#fortunately I love a good 'things aren't where they should be but the path from here to there is visible' ending

[toushindai]

10 for the fic ask even though I don't go here asjdjhf

10: what do [each of the relevant characters] currently need?

Ganondorf--although I've started chapter three and am no longer in his POV--is edging towards the time he needs to stop watching and waiting and take clear action. When he and the Gerudo delegation came to Hyrule, the intention was for him to secure an invitation to stay so that he could work his dark and evil schemes in person while the rest of his retinue (minus perhaps a handful of servants and guards) returned home. Instead, the whole delegation was "~invited~" to stay, and it's been nearly a month at this point. So some of the Gerudo who have traveled with him are starting to grow impatient in the face of Hyrule's haughty treatment of them, and they're frustrated with how much of Ganondorf's plan seems to involve just letting Rauru think he is superior. They're starting to wonder how much of this is for the good of the Gerudo tribe and how much is for Ganondorf's own personal gain--especially given that it's an open secret he and Rauru are having an affair. If Ganondorf wants to keep the unflinching loyalty of any of them, he needs to act very soon.

Rauru, on the other hand... kinda needs to grow a pair? If I'm going to be blunt about it. The early years of his kingship were very easy for him, with most of the races of Hyrule disposed towards accepting his rule; that changed when Ganondorf became the chief of the Gerudo and stopped taking Rauru's calls. And now, more recently, a faction of the Gerudo are engaging in open hostilities with Hyrule. Rauru knows that this is the official Gerudo army itself--everyone involved knows this--but Ganondorf has appeared at the court of Hyrule with an obvious lie of a cover story and Rauru is pulled into playing along with it because he's not built for, he's not accustomed to dealing with this kind of malicious dishonesty. He wanted to build this kingdom out of friendship with Hyrule's peoples, genuinely he wanted this (at least the way I'm writing him), but that's not how kingdoms work. And now he's faced with Ganondorf's open hostilities--Ganondorf's own thirst for power and willingness to do some atrocities to get it--and he needs to stop wallowing in his wish for things to be simple and friendly.

The fic is going to end before either of them really get to where they "need" to be, as that sort of comes to a head in one of the canon cutscenes. So it's going to be an interesting exercise to try to end the fic on a note that's uneasy and unresolved but still conclusive. Wish me luck.

[aishangotome]

Minamoto No Yoritomo: Chapter 22

Chapter 21 His POV

♡———♡

Yoritomo kicked the horse's belly hard.

As the scenery sped up, I lowered my body and looked back,

???: I won't let you go.

Yoshino: That person is––!

From beyond the swirling dust, an unforgettable, mysterious voice echoed.

Yoshitsune: I will fulfill my long-cherished wish here, Yoritomo-sama.

Yoshino: Yoshitsune-sama....

(No way, of all people...)

At the head of the enemy army, fiercely pursuing us, Yoshitsune-sama's beautiful purple hair fluttered in the wind.

Yoritomo: Turn to the right!

Yoritomo-sama's sharp voice cut through the murmurs of unrest--

(Ah!)

The horse we were riding on forcibly changed direction.

The soldiers behind us desperately followed suit.

Yoshitsune: Charge--

(What's going to happen...?)

Yoritomo-sama gave rapid instructions to the pale soldiers.

Yoritomo: Don't be pushed out into the open! As long as we fight in this narrow terrain, we won't be surrounded even if we're outnumbered.

Soldiers: Y... Yes, sir!

Yoritomo: Archers, ready!

Yoshitsune: Take them down--

Yoritomo: Fire!

With a high-pitched twang, a rain of arrows assaulted Yoshitsune's army.

Some fell, some fell from their horses, and the rest charged forward without even glancing at them.

(...)

The clamor of battle that filled the air in an instant was sucked into the bottom of the valley.

Yoritomo: Retreat is easy, but it leads only to death.

Yoritomo: Though it's tough, the path to survival lies ahead. Those who want to live, keep running!

As if the spirit of Yoritomo-sama's sword had taken possession of him, the enemy was cut down one after another.

Soldiers: Keep going! Keep going!

The shogunate's soldiers rushed forward with a death wish.

(This is the first time I've been in such a disadvantageous battle...)

--CHOICE--

Scream loudly

Call out Yoritomo-sama

Remain silent

--------------

(What should I do...?)

I resisted the urge to cling to Yoritomo-sama's arm and made myself as small as possible so as not to get in the way.

Yoritomo: Good girl, you are.

Yoritomo: I'll pamper you to your heart's content when we get back safely.

(That's right... I'm going to return safely with Yoritomo-sama.)

I scolded myself for wanting to close my eyes to the carnage and looked ahead........

Yoshitsune: Yoritomo-sama!

(...)

Deflecting the flying arrows with his sword, Yoshitsune-sama galloped his horse faster than anyone else.

In the blink of an eye, he scattered the shogunate's soldiers, and his slender figure leaped in front of me.

Yoritomo: You're a persistent man, aren't you?

Yoshitsune: It's my nature.

Yoritomo-sama's sword deflected Yoshitsune-sama's lightning-like strike.

The swords that touched each other screamed loudly.

Yoritomo: Let me ask you one thing. Was it by chance that you found out where I was?

Yoshitsune: No.

The horses barely passed each other, and once again, they took a distance and faced each other.

In the midst of the fierce battle between the soldiers, sparks flew between the two men's gazes.

Yoshitsune: Among the confusing information on the battlefield, there was one that said Minamoto no Yoritomo was hiding in the mountains.

Yoshino: B-But, that's...

(We had information that the movements of Morinaga-san and Shigehira-san's troops were leaking... but I didn't think they knew about us too.)

Yoshitsune: It was hard to believe that you, the commander of a large army, would travel on a rough road without a decent escort...

Yoritomo: I got curious and decided to investigate, and it turned out to be a big hit.

Yoritomo: You have good intuition. In your next life, you should change your profession to a fortune teller.

Yoshitsune: Unfortunately, it's you who should be thinking about your next life.

Yoshitsune-sama retorted flatly and held his sword again.

Yoshitsune: Fortunately, the battles with Morinaga and Shigehira are in a stalemate.

Yoshitsune: Thanks to that, I was able to come here myself.

Yoritomo: Is that so? You really love me, don't you?

(I can't breathe.)

After a moment of silence, the two horses kicked off the ground at the same time.

All I could do now was watch as they exchanged blows at a speed that was hard to follow.

Yoshitsune: To be honest, I'm disappointed.

Yoritomo: In your own life? That's diligent of you.

Yoshitsune-sama didn't even flinch at Yoritomo-sama's provocative words as he deflected his sword.

Yoshitsune: That I can get my revenge so easily.

Yoshitsune: I'm not interested in what happened, but your soldiers are clearly lacking in spirit.

Yoshitsune: So much so that you can't even fight at your full strength.

I looked around in surprise.

It was clear that the shogunate's soldiers were being pushed back by Yoshitsune's army.

(The people possessed by the ayakashi are not able to fight as they should.)

(I can't even go help them in this situation.)

Yoshitsune: If those you cut down in the past were by your side, this wouldn't have happened, would it?

Yoritomo: If I hadn't cut them down, there would be no shogunate today.

There was no hesitation in Yoritomo-sama's eyes as he retorted without missing a beat.

Yoritomo: No matter how many times I go back in time, I would choose the path of killing you. There is no other 'now' possible.

Yoritomo: If I can save a hundred thousand lives by taking ten thousand,

Yoritomo: I've decided that's the choice I'll make.

Yoshitsune: That's the logic of the strong.

Yoshitsune: If you've taken from someone, you must also be taken from someday.

Yoshitsune: --And that day is today.

(No!)

A full-strength blow was struck, and Yoritomo-sama's body shook along with the sword that received it.

Yoritomo: Gah...

I could see Yoritomo-sama's leg, which was right next to me, stiffen from thigh to toe as he pressed down on the horse's stirrup, regaining his posture with tremendous willpower.

Yoritomo: ...That was close.

Yoritomo-sama skillfully slipped to the side, deflecting Yoshitsune-sama's slash just barely enough to graze his black hair.

Yoshitsune: Don't run away! Yoritomo-kou!

Yoritomo: Don't be unreasonable. Our priority right now isn't to defeat you.

Yoritomo: It's to survive and lead this troop.

Yoritomo-sama signaled to his soldiers with his left hand.

Soldier: Yoritomo-sama!

Yoritomo: Judging by the enemy's movements, the front left is new recruits. --Break through!

(He's watching the whole situation while fighting Yoshitsune-sama...?)

Yoshitsune: You don't understand anything.

His voice, filled with anger, shook the air, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Yoshitsune: I told you I wouldn't let you go.

(This is bad!)

Yoshino: Yoritomo-sama!

Yoshitsune-sama's sword swung down, and the wind that blew roared and warped.

Yoshino: I won't let you!

With a shout, I held out my hand and absorbed the curse power.

In the confusion of the battlefield, the countless wind blades that were born went unnoticed by anyone but us.

Yoritomo: Well done, Yoshino.

Yoshitsune: Not yet.

Without a moment's respite, the second strike assaulted us--

Yoshino: Ugh...

This time, the horizontally swung sword created irregular distortions in the air.

(It's huge!)

My instincts warned me faster than I could think.

I strained my eyes as if I were looking at an ayakashi, trying to read the traces of curse power, but--

(The trajectory is too complex...)

Yoshino: I can't defend against it--

Unable to absorb the blade that flew erratically out of sight, I opened my eyes in terror.

Yoritomo: Get down!

(Ah!)

Yoritomo-sama swept his sword horizontally above my head.

Yoritomo: Ugh...

Yoshino: Yoritomo-sama!

I looked up in surprise at the faint groan of pain and saw something red dripping from Yoritomo-sama's shoulder as he covered me.

(Blood...!)

Yoritomo: As much as you can. Can you still do it?

Yoshino: Y-Yes.

Yoshitsune: It's useless.

In the meantime, Yoshitsune-sama closed the distance, and his merciless blade attacked Yoritomo-sama directly this time.

Yoritomo: ...You're not cute, brother.

Yoshitsune: Don't you dare call me brother.

Yoritomo-sama's sword barely managed to block the attack, and they clashed with a loud clang.

(Eh...?)

A cold wind started blowing from behind Yoshitsune-sama.

Yoritomo: ....!

Yoshino: No way...

(He can create wind blades even without swinging his sword!?)

His amethyst-like hard eyes captured mine.

Yoshitsune: --Forgive me, Yoshino.

(He's too close, I can't make it in time!)

I blindly held out my hand towards the vortex of wind that appeared before my eyes.

Yoritomo: ...Guh.

Yoritomo-sama forcibly steered his horse with his toes and deflected the sword he had clashed with.

Yoshitsune: .....

With a sickening sound, Yoshitsune-sama's sword tip grazed Yoritomo-sama's upper arm.

The wind blade that couldn't be killed pierced the back that was covering me as if to protect me.

(No--)

Yoritomo: Ha... That's a harsh joke.

Yoritomo-sama, breathing roughly, tried to distance himself from Yoshitsune-sama without stopping.

Yoshitsune: ...I'm surprised you'd go that far.

Yoshitsune-sama said quietly as he relentlessly urged his horse forward.

Yoshino: Yoritomo-sama! Please don't protect me anymore...

Yoritomo: Shut up.

Yoritomo: I told you I'd bring you back alive, didn't I?

Yoshino: B-But, if this continues...

(It's my fault.)

(If only I had more power...)

In the midst of despair, I unconsciously clung to a fragment of memory that surfaced.

*flashback*

Yoritomo: So, Yoshino can only use the ability to steal curse power, huh?

Tamamo: Yes. It might be possible to draw it out if you push yourself...

Tamamo: But there will definitely be a backlash on Yoshino's body. It could even be fatal.

Yoshino: I haven't heard that...

Tamamo: Don't worry. If you use curse power normally, it's completely irrelevant.

Tamamo: Unless you fight with the resolve that you're ready to die.

Yoshino: Fighting with that kind of feeling... I can't imagine it right now.

*flashback over*

(Now I understand.)

(Resolve... is determined when you have something truly important.)

Yoshitsune: Prepare yourself. ...Brother.

(I don't care if I can never return to my ordinary life again.)

(If I can protect Yoritomo-sama and the future where he exists.)

(I've decided to make any sacrifice.)

Yoshino: So...

I opened my eyes as wide as I could and held out my hand towards the approaching blade.

(Answer me, power of the fox spirit!)

Yoshino: U...gh...

Yoritomo: Yoshino?

--Thump, something burst in the center of my body.

I belatedly realized it was the sound of my own heartbeat.

Yoshino: Ha...

(I can't breathe...)

My throat was burning as if I had swallowed a raging hot wind.

No--not just my throat, but my whole body was quickly invaded by a violent heat.

Countless invisible blades vanished in an instant.

Yoritomo and Yoshitsune: .....!

(Hot.)

Even after the supernatural wind stopped blowing, the heat inside me only intensified.

Yoshitsune: Ugh...

Yoshitsune: Y-You're absorbing curse power even though I'm not attacking...?

Yoshitsune-sama, with a shocked expression on his face, backed away, putting distance between us for the first time.

(I can feel the curse power... accumulating.)

(But this isn't enough yet.)

My bones creaked as if they were about to snap, and the edges of my vision began to blur whitish.

Yoritomo-sama grabbed my shoulder tightly.

Yoritomo: Yoshino! That's enough, stop it!

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 23

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[chaoticevilbean]

Another Star Wars AU, TBN*

*To-Be-Named

I love time travel. A lot. So here is a time-travel au, with the CW trio.

Somehow, perhaps by touching a Sith artifact, perhaps by the Force deciding they should, perhaps from some sort of weird ritual the locals were performing that the trio didn't know about, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Anakin, Rex, and Cody travel aback in time.

[Please keep in mind that Canon Timeline has died tragically in a fire, and I am but the weeping widow with an inheritance.]

Due to whatever happened, they all also end up (technically) deaging. They still have their memories and their knowledge and skills, just stuck in smaller bodies. They can think and act like adults, but they also have to struggle a bit more to implement Older Skills in Younger Bodies.

Ahsoka is 2. She's nubby. She's emotional. She's tired and sore from her deaging.

She wakes up in someone's office. She's in a spinny chair, a big one with leather padding. It's kind-of chilly in the room.

She's not thinking, because all her brain is putting together is that she's still tired. She grabs the jacket off the back of the chair and pulls it over herself. She goes back to sleep.

Rex and Cody wake up together.

They are their actual age, which is to say they're both about eleven.

They find themselves on Mandalore. In the more wild areas.

(let me believe that there are parts of the planet that aren't covered in city)

(also, this is the Mandalore in the cartoons)

They find a teen trying to wake them both up. Rex has absolutely no clue what's going on. Cody has a vague idea, because this girl looks very similar to a picture he once saw...

Obi-Wan does not fare as well. He is 3.

He wakes up in someone's arms. He's just as tired and sore as the other three. However, he's also got more awareness because he's in someone's arms.

He looks up to see who's carrying him.

He looks around at the people walking with them.

He starts crying. He cannot help this, as he is suddenly flooded with Emotions, and he is Smol. Smol = harder to handle Emotions.

Because Qui-Gon is walking right next to him, tapping away on a holopad as they go. Dooku is on his other side, on a comm call where both parties sound very tired.

