#but he understands her (not in a weird magic language way just in a he knows her so well way) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mywritersmind · 2 months ago

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pookieeee how are youuu 💗 I'm in NEED of a Franco fic where the reader is João Félix's little sister...

So she obvi speaks Portuguese and English (maybe some Italian in there too) butttt unlike her brother her Spanish is rusty. So when reader drags her brother (and of course some of the guys from the team) to support her best friend at a race, he's listening in to every little comment Franco makes about her in Spanish and trying to subtly give hints to reader that he likes her, and of course some good brother teasing! Just hardcore fluff, friend pining and good old family banter!

HE CAN UNDERSTAND - FC43

listen up : i used google translate don’t come for me. not proofread! super cute and fluffy! loved this request sorry if i didng execute it well😭

word count : 2281

⋆｡‧˚⋆

“Franco!” I jump into my best friends arms as he laughs. The moment I asked for three Grand Prix tickets, he sent them over immediately and went on a rant of how excited he was to see me.

“Y/n!” He grins widely at me, “I’m so happy you’re here!” He's in his race suit, his hair messy and extra wavy. I run my hand through it, fixing it a bit.

“You’re a mess.” I laugh as he pushes my hand away and rolls his eyes, “Oh!” I suddenly remember that my brother is standing behind me. “This is my brother, João! I can’t believe you two haven’t met!” I smile at both of them as my brother shakes Franco’s hand.

Oddly professional for someone he knows I love. “Nice to finally meet you. Y/n never shuts up about you.” I slightly blush at his words as Franco lets out a laugh.

“Good to know…” Franco gives us a mini tour. I'm so beyond happy for him. This has been his dream since forever, the first time I met him he even jokingly flirted and said I could be a WAG.

Franco is charming and hilarious so my brother likes him instantly. We end up in the William’s garage, everyone scrambling around and talking in languages I can’t understand.

Since it’s race day, i’m genuinely surprised Franco had the time to see us. Especially since Qualifying was earlier today.

But my best friend works in magical ways.

⋆༺

FRANCO

I watch Y/n talk to Alex’s girlfriend. I watch as her hair flows down her back and her hand covers her mouth as she laughs. “So,” João turns to me, sort of intimidating for his height but so far I think he approves of me. “You’ve known Y/n for a while, huh?”

I nod, “Yeah, she hasn't been able to shake me yet.” He laughs, nodding his head.

“You care about her?” Why do I feel like i’m getting interrogated?

I nod, “Of course. She’s my best friend.”

“I mean as more than a friend.”

I laugh uncomfortably, joking with him, “Are you asking me my intentions?” He does not find this funny. I clear my throat and breathe out, “We’re just friends.”

Y/n comes skipping back over to us. I’ve always been taught to not lie, but i’m not about to confess that I like her to fucking brother.

“J, you’ve got to see his car!” She takes his arm and pulls him away, “You coming, Fran?”

I’m about to follow after them but my engineer taps my shoulder, “Gimmie one second! Don't touch anything, Y/n, I know how you are!”

She gives me one of her signature smiles, making my pulse quicken and my smile falter. I catch her brother giving me an odd look before I sit up and wave.

I turn to my engineer who’s smiling, big, “Dios mío, te estás sonrojando.” (My god, you’re blushing.) I roll my eyes at him, turning to see Y/n point to my car and start asking questions to someone in blue.

“¡Cállate por favor!” (Shut up please!) Her Spanish is more than rusty. I've tried to teach her some but she gets distracted and she always ends up persuading me into something different. Still, it’s weird talking about her when she’s right there.

“Vamos, ¡te gusta! Es la forma en que la miras... como si fuera el sol.” (Come on, you like her! It’s the way you look at her… like she’s the sun.) I push his shoulder at his words. Christ, is it that obvious?

“Actúas como si fuera un cachorrito enamorado.” (You act like i’m some lovesick puppy)

“¡Porque lo eres! Siempre hablas de ella, tu pantalla de bloqueo es ella, ¡siempre le estás enviando mensajes de texto! Admítelo.” (Because you are! You always talk about her, your lock screen is her, you are always texting her! Just admit it.)

I cross my arms at him, not daring to glance back at her. “No voy a arruinar mi relación con ella…” I shake my head and tease him, “¡Ahora vuelve a trabajar!” (I’m not ruining my relationship with her… now get back to work!)

I join Y/n and João again, smiling and doing my duty as a tour guide. João gives me another weird look and i’m hoping it’s not because i’m losing his trust. I know i’m not her boyfriend, but I still want him to like me.

They are soon asked to step into the visitors area as I warm up for the race. Y/n kisses my cheek before she goes, “Good luck, Fran. Be careful!” I know my cheeks are red but all I can focus on is her so close to me, her lips on my cheek.

I nod, “Thank you. Have fun watching.” I wink at her and turn, getting ready.

⋆༺

YOU

“I’m so nervous! It’s so rainy!” I bite my lip as the cars go out on track in a second formation lap. The race hasn’t even started and someone’s already out!

My brother eyes me, he’s been acting weird all day and I hate it. He suddenly turns to me, “You don’t like Franco?”

It catches me off guard, “Uh… of course I do?” He rolls his eyes.

“I mean can you see yourself with him? I think you’d be cute.” I laugh out loud.

“João, when have you ever wanted me to date someone?” Especially Franco. I mean, maybe i’ve thought about it.

Okay maybe I've fantasized about it… a lot.

But what am I supposed to do? Confess to my best friend who’s always been there for me that I think he’s irresistible and criminally hot? No.

“I just think if you’re gonna date anyone… He’s a good option.” My cheeks heat as I shake my head, “You’re blushing! Come on, Y/n, why not?”

“Just shut up, the race is starting!”

The next time he brings it up is at a yellow flag, “He’s definitely nicer than your ex.” I give him a death glare and attempt to tune him out, “And who did you go crying to after he broke your heart….?” Franco. The answer is Franco because he’s always there.

It’s been hard recently because of his races, but he’s constantly texting or calling me. I think he just wants someone to gossip with.

“Again, he’s my friend. Just because you have a girlfriend now doesn’t mean you know everything!”

“No but I know everything about you, and you don’t look at your other friends like that.” I hate that stupid smug smile on his face. And I hate that he’s right.

My stomach drops when Franco goes into the wall. I grab onto my brother's arm who doesn’t look concerned at all and more happy that i’m so worried! I slap his arm, “You have no empathy!”

I cross my arms, biting my lip as I watch him exit the car. Thank god he’s okay.

Franco gives me a small thumbs up when he’s back in the garage. I can tell he’s absolutely gutted, the air is awkward and thick with tension since Franco’s crash meant that the whole team's weekend is over.

The race is long and honestly scary. Still, all I can think about is Franco.

Maybe this weekend, his attention to me, my brothers comments, and how Franco’s been looking at me, has finally sealed what I've been dreading.

I’ve known I like him for a while, but I don’t want to ruin us. I can’t be embarrassed by my closest friend!

I’m not an idiot, I see how he flirts with interviewers or even fans. Part of me wants to believe that’s just his personality, but the other part is screaming at me that he doesn’t like me.

His eyes though, he looks at me so deeply that sometimes I feel like I'm apart of some big trick.

“Hey,” My brother nudges me, “Race is over.” I snap out of whatever daze I was in and nod, “I gotta pee, go talk to Franco!”

When I look to where he points, Franco’s already looking at me. His race suit is unzipped and he looks so tired. “Hi.” He smiles softly but I can tell it’s forced.

“Sorry your first race with me sucked.” He frowns, leaning against the little barrier from the garage and friends and family.

“Hey…” I touch his arm briefly, “It did not suck! And It’s not your fault. It was scary though…”

His eyes look sad and I know it’s not just because he crashed. Franco feels so deeply and this weekend has been especially hard for him. I can tell he sees the worry on my face, “I'm really really happy you’re here. We’re getting dinner later, right?”

I go to the hotel with João first. We change and meet back at the restaurant. “I’m so hungry!” I groan as we sit down, Franco said he would be here soon but I am not above ordering early.

João sits across from me, “Gotta wait for your boyfriend.”

I eye him, “You better not say anything in front of Franco. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.” He laughs a bit.

“I really don’t think I will.” He’s so ominous today. “I can tell i’m making you uncomfortable though. My only question is… why?”

“Why?”

“Why can’t you accept that you like him? He’s obviously not going to turn you down. He’s practically got hearts in his eyes when he talks to you.” The waiter brings water which I gulp down immediately.

“I- No! I can’t like him. He’s my friend.”

“So you’ve said… but the best relationships start out that way.” Why is he pushing this so much?

“I just… I don’t want to ruin our relationship.”.

“Funny…” he mumbles something, “That's what he said too.” but I can’t hear him because Franco sits and starts saying hello.

Our dinner is amazing, the food is perfect and I can’t stop laughing at Franco and João. “You’ve gotta come to a match sometime!” My brother laughs, “The team would love you.”

Franco grins, “I would be honored! Y/n always talks about your games, you’re pretty good apparently.” This boosts my brother's ego far too much and we end the night while talking about football and childhood stories.

“He always teased me with his friends!” I roll my eyes at the memory, “They were all learning Spanish in highschool so I never understood them!”

Franco laughs as João shakes his head, “Why didn’t you take spanish in highschool?”

“I did! I just never caught on. Plus João became fluent after school anyway so his schooling barely helped.” I shrug as Franco’s expression turns odd.

He blinks, looking to João, “You’re fluent?”

“Si.” He looks almost smug about it as Franco nods slowly, swallowing.

“Así que escuchaste…” (So you heard…)

“Todo.” (Everything) Franco’s smile drops completely at my brothers words. But my brother still carries on with a smile, “Eres muy obvio, pero lo apoyo.” (You’re very obvious, but I support it.)

I frown at their communication that I can’t understand, “Okay, can you two stop gossiping? I’m ready to leave.” Franco smiles at me, nodding slowly as we stand.

Our walk back to the hotel is short and luckily no fans interrupt it. The warmth of the inside makes me smile and the ding of the elevator makes me yearn for my bed.

“Uh, Y/n?” I look back at Franco as he talks, “Could I speak to you for a moment…” I look at my brother who nods, a smile still on his face as he disappears behind the elevator doors. “Let’s go outside.”

It’s no longer raining so we venture out into the hotel's garden. It’s beautiful with tall plants and trees, a small path that we walk on, and flowers that I've never seen before.

“What did you walk to talk to me about?” I turn to him, he looks oddly scared and a bit chilly. He starts to speak but then closes his mouth and thinks, “Franco…?”

“I like you.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, I freeze, “I really like you and not just as a friend… like way more than that.”

I blink, “You’re kidding?”

The panic on his face is immediate, “No?”

“Shit. Okay!” I realize i’m so caught up in my own world that he probably thinks I don’t like him, “I feel the same.”

He breathes out, stepping closer, “You fucking scared me.”

I smile, not believing this is even real, “You really like me? Because my brother has been making me feel delusional all day!” He takes my hand in his and I swear my heart skips a beat.

“He heard me talking about you in spanish…” I raise a brow, “My engineer was teasing me and I didn’t know he spoke it!” I laugh, shaking my head at his story, “But I'm glad he did. I probably would be sitting in my room all alone if he hadn't.”

I grip his hand tighter, stepping closer, “I’m really glad too. I didn’t want to ruin anything but fuck I really like you.”

He grins and leans in, He paused before I nod. Franco presses a kiss to my lips softly, “I can’t believe you have a crush on me.” I whisper as groans and rolls his eyes, trying to walk away.

“No! No taking it back now!” I laugh, pulling him back to me, my hand going to his neck and my lips meeting his, “You’re stuck with me now.”

#fanfic #formula 1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #franco colapinto fanfic #franco colapinto fluff #franco colapinto imagine #franco colapinto x reader #franco colapinto

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marcyvamp1re-blog · 20 days ago

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✦ ◟Pnyo! ⊹𓆝 𓈒 ۫

WHAT IF!! | Damian finds a fish with a veeery strange face?

Synopsis; He finds a strange fish that not only steals his attention but also seems to be changing shape. Between obsessively caring for it and keeping his cat from eating it, something weird is happening: the fish is becoming... more human. A miracle or just an aquatic disaster? Damian doesn’t know what to think, but surely nothing will be the same after this.

Pairing ── Damian Wayne x Ponyo! Reader. (Platonic)

Content. MDNI ── Fluff, transformation, fight, mild violence?, supernatural elements, emotional conflict, character growth, ambiguity, mild suspense, fantastical creatures.

A/N ── English is not my first language—Spanish— Ugh, we’re finally starting to upload all the delayed requests. This one is special because, well, some friends specifically asked for it, and it kicks off the "What If!" section, where you can send me any silly situation or whatever you want.

Damian had never been a fan of comedic situations or casual affection. He had grown up surrounded by discipline, struggle, and duty, where everything that wasn’t a mission or a cause seemed unnecessary. Spontaneity and tenderness made him uncomfortable, as if they were territories he didn’t know and avoided with caution. But here he was, on a remote beach, trying to escape the feeling that something in his life was changing. Perhaps the peace of the sand beneath his feet or the sun barely touching his face made him feel vulnerable, something he had never allowed.

It was then that he saw her: a strange, glowing fish that emerged from the water with almost magical grace, as if it were a creature from a dream. Something about its appearance, with its peculiar shape and vibrant colors.

Damian, in an impulse as unexpected as it was baffling, grabbed the bucket that Cassandra and Stephenie had left forgotten by the shore. He lifted it quickly, without thinking, and caught the fish with the same precision with which he usually caught his enemies. There was no logical reason, no plan. He simply did it, as if, for once, the same curiosity that had made him take Goliath years ago was now driving him to do the same with this creature.

When he got home, the fish was still in the bucket, hopping slightly, as if it had no idea of the bewilderment it was causing in the boy who had, in some way, learned to treat the strangest animals as if they were normal. And though he couldn’t admit it, part of him felt a strange satisfaction.

Damian didn’t usually allow anything or anyone to interrupt his concentration, but something about this fish kept him in a constant state of alertness. He spent hours watching it in the fish tank he had placed in his room, studying every movement, every bubble it made while swimming. It wasn’t just curiosity. There was something else, something he couldn’t fully identify, but it felt like a small spark of something he had never allowed to ignite inside him.

At first, he watched it from a safe distance, not interacting too much, as if observing it silently was enough. But soon, the need to take care of it, to protect it from any possible threat, began to infiltrate his daily routine.

Every morning, he made sure its water was fresh, renewed, and free of impurities. His mother had taught him how to take care of little creatures, but he had never paid so much attention to the details as he did with this fish. The water had to be at the perfect temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, and the plants in the tank had to be kept clean, with no algae that could disturb its tiny ecosystem. If any leaf fell or something disrupted its balance, Damian would fix it immediately, as if the life of the fish depended on his intervention.

The others didn’t understand, of course. Drake and Duke, for example, would come over with mischievous smiles, bringing pieces of ham as if it were a harmless joke. He often found them crouched down, trying to give the creature a snack, and his patience would overflow. “What are you doing?” he’d ask with a calmness that barely hid his irritation. “Don’t give it ham. It’s not food for her.” And although his words were sharp, no one could deny the protective tone in his voice. The worst part was that his fish happily accepted the ham!

Sometimes, when they tried something new, like moving the tank to see how the fish would react, Damian couldn’t help but frown. No matter how ridiculous it seemed to others, in his mind, that creature deserved respect. And most of all, it deserved to be safe.

Alfred, the cat, was another constant concern. Although the cat usually behaved with innate elegance, he never missed an opportunity to observe the tank, his eyes filled with a furtive gleam. Damian had to come up with a series of tricks to keep the cat at bay. He’d place a special lid, one that kept the cat from opening it, and every time Alfred came close, he made sure he wasn’t too near the tank, always with that deadly glare that only a child trained in the art of discipline could possess.

As the days passed, something inside Damian began to change. He didn’t just take care of the tank and the fish with almost obsessive dedication; he did it because, somewhere deep inside him, he had grown fond of it. He wouldn’t admit it, not even to himself, but he knew that this little being, this strange creature he had caught on a whim, had become something more. It was his responsibility, his little refuge, a vestige of something more human that he had learned to avoid for years. And although he didn’t fully understand it, he couldn’t help but feel a strange peace every time he looked at the fish, swimming peacefully in its tank, unaware of the internal war its owner was fighting to protect it.

As the days went by, Damian began to notice something peculiar. At first, he thought it was just his imagination, the result of staring at it for so many hours, but soon it became obvious: his fish was growing. Not in a sudden way, but gradually, as if, somehow, it were changing before his eyes, transforming into something bigger, more... alive. At first, he was skeptical, attributing it to the fact that maybe the creature had been hungrier than he thought. But then, over time, the transformation wasn’t just physical. Its behavior also changed. It became more active, swimming in circles as if it were exploring, as if it weren’t the same creature he had known before.

Damian watched as its shape and color subtly began to alter. The fish’s scales became shinier, and its eyes, which once only reflected the calm of the water, now had a spark of something more: curiosity, perhaps. And the strangest thing of all was that it was getting closer to the surface of the tank, as if it wanted to get out. It was as perplexing as it was fascinating, but he couldn’t help wondering if his fish, somehow, was taking on a life of its own.

Something, though mysterious, was happening in their little world, and, though he didn’t fully understand it, a feeling of inevitability began to settle in his chest. The transformation was clear. Something magical, something he couldn’t control, was happening.

It was one afternoon, returning from a mission as Robin, when Damian discovered it completely. The door to his room was wide open, and a strange silence enveloped him as he entered. His gaze immediately went to the tank, only to discover that it had exploded, water spilling onto the floor and shards of glass scattered around. Panic swept over him, but then he saw it: a small figure in a red dress, completely soaked, jumping on his bed with overflowing energy.

“Damian! Damian!” the girl shouted, her face lit up with overflowing joy as she approached him, showing no trace of fear. Her eyes, now so familiar, looked at him with the same spark he had seen in the tank.

Damian stood still, his heart pounding in his chest, unable to fully understand what he was seeing. Where was his fish? Where and how did that strange girl get in? The girl, with her wet hair and soaked red dress, looked at him with a smile full of energy, as if she had finally found what she had been looking for.

And in that moment, seeing that familiar look, something inside Damian clicked. His fish, his strange and precious creature, had turned into a human, a girl.

A/N ── First off, yes, this request can continue. Feel free to send me questions or whatever if you like it. It's not a series, so no chapters or anything like that.

Honestly, I think I saw a Damian x Ponyo! Reader somewhere, but I can't remember the username, so all credit goes to them. If you see it, send me their username so I can give them the proper credit.

On another note, this story isn’t romantic, so don’t even ask. I’m watching you.

#x reader #fem reader #platonic #dc x reader #damian wayne x reader #batfamily #batfamily x reader #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #ponyo!reader #damian wayne #dc robin #al ghul #fluff

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galadrieljones · 13 days ago

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Possession (Rook x Emmrich)

❤️ Dragon Age | Emmrook | Solavellan | one-shot | Mature ❤️

word count: 7,460 Summary: In the Lighthouse, Rook and Emmrich hunt through some of Solas's old records from his time with the Inquisition. What they find brings them closer together, as they embark on a romantic scavenger hunt through memories of the past.

Read here, or at AO3 💫

Possession

JOLENE MERCAR, also known as Rook, was stalemated outside the door of a certain generous and compassionate necromancer. It was late at night. Though time seemed to pass strangely here in the Fade, whenever she was inside the Lighthouse, she could always sort of tell what part of the day it was. Like an enchantment, or an illusion. She knocked on the door.

Emmrich answered. He was very tall, and when he saw her in all of her tiny elven glory, he smiled. He was genuinely surprised to see her, but seemingly very pleased. "Rook," he said. "What a nice surprise."

