#I've STILL not gotten the chance to use it but i have a spell where Bertie makes 3 duplicates of himself appear too so this is future canon

[fierymiasma]

۵ The Spare ۵ // Sebastian x f!MC x Ominis - Silver Trio

Summary: Ominis tries to be happy for Sebastian and their new friend. Really he's happy that his two favorite people have starting seeing each other.

...It's too bad that he wasn't included.

Sebastian and f!MC try repeatedly to court Ominis, too bad he's oblivious.

Tags: Love triangles, Slight Angst with eventual happy ending, Confessions, Mutual Pining, Fluff, OT3, Silver Trio, Making Out

Word Count: 5k 🍃

A/Ns: Got a lot of requests from readers to do a spin-off of my other Silver Trio Fic "Between". It's a bit longer but hope you enjoy it!

|| My Other Work || AO3 || Other Silver Trio Fic

"Your willingness to use powerful spells is admirable.  You're much more powerful than you ever let on."

"Sebastian, please, you can stop with all the flattery."  She laughed, trying to fight the rising blush on her cheeks.  She casted another spell at the practice dummy.  "I've already promised you that I'll take you on my next outing to fight the poachers instead of Natty.  You have already gotten what you want!"

The boy in question mocked offense.  "What?  I can't give the most powerful witch our age a simple compliment?"  She rolled her eyes playfully, pretending to be annoyed.  Sebastian was unrelenting.  "I bet you could even give Professor Hecat a run for her money."

Ominis's hand trembled on his wand, unable to cast the new spell they've been practicing.  His stomach couldn't help but churn in disgust as his friends continue to tease each other.  Even in the vast space of the Undercroft, it felt too stifling whenever Sebastian charmed their mutual friend.

His wand showed him the hazy rough outlines of the other two.  Sebastian's arm practically draped around her.  Ever since the start of their 6th year,  the trio had been spending more and more time together in the Undercroft.  Sebastian and the Hufflepuff frequently snuck out of the castle at all hours of the day, finding adventure elsewhere.

Ominis tried not to let it bother him, how close they were getting.  They had invited him along, of course, time and time again on all of their adventures.  Ominis had no idea why they thought that he would like to trail along after them.  Be a bystander to the newfound romance that the other two were so clearly keeping a secret from him?   Hard pass, thank you very much.

"Your spellwork is exception."  Sebastian continued, watching her land a particularly nasty hit on the dummy.  "You'll have to teach me some of the tricks you've picked up."

Ominis could feel the palpable embarrassment emitting from her.  She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears.  "Well, I did take a leaf out of your book, Sebastian.  I picked up this jinx from one of the books I 'borrowed' from the restricted section."

Sebastian laughed.  "Getting into places you're not supposed to be?  A woman after my own heart."

Ominis swallowed thickly.  It felt like it was only yesterday that Sebastian returned after his first night sneaking into the restricted section with the new student.

Sebastian groaned, flopping face first into his bed, exhausted from a night of crouching around the library away from the searching eyes of Madam Scribner. 

"Did you have fun, Sebastian?" Ominis drawled from his on bed, having been rudely woken back up by Sebastian's return.

To Ominis's shock, Sebastian sighed dreamingly.

"Merlin's beard, Ominis.  She's exceptional."

Something ugly festered inside Ominis.  He wanted to be done with this conversation, to go back to bed and wake up to a reality where he could still pretend he had a chance of being with Sebastian.  "I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to."

Sebastian rolled onto his back, looking up at the top of his canopy bed, as if he was trying to picture her face.  "The new girl.  On her very first duel, she knocks me flat on my bum."  He scoffed.  "Said it was good practice.  What I won't give to duel her again.  Makes getting detention for her entirely worth it."

Unable to stomach any more of Sebastian's words, Ominis fluffed his pillow before turning away from the other boy.

 "Ominis, she's beautiful.  Her lips, her eyes, her hair.  Merlin's beard, Ominis, she could be part Veela for all I know.  The second she walks into any room, it's like everything else fades away."  Sebastian squeezed his pillow close to his chest as he faced the other boy.  "Ominis the things she can do with a wand.  The way she took down that troll…"  Sebastian sighed, lost in his own thoughts. 

Ominis was glad that his back was facing Sebastian.  He was afraid that his expressions would betray his inner anguish.  "Fighting a troll for you on her first day of Hogwarts?"  Ominis's nose wrinkled.  He was painfully reminded of all the other giggling girls who threw themselves at Sebastian's feet. "There is a such a thing as trying too hard."

Sebastian's smile dipped downward.  "No, Ominis, the fight was almost easy.  That's how brilliant she is."

Ominis had always known that the crush he harbored on the other Slytherin boy was doomed from the very start.  Sebastian's silver tongue had the entire female population of Hogwarts (and some of the wizards as well) completely under his spell.  Why, with enough effort, Sebastian could certainly find a witch he liked enough to settle down with.

It seemed like, Sebastian already had.

Tears burning his eyes, Ominis pulled the covers over his head, trying to drown out Sebastian's stream of consciousness as he continued to heap praises on the new student. 

"Ominis?"  She shook his arm gently.  "Ominis, are you with us?"

Ominis returned to the present.  Honeysuckle, rosewater, and ivy.  Her perfume was a familiar comforting presence.  His tight knuckles relaxed on his wand.  His eyes felt too hot, and he hoped he hadn't teared up in front of them.  He could feel the other two exchange concerned looks.  She reached over.  Her thumb rubbed soothing circles on Ominis's biceps.  Even under all his layers of fabric, he could feel goosebumps starting to form. 

He withdrew from her hot touch. 

His parents had always told Ominis that love at first sight (or lack of sight) was a fairy tale fantasy left for those of lesser blood or muggles.  So, Ominis was entirely unprepared for it when he confronted the Hufflepuff sneaking out of the Undercroft for the first time. 

He heard the telltale mechanical whirls of the clocktower that hid the Undercroft.  He heard distinct footsteps, light, with a high heel to them. 

It was just as he had feared.  It wasn't Sebastian.  The magical aura that surrounded this next person didn't feel quite like Sebastian's.  It was foreign, ancient and old.  It was the newest addition to the Hogwarts student body.  The insufferable show off who somehow seduced her way into winning  a duel against Sebastian.

Ominis couldn't tell what he was more angry at: her existence or Sebastian who had betrayed his trust by telling a practical stranger the secrets behind the undercroft.  It was Ominis's hiding place, his secret to give.  It was special, a place where Sebastian and Ominis could be together, alone.  Where Ominis could pretend that he had escaped from the cruel reality of their lives.

He turned that infamous Gaunt anger onto the new girl.  She was a Hufflepuff, like all of her brethren, Ominis was sure she would wilt under his venomous tongue.  It wasn't the first time Ominis sent a girl crying back to her dorm.

"Did you just come from the Undercroft?"  He snarled.  "How did you get in here?"

Calmly, the new student answered.  "Actually, Sebastian brought me there.  But he made it perfectly clear to keep quiet about it." She had a soft, soothing melodic voice. 

Ominis scoffed, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice.  Typical Hufflepuff, soft-spoken, meek, quick to squeal and rat out their friends the second their arm got twisted. 

"You breathe a word about this place to anyone and not even your precious Professor Fig will be able to help you."

He could tell that mentioning Professor Fig had struck a nerve.  The quiescent unnamable magic swirling around her grew sharp, its aura almost suffocating Ominis.  She took a firm step forward towards him, her heels echoing loudly against the marble tiles.  Her voice grew louder, firmer.  "You needn't threaten me, Gaunt.  But mention Professor Fig again, and even your family name won't be able to shield you from me." 

She took another step forward.  Ominis took a hesitant step back.  He didn't expect the badger to have claws.  "I was trying to defend Sebastian.  He was clear that this was a secret place, and I was to tell no one."  Ominis was startled by her closeness.  He could smell her perfume, flowery.  Honeysuckle, rosewater, and ivy.  She took another step forward.  "Sebastian's a good friend.  He cares very deeply for you." 

Ominis's lips curled.  As if she knew anything about Sebastian.  About what Sebastian's wants and needs were.  He held his ground.  "I don't need you to tell me about my oldest friend, thank you very much.  Sebastian gets himself in enough trouble.  He doesn't need your help." 

To Ominis's surprise, her shoulders relaxed a bit.  Her arms uncrossed in understanding.  "You care for Sebastian.  You worry over him."  Ominis's throat felt dry.  Was she trying to insinuate something?  "You needn't be concerned, Ominis.  I can see you're scared."  Ominis was about to deny her accusations but found that he couldn't breathe.  "I am not trying to come in between you or Sebastian.  Your…bond is sacred."  Was he that obvious?  "I'm not trying to steal anyone's…friend away from them."  

For once in Ominis's life, he was speechless.  It was rare for him to find someone who could match his venomous tongue and cruel words. 

"I'm not sure what you're implying."  Ominis lied.  "You forget yourself, new girl."

"Ominis!  Ominis!" Sebastian practically shouted in his ear.

Ominis jumped.  Too lost in thought, he hadn't realized that he had been daydreaming again.  They were still in the Undercroft, practice dummies now completely forgotten.  Her soft hands were still on his arm, trying to comfort him.  Sebastian, on his right, hovering a tad closer than a concerned friend normally should.

His throat felt dry.  He wasn't comfortable being the center of their undivided attention.  He needed air.

"You two keep practicing your hexes."  Ominis muttered, pulling his arm away from her and turning away from Sebastian.  "I need to lie down for a bit."

Ominis wasn't able to see the way Sebastian's eyes met the Hufflepuff's, a silent conversation held with just eyes alone.  "Is everything alright?"  Sebastian asked.  "Ominis, you can confide in us, if you need."

Ominis snorted as he threw his satchel over his shoulder.  Like he could ever reveal his true feelings to the happy couple. 

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

He avoided the Hufflepuff and her Slytherin for a better part of two weeks.  A difficult task given how persistent the other two were.

"Ominis!  There you are."  Sebastian purred, his voice dipping down an octave.  "You've been rather difficult to pin down lately." 

Ominis didn't even pause.  If anything, he walked faster down the hallway to his next class.  "I'm sorry, Sebastian.  Far too busy with this extra essay Professor Sharp assigned me.  I'll see you at dinner."

His partner in crime appeared around the corner, as if she apparated to Sebastian's side.  "A-Ah, hello, Ominis!"  She nervously greeted.  "Your hair looks rather nice today!  Looks kind of like the portrait of the bloke we're learning in History of Magic."

Ominis did finally pause in his stride.  "Uric…the…Oddball?  I look like a lunatic who wears a jellyfish on his head?"

Her shoulders fell.  Maybe she should have paid more attention in class.  She hadn't actually thought that one through too much. 

Without another word, Ominis swept away around the corner, onto his next class.

Now properly alone, Sebastian groaned.  "Merlin's beard, sweetheart, what was that?  Were you trying to woo him or get him to commit you to a loony bin?  We want to charm him not send him running away screaming!"

She glared at him in offense.  "I'm not good at flirting!"

Sebastian sighed, running his fingers through his hair in fake exasperation.  He couldn't help but smile, as he looked at her teasingly.  "It is truly one of Hogwarts biggest mysteries how you managed to bag someone as charming as me."

She tried to kick him in the shin for good measure.  He calmly took a small step back avoiding her rather short legs.

"Don't worry, sweetheart.  Sebastian's here for you.  Time to show you how to properly sweep a man off his feet."

She rolled her eyes, "Like you can do better."

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

[Cont reading here]

[burning-academia-if]

I'm so sorry for all the notifications lmao I'm going around liking every ask because i haven't been on the page for a bit. And why the fuck is all the asks making me like Lars. I don't want to like Lara because Lara doesn't want to like my MC.. i already have enough problems with Rook 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I need to stay away from these problematic ROs. 😭

Oh quessssstiiioooon someone's probably asked this before but I've seen it on a few blogs. But since magic is obvs a thing. If someone cursed MC or gave them something that could only be broken by true love's kiss (especially since mc doesn't really have the healthiest relationship with those they are close to so who would think they could break a spell like that)

and it's after they've confessed to the ROs. How would they react to MC not waking up at first after they kissed them... but waking up after they've started having a major meltdown after all?

If you have gotten this ask could i please have a link because finding anything on tumblr is... 😒

And i literally fall in love with this goddamn IF every time i read anything on this page. It's a curse in itself... I hope you have a lovely weekend 🤣😇💜

Omg never apologize for mass liking, that's literally anyone on Tumblr's lifeblood lol

Also you know, I feel like Lars, despite being the biggest asshole of the ROs, is still less of a handful then Rook lmfaO good luck with dealing with them!

Also I have not been asked this one before! Felt very inspired it with, so I turned it into a prompt!

Rook:

            You’re so still against the touch of his lips. You’re still even after he pulls away. His chest buzzes so loud it echoes in his ears. You don’t move, not even the flutter of your lashes and he should have known. How can he be your true love, when he spent so many years running away?

            Whoever it is, would look you in the eyes when you said you loved them. They’re someone who would have taken you in their arms instead of turning away again and again. He sinks to his knees, hands clutching at the side of the bed where you lay. Tears burn at his eyes, but not a single one falls.

            Even before he made this foolish decision, he knew. All that’s left is to find the one could wake up. If you’re life lays in the hands of someone else, a fact he always knew, then so be it.

            He’ll let you go, like he should have so long ago. He will. He just needs another moment here with you before he turns away. He needs to hear your heartbeat and the cadence of your breathing for one last time.

            Time passes as slow as honey, thick and opaque. His body is listless. In the silence, your breath catches and he blinks. Turns. You take another shaky breath, and when your eyes open, he’s on his feet.

         ��  “MC!” He gathers you in his arms, holding on tight. “Oh, thank god. I thought I lost you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

            His forehead falls against your shoulder, and the tears finally fall. Your awake, your body is warm. And maybe, just maybe, he really does have a chance to make things right.

Beck:

            When you don’t move after he pulls away, he doesn’t waver. Magic is strange, it can effect everyone differently, and with how much magic has affected you, he isn’t concerned that there isn’t an immediate response.

            Instead, he takes a seat next to where you lay. He brings his knees up to his chest and tells you about all the things you’ve missed. The first flowers of spring, the new used bookstore that opened up on the corner, school events, and class drama.

            The time ticks down, and it pricks at his heart. He keeps talking. About himself, about his life, about how he first fell for you, about how you are the warmth of the fire on a winter day, and if even if he isn’t your true love, then that’s ok. He’s just so glad he was able to have any time with you at all.

            At some point, his throat is dry and he’s run out of words. What can he say, as the sky turns a dusty orange. He swallows, eyes fluttering closed and feel the first of the tears fall. If it isn’t him to wake you up, then who will it be? And how long will you be cursed to sleep until they find you?

