#Special Purpose Exam Course

[ragingbookdragon]

She huffs lightly when she hears the low growl of the familiar soldier in the room next door, followed by her nurse griping and trying to work with him. Entering behind, she lays a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Go on, Paula, I got him,” she says with a smile and Paula practically screams in relief as she leaves the exam room.

She gives him a fond smile. “Now, Lieutenant, what have I said about antagonizing my nurses?”

He scowls at her. “I don’t like ‘em.”

“I know but I still need you to be kind when they’re simply trying to do their jobs.”

“I don’t like anyone touchin’ me but you.” He’s still scowling behind his mask, holding his side where she can see the black material stained a darker color.

“Well aren’t I special,” she murmurs, closing the exam room door before walking over. “You know the drill.”

He lifts his sweatshirt wordlessly along with the t-shirt he’s got underneath and she sighs at the sight of a cut about four inches long riding up his ribs.

“Do I even want to know how?” She asks.

“Trainin’ with Soap,” he mutters. “‘e’s a slippery lit’le bastard when ‘e needs to be.”

She snorts and goes about pulling on a pair of latex gloves before she begins to clean his wound with antiseptic. He doesn’t make a sound though she knows it stings like a bitch and the only show of irritation from him is the way his muscle ripple beneath her touch.

“I thought I said not to get wounded anymore.”

“Didn’t listen,” he simply shrugs.

“If I had half a mind, I’d assume you did this on purpose so you could come see me.”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t flatter you’self. I don’t like you that much.”

A laugh escapes her as she checks the depth, ultimately deciding on a few stitches for his wound. “Oh I know you like me plenty, Simon.”

Simon.

She only says his name in privacy when no one can hear them. He hates the way his chest feels funny, sternum scratchy with an itch he can’t get to.

“‘S Lieutenant,” he retorts.

“Of course, of course,” she hums. “My most sincerest apologies, Lieutenant Riley.”

He scowls again but that itch returns when she begins to stitch his wound carefully.

After a few minutes, she sets the clipped thread down and admires her handiwork. “All done, sweetheart,” she says with a gentle smile and wipes it carefully before putting a bandage on it. “Don’t get it wet and—”

“Keep it dry and clean,” he finishes. “I know.”

She laughs and pokes the nose to his mask. “Maybe one day you will learn.”

She watches as he redresses himself before standing, waving off the bottle of pills she hands to him.

“Don’t need ‘em.”

“It’s just some ibuprofen, Lieutenant.”

“Don’t need ‘em,” he repeats with a growl and she rolls her eyes.

“You are so stubborn for no reason,” she says and places her hands on her hips. “And after all the care I just gave you.”

He looks at her for a solid moment before he leans over and kisses her cheek through his mask. “Thank you, love,” he mutters. “For takin’ care of me.”

She goes uncharacteristically quiet, cheeks getting hot and he smirks at her.

“Ain’t got nothin’ to say? Cat got your tongue?”

She glares at him half-heartedly. “Get out of my clinic, Lieutenant.”

As he heads for the door, he pauses and looks at her. “It’s Simon, to you.” He says, and closes the door behind him.

[brainrotfm]

the sideshow spectacular: week one

☞ pairing: nurse!ryomen sukuna x f!reader

☞ word count: ~4.6k

☞ short description: yandere fertility nurse sukuna who thinks he's pulling a fast one on you except you're yan4yan and have masterminded this exact situation from the start

☞ content warnings: dark content, modern au, no curse au, yan4yan, yandere behavior, medical play kink, breeding kink, light bondage, inappropriate power dynamic, baby trapping, afab!reader, feminine descriptors + pronouns, blink and you miss it daddy kink, probably a lot more honestly i'm sorry for being a pervert

☞ notes: credit shhhhh don't look at what time this was posted i *definitely* made the cut off for week 1 also this came to me in a vision and then i feverishly wrote between today and yesterday also this is my first posted smut ever pls be nice also also also not beta'd not edited we die like men have fun xoxoxo

You have turned him into a monster.

You, with your kind smile, the way you offer it so carelessly to every person you meet. You, with your adorable gestures, fidgeting and fiddling with pens, magazines, the edges of your skirts as you sit in the waiting room. You, with those trusting eyes, lashes fluttering at every passing sensitivity. He could read your emotions clear as day, and spent too much of his time doing so, pretending to work behind an antiquated desktop as he side eyed you.

The other nurses had caught on, of course - ever watchful hens, they were quick to pinpoint his interest in you, tutting at him in the break room only for a moment about it being inappropriate to desire patients. Their admonishments turned teasing without him interfering, settling into their usual lust for office gossip without another acknowledgement. In truth, his coworkers were delighted, in fact, by the pink haired man "softening" over you.

This would have drawn his ire, even his retaliation in most instances. Until Sukuna realized he was purposely being slid your chart whenever your monthly appointment rolled around, an unexpected convenience in Sukuna's intricate plan to claim you as his own.

He had only heard of your husband in passing, the man only present at your introductory interview with the fertility team and the first few appointments before his obligation to you waned. Sukuna despised him for it on principle, but in practice, no other presence in the exam room meant having his bubble of heaven. A single half hour appointment, once a month, where he reviewed your chart, asked invasive questions about your health, took blood, gave the occasional ultrasound, offered advice on the repetitious nature of fertility treatments, and flirted his ass off as he watched you giggle and squirm under his attention. The prospect of cucking this faceless man only added to Sukuna's dark desires.

Today was finally the day. It was even circled on his desk calendar, red ink.

"You look handsome," you offered him the compliment easily, your voice obscuring the click of the door locking behind you both, back to him as you set your jacket on the extra chair. Sukuna preened for a second, smiling to himself.

Sukuna was wearing a tight, long sleeve black shirt beneath his favorite maroon red scrubs, the smallest hint of a chain beneath his collar, and comfortable black sneakers - none of his piercings, sadly, and since his interview, he had worn make up to cover his face and neck tattoos at work as well.

He knew you meant it too, as he diligently wore the exact same outfit to every one of your appointments since the first time you had complimented him all those months ago.

"Already buttering me up, you better not be trying to get out of your blood work," Sukuna teased as he opened one of the nearby cabinet drawers, retrieving his special black gloves that only he was allowed to use, quietly noting that none were missing with a smirk.

"You always remind me of a tattoo artist with those," you deflected, tossing him one of your oh-so pretty smiles.

"Y'know, I buy these with my own money, and I'm gonna let you in on a lil' secret... That's why, that's what I want you to think," Sukuna bantered back, so at ease around you that he rolled his sleeves up thoughtlessly before making a show out of snapping the nitrile against his wrists. He had never done that before.

You had caught wisps in the past, only question marks until today. Thick black bands of tattooed ink sat around his wrists, hidden now beneath his gloves that blended so well against them, it made sense why he liked them so much.

Your mouth went dry at the sight, licking your lips as you choked out to him, "I didn't know you had tattoos."

The tone of your voice had him raising a brow, lopsided smirk already in place, "Is that a deal breaker, baby?" If only you knew.

"Those can't be the only ones," you replied, and if Sukuna wasn't mistaken, there was a lilt of hope sitting between your words, causing his smirk to soften to a smile, his heart wrenching for a moment at you. You. He was going to ruin you.

That when he noticed that you were still standing awkwardly, your things deposited in the nearby chairs as you rocked on the balls of your feet, something about you seemingly overwhelming tense despite being in such good company. You were being different today too; Sukuna hoped you didn't sense something was amiss.

"Everything okay with you today, doll?"

"I, um... I was wondering if we could wait, actually, to do the ultra sound today," you started shyly, and he could tell you were fighting the urge to wring your hands as your fingertips jittered against your wrists. Despite your words, he continued to dig materials out of the cabinets, glancing at you over his shoulder as he spoke.

"You want to do blood first? Feeling bold today, sweet girl?" Sukuna hoped so, he had big plans for you. He turned from the cabinet to approach you to do the prep work. He didn't want to waste anymore time, but maybe having you light-headed from lack of blood wasn't such a bad idea - he stopped when he saw the look on your face.

"Is there any way I can have a physical exam today, actually? Y'know, like my annual one, but instead... now," your question was rushed as you looked toward him but not at him, and Sukuna knew this because he was staring you down, a predator honing in on his prey. He felt like he could hear your pulse from where he stood, and it made his mouth water.

"You mean your pelvic exam?" he repeated, almost dumbfounded at his luck - were you stupid or naive? Nurses didn't give pelvic exams, that was the doctor's job. Your chart only had an appointment for your usual round of bullshit, blood and ultrasound, Sukuna trying to upsell you hormones your insurance wouldn't cover, blah blah blah.

God, you were so pretty and dumb, was this on purpose? Were you trying to manipulate him? You'd been here enough times to know better, right ? When was the universe ever so giving? Sukuna figured there was really no way you'd fall for what he was about to try, sure this was your attempt at catching him red handed in his obsession over you, but he didn't care. He'd take the bait, even if it was a shot in the dark for you.

His head had cocked with his thoughts, a lopsided grin unfurling across his cheeks as he regarded you with darkening eyes, coughing to clear the husk of his arousal from his voice. "You know, the doctor has been in and out all morning. Something with her kids. I'd hate for you to get stuck waiting around for her. I could always administer the exam, if you'd like."

He very much could not, but he kept his wicked smirk in place, silently praying you wouldn't call his bluff. To Sukuna's delight, your gaze twitched between him and the exam table, knees rubbing together briefly before your hesitation subsided and you made a half step in its direction, wavering as you looked down at yourself. He understood in an instant, clicking his tongue in recognition as he went back to the drawers to dig out an exam gown for you, both your hands lingering on the package when he passed it forward.

"I'll step ou-"

"No, you can just... stay," you sounded much more confident now, cutting him off with a defiant look in your eye, the smallest curl of a smile tugging at the corner of your lips, "You're going to see everything anyway, right? J-just turn around, maybe?"

You were so cute, he wished he could kiss you right then. Using every ounce of his control to suppress his smirk, Sukuna turned on his heel and faced the opposing wall dutifully, the urge to peek over his shoulder at you easy to resist when he knew exactly where all this was leading. As if the wheels hadn't been in motion since before you had even arrived today.

It was sort of erotic, though, to hear the jostle of your clothes hitting the floor, knowing you were naked and so close to him, and being unable to touch or see. Not yet. A little more patience and he knew he would reap the best of rewards. You cleared your throat when you were ready and Sukuna turned, unable to hid his smirk now that he saw you in the silly canary yellow exam gown they gave people here. You were still adorable, though.

Stepping to the side, Sukuna pulled out the lowest shelf of the table to act as a foot stool and help you up, before moving to each side to unfurl the arms of the stirrups he'd be putting your feet into. He couldn't think about it too much or his cock might hear, already on thin ice until you were properly restrained. The room had grown painfully quiet, Sukuna unable to continue joking with you when he was barely keeping his hands off you.

It was taking every ounce of his self control to not start panting and drooling like a dog at the way you quietly obeyed him, without question. So trusting... So easy, it took nothing to lead you down his path of corruption. His skin was starting to get hot, but Sukuna ignored the prickling beneath his shirt, knowing he needed to retain focus now more than ever. Oh, you were speaking. Fuck.

"I read online that during ovulation, there can be blockages that, like, can contribute to the problems I'm... having, you know," you were rambling, words rushed, and Sukuna realized you were embarrassed by the information you were offering. Cute, so fucking cute. You probably should be, it sounded like snake oil garbage, but Sukuna thanked whatever AI algorithm spat that nonsense into your brain as he nodded along.

"Hmmmm, well, that's only sort of true," he hummed through the lie easily, trying not to let his fingertips linger too long against the soft skin of your calf, your ankle as Sukuna strapped your left foot into place. He was even quicker with the right one, worried you may change your mind if he idled too long.

He used his foot to kick the rolling stool closer and sat down in a smooth motion. He couldn't give you a moment to think, because if he did, you may realize your mistake. Sukuna's hands were already beneath your gown as he rubbed both palms eagerly at your inner thighs, cooing from beneath you when you jolted at the sensation, "Hey, it's okay, it's just me. You trust me, yeah? I'm not going to hurt you."

Only some of it was a lie, but you eased regardless, somehow relaxing when you shouldn't be. Sukuna would've clicked his tongue, admonished you, if he wasn't the villain in this story.

"I'm going to look at you now," it was a command more than a question, not waiting for your consent before his hands are moving to your outer thighs, pushing the gown up easily, the fabric already wanting to give from the angle of your legs in the stirrups. It just needed some encouragement.

Glancing up at you, Sukuna noted your fluttering eyelashes and shallow breaths, and realized you probably needed some encouragement too.

"So beautiful," he couldn't stop his silky whisper, barely even trying to keep up the ruse that had put you here, careless as he finally gazed at your perfect pussy, splayed out wide for him. He wanted to touch. He needed to taste.

"Y-yeah?" the quiver in your tone perfect, and Sukuna fought the urge to moan at the entire situation, wondering how someone as bad as him could have such a perfect moment unfolding like this.

"My prognosis is that you have pretty pussy syndrome," Sukuna couldn't even stop himself now, having gone mad as soon as he could smell your arousal, spit pooling on his tongue as his fingers twitched on your thighs. He wanted to touch you everywhere. He wanted to have everything. He leaned closer, his breath beginning to fan over your folds, using two fingers to spread you even further, really expose every inch of you to him. He had dreamed of it for so long, Sukuna couldn't help but linger here, just a moment.

"I d-don't think you're supposed to talk to me like t-that," you wriggled beneath him despite your words, probably beginning to realize this may have been a bad idea, but it was too late for you. You'd have to scream, and to be frank, Sukuna would shut you up before anyone could intervene. He was too close to what he wanted to be stopped now - not that you would. The wetness leaking out of your pulsing little entrance reassured him.

"Yeah? That was unprofessional of me, wasn't it?" Sukuna feigned agreement before he was licked a flat stripe from your perineum to your clit, making sure to linger and kiss at the hooded bud once, twice before giving an experimental suck, earning him a pitched keen that had him grinning.

"But then why are you so wet for me, doll?" the pet name dripped venomously off his tongue as two deft fingers pinched and rolled at your clit, crimson gaze peering up your body at your reaction. The look on your face was almost enough to make him cum right there; your tongue was poking out between your lips as you panted, eyes hazy and hooded, unable to tear your gaze from where Sukuna sat between your legs and continued his ministrations. You already looked fucked out, and he was just getting started.

He laved his tongue gently against your rapidly engorging clit, another whimper falling from your lips when a fingertip started to tease at your fluttering entrance. Already so sopping wet with the prettiest slick he'd ever tasted, he was so entranced by you that he was hardly listening.

"T-this isn't... This is different than what-" You sounded so cute like this, all high pitched and whining. Needy for something you couldn't ask for, not yet, not that you'd have to - Sukuna knew he'd give it to you, give it all to you, give you everything he had.

"We're doing a different kind of exam, doll. I'm not your gynecologist," Sukuna chided back with a sharp laugh, his words full of a condescending mirth as he sunk two fingers deep into your cunt, fighting his own moan at how easily your pulsing hole gave way to him. A moment longer of watching your cunt gobble up his fingers to the knuckle and Sukuna was going to finger bang you to death, truly.

The nitrile gloves were definitely the culprit, the addition of all your slick eradicating any friction. To be fair, your pussy was tight enough that when your walls fluttered around the sudden intrusion, Sukuna had a momentary worry that making you cum might break his hand. It'd be worth it though, so the thought passed him by.

He curled his fingers deeper, prodding and scissoring against the gummy slick of your walls, searching for the spot that would make you sing. He knew as soon as he did, a sharp inhale followed by a whimper leaving your mouth, and the man fought against his urge to grin at all the pretty sounds you were making just for him. Because of him.

He shushed you, easing the pressure against your G-spot, just swirling the pads of his fingers in a circular motion as he purred your name before admonishing you softly, "I really do need you to quiet down, we can't disturb the other patients in the waiting room. Can you be good?"

Your bottom lip was firmly beneath your teeth but wobbling precariously, the sight of you adorable but albeit, not very reassuring. Sighing, Sukuna slipped his fingers out of you, which left you whimpering and squirming, much to his pleasure. Standing between your legs, he regarded you with a cold scowl for a moment before reaching down both hands to shove your exam gown higher from your hips , up up up, not stopping until he'd bunched it beneath your arm pits and freed the jiggling fat of your breasts to the chill in the air. You didn't even wear a bra, whore. His characteristic smirk was back in place at the newfound sight of you.

He couldn't help but stare for a moment. He didn't think he could get away with taking a picture, and he needed to commit this to memory.

After a moment, he reached for the hem of your gown again, this time bunching a fistful together before pressing it against your lips, his smirk going crooked with arousal when you took it with a tentative bite, the pretty doe eyes gazing up at him starting to water.

"Shhh, don't worry, I'm prescribing the perfect fertility treatment for you today, it's even covered by your insurance," Sukuna shushed, the comfort and sympathy offered obviously fake as his fingers tips caught on your entrance again, unceremoniously shoving three forward. Maybe Sukuna was the one who needed the gag - he all but groaned when half his hand sunk into your pussy without resistance, your messy hole squelching loudly for him.

Your eyes immediately rolled as he began an unforgiving pace, hammering his knuckles against your thinly stretched entrance, his other hand having shoved into his pants to fist his cock for even the smallest ounce of relief. Despite your muffled whines to the contrary, your hands began to smack helplessly against his shoulders, the only defense you had to the onslaught of pleasure as you were otherwise pinned and tied to the exam table, by your own wishes. You had, quite literally in Sukuna's opinion, asked for this.

Sukuna squeezed the base of his cock when your flimsy pushing against his chest finally registered, because you weren't even really trying to get him away, because you were still moaning like a little bitch. He almost came at the thought.

His thumb found your clit with ease, the poor thing swollen and begging for attention as he swiped against it, and he had been right in his earlier observation; the added sensation had your pussy clenching down around him so hard, one of his fingers folded over another, practically crushing his knuckles from pressing into you any deeper. You were about to cum for him. That wicked smile of his began to curl across Sukuna's features as his other hand left his cock to take over at your clit, flicking back and forth in a quick motion while the hand buried in your cunt gave several practiced tilts forward.

"Pretty little doll," he groaned hoarsely, pressing in hard against the spongy tissue of your G-spot until your back arched from the table, tits wobbling in the air. Sukuna knew what you needed, grunting a commanding, "Now, cum for me now," before surging forward to bite one of your perfect nipples, the sudden change in angle and added sensation your ultimate undoing.

Like a bow pulled taut, you snapped at your peak, a surprised shout barely escaping your throat before your cunt flexed hard, before splitting itself open with a gush of clear liquid around Sukuna's eagerly awaiting palms, the hand inside you stilled to let you ride on while he continued to lazily flick your clit, prolonging your orgasm as long as he could.

You were going to feel heavenly around his cock.

Sukuna felt his eyes roll back as he mercilessly pummeled his hips forward, unable to slow himself down, your cunt filled to the brim with his girth. His hand was grasped so firmly over your mouth, you could only helplessly cry out against his palm, laving your tongue and teeth over the skin for some amount of grounding sensation as the man ruthlessly fucked into you.

The stirrups had kept you spread wide for him, unable to wriggle away from pleasure and pain alike, and a puddle was forming on the floor as your needy cunt drooled around his abusive thickness. So perfectly fucked out, just for him. Your walls fluttering indistinctly from the spasms of your orgasms, your euphoria evident from your slick sodden pussy, your heavily lidded gaze, your labored gasps for air beneath his hand. Grinning, he pinched two fingers together and closed your nose, and your entire cunt clenched, and Sukuna barely stifled his own groan as he ricocheted into you with renewed vigor. He let go when your eyes began to roll, and it seemed that the flood of oxygen back into your brain combined with the frenzied thrust of his hips had you shattering around him once again.

