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dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice · 1 year

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To the Shadows that Cry Witch /// Chapter 16

Hello! I managed to figure out what I was gonna write, and I'm pretty happy with how the story's slowly unfolding as the girls settle into the Shire. I promise some more weird stuff is gonna happen next chapter. Enjoy! <3

Summary: Magic was real, but it came at a price. So when two girls end up in the one place they never thought they could reach, strange things began to happen. Good or bad? That's up to them to find out.

Tags: Kili x oc/reader - Fili x oc (POV to be written soon) - Thorin's company × ocs/reader (platonic) - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Bagginshield

Word Count: 1814

Warnings: Nothing really, this chapter's pretty chill.

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

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< Chapter 15 // Chapter 16 // Chapter 17 >

Part 2: Chapter 16 -

'Let's go on a shopping spree!' They said, unemployed.

Rúnda (Definition): Magical, mysterious, secret, confidential (Adjective / Origin: Old Irish / Ron·dah)

“You mean to tell me that the glowing ghost of a dragon popped over for a visit to give you your stuff whilst I recovered from a near-death experience?”

I had explained to Kay the events of last night, sparing no details as I recited the story from when I went to blow out the candle, to waking up and finding my trunk and bag in the wardrobe.

“More like lunged at me and gave me a new fear of wardrobes.” I said as I folded the final top into one of the empty drawers. “It’s like Middle Earth wants us to think we’re going to die before letting us have anything nice.”

“Tell me about it.” Kay agreed as she touched the gash on her forehead that was now scabbed over.

I strained my ears to listen for Bilbo, and hearing the clanging of pots, I figured he was still in the kitchen. Making my way across the room, I whispered to Kay.

“We need to leave the dragon part out of the story when we tell Bilbo though. Can’t have him scared shitless about something that happened in his own home. And if it even was a dragon, they aren’t well received here.”

Kay nodded, returning to emptying my trunk that was unsurprisingly still overflowing with stuff I had unnecessarily packed. Almost elbow deep she pulled out a black mass, and I gasped excitedly as she threw me my Toothless teddy. I walked to the head of the bed, tucking the soft dragon into the covers, amused at the apparent dragon theme that was repeatedly appearing. Turning around, my eyes landed on Kay pulling out a small wooden chest, it’s length the about the size of a medium sized book. She side-eyed me with a stare.

“I didn’t pack that.” I stated, pointing at it.

“Sure you didn’t.”

“You think I’m gonna pack my whole witch box???”

“I wouldn’t put it past you to pack the kitchen table.” She retorted.

I dead-panned at the remark, then let out a frustrated grunt, flopping onto the bed.

“Ok you got me, but I’m serious when I said I didn’t pack the box.” I explained.

“I know, I remember watching you unpack at the hostel. Which means there could be some other things in here from our actual homes.”

I sat up as a thought came to mind. “Doesn’t that mean you’ll have extra stuff in your suitcase?”

Kay remained in thought for a moment. “It could!”

“Well then, why don’t you go and see?” I suggested.

She nodded, placing the chest down next to me before she was out the door. I reached over, picking up the maroon-stained wooden box and placing it on my lap. It looked just like how I left it, sigils and runes gently carved into the lid and sides. Sliding the two metal clasps out of their locks, I lifted the lid, peering inside.

The contents were your run-of-the-mill witch supplies, coloured candles, oils, a set of tarot cards, jars and bottles – some empty, some full – and a box containing a few of my favourite types of incense. I figured my box of herbs was hidden somewhere else among my stuff. It wasn’t anything special, considering I was in the very early stage of learning witchcraft, barely on the brink of becoming intermediate, and being an atheist your whole life brought its difficulties, because of how much my sub-consciousness would doubt any of it was real or not. But I was determined to learn, even if it was for the rest of my life.

Setting the chest down on the duvet beside me, I stood up and walked over to the trunk sitting open on the floor. I then spent the next half-hour or so rummaging through and organising everything that was left. During that time, I had discovered the small box of herbs, filled with corked jars and miniature bags of every herb and plant I could find. Alongside it had been my Grimoire and Book of Shadows, now relieved that I could continue my journey of learning and be able to document it. I flicked through the pages, glancing at my loopy handwriting smudged with ink splotches until I landed on the ones that were yet to be filled. Snapping them shut, I locked the clasp on one and tied the band around the other, hiding them away in the bottom drawer of my bedside table. Though I knew that Bilbo would find them eventually – probably whilst he was putting washing away or dusting.

Admiring the now empty floor, I let out a satisfied hum and exited the bedroom. Arriving at the kitchen, I saw Bilbo in the same setting I had found him last night – his hands protected by a tea towel as he poured steaming tea into cups – but this time he was surrounded by plates loaded with an English Breakfast (or whatever the people of Middle Earth called it here).

Breakfast flew by, and we both told Bilbo about how my things had appeared overnight, purposely leaving out the ghost creature. I wasn’t officially sure whether or not it was a dragon, but its features closely resembled one, so I automatically went with calling it one.

We cleared up, and Bilbo announced that we were heading over to Gladiola Greenfoot’s place, whom he had mentioned during our first morning here.

“We’re going to see if Mrs Greenfoot is willing to measure you both up and sew you a couple outfits.” He explained. “And you can offer some kind if service in return.”

“Are you sure?” Kay asked. “Because our clothes should do us fine.”

“They’ll do you good until Mrs Greenfoot’s finished, because then you’ll both fit in easier.”

I nodded in agreement, remembering how easily tarnished our Earth clothes became after only one day of hiking in the rain. As we walked into the entrance hall, I looked for our shoes, only to find them missing.

“Uh, Bilbo?” He hummed in response. “Where are our shoes?”

His mouth made an o shape as he recalled what he had done earlier. “Ah, I uhh, put them away. You won’t be needing those things around here, barefoot should be just fine.”

We blinked in surprise.

“But our feet –” I lifted my foot up, showing the smooth sole underneath. “They’re not as tough as yours, and they’re way more sensitive so it’ll hurt if we step on anything sharp.”

Bilbo stared as if he had never seen a human foot in his life, before replying. “Well you should be fine, it’s mostly grass and you should get used to the dirt and stones in no time. Saves you both even more strange looks if you were to wear those shoe-things anyway.”

Kay and I looked at each other incredulously, wondering what had gotten into the hobbit. I let out a sigh and relented, Kay following not soon after. With a grin Bilbo strode towards the door, swinging it open and marched out into the warm early autumn sun. Not bothering to put on any more layers – due to the warm temperature – we both trailed after Bilbo, preparing ourselves for any sharp object that would eventually find its way underfoot.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

“Bilbo Baggins! What in Yavanna’s name have you done now?!”

Bilbo cringed at the taut voice of Gladiola as he neared her hobbit hole, the hobbit calling out to him through the open front window. Disappearing out of sight, she quickly appeared again as she swung the yellow circular door open and marched out into the front garden until she reached the fence.

She was the embodiment of your stereotypical female hobbit. A short but full and curvy body, along with a round face framed by light brown curls that were half-tied up – though not too round to where it complimented her sharper, light brown eyes and brows. But despite the scowl on her face, her smile lines were still prominent along with the fresh wrinkles that had begun to show her aging. She was adorned in a simpler outfit compared to the frills and pleats of the upper class lady-hobbits that lived near Bilbo. A dusky maroon underskirt was half-hidden by a floral patterned gown that reminded Kate of marigolds and straw, ending about six inches above the underskirt. The top layer was a comfortable looking, tan-brown bodice, laced up with ribbon, along with a shawl tied loosely around her shoulders, the maroon colour matching the underskirt.

“I haven’t done anything!” Bilbo cried in protest.

“You call that ‘not doing anything?’” She jabbed a short finger in our direction. “Look at the two of them! The poor girls are barely clothed!”

The girls heads raised from where Kate was trying to pry a stone that had embedded itself in her foot, then looked back down at their clothes confusedly, wondering why a simple pair of loose, baggy joggers and oversized T-shirts were considered barely clothed. That was, until they remembered where they were.

“And why are they covered in cuts and bruises?!” Gladiola scolded, gesturing at the two again. “Honestly Bilbo, I can’t leave you for a minute otherwise you’d end up wandering off to marry some orc or dwarf or whatever those adventures bring!”

“Mrs Greenfoot!” Poor Bilbo protested, his ears and face flushing a rosy pink. “Dr Noakesburrow has already seen to them, and they’re healing just fine! I brought them here to see if you would help with them settling in. They’ll be staying for a while with me, you see – shelter in exchange for work and chores.”

“I see.” Gladiola raised an eyebrow. “I can only guess you’re here to get them clothes?”

Bilbo nodded whilst letting out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, please.” He breathed, relieved that the conversation had veered to what he wanted in the first place. “Though they haven’t got any money to give you, so they’re willing to repay you in work hours.”

Mrs Greenfoot stood silent for a moment as she pondered the possibilities. Turning to the girls, she spoke.

“Are you two any good at looking after kids?” She asked, the demanding tone in her voice causing the girls to stand at full attention. They both nodded. “And how long are you staying to do it?”

“As long as you need.” Kay replied, a polite smile on her face.

The hobbit turned back towards Bilbo and gave him a pointed look. “And are you willing to let them stay for as long as I need them?” He also nodded.

“Alright then!” Mrs Greenfoot clapped her hands together, causing the other three to jump slightly. “It’s settled! Bilbo, go fetch us some of that tea leaves from Bree at the market.” She beckoned the girls towards her with a warm smile that contrasted the stern expression she had earlier.

“Let’s get you both measured up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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kingexpl0sionmurder · 4 years

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What Happens When You Dream? - Bakugou Katsuki - Smut

Author: @kingexpl0sionmurder Rating: NSFW 18+ Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/F!Reader (Implied Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi), Aged up (College), Quirkless AU. Words: 8,624 Warnings: swearing, oral (male receiving), ghosts, hauntings, brief mention of violence, horror movie references, witchy things, Bakugou bad mouths the occult and witches but I do not share his views on the matter. This is probably unnecessary but it should go without saying that seances are no joke and you shouldn’t preform one unless you know what you’re doing (which I certainly do NOT). I pulled what is said off of a damn WikiHow so don’t try this at home. AN: Another collab piece for the BNHarem server! Have some Halloween Bakugou! This came out softer than I imagined it would but I just enjoy writing him as a sarcastic grump. Also, I didn’t mean to put in the Shinkami but it happened so we’re rolling with it. I honestly don’t know what this is but I hope you enjoy it! Please check out the Masterlist for this collab HERE My Masterlist is HERE Buy me a KoFi HERE --

Every night, you dream at least ten dreams a night Do you remember the dreams? If you do, you're well on your way To having some fantastic times when you close your eyes. - Bring Me The Horizon - Steal Something

Bakugou lugged the last box up the porch steps and into the house, bypassing the living area and depositing it on the kitchen counter. Wiping his brow with the back of his hand, he surveyed the mess around him.

God, he hated moving.

“That’s the last of it?” Kirishima asked as he entered the kitchen behind him. “I’m so tired already.”

Bakugou just grunted in response, turning around to walk back outside and close up the moving truck. It was still early in the day, so they had plenty of time to start unpacking and get the house into some sense of livability before they needed to return the vehicle, and he wanted to get as much done as he could while he still had the energy.

Kirishima was on the phone when he came back inside, chattering happily as he leaned against the counter. When he hung up, he grinned. “The squad is going to come by and help!”

Ignoring the stupid nickname they’d adopted for their friend group, Bakugou shot the redhead a look. “You mean they’re going to come here and fucking distract you.”

“No! Mina hasn’t seen the place yet, and Denki promised to bring food. They want to help us unpack!”

Bakugou snorted. “Sure. Whatever. Just tell them to stay out of my way.” He walked over to a box labeled “dishes” and got to work, unwrapping the newspaper from around them and placing them on the counter.

Kirishima left him alone to move the furniture around in the living room and, presumably, hook up the TV. He let his mind wander, thinking about how they’d ended up finding this place. It was in a little suburban neighborhood, a park across the street with an excellent path for his morning runs, a convenience store around the corner for Kirishima’s late-night beef jerky cravings, a short walk to the train station, and three stops away from their university.

Rooming with Kirishima was a given, too. He was the only one Bakugou could tolerate for long periods, and he knew how to handle Bakugou’s erratic moods. He didn’t push too hard, gave him space when he needed it, and was moderately neat. Bakugou knew if he’d roomed with someone like Kaminari, he’d spend the rest of his life in a jail cell, so Kirishima was the safe option.

It helped that they were going to the same school, even though they had completely opposite majors. Bakugou was studying physics, and Kirishima was going for sports education. Sometimes he pictured Kirishima as a school gym teacher, and it made him roll his eyes. He’d be perfect for something like that.

One day Bakugou would be a nuclear physicist and win a Nobel prize. That was the goal, anyway. Number one in his field, his face on the cover of Time magazine, everyone would know his name some day. Nothing was going to stop him from reaching the top.

He had nearly finished unpacking the dishes when Sero walked into the kitchen carrying bags of snacks and soda. Kaminari followed behind him and dropped three pizza boxes on the island in the middle of the room and shot Bakugou a funny look. “Mina is scared to come inside.”

Snorting, he raised his eyebrow. “What?”

“She says she’s got a bad vibe, dude. I don’t know.” Sero shrugged. “You’re the most logical one, maybe you can get her to come in. Kiri’s trying and failing, man.”

Grumbling under his breath, wondering why he even bothered with these idiots, Bakugou stomped out of the room to see Kirishima leaning in the frame of the front door and talking to someone out on the porch.

“...been here all day, Mina. Nothing weird has happened.”

“Oi, Raccoon Eyes, what’s your problem?” He shoved Kirishima out of the way to get a look at the girl, his eyebrows furrowed.

She looked nervous, her eyes flitting to the windows up on the second floor, her hands clasped in front of her. “I don’t know, Bakugou. Something just doesn’t feel right. I can’t explain it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared her down. “What are you even talking about?”

“Mina’s always been sensitive to energies and stuff, Bakubro,” Sero said from somewhere behind him. “She burned sage at my apartment when I moved in because she said something felt off.”

He vaguely remembered that Ashido had always been into some weird shit; Ouiji boards and hypnosis, tarot cards and reading people’s auras. Bakugou didn’t believe in that hippy dippy shit, especially being a man of science, but if it ended this dumb standoff on his front porch, he’d let her do whatever.

Wrinkling his nose, he sighed. “If I let you burn that nasty shit in here, will you come inside?”

“It might help…” trailing off, she stepped back. “I can just tell that something bad happened here. You don’t feel anything?”

“Fuck no.”

“It just feels...sad.” Mina shivered, frowning.

“That’s because I haven’t hung up my Crimson Riot posters yet.” Kiri gave Mina a placating smile, stepping forward and placing his hand on her shoulder. “Let me take you to the store to get what you need, huh? We can talk about it in the car.”

Mina looked like she wanted to get as far away from the house as possible as quickly as possible, so she nodded.

Sero handed Kirishima his keys, since he was parked behind Kiri’s dumb ass truck, and the two of them headed out. Bakugou went back inside to finish the rest of his unpacking, slightly annoyed by the whole situation.

“What do you think it is?” Kaminari asked, opening the top pizza box and grabbing a slice. “I’ve never seen her like that before.”

“Maybe there’s a ghost here or something.” Sero chuckled. “Maybe you’ll open up a closet door somewhere upstairs and there will be a portal to the other side.” He wiggled his fingers at Kaminari, laughing. “Carol Ann, go into the light!”

“Idiots. There’s no such thing as ghosts.” Bakugou slammed the cabinet shut after he’d loaded in the last of the glasses. “She’s just being weird, as usual.”

“Hey, man. Don’t be like that.” Licking grease off his thumb (like a heathen, Bakugou thought), Kaminari fixed him with a look. “She looked genuinely terrified. It’s nice of you to let her burn the sage though. It’ll give her peace of mind.”

“Smells awful, though. But she says it worked at my place.” Sero added.

Bakugou had had enough of the conversation, so he just grunted in response, turning and leaving the room.

He figured it was time to set up his bedroom, that way he didn’t have to worry about it later that night. Plus, it would get him away from dumb and dumber and Kaminari’s inability to use a napkin like a normal human being.

Later on, after Mina made the entire house smell like burnt ass, Kirishima took Kaminari with him to return the moving truck, Sero following behind him in his car. Mina stayed with Bakugou in his room as he put together his bookshelf, sitting quietly and making herself useful by unpacking his books and stacking them by author so he could arrange them when he was done. He wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but her silence was irking him. She was never this quiet.

“What’s your problem?” He asked gruffly, frowning at the allen key in his hand as he twisted a screw into the base of the bookshelf.

He glanced up when she sighed, her body moving to lean against the bed, her head falling back so her gaze was fixed on the ceiling. “Nothing. I just feel like the sage didn’t work.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue. “Why should it? That stuff isn’t real anyway.”

“It is so!” He saw her glare at him from his peripheral. “You shouldn’t dismiss it so quickly.”

“I’m a science major, idiot.” He didn’t feel the need to elaborate further.

“So?”

“So, what? Science can explain away all of the so called phenomena that people like to believe are ghosts. There is no scientific proof that ghosts exist. All of the things that people attribute to hauntings are hallucinations are tricks that your mind plays on you. It’s all in your head.” He stood up, lifting the finished bookshelf to stand beside him. “Besides, you’ve been here all day and nothing bad has happened, has it?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Mina bit her bottom lip. “Well, no. It’s just...it feels anxious and sad in here? So it’s not that I expect anything bad to happen, really. It’s just uncomfortable.”

Choosing not to comment further, Bakugou pushed the bookcase up against the wall, picking up the drill nearby so he could anchor it into the sheetrock.

When he was done drilling, she continued. “You shouldn’t shit all over my beliefs, either. It’s not nice.”

“Since when have you ever known me to be nice?” He pointed at one of her stacks. “Give me the A’s.”

“Fair point.” Mina stood, picking up a few books from the first stack and handing them to him. “Just do me a favor and be careful. If anything weird happens, let me know, okay?”

Bakugou bit back a groan. “Will it shut you up about it if I agree?” She nodded. “Fine. I’ll let you know if you need to call an old priest and a young priest to perform an exorcism, okay?”

Mina snorted at that, handing him another set of books. “Okay, good.”

Bakugou blinked sleepy, pressing his face into his pillow and breathing deeply. Waking up in a new room was disorienting, the light from the window hitting his face in a way he wasn’t used to. He sighed, closing his eyes again, annoyed that he’d woken before his alarm went off.

He was just convincing himself to go back to sleep until it was time to get up when a soft groan from beside him made him pause, his eyes flying open at the sound. Turning his head, his mouth went dry at the sight of you laying beside him, your hair strewn over the pillow next to his, bare shoulders peeking out from underneath the covers.

Mind racing, he tried to remember who you were and what had led to you sleeping in his bed beside him. The last thing he could recall was shuffling off to bed early as usual, leaving his friends in the living room, the group of them laying haphazardly across the couches as they watched a movie.

He hadn’t gone out or drank anything, so there was no way he could have met you at a bar. It’d be easier to explain that way, because he was no stranger to drunken one night stands.

Opening his mouth to ask you what the fuck you were doing in his bed, the words were stuck in his throat when you turned around to gaze sleepily at him.

You were pretty, even with the sleep in your eyes and your unruly bedhead. Your smile was what made him pause, heart stopping and beautiful.

“Morning, Katsu.” You sighed, burrowing your face into his chest.

“What the fuck?” He managed, scooting away and frowning. “Who are you?”

“Ah, the million dollar question.” Giggling, you sat up, one arm moving to keep the sheet covering your obviously bare chest. “Normally I’d be offended that you don’t know it, but, it’s par for the course.”

“How did you-”

“Get here? Through the front door, just like anyone else.” Shaking your head, you used your free hand to rub at your eyes. “I’m not really sure how this works, honestly. Maybe we just need to try again later.” You frowned, shrugging your shoulders and changing the subject. “You’re very warm, you know that?”

Frustration bubbled up in his chest. Why couldn’t you just answer his questions the way he meant them?

Before he could press further, you yawned, turning and shuffling to the edge of the bed. He watched in silence as you stood, his gaze lingering on your naked backside as you pulled on a pair of panties. He was quiet as you dressed, watching your movements and racking his brain, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Turning to look over at him again, you smiled. “Well, guess I should get out of your hair.”

Your cryptic words left him floundering, his eyes widening as you headed for the bedroom door. “Where the fuck are you going?”

Pausing, you turned to speak to him over your shoulder. “Time’s up. Your alarm is about to go off.”

Eyebrows furrowed, he watched as you opened the door and walked over the threshold.

The blaring of his alarm startled him into a sitting position, his chest tight as he gasped for breath. What the fuck?

“A dream.” He grumbled, lying back down, his arm reaching out to smack the snooze button on the top of his clock.

Rubbing his face tiredly, he groaned. It was very rare that he dreamt anything at all, so the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. He had no idea who you were, he couldn’t remember ever seeing your face before, so he wasn’t sure why his mind had conjured you up to be the one in his bed.

He remembered reading an article once about dreams, and how it was impossible for your brain to make up people’s faces. It was believed that faces you have seen in passing in a crowd, even those you didn’t consciously look at, were stored somewhere in your memory, and could be brought forth in your mind in a dream. Maybe that’s where you’d come from.

He sighed, shifting in bed until his feet were on the floor, turning off his alarm for good and standing up. Stretching, he decided to forget all about you, focusing on the day ahead. He didn’t have time to dwell on dumb shit like dreams. He blamed it on his mind trying to get used to being in a new place, and left it behind him.

“We really have to stop meeting like this, handsome.”

Bakugou opened his eyes, squinting over at you as you lay beside him, your head propped up on your hand. This was the fourth day in a row, and he was getting tired of it already.

“Again? What the fuck.” He slumped back onto the pillow below him. “Why the hell do I keep dreaming about you? I don’t even know you.”

You giggled, shrugging. “Kirishima sleeps like the dead, so you were my only option.”

“What does that mean? I’m getting tired of your cryptic bullshit, shitty woman.”

“Hey, you don’t need to call me names, Katsu.”