            A world without your laugh is far worse than a world where the two of you aren’t meant to be.

            Then.

            You shift beside him, and he goes still. When he looks, he sees your eyes flutter open, eyebrows furrowing as you look at him.

            “…You’re awake.” He says, voice barely above a whisper. He brushes his fingers against your cheek, so impossibly gently. “You’re awake.”

            He laughs, a watery, trembly sort of laugh, as he runs a thumb against your cheek. You’ll still be with him.

Rhea:

            “Please wake up.” She whispers, kneeling next to you. There is no sign the kiss did anything. It’s fine, this isn’t the end of the world. She has had the logic of magic seared into her brain, and she knows how it works. She’ll wait. She can wait.

            But still, you remain still. She gets up and moves around, to give her body something to do as she waits. She’s not good at that, waiting. She always needs to be in the midst of doing something. Making progress. When something’s out of her hands like this, she feels like she’s in freefall.

            There might be a chance, she thinks as time ticks by, that you and her aren’t the ones for each other. Somehow, it makes the anxious energy in her gut easier to deal with. As long as she doesn’t think of the heartbreak that will hit the moment she leaves your side, it gives her a plan. Something to work towards. Steps to map out to figure out where to go from here and how to wake you up. The process of even finding the one who could do so.

            She’s on step four when your fingers twitch. She goes still in response. All her thoughts scatter. Like a deer in headlights she watches you, wondering if it was just her imagination. But then your body shifts and she’s next to you again, softly calling your name.

            “MC? Can you…can you hear me darling?” When you blink away, she feels a smile bloom despite herself. You’re awake and well and still hers.

Zoe:

            There’s doubt in their chest even before they press a kiss against your lips. For it to be them? They’re not the kind of person who makes it into fairytales. They know this. Stories are the sort of thing they’ve studied their entire life. They exist on the other side of the glass, able to peer in but never able to be.

            As you remain still, they stand and lean back on their heel. Whoever your true love is, it isn’t them. It isn’t that they doubt your love, but it’s hard to imagine that kind of forever for them. If this was the fate they were dealt, then so be it. And even so, you were their first love, and that’s a kind of special whatever comes next can’t take away. Even on different paths, even living different lives, you can both still be a fond memory for the other.

            But god, they’ve never experience heartbreak either or the way it collides into their body and leaves them breathless. They wanted this. Every moment with you was a dream they never thought they’d get a chance to see. They were awkward and clumsy, and they were the luckiest person alive to have been able to met you.

            They press a hand against their mouth, to stop the sob that’s trying to break through them. The image of you blurs as tears collect in their eyes and stream down their cheeks. They squeeze their eyes shut, trying to collect themselves.

            It’s why it startles them, when they feel a hand reaching out, “…Zoe?”

            They choke on a gasp, eyes flying open to see you awake. You’ve pulled yourself up, and your eyes are open. It strikes them so suddenly, they all but throw themselves against you. Any embarrassment they used to feel is gone. They’ll never let themselves hesitate again.

Lars:

            “You would get yourself cursed.” He whispered against your lips as he pulls away. He doesn’t believe in true love or soulmates. For a curse to be based on the concept, it must make it the flimsiest curse to have been made. All it really needs is love and faith and stubbornness. Maybe his faith is lacking, but he sure as hell can make up for it with stubbornness.

            So he waits. He leans his head back, closes his eyes, and wonders how long it will take. His hand toys with your fingers absently. With you asleep, you won’t be able to comment on the display. He still remembers when you said you loved him, the look in your eyes that left no room for doubt. He thought you were making a terrible decision, but he wasn’t one to complain. Your terrible decision, just lead to his great decision to go along with it.

            The time passes slow, but the anxiety never comes. That isn’t who he is. Not when he’s sure about this, or at least more sure about it then whatever magic was used on you. And even if the kiss doesn’t wake you up, he’ll just find whoever cursed you in the first place and make them reap the consequences.

            When he feels your hand move, slipping your fingers between his, he sighs, “About time you got up.”

            “Lars? My hand—”

            “Don’t get used to it.” You laugh, the sound scratchy from sleep, and he feels his body relax. It was nice to have you back.

???:

            They know your souls are too entwined to have a doubt. That doesn’t not mean there won’t be blood on their hands for what was done to you. How dare someone curse the one they love. How dare someone put their hands on you.

            They’re kiss is so painfully soft despite the violent rage in their chest. It’s been so long since they’ve felt this burning under their skin. Did the Curse Giver think you were alone and unloved? Did they not realize you had someone who was entwined with you in every way, down to the way you take a breath.

            The wraiths flicker around them, agitated by the tremble in their body. They keep close to you, body curved as a way to shield you from the rest of the earth. If you don’t wake soon, they’re hands will find a blade, and that blade will find a body. The wraiths whisper amongst each other, as though capable of soothing them.

            “But you were cursed even before this, weren’t you?” They breathe, pressing another kiss to your forehead. You shift beneath them, and when they pull away you open your eyes.

            You say their name, and the sound of it wraps around them. They have a Curse Giver to kill, but for now, they only lay down beside you, and ask if you’re ok. You’ve been asleep for so long, and it took too long to get to you. They’ll never be late again.

[joelswritingmistress]

You Scare Me, Professor: Chapter 29

Summary: The reader is taking graduate classes at a local university in the wooded upstate New York. She is drawn to her professor, Dr. Joel Miller, though she is also inherently aware that he has something dark about him that she can't quite put her finger on. As the reader's attraction grows deeper, she has to decide whether to endure the danger or run away as fast as possible.

Pairing: Professor Joel Miller x f!reader

Tori and I met up on my lunch break the following afternoon. I filled her in about the mishap with James the night before and she visibly cringed.

“Ouch.” She made a face. “That was a bold way to shoot his shot.”

“I felt so bad,” I admitted, “I still feel bad.” I twirled a French fry in ketchup and popped it into my mouth.

“Did you tell Joel?”

I nodded. “The night before I had gotten a card that was left on my car with no name. I thought it was this creepy guy Trevor from class.”

“Who’s creepy Trevor?”

“He's just this brown noser type of guy. I saw him lurking behind the building one night when I left and then he, like, popped out of the library stacks at me out of the blue.”

“Red flag, red flag.” Tori made invisible check marks in the air with her finger. “What if he's the lady killer?” That's what the papers and news outlets had branded the person responsible for the two dead women.

“Lately, I think everyone is the lady killer.” I huffed a laugh and shook my head. I changed the subject. “Are you and Derek doing anything for Valentine's Day tonight?”

“We’re going to see an early movie and then going out for cocktails and some apps.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Where’s Mr. Gold Coins taking you?” She asked with a laugh as she forked a bite of chicken from her salad, “Paris?”

I laughed. “We’re going to a place called Lake Kora.”

“Where's that?”

I shrugged and reached for the second half of my turkey wrap and took a hearty bite.

“You didn't Google it?”

I shook my head and continued to chew.

“Do I have to teach you everything?” Tori eyed me and began typing away on her phone. “How do you spell it?”

“L-a-k-e,” I began, smirking at her as she flicked my hand.

“Smartass, I know how to spell ‘lake'. What about the second part?”

“K-o-r-a.”

Tori eyed her tiny screen and began flicking her finger until she seemed satisfied. “Hmm..”

“What?” I arched my neck and she turned her phone part way.

“Looks nice.” She scrolled through photos. “Is he going to put, like, rose petals all over the bed? Feed you chocolate covered strawberries?”

I nearly spit the bite of my sandwich out and the two of us began laughing, drawing looks from other customers in the little sandwich shop.

“Sorry,” Tori whispered with a hand up, still chuckling as she took a sip of her iced tea to compose herself.

“Maybe we can double date some time soon,” I suggested.

“I gotta get a feel for this guy,” she nodded in agreement and poked around through her lettuce in search of a crouton. “What's going on next weekend?”

“His sister is getting married. We’re going to Vermont for the long weekend.”

Tori raised her eyebrows. “Wow.”

I nodded. “I was nervous to go but I met her recently and we hit it off, so..” I shrugged.

My friend pointed her fork in my direction. “If this guy ends up breaking your heart, I'll break his neck.” Tori paused, “Well, I’ll get someone to do it because I probably wouldn't be able to.”

I have a closed-mouth smile. “I hope this is all what it seems; because I'm totally caught up.”

“I know you are.” She nodded, “I've never seen you like this.”

“I know.” I ate another French fry and sipped on my Diet Dr. Pepper. “It's a little scary.”

Tori gave a genuine smile. “I guess life should be about taking chances.. and following your heart.” She raised her styrofoam cup, “To the next step?”

I tapped my cup against hers. “To the next step.”

The ride to ‘up-upstate’ with Dr. Miller late that afternoon had me excited for the weekend ahead. We took the truck, loaded up with snacks and even stopped at a little hockey store to purchase two pairs of ice skates. I couldn’t wait to go ice skating. It had been so long since I’d been but I was sure I’d pick it up again - like second nature.

“Want a coffee?” Dr. Miller motioned to a little shop beside the hockey store, “Or hot chocolate?” He grinned and took my hand when I nodded. We wandered into the shop and the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans hit me like a wave.

My eyes scanned a chalkboard with an endless array of choices. There were your typical French Vanilla flavors and Hazelnuts. And then the list trickled down to pistachio, white chocolate almond, blueberry and peppermint mocha.

“I’ll do a medium black coffee with a shot of espresso,” Dr. Miller ordered. “And a package of the chocolate covered espresso beans.”

When I spotted a banana mocha chocolate espresso, I was sold. Half hot chocolate, half coffee with the sweetness of the banana. Sign me up.

Dr. Miller smiled at me and gently squeezed the back of my neck as I ordered. I leaned into him and our hands found one another’s again after getting our orders and walking out.

“I can’t wait to get up there,” I told him when we got back in the car. I sipped my drink after giving the entrance to the cup a gentle blow and then set it in the cup holder. When Dr. Miller reached for my hand again, I squeezed his. I loved how he had to touch me at all times - whether holding my hand, squeezing my neck, or resting a hand on my knee as he drove.

He popped open the little bag of espresso beans and then reached over, prepared to place one in mouth.

I accepted, purposely sucking the pad of thumb for an extra second and Dr. Miller smiled at me. I almost giggled, thinking about Tori’s comment about the chocolate covered strawberries but I just grinned and looked out the window, relinking my hand with his.

Honestly, I didn't want the car ride to end. Until it did, and the A-frame lake house we would be staying in came into view.

Okay, I'm ready for the car ride to end.

The frozen lake stretched out, what looked like, for miles as he pulled down the long, rocky driveway.

Dr. Miller pulled the truck up beside the house and I got a glimpse of a hot tub on the front deck. He turned to glance at me and I couldn't help but smile.

“Come on.” He nodded his head toward the cabin and opened his door.

I eagerly trailed him up to the rental property. Neither of us bothered to grab our belongings yet. The sting of the cold weather felt refreshing on my cheeks on the short walk to the front door.

Dr. Miller punched a code into a little black box beside the door and a silver key popped out as the front of it opened.

“Do you own this house, too?” I had to ask, but he smiled and shook his head.

“I know as much about it as you do.” He slipped the key into the lock and opened the door, pulling me inside by the hand as he flipped on the main lights. It was like something from Pinterest or “hashtag cabin” on any number of social media outlets.

An oversized television sat above a stone fireplace to the right. A small collection of couches and chairs faced it, only split up by a shag throw rug. Above it hung a giant rustic chandelier. Overlooking the living room area was a loft that was accessible by a winding staircase and beneath the loft, straight ahead, was a cozy, modern kitchen with low ceilings.

“What do you think?” Dr. Miller put his hands on my shoulders from behind, and I reached up and placed one hand over his.

“I think we should stay here for a week.”

“Or two,” he added.

“Or two.” I nodded in agreement and looked over my shoulder at him. “Thank you. This is amazing.. again.”

“Let's get our bags.”

I followed him back to the car and he carried as much as he could, leaving me with just the ice skates that I set down on the couch in the living room area. We unloaded the little bit of food we’d brought up for the short stay and then towed the suitcases up the windy stairs to the lofty bedroom.

“Feel like some dusk ice skating?” Dr. Miller asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Is it safe?”

“I've been checking the weather all week,” he explained, “It's been in the teens and twenties.” Dr. Miller nodded, “There were some people out there when we drove up. Should be frozen solid.”

“Well, then, I can't wait.” My hands fell down into his and I bent at the hip to kiss him firmly on the lips. When I slowly dropped to my knees in front of him, working at the buckle of his belt, Dr. Miller looked down at me with a half, closed-mouth grin.

He sighed and arched his hips so I could shove his pants down to his ankles before closing his eyes as he stood back up. “Alright,” he agreed with a second deep breath.

“Unless you want to get right out onto the ice..” I teased.

Dr. Miller opened his eyes again and looked down at me. “It'll still be there in five minutes.”

“Five?” My hand wrapped around him now and I took him partway into my mouth. I guessed longer.

He groaned and smiled with his eyes closed. “Maybe three.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER

@untamedheart81 @suttonspuds @cesspitoflove @michilandcof @grogusmum @morallyinept @akah565 @brittmb115 @magpiepills @poodlebae @gobaaby-blog-blog @mermaidgirl30 @mandijo17 @shotgun-shelby @itscatrodriguez-thepearl @macaroni676 @acciowolfstar1 @smolbeanzzz @sarcasm-theotherwhitemeat @bandluvr97

[writethrough]

The Diviner (Part V)

(Morpheus x Prophetess Reader)

Synopsis: Your body needs time to heal, but your unconscious is finally dreaming.

Warnings: None? (Message me if you see any.)

Word Count: 3219

A/N: Did you really think I'd leave you hanging a full week after that little blurb of a last chapter? I think I've more than made up for it with this sucker.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck it out with me. I really enjoyed hearing what you like about this series.

To everyone who has reblogged, you are spectacular humans and deserve an endless supply of your favorite food.

I hope you all enjoy this final chapter! I'd love to know what you thought of this series, and if I should post more multi-part fics in the future.

Series Masterlist

You wander. A maze of darkness before you.  

You exhale and remember Morpheus.  

A room appears, lit by stained glass, with a throne in the middle. And he's there, alive, staring at you in shock. 

—  

“I don’t understand,” you say. “How am I awake?”  

You were dying. At least it felt like you were dying. So, why are you...fine?  

“If I may?” Lucienne asks. Morpheus called for her as soon as he saw you.  

His chin dips a fraction, but it’s enough for Lucienne to continue.  

“Given your abilities, I believe the severity of your injuries—and healing in the Dreaming—has allowed your subconscious to manifest.” She smiles, pleased with her next words. “You’re dreaming, my lady.”  

Your brow furrows, and you glance from her to Morpheus.  