"Oh my god, look at you," Sukuna choked out lowly, "you're just sucking me in, it's like-"

He was gazing down to where your bodies connected, wonder twinkling behind heavily lidded maroon eyes as he watched your cunt take him still, after already cumming twice and probably so sensitive, still. His heart hammered in his chest, the pressure at the base of his cock getting dizzying, making his mouth run as his brow furrowed, unable to take his eyes away from your drooling slit as he chased his high.

The exam room stank with sex, filled with the wet slaps of his hips and low grunts, your cum drunk mewls broken and pitchy and barely muffled by your spit-soaked gown. It was a wonder you both hadn't been caught yet, but at this point, it just seemed to be Sukuna's lucky day.

"You want me to cum in you, don't you?" Sukuna asked breathlessly, not actually caring for the answer, because this had been the point all along. The entire plan hinged on filling you to the brim with his seed.

"You want my fucking cum, you want to be bred by me and not your stupid fucking husband. You want me to fuck a baby into you, you dirty fucking whore, so shameless," as he spoke, his thrusts began to speed up, his control finally dwindling as he hammered recklessly into your perfect sopping cunt. He was unable to stop himself from reaching down to grind his palm against your clit, adoring the way your walls gripped his shaft, milking his thickness for all he was worth.

"It doesn't matter what you want, m'gonna do it anyway," he hissed, crimson eyes wide and wild and boring down at the pussy he planned to fill with his seed, absolutely deranged with his singularly focused obsession, and the sight had you shuddering around him again, your third orgasm unexpected for the both of you.

Sukuna had no chance against your spasming walls this time, his hand finding your throat and dragging you up for a ruthless, harsh first kiss. More of a mashing tongues before Sukuna cried out with a growl, dropping his head to muffle himself with a bite to your shoulder. Instinct shoved his hips forward, burying his cock as close to your womb as physically possible as he came, flooding you with warmth. His cock jumped inside of you, twitching and sensitive against your fluttering walls, both of you hissing and moaning softly as your hips continued to rock slowly, riding out the overstimulation.

Your chests were pressed skin to skin, Sukuna's head was still tucked in the space between your neck and your shoulder as you both came down from your highs, silent except for the shared panting. Sukuna was the first to speak, chuckling as he lulled his tongue against the mark he had left, kissing the already blossoming redness in a surprising act of tenderness.

"I marked you up pretty bad, doll, between that and my baby, I don't think you're getting away with any of this. What're you gonna tell your man?" Sukuna didn't know if it was pride or jealously twinging his words, but whatever it was, it tasted bitter on his tongue, despite all the blessings he'd received today.

A beat passed before you tried to sit up on your elbows, the angle of the exam table not exactly helping, once hazy eyes now trained on his, absolutely twinkling as you murmured, "Probably nothing, I guess... considering I'm not married." You wriggled beneath him, still pinned beneath his chest as you danced your hips back and forth around his softening length, making cum leak out and down your puffy slit in a proud display.

"What?" His cock hadn't even come out of you yet. You were gonna make him hard again if you kept that up.

You giggled, the sound sparkling with delight as you repeated, "I'm not married. That man isn't my husband."

"He's been here... It's part of our screening process."

"He's just some actor guy I hired. I don't even know him." You didn't even have the nerve to sound embarrassed.

"What does that mean? He gives samples-"

"I give samples on my 'husband's' behalf. Why do you think our treatments haven't worked?" your smile had grown wicked, a twin lopsided grin to the one he usually wore, pupils dilated as you admitted your sins, your pussy even giving a little spasm on his now rapidly hardening cock. You were getting off on this, you little she-devil.

"Then what's even the point in coming to a fucking fertility clinic if you're not-"

"All for this. All for you," your confession both the sweetest and most deranged thing he had ever heard of in his life, and that was saying something, considering... him.

His heart skipped a beat.

Sukuna was pretty sure he was in love with you.

You thought you had finally stunned him. You had, for a moment, like a flash bang. But Sukuna recovered quickly enough, reaching an expert hand down to drag the middle shelf out from the front of the exam table. He stepped his right foot forward before hoisting a knee to plant his left foot firmly on the stool, using the advantage of his palms already under your knees to unceremoniously shove you into deep mating press, no longer constrained by stirrups.

His fat cock could bully against your cervix easily now, and considering he never skipped leg day, his stamina in this position was nothing to be trifled with. He gave an experimental roll of his hips, sinking tip to hilt without any resistance, the movement causing you to shout hoarsely at how quickly his balls pressed against your asshole.

"Oh you fucking slut," Sukuna purred in delight, his condescension sticky sweet, "Since you want my baby so bad, we'll make extra sure it sticks this time, but you gotta be quiet and we gotta be quick." You opened wide as he grabbed a handful of his special black gloves from their box and balling them into your gleefully awaiting mouth. Leaning forward so you were caged against his chest, Sukuna rolled his cock deeply into you again, content with your muffled whine of ecstasy, before setting a brutal pace into your already cum sodden cunt.

"And call me Daddy this time."

[downmainstreet]

fly me to the moon ⋆ k. leehan. part i.

⤷ film major!leehan x gn!reader. college au, sort of one-sided academic rivals to lovers, non!idol bnd. possible warnings. cussing, use of leehan’s government name for fic purposes, oops. lowercase intended. there’ll probably be another part to this, since it got to be longer than i expected it to! wc. 1.6k words.

synopsis ⋆ kim donghyun, or leehan to his friends, was hybe u’s golden boy. honors student, dashing smile, charming personality. it drove people mad, but specially you, moon y/n, and definitely not for the same reason. ever since you could remember, leehan had been better. more popular, more memorable, more knowledgeable. it made you sick. so, what happens when you get assigned to a project together and there’s no way out?

⤷ author's note ✩ hello! very excited for this little au. there'll definitely be another part to this because i love a cliffhanger. also, a quick thank u to moni @gluion for beta-reading this for me! the story is even better thanks to their suggestions. i hope you all enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it. do leave your feedback in comments or asks if you can, they're very much appreciated!

if anybody were to ask you how you were doing today, you’d say you were fantastic. you’d woken up earlier than usual, worked out, and even had time to get a lavender latte from that new café close to campus. one would say you were almost skipping giddily into class—which sungho, your best friend, didn’t fail to point out—because of your good mood.

“can’t one be happy without a reason?” you throw the question at your best friend in a teasing manner, the corners of your lips rising ever so slightly as you take your seat inside the auditorium.

according to ms. kim, today’s supposed to be a big day for hybe u. the joint project between the arts and humanities department is around the corner. with the assignments counting as extra credit for english majors, you weren’t taking any chances. 

once you sat down, your best friend playfully rolling his eyes at you, your mood turned sour completely—not from the sight but from the familiar sound of his voice.

the leehan effect—some freshman went as far as calling it—but he couldn’t move you to the slightest bit.

you never quite understood his appeal. people went on and on about how his hair flowed whenever his fingers ran through it, how he walked with grace and confidence no matter where he went, or the gentle smile that he’d sport. 

you scoff as you take your laptop out of your bag. so much for a good mood, you thought.

sungho looks at you with a smirk, fully expecting your reaction, before nudging your shoulder slightly, “now, yn, be nice.” 

sungho had been friends with leehan for a while now. you couldn’t say you loved it, but at least he knew not to mention the boy’s name around you. (though at the start of their friendship, you told sungho to call him voldemort, to which he replied, “that defeats the whole purpose of the no-name-saying agenda.”) 

when sungho told you to be nice to his friend, you didn’t think it was literal, but you should’ve known better than to take your best friend’s words with a grain of salt. because there he was, leehan in the flesh, walking up to the seat beside you. there were dozens of empty seats in the auditorium, but of course leehan, the leehan, chose to sit beside you. what a ride.

the first thing you notice as he sits down is the smell of citrus that lingers around him. it’s weird. you never pay attention to these types of things, especially not about leehan. 

you see, leehan is a double major student—theatre and film, to be precise. you’d been classmates since freshman year of high school, and somehow he was always… better. it didn’t matter if you got an A on an exam, because surely leehan got an A+. you had a perfect score? he went over the maximum score with some extra credit he did. it was as if the universe was keen on making you his runner up, but your pride never really allowed it.

the worst part? this competition of yours isn’t even a competition. a competition needs two or more people to function. this thing between the two of you was only something you knew about; he didn’t even bother. you had come to the conclusion that you weren’t good enough to even be in his radar. 

you swore that would change during college, but it was no different. when you found out leehan was also going to hybe u, you were somehow ecstatic. now, you could show people who the best was. but leehan gained his reputation in the new landscape with a rather high score, starting with beating you in the entrance exams. since then, you haven’t really built your momentum back. at all.

your self-wallowing moment ends quick enough when a significantly familiar voice whispers next to you, “is it okay with you if i sit here?”

with furrowed eyebrows, you lock eyes with him only to be greeted with that annoying trademark smile of his.  you aren’t sure why he’s whispering until you notice that the auditorium had gone quiet as ms. kim and mr. hyun go through some papers by the podium. you shift uncomfortably in your seat. leehan had never spoken to you—at least not directly—but you had spoken to him back in senior year only once. you’re sure he probably doesn’t even remember. 

all you do is nod, not wanting to interact too much. plus, the professors were starting to speak, and you didn’t want to miss a word. 

“good morning to you all. this with me is mr. hyun, who will be helping me make the assignment announcement! as you all know, this year there’ll be a joint assignment between majors. each of you will be divided in pairs based on your majors to compete in this year’s hybe u artistique festival.”

“following up with what ms. kim said, you will have this entire term to make the exhibition of your choice. whether it is a film, a short story, an art gallery with pieces of your own making. the top three winners will be shown at the festival.”

“we have just posted your partners in your hybe u student pages. make sure to find them before you leave the auditorium!”

you’re quick to open up the website as you anticipate your partner.  you really hope it’s someone on film. you’d been polishing your script-writing skills and hoped to put them to good use. excitement bubbles up inside you as you press open.

yet, the name on the screen has your smile faltering. 

pair #12 — film and theatre major kim donghyun & english major moon yn. 

your breath hitches in your throat. as you meet his gaze once more, there’s a lingering smirk on his features as he says, “hello, partner.” 

you were fucked, weren’t you?

⋆

today’s the first day you and leehan agreed to work together on the project. you told yourself you would enjoy this, that not even voldemort could ruin it for you. (sungho couldn’t help but laugh at your words.) 

you both texted each other the day before to arrange where you’d meet, deciding on the campus’ park. it isn’t too crowded at this time of the day, thank god. as you two had morning classes, you agreed to meet after 5pm. you got there before him, though, so you found a nice place to sit in. 

it feels like being in another world, this whole working with leehan thing, but you are willing to compromise. it’s a huge opportunity. plus, you heard leehan is one of the best filmmakers in his year. you don’t doubt it but you still have your thoughts about working with him. although, sungho said something that made lots of sense earlier in class that day.

“just give yourself the chance to get to know him, yn. you never know, he could surprise you,” he said while you sighed for the nth time that day, sulking and whining on and on about your unlucky streak. 

and so that’s what you decided to do—get to know him from scratch, even though it felt extremely disloyal to the freshman year of high school yn who vowed to be better than kim donghyun by any means possible. it’s for the extra credit, you told that version of yourself. a compromise. nothing more.

“hey,” leehan interrupts your train of thought, seemingly materializing out of thin air. he looks different today. his long hair is pulled back into a man-bun and he’s wearing a checkered flannel. he always looks put together, and today was no exception, but he looked relaxed. comfortable. it made something inside you churn. in a bad way, though, right?

you nod as a way to greet him as he sat down beside you. 

“sorry, i’m late. today’s been a bit crazy,” he apologizes, almost to himself. it’s unlike him. everything about him right now is not the leehan you know—the bags under his eyes are a little too prominent and his hair is a bit too disheveled. you thought you’d enjoy seeing him like this, all weak. but all it does is make your chest ache, for some reason you weren’t ready to even fathom yet. 

“you okay?” you ask rather awkwardly, deciding that would be the adequate thing to say. and it seemed it was, because he looks at you, really looks at you, and smiles. you swear you saw his eyes sparkle for a moment. you almost laugh but you hold back. you weren’t going to give into the leehan effect. you weren’t.

and yet... 

“didn’t know you cared,” he glances at you with curiosity as a ghost of a smile still wanders on his lips. he relaxes into his seat, a soft sigh leaving him. “but yes, i am okay, yn.”

your name on his lips made time stop for you. he never said it before. (and if he did, you would have remembered, surely.)

you pursed your lips as best as you could to hide the fluttering feelings that were invading you in the moment and scoffed. “i don’t care, just being polite.” leehan raises an eyebrow at your reaction, expectant. “but i’m glad you’re okay.” 

“mh, that’s more like you.” you can hear the smile on him now, it drives you mad.

“excuse me?”

“well, you’ve never really liked me, have you, yn?” you’d think he’d look sad over this, but that stupid smile of his is still plastered on his lips as he looks at you, his arm resting on the back of the bench.

and, well, it was very easy to tell you weren’t fucked.

you were extremely, irrevocably fucked.

@onedoornet ➳ all credits go to ©downmainstreet on tumblr, 2024.

[abbadonandhisparadise]

Realizin’ Au Cato Catacombs Lore

@realizinau get ready for some lore. > :>

THIS JUST APPLIES TO THIS AU

Cato got an easy life in the Realizin’ AU even if she doesn't remember who she was before, despise this not everything is as it seen Cato will bottle up her emotions if she needs to cry or scream, she will do it where nobody can hear or see her. 

She is still kind of a suck up with the scientist but is not afraid to use her gas against them if an employ goes missing there a possibility that Cato ‘deal’ with them, Cato take her role of Big Sister extreme serious something her love will get annoying even suffocating but she really cares about them and their well-being more that her own. 

The Wisteria Gas 

The blue wisteria gas was created as a less potent Poppy gas made to for the children to feel relax during the medical exams and in large doses it works as anesthesia. 

How is this extract? Easy!

The experiment is carried out to a special chamber and scientists place three specialized needles on the subject's back that suck the gas until the necessary amount is obtained. Gas can be stored in tanks "unfortunately" no, it must always be fresh, as they say: "The best batch is always fresh from the source"

Staff Reports

Cato and Candy Cat  

Experiment ████ and ████ have begun to form a strange bond. Observations implied a greater bond with ████ than with the Critters, and measurements were taken and ████'s mobility along with its larynx was eliminated. 

████ believes that ████ has abandoned them, the staff has returned the now motionless ████ to ████ as a 'gift', their bond has been successfully broken, ████ suspects nothing. 

Overwork

Experiment ████ has been subjected to hard labor for the past few months as punishment for disobedience, ████ is handling it with difficulty, but they should get used to it in time since they are old enough to know the consequences of going against staff rules. 

After more weeks of observation and some bribery from the staff, ████ has started working with fewer challenges, but their attitude hasn't changed much. The superiors ask us to make ████ an example for other toys in disobedience. 

Changes in behavior 

After ████'s isolation for more than a week, their behavior has changed drastically, superiors praise the change, this will be considered for the future. 

████'s first instinct was to run into 1222's arms for comfort, even if 1222 wasn't even close, we fear that ████ is creating another bond with the other experiments and not the other critters like they should, we are trying to bring 1188 closer and ████ without success. 

A month ago, ████ were missing, 1188 reported that they had "fallen" through a hole in the ground, when the other critters where asked they refused to answer. We suspect that 1188 did something to ████ but we have no evidence other than that the two experiments have a strange relationship. 

Experiment #1006 came to us this morning holding ████ in their claws, The doctor explains 1006 took care of ████ while missing in the darkest part of the factory. 

The higher ups have put Harley Sawyer in charge of the next experiments. 

Project re-introduction  

Experiment #1188  

Tag: Playcare.  

After the last incident within Home Sweet Home between Experiment 1188 and ████ and even having to involve Experiment #1006 we are to take drastic measures. 

Notes 

- ████ has been keep away from Home sweet Home, 1188 haven't shown any worry yet.  

- Three week have passed the critters are starting to ask updates about ████. 

- 1188 is showing sign of distress, the other have started to beg for 1188 to act and look for ████. 

- Anguish has filled 1188's mind, ████ will be return to Home sweet Home late night. 

Analysis We have found fear is the best way to make the experiments bond, as 1188 and ████ relation has better itself but of course this is not without its consequences, in the end Project re-introduction serve its purpose. 

[taeraeszn]

could you do like matthew with an academic achiever reader ... he's very golden retriever to someone's black cat. like i can see a university au athlete x student council vibez (personally am academic achiever student council pres so like i could use a guy like Matthew)

an unexpected bond - seok matthew

characters: matthew x gn!reader

description: matthew was the opposite of you, but somehow you two found a spark in one another. one that made your heart beat.

word count: 2.1K (omg i didn't even realize that as i was writing this LMAOO)

warnings: maybe be some typos, i was writing this in a rush to complete it. but i don't see anything else as i re-read it but pls lmk if there is!!

a/n: OMG TWO WHOLE MONTHS WITHOUT POSTING i feel like i betrayed everyone, i'm so so sorry!! life just hasn't been great recently and the break was well needed. as i posted two weeks ago, i'll be slowly releasing things as i have a reaction post after this (hint hint it's a bit more suggestive lmao). but it made me realize how much i missed posting and writing <3

also sorry if i missed the whole point of your request i feel like i went a totally other different direction :( but i hope you all enjoy it!

you were always the perfect model student in middle and high school, everyone was able to predict that you’d be first place for exam marks as well as you always being in principal honours. you were able to carry your skills into university where you try to keep a gpa that’s 4.0. nothing was able to get into your way…until you met seok matthew.

matthew was a very likeable athlete in your university, everyone gushed over his sweet looks and kind personality, there was nothing to hate about him. he kept a good image away from his basketball skills. many girls loved the fact that he was single and took every chance they got to ask him out or compliment him.

you were setting up for the upcoming events happening in your university. there were going to be some high schoolers coming to visit the campus as well as some special performances happening in the gymnasium. you were put in charge of handling those which were already enough on your plate aside from your own course. you didn’t think that anything would occur between that time.

as you were setting up the gymnasium decorations, a basketball slowly rolled towards you, stopping just at your feet. before you could pick it up, you heard someone faintly yelling until the voice got closer.

“that’s mine! sorry i should’ve been more careful.” someone said, as you looked up, you saw a handsome guy with sweat dripping everywhere as if he just ran a marathon. he had muscles which you could tell from his biceps. his hair was a blonde shade and his smile was quite contagious, causing you to smile slightly as well.

“it’s fine. i was just setting up the decorations here.” you looked down at your list, crossing off the things that were already dealt with and completed with your pen. matthew also took a look at it but you quickly pulled it up to your chest, concealing it.

“was i not supposed to see that?” he chuckled, pointing at your clipboard. you slowly nodded, unsure of what to say. 

“uh..yeah.” he picked up the ball that was still on the ground. once again giving you that irresistible smile.

“well… i’ll see you around then!” he dribbled the ball back to the court and shot it in perfectly, causing cheers to erupt from the small crowd watching him. mostly girls. 

you thought that would be the end of seeing matthew but after that one meeting, it would be endless encounters of you running into each other. it was as if it was happening on purpose, like the world was telling you to converse with him a bit more. 

so you did. it happened to be a day like any other where you were studying in the library with headphones on. every other seat beside you was vacant and you had that small space to yourself, something you absolutely loved. peace. 

as you were checking at your notes then back at your laptop, you noticed a familiar figure coming towards you. 

“hey…” matthew said, joining you with a textbook and laptop in hand. you weren’t expecting matthew to come at all, you kinda forgot that he was also studying and learning here as well.

“mind if i join?” you slowly nodded giving him the green light and he sat across from you. he opened his laptop and took a look at your notes.

“psychology huh?” he said. somehow he figured out your course by just observing your notes, you were astonished.

