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harrytpotter · 4 years ago

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What’s Happening To Me? — OneShot

Plot: James Potter was starting to feel more and more overprotective towards his friend Y/N and considerably annoyed at the blatant flirting she and one of his best friends were displaying publicly and at the thought she might be falling for Sirius. What was happening to him?

Pairing: James Potter x Fem!Reader.

Word Count: 5,9K.

A/N: I just had revised this long-ass story entirely and was pretty proud at the summary i came up with just for Tumblr to mess up with my post and erase its entire content, only leaving the title behind. Now i can’t remember the previous summary i wrote and am pissed about it. Anyways, I love writing for James and it shows. I won’t revise this again because i really am annoyed at tumblr so apologies in advance for any mistakes! :)

James tried to concentrate on Slughorn’s voice as the professor went on and on about whatever potion they were going to start working on during next week. He was really doing his best to absorb his words, but an extremely flirty pair beside him was making this task nearly impossible. He knew this was just for show since Sirius wanted to make Marlene jealous and Y/N kindly agreed to help him out, but all of this was still bothering him for some reason. Maybe it was because he knew Sirius way too well to know for sure he was enjoying this situation a little too much. Maybe it was because he cared about Y/N enough to bother if Sirius was going to end up hurting her somehow. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Merlin, would you two stop? It’s getting annoying,” he hissed at Y/N and Sirius, whom had been all giggly and touchy for the entire class.

“Does it bother you to see a happy couple in love, Prongs?” Sirius teased, barely suppressing a laugh.

“I’m just trying to pay attention to class,” he mumbled annoyed, his fists clenching slightly.

“Don’t be mean to him, Sirius!” Y/N bumped her fist on his arm. “He’s bitter because Lily is still turning him down despite his best efforts,” Y/N looked at James sympathetically as if saying she was sorry for him.

James sighed heavily at the mention of Lily’s name. Sure, it did annoy him that she was still rejecting his attempts of woo her, but, if he was being quite frank, it didn’t bother or frustrate him like it used to. If anything, it just... he didn’t even know anymore. Why he was still chasing her. Why he was still trying to get her to go out with him. It was seeming more and more pointless lately. He wasn’t sure if he was still pinning after her for a purpose or solely for the challenge.

“Earth to James!” Y/N waved her hand in front of James’ eyes. “You there?”

James tilted his head a little so his best friend’s face could enter his visual field. Her y/h/c hair was loose in a messy way that suited her perfectly, matching harmonically her hypnotic y/e/c eyes. She had a natural confidence that seemed to radiate from her body and wrap every single soul in the room. She was truly effortlessly magnetic. James started feeling flustered suddenly, unbeknownst to why.

“You alright there, mate?” Sirius asked with a brow lifted, staring at him.

“Never better, Pads!” James shot a cocky grin his way, brushing off the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

James fell unusually quiet for the short rest of the class, his mind flickering between Y/N and Sirius and Lily. Everything just seemed so... out of place right now. He didn’t even notice Slughorn dismissing the class until Y/N tapped gently on his shoulder.

“Are you coming, Jamesy?” She asked, Sirius wrapping her against his chest. “Everyone else is already gone.”

“Sure...” James mumbled, still a little airy. His eyes wandered from Sirius’ tight grip around Y/N to her hand gently holding his wrist as her thumb caressed his skin lightly.

“Hurry up, Prongs! We can’t be late for lunch, I have a special surprise for my love here,” Sirius lifted Y/N’s chin gently whilst staring devilishly into her eyes.

James once again felt the same unsettling feeling he did before in the pit of his stomach when he noticed a subtle pink tone brushing through Y/N’s cheeks for a split second as she stared dumbfounded at Sirius.

“You two realize Marlene isn’t even here anymore to witness your annoying flirt, don’t you?” James asked his friends grumpily.

“Would you lighten up for Merlin’s sake, Prongs? Love is never annoying!” Sirius winked at him.

“Love might not be but you certainly are, darling,” Y/N retorted teasingly at Sirius, who took his free hand to his chest in mock offense.

“I usually grow on people, do you know that? Don’t you be so quick on biting the hand that feeds you,” he winged his brows at their amused female friend.

“You really are a complete prat, Sirius Black!” Y/N rolled her eyes with a large grin.

They were so invested on teasing each other that they had seemingly forget about James’ presence. The Gryffindor Quidditch captain spat an annoyed goodbye at his friends before storming off the classroom.

Y/N frowned and mentioned to follow James, but Sirius quickly grabbed her gently by the arm, stopping her from doing so.

“What are you doing? We have to go check on him! Haven’t you noticed how annoyed he left?” She lifted a brow at the grey-eyed boy.

“I did, indeed. But I also have noticed that he seems a little too annoyed at us lately, specially at me,” he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

“Your point? He’s probably still frustrated at his last unsuccessful attempt of wooing Lily,” Y/N sighed.

“Oh, love, believe me, this has nothing to do with Lily. I know Prongs way too well, better than he knows himself, if I may add.”

“Are you implying he’s in love with you?” Y/N exploded in a loud laugh. “Of course it has to do with Lily. It always has something to do with Lily.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes whilst a mischievous grin took over his face. Y/N did a pretty good job in hiding her annoyance when she mentioned Lily’s name, but Sirius could read his y/h/c friend like an open book. He noticed it.

“What now?” She frowned at him.

“Nothing, love. Nothing at all. Come, let’s sit by the Black Lake, shall we? It’s too much of a beautiful day to spend it locked indoors,” he winked knowingly at his friend whilst taking her by the hand, another plan taking form inside his mind.

——————————————————————

“Where are Padfoot and Y/N?” Remus asked no one in particular as he glanced around the Gryffindor table at lunch time.

“Haven’t seen them since Potions this morning,” Peter shrugged uninterested.

“They’re probably snogging somewhere,” James said bitterly, his eyes glued on his food.

Remus lifted a brow at James whilst Peter blinked his eyes in confusion.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Remus asked him with a furrowed expression.

“There’s nothing to read into it. I just meant what I said,” James shrugged, a grimace on his features as he looked at Remus and Peter.

“But Prongs...” Peter whispered as quietly as he could without being incomprehensible. “We know this between them is just for show.”

“Do we? Please, Wormy. You know Padfoot. We all do,” James said calmly. “It’s just a matter of time until they cross the line, assuming they haven’t already.”

“What if they have? It’s not like it’s any of our business,” Remus narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at the messy-haired boy.

“But it is!” James exclaimed exasperatedly. “Y/N is also our friend, why do I seem like I’m the only one who cares about her wellbeing?! Padfoot is smitten with Marlene, you know that Moony. Y/N is the one who’ll end up getting hurt amidst this craziness.”

“Y/N is a smart girl, Prongs. She’s not naive. I highly doubt she or Padfoot himself will do something as stupid as that,” Remus shrugged before taking a piece of turkey to his mouth.

James bit his tongue and returned his gaze to his nearly untouched plate. He really hoped both Y/N and Sirius were smart enough to prevent what could only be described as a catastrophe, at least in his eyes. Just the thought of his best female friend being hurt by Sirius’ reckless actions made him feel like punching something. Or, more accurately, someone.

A loud sound of giggles snapped James out of his thoughts and drove him to wander his eyes to the big doors that separated the Great from the Entrance Hall. Holding hands, Y/N and Sirius were all smiles as they entered the room and approached their table.

“You almost missed the meal,” Peter scolded them with a motherly tone.

“Worry not, my dear Wormtail! We already ate,” Sirius winked at him.

“How’s that possible? You’ve just arrived,” Remus lifted a brow at Sirius.

“We raided the kitchen,” Y/N shrugged as she took a seat next to Remus.

Sirius plunk down by Y/N’s side and wrapped her in his arms guilelessly, playing with a lock of her hair. Nothing different than his usual behavior — since he and Y/N were pretty close friends themselves — but enough to drive James off the edge.

“You alright there, mate?” Sirius asked him for the second time that day, looking even more amused then he did firstly.

James blinked at the sudden attention as his other three best friends stared at him inquisitively. He only then realized how tense his body was and the tight grip he had around his fork. His knuckles were white due to how much pressure he was putting into it. The Gryffindor boy relaxed with a couple of deep breaths before letting his fork rest by the side of his plate.

“Hey, Prongs!” Peter whispered excitedly, breaking the awkward silence that fell upon the usually-very-talkative Marauders. “Fourth person on your left... look who’s staring at you!”

James gladly allowed his focus to shift from Y/N and Sirius as he looked to where Peter had told him. He lifted his brows in surprise as he’s met by Lily’s eyes, a small and shy smile forming on her face as their eyes locked. James returned her smile, waiting for the butterflies to flutter his stomach as they always did whenever he used to have some kind of interaction with the redhead. But they didn’t come at all. Not this time.

“What the bloody hell is happening to me?” He thought to himself as he forced himself to hold Lily’s stare for what seemed like forever.

“Looks like someone is finally wooing the girl of their dreams,” Remus teased after James broke off the eye contact.

“It was about time! I don’t think I could stand another year of this pitiful chase, it was getting quite embarrassing mate,” Sirius joked, earning amused laughs from both Peter and Remus.

“Would you three stop already?” Y/N rolled her eyes. “I’m happy for you, Jamesy. Don’t mind them,” she reached for his hand across the table and gave it a light squeeze. A sweet smile on her lips.

James felt his stomach leaping like crazy inside of him at her touch. He furrowed his brows at the unknown feeling, his hand lingering on hers a while too longer.

——————————————————————

“You’re staring,” Remus pointed out without taking his eyes off his book.

“I’m not!” James denied quickly. “I’m just thinking about what to write on my essay.”

“Is your essay stamped on Y/N’s and Sirius’ faces?” The boy with chocolate eyes teased.

“Don’t you think they’re spending way too much time together?” James asked as he stared at Y/N and Sirius laughing together in a distant corner inside the Common Room. Y/N’s cheeks were flustered due to how hard Sirius was making her laugh.

“Meaning?” Remus’ attention was now solely on James as he studied his friend with a quirked eyebrow.

“Meaning they’ve got other friends outside each other, you know?!” James sounded a lot more harsh than he ever planned to.

The sound of Y/N’s laugh echoed in the room once more. She sounded like a 4-year-old laughing, it was absolutely adorable and completely contagious. James couldn’t help a small smile to spread across his face. He then caught himself wishing he could make her laugh like that. His face fell suddenly as he wondered why this thought would ever cross his mind.

“If it bothers you so much why don’t you just talk to her about it?” Remus shrugged, his focus back on his book.

James reflected on his friend’s advise for a short while until his vision got red again as Sirius trailed his fingers across Y/N’s back whilst whispering something into her ear. James closed his book with a loud bang, startling Remus and other few students who sat close to them.

“Where the bloody are you going?” Remus asked as his friend got on his feet and started gathering his things.

“Somewhere I can actually study,” James mumbled before moving in the direction of the portrait hole.

James wandered aimlessly through the castle, both his mind and heart racing and pounding with questions and emotions. Was he losing his mind? He didn’t know what was happening to him, why or how it started and neither how to make it stop. Y/N didn’t seem nearly as bothered at Sirius’ blatant advances, so he shouldn’t be either, right?!

As James’ feet stopped suddenly on their own, his surroundings came into focus once again and he caught himself staring back at him in a bathroom mirror. He rested his books on top of the nearest sink and took his glasses off, throwing a quick splash of water in his face and leaning over so he could rest his hands on the basin marble.

“What’s happening to me?” He mumbled to his own reflexion.

——————————————————————

“Gather around, kids!” Slughorn said proudly in front of a cauldron as the students started arriving for the Potions class.

Y/N, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter approached the Professor and peeked curiously into the cauldron content. A mother-of-pearl sheen liquid with a spiraling steam lied inside of it. Y/N shifted uncomfortably on her feet as she instantly recognized what the potion with such an unusual shine was.

“Oh...” Sirius whispered not so quietly into her ear with an annoying teasing tone, wrapping his arm on her shoulders.

“Oh Indeed, Mr. Black,” Slughorn grinned amusedly at the raven-haired boy. “Perhaps Miss Y/L/N could tell us what this potion is?”

“Amortentia, Sir. The most powerful love potion in the world. It causes a powerful infatuation or obsession from the drinker. It is distinctive for its mother-of-pearl sheen, and steam rises from the potion in spirals. It’s also known by its smelling properties. Amortentia smells different to each person, according to what — or should I say who — attracts them,” Y/N promptly answered the Professor’s question.

The room was dead silent as everyone stared at the cauldron with great interest after Y/N’s words. Especially the girls, whom all eyed the liquid furtively.

“Very good, Miss L/N! Ten points to Gryffindor!” Slughorn rumbled satisfied.

“That was hot,” Sirius joked, winking at Y/N.

James clenched his teeth as he stared at Sirius, feeling increasingly annoyed at the ever so blatant flirt and not hearing Slughorn asking for a volunteer to smell the potion in front of the entire class.

“Oh, Mr. Potter!” Slughorn exclaimed, dragging his attention back to the class. “Come here now, don’t be shy,” the teacher motioned for him to approach the cauldron.

Looking around, James realized the entire class stepped back and he was standing considerably afar from them. Gulping, the always-so-brave-and-carefree Gryffindor boy slowly started to walk to the cauldron, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“Just go already, mate! We all know you’re gonna smell something Lily-related anyway!” Sirius shouted from behind him, earning laughs from almost the entire student body present at the class.

“I highly doubt he will,” Lily said out of the blue, making James stop suddenly on his feet and turn around to face her.

“What was that, love?” He quirked an eyebrow at her with a devilish smile. There was nothing that turned him on more than a challenge.

“I said you wouldn’t smell me. My bet is on something Quidditch-related. But I’ll tell you what, if you do smell anything that actually has something to do with me, I’ll let you take me out on a date,” Lily crossed her arms against her chest defiantly.

That was it, the moment James had been waiting for ever since he first laid his eyes on Lily. The moment he thought would be the happiest of his life. The moment that would leave him feeling over the moon of joy. But nothing of this happened. Sure, it felt satisfactory to finally achieve a long-term goal and finally convincing Lily, but that was it. Just it.

“Go on, Potter! We don’t have all day!” Someone among the Slytherin students shouted, clearly excited to see the outcome of the proposal.

James then walked to Slughorn and stood in front of the cauldron, facing his fellow Gryffindors and the Slytherin crowd.

“Now, Mr. Potter, close your eyes and take a deep breath,” Slughorn instructed as he stepped aside and left James and the cauldron all alone in the spotlight. “And then let us know what you smelled!”

James did exactly as Professor Slughorn had told him to. At first, nothing happened, and then, suddenly, a powerful wave of the most endearing and hypnotic smell enveloped him and raided all of his senses. The smell was an intoxicating mixture of patchouli, sandalwood and cranberry. His eyes widened open as he instantly recognized where he had already smelled this. It was her smell. Y/N’s signature smell.

James’ eyes searched the little crowd furiously until they landed on Y/N. She was inspecting her nails, weirdly quite interested. He wanted to shout so she could look at him. He wanted to lock eyes with her and tell her what he had just smelled. He wanted to run at her and sweep her off her feet, spin her around and tell her what had been in his heart unbeknownst to him this whole time. He now knew what was happening to him.

“Mr. Potter?” Slughorn’s voice alerted James that he and the entire class were waiting for his answer.

James nodded at the Professor and allowed his eyes to land on Y/N once again before finally answering him. However, what he witnessed made his stomach sink. Y/N was whispering something into Sirius’ ear and his left hand was clutched on her waist.

“So that’s why she wouldn’t look at me,” he thought bitterly at himself.

James’ eyes wandered to Lily, a sudden frustration invading him. The redhead looked at him expectantly, unlike Y/N, who was too immersed on Sirius to notice the longing looks he had been sending her way lately. Sighing, James made a stupid decision in the heat of the moment.

“I smell vanilla and lilies,” he announced to Slughorn, knowing very well Lily smelled like that.

When he turned around to face the class again, Y/N and Sirius were nowhere to be found. Lily on the other hand, was standing right where she was, blinking with a dumbfounded expression.

——————————————————————

“Please, Sirius, don’t make me go in there,” Y/N begged Sirius as they approached the Three Broomsticks. She knew exactly what she was going to witness once they went into the establishment.

“Come on now, Y/N! Marlene is going to be there with Alice, please?” He gave her his best puppy eyes as he implored.

“How long will we have to keep up with this?” She asked, pointing back and forth between the two of them.

“Until she admits she has the hots for me,” he winked at his best friend, who simply rolled her eyes at him.

When they entered the pub, their eyes instantly fell on the table where a certain couple was having their first date. Sirius squeezed Y/N’s hand as he noticed her gaze lingering on James’ back.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” She mumbled, pulling Sirius by the hand to a distant table where Remus, Peter, Alice and Marlene sat chatting happily.

“Finally! Where the two of you were?” Remus exclaimed as Y/N and Sirius approached them.

“We were a little... busy, Moony,” Sirius winked suggestively at his friends. “Seems like I’m simply irresistible to my sunshine here.”

Marlene rolled her eyes at them, clearly beyond annoyed at Y/N’s and Sirius’ presence.

“Y/N, tell me, how can you possibly tolerate him, darling?” Remus teased as he noticed Marlene’s annoyance and Sirius’ proud grin.

“I usually keep my lips on his for as long as I can so he can’t speak. That’s the key,” Y/N shrugged, getting into character.

Remus, Peter, Alice and even Marlene laughed at Sirius’ shocked expression at Y/N’s comeback. She forced herself to laugh as well even though she was feeling everything but joy right now.

Stealing a glance in James’ direction, their eyes locked for a while before he drove his attention back to Lily and Y/N felt the sudden need of fresh air.

“I have to use the loo. Be right back,” Y/N mumbled at her friends whilst getting up.

The chit-chat ceased quickly as three of the Marauders and the two girls observed the y/h/c girl shy away from them.

“So, how’s our plan going, babe?” Marlene asked excitedly to Sirius as soon as they couldn’t see Y/N anymore, linking her arm in his.

Before Sirius could say anything, Remus cut him off asking with a much shocked tone of voice: “What plan are you two talking about? Didn’t Marlene despised you like you told us when you’ve asked Y/N for help to make her jealous? Why is she calling you babe? What is going on here?”

“Hold your wolves, would ya Moony? We’ll explain everything,” Sirius grinned. “I did tell Y/N that but Marlene and I had already been sneaking around unbeknownst to general knowledge.”

“Was that supposed to enlighten me?” Remus quirked a brow at him.

“Let me explain, for Merlin’s sake!” Marlene lifted a hand in front of Sirius as he opened his mouth to start talking. “We were snogging in an empty classroom under James’ invisibility cloak this one time when he and Y/N suddenly sneaked in as they ran away from Filch-“

“Oh, Sirius,” Marlene mumbled pleasantly at the raven-haired boy who was brushing his lips against her neck teasingly.

“Do you like that?” He asked softly.

“Ye-Yeah,” she muttered in response amidst a heavy sigh.

The couple was suddenly startled as the classroom door clicked open and was quickly closed again with an explosion of giggles. They quickly parted as they stared confusedly at Y/N and James, whom were out of breath and leant against the dark and old rock-wall, hands clutched together.

“Merlin, did you see Filch’s face?” James asked with a laugh.

“I honestly thought he’d spit fire,” Y/N answered with a snore, her face completely flustered from all the running.

James stared at his friend in a comfort silent for quite some time, as if he was engraving her every feature in his mind. “Godric, you’re beautiful.”

Sirius gasped at his friend’s words. Marlene’s mouth fell open.

It was only when Y/N’s eyes widened that James realized he had said that out loud.

“I-I mean, you’re quite alright for a girl and everything, mate,” he added quickly, making even more of a fool out of himself.

“Yeah... thanks, mate,” Y/N answered with a furrowed expression. She was clearly embarrassed as well. “We should probably get going before Filch comes back. Where did you leave your bloody cloak anyway?”

“I’m not sure, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Sirius must’ve borrowed it,” he shrugged, opening the door and checking the outside surroundings for any sign of Filch. “Let’s go!” He grabbed Y/N by the hand and led her out of the classroom, closing the door behind them.

“Did he just say what I heard?” Sirius checked with Marlene just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating as he tossed the invisibility cloak on the floor.

“He actually did,” she answered, a little shocked herself. “Not that it was surprising in any way, I mean, it‘s quite obvious he has it bad for her, I just didn’t think he’d ever notice, he pinning after Lily and everything,” Marlene shrugged.

“I don’t think he reckoned his feelings just yet, James can be a bit of a thick-head sometimes.”

“A bit? And just sometimes? The lad has been chasing after the same girl - who wants nothing to do with him if I may add - for almost six whole years. He definitely is a big time thick-head,” Marlene quirked a brow at Sirius.

“You’re right...” he mumbled thoughtfully. “We have to do something, they’ve got too much pride to ever admit their feelings for each other.”

Marlene shot him a grin as the perfect idea crossed her mind, “have you told anyone about us?”

“Not yet.”

“Good, here’s what we’re going to do...” Marlene started to explain him how he’d tell everyone she didn’t want anything to do with him and then ask for Y/N’s help to make her jealous in front of all of his friends. She made sure to let him know he was supposed to flirt hard with Y/N when James was around.

“Did you really have to make the beginning so... graphic?” Alice asked with a grimace once Marlene had told them the entire story.

“Agreed!” Remus quirked his brows at the secret couple. “But I have to say, this idea was quite... clever.”

“It really was,” Peter nodded excitedly. “Padfoot definitely stroke a nerve by flirting with Y/N in front of Prongs.”

“And so did Lily by pretending she was finally interested in him,” Marlene smiled proudly at herself.

“Wait... what?” Sirius looked utterly shocked as he asked her.

“Yeah, sorry about that, but I thought it’d look more... realistic if you didn’t know that. You care about Y/N, you wouldn’t bare seeing her hurt without letting her know the truth,” Marlene shrugged at her boyfriend.

“Woman... you are the love of my life,” Sirius grinned devilishly at her, taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles.

“That prick...” James mumbled at himself as he clenched his fists at the sight of Sirius flirting and touching Marlene. Didn’t he have no respect for Y/N? He literally just waited until she turned her back to be a complete prat.

“What?” A bored Lily asked.

James realized he had been staring at their friends table basically ever since Y/N and Sirius first showed up, leaving Lily hanging. But, truth be told, the date sucked even before that. He and Lily had zero chemistry, zero common ground, zero... everything. They definitely didn’t belong together.

“Look Evans...” he started after a heavy sigh, looking for the right words.

“This date sucks,” Lily completed as she shrugged in relief. “I know.”

“Well, I’d probably be way more gentle than that, but... that’s what I was trying to say,” he laughed.

“You didn’t smell vanilla and lilies when you inhaled Amortentia, did you?” She quirked a brow at him.

“No...” he furrowed apologetically. “I smelled patchouli, sandalwood and cranberry. As in-“

“Y/N’s artisanal perfume,” she cut him off with a smirk. “Why did you lie you idiot?”

“In my defense, I was gonna tell the truth but then... I saw her and Sirius flirting and, well, you know what I did,” he shrugged.

“Your stupidness never fails to amaze me, Potter,” Lily rolled her eyes at the hazel-eyed boy. “Sirius would never get himself involved with a girl his best mate fancied.”

“Please, he could never know I fancy Y/N,” he furrowed his brows in disbelief. “I’ve only realized it myself a couple days ago.”

“Potter, you oblivious daft, everyone knows you have it bad for her for ages and the other way around,” she rolled her eyes at him once again.

“Are you saying-“

“That the entire school already realized you both long for each other? Yes. Now, let’s go,” Lily stood up and motioned with her head for him to follow her.

“Where are we going?” He asked confused.

“You are going to tell Y/N what Amortentia really smelled like to you and I am going to watch it alongside all of our friends and tease the two of you later,” she said as if it was obvious whilst they crossed the pub.

“He admitted his feelings towards Y/N out loud,” Lily announced amused as they approached their friends, taking Y/N’s vacant seat.

“Bloody finally!” Sirius and Remus shouted in unison as they both lifted their glasses in mock celebration.

“I have to say I thought I’d have to kiss her in front of you so your blind self would finally realize your own damn feelings,” Sirius grinned amused at James.

“Please, this is Prongs we’re talking about! He’d probably punch you in the face and still not have a clue as to why he was so angry at the whole situation,” Remus teased with a smirk.

“Sod off, would you?” James flashed his middle finger at them, his eyes scanning the entire place. “Where’s Y/N?”

“She said she was going to use the loo, let me go look for her,” Alice answered James with an excited smile.

James stood there full of hope whilst Alice went looking for Y/N, his heart pounding against his chest and his hands sweating as he thought about finally telling her how he felt.

Alice reappeared again a few minutes later, but there was no sign of Y/N as she walked back to their table.

“She wasn’t there,” she told James, a furrowed expression on her face.

“Where the bloody hell can she possibly be?” Sirius asked with a confused look.

“The castle...” James mumbled at himself before taking off hurriedly.

Marlene stood up as quickly as she could and mentioned to run after James.

“What are you doing?” Sirius asked with a scrunched face.

“Well, I’m definitely not gonna miss the pathetic scene of him finally confessing his feelings to our Y/N, will you?” She quirked an eyebrow.

The little crowd exchanged looks among them before getting up recklessly and take off on James’ trail.

——————————————————————

“How do I do that? How do I tell her I have feelings for her after saying in front of the entire class I smelled lilies as I inhaled Amortentia?” James asked breathlessly as he stopped suddenly in front of the Fat Lady portrait, turning on his heels so he could face his friends.

“Preferable with your mouth, although I suppose you could use your hands as well, you know, to make it more... intimate,” Sirius suggested with a devilishly grin, winging his eyebrows.

“Merlin. I don’t even know what to say about... that,” Lily looked disgusted at Sirius, turning to James afterwards. “Just... do something meaningful for the both of you. Use something that the two of you have in common to make it special. I’m sure it’ll earn you extra points.”

“I’m with Evans on this one,” Remus shrugged. “Sorry, Padfoot.”

They kept throwing suggestions at him, but James wasn’t paying attention anymore. Lily’s words were hammering inside his head as he was thinking about what to do. And then, suddenly, as if it was magic, a brilliant idea popped inside his mind.