“How is that possible? If I’m healing, shouldn’t my mind be recovering as well?”  

“Your mind is the most resilient part of you, prophetess. It stands to reason it would need little to no time to replenish,” Morpheus says.  

Your eyes lower to the floor, considering this.  

For centuries, you’ve seen possible futures—travesties no one could imagine. And you haven’t forgotten one.  

Day in and day out, vision after vision, a constant rush of images, sounds, smells, and even sensations when intense enough. Your mind has built up a tolerance for nearly anything and everything.  

It seems almost dying is child's play for it though your body would be down for some time.  

You take in Morpheus’ throne room, truly seeing where you are. “I’m…dreaming.” And you laugh. In disbelief, in wonder—in sheer joy.  

You are dreaming.  

—  

Morpheus transported your body into his realm as soon as you fainted.  

Between your physical injuries and the attack meant for Morpheus, your only chance was the magic and tools in the Dreaming.  

Lucienne, Matthew, and Death helped him stabilize you, but he never expected you to walk right up to him as if you were fine.  

However your body absorbed the attack, it caused your powers to shut down, and you’re experiencing the Dreaming for the first time in centuries.  

You’re acting yourself mostly, but sometimes you grow tired, your physical form telling your unconscious you aren’t out of the woods yet.  

Morpheus urges you to take a seat, worry flashing through his eyes.  

“I’m okay,” you say. “It’s just a minor spell.”  

“I wish I could do more,” he says, hand still on the back of your bicep.  

“You’ve done plenty. More than I could ever hope for.”  

His jaw clenches, a twitch of movement, but you catch it. You’ve gotten better at picking up his micro-expressions.  

“I mean it, Morpheus. I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you.” You try to push as much conviction in the words as possible.   

“You wouldn’t have been in harm's way if it wasn’t for me.”  

You shake your head, dizzying yourself and need to rest it on your hand. Morpheus’ brow pinches slightly.  

“Warrens decided to trap you and use me. I should've predicted that.”  

“That’s not in your ability,” he says.  

“And I should’ve figured I'd be in danger when Death said you’d be fine. I should’ve known she saw me dying and not you.”

It clicked not longer after you woke up. Of course, Death knew what was supposed to happen.

“You must not focus on the past. It will do nothing to aid your recovery.”  

You sigh. “I know. I just feel so stupid.”  

Your eyes are downcast. It surprises you when a gentle touch lifts your chin and directs you to focus on him.  

“I will not have you speaking as if you’ve done something wrong,” he says. “Because of you, I am alive. I will forever be grateful.”  

He waits for an answer. All you can do is nod.  

His touch vanishes, and he stands.  

“Perhaps I can show you more of the Dreaming.”  

You give him a small smile. “I’d like that.”  

—  

Time moves differently in the Dreaming. It was best when you stopped trying to keep track of it. All you know is that you’ve been recovering for some time. Long enough for you to have your role carved out here and for the residents to call you by name.  

Your exhaustion and dizzy spells are few and far between, but they’re intense and accompanied by symptoms of visions. A faint smell, a phantom touch, even a whisper of a voice, but no matter how much you try, you can’t hang onto them. They slip through your fingers before you recognize what they are. It’s like you’re missing a limb.  

Today, the loss is affecting you more than you thought it could. You miss your ability. As much trouble as it can cause, you somehow feel untethered from yourself. Even with your body lying unconscious, you’re more of a shell now than ever.  

And as much as you try to hide it, somehow, Morpheus knows.  

“You will return to yourself,” he says.  

You’re sitting in Fiddler’s Green on a bench beneath a grove of magnolia trees.  

“It feels like it’s been years,” you say, rubbing your arm. You haven’t felt the breeze on your skin since the attack. You hardly notice it now as the grass moves with it.  

You can tell he’s about to respond, and you already know what he’ll say.  

“Don’t tell me ‘it takes time’ or ‘be patient.’ I’ve been patient. I’ve had to be patient since Destiny gave me this damn power, and now I can’t even access it because I missed the signs last time!” You rub your face, trying to push the frustration out.  

He lets you have your moment to feel that anger.  

“Immortality is crueler than death,” he begins. “It's companions are loneliness and waiting.”  

You look at him, scanning his features, and nod. Your agitation cools into sympathy. 

“I forget what happened to you sometimes. I’m sorry.”  

“I will not accept an unnecessary apology,” he says. “My experiences do not outweigh yours.”  

“Nevertheless, I’m free here. You weren’t.”  

He locks eyes with you, a softness to them. “I am also free.”  

It’s like he’s latched onto your soul. His timbre pulls you closer. And you realize you don’t feel so lost when he’s around.  

“Boss!”  

You lean back and look toward the sound, missing Morpheus’ eyes widening a fraction at Matthew’s interruption, too.  

“Boss! Death’s here.” Matthew lands in front of you.  

Your brow furrows, and your heart quickens. “Death’s here?”  

Why would Death be here? She wouldn’t come to the Dreaming if she didn’t have a good reason.  

What if she’s working? What if you aren’t improving and the Dreaming is masking your worsening condition?  

Morpheus tilts his head slightly, sensing your tension. He puts the pieces together quickly as he stands. 

“I requested she come.” He turns to you, voice tender, reassuring. “I wished to spend time with her.”  

—  

You haven't seen Death since you arrived.  

She and Morpheus urged you to stay even though you wanted to give them privacy. You forgot what it was like to have friends—to be close to others. It was nice.  

Then she whisked you away, telling Morpheus it was “girl time.”  

You’re strolling on one of the paths: one that extends as long as you can walk and leads to wherever you wish.  

You’ve had enough time to think about that day, your limitations, Death’s, what Warrens did to you…  

“You knew I’d be there,” you say.  

Neither of you stop walking. It’s not a surprise that you’ve brought this up.  

“That’s why you were surprised. Not because I had a vision of Morpheus, but because I was supposed to be there all along—because I was supposed to die—and you couldn’t interfere.”  

She grimaces. “I’m sorry.”  

You let out a breathy laugh. “I should be used to all the secrecy, but I’m not.” You pause. “And yet, I get it. Price of power and all that, I guess.”  

Now, she halts. “I know this won’t bring you comfort, but your being alive is a miracle.”  

“Then how am I…”  

“I don’t know. And that’s not something I say often,” Death says. “I can only speculate, but the day Destiny came to you—before that, he came to me and asked I keep you here. I didn’t ask why, but maybe this was meant to happen. You were the only one who could save my brother.”  

You shake your head. “I still don’t understand. Why give me this power at all? Why not just put me on the path so I could save Morpheus at the end? And how could you see my murder if you made that promise?”  

“Not even I am sure of that.” She answers your last question. “But: Is that not what Destiny did? Put you on that very path?” She pauses, then softly. “And gave you a purpose. One bigger than anyone should have, but a purpose nonetheless.”  

That thought runs around your head. 

Did Destiny do that? 

It's hard to imagine that being the reason. But why else would he— 

“Do you…Do you think Destiny gave me this power so I would survive?”  

You aren’t sure that makes sense. 

You. Out of everyone that could make a difference in the world, Destiny chose you.  

Death shrugs. “Again, I can’t be certain. But think about it, it brought you to Hob, to me," she gives you a knowing look, "to Dream.” 

You roll your eyes. “Need I remind you that I hated Morpheus for the longest time.”  

“Need I remind you that was in the past tense.” She grins.  

“So, you’re saying it’s harder to kill me than I originally thought,” you say, trying to change the subject.  

“None of that,” she tuts. “Even though it’s not under the best circumstances, I am happy you and Morpheus are getting to know one another.”  

You hum. “I spent so long not knowing what to feel for him—having all of these unanswered questions—it’s strange…to finally have that behind me.” You pause. “I enjoy his company.”  

“I would’ve used a stronger word than that,” she says, grinning cheekily. 

The tiny smiles Morpheus sent you and the glances you threw him could’ve made her squeal if she was the type.  

“Okay,” you wave her off, “enough.”  

She puts her hands up, yielding.  

You hesitate before telling her this next part.  

“I think—No, I know my visions are returning.”  

“That’s great!” She grabs your arm. “...Isn’t it?”  

“It’s just…They aren’t back yet. They’re not full visions. And I don’t know what that means. Or how long I’ll be like this.” You gesture to yourself.  

She smiles empathetically. “It means you’re getting better. I can only imagine how frustrating it’s been, but you are healing.”  

You nod. She’s right.  

She slips her arm into yours. “Now, let me tell you all the embarrassing stories about my brother.”  

You throw your head back and laugh.  

—  

It’s been a few days since then, you think. You and Morpheus have spent most of your time together. He’s become someone you care for deeply, and you wonder if he feels the same.  

You think he does when he pulls out your chair or helps you cross a stream. He’s interested in your life besides your visions. And when you told him about your family and loved ones throughout the years, he placed his hand atop yours. You could still feel it sometimes.  

You’re both in the library. A rare occurrence of rest brought Morpheus to curl up with you on the plush sofa. Well, you curled up. Morpheus has his feet on the floor but is leaning into the cushions.  

“I’ll have read everything in here by the time I wake up,” you joke, flipping your page.  

“I can feel your bouts of power when they rise. It will not be long now.”  

He always speaks so assuredly when it’s about your healing. His steadfastness has rubbed off on you. You aren’t so pessimistic about it anymore.  

You don’t notice you’re staring at him until he asks if something’s wrong.  

You shake your head. “No. I just don’t know what I would’ve done all this time if you weren’t here.”  

He faces forward, not staring at anything, and silence settles over you. The atmosphere shifts, and you can almost feel the tension coming from him.  

“There is no universe where I would have been elsewhere,” he says, as still as ever.  

And it’s his seriousness that makes you drop your light tone and scoot closer.  

“I know. And I appreciate that.” You glance at your fingers. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”  

“You haven’t.” He rests his hand on yours. “But know that you are my priority, and I am happy to have been by your side.”  

“Morpheus…” you lock eyes, “we’ve been over this. I hate that you feel obligated to help me.”  

His brows twitch inward. “I feel no such compulsions. I am grateful you saved my life, but I can never repay such sacrifice.” He pauses. “Your wellbeing is my concern as your…friend.”  

His thumb brushes your cheekbone as he searches your eyes.  

You pull your lips into a thin line, hoping he can’t feel the heat in your cheeks. “Just know that I wouldn’t change what I did. I wanted to save you—I needed to.”  

“You didn’t—”  

“I did!” You say almost desperately. “You’re the only connection I have to my past. You’re the only one who knows who I was. I can’t lose you…”  

You’re afraid to look him in the eye, but he lifts your chin with a slightly hooked finger, tenderness in his gaze.  

“You won’t.”  

He pulls his hand away, and you realize how much closer you both have gotten.  

“You can’t promise that, though,” you whisper.  

“No. I cannot. But I can promise that ritual is gone.”  

You clench your jaw. “That won’t stop me from worrying.”  

“Then you know how I feel.”  

He says it like a joke—mirthful—a tone that’s both strange and welcome in him.  

You roll your eyes halfheartedly. “You don’t need to worry. I’m fine.”  

“I will stop worrying when you’re awake,” he says. “Until then, I will watch over you.”  

A slight shiver runs down your spine. Morpheus' entire focus on you always makes you a little weak, but hearing him say those words? They almost send your knees buckling.  

“I don’t understand. Why have you been so insistent about this?”  

Something seems to settle in his eyes, his head tipping closer.  

“When you were writhing in pain—screaming—something came over me that hasn’t in a long while.”  

You tilt your head, waiting.  

“Fear.”  

“What?” you whisper.  

The back of his fingers grazes your cheek, lingering, caressing.  

“I feared I would lose you.” He’s searching you, analyzing every twitch and passing emotion.  

“Morpheus,” you start, “what are you saying?”  

The corner of his lips lift briefly.  

“You’ve become important to me,” he breathes. “My prophetess.”  

His lips are so close to yours. A moment more, and they’d touch. But as much as you want this, you stop him.  

“I don’t want our first kiss to be when I’m dreaming,” you say. “I want it to feel real because…you’ve become important to me, too.”  

Softly, he rests his forehead against yours.  

“I will wait as long as I must. Knowing you feel the same is enough.”  

—  

Your dizziness has been nonexistent these past couple of weeks. You’ve been able to help Lucienne in the library much more. However, this morning, if you could even call it that in the Dreaming—it’s like you’ve been getting hit from all sides.  

A breeze on your cheek while you were indoors.  

A shimmering red when you paged through a book.  

And whispered words of “regret this” and mumblings you couldn’t decipher.  

But this is your strongest one yet.  

It’s not images or scents, not even a noise, but an expansive, all-encompassing feeling blooming within your chest. You swear you’ll burst when Lucienne sees you steadying yourself against a table.  

She says your name. “Are you alright?”  

The feeling keeps getting bigger and bigger, and then Lucienne seems so far away, then the entire library. And you realize it’s time.  

“I think…I think I’m waking up.”  

A moment after you spoke, it feels like you're falling backward.  

Your eyes open with a quick inhale, and you look around.  

You’re in a bed, and everything feels so much more tangible. There are soft sheets, a comforting breeze from the open window, and that unmistakable feeling of something new beginning.  

You slowly rise, but where you thought there would be soreness, none comes.  

You've healed.  

You laugh in disbelief, running out of the room and to the one person you need to see.  

He’s creating dreams, something you’d usually take a moment to marvel at, but you can’t seem to give a damn.  

He glances over his shoulder, lips ticking up when he sees you.  

He’s about to speak. Then, his eyebrows twitch downward when you don’t stop walking, and you barely contain your smile before you kiss him.  

It takes him no more than a moment to grip your waist and pull you closer. To feel him like this instead of those phantom pressures, it's indescribable.   

You reluctantly retreat, and he stares at you with this kind of awe, tracing the back of his knuckles down your cheek, his features brighter than you’ve ever seen.   

“How are you feeling?” he asks.   

You take a moment before answering. “I’m okay. Everything feels…stronger now.” You give him a small smile. “Real.”  

“Not many have visited the Dreaming as you are,” he says. “If you’re overwhelmed, please tell me.”  

You shake your head fondly. “Not overwhelmed, just…happy.”  

“I am glad.”  

Your hands rest on his chest as you stare at him, too thrilled to care that maybe you should say something. But all you want to do is look at him—feel him now that you’re back in your body.  

Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to mind.  

He’s gripping your hips, the lightest of touches, yet it almost burns you in the best way possible. His thumb grazes one side, grabbing your attention. Like he knows you’re daydreaming. 

“I must give you something,” he says.  

He reaches within his coat, and in his palm is a gold band embedded with a ruby, a piece of Morpheus’ Dreamstone.  

“Stay with me,” he whispers, forehead pressed to yours. “Come and go as you please, but always return. To your home.” He pauses. “To me.”  