“how did you know?” matthew grinned then shrugged, “my friend taerae takes that course too.” he was friends with taerae? you sometimes noticed him in the back of lectures but never had a proper conversation with him other than the times where you had a project together.

“that’s cool.” it was obvious that you weren’t strong with holding a conversation, especially with new people. matthew seemed happy though, giving you a positive smile to almost everything you said and did.

you wanted to ask him what he was taking but your shyness took over, though he knew right away that you were curious.

“i’m doing health sciences by the way, it’s pretty interesting but challenging at times.” it was nice having someone who could carry on a conversation. as you two began getting to slowly know each other, you came to realize that matthew was just an amazing guy, he seemed very passionate about pursuing both sports and his studies, he told you about his journey from when he first started playing basketball to now and how it’s helped him. as well, you shared a bit of insight about yourself such as why you decided to pursue your field of study and what inspired you to do so. 

best part was that matthew wouldn’t interrupt you once as you spoke and let you be as open as you chose to. it was like you were able to tell him everything that you were scared to tell others. not to mention how handsome he looked when he was focused on something. 

afterwards, it fell silent between the two of you as you began studying. matthew was also immersed in his notes, but he would occasionally gaze at you to see what you were doing. he felt his cheeks heat up while seeing your concentrated face.

as the hours passed, more students began leaving campus and the library became more still as now only you and matthew were present there. you didn’t even realize it but you actually fell asleep after studying. matthew was on his phone texting someone and noticed that you lost your battle to sleep. 

“they must be cold…” he mumbled to himself as he noticed that you had no jacket on. he decided to take his own off and cover your body with his in order to keep you warm. your head was resting on your textbook with your hands on the table. 

he let you rest and didn’t wake you up, only waiting till you decided to yourself. 

half an hour had passed when you finally awoke. “what time is it?” you yawned. he showed you his phone lockscreen that had him and eight other people posing together in a selfie. the time read ‘18:00’ , that was enough to jolt you completely awake. the latest you ever stayed was only four or five o’clock. 

“oh god i slept didn’t i?” matthew could only smile at your cute reaction. 

“hey but at least you got a power nap!” he got up to place his items inside his backpack then swung it over his shoulder. “i’ll see you around!” he waved goodbye and was about to walk out of the library. but suddenly you felt the urge to do something, you didn’t want to go home alone especially when it was already getting dark outside.

“wait!” you yelled, quickly rushing up to matthew. he watched as you catched up to him, “is it ok if i can go with you?”

matthew chuckled but nodded, “of course! grab your stuff and we’ll head out.” he said. with that confirmation, you grabbed your things and walked out of your university’s building towards the train station. 

the whole ride he sat close to you and it helped you feel less lonely with his company. your houses weren’t too far apart from each other so you took the same route as him to get home.

but ever since that day in the library, you began falling for matthew. you would occasionally go to the gymnasium and sit on the bleachers just to watch matthew play and get cheered on by his friends. he was mesmerizing in a way that you couldn’t keep your eye off of him. 

when one of his games was over, he approached you and asked for your number. it was a lot having a bunch of eyes on you as he asked for it but you gave him it and he ran away happily to change. getting his number allowed you to hear from him more often, he would text you about what he was doing and had casual conversations with you if it wasn’t about studies.

as your friendship grew even closer, he asked to visit your house so you two could study together in each other’s company and you were up for it. this was the first time that he’d be coming to your house since you didn’t live on campus. 

while in your room, he took a look around and noticed the poster’s of many celebrities and idols. you showed him all of your favourite groups which allowed him to get to know you better since you barely opened up about your interests outside of studies.

but most of the afternoon consisted of you two both sitting on your bed with your laptops open and studying the material. though studying was boring, having matthew there made it more endurable. when it became silent, he would speak up and converse with you about almost anything. it was like his brain was full of ideas that were endless. 

“hey matt…” you said, looking up from your textbook. he immediately turned towards you, “hm?”

“do you enjoy being with me? it’s kinda boring just studying.” you were worried that he wasn't enjoying this and probably wanted to do something else.

“of course i do! if you don’t want to study we can do something else right now.” he shut his laptop. 

“like what?” he grabbed his jacket and got up from the bed causing you to do the same. 

“a walk, heading to a store, going to the park nearby, there’s tons of stuff to do!” you smiled then shutting your textbook and doing the same as him.

“then let’s go somewhere!”

what followed next after two weeks passed was that exam season finally ended! you were thrilled to be able to go home and relax without worrying much about studying. but that didn’t stop matthew from asking to come over.

you made sure the house looked extremely cleaned with no mess left behind as you began waiting for him to arrive. when the doorbell rang, you rushed to open it to reveal matthew holding a bouquet of flowers while smiling. 

needless to say, you were shocked, “matt?” he waved and came inside then taking his shoes off and heading to your couch.

“hey!” he looked around, then handed you the flowers. they were beautiful red roses that looked expensive. you couldn’t wrap your head around the fact that he literally bought some just for you.

“matt…are these for me?” you gave them one more look but even still your eyes couldn’t not focus on them. 

“yeah, uh, i actually bought them for a reason since i wanted to tell you something really important.” that sentence caused you to look up at him with a puzzled expression.

“what is it?” he came closer towards you and took the bouquet out of your hands and onto the couch in order to gently grab your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours.

“i like you.” did you hear that correctly?! it took you a good minute to process before you spoke up.

“really? you're joking right?” you asked to make sure. matthew giggled then shook his head, rubbing his thumb on your hand.

“no! why would i? i’ve felt this way towards you for a while but never had the courage to tell you exactly how i feel. i bought you those roses today to show you.”

“they’re beautiful…” you were still in awe.

matthew then gently touched your shoulders, “so give me a chance. i know that we’ve only known each other for a while but i promise i’ll do anything and everything to make you happy.” he said with no hesitation. 

the space became silent as you tried to come up with what to say, since this was new for you to be confessed to. however, after being with matthew for the past month and getting to know him, he’s become someone who’s made an impact on you. he helped you become more open and even knows how to make your heart beat whenever you see him. it would be a lie to say that you didn’t want to go further with him.

you took a deep breath as his gaze was still fixated on you, “of course i’ll give you a chance. a million times yes.” 

without warning, matthew pulled you into his soft embrace, his arms wrapping around you to keep you in tact. 

“god i was so worried to say that. do you know how many times i was practicing this before i came here?” he exclaimed, now feeling relieved that you didn’t reject him.

“well now you have me.” you giggled. 

“great cause now i don’t plan on losing you, ever.” his voice muffled into your chest.

“thank you matthew, you make me so happy.” 

“of course my love.”

[faroreskiss]

still open for angsty requests? how about this?

reader has a crush on Sky, like they fell fucking downstairs for the guy and it's impossible for them to get back up, the problem? Sun is his partner

i left this request pretty open on purpose, you can make it hurt and comfort, hurt no comfort, you can make it LU or exclusively SkSw, do whatever you want with the prompt!

Hey Anon, this is from almost a year ago, holy shit.

BUT HERE IT IS! I ACTUALLY DID IT!!

It is very angsty (imo), so I hope if anybody sees it, they... enjoy? Not sure what type of warnings I should put on this as it is NOT NSFW, but still a bit heavy.

Also fits a bit with the September vibes I guess.

The Pioneer Ao3

CW: Raw non proof read text, angst, possibly no comfort.

Can be read as LU Sky or SkySw Link. Mention of the Chain but not super relevant. Thank you @beyondtheglowingstars for reminding me and pushing my inspiration for this lol.

You had been away for a couple of weeks, exploring the Surface like the rest of the Skyloft folk. You were one of the pioneers.

Following Link's heroic rescue of Zelda, whom you still couldn't quite believe was the reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia, more and more people had begun their descent to the Surface with the aim of establishing settlements. Of course, it was going to be a relatively long process and the question of “What will happen to the Loftwings?” was still hanging in the air, but that was something to deal with in due time. 

Link and Zelda, your closest friends from the academy. Your childhood friends… Well, everybody was childhood friends in Skyloft, which had a limited area and not a big population, a fact you have found out only recently. In fact even the term was relatively new thanks to Link, who had been recently traveling with eight other “Links”. That was how you learnt in the first place, listening to them whenever they “dropped by”. 

But Link, he was special. Not special in the way other people thought of him as the hero, though. Sure, he was one of the only people, along with Zelda, which you could easily get along with. You both loved pumpkin soup and skydiving. 

Oh he WAS an absolute airhead. He barely practiced and somehow pulled through his knight exam. Though you did think Groose was an absolute ass, he had a point. Link did have it kinda easy. Not that it had ever been a problem.

To be fair to him, there had been a time finally that made him go through the challenge of his life. Most likely traumatized him too.

However, you were also there when he was first united with his Crimson Loftwing. You sneaked out of the academy with him on the night he first pulled the Goddess Sword out, meeting the spirit Fi. You were also there when he had to say goodbye to her. You always listened to him just as he always confided in you.

The way he made you feel without even trying was something you still couldn't comprehend. His full lips, his gentle yet mischievous behavior, and the warmth that radiated from his cerulean eyes, which looked like the clear sky above the Cloud Barrier, always left your heart aflutter. You could see how he changed because of his journey, but his core qualities were still there, only polished. 

Everybody knew he was a hero, a sleepyhead. 

But only you knew what a cute gremlin he was beneath that kind and naive looking surface.

Well, you and Zelda. 

You were supposed to play the Goddess at the 25th year Ceremony. You were so looking forward to it, you wanted to finally tell Link how you felt.

But instead you were recovering from a fever, something that is extremely rare to happen in Skyloft, people simply didn’t get that sick often-if at all. Zelda happily stepped in, which you were extremely bittersweet about.

You sighed.

You were really close with Link but Link and Zelda's connection was undeniable, just like the destinies that intertwined their lives. You often watched from the sidelines as they shared smiles, secrets, and stolen moments. Even when nobody else knew, holy Hylia (which felt weird to say out loud now), probably even before Link knew, you realized they were into each other.

Under other circumstances perhaps, you would have cheered them on. By Hylia, you wanted to do that. Two best friends falling for each other, you cheering them on? Absolutely. 

But it wasn’t that simple.You wanted his arms around you instead.

And then Zelda got kidnapped to the Surface, Link went after her. Of course she was his chosen hero. Each time Link got back from the Surface, during his adventure, he cried on your shoulder at night. You cried with him. 

You both thought you were going to lose Zelda, after all. 

It was an odd feeling, having your heart twisted in the most messed up way possible. You were overjoyed when they got back, yet envy clouded it and despair consumed it.

So you stayed silent. (Un)Lucky for you, Link’s airheadedness expanded to your end as well, there was no way he would know about your feelings. You felt guilty as well, how could you have nurtured those feelings when Zelda got lost, maybe you should have helped more?

At some point Link did disappear again, which was the point you were the one that comforted Zelda. Then Link came back with… uhm… other Links, for a while, which was another long story. 

So what was all this rambling about now?

Oh well. It was all fine now.

____________________________

Link walked to the area they recently (yet suddenly) had to set up, a little garden-like space with a lot of flowers, thanks to Peatrice. He had a few potions he picked up from Bertie and Luv, you liked those. He also had your notebook, you really liked carrying it with you generally, even when you didn’t write on it as frequently as before. He sat down near a tree, and took a look at one of the last entries. 

You wrote about the day when the Chain first arrived at the settlement, Link smiled fondly.

“Crazy stuff. Before getting on the road again to explore the surface, I went back to our settlement to resupply and saw… SO MANY LINKS?! They were similar yet different in other ways. They said they don’t have Loftwings though, how weird.

He turned the page, and read more about what you talked about with the others. It was quite entertaining to see another perspective. He continued:

“...I saw all those other Links, and most of them were really fond of their Zeldas… Even in those other lives, as if it was written on the stars. Except… There was this older fellow with a scar on his eye. He said he married a “farm” girl (still cannot imagine what it is) named Malon. So maybe in another life? Hah… Hopefully Hylia will show me mercy then. Maybe in another life. A life where it would be meant for us instead.”

Rest of the entry was just about your plans on your next tour out on the Surface.

Link froze and started weeping. It was too much. Just too much. How did he not notice?

___________

Yes, you had been away for a few weeks, exploring the Surface.

Except, you barely made it back to the settlement, with an almost gushing wound on your side from a moblin you barely avoided. You were a pioneer, it came with risks of course.

But nobody thought you would be pioneering the settlement’s first graveyard.

________

Gondo from the Scrap Shop was one of the other people that helped a lot, with your gravestone specifically. .

_______

Oh well. It was all “fine” now.

So what was all this rambling about? You thought to yourself, as you watched him cry. You tried hugging him with your non-existent body, yet… 

It will be okay, you whispered. It will be okay.

Link shivered.

[summertimemusician]

Linktober (Shadow) 2023, Day 11

Monsters (Dead Hand)

Summer Stop Giving Reader/PoV Character and the Chain a Hard Time and Trauma Challenge (impossible) /j. But really I'll probably write something lighter for Linktober or Linktober Shadow later to compensate for this one lol. Probably a sequel to this one that has Reader actually having a nice time with the Links for once.

Technically since unfortunately studying for future exam season in like a couple of days has been kicking me in the ribs and thus my time was highly cut and unfortunately I don't have an Ocarina to give me more, this is actually a mix of prompts! The ones in the title, Keese, Wolfos, Wizzrobe, Lizalfos, Redead, and Boss, although they are not the focus here, mostly just mentioned but technically checking out the boxes, maybe next time I'll go more in deep on that (Like the original idea that basically was Reader taming a pet Wolfos as a guard hound that I will not elaborate on at least not this year), instead y'all get this with the boss that gave a lot of people childhood trauma and was never seeing again since because we really don't talk about just why Dead Hands are terrifying much, just that they are, really missed opportunity to use them more in an LU context lol.

As always any relationship between Reader and any of the Chain can be interpreted as romantic or platonic, and Reader is Gender Neutral on Purpose. And First is here because again, this would have been longer if exam season wasn't kicking me in the ribs and I have some really evil ideas involving First, Reader and Time bonding over having trauma of enclosed spaces, but thankfully y'all don't get that today lol, or not, it would be a really fluffy scene so up to y'all if it's a win or a loss.

TW:

Don't think there's anything too heavy-ish? But I'm a horror fan so I'm not someone who can accurately judge that. I'd say graphic descriptions of violence and gore, and being restrained/pinned in place and the entire deal that is the Dead Hand's existing, so please don't read if you're squeamish or uncomfortable. Health is important and specially mental health and I always leave these warnings on Linktober Shadow related prompts or heavier stories, so just a heads up so no one is caught by surprise.

Anyway, enjoy reading!

It was an almost unanimous agreement that no hero liked to pass through a cemetery in Hyrule.

From the restless Gibdo, to the mischievous yet usually cruel Poes and the lost Ghini, to the ever wandering Stalfos and the ghastly agonized Redead and ever determined ghoulish Garo, nothing good ever came from entering in areas where dead things roam. You can't be sure if it's because of the magic in Hyrule, the living force of light and shadow and the divinity coursing through the land, or simply the will of the undead or the consequences of Demise attempting to claim the Triforce, graveyards and desolated fields meant silence, they should be where those who are gone should finally acquire their final catharsis, not to roam endlessly without release, solemn as these places are they are still places for a peaceful end and to be denied such due to the whims of the Shadow... You can think of very few awful fates that can compare.

('Terrible fates, you could say.' The grimly bemused part of your mind whispers, as you walk alongside Time further down into the crypt that you and the Chain had followed the shadow into, silver, prisitne armor briefly blends with old, rusted, bloody gold and you think you hear the rattling of bones in the distance, the draw of a rusted, but still serviceable sword. You shut it away with a snarl as you cut down the Stalfos attempting to ambush Wild from the rear, and it goes down and back into the darkness with a screech alongside the chilling knowleged and the sick cracking of broken bones, not on your watch, never on your watch, you refuse.)

"Of all places why did it have to be a bloody crypt?" Grimaced Warriors, casting a weary glance towards the skulls decorating the walls, their empty sockets empty but silently cutting, as if sneering at the fact you lot had dared disturb the dead, as if it wasn't the Shadow's mere presence making what would otherwise be a place for rest into a possible death trap.

Legend smirked, though you could tell he wasn't anymore pleased from the way he marched through the cold, cracked stone floor, steps flighty and eyes darting around corners, "What, a bit too much for you, soldier boy?"

"No," came the prim answer, although the twitch of the hand near his scabbard as you stepped into an open chamber gave him away, as well as Wind being kept at his side rather than near the wall, "Just don't generally like fighting the undead in closed spaces. It's a recipe for disaster."

"On that I believe we all can agree on." Came Time's voice, cutting through the banter, tense as a drawn bowstring, you knew being back in a crypt wasn't easy for him, with the way his jaw tensed, you both had the same awful memories of a similarly buried, abandoned place where dead things roamed without cease, frantic, hungry for the warmth of the living, "Keep your guard up, and stay close together."

Almost as if on cue came the monsters from the open corridors, you didn't hesitate in drawing your blade to cut through the enemy, keese were easily dispatched by Four and Legend's swords, you spun to slit the throat of a growling Wolfos from Twilight's era going for Sky's back just as he mercilessly chased down the Black Lizalfos, the beast clearly avoiding the glow from the Sword of Evil's Bane. Time's back to yours as you cleared the path for him and blocked the Shadow's exit through the left corridor, it had already proven that it would not matter if you did or not, but you refused to not let it work for survival.

The jolt of magic being used crawling up your spine was your first warning. Like the build up of lightning in a storm, the taste of rust and a feeling like tar  slithers up your throat.

The second was Wild's warning shout as the chamber shook with the grating, chilling, blood curdling howl of the Redeads, Time lunging away from your side to slash the beasts away from Wind and Warriors with all of the fury of a wolf defending it's pack, before you had to throw yourself back, slamming your back against the arch on the right as it caved in, lest you be crushed alongside the Wolfos coming for your neck the second the older hero moved.

You were separated.

You were alone.

A really, really bad spot to be when in Hyrule's catacombs.

"Are you alright?!", Came muffled from the other side of the stones, the hint of an actual wolf's growl and the distinctive Ordonian cadence, Twilight.

"I'm fine! Keep fighting, I'll find my way to you guys!", You yell back, heart racing, trying not to think about what you could find on your way back, you didn't have any bombs on you, it wasn't feasible to use them in a place as old as this, not without risk bringing down the ceiling on you and the Chain. But most catacombs have interconnected hallways, if you moved quickly, you might just avoid finding anything that you won't be able to handle on your own.

You think Twilight replies, but it's muffled by another Redead's yowl, you wince, your muscles lock up and you feel something warm drip from your ears, but thankfully you are not rendered immobile due to the involuntary wall, you swallow your trepidation and get moving.

The further you get away from the fallen stones, the more silent the catacombs extending from the crypt you were dropped in became, shadows twist oddly by the torches upon the wall with only your breathing and the cold, unfeeling remains of the dead to keep you company, the lowly burning flames bringing you no warmth. The corridors blended together in the darkness cast by the faint light, the shades contorting themselves in the crevices of your paranoia the longer you went on with only your own hurried footsteps to make any true sound.

Not one monster had found it's way to you thus far, though, and according to the copy of the map Legend had made the second you had acquired the original from a very unfortunate Wizzrobe from Wild's era. You just needed to pass one more open chamber to find the corridor leading to your boys, You couldn't keep them waiting, who knew how long it would take for the fight to finish if Redead's were involved? And staying still when the Shadow could turn itself intangible was practically begging it to switch it's attention, it usually didn't pay you as much mind as it did the heroes, Time specially (it seemed to hold a grudge against him more than any of your boys, you noted bitterly), but it would occasionally target you if it meant getting a rise from any of the Link's or if it felt you were too  secure in your safety, it was better if you found your way back first to the hunt before you became hunted.

