#But even if he was reborn without the craving for blood- who would be friends with him. After all he did in his past life

[analyzingadventure]

You know I actually never realized this before-- so you remember how tri. retconned Original Chosen fighting and defeating Apocalymon into them fighting the Dark Masters instead? (To be fair it is possible they could've ALSO fought Apocalymon afterwards but that isn't the Epic Final Showdown tri. decided to depict so it's borderline a retcon)

If the Original 5 Chosen fought and defeated the Dark Masters once in the distant past, doesn't that mean that

A) They survived and hid for just a few thousand years until they came back for a Round 2 at conquering the world

B) They died, were reborn, and THEN went for the Round 2

You know I've just DYING with curiosity, desperately wanting to know if any of the villians in Adventure would ever be reborn after Adventure, right. Because according to the lore they should, right (unless their data was like somehow absorbed by Apocalymon and destroyed along with him (though that would still leave Piemon as an exception (and Vamdemon but we all know what happened to him) and the sole survivor))

And what tri. has essentially done is confirm that most of them should, in fact, be reborn sooner or later

But that just raises the question of if Apocalymon was lowkey driving the Dark Masters nuts (as suggested by the novels), and if tri. was kind of about destroying the last remnants of Apocalymon's data (within Meicoomon), if they were reborn this time would they be free of Apocalymon's influence

If so, would their third (?) lives then turn out different? Would they still try to take over the world all over again for funsies (this time just without Apocalymon giving them power etc), or were they just the same as Ken was in Zero Two? I mean Apocalymon was supposed to be a spawn of Milleniummon and Ken was infected with Mille's malice directly, so while it may have been a bit filtered it was still the same source of malice and corruption, right

And like regardless of how their next lives would turn out, shouldn't the kids (OR AT THE VERY FUCKING LEAST GENNAI) like realize that this is going to happen eventually and like. Go and see if they can find them (either as their pre-Ultimate forms or even when they're still in their Eggs) and try to figure out what to do BEFORE shit hits the fan

I JUST

[gfitzwillsebastianz3rd]

Boodbound Asks thing - Whichever numbers you're on, do the next ones please!

35-51 coming up Anon! We're almost finished with these, but I will do more if I find any interesting questions.

TW: Homophobia, Transphobia, Suggestive Content, Angst, Death Mention

Who's more artistic?

Ash knows Origami, and other small crafts, and used to have a Youtube channel.

Adrian knows how to farm, and how to whittle and carve wood, especially in building and carpentry. Both know skills that could be considered artistic.

Who's more likely to fire up the stove at 2 am because the other woke up in the middle of the night hungry?

Ash tends to cook the things he's craving that use the open ingredients in the fridge, and take the least amount of time to cook when he's in pain.

Adrian enjoyed cooking for Ash because of how he was up for trying anything once, from wines to savories and desserts he’d cook for them.

Which is more likely to swear?

Ash rarely swears unless he's very scared, very angry or in a lot of pain.

Adrian will swear mostly in semi-inaccurate rusty French, being born into a French-Canadian family and having once lived in the French Quarters of New Orleans for a time.

Who is more sexually experimental? Who's more vanilla?

Ash has wanted to be more experimental but is quite shy, so he started more Vanilla, but Adrian has tried more things in his centuries as a Vampire and is more experimental.

He and Ash have explored a blood play kink with Adrian being a Vampire and Ash being his consenting boyfriend. Ash had one or two kinks he and Adrian were exploring before the Vampire Siege of New York.

Who would rescue an injured animal and nurse it back to health? What would the other think?

Adrian has a soft spot for cute things and both love to care about people and animals.

They'd both love to care for an injured animal, and though Ash would try to rein in Adrian’s idealism, he's soft and would be easily persuaded especially if it became their pet.

Who has an insatiable appetite? And what does the other do to help?

Adrian would help Ash if he was reborn as a Vampire with a new type of thirst for blood.

He's also an excellent cook if he wanted human food, though Vampires only eat and drink human food for pleasure and usually don’t need to eat anymore.

Which one would take their jacket off and drape over the other one because they were visibly shivering?

Adrian had often given Ash his coat or hugged him close when he was cold due to his medical conditions.

At one point, Ash had used the excuse that he was cold to share a bed with Adrian at his Colonial home.

What's their favourite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

Ash loved the smell and sound of Rain because it quietened his tinnitus, and Adrian once loved the feeling of Sunshine when he was human.

Who would give their life for the other without a second thought?

Both would do so, especially since Adrian nearly died fighting Senator Vega, and Ash died fighting Gaius to Protect Adrian and his friends. Both often did things without a second thought to protect the other, even if it put them at risk.

Who would dance in the kitchen making dinner? Would the other join in or watch from the doorway?

Adrian is a better dancer simply because he is more confident and mobile, and he loves to cook.

Ash has rhythm, and does love to dance, but isn't confident when being watched by anyone but Adrian.

If Adrian offered him a dance while he was cooking, Ash might join, but if Ash was dancing while cooking and in a good mood on a day with less pain, Adrian might be content to watch him.

Can they fall asleep without the other?

Ash loved to cuddle with Adrian while they slept because he was cold. Adrian loved to listen to Ash’s heartbeat and their unborn son’s when Ash was pregnant with him.

He struggles to sleep without Ash now that he is presumed dead, but he has put their son’s crib beside his bed so he can hear him if he needs him.

Would they get frisky at the movies by themselves?

Adrian and Ash once got handsy at a Vaudeville show by the Shadow Den’s Liv Danara, and barely anyone was watching them fondle each other or when Adrian drank from Ash.

Does either of them have a secret that could potentially ruin their relationship?

Adrian’s secret past as a bloodthirsty Vampire soldier has been shared with Ash, and he’s seen it in visions in the past, as a Bloodkeeper.

If it was shared with the world after the Vampire Siege of New York, Adrian’s reputation would suffer.

Who's the better driver? Ash cannot drive and gets motion sickness, but Adrian did invest in the motorcar and was a gear monkey in the past, so he can drive, and he is very careful when keeping others safe.

Does either of them have a hard time being away from the other?

Ash would search for Adrian in a room whenever he felt lost, but Adrian would only seek him after doing whatever he had to do in a room, such as speaking at a fundraiser and then making his way over.

Both crave physical contact with each other.

who's more likely to do something out of spite?

Ash is very sarcastic and had, during many Vampire Council meetings, verbally fought with The Baron and with former Senator Vega.

He mostly did it because he is good at resolving conflict level-headedly, provided no personal emotions make it complicated, but he also hated The Baron’s Transphobia and Homophobia toward himself and Adrian.

What’s a nonverbal way they say I love you?

Squeezing each other's hands three times, which Ash came up with, or just being in close contact, and being very tactile.

[stylistiquements]

The Sorcerer pt. 1

Corpse Husband x gn!reader

Reincarnation AU | Summary :

The same candle lights up on Corpse’s desk every time you are reborn and turn 23. He has been looking for you during centuries but this time you might be closer than anticipated.  {Playlist}

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 : 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

You’re about to blow your 23rd candles and Corpse is about to experience the consequences of it. Somehow, something about your rebirth is different this time.

☾ Words : 6009.

☾ Warnings : angst, mention of death (only suggested and not specific), grieving, swearing 

Masterlist | Next 

What does it mean to be a sorcerer in 2021? Corpse wonders as he chooses an outfit for his black bean character, lightly tapping his fingers in a crafted rhythm against his dark wooden desk. Nothing, really. The modern days turned his kind into a groundless concept, legendary creatures at best and it’s truly a shame when you think about it.

“Alright, are you ready?” Corpse asks as he moves his mouse above the “start” button and projects everyone into a new round.

“I won’t forgive you like I did last round,” Karl warns Corpse, dash of amusement in his tone.

“Sure,” he scoffs and the devious ghost of a smile shines on his lips when the bloody word “imposter” appears above his virtual pink cat hat.

Sorcerers used to be the rulers of this world and the most famous of well-hidden secrets; no one talked about it yet everyone knew. You just had to be here, respect and adoration followed their every move. People from all horizons went out of their way to meet them in hope of witnessing a miracle.

Oh, how the tables have turned now. They didn’t have to hide their face back then and it all went the harmonious way until a certain day when their fate met a tragic outcome. The day when life took a turn for the hidden.

Corpse is somehow retired now. Maybe that’s why he started doing youtube in the first place; because the craving of being needed had to be fulfilled one way or another. Or maybe because the thrill of life has been gone for so long he had to try everything to fill the void in hope of feeling a drip of something again. The weariness of a mere life stiffened in his rib cage from time to time, preventing a proper breathing.

He could have still been able to practice his magic facelessly -he wouldn’t be the first one to do so after all- but it seems crazy, surreal even, for him to picture being so public about such a heavy little secret nowadays. He found comfort in the concealed, in the invisible so long ago.

See, that’s the most important reason why Corpse is who he is today but stopping the explanations there would be neglecting the truth. Corpse would, but I'm more honest than he is.

Somehow, he believes a little too seriously that a kid’s app was designed to ruin his life. He feels this rotting taste that burns his tongue every time he thinks about it, he always talks about it with great passion; as if one minute videos could compete against the thundering energy that travels from his veins to the tip of his fingers. Witchcraft tiktok got the last bit of his ancestral pride and that’s a damn shame.

His character ambles around the hostile corridors dipped in yellow light, looking for a prey to slice in half. He doesn’t have a plan yet but he sure knows how to improvise by now. Corpse deems that he’s rather good at it. He meets Tina in O2. She’s wandering around, running like a headless chicken. What if he took that expression a little too seriously? Alas, he can’t wrap his mind around the idea of the unforgivable and she escapes his reach. Corpse’s nose wrinkles, better luck next time.

His fictional blood thirst gets stronger when he hops inside a vent and observes Rae’s red character doing her tasks. Corpse knows what comes next, it’s inevitable. A hint of excitement and nervousness hatch on his chest.

At the same time on the other side of the country, the ones you love are carrying a big cake to your table. It seems so silly and it leaves you slightly embarrassed that people are celebrating the fact that you were born but, somehow, you can’t forbid that smile to reach your ears.

When you look at the cake, a snort escapes your control. Your friends drew a glazed picture of you but you find yourself hoping that there isn’t much resemblance between that Picasso-ish designed cake and your actual face. I mean, except for that particularity your face displays; eyes that don’t match in colors, one green and one hazel, it really just looks like a kid's doodle.

23, what a weird number. It doesn’t sit quite right with you for some reason. 22 is fine, same goes for 24 but 23 … Somehow, it feels like something is either missing or too much. You’re not too sure which one it could be.

The warmth that emanates from the candles is sweet and tickles your chin softly and everyone is singing along the most disastrous birthday wishes. You’re preparing for your wish. What could you need more? You’re a faceless horror narrator on youtube and life is just about good. I mean, there really isn’t much to complain about and that should be enough.

Your mind drifts off for a second, contemplating what the dream life could be about while one of your friends is already complaining about wax getting all over your glazed face. You could wish for material things but they come and go and their meaning is only ephemeral, maybe 23 is about getting more than that.

Ah, found it. You close your eyes. May I find the place where I truly belong. 23 candles are blown in one breath, not a bad performance.

That’s when the candle on Corpse’s desk starts shining a delicate and orange shade.

Corpse doesn’t notice it at first, too impregnated by his hunt, but when the unusual warmth finally informs him of the merry event, he wrestles to keep his mind into the game. His virtual character stands motionless for a second as he mutes his mic and takes his headphones off.

Fuck, not now please.

Somewhere, a new version of the love of his life turned 23. His mind drifts off, wandering near this idea as his eyes meet the flame.

It’s been hundreds of years and that fucking candle kept you hostage of his mind. Because Corpse couldn’t forget about you, he built those walls to provide you from slipping away, from invading too much of his busy mind. It was a compromise he made with himself so he couldn’t reach you entirely and, therefore, miss you completely. Yet, your rebirth leaks through the pores of his brain and past the fences no matter how hard he tries.

Corpse battles to breathe, he tries to get his mind back on the game but somehow his throat is already filling with a dangerously acidic concoction. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t notice immediately the way his fingers start shaking at a painstaking rhythm.

He moves his character around. Left and right. It’s mechanical and meaningless, nothing but a lost cause. Corpse clenches his grip around the mouse, hoping that the unsteadiness would pity him. How much longer can he carry that feeling? It sits on his shoulders and his chest. It tests out his patience, his own resistance to pain.

“Corpse!” Rae shouts wholeheartedly, rooting him out of his spiral. “Where are you?!”

Fuck; he has no ounce of idea of what is happening in real life, too busy going down this familiar and intimate loop once more. He swallows it all, praying that you would spare him some earned mercy. You’re always so cruel, unabashedly sneaking in and taking over his space despite all his efforts.

“I-huh- I’m in medbay, I have scan," he bluffs, hoping that no one would notice the way his voice cracks at the end.

Because if anyone did, he would have to admit that he’s not okay, that he never was and doubts that he ever will be. Just as if conceding the facts would’ve allowed him to feel how flourishing his despair was. There’s this knot inside his throat. It’s painful and he’s so tired. How many times was he left crawling on his bathroom’s floor when his heart fractured a little deeper? He misses you every fucking day but each rebirth brings back more and more longing.

He would love to abandon himself to the aching pleasure of this unsolicited reminiscence but he knows that if he did, you would possess him wholly and never give him back. You plague his mind like a mist that grows thicker and thicker on his lungs. It diffuses everywhere and intoxicates what’s left of him.

“Sure sleepy but that’s bullshit,” Tina whines. “We know it’s Corpse. He’s been sus’ the entire round!”

“He said he had scan, right?” Sean interferes, believing that Corpse is the jester. “Why don’t you give him the benefit of the doubt?”

They’re all waiting for Corpse to step in, to defend himself but he’s no longer here, too busy trying to swallow the emotions that are leaking all over the place. It gnaws him alive, piece by piece and it hurts so fucking much. Will it ever stop?

Silence is convenient, “I voted” badges get pinned on everyone’s chest. His black character falls into the lava, what an ironic metaphor.

“Sorry guys, something came up and I gotta go.” He finally says, hurry in his voice. He doesn’t try to hide it. In fact, he can’t.

“Are you s…” Rae’s voice gets cut abruptly when Corpse quits the call without further notice.

Corpse knows what’s next, when his head gets overcrowded by feelings and his heart too empty. It’s ugly, it’s messy and oh how he wishes it would be different this time.

The room is spinning from the crumbs of your sweet face and the trickle of your voice that drips through his ears as if you were still here. He clings onto that distorted and stained picture as if it was the ultimate proof that you were real. Were you even real once ? Remembering feels like repeating a word over and over again: with time, it loses its meaning. It wasn’t you he remembered, Corpse figured it out a long time ago. You weren’t there anymore.

The thought of it drives him crazy. He wishes he could get rid of that fucking candle, constant reminder of your rebirth away from him, constant reminder of the defeat he has to endure every time you turn 23 and you’re still not by his side. He has been looking for you everywhere for hundreds of years, from the biggest capitals to the most secluded parts of this world, without a single hint of your existence. You’re his greatest failure and he can’t, he won’t stand that.

Corpse grabs the candle and it collides with the floor with a thud that tangles with his raw voice. His chest moves heavily. It's scattered and in discord and there is this distorted gaze on his face when he remembers that the candle cannot be shattered. It’s this unsolicited spark of self-awareness that brings him closer to reality. Fuck. What the fuck is he doing? Corpse finally lost his damn mind. His hands wander uncontrollably in his hair and he looks around frantically for a second, trying to remember how to survive.

Corpse’s head is pressuring him, rushing him to turn off his computer and spill the words that are stuck on the back of his tongue on a piece of paper. That grip is unforgivable and unclear but he starts writing as if it was the only thing left to do, maybe it is. It feels like survival instinct at this point, it feels like the last attempt to collect the pieces of himself you left behind.

Dear you,

Happy birthday, wherever you are in this world. Another letter is about to join the pile. How many are there already? I wouldn’t know. I stopped counting since it made me sick.

As every time, I hope it’s the best birthday you have ever had. I remember the twenty-third birthday we spent together as if it were yesterday. I can no longer recall the way your eyes wrinkled under your bright smile or the sound of your echoing laughter but I do remember that warm feeling inside my chest, the pain in my cheeks from laughing with all my heart. How pleasant was it to be able to live it all with you? To be able to embrace you, to breathe you, to see you. Forgive me, my love, for I am no longer capable of picturing anything of you. I wish I could. I wish I could be haunted by a proper ghost, at least, and not just a glimpse of the range of emotions that animated me when you were by my side. All I can remember now is that you felt like a firework and that my eyes never met a prettier human. It’s so truly unfair to think about the fact that no one matters as much as you still do.

I am drifting off, am I? I always tend to do that in those letters. I hope you’re doing well, I really do. Did you spend your birthday with the ones who love you? I hope you’re happy and healthy. It’s the only important thing, or at least that’s what I have learned so far.

I hate those letters, they make me realize how lonely I am. Somehow, it feels like I’m expecting an answer that is never going to arrive.

Fuck. My skin aches from the lack of your touch. I miss you so fucking much. Just tell me what to do. I tried everything and you’re still stuck inside my brain. I’m a sorcerer for fuck’s sake, one of the most powerful beings to have ever existed and yet the concept of one single human defeats me day after day, rebirth after rebirth. I’m a fucking shame for my kind. I hate you. I love you so very much. Happy birthday.

Yours truly, Corpse Husband

The paper is stained by the storm that has been building up in Corpse's mind for hours. The letters are deformed now. Look at the mess you just made. He throws the letters away, where he can no longer see it and brings his knees to his chest, resting his head between his legs. He feels like screaming one more time but he’s choking. Sweet and sore agony grips his throat as his veins are burning with thick poison.

Don’t be fooled, Corpse would have been able to cast a spell or two to forget about your existence and spare himself a bit. Yet, it would only erase the last proof he had of you, not his feelings. He would have to bear the burden of a quest he could no longer figure out. He would be left longing for something that no longer existed. As if it wasn’t the case already. He wishes he could sleep, life would be so fucking easier if he could just fall asleep.

A few days have passed since your birthday. The thread between days and nights is thin and confusing and the candle on Corpse’s desk is still radiating with as much energy as the first day.

Corpse’s head is heavy, aching, he wonders if he could still carry it on his shoulders if he wasn’t lying on his bed. That sore body feels like it has been drained from an eagerness that has been growing for too long. Corpse groans, trying to figure out what’s sheets and blankets and what’s limbs, living up to the name he chose for himself.

Every ray of the sun is burning his skin. It leaves his body smelling like heat, he doesn't like that smell. Now, he could just get up and draw the curtains but that laziness is as weary as infiltrated. If only it could rain, maybe it would soothe his nerves and his growing migraine.

After a few minutes of silent fulminations, Corpse finally unlocks his phone and opens his texts one by one just to ignore them. He’s curled up on himself, as if a compressed version of his darkness could help in order to block the light. Sorcerers are supposed to be tied with nature, with every ray of the moon and the sun. His bond with the sun is molded, if not completely doomed to grow untie. Corpse is a sorcerer like no others and that goes without saying.

One text captures his breath and his attention, bringing back some interest into the numbness. It’s coming from you, y/n. Or at least, the “you” from this present life. The “you” who isn’t aware of the past and the “you” Corpse doesn’t know is the one he has been looking for during eternity.

In this life, the two of you aren’t close enough to be friends -and he would never let you take that role- but, by the time of your first Twitter interaction -which consisted of you tweeting emo Sykkuno with tattoo pictures and Corpse replying with a meme that said "If life is a simulation please turn it off", Corpse knew you should be near him at all time. Not too close for you to actually be able to touch him but definitely not too far. It’s peculiar but something that has to be felt, not explained; a primitive hunch so loud it couldn’t be unheard.

His mind is awake again. The plan for today, which consisted of him rotting in his bed, seems compromised right now. Corpse turns to lay on the left side of the bed, where the sheets are cooler. His brows furrow and he sighs heavily as he rubs his eyes with his thumbs.

Corpse really doesn’t know why he’d feel that way in the first place for someone like you. You always seem so organic, radiating, so free in the way you choose to exist. He envies you for being so authentic when all he can afford to do is remain hidden, where no light can really reach him if not to draw a faint shape of his being. No harsh feelings though, it’s just the way he feels about anyone who doesn’t sound fake. There is still a bit of remaining endearment in the way Corpse’s words are thrown at you, you just have to know what to look for.

Now, Corpse trades his horror narrator's advices against some social media help. Those things are bigger than him, he’s too old for that anyway. You think the way he still uses symbols as emojis is charming -no one does that anymore- but Corpse just can’t keep up with today’s slang and way of showing emotions via texts. Kids these days are just too creative with the way they express themselves.

[Hello, Mr Sorcerer, hope you’re doing good. I need your help on something.]

Huh.

He meets your words and his mind gets coated in sweat, frozen blood preventing the next heartbeat from happening. Who told you?

Corpse can’t wrap his mind around the fact that his most precious secret is being exposed with that much negligence. He can count on his fingers the number of people who are aware of his true nature, half of them are actually other magical beings of some sort. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

His head is hammered by thoughts. He thinks he’s screwed, that everyone will know. He can already foresee what is about to come. That’s why there is a bit of fear in the way his eyebrows are arching. His alerted mind screams for him to just throw his phone across the room but his fingers, covered in panic, are faster. The first text he sends is not directed to you, but to Sykkuno, his familiar.

Familiars are to sorcerers what assistants are to magicians. In short -but not limited to- a massive help.

Corpse’s link with Sykkuno transcends the law of words and thoughts. They just understand each other and the way they do, without even having to see each other, is just something that has to be witnessed once in a lifetime. It’s a sort of energy that travels through space, a special connection. It's light and invisible but leaves a warm trail on its way.

However, what doesn’t transcend their bond is the concept of time zone -which Corpse forgot about for a second. Sykkuno is probably asleep right now. Corpse’s panic takes back its race once he realizes he’s on his own and he types:

[Haha, very funny. You know, if you wanted to talk, you just had to say hi :)]

Denial, that will do the trick, right? You can’t be that persistent. Or at least that’s what Corpse hopes when he leaves his phone on an unstable balance on his forehead, waiting for an answer he hopes would spare his mind from yet another issue he has to take care of.

[I knew you’d say that but don’t worry, I promise I won’t snitch,] you reply, lips twitching under a sly smile. [I’m way too afraid of you cursing me or something.]

[Who told you shit like that anyway?]

[I just know someone.]

His expression hardens, that head keeps throbbing harder and harder by the minute. You’re so impetuous and it turns him into an impatient and choleric fog. The topic is too important, crucial and it shows how you truly have no idea what you’re talking about when you act as recklessly as you do.

[Some crazy folk told you about magic and you believed them, huh? Thought you were smarter than that.]

[Dream would be pretty upset if he knew you called him “some crazy folk”.]

Corpse stares numbly at his screen before sitting back on his bed, pulling away from his vision the curly strands that fell down. He throws a bunch of silent curses at the sun which is still attacking him, if not even more now. He types a few words but erases them in a snap, repeating the process once or twice more. Now he has to send another text, this one is for Dream : “we need to talk.”

What a weird day.

Questions, Corpse has so many of them but he can’t stop shaking his head with confusion. He had no idea you knew Dream. Why would Dream reveal something so critical as Corpse’s identity? Why would another sorcerer send you his way? That’s not how things are done unless it’s something they deem they wouldn’t be able to handle and there’s really a few things Dream wouldn’t be able to do. Corpse hesitates for second, fingers fidgeting in the air. He doubts that he would ever be capable of doing something Dream can’t do but does it really matter when, right now, you’re holding information you should never be holding in the first place?

[Feeling like trading secrets under the full moon?] You outbid. It’s always so tempting to tease Corpse when he sounds like a grumpy old man.

[A sincere fuck you.]

[That’s very rude, Mr Sorcerer.]

The way you avoid providing any sort of explanation grows in his mind like weeds that need to be ripped off. Really, from all the good timing in the world, you had to choose the worst one. But there’s the faintest hint of a smile on his lips when he does the math and realizes that, if you wanted to use that secret to your advantage, you would have done it by now. A slow relief that softens his headache. Also, Corpse is well aware that, as annoying as you can get, he can’t refuse you a thing.

[Fine, tell me what you need.]

[So I keep seeing the same number again and again and your name keeps appearing in my head at random times. Still don’t get the correlation but I know there is one. I wanna know the number’s meaning and how I can get rid of you.]

Corpse huffs, he’d like to know that himself. He’s about to laugh it off when he reads the text one more time. Something about it is mysterious enough to pique his curiosity. You mentioned his name, it bothers him. Not that he doesn’t appreciate you thinking about him but because it sounds odd enough to be something related to magic in one way or another. There’s this mix of excitement and apprehension that fills the pit of his stomach and now half of a smile is embellishing his lips. This buzzing sound in his brain, maybe it’s the final signal that he should start practicing magic again, the final signal his life will feel thrilling again.

[Call you in 5. This is a consultation by the way, I’m not doing this for free.]

[Fine, you rat.] You answer with a victorious smile.

Corpse’s words linger in the air. It’s smooth like velvet -you could almost touch it if you pictured it hard enough- and it’s soothing in some way. It’s deep mumbles and bits of light chuckles and a little magic. You’re spinning slowly on your chair, playing with strands of your hair. There’s a different tone in Corpse’s voice. He sounds tired and it’s mixed with something else you can’t really pinpoint. For the best or the worst, that, has yet to be determined.

“So.” Corpse says, bringing you back to reality. “What’s that number you were talking about?”

“Right. So, I keep seeing the number 5 everywhere. I wake up at 5:55 every morning. When my eyes are looking at the clock, it’s 5:55PM and it extends to absolutely everything.” You faintly slap your palm against your thighs in exasperation.

Corpse is silent for a moment as he tries to collect the bits of knowledge that are still hanging here and there inside his mind. As he expected, the pressure below his left eyebrow makes it hard to think. He really doesn’t get why Dream wouldn’t be able to take care of a matter that sounds so frivolous. It feels like the most important piece of the puzzle is missing , the one that makes the whole picture makes sense.

