#i didn't even get to jane's moon trips

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Jane of Lantern Hill chapters 3 and 4

Standard Jane warning for emotional abuse; new warning for genre-typical child servant abuse.

Two evening events in a row means that I am quite behind. We're doing these two chapters together because they're both about Jody.

The very first thing I noticed, and one that's purely craft-related, is that this appears to be the book in which LMM experiments with ellipses. Blue Castle was all about em dashes, Jane is all about ellipses. I haven't fully been able to pin down what she wants the effect to be. A pause, clearly, but why an ellipsis? I've never seen them used in the middle of sentences like this, to offset clauses or separate ideas. Did she get bored of em dashes? Did her publishers give her bonuses based on the number of characters she used? Was she playing a game with herself to keep the drafting process interesting? I feel like I'm reading this book through the medium of texts sent by my grandmother (who is much nicer than Jane's, thankfully.)

Second minor detail: Jane has RPG character or anime protagonist eyes, apparently. I know she probably intended them to be light, warm brown, but every marigold I've ever seen has looked like this:

This is an eye color that I give my characters in video games when I want them to look like aliens. And "marigold" as a color is a shade of yellow, not brown. So I'm not sure why that's the descriptor LMM reached for, but it is now my firm headcanon that Jane has yellow-orange anime eyes.

Anyway, on to the actual contents of the chapters. Between the rich girl befriending the poor girl and the whole imaginary garden sequence, I am getting such Frances Hodgson Burnett vibes, you have no idea. I don't know if LMM also read her books, or if they were just working similar themes, or if I just imprinted on FHB as a child and see traces of her everywhere.

So Jody is an orphan, kept on at the boarding house out of "charity", a word which in this context means "a servant you don't have to pay or treat well." She goes to school "every day there was no extra rush" which probably means she's not very well educated, which will make it even harder for her to find better circumstances when she grows up.

And she's clearly set up as a deliberate mirror for Jane. Here they are, two girls who on the surface couldn't be more different, who immediately recognize each other as kin because actually, under the surface, their lives are very similar. This is where we diverge sharply from the Sara Crewe/Samantha-from-American-Girls model. Jane doesn't just befriend Jody because she's kind-hearted and sees someone in trouble, she befriends Jody because here is another person who understands what it's like to live in fear of other people. Jane's material circumstances are much better than Jody's, but her emotional ones are just about as bleak.

That thread gets reinforced in chapter 4, when Mary and Frank are talking about Jane's mother. Jane's mother has every material thing she could possibly want -- and a great many that she doesn't want -- but she's not actually happy. She's just as trapped as Jody is, fully reliant on the good will of someone else to keep her home and fully aware that if she upsets that person too much she could be turned out with nowhere to go. And, like Jody, she doesn't seem to have the resources to just leave anyway and make a go of it. Jody is trapped because she's 11, and Mrs. Stuart is trapped because she's never had to make do on her own, and the one time she tried to leave it ended poorly and she's now too scared to try again.

Jane, meanwhile, is also trapped due to her age, and it seems that at each new turn she encounters a new bar in her cage she'd never considered before. "It had never occurred to her that she was not at liberty to give away her own doll" is such a good sentence. LMM is so good at simultaneously conveying Jane's youth -- she is learning these things for the first time -- and also showing the absurdity of the situation. No, says the narrative. Grandmother is not doing these things for Jane's own good. She will not understand when she is older. She is being a cruel and petty tyrant, and that's all she's ever been.

[pinkarsonist0]

Tigers, and lions, and bears, oh my!

A little halloween Tea Timers fic I made for myself, if you think it's poorly written, do not tell me that this was for fun and I love it. Not betaread. Will do later.

Minor Eliza x George as well as background Jane x Tony. Enjoy:

George kept a firm grip on Eliza's hand. His nervous eyes gaze upon the haunted house Miss Eliza managed to convince him to go into with her.

The Halloween fair was a trip none of them could wait for, until Eliza ran to Jane and George with enthusiasm speaking of a haunted house.

She was over the moon, but Jane and George did not mirror her emotions.

She was the brave one. At the slide back at Craig's World, while her blue and purple companions screamed as if the slide was scattered with needles. While Eliza sipped her tea, holding onto Jane’s arm in an attempt to calm her down. Though Jane appreciated the attempt, it failed.

The haunted house wasn't going to be for them. But they couldn’t let Eliza down.

She even tried labeling it a date night for her and George. As if that would make him feel better…

Though Jane didn't care about third wheeling (It wasn't like they were ignoring her), and George would never say no to a date with Eliza. But that didn't make either party feel better.

Jane and George did not want to disappoint Eliza, especially George.

So, the two prepped their costumes without complaint. George, the lion from Wizard of Oz and Jane managed to pay Boris to sew her a costume of an anime she got into. Dating Tony had its perks, and she wasn't one to pass up on them.