Growling, he sat up. “Well, you won’t tell me your real one, so I have to be creative.” He paused. “And how do you know my name? I don’t even let my hair for brains roommate call me that, and we’ve known each other since we were 16.”

“I figured you wouldn’t mind. I can just call you Bakugou if it makes you more comfortable.”

“None of this makes me comfortable, you idiot. I don’t even understand what’s going on here.” He was tired. Ever since he’d started dreaming of you he woke up feeling like he’d barely gotten any rest, and it was grating on his nerves. “Why can’t you ever just be straight with me?”

Shrugging, you made yourself more comfortable in his blankets. He jolted when he felt your cold toes press against his calf. “It’s more fun this way, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, maybe for you.” He let himself lay back beside you, folding his arms behind his head and staring at the ceiling. “Have we met before?”

Humming thoughtfully, you snuggled up against him again, your fingers ghosting patterns across his bare chest. “Nope. Kind of wish we had though. You’re pretty cute.”

Huffing through his nose, he ignored the fact that he didn’t shy away from your touch like he usually did. “I’m not fucking cute.” Secretly, he liked the praise.

“Would you rather me tell you that you’re hot?” You peered up at him, smirking.

“Fuck you.”

You snorted, rolling your eyes. “Hm. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

The thought had crossed his mind once or twice. The fact that he always woke up in these dreams naked next to you wasn’t helping the matter. “You wish.”

The grin you shot him was almost sinister, and he felt his cock stir beneath the blankets.

What the ever loving fuck.

Almost as if you knew what he was thinking, you pressed against him, your lips brushing against his ear. “Wish we had more time, Katsuki, but your alarm is about to go off again.”

Bakugou shot up in bed, his heart racing and skin damp with sweat, a shiver racing down his spine. He could still feel your warm breath on his ear, like you’d just pulled away.

When he looked over, he was alone.

—

“You been sleeping okay, Bakubro?” Kirishima asked him from the doorway to the kitchen, his ridiculously bulky arms crossed over his equally ridiculous chest.

Bakugou looked up from his toast, his head aching. “Like fuck I have.”

His friend raised an eyebrow at him. “You look like hell, dude. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.”

“Fuck you.” Sighing, he dropped his toast on his plate, wiping his hand on his napkin and hunching over. “I keep having these weird dreams.” He paused, turning to look at the redhead. “What about you?”

“Me?” Kirishima pushed off the door and walked to the fridge, wrenching open the door and pulling out a carton of orange juice. “I’ve been sleeping fine. Best sleep I’ve had in a while actually. It’s nice not having all the campus noises around and stuff, you know?”

“Kirishima sleeps like the dead, so you were my only option.” Your words rattled around in his brain, and he frowned.

“I don’t know, dude. I think you’re overworking yourself.”

Bakugou growled. “I’m trying to land that internship. I don’t have time to be a lazy asshole.”

“Hey, I’m not lazy!”

“I didn’t say you were. Guilty conscience?” He couldn’t help the smirk that curled onto his face.

Kirishima took a sip of juice straight from the carton, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when he was done. “Shut up.” He grinned, his shark teeth on display. “You should take a day off, maybe. Or just, don’t study all day on Saturday and hang out with me! The squad is coming by for a barbeque. Maybe it’ll help if you just relax.”

He made a disgusted face when Kirishima put the carton of orange juice back in the fridge, making a mental note to buy a new one. Gross. “Being around you idiots will just stress me out some more.” He finished his toast, standing up to put his dish in the sink. “I’ve got a late lab tonight, so order some takeout.”

“You got it, man.” Kirishima grabbed his shoulder as he passed him. “Hey, think about Saturday, okay? I’m kinda worried about you.”

Shrugging him off, Bakugou nodded. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll think about it.”

—

Things progressed in mostly the same way for the remainder of the week. He got up, went to school, stayed late in the lab working on his project for the internship interview, and collapsed into bed when he got home.

When he closed his eyes, he was back in that dream with you by his side.

He liked to make you laugh, and it didn’t seem hard to do. You got a kick out of his shitty attitude for some reason, and you liked to listen to stories about his dumb friends. You seemed particularly fond of Kaminari, mentioning you knew someone that would probably like him. You seemed more morose than usual when you talked about your friend, and when he asked why, you just shrugged and said you hadn’t seen him in a while.

“So you aren’t just a figment of my imagination?” Bakugou asked, folding his arms behind his head.

You shook your head, your hair brushing his chin as you laid on his chest. He’d gotten used to the cuddling, and though he enjoyed it, he’d never mention that out loud.

“Of course I’m not, Katsu.” Sighing, you tilted your head to look up at him. “Man, you’re taking way too long to figure this out.”

“You’re not very forthcoming with information about yourself, idiot.” He grumbled, annoyed. “What’s your friend’s name, anyway?”

“Shinsou Hitoshi.” You grinned, a faraway look in your eyes. “He’s my best friend. I kind of miss him.”

“Why don’t you call him?”

“Can’t. It’s fine though.” You sat up further, hovering over him. “Maybe you could get him to meet Kaminari. He needs a little sunshine in his life. He used to work at that cat café over by the university. Bet he’s still there.”

“Cat café?” Bakugou wracked his brain. “Next to that udon place?”

“That’s the one. He’s got purple hair, you literally can’t miss him.”

Bakugou snorted. He didn’t give two shits about his blonde friend and his love life. But if this Shinsou guy knew you, maybe he could get some answers.

—

“Since when do you like cats?” Kaminari asked, falling into step beside him.

Bakugou was regretting his entire existence as he walked, wishing he didn’t give enough of a shit to find out more about you. Kaminari had been chattering beside him non-stop the entire train ride over, wondering why Bakugou was insisting on visiting the café and why he had to be the one to accompany him.

“I’ve always liked cats. Just shut up, dunceface.” Huffing, he shoved his hands in his pockets. He was unsure how he was even going to talk to this Shinsou guy, what he was going to say. “Hi, you don’t know me but I think I’m having dreams about your friend?”

“Mauhaus Cat Café?” Kaminari giggled, breaking Bakugou out of his thoughts. “If this place isn’t full of hot goth boys I don’t want any part of it.”

Rolling his eyes, Bakugou opened the door and let Kaminari walk in first. Standing behind the counter looking half asleep and thoroughly done with life stood a man with purple hair.

“Oh, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.” Kaminari stopped and stared, and Bakugou nearly walked into his back.

“Oi, idiot, come on.” Grumbling about his friend under his breath, he pushed him further inside, neck craning back to read the neat chalkboard menu over the coffee machines.

Kaminari, on the other hand, shook his head and waltzed up to the counter, a bright smile on his face. “Hey there, tall, dark, and handsome.”

Amethyst eyes gazed at Kaminari, his facial expression flat. “Oh joy, a loud blonde.”

Bakugou snorted. “Are you Shinsou Hitoshi?”

The man stood up straighter and covered his nametag with his hand. “That depends on who’s asking.”

Kaminari, being Kaminari, grinned a little wider. “I’m Kaminari Denki, and I think I love you.”

Shinsou blinked at him, his eyes alight with amusement. “Oh yeah?” Bakugou saw him glance down at the leather choker on Kaminari’s neck, before his eyes flicked back up to his face.

They’d known each other for two seconds and they were already eye fucking. Wonderful.

“Trust me on this, dude. You and I are going to get along great.” Kaminari turned to Bakugou. “Why have you been hiding this gorgeous boy from me, Bakugou? I thought we were friends.”

“We’re not. Now go away.” He pointed to a brindle colored cat sitting on a table on the far side of the room. “Go pet a cat or something.”

“Oh! Look how pretty!” Kaminari wandered away, not before throwing Shinsou a wink over his shoulder and biting his lip in a way he probably thought was sultry.

Shinsou seemed to be eating it up, but he was a bit more subtle. Bakugou almost felt bad for the guy, before he remembered that he didn’t care.

“How do you know my name?” Shinsou asked, tearing his eyes away from Kaminari. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.”

Nodding, he shoved his hands deeper in his pockets. “No, we’ve never met. A friend of yours told me about you, and I just...I wanted to ask you something.” Frowning, he pushed on, knowing how weird he was about to sound. “She said you were her best friend.”

Shinsou snorted. “I don’t really have any friends, man. Who was it?”

“That’s just it...I don’t know her name.”

“Okay, but she told you mine? That doesn’t really add up.” Shinsou’s eyes narrowed. “What does she look like?”

Bakugou described you, cutting himself off when he noticed how pale Shinsou suddenly looked. The slight look of horror on his face turned to anger so fast that Bakugou got whiplash.

“Do you think this is funny or something, asshole?” Shinsou’s voice was low and dangerous. “Get the fuck out of my shop before I kick the shit out of you.”

“What? What the fuck is your problem?” Bakugou was always quick to anger, but he especially didn’t like being threatened.

Kaminari must have sensed that things were about to go south, because he appeared at Bakugou’s side a moment later. “Is everything okay?”

“You think this is some kind of joke? Like I don’t miss her and think about her every day? Like I don’t blame myself for what happened?” Shinsou’s deep voice cracked slightly at the end of his question, and Bakugou was horrified to see tears starting to gather in his eyes.

“What are you even talking about? Who is she?” He was starting to get really frustrated.

Shinsou moved to round the counter. “Fuck you, man. Get the fuck-”

“Bakugou, who are you talking about?” Kaminari turned to Shinsou, his palm pressing gently to his chest to stop him from reaching Bakugou. “What’s going on?”

“Your friend here thinks it’s funny to come into my shop and rub my best friend’s death in my face.”

Bakugou choked on his own spit. “Death?”

Kaminari looked between the two of them in confusion. “Bakugou?”

He didn’t want to do this in front of Kaminari, but he had no choice. “I’ve been having dreams! Ever since we moved into the house…” Trailing off, he stared at Shinsou. “I didn’t know she - how is this even possible?”

“So, Shinsou’s best friend has been visiting your dreams, and she’s...no longer with us. She told you about Shinsou, so you came here to find out more?” Kaminari summarized, letting his hand drop from Shinsou’s chest when he noticed he wasn’t struggling anymore.

Bakugou just nodded, his fists clenched at his sides.

“What house?” Shinsou asked. “Is she…”

Bakugou told him the address and Shinsou practically crumpled in on himself, his breath coming out in short pants. Kaminari had enough sense to guide him over to a nearby table and sit him down on a chair. Bakugou was glad the shop was empty.

Somehow completely level headed in this brief moment of crisis, Kaminari went around the shop counter and came back with a cup of water for Shinsou. He then pushed Bakugou, who was still standing frozen in front of the register, into the chair across from Shinsou, and then pulled up his own chair. “Shinsou, hey. Can you tell us about her?”

Heart pounding, Bakugou woke up in a dream.

This was different.

Instead of waking up to you lying beside him, looking disheveled but beautiful as you teased him and held the blankets over your naked chest…

He was sweating, breath coming in short pants, his fingers tangled in someone’s hair, wet heat surrounding his cock.

Bakugou’s eyes flew open, taking in the white ceiling of his bedroom. He let his gaze travel down, the dark comforter on his bed hiding the identity of the person between his legs.

He didn’t need to see them to know who it was.

You hummed around him and his toes curled. He should definitely be freaking out right now, kicking you off of him and flying from the bed to the other side of the room, hiding his modesty as he screeched at you.

But then you did this thing with your tongue that he couldn’t even begin to describe and his eyes rolled back. It had been a while, he reasoned. He was too preoccupied with school and moving and not sleeping right to take care of it himself.

Letting his fingers card through your hair, he tugged, reveling in the groan that left your throat and shot right through him. He rocked his hips in time with your bobbing mouth, biting down on his bottom lip to hold back his moans.

He felt himself getting close, eyes fluttering shut again as he let himself get lost in the moment. Later, he would contemplate how easily he accepted what you were doing, but for now, he was going to enjoy every second of it.

“Y/N…” He groaned, pushing his head back into the pillows.

All at once, your mouth was off of him, and he felt the blanket fly off of his body, exposing his hard and aching cock to the cool air.

“What!?” Your voice was wrecked, but he was too keyed up to pay much attention.

Popping his eyes open, he groaned and sat up on his elbows. “What the fuck, shitty woman? I was about to come.”

“How do you know my name?”

Suddenly, everything came rushing back to him. He remembered where he was, who you were, what you were. “Fuck. What the fuck?”

“Learn another word, Katsuki. Jesus Christ.” You were still kneeling between his legs, your hand resting on his thigh. “How did you find out my name?”

Flopping back against the pillow again, he rubbed his hands tiredly over his face. “I met Shinsou today.” His dick was still so hard that it hurt, but he had a feeling you wouldn’t be helping him take care of the problem anymore.

You were quiet, so he peeked through his fingers, frowning. You were crying silently, tears sliding down your cheeks. “He told you?”

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” He said finally, letting his hands drop from his face. He didn’t know why he was being so nice. Usually he’d tell someone who cried in front of him to suck it up, but it felt wrong to give you a hard time. Sighing, he threw his arm out to the side. “Come here.”

You sniffled again, climbing over his leg and settling on the bed beside him, your head resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around you. “I’m sorry, Katsuki.”

“For what? Don’t apologize.” He grunted. “But later we’re going to have a conversation about what was going on when I got here.”

“That’s the first time you were you during it, I think.” Your voice was rough, and you sniffled loudly when you were done speaking.

“What does that even mean?” His brow furrowed in confusion. “Wait, that’s happened more than once? What the hell?”

Giggling, you nodded. “What, do you think I just get naked and climb into bed with you every time?” He huffed, and you continued. “It’s like...it’s you of course, but it’s like all of a sudden something clicks.” You snapped your fingers. “I’m not sure if I’m just tapping into your fantasies or what…”

He could feel the blush heating up his cheeks and he hated it, so he chose not to comment.

“Usually I come in and you’re waiting for me, we get naked, then we fuck, then we cuddle, and that’s when you get here.”

“Tch. No way. I don’t cuddle.” Scoffing, he tightened his grip around you.

This time you snorted a laugh, your hand sliding over his stomach as you got more comfortable. “Oh? You do with me, teddy bear.”

“Shut the fuck up! Don’t call me that.” He shivered. “That’s the worst pet name I’ve ever heard.”

“I’ll try to be more creative next time.” You shifted again, pulling the blanket over both of your legs. “And, if you don’t cuddle, then what are we doing right now?”

“Having a conversation.”

“About?” You moved to look at him, raising your eyebrow.

Fighting hard not to smirk, he rolled his eyes. “Not cuddling.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You’re annoying.” He hissed when you pinched his side. “Ow! What the hell?”

“Shut up and go back to sleep, Katsu.”

Bakugou Katsuki did NOT ask for help. The word help was not in his vocabulary. He could do everything and figure everything out on his own, thank you. However, he thought maybe, just this once, he was in over his head.

He didn’t know shit about ghosts or spirits or hauntings or whatever the fuck this was. Mina, as Kaminari had pointed out to him after they’d left Mauhaus, was practically an expert. He was dreading the moment when she rubbed it in his face that she had been right about the house all along, but his annoyance over it paled in comparison to the need he had for a night of uninterrupted sleep.

Not that he minded, really, because he got to spend time with you.

The sudden affection that he had for you was unnerving. Because, besides the whole not asking for help thing, the other constant in his life was that Bakugou Katsuki did not catch feelings. Feelings were unnecessary. He hated them. He hated being fond of people, the weird ache in his chest made him want to puke. The only person he felt any kind of warmth for was Kirishima, and that was because he was his best friend. He tolerated everyone else to a degree, but he didn’t feel anything for them.

But then there was you, who he’d known for an entire two weeks. (He wasn’t even going to unpack the fact that you were literally haunting his dreams in which he was apparently fucking you.) Somehow, through the brief interactions you’d had, whether they were real or not, he’d managed to care about you. You were funny, and you didn’t put up with his shit.

It would figure that the only girl he’d ever had feelings for was dead.

He had come to terms with that fact now. His next course of action was to find out why you were coming to him. Mina was the only one he knew who could help him find some answers. (He didn’t really trust the internet.) The problem was getting her alone without the rest of the idiot brigade around. Kaminari knew, obviously, but he just wanted to talk to Mina.

His chance came on Saturday, when everyone came to his and Kirishima’s house for the barbeque.

Bakugou was slicing vegetables in the kitchen when Mina came inside, offering to help. He grunted, pointing at a bowl of spinach. “Finish making the salad, raccoon eyes.”

Mina rolled her eyes and stood beside him, taking the tomatoes he’d chopped and adding them to the bowl. “So, how’s the house-”

“What do you know about ghosts?” He blurted. Well, that was one way to ask.

She stiffened beside him. “Did you see something?”

Huffing through his nose, he picked up a cucumber and began slicing it a little harder than necessary to mask his discomfort. “Maybe.”

“Bakugou, what happened?” She grabbed his shirt sleeve, tugging on it. “Is it bad? Do we have to set up surveillance cameras or something?”

He snorted. “No, this isn’t a dumb horror movie.” Shrugging her off of his arm, he pushed the cucumbers towards her. “I’ve been having dreams-“

“How do you know it’s a ghost?” She interrupted, turning back to the salad.

Bakugou decided to be as vague as possible. “It’s the same dream every night, the same person. She never told me her name, but I was able to figure out who she is. She used to live here...” Swallowing thickly, he turned to look at her. “I just don’t know why she’s visiting me.”

“Well, most of the time ghosts are spirits that are still tied to this world in some way. People believe they have unfinished business, something they need to do before they can pass on.” Mina looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe she has regrets?”

Grunting, he went back to chopping. “I don’t know, it’s weird. She said she picked me because she tried Kirishima and she couldn’t reach him or whatever.”

“Maybe she thinks you're cute, Bakubabe.” Mina teased him.

“Fuck you.”

“Okay, alright, sorry!” Mina held up her hands in surrender. “So, she’s here somewhere, huh? I wonder why she hasn’t appeared to you outside of your dreams.”

“No idea. I wish she would though, I haven’t slept right since we moved in.”

“Do you know what happened to her?”

Bakugou stopped chopping, thinking back to the other day at the cat cafe.

“I was working the late shift that night, and Y/N was home alone.” Shinsou rubbed his face, leaning back in his chair. “There had been a bunch of break ins in the area, so I told her to lock the door and leave the light and the TV on in the living room, that way it looked like someone was up. They must have been watching the house though, because it didn’t deter them.”

Bakugou swallowed thickly, his eyes glued to Shinsou as he stared down at the cup of water Kaminari had gotten him. He felt rage bubbling up in his chest, and he had to talk himself out of going to find whoever did this to you and making them pay.

“Oh no, Shinsou, I’m so sorry.” Kaminari put his hand on his shoulder. “Did they catch who did it?”

Nodding, Shinsou finally looked up, eyes meeting Bakugou’s. “It was two guys. One of them turned themselves in, and the police were able to catch the other that way. They apparently had never agreed on killing anyone, they were just supposed to be looting. Not like they would have gotten a lot from us anyway, unless they had a thing for Siouxsie and the Banshees records and Funko Pops.”

“How-” Bakugou said suddenly, before closing his mouth and shaking his head. He didn’t really want to know.

“Shot her.” Shinsou said stiffly.

“Fuck.” Kaminari breathed.

“What does she say to you.” Bakugou blinked at the purple-haired man, realizing he was speaking to him.

“Mostly she makes fun of me.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he sat back in the chair. “She was telling me how she missed you, wanted me to introduce you to Pikachu over here.” He nodded his chin at Kaminari. “Said you needed some sunshine or some shit.”

Snorting, Shinsou’s lip curled into a half smile. “Sounds like her.”

“So what now?” Kaminari asked. “Why is she visiting you?”

“Hell if I know. She mentioned this place and you and I kind of just wanted to see if I was making it all up in my head or something.”

“It’s kind of hard to believe. I don’t really know what to make of it.” Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Shinsou sighed. “I know you’re telling me the truth, though. Sorry for yelling at you.”

“Tch. It’s fine.” Bakugou didn’t blame the guy, honestly.

“I think you should talk to Mina,” Kaminari said suddenly. “She knows a lot about this kind of stuff for some reason. She tried burning that sage, remember?”

“She told me she didn’t think it worked.”

“Sage is used for cleansing. It’s supposed to ward off evil. I don’t think Y/N fits the description.” Shinsou hummed. “She’s a soft hearted nerd.”

Mina gasped, eyes wide. “That’s so awful. That’s why this place feels so sad.” She turned back to the salad in front of her. “We should have a séance.”

Bakugou made a face, picturing that scene from Beetlejuice. “No one is going to be singing that god damn Banana Boat song at my kitchen table, fuck that.”

Snorting, Mina rolled her eyes. “You watch too many movies.”

When the vegetables were chopped, he moved to the sink to wash his hands. “What will that do?”

“A séance? It’s a way to communicate with the dead. Maybe we can get her to come forward and speak to us, we can try to find out what she wants.”

Bakugou couldn’t explain the flash of panic that he felt suddenly. “Is that...going to get rid of her?”

His pink-haired friend blinked at him owlishly. “You don’t want her to go, do you?”

He didn’t really have an answer to that, his ears burning hot. He shifted uncomfortably and snapped his mouth closed.

“You like her.”

It was just a statement, and he couldn’t form the words to deny it. His embarrassment turned quickly to fury when he saw the look of pity in her eyes. “Don’t you dare.”

“Oh, Katsuki.” She reached out to touch his shoulder and he jerked away. “You can’t-”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t fucking do.” He seethed. “And don’t call me that.”

“She’s dead, Bakugou.”

“You think I don’t know that already? Do I look stupid?” He was trying to keep from lashing out, his hands forming into fists at his side. He could feel himself shaking.

“What is going on here?” Kirishima asked from the doorway, brows furrowed. He looked between his two friends, arms crossed across his chest.

Bakugou shot Mina a pleading look. She quirked her brow in confusion, until she finally caught on. “You didn’t tell him? Bakugou, he lives here too, he has a right to know.”

“Shut up! I know that! I just...haven’t gotten around to it.”

“Tell me what?” Kirishima looked even more confused.