You grit your teeth, by Hylia's dripping gash, you were so. darn. tired. of. being. hunted.

Of watching your friends being led into a wild hunt with no end in sight, dragged by the noose by a remnant that refused to stay dead, you never thought you could burn with so much anger, with the desire to see if fire would scare it sober into ceasing in it's infection of all of Hyrule's Eras. But unfortunately you knew it didn't work like that, so you had to survive, you would survive, because someone had to protect the heroes when the heroes protected everyone else and if no one was going to step up to the job, you'd just have to do it yourself.

Shaking yourself from your thoughts, lest you end up drowning in them, you breath in relief as soon as you come upon the metal door with the symbol of the royal family, faded and rusted with age, there. You just needed to pass through this chamber and the corridor next to it, and you'd be back with Link, all of them, and hopefully out of here. You push it open, grip tightening on your long dagger, almost a sword, good enough to cut and hide. The thick and pungent combination of old, congealed blood, sick and decaying flesh, something like rotten eggs dipped in alcohol and withered flowers hits your nose, making you nauseous but you press on, the chamber is circular and dimly lit, with a long cracked, soft stone from a leak in the walls. You studiously do not look at the far corner of the dungeon or the pillory's and shackles scattered around near the cells,  there's a second door to the other side, as soon as you pass through it you'll be in another corridor.

... It's silent, too quiet. Unease slithers and twists around you like vines, but you can't delay, you won't, so you keep walking-

Until you can't.

Something has grabbed a hold of your leg. You look down, and your blood freezes, spotting a long, sickly, pale arm and a bright crimson, elongated nails, claw-like, digging into your ankle, having dug itself up from the fragile ground.

You don't hesitate, slashing down violently at the offending limb, frantic terror spreads through your blood, you knew what was here. It featured in your nightmares for a long, long time, you knew it still haunted Time's, the limb goes slack as it is severed, and you barely note the way it starts bleeding black and green at the stump, thankful for Four's expert craftsmanship and maintenance hints as you dive to the exit. You don't make it far, it's companion limbs  bursting in front of your path like a snake emerging from the ground, it makes a solid grab for your  arms, one of them grabs you by the scalp, firmly digging as you dodge and weave between, a stabbing pain upon your skull from the indomitable grip of something fueled by fury, twisted magic and rigor mortis and makes you cry out, your slight moment of hesitation allowing two more hands to latch onto your legs and arms, nails slicing through your flesh like easily and digging, tearing like a rabid hunting dog's teeth upon an unfortunate deer, leaving deep gashes upon your arms and ankles, it's not unlike being pinned and held to a torture rack, in hindsight, ironic given just where in the crypt you ended up.

Your hear the ground below shifting below you, a groan carrying through the air, awfully monstrous, coldly human. You struggle harder like a desperate butterfly upon a dissection board, from your peripheral, you see the form of the thing unhurriedly dragging itself over, it uses the sharp and bloody ends of where bone was broken to slice it's hands off to shuffle out of the grave, using it's stubs as support. Long long neck barely supporting it's elongated head, the scent of rot intensifies and you feel like gagging as it settles it's empty, frigid, hungry eye sockets on your bound form; it's broken jaw contorting itself in a mockery of a human smile over rotten gums and exposed teeth, stretching unnaturally and bringing emphasis to it's rotting, bloodied sunken features. From behind it's bloated, putrid shape, barely obscured by the bloodied white cloth and the grotesque vision of the undead you swear the crimson eyes of the shadow, watching you coldly, the hint of a knife sharp, serpentine smile as the sound of wet meat slamming across the ground rings in the chamber.

Fury mixes with your panic as you snarl, trying to twist the dagger in your grip as best as you can to drive it into the arms, pain and blood drips from the open wound but you don't care; you need to get away from the Dead Hand. A monster like that feels no pain when struck for it is not human, not any longer, and you couldn't hope to face an infected one alone, it shuffles over the floor, unhurriedly shuffling like a predator that knows it's prey can't run away, it moans and groans with hunger as it approaches and you have no intention of giving it a meal, you grit your teeth as the nails sink deeply into your shoulders and arms, using your blade to saw through rotting flesh and hopefully break bone with every single inch of strenght you have, the blade is slick in your hand with your own blood and the poison-tar of the Shadow's infection burning through you but you do not mind, can't. You need to get away-

The undead's teeth sink into the hollow of your collarbone, blunt, human teeth that shouldn't have half the strenght it does to rip through flesh, blood and crack bone, and you caterwaul with pain, skin crawling and numbing and set aflame with curses sent from the dark reflection of the hero, darkening, veins blackening, your eardrums vibrate with the force of your own agony and you are sure you could rival a Redead on pitch alone of your tortured howl. Struggling even more ferociously, attempting to disloged it, kick it off, your blade sucessfully slashes through the arm from your reverse grip, pushing away from it with the savegery off a cornered predator you sink your long dagger into the undead's eye sockets, tearing through it's cheek with animal ferocity, it keens high and chilling, you're losing blood quickly and it (for it's not a human, not anymore, you can't feel sympathy for it, won't. You can't hesitate.) knows, for it tries to chomp down onto your vulnerable neck, your arm being the only thing keeping it from biting it out as you growl with pain, although you can't be sure it just won't bite through, it's teeth are bared, the pitch of it's blank eyes locked onto yours in stalemate, you have the advantage of not being weakened by hunger and decay, not sluggish like it but that will not help for long, the clammy being determined to bleed you dry and feast on your corpse and you are drowning drowning drowningDROWNINGWITHWRETCHEDTORMENT MAKE.THE.PAIN.STOP-

A scream of your name, sword calloused hands yank you away from claws and fangs (because nothing with blunt teeth and nails should be able to wound someone so throughly), you waver on your feet, swaying, supported by a warm, strong body and pulled away. A sword slashes the foul being away from you and you go lax, numb with pain.

First, First was supporting you. Keeping you steady, stopping you from falling, snarling at the corpse with a lion's fury, holding you protectively. Time tears by him like a man possessed, frenzied with the look of a man looking at his worst nightmare and growling in denial. The Links, wounded but alive, the Chain had met you halfway.

The last thing you remember before losing conciousness as adrenaline leaves your body and everything goes dark, is wishing that they'll burn it to be sure it's gone for good. It's the kindest thing that can be done for a such a wretched existence.

You'd be okay.

[zebulontheplanet]

For people who don’t know, I had a my first therapy appointment on Tuesday. I’ve had a few days to process everything so I’m ready to talk about it.

I told her everything I could. The abuse, the amnesia, the diagnosis, everything that I could fit into our hour long session. It was a lot, and she was actually thoroughly concerned by the amount of issues that I had. Which..isn’t surprising, and I was expecting that. I was expecting some comments on that.

She asked me if I was interested in another neuropsych exam, and I was on the fence about it. I didn’t give her a yes or no answer, and I didn’t know what to say. I was with a neuropsych from ages 7 to 13 maybe 14. It was many many years of testing, and I don’t feel like doing it again. I don’t feel like going through that trouble again. I don’t feel like having more doctors be confused, or try and tell me this and this is wrong with me, or just tell me I’m an anomaly and they don’t know what’s wrong with me. I am pretty ok with the diagnosis I currently have. Although I’d love to get more answers on what is wrong with my brain, I really don’t see the point in going through the whole process again at twenty years old. I am twenty. I am done. I am happy and satisfied with my diagnosis for once. I don’t want to go through the testing again. The poking and prodding, the professionals acting like they know me, for them to look at me with those eyes of amazement like I’m some sort of zoo animal.

It’s not something I want to experience anytime soon, so I’m telling her no when I see her. I’m not interested. I’m happy. She did ask for the paperwork from my neuropsych, which I will give her of course, but yeah. She said usually, when I have the diagnoses I have, they usually see something big in the brain going on. Which..I understand but have no idea what it could be and I honestly don’t want to go through the testing to figure it out.

Testing itself is exhausting. It picks apart every aspect of your life, every thing you think of. You have to get personal with the doctors, a personal I don’t really want to get with anyone besides my therapist. I don’t want my brain poked and prodded at. I don’t want that. I’m tired. I’m done with that part of my life, I just want to move on and live with my life now. I want to finally live.

I really liked my therapist, she was wonderful and specialized in pain, mental health comorbities, and DBT skills with teens and college students, she joked that they paired us on purpose but it was purely luck to be honest. She was amazing, and seemed up to date with new terminology and was just overall so nice. I have all positive things to say.

Overall, the therapy session went well, but I have a lot to think about, and a lot to say.

[polarisbibliotheque]

Nemesis (Vergil x Reader) - Chapter 3

Nemesis

Pairing: Vergil x Reader

Summary: The Abyss opening is a rare occurrence. In his youth, Vergil wanted to harness its power, but never thought he would meet his greatest adversary along the way. Years later, the Abyss is once again open and that might call for some rather unlikely alliances.

Chapter 1 (Prologue) | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 (you are here!)

Age restriction: 18+ - there’s a lot of blood, violence, cursing and all those things people want to forbid younger audiences of seeing. Also, cosmic horror is a thing here. Procceed with caution.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Deals with trickster entities and death omens :)

Special Thanks and Credits: @furyeclipse is the wonderful creator of a very main character in all this plot, Ovid - the trickster being the reader will be dealing with and who will have many interactions with the crew. Fury helped me to write some of Ovid's key moments, their realm, their appearance and their mannerisms - after all, it was all Fury's creation and I'm just honored to be able to share such a rich character and worldbuilding!

Thank you so so much for allowing me to add your character to Nemesis and for being such a wonderful friend!

You can check Fury's work on their Ao3, which you can find here: FuryEclipse Ao3

Strongly suggest you guys reading Devoid of Purpose, where you can understand Ovid better ;)

Author's Notes: It took me a little while for this one and I do apologize, but my health isn't the best currently. I will have to go through some medical exams in the upcoming weeks and I'll start taking some meds, so I might have some delays/disappearances from writing. But I will ALWAYS come back to post Nemesis!!

This was a very fun chapter to write. I do enjoy Ovid a lot and their interactions with the reader are 10/10 based on knowledge seeking. Get ready for fighting (and annoying) Vergil on the next chapter, though ;)

Chapter 3

The city reeked of blood and destruction.

After so many years from your city’s incident, you never expected your memories to feel so alive. But there they were, haunting every corner of a new disaster – ghosts of a past you longed to forget, back to cling to your slivers of sanity like demons burying their claws in human flesh.

That city had fallen into chaos. People were crying, screaming, running around in despair looking for solace – for something or someone to save them from whatever the Abyss had attracted.

They first looked at you with hope and admiration – only to change to fear and horror when they realized that, even if your victims were demons, you were a killer after all.

And a very skilled one. Behind your footsteps, no demons were allowed. To fall into your protection meant to be safe; to find salvation amidst all that hell. Even if people feared you and your bloodstained hands, they were grateful for being their only hope of survival.

“Is everyone out of the city already?” You cleaned the blood that spilled on your face while walking towards the captain of the city’s guard, in charge of the evacuation.

Even the soldiers looked at you with a certain unease in their eyes. No one would want to get into a fight against you.

“The last two safe buses are just ready to go.” The captain, though, was the only one able to look into your eyes without hesitation. He could use a soldier like you. “Next one is for me, my crew, and you, y/n.”

“Thank you, but I’m not going with you.”

Your comment sent a wave of whispers among the soldiers. Before the captain could answer, you explained yourself.

“The Abyss is far more dangerous than we know. Someone has to stay behind and make sure it’s going to close without anything going in or coming out.”

Of course, you’d never say it was the only place you would certainly find the blue coated devil who almost killed you back in your city. You were certain he would be there but, so far, no blue demons crossed your view.

And you were especially aware of it.

“Well. You have a good point there. Just make sure to come back alive, alright?”

“Will do. I have to help a friend with laundry next week.”

No one understood your comment, but they also wouldn’t ask. You swinged your silver blade to get it rid of the blood and paced back into the city.

It was time to meet an old enemy.

*

As your steps echoed through the streets of the abandoned city, you had this uncomfortable feeling at the base of your stomach. It seemed like eyes were fixed on the back of your head and hands rested heavily on your shoulders.

But no one walked those streets except you.

Keeping your silver sword in hand, you didn’t stray from your path. The Abyss was close: you had learned to discern between how demons and the Abyss felt like as you started working as a devil hunter. While demons were certainly unnerving, the Abyss had something of… Uncertain. A sense of unknown – and the knowledge of what that was could be worse than fatal; probably better left in the realms of shadows.

But there was a… Third energy. Something else you couldn’t quite pinpoint its origin. It was unnerving, yes, but it felt… Old. Older than whatever demons you could’ve met.

Your steps approached an ancient building – probably a public school; you couldn’t exactly tell what it was. And you would’ve remained focused on your main objective if you hadn’t glimpsed inside the building.

A pair of eyes observed you from the shadows. It stared at you before disappearing deeper into the darkness, but you could swear those eyes were yours.

“What gives…?” You murmured to yourself, barely feeling your feet unconsciously following those eyes, as you crossed the derelict entrance.

You should be going towards the Abyss. That was the reason why you were there, it was the main purpose of you being hired that day. But… How come you saw a being with your eyes inside that building? As you entered the main hall, you found nothing but a reception desk and paper tossed around, ripped and burnt as people fled. Observing into the darkness, that place was a library.

Infinite rows of old mahogany seemed to go deep inside the shadows – until your eyes could barely make out any shapes. It was all probably in your head: dealing with demons made one prone to hallucinations, sooner or later.

As you prepared your feet to leave, you heard a scratchy metallic noise – faint, in the distance, but still there. Turning around, you stared into the shadow and you could swear your eyes picked up something moving.

You couldn’t tell what it was – if it was a demon, a creature or a human. But it was someone. If it was a human, it needed your help. If it was a demon, it deserved to die.

You decided to let your steps follow the sound.

Upon entering the rows of destroyed bookcases and rotting books, you kept on following that light metallic noise – like gentle knifes scratching at the floor, wood or any surface it could touch. Your eyes caught glimpses of a shadow, but never its full form. You turned your head around, your feet followed with precision – your curiosity leading you further and further into the labyrinth of old pages and decaying wood.

When you reached what it seemed to be the center – a round open space, surrounded by aisles and aisles of mahogany bookcases – your white rabbit seemed to have disappeared. There was no other indication of which path you should follow to find it, and you couldn’t deny you were certainly lost inside the library.

Your steps circled the room, slowly, trying to find your way out or the creature leading you further inside. Perhaps… Perhaps it was him. The devil who defeated you that fateful day, the one you longed to rematch. Maybe it was his way of leading you into a trap – and, if it was, you would be ready. Holding your silver sword with certainty, you wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

That library certainly looked like a proper place to defeat him and hold your sword to his neck, while one of your feet held his chest down on the floor, keeping him in his place. No demon was superior to a human, and you would prove him that.

The metallic tapping brought you back from your thoughts, dissipating the image of you finally subduing the blue coated demon. Turning around, you found your eyes again at the end of a long, dark aisle. With resolute steps, you plunged into the darkness, without flinching or thinking twice.

The eyes disappeared as soon as you started to follow them – but, upon reaching the end of the aisle, you found a great wooden door with an old plaque by its side. Cleaning the dust to see it better, you read what it was: “Forbidden Session – Entry allowed only upon authorization”.

Indeed, the door had an old black iron lock, probably requiring an iron key to enter. You tried to force it open a few times, but it was to no avail. With a deep, slightly frustrated sigh, you turned around to look for a way to open it – but your search wasn’t needed: as soon as you rotated on your feet, you found a great, heavy iron key waiting for you in one of the shelves filled with dust.

It didn’t escape your eyes the key was clean despite how abandoned the place looked.

Without questioning, you took it on your hands and finally opened the heavy door. Its hinges complained as you pushed it open and your steps entered the room.

Your heart slightly jumped inside your chest for a couple of quick seconds. It seemed like your eyes got used to the darkness, but soon you realized that session of the library was lit in a procession of warm candles that seemed to never really burn out. The door behind you was closed, and the reception desk had an old, heavy guestbook ominously waiting for you between two candles lit with purple flames.

You didn’t let go of your weapons. Strengthening your grip around the silver, you walked over the guestbook – finally noticing your steps weren’t the only sound to be heard: a faint, albeit calm, piano song filled the air. You didn’t know where it came from, but it was weirdly… Soothing.

“Traveler from afar, if you wish to drink upon the knowledge of forbidden and forgotten books, you must let go of your protections and sign your name. Only then, the library will welcome you among its pages and endless words. Beware, though, not to get lost in other worlds: some writings are tricky and the search for knowledge might claim your soul.”

Those were the words written on a blank, old page of the book waiting for you at the reception. Let go of protections and sign your name. Both conditions were tricky and asked too much of you: the protections were your weapons, and your name could be used in ancient spells for many purposes. The book asked you to be completely vulnerable and you weren’t comfortable with that.

“Hmmm…” You wiggled your nose while thinking, murmuring to yourself. That presence remained around you, but there was no reason to believe someone was really watching you. And, if there was indeed a being following you, they could at least try to answer any questions. “I wonder if this place has information about the Abyss…”

As you muttered, something seemed to fall in the inner part of the round reception desk. There was no one to receive you, so you took the liberty to inspect what made that noise. You found another book on the floor – this time bigger, older, and seemingly infinite: clearly a product of magic. There were no doubts you had crossed into another realm and, even if you didn’t know how to go back, your curiosity was bigger than your fear.

Taking the leather cover into your hands, you leaned the book in one of your arms, opening it with your free hand. Your eyebrows raised in delight as you realized you were staring into a library Index: all books and their subjects were noted down in beautifully crafted calligraphy, with a note on their location inside the library.

You turned page after page in what it seemed like an endless passing of time – as if Time itself didn’t exist in that wonderful realm of books and knowledge you had found yourself into. That presence seemed to keep watching you; intently, carefully… Curiously. As curious as your eyes running on the pages searching for more knowledge on the Abyss.

“Aha…” You finally found what you were looking for. The Abyss and other Ancient Realms – that was the only title on that theme. It was in the Restricted Session, and that could only indicate you would have a price to pay for that knowledge. “Alright. Let’s find the Restricted Session then.”

As you murmured those words, a path of purple flames lit the way to said Restricted Session. You wouldn’t have to worry about becoming trapped or never finding your way back: the library would show where the knowledge you needed was – your will would have to bring you back.

With a deep breath, you let go of your silver sword, leaning it on the reception desk. You placed your guns by the side of the guestbook, taking an inking pen and, after dipping it in the deep purple ink, you signed your name in the old, yellowish pages.

You were completely vulnerable, but you could use your arcane knowledge to your advantage. You had tested it before in several situations: the blood spell you did on your silver sword was very efficient in bringing it back to you in dire need. The blood inside it felt the calling of the blood in your veins, it didn’t matter the distance. It could take some time, but your trusted sword would be there to protect you – and that gave you some peace of mind.

The Restricted Session was less ominous than you thought it would look like. Behind the black iron bars of the gate that kept curious hands at bay, lied an obsidian box that could keep just one book inside, framed by the light of many sparkling purple candleflames.

“You who search the oldest of secrets must leave something in return.”

An old, golden altar stood beside the bars of the Restricted Session, keeping you between the knowledge of the Abyss. It was at your hand’s reach, so close and yet, so far away. You wanted it with your whole heart, but that altar was a warning and a deal: you had to sacrifice something if you wanted to learn something new.

No small offering would be enough for that book – no, it had to be a big one. Something beloved, something cherished. Something your heart would break to part.

Your guardian angel’s deep blue shawl.

You touched the soft fabric, your heart jumping inside your chest. Of everything you were willing to part of, that was your most prized belonging. It was the only thing that reminded you of some protection, of some gentleness. You didn’t want to let go – you wanted to keep the memory of your guardian angel close to your heart forever.