“Fat Lady, has Y/N came in already?” James asked the portrait that guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor tower.

“Yes, Potter, she came in a while ago in fact. She didn’t have the best of looks on her face if I may add, I’m assuming she went straight upstairs to her dormitory,” the portrait answered promptly, gladly giving away the juicy details in hopes to gossip a little bit.

“Perfect!” James grinned at the painting. “Thanks, love!” He shouted before running through the hallway.

“Should we follow him?” Peter asked Remus and Sirius.

“What if he comes back?” Sirius shrugged.

“I don’t think he will,” Lily smiled, realizing what he was about to do.

“Mind sharing the why?” Marlene quirked a brow at her.

“Think about it. What’s the one thing they both equally love fiercely?” Lily asked the little crowd with a grin. “Despite each other, of course.”

“Quidditch...” Remus answered slowly, realizing James’ intentions as well.

Before anyone could say anything, James came back and flew by them on his broom, a large grin on his face, “well? Are you lot coming or what?”

Taking off as fast as he could and with his friends on his trail, James flew around the hallways of the castle in the direction of the sloping lawns in the school grounds.

As James proceeded on his flying, he started to draw more and more curious students returning from the Hogsmeade trip, that way, by the time he had approached the exterior walls of the Gryffindor Tower, he had quite a crowd standing underneath him.

Touching the ground slightly, James gathered a few little pieces of rocks and hopped on his broom again, flying up until he reached the same level of the girls dorm’s window.

Before James could execute his plan, a loud shout from Minerva McGonagall startled him.

“James Potter, get off this broom immediately!”

Before James could answer and beg for her to let him do what he had come here to in the first place, the window cracked open. As his eyes shot in the direction of the sound, James spotted an utterly confused Y/N staring at him.

“James what the bloody hell are you doing?” She asked with a frown.

“Well, I was planning on throwing these rocks softly at your window until you opened them up, but I guess there’s no point in doing so now,” he shrugged, showing her the rocks he had clutched into his palm.

“And why would you do that?” She giggled at him, causing butterflies to flutter inside James’ stomach.

“Because I have something rather important to discuss with you, love,” he grinned.

“Why didn’t you just shout my name from the Common Room then, you mental?” She quirked her eyebrows.

“‘m afraid that wouldn’t be as nearly as romantic.”

“Romantic? What are you talking about?” She asked, a disrupted look on her face. “James, what’s going on here?”

“POTTER!” McGonagall shouted once again.

“Could you give a smitten boy a second to confess his feelings for Merlin’s sake, Minnie?” He shouted with a wink at the Professor.

“Well... I suppose I can,” she shrugged with a discreet side smirk. “And Potter?”

“Yes, Minnie?”

“Glad to see you finally build up the courage,” she smiled at the dumbfounded look the boy gave her.

Y/N was still staring at James in shock as he drove his attention back to her.

“So...” she said.

“I lied at the Potions class last week,” he said out of the blue, gliding trough the air.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I didn’t smell lilies or vanilla when I inhaled Amortentia.”

“And what did you smell?” Y/N asked and James could notice she was holding her breath back.

“Home,” the messy-haired boy answered with a gentle smile, his hazel eyes lingering on Y/N’s. “And it smelled like patchouli, sandalwood and cranberries.”

Slowly realizing he was describing her scents, Y/N’s cheeks heated up furiously as she stared at the boy she has been fancying for so long, her eyes widened in shock.

“James is this one of your jokes? If it is, I swear to Godric-“

“No, love. I’d never joke about something like that. I’d never do something like that to you,” he smiled gently. “I’m in love with you, madly in love with you. I have been for years. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that.”

“In that case, would you get off this broom already so I can kiss you?” Y/N said with a lovingly frown.

“Gladly!” James’ face lit up as he hurriedly closed the space between his broom and the window, hopping inside the girl’s dorm.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” Y/N shook her head with a smile.

“About you? Definitely!” James grabbed Y/N by her waist and crashed his lips into her, finally tasting what true happiness was like.

#james potter #james potter x reader #james potter x imagine #james potter x you #the marauders #the marauders imagine #harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter x reader #sirius black #remus lupin #lily evans #oneshots

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from-a-reckless-writer · 4 years ago

Text

part i

She comes to with a pounding in her head and the feeling of something being lifted off her chest.

Literally.

In seconds, her whole body feels lighter. The next thing she registers is a hand in hers. When she stirs, the hand around her tightens and she hears Brainy’s voice, “Director—”

The moment she opens her eyes, she is met with Alex Danvers; a stethoscope slung around her neck and a small flashlight on hand. In her periphery she confirms that it was indeed Brainy, holding her hand.

“Lena, Lena, look at me. You’re at the DEO, you’re safe, you-”

“Alex, I know the drill, this is— what? My 91st time now?” She says dryly as her hand slowly slips out of Brainy’s and her fingers massage her temples; eyes clenched shut. Alex visibly relaxes in relief, “Good. Thank fuck your sarcasm’s still intact,” she says, “But I still have to check you, alright?”

Lena nods and she guesses Kara most likely had harassed her sister just to get her hooked in. If Alex mumbling “-so damn stubborn all the damn time…” under her breath was any indication.

She’s well aware of the other person in the bed next to hers. The one, that is now also starting to stir into consciousness. Lena had just noticed that J’onn and Nia are in the room as well, near Kara’s bedside.

She wants to ask how she got here, how Kara found her, how the fuck did a Black Mercy get her? But everything is spinning and her coherence is slowly devolving to exhaustion. Her brain was pushed to its limits with that illusion.

Which makes panic flare in the back of her head thinking about how Kara had seen her ideal world.

A world, that her mind had fucking decided should center around her ex. Her ex who just happens to be a superhero. A superhero that pulled her out of her own delusions.

Oh God, Lena thinks she’s going to throw-up. Alex takes one look at her face and immediately shoves an empty sterile container to her. She dry-heaves unto the bucket as Brainy rubs her back and holds her hair.

“Fuck,” she whispers as Alex hands her a tissue to wipe her face. “Your vitals are fine. Your brain activity spiked for a few seconds there. But you got out at just the last minute-”

“What the fuck happened, Alex?”

She asks as she tries to sort out all her feelings long enough for Alex to give her a full explanation.

But it isn’t Alex who answers her.

“I found you.”

The three words are bullets flying across the room directly shot at Lena.

“Unconscious. On the floor. Black Mercy attached to your chest. That’s what fucking happened.”

Kara sounds like shit.

Was her first thought when she heard Kara speak. She guesses she looks like shit as well, but Lena can’t be certain. Her back was to her as Nia removes the wiring still wrapped around her. Her voice was firm, but Lena knew better. She knows Kara; knows she never really swears; knows when and where Kara uses the Supergirl voice. When she’s scared and she doesn’t want anybody to know.

“Your pulse was so weak. I- I could barely hear it.”

This second statement is in contrast to Supergirl’s venom. This time words catch in her throat and Lena is fucking thankful that Kara’s back was to her. Because she knows she can’t handle those eyes. But before she could answer, Alex starts to speak, eyes briefly darting to Kara.

Lena doesn’t know whether she should be thankful for the interruption or not.

“Which is why,” Alex cuts in and making sure to stress her next words, checking that Lena is listening, “I need you to stay here till we find out who did this. And as your doctor I’m saying you need at least 12 hours of rest.”

“What? No, somebody give me my phone. I need to call Jess,” she protests and Alex looks like she’s about to give Lena a piece of her mi—

“Are you kidding me right now? I found you on the floor, thinking you were dead, pulled you out of a parasitic trap and you want to go back to L-Corp? To what? Get killed again?”

This time, Kara’s two steps away from her bed and fuming. It makes Lena...feel...things.

“I have to call Jess—”

“Do you not get it? I spend my days trying so hard not to listen,” She grits out, “ To not to check in on you every single second of every day and then the one time—” Kara’s conviction crumbles, voice breaking, eyes shining.

“And then,” she falters, voice heavy with emotion and tries to control herself.

“The one time, the one fucking time I decide to break my own rule, what do I hear? I hear nothing, Lena.”

The last part is a whisper. She’s shaking and all eyes are on them now.

“Do you know why? Because your heart-rate was so slow that I couldn’t pick up on it.”

Kara looks like she’s two inches away from imploding. Lena’s heart is pounding and the room falls silent and it feels like it’s just the two of them in the room having a staredown.

“I— I’m sorry. I—”

I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to care. I’m sorry.

“Thank you for saving me,” she voices out instead in that calm methodical way she uses when talking in the lab. Amazed at how she sounded because she herself is also less than two inches away from a complete meltdown.

Kara’s shoulders visibly sag as she holds back tears. Lena knows she should probably say more but... she doesn’t really know what to say.

She was still processing everything.

It was so vivid that Lena was half-expecting to see a ring on her finger once she looks down, a stubborn part of her brain insisting that there’s a matching one in a chain around Kara’s neck.

Before Kara can say another emotional heavy statement, Lena turns to Alex instead, “Fine,” she says, agreeing to Alex’s previous order.

“But I can’t stay here for 12 hours. And also, I need my phone, my tablet and my assistant. I’m helping in the investigation,” she says leaving no room for argument.

Alex looks like she might agree but Kara speaks up again.

“No, no. No, you’re not going near that investigation and you’re staying the 12 hours here,” Kara grunts out, jaw-clenched as Lena looks at her with sharp eyes.

“You have no right to decide that for me—”

“Not to mention we have to tal— “

They both spit at each other at the same time.

“We have nothing to talk about,” Lena objects and she knows how much of a lie that is, but Kara just won’t fucking back down.

“Nothing?! You’re calling this nothing?! You’re calling the fact that your ideal world was us married, nothing? You’re telling me—” she trails off and scoffs, pinches the bridge of her nose in disbelief, “You’re unbelievable-”

That was what she meant when she said Kara was two inches away from imploding.

“Supergirl.”

J’onn’s voice seem to bring the both of them back to reality and Lena notices how heavy the air in the room has become, how Nia is standing stiffly at the side, how Alex’s eyes keep flicking between the both of them

“That’s quite enough from the both of you,” J’onn says and Kara whips around to face him, Lena was scared that she was going to deck J’onn for interrupting but Alex also intervenes.

“J’onn’s right.” She puts a hand on her sister’s shoulder turning her away from J’onn. Looks like she had the same train of thought as Lena.

“My patient needs her rest. So, all of you get out,” At which Nia nods at her with a sympathetic smile and then Brainy is hugging her whispering, “I’m glad you’re okay.” before leaving the room as well.

“And that means you too,” Alex emphasizes at Kara, who looks like she’s going to shoot lasers out of her eyes at her sister for suggesting such an incredulous notion.

But Kara takes a breath, gives Alex a hard look to which Alex merely raises a brow in challenge before taking a step back and speeding out of the room, not sparing Lena another glance.

Once everyone is gone, Lena collapses back on the bed, letting out a heavy sigh.

“She changed the timeline, you know. And reality too, I guess. Or at least she tried to.”

“What?”

“Before you two became a thing, before beating Leviathan,” Alex recounts, “She tried to change the timeline to save your friendship.”

“I’m sorry- What?”

She’s sure she looks pretty absurd with the look on her face right now. Kara did what? Kara did that? How did she not know that? How did she not know Kara literally teared apart at space and time just for her?

“She struck a bargain with a Fifth-Dimensional imp so she can fix everything. Said she’d rather change reality than face the possibility of having to fight you.”

For a moment she feels she’s going to throw-up again. But then again, after what the both of them just went through, Lena’s not surprised. God knows the lengths she would go through for Kara.

It feels even more visceral now, not to mention it was Alex who told her.

“I don’t know what the hell happened between the two of you, but God, Lena she hasn’t been the same since. And I don’t really want to know what kind of bullshit the Black Mercy put you through, but I think both of you could really use their best friend right now.”

Alex sits at the side of her bed, putting a hand atop hers for a moment.

“Just think about it, while you rest,” Alex tells her, squeezes her hand and gets up again.

“You can’t just tell me those kinds of things and expect me to rest,” Lena retorts, making Alex turn her head back to her.

She’s glad that Alex doesn’t seem to pick sides. When the break-up happened she was expecting the DEO Director to turn up at her front step with a taser and point canons for breaking her sister’s heart. But Lena was surprised when Kelly turned up instead, telling her that Alex is with Kara, so she’s getting Kelly for the night.

The couple didn’t get anything from Kara or Lena that night, despite their various attempts at coaxing the truth out. The night was sobbed away or in Lena’s case, drank the night away; chugged enough wine that Kelly had forcefully pried the bottle from her hands.

“Look, Lena, The two of you are really overdue for a talk.”

Alex's words bring her back to reality. She pulls a tablet out and Lena’s work phone is retrieved from her pocket.

“So, talk,” Alex enunciates as she hands over the devices.

“Because I am locking you here. No going to L-Corp, no trying to escape with Jess and no overworking till midnight. You get to call your assistant, tell her what happened and then you rest. That’s an order, got it?”

“Got it,” Lena grits out rolling her eyes, hiding the fact that she’s beyond warmed by the gesture. Alex merely shakes her head at her before stepping out. The door slides close behind her and Lena is finally left alone with her thoughts.

Alex has a point. Alex has a great point, her mind screams.

But...not ready, is an understatement. She is not ready to talk to Kara about the break-up, much less about why her Black Mercy induced dream is an overtly domestic version of their love story.

She decides to file it under ‘Things For Later’ which is probably a bad idea. Her therapist would most likely tell her that. Then again, she doesn’t really think she’d be seeing her therapist any time soon.

How does one unpack a whole alien parasite attack on your psyche in one session, anyway?

***

Alex finds her stood before ruined slabs of concrete.

“Any updates?”

“We’re skip-tracing all employees from L-Corp between the graveyard shift and the morning shift.”

“Good, I have a feeling it was an inside job.”

Alex lets out an audible sigh.

“Something you wanna say?” She says as cement crumbles under her fists and dust particles rain over her red boots.

“Talk to her. “

Kara snorts.

“You say that as if I haven’t tried talking.”

Alex puts a hand on her shoulder stopping her from launching another punch.

“Really talk to her this time,” her sister stresses the words in that classic Alex Danvers’ ‘I’m-serious-so-you-better-fucking-listen’ way.

She lets the words sit in the forefront of her mind, shoulders dropping, fists and arms following suit.

“We were married,” She whispers and it takes two seconds for it to register to Alex before she steps closer, an ‘Oh, Kara.’ slipping past her lips.

“We were married and happy. So happy. It felt so real, Alex, it felt so re—”

Sobs choke her and Alex closes the gap and she lets herself be tugged in a tight, tight hug. Alex rubs comforting circles on her back as Kara’s chest heaves and tears pour.

The thing about it was, she didn’t even spend more than one minute in that fantasy world, yet her brain acts as if she’s lived that life. As if she didn’t drop smack right in the middle of a stranger’s bedroom and the first thing she saw was a doppelganger of herself and her ex. In bed. Together.

It was as if everything came to her in one terrifying moment of clarity. Boots in the corner. Cape haphazardly slung. Lena’s work laptop. Chew toys for dogs. Scattered Science books, then—

Golden rings, on a finger, in a chain.

Mating bands around wrists.

Wedding portrait. Weddin—

It all hits her at once faster than a whiplash and harder than a superpowered punch; knocking the wind out of her lungs, until she realizes she was gasping.

“Lena, we have to go, please. Please believe me, this isnt-”

“Real. I know-”

“What’s your surname?”

“Luthor.”

Just like you promised. Promised. Promised.

Always.

Alex squeezes tighter and Kara is pulled back from the depths.

Her sister lets her go and steps back a bit to cup her face in her hands; snotty nose, sniffles and all.

“Hey, look at me. That wasn’t real. And I know how bad you want it to be real. But Kara, nothing will happen if the both of you keep pulling away from each other. Someone needs to take the plunge.”

“She doesn’t want me, Alex. She ended things.”

Alex takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, shakes her head and then lets it all out in one go.

“Kara. I don’t really wanna say this to your face while you’re sobbing over me. But,” Alex lets out an exasperated sigh with a shake of her head and then lets out, “Good fuck, that is the most stupid thing to come out of your mouth. I don’t know how to stress this enough but...her IDEAL world is the two of you playing house. What more do you need? She wants you.”

“But she-”

Alex holds a finger up to stop her from talking.

“Nope. No. Listen to me, you are being an idiot. Well, Lena is too. But we’re talking about you right now, so… again, you are being an idiot. Just— Talk to her, Kara. How many times do I have to say that?”

Kara goes from sobbing to shocked to skeptical in the few seconds that Alex was speaking.

“I- I don’t know, Alex.”

“Kara, she wants you. She’s just scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“You won’t find out if you don’t talk to her.”

Well, that was a great response.

Alex is hoping that it’s great enough of a response to convince her sister.

***

There’s a blue lump on the side of her bed.

A blue lump with blonde hair?

Lena rubs the sleepiness off and slowly sits.

Kara, it was Kara.

Kara was asleep, back hunched, head pillowed on folded arms on the side of her bed.

Lena immediately realizes the uncomfortable position she is in, not to mention the cape that is now roughly bundled at the back of the plastic chair.

She carefully lays a hand on Kara’s shoulder and shakes her softly.

“Hey, Kara, wake up, hey,” Lena mutters quietly.

“Wha- Lena?” Kara startles awake and shoots up from her position.

“I- you looked like you were gonna have a back ache so I-uh,” Lena was grasping for words in that usual way she does when Kara’s around.

“Here.” She pats the space next to her, “Come on, sit here, climb in. We uh- you’re right, we should talk, might as well do it while we’re both comfy, right?”

She attempts at lighthearted conversation, she already knows the next few minutes are going to be the most emotionally draining moments of her— their life.

Kara hesitates a bit, before nodding and wordlessly hoisting herself on the bed.

“So, do uh- do you wanna start or should I?”

Again, she was grasping for words.

“Go ahead,” Kara says barely above a whisper, Lena was kind of hoping Kara would go first but well, here goes nothing.

“Thank you for coming to get me, I wasn’t expecting you to come,” Lena confesses, she really was surprised when Kara—the real Kara— showed up to rescue her.

“I’ll always save you, you know that,” Kara butts in, as if what Lena had said was the most ridiculous thing ever. She guesses it is, to Kara’s ears. She did promise always after all.

“Yeah, I know I just— for a moment there I just thought...well, never mind what I thought honestly-”

“You thought what? That I don’t care about you anymore? That I won’t fly off the moment I sensed you were in danger?”

Well, she’s on fire today.

“It’s not like that, you know that,” Lena protests but Kara interrupts again.

“It is like that. You thought just because we’re over I don’t give a shit about you anymore. You of all people, know I can’t—” Kara cuts herself off as if in pain, “I’ll always save you, Lena. Together or not. I care about you,” Kara utters, turning her head to meet Lena’s eyes before facing in front again.

Lena feels like care is a placeholder for something both of them aren’t capable of saying at present.

She doesn’t dwell on it too much because Kara is saying something again.

“I think…” She begins with a voice full of an emotion Lena can’t name [read: don’t want to name.]

“I care about you a little too much and that...”

Lena holds in a breath.

“And that scares you doesn’t it?” Kara finishes and she looks at her again but this time around Lena’s cheeks are wet.

Kara puts a hand atop hers and squeezes and the gesture pulls words from Lena’s throat.

“You wanted everything so fast, Kara,” she whispers, not really trusting to increase the volume of her voice lest it shakes.

“You were telling me all these grand plans of settling down and staying together and I was still having a hard time telling you ‘I love you’ and-” her voice breaks, “And even though, you kept saying it was okay, that you were just thinking out loud, I saw how hurt you were whenever I hesitated.”

Lena’s mind briefly flashes to all those nights spent with Kara, beside her and just feeling this massive fucking pressure of living up to what Kara wants. Shy I love you’s and fear, just so much fucking fear...and insecurities screaming at her that she isn’t what’s good for Kara.

“I- I couldn’t give you what you wanted and I just kept thinking was it me you really wanted? Or was it this domestic bliss that you’ve conjured in your head? Something you can have with somebody else. And it just kept spiraling from there. Thinking somebody better can give you what you want, somebody who’s not tainted, somebody who you can be proud of, somebody who won’t feel so fucking scared of saying ‘I love you’.”

She was aware she was one breath away from sobbing and when Kara moved closer and softly said, “Oh Lena,”

The dam burst.

“Oh, baby, come here, I’m sorry. Rao, I’m so sorry, I- I didn’t know I made you feel that way, I’m sorry,” Kara murmurs to her as she cups Lena’s cheek and uses her thumb to wipe tears.

Lena’s eyes were so green at the moment and Kara has to remind herself that they still have a long way to go for tonight.

“Look at me, I’m sorry I didn’t know, I’m sorry you felt pressured but Lena, there is nobody else I want. You are the one I want, hell I’m pretty sure every me out there in the multiverse is looking for their own Lena right now. You are the best I could ever have.”

The words hit Lena and it just makes her sob harder. Kara fully turns her body to the side to gather Lena in her arms and lets her sob into her neck.

“I- I left because I thought I couldn’t be enough, I didn’t want to. But everything was happening so fast and you wanted so many things and I couldn’t give it to you and I felt like such a fucking failure,” Lena sobs out, words slightly muffled with how hard Kara is pressing into her.

“Lena you are not a failure oh, come here. Listen to me, you’re not a failure, you’re not supposed to build your world around me okay? You do it for yourself. You are brilliant. You are not a failure and I am so so sorry that I made you feel that way.”

Kara rubs circles on her back and squeezes around her every so often. It feels like forever that they stayed that way. Kara whispering, “Shh, breathe, breathe with me,” and Lena sniffling into Kara and Kara just wrapping all around her and calming her. When Lena’s sobs start to subside and she feels confident enough in her ability to speak she slowly breaks away from Kara.

“I’ve been going to therapy,” she begins, “It helped...a lot. Helped clear out a lot of things f-for me. And I think,” She pauses, “Kara, I- I also think you need it more than I do.”

At that Kara’s face scrunches up in confusion.

“How so?”

“Remember when I told you you wanted so much so fast?”

Kara gives her a nod.

“I think you were trying to run, darling.”

She knew she should be focusing on what Lena was trying to tell her but she can’t help the little flutter of her heart at the pet name.

“Run? Run from what?”

“Kara,” Lena starts, unsure about how she should really go about all this.

“You went through hell and back trying to fix the universe, you watched another home of yours get erased from existence. And not to mention that before and during all of that, the two of us were fighting. And then to make things worse at the end of it all, you get ejected into a universe you barely know with my brother as its savior.”

Lena lays out all the facts methodically, slowly, carefully but just blunt enough to make Kara realize that all that trauma should not just be brushed aside.

“You went through a lot.”

A lot, doesn’t even begin to describe the enormity of everything the both of them went through. But Lena supposes they can unpack that another time. There’s a pause and Lena watches Kara take a breath.

“Kara, I think you jumped into a relationship with me because it made you feel good. It made you forget about all the recent hardships you just went through. And I guess maybe I did too, you know? We both just wanted to feel some crumb of peace, but God, did we go about it the wrong way.”

Lena watches her words sink in, how Kara stops, blinks slowly only to take a sudden breath as tears slowly track down her face.

“I- No. I didn’t. No, you’re wro- Lena, I-” Kara fails to tie together a sentence as tears start to fall down. It’s easy when everything else is in your head, when you can replay memories and cover them in filters made by your own brain, but when someone else puts it on the screen for you? That’s a different matter altogether. Nobody had shown Kara the severity of her trauma before and now it’s taking its toll.

“Oh, Kara. Come here, come here,” Lena coos, this time it was her pulling Kara in. Kara melts into her and Lena feels the telltale signs of heavy sobs come through.

“I don’t know- I-”

“Shh, it’s okay, Kara, it’s okay.”

She lets Kara fall apart in front of her. She knows those tears are oceans of their own, those drops carry the memory of a fallen planet, an entire culture, stories, people, loved ones. Every drop is a person Supergirl had failed to save, another universe, another home. Every drop is every lie she ever told Lena and all of the pain there was when she was gone.

“I’m sorry, Lena, I’m sorry.”

She can’t beg forgiveness from an extinct race or a wiped out universe but Lena? She could still have Lena.

***

Alex finds them curled tightly together in the Med Bay come morning. She kind of wants to cry in relief at the sight.

Finally, fucking finally.

She doesn’t have the heart to bother them so she grabs them an extra blanket and tucks both in, exiting with a small smile to her lips.

***

They both wake up to the sound of laughter, the perpetrators— a couple of low-rank agents— stop in the tracks at the sight of a disheveled Supergirl, scowling madly at them with one Lena Luthor tucked in her arms.

“Uh- sorry, we’ll just uh-”

The agents bolt out of the room immediately, letting Kara slump back into the pillow.

“Hi,” Lena croaks out with a rough voice, eyes puffy from last night.

Snippets from last night immediately flashing in Kara’s brain.

Kara holding Lena.

Lena holding Kara

Teary apologies

Catching-up on each other.

Talking till yawns interrupted their words.

Kissing.

More kissing.

More kiss-

You get the picture.

“Good morning,” Kara replies with a shy smile.

“Is scaring agents one of Supergirl’s many talents?” Lena teases, as Kara scoffs fully turning unto her side to face Lena, hand casually brushing a stray strand of her on Lena’s face

“Serves them right for just walking in-” Kara stops mid-sentence, fingers freezing and her eyes turn hesitant, “Sorry, is this okay?”

Because even though last night had happened even though they’ve talked until words could no longer name the depth of their feelings and they turned to silence instead, Kara is still unsure. Hesitant. Wary of giving too much too soon or asking for too much too soon.

But the most difficult part is over and they both realize this as the sun from outside filter through the many wide windows of the DEO, as Lena’s next words ring about in the warmth of the morning.

“Kara, it’s okay,” Lena answers her, catching Kara’s frozen hand and leaning into the touch, pressing closer to Kara’s face, noses touching, lips a breath apart.

“In fact, it’s very much okay.”

