#at least he's finally stunting with someone with some status | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

whitehathexerswriting · 4 months ago

Text

White Hat Hexers 2: Fallhaven

Written by: @nighttimedaydreams and edited by: Anastasia M. ( @fighterpilotdragon02 / https://www.instagram.com/fighterpilotdragon/ )

Elizabeth found herself lying in the grass looking up at the noontide sun through the sprawling crisscrossing limbs of the trees that grew along the coast near the lake outside her house. The light flickered and swayed with the breeze, and it sounded like the gentle rubbing of fabric on skin. The only thing missing was the babble of a river; her old home had one of those, back when she was a child. She shook her head, dismissing the memories. She wiggled her toes. It was nice to finally be done with the whole mess that was Jacob. Appearing before a court was never fun. The only good parts were Jacob was no longer around to hate her, and she got to see Michael some more. Henry ruled his house now and gave her his patronage. It felt strange to her to no longer struggle for money. The wind played with her red blouse and blue skirt. She wasn’t in uniform; no curses had befallen anyone recently. She heard footsteps approaching. She sat up, twigs falling out of her loose hair. She could tell by their weight the footsteps belonged to Henry.

“Hello, Liz, I thought I would find you here,” he said. He was dressed in common summer clothes – the only mark of his status was his family’s signet ring on his hand. He often dressed like that in the village, especially since he had taken charge. Elizabeth had asked him why once; he had said that if people only respected him because of his clothes, they didn’t respect him at all, just his station.

“Hey, Re, you thought you would find me at my house? What a strange place for me to be.”

He laughed. “Liz, as I think you will notice, we are outside. Your house,” he said, pointing behind them, “is about 40 feet that way.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Alright, alright. What brings you here?”

“A letter,” Henry said, pulling it out of his pocket. “Now, to be clear, it isn’t about a curse, but I do think you’ll still want to know its contents.” Henry handed her the letter. She took it and read it over silently. From King William to the honorable House of the Spider-Boars, On order of the king and his court you are being summoned to Fallhaven to discuss recent events. May magic’s weave be long for you, King William

“I always forget you can do that, reading silently.” Henry said

“Years of practice,” Elizabeth said – mostly to avoid skipping lines, she thought to herself – and waved her hand dismissively at both her thought and at Henry, “but they’re summoning nobles even this distant to Fallhaven? I know what happened with Jacob was a stir, but this seems extreme.”

“Yea, that it does, but also what happened with Jacob, I want a cursebreaker with me.”

“So you’re asking me to come with you. All the way to the capital? But what about the people here, what if something happens, and they need a curse broken, and I’m gone? You know there have been reports of increasing hexer activity throughout the land. Your father had to have been taught by someone, and they couldn’t be too far away from here.”

“Liz, answer me honestly, what do you think is the likelihood of a hexer strike here while we’re away?”

Elizabeth thought for a moment. “Pretty low. After the whole stunt with Jacob, most hexers won’t come this way for at least a half year. Because either they expect we’ll be on high alert or because they heard about what me and Michael did…”

“Which I maintain was quite amazing. It must have been the will of magic that there were two cursebreakers there who could withstand the spell.”

“Perhaps,” Elizabeth said; she never put much stock into that sort of superstition, but Henry was the religious type. “Or maybe it was just luck.”

Henry smiled: this was often a point of debate between the two of them. “You know there is no such thing as luck. All things are the will of magic, excepting, of course, human free will.”

“If that’s so, then how does magic plan for our fickle natures? We shift by whim like the wind.”

Henry chuckled, “Ah, that is the question, but you, Liz, are avoiding the more pressing question. Will you go with me to the capital?”

She thought of the village. The people here had been liking her better since Jacob was removed. She once again thought of the chance a hexer would strike anyone here. She had learned during her training most hexers, while power hungry, usually didn’t attack a place without a reason, and most often that reason was money. Hexers were commonly hired mercenaries of a sort, despite the illegality of their practices. People found it far too tempting to turn their rivals into pigs rather than just kill them. She had kept the village safe for ten years. Somewhere this remote didn’t usually see the power plays of the larger cities, but every now and then an aspiring hexer would try their hand here. That wouldn’t be the case anymore. No aspiring hexer would try the home of Elizabeth the Cursebreaker. The story of that day had grown much from the reality of the events. No, she had painted a target on their backs, but it would take time and planning before any competent hexer attacked.

She sighed. “You know you could force me to go, as my patron.”

“And you know as your friend I never would.”

“How much time do I have to pack?”

“We leave the day after tomorrow at sunrise. Edward is also coming with us, and my house steward Jonathan will watch over things here for us. It’s too bad you don’t have an apprentice to safeguard the village while you’re away.”

“Perhaps one day; more likely than me getting married at least.”

Henry chuckled at that. “Not even Michael is enough for you?” Henry teased with a light smile.

“If I had to marry for tax reasons, he's on the short list, but no. He's a fine gentleman, and I like getting his letters, but as it stands, no.”

“Well then, taking on an apprentice is the much more likely thing. Find yourself a nice young student to train. Maybe someone like yourself, if they ever came along.”

“Maybe, if one ever comes along. For now, Re, we have a capital to get to.”

***

A few days later, they were on the last leg of their journey to the capital. The journey had been much shortened by the means of a transformation that had once been put upon the land: a string of magical threads, with a large carriage that moved quickly on them, connected a handful of major cities. They called it the Spider because the strings formed a sort of web when mapped out, but Elizabeth always thought it looked more like a spoke and wheel. It was from a hexer’s attempt to raid them all quickly with an army he had gathered, but the nobility found it useful, so it was never removed. Henry's ancestors were the ones responsible for holding off the actual invasion.

The section they were in was fairly spacious and had lavish seats and a handful of tables either for dining or consulting documents. The ride was comfortable enough, but Elizabeth could feel the power of the curse – it was so strong she didn’t even call upon magic to feel it, and her own curse was tempted to consume it for power, but she resisted the urge. She had plenty of energy to maintain her curse. If she had been less sloppy when she cursed herself, she might’ve been able to have her transformation last permanently without the need for fuel, but she never properly finished her hexer training from long ago. Still, she was now a renowned cursebreaker; as long as she found curses to break before she ran out of power she’d be fine, and she had years of power stored up.

Henry had run into Thomas while heading to Fallhaven; the two were now engaged in quiet conversation, holding hands under the table that stood between where they were seated and where Elizabeth was. Elizabeth was looking out the window, watching the scenery pass by, listening to the sound the blur made, bouncing her leg restlessly. She had been on the Spider once before, eleven years ago – just after she had left her hexer mentor. She had forgotten how fast it moved. Horses just could not compete.

She got up; she had been sitting in the same spot too long, and the boredom was starting to become agitation. She paced back and forth, with the occasional twirl thrown in because movement always helped ease that feeling. Henry and Edward knew how she could get, so they just ignored her pacing, Thomas glanced at her, but Henry held his attention. The particular section of the Spider they were in was empty, save for the four of them. Eventually, Edward got up to talk to her,

“Elizabeth, remind me, for I seem to have forgotten, have you been to Fallhaven before?”

Elizabeth stopped midtwirl. “Once. Years ago. Didn’t think I’d be back.”

“Oh? Did something happen?”

“Nothing in particular, but it was a different period of my life. I like our village; despite everything, it’s home now.”

“I remember that when you came to the village for the first time, I was scarcely ten. You seemed… much less sure of yourself. From what I remember at least – that was a decade and some years ago.”

“Yes, it was. I was still under my mentor’s tutelage at the time,” Elizabeth said

“What were they like?”

“She was very exacting. Nice, until you didn’t do what she wanted, but she’s no longer involved with me now.”

“I see, that would explain why you didn’t stay long back then, but you came back not too long after.”

“The village seemed nice. It was far away from most of my problems, save your father.”

Edward looked down at the mention of his father. “I do apologize for his… well, behavior doesn’t quite begin to cover it.” Elizabeth looked at Edward and breathed in deeply. “It’s not your place to apologize for his acts. You are not him, nor do you speak for him.”

“I suppose not, but still I don't like seeing you hurt or suffering.”

“That's kind of you, Edward. I'm hoping this trip goes quickly.”

“We’ll see,” Edward said before moving away from her. The two never talked as long as she did with his brother.

Elizabeth once again began pacing; her hands itched to move as well.

I really should take up my various crafts again. Spinning was fun, but so was looming. Knitting didn’t make much sense though, but I have more time and resources now that I have access to Henry's resources, at least until I decide that they don’t actually hold my focus that long again, Elizabeth thought to herself.

***

The train reached its second to last stop. Elizabeth felt a familiar presence board the train. “Michael?” she said aloud.

Henry looked at her. “I haven’t seen him.”

“No, no, I think he just got on board. I’m gonna go look for him.”

“How could you know?”

“Cursebreaker senses!” Elizabeth said, leaving the car, not wanting to explain the whole truth to Henry. She could feel the curse; it was hard to sense beneath the weight of the Spider, but she knew what she was looking for. She saw him. He was in the company of an obviously noble woman.

“Oh, Elizabeth!” Michael said, smiling at her.

“A friend of yours?” the lady asked

“Lady Mary, this is Elizabeth, the other cursebreaker who helped me at the lord’s party.”

“Oh! What a pleasure to make your acquaintance, then.”

“And mine yours, Lady Mary,” Elizabeth said, performing a proper courtesy. “I was wondering why Michael was going on this trip. I suppose it is because you wanted his presence as a cursebreaker while heading to the capital?”

“That is quite right. If you were the one who helped him at the party, then I’m sure with the both of you there is nothing to worry about. I shall go speak with the other nobles aboard. With both of your presence, I am certain you two can freely do… whatever it is you people actually do,” she said, leaving.

“She’s snobbish,” Elizabeth said as soon as Mary was out of earshot. “Not like Henry.”

“Yeah… but she was the only one willing to give me patronage. My family is a bunch of farmers. We needed money, especially since my sister, Abigail, is in poor health. Lady Mary offered to cover the expense and more. As long as I was willing to come at her beck and call.”

“I’m gonna guess that it isn’t a curse on your sister. You’re skilled enough to undo any of those you came across, if you wanted to.”

Michael sighed. “No, it’s Beatrice’s Sleying. A rare disease, which not only affects them physically but their connection to the weave – weakens it. There are herbs that can alleviate the physical symptoms, maybe even cure that part of it, the doctors say, but they’re expensive and from faraway lands. So I put up with Lady Mary because she offered to pay, and I don’t want to see my family suffer. You understand, right?”

Elizabeth looked out the window. “Wish I could say I do.”

Michael turned to look at her at that. Then he turned to look out the window as well. “I hope someday you do,” he said.

“I doubt I ever will. My own family isn’t in the weave of my life.”

“I think you’ll weave one yet.”

“I doubt it. You know most people don’t like us if they know what we’ve done, and the others find us offputting for not doing things in the traditional way.”

“What about Henry?”

“What about him?”

“He seems unbothered by you.”

“He’s different.”

“How?”

“He’s Henry. I’ve only seen that man hate two people. His father and himself. The latter he eventually got over.”

“And his brother that you’ve written me about?”

“Henry’s the older; Edward will follow his lead.”

Michael turned to Elizabeth; he had stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. “It seems to me, that you’re looking for reasons to think you’re unwanted.”

“Oh I’m wanted; my skill as a cursebreaker has made me valuable.”

“I didn’t say needed. I said wanted. There’s a difference there, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively. “What is the difference?”

“One makes you a friend, the other a laborer. And from what I’ve managed to glimpse, I think you and Henry are friends.”

Elizabeth didn’t have a response to that. She let the conversation lapse, enjoying the sound of the passing landscape. It wasn’t quite like the wind, although she could hear that too. No, it was the motion of the landscape itself that she heard, almost underneath the other sounds of the Spider. It sounded smooth, like the pages of a book being flipped.

They stayed like that for a while in the silence. Eventually, from his pocket, Michael pulled out a book. Elizabeth glanced at the spine for the title. Detective David and the Case of the Cursed Loom, it read. Elizabeth laughed; she knew that book well.

“Oh?” Michael said, looking up at her sudden bout of laughter

“Sorry, it’s just that I loved those stories – well, what few I could get my hands on. Absolute nonsensical dribble; who would curse an object when you could curse someone directly? It’s so many extra steps. But by shed and bobbin, I read them again and again.”

“They are not the most intellectual stories, are they?”

“Not at all. But they are so very fun, weft and wrap. I remember when I was first learning letters, I read them and would try to make my own adventures for Detective David. I think some of them might still linger around my house.”

Michael chuckled at that; he seemed calm in this moment, like this was much more his natural state than when Elizabeth had met him at the ball. “I should very much like to read those.”

“No, you wouldn’t! It was terrible schlock. I am no storyteller; that is one kind of yarn I do not spin well.”

Michael laughed at that. The silence strayed towards comfortable. They stayed like that for a while.

***

They had reached the capital, although Elizabeth wasn’t granted the luxury of exploring it. She only got to see the shining city on the approach; it sprawled far larger than her village made of many stone and wooden buildings, but she barely had time to change into her proper cursebreaker attire and rebraid her hair, and so she had no time to wander through it. The king had wanted to meet the nobles of their group as soon as they arrived; apparently the others were already waiting. Both Elizabeth’s group and Michael’s entered into the palace which stood majestically looking over the rest of the city upon a large hill. It smelled of rosemary.

Strange, usually that’s reserved for cursebreakers. Is it growing around here? Elizabeth thought to herself. The group soon reached the banquet hall, which hosted the king and all the nobles he had summoned.

Henry and Lady Mary were ushered inside by the doorman, but Elizabeth and Michael were expected to stay where they were. As cursebreakers, they bore many of the privileges of nobility but held no actual rank.

“Do you smell the rosemary?” she asked him

“Yes, it’s strange.”

Then something shifted. It was subtle, but Elizabeth was well attuned to subtle changes in magic.

She began to chant, to feel the magic around her. Everything became as string. She saw how each part connected to each other like sinew and bone. She could see Michael and the curse she suspected he had placed upon himself; it was better set now – he had consumed more power since Elizabeth had met him. It was no longer freshly set: his curse had taken root on him fully now. The palace itself became a massive weave to her. She couldn’t pick out people far away from her in these conditions. The banquet hall seemed perfectly fine and safe.

“Heat from fire, fire from heat,” she said, ending her peering into the realm of magic. “The banquet hall seems safe. You felt it too, right?”

