in the park, orange cropped top with only one shoulder, short shorts of the same sparkling orange material, and knee high boots. Her hair had magically been divided into two pigtails held by orange tube ties, and Clary felt the power radiating from her. Her first impression hadn’t been mistaken. In her fairy form, Izzy was glowing.

Clary gasped as Izzy immediately flew forward, kicking the blue monster in the chest. She had the time to notice nipple rings on this one. What was THAT about? Clary decided not to focus on the possibly kinkiness of the enormous blue monster that was destroying her home.

"What’s the use of you?” The yellow beast snarled at the blue one. “You got beat by a cutesy fairy!"

Izzy landed on her feet and raised an eyebrow. “Of course he did. But... I’m no ordinary fairy,” she chuckled. “I’m the Princess of Solaria!”

She turned to Clary. “Clary, we’re outnumbered. We’re gonna have to split them up."

Without thinking, Clary nodded. “Alright, I have an idea. I’ll take care of the red ones."

She was running entirely on automatism. She shot a quick glance at Amber and William, nodding at them reassuringly, before she started running out of the house. She ran through the corridor and the kitchen, slammed the door open and ran outside. She shut the door back once she was there, keeping the red creatures outside.

Once there, she froze. “Fuck.” She had no idea what to do.

By her side, Kiko was barking and shaking, in a mix of wanting to protect her and being absolutely terrified. She definitely could relate to that feeling. She wanted to protect her home and her parents, but now she was outside, alone, with four little red monsters that could maybe possibly kill her. She wasn’t exactly comfortable.

She got into position to try and summon the magical flame that she’d felt in the park. She took a deep breath. “Come on, Clary,” she whispered. “You can-”

She didn’t have time to finish her sentence. Out of thin air, the yellow monster had appeared and had crashed down on the red monsters, killing them instantly. The yellow creature itself looked pretty damaged.

Well. Izzy sure knew how to command respect.

Right as she was thinking that, there was a loud crashing noise and Izzy came flying through the glass window. She landed on the ground and groaned loudly.

“Izzy!" Clary exclaimed, running to help her get up. She didn’t look in that good of a state. Her previously so smooth and perfect skin was littered with small cuts from the glass, and she could see a couple of pieces sticking out of some slightly deeper wounds. She was bleeding. There were cuts in her wings too, shredding the delicate membranes.

"Don’t worry,” Izzy smiled a little, but you could see it was painful. “I’ve called the Specialists."

The what now? "Who?"

Izzy didn’t reply. Whoever the Specialists were, Clary sure hoped that they were coming soon. The blue monster - that she’d heard referred to as a troll - was now coming out of the main door. Coming through might be more appropriate, as the beast just forced its way through the wood.

It walked, slowly, and all Clary could do was watch. Izzy seemed weaker even than at the park, and she almost couldn’t sit up. There was no hope. They were going to die in there, because there was no way that people from another dimension would show up THAT fast.

Clary closed her eyes and held Izzy’s hand as the creature loomed over them. “I love you, mom and dad.” She whispered, even if she knew they couldn’t hear her. They’d fled through the back of the house.

She smelled the troll’s nauseating breath on her. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. She was only 19. She couldn’t even summon the little bits of power she had. She waited for death.

Death didn’t come. There was a loud crack, the crack of a whip, and the troll snarled.

Clary opened her eyes. A thick black cable was wrapped around the troll’s neck, pulling it backwards. She took in a ragged breath, eyes following the cable to where four men were standing.

The one holding the whip had blond hair that flopped over his face. He wore a… bodysuit? With a cape? And very tight, at that. Clary put the outfit in the “WTF - will revisit later and demand an explanation” folder of her brain that was growing fuller by the second, at this point.

"Guys, I’m ready,” one of the other men said. This one had short dark hair and glasses. So there were magical creatures with vision issues. Okay. Good to know, she guessed.

The one in between whip-guy and glasses-guy had dark hair, a bit of a frown and was very tall. Taller by a few inches than the three other men for sure. "Alright, let’s take him to jail where he belongs." He called out. He seemed to be the leader of the group.

Whip guy huffed. "What’s the rush? Don’t you want to have a little bit of fun first?"

Clary almost yelled at him that Izzy was on the floor bleeding and that if they could remove the death threat from their vicinity, that would be great.

The fourth man, who was the only one not to be wearing the tight bodysuit and cape combo, sighed. He was holding a long black staff, leaning against it and waiting. His clothing was just as… unusual as the others’. He wore a purple turtle neck dress-like garment with elbow-length sleeves, decorated with yellow stripes, split open on both sides below the waist, and held at the waist tightly with a red sash. His pants were of the same purple color.

"I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you. After all, this is only your first mission,” he pointed out.

Just as he was saying that, the troll tugged on the whip, sending the one who was holding it flying towards him. Whip-guy let go of the whip then, and landed right next to Clary and Izzy.

The purple-wearing man sighed. "I rest my case."

Clary watched helplessly still as the troll turned to the remaining three and started attacking. The edge of the staff purple-guy was wielding turned into a blade as he switched hands. Now holding the staff-blade in his left hand, he used his right hand to perform a complicated motion. A dark, smokey ball of energy seemed to erupt from his palm and crashed into the ground.

The ground opened up then, and the troll stumbled, letting up his attacks on the others. Its ankle caught in the crack and it howled. The glasses-wearing man jumped into action, closing manacles onto its fists.

“Well done, but it’s not over yet!” The dark-haired leader spoke out.

The red monsters that had been kept had bay by the Specialists were now turning towards Clary, Izzy, and the man next to them. The blond man huffed and got up. He looked dirty and tired and turned to them and sent them a wink.

"I’ll protect you, ladies."

Clary would have spoken up, but she was terrified, and didn’t understand a thing of what was going on, so she stayed silent. He took a strange object, and activated it. A fuschia saber blade appeared, and with that, he started fighting.

Clary didn’t know where to look, but she was pulled back to the situation when she felt fingers intertwining with hers.

“Clary,” Izzy whispered. “We have to use magic on the yellow monster.”

“But… you’re injured and I can’t…”

Izzy shook her head. “Help me up.”

Clary slid a hand around Izzy’s waist and helped her to her feet. The fairy turned to her, looking at her with a firm, stern look. “Magic is often linked to emotion. We need to help the Specialists, or the monsters will kill us, and also your parents.”

Clary opened wide eyes.

"Strong feelings such as fear have summoned up the wonderful powers that are in you once before,” Izzy said, in a hushed whisper. “They were always there, you just didn’t know it. It’s just a question of concentration. With your energy you can do anything.”

“But I can’t, I’ve tried and I can’t…”

“Believe it,” Izzy whispered. “Believe you can produce just one burst… You must.”

Clary closed her eyes. She wanted to believe that she could. She didn’t know about being a fairy yet, but she hadn’t imagined what had happened at the park. If she could do it once, she could do it again.

She felt it. The flame. The built-up was slower and smaller than it had been at the park, it had been a sudden burst of energy. Here, she had to work for it. So she did. She took the spark and pulled. She called it to her.

And just when the yellow monster punched the whip-guy out of the way, the flame appeared in between her hands. Izzy grinned next to her. “Now throw it!”

Clary didn’t know what she meant by that so she just did the motion. She kept the ball of energy, pulled her hands up and threw it, as if she was throwing one of those basketballs in high school P.E..

Izzy had thrown hers at the same time, and they both caught the monster square in the back. It howled in pain and crashed on the ground.

“I told you, you could do it!” Izzy grinned. “I’m so proud of you!”

Clary looked down at her hands. She could still feel it, like a phantom caress on her finger tips, a light tingle. "Wow. Then I’m really a fairy,” she whispered out loud.

"Of course you are, I’m never wrong,” Izzy chuckled. It was a bit of a strange sight, her smile and her cheerfulness, with light drops of blood rolling down her cheek from the cuts.

The Specialists gathered around the weakened yellow creature as it painfully stood up. It seemed to realize that it was cornered as it swore loudly and looked around itself. They didn’t have time to grab it. It clapped its hands a couple of time and bright purple light engulfed it. Once it had dissipated, the creature was gone.

Clary exhaled. Izzy’s knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

“Izzy!” One of the men called out and came running to her. It was the dark-haired, tall and serious one. He easily slid his arms around her and pulled her up to his chest, carrying her bridal-style.

“Alec, I’m fine,” Izzy mumbled.

“You’re not. You’re bleeding and your wings are shredded. We have a medic pod in the ship, you’ll need it.”

Clary watched the scene, a bit perplexed. The purple-wearing man came up to her and smiled. “Are you alright there?”

Clary crossed her arms. She felt exhausted. “I’m… fine. Just tired. Where is he taking her?”

“To our ship. You can come with us, if you want.” The man was Asian, had dark brown eyes, golden skin and dark hair.

Clary nodded. “Sure.”

He smiled. “Alright. By the way, I’m Magnus. We didn’t have time for introductions earlier.”

Clary smiled back a little. “Clary. Clary Fray. I… Is Izzy going to be okay? She was really banged up.”

Magnus nodded. “Don’t worry about her. Even if the medic pod can’t fix her entirely, we can bring her back to the Red Fountain to take care of her. Besides, Alexander will do everything possible to make sure she’s alright.”

Clary guessed Alexander was the dark-haired man that had ran to her immediately. “Are they…”

Magnus laughed. “Oh Gods no. Alexander is Isabelle’s brother. Crown Prince Alexander of Solaria, to be exact. And, Alexander well…” He had a little smirk. “He’s taken.” Magnus sent a look at the man. It was both soft and somewhat possessive and Clary let out a small “oooh”.

Magnus nodded. “Exactly. Now, let’s get you fixed up too, you look exhausted. And I’ll introduce you to Jace and Simon.”

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

The ship was… not what Clary had expected. After the whimsical aspects of Alfea castle, she guessed she had imagined it less modern. It was shaped like a kite, with the cockpit on the top face of the structure, above the rest.

As she stepped into the ship, Clary noticed the stairs leading up to the cockpit. The area below it had a long metallic table, upon which they laid Izzy. Alec grabbed what seemed like a first-aid kit and took out a syringe filled with a blue liquid.

“Painkillers,” Magnus explained, as Alec injected the liquid into Izzy’s arm. “Since we don’t know how bad it is, we’re dosing her now. Best case scenario, we can fix her up here and she’ll just sleep it off at your place. Worst case scenario, we have to transport her to the Red Fountain, Solaria, or the fairy hospital in Magix, and she’ll need it.”

Clary hated to see Izzy like that. It felt like it was all her fault, even if she knew it wasn’t.

Laser-like green and blue lights came out of the fixtures above the table and engulfed Izzy in what Clary hoped was healing magic. The dark-haired man - Alec - stayed by the side of the table, waiting, and watching.

Unlike the last time, Izzy was still in her fairy form.

The blonde-haired man walked up to them and looked at Clary. “Hey, what is she doing on the ship?” He asked Magnus.

“She saved your ass and wanted to watch over Isabelle,” Magnus replied. He smiled at Clary. “So that’s Jace. He’s Alec’s squire.”