And Obi-Wan is being held... by Obi-Wan.

So, yeah, not that great for a suddenly Smol Obi.

Now, Anakin is 8, so he's better off in that perspective.

But he wakes up on some remote planet without anyone around. He just was in the middle of a group, so he ends up kinda panicking.

Then he hears something coming towards him, and he panics more.

He's Tiny! He's Smol! He's massively at a disadvantage against attacks! He can't fight off whatever is on a planet like this!

It's Mace (and Depa).

Anakin, however, doesn't realize this. He has gone Feral.

Back to the beginning

Jango Fett has been very busy w/Important Mand'alor Paperwork all day. He finally has time to go and relax a little, and he makes it all the way down to the exit before he realizes:

It is really cold outside. He is not in armor bc he was planning to only do paperwork today (though he still has many weapons). When one plans to stay in the same room for almost the entire day, one does not wear normal garb.

That said, he has no protection from the cold. He forgot his jacket upstairs. He rushes back up to his office.

He distinctly remembers that he left the jacket on the back of his chair, not on the seat.

He also is wondering what that lump is.

He arms himself, grabs some of his "emergency" armor plating, and walks over to the chair.

He lifts his jacket up, expecting a bomb or some paperwork that fell off the desk, or something logical.

He does not expect to find a tiny Togruta child clinging onto the fabric, whining as they're woken up by his yanking of the jacket.

Jango's brain stutters for a moment, then he kicks into action.

First things first, he wraps the jacket around the Togruta. They thankfully stay asleep. Then he turns up the heat, because he knows the office has gotten colder in the twenty minutes or so he's been gone, and Togruta are from warm temperate zones.

He decides to call, in this order, a guard who can help him watch the Togruta (they did break in, after all), a medic to check the Togruta’s health, and the first person he can find in his contacts that might know an adult Togruta.

Next group

Rex and Cody manage to get the teen to stop fussing over them for long enough to ask for her name.

Her, clearly lying, but that’s understandable: My name is Ine.

Cody, who knows exactly who this is now: Oh, kriff. You’re Duchess Satine, aren’t you? Kriff.

Rex: Wait, Satine? As in the General’s Satine?

Satine, now very suspicious and reaching for her stunner: I think you need proper medical attention.

Cody, looking down at their eleven-year-old selves: Yeah, I think so, too.

They agree on one thing, at least.

Next

Obi-Wan is crying. Loudly, uncontrollably, w/too many Emotions to even care that he’s supposed to be an adult rn.

Other Obi-Wan is very uncomfortable, bc he doesn’t know how to handle children too well.

They found this kid unconscious in the middle of a ruined, abandoned town.

Obi-Wan was meant to hold this kid while Qui-Gon did research and Master Dooku tried to convince the Council that it was entirely necessary to bring the kid back to Coruscant. Granted, they can still give the child to the locals at any time before they make it back to their ship, but apparently the Force is Being Loud.

The Force was Being Loud when it told Master Dooku to come along.

The Force was Being Loud when it led them to that town.

Qui-Gon and Dooku have argued fifteen and a half times on this mission, and an additional six times on the flight here. Obi-Wan is trying to mediate but also doesn’t want to overstep. The Force is Being Loud, sure, but the kid is also Force-sensitive so it might be something off that.

He didn’t argue with holding the kid bc he thought that it was better than being caught between the Masters.

Holding a crying child and trying to get two adults to stop arguing bc they can’t decide how to comfort the kid is not better.

Obi-Wan keeps walking past them to the ship with this baby. He does what he’s seen some crechemasters do to the younglings. The kid eventually calms a little, and he belatedly realizes that both Masters are still behind him, not with him.

NEXT

Anakin is panakin.

He is currently in a state of Feralness. His instincts have kicked into overdrive, full-on Survival Mode.

Depa and Mace do not know this. All they know is that there was suddenly an extremely powerful Force presence that started fading quickly (bc Anakin started shielding).

They burst into sight of Anakin and are suddenly attacked by all four feet and some of Feral Force Child.

It’s all they can do for a good minute or so to avoid losing their fingers, eyes, or untorn clothes.

Mace puts a few things together very quickly.

This planet is uninhabited by any sapient life. Therefore, this child is utterly alone. This child also is clearly strong in the Force, and knows how to hide their presence, for whatever reasons. Mace is a Jedi, and therefore is bound by certain duties.

He decides it is his Duty to get this kid back to Coruscant safely.

Back to the beginning

Ahsoka wakes up to find a familiar face looking down at her. She’s still tired, but not as much. She’s very aware of her size, and does a few quick observations.

She does not fully know who Jango Fett is. She does know that some clones run off bc they hate war and weren’t given a choice an- no. Not going down that path yet.

Ahsoka assumes, semi-incorrectly, that she was shrunk or deaged and somehow found by a rogue clone.

She knows it’s a rogue clone bc they’ve got weird armor.

So she does the logical thing and tries to comfort this clone bc he looks really worried and kinda panicked. She stands up on the spinny chair and tries to balance and he practically lunges to help her and she can’t help but giggle, but it comes out in a bunch of chirps instead.

The clone picks her up and looks really awkward so she pats his face bc that’s the best she can do bc she doesn’t want to disprove the fact she’s two yet.

For all she knows, this rogue clone has no idea she’s actually a Commander in the GAR.

He doesn’t, but for different reasons than she thinks.

NEXT

Rex and Cody go with Satine to the city. They have introduced themselves and said that they were separated from their aliit. They don't know where said aliit is.

Satine is highly suspicious by this point, bc these two kids recognized her with only part of her name, and they were alone, and they speak Basic with Mando'a thrown in.

Basically, she thinks that they're children of people like Death Watch, but she's too young to know that Death Watch isn't really into children.

Rex and Cody get checked over by a medic, but also start trying to get access to some working comms. They are refused on account of being suspicious children (which makes them a little upset bc they're not children)(Well, they are, but not those types of children)

They have not yet figured out that they are in the past, bc Cody and Rex only know that General Kenobi talks about Duchess Satine, and they know about Padme Amidala from General Skywalker, so clearly this Duchess is really young and the General simply viewed her as someone he wants to protect.

They are very very very wrong.

NEXT

Obi-Wan manages to calm himself somewhat now that it's just him and... him.

He is three, and he knows roughly what's happening, so he knows he should probably act like a 3yo.

Unfortunately, he has very little understanding of how child ages work. 3 is smart enough to go up the stairs and communicate with adults, but def. not old enough to speak sentences that are 15 words long with at least 2 5-syllable words.

Fortunately, his older (younger?) self doesn't know children either.

So when this 3yo starts telling him that he needs to leave the two Masters on the planet and head to Tatooine really fast, Obi-Wan is more concerned about the idea than the strangeness of "this is a 3yo suggesting this".

Obi-Wan is really good at convincing people. Including himself. He manages to get Padawan Kenobi to leave supplies where the ship is supposed to be and head towards Tatooine.

He says that the Masters will be fine, they know how to survive, and they need to be alone together in order to work through all the tension. Plus, it gives them plenty of time to talk to the Council.

Toddler Kenobi also tells himself that he'll take the blow and say he used a mind-trick.

Padawan Kenobi doesn't believe him yet, but Toddler Kenobi smiles like a very smug adult and says "you'll get there eventually". What he truly means is up in the air.

NEXT

Anakin, since waking up, knows much less than everyone else. Which is saying something.

He knows he's Smol. He knows he's Alone. He knows Someone has come and they are Strangers.

One thing about Anakin's instincts is that they are very much Survival Based. He was Feral when he joined the Jedi, only he had to hold those instincts back for most of his life bc of being a slave.

A slave cannot bite someone who approaches and Vibes Wrong.

By the time he felt okay with being Feral Out Loud, he also felt safe enough that he didn't need to activate his Survival Mode.

What I'm trying to say is that Anakin does not realize how strong his Feral Instincts are. He has absolutely no control over them rn.

When Mace decides to Help this child, this child is trying to Maul them.

Mace makes a small ruckus to draw Anakin's attention to him so Depa can move back. Depa pulls out her saber now that she won't hit the kid. The kid notices Purple and Bright and Lightsaber.

Lorge Jedi Mind says this is Good. Safe. Jedi.

Smol Feral Brain says this is Dangerous. Mean.

Anakin freezes on sight and just starts tracking Depa's saber. She does one of those things where a snake or something is focused and the person waves the fire or the food slowly to make sure the wolf is watching it and usually they toss the thing away so the snake follows it.

Mace instead takes this opportunity to wrap Anakin in his cloak. And Depa's cloak. And the spare ones in their bags.

Feral Child is not happy with this. Feral Child is also unable to scratch or Maul or do things other than bite and snarl.

Depa carries Feral Child while Mace comms the Temple and they walk back to their ship.

The Temple is having a field day.

First, one of their Shadows reports that a well-known bounty hunter got an emergency message from a pal of theirs that said Jango Fett needs help learning Togruta childcare.

Then they get a call from Dooku, which is not the mission report they wanted.

Yoda: Mission report, you have?

Dooku: Of a sort. We successfully spoke with the locals, then went to investigate a rather large disturbance.

Mundi: A disturbance?

Dooku: We found the source to be a Force-sensitive child.

Mundi: So you are here to ask for more time on the planet?

Dooku:...

Yoda: Bring the child back, you wish to?

Dooku, unapologetic: He is of an acceptable age to be admitted into the Temple, and no other beings were around at the time to entertain the idea of there being guardians.

The Council is sighing and muttering bc this is a Disaster Lineage (and they haven't even met the other two yet). Their call is interrupted by the sound of crying and Dooku saying the child's woken up.

Then there's another Shadow who sends a message saying a set of twins that seem like Death Watch were found by the heir of Clan Kryze.

Finally, to top everything off, they get a call from Mace Windu and Depa Billaba. Two very dignified, not-at-all chaotic Jedi from a perfectly respectable lineage.

Yeah, most of the Council and the Order itself forgets that Yoda had a hand in raising Windu. Yoda "Feral Grandpa" who throws children at every problem. Grandson isn't doing too well? Throw a child his way. Other grandchild is struggling to cope with grief? Throw another child their way. Oh, there's a war going on and newest grandchild is angry a lot? Here's a child!

The entire lineage has a soft spot for children.

Anyways...

Mace: Our mission was a success. We found the artifact and both specimens.

Koth: How long until your return?

Mace:...

Yoda: Found a child, you did?

Gallia: Master Yoda, that's a rather illogical guess. Once is unusual, twice is-

Mace: Oh, did Qui-Gon find a child as well?

Yoda, smugly: Bringing the child back, are you?

Depa, from the background, after a rather loud snarl is heard: We do not bite things, young one.

*more snarling*

Mace: We have no reason to believe he was not alone.

Tiin: *deep sighing*

Mundi: *mild confusion noises*

Koon, eagerly: Please send photos of this youngling. For the archives, of course.

Mace, nodding sagely: Of course.

*extremely loud yowl* *sounds of Mace turning*

Mace: DEPA!

Depa: He nearly bit off my finger!

Mace: That doesn’t mean you pinch him!

Depa: What else am I supposed to do?!

*sudden exclamation filled solely of Mando’a, Huttese and Twi’leki curses*

Mace: So, I don’t know if he speaks Basic, but Master Che should be able to talk him through a check-up.

Yeah, several Council members are experiencing headaches now. Normally, they would have some empathy for Mace and his own stress-induced migraines. They currently do not.

Right after that call, Dooku calls back to say that Obi-Wan has left without them.

Mundi: He left the child with you, right?

Dooku:

Mundi: He left the child with you, right?

Obi-Wan did not leave himself with the Masters. Obi-Wan has listened to Mini-Obi and is off on some wild space adventure to a criminal-run planet.

The toddler won’t stop staring at him. He asks for a name. The kid says to call him Ben.

OW: Is that your name?

“Ben”: It is a name I am called :)

OW: That isn’t what I meant.

“Ben”: I know :)

Ben also keeps staring at OW’s lightsaber. OW decides to make sure the kid doesn’t start playing with it when he isn’t looking.

MEANWHILE

Ahsoka has figured out that she was really very oh-so wrong. She’s on Mandalore. As in, the Mandalore that is under Jango Fett. Bc she’s with Jango Fett. He’s holding her hand bc she was nervous about the strange looking medic (who was just wearing armor, but not clone armor and civies don’t wear armor.)

Ahsoka knows very little about Jango Fett. Clone Buir, Mandalorian leader, tried to kill Master Kenobi. Also dead.

He asks how she got in. She shrugs. She is too small to fight back so she can’t let him know anything. Whatever everything is right now. But also, he doesn’t seem mean or evil or anything.

Oh yeah. Skyguy said that Mandos love children. That's why the clones were so protective of her, even with Skyguy on her side of the argument.

She decides to use this to her advantage. She can probably get herself a comm, and enough time to call the Temple. If she can convince them she at least knows a Jedi, then they can come get her and she'll work from there.

ELSEWHERE

Rex and Cody are getting really upset. This Duchess is really nice, but she's acting really weird and keeps insisting she's not actually called Duchess. No one will give them a comm, they keep getting weird looks for speaking Mando'a even though they're on Mandalore, and Satine's father keeps mentioning a Fett. Maybe Boba's set a bad example again.

Rex starts to fall asleep, to his chagrin. He's too bored, sitting and getting some abnormally extensive check-up. Cody is fine, but he's used to the calm that is General Kenobi. Rex usually has a Togruta teen in the vents and a Human that is never where he's supposed to be.

Rex does, in fact, fall asleep. His "twin" starts glaring when a doctor goes to wake him up. Cody makes it clear that his brother is like Cat: once asleep, you do not wake.

Satine is giggling, but trying not to let the others hear. Cody does. Cody looks at her. They have a stare-off.

Cody goes back to glaring at the doctors. He will not admit to any emotions besides Protect™.

BACK TO

Obi-Wan and Ben have made it to Tatooine.

[laprincesaelena]

EOA Ship Appreciation Week Day 5: Meeting/Farewell

a/n: hi guys! thank you all so much for the positive feedback on my day 4 poem, i’m so glad everyone liked it!! as i said, i know every ship wasn’t included, i ended up having enough time to only do the ones that were requested! but, i’d definitely consider making a part 2, so if your ship wasn’t included this time, it may be another time..

anyways, on to day 5! you may notice i included both prompts here instead of just one..you’ll find out why ;) this story is inspired by an au @procrastinateland (s/o for the beautiful art once again!!!) i came up with together, based on the sound of music! but, this fic in particular doesn’t have much to do with the musical you probably know. my obsession besides elena this summer was researching the lives of the real von trapps who inspired the movie and musical, and through it, i found the adorable love story of the parents of the seven children (georg and agathe, maria wasn’t in the picture yet!) that i knew would be so sweet for gabelena. so that’s what this fic is inspired by! quick historical note, the events that this fic portrays happened in real life in 1910 and 1922, but the years have been switched to 1912 and 1930 for the au, since we decided to place our au closer to the movie’s timeline than the real story. also hi please talk to me about the von trapps i’ve been driving my gf crazy with my useless knowledge lmaooo

and that’s about it! hope you all enjoy this, and let me know what you think!

fic is below the cut!

February 10th, 1912

Lieutenant Gabriel Núñez was amazed as he entered the venue of tonight's celebratory ball, Villa Castillo. He had never been inside a home so grand before, he almost felt as if he didn't deserve to be there. But, regardless, he was invited to attend, along with all of his friends from the navy. He couldn't wait to get away from the structure and seriousness of the military for a night, and to just have fun.