“I did.” His hands were shaking. “Someone is bold enough to strike the palace itself.”

Elizabeth breathed in. “Then we have a job to do. All the nobles are gathered here. It would be easy enough to get them all gone in one fell swoop. So, we aren’t going to let that happen.”

“But where do we even start?”

Barking shattered the nervous silence that had started up as the pair considered what to do. The sound was deep and very loud. It somehow seemed worried.

“I think that’s our answer,” Elizabeth said, following the sound of the dog. Some cawing joined the chorus of barks soon after, and the caws were frantic. It was all coming from the same place. Elizabeth and Michael ran up several flights of stairs. She could see Michael’s hands shaking. Elizabeth was growing short of breath.

They reached a spinning room. Next to the spinning wheel was a large black dog and a couple crows; there were scraps of clothes surrounding them. They seemed incredibly distressed. The way they moved wasn’t natural. They were obviously cursed, to Elizabeth’s eyes.

Elizabeth started chanting, as did Michael. The magic beneath everything revealed itself to Elizabeth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Michael heading towards the birds, so she focused on the dog. She saw the aberration and absorbed it into herself; they had arrived soon enough where the curse hadn’t fully set yet, but it was close. Pulling it in burned, but she wasn’t just going to not do her job. She heard bones shift from the dog as she drew in the curse. Slowly humanity was restored to them, and she heard screams of pain. It had been too late to apply willow bark. Elizabeth felt a twang of guilt at that, but there was only so much she could do. Eventually the person entirely returned to their human form; Elizabeth could clearly see the person was a woman now that she was no longer a dog. Elizabeth quickly handed the woman a length of fabric from the floor, to preserve her modesty. The woman was still very much in pain, but that would pass. She would need a lot of rest, but that was true of the other two as well. Elizabeth glanced over to see Michael had restored two children to humanity; their clothes had stayed intact because they had become much smaller. Michael’s hands were shaking, but his face showed great relief.

“Heat from fire, fire from heat,” Elizabeth said, ending the chant she had kept the whole time; her throat was parched. “What happened?”

“I, I don’t know. I was just spinning and then-” The woman’s voice was ragged, hoarse, and weak.

“It’s okay, rest now, you’re safe,” Elizabeth said, and then she looked at Michael. He walked over to the spinning wheel.

“Elizabethyousaidcursingobjectswasridiculous,” Michael said, slamming his words together. He was nervous; they were almost too late. Whoever set this curse was very good. “But-” He pointed at the spinning wheel.

Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively. “It can’t be that. A hexer must’ve snuck in and been unnoticed.”

“Andtargeteda-” Michael took a deep breath, “Children and a servant? Not all the nobles drawn together? I thought I saw something when I was breaking the children’s curses.”

The children had huddled around their presumed mother. “I’ll take a look,” Elizabeth said and began to chant. She was so parched. Michael had joined her. His baritone voice was nice to have added onto her own; comforting even, Elizabeth admitted to herself. She focused on the spinning wheel. Quite clearly she could see it had been cursed: one that would linger until activated.

But why? Elizabeth thought to herself. It would have made more sense just to curse these folks directly.

Elizabeth focused on the way the spinning wheel was cursed, Michael slowly unwound the aberrant threads of it. While Elizabeth often acted like a seam ripper to cursed threads, Michael, she could see, treaded with a more careful hand, slowly absorbing the magic into himself. She was certain now about the nature of his curse, as she watched him drink in the magic from the curse. As he unwound it, she saw hidden in the threads of the curse a message.

“I’m waiting.”

Elizabeth felt a chill run down her soul. There was only one person she knew good enough at hexing, at playing with the threads, to weave a message into a curse. Michael finished absorbing the last of the curse.

“You saw it too right?” she asked him.

He nodded. He knew. His hands, which had been steady when dealing with the spinning wheel, were shaking more intensely than normal, like how a flame flickers. To Elizabeth’s eyes, the sound of the shakes was like the sounds of rocks tumbling down a small hill.

“Sheshouldn’t-sheshouldn’tbehere,” Michael hissed out, his mouth barely opening wide enough for the words spilling out of his mouth.

“I know,” Elizabeth said, a hint of terror slipping into her own voice, “but we have to find out what she wants. She's probably nearby. If she wanted the nobles, she would have cursed them already. This was a message for us.” She looked over at the three she and Michael had saved. They would need rest but should otherwise be fine. “You three, get some rest. Unfortunately, Michael and I have quite the unraveled fray to deal with.”

The presumed mother nodded, and, tying the sheet Elizabeth had given her around her bust, left the room with her kids. Elizabeth and Michael moved out as a unit. They left the palace proper; their old teacher wouldn't be there. There was another hill nearby. Elizabeth thought she saw someone standing on top of it. Even from this distance, she could sense the woman bore a curse, and Elizabeth knew what it was, too. She pointed it out to Michael, he nodded, and they both headed that way. Soon they were climbing it, and there they saw her.

“You kept me waiting; you know I hate that,” the woman’s sultry voice cooed. She had a figure that most would die for, either to have or to hold; a thousand ships could be launched for her beauty. The work of a finely crafted curse.

“Circe,” Elizabeth said

“No title? You forget yourself, Hecate – oh wait, no, it’s Elizabeth now isn’t it? Rejected the name of old power I gave you for one of theirs, one of Hers.” Circe looked derisively at Michael. “As did you, Odin; what was it now, Michael? What a pathetic name.”

“What do you want?” Elizabeth asked forcefully, as her voice took on a slow simmer of anger, and she took a step towards Circe.

Circe looked down at Elizabeth. “I’m giving you two one last chance. I heard what you did at that party; did you know I was the one helping out Jacob? You must’ve realized he was not nearly skilled enough for what he was doing. Admirable work, what you two did, undoing it in the moment. So join me now; together we can alter the fate of this country, of this world! Make it how we desire – no one could stop us.” She looked at Michael. “And if that somehow doesn’t interest you, I know about your sister. I could give you the tools to help her.” Circe smiled at him like how a mother might smile upon their child.

Michael closed his eyes a moment. His breath sharp and rapid. He seemed to be considering her offer. He snapped open his eyes. He breathed in deep as he could. His whole arms were shaking.

“N-no,” Michael said. “I. I, le-left you because you want t-to hurt people. Y-you m-might help me, but y-you’d hurt so many. You w-would use me to hurt so many.”

“Hmph,” Circe growled. “Then you are lost to me. Surely you’re not so ungrateful for the training I gave you; after all, you know that those with power get what they want, Elizabeth.” Circe spat out the name. “It’s only because of my teachings that either one of you have a body you don’t despise, and I could take that away. Don’t think you know more than me about the weave of magic, although, I’ll admit, I can’t understand why you two, you, Elizabeth, girl, especially, made yourself so average, when you could have had beauty beyond compare.”

Elizabeth looked Circe dead in the eyes. “I thank you for the lessons you taught me. But I have a duty to do no harm. And I know what you do to those in your way.”

Circe shook her head. “You’re both fools. Unfortunately, you’re very skilled fools. Consider today a warning, then. I’ll be back, and when we next meet face to face,I won’t be so kind. You will lose.” She snapped her fingers. “Now, you might want to check on your charges,” she taunted.

Elizabeth felt something shift. The weave of magic had grown taut; she didn’t even have to vibrate the air to feel it. Elizabeth turned her back to Circe and started running hard. Michael followed.

Faster, Elizabeth thought to herself, pushing herself harder. She knew better than most that Circe could do harm beyond anyone else’s means.

Faster. Faster.

Fast-

She reached the palace; she could only assume Michael had followed. She pushed her way into the banquet hall. The door fought against her as if it was being held tight. She could feel the magic here being pulled taut still. It wasn’t the same as when it tried to crush her at the last banquet, but still the pressure was so intense no one could move. Instead, it was threatening to snap as it strained under the weight, and Elizabeth knew, from having seen Circe do this trick once a long time ago, that when it snapped it would rapidly transform everyone in here, probably into pigs. Circe was fond of that one.

She felt Michael’s shaking hand brush hers. “Th-the m-magic is too tight in here, wecan’triskvibratingittoseeit.”

“I know,” Elizabeth said. Weft and wrap… wait, the rosemary! Elizabeth thought to herself. “Michael, the rosemary!” she shouted, taking off to follow the smell of it. Michael looked at her, shocked, as she ran off. She found the gardens easily. There was a gardener there.

“I need all the rosemary you can give me,” Elizabeth said with all the authority she could muster. The gardener nodded and ran off, and then they came back with a few baskets full of rosemary. Elizabeth took them and sprinted to the banquet hall.

Michael had at some point acquired flint and steel, and, as Elizabeth spread out the rosemary, he lit a spark. They both began chanting outside the room. The weave of magic took shape. She could see it being drawn into the banquet hall, pulled almost to the breaking point.

They had to slacken it all at once somehow; Circe had pulled it so tight that to slacken one would snap the others. It was almost like the weave had been drained of its power and was hanging on only through memory.

Power.

Elizabeth looked at her hands, and realized she herself was a wellspring of power.

She understood now, that only she could restore the weave. Michael wouldn’t have enough power absorbed yet. This was Circe’s attempt to get her to abandon what it means to be a cursebreaker.

No, I can’t. I can’t risk going back to that, she thought to herself. She thought about Henry being transformed into a pig. She couldn’t let that happen, not because he was her patron, but because he was her friend. Elizabeth knew that she couldn’t break a curse Circe didn’t want broken.

She’s a bastard, Elizabeth thought, making her choice, and then she closed her eyes and started feeding magic power like a tributary feeds a river. So much power: all she had to give. She became like a host of those tributaries filling the points all at once. She was a flood. She felt the magic slowly, like rope being pulled through her fingers, return to its default shape.

She was terrified to open her eyes, even though she didn’t feel any different.

She opened her eyes and looked down at herself; she was unchanged. She looked at Michael, the weave still visible around them, and could see the curse he had placed on himself looking much like it had when they first met, drained of so much of its power.

He had to have fed her curse, so hers didn’t run out.

“Oh, you are so on the short list,” Elizabeth said, getting up and hugging Michael.

Henry walked out of the banquet hall, seeing Elizabeth tightly embracing Michael.

“I assume, somehow, our rescue was done by you two’s hands.”

Elizabeth, who slowly and somewhat embarrassedly let go of Michael, turned to Henry. “Yes, I really wish you’d stop getting into these situations.”

“I’ll try. The king has decided both to increase the harshness of the laws for cursing people and increase funding to train more cursebreakers. So hopefully that will do just that. And give you two more free time… to spend however and with whoever you like.” Henry said, looking between the two of them.

Lady Mary appeared from the banquet hall. “Well, this whole thing was simply dreadful. Yes, quite dreadful. Michael, we're going back to my estate,” Lady Mary said, walking briskly past.

Michael looked at Elizabeth and shrugged. “I'll write to you, Elizabeth.”

“You can call me Liz, if you want,” Elizabeth said with a bright smile.

“Alright, then I'll write to you, Liz,” Michael said, an equally bright smile on his face, “Hopefully next time we see each other is under better circumstances.” Michael then turned and quickly followed Lady Mary.

“So, tax purposes, huh?” Henry teased.

“Yes, tax purposes,” Elizabeth said, laughing.

Henry shook his head.

Edward met up with them. “Let's go home.”

The three of them set off for the Spider.

#short story #original writing #creative writing #writers on tumblr #transgender author #transgender main character #Cursebreaker Elizabeth #Cursebreaker Michael #Henry of the Spider-Boar #Edward of the Spider-Boar #Circe the Hexer

2 notes · View notes

1tsjusty0u · 1 year ago

Note

stricken by questions in the middle of the night. hateno. do you have any fun facts + what does your link think of it + when did he get there and what happened

OH actually i have a few :D

ALRIGHTY!! for fun facts: on page 98 of creating a champion (you can view it for free) its noted that the people in hateno wear warmer clothes because theyre near a very very cold mountain which is mount lanayru and also it has a nordic aesthetic apparently! because of that once i. do research i think im going to make hateno based a bit off finland just for fun. or poland but poland is more of a personal thing. and also requires research. speaking of being at the base of mt lanayru youve probably seen this but theres little mountain symbols all across hateno (like on the signs, the pots, and some secret back sheds)! the mayors house is referred to as a church in the files (TwnObj_Village_HatenoChurch_A_01) for some reason, likely because it has the hylia statue. ALSO. this isnt confirmed at all but before i was researching those little stacked rocks. theyre up above the signs as well as near the mayors house. im half sure theyre cairns, stacked rocks made by humans thats usually for signalling a hiking trail. this site also sparsely mentions them + has insight into the architecture + the ancient tech labs (though i havent read a lot of it </3). anyways those may just be for fun/for visitors/decoration (i like to think its all of them) + its likely rock balancing. i Did find a site like this and while im inclined to trust it i dont think it applies here. also while prewriting the main ideas i thought there was cairns in goron city? but i cant find them so! yeah maybe theyre in totk otherwise theyre just in hateno and tarrey town. also while its raining karin i believe will read a little book thats in oots/wws opening cutscene style with a little prince in blue riding towards the castle. i think its neat but doesnt have too many implications besides possibly reinforcing some tloz games could be the same legend told over and over like a telephone game. also theres more in the second win mod but i cant play it because. not optimized at least for me. also. lots of footage to go into and i dunno how much was truly added

what does link think of it!!! i think he likes it a bit, especially the inn. its just cozy + both loshlo harbor and hateno beach are just kind of good thinking places. loshlo harbor especially, its just a nostalgic place for him. also i feel like he’d have a lot more use for his house than we’re given in game (custom photos, a journal, a chest so you can put items in to store them ((maybe food)), souvenirs (he’d have a lot of those i think. mainly stealing mugs), and also actually being able to cook in there). to be fair the champions photo being the only item we could place in links house had an effect, but i do want this to be. an actual house. also i think he’d get deja vu from being in the house and the harbor. nothing like stunting or debilitating but he’ll be cutting up vegetables or building a sand castle and for a moment a memory? or an image flashes and in that. thing. hes doing the exact same thing hes doing now. same place same thoughts . though some would be more memory flashes, those would be easier to tell as its not deja vu but . like finishing someones sentence without knowing what theyre going to actually say. and then he realizes ‘WAIT A SECOND’

i think he wouldve gotten there later than normal. miphers was done first, did a bit of traveling (partly because he. didnt know where it was despite the map). he probably got there somewhere after his 2nd-3rd divine beast. funnily enough i think it wouldve taken him a While to find lurilen and the forgotten temple. lurilen especially why would he Go There (he didnt read the signs in faron). he finally gets a house but at the cost of capitalism. once he gets the camera he goes to impa and then he takes a Long detour to get every single memory and without getting (too) sidetracked. he thought a fallen star was one once but it disappeared as it turned day so he never found out what that light was until he saw one physically crash into a hill. he actually mightve done the divine beasts before the camera and is delaying clammy ganon

as soon as he saw the house i think he rushed up to it, because even if it Wasnt his house it shouldnt be destroyed!!!! it was like there was a time limit. he panicked when he didnt have the money (he didnt sell gems or dragon parts at the time…) but he prevailed (selling monster parts). he does not like chopping wood.