"Hello, Emmrich," she said, feeling a little stupid. She had her hands behind her back, rocking back on her heels as she spoke. "I was just...popping by. I discovered something, here in the Lighthouse, a hidden room. It belonged to Solas. It's filled with a bunch of notebooks. Diaries and things. Records, lots of them dated back to when he was in the Inquisition. I was going to go through them on my own, see if we could learn anything, but I suddenly felt the urge for company. I thought you might find it all interesting, as an expert on the Fade. You know, like he is."

Emmrich considered. Rook had long, dark hair, which she sometimes wore in a loose braid over her shoulder, but that night, it just fell to the small of her back, like a curtain. Her eyes were light as candles, and he liked her. Something about her forward nature truly intrigued him, and though he did not entirely understand what she might see in him, she came by often, looking for wisdom. She was young, and he could tell that she felt...out of place in all this. In any case, she had never come to him so late at night before. This was new. The promise of what lie ahead, it was very tempting, despite his prevailing sense of discipline and stoicism. He said to her, "I believe I would find that interesting. Thank you, Rook, for thinking of me. Please, come in. Just let me grab some things, and let's be on our way."

As she stood there, demurely, taking stock of Emmrich's vast and detailed inventory, the books and the skulls and the bizarre crystals, she felt excited, happy for the first time since all this began. It was a pretty picture, this place, so strange and haunted, and yet the whimsy, it was like wrapping herself in a warm scarf. Rook was not a mage, and she had not grown up with such displays of magical possibility. Magic was utilitarian where she was from, or else it was devious. But Emmrich, in all of his sparkling oddity, could make even the littlest, most mundane things feel new and awake. Rook often tried to remind herself that, no matter how bad things get, it's the little things in life that truly set you free.

In the music room, Emmrich was delighted by the presence of a piano in the Lighthouse. He honed through a couple of chords, but it sounded like the gloomier depths of the Necropolis. "It's woefully out of tune," he said. "I can come back in the morning, perhaps, make it sing once more."

"You play the piano?" said Rook, feeling wistful. She had picked the lid up off a wooden box, which she had stacked earlier near the high window. Light seemed to flood in, even though it was after ten.

"My skills are a bit lapsed," said Emmrich. "But I trained for many years in my youth. Music is a language all its own. I've found that certain spirits communicate more readily through the wonders of melody."

"Perhaps that's why Solas plays?"

He smiled. "Perhaps."

Rook sat down on a dusty old hope chest. It seemed made of both wood and gold at the same time, and this weirdness with textiles was something that Solas seemed drawn to. Metals that looked like wood, woods that looked like metal. She watched the little particles floating around in the bars of light from the window as she gathered a stack of leather bound notebooks. There were many books and records and things that looked sort of official, like things you might need at some sort of tribunal, but these ones were filled, front to back with what seemed like poetry, math, journal entries, all in Solas's handwriting. It was elegant but rushed. "Some of these notebooks are just filled with what look like complicated arithmetic."

"May I?" said Emmrich. He pulled up the bench from the piano, sat beside Rook at the window. Rook handed him a notebook. He studied the markings, which were strange, but some oddly familiar. "As the maker of the Veil, it would make sense for Solas to be adept at theoretical and applied physics. Some of these formulas are familiar to me and my studies. Others are...well. They are like nothing I've ever seen before."

"He doodles a lot. See?" She showed him the pages of another notebook. This one was more of a sketchbook, she gathered. There were a great many drawings. Mostly faces and animals, sketched out in pencil, loose with an absentminded touch. "This one is cute. Look. A nug."

"That is very amusing."

"If we don't find anything good here, we can always go back to the office," she said. "It's through the door, but it's sort of gloomy. I just brought some of the boxes out here so that we could sit in the light."

"Yes, the light," said Emmrich, studying the windows. "I wonder if the enchantment lives inside, outside, or in the glass itself?"

"In any case, it's pretty," said Rook.

"I agree."

She showed him another sketch, this one more detailed than the others. "Look at this one. Do you recognize this place?"

It was a castle, or a fortress, misty, and planted deep in a glorious mountain scape. Emmrich studied it closely. He did recognize it, but he was having a difficult time placing it in his memory. "It says right here, Terasylan'Telas. Do you speak elven, Rook?"

"Nope," she said. "My knowledge ends at Andaran Atishan. Mostly."

"Hmm. You know, now that I think of it, I believe this might be Skyhold," he said.

"Skyhold?"

"The legendary fortress of the Inquisition. It's located somewhere in the Frostback Mountain range, which forms the natural border between the southern Kingdoms of Ferelden and Orlais."

"Ferelden and Orlais," said Rook. "Geez. That's far. Have you ever been?"

"Never," he said. "Until I met you, I never once left Nevarra. Now, here I am, living in an ancient elven sanctuary in the Fade. Such intrigue you bring to my life, Rook."

She blushed a little, or perhaps it was just a trick of the light. "He seems attached to this place," said Rook, turning the pages of the notebook, slowly. There were several more sketches of the castle, from multiple angles, the insides and outsides. "He seems to know it well."

"Who is this?" said Emmrich. He pointed to a figure, sketched out in the doorway to what appeared to be some sort of rotunda. The form was female, somewhat tall, created with great care, but it was unfinished.

"Who knows," said Rook. "A mystery woman? After this, it's just tons and tons of butterfly sketches. All kinds of them. Guess he's a fan of bugs."

"Let's delegate a little," he said. "Hand me one of those notebooks, if you please."

She obliged. He straightened up and opened the notebook in his lap. "You continue with the sketchbook, and I will investigate this here."

"What is that one?"

"It looks to be some sort of diary," said Emmrich. "Entries, with dates from twelve years back. I'll let you know if I find anything of interest."

"Same here."

They sat for a while, reading. At some point, Rook got antsy and scooched off the hope chest to sit on the floor. She flipped through the pages of the sketchbook, taken with the minute and lovely details of Solas's drawings. After the butterflies, the pages began to fill with the shapes of people, actual people with detailed, unique faces and expressions, which led Rook to believe that they were real. His friends, perhaps? There was a study of a young man with an enormous hat, a tall elven woman with short hair eating a cookie, a human shield maiden reading a book beneath a tree, and a great, Qunari warrior playing chess. At some point, she came across somebody familiar, but the hair had changed. She recognized him from Minrathous. It was Dorian Pavus, holding a skull near a candle. This awakened something strange inside her, like an eclipse. Late in the book, there was a sketch of Varric, situated from the side. He was holding a flagon, sitting in a tavern somewhere, and he looked pensive. Rook almost said something to Emmrich about it, but she kept it inside. She wasn't sure why. It just felt like opening a can of big, fat worms, which she wasn't ready to open yet.

But then. "Very interesting," said Emmrich. "Very interesting indeed."

"Did you find something?"

"I'm not entirely sure," said Emmrich. "There's a fair bit of elven in here, which I do not understand. But not all of it. This, here, it is written mostly in the common language. It appears to be a prose poem? A ballad of some sort."

"What's it about?"

"Well, as it is a ballad, which means it is about love."

"A love poem? By the Dread Wolf?"

"Come here, Rook. Have a look at this."

She got up from the hardwood floor and went and sat down next to Emmrich on the piano bench. He was big beside her, and she was temporarily taken by his scent. Like rosemary, subtle. His clothing was simple tonight, she thought, unadorned. Just a cream collared shirt, seemed made of cotton, very soft, well-tailored, and expensive. He opened the notebook between them, so that she could follow along. "Listen," he said. He pointed to the page in question and read aloud, solemnly and with great care. As he spoke, with such a soft gravitas, the world around her seemed to change:

Light gathers on the sea, where we sit on the pier. It approaches and folds beside you like an envelope. I do not know how it folds, but it seems to anyway. It disregards me entirely. On this day in Val Royeaux, as we watch the seamen mooring their ships, you whisper, "What is that, vhenan?" You speak of a white bird, which has landed on a barrel. "Some sort of egret," I say. I can tell that you already knew that. You just like to ask questions, and you think it's funny. The word "egret," you say, sounds funny in my mouth. The light finds you here. It finds your eyes here. It disregards me entirely, The light. I could not have made it any more beautiful myself. It has a mind of its own as it touches you. And you find me, ara avise'ain.

The room was silent, but for the tense ticking of a clock somewhere.

"What a wonderful, if not monumental relic," said Emmrich, his heart stayed. "I am taken aback by this. I should like to read it again and again. What do you think, Rook?"

Rook shook herself out of a deep but ethereal trance then. It felt like something was wrong with her. She realized right then that she had leaned in a little close, the whole time he'd been reading. Her cheek, it brushed against the soft fabric at his shoulder. He did not seem bothered. He seemed very comfortable there beside her.

"I think..." she said, trailing off. "I think...it's just...so erotic."

This seemed to intrigue him greatly. "Erotic?" he said. "Quite the interpretation, Rook. You speak of his use of light, perhaps?"

"Yeah," she said. "How it's always folding and...touching the water, touching her. The mention, too, of the word egret, and how it sounds in his mouth. It just calls to mind their...intimacy. Something was going on here."

"Very good," said Emmrich. "I do agree. It seems that perhaps the Dread Wolf may have taken a secret lover during his time with Inquisition."

"Perhaps the woman that he drew? The one in the doorway of the rotunda?"

"Perhaps."

"Ara avise'ain," she said. "Are there any other uses of this word?"

"Hmm," said Emmrich. He flipped forward a few pages. There was a great deal of elven here. It was sort of like fishing for diamonds through a deft and elegant swamp. But he caught on something, quickly, then studied. He gave her the notebook. "Here. Read this, Rook."

She stared at the poem. She tried to concentrate, but then, she felt him nudge her gently in the shoulder with his own.

She sort of jumped. "What's wrong?"

"Read it aloud, if you please," he said, softly. "I'd like to hear it in your voice. It is so much more meaningful that way."

"Oh," she said. "Sure. Here goes." She cleared her throat.

I knocked, wondering if you had forgotten. You had not. You were braiding your hair. You said, "I was worried." Vhenan, who worries. Sometimes I feel like a star, which has already died. You say to me, "Sleep here." You invite me inside. Where it is safe. A nest. Maybe here? You bring me in with both hands. I take off your dress. Why can't I go home, avise'ain? Where the candles flicker to death, withholding, and there are only teeth.

"Shit," said Rook.

"I echo the sentiment," said Emmrich.

"This is really...wow. I wasn't expecting this," she said. "Only teeth? Fuck."

"I am concerned about the metaphor," said Emmrich. "It does not bode well for the Dread Wolf."

"I wish I knew what that word meant," she said. " Avise'ain. I know what vhenan means. It's like, an elven term of endearment. It means my heart. Or something."

"I wonder if, perhaps, Bellara, or Davrin could help us with the elven."

"That's a good idea," she said. "But Bellara's asleep. She was up late last night, tweaking the eluvian. Told me she wanted to turn in early."

"Then Davrin it is," said Emmrich. They set off.

When they found Davrin, he was lying flat on his back, on the hardwood floor, staring up at the ceiling while Assan, confused, licked his palm.

"Davrin?"

"Hello, Rook."

"What the hell are you doing on the floor?"

He turned his head to see them. They stood just inside the entryway. There were stacks of old books on the table, the wooden carvings lined up. Davrin kept a very nice space. He was neat and discerning, but he was not a minimalist.

"Emmrich?" he said. It was like a light turning on. "Wait. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is just fine," reassured Emmrich. "But, we are wondering the same of you. Are you often taken with lying on the floor, Davrin?"

"Not at all," said Davrin. He got to his feet, slowly, like he was drunk. He wasn't drunk. He was just...exhausted? "Assan won't sleep. I thought, maybe if I lie here on the floor, he'd doze off next to me. But. No dice."

"Aw, poor Assan," said Rook, patting the sweet creature on his feathered head.

"Poor Assan?" said Davrin. "How about poor me?"

"Poor you," said Rook.

He smiled. Assan squawked. "What are you guys doing here? Isn't it kind of late?"

"A little," said Rook.

"We require your assistance with the elven language. How are you with translation, Davrin?"

"Pretty good," he said. "What's going on?"

"We found some of Solas's old records, in a secret room, next to the library," Emmrich continued. "They are from his time with the Inquisition. It's quite interesting. A good deal of it is written in elven, however, and neither Rook nor I speak the language."

"Solas is an ancient elf," said Davrin. "I never really learned that dialect. I know a little, but it's rare."

"Can you try?" said Rook.

Davrin sighed. He scratched at the back of his head and then plopped down into the armchair by the fire. "Have a seat," he said. "Let me see."

Emmrich handed Davrin the open notebook, the one with the poetry, and then he and Rook sat down on the floor, like children. Assan watched the whole interaction, rapt and wide awake as Davrin took to studying the elven.

"These poems here are written in the common tongue," said Emmrich. "But there is an elven word used multiple times. Avise'ain. It perplexes us."

"Can you tell us what it means?" said Rook.

"Holy shit," said Davrin, reading the poem about the pier, and the egret. He read it multiple times. Then he looked at Rook, his face screwed up like he'd seen a ghost. "Do you know who he wrote this for?"

"No, we don't," said Rook.

He made a low whistle. "This shit is deep."

"What does it mean?" said Rook, urging him back to the task at hand. " Avise'ain?"

"Right," said Davrin. "Well, this word isn't something I've seen before. But it's not ancient elven. It's contemporary. See this? The suffix, -ain , is a diminutive. It means little, or petite. Avise is a form of the word ise, which means fire. Avise means flame. Avise'ain means—"

"Little flame," said Rook. "Like, a pet name maybe?"

"That's exactly what it is," said Davrin. "And see this here? Here, he uses the possessive, ara, which means my. My little flame. Whoever this was, they were definitely...well, I think you know."

"I believe the correct term is intimate, Davrin. No need to be coy."

Davrin almost started laughing. "Touche. Does seem a little strange though, speculating about the sex life of an ancient elven god."

"Solas didn't present himself as a god to the Inquisition," said Rook. "He didn't even tell them he was an ancient elf. According to Varric, he just presented as an apostate. He said he was a fade mage, same as you, Emmrich."

"That inspires my curiosity, to be sure," he said.

Davrin flipped through the book some more, studying the handwriting. "All this other stuff is ancient," said Davrin. "Except for this one word, avise'ain, which is in common elven. Why?"

"Perhaps the woman to whom he assigned his pet name is not an ancient elf," said Emmrich. "If she doesn't speak the dialect, it would make little sense for him to use it."

"So she's a regular elf? Or...a new elf? Like me and Davrin?" said Rook.

"Yes, and it's also likely that she speaks the common dialect."

"So, she's Dalish," said Davrin.

"Are you sure you can't read any of this other stuff?" said Rook. "These poems and entries. You can't read the ancient elven? Even a little?"

Davrin squinted at the pages in deep concentration, which seemed to lure Assan closer to his side. He sidled up to Davrin's chair and placed his head in his lap. Davrin stroked the beast's neck absentmindedly, a darling display. "Hmm," he said.

"Hmm?" said Rook.

"I can't translate this word for word," he said. "That's for sure. I just don't know the vocabulary. But elven, it's more than just a language. It's like a feeling. If you're an elf, that is. Especially this old stuff. Shit, it's a little like music. Rook, even though you don't know how to speak it, I bet if you read this, and you focused really hard, like really hard, you would understand what I'm talking about."

"What exactly are you talking about?"

"You can sense the story," he said. "Solas, in his words, is telling a story. I can see it in my mind's eye, like...ancestral memory."

"I don't know how I feel about sharing ancestral memories with Solas," said Rook.

"Well, I think we do. Whether we like it or not." He handed her the book. "Here. Just take a look."

She looked at Davrin, a little apprehensive. She had never been very elfy. Sort of like self-preservation in Tevinter. In fact, in her quotidian life, before all this, it was typical for her to simply forget what she was half the time. When it struck her, and she remembered, it was always in these horrible moments of existential unease. On the street corners. On the docks. She had considered leaving Minrathous thousands of times before her twenty-fifth birthday, for thousands of reasons. But she never had anywhere to go. Until now, of course.

Suddenly she felt Emmrich's hand, big and soft on her shoulder. He squeezed once, then lowered his mouth, close to her ear. He said, "You can do it, Rook. I believe in you. Just give it a whirl."

She felt very hot all of a sudden, in her cheeks, and it zinged straight back to her eartips. But still, it was comforting. He was such a comforting presence, calming all her stupid bullshit with one single, casual touch. She said, "Okay. I'll try."

She picked up the book. The words made little sense. As Davrin had said, even for elven, it was out of whack, bizarrely tuned, as if invented on the spot. But then, after a moment, she felt a kind of warm, snowy sensation in the back of her brain. It was like fuzz, and then it spread, and it came into focus. Like a crystal. It spun there, at the center of her brain. She looked up at Emmrich, and she said, "I felt something."

"Wonderful," said Emmrich. "What did you feel?"

"This is a story," she said, tapping her finger to the words. "It's about rooftops, am I right?" She looked to Davrin.

"Yes," he said. "Rooftops, mountains. Her hair, like, it's everywhere, right? Did you get that?"

"I did. Maybe that means it's windy?"

"Good call. Also, there's a tear in the sky. He compares it to an eye, watching them. Like they're never alone. But he wants her. Bad. He wants to be free, to be with her."

"Emmrich," said Rook, serious now.

"Yes? I must say. This is quite entertaining, you two."

"You've read the Inquisition folklore. Are you sure you never saw any references to a romance?"

"I have only read the canonical texts," he said, "which, beyond names and basic formalities, in no way addresses any interpersonal aspect of the people involved. So, no."

"You should go talk to Harding," said Davrin. "She was in the Inquisition. She might know."

"Oh my gosh," said Rook. "You're right."

"You're also in luck," said Emmrich, voice low, his hands clasped in front of him, very debonair. He nodded toward Assan, who had fallen asleep, his head heavy in Davrin's lap, very still, eyes closed, breathing even. "It seems our discussion of ancient elven poetry lulled your young griffon here right to sleep."

Davrin surveyed the situation, dropped his head back and blinked up at the ceiling. "Guess I should get comfortable."

"We'll see you in the morning," said Rook, very eager. Emmrich had got to his feet first, extended a hand to her. She took it, stood tall, and dusted herself off. "Thank you for your help, Davrin. That was...interesting."

"Any time," he said.

As they crossed the great courtyard in the middle of the night, they both looked up to the deep, dark Fade sky at the same exact time. There was a shooting star, or, that's what it looked like. It was big and molten, like a long column of light which then simply disappeared from existence. This dazzled Rook, but it also unnerved her. She had never really been outside before when the Lighthouse went dark. She'd had no idea that there were stars here.

"This place shall never cease to amaze me," said Emmrich, in wonderment. "Stars and night. The chattering sounds of inexplicable nature. We are floating on a cloud, it seems, and yet, there are butterflies and opossums. I can sense them in the underbrush. Solas made this place comfortable many years ago. He wanted his people to feel at home here."

"When we first arrived," said Rook, "the place was falling apart. I think Solas was living here, before the ritual, but it feels like there are parts of the castle he never went to, like he lived in two, maybe three of the rooms tops. Everywhere else, he just left it sealed away. Like a tomb."

"The bachelor pad of a god is sad indeed," said Emmrich. "Particularly if he is on the wrong side of love. Let us continue our scavenger hunt, Rook. I am enjoying this evening immensely. Thank you for asking me to accompany you on your search tonight."

"You're welcome," she said, smiling like an idiot. He held out his arm to her then, an unexpected gesture, but she took it anyway. Even though she was not afraid of the dark, she was hesitant, walking through the Fade like this. She was not used to such big, cold, and cosmic magic.

Emmrich sensed this, as he so often did. "Do not fear this place, dear Rook," he said. "Allow it to become familiar, and it will embrace you, as a home."

They started toward Harding's. They could see the light from her lantern, a long, golden bar at the bottom of the door. "Is that what you do?" said Rook.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Like a scent on the breeze. I will not forget it for all my years."