Kaminari chose that moment to waltz into the kitchen, bypassing everyone and plucking a piece of cucumber from the salad on the counter. He shoved it in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Everyone watched him, Bakugou more wary than the rest, until he spun around and shot finger guns at Kirishima. “Your house is haunted, my friend.”

Bakugou opened the front door to see Shinsou standing on his front porch, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

The ash blonde shared the sentiment.

Mina was in the dining area, draping a black tablecloth over the table and setting up candles. Kaminari was bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet, relaxing infinitesimally when Shinsou walked in the room behind Bakugou.

“Hey, Hitoshi.”

Oh, they were on a first name basis already.

It had been a week since the barbeque, and his forced confession to Kirishima about what had been going on since they’d moved into the house.

Kirishima had taken the news way better than he’d expected.

“Oh, you’ve seen her too?”

“What?” Bakugou froze, his eyebrows disappearing into his hair.

“I mean, I keep seeing shit out of the corner of my eye, and I thought I was going crazy or something.” He shrugged, helping Sero set the plates on the table. “I’d blink and she’d be gone. I guess I kind of got used to it after a while. I never felt scared or anything like that, and she never bothered me. It was like she was just watching.”

“She thinks you’re nice,” Bakugou mumbled, slumping into a chair.

Kirishima chuckled. “I am nice, bro.”

The rest of the evening had consisted of everyone bothering him with questions, and Mina preparing everyone for tonight’s séance. Kaminari had insisted that Shinsou should participate, and Mina had agreed, saying it would help to have someone close to her in the room. She had decided to drop the subject of Bakugou’s other admission, the one only she had heard.

He was kind of in love with you.

It was selfish, wasn’t it? You didn’t belong here anymore, and he couldn’t have a relationship with you. He would drive himself crazy if he tried to keep going the way he had been, running on little to no sleep and burying himself in his textbooks, spending his free time researching the paranormal and diving into the dark recesses of the web. When he caught himself on a questionable website that talked about resurrection and spells he knew he’d taken a turn down a road he didn’t want to travel.

He wanted to go back in time, to meet you before your death. Maybe you would have dated him, and you wouldn’t have lived in this house with Shinsou. You wouldn’t have been here when those assholes broke in. You’d still be alive.

Kirishima’s warm hand resting on his shoulder shook him from his thoughts. “You alright, man?”

He shrugged his friend’s hand away. “Peachy. Can we get this over with?”

Shinsou hummed in agreement. “It feels really weird to be in this house with other people’s stuff.” He didn’t need to mention how uncomfortable it felt to be in this place with everything that happened, but he didn’t have to. It was written all over his face.

Mina was lighting candles and calling everyone to the table, her normally bright and cheery expression gone, replaced with a serious and forlorn look. Kaminari introduced Shinsou to all their friends as they all took their seats, Mina at one end of the table and Bakugou at the other.

“Did you bring something of hers?” Mina asked Shinsou.

The purple-haired man nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small battered book. “Her notebook. She carried it around with her and wrote down things to remember, stupid poems, little doodles.” He handed it to Kaminari, who passed it to Mina. “Also, I have this photo, I don’t know if it helps.”

He turned it to show it to Bakugou, and he felt his chest ache. You were smiling, wearing a ridiculous maid’s outfit, your hair frizzed out with a little white bonnet pinned to it. Shinsou stood beside you, wearing a plague doctor’s mask and a button up coat.

“Halloween a few years ago. She was Magenta from Rocky Horror, and I refused to wear fishnets and heels to be her Dr. Frank-N-Furter.” A small smile appeared on his face. “She was a riot.” He leaned forward and placed the photo next to the notebook in the center of the table.

“That’s perfect, Shinsou, thank you.” Mina said quietly. “Okay everyone, phones off. When you’re ready, take the hand of the person next to you. It’s very important that we keep the circle closed until we’re done, so don’t let go.”

Bakugou grumbled, switching his phone off. He rubbed his sweaty palms on the leg of his pants, and then held his hands out. Shinsou took his hand on his right, Kirishima on his left.

Mina situated the Ouija board in front of herself, and then took Sero and Kaminari’s hands in hers. “Close your eyes and clear your minds. We want to think about our purpose, of contacting Y/N. I’ll say an opening prayer and we’ll wait. I’ll repeat it until we get an answer. Make sure you remember your questions for her.”

Trying to clear his mind and ignore how stupid he felt at that moment, Bakugou let out a breath and closed his eyes. He thought about contacting you this way, wondered if he’d be able to see you.

“Together we ask the spirits this night, to send us only the blessed and bright, we claim protection for everyone here, and no evil beings can come near.” She took a deep breath and continued. “We are reaching out to Y/N. Please join us in our circle tonight when you’re ready.”

Nothing happened for several minutes, so Mina repeated her greeting.

And that’s when Bakugou felt it. It was like fingers on the back of his neck, blunt nails scraping over his skin and tickling him, warm breath on his ear. “Y/N?”

He felt Kirishima tense beside him, a soft laugh leaving him. “Is that her?”

“What’s she doing?” Mina asked quietly.

“Playing with my hair.” he audibly swallowed. “It’s kind of nice.”

On his other side, Shinsou jerked his arm. “She just pinched me. Typical.” He snorted, chuckling fondly.

Kaminari squeaked, saying it felt like she kissed his cheek. Mina felt her squeeze her shoulder. Sero felt her tug on the ends of his hair.

Shinsou hummed. “She probably thinks you need a haircut. She used to do that to me a lot, too.”

“Y/N, are you with us?” Mina’s voice rang out into the room.

Bakugou opened his eyes, watching as Mina leaned over the board in front of her, a surprised expression on her face as the planchette began to wiggle.

“She says yes.” Her head snapped up, smiling at all of them. “Okay, who has the first question?”

“I’ll go!” Kirishima said cheerfully. Clearing his throat nervously, he smiled that shark toothed grin of his. “Hey, Y/N. Uh, have you been hanging around and watching me work out?”

Scoffing, Bakugou turned his attention back to Mina. She watched the planchette move, snorting when it stopped moving. “She said ‘sick gains’.”

Kirishima blushed the color of his hair. “She noticed!”

“Shut up, shitty hair. Who’s next?” Bakugou tried to tamp down the spike of jealousy he felt knowing you had been spying on his best friend.

“My turn!” Kaminari grinned. “I was going to just feed you a pickup line, but Shinsou said no, so I just wanted to thank you for helping me find him. He’s pretty great.”

The planchette wiggled again. “She said ‘notebook’.”

Shinsou sighed. “She wrote down pickup lines in it all the time. I think she wants you to look at them.”

“Yes! Oh man, so cool. Thank you Y/N!”

“She said ‘be happy’. Aw, that’s so nice!” Mina looked at Shinsou. “You want to go?”

Nodding, Shinsou closed his eyes. “Do you forgive me?”

“‘Not your fault.’” Mina read.

“But it is! If I would have been home-” He stopped when the table shook slightly.

“She moved it to the ‘no’, Shinsou. She doesn’t blame you. I think that’s a good sign you should stop blaming yourself.”

The purple-haired man’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He seemed to look a little less haunted, like he was finally going to accept it.

Sero cleared his throat. “Hi Y/N, we don’t know each other, but I wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened to you. I’ve heard some nice things, I think you would have been a great addition to the squad.”

“It says…” Mina took a minute to follow the rapidly moving heart shaped piece of wood. “‘Beat you at Mario Kart’.”

The whole table laughed, except for Bakugou. He was too busy thinking about his question, his gut wrenching and heart squeezing in his chest.

“Bakugou?”

Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, and he knew it was because you were near. “Why are you still here? Don’t you want to move on?” He hated asking. He didn’t want the answer.

He felt you move away, his body relaxing slightly, his eyes trained on the board. He couldn’t read it from here, but he could see the planchette move.

“‘I’m not ready.’”

“Why?” Bakugou heard himself asking.

The entire room was quiet, everyone waiting with bated breath.

“‘I’m waiting for you, Katsu.’”

#bakugou katsuki #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki smut #katsuki bakugou #katsuki bakugou x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #kingexpl0sionmurder writes #bnharem collab

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clownistyping · 4 years

Text

A Witch & A Hick, Chp. 3

Little Secret

This chapter is just the two learning about each other and car problems lol.

Also warning for Elizabeth offering sex as payment lol, it doesn't happen. Also I do hc Lester living in a trailer bc its extremely common and realistic tbh.

Lester puts the truck in drive and looks at Elizabeth as he presses the brake,

"I remember you said there's a town nearby, any chance we can go there to fix up my van?" Elizabeth asks as she pets the two dogs,

"No need, they'll charge ya criminal prices. I can fix it." Criminal prices, he repeats in his head.

"Oh come on, you've already done so much." Elizabeth says her face soft,

"I insist! I can't just let them uh take ya money when I can fix it for free." He smiles and Elizabeth mirrors it. Lester gives from the brakes and drives towards his home,

"I have a feeling there's something...more behind this." Lester gulps,

"What made ya think that?" Lester nervously laughs and his hands tighten around the wheel,

"That's how most men are, expect a favor for a favor. Though they often expect ya know." Lester blinks and cringes,

"Aw that! I wasn't thinking anything like that, hell I wasn't even thinking about you doing anything."

"I mean I'll do it." His eyes widen and he stops the truck again,

"What?" He blushes and looks at the girl,

"I'll get you off, I've done it before."

"No no! I have to decline, I just ain't that kinda man." Lester nods to the woman who shrugs, he lied. He is that kinda man, he's had victims beg for safety with offers of sex. He always took it, but let's the girls fall back in the hands of his brothers.

"Not that I don't find ya pretty!" He defends quickly and Elizabeth laughs,

"You're real purdy, I just. I just can't." He sighs and Elizabeth notices how tense he is.

"Thanks, for calling me pretty." She smiles,

"I think you're real pretty too." She compliments Lester who blushes again, Lester has never talked to a stranger this long. Never had a girl call him pretty, never met her.

"Ya just sayin that cuz I'm given ya a ride." Lester chuckles and Elizabeth shakes her head,

"Nope," she pops her P,

"Everybody's beautiful in they're own way, just as nature intended." Lester blinks and remembers her van, the witchy collection in it.

"Oh right, you're a witch!" Lester exclaims and Elizabeth nods,

"How'd you know?" She teased and Lester laughs,

"How'd you even get in all that junk anyways?" Lester asks and flicks his hat,

"It ain't junk. Don't be rude," Elizabeth smirks and Lester nods his head, Jonesey puts her head on Lester's lap. He pets the dogs head.

"Sorry but, how did you ya know..start?"

"My sister got me my tarot cards, she really showed me the basics of witchcraft. Our parents didn't really care all that much but never let us do it in the house. Guess that's why I moved out so early too." Elizabeth laughs,

Lester pulls up towards a driveway of a trailer.

The trailer is a once white single wide, covered in vines and ivy. Bones hung from the porch ceiling,

Elizabeth notices his front door was wide open, and in the yard were scatters of trash, car parts, bones and more. The windows were open but blinds were keeping the inside blocked.

It looks like nobody lives there, as stray cats scurried under the trailer and hissed at each other.

"I'll be quick, I'll just unload your van and fix her right up in a jiffy." Lester smiles at the girl and gets out of the truck, Jonesey follows and Mac follows after her.

Elizabeth smiles as she watches the two dogs sniff around and play, getting out of the truck her barefeet sink into the grass and dirt. She stretches, the truck wasn't entirely comfortable with Mac siting right on her.

"Sorry for the mess, I don't really have guests." Lester says as he unhooks the van,

"Its fine, I've seen much worse."

"Nah, doubt it." Lester shakes his head and wipes his hands on his jeans, Elizabeth takes note of the depreciation joke he says.

As Lester pops her hood and smoke rises from it, Elizabeth frowns.

"That happened before?" Lester asks as he waves the smoke off, Elizabeth nods.

"Yeah, I've had a couple engine problems. Mainly because of oil, but my light wasn't even on."

"Yup, cars will do that. Just spring a problem on ya right as ya were doing fine." Lester grazes his hand over the engine and instantly finds the problem,

"When's the last time ya changed the cooling fan?"

"Never."

"Cleaned it?"

"Never." Lester sighs and Elizabeth frowns,

"That bad?" He nods,

"Your engine is busted, you're gonna need a new one."

"Nooooo." Elizabeth groans

"Hey its okay, this happens all the time. It's just an accident." Lester tries to comfort the girl, she squats and hides in her knees.

"Hey now," Lester gets on his knee and pats the girls back.

"We can maybe order one from the next town over, but it'll take a while for it to come in since we're basically in the middle of no where." Lester then sits with the girl and he blinks when he hears a sob come from her.

"Jeez darlin, it ain't anything to cry about." He says and Elizabeth looks up, her makeup more runny than before,

"This is my karma! I know it is and- and I shouldn't be cryin-ing but-" she hides her face again and Lester stutters,

"Aw no no, this ain't karma just an accident. Honest."

He isn't entirely sure what else to do, seen plenty of girls cry in Ambrose. Ain't none of them cried like this.

Crying about karma, hell if karma was real he'd be dead, he thinks and shakes his head. He gently pats the girls back as she sobs. The two dogs show up and sit around the two Mac places his head on the girls back. Pushing Lester's hand away, Elizabeth quickly hugs her dog.

After a couple minutes, her sobs stop and she looks up.

"Im sorry Lester, I just. It's just been a lot today," she says and wipes her eyes, smudging her makeup.

"Wanna talk about it?" Lester ask and Elizabeth looks around, noticing the sun is starting to set.

"No, not right now. I'm just tired now, sorry for bothering you with my emotions and junk."

"Ain't no bother at all, I'm happy to help." She shows a smile from his words as he stands, he puts his hand out and she takes it to stand.

"I know, and thanks again. Do you think it's alright if my van stays the night? I'll try to go to another town in the morning and order an engine. I'll find a motel too." She says, trying to clean her face up from tears and makeup.

Lester raises a brow, and Elizabeth shakes her head already knowing he'll offer his home.

"Lester please you've already done so much for me! I promise that by tomorrow I'll be out of your hair." She says and Lester shakes his head,

"Darlin, How about we both go into town order you an engine and when it gets here I can put it in. If you think I'm letting you sleep in that hot van for the night you're dead wrong." Lester stands up straight and crosses his arms, Elizabeth actually has to look up to see his face.

"I've got a spare room, it's messy and mainly holds all my junk but it's got a bed, a desk and a closet." Lester says and Elizabeth takes a deep breathe,

"Thank you," she says and Lester uncrosses his arms,

"I mean it, without you I'd probably be kidnapped by some crazy guy. Unless you are the crazy guy." She jokes and Lester nervously laughs.

"I like to call myself unqiue." Lester jokes and Elizabeth laughs,

"That you are friend, that you are." Elizabeth says and watches as the sun falls behind the trees.

After grabbing her needed things from the van, the two walk towards the trailer.

The two walk onto the wooden porch, Elizabeth's hands grazing the bones hanging above,

"Those are my people repellents, makes hikers skedaddle." Lester jokes and Elizabeth smiles,

"They're beautiful," she compliments and Lester walks through the open door,

"Yup, they sure are. I uh, I keep my door open so the strays can come in and relax and get away from the heat." He says and flicks on a light, it blinks a few times but turns on.

The two are standing in the living room, the couches covered in fur and scratches. Clothes are all around and clean and unclean bones sit on the coffee table.

But the recliner is free of fur, just a flannel on the back.

Lester notices his playboy magazine on the coffee table and quickly snatches up the magazine, Rolling it up he laughs embarrassingly.

"Sorry about that, again not often I get guests." Elizabeth smiles and shakes her head. From behind the two, Mac and Jonesey come running in. They jump on the couch and sit next to each other.

"My house is there house." Lester pets Jonesy's head and smiles, putting the magazine behind the couch during this. He turns to face Elizabeth whose staring at the bones,

"I'll show you to ya room," Lester walks to the right and opens a bedroom door,

The bedroom filled with bones in boxes, books, clothes and random knick knacks. He quickly lifts boxes from the bed and pats the dust off.

"My casa your casa." He smiles and Elizabeth places her stuff down, Lester stands in the doorway now.

"Thanks again, Lester. I really appreciate it." Elizabeth puts her hand out and Lester looks down at it. It's so small, he gently grabs it and Elizabeth grabs one of the bracelets on her wrist. She brings it over her hand and onto his,

"I can't not give you a gift." She says and lets him go, Lester looks down at the bracelet. A whole set of animal teeth with beads in between.

"I- thank you. It's so purdy." He says and continues,

"You're a real uh...what's it called?"

"Freak?" He quickly shakes his head, and takes her hand again. Putting their wrists together with the bracelets,

"Unique," he smiles, "You're a real unique girl."

"Is it because I mess with bones and junk?"

"Well that, and because you're real nice." Elizabeth smiles,

"You're just as unique as me Lester." She says and the two look at each other for a second, wanting this conversation not to end but not sure how to continue.

Suddenly from behind Lester, Mac barks.

Elizabeth laughs,

"It's past his bedtime, sorry he gets cranky when he's not in bed by this time." Lester let's the dog run past him and onto the bed,

"Well, goodnight, um. Sleep tight?"

"You too Lester." Elizabeth quietly shuts her door and Lester stares at the closed door. Jonesy whines from behind him,

Lester turns to the dog and squats, he pets the dogs cheeks and smiles.

"She'll be our little secret, right Jonesey?" The dog licks his face.

#house of wax #house of wax 2005 #lester sinclair #lester sinclair x reader #my writing #self insert #self ship #oc x canon #canon x oc

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chaerrie-on-top · 4 years

Text

The Stars Aligned For Us

Shy, social outcast Kim Dahyun wishes for a best friend to somehow magically appear in her life (spoiler alert: her wish comes true).

sana x dahyun (+ other twice pairings)

fluffy and angsty

sfw

Chapter 1

It's a gloomy evening in Seoul, and Dahyun has decided to spend the day curled up on the couch of her tiny apartment. She had been watching movies and dramas since she got home from class around three hours ago, waiting for the rain to pass over. The rain had stopped maybe twenty minutes ago, but Dahyun wasn't quite ready to depart from the warm, cozy couch. Scooping up another handful of popcorn, Dahyun shovels it into her mouth while giggling at the funny scene playing on the TV in front of her. She hears the front door leading into the apartment jiggle, and quickly searches for the remote to pause the drama as she doesn't want to bother her roommate. Her heart speeds up and her sweaty palms pat the blanket and cushions of the couch as she blindly feels for the remote. Dahyun's roommate, Chaeyoung, rounds the corner of the hallway leading to the living room, the girl a bit wet from the rain.

"Hey," Chaeyoung smiles, kicks her shoes off and leaves them at the shoe cubby at the end of the hallway. She reaches up and gathers her long, shiny black hair in her hands. Chaeyoung makes a sound of annoyance as she ties it into a low ponytail: her previously styled hair now disheveled from the rain.

"Hi." Dahyun replies. "H-How was class?" Dahyun almost rolls her eyes at herself, frustrated with how even the smallest interaction makes her flustered. She wipes her sweaty palms on the knit blanket draped over her body, her empty hands making her realize she never found the remote.

Chaeyoung shrugs, makes her way across the room and into the kitchen joint to the living room. "It was okay: kinda boring. Would've been better without the rain." Dahyun's head is spinning with anxiety, so she just musters out a noise of acknowledgment. She saves herself the embarrassment of stumbling over her words. Chaeyoung grabs a glass of water and some seaweed chips before announcing her plans to go study. Dahyun nods in, again, acknowledgment and watches Chaeyoung disappear into her bedroom. Dahyun lets out a sigh; the interaction is over but she's still dizzy.

Dahyun's phone, which had been sitting on the coffee table, suddenly starts ringing. Startled, Dahyun slaps on hand over her heart while the other reaches forward and snatches the phone up. "Ah, hello?"

"Hello, Dahyun-ah you sound flustered," its Dahyun's mother on the other end.

"I was talking to my roommate. I didn't expect my phone to ring so suddenly."

"Oh, okay. Finally you're talking to someone. Are you still eating lunch alone?"

Dahyun sighs, her lips pulling down into a frown. She feels a heavy burden settle on her shoulders as her mom starts her daily lecture. "No, mom."

"Why not? What have I been telling you?" Dahyun's mom starts. Her tone is firm, but has an underlying sense of care towards her daughter. "You want to be alone. Hm? You don't want any friends?"

"No, I do..."

"Then why aren't you making any?"

Dahyun's shoulders feel heavy and she sinks back into the couch. Her stomach twists, heart sinking. "I don't know. Mommy, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, Dahyun-ah. I want you to enjoy college. Study hard, but it shouldn't be the only thing you do. Make time for friends, too, okay?" Her mom reasons.

Dahyun nods to herself, "Okay. I'm gonna go on a walk: its been raining all day and I'm tired of being pent inside. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Alright, go eat dinner Dahyun-ah. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

***

About fifteen minutes later and Dahyun finds herself at a local park only down the street from her apartment complex. As expected, the gloomy weather leaves the park empty. Walking straight through the park, Dahyun follows the hiking trail the runs alongside it, leading deep into the forest at the edge of the park. Dahyun knows the park and trail like the back of her hand, as Dahyun had been brought her a lot in her childhood by her grandparents. The thing was; Dahyun's hometown was about an hour or so away from the college she was currently studying at. However, her grandparents only lived about fifteen minutes from the college, so she was quite familiar with the area as she grew up her every summer. Dahyun thought to herself about how she would have to call them soon, perhaps tomorrow after classes were done.

Suddenly, a small black cat runs in front of Dahyun. A friendly creature it was, it comes right up to her and paws at her feet. "Oh," Dahyun gasps, bends down to scratch the feline on its chin. "Are you lost?" the little things collar jingles, and Dahyun reaches towards it. "Ah, your name is Mercury? Hello, Mercury. Let me see who your owner is..."

Miss Celestia, it reads, followed by an address... The address traced back to a shopping center only a five minute walk away, instead of a home address. Dahyun furrows her eyebrows at the strange name. Was it American, maybe? "How am I supposed to return an American her cat if I can't speak English?" she wonders to herself. Regardless, she scoops little Mercury into her arms and heads for the entrance to the park.