“Okay, this is not really my specialty but the number 5 is an interesting angel number.” Corpse hums. The word “specialty” echoes. Dream talked about that once and somehow, that’s how you finally realized that Corpse was, indeed, a sorcerer. Not that you wouldn’t believe the information in the first place but there’s a remarkable difference between learning and experiencing. What would be his specialty then?

Dream introduced you to this new veil a couple of months ago and you never fully believed in it before getting involved. Maybe that’s why you never talked about it to anyone. Even now, your skeptical nature always finds its way back to you. He said all sorcerers had specialties and that his was clairvoyance. You don’t really know what that means but you wouldn’t ask too much. Knowledge seems like a curse in that field, or at least that’s what you have learned from Dream’s distressed tone when he talked about the past. He always sounded like a broken record, a little out of tune, as if his soul was still partially stuck back there and maybe that’s why Corpse always sounded that way too.

“Do you believe in guardian angels?” You raise an eyebrow, high voice brimming with confusion.

“Do you?” Corpse pauses, you’re silent for a couple of seconds and he realizes that he won’t get an answer to that. “The number 5 is your guardian angel trying to tell you that things are about to change in your life. In fact, it means that the process already started.”

“You’re kinda scaring me though,” you say as you readjust your sit, nose wrinkling under an almost grimace. You don’t like it, you don’t like their world. It’s not yours, you’re only a human with a mere life and an almost mere job. Sometimes, you hate Dream for letting you on this secret you were now forced to keep. It always felt so two faced.

“You don’t have to be scared, the change is only gonna benefit you.” Corpse’s voice is soft and the way you can tell he believes in the words he is speaking is almost as surprising as reassuring. You can’t help it, you don’t like change. The unknown is called that way for a reason and maybe this reason is the explanation for why it needs to remain that way.

“Sure,” you coy. “What do I do about you? That’s what really interests me.”

He scoffs. Trust me, that’s what interests him the most as well. Yet Corpse knows no answer to that. He hesitates for a second and his eyes wander into the void. Should he let you know that he doesn’t have a clue, that it somehow scares him as much as it intrigues you? It feels like his broken sorcerer ego would crack even more if he did. Maybe he just had to find out before letting you know.

“Are you obsessed with me, y/n?” Corpse winces. Why would he have to travel through sarcasmland(™) to escape the question? His eyes go wide for a second, flickering on corners of his empty room. It’s only fair that he would tease you like you tease him, right?

“You’re just being annoying now,” you mumble, cheeks flushing in a vivid tint of pink and Corpse snorts.

Corpse almost forgot about himself for a second, about that damn candle, but it hits him once the conversation fades away and the static silence is the only thing left. So he gets up, grunts in complaint rooted out by sore muscles, turns his computer on and plays some rain sounds. The melody of droplets hitting the ground is reminding him how to breathe.

“Rain sounds, huh,” you whisper. “You like those.”

Corpse hums and the two of you are left listening to the rain. It tickles your ears pleasantly, so you close your eyes and relax in the back of your chair for a moment. It’s a beautiful disharmony if you really pay attention, just like Corpse is. You feel like the conversation is about to end, you don’t want him to hang up just yet.

“Corpse?” Your voice trails for a second and Corpse hums again. “Why did you decide to be faceless?”

“What did Dream answer to that question?” His tone is interesting, a bit higher than it probably should have been. What came up as conversation modalities turns into a piqued interest.

“He never answered me," you mumble.

“So people like you can’t take advantage of our nature in real life too,” he lies and you can tell by the half chuckle that travels with the answer.

You know you won’t get more from him, way less than you wish you did. Those faceless sorcerers always leave you hanging. They let you in on their little Hannah Montana life but never bear the consequence that is this endless and flowing well of questions. The rain rings heavily through your ears. It’s time for the call to end.

"Goodbye, Mr Sorcerer,” you sing before hanging up.

When the darkness finally surrounds Corpse, he slips into a strange place that greets him with a familiar smell; vanilla and freshly cut grass. The birds are singing. He takes a long inspiration, his body knows before he does. Corpse looks around, trying to let the image of the surrounding setting sink in.

That place seems oddly familiar, yet totally new; a kitchen made of golden wooden walls. It's decorated with an old and distinguished taste. The wooden table is dressed with a pretty blue and red tablecloth. Vases of fresh flowers displayed on parts of the kitchen, dried herbs hanging above the sink in front of the window. It’s dipped in sunlight, too bright to be real. The rays of light are swaying with the shadows of branches which are dancing outside with the wind. Corpse doesn’t mind the light for once, he even closes his eyes for a second to let every pore of his body get soaked in it. God, did he miss that place.

“Honey, I was waiting for you.”

Corpse’s heart jumps a little before clutching harder. He knows who’s here, he knows it’s his unforgettable love and the idea makes him almost want to never open his eyes again. He can feel it, the profound kindness and sweet smiles that are surrounding you like it always have and it makes his eyes burn with tears that are ready to trail down his cheek, sobs jostling inside his throat. Corpse wishes he could just cover you in embraces and kisses but he can’t, he can never do that in those dreams.

Corpse tries his hardest not to let the frustration immerse him in bitterness by controlling his breathing which could get carried away at any moment now. He finally swallows it all to look at you. There’s a significant disappointment on his face when he realizes yours is as blurry as always. He wishes he could just witness this beauty one more time. He doesn’t remember what your face looks like, you’re not real. It’s nothing but a dream and you’re not here.

“I made some cookies for you.” The ghost of you says as it points out a chair that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, inviting him to take a seat as it does the same. “Those are your favorite, remember?”

With a voice sweeter than honey, so bewitching, Corpse’s body works on its own and mimics your gestures. His eyes are frozen on your silhouette. He tries to remember the shades and colors that were once painted on your face. If only he could remember.

“Did you redecorate our kitchen?” Corpse asks as he takes a bite of the cookie.

“Did I?” Your past self wonders out loud. “It’s been so long, I can’t tell.”

The treat tastes as good as it always has, Corpse takes another bite. The silence in the kitchen is delicate, contemplative. Outside, the weather is lovely; white clouds floating above the endless and bright green meadows. Corpse tries to take everything he can from that dream, from the peacefulness he feels now deep inside, and the perfume of your skin, to the sweet voice that caresses his ears. If Corpse could stay here forever, he would.

“Why are you here, my love?” You suddenly ask, forcing Corpse’s attention which he refuses by looking away.

“I wonder if the wind is warm or cool outside, maybe I should check.”

Corpse knows what happens every time you visit his dreams : you end up asking this question, he answers and suddenly he’s alone and you vanished into thin air. The response is always the same; because I miss you. It leaves him feeling lonelier than ever, craving a presence he can no longer be blessed with. Just a little bit longer, please. He blinks rapidly to expel the few tears that are forming in his eyes, so the knot inside his throat wouldn’t become more unbearable than it already is. Corpse is left feeling so desperate and helpless.

In a precipitation he almost can't control, he gets up and walks towards the door. He just wants to feel the wind on his skin. Please, just a bit longer. Corpse is almost at the door when his eyes deform with stupor under the pressure of a hand that grabs his sleeve. His heart stops, he was never able to touch you in a dream before. What changed? There’s a moment of hesitation before his eyes travel from your hand, to your arm, to your neck, to your face and he can no longer swallow his emotions when he dives into your eyes. Your eyes, he can see them.

When Corpse wakes up, wiped out of his dream, his breath is short and sweat pearls down his forehead. He’s in a rush, he remembers something about your face, something important. He knows what to look for now; your eyes, your irises. They don’t match in color. The left is green, the right has a pretty hazel color.

☾ A/N : Welcome on this new AU my friends I’m so excited to have you here with me on this new journey! I hope you liked the first chapter. A big thank you to @moontwinkles for beta reading the chapter and being a big help 💗 How are we feeling about this? Faceless leo men being sorcerers and familiar Sykkuno??? Idk I’m a little too passionate about it. Don’t worry the next chapter won’t be as angsty as this one but I needed to express my thrist for angst lmao anyway let me know what you think! Until next time (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)

☾ 𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻 *OPEN* : @open-minded-chip-101​ ; @lochness-butmakeitsexy​ ; @bizarrebibitch​ ; @bellomi-clarke​ ; @ladybismuth​ ; @katyasrussianaccent​ ; @satanhauntedourcats​ ; @owl-llie​ ; @teenloves​ ; @notannis​ ; @mcntsee​ ; @rottenroyalebooks​​ ; @peachdoppi​ ; @mirahg​ ; @foxxtrot-116​ ; @koi-soi​ ; @lupinpetersclearwaterodairparker ; @butterfly-skinnylegend ; @fanworrior ; @stickystrawberrysyrup ;

[thebadboyfanclub]

Protect The Queen Pt.1 (Geralt x Reader)

This is just becoming addictive at this point, I love writing about this cause there are so many different scenarios and possibilities you could write about. Also there might be a part two for this so please let me know if you would be interested in it. Enjoy!

She looked at herself in the mirror once more, it was almost time for her to take her future in her own hands, to rise to the occasion and take back her life. Her gaze fell to the ring she was wearing, it was passed on to her when she married the king of Orkney, she barely had taken a step into womanhood at the time her parents announced her marriage to her, such a shame that she spend such youthful years in a castle with a man that didn't even think about her, it was pure and also embarrassing for (y/n) to look back at her naive and selfless younger self.

“Oh, you are awake”

“I was waiting for you my dear”

She answered to her husband, her voice dripping honey for the first time in years. Their marriage was far from happy, (Y/n) had thought since she was to become his wife he would treat her with kindness, unfortunately that was not the case, he saw her just as a vessel for his children, when that seemed to not happen he fell to the arms of concubines and commoners, making her become this cold, distant wife he deserved. Sometimes she would wonder if maybe she had given him the heir he craved that maybe his behavior would change, that however was crushed by gratefulness she felt for her womb for not bring a child in this loveless household. She would have never forgiven herself if she raised a child that did not see their parents share at least one hug.

“What’s the cause of you lingering in our room (y/n)?”

“To celebrate, here my king”

She offered him the glass of wine she was holding on her left hand, it was filled with his favorite wine. Her husband took it and gave her a puzzled look, whenever he would sleep in the same room with her- which wasn’t often- he would find her asleep.

“What are we celebrating?”

“My birthday dear”

He was left confused at her smile and statement. It couldn’t be, they held a public celebration for her birthday every year, it was protocol for the queen to allow the public in the castle for her special day. The clink of the glasses echoed around the room, she brought the glass to her lips and took a light sip

“Come on dear, drink up. You were never one to shy away from a glass of wine”

She pushed the glass from the bottom up to his lips. He did not understand the cause of all this, yet whatever the case was she was right, the moment he tasted the delicious wine he took three gulps and the glass went from full to half empty.

“Excellent, I’m glad you enjoyed the wine my king, careful,.. the choking will probably start any minute now”

-

“My queen, we have been waiting for you to... rise for so long”

“Perfection takes time”

She answered to her most trusted confident,her coronation was something that would remain in history for centuries, she was adored by the public so when she inherited the crown after her last husband, everyone knew they were in safe hands. That does not mean the rumors did not arise to the situation, the late king was a healthy young man, it was very suspicious how he fell to darkness overnight.

She meant what she told him when she mentioned her birthday, that day she shed away her foolish acts and was reborn, a woman that stood strong in the field of womanhood, ready to take what’s hers whether people liked it or not.

She looked around the room, seeing her people enjoy their night and drink to her name felt so natural to her, she was meant to lead. 

“Excuse me just for a moment, I want to get closer to my people”

“As you wish my queen”

As she started going around at a slow pace she did her best to observe her people, they seemed to enjoy themselves, they acted like the king never existed, like the soil on top of him had been thrown decades ago, she smiled at herself while thinking that she acted in a way her people wanted, pleasing them and herself with just a few drops of that special liquid.

It was then that she noticed the back of a tall man, his long white hair and his armor stood out from the others, she also took note that he was accompanied by a much smaller and probably younger man that was holding a lute. It couldn’t be? The infamous white wolf and his barb at her coronation? 

“What are we doing here Jaskier?”

“Celebrating the queen officially getting the crown after her husbands oh so sudden death”

Jaskier was fascinated by her history, a princess known for her noble nature and beauty, he reminisced of the song he had heard about her, she was the master of horses, the late king had met her when she rode the most stubborn and difficult horse in the royal stable, married to the king at her prime and failing at giving him an heir.

He was surprised she got to kill him first before the late king did, not only that but she is now the one sitting on the thrown after the kings death under some suspicious circumstances.

“sudden death? hmm, I believe the king found out  that his destiny was a woman in a harsh way”

“Every mans destiny is a woman.... Witcher”

As he heard the voice from behind him he turned around to see to whom it belonged to. Jaskier’s mouth formed a big “O” when he was met with the queen, Geralt figured out who she was by the crown sitting on her head. The first thing she noticed was his yellow eyes, she found them so captivating, unique, she had never seen a witcher from up close, it was also just her luck that brought her the most handsome one. 

Geralt didn’t know what to say, he was at her celebration, talking badly about the queen herself, he knew the consequences he just didn’t know if the queen would choose torture or immediate death as the penalty

“Queen (y/n), my apologies, Geralt has had a bit too much to drink, please spare him”

Jaskier might be a bit overly giddy at the wrong time, however that did not mean that what Geralt ha implied could make the queen want his head right then and there. As Jaskier bowed at her, she only let a small smile appear on her lips, softening her features towards the men that both looked distressed, she had to admire that she felt a bit of pride of making the witcher eat his words, judging by his reputation that did not happen every day.

“It’s alright, I know what the people are saying about me, it’s understandable”

“Understandable? Shouldn’t the queen rush to protect her reputation?”

“That’s what kings do when they feel their ego getting bruised, look around you Geralt, what do you see? The same people that have spread those accusations are dancing and yelling “long live the queen”, if anything my new found reputation is more promising”

Geralt was immediately interested, it wasn’t often that a queen would be alright with rumors and of such kind being passed around, as well as taking it as an advantage and being pleased about it. 

“Elaborate please”

“The kings of other towns will hear those rumors, now who would dare come and threaten the woman that killed her own husband for power? Only a mad man would risk coming to my home”

She was smart, cunning. Geralt had met people of royalty and understood exactly what she meant when she talked about fragile egos. On the contrary, she stood tall and proud, took advantage of the people that gave her a new source of power without them even knowing it. The essence of her as a human being could only be described as being royal, a woman of luxury that men would probably kill for just a glimpse of her naked skin

It only made him question the late king, how could he have wronged such a woman? was maybe her standards that were two high? or was it an act of revenge? Geralt felt the need to puff out his chest as an act of bravery, she was a quite tall woman and if you match that with the way she carried herself, it was a death mix, the late king was already one of the victims of it

“You mean that you are going to become other kings destiny?”

“I don’t believe in destiny, what destiny is varies depending on the people you ask, for my parents my destiny was to become an obedient queen and give birth to the heir, a child that shared the same blood with my late husband”

She said mildly disgusted, as a widower she would probably have to grieve, linger in her room and cry behind close doors at the loss of her love. It seems like nobody even noticed how she did none of that, like it was normal for her to through a celebration a few weeks after his death in her name, not only that but the people seemed to love it. Geralt gave her a smirk at her smart and a bit intriguing answer.

“Then what do you think is your destiny”

“To be in charge of my and my peoples future, destiny and fate are nothing in front of the power of a woman”

The way she talked about destiny showed how she truly embodied confidence and stability, she feared nothing, not even her future self, she only relied on her power. As she talked to him he couldn’t help but let his eyes look mostly towards her lips, her painted lips that moved in such hypnotic way, he felt compelled by her.

Jaskier just stood there watching the two people talk like they are long lost friends. The queen so many people felt uneasy just by her presence was now having a casual conversation with the witcher. Geralt was slowly but surely gaining respect for her, she was a woman of power, a woman that used her brain and situations to her advantages and held herself accountable for her future, she was a true queen.

Geralt smiled at her genuinely, he had met her late husband in the past, he recalled him being stubborn and stuck up, raising his nose at others that he thought were less than him. If he was alive there was no way he would find him walking around commoners

“hmmm, Well queen (y/n), I am sure your people will be safe with you leading this land”

“I hope that in the future I can count on you for aid”

“About what?”

“Danger of course”

She took one step closer to him, still keeping eye contact with Geralt. As he took in a deep breath he could smell the scent of lavender off of her, her hair shined underneath the light of the flames and her eyes glistered with confidence and pride, she was the definition of strength, just her look brought Geralt into defense mode, waiting for her words and thinking how should he respond correctly to her before she even opened her mouth. 

The skill of demanding attention and respect so silently was one that the very few of people that did had it were considered blessed, even though he was aware of that skill, still he had yet to meet one... until he met her.

“Loneliness can be an awfully dangerous thing”

She whispered just loud enough for only him to hear, as the other villagers laughed and sang around them, not even noticing that their queen was standing a few inches away from them, as well as being promiscuous to a witcher.

“I would be honored to protect the queen”

“I’m glad you feel that way, I’m sure you could be a great ally for me, geralt of rivia”

-

PART 2 

[ladyhallen]

Colonnello’s Terrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day part 2

How Reborn and Harry met and fell in love

It was the sleep deprivation, Harry would use as an excuse. That and how god awfully confused she had been feeling.

It wasn’t a nice thing, feeling that confused, and Harry was more confused than most.

The world she had landed on had magic, thank Merlin, enough that she her potions weren’t inert and her wand didn’t turn brittle. It just felt strangely hot, for magic. Magic wasn’t supposed to feel hot and coupled with the complete absence of Diagon Alley or the Leaky Cauldron, Harry was confused. Where had magic gone?

The answer, her sleep deprived ass mused, landed on her doorstep, bleeding, concussed and with several broken fingers and a broken leg, several lacerations on his back and a broken nose. It was a testament to how threatening Voldemort and  Death had been that a deadly weapon aimed at her barely made her heart beat faster.

It was a wonder that the man could even hold his gun and aim it at her.

“Do not call the hospital,” the bloody man commanded, swaying in place but hands steady and aiming at her head.

Harry blinked slowly. She could see it, the magic. It swirled around him like yellow fire, licking his wounds closed very slowly. If it continued, it might heal his bones wrong, then she’d need to re-break things and that just wouldn’t be fun for everyone.

“Alright,” she agreed. “But won’t you come in? You’re alarming the neighbors.”

The man swayed in place for a couple more beats before agreeing, entering her apartment like a cautious cat. He moved like a cat too, quietly and without a whisper of sound, despite how much pain he must have been in.

“I have some bandages, and some salves,” she offered. She just needed him off his feet and unconscious. Preferably two hours ago.

It took another moment before he agreed and Harry finally had him pegged. She knew his type. He was a controlling man. Anal retentive, Hermione had called it.

She doctored his tea with some muscle relaxant, and with the state of him, even as suspicious as he was, he fell asleep immediately.

Blearily, Harry thought it was a good thing that she was so good with fixing injuries while drunk, sleepy or tired. She waved her wand, fixing injuries and straightening up broken bones with a thought, her magic working overtime to compensate for her less than optimal thought processes.

And then she was left with a bloody man on her sofa, ruining the upholstering. Harry huffed a breath and cleaned him up too. She wanted her deposit back, dammit.

It really was the damned sleep deprivation, Harry cursed as she accidentally drank the tea she had given the man, the one with the muscle relaxant. It worked on her too well and she crashed on the chair with a curse.

I am never going without sleep for two weeks, Harry promised before a gigantic yawn overtook her and she finally fell asleep.

.

.

When Harry woke up, feeling weirdly refreshed and tired at the same time, she was starving.

She also thought that the man she had cured was a dream until she opened her eyes and almost screamed at the man still asleep on her sofa.

It made sense, she realized belatedly. He was healing from what must have been torture wounds. Nobody broke their fingers or concussed themselves intentionally.

She couldn’t leave him there of course.

An idea occurred and she giggled before she could stop herself.

Twenty minutes later, the man was in a motel in another country, asleep and with all his belongings. Harry’s couch was free of blood and she was indulging herself in chocolate fudge ice cream.

He was going to be so confused, Harry giggled over a mouthful of ice cream.

.

.

The man hunted her down and for a moment, Harry cursed her red hair for being so memorable. Then, the little devil peeked up at her and Harry mentally shrugged. Why not, she thought.

“I’m sorry,” she told him, her green eyes going confused. “I don’t understand. What? Who are you?”

He snarled at her and Harry played at being frightened. McGonagall was scarier than this man, and she could sniff liars within a heartbeat. Well, he probably could as well, but he couldn’t threaten her while she was working in a bookstore and all the employees there loved her.

“I’m trying to jog your memory,” he said, voice low to keep it private.

“I’m sorry sir, but I still don’t know who you are?” she said just as softly. “Do you need help with a book?”

He huffed and stalked out, footsteps still eerily quiet. Not that anyone else noticed.

When he was far enough, Harry allowed herself a private smirk.

.

.

He stalked her!

Harry blinked large eyes at the man on her doorstep, getting a flashback to the last time he was there, bloody and swaying. A blink, and he was clean and holding a cup of coffee to her.

He was also holding a bag of chocolate croissants.

Harry opened the door wider, eyes on the croissants.

“May I help you?” she asked.

“I won’t even drug you, just answer my questions,” he demanded.

Reluctantly, she let him in. She really shouldn’t, but she really wanted those croissants. It had been ages since she’d allowed herself a pastry and the sudden craving for it was going to be a problem.

At least he laid out his offerings on the table first, letting her have a sip of coffee and a bite of the pastry before starting out with, “So what family are you allied with?”

This time, Harry’s confusion wasn’t feigned. “What?”

He made a rude noise and waved a hand. “You healed my injuries and then moved me across countries. You obviously have connections. Who are your contacts?”

The truth, she realized. Was going to be more confusing than lies.

With an inner cackle, Harry said, “I’m alone. I’ve been alone since I got here. I mostly moved to Italy for the desserts.”

Though, if Harry really wanted decadent, she would have moved to France. Those people had ideas about butter.

He looked frustrated. “You…alone? You did it alone? That’s impossible.”

Harry finished off the pastry in four bites. If he was going to start shooting, at least she had something delicious in her stomach.

He didn’t start shooting, but he did leave looking more confused than anything.

Harry waited thirty minutes before letting out a cackle.

.

.

The man - and she still didn’t know his name, kept appearing in her apartment.

He also seemed to notice that she let him in faster if he brought baked food. Hermione always said that food would kill her, but Harry didn’t think she meant the food brought as bribes from a mercenary.

And he was a mercenary, she realized. He kept a gun on him at all times and Italy’s gun laws weren’t that lax. She’d read up on it once in the bookstore after he showed up for dinner three times in a row. Italy needed permits to carry. With how well cared for that gun was – and how well used it was, Harry didn’t think he had a hunting license.

He still kept asking her strange questions. Harry was just as confused as when he started this strange arrangement, but not as confused as he was.

“What Flames?” Harry answered the millionth strange question. “I don’t have fire!”

The man made a noise like a cat stepped on and left after washing the dishes.

Harry felt herself softening. He was such a sweetheart.

.

.

Once, he fell asleep on the table, clearly worn out and Harry let him sleep.

She knitted across him, making a tea cozy and amusing herself with the funny patterns.

When he woke up near midnight, he looked spooked - frightened.

Concerned, Harry let go of her knitting and held his hand. “Are you alright?” she asked.

He kissed her hand and left, still looking scared out of his mind but considering.

.

And then the flowers started.

.

The bouquet of orchids and red carnations had Harry blushing.

Did he?...she looked up at his guileless eyes and looked at the flowers again. He didn’t know the meaning of course. It was just a coincidence that the flowers meant exotic beauty and admiration.

“Thank you,” she told him. “What’s with the flowers?”

He held her hand between his, and she felt small. His hands were larger than hers and Harry shivered deliciously at the warmth.

“Can a man not give flowers to friends?” he asked. “And I just realized. It’s been three months and I never gave my name. It’s Renato.”

Harry smiled. “Harriet. Call me Harry.”

Renato looked dazed. “Lovely name,” he murmured.

.

.

If Harry thought that Renato showed up regularly when he stalked her, now that he had given her his name, he seemed to show up every day on a schedule.

He brought dinner, a startling difference to the baked goods, and stopped asking her strange questions. He stopped looking confused and instead brought a lot of flowers.

Harry felt harassed. The flower’s messages were enough to make her blush, and Renato still looked clueless at her embarrassment. The latest one seemed to be asking her to marry him. Harry wanted to die, it was so forward.

“You don’t like the Spider Flowers?” Renato asked. “I can get different ones. How about Chrysanthemum’s and Daffodils?”

There was no way this was a coincidence anymore. He’d all but announced he was in love with her. Unrequited love with her. His eyes were crinkled with suppressed laughter and Harry understood.

“Renato, you’re going to kill me,” Harry whined, face buried in her hands. “I love you, you bastard.”

Renato laughed, scooping her up in his arms. Harry was helpless to resist and she laughed with him.

.

.

They were still having miscommunication issues. Harry was undeniably British and Reborn was also undeniably Italian.

There also seemed to be a second layer of miscommunication that still seemed to be happening, no matter Harry’s or Reborn’s best efforts.

The answer to this was dates. Lots and lots of dates where they just talked, as honestly as they could to each other, so that it would resolve their issues. Renato promised to tell her when he was angry with her. Harry promised to ask him what he was feeling instead of just assuming what he felt. It was a work in progress.

On Harry’s days off, they went trawling through coffee shops, Reborn for the coffee and Harry for the pastry.

It was a good system and both of them loved it.

And then the shooting happened.

.

.

Ducked under broken tables and bandaging an arm wound, Harry whips out her wand and heals it, cursing the entire time when the bullet pushes out. It hurt so much more going out than it had gone in.

“What is that?” Renato asked in shock.

Harry blinked at him and swore. She had forgotten on important thing in the many things she had shared with her lover.

“Magic?” she said weakly.

He smiled, looking manic. “You don’t use Flames? You’re not in the mafia?”

Harry gave a weak giggle. “No. I’m a witch. You’re in the mafia?”

“I thought you knew?” he asked her.

Which, in hindsight, yeah. Why didn’t she guess it?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he continued, gesturing at the wand she was using to reinforce the table against the gunshots.