When they got to Harding's door, it was like she had seen them coming. She stayed up late.

"Rook?" she said. "Is that you?"

"It is," she said. "It's me, and Emmrich. Are you decent?"

"Sure am," said Lace. She opened the door, seeming delighted. She was wearing red pajamas with her hair in a braid and holding a cup of tea. "What brings you two around so late at night?"

Emmrich smiled, his face going a little crinkly. "We won't take up much of your time, Lace. We just have a few questions for you, concerning your time in the Inquisition. May we come in?"

"Definitely," she said, holding the door wide open and standing back to give them room. As she shut the door behind them, Rook noticed the remnants of some sort of art project. There were what appeared to be curtains, draped over a table, and several spools of colorful thread. Harding seemed to be practicing her embroidery.

"I love the curtains," said Rook.

"Oh, thank you. I'm just trying to make this place feel a little more like home. You know?"

Emmrich glanced at Rook, very knowing.

"So," said Lace. "You guys wanna talk about the Inquisition? What did you wanna know?"

"We have been scouring some of Solas's old records," said Emmrich. "Rook found a secret room inside, near the library. It's full of old notebooks and things. Much of it dated back to Solas's time with the Inquisition."

"Interesting," said Harding. "Find anything good?"

"Yes," said Rook, a little anxious. "We found love poems."

"Love poems?" said Harding, sort of giggling. "Really? Wow. I mean, I knew Solas was an artist, but a writer, too? Wow."

"Wow, indeed," said Emmrich. "We came here tonight to ask whether you know anything about a woman that Solas might have been seeing at the time. Someone in the Inquisition, perhaps? She was likely a Dalish elf."

There was a long pause then, in which Lace stared at them both as if she thought they might be on drugs. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No, we aren't," said Rook. "The stuff he wrote. It was really...passionate. Do you know anything about it?"

"Uh, yeah. I do," said Lace.

"Really?" said Emmrich. "Who was it? The woman, we mean?"

"Inquisitor Lavellan."

It was like a boulder, falling off a cliff.

"The Inquisitor?" said Rook.

"Oh, my dear," said Emmrich. "This is a surprise."

Lace shrugged, like it was just any other factoid. "I'm surprised you guys don't know. I guess I just assumed that everybody did. It was all over the tabloids, at least down south. People can't get enough of that shit. Sene's love life has been under scrutiny for years. It really pisses her off, but I mean, what can you do? Idle minds, am I right?"

Rook opened the notebook, which she'd had tucked under her arm. She showed Lace the poems. She said, "He loved her. A lot. We're pretty sure that everything in here, at least in this notebook, is all about her. It's full of poems and stories. What happened between them?"

"Solas and Sene were crazy in love," said Lace, sipping her tea, reminiscing. "Like I said, it was no secret. They were great together. Inseparable. They used to have picnics on the battlements at Skyhold, talk for hours on the rooftops at Haven. He would braid her hair before they went out into the field. It was just...romantic. I used to talk to them all the time, when we would deploy to different regions, trying to bring people and their factions into the Inquisition. She would sit and watch him paint his frescoes, and he made her these butterflies out of his magic, like little presents. Hundreds of them, green and glowy, all the time. Everywhere. They would just fly around the rotunda, and the garden, like part of the decor. It was so dreamy and romantic."

"Green, glowy butterflies?" said Rook. "There's a bunch of them here, flitting about in the bushes. I've seen tons of them, flying around the Crossroads, too."

"Yup," said Lace. "Those are them. I'm not surprised that she's left her mark here. The way Solas looked at her, it was so...intense. I thought he was gonna ask her to marry him. It was really serious. And, like I said, everybody knew. They were just...Sene and Solas. Solas and Sene. The tabloids used to refer to Sene as the Tall Red Elf and Solas as the Tall Elven Warrior at her Side. Anyway, be careful, Rook. This is...kind of a long story, and Sene is a close friend of mine. She practically lived at my house for like a year once, down in the Hinterlands. I'll tell you stuff, but like, keep it clean. I'm not getting into the weeds here, okay?"

Rook fell silent. She did not really know much about Inquisitor Lavellan, or the Inquisition at all. It was not a common topic of discussion in Tevinter. And yet, even still, she was a bit of a celebrity, mainly with the Chantry, as the Herald of Andraste. They talked about her all the time in the holy newsletters and things like that. Debates over whether her claims to prophesy were legitimate, or whether she even believed them herself, seeing as she was an elf. Rook knew that she was Dalish, but she hadn't really put it together, until now.

"We promise to be civilized in our questioning," said Emmrich, taking over. "We will of course respect your loyalties to Inquisitor Lavellan. But please forgive me, as I must ask. You make it sound like he was over the moon for her, and yet, you said he left? Why?"

"At the time," she said, "Sene didn't know. None of us did. Nobody knew that he was the Dread Wolf. We just thought he was some really powerful apostate. After we killed Corypheus, he just...left. She was devastated, but at some point, she moved on. Or, she tried to. She was in another pretty serious relationship when Solas finally showed himself again two years later, during the Exalted Council in Halamshiral. He explained everything, that he was the Dread Wolf, that he wanted to bring down the Veil, that he still loved her, but that he had to go, and he would not take her with him. That was important. Anyway, based on what Sene told me, I think he originally intended to just use the Inquisition, like a pawn, to help him further his plans. But it didn't go so hot. He accidentally fell in love. He made friends, too. Kind of a huge, fantastic failure...I guess."

"So it was after the Exalted Council," said Rook. "That's when they last saw each other?

"In person, yeah," said Lace.

"What do you mean in person?" said Emmrich.

"Solas is a dreamer," said Lace, taken with the thought. "Rook knows. He can walk in peoples' dreams. As far as I know, he's visited her, quite a lot, over the past ten years. Where they stood at any given time, it was sort of on and off, but it was consistent, to some degree."

"Does he still love her?" said Emmrich, seeming desperately curious. Too tall, he was nearly hunched in half, trying to lean into their conversation.

"Probably," said Lace, her voice soft all of a sudden. She became wistful. She looked away, toward the window. "They were special. They meant everything to one another. It was the kind of love that you aspire to, you know? And I mean, she still loves him. That, I know for sure. Sene went through a couple different men, trying to move on. But despite both of them being great guys, neither of them stuck, not like he did."

"Which men?"

Lace sighed, setting down her mug on the table next to the curtains. "This is where I call it a night. I'm not getting into all that. You're gonna have to read about it in the tabloids like everyone else."

Emmrich seemed to be thinking about this in a practical manner. "We can probably find them in the Magisterial Library of Minrathous. I'm sure they keep records of every tabloid and newspaper in Thedas, going back at least 100 years."

"Or, you know," said Lace. "I guess you could just ask Inquisitor Lavellan, herself. I'm sure you'll meet her. Soon."

"I will?" said Rook.

Lace shrugged again. She was doing that a lot. Like it was all just old hat to her. "Sene is close to Morrigan," she said. "And she also has Lady Nightingale, the best Spymaster in all of Thedas. I guarantee that she knows all about this by now, everything that's happened. And she'll also know, too, that you're the one leading the charge here, Rook. She'll know that Solas is trapped in the Fade, and that you're the only one who can talk to him. So, of course, she's gonna wanna meet you. Probably soon. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if, when you go to meet Morrigan at the Cobbled Swan in a couple days, she'll be there, too. Then again, who knows? She's got her hands full. Given everything my ma said in her last letter, the south is...under siege. There's a bad fight there, and lots of Blight. All hands on deck." Harding looked down into her tea, pensive, and then she looked at the floor. "I'm okay," she said, to no one.

"Is your mother safe?" said Emmrich, placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, like she was terribly relieved that he asked.

"I think so," she said. "She went to Skyhold, with a lot of other people. I'm pretty sure that's where Sene is. Or, she goes back and forth a lot, with her Commander. Cullen. It's become like, a sanctuary. Like what this place used to be."

"Harding," said Rook. "I'm sorry. I didn't...I should have asked you about this earlier."

"It's okay, Rook," she said, smiling once more. "I get it. We have our hands full up here, too."

Emmrich straightened up then, and something about his massive height seemed to change the atmosphere. He seemed to know it, too. He clasped his hands behind his back and said, "Well, we should take our leave. Thank you, Lace. This has been most educational."

"Now that you know," she said to Rook, "what will you do? Are you gonna mention it, next time you see Solas?"

Rook thought about it. She could not picture it. Whenever she thought about him, about Solas, her mind twisted into a riddle, and she could no longer tell what was real. She had only ever seen him from far away, up on a huge pedestal, or in the Fade, where everything was grim, and he was removed from her grasp, as cold and hard as steel. He was a total stranger, and yet, she relied on him. In this moment, she felt hugely young, raw, spilled open, her guts all over the floor. She did not want to hurt the Dread Wolf. He was like a music box, rusted shut, and there was just something so strange about it. So pretty, this idea that he held inside of him this intense history. Love, sex, all the things that made him a man and not a god. "I don't know," she said to Harding. "I need to think on it."

"Well, goodnight," said Lace. "See you in the morning. Lucanis is making breakfast so, don't miss it."

Outside, Rook and Emmrich stood at the center of the midnight courtyard and stared up at the enormous idol of Fen'Harel. Oddly now, standing here in front of this enormous statue, her thoughts turned away from Solas and instead settled with the man by her side. It was so strange, she thought. From the very first day she met him, he disarmed her. He took her guard completely down, and he told her to light brassieres and they fought demons, and they were talking to spirits. She said hello to a little wisp, and it had made her heart beat strangely. He told her he had never been out of Nevarra, and he seemed starved for adventure, and yet, it had been him who'd swept her off her feet, took her on a grand field trip through the Necropolis, this well of magic, everywhere, all the time, living and breathing with a mind of its own. He had opened her eyes that day.

He was older, but she didn't much care. He did not treat her like a child. Sometimes, he did treat her like a student. But he did that to everyone, and in any case, it was never condescending. It's just who he was. The professor. He was not steel, nor was he even terribly guarded. He did not give in to her easily though, that was for sure. He moved slowly, deliberately, all those times she would go to talk to him, ask him questions about what he thought about all of this, about the Veil. He kept his distance until it really mattered, as if every choice he made would determine who they were, together, and in this, she knew that she could trust him.

"What do you think of all this, Rook?" he said then, smiling at her. "Have your opinions of Solas changed in any way?"

"A little," she said. "I need to sleep on it. I just...I realize that I don't know him at all. He barely even seems like a person sometimes, let alone a man who could...well, you know."

Emmrich held out his hand then, and from his palm, he snapped a little wisp, white and pure. It buzzed around her nose and landed in her hair like a bug, and she laughed. "Do you like it?" he said, very debonair.

"Yes," she said.

"You know, Inquisitor Lavellan is not a mage either," he said, growing pensive, his brow furrowed. "She was at the Conclave, sent as a representative for her clan, which, as I recall, is fairly important in the Free Marches. They own a great deal of land there. Even still, she was one lowly elf among an entire Chantry. She was certainly judged, and certainly alone. There are records, which state that, after the explosion at the temple, which resulted in the death of Divine Justinia, the Seekers of Truth wanted to arrest her for apostasy, for treason, for murder. You name it. She was ostracized far before she was ever beloved. And she was young when the Inquisition began, only twenty, if I recall from the literature, and the Chantry experts distrusted her immensely, even after she was named Inquisitor. Many were especially critical of her as the prophetic Herald of Andraste . But others believed, and among them, I imagine, Solas. He followed her. He loved her. Just like with this place, he desired to warm her heart, to make her feel comfortable, at home in an icy, mean, judgmental landscape. Perhaps because he understood what that meant? To be so ostracized, so fantastically alone. Part of that was the butterflies, I imagine, and that is why they linger still. That little wisp I just conjured up, you said you like it. Does it bring you warmth, Rook? Joy?"

Rook held it in her hand now, like a little poof of cool, calm energy. It seemed to vibrate with admiration, glowing up at her, like it was alive. "It does," she said. She set it free then, and it disappeared. "Thank you, Emmrich."

"Whatever the Dread Wolf is or isn't," he went on, "I think it is clear by now that he is, ultimately, just a man. He has desires, needs, and she fulfilled them, as he fulfilled hers. These were needs that had either not been fulfilled before, or not in some time. She thawed his heart, and he kept her safe, and they found a home in one another. Even if it was short-lived, it is more than most will possess in their lifetimes."

Rook felt impulsive then. She could hear the words that he was saying, and she knew that he was right, but she was lost in the feeling and the sound. She wanted to express herself. She wasn't shiny or particularly eloquent like he was. Definitely not a poet. She didn't have beautiful things to say or magical creatures she could conjure into the air. But she did have action. She had always been good at just...doing things. No fear. She slid her hand into his then. He looked down right away, at their fingers mingled together, like he was startled, and then he looked at her, laid bare.

She said, "Is it okay? I don't know what to say. I just...I want to show you how I feel."

He was very soft then, his eyes dark and filled with a hidden sadness, which tempted her. What was it? Where did it live? What did it see? He picked up her hand, and he closed his eyes and brought her knuckles to his lips. It disarmed her and made her weak, and she sort of shivered. Their eyes met. He said, quietly, "Language can be superfluous in times like these, dear Rook. But, please, know that I feel it, too."

So, she kissed him, in front of the Dread Wolf statue at midnight, in the Fade. She had to stand on her tallest tiptoes to do it. At first, just like with the handhold, he was taken aback, but he quickly molded to her, his other hand on her jaw, as he touched her ear with tenderness. It was not devouring. It was pure. Tallest mage, so full of compassion. He seemed to unlock for her that night, a click and release.

Rook did not have much to hide. She didn't understand people who did. But she could try. That night, Emmrich walked her back to her room, and they shared one more kiss before parting until morning. She sat down on the couch in the blue, aqueous light of her quarters, vibrating and giddy, and watched the fish do their little immortal dancing. She thought about Inquisitor Lavellan, twenty years old, a Dalish elf in the Chantry, and how lonely that must have felt for her. How scary, how out of place she was and the deep, impending desire to return to the home that she knew, somehow, she would never really see again. Not as it once was, as a child. But then, there was a man who came along and made it feel okay to just be alive, no matter how you did it, or how new you were to the world. A man who seemed to know everything, who could stand so tall, and yet, who nursed inside of him a heart so true that it could not be contained. And so they were consumed by possession, discovery, desire.

*This story, though it stands alone, is also a part of my Solavellan fic Riptide.

#emmrook #emmrich x rook #emmrich volkarin #dragon age rook #solavellan #solas #sene lavellan #emmrook fanfic #datv #dragon age the veilguard #dragon age inquisition #dragon age

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wordy-little-witch · 5 months ago

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I am now hip deep in the Edge of Midnight campaign from legends of avantris and lemme tell you some shit -

1) I would lay down my life for Jericho Sticks without any hesitation. Torbek and Jericho are my sons now, no takesies backsies.

2) Lethica and Marius are so perfectly aligned to be end game lovers but I personally adore the idea of them being queerplatonic if only bc it's funny to watch people be confused and I think Lethica would adore that.

3) you can pry the concept of Briggsy having a some kind of magical fantasy cellphone equivalent from my cold dead hands - sending stone or smth idfk - and he's been keeping his buddy/boyfriend Torbek updated on all this like "Becky you would not BELIEVE what happened today-" ((listen I know the flirting bit between them in the yuletide one-shot was a feycurse but leave me alone it's funny as fuck))

4) briggsy @ jericho in ep 24 appropos nothing: Jerry, maybe we have to kiss ((sad, silly twinks with Literal Darksides are his type /j))

5) I have a friend-crush on Nikkie and I will never recover

6) I have an unyielding NEED to have Jericho get a final hit on a boss and yell yeehaw

7) I know stylistically Jericho doesn't have "skin" but I personally hc that his clothes aren't effectively his skin, he has a burlap body - and he has "tattoos" in the form of embroidery. It started when he had to stitch up his own cuts and stuff and he just kept it up.

8) Only Yorgrim has any constant sense of cooking in an actual kitchen-like setting. Farryn, Marius, and Briggsy can do journey or on-the-road cooking, but it's never.... great. Lethica burns everything somehow or gets the bright idea to 'experiment', and it's never good - she's fine if she's got clear end goals. Jericho is understandably skittish around fire due to his body and straw, but he is the closest to being able to cook well and do so semi regularly.

9) Virgil is a weird mix of a hater and lowkey overprotective. He does hate being imprisoned, but also he's kinda bound here so he HAS to keep this disaster of a bard safe. He refuses to admit he might have a soft spot. He is Stressed.

10) Farryn doesn't get the appeal of Girls Nights, but Jericho does!!! They join Lethica for some fun relaxation. Briggsy once asked why Jericho was allowed since he's also a dude, and Lethica just responded "he's allowed to be there - on account of him being a scarecrow and not a literal man after all." It's an inside joke which later has to be explained - Jericho is nonbinary but doesn't rightly care about stuff like that.

11) Yorgrim is the group dad, no I will not explain.

12) sometimes after a battle, Lethica and Marius will help stitch up some of Jericho's tears. Farryn may also add in random flowers she finds around because it makes him happy.

13) Briggsy is small but mighty. The only person he has yet to pick up and carry is Yorgrim - he swears that one day that tombstone will be gone and he'll be able to do it. It's all the rock's fault, he's sure of it.

Spoilers under the cut (caught up to present)

OKAY so I am caught up completely and have decided that Canon is not important leave me alone

• Yorgrim did not die - he got wounded heavily but survived.

• Farryn almost got taken but they got to her in time. She is mute for a time due to injuries and trauma - idk if she ever talks again bc we could use more sign language in the world. Maybe it comes and goes, fuck if I know, idk and idc

ONWARDS TO SILLIES

• Lethica strong armed her way into giving Jericho The Talk after he revealed he had no idea what a penis was. Scarecrows cannot blush, but apparently his fiendish glow can ebb and flow and he glows much MUCH brighter when he's embarrassed - she tries so hard not to laugh.

• Adella and Jericho btw are simply besties. His "crush" on her is a friend crush and Phillip just finds it painfully cute. ((Also -> Jericho has mommy issues and Adella always wanted a son/nephew/little brother. Peaceful alignment))

• Dark Mode Marius is a colossal flirt but still a giant dweeb. He's cool and suave until someone flirts back - then he's a mess.

• Briggsy is very happy with his Kannon & makes "shooting my shot" jokes at every and any opportunity

• Yorgrim, with his reward, manages to finally lay many souls tonrest but he still carries the tombstone on journeys - just not constantly now. He still believes he must pay penance, but it's a little easier to share the burden.

• Farryn, with her own reward, has not chosen to activate it yet. Something tells her to wait, to bide her time and remain. She does, however, get a little more at ease with the others. She and Jericho have come to an understanding, too - that being they they are a package deal, no takesies backsies, and they refer to each other as twin, much to the confusion of many, many, many people. WLW and NBLM solidarity.

• Jericho is pining HARD for Marius, but he's absolutely terrified of damaging the friendship so everyone is watching two oblivious dummies look longingly into each other.

• POLYAMORY POLYAMORY POLYAMORY

• Marius grows rather fond of Virgil, and the sentiment is very much NOT reciprocated bc this angry knight vampire is not good enough for his vessel and he's mad about it.

• Yorgrim: I've only had my friends for a few days, but if anything happened to them, I'd kill everyone in Druskenvald and then myself.

• I fully expect for Jericho to somehow befriend an enemy in disguise, not realize, and accidentally fuck up the evil plan with the powers of puns, music and friendship (/j)

• the first time the party sees Jericho presenting more feminine, he's been lended one of Lethica's dresses after his own clothes got torn up and the rest are being washed. Marius has a nosebleed and faints. Briggsy is staring somewhat respectfully. Lethica is trying valiantly not to laugh. Farryn and Yorgrim regret not dying when they had the chance.