when he got there there wasnt much fanfare? everybody thought he was Just Some Guy (he never wears the champions tunic, as well as never using the champions weapons because theyll break). he completely didnt see the guard guy and just. activated the shrine. he would learn of the statue through the small glasses child and would probably talk to the statue more if a heart container wasnt just stolen. if he could save scum he would to avoid the encounter entirely but because he cant he may just. let the statue have it. until extremely later and he talks to it again after years. i think hed show the fireflies to the statue. also i dont think he talked to anyone besides bolson and purah and symin. except for the stolen sheeps person + the shopkeeper. everytime hes there he will Always buy milk rice eggs etc. cooking ingredients are something hed never pass up. he would be a regular of yammo despite her traveling.

though i think he’d spend a lot less time in hateno than you think. its his home but also he likes to travel + have fresh air and places, and also he visits the champions villages more often than not. except for zoras domain unless he Needs to. otherwise he’d still be in lanayru and visit ruta but still be a bit of a distance away. he also doesnt visit goron city a lot though hes less averse to that. also i think he’d like ebon mountain, especially because its behind his house + he gets a good view. he would tell the guy there the actual heart lake location. also i think fairies spawn there at night (both locations)

i think some locations would be there pre cal but arent post cal. i have the excuse of the mayor mentioning that hateno was still built back from the ground (i can get the dialogue if you want!!) . specifically thered be this one hot chocolate place he’d go to that doesnt exist anymore. through a quest he can get the recipe and share it with the elders but yeah. maybe a library and actual church but shrugs

also sometimes i like to think a time capsule was buried in the backyard/under water. however thats neither here or there + it all depends on the au and how the story goes. he would miss his mom and have mixed feelings on his sister (they were also distant believe it or not. but that was his sister). he’d almost have the same reputation as purah for not leaving the house visibly i think and not talking to almost anyone.

also he hasnt dyed any of his clothes. theyre good enough for him 👍. pre cal he wouldve liked dying the act of dying a piece of fabric a lot

ALSO he doesnt hang the champions weapons in his house. he holds onto them and doesnt let go

one more thing: he’d make a note of picnic/quiet spots. theres one near the village but he doesnt really picnic with anyone even pre cal. he mostly just sits there

i will do tarrey town in the next bit!

#HELLO!!!#i . will get to the revali friendship arc. its not at all forgotten and i cant stress thst enough #wreath of the bild #not much happens </3 sorry #its more of a place to go to when he just wants to sleep and Not talk to anyone #also when he wants to retrace a part of his roots and what child him felt even if he can barely remember #even if he doesnt quite remember it his feelings would

4 notes · View notes

anthonysstupiddailyblog · 2 years ago

Text

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (387): Sat 8th Apr 2023

Today was an absolute write-off. I woke up at one am after only a few hours sleep, still feeling the effects of the jet lag and the sleeping tablet. I decided that since I was awake I might as well check out the Lakers game and was happy to see that they soundly defeated the Phoenix Suns. This victory was stunted somewhat due to me remembering that the teams that finish 7th - 10th place compete in a mini tournament to decide who gets the official 7th and 8th place which is bucking fullshit! So basically the Lakers could be in 7th place with 40 points and the next team down could have 30 points and yet the Lakers would still have to essentially put their number 7 slot on the line and could lose it due to having an off game?! Although needless to say if the Lakers were in 10th place I’d be happy for this rule and would welcome the Lakers beating the number 7 team if it meant getting their spot. Yes I’m a hypocrite. Every sports fan is! I planned to go to town at 9am to change my American dollars back over to pounds but fell asleep and didn’t wake up until 12…then fell asleep again and didn’t wake up until 6. Yeah it’s safe to say my sleeping pattern is well and truly fucked up. Hopefully once I get back to work and have to be up and awake at a certain amount of time this will fix it. Later on I typed “LA Metro” into YouTube to see if there really is an abnormal amount of violence and destitution in these stations and on the trains or if Dad and I were just unlucky. The first video that pops up is a story less than a day old about some poor fucker who got stabbed at the Metro Station right next door to the hotel we were staying at. So yeah…never going back to LA. Finally before bed I ordered another massage gun from Amazon. The one I got for Xmas sorted out my lower back but the battery broke before I had a chance to sort out my neck and shoulders. At least this time I’ll have proof of purchase if the cunt breaks down and I need a new one. Now that I know I’ll have work until at least January next year my main priority is to get back to Jiu Jitsu and in order to do this I need to get my neck in better shape. The last massage gun I had fixed my lower back but the piece of shit broke after one charge and now my n back hurts again. I’m not going to let my shitty neck get in the way of me doing the things I love. When I do Jiu Jitsu I have a sense of belonging, it feels like it’s what I was put on this Earth (as opposed to all the other Earths? Think Anthony!) to do. Unknown it sounds pretentious and I can’t properly explain it but I feel like it’s my destiny to get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Later on I watched the main event from New Japan’s Sakura Genesis show where Sanada dethroned Okada and won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. I’m happy for Sanada but I’m not fully convinced that he was in a position to receive this push. I agree that if he ever were to receive such a push he would have to break away from LIJ and reinvent himself but what he’s come up with isn’t that much of a reinvention. He’s joined a stable with a horrible name: Just Five Guys, adopted a new finisher which is an okay looking swinging reverse STO and has started wearing some silver trunks. I don’t think that this quite elevates him to main event status. At the very least the should have given him a cool new nickname like the World Boss or Crystal King or something to set him aside from his previous work. Either way we’ll see how New Japan books him as champion. Hopefully they’ve learned their lesson from Shingo that putting the belt on someone doesn’t automatically get them over.

0 notes

erigold13261 · 2 years ago

Note

Are 1010 in your AU okay? Also what happened to BJ2 and DK West in your AU?

B2J were very injured and now live with West in a small apartment trying to save up money for medical expenses and possibly to move to a new city.

As for 1010? No. They are absolutely not okay.

White, like Rin, has some memory problems. So he ended up being demoted from leader in the 1010 code. The public technically sees him as the leader of 1010, but in private it is Blue that is calling the shots. This has made White bitter and hateful to Blue, which wasn't helped by Blue attacking people who messed with 1010 (Ex-Jay, West, and B2J all on separate occasions).

So White just became cynical and hostile to Blue and the rest of 1010, trying to force his way as leader through fear and pain against them. He also started to hate all the people around him, such as Tatiana, Eve, Mama, the fans that like the other 1010 over him. The only person he seems to care for anymore is himself and Neon, and even then there is a bitterness against Neon for demoting him (but he puts more blame onto Blue for that than Neon).

Blue is an overstimulated, emotionally stunted, stressed out mess. He was given the leader role against his will, forced to have constant monitoring and updates of Neon's life support, and had his glasses taken away to tone down his uniqueness (which messes with his eyes but he has to pretend he is not bothered by it for fear he will be seen as defective and scrapped).

All he wants to do is keep things the same, and protect Neon and 1010 but every time he does he fucks their group up and make the public scared, wary, or hateful towards them. And now he is the target of multiple people's hate, from the public, from NSR, and from 1010. Blue is alone and looking to reach out to someone, anyone, that could help.

Red is just scared all the time. He is clumsy and messes up a bunch. It got to the point that his "bad boy" reputation started to get questioned because he couldn't keep it up as well as he could. Especially not after seeing Purple get destroyed. Every action Red does is full of fear of messing up. He tends to stay right by Neon and Blue, never straying too far from either of them. When Neon needs someone to hold his cane, Red is always the one to hold it. Red holds it close to his chest protectively as a way to keep it safe but also be close to Neon (he hates seeing other people hold Neon's cane because he feels that is one of the few good things he knows how to do without messing up).

The only exception would be when Yellow is leading him into trouble. Yellow would either harass Green or White for fun while making Red tag along. Green never fights back but White does, and instead of taking his anger out of Yellow who is bothering him, White takes his anger out on Red hoping Yellow will stop if he sees Red getting hurt or scared (it works sometimes which is why White continues to do it, he doesn't go directly after Yellow because then Yellow would tattle on him and get them all in trouble).

Yellow, as mentioned, is the main trouble maker of the group. He just annoys and harasses anyone of 1010 because he has no outlet anywhere else. He has a lot of energy and no where to vent it out, so he uses his energy to get the others in trouble. If Red is holding something delicate, he will hit it out of Red's hand. Or he will break one of Yinu's toys and blame it on Green. Even shattering one of Eve's statues or ripping up Remi's drawings when they aren't around and saying Blue did it. Anything to make the others seem worse than him, because in Yellow's mind, if everyone else is in trouble, he is safe.

And finally Green. Green learned quick that he doesn't matter. Even before Purple was destroyed, he was the least popular 1010 and the lowest rank out of the group. He has absolutely no power, no say, and no help. Green just lets whatever happens happen. He doesn't fight back anymore. He will usually be alone unless Yellow or White come to mess with him. The only time he is safe is when Neon is around because 1010 behave around him (and sometimes when Blue is around because that means Neon is close by or Blue will report the abuse to Neon).

Green is usually turned off or in sleep mode when not working because to him it is easier to deal with life in short moments than the constant drain. Though, sometimes he is not off by choice. His ring can be pulled out to forcibly turn him off against his will (like a kill switch) which gets used against him quite frequently actually. Whenever he points out something Yellow is doing is stupid, or tries to question White for why he is trying to order everyone around, his ring gets pulled out. Usually Red or Blue have to put it back in, but sometimes it is Neon. White and Yellow always try to make it look like Green pulled it out on his own, or got it pulled out accidentally so they don't get in trouble, and since Green never speaks up it always works.

Neon doesn't see any of this happening with 1010 though. He is usually out of the mansion working on things for NSR. When he is home he is either putting 1010 to work practicing for concerts, creating music, or drinking. He doesn't spend time with 1010 as a group, but he does individually spend time with them. He actually has special moments with each 1010 that they come to him for when things get really rough.

When making music, if Neon is playing an upright piano he will allow Green to lay his back against it and feel the vibrations of the music or the two will sit outside while Neon smokes and they will look at the plants in the yard.

When he cooks food Red will be there with him trying to help. Carrying his food to the table or even learning how to mix a drink for Neon (though Neon does not want Red touching his alcohol because he doesn't like the idea of Red trying to drink it even though 1010 can't eat or drink in this AU).

When working on designs and picking out color palettes, Yellow will almost always be by his side and just talking to him. Pointing out things and placing designs next to each other. It usually does more harm than good, messing with Neon's ability to make something coherent, but he lets Yellow play with what he is working on if there is no deadline approaching.

Blue is almost always by Neon's side. Usually he is sitting on the floor next to Neon's legs. Even when Neon is spending time with the other 1010, Blue will be there (sitting behind and hugging Neon's waste when he plays piano, sitting on the floor/under the table when Neon eats, standing close to the table full of designs/ideas when Neon is working). Blue is basically Neon's shadow, and because of this Neon teaches Blue how to work with machines in case one of 1010 get damaged and he can't get to work on them. So they spend quality time together creating new small machines or tech that would help 1010, or he would learn how to fix parts of Neon's cybernetics.

White is the only one who actively seeks out quality time with Neon. The other's just learned Neon's habits and figured out when is a good time to be with him. White on the other hand forces quality time. He will take an acoustic guitar and bring it to Neon and ask him to play music and sing for him (while glaring at Blue enough that Blue excuses himself from the scene). The Neon will play and sing, while White sings with him as a chorus/backup. It is one of the only things that brings White joy anymore, and it is always ruined by a 1010 coming in or an NSR member calling. Either way, once the music session gets interrupted, White takes the guitar back and leaves instead of just dealing with a small interruption.

12 notes · View notes

astaroth1357 · 4 years ago

Text

Demigod MC Series: Poseidon

Fishy fishy fishy… I honestly could write 100 more things for Poseidon MC and Levi. I just love the dynamic between an insecure, otaku shut-in and a chill California surfer dead set on becoming his friend.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena, Hades Pt. 2, Poseidon

For anyone unaware, Poseidon is also the god of horses. I know it's a weird combo, but I didn't write the mythos.

Lucifer

…..

They came out of the portal….

On a horse….

They brought the mortal down to the Devildom…

On a goddamn horse….

There's a demigod on a live horse brandishing a weapon and doing laps around the Student Council Room…

Congratulations, he already wants to pull his hair out!!

Honestly, it would have been preferable to pluck them out of the sea. At least then they'd just need a towel! What the hell were they going to do with an entire horse!?

And his nightmare didn't stop there. Poseidon is a notoriously mercurial god, prone to bouts of anger and spitefulness for reasons far less grievous than kidnapping his children…

Their apology was swift and (seemingly) effective, though the tide waters around the Devildom did rise by several feet for some time…

As for the MC… uh… Well, they're an energetic one to say the least…

Lucifer hasn't met a more active individual since Mammon. They horseback ride, swim, surf, skateboard, and probably do ten other things - the point is, they Hardly. Keep. Still!

They're also annoyingly easygoing… He can't count the number of times they've told him to, "Just chill out," or, "Hang loose…" What does that even mean??

Between having to order a stable made for their horse and just trying to keep up with them, Lucifer already thinks this mortal has caused him more trouble than they're worth… At least they keep Mammon busy...

Mammon

Upon first meeting them atop their horse, Sunset, his first thought was of course:

"I wonder if I sell that...?"

After that, they nearly fed him to sharks for trying to take their beloved steed on same night. Safe to say, he never touched a hair on its head again…

These two had a rocky start, but their relationship mended fairly quickly. As it turns out, the MC is literally one of those "go with the flow" types. You can say it was water under the bridge soon enough.