This was the first ball Gabe had been invited to since he became a lieutenant, or ever for that matter, and he was loving it. It was hosted by the Castillo Flores family, a rich family whose inventions had earned them quite the fortune over the past century. As more guests began to make their arrivals, Gabe and his friends hung around together, mingling with other guests or testing out a drink or two. Then, the ball was to officially begin with a musical performance by the hosts.

Now, Gabe wasn't much of a believer of love at first sight, but with one glance, his mind was instantly changed. Standing beside her mother and grandparents, ready to perform their opening song, stood the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and Gabe knew he was in love. Sure, he knew he had no chance with her, as he was just a lieutenant from a humble family of bakers. She was the daughter of a rich family, and most likely the heir to their fortunes. But, there was no harm in trying, right? He knew that at some point tonight, he just had to talk to this beautiful girl.

Elena Castillo Flores, however, was different. She wholeheartedly believed in chance of falling in love at first sight, but she never thought it would happen to her. She had grown up around these balls, her family had been hosting them for as long as she could remember. And being 17, she had met plenty of men who hoped to marry into her family's fortune, but none of them seemed quite right. That was, until she was about to perform with her family.

She looked out into the crowd, and caught the eye of a handsome naval officer. She smiled softly in his direction, but didn't have time to do anything else, before she picked up her guitar, and began to perform alongside her mother and grandparents.

Gabe couldn't help but keep his eye on this girl the entire time she performed. She was a beautiful singer and guitarist, and Gabe loved hearing every word she sang, and each note she strummed. Before he could snap out of his romantic trance, the performance had ended. Gabe looked up to the stage to see if he could approach the girl, but she her family had left the stage, and were out of sight. So, it was back to just talking with his friends for now. Maybe a good laugh or two could keep his mind off of this girl. In between their backgrounds and the chances that she would choose him out of many much more qualified suitors, Gabe had a feeling this crush was bound to end in disappointment. 

Eventually, Gabe stepped away to go and get his mind off things, but as he was walking, he accidentally bumped into someone. He was about to apologize, but when the person he had bumped into turned to look at him, he realized who he had bumped into: the host's daughter.

Finding his voice again, he said, "I-I'm so sorry for bumping into you, I should have been watching where I was going."

Every once in a while, as she sang and played her guitar, Elena would look out at the man she had seen earlier. He was quite handsome, and she couldn't help but notice the way he smiled at her. But, once the performance was over, she wasn't going to go looking for him. She knew it'd probably be hard to find him in such a big group. Besides, he was probably going to turn out to be like any other man she'd met, and would only take interest in the prospect of inheriting her family's money. So, she carried on with her night, accepting that she'd probably never see him again. That was, until someone bumped into her. When she looked at the person she bumped into, she couldn't help but freeze, it was the lieutenant she had seen earlier. He was the one to speak first, which snapped her back into reality.

“Oh no, no, it's okay! You're fine!" she assured him.

"Oh, alright" Gabe said. He mentally hit himself for not saying more than he did, but whenever he looked at her, he was at a loss for words. He could at least introduce himself, he thought, but every time he did, the words would be at the edge of his tongue, and he'd end up saying nothing. But, he was determined not to blow the only chance he'd ever have with her, so, he gathered up his courage to speak to her once again.

Elena too, would be so, so close to saying something, even just introducing herself, but before the words could come out, she'd freeze. She so desperately wanted to get to know him better, and she knew the only way to do so was to just say something. But, luckily for her, he said something first.

"This has been a wonderful ball so far." Gabe finally said.

"Oh, well, thank you.." Elena replied with a smile. "I'm glad you're enjoying it so far."

"I am" Gabe said, returning the smile. Finally, he decided, he was actually going to introduce himself. "I'm Lieutenant Gabriel Núñez," he said. "but you can call me Gabe."

Elena quietly sighed with relief, she was glad he introduced himself first, it gave her the confidence to do the same. "I'm Elena Castillo Flores," she introduced. "but you can just call me Elena."

"It's very nice to meet you, miss Elena," Gabe replied, with a bow of his head to her.

"It's very nice to meet you too, lieutenant," Elena responded. "Oh, I mean Gabe, it's nice to meet you too, Gabe." she added, and shook her head at herself. Hopefully she didn't blow her chance with him right then and there.

Gabe smiled and laughed softly, he couldn't help but fall deeper in love with the girl the longer he talked to her. He had managed to find her, talk to her, and introduce himself, but there was one more step with her he wanted to take.

"I hope this isn't too soon, but would you like to dance?" he asked.

Elena's face now lit up with a smile, it most certainly wasn't too soon, she was so excited he asked her to dance with him! She nodded, and held out her hand to him. "I would love to dance," she said.

Gabe took her hand with a smile, and lead her to the center of the ballroom. With one of his hands tightly in the grasp of hers, his other hand wrapped around her waist, the two began their first dance.

As the pair glided effortlessly across the floor, Elena still couldn't believe that this was happening. How did she ever get so lucky? But, she also knew that there was a possibility that he might have happened to only attend this ball, and she may never see him again. She truly hoped this wasn't the case, she wanted to get to know him better and spend more time with him, because she knew for a fact she was falling in love.

Gabe could barely believe this was happening either. This beautiful girl had really said agreed to dance with him, and now they were actually dancing? Gabe truly hoped that he wasn't dreaming, for he never wanted to wake up. He wanted this dance to last forever, so he would never have to say goodbye to Elena, and go back to living his life without her in it. There was hardly a chance he would see her again after the ball ended, but he kept a glimmer of hope that tonight was not their final encounter.

Elena wasn't paying attention to anything else around her, for all that mattered to her now was that she was actually dancing with Gabe! She planned to dance with him for the entire night, if it meant she'd be able to spend as much time as possible with him. She knew that once the ball ended, there was a high possibility of her never seeing him again. So, she was going to make sure to spend as much time with him as she possibly could, while she had the opportunity.

After a couple of hours of guests talking, eating, drinking, and dancing the night away, the ballroom began to empty out a bit. Elena brought Gabe outside to a balcony, so she'd be able to talk with him and get to know him better without any sort of distraction.

"So, being a lieutenant, I'm assuming you're in the military, the... navy, correct?" she asked him, to start some conversation.

"Yes," Gabe answered. "I joined as soon as I was able, I've always wanted to be a part of the navy. My parents, especially my father, aren't too happy I chose this path instead of joining their baking business, but this is what I really wanted to do."

"Oh, your parents have a baking business?" Elena asked him. "Not too much of a baker, are you?" she joked.

"No," Gabe replied. "and I'm not much of an olaball player either, to the dismay of my father."

"It certainly seems as if your father isn't too thrilled with your life choices... but do you love what you do?" Elena asked.

"Yes, I do." Gabe responded with a smile. "Besides, if I hadn't made the decision to go against his wishes and join the navy, I probably wouldn't be talking to you right now."

Elena smiled as she felt her cheeks warm up at his sweet response. She was so, so glad that Gabe decided to follow his own path in life instead of listening to his father, because if he didn't, they may have never met.

"Well, I guess you're right," she said. "and I'm glad that you're doing something that you love, that's what should really matter."

Gabe nodded in agreement. "What's your family like?" he asked.

"Well, there's me, my mother, my younger sister, my grandparents," Elena answered. "we're all pretty close, and we love to make music together."

"I can tell, you and your family sounded amazing tonight," Gabe said. "and not to be biased, but I think I liked your singing the most."

Elena smiled, and put a hand to her cheek, she was definitely blushing now. "Thank you," she said. "but I wouldn't say I'm the best of them, they're all very talented.."

"I would," Gabe responded, and reached down to take her hand in his own.

"Well, thank you.." Elena replied, holding Gabe's hand tightly back. "and I may be biased, but I'd say you're my favorite lieutenant, because I totally know all the others." she said.

Elena laughed nervously for a moment after that attempt at flirting. 'what was that, Elena?' she asked herself.

"Thank you," Gabe said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Elena responded, a similar smile never leaving her face.

"So, what do you like to do other than make music?" Gabe asked her.

"I love just getting out with my family most times, of course. We'll go on hikes, go sailing, go to one of our vacation homes or visit someone else in our family's home, we're always somewhere or doing something." Elena told him. "How about you?" she asked.

"I like fencing," Gabe replied. "We sometimes have competitions between my friends and I, and not to brag, but I usually win."

"I'm sure you do," Elena responded, definitely believing him. "and I'd love to learn to fence sometime, it actually looks pretty fun!"

"Well, I'd be happy to teach you," Gabe offered. "I'm sure it'd be considered "unladylike," but if it was just us, it wouldn't really matter."

"What my mother and grandparents don't know won't kill them," Elena replied with a wink. "I'd love for you to teach me sometime!"

"I'd be more than happy to teach you," Gabe responded.

"And hopefully you can sometime," Elena said, before sighing as she remembered the reason why she was so hesitant to find him in the first place. The chances of the two reuniting were slim to none. "I hope we see each other again..."

"Me too..." Gabe replied, looking down with a sigh as well. "Maybe we could write to each other? To keep in contact?" he suggested.

"I'd love that." Elena said, smiling once again at the thought of it. "We definitely should."

Gabe smiled. "Alright," he said. "I'll give you my address."

"And I'll give you mine as well, which is right here, but I'll still write it down so you'll always have it" Elena said.

"Thank you," Gabe replied. "I look forward to writing to you, and seeing you again, Miss Elena."

"And I look forward to writing and seeing you again as well, Lieutenant Núñez." Elena responded with a smile.

Gabe laughed a bit and rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "Please, you can just call me Gabe," he said.

"And you can just call me Elena," Elena insisted. "No 'miss' necessary"

"Alright then, Elena it is." Gabe said, smiling over at her.

"And Gabe it is." Elena replied, sharing the same, loving smile.

At that moment, the both of them knew that they had met the love of their life. Though they'd have a difficult road ahead, in between having to communicate with letters for a while or with Gabe often traveling with the navy, they were determined to make it work. Gabe was not going to let his beautiful Elena go, and Elena knew that tonight she had met the man she was going to marry. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together, no matter what.

September 3rd, 1930

On Christmas night of 1929, Gabe and Elena's oldest daughter began to feel unwell. It was simply strep throat, they were told, she should recover in a matter of days. But, by the time eleven year old Catalina had recovered, five of her seven siblings had fallen ill as well. The sudden illness turned out not to be a simple case of strep throat, but the highly contagious scarlet fever, which was currently spreading through the city.

Of course, Elena was always there to care for her children, even if she was risking contracting the illness herself. For the next few weeks, she was constantly visiting her children and checking in on them, while still trying to stay healthy herself. But, when her youngest daughter, Martina, who wasn't even a year old yet, came down with a severe case, Elena had no choice but to step in and care for her, twenty four-seven.

By the end of January, Elena's caring and motherly nature had led her to catching scarlet fever herself. In children, the illness tended to be fairly mild, but in adults, it could often leave behind serious side effects. Gabe knew this, and insisted that his wife take the time to rest in order to recover. But, Elena insisted that her children came first, wanting to be there for each and every one of them as they recovered.

But, even when all seven children were happy and healthy once again, Elena's symptoms had not subsided. Now, she could rest and recover with a sound mind, knowing that her children would be alright without her for a couple of days. Those couple of days turned into weeks, those weeks into months, and by the end of August, Elena still had a long road to recovery. She was now bound to a wheelchair, she would have to learn to walk all over again due to the toll the illness had taken on her body. She still tried to spend as much time as possible with her children, and be the happy, loving, and healthy mamí they had always known. But, deep down, she knew if scarlet fever had already taken so much from her, it could continue to do so.

Over the next week, Elena's condition quickly deteriorated, and it seemed as if only a miracle could heal her. Gabe had visited his wife each and every day for the duration of her sickness, but for the past day or two, he hadn't left her side at all. He knew that at any time, her condition could take a turn for the absolute worst, and he didn't want to take the chance of not having a chance to say goodbye. While Gabe tried his best to stay somewhat positive, and hope that his wife would miraculously recover, he knew Elena's time left was short.

Gabe's eyes were heavy as he sat at his wife's bedside, having stayed awake the entire night with her. He held Elena's hand tightly in his, even though Elena barely had the strength left to hold his. It broke his heart to see his wife in this condition, he would do absolutely anything to bring back the bright light of his life that was Elena.

Gabe's heart would sink as he noticed his wife's breathing become labored. He had been mentally preparing himself for the worst, just in case, but he knew that no matter how much he had prepared, he would never be ready if that moment arrived. He felt the slightest bit of relief when he noticed Elena slowly turn her head to look over at him, using all of her strength to do so.

"Elena.." he began to say, even saying her name brought tears to his eyes. But before he could say anything else, his wife managed to speak up.

"Gabe.." she said, her voice in a whisper. "Please..tell our children how much I love them.."

"Elena, no..no, don't talk like that.." Gabe said to her. Though he was trying to preserve his wife's positivity, he was also in denial about all this.

"Tell each and every one of them..each and every day..how much I love them.." Elena said. "And that I'll always be with them.."

Gabe held Elena's hand tight as he fought to hold back his tears, but even then, a tear or two would manage to fall down his cheek. He looked over at his wife, he still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, even with a scarlet red rash covering her cheeks, and her hair sticking to her fevered forehead. If it were possible, he would do anything to end all of her pain and suffering, but he knew that at this point, there was only one option for that.

Trying to clear his mind of these thoughts, Gabe nodded. "Of course I will.. I promise.." he said.

Elena smiled as best as she could, but to Gabe, it was the brightest smile he had seen out of her in a while. "Thank you.." she said. "A-and I love you..so, so much.."

"I love you too.." Gabe replied, and leaned down to kiss his wife. Thankfully, Elena was no longer contagious, but even if she was, Gabe would take that chance if it meant kissing his beloved Elena one last time.

Then, it looked as if Elena were about to speak, but she was unable to get any word out. Finally, a moment later, she managed to say, "And.."

Gabe patiently waited as his wife struggled to say a second word. He would wait for as long as it took her, he'd take any opportunity to hear the voice he loved so much.

"I'm..a-always.." Elena said, now needing to take multiple labored breaths between each word. Though it was a struggle, Elena managed to complete her sentence.

"I'm always with you.."

A moment later, after months and months of fighting to recover, Elena's body gave in, and her eyes slowly closed.

Gabe could feel his wife's grip on his hand loosen, and his heart immediately dropped. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't lose her.

"Elena? Elena! Elena, no! Mi amor, please!" Gabe desperately cried, hoping that his wife's beautiful brown eyes would open again. But no matter how many times he called her name, they remained peacefully closed, as her body grew paler.

Now, Gabe's denial began to truly set in. He lightly shook her, he held her hand tight, he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, all in an effort to wake her, even though deep down, he knew that his efforts were in vain. Finally, it all became too much for him, and Gabe just broke down. he couldn't picture his life without Elena, he never thought everything would end this way.