Harry bit her lip and did her best to look innocent. “Would you believe me if I tell you that I forgot?”

Reborn hid his face in his fedora and laughed.

.

.

Harry was mentally going Oops.

[debcroft13]

4# Phoenix Queen

He knew everything she had done that night, to save Zuko, to give him power. He off course made her pay the prices of her crime, but never told anyone the price, he knew where she was off course.

Hell he visited her once a month secretly and discreetly. He hid her away on a secret estate where she had the freedom to roam but not leave the place.

She wasn't far away, what he gave her was a life of luxury away from him but close to him at the same time, she had her every want and need in that play and she had him.

She lay on his chest, he told people she had been kidnapped by the same people that had killed his father, it was a good cover story and a believable one. He touched her face now, his precious wife a cunning and vicious woman, so much like him, she killed for him and he couldn't let her waste away but he kept their closeness secret from even his own children.

"Sozin's comet is returning to Ursa, we plan to end the war when it returns, but the Avatar has already proven he wants to try to end my life. After all that stunt he and his group pulled on the day of the black sun." He mused darkly “If I hadn't hidden in another part of our bunker...”

She frowned at his words, she craved to protect him from threats, she was unofficially his Fire Lady the one meant to rule at his side, but of course Ozai saw her frown and laughed.

" Don't worry we tricked the Avatar and his little friends, I was safe the whole time.”

He watched her breathe in relief, he had lied a bit, Zuko had betrayed him that day, but he needed to keep that from her.

" In a war meeting we agreed to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground till they surrender and I want you by my side, as you watch my back." He began coldly

Her eyes widened a bit at his words he held her face gently, he saw her take in his words and she smiled deviously.

" Yes I will join you, can I join you at your side again?" She asked unsure

She wanted to be free again, to be by her side.

" Yes off course you can, after all I plan on giving myself a new title and yourself a new one to which with my new power your crime will mean nothing. I will be able to show you off without any consequences toward us.”

They had both been usurper's in there own way, Azulon's death had been their plan, but Ozai had got through it all and now his wife could return to his side.

" Come to me early in the morning on the day of Sozin's comet, I will tell the nation that I found you and rescued you, but on that day we will accend to greatness together.” Ozai bragged

“Yes my love.”

Sozin's comet would return in hours, the end of the war was coming.

A palanquin was carried toward a grand stage, Ozai had a servant place Ursa in his palanquin secretly before it was carried forward toward the stage.

Ozai had thought of a plan on how to bring Ursa back to the Nation and he would suspire Azula with her reappearance.

Ozai walked up to the stage as Azula joined him bowing slowly to him.

The Fire Lord looked to his daughter a bit annoyed as she apologised for her lateness and asked if everything was ready for them to go.

“There has been a change of plans Azula.” Ozai began coldly

“What?” she replied shocked

“I have decided to bring along a special companion on this mission, you will stay here in the Fire Nation.”

Ozai turned a bit as he looked back at the main palanquin and extended his hand out, again the white sheets were pushed aside. Azula's eyes widened a bit, as Azula took in who came out from the palanquin, the woman walked up past her toward Ozai, she bowed to him as grinned.

“Your mother will be by my side as we burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground.”

Azula's eyes widened as she saw her mother for the first time in years, her mother looked to her with a soft smile.

“What I thought we were doing this together father, why is she even here?” Azula snapped annoyed “I thought you said she had been kidnapped.. Why are you doing this to me?” Azula asked hurt

“Azula clam yourself.” Ozai commanded strongly

Azula bowed her head to her father, but watched as his father tilted her mother's head up to him.

“I lied about your mother, she is a devious creature, she killed Fire Lord Azulon for us all, she did it so I can have my power, therefore it is time for me to replay her for this power for what she did for us all. We will take a new title, but the title Fire Lord will belong to you Azula.”

Azula seemed to settle with the idea of becoming Fire Lord, but then she blinked at them.

“Yes Fire Lord Azula it is fitting, but what about you? What about mother?” Azula asked respectful

“ As I said we shall take new titles, from this day forward Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lady Ursa are dead and we shall be reborn as Phoenix King Ozai and Phoenix Queen Ursa.

Azula watched as they were decorated in new amour, her father was placed into a gold helmet, as glorious robes were added to him, while Ursa's hair was bound up as a new crown was placed into hair and a gold shoulder armor was added to her kimono.

The two took each other's hand as they left the Fire Nation that day in hopes of bringing the war to end.

…...

Ursa stood behind Ozai as he breathed in the energy of Sozin's comet into him. She could feel the energy but she stood without doing anything for a while, she watched his fire burn from his hand with a grin sprawl other her face , but then the Avatar appeared.

“Hmm I guess he is here to stop us dear, want to join the fight?” He asked with confidence.

Ursa grinned a bit.

“Go dear I will watch your back”

Ozai began to layer down, he took a deep breath and flew from the blimp toward the Avatar using his fire bending to propel him. Ursa sat on the blimp for a bit watching him fight amused, Ozai was winning but something happened that made her take action, the Avatar shifted into the Avatar state and thus she moved into action.

Yes Roku was her grandfather, but she felt no honour in having that blood in her, the only good thing was the power she held from his blood and the marriage that came from it, the children that came from it.

Ursa flew down as the Avatar stopped for a moment of mercy, he never saw her coming, she grounded herself and the lighting flowed through her fingers and into the Avatar's back, Ursa breathed out as the action made her feel numb and tied, this was the only the second time she had used her lighting.

Once to kill Azulon and now to kill the Avatar.

Ozai kicked the Avatar to check if he was truly dead, he looked to his wife as she panted, Ozai knelt toward his wife as she breathed in deeply and he kissed her hand.

“You did it my Queen, you were brilliant, The avatar has falling and we shall rule over all as King and Queen.

(I might turn this into a fill blowing fic.)

[exodusmc]

Sinner

Genre: smut, Lucifer au 

Words: 2147 

Paring: Lucifer Taehyung x reader

Warning!: mentions of suicide and bullying, (selling your soul to lucifer?), oral (m receiving),  degrading language, dirty talk, choking, saliva, penetrativ sex, (demon cock?), Master kink, light bondage (chains, how fun), touching of cervix, overstimulation  (fainting because of it), brusing, hickeys, slight cock warming, a lot of cum. 

a/n: So this is the most extrem thing I have every written and I feel extremly dirty but oh well…and chains, how fun. 

Gif is not mine

Wings spread from his back like black thunder clouds. The hair on his head was brighter than the sun, contrasting everything about him. His eyes blue as kristals. It was not how you thought he would look. You had expected horns from his head and a tail from his back, but he was an angel from the beginning. A smirk graced his god like features, chin resting in his hand, skin glowing. The crown on his head was big, magnific. Gold almost blending into his hair. Clothed in black and red of blood, he looked beautiful. 

“So, human, how come you are here? In hell and still breathing?” his voice was deeper than the oceans, licking up your burning skin. Why were you here? To beg, to plead, to do anything. 

“I..I want to ask for a life..” he raised an eyebrow at you, interest showing in his dangerous eyes. 

“As in death or reborn?” he voiced the question with mock, sure that you were here with a polluted heart. Tears formed in your eyes, hair falling over your face, fear and regret growing into your soul. 

“As in someone to survive..” you whispered, meeting him again. Lucifer sat on his throne, looking down at you like he looked down at the world. “To live again”

Taehyung clicked his tongue, pondering about what you had done to be this desperate. He was sure you already knew that you wouldn’t leave this place alive. So why do it? No human can feel so much love, to give their own life to him for someones.

“Why?” the question rang in your ears, like the time you first realised what you had done, who you had killed because you were afraid, a coward. 

“Because she deserves to live and I don’t..”your voice broke, guilt like Taehyung never heard before. 

“Tell me, human, what did you do?” images played in your mind, every old wound ripping open again to bleed. 

Taehyung saw what was in your head, the story of friends and one who turned away. The girl you wanted to save was your old best friend and someone you made the mistake of losing because of the want to fit in. Your friend had been bullied by the people you called your new ones. She had tried to get your help, slowly falling to pieces everytime your turned your back. Time wasn’t your friend, nor hers, and she finally broke. Taehyung saw the suicide, he saw her leave for heaven and he saw your soul shattering the second she stopped breathing. When you looked at Taehyung again was his gaze darker than death itself. 

“You killed her. You have sinned” you cried silently, not denying anything because it was true. 

“And you want me to take your soul for hers?” you nodded, staring at him, pleading for him to accept. She had always wanted to be a doctor to save lives, she had always wanted to live, and you took it from her. That was what led you to your knees before Lucifer, selling yourself to him. 

“It will hurt, will be miserable for you” he watched you for any change but you just nodded, already knowing it. 

“Okay human..I’ll take your offer” something sinister grew in his eyes, a feeling of being suffocated with it.   

You gasped and thrashed on the floor, crying your eyes out. It hurt so much but Taehyung smiled, liking your pain a little more than others. He knew what he wanted from you and he knew you would fall for him, you were a mere human woman. They always fell for lust, and they fell hard. A scream ripped through you, tearing everything you were with it. You fell limp against the floor, only to see leather shoes before your burning eyes. 

“It’s done. She is alive, breathing” you smiled, eyes falling shut as if you were dying. You felt at peace for the first time in years but it didn’t last, it would never. 

“You are mine now. You are for me to do what I want” Taehyung yanked you by your hair, eyes glowing and staring at the pureness of your unmarked throat. Fear ran through your spine but you were his, and was to submit to his desires. 

“Yes master” Taehyung smirked at your words, already having broken you. The way you looked at him did things to him, you were under his complet control. 

“Good girl. Now come” you moved after him, staring at his broad shoulder, feeling oddly out of feelings. 

Taehyung sat down, you kneeling between his legs without him having to say it. He grinned down at you, at how good you listened. A hand patted your head, as if you were a dog, maybe you were one now. Lucifer dragged his fingers down to your chin, grabbing it with his thumb and index finger, making you look at his lusty gaze. 

“You have fallen, little hum-, I mean little slut..” he looked proudly at your glossy eyes, at the way he saw your body reacting from him.  “You will please me, right?”

You nodded, hands running over his muscular thighs, stopping over his semi hiding behind fabric. Taehyung kept his fingers laced in your hair, nodding for you to keep going. You listened to the silent command, grabbing his cock. It was big, textured. Your hands looked small around it but just the sight of it throbbing had you craving sins. 

“Go on slut..Make your master feel good” Taehyung whispered, dragging your lips closer to him. 

“Yes master” you moved your hands up and down his cock, feeling every bump, every vein. Taehyung groaned, gripping harder at you hair. You knew you should hurry up and suck him but couldn’t really make yourself do it. 

“Come on, put your pretty little lips around me” you hesitated for a second and in return felt a hard tug at your roots, making you hurry to enclose his cock with your mouth. 

Taehyung sighed happily at the feeling of you around him, sucking and moving up and down like it was your only call to please him. You sucked mostly at his tip, afraid to take all of him. He would definitely choke you but Taehyung didn’t care, only grabbed the sides of your hair and pushing all of himself deep down your throat. You had been right, his whole length made you choke and gag around him, saliva dripping around your whole chin and tears falling over your cheeks. Taehyung loved the mess you were, how you struggled to take him like a good slut. His own thoughts made him moan. He kept moving, giving you mere seconds to swallow, before moving back down your throat. Your sight blurred slightly when Taehyung let out a growl, shaking you to the core. His cum tasted bitter on your tongue but you didn’t mind, finally being able to breathe. 

“Swallow it all” you did, every last drop. Your throat felt dry and hurt but the air which flew down to your lungs was overpowering it. You coughed, teary eyes looking up at Taehyung, who could burst again at the sight.

Your hair was messy and saliva still dropped down your mouth. He dragged you up, placing you on his lap, eyes deep with lingering lust. 

“What a good slut you are” he caressed down your arms, taken by how your body moved for him. You weren’t like the others, you were better. 

“Thank you master” the voice which left you was hoarse and you cold feel its rawness. 

“Would you like an reward? For being so good?” wetness pooled in your panties, something you gasped at. Taehyung smiled dangerously and you shivered.  

“Yes master” he hummed pleased. Hands moving to the collar of your shirt, noting to get you a dog collar later. The fabric ripped easily, leaving your upper part exposed, the bra having been destroyed as well.  

Taehyung leaned forward, taking a deep breath of your scent. You tensed in his lap, a wet feeling dragging up the side of your neck. Lucifer licked over your whole throat, leaving mark after mark, having you gasping every time. His hands grabbed your nipples, hard. You arched your back, pushing your chest deeper into his hands. Taehyung chuckled against your collarbone, your fingers grabbing his hair. He growled into your skin, pinching a nipple as a warning.

“Behave you slut or burn” you dropped your hands, clutching the fabric of your skirt. You panted, desperate for more, already burning. 

Taehyung kept going on your nipples while you did everything you could to sit still and not move against his rugged thighs. 

“P-please master…Please touch me”you mewled out, dripping in sweat and arousal. Taehyung chuckled, leaving your chest to stare at the pain you were in.

“What a needy slut, who just talks back. Why would I make you feel good? You’re my slut” you lowered your gaze, shaking , trying to behave but it was hard, your pussy spasming around nothing. You could see his cock and it was hard, he wanted this too but had more control. 

“I-I’m sorry master, please forgive me” Taehyung chuckled at your voice, it was practically dripping cum already. 

“Are you really?”

“Yes master. I’m truly sorry” he pushed you of, laughing at the way you stumbled before finding your balance.

“Well then, strip” you did, dropping the last pieces of clothing and standing before his dark gaze. Taehyung could see how you were dripping wet.

“Come here” he couldn’t help but to chuckle at how fast you moved, eager to get pleased.

Taehyung grabbed both your wrist, trying them with chains. You stared wide eyed at him, suddenly feeling your arms raise over your head, a new chain from the roof keeping your hands over your head. You felt so naked before, even more than just being naked. He saw right through you. Taehyung smirked at you, the restraints adding to his pleasure. 

“Master..What is this?” you asked so innocently, Taehyung hardened all the way. His fingers captured your face again.

“I can’t have you touching me slut..” you whimpered, everything tingling to touch him. 

Taehyung pulled you closer until you sat in his lap again, straddling his hips, cock tip against your wet folds. You bit your lips, tears spilling from your eyes in pure despair. Your body had betrayed you, now only wanting to be touch my his sinful body. 

“I understand master. I’m sorry”Taehyung smiled, gripping your hips. You wouldn’t be able to touch him but the restrains shouldn’t hurt too much. 

“You’re mine right?”

“Yes master, I’m yours to whatever with” you gasped at the feeling of his tip pushing closer to the neglected hole. 

You threw your head backwards at the feeling of his whole cock deep in your cunt. Every bump adding uncountable amount of pleasure. You saw white the second he was seated in you. Taehyung felt you pulsate around him, mouth hanging open. He couldn’t see your eye because they had rolled back into your head. You felt like you could die from all the pleasure.

“Come on slut..I haven’t even moved yet” you shock at the powerful thrust, a scream in pleasure and pain staging through you when he hit your cervix. 

You gripped at the chains as Taehyung pounded into you, always kissing your cervix and g-spot. You came mere seconds after he had begun moving but he didn’t stop, Taehyung would cum in you and you just had to take it. You screamed and moaned, falling slack against the chains just to tense for another orgasm ripping through your body. 

“P-please master!” you screamed, pleading for Taehyung to spare you only to feel him cum in the depths of you. 

You opened your mouth to scream but nothing came out. Taehyung moan loud for you, bucking his hips against yours as he came so much your stomach swelled lightly. You felt it penetrating your cervix, white shining before your eyes once again. Shock waves went through you, clamping on his cock until his last drops of cum was inside you. You grugled out a last moan before fainting. 

Taehyung stared at you body, still deep in you, cum dripping down your thighs. You were bruised and worn out, body on its breaking point, and he loved it. He stayed in you, glad you came so selflessly to him because now that you were in his grasp, would you never escape. He felt his cock growing in you but you stayed out of it, which weren’t fun at all. Taehyung caressed your body, even if you weren’t something special, couldn’t he help but lust for you, his slut to do what he please with, his sinner to corrupt beyond saving. 

“Oh you’re my sinner”

[kagami190]

“Death & Rebirth” Chapter 2: Rebirth

Chapter 2: Rebirth

-1-

Immediately after getting out of bed, Kagami had invited her high school classmate Misao Kusakabe out to the shopping district and rushed out of the house. Kagami felt guilty leaving her twin sister in the dust so early in the day, but she was in dire need of a confidant who wasn't a family member.

Misao was certainly a loyal friend and made for good company - especially in as much as she probably wouldn't notice how mentally preoccupied Kagami was.

"I mean, ya think about it, it doesn't make any sense!" Misao said, her cute little snaggletooth showing amidst every word out of her mouth.

Kagami didn't know what Misao was talking about, she didn't necessarily care either. She just nodded. Misao was wearing a new shirt and a skirt Kagami had never seen before - which wasn't surprising considering she was just getting used to not seeing her friends in their uniformed colors every day.

She wasn't depressed, just lost in thought. She didn't want to be alone, she didn't know what she would do. She needed to be around someone so she didn't do anything crazy. Which is why she made the decision to call Misao as soon as she had woken up. She didn't want this to get around to her more immediate group of friends. Most especially her sister and loud-mouthed Konata.

Misao on the other hand, it was all the same to her. Kagami assumed she would talk to a wall if another person wasn't around.

She couldn't keep this up forever though. She'd have to face the music at some point.

As beautiful people walked by - regardless of whether they were male or female - Kagami would sexualize them. Sometimes feeling her nipples harden at the excitement of a beautiful woman or the natural smell of a handsome man jogging past. She didn't know how people could do it. How can they walk around like this and pay attention to anything else?

Kagami blushed, lost in her naughty thoughts, and felt a tingling, her panties moistened a little. 

"... Right?!" Misao's voice came back into focus, "What do you think, Hiiragi?"

Kagami snapped back into reality.

"Uhh.." Kagami said, "Sure."

"Heyyyy!" Misao observed immediately, switching tracks without a beat and pointing at Kagami "You're all red-faced!"

She blushed brighter red.

"What's the big deal?" Misao was confused. "You sick or somethin' Hiiragi?" "I haven't really felt like myself lately, no," Kagami admitted. Misao took a second to process this, "Soooo... Does that mean your sick?"

Kagami laughed a little, the first small feeling of happiness since last night, "No Misao, I'm not sick."

"Ya sure?" Misao confirmed.

"I'm sure," Kagami said.

"Then is it a boy?" Misao asked.

The blood rushed to Kagami's face again. She wore her emotions right on her sleeve. She'd always known this.

"So is that what all the red faceyness was about?" Misao said, grinning, "Saw something you liked, Hiiragi?"

"No! I mean..." Kagami started.

"I saw some hotties walkin' down these streets." Misao said, "Don't think I didn't catch you turning your head"

Kagami gasped, "You saw that?"

Misao giggled, "Nah, I was yappin' too much to notice stuff like that. You definitely threw yourself under the bus on that one."

Kagami sighed, annoyed, "Thanks for that."

"There's the Hiiragi I know!" Misao said, "Now come on, what boy do you have on your mind? Did he go to school with us? It wasn't 'Sebastian' was it?"

"It's..." Kagami paused, "Complicated."

Misao frowned a little, "Aw, come on Hiiragi. I mean, I know we didn't hang out much outside of school, but I'm tryin' to be a good friend here."

"You're right," Kagami grinned, "Sorry."

Misao looked to their right as they passed by a Taiwanese restaurant, a quaint establishment that had two giant posters in its window. One said, "DAILY SPECIALS!" the other, "BOBA TEA!"

"I know!" She said, stopping right in front of it.

"Huh?" Kagami said, realizing Misao was no longer walking beside her.

"Boba Tea!" Misao said, "Awesome stuff!"

Kagami backtracked a few steps to catch up with Misao "Oh. The Taiwanese bubble tea with the huge tapioca balls at the bottom."

"Um, yeah! The best drink to have deep conversations over!" Misao smiled as she grabbed Kagami by the hand, dragging her into the restaurant.

Kagami slightly resisted but allowed Misao to pull her in. "Aren't you thinking about coffee? Besides, the convo I want to have is a little personal..."

"Nah, coffee sucks," Misao said, walking up to the front counter, "Boba tea is where it's at!"

"Hello! Welcome!" They heard, the clerk calling to them as they walked up to the counter.

"Hi, nice to meet ya!" Misao said, "Just two for the bar please, we're just gonna get some boba tea."

The man nodded, "Boba tea is the reason this place stays open." He smiled and gestured for the girls to come toward him. "Boba tea is a relatively young, but very profitable Taiwanese tradition."

"Young?" Kagami asked as she and Misao followed behind him.

"It's a staple of Taiwanese culture and it hasn't even been around 40 years!" The man said, leading Kagami and Misao to the bar, pulling the tall chairs out for them.

Misao sat down, "Hehe... This is kinda cool. Feel like a big girl sitting on this stool chair." "What kind of boba tea would you girls like?" The man smiled.

"I'll have coconut with passion fruit boba!" Misao said proudly.

"Of course." The man said, "And for you?"

"Um..." Kagami started, "I'll have what she's having."

"Very good." The man said, scurrying away.

"That guy sure was happy about the significance of boba tea," Kagami said.

"Like my Dad says the only way to stay afloat is to love what life deals you." Misao said, "This guy's really invested in his job, but maybe that's because it's all he has."

"Sounds like settling to me," Kagami said dryly, "They pay him so he probably just fakes it."

Misao shook her head, "Always the depressing logic from you, Hiiragi."

Kagami sighed, putting her head on the bar, "I'm just so confused," She whined out loud.

"Oh, that's right!" Misao said, "I got so excited about the boba that I forgot what we were coming in here for. Your boy troubles! Okay, tell me all about it!"

"It's..." Kagami said, "It's not a boy." "Oh?" "It's..." Kagami thought for a second, "It's like..." "Take your time Hiiragi, don't bust a blood vessel. " "I'm just trying to think of how to word it!" Kagami snapped. "Okay, okay!" Misao laughed, "So it's like?" "Well... have you ever been through a life-changing experience?" Kagami asked. "What?" Misao replied, " Like someone dying?"

"Not really..." Kagami said, taking a second to remember how last night felt like the death of her innocence. Who knew death could feel so good.

"Becoming a millionaire?" Misao guessed again, "If you're a millionaire, you should loan me some money."

"No, not a millionaire," Kagami rolled her eyes, "Like... you ever heard of people who find religion? People, who say they're saved?"

"Like those reborn again people?" Misao said, "You a holy roller now? I always knew your family was religious but you never seemed all that bought-in."

"Not that," Kagami said, "But something just as earth-shattering changed who I thought I was..."

Misao, usually full of smiles and always talking fell silent, and in her bright brown eyes you could see immediate worry for her friend.

"Hey, Kagami..." Misao started Kagami felt a slight startle at Misao calling her by her given name. "You know I'm here for ya," Misao said, "Whatever it is, I want to help okay?"

There was a small silence as Kagami decided whether or not to fully confide in Misao. Could she keep such a weird secret? Were they close enough so that she wouldn't be totally creeped out and run away?

Before she could think about it more, the man from earlier returned, with as much gusto as ever, cups and big straws in hand. He sat down their boba teas in front of them.

"Two coconut and passion fruit for the pretty young ladies!" He announced cheerfully, "Enjoy! If you want to order anything the menu is right in front of you."

"Thanks." The girls said, and he walked away leaving them once again to their own devices.

"His happiness definitely seems genuine," Misao said after he had left, "I don't think he's faking or settling."

After a small beat, Kagami finally spoke. "Misao, have you ever had a boyfriend?" Kagami asked.

Misao wasn't expecting that and this time it was her face that flushed a little bit, "Well... I mean... Not, like, anything official or nothin' like that."

"Neither have I." Kagami said, "I think I need one in my life. I'm craving something more lately..."

Misao thought she knew where this was going, "Love?"

Kagami took a deep breath as her heart raced. It was now or never, "Sex."

Misao's big amber-brown eyes widened, her pupils shrinking as the light hit them. "Umm..."

"Please," Kagami immediately said, "Don't hate me or think I'm weird. I swear I just wanted to tell someone and I thought..."

"Hiiragi, it's okay," Misao said recoiling, "Calm down, I don't hate you. And it's not weird that a teenage girl is interested in sex."

"Is it weird that I got off to a hentai anime?" Kagami immediately followed up.

Misao, obviously taken aback again by how much Kagami had to get off her chest, after a few moments said, "Well... I've definitely heard weirder."

That didn't really make Kagami feel much better, but at least Misao wasn't running away.

"I gotta tell you Hiiragi," Misao grinned suggestively, "You're the last person in the world I expected to be a nymphomaniac."

"I'm not a nympho!" She said defensively, "I just have this new feeling and I'm confused." "Confused about?" Kagami blushed, "Wanting...to feel pleasure... I guess." "So you ARE a nympho!" Misao laughed.

"I am NOT!" Kagami shot back. "I'm..." "So you're not sex-starved," Misao said.

"I mean, it's hard to explain," Kagami started, "Konata lent Tsukasa an anime DVD. She didn't have time to watch it, so I asked if I could. She mistakingly lent her a hentai DVD."

"Mistakingly?" Misao asked, "Wouldn't put it past that girl to do it on purpose as some kinda pervy joke."

Kagami hadn't thought about that. She was surprised she hadn't.

"So you watched it and liked it huh?" Misao said.

"More than liked it," Kagami said, "I got... I got really warm and... I mean, so, I like..."

"Did ya diddle yourself, Hiiragi?" Misao said smiling.

"Ya know," Kagami said, annoyance bubbling, "For this being a moment where I spill my darkest secret you're not being very sensitive.

"Darkest secret?" Misao said, more amused, "Hiiragi if all you did was touch yourself..."

Kagami looked around worriedly, "Not so loud! This isn't really the most appropriate place for this conversation."

"I'm no sex researcher scientist person," Misao said, "But I'd say that it's very likely that most every person masturbates at least once."

"Have you..." Kagami's voice lowered to a whisper, "Ya know... Did what I did? To yourself?" "Uhh..." Misao stammered, "Well..."