You stare at him, eyes wide with wonder and glistening.  

“Yes,” you breathe, beaming.  

He strokes your cheekbone with his thumb before cupping it fully and slotting his lips between yours.  

You giggle. “I have to say I really didn’t see this coming.”  

If Morpheus was one to roll his eyes, he would have.  

“Do not make me regret this.”  

The lit in his voice pulls a playful gasp from you.  

“It’s too late. You can’t change your mind,” you say, eyes alight.  

His warm smile sends gooseflesh up your arms.  

“Never,” he whispers.  

Destiny has strange ways of working, but after centuries of unanswered questions, you finally think you understand why he chose you.  

Maybe the eldest Endless has a softer spot for his younger brother than any of you realize.

Taglist: @sayumiht, @hatterripper31, @snowsatsu, @1950schick, @navs-bhat, @bookshelf-dust, @sapphireonline, @fictional-hooman, @steph-speaks, @ladyredstar1991, @secretdreamlandmentality, @ababycake, @morpheuss1mp, @boofy1998, @alice-the-nerd, @herfantasyworldd, @poemfreak306, @under-kitty

If you’d like to be added to any taglists, please comment or message me with the character you’d like updates on. 

[mochamoth]

samarina magical girl headcanons?

I have a few headcanons so far and the whole plot is kinda done! Uhh sorry this is a bit of a rant in advance! Feel free to just skip to the headcanons, the order doesn't matter too much (also mild spoilers for the canon gamee!!)

Backstory:

So this takes place sometime in the early 2000s, not modern but also not the canon 1940s time era. The backstories are pretty much the same except the Ninth Circle has an even sharper eye on Samarie. At some point Marina catches Samarie stalking her and gives her a talking to. But, after several apologies and begging from Samarie, Marina decided to get to know her a lil better. They slowly become friends overtime until some plot stuff happens and they die. I don't have a solid idea yet but I was thinking what if the Ninth Circle was more of a lab than a "school". Still a cult but y'know the vibes are a bit different. They catch the two running away and threaten to shoot Marina if she doesn't turn Samarie back in. Marina refuses, they shoot, Samarie takes the shot for her but unfortunately they just shoot Marina anyways afterwards.

Somewhat luckily Samarie was close enough with the Gods to make some sorta deal with Rher specifically (for arguments sake let's pretend in this au Rher is still semi close with humans). Marina and her would be allowed to live and be resurrected, in exchange for.. Well idk yet. I was thinking something to do with Moonscorching. Maybe every night they turn, or every few days, full moon, you know something like that.

So they're brought back to life, but both have MUCH stronger magic. Not only that but Samarie doesn't feel as sick as she used to be. The two later on realize they're stereotypical ✨️magical girls✨️ and fight against "villains" ig. The villains would be actual enemies from the games. Uhh I might add other characters to this au later on, but for now it's just my own little corny ship indulgent au so yeah!

(Sorry for any grammar errors I am tired lol)

Actual Headcanons:

Samarie uses a Star themed staff while Marina uses a Moon themed staff. I just thought it fit their souls aesthetic wise!

Samarie has extremely powerful magic, but is a terrible fighter. She's clumsy, messy, and a nervous wreck. Marina is a bit weaker magic-wise, but is wayy better in combat. She's more confident, focused, and skilled.

I think it'd be funny as shit to make Black Kalev their little sidekick.

They're constantly saving eachother. Usually it's Marina saving Samarie, but if Marina is in danger Samarie fucking kicks ass. She's still a crazy girl after all.

They have more stereotypical sparkly magic cuz.. Well magical girl. But they can still use other canon spells. It's just less convenient.

Their staffs will transform when they do. When they're not in their combat fits the staffs both turn into crystals. Both wear them around their necks like necklaces.

They can't use the gifted magic without the staffs. Basically they're witches in a way.

They do flirt on the battlefield cuz that's romantic imo. It's more Marina flirting and Samarie being a gay mess but that still counts!

In this au they're not dating (yet). Samarie obviously has a massive crush (or obsession) with Marina, and again after becoming friends Marina develops a crush back on her.

This has nothing, and I mean NOTHING to do with the au, Samarie has autism. I didn't know where else I'd share that hc so taking my chance rn.

Samarie still isn't used to the outfit change. Especially Marina's outfit (she is a lesbian disaster).

They rest and cuddle together after long battles. It'd be cute okay?

I might add more later (in which case I will post), and yes this is out of character. Sorry abt that. Uhh also I've never seen a magical girl anime. Like ever! I want to. I really wanna watch a few, just haven't gotten around to it.

[cerberuscaeli]

Genshin AU; Scaramouche x Female Reader

Summary: After an accident, you somehow end up being labeled as one of the victims his girlfriend, all due to an assumption from a stranger that passed it along to the paramedics. And after waking up and using this as an excuse to figure out how he was doing, you end up in a web full of lies where you have to pretend to be his girlfriend while figuring out a way to escape this all.

Pairings: Scaramouche/Kunikuzushi x F!Reader

Genre: Alternate Universe / AU

Warnings: Detailed description of an accident, mentions of an accident, mentions of (heavy) injuries (eg broken bones, etc), mentions of the ICU, some curse words, mentions of dying/dead but nothing character wise. Loads of angst. I don't have experience with accidents or medical stuff, chances of a lot of mistakes about that. English is not my native language, and this can contain grammar and spelling mistakes. // Let me know if I missed any other warnings!

Words: 3.3k

AN: Longest chapter/fic I've typed out so far! This will be a series but I don't know how many chapters it will contain or when a new chapter will be released. I also put so much effort in this one so I really hope y'all like it.

Reblogs and comments are appreciated if you want to help me in boosting my work.

You drummed with your fingers on your steering wheel as you stood in front of the stop lights, waiting for the red light to turn green. It was late, the streets were quiet and empty, and due to it being winter, the sky turned dark fast. You turned the volume a bit up, looking around the empty streets. And while most people would take advantage of this situation, you didn’t mind waiting a bit. You didn’t have to be anywhere, you just finished getting some groceries and were heading back to your dorm.

Your eyes landed on a figure, standing on the other side of the road across from you, just like you waiting for the lights to spring to green. He was sitting on his bicycle, one hand resting on the side of the street lantern to keep himself in balance so he didn’t have to place his feet on the ground. For a brief moment, your eyes met his. There was a certain familiarity in those but you couldn’t recall a moment where you ever had met him. But maybe he went to the same college as yours and who knows you had gotten a glimpse of him somehow. You slightly shook your head, in time to see the lights turn green and you pressed the gas pedal of the small, rigged car you were driving in.

The motor rumbled as you started to drive, ready to make your turn but having to stop to let the person pass by as your indicator lights flicked on and off, you had to turn into the next street but had to wait for the passenger to cross the road. And then everything happened so fast, a dark car showed up from the dark, tires screeching in hopes to stop yet it still hit the boy on his bicycle. The car swayed, and the driver seemed to lose control over the car as you tried to escape with your car by trying to drive backward but before you could do so, the other car already rammed into the front part of your car as it hit the street light. 

Everything around you was spinning, your vision blurry as your hazy mind tried to clear up. Your breath was ragged and you blinked a few times to regain your vision. Your heart was thumping loudly and it took you a few seconds to remember what just happened a few seconds ago. You lifted your head up, taking in the surroundings as adrenaline coursed through your veins. What you saw now was something straight out of a horror movie, scenes you’ve read in the newspapers countless of times from the number of accidents that happened around the world.

The black car had dunked a big part of the front of your car, the driver's seat empty and the door open, and no further trace of the driver. Your eyes scanned the road, remembering a third person was involved in all of this, and that’s when you saw one of the most horrific things you’d never wanted to witness yourself. The boy was laying in the middle of the street, his bicycle a few meters away, which was fully dented and broken. 

“Oh hell.” You muttered, voice hoarse and cracking as you blindly reached your hand out for your phone but failed to find it. You tried to remember the steps you had learned from the medical training course you had followed not so long ago. Safety. You had to bring both yourself and the others in safety. “Totally easy.” You grumbled sarcastically to yourself, using sarcasm as a way to keep yourself grounded and to hold back the panic that threatened to take over. “I have to get out first.” You started to talk to yourself, verbally guiding yourself through all of this. You knew you had to hurry, the boys' life depended on your help and it was not the moment to figure out your own injuries, or that was what you told yourself.

You quickly checked the situation you were in. Noticing how your left leg was stuck, it was pretty obvious but on the further side you didn’t notice any other injuries, but maybe that was because the adrenaline was keeping you from feeling the pain. “Here goes nothing.” You breathed, pushing your seat back to free your leg. You let the breath you were holding escape before turning your body towards the back of the car. The right door was getting blocked by the street light, so your only way out seemed to be the right backdoor. You unbuckled yourself, almost falling down as the strap had kept you steady but without it, you no longer had something that kept you up. You forced your body to crawl to the back, hissing and groaning as you tried to not scream from the pain as you kept one goal in mind. Safe the boy. It took you a lot of effort but you managed to get out safely.

You stumbled towards the boy laying on the street, limping as you headed over to him. The white line of the crosswalk was painted in dark red from the male his blood. His face was turned down so you couldn’t see if he had other injuries on his face or not. His body was laying in an unnatural position and no movement seemed to come from him. You carefully kneeled down, clenching your jaw when you felt a surging pain going through your right left, yet forcing yourself to keep lowering yourself. Two of your fingers moved to the side of his neck and while you kept your breath you hoped you could still feel a heartbeat.

Your eyes widened as you got the proof, he was still alive and you could feel his heartbeat against your fingers. Your eyes darted around in hopes to see someone but it was as empty as a place could ever be and yet you screamed. “Somebody! Someone help!” You used all the air you had in your lungs, hoping someone in one of the houses could hear your screaming. “I need help!” You screamed, managing to sound even louder than you were before. 

You glanced down when something touched your hand - which was resting on the concrete to support yourself - meeting a pair of indigo eyes staring right up at you. His hand felt cold and instinctively you placed your other hand on his in hopes to warm it up and to let him know he wasn’t alone, in hopes of somehow comforting him. “Hey there.” You greeted him, forcing yourself to sound calm. “My name is Y/N and you’ve been in an accident but help is on the way, okay? All you need to do for me is to stay awake.” You instructed him in a soft tone, even though you weren’t sure if he did hear you or not, or if he even registered anything at all. “Sc…ar…a”, He forced out, his voice breaking and breath ragged as if he tried to force out some words. “Okay, Scara. You are gonna be fine okay? All you need to do for me is stay awake and listen to my voice and don’t move.” You went on, eyes never leaving his as you were afraid that if you would do so he would slip back into his unconsciousness and you knew from movies that it was never a good sign when that would happen.

You shifted your body, biting down on your lip as you groaned but that way you could hold his hand better. “‘M here and I’m not leaving you, okay? I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re safe.” You assured him or rather assured yourself. You couldn’t let him die, but maybe that was more a selfish thought, if he died on you he would leave you behind with guilt and the thought of you being the reason he died, and you didn’t want that to happen. No one wanted to see someone die on their watch. 

You moved your eyes back to him, only to see them being closed. “Hey! Hey! Open your eyes! I told you to keep them open! Scara, Scara wake up!” You half screamed and half pleaded. “Please, please, just don’t die.” You begged before mustering up all the air in your lungs. “I need help!” You screamed at the top of your lungs, using all your leftover energy before you slumped down, falling on your back and head hitting the concrete. The adrenaline was fully gone, and now all you could feel was immense pain and tiredness. Everything you had done so far had taken a toll on you. And just when you wanted to give in to it, an unknown voice filled the streets, yelling that the paramedics were on their way and could be there any minute. And that was the last thing before you succumbed to the darkness.

Loud voices along with blaring sirens filled your ears, dragging you back to consciousness as paramedics stood around you. You moved your heavy head aside, seeing the spot beside you empty. “Where is…he-” “He’s on his way to the hospital. Your boyfriend’s gonna be fine.” One of the two paramedics that sat beside you responded. “But he’s not-” “Bring the stretcher! We’ve mobilized her, she’s ready to go!” The other one shouted straight to your words. “-my boyfriend.” You mumbled to finish your sentence, the only two words that the paramedic heard. “He’s at the hospital, they’re taking care of him.” He responded before they hoisted you up the stretcher and pushed it into the ambulance. You wanted to try and fight them, to tell them he was not your boyfriend but no words came out of your mouth as you drifted off once more.

You groaned when you woke up, getting blinded by bright light. “Careful.” A familiar voice scolded as you blinked your eyes open, meeting a pair of amber golden eyes. Xiao, your roommate, and best friend. “How bad is it?” You grumbled as you pushed yourself up, noticing how your left foot felt heavy. “You broke your left leg, and also broke your right wrist. Good combination if you’d ask me. Heavy concussion but you got very lucky, unlike your boyfriend.” Xiao deadpanned as you frowned. Boyfriend? You didn’t have a boyfriend? “Wait, I-” “He’s in the Intensive Care Unit, that’s as much they could tell me, something with me not being a relative to him.” Shrugged. “But you - apparently his girlfriend - will be able to get all the information.” Xiao went on. 

You frowned as it all came back yet it was still vaguely. “I know they assumed it but I am sure I told them he wasn’t.” You say, shaking your head but stopping when you felt a stinging pain in your neck. Probably from a whiplash. “Does it matter?” Xiao asked. “Knowing you, I am sure you are dying to know how he is doing, I’d say take advantage of your title of being this stranger his girlfriend and pry out all the information you need.” He explained his plan. “And why are you convincing me to do so?” You frowned at him. “We used to be friends, years ago. Separated ways when we got to high school and he moved places. So can’t blame me for being a bit curious about how’s he doing.” He explained.

You glared at him before speaking. “I feel like you are just spitting out some lies.” You accused him as he rolled his eyes. “His name is Scaramouche, or well that’s how we called him at that time, it was more his nickname and I never asked questions about it,” Xiao spoke, defending himself. Scaramouche…Scara…that’s what he tried to say when- You quickly shook your head to banish the memories that were rising from what happened. “Okay, I believe you. Only because he said ‘Scara’ when…you know.” You say, not wanting to say or be reminded about the accident even though it was hard as you got injured and got yourself involved in some chaos.

Xiao nodded as he got up from where he had been sitting. “I’ll see if I can find someone that knows more and tell them you woke up.” He announced, pushing his hands into the pockets of his sweater. “Don’t go anywhere.” He spoke, his lips twitching in a smirk, knowing very well I had no choice as he walked out of the room to see if he could find a doctor. Xiao hadn’t lied when he told you that Scaramouche used to be his friend back in time and that he had moved away. They had managed to stay in contact until they both started going to high school. Xiao went to the one in his town and Scara went to another one and that’s when they lost contact. It shocked him when he found out that Scara had been involved in the same accident as yours. He had never known he was back in town. 