He thought of his wife, she had so much more to live for. she was a loving wife, a caring mother, his best friend. Then he pictured their seven children, who would now be growing up without their mother. He thought of their identical twins, though they were already quite different, they shared a similarity, devotion to their family. Catalina and Carolina absolutely adored their mother, and looked up to her, along with being her best friends. He thought of Luis, their oldest son, he was a mamí's boy. He loved cuddling up with his mother and listen to her play guitar, he wanted to learn from her one day. He thought of their youngest son, Marcelo, their bundle of energy, who sometimes even Elena couldn't keep up with. He thought of Luciana and Adelina, aged only five and two, who would be too little to understand why their mamí had suddenly disappeared. And finally, he thought of Martina, their baby girl who would grow up without a mother. She would never get know her mamí, or even remember her. In fact, he didn't know if any of their younger children would be able to remember their mother.

Gabe found himself growing a bit dizzy, since this all seemed like he was living a nightmare. His hands shook as he held Elena's tightly in his own, and his vision was blurred from his tears.

As his final moments with Elena played over and over in his head, he was reminded of his wife's dying wish. To remind each and every one of their children each and every day how much their mamí loves them. If Elena could see him now, she'd hate to see him this distraught. She'd encourage him to keep his head up and stay strong, but how could he ever move on in life without his Elena? His children. He knew he needed to stay strong and carry on for them. Though, of course, carrying on could take weeks, months, or even years, Elena would want him to be happy. But most of all, she'd want her children to be happy and loved as well.

So, then and there, Gabe dedicated himself to fulfilling Elena's wish. For the rest of his life, he would make sure his children are happy, healthy, and loved, just as Elena would do. Though it would be difficult to carry on without her, the Núñez Castillos still had each other, and that's what matters most.

[ann-stay]

Brown soft light, fighting the dark shadows-Seungmin

Warnings/au: sadness, angst (?), soft, idk I wrote this ages ago but enjoy!

Please Note: this used to be a W**j*n story however due to recent events I no longer support him, if I’ve missed a part in here where I’ve used his name and didn’t change it please let me know.

She pushed herself away from the desk and slide in the chair to the other side of the room. Groaning, she stood and exited the plain room. She headed to the kitchen for something good, something that could ease her frustration.

It had been like this for a few days, her continuously having to leave her laptop out of anger and frustration. She just couldn't write. She wasn't burnt out, no, she'd already recovered from that. She had major writer's block. Every idea that came to her head didn't flow nicely, nor could she put it into words on the screen.

All knowledge of writing had left her the past few days and it annoyed her to the point where she could break down. She was an online author, so updates were vital to her work. Without updates, she couldn't get views, without views, she didn't get paid. She questioned why she chose such a difficult path.

Swinging the fridge open she grabbed the chocolate and slammed the door shut. She hopped onto the kitchen bench and let her legs hang. It was her favourite thing to do, sit there and think. The bench was surprisingly comfortable and bought a warm homey feeling. She'd done this since she was little.

Taking a bite from the chocolate she looked about her apartment. It was a medium-sized apartment that she lived alone in. Although, her boyfriend would sleep over most nights when he was free. Which he wasn't often, but he made the time.

As far as a normal human could see, her life was good. Dream job, good boyfriend, nice apartment. It was perfect. But it wasn't. She struggled much more then anyone would be able to see. She had struggled with her own mind since she was a young girl. It got to the point, she could hide it from everyone-including the people that were closest to her.

Heck-she'd even isolate herself for a bit and people still wouldn't notice. All except one. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, as she would think) she had gotten better hiding it from said person.

It was scary for her to hide it though. The one person willing to help and that notices everything-she shuts out his help. Every moment she does she knows it hurts him. She hates that. She hates hurting him. So, she continues. Continues to cut him out more and more, hoping that he'll leave and find a better person.

But she doesn't want him to leave. She wants to curl up in his arms and stay there forever. She wants that warmth, love, and support. She wants to feel happy and content.

However, every waking happy moment she has it always turns bad. A light shower of rain, enough to even see a rainbow, suddenly turning into a raging storm that could tear lives apart. But she loves the rain.

The sound of it hitting the glass window. The cold calm feeling it brings with it. The way she would have to wear a sweater every time it rains so she can be comfy and warm. Drinking hot chocolate and watching the droplets fall.

"I don't deserve it..." she mumbled.

The chocolate fell from her hand onto the bench space beside her. A few tears pricking at her eyes as every dark thought seeped their way into her mind. Lacing her brain with its toxins. The plague of the mind. Except this plague is deadlier. Killing someone with a voice in their head. Killing them slowly as they still live. Yet they don't live. They are alive, but they aren't living. As if death himself inhabited them.

A sob escapes her mouth, getting off the bench, making sure she doesn't fall. Her back sliding down the cupboard doors. She pulls her knees as close to her chest as she can, her chubby body making it hard to hug them comfortably.

More sobs leave her trembling lips. Furiously wiping the bucket loads of tears. The lump in her throat making the crying just the more painful. Though she manages to shut them up, the tears were the only thing to show for her breakdown.

The lump in her throat grows, an empty yet full stomach of emotion. Pain. That's all she feels. She didn't know what pain it was. It was like the world had come crashing down even if it hadn't. A feeling that you'd get when you were having fun and then all that happiness was sucked out of you. Exhaustion. Yet it was way more complex and stronger than those feelings. It was a feeling you'd have to experience to understand but a feeling no one should ever experience or understand.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted it to end.

...

Keys rattled.

...

A door clicked, unlocking.

The girl stood quickly and rushed to the bathroom. Forcing her tears away. Rubbing at her face rapidly. Wash, towel, wash towel-repeat a million times. She looked at herself in the mirror.

"Hey, babe?" Her boyfriend called out.

"In the bathroom! I'll be out in a second!" She shouted back.

She smiled a few times, trying to get her face into a 'normal' position rather than one that looks exhausted and broken. The door opened and she stepped out.

"Where are you?" She asked.

"Just in the kitchen," he replied.

She followed his voice and found him taking a bite of her chocolate that was left on the bench. She smiled. He was too cute.

"Come here~ I missed you so much," he whined.

The girl laughed at him before walking over and getting engulfed in a warm hug.

"I missed you too Bubba~"

The boy chuckled at her, lifting her up onto the bench. He stood between her legs and held her at her waist. Her arms rested around his neck, playing with the back of his hair absentmindedly. Their eyes locked and the once happy smile on his face was replaced by a frown and furrowed brows.

"What's wro-"

"You've been crying."

"No, I haven't."

He looked at her, raising his brow.

"You think I don't notice these things?" he asked.

"Notice what things?" She asked, trying to act innocent.

"Things such as your face being slightly red in parts. When you cry your lips get red in patches. Your nose and cheeks also have red patches. Your eyes are slightly glossed over because you can never get the tears all out. Heck, your eyes don't match your smile...babe, what's wrong?"

She lost it. The tears instantly fell, the same world crashing feeling returned. Her head hit his shoulder/neck area and she sobbed, arms wrapping around him tighter. He was taken back for a split second, quickly recovering and pulling her closer.

He whispered sweet nothings into her ear, rubbing her back to comfort her. Her pain, so strong, it filled the apartment to the point her boyfriend could feel it. Like a dark shadow flowing off her body and covering everything. The homey feeling disappearing, replaced with emptiness.

He hated it. Not what his girlfriend had caused but what she was going through. He knew she was pushing him away. He knew that she knew it hurt him. But he also knew that all she needed was some space. He wasn't new to this.

Her isolating herself. In fact, it was good for her to a certain point. The isolation was her recharge. But at some point, in the recharge she always hits, so to say, a malfunction. A percentage where she was so close to being good yet so far.

In this time, he knew to be there for her. To hug her and support her. Not to ask what's wrong but to be there for her. If she needs to talk about it, she will-after asking if it's okay to talk with him a million times.

The sobbing quietened. Soon it stopped. His shirt drenched, but he could care less. A weight lifted from his shoulder. His eyes met her tired and broken ones. They said something, an apology. An apology from breaking down, for being weak, for possibly ruining his shirt, for the toxicity, ruining their night and so much more.

But in his eyes, they held forgiveness and care. He forgave her for everything she apologised for, whether she should've apologised for it or not. He cared about her more then she knew.

She did know though. She just couldn't understand or accept it fully.

They rested their foreheads together, soft breathes tickling each other's faces.

"The voices returned..." she mumbled, eyes closed.

He studied her now calm features, the way her soft lips moved.

"What were they saying this time?"

"Everything."

She opened her glossy eyes and stared into his. No one said anything. They just stared at each other, holding one another close together.

And soon enough, the warmth returned. Her boyfriend's warmth started radiating onto her and their apartment. A soft brown light battling the dark shadow. A sad smile appeared on the girl's face. Then a happy one on her boyfriends.

"You know, your eyes are really cute. And the small scar on your lips is adorable~" He cooed.

A blush etched its way on her cheeks.

"Oh, shush it."

They both laughed.

"Do you want to know something?" She asked.

"Hm?" he hummed in response.

"You, Mr. Kim Seungmin, are the best boyfriend in the world. My Bubba."

She scrunched her face up and squished his cheeks between her hands. Seungmin laughed widely, finding it cute how her face and nose scrunched.

"And you, Ms. Kim, are the best girlfriend in the world. My adorable koala bear."

He returned the favour and squished her cheeks. The girl flushed red and groaned, pushing his hands away.

"Yah! I'm not Ms. Kim...yet. And I'm not a Koala! What are you doing home anyway? I thought you had a meeting?" She asked.

"Soon you'll be, and I can call you a Koala because you sleep a lot and are from Australia. But anyway, Chan canceled it because half of the boys are sick," Seungmin explained.

He placed his hands back onto her waist but holding her closer still. His girlfriends face turned from happy flushed to concerned.

"Why didn't you text me?! We need to go over there so I can help take care of them! I can't believe you left Chan and the others by themselves-" She jumped off the bench and move around frantically looking for her shoes- "They can barely take care of themselves when they aren't sick! Hurry-"

Seungmin hugged her from behind, stopping her from moving.

"No."

"What do you mean 'no' mister. Your friends are sick and I'm worried!"

"I said no. We are staying here together. If Chan needs help, he'll text me-or you. He always messages you first in an emergency remember?"

The girl groaned and nodded.

"Fine..."

"Yay! Now let's cuddle!"

He picked her up, causing her to squeak, and carried her to their bed. He sat on the bed and moved under the cover, still holding his girlfriend.

"Hey! You can't just-"

Seungmin placed a soft, loving kiss on her lips. She smiled and melted into the kiss. When they pulled apart Seungmin had a smirk on his lips.

"Meanie, you can't just shut me up by kissi-"

He kisses her once again. But this time when they pull back, she rolls her eyes at him and turns to face her back against his chest. She cuddles closer to him, pulling his arms around her more, loving the feeling of the warmth.

He laughed at her, nuzzling his face into her shoulder/neck area. Causing giggles to erupt from her at the tickling feeling. Happiness and warmth filled them both.

The storm that was raging moments ago now calm and showing rainbows. The toxic thoughts and feelings now flew far away, unable to hurt either one of them.

There they cuddled, in the middle of the bed wrapped in blankets. Nothing playing. No music, no talking, no sound. Just their breathing and the small kisses here and there. The room was dim as the light faded and the street outside lit it up. It had started to rain, the droplets hitting the window, creating that amazing sound.

Seungmins arms were wrapped tightly around his girlfriend. Loving her squishy, slightly chubby and small figure. The girl rested her head on his chest, her hands resting on top of his. Focus wandering. She soon drifted into a peaceful, content and happy sleep.

Her boyfriend watched her. He noticed the small things. Like the way she blinks with her eyes closed, an indication she was having a dream. The way she would make some expressions like the ones in her dreams. Or how her jaw had to be clenched shut, a habit she made as a kid out of fear of chomping on her tongue by accident.

He noticed how her cheeks flushed red when her body temperature was too high or when it was way too cold. And he even noticed how, when she has a deep sleep her lips get plumper.

He loved her with his whole heart and soul. He noticed all the details and little things. He loved how happy she'd look and feel when he pointed them out as well. It showed her that he cared a lot about her.

He smiled happily, lifting one of his hands up to play with some of her curls that had fallen free from her bun. He chuckled, watching it bounce back into place. He removed her hair tie carefully. Massaging her scalp and playing with her hair.

Soon enough, Seungmin found himself falling into a deep sleep as well.

[theangrypokemaniac]

Ma and Pa James's Second Biggest Fan (we plough a lonely furrow) continues to find Ma Jess's appeal mystifying, since everything about her is negative:

1. Signing up for Team Rocket suggests someone of a morally dubious character to start with, but the truth lies in the clothing, and she's in black!

Black!

It's code for her personality:

• Jessie wears white:

Pure, beautiful, innocent, sweet-natured, not really bad, dealt a severe hand in life but a fighter.

• Cassidy wears black:

EVIL!!! EVIL, EVIL, EEEEEEVUL!!! FOUL SIRENIC TEMPTRESS!!! EVIL HEARTLESS BITCH STEALING JAMES'S NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN WEEPINBELL!!!

Speaking of which:

2. She was Madame Boss's best agent.

You don't get there being kind.

To reach that standing requires hundreds of successful heists, and we aren't talking nicking gold bars. It's living things.

How many Pokémon do you imagine she stole with merciless efficiency?

How many children did she set upon, pinching every animal they had?

How many innocent lives did she ruin by depriving kids of the pets they loved, never to see them again, eaten away with the not-knowing and the false hope?

The glory of her reign ran on the fuel of blood and tears.

What fate do you envision awaited those Pokémon? It's not exchanging one master for another, it's entering slavery.

Jessie and James aren't the epitome of Team Rocket. They are minnows on the outskirts, despised and mocked by most of their fellow members. The actual group isn't particularly famous for prioritizing Pokémon welfare.

The preferable outcome is being handed out to agents to help catch other victims. Otherwise it's transformation into a war machine, forced to fight on and on to the point of exhaustion and death, no doubt tortured and tested on to boot.

What happens if they don't come up to scratch or are pushed for years until too aged and broken to be of any use? Are Team Rocket ready to pension them off to animal sanctuary?

As if. It's euthanasia or on to the streets to waste away, if not fed to the strongest first.

Ma Jess knew this and worse occurred thanks to her, yet paid it no mind, and felt not a single twinge of guilt in that time of service, then met her end trying to draw another Pokémon into imprisonment.

Some might say it was a case of what goes around, comes around. As her behaviour led to God knows how many Pokémon dying alone, leaving their loved ones to wonder and grieve, so in turn did she die alone in the snow, and Jessie had to carry on without her.

I'm not against Ma Jess, I neither feel like or dislike, but I don't understand how so many fans can happily overlook her murky past of inflicting pain, instead elevating her to a semi-divine tragic heroine, yet apparently Ma and Pa's heinous offences of not stealing and treating Pokémon well are beyond forgiveness.

3. It's the Red Ribbon Army! Save yourselves!

Jessie joined Team Rocket to follow in Ma's footsteps. James went with her. Both moved (upwardly in scale, downwardly in morals) from Sunny Town's gang of petty thief kids to a complex Mafia organisation stretching its wriggling tentacles around the world to crush the air from its lungs.

Why? Ma Jess's baleful influence led the two down that path.

Of course Jessie wants to copy Ma, how and where else can she feel close to her?

There's not even a grave to visit!

Rising in the ranks and Giovanni's favour is both to strike it rich and take her place, becoming Ma in essence. That would make her proud, which is all Jessie ever wanted.

What alternative is there? Stay with Chopper and Tyra forever, ekeing an existence pickpocketing and shoplifting, until mortality comes calling sooner than is welcome, or get loaded quickly and retire early?

