#The Prologue

[pineapple-downside-up-cake]

I am historically quite bad at longfic. But for the one person who requested this: we're giving it a go! Expansion of this

Ghostxfem reader. No warnings this chapter.

PROLOGUE:

Ella the Enchantress had nails like ambergris and a cunt like a steel trap, with a personality to match.

Feared for her tempestuous nature and reviled for a demonstrable lack of empathy, enlisting the assistance of this witch-cum-altruist was an exercise in self-flagellation.

Ella enjoyed attention.

Her preferences varied with the weather, but speculation had it that her skills as a seductress far outstripped her talent with magic. A modern medusa, the wrong look could chain a petitioner to her, life and limb, for as long as she so pleased.

The right look was frequently difficult to come by - Ella wasn't always naked, but she was never far away.

Not that they'd regret looking, necessarily. She was certainly skilled. But she left marks, had a way of destroying livelihoods and relationships.

Her real name was Sally, and she was technically a sorceress.

A relationship with her would be akin to juggling a live grenade, and that would be stupid.

Ghost isn't stupid.

He just likes living on the edge. And sex.

For all her failings as a member of civilized society, Ella was hot. The aforementioned cunt didn't hurt, either.

Bit of a vindictive bitch, though.

"Y'know where the door is. Y'can let yourself out."

Ghost is brave for a man with all his softest bits hanging out.

Then again, the soft bits were always her favorite part of him - it certainly wasn't his personality or emotional fluency.

At least he knows what to do with his dick.

Sally storms through the apartment in a manner more literal than metaphorical, fuming with hot embarassment and anger, as she stomps her legs into the suggestion of a dress she was wearing when she'd seduced him.

Ghost doesn't notice. He's already dismissed her, rolled back over to her side of the bed and buried his face in the pillow instead of her lap.

That rat bastard. How dare he!

She's Sally Le Fucking Fay, great-great-great-great-great...great step-granddaughter of Morgen le Fay, and she cannot believe she made the mistake of handing her self-worth to a man.

No - that she can believe.

What she can't believe is that Ghost of all people would so callously reject her charm. He was an unlovable bastard, with no family and no prospects, and she had lowered herself to take him into her willing bosom.

And he had still turned her away.

She seethes the whole way home, ignoring the way her anger makes her magic flare around her. The scum of the night scramble out of her way, keen to avoid a gale that rips lids from trash cans and sends them careening into the nearest stationary object.

Sally has care to spare for one thing and one thing only. Usually it's herself. But tonight, it's going to be retribution.

Big hard man. Ha.

She'll show him.

Ghost peeks out from under his arm when he finally feels the front door shake the foundation - he's not entirely convinced she won't come back, and he's not as fearless as he'd like to pretend.

His room is a mess. Even more-so than after a normal night of athletics. Ella had imposed herself upon him for a week, and he'd tried every trick in the book to get her to leave.

He'd even turned down sex. Twice.

He'd seen it on the horizon, but he'd really thought the sorceress would take it better. It was part of the agreement - no feelings, blah blah blah, not ready for anything else.

She didn't want a man to cramp her witchy vibes, and he didn't want someone asking more of him than he was ready to give.

And then she'd decided they were "the perfect match" and they were "fated for each other", like characters in some cutesy Disney tale, and not who they really were -

A morally grey sorceress with reality debt, and an emotionally constipated weapon of destruction.

He'd had to pull out the big guns: alas, "it's over" didn't go over too well.

She'd nearly destroyed his room - it had rained, and if she wasn't so mad he'd have been worried about her flooding the basement. As it was, she'd steamed him like a shellfish.

He slips out of bed and sneaks over to the door, an intruder in his own home, afraid to summon her by accident. He'd kill for a good night's sleep, without hands crawling down his pants, but the climate in his room is unbearable.

The couch is good enough.

If he makes it through the week without hellfire raining down on him - literally - he's going to take a break from women.

He should have listened to Soap.

[puppetshow2202]

TESTING C0MplETED. ALL READY TO GO, BOSS.

[swan2swan]

[sh4rko]

Page 28 of Prologue!!!!

:)

And this, is the last page of the Prologue!!!

I'll be taking a 3 week break, to build up some kind of backlog, I'll post the cover for the next chapter next week!