Now it was the night of Halloween. Eliza excitedly stood in her costume of a character of a new indie horror game she got into, holding hands with George looking up at the haunted house she was looking forward to all night.

George let out a gulp as he looked up at the house, “Miss Eliza…Are um, sure you don't want to settle down at home? Eat our candy? This event is crawling with peasants, and you heard the amount of kids Kit had to expose right before Halloween…They'll try to get their creepy hands on our candy…We can, uh, unwind at your home, maybe watch a scary movie-”

He caught himself just when Jane gave him a glare at the last suggestion. “George, we're trying to avoid scary things why would you suggest one like that?!”Jane whispered in George's ear.

Eliza turned to George, her smile growing more affectionate than excited. “Awww, you're getting in character. Don't worry, George, maybe you'll find your courage, just like that lion.”

A comforting smile decorated Eliza's face. Her doll-like appearance made her look more innocent, when remembering the context of her character Jane only became frightened. But for a second, George decided to forget. He tried forgetting he was going into the most terrifying place he could enter, his focus tried staying on the girl holding his hand. Supporting him every step of the house.

Just when Jane was going to become a third wheel, Eliza leaned herself to the left so she peeked at Jane. “Don't think I forgot about you, Jane. You told me your character was a fine warrior, a hero of the forest. Who was it? Oh, Haru! The King of the Forest! Oh Jane, no need to be scared, you tell me all about Haru, how he's a brave king who fights danger. Maybe you act like him!”

Her suggestion wasn't the worst thing that either of them heard. There was no avoiding this now.

Jane and George listlessly walked in the haunted house with Eliza, Jane almost envying George because he was holding onto Eliza's hand for support.

The lights were dim, fake blood scattered around the floor, a last minute indirect warning for parents to not let smaller children in, fake bugs moved up and down walls and the floor boards creeked with every step. The nails were a hazard to long flowy costumes, making Jane wish she wore a dress, so she'd have an excuse to not go in.

Eliza was the first to step inside, the creek of the floorboards ringing in her ears to block George's frightened whimpering. “Ah, it’s just like an actual old house. Truly makes it look more haunted…”

George tried not to drag his feet. The fake nails only made him nervous for his lion costume. For some reason, this one felt special compared to the other ones, maybe it was because he contributed to it in some way, he didn't get his mother or father to buy him one like the last years. They were already busy enough, with Gordy's hockey game and the twins’ school play and business trips. He was left to try and make one himself. Jane was able to get Boris to help him with the sewing parts, it wasn't perfect, but it could be done for halloween. Unfortunately, that didn't erase the superiority complex that glowed in him whenever he was around the scouts, or any kid.

They continued walking. Every now and then Eliza poked an actor who played as a corpse, it was funny to see them almost break character, seeing their dedication fascinated Jane. Hopefully the fascination would overshadow the fright.

They gallivanted the halls, tip toed up the stairs, poked actors to see if they were going to break character, and collected candy from each room. Until they were met with the fun part.

Now they could choose their own adventure.

They were presented with two doors.

Door one offered a challenge, booby traps, trap doors, and a run for your life.

Door two offered a maze and escape room.

Both equally terrifying to Jane and George.

Suddenly, Eliza replaced George's hand with the doorknob. “Jane, George! Door one, looks fun!”

George swallowed, “Miss Eliza, wait-”

But it was too late, she was already opening the door and going down the slide with a loud “WEEEEEE”

Jane looked at George, and George looked at Jane, their eyes widening.

Jane nervously chuckled and played with her fingers, “W-Well, uh, she’s having fun-“

Before Jane could step even an inch away, George lightly grabbed her arm. “We have to go get her…”

“George, this haunted house is terrifying, Miss Eliza is fine!”

“I don’t trust this place! Who knows what’s in here?!”

“Eliza seems to know what's she's doing…”

“She might get lost, come on, we need to find her.”

“Can't we text her and say we'll wait outside?”

“She’ll think we ditched her, it'll only make her upset…”

“Is this because you think she'll break up with you?”

“No! It's just the right thing to do, now come on!”

“Whatever brave lion…”

“Oh silence yourself…”

George opened the door to the first door, he positioned himself onto the slide just in front of Jane and slid down.

When they reached the bottom, the pair tried calling out to their doll dressed friend, but nothing.

Maybe she was getting in character, like last year? Last year she jokingly acted like her character and let George and Jane play along by calling her the name of that character.

“Jane, what's the name of the character Eliza is dressed as?”

“I don't know, I don't keep up with her horror media!”

“You have to remember, I'm gonna try something…”

“Um, I think it's that doll from that indie horror game she got into during summer break don't…Don't Toy with me? Yeah! That's it, s-she wouldn't stop talking about it and made us sit for hours while she talked about it…Dahlia, that's what she's dressed as!”