Jace huffed. “More like… adoptive brother? I’m a ward of Solaria, and I grew up with Alec and Izzy,” he told Clary. Clary wondered if he was bragging or not. It wasn’t as if she actually cared.

“That’s nice,” Clary said, keeping her tone as devoid of actual interest as she could. “And I’m guessing Simon is the one with the glasses?”

Magnus nodded. “Yes. He’s our tech guy, and maybe the nicest person you’ll ever meet.”

Izzy had been so incredibly nice that Clary wouldn’t really imagine anyone being nicer than her. She was still laying under the lights but the superficial cuts were healing. Some of the tears in her wings were growing back together as well, but not the biggest ones.

“Magnus, could you suit up?” Alec asked over his shoulder and Magnus left Clary’s side with a light pat on her shoulder. She watched him put on some clothes and grab some tweezers. With those, he started taking out the pieces of glass that were still in some of the wounds.

Clary didn’t know how she could stomach this. She normally hated the sight of blood and anything vaguely surgery-related. Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe she didn’t want to leave the side of the one person she somewhat knew and trusted. Whatever it was, she seemed bolted into place.

It felt like hours until Magnus was done taking out glass and stitching wings back together enough for the light beams to act. Alec and him talked quietly about what to do, and Alec eventually turned to Clary.

“We’re going to leave her with you for tonight. I’ll alert our family in Solaria and see what they want us to do, but for now, she seems fine. She’ll probably need someone to check on her wings, but the infirmary of Alfea can do it.”

Clary nodded. “Alright. Does she require anything specific?”

Alec shook his head. “She just needs rest. She’ll probably turn back into her human form too. We managed to keep her in her fairy form as long as we could to take care of her wings, but it won’t hold for much longer.”

Clary didn’t know if she was qualified in any way to take care of a wounded fairy. She’d shot some magic out of her hands a couple of times, but that sure didn’t seem like it would be enough.

The Specialists were starting to look tired too, and their uniform was a bit dirty. Clary noticed some light differences, mostly in the weapons they had holstered to their bodies, but also in the brooch that held their cloak in place, over their heart. They all had a different color. Jace’s was fuschia, just like the blade he’d used earlier. Alec’s was light blue, and Simon’s was yellow. She wondered if there was a significance.

Izzy stirred on the table and opened her eyes. She huffed. “Really? Full medic pod?” She grumbled weakly. Clary guessed it was the painkillers that made her a bit loopy. Izzy tried to sit up but failed. She radiated less glow than she had when she’d been fully powered.

They talked and checked her out for a small amount of time, and then got her back to the Fairchild house. Amber and William were sitting on their couch. They seemed quite uncomfortable, looking at their broken up apartment.

As Alec and Clary moved to settle Izzy in the spare bedroom, Magnus, Simon and Jace offered to help rebuild and tidy.

Alec laid Izzy on her stomach, as she was still in her fairy form. It seemed to flicker a little, not being able to completely stay permanent anymore. She was truly exhausted. Izzy grumbled some stuff about not being useless and being able to take care of herself under her breath as they tucked her in.

She was asleep within seconds, and the wings disappeared with the rest of her fairy form. They took off her shoes, her tiara and jewelry, setting those on the bedside table before letting her sleep it off.

Soon after, the Specialists gone, Clary crashed in bed and fell asleep before she could take her clothes off.

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

Clary yawned as she woke up, hours later. The sun was beaming inside her bedroom, and for a moment, she forgot what had happened. It was when she moved that she remembered, because she was aching. She was aching pretty much all over.

And it hadn’t been from a particularly intense gym session either. It had been from using magic. She sat up straight on her bed immediately at the thought of that and regretted it just as fast.

She still pulled herself out of bed. She slid out of the clothes she’d been wearing the night before and had slept in. She walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Everything was still messy.

Amber and William were sitting in the kitchen, around a fresh pot of coffee, discussing something in hushed voices. Her mom’s dark hair and her dad’s blond hair were almost touching from how close they were and how secretive their conversation was.

Clary cleared her throat. They looked up at her. Amber smiled softly at her daughter.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” she said.

Clary walked to the coffee pot, grabbed a mug and poured herself some. “You never call me sweetheart.”

When she turned around, there was a heaviness in Amber’s eyes and in her smile. William sighed and gently put his hand on his wife’s. Clary swallowed. It all seemed so… strange.

“We were talking about… all of what happened last night.”

Clary nodded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought her home with me, it only caused trouble.”

Amber shook her head. “No, Clary, we don’t blame you at all. We don’t blame her either. She tried her best to protect us, and from what the… men from last night said, she was pretty injured doing so.”

“We’re just thinking about what it means for you. And for this family,” William explained. He looked tired, much more tired than Clary was used to seeing him. He looked like he had just been on a triple shift at the casern. Maybe they had spent all night talking about that.

“We want the best for you,” Amber explained. “And… from what we saw, there is something within you that has been awakened. Something you can’t control.”

Clary sat down on a stool in front of them. She gathered her hands around the burning hot mug. It didn’t feel that bad. It even felt comforting.

“The school Izzy talked about,” William sighed. “No matter how improbable it sounds, how… wrong my head is telling me it is… Maybe it could be a good place for you to learn how to control… all of that.”

Clary didn’t really know what to say. She wanted to go to Alfea, she could feel that it was a right choice. But diving in the strange world of magic and fairies scared her. It terrified her.

“You wouldn’t have to pay for anything… Only the royals pay. The rest can go for free,” Clary said softly. “I…”

“Be honest with us, darling,” Amber asked. “You’re an adult, and this is your life, your future. Does Alfea sound like a good option for you? Do you feel like you belong there?”

Clary’s heart was screaming that yes, she belonged there. But there was still a little voice in the back of her mind. A voice that told her that she wasn’t good enough. That managing to create a couple of fire balls wasn’t the same as using spells and having a fairy form like Izzy had.

“Yes,” she still said. “I… I want to go. I want to try. If I don’t succeed, well, I’ll come back.”

William nodded and rubbed his face with his hand for a moment. “Okay, okay…”

“So you’re leaving…”

“Today,” Clary said. “This morning, even. The term starts tomorrow, I believe.”

She saw her parents hesitate then. It was a sudden change. Clary was afraid of it too. She’d never left home for more than a week of vacation with a girl she’d considered her friend in her last year of highschool.

Amber stood up. “Then,” she said, her voice a bit shakier than Clary wanted it to be. “We need to get to packing.”

Clary stood up as well. She walked around the table and hugged her dad for a moment. He hugged her back quickly, but gently pushed her away afterwards. “Go pack,” he said softly.

Clary nodded and kissed his cheek. Amber and her walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. As they walked past the bathroom, they heard the water running. Izzy was in a good state then, if she was able to shower without issues. That made Clary feel better.

Kiko ran between their legs, yapping as they took out the suitcase and started packing.

“Can I take him?”

Amber nodded. “Yes, we’ve talked about it. We’ve thought it would be good for you to have him, provided that the school lets you have him.”

“I’ll ask Izzy, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

They packed everything that Clary could think of and closed the suitcase. Amber was a little teary-eyed. Clary didn’t know what to do really, so she just hugged her tightly for a moment.

“I’ll come back anyway. There sure are vacations. And I’ll make sure to get a phone that can call you the second I can,” she promised.

They walked back down the stairs where Isabelle was chatting with William. William looked like he was only understanding part of the things she was saying. Amber cleared her throat.

"Clary’s ready,” she said.

Izzy turned around and grinned. She looked much better this morning than she had when she’d fallen asleep. She wasn’t pale anymore, she looked healthy. She wasn’t wearing her royal clothing anymore, nor was she in her fairy form.

She wore a burnt orange jumpsuit, nice and fluid with a v cleavage and thin straps. She had a broad, large, Egyptian-looking necklace around her neck, ornate with orange, gold and blue stones, that Clary recognized from the first outfit she’d seen her in. It was probably something to do with her royal status. Crown jewels maybe.

Clary smiled back at her.

“You look better,” Clary said softly.

“I just needed some sleep and I’m all new,” Izzy chuckled, waving it off. Clary had no way to know if she was still in pain or not. Whatever she was feeling, Izzy was hiding it well.

William sighed. “What will I tell people when they ask where you are?”

Clary hummed. “A boarding school out of state. An Art Academy… prestigious and secretive. That would probably shut them up.”

Her father nodded and came to hug her again. She let go of the suitcase again and hugged him tightly.

“You be careful, alright?” He asked.

“I promise.”

Clary and her parents bid her goodbyes. Clary tried not to focus on it much. She would be back. It wasn’t forever. She hated goodbyes anyway, and she was kinda tearful and hated the idea of being this emotional in front of her new friend, who seemed to be quite the master of her own emotional responses.

Once she was done hugging her parents and Kiko had settled in her arms, Izzy looked at her and nodded. “Let’s go. We don’t want to miss on the welcoming ceremony.”

She took the ring off of her finger and it extended into the scepter again. Clary was somewhat started to get used to that particular trick. Isabelle took a deep breath and brandished the scepter.

“Solaria! To Magix!” She shouted, and a bright light engulfed Clary, Kiko and her. She had time to somewhat wave goodbye to her parents for one last time before she felt herself pulled downwards. Clary closed her eyes firmly.

It was a stronger pull than the one she’d felt in the postcard and it made her almost nauseous. It was like being distended, stretched in length in a way. Kiko whined a little.

With her eyes closed, she wasn’t able to tell when they were done with the transport. All she felt was the sudden lack of pulling, and the ground she landed on.

She opened her eyes again. Izzy was standing over her, holding out her hand with a smile. “The first time is always a bit difficult,” she chuckled and Clary rolled her eyes, taking her hand.

The grass was deep and soft, and Clary wondered how Izzy managed to stay upright when walking on it with her uncomfortable-looking high heels. Maybe it was magic. Clary was very glad to be wearing combat boots.

They were back around the area where the postcard had taken them, but this time, they were walking out of it. Izzy was leading the way towards the lavender and pink castle, her steps firm.

Clary sighed for a second. She looked behind her, where she’d landed, where she somehow hoped she would see the line between her old life and her new life. But there wasn’t any line or any doorway to Gardenia. The door had closed already. She’d already chosen.

“Come on!” Izzy called. “We don’t want to be late.”

Clary swallowed and turned towards the castle again. Kiko ran up towards Izzy, sniffing everything he could sniff. Izzy turned around and looked at Clary, holding out her hand again for her to take.

Clary took it.

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

In the next chapter, at Alfea, Clary will discover new life and amazing new friends. But, in the Magic Dimension, she will also meet the witches from the school of Cloud Tower, the first problem she will have to deal with. Peace in Magix will be threatened.

[atinywriting]

Bloody Pen | Wooyoung Serial Killer AU Chapter 2

The First Blood

“You’re late.”

Yeosang’s icy eyes regarded you as you burst through the door with a bang. You put your hands on your knees as you heavily panted. “Sorry—and I don’t know how—but I somehow forgot.” Yeosang raised an eyebrow. “That’s unlike you.” He peered at you from head to toe. Upon realizing the type of clothes you were wearing and how noticeably much neater you looked, it clicked in his head. A teasing smirk pulled at his lips. He put his hand to his chin and drawled, “Aw. Has our ‘forever alone’ writer found some love?”