• Marius: i cannot have a relationship because I have sworn to follow the duchess of sin

Lillith: whoa hold up, Do Not use me as an excuse to avoid the cutie pie over there. Besides, he has a demon. I'm queen of hell. I can make a small exception.

Marius: shit

• Briggsy Bi Icon: OH if ONLY Jerry here had a DASHING KNIGHT to SAVE THEM from this PERILOUS INCIDENT

Jericho: captain, I'm just getting off of a horse??

Marius: no no Briggsy has a point, no maiden should be unaccompanied or unassisted. Allow me-

Lethica&Farryn: We Know What You Are

• Yorgrim is watching all this inter party flirting and is definitely wondering if he's gonna have to have an aside with everyone about flirting tactics and communication skills. Briggsy is making it worse by enabling everyone.

• Farryn gets some sweet, succulent healing, that is all.

#can you tell that Jericho is my favorite #legends of avantris #edge of midnight #crie #i love these dumbasses #jericho sticks #marius renathyr #lethica nightborne #farryn of the hartsblight #yorgrim #briggsy kratch #houston help me #the brainrot is brainrotting

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channieskies · 2 months ago

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𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕴𝖁: 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader, Jeong(Jung) Jaehyun x Reader (Fem/AFAB/Curvy/Plus sized)

Genre: Smut (eventual), Angst, Supernatural Romance, Urban Fantasy

AU: Supernatural AU, Vampire Au, Werewolf AU, Witch AU

Word count: 6520 [Reading time: 27 Minutes ]

Networks: @neverendingdreams-net & @mirohs-aurora-society

Synopsis: Overwhelmed by all of the revelations you need to take a moment for yourself. You end up having an unfortunate run in with something that goes bump in the night.

CHAPTER INDEX

A.N: Please reblog and leave a comment to let me know how you feel. I'd love a little feedback. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to @palindrome969 and @therhythmafterthesummer for reading over this for me. I could never thank you enough. Dividers by @saradika-graphics

Disclaimer: This story does not reflect the real lives or personalities of Stray Kids or NCT. I do not know them personally. This is purely a work of fiction.

Warnings: MINORS DNI! This post contains nsfw material. Please do not interact with it if you are under the age of 18. Do not translate or repost here or on other sites. This chapter contains use of explicit language.

Chris took a few steps towards you, grabbing your hand. “I’ll explain after we hear what your mom has to say.” You wanted to pull away, but you couldn’t move your hand from where your fingers were now entangled. “I promise.” He pulled you with him inside. Most of his roommates had taken places in the kitchen to eat the food your mother had brought home with them in mind. She sat silently in the living room in her usual spot. It was weird to see her in this space without her usual jazz or the tv playing. You don’t think you’ve ever seen her in here without her doing one of the two. Chris sat first, patting the seat with his free hand for you to sit next to him. He wasn’t going to let go, you knew that. He wanted to be supportive, that's how he was showing it. “I’ll tell her after you say what you need to say, ma’am.” She sighed, but nodded, understanding that he needed time to divulge the secrets he’d kept from his close friend since the beginning of their relationship.

“I’ll start by saying, I wanted this curse to end with me. If you didn’t know the truth, maybe you and possibly your future children wouldn't have to bear the burden of the mistakes our ancestors made.” Her eyes focused on where you and Chris’ hands were intertwined as she spoke about future generations. She had always made it known that she hoped the two of you would end up together, but that was somethin for the two of you and possibly fate to decide. She promised not to interfere and she’d done a wonderful job at keeping that promise. Chris’ thumb softly rubbed the back of your hand in soothing circles, helping to abate the sick feeling that was clawing its way up from your stomach. “I know you’ve been told that our family is cursed.” She sighed heavily. “I purposely told Gram and Momma to keep you out of this. But your darn grandmother just wouldn’t let it be. Damn it, Momma.” She leaned back in her chair. “Before our family came to this country, we were practitioners of witchcraft. It’s something that can be traced back thousands of years for us. From our motherland to now, we have been hereditary witches. Each woman of this family is gifted with a sort of magic, one that through practice can be honed and used to aid the passing of this curse. Mine is plant based magic. I’m a hedge witch. I make my own special kind of magic with healing potions and plants.” She waved her hands showing all of the rich greenery she had in the house. You’d grown up with these plants all of your life, you’d never thought that it had to do with witchcraft.

“Your grandmother was into divinity, her mother was a gray witch, hence all the runes around the house. She protected a lot of good people and good energies with her spells and had a strong sense of justice. There is a long list of what the mothers before me were and what they did with their gifts, but we only need to focus on one. Inés.” You hadn’t heard that name before, your great-grandmother used to tell you many stories before she passed. Most were stories of the women before her in the family, but not once had she mentioned Inés. But then again, maybe your young mind had mistaken her name. You could have sworn your grandmother often cursed the name Enid, but with her strong Louisiana drawl.. Absolutely anything was possible. Come to think about it, she did stretch the name out in a very odd way. “Inés was a powerful woman. Powerful, especially considering where she came from and the fact that she was a woman. She was also powerful in the sense that she had multiple disciplines. She could commune with the dead as a hedge rider, doing so beyond the veil as we call it, the veil between the human world and the afterlife. She also had brushes of divinity. She was also the first green witch of our family.”

Chris shifted in his space, releasing your hand in the process. Just enough for him to wrap an arm around you and pull you into his side. You instantly relaxed, between his scent, which you always found solace in, and the warmth of his embrace, you were swept into peak comfortability. “She’d made a name for herself in the years she lived in Cuba. Though she was supposed to keep a low profile, being that she wasn’t supposed to be an independent or free woman, not there and definitely not here in this country. Nor in that time period. She was eventually captured, she could see everyone's future but her own, sadly. She was sold back into servitude, giving divine counsel to the second in command to the Count of Ricla, in Havana. The aid to the count became so powerful that he was able to quickly move up in his position by helping to fortify Cuba against the British invasion. He was sent to another Spanish colony to do the same thing he was successful at in Cuba. Which of course he succeeded in, he had the most powerful witch by his side.”

She took a sip from her drink then continued, “Once he was back in Cuba, he married. Reluctantly, upon his betrothal, he had to acquiesce his maid to his wife. At first he was doing well, they had sent him here to Louisiana, to re-establish Spanish control after the rebellion as governor. He thought he could do it on his own, but his ideas weren’t making the leeway that an idea from Inés would. He started to resent the fact that she spent most of his time with his wife instead of him. He wanted her solely for himself. Her time became his, he even moved her from the maid chambers into a guest room, gave her the finest of linen, and even her own maid. His wife wasn’t stupid, she knew there had to be more to the story than just her husband being drunk with power not that he was leader of a state. She started to speculate that Inés had put a spell on him, like she was told witches did. So she sought out her own person with magikal inclinations. Inés had a twin, just like I did. One that was just as strong as her sister, but in her own right. She could see past the veil as well, but her best skill was based in gray magic. His wife wanted to rid herself of the problem that Inés had become. So she had her family send over her sister Maria, to take care of the problem. Saying that she would give her freedom papers, since because of Inés, the governor had granted slaves the ability to purchase their own freedom in the colony. With the promise of freedom, money and a new life, Maria agreed to get rid of her twin.”

Your grandmother had told you how rare twins were in your family, saying that there was once a pair, and that they were part of the downfall of your family. Your mother and aunt were the only twins in the family in over two hundred years. Now knowing that Maria vowed to get rid of Inés, you wondered if that tradition unwittingly continued with your mom and aunt. Your aunt died of natural causes in the early nineties, it had nothing to do with your mother, but it could have had everything to do with the twins that cursed your family.

Knowing that one twin survived while the other perished, that is too eerily similar for your liking. “But all of this needed to be done before the governor returned to Spain. So the governess and Maria put their plan into action, to make sure that the governor had no indication that Inés was gone and replaced with Maria. It took months for them to hatch their plan. Poison, paired with a curse, that should be Inés’ undoing. Maria couldn’t kill her sister bare handed, she wasn’t a savage. But using magic against her sister, that she could do.” Your mother shook her head, “This was her family she was thinking of killing. Whenever you do magic you have to have a clear head and heart. Maria did not. Guilt, that's what she felt when she saw her sister that night. She led her away from the party the governor planned as his farewell party, he was returning to Spain in a different capacity from being the governor that he was here. Maria lured Inés away, just showing her face in this party was enough to make her twin chase after her. She led her to a secluded area that the governess had designated. Inés knew there was something up, how else would her sister be able to escape and leave the island? She asked if they could talk about it, but Maria was resolute. She wanted her freedom, just like the freedom her sister once acquired. See, Maria held a grudge against her sister for leaving her to rot on the sugarcane plantation. If she was able to get out, she could have saved her too. But her selfishness left Maria to mourn the younger sister she has once cared so deeply for. In her eyes, this was already justified, her sister was already dead in her eyes. But at the same time, as she stared at the face she shared, all she could think about was how close they once were. How it broke her heart when she found out that Inés had escaped the plantation. Maria was punished for her sister's actions, tortured and beaten badly. But there was still a part of her that wanted them to run away from all of this together. Be free together. Inés asked if Maria had made up her mind and she nodded in turn. Maria approached her sister, ready to relay her plan of how they could just leave together, but Inés felt threatened.” You felt a shiver run down your spin, curling your body even more into Christopher for warmth.

“A curse left her lips before Maria could even get her words out, her sister's fingers twisting around her wrist to initiate contact. ‘O se kwe pe se,’ Inés could see the betrayal in her sister's eyes as she recited the incantation for a slow and painful death. The curse of death. It took physical contact and strong magic for the spell to work, and Inés had both. Maria froze in place, her hands reaching to her to touch her sister's face for what might be the last time. Tears brimmed her eyes, knowing what would slowly come to be. But she wasn’t going down alone, even if she wanted to spare her sister the pain of death, she decided to do something just as bad. With conviction, she spoke to her sister, ‘My dear sister, may your lineage be cursed with being a help to those you have hurt and scorned with your execrable wickedness, may they be burdened with the care of others until they become the things you hate. Bound and rooted to this very township you hold so dear, anyone who leaves shall be smited by the strength of our ancestors and sent to their fiery death.’ She spit on the ground right next to her sister's feet.

Now, Inés didn’t think much of the silly little curse, what damage could a dying witch really cause, right? She assumed her sister's identity and sat with her until she struggled to take her last breath. She and the governess had some butlers to burn the body. Inés watched her sister's body become blackened ash and her spirit escape into the full moonlit night sky. She was now free from being hunted by her sister, free from the chains she was once bound by, but there was this feeling looming over her. I think the damage her and her sister caused the family didn’t set in until she had her first child, a daughter. Even though she tried to have more, it was just miscarriage after miscarriage, stillborn after stillborn. Each one nearly takes her life, each one stripping away her mental fortitude. She was free now, yes, but she was still bound to the curse her sister's last words cast upon her. Even trying to reverse another witches curse was impossible, especially if it was their dying words. For every generation after Inés would be bound to this city, taking care of the magickal creatures that inhabit it. If they need the healing hand of a witch, we are bound to take care of them. I can travel, because I use my skills to help wherever I go. Traveling for a few days seems to be fine. But leaving for more than a week has been deemed as deadly. That’s how my sister…..”

She looked down at her lap, “I thought I could end it with me, to stop this curse from spreading further down our family tree, but I guess that the purchase that Maria’s words have on this family will be unending until someone breaks the curse. Now that you have used your hands to heal, you are now the bearer of our curse, my love. The curse I wanted to spend the rest of my life trying to hide you from.” You sat up, moving away from Chris, you needed a moment to yourself with your thoughts. “I thought that with your father’s family ties to hoodooism, that maybe the magic in his blood could help to end the curse. But I fear it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry.” You were trying desperately to unpack everything that your mother said to you. There was a curse on your family going back over two-hundred years, that would have to be broken by becoming what Inés hated the most? And all the stories that your grand and great-grandmother told you as a child were all true. So the oldest of the two wasn’t senile like you’d been led to believe. Not only was she in her right mind, she had been trying to prepare you for the things you’d inevitably have to face in the future. She taught you little charms and incantations that you took as prayers, but now understand that they were spells.

You were a witch who was a descendant of witches. Cursed witches at that. “So every little ghost or spooky story your grandmother told you as a child was true. Vampires, werewolves, they are all real. Along with a plethora of other magical entities, that I will tell you about some other time. I can see this is going to take some time for you to process, so, I’m going to check up on Jeongin.” She stood and moved to stand in front of you, she grabbed your chin, leaning down to kiss your forehead. “I love you, so very much. I only hid our lineage in an attempt to spare you from a life of servitude. I’m sincerely so sorry, my love.” She rubbed your cheek with her thumb before her gaze fixed on Christoper who sat rigidly in the corner of the couch. “Your turn, lover boy.” She patted the curly tuft of hair on top of his head, then made her way to your room to check up on the alarmingly fast healing boy.

Silence overtook the room. Chris sucked in a deep breath as he rubbed his presumably sweaty hands on his jeans. You finally had a moment to take in what he had on, dark washed jeans and a cardigan with nothing under it. He was dressed for a date. The date he had planned with you. But life sucked and it liked to play with people and their emotions. “I guess it’s my turn to tell you the truth.” He sounded nervous. Voice shaky, clenching and unclenching his jaw. “I can also heal fast like Jeongin.” That was all he said at first, as if he was trying to formulate the right way to tell you what he needed. “Do you trust me?” He reached for your hand and you let him take it. You nodded, not able to verbalize the words with all the bombshells that had already been dropped on you. “I’ve been keeping something from you for a while now. When I… when I’d finally found the courage to tell you, you had started dating your last ex and the next thing I knew, you were gone.” You gave him an apologetic smile and he shook his head. “I still should have tried to tell you. I was just afraid that you’d never talk to me again if I told you the truth.” He swallowed hard, “I’m… God, how do I say this without scaring you off?” He chuckled anxiously.

“Chris, just say it-”

You both talked at the same time, his words covering yours as you trailed off. “It’s hard for me to say this, since I’ve always been afraid you’d turn your back on me. I’m one of the magical creatures your mother mentioned…... The boys are my pack. We are a pack… of werewolves.” The first few words were covered up by your own, but you most definitely caught the end. A werewolf? You chuckled, this had to be a joke right? There was nothing that could convince you that Christopher was anything other than a regular human, His roommates though? Definitely suspicious. Your mind traveled to the encounter you had with the oversized pierced wolf you’d seen around his house a few days ago. Now it made sense, it was one of them. Given the amount of ear piercing it was either Felix or Hyunjin, and you were putting your money on Hyunjin. You didn’t want to know who the scary one that came out of the treeline was. Just thinking about the way it looked sent chills down your spine.

“Just like you, it’s in my blood. Everyone in my family is- well, minus cousin Gary, he’s the only one in a very long line that isn’t.” You’d met his cousin Gary and as hairy as that man was, you were shocked he wasn’t just like the rest of them, if they were in fact werewolves. This was information overload and it felt like a cruel joke at this point. Your life wasn’t the best, but knowing that all of it was a lie was taking its toll on your mental state. You needed to clear your head and process everything that had been revealed over the last hour. “I wanted to tell you, I really did. But it’s forbidden for us to share our status with humans.” He chewed on his lip, “It wasn’t until I met your mom that I found out what you really are. She told me not to tell you, so she could keep her secret intact. I’m sorry, Y/N.” You understood, you really did. He was doing what he could to help your mom and keep the rules in place. But this was still a lot, especially in the time span.

“I understand.” You nodded, rising to your feet. “I think…” You paused, looking in his eyes just to look away. “I need to get some fresh air.” He got up, and you shook your head. “Alone, Chris.” You could see the apprehension on his face, his protective nature kicking in. “I’ll take my mace.” He still looked at you like a kicked puppy, like he didn’t want you to venture out into the night without him being around to protect you. “I’ll be fine, Chris. Don’t worry. I’ll call you if anything comes up.” He nodded reluctantly. You needed to get out of there. All that information was starting to suffocate you. You grabbed your keys with your bear mace on the chain, and headed out into the night air. He followed behind you, but didn’t go any further than the first step off the porch. You took off in whatever direction your feet took you, you didn’t care about where you ended up, just as long as you got away from that house and all of the prevaricators that were currently inhabiting it.

You walked for what seemed like hours. From Uptown to West Riverside, back up through East Riverside through Touro to the Garden District. Your legs burned, your body wasn’t used to all of this activity. It'd been less than a year since you’d left this city and your body was suffering from not being as active as you once were. You spotted a stone and iron fence and took a seat on the protruding stone part. You rubbed your thighs, trying your best to make sure they wouldn’t cramp up on you. Your mind drifted back to everything that's happened over the course of this long ass week. Evicted, forced to turn tail and go back home, kissed your best friend, had weird flashbacks with a cute doctor you’d met for the first time, got scared by a cat that walked to see if you were okay, found out you’re a witch and your best friend is a werewolf. You scoffed, shaking your head. This was right out of some young adult fiction book, if anyone asked you. You had ticked off all the boxes to make this a bestseller, at that. But you’d much rather be the protagonist's best friend that had no idea any of this was taking place and had little to no problems and not the actual star of the stupid story. You leaned your back against the cold iron of the fence, closing your eyes briefly. Even though you had convinced yourself you were done running, the prospect of getting away from it all did sound awfully tempting. That was until you remembered that you’d probably simultaneously combust if you ever left the city for good.

“What is a pretty lady like you doing out at this time of night? Alone?” Your eyes snapped open upon hearing the gravelly voice. You were greeted by a man who looked like every physical description of a pervert possible. Greasy hair, weasley face, slender frame, draped in an all too big trench coat. He smelled like death warmed over with a hint of ‘he might be an alcoholic,’ to top it all off.

You sighed, not wanting to deal with the late night weirdos that loved to traverse during the light night hours. “Dude, respectfully…. Fuck off.” Your patience was really wearing thin and you didn’t try to hide your annoyance like you usually would. Your world had been blown up and you didn’t need for some unhygienic deviant to make it any worse. He laughed, the sound of his demented and high pitched cackle bouncing off the space around you, making you feel a bit of unease. His eyes flickered a glowing silver color for a brief moment and if you hadn’t been so wide eyed and afraid, you would have thought your eyes were playing tricks on you. “Seriously, leave me alone. I have fucking mace and I will use it on your weird ass.” You lifted the bear mace and undid the safety. He stepped close so quickly that it made you jump. How did he move from where he was that quick? He reached his hand out towards your face, you could see the dirt and a deep rusty color under his nails. You smacked his hand away, making him retaliate by pushing you forcefully back against the iron and brick. That was definitely going to leave a bruise. The amber streetlight above your head gives a better glimpse of his appearance up close. There was something smeared on his cheek and sprayed all over his jacket. Was that… blood?

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve had such a….” He sniffed the air around you, his hands moving to grab the fence behind you, boxing you in, your flesh squeezing through the metal slats of the balustrade . “Such a tasty smelling meal. Even if it smells a little like… mutt.” Your eyes widened as his tongue jutted out past his crusty lips to provide moisture to them. “And all to myself? What a lucky night.” The closer he got the more your body stiffened, despite you telling yourself to move. Run. Do something, anything, just don’t sit there and let this man defile you. You shut your eyes tightly, and closed your mouth, placing your free hand over it and your nose as you lifted the mace and sprayed indiscriminately. He hissed and moved away, giving you enough space to take off running. With your eyes still closed and hand still over your mouth, you fled down the familiar streets. You hoped nothing had changed over the last year, or else you’d be in deep shit.