"We're being honest with each other, right?" Kagami said, "Only the two of us have to know anything about this conversation."

"Yeah," Misao looked at the ground as her skin flushed, then looked back to Kagami, finding it hard to keep eye contact, "I have."

Kagami turned in her barstool to face Misao, "Oh, my God really?" Kagami grabbed her hand, "I'm not the only one?"

Misao raised an eyebrow and eased her hand free, "I told ya. Everyone does it at one point."

"What made you do it?" Kagami asked.

"Woah, Hiiragi..." Misao scratched the back of her head, "I knew we were gonna come in here for girl talk but didn't know it was really gonna be, like, girl talk. On second thought this might not be the best place to talk about stuff like that."

Kagami threw her an evil glare, "That's what I heavily alluded to before you decided to sit down in a public place for a drink, Misao."

"Well!" Misao defended, "That was before you wanted to go into detail about how we diddle ourselves."

"Would you stop calling it that?" Kagami pleaded tiredly.

"Okay, how we touch ourselves." Misao corrected

Kagami blushed a slight pink again, "Right. That." She said, looking at the ground embarrassingly.

"Okay, let's drink our boba tea!" Misao said cheerfully, "There's plenty of time for that other stuff later!"

"Right," Kagami said, smiling and feeling much more at ease, "We'll save that subject for later."

Kagami looked down at the drink in front of her, which she had yet to touch. It didn't look very much like any tea she'd ever drunk. It was cold first of all - and it had an off-white color to the liquid. At the bottom were things that looked like bubbles - the signature look of boba tea. The bubbles at the bottom of her cup were orange. Besides that, it was served in a plastic cup with a circular plastic seal covering the top of the cup. Accompanied by the sealed cup was a big, silly- looking straw still in its wrapper.

"How do I drink this thing?" Kagami asked, surveying how excessively big the straw was.

"Oh," Misao said, "Stab the straw through its wrapper to open it, then break the seal with the straw. Thrust the straw in the center of the plastic film on the cup."

Kagami did so. "Now you can drink the tea and suck the balls!" Misao said happily. "Uh..." Kagami said, "Suck the..."

There was a small beat of silence as the girls looked over at each other, noticing the presence of the double entendres. Then silently realizing that it was they who made the connection, making it clear they both were concentrating on the concept of sex.

They stared blankly at their boba teas and straws, taking a second to focus on the giant tapioca balls.

"I'm not really feelin' the boba tea," Kagami said. "Me neither." Misao said, "Still, those are pretty huge balls huh?"

Kagami turned to wave someone down, "Check, please."

-2-

On the way into Misao's home, Kagami had taken a quick glance at the front room of the house. It was pretty cluttered, at least for a Japanese home. It definitely fit Misao's personality. It was very quiet too. She wondered where the rest of Misao's family was.

"Make yourself at home, Hiiragi." Misao said, "Want anything?" "Do you have tea?" Kagami asked, "Not that Boba nonsense. Normal tea?" Misao smiled, "Sure. I was thinking the same thing. One sec."

Misao left the room for a few moments, leaving Kagami by herself in the room. Kagami was glad too, she's needed a few minutes of alone time. Telling someone your deepest darkest secret the day after it had happened was emotionally tiring and she wanted some silent time to recover. Silent time didn't happen with Misao.

She smiled slightly. Misao had definitely come through for her in a very vulnerable period and she knew that Misao would keep her secret. Even if her counseling was a little quirky, she could tell every word was filled with warmth and conviction. She was constantly making Kagami laugh, making up for the dark self-loathing place she had been it for the last day.

She was always laughing too, such a cutie. She was very cute.

Through the day, Kagami definitely felt kinship growing for Misao, sure that they would be closer than they had ever been considering Misao's open-mind and support. She had noticed that Misao looked even cuter when she smiled. That little sharp tooth of hers peaking out of her mouth was oddly endearing today. It gave her the cute and silly character that Kagami knew she could count on. It was clear she had always taken their friendship for granted. But she wouldn't any longer.

Misao returned with two cups of tea on a tray, setting them down on the small table in the center of her room.

"Two cups of normal tea, a la mode!" Misao said cheerfully. "Uh," Kagami said, "You do know that "a la mode" means "served with ice cream" right?"

"Oh," Misao said, sitting on the ground, "Sorry. It sounded cool though right?" She grinned a little embarrassed.

Kagami giggled and shook her head and took a seat next to Misao, "Misao, you're definitely one of a kind."

"Aw, thanks Hiiragi." Misao said, "You too." "I really appreciate you taking me under your wing today," Kagami said, "I was a big mess."

"Nah, don't mention it. And you weren't a big mess, we already established that. Just some tingling in the nether regions that's all."

"Put so eloquently." Kagami said sarcastically, but then noticed how quiet it was, "Hey, where is your family? I noticed it was all dark and cluttered when I came in."

"All off doing something for the summer," Misao said, "Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa went on some sort of lazy boat cruise. Big brother is off traveling with his band of college bro-types."

"And you're alone?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, just for a couple weeks. I guess they figure I'm graduated now so I'm old enough to fend for myself." Misao said, "But I'm kinda messy so I should probably clean up before they get back. Grandma likes to keep the place all shiny - always on my case about it."

"I'd imagine so." Kagami said nodding, "Well hey, in return for helping me today how about I help you clean up the place before they get back?"

"That'd be cool!" Misao said, "We can make a day of it! Hang out and stuff."

"Sounds like a plan," Kagami smiled. She picked up her tea and took a sip, "Ah, that hits the spot."

"Oh! Speaking of hitting the spot, we still have the stuff to talk about!" Misao declared, "Safe from the judging ears of a public restaurant."

"Right." Kagami's cheeks took on light pink.

"It was the cheerleader squad." Misao casually blurted, sipping her own tea noisily.

"What was?"

"What inspired me to do it." Misao said, "What made me diddle - I mean, you know, touch myself. I saw them practicing after school and I guess the mental image really stuck with me."

"The... Cheerleading squad?"

"I figured if we were being honest with each other," Misao said, "I would tell you something personal. I've never really been that attracted to boys."

"Are you..." Kagami said carefully, "Coming out to me?"

Misao shrugged, "Not particularly. I mean, I think boys are kinda sorta cute, but girls are so much prettier, softer. Not as sweaty ya know? It's just not something I advertise, not like I've actually been with either one."

"And so you saw the cheerleader squad and... Uh, did the thing where you touched yourself." Kagami said.

"Yeah, Hiiragi," Misao rolled her eyes, "I masturbated at home while thinking if the cute little cheerleaders."

"Okay, wow... super embarrassing, but, um... right." Kagami flushed, "Masturbated." "I felt pretty creepy about it. Like a pervy old man." Misao said. "I've been feeling the same way all day," Kagami sighed. "Ya know what I think your solution is, Hiiragi?" Misao asked.

"What's that?" "I think you need to stop hating yourself for what you feel." Misao said, "It's not like you're doing

anything wrong." "It feels incredibly wrong," Kagami frowned.

"That's natural, in most walks of life people are taught to be ashamed of desires," Misao said, her voice now sounding intellectual, channeling her inner college student, "I mean, think about it: have you touched anyone that didn't want to be touched?"

"No..."

"Are you getting off to something that would hurt people or something illegal?"

"No..."

"So it just sounds like you're a normal person discovering herself," Misao smiled, "Like I said, love your life for what it is. It felt good didn't it?"

Kagami blushed more, "Yeah... It did."

Misao shrugged, "Who's to say you shouldn't keep on doing it? Better than sleeping with strangers to quell your appetite."

Kagami finally saw a light at the end of this tunnel. Misao was right. She was feeling excessive pangs of guilt that was a staple of any culture for females - girls who want sex should be ashamed why? Men don't get flack for masturbating... so why should she?

"There's no reason to beat yourself up about it Hiiragi," Misao said warmly, "Here's one girl who'll never judge you. You can trust me with this stuff."

Kagami smiled warmly and scooted herself a little closer to Misao, resting her head on her shoulder, "Life after high school sure is crazy..."

Misao's cheeks started to take on a light shade of pink too, "Yep! Pretty crazy..." She said, laughing and trying to hide her sudden nervousness.

When laughing, Misao exposed her little fang again, causing Kagami to stifle a giggle. "What?" Misao said, "Got something on my face?" "Your tooth." Kagami said, "The little sharp one." "Good Ol' pointy." Misao said, "Always been there."

"I know," Kagami said, "I've always liked it." Misao cocked an eyebrow, "My tooth?" "It fits with your character." Kagami said, "I've always thought it was really cute." "Yeah?" Misao said, a little flattered, "I always thought it made me look weird." Kagami lifted her head from her shoulder to meet Misao face-to-face. "Nope. Total cutie pie."

The girls stared at each other, nose to nose for a couple of seconds. Kagami took on a finger and pressed it underneath Misao's tooth, "It's not that sharp."

"Well," Misao said awkwardly, "Hopefully I don't have to rip apart an animal carcass with my teeth anytime soon."

Kagami, using the hand that was nearest to Misao's face, brushed her brown hair behind her ear, "Too cute." Kagami said, letting her hand linger on her cheek after tucking back Misao's hair.

"Hiiragi..." Misao started, looking up into her eyes.

Kagami's blue eyes locked with Misao's hazel eyes and their faces instinctively drifted towards each other, their eyes closing and lips meeting for a soft, sensual little kiss.

The two girls let their foreheads rest against one another after the kiss. Misao's heart was beating so fast Kagami could hear it.

"You're hearts going pretty fast there," Kagami said playfully.

"What are we doin' Hiiragi?" Misao asked softly, her voice frail.

"Nothing we should be ashamed of, right?" Kagami said, "And no one is here."

"Conveniently." Misao said, "Funny how that always works out, isn't it? Almost like we're in a story."

"Yeah, it really is," Kagami admitted.

There was a beat of silence, which was filled by the beat of Misao's thumping heart.

"Still," Kagami said, "Don't you want to? I mean... go just a bit further?"

"I..." Misao started but was cut off.

"Haven't you even thinking about it all day?" Kagami asked, "Don't you think I'm cute?"

Misao opened her eyes to look at Kagami.

"Always have," Misao said, as Kagami opened her eyes to meet her gaze once again.

Immediately, Misao's eyes darted to the side in embarrassment.

Kagami put a hand on Misao's cheek and caressed it, pulling her face close for a long, passionate kiss - Misao let out a small moan in Kagami's mouth.

"I knew you wanted to." Kagami smiled warmly and kissed Misao quickly again.

"This is a completely different side of you, Hiiragi," Misao said.

"Yeah," Kagami said, "It's different."

"I like it a lot though," Misao said, leaning in for another kiss - this time slowly working her tongue into Kagami's mouth.

Kagami took a cue from this and let her tongue into Misao's mouth continuing to caress her face. The two girls softly swirled their tongues in each other's mouths both letting out small high-pitched sighs every so often as they kissed.

Kagami took her hand and slid it to Misao's back, lifting up her tee-shirt and immediately going for

her bra. "Woah!" Misao exclaimed, "You really don't waste time."

"Take these off." Kagami said softly, still playfully fingering the back of her bra, "I want to see your cute naked body."

Misao blushed, "Well, my boobs are a little small so... I mean, don't expect much."

Kagami rolled her eyes, "Please. You're talking to another girl with a petite body. Take off your bra and your shirt."

"If you say so..." Misao lifted up her shirt over her head, her small breasts encased in her plain white bra.

"Your tits," Kagami said, "So cute..." "Tits." Misao said, giggling "You're a dirty talker too." "Apparently," Kagami said, slipping off one of Misao's bra straps. Misao looked down, feigning surprised, "Hiiragi..."

Kagami reached into Misao's bra and pulled out one of her small breasts and massaged it. It fit perfectly in Kagami's hand and she could feel her nipples, which were small and beautifully natural, harden.

Kagami took one finger and pressed her hard nipple in lightly, it softened but Misao let out a loud pleasurable moan.

"Ah!" Misao sighed quietly, "That feels really good..."

After massaging her breast again for a few more seconds Kagami stopped to get a full view of Misao's budding chest, still holding her hand over the one she was massaging. Kagami looked up at her, "Can I lick it?"

"Sure." Misao's face flushed again.

Kagami took Misao's small breast in her hand again and stared at her puffy little nipple.

"Here I go," Kagami said, and slowly licked Misao's nipple before putting it in her mouth slowly.

"Oh, man!" Misao moaned as she held Kagami's head and pushed it against her chest, "Don't stop, don't stop!"

"You have such beautiful little tits, Misao..." Kagami said, continuing to lick her hardened yet still soft teenage nipples. "I love licking them."

Misao moaned again, "No Hiiragi that's embarrassing!" "What, that you have a sexy little body?" Kagami said, grinning, "it's meant to be a compliment." Misao looked Kagami up and down and her body became warm. "I want I see your body, Hiiragi." Misao said, looking into her eyes, "Kagami-chan."

"Kagami-chan, huh?" Kagami said, "So we're that close now?"

"I think once you're about to get to second base with someone, it's okay to be casual," Misao said.

"Fair enough." Kagami said, giggling, "Misa-chan."

Kagami lifted her shirt, revealing her slightly smaller breasts with her pink bra covering them.

"You've got some cute tits too, Hiiragi," Misao said, "I want to do what you did to me. I wanna lick and suck yours too."

Kagami smiled, "Why don't we go to your bed?"

Kagami got up and walked over to Misao's bed, sitting down, pulling one bra strap off of her shoulder innocently.

"Wow, Hiiragi are you trying to seduce me?" Misao asked. "Not trying." Kagami said matter-of-factly, "Just did." "You think you're smooth, Hiiragi?" Misao said, making her way to the bed to sit next to Kagami. "What happened to Kagami-chan?" Kagami asked. " I'll call ya whatever I want," Misao said bravely. "Haha, that's awful defiant," Kagami said teasingly. "Shut up and get naked, Hiiragi," Misao said turning to face Kagami

Kagami did the same, turning to face Misao as well. They locked lips passionately. Misao took one hand and messaged one of Kagami's breasts, still encased in the pink bra. Kagami began to lean back and Misao took this chance to slightly but somewhat aggressively push her down to lay on the bed.

Misao laid on top of Kagami, kissing upwards from her stomach to her small tits. She kissed around Kagami's cleavage and slightly kissed the outside part of her breast. "Take it off," Misao whispered.

Kagami reached behind herself and unhooked her bra, sliding down her other strap and letting it fall in front of her as she bore her naked chest.

Misao followed suit, unhooking her bra and completely revealing both of her small natural breasts. Misao immediately leaned forward and kissed Kagami's pink nipple.

"Ah..." Kagami sighed.

Misao took her tongue and licked Kagami's nipple using her entire tongue - almost like she was licking an ice cream cone. She continued to lick Kagami's nipples lapping faster and faster.

"Oh God Misao..." Kagami held Misao's head to her chest just as she had done her, "More... More, it feels so good."

Misao took her tongue and gave it a little pressure - using it to push the top of Kagami's nipple inward.

"Haaaaaaaah..." Kagami moaned as relaxing pleasure shot through her upper body, she pushed Misao's head firmer into her chest, feeling the moisture in her panties as Misao continuously licked her breasts softly.

Misao stopped and looked up at Kagami, who was continuing to moan while catching her breath at the same time even after Misao had stopped licking. She was still audible as she sat up to survey the familiar damp spot under her. Even with her panties on.

"Sorry," Kagami said, "That's really embarrassing."

"Don't worry 'bout it," Misao said, ignoring the comment altogether and wrapping her arms around Kagami. She pressed herself against Kagami's body as she gave her another long kiss.

The girls intertwined their tongues once again and Kagami pulled herself closer to Misao and deeper into the kiss. They both felt a light, tingly pleasure as their nipples and breasts pressed against each other.

Misao looked at the wet spot on the bed again, "You're like a river there, Hiiragi." Misao laughed. "Don't laugh," Kagami flushed, "It's so embarrassing." "Just means I'm doin' a good job, that's all!" Misao said proudly. "I want to do good for you too," Kagami said.

"What'd ya have in mind?" Misao asked suggestively.

Kagami put her hand on Misao's bare chest and slid it in between her breasts, softly down her stomach and in between her legs inching up her skirt and softly rubbing against her cotton panties.

Misao sighed surprisingly and let out a light moan, "Kagami..." She said, "I've never... No one's ever, like..."

"Don't forget it's my first time too," Kagami said, "I've done it to myself... I just want to see if it all works the same. And if it makes you feel good, all the better."

"It felt so intense..." Misao said, "And you were just touching on the outside." "Can I keep going?" Kagami asked, inching closer.

A few moments later, Kagami was looking at Misao's cute panties as she slipped off her skirt. Cotton white with a tiny pink bow at the top. There was a long wet spot right in the middle as her juices automatically flowed out Kagami took two fingers and rubbed them against the wet spot.

"Oh my God..." Misao moaned, "Aaaahhhh!" Kagami took her hand rubbing against Misao and worked her way slowly to remove her panties. Misao grabbed Kagami's hand to stop her, "I'm gonna pee! "It just feels that way at first." Kagami soothed her, "Just relax." "You promise?" Misao said, her voice shaking. Kagami put one hand on Misao's face and caressed her cheek, "Misao, it's okay. I promise."

Misao's body relaxed as she accepted that the sensation was an intense pleasure. She decided she was better off basking in it, no matter what the outcome.

Kagami once again lifted the small elastic of Misao's panties and began to slip them off.

"Hiiragi, please... Please be gentle, I'm so scared." Misao said, her voice more helpless and frail than Kagami had ever heard before.

"Tell me if you don't want to," Kagami said worriedly, "I don't want you to feel like you have to because you're in the moment. I might be newly curious but I'm not a rapist."

"I do want to," Misao blurted, "I feel safe with you. But at least give me this, it doesn't matter who your first sexcapade is with... it's still nerve-racking."

"You got a point there," Kagami said, taking her hand and inching under Misao's skirt, stopping just short of her bare pussy.

Misao gasped, her eyes widening. Her mouth was left agape as she processed what was about to happen.

"Should I keep going?" Kagami asked. "Yes, Hiiragi." Misao said, "Touch me down there... Please."

Kagami took her hand and rubbed it slightly against Misao's wet vagina. While rubbing she could already feel Misao's clitoris protruding. It was bigger than hers. Misao let out a high-pitched moan as Kagami's fingers brushed over her clit.

"You thought I was a river?" Kagami smirked. "Shut up!" Misao said, flushing, "Jerk."

Kagami leaned forward for another small kiss as she continued to rub Misao's clitoris. Misao let out another moan into Kagami's mouth.

Kagami leaned back from the kiss and began to kiss down Misao's neck, down her shoulder blades to her petite breasts, and took her left nipple into her mouth, suckling a bit. Misao messaged her own right breast as she did so, intensifying the pleasure in her upper body, she felt more of her juices flow out, almost like a geyser in slow motion.

Kagami continued to kiss and lick down Misao's flat stomach, stopping as she got to her skirt. Misao took the cue and slipped off the skirt, revealing her small shaved vagina. Kagami kissed around it gently.

"You okay?" Kagami said. "Sure." Misao's voice shook slightly. "I'm going to lick you." Kagami said, "Okay?" "Please," Misao said, "It feels so good... I... I don't know where to put all of this pleasure." "Relax," Kagami soothed and slowly took her tongue and lapped it across Misao's clit. "Oh my..." Misao shrieked, "Fuck! Oh my God, Hiiragi lick me more, please lick me more!" Kagami licked up and down Misao's pussy, flicking her clitoris with her tongue. Misao convulsed

and gasped for air as she moaned.

Kagami took one finger and rubbed Misao's clit softly in a circular motion. Misao's body shook as she gyrated slightly, rubbing her juices on the sheets of her bed.

The bed was soaking wet.

Kagami licked up and down Misao's pussy slit for a minute before stopping and speaking softly, "Misao..."

"Kagami it feels so good, don't stop, please don't stop I'll go crazy!" Misao screamed. "I want to try something." Kagami said, "With my finger."

"Whatever you want," Misao said, catching her breath, "Just keep licking my pussy while you do it."

"You sure?" Kagami said. "Oh my God, whatever Hiiragi!" Misao said frustrated, "Fingers, whatever, just keep going!" Misao pushed Kagami's head back in between her legs.

Kagami slowly brought out her tongue again, picking up where she had left off. She started from the bottom of Misao's vagina and licked upwards, finally flicking her clit softly with her tongue over and over when she got to the top. Misao thrust her pelvis once more, sinking Kagami's face into her wet pussy.

Kagami pulled back and took her hand, playfully rubbing up and down Misao's wetness. She rubbed her clit softly before finally making her way down and feeling for a small opening she knew would be there. Rubbing her finger up and down Misao's pussy, she finally found it and lightly pushed her finger in.

"Haaaaaaaaaah!" Misao moaned, feeling a different type of pleasure than when Kagami rubbed her clitoris. Not as intense but somehow more... fulfilling. But it stretched her a little and she worried it might hurt.

"Be gentle, ok?" Misao said, "I think it'll hurt..."

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you." Kagami said.

"No, I know it'll feel good and I want it," Misao explained, "But it will probably hurt too."

Kagami kissed Misao and this time took her finger and slowly slipped it into Misao's tight pussy, which immediately clamped down upon Kagami's finger.

"Ooooooh my...ahhhh!" Misao moaned, screaming at the same time, "Holy hell!"

Kagami pulled out her finger and reinserted it - a little faster this time. Misao whimpered as Kagami's finger was thrust in and out of her tight entrance.

Kagami continued, now inserting her finger and twirling it around lightly.

Misao quietly moaned in the background, her voice intermittently getting stuck in her throat as pleasure spread from Kagami's gentle fingering throughout her entire body Kagami could feel the texture of Misao's wet vaginal walls go from smooth and slippery to a little

more ruffled - a little stiffer. Misao's moans grew more audible as she felt the texture of the walls harden more and more as she messaged them with her finger - moving her finger in a slight "come here" motion as she messaged the roof of Misao's tight pink walls.

"Does it hurt?" Kagami asked, continuing to finger Misao.

Misao caught her breath to answer, letting out a light moan before she had a chance to speak, "A little, but I definitely want more. I never want this feeling to go away Hiiragi." Kagami kept on, staring at Misao's smooth pussy, "I won't stop this time."

Kagami lowered her head as she continued to lightly finger Misao's tight entrance - now simultaneously using her finger to massage her ripple-textured walls and her tongue to lick her clitoris.

"Hiiragi, it's inside me!" Misao moaned, "Your finger is inside and it feels so good!"

Kagami buried her head in between Misao's legs and sucked on her clit, using her tongue to push it back and forth out of her mouth.

"I'm going to explode!" Misao screamed, "Hiiragi is finger fucking me in my room!" She exclaimed out loud.

"I love making you feel good, Misao.." Kagami said in between licks, thrusting her finger a little faster now, "Your juices keep flowing more and more... Means I'm doing a good job right?"

"Kagami, I'm..." Misao said suddenly. Her entire body shook in sensual tremors, "I don't know what's happening! My pussy is gonna explode!"

"You're coming, Misao," Kagami said, turning herself on with her teacher-esque tone "Let it happen, it feels so good."

"Oh my God, it does!" Misao moaned again, "I'm coming! I'm coming! Oh, my G..." Her pelvis again shot up into the air, Kagami didn't stop as Misao orgasmed into her mouth. "Goddddd!" Misao gasped for air, "Oh my God, oh my God!"

She pulled Kagami's face into her wet vagina one last time as the bottom half of her body hung in mid-air and she let out a scream so high pitched that it was almost inaudible and ended as a whimper.

Her first orgasm was beyond anything she could have comprehended beforehand.

The two teenage girls laid beside each other on top of Misao's now drenched bed sheets, both gasping for air. Misao from the intense nature of her first orgasm... and Kagami from the intense nature of Misao's first orgasm.

"Whew!" Kagami said, wiping her mouth, "Almost suffocated me there." "Sorry." Misao rubbed the back of her head, "It was just..." "I know," Kagami grinned, "I understand."

"Hiiragi, I don't know what to do with myself.." Misao said, "I want to do this again and again with you."

"Preachin' to the choir," Kagami said, looking over again at Misao's sweating, naked body.

"I want to make you come." Misao said, "I just... Would you guide me? Like, tell me what to do?"

Kagami raised an eyebrow, "Ummm... The same exact thing?"

"C'mon, just walk me through it!" Misao pleaded, "Don't you want to come too?"

"I do. But maybe..." Kagami sighed, still catching her breath "We should take a little rest first."

Misao smiled, "Good idea, Hiiragi." Misao turned on her side and gave Kagami another kiss, "Thank you... So much."

"Don't mention it." Kagami said, lowering her voice to a sensual whisper, "I love the way you taste."

Misao blushed, "That's a heck of a thing to say." She said, "This was amazing but definitely super weird. Completely out of character for both of us."

"Believe me," Kagami said, "I've made peace with that."

Misao cuddled against Kagami from behind, letting her breasts push softly on her back.

"I'm glad it was you," Misao said.

"Me too." Kagami said, her eyes getting heavier, "Me too..."

Slowly but surely the girls fell asleep in each other's arms.

Misao didn't get around to helping Kagami finish again that afternoon.

But all the same, Kagami felt more like her normal self than she had since viewing that damn DVD.

As the two girls dozed off, Misao thought to herself, not sure what the future really held with this newfound hobby. She hoped it wouldn't change her friendship with Kagami. But she was also hopeful and full of butterflies. Ultimately, all she knew was that it felt good.

It felt really, really good.

[uphissleevies]

Natsu x Lucy Fanfiction Gems

A continued list of my favorite stories that keep piling up.

Notes:

-More current updated ones are at the top of the list

-Only one story per author

-Sexual content in some stories

-Stories from FF.net are first, followed by the stories from A03

Happy Reading!

-FF.net stories-

Bound in Blood (M) by xambedo

When tragedy unseals a demon beneath the soil of Fairy Hills, Lucy Heartfilia is offered a choice: remain and be buried alive, or bargain to save her classmates. Seven years later, Natsu is here to collect, but he's about to get more than he bargained for. / NaLu / Romance - Supernatural - Humour

Capturing Her Damaged Heart (M) by mushi0131

A deadly disease plagues the world. People are dying, the dead are rising. The infection spreads too fast to stop. Everyone tries their best to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, but things get messy for Natsu when he finds a blonde woman on one of his missions. Natsu takes it upon himself to help her, protect her, and accidentally fall in love with her? Zombie Apocalypse AU.