Mercury doesn't put up a fight, instead seems to purr and bury it's little face into Dahyun's chest as she is carried. Dahyun runs her hand through the soft, silky black fur. As Dahyun turns out of the park and onto the street, she spots an older woman further down the street. The woman is shaking a small box of kitty treats, and calling out for mercury. Dahyun calls out to her and picks up her pace, meeting the woman half way.

Strangely, Dahyun finds that the woman is in fact Korean; and not American. "Ah," she exclaims. "You found my little Mercury. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome; it's no problem, " Dahyun smiles kindly. She makes a move to hand Mercury over, but the lady reaches out a frail hand and gently touches Dahyun's arm. Dahyun freezes, a small shiver running through her body as she looks back at the little old lady.

"Dear, do you mind doing me one more favor?" She asks, her brown eyes glinting under the sunlight that has finally started to peek out from behind the clouds.

Dahyun shakes her head, "I don't mind. What would you like me to do?"

"Can you carry Mercury back to my shop for me? It's right down this road; it isn't far at all." The woman points down the street, her little hand shaking a bit. "Mercury is stubborn, she won't stay put if I hold her. She seems to like you, darling. "

Dahyun smiles, she thinks the elderly lady is as cute as a button. "Sure, Miss Celestia."

The woman, a bit taken aback at first, looks at her for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. Her little eyes turn into crescents as she looks up at the young girl. Miss Celestia leads the way, making small talk as she tells Dahyun about how Mischievous Mercury escaped the shop. "Ah, she sounds troubling," Dahyun says once the story is finished. Mercury, almost like she knows, lets out a meow.

"Hmm, sometimes she is," Miss Celestia tells her as the two near her shop. "However, I found her after my husband passed. I believe she is a gift from the gods." Miss Celestia kisses the cat's little head, before opening the door into the shop. Dahyun looks up at the sign hanging by the door, reading Celestia's Tarot Shop.Dahyun follows her inside, where she finally sets Mercury down. The cat meows, pretty green eyes casting upwards to look at Dahyun.

"I'm so grateful that you found my Mercury. I don't know what I'd do without her," Miss Celestia comes over and gently takes Dahyun's hands into hers. "Thank you, Dahyun."

Dahyun smiles back at her, the realization that this lady somehow knows her name starts to hit her as the lady turns and rushes over to a tiny table situated towards the middle of the room. "Come, sit. I would like to return the favor."

Shocked, Dahyun follows. She sits across from Miss Celestia, silently watching as the woman whispers to herself. Dahyun looks around the room, inspects the crystals and gems and candles that sit neatly along decorative tables and shelves. Back on the table Dahyun is sitting at, she notices a thick book, stack of tarot cards, and a little pink crystal. Miss Celestia holds her hands out, smiling kindly at Dahyun. "Give me your hands, please, dear."

Hesitantly, Dahyun brings her hands up and onto the table, slowly bringing them to the elderly lady. Soft, wrinkled hands encase themselves around Dahyun. "Because of your kindness, I will grant you a wish." She reaches over with one hand and picks up the pink crystal. "I have enchanted this Amethyst crystal to grant any wish you have," Miss Celestia gently places it into Dahyun's hands. "I sense that you want love and friendship in your life, so I present you this crystal. It will bring them to you."

Dahyun runs her thumb over the smooth surface of the Amethyst, eyes wide and staring at the elderly lady in surprise. Miss Celestia closes her eyes, squeezes Dahyun's hands gently. "Do not stress, dear. You are one of a kind and people will gravitate to you as you are. Carry light and kindness in your heart, and love will come to you." She opens her eyes. "Go on, make your wish."

With one hand still holding Miss Celestia's and the other grasping the crystal, Dahyun brings her free hand to her chest and holds it tight.

School has been difficult and I've been lonely and depressed. I wish for someone to come into my life and stay by my side; a best friend.

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

#twice #twice sana #twice dahyun #twice saida #minatozaki sana #kim dahyun #twice au #sana fanfic #dahyun fanfic #saida fanfic

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cherrybombusa · 3 years

Photo

GROUP THREE - THE CAROUSEL. FAILED.

PLAYERS:

THE HEARTBREAK KID - Casey Russell. THE ARTIST - Sloane Salt. THE CLASSIC - Libby Logan.

EARNED PERKS:

- PUZZLERS: Talk about minds of freakin’ steel! As the only group to solve the puzzle in ONE guess, Casey Russell, and Sloane Salt have both earned themselves a chance to go back and fix it! If a choice happens to go wrong for them in a future event, they will be allowed ONE do-over. Use it wisely!

MEMORABLE MOMENTS:

- Casey fell on his face, and cost the group a time penalty on his run back from the Ferris Wheel. - The Gang only used one try in their puzzle, and succeeded! - Sloane dropped the second key, and failed to disarm the Candy Girl’s bomb. The carousel was destroyed in the blast. - As the one who dropped the key, Sloane was blamed for the destruction of the carousel, and arrested. On the bright side, she saved Libby and Casey from spending a night in jail... But this will come back to bite them all in-game.

When it was put there, he doesn’t know, but the note should be enough to make Casey’s heart skip. There, in the case of his instrument is a folded piece of paper. On its surface? A threat. “COME TO THE NEW CAROUSEL AT 7:30PM SHARP, OR YOUR SECRET IS MINE TO SPILL!” @caseyfm

When it was put there, she doesn’t know, but the note should be enough to make Sloane’s heart skip. There, hidden within her deck of tarot cards is a folded piece of paper. On its surface? A threat. “COME TO THE NEW CAROUSEL AT 7:30PM SHARP, OR YOUR SECRET IS MINE TO SPILL!” @saltofthcearth

When it was put there, she doesn’t know, but the note should be enough to make Libby’s heart skip. There, in her ride locker, is a folded piece of paper. On its surface? A threat. “COME TO THE NEW CAROUSEL AT 7:30PM SHARP, OR YOUR SECRET IS MINE TO SPILL!” @hellolibby

THE NARRATOR: Reunions were supposed to be pleasant occasions, weren’t they? They were supposed to bring feelings of joy, and nostalgia; you were supposed to forget the awkward haze that had plagued your years of high school, and… pretend like the good old days were actually just that. Good. Absence did make the heart grow fonder and all that, didn’t it?

Though, maybe it’s silly to wonder why this little reunion might not be so pleasant. The three of them - Casey, Libby, and Sloane - all walk up to the Carousel at the same time. They all meet each other’s eyes, and though nobody says it, everyone hears the same thought in their head. ‘Fuck.’

LIBBY: "So..." Libby's voice wavers dangerously - her hands shake, cast and all - but somehow she fights every urge she has within herself to run the other direction before chaos can unravel itself all around them. If the Candy Girl wanted them all here, then she doubted running away would be of much use. They were all trapped in Cherry… But this time, it wasn’t ‘small town syndrome’ keeping them back. "Probably safe to assume running into each other here isn't just a coincidence, right?"

SLOANE: There was an urge to reach out to the both of them and pull them in close that Sloane resisted, looking between Libby and Casey. So much for a lull in this Candy Girl's machinations, it seems a week was enough for her to plan something more. She swallowed thickly and then shook her head, folding her arms over her chest nervously. "Well, obviously I wouldn't be here if I didn't need to be." She motioned towards the Carousel. Talk about betraying her cause.

CASEY: Casey follows Sloane's gesture to the carousel. How did wooden horses somehow seem so menacing at night? It was thirty minutes before Mystic Cherry were due to perform and instead he was here about to do...? The sinking feeling in his gut tells him that this is going to lead to no good. "Yeah, this definitely isn't my idea of a warm up before a gig..." he mumbles, before his gaze falls on them both.

THE NARRATOR: There’s no clock to strike the time - nothing to let them know that 7:30-sharp has approached but the faint sound of Dean Hargrove’s voice in the distance is enough to let them know. They're all watching each other, but they can't help but flinch at the intrusion of the sound... And then, yet again ,when Hargrove is cut off by a voice that none of them quite recognize. They’re too far away to hear what the commotion is about, but somehow they know… Their night just took a turn for the worse.

It would have been impressive timing if it weren’t so fucking frightening, but at just that moment, their very own issue of the Cherry Bomb is dropped from the roof of the carousel, and onto it’s platform - near one of the old horses that looked a little too off-it’s-rocker. It’s clearly meant for them… It has to be. The only problem? The Gang is stuck, woefully, behind a locked fence.

There are a few ways to get to it, at least. They could always take their chances climbing the fence to get inside of the Carousel; it doesn’t look that high.

Casey knows the guys who work here… They’re always leaving things lying around. Maybe it might be best to look around for a lanyard someone might have dropped.

Then again, Libby has been treating the Boardwalk like a second home since she was just a kid, and she says there’s always another way in… Maybe they look for a hole in the fence?

MAKE A CHOICE: YOU MUST RETRIEVE THE CHERRY BOMB. DO YOU CLIMB THE GATE [SURVIVOR], LOOK FOR A LANYARD [PROBLEM SOLVING], OR LOOK FOR A HOLE IN THE FENCE [PERCEPTION]?

LIBBY: "Come on, guys, Casey's right. What are the odds that someone didn't drop their key? It's the boardwalk." It's easy to tell when Libby is determined to get something done. For the first time that day, she ties her hair up in a high ponytail - she crinkles her nose as she scans the area. She probably looked a little too much like a 60’s witch from her favorite sick day show - but, she can’t help herself. Libby always felt a little smarter when she was acting like somebody else. "Sloane - you look over by the hot dog cart. Case, you should probably take the space behind the ride, and I'll... Look everywhere else. I guess.

THE NARRATOR: It’s really a wonder the boardwalk even stays open, considering how careless some of the employees can be, but after a few minutes of searching for a stray key, our little slice of the gang finds their hands on one. They unlock the gate with ease and all pile in toward the Carousel; eager to get their hands on that ominous little magazine.

The cover of the Cherry Bomb is collaged with photos of Lux, the inside? Crime scene photos. There’s no pictures of her body, of course - that would be crude, even for the Candy Girl… kind of. But images of the blood soaked into her carpet; still pictures of her bedroom, flaunting a life once lived, those are there. A shot of her suicide note, ‘I’m sorry, I love you,’ and all.

And right there, in the middle of the spread, like a centerfold? A note, written in Sharpie - just for our ragtag little slice of the gang.

CANDY GIRL: GET OUT,,, GET OUT, WHEREVER YOU’RE LOCKED!!!! NOT A FAN OF SMALL SPACES?? I’LL STICK YOU IN A BOX. SOMEONE IS MISSING, BUT I WON’T SAY WHO… FIND THE KEY, AND FIND OUT WHO.

BUT WATCH OUT, WATCH OUT! YOU’RE ON THE CLOCK! LET IT RUN OUT, AND THEY’LL STAY IN THE BOX. WILL THE TIDE COME IN? HMM, MAYBE IT WON’T. OR BETTER YET? MAYBE YOUR FRIENDS WILL FLOAT.

YOU’RE NOT LOCKED IN, BUT IT’S STILL ON YOU! FIND THE KEY, OR THIS FRIEND DIES TOO.

THE NARRATOR: Oh...my. Now, that’s quite the predicament, isn’t it? I suppose we’re at least lucky that the Candy Girl leaves the rules simple, right? Find a key, and maybe she doesn’t kill one of your friends. Maybe.

MAKE A CHOICE: ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED AND LOCKED AWAY IN A BOX. YOU MUST FIND THE KEY TO SAVE THEM. DO YOU LOOK FOR CLUES [PROBLEM SOLVING], OR SEARCH FOR A KEY WILDLY [LUCK - HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD]?

SLOANE: Despite the rising heart rate that Sloane is sporting after looking through that shiny new issue of the Cherry Bomb and the revelation of this new note, she's standing tall, directing the other two. "Divide and conquer, like before. There have gotta be clues around here somewhere... she dropped this from the roof, maybe there's something else." Sloane's boots carry her around the perimeter of the Carousel as she searches for something, anything to give an indication of who is in the box and a way to find this damn key.

THE NARRATOR: Look for clues. Good idea, Sloane! They split up, but maybe it's better that way.

Libby stays focused on the sharpie scribbled riddle in the ‘zine while the other two search the operator’s booth up and down for something useful. Not so useful, but strange enough to take note of? A cherry red briefcase, shoved into one of the dusty, storage lockers. Not only that… but maybe there’s actually more to the note than they thought.

MAKE A CHOICE: YOU MUST FIGURE OUT THE PUZZLE. ADMIN EM IS HERE TO HELP, BUT MAYBE TRY THE WELCOME DESK TO START.

SLOANE: With shaky hands, Sloane reaches for the briefcase, after staring at the damn riddle for what felt like so long the words had ceased to make sense. She input their first attempt at cracking the code: 3142.

MAKE A CHOICE: SUCCESS!

THE NARRATOR: With the numbers all in the correct order, the briefcase pops open rather easily. They find a key, but along with it, our little gang sees a mess of wires, something that looks like a keyhole, a clock ticking down…. And a note.

CANDY GIRL: ANOTHER SURPRISE - AND THIS WILL BE FUN - I GOTTA GO, I GOTTA RUN! BUT BEFORE I DO, I PLANTED A BOMB! AND IT WILL BLOW UP WHEN THE TIMER SAYS ONE! SO, FIND A NEW KEY, TRY OUT THE LOCK! SEE IF YOU CAN DISARM IT - BEAT THE CLOCK! BUT IF YOU DON’T - AND YOU DON’T GO BOOM - THEN ENJOY THE INTERROGATION ROOM!

WHERE TO FIND THE KEY? THAT’S A DIFFERENT STORY. I’M TALL, AND I’M ROUND, AND I’M SLOW, AND I’M BORING! I’M FAR AWAY, SO YOU’LL HAVE TO SPRINT, BUT IF YOU’RE RIGHT, YOU WON’T TAKE THE HIT. YOUR SECOND OPTION? MERRY GO ROUND! CLIMB ALL THE WAY UP! OR SOMEONE WILL DROWN. THE KEY COULD BE THERE, THE KEY COULD BE NOT… OH, WELL, FIND OUT! OR MAYBE YOU’LL ROT.

THE NARRATOR: Well, the threat is clear. They must solve the riddle, get the second key, and disarm the bomb before the timer runs out… if they don’t, the whole thing might be coming down. And they might just go down with it.

CASEY: A bomb. They were now dealing with a bomb. The words barely have a chance to register in his mind before they're all scrambling to work out what the words on the paper mean and how to save their friend. With his heart still in his mouth, it barely feels like it has a moment to settle before he's spluttering out, "it has to be the ferris wheel, right?" Looking at both of his friends for their sign of agreement.

MAKE A CHOICE: YOU HAVE DECIDED TO GO TO THE FERRIS WHEEL. NOW YOU MUST DECIDE WHO SPRINTS THERE BEFORE THE TIMER RUNS OUT. [STRENGTH, FIGHTER, BRAVERY.]

CASEY: With the agreement of his friends - he's bolting off. Barely a thought running through his head other than the knowledge that he has to get to the ferris wheel before the timer ticks down to zero. Their friendship circle has suffered enough with Lux's death without adding in a casualty at the hands of Candy Girl. Scrambled together with the thought that he's lost enough family over the years, too. So, it's sheer brute force that gets him through the sprint, running like his own life depends on it because... well... it kinda does. With the ferris wheel in sight, he hopes he will make it in time.

THE NARRATOR: Heart racing, chest aching; adrenaline pulsing through his veins, but somehow he finds the key hanging from the Ferris’ Wheel’s gate like a prize less than two minutes later. With that in his hands, he just has to sprint all the way back to the carousel to save his friends.

It should be just as easy - it has to be - but maybe the pressure of getting back in time is getting to his head, because on the way back… Casey stumbles. It’s not it’s the wipeout of the century, but it certainly shaves some time off of that fucking timer in the briefcase. Not to mention some skin off of his face -- and is that blood dripping down his collar? Fuck.

MAKE A CHOICE: MODERATE SUCCESS. THE GANG HAS SUFFERED A TIME PENALTY DUE TO CASEY’S STUMBLE.

THE NARRATOR: They have the key, and now they just have to disarm that fucking bomb. It seems simple enough… But it would probably be better if whoever did it was calm. Or good at problem solving. Or just… Really, really, really good at surviving bleak situations. Any takers?

MAKE A CHOICE: SOMEONE HAS TO DISARM THE BOMB [CALM, PROBLEM-SOLVING, SURVIVOR.]

SLOANE: Sloane has dealt with many a crisis, but none so bad as this one, when lives are on the line and there's a god damn bomb in a briefcase like they're in a cheesy 80s action flick. Taking a deep breath, she takes the key from Casey, worried eyes having to fight to not focus in on his injury. They don't have time. They have to do this. "I can do it." She assures them both, steadying her hands and clenching her jaw as she lifts the key towards the keyhole steadily. "Fuck it." She mutters as she tries the one they've retrieved.

THE NARRATOR: Holy shit. Holy shit.

THE NARRATOR: I can believe this one is really happening.

THE NARRATOR: The three of them held their breath - Casey and Libby watched while Sloane went for the lock with only 30 seconds left on the timer… only to drop it.

It was the fumble of the century - the sound of the key falling into the hidden mechanisms of the carousel like a taunt - and as the clock counted down, they knew they only had one choice…

The three of them took off running as hard as they could - their lives depended on it, after all - and though it was a mighty effort, they didn’t make it far enough not to be blown off of their feet. They all land in a pile together; beaten, broken… And absolutely fucked when only minutes later, the Boardwalk Police come running.

They expect for handcuffs to be thrown onto the three of them, but as Dean Hargrove comes running up behind them, he instructs them only to arrest Sloane.

He had known Casey and Libby since they were both kids, after all. They were his son’s best friends. How was he supposed to believe that they had something to do with this over the Salt girl? Libby and Casey try to protest, but it’s no use. Sloane is going with them to the police station, and… that’s that.

MAKE A CHOICE: YOU HAVE FAILED YOUR EVENT, BUT AT LEAST YOU FOUND THE FIRST KEY. YOUR FRIEND HAS A CHANCE.

#bio rp #town rp #oc rp #skeleton rp #small town rp #secrets rp #gossip rp #gossip girl rp #90s rp #classic rp #plot event 001.#plot event 001 - the carousel.

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koteosa · 4 years

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here’s some modern au headcanons for the arcana ... it’s something I think about a lot

Asra

gamer memeing shitlord . he majored in minecraft you cannot convince me otherwise

plays A Lot of minecraft but also just enjoys any similar sort of game, sdv, animal crossing, etc. He’s really good at video games but he’s just fucking around . he likes to play online games and try his best to make everyone hate him in a really harmless sort of way . he heals the enemy spy . changes his display name and avatar to be exactly the same as someone else . tells people to go into the console and type unbindall

he plays games with his friends and he’s usually the top player so he just spends his time spoiling the shit out of his friends giving them good items carrying them through dungeons etc but not Julian, he tells Julian to dig straight down in minecraft . Julian doesn’t ever know what he’s doing in any video game so Asra trains him wrong on purpose, as a joke

anyway enough about video games (for now)

Asra lives in a van that he painted the exterior of himself, it was both a fun project and a very smug way to annoy people with this awful fucking hippie van strolling into town, eat shit

it’s decorated with crystals, furs, fairy lights, mason jars full of food For The Aesthetic, books, etc. It’s very cozy, cottagecore / bohemian and it’s ridiculously obvious that he’s into witchcraft. he just lets Faust explore because this isn’t real and I can pretend that a snake is exactly as well behaved as in a fantasy story

basically homeless by choice

drugs tw but I see him as the type to want to try anything and everything at least once so if he’s ever been offered A Drug (and he crashes parties for fun and for free food, so he’s got opportunities) he’ll try it Just To See, and this has resulted in some bad trips before, but Muriel saw him in the middle of one and then after he sobered up Muriel put his foot down and made Asra agree to only do these things as responsibly as possible, like, with supervision from a friend

still drugs tw but I also see Asra as a stoner but in the cbd edibles sort of way, a lot of this is because I headcanon Asra as having ADD (because I do and I want to project a little bit) so it helps him focus but also he just Likes It. the glove box of his car has like, chocolate/lollipop edibles stuff like that

goes between like super healthy elaborate meals with mushrooms and veggies and fresh meat and shit and then just eating nothing but cheez-its all day

style wise I see him as the type to wear a lot of tank tops, like, the loosest of tank tops so it hangs super low and long and you get some nice cleavage out of it, crystal necklaces, gold jewelry, pride pins/jewelry/etc (trans/nonbinary/bisexual flags), oversized hoodies with loud colorful patterns, joggers and other loose comfy pants, and either boots or slippers

he’s got like... the at home look that’s basically what I just described, and then the away from home look that’s got thirty layers and none of it makes sense and he just shows up in orange crocs With Patterned Socks and everyone who sees him just lets out the heaviest sigh

Asra getting home be like (takes off a layer of clothes) (takes off a layer of clothes) (takes off a layer of clothes) (takes off a layer of clothes) (takes off a l

He likes to go on long road trips completely at random and saves up money to go on more extensive trips like, out of the continent. It can be really hard to place him at any given time, especially because he’s extremely slow to respond to texts for a whole multitude of reasons. He just fucking vanishes sometimes and he doesn’t get that maybe people want to know where he is. He’s too solitary

He makes money either via street performances (magic, tarot readings, etc) or selling shit on etsy like handmade tarot decks, crystal necklaces, magic charms, etc. He Has Never Worked A Day In His Life and He Will Not Start Now

Responsibility? Don’t know her

People ask him really obnoxious questions sometimes and he makes outlandish lies to tell them for fun . Why do you live in a van? A house killed my parents

In the fall/winter he lives with Muriel or more to the point, he crashes on his couch for a really long time and Muriel’s landlord doesn’t need to know about it for rent purposes

Julian

he’s a highly paid doctor and your mother would love it if you’d marry him if not for the fact that he looks like he never left his teenage emo phase