George cracked a smile seeing Jane speak so excitedly of Eliza. George tried calling out the name Jane told him, nothing.

George let out a disappointed sigh and walked forward down the hall.

“At this rate she probably-”

His sentence was interrupted by Jane grabbing at his arm and pull him back with such speed George couldn't even process the action, until he was greeted with a comically large battle-axe swinging side to side as it hung from the ceiling like a noose. Followed by five others…

“I knew not to trust this place!”

Jane took a step forward, analyzing the swinging battle-axes, taking note of the (hopefully) fake blood.

“George, what if these things got Miss Eliza?!”

“N-Nonsense! Now come on, we need to get passed these. If we're quick we can get passed without getting cut…”

“Are you saying we just run across?! Are you deranged?!”

“Not as deranged as whoever would put these axes here! See, there's still blood on them, if we get cut I’ll simply tell father to sue. At least we'll get something good out of this…”

George's foot shook as he tried to take a step forward, but it froze in place.

George's frightened reflection in the swinging axe mocked him, as he gripped the tail to his costume for support.

He was so determined to save Eliza, to find her in case she was in trouble. Maybe that was why he decided on that lion from Wizard of Oz, he was a coward like that lion. At this rate he started wondering if he could even save Eliza and become brave like the knights in her storybooks, that she would read to him and Jane when they were little.

She deserved a knight, not a cowardly lion…

George broke out his thoughts when Jane removed one of his hands from his costume's tail and put it in hers. “Hey, we’ll go together, if we go quick we’ll be able to get out without a scratch.”

George could still see the fear Jane was cradling in her eyes that she tried desperately to hide for George’s sake.

George slowly let go of the tail and swallowed, he mirrored Jane's stance and got ready to run as fast as he could.

On the count of three, they were off. Running as fast as they could while holding onto each other's hands like their life depended on it.

Until, on the third axe, they weren't fast enough and they saw the axe swinging at them.

Huh, death by battle-axe in a haunted house at age 12.

Just when they thought to it was over and the battle-axe had hit them, only the texture of cardboard touched them.

“Huh? I-I thought we were going to perish!” George spoke as he walked toward the battle-axe that hit him and Jane. George slowly put his finger on the pointy part of the so-called battle-axe and was left unharmed.

“Jane, the battle-axes are cardboard!”

“Then how is there blood on them?!”

“The blood must be fake too, so you know what that means?”

“What?”

“We don't have to be scared of these, c'mon!”

A new found bravery combusted in George’s body as he grabbed Jane's hand and ran through the battle-axes. The anxiety that filled the both of them was exiled with every step, and everytime the false battle-axe's hit them.

When the obstacle was completed, George and Jane only smiled, until they looked back at the battle-axes.

Oh, maybe they got a little too excited.

Two of the battle-axes had fallen off.

“Oh well, nothing that duct tape can't fix…” Jane shrugged and opened the door to the next obstacle with George, who felt only apathy about knocking the battle-axes down.

This next one had trap doors, they had to guess which ones were meant to be stepped on, and if guessed incorrectly, you fall, and fall, and fall.

Now George and Jane may know how it felt for the guests at Eliza's slumber party.

A screen showed up from out the ceiling and lowered itself to face Jane and George.

“Congratulations on making it through the first obstacle! But this one won't be as easy! I will give a pattern and you must step on the correct colors in the correct order, but guess wrong and you'll FALLLLLL the way home!”

George groaned at the awful pun.

On the count of three, the tiles glowed their pattern, it started simple, but Jane and George were smart enough to not get too comfortable.

George took a deep breath, “Okay…Um, orange, orange, black, white and…Red?”

George led Jane through the pattern surprisingly, they both survived.

George kept his arm in front of Jane as he watched the next pattern glow in front of them

But when the patterns went faster, it was becoming harder and harder for the pair to memorize, until they couldn't.

George bit his lip, “Was it, um…Red, red, white, black- No- No! Um…”

George hadn't even stepped on any more tiles, yet he felt as if he was falling. His knees shook, yet he tried swallowing his fear from coming back to him.

“Uhh…Let me try, okay. Red. Black. Black…Maybe it was orrr-RRRAAAA!”

The tile dropped below Jane and sent her falling, until a paw grabbed onto her hand.

“Jane, hold on, I got you!”

“Try pulling me up!”

“I-I'm trying!”

George tried with all his might to pull Jane up, but the more he tried the more he felt like he was slipping himself, and Jane wasn't the only one who felt like she was falling.

Jane swallowed hard and made the mistake of looking below her feet.

But instead she gained a new idea upon seeing the floor below her feet, only inches away.

She turned back to George, “George, you have to let go.”

“What?! Of course not, I just need to-”

“There's a floor below this tile! Maybe Eliza got the pattern wrong and fell down here…I'm gonna try looking for her here, you have to let me go, George. Don't worry, I'll be fine!”