Til Death Do Us Part (M) by superfreakerz

Immortal/Reincarnation AU. There are immortals and there are those who reincarnate, though it's best to keep these things hidden. Lucy is attending college and meets Natsu, a mischievous boy with pink hair, a devilish smile, and a body that never ages.

Dauntless (M) by HungryPeanut

The Royal Military College was founded a few centuries ago and the traditional laws that were instaured at the time still remained. One of those laws stipulating clearly that only male students were allowed to apply for the formation. But here Lucy was, standing among the other recruits in the ranks, dressed as a man.

Do it for him, Do it for her (T) by schmad20

Lucy goes on with her mission, "without" any one else. She wants to help her client and while doing that she'll prove to others what she's capable of! She's doing it for herself...and for him... While she's off on her mission, Natsu is waiting restlessly at home. Waiting for her to come home. He knows how much this means to her... So he's doing it for her...

Walk through the fire (T) by elssiie

Strategist and priestess Lucy Heartfilia gets caught up in the turmoil of war. Torn between duty and love she must decide whether to follow her heart or mind because the destiny of two nations rests on her shoulders.

Implexium Vitae (M) by notjustanyfangrl

It is said that some people have old souls, reborn every couple centuries to find their loved ones again and continue on their never ending journey. But what happens to these intersecting lives when one is immortal and the other is ripped from them? Vampire AU.

Falling into Home (T) by selenityshiroi

Post-canon. Lucy finds it difficult to let certain horrors from the war go but, fortunately, her team mates are having the same struggle and they can work past it together.

Her Master (M) by Letting go of Fate

Neither of them remembered how it all started. How their innocent friendship twisted into something like this. She loved it. He craved it. He was her Master and she, his pet.

Stars that Bite (T) by MizzyPlatinum

AU in which Lucy feeds off of blood and refuses to drink Natsu's, but what happens when Natsu finds out that he's the only one she refuses to feed from? NaLu. OneShot. Fluff. Blood trigger.

Dark Side of You (M) by Binky1987

Post Manga/Anime, therefore sort of AU. The progress of Lucy and Natsu's relationship, five years after the war. When finally their relationship is becoming defined, the world turns ugly and they have to choose a side. With Lucy's life on the line the choice is clear, the world be damned because you can't take his things and live to tell about it.

One Week of Danger (T) by Cervella

"Okay, Miss Mystic." Lucy stood up and held the magazine which she would flush down the drain later above her head. Plue imitated her totally heroic pose and she was dead serious when she yelled,"In the next week I will prove that your horoscope is completely wrong!"

Desire In Strawberries (M) by  shelbyshoe

Natsu and Lucy are swept away by a festival held by their wealthy client, Lady Nakahara. There is more than mystery and the scent of strawberries in the air as they find themselves intimately closer to one another. What they thought was a friendly feast turns into something more as the puzzling night goes on.

Letter’s To Mom (T) by  ElementalMiko12

Going back to the place they first met after Lucy reveals an unkept promise she made to her mother; Natsu takes her to keep that promise... In the process Lucy's deceased mother decides to keep a promise of her own she made long ago. (Complete)

The Simplest Gift (A Valentine's Day Special) (T) by ladyoflitany A Valentine's Day one shot, involving Natsu, Lucy unspoken feelings and Valentine's gifts. Throw in a meddling Mira, Natsu misunderstanding the idea of Valentine's and Lucy's missing fan mail and problems and Hilarity ensue...

Brightside (K+) by stopnatsu Natsu loves Lucy. Lucy is on a date. Natsu gets roaring drunk and drama ensues. Oneshot. Angst/fluffy. (May or may not be heavily inspired by Mr. Brightside by The Killers).

The Lacrima Wish (T) by  LucyLacrima

In the midst of a battle with Natsu, Lucy stumbles upon a cursed tree and something is released. She is given the opportunity to make one wish, with no limitations, and is given a Lacrima. The Lacrima allows her to see the repercussions of each potential wish. She tests different futures while watching her guild's future unfold.

Thirty Days of Misadventures (T) by MagiLiv Imagine waking one morning in one world, sleeping, then waking in another. Different lives, different scenarios- together, Natsu and Lucy venture through the trials of laughter, anger, sadness and love.

A Big Problem (T) by  Jayalek

How is Lucy supposed to live her life normally when an overgrown lizard won't leave her alone? Of all the things to be obsessed with her, it just had to be a dragon who won't give her some peace and quiet. NALU! Dragonized!Natsu

Just Kiss! (T) by WhiteRose123

Even when Lucy is feeling at her worst, Natsu is always there to try to cheer her up. NaLu. Oneshot.

Strawberry Heaven (K+) by PrinceCharmingsPrincess

Oneshot: A NaLu lost moment... Ranges after the Games.

It started with a kiss (M) by Eugenee

Natsu comes home from a mission to find the guild in full swing and in the middle is his worst nightmare... a drunk Lucy.

Priorities (K+) by PEANUT v1.2

"Moving forward is what Fairy Tail mages do, isn't it?" Lucy says to Natsu. Yesterday he would have agreed immediately, but that was before catastrophe struck. How can he move forward after his mistake? Nalu friendship/romance oneshot.

Switched (T) by SyberSweetHeart

Once again the lives of Fairy Tail mages are interrupted- but the problem is Lucy and Natsu have switched bodies! Oh boy, this is bound to cause problems…

Exceedingly Adorable (K+) by Sweet Little Demon

A magical mishap happens in the middle of a battle, leaving Lucy fluffier and more adorable than ever. Humor, Fluff, adorableness, cuddliness, master planning and envy guaranteed.

Are You My Daddy? (T) by BlackLynx17 It was just a normal day at Fairy Tail... that is until a little girl is carried in claiming to be Lucy's daughter. The only thing she remembers about her Father is that he's strong and has a fairy on his body, that narrows it down to every male in Fairy Tail... hold on she said strong, maybe about half the males then. What's Fairy Tail to do now?

-A03 stories-

Flame’s Desire (M) by Rougescribe

As the last of her tribe, Lucy barely escapes the grasp of slavers and falls into the hands of a man as wild as the flames that destroyed her clan. She's been given a second chance with her life, but why does her savior awaken a fire in her blood she's never known before?

Of Dragons and Gods (T) by Gemini888

Lucy Heartfilia: Fairy Tail's resident Celestial Spirit Mage who is currently in love with the Guild's own Fire Dragon Slayer.

Natsu Dragneel: One of Fairy Tail's aces; a powerhouse Mage that is more than conflicted and confused about his feelings for Lucy.

Suberashi: A ancient, powerful, and fabled Guild straight from legends. Only, now, it's no longer fabled, nor does 'just a children's fairy tale' quite fit the reality of their sudden presence.

With Natsu unintentionally hurting Lucy emotionally and with Suberashi's sudden interest in her, will she leave Fairy Tail and accept their offer to give her the powers of a 'God.'

A Fever in the Night (G) by starmini

Coming back from a mission, Lucy collapses in the the middle of a forest with a dangerously high fever. Natsu sends Happy to bring back help, as he desperately tries to keep her alive.

Heaven Sent: A Fairy Tail Fairy Tale (G) by joliemariella

Natsu Dragneel is the infamous 'Dragon Prince' who rules Fiore with the assistance of his carefully chosen council. His life is changed forever, though, when his dear friend Happy, is struck by an incurable disease. Desperate, he turns to the ancient fairy tales that tell of the Celestial Maidens, whose robes hold the power to do anything a determined man might set his mind to...

Starcrossed (G) by wisdomofme

Bonus Prompt 1 of FT Angst Week: Ever After/ Perfect Disaster Once upon a time there lived a star that had seen it all, and boy who could see the stars… Who would’ve thought that their paths would cross?

what’s the big deal? (Explicit) by julamei

Natsu's sexual awakening is... clumsy and awkward, obviously. The poor boy has purposefully remained ignorant of these more mundane, human miracles. that is, until something happens he can't ignore and things between him and Lucy being to grow. Here is my headcannon on their journey around the bases (hopefully this reflects more our own experiences than just our need for fulfillment for these characters).

Hunter (M) by Freyjabee  (No longer available?)

Natsu and Lucy follow some dangerous hunters into a city housing sin. While one is desperate to leave, the other can't help but stay.

A Lesson for Natsu (M) by aeotae

Despite the injustice of it all, the men of Fairy Tail endeavor to prepare Natsu for his new manly duty as Lucy's boyfriend.

I have a lot more so let me know if anyone wants more recommendations.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

Black Boys Bloom Thorns First: Volume 2, Chapter 14

"Breathe, breathe me in, taste my words, let me blow your mind I will take you far, far away I'll make you feel alright You've gotta crave it and chase it Until you're close enough to taste it I can give you what you need I can give you what you need…"

"Make You Feel" – Alina Baraz & Galimatias

April 10th, 20—

I find myself writing more and more as my son grows older.

Erik. N'Jadaka. JaJa.

I remember the night he was conceived so vividly. The urge to make him was so powerful that the moment I released within my woman I knew he was on his way. It is interesting to note the difference between wanting to have a child and having one by accident. When I talk with the men I work with at the shop, most of them had children not by choice, but by surprise. It is what Califia calls being caught out there. If they were with a woman and she happened to get pregnant the response has been either going with the flow, asking for an abortion or leaving the relationship. Some of these men learn to love their children but they are seen as a burden and not a blessing.

I find this way of thinking abhorrent. Granted, when I impregnated Califia the first time, it was not planned, but I was happy when I found out for an all too brief moment before I learned of her operation. I do not understand the thinking of men who behave this way. The second time I left America to return to Wakanda, all I could think about was having a baby with Califia. Erik existed in my mind way before I even reunited with his mother physically. He was real to me even when he was just a thought.

I remember when I came home from Birnin Zana and Califia revealed to me that she was carrying him. She was so scared. Fearful that she would lose this child too. But I knew different. This time I was with her. We wanted this little one together. And Bast blessed us from on high. I know this to be true. The day he was born felt a bit like I was being reborn with him. My hands caught him. I held him first.

Our son.

My world has never been the same since he has come into my life with his mother. I can not imagine living a life without the two of them being in it. Califia has given me the most supreme gift with my son. She is the only woman who could give me a child like him. I ponder sometimes what type of child I would have made with Zinzi or some other woman from back home. Because his bloodline is so different, uniting Califia's hundreds of years of genetic mixing and separation from Africa with my Wakandan pedigree, Erik is a rare jewel. The best of the Old World Africans and the New World ones. My beautiful son.

I find him writing at his desk in his room quite often. I suspect it is because he sees me writing all the time in my journal. He likes to emulate Califia and I. I caught him in our bedroom opening my journal, his curiosity getting the better of him to cause him to violate my privacy. I told him about going through my things without permission. I had no fear of him reading anything that would give my secret identity away. My words are written in my native language. He is beginning to learn the Wakandan alphabet. He is fascinated by the fact that we have more letter/symbols than English. I have been creating a separate journal for him, recording things that will help him understand my culture for when I feel it is time for him to know the truth.

He is sprouting up like a strong tree. He is seven years old now. About to turn eight. He is in the sixth grade and excels in math and science. He loves history and social studies.

Califia and I had to have a serious discussion last night about allowing Erik to attend a local high school part-time for math and computer science, or have him do independent study at home. It feels like every year he excels more and we have to decide what to do with his education. Califia wants him to have the balance of children close to his own age. We are always having slumber parties and play dates with children from her studio. His regular school day finds him around older students, while his extracurricular activities are filled with age-matched peers from our social circles. I think he finds a good balance, but he tends to like older people. He loves sitting with Nana Jean a listening to her stories, especially when she has a card game with what Califia calls a hen party; a group of older women who drink, smoke, play spades and gossip.

Erik has taken up drumming and recently received his fourth capoeira belt. I am very proud of him.

His Uncle Bakari is coming to visit him for his birthday and they will no doubt drum together and play the berimbau for hours. Bakari has been a true brother to me and he has taken my son under his wing as if we were blood family. I am truly grateful for all these years of friendship with him. Bakari and Shavonne found out that they can not have children of their own now. Shavonne suffered from ovarian cancer two years ago and had her ovaries removed. It was a difficult conversation to have with my brother Bakari, but he and Shavonne are considering adoption, and they have focused a lot of love on Erik over the years. They are like his second parents.

Tonight Erik is having a sleepover with his buddy Walter. They've been hanging tough since they first met in pre-school. Walter's parents are always happy to have their son stay with us. I think it is because Erik is a positive influence on Walter. Maybe they think Erik's smarts will rub off on their child.

My son is an introvert. He can be gregarious and appear extroverted when he is with his friends, but he has the tendency to hang back and take in his surroundings before engaging with people. We used to think he was shy once he started elementary school, but the reality is quite different. He observes. Slowly warms up to all that is around him. And then he acts.

He is very particular about how he looks and dresses. Likes things in his room and around him organized and clean. Neat.

Califia is doing well despite the fact that we did have a recent pregnancy scare. Her middle school went through a strike and the stress and worry affected her health. For about two weeks we thought she was pregnant because she had missed a cycle. I admit I was ecstatic. She was actually excited herself until she saw a doctor and it was confirmed that she was not with child. A week later her cycle resumed and we told ourselves that it would have been a welcome surprise. We have been very careful with birth control, but it is my desire to have her pregnant again. And I want her to have our next child in Wakanda. I want to conceive our next little one in my home country. I want a daughter.

Califia predicted it, and I have been holding off on speaking on returning to Birnin Zana with our family, but Erik has begun to ask me about home. He asks why he does not get to meet my family. I have tried to avoid direct answers by planting the idea that my family is estranged and that it is difficult to communicate with them. He seems to accept this answer. It is no different than Califia's relationship with her mother and brothers. They do not often see each other because of distance. My son does not push the issue, but I can see in his eyes that he knows there is more to the story than I am telling him.

I am writing this in bed.

Califia is asleep next to me. Her hair is all over the place and she is in a deep slumber. While the boys were downstairs watching tv and playing video games while lying on the floor with sleeping bags, I was able to sneak a spanking session with her. We did not plan on it, but I walked in from saying goodnight to the boys and found her reading a book in our bed. She had on one of my old undershirts with a T-back design that she liked and just a pair of yellow bikini panties. She turned over to look at me and there was something about the way she stared at me that reminded me of the days when she would be in my bed at my old grad school housing. I reached over and slapped her ass and just marveled at how thick and healthy and gorgeous she looked. Almost eleven years of me knowing her have gone by, and she still gives me a thrill when I look at her.

I made her get on her hands and knees and pulled her panties part way down to her thighs. I spanked her while stroking my dick. She let me play with her pussy with my free hand. My fingers were inside of her when she climaxed, and I let her walls just coat my hand with her slickness. Her pussy is incredible, that is the only way I can describe it. She probably thought I would ride her doggy style, but I just wanted to cum on her face. It is something that I derive great pleasure in doing. The primitive need to mark her with my semen is just a thing I crave if I do not cum inside of her. It makes me feel like I own her. She is mine. No one else can have the honor of painting her face in that way. When she looks up at me, when her lips are parted, when she is waiting for me to release, I just cum so hard that it hurts.

Tonight I had a lot of pent up frustration from work at the shop. Nothing serious, but I knew I was going to need her tonight to calm me down. I groaned so loud when I came, and even more when I saw how much I shot all over her face. She will not move once I have ejaculated on her. She knows I like to stare at her with my semen all over her. I just love to mark her in that way. Some deep-seated urge to watch my fluid drip down her beautiful freckled face. She gives me the most intense look and then I want to do it again. I like to have her wet and slippery and soaking when I am done with her.

I so badly want to wake her up right now and push my dick back into her. The older we get, the more I need to fuck her. She makes comments sometimes to me about how my sex drive should be slowing down. Most men my age reach a certain plateau in their sex drive. What she doesn't know is that my body is not normal. I was created by a man who ingested the heart-shaped herb before he was ever married. When my brother and I were conceived our DNA was already different, superior to regular people. As long as I take care of myself, my body will not slow down like the average man. Thus, my sex drive will not be thwarted. I will probably fuck the way I do now until I am a very old man…

N'Jobu saw a flicker of light under the bedroom door. The angle of the light let him know that Erik was in his room.

N'Jobu closed his journal and left the bed to quietly investigate.

Erik's door was ajar, and he was at his desk writing. Califia had bought him a large dark brown journal that she tried to closely match to N'Jobu's leather-bound journal for him. His face was hunkered down and his right hand was scribbling furiously.

"JaJa," N'Jobu said.

Erik turned away from his journal and looked up at his father. The light from his desk lamp gave the back of his head a halo effect. His baby 'fro looked springy with soft curls.

"Baba…"

"Why are you up so late? Is Walter still downstairs?"

"He's asleep. I wanted to write some things down."

"What sort of things?" N'Jobu asked stepping closer to Erik's desk.

Erik's eyes flitted away from N'Jobu's and glanced down at his writing hand.

"You won't tell Mom, will you?"

"Depends on what you're writing about. Is it something serious?"

N'Jobu took a seat on Erik's bed watching his son's face with curiosity.

"I don't want Mom to know because it's embarrassing."

N'Jobu leaned forward and kept his hands on his knees in an open stance to help Erik relax.

"Go ahead and tell me, Son."

"I had an accident…while I was sleeping…not an accident really…um…my penis…"

N'Jobu cocked his head to the side.

"Your penis what?"

"It got hard, Baba."

N'Jobu let a small smile peek from his lips.

"We've talked about this before. That's natural. Your body is growing and changing and sometimes while you are asleep you will have an erection even at your age—"

"I wasn't really asleep, Baba. I was kind of touching myself."

"Oh."

Oh.

N'Jobu made sure to watch his tone. They hadn't really had the masturbation talk yet.

"Touching yourself is also natural and good. It lets you understand your body and what feels good to you. It is best to do that privately, JaJa."

N'Jobu was beginning to feel like he needed to wake Califia up for this part of the conversation.

"I have a situation at school," Erik said.

"Okay."

Erik looked behind N'Jobu.

"Is Mom asleep?"

"She is."

Erik's face looked fretful.

"JaJa, you can tell me about it."

Erik took a deep breath and spoke with his head down.

"There are these two girls at my school. One is in my P.E. class and the other is in the classroom next to mine. They both like me…."

Erik's eyes glanced up at N'Jobu.

"…and I like them both. Joy, the girl in my P.E. class said I had to decide who I liked best and let them know back at school on Monday. Her and the other girl Amelle are going to wait for me in front of the flag pole. I can't decide."

N'Jobu kept his face neutral, but he was dying of laughter inside. The most stressful occurrence thus far in his son's school life was liking two girls. Two girls who demanded that he make a choice.

"You like them both equally?"

"Yes. That's why…that's why I was touching myself. I was thinking of them and my thoughts made me get excited and then that accident happened—"

"Erik, having an erection is not an accident when you touch yourself. It's okay to do that. Thinking of girls will make that happen a lot. Especially two girls that you like."

"I wanted to see who I liked better when I thought of them while doing that. But it worked for them both."

N'Jobu tried not to let the laughter inside of himself spill out and make his son feel ashamed. The logic behind his masturbation was too precious.

"What makes you like them both equally?"

Erik's face scrunched up a bit.

"I like that they are older than me."

"How much older?"

"Joy is eleven and Amelle is twelve."

An eleven-year-old and a twelve-year-old interested in an eight-year-old. Holy Bast.

"What else do you like about them?"

"They are both funny. I like humor in a woman."

N'Jobu laughed out loud at that. Erik looked sheepish but a smile came across his face, his soft dimples popping out in his cheeks.

"Go on."

"They are both pretty. And smart. I like smart girls. Joy plays basketball with me and Amelle can play chess and beats me sometimes. I like how Joy laughs and Amelle is nice to people who don't have friends."

"Hmmm, I can see how this can be difficult for you. They gave you until Monday to decide?"

"Yes. I came up here to write about it. I want to figure this out, Baba. If I choose Joy, Amelle will feel hurt. If I choose Amelle, then Joy will be upset. If I don't choose any of them, then they both will be mad. Then I won't have a basketball partner or a chess partner anymore for recess. Plus Caleb Baxter has been trying to throw salt in my game by telling me that I just want to be a player. I don't even know what that is really. I asked cousin Junie and he said I should ask you because you would know."

"Junie said that?"

"Yes."

N'Jobu clasped his hands together.

"I think you should get some sleep and not worry too much about Joy and Amelle tonight. We can talk more about it this weekend after Walter is gone. Okay?"

Erik looked relieved to have someone share his burden. N'Jobu stood up.

"Don't stay up too long. You don't want to leave Walter by himself downstairs. If you have any more accidental thoughts of Joy or Amelle, have them in private, understand?"

"Yes, Baba."

N'Jobu leaned over and kissed Erik on his forehead. "Goodnight, Son. Sleep well."

He left his son's room and returned to his own closing the door. He crawled under the covers and was startled to hear Califia giggling on her side of the bed, wide awake.

"Did you hear us?" N'Jobu asked.

"I heard everything," she said covering her mouth.

"Great," he said.

"Don't worry. I know he doesn't want me to know, so I will feign ignorance. But you were so sweet with him. God, he seems so young to be having these feelings and desires. I just want him to be an innocent little boy forever."

"I need to find out what Junie has been telling him about me."

"I'm sure he's heard Junie and Bakari talking about you when you didn't know he was around. But listen, I fell out when he said he liked humor in a woman!"

Califia covered her mouth again to keep her laughter down.

"Well, to an eight-year-old, a girl three or four years older is a woman to him," N'Jobu said.

"Wait! And then he said that other boy was throwing salt in his game…ohmigod that is all Junie right there!"

N'Jobu laughed with her and they tried their best to keep their voices low.

"Who do you think he'll pick?" she asked.

"My money is on the basketball player. You know ball is life with him."

"Nah, my bet is the chess player. She shows kindness to people who are scorned, and Erik has a soft spot for underdogs."

"Care to place a wager?" he said.

"We are terrible parents, but I got five on Amelle."

It never fails to happen.

Like an embedded natural alarm system, Califia can tell when N'Jobu has left their bed when she is asleep. She was in the midst of a pleasant dream about guacamole and her Nana's chicken enchiladas when she felt something off and broke away from her dream state. Her eyes popped open and she saw the book she had been reading wedged under N'Jobu's pillow. He was gone and his journal was lying on the nightstand.

She sat still listening for a moment, thinking he was in the restroom, but then she heard his voice in Erik's room.

"I don't want Mom to know because it's embarrassing."

Fully alert, Califia sat up and cocked her ear toward the door. Partway through their conversation, she had to hold her pillow to her mouth so they wouldn't hear her chuckling.

When N'Jobu returned to bed, she couldn't help but reveal her awakened state. After making bets about who Erik would pick, she and N'Jobu laid in their bed together not saying a word. Each probably lost in their thoughts about Erik.

"How old were you when you realized you liked a girl?" she asked.

"I think maybe I was five. It was a girl from a prominent family in Niganda. She used to kiss me under the table when my father would visit her father. I haven't thought of her in years. She was really something. Just a year older than me, but she was kind of worldly for a six-year-old."

"You were kissing at five? These girls after Erik are almost junior high age. What if they pressure him into doing things he's not equipped to handle yet?"

"He was mature enough to talk to me about something so personal right away. I feel that he will talk to us if he feels pressure or discomfort from the situation. I say we let him figure this out on his own."

"What would an eleven or twelve-year-old see in an eight-year-old boy?"

"Have you met our son?" N'Jobu said giving a sharp laugh to his question.

"I know he's very good-looking, but when I was twelve, the last thing I was checking for was a little dude."

"He's mature. Talented. Brilliant. He came from my loins. What are you missing?"

Califia slapped N'Jobu's arm.

"The conceit—"

"What conceit? I'm stating a fact. That's my seed. Have you seen him work his dimples at your studio when he's flirting? Have you actually watched him flirt with girls and women? The boy is a master."

"But is that manipulation or genuine interest? Boys use girls all the time. I don't want him to be a dog."

"Am I a dog?"

"What?"

"He comes from me. I'm raising him to respect and cherish women. Do you think he'd turn into a dog when I'm teaching him how to be a non-toxic man? He comes from you too. You don't tolerate any bullshit from men, and he sees that. You have to remember, when he was smaller, he wanted to be more like you than me. Would a dog spring from that?"

"I'm not ready for all this," Califia said covering her face and groaning.

"It's not about us being ready, but us preparing him to be a young man and then a fully-grown man."

"I know…but still…that's my baby—"

"He'll always be your baby," he said rolling over to face her.

N'Jobu held her until he drifted off to sleep. She stayed awake listening to his breathing. She could hear Erik and Walter up again playing video games even though it was past midnight.

She thought about what N'Jobu said about Erik flirting at her studio.

She allowed Erik to take her hip-hop dance class and she treated him just like any other student. There was one class for all age groups and the little ones had to keep up if they were going to hang with Califia. She often used Erik to demonstrate complicated steps, and when the class worked on the moves together as a large group, her son would slink to the back to dance next to people he was interested in. Sometimes it was to compete with older dancers, and sometimes it was to be near cute girls. He would simply dance and girls would flock to be near him. If someone had trouble with a step, he would talk to them and show them the move slowly. Then he would compliment them on mastering it.

Once he had their attention, he would move away to the front again and be next to her to show off his prowess at keeping up with her. And she played right into it by dancing with him in front of the mirror and counting off steps for him to further demonstrate. Her little boy was a beast with his moves and she often let him go off in class with the music, gassing him up as he killed any routine she put together. It was over when he freestyled and she would often have to shut him down when he went off and laughed at her trying to cage his groove. Then those damn dimples would come out and the class would hoot and holler. That little negro really did have some game. No wonder Joy and Amelle were demanding his attention despite his young age.

N'Jobu's hand drifted across her chest and he squeezed one of her nipples through the t-shirt she wore and stretched his legs out. She snuggled against him, placing her head on his chest.

