#love spell victim symptoms

[demonic0angel]

Haunted Paintings Sketches!

Part one

I hope you enjoy the sketches I made of the paintings!

Also! You’re free to use my ideas (please give credit ofc) if you’d like, bc I REALLY don’t think I’ll write this one, no matter how much I want to. It’s just too much and I’ve already got 3 unfinished fics and several other series to write for. If you have any questions, feel free to ask or send me a submission! You can also DM if you’d like!

TW: mentions of suicide, murder, depression, mental illness, just really dark, creepy stuff bc these are haunted paintings and they torment people :/ no scary drawings tho! I only described them (click for clarity)

Jazz:

Description: Jazz is sitting at a table in the middle of a flower garden with a book in one hand and a teacup in the other. She looks tranquil and is dressed formally. On the table are a few plates, a plate of cookies, a bookmark, an opened envelope and a bloody butter knife, and a teapot that is slightly out of view.

Use of mediums: gouache paint, watercolor, and pencils

Focus: Jazz amidst the flowers

Inspirations:

• The Queen of Hearts from “Alice in Wonderland”

• Galna from “Mairimashita! Iruma-kun”

Location: She used to be in the home of a random crime lord in Gotham for intimidation purposes. She was kept in the crime lord’s office before being relocated into Wayne Manor, where she sits in the hall across from the library.

Extra facts:

+ Her scary form would be one where her tea is filled with blood and the roses would be replaced with decapitated heads. The sky would turn dark red and the ground would be a pool of blood. Jazz would smile and look at the viewer with shark-like fangs and hollowed out eyes.

+ The tea she drinks is Darjeeling and the cookies are chocolate chip.

+ Although Jazz is the weakest painting, her effects are deadlier, more painful, and longer lasting than the others if her victims survive.

+ She causes paranoia and dizzy spells. Her effects are rather weak compared to the others, but when spending enough time with her, victims can also display symptoms of scurvy, which cannot be cured.

+ She was the first one I drew and also the easiest to plan. I just love her so much, she’s one of my comfort characters so it’s not hard for me to find ideas for her 😭

Valerie:

Description: Valerie stands in the middle of a dark, foggy forest, wearing a long dress and pressed close to a tree as if she is about to hide behind it. A branch covers her face and the trees around her curve into a circle with multiple holes within them. There is a Fenton thermos in the background on the floor and an axe in front of Valerie, sticking into the tree and oozing something.

Use of mediums: pencils and watercolor paint

Focus: Her hidden face

Inspirations:

• The Son of Man by René Magritte

• The Beast from “Over the Garden Wall”

Location: She was kept in the back of an art museum, but the director has been hoping for someone to buy her and get rid of her, since he cannot handle the strain of having her inside of the gallery. Now she stands near the door to the entrance of Wayne Manor, a silent and deadly sentry.

Extra facts:

+ Her scary form would have her surroundings to turned into the entrance to a mouth or an intestine, red, fleshy, and bloody. There would be bones littering the floor everywhere and Valerie herself would become bloody and stained, with her face still hidden. Tortured faces would be seen through the fog.

+ The holes on the trees sometimes leak a mysterious substance.

+ Valerie is not the weakest, but she is not that powerful. However, she does amplify the others’ effects to fatal degrees.

+ She causes paranoia and auditory hallucinations, often causing her victims to feel as though they are being watched relentlessly, which cannot go away. Eventually, her victims will shut themselves into their rooms and starve to death from the fear.

+ She and Tucker had switched ideas, but I had to trash them. I never got the opportunity to draw those ideas because I struggled so much with Tucker that when I eventually got inspiration for Valerie, I just went with it. I’m quite happy with Valerie’s portrait now.

Dani:

Description: Dani, dressed formally, sits at the head of a table with a large painting and curtains behind her. She holds a fork and a knife over a pig head. Her gaze is downward and she looks like she’s frowning softly. The dinner table is messy with three other dishes and a knocked over bottle of wine.