“You little fucker.” You huffed after him before laying your head back against the pillow. His plan swirled around in your head as you took a moment to think it all through. You were curious to know how he was doing and by claiming to be his girlfriend you would be a relative to him and that way you could gain much more information than Xiao would manage to get. You sighed as you stared up at the ceiling, feeling bad for the fact you were really going to do this, but you had a jumpstart with the fact that the paramedics thought that Scaramouche was your boyfriend and that surely would have been passed on to the doctor as well.

You turned your head as footsteps approached you, you expected it to be Xiao and the doctor but you didn’t expect it to be two of your friends. Nilou and Shinobu. “I should punch you for the fact you scared the shit out of us.” Shinobu scolded as she took a seat on the chair Xiao had been sitting in moments ago. “How are you doing?” Nilou asked, carefully sitting down on the bed at your feet. “Okay, I guess. But I suppose that’s because of the painkillers.” You nodded at them as Xiao and a blue haired man in a white coat walked inside.

“How are you doing, Y/N?” He asked as he approached you. “I feel like I’ve been hit by an army of planes, led by a train.” You responded sarcastically as Xiao flicked your forehead as a silent warning. The doctor just chuckled amused as you glared at the boy that stood beside Shinobu. “It’s always a good sign when patients can laugh or in your cause bring out some sarcasm.” He mused with a grin. “I’m doctor Ayato Kamisato, but you can call me Ayato.” He introduced himself before he looked at the chart in his hand. “It’s a surprise how well you came out of all this, for sure when you crawled out of a car with a broken leg and even manage to get to the other victim. You got very lucky.” He hummed as he started to do some small tests on you. 

“How is he doing?” You asked after he finished checking your eyes with a little light. His grin turned into a serious expression as your heart started to beat faster in anticipation. “Kunikuzushi managed to survive the accident but is currently in the ICU as his condition is still critical.” He explained. Kunikuzushi, so that was his real name and Scaramouche must be indeed his nickname as Xiao had told. “Can I see him? My boyfriend?” You asked, way too fast for you to realize what you just had asked. 

Ayato remained silent for a moment as you glanced at Xiao, who gave you an encouraging nod. “I was actually on my way to his parents to give more information about his condition and the results of the tests we’ve done on him so far. I’ll request a nurse to bring a wheelchair and I’ll bring you there, this way you will also be able to hear about the results and everything.” He explained as you nodded quickly. “Well then, I’ll be right back to pick you up.” He spoke before he left the room.

It stayed quiet for a few seconds before Nilou turned to look at you. “Boyfriend? Since when do you have a boyfriend? Why didn’t you say anything to us?” Nilou bombarded you with questions. “Does that really matter now?” You groaned. “He is in the ICU for fucks sake and you want to know since when I have a boyfriend?” You huffed. “She’s right, this is not the time to try and ask stuff about this subject. We can talk about all of this later.” Shinobu agreed with you as Nilou nodded.

Ayato soon returned with a wheelchair as Nilou helped you out of the hospital bed. Your left leg was in an plaster, just like your right hand. You were wearing one of those ugly hospital gowns as you sat down in the wheelchair. Your arms were littered with bruises and small cuts. You managed to get a glance at your reflection in the window as Ayato started to push the wheelchair. A big gauze on your head near your right temple and a cut that went straight through your brow were stitched up. You indeed had been lucky.

It took a while to get to the ICU, but when you finally arrived it was something you preferred to not have seen. The hall was busy with nurses walking around, going from room to room. You managed to get a few glances of a room, one filled with a bed and a bunch of medical equipment such as machines and stuff. Everything looked so serious and even a bit terrifying. 

Ayato stopped in front of a room where two women were waiting for. One had purple hair and violet eyes with a hue of blue. She was with no doubt Scaramouche, well Kunikuzushi’s mother. Beside her stood a woman with long muted pink hair and purple eyes. And from the way, the two women were holding each other's hand you could only assume they must be together. Meaning he might have two mothers. Ayato started to talk but you didn’t hear anything anymore as your eyes landed on the person in the room.

Wires were connected to him, which were connected to a bunch of machines. His head was wrapped in a big bandage, which looked even whiter against his pale skin. He was breathing and the heart monitor gave away that his heart was still beating yet it didn’t change how bad he seemed to be, even though he seemed peaceful as if he was sleeping and could wake up every second. Your attention returned back to the three when you felt them looking at you. “And you are?” The pink haired woman asked. “Y/N. Kuni’s girlfriend.” You introduced yourself, shortening his name as if you’d done that for years. 

“Girlfriend? He never talked about that.” The purple haired woman murmured. “Well, he doesn’t share much, so it isn’t that surprising we are finding this out right now.” The pink haired lady mused. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Y/N, even when it is in this unfortunate situation. My name is Yae Miko, but please just call me Miko and this is my wife Ei.” She introduced both herself and apparently her wife as well. So you had assumed it right. You gave them both a small smile as realization hit you.

You just met Scaramouche his parents and introduced yourself to them as his girlfriend and there was no way you would be able to get out of this lie anytime soon. You were now a stranger his so called girlfriend and all you could do now was keep this lie up until you could find a way to get out of this somehow. You were fucked.

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© Xiaossoul 2023. Do NOT repost, translate, modify, or publish my work elsewhere.

[aesthetically-meme]

‘ What Are You? ’

A little drabble focused on Dusk's first days on Dreamland. Inspired by @that-fanperson-meg 's fic 'How Twilight Knight Convinced His Father That Their Best Friend Isn’t a War Criminal!'

This is also part 2 to ‘ Who Are You? ’

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛

It was LITERALLY the middle of the night.

“ I am only giving you one chance to explain yourself, Dusk Knight. ”

They knew. They knew Meta Knight had read the reports. About how a village was burned down by one of Nightmare's monsters. Dusk could only skim through the report before their access was taken away (always on security, the GSA was), but they knew that locals could only describe their horns. They even told him themselves. The star-burning knight even brought it up the night they appeared!

Everything about this was bad. What if he told the GSA? What if he himself tried to do something?? Meta Knight wasn't a high-ranking star warrior for nothing.

...

Was he even still with the GSA...?

There's a possibility he left. They haven't seen his badge. Did he have to wear one? Perhaps it was tucked away in its box, safe and pristine. Meanwhile theirs was pinned onto their cape, present for all to gaze upon when they weren't using their wings. They hardly took it off, using it to punish themselves further of how disgraceful they where to the GSA. It was something Skipper always complained about.

“ I just don't get it! Why wear it if you aren't with them anymore? ” He argue, “ Wearing it means you're still with them! ”

“ Maybe ta' you, but I know what I've done. I don' wear it wit' honor, Skip. Ain' nothin' honorable 'bout me anyway... ”

They didn't care what other people thought anyway ... If they wanted to think Dusk was in the GSA fine, but they won't pretend to be.

But perhaps in this particular instance they did mind. They'd already gotten questioned a few times pertaining to the strange badge, especially by that one astral ... What was her name? Selene? Yes, Selene. She seemed excited about meeting Dusk. It was a comforting notion...

They were getting very off track though! Dusk quickly turned, eyes catching sight of Meta Knight sitting atop one of the many pillars that decorated the castle's courtyard. The knight stood still, cloak wrapped protectively around himself. They raised a brow behind their mask.

“ Explain myself? I think I did plenty 'a explainin' at th' banquet, sir. ” Stay calm. Relax. “ Wuz there somethin' ya needed ta' know? ” Dusk mentally smacked themselves in the face. Of course there was, you star blasted idiot! It's why he's asking in the first place!!

The other knight stayed silent, possibly assessing how to approach this. A few seconds passed before he jumped down from the pillar, cape unwraveling behind him. His sabatons gently clicked against the floor upon landing. Oh Nova he was cool.

Calm, stay calm.

Dusk could feel their wings shiver under the cape's spell. If took every ounce of repression to not reach to the side and pluck a feather from their wings .... They really shouldn't've have stepped out. Meta Knight must've known they'd visit, only because of Twilight, really.

It didn't matter know. He was here, interrogating them, and stoking a fire not even Dusk was sure would light. They had great respect for the knight, however his knowledge on them was dangerous for sure. They could feel the magic of his precious Galacta humming- did it always do that?

But as soon as they lingered on the thought, the traces of magic faded. Odd.

“ Your report to me and a report from one of the locals did not match up. I am simply making sure that I did not get any information mixed up.. ” Meta Knight paused, glancing at Dusk Knight's badge, “ Rumors have started to spread on that planet. Are you aware? ”

Rumors...? Rumors of- of them?? Their eyes squinted slightly behind their mask.

“ I wuzn'. Care ta' share? ”

“ They aren't too descriptive.. Just that the GSA had allowed one of Nightmare's monsters to infiltrate the GSA. Many claimed that the monster had dark purple horns... similar to yours actually. ” They didn't like the way he spoke. Teetering between exposing the truth and knowing void all.

Yet the way he said it... 'Monster'. Like he was confirming that's all Dusk was. A monster. It made a part of their soul cry.

The older astral sighed, voice clipping with annoyance. “ As I said, you only have one chance to explain yourself. What are you doing on Planet Popstar? ”

Dusk's eye twitched at the question, a spark of annoyance dancing across their horns.

“ I already told ya' when I first showed up. 'M here fer Twi. I thought someone 'a yer rankin' would remember things like that. ” They spat.

The gentle hum of Galaxia caught their attention, its magic growing like a fire. Yet, as quick as it ignited, it quickly dissipated. Odd. There were rumors Meta Knight could commune with his weapon, though none could prove the claim. Did it have something to do with that?

Whatever the case may be, Dusk noticed the way he slipped his gloved paw over the handle of the blade. No, he wouldn't be so rash as to attack... right?

“ I ain' here fer a fight. Whatever info ya' got on that village thing is wrong. You don' know anythin' about wut happened that day. ” Their cape slowly unfolded into wings, gently flapping and shedding loosened feathers. They shivered once more in warning.

“ If I have the wrong information, then perhaps now is the time to update your report? ” He dared, eyes squinting behind his mask.

“ Unless ya' got a pen an' pad, ya' better shove off. ” A low growl rumbled deep within. “ I had a great deal'a respect fer ya', not t'mention yer also my best friend's dad now... ”

The knight sighed. He wouldn't be getting answers out if them that easily. “ Fine. One more question, if you wouldn't mind? ” His eyes flashed green- could they always do that???

The young astral glanced at Galaxia, then Meta Knight. He still had a gloved paw resting on Galaxia's hilt, yet he made no further moves to prepare an attack. It almost put them at ease, if it weren't for the fact he was basically interrogating them at the moment.

“ Fine, jus' make it quick. I got places t'be y'know... ” They really didn't, but if saying it made the other knight hurry up... Their magic was dancing under their fur, hair standing on end with unease.

“ Even as a young cadet, the other board members of the GSA wondered about your state when your mentor brought you on... ” he paused. “ You did not respond to basic question, you never looked directly at anyone- you didn't seem present.... ”

“ My question is, Dusk Knight ...

What are you? ”

Dusk Knight's eyes widened slightly before squinting. They reached up and gently took purchase of their mask.

“ 'M a lotta' things. ” They growled.

Slowly taking off their mask, they looked Meta Knight in the eyes. Bright pink eyes contested Meta Knight's golden ones as magic danced across their horns. A slight blue tinted their irises.

“ But I sure as Nightmare ain't no monster, ” their voice seemed to warble with electricity, “ be sure t'tell th' higher ups that. ”

An electric hum they didn't notice finally subsided. It's hold on the air dying as Dusk Knight set their mask back on. When had their wings started shivering??

Huffing out a sigh, they quickly turned around and started walking towards the entrance. A concerned sigh drifted out of Meta Knight as he watched them leave.

Dusk Knight did not show up for breakfast that morning.

[scoops-aboy86]

I've had a terrible day, comment to ease my turmoil?

Oh, and towards the end of this chapter, “Luck can’t fix stupid” is just Eddie being hard on himself. He is a good boy who is trying his best. 

Part 1, part 1.5, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 of the love spell no go au

By morning, Eddie wakes to find that he’s rolled over in the night and Steve has burrowed into his arms. Hair that smells of Eddie’s shampoo tickles at his nose, and Steve is warm. A tingling under Eddie’s fingertips where they’re draped across Steve’s back tell him that his healing spells are still working—maybe that’s why Steve is sleeping so peacefully that it’s already dawn. 

Nancy was supposed to have woken Steve for his guard shift, probably hours ago. Huh.

Eddie wants to melt into this and soak it up, just in case he never gets another chance, but… there’s too much going on right now to get caught up in whatever this might be. Better to take a page from Steve’s book and let it be, hold his tongue and wait until they’re not dealing with an interdimensional catastrophe. 

Careful not to wake the (beautiful, brave, captivating) boy in his arms, he extracts himself carefully from the bed. He can’t resist leaving a soft kiss on Steve’s temple before he goes, though, his heart clenching and expanding and basically exploding in his chest when Steve shifts with a sigh and presses his full body into the space Eddie just vacated, seeking the lost body heat and breathing deeply against Eddie’s pillow. Fuck. Fuuuuuuck.

Instead of crawling right back into bed like he wants to, Eddie slinks out of the room and down the short hallway to the living room, eyes averted from the fleshy gash in the ceiling. Nancy is standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed as she stares up at it—but her eyes are clear, and she refocuses on Eddie as soon as he clears his throat. 

“So, uh,” he croaks, throat still rough from sleep. “Watch system kinda broke down, didn’t it?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Nancy replies, too quick not to be at least a little defensive. 

Eddie peers past her to Robin, who is asleep face-down on the couch with his uncle’s scratchy wool blanket draped over her. “Not saying I blame you there, Wheeler, but. Did you try?”

After a pause, Nancy lets out a breath that seems to come from all the way down to her toes, stiff shoulders slumping just a little and world weary in a way that no teenager should have to sound. “No.”

He flashes her a brittle smile, because yeah, he gets it. The only reason he’d managed any shut-eye was probably thanks to Steve’s reassuringly steady breathing at his back. “Fair enough. Instant coffee?”

There’s only the slightest twitch of distaste in her expression (he’s betting the Wheelers can afford actual coffee beans and shit) before she nods. “Coffee would be great.”

Which kind of makes him feel like a waiter, but he did offer. Eddie puts his back firmly to the gate and pokes around the kitchen for a pot to fill with water, pours it into four different mugs once it’s come to a boil, and dutifully stirs in the shitty off-brand Folgers. 

He sips his own somberly, pensive. All his life, it’s been drilled into him that magic is to be kept secret, cast in the shadows and never so flashy that it would draw too much outside attention. That’s what had gotten his dad locked up. 