Mammon actually thinks the MC is a hell of a lot of fun, even if they're super laid-back. Most of the time, they won’t take his drive for money (or fear of his bills) all that seriously and tell him that he’s worrying too much, but they’ll still lend a hand if its on their way.

He finds their ability to control water pretty cool as well. Levi has it to some extent, but the MC can make a whole-ass whirlpool or use water like a whip!

He once begged them to call up some rare fish for him to sell, but they got all pseudo-philosophical on him about how “trading life for material wealth” is “not cool, dude...”

He also made the mistake of challenging them to a splash fight only once…. They managed to drench the whole family with a single wave….

The only thing that bothers him is their weird insistence on being Levi's "Best Buddy…" Why would someone like them even bother with a shut in??

Is it the water? … Probably water. Levi, that lucky bastard…

Leviathan

Thinks they're a big normie, no scratch that, a HUGE normie! The biggest normie he's ever met!! They skateboard and horseback ride for Devil's sake!!

...But they’re also, undoubtedly, the best friend he could've ever asked for.

To be fair to Levi, their friendship was sort of forced upon him. The MC took one look at him, his aquatic-themed room, and his pet goldfish then declared their new friendship status at that moment.

Unfortunately for him, though, they're energetic, extroverted, and generally have little understanding of personal space… aka, an introvert's worst nightmare…

The next month could accurately be described as the MC doing everything in their power to make their stubborn "senpai" like them.

They would drag him out to the aquarium, beach, or pool; they befriended Henry so he could put in a good word for them; and they'd even bring him little gifts or trinkets they'd find on the ocean floor. Pretty shells and stuff like a cat bringing its master a dead mouse.

After he finally began to accept them as a persistent fixture in his life, he introduced them to gaming and anime and started accepting them little by little...

By the end of their stay, these two were practically inseparable. Not just because they like spending time together, but because they figured out they could have a telepathic link due to Levi being part sea serpent.

No matter how far they are, they can always have a chat! (That no one else can hear so people think they’re just crazy...)

Satan

Satan honestly isn't the MC's biggest fan, he generally finds them too loud and gregarious for his liking. But their horse…?

He never really thought that he'd be a horse man... Yet it didn’t really take long for Satan to adore Sunset, their beautiful golden-maned mare. Apparently she's not their only horse, but by far their favorite traveling companion.

Sunset is a wonderful horse - brave, strong, and well-trained. It only took a few weeks before he was regularly sneaking out to the stables to brush her fur or feed her apples...

After the MC taught him how to ride, that was it. All other forms of transportation were inferior to him now.

Satan would ride Sunset everywhere and he looked damn good doing it! It takes all that fairytale Prince Charming thing he has going on and puts it through the roof.

It's a good thing too, because when I say everywhere, I do mean everywhere. Lucifer had to put seals on the House doors to keep Satan from riding Sunset through the hallways...

Of course, he’ll always let the MC have Sunset back when they need her!... with a little complaining but nothing terrible.

The MC doesn't mind much because Sunset likes him and they know he takes good care of her, but the rest of the House is slightly unnerved at how quickly he went horse crazy… What if they brought a giant crab instead?? No one wants to deal with crab-Satan...

Asmodeus

Their body is just scrumptious. Oh, how he could look at their swimsuit-clad figure all day!! 😩

Between the swimming and the fighting, their form is toned to all hell and he can't get enough of it! Yes baby, yes!! Take those clothes off again!!! He'll help~! 😘

When he's not staring at them “totally respectfully,” then he's inviting them out to pool parties or begging them to take him riding...

There are parts of horseback riding he doesn’t like, the smell and the jostling specifically, but there is a kind of… romance to it, no?

He loves having the chance to snuggle up to the MC as they trot around the Devildom! It's so romantic, like they’re his knight in shining armor! (Or his demigod in a damp swimsuit, either works. 😏)

His Devilgram is just full of selfies of him and MC riding on the back of Sunset or sitting by the edge of the pool or them in the middle of a swim meet…

Yeah his Devilgram is now a one part him and one part MC-Appreciation account.

After the pact he'll eventually cool down some and stop staring at them like a sex-object, but even then he'll be at every swim meet. Don't you worry~

Beelzebub

He actually really likes them! It's great to finally have another athlete in the House. 😊

The MC joined the RAD swim team just as soon the coach was able to convince Diavolo that having the child of a water god wasn't completely cheating...

Since swim and fangol practice ends at about the same time, they walk home together a lot and complain about... sports things... (Forgive me, I don’t know sports. Uhm... Rival teams? Coaches? That one drill everyone hates? Stuff like that.)

Beel also can surf, skate, and snowboard so the two have a healthy competition going. They're about on equal footing so they tie often (except in surfing but Beel doesn't think that should count cause they’re probably cheating).

The only thing that he has to watch out for is Sunset… As in, he has to watch himself around Sunset because he absolutely could eat her on accident…

Look, he doesn't want to and he doesn't even like horse meat that much, but even he has to admit there are times he gets hungry enough to consider it…

Of course, he knows that if he ever did Satan would rip him limb from limb then the MC would drown the rest so he really, really tries to control himself… but still… She’s a very healthy horse...

At least he didn’t try to sell her like Mammon. The MC hung him over a shark tank for that stunt… He’d feel bad, but Mammon kind of had it coming.

Belphegor

The first time they met, the MC smelled like beach water and called him "dude-bro…" He didn't like his prospects.

For a while, he genuinely thought that they had a lump of sand where their brain was. They were just too chill!! Here he was saying that he's being held captive and they were like, "Well that sucks, man… I'll help ya, but I've got practice tomorrow. You can wait, right?"

It's not like he expected them to jump on top of it, but some urgency would have been nice…

When they eventually got around to helping him, he was actually looking forward to choking the life out of them for the extra wait. Unfortunately, they apparently had a horse…

Yeah, Belphie found out just a bit too late that the MC could summon their steed to them whenever they wanted and ended up with Sunset's hooves firmly bucking into his back for his trouble…

What followed was Belphegor running circles around the attic from the weapon-totting MC riding their terrifying murder horse until Lucifer finally intervened....

Thank the gods he wasn’t near any water….

As it would turn out later, as long as he's not being held captive in an attic Belphie kind of vibes with their laid-backness… They say they approach life "one wave at a time" or something.

He could care less about what that actually means, but what it translates to is "Stop stressing out and just keep chill" which he's all about.

Everybody should just chill out!... dude…. Nah, he'll let them stick to the “dude”-thing, it feels weird...

#obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me headcanons #obey me demigods

1K notes · View notes

bvckys-doll · 4 years ago

Text

Masquerade

Pairing: Vampire!Bucky Barnes x female!reader

Word count: 4.4k

Summary: Y/N and her family are invited to a masquerade ball since Netherfield hall has a new owner: Lord James Buchanan Barnes. What (Y/N) does not know is that this will be her last night among the living.

Warnings: soft!dark themes here! A bit of manipulation. Blood! Pride and Prejudices vibes at the beginning of the fic.

Author’s note: I’m happy that I can finally post this one because I’m a whore for masquerade balls and vampires! Especially Vampire!Bucky! This goes out to @emily-roberts (who can’t be tagged unfortunately) since they inspired me to work on Masquerade here! Maybe this will get a sequel, i’m not sure yet.

You can find my masterlist here!

The year is 1867. Queen Victoria is still in power, and the country is at peace. At least, to the people who are lucky enough to live in the countryside in England. Especially the women who were the ones that learned the least of the ongoing problems around the world. At this time in history, they were mostly excluded from these kinds of conversations. Something (Y/N) was deeply offended by.

Most of the women around her had only one thing on their mind: the latest gossip and men.

Nothing would fit better into the gossip than a mysterious lord who had recently moved into the large estate near Netherfield Park. The whole city was in turmoil, and everyone wanted to get one of the coveted invitations to the grand inauguration party.

(Y/N) could still remember the day a few weeks ago when her mother was running around the house in a rage and talking to herself over and over again. Her father had tried to ignore his wife as much as possible.

“I have heard from Mrs. Brenstock that the new Lord of Netherfield Park is about to give a ball. A ball, Mr. Edwards! Can you imagine that? He doesn’t seem to have sent out any invitations yet, otherwise, we would have gotten one by now, wouldn’t we? Tell me I’m right” she had let herself sink into her chair. With the thick needle in her hand, she repeatedly stabbed her new embroidery cloth.

(Y/N) had been sitting across from her mother at the time and hardly noticed her rambling about the ball, as the young lady was too absorbed in her thoughts about her newest book, which was on the table in front of her.

For her mother, this was finally the chance to marry her off to a rich man. Perhaps even to the owner of the estate himself, since many speculated him to be single. Most women of (Y/N)’s age were already married, some even had children.

It wasn’t that (Y/N) wasn’t very talkative. If she was given a suitable subject, she could chat for hours, but her mother had always preached to her that no man wanted a woman with a loud attitude. Despite all this, (Y/N) didn’t kept her mouth shut and spoke freely about what she thought. Mostly.

It had been a month since that conversation between her parents and (Y/N) was now sitting with them in a carriage on their way to the estate of the new lord of Netherfield Park.

The letter had arrived about two days after the long discussion between her mother and her quiet father. (Y/N) seemed to be more relieved than her mother because she couldn’t bear her constant chatting and complaining about the ball.

In her lap was a white mask that her mother had brought home a few days ago. A masquerade. That was the order of the new landlord. An unusual way to celebrate a party, where you wanted to get to know the locals better, but (Y/N) didn’t put much thought into it.

With a calm look, she peered out of the window of the carriage and could see how the estate grew in the distance. The lights were shining through the high windows towards them as they rode the carriage to the large courtyard, where some other women were already getting out of their carriages and ascending the great marble staircase with their families.

Her father was the first to go out of the carriage, before he helped his wife out. In the end, he reached out to his daughter. For a brief moment, (Y/N) struggled with the wide skirt of her dress, before standing firmly on the ground.

Once again, she let her gaze wander over the courtyard and looked up at the broad facade of the estate. Suddenly (Y/N) caught a glimpse of a silhouette. Someone who seemed to be looking down at them and was watching what was going on. But before (Y/N) could take a closer look, her mother grabbed her arm and dragged her into the hall.

Upstairs in the said room, James watched how the carriages gathered in the courtyard and presented the different guests of almost every status. All came to see some of the wealth of the estate and the treasures that were on display in its halls.

“How many people will visit us tonight? Take a guess” Steve asked him. He was sitting at his best friend’s desk and had put his feet on the tabletop while he leaned back.

James’s gaze was still on the staircase as his gaze followed the woman who had just looked up at him. Yet he replied, “More than two hundred, I would say. Enough to get our bellies full for the next month. You’re going to keep them under control, aren’t you? We need posts at every door.”

“Of course. I’ve never worked sloppy before. You should know that”, Steve winked at him before he stood up and drained the last remaining blood out of his cup. The next moment he pulled some gloves out of his jacket and put them on “But answer me one. Why a masquerade?”

“You don’t want anyone to remember us by mistake, do you?”, a dark smile grazed James features. A similar smile came up on Steve’s face before he pulled the mask over his eyes and left.

In the meantime, the large ballroom of the estate had filled with guests and a small orchestra on a raised balcony played quiet music.

With all the hustle, (Y/N) wondered if she would even recognize anyone. The masks just made it harder to spot anyone she knew. Maybe she could get away from her mother. Time and time again she looked for familiar eyes.

Nervously, she again smoothed the wrinkles of her skirt and chewed around her lower lip. With each breath, it seemed to her as if the corsage of her dress was still lacing up.

Before her inner rambling could cause her to make her more uncomfortable, the hitting of a staff made the crowd go quiet. Everyone held their breath and turned to the source of the voice “Please welcome Lord James Buchanan Barnes and Colonel Steven Grant Rogers!”

The guests applauded in honour of the two men who were standing on a raised platform at the end of the hall. One of them stepped forward and raised his wine glass. (Y/N) couldn’t make out his features. Still, he wore a fancy dark suit with a wine-red tie. His slightly longer hair was tied with a ribbon in the back of his head. Although (Y/N) couldn’t see his eyes, they seemed pitch black.

“It is an honour to welcome you all to my new home. Until now, I have been welcomed with kindness in this beautiful little town and I am very happy to get to know you all better soon. I haven’t even lived here for a month, but it already feels like home to me. Let us all enjoy this evening. Sing, laugh and dance!”, his voice echoed through the room. It gave (Y/N) goosebumps.

He raised his glass to which his guests responded with the same gesture before they all took a sip of their drinks. It took less than five seconds, and the conversations were resumed. It was as if that greeting had never happened.

But (Y/N) could not take her eyes of her host. This was the person she had previously seen standing at the window. Before she could look away from him, he had already noticed her and seemed to reply to her stare. She tensed.

She hastily looked at the wine glass in her hand, from which she quickly took a short sip. The music started again. This time a bit louder than before because the guests began to dance. It wouldn’t take long for her mother to approach her once again and tell her daughter to find a suitable dance partner for the night.

“Do you see that woman over there? The one in the red dress and the white mask”, Bucky walked next to Steve as they made their way through the guests, who all respectfully stepped aside and bowed. Again and again, the two nodded to some people appreciatively.

Steve followed his friend’s gaze unobtrusively and nodded briefly “Pretty little thing. Do you want to go play or save her all to yourself for the night?”

“I haven’t decided yet, but I am sure going to do something with her”, he winked at Steve and stopped at the edge of the dance floor, watching his guests dance. Shortly thereafter, Steve also left him to dance with his wife Margaret, who approached them.

While his friends were busy having fun at the party, James resumed his search for the woman he had just spotted. It did not take long for him to find her her standing next to an elderly couple, who seemed to have an exciting conversation with two other guests. The woman herself didn’t seem very interested in the conversation and kept sipping on her glass. That was his cue.

(Y/N) gave out a soft sigh and investigated her wine glass, which would soon be empty. She listened with one ear to the conversation of her parents but did not attempt to participate herself. The unknown woman just boasted how her daughter had married a wealthy man from Oxford some time ago and now lived there. (Y/N) was already getting ready for a sermon from her mother.

Once again, the young woman raised her glass to her red lips as suddenly-

“Excuse me if I bother you but would you do me the honour of dancing with me?” said a deep voice to her, which seemed quite familiar to (Y/N). Her gaze wandered from her glass to the chest of the man standing before her. Her breath was stunted. It was Lord Barnes looking down at her with a gentle smile on his lips. He held out his hand to her, but (Y/N) couldn’t take her eyes off him.