A blood curdling scream followed you as you rounded the corner. You could feel the hairs on the back of your neck standup. Your adrenaline was racing, heart pumping, you could hear your loud footsteps as you powered your way through the pain coursing through your body. You couldn’t scream out for help, who could help save you from a vampire? You couldn’t multi-task that well, so pulling out your phone when there was clear and present danger following you was also a no go. You didn’t dare look back, you knew that would slow you down. But you wanted to know if you had gotten away. With a swift turn of your head, you saw how close he had gotten. He was so close that if he reached out, the tips of his fingers would touch you. There was a glint of hunger and amusement in his eyes. He was playing with you, his food.

When you turned your head to look in front of you, you bumped right into something or someone. The force was enough to knock you and them to the ground, but you didn’t fall. A cold hand grabbed at your bicep, swiftly tugging you behind them. “Ahh, you caught my prey.” The guy who was hot on your tail slurred out. “Give her to me.” He cackled, rubbing his gross hands together. The person who you ran into didn’t say a word, but kept a tight grip on your arm. “Give her to me!” The man yelled and it caused you to cower. You’d never been so afraid in your life. You closed your eyes, trying to calm your nerves. “She’s mine ! I found her first!” He was throwing a tantrum, a grown man. He grabbed at your alleged savior, who didn’t budge when the man's hands came in contact with his dress shirt. “You can’t have her! She’s mine!” He shook the man, who finally let your arm go. Your savior's eyes connected with yours, that familiar warmth you’d met earlier. Your eyes danced over his sharp but kind features, illuminated by the soft house lights in the distance. He gave you the faintest smile, trying his best to reassure you without using his words.

“Leave her.” Dr. Jay’s voice was cold as he spoke with an authoritative tone to the man. It was now your pursuers time to cower. He let go of his shirt and shrunk to his knees, whimpering. “Go, or I’ll have no choice but to take your miserable life.” His voice was deep and unwavering as he spoke. “Now!” His voice only rose a slight bit, but it sent shockwaves towards the man. He fell back on his butt, but quickly corrected himself and ran off in the direction of where you’d come from. Your heart was thumping in your throat and ears, you had cold beads of sweat all over your body and you felt faint. Just as your legs were about to give out, he caught you in his arms. The last thing you saw before slipping into unconsciousness was his concerned eyes.

You felt warm, secure, like you were at home, tucked away under the covers of your bed. Has this horrible night all been some type of nightmare? Had you fallen asleep while waiting for Chris to show up for your date? You sure hoped so. You really didn’t want to have to add being chased by a vampire as his prospective meal was something you wanted to add to your list of bullshit. Your eyes fluttered open, only to be greeted by the mismatched eyes of Socks. “She refused to leave the room when I asked her to.” His deep voice carried from somewhere in the corner. The room was dark except for the light coming from the fireplace. “She usually doesn’t warm up to people very quickly. But, she’s really fond of you. ” He stood to his feet, and slowly made his way over towards you, the closer he got, the more you could see of him. He’d changed out the dress shirt he had on earlier and was now clad in a crimson robe with gold embroidery. It looked like it was made from the finest materials, expensive, and old. “How are you feeling?” He came to your side, kneeling next to where you lay. He placed a cold hand to your forehead to feel if you were feverish.

“I.. I’m fine.” Socks jumped down off of you and made her way to a cat bed that was near the fireplace. “How long was I out?” He didn’t tear his eyes away from yours, as if reading your thoughts to make sure you were fine and not lying.

“Four and a half hours. It’s three fifteen.” He must have been really good at keeping time, since he didn’t even bother to look at a clock or his phone. “I let your mom know that I found you. I left out the part about you being chased, as to not cause her any alarm. She knows you are in good hands.” He stood and you sat up, realizing you were in a bed. Your eyes floated around, taking in what you could make out about the room. The walls were either dark gray or black, the four post bed had part of the curtains closed, you assumed for privacy. There was a tall fake archway behind the bed, with a warm orange glow that emanated from it. The room was gothic, but in a modern way. It played with both styles really well. Clearly you needed to be chased by a blood sucker to be in this plush of a bed, because there was no way you could afford this on your own. The plethora of pillows alone would probably bankrupt you. “Here, drink this.” He handed you a glass filled with cool water, “I’m sure you must be thirsty.” You took it with no hesitation, and swallowed down the liquid. You were parched. Between the hour long walk and running for your life, you were sure you were dealing with the repercussions of it all. You’d had a wild night, and it wasn’t in the type of way you wanted to be wild, either. You were gulping the cool liquid down, you had to look absolutely crazy in his eyes, but you didn’t care. He chuckled, eyes shimmering with mirth, “Slow down, you can always get more.” He lifted the condensation speckled pitcher for you to see. “Anything you need to help you get better, I’ll get it for you if I don’t have it.” You paused your drinking. Kindness was a rare find these days, so his words made you feel a tad bit suspicious.

“Why?” You asked bluntly, words tumbling past your lips before you had to assess if you should ask them or not. “I mean, you saved my life by chasing that guy off. Then you carried me… here… which I assume is your home. You have no reason to continue to care for me…. So.. why?” His eyes searched yours as if he was looking for the answer for himself. He shrugged, putting the pitcher back down on the bedside table.

“Kindness is free, Y/N. Or- at least it should be. What kind of doctor would I be if I didn’t help someone I saw that was clearly in need of aid? That’d make me a pretty shitty one, no?” He smiled, more to himself than anything, deep dimples now on full display. “Plus. your mom scares me. I don’t think it would be wise to test her when it comes to her precious daughter. I’d like to keep whatever extremities she’d threaten to cut off.” Has your mom threatened this man before? You wouldn’t put it past her, honestly. After the ex who’d gotten you pregnant ran off, she tracked down his family and ever so nicely threated to fuck all of their shit up if he did at least show up to at least one doctors appointment. In the end, he didn’t need to, you miscarried at twenty-two weeks anyway. “So, rest up. I'll drive you home in the morning.” He got up and started for the door, “Do you have any allergies or food you don't like to eat for breakfast?” This felt like the first time anyone had asked you that. He was offering breakfast? Clearly his kindness was free, because most guys wouldn't even attempt breakfast if they knew they weren't getting anything out of it. You shook your head as an answer. “Are you… down for anything in that case?” That could have been interpreted in several ways, but you'd take the innocent route since he was such a nice guy. You were slow to nod, contemplating whether to give him a verbal answer or not. “Good…” He pushed the door open and stepped into the hall, “I sincerely hope you get a good night's sleep. Wouldn't want your mom to worry and wonder why I brought you back with bags under your eyes.” He smirked, “Goodnight, Y/N.”

With a soft click of the door, he was gone, leaving you to your own devices. You searched your person for your phone, finding it in your back pocket, crushed and cracked. Even when you tried to turn it on, absolutely nothing happened. You being pushed hard against the fencing around that house clearly did more damage than just a few bruises. You sighed heavily. This day was the absolute worst. You forced your eyes shut, trying your best to sleep off whatever dog shit you’d stepped in to make this day unfold the way it did. But sleep evaded you like a man hopping states to get away from paying child support. You spent the night tossing and turning, staring at the beautifully ornate tray ceilings of this bedroom. There were gold little details that you figured out after staring for so long, were intricately drawn stars. Everyone you could see in the dimly lit room was different. You wondered if any of the other rooms in this house were decorated to such an extent. You were tempted to do a self guided house tour, but something in you prevented you from budging from the spot you were in. You tried your best to forget the night's events, hoping that with the nearing daybreak you'd find this to all be a dream.

But even as the shadows were chased by the light of dawn, your mind stayed in a state of unrest. You were a witch, one bound to this city by a generational curse. Your best friend was a werewolf and his roommates were his pack. You were nearly killed by a vampire and were saved by your mom's boss, of all people. No wonder you couldn’t rest, that was a lot to unpack, even as someone who lived through it. You pushed back the covers, slipping your legs from underneath the warmth of the comforter. Your feet were met by plush slippers, instead of the cool wood of the floor. Socks peeked her head from underneath the bed, then her little white paws stretched out as well. She must have slept under the bed instead of in her comfortable little bed by the fireplace. “Good morning, Socks. I hope at least you slept well.”

She crawled her way out from under the bed and looked back at you as if she wanted you to follow her. You slipped your feet in the slippers and followed closely behind her. She tapped the door with her head and moved back so you could open it. The hall was dark, pitch black almost. It was almost like the sun wasn’t up quiet yet, or like it was setting instead. She pranced quickly down the hall and you followed behind quickly, not wanting to lose her in the inkiness of it all. You could still see the little patches of white as you left the room, but the further down the hallway you went, the more the absence of light spread. You lost her a brief second, but she meowed, calling you in her direction. Buy how you wished you had your phone so you could use your flashlight. “Here?” You asked her, squinting your eyes in the darkness. From what you could make out, it looked like a wall. Just a wainscotting and wallpaper covered, everyday wall. She meowed again. She either thought you were moving too slow or she sensed your confusion. “There's nothing there-” You stopped mid sentence as you brushed your fingers over the wall in front of you. It pushed open with a soft click

If you thought you were confused before, you were ten times as confused now. You pushed the trick door open ever further, watching her little white paws prance into the dimly lit room. “Wait, Socks-” You chased her past the threshold, just to be stopped in your tracks as you entered a bedroom. There were candles lit all over the room in varying sizes. The wallpaper was blood red, the wainscotting black, a large portrait of Dr. Jay was over the mantle of the unlit fireplace. The room looked empty, which should have been a fire hazard, considering all the lit candles. Socks jumped on the large four post bed in the middle of the room. It was similar to the one you’d slept- well, laid in the night before. But there was a glaring difference. Instead of the flowy sheer curtains that framed the beautiful bed, this one had thick, heavy drapery around it, all in black. Just like yesterday at the hospital, your feet started moving on their own. Even if somewhere deep down inside you were a little curious to know what Socks had pulled you in here for, something in your mind told you this was an intrusion into Dr. Jay's privacy. But you couldn’t stop yourself, your feet had literally taken on a mind of their own, pulling you towards the bed against your own will. You could always use the excuse that Socks led you here, if you were caught. Your body stopped as the toes of your slippers hit the bottom of the wooden frame that surrounded the bed. There Socks was, cuddled up next to her papa who seemed to be out cold. His hands formed an ‘x’ over his chest, his body straight and pointing towards the sky. This man absolutely had to be a serial killer, because who else slept like they were dead in a casket with no covers over their body? You know, besides the stereotypical vampires they have in those stupid teen movies? He looked peaceful though, like he lived a life without worry or strife. You wished you knew how that felt, but you were sure that wasn’t an option for someone like you.

You cleared your throat to announce yourself. But he didn’t budge, not an inch. He was sleeping like the dead, as your grandmother would often say. You sighed, opting to reach out and lightly shake him, just for your hand to be illuminated by this strange pearlescent blue glow. You pulled your hand back, afraid of what might happen to it if you kept it there too long. For all you knew, it could burst into flames or something. But once again, curiosity got the better of you. You reached out again, fingers brushing against the cool blue light. You looked around to see where it was coming from, but there was no apparent source of light. You stepped back, away from bed. Checking under it, just to be intercepted by an ornate base side panel. Just where the fuck was this light coming from. You grabbed a post to help you stand to your feet, and that's when you noticed it. The fine, yet tiny runes embroidered onto tapestry draped over the bed. It reminded you of all the little ensigns your great-grandmother left around the house. You were so busy taking in the portiere that you didn’t notice Dr. Jay rising from his deep slumber. “I guess Socks has taken more than just a liking to you if she led you in here.” He spoke softly so as not to startle you, but it did anyway. You jumped, clasping a hand over your fast beating heart. “Sorry- I didn’t mean to startle you. Quite the opposite, really.” He sighed. “Could you, hand me my glasses, they are on the side table?” You were still trying to calm your nerves after being scared half to death by the owner of the very bed you were hovering next to, but you nodded, reaching over to grab his glasses. You picked them up and passed them to him, almost forgetting about the strange blue glow that encapsulated your arm every time you reached into the chamber of his bed.

His face contorted, and since you didn’t know him, you couldn’t tell what it meant. He hummed and nodded, taking the glasses from your hands and putting them on his face. “Ah, so you are a witch.” It was your turn to make a face. You took a step back, unsure how he came to that conclusion. “He waved a hand around, gesturing to the canopy of his bed, “Your grand- no, great-grandmother made this tapestry for me. That's probably the only reason you can reach your hand in here at all. Because it’s meant to ward off any supernatural being, especially those with ill intentions.” He threw his legs off the side of the bed and stood to his feet, slowly sauntering towards you with each word. “She helped me when I was plagued by the memories of my…. Long life. I couldn’t sleep, everytime I did manage to fall into slumber, past memories would replay in my head like I was a bystander. I couldn’t do anything but watch the tragedies of my existence replay in full detail. So, I sought out the most powerful witch in the city. She was easy to find, her house is like a beacon, calling to all the occult seeking help.”

You were backing away with each step he took towards you, his deep voice carving its way into your brain, trying its best to lull you into a false sense of security. You didn’t know this man, despite him saving your life, having a very curious cat that wouldn’t leave you alone, and being your mom’s boss. You couldn’t trust him, despite what your mind was yelling for you to do. “She sewed this by hand for me and used blood magic to enchant it. Since she used her own blood, and you are a direct descendant of hers, you can come and go freely from my bed chamber.” You did not like the way that sounded coming from his lips, not one bit. Why was that his choice of words? He could have just said “she did some magic mumbo jumbo and your blood is hers.” That probably would have made you feel a bit more at ease than you were right now.

“From your bed chamber…” He hummed again, just as the back of your knees hit a chair in the corner, successfully making you sit, despite you wanting to run. His eyes flashed black past his glasses, making you gasp. He chuckled, lips curling up at the sides. That's when you noticed his fangs, they weren’t there before, were they? He grabbed your wrist softly, dragging his nose along the vein in it. You couldn’t move, your body wouldn’t allow you too. Your mind was still trying to convince you that this was fine. Everything was fine, despite you once again being in clear and present danger. What the fuck was with your luck since you came back to this cursed ass city? He took a pass at the skin with his fangs, like he wanted to sink his teeth into you, but wouldn’t. At least that's what you hoped. “Please don’t… hurt me.” Even with his irises being pitch black, you could still see his eyes twinkle with mirth.

“Oh… I would never.” He pressed the softest kiss to your wrist, still keeping eye contact with you. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t care to taste you.” You were sure your heart stopped beating at that moment. Guess you could add your mom’s boss to the list of revelations of the night. He was a blood sucking vampire, and in this moment he wanted to taste you.

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© ✐Channieskies 『MINORS DNI! This post contains nsfw material. Please do not interact with it if you are under the age of 18. Do not translate or repost here or on other sites. Please leave a like, comment, and reblog if you enjoyed this story.』

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robin-evry · 3 months ago

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Maybe you could do Dungeon Meshi with Eda like reader? With all curse and rebellion stuff? Though, I do feel like they would hide their curse due to all shame they felt and when they tell the truth they would tell everyone that they "would understand if they want to leave them behind"

OMG, finally a dungeon meshi request. Ask and you shall receive, this eda is before eda makes peace with the owl beast.

𝐃𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐃𝐀!𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 🦉🪄

Eda is known as the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. But due to her rebellious nature, she is pretty much an outcast/criminal who has a great number of enemies. Eda makes a living selling human treasures at the markets, and sometimes homemade elixirs and potions. She also happens to be a collector, as she keeps most of her human treasures at home.

( English is not my first language)

The island holds many interesting and powerful individuals. But there was always an elf sorcerer that had usually been talked about around the island.

The elf sorcerer is known for being one of the most powerful mages in the island as well the number one most wanted criminal there.

Even tho eda!reader is a merchant, they travel towards the dungeon for their free time, collecting ancient scrolls to find a cure for their curse, sell or to collect They are able to decipher the ancient text in the dungeon.

During one of these expeditions they met laois party, the party ambushed by a party of monsters and eda!reader save them. As a thank you they offer them some food from the monster

Originally eda!reader was weirded out by this food, but they started to enjoy it.

Eda!reader is also a user of ancient magic much more proficient than marcille, due to exploring the dungeon they manage to enhance their proficient in the magic.

They often give marcille some advice on ancient magic and how to get away with it, hiding the evidence.

Chilchuck originally doesn't trust eda!reader, due to some rumors heard about them, I mean they're the island number one criminal and are hanging out and what if they continue hanging out with them to steal their stuff and leave them stranded.

Even tho most characters look down on Laois, eda!reader can see right through him. Even tho he looks like an idiot as well a weak warrior. Laois is not someone that should be looked down upon. He's very powerful and they respect him for that.

They usually discuss monsters with him and are surprised at his knowledge about them, as well as learning about his sister. Eda!reader said they will try their best to help them if they do have a time of need or they will assist them in their journey as much as they can.

Senshi is by far one of the chilliest people that they ever come across usually people would warn others if they come across them or they will try to arrest them to get the bounty under their head, but no he's just talking to them as if they are just a normal person.

Marcille and chilchuck are by far the most worried about eda!yuu at the beginning, they are a criminal and at the mean time both of them started to warm up to them but never let their guard down.

As for izutsumi, they see eda!reader slyness is not a reason to trust them as well for their sarcastic humor. But there are still some moments of vulnerable moments between. Izutsumi is by far the first person to know about their curse.

By far they keep the secret of their curse hidden from the party. Until one day and they forgot to drink the elixir medicine and turn into their owl beast form.

Originally, the party was unaware about this and was fighting the monster, izutsumi realized that the monster has the same scent as them and asked the team to stop attacking and retreat for sometime.

She explained that the monster was them and they needed to find a way to wake them up. After a lot of brain scrolling they managed to turn eda!reader back to normal.

When they woke up, they thought laois or the party would be disappointed by them. But instead Laois looked at them with admiration saying how cool their beast form was. While the other party doesn't mind as long they are okay and they took their elixir medicine dayle

By seeing this they manage to give an idea towards the party how to save fallin. And Soon eda!reader will start to join their journey more often.

#dungeon meshi headcanon #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi x reader #delicious in dungeon #not canon #eda the owl lady #eda clawthorne #owl house #eda!reader

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annymation · 11 months ago

Text

The Kingdom of Wishes- A “Wish” Rewrite

Chapter 13- Magic Mirror

Chapter 12

Asha is now sitting on the hand drawn bed that she drew with her magic pencil the previous night. Staring at the 7 teens in front of her, she looks at them completely stunned.

Asha was about to open her mouth to ask a million questions, such as how did they get there? Are they okay? Do they believe her now? Is the king dead?

(Man, if you've been missing the past few chapters this all must feel pretty weird huh?)

But she doesn't have time to say anything, as Dahlia rushes over and hugs her tightly:

"WE'RE SO SORRY WE WEREN'T THERE FOR YOU!!!" The girl's scream echos around the cave, she speaks quickly and on the verge of tears "We were so scared- and and Magnifico was looking at us like he was gonna cut off our heads if we said something! BUT THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFY IT! I should've spoken up for you! I'm the worst friend eveeeeeeeer!" Dahlia says dramatically.

Bazeema, Hal and Dario come in for the hug too, Bazeema being the next one to apologize

"I know it's not much, but I brought an apology gift..." she whispers shyly, while reaching inside a bag she's carrying, and takes out a plant, composed of small star-shaped blooms that cluster together to give the illusion of a single flower "A hyacinth, your favorite... They also symbolize the desire for forgiveness."

(Yeeeeeah remember back in chapter 2 when Bazeema made a garden of purple hyacinths as a birthday gift for Asha? Yeah... It was aaaaaall foreshadowing that eventually the 7 teens would ask her for forgiveness. All details in this fic are foreshadowing! Also I just love flower symbolism.)

Asha takes the flower and smiles softly while the four hug her.

Gabo is standing next to the bed with his arms crossed. He interrupts the sweet moment:

"For the record, back at the plaza I tried to throw a rock on Magnifico's head SEVERAL times, but Mr "respect the corrupt authority" here kept stopping me." He says, pointing at Simon with an annoyed expression.