James theoretically could've gone home at this point, but when it came to which angry redhead he preferred to beat him up, he chose Jessie.

He was henceforth obliged to go whenever she led, even if it meant following the ghost of her mother into the jaws of evil.

They have an excuse, but what was Ma's for getting involved?

However much they boast and revel in their wickedness, the motto proves the couple still believe themselves on a noble quest, despite everything to the contrary, and why?

Jessie isn't about to accept that Ma Jess, whom she's probably idolized as one of few people to love her and a role model of how a woman should be, was nasty or unpleasant. If she was in Team Rocket, it must be good, whatever the outer appearance.

Except Jessie and James are bad at being bad. They are not master criminals. All their plans fail, rendering them poor and starving in consequence. The inner circle of Team Rocket will always be barred to them because they lack the inner darkness it requires.

The joke is they flourish in any other occupation, whether that be Salon Rocquet, reporters, or flogging merchandise and food at the League. If employed elsewhere they'd be better off, but they have to stay because Jessie can't let go, or bear the thought she might be a disappointment to her mother's name. A different career looks unworthy by comparison.

What, so Ma and Pa have got no son because of Ma Jess? They just wanted him to be a gentleman!

If she hadn't set such a terrible example to her daughter she might have an increased quality of life, but then had she done so Ma wouldn't be dead in the first place.

4. Can't pick 'em can she?

What was it that first attracted Ma to Windy Miller? Does she go for the rustic charm, or the promise of a lifetime's supply of bread to feed the abundance of babies planned?

Don't do it, Ma! He's an alky!

Some birds are like that you see. It's the maternal instinct gone haywire. They find a local reprobate and somehow decide he's really a damaged soul crying out for love, the scapegoat of a cruel society.

He's not evil, he's just misunderstood!

This is why you get nutters wanting to marry the Yorkshire Ripper: they put his 'mischief' down to bad women mistreating his gentle heart, but they of course are devoted to his happiness. They can change him.

You don't know him like I do!

In their fantasy, under the influence of a 'proper' woman he'll transform in to a flower-picking hippie, but not too much, they still like him to be dangerously 'manly' (keeps 'em on their toes), then they can feel smugly superior and more truly female than the 'lesser' breed who failed to tame his sexy pashuns.

And if there's one thing Windy has in abundance, it's raw animal magnetism.

Stop it, Ma! You can't help those who don't want helping!

She put up with the boozing, the flour dust and his somewhat limited communication skills, but what really let him down was the company he kept.

Ever after she would insist Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub led him astray. That's firemen for yer.

Cuthbert? That name's died out.

Sure enough, some point after Ma Jess was stuffed up the spout, old Windy legged it back to Camberwick Green, like the rascal he is, and not a sweet penny piece did she receive in maintenance, the bastard.

At least Ma James got pregnant by a man who stood by her.

She wasn't married to Windy Miller!

Oh, you mean they were living over the brush? I see.

It's all in your head!

Do it my way, and we have Pa Jess. Do it yours, and we're back to a cavernous emptiness. Unless you can supply a picture of the 'real' (pffft) Pa Jess, this is the best available.

Anyway, 'Jessie Miller' just sounds right.

Coincidence? I think not.

5. She went to look for Mew dressed like this.

I could forgive it had she gone in her normal uniform, that's just whimsy, but to have made some effort emphasises that it's not enough!

Some part of her understood a mountain might be a bit parky out, but this was deemed sufficient coverage!

What happened?

She bloody died didn't she?!

6. Ma Boss points the way to doom.

Ma Jess was at least loyal to the mistress she served, but it was a wasted dedication. She squandered her life obeying a heartless virago who could cast aside apparently valued staff without a qualm, whatever thanks she owed them.

The millions Ma Jess accumulated for Madame are probably uncountable, yet she was so worthless that, when dispatched to the mountain, on her own, expected to catch a Legendary Pokémon, by herself, which many doubted even existed, and wasn't likely to come quietly, or put up with orders, but then didn't come back, Madame Boss allowed her only child to sink into poverty and the infamous 'care' of the State.

Everyone knows what goes on there. Entering a home has replaced the workhouse as the place of dread.

Jessie might have been killed or attacked and it didn't remotely concern Madame Boss, unwilling to spare a meagre fraction of her massive fortune to give the girl she made an orphan any comfort or security.

What did she matter? Her mother failed. Why reward that?

In her turn, Jessie became just as obsequious to an undeserving master, who went further than his mama and actively tried to murder her, and still she suffers to please him.

Team Rocket devoured her mother, and now it's swallowed her.

Oh, and Madame Boss got her way upon discovering Mew's fossil, so Ma Jess died for nothing.

7. This.

I'm not surprised Mew wouldn't go with Ma. She probably sensed the vivisection awaiting, and didn't give a toss about the avalanche in revenge.

Mew hasn't got where she is today falling for any old shallow promises from a stranger, thank you.

Suppose the mission had worked, with Mew caught and gift wrapped for Madame's delectation: what then?

Perhaps Mew's power, proving so impressive, would've pushed any cloning scheme aside, leaving Mewtwo unborn and Mew as the mightiest weapon. Or in greed Madame Boss demands more, and in arrogance the scientists promise the earth, the seas and the heavens.

Mew I could see subjected to some non-lethal form of dissection, just to understand how she ticked, that is if they could build the cage to hold her.

As they couldn't, and catching Mew was never a possibility, then Ma Jess's sacrificed herself on a fool's errand, which was obviously one from the outset. If Mew was easy to handle she'd have been captured long before now.

Either Ma dies, Mew's safe, but Madame Boss starts the cloning scheme anyway, or Ma's victorious, Mew is a tool of Team Rocket and the scientists have more sample to experiment upon. Mewtwo is still made, alongside short-lived creations and dozens of unseen freakish abominations preceding.

Now Mewtwo isn't what you call at peace with himself, nor has he received a particularly wholesome experience. One could think Ma indirectly caused that. Her branch of the project may have fizzled to cinders but she still played her role.

What would her legacy have been but to help bring forth the being that wiped out mankind? Where's the future for Jessie when there isn't one?

It's not her fault, but she died in the name of cloning a biological disaster, the creation of synthetic life leading to the destruction of it all.

8. Let's have a gander at Ma in the anime:

• Can afford rent.

• Can afford a tray.

• Can afford crockery.

• Can afford condiments to add flavour to food.

• Can't afford any actual food.

Something's wrong there.

I intended to include affording clothes too, but now I'm not so sure.

I never took Ma to be a brown-all-over kind of woman. At least she gave the fancy stuff to Jessie.

For years I've assumed she wore a brightly coloured jacket, but now I suspect it's a red one heavily patched up, because buying a replacement isn't an option.

Really old clothes are being mended with whatever can be salvaged from even more worn-out clobber.

Best agent Madame Boss has and she's practically living in her own filth.

Team Rocket takes care of its own, eh?

Oh no, let's not get a proper job, one that allows me to provide for my daughter and doesn't ask for my life. Let's stay in this one!

9. Look at Jessie's face!

By her own admission, being tricked into eating snow is the best thing that ever happened to her during an 'otherwise wretched childhood', to the extent she doesn't know it was wrong!

I don't hear Ma and Pa doing that. The only ice James got was an ice-cream sandwich.

What kind of infancy did Ma Jess give the girl for her to be nostalgic about almost dying of malnutrition?

If we say that's a foster mother as in the sub, it means Jessie's fondest memory is after Ma died, which is too brutal for me.

Yeah, thank goodness she's snuffed it.

You think Ma might have taught her not to eat snow! She left her so ill-prepared!

Consequently the sub version makes Ma Jess an awful creature, although I don't see why that Jessie would so desire to mimic a mom she apparently doesn't care about.

10. She's not even bloody here!

I have no picture to signify absence, therefore I must show whom she left behind.

Ma Jess is Pokémon's answer to Bobba Fett: background figure, barely involved, no information, dies early, yet became a fan favourite nevertheless.

If nothing really exists, what is there to like? Why are you contented weaving smoke?

When Rocketshippers put forward the manga as proof, the Anti-Ships used to insist that it 'didn't count' for being set in a 'separate universe'.

If that still goes, and only the contents of the anime apply to the anime, well then it's bye-bye to Ma Jess and Madame Boss, because they aren't real either.

I sometimes think that's true. However traumatic, would Jessie not have acknowledged her mother by now otherwise?

We grasp the characters all had two parents in a nebulous fashion, although not being real people means they don't 'technically' need them, but Ma Jess is the only one who vanished to be granted a face. Why is she then ignored?

She's briefly glimpsed in a passing scene of a single episode of the first series and is never seen or referenced again. The sub doesn't even have that. Where was the use in creating her if only to leave that thread of the tale billowing in the breeze?

We may decide her actions affect Jessie's but we're only imprinting assumptions. She might as well have remained unwritten for all that's made of her.

What we can glean doesn't bode well, irrespective of things left unmentioned.

Her one redeeming deed was dying, thus at least she didn't choose to abandon Jessie. We may presume she'd have stayed with her girl given the chance.

By my reckoning that puts her as Fifth-Best Mother Of Pokémon, behind Ma Brock, Ma James, Dame Ketchum and Ma Boss, in that order.

Then they're those who claim she never died, so she just pissed off like everyone else, rendering her devoid of a single positive quality.

This is the woman you sigh and agonise over for decades.

Ma and Pa are right there, man! Show 'em some love!

[1-800-444-tune]

Open for Tarot Readings and Astrology/Numerology Reports

If you still care about my little Tarotscopes Shop you can show your support by donating any amount larger than 4$ CDN today and during this week as appreciation for my daily, weekly, and monthly Tarotscape's Visions of Fortune and Fate Readings I post for free every day. I will also consider doing my super scary-accurate astrology reports for the zodiacs, I will write weekly and daily horoscopes for every sign if I get my goal marker by the middle of the week!;🔔So Please Donate! 🔮 I am starting to get back into my old style Readings of runes and I CHING Readings, and also the infamous Chakra Readings! I am providing my full time 24hrs a day full services for the rest of this week , starting right after this post. So if you want in on this action and want an actual personal reading of any type, I offer....

3 Card Tarot Readings of the general : past/present/future predictions

Other 3 card Readings that I choose to do will be discussed between us

2 card Readings for yes/no choices you want or need to make in your life

There are other 2 Card Readings that I do, however I will not list them here, well talk about it beforehand in the booking of the appointment conversation

Full Access Reading- gives you a full disclosure on your situation at hand

Truth Spread - to gain some insight as to the truth of what's happening right now

Celtic Cross Reading - gives more clarity to an idea or situation you bring to me

4 Cards Of Depth Read - is the greatest for really tough or tricky events this reading will tell you exactly what is going on, these cards are designed to help you understand the difficult situation at hand, and .advise you to overcome the challenge.

4 Cards Of A Very Bad Day Spread- this is for those days you just feel terrible and nothing is going your way, the cards are designed to give you comfort and simple clarity on this real tough rough patch. The best advice comes from here!

The next best advice is one of the many many Oracle Decks to give the very best top notch healing advice that you might need to hear.

The Angelic Guidance Spreads come in a variety of forms, you can get angel messages straight from the Divine through me in a 1 basic card reading, but it's not going to be very good, often you'll need some follow up to that , it comes in 2 card spreads for awesome amazing messages, then 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 card

Goddess Wisdom Guides - tells you your goddesses that represent you or your partner or possibly the situation, it really all depends on the kind of questions you ask me, and all I can say is , wow, ever Insightful, and beautiful truly, these messages are often just the motivation or inspiring words of wisdom we needed to hear from the goddess guides that are by our side in this time of need.

There's so so so many more decks that offer such to great wisdom and great wealths of real true knowledge about our lives but I am not going to ramble on about them all here today, this is enough I explained the best most important ones, in my opinion. So, give me a chance to share this wonderful news of guidance that you will truly find so useful in your life. There's no way you will be let down, there's just no way. I am too good at my craft, what I do is just, k, people cannot thank me enough and you'll, be shocked!

Galaxy Spiral Spread is six cards that's 6cards at $3.00 a card, or if you get this reading plus the angelic guidance I'll put them together for just $11.00

I have a few spreads that I use for Realationships , but the standard one is a 7card reading that tells you just how your partner feels, and what they think , and their intentions too!

Bonus feature for the next two months only/I started doing the Valentine Spread it's a featured reading that will tell you the ins and outs of your relationship, it carefully lists your roles and your participation as a partner and then it says something else I think it's will this relationship work out or something, like the outcome, and it does the same for your lover it lists his roles and advice for him to fix things and what he does in the relationship, It's bugging me cause I forget the other details currently and do not have my book, sorry .

Then for Relationships I also read their energy their spiritual realm guides and read the advice from yoyr partners, also spirit guides, that's another thing I can do that's just so great!!

I can tell you your Spirit Animal Guides and the message they being to you, everybody has over 50 Animal Guides but I will likely pick up just on the most potent ones spiritually apparent to me. I give usually 3 Guide Animal Cards and you do not have to stop there because there's so many more that the oracle will tell me about and alert my attention to, my intuition is key, I trust it like family, yo

Spiritual Realm Messenger Advice Reading- and Spirit Guide Wisdom- this is for your usually, loved ones who have passed on and they're always always trying so very hard to reach out to you, so this is a chance fir you to actually communicate with the deceaxsed for once and finally get a chance to see what they're saying and thinking about your life choices, this reading can also be done for just simple spirits that have chosen to be your guides or to communicate with your actual Guardian Angels, yes I am for real!

Which brings me to this point that I can actually give specific guidance that's from the real #Archangel Michael, if you're really having a hard time or ever thought about what if the angels forgot about me type thing, then this is a reading just for you to lift up your spirits and give you that much needed appreciation and love that you alot of you anyways so often craves, I suggest this reading strongly!

Chakra Readings, these are simply great examinations for your heart mind body and soul , I pick up on your total vibe of yoyr energy centres and points on you and this reading can reveal some major insights as to where you could have blockages and also too gives the remedy, just what you need to do to fix it. This is so intense if you're into the healing arts yourself and are ready to finally level up, or maybe you're someone who's into spirituality or trying to astral project or maybe open your third eye? This Readings for you most definitely if you answered yes to any of those , please seek my help.

Shooting Arrow Spreads, these are just for special dates like New Years, Birthdays, Marriages, Starting a job, Anniversary events of any kind, Traditional or Seasonal Celebrations, I use this one for the Moon Phases, I do one for New Moon and one for Full Moon, you might also be wanting this in general for actually I just thought of this but the 1st of the month, to predict the motivational energies surrounding the coming months like, or at any other important marking dates you associate with movement forward .

6 card Week Spread, to predict your future fir the week ahead, this is a wonderful tool to use to plan your week around these pointers and also to just remember the times that a certain something is going to occur, so you can dodge it or embrace it depending on the event or situation!

Horseshoe Spread - will depict the themes of a signifior and their motives and how their belief systems affect their future at least help to shape the outcome

What Should I Do ? Spread. 3 cards. Tells exactly the situation you are dealing with in the top card then the two on the bottom are your What Not To Do and What to Do cards in the spread, the actual best best for making tough decisions or if your in a position and you just feel like you're really stuck at the moment this spread will absolutely clarify the issue and give you peace of mind n knowing that you have finally got the correct answer now all you have to do is apply your advice you ever been given right? Not so bad after all, see.