For a moment, it seemed as if (Y/N) had forgotten to have a normal and decent conversation when her mother stepped in and tore the glass out of her hand “She would be honoured to dance with you, Lord Barnes.”

A charming smile spread across his lips as her mother said so. But he turned his gaze to (Y/N) again and asked for her approval “I hope that is indeed the case.”

(Y/N) blinked. Once, twice.

“Yes, I would very much like to dance with you”, she now agreed herself and took his hand, which he still held out to her. He gently drew her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand “What a relieve.”

It was not only her mother who lost her breath at this gesture. Like in a trance, (Y/N) followed her new dance partner onto the wide dance floor, where people automatically made room for them in awe. Soon he stopped with her in the middle of the dance floor and pulled her to his chest, where she instinctively assumed her posture and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Slowly the music started anew. A slow waltz. Controlled, he guided her through the room, and it seemed as if (Y/N) had never done anything else in her life. Every step was exactly as it should be. It was as if they were floating over the dance floor. At least, it seemed like that to her.

“I hope I didn’t take you by surprise”, James remarked, looking down at his dance partner, who focused her eyes on his chest. The reason behind it was the fact that he was a lot taller than her.

Hastily (Y/N) shook her head as her cheeks heated up “Not at all, my lord. I was just surprised, that’s all. There are so many beautiful young women here, I wondered why you chose me.”

“Why shouldn’t I? I have just chosen the prettiest in the room”, James replied, presenting her his charming smile, which made his eyes light up for a second. (Y/N)’s knees got soft. It seemed liked she had been enchanted by his aura.

It wasn’t long before the music became quieter and stopped. Together with the other couples, they stopped and applauded the musicians before James gave her his arm and whispered to her “Would you like to accompany me outside? It seems to be getting a little stuffy in here.”

A lie. It’s been years since James truly breathed air.

“I would love to.”, (Y/N) nodded and took shelter with her host before following him out onto the wide terrace. On their way there, (Y/N) did not notice James meeting the eyes of one of his men. It was Sam who stood near the exit and smiled at his friend. He knew James had found someone new to play with. If only it were for tonight.

“A beautiful night, don’t you think?” James looked up to the sky, where thousands of stars were glowing. It was more common here in the countryside. In the cities, the stars could be barely seen by the smoke rising through the chimneys into the sky.

(Y/N) followed his gaze and leaned forward against the wide stone railing. She nodded back, “Yes, it is. You haven’t seen such a sight very often, have you? I mean, I heard you moved out of town. What prompted you to do this?”

“The war and tranquillity I am looking for”, James replied honestly this time and turned his gaze back to (Y/N), who was still looking up at the stars, but noticed how he looked at her with his eyes: “You haven’t told me your name yet.”

“You didn’t ask for it either”, (Y/N) replied quick and smiled.

Oh, she’s cheeky. I like that.

He laughed for a moment and neck before he asked, “May I know your name, milady?”

At last, she looked at him again and her eyes shone as she replied with a smile, “My name is (Y/N). And I’m not a lady, my lord.”

The tension she had felt before in his presence was blown away. She felt comfortable in his presence, but she couldn’t explain why. He radiated a certain calmness that made her feel safe and comfortable.

He tilted his head to the side as he smiled, “The name suits you. But tell me, (Y/N), why would a pretty woman like you be alone with your parents at a party like this? There must be a man in your life.”

“Why? Because a woman like me needs a man?” she answered with a counter-question. She wondered how long he would put up with it. But it seemed that the remark would excited him more.

He raised an eyebrow, to which she smiled briefly and replied honestly, “I have a mind of my own, as my mother says. Most men don’t like this feature very well. In our small town, they want a woman who makes a man look good. She has to be pretty and smart, but not too smart for her to make the man look stupid. She needs to be educated, but not waste too much time on it. The piano is very popular with most men.”

“Women who only deal with the latest gossip have never really interested me. Besides, I like to talk to women who can keep up with my intellect. Someone like you”, James replied honestly again, leaning his hip against the stone wall to take a close look at her.

As (Y/N) fixed her posture to look him right in the eye, he stepped foward. He gently raised his hand and put his index finger under her chin to raise it so that she could not take her eyes off of him, “Men can be stubborn, especially English men. But we Americans love it when a woman has something more on her mind than piano notes and pretty clothes. How boring it would be to have someone with you who only agrees with everything you say. I have met lots of these women, but I have seldom encountered someone like you.”

Smiling, (Y/N) held his gaze as he took his hand from her chin and took her hand in his. She looked down for a moment but did not attempt to let go.

“You’re the first man to say something like that to me, and you seem to mean it”, she smiled and briefly squeezed his hand. From the gloves he was wearing, she didn’t even notice how cold they were. Once again, he put her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of her hand, “I am glad to see my presence and my personality please you, Lady (Y/N).”

“As I said, I’m not a lady”, she laughed softly as her cheeks heated up once more. The smile on his lips made her knees soft again, “To me, you are one.”

With every moment that passed, he liked the young woman more and more. Something he didn’t expect. It was selfish, but he knew then and there he wouldn’t let her go. Not as fast as he had planned. It would be difficult to inspire her for eternity once he had done it.

A life like him could also be lonely and desolate. Many souls had already gone mad after being transformed and being unable to return to the world of the living. It drove them mad. He wouldn’t let his (Y/N) go crazy. Not so easily.

“My Lord?” her sweet voice tore him from the thoughts that were swirling through his head. His gaze fell back on her as she gave him a worried look. He gently brushed a strand of her hair from her face and smiled calmly, “Forgive me, I was in my head.”

“Do you think maybe we should go back to the hall? Your guests would also like to exchange a few words with you. I don’t want to besiege you forever”, (Y/N) glanced over her bare shoulder and looked at the tinted glass doors that shielded her from the guests. Many couples were on the dance floor together and seemed cheerful.

“I think my guests will be able to be just fine without my constant presence for a while. Besides, it would be a lie if I said I didn’t want to spend some more time with you”, he replied, following her gaze briefly before turning her gaze to him.

It seemed almost supernatural to (Y/N) that a man like Lord Barnes would take such an interest in her, but it was mutual. She didn’t want to leave him. Not yet. She was delighted with his company and gave him a warm smile before she replied, “And it would be a lie if I said I am not pleased by your interest.”

A burst of hearty laughter came over James' lips. It had been a long time since he had heard such words that had truly touched him. Smiling, he held her hand that was still in his, before leading (Y/N) from the terrace into the wide garden, where many lanterns illuminated their path.

(Y/N) had already placed her hand on his arm and followed him through the small maze that stood in the middle of the garden. The tall hedges shielded them from curious eyes as they disappeared deeper and deeper into the maze.

“My parents will probably be wondering where I am”, (Y/N) smiled as she followed James through the hedges, still holding his hand tightly in fear she could lose him. Apparently, he knew his way around the maze very well, for he guided them safely to a small square that marked the middle of the maze.

In the middle of the square stood a beautifully decorated pavilion, clad in red and white roses and ivy trees. James led her there and sat down with her on one of the two benches.

“Your parents know you’re in good hands with me. I would never allow anything…bad to happen to you”, James merely replied. (Y/N) couldn’t have known that evil himself was still holding her hand and concealing his cruel nature with a pretty face. He could feel her heartbeat speeding up a bit.

“You know, (Y/N), a life like mine. . . is very lonely”, he told her, looking at the flowers hanging next to him on a pole. Yet he noticed how her gaze stuck to him. In a calm voice he continued, “Although I am very wealthy and have seen so much of the world, I have been missing someone to share this life with for years. Someone who accepts me for who I am and doesn’t want to be with me just for my money and my land. Do you understand what I mean?”

His gaze fell back on her. (Y/N)’s eyes almost pierced through his head as her eyes turned glassy. A soft sigh escaped her as she gazed down into her lap.

“I understand you very well. Even though my mother’s efforts are straining me a lot, I still want someone who. . . likes me for me. Who wants me. Not for my dowry, but for myself. I have never spoken to someone who understands me as well. . . as you do”, she replied, being astonished at her words.

James Barnes was the first man she could talk to without having to pretend. Her slightly rough nature had not deterred him. He had been tenacious, but still kind and attentive. It’s been a long time since she met someone like him. His personality seemed to drew her even closer to him. As if there was an invisible ribbon, which now tied her to him.

“You are so much more than just your dowry and a pretty face, (Y/N). Maybe it’s too hasty, but it would be a pleasure for me to get to know you better. The real (Y/N), who doesn’t have to act and doesn’t want to impress anyone. I already know you a little, but. . . not quite yet”, he stroked her cheek, giving her goosebumps. In a good way.

A short smile grazed her lips as she put her hand on his, “I would also like to get to know you better, my lord.”

“Please call me James. The title is too formal for me”, he smiled gently at her and ran his thumb over her cheekbones as (Y/N) muttered softly, “As you wish,…James.”

Slowly, he noticed her pulse increasing. He looked her in the eyes again as he got closer, and she could feel his cold breath on her skin. For a brief moment, it seemed like a dream to her, but it became reality at the moment as his lips touched hers. (Y/N) froze. She wasn’t expecting that. Not yet.

Immediately he broke away from the kiss and pulled his hand from her cheek, “Sorry, that was a little too hasty of me.”

If there was still blood flowing through his body, he’d be blushed. For the first time in a long time, he seemed nervous and ran his fingers through his hair. But (Y/N) grabbed his hand and shook her head calmly, “No, please. I was just…surprised that you…feel that way about me.”

“You’re just…so different. In a positive way, of course”, he held her hand and squeezed it briefly once when (Y/N) was the one who came a little closer and leaned forward, “No, you must forgive me. I didn’t mean to reject you. I like you…very much.”

Now James knew it was the right time.

Slowly he leaned over to her and kissed her gently on the mouth. Sighing her eyes closed as the young lady returned his kiss a little cautiously. After all, he had more experience in it than she did. But only now did (Y/N) realize how cold he was. It’s almost freezing.

“James, you’re so cold”, (Y/N) gently detached herself from the kiss and held her lips as he stroked her cheek and put a strand behind her ear: “Don’t worry. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Once again, he conquered her lips and pulled her closer to his chest. A little more courageously, (Y/N) grabbed the collar of his suit and pulled him closer. She closed her eyes again as he slowly continued to kiss her but wandered from her cheek down to her throat. Her eyes remained closed as she enjoyed his kisses on her warm skin. His lips were still cold, but now she did not seem to care anymore.

Soon he could hear her rapid heartbeat as he lavished kisses on her neck. (Y/N) did not notice how his eyes darkened and his teeth stretched into pointed pillars.

For a moment, James wrestled with himself over whether he should really kill her or go even further. Still, one thing was very clear. (Y/N) would never see the light of day again.

"Forgive me." he breathed against her soft skin and closed his eyes before placing his hand over her mouth. Before (Y/N) could even realize what was happening to her, he rammed his teeth into her neck. Her scream was stifled by his hand, but her body didn't give up so quickly. Panicked, she pushed and pounded against his chest as James sucked the blood from her body. But all her attempts did her no good, as he was far too strong for her.

Finally, she slumped lifelessly in his arms and sank against his chest. Sighing, James detached himself from her neck and pressed another soft kiss to the wound where his teeth had pierced her skin moments ago.

Gently he laid the young woman on the bench and pushed her hair out of her face. Carefully he untied the ribbon at the back of her head and pulled the mask from her face.

"Just as I imagined, my darling..." he ran his thumb over her lower lip and looked into her lifeless eyes before pulling his own mask off his face and tossing it on the floor beside him.

He took her hand in his and kissed the back of her hand, "I'll take care of you, my angel. No one will ever be able to hurt you again. We'll be together forever."

#vampire!bucky barnes #soft dark theme #soft dark #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagines #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #female reader #winter soldier #marvel #mcu #dont repost #fanfiction #own gif #giphy #masquerade

398 notes · View notes

vampkomori · 4 years ago

Text

anyone else think neo’s reports are weird about composers i think theyre weird about composers. lets make sense of joshuas status as composer and hazuki as comparison

this is gonna be a bit long. so anyway the og reports are p straightforward about what Composers (specifically, joshua) can and cannot do:

- Joshua can only pick up Hanekoma’s vibe, because Angel vibes are too high frequency for him to pick up

- Inter-planar contact (so, communication between the UG and the Higher Plane in this case) is difficult, which is brought up because

- The Composer, Joshua, only resides in the UG.

- But the Producer, who is an Angel, mainly resides in the Higher Plane, and only occasionally lingers in the UG.