But this group already knows about magic, even if they only refer to it as such using dnd metaphors that are actually more accurate than they think. Hell, maybe psychic powers are just a different method of spell casting—that’s deeper into magic theory than he usually ventures to go, though, so whatever. Not important right now. The point is… they could all die. It’s a very real possibility, especially for Max, and Eddie’s seen how that goes twice now. If there’s anything he can do to help, he has to try. 

Which means… he has to tell them. 

After Nancy recounts what Vecna showed her, after they formulate a plan that makes Eddie’s stomach clench and roll with dread, Eddie opens his mouth and says, “Guys, I have to tell you something.”

They sit patiently if a little incredulously through his explanation. A little more credulously once he gives a demonstration, turning an apple from the Mayfield’s kitchen blue, then, purple, then neon orange, then back to red and slicing it down the middle into an even seven pieces without so much as touching it. 

Dustin speaks up first, because of course he does—interrogating him about what offensive and defensive spells he knows, leading with examples that Eddie recognizes almost word for word from the Monster Manual. Lucas joins in after a minute, the boys’ enthusiasm snowballing until suddenly they’re drafting a list of things they want to see if Eddie can do. 

It’s Steve who ends up putting a stop to that, snapping. “Hey shitheads, he’s not a show pony and he’s not going to do tricks just to satisfy your scientific whatever, alright? You wouldn’t do that to Eleven, we’re not doing it to Eddie.”

“Scientific method, Steve,” Dustin grumbles, but relents. Eddie shoots a grateful look to Steve over the kid’s shoulder, and the smile he gets in return makes his heart do a flip. 

“I can’t do big shit like Vecna,” he cautions everyone, now that he can get a word in edgewise again. “But I can do smaller stuff. Protection charms on clothes, spells to make sure we don’t miss what we’re aiming for, that kind of thing. I can help, I’m just… not your point guy. I’m no Supergirl.”

Max snorts at the Supergirl part, but speaks up with a grave, “As the person sticking out my neck for this crazy plan, not missing sounds nice.”

That seems to clinch it. And next up, they need to stock up on weapons, so…

It was waking up to a cuddly Steve Harrington that did it, Eddie swears. That, and adrenaline from staring down the barrel of the balls-to-the-wall insane plan the group has concocted, because Eddie is surrounded by fucking heroes aparently. He doesn’t feel very heroic. 

Because he says things like “It’s not exactly a car, Steve” with a devilish smirk, and not asking but telling Steve that he’s driving the stolen RV, the words big boy tumbling out like his mouth has a fucking mind of its own. And each of those times, Steve blinks back at him with something in those hazel eyes, which Eddie is trying so hard to tell himself he doesn’t know how to read, but he wants. 

There isn’t time to do anything about it, though. When the RV’s rightful owners start banging on the door, adrenaline sends Steve leapfrogging into the driver’s seat and Eddie scrambling to get away from the windows so he won’t be spotted. They roar out of the trailer park with the kids whooping in the back, caught up in the adventure of it. 

Eddie feels like everything is going wrong and about to get worse, but he’s felt that way ever since Chrissy died so that’s nothing new. At least Steve stays in the RV instead of going into the War Zone, even if it takes Robin pointing out that the entire high school had seen them talking at Eddie’s locker on Friday and some probably noticed them sitting together at the game—because yeah, Lucas had told them what Jason Carver had done to Gareth, and Eddie doesn’t want anyone else hurt because some vigilante jock thinks they might be harboring him. 

“Sorry,” Eddie tells him after the others are gone. When Steve gives him a blank look, he adds, “That you’re a known associate of The Freak.” He nods towards the back of the RV where the two boys are wrapped up in a conversation of their own. “It’s bad enough that Lucas and Dustin are in the crosshairs, but they at least signed up for Hellfire.”

Steve frowns. “You’re my friend, Eddie, I don’t care who knows that. It shouldn’t even matter.”

“Dude, all of this shouldn’t be happening, but it is. It does matter. A hell of a fucking lot.” Eddie braces his elbows on his knees and drops his head into his hands. “Fuck.”

After a moment, a hand presses tentatively between his shoulder blades, shifting reassuringly up and down. It’s a big hand. Eddie is almost disappointed that he’s too upset to fully appreciate the contact. 

As it is, he groans into his hands and shrugs the touch off. “Steve, I should… I have to tell you something.” And you might not want to keep touching me after you hear it, he doesn’t say out loud. 

“What is it?”

Eddie lifts his head with a flick of his hair and a quick flail of his hands. “That was—I just cast a little privacy spell, if you were wondering. So the kids can’t eavesdrop.”

“Okay,” Steve says slowly. “Do you do that a lot? Just do magic like that? Because, you move your hands around a lot…”

He can’t help but smirk a little at that. “Not as much as you’d think. It’s a good cover if I have to, though.”

Steve’s eyes are wide and curious, his irises a honeyed brown tinged with spots of green. “Have you ever used magic on me?”

Aaand there it is. Eddie looks down at his hands, now clasped across bare his knees where time and wear have reduced the denim to strings. “Yep.” 

“Like what?”

So Eddie tells him about the love spell. 

Magic, considering everything else Steve has seen over the past few years and especially the past few days, isn’t much of a stretch to accept. That trick with the apple had helped, but for the most part he’s learned to just push through the confusion and listen to whoever sounds the most certain about it. 

And Eddie sounds pretty certain that he’s ruined Steve’s life. 

But that’s… not right. His life doesn’t feel ruined. He has Dustin and Robin. Yeah, he keeps ending up in life or death situations, but that gives him a sense of a purpose and might have happened anyway, because it’s not like Eddie’s one spell back when they were underclassmen created Hawkins Lab or Henry Creel out of thin air. 

A big part of Steve is elated, actually. Eddie likes him. Or liked him, enough to try and secure his heart with magic. Maybe that elation is from the spell, but honestly? The world might end tonight and any of them might die trying to stop it, so he’ll take any good feeling he can get regardless of where it’s coming from. 

When he tells Eddie as much, the guy looks about ready to cry. 

Before he can protest, Steve says, “I know you think you made me feel this way and that it’s like—” he frowns, unable to remember the way Eddie had put it “—violating my self-asomething-or-other, but fuck that. Your uncle said it wouldn’t have worked if I could never have liked you on my own, right? And I… In high school, people just hung around and I could never figure out why. Magic is as good an explanation as any, I guess. But with you, I had to work to get you to be my friend. I had to earn it. The more I got to know you the more I knew you’re a great guy, so by the time we were friends it felt like I’d really accomplished something, you know? You’re really nice, once you get past the prickly attitude—”

“Prickly?” Eddie mutters, quiet like he wants to interrupt but still feels a little too guilty to quite dare. Steve gets it; he knows how guilt can be, especially when it’s guilt for a stupid reason. 

“—And you’re smart, way smarter than me. The teachers who failed you are either full of shit or bad at their jobs, probably both. You’re so creative it blows me away, keeping track of all that Dungeons and Dragons stuff and making up entire worlds and all the people that go in them. And you have a great smile, with dimples and everything, and your hands are… And the way you watch me sometimes, like I’m the only person in the room even if we’re in a crowd, it feels really good.”

Eddie is getting more red by the second, a flush starting in his cheeks and threatening to go all the way to his chest at the compliments. Which, okay, Steve knows he’s gushing, but he’s been bottling all this up for a while and he’s not used to that. When it comes to love he’s usually an all-in kind of guy, and holding back had led to a quiet but snotty breakdown in Robin’s arms the night before. 

… Damn, he’s going to have to admit that she was right about Eddie being into guys (into him), though. 

“Steve,” Eddie says, and he sounds longing. Music to Steve’s ears. 

“I wanted the championship game to be a date,” Steve blurts. Because he’s already mentioned Eddie’s dimples and his hands, might as well go all in. 

Eddie’s blush intensifies, the start of that dimpled grin Steve loves so much on his face. “I… I did too.”

“So… after the game, when you went off with Chrissy…”

“That was just business,” Eddie says quickly, and Steve ducks his head to try and hide the relieved grin. “I mean, I wanted to help her, but I’m, uh. It’s always been just guys for me.”

“It’s both for me,” Steve tells him, glancing up through his eyelashes. He notices the way Eddie’s hand twitches, wanting to reach out but unsure, so he reaches over and tentatively lays his fingers over Eddie’s ringed ones. “Is that… okay?”

Eddie bites his lip, and just as tentatively twines their fingers together. “Y-yeah, I think so. This is—Shit, yeah.” 

“Would it make you feel better if… I don’t know, is there a way to turn the spell off?”

“Not really, magic doesn’t—” Eddie starts, but then stops, frowns. “Uh. My uncle did teach me something to undo magic once, but it’s a whole… thing. Like pulling a ripcord on a parachute, and, yeah, you stop falling as fast, but it jerks you around first. And it would ‘turn off’ every spell I’ve ever cast.” 

Before Steve has a chance to react to that, they’re interrupted by the rest of the group crashing back into the RV. Steve is up and barely even registers the remnants of Eddie’s privacy spell clinging to his face like invisible cobwebs. He spots Jason Carver out of the corner of his eye just before pulling out of the parking lot and, fuck. 

The rest of the day is too busy and tense to speak to Eddie alone, and Steve has a creeping worry (which he tries to ignore) that maybe Robin is right; maybe they aren’t going to be okay this time. 

Eddie doesn’t get to have nice things. Like an unbroken family, or a high school diploma, or Steve Harrington. 

He knows this. It’s deeply embedded in the reason he chickens out at the last minute, shaping his possible last words to Steve into, “Make him pay.” In that moment where their eyes had met he’d felt every loose thread, every unspoken thing between them weighing on him like a ton of bricks, and he regrets everything. Even though there hadn’t been time. He wonders if Steve regrets not saying whatever was on his mind back at the trailer, while the water was running… And from the way Steve looks back at him before nodding and turning to go, Eddie thinks he can hear the hollowness in it. 

Steve has similar hollowness, Eddie knows. Parents whose attention has always seemed to ghost right over him ever since Barbara Holland, leaving Steve to drift all alone in that big house until he felt like a phantom. They know these things about each other; they’ve talked about it all while high (everything except the Eddie wanting Steve part… and, apparently, an entire alternate universe full of monsters). And Steve gets it, even though Eddie wishes he didn’t. Wishes Steve’s life could be easy streets and clear sailing (ha, ahoy) so that Eddie wouldn’t have to feel so seen, stripped bare of all his armor. 

Even his battle vest is still in Steve’s possession, hidden under the thick army jacket. 

And it’s ironic, really, that Steve thinks he’s the stupid one but Eddie forgot about the goddamn air vents in the trailer. There isn’t really a spell to protect against that; luck can’t fix stupid.

So he does the best he can think of, if it can be called thinking at this point: flings a stealth spell at Dustin so the bats will be more likely to forget about him, cuts the sheet-rope, and bolts out the door. He grabs a bike and pedals as hard as he can, just trying to get away, and in the blankness of his panicking-in-overdrive mind an idea begins to form. 

When one of the bats gets caught in the spokes and Eddie goes down, he’s up almost immediately and spitting the words Wayne taught him when he was still small—before his uncle got custody but after his mom started getting sick, when Eddie’s dad had first started getting reckless. 

The swarm of flying monsters descends on him while he’s still screaming the spell. After the last syllable, bleeding and knocked around by the attack, the ripcord pulls and Eddie is slammed into darkness.

Tag list (comment to be added): @hotluncheddie @8em-em-em8 @anaibis @connected-dots @lawrencebshoggoth

Part 9, part 10, part 11

[coconox]

whb QoLs that i would like to see

boredom post lol, just dumping my thoughts into the void of what id like to see be added in whb but probably will never happen 🫠

1. separation of character and artifact banners

pretty self-explanatory. w the roster being huge and it only increasing from here there needs to be a distinction btwn characters and artifacts. im sure many ppl atp have gotten tired of the false hope they get when they get the gold glow from one of the kings at the beginning only to find out that its just one of his sig 💀💀

1.1 for patches w 2 l-rank debuts, have the selector work even before you hit pity

i get having the selector for if you reach hard pity, but its a bit greedy for it to apply only when you wasted so many seals (esp when f2ps dont get as much seals as they should). i would like the chance of knowing im guaranteed that char from the beginning even when i get the char early

1.2 if there exists an artifact banner, let there be a selector for which one you want to pull for

same logic as prev points. the rosters getting huge and ideally id like to have smth guaranteed for when i do my pulls

2. update characters' skill descriptions to be more specific

theres too many "[dmg/healing] is proportional to [some stat]." i want to see what that actual proportion is, like "dmg is proportional to x% of stat" where x is some number. or in skill menus theres "increase passive effect" like just tell me what youre specifically increasing in the passive !!!! i shouldnt need to actually lvl the passive to figure out whats changing, it should be stated from the get-go

3. have someone at the very least proofread the text

now i've seen my fair share of typos in games, hell, i literally play one where they couldnt even spell their own game name properly during the earlier yrs of its release lol *cough pgr cough*, but for the most part theyve resolved that issue and simple typos are easily spotted and fixed, but ive never seen there be this many typos or language switches mid-sentence. literally just 1 thorough proofread couldve easily solved most of these grammatical issues.

4. better optimization

im sorry but this is getting to like hoyo lvls of optimization w the fact that whb, which just hit half anni a month ago, is getting close to the amnt of storage an almost 3 yr old game has is wild to me (completely disregarding the fact that pgr has 3d models, l2d cgs, etc). imo, the amnt of storage whb holds should be around or even lower than what neural cloud has (which mind you, also has 3d models and l2d art 😭😭)

incoming very weird comparison but vanilla minecraft, a game that gets regularly updated, both on pc and pe take less than 1 gb

literally improving the optimization would make the game more accessible i.e. get more players to play since it wont take up a lot of storage !!! as someone who used to have 64gb or less on my phone, i could barely play any games on it bc nowadays they unnecessarily take up so much storage

5. add more daily/weekly tasks

keep the 9 daily requirements and 32 weekly requirements the same, just give more tasks for each so that we arent strictly set on doing specific ones. id like to see more stuff like "battle any stage x amnt of times" (emphasis on any, not a specific stage) or "interact w the lobby character at least once," just really anything that doesnt involve investing in a character or artifact. i feel like im wasting resources from lvling chars i dont wanna lvl, + we dont get enough tears per week to properly invest in so many characters at once.

giving more breathing room to hit the 9 and 32 achievements would put less stress on me cause then i'll know that if i cant complete one task, i can just do another and still be able to get all the rewards obtained for the week. im sure a fair share of ppl atp have missed out on getting all the weekly rewards bc they accidentally missed 1 daily task which is painful

5.1. get rid of the lvling artifacts weekly requirement and lvling characters requirement

briefly mentioned it prev but wanted to make its own section. its useless, especially when i ald have the artifacts that i need lvled up. its a dumb requirement that makes me waste mats and pulls just so i could lvl some artifacts properly.