This decision/That Decision, when you're at a fork in the road, you know your two options but aren't sure which one is the correct one😇have no fear, my dears, because this is the spread right here! It tells exactly the outcome if you pick say option A. And the outcome if you pick then option B, or I can say #1 option or #2option, and gives you yoyr results and then based on that you can then choose which path you feel you'd like to see your life head in, if you still aren't sure which isn't likely, then we could possibly do it either again or do another spread I'd say to clarify and boost your confidence in one of the options, I have ever got so many more spreads that are not listed here and I just do them if we need to, I just giving you all something genre to choose from , the basics to my self healing art and just my ways of tarotcraft okay, so check these out carefully and try decide what in your life you really need most , and you just don't worry about my end I'm all covered always, and truly won't be a disappointment to you, if anything you'll become a weekly of daily customer I think, after u see what I can provide.

The Big Story Spread- tells you of many different areas in your life, it's by far the largest spread that I really do most often, and it's the most comprehensive.

Houses of Astrology Spread, tells you some insight into some different areas of your life using the 12 houses of astrology. This is one of my faves!

Then I have a few other love and relationship spreads of which, one is for a Broken Heart, one for the Compatibility of a Couple, General Relationships Spread, Readiness for Love, and the Torn Between Lovers Spread, alot more but I'd have to talk about the issue with you first to a session whether they're what you need, so hit me up for love advice and just look into the future of love

There are a few specialty spreads desixgned to tell you about your Financial situation and how to improve it, also my Career Spread to tell you advice of where to head in that regard , all the time money matters eh!

And of course I do dream interpretations , I have a 3 card spread that I love doing that directs your entire dream it tells you what it truly means in your waking life

Then we can discuss if you want some other specialty spreads that I offer we can chat about this one okay I'm stopping the list shortly right after I explain, that everyone abopsolutely must get

A Chakra Reading! Tells you your strengths n weaknesses and what blockages

Rune Readings now Offered at a very fair set Price!

And amazingly detailed and intriguing I ching Readings that you won't wanna miss

There's my fairy oracle deck which I find I'm most connected to, I saved best for last, well, I can basically do all of these spreads with them oracle cards giving the fae wisdom definitions but I simply like to stock to the 2 or 3 card Readings for these oracle cards, this deck is temperamental, it doesn't like to be pressured, but it works well l on shorter answered things I find, just it's personality haha

Now you know everything I do do you want to know my prices ?;!

Prices for Readings are a set rate of $3.55CDN per Card

You can pay by debit card, credit card, Visa, prepaid Mastercard, also your bank account,e transfers to paypal tho. My link should be at the very top of this long msg

You can also now pay with your very own paypal account to my business paypal. Okay simple yes? Payments time no? If you want an honest truthful reading that gives you something to go on to the next level with I have specific life altering advice that's vital to you right now as we speak, the Divine are connected to me and I am channeling so many messages, don't you want to hear yours, your future? I can give you straight up real talk honest and accurate predictions if you give me the chance please try me today yoyr life counts on it!

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I'm online and open right now, get ready to have your mind blown!

You can choose absolutely any reading from this list that you'd like me to do or if you've found one online that you like then tell me the detailing of it the how-to and maybe provide a screenshotting of one and it's questions, then I will do my best to provide you with that exact service then! See, I'm so not hard to get along with, I of love and light, I am here to just assist people and get them through tough times! You're top priority and my problems are not even in my mind when I giving a paid reading I do my job and do it very very well, there's absolutely noo way that you'll want to say you didn't get your money's worth, I totally worth this! I have been doing reading in tarot fir ten years so I think I am actually just a bit experienced yup, so come on down, don't be shy, tel me all about your issue and the type of reading you'd like and we will get to it and give you some damn answers yeah?

[mcbex]

Angles Matter

It was foolish of me to think I had to wait for my kids to grow up to be useful to anyone else. There nothing stopping me except myself and probably a little courage. This picture isn't a close up of someone winning a game or taking a victory lap. It's not even a good picture of a route that I would naturally want to run. What it is, is a reminder that some directions aren't mine to take even if I can clearly see the way.

You may not be able to see the landing strip in this photo. But what you are seeing is a gnarled path to a destination that connects with the world. What may also be hard to see are the 3 fences and multiple objects lying in the way, complete with a very busy road. So many barriers to reach that destination in that way. It doesn't seem as though there could be a way through. However tire tracks are going from where I stand through all of the obstacles, so there must be a way.

On this path I would hurtle fence after fence. Should I make it past them without stumbling on uneven ground I would then cross a road where a multitude of cars could cause an accident at 50+ mph. It feels like mission impossible. The quick way, the bypass where I can see the finish... isn't always the way he takes me.

I stood and looked at this path the other day. Thinking how nice it would be to cut through. I thought about the change of scenery and short cuts. I considered a lot of things before turning around. After which I sighed deep and changed directions. Stepping back on the the street to where the ground is paved and well worn. Even, steady and approachable. Sure it will take miles longer and twice as long to reach the airfield. I may feel I've taken too long. I will likely end up arriving somewhere else entirely but along the way I will see more do more and hopefully touch more lives. All the while the protection of Gods grace will be with me as a travel a road marked out for me. As long as I follow his path and keep clear of hurtles.

I think it is in the waiting, it's the part of the long way that I think we often find the gems to help us love more deeply, and hear more clearly. It's taking the long way, not because it's easier. But because when we take the short cut we miss the opportunity to learn more about the world around us and share in the beautiful heap that surrounds us. It was crazy to think that while I'm raising my children I'm not useful. I have every second of everyday to change the fortune of another. By taking my blessings both good and less good and sharing it all with everyone I see while traveling on the rambling road to whatever my destination might be. There's no hurry. What God has for me is for me. It always will be.

Ephesians 5:15-17 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 

#Godthoughts

[katsitting]

Hello.How are you? It's my first time asking someone on tumblr a request.Can you do a fem Tom Riddle/Voldemort x male Harry Potter one shot or multichapter fanfic(I wold like it if it was rated E but you can do otherwise ).There aren't so many (or not at all) fem TMR/LV fanfics so you would do me quite the favor.I love your writing style too and read some of your one shots /multichapterd fanfics.Thank you for doing this.

AN: This definitely came late. Sorry about that, I had a ton of prompts to fill and only just got to this one. I hope you liked. I don’t know how I feel about this story personally, but I hope that this is close to what you hoped for. It was supposed to be a PWP but, that didn’t come to pass.

Rating: M

Warnings: Horror, Naga!Voldemort, Female!Voldemort, Mild Sexual Content, One-sided Attraction, and Non-con elements.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, mate?” Ron cut in nervously, disrupting the heavy silence that had fallen between them in the dark forest.

Harry scoffed, rolling his eyes because of course Ron would be nervous now. They had agreed to this, they had made their decision earlier that morning when making plans for Halloween. Leave it to his best friend to chicken out now before the real fun actually happened.

“Ron, are you really going to do this now? You were the one that came up with the idea in the first place!” Harry said, exasperated when Ron yelped suddenly, his steady footsteps now sounding more like stumbles in the dark.

Ron had likely tripped on something, knowing him. Maybe he had gotten caught in a spider’s web? Maybe he had caught his foot on a tree root and now was working aimlessly to not fall on his arse?

Either way, Harry did not bother to turn back around. He was on a mission to get to the old Riddle manor, and there was nothing that could stop him. There were too many strange things happening at the place. Disappearances. The sounds of terrified screams. Odd things that should have made him think twice before going in, and of course, he did have his reservations about this whole thing.

But Ron. He had made it sound like a perfectly good idea to go on ahead.

And now, here Ron was. With second thoughts right at the last second. Harry could not go back now, not when he had crafted a perfectly good lie to his parents to get through. Especially when he’d told them that he’d be going to be at Ron’s when he in fact would not be at Ron’s.

“It’s just, this is creepy. Everything is silent and all…” Ron said again, seemingly gathering himself before following after Harry’s more brusque pace.

“…What did you expect? I told you that this would not be a good idea. I didn’t want to come out here at all. But you insisted. It’s too late to turn back now, Ron. The lies have already been made, we can’t possibly take it back after we told our parents we’d be at each other’s house.”

Ron heaved a heavy breath before shuffling more quickly behind Harry.

“…You’re right, I’m sorry. But can’t we just go to ‘Mione’s place? It isn’t too far from where we are.”

Harry groaned, finally stopping to round on Ron.

Honestly.

Ron looked ghastly underneath the glow of full moon, his blue eyes wide and terrified at the prospect of moving further through the shadows. It was fortunate that they had some light to ease their path, especially when their flashlights, although useful in some respect, were too small to truly capture much around the forest. They could clearly discern a couple trees and some gnarled roots, but not much else.

Still, it made Harry pause for a moment. He was tempted to call the whole thing off right then and there. He didn’t like the terrified look on his friend’s face. At all.

But toss it, it hadn’t been his idea to do this. He had wanted to stay home and play horror games all night long. And again, Ron had been convincing.

There was something odd happening in the Riddle manor. He couldn’t just go back now without at least scouting the place…

“No, Ron. We can’t just crash at 'Mione’s place like it’s alright. We both agreed that we wouldn’t tell her what we would be up to. Lord knows how well she’d react to seeing us both dressed up in heavy camo trousers and long-sleeve jumpers. She’d find out immediately, and then neither of us would be able to hear the end of it.”

Ron paused, mouth opening to say something before closing it immediately when Harry glared at him.

The last thing they both needed was an incensed Hermione on their backs. It was already bad enough that they were lying to their parents and sneaking off in the middle of the night to a potentially haunted manor. They didn’t need to tick off Hermione and have her rat them both out in an effort to stop them from going through with their, admittedly, stupid plan.

She was loyal, but she’d never accept their stupidity for such things. Especially when there were plenty of rumors following the manor like a plague. Rumors that, in Harry’s opinion, were enough to scare even the bravest.

“Toss it, why did you let me talk you into this? Why didn’t you just tell me no before we came here?” Ron groaned, hands digging into his hair in frustration. Harry shrugged, shooting him a resigned look before turning his attention back to the invisible path they’d been taking for several minutes now.

There was no real way to get to the manor, but everyone that lived in town just knew instinctively where it was. Better to know where it was than to not know at all and unwittingly stumble upon it when camping with the family. It was a place everyone avoided, save for a couple knuckle-headed teens. A group that, unfortunately, Harry fell under since he had only just turned seventeen earlier this year.

It certainly felt like the beginnings of a horror movie, but Harry would never tell that to Ron.

Harry started trekking through the trees, flashlight pointed to his feet to avoid stubborn roots and large rocks in his path. He heard Ron moving steadily behind him, oddly silent as they continued to walk.

They didn’t stop until the heavy foliage broke, and the manor came within view.

Harry shot the manor an assessing look, taking in the severe state of disrepair the place had fallen into.

The gates that had, once, protected the manor from thieves and other dangerous folk were rusted over. Misshapen and crude underneath Harry’s careful scrutiny.

It looked just like the manor in that Resident Evil game he and Ron had played earlier that month in anticipation of Halloween. It was uncanny, really. The wood holding the porch atop the double doors of the manor was rotted over, and Harry, if he squinted, could even see the way the roof at the very top looked about ready to collapse.

It was a hazard to go in, and Harry knew that. Hell, he could feel the danger on his skin like the frigid air tickling the nape of his neck, but that did not deter him in the least.

He was going in there, even if it killed him. He would make the best of his night, and it wasn’t as though he was going alone, he reasoned. He was going in there with Ron, and that was marginally better than him going alone.

“Alright, it looks like no one has been here for ages. The gate is wide open. We can definitely get in through the front entrance.” Harry said, turning round to shoot his friend the most convincing look he could muster.

But Ron wasn’t there.

The boy that had been following closely behind him had disappeared. The only sign that Ron had even been there at all, the second set of footprints in the snow winding down the path they had taken.

Harry felt dread seize his throat, as if a clawed hand had suddenly gripped him tightly by the neck.

“Ron?” Harry asked, swallowing down his fear to rush back to the opening they’d come through in the forest.

His footsteps echoed ominously in the emptiness. The crunch of his steps, of twigs and dried leaves as they snapped beneath his feet, thunderous.

It had taken him seconds to reach the opening to the forest, to scan the area for any sign of Ron. His friend wasn’t the most secretive, nor the most careful when he walked. On the walk to the manor, Ron had made more noise than a stampeding elephant.

So this silence unnerved him, more than he was willing to admit.

But instead of the sight of his friend’s turned back, or the sound of loud curses as Ron dutifully rushed back to civilization, Ron was nowhere to be found.

He wasn’t hiding behind the towering trees or the bushes flanking the stubborn trunks. All Harry had found were two pairs of footprints on the ground, packed deeply into the snow. They pointed back in the direction Harry had come through–towards the manor.

It was as though Ron had vanished out of thin air. There wasn’t a third set of steps evidencing that Ron had run back. Harry couldn’t make sense of it. People didn’t just disappear like that.

Harry swerved around to glance at the haunted house, dread making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

If Ron had not gone back from where they’d come, then there could only be one place he could have gone. Though how this was, how Ron could have gone to the manor when Harry had been staring at the only entrance to the entire place, Harry could not pin down.

It was impossible. The logical conclusion was to assume that Ron had turned back, that he had acted incredibly out of character to avoid the trouble waiting for them both in that manor.

Harry wasn’t convinced. In fact, everything about the whole situation reeked.

Harry paused, eyes narrowed into thin slits as he surveyed the open gates.

There was an itch just beneath his skin, a buzz of intuition thrumming along with his blood telling him otherwise. It made absolutely no sense. Hermione, if she were there, might even smack him upside the head for even considering what he was considering.

Harry couldn’t contain it even if he tried. Everything within him screamed that Ron was in there. Petulant and assured. More confident than the shadow of fear that lingered like a veil in the back of his thoughts.

Ron was in the manor.

Harry did not hesitate. He clenched his jaw before brusquely heading to the rusted gate, ignoring just how loud his footsteps were in the near silent place. There were no birds rustling through the trees. No sounds of animals crying out, hunting and playing, in the dark as Harry trekked on.

Everything was still.

It did not deter Harry, in the least. Convinced, even if irrationally so, that Ron was in the manor and that his friend had not come willingly.

Ron would never go out on his own. The redhead, though brave and stubborn, had been terrified once they’d taken their first steps into the forest. Just the mere notion of spiders was enough to get the bloke turning on his heels. It was an easy connection to make, even if it required quite a leap, even for him.

Harry was resolute in his stance, however.

The pieces just didn’t line up. There were no separate set of prints indicating Ron had turned back. No expletive when Ron, without a doubt, eventually ran into a cobweb somewhere in the dark. No sound of boots as they crushed leaves beneath his feet. Though anyone could argue that there was no evidence alluding that Ron was in the manor either, all Harry needed was his gut.

And it had spoken loud and clear.

If Ron had not gone into the manor willingly, then something had taken Ron without Harry knowing the wiser.

Harry passed the gates without sparing them a glance, shuffling quickly towards the front door that Harry had been certain were closed when Ron and he had first arrived. Harry’s gaze narrowed into slits, lips pursing into a tight line.

The doors were open. Parted wide, as if beckoning him to come inside. A silent invitation only Harry could understand.