The whole matter of jumping between worlds highlights the difference between their abilities even more:

- As Composer, Joshua is one of the beings who can jump between worlds, but isn’t meant to do so often. His vibe dipped too low, so Hanekoma had to come retrieve him, because as an Angel this sort of travel is simple for him.

the OG reports make it pretty clear Joshua isnt an Angel

*But. unfortunately its not that easy. because by clearing the final time trial joshua gives you an item called Angel Feather (天使のハネ in JP), of which the description says “Our buyer used divine means to acquire this mysterious feather that was once in the possession of Shibuya's Composer.“ (which some have interpreted as, “in the possession of” meaning “it was given to him” potentially by hanekoma, who actually IS an Angel)

and if things are vague, we turn to the JP to clear us up! but its. still vague there bc it says “バイヤーが特別な力で入手した渋谷エリアのコンポーザーが持っていた謎の羽根“ (The mysterious feather that was held/carried by the Composer of the Shibuya area that the buyer obtained with a special power)

so. we are none the wiser about whose feather this is. i imagine its up to interpretation whether its joshuas feather or hanekomas, who then gave it to joshua. but given how clearly the reports differentiate between the Composer and Angels in regards to their abilities, suffice to say theres two interpretations that are most likely

- Composers arent Angels, their power disparity is just too much

- Composers are Angels, but theyre so much weaker compared to the Angels who reside in the Higher Plane that they’re never referred to as Angels, just as Composers

which takes us to neo, and hazukis little lightshow

i think its notable that the reports dont comment on kubos so-called “exorcism”, and only on haz erasing his noise.

haz himself refers to his little stunt as “exorcising” kubo, while in JP he actually says haiki 廃棄, get rid of, revoke, invalidate.

i think its important that he clarified “i didnt erase him, i exorcised him”. because with kubo, the executor, being an Angel from the Higher Plane, a Composer shouldnt be able to erase someone of higher ranking than them. i think as the person who called upon kubo in the first place, haz could specifically revoke his services and send him back to the Higher Plane.

which means kubo wasnt erased, he was just sent back. hes still kickin

we could leave things right here as they are. Canonically, Composers are so far beneath Angels to a point where even if they were Angels themselves, they are so much weaker than them that they could hardly be referred to as such

this is where the facts end. but im gonna keep going and have fun speculating about things and include some i dont have physical proof of (yet)

its notable that in JP, hazuki says that kubo tried to purify shibuya probably because he wanted to be praised by Hazuki. which is weird if kubos supposed to be higher ranking than haz. (in EN, haz just says hes always been an overachiever) but lets put a pin in that for later 📌

which takes us to the matter of Shinjuku’s Producer. or their lack thereof

throughout all of neo’s reports, there is not a single mention of Shinjuku having a Producer. before neo, we kind of assumed every UG’s setup follows largely the same structure. a Composer, a Conductor, a Producer, and then some Reapers. but Shinjuku does not seem to have a Producer. and i think its because it doesnt need one.

its important to remember Who is writing these reports and Who theyre for. the reports are written by shibuyas Producer, and theyre written for the Higher Plane. and shibuyas Composer cant pick up the vibes of any Angel except hanekoma, so he cant be the one writing the reports for beings he cant even pick up the vibes from, especially since he only resides in the UG.

and yet, hanekoma comments that Hazuki should have filed a report, and that haz is disinterested in the lower planes.

in English its a little vague about who hes talking about, but the JP specifies Shinjukus Composer as the subject of this sentence.

throughout both reports, the UG and RG are considered part of the lower planes. its strange for a Composer to have no interest in the very planes they govern, plus for a Composer to file a report to the Higher Plane when its been established that Joshua, as a Composer, cant even perceive anyone from there.

so i think Hazuki may actually be a proper Angel from the Higher Plane, who was potentially demoted to become Shinjukus Composer.

though you can very much interpret haz “exorcising” kubo as simply “sending him back whence he came”, its of course pretty anticlimactic to see this massive laser beam essentially disintegrate kubo on a molecular level, only for it to have been a quick ride back to the higher plane with kubo being perfectly in tact after. if haz were actually much more powerful than an ordinary Composer, itd make sense why he would have been able to erase an Angel like kubo so. thoroughly.

this would also explain why kubo may have wanted to be praised by hazuki in the JP dialogue. with hazuki potentially being an outlier for Composers and being far Higher ranking than kubo, our executor may have wanted to sucker up a bit. maybe get promoted and away from his “basically a janitor” job if haz puts in a good word for him upstairs

theres also hazukis entire demeanor, and how Bad he is at acting like a normal person

we know of four paths that Players can take

they can choose erasure

they can choose resurrection to return to the RG

they can become Reapers

they can become Angels

and Reapers can eventually become Angels, though its yet unclear if the only way for that to happen is

for them to become Composer (potentially the Lowest Angel-rank there is) and thats it.

or if Composers can ascend and become Actual Angels and eventually reside in the Higher Plane, though how a successor for the seat of Composer is chosen in that scenario is yet entirely unknown since Usually the seat only becomes vacant when the previous Composer is defeated

or if they, as a Reaper, need to Ask the Composer who then asks the Producer to send a guy for evaluation or something

or if the Higher Plane has like, a talent scout guy somewhere.

potentially more than one may apply but at least the last point is the most likely, because

Conductors are invited to the Higher Plane (probably to become Angels) upon purification

(interesting to note that Composers are not mentioned as being invited, which would point to “theyre Angels, but like, weak-ass Angels”)

anyway, the point is that so far weve been told that Angels were Players or Reapers at one point. we know Joshua was a Player for sure, given the morsels of backstory we get from him and Hanekoma. but we dont know if All Angels came from the RG at one point, or if Angels that have always been Angels exist.

either way, the point is that for Hazuki to act so non-human like and to be disinterested in the UG and RG, he either must have been an Angel for a very long time, or he was never human to begin with.

this is relevant to how he interacts with joshua in the Secret Ending, though its a lot less obvious in English, in JP their dynamic is clear: Joshua is his senior, and as his junior, Hazuki looks to him as an example.

for one, thats hilarious. secondly, that recontextualizes like everything

‘course, you could keep the interpretation that theyre just Both weak-ass angels and hazuki just made kubo use a flashy dramatic elevator to the HP and nothing groundbreakingly powerful happened, but thats kinda anticlimactic

so. staying w the idea that hazuki may be a demoted Angel from the Higher Plane, then itd make sense for Joshua to have been Composer for longer than him, and for haz to act Like...That, since he couldve been not-human for a Very long time, or Never was one in the first place, but is still a younger Composer bc he got demoted like. 4 years back or something.

it also explains why Shinjuku may not need a Producer, and why Hazuki is the one writing his reports. its because hes still an Angel from the Higher Plane, so he does not need an intermediary to contact other Angels.

so to summarize what im tryna say here

Hazuki may have initially been a regular Angel from the Higher Plane, before he eventually got demoted to become Shinjukus Composer, despite how disinterested he is in the UG and RG. (he is considered to be “infamously unsympathetic”, a trait which is reinforced in the JP version to be something he is known for amongst the Higher Plane, which could potentially be the reason for his demotion)

Since hes Joshuas junior, that means he hasnt been Composer for as long as Joshua has, so Hazuki looks to him to know what youre even supposed to do/how to act/etcetera as Composer. With his Special circumstances, he does not need a Producer as an intermediary to interact with the Higher Plane, because hes already an Angel so he can do it himself.

whatever Angel Hierarchy there may be, Hazuki is at the very least a higher rank than an Executor, considering how kubo wanted to impress him, and how haz effortlessly got rid of him. with kubo being from the Higher Plane, joshua is decidedly lower ranking than kubo, and cant even pick up his vibe. which clearly positions haz into a unique circumstance as a Composer bc of this discrepancy in ranking and power. amen

<><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><>

theres other things that back this up but i unfortunately do not have a source for them, so This section, take with a grain of salt.

Supposedly, in neo’s data files:

Joshua is referred to as an Advanced Angel

Kubo as a Junior Angel, and

Hazuki as a Senior Angel

i only heard this secondhand and have no way of corroborating this myself, but if this is true then that lines up with the super long super sexy little essay i just wrote up there

this “ranking” solidifes Kubos position as Hazukis underling. which, if he were an ordinary Composer, wouldnt even be possible.

Joshua is notably a different rank from Haz, though its difficult to figure out if “Advanced” is supposed to be Lower than junior, or Higher than senior. thats up to interpretation until its possibly ever acknowledged,

but my interpretation is that an Advanced Angel is lower than a Junior Angel. i think “advanced” in this case is meant to refer to the traditional evolution of players to reapers to the composer, advancing from one status to the next.

**Little post-edit, @/inkerii gave me the actual designation in the files! (so this ones backed-up!)

so in the files, theyre designated ranks are as follows

Joshua: 男、天使上級 ※前作 (Male, Senior/Advanced Grade Angel ※from the Previous work)

Hazuki: 男、天使上級 (Male, Senior/Advanced Grade Angel)

Kubo: 男、天使下級 (Male, Junior/Lower Grade Angel)

so haz and joshua are the same rank bc theyre both Composers! since thats an internal data text kinda thing it might not have any bearing on like, potential Technical exceptions since they Are both the same “job”, but mightve gotten it under different circumstances.

as for kubo potentially being lower ranking than even a Composer, i think unless we find out what a Producers ranking is, we cant say much abt whether an Executors lower or higher. i kinda mean it in the sense of, Producers are a Composers subordinate bc they follow their orders and have to create the things theyre tasked to make by the Composer (pins, etc), but may still be “higher” in ranking because they reside in the Higher Plane/jump between parallel worlds, while a Composer cannot. an Executor may be in a similar position where theyre a Composers underling, tasked by Composers to purify things, but may actually be “higher” in ranking because they reside in the higher plane, etc!

i think regardless of whether kubo turns out to be lower ranking than joshua or not, hazuki could still be Even More Higher in a way where he actually has like, sway over whether he could get a promotion! if that was his intent. he could also just be a huge suck up. a real kiss ass. teachers pet for angels

---

theres also the ntwewy Official Guidebook, which has a small comment beneath hazuki that says

and i additionally remember an interview, though i dont have a source for this claim and i could very much be misremembering, but i recall seeing the reason for hazuki not being the final boss is because they did not think players could suspend their disbelief far enough to accept that the twisters would be able to defeat a being from the Higher Plane.

which is perfectly reasonable, but

Composers are meant to be able to be defeated by Players or Reapers. if hazuki really was so powerful that itd be impossible for them to defeat him, then hed be far too strong to be an ordinary Composer, since thats. how you take over in the first place. thats kinda the whole plot of og twewy.

anyway that concludes my case

#neo twewy spoilers #neo twewy #ntwewy #the world ends with you #twewy meta #hazuki mikagi #twewy composer #vampymori.txt #(uses my gay little brain to figure out a way the neo reports dont retcon lore) BEHOLD....#i like this bc its funny as hell to think haz like. did something to be DEMOTED?#SORRY THAT CONCEPTS HILARIOUS TO ME #i didnt talk abt it much but the fact that hes called Infamously Unsympathetic #and in JP it additionally implies that the Higher Plane thinks this way of him as well #that means. they hated his ass so much they were like GET OUT #oh another thing. i didnt know where to add it #but in neos social network joshua is referred to as 'a being from a Higher Plane'#its notable that it says 'a' not 'the' Higher Plane (capitalized) bc the og reports do say the UG is on a higher plane than the RG #so like. its true. just a weird way to say hes from the UG #im p sure joshuas never BEEN to The actual Higher Plane #he wouldnt even be able to SEE anyone there. much less elevate his vibe that high #anyway. godspeed thanks for reading #hazuki demotion theory #is what im basically calling this LOL

182 notes · View notes

eclectickss · 4 years ago

Text

Make Me Feel Special (1/2)

Pairing: Milf!Agatha Harkness x fem!reader

Warnings: Mommy issues/kink, sexual implications, major age gap (reader is of age)

Summary: You are angry at your best friend for turning down the opportunity for something that you would give your life for: a mother.

Word Count: 3K?

Link to Part 2

A/N: Not grammar checked at all! A blurb gone big!(still at writers block on PGATW) But requests are open! I’ve never done one before but i’m willing to try. <3

You entered the apartment and placed your keys in the dish and jacket on it’s hook, making your way into the kitchen to place your to-go food in the fridge. Jane sat at the island on the computer you shared, and you smiled.

“Hey, I picked up sandwiches for dinner. Hope that’s cool.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Your best friend didn’t look up, but it didn’t really bother you. Well, she was your only friend, but still.

You and Jane had been sharing the apartment for years now, The two of you working a good job to afford it and making a livable income. You had been close since high-school, due to your similar social status, but beyond the two of you, nobody was too good at making friends.

From what she had told you, Jane’s mom wasn’t around much when she was growing up. Jane was a teen pregnancy, and ever since she was born, her mom made no time for her daughter. Agatha, was her name.

Agatha came from a wealthy family, though. Her parents (Jane’s grandparents) wouldn’t allow her to use the family money for her child, much less anything else. She struggled with Jane, and therefore the two of them were ever close.

Agatha’s parents died when Jane was in high-school, so her mom inherited their wealth, but their relationship was past salvageable. At least in Jane’s eyes, it was.

Jane was always telling you about how bad of a mom Agatha was and about how you were lucky that you didn’t have to deal with someone like her. Jane didn’t understand though. You would had given anything to have someone like Agatha. Even if she wasn’t around to much, it was still better than nobody at all.

You were now setting the table for two as you pulled the sandwiches out of the fridge, also finding some strawberries to place at the table. You now were looking through the pantry for chips when you heard a knock at the door and Jane moving around to answer it.

“Mom?!” You heard at the door while you still had your head buried in the pantry. Your eyes widened at the name, never expecting to hear it in your life (in that context, at least). You thought Agatha was out of the picture. “What are you doing here?” You stayed silent as you listened from around the corner.

“Well, I think it’s long overdue that we had a talk, Jane, honey.” She sounded a little more raspy than you were expecting, but that doesn’t say much about someone who used to be an addict.

“We don’t do that, Mom. Anyways, now isn’t a good time.” You heard your friend sigh. The woman was your literal mother... you could at least give her five minutes, you thought.

“I want to start, honey. Please just let me in?”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“C’mon, kiddo.” She begged, and you felt a little bad for how Jane was acting. You know her mom wasn’t a great person, but she was still her mom.

You never got to have one of those.

“If this is just you on another one of your sobriety stunts...”

“I’m really trying this time, Jane! I know I fucked up, baby, but please.”

“Fine.” Your friend grumbled. You heard increasing footsteps and your heart raced as you were about to meet the source of Jane’s complaints and drama.

You hurried to sit at the kitchen counter before the two women caught you snooping, but your gaze snaps up just in time to see Agatha Harkness walk into the room.

Jane might have always mentioned that her mother was any and all variations of a bitch, but she failed to mention how attractive the woman was. Her messy brown hair sat on top of an old purple cardigan and worn out jeans, followed by a pair of well-used slip-on shoes. The look together was not extremely flattering, but Agatha somehow pulled it together in a way that made your stomach turn. Your eyes raked her down, but you think she caught you when you met her gaze again. She smirked softly.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you had guests!” She says as her own eyes follow your figure, and you wonder if she’s just doing it to mock you or flatter you. She looks back up with a glimmer in her eye, and you decide on the latter option. Your face goes red, but you try and brush her actions off, not wanting to mistake it for anything else.

“Didn’t I say that this was a bad time?” Jane grumbled.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Harkness. My name is YN.” You smiled as you held out your hand.

“Call me Agatha, darling.” She stared into your eyes. “It’s so nice to finally meet one of Jane’s friends.” You panic under her gaze.

“We were just about to sit down for dinner, if you want to join us. We don’t have any food for you, but-“

“Oh, thank you... I was hoping I could talk to Jane in private, though.” She walked over to the table and took a seat.

“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it to YN, too.” The two of you joined Agatha at the table.

A long moment of awkward silence passsed between the three of you before your guest finally spoke up.