Use of mediums: oil paint and oil pastels

Focus: Dani holding the fork and knife

Inspirations:

• Rosie’s Tea Party by Mark Ryden

• “Spirited Away” (specifically that one scene where Chihiro’s parents eat the food)

Location: She was hidden by Vlad and kept safe with him. He keeps her in his office, where he can watch her. He only recently found her again, and he was determined to watch over her. Now she stays in the Wayne Manor's dining room, but often changes her position to be next to everyone else in the bedroom hallway.

Extra facts:

+ Her scary form would be one where all of her food dishes would be replaced by very obviously human parts, especially with the pig head becoming a human head. The curtains would turn to blood dripping down the wall and Dani would be smiling, taking a direct bite of the human head that was in front of her with her fork and knife.

+ The dishes she eats in the painting are: pig head, vulture thigh, lamprey eels, and sheep brain.

+ Her at the dining table is meant to signify greed and gluttony, 2 of the most simplest sins.

+ She causes great feelings of hunger and paranoia in others. When spending too much time with her, some victims turn to self-cannibalism to sate their never ending starvation.

+ Originally, both her and Dan’s ideas were switched, so Dan would’ve been the one feasting and Dani would’ve been the one looking at her reflection. However, I switched them around because I felt like it would’ve been spookier. I even finished the drawing with Dan and everything, but then I just erased him and drew in Dani 😓

Dan:

Description: Dan is standing in front of a mirror, glancing behind his shoulder, while his reflection shows something different: him looking at everyone else and the door behind him by looking at the mirror. The party guests are all wearing masks and there are chandeliers on the ceiling. The party looks vaguely fancy, but messy with secrets.

Use of mediums: Oil paints

Focus: His reflection

Inspirations:

• Jeff Lee Johnson and his art

Location: He was kept in a locked safe within a rich person’s house in Italy. He had to been wrecking havoc on the nerves of everyone around him, but he is now safe and happy in Wayne Manor, where he is kept in the office to the entrance of the Batcave.

Extra facts:

+ His scary form would have all of the party guests dead, but their eyes would face the viewer. Dan's reflection would also be dead, but his actual self would be the same, only with an eerie smile as his eyes follow the viewer. In the doorway would be the figure of Danny. Blood would cover the entire floor and walls, but nobody would react to it.

+ Dan keeps his own masquerade mask in his pocket.

+ The woman who is directly staring at him is supposed to look like Maddie.

+ He causes viewers intense mood swings and long, often violent mania episodes or mind-numbing depression episodes. Those who keep staring at him will gain the feeling of being watched and haunted, often with visual hallucinations, resulting in losing their mind from fear and then killing others in their terror and panic.

+ I tried so hard to make Dan as handsome as possible. I think I pulled it off bc I’m a little bit in love with him ong, but I also kinda have to be bc I draw him so often

Tucker:

Description: Tucker is in the back shot of a desert, with his back towards the viewer, staring at a large skeleton that is seemingly climbing over a large sand dune. The skeleton has flowers in its eyes, and its hand reaches over the horizon. There is a single sun in the sky and an arm holding a pocket watch sticks out of the sand close to the viewer.

Use of mediums: gouache paint, pens, and pencils

Focus: The large skull

Inspirations:

• JT Music (specifically their JT album covers)

• The Giant God Warrior from “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”

• “Dune”

Location: He was originally kept in one of the rooms within the GIW headquarters. Now, he is kept within Wayne Manor, and stays in the theater room, where he whispers to the Wayne residents what movies he wants to watch. Sometimes, he moves to the garage.

Extra facts:

+ His scary form is one where the skull becomes covered in meat and flesh, oozing blood and tar while the sand turns red. The scene turns to darkness, and more limbs would sprout from the ground. Tucker would be nothing but a pile of flayed skin, crumpled into the sand.

+ GIW agents were unable to experiment on him, since he would purposefully cause machinery to misfire and slowly corrode his surroundings.

+ His painting is meant to be a little comic book-esque with one of his mediums being ink, but I felt like that wouldn’t be a PAINTing, so nvm

+ He causes visual hallucinations, hypovolemia, headaches, blindness, and osteoporosis :). Often, when his victims are autopsied, sand and salt can be found within all of their organs. He emits so much radiation that he can wear down the materials of the place he is stored in.