"Are they still playing downstairs?" he asked while clearing his throat.

"Yeah."

"I told him not to stay up too late. What time am I taking them to the movies tomorrow?"

"Eleven o'clock matinee."

"Can we change it to later?"

"No, Walter's mom is picking him up from the theater, so make sure you call her when the movie is almost over so she can be waiting in the parking lot."

"You teaching at the studio?"

"Yeah, then I'm going to sit in on my Dad's capoeira class. I think it's time I get this final belt."

His eyes opened. There was a smile on his face. She could see it from the moonlight bathing them from the skylight.

"So a trip to Brazil?"

"Yeah. I'm ready. Erik wants to try for his next cord too."

"I'll get tickets for us then."

"The baptisado is around the time of the city council election. This could be Negra Li's year finally. If she gets in office this time around, we could really do big things there and in Oakland with our non-profit."

N'Jobu kissed her cheek.

"I'm glad I get to be around brilliant Black women."

"I think this will be a great experience for Erik. We can help Negra Li campaign and he can spend time with Axiel and the other old heads."

Califia tilted her head up.

"Are they in the kitchen?"

She heard pots and pans moving around and water running in the kitchen sink.

"Time for them to call it a night," she said jumping out of the bed to put an end to midnight snacking.

N'Jobu watched Erik carefully button his shirt for school. His favorite forest green button up. He had put aloe vera gel in his hair to make his curls shine and he couldn't decide on which pair of sneakers to sport.

"The blue or white ones, Baba?"

"White," N'Jobu said.

"How do I look?"

"Smooth."

Erik grinned. He took a deep breath.

"Just go with your heart, Son. It'll all turn out okay."

"I hope so."

Erik took a good long look at himself in his bedroom mirror.

Today was the day.

The choosing of a girlfriend and the ending of a friendship if he chose wrong according to Erik.

Califia kept up the masquerade of not knowing what was going on, but she still cooked him his favorite breakfast of waffles and bacon and came up with the pretense of having to ride with N'Jobu when he dropped Erik off at school because of car issues.

When they all rode over to Erik's school, N'Jobu made sure to park near the flag pole so he and Califia could scope out the main event without Erik really seeing them. They both watched him hop out the backseat and put on his backpack. He waved to them both, hooked his fingers in the backpack straps and trudged his way toward the flag pole.

"I think that's them…it is! There are the girls!" Califia squealed.

Two girls both wearing designer brand t-shirts and jeans waited by the flag pole. One was a short dark brown-skinned cutie who was a bit pudgy, and the other was an equally adorable skinny whip of a thing with bow legs, and golden-brown skin. Both had dark big bushy hair, and both had their hands on their hips when Erik approached them.

"Here we go," N'Jobu said.

Califia reached out and held his hand as they peeped the drama.

"Should we really be watching this? What if it goes south? There's no way I can pretend to not know if he comes home with a broken heart…oh, my poor baby!" Califia said.

"Hold tight, girl," N'Jobu said, his face animated but his heart in his throat too along with Califia.

"I can't watch," she said covering her eyes.

"Shh," he said.

"What's happening?"

"Stop hiding your eyes and just watch."

They both gazed over at their son as they watched his head bob a bit as he was talking, his hands gesticulating a bit as he explained his reasoning for whomever he was choosing.

"God, he looks so calm and diplomatic," Califia said.

They watched both girls listen, their faces betraying nothing until suddenly they both stared at each other then looked at Erik together at the same time. The dark brown-skinned girl said a few words and she looked calm while saying it. She then turned to the golden brown-skinned girl and pointed at her.

"Uh oh, looks like he picked Miss Bow Legs," N'Jobu said.

The other girl said a few words and then her fingers were pointing back at the other girl.

"This may be a flag on the play, lil thick Mama may be the winner," Califia said.

Both girls finally stopped talking when Erik resumed his words. When he was done, he placed his hands back on his backpack straps.

Both girls looked at one another again and then—

"Wait. Wait! What just happened?" Califia squeaked in the passenger seat.

N'Jobu started laughing and slapped a hand on his steering wheel.

"Oh, my Gawd! No he didn't!" Califia said.

"His choice!" N'Jobu said.

They both watched the two girls kiss each side of Erik's cheeks and walk on either side of him onto the school campus. All together.

"That boy chose them both, didn't he?" Califia said leaning back in the passenger seat and folding her arms across her chest.

"We don't know for sure—"

"They were both smiling and kissing his cheeks at the same time. That is all you!"

"Me?!"

"That's some N'Jobu Dumisani Udaku maneuvering. That boy knows what a player is—"

"Player? How is it playing when they both agree to it?"

"Shut up!"

N'Jobu laughed and started up his car. Califia looked at him with amusement in her eyes.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who used to juggle several people at the same time. Polyamory is your thing. That's you he's taking after," N'Jobu said.

"Tuh."

"I guess our bet is moot now?"

"Clearly. Make sure you get the 411 when he comes home today."

"I'm going to mind my business and let him tell us what he wants us to know."

"You ain't right. How am I supposed to look at him at dinner?"

"Just like you normally do."

Califia shook her head.

"Califia, don't you mess this up being nosey."

"I won't."

"So, did anything exciting happen at school today?"

Califia felt N'Jobu's eyes on her face as she watched Erik tuck into his plate of rice and spicy plantains.

"No," Erik said reaching for a bowl of cauliflower.

She felt N'Jobu's foot nudge her ankle under the table.

"Erik, your mom wants to go up for her final cord at the next baptisado in Sao Paulo."

Erik's eyes got big. Califia spooned a bit of rice into her mouth. "For real, Mom?"

"Yep. You feel like training with me, maybe go for your next cord too?'

"Yeah!" he said, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Auntie Li is running for city council again, so we're going to help her out while we're there. That means we'll be gone for a while. Are you cool with that?"

"Yep!"

"Good. Baba will get the tickets for us early…but Erik, that means you'll miss computer camp this year."

"That's okay, I've been coding some stuff on my own and I can catch up on what I missed with Walter. His mom is finally letting him go this summer."

"That's good to hear," she said.

They ate more food and talked about mundane things, and Erik watched Califia interact with his father with great intent. When they were enjoying a slice of Nana's famous coconut cake, Erik seemed fidgety.

"What's wrong, JaJa?" Califia asked.

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

Califia glanced over at N'Jobu and his calm eyes telegraphed nothing out of the ordinary.

"Sure, go ahead, baby."

Erik's eyes drifted over to N'Jobu's and then he sat up a bit in his seat.

"What was it about Baba that made you like him so much?"

Califia felt her heart flutter. He was trying to share his new feelings with her in a round-about -way.

"Did you like him when you first met him?"

"She did not, Son—"

"Wait! When I first met you, I was in the middle of something important—"

"You barely wanted to give me the time of day—"

"I was starving—"

"So that's a no?" Erik asked.

Califia picked at her cake.

"I found your father interesting. And handsome…but he was already going after another girl when I met him."

"For real, Baba?"

Califia stuck a big bite of cake into her mouth and stared at N'Jobu. His face looked stricken, like he had betrayed his own son by being with another woman before her.

"Uh—" N'Jobu said.

"Uh, nothing. I was in the middle of talking to your father about his bracelet when this other girl walked right in front of me and took him away. Just like that!" Califia snapped her fingers. Erik's eyes narrowed a bit.

"Who could be better than my mother, Baba?"

"Say that, baby. Answer your son. Who could be better than moi?"

She could see already that N'Jobu wanted her to shut up. She could also see that glint in his eye that told her he was going to get her back later. Hopefully in bed.

"We were in University. Uncle Bakari wanted me to meet some new people so that's what I was doing. I met a lot of people there that night. Not just your mother."

"So what made you pick her?"

N'Jobu folded his hands under his chin and rested his elbows on the table while looking Califia dead in her face.

"She was fierce, JaJa. So fierce. When I looked at her, I couldn't see anyone else. That's the honest truth, Son. It wasn't just the way your mother looked. It was how she made me feel. Strong. Powerful. Happy. Special. Curious and open to new ideas…just so many things that made me feel alive and whole. No other woman has ever made me feel like that. When she was away from me, I was miserable…I didn't feel like myself without her. When she was by my side, I knew I could conquer the world. That's how I knew she was the one for me. That's how I knew. And I love her more every day each time I look at you, JaJa. I hope you can be so lucky one day."

Califia felt water prick her eyes, but she tried to hold back any tears. When she glanced back over at Erik, his bright eyes studied her face and she started to cry.

"Come here, girl," N'Jobu said reaching his arm out for her.

Califia moved out of her seat and sat on his lap. She buried her face in his neck and he stroked her back.

"Hey…hey…you know that's what you mean to me…" N'Jobu whispered in her ear.

Califia wiped her eyes and turned to face Erik. She cleared her throat and sat up on N'Jobu's lap so that she was leaning into him.

"One time I was visiting a museum with your father. We were looking at blankets and pictures from his country. We were still getting to know each other. Not exactly friends, but getting there. I asked him if he could take me to one place in his country, he said it was this river that was like a natural sauna. I was looking up at his face and I thought I could be with him forever. That was also the day he first kissed me—"

"Aye, you kissed me first!"

"Oh yeah, I did—"

"That's when all that started?" Erik asked.

"Yeah," Califia said staring at N'Jobu, ready to take his lips in hers right then and there.

Erik stood up and walked over to them. He wrapped his arms around Califia's waist and placed his head on her chest.

"I'm glad you found each other. I think you should apologize to Mom for letting that other woman interrupt your first meeting, Baba," Erik said.

"Apologize!" Califia demanded and N'Jobu kissed her instead.

Chapter 15 HERE.

[multi-fandom-imagines8]

Blood & Family

Part 4

Blood & Family Masterlist

Taglist

Summary: Astraea learns about Klaus and the Mikaelson’s past. Damon, Elena and the rest of them have a plan to kill Klaus, but they fail. Stefan wants to get revenge on Klaus

Word Count: 4290.

“Hey, Elena! I’m sorry for everything that happened. How are you doing?” After Klaus left, Astraea returned to the Gilbert house.

“It’s not your fault. I don’t- I- uhm… not good” she started crying.

“Hey, hey, hey. Everything is gonna be alright, I promise. Maybe not now, not soon, but it will be eventually. Do you need a hug?” Astraea offered and Elena nodded.

Later that night, after everyone went to sleep, Astraea was still awake. She couldn’t sleep, she was used to sleeping in the uncomfortable car. She needed some time to adjust to her bed again. There was a knock on the door and she went to open it.

“Rebekah! Hey, what are you doing here?” She was surprised to see her.

“I can’t believe Nik left me here. My own brother left me without saying a word. I have nowhere else to go” Rebekah informed her.

“That’s what siblings do. I wish I could help you, but unfortunately I can’t. This isn’t my house I can’t invite you in and I’m sure Elena will kill me if I asked her to. You can try the Salvatore's. I’m sure Stefan won’t have a problem with it, since he’s without his humanity. If you’re staying here and don’t want to be alone, I can suggest you join our school. It’ll be fun, many parties if you’re into that stuff” she told her.

“Sounds fun. See you around”.

Astraea was about to close the door. “Hey Astraea!”

“Yeah?”.

“Thank you”.

“For what?”.

“Being nice and helpful, even when you don’t know me and probably hate my brother”.

“I don’t hate him. That’s what friends are for. Good night Rebekah”.

“What is she doing here?” Elena was at discomfort.

“I have no idea” Caroline answered.

“I invited her. I didn’t think she’d actually show up. She’s all alone and I-“.

“You what?” Caroline was about to freak out.

At night, Elena, Caroline, Damon and Alaric were planning to take out Stefan. Tyler and Astraea arrived a bit late.

“Sorry, we’re late. What’s going on?” Tyler asked.

“We need you to raid your mom’s vervain supply, enough to keep Stefan down for a while” Elena informed him.

“You can’t do that to Stefan”.

“I agree with Tyler” Astraea remarked.

“Why not?”.

“Trust me, Tyler, it’s in his best interest” Elena added.

“Yeah, but it’s not in Klaus’” Tyler told them.

“But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler. Why are you acting like some freaky hybrid slave-minion?” Caroline didn’t like Tyler’s answer.

“Oh oh” Damon realized something.

“What?” Rick asked.

“Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything” Tyler expressed.

“Oh, boy”.

“Okay, can we cool it in the commentary, please?” Caroline was starting to get angry.

“I’m just gonna go” Tyler said, but Damon injected him with enough vervain to knock him out.

“What are you doing?” Caroline questioned.

“He’s been sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus’ blood created him. He’ll seek acceptance from his master. It’s rare. Maybe not so much in hybrids” Damon explained.

“I don’t want to be a part of your plan. I’m sorry, I don’t like deceiving people, specially my friends” Astraea backed away.

“What are you talking about? Ever since you left with Klaus you’ve been acting differently. Are you sure he didn’t compel you?” Damon asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Of course I changed, Damon. I’m a human who’s been on the road with an original hybrid and a ripper, how do you think that affected me. Oh, wait… you didn’t even think about it, because nothing matters other than what Elena wants. Your welcome by the way, in case you forgot I saved your life. I’m just gonna go back. Enjoy the rest of the night” Astraea left and no one was able to say anything, since everything she said was true.

“How did your plan go? I take it from the look on your face, it didn’t go well. I’m sorry” Astraea was waiting on the terrace for Elena to come back.

“No, it didn’t. We almost had him, then we didn’t. Hey, about earlier, I’m sorry that I didn’t even ask how you were doing, I was so focused on Stefan that I forgot about you. I’m truly sorry” Elena apologized.

“It’s fine. Happens all the time. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last. I’m just glad, you’re back safely”.

—-

“Hey, Rick! Have you seen Ele- oh” Astraea barged in Alaric’s house, only to find him with Elena and Damon, who she’s been trying to call all day.

“Astraea, hey! What’s wrong?” Rick asked.

“I was looking for Elena and Damon. They weren’t answering their phones, but apparently they’re doing it on purpose”.

“A, sorry. I was just training” Elena said.

“Whatever. Do you know where Stefan is?”.

“Why do you ask?” Damon questioned.

“He’s been silent for a couple of days now. I figured you’d know where he is”.

“No, I have no idea where my brother is. Who knows what he’s up to these days” Damon lied.

“Screw you, Damon. So, your plan was a success after all” Astraea had a talent of knowing when someone is lying to her.

“What gave it away?”.

“You… what is that?” She saw pictures of Viking ruins and other drawings.

“It’s nothing. You don’t have to worry about it” Damon stood in front of her.

“Out of my way, liar. What is this?”.

Rick sought Elena’s approval before answering “we’re trying to find a weapon to kill Klaus. This was beneath the Lockwood cellar. We think it’s the story of the original family”.

“I’m headed to see Rebekah, wanna join me?” Elena offered.

Astraea knew that Elena was using her, since she was closer to Rebekah than her, but she agreed because she was curious to know their story.

“My parents had just started a family when a plague struck their homeland. They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate. My mother knew the witch Ayana, who heard from the spirits if a mystical land where everyone was healthy. Blessed by the gifts of speed and strength . That led my family here, where we lived amongst those people. The werewolves. To us, they were just our neighbors. My family lived in peace with them for over 20 years, during which time my family had more children, including me. Once a month, our family retreated to the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night. By the morning we’d return home. One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother, Henrik, snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts. That was forbidden. Henrik paid the price. And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbors and one of the last moments my family had together as humans” Rebekah told the story of her family.

“This explains why werewolves and vampires are enemies. It all started with you” Astraea concluded.

Rebekah teased Elena about Stefan and she wanted to leave.

“The necklace wasn’t Stefan’s to give. It belonged to the original witch” Rebekah told her.

“The one who put the hybrid curse in Klaus?”.

“Not just the hybrid curse. She’s the one who turned us into vampires… My father didn’t want to run anymore. He wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, senses. My parents asked Ayana for help but she refused, saying it had consequences, leaving it all in my mother’s hands”.

“In her hands? How could she do anything?” Elena was confused.

“Because my mother was also a witch. The witch of the original family. The original witch” Rebekah elaborated.

“But if your mother was a witch-“

“Am I? No. A witch is a nature’s servant. A vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both. My mother did this for us. She did bot turn”.

“How did you turn?”.

“She called upon the sun for life and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature’s eternal objects, for immortality. That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood and then he drove his sword through our hearts. We had to drink more blood to complete the ritual. It was euphoric. The feeling of power was indescribable. But the witch Ayana was right about the consequences. The spirits turned on us and nature fought back. For every strength, there would be a weakness. The sun became out enemy. It kept us indoors for weeks. And though my mother found a solution, there were other problems. Neighbors who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. The flowers at base of the white oak burned and prevented compulsion and the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away, so we burned it to the ground. But the darkest consequence was something my parents never anticipated, the hunger. Blood had made us reborn and it was blood that we craved above all else, we could not control it. And with that, the predatory species was born”.

“Why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?”.

“When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene, with that he became my father’s greatest shame. My mother tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side and then she turned her back on him, but Mikael’s greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her. He said that she broke his heart, so he would break hers. He tore it from her chest as Nik watched. Afterwards, my father took off in a rage and the rest of my family scattered. Nik stayed so he could help me bury her. He knew I had to say goodbye to my mother. We made a promise to each other. We’d stick together as one, always and forever”.

“Always and forever, even though he locked you in a coffin for 90 years?” Elena didn’t understand.

“We’re vampires. Our emotions are heightened. I’m stubborn. Elijah moral and Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him. Over a thousand years as a family, we’ve all made that mistake at least once. I’ve made it several times”.

“But you still love him?”.

“He’s my brother and I’m immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead?”.

“That’s why Klaus is the way he is. Everything makes sense now” Astraea remarked.

Rebekah knew that Elena wanted to wake Mikael up and wanted Klaus dead. She threatened to kill her if she went after her brother “as for you, Astraea. I suggest you find a better company. They will only lead you to death. My advice to you, leave this town and never come back”.

Elena went back to the cave and discovered something new. She returned to see Rebekah, but Astraea was still there.

“How do you know that  Mikael killed your mother? Elena asked.

“Nik was there. He told me”.

“He lied to you”.

“And how do you know that?”.

“The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols. The story of your family. How your parents arrived. How they made peace. The spell that turned them into vampires. And this, this is the symbol for hybrid. It’s the combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother and this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the original witch, not Mikael. Klaus.” Elena showed her pictures of the drawing in the cave.

“No, he wouldn’t” Rebekah refused to believe that.

“She put the curse on him. Made it so that he would be the only one of his kind and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence. When he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah and then he made up this entire lie about your father so that he wouldn’t lose you” Elena tried to convince her.

“And that makes you the expert. Stop it Elena” Astraea warned but Elena continued to provoke Rebekah until she got angry and almost killed her but then she stopped and realized she was saying was the truth.

Rebekah broke down in tears and Astraea tried to comfort her.

“Maybe it’s not true. Don’t you want to hear what Klaus has to say about this? I’m sure if he did it, he had good reasons. I’m truly sorry, Rebekah” she stayed with her until she fell asleep. Then she called Klaus but he didn’t answer so she left him a voice message.

“Where the hell are you? Everything is a mess here. I’m pretty sure Elena and the gang woke Mikael up and now she told your sister that it wasn’t him that killed your mother and that it was you. She even had prove, the drawing you carved in the cave, smartass. Rebekah is a mess, I just managed to get her to sleep. You better get your ass back here and fix everything. I’m not even sure why I’m helping your or telling you anything. Maybe I shouldn’t, after all you’ve done nothing but bring pain to the people I care about. I really hope you show up soon”.

—-

Elena, Damon and Stefan devised a plan to lure Klaus back in town, with the help of Mikael of course. Elena daggered him and they even included Rebekah in their plan. Stefan called Klaus and told him, he wanted reassurance of course and Rebekah confirmed it, but he sensed something was wrong. He didn’t listen to any of the voice messages Astraea sent, since he was “too busy” and they were many, instead he called her.

“Hope, love! I’m coming back to town. But first, I have a question for you-“.

“Thank god you answered, finally! I’ve been trying to call you for days. Where the hell have you been?”.

“It’s none of your business, sweetheart. Just answer my question. Is it true that Elena daggered Mikael and he’s in the possession of the Salvatore’s?”.

“What? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t even know they were- wait, this doesn’t make any sense. They wanted him to kill you, so what’s changed?” Astraea sensed that something was wrong.

“Rebekah confirmed it. Apparently, he tried to kidnap Elena to use her as bait”.

“Klaus, have you even listened to the voice messages I sent you? My guess is that you didn’t. To summarize it, Rebekah knows that you killed your mother and she’s mad. As for Elena and the rest, I wouldn’t believe them if I were you, just my advice to you. I mean they didn’t include me in it, which means they suspect that I’m on your side, which I am not. I’m done with this town”.

“Didn’t take you for a quitter”.

“Well, I didn’t take you for a coward, yet you left anyway. Guess we’re both not what we thought we were. Goodbye, Klaus”.

“Wait, Hope-“.

Astraea returned to the Gilbert house and started packing up her stuff. When she was done, she called Rebekah but she didn’t answer. She tracked her cellphone to the Salvatore’s.

“Astraea, hey! What are you doing here?” Damon asked.

“Damon! I’m not here for you, don’t worry! I’m here for Rebekah, where is she?”.

“Not here at the moment. She’s probably shopping for a dress for tonight” Damon lied.

“Lying again, great!”.

“Why would I be lying to you?” He tried to deny it.

Astraea called Rebekah again and heard her ringtone, which led her to the room they were keeping Rebekah’s body in.

“Daggered, huh? I came to say goodbye, but now I can’t even do this. You know ever since I told you I know you’re a vampire, you stopped trusting me. You used to tell me everything. So, do you have anything else you want to tell me about?” She gave him one last chance.

“Hmm.. no, not that I can think of” he lied again.

“Goodbye, Damon. Oh and by the way, good luck with your plan to kill Klaus. I hope you fail” she smiled and walked out the door, but Damon rushed outside and stood in front of her.

“How do you know about the plan?”.

“I don’t actually know what it is. But it’s nice to actually find out that you’re planning something from the person you are trying to kill”.

“Klaus? What did he tell you?” Damon looked surprised.

“Nothing. Just that he wanted confirmation about Mikael being daggered”.

“What did you tell him?” Damon was anxious to hear the answer.

“The truth. That I have no idea, since no one included me and that Rebekah knows that he killed her mother”.

“Why would you say that?” Damon got angry.

“What was I supposed to say? After all, I knew nothing of your devious plan. And since you don’t trust me with lying, I told him the truth about Rebekah, so I’d actually give you a real reason”.

“You see that’s why we didn’t tell you. Because we don’t trust you. You’re on Klaus’ side, ever since you left with him”.

“That’s where you’re wrong Damon. I was a human caught up in a vampire world. What I did, was look after myself, if I didn’t I’d probably been vampire food the first week we left. As for when we returned, none of you trusted me, yet you trusted Stefan. So, I chose a side and at least I’m not being fooled or deceived”.

“This won’t get you anyway. You chose the wrong side and you’ll lose” Damon warned.

“You know I was leaving town, but since you said that, challenge accepted”.

Astraea then went to the party Klaus was throwing as quickly as she could, only to be met outside by one of his hybrid guards.

“Listen, pal! I don’t have time for this, I need to see Klaus asap. It’s urgent”.

“Not without an invite, you won’t”.

“I don’t know if you can smell it or not, but human, I’m human. Which mean, I can’t harm Klaus, if that’s what you’re afraid of. I’m Astraea- Hope, Klaus knows who I am, so unless you want him to rip your head off, you’ll let me pass” she threatened and this time the hybrid let her in.

“Ah, Klaus. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. We need to talk”.

“Hope, love! You came. I thought you were leaving” Klaus smirked.

“I was, but as you said I’m not a quitter. The truth is, I had an argument with Damon, which led me to choosing a side, your side. You should know, I’m doing this as a challenge. Damon said I chose the wrong side and that we’re gonna lose, so you better not”.

“Don’t worry, love. I’m two steps ahead of them”.

“You mean the hybrids? I would!’t completely count on them. Rebekah’s been daggered. I don’t think Mikael is daggered, since there’s only one dagger, so my guess he’s coming here for you” Astraea informed him.

“Thank you for the heads up, love. Enjoy the party while you still can”.

“I’m not one for parties. Hey, what is Matt doing here?”.

“You’re asking me? He’s probably been dragged into this plan, poor soul”.

“Klaus, whatever you’re planning, please don’t kill him or any of my reckless friends and family”.

One of his hybrids came and whispered something in his ear, that changed his facial expression.

“What’s wrong?”.

“Dad’s here. I’m gonna have a little chat with him. You should get out of here”.

Klaus went to face Mikael, while Astraea followed quietly. Mikael had Elena and threatened to kill her if Klaus didn’t come out, but Klaus pretended to not care.

“If she dies, this lot will be the last of your abominations” Mikael pointed at the hybrid standing behind him and ready to tear him apart.

“I don’t need them. I just need to be rid of you”.

“To what end, Niklaus? So you can live forever with no one at your side? Nobody cares about you anymore, boy! Who do you have other than those whose loyalty you’ve forced? No one. No one”.

“I’m calling your bluff, father. Kill her” Klaus didn’t believe him.

“Come outside and face me, you little coward and I won’t have to”.

“My whole life, you’ve underestimated me. If you kill her, you lose your leverage, so go ahead. Go on, kill her. Come on, old man, kill her. Kill her!” Klaus yelled.

“Ah, your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be, the one thing that keeps you from truly being great” Mikael laughed at him, before stabbing Elena, who turned out to be Katherine.

Damon came from behind him and stabbed him with the white oak stake, making him scream in pain. Astraea tried to inject Damon with a vervain shot but he stopped her and threw her across the room. Then Stefan came and stopped Damon.

“What are you doing?” Damon was furious.

“Klaus” the stake was near Astraea, so she immediately threw it to Klaus and he killed Mikael with it.

“What the hell did you do?” Damon asked Stefan.

“He’s earned his freedom. Thank you my friend. You no longer have to do as I say. You’re free”.

Everyone left except for Astraea.

“You stayed, even when I told you to leave, why?” Klaus asked.