“I want you in my life, Jane. For real this time.”

Nobody says anything, and dishes stop clattering.

“I know I shoulda done this earlier... hell, I shoulda done this when I got claim to my parent’s money, but I want to look after you. I never got the chance to do that when you were young... cause of all the drinking and working... but I can do that now. I’m ready.”

Jane sat with her mouth open and a half eaten sandwich forgotten on her plate.

“No, Mom, you shoulda done this from the moment I was conceived. You don’t get a second chance with me. I’m not giving you a second chance, or a third or a fourth or whatever number you wanna give yourself. You wanna know why? It’s because I already did that. And you let me down every single time.”

Agatha looked a little speechless.

“Fine, then.” She sighed. “I won’t bother you again.” But it hurt you to watch a daughter turn away her mother, when that was an opportunity that you wanted so badly. “Is it alright if I stay the night, though? It’s a long drive back to my place.”

Jane rolled her eyes, knowing that her mother was being dramatic, but didn’t want to put up with any more of her antics. “I better not see you in the morning. YN can get blankets for the couch.”

“Hey, Jane,” You sighed as you entered her room.

“Hey, YN. I’m sorry you had to deal with the shit show that is my mother. I can’t believe she just walked in here and expected me to accept her pathetic invitation.”

“No, it’s ok. She’s not that bad with me.”

“Well she just met you. I just don’t understand why she thought showing up unannounced would magically make me want a mother again. It’s fucked up.” Jane said, but you couldn’t sit there and watch her tear down something that you wish you had.

“Yeah,” you mumbled and rushed out of her room before she could say anything else.

You walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, then headed over to the sink for some tap water. The cool liquid rushed down your throat as you held down your tears, thankful that nobody was around.

“Hey, Honey,”

Shit. You forgot that Agatha was on the couch.

You turn around to see her meeting your gaze, although her eyes quickly found the way to the rest of your body.

“You doing alright, babygirl?” The nickname made you heat up. She spoke with concern and care; something that Jane chose to ignore, which made you feel bad for Agatha. You wish that Jane wouldn’t take for granted what her mother was trying to offer her.

“Uh... yeah... I guess.” You sigh, hopping up to sit on the counter as you watch the other woman fill her own glass at the sink. “Jane is just... being a little hard right now.” You chose your words carefully, not wanting to lose the trust of your friend but also wanting to gain the trust of another.

“What do you mean?” You realize the situation you have put yourself in.

“It’s just... I didn’t have a mom at all growing up. Or a dad. I had my shitty uncle... until he tossed me into the foster system. I had it real rough... and it still kinda is... but Jane has been helping. That’s why we’re friends at least. She might view me as a charity project, but i’m desperate, I guess.”

“What does all of this have to do with Jane being hard, hon?” She leaned onto the counter across from you.

“She didn’t really have a mom, either... growing up. No offense.”

Agatha shrugged. “I know.”

“But now that she’s given an opportunity to have one, she turns it down... and it makes me jealous. Mad. Angry.” You pause. “I know I’ll never get the chance at a mom, but she has one. And fuck, I would give so much to have that.”

“To have someone like me? A recovering drunk who treated their teen pregnancy like a joke?��Agatha sighed into her hands, but her words meant so much more to you than she may ever know.

“Yeah. To have someone like you. Someone who cares.” At that, she looked up with a new light in her eyes, but you don’t meet her gaze. You don’t want her to see the blush or desire written on your face, so instead, you pull a cigarette out from your jacket pocket.

She watches you as you hop down from the counter to get the lighter out of the junk drawer, paying attention to the way your body moves. You notice how her eyes follow you, but you don’t call her out on it, knowing you would do the same if the roles were reversed.

“You want a hit?” You lift your eyebrow as you raise the smoke to meet her gaze. A glint of humor is caught on her face, and you smirk.

“Sure... why not.” She says as you join her in leaning up against the counter. You bring the cigarette up to your mouth and click the lighter.

“So,” Agatha starts again, both of you a few puffs in. “How did you end up here with Jane?”

“Uhh... we met senior year of high-school. I was fucked up. Shit grades. Wasn’t going to graduate. Drug money to pay off... no job. Jane used your money to pay off my debt. She found me a job. Tutored me. Like I said, I felt like a charity project. But at least I graduated. We both work now and pay for this place together. Maybe it’s not great but we’re both better off than we were a few years ago.”

“Why didn’t she accept anything I tried to give her? Did she tell you?” Agatha was prying, but you didn’t mind.

“You mean after high-school? She didn’t want any help from you. In her words exactly... ‘She wasn’t there for me for the first 18 years of my life, so why should she help out now...’”

“And what do you think about that?”

“I didn’t grow up poor, Agatha. I grew up with nothing. I would have taken any of your offers in a heartbeat, no matter how guilty they made me feel.”

“Good girl.” She nearly whispers, and you turned to face her, but you couldn’t make anything out of the expression written on her face. Your own skin was hot and something was burning in your core, and you didn’t know what to think.

“I’m sorry... what did you just say?” You watched as she put the cigarette out, now giving you her undivided attention.

“So tell me, honey, do you have a boyfriend? I’m assuming a pretty thing like you would have one. Tell me about him.” Part of you wondered where this conversation was going, but the other part assumed that she already knew which direction you leaned in.

“Uhh... not my type.” You stared at her with curiosity.

“So you got a girlfriend, then?” Her new confidence shocked you a little bit.

“Uhh... no.” You tilted your head, and she seemed to pick up on your confusion.

“Good girl.” Your mouth was dry. “You see, mommy doesn’t want you having a girlfriend... no, she wants you all to herself.”

Your eyes widen in shock, but your core aches and cheeks burn. You stare at the woman next to you as a hand slides onto your thigh.

“Oh come on, darling. You said you wanted a mommy, baby. I wanna take care of you. I see the way you look at me. Don’t deny you want me too.” She spins around and pins you to the counter, and you audibly gulp.

“But- Jane.” You whine, already being driven crazy by the proximity of Agatha’s body.

“Jane is kicking me out, baby girl. And you can come live with me. Mommy has a pretty house, honey. I can feed you, clothe you... make you feel good. I can make you feel special.” And God, your soul was ready to leave your body. You wanted this. You could hardly think as her soft lips grazed over the skin on your neck, and a soft moan escaped your throat. Her tongue and teeth pulled at the skin just below your ear, trying to pull a response out of you.

“Mom!” The both of you jumped at the third voice in the room. The two of you turn to Jane in shock. “What the FUCK are you doing!” She rushed over to the two of you, pulling Agatha off of your body. “You can’t just come into my life and try to fuck my friends after someone rejects you!” She pushes her mom back and turns to you.

“Oh my god, YN, are you ok? I cannot believe that she tried to touch you. God, that makes me sick.” She hugged you, but you still couldn’t say anything.

“Jane, honey, you don’t know-“

“Shut up! I can’t even look at you! Get out of my house, mom. I never want to see you again.” Jane’s face turned red with anger.

“Honey-“ Agatha met eyes with you, but you didn’t know what to do.

“Leave! Now.” She seethed and stomped back to the bedroom, expecting Agatha to be gone when she got back.

The woman in front of you moved silently while you still processed what just happened. When she returned with her belongings, she gave you a note, but headed out without saying a word.

After a few minutes, you finally looked at the piece of paper in hand.

If you ever make up your mind...

1286 Lincoln St NW

(673) 867-5309

-Agatha

“YN, are you sure you’re alright? I really never would have expected my mom to touch you or even make you feel uncomfortable. I’m so sorry.” Jane sighed as she sat on the bed.

“I’m fine, J. You don’t have to apologize on her behalf.” You replied, sitting on the chair opposite her.

“I mean what even happened. Why did she do that?”

“Umm... I don’t know. We were just talking and then she started that.”

“What we’re you talking about?”

“Oh, I was just explaining how we met.” You tentatively answered.

“YN you didn’t have to tell her that. I know it’s personal for you, I can’t believe she forced you to talk about it.

“I uhh- actually didn’t mind. I wasn’t forced.”

“Then why would you trust her with something like that? You know how she is.”

“Because...” You thought about your next words carefully. “She cares.” Jane scoffs.

“That must be a different woman we’re talking about, YN. My mom is a selfish bitch who only cares for herself.”

That tipped the iceberg for you.

“You know, Jane? I understand that you and her might never be besties like she wants you to be, but that doesn’t mean you get to fuck her over now that she’s trying.” Your friend looks up at you in shock.

“Well she fucked me over my entire life, so I don’t see why I can’t do the same.”

“Because! Jane! She’s changed! It’s only right that you give her one more shot in your life!”

She took a pause.

“I’m sorry, YN, are you defending my MOM? After everything she’s done to me, and everything i’ve done for you?!”

“Yes. It is sick watching you throw something away that I can only dream of.” You spat angrily.

“Geez, YN. Just- get out of my fucking house. Keep your rent money for the month. Pack your shit and get the hell out of here.” She nearly ran out of the room.

But you weren’t surprised. In fact, you expected this the moment you chose your side.

The knocks resonate through the large door attached to the even larger house. Agatha has money.

You thought Jane was over exaggerating a little bit, but now you understood that she wasn’t. You sighed as your cab sped away, and now all you could do was wait.

Agatha opened the door, slightly shocked to see you, but nevertheless happy.

“Hey baby, what is it?”

You took a deep breath, taking in the sight of the woman who stood in front of you.

“I want you to make me feel special, mommy.”

link to part 2

#agatha harkness #agatha harkness x reader #agatha harkness x female reader #agatha all along

248 notes · View notes

iliumheightnights · 4 years ago

Text

Bird Set Free | Ben Florian x Male Reader

Fandom: Descendants Pairing: Ben Florian x Male Reader Summary: A jealous Audrey comes after Ben’s boyfriend.

A/N: Another co write with my amazingly talented friend @inhumanshadows. If you haven’t checked them out what are you waiting for!? …

Ben had caught your eye the moment you stepped out of the limbo from the isle.

You were one of the first vk's to arrive in Auradon.

At the time Ben was dating Audrey so you didn't think you had any chance.

That changed after the big turney game when he asked you privately if you wanted to go on a date with him.

That shocked you first off because he was a prince/future king and you were a villain kid.

Secondly you were a guy. You hadn't expected Ben to be into guys.

You said yes of course. Who wouldn't want to go on a date with Ben.

The date went great and you enjoyed it.

During the whole coronation debacle, you helped Mal and them stop Maleficent.

Once everyone was unfrozen, Ben pulled you into a kiss in front of everyone.

That was a surprise to everyone, but who was going to challenge the king and his boyfriend who just stopped maleficent? No one that's who.

While Adam was shocked he wasn't disappointed and Belle was really supportive of you two.

Ben's parents were your biggest supporters. "Love is love."

While the kingdom had accepted you two relatively easy, one person did not. Audrey.

You had a feeling Audrey wouldn’t like it.

But you figured she wouldn’t be too mad for long.

At least that’s how it seemed. Especially when she left school for a little “wellness retreat.”

Then the mess with Uma happened.

You knew she spelled Ben and that any actions he made weren’t consciously his own.

The entire cotillion was...intense.

You didn't let Uma use Ben any more than she had.

You quickly pulled Ben in for a kiss and pressed your lips to his.

There was a spark and energy there that you felt every time you kissed.

Pulling back, Ben smiled at you and you could tell it had worked. He wasn't spelled anymore.

Uma and Mal then got into a fight over her spell book.

After everything settled down the two of you enjoyed the rest of your night.

However there was still a part of you that was hurt seeing Ben with someone else even if it wasn't his doing.

Luckily, Ben quickly made sure that YOU were the one for him.

That led to him proposing to you with a promise ring a week later.

...

You said yes to that right away. No way were you letting that pass by you.

Of course, Audrey wasn't happy with that. But who cares, what could she do?

-You didn’t care. You were engaged and had much more pressing matters to attend to.

-Now the whole kingdom was just in your face about really anything and everything.

“when’s the wedding?!”

“How are you adjusting to life as the prince’s boyfriend??”

It was that constantly and it gets old quickly.

So you just focused on Ben and your friends.

Evie insisted on designing yours and Ben’s wedding outfits.

“I mean I won’t tell you no Evie.”

You had to remind everyone that it was only a promise ring and not an actual engagement ring. No one seemed to care.

Honestly with you two, it really was more of an engagement ring.

But that was for another day. Today was Jane's birthday.

Ben had some last minute work to finish so you went ahead of him.

"(M/N)! It's good to see you."

"Ben's on his way. He just had to finish something first. He's sorry for being late."

She waved you off. "No worries."

Then someone you hadn't expected showed up.

Audrey.

She was dressed differently and had maleficent staff.

That wasn't good.

Audrey laid her eyes on you and a wicked smile came over her face.

That REALLY wasn't good.

"Jane, go. Run!"

Jane nods and hightails it out of there.

Audrey starts to sing “Happy birthday” as waves of green smoke wash over the party area, all the guests falling into a cursed sleep.

You brace for an inevitable sleep... but it never comes.

Audrey stands before you, smile on her face.

“A sleeping curse is too good and too easy for you. I have other plans.”

She bangs the bottom of the staff on the ground and you’re surrounded by smoke.

Magic flows over you and when it clears... everything is bigger.

“Well aren’t you a pretty bird...” Audrey says before vanishing.

You run to the edge of the lake and see that she turned you into a raven.

A raven. Of course she turned you into a raven, just like diaval.

Your first instinct is to panic. You're currently a bird when just five seconds ago you were human.

After calming down a bit you realize the next best thing to do is go after Ben.

Ben! If this is what Audrey did to you what would she have done to Ben!?

Without another thought you flap your new wings and try your best to fly.

It's not pretty at first but you figure it out and soon are flying to your future husband.

When you do reach Ben...it's not fun.

Audrey had changed him as well, but instead of a bird he was a beast. Just like his dad.

When you tried talking with him you hoped he would be like how his dad was as a beast...or at least as you had been told.

You figured you'd get to talk with him and figure out a way to stop Audrey.

Ben tried to eat you.

Apparently Audrey's curse made Ben an actual full beast and not just looking like one.

There was only one thing left to do...find help!

Finding help wasn't easy. Everyone was either asleep or turned to stone!

Fairy godmother? Stone. Belle and Adam? Asleep.

Luckily you found Mal and them, along with Uma, Gil and Harry.

Unluckily, they just thought you were a raven.

Harry kept shooing you and threatening to hit you with the hook.