You raised up a finger, still breathing heavily and huffed out, “Shut up.” “Alright. Alright.” Yeosang playfully rolled his eyes and patted the sofa chair. “Now, lets go over your manuscript so far. Shall we?” You collapsed on to the sofa and waved your hand. “Go on.” “It will be very quick.” Yeosang hummed and flipped to a specific page. “You have gotten more popular among the crime readers community. However, the same problem still remains.” You sighed. “Is it about the deaths being too general and not creative enough?” “Correct.” Yeosang nodded. “Your most creative one was when you killed off the civilian with the air injections to cover that it was a murder. But now” He pointed to the big written out letters on top of the page that screamed ‘BE MORE CREATIVE’. You grabbed the manuscript from Yeosang’s hands and eyed over it. You immediately noted the lack of marks in other pages. A few marks were made for punctuation and grammar. “So, I should take it further?“ You inquired. “If you do, it would add more to the suspense. If you’re wondering about the lack of marks, I think you did a wonderful job creating the suspense. It’s only that one problem you have.”

You nodded, thanking him and leaving for home. As soon as you got inside your apartment door, you kicked your shoes off. You grabbed your phone and texted a quick ‘Hello!’ to Wooyoung before tossing the phone onto the bed. You cracked your fingers and began to type on the laptop. Hours passed by until the sun set and late night fell. You banged your head against the desk and groaned as you slumped down in your chair. How the heck were you supposed to make the deaths more creative? You grumbled. Screw. This. Goddamn. Writer’s. Block. A ping rang from your phone. You glanced over at it and you squinted your tired eyes at the side of your bed. Who could be texting you this late at night? You walked over and picked the phone up. Your eyes widened, heart palpitating at the words on the screen. It was Wooyoung. If I said I was a killer, would you like me to take you out next weekend? ;) Your mouth fell open and you clutched your phone to your racing heart. Wow, were you really loving the heck out of his pick up lines. You pursed your lips as you tapped on the keyboard. Your finger hovered over the send button before finally pressing it. I think it would be a Crime and Punishment to refuse. A few seconds later and another text immediately popped up. Saturday it is. 6 PM at the Sen Restaurant. My treat :) You squealed in delight and fist bumped the air. Way to go! You cheered in your head. You actually got a guy to be interested in you enough for another date! The next week quickly arrived as you counted down the days. You waited in the front. You clutched your bag where your manuscript laid and tapped your feet. A familiar loud, high pitched “Hello!” made you turn to the side. A smile spread across your face upon seeing the familiar silver haired man. You waved. “Hello again, Wooyoung.” He beamed back and slid his around you. “Shall we go in?” With a nod of your head, Wooyoung led you in to your seats. While eating, Wooyoung asked about you and your writing. You immediately rambled, fired up as you blabbered about your fascination since childhood with crimes. Specifically with murderers, the way they killed and their psychological state. You were unaware in the midst of your rambles, however, how Wooyoung’s eyes darkened and how his tongue swiped over his lips as he listened to you. You stopped in the middle of your chatter and your cheeks burned when he grasped your hand. Wooyoung smirked at this as he intertwined his hands with yours. “Have you ever dated anyone before?” At your silence, Wooyoung raised an eyebrow. “No?” You looked down and muttered, “No one’s ever been interested in me before. I mean, I was just the quiet bookworm in the corner.” Wooyoung looked at you in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? I’d kill to have someone like you.” Quite literally, he mused to himself. You jumped up in your seat. Right! You grabbed inside of your bag and handed the papers to Wooyoung. “Would you like to read the manuscript for my next book?” An unreadable emotion flashed in Wooyoung’s eyes at the offer. He immediately snatched the papers from your hands without a word. Minutes passed by as Wooyoung flipped page by page. The same trembling feeling rushed through his body just like when he read your other books. He was in love. He was obsessed. But... “The kill doesn’t seem to be anything that interesting,” he noted. It was an effective way to kill. But, the description was far too short. Too dull for his taste. “I know.” You bit your lip and nodded. “Which was why I was wondering if you could help me with those parts.” His body heated up at the invitation like a fever. A fire bubbled and boiled under his skin and through his blood. He had to take a deep breath to calm himself down before he could laugh. Damn, were you driving him crazy. No one had ever inspired this much blood lust in him. “I will.” At his reply, your head perked up. “But, it’s a bit late. You should be home by now.” You seemed to deflate a bit but nodded. Were you eager as him about the art of killing? Wooyoung walked you to your car and waved as you drove away. He whistled as he walked to his parked place. He wasn’t sure why but he found you to be like an adorable puppy. The way your eyes shined when you rambled was cute. The way you blushed at him was cute. A stumbling old man with a beer bottle in hand suddenly bumped into him, interrupting his thoughts. The bottle dropped and glass shattered across the floor. “You brat!” The man screamed. Wooyoung scrunched up his nose at the rancid smell of alcohol and turned to the man. It was clear the man with his messy hair, unshaved face, grime on his face and dirtied, old clothes that he was homeless. Wooyoung’s eyes surveyed around him. No one was around this late into the evening as usual. A brilliant idea popped into his mind. A way to help your writing get more creative with murders. Why not test it out now? Wooyoung plastered on a smile and he slipped on his gloves that were stuffed into his jacket. “Have you been homeless for some time?” “Yeah! And what of it?” “You look like you need a bit of kindness in your life. I have a spare room you can use for the night.” Upon hearing the words, the man’s eyes almost bulged out of his head. “You’re lyin’,” he whispered in disbelief. Wooyoung shook his head and laid his gloved hand on the man’s shoulder. “I assure you, sir. I am not lying.” It was a ten minute silent drive to his house. Wooyoung led the staggering man in. “Have you been alone for long?” Wooyoung asked. Not that he cared for the man’s back story anyways. But, small talk always made people feel more comfortable and unsuspecting. He slipped multiple sleeping pills into the drink and mixed until it fully dissolved. He walked over to him and handed the drink with the sweetest smile he could muster.

“Enjoy.” The effects were immediate. The old man’s eyes grew hazy and they finally closed. Wooyoung let out a chuckle as the man fell to the floor with a thud. No one would miss him. The next day came. It was a normal Sunday morning like any other for Chief Park Seonghwa who had just arrived to the station and went into his office with a cup of coffee in hand. The door opened and he looked up. It was the new officer, Choi Jongho, that had been transferred to this precinct some months ago. Jongho held up an envelope. “There’s an envelope addressed to you. But the sender’s name isn’t on here.” “Let me see.” Seonghwa grabbed the envelope. To Captain Park Seonghwa Chief of Police Nocturne Town Police Department The handwriting was messy but was thankfully somewhat legible for him to read. He slid the envelope open and inside laid a small note. Dear Chief Park, Drawn from the deck is 12. Early start of the week, the clock shall tick down. An evening full moon rises on the third. The PENDUlum hangs from the trees. Here is your hint. good luck and lets have some fun. Seonghwa’s eyebrows furrowed as he read the small piece of paper over and over. He glanced at the calendar on his desk. The 3rd of April had a white circle in the corner of the square to indicate the full moon. Trees... Considering it was written in plural, perhaps it was reference to the small forest on the outskirts of Nocturne Town? “Jongho? I want you to drive over to the Lille Forest this Wednesday.“ Jongho‘s eyes widened and he fiddled with his fingers. “Is it a serious threat?” Seonghwa shook his head. “It is just a hunch.” He flipped over the note to show Jongho. “But, precaution should be taken. We can’t take things lightly, just in case.” “Ah, I see.” Jongho straightened his stance. “Am I going alone?” Seonghwa shook his head. “No, I’ll inform Yunho and get him to come with you. Understood?” Jongho nodded and went out the office door. Seonghwa gazed at the drawer where the letter laid. The note was unusual. The way it was written. It was almost like a puzzle in a video game. Seonghwa finally turned to the other papers in his desk and put that thought to the back of his mind. Hopefully, it would be nothing more than a joke he could dismiss. It was a dark evening when Wednesday had finally hit. The trees towered over Jongho and Yunho, and cast an overwhelming shadow over the duo. The only light that shown was the full moon glaring down at them. Jongho waved a fly off. “Are we going to be okay?” He asked as the pair treaded through the forest. Yunho snorted and patted Jongho on the shoulder. “I’m not quite sure why you’re so worried. If there was someone dangerous... why, I’m sure you’d just crack their skulls open like with apples,” Yunho joked. “Motionless apples and moving dangerous things are extremely different stories... I’m also pretty sure I can’t just Mortal Kombat crack skulls open.” “We’ll be fine.” Yunho waved the flies off. Was it just him or were there an unusual amount of flies the more deeper they went into the forest? “Anyways, what do you think the letter—“ Yunho suddenly stopped in his tracks. “What is it?” Jongho peered over Yunho’s shoulder. It was slightly hard to see at first with only the flashlight and the moon being their only sources of light. But as soon as Jongho saw it, he couldn’t unsee it at all. Jongho’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. His chest heaved and stuttered. He wanted so badly to pry his eyes away but he couldn’t. The sight burned into Jongho’s eyes and imprinted itself into his mind. An upside down, topless deformed body was eyeing them, hanging upside down from the tree with their neck ripped wide open. Slashes, cuts and stabs covered the body. Flies surrounded the body. Maggots squirmed in its nest of decomposing flesh and wounds. There was such an enormous quantity that some of the maggots even dropped from the body, wriggling as they fell to the dirt below. The malformed body also looked like it had peen picked at by the bugs and animals in the forest. The victim’s glassy eyes and mouth were wide open as if they had been screaming in pain before their demise. Bile came up Jongho’s throat and he hunched over, retching on to the dirt. Yunho ran over and pat Jongho on the back as Jongho hurled on to the ground. Yunho grimaced as he kept a close eye on the hanging body. This wasn’t his first time seeing a body. In fact, this probably wasn’t even the worst. But, it was never easy seeing a dead body. And this was a particularly nasty one for a rookie like Jongho. Yunho took a deep breath. None of them could leave the scene just in case it was tampered with further while they were gone. The two couldn’t split up at this point. Jongho was too vulnerable and in shock to do anything clearly at this point. On top of that, Yunho didn’t know how safe the two currently were. The body may had been hanging for some days. But, who knew if the killer was lying in wait for new victims? Yunho exhaled and grabbed the radio by his side. He called in. “Chief Park? Officer Yunho reporting in. We have a 55-A in R3. I repeat, we have a 55-A in R3. Begin the procedure as soon as possible for the preservation of the scene.”

[just-jordie-things]

The Night We Met - Peter Parker

word count: 5568 warnings: swearing, super adorkable peter a/n: this is my first posted peter fic so go easy on me? also this is really low key based on this song, but the sound of it not the words so much if that makes sense? idk i’m at a loss

[ i am not the only traveler who has not repaid his debt / i’ve been searching for a trail to follow again / take me back to the night we met ]

The facility was quiet as you padded through it, though it was common for it to be so silent when the sun had set hours ago.  It was late, one am, you presumed.  But this was the ideal time to go wandering around the building you lived in.  It was dark, only the moon and star’s light shining into the rooms, and the living space and kitchen were surrounded by windows, which casted shadows and small pools of light on the floor that you liked to dance around on your tiptoes in.  Wearing your pajamas and silently leaping short distances and twirling around on the cool tiled or hardwood floors.