But you could never attain the knowledge you needed without making sacrifices.

You closed your eyes, taking a deep and slow breath. It was stupid to cry over a piece of fabric, so you wouldn’t – even if your heart wanted to weep. Unwrapping it from your neck, you once again opened your eyes, carefully placing your beloved shawl in the ancient golden altar. The purple flames reflected a beautiful dance in the only memory you had of your guardian angel… Of you being cared for and remembered, at least by someone.

With your heart sinking in your chest, a heavy click opened the gates of the Restricted Session, allowing you to go in.

The obsidian box was open, revealing a big, ominous book with a deep blue leather cover. The Abyss and Other Ancient Realms – the letters were in silver, slowly fading with time, but beautifully crafted inside a gothic frame of vines. You took it into your hands, the weight almost heavier than your sword. It shouldn’t be, but some books held more knowledge than others. Some enchanted books, with infinite pages, impossible to run out of space in its binding.

You left the Restricted Session, looking over your shoulders one last time to catch a glimpse of your cherished blue shawl. It seemed like leaving a piece of your heart behind, but you took a deep breath and kept on your path back to the reception desk – you wouldn’t cry, at least not with your eyes, and you wouldn’t turn back once more either.

What was done was done. You had made your choice, and you wouldn’t go back.

As you approached the reception desk once more, though, a dark figured towered around it – and the eyes. It had your eyes.

It looked like a Eurasian Eagle-Owl, feathers in deep purple and black, glistening with the trembling candle flames. Its chest carried a blood red glow, faintly able to see under its jet-black wings. It stood tall, far taller than you, smart eyes mimicking yours as it followed your every move with interest and mischievous curiosity. Only when your careful steps got close enough you were able to see it had two sets of wings – one close to its body, another resembling the mannerisms of human arms.

You had your eyes in it – carefully drinking its every move. You didn’t know if it was friend or foe; if it tried to attack you, your sword, peacefully laying behind it, would have to make its way to your hand.

“If you’re looking for that white rabbit, he’s not here.” Its voice reverberated through walls and the floor, catching your ears and your heart. You’d say it was a demon, but something about its energy was… Different. Ancient. “But I sense that you seek a knowledge that is worth pursuing to the darkest depth of the Underworld to find it.” As it finished speaking, a small laugh followed the words, clearly enjoying your curiosity that led you to that realm. “How will curious little Alice accomplish such a dangerous feat?”

“With courage. You have to be curious in order to be brave.” Your answer was certain albeit careful. Never before you had encountered a demon that resembled the creature standing before you – and the Codex Daemonica had no information about that. “I wonder. If I was led here but there’s no white rabbit to be seen, who am I talking to? The Cheshire Cat?”

Once again, that laugh reverberated through your chest, while its feathers shook with delight. Of all creatures you had met, that was the first who made you unsure. As far as your knowledge went, you could be talking to a trickster, like the ancient Norse deity, Loki.

“Alice should know better that names are not to be given so lightly.”

You just stared back into your own eyes, a small unsatisfied smile coloring your lips. You had signed your name; you had given it already. But words have power, especially the ones voiced by one’s own lips. If you wanted its name, you had to give yours – you had to voice it so it could voice its own. An eye for an eye, a hand for a hand, a name for a name.

“Y/n. My name is y/n, as I signed in the guestbook already.” You said after a deep breath. You could be making a huge mistake, but the book in your arms was worth whatever price. You had already left your guardian angel’s shawl – there was no going back now.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, little Alice.” The creature bowed its head slightly, making you mirror its chivalry. “You can call me Ovid, master of this realm.”

“You certainly have a wonderful library, Ovid.” You couldn’t keep secret the fact that you had a Restricted Session book in your arms: Ovid probably knew what you had given up for it already and you had every intention to check that book out. For good or for bad. “With knowledge that even the best arcane libraries in the human realm only dream of.”

“Indeed, y/n, indeed… How far would you go fur such knowledge, little Alice?”

“As far as necessary, dear Cheshire Cat.”

Its eyes reflected the same fire that burned in yours – but you didn’t look down. You had already met that stare before: years ago, when fighting the blue coated devil, it was that sort of glance that commanded you to give up and made you only ignore it and remain stronger in your own will.

It was rare for Ovid meeting such a strong-willed human. A journey alongside you could be quite interesting, after all.

“I see you have already accessed the Restricted Session…” Ovid murmured back, glancing quickly at the book in your hands. “To check out such knowledge, in the other hand, there are a few conditions.”

“As I said before, I’m willing to go as far as necessary. I already gave up something dear to me.” It was rare for you to put yourself in such a vulnerable position, but there you were. That book was worth much more than you could ever dream of and, if you needed to, you would fight that creature for it – even if you didn’t know what it was.

“And you can read it in my realm whenever you see fit, as long as your offering remains in the altar.” Once again, it bowed its head slightly, only to turn those bright, cunning eyes back to you right after. “But in order to return constantly, I shall need something in return.”

You smiled. There was always a catch. That’s how it was when dealing with demons.

“What is it?”

“For which purpose does little Alice needs such a book so desperately…?” You could hear it in its voice: they knew you had a goal, that you needed that book not only for curiosity, but for something else.

You had to be honest and vulnerable – something you avoided with all your strength. There were no cards left up your sleeve and the only thing you had in your advantage was that you could summon your silver sword at any moment – unless Ovid had sensed that spell already.

“There are no books in the human realm with knowledge on the Abyss. Whatever it is, I need to know more about it to keep it from destroying entire cities like it did to mine.” You took a deep breath, never lowering your eyes from Ovid’s cunning stare. “I will write a Codex Abyssae, just like there is a Codex Daemonica, so other hunters may be able to protect other people. This…” You looked down at the book in your arms, furrowing your brows. “This is the best source I found to this day. I can’t let it go.”

As your eyes went back to Ovid’s, you could swear it was smiling – after all, you knew how your eyes looked when you were doing so.

“Well, well, little Alice…” There was a tinge of delight in its voice, and you couldn’t refrain your heart from being wary. “It seems that the Fates brought our paths together, then. This book can only be read on my realm, however you might be able to come and go as you please for your research as long as you keep its information updated.” Those eyes, your eyes, glinted with a smart burst of energy of something that hadn’t had that much fun in centuries. “You see, my collection, sometimes, gets obsolete. Inside this book, you will find everything you need to know on the Abyss, but I’m afraid there is so much more yet to be discovered. It will be an honor harboring a copy of your Codex Abyssae along my many pages and oceans of words.”

One of their wings pointed back at the book. As you observed the cover, The Abyss and other ancient realms title disappeared, only to give room to the carefully crafted, gothic silver words of Codex Abyssae.

That was your book. That was your research. If you accepted it, all that knowledge, all that power would be yours – and you would get to update it, as well as write your own version for the human realm. It was really a lot more than you could have wished for, even if it bounded you to that creature you knew so little about.

“What happens when I am done?”

“You cannot return.” Ovid’s voice was calm, acting as if it was just another day in their eternity. Their eyes, though, glinted with delight. “The Codex will return to its safety in the Restricted Session. Your shawl will be returned. You will have your knowledge, and I will have mine. Our deal will be over.”

Of course, it was a deal. Something like that always had a price.

And you were willing to pay it.

“How do I access the library to read the Codex when I need to?”

“You can always summon me with one of my feathers, dear Alice.”

It seemed like you hadn’t noticed it before, but right by the guest book, there was a golden dish with a silky, long black feather in it. Like you imagined before, you would be bound to that creature to a certain extent, as long as you kept your part of the bargain. They would give you knowledge if you delivered knowledge in return.

It was a small price to pay, in your point of view.

“Well, then. You have yourself a deal, Cheshire.” You took a deep breath, declaring your will out loud. “I will keep the Codex Abyssae updated as long as I can come and go from the library and read it for my research, Ovid. Deal.”

That laugh reverberated through the library once more as you reached for the feather. You could finally leave the Codex on the reception desk, knowing you could come back any time and spend hours and hours reading it to your heart’s desire.

“I have to finish the job I was hired to do, but when I want to come back…”

“I will be there to guide you into my realm, little Alice.” Ovid made a small signal with their head, making you slightly bow in return.

“Thank you for allowing me to have access to your library, Ovid.”

“Thank you, little Alice, for giving me such knowledge to build upon, but do be careful on the road ahead.” Their warning caught you off guard, making you stop as you were ready to get your weapons once more. “You have been close to death once before, I can see that.” As those words filled your mind, you furrowed your brows. “Before you go, I shall give you a piece of advice to mull over. The next time you end up on death’s doorstep, it will take you without hesitation. So, live a fruitful and fulfilling human life, with the time you’ve got left. Death does not give second chances lightly.”

That warning placed a heavy weight on your heart, taking your breath away for a few seconds. You had defied death once but, as it seemed, you wouldn’t be able to do it twice.

With so much left to do, you kept that warning in a place you could think about later. You struck a deal. It was done. You couldn’t turn back now.

*

As soon as your feet left the door that got you inside the library, you found yourself back into the derelict building that led you there. You glanced back, hoping to see the purple flames and the reception desk once more – now with your weapons back to your grip and the feel of your trusted sword hilt calming your heart – but you only found an old empty room, with books and paper scattered all over the dusty floor.

You were back – and it all seemed like a lifelong dream. You would consider it all to have been just your imagination, if Ovid’s feather didn’t weight inside your coat’s pocket. Checking once more, your fingers found the silky touch of the feather and you knew; it was all true. You had struck a deal with a trickster, maybe a demon, maybe something older – you weren’t sure. But you had done it for a knowledge and a power the strongest demons could only dream of.

Your steps quickly led you back to the round hall surrounded by the labyrinth of mahogany aisles, lit only by a sheer light that entered through the cracks in the walls. Soon, you would find your steps away from that building, back to your job, to make sure the Abyss would close, and nothing would be able to go in – or get out.

“This time, I will not allow you to go any further… Little human.”

That voice. It was his voice. You were certain of it.

Turning around, you smiled as you saw a very well-known silhouette lit only by the stray rays of light, framing his shoulders and his conceited head held high in the air – the sword on his hand, ready to attack; the smirk framing his arrogance… His eyes, defying yours with a fire burning in silver. The blue coat gracing him as a frame.

You smirked back, holding your head high and staring back with your burning eyes.

“Long time no see… Demon.”

**

To be continued...

[wrongcaitlyn]

hi! i'm sorry if this is a bit random but i wanted to know if the process of college aplications is hard in the US ?? in my coutry we only do one big exam and the higher the grade the more courses and universities you can pick from ( like, for medicine you need 900 on this test but for music you only need 400)

oh GOD okay you're gonna set me on a bit of a rant bc i have so much to say about college apps here,,,, it's so horrible 😭😭 (nothing against your ask lmao, i'm down to talk abt how much us college apps suck ANY TIME)

so im just gonna split this up into types of college, expectations of colleges, and what we actually have to do to apply:

so there's a bunch of different types of colleges with varying levels of prestige, which is what's really important here. to get into community college, you just need to graduate college and send in an application! but the problem here is that a lot of people look down on that option, and especially with parents, there's a lot of pressure to get into a "good" (high-ranking) college. there are people who will do literally anything to get into an ivy league. but that's neither here nor there, the point is: when you're trying to get into college in the us, the process can actually be very easy, but most people (including myself) choose to make it harder for themselves. partly bc of better opportunities, internships, extracurriculars that are offered in higher-ranked colleges, partly because of the "college experience", or partly just because their parents/friends/counselors/media (have you ever heard of a not uc or ivy league talked about in tv shows??? very little at least, and if you have, it was probably a college that was ALSO super prestigious with a 3% acceptance rate) pressured them into it and make them think that they'll never make it in life if they choose community college.

now onto expectations - again, this depends on the type of college that you're trying to get into. but for the purpose of this entire thing, i'm gonna be talking about how hard the college app process is when you're trying to get into like a high-ranked college with a small acceptance rate. so many colleges these days are down to like 5% acceptance rates, and that's ridiculous. but anyway, they accept you based on a weird combination of gpa, extracurriculars, essays, SAT score (optional in some colleges), recommendation letters, and intensity of your workload.

that means you don't just need to get good grades in high school, and you don't just need to do important things outside of hs. it's not a make or break thing to just have like one b or something, but *so* many people applying to these prestigious colleges have all a's, run five clubs, do three sports, and take all ap/honors classes (aka really hard college-level classes).

OKAY NOW ONTO THE ACTUAL COLLEGE APP PROCESS LMAO:

so the main thing we use is what's called the "common app" and essentially you submit your application, and then you pay fees and choose which colleges you want to apply to. problem is, not all colleges are part of this common app, some colleges want supplemental essays, and every college you apply to has a ridiculous fee.

so first you have to choose the colleges you want to apply to (usually a range of like 5-15), and divide them into 'safeties', 'targets', and 'reaches'. safeties are the ones you can definitely get into, targets are ones where you match most other applicants who got in, and reaches are like. all the ivy leagues and other top-ranked colleges. this whole process in the first place is a ridiculously long college because there are over 1k colleges in the common app, and even more outside of the common app. for example, all uc's (universities of california) have their own separate application form. a bunch of other colleges also decide they want to be special and have their own application.

once you do that, you need to write an essay for the common app. and another few supplemental essays for colleges who wanna give you a harder time. and different essays for uc's if youre applying there (sorry, being from california, i just know a bit more abt uc's, idk if it's different on the east coast or anywhere else). then you create a list of every single extracurricular you did in your hs years and choose which ones are most important, show leadership, passion, and interest in your chosen major. it's basically a resume of ur hs career. you need to get a letter of rec from two of your teachers and your counselor, and you will most likely also take the SAT or ACT (two standardized tests. lots of schools have it optional now, but it's still a big deal in some colleges - often, though, you'll even take that test several times to get a good score).

and then repeat that for any colleges not part of the common app that you want to apply to

and THEN. youre done with your college application! except youre also spending that entire time working on essays/applications for scholarships and filling out a FASFA form (financial aid) because colleges are EXPENSIVE AS HELL. like, just from a california standpoint, the cheapest UC tuition is ucla, with a tuition of $15k for in-state students and $45k for out of state, not including your living situation (and trust when housing will never be cheap in la).

so, yeah. that's the general gist of it all. i probably skimmed over some things and forgot some, but!! im in hell and college apps are the literal worst here😭

[vacantgodling]

The Chronicles of Lathsbury -> CRASH COURSE

Part 5: Guilds

Guilds are the groups of adventurers responsible for traversing, mapping, and “conquering” (depending on who you ask) The Labyrinth. The Labyrinth came into being in Terrae after the sacrifice of the first Guardian Lath to seal all beasts and monsters that used to roam freely on the continent into one plane where they can subsist feely and not do Terraneans harm. However, Terraneans are free to pass in and out of The Labyrinth itself and have been doing so since its creation. Guilds were initially created by the second king of Lathsbury, Anele of Kairos in order to both explore and mapmake the rest of the continent but since it is now virtually all mapped, all Guild efforts are focused on The Labyrinth. Between getting beast or monster parts for salves, clothing, armor or jewelry, or for archaeological and scientific purposes, or simply for fame and glory, anyone is welcome to join one of the hundreds of Guilds large and small in Lathsbury to make a name for themselves.

In order to enter a guild, you must first have some sort of training or specialization OR you simply need to pass the Guild Exam for your chosen class. The official classes recognized by The Kingdom of Lathsbury are as follows:

MBW (Melee Bladed Warriors) and MBA (Melee Bladed Artisans) -> These are the classes of the common person; they may or may not have formal training but what separates the two is the ability to use magic (MBA) versus those who cannot (MBW). This has no bearing on their skill or the respect each class gains usually, however some would consider MBAs/MBWs the “bottom tier” of guild classes.

Protectors -> In order to become a protector you must graduate from the Protector’s Academy located in Hytröth. This class specializes in defense and wears full body armor, and usually carry shields nearly the full size of their body, modeled after Palanthia or the shield of MUINENS. Protectors, coming mainly from Hytröth, are a very religious class who take the virtues of the goddess very seriously and do not engage in unnecessary combat. They have a strict code of ethics to be a protector, though some do deflect from those teachings are considered a bit scandalous. Protectors usually use magic.

Hunters & Dark Hunters -> Hailing from Eros, from the youngest possible age a child can be fit for aptitude (3) it is a Aegean tradition to enroll your child in the Hunter’s Grand Academy to aid in the fight to reclaim Argos. It is considered a great honor, and at once was even law that every person and child must enroll to fight for the cause. Hunters usually use vis. Dark Hunters are the only people able to withstand the brutality of Argos. As it is a center of pure chaos, tenom is the only thing that can save you when faced with its onslaught, with deadly consequences. To be a dark hunter for more than a few weeks is a blessing—but the one man who has been a dark hunter for ten years and technically counting is nothing short of a legend.

Rangers & Scouts -> Trained deep within the forests underneath the dangerous peaks and valleys where the ruins of Ubwyn lie, Pinella’s Pass Survivalist School teaches those who are willing the art of using nature, stealth and range to your advantage. Rangers are archers—long or short bowed, close or far range all based on the rangers preference. Scouts are low to the ground and stealthy, carrying a wide arsenal of weapons depending on the individual. Many scouts go on to become guild administrators while rangers are more suited for the grit of The Labyrinth.

Medics -> a vital guild class. Silverkeep Academy of Medicine is the most famous medical academy in Terrae, known for producing cutting edge research as well as medic prodigies. Medics perhaps have the toughest role in guilds as they are expected to heal, fight, and keep the map, quest log, and other important paperwork for whatever team or contingent they end up on in a guild. Their exam is the most grueling and takes the longest of all the other guild exams at Easthollow.

Illuminators (Hexers) -> a special, somewhat rare class in guilds as many tend to stay within their homeland of Snake’s Canyon to use their talents to illuminate the perpetually dark landscape. They use the magic lumine and can use ars not just for light but for a variety of… darker things.

Alchemists, Gunners & Gunslingers -> all hail from Marthveil, with alchemists leading to the creation of the two other classes. Alchemists and Gunners use muram and graduate from The Academy of Sciences and Metaphysical with either a self crafted brachum calces or a gun for transmutation. Gunslingers fall into the same category as MBWs in that they use no magic, however, instead of using bladed weapons, they use guns and recently invented gunpowder.

Knights aren’t a guild class, however in order to be recognized by The Kingdom of Lathsbury, every guild must have a Guild Advisor—which is a knight that reports directly to parliament and the crown. Knights are similar to MBWs and MBAs and protectors even, however as the official militia of The Kingdom of Lathsbury they are also trained in formation combat, have differing ranks, and most distinctly, are trained to use mounts. Higher ranking officers are usually nobility or have some sort of money as well and they all report to and are trained at The Knights Academy.

Bards also aren’t a guild specific class, however the few rare bards that do enter the fray are equipped with as much knowledge of cantatio as they can muster. Bards outside of guilds usually have no knowledge or ability to use magic however there are some exceptions. Any bard trained in cantatio usually spends at least some time studying in Bass Landing.

Once you pass your guild exam, you are then entered into the Guild Bid in Easthollow. Whenever a guild has vacancies they send representatives to Easthollow to choose of the crop that have recently passed and it can take from a few weeks to even a year after you pass your guild exam to be chosen by a guild. The guild looks not only at your examination scores but also at its own needs, and if you can either become a part of a new branch/team/contingent of their guild or if you would fill a vacancy on another.

If you do not pass your examination there are two options—the first is to retake your exam when the next round of examinations is to be held or whenever you’d like to (there’s no limit of how many times you can take the exam), or a guild can choose to sponsor you, and take responsibility for your education. A year after a sponsorship, you must take the guild exam again and if you fail you will be let go automatically from your guild and the guild will be fined.

Each guild operates differently internally and while there are hundreds of guilds we could focus the main story on, the main story takes place within the new and somewhat mysterious Aegean Guild of Explorers.