PIERCINGS

There’s DEFINITELY at least one piercing on his d

he lives with Portia and Mazelinka and tries to handle all their expenses but Mazelinka won’t fucking let him

soundproofed his room but not because he’s a youtuber or anything but because he uh. y’know what I’m gonna let y’all figure this one out on your own

goes to like............. lgbt friendly bdsm clubs every now and then looking for someone to step on him and call him garbage it’s for his mental health you don’t understand

black turtlenecks . silver jewelry . distinguished but Edgy as well, black boots, winklepickers, doc martens, ohmygod this is my SHIT I’m giving him red plaid pants and a reversed cross necklace and a leather jacket that says some radical shit on the back and Lots of Rings . black jeans with tears in the knees and black eyeshadow, demonia boots, leather gloves, hhhhhhOHmy GOD

catch him at home in black leggings and a my chemical romance tshirt with holes in it . he wakes up in the morning with yesterday’s makeup and he just cleans it up a little and that’s good enough

fairly small bedroom because he’s usually never at home, but it’s still pretty clear what he’s into even if it’s not super decorated or elaborate, kind of just Default Room but with his stuff arranged throughout . band posters, black furniture, a bed that looks like a depressed vampire sleeps in it, a bookshelf but most of the books are scattered around his desk, bed, and the floor. there’s a taxidermy skull on display somewhere because it’s just so dramatic you gotta love it

plays a black electric violin

extremely out of tune with pop culture he still listens to 70-00s music and he doesn’t know what a minecraft is or why Asra keeps yelling CREEPER when he comes into the room nor why Portia yells back AW MAN

I googled it and he qualifies as a millennial but I still see him as such a fucking old man who doesn’t know how to use electronics

despite being a doctor he’s so unhealthy . he eats nothing but depression meals (or just, nothing) unless someone forces him to sit down and eat an actual meal . No Julian whiskey does not count for your daily water intake

Malak probably happened because Julian wouldn’t stop feeding every black bird he saw just for the aesthetic and that was like 17 years ago but they still show up at his window expecting almonds or whatever the fuck . he changes houses but they’re too smart . you try to be a cool gothic thespian with a raven that will pose on your arm ONE time when you’re a teenager and they just never stop coming

sad lonely no friends hasn’t been laid in six years because he’s too busy and no longer remembers how to form meaningful relationships. Portia keeps being like so I met this really hot (insert gender here) and like idk I think they’re into goth dudes............... just saying...................... and he’s like am I really so pathetic that I’m going to let my baby sister set up blind dates for me? Yes

would drive something very goth like a hearse or some shit if not for the fact that his family would make sure he ends up in a coffin in the back of it if he drove up in that shit . please . buy a normal fucking car . Julian . oh my god

he starts quoting melodramatic poetry at the slightest inconvenience . he is that “All you did was betray me as I lay sick and festering. You are the definition of dread. My cat stole my fucking garlic bread” meme

been arrested multiple times for general rowdiness but also for political activism . at this point Portia/Mazelinka will just sigh and pay his bail and they don’t even ask what he did this time . how does he still have a job? I wish I knew

theater kid

Muriel

lives in a rundown apartment in the shitty part of town because it’s all he can afford, it’s quiet, and no one will try to visit him (except Asra) because no one wants to go to THAT part of town . but no harm will likely ever befall him because he’s 6′10 and like three million pounds of raw muscle with battle scars like you gonna fuck with that? really?

even if he got robbed it wouldn’t matter because A) he doesn’t own anything B) Inanna will chase the thief away

depression man staying in his quiet rundown dark apartment distracting himself with idle hobbies and taking care of his dog to prevent the encroaching ennui from tearing him a new asshole

changes jobs frequently both because he never stands out therefore never gets taken on full time after the part time trial period, AND to protect himself from the horror of being known

works mostly things like construction, auto repair, dog sitting/walking/etc, woodworking, mostly hard labor but if he can convince granny to let a very scary but completely harmless man look after her bichon frise for the weekend then he’s pretty happy about that

in a similar manner, he orders everything online so cashiers/etc won’t start to recognize him. delivery workers leave everything outside his door and he just drags it inside after they leave like an itazura kitty coin bank

goes camping a lot because staying cooped up in his apartment is super bad for his mental health and he doesn’t like to take walks through the city for a multitude of reasons. he takes Inanna on walks through the woods instead

Asra is his only friend and that’s fine (it’s not fine)

convinced therapy doesn’t work and he wants nothing to do with it

doesn’t like using electronics and only keeps a few things around his house so Asra can use them when he’s around . Muriel has a phone (that Asra got for him) so he can text Asra, check the time, check the weather, google questions, and like, nothing else

pretty much only happy when something is about dogs. he wants to go to the pet store and look at the dogs but he needs Asra to go with him so Asra can distract the workers and Muriel can look at the puppies in peace

dresses in blacks, grays, greens, and browns for the most part, jacket with the hood up, tank tops, dark jeans with tears in them, brown boots with mud stains on them . functional, not particularly stylish, and if he’s going to be in public he doesn’t want to make it easy for anyone to see his face. at home it’s mostly no shirt + sweatpants/joggers/etc. doesn’t accessorize or put in any real effort. he doesn’t care what he looks like (because he’s convinced he’s not much to look at anyway)

lives that super eco friendly life like Asra does but it’s more that he just feels comfortable living like he’s always on a camping trip

he doesn’t want to eat junk like Asra does but if Asra shows up with mcdonalds then well he can’t really say no

the type who uses something until he absolutely cannot use it anymore instead of just buying a new one

has never been to a doctor, dentist, etc Ever. the most he can do is take Inanna to the vet because he loves her so much

drives a very old pickup truck with like, chipped paint and mud stains. he’d take better care of it if only anything in life mattered

didn’t go to school

Portia

I like to think that she took on a groundskeeping job at Nadia’s very expensive large house and they fell in love and now Nadia pays for everything and Portia just spends her time gardening, playing with Pepi, and like idk running a vlogging/gaming youtube channel

200 videos of Pepi on her youtube channel with 4 million views each bare minimum . takes random videos of cats where she has to audio edit it to shit so you can’t hear her high pitched squeals of delight

minecraft let’s play part 30 where her, Asra, Nadia, and Julian play together and it’s extremely chaotic because Asra and Portia decide to gang up on Julian who does NOT know what he’s doing, and then Nadia surprises them all by not being the bigger person and instead tricking Julian into some elaborate trap where he steps on a trapdoor and falls 15 blocks into some lava and he looks up and all he sees is Nadia’s smug fucking avatar looking down at him

nightcore. it’s just not FAST enough

wears sweaters with cats on them. generally dresses in warm colors + brown/green, it’s like a very soft cozy look that you could go camping in or just generally be outside and get grass stains and whatnot. cute, functional

likes to make Julian do things for her like drive her places etc because like, he will. he always will

really likes social gatherings with her friends; sleepovers, beach trips, sitting at mcdonalds and pouring all their fries into a pile etc. tries to get Julian to go with her but he’s Just So BUSY. she makes fun of him and makes him drive her to it, then manages to convince him to stay

cottagecore aesthetic . she just thinks it’s so cute to have the little mason jars and decorate everything with leaves and flowers and BEES and whatnot . would love to live in a little cottage with a farm if she could

her room has a big cat tree in it . green wallpaper with yellow flowers. pressed flowers into books, an extremely cozy bed, fairy lights, it’s very farmy but also there’s a lot of electronics. she’s got a lot of 00s games, like, right in that ps2 sweet spot

nicknames all of her pokemon

she spoils the ever loving shit out of Pepi. She’s got a little cat harness and they go on walks through the park together

I don’t have a lot to say about the other two I Am Sorry

#the arcana #julian devorak #asra alnazar #muriel #portia devorak #nix hydra #text #writing #modern au #headcanon #the arcana writing

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bloodieorchid · 4 years

Text

Cafe Rouge - CH 2

Cafe Rouge - Chapter Two : Cortado

Next ->

<- Last

<- First

A college student finds a job at an elusive coffee and book shop after the disappearance of the past barista. Only after the interview and many confidentiality agreements do you begin to learn the secrecy behind Café Rouge.

YANDERE MALE x READER, YANDERE FEMALE X READER, YANDERE NB X READER

CW: This story will contain dark subject matter regarding stalking, abuse, violence, the yandere tag in general, and more to be added as this story is written and updated. I, as a writer, do NOT condone any of the activities in this story and only seek to write a horror romance. All pronouns are gender neutral so everyone can read and imagine themselves in the story.

“Now, you need to steam the milk off center so it makes a vortex,” Knight called out as you cupped your hands around the silver milk pitcher. “Hold the handle, but touch the bottom. Once it gets too hot to hold anymore, you’re done.” Knight called and the steam wand powered on, roaring and whistling like a train going under a bridge. Your fingers felt the temperature rise and grow until it burned and you quickly turned off the steam wand. Knight walked over, whirling the milk in the picture and hitting it against the wood counter of the bar.

Knight took a shot of espresso and poured it into a small glass, slightly larger than a shot glass. He then filled it with the steamed milk, pouring slowly to allow the milk to make designs on the surface. He set down the cup to reveal a series of hearts within each other. “That’s how you make a cortado with a rosetta,” Knight smiled as he gave you the cup, letting you sip. It was bitter, but creamy from the steamed milk and slightly sweet. You smiled into the cup. “It’s good, might not be my taste though,” you explained. He nodded. “The first cortado is always an interesting one, but good once you get used to the bitterness,” he explained.

The shop had closed down, allowing you to train for the evening and to get grips on the espresso machine. Knight was assisting while Bishop counted the day’s tips and cash drawer. “So, are those all of the usual regulars?” you asked politely while rinsing the cortado glass. “No, we have a couple others, those three or four come in near every day. Willow always comes in to study, but only really stays for an hour or two. Mr. Arnold gets his morning cup of espresso, sometimes he gets a drink to go before he heads to work as a realtor. Then, Mona gets all of the drinks for the Mayor’s office since she’s the new girl over there.” Knight, no Shane explained.

“We also have a couple of regulars who only come in when specific baristas work. Mr. Arnold always comes in the mornings around when I come in. There’s another girl named Queen who has a whole crowd of guys who come in the afternoons.” Shane explained as he wiped down the bar and prepped to clean the espresso machine. “No one knows she’s a lesbian though, that’s how she prefers it. She leaves with always close to fifty or a hundred dollars in tips alone,” he commented with a chuckle. “Fifty or a Hundred? In just tips?” you astonishingly called out. “The record for most tips goes to an old barista we used to have called Check. On his last day before graduating, he left with nearly three hundred dollars in tips. The people who come here have their unapologetic favorites. Check even comes in sometimes, he now works down the block for the one of the lawyers in town,” Mr. Bishop called out as he finished counting the money.

Mr. Bishop turned around with two pastry bags with the words ‘Rook’ and ‘Knight’ written on them. “Tips for today,” he explained. You gently grabbed your tips before you looked at the large number written in sharpie of ‘64.32′. You stared at the total before nodding and putting it gently back in your bag. “Make sure you be careful on your walk home, Mx. (L/N).” Mr. Bishop called out as you slung your bag over your shoulder. You nodded, “Don’t worry, Mr. Bishop. It’s a straight shot home,” you smiled reassuringly. You couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the owner of the shop, worrying about the safety of all of his employees after what happened to Laura. He nodded. “See you in the morning,” he bid you farewell before turning back into the office.

You stepped out of the door, into the light filled street of Ravenswood. You sighed in the fresh air, seeing your breath from the October chill. You wrapped your jacket tighter around you. It wasn’t winter coat season yet, but it was close enough where a jacket was needed. You hurried home, walking along the street and glancing into the windows of fancy restaurants, boutiques, and offices. You glanced at your reflection in the glass, pausing for a moment to see how your cheeks were flushed from the cold and felt warm. You sighed softly, rubbing your hands to your cheeks.

Suddenly, you heard a crash to your left. You glanced over to find a dark alley, just barely out of the light of the street. You looked around, the street empty of pedestrians and only one car drove past in the past minutes. You slowly walked to the alleyway, hoping for a cat or something falling out of the window. However, there wasn’t anything in the alley that you could see. You turned on your phone’s flashlight and walked down into the alleyway. You weren’t met with a car or a lost cat jumping to freedom from a fire escape.

On the ground below you was a small box, wrapped in newspaper with a black bow. You looked around before picking up the box. You noticed a small tag on the bow, pulling it up to reveal ‘to Rook <3′. You frowned in confusion, standing up before moving the bow and opening the box. Inside, was a single tarot card.

There in the box sat card number I, the Fool. A vagabond or explorer traveling into the unknown, unfazed by the dangers. Covered in gold, but a picture of your face had been taped over the Fool’s and your eyes were covered in tape. Accompanying this was a small note tucked underneath.

“Travel carefully, little Rook. You wander further and further out of the light. It will be a shame when you find yourself trapped in the darkness.

Your new admirer, Reti”

You held the box in confusion, looking around for a sign of who dropped the box and becoming more and more anxious when -

“(Y/N)?”, you turned quickly to reveal your coworker Shane. “What is.....” he quickly made steps toward you and saw the box and immediately frowned. “We need to show that to Mr. Bishop, now,” he said, looking at you harshly. “D-Do you know who sent this, Shane?” you asked confused. “Someone from the shop, I assume they called you Rook?” he asked. You nodded and handed him the box. “Come on,” he lead you back to the shop and opened the door.

“We’re closed,” Mr. Bishop called from the back. “Sir, (Y/N) found another box. It was addressed to ‘Rook’,” Shane called out. Mr. Bishop stepped into the front. “They’ve worked two days.” he said as he walked to the counter. He frowned as he saw the box and squinted at the note. “I don’t understand, who sent this?” you asked, looking at your new boss.

“I wanted to let you get settled in before you started to deal with this stuff. Someone from the shop likes you and wants you to know it.” Mr. Bishop frowned as he flipped the tarot card. “This doesn’t exactly seem friendly, Mr. Bishop,” you rebutted and rubbed your cold arms. “It’s not, while the majority of our shop is full of nice people most days, we’ve apparently attracted a clientele of the occult and people who have probably broken the law,” Shane commented while frowning.

“Well, it’s simple. We just go to the police, and they find this mystery stalker,” you commented as you stood tall. Mr. Bishop looked at you, “We tried that last time, but whoever took Laura got her after we got the police involved. They didn’t care about attention, they wanted her for some reason.”

“This means....”

“You’ve peaked someone’s interest, (Y/N) and we need to find out who before you end up like Laura,”

#yandere x reader #yandere #yandere x you #male yandere x reader #female yandere x reader #yandere female x reader #yandere male x reader #gn yandere #gn reader #stalker #coffee shop fic #comment who you think the yandere is #original work

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magicalmerry · 4 years

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✨🍯🌻☀️HAPPY LITHA AND MERRY MIDSOMMAR TO YOU ALL!☀️🌻🍯✨

I hope that everyone had a blessed Summer Solstice (Or Winter Solstice/Yule for my friends in the Southern Hemisphere!) I had a fairly productive sabbat, in comparison to usual, this year. I was woken up earlier than usual, but, in a way, it was kind of a blessing since I was able to spend more of the day awake enjoying the Sun’s light instead of observing my usual nocturnal schedule. I got up and poured myself a glass of orange juice and stepped out into the backyard to enjoy it while soaking in the warmth of the sun’s light, and then after some household chores, I made myself a wonderful brunch scramble of hash browns, eggs, and ham to enjoy with my coffee.

Unfortunately, since we are still in quarantine due to the pandemic, I am trying to minimize my visits to the Outer World so I do not put my mother’s health at risk. Typically, I like to go out and get fresh flowers for my altar, but I decided to just use what I have at home to decorate. So I poured some of my dried orange peels into one of my smaller chalices I always keep on my altar and placed eight (8) sunflower seeds to represent the Wheel of the Year and the sabbats around the base of the chalice as well as acting like rays of the sun extending from the center point of the spread, with a ninth (9th) seed underneath in the center to not only create the alchemic and planetary symbol for the Sun (☉), but to use the power of nine (9) to amplify more power into this solstice spread.

As I stated in my Dedication posts ( I & II ), I was going to dedicate myself to the Norse Goddess Freyja after she agreed to become my matron, and I wanted to make it a special day, so I chose to wait to perform my dedication on the solstice. Freyja always radiates warmth when I think about her, and one of the cards I pulled in my first spread about her was The Sun, so I thought it fitting to wait until Midsummer. I got all dolled up with a very summery look, donned one of my favorite dresses, and put on my special amber necklace with a few orange colored rings to further represent Freyja’s warmth.

Next, as part of my Dedication to Freyja for the solstice, I have been wanting to further decorate my wand I made. Eventually I'd like to find some nice cording to wrap around the handle and find a crystal to hang from the base, but with trying to keep my Outer World visits to a minimum, I decided to do a simple carving of the Fehu rune ( ᚠ ) above where my hand rests when holding the wand. I had considered doing the symbols for the elements, but liked the idea of the Fehu rune better to let Freyja know that my practice and magic is tied to her since magic is one of her many aspects. I will still add to my wand, and I’ll be sure to post a picture when it is complete.

Later in the afternoon, I took outside with me my cauldron, the dried remains of my flower crown from Beltane, my large citrine cabochon, and my vial of honey from my first offering to Freyja. I waited until the peak of the Sun’s light for where I live, and then took the remains of my flower crown and remembered back to Beltane and thanked it, then burned it in my cauldron. I had planned on leaving an offering for the Fae as well, but it looked like it was going to rain again, so I decided against it and I was also pressed for time to complete my rituals.

Then came my Dedication Ritual. Again, unfortunately I was a little pressed for time, so I wasn’t able to really take my time with the ritual and had to kind of rush through it. I called out to the goddess to make myself known and adorned my shield maiden circlet. I don’t remember the exact wording, but asked her to accept me as one of her devotees and that I would, from this day forward, serve her until the need for our partnership is through. On instinct, I grabbed the vial of honey, and clutched it to my chest, then opened it, taking a small dab of the liquid gold on my finger and drew the Fehu rune on my forehead. That wasn’t something I had planned, but I just felt called to do so and it felt so right.

After that, I brought everything back inside, and using the ashes from burning my Beltane crown, I made my first ever batch of Black Salt, or Witch’s Salt as I’ve come to hear people call it. I finally attained some activated charcoal from a friend recently (thank you!) and that was the only ingredient I had been missing to make some. So now I have some Black Salt for some added protection in spellwork and just for every day use as needed.

I had forgotten to set out my crystals and tools before going outside to soak up the Sun, so at this point I cleared some space on my window sill and placed them to charge. A funny thing happened though when grabbing my tarot deck, and I didn’t put two and two together until the day after. My deck was the last thing I grabbed to set out to charge, and I wanted to make sure the sunlight was hitting the cards instead of just the box they live in, so I took the lid off, and with the rush of air from removing the lid, a few cards came out, but the one that flipped to face me was the High Priestess. I acknowledged it, but didn’t truly understand until the next day. I have pulled the High Priestess a few times in personal readings about my relationship with Freyja as a representation of her, and I had a revelation that that card revealing itself to me was her acknowledging my dedication. I feel very happy about this connection and as small as the acknowledgment was, I now know she has heard me.

While waiting for everything to charge, I decided to sit at my altar because I was super inspired to create a new sigil! I had seen one recently while roaming the internet and thought to myself that I’d love to work on creating more sigils to use in my practice. I felt super inspired by the energy of the Sun and created A Sigil for Drawing in the Energy of the Sun (Drawing Down the Sun).

Since Litha fell on a Saturday this year, I also had my weekly D&D game with my friends, and to subtly continue my solstice celebration, I made a simple cocktail of Kraken Spiced Rum (spices for warmth), orange juice (fruits of the season and symbolism of the sun), with some lemon-lime soda (more citrus!). I imbibed on my drink while having a merry time with my s/o and friends, and closed out the evening by assembling the spread pictured. In retrospect, my spread seems to be largely and subconsciously reflecting the sigil I made, which I found very fascinating that it echoed what I had drawn so much without realizing it sooner.

In my leaf dish, I have my new sigil, the rings I wore in my ritual accompanied by my smaller citrine cabochon and my honey vial. Between the dish and the chalice, which unfortunately blocks it, is my sunstone cabochon for masculine energy and representation of the Sun. Then beneath that is the chalice filled with dried orange peels and the sunflower seeds as described earlier. Then beneath leading downward is my black onyx for protection, and although known for balancing the male and female energies, was giving off a very strong male energy to me that day, followed by my large citrine cabochon for prosperity and warmth, a small flat stone I found a couple of months ago that just gives off a friendly and soothing vibe (and I also enjoyed that it added to the black/yellow/orange scheme), capped with my wand cradled upward to keep the energy in the spread. Also displayed prominently is my deck with the High Priestess facing outward proudly.

This was, as I said, probably my busiest, most involved, and productive celebration of the sabbats so far, and I’ve written a novel of a post about it. I hope that you all had a wonderful solstice whether it be summer or winter where you live, and please feel free to share with me how you celebrated! I’d love to hear about your traditions!

~Have a Magical Day~

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andromeda-sapphire · 5 years

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Witchy Then Vs. Now

I was SO inspired by the post by @hermeticimp regarding comparing the witchy things of our childhood to the witchy things we do now. I had to write a blog post about it!

Herbal Magic:

Then: I remember when I was a kid, maybe around age 5 or 7, I used to make rose water with my brother in the summertime. But not quite the way I would now! My mom had a few rose bushes in the front yard, and we would pick a bunch of roses and put them in a big bucket of water. Then, we’d roll up our pants and jump in the bucket (or for me, just jump in, as I was usually wearing dresses at that age) and start smashing the roses up with our bare feet! We called the rose water “magic perfume” and I remember wanting to keep some stored in a bottle but my mom always dumped it out when we were finished because playtime was over and it was dinnertime.

Now: I typically don’t even make rose water very often now, as I don’t usually have access to fresh rose petals. I love to use beauty products with rose water in them though, like Thayer’s brand alcohol-free witch hazel. Nowadays I usually use dried rose petals for spell bottles and for smoking herbal blends. My herbal witchcraft nowadays is mostly making tea blends, smoke blends, and of course as ingredients for spells. I’ve also made healing salves and oils with herbs over the years.