“I told you, I wanted to make sure we win”.

“I’m certain that's not it, or at least not the only reason”.

“Alright. All my life, I’ve been watching from afar. I wanted to be involved in something, to feel useful for once, to belong. And tonight, helping you, made it so, even if just for a couple of minutes” she admitted.

“Thank you. You’re free to go, if that’s what you want”.

“Oh, Klaus. If I wanted to go, I would’ve left when you left the town or even before. I was always free. I came with you because I wanted adventure, something thrilling and of course to save Damon’s life. Being with you the past few months made me learn a thing or two. I don’t think I want to leave, there are many things a girl can learn from you. Besides, I believe you need someone to complain to about life”.

“And you think you’re fit to the position?”.

“No, I know that I am. I mean, what have I got to loose? I’ve lost the trust of my family and friends long before tonight, so…For the record, I don’t think you’re a coward and Mikael was wrong about the not caring part. I find you an interesting person. I’m sorry your life has been a living hell. Rebekah told me about the story of how you became a vampire. How your mother turned her back on you and how Mikael killed your real father and hunted you down. I understand now why you’re the way you are, but I believe a day will come when someone will walk into your life and change it forever”.

“That’s only a fraction of the torment I’ve been living. If you knew the whole truth, you’re heart would break”.

“Then tell me, I am curious”.

“That’s enough for one night, love”.

The next day, Klaus decided to wake up the rest of his family.

“You said you were interested in my family, well get up, I have something to show you” Klaus barged into the room Astraea was stating in, in Tyler’s house.

“Klaus? What are you doing here?” She was half awake.

“Get dressed. I want to show you something”.

“So, you’re having a Mikaelson family reunion, cool! But are you sure they won’t be mad at you? I mean you only daggered them for a couple of centuries, no biggie” Astraea mocked.

“What happened to your optimism? Come on, I need you to have hope, Hope” Klaus smiled.

“You’re in a good mood today”.

“Why shouldn’t I be? Mikael is finally dead. I don’t have to run anymore. It only took a 1000 years of my life”.

Klaus’ phone rang “Stefan! Miss me already?” Klaus grinned.

“I’m just calling to thank you for my freedom”.

“Well, I like to believe I’m a man of my word, more or less”.

“The thing is, it came at too high of a price. You took everything from me, Klaus”.

“Let bygones be bygones. Trust me, resentment gets old” Klaus opened the back of the truck, but the coffins weren’t there.

“You know what never gets old? Revenge”.

“Oh, oh!” Astraea commented, knowing exactly what was coming.

“No!” Klaus was getting angry.

“What’s the matter Klaus? Missing something?” Stefan teased.

“What are you doing?”.

“I’m just enjoying my freedom”.

“I will kill you and everyone you’ve ever met” Klaus threatened.

“You do that, and you’ll never see your family again. I wonder, Klaus, as someone who’s been one step ahead for a thousand years, were you prepared for this?” Stefan warned.

Klaus hung up and Astraea could see the murderous desire he had.

“Klaus, I know talking isn’t gonna help, but calm down! We’re gonna fix this, just don’t rush into making decisions”.

“You’re right! Talking isn’t helping, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut or your eyes are gonna be the next thing to shut forever. Now out of my way” Klaus yelled.

“Have it your way!” She stepped aside and let him pass.

Tags: 

@aomi-nabi @mypage-myfandoms

[centeris2]

Ydris found the friends of the women to be amusing humans. Namely Justin, poor fool was so distraught to see Ydris sitting as an ally between Anna and Louisa with tea, discussing plans. Justin had no idea of the lights shining around him, no inkling of the power of the woman he pulled outside to speak to. It was hilarious.

And then the foolish boy came to Ydris alone. Was it bravery or idiocy that made that decision?

It was so easy to toy with the boy, and not a single lie was told. It was just truths that he did not want to hear, did not want to know. Perhaps Ydris had gone too far, but seeing the darkness and the blood, hearing the screams that echoed in Justin’s ears, it had angered the Pandorian. Anyone who hurt Aideen, even a fragment of her, was an enemy to all Pandorians. And the Cult of Garnok had left their marks on the boy, phantom scars on his body and mind. Crisscrossed over those were marks from Druids, places where the Druids had dug into his mind, searching him. They must have found enough in Justin’s mind to trust him, at least with the Moon and Rebecca. The Cult of Garnok and the Druids were also enemies, and this boy being allied with both of them, his heritage, and his violence against a vessel of Aideen were worthy of punishment.

Ydris felt great after sending Justin away, and made his way back to the bangalow, happy to find some of those familiar and warm lights. He found the different bits of Aideen to be fascinating, each containing facets of the goddess but unique individuals. It did not surprise him to learn that the Star had become attached to one of those facets, though he did find himself feeling disappointed for some reason. The other two women were drawn to each other, which was only natural, but also to other humans. Seemed even fragments of Aideen had the need to love humans, several at a time in fact. Anna was much more receptive than Louisa and Lisa, at least in flirting terms.

It made him… he didn’t know the word. Uncomfortable wasn’t correct because he enjoyed it, but he also knew how dangerous they were, how easily they could burn him without even trying. And, masochist that he was, he was only drawn to that power, energy, that danger. It didn’t help that simply being around them made him feel safe and secure. He craved being near them, any of them, but fought with himself to resist wanting more. And, as much as it embarrassed him, he found himself experiencing carnal cravings. Somehow the idea of coming together and letting their magics touch wasn’t enough for him, despite how intimate a situation melding magic could be. They didn’t even seem to know what that was, and when Ydris brought it up to Evergray the man had been thrilled at the new questions he had. Did druids truly not know they could weave together their magic and very essence with one another? Perhaps druids did not have the magic for it, perhaps they were unaware.

But he said nothing to them, unsure they would understand, and not wanting to offend them with his growing vulgar thoughts.

He noticed Rebecca was quiet the day after he had spoken to Justin, something weighing on her mind as she entered the fortune telling tent and sat down.

“My dove, something is holding your wings,” he murmured, putting the normal fortune telling spiel on hold.

“Humans aren’t parasites,” Rebecca blurted out, not letting herself put it off.

“Dove,” Ydris said sadly. Poor dear, she cared so much for such ungrateful things.

“No, listen. Yeah some humans are awful, humans are capable of terrible things. But you can’t decide an entire species, an entire reality, are just parasites that can be destroyed!”

“This reality damned mine,” Ydris said as a harsh reminder.

“No, a few people in this reality did that. No one else knew! Or only a handful of people ever knew! Remember how Linda cut you off and started talking about Garnok? That’s what the druids teach, that’s what the druids believe. You can’t punish everyone for the actions of a few, most of who probably aren’t even alive anymore! Hell most people on this planet don’t even know about Aideen or Jorvik or Garnok!”

“How could they not?” Ydris demanded in surprise.

“Because Earth is huge, and when there are over six or seven billion people there are a lot of different languages and religions. Aideen and Garnok are pretty localized to Jorvik, I only knew about Aideen because I like looking up horse mythology and horse deities. I didn’t really learn about them until I got here,” Rebecca stopped as Ydris looked at her in shock, not understanding how things as important as Aideen and Garnok would be relatively unknown.

“Look, just, humans, Earth, are not your enemy. Some people here might be, but we want to help save your world. And not just because it’ll save ours,” Rebecca tried to explain.

“Oh?” he asked, skeptical.

“Humans have made it this far because we’re compassionate, it’s sort of essential to the survival of society, we have to work together. And over all humans are good and want to do the right thing, at least I think so,” she argued, trying to convince him that humans weren’t pests.

“You said yourself that Aideen had died, killed by the druids. And yet you would protect them?” he did not understand why she would.

“I won’t let innocent people suffer, in either reality,” Ydris snorted at her words. Aideen had no such qualms.

“They are not innocent.”

“No… but they are also so brainwashed, it becomes an awkward ethical question on how much the members of the druids actually know and operate independently and how much of it is brainwashed and conditioned. I’m sure the higher ups know a lot more, but the lower level druids that make up the majority of the group? How much can they really know? How much are they allowed to know before they get exiled for knowing too much?” she began to ramble, wondering aloud and getting off track.

“Why do you protect those who hurt you?” he asked, preventing her from continuing down her tangent on the druids.

“Because I’m better than them, I’ll deal with them later, there are bigger problems than my own grievances, and they are still useful,” she knew they weren’t all very nice reasons, but she had a feeling lying to Ydris would be useless.

“Justin is useful?” Ydris snorted at that, wondering how helpful he could be.

“Justin?” she asked, confused before she realized somehow he knew about Justin’s time at Dark Core.

“Justin is innocent as far as I’m concerned, he didn’t know enough to make his own decisions, and once they got him they brainwashed him so he couldn’t. And you being a total jerk to him isn’t going to make it better!” she accused him, knowing something had rattled Justin even if Justin didn’t talk about it much.

“I only told him the truth, I swear,” Ydris raised his hand and placed the other over his heart, swearing.

“And I bet you were an ass about it,” she grumbled and rolled her eyes.

“I may have been less than kind,” he admitted with a smirk. Making Justin see and feel blood wasn’t entirely necessary.

“Yeah, that, don’t do that. Be nice. You’re saving humanity after all, you may as well like them,” Rebecca pointed out.

“I am saving my home-”

“And humanity. You wouldn’t be working with us unless you wanted to at least try to save both worlds,” she cut him off before he could make excuses.

“And there, my dove, you are so very wrong,” he said with a soft smile, resting his chin on a fist, his elbow propped up on the table.

“Oh? Then why work with us when you could destroy us all and save yourself the time and energy?” she asked with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed.

“For you.”

“Me?” she blinked, not realizing he had meant that in both a plural and singular sense, Aideen singular, the different vessels of Aideen plural.

“Unlike this place, all of Pandoria knows and reveres Aideen, every little piece of her,” Ydris explained.

“So because we have Aideen’s Blessing you are working with us?” Rebecca asked, trying to understand.

“Correct,” Aideen’s Blessing? That’s what they were calling it? Did they not realize they were parts of Aideen’s soul?

“Well I hate to inform you of this, but we’re also human, and you have to get used to that. We may not all be magical but we are sapient, we can feel and think and reason, that has to count for something,” Rebecca tried again to persuade him to not hate humans.

“There is no reason why you can’t be reborn as something else,” Ydris shrugged, not seeing the problem.

“Well the soul riders have always been human, and their steeds horses, so I think it is species specific, and reality specific. The magic is bound to Jorvik after all,” she pointed out, making him go quiet.

That idea did concern Ydris, as well as the look of confusion on her face at the mention of being reborn. Fragments of Aideen must be reborn, yet the idea was foreign to her. Did she not know she’d be reborn?

But she said Aideen had died, why didn’t Aideen return in more than human form? And then fear hit him and he wondered what if Aideen was bound to humanity? Would she only be reincarnated as humans? She was supposed to return to Pandoria, she should have been able to be reborn in Pandoria, but she hadn’t. She was stuck here, on Earth. If Ydris destroyed Earth, he’d prevent Aideen from returning.

“Ydris?” she asked when he was silent for too long, staring at her in thought.

“Fine. I shall try to get along with the fleas,” he grumbled but agreed to her wishes.

“First step maybe don’t call us fleas. Although I find the term hilarious,” she admitted with a giggle.

“Oh?” Flea was not meant to be a polite term, or hilarious. It was meant to be insulting.

“Yeah, every time you say it I remember a poem I had to read in high school. Some middle ages or medieval poem, but it was basically a dude trying to convince a woman to sleep with him because their blood had already mingled in a fleas’ body so they basically already had sex. That was back when humans thought blood actually met and mingled during the do. So yeah, I can’t hear flea without thinking of that poem,” she explained, grinning at the memory of the weird poem and at his bewildered expression.

“What.”

“Humans are weird. You’ll love it,” she promised with a wink before she nodded to the crystal ball, “so am I getting a fortune or should I check the horoscope in the newspaper?”

“Mon cheri!” Ydris gasped in mock offense, “from a newspaper? No!”

But he straightened up, returning to the familiar routine of fortune telling for a customer.

And, somehow, he’d be nicer to the humans. Or try, at least.

[sending-the-message]

You complete me by blankdreamer

My earliest and best friend from childhood, Mark, was the complete opposite of me. I think that’s why we got on so well. He was incredibly smart and an utter book worm. I would drag him outside to play and explore the world and he would tell me why trees grew the shape they did or describe the entomology of the bugs we caught. We swore when little even if we split up later in life we would write letters to each other regularly. I know letter writing is old fashioned but a childhood pact is a childhood pact. Even though Mark worked around the world as a high-energy particle physicist, we have (by and large) written to each other once a month consistently. However Marks letters have taken a strange turn recently that has me concerned and I wanted to see what others thought:

23 January 2017

Happy New Year Buttface! I’m concerned for you Hazza. Can’t believe you fell for one of those icky girls. Yuck. Brooke sounds like a great girl for you. Don’t screw this one up you schmuck. I shouldn’t tell you this as its classified but I am BURSTING! We’ve have a major breakthrough at Cern in our search for the Higgs-Boson particle with the Large Hadron Collider – you know the one the media call the "God Particle" (eye roll) because it adds mass to matter. We think we found the damn thing! It will be months before we can release any confirmation or data publicly so for gods sake (heh heh) keep it under you hat Harold or I’ll give you an atomic wedgey next time I see you. Write soon Hazman.

25 February 2017

Loved your last letter my friend. That Brooke is sticking around hey. Good for you dork. Our research on the Higgs-Boson is not as straight forward as we thought. It’s providing some strange data that doesn’t fit our model. But that is science for you – our models are always only temporary as we dig deeper into reality. I find myself getting frustrated and grumpy which is really unlike me. Anyway take care you slob and let me know how your work is going.

19 March 2017

Things sound like they are going great for you H. I’m jealous. Can’t remember the last time I had a girl. Makes me a bit angry when I think of how stuck up the women here are. There is a lot of tension at the facility at the moment. We think the particle we discovered is not the Higgs-Boson now. It’s way too different. We are all working at fever pitch on it. We come in on our days off and some even sleep in the lab. We are all suddenly possessed with a craving to discover what this damned particle is.

5 May 2017

H-man – I actually got into fist fight the other day. Yes me! Me! One of my colleagues, Watson, was trash talking my hypothesis on the particle (he says he was just critiquing it with a colleague) and I confronted him. Things got heated he pointed his finger at me, I pushed him lightly, he pushed me back and then I DECKED HIM. Seriously. One punch and the little wuss went down. I still can’t believe I did it. After speaking with HR they put it down to overwork and stress and have strongly recommended a month’s leave. But I spoke to my manager and we both agreed I needed to keep working as we feel we are right on the verge of a breakthrough with this particle. And you know something? I’m kind of proud of what I did. I freaking enjoyed smacking down that fuckwit Watson with the hot wife and nice suit. Even though my hand hurts the feeling of pain and humiliation I inflicted on him felt damn good. I might try and chat up his hottie of a wife next time she’s in. I’m sure she gave me a come-on look the other day.

18 July 2017

Sorry I haven’t written for a while Harold but we’ve had a HUGE BREAKTHROUGH! You know how I’ve told you that there is both matter and anti-matter in the universe? How every particle has an opposite? Well we think – only think at this stage mind you – that what we discovered is actually the anti-particle for the Higgs-Boson. We nick-named it the “Devil Particle”. Yes, not in the slightest bit witty but hey we are scientists – what do you expect? You should have seen the meeting where we tried to award credit to who discovered it. 20 scientists all wrestling and punching each other in the conference room like a WWE royal rumble. You think I’m exaggerating but I’m not. It was insane. I’ve got a black eye and bruised knuckles on both hands. When we got our sanity back we all agreed not to make any complaints to HR or the police so we can keep our work going. Ps I fucked Watsons wife. She was well up for it the little slut.

6 September 2017

I’ve just come from the police station Harold. My colleague Watson was found dead. He was found hanged in his home. The police presume suicide but wanted to talk to all his colleagues. I won’t pretend I have much sympathy for him. I hated him. A strange thing I’ve found Harold. It’s amazing what strength you have when you really hate someone. Hate is kind of thrilling. Its lets you take care of problems quickly and easily without the worry of “morals” or “ethics”. Write soon if you wish.

27 November 2017

Dark Matter. Dark Energy. You won’t know much about this being quite stupid yourself Harold. This anti-particle we found is powerful. More powerful than anyone dared dreamed of. Unlimited energy, unlimited power. I am sure it is what makes up the 70% of unknown matter and energy in universe. Darkness is what the universe is made of Harold. And hence so are we. Darkness is the truth. The pitiful sparks of stars in the sky are immensely outweighed by the darkness between them. I have become as cold and as empty as the space between the stars. It is what tears things down and destroys that has the true power. Something is growing inside me, taking me over, and changing my atoms. I feel a huge sense of destiny. I have a strange rash on my forehead. I swear I can see a 6 in it.

25 December 2017

It is very late Harold. I have the laboratory to myself. I am going to go into the particle collider and turn it on. This should kill me and in a way it will. My body shall be crucified on this technological cross. But I have faith I shall be reborn. My particles become anti-particles. My true self shall emerge. Merry Anti-Christmas Harold.

NEWSPAPER REPORT dated 2 January 2018

Massacre at Cern Laboratories, Switzerland

18 Scientists were found massacred yesterday at Cern Laboratories in Geneva Switzerland. Cern is the European research organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world including the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The area is sealed off as police investigate. A cleaner who discovered the bodies spoke to our reporter. She claims that the scientist’s bodies were torn apart and disemboweled. Some bodies were pinned to the wall with steel shafts. There were strange phrases in an unknown language written in blood on the walls.

28 January 2018 [This letter is written in a dark substance]

It is now the year prophesied. The Beast has risen from the earth. I am the destroyer. I shall summon a dark age for mankind. Pathetic human laws will have no place. Blood, sacrifice, pain and torment shall be the rulers of this world.

I remember you told me when we first became friends Harold that we would do amazing things together. I was the smartest kid in the world you said, but I needed you to take action in the world and change it. You didn’t say whether it would change for the better or worse. As kids, what first attracted me to you Harold was your goodness. You were kind, you would stick up for kids against bullies and try to help people when you could. And you know what they say. Opposites attract. Join me my old friend, and let us rule together. Don’t bother writing. I shall see you soon.

Little children, it is the last hour: and as you have heard that Antichrist cometh, even now there are become many Antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last hour. — 1 John 2:18

[indieks]

One-Life Stand 💫 Jungkook [0.5]

🛏 Pairing : Jeon Jungkook x Reader

🛏 Genre : Fluff, Humor, Mild angst

🛏 Warnings : none for this part

🛏 Word count : 3.8k

🛏 Synopsis : Getting attracted to your long-time best friend, is something classical. Having a one-night stand with him though, is something alarming. While you get scared of your feelings and try to forget about it with the sake of your friendship as an excuse, Jeon Jungkook finally opens his eyes on his own and gets determined to turn this one-night thing into a real relationship.

0.1 || 0.2 || 0.3 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 0.6 || 0.7 || 0.8 || 0.9 || 1 [END]

🛏 A/N : A longer part here! Let’s see what’s going to happen between Y/N and her crush at their first date. Is her best friend going to stay put...? (of course not but let me try some suspense here...)

       Oh damn yes, you were so scared of your own feelings, and that they would ruin your friendship. Because you were sure that if Jungkook ever came to know about them and how special it had been for you last night, or if his slow and oblivious brain finally got a hold of how you were looking at him in a different way lately without being able to hide how you actually saw him as a man, he would take his distances from you.

So if you had to suffer from an unrequited love, you were willing to pay the price in silence, just to keep him close to you. Selfish in a way, selfless from another point of view, yet you loved your best friend too damn much to let everything tear apart just because of your own problem. You, were going to deal with your feelings and hush them down. And soon enough, they'd disappear to reborn for someone else. At least, you were hoping so…

It's with that determined and courageous state of mind that you entered the café where Mingyu and you had settled to see each other, and you were already cursing at yourself for accepting to meet him this soon. You still weren't over what had happened more than 24 hours ago now, yet you had foolishly said yes to the crush you almost felt like you were wronging. 

However, your tormented self had convinced your entire mind to quickly brush off and forget about your one-night stand with Jungkook, implying focusing your attention directly on another guy, that was handsome, nice, funny and so many other good things. Maybe you'd fall for him at some point ; but for now, you were just going to enjoy and-

"Hey Y/N, over here!" a slightly broken voice had called from a booth at the back, and you smiled at Mingyu who was waving at you.

You rejoined him quickly and felt graced by his beautiful traits the second you sat in front of him, making you regret your decision a little bit less. You were glad that it didn't feel weird meeting with him after having hooked up two days ago, and even more because he had proposed without alcohol to trouble his mind : he should really like you in some way.

Everything could have went on smoothly, hadn't it been from your phone's buzz never ceasing to manifest itself every ten seconds because of a message notification, probably coming from the last person you wanted to talk to right now, as coward as it could be… But, the moment you finally reached for the culprit into your coat's pocket to turn it off so that it would not disturb you nor attract Mingyu's attention and suspicion anymore, the last text froze your blood, so much you had to cut your date who had been talking about… – what was it again? – in order to carefully re-read it.

It had been sent more than ten minutes ago, meaning Jungkook could pass the café's doors at any moment, as it was located really close to the university. Oh fuck no please.

"Oh? Isn't it Jeon Jungkook?" Mingyu suddenly asked, obviously looking over your shoulder and you slowly turned around with a pounding and aching heart, not prepared to what you were going to see.

Before the entrance, with a hood on his brown hair and an old pair of ripped jeans he used only on the weekends, was standing a triumphant Jungkook, with his nonchalant yet proud posture, his hands in the front pocket of his black sweater, and his cocky smirk that made you crave to slap him. You swung back and faced Mingyu whose eyes were curiously going back and forth between the both of you.

"Let's ignore him, he's probably here to grab something to eat, he's a lazy-ass that can't cook" you shrugged, smiling awkwardly but thankfully, Mingyu's smile was amused, and he did not seem pissed.

"I don't think we can do that" he whispered as he straightened himself before leaning his elbows on his chair back, then he looked up at something seriously.

The light coming from outside suddenly faded and your side of the table became dark, and you felt a shadow towering over you even before Jungkook's hands landed on your shoulders with a painful pressure you had to deal with so Mingyu wouldn't notice.

"Hey guys, what are you up to?" his cheeky tone resounded into your ears and you didn't even bother to acknowledge him, as the second you would look at him, your hands would target his neck to strangle it while your brain would gladly remind you of the special night, so that you won't kill him in the end.

"Enjoying our Sunday together, and you?" Mingyu asked in a relaxed voice, but you caught the squinting of his eyes signaling Jungkook he wasn't welcomed at all.

"I was hungry so I passed by. Alsoooo, Y/N and I have an appointment later this evening so I just wanted to remind her, hm?" your best friend insisted while shaking you, and he bent on the side to look at your expression that was clearly the one he had been seeking : an upset one.

"No we don't, so let's see each other in class tomorrow. Now leave, would you?" you invited through gritted teeth, grasping his fingers on your shoulders in hope he would let go.

"We do. Refuse once more to talk to me and I'm sitting right next to you to enjoy my order. Try me." he threatened in your ear and you felt your heart squeeze and your cheeks burn just from that.

You were so swayed for him and even Mingyu's presence couldn't fight that. The latter was looking at you with an impatient expression plastered on his face, so you finally shrugged Jungkook off you and you looked up at him smiling, his eyes going straight through yours with the meaning of his last two words shining into them.

"I remember now, so see you later" you obliged and with that, Jungkook backed before going to the counter and live his own life.

"Did you guys fight? Or are you always that cold towards him?" Mingyu seemingly joked and your mouth went round for a second.

"Oh? Oh yes we kind of did, I told you I'm mad at him for what he's done on Friday night" you lied before taking a sip from your hot drink, still not as hot as the spot where Jungkook's hands had pressed.

"And I told you I don't care, it's kind of making me laugh actually" Mingyu confessed to your surprise, and he quickly caught that so he added : "I mean he's looking like an overprotective brother, that's kind of cute."

Brother. He should have remained like a brother to you ; but now, that word couldn't be the reference of his place in your heart anymore. You frowned and acted like it was because of the liquid burning your tongue, when in fact it was due to the thought of Friday night plaguing your brain once more.

        You left your date with a heavy heart but also with a smile, as Mingyu had surprisingly given you a peck on the cheek before leaving you at the university's gates – the lucky guy lived in a colocation in town, and not in the dorms. You didn't know where this would take you or what he had in mind, but you were determined to hold onto the red string that was guiding you towards this solution rather than the risky yet shimmering one that led to Jeon Jungkook.

However, you had to follow it just for tonight before hopefully forever closing your eyes on its existence, as you knew you didn't have any other choice than confronting him once and for all. You were wishing tonight would be the grave burying what happened so deep that you both wouldn't talk about it ever again. 

Your best friend had had the wonderful idea to invite you at his dorm, as if talking about the act itself wasn't sufficient to embarrass and kill you at the same time, no ; you had to return to the very crime scene. As you stood before his closed door, your heart was hammering against your chest and your hands were sweaty, showcasing the panicked state of mind you were in.

"Just come in" you heard a muffled voice behind the door and you jumped in surprise before opening it shyly. "I could hear you sigh from here" Jungkook stated as he sat on his bed, waiting for you to join him.

His expression was so relaxed that it frustrated you. How come he was so okay about it? Since when he was the kind of boy that could gather up courage to talk things through?

He was so beautiful with that simple smile on his thin lips that you had adored to kiss. Fuck. He even had changed clothes, for a long-sleeved and black shirt with a wide collar that showed too much of his skin, and a pair of navy blue skinny jeans that fitted his muscle thighs too damn well. Your eyes couldn't handle the sensations his image provoked in your body so you lowered them in defeat, and you felt guiltier as you weren't even able to look at him without ulterior motives anymore. What had you done…

"I can't believe it…" he mumbled as he watched you sitting on his roommate's bed that was anywhere but here to save you from this sentence, how bad. "Yah, look at me stupid, since when do I impress you like that?" Jungkook scoffed and you looked up, an embarrassed but uncontrolled expression disguising your traits and your best friend rolled his eyes.