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Winx Club au(S1)

Alright! But hear me out!

Like I have the creative zoomies(again) and I brainroted this for DAYS! Like you have no idea how on point I nailed everything.

Except visuals... We are here for the plot... :'3

I will accept any kind of visual suggestions tho... Plot too if you have :3

Anyway! I put the title! You know it: Winx Au!

Bc why not? Why tf shouldn't I smush together these 2 pieces of media that I like?

Anyway! We will have A LOT to cover... Because, much to the horror of moi, we will have 6 seasons. Like, if you know winx or were in the Fandom, you know the mixed opinions that started after season 3. It's just... A lot...

Even so, I enjoyed way too much the concepts and themes of the later seasons that I... Kinda forgot about plot? Shocking, I know...

Although season 7 was way too painful to watch and that's where I dropped everything and went my merry way. U-U9

Anyway! With that out of the way, we will dive into this Au, but first, some disclaimers:

I WILL go into more darker themes. Maybe Winx had a lighter tone, but it did go dark a few times. And I will go and shove it in even darker pits.

There will be swearing, much like violence... Because I need it for plot purposes.

This Au will start IN PARALLEL with Winx S1. So if you see mentions of og winx characters, locations or artefacts, you know why. I will also neglect season 7 and 8. Which means that for me, lore wise, will be irrelevant. I say this, because I will use lore aspects up until season 6, therefore it's just the bare necessities :3

At one point, the winx time-line and this au's time-line will meet up. So you should expect even a meeting in between the og winx and our group. :3c

Now, with that out of the way, we will go under ✨the cut✨ for it!

To start off: world lore.

Twisted wonderland was a planet full of magic. Unfortunately, due to political reasons, this planet didn't want to abide by the rest of Magix's quite tight rules and regulations, therefore it wasn't granted as many benefits as the other planets who agreed upon them. The primary reason was, of course: there has to be one singular royal family ruling over the whole planet. Twisted wonderland had multiple monarchies, democracies, republics and everything. And it was clear neither of them wanted to cojoin and be ruled by a single entity.

What was very special about twisted wonderland, was it's diversity in magic and how open it was. While it was very diverse, quite the array of categories of magic being able to be accessed, it was more or so notable that the common folk either didn't have magic affinities, or very weak magic, to the point they don't unlock even the base forms. Those people are called: stagnants, and could follow just primary magical courses at the very least.

Some notable institutes training people are:

NRC- an all boys school for fairies. Founded by the great 7, NRC is a 4 year boarding-school, whith a riguros training system. You can only boast about being in NRC after you passed in your 3rd year, because the exams are means of expulsion on their own.

RSA- the infamous specialists School. It trains magicless people into becoming knights and guards. It is quite renowned for it's 4 year training and great knights who could handle difficult situations.

NBC- the school of witches and wizards. Mostly known for it's long history and the very notable positive figures it housed. Despite training students into the dark arts, many came out to be protectors of their homelands or serving for good.

Now, for the first season:

We follow Jack. Jack was a Beastman, coming from a magicless family. His family had a very weak connection with magic since countless generations. But that didn't really stop Jack from living his life. He was a normal guy. That's all about him.

Alright, maybe not so normal, since he was close friends with the raising star in acting and modeling: Vil Schonenheit. Vil was known to be a fairy in training, just like his father, grandparents and so on. But Vil was also nice and always made time to go outside and hang out with Jack, so Jack really didn't think Vil was bad like the villain he was always portrayed in movies or plays.

But even so, Jack was never ready when he first discovered he could do magic. It was something more of a heat of the moment: his younger siblings were in danger, falling from a tree they climbed, so Jack, in a panic, summoned a layer of magic snow that cushioned their fall. It was clear he was the source, because it was the middle of the summer then.

With that, Jack really had his world rocked from it's feet. Vil just started his first year at NRC at that time, so he really wasn't sure if he should lay this news on his friend.

Nonetheless, Vil was excited when he heard the news. Jack was a terrible liar, so he figured he should fess up rather than hide it. Vil, obviously, was very happy and expected for his buddy to come to NRC with him. To assure he will get picked up, Vil would train Jack over the holidays, trying to get a grip on his powers before going into school.

Vil managed to get into his 3rd year when Jack finally got accepted and got in as a first year. Unfortunately for him, Vil did tell him that now that he was in his 3rd year, he would have to work even harder, so the best they could do is to text each other and maybe they could hang out sometime.

So Jack stepped in NRC, with a rough idea of how things work and clearly ready to learn more.

Vil told him about the sorting ceremony, so Jack really didn't expect to be so gloomy. When he thought about the fairies, he saw them so colorful and sparkly. Even so, someone did grab him, explaining that it's a metaphor for the butterflies process. They start as gloomy caterpillars before gaining their wings.

That someone was none other than a short boy with hair made out of blue flames. Jack was surprised of the hair, but the boy, named Ortho, was thrilled to meet another first year. He really hoped to be sorted for the Ignihyde courses. At that, Jack really didn't understand.

Ortho explains it to him: there are 7 courses, meant to train a future fairy in one of the 7 virtues the founders had. Each course has it's unique perks and special places on campus.

The 7 courses were:

The Heartslabyul course-focused mainly on a little bit of everything. It's a course that relies heavily on the rule abiding. A fairy must always aim to solve a problem without breaking rules or morals, which can affect their magic as well. Their special aera was the rose garden, where the students could relax or maditate. Jack noted that it would be a great course for him. He wanted to practice everything.

The Savanaclaw course- a course that relies mostly on limited use of magic. It trains fairies to be proficient even without magic, making it the best course in training great guards. They just never give up no matter what. Their perk was unlimited access to the sports grounds. Ortho said that even if he was energetic, he wouldn't stand a chance in there. He's a couch potato unfortunately. :'3

The Octavinelle course- they are courses mostly aimed at one's inner peace. Since the state of the mind also affects fairies, Octavinelle students are known to be always with their feet on the ground and able to deal very easy with spells that require a more deep understanding of oneself. Ortho wouldn't call it really a perk, but there is a cafe on campus that Octavinelle fully runs it. They also have an aera of the library allocated to them only.

The scarabia course- it's very popular for their focus on resources. These students are fairies who can easily use their environment to their advantage. Apparently their perk is access to a lot of supplementary courses outside. They could just crash in other course's expedition outside and be totally fine with it. Jack really didn't know what to say, but Ortho reassured that apparently the scarabia fairies are quite chill.

The poemfiore course- it's a course focused on antidotes and curses management. Their main perk is unlimited access to herbs and ingredients that are cultivated on the school grounds. Although they are also renowned for their impeccable looks and manners. Ortho did say that perhaps he could fit the bill for it, while Jack mentioned he had a friend in there.

The Ignihyde course- a course focused primarily on magic and technology. Since there is magic tech, the Ignihyde fairies can merge magic with tech flawlessly. There are many technological fairies in there, although there are also a few exceptions. Their perks aren't that known, but they have the underground workshops, where they can invent or tinker with whatever they please. Ortho said that his big brother is there, so he hopes to get also in there. Jack didn't really feel like he had a knack for tech, so he really didn't know what to say.

Then, the last one, Diasomnia- the practical magic course. Not only is the course where one of the most powerful fairies are coming, it is also a course with a lot of perks: status, more optional courses, meditation places and also a personal library section. It's the course that outshines everyone. Ortho did say that he hoped he wouldn't end up with a jerk from there in the dorm. Jack just awkwardly looks in the other part.

Ortho also mentioned that apparently the dorms are mixed. So there is a fair chance that even if they end up in different courses, they could still be roommates. Jack also hoped that, because ortho was literally the only 1st year he knew.

They do get sorted by the dark mirror. An odd name, but Jack didn't question it.

He ended up in Savanaclaw. And Ortho ended up in Ignihyde.

Jack was of course guided towards a senior: Ruggie. He presented himself as the prefect of the Savanaclaw course. A prefect, as Ruggie put it, was a student who excels in their courses while also embracing the virtues of the founder the course is based of. As a prefect, Ruggie had a job of overseeing the savanaclaw students. Mostly to guide the first years and nudge them into adapting. He also explained the school main rules to them, which Jack took a big note of:

-do not be off the campus after 22.

-do not smuggle in dangerous curses/artefacts.

-do not cross the restricted sections of the school.

3 big rules. Of course, there are the minor rules also, but these 3 are the ones that immediately get you expulsion.

Ruggie also gave to everyone, one by one, their programs and dorm keys. Thankfully Ruggie was the kind soul who smuggles in a map for the first years, so they won't get lost, then pushed them on their merry way to the dorms.

It took some mad orientation skills and also a small meeting with Vil, before Jack finally found his dorm.

And it was a mess.

The dorm itself was pretty big, considering it had 3 supposed bedrooms, all connected through a small lounge. It was very spacious. But it had things sprawled around, 2 guys arguing, one of them on the coffee table, and 2 literally throwing books and pillows at each other.

Oh and Ortho was there. He seemed to be texting someone when he saw Jack and happily approached him.

It took a bit to calm down and finally get around with intros and everything. There were 2 bedrooms, each with 2 beds and everyone was already pre-determined.

In the first room- Deuce Spade from Heartslabyul and Sebek Zigvolt from Diasomnia.

Second room- Jack and Ortho

Third room- Epel Felimer from poemfiore and Ace Trappola from Heartslabyul.

And for now, things seemed quite awkward, with everyone settling in at their own pace then sleeping.

The first few days were also awkward. Everyone had their own courses and still had to get to know each other, which was a bit hard. Still, for the sake of coherence, Jack tried his best to bring everyone together to bond.

Which leads them to a weekend hangout through the Sage city. Gradually, they had fun together, went to a cafe, arcade and walked through the streets, bonding. It seemed to do wonders as now they were all comfortable enough to crack jokes in between them.

But their fun moment is cut short when they happen to overhear a very sus conversation on an alleyway. Being the bastards they were, despite Jack, Deuce and Sebek being against it, the 6 of them decide to snoop a bit on the convo.

They overhear 2 people, cloaked from head to toe, talking about finding some sort of key. One of them seemed quite impatient as the other reassured that until they find the key, that a stone they showed should do the trick. Ortho recognised it as a black magic stone, which got the group to worry.

Sage Island was very known to heavily rely on fairy magic, also dubbed as white magic. Black magic is used sometimes in here, but if it's used to affect the land, the island itself won't stand, since it's core is made out of fairy magic. At least that's what Epel explained to the group in whispers.

Their little cover is blown anytway, because they couldn't be discret to save their lives, so due to this, the 2 people summon a monster made out of trash, meant to dispose of them, while they fleed.

And rightfully, being the fledgling fairies they were, this group was absolute shit at it. Everyone tries to be leader and everyone is crashing one against each other. It doesn't help that only 4 out of 6 could actually transform. (Jack and Ace) which left 2 more vulnerable.

In the end, Jack comes up with a plan to defeat the monster and actually rolling with it, assuring them as the winners of the fight, while the monster returned to trash piles. But they made a mess out of it, so now they hurried back to NRC to just get a shower and talk about it, since maybe they were tired, but sleep was the last thing on their worry list.

Except that they get caught up by Ruggie. They came in late, but seeing how they were looking like shit, Ruggie decides to close an eye for the meantime, with the promise of not happening again. They didn't go that much over the curfew, so he could just assume they got lost on their way back.

At their dorm, the 6 of them gathered together after cleaning up and getting some comfy pijamas and decided to discuss about it.

Epel says that he is the fairy of earth, hence why he felt a slight disturbtion in the earth magic from here when the monster was summoned. That monster clearly wasn't a being with life and mind of it's own as Ortho put it, but their next dilema was: What was the deal with those 2 people?

Ace suggests that maybe they should leave it and mind their own business. Deuce said that he is worried about the monster returning, or even worse, more of them coming. Sebek was wondering what kind of key were those people looking for. Epel had mixed feelings about it, while Ortho was insisting to look into it.

Jack suggested to tell some authorities about it, which gained a flat no. They didn't know how the individuals looked like, nor did the monster they fought got caught by the public. They could be considered to be bluffing for clout, so for now, this stood in between them.

The conclusion: no one would believe the without evidence.

So in the spirit of their unanimous decision of investigating, Ace suggests a group name for them. They were kind of like a team so names were suggested around. The final draft was: Requix squad. It sounded sick by Epel's standards, so they decided that this was their group name.

So they start their investigation. Looking around for clues about what the key was meaning, watching the news, discovering that more and more monster attacks were spotted, thankfully the specialists and fairies were there in time. And of course, attending the courses and triaing to unlock their fairy forms or more power.

Early on, they get introduced to the concept of fairy forms: there are 2 main forms: base form and enchantix. In the first year, students are meant to learn the bases, including control of their base form. The 2nd year students are meant to unlock charmix, a power up for their base form, meant to signal them getting closer to enchantix. And by the final of their 3rd year, they have to get enchantix, so that on the 4th year they could properly train to be guardian fairies.

And like that, our Requix squad is very vexed about it. Ortho had an idea what that stone they saw could be, but he still had to do some research and confirm his worries before sharing a possibly flawed theory.

During this, Jack has Leona, his practical magic teacher, noticing his lack of attention. He does confront him about it. Maybe it was just the start of the year, but Leona could see that Jack was a vigilent kid, so him looking so troubled must've been because something happened. Rightfully, Leona assumes it's because Jack is a late bloomer with magic and all these monster attacks that leave the first year fairies to learn combat more early.

So Leona tries to reassure Jack that he needs to put more mind on his own self and only then he will be able to connect with his magic more.

Meanwhile, Ace has a nightmare. One that ends up waking Epel as well, the 2 having a talk about it.

Ace tells Epel that he saw something bad. A big monster, dark tunnels, and the same cloaked figure from the alley, hidden in the shadows. Epel wasn't the best at comforting, but he did his best. In the morning, Ace didn't share about it with the others, everyone assuming he just didn't sleep that well.

Meanwhile, Jack catches Ortho trying out a dark magic spell. When asking about it, Ortho realises that he has to fess up to the truth: he was half witch, mainly from his mother's side. Since the Shrouds had the heirloom of the first born to be the fairy of death, Ortho's big brother, Idia, gained that title, along with being a full fledged fairy, even if he did cary some faith traces of dark magic, those didn't affect him. Meanwhile, Ortho inherited both fairy and witch magic, making it hard to control and sometimes, his own body can't take it, manifesting as dizzy spells or even fainting when one of the sides takes over. So far, Ortho took many precautions, but he just can't pursue one side of him without feeling the repercussions, so sometimes he tries dark magic spells to balance it out.

Jack is a bit taken aback by it, but Ortho pleaded for him to tell no one. Jack had no option but to comply and help Ortho out with his little problem, mainly by helping with the research about the stone.

And they finally come with a rough idea. What that stone was, could it be a gloomix stone. The others are a bit confused, but Ortho tells them that gloomix is a witch form. Just like charmix is for a fairy, gloomix is a powerup for a witch's base form. Except that while charmix comes from making personal amends with oneself, gloomix is made through taking dark magic straight from a power source or given to you by a more powerful entity.

This leads them to search more about where could the gloomix stone could come from. They discover some aincent tunnels, so while everyone is asleep, the 6 sneak out and find a hidden entrance to the tunnels right behind a statue on the school hall.

Ace does become uneasy, saying to Epel that it was just like in his dream, which also got Epel a bit uneasy. They are exploring a bit the place, using an enchanted paper to map it out.

Thankfully for them, they find a big door. One under many locks. An idea coming from Sebek was to use a convergence spell. They were all a bit skeptical, but if they find something useful in there, they could pinpoint the one behind the monsters and finally report it to the authorities. Heck, maybe they could gain some nice grades out of it. It wasn't unheard of extra credits or good grades from fulfilling a very difficult problem/mission.

The convergence spell is wonky, not working at first. But a second time has all of the group finally coming to a comune agreeement: they need to open that door. They are a group and nothing can stop them!

And it works! The locks are down and the doors open.

And the place? A big library. Lots of stairs, both tall and deep, filled with rows and rows of books. There were also floating platforms going up and down as on the walls, different murals were painted.

They decide to go down instead of up, finding at the bottom, after a hell lot of stairs, some tables, armchairs and couches. There was also a big Cauldron in one side, some utensils and many more things, yet the most interesting of it was a crystal ball.

Jack nudges Ortho to do something with it, but the latter doesn't want. Instead, Sebek pokes it, wondering what it is. The ball does seem to light up and shake with life as from there, a spirit of a man in a lot of robes presents itself.

Also a cat, which immediately slaps Sebek for poking the ball. :'3

The man presents himself as Trein, the spirit of the aincent library. He thought that this place was locked, as no one really got on. The group is pretty quick to say that it was fairly easy to get in, because they did a convergence spell. Trein was a bit skeptical, since the convergence spell had to have both light and dark magic to open all the locks.

It brings a bit of suspicion among the group, Ortho growing uneasy and Jack trying his best to divert the situation towards their goal: finding the truth about the monster attacks. Trein couldn't help them that much, only show them present events through the crystal ball. Lucius however, could find for them any book they desire.

The group contemplates for a bit, before finally telling what they want: a book on monster making. Lucius finds it quite quick and gives it to them, starting to skimm through it and try to find what kind of monster did they encounter then.

It was found out that it was actually a simple type of dark magic spell, a monster made out of environment objects. Therefore their foe wasn't someone that powerful. Maybe they were even on par with them.

But their little research moment gets stopped when they hear a roar outside. Lucius reports to Trein that some sort of beast is trying to break into the library. The group decides to fight it, because that might be their next big clue after all.

In the fight, Ace and Jack also unlock their own fairy base forms. The monster doesn't get defeated that easily, leaving a few wounds on the group, who had to rest a bit in the library.

But, they managed to defeat it in the end. And fortunately, this monster leaved behind something: a wilted flower. It must've been created from that flower in question, so maybe they could find another big clue.

Trein seems quite pleased with the group in question. Maybe everything seemed a bit of a haze, all on the run and bearly they got a month since their started school, but Trein saw some potential in them. So he decided to test them: he gives them a riddle and they will have to bring him the answer to it. The library will only be open to them and them alone, so they shouldn't worry if the monster would return. To find the library again, Trein entrusted them with a magic bottle, that it will show them where the library is when unbottled. They only have 1 chance after all, so they all should think the riddle through.

As for the riddle:

You can't see, smell or hear me,

You feel me at your worst,

You know me at your best,

You, alone, can't have me,

I will be your power and your weakness.

What am I?

So the first years are left to sneak back to their dorm and contemplate.

Except that the next day, after classes, everyone is called for an emergency roll call. As it turns out, the island is suffering consequences of the dark magic monsters being more and more by the day. And so, it was mandatory for NRC and the locals to have some dark magic detectors around. Those were put a few days ago.

And already they went off a few times, getting everyone to realise that someone in this school was secretly a witch. This qualified as a traitor, given the circumstances.

And so, it comes to each group of students to be interrogated under the detector. Of course, knowing just how they got the library seal down, our group is a bit uneasy and also suspicious of each other. They tried to contemplate any kind of last minute plan to escape it, but so far, nothing came to them.

And of course, the detector goes off on them. In front of everyone. Of course, Crowley, the headmaster, gives them the option to fess up who's the witch or all of them to face expulsion and also be handed to the police for further investigations.

And Jack, desemned leader of the group, has no other option than to fess up that Ortho was half a witch. He tried to defend him, saying that Ortho couldn't have done such a thing, but everyone was obviously shocked and more or so disgusted by this.

Thankfully, before Crowley could do a decree, a student raises up, while the other leave for their dorms. That was Idia, very notable by his fire hair. When he goes to Crowley, the detector also goes off. Idia explains to Crowley. Since they remained alone, Idia has more courage to explain that because of their mother being a very powerful witch, both Idia and Ortho have traces of dark magic. It's not much, but enough to have the detectors go off. The monsters that plagued the city were getting more powerful, sign that perhaps gloomix could be involved, which Ortho clearly didn't have.