"Uuh yeah I did, because otherwise you'd be executed for treason, you're welcome." Simon says matter of factly, he looks even more tired than usual, after all he and the others have walked through the woods the whole night to find Asha.

"I would've died a happy man." Gabo says with a cheeky smile.

"You're not a man, Gabo. You're 17." Simon, the 21 year old, says sounding as tired as he looks.

"I would've died a happy boy." Gabo corrects himself with the exact same tone and cheeky smile.

Asha giggles at that, and she finally opens her mouth to say something "I don't blame you guys for not standing up against the king... Simon has a point Gabo, Magnifico is really REALLY dangerous." Asha warns.

Hal leaves the hug and speaks sarcastically with a smile:

"Yeah, we could tell heheh! Next time you find out that the kingdom is ruled by a two sociopaths, just let us know, okay? We can handle it." She finishes with a wink.

Dario looks surprised by that comment and comunnicates in sign language: "Wait, we can? I've been freaking out about it the whole way here." He still has a dopey smile while signing.

"Speaking of which... HOW did you all get here?!" Asha asks them, baffled that they managed to travel so deep into the woods.

Dahlia is more calm now, as she explains with a knowing smile:

"Let's just say we got help, from a little someone who's reeeeeally good at finding you anywhere you go."

"I told you guys I could find her!" Exclaims a little kid's voice coming from bellow the bed.

Asha is confused as she crawls on the bed to see where the voice came from and-

"Valentino?!" Asha exclaims with her eyes wide.

The goat is as happy as can be, looking up to her with his tail wagging.

"Hiiii!" The little goat jumps on the bed and starts licking Asha's cheek " I'm so happy to see you! I explained eeeeeeverything to them, so they'd come with me!"

Asha hugs Valentino, happy to see him... But not understanding how is the goat talking again.

"I- I'm happy to see you too Val... But... Aster, I thought you said Valentino couldn't talk anymore."

Aster, who has been floating around watching the conversation with a pleased smile, flies closer to Asha and explains:

"It's simple really! Some of my magic stayed inside him. That time, he REALLY wanted to say thanks to you. Now, he really wanted to tell your friends that you needed help, so my magic was re-awakened, ain't that right lil buddy?" Aster asks the goat with a cheerful smile.

"Maaa!" Valentino bleated in confirmation... Aaaand now he doesn't need nor want to talk anymore, so he went back to normal.

(This is still THE idea I'm most proud of in this whole rewrite, I unlocked talking goat on demand.)

"I see... So did Valentino really tell you guys everything?" Asha asks her friends with an awkward smile, hoping the answer is yes because it's really a long story.

Dahlia confirms that Valentino did indeed tell them everything, by saying "You mean how the king and queen have been changing people's wishes for years?"

"And when you found out, you ran away and wished upon a star?" Bazeema continued, while looking at Aster with a shy smile.

"And the star... Or rather, "Aster" here, answered?" Simon finishes the train of thought, looking at Aster with a... Suspicious glance.

"YUP! Look's like you guys are all caught up!" Aster says excitedly while floating around the cave.

Hal already seems to like the star boy's energy as she begins to introduce herself "Well, it sure is great to finally meet the guy who protected our girl back there, pleasure to meet you, Aster! The name's H-"

"Hal Diallo, right?" Aster interrupts with a smile as he shakes her hand, his smile widens once he does so, since he's seeing Hal's star.

Hal is surprised that he knows not only her name but also her last name.

Aster then proceeds to list all the others while pointing at each one "And you guys are Dahlia Hayashi, Bazeema Latif, Gabo Brandt, Safi Ayad, Dario Allegri and Simon O'Donohue... Did I get all those right?" Aster asks innocently.

(And yes, I did research all those names to fit with each character cultural background, except for Simon's that is from the movie. Yes, I do have a lot of time in my hands.)

All the 7 look at the star in shock but then slowly turn to Asha in confusion, Asha looks at them with an awkward smile. So Gabo promptly asks:

"Geez Asha, I know you like us a lot but did you really tell everything about us to star boy over here?" He asks in a cynic tone.

Aster quickly corrects him "Oooh no no no you got it all wrong ha ha! I know you guys because I've watched everyone from the sky." Aster laughs it off a little more.

"... THATS SO MUCH WORST!" Gabo exclaims looking actually scared this time.

Asha intervenes while getting out of the bed "Ooookayy this is a whoooole other can of worms that we don't have time to get into right now!" She says, referring to everything she learned about Aster the previous day "All that matters is that Aster is here to help us defeat King Magnifico and Queen Amable, and save everyone." Asha says confidently while holding Aster's hand.

Aster's stary freckles begin to sparkle when he notices she's holding his hand.

Gabo begins to to ramble in his usual sarcastic tone "Oh really? Awesome! Wow! Mind explaining HOW, exactly? Because although we didn't stay to watch the fight 'cause the rain started triggering Safi's allergies-"

"It's true, you know how bad it gets, we ran away as soon as it started raining." Safi interrupts, speaking for the first time.

(This is my way of saying they didn't see Magnifico almost break Asha's wish by the way.)

"Yes, yes we know how bad it gets Safi-" Gabo looks at his friend frustrated, not liking to be interrupted, even though he interrupts people all the time "Anyway- Although we didn't stay to watch the fight, word of mouth says that shinny pants over here got tossed around by Magnifico like he was a mouse being chased by a cat."

"He was more of a snake, if you ask me" Aster says with a shrug, and proceeds to talk confidently "And by the way, I certainly was no mouse, I was the one who won that figh-"

"Wait..." Asha interrupts the star as she remembers what Aster told her yesterday... She turns to Dahlia and quickly holds her friend by the shoulders as she pleads desperately "Please- Please PLEEEEASE tell me that lightning killed him!"

Dahlia looks like she really didn't want to bring the bad news, but she says it anyway "Uuuum... Well, yes-"

"*GASP* WWWOOOOO-" Asha jumps with joy, throwing herself on the bed with her arms up and a huge smile on her face.

But then her celebration is cut short by Gabo being his straightforward self:

"For like 5 minutes, then the queen did some creepy stuff and brought him back from the dead."

Asha and Aster both looked at him in shock, Asha slowly lowers her arms as she asks:

"... She did what now?"

"I've heard she gave him a true love's kiss... Would be quite romantic if it wasn't so scary" Bazeema says in a whisper.

Both Asha and Aster seem very disappointed by this, Asha remains in silence kinda just processing it, while Aster thinks for a moment before he states casually:

"... Well that's just cheating" Their arms are crossed and his mouth has a pout.

Gabo begins throwing some harsh reality as he speaks frankly "Yeah but that's how it went twinkle star, because guess what? Those two are CRAZY POWERFUL. And as long as Magnifico has that magic of his, there's nothing we can do, none, nada." Asha looks very frustrated with those words "So we might as well get comfy living in the woods from now on. Get used to the humidity, Safi." He says as he also lays next to Asha on the hand drawn bed.

As if on cue with the comment about humidity, Safi let out a sneeze

"ACHOOOO! Sorry..." Safi says while itching his nose... He thinks for a moment, and an idea seems to cross his mind as his eyes light up "I think... The king might have weakness though." Safi says raising his finger with one hand while itching his nose with the other "... But it's just a theory, maybe I'm wrong."

"ANY clue might be great help for us, Safi. Please, what do you think?" Asha looks at her friend in the eyes with a hopeful expression.

Safi looks back to her, her words encourage him to tell his friends a secret he has been keeping in for a while, he takes a deep breath before saying

"Alright... Last year, my mom asked me to help her at the castle-

We cut to a flashback sequence where we see Safi and the same cleaning lady from chapter 8. They're dusting off a fancy room in the castle.

"She needed my help because they were short staffed that day, and the king really wanted the castle spotless. Then he came in, complaining that my mom didn't clean his bedroom yet or something... I didn't pay much attention, but I did notice he left his magic staff leaning next to a wall... I got curious, I wanted to take a closer look at it, so I walked towards it while pretending to dust off some furniture. But when I got too close to it... Some ACTUAL dust got in my nose. I tried holding it in but...

"a- A-AAAACHOOOO!"

I sneezed on his staff and knocked it over. Magnifico immediately heard me and RAN to catch the staff before the gem touched the floor, and he did it just in time. I was relieved and so was my mom. I even laughed a bit thinking he would too... But he didn't... He looked at me in the eyes like he wanted to kill me then and there. He grabbed me by the scarf and lifted me off the floor a little. He yelled to my face:

"YOU INANE, FILTHY LITTLE BRAT! YOU ALMOST COSTED ME EVERYTHING!"

I was so scared, I tried a apologizing but that seemed to only make him angrier... My mom only watched nervously from the side. Then, a hand touched his shoulder... It was Queen Amable. She looked at him worriedly, and he looked back to her, I couldn't see his face... And just like that he let go of me and left the room without a word. Then the queen smiled to me, like what just happened was no big deal

"Please do forgive the king, my dear. He has been under a lot of stress lately, that's all... But you shouldn't be here in the first place, now, should you? No, a castle is no place for children. So how about you run along and enjoy the rest of your day, hum?" She placed a finger on my lips as she said with a sweet voice "And we'll keep this as our little secret, won't we?"... All I could do was nod."

The flashback ends.

We cut to all the other teens staring at Safi with expressions of both surprise and pity.

Aster's is floating in a sitting position with his legs crossed, he looks very sad.

"... Why didn't you tell us?" Asha asks, sounding heartbroken that the king and queen treated her friend that way and he had to keep that pain in silence.

"Probably the same reason you didn't tell us when you found out about their secret... I was scared." Safi said quietly with a sad expression, Asha nods in agreement "Also my mom told me not to gossip..." Safi adds quietly.

Dario comes over and gives Safi a hug.

"Heh thanks bud." Safi says, feeling relieved to let all that out.

Gabo, as always, ends the sweet moment by saying bluntly "Ok so we all agree the staff is like, his achilles heel, right?"

"... Yeah, if not breaking it was so important then why would he run to catch it when he could just use his magic to make it float?" Dahlia ponders.

"Because he can't do magic without holding it... " Aster answers, with an expression of realization.

Asha also has that same face of realization as she says "... Of course! None of the kings that came before him even had magic staffs, they could do magic with their hands alone... Magnifico DOESN'T know magic!" A smile forms on the corner of Asha's lips, it's almost comical how every aspect of that man was a lie all along.

"Soooo if we break that gem on his staff" Aster says with a huge smile while flying closer to Asha's face, his hair shinning brighter and brighter.

"He will be powerless." Asha finishes his sentence, looking at Aster in the eyes with a determined smirk.

"Uuuh that's great but... How are we supposed to break it?" Simon asks confused "Even the literal STAR here couldn't use his powers against the staff's magic, so what are we supposed to do?"

Aster turns to Simon with a confident look "Yeah sure, it was too much for me to handle... On my own." He turns to Asha for her to complete his point.

Asha get's up and makes the bed that she drew return to her sketchbook, surprising the rest of the teens.

While she does so, she finishes Aster's point:

"But together... We can fight."

She uses her magic pencil to draw some drums.

And we transition to the song:

What We Know Now

Lines in Purple- Asha

Lines in Red- Dahlia

Lines in Yellow- Safi

Lines in Blue- Hal

Lines in Bold Orange- Gabo

Lines in Green- Simon

Lines in Pink- Bazeema

Lines in Bold Yellow- Aster

Lines in Bold White- Everyone

(Lines between parenthesis- Me)

(Asha begins to draw some drums with her magic pencil, making them fly out off the page. Aster immediately gets her idea and begins to play the drums as the instrumentation of the song.)

… We've been deceived That royal pair are not what they've claimed to be They're more vicious than I could have ever comprehended When I made a wish and Aster came down This is not what I expected or intended But now that it's happened I don't regret it

(She begins to sing turning to her friends, her expression is bold. As she says the line "When I made a wish and Aster came down" the two of them share a glance, with Aster smiling at her as he plays the drums, and she looks at him with a warm smile.) 'Cause now I've seen Them show their true colors, in shades of green Saying that your wishes aren't safe because of me and That's a lie, lie, lie, lie. And now we know how we'll get the upper hand

(Aster uses their light to reflect on the gems inside the cave, creating the figure of Magnifico and Amable on the walls, that turn from blue to green. As Asha says the last line she raises her hand to the sky and starts walking out of the cave, with her friends following her to the forest.)

… If it's not us then who and when? If we don't fight they know they'll win Not allowed Knowing what I know now The lengths they'll go there's no amount I won't sit back watch this play out That's my vow Knowing what I know now

(She marches with them to the clearing in the forest, pushing the tree branches out of her way, some birds fly off the trees upon hearing her sing. As they reach the clearing, she turns to her friends to know what they have to say... Dahlia is the first one to step in)

… Get up, yah! No, I'm not the only one that's (yah) Fed up (yah)

(Dahlia walks to be next to Asha as she raises her hand to the sky with every "yah", motivating their friends even more)

… Wait 'til they hear our feet go dun, dun, dun, dun (yeah)

(Safi sings as Dario grabs one of the drums that Asha drew and begins playing it at the "dun dun dun" part. Dario may not be able to sing but he helps Aster with the instrumentals.)

… I don't think they'll be prepared for what's coming

(Hal sings her line with a passion, as she extends her hand forward to call the others to join their hands together in a group circle)

… A revolution hit the ground runnin'

(And they do so, then they raise their hands together, and with that we transition to Asha making a drawing of the castle that turns into a miniature, for them to plan how they'll get in.)

… If there's one thing they can't keep down Uh-huh It's us and the strength we've found It's too loud (loud) Knowing what we know now (knowing what we know now)

(Asha then draws little miniatures of her friends and Aster, they all come to life and get in position on the castle as the group begins to formulate their plan)

… And who, who knows if we'll succeed?

(Simon looks unsure, as he holds the little miniature of himself that Asha drew.)

But we- Won't stop and we won't retreat or turn round

Round

(Gabo notices the fear in his friend's eyes and offers these words of motivation)

Knowing what we know now Knowing what we know now

(They all sing together with Asha... All except Simon, as we see a shot focusing on him a bit far away from the group, smiling at them singing, but his eyes give away how he's trying to hide from the others how he's unsure if they're doing the right thing.)

… Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo Hoo-ha-hoo-ha-hoo-ha Hoo-hoo-hoo

(We get a sequence showing small glimpses of the group making their plan, and we can see time passing as we transition from early morning to mid afternoon)

… Can they tell what we're becomin'? (Hoo) Hear it in the way we're drummin' (hoo) I was sweet but now I'm something else (oho) Yah, yah, yah, yah! (Hoo-hoo)

… Ain't it nice of us to drop in (hoo-ha) To take what's ours to take it back in? (hoo-ha) They think we're nothing (hoo) But we're something else! (Ha) Yah! (Hoo)

(In this sequence, the group already planned everything. The gang dances together, as Dario is now the only one on the instrumentals, Asha drew a bunch of drumming instruments for him to go crazy with... But the camera suddenly moves up, as we focus on Aster looking at the castle in the distance as the sun begins to set, and the star sings his verse.)

… I've seen too many bad things that I can't keep count (The sky) And land now both unite To fight (fight) Knowing what I know now Knowing what I know now (hoo-ha-hoo)

(Aster refers to all the bad things he has seen them do while he was in the sky, as well as all the bad things he could see inside Magnifico with his eyes. His expression as he sings is bold and serious, as if he can't stand all the injustices he has seen.)

… They shall see all of your stars (We are) Aligned by your own scars So profound (Ahh) Knowing what I know

(He's flies down and begins to sing looking at all the other teens, referring to THEM as stars, that have been aligned to fight this battle because of the scars that the king and queen caused)

… I know (hoo)

… I know (ha)

… We know now (hoo)

… Knowing what we know now

(And the song ends with them striking a group pose)

...

So we transition to the castle, as we get a scene of Magnifico and Amable in the throne room, with 4 guards lined up in front of them.

"So let me get this straight..." Magnifico speaks to the guards with his voice filled with frustration, as he's sitting on the throne with his hand on his forehead "After searching THE WHOLE NIGHT, none of your troops could find any sign of that girl, nor the star?" He glares at the guards in front of him.

The guards all seem nervous, but one steps in to say something

"W-we went as far into the woods as we could, your highness... But there were some setbacks."

"Setbacks?" The king pronounces the word like it disgusts him "What kind of setbacks are we talking about here?"

"Last night when we were searching... Some of our men could've sworn they heard voices and whispers, the likes of cursed spirits..." Another one of the guards begins to explain, he sounds frightened.

"I've heard some say that the trees attacked them!" Another guard adds in, also sounding just as scared

"And I experienced the most unbelievable thing!" Finally a third guard starts telling what he saw, and we get a quick flashback

We see the guard at night searching through the woods.

When suddenly the ground beneath him starts to shake and... A giant flower sprouts out of the ground and closes it's petals with him inside...

Our perspective in the flashback changes to Aster hiding in the branches of some trees, giggling quietly as the guard screams for his companions to get him out.

(So yeah, the whole night Aster was messing with the guards by asking the animals to whisper creepy things and giving life to the trees and so on... The Peter Pan vibes in him keep growing.)

End of flashback.

And we cut to Magnifico staring at them shocked, not shocked that those things happened, oh no, he knows exactly what those things really mean... He's actually shocked with how incompetent they are.

Magnifico stays silent for a moment... The guards are all standing up stiffly, waiting for what he'll say next.

"... he he ha aHAHAH AH HA AHAHAHA!" Magnifico lets out a laugh that echos through the room, the guards look nervous. The king turns to the queen sitting next to him, she's staring at the guards with a cold expression. Magnifico talks to her like he just heard the funniest joke in the world "Did you hear that, my sweet? Hah ah They retreated because of- aha hah- some scary little whispers, moving trees and a FLOWER! HA!-Ha ha ha-" The king's genuine sounding laugh descends into a fake, deep one, as he stands up holding his staff tightly. His expression is twisting from a smile to a furious scowl-

"You FOOLS!"

Using his staff, Magnifico attacks the guards with a lightning spell, the guards manage to escape it just in time. As they look to their king in horror.

"IDIOTS!"

He does so again, the four men are now running for their lives to the exit, but Magnifico slams the door shut with the snap of his fingers.

"IMBECILES!"

He summons a third lighting strike that barely misses them, as they're now cornered against the wall.

Magnifico marches towards them, his face is red with rage while his staff is glowing green, ready to attack them again at any moment.

"That was THE STAR'S magic! THAT MEANS HE WAS NEAR YOU!" He hits the staff on the floor, creating a loud clang of the metal against the marble, the white floor is now cracked. "WHY did your captain not alert me about this?! I gave him a mirror PRECISELY for him to tell me about ANY SIGN OF THE STAR!" The king exclaims to the four men cowering in fear in front of him.

His voice is loud but it's not hysterical, it's a booming and commanding tone that demands respect and attention.

They remain silent, trembling in their armor.

"WELL?" He insists for an answer to his question, threatening to attack them again.

One of them spills the beans "I- I heard a rumor this morning that he lost the mirror!..." The man immediately covers his own mouth, realizing what he just did.

Magnifico turns to the guard that said that, his face relaxes as he says "... Oh did he now?... How unfortunate." his voice sounds calmer now, but the sense of uneasiness is palpable... his staff stops glowing. "Well then. Congratulations men, it seems the captain's position will be vacant very soon." The king speaks calmly as he starts walking back to his throne "Who knows, if you don't disappoint me any further, one of you might even take his place."

The guards all shiver at that, not sure if the king means their captain would just lose his position... Or worse.

"That will be all for now. Dismissed." The king snaps his fingers and a large door opens, allowing them to leave. The four guards bow down before rushing out of there. Once they're out, Magnifico snaps his fingers again to close the door. "... UUUUUUGH What's the use of ruling a kingdom when you're surrounded by idiots?" He slumps down on his throne, sounding miserable as he vents to his wife.