"What? Tell me what you want to say so we end this" you shrugged, your voice lower than usual.

"You know you're the one making things weird right now! I, am totally fine!" he exclaimed, still with a smile and that annoyed you.

"But that's the problem, Jeon! I don't get how you're so okay with this? I mean, it's cool for you, but you need to understand that I need more than 48 hours to be myself with you again, okay?" you whined in frustration. "When I look at you right now I-"

You were on the verge of betraying your secret so you bit your lip. Why were you getting so upset about it? Why weren't you able to deal smoothly with it like him?

"You see me naked? Well I do see you naked too and I'm fine, so chill. We've seen each other naked before" he shrugged and he dangerously slid on the bed until he was sitting on the edge of his mattress, his knees almost touching yours as the room was too damn small.

You coughed at his remark and brushed your hair nervously.

"You're the one who don't want things to change, but you're making it difficult Y/N" he pointed and you nodded with a sigh as you couldn't do anything but admit it.

Still, Jungkook wanted things to change, to get better, and he was about to tell you as he was looking at your flustered face he wanted to shower with kisses until they would end on your precious lips.

"Of course I don't want things to change. But I would have liked it if you would have let me breathe over the weekend" you answered, your eyes meeting his another time.

He was fiercely looking through you and the determination in his eyes almost made you scared of him. You recognized that look, as he had given it to you right in the hallway behind this door. And just before kissing you. What was it this time?

"I couldn't, Y/N. I needed to talk to you" he kind of sweetly said and the hair on your arms and spine stood up in anticipation.

"Then talk, talk" you muttered and Jungkook laughed.

"I'd love to, if only you'd stop interfering to growl!"

"Sorry" you quickly apologized, looking at your fingers that were starting to have cramps as you were tightening their grasp on your knees at every second passing by.

"Come here. Emergency truce." he asked, searching for your eyes that were now directed towards the window showing the enlightened campus.

"W-Why now? It's not like-"

"I said it so you have to come here, that's how it works! Aish why are you being so complicated?"

You reluctantly looked at the boy who combed his dark chocolate hair with his hand and indicated you with his two eyes the location he was recommending. He had dared to mention the "emergency truce", a rule you had settled between the both of you during the year you had met. It was simple : every time one of you had a concern and needed to let it all out but without the other making fun about it, you had the right to invoke the emergency truce. 

You would sit in front of each other, hold each other's hands and Jungkook or you would spill the concern out with the other listening and not allowed to say anything. Just listening, giving a hug if needed when the hands weren’t enough support, and then everything would go back to normal. It was a great compromise to lift off something heavy from your hearts just by the satisfaction of having been heard and understood, and also to confess to your best friend without making him or her feel the burden of finding the right words.

So you executed yourself, your heart disagreeing as it started to go crazy, and you sat cross-legged on your best friend's bed that did the same, his knees now definitely touching yours �� even overlaying them – and when he took your burning hands into his cold ones, you heard his breathing come out from his nose, sign he had chuckled.

"You're trembling?" he questioned in an amused tone.

"Leave me alone and get to the point Jeon" you retorted, looking into his eyes, and you forced yourself not to lose the stare-game first, the strong will to show him you weren't affected helping you recompose your expression and look neutral.

"You don't have the right to talk." he objected and you flicked his leg with your toes, earning a bunny smile that instantly made your wannabe-rock-like heart melt. "Well, Y/N, about Friday night… I don't regret anything."

You still had your eyes on him, and he hadn't even blinked while saying that, leaving you speechless. Had you heard him well?

"I don't regret anything, because first of all, I wanted it really really really bad, and also, because I finally realized something, and I know you won't believe me and will start ranting and say it's nonsense and that it's going to end everything but still, I asked for the emergency truce so I have the right to say it and you're going to hear it even if you don't want to."

You swore that if your end had been supposed to be like this, with your hands in the ones of the man you loved making you stress out so much that you died from a heart attack, it wouldn't surprise you at all. It would be a logical but beautiful death after all.

"I think I like you, Y/N. No, I'm sure I like you" he laughed and his cheeks suddenly turned bright red, and he dropped his head with a sigh of contentment.

It was like your world stopped the second you heard those words coming from his mouth. Those words you had never hoped for, never ever, reason why you couldn't believe in them right at the moment. You couldn't believe him, it was so sudden. How come he liked you when only months ago he had called you his best friend without hesitation, without the benefit of a doubt to be heard in his voice?

Your protective and scared self suddenly took over your body and mind to block any feeling to come out of your heart. It can't be. It's probably because he feels guilty. Or he surely is blinded by what we have done. It can't be.

      His grasp on your hands had tightened, and you felt a numb sensation coming from them going up to the rest of your arms. Your best friend finally straightened himself and he looked at you while poking his cheek, and your heart dropped to your stomach. You couldn't stand how peaceful he looked, making it seem as if he really liked you. No, he doesn't, he can't, he won't. Unexpectedly, Jungkook felt your hands slowly retiring from his, and you saw him eye the empty spot quickly with his brows furrowing, and when he stared at you again, you were shaking your head from the left to the right.

"Jungkook I think you're convinced of something that is not true because of what happened" you mumbled in a quiet voice, and from the annoyed expression on his face, you knew he had prepared himself for that kind of reaction.

"See? I told you! I know, I know what you think, that I am still caught in the heat of the moment, that I can't be sure of something so suddenly blablabla… But I'm telling you I'm sure, my heart's speaking, ok? Maybe you wouldn’t know since you don't have one…" he tried to joke, but you didn't even laugh with him.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking! And I'm right! I don't believe you because I know you too damn well, you can't possibly like me, out of nowhere! Let's forget about it, huh? You'll see, it will soon disappear!" you debited before looking into the emptiness.

He couldn't have feelings for you overnight. You had liked him for so long. So long it was driving you mad lately, and even more right now. He had had adventures since the event, while you hadn't been able to anymore, as you had fallen too hard for him after his act of bravery, and that without any possibility of going back. He hadn't felt that special thing going on between the both of you, he had been the one to say no the first time you had kissed, and now he was claiming he liked you? How were you supposed to believe him when everything was pointing towards a momentary ecstasy from which he would soon fall out? 

Jungkook caught your legs as you were starting to retreat, ready to jump out of this unholy bed, and, suddenly, he bent to kiss you. A short and soft kiss, that would have been meaningful and efficient to convince you, hadn't it been for your state of panic that was blurring every ounce of trust you had in him.

"This time I feel something, Y/N. Why can't you try and believe me?" he innocently asked, his eyes shining and he shook his head to rearrange his hair on his forehead, but you pushed him, making him fall back on his mattress and you finally got up.

"Because it doesn't make sense, Jungkook. You liking me out of nowhere doesn't make sense at all." you managed to answer as your throat was tightening and getting dry, the threat of tears right around the corner.

"It does to me now. I've been so stupid I know…" he smiled, getting up and trying to reach your hands another time but you backed, looking at him in defiance this time, and you saw his expression change as he surely felt hurt. "You don't like me back? Tell me. Tell me and then I'll stop. But I'm pretty sure I didn't make love on my own two days ago."

His tone was so firm that it shook you to the core. So was the intense gaze he was giving you, even darker than the night that had fallen outside. You cursed under your breath and crossed your arms, the last weapon to defend yourself against his waves that could weaken you.

"A-And what if I don't? I'm not saying anything to save our friendship! That's why I told you we better forget about Friday night, we're complicating things uselessly! Let's stop now!"

"So you actually like me, I knew it" he ignored and he smiled cockily, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Well, I know you by heart in case you forgot, so I knew it wouldn't be easy. But as you know me by heart too, you are aware that I love challenges. So I'll prove it to you, Y/N. We have to stop lying to ourselves someday."

His voice didn't even shiver. His face didn't even let anything through. His stare didn't even divert from your face. His breathing didn't even stop its steadiness. He looked so sure of him, but that made you even more scared. Now that you were possibly confronting the entrance doors of a brand new relationship with Jungkook, you were terrified. You couldn't trust his words that easily, not after having been in a one-sided love for so long.

"It will disappear, Jungkook. I know what I'm talking about, because yes, I know you."

You turned on your heels, ready to rush out of his dorm room before you’d faint from the cold shower of informations he had poured on you, and that you couldn't handle any longer.

"Sure you do… Then let's say you're going to discover a brand new me? Let me give it a try and you'll see. I'm always making it in the end, and you know it Y/N." he answered without holding you back as you were turning the door knob.

If only you could this time. He already had made his way to your heart, what else could he get? Once he'll see how much you actually love him, he'll back up anyway. You sighed an umpteenth time and disappeared in the hallway, and finally, some tears spilled out of your eyes. Was he really willing to put your relationship at stake for his bliss of the moment? When you had put so much effort in shutting your feelings so that they wouldn't tear everything apart?

But what you didn't know, one more time, was that Jungkook knew too damn well what he was risking right now. He sprawled on his bed and moaned in his pillow, thanking his great actor skills as he had been about to die from this discussion and from his straightforwardness he had barely managed. Jungkook was aware of what it was implying, but he also knew that he couldn't act as if nothing had happened anymore. As if he didn't want to be with you. As if you were only friends. As if he hadn't heard you saying those three words, eight letters in your sleep. 

He couldn't picture him and you going on as you were before, remaining the same as you wished to. Not when you both obviously wanted each other. You were wrong by thinking a change would mess everything ; and he was going to show you that taking the risk was worth it. If you never try, you never know.

    To be continued...

   A/N : *in a chanting tone* Part 0.6 tomorrowww! More texts are coming, more of Jungkook’s boldness, more wigs may fly away... And THANK YOU as always for following me on this one ♥

[ts-virgil-angst]

Parts of a Whole Update!

Chapter five is now on AO3! Check it out!

TW: MENTIONS OF HANGING, DEATH, CUTTING, SL*T WRISTS

@wikkedwolff @mira-jadeamethyst @genderqueerwriter@goshdarndingdang @finiteframe3 @frustratedwaffle @queerweare@zoeyheys @analogically-prinxiety @polysandershell @prinxietys@jadorefreedom @inalandofmythandtimeofmagic @thebaagelboy@vampyrsarah @deafinitelyfangirling @z4rylynn @agentflash18@gaysaxaphone @winds-and-stardust @the-laarmy @cisnesincorbata@fugitive-angel @netzoflix @paragonofsophistication @angsty-anxxiety@kentato-kenreblog @hells-angel-hevens-demon @antisocialili @saltequeen

Logan and Virgil hurried Patton over to the futon where he could sit without fearing falling over. Virgil had never seen Patton cry and had no idea what to do. Natch, he never really knew what to do when someone was crying. Logan looked more lost than he did, hovering worriedly over him.

Roman didn’t seem to know what to do with himself, so he hung back, wringing his hand and absently phasing through the wall between the kitchen and walkway.

It took a while for the crying to stop, his hiccups still making everyone uneasy.

“Uh, Patton? Are you… Are you going to be alright?”

He nodded, blowing his nose on the tissues Virgil offered him. Patton’s eyes were locked onto Roman as he said, “It’s just that I know you.”

Virgil had never seen Roman move so quickly. He was kneeling in front of Patton before any of them could even blink. “Really? How? Who were to me? When did we meet? Do you know what happened and why I can’t leave?”

“I, uh,” He blew his nose again, balling up the tissue in his hand. “I was a senior when you were a junior. At the time I was shadowing one of the counselors—he’s retired now—and you were one of the students who would regularly go to him for advice. Eventually, you started coming to me since it was more convenient.”

Patton started to wring his hands together and Virgil tried to contain the anxiety creeping up on him.

“Then, halfway through the year, you went missing. No one could figure out why, but we weren’t especially worried. You disappeared all the time to do something dramatic. About a week later, though, you were found in the theatre.”

Patton cut himself off, getting choked up again. Logan placed his hand on Patton’s shoulder, one of the few things he knew he could do to help.

Logan stood up straighter as if bracing himself. “I knew you as well. Knew of you, more like. You were popular and almost everyone knew your name if not your face.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “A few kids who had come into the theatre for early practice found you hung from the catwalk, wrists slit but no blood. No one would go to the theatre for weeks.”

Roman started to flicker, almost like he was glitching. Virgil felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it. Slit wrists were a sensitive topic and always made his itch. He rubbed them to keep the feeling at bay but kept his eyes in Roman.

He was pretty annoying. And dramatic and arrogant. Virgil had always been sure he’d been all of those things and more when he was alive, but he never thought of how Roman had actually died. He figured that maybe some unfortunate accident had resulted in his ghostly roommate.

Logan took his hand back, clasping them behind his back. “An investigation was held and the police tried for a month to find out who was responsible, but there was no such luck.” He turned to Virgil. “You should know at least some of this.”

“I…I didn’t pay much attention.” He’d been stumbling through the first few weeks on minimal sleep and the need to only pass his classes. After that, he’d been busy focusing on not ruining the unsteady relationship he’d developed with the two of them.

Roman stopped flickering and began to pace. “Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Okay.” He stopped to face them, lucky he didn’t need to balance or else he’d have fallen. “Alright, I know how I died now. That’s…that’s something. It’s better than nothing. Just… I just want to know why? Why did someone decide I looked better as a real corpse than a fake one? Why am I stuck here? Why can’t I remember anything specific about my life?”

“I may be able to help with that.” Virgil moved to his kitchen, grateful for a chance to finally be useful. “My landlord is a witch and they might be able to help us.”

“Witches don’t exist,” Logan said. Even though his back was to the teacher, Virgil knew he was obnoxiously adjusting his glasses.

“You have a ghost standing in front of you right now and you don’t believe in the possibility of witches?” Patton let out a small chuckle, still wiping the tears from his eyes.

“There are many things that which can’t be explained in the world, but everything moves to some rhythm of logic. A ghost could merely be the consciousness of a human being that was left behind.”

“You can think that, but don’t believe in witches?”

Their conversation was cut short by a loud knock at the door. Charlie had either been prepared or hauled ass up the stairs. Considering all that he knew about them, he figured it had to be the first option.

They let themselves in, a lumpy looking bag tossed over one shoulder and a black cat on the other. “I’m just gonna set up over here. Exposit on your friends and then we can get on with this.”

Virgil didn’t know if he should be offended or not, but so many things were happening at once that he was just grateful he was no longer the person in charge.

“Patton, Logan—this is my landlord Charlie. They’re a witch. Charlie—Patton and Logan.” There was no need to introduce Roman and Charlie since they already knew each other.  “According to Charlie, there something at connects and me and Roman since it didn’t take long at all for me to start seeing him. And I guess that means there something connecting all of us since you guys can see him too.”

“Very specific,” they said. Even though he couldn’t see them, he knew they were rolling their eyes. Tally, the aforementioned black cat, familiar, and friend, watched them from the futon.

“You’re the one who didn’t bother to explain everything.” Granted, what they managed to get through to him while they were suffering from migraines was pretty amazing.

“Okay,” They sat back, looking at the pentacle they’d drawn on his floor. How long would that take to clean? “Life after death is kinda a half truth. I mean, there aren’t supposed to be any ghosts, but then we have cases like Roman who are stuck here because something powerful decided he needs to be here.”

They waved us over. “Sit with me, I need all of you. Roman, get in the pentacle if you ever want to leave this apartment.” He was in there in a blink of an eye. “Anyway, when we die, our souls get reborn. But sometimes, something akin to a glitch happens and the soul gets split. However, just because souls are connected, doesn’t mean they used to be the same person. They could have been lovers or family or close friends or even enemies.

“For all we know, the four of you could have all been the same person.”

Logan scoffed and readjusted his glasses. Even sitting he kept his back straight and looked teacherly. “I doubt the four of us could be coordinated enough to make a functioning human.”

They snorted. “Who said anything about functioning?” Tally came and rubbed their body against Charlie. “But if I were being honest, which I always am because lying takes too much energy, you’d all make a pretty amazing person.”

“Because I would be the most relevant,” Roman said, his strident personality shining through again.

“If that were the case, he would be fool hardy indeed,” Logan grumbled.

“Aww, I’m sure that’s not the case, Teach,” Patton smiled. “Roman makes for a wonderful leader.”

“Whether or not that’s true doesn’t matter because whatever part of him would be the most prevalent is arbitrary.” Charlie shooed Tally back to the futon. “Alright, losers, hold hands.”

“I’m not big on touching.” Virgil leaned away from them. It wasn’t really a lie, but it also wasn’t the truth. He craved affection, but he was too afraid to ask for it and too used to not getting it.

“Virgil, I understand, but we need to help Roman. Like I said, you four are connected. Connected in a way that all of your life forces are connected. Connected in a way that all of you will feel trapped no matter what you do as well. Connected in a way that if we don’t figure this out, what happened to him could happen to the rest of you. Now shut your holes and hold hands.”

Virgil could hardly believe they had sped over the fact that all of them could die in a very painful and awful way if they didn’t figure this out, but decided to hold his questions until Charlie was less irritable.

“Alright, focus all of your energy on Roman and do not open your eyes until I say you can. This is nothing any of you want to see.”

It was the weirdest feeling, being part of this. Not just because he was holding hands when he would prefer to be very far away from everyone, but because he felt like he knew them. He felt like he knew them more than he knew himself. But that couldn’t be possible. Not when he’d only known them for a few months.

Sure, he knew that Logan was a sucker for word association games and flailed a lot when he was flustered. He knew that Patton only used his authoritative voice when he was irritated and that he couldn’t help but make bad jokes. He knew that Roman had been in theatre since middle school and owned a samurai sword for years.

He knew that all of that from time spent with each of them.

But he also knew so much more.

When Logan was little, he would sit on the edge of the playground reading because no one wanted to play with him.

Even to this day, Patton refused to let anyone be alone because he hated it when he was younger.

Roman had braces for all of middle school—and he was teased relentlessly for it and still hated the way his smile looked.

He tightened his grip on Patton and Logan once he realized that if he knew these things, there was no way that the others weren’t privy to the things he hadn’t told. Things he hoped they would never know.

Virgil tried to calm his breathing. He didn’t need to have another attack right now. There were bigger, more important things to worry about than his meager fears.

More important…

More…important…

It was too late. He was already spiraling out of control. His breath started to hitch and his heart began to beat too fast. He struggled to stay sitting up.

“Virgil, I need you to breathe.” Charlie’s voice seemed too far away. “If you keep going like this—”

“I’m fine,” he choked out. He held on to the others as if they could anchor him to reality. “Keep going.”

Charlie grumbled like they wanted to say something else, but they’d been bothering Virgil long enough to know when he had his mind set on something, there was almost no way to change it.

“Just…just prepare yourself.”

“Prepare for wha—?”

Virgil didn’t have time to finish his sentence before he was overwhelmed by a vision so powerful it wasn’t even painful. It wasn’t sharp or piercing.

It was just nothingness.

And that was much worse.

[shan282-ao3]

Joseph and His Judge

Originally posted on Archive of Our Own [x]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Far Cry 5, Far Cry: New Dawn Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Female Deputy | Judge & Joseph Seed Characters: Joseph Seed, John Seed, Jacob Seed, Faith Seed, Female Deputy (Far Cry), Deputy (Far Cry) Additional Tags: joseph/deputy hinted at, a touch of my thirst for john, minor spoilers for new dawn, i rewrote their deaths, my timeline is way off, i havent actually played new dawn yet, Oops, Slight mentions of torture, joseph is a dick, barely joseph/deputy, its there if you squint past the torture and manipulation, oof

Summary: Nora was the new junior deputy when she met Joseph Seed and all chaos broke free. The Judge wasn't a person anymore. They were a shadow, a puppet, a plaything, and completely devoted to the Father.

Aka my take on how the deputy became the judge.

I actually submitted this for an English assignment and my professor actually liked it.

The Judge hadn’t always been a mute figure who flinched at silence and thrived on violence. Years ago, before the world was lost and reborn, she’d been full of life and happiness, dancing through blissful fields, exploring the mountains and singing as she walked through empty vineyards and orchards. Before the bombs fell and the life in her chest was smothered, her name had been Nora. She was beautiful with eyes that reflected the sea and red hair that burned hotter than any fire.

She’d met Joseph on her third night as the new junior deputy. Joseph Seed was the charismatic leader of Eden’s Gate, the cult of Hope County that promised salvation when the Great Collapse occurred. What she knew of them was only from a video she’d seen on the internet, she had only just moved to the county and hadn’t even heard of them until a US Marshal arrived that morning to arrest him.

When Nora had stepped through his church doors alongside her colleagues to arrest him, he’d held out his hands and beckoned her to him with his violent ideas and apocalyptic premonitions. He’d unnerved her, his eyes masked by yellow glass showed no ill intent, yet still she could tell he was hiding something behind that facade. Intrigued and terrified of the pull she felt towards him, she’d cuffed him and escorted him to the helicopter. Her eyes, now darkened with worry, stayed fixed ahead and she did her best not to pay attention to the members of Eden’s Gate who screamed threats.

The helicopter crash had been something none of them had seen coming but should have all expected. Nora groaned and opened her eyes, awakened by the frantic sounds of their dispatch and eerie singing. When she’d reached for the headset to radio for help she was grabbed by Joseph, bloodied but seemingly unharmed, and froze in his gaze as he quietly sang before exiting the wreck. The next weeks were a blur, Nora had been rescued by a man named Dutch who’d pulled her from the river after she’d narrowly avoided capture by Joseph’s followers. She was introduced to the Resistance, people from all over the county who were fighting to keep the cult from destroying them all. She soon found herself fighting alongside them, liberating farms and family homes, rescuing kidnapped citizens, and causing mayhem for Joseph and his followers.

She’d just finished freeing a farm from Eden’s Gate when her radio buzzed alive and a voice she’d heard only a handful of times before in cult propaganda spoke directly to her. John Seed, Joseph’s youngest brother who was regarded by the county’s citizen’s as the most sadistic of the three brothers.

“My dear deputy,” John called to her, his voice, smooth like honey, would have made her melt if things were different. “You’ve been causing quite a commotion. I think it’s time we officially met. I’m coming for you.”

And like that her radio fell back into silence and she felt a shiver of fear run up her spine. She’d been marked and soon his chosen had found her and shot her full of tranquilizer and waking up being held up in a river. John smiled at her as she came too and clicked his tongue.

“This one’s not clean.” He’d said to the man holding Nora up and took her weight from him. His eyes were soft for a second before growing cold and his fingers closed around her neck as she shoved her backward into the ice-cold water. Drowning, she thrashed around until his grip loosened enough for her to reach the surface and get air. She’d managed to escape and the two played a game of cat and mouse for weeks until she finally caught him. Mimicking his actions when they first met, her hands closed around his throat and she choked him until he stopped struggling, the tears streaming down her face hot with disgust and rage.

Not long after, she’d met Faith Seed, Joseph’s adored sister and the woman happily drugging up members of the cult who fought back. She was the overseer of manufacturing the bliss they supplied members of the cult, a drug that left most in a euphoric and easily suggestible state. She’d caught Nora easily and the two had spent almost three weeks walking in and out of the bliss together before Nora and finally managed to break free. With pain stabbing at her heart, she’d drowned Faith in her own supply of bliss and retreated to the mountains, as far away from Joseph and his anguish and rage at the loss of his brother and sister as she could get.

Yet still, she wasn’t safe, after weeks of helping liberate the people in the mountains Joseph’s last surviving brother, Jacob, caught her. Nora was with him for nearly four months, he tortured, manipulated, and brainwashed her as he ran her through trial after trial training her to be one of his soldiers. She became his most effective killing machine, the song that tortured her and his gentle words of encouragement as she unknowingly gunned down people she’d once thought of as friends were something that she now craved. The morning he died, he’d played her song and she’d reverted into his killing machine and fought through a bunker of the Resistance. Once she’d come to, snapped out of her trance by the only two survivors, she was horrified and had spilled his entrails on the mountain peak.

It was finally over, she had thought. Nora had gone to the Eden’s Gate compound and confronted Joseph. Without his brothers and Faith’s bliss to protect him, she was able to take him down easy. She finally arrested him and drove towards civilization and safety. She’d had won, Hope County was finally safe. Then the bombs fell, the apocalypse Joseph had been preaching had finally come true and according to him, it was her fault. They’d both ended up in Dutch’s bunker after the blast flipped the car. He’d dragged Nora inside, swiftly killed Dutch and handcuffed her to a metal pipe. When Nora finally came to, he was sat in front of her, his eyes haunted as they both listened to the sounds of death above them.

“I finally understand.” Joseph had said after what seemed like hours of silence. “I prepared my family for the prophecy that God whispered in my ear, but you took them from me. I should kill you, but I won’t. You’re all I have left now, you’re my family.”

Nora shuddered and tried to move back but found herself trapped, he leaned closer until their faces were inches apart and continued speaking. “When the world is ready for us, we will step into the light. I am yours and you are mine and together we will march through Eden’s Gate just as God planned.”

He never stopped speaking after that, it wasn’t always directed at her but she could always hear him. Even when he slept, Nora still heard his voice in her head. It took him 7 years to break her will and another 3 to mold her into the perfect object for his affections. It wasn’t until he had plucked her tongue from her mouth to stop the constant blasphemies that streamed from her lips that she finally gave up the last of her fight and accept that she truly was meant to be his. The last 7 years of their confinement was spent in each other’s company, every now and then a spark of resistance would flicker in her eyes, but each time Joseph was quick to drown it.

By the time the world was ready for them, Nora was dead and the Judge had been born. When they stepped out into the sun just as he had prophesied 17 years ago, him in all his glory and her as his shadow, they were met with a new world. She could finally shed the remnants of her old self and embrace the Judge: a cross painted across her face in the blood of a sinner, a wolf’s skull hiding her own face, and a halo of bliss to mask her tracks. Joseph had been satisfied as she quickly took to this new world, judging the unworthy, showing them the path to safety, helping them atone for their sins just as his brothers and sister had. She was all the best of them now, a judge like a Jacob, a guide like Faith, and an inquisitor like John. He had tried to transform her into his shadow and it had worked, she was never far from his side, his ever-faithful shadow, puppet, companion, and personal executioner should the need arise.

The universe had finally been returned to its balance and the Judge came to realize that Joseph had been her savior all along.