Crystal Magic:

Then: Inspired by my mother’s geological rock collection (she was a science teacher when I was a kid), I began collecting rocks when I was a young child, probably as young as 7. I have a lot of crystals that came from my mom’s collection, and as a kid, I remember taking out her rock collection boxes from the garage and placing them all over the living room so I could open them all up and look at the cool rocks inside. I remember reading about crystal healing in a book on home remedies that my mom gave me. I bookmarked so many pages in that book, most of them in the crystal healing section. I had one special crystal that I had found near my elementary school as a kid (but lost over time.. sad!) and I was convinced it was a magic crystal. I carried it with me all the time, I slept with it under my pillow, and I never completely knew what it was (maybe some kind of quartz?) but I felt that it enhanced my dreams and made them much more vivid.

Now: My crystal collection has multiplied... Significantly... (oops) I am definitely a crystal collector, and now I go out and find some of my own crystals as well. In fact, the huge chunk of serpentine in the image above is one that I found, and it’s roughly the size of my face! I love my crystals, and I make crystal grids as a part of my rituals and practice. Crystals are somehow always involved in my practice actually. I make wire wrap jewelry now with crystals also (check out Buffalo Wraps on Instagram) inspired by the healing properties of the crystals.

Astrology:

Then: When I was about 10, my grandma gave me this book. It was her original copy of Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. It even has my grandmother’s signature on the inside cover. I was visiting my grandparents in New Zealand at the time, and didn’t have any other books with me for the trip that I can remember, so I spent my evenings in bed reading the section on How to Recognize a Libra. (I’m a Libra Sun, and that was all I knew about astrology at the time) As I finished the chapter on Libra, I was convinced there had to be something real to this tradition of the cosmos. So after returning to the USA, I began researching astrology in my free time, reading as many books and online resources as possible about the topic. I gave my friends and family birth chart readings, and was constantly examining my friends’ behaviors as a scientist examines their test subject.

Now: Well, now I’m trying to become a professional astrologer! It’s been my goal since my third year in University to become an astrologer, and I’ve been taking webinar courses since then from well-known astrologers and (again) reading as many books and online resources as possible. I now have shelves and shelves (almost a whole large tote full actually) of astrology books of all kinds that I’ve collected and read over the years, and it all started with my grandma’s little copy of Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. Instead of only giving free birth chart readings to friends and family, now I offer paid readings of all types as well! I’ve learned so much over the last almost 15 years of studying this beautiful tradition! Astrology is also a huge part of my magic as well. I never cast a spell without first planning it for a specific planetary hour and day that aligns with the desired planetary energies. I’m constantly watching transits and studying how they affect us down here on Earth as well.

Astronomy:

Then: As a kid, maybe 3rd grade through middle school, I was super into outer space. I remember having those little glow in the dark stars all over my ceiling. My dad gave me a telescope for Christmas one year, and I remember him helping me to set it up a few times at night outside on the porch. I was always staring at the stars as a kid, looking at the moon and the constellations. I had (still have actually) a great little guide book on all of the constellations in the sky and the mythology behind them, and all kinds of cool info.

Now: Unfortunately, that telescope got very dusty over the years. It’s sitting in storage now, and I’m dying to bring it out and set it up again, but I need the space for it first! I still observe the sky and watch the stars and moon, but aside from my astrology practice and cosmic witchery, I don’t focus too much on space. I still watch documentaries on space and the planets etc. however! My magic actually heavily relies on my knowledge of both astronomy AND astrology.

Mythology/Fairy Tales:

Then: As a kid, I loved reading fiction and fantasy! I loved drawing dragons and unicorns, and reading about magical princesses and fairies. I wanted to live in a world of mythology so badly. I remember one of my favorite books at the time was Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. I think that book really got me excited about dragons and magic. I also have believed from a very young age, not sure where it originated from, that I am a witch, and have magic within me! I know one influence on that belief was a graphic novel series I used to read all the time growing up called W.I.T.C.H. - I related to one of the characters in that series, Irma, who had water magic abilities. I always felt a deep connection to water for some reason, and as a kid I believed I could control it to an extent. Later in elementary school, I remember learning about Greek mythology briefly, but didn’t get to learn much about it until later.

Now: I went through a bit of a phase a while ago where I thought I had to connect to a deity, or a pantheon. And I feel like I did have a few encounters with deities, but nothing that truly made me feel comfortable worshiping a deity. Don’t get me wrong, I love Greek mythology and religion, and I’ve actually taken a class at University on Greek mythology. Though I’m no expert, I feel pretty well-versed in my myths. They have a few good mythology documentary shows on Netflix that I enjoy as well. I guess because I come from a semi-Christian background though, I have a distaste for worshiping a “god” or “god-like” figure... So I don’t really worship any deities at the moment, but I do recognize the possibility of them existing, and I recognize them as archetypal figures. Same goes for other mythological beings, I don’t really work with them, but I recognize the potential for their existence in another plane.

Divination:

Then: When I was a kid, I had a little pendulum that I made out of blue lace agate and a chain. I used that for divination purposes, just asking yes or no questions. I didn’t know much else about divination though, aside from astrology, so I didn’t know what other directions there were for me to explore.

Now: I use a few different types of divination, and surprisingly, I rarely use my crystal pendulums! Besides astrology, my go-to divination method nowadays is tarot. I’ve learned to read tarot cards over the last few years after one of my college roommates gave me a rune reading and introduced me to tarot and other forms of divination. Now I have several tarot decks, oracle decks, and pendulums all stored in a beautiful box I call my “divination box.”

Anyway, that’s my Witchy Then Vs. Now! I really would like to see this pick up on Witchblr cuz it’s a fun challenge to make you reflect a little on how you’ve changed, or stayed the same!

Check out my Ko-Fi below to leave me a tip!

ko-fi.com/andromeda_sapphire

#wakingwitchblr #witchythenvsnow #witchblr #witch #witchy woman #blog #me #mine #childhood #memories #crystal healing #herbal remedies #reflecting

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iwritethingstoo · 4 years

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On The Run

Character: Dark!Gambit/Remy LeBeau x OFC (Kimi), Dark!Marvel

A/N: This is written for @sweater-daddiesdumbdork‘s #sweatersanyficchallenge . Written with insporation from the Taylor Kitsch version of Gambit

This is a follow-up to In The Cards, but it’s not necessary to read that one before reading this. It is appreciated though.

Prompt: If I die, I’m haunting you first

Warnings: Dark!Gambit, mentions of loss of virginity, abuse and Non-Con, violence, swearing

Word Count: 2.4k

Summary: After a tough first night, these 2 unlikely companions will have to work together to survive.

Kimi sat at the small table shuffling her tarot cards absent-mindedly while looking around the motel room she and her companion had chosen for the night.

She looked to the man whom she had been traveling with. In the time they had been together, she had come to know him as two people: Remy and Gambit.

Remy was strong and smart, but seemed a touch sad and lonely. He was also a flirt; often calling her Cher and kissing her hand. Kimi couldn’t tell if he liked her if that was just his personality shining through.

Gambit, on the other hand, was mysterious and a bit scary. He had forcefully taken her virginity on the first night they were together. At first, she was intrigued by him, but now she wanted nothing to do with him.

They were currently on the run from the X-Men. Their leader, Charles Xavier, wanted her to join them, but didn’t tell her that she wouldn’t be able to leave. She only learned that when Remy grabbed her from Xavier’s car and carried her away. That was 1 week ago. Since then, they had been staying in a new place every night.

Kimi shook her head and brought herself back to the little room. She looked down and saw that one of her tarot cards was lying face up on the table: The Tower. ‘What kind of sudden change?’ she thought as she drew another card. She stared at the 5 of Cups and she began to worry. Kimi had the ability to read tarot with unerring accuracy. This was why the X-Men wanted her. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her mind. The 5 of Cups signified loss, bereavement and all the emotions that came with it. She didn’t have any family or close friends and that really only left herself. ‘It doesn’t necessarily mean….’ Her thought broke off as Remy stood from the bed.

“Are you sure you want to go back there, Cher? You and I both know, they’ll be waiting for us.” he looked sincerely concerned.

“We have to.” She nodded. “There’s something I need to get.” Today, they would be within walking distance of her old shop with her upstairs apartment. She hadn’t seen it since the day her life changed courses. She gathered her cards and slipped them into her pocket as she stood up. They left the motel room and headed towards the shopping district.

Kimi was about to turn the corner to her old block, but Remy stopped her and looked first. When he turned around, he took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

“Last chance to back out.”

She shook her head and he handed her his bo staff. They turned the corner together and, even though they didn’t see anyone, walked cautiously to the shop. Just as Kimi reached the door, she noticed that it was open. She nudged it open with the staff and what she saw, brought her to tears. The place had been ransacked. All the drawers were open and their contents thrown across the room. The table and chairs where she used to read the cards for customers had been upturned and lay broken amongst the mess.

“Cher, we have to hurry. I hear someone coming. Go. I’ll stay here and keep whoever it is, busy.” Kimi wiped her eyes and nodded. She ran up the stairs and knelt on the floor where her bed should have been. One good thing about this mess was that she didn’t have to move it to get to the loose floorboard that was normally hidden. It looked as though no one had discovered her secret. She pried the wood up and looked into the small hole. There was a small box, no bigger than her tarot deck. She lifted it and examined it.

To any other person it was just a small block of wood with no opening, but she knew how to open it. Her grandmother had given it to her with her tarot deck and told her that the two were connected. She could still hear her grandmother’s words, ‘The right card will be the key to both this box and your life. When the time comes, it will open.’ Somehow Kimi knew now was the right time. She reached into her pocket and drew a card from the deck. As she held it against the box, she looked at the artwork. It depicted an angel with one foot in a river and the other on land. The angel was pouring liquid from one jar to another. Temperance showed a need for balance; a coming together of two things or people.

Kimi heard a small click and returned the card to her pocket. The box was open and inside was a silver oval-shaped locket. She took it carefully in her hand and set the box on the floor. Holding the locket to her chest, Kimi remembered her mother wearing it daily and only removing it to sleep.

“I didn’t think you would actually come back.” Kimi hadn’t heard anyone enter the room. She turned around to see Cyclops standing there with a stern look on his face.

“I have got to ask you. What’s up with the visor?” She clasped the locket around her neck as he began to speak.

“It helps me to control my powers.”

“Oooo. What kind of powers do you have?” Kimi smiled giddily.

“Energy beams that can destroy mountains.”

“From your eyes? Like laser beams? Can you only destroy mountains?”

“Do you always ask this many questions?” It was obvious that he was quickly becoming exasperated with her.

“You don’t have to be such a grump about it.”

“How about this? Come with us and I will answer all of your questions.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you or your paraplegic leader.” Kimi took a fighting stance with the bo staff held in front of her. She was nowhere near proficient with it, but Remy had shown her a few moves. She didn’t want to be a burden to him in a fighting situation so she begged him after their last confrontation with the X-Men until he gave in.

“I don’t want to hurt you. Please, just come have a civil conversation with us. Let Xavier tell you about all the good we do.”

“Why are you defending him? He’s an ass that will use whatever he can to get his way and I won’t stand for it.”

“You don’t understand. He wants to help you. He can train you, help you learn and strengthen your abilities.”

“Help me? That must be a joke.” She scoffed. “After what I’ve been through? And have you seen the state of my shop? That man is insane and so are you if you think this is helping anyone.” She spat at him.

“If that’s the way you want it, we’ll do this your way.” He reached up and pressed a button on the side of his visor. A red energy beam shot out of his eyes and made contact with the floor at Kimi’s feet causing her to fall through to the shop below.

‘I guess that answers one of my questions.’ She waved the dust from the air and saw Remy fighting a woman with white hair and skin the color of chocolate. At the moment, she had lightning crackling around her hands and up her arms.

“Storm? What are you doing here?” Cyclops jumped down the hole and spoke to the woman.

“The Professor sent me to help you.” Storm relaxed and the lightning subsided.

“Leave it to Xavier to send one of the most powerful X-Men to help retrieve a simple woman.” As they spoke to each other, Remy extended his hand to Kimi and helped her to her feet.

“Is she really that strong?” Kimi whispered to Remy who nodded.

“We need to get out of here. This is too dangerous now.” he whispered back.

“Remy, I want you to know that if I die, I’m haunting you first.”

“Is that a promise, Cher?” He gave her a smirk and turned back to Storm and Cyclops who had already returned their attention to the runaways.

Storm’s blue eyes glowed white and the air began to stir. She sent a forceful gust of wind at Remy that sent him flying backwards into the wall. He stood and shook the rubble from the crumbling wall off his shoulders. Kimi saw that his eyes had darkened. She gulped; the situation just went from bad to worse. She hadn’t seen Gambit in a week. Her heartbeat picked up as she relived the trauma.

‘No, not now.’ She fought against the thoughts freezing her in place and took a deep breath. She tightened her grip on the bo staff and faced Cyclops. She swung the staff and aimed for his legs to knock him down, but he jumped, avoiding her attack. This left her wide open and he took the opportunity to punch for her jaw. Kimi’s wide swing caused her to stumble back and she watched as his fist passed inches from her face.

She regained her composure and tried again; this time aiming for his head. Kimi felt the vibration up her arm when Cyclops grabbed the staff before it could hit. He pressed his visor to send an energy beam that would hit her directly, but a tornado from across the room picked her up and the beam missed her. Kimi was thrown against the wall and landed next to Gambit. He let out a growl, grabbed Kimi and ran out of the building, stopping only to throw several of his playing cards which exploded when they reached the two X-Men.

When they were far enough away to be safe, he set Kimi down and she saw that his eyes had returned to their normal color. ‘Thank goodness.’ She couldn’t deal with Gambit on top of everything else right now. They continued walking and after a few minutes Remy spoke.

“What did we go there for anyways?”

“This.” She grabbed the locket. “It was my mother’s.” She looked down and saw that it was now charred and mangled, no longer resembling the oval it once had. Tears formed in her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks. ‘Maybe the inside is still salvageable.’ She tried to pry it open, but that only resulted in the whole piece crumbling to dust. Kimi dropped to her knees and put her head in her hands as she let it all out. She had lost her only home and the last possession of her mother’s in one day. What did she have left? She only had the clothes on her back and the cards in her pocket.

As though on cue, she felt the pull of the deck. She tried to ignore it, but the tarot had a mind of their own. She took hold of a card and raised it to eye level. It was the 10 of Swords; rock bottom. How could things get any worse? She returned the card to the deck, but did not move from her spot on the ground.

“We can’t stay here, Cher. We have to find somewhere to shelter for the night.” Remy took her gently in his arms bridal style and started for the nearest motel.

The next morning, Kimi woke up with a determination she had never known. The X-Men, and especially Xavier, needed to pay for taking everything from her. She and Remy decided to train more with the bo staff today. After an hour of practice, Remy suggested that they take a break for the day and find something to eat and drink. He left to grab food and while he was gone, Kimi took a shower.

They sat on the motel floor and ate in silence until Kimi had finished half of her sandwich. She washed it down with a sip of water before clearing her throat.

“Tell me about the X-Men. I need to know more about our enemies.”

“You can’t go looking for trouble. I’m teaching you to protect yourself against one or two, but there are more of them than a small army.”

“I need to know what we’re up against. Obviously, they aren’t going to stop.” Remy paused and let out a sigh before starting.

“Most of them are mutants; a type of human with superhuman abilities. Some are normal humans. The most important thing to know is that they are all trained and dangerous if you oppose them.”

“We’re already opposing them and we can’t run forever. We have to take a stand at some point.” Kimi argued.

“I’m sure we will, but I want you to be more prepared before that. No sense walking in there with nothing, Cher. You have to be patient.” He looked into her eyes hoping that she could see how serious this was. “For now, we have to move. Can’t stay in one place for too long.”

They had been walking in silence for a couple hours when Remy grew tense. He grabbed several cards from his trenchcoat’s inner pocket and threw them. They exploded just moments after Kimi saw a blur move from that spot and towards them. Where the blur landed, a man stood with broad shoulders and what looked like metal blades coming out of his knuckles.

“We need to talk.” He had a deep gruff voice.

“Logan.” Remy said curtly. “Not you too.” He didn’t wait for a response before running in and throwing a punch. Logan countered by running his blades through Remy’s abdomen. Remy fell to the ground, bleeding. Kimi felt tears welling in her eyes. She did the only thing she knew to do and took an unsure stance. She couldn’t possibly win, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She waited to see what the man would do and was surprised when he retracted the blades into his knuckles.

“Don’t just stand there. We need to get him inside and treat his wounds.” He picked up the unconscious Remy and waited for Kimi to follow him.

“I don’t understand. Why are you helping? You just stabbed him.”

“Remy is too hasty for his own good, but your mother asked me to help you.”

“My mother died when I was 6.”

“No,” He shook his head. “She’s alive and in the Xavier Institute in New York.”

“Why would she be there?”

“Your mother is a mutant.”

Also tagging:

@nellblazer, @official-and-unstable-satan

#sweatersanyficchallenge #dark!marvel #dub-con #non-con #loss of virginity #violence #Dark!Gambit #Dark!Remy lebeau #fanfiction #dark!fic #dark!fanfiction #abuse #tarot #writing challenge

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brntwd · 4 years

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CHAPTER ONE : curiosity leads to trouble .

scene transcript between henri rousseau, jasper atkinson, roman keating, banks delcoy, thalia pham, and the scott family . on june 4th, 2020 .

opening: it’s the last house on persimmon lane . a little one on stilts . the sort of house that looks like maybe it’s seen a hurricane or two in it’s day –– the blue paneling is slowly bleaching white in the sun . there’s quite a few loose planks here and there, as you bramble up the porch, and the dock that juts out awkwardly into the water from the yard is blocked off by a fallen tree . there's a very overgrown quality to the landscaping, if you could call it that . a porcelain bathtub full of spearmint plants lay on it's side in the tall grass . there were several newly broken bird feeders . a neon sign flashes in front of lace curtains in the window . you see only candlelight through the windows . they probably don't have power back yet . PSYCHIC / PALM / TAROT / TEA / BY APPOINTMENT ONLY .

thalia pham: lia isn't too familiar with the scott household, given that she's a woman of science and doesn't believe in any of that crap. that doesn't mean she doesn't have respect for the scotts--whatever they're doing, they're probably taking lots of money from dumb middle aged rich white women who complain about balancing their chakras, the perfect group to scam. people like that are just desperate to find "culture" in a small place like brentwood. if there's a place to do so, though, it certainly looks like this house. she's standing on the porch with the boys, reluctant to take the initiative and knock on the door. "not it!" she exclaims, waiting to see who will draw the short end of the stick.

henri rousseau: most of the year he simply longs to be considered a proper member of the gang. being able to properly take part without feeling like he's missing out. today he's just happy he can play the semi-innocent tourist card... like he hasn't skated past the scott house umpteen-million times over the years. no. he's playing innocent, trying his best not to dig his hands in his pockets ( and curse himself further, if that's a thing) as he rocks on his heels. there are times when he knows to shut his mouth, and this is most definitely one of them... well, that is, until thalia mentions not being it and his jaw drops. "what?! nu-uh. if thalia's not it, i'm not either. i mean..." he purses his lips, "i know i have it, but like... if i'm cursed these could be my final moments! going out after knocking on a door is not really how i pictured it happening." banks delcoy: there's something about the house post - hurricane that makes him . . . uneasy. not in a this place gives me the creeps way, but more in a way that banks can't quite put a name to. beneath the gray sky, it feels too vibrant and too aged all at once. banks is shaking his head already as he swallows back a gulp of water from the two whales cup grasped loosely in his hand. he supposes that he should be the one to take the leap -- he pitched coming here in the first place -- but instead he just leans against the white - washed banister. "i second lia. not it." roman keating: the atmosphere feels akin to what he imagines it would be in one of those movies cecilia used to love so much; the one she swore to him he’d love in return because it was supernatural. it turned out to be a romantic comedy about sister witches but he never complained. he stands behind the rest of them on the scott porch and crosses his arms over his chest with a heavy exhale, hoping the brittle wood didn’t concave from their combined weight. they were sticking their nose in something they had no business knowing ( if it was anything at all ). for all they knew, this could end up being a wild goose chase. roman’s right eyebrow raises and arms lift to protest. “i don’t even want to be here, let alone touch that damn door,” he opposes with a scoff. “japser can do it if he’s so worried about giving henri peace of mind or whatever.”

jasper atkinson: jasper had walked selene home after work whenever they got off at the same time. it was on the way to his apartment anyway, so it hardly mattered to him. while he didn’t believe any of the bullshit that spewed out of her mouth, he knew she did wholeheartedly, and so he respected it. who was he to knock her down? everyone had their thing that got them through life. “you guys are ridiculous. it’s a fuckin’ door.” he goes up to it and rings the doorbell, but there’s no sound inside. so instead, he knocks on the door. scott family . “ do you have an appointment ? ” after a lot of dramatics about who was going to have to answer the door, it is eventually fiona who does it . six years old and forty inches high . she’s wearing her belle from beauty in the beast costume over a pair of polkadot pajama pants . she opens the door just two inches, like she was told to, and asks again, louder : “ DO YOU HAVE AN APPOIIIINTMENNNNNN–– ? ” she was rudely interrupted by her mother, who now stood in the doorway . thirties, bright blue eyes, brighter blue overalls, bandana, juice box . lavender gave her daughter the capri sun and then ushered her back into the house . “ awfully sorry . we don’t have power back yet . ” she wipes sweat from her brow and starts her own capri sun . “ i’m afraid we’re closed . come back again . . . well, leave us a voicemail . we’ll call you back when we have phones again . take care . ” thalia pham: lia patiently waits as they finally pressure jasper into getting things done. she knows it's coming, because it always eventually happens. when the door swings open, though, thalia's met by someone closer in height to her than the boys--an adorable young girl with a loud mouth. when her mother tries to turn them away, thalia rushes to stop it from happening. they'd come this far already, right? "wait! we have kind of an urgent matter on our hands here. please?" henri rousseau: the brief sound of bickering is quickly replaced by the sound of henri's heartbeat in his head at the thought of having to head home with the chain."please." he repeats, almost as soon as it's left lia's mouth, if but a little desperately. "i, uh, i found something. a necklace. in amongst the debris on the beach but it... was like it didn't belong." his brow furrows and he briefly wonders whether or not to take it out of his pocket right there on the porch. "it just... it doesn't feel right."