You had lived in the facility for the whole past year that it had been built and functioning, and before that you’d lived at the tower for most of your life.  All but the first three years of your life, when you were stuck in an orphanage.  Before Tony Stark adopted you.  Why had he? You were never entirely sure.  You never understood why a man with his wealth and success needed a daughter to add onto his list of priorities but you’d never thought to question him.  Besides, you liked having a Mom and Dad.  Pepper was more of the parental figure, and Tony was mostly there to… well he used to get you into trouble but since you turned fifteen a year ago he became more protective.  You weren’t his little girl anymore, you were a teenager, blossoming into womanhood.  And when you turned sixteen his overprotectiveness only increased.

It hadn’t really mattered, you weren’t really an avenger.  At least, not one out on the battlefield.  No, you preferred working in the lab with Bruce, designing new suits, lighter weapons, deadlier weapons, faster engines for the jet.  But your favorite thing was creating new costumes, as you liked to call them.  Though the rest of the team wouldn’t prefer the term.  Sure, you worried for your Dad, and the others that had just as easily become your family, but you also knew that they were a special set of people.  Trained assassins, super soldiers, even Clint was… important.

(you never missed an opportunity to tease him, much to his displeasure)

So as you twirled around gracefully in the moonlight, your eyes closed as you enjoyed the silence, not even needing a tune to dance to, and found your peace.  You loved these secret nights of yours.  Your own special thing.

[ and then I can tell myself what the hell I'm supposed to do / and then I can tell myself not to ride along with you ]

You were working today, your hair pulled up into a high ponytail and your eyes focused on the sketch in front of you.  You tried not to rock on the stood you sat at while your hand moved swiftly over the tablet, the rubber tipped stylus creating lines of maroon on the screen.

“You know,” Banner spoke, making you jump slightly, and creating a long line throughout the entire design of Wanda’s new and improved outfit.

“Thanks a lot” You rolled your eyes, carefully hitting the undo button and making Bruce roll his eyes right back at you.

“Calm down you fixed it with a push of a button”

“Did Bruce Banner just tell me to calm down?” You asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“y/n just- just shut up.  God when did you become a teenager?” You chuckled, going back to your sketching with a smile on your face.

“You don’t remember? Because I do.  Vividly”

“That’s only cause Tony gave you the body talk” Bruce said, and you felt a chill go down your spine at the memory.  “Anyhow, I was going to say that that new recruit is coming here today”

“New recruit?” You asked, sitting up and abandoning your art now, your curiosity peaked.  “Why wasn’t I told?”

“You designed his suit, the uh… the bug one”

“Ant Man?”

“No, the other one”

“Wasp?” You asked again, Bruce shook his head.

“No no, the one from Berlin” You squinted for a moment, trying to remember.

“Bruce, just cause my Dad’s sorta a snake sometimes doesn’t mean he’s a bug, that’s rude” You chuckled, and Banner rolled his eyes, again.

“Seriously y/n stop being all sassy what happened to your pigtails and pink overalls?”

“I grew up” You stated, wasting no time in getting back to your work.  Bruce frowned sadly at your back.  You were right, you had grown up.  And while you still may only be sixteen, the world you lived in had forced you to mature much faster than you should have.  But nonetheless, he let you get back to your work while he went back to creating a new prototype for Bucky’s arm.

“And no, it’s Spider-Man”

“Alright kid, this is a big deal now” Tony said, clapping a hand on Peter’s back as they made their way into the facility.  “Whole team lives here, my whole family” He told him.

“Wow” Was all Peter could think to say as his eyes looked around.  They landed on everything, quickly, wanting to take it all in at once.

“Okay okay, slow down, you’re one of us now, you’ve got plenty of time to make googly eyes-”

Tony was cut off mid sentence as Peter had crashed into something, sending the box in his arms and the papers in the other person’s arms flying as his victim stumbled backwards onto the floor.

“I’m sorry! I’m so so so sorr-” He stopped abruptly upon seeing you there, gathering your things as quickly as you could.  He couldn’t help his wide eyes as he watched your every movement.  Before he shook his head and began helping you pick up his papers.

“It’s fine I’m just- I’m super late” You spoke quickly, stacking your sketches in your arms messily and in a rushed fashion.  You didn’t even look up at him until he seemed to be staring at the paper in his hands.

“You-you drew this? Wow” He said in amazement, but you snatched it away.

“That’s what y/n does here” Tony said, not being able to take the awkward tension anymore and scooping up most of your papers in his hands and giving them to you.  “Geez are these all Wanda’s?” He asked you as you held what was probably a hundred designs in your arms.

“Yeah, yep, I didn’t know what exactly she was looking for she just said something new, so..” You trailed off, trying to straighten out and align all of the papers in your arms.  You shot a glance over at the boy who had picked up his box, full of typical teenage boy items.  Until you looked more curiously and could tell instantly he was  a very studious boy.  “You must be Spider-Man?”

“Parker Pete- Peter Parker.  I’m Peter Parker that-that’s me” He stammered, making you send a goody glance at your father before looking back to the boy that seemed your age.  He had adorable puppy brown eyes and the same colored curls on his head.  He was adorable, cute, it was the only thing you could think of for a moment.

“Well hello Parker Pete” You said with a small laugh as you stuck your hand out while carefully maneuvering your stack of papers.  “I’m y/n” You introduced while he shook your hand, a bit too long but you didn’t really want to pull away either.

“She’s also my daughter, and off limits, so let’s keep walking” Tony said, grabbing Peter by the shoulders and steering him away.

“Wha- she-you have- you’re his-” Peter couldn’t even get a full sentence out as Tony directed him farther away from you, leaving you to stand in the hall and watch in amusement as your father dragged the poor boy away.

“Bye Parker Pete!” You called before heading off to Wanda’s room.

You liked Peter Parker.  He was a stuttering, adorkable mess.

[ i had all and then most of you, some and now none of you / take me back to the night we met ]

You were sat at the kitchen breakfast bar, sketching away as always.  Sometimes you just liked changing your setting.  Working in the lab could get loud, or stuffy, and it was good to have a little change of scenery.  Plus, the best things happened in the kitchen.

For instance, right now, everyone was trying to arm wrestle Steve.  Which was a very amusing sight to watch.  Currently, Natasha was flexing her arms trying to prepare herself for what everyone knew would be a failure.

“What’re you working on?” You heard a familiar voice, and turned to see Peter slipping onto the high chair next to you.  You smiled at him almost instinctively.  He’d been living at the facility for a week now, and at this point you were pretty good friends.  Being the same age really did help, seeing you were both the youngest ones there.

“Hopefully a new bow for Clint” You told him, showing him your design.  “I’m hoping he won’t break this one” You added with a chuckle.  Peter stared at the paper, genuine interest on his features.  You loved that about him, even for the simple things he always admired your work like it was the coolest thing he’s ever seen.

“Neat” He said, still staring at it even as you slid it back to your part of the tabletop.  “What’s uh… what’s happening over there?” He nodded off to where Steve was dangerously close to slamming Nat’s hand on the table.  You were a little worried about the Black Widow’s well being, but even more so for the table.  It wouldn’t be the first time Steve had broken the dinner table over an arm wrestling tournament.

“Steve’s daring people to arm wrestle him” You said, watching them again, just as Natasha lost.  She groaned in frustration, shaking out her sore hand.  “He only does it when Tony’s not around to scold him for it”

“Scold him?” Peter asked curiously.

“He usually breaks stuff.  Tables, vases, bones” Peter’s eyes widened with fear, making you chuckle.

“Calm down Spider-Boy, he won’t attack you” You said, putting your hand unconsciously on his forearm.  “It’s just a little competition he likes to do to show off.  No one’s ever beat him” You shrugged.  “Kinda like how Thor tests us to lift his hammer, we all know that thing won’t budge, but we try anyways” You said.  Peter’s eyes were trained on Steve and Wanda’s current match.  You took his distracted moment to admire his features, his starry eyes, gelled but soft looking hair, thin pink lips.  You smiled at him, and only then noticed your hand resting on him.  You removed it quickly, busying yourself with your design again.

“Hey new kid!” You perked up once more when you heard Steve’s voice ring out, catching Peter’s attention.

“M-me?” Peter pointed to himself, unsure if the Captain America was talking to him or not.  You giggled to yourself quietly.

“Yeah you, you wanna try and go a round?” He asked.  Your eyes went from gleaming to wide with worry in a matter of seconds.

“Peter you don’t have-”

“Yeah sure” Peter shrugged before you could give him a way out of it.  You watched as he hopped to the ground and walked over to the opposite side of the table as Steve.  All of your focus was on the two.  Sure, Steve would never heart him on purpose but Peter wasn’t like the other avengers, he was sixteen, and you were worried he’d get his arm broken or something.  You stared as their hands latched together, neither of them doing anything yet.  “Look, I-I just wanna say sorry about like- attacking you at that airport” Peter said, and you blushed slightly at his cute awkwardness.  Apologizing for the fight, no one had really done that yet.  Most of you just tried to look past it.

“Yeah, no hard feelings” Steve winked, and like that, you could see their arms struggling slightly as they put all their strength into it.  Your lips parted slightly when you realized Peter wasn’t losing.  He was actually doing really well, completely focused on Steve’s arm.  “Wow kid, you got quite a grip” Steve commented, and you could hear the struggle in his voice.

Well that was new.

“But hey, I’m still the strongest one here” Steve said, slamming the kid’s hand down onto the table.  Peter sighed, shaking his hand just as Nat had earlier.  You clapped while the others began to leave the room, tired of Steve’s party games.

“Wow! Parker Pete!” You rushed over to him and hugged him before thinking about it.  “Just- wow” You laughed, and Peter gave a short laugh with you, rubbing his now aching hand.  “No one’s ever done that before! Just how strong are you?” You asked him, and his face went red.

“I-I don’t know” He stammered out, and you hugged him again.  You felt him slowly wrap his arms around your waist, tugging you a little closer as he held you.  It was quiet for a moment, and your heart began fluttering as you lingered there together.  Somehow, it wasn’t just a hug, and you could both feel it.

“Hey hey hey, watch the hands there” You sighed quietly when Tony came in, pointing accusingly at the both of you, and you pulled away from Peter.  “Break it up” He said, snapping his fingers as he went to the fridge for a bottle of beer.

“Peter almost beat Steve at arm wrestling” You bragged, trying to ease up your father’s current mood.

“God dammit I told him no more of those” He grumbled, heading back out of the kitchen, the popped his head back in.  “Break it up!” He called loudly again.  “Both of you! Separate rooms pronto!” You rolled your eyes as he left, but squeezed a hand on Peter’s wrist before gathering your materials from the counter.

“Night Parker Pete” You said sweetly, then headed out the door and towards the elevator.  Peter slumped onto one of the chairs, staring at the doorway you just exited.