The first tell was the lack of a body next to her. The second was the freezing cold. Her bed was almost never cold these days. She’s grown used to sharing her bed with a Kryptonian heater, and so, to wake up from a nightmare alone in bed was now an unusual occurrence. Unusual nough to make her panic.

She sits up, disoriented from her nightmare. Lena groggily registers a low melodic humming crackling from the baby monitor on her nightstand.

“Kara,” she whispers into the quiet of the room, “Please come back to me.”

The humming from the monitor begins to sound distant as it gets louder to Lena’s ears; drifting nearer and nearer to the bedroom.

The door opens and Kara strolls in, messy bun, sleepy voice and all. In her arms a squirming, kicking, sniffling, very much awake bundle fits.

“She doesn’t want to sleep, I tried everythi-” Kara whines and then stops as she takes in Lena’s racing heartbeat, shaking lips and shining eyes.

“Oh no, did you have a nightmare? I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s okay, Kara. Just— Come here? Please?”

Kara shuffles quickly towards the bed; Lena lifts the comforter, making room, the bed dipping as her wife climbs in.

“You okay?” she asks, once she’s settled down next to Lena. She continues rocking her arms as an attempt to get their daughter to sleep for the nth time tonight. Her wife doesn’t still doesn’t answer her, although she doesn’t miss how Lena slightly calms at her presence.

“Lena, hey, you with me?”

“Kara?”

“I’m here, I’m here.”

“Thi- this is real, right?”

Because sometimes, there are nights where dreams feel all too real and pain comes rearing at you as if it all happened yesterday. Because after all these years, Lena still carries fear inside of her; fear that none of this is real, fhat Kara doesn’t really love her, that she’ll never be good enough, that she’ll be abandoned again. Fear that all of this is just a figment of her imagination.

“Oh, Lena. Come here, I’m going to pass her unto you alright?”

Lena’s eyes snap up to hers for a minute in hesitation but she finds herself slowly nodding. Kara wouldn’t give their daughter over if she isn’t sure Lena could handle it. She slowly transfers their child to Lena’s arms.

“Do you feel her warmth?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Do you feel her weight?”

“She’s real, Lena. I’m real,” Kara says as she wraps her arms around them, cradling her wife and child close.

“She’s getting heavy.”

“Yeah, yeah that she is. This is real, Lena.”

“Here,” she gently puts a pillow beneath Lena’s arms for support as she slowly grabs one hand and puts it right over her heart.

“Feel this? Can you feel it?”

Lena does, Lena can and she nods and it’s real and Kara’s heartbeats are steady under her palm; each beat an echo of Lena’s name. She’s certain of that, because she’s pretty sure her heartbeats are all echoes of Kara’s name again and again and again.

“This is real.”

“Promise?”

“Always.”

#woooooh i made a follow up!!!#its still sunday in some parts of the world right?#so happy supercorp sunday y'all!#the reckless writer writes #a supercorp black mercy au #supercorp fic #supercorp #rcklss writes

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corysmiles · 3 years ago

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Could you believe I actually am back with some Runnaway Experiment WRITING??? :D

This takes place very early on in the story, and gives some more insight into Tommy's life before they escaped (in the comics). Enjoy :D

-------

The experiment was growing years after years, to everyone’s delight. It seemed the first laboratorial human had a decent enough lifespan so that it could be studied in the long run. And so, 14 years, it has been since T0M saw the light of day, and it acted in a similar fashion a 14 year old human would. .

Of course, the many researchers failed to take in consideration an alteration of the most cumbersome. T0M looked human, could understand the english language, followed orders and didn’t complain, asked some questions but the specimen…. was big.

Too big to fit in a human bed.

Too big to fit comfortably in a room.

It went in spurts, which was terrifying the first time. It kept on growing and growing, as scientists hoped it wouldn't take long for it to stop, otherwise, it might lead to a lot of problems. But for the past 2 years, no noticeable change really occurred, which was a relief when the thing was already 25 ft tall. It never seemed to be challenging personality wise, which was a relief, but they still needed to keep him in line.

Hopefully, the Doctor Soot, as well as Doctor Puff took part in daily check ups and made sure he didn’t rebel.

So, every 2 day, they took turns to visit T0M in the room accustomed to its needs.

And both’s reports were excellent! T0M learned more while being as obedient and compliant as ever. Phil couldn’t be more happy with those results.

However, as time went on…. Wilbur failed to mention another kind of teaching he had going on with the subject for the past months.

“And this is called ‘Sadness’.” He held an A3 size paper with a moody smiley drawn on it, the word being written below. “It’s that feeling when our sessions are over and I have to go and you say ‘oh noooo’ in that voice.”

T0M was sitting on his knees in front of him, paying the utmost attention to what Wilbur was showing and saying.

“I hate that one.” He pouted.

“I know,” Wilbur chuckled. “No one likes to feel sad. But it’s a part of life.”

A single hum. Wilbur’s smile turned more sympathetic.

“Do you remember the other ones?” He stood up from his place and put the sheet in one of the dark grey metallic drawers.

T0M nodded, excitedly. He took his hand and poked his fingers as he counted. “ there’s “Happiness”, it’s the good one. And “Disgust”, it’s when I have to eat the weird green stuff.”

“Brocoli”

“That. And then there’s excitement, it’s when I smile real big because you come early.”

Wilbur clapped “Wonderful!” T0M’s eyes were shining stars at every approval from Doctor Soot. Even though T0M’s enjoyment was very appreciated and contagious, but it could be a bit… much, to handle at times.

“Since you understand the basics, I think it’s time for us to start a whole new lesson.” He clapped.

T0M gasped and cheered from the top of his lungs “YEAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!”, throwing his arms in the air and effectively making the room shake from the sheer volume of his voice. When he looked back at the scientist, his eyebrows were pinched and the brunette was covering his ears and curled up, almost in pain.

“...Doctor?” He brought his head close to the man who, after making eye contact, scrambled back until he hit the same drawer he put the papers in earlier. T0M looked at him confused, face still too big in Wilbur’s peripheral.

“I… Tom, I appreciate your enthusiasm when we do our lessons, but if you could prevent yourself from screaming, it would be nice.” He tried in the most gentle voice he could muster without it shaking.

“What’s screaming?” T0M asked, crouched so his face was almost on the ground at eye level with him. He brought a hand closer to the doctor who was still breathing heavily. When his head shot to look at the hand, his body on alert, he froze before saying.

“... Is it a moment when I can’t touch you?”

Wilbur’s eyes were locked on the now frozen hand for a good second before returning to T0M, nodding. “Uh, yeah.”

“... Okay.”

The hand retracted in the following seconds, and soon, he was back in his initial position.

The doctor thanked before regaining his composure. He looked back at T0M, and his expression held remorse. A guilt twisted Wilbur's guts at the view. Thing is, as T0M grew up, people quickly realised he was the equivalent of clingy. He would constantly grab people into hugs and had a hard time keeping his voice down which resulted in a large noise blocker investment. And so they had a rule. T0M couldn’t make any sort of physical contact with anyone without being given explicit permission first. Obviously, most workers considered T0M as a test subject and therefore, wouldn’t give him that pleasure.

Wilbur, though, was not in the same vein. Once he realised how empathic and emotional and human T0M was, he started teaching him things a human teen should need, and started giving him a sort of affection a human teen should have. Which included some sort of physical affection.

When T0M was sad, he would sit next to him or pat his back. It quickly evolved as Wilbur accepted being held by the boy and brought to eye level as long as he was careful when doing so, and ever later, they would hug and wilbur would try to brush his hair at times.

Still, that didn’t make him immune to any of T0M’s carelessness which’s consequences were amplified ten fold due to his scale.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked pitifully.

“I- no, it’s not your fault. It can just be a bit overwhelming is all.” Wilbur explained.

“... what does that mean?”

“It means… when something is ‘too much’. Like when you want to bring Techno very close, but he keeps reminding you about the rule.”

“Oh.” T0M let his head fall. “... I don’t like that.” Wilbur scratched his head. “I want to be so close and show that I’m very happy and it’s all inside and I can’t let it out.”

“Well, here, it’s a bit more of the opposite. When outside, there is a lot and you’re incapable of letting it in.”

“... I’m sorry Wilbur” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, I’m not angry.” reassured the brunette. “I just have sensitive ears.”

“...Everyone has sensitive ears.”

“Well, when you’re a small guy like me, you’re sensitive on pretty much all fronts.”

“... It’s not fair.”

“What’s that?” Wilbur perked.

“When I stop getting big and strong, I want to hug you with all of my will. Like you do with me. It feels nice. I want you to feel nice just like that. I want you to be overwhelmed with happiness. I want to hug you so, so bad but I can't and it's shit. I don't want to be strong, I hurt you if I’m strong. I want to hug you."

Tommy vented, more to himself, and when he looked at Wilbur, his eyes shined, not with joy.

"Oh Tommy…."

It ached. It ached Wilbur to his core that something as simple as a hug was something he craved and still couldn't get. Because he knew. He knew all of the things T0M was missing out on. All the life he could have lived if he was granted freedom. How much he could live and appreciate. It kept him awake at night.

But he was here. Trapped. In a room barely tall enough to contain him, treated like a circus monster. And the worst thing was, T0M wasn't aware of it. Of all the life he wasn't living. How his life was no life and how he thinks this absence of everything is what life should be.

Plato would probably laugh in his grave.

"I promise you. One day, you will be able to do that. I promise you that I'll find a way for you to hug me just like you are a small man too. I promise you that I'll make you discover all of those joys of life, Tom. I Promise you. I will help you. And I'm sorry for not being able to provide it sooner. And I'll apologize for all the years it took for me to get it."

They stared at each other, and Tommy nodded, throat tight and eyes wet.

"And a promise makes sure that it's gonna happen." T0M croaked.

"Exactly, tom." Wilbur smiled. "You are going to live many more things."

The bell rang, and both faces fell a bit.

"I'll see you in 4 days, Tom. We're gonna have a little recap over the emotions you learned and then I'll teach you about relationships."

"Oohh, that sounds nice! What is it?"

As Wilbur packed his little bag, he looked at T0M and simply replied "it's all around you. But I'm not gonna spoil the next session. On that note, I wish you a nice week, Tom."

"Have a nice week, Wilbur! " T0M waved with a smile. "It's nice talking to you."

"It is my absolute pleasure, Tom."

And thus, they parted. As Wilbur walked down the immense corridor (just tall enough Tom could run through them.) He wore a satisfied smile. His small steps resonated, the only sound in the room, yet peaceful enough for his ears to listen to them as carefully as silence. Halfway through, the sound was doubled.

"Helloooo."

"Oh, hey techno! How are you?"

"Doing fine. You seem very happy."

"I am. I made some good progress with T-he subject. I feel like he's learning well. The next tests should have fabulous results."

"Ahh, wonderful. Let's make sure it doesn't learn too much though." He joked.

And at that, Wilbur chuckled, his hand on the man's shoulder. "Oh don't you worry about that, my friend. I can assure you that'll never happen"

"Amazing" techno replied, deadpan. Both nodded their conversation away and walked the rest of their ways.

As he got further away, the doctor's smile turned to an amused grin. His steps resonated, so much smaller than what could be, in a corridor in which the boy just next door should walk through.

"Don't you worry about a single thing."

MEL YES I ADORE THIS AU SO MUCH ITS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!

Poor Tommy but at least Wilbur is helping him :”]

#runaway experiment au #melissas writing #mcyt g/t #mcyt gt #g!tommy #t!wilbur #YES YES TES #XJWJXJWNNX #SCREAMS AND YELLS AND CRIES #BUT IN A GOOD WAY #:D #I LOVEBTHSI AU

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rivalsforlife · 4 years ago

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thoughts on aai2?

oh no I don’t know if I’ll be able to think of anything mean to say because I love aai2 with all my heart, it makes me feel so much.

It really feels like a love letter to Miles Edgeworth’s character and really digs into him and his motivations and history and then centers an entire game around that. The central question of “should he be a defense attorney or stay as a prosecutor?” is one that’s probably been on a lot of people’s minds since the first game when he makes that comment to Phoenix, and even moreso after T&T where he pretends to be a defense attorney on Phoenix’s behalf. And aai2 not only comes up with an answer to that but also gives justification for that answer in a way that’s extremely heartwarming and absolutely fits Miles’ ideals of Truth And Justice, as well as showing how exactly he would NOT be fit to be a defense attorney (that one dialogue in the Imprisoned Turnabout where he’s talking about finding the truth of the case and then Kay jumps in and says “but Mr. Edgeworth, remember we’re not just doing this for the truth, we’re doing it to save Simon!” meanwhile Miles... completely forgot about that.)

I feel like anyone reading this should already know that I’m going to be getting into very spoilery territory with this and I will tag it accordingly, so I’m just gonna go for it: Simon Keyes. What a villain. Not only is he a surprise villain but one that you can sort of see coming, his motivations are sympathetic and he’s an excellent foil to Miles (which the game itself points out) plus he is so so so good at targeting everyone’s emotional weakness, which is like my favourite thing from a writing standpoint, when you get to see the villain talking and they make some comment and you shout “YEAH HE HAS A POINT” in the audience. The game tries to brush it over, but I hear you, Simon, and you’re so right.

“You will focus on the truths most convenient to you to prove your argument?” That’s like basic human confirmation bias, but also something that the games tend to do a LOT, and Miles had done quite a bit of throughout the game. Kay’s found on the roof with all this evidence on her? It must be planted, there’s no way his dear little Kay could be a murderer. But once it turns against Simon, Miles isn’t as interested in saving him, he just needs to keep “turning things around” to fit his line of logic so far.

“You never really cared about saving me, you just wanted to pretend to be a defense attorney like your father?” Maybe Miles did care a bit about saving him, but it’s quite clear he’d completely abandon Simon and turn against him if it turned out the truth wasn’t on his side. Plus, he wanted to explore that history Gregory left him, the childhood dreams he’d been forced to abandon. But he has changed as a person, since then, and he can’t completely go back to the person he used to be, but he can still grow and escape the worst of himself, and take that trauma inflicted upon him and use it to fight against the corruption he was molded to perpetuate!! UGH it’s so good I am feeling things about Miles Edgeworth again.

The new characters are also excellent for developing his character. Ray is the connection to Gregory and as a result Miles’ childhood that Miles hasn’t had in such a long time, and is able to provide him with guidance on his past while challenging him on if he wants to pursue it. (Seriously, get rid of the creepy jokes and Ray would definitely be one of my favourite characters.) Justine is a parallel to AA1-Miles, still believing blindly in the system and thinking it will always dispense justice (just look at how the reveal that MvK forged evidence for a false verdict shakes her) -- she still has a strong sense of justice, but it’s restricted by her faith in the rule of law. Sebastian is like Bratworth, in a way, naïve and being used by a father-figure in order to enact their own agenda, and in the end, is forced to learn that person never had his best interests in heart and learn how to move on from that as a prosecutor, despite that person being the one who put them on the prosecutor’s path to begin with... pretty much figuring out how to reshape their destiny.

And the game doesn’t just focus on these characters, it focuses on all the bonds Miles has with these people, and also explores the various ways a parent-child bond can present itself (healthily, unhealthily, complicated or not so much, biological or adopted) and the influences of that on the children. From Miles+Greg to Sebastian+Blaise, even Franziska+MvK, Kate+Jeff, John+Justine, even Simon+Dogen vs Simon+Gustavia... the game spends so much time fleshing these out and their impacts on the people involved. It’s also just a game about human relationships in general. Miles learning how to express himself properly to say thanks, or say how much people mean to him. Miles showing actual respect for Gumshoe. Gumshoe finding his own reasons for being a detective that’s not just about helping Miles. Franziska learning how to move on from what her father did to decide her own path. Miles and Kay, I hope everyone knows how strongly I feel about Miles and Kay, that father-daughter type bond has a permanent place in my heart now. Kay, who is lost and clinging to this image of her father as a Great Thief and trying to follow in his footsteps to be a hero just like him, and then deciding in the end to make her own path in life. Sebastian feeling lost and alone and abandoned but finding the courage to stand up with the support of the people who care about him. Miles being a pillar of unwavering support for these two kids, who he can see so much of himself in, trying to set them on a better path in life. And I can’t forget Phoenix, who doesn’t ever appear and isn’t mentioned by name, but whose influence you can feel through all of Miles’ actions, as the man who saved him, who showed him the value of bonds between people, who, in essence, taught him how to love and be loved and open his heart to others again!

This game has so much love in it, it’s really about love -- platonic love, familial love, the absence of love and what affect that has on people like Simon, how love can save others from turning down darker paths, the extent that love can drive people to do ridiculous things to save those they care about, how love can change people for better or for worse, how it can be a vulnerability but also a strength. It has one of the things I really love about AA, this focus on bonds that aren’t romantic, because none of the major relationships focused on in the game are romantic but you can still feel so much love that all of these characters have for each other.

WOW this is going on a while I should probably stop. I have a lot of feelings about this game. I just wrote more instances of “love” than I ever think I have before. Um, in conclusion, I love this game? Like it has its flaws (pacing issues... all the jokes Ray makes...) but overall it’s probably the game that makes me feel the most, every single time I watch a playthrough or play it myself (totaling several times now) I just find more to love and it still always makes me feel things. I honestly don’t know if I can be objective about it haha.

#aai2 #aai2 spoilers #long post #aa rants #? it's not negative at ALL this is like tonally the complete opposite of my others #I feel too much now agh I'm going to need to lie down to process these feelings #asks

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sou-ver-2-0 · 4 years ago

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out of the current cast, who do you think is most likely to be the mastermind? or do you think its someone we havent met yet? imo theres very few people who would make zero sense as the mastermind (mainly shin because he's gotten his arc + him being the mastermind would be a bit redundant, seeing as he already played the villain role) but aside from that i could see almost anyone from the group as the Big Bad

I don’t think that anyone in our main group is the mastermind, because I am most convinced by the theory that the mastermind is the Man from the Memorandum.

I think that the Man from the Memorandum became the new leader of Asu-Naro after winning the previous Death Game, and now he is hosting another one. I think he’s currently calling himself “Meister” and that he hosted the Russian Roulette challenge.

@ct-multifandom recently wrote an excellent post spelling out this theory right here.

I also wrote a post about my feelings on this theory here, where I tried to dig into potential parallels between Meister and Shin, and how they differ from each other.

I think it’s very likely that Meister wants Sara to win, because we know from reading the Memorandum that he was distraught that his beloved high school girl died in the first game. Now, he seems to have a “second chance” with Sara, who currently has the highest chance of winning.

Personally, I would be stunned if anyone in the main cast was revealed to be the “Big Bad,” since I’m already convinced it’s Meister. However, I am anticipating “shady plot twists” for the following characters:

1. Keiji: Keiji has been acting suspicious from the get-go. I really like the theory that he also saw the percentage papers in his first trial, because that makes for a great parallel with Shin. He definitely learned something about Sara from the beginning. We need to learn what that “something” was.

2. Gin: There are many mysteries surrounding Gin. And while he is lovable, he has been a flat character. I’m certain that there will be upcoming plot twists concerning him. However, I am hoping that Gin will be written as a pitiful pawn in a villain’s game, rather than a devious 12-year-old, since that seems a more realistic way to portray a child. (Though there’s also the chance that he is not even human, and he could be some kind of newfangled doll that bleeds.)

3. Shin: We still need to learn how he unlocked his collar! Was it because of the key necklace? Where did he get it? Was it a gift, or did he steal it? Am I completely wrong about the key necklace?? I’m honestly expecting that Shin’s past will be written sympathetically—he’ll have plenty of chances to make bad choices in the present day—but I still had to mention him!

4. Kanna: I like the theory that Kanna is likely related to Original Sou Hiyori by blood. And possibly Meister, though that’s me being wildly speculative.

5. Sara: Sara is clearly central to the Death Game, and Mr. Chidouin seems to have played a part as well. Sometimes I wonder if Sara may have lost her memories about being connected to Asu-Naro before the Death Game began, since losing memories is an ongoing issue in this story. That would make for an exciting plot twist for the player, since we would be learning about Sara’s “missing memories” at the same time she does. That’s a trope I’ve seen in other smart videogames as well. Regardless of whether Sara has missing memories or not, we need to learn more about her suspicious family.

I’m actually hopeful that all of these characters will still be written sympathetically, even if there are “shady plot twists” coming for them.

There are other fans who speculate a lot about the dummies and how suspicious they are, but I am not very good at theorizing about the dummies. We still don’t know them very well. Though again…I still have this instinct to sympathize with all of the Death Game participants, haha.

(I even have instinctive sympathy for Original Sou, since he was also supposed to be a participant. He might have been forced into that position. I’m just saying!! There’s lots of room for different shades of moral grayness in the participants.)

As I was writing this, I started thinking about how YTTD is concerned with themes of the cycle of abuse. We see this most notably in the dynamic of: Original Sou --> Shin --> Kanna.

I’m speculating that we may be able to extend that cycle to: Meister --> Original Sou --> Shin --> Kanna.

(Since Meister is at least Original Sou’s boss.)

Even with Meister—the man I’m accusing of being the Mastermind, and the person I have the least sympathy for—even he was once a Death Game participant, same as everyone else. The Man from the Memorandum was forced to suffer through the Hades Incident.

The cycle of abuse can be seen broadly in how the Death Game is repeating itself. We had one in the past, and now there’s another in the present.

And it’s even possible that the victor of this Death Game will continue to perpetuate it in the future.

#yttd #your turn to die #kimi ga shine #your turn to die spoilers #theories #meta #mine #asks #meister

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writethehousedown · 4 years ago

Text

Trust Fund, Gold Tongue (Crygi) 1/7 - Peridot

A/N: I am so excited to be taking part in the Summer Lovin’ fic challenge! This is going to be my first multichap ever, so bare with me!! I’ve enjoyed working on this for ages now, and I’m so excited to share it with you all. You can find me at my sideblog @artificialperidot, come say hi!!

Summary: Crystal hates her summer job in a country club, until she falls oh so hard for the sweet-talking millionaire daughter of the owner. Gigi would rather not spend her summer with her dysfunctional family, but a certain red headed waitress proves to be a welcome distraction.

They would both rather be anywhere else, but perhaps their summer won’t be as bad as it seems.

Hope you enjoy!!

Crystal could think of a hundred things she’d rather be doing this summer than working in a country club full of wealthy pricks. But the wage was decent, and God knows her rent wasn’t going to pay itself.

Walking into the resort for the first time had been like walking into another dimension, a complete other world from the life she knew, where there was no such thing as “too expensive”. It was like getting a glimpse into the other side of the world, of affluence that she could have never comprehended unless she had seen it with her own eyes. The complex was huge, spanning acres upon acres of land, and lavishly decorated - the front lobby had a fountain, for Christ’s sake.

Crystal thought it looked like something from MTV Cribs. On crack.

Not only was the place huge, but it had more facilities than Crystal could’ve even imagined - a golf course, a bowling alley, tennis courts, a spa, and countless swimming pools and hot tubs, some of which Crystal had yet to find on her first week on the job. Not to mention the private restaurants and numerous bars, which, as a waitress, she most often found herself working in.

So far, Crystal had learned two things in her first week working at the country club. Number one, for having such expensive taste, rich old white men liked drinking really cheap beer. And number two, despite the beer being cheap, they would do anything they could to avoid paying for it.

Crystal leaned against her beer cart and did her very best to ignore the sound of a 50-something year old country club member (who was much too loud and much too drunk for 11am on a Tuesday) babbling something about Crystal bringing him the wrong drink - that he ordered a Budweiser and not a Heineken - in an attempt to get another free pint. Crystal didn’t say a word, only nodding now and again to seem like she was listening. She was absolutely certain the guy was lying through his teeth. She specifically remembered writing down the man’s order, and double checking to make sure she had got it right. But she’d quickly learned to keep her mouth shut, because the people she was dealing with had enough money and enough influence to get her fired in an instant, and that simply was not an option for her.

She learnt that the customer is always right, even if the customer’s nose has grown five inches and their pants have set on fire.

Heaving a sigh, she mumbled out a “sorry about that, sir, I’ll get you another one on the house” through gritted teeth, before lifting all the empty glasses from the poolside table and balancing the man’s pint (which was about two thirds empty, despite it supposedly being ‘the wrong drink’) , precariously on her cart. If she had an ounce more courage, she would’ve challenged him, told him that he and his mates that had tried the same trick on her before weren’t fooling anyone, but she decided she’d leave her complaining for Jan’s ears when they were on lunch break.

She found their reluctance to pay surprising, really, since they had more money than she could even imagine. They had more money than she’d probably earn in her whole life. But, she supposed that’s how they all stayed so rich - by being cheap bastards.

She started wheeling the trolley back towards the bar indoors, hoping the guy didn’t pay much attention to the scowl that had crept its way onto her face. She decided to take the long way back, going around the pool rather than passing by his table again, which gave her a little time to cool off before she had to go inside and tell Jan or whoever was bartending to pour his beer down the sink.

She was tempted to hide round a corner and down the beer when no one was looking, because fuck, she needed a drink right about now.

Crystal found it funny that little things like that bothered her so much. She was fully aware that there were far worse things a person could do - she herself had done things that were way worse than telling a little white lie to get a free drink. But seeing it happen every day for the past week had really rubbed her the wrong way. Sure, in her last job as a waitress in a café she had encountered similar situations, but this felt different. It was different because she knew these people had the money, that they would have no trouble paying a few dollars out of their millions, and that they were stealing for the hell of it. Thinking about it made her want to scream.

Crystal wasn’t poor, per say. She wasn’t rich by any means, but her family had enough money to get by most of the time. It was only now that she was moving out for college at the end of the summer that she was in real need of some cash for her rent and her student loans. But knowing that people slave away for hours in dead end jobs just to make ends meet, and these millionaires wouldn’t pay for a fucking beer? It made her blood boil.

Although she felt like steam was coming out of her ears, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself and keep her cool. She was still working, after all. She found herself staring into the pool water as she rolled the cart along, watching as the sun’s reflection danced on its surface, glimmering. She was thankful for the hot weather, at least. The sunshine lightened everyone’s mood a little, and usually made her job a bit easier.

She considered it a small victory.

“Excuse me, miss?” a woman’s voice called out.