banks delcoy: when a young girl begins calling out the door, a crooked smile threatens to twist at his lips. it's, admittedly, a little endearing. she fits right in with the neon signs casting technicolor shadows across his friend's faces. another woman swiftly replaces her and he's edges forward a step when lia cuts in. after a beat, banks nods toward henri in assent. "even a picture of the thing feels weird. we thought you all might be able to help." ilene scott: “ yeah, ” lavender looks between the fiery one and the curly ones . “ well . that’s weird . put it back where you found it . ” as she’s closing the door, there’s a voice from the candlelit kitchen . “ lavender, they’re going to think you were raised in a barn with those manners . please, come in . i’m making iced tea . ” lavender sighs, but ultimately waves a hand to welcome them inside . she huffs up the stairs . to the right, there was a small yellow kitchen that was affectionately lit by the natural carolina sun pouring in through the windows and the hundreds and hundreds of candles . ilene, town psychic and blue grass fanatic, waved for everyone to have a seat at the table . well, probably someone’s gonna have to sit on the counter . and maybe someone needs to pull up a stool . “ lets have a look at it, then . ” jasper atkinson: at this point, jasper felt like all he really needed was to be there for henri. he knew that he’d just about short circuit if he had to explain himself at this point. so, he sat next to him, hoping his presence would be enough. “i haven’t seen it yet, but if it’s real, based off of the picture, i’d date it at about 18th century.” his gaze shifted to his cousin. “show her, henri. it’s okay.” henri rousseau: there's always a bit of hesitancy whenever he takes the lead in something. more noticeable in his step as he makes his way across the kitchen - even if there is something oddly soothing about the interior of the house. but it's jasper's presence that finally gets him to stop twiddling his thumbs. just like it could when they were kids. "right, yeah, of course," he murmurs, digging in his pocket for a moment before pulling the chain out and laying it on the table. "it um, it's sorta alright like this. but when i looked at it more closely it... it sounded like it was whispering to me." ilene scott: “ where’d you find it ? ” she narrows her eyes at henri . henri rousseau: "on the beach... just slightly buried in the sand." ilene scott: she looks between the pendant and the group of people surrounding it . “ well . lets see then . ” she reaches behind her and grabs a deck of tarot cards from the kitchen counter . they’re barbie pink . she passes the deck first to the curly boy who found the necklace . “ shuffle, pick one, pass it on . all of you pick one and put it down on the table . ” henri rousseau: normally there would at least be a smile on his face at the colour of the cards. a reminder of the shade his step-sister sometimes insists on painting his nails with. but there’s something about the potential of being cursed that has him on edge, focussing more on the cards as he shuffles them than any offhanded remarks he could otherwise be making. although it takes a great deal of energy not to snort when he finally puts the card that feels right down on the table. the fool. were the cards really pointing out how much how much of a mistake picking up the necklace was too? he doesn’t know how tarot works well enough to say it, but it certainly feels that way. thalia pham: lia watches as henri draws the fool, looking a bit embarrassed by how on the nose it is. she doesn't really get tarot cards and their supposed duality, but it would be rude to refuse. she slides the top card off of the deck and turns it over, placing it neatly in front of her. the sun. she feels warm.

roman keating: an impatient foot taps the ground beneath him. “this is all a load of crap, right?” he inquires of the older woman who has dealt them the deck. when the cards end up in his hands, there’s a force that urges him to pull straight from the bottom. roman flips the card over to observe its depiction; the tower. all he sees is destruction. the structure's been lightning struck and bound to crumble, inhabitants falling from the sky are set to crash. he presses his lips into a thin line. banks delcoy: banks can hear his mother's voice in the back of his mind as he takes the deck from roman -- she had always said his curiosity is what would damn well get him in the end. little corbin banks had never believed her, of course, as he never had any intention of getting caught in the little excursions his intrigue would pull him toward. as a child, it had been harmless things — like sneaking out of his room at night to see what the grown - ups did from his perch at the top of the stairs in their small two - story, tiny hazel eyes peering brightly like a cat's from between the spindles of the banister. this curiosity would morph into less harmless acts as he got older, and no matter how much he thought he got away with, leah banks always knew what went on in her own home. and he can't help but wonder what she'd say now. banks has no idea what any of . . . this means, but there's a tug in his chest that yearns for understanding. that same tug has him pulling from the middle of the deck -- the card he flips onto the table reads wheel of fortune. hm. jasper atkinson: as he watched all of his friends flip over their cards, information flowed through his mind. he'd read about all of this before, and thus, knew what each card that was flipped over meant. memories of sitting at the library, going over books in the metaphysical section, trying to grasp a sense for anything that might save him from his life. but the more he read, the more he realized it was all bullshit escapism. that didn't stop him from retaining the information, however, and it didn't stop the smile from curling up the corner of his lips as he watched henri and lia pull the fool and the sun. it was quickly erased when he noticed the tower and the wheel of fortune pulled immediately after. he knew what the tower meant, and the wheel of fortune, of course, could go either way. but no, he didn't believe in it. he took the deck for himself, split it in two (as he read was customary) and then picked from the top. two cards came out stuck together, and when he was about to place one back, ilene stopped him. told him that both cards were meant for him. he nodded and handed her the deck, then gently and carefully placed his cards down on the table. the chariot and the hierophant. he knew what they meant apart, but not together. fuck, he hated not knowing things. hated having to rely on other people for information. he looked up at ilene, trying to mask whatever anxiety he was feeling. ilene scott: ilene watches carefully . her expression is indiscernible . after a long while . she waited for the boy who chose two cards to finish before she moved . ilene drew two more cards from the deck . the star . the magician . she slid them into the middle of the table, careful not to let them touch the pendant . she says : “ you’ve found it . it’s starting . hooray . you’re not going to be able to use it until you find them . ” she sips her iced tea . she doesn't look at the gemstone on the table .

jasper atkinson: he furrows his brow, a sudden rage filling his chest that he quickly pushes down. "are you just gonna be cryptic like that or are you gonna give us some real information?" thalia pham: thalia reaches over to squeeze jasper on the arm. now is not the time to snap, even if she agrees that this hasn't been ...the most helpful, yet. she gives him a reassuring smile, to calm him down. jasper atkinson: and just like that, the anger in his chest cools to a simmer. as he makes eye contact with thalia, he knows exactly what shes thinking. shes with him, and she would handle this better than he ever could. she was always better at talking to people than he was. he placed his hand over hers and gave it a light squeeze before looking back down at his own cards, then at all of the cards on the table, as if putting together pieces of a puzzle. banks delcoy: his attention skips across the cards and while he couldn't begin to interpret what any of this means, seeing them all together feels -- right, maybe? complete? eventually he looks up to ilene. "what's starting?" something, though, tells him he's asking the wrong question. thalia pham: thalia fixes her gaze on banks' own display of confusion. she draws her arm back, folding it across her chest with the other. "and what do we need to find?" ilene scott: she sort of just listens to their questions . nodding along while ripping open a sweet n low packet and pouring it into her iced tea . finally, she looks at the wheel and then to the sun . “ good . ” lavender, who it has become clear was hiding behind the door way into the room and listening to the conversation, interrupts with a throat clear . “ would you kindly get that thing off the kitchen table ? ” she looks at the pendant . “ we don’t want any part of this dust you’re kicking up . treasure huntin’ is not known for being a profession in which people live particularly long . ” ilene says nothing , stirring her tea . jasper atkinson: treasure hunting. jasper looks up. sudden interest sparking his eye. how much was this necklace worth? could he go to college with the money? would henri share? what if he found his own bit of treasure? if anyone could solve the puzzle, it would be him. but the cards on the table told him this was something they all had to do together. it was a piece of the puzzle. he didn't say a word. part of him not wanting to get his hopes up at the thought of a way out. banks delcoy: it's almost as if the mention of treasure hunting has his heart pausing it's pace in the cage of his ribs. mind briefly flashes to his grandfather. "are you talking about the prospero?" maybe he's pushing his luck, but there's a sense that time to ask questions is running out. "is that what this is from?" closing: " no, " lavender says, crossing her arms, still staring at the pendant . " it's about time you should be getting home, now . have a safe trip home . " she starts to swipe iced tea glasses and empty them in the sink . ilene says : " next time, consider making an appointment . and yes, take that with you . you've met the other two . you just don't know that you've met them . certainly though, you lot are starting to kick up some dirt . it's starting . bye bye, now . " armed with a reusable bag filled with mostly candy but also what could feasibly pass as groceries, selene roller skates home from work . to her understandable surprise, her front porch was rather populated . there was : a bunch of kids she went to high school with, the guy who works at her restaurant, and a tourist . weird . she stood there, and watched, and said nothing . she tilted her head . then she went inside the house and closed the screen door behind her . she looked at her grandmother . and her aunt . she said : “ what the fuck ? ” fiona, who chose now to come out from under the kitchen table, said : “ they didn’t have an appointment . ”

#lhq:update #transcript.#chapter one.#:boom:#:hammer:

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fantasyfandommaiden · 5 years

Text

Chloe’s Very Odd and Out of the Ordinary Week

Chloe’s week has been weird, and no she didn’t mean weird like magical terrorist weird but weird in a sense that she has been feeling… odd, and doing things out of the ordinary for her… Chloe recounts the week to the counsellor during their weekly session.

~~~~~~~~

It had all started three weeks after Hero’s Day. Chloe and Sabrina were walking around doing their usual Saturday window shopping session .Sabrina had introduce the concept to Chloe, who still found it weird that window shopping had less to do with shopping and more looking, but she didn’t complain much about it, it did give the two a chance to look at the stores they wouldn’t usually go into.

As they walked by a series of stores, Sabrina talking about her latest competition that was coming up and how much she hoped that Chloe could attend again (Chloe would of course, she made a promise to herself to attend every single competition), when she felt an undeniable urge to stop and look to the side.

It was some sort of new age store from the looks of it, the window display had some incense and tacky looking wooden boxes, as well as some rocks, nothing too spectacular but for some reason Chloe couldn’t bring herself to look away.

Sabrina, having noticed her friend had suddenly stopped, looked at the store that she was looking at the sign with a raised brow “‘The Fae Circle’... do you want to go have a look?” she asked, looking at her friend with a big smile.

Chloe’s face scrunched up in a scowl, her go into some tacky new age store? She could already hear her mother belittle her and her father trying to appease both her and her mother and failing miserably. Besides, it was beneath her and so not her style… but she couldn’t bring herself to look away for some reason.

“Why not.” she stated before she could stop herself, opening the door and walking in, Sabrina walking closely behind.

The store smelled of strong incense, however wasn’t overly powerful. The shelves all had different nick nacks, as well as rocks and different other oddities. One of those oddities was the man behind the counter, who was reading a book, and only looked up when the bell over the door rang.

He appeared to be in his early 30’s and had long brown hair that was done up with several braids that was pulled back into a half up half down hairstyle, and bushy eyebrows. Chloe noted that despite the bushy eyebrows, he had facial structure that almost reminded her of a fox, with a triangle face shape, ember colour eyes, and a slightly longer nose. He wore a vee-neck black shirt that had a pentagram on it, but the most noticeable thing about the man was his tattoos on both of his arms, depicting different symbols and circles. The man, who’s name tagged stated his name was Garrick, rose one eyebrow as he closed his book, looking at the two girls.

“Welcome to the Fae Circle, can I help you two find anything?” he asked, his voice was very deep, and seemed to rumble through both girls souls.

Chloe was the first to respond with a shake of her head “Just browsing.” she stated simply, looking around. Sabrina nodded enthusiastically, spying some books in the corner and went to have a look at those as Chloe continued to stand almost in the middle of the store, not knowing exactly where to go, or why she even felt like she needed to be in here. Not wanted, but needed.

Garrick continued to look at Chloe with a raised brow, however quickly glanced over at Sabrina once in awhile as she looked at the books, probably making sure she wouldn’t try to steal any, before looking back at Chloe. She was probably not his usual clientele, but he hadn’t made a comment yet, so Chloe wasn’t about to either, even though she felt the urge to tell him to stop staring rise in her. When their eyes met again, she felt as if he was sending her a silent challenge to say something about it, instead however she just turned around and walked around the store.

She decided instead to let her feet guide her, walking around the store, not really looking at anything with any true interest, finding herself close to where Sabrina was, where some tarot cards, gemstones and something called ‘rune stones’ were displayed. Part of her kept looking at a yellow stones (the paper stated it was a citrine) because yellow WAS her colour afterall, but for some reason her eyes kept being drawn to the turquoise instead, which confused her. It wasn’t that she didn’t LIKE the stone, it was pretty after all, but she didn’t typically like blue unless it was her eye colour.

She hadn’t even realised she had picked up the grape size stone and was looking at it more intentionally until Sabrina mentioned how pretty was. Chloe’s eyes widened as she placed it back on the shelf, but found herself still staring at it, placing it right beside a tiny black stone bead that was roughly the size of her pinkie nail.

“You know.” a voice said suddenly behind them, causing both girls jumped and whirled around to see Garrick standing behind them, he still had a bored look on his face, however looked down at Chloe before back at the rock. “When a stone calls out to you, it means that it wants to help in some way.”

Chloe looked at him with a skeptical expression “And let me guess, for the low price of three dollars it could be mine?”

Garrick acted as if he hadn’t heard the comment as he pointed back to the turquoise stone that Chloe had been examining “Turquoise is a powerhouse stone. It drives away malice thoughts and negativity, helping you think more clearly and productively.” he explained. “However, if your looking to keep malice away I would also recommend onyx, instead of driving it away it will absorb it and turns it into good energy.” he said, pointing to the small black bead that was beside the blue stone.

Chloe continued to look at him with a skeptical expression, having no doubt in her mind that he said this to every single customer who came in “Were just browsing.” Chloe stated again, turning around and walking away.

They stayed in the store for a fairly long time, not even realising that nearly half an hour had passed. During the hour Chloe would sometimes glance back at Garrick, reading his book.

“We should get going soon.” Sabrina said, looking at her phone “Dad will want me home for dinner, which your invited to if you like!”

“I’ll think about it…” Chloe said, as she glanced back at the shelf where the rock was… she didn’t know WHY she was tempted to buy it. It was a tiny rock, she could get bigger, more beautiful rocks from the internet, yet still… she glanced at Garrick who glanced up from his book with a raised brow. “... thank you.” she stated simply.

Garrick gave them a nod of acknowledgement before looking back down at his book as they exited the store.

~~~~

During the first day of school that week, Chloe was in a fowl mood. Her mother had attempted to ‘talk’ with Chloe and ended up just demeaning her more, and called her ‘Kara’. The expression on her face must have been clear because everyone in her path parted like the red sea as Chloe walked through the hallways.

Chloe found herself in front of Mlle Regal’s office about to walk through the open door to complain to the woman about her shitty mother before she stopped herself at the sight of Mlle Regal sitting at her desk. She didn’t have her usual aura of calmness that always seemed present whenever you were around her, her face had a slight scowl to it, eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at her cellphone. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying…

Mlle Regal looked over, having spotted Chloe, giving a small tired smile. “Oh, good morning Chloe… is everything okay?” she asked softly, putting her cellphone down.

Chloe, as if on instinct, was about to go on a rant about how terrible her mother was and such but found herself stopping at the sight of the red haired woman’s expression. “Is everything okay with you?” Chloe asked, looking at the window as if expecting an akuma to appear.

Mlle Regal blinked at the question, not used to hearing it come from Chloe before giving a small chuckle “Oh, its nothing. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” the counsellor said, placing the cellphone in her pocket.

“Why?” Chloe asked, persisting with her line of question.

Mlle Regal paused for a moment, looking at Chloe before replying “My mother was admitted to the hospital last night.” she said “Nothing serious, it was just a kidney stone, but it was a bad one, so I was still fairly worried… I think I only got perhaps two hours of sleep last night…”

Chloe looked at her in shock “Why didn’t you stay home than?! You cant function with that little sleep!” she exclaimed, striding in. She was going to force this woman to go home and sleep!

Mlle Regal gave her a small smile “Chloe, I once stayed up for 28 hours due to insomnia, I’ll be fine. I will just have to take a nap when I get home after work today.”

Chloe scowled at that comment, before walking straight past the woman to her tea shelf, looking at all of the tins of tea she had before she found the most caffeinated one, earl grey. Than Chloe grabbed the kettle, which had been at a full boil anyway, and began to make Mlle Regal her tea, the only goal in Chloe’s mind was ‘This had better keep her awake long enough until she gets home!’ repeating over and over again in her head. Chloe handed Mlle Regal a large mug with the tea inside, giving the woman a stern look.

“You need to finish that, and keep having more until the end of the day, which you will go home when the bell rings” Chloe stated as Mlle Regal looked at her with an amused smile.

“Provided nothing happens today I plan to… is there something you want to talk about today Chloe?” she asked Chloe. The blonde remained silent, remembering the real reason she had come this morning. To complain about her mother, and she was about to, but then she saw the tired smile in Mlle Regal’s eyes and how her mother was in the hospital.

Chloe could be a down right bitch when she wanted to be, but she wasn’t going to be one to one of the few adults that Chloe respected, so she decided to think of something else.

“What do you know about rocks?”

Carmine blinked at the question, looking at Chloe confused as she brought up her tea cup to take a sip of the tea “Sedimentary, metamorphic, or igneous?” she asked, taking a sip of the tea only to stop and look down at the dark liquid with a confused expression on her face.

“Gemstones.” Chloe clarified. Mlle Regal still stared down at the tea, seeming lost in thought before looking at Chloe.

‘What kind of gemstone?” the counsellor asked, going to sit down at her desk as Chloe sat down as well. She had about ten minutes before she had to be in class.

“Turquoise.”

Mlle Regal let out a soft hum, looking up to the ceiling as she thought “Well… it’s the birthstone of December, a beautiful blue colour, although I’ve heard it comes in yellow as well sometimes… why?”

“Some guy was trying to sell me on how they can ‘repel negativity’ or something like that.” Chloe said with an eye roll.

The counsellor perked up slightly at that, smiling “Oh, it can. At least, that’s what it is believed to do.” Mlle Regal said smiling “It also promotes self-realisation, and assist with creative problem solving. I believe it also enhances the immune system and lungs, but I would have to double check one of my books to make sure.” she said smiling.

Chloe just blinked, looking at the woman confused “... so wait, this is actually a thing?”

Mlle Regal continued to smile widely, standing up from her desk and walking to her book shelf “Oh yes, it most certainly is a ‘thing’. Each stone or gemstone is believed to have certain properties to assist with healing or purification.” she said, scanning the bookshelf with her finger as she looked at all the books “And I believe I have it… Here!” she pulled out a paperback book bringing it over to Chloe.

“This is ‘The Crystal Bible’, it has all of the stones that can be used for healing in it.” Mlle Regal said, flipping through several pages “Annnnd, yep! Turquoise is used to help with the lungs. See.” she turned the book around so Chloe could look at the page, which showed a turquoise stone and facts about it.

Chloe just stared, gently taking the book and finding herself flipping through several of the pages. She was so entranced by it that the sound of the bell spooked her, making her almost drop it.

“I’ve got to go to class!” she said, standing up, but glanced at the book in her hands.

Mlle Regal smiled “You can borrow it, just make sure you return it when your done.” she said, to which Chloe nodded before bolting out the door.

Carmine smiled, shaking her head as she sipped her tea again, looking down at it with a confused expression.

She silently wondered why she felt her ‘second wind’ come on so fast, and almost didn’t notice how for the rest of the day she didn’t need as much tea as usual, however those thoughts went out the window when the moment she entered her apartment she fell asleep instantly on her couch as if by magic.

~~~~~~~

For the next two days Chloe read the book that Mlle Regal loaned her. It was written in English, and luckily Chloe could speak and read English fluently (yet another failed attempt to get her mother’s attention, but still a skill that proved useful.)

She found it fairly interesting, which was weird. Chloe rarely enjoyed reading anything that wasn’t a magazine or a romance novel, or (even more secretly) manga, so the fact that she was essentially reading the equivalent of a textbook/encyclopedia and enjoying it was bizarra.

Chloe actually looked through her jewelry box before going to school that day, and found that she HAD some of these stones embedded into some jewelry. She had some rose quartz, citrine, moonstone, and the like, which surprised her. She also found a very simple rose gold ring that had a small amethyst in it, she believed it was a gift from some distant relatives from a year or two ago. It wasn’t quite Chloe’s style (she preferred pure gold or silver over rose gold), but it was still fairly nice.

Looking in the book told her that amethyst were used for intuition and protection, and were especially good if you were having a bad day. Chloe thought for a moment that if these actually work how everyone in Paris should have amethyst on them than, and placed the ring into a small ring box she had with the intent to give it to Sabrina.

Arriving at school Chloe found that Sabrina wasn’t there, and checking her text message found out that she had a dentist appointment and would probably be there just before second period, and could Chloe possibly take notes during first so she wouldn’t fall behind? Chloe rolled her eyes, texting back a simple thumbs up, walking up the stairs as she walked towards the locker room to drop off her stuff into her locker and go to class.

Like clockwork class started with Marinette barely making it into the class before her name was called, Chloe would usually ignore her but found that the dark haired girl seemed… off. Mlle Bustier must have noticed too, because she asked if she was fine, but Marinette insisted she was fine, walking to her sit.

Chloe looked at Marinette with a neutral expression before looking back to the front, taking notes but not taking in the information, her thoughts elsewhere. Besides for Adrien, Marinette was the only one in class to not get akumatized, which was a feat in it of itself considering how Chloe had been akumatized twice now, three times if you counted Hero’s Day with the Red Hawkmoth.

She had a feeling, deep down, that IF Marinette was upset enough to get akumatized, she would be a tough one. Like Syren, Evillustrator or even Stormy Weather levels of tough, maybe even more powerful than Queen Wasp (although Chloe loathed to admit that). Marinette was smart and creative, she thought outside the box and could think twelve steps ahead of everyone; she of course would be no match for her idol Ladybug, but she could probably take out Chat Noir with ease…

If she could take out Chat Noir with ease than that meant Ladybug would need help again. She may need Queen bee. Chloe felt her grip on her pen tightened as this thought crossed her mind.

‘She doesn’t pick me as often because she always says Queen Bee isn’t needed, but I KNOW Marinette personally, I would be a great ally, than after beating Dupain Cheng Ladybug would see how well I do and let me keep my Miraculous and Pollen! Than I could be a hero FULL TIME! That would be amazing!’ a wide smile spread across her face as she tried to think of how to push the poor girl over the edge to be akumatized but stopped herself, a feeling of disgust going through her. ‘... but if Ladybug found out I let this happen, she would hate me…’

Chloe looked over at Marinette, who still seemed down, she barely heard the whispered between her and Alya about some person making rude comments about Marinette’s instagram posts that were racist or something along those lines, and Chloe scowled slightly, glancing at her bag beside her, a thought occurred to her. She hated the thought, she really did, but if she was going to prove she was a ‘good’ person, she might as well do it.

Once class ended Chloe stood up so abruptly that it caused everyone to pause, as if waiting for her to say something as Chloe walked straight up to Marinette, who looked at her with a tired expression. “Chloe, I’m really not in the mood-”

“You have a neutral tone, good.” Chloe stated, digging into her bag and bringing out the ring box “I’m donating all of my unused jewelry to people to make room for my NEW collection coming next week. I planned to give this to Sabrina, but she doesn’t wear rings often so here.” Chloe stated, forcefully placing the ring box into Marinette’s hands. Marinette glared at Chloe and looked to be about to say something before Chloe cut her off with “I also hear that amethyst apparently helps keep negativity away and gives protection or something like that if you believe it. Last thing we need is YOU getting akumatized.” she said, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder as she walked away.

Marinette could only stare at Chloe, before opening the box seeing the rose gold ring with the amethyst stone. It was a very simple, understated ring, very Marinette style.

If Chloe noticed that Marinette was wearing the ring on her index finger during second period, she didn’t say anything about it, and if Marinette found that her thoughts were clearer and that the negative comments on her Instagram didn’t bother her as much, she didn’t say anything either.