“Goodnight y/n” He said to himself.

“You like her?” He heard an accented voice and turned to see Wanda standing there.  The boy’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest, he hadn’t even realized there was another way into this room.  “Yes?” She questioned after not having received an answer.

“Yea-yeah I mean yeah y/n.. y/n’s great she’s a great-amazing friend” He said, all the while nodding his head and blushing like a fool.  Wanda chuckled, using her powers to snatch an orange off the counter, but opted to use her nails to peel it.

“I can read minds” She told him.  “I know you like her” She told him, winking a brown eye.  Peter opened his mouth but no words came out for a few moments.

“I… she’s great” He told her, unsure of what he could say.

“You also think she’s beautiful” Wanda continued, putting a slide of the fruit into her mouth.

“Well I-”

“Are we discussing Peter Parker’s feelings towards miss Stark?”

Peter fell of his chair, definitely not having expected Vision to simply face through the wall of the kitchen, joining the conversation abruptly.  Wanda nodded as she chewed, and Peter attempted to stand and straighten out his sweater.

“Well I think it’s… pleasing” Vision said.

“Pl-pleasing?” Peter stuttered.

“Yes, it is nice to think of you becoming romantically involved with miss Stark” He said with a nod of his head.  Peter’s eyes widened with fear.

“No, no no no no, y/n and I-I we- we aren’t- she’s my friend”

“Yes, and Wanda is my friend” Vision said, and the witch’s head snapped towards him.  “But that is no barrier to love”

Peter almost fell just from standing up.  He could feel his knees wobbling and his heart was pounding incredibly fast in his chest.

“Vizh…” Wanda said slowly, coming over and putting a hand on the android’s arm.  “Let’s go talk” She said, and he nodded again, allowing her to guide him out of the room.  “But if you want my advice,” Wanda turned to Peter before she could fully leave the kitchen.  “Go for it, y/n looks at you a lot, the way… the way I remember Pietro looking at his love” Wanda said.  Peter couldn’t even find the right words to say before she left the room.

Shortly after, he went running out, making his way as quickly as he could to the weight room.  It was nearing ten o’clock, but he needed a stress relief, and working out seemed much better than sitting in his room with his anxiety all pent up.

He practically burst through the doors, not even noting Steve dragging a punching bag to it’s hook as he tore his sweater off, leaving him in a tee shirt and khakis.  Not really the best chosen attire to work out in, but he didn’t care.  He needed to… to run, to punch something.  He stepped up onto the treadmill, setting it on a higher setting before just sprinting.  Racing over the spinning rubber sheet until sweat dripped down his forehead.

“Kid? Hey Parker?” Steve called, catching Peter’s attention but he didn’t stop running.  “You aren’t stress running cause I kicked your ass earlier right?” He asked, and Peter shook his head, his breathing ragged as he put the treadmill on a higher setting.  “Alright, then why are you stress running?”

“I’m not stress running” Peter grunted.

“Yes you are.  Why?” Steve said, his voice stern so that he’d open up to him.  Peter let out a sigh, but was still reluctant to stop running.

“Because” He huffed.  “I’m in love… with y/n… and she’s Tony’s daughter… and doesn’t like me back… deserves better than me anyways” He said in between sharp intakes of breath.  Steve chuckled, putting his hands on his hips.

“Alright, alright turn that off you’re gonna kill yourself” He said, and Peter didn’t even argue, just slowed it down before stopping it completely.  “Listen closely to me, alright?” Peter nodded shakily, and stepped down off the treadmill.

He walked over to Steve, and they sat down together on a bench.

“I’m going to tell you a story about a woman named Peggy Carter”

[ i don't know what I'm supposed to do, haunted by the ghost of you / oh, take me back to the night we met ]

You had just slipped out of your room, checking to make sure the halls were clear as you walked as lightly as possible down the hallway towards the kitchen.  You hadn’t changed into pajamas like usual, still wearing your simple white dress from earlier that night.  But you didn’t mind, you were just happy to finally be able to sneak out.  Earlier than you usually do, it was midnight and you often waited for one am to roll around but you were too eager to escape to your happy place.

After tiptoeing down the stairs, opting not to use the elevator because it made noise, you snuck into the kitchen, quickly and carefully closing the door behind you.  Even though it and the walls secluding it were glass windows.  You were a creature of habit.

“What’re you doing here?” You spun around, about to kick the owner of the sudden voice in the throat, but be caught your ankle.

“Peter?” You lowered your leg, smoothing out your skirt.  “What’re you doing? It’s late” He gave you a look before laughing.

“Well I can basically say the same thing” He said, and you blushed, looking down for a moment.

“I… I come here at night when everyone’s asleep.  It’s my way of sneaking out” You said with half a shrug.  “It was a secret until now” Peter’s face fell, and he could feel his stomach dropped.

Oh my god I ruined her special place for her

“No worries” You said with a soft smile.  “I’m happy you’re the first I can share it with” You told him, and began to walk off to the living area, in front of all the windows.  Peter scurried off after you, walking awkwardly with his hands behind his back as you were staring outside.  He looked over at you, awestruck by the way the moonlight reflected on your features, making parts of your dress look like it was glowing, but others hidden in a shadow.  “So Parker Pete,” You said with a smile as you turned your head to look at him.  “What’re you doing out here so late?”

“I- I was just… sitting” He answered lamely, making you chuckle and roll your eyes a little.

“Okay, but why sit in the kitchen in the middle of the night? Don’t you want your rest?”

“M-my rest?” You shrugged.

“I don’t know.  Everyone around here falls asleep so early when my Dad’s not throwing some big party” You told him.

“Does he have parties a lot?” You crinkled your nose and bopped your head side to side as if to say so so.  

“Not as much as he used to.  Now it’s just the small group of us, playing music, eating lots of food, dancing, it’s nice.  A good reason to dress up and have fun but kick back from the stress” You told him.  “I guess I like it better than they used to be.  Loud, lots of drunks.  I remember hiding in my room inside my closet until my mom would come kiss me goodnight and tell me he was shooing people out” You chuckled a little, leaning closer to the window and tapping your fingers lightly against the glass to a made up beat.

“As a rebellious teen, do you want more parties?” Peter asked, mocking a reporter’s voice and making you laugh, shooting him a quick glance.

“I wouldn’t call myself rebellious, but that doesn’t mean I’m a total rule follower” You said.  “For the daughter of Tony Stark, I think that says a lot about my adoption” You said jokingly.

“I didn’t know that” He said, stepping closer to you.  He wanted to look out the window, enjoy the view as you were, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off of you.

“Yeah you can’t really tell unless you look close enough.  We’re really close” Peter smiled gently.

“That’s good” You nodded.

“Yeah… to me he really is my Dad, I don’t go out of my way to use the term ‘adopted’ it doesn’t bother me by any means, he’s just more to me than that.  Pepper too, but she’s the busy one nowadays” You told him.  “Anyways, that’s my life story you wanna share now?”

“Uh, it’s sorta messy” He said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.  You shook your head, brushing it off.

“I don’t mind.  I’d like to hear it Parker Pete” He chuckled, and licked his lips while he thought of what to say.

“Well, uhm, my parents were killed” He said, clearing his throat.  “In a hijacked plane crash when I was seven… and uh… I’ve been living with my Aunt May and Uncle Ben since then” He told you, avoiding your eyes.  “And not long after I.. well became Spider-Man uh…”

You noticed the way he was kicking his feet into the carpet, a nervous habit, and your heart began to sink as sadness washed over your features.

“My-my Uncle he- he got shot because of me” Your eyes widened and you moved closer to him, your back to the window now and completely abandoning the view you loved as you stared up at Peter with crinkled brows and big wet eyes.  Your hand reached out to grab his without a second thought.

“I’m sure it wasn’t your fault Peter” You whispered, but he shook his head.

“No, no if I’d just been honest with him and had been back to him on time like I said I would he- I would’ve-” You placed your other hand against his cheek, turning his head up to look at you.

“It wasn’t your fault, Pete” You told him softly, keeping your voice steady.  “And I promise if he could see you now, he’d be so incredibly proud of you and all you’ve done” You saw his lips quirk up for a short moment, and you smiled at him.  “I’ve known you for all of a week and I am” You said, and his heart surely stopped in his chest, only to speed up again.

“Thanks, y/n” He said, and you nodded, dropping your hand from his face but kept your hands latched at your side.  “He would’ve liked you” He told you, and for some reason it made your cheeks heat up in a pink blush.

“Really?” Peter smiled as he nodded.

“Yeah, you’d remind him of May I’m sure” A giggle slipped past your lips before you could stop it.  Why did this make you all bubbly?

“Am I like her?” You asked, and Peter pursed his lips.

“You’ve got the same attitude but secret softie thing going on” You quirked up an eyebrow.

“I’m not a softie, I used to be out on that battlefield you know” You told him, crossing your arms over your chest as you’d released his hand.

“Really?” Peter asked, narrowing his eyes and smirking playfully.  “Because you were all worried earlier when I was going to arm wrestle Captain America” You jaw dropped open at him.

“Oh really? Say that to my excellent combat skills” You said with a wink.

“Excellent combat skills?” He asked, and you nodded.

“Uh huh, only reason I’m not out there is cause someone’s gotta make your spandex onesie” Peter looked at you with an offended expression.

“It’s not-!” He groaned, throwing his arms down at his sides.  You let out a laugh and shook your head.

“I don’t know… I mean, I designed it I think I know a onesie when I make one” You told him.  Peter opened his mouth and closed it a few times, and you began to laugh again, your smile bright and your eyes twinkling with delight.  Peter couldn’t even keep up his facade of a straight face.  “Alright, alright, what else? What do I and May Parker have in common?”

“I don’t know, uh, she used to dance with him all the time, when I was little they’d dance around to his old record player” You smiled at him, and bounced a little on your bare feet.  “What? What?” Peter asked as you just kept laughing and bouncing.

“Come on come on” You tugged on his hands, pulling him closer eagerly, and planting his palms on your waist.

“You want to dance with me?” He asked like he didn’t even believe it.  But you nodded, your grin still present as you crossed your wrists behind his neck.

“Yeah” You said, beginning to bite back your smile.

“I-I don’t have my phone so I don’t have any like-like music or anything” You shrugged your shoulders and noted how he panicked a little.

“It’s fine, we don’t really need it” You told him, and you gave him a comforting smile.  “Calm down Peter, it’s just me” You said.

How ironic, he thought.

“Why’s it ironic?” You asked, and Peter’s eyes filled with fear at the realization that he’d said it out loud.  He didn’t say anything at first, his brain still turning and his heart beating impossibly faster than it already was.  You could tell that he was nervous, so you rested your forehead on his chest so that he didn’t have to look at you.  “Peter?” You called when you didn’t hear any answer from him.

“Sorry I-I didn’t know what to say you uh y-you make me nervous” You pulled away, looking up at him with surprised eyes and raised brows.

“I do?” You asked, taken aback by the confession.  Peter nodded, looking from his feet to you and partially wishing that he could drop dead right this moment.

But then you smiled at him, an airy laugh coming from your lips.