6. get rid of the rng boxes and make them selectors

5.2 increase the daily/weekly rewards

dailies (w pancake shop): 9 tears, 7 key boxes (rng)

weeklies: 4 tears, 5 red keys, 2 yellow keys, 50 seals

i dont think i need to explain much here thats like scraping the bottom of a barrel for important mats/gacha currency

they suck. i do not want resources to be gacha too

7. make all shops cheaper

self-explanatory. everything is too expensive (esp in red gems shop) and therefore is borderline inaccessible unless if you hoard mats or 💳

7.1 add the ability to convert red gems to seals

red gems have very little use now ever since seals were introduced. id like them to have some important use if we keep getting a certain amnt of them every week. we can covert them to red/yellow keys, so by that logic we should also be able to convert them to seals too

8. get rid of uncommon/useless currencies

pretzels, artifact enhancement stones, and blue guilty gems are the 3 that come to mind. ik pretzels were originally supposed to be from the friends system, but that was removed a bit after launch and still hasnt showed up despite pb promising itd be launched around this time. aside from that the other 2 serve little to no use, as artifact stones dont lvl up the artifact all that much and blue gems died when seals became a thing

9. auto-clear for story stages

i mean that after getting a perfect clear on a stage, then have auto-clear be an option. since candy boxes are farmable through story, i end up falling asleep or getting bored of having to sit through fighting the same stage like 20+ times a day. this is honestly one of the more nit picky ones in this list lol, i just play the stages in the bg while i do other stuff but ideally id like to get stuff done asap

10. make lvling characters cheaper

we only get 13 tears a week from dailies + weeklies + pancake shop. assuming you start from scratch and want to get to char lvl70, it takes 3 weeks to get there without the help from other shops. thats almost a month for 1 character, it shouldnt take that long to invest in someone (it also shouldnt be that expensive 💀)

if we're getting such low numbers of essential materials per week, decrease the character lvl prices to reflect that. or alternatively, increase the number of mats we get per week to easily lvl characters

10.1 increase the character lvl cap to 100

40 tears for one level is not worth it, having the cap be 100 would make it feel like its worth it (not really tbh, its still real expensive when lvl70 provides more than enough to clear all content 💀)

10.2 add a resource stage for pies

getting pies only through shop (rng boxes btw) and events isnt enough to compensate for how much skill lvls cost. either decrease the skill lvl prices or increase the pie income to balance it out

11. have the ability to backread txt msgs before choosing a reply

self-explanatory. the game doesnt allow you to backread before choosing a reply which sucks :/

as someone who usually cant process txt after reading it once i kinda just sit at the replies like :/ girl i forgor what he just said and i cant go back and read so i'll just leave and re-enter the chatroom again ig

12. have the game automatically lock l-rank artifacts as soon as you get them

ik theres a lock feature, but you need to lock all artifacts manually. id rather the game lock l-rank artifacts for me once i get them so that i dont accidentally recycle them when cleaning out my inventory and then i manually unlock them later if i want to

13. give seals, keys, or just any sort of general gacha currency as compensation rewards

receiving only ap feels like a slap to the face, and seals/any other currency would only be given out if there was smth that was severely (and i mean very severely) hindering everyones gameplay. the ap given isnt even that much either which is like rubbing salt in the wound

14. decrease ap requirement in stages

considering stages can go up to 32ap as a req (given this is only seen in events, the usual hovers around 25 but my point still stands), you cant really do all that much if the cap hovers around 250 (give or take, i havent seen anyone w 300ap yet so 250 im considering is the avg rn for endgame players). w each stage at highest difficulty being 25-30+ap, we essentially only play like 10 stages max before needing to wait.

1 solution ppl would have in mind is to just buy the 300ap from red gems shop or buy more ap from selecting the ap counter directly to get more for the day, but i want smth thats more accessible. i shouldnt need to pay w some currency to get literally the bare necessity of being able to play this game.

i think keeping all stages at 15ap is perfect, hell, even 20 would also work since w 250ap you can get more than 10 runs in one session

15. make the battles less reliant on needing certain l-ranks

this is just smth ive noticed when testing out stages w other chars or just playing realm of seraphim lol, but theres a huge imbalance w l-ranks vs s and a+-ranks. theres also a huge imbalance when it comes to the classes too (i'll get to that in a bit)

take beel's camp for example, there is no one in beels camp that can essentially mimic or closely mimic what beel does kit-wise (dmg ik will be different cause lower ranking and all). imo, the go-to non-l-rank alternative for beel isnt even from his camp, its from belphegors !!!! (if you didnt catch on im talking abt andrealphus lol)

or take mammon for example, no one in his camp (as of making this post) deals dmg on ult, they only either shield themselves or take the hit for ppl on the team, which tends to do more harm than good.

element-wise, take juno for example. juno being an l-rank fire unit significantly changed how fire team worked, i.e., you can actually use that team to clear most story content now (minus water enemies lol). that should probably put into perspective of 1. how l-ranks are a bit too important in this game and 2. how unbalanced light as an element is compared to every other element

15.1 give us more tanks and healers

i need yall to see how crazy our current roster is

(dont mind the title of the table lol its from the spreadsheet, also for reference if ppl see this in the future this is pre-lucifer (victory))

why do we have so many close-rangers??? so many marksman????

we have such little supports (tanks + healers) that it makes me fully convinced the gameplay pb wants to achieve is full on dps and not yk a well-balanced team w dps AND support. dont get me wrong if players want to full on dps that is totally fine by me, the issue im having is that the devs appear to want a full on dps team, completely ignoring the idea of how to properly balance a game where they also introduce supports. of course there are marksman/close-rangers that can support i.e. buff the team (juno, dantalian, ronové, phenix, the list of examples goes on), but im specifically talking abt the classes in general. for the most part, marksman and close-rangers are usually dps while tanks and healers are usually support.

if youre gonna introduce supports in this game, 1. have more than just 1 tank unit for each non-light element, 2. make the healing be higher than 1% of a char's hp, 3. have an equal amnt of tanks and healers as close-rangers and marksman.

the fact that if you dont have mammon as your designated tank or lucifer as your designated healer, youre essentially screwed over is wild to me. their camps' s/a+-ranks should be able to hold just as well without their kings. satans camp is the perfect example of that. chars like minhyeok (who is quite literally mini satan kit-wise lmao), gabriel, leraye, nostalgia leraye, hell even ppyong (the a+-rank ver, not juno lol) are all perfect alternatives for if you dont have satan and that is amazing. we currently dont have that for supports and i genuinely hope thatll change in the future

—

this game is very, VERY far from being at least somewhat balanced in my eyes. i really do wish for the best w this game but man as someone who loves to dissect gameplay down to the numbers, seeing all this gets real frustrating for me from time to time.

anyw thats all for now– this was a bit of a rant more than anything lol

[roomwithanopenfire]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love ❤

Thanks for pulling me into this!! I've loved seeing everyone else's answers, and my list of fics to read has only gotten longer <3 I only have 7 fics posted, so I get to talk about all but two of them!

Proof of Life (55k, T, WIP)

Am I allowed to pull wips into here? This is definitely my favorite thing I've written so far. It's a Canon Divergence fic where Natasha lives, and she's not very happy with Baz being Turned. We explore Baz's childhood, and then it moves into more of an 8th year getting together fic. It's more ambitious than anything else I've tried, and it's so so long (it'll be over 80k when it's all posted). I've had a lot of fun exploring the World of Mages through it, as well as thinking a lot about Natasha's character (and how not one person in Carry on thinks she'd have let Baz live). Also some of the most emotional dialogue I've ever written lies in this fic.

No Sweeter Drug (than just giving you my love) (60k, T)

This is not a Carry On fic, but I'm oh so proud of it. It's a Robin/Nancy Stranger Things fic, post-season 4, second-chance romance. Robin and Nancy met each other at a youth retreat in New York and had a whirlwind summer romance, but Nancy didn't date girls, and the two of them parted ways. Now, with the Upside Down stuff over, Nancy has a lot of questions about what she wants, and maybe that is Robin. This was the first thing I've written in third person and past-tense, and I was exploring new characters. The result was something sweet, emotional, and just a little angsty. Also I'm so proud of some of the prose in this, especially in the second chapter. And I love my exploration of Nancy and comphet. (And I've made some amazing friends in the Stranger Things fandom and I would have never met them without this fic!)

Do As You're Told (51k, T)

My first long fic!! This is Simon accidently puts an illegal compulsion spell on Baz, and then angst ensures. This was only the third fic I wrote and my first attempt at writing something long. I didn't really interact with the fandom that much then, so getting comments on that fic was the best thing ever. Also the last chapter/scene with the spell-breaking sequence is one of my favorite things I've written. I love the conversations about morality and how people do bad things that hurt other people for no real reason that was born out of this fic—even though I started writing it for the sole reason of making Baz cry.

not hard enough (but it isn't easy) (5.8k, T)

I think every fic writer should write one fic that is purely projection (what else is fanfic for?). This was something I really just wrote for me, and I didn't really think anyone would enjoy reading it. There's no real plot—just a lot of talking and emotions. Simon's going through a medical issue, and doesn't really know how to talk to Baz about his complicated feelings that come of that. I'm proud of that fact that I was able to write this, and I've been so touched by people sharing their own stories in the comments. I'm happy the fic was able to find some of it's people.

Tense Silence (6.6k, T)

I will always be proud of this fic because it's the first fanfic I've ever posted!! (We are not counting the stuff from middle school) I had a scene stuck in my head, and I just had to write it down. It's Baz and Simon stuck in close proximity on house arrest, but Simon is determined to use this to prove that Baz is a vampire. It's the kind of angsty vampire fic that I love (and that I have continued to write), and while if I were to write it today it would look a lot different, I'm still so proud of it! And so proud of myself for taking the plunge and writing and posting something <3

[tarnishedinquirer]

Stormveil Cliffbottom

Once again, back to the rampart tower to see if I could find another way to progress that didn't involve running across the courtyard full of crossbowmen. Not that I didn't think I was up to it. Experience had shown me it was probably survivable, but walking around with arrows sticking out of every inch of my body wasn't exactly pleasant.

I went out where the bomb-tossing birds were, and noticed something odd. It hadn't quite registered to me before, but there were holes in the castle up here too. Not only that, these seemed particularly new. Someone had applied sutures to the castle. Iron staples meant to hold the wound together, and they were clearly failing. This solidified it for me. These were no normal scars of battle. This was an infection in the very foundations of this building.

It was while examining some of these sutures that I noticed a lower ledge. I tested it with a rainbow stone... I could drop down safely. Eh, worst comes to worst, I could just teleport back to the top.

I continued down the wall, taking note of all the bloodstains from Tarnished who had missed the jump. There must be something down here if so many in other worlds were trying.

On a lower level, I found a marred wooden shield. I already had a leather one, and the voice didn't have anything new to say. But looking closer, this one had a pattern resembling flames. It was hard to see with all the damage thought. If only I could find a clean version.

A bit further down, I found a scarab with Ash of War: Storm Assault. Yet another Banished Knight technique, using the winds of Stormveil. Once again, I found myself wondering how the scarabs can pick up techniques or spells, and what they might be doing with them.

Ahead, I could vaguely see a figure in the dark. A knight, hulking knight, but it was hard to make out much else. They walked over and stopped at a body next to the cliff.

I snuck by them, but stopped. It would eat away at me if I didn't know who they were, and why they were here. Or at least have a chance to find out. I cast a few pebbles at them, and then turned to run. Get to a place with better light and more maneuvering room.

Once he stepped into the light, I recognized him. A crucible knight. Like the one in the Evergaol. This was not going to be an easy fight.

This one fought much like the other. Wide sword swipes, lunges that covered half a malm. I was on the back foot from the beginning, but that's where I'm at my best. Sometimes I dodged, sometimes I just turn and ran to get enough distance for my spells. Just like before, once I had him bloodied, he changed tactics, calling on the power of the Crucible to grant him tail and wings. My glintblades bit at his back while my pebbles forced him to guard with his shield.

I still could've gone a few more rounds when he fell. When he did, he dropped Aspect of the Crucible: Horns. Strange that he didn't use it, but I guess I didn't get close enough for him to. Now to see what he was looking at.

It was... a smithing stone. A commoner with a smithing stone. There was no answers here. Dammit.

But why would he be down here, anyway? Especially when one of his comrades was stuck in an Evergaol just outside? It wasn't like he was stuck...there was an elevator right there. For some reason, he chose to remain down here for who knows how long.

There were some ruins that suggested a church was once here...perhaps this place was once holy, before it fell into the sea? Only pure speculation there.

Wait, a bronze bird? I've seen these elsewhere. The bird iconography isn't completely gone, I guess.

On my way up, I was startled by Gostoc looting a corpse. I'd noticed the few times I've gotten in trouble, I didn't quite have all my runes when I collected them. He must be responsible, then.

I briefly considered getting them back, but decided it wasn't worth it. Let him take his tax. I'll just be more careful.

Why was the Crucible Knight at the bottom of the cliff?

What is beneath the castle, presumably in the abyss I saw earlier?

[darkpoisonouslove]

Suddenly I feel so much better about having so many WIPs xD

I will take the Griffin x Faragonda Enemies to Lovers AU because that sounds interesting!

XD Glad I can be of service!

It's a more low-key one than most of my other WiPs but not so much that I could restrain myself from pursuing the idea at all.

It's set in a canon divergence where the Ancestral Witches and Valtor have already been defeated with minimal involvement from Faragonda in the whole thing. Griffin has never been involved with either the Coven or the Company and yet... She's not having a good time, not even a little bit.

Faragonda's mother sent some hired paladins to invade Griffin's home and take possession of all of her mother's work (she was translating and restoring spells for her clients). The only reason why Griffin is alive at all is that Faragonda made some kind of deal with her mother that leaves her the one to deal with Griffin.

She remains to live in their mansion because she doesn't want to leave behind her mother's work and she's planning revenge. In the meantime, she's looking deeper into Faragonda, trying to figure out what exactly she sacrificed in that deal with her mother for the sake of keeping her alive and any weaknesses she could use. That's how she ends up meeting Saladin, Marion and Oritel and also Faragonda's father.

Faragonda herself revealed to her that she's an Enchantix fairy, which Griffin is hoping to use to tank her mother's reputation since Faragonda's mother is one of the most formidable witches in the dimension. The news that not only has her daughter chosen to be a fairy, but has also been allowed to pursue it to the point of earning Enchantix will not look good for her. However, she has to figure out how to ensure she can get the information out before getting murdered for trying to reveal Faragonda's secret to the world.