Snapping out of her daydream, Crystal swivelled round in search of the source of the voice. The poolside was fairly empty given the time of day (because let’s face it, if Crystal wasn’t working, she wouldn’t have been awake at 11am, either), so it didn’t take her long to see a girl, lying on one of the sun loungers, seemingly on her own and sticking out like a sore thumb from the older men in golfing gear.

She was young, Crystal thought, probably about the same age as herself or a little younger, and she donned a floppy sun hat and a pair of oversized cat-eye sunglasses, which left Crystal slightly unsure in what direction she was looking, or if she even had her eyes open at all. Her long, dark hair sat in waves down to her chest, and she just so happened to be wearing a very flattering and clearly very expensive bathing suit - a black halter neck bikini, with gold buckles - which left little to the imagination.

She looked like the dictionary definition of a rich girl, and Crystal would’ve rolled her eyes at how cliché she looked if she wasn’t so god damn hot.

“Um, hello?” the girl asked.

Crystal’s heart jolted. “Huh? Oh! Uh, how can I help you?” She jumped to attention, and was now suddenly very aware of her cheeks flushing red. How long had she been staring?

“Could I get another pink lemonade, please?” the girl said as if it was obvious, holding out her empty glass for Crystal to take.

“Oh, sure,” Crystal replied, making her way over to her sunlounger and feeling the heat rush to her face. When she grabbed the glass, Crystal could’ve swore she felt their hands touch for just a millisecond, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t feel a little flustered.

“Thanks,” the girl said, offering Crystal a small smile from behind her huge sunglasses.

A smile of pity, probably, Crystal thought.

She quickly placed the glass onto her cart and began rolling it away as fast as she deemed socially acceptable, speed-walking her way towards the bar. She bit the inside of her cheek and inwardly cursed herself for being so awkward. What was that? Who was that? And why the hell was she having heart palpitations?

She was practically out of breath by the time she reached the bar, which was located just inside a set of double doors, right by the pool. She set the glasses on the bar top, leaning on it in an attempt to steady herself and taking a few seconds to catch her breath. When she looked up, she was met by a smirking Jan, who had a single eyebrow raised.

“Care to tell me why you’re as red as a tomato?”

“Fuck you,” Crystal sighed, a smile breaking onto her face. “It’s warm outside, that’s all.”

Jan raised a single eyebrow. “Whatever you say,” she chirped, clearly not believing her. As much as Crystal wanted to elbow her in the ribs at that, she couldn’t help but smile. One of the few good things to come out of this job was her friendship with Jan and the other staff, which was new, but already felt strong. Jan was the human equivalent of a golden retriever- it was hard not to love her.

“Hey, I need a pink lemonade and a Budweiser beer for customers outside.”

“Another beer? This one’s not finished,” Jan said, gesturing to the pint glass Crystal had placed on the bar top before her.

Crystal rolled her eyes. “Apparently it’s the wrong brand.”

“Ugh. Another one of those guys. I hope he didn’t give you a hard time, sweetie,” she said, shaking her head with a sympathetic smile. “I’ll get the drinks for you now.”

“Thanks, Jan.”

As Jan busied herself with pulling another pint, Crystal could help but peer out through the door at the girl, still laid out on her sun lounger by the pool. She couldn’t deny she was gorgeous, but she wasn’t sure why her heart decided to try to escape her chest at the sight of her, especially seeing half of her face was hidden by those huge sunglasses and that floppy hat. It was probably that damn swimsuit, she thought.

Jan’s voice interrupted her train of thought. “I presume the pink lemonade’s for miss Goode? It’s her usual. I’ll put it on her tab.”

Crystal was quickly brought back to attention. “Who’s miss Goode?” she asked, trying not to seem too curious.

“Probably one of the richest teenagers in this hemisphere,” Jan scoffed.

Crystal gulped. “Oh, really?”

“Mmhm. Her dad’s a multimillionaire, he’s the CEO of some software company,” she said, not looking up from her task of refilling drinks. “He owns this whole country club. The Goode’s always spend their summer here.”

Crystal’s eyes widened. She knew that the girl would be rich, but she didn’t think she would be that rich. She was suddenly very intimidated, but she somehow wasn’t surprised. This ‘miss Goode’ looked like a million dollars, and apparently she was worth even more. One thing was for certain, though - any feelings she possibly could’ve had towards her had to be squashed, immediately.

“She’s not a bad kid, though,” Jan continued. “I kinda feel bad for her sometimes.”

“Why’s that?”

Before Jan could answer, their workmate Heidi swept through from the kitchen, carrying a stack of trays in one hand and a towel in the other, and took her place behind the bar with Jan. “Oh please, there’s nothing to feel bad for. She’s a bazillionaire, she’ll probably never work a day in her life!” she exclaimed, clearly having overheard their conversation. “If I was that rich, I’d be living it up in a mansion with all my rich friends and buying loads of cars and having parties every night. But, ya know. Poverty,” she said, laughing at her own joke immediately after.

Crystal found herself chuckling along and automatically agreeing with Heidi - she was sure that money like that would solve all of her problems. But she was reluctant to say so, and she wasn’t quite sure why.

“You’d better not keep her waiting, Crystal,” Jan prompted, handing over the fresh pint of beer and a tall glass of pink lemonade, which had a pink straw and crushed ice and a strawberry and slice of lemon on the rim. Crystal thought that it should have one of those mini cocktail umbrellas too, but she supposed that would’ve been a little overkill.

Gently balancing the drinks on her cart, she nodded in thanks to the girls, promising to meet them on their lunch break, and started wheeling it out the double doors, back towards the pool and the sun loungers.

Back towards miss Goode.

She wasn’t entirely sure that the colour of her face had settled by now, but she hoped that she wouldn’t be able to tell from behind her sunglasses. She told herself the nerves that were building in her chest were because of this girl’s social status, and definitely not because she was pretty. Definitely not. That didn’t even cross Crystal’s mind. She didn’t even need to tell herself that looking at a customer like that was a bad idea, and that miss Goode was probably straight, and that she’d never think twice about dating an employee. No, of course not. That would be stupid.

As she walked ever closer, Crystal was psyching herself up, telling herself to stop being an awkward mess and just be cool. Act natural. All she had to do was hand her the glass without making it too obvious that she was nervous. Easy. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. (And, avoid staring at her in that bathing suit, which was significantly less easy peasy lemon squeezy).

Before she knew it, she was a couple steps away from her. This was it. Just hand her the drink and get out of there. She could do this.

The girl turned to face Crystal when she saw her coming, offering her a smile. And then, she reached up and took off her sunglasses. And Crystal got a glimpse of her eyes for the first time. They were a piercing icy blue, and they twinkled in the sunshine, and Crystal didn’t want to take her eyes off of them.

Crystal fumbled on her cart and grabbed a glass, handing it to Gigi, not wanting to break eye contact for a second. She may have only been holding eye contact for a few seconds, but Crystal was captivated, swimming in her gaze.

And then, the girl looked downwards, and her face fell, and for just a second, Crystal’s heart dropped. Her brows furrowed. She looked confused.

And then Crystal realised she hadn’t handed the girl her pink lemonade, but the pint of beer.

Crap.

“Usually I get ID’d before someone serves me alcohol,” the girl said with a cocky smirk.

“Oh, uh, sorry!”

Crystal felt the heat rushing to her cheeks as she fumbled to fix her mistake, practically shoving the pink drink in her free hand as panic caught in her throat. She had one job. One simple job. She snatched the pint glass away from her with shaky hands.

And then, she dropped it.

“Shit!”

The glass miraculously didn’t smash, but its contents were spilt all over the poolside tiles.

This was all she needed.

Crystal sighed, just desolately staring at her reflection at the puddle of beer for a few seconds as an overwhelming feeling of for fuck’s sake overtook her. She groaned, flailing her arms like a toddler throwing a tantrum. She heard the girl beside her start to chuckle with that stupid cocky smirk still plastered on her face, perching on the edge of the sun lounger and looking up at Crystal.

“You know, someone should really clean that up,” she said, flashing Crystal a grin. “It’s a slipping hazard.”

Crystal rolled her eyes. “We’re by a pool, everywhere’s a slipping hazard,” she said, but she fumbled for the towel that she had tucked into her apron pocket anyways, kneeling down to wipe it up.

The girl giggled at that, leaning back against her chair with her crossed legs outstretched before her (which Crystal definitely didn’t find herself staring at). “You didn’t strike me as the type to talk back, but I’m pleasantly surprised,” she said, taking an obnoxiously loud slurp through her pink bendy straw.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Most of the staff here are no fun. I think they’re all afraid I’m gonna get them fired or something,” she said with a shrug. “You seem fun though.”

Crystal felt herself blush, but this time she wasn’t embarrassed. She was smiling. “Well, God didn’t give me this incredible personality to be quiet.”

The girl laughed, tucking a lock of her dark chocolate brown hair behind her ear. Crystal couldn’t help but take notice of the way she stuck her tongue out just a little as she giggled, and it made her smile, too. She giggled like a little girl, and it seemed like such a contrast to her effortless chic-ness. Crystal found it endearing. And very cute.

“I haven’t seen you around here before, have I?” the girl said. Her eyes scanned Crystal’s face, and Crystal tried to focus on wiping up the spilt drink because she was sure that if she caught another glance at the girl’s doll eyes looking directly at her, her brain would start shutting down.

“I don’t think so,” Crystal replied. “I only started here about a week ago.”

“I thought so,” the girl hummed, before taking another sip from her glass. “I think I would’ve remembered you.”

Crystal could’ve swallowed her own tongue at that. Instead she clenched her jaw and continued cleaning, keeping her lips firmly shut to make sure she didn’t say something stupid.

“So what’s your name then?”

“Crystal,”

“Nice to meet you, Crystal,” the girl said with a quick raise of her eyebrows.

“Nice to meet you too, uh-.”

“Gigi,” the girl said with a smile.

“Gigi,” Crystal replied, seeing how her name felt on her tongue, and recalling the name Jan had mentioned earlier. Gigi Goode. It felt right, she thought. It suited her. It definitely seemed like a rich girl name, and as far as rich girls came, this girl was supposedly in a league of her own. Though Crystal tried not to think about that - her massive sunglasses and her perfect model body were already intimidating enough.

Not that Crystal was thinking about her body or anything. Especially not about how good it looked in that pretty swimsuit.

Of course not.

Once she had the beer all mopped up, Crystal tossed the soaked towel over her shoulder, picking up the desolate pint glass from the ground and placing it on her beer cart, still in awe of how it didn’t smash on the outdoor tiles. She supposed the universe had felt bad for her - she’d had quite enough beer issues for today, and the last thing she needed was broken glass to deal with, too.

The knowledge that she’d have to go back for yet another beer for that lying bastard, though, made her want to throw the glass at a brick wall.

She felt frustration build up in her chest at the thought, and sighed. Perhaps a little too loudly, though, as Gigi seemed to pick up in it.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Ugh, I just have to go get this annoying guy another beer now,” Crystal replied with a roll of her eyes.

“How is he annoying?”

Crystal probably shouldn’t be saying this to the daughter of the country club owner, but fuck it, she needed to vent. “There’s a group of them, actually. They always yell at me and pretend I got their order wrong so they can get another free beer. I know it’s not that bad, but it just rubs me the wrong way.”

Crystal looked at Gigi, whose face had changed to one of shock and anger, her mouth hanging open slightly and her eyebrows furrowed. She stayed silent for a second, before standing up from her sun lounger, scanning the pool area. “Who was it?”

“That guy over there, in the blue polo shirt,” Crystal said, gesturing towards him.

Gigi nodded, her eyes narrowing. Crystal saw her clutch her glass tightly, her knuckles turning white. “Oh. Him,” she said, her voice stoic. “I know him. Well, I guess I won’t be needing the rest of my drink!” she said, and with that, she was off, quickly marching to the spot where the man stood.

Before Crystal had time to comprehend what was happening, Gigi was face to face with the man, and Crystal was frozen in her spot, her feet stuck to the ground a few meters away from them.

She heard Gigi’s voice yell something, and then she was throwing her pink lemonade in the man’s face.

He was drenched, and Crystal had to cover her mouth to suppress her laughter.

Crystal half expected the now dripping man to start yelling, screaming at Gigi like he had screamed at her. But instead he remained silent, not looking angry, but more at a loss for words, before he trudged off grumpily, presumably to get changed.

When her eyes darted away from the man, Gigi was nowhere to be seen. But even so, she still found herself grinning like a fool.

And, when her manager called her to clean up the spilt pink lemonade by the pool, she was more than happy to oblige.

#rpdr fanfiction #crygi #crystal methyd #gigi goode #heidi n closet #jan sport #peridot #fluff #angst #lesbian au #tw: homophobia but not in this chapter #concrit welcome #submission #summer lovin' 2020 #day 1: bathing suit

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angelwars11 · 4 years ago

Photo

Title: Remembrance

Prompt: Vespers

Pairing: Jesse/Kix

Rating: G

Word Count: 2k

‘During battle, his senses become hyper-aware and then so numb afterwards that he can barely even feel the blood on his fingertips. It paints his hands in scarlet that once was inside of his vode’s bodies, flowing freely and keeping them alive. Kix hates that part—when he’ll exit a tent and stare down at his hands, and finally address it.The sensation of silent distaste surrounds him in white and black ghostly shadows of what once was.’

—

‘To no man or being will I cause or permit harm to befall, nor will I refuse aid to any who seek it. These obligations I willingly and freely take upon myself in tradition of those that have come before me. These are things we do so that other may live.’ -The Medic’s creed.

This is day 2 of the ClonecestInJuly challenge! I finally finished this story, oh my lord; it took forever!! Thank you to all my beta readers/editors, @blazesurrender, @maplerosekisses, and @starimperial. You all did an amazing job and I really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy this one! Lots of angst and tears and pain this time! *evil laughter*

*Warning: Very VERY brief mentioning about a suicide attempt

Fire explodes from left to right. Troopers scream in pain, in agony. Multiple howls of anguish and despair bounce across the damaged land as Kix runs to each and every injured trooper—checking on them to make sure they are still alive. If they are, they get a tag indicating whether they have minor or major injuries. Deceased soldiers receive black tags indicating death for those who will come to collect the bodies and bury them later.

Kix almost falls to his knees when an explosion sends him forward. He growls under his breath and continues blasting away as he goes. White and blue fall to the ground like fallen angels from the heavens. It’s anything but graceful; they crumple unceremoniously to the ground in bloody heaps of tangled limbs. Kix kneels down, checks for their pulses, and tags them. He administers a small dosage of painkillers out of empathy.

“You’ll be okay. The other medics will come for you soon,” Kix reassures each one of them who is alive before he moves on.

It’s a never-ending cycle of dread, sorrow, and frustration, but he keeps moving. He can’t stop for long periods of time or other men who need him will die from their wounds. Kix cannot let that happen; he will save as many brothers as he can, even if he has to leave a couple with some painkillers and move on. ‘They will be okay’ he always reassures himself even in these dire situations.

During the battle, his senses become hyper-aware and then so numb afterward that he can barely even feel the blood on his fingertips. It paints his hands in scarlet that once was inside of his vode's bodies, flowing freely and keeping them alive. Kix hates that part —when he’ll exit a tent and stare down at his hands, and finally address it. The sensation of silent distaste surrounds him in white and black ghostly shadows of what once was.

Kix is never verbal about how much he hates feeling the blood on his hands. Other times, especially after a hard battle like this one, he’ll make it known to everyone near him how broken he truly can be. Kix’s sight blurs with tears of absolute anger and hatred. He is angry that he's lost vode, and he despises this war for what it’s done to them, to him! More blaster rifles sound through the fog in the distance and droid poppers crackle nearby, too close for comfort.

The gun in his hands feels so heavy all of a sudden. He doesn’t want to hold it anymore; he hates it. He wants to drop it and run away, but he can’t because—I have to save them all! Kix can taste salt from the sweat dotting on his upper lip as it makes its way down and into his mouth. He doesn’t mind because it’s a distraction from all the blood, horror, and gore he sees beyond the black visor hiding his terrified features.

He may seem like an emotionless soldier, but underneath he’s kriffing scared, petrified even. Kix has to hide all that unadulterated terror in the back of his mind and raise his walls up to protect himself from getting exposed to the wrong people.

Kix slams his heavily fortified facade up so he can save lives.

Another brother falls to the ground in pain. He’s not dead, not yet, so Kix dashes across till he reaches the white armor decorated in contrasting red, and pulls him into a hiding spot to check him.

What lives am I saving? I keep losing so many! So karking many!

“It’s okay, udesii. Udesii, vod. You are going to be okay. Alright?” Kix kneels down beside the injured trooper and takes off his white med-pack.

This is going to be a long day.

...

Hours later, it's over. The sun has set and the temperature has dropped to comfortable and manageable levels. Gray clouds create a dark formation in the sky in the silence that is only broken by the occasional noise—moans of agony, the sounds of cleaning and quiet chattering, troopers walking the perimeters, or the officers debriefing with the Generals. Despite the silence the night carries, there is still so much going on.

The medical tents are a holy mess of different sounds, smells, and sights. The worst part is the distinguishable metallic scent of blood on surgery tools that have to be left out on silver platters. Not surprising at all; the Republic does not give aid to the 501st or provide appropriate sterilization, which means that microorganisms live on the blades of each tool. It disheartens Kix to be well aware of that disgusting and unsanitary fact.

Kix is used to the smells, however, thanks to years and years of being a medic. It's fortunately —and unfortunately— a side effect of olfactory fatigue, which is also known as nose blindness.

Kix stares at the glowing holo-pad with empty golden eyes as his finger skids across the glass. Numbers move about on the screen. There are many casualties and many designation numbers—names—covering his holo-pad. On and on until he reaches the very bottom and lets out a shaky breath. Exhausted and trembling, he places it on the nearest tray, like a pitiful coward who could barely hold in his lunch, and walks out into the lukewarm night.

He stumbles as far away from the tents as possible, near a little grove of trees, and becomes sick. Kix trembles for so long with his clammy glove-covered palms on his knees and saliva slowly dripping from between his pale lips and sickly green covering the bridge of his nose. He says the blood doesn’t bother him, and it doesn’t, not on its own, but the number of men that died today does.

The green treetops up above sway as Kix slowly kneels in the sand near the pond, nearly as silent as the world around him. Nothing will bother him as long as he stays right here away from the others. He can still feel their blood on his hands, and his skin itches like holes cover every inch of it. He can still hear their cries of pain and agony, fear, and devastation—sounds that carry in range for miles, especially when one has lost a loved one. Kix couldn’t even begin to imagine how it would feel if he lost Jesse to the clankers on the battlefield. What if Jesse had died alone without Kix to be there for him?

Kix closes his eyes against the negative thoughts. Jesse may not be with him right now because he's in a debriefing, but he'll come back and find Kix. He’ll search out his riduur like always, no matter where they are. Nonetheless, Kix feels so lonely that he digs his blunt nails into his skin until they create half-moon indents. Kix wants so badly for his cyare to come back and hold him, sing to him, and comfort him any way he can till the nightmare is over.

The numbers Kix saw on his holo-pad left him pale and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth like sandpaper.

Death count: Thirty-five men.

Kix grunts and slams his hand into the ground.

“Kriff,” He hisses in frustration. He lowers his head towards the soft sand under his body and breathes. The silence is broken temporarily by the wind whipping around him, the feel of it on his skin comforting, almost a physical touch.

The wind is practically hugging him.

“Kix,” A voice calls. A familiar, caring voice that almost always has an undertone of warm amusement in it.

Jesse.

He feels the sand under him shift as Jesse kneels beside him.

“Hey, you okay?” Jesse asks. He eyes the puddle of stomach bile a couple of meters away with concern before he glances at the medic once again; Jesse offers a sympathetic smile and his facial expressions soften a great deal. Kix stares at the moving sand for a second, blank and wide-eyed, before he turns his attention onto Jesse with eyes full of exhaustion and hopelessness. Jesse immediately pulls him into a consoling hug.

“Okay, it's okay. I've got you.” Jesse brushes his hand back and forth along his back and makes small shushing sounds. “What do you need?”

Kix tucks his face into the side of his neck. Hot salty tears roll down his cheeks and cross paths with the sweat and grime covering his face to create visible tear tracks. Kix tries to focus on breathing for a moment but the smoldering negative feelings return like an avalanche.

“There were so many that died, Jess. Force, I lost so many good men. All of them were good men. So man shinies...it was their first battle and they didn't even make it. It…it hurts to have to run, check them over the best I can, mark their bodies, and then keep moving. But the ones who died… Why do I have to leave so soon? Why can't I say goodbye to them,” Kix whispers into the junction between his collarbone and neck.

Jesse's hand halts on his shoulder.

“You still can. Right now. A prayer for the dead, for our brothers who've marched on to join our aliit in tra.”

Kix blinks pensively before nodding without saying another word. Jesse is right. Kix can still have a Vesper and pray for their dead brothers. It’s safe to do so now that the battle is over and the surge of adrenaline has faded. Kix isn't needed right now; the patients are resting and the other medics are watching over them, which means that Kix is free to rest— or pray with his riduur.

The two of them place their hands on their knees and bow their heads.

Kix whispers solemnly, “Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.” His eyes flutter closed.

“Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum,” Jesse whispers after him.

Kix opens his eyes and gazes up at the stars. Each one looks the same but they are all unique and different. Just like us clones. Kix opens his mouth and lets out a sigh that’s weary but resigned.

"Bongo." The first name. The first known trooper he tried to save. When Kix found him stuck under a huge pile of rubble he immediately remembered his name. The poor trooper was so scared; he thought he would die alone but Kix was there with him at the very end.

He even held Bongo's hand as the life departed his gilded eyes.

"Anzanti." The second name. A shiny who came to his med-bay once asking for help because he found one of their brothers trying to hurt himself in the ‘fresher. Anzanti was afraid and tried his hardest to distract their brother, Duros, while Kix stopped him from successfully taking his own life. Anzanti begged Kix not to tell the higher-ups, the Generals. He promised the medic he’d watch over Duros and would never take his eyes off of him.

Now Anzanti is gone.

Who will watch over Duros?

Kix knows that Duros did not die in the battle which means that Kix can find him and make sure he’s safe and well. With Azanti gone there’s no telling whether Duros, with that knowledge, will try and hurt himself again.

Kix makes a little mental note to search for Duros later. For Anzanti.

Three more shinies. "LMC-211. Ennez. Sephi." Kix remembers their names only because he saw them on the list; like many names he’ll utter in remembrance tonight.

And maybe a little more.

On and on and on till he hit the last name.

Kix swallows his grief. "Heart." His throat feels so parched without a drink of water.

Jesse thinks he's finished so he opens his mouth to say something to console him but—"Echo," Kix pushes through clenched teeth. Jesse jerks up in surprise and then he sighs, soft and reminiscent.

"Hardcase," The medic groans out this one—a painful name to remember. A name that belonged to a spirited, uplifting, and crazy vod that now only two remember. Kix ends it with a choked off sob and his arms curl around his abdomen in grief; he leans forward and rocks back and forth to withhold the tears from breaking through his carefully constructed walls. Jesse raises his hand to steady him and console him but he aborts the movement when Kix makes a sound of abandon.

Jesse sighs internally. Oh, Kix.

"Dogma," Kix growls, irate. His fingers grab at the sand that falls away around his trembling knees and legs; Kix throws it in a frantic attempt to find another outlet for his rage. Jesse lowers his head, as he is angry too but holds it back and glares at the ground.

Kix bites his tongue till it almost bleeds. So many vode. Gone. Gone!

"Tup…" Tears trickle down his face in his grief; his shoulders shudder with barely restrained fury and quickly growing anxiety. Calm yourself Kix, come on! Come down. This isn’t you and you know it. Just breathe...in and out. Be at peace. His eyes flutter closed again and his chest lifts with each careful breath.

Jesse watches him with pride, his eyes burning with that aching urge to cry in frustration.

Kix tips his head back finally and stares up at the stars for who knows how long. Millions of them glow in the night, showing the way like a lantern. There are crimson, azure, white, gold, and orange ones. Each radiating star creates part of a constellation up there, and each one is massive, alive right down to the very core of their divine being.

Jesse settles one hand on Kix's shoulder, and finally, Kix looks over at him and shivers involuntarily. Jesse nods in silent understanding.

"Fives," Kix whispers the last name almost as if he’ll get struck down. "I couldn't save him, Jess. I stood there and let him walk out of that 'fresher, I should've,” —Kix bites the inside of his cheek to stop the tears. “I should've stopped him from going out there, from getting killed."

"You couldn’t have done anything, cyare. Fives… He did something that got him into trouble, and if we had helped him in any way then we could’ve been arrested. We could’ve been taken from the battlefront and decommissioned. And I…I believe you did the right thing, Kix. Okay?" Jesse hugs him gently.

Kix takes a sharp breath and tenses.

"Stop blaming yourself for their deaths. You had nothing to do with it, and you weren’t the one who killed them. You tried your best to save them and that’s all that matters." Jesse breaks their hug in an instant so then he can stare at Kix firmly.

"Did you kill them? Any of them?" Jesse asks. Kix looks down and Jesse grabs his chin softly and brings it back up.

"Did you kill them?" He repeats, but this time plain-spoken.

"No. No, I didn't."

"Good."

"But I miss them so damn much! I wish none of them died! I wish they were here right now, next to us."

"I do too darling. I miss them every day," Jesse whispers. He cocks his head to the side, and a small tear slides down the right side of his face. Kix reaches up immediately and wipes it away.

It's silent, giving Kix time to think for a moment.

"Where they are; they are marching ahead in Tra. With Gods, we cannot see. But we will join them when it's our time as well," Kix says. His eyes, hopeful.

"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la," Jesse whispers. He looks up at the sky in silence.

"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la," Kix echoes.

Like that, the prayer is over. They whispered the names of the fallen and their loved ones and then they said ‘they are not gone, only marching far away.’ Afterward, the two of them remain curled against one another in the relentless sand; Jesse and Kix stare up at the heavenly skies above filled with gas giants and stars of pure beauty. The two troopers' fingers interlock together in between their thighs and then Kix rests the side of his head against Jesse's armored shoulder.