George bit his lip, “Jane you do not understand, I'm a coward! I can't do this-”

“George! Listen to yourself talk and realize how nonsensical you sound! You got through the first obstacle without any problems once we found out the axes weren't real, maybe if you remind yourself that this isn't real, you could get through this!”

“I…I can't do this alone.”

“Yes you can, c'mon George, let's find us our doll…”

“Okay…”

“You know where to find me.” Jane gave a placid smile, soothing George.

“And…I know where to look…” George found Jane's smile contagious as he gave the same placid smile.

With a deep breath, George let Jane fall, the sound of her shoes coming in contact with the floor calmed George. But he hated how the tile immediately went back in place, leaving George without a view of her, or means of communication.

The placid feeling faded when George completed the obstacle and opened the door to the next and final obstacle.

He felt isolated, alone, almost scared. He trusted Jane to be able to find Eliza and get out of this haunted house. But a sense of doubt filled his mind.

What if Eliza begins to like Jane more? What if Eliza really was in danger and sending Jane alone only put Jane in danger too?

George shook his head and slammed the door to the next obstacle, he inhaled and exhaled and remembered Jane's words.

George could hardly remember the obstacle when he completed it, but now without Jane he felt as if he was the only person on the planet.

He had checked his phone for a call or text from his girlfriend or friend, radio silence.

George should have never agreed to this. Now he was alone without anyone to turn to. He wanted Eliza, he wanted to peacefully die after a whole bag of candy on Eliza's bed while she played a new indie horror game on her computer. Then he would be driven home in her limo, Eliza's gloved hands playing with his hair, and he'd die again to her touch.

But that wouldn’t happen. Miss Eliza would see how much of a coward he was and leave him in this haunted house. When they were younger she'd dream of a princess in a castle and a knight on the white horse would marry her and live happily ever after. But now, twelve years old, what does she have? A cowardly lion.

As he walked into the hallway with a million doors looking for the next obstacle, a Haru shaped shadow casted upon the wall. The shadow was holding a pile of candy in its arms, George wanted to turn back and run in fear, but as he got closer, he realized who it was.

Jane held candy in her arms as her eyes widened upon seeing George. “George!”

“Jane!”

“I told you, you'd know where to find me!”

“B-But how?”

“While I was looking for Eliza under the tiles, I found a door that lead to the next obstacle, and next thing you knew I found all this candy!”

Jane readied her feet to run towards George, but she floated when a hand grabbed her by the collar and walked off angrily.

George let out a gasp. Did Jane just get kidnapped? Where were they taking her? Was this because him and Jane split up? Was she going to be okay? WAS MISS ELIZA OKAY?!

George gritted his teeth as his heart swelled, he got on all fours and ran in the direction he saw the stranger walk off. Adrenaline pumped in his brain to his blood stream to quicken his speed. George finally spotted the older figure holding Jane by the back of her collar, then another figure came forward holding Eliza as well.

George could hardly think when he let out a lion's roar to make his presence known, he ran and ran until his teeth came into contact with the ankle of the person who snatched Jane.

Out of reflex, he let go of Jane and she landed on her feet unharmed, but the adrenaline in George's blood stream did not evaporate.

“George, you brave lion, you saved me!” Jane wrapped her arms around George in gratitude.

“Hi, George and Jane!” Eliza happily waved at her Haru and lion, acting as if she wasn't being held by the hem of her dress.

“Ow, you brat, why'd you bite me?!” The older teen complained, examining the bite.

“Serves you right, you tried to kidnap me!”

“I didn't kidnap you! You and your friends have been messing with this haunted house! We busted our butts planning this haunted house since August! You know how much I could have done with my final month of summer?!”

“Well, it seems you do not know how to make good choices.” George rolled his eyes.

The older teen gave an irritated sigh, “Your Haru has been stealing all the candy from the ‘take one’ stands we have! Can she even read?! Not only that, but you two ruined the first obstacle! You have any idea how hard it was to get those things to swing, my friend didn't break his leg trying to put those up there just for two kids to mess them up!”

The older teen holding Eliza chimed in, “And I found this doll bothering the actors, cheated at one of the obstacles, AND stealing all the candy. What you got to say for yourself?”

Eliza laughed like a witch, her fingers covering her mouth.

The two employees only gave a sigh.

The trio was excorted out, Eliza left with a large smile with her arms around Jane and George. “All three of you are banned! I better not see ANY of you toads again, you understand?! I'll call the cops!” And with that, the door was slammed in their face.

The trio had no choice but to walk to Eliza's house, George felt ashamed, feeling as if the ban was his fault.