Gil wanted to pet you. So that wasn’t too bad.

And the others either thought you were gross or just a dumb bird.

Gil proves to have the braincell for the group when he suggested giving whatever made Dude the dog talk to you.

Mal did it to “make the conversation change”

"Finally! I've been trying to get your attention forever!"

They all go wide eyed when you're voice comes out of the bird.

"Yes it's me. (M/N). Audrey turned me into a raven and I went to find Ben but she changed him into a beast! You gotta help me save Ben!"

Of course, even though you were a bird, Ben is a king, your boyfriend and a beast right now. You were helping him first.

"Oh and Gil...can you scratch my head again?"

What? It felt good.

Then Jay, Harry, Gil and Carlos went with you to find your boyfriend.

You guys find beast ben and slowly try to get his attention.

He turns and stalks towards you all.

He looks as if he’s about to pounce when Jane pops out of the trees and sprays him with water.

Ben roars and stumbles back rubbing his face. He drops his hands and looks relatively normal.

“What did you hit him with, Jane?” Jay asks.

“Enchanted lake water. Breaks most enchantments. Figured it couldn't hurt.”

You let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding.

"Oh thank gods. I was so worried babe."

Ben froze in place as he saw you talking.

"(M/N)?"

You flew over and landed on his shoulder.

"Hey Ben. Audrey got to me first. Thanks for not eating me earlier."

Ben would then pet you.

"I'm glad I didn't. That would be awkward...now how do we change you back? Jane?"

"I kind of used the last of the water."

You look Ben up and down and he smiles at you.

“Gotta say Ben, I like the fangs and beard. Could be cleaner but...”

“Oh really?” Ben asks.

That when Harry whistles. “Sorry to break up that tender moment... but we have an angry Audrey to pursue...”

"Right! We'll have to figure something out later. I promise! I'll make sure to get you back" Ben said.

You knew he would. Ben always did.

Returning to Evie's cottage, Uma seemed to be leaving in a mood.

Doug who had been asleep was now awake.

"Wait? How is he awake?"

"True love’s kiss."

You looked at Ben who looked back at you.

"Why didn't we think of that?!" you said.

Ben rubbed the back of his head with a nervous look.

"Sorry."

“it’s alright. Lots happening. We’ll try later. First we deal with Audrey!”

Cue Audrey sealing you all in the cottage.

Then mal and Uma break you guys out with some awesome cooperative magic.

You: “Aww you guys are friends again!”

Mal: “I’ll pluck your feathers...”

“Alright! Geez...”

Then everything with Mal came out.

It made your heart break. Ben,Your boyfriend, your future husband, made a decision with Mal to not bring over any more VK's.

You couldn't believe it. You didn't want to accept it.

"So...you didn't even want to talk to me about this?" You said to him.

"I'm a VK Ben! You're wanting to stop any one else from getting the chance that I did? That's so wrong!"

Now you really wish you had gotten that kiss earlier...cause this love didn't feel true anymore.

Uma, Harry and Gil left...and so did you.

"I need to think."

"(M/N) wait!"

Did you leave on Gil’s shoulder, slumped against him? Yes yes you did.

It was all very confusing and pretty shocking.

While you understood where they were coming from... it... it just hurt.

You all were back at the cottage, checking up on Dizzy and the twins.

You were glad they weren’t awake to hear about all that. They had enough on their plates.

“So what do we do now?” You ask, walking on a table, everyone seated around it.

Uma: “Nothing. Let Mal and Ben figure it out... they don’t deserve our help after that stunt.”

"I can't just sit by Uma. I'm mad...but not let Audrey go kind of mad. If anything I want just a bit of revenge."

Uma smirked at that.

"Good to know there's still a VK in there."

You extended your wings and fake bowed.

Eventually you all began heading back to the isle before Mal stopped you begging you all to help her.

"They were turned to stone. (M/N),Ben was turned to stone."

It didn't matter how hurt you were, you still loved Ben.

Without hesitation you hopped off Gil's shoulder and began flying back.

Arriving back at the cottage you saw them, Evie, Dude,Carlos, Jay and Ben...all statues.

You landed on Ben's out stretched stone arm.

"Oh Ben...What do I do?"

You sat there perched on Ben's arm, looking at his frozen face.

You regretted that the last thing you two did was fight.

Hopefully this would be fixed soon and you can apologize.

As if your wishes were answered. Ben and the rest were unfrozen and the people began waking up.

"Ben! Oh gods you're back! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry about how I left."

"(M/N). No I'm sorry. I should have asked you. I'm sorry I didn't."

With that Ben lifted his arm with you on it up and kissed your head.

In an instant you felt yourself changing and growing and soon you were back to being human.

You smiled and pulled Ben into a tight up.

"Forget waiting. Ben, I have no idea what's going to happen but I know I want to be with you. Let's get married."

He didn't disagree and your promise ring was now that engagement ring.

After making sure everyone was alright after everything that transpired you, Ben and Mal got to talking and came to a unanimous decision.

You all agreed it was time to take the barrier down and stop making the children of villains pay for their parents misdeeds.

You worked with the other VKs to make the process as fair and efficient as possible.

Ben pulled you away for a minute to hug you.

“I know we’re still working on the rest of the VKs but I was thinking we could meet with Evie to talk about wedding stuff?”

“of course... we have a lot to plan... together.”

Evie was excited when you told her.

Ben and you also enjoyed the planning, especially the cake.

Your wedding was going to be amazing.

#descendants #disney's descendants #disneys descendants #descendants ben #descendants ben florian #ben florian #ben florian x male reader #ben florian x male!reader #ben florian x reader

783 notes · View notes

rebornthestage · 4 years ago

Text

[2021.08.22] Kitamura Kento (Hibari) 17LIVE livestream

(I live translated his stream, so there may be details I'm missing/misheard.)

Starting remarks:

He wants to play Hibari more

He usually has great memories of the plays he's worked on, but not quite for this one; It doesn't feel like it ended yet.

He feels like they can do the play again, do the future arc again

His little bro is a big fan of Amano's works, especially KHR, so he's very familiar with this series

His brother is babysitting in the US, so he sends him clips of the play lol

It's only been half a year since he started Twitter and he appreciates all the support (likes, RTs, replies)

His faves are Dino and Primo in the manga. He loves their visuals. He thinks they look cool.

He actually wants to play as Primo lmao

Was excited when he heard James was playing Dino; he's worked with him in at least 3 plays (?, Hakuouki SSL, Hataraki Saibou); Met the first time in a while thanks to this stage

Q&A Section:

Q: Why do you have so many Hibird photos in your makeup area?

A: They're from Yamamoto Ryosuke! Ryosuke receives a Hibird photo from the production team every performance, so he gives them all to Kento since he's Hibari after all. He has around 8 of them. Sometimes Ryosuke forgets to give it to him and he feels unnecessarily disappointed lmao

Q: Thoughts on receiving Hibari's role A: First he wondered a lot about how he'd portray Hibari's fighting style, and tried to portray his cloud-like, untouchable feeling. Kento was set on fighting with "pauses" and "urgency" for Hibari. Hibari's the fastest in thinking and acting, like that time when everyone was panicking about Byakuran's attack, while Hibari immediately left to check on Namimori since that's where the attack landed.

Hibari can also be misleading. When the Real 6 Funeral wreaths landed at Namimori, he was first to speak. However, just when you think he was going to propose a plan, he just states that one of them landed in Namimori, which makes you wonder just how much he loves the place haha.

That unexpectedness makes him interesting to the viewers. He tends to speak, pause in the middle, and then change his tone/aura when he continues his sentence.

Q: Thoughts on Hibari before and after playing him A: He talked about this in his blog post. After playing him, he thinks of other people more than you'd expect. He acts to protect Namimori, and as a result, saves people.

Q: Have you planned the curtain call interactions with Ryohei and Lambo beforehand? A: Nope. That was all thanks to Kimeru adlibbing, and Kento has no idea when Ryohei will jump in lol.

On a tangent, but he very much admires Kimeru for perfectly playing his role. He has already perfected the role even when they just started rehearsing. He has the formula for Lambo down pat. This makes it easy for someone to copy and stand in for him during rehearsals.

Q: Can you share more info on the action parts? A: Every week he gets the stunts instructor to teach him something new, then he practices it on his own for the rest of the week.

Apparently, he practiced while facing a tree at the park, haha. A lot of people commented, saying they want to be the tree. He was like, "No way lol". There were so many people wanting to become trees that he said they were going to turn into a forest lol.

He then talks in detail about how to do a roundhouse kick properly lmao. The left leg/standing leg is important apparently lmao. He repeats this sentence a couple of times and demonstrates it with his fingers.

Sometimes he got tired after doing it so many times. However, when he started doing 1 hour stretches everyday, it became a lot easier.

Does aftercare? (Is that the right term to use here? haha) after practice because it's a lot of strain on his left leg and arm.

Q: What are your similarities with Hibari? A: He likes to do things on his own. Hyperfocused on what he likes. Is stubborn.

He likes to have a lot of preparation before taking something on...

He'll leave when he feels like leaving, lol

Q: Thoughts on Tsuna and Hibari's relationship, and your relationship with Takenaka Ryohei A: Tsuna is an important person in Present and Future Hibari's life.

Takenaka Ryohei is amazing. He has a different reaction to Present Hibari and TYL Hibari and he can really see and feel it... Ryohei's act really contributes to Kento's own acting. It's because Ryohei reacted that way that Hibari seems even more fearsome.

Ryohei can portray Tsuna's fear of TYL!Hibari, but then also show a different reaction when he stops Present!Hibari during Choice.

Usually, it should be the protagonist who would do something proactively while everyone else reacts. As the protagonist, but it's hard to give large reactions. However, in KHR, it's often Tsuna who reacts. It's because Tsuna reacts in a certain way that you can figure out what type of person the other character is. Ryohei is amazing for being able to do that role.

Q: Was it you playing as Alaude's silhouette? A: Yes. Yamamoto also played as Ugetsu.

Random tidbit: At the part where Deisy gets caught with the huge handcuffs, they didn't have those huge handcuffs until they were at the venue lol. So they've been practicing without it until then.

That's why his actions during that scene slowly started to change, since he began to have ideas on what else he could do at that scene.

Q: Thoughts on the Hibari switch scene A: He asked viewers when they realized it wasn't Kento as Hibari onstage? On their first watch? During the stream?

Daiki tried really hard to copy Kento's Hibari, like his walk so people wouldn't catch on. Was really happy when it was decided Daiki was the one who'll be his body double. He actually thought it would be an ensemble doing it, until 2 weeks (?) into rehearsals

Q: Happenings onstage? A: He doesn't really want to talk about it... However, after he turned 25, he's become more open to his mistakes so he can talk about this now haha.

When wearing suits, he wants to look suave and used to wearing them. Having the box in his pants pocket ruins the silhouette of the suit, and so would placing it in his chest pocket, even though the latter seems cool. He talked with the costume designers to add some sort of leather pouch (?) at his waist.

However, after putting the box in and out of the pouch so many times, the leather pouch worse out and became looser. In one performance, the box dropped to the floor sometime without his notice. ("Roll rolled." LOL)

During his fight with Genkishi, he stuck his hand in the pouch while talking and realized it wasn't there. He was like, Oh Shit, lmao. Then clumsily tried to hide the fact that he has no box by taking out his hand and only showing the back of it to the audience, lmao.

He watched a clip of that performance afterwards and learned that the box fell while he did a roundhouse kick.

Also, during the fight with Deisy, he can't see anything. The lights were so bright. When he twirls the handcuffs, it has to face a certain side so that the cuff would close, but sometimes it ends up facing the wrong side, so he has to twirl it back. However, it's hard to figure out if it's facing the right side or not because of the light, so he accidentally dropped the handcuffs once.

(There were actually a few fan reports saying that Kento seemed to drop his props often lol)

Q: Thoughts on Hibari unbuttoning his suit before fighting A: When raising your arm while wearing suits, the middle part scrunches open and he doesn't like that. He wants Hibari to look flawless, so he tried to make it part of the act to unbutton the suit.

He doesn't do this for the part where he trains Tsuna, since he doesn't want to make it like Hibari's doing it for appearances. He tries to make it seem like it's an act Hibari does when he expects a good fight.

Q: Any special training? A: He has a lower center of gravity because he played ice hockey seriously for 9 years. He's jealous of actors who took karate and dance since they are useful skills as an actor. He believes that playing ice hockey and balancing on ice skates really contributed to doing action scenes.

Q: Do you do any weight/muscle training? A: He used to go to the gym, but stopped because of covid. He apparently started classic ballet recently. He likes gaining strength without getting too bulked up. Before he hated wearing tight clothes, but now he has embraced it lmao

Q: Any KHR weapons he would like to try? A: He likes Japanese swords, so he likes Yamamoto's sword style.

When Chrome was handed the Devil Lens, he wondered how one would fight with it? How do you make it look like you use it often? Do you twirl it like a pen?

He's seen James' whip skills live during Secret Bullet and was very impressed that James was able to use them to the fullest. It's a weapon you can more easily hurt yourself with after all.

During rehearsals, there wasn't a center door to come out from, so he had to wait at the sides while Dino and Deisy were fighting. Hibari often comes out from the center door, so he calls Hibari a "Center Door Guy", lol.

Q: Judging from how fast you changed into the yukata during curtain call, are you the type of person who changes clothes fast? A: He has to change from suit to yukata in 1 minute and 30 seconds and be careful not to make Hibari look sloppy, so he was really worried about it... That's why you'd see him touching his collar from time to time.

Final Words

He asks fans to answer the Reborn! The Stage questionnaire and request for a rerun of the Future arc stage plays. They were able to change the future in Future arc, so he believes we can change the future in real life as well. A rerun isn't impossible in his opinion.

He'd love to livestream again sometime with others, like Daiki-kun (Glo Xinia/Dino), and Daiki-kun, and Daiki-kun.😂

#katekyo hitman reborn #khr #reborn the stage #episode of future #kitamura kento #translation #livestream #kento is part of the primo gang lol congrats #also the staff was the one who took his photos for him apparently #but the idea on the poses and stuff was all him #lol in hindsight i shouldve done a couple of screenshots but i was too busy typing #i actually have some summaries for kohei and daikis streams that i never posted here oops #tho my notes on koheis were messy since i hadnt planned on writing an actual summary

31 notes · View notes