“You make me nervous sometimes too Parker Pete” You told him, and a small smile pulled on his mouth, his face red.

“R-really I-I-I do?” He stuttered, and you nodded.  Peter let out a small chuckle, looking down again before back up to you.  You nodded again, your bottom lip tucked slightly between your teeth.  He let out a small laugh, really just a puff of air.

“Why do I? I’m not mean to you am I?” You asked, chuckling quietly and he did too, shaking his head.

“No, no not at all you’re-you’re nice, very nice- to me! To me anyways I’ve seen you have at it with Clint” You laughed again.

“We don’t fight it’s just banter” You told him, shaking your head dismissively and wringing your hands behind his neck.  “Well?” You said softly, still waiting for his answer.

“Well.. uh… well you see you’re very good at what you do- v-very talented” He started anxiously, and the swaying that has been your dancing, halted.  “And-and I think you’re really beautiful” Your cheeks flushed red as you bit back a grin.

“Really?”

“Y-yeah well yeah” Peter said simply.  “And you’re- you’re a genius I mean you’ve got this capability to work with Dr Banner, and you’re my age I-I’d say that’s pretty neat” You let out a soft giggle, your eyes wide with adoration for this boy in front of you.  “Truth is y/n I… I like you, a lot, as-as more than a friend” Your heart stopped in your chest.

“I like you too Peter Parker” You whispered out softly.  I smile quirked on his lips, that turned into a grin within seconds.  You caught his eyes flicker down to your lips, and you licked over them subconsciously.  Your hands slid to his shoulders, resting at the base of his neck and you stepped ever so slightly closer.  His eyes kept looking from you to your lips, over and over and it made you chuckle.  “Well are you gonna kiss me or not?” You mumbled, your stomach flipping over repeatedly.

“Not! He is most definitely not!” You sprung away from Peter, your back and head hitting the window.  “Parker what the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Peter spun around to see your Dad standing there, his arms crossed angrily.

“I-I uh I-”

“y/n, go to your room it’s time for bed” He said, his tone frustrated.

“Dad I’m not six you can’t send me-”

“Bed” He gritted and you stood a little straighter.  You nodded your head, and looked to Peter quickly, waving a short and quick goodbye and rushing out of the room.

[ when you had not touched me yet / oh, take me back to the night we met ]

Peter was pacing in the hallways, contemplating whether or not he should go  back to his own quarters, like Mr Stark had so… kindly… told him to.  Or if he should knock on your door.

He liked you, that part was obvious now.  He liked you so much it hurt to not be with you.  If he’d known what love felt like, he could almost say he was in love with you.  He could sit down and talk to you all day about anything, he could go to sleep at night wishing he’d had just five more minutes.

Maybe if you weren’t Tony’s daughter, maybe if the entire team of Avengers weren’t standing guard over you, like they were all your protective older brothers, he would’ve told you sooner.  Maybe.  Peter Parker was never one for having confidence, in fact, before the suit, he was the shy nerdy kid that no one really knew the name of.  He wasn’t popular, or very out going by any means, but ever since Spider-Man, he had a higher self esteem, pushed himself more.

And he really, really liked you.

So, he knocked.

[ Take me back to the night we met ]

“Peter?” You said quietly as you opened your door.  You had changed into a tee shirt and sleep shorts for bed, your hair hanging down in loose waves hanging over your shoulders.  You wrapped your arms over your chest, trying to preserve the warmth you’d lost when you got out of bed.  “Hey what’re you doing he-” You were cut off when his hands flew out, cupping your cheeks and pulling your lips against his.  While at first you were surprised, you sunk into it instantly and wrapped your arms around his neck, completely melting against him.

When he pulled away you were a smiling blushing mess and all you could hear was your heart pounding in your chest.

“I’m sorry”

“Why?” You chuckled.  “I mean, I’m not apologizing” You said again, and he smiled back at you.

“I just- might not get the chance to do that again” He said, and you nodded, biting down on your lips slightly.  “So-so I had to… just once” You nodded.

“Yeah I… I’m glad you did” You said softly.  He hugged you before saying goodnight.

You would both be okay.

idk the ending makes me feel eh :/ it’s been a long couple of days so i’m sorry about this but this is for @high-functioning-fangirl02 bc of our love for parker pete

(update: the link for the dress didn’t work so here it is)

[ignitingwriting]

Igniting Writing Bingo Challenge 2020, Submission by Christopher McAllister

Wanted Poster

 WANTED: ‘Baby Olaf’

Melted or frozen! – £100,000

A few days ago, a magical baby snowman plotted to invade summer beaches with intentions expressed by a song that has gone viral across the internet. Many holiday goers have described being hit with snowballs that “feel like they have rocks in them” which, by law, is considered GBH. This fugitive must be stopped at all costs. Below contains a description of what to look out for, should you have 20/20 vision:

An orange carrot sticks out from an oversized white head. Below that is a narrow lop-sided smile, stitched into a smirk with one white tooth jutting out. Its black eyes are empty and lifeless in the shape of two large ovals with highly raised eyebrows. Three equal sticks grow out from the top of its large head, made out of the same material as the arms.

The arms are long twigs with four prongs on each side for fingers. The arms flail as the ‘Baby Olaf” glides from target to target, trailing snow. The buttons are uneven. Just like the eyes, they are coal black and appear to have slid down to the bottom of the snowman like melting chocolate.

Speaking of chocolate, this mushroom shaped maniac is renowned for freezing Bournville chocolate in the attempt to break peoples’ teeth. The reason for this is not yet certain, however more will become clear should you apprehend the fugitive. You will be awarded £100,000 for your services.

Contact Disney on 61016 should you fulfil the bounty.

Creature Feature

 Day 718 - The mouth was huge! Its yellow teeth dripped an odd viscous slime that appeared as puddles on the floor. From this mouth came an odd groaning sound as we stood just outside of it, astound and consumed in wonder. A call from behind caught everyone's attention. It was time to enter this cave. I, myself, was carrying a lamp to light the way which thankfully confirmed that I had to go first, a simple trick in the book. As an explorer, it is my God given duty to lead people and explore the unknown to discover its secrets – especially before the likes of Robert Scott or Shackleton. Onward explorers!

Day 719 - After breaking up our underground camp, we divided. Our group decided to take a safer route and left the three of us, myself, Hall and Spencer, to continue the more exciting route. Our lamp was still burning which allowed us to avoid the large cracks and plot pot-holes along the way deeper into this cave. It was at this point where hissing and clicking could be heard. I stayed, while the rest fled.

Emerging from the cold, black depths was a huge, hairy spider. As it opened its mouth an old oil lamp was hurled at me, thankfully falling short. I shone my own lamp at the arachnid. It was a dull grey with a sickly yellow hue. The teeth were like huge sharpened logs with rough spikes jutting out of them – just like the ones on the outer armour of the legs. The abdomen was huge and furry with a long sharp point on the end.

I fled, but I could hear scuttling behind me, loud clicking against the stone of the cave. In fear, I ran fast – in the wrong direction.

I hit a dead end. In the dim light I could make out cobwebs ahead of me, they were like white shining silk. At this point I turned around. It is clear this diary entry ends here with a mystery still to be discovered.

Genre Whiplash

 It was dark; both suns had set over the boundless tundra of Onryx. Stars began to appear and eventually form the timeless tapestry of constellations. The vast land faded slowly from a fiery orange to a mellow purple. Patches of snow glistened a soft white with a blue hue as the first of the few moons arrived from the south.

This moon was small, but it was bright enough to illuminate the dirt path walked by many travellers from faraway lands. Of the many travellers who carry exotic spices and animals through the barren region, none compare to this one. He walks aimlessly to the point where many could argue that his dog is doing all the work.

A few more minutes pass before the man stops. One of the dog’s three heads turned towards the right of the path. Something was moving in the undergrowth, crawling at a small pace. Unleashed, the dog bounds towards the source of the noise, all three heads barking furiously.

Then nothing. Silence. The owner of the dog began to pace slowly towards the source of the crawling sound, one step after another.

Suddenly, the ground vanishes beneath him. He falls.

Dazed, he manages to roll onto his front and crawl, his long black dreadlocks dragging as he tries to regain his footing on the ground. A cave… The thought was cut off by screeching bats as they swarmed the man. He fought back, swinging his arms as the bats attacked him.

Again, he was on the ground, his hair lay on the ground all around the cave.

“Aiden?”

The man turned. A few paces away was a sight he thought he would never see again, a sight he left behind in his last city.

“Caitlyn?” Aiden asked. Despite suffering a dull pain and blurred vision after being torn apart, he could still see the woman he dreaded to see again. This time, she was holding an axe.

“I don’t like you Aiden. Yet, we still manage to run into each other.” Caitlyn was still swinging her axe, blood dripping from the surface. A few feet behind her lay the dog, this time with no heads.

“I said to you before to stay away from me, you witch!” Aiden backed up as Caitlyn edged closer to him.

“Don’t you see Addy? We’re soulmates! We were meant to be together, at least give me a second chance! I know that your family arranged our marriage for a reason!” As Caitlyn poured out her empty heart, Aiden backed further and further away.

“I don’t want you. I hate you, I never wanted anything to do with you.” Aiden’s back jolted as he reached the back of the cave with nowhere to run.

“If I can’t have you, then someone else can deal with you, I can’t really care anymore…”

She dropped her axe, blew a kiss, then walked away.

Classic Charlie

 Ben was sprawled on his bed. He must have been staring at the ceiling for hours, way past midnight. A few steps away on the opposite side of the room Jack lay there too, eyes open but almost pale and lifeless. It was Ben who was first to turn on his side and begin chatting to his brother.

“Goodness, last night was…” He paused. His eyes dotted around the room as he searched for a word. “Something.”

A few seconds later, both brothers burst out with laughter.

“Damn, Ben, you disappoint everyone too often but it’s hilarious…”

“Not as hilarious as Charlie though,” Ben replied. He sat up and switched his lamp on, as did Jack who began to laugh.

“Oh my goodness, where the hell did she put all that booze?! She isn’t even our age and she managed to guzzle more than mum and dad combined.”

“Dunno, but it made her go scatty, even in the street!” Ben chuckled as Jack got up and paced around the room.

“Hang on Ben, so what exactly did she do?”

“Well let's see… where do I begin, cards against humanity, truth or dare, every drinking game we know?”

“Start with the dares, wasn’t she the one who always picked dare?” Jack asked.

“Yeah she was. Didn’t we dare her to wear Tasha’s pride hoodie for the rest of the night?” Ben ran his hand through his short dark brown hair. Jack turned to face him with his hands on the back of his head.

“Oh my God, yes, we did! Not gonna lie, I couldn’t tell if I was staring in amusement or because she made it very –”

Ben looked at Jack as he posed seductively.

“Say no more brother, that was Marcus daring her to pose like that by the window, God save anyone who saw that... It made it even more funny when it said –”

“�� Don’t take me, I’m gay!”

Both brothers began to cry with laughter. After they both calmed down, Jack pulled out his phone. Ben still paced around the room before grabbing loads of books and began benching.

“Hey weirdo, get over here.” Ben made his way over to Jack, who held out a picture of Charlie.