"Thank you, Jess." Kix slowly closes his eyes.

Jesse leans over and kisses his forehead.

"Of course, cyare."

In the far distance, the planet’s second moon beamed down upon a vivid, tiny funnel-shaped flower called a Statice. It stands at least 28 inches in height. The flower features small, delicate petals that fluff together atop green stems in a beautiful soft shade of pink. The Statice looks spectacular under the soft glow of radiance. The petals of this flower are visibly ethereal in every way.

Its pink shade stands for something. A special meaning.

It symbolizes Remembrance.

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not-poignant · 4 years ago

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Hello, I love your writing and I love how you manage to write complex characters and antagonists I can totally sympathize with (Augus, my precious), so I was wondering if you have any advice on that? Also, how do you decide on a love interest for your MC? Sorry if this is too broad of a question, but your writing advice is always super helpful.

Hiya

I‘m glad you’re enjoying the writing! Honestly I don’t know if I’m going to do a good job of explaining these things, but I hope whatever I say helps!

Writing a sympathetic antagonist

Firstly, most importantly, they have to be sympathetic! I know I know, that sounds stupid, and obvious, but it’s true. Don’t expect every reader to still like your antagonist, they won’t. Not everyone likes villain, antagonist or even antihero fiction.

Re: garnering sympathy:

Show the character as genuinely vulnerable. (Consider Augus being hurt by Gwyn in the dungeon, even if most of it slid off of him, that gag certainly didn’t). (Consider that even though Eran is Mosk’s captor and actually not a very nice person, we understand his motivations for being mean - he has lost his entire family, and he believes Mosk is the reason. He’s shown experiencing constant culture shock, totally alone, and he doesn’t understand the new world he finds himself in). (Consider that Efnisien is living an extremely bleak life, post violent injury, and that he is shown to be vulnerable to his own patterns of thinking).

Show the shift in their attitude that makes them more relatable, or that gives the readers hope that they’re not about to revert back to who they used to be. (Augus clearly being far more even-minded and less destructive for the sake of it). (Eran constantly questioning how Mosk could be capable of his evil, and double-checking on himself, and it obviously being insecurity when he decides that Mosk is evil after all). (Efnisien is forcing himself to attend very personally challenging therapy sessions, and we can see that not only has he not hurt anyone in 3 years, we can see evidence of a life lived that tries to avoid opportunities to hurt people ever again).

Make them human, create common ground. Show them eating food, getting dressed, responding to a major (or minor) injury. Show them loving another character even if they only ever love one other character (Augus saying ‘careful’ to Ash in Shadows and Light was actually the moment that some readers fell in love with him or became intensely curious about him - and so while most readers came around to him in Game Theory, just having Augus genuinely love and feel protective towards his brother was enough to create sympathy and empathy). (Consider Efnisien and his love for Gwyn). (Consider Eran’s love for his family). Make it so that people literally can go ‘oh, I eat food that way’ or ‘oh, I’ve tried to hide an injury before’ or ‘that’s how I get dressed’ or ‘I hate summer too.’ Give them details that can stack up over time and create common ground.

In the case of characters who have done absolutely egregious things, whump the everloving fuck out of them. Like, this was legit a thing I did in Game Theory *deliberately* in order to create increased sympathy for Augus. Even people who have the most intense revenge fantasies re: a character burn out on them after a while. A person who is like ‘yeah I can’t wait to see them tortured and suffering and going through awful pain’ will, very often, get that and realise they didn’t want that much of it. And they will turn to sympathy instead. It’s worked an absolute fucking treat with Augus and Efnisien in particular.

Have someone who is worse opposite your antagonist. (Augus had the Nightingale. Eran has Olphix and Davix and, well, Mosk’s entire family. Efnisien has Crielle and Lludd). Give your villain a villain.

That’s it. You don’t have to make them ‘good.’ You don’t have to rationalise what they did. You don’t have to make excuses for what they’ve done or what they’ll do in the future. Your readers can make up their own minds on that, and they will, with or without your guidance. Augus can still be a waterhorse that eats people and sometimes uses compulsions because he’s impatient. Gwyn can still just straight up murder people without giving them much (or any) warning first.

When you don’t encourage sympathy based on a ‘good/bad’ binary, you can still have your antagonists and villains kind of stay where they are. They might do heroic things, they might do villainous things, the point of empathy is that they’re often doing and thinking relatable things, even if the subsequent actions aren’t themselves relatable.

I don’t do these things for villains that I don’t want to be sympathetic. But I must admit, I am enjoying showing different facets of Davix in The Ice Plague, even though I don’t really intend for him to be a transformed villain or anything.

Deciding on a love interest

This one is harder. Mostly because in some ways, it’s ‘simpler’ on the surface. All you’re doing is looking for a character who has qualities that strengthen your other character, and balance out the imbalances in your primary character and vice versa. They will need to have some things in common too. They also need to get along, and have a reason to get along (especially if it’s rivals to lovers).

Like, it’s hard to describe how I do this because I don’t spend a lot of time on this part. I tend to just...idk, ‘know’ what another character needs and build off that. And that’s fucking useless to break down for other people. BUT, it does mean I can at least use my doofuses as examples:

Augus and Gwyn: They are both people who favour diplomacy over war, but can be extraordinarily bloodthirsty when a situation calls for it, and they’re both actually pretty snarky and bitchy people (things in common). Augus is proud of his sexuality and does not see the point in not fully embracing who you are as a monster, Gwyn rejects his monstrous self and is not proud of his sexuality or his role as a sub (Augus strengthens Gwyn in this, and complements what Gwyn lacks). Gwyn is extremely bold and secure in his ability to manage a Kingdom and also protect his loved ones, he is very able to step forwards into his future decisively, fully confident in his ability to do what is best for the people around him and the nation (Gwyn strengthens Augus in this, and complements Augus’ insecurities in this area).

You can find lots of other examples of complementary traits in Augus and Gwyn in particular (Augus had a happier family, Gwyn didn’t. Gwyn has military and physical training, Augus mostly hasn’t. Augus understands fashion and courtiers, Gwyn doesn’t. Gwyn understands tracking and large-scale military operations, Augus doesn’t. Augus understands finer interpersonal relationships, Gwyn doesn’t. Gwyn understands politicking that’s specifically malicious or manipulative (like the Raven Prince, Augus doesn’t).

Mosk and Eran: They are both people who are extremely determined and share a common goal (Mosk took a little while to get online with that goal, but okay). They are both actually very earnest at their hearts and want people to be happy with them, and they both need guidance from people in positions of authority. They’re both hot-headed (in different ways, but they both absolutely fly off the handle all the fucking time). Ultimately, they want to feel warm and supported (things in common).

Mosk is extremely aesthetic and cares for beautiful things and scenery, at all times, he tends to tune into an environment based on its beauty, Eran on the other hand tends to be a bit stuck in the past, and isn’t always quick to see the beauty in the present. (Mosk enriches Eran’s life in the present, but helping him to focus on what might be beautiful in the present). Eran likes to feel as though he’s helping people and he needs to feel needed, Mosk needs someone to take care of him (Eran enriching Mosk).

Tbh you could come up with a lot of examples. Places where they ‘complement’ each other are also places of potential conflict. Eran being hopeful and optimistic is definitely a point of contention between Mosk and Eran when it clashes against Mosk’s pessimism, even though it’s good for Mosk to be around more hopeful attitudes, and it’s good for Eran to be more realistic sometimes.

ANYWAY. Basically, yeah, I... this second part I’m a lot worse at, sorry. The process of coming up with love interests is very organic, and I don’t actually like, sit down and plan these things. Which means I don’t have a formula to share. (I am very much just making shit up as I go).

Idk if any of that is helpful, but I hope it is. <333

Please don’t listen to my writing advice lol.

#asks and answers #dodgy advice #pia on writing #pia on characterisation #fae tales #i feel like i've answered a lot of comments and asks in the past #about how characters have opposing views #or skills #that actually marry up really well together #in fanfiction #Jack and Pitch were probably the most obvious ones for this #i can't believe how long this post is #you know other authors could say this in like 10 lines?#amazing #wanderinggods

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arcticdementor · 3 years ago

Link

I’ve been keeping an eye on Europe lately, and on France in particular. As I’ve tried to articulate here previously, the era of general upheaval underway is hardly a phenomenon limited to the United States. Instead, propelled everywhere by the same fundamental forces, it appears to be playing out in a more or less similar fashion all across the Western world, and perhaps beyond. In this regard France serves as an especially instructive example, as recent events have served to highlight in striking fashion.

In short, recent national controversy over a pair of open letters directed to the government by a collection of retired and active-duty military officers has not only spawned a month of political controversy in France, but revealed deeper dynamics at work in the country that may help provide a clearer picture of what’s happening everywhere.

On April 21, twenty retired French generals published an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron and the French government in the right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles (Today’s Values) denouncing “the disintegration that is affecting our country,” and explaining they were speaking out because “the hour is late, France is in peril, and many mortal dangers threaten her.”

…

Initially, the letter was dismissed as mere “eccentric nationalist nostalgia by octogenarian retirees,” as the British Financial Times put it, and the government appeared content to ignore it. The then head of France’s General Directorate for Internal Security, Patrick Calvar, had already warned that France was “on the edge of a civil war” as early as 2016, so this kind of thing was old news. But that changed as soon as Marine Le Pen – the leader of the right-wing Rassemblement National (National Rally) party who polls show is likely to again be Macron’s top rival in presidential elections next year – endorsed the letter, saying “it was the duty of all French patriots, wherever they are from, to rise up to restore – and indeed save – the country.”

Public conversation in France turned to politicization of the armed forces and whether the letter’s final lines were a call for a military coup d'état (the fact that the letter was published on the 60th anniversary of a failed generals’ putsch against President Charles de Gaulle in 1961 providing evidence for this in the view of many). General François Lecointre, armed forces chief of staff, stated that while “at first I said to myself that it wasn’t very significant,” at least 18 active military personnel had been found to have been among the more than 1,500 people who also signed the letter. “That I cannot accept,” he said, because “the neutrality of the armed forces is essential.” They would all be punished, while any of the generals still in the reserves would be forced into full retirement as part of “an exceptional measure, that we will launch immediately at the request of the defense minister.” Still, the government’s ministers emphasized that the signatories were nothing more than an isolated and irrelevant minority in the military.

But soon enough, on May 10, a second letter appeared, again published in Valeurs Actuelles, this time by more than 2,000 serving soldiers writing in support of the first letter’s retired generals, accusing the government of having sullied their reputations when “their only fault is to love their country and to mourn its visible decline.”

…

The second letter, this time open to the public to sign, attracted (as of the end of last week) more than 287,000 signatures.

Again came exasperated reactions from many ministers and observers. But what is most remarkable, in my view, is how little enthusiasm most seemed to have for challenging the basic premises of the letters: that France is in a state of growing fracture and even dissolution. Instead, the focus of controversy was once again on the military taking a political position.

…

But perhaps my favorite example was that of (retired) General Jérôme Pellistrandi, chief editor at the magazine Revue Défense Nationale, who prefaced his otherwise sharp criticism of the outspoken soldiers with: “Everyone agrees that society is breaking up, it’s a known fact, but…”

What was going on here? Since when do government officials reflexively agree that their country is falling apart? Well, it turns out that a rather shockingly high proportion of the French public seems to agree with the sentiments the letters expressed. The following chart, created from the results of a Harris Interactive opinion poll taken April 29, after the first letter, is in my view one of the most striking statements about the political mood in a Western country that you’re likely to see for some time:

…

So, to break this down, not only do 58% of the French public agree with the first letter’s sentiments about the country facing disintegration, but so do nearly half of Macron’s own governing party, the centrist En Marche. Awkward. Nor are those sentiments limited to any one part of the political spectrum, even if the right is more sympathetic overall. Far-left party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon may have quickly declared that the “mutinous and cowardly” soldiers who signed the letter would all be purged from the army if he were elected, but 43% of his party seem to share their concerns.

But that’s not even the whole of it – an amazing 74% of poll respondents said they thought French society was collapsing, while no less than 45% agreed that France “will soon have a civil war.”

…

And, in short, both countries are clearly facing at least one of the defining characteristics of the Upheaval: the collapse of any agreed upon and consistently accepted authority. It is notable that, in both countries (at least until recently) there is only one institution that still garners relatively widespread respect: the military. (And French generals aren’t the only ones trying to capitalize on this with controversial open letters.)

Second, there is the key detail – almost entirely skipped over in the English-language press in favor of focusing on the anti-immigration angle, as far as I’ve seen – of the “anti-racism,” “decolonialism,” and “communitarianism” decried in the two letters as contributing to national dissolution. This is rather unmistakably a reference to the amalgamated, zealously anti-traditional and anti-liberal ideology of the “New Faith” – alternately referred to as Anti-Racism, the Social Justice movement, Critical Theory, identity politics, neo-Marxism, or Wokeness, among other synonymous infamies – that I’ve previously identified as one of the key revolutionary dynamics of our present era.

Let me repeat this proposition again: no revolution has ever remained contained by national borders. The New Faith is a trans-national ideological movement, which can no more remain confined to the United States than it remained confined within the American academy where it matured (it was arguably born in, well… France). And it is more than capable of rapidly adapting itself to and flourishing within whatever national context it penetrates. But, wherever it goes, it’s just as disruptive to the foundations of social and political order.

…

Finally, what’s striking about the situation in France is that every driving factor appears set to only get worse. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the divide between rich and poor; Europe’s economic recovery has been shaky; the ideology of the New Faith is likely to prove more difficult for the French to combat than they expect (the foundation of the established order having been hollowed out over a very long period of time); and the identitarian culture war is likely to only heat up, especially with elections approaching in which Le Pen appears to have a decent chance of actually winning (an outcome that could accelerate political and cultural fracturing, as Donald Trump’s election did in the United States).

…

It is notable that every one of these trends, including climate-induced migration, is featured in the U.S. Intelligence Community’s rather ominous recent report evaluating where the world is headed over the next five years, which I’ve written on previously. (Several readers have written to me to criticize my lack of discussion of climate change as a factor in both that post and my essay introducing the Upheaval – well fair enough, though I am uncertain about how much the climate issue has actually driven the turmoil we’re already seeing so far today, as opposed to what we may see in the future.)

France thus seems set to function as an ahead-of-the-curve epicenter for the Upheaval in Europe. No wonder the French are so pessimistic…

#n. s. lyons #substack #france

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alice-grace-and-ava · 3 years ago

Text

Chapter 2:Rage You Damn Nerd

Three American transfer students join your favorite characters at UA high. Come see as they face the challenges that come with training to be a hero while battling their demons from their past. It’s time for them to push past their boundaries and go plus ultra!!!!!(sorry I’m terrible at descriptions)

English Thoughts Japanese

HI! This is Alice, and I wanted to go ahead and post this! Grace wouldn't let me stop doing the tags until it maxed out.................I would rather drink unsweet tea than do that ever again. Anyway enjoy!

Alice

“ Listen Alice” I nod my head and my eyes lower back to his chiseled abs “ look here” Vlad king snapped his fingers in my face to bring my attention back to him.I'm currently sitting in his office, which is all of the teachers, and we are the only ones in the room. His cubicle is littered with fanart, a coffee cup, a mysterious bowl of some type of food, and a computer with a cat on the home screen.Why would a very well-behaved girl like me be in the teacher’s office? He wanted to make a deal with me but from how this is going so far I’m not sure I’m going to like it.“ If you behave, and I mean no hitting on me or other students- don't give me that look!” I feel myself deflate in the chair.“ You don't understand!” I flap my arms in defiance. “ And how do I not understand the fact that you won't stop calling me names, and quite frankly poor Shiozaki cant handle it any more” he challenges. I cross my arms and huff “ It's not my fault that everyone in the class is whiny babies” Vlad leans his head on his desk and is visibly exhausted.

“ Oh, Alice!” I jump from my seat as Present Mic appears, he holds a cup of jasmine tea in one hand and a stack of papers in the other.

“ Mic!” I excitedly respond, he smiles then notices Vlad King's exhaustion.

“ Hey, Hey, Hey my guy what’s wrong?” The other loud blonde in the room questions.

I slap the dying man on the back trying to show that he's okay, but he completely collapses onto the desk with an oof

“ Oh, that's not good” I quickly retract my hand and jump back.

“ What happened Alice?” Present mic sets his stuff on the desk and crouches down closer to the nearly dead man. I look away shyly “ He wants me to make a deal with him” I complain, and with a look from Mic I whine out the rest “but he wants me to stop flirting and making inappropriate comments!”

“ Man Sekkijro you can't make Alice change her style like that, we try to help the students stay true to themselves and that's who she is so let her be herself”

What the hell Mic, I stand still and look away, I hate it when people try to act like this.

“ Listen Vlad king,” I say boredly, my morning now ruined by sympathetic people, and he jumps up to attention at my change. “ Let me come and go as I please, I'll do the bookwork, don't worry, and then I'll stop interrupting your lessons with my comments.” The look of relief on his face is laughable.

“ Yes! As long as you do your schoolwork you can skip class as much as you want!”

I smile widely “ Deal!” I step closer to him and pat his chest “ but that won't stop me from acting up outside of class hours'' His skin drained of all color, Present Mic doubled over laughing. I took this chance to snatch his tea and skip out of the class, yes I skipped out of the room.

I shut the door and stand in the hallway

It’s cold like always……….

*RUMBLE*

I feel a light shake and immediately felt around for the girls, relaxing more once their presence was stable. Grace seems to be in class while Ava on the other hand…

I smile, she’s by herself on the west wing- The wing known for its amazing vending machine- wanting my mood to lighten I reach out for her more.

I hone onto her sunflower energy and a twinge of power flows within myself

Grace

To say that the school day so far has been boring would be an understatement. The only interesting part of the day was when I got to repeatedly correct the present mic about slang terms in English class. I don't understand why I have to take that class anyway. It's an easy A, or it would be if the slang that Present Mic was trying to teach wasn't from the 80s.

After English with the present mic, it was time for lunch. The entire school seems like it’s on the same lunch schedule so the lunchroom was packed. I was having trouble finding a seat when I heard someone yell out my name. When I looked around to find the owner of the voice I saw a group of kids from my class looking in my direction. Kirishima was holding his hand in the air and waving it around excitedly.

I made my way over only to find that the only available seat was next to Bakuhoe. Reluctantly I placed my tray down and moved my chair as far away from his as possible before I sat down and began to eat my food. I could practically feel the entire group’s eyes staring into the side of my head. I glanced up from my food and was met with four curious faces looking at me. The first one to speak was the pink girl. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve formally met. I’m-” “You’re Mina Ashido, the boy with the blond hair with the lightning bolt is Denki Kaminari, black hair is Sero Hanta, the redhead is Eijiro Kirishima, and the punk next to me is Katsuki Bakugou.” They all stare at me with various looks of surprise on their faces. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was supposed to put the last name first wasn’t I?” The one to speak up was Sero. “No- well yes, but I guess we weren’t expecting to know all of our names.” I glance around and see them all nodding in agreement except for Bakugou. “Let’s just say that where I’m from you learn names and faces pretty quickly for safety reasons.” Kaminari was the one to speak up next. “Why do you need to-” The sound of Into the Unknown resounds from the pocket of the shorts that were under my skirt. When I finally can get the phone out I see I have a text from Ava asking me to meet her in her classroom and to bring my backpack. “Sorry to cut this lunch short but I have to go meet my sister.” Mina excitedly jumps out of her seat and scurries or to me before stopping directly in front of me.”You have a sister that goes here?!” I place my hands on her shoulder and push her back slightly. “Yea I have two. Technically we’re not blood-related but in the words of Supernatural “family doesn’t end in blood.”

Alice

“Oh hello Alice, I just ate my last bag of cookies sorry. If I knew you were coming I would've given it to that cute kid…..”

I am sitting on the bench in front of a vending machine Ava is sitting cross-legged to my right surrounded by food.

“Cute kid?” I smirk and poke her shoulder, she grabs my shoulder and leans in close.

“You have no idea how adorable he is, fluffy hair! Big ground eyes! And freckles, he has freckles!!”

I burst out laughing and reach up to pat her head, glad that I chose to visit her because she can entertain me.

“Why are you laughing?” she wines out

“Because you’re amusing”

She huffs and opens up a honey bun to eat it, I stare at the cup of tea in my hand,

“Alice, what’s wrong?”

Ava leans her head on my shoulder.

I glance down at a snickers bar, and a certain pomeranian pops into my head.

“Alice?”

“It's nothing Ava, nothing at all, in fact, can you hold this cup please”

I smile innocently and watch as she takes the cup without hesitation

We stare at each other

I grab a snickers bar and get the fuck out of there.

“ALICCCCEEEE!!! THAT’S MINE”

I hear her scream, then a crash of the coffee cup smashing into the ground.

Sorry Mic

I start running through the halls, fear creeps into me as I hear her running up behind me.

I hear her footsteps quickly closing in on me.

Dang, it! I should’ve rethought this, I know how fast she is, and yet I thought this was a bright Idea. A CHILD!

I reach out and grab the small purple-haired kid by the collar and yeeted him over my shoulder.

“Oh hello there goddess”

Glancing over and see the purple kid stuck to Ava, she tries to pry him off but he only continues to stick on her.

I laugh at my victory, knowing whatever Ava will try to do to get back at me Grace will stop.

I keep my walk at a fast pace, noticing how I can hear the voices of students grow louder. I open silver double doors and look around the room. A very nice cafeteria is filled with students, they sit at nice comfortable booths and chat. Scanning the room looking for my next victim

“ WHAT DID YOU SAY YA NERD!”

I smile as I hear a dog bark out annoyingly, the students sitting in the booth close to me quickly got up sensing my intentions. I calmed myself and plastered a smile on my face, I turn to see the Pomeranian sitting with 4 other people ( even happier when one of those is my dear Pikachu). I sneak towards the group, closing in behind the cute static brain, Mid rant the mutt stops and looks at me confused causing the others to look. Denki of course doesn’t notice as he is concentrating on his food, I wink at the group.

“ Pikachu I choose you!”

I yell and throw my arms around his neck. He lets out a scream and then goes into a coughing fit.

Everyone starts laughing, I slap my fellow blonde harshly on the back to assist him in not dying.

“ So who’s your friend?” the redhead asks as he wipes his eyes.

I climb over the booth and slip in between Denki and the redhead, right across from the mutt, I throw him a smirk.

“ Ah, this is-”

“ Wait a damn minute you’re the annoying brat that-”

“ I’m Alice, I just transferred from America- Also I’m Pikachu’s friend!”

I interrupt the mutt and throw my arm around my now proclaimed friend.

“ What’s your last name?” the pink girl questioned.

I remove my arm and clap my hands together to rest my chin on them.

“ I don’t have one, and who are you Pinkie Pie?”

Sensing my tone the redhead jumped in.

“ Sorry, it’s just our friend said she has two sisters that go to school here, so we just wanted to know.”

The mutt aggressively set his juice box down on the table and they stared at him.

“ Didn’t you hear her, they’re not blood-related so of course the last name isn’t the same.”

Ahh he gets bonus points

I laugh trying to change the mood.

“ Well, I’ll introduce everyone-” I interrupt Denki

“The first name only, I’ll only remember it”

He grins and points at the kid with weird elbows

“ Sero”

“Flextape”

“Mina”

“Pinkie Pie”

“Eijiro”

“ Shark - and or Shark bait ooh ah ah”

They stared at me, the mutt chokes on his juice.

“Should I even try if you’re going to give us nicknames”

Denki lets a breath out as I continue to smile, he points at himself

“Pikachu?”

I nod my head, he hesitantly then points across from him

“Mutt”

I don’t miss a beat.

“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!!”

“Mutt” I respond with a smile and seeing how he’s at the perfect level I slip the Snickers bar towards him on the table.

“It’s okay your not you when you’re hungry”

He turns to stone, then as if he was a newly awakened volcano he exploded. Everyone at the table jumps up as he starts to produce explosions.

“Welp gotta blast” I grin out and holding my hand out to give Pikachu a high-five, then leaping across the table and now on the run for the second time today.

I weave in between students standing in the cafeteria, standing in shock as they watch 3 people try to restrain a rabid dog.

I slip through the doors and a laugh escapes me as my daily entertainment has been fulfilled.

“ Oh it’s you”

I look to my left and my biggest smile of the day creeps on my face.

“Best Boi!” I jump to hug him, he stops me by placing a hand on my head, I let out a whine as I struggle to touch him.

“You’re very loud today” he states boredly.

“Yes of course I am! I was playing with the dog and also stole some candy, which I tried to give to the dog but he didn’t want it” I pout, Shinsou doesn't even look surprised at my confession.

“ Did you at least have lunch?”

I stop trying to hug him and stood up straight, dread fills me “ Grace is going to murder me”

I whisper to him, he chuckles and reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a slice of lemon bread.

“ Can’t have the problem child dying”

My eyes widen as I stare at his outstretched hand.

“You’re stalking me”

“what - You know what I’m not even going to try to argue with you, but why would you assume that”

I swipe the package from his hand and beam at him, “because it’s my favorite snack”

He stands there, head empty no brain,

“Oh, Alice there you are! I was wondering if I could have my cup back, its a limited edition DJ Khaled cup”

I look at shinshou with a guilty look, Present Mic appears down the hall strutting my way

“Gotta blast again! By best boi”

I salute him and put the bread in my mouth, like a true anime girl, and hop out the window escaping.

Grace

When I met up with Ava there was a weird purple ball stuck to her skirt and she needed to get her spare skirt out of her locker. As it turns out Ava needed my backpack because she accidentally put the slip of paper with her locker combination in one of my folders, but the one folder she needed was at home. We ended up spending a good 10-15 minutes looking for it before we finally went to her teacher. Who was nice enough to give me a pass to class because I was running late. I made it to class five minutes after the bell rang but luckily the teacher wasn’t there yet. Just as I placed my pencil pouch on my desk the door to the classroom slams open to reveal All Might, the number one hero standing on his toes with his hands on the door frame. He leans forward so that his weight is supported by his hands, and he’s standing in what seems to be a pose imitating flying. His cape flows into the classroom, and if I look closely I can see the fan positioned in the hallway behind him that he’s using to provide the breeze for his cape.