~~~~~~~

That Thursday was the day where Chloe and Sabrina were going to go get a pedicure and manicure, and a hair appointment (both Chloe and Sabrina needed a trim, even though Chloe had stated that Sabrina would probably look AMAZING with some layers.) However their plans when cut short on the count of the fact that someone was following them, and it wasn’t one of Chloe’s bodyguards or her butler.

She only caught them looking at the two of the because of the reflection on a store window, but she saw the intense way he stared at the two of them, and Chloe instantly felt a sense of danger at the sight. Chloe scowled slightly, linking arms with Sabrina and began to walk briskly down the street.

“Were being followed.” she stated simply, and instantly Sabrina matched her stride as the walked down the fairly busy street. The man actually had the gule to follow them, Chloe was just letting her feet carried her down the street, trying to think of a plan.

She knew that if they stayed to a busy street, the man wouldn’t try anything, but you could never be too careful. If she had the Bee Miraculous she would just sting them… or would that be an abuse of power? Chloe and Sabrina had to stop at a crosswalk as the light had turned red, causing Chloe to silently curse, noting now that not only was there a man following them but also a dark coloured car.

At times like this she really wished she could think as fast as Ladybug when coming up with plans, heck she almost wished she could think as fast as Marinette. Chloe bit her lip, looking at Sabrina as she gripped her arm, she needed a plan, a distraction, something!

The same feeling she had on Saturday occurred, the same odd, unexplainable feeling telling her to look to the side, so she did, and saw the figure of a man walking down the street away from them, with long hair half done in braids, and tattoos all over his arms. ‘Perfect.’ Chloe though as she pivoted on her feet, all but dragging Sabrina down the street with her. ‘What was his name again? Greg… Geralt… Garfield… Garry-’ the name finally occurred to her.

“Garrick!” she called out to him. The man stopped, looking over his shoulder lazily, seeing the two girls all but run up to him. Chloe resisted the urge to scowl when she noted that the man was smoking a cigarette as he looked at the two of them with a raised eyebrow “Were being followed.” Chloe stated to him, glancing behind her to see the man and the car still approaching.

Garrick raised an eyebrow “... And?” he asked, flicking the ashes off the end of his cigarette. He didn’t seem impressed with the two of them, which made Chloe grow in frustration. In her mind she was still trying to figure out who the men were after, she knew most likely it was her, but Sabrina was the daughter of a police officer so she was likely too.

Chloe glared at him, shoving Sabrina towards him “Just keep an eye on her will you!” she snapped, turning around as the man came up, trying to appear all kind and nice.

“Ah, Chloe! There you are! Your father asked me to come get you!”

“Never seen you in my life. Leave.” Chloe snapped back, the man’s face noticeably twitching slightly.

“Now, Chloe, there is no need for that. He asked me to get you and your friend back to the hotel-”

“And I said leave!” Chloe snapped back, but before a yelling match could occur the sound of a camera going off was heard, and both turned to see Garrick with his phone out, having taken a picture of what Chloe assumed was the man, still looking utterly bored.

“Sir, kindly don't take my picture”

“Shut up.” Garrick stated simply, his cigarette between his lips as he typed something into his phone “And sent.”

The man seemed panicked slightly “W-Who did you send that to?!”

“My friend in the police department.” Garrick stated “Harrassing two teenage girls after being told repeatedly to fuck off is harassment you know.”

“I work with her father-”

“For crying out loud, I told you to shut the fuck up. Listen will you.” Garrick stated, stepping forward so that he stood in front of Chloe “Hey, you know this punk?” he asked Chloe as she scowled.

“Never seen him before in my life. I want him to leave me and Sabrina alone, and his freaky friend in the car too!”

Garrick looked lazily over to said car that was waiting idely by about 20 feet away, letting out a groan “For fuck sake this is so fucking annoying.” he said, taking a long drag of his cigarette, muttering something about troublesome people who can just let things be.

“Okay, here is what you are going to do-”

“I’m just trying to do my job”

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Garrick stated, exhaling some smoke from his nose as he looked at the man “Here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to go to your friends in that car, turn yourselves in for whatever nefarious plans you planned against these girls, and never, ever, try this again.” the man all but commanded as he took another long drag from his cigarette, before blowing the smoke into the mans face. “Got it?”

Chloe must have been seeing things because she could have sworn that the smoke as well as the embers at the end of his cigarette seemed to be blue in colour, but that thought quickly went away as she saw the man’s face turned ghost white as he dashed back to the van, ripped open the door and got in.

The van then drove away from the group, Chloe and Sabrina could only stare in shock as Garrick flicked the ashes off the end of his cigarette. “Man, what a bunch of idiots, trying something like that in broad daylight? Fucking morons.” he muttered, looking at the two girls. “... So why did you come to me? For all you know I could have been apart of that ragtag group.”

Chloe puffed her chest up a bit, taking a step forward as she glared at him, trying to make herself look at intimidating as possibly, which was hard since he was easily two feet taller than her, and looked at her with a very unimpressed expression. “You were nowhere near the guys following us, you had no way of knowing I would even bother trying to get your help, and besides, I knew you wouldn’t do that.”

Garrick looked at her with a raised brow, bringing the cigarette to his lips again “Oh really? How?”

Chloe was silent for a moment, before responding “I just did.”

Garrick remained quiet for a moment, looking Chloe up and down, not in a perverted way but as if he was assessing her for something. Chloe wasn’t sure what he was looking for, or if he found it as he blew the smoke out of the side of his mouth, away from Chloe. She noted that although he was smoking, it didn’t smell like tobacco but instead of… green tea? “Interesting… okay. What are your plans now?”

Chloe looked back at Sabrina, who seemed a little shaken up, before back at Garrick “Were going back to your store to wait for our parents to pick us up.” Sabrina gently elbowed Chloe’s side as the blonde haired girl tacked on a quick “If that’s alright.”

Garrick gave an indifferent shrug, licking his index finger as before placing the still burning cigarette on it to extinguish it and tossing it in a trash can “Sure, why not.”

~~~~~

The last ‘odd’ thing that happened was on Friday, the day that Chloe would go see Mlle Regal for their weekly session. Adrien had brought in his new hamster, who was just hanging out on the desk with Adrien giving it a small head scratch with his finger as he spoke with Nino. It was so cute, that Chloe couldn’t help but take a picture!

She brought out her top of the line Sony camera (which she was now always seen with) and took a picture of it, the main focus being Adrien and his hamster. She would forever be jealous of how photogenic her best friend was, even when he didn’t know he was getting his picture taken.

She brought the camera away from her face to examine the picture on the screen but froze at what she saw. Behind Adrien was some sort of greenish purple mist with fleck of orange, and the mist seemed to form some sort of person… the mist was originating from the hamster.

“Oh my goodness Chloe!” Sabria whispered spying the photo on the display “That photo is so cute! Adrien looks so happy! Will you show him later?”

Chloe looked at her friend shocked “It… doesn’t look weird?” she asked uncertainty. Surely her friend saw the weird mist thing?

Sabrina blinked, looking at the photo again “No? I mean, the lightning is probably not ideal, but overall I think it looks good.” she said softly “... Why?”

Chloe gulped slightly, gently gripping her camera “... Its nothing.” she said simply as the final bell rang. Chloe shot up from her chair, grabbed her bag “I’ll talk to you later Sabrina! I’ve got to go!” she said, racing to the counsellors office, getting scolded by several teachers to slow down but she didn’t listen.

She hurriedly knocked on Mlle Regal’s door, hurriedly opening it before the woman had a chance to even finish calling out that it was open. Chloe walked into the office, closing the door and locking it, looking at the red haired woman who looked back at her confused.

“Chloe, is everything alright?”

“No. No I don't think so. Please tell me what you see when you look at this picture!” Chloe said, handing the woman her camera, who took it gingerly and looked at the display picture first with a neutral expression.

Chloe observed as Mlle Regal’s face from from neutral, to a confusion, than shock as she looked at Chloe with a look of utter bewilderment “... Did you take this picture?”

Chloe could only nod, as Mlle Regal looked back down at the camera. “Has anyone else seen this picture?”

Chloe bit her bottom witch, feeling nervous by how calm Mlle Regal was being. Could she see it or not? Why wasn’t she freaking out? Or was she freaking out on the inside and Chloe couldn’t see it. “Sabrina did, but she didn’t seem to react to the… thing in the photo.”

Mlle Regal nodded, leaning back in her chair, appearing deep in thought, her fingers drumming against her desk, the only sound in the room the gentle clicking of her nails against the wood.

Finally the woman spoke “Chloe, could you give me a copy of the photo?” she asked, looking at the blonde haired girl, her expression unreadable.

Chloe looked at her, slowly nodded “Of course, but what is it?”

“Well, I have a feeling I know what it is, but I need to show it to someone first for confirmation, if that is alright…” Mlle Regal took a deep breath “And if turns out my suspicions are correct, then we need to talk.”

#long post #chloe bourgeois #the mentorship au #adrien's mentorship au #counsellor au #carmine regal #tea magic #ladybug au #ml au #miraculous au

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justjensenanddean · 6 years

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CW Star Jensen Ackles Invites AD Inside His Family Home in Austin

Jensen and his wife, Danneel, worked with a local Austin team to devise a lakeside home with tongue-in-cheek touches and a musical through line

Kathryn Romeyn

NOVEMBER 27, 2018 10:30 AM

There’s a lot going on inside the Lake Austin home of actors Jensen and Danneel Ackles—a lot of color, a lot of texture, endless elements begging their stories to be told. If you need a quick snapshot: The living room is scattered with guitars and, on the shag rug, Technicolor floor pillows; antique Venetian dioramas of Lilliputian-sized rooms are embedded into the white-oak walls, while a hanging cage traps gilded Barbie dolls by Micky Hoogendijk; on top of a shelf housing a record player, a photograph of Tom Waits sits next to a chicken skeleton; a regal white peacock perches on the side of the mercantile-style bar. There’s the master bedroom swaddled in Trove wall covering bearing vintage photography of 1920s opera boxes. And the two-story screened-in porch holds a table crafted from a 2,000-year-old cypress sinker log, a storied Boyd Elder cow skull, and four-foot glass lanterns from Tony Duquette’s estate.Indeed, Danneel and Duquette share a similar philosophy. “More is more is more!” Danneel says emphatically. “More is the most.” Still, the Ackleses' five-bedroom, 7,500-square-foot residence isn’t actually an ode to opulence but rather an evocative tribute to key passions at the core of their personalities: the music and aesthetics of the late ’60s, Austin’s art scene, and imaginative oddities and occultist ephemera, perhaps appropriate considering Jensen’s longtime role on the CW’s Supernatural.After deciding to leave Brentwood, California, and coming this close to putting in an offer on a Lake Austin fixer-upper, the couple set their gaze on a house three doors down, sans “for sale” sign. “As we drove by, Danneel and I both looked at our real estate agent and were like, ‘See, that is the kind of house we’re looking for,’” recalls Jensen. Adds Danneel, “we wanted something less ostentatious.” Fortunately, the owner was willing to sell, but the property was far from turnkey and required an overhaul to go from what Danneel calls the “Texas Tuscan look"—generic stuccoed track mansion—to a wood-clad ranch-style stunner.

Danneel, a Tony Duquette superfan, was over the moon when Santini brought the stained glass pendants she’d bought from his estate. Photo: Douglas Friedman

The slightly sunken living room with the deep blue banquette couch, white shag rug, macrame chair, and muscular oak beams is Jensen’s favorite space.Photo: Jeff Wilson

Jensen and Danneel enlisted Austin architect Paul Lamb and Abode principal interior designer Fern Santini to kickstart what ended up being a very collaborative renovation—even the Ackleses' eldest child, five-year-old JJ, got into the fun, choosing everything in her Pinterest-worthy bedroom. At their initial meeting with Santini, the potential for partnership was evident when she pulled up in an auspicious 1967 E-Type Jaguar. “I mean, it’s just like the coolest thing ever,” says Jensen of the car, which was made in the same year Danneel had said she wanted to recreate in the Austin home so as to pay tribute to the Laurel Canyon bungalow where the couple once lived. “People like Carly Simon had played guitar there,” Danneel says. “It was a magical little place. So when Fern pulls up in that car ... We just bonded over music and a love of that time period and had our vision right off the bat.”

Executing that vision involved blowing out the majority of the house’s interior, taking it down to the studs, and reconfiguring it. “It was very closed and very ‘90s,” says Santini. Extensive structural work was devised by Lamb, one of Santini's frequent creative conspirator. “Paul is from New Orleans and I’m from Louisiana, and we have the same odd sense of humor and style,” says Danneel, who saw a residential elevator he’d done entirely in red velvet and said, “That’s the guy for me!” The foursome worked beautifully together—that is, after Jensen learned early on to keep his mouth shut if and when he doubted any stylistic choices. When shown the idea for a rich, royal blue sofa, “I was like, ’Y’all are crazy!’” says Jensen. “But then I just thought, I’m not going to get in their way.”

Smart man, considering a highly personalized space began to unspool under Santini and Lamb's direction. “It was imperative that the house express the Ackleses—young, bold, and irreverent,” Lamb says. “It had to be full of humorous and endearing eccentricities and it needed to radiate a comforting yet exotic familiarity.” He simplified and opened spaces, flipped the feel from a masonry house to a wood-framed home—thanks to exposed beams, larger expanses of windows, and rich wooden ceilings—and, perhaps most transformational, added a breezy two-story screened porch that altered the entire profile. “The former house was straight-laced and vaguely Mediterranean,” Lamb says. “Now it is an eclectic, free-spirited, Austin-style lake house.” Santini calls it “a cross between Joni Mitchell and the Serge Gainsbourg–Jane Birkin thing that was going on in Paris at the same time. It’s very hip but it’s low-key.”

Musically, the home is rich with sound, thanks to Jensen’s collection of guitars and the McIntosh turntable Santini says she “has real fetish for, after spending my entire career trying to hide stereo equipment.” There’s also a surfeit of historical and meaningful music-related artwork—think photographs of Yasgur’s Farm in Woodstock and a house where Bob Dylan recorded. “The hand-scraped wood floors undulate quite heavily, and we’ve got these giant beams and wood all around that feel like you’re in the hull of a giant ship,” Jensesn says. “What that does is it creates an amazing acoustic sound. We’ve always had music in our lives, and we wanted to pass on that tradition.”

The parents of three also are active supporters of local art. “We’re not the type who need it to all be the same. That’s criminal to me, almost,” says Danneel of their home full of diverse pieces from Austin and Marfa, including female artists from galleries like Women and Their Work. Santini describes the pair as risk-takers who both led the charge on outside-the-box thinking and let her push the limits. In their third home together, the Ackleses hit their stride, nailing a personally reflective infusion of edge, humor, and spirit.

“It goes to that having a history, having a story,” says Jensen, who, with his wife, selects works based on a gut feeling as opposed to popularity or perceived value. It’s the same way Danneel approached design. “We have so many friends who come into the house and are like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love this—it’s so crazy and unexpected. But man, I would have never picked out all these things, and I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do it!’” she says. “I’ve heard this over and over, and I wish more people would just be brave and go with what makes them happy.”

The home’s entry was designed to feel like an outdoor living space according to Santini, who sourced an 1850s English table and unusual Swedish lantern from the 1820s to anchor the room. The woven stools are from Tidelli, and the headless deer with ferns are by Italy’s Imperfetto Lab.

Architect Paul Lamb’s significant removal of walls led to a feel-good expansiveness where there are no boundaries. “It all kind of flows,” says Jensen. “You never feel like you’re in just one room.” In the media room, they did the least amount of work, painting the dark ceiling trusses to lighten the space and putting a German smear on the orange-y fireplace to tone it down.

The most Texas room in the house is the Marfa-imbued dining space, where the couple’s cherished Boyd Elder bull skull hangs. It’s part of a 10-piece series from the ’70s, the most famous of which was on the cover of the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits album. “Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s bands on tour wanted to have an artist with them, and Boyd was like the muse for the Eagles,” says Danneel, adding of the late artist, “I believe he dated Joni Mitchell, and she has one of the pieces.”

The slightly sunken living room with the deep-blue banquette couch, white shag rug, macrame chair, and muscular oak beams is Jensen’s favorite space. “There are just so many textures in that living room and vibrant colors, and it’s all surrounded by this amazing wood. I can just sit there and pick away at a guitar or play records all day long,” he says.

Behind the sofa is a gold birdcage artwork by Austin artist Micky Hoogendijk. It’s an observation on “women who seem to be trapped by money and possessions and they’re OK with it; they like living in that gilded cage,” says Danneel. “It looks intense but when you get close to it they’re all smiling and happy and unaware that they’re in this cage because they’re gold and perfect. For me that’s just somewhere I never want to be, so I was really attracted to that.”

Danneel spends a lot of time in the babies’ room (22-month-old twins Zeppelin and Arrow) and the kitchen, where the kids’ favorite toy is a rolling acrylic table from the ‘50s. (“Fern would have a heart attack,” she laughs.) They tore the space down to nothing and built it back from scratch. “It was a totally different feel, and very kind of country looking, which didn’t blend well with the rest of the house,” Jensen says. Now, to Lamb, “the kitchen’s glossy painted wood boards look like pinstripes, crisp and good-natured, like a happy kitchen in the Hamptons.”

“There’s not a space they don’t use,” says Santini of the house she worked on with Jensen and Danneel. The reimagined pool room taps into their proclivity for spooky oddities with framed tarot cards and a game table that could work for board games or even séances, says Lamb, who added a secondary kitchen for big gatherings with access to a barbecue area on the lawn, and a wine room.

A native Southerner, Danneel fought hard for the addition of a screened-in porch, which Lamb had the vision—inspired by Greenwood Plantation in St. Francisville—to make two stories tall. “I wanted more than anything to be able to sit out there, not get eaten alive by mosquitos, and look at the lake and watch the boats go by,” says the actress. Jensen’s favorite piece in the house is the long table, custom made using a 2,000-year-old cypress log that had sunk and was buried on the West Bank of New Orleans.

The bar—black walnut with black and white veined marble—is on one end of the large living room and is the site of frequent small parties involving music, either live or from the McIntosh turntable. The cabinets were specially made to light prized bourbons, and on the side is a white taxidermy peacock Santini tracked down over months. Flooring throughout the house is hand-scraped Texas post oak with character to spare.

The master bedroom and the adjacent sitting room are clad in reclaimed barn wood, juxtaposing the whimsical wallpaper covered in sections by Japanese-inspired barn door panels that allow for flexible boundaries. Jensen said of the scheme, “You guys are losing me, but it sounds awesome, so knock it out!” Danneel already owned the two petrified wood and resin log tables that sit in front of the vintage ‘50s daybed with Mongolian lamb, though the majority of what’s in the home was selected or made specifically for it.

Inspiration for their master bathroom shower came from an Architectural Digest story featuring a steel and glass shower in the home of Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. Lit by Apparatus fixtures, Lamb conceived a simple vaulted space with a white oak board ceiling and fumed and cerused walnut cabinets with a slight Tansu feel. A Kyle Bunting cowhide rug is centered on the room, and Holly Hunt ombre-dyed handkerchief linen window treatments frame the lake view.

The pair’s five-year-old daughter, JJ, helped pick out all her own bedroom decor. “The more color the better,” says Danneel. Santini calls it “hippie in training.” Like in the rest of the home, her walls are plaster.

The ultra-private home looks out at a nature preserve across the water. Durable throw pillows around the house were made of old quilts purchased online. “We bought a lot of them and mixed them all up,” says Santini. “There’s nowhere in the house where you feel like you have to tip toe around or can’t sit. That was definitely intentional.”

Inside and out, Lamb and Santini ensured that the Ackleses’ Austin home “expresses them—young, bold, and irreverent. It had to be full of humorous and endearing eccentricities and it needed to radiate a comforting yet exotic familiarity.”

architecturaldigest

#Jensen Ackles #Danneel Ackles #JJ Ackles #Zeppelin Bram Ackles #Arrow Rhodes Ackles #Ackles Home: Austin #Architectural Digest Photoshoot 2018 #*#long post for ts

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