“Holy cow, Marcus had perfect timing with that shot! There wasn’t even any motion blur!” Ben and Jack stared at each other in shock before returning to look at the picture. It was of Charlie sitting on the window frame with one foot in close proximity to the radiator. She was hugging her leg and smiling. Soon, a notification popped up at the top of Jack’s phone. It was from Charlie.

“Wait… so what happened to her? Cause she just snapped me saying that she is in the hospital after last night.”

“Well Jack, if I remember correctly, she dangled her foot too far down and rested it on the radiator. Then she screamed because she pulled her leg back so fast that she lost her balance…”

“And then?” Jack implored.

“And then she fell out of the window. Marcus was holding onto her leg for some time but she slipped from his grasp and she landed in the bin outside…”

Jack stared at Ben. “Wow… pride lives on.”

After both laughing and recalling the night, both brothers turned their lamps off and went back to staring at the ceiling.

A Sporting Chance

 “It is the final of the… uhhh... Stankey Knife Cup? No – Stan Lee Knife Cup, where 22 players will be fighting to the death with extra-long and hard sticks. Here they are, slipping and sliding onto the court, a few adjusting their helmets before their fight begins. Both teams are readying on the court, skating around the rink aimlessly. Our match today: Cracknell Beas against slow Guildford Trains. I’m Martin Tyler, Alan couldn’t be with me as he is self-isolating.

Hang on… Oh my goodness me there has already been a goal, I didn’t even notice they started! Here the Trains are, slowly gliding along down the wings, Shortie whips it in… That should have been a corner but they’re continuing. Oh well, I can’t blame the refs for not wanting to interfere seeing as both sides are the ones with the longer sticks. You wouldn’t wanna get on the wrong end of one of those.

Rush goalie from Cracknell! What a save, denying Guildford the opportunity. Their passengers have been waiting for a while now, but the Trains were cancelled! Sounds awfully familiar… Hang on...  Oh my goodness me – he shoved that stick where?!”

Emotional Baggage

 There he lies, water sloshing around him as he drifts further down river. He wakes to a cloudless sky, colours of midnight purple, baby blue, acting as a canvas for the many stories written in the stars. A short while later, his boat shifts and he sits up and looks around. Through blurred vision, he makes out the jagged peaks of crepuscular mountains either side of the valley as he courses along the river, alone.

Only that he is no longer alone…

His vision returns to the fullest clarity to see a girl in a jet-black dress leaning over the front of the drifting boat. She is as white as a ghost under the pale moonlight and her long dark hair catches the baby blue of the night sky.

Calling out to her, he begins to rise to put a hand on her shoulder but suddenly stops.

The girl turns around to sit crossed legged, the long black skirt flows to conceal her feet. A familiar face to the boy in the boat: a sharp defined face with brown eyes and loads of freckles. The boy smiles and is the first to speak.

“I don’t believe we have met; how did you get here on my boat?”

The reply was the last thing he expected. “We have met too many times actually,” the girl begins.

“How so?” The boy fires back in return.

“You know me as Anna, or as you usually like to call me, that dark looming rain cloud over your life.” Anna’s face grew from a neutral pensive face into an angry snarl. The boy backed further into the back of the boat before regaining composure to approach her. Before he could respond, Anna continued.

“You see, you gave up asking me to leave. Well here’s your lucky day – you won. Congratulations. I bet life is going to be sunshine and rainbows for you and still a wildly dark tornado for me.”

The boy moved closer to her. “But why would you want to leave now?”

“From the minute I entered your peaceful summer day, you embraced me.” She pointed accusingly, “You embraced me and took me for your own and you never broke. In fact, you trapped me. Me of all things! I gave you hell and you took it to be heaven then you showed me the life I was never given.”

The boy held out his hand. “You know that I was always here for you when you threw a storm at me. I offered you something in return, why refuse it?”

Anna moved her long hair, exposing her neck. On it, scars and cuts manifested. “I am beyond sunshine and rainbows. In fact, I am a broken vase beyond repair. And I don’t want to be in you anymore. Can’t you just accept it and let me go?”

At this point confusion sprawled across the boy’s face – it was like Anna expected him to let her go. “What’s stopping you?”

Anna lifted her dress to show the bricks tied to her ankles. “These were meant for you tonight, but clearly you were never going to take them. I am done with your acts of kindness. You embraced a hellion for your whole life until now, but I must grow and move on and I can’t do that with you, so set me free. Go on, push me overboard.”

The boy stared in horror at Anna as she stood up, rocking the boat in the process.

“You don’t have to do this, Anna!” the boy cried. He reached out a hand to her and grabbed her wrist and pulled her safely into the boat. “Don’t make me kill you because you’re a coward to let go by yourself.”

“But all I want is to be free!” Anna yelled. In the space of a few seconds, the boy’s face flashed from terror to anger.

“To be free? You know, every other person you manhandled and drove to death wanted freedom and you never ever gave it to them! You took their brain for yourself and let them wander every street in pain and misery. They weren’t free, they were slaves to you! So you want to leave my head? Well you can’t. I am going to keep you there; I’ll show you first-hand what freedom looks like through my eyes.”

Anna screamed and scattered the surrounding birds. Orange began to bleed into the colours of the sky. Both Anna and the boy looked then turned to stare each other down again. Finally, Anna spoke.

“But you’ll be imprisoned and I’ll continue to try and make your life that tornado I live with! Is that what you wanted?”

The boy took a look at the horizon for one final time. The stars were vanishing. The water began to sparkle like millions of jewels making the same journey downstream.

“It isn’t about me,” the boy began, “it is about how I am gonna beat you. I am gonna keep you and prove how abstruse you really are compared to everyone who has to deal with your so-called tornado.”

Anna growled and sat down, tears streaming down her face. The boy laughed before sayin,g “Make yourself comfortable while you still can.”

Alphabetti Spaghetti

 “Are you feeling okay today?”

“Beyond happy, I am so glad to be here...”

“Could you please speak up?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Eventually, you will understand that I am trying to help you here.”

“Forget it, you won’t help me after what I did… nobody can.”

“Goodness me... what happened and where did you get that bandage?”

“He cut me.”

“Intentionally?”

“Just like that… he went for it and cut me so I…”

“Killed him?”

“Look, wouldn’t you do the same – that racist idiot attacked me and was about to kill my friends.”

“Maybe we should both calm down…”

“No, I am not done yet – ugh, you cops always think it’s us.”

“Of course not, we do our best to find out what happened on behalf of the law!”

“Pathetic job, I’m pretty sure your questions are empty and you have the cuffs beneath the desk already waiting.”

“Questions that we ask you are not empty, they are full of purpose and this is an interrogation so we can find out what happened, so can you elaborate on your alibi?”

“Reasonably.”

“Surely he didn’t just cut you, do you know why he cut you?”

“To be honest, all I remember is that it started when it began to rain and I was holding my –”

“Umbrella?”

“Very clever Miss Obvious, are you going to let me speak or still interrupt the black man?”

“Well of course I’ll let you speak, that is why we are here, isn’t it; now what was this guy like?”

“Xenophobic and racist – one minute he is walking down the street then the next he is running the other way telling everyone to ‘clear the street, the safari arrived!’ like a plain racist and it sucked too, nothing witty about what he called me and my friends.”

“Zebras?”

“And a few other names – you probably have those recorded already…”

“Brilliant, I think that will be all – now can I ask you to write your confession?”

“Confession?”

“Didn’t you admit to killing that racist person at the start – you need to write it down.”

“Excuse me but I had every reason to do what I did.”

“For legal reasons, you need to provide a confession and statement; once you do that, I will see if we can cut you a deal.”

“Great, thanks I guess.”

Alien Greeting

 So here I was, reclining back into my cream coloured lounger and laying under the sun that was now overhead. Like usual, I was reclining in my normal spot of the garden, surrounded by trees my great-grandfather planted hundreds of years ago. The trees were oak and were surrounded by other kinds of plants my father collected from his voyages. One thing he did not collect from his 720 days of discovery was a strange black box that stood sturdy amidst the trees.

I got up slowly, then made my way to this strange contraption. Once I was close enough, I could make out strange symbols and markings all over the box. On the top, were three strangely shaped buttons. I pushed each one. Nothing. I pushed all three at the same time.

Suddenly, the blue sky dimmed to a midnight purple. The trees fell away, almost as if time sped up to see their withering in a matter of seconds. A few short moments saw the grass wither away and die, soon to be replaced by glowing purple patches of grass.

I looked around, my stomach suddenly tightening and my fists clenching. Though there was no apparent danger, something was clearly wrong. Why and how on earth did a black box do this? Coming to think of it, where was the box?

Just as quickly as I posed the question, a sky blue orb thundered towards me, radiating light almost as bad as the sun. I put an arm up in front of my eyes, at which point the piecing light had vanished and the orb was a step away, floating as if on water.

I took half a step towards it and the orb flashed brightly once again, stinging my eyes. As soon as I recovered, I notice a strange ring around the orb. I reached to touch part of the ring with my smallest finger. If I was to lose it, it wouldn’t be as big of a loss. But I didn’t lose it.

As I touched it, the ground began to shift and strange honeycomb structures seemed to arrive quicker than I could blink. It was at this point that the orb began to slowly move away at walking pace.

I followed it.

As I approached what seemed to be a hexagonal door, the orb entered through and disappeared. At this point I began to panic, but was still hopeful that the door could automatically open. It didn’t. However, after pushing I found myself face-first on the ground staring up at the still present orb. I got up and looked around, the orb following me now.

I reached a weird hexagon tower within this building, which was completely black with similar runes as the black box.

I jolted suddenly. I turned around, my fists at the ready only to find the orb still floating. Soon, the orb expanded into a new shape – a flat 2D circle. It was at this point where instructions were clear. I took the 2D circle and held it up to the tower like structure.

I could see blurs of black moving around and operating the tower by tracing the runes. The smell was awful, rotten eggs, which led me to believe they were dealing with sulphur for some reason. On the right side of the circle, diagrams came up which demonstrated how the tower was built and what it was seemingly used for. This was a guess seeing as all the other weird gibberish was not of this earth.

I felt the circle getting smaller. After a pathetic attempt of pulling the circle wider, I dropped it. The circle closed and the orb returned, this time moving away from me. A cue to follow it.

A few more buildings were explained and explored before I ended back where I started the insane journey. Soon, the ring returned and this time I pressed slighting more clockwise. The buildings rushed away as quickly as they arrived and were replaced with what seemed to be a black and grey forest.

Grey fire consumed the branches as everything turned black. The orb moved forward into the burning forest. Now was the time to explore even more of this peculiar dream…

Dungeons and Bragging

 There he stood, his black armour glistening in the boiling sun with each dagger meticulously arranged. There were 10 ornate daggers in all, lined down his legs, each one inscribed with symbols of death and destruction. Those symbols were in line with the god who commanded him, its face the shape of the helmet this man wore. The side of the black helmet had two halves of a skull on each side around the ear area. To complete the helmet, a golden crest that matched the black and gold colour scheme was installed with a strong fiery red fabric that flailed in the wind.