During this whole process of chasing revenge, Griffin and Faragonda interact a lot and suddenly Griffin realizes she's catching feelings (if Faragonda didn't catch feelings when Griffin tried to use her life as a bargaining chip 3 minutes after meeting her for the first time, then she certainly did when Griffin was bleeding in her arms... currently in chapter 3). She tries to pretend that's not happening but that just makes things worse for her so she has to admit the truth, on top of certain discoveries about her mother's involvement in the struggle against the Ancestral Withes and Valtor. Plus, the emotional mess isn't the only obstacle between her and Faragonda as Faragonda's mother intends to fully make use of what Faragonda conceded to her for the sake of keeping Griffin alive.

I have a more-than-vague idea about, roughly, the first half of the story, give or take a couple chapters. I haven't really gotten further because this story isn't my priority right now but I've written down a good amount of dialogue for the chapters that I've already outlined. Here's a little snippet:

Faragonda goes to exit the room, "Are you still trying to rest or will you come with me to the library?"

"I don’t trust you to leave me alone."

"Well, for one, I’d have a much better chance of success if I know more specifics about what we need. And for two, I like spending time with you."

Griffin tries not to trip like she’s missed a step while walking down the stairs.

This is good news. If Faragonda is foolish enough to try to befriend her, maybe she doesn’t need to hide so hard what’s going on in her head. Maybe she can actually get something to help her stop having nightmares about her mother.

[polyhexian]

hey when you have a sec can you explain some of your logic to me? I admittedly do not think deeply on TOH worldbuilding so maybe I missed something.

you've established Jasper can do 0 magic with Hawk Hunter, which, fair, tho it kinda surprised me cuz I thought Hunter could do some magic with Flapjack? tho now that I've been thinking about it I think it's only his teleport trick and some energy blasts. huh. I mean I guess you could argue that Hunter is just not used to using palisman magic vs artificial magic and thus just hasn't gotten the chance to do much with Flapjack, but...hm. canon really doesn't give us much information on how someone without a bile sac can use magic via palisman and what kinds of magic a palisman would let them use. Stringbean isn't much help here either, we didn't get to see Luz do much with her aside from, again, energy blasts. and the standard flying magical staff ability.

but I don't think Jasper's even flown on Hawk Hunter at all? he uses Hawk Hunter's staff as a melee weapon but otherwise he always seems to run off on foot. what's going on there? is Hawk Hunter okay? is his 300-year-old wound preventing him from doing basic palisman magic? is Jasper just still really disapproving of wild magic?

you've also mentioned Hawk Hunter can't talk - is that connected? he didn't talk to Miles until the very end but I figured that was cuz he and Miles hadn't properly bonded or something. is the poor guy just unable to talk at all at this point?

Yeah, Hawk Hunter can't talk. He's broken. He couldn't fly much back then either and he burned the last bit of magic in him to block that last strike from directly hitting Miles. Ive dropped some staff lore in one of the lament sequels. Palismen staffs channel magic from the witch's bile sac. The artificial staff generates it's own magic. And Grimwalkers are essentially palismen, so a Grimwalker can channel magic directly through the staff. He basically is the staff. Hunter has spent his whole life being taught to use a certain amount of magic for a certain spell. He's been taught to obey a physical limit other people have, but if he kept drawing he COULD get magic indefinitely. He would probably explode or something. Jasper also does not realize this, but he DOES know he can use more magic than regular people- he just thinks he's special. Anyway in addition to the lore in my head, jasper landed in the pit near miles and in contact hawk hunter who is still cracked wood. But then. Like. He's not dead so magic is just passing through like an electrical circuit which kick-starts hawk hunter back up. And hawk hunter doesn't quit. Not again. He lost his first witch and his second witch and last time he just succumbed to his grief. But now there's this guy right here and he can damn well help him. So he does and he forces jasper awake so that he can help himself. They're in the skull itself and that's where the Titans magic is strongest. That's always why the collector is hidden there! Strong Titan magic.

[sycamorre]

You know I gotta get my girl Ledo! Also Wisteria, please. I barely know her, but I love her already.

[send me a character]

Another long one!

Ledo —

Favorite thing about them: It's a hard tie between her design elements and her passion for what she cares about. I love how her design has come out, in part because of how long I've picked away at her over the years waiting for a chance to play her, and how everything fell into place with the campaign's setup, but I also love how passionate she is about things: her work, her goals, and even her problems. Coming off of playing Oriana, who has a tendency to downplay a lot of her emotions due to her anxiety, it's been a good change of pace. Ledo is pretty calm most of the time but won't hesitate to say what's on her mind if she thinks it's important.

Least favorite thing about them: She's really hard to pinpoint morally/alignment-wise. I've settled on lawful neutral, but she flip flops between wanting to actually do some good and not caring about others at all and it's one of those things that will probably either go one way or another as her story develops, but for right now is just hard to feel out without regularly writing or playing her.

Favorite line: "If the universe wanted us gone so bad, it should have done a better job at killing us." for a specific line. But I'll echo your sentiments about their little campfire talk. I had never gotten a chance to show Ledo angry and when a little bit slipped with her "I am no damn pirate," comment, that was satisfying.

brOTP: Already adoring the vibes between Ledo and Char, they get shit done. But honestly I can't wait to see where the relationships with the other characters go, too. Especially Celeste once they get to really talk about Twalan one on one and maybe even Foaly at some point if they ever get to swapping war/battle stories.

OTP: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) You've seen him. I've only let his name slip once, but you've seen him on this here blog. That's all you get.

nOTP: You've also seen him but do not yet know his name. There's a lot of people in the world she would sell to satan for a corn chip, but she would pay for Satan to take this fellow.

Random Headcanon: In-character, her steel guardian Drache is based on a drake for one primary reason: a joke between her and her father. One day he asked her what she might want as a pet, and she said a dragon. She eventually learned that this was not possible, but the family in-joke remained. Out of character, the reason he's a drake is because I didn't want him to be a dog or a bear, and nothing else felt right. I originally was going to make her an armorer or artillerist artificer and she was gonna have a small monkey automaton, but after reviewing the sub-classes and realizing neither of those actually felt right and battle smith felt like the most useful sub-class, that automaton eventually morphed into Drache.

Unpopular Opinion: I doubt this technically counts, but I honestly think looking back that Ledo would have been better as a Pathfinder character. The inventor class is perfect, and I very well might replay her one day if I do ever get to join a Pathfinder campaign. But she feels like she fits well into the current party so I don't dwell on it too much.

Song I associate with them: OH boy. Currently her main song is "Queen of Kings" by Alessandra, but specifically this cover by Annapantsu for thematic reasons. "Runaway" by AURORA was her main theme before that. I have... a very long playlist for her I am still fine-tuning.

Favorite picture of them: I still think this is the best headshot I've done of her, even if I need to update the horns:

Wisteria —

Favorite thing about them: She's just fun! Half of my enjoyment when it comes to thinking about Wisteria is considering the fun things like what she might wear, how her spells might appear since she's a dancing-based bard, or what kind of shenanigans she might get into.

Least favorite thing about them: Intelligence is absolutely her dump stat and hoo boy is that gonna be hard to get used to if I ever do get to play her in some kind of game. She also has no sense of personal space and is the worst kind of nosy.

Favorite line: We'll come back to this one day. One day...

brOTP: Her little eladrin bard gang back home. The tightest clique of court ladies and performers the fey have ever seen.

OTP: This gal's not looking to settle down or just pick one... but I could be convinced if the right opportunity presented itself.

nOTP: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Random Headcanon: Since Eladrin can change their "season" willingly, back in the Feywild she would do it on a whim or based on which court she was performing in, but she heavily preferred spring since that is the court she originates from. However, once she enters the material plane and the idea of the courts is no longer looming over her, her "season" tends to change depending on her overall mood for a while, at least until she starts understanding that seasons in this plane are a set timespan and then she starts adhering to that a bit more as she settles.

Unpopular Opinion: Probably gonna need to actually play her some to get an idea for what this might be.

Song I associate with them: A bit of a cop out if I'm being honest because I haven't worked on her playlist yet, but "The Willow Maid" or "Round and Round" by Erutan because they feel like songs she would perform to

Favorite picture of them: She's ready for mischief and other nonsense

[dragonologist-phd]

⭐️ for something you wrote this last weekend?

thank you! one of the things i worked on this weekend is the upcoming chapter for my Naia/Shadowheart fic, so i'll talk about that and let it double as my wip wednesday!

Director's Cut: Midnight Black and Paris Green

the upcoming chapter will be the one that finally gets Naia out of Act 1! all she has to do is kill Nere and she'll be all set. this part of the game actually lined up really well for Naia, because she finally leveled up to get some good necromancy spells right after meeting the myconids, so i get to work in my headcanon that she learned some magic from them- and i get to write her showing off her skills for the first time in the fight with Nere!

i haven't gotten to the fight quite yet, but i do have some fun setup down:

“May their gods guide their souls,” Naia murmurs, earning an odd look from Shadowheart. “And here I thought you didn’t hold with the gods.” “I don’t. But I still give them their dues, when needed.” Shadowheart’s eyes remain cool and acidic as she surveys the scene around her. “The dead are already lost. Were I you, I’d save your prayers for those who could use them.” “You truly feel nothing for them?” Gale asks in disbelief, and Shadowheart scoffs. “My feelings don’t matter to them one way or another. As I said-” “The dead are already lost,” Naia finishes quietly. She does not disagree; she can feel them decaying, and she knows it is beyond any of her powers to help them now. She also knows that their loss may, in some way, be twisted into an advantage for herself, and even now an idea is forming.

this is inspired by some similar dialogue in the game, where you net a bit of disapproval from Shadowheart if you stop and pray for the dead gnomes. i actually like this bit, because it highlights how despite the arc she's on Shadowheart does have an edge and can genuinely be callous at times. one of my favorite things about writing her is that she does have a lot of opposing characteristics- she has both a natural sense of compassion that she's been taught to ignore and a sense of sharp pragmatism that's been encouraged, and i like the balance of showing them both!

especially when writing her alongside Naia, as she mourns the dead while also planning to turn them into zombies that do her bidding- which is a scene i'm really looking forward to, as it's gonna be a chance for her to really show off, terrify some bystanders, and really emphasize the goth power couple thing she has going with Shadowheart lol

that's all i've got so far, but talking about this chapter is definitely motivating to finish it so thank you again!!

[goatsorcery]

>:3 Alright Frank, my turn. Please share your bg3 brain worms (tadpoles). Favorite character(s)? Preferred companions? Do you have a consistent party? If not, how do you choose your members at any given time? I am very curious if it’s the latter because as I mentioned, I don’t really ever switch it up.

you said in the tags of your answer to write as many paragraphs as my feelings can fill… and well… it’s a lot haha :)

i love all the characters so much! they're all so unique, interesting, and charming in their own way. i'm only in act 2 myself (about to finish it though i think) so i haven't gotten to see everyone's full stories yet. narrowing down a favorite is so hard! i change up my party every once in a while, but consistently i still always bring wyll or shadowheart so I guess they would be my favorites!

i love wyll so much, im always a sucker for characters who are able to stay postive and optimistic even through the worst of times. I also love characters (especially in fantasy) who are primed to be the main character either from their backstories or narratively (alistair in dragon age and aragorn in lord of the rings are other examples); wyll, who is a monster hunter but is first and foremost a protector of the people, (there are other details about him that I wont spoil for you that also lend to this) has all the makings of a classic fantasy protagonist, but he never expresses the desire to be the leader (i guess, unless the player plays as him haha) or to get any recognition for helping cure the tadpoles. other possibly-spoilery tid-bits about him that break away from or invert fantasy character archtypes help to really round out his character in an interesting way.

I loved shadowheart pretty much instantly (shadowheart and lae’zel being the first two companions you meet is everything, i love them both and their dynamic so much) shadowheart is a bit of a mystery, even to herself, which is fascinating to me. I find her whole story, so far, really interesting, and I’m excited to see where it goes and what else is learned about her through the rest of the game. i love characters who are so dedicated to one goal to the point that it’s all that matters to them and it’s all they are, but then the story challenges their dedication or pulls them from it for a larger cause.

i switch up my party every once in a while, but its usually just to swap out characters for quests that are relevant to them or that i think will prompt dialogue or approval from them. i think my game is a bit bugged, because i didn't even realize there was party banter until very late into act 1 (also just might be  because i fast travel a lot) so i've been switching out characters more to see what conversations they can have.

my go-to parties in act 1 were wyll, shadowheart, and lae’zel or wyll, karlach, and lae’zel (this was mostly because of combat game play, karlach and lae’zel with their extra attack or shadowheart as an extra healer was so helpful when I was still trying to learn the combat system).

in act 2 my go to party is wyll, shadowheart, and karlach, or wyll, shadowheart, and halsin depending on if im just exploring/doing side-quests or if i know I’ll run into heavy combat. karlach regularly one-shots enemies with 30+ hp and having her extra attack is the only way i get through combat most of the time (even on the easiest difficulty, combat continues to kick my ass).

when I reach act 3, I plan on mixing up my party more, depending on what’s in store for act 3 (I have surprisingly not been spoiled on anything that happens in act 3).

combat is the main reason why i don’t switch up my parties more since i get used to having certain spells or abilities. on my second play through (which I’ve already started planning even though im not close to being done with my first lol) i plan on trying to mix up my groups more to get more banter and to spend time with other characters I haven’t had much chance to. I rarely take gale or astarion with me (unless there is a relevant quest) but only because of combat, i feel like other characters have more useful abilities then they do. which is a shame because i like them both a lot, and want to get to know them better. my tav is a cleric, so that also factors in to party make-up. gale’s party banter is always bugged for me as well which is a bummer, the captions will pop-up but his voice lines never play.

one thing i like so much about the characters is that they all have interesting interpersonal dynamics. it really only comes up in banter and the occasional camp conversation but its enough to make it feel like they're all actually interacting in camp. whether or not they fully get along, they still all seem to care about each other which i love! its the friend group you'd never expect (most of who would probably not get along or get the chance to interact if the circumstances were different) but they all end up being close in some way or another. shadowheart and lae'zel's dynamic is especially a favorite of mine, i always love characters who don't get along on the surface but are actually "no one's allowed to be mean to them except for me". shadowheart and astarion are a bit like this too, with each other, and astarion with the rest of the companions as well. another one of my favorite party dynamics is wyll, shadowheart, and astarion; three people I wouldn’t have expected to really get along but the first time i had them all in my party I triggered like three conversations in a row where they were flirting with each other (my favorite of their banters is astarion saying he’d drink from wyll if he could chose anyone in camp after shadowheart asks him and then her sounding disappointed that he didn’t pick her. in my play through shadowheart then asked astarion if he was single less than a minute later lol).

my favorite character dynamics are:

wyll and karlach

wyll, astarion, and shadowheart

shadowheart and lae’zel