+ I DREW HIM THREE DIFFERENT TIMES OML, FIRST IT WAS HIM IN A WORKSHOP, THEN IT WAS HIM IN A MARSH, THIS IS THE FINAL PICTURE I CANNOTTTT IM DONE

Sam:

Description: Sam stands on top of a small, grassy hill with a path leading to a grave and an angel statue on top of it, close enough that she is blocking it. Around the hill are pomegranate trees and hanging corpses. There is no sun, but there are clouds as Sam stands with her back to the viewers in a long goth-styled dress.

Use of mediums: paper, glue, acrylic paint

Focus: Her standing on the hill

Inspirations:

• This Reddit picture of a liminal garden

• A mix of weirdcore and dreamcore aesthetics

Location: She was tossed into the ocean by her parents when they first saw her, but she later washed up on an island and now the animals and plants there act erratically and strangely. Finally, she was relocated to Wayne Manor, where she hangs on a wall within the greenhouse, happily watching over the plants there.

Extra facts:

+ Her scary form would be one where eyes would replace all of the pomegranates, staring at the viewer. The paper used to make her would become flesh textured and bloody, and Sam would appear abnormal, broken into pieces and cracked, turning around and smiling at the viewer with shark-like teeth. The grass would become hairy skin and the sky would become red, with swirls and more eyes.

+ Sam's "painting" is actually made of mostly paper, since it is a collage. It is a bit touched up by paint and all of the materials used are vegan and ethically sourced, though they do change.

+ The flora and fauna in the island she landed on have mutated so much that they’re basically mindless. They protect Sam relentlessly.

+ She causes general insanity and relentless symptoms in her victims, such as paranoia, intense episodes of mania and depression, itchiness that can result in self harm, and violent, unexplained behavior in animals and plants. She also emits so much radiation that she can cause sporadic DNA mutations, resulting in several forms of cancer and mental instability, often resulting in victims becoming inhuman and monstrous forms of themselves.

+ Originally, Sam’s portrait was supposed to be in a garden, but I wanted it more “liminal space” themed, and I think I got it right. I think it’s really simple, but I also feel like if I was able to create it in real life, it would be more interesting because it is a collage of paper and paint.

Danny:

Description: a picture of black blotches and scribbles with muddy and red stains. Any features besides the ornate frame is hidden underneath the stains.

Use of mediums: pencils, ink, charcoal, tar, blood

Focus: His crying

Inspirations:

• SCP-035 (“The Possessive Mask”)

• The Anguished Man by an unknown artist (it’s a haunted irl painting!)

• Bendy and the Ink Machine

Location: He was cloning himself in order to jump through universes to find his family. In the current universe, he was with the League of Shadows before he was found and brought back to the Wayne Manor. He is in the hallway with the bedrooms of the Wayne residents.

Extra facts:

+ His scary form is technically his normal form because he cannot turn it off. Once he is happy again, his normal form would be one with him and his family, smiling and happy. Until then, he haunts the minds of others and ravages their sanity.

+ He’s been traveling all over the multiverse in order to find his family. Coincidentally, they’ve all been in the same world for some time.

+ He screams all day and night for his family. It’s so bad that Danny has destroyed thousands of worlds in his grief.

+ He causes the worst of all symptoms, often causing the viewers who look at him to go insane and kill themselves or others, even if it is only a few seconds. Even those who stay in the same room next door to him are consumed with suicidal thoughts and intense moments of psychosis. Those who have survived encountering him and have some semblance of mind left say that he “cries” relentlessly. His paintings leak a black substance that corrodes the place around him.

+ Literally all I did for this picture was scribble in my notes app, take a screenshot, and then scribble some more on photos LMAO

Extra notes:

+ Jazz, Dani, and Dan showing their face while Sam, Tucker, and Valerie hiding theirs is intentional. Danny is a mix of both, because he actually IS showing his face, but you can’t see it past the black and red.

+ Every painting has a flower inside of it, specifically a carnation, which are often funeral flowers, and can mean gratitude, remembrance, love, and affection.