The Cleric stepped forward with a strong gait, his black steel boots sinking into the sand. The boots had golden spikes down the centre with a skull emblem, representing the insane god who commanded him to the campaign. From his legs upward were ornate drawings of many previous campaigns with gold embroidery. Every victory was savoured by this warrior. Spikes were present on his shoulders as he clanked forward a few more steps. In his right hand, he held his two-sided battle axe encrusted in a strong gold alloy with ‘punishment is death’ written on the hilt. This guy was ready for war.

[sseamudd]

Come Dance With Me - Janstar Fanfiction

Summary - So this kind of takes place in the episode Bon Bon the Birthday Clown. But likes, there is no seance, Star already has a flaming crush on Marco, and Jackie never asked him to the dance. So Star and Marco are going together but not in a romantic way. Authors Notes - Based off the song I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance (With You) by Black Kids. I didn't use the original song though, I used a more electronic one because I just like it better. Strong language. Word Count - 2191 _____/-----\_____ "I don't know what to do, Janna! Marco is the one who's afraid of going to dances, not me! Why am I so nervous?!" Star walked down the halls with Janna, yelling quietly enough for no one else to hear the conversation, but loud enough to blow the bluenette's eardrums out. "Woah Star, just chill." Janna put her hands on Star shoulders and turned the blonde to face her. "It's okay." Janna told her friend. "No it most definitely not! How do I even talk to him!?" Star pushed Janna's hands and away started walking again. "Just talk to him like you normally do, jeez. It's not like this is a date... is it?" Janna answered. Was it a date? Janna hoped not, otherwise the heart she didn't have would start breaking. Like, Janna already knew Star had a crush on Marco, but going on a date with him would really start Janna's gay grieving process. "No it's not a date. We're just going as friends," Phew, "but it still feels weird." Star told Janna. They stopped at the blonde's locker. "Well, maybe instead of talking you two could dance?" Janna suggested, it was risk. This would end with Star dancing with Marco, but if she played her cards right she could get her way. "I could teach you! I am captain of a secret dance club." Janna informed Star, and watched as the girl opened her locker. Star turned to face her friend. "YOU'RE CAPTAIN OF A SECRET DANCE CL-" Star squealed before Janna covered her mouth. "Star! Shush, some one could hear!" Janna whispered, looking around to see if anyone was listening. "Janna that's so cute!" Star squealed again, but lowered it down to a whisper. Janna blushed at Star's comment, taken off guard. "Uh, yea, uh anyways, I could teach you." Janna said trying to regain her cool and not focus on Star's smile too much. "Oh no, I know how to dance, Marco probably doesn't though." Star waved her hand and exchanged the books in her arms for the other books hiding in her locker. Janna frowned for a split second. There is no way in hell she is teaching Marco how to dance with Star. "Didn't he dance with you at that Blood Moon Ball thing?" Janna recalled. "It's different." Star remarked. "Ugh." Janna sighed she put her back against the lockers and slid down until she sat on the ground. Star noticed her friends distress and mimicked her actions. "I know you don't want to teach Marco, of all people, how to dance, but could you? Pleaase." Star begged. Janna turned her head. "For meeeee." Star begged harder. "Yeah, fine. Whatever." Janna threw her hands in the air and stood up. Star followed and hugged her. "Thank you so much Janna!" Janna hugged back. "You'll only have to do it once! Just come to Marco's house before the dance." Star told her friend. "Okay." Janna said before Star walked away (not without waving goodbye). "See you later Janna Banana!" The blonde shouted down the hall. Janna smiled and waved back. When Star turned around Janna sighed and frowned for the third time. "I guess I'm going to return that outfit. I'm not going to a dance anymore." _____/-----\_____ "Uh, like this?" Marco shuffled his feet as Janna instructed him. "Yeah, I guess." Janna said pretty saltily, crossing her arms. "What is your problem!?" Marco yelled, making Janna flinched back. "I have been doing everything you told me today! I did the splits! In this suit!" Marco gestured to his pants. "I don't have a problem!" Janna yelled back, standing up. It was Marco's turn to flinch. The pair yelled at each other until they heard footsteps coming towards the room they resided in. They both joined hands quickly and pretended to dance before the door was opened. "Heyyyy guys!" Star said appearing in the doorway. "How do I look?" Marco and Janna stopped pretending to dance and faced Star. "You look great, Star!" Marco told her. Star was wearing a dark purple, backless dress, that poofed out ever so slightly and went to down to just above her ankles. Her hair was put into two buns on top of her head, like Princess Beia from Sun Battles. Some of her hair fell in front of her ears, like little vines that Janna could jump on to look into Star's eyes forever, in a non creepy way of course. "You look really pretty." Janna said without thinking, still staring. "What?" Star asked. "I said you look shitty!" Janna blurted, blushing madly. "But like not shitty like ew gross, like a uh wow you look like the shit. So like you look like the shitty?" Janna tried to recover from her comment saying everything that came to her mind awkwardly. 'what tf janna???? shitty? ¿SHITTY?' The girl thought, she was screaming on the inside. "Oh. Thanks then?" Star said. "Are you ready Marco?" Star asked. "Yup, are you sure you don't want to come Janna?" Marco asked Janna. "Yeah, I'm sure." "Alrighty then. We're just gonna get going. Bye!" Marco walked out with Star and shut the door. "Bye." Janna sighed, she plopped onto the bed and put her hands in her head. The door opened again and Janna looked up. Marco popped his head out from behind the door to look at her. "This is my room, get out." _____/-----\_____ "Are you having fun?!" Marco asked Star. "Yeah I am! Do you know when the dance is over, though? My feet are starting to get tired from all the crazy partying." Star asked. Marco pulled his phone from out of his pocket and turned it on. "It should be over soon. Hey can you get me some punch, please? I'm gonna hang with Ferguson and Alfonzo for a while." Marco asked. Star nodded her head and walked to the refreshment table. "Make sure the punch doesn't smell like- I mean uh, make sure it doesn't smell funny." Marco told Star before she walked too far. Star heard and did as he said. Smelt like regular Kola-Aid to her. She got a cup for her and a cup for Marco. She filled up the cups and took a sip from hers. "EVERYONE, IT'S TIME FOR SOME COUPLE DANCES, GRAB A SMOOCH BUDDY AND LET'S GET DANCING!" The DJ (who was also Marco's sensei) announced over the microphone. Star spit back into her cup, and dumped the Kola-Aid from both cups back into the bowl. She ran around the gym trying to find Marco before the dance ended. Unfortunately when she did, he was already dancing...with Jackie. Star smiled, despite the tears brimming her eyes. She didn't run out crying, or throw a tantrum. She just walked out calmly. She kept walking, and walking. Then she started, jogging. Then she ran. She ran as fast as she could. She didn't knoe what she was running from, but at the same time she did. She didn't even know where she running to, just that she was. _____/-----\_____ "If I'm not going to wear this dance then I'm going to wear it to the graveyard." Janna muttered, refrencing to the outfit she bought for the dance. She wore a black, long sleeve, button up shirt, with a white bow tie, and white suspensers. The sleeves were rolled up to just above her elbow. She also donned black slacks, with a old white, leather belt. Janna held a box of practical joke supplies, candles, chalk, and a picture of Bon Bon the Birthday Clown. She was going to have a seánce of she couldn't have a dance. When Janna entered the graveyard she spoke of and looked for Bon Bon's gravestone. As soon as she found it the girl started to set up. She lit the first candle when she heard distant crying. Janna put out the candle and did the number one thing you don't do in graveyards. She walked towards the crying. Janna got closer and closer until she knew the crying was coming from behind the tree. She peeped around it to see the owner of the sobbing. "Star?" She whispered walking next to her friend. Star hugged her knees to her chest and had her face buried in her arms. "Janna?" Star responded pulling her head away from her arms. Janna sat next to the blonde, "What happened?" She asked. Star closed her eyes and cried, hard. The princess clinged to Janna and put her face into the girl's chest "Woah, hey! It's alright, you don't have to talk about it." Janna tried comforting Star by hugging back. Star cried harder and Janna held onto her tighter. She felt that if she let go the blonde would disappear forever. _____/-----\_____ Janna didn't know how long it was when Star stopped crying. A couple seconds, a lot of minutes, an hour. Star's face was still buried in Janna's chest, but she wasn't holding on as tightly. She was sniffling and hiccuping but she wasn't crying. Star shifted, she turned to put her back against the tree, and leaned her head onto Janna's shoulder, and let Janna keep hugging her. "Marco was dancing with Jackie." Star whispered. 'Oh, oh.' Janna didn't know what to say other than 'it's okay' and 'it'll be alright' and in this situation, those are the worst things to say. So she listened. "I can't do magic, I'm bad at school. I broke the wand. The guy I like is probably taken, and everyone who I've ever liked are demons and delinquents." Star ranted. Janna felt her start to cry again. "Star! Hey, it's fine. If Marco can't see how amazing you are then that's his fault." Star smiled softly but it didn't stop her from crying. Janna was going make her stop, she was saying everything. "If it helps I think you pretty great! I really didn't want to teach Marco how to dance," Janna said almost slipping up and saying 'with you' "but I did because I...because you're my best friend. There's two types of people in this world those who dance, and those who don't. You definitely dance but Marco is still figuring out if he does or not. He wasn't very good when I was teaching him anyways. You need someone who dances Star." 'You need me.' Janna thought. "And, yeah, you didn't get to dance with Marco, but that doesn't mean you can't dance at all tonight. Janna risked it again. So what if she saw this in a cartoon once. She was sure it was going to work. "What do you mean?" Star asked, looking to her friend. "Hold on, one second." Janna got up. She turned her phone on and put on a elctronic instrumental song that she was quite fond of (and that happened to play in the cartoon that she got this idea from). Janna turned to face Star. She started blushing so she hid her face with her arm. "So, what I was trying to say was," she reached her hand out to Star, "come dance with me." Janna felt Star grab her hand. She lowered the arm from her face, and they both smiled. Janna pulled Star closer and they conjoined their other hands together and looked in each other's eyes. It wasn't complicated. Janna put her left foot fowards and her right foot back and Star put her left foot back and right foot fowards, they did the same with their arms (not letting go of the other's hand). In fact it was more like jumping. Janna looked up from her feet and Star did the same. Janna smiled before twirling Star. The princess giggled and Janna giggled back. Janna let go of their hands and they both did their own silly dances, laughing with each other. They both ran around each other like kids, until Janna bumped into her friend. The bluenette started falling, but Star caught her. Her arms around Janna's back, she looked into the Philippino's eyes and. Janna did the same. The tension broke as they started laughing. Janna put her arms around Star, as the hearts on her cheeks started to glow. Janna decided for the third time that day, to risk it. She put her forehead to Star's, and connected their lips. The best part was when Star kissed back. _____/-----\_____ Authors Notes - The entire ending was just one big Steven Universe reference. I like just completely stole that scene from Alone Together. Alone Together is also the name of the song they dance to (it's background music from Steven Universe so it doesn't have singing). Anyway I actually liked this one. The original title was going to be 'Not Gonna Teach Him' but I like this one better. Bye looossers.