When they got to Eliza's home, they relaxed on her bed. Jane was far too tired from the haunted house and passed out on Eliza's bed the moment her costume was off. Eliza patted her head, “Awww, she looks like a cat when she's sleeping, almost like her boyfriend. What was his name? Tony of the Junior Forest Scouts? He doesn't have bad taste…”

George smiled as well, but he shifted the conversation. “Yes. Miss Eliza, um, I wanted to apologize for the haunted house…I shouldn't have bitten that teenager, we probably wouldn't be banned-”

“No no, we would've gotten banned either way. Besides, I'm not mad about getting banned.”

“What ever do you mean?”

“George, that was the best Halloween I've had in years! I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't have ran off like that. Oh, you and Jane must have been worried sick, see, I scared her sleepy! Poor Jane, I'll make it up to her, and you.”

“We are not upset, we had a bit of fun actually, um…Going through those obstacles together…But I'm also sorry for another thing, being such a cowardly lion…Goodness I'm surprised I didn't run off screaming seeing Jane's shadow, guess I'm a coward like that lion…You don't deserve a cowardly lion, Miss Eliza, you deserve a brave knight like in your fairytales with a white horse and a big sword who fearlessly slays the dragon, and-”

Eliza silenced George by kissing him on the cheek. “George, I’ve never been happier when I'm with you. Whatever do you mean? When you were taking off your costume, Jane couldn't stop telling me how brave you were. She told me how you ran through those axes, how you helped her with those patterns and how you were able to get through those obstacles yourself. Especially how you saved her from that brute employee, I'm impressed.”

Eliza caresses George's face, the lavender scent of her gloves making George fall in a sleepier state.

“I don't need a brave knight, I've already got my George. My brave lion who risked everything for all the trouble I put him through…You went through all that just to find me, whatever can I ask for? I don't need anything else when I have the best boyfriend and friend I could ask for…So please, never think you're a coward or that I don't deserve you.”

George's heart floated and busted, he didn't know what else to say. His worries melted the longer Eliza held him.

“I guess Jane's not the only one I scared sleepy…No wonder you spoke such nonsense about yourself, you're tired.”

As much as George tried fighting it, he couldn't fight the relaxing feeling of Eliza laying him on her chest. Even making room on her lap for Jane so she's not left out.

The last thing George remembered was Eliza kissed his forehead and the sweet scent of candy between her teeth.

[konnfusion]

4 and 18 for odessa!! (or alternatively, casilda lore??)

aHHHHH someone asking about my girl Casilda! 🥺 she and Odessa are the main ones I'm currently fixated on, so I'll answer BOTH~ (ironically, they both have gardening as hobbies, and that happened by sheer coincidence, but seems fitting.)

Odessa

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents? Odessa's parents were very active in her life and in raising her. She was their only child, so they maybe spoiled her a little--but just with love. They'd take annual trips to local conservatories and zoos on her birthdays and just basically let her infodump about all the plants and animals she'd been reading about. They, unfortunately and very suddenly, died in a freak ice storm when she was a teenager. (This is a plot point that links back to a handful of stories we'll be writing, so I'm trying to be vague in case anyone reading this wants to read her stories!)

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games, and anything else! books: horror and science-fiction, a little fantasy. she's really partial to Stardust by Neil Gaiman, might even call it her favorite (right next to the works of Mary Shelley and Shirley Jackson). music: pop (especially 70s/80s pop/rock, her mom's favorite) and guitar-heavy rock (some favs include ABBA, Marina, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, The Offspring, and Taylor Swift). tv shows and movies: sci-fi, comedy, a little pickier with horror movies as opposed to books.

Casilda (as with Odessa, I'm going to assume anyone reading this knows something about The Sandman TV show. anybody let me know if you want a scattered/messy Casilda lore post like I did for Odessa! basically all you need to know for now is that she's originally from the 1600s, and joined the realm of the Dreaming after her death in the Waking, and she works in the palace of Dream of the Endless.)

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents? in her Waking life, Casilda only really got to know her father; her mother died in childbirth while having her younger sister (Casilda was about 4 years old). Her family was very poor, and worked at any trade they could manage to try to get by (mostly vegetable and animal farming). Her father was kindly, and tried to give his daughters the best life he could. He fostered her love of art, even if he didn't always understand it, and often went without things for himself to buy her books and painting supplies.

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games, and anything else! Casilda is such a romantic; she can't pass up a good romantic drama of any sort. she and her sister used to sneak into productions of Shakespeare plays when they couldn't afford tickets. Once she arrives in the Dreaming and has access to essentially the whole history of books, she gets really into Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. but, given where she lives, she also regularly devours some fantasy adventure stories. George Méliès' adaptation of A Trip to the Moon impressed her so much that she still calls it one of her favorite movies. her best friend curates all the history of the Waking's music, so she's been introduced to a lot of new genres since the invention of the record player. her favorite, though, is folk music. she's fond such modern artists as Sinéad O'Connor and The Crane Wives! (her best friend is getting her and Dream into grunge rock and bubblegum pop, though, since they both missed the 80s and 90s due to Plot Things. so far, Casilda is really enjoying Britney Spears!)