+ Every painting also has a mention or appearance of Danny in it.

+ I also tried to put hints of bad omens or signs of death within every painting. Some examples are Dani’s painting with the chopsticks sticking out of the bowl (a sign of bad luck and death), or Dan’s painting, where a woman is being strangled in the background and another is being killed.

+ All of the paintings generally have an ability to teleport to places nearby and can actually snatch up viewers to shove them into their domain. This can be a defensive mechanism (the paintings protect the Bats) or an offensive ability (they pull victims in and kill them). They also all have weapons on them that are hidden or not so hidden.

+ I struggled a lot with ideas and how to get started on some characters because I just had so many, and I wanted it to be creepy, but not noticeably creepy, like most paintings. I’m sad to say that I wasn’t able to use some of my planned ideas from inspirations of actual haunted paintings.

+ Discarded inspirations: The Rain Woman by Svetlana Telets (my favorite!! Please look it up if you can!!), this picture I saw on Reddit of a sheep being stuck under ice with its back exposed, a workshop idea with Tucker, and Dani and “Daughter of Evil” with mirrors and everything.

+ The world where Danny and co., come from is different from the world they’re currently in. It’s like a world where some people are the same, but others are not. Example: the GIW, Maddie, Jack, and Vlad exist, but Danny and Jazz never made it past their childhood. So basically a What-If world or something.

+ Their backstories are somewhat undecided, but basically, something dangerous happened to them in their home dimension and it was so bad that Danny captured all of their souls and put them into paintings so they would live (with the help of Clockwork). However, by doing this, he scattered their souls and paintings throughout the universes and he went crazy from it, and turned himself into a painting too so he could find them. Now his cloned paintings travel and sends itself to other worlds to find his family again, often leading to their destruction from his power.

Or something? Lol

[ghost-1-y]

Nightmare

Incubus!Gojo x AFAB!Reader

Content Warnings: MDNI, dark content, dubcon, stalking, yandere themes, infidelity/cheating, manipulation, possessiveness, sexual content, penetrative sex, oral sex (f! receiving), aphrodisiac, blood sucking, using horns as handles, symptoms of sleep paralysis, feelings of insecurity (reader), mentions of voyeurism (gojo), dacryphilia, degradation, corruption k!nk, gojo feeds off of reader's life force, mentions of potential exhibitionism (reader’s husband might hear them going at it), breeding k!nk, mentions of impregnation, creamp!e, no aftercare, reader's husband is nanami-coded, please let me know if I missed anything!!

Summary: It’s been weeks since your husband had touched you in the way that you wished, and you’ve started to grow tired of his constant flirting with other women at work. Completely fed up with both him and the never-ending dry spell you’ve been going through, you retire to the guest room’s bed to fall asleep without your husband, unaware of a shadow that’s been lurking in your home each night, waiting for the right moment to prey on its new victim.

Word Count: ~3.6k

Divider Credit: @/benkeibear

A/N: Sorry this is an hour late!! I had a super busy week and didn't get to edit/revise at all until today, but I hope it's worth the wait!

Y/N’s POV

You were tired.

Not in the normal sense – you didn’t feel a need to sleep. On the contrary, you found it quite challenging to do so recently due to the never-ending thoughts of your unhappy marriage, as you wondered how exactly it reached this point in the first place. At first, your marriage was beautiful – you were in love, and everything in life was tinted in rose. Your husband treated you as his one and only, his everything, his soulmate.

When are you having kids?

You two look so cute together. 

I wish my marriage was as happy as yours!

Your friends and family would always compliment you and ask you for the latest details of what you and your husband were up to. You were soaring, so happy that you found someone to share your life with. 

But then, he started working overtime at his job, started taking on more shifts, and you’d go to sleep on an empty bed and wake up to his side being cold the next morning – nothing indicating that he was there other than the disheveled sheets that he didn’t bother to fix before heading out again. Your mornings were lonely, and your nights were quiet. You started making dinner for one, rather than wasting food on a meal that wouldn’t be eaten. You tried to be understanding of your husband’s absence, knowing that his job required a lot of him, so you never told him how much it bothered you, thinking it would only add more to his never-ending pile of worries.