Comicfury

Discord

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[felloweeper]

differences from book -> series: the prologue

i have no idea what the show will keep from the book, so be aware that there may be spoilers if you haven't read it already!

the first major difference that's very evident is that we never get to know older tim. the book's prologue begins in 1991 with hawk already working overseas, like how he tells tim he'll do on the show:

it's there that he is sent a letter from his past colleague (i'll talk more extensively about her in another post) telling him that tim has passed away.

this prologue sets the incredibly awful and heartbreaking tone for the rest of the book... so props for that, ig.

this obviously differs from the show as it's set in 1986 where hawk is just about to go overseas and his going away party is interrupted by marcus (i'll also talk about him later), who comes bearing the news that tim is getting really sick.

my thoughts on this: i'm so glad this was changed. i can not thank the writers enough. we only get a slight glimpse of older tim in the epilogue (which hits way harder, obviously, after reading their backstory). i... want to understand why mallon chose to kill tim off, but i really don't. there really was no need to do it? especially since it added nothing to the story itself, and i'm not just saying that because i love tim's character -- it. adds. nothing. however! i do see how important it is for the series to show this.

[violadesdragons]

We’ve gotta stop meeting like this

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

am taking perverse pleasure in reminding people it's 2025. that's a star trek year. silly little science fiction number. except it's happening, and DANG ain't it underwhelming!

[angeliclittlethoughts]

got some very exciting new news!! this will be fun~

[hillerska-official]

Oh btw I'm reading another star trek novel and chapter 1 just opens like this

[tightjeansjavi]

Et Auream - The Prologue: sneak peek

Warnings: child enslavement, child abuse, blood, death of a minor character, language, +18 minors dni!

Because he was not born with violence in his veins, and rage in his heart, Marcus Acacius refused to fight. And even after his new Dominus would beat him, and beat him, he refused to grasp a sword in his palm. This made him an easy target for the other boys to take their rage and frustrations out on. Runt, they would call him. Jabbering at him like squawking crows. Coward. Pathetic. Their insults would ricochet off his body as if he were wearing invisible armor. He remained quiet and reserved till one night he had been pushed to his limits.

“Do you think you’re better than the rest of us, Acacius? Is that why you choose to not fight?” One of the boys questioned him around the dying fire.

“No. I don’t think myself to be better than anyone.” Marcus quietly said under his breath and moved to stand up from where he was sitting, but a hand on his bad shoulder forced him back down.

“Then why don’t you fight, hm? The runt won’t even defend himself!” The boy cackled and his friends joined in.

“Please stop.” Marcus said through gritted teeth.

“I bet your whore of a mother was ashamed that her son turned out to be such a coward! That’s why she sold you off, right? She couldn’t bear to look you in the eyes any longer!” He laughed. “And who could blame her?”

“Don’t you dare speak of my mother as if you knew her!” Marcus roughly brushed the hand from his shoulder and stood up in a fury.

“Your mother was a whore and I bet she died as one too!” He jeered.

Marcus couldn’t remember the events that took place moments later. All he could recall was the sound of steel being unsheathed and seeing red behind his eyes. He was thirteen years of age when he killed for the first time. He plunged his sword so deeply into the boy's gut that it appeared through the other side, dripping in crimson.

[puppetshow2202]

Oh, I nearly forgot.. one last thing, before I leave you to it.

Choose your protagonists.

[krossan]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐘 . 𝑃𝑅𝑂𝐿𝑂𝐺𝑈𝐸 . ...ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵉᵃᵏᵉʳ ᵐᵒᵐᵉⁿᵗ...

[tawnysoup]

[egophiliac]

So.... what are your thoughts on Ace's UM, if you haven't been asked this already?

sneaky magic for the sneakiest boy

no but really, I think it fits him really well! I had thought his UM would probably involve something kinda sleight-of-handy or pickpockety! and I looooved that it made such a nice loop-around back to episode 1. ❤️ I was. kind of half-expecting him to just run out and punch Riddle in the nose again. but instead this time 'twas he who offed the queen's head! it was great! and he did it while stone-cold terrified out of his mind! because Ace is the only remotely normal or well-adjusted person at NRC and therefore the only one who is like "we're going to literally die, this is super effed up". but he did it anyway!!!! I AM SO PROUD

[starmagnets]

catharsis.

[kenchann]

as usual i love drawing the hw boys with my yuu o(*￣▽￣*)ブ yuus fit (i might change it lol etcetc)