Harry decided he would take the invitation. More than aware that he had been given no choice in the matter.

The polished wood and carvings inlaid of the door glowed brightly when Harry pointed his flashlight at them. The emeralds etched to the wood were lit in brilliant greens. The color becoming more and more pronounced as Harry neared, as if it hadn’t been exposed to light in far too long.

Harry frown deepened, but did not stop, even when everything within him told him to turn back.

He squashed his fear down, shoving it behind a proverbial lock and key. His friend was inside the house. There was no way he would leave him behind, not when he could do something to get him out.

Especially when it’s your fault he even disappeared in the first place…a quiet voice hummed in the back of Harry’s head, guilt like a ten pound weight in the pit of his stomach.

The guilt fueled his movements. Encouraged him to head inside even when his skin crawled.

Harry had barely stepped between the grand entrance when the doors abruptly slammed shut behind him. As if a powerful wind had suddenly blown against them, rattling the very foundations of the manor.

He stumbled, only just catching himself before he acquainted himself with the dust-ridden floor below.

Quickly, Harry after regaining his balance, he turned to the door and clasped on the ornate handle. He pulled, but it refused to buckle under his weight. The doors unmoving even when he pressed his foot against the door to force it open.

The wind couldn’t have done that…

Harry’s stomach jolted at the thought, and adrenaline rushed through his veins. He released the door after yanking at the door two more times with all the force he could muster.

It wouldn’t make a difference to yank on it. It was clearly locked.

Harry’s unease spiked, his grip on the flashlight tightening imperceptibly.

It had been an impressive show of power…though not entirely unexpected. He had already suspected something more was happening in the manor. His instincts practically screamed at him to turn tail the moment Ron had suddenly gone missing.

What was shocking though was that the ghost, or spirit, would just reveal itself to him like that. It would have made sense to catch him by surprise by trapping him in a room or something. To keep itself hidden as he explored the place while looking for Ron.

It was how most horror movies went. But for the door to just shut itself on its own? Not one second after rushing inside? Harry wondered what that could mean.

Maybe the creature felt confident than Harry would not be coming out alive? Maybe it somehow knew that once Harry walked in, offering himself like a sacrifice to an angry God, its success was assured?

If that was the reasoning behind this show, then the ghost, demon, thing was sorely mistaken. Harry would not make this easy, not when his friend’s life was at risk. Even if he died in the process, he’d make sure Ron made it out of it alive to tell the tale.

“I know you’re there.” Harry said, taking in the grandiosity of the main entrance with a shrewd gaze.

He hadn’t expected a response, so it was unsurprising when silence was all he got in return.

The creature may have announced in no lesser terms that it was there, but it seemed that facing the monster head on was out of the question.

The creature wanted to scare him, that was for sure. But it wanted a hunt. A chase, if the unsettling silence that surrounded him was anything to go by. Harry wouldn’t give it the satisfaction.

Harry cast his flashlight about the room with tense shoulders and bent knees. Ready for the smallest inkling of trouble even as a heavy silence settled around his shoulders like a cloak. Too aware that if he let his guard down, that the creature would pounce.

It had already done so when Harry made the mistake of taking his eyes off Ron. What was stopping it from doing something when he turned his back?

Harry eyed the way the shadows danced along old furniture, taking in the ghost of a once opulent parlor. It was a shadow of its former self, with dust coating every single surface in the room, refusing to part from the furniture it had made its home.

It was almost a shame that it had been left to such disrepair. That no one in the past decade had purchased the home and decided to restore it to its former glory.

Though, in all fairness, Harry was certain that the neglect was more due to the resident ghost problem than actual disinterest. No one was crazy enough to buy the Riddle manor when it was rumored to be haunted, when there were too many bizarre incidents connecting back to the manor.

Except for him and Ron, of course. That should have been his first clue.

But there was no point regretting this fact now. With each second he lingered in this ancient parlor, Ron could be fighting for his life somewhere. Scared.

Harry banished the mental image of Ron’s pleading gaze.

Harry swiveled his flashlight around the room, nose scrunching with distaste when the smell of mildew and decay practically oozed from the walls. The holes and pockets in some of the rugs on the floor, moth eaten and green with mold.

It was as decrepit as it was impressive. It was undeniable that this place, at one point, had been booming with loud voices and cheerful chatter. An impressive piece of architecture that was both the envy and the delight of all that entered.

The entrance was grand. The style reminiscent of the perfect symmetry of renaissance chapels, with not a single arch, painting, or step on the staircase out of place. Everything was precisely calculated, measured and tailored to the tastes of its owner–the style, perhaps at one point, innovative and scandalous.

Though, none of the poise remained now. Once soft green walls that had once paired impeccably with mahogany chairs and tables, with bookshelves and even a baby grand at the far corner right of the room, were now were darkened with age and neglect. The doorway with its beautiful archway, dazzled with oil lanterns and paintings, instead of shining brilliantly beneath his flashlight, were worn and rusted. Some of the hooks lodged off, as if torn from the walls. The source of that aggression, unknown.

Harry walked over the carpeted floor until he was right at the center of the parlor. His attention suddenly drawn to the second floor, the shadows writhing in the background forcing him to look.

There was something there.

Harry could not explain the feeling. The twists in his stomach were like cramps. Like a sharp claw had pressed against his solar plexus and refused to ease up. Even as his breaths strained, became louder and shallower.

The monster was in the second floor. The feeling was unmistakable.

And then Harry was moving, flashlight catching on one of the two staircases of the parlor. It wound around in a narrow spiral, the black railing gleaming beneath his light even through the many layers of dust coating it.

The steps on the staircases glinted a bright yellow, but Harry did not stop to consider whether it was safe to even climb up. His stomach was in knots. Something was urging him to go upstairs, and Harry had to follow.

It pulsed like a heartbeat, in time to the staccato of his breaths.

Harry took the first step, and it was as though all the air had been sucked from the room.

If the room had been still and silent before, nothing compared to the sudden listlessness that fell around him. The darkness felt more oppressive, practically oozing from the corners and the cracks in the foundations of the walls.

Even the railing looked brittle, the iron more like string than the gleaming black Harry had scrutinized earlier.

He hesitated. It was a brief second, no more than an exhalation.

Doubt swelled inside him, like an over-inflated balloon ready to burst at any moment’s notice. Fear reared its ugly head, depriving him once more of the tenacity he was known for. Notorious for, if what Hermione said was true. Everything was screaming for him to turn back.

Harry went forward anyway, swatting it away like a bug. Ron needed him. He couldn’t hesitate now.

Another step, and his senses began to scream. The voice, unlike one Harry had never heard before, shouted for him to turn back around. To ignore the second floor, to explore the first floor and leave things at that.

Harry pushed through it, jaw tense.

He wouldn’t be cowed. Not when the creature seemed to want him to stay away. It was hiding something up there, it had to be if it was fighting Harry tooth and nail. If this sudden fear was the creature’s doing.

Maybe what it’s hiding is Ron…

Harry took another painful step, and then another, and another. He didn’t stop even when his gums ached from how tightly he clenched on his jaw. Though this fact did not deter him. He doubted anything could. Not the whispers that suddenly began to murmur into his ears, and certainly not the weight that burrowed deeply in the pit of his stomach.

The voice begged him to turn back, to see reason where there wasn’t any. But he couldn’t, he had already come this far. Ron was somewhere in the darkness, and abandoning him was out of the question.

Though, even knowing this fact, Harry’s mind was absolute chaos. The rush of adrenaline through his veins, the tension in his limbs when another wave of fear clenched tightly around his windpipe. Harry could hardly make sense of the shadows and the yellow light catching the banister.

It was madness, the crushing weight of his own emotions and his stubborn nature clashing like two blades meeting.

And then Harry was at the top of the staircase, the world swaying around him as he tried to wrangle his breaths into submission. The panic thrumming in his veins abated at once, the rush of blood to his ears silenced.

Everything grew still, as if Harry had not tried to fight through a powerful gust of emotion forcing him back.

Harry cast a glance back to the bottom of the stairs, his fingers digging into his flashlight to glimpse at the world below.

There was only shadow. The light did not penetrate the gloom. Not even the broken windows at the bottom-most floor could pass through. It was as though the black devoured the light, prevented even a sliver of moonlight to wash the gloom with pale, silvery light.

Harry’s heart raced, fear like a sharp blade pressed to his chest. He couldn’t turn back, even if he wanted to. There was no telling what would happen if he went back down after he’d risked his arse to go up, when he had ignored reason to chase after something that waited for him there.

It was too late, and it would do nothing for Ron.

Harry righted himself, realizing then that he’d been doubled over. That in his rush, he hadn’t noticed how dangerously his knees dipped and his head swayed.

Sucking in a deep breath, Harry turned his attention to his new surroundings.

The stairs had brought him to a wide hallway. The furnishings and the cabinets lined along the walls nearly black with age and tattered, just as the first floor had been. Except now, there were actual doors. Not entrance ways, not openings, but actual doors that Harry could explore.

There were portraits of all shapes and sizes flush against the wall. Pictures and frames either face down or standing proudly atop the cabinets and dressers right at the entrance of the hall.

Harry could not make out a single face in any of them from where he stood.

Harry…

A startled gasp escaped his lips before he swiveled around–certain that the voice had come from somewhere behind him.

But there was nothing behind him. Only a door that looked as if it had seen better days. The edges were rusted. Burnt orange and red glittering obscenely under his flashlight as he tried to calm himself down.

The hiss had been so high that it had to have come from a woman. Like the scream of a banshee, or at least, how Harry would imagine a banshee were to sound like if it were real. Except it hadn’t been angry, at all. It was devoid of aggression, though that fact did not make it any less frightening.

The voice had come unbidden and much too close for comfort. It had been a hair’s length away from his neck, as though it had been murmured directly to his ear.

He shuddered, casting the iron door a wary glance.

It was suspicious how the creature had appeared only when he was gearing up to head down into the hall. Could it have done it on purpose?

It could have, for all Harry knew. He wouldn’t have noticed the door if the monster hadn’t scared the ever living shit out of him.

And now, Harry could not even think to turn his back on this door. Not when it looked like the entrance to some medieval torture chamber.

It stuck out like a sore thumb, and against his better judgement, Harry slowly moved towards it. With an outstretched hand, he reached for the handle, while the other clutched tightly on the flashlight as though it were a weapon.

Well, here goes nothing.

Closing his hand around the handle, he ignored how the cold metal drained what little warmth he had in his palm. As if it were sucking the very life out of him by simply holding on.

Harry swallowed nervously and squared his shoulders. If something stood waiting for him on the other side, he’d be ready for it.

With a hard wrench, the door came open with a loud, ominous screech. It echoed through the silent manor like a gunshot. Harry didn’t so much as flinch, already expecting it.

It was similar to the doors his dad often worked on in his garage. The hinges were always rusty and loud. They needed a bit of oil and the like to get up and running, to stop the annoying squeak that often plagued them. It was how he had met Ron in the first place. His dad had come by with the redhead in tow, in need of some help with a door he didn’t know how to fix.

Harry shined his flashlight inside with his left shoulder pressing against the open door. The cold metal seeped through his jumper, but he hardly paid it any attention. Not when the darkness was so thick that his small light barely penetrated it.

It was like a cloud of black smoke from an erupted volcano. The ash swimming like particles in the air, absorbing and swallowing all light that dared trickle through from the hot, summer sun.

Unease prickled the nape of his neck when a cold gust of air blew against his face, the breeze almost alive, twisting and writhing against every inch of exposed skin on his face and neck.

Harry had never been more grateful that he’d worn a jumper than in that moment.

It was freezing inside the room. Near arctic temperatures, if Harry had to guess. As if someone had trapped winter in that very room, with only that iron door to keep it from getting out.

Harry shuddered, fingers like ice, as he stepped deeper into the darkened room.

The door closed with an audible click behind him, but he hardly paid it any mind. Not when the darkness was percolating in the room, almost wispy, like the tendrils of his own hair after a bath.

He pointed his flashlight throughout the room, unsure of what he would find.

The darkness was still as oppressive as it had been from beside the door. It hadn’t changed, even as Harry stepped deeper, hand outstretched.

Still, it refused to yield to his silent demands. Light could not cut through it. Harry doubted that even the morning sun could light this room up, even if bottled in his hand.

And then, the flashlight went out. The darkness blinded him.

The flashlight released a soft groan and sparks of electricity shot out.

Harry hissed, dropping the thing when it shocked him, his fingers pulsing painfully.

The flashlight rolled somewhere unseen. The sound of it like nails scratching at a chalkboard. Grating and uncomfortable, even as Harry tried his best not to panic in that moment.

The light had gone. There was nothing except an endless, unfathomable abyss. The kind that Harry imagined lingered beneath the bed of precocious children. The kind that parents told scary stories of, that his own mum had, while he was curled in his own bed, warned him of.

Harry had never felt so afraid in his life. It was the sort of fear that settled between the space between his rib cage. It lodged itself into his throat, robbing him of his ability to so much as breathe.

It was endless, and everything Harry could see. All he could feel even as he tried not to lose himself to it, to let the monster that had lured him into this room, win.

He had to remind himself that this was what the desired. It wanted him to be afraid. It had wanted him to come through here rather than the hallway. It had trapped him in the manor, and now, it was doing everything in its power to frighten him out of his wits. To rob him of his own ability to think.

His insides churned, unable to tear off the suffocating horror that crushed his lungs.

“Harry!”

A voice snapped him out of his stupor, released him from the choke-hold of fear and unease that nearly overwhelmed him.

The voice…sounded like Ron.

Recollection bloomed in his chest, and Harry released a deep breath he hadn’t known he was holding. His relief, even if minor, welcomed.

Harry would recognize that voice anywhere. After years of playing football together. After weeks upon weeks of studying, complaining about Hermione’s rigid study schedule, it was unmistakable.

Ron was there.

“Ron? Where are you?” Harry called, releasing a deep breath before turning in the direction he believed it had come from. Though where that was, Harry couldn’t be sure. Not when he couldn’t make heads or tails of where he was. He could end up walking directly into a wall, for all he knew.

Harry found that he didn’t mind that at all. Walking into a wall, that was better than standing still. An improvement, considering he had nearly lost himself to his own panic in that moment.

Ron did not answer, but Harry began to move anyway.

Knowing that his friend was alive was all he needed.

It was all he needed to force himself to shuffle through the unknown.

Ron was alive.

Hidden, but his friend was somewhere with him. A place that couldn’t be too far away. Ron’s voice had not been muffled, had not been masked by layers and layers of wood.

It had been crystal clear, like Harry’s own breaths in the dark. Ron had to be close.

Hope bloomed in his stomach, and Harry did not stop even when his foot smacked onto something solid; when his arms flailed, and his palms shot out to break his fall.

A pained sound escaped his lips when his knees knocked harshly against the floor. When his fingers smeared on something wet, and then his hands were slipping, sliding across the ground. Harry’s chin knocked painfully on the ground, a sharp burst of pain making his teeth rattle in his mouth.

It was a miracle he hadn’t bitten off his own tongue, but still, it hurt.

His stomach had landed on something smooth and firm, a slight warmth burning its way up from that single point of contact.

It singed his jumper with its intensity. It knocked the air from out of his lungs, his chest suddenly tighter than it had been even when he’d tried to brave the stairs to this unknown floor…

His fingers twitched and more of the substance smeared onto his hands. Harry couldn’t help making a face, disgusted by just how sticky and thick it felt. Unaware, practically blind, to what he’d landed on.