The queen holds his hand, her previous serious expression is gone, replaced by a passionate gaze "Patience, darling. We'll have our star sooner than you think, I just know it." She says soothingly.

He kisses her hand before saying "So do I, my love... But you were right, as always. We can't rely on others to even tell us where that blasted star is. It's true what they say: if you want something done right, you must do it yourself." He gets up from the throne and starts walking to the exit "I'll go to the forest to get them myself." He stops on his tracks for a moment and turns back to his wife with a pondering look "Hmm... Say dear, would you prefer that I brought the girl dead or alive?" He asks her in a loving tone.

"Alive, I could use a test subject for my potions, but either way would be lovely." Amaya responds, smiling wickedly.

"Then I better be on my wAAY- " The king almost trips over on something when he was walking to the door, he looks down and it is- "BRAVO! Watch where you're going you little devil!" Magnifico berates their lynx.

Bravo looks up to the king unbothered by the screaming, and it seems like he did it on purpose, not to stop his owner from going out though... But because he wants to show them something.

The lynx let's out a growly meow as he looks to the king and starts walking to another room, after taking a few steps the feline stops and looks back at the king and queen, as if to ask if they're coming with

"... It seems he has something to show us." The queen says while rising up from her throne to follow her pet.

The king raises one eyebrow at that, not quite sure if that's worth his time. But he follows along either way.

The two royals follow their pet up the flight of stairs, until they reach the king's study next to the wishes room.

And on the table, they see a hand mirror, that looks just like the magic mirror from Beauty and The Beast. It's glowing with a green light.

"OH! So I guess he didn't lose the mirror after all. Well done, Bravo." Magnifico says as he pets the lynx's head, Bravo seems pleased. "Now, let's see if we get some good news today."

The king holds the handle of the mirror and begins to speak with whoever is trying to get in contact with him

"About time, O'Donohue! So, have you found the star ye-" The person trying to speak with him comes into view in the mirror, we're not seeing who it is yet, only the king's face of surprise and confusion when he sees who it is "You're not the captain..."

We still only focus on the king's face, as we hear a familiar voice coming from the mirror:

"Erm no... I'm his son, actually, I'm sorry for stealing this from him but... there's something I think you should know."

The king looks intrigued at the mirror, he's ready to listen.

...

And we cut to another scene-

(*Jumps on screen* I MIGHT write a small bonus chapter just to show you guys how THIS conversation went, because if this was a movie then we wouldn't see it, but I want you guys to know SIMON IS NOT A TOTAL JERK AS HE SEEMS! So like, if you guys really want it, I'll write a bonus scene showing what Magnifico and Simon talked about, like a deleted scene of sorts! Okay moving on!)

It's evening time, the sun is almost completely set. And we're back to the forest.

We see 6 of the teens, Asha and Aster all together around a camp fire, sitting on logs. There's a small pot above the fire with some mushroom soup that Dahlia prepared, she brought the pot it in her bag, and the other teens also brought bowls and eating utensils with them.

Asha has an empty bowl of soup next to her, she's already done eating. She's now focused on trying to draw something on her sketchbook, not paying much attention to what her friends are talking about. Valentino is sleeping next to her.

Meanwhile, Aster is staring at her with what can only be described as a teen absolutely smitten, resting his head on his hand as he admires her.

They're also “wearing” their human disguise, so he looks 3D like all the others, if it wasn't for his fancy looking clothes he'd blend right in with all the other teens.

The other teens are all sharing stories and venting about how they've actually always had their grievances with the king and queen, but they never told anyone because they thought others would think they were ungrateful.

"-And then, it only took me messing up my juggling act ONCE and the king howled with laughter, but he never laughed at all with my actual jokes- UGH I've always felt there was something off about him." Hal vented to her friends about her experience as one of the court jesters look.

"You think that's bad? I've lost count of how many times I've seen them complaining about my dad's food." Dahlia said while eating her soup with an angry face... But then she starts smiling as a joke comes to her head "Sometimes I felt like asking THEM to try cooking something for once... But I’m pretty sure if Magnifico got near an oven he'd self combust hahah" She laughs at her own comment

The others chuckle as well

Bazeema shyly chimes in with her own story "Once, my mother accidentally planted red roses in the garden, when the queen specifically asked for white ones, so my mom painted all of them white in secret, and the queen actually believed it hihihi" Bazeema giggles, finding the situation really absurd.

"... Wait, wouldn't that kill the roses though?" Asha asks, taking her face off her sketchbook for a moment.

"... Unfortunately, it did, but my mom said it was better to sacrifice some roses than to upset the queen." Bazeema explains a little sad for the roses "I managed to save a few of them though." the bashful girl adds with a hopeful smile.

Gabo cuts in with a smug look "Ya know, since we're competing to see who had the worst experience with the monarchs-"

"It's really not a competition." Safi corrects him

Gabo ignores him and continues to say casually "I'm pretty sure I heard Magnifico killing someone in the dungeons once."

Everyone turns to look at Gabo with eyes wide as tennis balls.

"... I’m sorry, you heard what?" Aster asks, in the same position he was sitting when staring at Asha, but with his head now turned to Gabo.

"Killing: The act of un-aliving something that was previously living-" Gabo proceeds to define the meaning of the word, like the star doesn't know what it means

"Wha- I- I know what the word means!" Aster says, annoyed that Gabo thinks he's THAT innocent.

"Sorryyy, I just can never guess what your galaxy brain knows and what it doesn't, few hours ago you asked what was the meaning of the word "Revolution"" Gabo said sarcastically.

"Ummm how about you stop mocking Aster and get back to what you were saying about the king, I feel that's kind of a big deal." Asha said seriously, placing her sketchbook next to her.

"Oh yeah, right right *ahem* this one time when I was a kid, I stole the dungeon's keys from my dad, cause I wanted to see how it was down there, ya know? Just give it a quick look" Gabo smiles as he starts narrating like he's telling a scary story "Then, I heard someone screaming behind a door, and I could see some green light coming from the keyhole, just like Magnifico's magic... then all of the sudden- CRACK" Gabo says loudly, scaring everyone, specially Bazeema "I heard the sound of something breaking... And the screaming stopped." He says sinisterly.

(Keep in mind the teens left when it started raining at the plaza, so they didn't see Magnifico almost break Asha's wish, had they seen that Gabo would probably connect the dots that what he heard was not a murder but an inmate having their wish broken)

"... You're making this up to scare us, aren't you?" Dahlia asks with an unimpressed look.

"NOPE! It's all true. I ran out of there so fast I almost lost my shoe, and I've been keeping this inside me for years. Joking about it is just how I cope." He explains quickly as he shrugs. He then turns to Dario with a smug "What about you D? Your dad's the royal announcer right? Did he or you see something you shouldn't?" He asks like he wants to hear more gossip.

Dario's face turns sad as he looks to the side, then he just signs:

"I rather not talk about it."

"Understandable, then how about you Si-" Gabo looks around and notices that there's only 8 of them in the circle

(ONLY?! Uhum, like coming up with dialogue for 8 people is easy, It's really not!)

"Hey, where's Simon? Did he even eat?" Gabo asks everyone.

"Sleeping, of course, he's inside the cave, has been there for a while in fact." Dahlia says pointing at the cave they were in up the hill.

"Ah, I should've guessed" Said Gabo rolling his eyes.

"Someone should go check on him before we're out of soup though." Asha mentions, worried that he doesn't have enough energy for when they go enact their plan.

"I'll get him!" Aster says excitedly, as he morphs from his human disguise form to his 2D animated real form, and starts floating so he can get there faster "Be back in a flash."

Aster flies to the cave quickly, when he's about to get in-

"AAAH!" Simon was already walking out of the cave holding his pillow close to him, he get's startled by the wishing star flying towards him.

Aster stops flying just in time before crashing on Simon "Oh good, you're awake! Come on, you should go eat with the others, can't break in a castle with an empty stomach, am I right? Hahah I wouldn't know though, I don't eat." Aster giggles.

But then they pay more attention to Simon's face and realizes... He doesn't look like he got any sleep at all, in fact... He looks scared... And it's not just because Aster just startled him.

"Hey Simon... You look kinda shaken up, did you have a nightmare or something?" Aster ask concerned.

Simon looks away from Aster, as he just holds his pillow tightly and starts walking to where his friends are "Nope, you just scared me. I'm fine." he says with his usual monotonous tone.

Simon is walking ahead while Aster is following him. Aster looks sad, he has been sensing that the gentle giant doesn't like him for some reason, he thinks for a moment, and an idea pops in their head:

"Ya knooow, if you're having trouble with nightmares, I can actually make dreams! If you'd like maybe I cou-"

"NO" The young man says sternly without looking at the star.

Aster is taken aback by that... He doesn't understand why Simon is acting so weird.

Simon takes a deep breath before he turns back to look at Aster, with a calmer tone "Sorry... I just-... I just really don't want you in my head, okay?" Simon says with a concerned look.

Aster thinks he understands the issue, Simon is just shy and the star has been breaking the "personal space" boundary that Asha told him about.

"Ooh I get it, you want privacy! Thats totally fine! Tell you what, I swear to you I won't use the magic in my eyes to look what your soul desires, deal?" Aster says reassuringly, hoping that'll make Simon like him more.

Simon just turns away from the star and says "... Deal."

Then he just walks to be with his friends.

Aster doesn't quite understand what's up with Simon... But it's probably just a human thing he doesn't know about yet.

The two join the others at the camp fire.

"Well hello there sleeping beauty, did prince sparkling wake you uuuup?" Gabo jokes as the two join in the circle.

"Will you ever call him just "Aster"?" Asha asks him while still trying to draw something on her sketchbook.

"As long as I have star related puns? Probably never." Gabo says with a cheeky smile.

"*sigh* Fair enough" Asha says smiling at her friend, knowing that's just how Gabo is. She then turns to Simon "So, did you sleep well Simon?"

Simon just sits down smiling as Dahlia hands him a bowl of soup

"*yaaaaaawn*... Not much actually, but I'm fine, don't worry. Promise I won't pass out during our plan... Heh heh" He says with an smile... That looks quite forced.

"He's totally gonna pass out guys, we're so screwed." Gabo jokes and a few of the teens snicker a little.

Hal is one of the ones who laughed a bit but still she stands up to defend Simon "Aw come on Gabo, don't be like that, yeah Simon may be a sleepy head, but he always been there to help us out when we need him, right big guy?."

Simon gulps his own soup with the face of someone who knows they've made a huge mistake.

"T-thanks Hal..." He smiles to her "Though I really wish I could do more t-"

Asha suddenly takes her face off her sketchbook to ask "Hey, by any chance did you girls bring a mirror?"

Simon almost chokes on his soup "MIRROR? HUH?? HOw-" He coughs a bit and tries asking more calmly "I mean haaha why would you need a mirror NOW, Asha? hah ha"

Asha and the others look at him confused by his weird reaction, but she brushes it off as Simon just being tired "I'm trying to figure out a way to draw myself perfectly... Call it a plan B I have in mind, for emergency." She winks as she shows some drafts of herself on the pages of the sketchbook. "But I'm not sure if they look quite right, I've never been that good with self portraits."

Hal has a big smile as she says "Heeeyyy I think I saw a river back there, you should try looking at your own reflection on the water!" she says, pointing to where she saw the river.

Asha smiles to her friend as she gets up "Great idea, I'll be right back. And after Simon is done eating and you guys get all your stuff organized we can get started on the plan." She says confidently

"Yeah yeah yeah best friend, go on! Go over there and draw your beautiful face, you can do it!" Hal pretty much rushes her to leave. And as Asha walks away Hal says quietly while looking at her get into the woods"... Aaaaaaand sheeeeee's faaaaaaar enough?... YUP" Hal jumps to sit next to Aster and asks "Alright Aster, come on, when are you telling her?"

Aster was distracted playing with the fire on a stick, but once he hears that he turns to Hal in confusion "Huh? When am I telling her what?" He asks curious tilting his head to the side.

"The thing anyone with eyes can see, you’re in love with her." Hal says with a smirk.

"............ I

WHAT?!"

Chapter 14

Final Thoughts

Guess what song we're getting neeeeeext!

Oooooh writing the 7 teens, how I’ve missed you, I love them so much! Poor kids went through so much.

Gabo is definitely the one I like writing the most, you guys can probably tell, I just love his sense of humor.

Can I just say that the funniest thing I ever came up with in this rewrite is that the answer to how they can defeat Magnifico COMES FROM SAFI??? LIKE?? THE CHARACTER THAT HAS HAD THE LEAST LINES AND ONLY PERSONALITY TRAIT IS SNEEZING??? THATS THE ONE WHO SAVES THE DAY?!? HECK YEAH!

That part when Magnifico is yelling at the guards is a DIRECT reference to the scene in Sleeping Beauty when Maleficent screams and zaps her minions with her staff by the way, like, the words “Fools, idiots, imbeciles” are exactly what she said. Magnifico is now a lot more of a short tempered kind of villain like Hades, while Amable is more like lady Tremaine or The Evil Queen, always cold when around others. But just you wait when they reencounter our heroes, oh the evil levels will go through the roof.

And I’m sure you guys are wondering what’s the heroes plan, right?… Yeah you’ll see :)

…. Oh and I need you guys to know that EVERYTHING bad that happens with our heroes from this point on is HIS fault, not mine!

👇

Thank You for Reading!

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randomshit657 · 9 months ago

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Community HeadCannons because I can

Abed

- This is canon but is Autistic

- When overwhelmed or having trouble speaking he’ll use the word “cool” for every answer. Like to mean yes, no, okay, etc. (once again borderline canon.)

- Has dyscalculia

- Had ARFID

- Bisexual and Agender

- Hate watches Supernatural and Greys Anatomy

- Hyper-empathic when it comes to inanimate objects

- Let’s Annie paint his nails

Jeff

- Has narcissistic personality disorder specifically covert narcissism

- Bisexaul

- Has ADHD

- Practices “Winger Speech’s” in the bathroom mirror

- Knows sign language

- Would most definitely listen to Dad Rock

- Views both Abed and Annie as younger siblings (just pretend all the Jeff/Annie stuff never happened. It always seemed weird to me)

- Makes sure he watches every movie Abed references (although he’ll deny that until the day he dies)

- Goes to Pride with Abed, Annie, and Troy (although they have to practically drag him the first time, but now he goes all in)

Troy

- Has ADHD literally no doubt in my mind

- Transmasc

- Gay and on the Asexual Spectrum

- Still believes in The Easter Bunny, The Tooth fairy, etc

- Loves stuffed animals but only has one very raggedy one from his childhood

- Religious Trauma

- Would try to do research on Autism, and Islam to try and understand Abed better but would keep getting distracted and get so frustrated he started crying. Annie would end up reading the stuff to him and helping him understand it.

- Loves the color purple

- Has always wanted a dog and is constantly bringing home strays

- Not really about him but when Troy gets Top Surgery Abed would drive him home and take care of him while he healed

- Listens to cheesy pop music

Annie

- I was going to say Audhd but what if she was misdiagnosed with ADHD as a kid but actually had Autism so that’s where the whole adderal addiction came from.

- Lesbian but with a lot of internalized homophobia

- Has always wanted a pet snake

- Has taken multiple self defense classes

- Is really into true crime

- Celebrates every year of sobriety one way or another (as she gets more comfortable with the group she invites them and they celebrate together)

- Loves heavy metal music and classical music

- Is surprisingly good at art

- Is the one who introduced Abed to Greys Anatomy

- Writes fanfic

Britta

- Transfem

- Exclusively listens to indie music

- Is secretly a Broadway nerd

- I honestly don’t have that much for her

Shirley

- Starts of as homophobic but as she gets to know everyone she starts to question whether her religion is entirely right about that point.

- She becomes a huge ally. Would wear a free mom hugs shirt to pride.

- Is the mom of the study group

- Her purse is pretty much magically whatever you need she has it in there (that includes stim toys, and noise canceling head phones for Abed and the other neurodivergents)

That’s it :))

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sugarishapple · 3 months ago

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Possession

(Day 6 of Feedist Kinktober)

A not so small story idea I went to write this past week, but I had to sit down and edit it (as English is not my first language: this was fully written as such), so this is a bit... outdated, lol. But, it's a fun little magical and witchy scenario that gives some background for both Marshall and Gail. How canon is it is up my guess right now since I'm still thinking about the possibilities of going through this (or a similar) route for them.

Word Count: almost 2800?

There used to be a rumor about Gail that was spread during high school.

People usually muttered that she was a witch.

Marshall didn't believe it back then. It was one of the most ridiculous statements he has ever heard. He would understand that Gail was a weird and "creepy" girl who believed in the supernatural, and people didn't like her that much (the girls usually, and derogatorily, called her “Ghoul”)... but he never bought that all of her "creepiness" was because she was a witch (or anything else related to it). Gail, however, instead of being insulted about the rumor, always decided to play it with humor. Mostly because, after all, it turns out there was a partial truth about it. "My family indeed has some witch lineage mixed in. My grandmother actually taught me some stuff here and there when I was younger.” This is what Gail told Marshall around the time they started dating,

Marshall was a little surprised about it, but as deeper their relationship went by, he started to see the signs. That would explain why his girlfriend was so persistent and stubborn about the supernatural, about magic, about ghosts. Even if he didn’t believe it at first, spending more time with her showed him how passionate she was about it.

And maybe because he was used to it, or maybe because it was more of a hobby to her as an adult, he didn’t think much about it. That is, of course, until...

It was one of those days where Marshall was too deep into his feedism fantasies. And the thought of Gail being a witch (to a degree?) was something that suddenly appeared on his mind. It wasn't about magical potions or spells... he was thinking much more bigger than that. He was thinking about the possibility of getting possessed… as a way to get more into his own fantasies of getting fatter. "Getting possessed, huh?" Gail questioned him, with curiosity, while eating dinner. "It was just a thought," he said, laughing it off, as a joke, "it's impossible." "Did you think it is impossible, Marshall?" She interrupted. "I can attempt summoning something perfect for you, you know...?" "You... you are pulling my leg for all those times I teased you in the past, aren't you?" "Hah. I’m not joking about this, honey. It's a wonderful idea, actually... as expected of my Marshmallow~" She held his hand, caressing it and smiling. "I have been thinking a lot about a way to expand that waist of yours, and this is perfect.”

"Is it?" Still doubtful, he continued eating. "Hmmm." Gail started thinking. "I may need to take a look to my grandma’s old books. I have a slight idea of which creature we can use... who, even..." Marshall was astounded at how serious she looked at that moment, especially for something was a whim. All he remembered from the past at that moment was about a stupid high school rumor that turned out to be true because here she was, passionate about the potential outcomes of using her magic skills. For him. For her.

---

"Ah. Yes. This is the one," Gail held one of her magic books, right on the page she was looking for, "a demon that rejects inhibitions of the gluttony kind." She snickered. "Yeah… and it looks like I have every ingredient to invoke them, even."

Marshall gulped as soon as she notified him about it. He didn't expect it to be pretty soon. But, deep inside him, he was excited for it. The sooner, the better.

"You just have to give me a heads up to do it," his partner told him, "of course, I need to prepare a big feast for that, as well. Your favorites, everything you want..."

"How about... tomorrow?"

"You want this to happen... tomorrow?" This definitely caught her by surprise. “Are you sure?”

"Well, I feel like you are excited as I am, Gail." He smiled her back.. "Why waste time, right?"

Gail bit her lips. She knew Marshall was someone who preferred to do things in the more efficient way possible, without beating around the bush. She, however, still had some doubts, because she might be biting more than she could chew. A demon like that wasn't that easy to invoke although she had everything she needed at hand. But given that Marshall was on the same tracks as her, that was pushing her forward to do as much as he wanted.