Also Idia pointed something out, that the Shrouds have a unique trace of magic, which would've let anyone know that a creation spell was done by them, mainly the 'heart of flame'. As an example, Idia himself creates a creature, which notably has a blue flame around it's chest. It easily dissappeared, but it did prove the case.

Crowley buys into it and leaves the group off the hook for now. But if they ever slip up again, he will have to take more drastic measures. For now, Idia is guiding them back to their dorm.

And rightfully, on the halls, Idia warns them. He saw them last night sneaking around. He is aware that they are mingling where they shouldn't, so he tells them to stay put.

He just doesn't want to repeat 'the incident' again.

Back at the dorm, everyone is silent. It was clear that Jack was aware of Ortho's secret and still, it felt like a betrayal. Ortho doesn't try do defend his case, but Ace is the one that breaks the silence.

Idia was going to save their asses anyway so Jack didn't have to just rat out a secret he was entrusted with. Jack tries to defend himself, saying that he didn't know about Idia having an intervention, even so, Epel adds that it's just fucked up that the headmaster was gonna hand them all on the police hands just for that. Deuce points out that now they all have big targets on their back and probably the culprit is happy they have a cover.

Sebek booms in, saying that they must find the true perpetuator, because this now is personal. The headmaster was truly too hurried with this thing, so something had to be up with it. They were 1st years, it was easy to weed them out. If perhaps they were 3rd years or more influencial, then it would've been harder to come up with a proper motive.

So now, Jack just puts his foot down. They are in this shit together. They have an advantage: the library. They need to figure out that riddle, find the object that is the answer, unmask the culprit and clear their name. Now it's the best time to just fess up everything that is on the plate. No more secrets and then they can work this shit together.

So they gather up in their lounge, with pillows and blankets. Sebek conjured a stick they called 'the stick of talky', so they started to pass it around.

Jack didn't have any secrets he hid from them. He was the fairy of snow apparently, which was also new to him, he tries to get around everything and hopes he can just get to the bottom of this.

Ace gets the stick, revealing that he is the fairy of tarot, which puts him in the future seeing fairies, quite the taboo type. His brother was the fairy of matchmaking, a graduate of NRC and Ace hopes to surpass his brother one day to gain more than just 'the little brother' title.

When it's Epel's turn, he says that he wants to be manly, not a cute sparkly ass fairy. But as the fairy of earth, he has to commit to it. He says that he's sick of the poemfiore's strict self care regime, which has him looking like a porcelain doll. And doesn't help that he absolutely hates the prefect's guts.

Sebek reveals that he trains to be a retainer for prince Malleus Draconia, the fairy of dragon's breath. He takes great pride in it, but with Silver, his fellow guard, being a year older and in the 2nd year, Sebek feels a bit overshadowed and ignored by Malleus and Lilia in favor of Silver.

The stick reaches now Ortho, who has a bit of a hard time, but the others were silent when the others confessed so Ortho finally got it off his chest everything, including why Idia was so worried to the point of intervening into their situation because the way Idia gained his enchantix was by giving his base form's wings in an attempt at saving Ortho. Ortho was not a fairy if death, rather a fairy of the souls, which isn't really something to brag about. The others didn't push more info and finally the stick reached Deuce.

Among his delinquent phase, Deuce admits that he has in possession something else. As the fairy of the night sky, Deuce got as a heirloom, the zodiac blade, a blade that was in the form of a bracelet Deuce had on his hand. This blade was insanely powerful and Deuce fears of using it as he is still incapable of controlling it. He fears he could hurt everyone if he uses it.

After the stick finally making a full round, everyone seems a bit awkward. Ace finally decides to address the elephant in the room: they are shit at getting along. This gains a pillow on the face from Epel, which quickly escalates in a pillow fight.

After the pillow fight, all of them were just laying there, laughing and taking a breather. They were absolute disasters, but at least they had each other.

And that's what gets Jack's gears turning. He finally got an idea of the riddle answer, so he prompts the others that the answer they were searching for was here the whole time.

The answer was them all. Their group. Maybe they had a way too fast development, maybe they just got in too much trouble for bearly starting the year and maybe it was all a very wierd streak of luck that got them here, but they are now here, all sprawled on the floor and laughing together despite in what deep shit they are now.

They were in all of this together and they will get out of there together too!

But how do they go to Trein to tell the answer? They were on close watch.

And that was painfully made obvious. Not only the teachers, but also the students put more attention on them. Except that the students also did give them some nasty looks too or even go as far as to prank them. Oh Deuce was on the verge of squaring up with someone if it wasn't for Ace.

But also Idia seemed more of a worrywart now, which the group really was a bit thankful, since Idia's gloomy vibes kept at bay the other younger students.

But still, they took the risk and finally sneaked in while everyone slept to find the library. They do so, surprisingly quick, seeing how there were several failed attempts and more than not some of them slamming into walls.

Trein does wait for them and the group presents their answer: their bond was the answer. Trein takes it as a close one since the answer was friendship (which none of these petty mfs is able to even admit it), but he takes it as correct and finally grands them unlimited access to the library, in the form of a mark on each of their hands. The mark will only appear when they wish to go to the library. And the mark will turn any door they wish to use into a temporary door to the library as to not go all the way through the secret tunnels.

The first years obviously cheer for their success, so they get straight to work. Using Ace's future seeing powers and the cristal ball, the group is able to predict a few of the next attacks. The one they had to look out to was the one on the Halloween, which was when a big ball was held at RSA. Many students from other schools will go there after all. And it was also where their prediction showed that a big monster will come.

So they start to cook a plan. They obviously were forbidden from leaving the school grounds as they were still under suspicion, so they had to be more creative.

So countless hours of late night library studying and and searching. Ortho was a bit skeptical, but in the end decided to make a concealing spell, which would make all 6 of them unrecognizable and thus able to attend the ball. Thankfully it was an open gates event held outside.

Ace and Deuce were trying to assure the details about the ball, while Epel and Sebek were looking into a way to capture the culprit. And Jack was looking into the aspects the monsters had up until now. Ortho had to make the said potion, as a spell would be blown off immediately. It was chaotic and Trein simply watched them ferret from time to time, figuring out that they aren't aware over what source of power they actually stumbled upon.

Halloween comes around. The theme of the ball was, of course, masked ball. And with this, as to not swallow some nasty tasting potion, Ortho merged it into some masquerade masks, perfect to conceal them. To add to it, their casual clothes were now very eye catching gowns and their body proportions also changed. Ortho clearly was proud of his potion success, but warned that it might not hold past midnight, so they should hurry.

The ball itself wasn't that flashy. And it was a surprise that 6 random pretty girls presented themselves in there. To communicate, they had earpieces disguised as earrings, so they split up.

Jack does go to the food table and due to some 'unfortunate accident', a specialist accidentally spills some juice on his dress, which prompts Jack to excuse himself and go to the bathroom. The specialist, named Neige, apologises for it and decides to show Jack where the women toilets are.

On their way tho, Jack knocks out Neige with a spell and is on his merry way to explore the said school, in search for anything that could point to the culprit.

Meanwhile, Ace and Deuce dance together and look gorgeous, Epel hauled a food table, Ortho was hyping Sebek in chugging down a bottle of juice, much like the girls that gathered with them.

Back to Jack, man stumbles upon a quite nicely dressed specialist. Immediately Jack puts the excuse that 'she just got lost' and asks for directions. Except that the guy seems quite suspicious when leading Jack towards the ball location.

Because they didn't go the same route.

Jack is a bit taken aback when the guy tries to attack him, but he defends himself with a spell and so it starts the fight. Thankfully, even when in fairy form, the concealing potion was kept, which Jack was infinitely grateful for as he called for the rest of the team.

But the guy, who reveals himself as Prince Mandor, doesn't let down so easily, able to quickly knock out of the way Jack as he uses the gloomix stone in the form of a glowing collar hid under the coat, to summon a big monster out of the armour statues laying throughout the school.

The prediction was made true in the end, but that didn't stop the group from reuniting and all of them to put a face to the culprit.

Immediately it gets to a big fight as the monster leaves towards the ball. They also had to stop it in time, even so, they didn't have time, nor power to hold against a gloomix power up.

And in true villain fashion, Mandor reveals that he hated fairies from here, who always stole the spotlight from specialists. NRC fairies especially, who were all stuck up jerks. He hated them with a passion, to the point he wanted to put all of NRC to shame.

So our group decides to do a convergence spell, but not the way one may think. They all decide to aim at the collar with different beam attacks, overcharging it with power and thus destroying it.

The prince doesn't give out so easily and manages to flee via running. Jack wanted to run after him, but he was tired and Deuce warned that midnight was coming close. Epel found the gloomix stone smashed on the ground, so he grabbed the shards with him, together using their library marks to get to the library and flee the place.

Trein welcomes them back and the group all collectively are tired. But they present the gloomix stone shards. Nonetheless, Trein congratulates them on their good work. Lucius even gives them all a smol nuzzle. :D But even so, looking at the shards, Trein realises that the stone was made by a very powerful dark magic user, if not a dark magic entity. The price managed to run out of their hands, but right now, they got the gloomix stone shattered. So it was a victory still.

The next day, there are many cheers for the 2nd year group, who apparently managed to defeat the monster that threatened the ball. It was a bit of a collective saltiness from our first year group, because they work their asses for weeks, only to find the real culprit and prevent him from summoning such powerful monsters again. By a short research, it was clear that once the gloomix stone was shattered, the monster was gone, so in reality, they did all the work. Oh they were VERY salty about.

And Trein rightfully tells them that their battle is not over. They need to grow more powerful, not more popular. Begrudgingly, Trein declares himself as their mentor. As the spirit of the aincent library, he holds secrets for far more powerful spells and powers that an NRC graduate could only fantom about, let alone know about their existence and also pursuing them. This library constantly moved around under Sage Island via the secret tunnels, and not anyone could accces it. So for the team to have each a pass, it was quite the feat.

So of course, because they were in no position to accuse someone, let alone a royalty, the first years decided to take up on the offer and defeat prince Mandor and whoever is helping him reek havoc in here.

That's when season 1 ends.

next season

other seasons: S2, S3, S4, S5, S6.

[monisha1199]

Elevate Your Career With AWS: A In-depth Guide to Becoming an AWS Expert

In the fast-paced and ever-evolving realm of modern technology, proficiency in Amazon Web Services (AWS) has emerged as an invaluable asset, a passport to the boundless opportunities of the digital age. AWS, the colossal titan of cloud computing, offers an extensive array of services that have revolutionized the way businesses operate, innovate, and scale in today's interconnected world. However, mastering AWS is not a mere task; it is a journey that calls for a structured approach, hands-on experience, and access to a treasure trove of reputable learning resources.

Welcome to the world of AWS mastery, where innovation knows no bounds, where your skills become the catalyst for transformative change. Your journey begins now, as we set sail into the horizon of AWS excellence, ready to explore the limitless possibilities that await in the cloud.

Step 1: Setting Sail - Sign Up for AWS

Your AWS voyage begins with a simple yet crucial step - signing up for an AWS account. Fortunately, AWS offers the Free Tier, a generous offering that grants limited free access to many AWS services for the first 12 months. This enables you to explore AWS, experiment with its services, and learn without incurring costs.

Step 2: Unveiling the Map - Official AWS Documentation

Before you embark on your AWS adventure, it's essential to understand the lay of the land. AWS provides extensive documentation for all its services. This documentation is a treasure of knowledge, offering insights into each service, its use cases, and comprehensive guides on how to configure and utilize them. It's a valuable resource that is regularly updated to keep you informed about the latest developments.

Step 3: Guided Tours - Online Courses and Tutorials

While solo exploration is commendable, guided tours can significantly enhance your learning experience. Enroll in online courses and tutorials offered by reputable platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, ACTE, or AWS Training and Certification. These courses often include video lectures, hands-on labs, and quizzes to reinforce your understanding. Consider specialized AWS training programs like those offered by ACTE Technologies, where expert-led courses can take your AWS skills to the next level.

Step 4: Raising the Flag - AWS Certification

Achieving AWS certification is akin to hoisting your flag of expertise in the AWS realm. AWS offers a range of certifications that validate your proficiency in specific AWS areas, including Solutions Architect, Developer, SysOps Administrator, and more. Preparing for these certifications provides in-depth knowledge, and there are study guides and practice exams available to aid your preparation.

Step 5: Hands-on Deck - Practical Experience

In the world of AWS, knowledge is best acquired through hands-on experience. Create AWS accounts designated for practice purposes, set up virtual machines (EC2 instances), configure storage (S3), and experiment with various AWS services. Building real projects is an effective way to solidify your understanding and showcase your skills.

Step 6: Navigating the AWS Console and CLI

As you progress, it's essential to be fluent in navigating AWS. Familiarize yourself with the AWS Management Console, a web-based interface for managing AWS resources. Additionally, learn to wield the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI), a powerful tool for scripting and automating tasks, giving you the agility to manage AWS resources efficiently.

Step 7: Joining the Crew - Community Engagement

Learning is often more enriching when you're part of a community. Join AWS-related forums and communities, such as the AWS subreddit and AWS Developer Forums. Engaging with others who are on their own AWS learning journeys can help you get answers to your questions, share experiences, and gain valuable insights.

Step 8: Gathering Wisdom - Blogs and YouTube Channels

Stay updated with the latest trends and insights in the AWS ecosystem by following AWS blogs and YouTube channels. These platforms provide tutorials, case studies, and deep dives into AWS services. Don't miss out on AWS re:Invent sessions, available on YouTube, which offer in-depth explorations of AWS services and solutions.

Step 9: Real-World Adventures - Projects

Application of your AWS knowledge to practical projects is where your skills truly shine. Whether it's setting up a website, creating a scalable application, or orchestrating a complex migration to AWS, hands-on experience is invaluable. Real-world projects not only demonstrate your capabilities but also prepare you for the challenges you might encounter in a professional setting.

Step 10: Staying on Course - Continuous Learning

The AWS landscape is ever-evolving, with new services and features being introduced regularly. Stay informed by following AWS news, subscribing to newsletters, and attending AWS events and webinars. Continuous learning is the compass that keeps you on course in the dynamic world of AWS.

Step 11: Guiding Lights - Mentorship

If possible, seek out a mentor with AWS experience. Mentorship provides valuable guidance and insights as you learn. Learning from someone who has navigated the AWS waters can accelerate your progress and help you avoid common pitfalls.

Mastering AWS is not a destination; it's a continuous journey. As you gain proficiency, you can delve into advanced topics and specialize in areas that align with your career goals. The key to mastering AWS lies in a combination of self-study, hands-on practice, and access to reliable learning resources.

In conclusion, ACTE Technologies emerges as a trusted provider of IT training and certification programs, including specialized AWS training. Their expert-led courses and comprehensive curriculum make them an excellent choice for those looking to enhance their AWS skills. Whether you aim to propel your career or embark on a thrilling journey into the world of cloud computing, ACTE Technologies can be your steadfast partner on the path to AWS expertise.

AWS isn't just a skill; it's a transformative force in the world of technology. It's the catalyst for innovation, scalability, and boundless possibilities. So, set sail on your AWS journey, armed with knowledge, practice, and the determination to conquer the cloud. The world of AWS awaits your exploration.

[doctorstrangeaskblog]

Doctor Strange Comics Analysis/Summary #1

//As an October project such as Inktober or Fictober and to celebrate Halloween, I'm starting this series in which I analyze and summarize the Doctor Strange Comics. And since today is the FIRST EPISODE, let's start with something easy and pretty much isolated. I will use some screenshots of the comic to illustrate my analysis/summary, however, it's FAR from being the whole work, this doesn't replace the experience of reading the full comic, which contains many more pages and details.

DOCTOR STRANGE: MYSTIC APPRENTICE

Publication: 2016 Status: Ongoing (probably cancelled since there is just 1 issue) Important note: This works like a prequel and a mid MCU Doctor Strange 1 events, with some things that happen in this comic possibly being canon, such as how Stephen learned how to astral project.

My general rating: This comic is 5/5 stars to me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Art: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Entertainment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Impact/consequences to the lore: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5

This comic gives us a flashback talking about Stephen's origin (neurosurgeon, accident) and his first days of training in Kamar Taj. We're introduced to Master Grem, so specializes in martial arts. It's important how this story shows Stephen isn't a genius at all- he struggled so much to learn basically everything, including combat. He also had to train his body so he could stand the training sessions. It's also shown how Stephen is VERY VERY determined, to keep asking for fighting sessions despite knowing he's not ready and that he probably will get a beating. Just the SLIGHTEST progress he makes is enough to motivate Strange to keep going. There is emphasis at how Stephen DEVOURED the books and learned teleportation, however, struggled SO MUCH to learn astral projection.

The story also shows how Stephen's hands offer a big challenge for him when it comes to pain. It's also important how Stephen learns lessons about combat AND philosophy too, such as attachment, skill, focus and more. It's interesting how some ideas focus on concepts like the practical importance of tools, making a dialogue with how people sometimes give more value to the "fame" an item can have instead of the effort and actual purpose of the item (like when you buy a course thinking that just buying it will be enough to make you pass the exams you wanted to pass).

There's also this interesting view about how our own mind can be approached as a tool. In fact, this implies about having INSIGHT of our own thoughts and emotions instead of simply living and reacting to our own thoughts and impulses. It's an idea often explored in meditation and Mindfulness, where you practice identifying your thoughts, organizing them and having control over them, so you can be aware of your own prejudices, perceptions and ideas.

We also see how Stephen flirts with Wong and is totally ignored how Stephen kept reading ALL the books he could find when studying a determined spell or subject, in this case, astral projection, which he was failing awfully until that point. According to the character details and environment, we can connect how this comic is heavily based on the MCU Doctor Strange 2016 movie, so it's very likely these events happened off-screen in the MCU, even if this comic is not considered MCU canon officially/explicitly by the movie writers/directors. This issue could be adapted into a 10 minute animation/live action short, the comic is very well directed, the elements such as colors, angles, expressions, environment and dialogues are very well executed/used.

It's also shown Stephen is suffering from intrusive thoughts and flashbacks with some mood swings, which might imply he's suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which also is getting in the way of his focus. Despite not having a story that PHYSICALLY goes forward as many fans keep wanting and wanting in movies and series, the story does advance A LOT when it comes to PSYCHOLOGICAL aspects of the character his struggles, his limitations, his determination and so on, and that's why I consider this work very relevant. We have many comics and stories that treat Doctor Strange in a shallow superficial way, while actually he's a character who's extremely complex and full of layers. I personally love comics that manage to explore such detains of the psyche of the characters. Since this comic book issue is centered on Stephen mostly and not on other characters, I think the approach about his training and evolution were very nice.

It's interesting how Stephen's mental environment also is set, the blue is used as a visual resource to indicate his sadness. He does care about how others see him, it does feel like other sorcerers underestimate Stephen because of his arrogance and his limitations. It's established he trains late at night so he can be alone.

It's made CLEAR his hands HURT a lot whenever he moves them, even to do magic. He trains to the point of exhaustion and one of his biggest limitations is that he can't let go of the past- he keeps comparing himself to his past self, keeps giving focus to the things he CAN'T do. He does use what he learned as a support to keep advancing though.

He took months to master astral projection, pushed his mental and physical limits, apparently way more than most sorcerers usually did on a daily basis, his motivation almost the same level, if not, as obsession.

Another Master who is introduced to us is B'sso. He seems to focus more on meditation and knowledge than combat. It's made clear how Stephen's thoughts are very objective and straight to the point, so he keeps insisting on finding direct answers, however, since feeling and learning is extremely subjective, he struggles when it comes to learning how control and feel his own mystic energy (astral energy) since each person might learn how to channel it in a different way, with different emotions.