I'm THRILLED that people are actually sending me questions about my characters, like this has totally made my week omg ;u; thank you so much for asking!!!

[trxnchcat]

Bewitched.

➷.Fyodor Dostoyevsky x Fem!Witch! Reader

➷.Cw: none

➷.A/N: this whole thing is purely from my imagination, I don't know if it ever happened in the real SWT. Although, the reader's character is based on Jane Doe from the movie The Autopsy of Jane Doe

➷.Minors DNI!!!

.・。.・゜✭・

. . . PART - I . . .

"Good morning passengers, -"

With a flat face, Dostoyevsky made his way towards his seat. It's not that he hated the idea of this trip, just that he's beyond uninterested. He'd rather be back in the base, making a genius plan to outsmart a certain brunette.

It all started with Gogol's proposal about a 'promising asset' that later on succeeded in getting their leader's attention. The two airheads were already at the top of the moon as they imagine their absolute victory if they could collect this asset. If.

However, Dostoyevsky knew better. He kept his cool and remained rational till the end of the meeting, even though he was the one chosen to do the mission.

Before he went to the airport, Gogol gave him a stack of books and grinned, "Hereee is the information I managed to gather regarding our soon-to-be asset~ Have a fun trip, Dos-kun!"

Taking a glance at the books on his lap, Fyodor let out an exhausted sigh and decided to spend his time reading the books that Gogol had illegally purchased in the black market as he flew to Massachusetts. More precisely, Salem.

He opened the first book. It was old and decaying, probably aged a hundred years or more. He raised his brow when he sees that instead of the usual book introduction, what he found was a sketch of an average-looking man and a beautiful young woman, as well as pages of monologues. 'This book was someone else's journal,' he thought.

He continued to read as the writer degraded himself in the book, clearly feeling unbelievably guilty for something. Fyodor smiled and shook his head lightly, 'What was it that he did that made him feel so guilty? Some people are just overly sensitive.' That was what he thought. All his life, Fyodor had met lots of kinds of people. And he's smart, their whole personalities were analyzed inside his head all over again until a pattern was created. He could basically decode a human's behavior.

But the next pages of that journal were quite . . Extraordinary, he must admit.

The book said that the writer was one of the few authorities who were in charge back in the Salem Witch Trial. But something that was unbeknownst to most was that, before it was legally approved by the upper government, that activity was already done to a few citizens. One of them was a woman, quite close to the writer.

It was in 1689 when they accused her of witchcraft. She was a young botanist that sells herb medicine for a living. Her name was not mentioned in the book and neither was her other personal information. But the writer mentioned that she was a lone orphan.

They went to her house at dawn and captured her. The woman was brought to trial and pleaded guilty, although she refused to confess. "What was there to confess? She was as innocent as a baby lamb." The writer wrote.

The whole day she still refused to confess and kept fighting for her own justice. It raged the authorities.

They brought her to the torturing chamber, the writer said he didn't have enough power to stop anything that was about to happen. And so, they began.

Several acts of extreme violence and malpractices of methods were cast upon the innocent woman. They carved symbols and writings on her skin as a ritual to purify her soul. Stabbed through her meat and scarred her organs. Some of her molars were being broken intentionally. They wrapped it in a holy cloth and force the poor woman to swallow her own tooths. Her pain was beyond unbearable, she kept on struggling violently despite her wrists and ankles being stretched mercilessly with chains.

At some point, she finally reached her breaking point, and she begged for mercy. Pleading to the ruthless group of people that she was an innocent woman. Though, they got tired of her pitiful blabbing and cut her tongue off.

It didn't stop her screams of pain. It's been 6 days and she had been tortured for 5 days straight. Some of the authorities were too disturbed by the cruel activity that they left the room or even went against the leader. But the leader, who was also the writer's father, refused to stop.

It was until the final step of the ritual that they made her swallow a Jimsonweed to paralyze her. The leader made the others prepare for the last event as he had a talk with his child. The writer begged mercy for the woman, his dear friend who he was in love with. But the pleads got into his father's right ear and went out from the left as fast as he blinks.

On Thursday, 2nd of October 1689, 03:00 am, they tied her to a pole and drenched her whole body with gasoline. With the woman still in a hazy state, she couldn't fight for the last time, couldn't beg for mercy, or even struggle against the ropes.

She looked up to the dark, cloudy sky and silently cried. Each of her tears contained her curse for the whole world, her great rage upon the humans, and a promise. A promise to quench her thirst for revenge in the future, she will not let them live in peace until she's satisfied. At last, they burned her alive as the final ritual, her punishment for a crime that the woman did not even commit.