“I am here!”

The sound of excited murmuring begins to resonate around the classroom. All might does a weird march as he makes his way behind the teacher’s desk

Sir why are you walking like you have something stuck up your butt.

“Welcome to the most important class at U.A high! Think of it as heroing 101! Here you will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight in the name of good!”

All might places one of his feet on the chair and turns so that his back is faced to us while he flexes to make his muscles even larger than they already are.

“Let’s get into it! Today’s lesson: pull no punches!” All might holds up a card that just says BATTLE. The class begins to talk in an uproar of excitement. “Hell yea finally some action!” Bakugou’s loud voice in my ear sends a sharp pain through my skull. I turn in my seat so that I am face to face with him. “Bitch! Do that again! Yell in my ear again and see what happens to you! I know how to hide a body. They’ll never find you.” Bakugou slams his hands on his desk and gets closer to my face “ Are you threatening me!” A small smirk works its way onto my face. “It's not a threat. It’s a promise. Now if you don’t get out of my face I promise that I will punch you in yours.”

Before he can say anything else several slots in the wall open and shelves of number cases slide out. “ Part of being a hero is looking good so in each case is a costume based on the information that each of you provided before school started” the class once again starts to murmur in excitement. “ Young Grace, your hero costume just arrived this morning from your old school, so it is not with the rest of the classes. You will have to stop by the office to grab yours, so you are excused to go and collect that.”

It didn’t take me long to get my costume and by the time I got back to the class the last person was grabbing their assigned case number and I was being ushered in the direction of the changing rooms.

After everyone was changed we made our way to the training ground beta. I couldn’t help but look around at everyone’s costumes. A green figure caught my attention. Is that midoriya? What the hell is he wearing? His costume was interesting, to say the least. It looked sort of like a mutant bunny. Wait a damn minute. Why does his costume look familiar? I try to figure out what or who his costume reminds me of until I feel a presence next to me when I look I see no one until I glance down to see Mineta standing way too close for comfort and staring at the exposed skin of my thigh. “Man, I love this school.” My face scrunches in disgust, but before I can do anything All Might begins talking again. All Might! My eyes dart back and forth between Midoriya’s costume and All Might. The more that I look the more the similarities stick out. Did he base his costume on All Might?

“Alright, newbies each of you will step up and choose a letter from this box. This will determine what team you will be on. Since we have an uneven number of students one team will have three people instead of two.” One by one my classmates found their teams until it was my turn. I reached in and felt around until I finally was able to grasp a sheet of paper. Please not the same team as that pomeranian.Please not the same team as that pomeranian. I opened the slip and low and behold I’m on the same team as Katsuki Bakugou. Begrudgingly I walked over to Bakugou and Iida to wait for the rest of the class to finish drawing for their teams.

Once everyone was paired up for teams, All Might reached into the two boxes that had been sitting to the side labeled hero and villain. He raises his hands into the air in an extravagant manner while holding two balls. One with the letter A and the other with the letter D. “Team A will be the heroes and Team D you three will be the villains. Now go to your starting positions. The rest of the class and I will be watching. If things go too far I will stop the fight.” I follow Iida to where we need to go, but we each stop at All Might to get an earpiece so that we can talk to each other.

Iida, Bakugou, and I were placed in a large room to guard a weapon. As we wait for All Might to announce the start I hear Bakugou grumbling to himself. “Yo hedgehog. What’s got your panties in a twist?” He doesn’t even spare me a glance. “Do you think that damn nerd has a quirk?” Iida speaks up before I have the opportunity to. “ Do you mean Midoriya? Of course, he has a quirk. How else would he have gotten into U.A. otherwise, and you saw him at the entrance exam.” Bakugou clenches his fist and the smell of caramel floods my nostrils. The static of the earpieces being activated sounds in our ears. “Let the battle begin!” Bakugou is the first to move, heading for the door right away. Iida starts to wave his hands around in a wild but robotic manner. “Bakugou where are you going? We need to stay-”“ You two just stay here and guard the weapon.” With that, he disappears into the hallway. “ Don’t worry Iida I’m still here.” He turns and looks down at me before his face turns a bright red color and he swiftly turns his head to look away from me. I glance down to try to figure out what has him so flustered, but I don't see the problem. When I look back at him he still refuses to look at me. “th-tha-. Let’s-um- let’s move everything out of the floor so that when Uraraka and Midoriya come Uraraka can’t use her quirk.” After he gives instructions he just begins to move things around, while still avoiding looking in my direction. “Iida?” He hums while still moving things around. “Are you okay?” I start to move things around and off the floor. “I am fine Jackson, but thank you for your concern.” “Are you sure? Because you were really red.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see his back stiffen. “I am fine, I assure you.” I don’t believe you but I’ll leave it alone.

It takes us about ten minutes or so to move everything out of the floor and put them where Uraraka can’t use them. As we wait Iida starts to mumble to himself about how to be a good pretend villain. Slowly he starts to get louder until he’s taking in a boisterous voice in a stiff or of tone. I can’t help but to chuckle at his antics, and he turns and looks at me wide-eyed as if he had forgotten that I was here. He goes to speak, but I raise my hand to silence him when I hear something. It’s quiet for a moment before the faint sound of shuffling can be heard. “Did you hear that?” Iida looks at me with confusion written all over his face. “No, I did not hear anything.” The shuffling sound happens again. “There it is again.” Iida looks around. “Maybe it was Bakugou.” I continue to look around to try to find the source of the noise when a faint scent hits my nose. “ It’s not Bakugou. It doesn’t smell like caramel. It’s like a softer smell like flowers.” Iida looks around smelling the air. “Are you sure I don’t smell anything” I continue to observe the area before I spot a pink shoe peeking out from behind a pillar. “Trust me Iida if there is anything I am confident with it’s my sense of smell. And I'm also confident that Uraraka is currently hiding behind that pillar over there by the door.” A small squeak comes from the girl.

As I go to take a step forward the building begins to shake and I end up on the floor. “Dammit, Bakugou! What the hell are you doing.” the earphone stays silent. “Bakugou I know that you can hear me!” A growl can be heard from his end of the line. “Shut the hell up. I’m handling my job. You handle yours.” The sound of static fills my ears, and I turn around to look at Iida. “Did-did he just turn his earpiece off?” All that he offers is a blank expression. The building shakes again this time a few pieces of the ceiling fall and we have to cover our heads. Once the building settles and debris no longer rains I wait a moment before I stand just to make sure that the building won’t start shaking again.

I start to dust off my pants when I notice movement out of the side of my eye. I look over to see Uraraka moving from her place behind the pillar and start running towards the weapon. “Iida!” The sound of his engines fills the room as I charge forward towards the brunette. “Got it!” I throw myself forward and tackle Uraraka before she can get any further. It becomes a mess of hands flying between the two of us. Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! You are not pennywise and we don’t all float here! The building shaking again distracts me for a moment, but it gives her an opening and she places a hand on my arm while activating her quirk. Slowly the floor starts to get further away, and I try to reach out to grab anything that can steady me without success. Instead of floating straight up like I had expected, I can feel myself start to float in the direction that Iida and I had been standing. Suddenly I feel my stomach sink and my body is no longer weightless as I slam down into the floor knocking all of the air out of me. I’m gonna remember that.

It takes a moment for me to regain my breath, but when I finally do Iida reaches his hand out to help me up. The sound of Urarka talking into her comm reaches my ears and I look over to see her grabbing onto a pillar. What are you- the building begins to shake again, but this time stronger than before. “Iida I would grab onto something if I were you.” Before either of us could move a giant explosion blasted up through the floor. To keep my balance I grabbed onto Iida. When the explosion stopped a cloud of dust remained. Something seemed to be moving within the dust and I squinted to try to make out what it was. The shape of rocks moving towards us became more apparent and the two of us ducked to cover our heads. From behind us, we heard the sound of Uraraka cheering as she came in contact with the weapon.

“The hero team wins!” It is what it is. The three of us walk down to the ground level where a medical bed is taking Midoriya away to Recovery Girl through the giant hole in the side of the building. All Might stands there amongst the rubble watching as the bed carries away one of his students. He turns to look at the remaining four of us and leads us in the direction of the observation room. The class is silent as we walk in. All Might walks to his chair and turns to look at the four of us. “While the heroes may have won this fight the true MVPs were Iida and Grace.” Mummers fill the room as our classmates talk amongst themselves. “Does anyone know why?” Momo steps forward. “The two of them discussed a plan to ensure that their opponent was at a disadvantage. They were aware of their opponent’s skill and prepared for it. They were aware of their surroundings, Grace especially. While it is okay to separate sometimes on a mission it is best to stay together, and that is what they did.” I glance over at Bakugou, but he’s looking down with his hands clenched into a fist and his teeth clenched. All Might called for the next group to go, but I didn’t pay attention to who was next, instead I chose to sit in the corner of the room and take a nap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After everyone completed the training exercise All Might excused us to go change and head back to the class. I was the first back in the classroom. Rather than sit at my desk, I perched myself on the windowsill to watch the world outside. Slowly everyone began to trickle back into the classroom, all except Bakugou, and the classroom began to bustle with noise once again. The door to the classroom opens and I turn to see who it is. Midoriya stands in the doorway with his arm lightly wrapped up. Everybody crowds around Midoriya, but I remain where I am staring out the window.

A familiar head of blond hair emerges from the school. I move to grab my bag, but before I leave the window I notice a head of green hair that can only be midoriya chasing after Bakugou. The two of them seem to talk, well Midoriya seems to be talking, Bakugou seems to be yelling. Bakugou turns to walk away again, but All Might appears practically out of thin air. Bakugou keeps his back to the two of them as All Might talks to him. The interaction doesn’t last long before Bakugou starts to walk away again. All Might and Deku stand there for a moment before All Might places a hand on his shoulder and leads him back into the building. While Bakugou is still in sight I grab my backpack off of the ground and throw the window open. I jump out Alice style and a familiar tingling sensation radiates between my shoulder blades as a pair of blue and purple butterfly wings sprout. I flutter over just behind the angry blonde and will my wings away. I walk a little faster to stand beside him and then slow down so that I can walk beside him as he stomps away like a little gremlin. He doesn’t look over at me, but I can tell that he knows that it’s me. “What the hell do you want?” What do I want? Why am I even here? He's not my friend. He's not even an acquaintance. I step in front of him and stop causing him to stop as well. For the first time, I offer him a small smile. “Let’s go grab frozen yogurt. My treat.” I don’t give him time, I just grab his wrist and drag him to the shop that I saw on the walk to school this morning.

When we get there the young man at the front counter greets us in a bubbly tone as he hands us our cups to go fill up. I filled my cup with coconut froyo topped with strawberry boba, coconut shavings, and three cherries. when I walk to the register bakugou is already standing there with his cup half full of chocolate with some granola and a single cherry.” you sure that’s all you want? I don’t mind, Ava usually gets two full cups when I pay so if you're concerned about the price being too high don’t worry about it.” He scowls at me a growl bubbling up from the back of his throat.” Shut the hell up and weigh your cup.” I place my cup on the scale and raise my hands in mock surrender.” All alright, alright I was just being nice.” I reach behind me to grab my wallet out of my bag. When I finally find it and turn around to pay I see the clerk handing Bakugou money.” What are you doing? I was gonna pay for your stuff.”Bakugou shoves his money angrily back into his pocket and yanks his froyo off of the scale.” I don’t need some damn extra paying for my food when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. Now grab you shit so we can go.” Bakugou doesn’t even wait for me before he walks out of the shop. I turn and thank the guy behind the counter before I grab my froyo and follow after Bakugou. We walk in silence as we eat until in the distance I spot a park and dash toward it.” Hey, where the hell are you going!” I spot a trashcan and as I dash past it I throw away my cup but continue my path to my destination. When I reach the object behind my excitement I throw down my backpack and practically throw myself into the seat of the swing. By the time Bakugou reaches me I've obtained a pretty good height.” What the hell was that!” I close my eyes as the wind whips past me.” I haven’t been on a swing since I was a kid! My mom used to bring my sisters and me to the park all the time before-.” A memory flashes behind my eyelids and I snap my eyes open. I stop kicking my legs and my swing slowly loses momentum until it just slightly sways. Bakugou looks at me with the same scowl on his face but a gleam of curiosity sparks in his eyes.” Why don’t you sit with me. Not on the same swing of course, but it’s a nice day out today. the fresh air will do you some good.” he looked down at me like I was stupid for a moment. To be honest, at this moment I feel stupid. In the end, he sits down on the swing.his swing slightly sways as he rocks back and forth on the heels of his feet.

A nice silence settles between the two of us that lasts for maybe ten to fifteen minutes before Bakugou breaks the silence.” Why did you invite me to get frozen yogurt with you?” I look over at him, but he’s looking straight ahead. “First of all, just say froyo dude. And I guess you just seemed like you needed a pick me up.” He looks over at me, his signature scowl plastered on his face. “So what is this out of pity or something! I don’t need pity from some damn extra! I don’t need pity from anyone!” In his tangent, he stood from his swing and moved in front to stand in front of me. “ Woah, Woah, Woah. who said anything about pity. Because I know damn well that word never left my mouth. Did you hear me say ‘oh poor Bakugou’? No cause those words never left my lips. I tried to be nice because even though I don't know what it is that made you mad, frustrated, or whatever emotion you're feeling I know what it’s like to be suffering by yourself. When you're so blinded by whatever you're feeling that it feels like you're drowning in it, but I also know what it’s like to have someone with you even if it’s just sitting in silence together. I was trying to be nice, but you wanted to be an bitch. Do me a favor and get your head out of your ass because it ain’t a hat. Now if you excuse me I’m going home.” I push past him and grab my bag as I begin the journey home.

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rpgexperience · 4 years ago

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My servant Devil - session 30

“Abby?” Lucian softly touches Abigail’s cheek as she slowly wakes up, back at her mansion. She smiles at him and breathes out his name: “Lucian… Are you okay?” He confirms that he’s fine, no need to worry about him. She also asks about Kathy, Bart and Finn. Lucian gives her an overview of what happened while she was out: ”Everyone is fine and safe. The children are coming back to their senses now. You will have to help bring them back to their families. Bart is currently chasing down the people who worked together with Ambrose. However they seem to be mere humans who somehow sympathised with him. They won't be a challenge. The challenge might be to keep Bart from strangling them once he caught them.“

Abigail nods. “I still can’t believe it… I know you have warned me about him but I would have never thought he could be this bad.” “Evil takes all forms and shapes, even the ones you would not expect,” Lucian agrees sympathetically. Abigail thinks for a moment. Ambrose referred to the magical creatures in first person, right? “Do you know who he was?” she asks Lucian, since Ambrose never answered that question himself. “I am not sure but he certainly wasn’t part of this world. He must have come from the other side. However I don’t know if he somehow managed to slip through or if he had been hiding in this world ever since I broke the barrier last time, lingering in the shadows and waiting for his time to strike. To tell you the truth... I am not even sure if you actually killed him.” Abigail looks at him surprised: "Are you saying that he might still be somewhere out there?! What happened to his body?” “His body disappeared. I don't know if he’s still alive or where he might be but I think that as long as he doesn't want to be found, there is no way to find him.” She nods and calms down again. He’s right. And if Ambrose shows up again, she’ll be ready. She should probably also write it down somewhere for her descendants. Lucian gets up: “Well then, I have to go now, back to Hell, where I belong. The pact is fulfilled and so my time here on Earth is over.” Abigail blinks surprised, oh right… “No… don’t go… Please stay…” she tries to keep him talking, keep him from leaving: “What did they do to you? Why were you at the barrier? What happened to you?” “They ambushed me and and forced me into the chains. Holy chains, unbreakable. He knew what he was doing. However you fulfilling the pact set me free,” he gives her a sad smile. “I am prolonging this a bit by not claiming my price but don't worry, I am not going to devour your soul. I am going to set you free. An eye for an eye, isn't it? You can live your life, you deserve it, Abigail. You should have a wonderful life.” Lucian takes her hand and places a kiss on her knuckles. Abigail looks at him in tears: “No… You can stay here! You don’t have to go back to Hell! You said that the gate is open and anybody suffering there can leave anytime! Including you so stay here with me… please…” Lucian shakes his head and wipes her tears: “Shhhh, I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to stay on Earth. It's pulling me back to Hell, I can't resist it. I am really glad I got to meet you. Even though it was a very short time period, I will never forget you, no matter how long my existence in this world might last. You managed to charm me in a way like nobody else ever has. For centuries now I thought I had no heart but... you touched it and now it's beating just for you. I promise you, I will never forget you... I... I will never stop loving you.”

Tears are streaming down Abigail’s face: “No… stop it… you’re not going anywhere. You can stay here with me. You are the Devil! You don’t listen to what anybody tells you, just… stay… please… ” Lucian looks down at her with a sad smile: “I cannot. I tried it once and it cost me my love. I am not going to risk your life, Abby.” “But it belongs to you! You have saved me and I have given it to you. So why not risk it? I wouldn’t be alive without you in the first place.” He places his hand on her chest: “No, it doesn’t belong to me anymore. I am giving it back to you. So promise me you will treasure it and have the best, most wonderful life for me.” Abigail shakes her head and hugs him: “I can’t do that without you… please stay…” “I will always stay, right inside your heart,” Lucian starts to dissolve in a cloud of stardust in her arms: “Goodbye… Abigail…” Until… she is hugging nothing at all.

“No!” NO! Abigail falls down to her knees, weeping. “Please come back… we can enclose another pact…” she takes out his ring from her pocket: “You left your ring here! Lucian…” she closes the ring in her palm, holding her one hand with her other hand, sobbing. No… I’m not letting you go just like that…

Abigail gets up, starts running around her room and around the whole mansion, searching for her book about demons. She looks everywhere, totally distraught, fighting tears. Kathy and Finn checkup on her but she sends them away, searching the whole library. Just as she’s about to give up, she finds the book lying neatly right on top of her desk.

She grabs it, quickly going to the page describing the summoning ritual. She draws the symbols on the ground and lights the candles. Just as she’s about to read out the incantation, she notices one more line before it, saying that for the ritual to work one needs an object of very high value to the demon. She looks at the ring, still holding it in her hand. She places the ring in the middle of the summoning circle, then reads out the incantation.

As she finishes, the candle lights flicker, and then go out. The pentagram starts to glow in a faint green light as a big black cloud of smoke starts to form in its centre, gust of cold wind blows around Abigail, then the ring suddenly starts to float, like a ghost had picked it up and is holding it in his hand. The first thing she can see in the smoke are the eerie red eyes, then Lucian steps forwards, out of the smoke, holding his ring in his hand and smiling at her softly. “Who is the one who summoned me?” Abigail smiles, so happy to see him again: “Lady Abigail Maglocke. I would like to close a pact with you.” “Oh? What is it that you can offer me?” Lucian asks, playfully. “My hand, if- if you want it,” Abigail blushes. Lucian thinks for a moment but nods: “And what do you demand in return?” Abigail looks up at him pleadingly: “You, for the rest of my days here on Earth and in afterlife.” He smiles at her. She falls down to her knees, looking up into his red eyes with insecure smile, taking his hand: “Will you do me the honour and stay with me, forever? Please?” He blushes, then a happy smile forms on his lips: “Yes. Yes, I will.” Lucian picks her up in his arms and leans in to kiss her, wrapping her in his soft bright white wings…

End. We have made it to the finale! I hope you enjoyed following this roleplay-based story, I’m looking forward to bringing you our next one.

#rp #rpg #roleplay #my servant devil #finale #Lucian #ring #sad #romance #happy ending #Abigail #session

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shadowsof-thenight · 4 years ago

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Where our story begins: Chapter six

Story summary: This is a victorian era AU Home is where our story begins, but how does one know where home is?  

Julia has a good life. A calm life. She really doesn’t have much to complain about. That is, until a handsome stranger steps into their home in the country and all that calmness seems to disappear instantly. Who is this man that seems to terrorise everyone with his haughty ways? 

Ship: Bucky Barnes X OFC-Julia

Warnings: some angst

Words: 6119

***

A/N: I have so much planned for this story and I cannot wait to share it. I just hope there will be less time between each chapter.

Anyway, reblogs, likes and comments are always appreciated!

And a special thanks to @gnomewithalaptop for the amazing help provided!

***

Masterlist

Story Masterlist

***

That night, as exhaustion drew her under, Julia’s nightmares remained at bay and she woke in the morning with a smile on her face. She could hardly remember her last peaceful night, and she knew that she could only attribute it to the arrival of her darling brother. Alexander’s visit had instilled her with a new sense of safety, and happiness, and she felt completely reinvigorated. Until yesterday, she had not been fully aware of the unease in her body, or the notion that her nightmares could have an origin in her worries; not until James had suggested it. And she knew she would have to face those worries and work through them, in order to have more restful nights in the future—because not even her brother could keep them at bay forever.   There was just one big issue she faced in the endeavour to challenge her worries; she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had rattled her. There was the issue of her parents acting differently, her father becoming ill, and of course, James had been rather difficult to read at first. But had any of that really been the cause of her nightmares?

Over the weeks since James’s arrival, she’d gotten to know him better, and because of this, he was becoming a tad easier to understand. Though she was not fooled; there was still quite a lot she did not know about this man.  At the same time, her father’s illness seemed to be receding, which should calm her nerves—however, the length of time in which he had been bedridden still worried her. And she knew not what had brought him down in the first place.  And neither of those actions informed her why her parents had been acting differently lately. Julia could only hope that this would pass, or that her brother would be able to help her assess the situation.

The arrival of James had thrown her mother for a loop, and Julia was now certain that her father had neglected to inform her of their visitor until the morning of his arrival. This was out of character for her father, he spoke very openly with his wife and kept her informed of his dealings. Usually.  Julia considered that perhaps she had been overanalysing. Her father might’ve forgotten to mention it to his wife if his health was already waning at the time. And her mother had covered for the slip-up rather well, hosting a dinner to welcome their guest.

It was possible that Julia’s mind had simply been playing tricks on her, because she had not been in the know.

Finally accepting this as a possible explanation, Julie got out of bed and rang for Mary to help her get ready for the day. Mary was quick to answer, relaying a message from James; he was unable to join her for a walk that morning. Apparently, there was business to be discussed with her father and brother instead. James had expressed the hope to seek out her presence at a later moment.

Julia was surprised by the disappointment that flooded her upon hearing this—she had come to enjoy their daily walks. She’d come to enjoy his company far more than she had previously thought possible. Still intent on having the exercise, Julia decided to walk into town on her own.  Therefore, after breakfast, she went to retrieve her coat—there was a strong wind and a chill in the air. However, before she could put the coat on, Carolina stopped her.

“Are you taking a walk?” Carolina asked her and Julia nodded, happily inviting her to come along.

“I would love to, would you mind terribly to wait while I change my dress?” Carolina asked, looking down at her peach coloured frock.

“Indeed, I would gladly wait. I’ll be in the library,” Julia offered, her smile still bright and she moved to large wooden doors that led to the book-filled room. Grabbing a random book off a shelf, Julia sat down in a comfortable chair that offered her a view of the staircase.

When Carolina returned, Julia barely took the time to return her book to its rightful place as she bolted out of the library. There was no conversation about their direction as they quickly moved towards the small town—they had a good reason to shop and though unplanned, they felt no need to delay their shopping trip.

Their reason was exciting; a ball. An impromptu ball in fact, thrown by Julia’s uncle. During dinner the night before he had deemed it silly to ignore the opportunity that so many guests in the area provided. It wouldn’t be as extravagant as months of planning would’ve given them, but with the help of Clint and Natalia, he had been convinced that it would be a wonderful event. Everyone at the table had happily agreed; it had been so long since there’d been a ball in the area.

Julia’d had trouble containing her excitement, for she could’ve hugged her uncle for the wonderful idea. Dinners were quite frequent, but balls were not in these parts of the country. Most families came to the country to recharge from the demands at court, where balls were more numerous. However, since her parents had decided to remain in the country, Julia had not been able to enjoy many balls at all since she had come of age. She could hardly wait to dance and talk and laugh.

And now she could share her enthusiasm with Carolina as they considered fabrics and ribbons for the event. It always surprised Julia how much a dress could be changed with a few alterations, and with no time to order a new dress, it was all she could do to look her best.

Therefore they strolled through town, glancing into the shop windows and assessing shoes, ribbons and fabrics. All the while the women happily discussed which dresses they could choose for the time-consuming endeavour—they’d be spending most of their time making their alterations.

“Carolina, may I ask you something?” Julia asked a while later, as they made their way back home, happy with their purchases.

“My dear Julia, you may always ask me anything,” Carolina answered kindly, her voice soft and her lips pulled up in a smile. Julia didn’t doubt her answer to be true. Carolina was gentle and kind, whereas she herself had proven herself to be crass at times, with a knack for imprudent questions. Julia had often been jealous of Carolina’s softer nature and wished to be more like her, but she just couldn’t seem to make it happen. Eventually, she had accepted her own shortcomings and embraced the friendship the other woman offered, in hopes that perhaps she’d pick up some of her habits over time.

“Do you happen to know why Alexander got angry with Father last night?” Julia wrung her hands as she spoke the words, afraid to offend Carolina, but she was too curious not to ask.

After dinner, when their guests had left, Alexander had asked George to speak with him. They’d gone into another room and shouting erupted shortly after. Julia hadn’t known her brother to ever raise his voice to anyone, and upon seeing Carolina’s shocked expression, apparently, that still wasn’t something he did. Her brother liked to laugh, loudly and often, and he spoke passionately about subjects that mattered to him. But he didn’t raise his voice and he never yelled. He most certainly never raised his voice to their parents.

“He would not tell me,” Carolina confessed. “Not yet, he said.”

To be fair, it wouldn’t be considered proper to share the conversations with her husband. However, Carolina had always known that Alexander was very open with Julia. And anything that was told to Julia never went beyond her either. Nothing mattered more to her than loyalty. It was a quality she and Carolina shared.

“I hope they fix it. I do not like to see them argue,” Julia said softly, carefully watching her steps and avoiding Carolina’s gaze.