"Okay, let's do it tomorrow. It is going to be a long day until then... I cannot wait to put my hands on that soft belly as it expands itself so quickly while you are under the influence of a demon..." "That's very specific, you know?” He chuckled. “But… I would be lying if I didn’t want to know how all of that may feel at the end. How little of me would get conscious while doing all of that under a demon possessing me? That kind of stuff.”

“Wow, who would believe you were this… kinky, huh?” Gail caressed his slightly round face before putting a kiss onto his lips.

“Heh. I wonder…”

---

It was a long day, indeed. Full of waiting and full of expectations. The demon summoning method had two parts, one of it was preparing a beverage as an offering, a “portal” of sorts which establishes the connection between the demon and their host, and the other step was a spell.

A foot note specified, however, that “there might be consequences. One of the hardest demons to persuade and please. Proceed with caution and risks.”

“Consequences?” Gail read the foot note again, and made her get cold feet. Of course, she knew, there would be risks about summoning demons like this one. Sure… but… shouldn’t they be able to risk it? She had to be prepared for whatever would be inf front of them, she had to make a good impression on the demon.

Reuniting the beverage’s ingredients and preparing it was a task that was quite easy. It was similar to brewing tea. The result had a bitter and spicy scent to it, quite flowery as well.

The table was set in a way it was like a great banquet, a big offering, full of greasy and heavy food dishes. It only lacked the two main guests for this feast.

Marshall was as doubtful as his beloved and beautiful partner. He was so worked up for the excitement it meant to fulfill some of his fantasies, but he wasn’t prepared for the potential long-term effects of a possession. Or even if he would come out of it without scars. What if they couldn’t get the demon satisfied? His mind was full of many questions.

On his side, Marshall researched a little about the aforementioned demon. And although the specifics weren’t too clear, he knew the demon wouldn’t be easy to get along with. What did mean “satisfaction” to a demon of gluttony?

“Marshall. I want you to trust in myself and this whole process,” Gail assured him as he was sitting down in the table, “if anything else happens. I will be cautious and try to cut the connection, immediately.”

He nodded and took a look at the decadent foods in front of him. His favorite dishes, fast food, and sweets. It was the first time that Gail prepared a feast like that for him. He always fantasied it, but Gail was never that adventurous.

“Overwhelmed?” She asked him, relaxing his shoulder muscles, to cut the tension.

“Slightly.” He adjusted his glasses. “It’s too much.”

“Too much, but still perfect for you.” She bent her head down to kiss his head, before reaching the tall glass of the tea-like beverage. “You have to drink this fully. Once it sets down, I will recite the spell.”

Marshall followed her instructions. He grabbed the glass, and gulped the whole beverage down. He tasted the bitterness coming from the spices. It wasn’t that any different from the teas Gail has brewed before. But there was a certain heaviness coming from it. He couldn’t explain how maybe it was because he was nervous, or perhaps he wasn’t prepared for what was coming to him. Licking the few drops that were on his lips, he posed his hands over his tum.

“How was it?” Gail asked.

“Bitter. Fulfilling. Was it necessary to be served on a glass?”

“The recipe said it had to be done that way. Now, relax, honey,” she squeezed his shoulder, “you and I know this isn’t the end yet…”

She bent down, and started whispering into his ear an old enchantment, full of words he couldn’t figure out. There were times where she swore she could curse him… but now? That’s how it felt? He was slowly feeling enticed by them. He couldn’t move and, little by little, it felt like he was losing conscience…

“Marshall…?” Gail asked as she was taking note of the state of her partner.

He grunted. He opened his eyes and started to evaluate everything… from the situation of his surroundings to the feast he had in front of him. He started to salivate. He smugly smiled and chuckled.

“Well, well, well. Is this all for me…?” He pronounced. “Splendid. I was getting too hungry…”

Gail felt it. It worked. Marshall wasn’t conscious in his own body, anymore. It was that demon.

Without any care, he reached the plates. The demon inside Marshall felt famished. He was so hungry, he wanted to stuff his face with greedy handfuls of all of the decadent food in front of him. In a similar fashion, the plates that were finished were easily discarded, while Gail was left to witness the scene.

On one hand, this what Marshall always fantasied to do, and it was something they agreed to do, sure. This was a face of him that Gail wanted to presence, and she wished that her Marshmallow would show her more frequent, the one where he was dominated by a ravenous hunger while wolfing down everything without restraints. Slightly slobby, even. But Marshall was still quite shy with all of this, especially in front of her. This was an eager Marshall that she usually wished for, including some of his gestures, from everything as grabbing his belly as a way to measure how full he was, to slapping it as a belch came out from his chest, all while his shirt was riding up as his stomach was expanding. All with a greedy smile where he communicated he wanted more.

Understandably, it was an astounding scene that made her aroused as more and more as it progressed… but it made her understand one thing: as much as it looked like Marshall was being a gluttonous pig… it wasn’t him. It wasn’t her beloved Marshall.

“You are the witch that summoned me, aren’t you?” The demon talked to her, using the voice of her Marshmallow. His breath was heavy and burpy. “I underestimated the ones of your kind. You have lots of guts to bring me here. You may know that I’m not easy to please… but there’s something about this human host that makes me… needed. Is that the word? Lucky him. I share his desires, and, perhaps, yours too.”

He let out a wet belch, which made Gail’s face to turn red. He eventually let his hand reach to hers.

“I can sense your desires, too. You sure are a watcher. An admirer. An enabler… you surely want him to get big, as much as he does.”

Gail held his hand, and followed his guidance, putting it against his belly. It was gurgling and digesting.

“Well... take a look at that. You seem to love the idea of his waist getting wider, don’t you?” He made her to slid down the elastic waistband of his pants, revealing his big and round stuffed belly, covered by the red marks that were left by his clothes. “Amazing what he can do with my help, right?”

She nodded, agreeing.

“Just imagine it. Always a little hungry. Always wanting to satisfy it… but never that full. This is just part of the result.”

Enticed by the way the demon talked to her, she started to give his tum some rubs, enjoying the pleasant feeling of his soft yet hard belly.

He started to moan as he felt her hands’ movements all over his torso.

“Ga… Gail…” He grunted, this being more Marshall than the demon himself. It was like he would easily recognize the hands of his beloved partner, even in such state.

She quickly took notice about that.

“Marsh… oh, Marshall. You are doing great, honey…” She told him. “You are feeling so… so good…”

He nodded.

“You know… your hands have always been… amazing… I love them… I love you so much...” He responded, before getting interrupted by the demon, “...Huh. I see why this host loves it so much… it makes me want to keep going, so your hands wouldn’t stop doing this...”

“...I want him back.” Gail pronounced, decisive, as soon as she stopped rubbing him. “Once you finish this feast… I want my Marshall back.”

There was a look in Gail’s eyes that the demon was trying to decipher. It was an unknown feeling for him. But he was, enchanted to say the least. Was it loyalty? Was it what they called “love”?

He started cackling. “Hahah, oh, witch… you and your beloved amuse me a lot. You talk as if I’m going to stay forever in this host’s body.” He inspected his hands, and looked back at her. “But, I have changed my mind. I will make a little deal with you. Let’s say I will be your ‘little enabler’, wouldn’t it be better for you and me?”

“An… enabler?”

“Let’s put it this way.” The demon gestured as he was feeling Marshall’s body in a more intimate manner. “I will let him succumb to his hunger and gluttony desires. I will make his metabolism much more slower, as well. Making him fatter faster would be a good thing for you, right~? All of this feast is going to make wonders on him, that’s for sure”.

Gail was perplexed. “There was a foot note in my grandmother’s book, are these the consequences it was referring to?”

“The consequences…? Oh, dear. Hahah!” The demon laughed. “Oh, no, no. Of course there are consequences... But not for you two. This is a reward, a present from me. I will leave part of my essence in him”.

“Hmmm.” She went thinking. “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

“You are more of a skeptic than him, looks like. But, I will tell you something useful for the future. Those magic books? They are not a joke.” He replied. “I can feel the power of your ancestors through you. And, besides… why would I trick you? This feast? It was wonderful.” He grabbed a handful of pecan pie, before stuffing it into his (Marshall’s) mouth. “No one has gone this far in less of a whole day. I like you both, witch.” He talked with his mouth full, before gulping it all down.

---

Marshall grunted. He was not even sure how long he has been sleeping. All he knew was that he was feeling slightly full… and that there was a slight cold breeze over his exposed tum.

“How long has it… been?” He reached his hand up to his gut, noticing it a little more flabbier than before. “Huh, that’s definitely new.”

“Hey, Marshmallow. Good morning~” Gail gave him a kiss. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a rock. I don’t remember much after the demon possessed my body. But, I suppose it worked.” He jiggled his softer belly.

“Of course it worked. He even left us a little gift”.

“You look pretty nonchalant for whatever it has to be as a gift. Wasn’t the demon supposed to be hard to please?”

“Apparently,” she responded, “we were all good. He seemed to like us both. And he left us something to enjoy later. This,” she pointed his softer belly, “is just part of it.”

“Uhuh,” he nodded as he passed his hand all over his gelatinous belly, inspecting it. “Well, I suppose this fat definitely wouldn’t be made in less of a day under very normal consequences.”

“How do you feel about it?” She asked.

“Well, it doesn’t feel too bad…” Marshall gave it some rubs, before looking at her again. “But I will appreciate it even more if you give me a hand, you know…?” He gave her some bedroom eyes, a message she understood quite well.

Gail smiled. “Of course. I want to help you out with that…”

#feedist kinktober #feedist kinktober 2024 #original characters #original fiction #weight gain #wg text #weight gain fiction

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oncewhenalongtimeago · 1 year ago

Note

Hi! Sorry for my bad English, it's not my first language and I hope it's understandable :(

Anyway, I love how you write about Hiccup and look forward to the continuation of "Sorry, but I Think I Lost Your Plot" (If there is continuation) <3

Well, I do not know what your conditions are, but I would ask something related to Hiccup have a huge crush on Y/n and he end up accidentally confessing his feelings for her. Thank you !❤

Sorry, but I Think I Lost Your Plot pt 3

Pairing: Onesided!Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III x Modern!Fem!Reader

Words: 1934

After things get dicey you share a little bit of your future knowledge.

Tags: Time Travel, Reader into Movieverse, Dragons: Riders of berk, When Lightning Strikes

The thing about getting jointly kidnapped with Hiccup by Meatlug was that people also gave you credit. Fortunately for you, as the months went on and after the hassle of Snoggletog, people stopped congratulating you on the street and you fizzled out into blessed anonymity, just the way you liked it, and life went back to your new normal.

You’d been avoiding going into town since summer hit, which was lightning storm season, boy was it rough, and everyone had started putting up large metal objects. You could practically feel the buzz of electricity, the hairs on your neck standing on end. However, you couldn’t avoid everyone forever, though you made one hel of an effort.

Hesitantly, you knocked on the forge window, package in hand. Over the counter was Hiccup, with a rag, doing some scrubbing over what looked like a very large, very crude statue of who you’d come to know in the island as Thor.

“Delivery!” You called, with as much good humor as you could muster, “Hi.”

The way into the forge was open as it usually was. You scuffed your feet in the dirt and looked back and forth, as if someone would jump out at you and tell you you weren’t allowed to go in. When no one appeared magically to tell you off, which might have been difficult considering the clearing behind you was empty, you slipped inside.

“Hi,” You said again, closer to Hiccup this time. Hiccup himself startled, looking back like you’d caught him in some sort of foul act.

“Hi. Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi,” He said, shoulders stiff, “How are you- I mean, what brings you here?”

You creased your eyebrows, before deciding to ignore his weird behavior.

“...What are you working on?” You asked, peering around him at the statue with only minor dread. It would probably be just another thing to avoid until the end of summer, yeah, but it looked pretty cool.

“Uh- statue!” He deepended his voice unnaturally and cleared his throat, “Hoping to appease Thor, you know. The works.”

Hiccup not-so-casually leaned on the statue, though you didn’t find it very odd as everyone in the village was acting the same way recently. Something about the perches, which wasn’t very surprising. You’d seen a mob go by earlier, ranting something angrily about dragons. You weren’t super familiar with many of the plots past the movies but you hoped you hadn’t changed anything vital.

“How come?” A small part of you hoped the statue wasn’t some sort of secret you’d stumbled onto by accident. That would be bad news, and very counterproductive.

“You’ve heard about what’s been going on recently, right?” Hiccup deflated.

You shook your head no, setting down the small brown paper wrapped parcel onto a nearby workbench.

“Well, uh,” He started nervously, A line of sweat gathered by his brow, “Since the storms hit, lightning started hitting the perches. It’s been following Toothless around, and everyone;s been saying it’s because of him, so the other Riders and I- they were here earlier- we built the statue.”

He looked incredibly put out and tired, the same way you’d been around Snoggletog.

“If he’s the Offspring of Lightning and Death then why would, you know, the lightning go for him?” You offered, cringing, “It doesn’t make sense.”

You’d done your best to stay out of the dragon politics. It was hard to take seriously, given your background. And, also, everyone got a little bit heated whenever the subject was brought up, which usually ended in blood. Double also, as an outlier who was quite literally very disconnected from the situation, you had a lot of odd and unpopular opinions. So, yeah, you avoided it. But now, looking at him, you kind of felt bad.

“I mean, I’m not trying to sound blasphemous or anything, but also then theoretically shouldn’t the Gods have shot you down earlier? There are better ways to have done you in, probably. And still get the message across. I don’t know.”

You paused, and when he didn’t react, you hesitantly continued, despite every instinct shouting at you not to.

“Either way, setting up more metal is kind of a dangerous way to go about it, isn’t it?” You shuffled your feet nervously, “Would probably be best to take them down?”

Maybe then you could run around town more often.

“What do you mean?” Hiccup looked a little scandalized. Definitely blasphemous. There was no going back now, though.

“I mean, metal attracts lighting. So it doesn’t matter who you’re trying to appease. You’re probably just going to get your signals mixed.”

You didn’t say any more on the subject. Probably wouldn’t be helpful to say that most people in the modern day didn’t believe in the Norse Gods. You were so going to get axed.

“What do you mean?” He asked again, still staring at you blankly.

“Lighting is usually attracted to tall objects, but if there’s metal in the area, it’ll go to that. Learned it in elementary.”

“Elementary,” Hiccup mouthed, confused. The thing about being in the past and being able to speak two languages, one of which didn’t even exist yet, was that you could say whatever word you wanted and no one would get it. That was also a downside, in multiple different aspects.

“Anyways,” You stuttered, unwilling to explain that, “There’s a thing people used to set up by their houses back home so lightning wouldn’t hit their houses when it got stormy. A metal rod or something. The perches are probably, ah- the statue’s good. If you gave it to her, Gothi might appreciate it. I mean, she does live on top of the mountain. Would probably keep her from getting struck, you know?”

“Are you sure?” Hiccup asked. He looked like a dog who’d just gotten a bone.

“About Gothi?” You asked, rubbing the back of your neck, “I mean…”

You paused, rolling up and down the balls of your feet and looked around, unsure of what you were supposed to say.

“Am I going to get in trouble for being in here? I don’t want to-” You turned back around. Hiccup was gone.

Gobber had just walked by you shaking his head at the sky, seemingly blind to your appearance.

You looked left and right at the dispersing crowd, wondering what was going on as you began to slog your way through. Everyone, as they left, seemed sort of disinterested and annoyed.

At the front of the crowd was Hiccup, looking incredibly singed and dazed from where he was on the docks. His father, the Chief, and Astrid, were nearby. Astrid had just begun to leave. Stoick, it seemed, was finishing up a hardy lecture and scolding.

You decided to wait politely until he was finished and ogling at the small array of large and small metal rods until the Chief left. Perhaps that was what had drawn you outwards. You’d heard rather than seen a pretty big commotion earlier, which led you down the cliffs despite your ultimate resolution to stay out of everyone else’s crazy business. Some things were just unavoidable. Or unignorable. Curiosity was a part of human nature, after all.

“Oh,” Hiccup said, once the two of you were left mostly alone, besides the occasional straggling fisherman, “Hi.”

“You made all this?” You said. You put the pieces together fairly quickly, “That’s really cool.”

“Couldn’t have done it…” He mumbled, “Without your help.”

“You probably would have figured it out on your own,” You suggested wearily. His eyes were sort of glazed over, like hw wasn’t completely there, which set alarm bells ringing in your head, “Hey, are you alright?”

Hiccup stumbled forwards, roughly tugging your hands into his own before he picked them up, grinning widely. His hands were oddly hot to the touch and his left hand was red in a pattern that looked sort of like worms.

“I think I love you,” He declared. It looked like he was going to lean forward for a second, before stumbling backwards and collapsing onto the wood dock.

“What happened…?” Hiccup uttered exhaustedly, cradling his bandaged head.

He looked around groggily, slowly taking in the grassy dried herb smell of Gothi’s hut and the bowls of spices and bones lining the walls

You were seated on a stool by the bedside, currently his, probably Gothi’s when there were no patients around.

“You collapsed. So I, uh, I pulled you up here. How are you feeling?” You asked cautiously, wrinkling your brows.

“Uh, hi?” Hiccup’s eyes widened, flushed like he was embarrassed, “I’m good. I’m so good.”

Hiccup tried to lean back, though the heavy bandaging wrapped around his lightning-scarred arm prevented him from doing that safely. His expression stiffened and he looked down, eyeballing his ruined sleeves.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” You said, “I couldn’t understand what Gothi was saying and we kind of had to cut your sleeve off to get to your arm. The lightning kind of burned it weird too, and it was sticking to your skin, so yeah.”

“Oh, it’s alright,” Hiccup scratched at his cheek with his alright arm, looking a little bit bummed out, “I have more at home.”

“Well, yeah, maybe, but-” You sighed, a little put off, “Anyways, I didn’t have enough to pick up anything nice but a bunch of people heard and helped me pitch in for a new shirt.”

You nodded down to the red tunic laying on the bed by his foot. It wasn’t his signature green but they didn’t really have that, which was unfortunate because red dyed fabric was expensive. Hopefully he’d be out of it soon and in his normal wear. It was going to be weird seeing him in red.

“Oh, wow.” Hiccup said, “Really?”

“Oh, sorry,” You said, after your knuckles scraped each other. You met him halfway with the tunic and pulled it taut when he tried to unfurl it with one hand, so the whole thing was on display.

“Th-anks,” Hiccup said, as if a spare piece of food had gotten stuck in his throat.

You responded with an unhurried “No Problem,” as he gave it a once-over.

After a moment, he let it down and you took the signature to let go as he clumsily folded it again, leaving it to sit in his lap over the old, scratchy blanket Gothi had provided.

“Yeah,” Hiccup mumbled, squinting, after a moment, “What… exactly happened? I mean, I have a few memories, but it’s all really blurry. I remember- I- Uh-”

Hiccup shut up.

You winced.

“Yeah, you, ah, got struck by lightning, I think. Unfortunately. But you did prove Toothless was innocent, so there’s that.”

“Yeah?” Hiccup very studiously examined the wall to his left.

“By the way,” You started him, “You said something before you fell unconscious.”

Hiccup laughed nervously, “Nothing weird?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t really learned the word in Norse yet.” You said, shifting in the stool, which was just starting to make your back ache.

“Learned-? Uh,” Very decidedly, Hiccup shut his eyes. His face said exactly what he was thinking, which was ‘Oh Gods,’ “What did I say?”

“What does ‘love’ mean?” You stared at him, question in your eyes. Hiccup opened his mouth once, then closed it, then he opened it again.

It looked like he was having some sort of battle with himself. You decided that maybe you should leave him alone about it for now. And rightly so, because instead of answering, Hiccup decided to lay back down and roll back towards the wall.

#thank you #very much #maybe I will find another way to fill eventually #please have this for now #any conditions for an ask are okay #if there is something I am not comfortable writing i will say it #httyd #x reader #how to train your dragon #fanfiction #hiccup haddock #female reader #fem reader #hiccup x reader #httyd imagine #toothless

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