Days after her death, the writer was distressed. He felt unbelievably guilty for the things he did not do. So, he planned his own suicide and mass murder. He wrote that he had already drenched certain spots in his house with gasoline and invited the authorities including his father to join him for dinner.

At the end of the journal, he wrote that he had already paralyzed the others, and the house was starting to burn. He wrote that he would lock the journal in a safe so that someone could read it one day, and uncover the truth behind this event. The date was the 10th of October, 1689.

Fyodor closed the book and exhaled. Now, this asset started to slightly pique his interest. He was amused by the whole ordeal, curious about the other two books.

The second book was just as interesting, it was yet another journal about strange cases of death wherever a certain cadaver of a woman was found. What was more interesting, was that her body remained pristine throughout the years. Autopsy houses, Churches, Citizen houses. Everywhere the body was, death was also there.

It happened from the year 1700s until 10 years ago. The event stopped occurring when her body was brought to a Church in Salem to be sealed. Rituals were once again cast upon her body, of course, this did not go without a fight from the undead woman. Countless nuns were killed along the process, and the priest was left heavily injured at the end. But it was worth it, because ever since then the curse stopped.

How was that she got successfully sealed, you ask? Well, it was because the Priest discovered her name, and made a direct contract.

Fyodor opened the third book, but the content was about how to resurrect a human. Was he supposed to do this? Gogol or his leader never mentioned anything about resurrecting someone, only that he needed to collect the asset alive--

Oh.

Anyway, right after the plane landed he went straight to the place of her sealed body. The man might sometimes look as if he suffers from an acute anemic, but his stamina was something to be praised for, really.

Fyodor strolled along the ruined pavement beneath his feet, humming to himself a Russian lullaby. His cold hand graced the holster that was strapped lowly on his waist. A pair of purple eyes gleamed in the dark night, observing as he entered an old building that kept sealed a beautiful maiden inside it.

"Now, shall we disturb a witch's slumber?"

.

.

.

.

.・✫・゜・。.

[orchidrene]

Hello, how are you? Can i participate in your new reading event.

Can i get a general reading about the person I am destined to be with?

Initials: KJ♌

Pronunciation: she/ her

My favorite: stars

Whenever I look at stars it puts me at ease & I feel calm & relaxed. The cold breeze along with twinkling star is an amazing feeling.

Have a great day🥰

Thank you! ��

The person you're destined to be with:

The person you're destined to be with possesses golden retriever energy. "Cause after all this time, I'm still into you." I feel like the energy is going to be slow burn. "I lose my mind when it comes to you, I take time with the ones I choose and I don't wanna smile if it ain't from you." They might have a really pretty smile. Do you by chance my a dimple on a single cheek? If it's not you then it's probably them. I feel like they'll always have a plump glow like Nick from Heartstopper and Marilyn Monroe. They might have taurus placements. I'm getting them seeing you in a very positive light. They'll ignore you though at the beginning because they get too nervous, they'll be looking at everything but you. I'm getting them being really intense when working, it's like that one person who becomes extra hot while doing maths 💀. They might have a really cute giggle. You might dream of this person before meeting them. They might be an ISTJ or an INTP. You might take this person for granted because they give you a lot of attention at some point. At the beginning, they won't really talk to you or are very shy when the both of you have to interact. 21 might be significant in some way. One or both of you might have had a bad childhood :( I feel like they definitely do though, they might have had overbearing parents or even a single parent who didn't treat them the best and guilt tripped them over every little thing. "I gave birth to you, you're basically just my shit." :( their parents probably didn't allow them to explore their interests either. They might have been emotionally and even physically abusive.

Things you both might like/love/hate:

Scented candles, mushrooms, romantic movies/dramas, anime or anime osts, macarons, pink, studying or reading.

TW|| things you both might bond over:

Cake, drawing, Christmas, antiques, music, Jane Austen?, Old fashioned jewellery, cats, foreign language, ice skating, snow, death of someone you hold dear (might be a pet), 'no', British slangs or accent.

Words you should search up that might hold significance:

Sundreesoro, livilence, seatherny.

Songs from your destined partner:

Relationship trope:

Songs to explain how they view you:

Aura reading:

Wife material? Cancer/leo Venus? I feel like you're very attractive in the moon sense. I'm getting some soft kind of beauty from you. 'Until I found you' is the kind of aura I'm getting from you. Angelic aura genuinely. Do you look younger for your age? You tend to attract a lot of love from others because of your pure aura, I'm getting people having a soft spot for you. You might cover your mouth while laughing and your eyes might scrunch in a very visually pleasing manner. You're literally treasure to other people, they wish to wife you up ㅠㅠ. I'm getting therapist energy from you. I feel like you know it's alright to make mistakes, you forgive people and give them space to grow and become better. You might have been the grandmother and the baby of the friend group all at once. I'm getting 'blue skies, moderately and warm sunny day with light and comforting breezes' energy from you. I'm getting you having a darker and deeper side to yourself once people get to know you though. You might see yourself as someone genuine who gets taken advantage of for kindness or was in the past. You might see yourself to be a bit more dark and intense too. You might actually be really cunning (not in a bad way) and strategic sometimes. Intense duality energy from you but people barely see that side of you, you're pretty genuinely nice. People mostly look at stars only for beauty and comfort but they can't touch them, they're out of reach, they're bigger than they seem, more harmful than they appear to be, they're basically burning too. You're like the stars, people can look at you for comfort but can't get close to you but you definitely don't harm people unless they hurt you. To be honest, I think you won't harm someone even if they hurt you because you're very forgiving. You also seem to demand attention in some way, you might even be pretty proud of it and consider it respecting yourself. You are the type to be like "what are you willing to do?" People are definitely obsessed with you in some way though. There's something very mysterious about you. It's like there's some sort of depth to you underneath your fun persona and you're always hiding something. You make your feelings for others so obvious while still not letting them be too comfortable.

Songs to elaborate your aura:

Also 'kiss me more' my SZA and Doja cat.

Please leave a feedback through asks <3.

[cowboyjen68]

How do you deal with internalized homophobia? I feel as if I'm taking on the despair and injustice of the world. I am paranoid that my father (whom I still live with) harbors homophobia or resentment to lesbians and gay men, even tho he says he accepts me. I tried talking to him about it a month ago and it didn't end well. I've been feeling such strong self hatred that comes out of the blue and it scares me. How have you learned to own your lesbianism? Does it get better in time?

Hi. I apolgize for the delay.. this is a tough one and I needed time. Sadly.. we all do..to some extent have or have dealt with internalized homophobia. This thing about it is, we don’t usally recognize it and when we do we have a hard time seperating what is a natural feeling and what is bullshit from the outside of us. 

HINT: if it makes you hate something about youself.. it comes from the outside. 

Dad’s are real people and if he is saying it. that might be as far as he can get right now. Rememeber.. you have been dealing with this in your head for years. You are still coming to terms with it. Allow him the time and space he needs to process it. And the good news is.. If he is not violent or mean or emotionally abusing you.. you can make a go of living with him until you can get out on your own. You are not responsible for his feelings. He will either get over it or he won’t There  no point is trying to “convince “ him otherwise. He might need time.. He might not come around but the stress of rehashing the discussion is not worth it. If he has questions, cut him a break if they are offensive and do your best to answer. Hopefully he is asking from a good place and just using language he knows rather than what you would use. 

What you can do is let him know if he ever wants to talk or had questions he can ask you and you will do your best. 

What you are feeling is coming from a culture that consistently tells us that sex is bad and lesbians and gay people are only about sex. We are also told that women are less, therefore the love between two women is benign. Any sex or attraction and deviates from the acceptalble Man and Woman is perverse and dirty, or at least a sign that we are broken. We know on an intellectual level it is not true but just as we are told the word for sky is sky and we believe that and always we take it for fact. If you taught someone the word for sky was moon they would believe it, argue they are correct, ignore all evidence they are not. So.. we internalize the culutures not to subtle ideas that same sex love and attraction is wrong, even though we know it is innate to us. 

Here is the pep talk. I was unhappy to be a lesbian.. I mean UGH.. if I like girls I can’t “find a nice boy’ and make my parents happy. I have to find the 3 other lesbians that exist in the world and hope I think they are pretty. I have to tell people I am, blech.. a lesbian. BUT I met other lesbians.. I made friends with stong powerful women who said what they were and looked people right in the eye.. Brave and deifiant and yet kind and loving.  I was amazed at their strength. They taught me the beauty of connecting with other women as only lesbians and bi women can. And by 24, after a trip to Michfest and knowing my friends for 2 years. I no longer would have sold my soul to be straight. I realized that being a lesbian was my soul. IT IS THE best part about you.. I promise.  Embrace being a lesbian. You have the power to not really care what men think. You have the power to make another women feel wanted and loved, sexy and safe. TAKE THAT universe!

Take your time.. go easy on yourself but start to recogize the lesbian things in you and love them. Notice how you treat women, how you notice their neck, the way they hold ther hands. You are unique, as a lesbian, being able to have that experience. 

TIme helps you grow confidence if you can find positivity.. whether on blogs like mine or in the real world. It gets better.. way better. Don’t wait until your late 40′s to figure it out. Start now. If you ever need a pep talk about how great being a lebain is, my DM”s are always open. 

An after thought.. find lesbian centric fantasy.. Merry Shannon, Jane Fletcher. GO to https://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/ and immerse yourself in fluffy lesbian literature.. Those books with give you strong ( especially the Rangers at Roadsend series) powerful and diverse lesbian character. Reading positive women heros as the norm will hlep immensely.