With a sigh and a sympathetic smile on her lips, Carolina stopped walking, placing a gentle hand on Julia’s arm to halt her steps. Julia kept her gaze on the ground and Carolina gently took her cheek in hand to make her look up. She offered Julia another smile and rubbed her arms in a comforting manner. Julia returned the smile halfheartedly.

“Do not worry your pretty head over it, Julia, Alexander would not want that,” Carolina said. “I am certain he will not leave before all is well.”

“In that case, I hope it will take a long time,” Julia tried to joke and Carolina chuckled, before kissing Julia’s cheek.

Julia knew that Carolina was correct of course; Alexander rarely argued with people, but when he did, he would never leave on bad terms—even if the parties involved could not find common ground. However, this was what worried Julia most; what if they would not find common ground?

“Everything will be fine, I promise. I won’t have it any other way,” Carolina added as the frown on Julia’s face grew a little deeper. Julia realised that Carolina was trying to console and she offered a weak smile in appreciation of the effort.

****

When the day of the ball arrived, Julia was so giddy with excitement that she had barely gotten any sleep at all. She was even the first one down for breakfast, beating her brother, which she couldn’t remember ever happening. Alexander had boundless energy and never seemed to need quite as much sleep as others. He chuckled when he walked into the dining room a short time later and found his little sister sitting at the table—her feet bouncing with restless energy.

“My dear sister, I would have thought you’d be sleeping in today,” Alexander said as he sat down and was quickly offered a cup of tea by the young footman Charlie.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Julia answered honestly, her lips spread in a bright smile.

“Do conserve your energy. You wouldn’t want to be tired by the time the ball is in full swing,” Alexander said with a wink, before sipping his tea.

“I’ll try,” she chuckled, before taking a small bite of her breakfast. She wasn’t very hungry, but she knew she’d have little time to eat later on, as there were still some small alterations to be done to her dress. Not that she cared; she was happy for the work. Or better said, happy for the reason. She could hardly wait for the feast to begin and to be able to tire her feet with dancing. She had already decided to dance the whole night through if she could, accepting offers from anyone—no man would be exempt.

Of course, she also wanted to spend some time speaking with Natalia, for she had missed the woman, and writing letters did not suffice in closing the distance, not entirely. However, she had also been thinking of planning another visit to their home so she could play with the twins as well. Her time spent in their home after the children were born had been such a wonderful time, and she would not mind repeating it. And since Natalia had spoken of such plans as well, she knew that there would be no objections.

When Julia had finished her breakfast, she kissed her mother's cheek affectionately and rushed out of the room, nearly bumping into James on her way up. She uttered a quick apology and raced to her room—she didn’t want to waste any time.

James chuckled as he watched her run up the stairs; her excitement was rather appealing. He wished he felt it too. Unfortunately, he still had business to attend too and it wasn’t all too pretty.

He knew that Julia would find out what was going on all too soon, and he wasn’t entirely certain that he wanted her too. She was happy, content with her life, and he wished for her to stay that way. Still, he couldn’t ignore the things that needed to be done, and he could only hope that she would understand eventually.

James was a little disappointed in himself; he’d not been as stern as he had promised upon arriving. He had allowed the lies to fester—he even allowed himself to get involved in them. That had never been the plan; he prided himself on his honesty. However, looking at Julia’s innocence and her good, kindhearted nature had made it difficult to maintain his business-like manner. He had wanted to shield her, protect her.

He realised that it would’ve been far less complicated if he hadn’t stayed quite as long as he had. If he had not gotten close to Julia. With a sigh, he continued his way to the office that lay across from the library. Alexander and George would soon join him there, and then decisions would finally be made. And Julia might not be left in the dark for much longer.

***

As the carriage pulled up the drive of Uncle Philip’s manor, Julia smiled brightly at the hustle and bustle that greeted them there. She greatly enjoyed the commotion, and since she hadn’t been to very many balls in her life, she was excited to experience one now. As she took in the decorations that lined the drive she could clearly tell that the family had made a proper effort to shower their guests in luxury, no holds barred. There were beautiful lanterns to light the way towards the manor and garlands on the fences with flowers deftly placed in between the decoration, giving it a festive sense. The house itself had ribbons and flowers placed tastefully on the doors and window sills, which looked amazing with all the lights inside brightly lit.

James took in her glee with a sense of contentment, glad to be a witness to her unbridled joy. For a moment he wished he could keep hold of this happiness for her forever. He shook the thought quickly though, intent to figure out where he stood before he did anything to make her expect anything from him.

When they were nearly at the front door, Julia leaned back in her seat and looked at the other occupants of the coach. Alexander was seated next to her, and Carolina across from him next to James. Everyone looked stunning, and the smiles certainly showed that they were all looking forward to a night of dancing. She could see the excitement bouncing off Carolina’s feet as she now leaned forward in her seat to take in the decorations.

As the chaise reached the porch, valets quickly stepped off the deck to offer them a hand getting out, but Alexander was quick to wave off their assistance. He graciously thanked them for the offer, then stepped out gracefully and reached inside to help his wife. His hands on her waist, he easily swooped her up and placed her gently on her feet. She giggled as he did so, then placed her hand in the crook of his arm, allowing him to lead her inside. Alexander looked back briefly, winking mischievously at his little sister, before escorting Carolina to the large, open double doors of the decorated manor. Understanding the not-so-subtle hint of his friend, James scrambled to follow his example. He exited the carriage and offered Julia his hand as she stepped out, using the short steps that the valets had already placed underneath the coach. She smiled kindly as she accepted his offer.

The moment their hands touched, Julia wondered if she should have been so eager to accept however. A shockwave ran through her entire body at the contact, and she inhaled sharply. It dawned on her that there had been very little actual skin on skin contact between the two, despite his lengthy stay at her house. Not since their first meeting in fact, and she pondered for a moment when the atmosphere between them had begun to change. She really couldn’t pinpoint the day. Almost like it had happened slowly, until she was completely swept up in it.

With a shaky breath, she shyly glanced up at James through her lashes, wondering if he had felt the same shock. Greeting her was the most intense gaze she had ever seen in those blue eyes, and she took a deep breath as she held his stare a moment longer, admiring the storm that presented itself inside those baby blues.

Julia wondered what it would be like to spend a lifetime staring into the depths of his eyes. She even foolishly allowed herself to imagine a kiss from his full lips, before taking another deep breath in and returning her attention to the present—confused as she was with her own train of thoughts. She hadn’t before thought of kissing him and she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. She had been enjoying his company, that much was clear, but was she making a fool of herself to imagine more?

James appeared equally entranced; the spell only broke when the steps were removed and the coach followed directions to the stables, where the horses could rest and the driver could have a drink.

“Have I told you already how beautiful you look?” James’s voice firmly placed her back in the now, and she offered him a smile. Her cheeks heated up slightly, and she just hoped he would assume it part of the excitement of the evening and not that it was based on any untoward thoughts.

“Thank you,” she said. “You are too kind.”

“Could I be so bold to ask for a dance tonight?” James added as he offered his arm and escorted her towards the door, following her brother and his wife.

“You may, I shall hold a spot for you,” Julia answered with a smile, surprised at the flutter in her heart that erupted upon hearing the question.

“I am delighted,’ he replied with a smile, rather pleased with himself.

They entered the manor and their conversation halted as they took in the beauty around them. Julia had been to the house many times before, but the colourful flower arrangements placed on nearly every flat surface certainly brought a new ambiance to the place. It brightened up the well-lit hall, neatly creating a pathway towards the ballroom, where other guests had already gathered.

Julia glanced around in the growing crowd, noticing a beautiful Asian woman in a stunning shimmering gown; it almost appeared silver. She realised she’d never seen the woman before and made a mental note to inquire with Natalia who it was—she certainly was a striking appearance and Julia’s curiosity was piqued.  Then Julia found her uncle, greeting his guests near the entrance of the ballroom, and with a smile, she approached him, her hand still safely tucked in the crook of James’s arm. They both took a moment to thank him for inviting them and congratulating him on a grand affair. Philip was quick to correct their assumption that it was of his hand; according to his humble opinion, only the idea had been his. The organisation was completely the work of Natalia, and he was very proud of all that she had accomplished in such a short amount of time. Julia could only agree; she must have worked very hard to pull it off.

As more guests came in behind them, Julia excused herself and expressed her desire to find Natalia—James was more than happy to accompany her.

An hour or so later, Julia found herself dancing a fourth time, with a fourth man. She was elated, though quickly tiring and when the music quieted down, she excused herself to get some refreshments. Before she got far, James greeted her with a glass of wine, which she gratefully accepted as he gently guided her to where her brother and Carolina were already standing. It was in a corner of the room near an open window, and Julia was happy for the chilly breeze that wafted through it. The fan around her wrist was no longer sufficient to cool down.

“Are you enjoying yourself, sister?” Alexander asked as he took in her heated features.

“Oh, indeed I am. I do love dancing,” Julia answered honestly, unable to temper her enthusiasm, and her brother chuckled. He would never ask anyone to show more poise on such happy occasions.

“I do hope they play another waltz soon,” Carolina said with a smile and Julia nodded in agreement.

“Excuse me,” interrupted the voice of Philip, and the group turned towards the man almost simultaneously. He was making his way toward them with the beautiful woman from earlier on his arm. Julia’s interest was instantly piqued again, still eager to know who the woman was.

Upon closer inspection her dress was multi-coloured and only the top layer held that silvery hue. Underneath it were several layers in different colours, with a bright blue sash holding it together. Though very different from English wear, it was stunning, and Julia fought the urge to ask her more about it—they had not even been introduced.

“May I introduce you to Lady Ming-Na Huang,” Philip said as they came to a stop before the small group. “Ming-Na, this is my niece Julia, my nephew Alexander and his wife Carolina, and Lord Barnes,” he continued, pointing out the four as he introduced them.

“We’ve met before—good to see you again, my lady,” James said and took Ming-Na’s hand to kiss the back of it. He smiled warmly at the woman and she returned it. This made Julia even more curious about the stranger.

“It is good to see you again as well James. I hope you’ve been well” Ming-Na said, voice soft but clear, her accent adding a melodious tone to the words.

“Yes, I have. I must say I didn’t expect to see you here, out in the country,” James said frankly and Ming-Na smiled wider now, clearly understanding his sentiment.

“Philip persuaded me to visit this beautiful area,” she explained and Philip beamed beside her, clearly happy that he had managed to do so.

“Lady Ming-Na is the daughter of a Chinese diplomat that is residing at the palace,” Philip said to the other three and Julia was instantly intrigued—she would love to travel, though she had only ever seen Kent and London in her life. Still, she controlled herself, she didn’t want to bombard the woman with questions. Not when her uncle seemed eager to introduce her to everyone.

“I do say, he seems quite smitten,” Alexander said as the two walked over to the next group of people and Carolina smiled as she agreed with her husband.

“She seemed fascinating,” Julia said softly, her eyes bright as she watched the couple walk away.

“She is. And very kind,” James said with a smile.

Then their conversation was interrupted once more by the announcement that a waltz would soon start. Eager to enjoy themselves, the men took the women onto the dance floor. James took Julia’s hand in his larger one and placed his other hand carefully on her waist. And with another sharp intake of breath, Julia allowed him to to lead her through the room.

***

The ground floor of the manor was filled to the brim with people from all over the county, and Julia felt giddy as she walked amongst them. She had just spent another hour dancing the night away before excusing herself. She wanted to explore and see more of the decorations that Natalia had so carefully picked. The manor itself might have been familiar to her—she’d spent quite some time here as a child—but, the current state of it had a new vigour to it that was thoroughly enjoyable. Her smile had yet to leave her face, and she greeted everyone she encountered with a brightness that prompted people to return her happy salute.

It wasn’t until she was finally halted in her expedition by Lord Rumlow that her brightness dimmed slightly, and even then it was only marginally so. There was something different about her neighbour this evening, and though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, it put her a little on edge.

His inquiry for a dance was polite enough, and she wouldn’t have known how to decline it in a civil manner, so she agreed—offering a smile for good measure. Therefore it surprised her to feel an anger radiating from him, an anger that strangely seemed to be directed at her.

She feared for a moment that she might have accidentally slighted him, though she could not think of a single moment that could’ve been misinterpreted. Finally she wondered if perhaps she had not seen him upon passing that evening, though he had assured her that he had only just arrived. Considering that it was rather impolite to arrive this late, Julia then thought that perhaps he had been caught up in some business dealings that had soured his mood. And if this was the case, the perceived anger towards her was merely a trick of her imagination—this was her preferred reasoning.

Since he only sparingly answered her questions during their dance, Julia eventually decided to let the issue rest. She must have been mistaken. Instead, she focussed on remembering the steps to the dance, while expertly avoiding the repulsion that his hands on her waist created.

Lord Rumlow remained quiet, seemingly unable to continue any of the conversation she had tried to start. She’d commented on so many things that she too was now struggling to find words to say; she’d acknowledged the number of couples that were dancing, the weather and the size of the room, but his noncommittal responses had quickly stumped her efforts. It wasn’t until the dance was nearing its end that he finally decided to contribute to the conversation. And the words he chose confused her even more than his silence had.

“Is it true that Lord Barnes has been courting you?” Lord Rumlow asked as the dance required him to spin a circle around her. Shocked, Julia remained quiet as the dance separated them for a single moment. Her movements were automatic and possibly a little stunted until he was beside her again.

“Lord Rumlow,” she chastised him, unsure how to answer such an impertinent question.

“He seemed rather happy to escort you in,” Lord Rumlow said, “but you should be wary of his intentions. He is not quite as honourable as one might think.”

“Indeed he is honourable,” Julia said, before pulling back from the man before her. “I think I shall now rest my feet. Good night, Lord Rumlow,” she added, a finality to her tone that made it decidedly clear that the conversation was in fact over. His hand grasped for her wrist, and she had to pull harshly for him to release his grip; he wouldn’t want to cause a scene in the house of her uncle. For this, she was grateful, as she rubbed the tender skin and left the ballroom in a pace that would not garner too much attention.

When she had put enough distance between herself and her neighbour, she picked up speed. Julia made her way to the double open doors that would lead her to the garden, and on the way she reached for a glass of wine from one of the servers. She needed to recover from the rude behaviour that Lord Rumlow had shown her, behaviour he had never shown before, and she hoped that the cool air and the wine would accomplish just that.

She took a deep breath as she stepped through the door and admired the view before her. The sun had fully set by now and the moon stood high in the sky, casting a pale blue hue on the multitude of white flowers that were there. She’d never quite understood why her uncle preferred the colour white in his garden, until now. It truly was a breathtaking sight, especially from the elevated porch that she stood on. To her left were the steps that would allow her to enter the garden, but she remained where she was, leaning against the banister.

Sipping the glass of wine, she pondered the events that had brought her there, and she couldn’t quite understand what had happened. Or better said, what had gotten into her neighbour.

She had known him nearly all her life, and he had never been anything but polite. And though she had never quite felt the same affection that he seemingly had for her, she had never disliked him. His behaviour was most unexpected. As unexpected as his crude questions during the dinner her parents had invited him to.

She shivered in the cool evening air and realised that her shawl was still inside, discarded on a chair when the dancing had made her warm. Still, she made no move to go inside—not only did she not want to risk crossing paths with Lord Rumlow, she wanted to appreciate the change in the weather as well. The arrival of fall had finally cleared away the final remnants of the summer heat, and she could smell the coming rain in the air. All she could hope for was that it would not fall until after the ball. The ballroom was sweltering enough as it was and the damp would only make it worse.

“I’ve been looking for you,” James’s voice sounded from behind her, and she could not help but smile at the sound. Remaining where she was, she glanced over her shoulder to greet him and found him holding her shawl.

“I worried that you might be cold,” he spoke softly, draping the fabric over her shoulders and moving to stand beside her.

“I was, thank you.” His thoughtfulness touched her heart.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked then, and she didn’t want to offer him the truth, thinking it too complicated to explain.

“I was in dire need of fresh air,” she said instead, offering him another smile. “Isn’t the garden beautiful?” she added a moment later, almost as an afterthought—though she hoped it would cease any further questions. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone, let alone him, about the actions that had rattled her.

“The moon baths the garden in a beautiful light,” James said, unconsciously agreeing with her. She nodded in answer and relaxed her shoulders, enjoying his comforting company.

“I was wondering if perhaps there was room for one more dance,” James asked after a few more minutes of comfortable silence, and again Julia felt a flutter in her stomach. She couldn’t repress the smile as she agreed and let him lead her back into the ballroom, just as another dance was announced. Quickly taking their place in the line, they shared another smile, before moving in sync with the other couples. Glancing to the side, Julia noticed Natalia and Clint were amongst them, and she and Natalia shared a warm smile before turning back to their partners.

“Have you encountered Lord Rumlow before?” Julia asked when they spun around one another.

“No, not that I recall. May I ask why?” James asked, slightly confused by the question.

“I don’t mean to pry. It just appeared to me that he knew you,” Julia said.

“Perhaps he was acquainted with my father.” James shrugged, not giving the subject too much thought and thereby convincing her that he was being truthful with her. She had long ago realised that people who lied tended to make a more elaborate explanation.

“Perhaps indeed,” Julia agreed, as she searched her mind for a change of subject.

“I haven’t seen you dancing much tonight,” Julia finally said, hoping to spark something.

“I was waiting for you,” James offered with a smile, and that intense look that she had seen earlier that evening was back in his piercing eyes. Her breath hitched once more, and she wondered again if she was reading too much into his words, or if he was as affected as she was.

“Is there nobody else that caught your attention?” she pried carefully and he laughed, a deep rumbling sound that she decided she liked very much.

“Not particularly, no—everyone simply pales in comparison,” James answered, much less discreetly, and Julia felt a blush creep up her neck and cheeks.

“You are too kind, James,” she shyly said, looking up at him through her eyelashes again.

“Only honest, my dear,” he whispered, and she wondered if her heated cheeks would ever cool in his presence. Certainly not if he kept up with the compliments. She felt a tad silly by how much he affected her.

When the dance ended, James took Julia’s hand in his and escorted her out of the ballroom and towards the adjoining room, where the refreshments were held. Along the walls were comfortable chairs, and Julia looked at them longingly; she’d been on her feet since they had arrived. James quickly took notice of her drifting attention and hastily found her a vacant seat, before promising to get her some delicious foods.

Julia smiled as she watched him walk away, wondering if he knew that getting her food had implications all on its own. She was certain he knew, and suddenly she realised that he had in fact been courting her. All the walks he joined her on, all the silent rainy afternoons spent in the library and his willingness to hear her opinion—it had a purpose.

How could she have been so blind?

It didn’t matter much, for she had already decided that she quite liked it. Though she had to communicate that to him. After all, she’d been unaware and therefore most likely not encouraging enough. She was lucky that he hadn’t given up on her yet.

There were plenty of other young women in the surrounding area—he could’ve pursued any one of them, especially since he did not have to worry about such things like wealth. He had enough to last him several lifetimes.

She thought of the beautiful Elena that lived near the village. Julia had introduced them weeks ago and the woman had taken a quick interest in James.

Or the sweet Delilah, that they’d seen only a fortnight ago and who was very amicable. Delilah had entranced more than one man with her kindness and demure attitude. Julia was certainly not demure. How close had she come to missing out on James? How close had others been to capturing his attention?

Of course most young, single women were in attendance tonight as well, and he had decided not to dance with them—only choosing Carolina and Julia herself as his partners instead. That thought gave her some ease and she relaxed in her seat, just as James returned. He handed her a plate and she was surprised to find it filled with some of her favourite things. She smiled, thanking him, realising just how much attention he had been giving her.

Wrapped up in her thoughts, while James procured a small table to place in front of her, Julia barely noticed that someone approached her. Not until Natalia sat down beside her, bumping her shoulder in the process. Julia jumped slightly, causing Natalia to laugh at her. The beautiful redhead was a little out of breath and she leaned back in her chair, a bright smile plastered on her face.

“Your brother has boundless energy, did you know?” Natalia chuckled, opening the fan that had been tied around her wrist and waving some cool air in her face with it.

“How could anyone miss that,” Julia exclaimed laughing, glancing up at James and finding his eyes already upon her. He smiled, before telling her he would get them both something to drink.

“Did I see him bring you food?” Natalia whispered, leaning over and covering her mouth with the fan to keep others from catching her words.

“I needed to rest my feet,” Julia said and Natalia smirked. It wasn’t something she had seen on the woman very often, but it spoke volumes.

“Indeed.” Natalia giggled, then patted Julia’s hand in a friendly manner. Julia blushed and wondered who else had seen their interactions. She was certain that, after tonight, everyone would assume that James was on his way to marry her. And Julia could only hope that this was true, for she would surely be humiliated if he had no such intentions.

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes x OFC #Bucky Barnes Fanfiction #Where our story begins #Marvel Fanfiction

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lolabean1998 · 4 years ago

Text

This Better Work Part 7

Sweet Pea X OC

Summery; Hey guys, not sure how well this is going to go but I originally put it on Wattpad so its way long, but hopefully its not horrendous. Let me know what you think! So, it follows the story line kind of, it’s not exact but I have tried and it follows my OC Ali as she navigates through the hell that is Riverdale. Whilst struggling with financial, social and romantic difficulties, she has the added pressure of keeping up with school work and bonus of being thrown into the frightening world of the criminal underground.

Side Note; None of the gifs or pictures I use are mine, I’m not talented or smart enough to even begin an attempt at making my own. Thank you to those who have such abilities and if you don’t want me using them then please let me know so I can remove them for you.

Word Count;

"Hey Ali! Ali Cat! Why the hell are you siding with the Southside scumbags?" Reggie bellowed down the corridor at Ali as she threw her unneeded Chemistry and Geography books in her locker.

"Really Reggie?" She questioned sternly, slamming her locker and spinning to face the jumped-up Bulldog. Being met by the whole squad, her arms folded as her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Are you serious? You got the whole damn squad out just to confront me about a HOODIE? A FUCKING HOODIE REGINALD? I'm not taking anyone’s side. I'm just trying to keep the peace. Something you clearly aren't capable of!" Ali bellowed. How dare he challenge me!

"You need to get your affairs in order and get your head out of your arse, IT'S NOT A HAT!" Ali warned before slamming past him cutting through the see of Jocks.

"I'm not the one wearing their clothes. That hoodie warm is it? Looks more like a snake skin if you ask me." He spat stopping Ali dead in her tracks. Her bag dropping to the ground as the last string of her temper snapped. She spun quickly on her heels storming back down the corridor towards Reggie. Her hand reached out grabbing his throat. Slamming him against the lockers.

"Yes. Its very warm. But so is the River Vixens t-shirt underneath." Ali growled through gritted teeth. Her faces inches from his.

"I live on the border so I'm neither one nor the other. I'm Both! Remember that before you open your mouth next time." Ali snarled. Her fingers curling round Reggies throat increasing the fear and disgust in his eyes.

However, this didn't last long. A pair of strong arms wrapped around Ali's waist heaving her up and pulling her away from Reggie.

"Settle down Ali Cat you nearly got yourself expelled." Jughead cautioned as he placed her on one of the sofas in the common room. All eyes on her. Betty and Toni arrived seconds later carrying Ali's bag.

"Damn girl that was bad ass!" Toni exclaimed with an impressed smirk as she slumped besides Ali on the sofa. Ignoring the warning glare Jughead shot her.

“Don’t encourage her.” Jughead groaned.

"I leave you alone for one minute and THIS is what you do?" Ali smirked handing Sweet Pea a beer before kneeling beside him to look at the boiler he had just stripped. He looked over at her with a boyish grin plastered across his face, before taking a large swig of his drink. Turning back to the boiler pieces scattered in front of them.

"I had to see what was broken. I know where it all goes. I'm not an idiot!" Sweet Pea replied nonchalantly, a cocky twinkle in his eyes.

"Besides who are you to judge me? I'm not the one that nearly got myself kicked out for standing up for a bunch of actual gang members." He smirked shoving Ali's arm lightly. He loved spending the weekends helping her around the garage and fixing up her old run-down house. She made him laugh and he swore whenever he was around her, he felt as if his luck would change forever. But that was him. He knew there was no way she would feel the same way. They were friends. End of.

"You too good to say gangsters now?" Ali teased, her usually bright smile was brighter than ever and this time, it was real.

"You know you've taken this apart only to find the whole damn thing needs replacing. Right?" She asked after a moments glance over the corroded parts.

"Yeah I know." Sweet Pea sighed. Knowing full well that this meant Ali and her family going without heating.

"I'll think of something Ali Cat. Hey if worse comes to worst my caravan is always warm and I have room for three more." He smiled sympathetically. His words making Ali chuckle for a moment before she fell silent. Her eyes trained on the parts in front of her as if they would run away if she blinked.

"Hey, Princess. It's going to be ok." Sweet Pea soothed, turning Ali's face to look directly at him.

Her eyes welled with tears. For the first time ever, her guard was down. Her walls had fallen. There was no longer the endless reals of hope and joy that once resided in her eyes. Her bright, contagious smile had faded and all that was left was the fear and misery she had always hidden so well. Sweet Pea's heart broke at the sight of her feeling so vulnerable. Before he knew it he had wrapped her up in an enormous, warm bear hug. His chin resting on top of her head. His hand wrapped in her hair whilst the other pulled her deeper into the hug. He could feel the tears soaking through his t-shirt and onto his skin. They sat there for a moment. But when Ali pulled away her bright shining smile was back, her eyes filled with false happiness as she looked up at him.

"With all do respect Sweet Pea. You barely fit in that caravan. How would we ever fit around your giant ass." She replied, the thick sassy sarcasm flooding her voice like nothing had happened. Ali felt a rogue tear fall down her rosy cheek. Swiping it away with her finger tips, staring at it a moment before flicking it away.

"Ugh gross I'm leaking. Think its time for my M.O.T." She complained.

"Want a cup of tea?" She offered making her way to the kitchen before Sweet Pea had a chance to reply.

Good job Ali. Cry in front of everyone like a fucking wimp. Good one dick head. Ali scolded herself, pottering around the kitchen for Tea and mugs.

"You know you don't have to be like that Ali. It's ok to cry." Sweet Pea soothed from the doorway.