It's shown how Wong had a very important role in Stephen's Mystic education. He teaches Stephen he has to let go of pride and accept that he doesn't know, that the key to learning when you're stuck might be to reset the whole thing and start anew, trying approaches you still haven't. Through the story we see Wong has a crucial role also by guiding Stephen through the TONS of books, so Stephen start reading them in a more efficient order, helping him organize his reading and not walk in circles. Strange's studying gets to the point that he's basically the LAST and ONLY student reading at the library so late at night, Wong being his only company there for DAYS. This helps to illustrate how Stephen is practically doing overtime when it comes to his studies- he's doing nothing else out of his life, studying 3 times more or even more than all the other sorcerers.

The comic also implies Stephen returns some books to the shelves in the wrong order, what amuses Wong. When Strange manages to astral project, he does it by relaxing/quitting the constant effort and deciding to take a nap, in which he finally manages to feel his astral form right between the state in which he's awake and asleep. After Strange learns how to astral project, he keeps flying high up in the sky, loving the sensation, finally feeling achieved. It's very cute.

Other two important facts are shown/suggested in this comic. The first one is that Stephen did his best to learn astral projection (which is advanced) as soon as possible so he could astral project to study at night as his body slept, using more time to study even more. (That possibly has consequences in long term, but I guess Strange would do that some days and just sleep in others). The other thing is that there's a panel where it's illustrated Stephen wearing a robe that looks like the Cloak! So if that specific panel actually is showing the Cloak (in the form of a robe), it means that AFTER the events of Doctor Strange 1, despite having been named Master of the New York Sanctum by the Ancient One before she passed, Stephen still continued to practice like the other students, as to formally complete his training (he was an advanced student but not Master yet in DS1) so THEN he took the actual role as the Sanctum Guardian. Meaning that in the end of DS1, when he leaves the Eye of Agamotto back in Kamar Taj and leaves with Wong, he hasn't taken his place at the Sanctum yet. That would only happen later on, by the last scene of the DS1 movie where he's walking up the stairs, wearing different robes (the ones he's wearing in Ragnarok), maybe now as the official New York Master, since his Master training is complete, he only studies to specialize now. Maybe the robes we see in Ragnarok are some sort of ceremonial robes made for Stephen as he took his place at the NY Sanctum. Strange might have taken from 2016 to the events of Thor Ragnarok to actually become a proper master, with his training complete. That said, after that, Stephen, now as a master, would get to choose his own robes/clothing, and he chooses the slightly lighter and different blue robes we see in Infinity War, we can assume he wears that one daily, until he gets killed and gets brought back 5 years later, then he chooses a different style of robes for himself, still blue but with some red, made of denim and with some leather details.

This was the first episode of analysis of the Doctor Strange Comics. I hope you liked! Please tell me your thoughts and until the next episode!

[wardenred]

Flufftober 11: Sweet Tooth

Another flashback about Miq and Elair from Champagne Problems being sweet together.

“What is this?” Elair asked weakly, his eyes fixed on the outrageous confectionary creation that dominated Miq’s desk. It could be, he supposed, called a cake, if one was seriously into underestimation. He was more inclined to call it a baked tower.

There were four tiers to it, the bottom one made of spongy, syrup-soaked biscuit the color of rust. If he squinted, he saw bits of crushed berries peeking out of the pastry’s pores. Next came a thick layer of airy meringue, rough with handfuls of nuts that contrasted with the gentle swirls of colorful, creamy frosting. The third level, as far as Elair could tell, was mostly some sort of soft whipped cheese, perhaps with crumbled cookies mixed in, and it alone looked like the most divinely delicious thing he’d ever witnessed. At the very top, perched like a regal crown, lay a spiky ball of hard-baked dough that was likely a lot more brittle than it looked and, if he were to make a wild guess, probably contained a lot of filling. The entire arrangement was adorned in intricately crafted flowers that combined sugarwork and real petals dusted with a fine sheen of edible gold.

Elair couldn’t fathom how much effort and skill went into constructing the entire thing. Or how much money.

“You said you were too tired to go out tonight,” Miqualis explained, coming up to pull him into a loose hug from behind. “And I know you always crave something sweet when you’re tired, so I wrote to my family’s chef this morning and asked them to come up with something.”

“But... what’s the occasion?” Elair quickly ran all possible dates through his mind. It was ages until his birthday. There were no successful exams or school projects to celebrate in the middle of the trimester. They didn’t have an anniversary, unless Miqualis attributed some extra special meaning to “eight months, two weeks, and three or four days.”

He felt Miq’s shrug against his back. “You’re too tired to go out and you have a sweet tooth. Isn’t that enough?”

“But. This.” Elair gestured helplessly at the egregious dessert in front of him. “You could have just ordered an apricot pie from the tavern down the street. Or a bar of chocolate.”

“Yes, but you have apricot pie and chocolate bars all the time.”

“Only because you keep geting them for me!”

“Well,” Miq said sensibly, “that’s why I’ve decided to shake things up.” There was a hint of vulnerability in his voice when he added, “Do you... not like it?”

Elair exhaled slowly through his nose. This is why this isn’t going to last, he reminded himself. Because he does stuff like this, as if it is totally normal, and I’m—me.

I’m just me, and I can’t even let him know.

“It’s just too much,” he said. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Why not, though? Listen, the cooks at the estate are bored. My father and sister are away on some boring business trip, and my mother is attending her fourth cousin’s wedding. They’re lonely and lost. I just found an excuse to give them a sense of purpose! And to make you smile, hopefully. Are you smiling?”

“I’m somber as can be,” Elair said, but it was really hard not to grin when he turned his head and met Miq’s eyes. “Thank you. You’re very thoughtful, especially to the cooks. Do you even have a knife in your room, to cut this monstrosity up?”

He was going about this all wrong, wasn’t he? He was supposed to be saying something different, curtailing all those ironic responses that he always fell back on when he was flustered. He was probably hurting Miq’s feelings, he was—

Miqualis grinned back at Elair and leaned in for a quick kiss. “Of course I do. I’m taking Rituals and Sacrifices this year, remember?”

“Oh the gods. Please don’t tell me you’re going to cut the cake with the same blade you used on some poor dead rabbit fetus.”

“It was actually a mummified bullfrog, and I know three different purifying spells.”

“You know what? I’ll just practice conjuration.”

This couldn’t last. Not forever. Not in any conceivable version of the future.

Then again... Elair was literally here to learn how to make impossible things true.

[gotta-hug-em-all]

The end? or the beginning?

Hiya cuties! I’m uh… not used to writing in this sorta way, I usually post on other websites, but this one is kinda too long to put anywhere else. So you’re stuck with me blogging it instead! Hope that’s ok with all the fine residents of Rotomblr! Just some background, I can’t keep Pokemon because I didn’t pass the really easy yearly “are you smart enough to raise Pokemon '' competency exam. Like ya know, the one that like 99.9% of people pass? So I’ve been going around collecting hugs instead of Pokemon. Gym leaders each give me a challenge to do so I can hug their Pokemon, and today I did the final gym, Drayden’s. His was pretty simple: slay three dragons. More specifically, beat his three dragon type Pokemon in battle. So that’s what I was doing! I’m gonna be like really dramatic about it cuz that’s fun, but I promise I’m not making anything up. This is Jace Embrace letting you in to see his (very large sized) heart. Aaaanyways, without further ado, here’s the story of how I beat Drayden!

So it all started with a waiver. Standard stuff really, most of the time the stuff I do for fun is really dangerous, so you gotta sign away your right to like do stuff if you get hurt and stuff, but this one was like… way different. The agreement that the other person is trying to hurt you kinda makes it go to a whole nother level. I’d prefer if I didn’t die, after all, but also if I go out fighting a dragon type in my knight outfit, I guess that’d be a pretty fun way to go. This waiver was like at least 30 pages longer than all the other ones I’ve signed before. It’s that kinda anxiety I live for, the kind that makes me scared, the kind that makes me want to run away. Not running away is the best part. Standing my ground and telling myself I can do something even if my subconscious tells me I shouldn’t. Being the master of my own subconscious makes it all worth it. The only thing that brought me conscious resistance was the understanding that my friends, boyfriend, and Frank (A love variant Solosis I created on accident/on purpose) would miss me if I were gone. But I think just like people who go climbing and caving, they accepted that my hobby was dangerous, and supported me despite that baggage. Honestly… I can’t thank them enough for that. It’s been nice to have that off my shoulders, even if there was a time where it dragged me down so much I almost turned into someone I hated. But all that’s behind me by a lot now, I’m a new man (new femboy? Is that a saying people use?) now, and I couldn’t love myself more. Rough around the edges a bit, but hopefully that changes. I’m pretty damn hopeful it will, especially after the events of this story. Oh shit I got off track again, so I signed that waiver. It's so ironic that I feel the most alive when I put my life on the line, but I’ve found happiness in it.

The countdown rushed by, Drayden sent out his Fraxure first, I guess he was doing this gym leader style. I felt pretty confident about this, which for reasons I’ll get into later, was stupid. But that’s ok, stupid isn’t a dealbreaker, just an issue to work around. So I charged into combat, and of course this did not go super well. I am a human. Humans don’t have super special magic powers, they have super normal mundane powers, like calculus. I don’t know calculus and even if I did I don’t think it’d help me fight a dragon type. Anyways, I started getting my ass absolutely kicked, like so hard, like it hurt a lot. I tried to like… unlock my inner anime self, but obviously that doesn’t exist in real life so I kinda just looked like a dude shouting at a Fraxure while getting his ass beat first. Drayden wasn’t even giving commands, just sorta letting it fight like a Pokemon in the wild. I ended up getting knocked to the ground several times. 

Drayden honestly trains his Pokemon well, the rule was that I wasn’t allowed to faint, otherwise I’d lose the battle. Kinda like a normal Pokemon battle. He definitely trained it well cause I didn’t die, and it was definitely being soft. I think the goal was to get me to quit. After a few minutes of getting roughed up, I stumbled back, clutching my sword arm, which had been heavily wounded in the process. My sword was all the way across the room, and between it and me was the Fraxure. For the first time in the whole fight, Drayden barked out a command.

“Finish him. Dragon Tail.” There was nothing I could do. Simply put. It was faster than me, stronger than me, it had more stamina than me, even my tiny-ass brain could put that together. I was fucked. I didn’t run though. I never run. I stood my ground, holding up both arms, gritting my teeth as the movement brought stabs of pain to me. What was coming for me would hurt, I knew that, so I braced for that pain. As the Fraxure charged me at full speed, I heard a voice, but not with my ears, with my brain. It spoke loudly, with a deep and monotone voice, almost like a robot. “{Anomaly. On. Your. Six.}”

Before I could even look behind me, there was a burst of force I felt on my back. Not enough to move me, but enough to feel it. The Fraxure in front of me seemed to hit an invisible wall inches before its attack made contact, dropping to the ground, fainted. I gasped, shocked that I was still conscious. As I looked behind myself, Drayden returned his Fraxure to his pokeball. Behind me was a rather large Sigilyph, its patterns looked strange, its markings having much more complexity than what I was used to seeing on my adventures. Yet… it looked familiar to me. “{Anomaly I am… rather I was… the Keeper. I sense you do not recognize me. It has been 8 months since I last met with you face to face. I now wish to fight alongside you. I await a new purpose. To fight alongside you like the knights and Sigilyph of old. Let me aid you in combat. Now, and until we part.}” Not gonna lie. I kinda cried a lot. But I had to keep fighting. I ran up and hugged it, gasping in pain of course, my right arm was still injured. After a short hug, I stepped back. Suddenly, the Sigilyph’s eye began to glow a soft purple as I felt the pain in my arm fade away. It was definitely still wounded, I still couldn’t move it right, but at least it didn’t hurt. I looked behind me, back at Drayden. He gave me a smile under his white beard. What a GILF. I still don’t know if he knew this would happen, oh well.

Drayden threw out his second pokeball, letting out a hearty chuckle as a Druddigon appeared. I figured I should give a name to my first ever pokemon “I guess this is where the real battle starts. I’m gonna start calling you Squire, is that ok?” the Sigilyph responded “{Your wish is my command. You are right handed. For now, you will be left handed. Fight with your left arm as your right is wounded.}” Its eye began to glow again, and I could feel a weird sensation in my hands and head. Squire didn’t explain until later that handedness is determined by both genetics and the way the brain develops. He couldn’t change the way my body was genetically routed, but he could subtly rewrite my mind to make me temporarily ambidextrous, turning all my (admittedly low) sword muscle memory into muscle memory for a mirrored stance. I don’t quite understand it all, but I understand it enough to know it works. This weird feeling didn’t last long, and I was quickly snapped out of it by Drayden giving a command to his Druddigon.

“Druddigon, Revenge.” He ordered the pokemon, which caused it to charge me with brutal intent. From Squire, I once again heard his voice in my head “{Anomaly, I am casting the protective seal of reflection and the protective screen of light.}” Its patterns began to glow and shake, and two different translucent layers of energy surrounded me, as if to serve as a miniature forcefield clinging to my skin. I took up a defensive stance, knowing I still couldn’t dodge this attack either. It hit me with an all things considered quite forceful shoulder check, and I was sent flying across the battle arena. We weren’t using the two dragons for obvious reasons, so instead we were using a flat arena so I didn’t accidentally fall to my death. As I flew, I realized something. I wasn’t actually hurt all too bad. None of me felt broken, just a few cuts here and there. Time seemed to slow down as my mind was driven into overdrive. I heard Squire’s voice in my head once more. “{I have taken the liberty of temporarily increasing the speed at which your brain functions. I will also cast the seal of the tailwind to allow you to move faster so your body moves at the speed your mind thinks. This is how the knights of Relic Castle once fought. Fight with bravery and purity of heart. I will serve as your spotter.}”

My movement sped up once more as it beat its wings, causing a magical wind to press my body to move faster, catching up with my sped up mind. I was able to grab ahold of one of the rafters of the arena, slowing the impact and hanging from above. “Follow him, Night Slash” Drayden shouted at his Druddigon, which flapped its wings and began pursuit. It would normally be way faster than me, but with Squires assistance, I now fought with it on an even playing field. I still needed my sword, and I knew just how I’d get to it.

As the Druddigon flew into the air, I swung myself down from the rafters, landing feet first on its head, moving far faster than it expected. Its guard wasn’t up yet, so I was able to kick it in the snout with both my metal armored boots. Using its face as a springboard, I jumped off of it in the direction of my sword, the Tailwind carrying me until I was very close. I ran up and as I leaned down to snatch the sword, I felt a subtle suggestion in the back of my mind telling me to do a flip. So I did a flip, grabbing the sword in my left hand as I did. I’m glad I heeded the advice of the suggestion, since doing the flip allowed me to see what was behind me: a full speed charging Druddigon with a claw wrapped in darkness aimed directly at me.

In midair I raised my sword to parry the claw, in a movement the felt familiar but I knew I had never used. It was around this point I realized Squire wasn’t just watching me, he was helping me, teaching me moves on the spot I had never learned, giving me muscle memory that I’d never had before. The human body was versatile, I had never really thought about it much, but with Squire’s help covering for my statistical weaknesses I was able to employ these techniques, techniques used by knights of old, stored in the Sigilyph’s memory to help people like me fight. No wonder he followed me for so long. I had accidentally unearthed an ancient tradition that he was purpose-built to serve. His mental assistance was clearing up the brain fog that my ADHD caused, making it easier to enter the flow state. I could think clearer, coming to these realizations in the split seconds before the Druddigon struck at me. My sword parried the blow effortlessly, transferring the energy of the slash into the ground instead of my face, causing the Druddigon to let out a roar as it smashed its claw on the metal ground, making sparks fly.

“Dragon Tail.” Drayden barked orders at the Druddigon as I looked down at my sword. I was expecting the sword to be heavily damaged, but whatever protective barrier that Squire applied to me also had enveloped the sword, also strengthening its durability. Before the Druddigon could begin his attack, I began mine. I charged it with the tip of my sword pointed at it, unleashing a flurry of whirling slashes and stabs. From here on, I fell into a rhythm, my body almost moving on its own as I fought with my mind in tandem with Squire, using both its view and my view, a third person view and a first person view, an experienced mind and a brave mind. The Druddigon had thick hide that allowed it to shrug off most attacks, but by aiming for weak points and getting it to slam into walls, I eventually brought it down. 

Drayden sent out his final Pokemon, his Haxorous. This was his ace, I did do a little bit of research before the fight (watching one mewtube video that I fell asleep right before the midway point of), but Squire was bringing the knowledge of that video that I had passively absorbed to the forefront of my mind. I knew he would try to have it set up with Dragon Dance, then strike at me with Dragon Tail until it won. I could win if I didn’t allow it space to set up, so that’s exactly what I did.

The rest of the fight was a blur as I sunk into tactics, once again entering a trancelike state as I was assisted by Squire. Before I fully realized what was going on, I brought the Haxorus to the ground, finishing the fight by smashing the pommel of my sword into its head hard enough to knock it out. By now my sword, despite its increased durability, was heavily damaged, so I quickly sheathed it and bowed to Drayden in true fashionable Jace style. “Good fight! I had a lot of fu- oop…” I said as I suddenly felt all the strength drain from my body, causing me to fall to the ground. “{As a downside to increasing your speed and mental capacity… battles such as these will be very physically taxing on your mind and body. A good night’s rest will do you good, but for now just sit and take a breather.}” 

I laid there for a few minutes as Drayden approached me, withdrawing his Haxorus. Once I felt I was physically able, I sat up and reached a hand towards Drayden, which he knelt down to shake before picking me up like a baby and taking me to a bench for me to sit down on. “You fought well.” His normally ever-present glare had softened a bit, making him seem almost like a grandfather. “I will allow you to hug my Pokemon now, and I will grant you this badge. It’s not the normal badge we give, you will have to return and fight me in a Pokemon vs. Pokemon battle for that, but it is a badge. The Opelucid badge of honor. I don’t normally give these out to just any person who enters my gym, but you have shown outstanding courage, determination, and most importantly of all, kindness. You’ve made friends along the way in your journey and fostered relationships that will last you a lifetime should you cultivate them with great care. Your optimistic personality is admirable as well, for you shine as a light in other people’s darkness, although you might want to make sure that your light is not blinding, even legends have flaws and I urge you to keep that in mind as you continue your journey across Unova. Lastly… I’ll get to my point in all this. You have two Pokemon that would call you their master if you had the means to have them join your party. One of them is here, the other you have sent off to stay with someone else. Both of these could only exist in the way they do because of your love. I believe if you were allowed to raise them, you would do so far better than most trainers. I cannot change the current establishment to allow for people like you to prove yourselves, but I do intend to fund a project for people like you who struggled in school to get the help they need. Your story has taught me something valuable: sometimes all someone needs to be great is a little help here and there. I’m going to appeal to the league and ask that they give you a two month temporary license. I trust during this time you will study hard for your next exam. I believe in your ability to succeed this time. Keep your head held high Jace, I hope that one day you surpass me in strength.”

The rest of the day was a blur. There’s plans for me to get a whole ceremony celebrating my accomplishments and stuff. I won’t complain but I think it’s a bit much for little ol me… I plan to study hard like Drayden said. Squire has already agreed to help me, and I have convinced him to start calling me “Jace” or “Knight” instead of “Anomaly” so that’s cool. I look forward to my future. I might’ve failed my trainers license exam 9 times in a row, but I wasn’t built different back then. When I was on the journey back to the hotel room I was staying in with my boyfriend, we were talking about the trainer license exam. The conversation went a little something like this:

“Do you think you can learn enough to pass in two months? It’s been a while since you’ve been to school.”

“If I were to take the whole exam in one sitting… it might be a little tough.”

“Would you fail?”

“Nah, I’d pass.”