He wished he could see, at least just to make sure that what he’d landed on wasn’t mud or shite.

“Harry…”

A fearful scream tore from his throat when a voice murmured into his ear. It was the same high, gravelly voice. The syllables, the words,  fell from what, Harry could imagine, were lips that ghosted against his flesh. They breathed softly against the shell, enough so that Harry could feel just how dangerously close those lips were.

Harry jolted away, or at least tried to.

Before he could make some distance, something snaked around his ankle. It was a solid, firm hold that was so bitingly cold that Harry wondered if his blood had frozen from the contact.

Harry kicked back, a startled breath heaving from his lungs when the solid form beneath him began to move. The object that he tripped on, that had brought him crashing to the ground was alive.

Fear sliced through him and all rational thought fled.

“L-let me go!” Harry shouted, but then the hand dragged him back by his ankle. Sharp nails dug into the flesh, and Harry struggled against a grip that pulled at him with more force than Harry thought possible.

It was unyielding and none of his writhing could tear him from out of it.

“Harry…” A voice purred, cold air fanning along the shell of his ear. As if death had chosen that precise moment to speak, to show him that it was there. Waiting, always waiting, in the darkness for him with outstretched hands and sharp teeth. A mouth that was bloody and wet, ready to rear back and tear into quivering skin.

He scratched onto the ground, pinpricks of pain blooming along the edges of his fingers when the presence continued to drag him away into the unknown and his nails dragged on the grooves on the floor.

“You haven’t changed at all…”

Confusion bloomed along with his fear.

What?

Harry’s brows knit together, even as his fingers still scrambled for something to hold onto. The slaps of his palms against the ground were deafening, nearly drowning out the sound of the woman’s voice.

“W-what are you talking–”

Harry had no time to finish his question before he was suddenly sailing through the air, weightless.

No!

His stomach jumped, and his nerves screamed. His senses were lost, and the glasses that had so far remained on the bridge of his nose, fell away. Lost in the darkness, never to be seen again.

Panic rushed through his veins, and hands reached for the glasses he knew he wouldn’t find. Hoping, against all hope, that his fingers would catch on the wiry frames.

His fingers met nothing but air.

“Still too blind even with everything laying out in the open…”

Harry suddenly stopped. His toes were no longer touching the ground. He was dangling in the air, held up by some invisible force that robbed him completely of movement.

“Naive…trusting…in spite of the predator prowling around you…”

Harry tried to move his fingers, but they were frozen. He couldn’t even wriggle his toes. All he could do was throw his head back and forward, tilt and shift.

All of his movements had been robbed from him.

It was impossible.

His fear swelled inside him at this fact, at the knowledge that he was helpless. That there was nothing he could do, not when the monster had finally revealed itself.

“A bleeding heart…following a dangerous path with death hanging above your head…”

A cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck, and he gasped when the room suddenly exploded with light.

It blinded him, and Harry immediately closed his eyes to ease the ache that settled over his temples.

“How I’ve missed you…”

Slowly, he opened his eyes; wanting nothing more than to figure out what this creature was even talking about…

And he immediately wished he hadn’t. Not even his poor vision could mask it.

The creature that had stolen Ron from him. The monster that had hidden itself away, had played with him like he were some toy, stood before him.

Her skin was pale. Bone white and dry.

The skin glittered like diamonds, scales flashing purples and pinks when they caught along her jaw, cheekbone, and temples. She was hairless, the same white flesh stretched above her head.

Harry took her in, unable to look away.

Her face was monstrous. Instead of a nose at the center of her a face, where a nose should have been, there were two slits. They flared in time with her soft breaths. Thin lips were stretched into a sharp smile, dazzling white teeth exposed to his gaze.

Yet, those were not the features that truly made her horrifying. They weren’t what struck him, what made breathing more and more difficult as he stared at her.

Her eyes were scarlet. Instead of the browns and blues, greens and hazels he had come to see throughout his life, her eyes were red, so red that Harry wondered if someone had painted her irises with blood.

Harry couldn’t look away.

His eyes were captivated, caught by the thin shape of her pupils. They should have been round. But they weren’t. There was little humanity in that gaze. They were the eye’s of a snake, the ring of red making the creature look even more monstrous than she did already.

How had Harry missed this, when those eyes were so bright? How had walked into this manor without catching even a glimpse of eyes as cold and deep as those, when they gleamed like precious rubies even with the room lit up like a light show?

It didn’t make sense, but Harry had quickly learned that nothing about this whole evening did. Not the disappearance of his friend. Not the door shutting closed behind him as he tried to piece together this mystery. None of it did.

She was the most frightening creature he had ever seen. No horror movie could capture the essence of the power her face retained.

Absolutely nothing.

And there was no running away from her. No turning back, even when every thought in his head screamed for him to fight off the power keeping him restrained.

He made to shift, to pull back as far away as he could, but his body was immobile.

There was nowhere to run.

“W-what are you? What have you done to Ron?” Harry asked, voice so soft that if it weren’t for the silence that had fallen between them, he would not have known he’d spoken at all. Blood pumped rapidly in his chest, the rush of it like a torrential rain that refused to abate.

Panic pulsed within him, unrestrained.

The woman tilted her head to one side, the gesture like that of a predator assessing its prey. The movement drew Harry’s eye to the rest of her, giving him a chance to break from the intensity of her gaze.

The creature was shrouded in shadows. The long, thick fabric wrapped around her shoulders and hips, the cloth pooling to the ground. As if she hadn’t a care in the world that her clothes were getting dirty on the dirty floor.

Harry watched her with bated breaths.

She stepped closer, closing the short space between them with one fluid movement.

Harry followed the way her body swayed, how the cloth around her shape began to melt and fall away from her shoulders.

Pale skin revealed itself to him. Scaled where the bone jutted out from her rib cage, where her hip bones were most prominent and easy to discern.

She bared herself to him, unveiled rosy nipples that were nearly the same shade as her lips.

A deep flush settled onto his cheeks, utterly embarrassed and perplexed, as to why she was suddenly completely starkers. Why she was bridging the distance between them rather than killing him, as he was certain she would.

It didn’t make any sense to him, and Harry gaped when the fabric pooled completely to the ground and she stood before him, her own lips near his own, nude.

They were near enough that Harry could count her eyelashes, and how they framed her almond shaped eyes. Even without his glasses.

She was too close, and Harry wanted nothing more than to jolt back. To run and find Ron. To never return, even when this creature seemed to know him so well.

Her eyes were lit with recognition and something else. An emotion he had only ever seen an animal wear when presented with a delicious meal.

Harry wondered if he was that meal. If she planned to devour him, consuming him, before turning on Ron…

If Ron was even still alive.

“He is unconscious. You need not be concerned for him.” She murmured, trailing her nails against his cheek with an intense look of wonder. As if she had never touched skin as soft as his, or touched a human-being before.

Harry flinched, the contact making his skin prickle with gooseflesh.

“He will live. He has served his purpose.”

Purpose?

Harry licked his lips, unease winding more tightly around his throat when her gaze flickered to his lips, drawn in by the simple gesture like a moth to a flame.

“W-what do you mean? What are you even talking about? Just who bloody are you?” Harry said, eyes glued to the skin between her eyes.

Her nails trailed down his throat, and they scratched along his neck. They curled around the collar of his jumper, and Harry’s heart nearly leaped from out of his chest.

Her touch was questing, but nothing invasive.

Though his heart refused to settle, even when her touches had yet to turn violent.

“Did you think that your friend brought you here out of curiosity? Suddenly brave and intrigued by the promises lurking within my home?”

Harry swallowed, shooting the creature a glare when her lips twisted into a victorious smile.

It set every nerve in Harry’s body on edge.

“Of course not, dearest Harry. You and I both know that your friend would never risk himself in this way…and let alone drag you along with him.”

How did she know my name? How did she know so much about Ron?

Harry’s stomach dropped when she leaned in closer, her lips a whisper against his own.

“You are here because I wished it. From your decision to enter the forest to your refusal to turn back.”

Heat danced along his cheeks when a hand slid underneath his jumper. The fingers were cold, and her nails did nothing to stop his skin from crawling when it scratched up his stomach.

Harry wondered faintly if she had somehow drawn blood, if with a practiced precision, those claws could rip him open if she wished it.

Something wet slid between his lips, and Harry barely bit back a gasp when a long, forked tongue slipped past the woman’s lips. Her eyes shuttered closed for a brief second, as if the taste of his mouth were the sweetest thing she’d ever had in years.

Oh god.

“Don’t touch me!” Harry protested, but the creature did not listen.

She pressed against him completely, her naked breasts pressed against his chest and a long slim leg settled between his thighs, parting them for her.

Harry wanted to die.

“You taste…exquisite, Harry.” She said after pulling her tongue back, eyes flickering open to fix him with a hungry look.

“If you don’t stay away from me I’ll–”

Harry was unable to finish the sentence.

The monster had dropped her hand from his face and down to the fly of his trousers in seconds. Her nails were digging harshly against the material, and it took all the restraint Harry possessed to not squeak with surprise.

His cheeks burned brighter, embarrassment morphing into horror when the woman began to transform before him.

Once subtle serpentine features became more monstrous. Fangs began to grow from out of her mouth, her elegant cheekbones and jaw began to narrow. Her legs melted into one another, until it was no longer just one leg between his thighs, but a massive coil.

Pearly scales glinted underneath the atrocious yellow light above them, and Harry could only watch with mute horror as she became more beast than woman.

Harry’s throat tightened.

“Or you’ll what?” She mused, and Harry shot the monstrous bitch a glare.

The last thing he’d expected when he came after Ron was to come face to face with a snake monster. He’d guessed, at most, that there was a ghost in the manor. That the ghost, after it had discovered what his intentions were, would try.

To be accosted, to be told that he was the reason Ron had been snatched in the first place, was ridiculous.

His fear gave way to anger and confusion. He didn’t know what to feel, his mind shuffled through so many feelings that it was a miracle he could even feel anything at all.

Everything about the situation was overwhelming, and just as he was about to say a few choice words; tell her exactly what he thought of her, the creature’s grip on his groin tightened to the point of pain.

Harry saw white and a scream tore from his throat.

Her grip was punishing and cruel. Her laughter the only sound Harry could make out through his loud yowls and ragged breaths.

“You have no power here. You are a mere human now…” She sneered the word “human” out as if it disgusted her.

If his prick wasn’t currently being crushed within her grip, he might have pointed out that it was better to be human that a hideous monster. A creature that thrived in the darkness, that had no hope of blending in with the humans she spoke ill of.

“…For the time being, at least.” She said, and all the air fled from his lungs at the mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Harry glared at her, even through the pain, and spat.

Satisfaction blossomed in his chest when his aim was true and a thin trail of saliva ran from the top of her cheek bone down to her chin.

He had expected anger for his defiance. He knew that behaving the way that he had would only incite her ire.

But instead of angering the beast as he had first anticipated, the creature began to laugh at him. Her shoulders shook with amusement and her grip on his groin loosened enough for him to relax.

Thank god.

His prick still throbbed, but it was still better than when she’d been bloody crushing it.

“You’re mad, absolutely insane.” Harry gaped, unnerved by the glee that flashed in her eyes. It made her eyes burn brighter, like someone had shone a bright light into them.

“And you, are perfect…” She hissed, fingers lightly tracing along the inseam of his trousers. The touch made his skin jump and his mouth part with discomfort.

“From your riotous curls to your defiant mouth…you are truly my Harry.”

Harry had never been more confused in his life. He didn’t know who he was supposed to be, who she kept speaking of with such an excited glint in her gaze.

“I-I don’t know what you’re on about, but I don’t even know your name. I am nothing–”

“My name is Lord Voldemort, and you belong to me.”

Harry made to protest but stopped when her fingers, the very same fingers that were skirting over his groin, slid up and into the waistband of his pants. Dangerous nails trailed along the skin, and Harry refrained from insulting her.

Not with those claws. He wasn’t entirely mad enough to incite her with her hand down his bloody trousers.

She had nearly crushed his prick earlier. There was no telling what she might do if he said something in that moment.

“Your impertinent tongue…your brilliant eyes…all of it is mine. I allowed you free reign once. Permitted you to live a normal life before you were stolen from me. But no more, I will not lose you a second time.”

Voldemort looked absolutely feral. Her eyes were wild, all of her amusement had drained from her face. She looked as though Harry would, at any moment, be snatched from her grasp.

And then she was on him.

The hand playing with the sliver of skin inside his trousers wrapped around his waist, while the other, wove itself into his hair. She yanked and Harry groaned, a protest thick on his tongue when she bent his head so far back he could only see the light bulb hanging on the ceiling.

“Let me go!” Harry cried out when her fingers tightened on his hair, when she pulled his head further back and she pressed her face against the crook of his neck. She smelled him, her mouth hot and wet against the sensitive flesh.

He didn’t know what she was doing, but he didn’t trust it. Not when she had fangs and she had no qualms whatsoever about hurting him.

She said that she missed him. That she enjoyed his impertinence. Harry did not trust her not to bite into his neck, to not poison him with her sharp teeth.

“Never again, Harry. Never again.”

Harry’s world exploded with pain.

Sharp teeth sunk into his neck, and Harry could not bite back his screams when her jaw locked. She refused to let him go even when movement returned to his limbs, when the force restraining him melted away and he fell into her arms.

He was like a rag doll, unable to do much else as he dug his fingers into her bare shoulders. He practically crushed the skin, dug blunt nails into the flesh. He did whatever he could to get her off of him, to stop her from grinding her teeth into his neck until Harry could only see, could only feel, could only hear his own agonized cries and the pulse of his heartbeat.

The agony began to abate, but Harry’s horror only increased, his cries became more pronounced when numbness then began to spread from where her teeth had sunk. It was like ice chasing after the warmth of the gleaming sun.

Tears ran down his cheeks, the pain and the fear so much that he couldn’t contain them.

NO!

Voldemort retracted her fangs from his throat, the warmth suction of her lips falling away to expose his throat to blistering cold. His body shook, but the woman’s arms holding tightly onto him could not chase away the cold.

The terrible cold spread inside him, oozed from his pours, from his lips, and ears. Harry sobbed, terrified, and Voldemort lapped at his neck.

Her tongue was abrasive against his skin, and he shuddered when she continued to drink the blood leaking from his throat. The sound of her slurps and ragged breaths made his stomach turn, more than it already was.

“Shhh…”

He didn’t care that he looked pathetic. That his eyes burned and his throat felt like sandpaper. He didn’t want this.

He wanted it all to stop.

“It’s frightening at first, but in time, you will see the gift I have bestowed you. Death shall never have you…not again.”

Harry sobbed harder, and Voldemort’s words became softer. The madness had gone, evaporated like smoke from the tenor of her voice. As if it had never been.

“My mate…my soul…”

And then, his vision swam. The world began to darken at the corners; his lips, his ears, his fingers, and his toes all faded from his memory.

Something pulled at him, squirmed and writhed from somewhere within him. It itched, dragging him deeper into the nothing.

A soft voice began to speak, one he, somehow, knew he should have recognized, but couldn’t. It sang to him, carried him adrift.

“Sleep…and remember me…”

Harry closed his eyes, and then–

Nothing.