"Why because I'm a girl? Because that's what girls do? I have nothing to be sad about. I have a roof over my head, amazing friends, a loving family and I'm a jack of all trades." Ali snapped. Who was he to say she was allowed to cry?

"My tears are pointless and selfish. There are people in the world with far less than me so why should I allow myself to cry?" She continued, her words taking Sweet Pea back a step.

"Ali I was just trying to help. No one, male or female should have to be an emotionless robot. Its ok to feel." He reasoned, trying to defuse the situation.

"So, NOW I’m an emotionless robot. Oh gee thanks Sweet Pea. I feel much better now!" Ali thundered, her eyes flooding with red mist as she glared aggressively at Sweet Pea.

"You should go." She growled.

"I was just trying to help! You were sad so I tried to comfort you! How am I the bad guy?" Sweet Pea retaliated. Arms flailing angrily as he spoke. But Ali was a stone-cold bitch, it would take more than that to persuade her.

"I DIDN'T FUCKING ASK FOR YOUR HELP THOUGH DID I SWEET PEA?! I TOLD YOU BEFORE I DIDN’T NEED A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR THEN AND I SURE AS HELL DON’T NEED ONE NOW SO GET THE FUCK OUT! DON’T STAY WHERE YOU CLEARLY AREN’T WANTED!" Ali roared, her vocal cords screaming at her in pain with every syllable.

"Wow." Sweet Pea stepped back, his word quiet and upset. His heart crumbling to the floor at her last words.

"You're right. I don’t know why I bothered helping such a pompous, stuck up Northsider anyway." He snapped before spinning sharply on his heels and strutting out the house. Slamming the front door in frustration as he went.

"I mean, what a wanker! Can you believe the balls on that over-sized shoe lace?!" Ali ranted. She had been ranting to Cheryl for the last hour whilst they all made cookies for the local homeless shelter.

"I told you Ali. Serpents are the scourge of Riverdale." Cheryl stated putting the last batch of cookies in the oven.

"Oh yeah? That including Topaz?" Ali smirked raising an inquisitive eyebrow. She had seen the two girls eyeing each other up all week at school.

"Pffft please. She's Queen of the hobos". Cheryl snorted turning her face away from Ali so she wouldn't see how badly she was lying.

"Really? That's not what your eyes have been saying." Ali teased knowing full well what was going on in her best friends head. "You've been giving her your come to bed eyes all week."

Ali's phone went off before she had a chance to reply. The song Sharp-dressed Man playing loudly from her jet black, well armoured Iphone.

"What the fuck does Hiram Lodge want?" Ali mumbled wiping her hands before picking up her phone.

"Hello Mr. Lodge, how can I help?" She answered politely.

"Ah Ali. I was wondering if you could do me a small favour? Unfortunately, I cant ask anyone else to do it as I cant have anyone catching word of this. Is that understood?" He asked carefully. He was up to something and since Ali needed the money, he knew she'd do it no questions asked.

"Of-course Mr. Lodge. I'll come round later to discuss this in further detail. Shall we say 6pm at the Pembroke?" Ali replied. It wasn’t the first time she'd done something under the radar like this for the Lodges. She knew the drill.

"Perfect. I'll see you then. Oh and Ali, it is my understanding that you are in need of a new boiler. Is that correct?" He quickly stopped her before she hung up.

"Um. Yes Mr. Lodge, may I ask why?" Ali questioned curiously. "I'm sending a boiler round tomorrow. Someone will be there to fit it in at 11 o’clock sharp." He answered happily before hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Cheryl pondered, watching Ali jot something down on her phone.

"Hiram Lodge has a job for me and he's paying me with a boiler." Ali puzzled staring at her phone.

"That's not weird at all." Cheryl commented just as her phone began buzzing like crazy.

"Oh my god what is with people today." She muttered grabbing her phone. "Yes, dear cousin."

"Cheryl hi, I was wondering if you and Ali fancied going dancing at the White Wyrm tonight? I don’t want to go on my own." Betty responded sheepishly.

"Ali, want to go out dancing at the Wyrm tonight? Betty has something going on there." Cheryl muttered to Ali, her phone pressed to her chest muffling their voices.

"Yeah I'm down providing we're drinking. I should be finished by about 7 so I'll come back here, and we can all get ready and eat at mine." Ali agreed, she needed a release.

"Be at Ali's for 7 we can get ready here. Toodles." Cheryl instructed before hanging up.

"Ready to get the last batch of cookies out and hit the road?" She asked, skipping over to the oven when Ali nodded, her eyebrows still knitted in concern.

"I'll grab the containers for them." Ali muttered disappearing to the storage room by the bathroom.

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libralita · 4 years ago

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Truths and Roses have Thorns About Them | Chapter 1

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Summary: The Marchen Tavern draws in many strange characters from all across Angielle and beyond. While it may bring wonder and mystery to those who stop, it does make keeping staff members a challenge. However, Fella Treslyn is up to the task of being the Marchen’s new cook. But is really ready to deal with all the antics it has to offer?

Disclaimer: First, I am not blind/visually impaired. This is NOT meant to be disrespectful or to be representative of the blind/visually impaired experience. This story was inspired by a blind contestant (and winner!) of Masterchef Season 3, Christine Ha. Second, I do not know much about medieval cooking or the time period’s cooking techniques. The food and techniques are based on modern techniques and also inspired by things like Masterchef. Third, this isn’t entirely accurate to the game's lore. For example, I imply that Delora wasn’t constantly watching Lucette as the doll because I wanted her at the beginning of the story. While I do change and bend things I also tried to stick to the plot of Karma's (and parts of Rumpel's) route with chunks of dialogue peppered throughout the story to keep the narrative similar.

Going to the Marchen was one of Dion Treslyn’s favorite parts of his job. He had been delivering grapes since the tavern opened. However, Miss Parfait was the only client who offered him a seat and drink before he left to finish his rounds. It was a warm summer afternoon and Dion was about to start unloading his cart when the back door burst open.

The irate man had blueberry pie all over his face. He tore off his apron and threw it at the back patio and stormed off.

“Oh, dear.” Miss Parfait said, standing in the doorway.

“Another cook,” Dion said, more as an observation rather than a question.

The Marchen was an odd place and tended to go through a lot of cooks because of its very strange patrons and employees. Dion did not ask many questions about the Marchen. All he did was deliver grapes every two weeks for them to make wine.

However, he did hear whispers that Miss Parfait was a fairy and that it was a tavern for the cursed to go. It would be possible for a magic-user to create food but everyone knew that the best food was created with two good hands.

The Marchen lost a lot of good hands.

“Two drunk men started a brawl over Miss Karma.”

“And there was pie involved?”

“Pie was involved.” Miss Parfait said a sigh in her soft voice. “Let me make you a drink, Dion.”

“Much appreciated.” He said, continuing to unload the several crates of grapes. He finished taking an inventory check and then went to go sit down at his usual table. He noticed Miss Karma in her usual spot, there was a very dark aura surrounding her. Probably not best to tease her.

He took a note out of his pocket and read it.

His cousin Fella had recently turned eighteen and now she was itching to leave home.

Hmmm…

“Miss Parfait,” Dion said as Parfait set down a drink for him. “You seem to be a cook short, but I think I might have an answer. My cousin Fella recently turned eighteen and she would like to see more of Angielle. She quite the cook herself. Perhaps I could talk to her about replacing your vacancy.” He took a sip of his drink. “Her cooking is as extraordinary as your beverages.”

Miss Parfait, tilted her head in thought. “Does your cousin have any experience?”

“Not much. She’s cooked for many family gatherings. And those could get pretty big. However, I think she’d be able to handle the Marhen’s patrons.” Dion said, taking another drink. If Fella wanted this job, he knew that she would be too stubborn to keep trying for it. “How about I tell her to come down for the weekend and she can try it out?”

“Alright.” Miss Parfait nodded. “You are always so helpful, Dion.”

“And you are always so kind, Miss Parfait.” He said raising his glass to her, swishing last of it down and then leaving.

Right before his delivery route, Dion would go to the post to check for his mail. He was not surprised when he received a letter shortly after his first one sent. Normally he would wait to read it but he decided to check it first.

Dearest Cousin Dion,

Dion smirked. Well, this was going to be good.

After speaking with Mother and Father about your proposition, we have agreed that it would be a wonderful opportunity. I greatly appreciate it. Please inform my future employers that I will be arriving at the Marchen this Friday and will be able to start as soon as possible. I will bring anything necessary and have my father send the rest if needed. I am certain that I will be able to persuade them to take me on.

However, would you be willing to take the weekend off to assist me?

Dion could already see a plan brewing in Fella’s mind of hers.

Again, thank you for this opportunity and I will see you soon.

Fella.

At the bottom there was more written by Fella’s father:

Dion—

Please read “speaking with” as badgered incessantly. Ophella is very excited to be able to do this and we a certain that her cooking will blow away the patrons of the Marchen. However, please make sure that she is safe. We know that you will look out for her but please make sure she doesn’t bite off more than she can chew.

Uncle Matthias

Well, it looked like the Marchen was going to get a new cook.

“Where is that new cook, Parfait?” Delora asked, they had finished up serving lunch and closed. Dion had promised that Fella would be there for dinner.

“Soon, Delora,” Parfait assured, glancing out the window and seeing Dion walking up briefly. She finished helping Annice with something and then went to greet Dion. She stopped when she saw the girl with him.

Fella had lily-white skin, red lips, and pale blue eyes. Her rusty red hair was tied into two tails by blue ribbons and framed her face with tight curls. She wore a matching blue dress with brown leather travel boots. She was almost a porcelain doll come to life.

And she had a wooden cane, she prodded at the ground. She also held onto Dion’s arm and was guided.

This girl was blind.

“Miss Parfait, meet my cousin Fella.”

“She’s blind?” Parfait cringed as Delora came over and glared at Dion who gave a leisurely shrug.

“She can cook,” Dion replied.

Fella stood up a little straighter. Trying to look more adult than her possibly eighteen years portrayed. “I am blind, yes. But I am quite capable.” She moved her bag and pulled out a wrapped dish. “A sample of my work.”

Parfait and Delora glanced at each other. Delora sighed and said, “Dear, even if your food is amazing, we can’t allow you to work when you’re blind. You could get hurt. Especially if you have no experience.”

“Then let this be my experience,” Fella said, holding out the food. “I have a learning curve. There’s no doubt about that. I’ll need to know where the food is and the layout of the kitchen. But I can do it. Dion has agreed to help me adjust.”

Parfait took the food and gave her a sympathetic smile. Then felt a little silly because she couldn’t see it. “We’ll at least try this.” She said, waving her hand a silverware floated over to them.

“Thank you,” Fella said bowing her head and then said. “My family raised a lot of cows, so I like cooking meats. So I made grilled steak with vegetables. Please enjoy.”

Parfait and Delora sat down and divided the food. They both took a bite at the same time. Parfait covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn’t remember the last time she tasted something so good. It was seasoned beautifully and juicy. Parfait looked over at Delora and even she seemed impressed.

“This is…quite good,” Delora said. “I am impressed.”

“Yes.” Parfait agreed. “You are quite talented.”

Fella clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head again. “Then perhaps you will give me a chance?” She asked.

“If Dion helps you…perhaps you could try,” Parfait said.

Fella grinned indicated that she took that as a yes and raised her head. “Thank you very much. You will not regret this decision.”

Delora glared at Dion. “We will have to deal with you and your little surprise later, Dion.”

“Would eating Fella’s food be considered repayment? As your fork is still moving as we speak.” Dion asked, Delora about raise another bite to her mouth but stopped to glare at him.

Alright, you have one foot in the door, Fella. The young woman thought to herself. She now held onto Miss Parfait’s arm while Dion graciously carried in her suitcases and bag. Though the taverner owner went at a good pace to lead her, she narrated every stool, table, and rug that was coming in their path.

Fella made her own mental notes establishing the stairs, about where the handrail was and the distance between the stairs and her room were. “Here we are.” Miss Parfait said and Fella could hear her starting to unlock the door.

“There is a bed, a wardrobe, a vanity.” Miss Parfait explained, Fella hurried the sound of suitcases being set down.

There a quiet moment and Fella quickly filled it. “I’ll start getting a feel for my room.” She said holding out her hand in the general direction she thought Parfait was in. “May I have the key.”

Parfait carefully put it there and Fella felt around her neck for a necklace. She expertly clipped it on. Fella thanked her and Miss Parfait promised to show her bathroom after she got settled.

“Dion, will you look at the kitchen?”

“You got it,” Dion said. “Call if you need anything.”

Fella gave a nod and waited until she heard the footsteps leaving the room. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. You can do this. She told herself and then stood up straighter. She untied her hair and then pulled all her curls on top of her head.

She first felt around the perimeter of the room. She felt where the door handle was and moved her hand against the wall. The wall had a smooth texture—wallpaper probably. Her hand ran along the wall and she used her cane to see if anything was in the way.

Fella’s cane hit something that made a muffled thump. She had come across one of her bags that Dion had placed near the wardrobe. She poked and prodded until she hit something sturdier. The actual wardrobe. She inhaled. It smelt of wood and was finally sanded to her fingers. Fella did this until she could locate her soft bed, the vanity, and then back to the door.

She went to her wardrobe and unpacked her clothing. At the bottom of her bag, there were several books. Well, it’s not like she would be looking at myself in the mirror. Fella moved them to the vanity. Perhaps Dion would read one to her before he left.

She should probably ask where the bathroom was located but she just wanted to go downstairs and prepare for dinner. She could tell how apprehensive the owners were of her. Miss Delora made it obvious but the way Miss Parfait doted on her, it was clear she was unsure.

I will just have to prove them wrong.

Fella took her cane she sat by the door and left. “Oh, excuse me.” Fella bumped into someone when she left her room. The voice was music to her ears. It was feminine and almost songlike. The woman’s clothes were soft and she had a lovely smelling perfume.

The woman put her hands on Fella’s shoulders to make sure she was righted. “My apologies,” Fella said, bowing her head before moving out of the woman’s grip.

“Ah, a new boarder. What is your name, darling?” The woman asked, walking by Fella’s side. “I am Miss Karma.”

Fella knew what she was doing. She was trying to politely try to help her. “Ophella. But I go by Fella.” She said, walking to the stairs. When she got to about the area, she grabbed for the railing. She was so relieved when she reached out and touched it the first try. Fella did not want to look like an invalid.

“An adorable name for an adorable girl. What brings you to the Marchen, Miss Fella?” Miss Karma asked as they walked down the stairs together.

“Work,” Fella said simply as they took the last step on the landing. Fella turned to face Miss Karma. “Would you help me with something?”

“Of course.” The woman said, gently.

“Would you take me to the kitchen?” Fella asked. Generally, people tried to help her. Some people were overbearing and tried to do everything for Fella. Miss Karma didn’t seem too pushy and Fella didn’t feel like calling out to Dion when she didn’t know who would be in the Marchen.

Miss Karma quickly agreed, Fella held out her hand and soft hands guided it to the equally soft fabric. The other woman seemed to be at the right height for Fella to comfortably be guided. “You said you were working at the Marchen?”

“Yes. I am its new cook.” Hopefully.

“The cook?” Miss Karma asked and Fella could hear a tenseness to her voice.

“Yes, I—” Fella flattered when stumbled into something. A chair?

“Oh, my apologies.” Miss Karma said, sounding concerned. Fella could hear the chair being moved out of the way.

“Fella!” It was the sound of Dion’s voice. “Relying on Miss Karma to guide you instead of your own blood? How hurtful.”

“I regret it. She appears to not notice the furniture.” Fella said.

Fella heard Dion laugh, Fella felt Miss Karma’s arm tense and so the shorter girl gently patted her arm. “It’s alright, I didn’t see it coming.” Dion laughs harder. “Oh, come now Dion, that wasn’t even my best ones.”

“Ah, but it’s the face on Karma that truly makes the joke,” Dion said and Fella heard his boots coming toward them. “I finished preparing the kitchen for you, Fella.”

“You will be cooking tonight?” Miss Karma asked. “Then…I will certainly have to come.”

Fella smiled, even though Miss Karma sounded as concerned as Miss Parfait and Miss Delora. Oh well. Another person to show what she can do. “Then I hope you’ll enjoy it and thank you for your help.” Fella respectfully bowed her head as she was taken with Dion.

“There’s a hook to the right of the door with an apron on it,” Dion said Fella felt for it until she felt cloth. She replaced the apron with her cane, using the small loop at the end. Then she put on the apron and retied her hair back. Fella would have liked to get her bearings of the kitchen a little more but dinner would quickly approaching.

Dion listed off the meat they had. “Salmon?” Fella asked. “They must have potatoes and asparagus?” Dion confirmed that they did. A plan started formulating. She asked Dion to prepare the potatoes. While she works on the fish. They were still whole so she would have to fillet them.

One laid out in front of her, it was cold to the touch as she ran her hand the length of the fish. First the descaling. Running a knife back and forth the fish. But she had Dion double-check to make sure that there were no scales. She cut against bone allowing the knife to be an extension of her right hand but using her left to feel where to cut. She made sure to get every bit of that fish off the bone. All that was left was to portion it.

She did this two more times, making sure to keep her area clean. Feeling and cutting until she felt they were right. She had 42 portions. The Marchen was a small tavern so that should be enough. She felt for Dion’s work on the potatoes. They worked together to mash the potatoes. Dion knew to let Fella do most of the work. If she was going to be working there, she wouldn’t have Dion to be by her side. However, they were pressed for time and she needed that support for now.

“We will be opening soon.” Fella heard Miss Delora’s voice. “Are you ready, Fella?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Fella said, retying her hair and then washing her hands. Burners were lit, all her seasoning was in reach and her food was prepared. “I am ready.”

As more voices began to fill the dining room, Fella felt herself begin to get nervous. She had cooked for a lot of people before but this was the first time she had a real job. You can do this.

“Two orders of salmon.” One of the servers called.

You can do this. Fella first put the fish skin side down on the hot pan. It made the right crack and sizzling sound. The sound and the smell calmed her. The muffled voices that threaten to overwhelm her faded away.

Some orders for other items came in but Delora and Parfait would be handling those. Fella began working on her sides, adding seasoning to the mash potatoes. She tasted as she went along, adjusting until she got it right.

Fella realized that it was time to plate her work. She reached below her and got out two plates first adding the potatoes. She flipped her fish to let it be kissed on the other side and placed it on top of the potatoes then vegetables on top.

Then Fella was at a loss as to what to do with it. “Dion.” She called. He moved her arm and placed it on top of something metal. She tapped it and a bell made a sound. He guided where to put the plates.

Fella felt like she had no time to wait to see what they thought. She needed to keep going.

She got in the rhythm, not needing Dion’s help for the most part. He would inform her if anything on the floor spilled but it was up to her to clean it. He was just there to make sure she didn’t kill herself the first night. However, he was mostly quiet and it went without incident. Parfait and Delora came in and out to check on her but she continued to work.

“One order of salmon, this one is for Miss Karma.” The server called. Fella reached getting another one going and found it was the last one.

Fella must have looked flustered at the realization because she heard Dion tell the server. “That’s the last one. We’re sold out of the special.”

Fella continued to work but…she had sold out. Fella worked on Miss Karma’s piece of fish. She made sure to finish the night well. Making sure it was cooked, seasoned, and plated to perfection. She rang the bell and let out a sigh when she heard the plate leave.

Fella finished cleaning up the kitchen, she could hear that the Marchen was mostly empty by now. Dion lead Fella out of the kitchen, the cool air hit her and it was almost surreal. She didn’t actually believe she cooked forty pieces of fish for total strangers.

“Fella.” Miss Parfait said. “Delora had to step out, she needed to…take care of something. However, we both feel like you did an incredible job.”

The younger girl felt her face turn red and she bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“And we would like to offer you a job at the Marchen,” Parfait added. “However, since your lack of experience, we’ll have to start with fewer menus items. We’ll discuss the menu later.”

I get to make my own menu!

“Thank you. I will be happy to do that.” Fella said.

They discussed a little bit about pay. Even with board deduction, she would be getting a nice bit of pocket change. When Parfait excused herself, Dion talked about sending for her things and teaching someone to help Fella so he wouldn’t be missing too much work.

“Miss Fella.” A feminine voice said.

“Ahh, the lovely Miss Karma,” Dion said, more for Fella’s sake.

Fella heard an annoyed sound coming out from Karma but tried to cover it as clearing her throat. Did Miss Karma not like Dion? “Miss Fella, I just wanted to say that your meal was truly wonderful.”

“Thank you, Miss Karma,” Fella said and then gave a small smile. “Didn’t think I had it in me?”

There was a pause and then Karma chuckled softly. It was just as melodic as the rest of her voice. “I will admit that I was skeptical but I don’t think being wrong has ever so been so delicious. So, I apologize.” She gave Fella’s shoulder a gentle pat. “But you’ve set yourself a high bar, Miss Fella and I’ll be holding you to it.”

“Miss Karma, don’t challenge her, now she’ll try to outdo herself every meal she makes,” Dion said with a chuckle.

Fella snorted. As if I wasn't going to try and do that anyway.

Despite being utterly exhausted, Fella could not sleep. Her body craved sleep and yet her mind was buzzing with events of what had just happened.

She sighed and got out of her bed. She still wasn’t completely used to the placement of things in her room so she felt around until she found her wardrobe. She put on a cloak over her nightgown and then slipped on her boats.

Fella quietly went downstairs and made her way through the dining room. She was a little impressed that she did it without making too much noise. She almost knocked over a chair or two but no one came down to see what was going on. Once she found the kitchen door, Fella slipped in.

The girl closed her eyes as she stood inside the kitchen and leaned against the wall. The back of her neck gently pressed against the wall hook. Her apron was missing to be cleaned for tomorrow.

And then she heard something.

Ching. Cling. Clang.

Fella pushed herself off the wall and made her way through the kitchen to the back door Dion had shown her. The wonderful cool air hit her. She breathed in deeply and smelled the wet grass and hints of flowers. She could hear the sounds a little more clearly.

Clang. Ching-ching-ching. Clang.

Fella paused. There was a forest near the Marchen that Fella desperately wanted to explore. Back at home in Bellview, there was also a forest near her town that she loved to run through. However at night, alone, without anyone to guide her back to the Marchen? She wasn’t that foolish.

Still, it was nice out and it wouldn’t hurt to explore a little.

Fella made sure the door wouldn’t lock on her the minute she shut it and then went outside. She moved until she found the gate. She just stood a little bit outside of the gated patio, the grass tickled her legs as she enjoyed the night.

Clang. Ching. Ching.

“Hey…”

Fella nearly screamed when she heard a voice. It was slurred and unfamiliar.

“You’re that fancy cook…ain't yah?”

“Um…” Fella said softly, taking a step back and holding out her hand to see if she could find the gate. Nothing but air. “Sorry, sir, the Marchen is closed.”

“Oh c’mon…” The man said and Fella could hear steps coming closer. “You could get me something for me…”

“No, sir. I am afraid I cannot.” Fella could hear her voice becoming more shrill as she continued to back away. She hit the cold iron fence. Fella frantically felt for a handle and when her hands felt something she desperately tried to open it.

Locked.

She didn’t know how big the fence was. Could she climb over?

“Hey, has anyone told you how pretty you are?” The voice was getting closer. “You look like a dolly or something.”

“Mister, please leave me alone. The Marchen is closed. Go home.” She said, a little louder, the stench of alcohol and grime coming closer.

She was about to just try to climb over the fence but a large hand pulled her away from the fence. “Don’t touch me!” She shouted whirling around and swung her cane. She felt her cane hit something and the man cried out.

“Little—Gah!”

Suddenly Fella didn’t know what was happening. She was grabbed—by someone else?—and she was pulled close to them. A firm arm wrapped around her. She was hit with the earthy smell of a forest.

“A-A sword?” The harasser said.

“How observant.” Another masculine voice that was rich and deep. However, she could hear a bite to the words as he addressed the drunkard. “I am not one to show mercy, especially to those who harm damsels in distress. So I’d advise you to leave.”

Fella heard feet moving but she was still being pressed to this man. And he was…pressing her face into him. “Let go of me,” Fella said attempting to leave the grasp but he was strong.

“Please, I don’t want you to…”

The man trailed off and Fella tried harder to get out of his grip. “I said let go.” She said, still struggling.

The Swordsman grunted. “Wait just a mo—”

Fella continued to struggle until she was out of the man’s grasp. Fella took a few steps back but she stepped on something—her cane—which led her to fall hard on the grass.

“Fella!”

“Just leave me alone,” Fella said, her voice breaking as she started to cry. She was angrier at herself than this man. How could she have been so stupid? And now here she was on the ground in her nightgown crying in front of a stranger.

“Fella!”

She heard the creak of the gate opening and Fella tried to get up. She felt small hands on her arms.

“Fella, what on earth happened to you?”

“Miss…Parfait?” She asked.

“Yes, it’s me. Oh, dear.” She said sounding like a concerned mother. “Let’s get you inside.”

Fella left the situation with scrapped hands, a bruised bottom, and one wounded ego. She explained what had happened to Parfait.

“Did you know the man who rescued you?” Parfait asked.

“I…” Fella thought about it, something did feel familiar about the Swordsman but it didn’t really click in her mind. “No, I don’t.”

“I see. He ran once I arrived.” Parfait said. “Regardless, you should not have gone out like that, Fella.”

“I apologize deeply, Miss Parfait,” Fella said, pursing her lips and hanging her head. She wasn’t going to cry again. She heard the other woman move, Miss Parfait sat next to her and gently took her hands into her own.

“Please just don’t let it happen again,” Parfait said. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Fella said, bowing her head. “May I go back to my room?”

“Yes. Goodnight, Fella.”

“Goodnight, Miss Parfait.” She said, being lead to the stairs and going up to her room. She got back into bed sorer than she had left it. She tried closing her eyes in an attempt to let the sleepiness take over. However, something gnawed at her.

Fella hadn’t heard the Swordsman leave when Parfait arrived. It could have been the stress of the moment. Fella was crying and confused.

But she was pretty sure Miss Parfait had lied.

#cinderella phenomenon #klaude almonte #Karma Cinderella Phenomenon

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