It truly felt as though a ghost lived in your home, only ever seeing remnants of life from the half-empty coffee mug or the folded-up newspaper that was left discarded on the dining table. The fridge would be left ajar and the front door unlocked as though he was in such a rush to get to work that he couldn’t be bothered about simple things – relegating those tasks to you, his good little housewife.

Sometimes, whenever a door closed on its own, or you thought you saw something out of the corner of your eye, you’d jokingly call out to your husband in the emptiness of your house. Of course, you’d get no response, and you’d almost laugh at your antics if it weren’t for how your life was slowly turning gray – the rose tint slowly fading the longer you were alone.

However, one night, in your darkened bedroom, you heard a car drive up to your house. You slowly got out of bed, clinging to your sleep robes as you walked towards the window, and you saw your husband get out of the car. Warmth filled your veins as you gazed down at your husband for what seemed to be the first time in weeks, happy that you’d be able to welcome him back home. However, that warming comfort quickly dissipated as the driver also exited the car – a woman, presumably a coworker you hadn’t met – and walked over to him. As you peeked through the blinds, you saw your husband meet the woman halfway, the headlights of the car illuminating the two figures, and his hands sought her face as he kissed her.

Surprisingly, you didn’t feel your heart shatter as one might think – you had your suspicions already that he was seeing someone else, and this only confirmed your thoughts as you closed the blinds and left your shared bedroom, deciding to retire to the one meant for guests who stayed over.

Maybe that’s all I am at this point, you thought as the front door opened, only wishing to sink into the mattress and cover yourself in its sheets as you closed the guest room door behind you and removed your robe. The mattress was stiff and unused, and you stared up at the ceiling as you heard your husband’s heavy footsteps padding their way up to his room, as you became more and more of a stranger in your own home.

You tossed and turned as you walked the line between sleep and wakefulness, your thoughts racing just a bit too much to allow you to seek the comfort of dreams that you knew would never come true, or to notice the slightest creak coming from your bedroom door.

What seemed to be a hand ghosted over your hip, fingers dragging along your sides as you slowly became aware of the strange feeling grazing over your body. You squirmed, thinking it was some strange breeze that came in from the window – before you noticed the heavy weight that was pressing into your chest, rendering you nearly immobile.

“Such a waste to not take care of a pretty thing like you…” a voice drawled, and you opened your eyes – fearing that someone had trespassed into your home, only to find nothing out of the ordinary inside your little guest room. You sighed, thinking that you must’ve been hallucinating – sleep paralysis was a possible explanation, after all.

The voice, however, returned, chuckling in response to your eyes frantically searching for the source. “Oh, sweetie, your eyes can’t see me!” it exclaimed, as though it were obvious, “but I can see you, pretty, I’ve seen all of you.”

Gojo’s POV

You were sweet.

Like candy – if he were able to taste it, anyway. You had an aura about you that lit up any room you were in, one that he’d gaze upon from afar in the shadowy corners of your house, something he couldn’t touch, lest he burn from the light that was your smile. 

He loved watching you – seeing you get dressed (he loved the curves of your body), how you’d cook and clean and make everything look so pretty for a husband who didn’t appreciate it…

He especially loved watching you from one of the shadows of your bedroom as your husband fucked you – his cock throbbing as he watched you being used like the cute little cumdumpster you are, always wondering how tight your cunt would feel wrapped around his cock instead.

He would observe each and every single action because it was you who performed them.

And you looked delicious.

But he couldn’t feast upon you – not yet, at least. Your light was still too radiant, it shined upon everyone and everything and was nearly all-consuming.

So he left – just for a little while, of course. He’d be back for you, you just needed to give him some time.

He interrupted the dreams of one of your husband’s coworkers, filling her mind with lewd images and thoughts of railing your husband to the point where she just couldn’t bear it. So, eventually, she approached him at work – and he initially denied her advances, acting like the good husband he should be – but that just wouldn’t do for the plan Satoru had in mind. 

So he did the same with your husband, and provided him with dreams of fucking that same coworker, how wet and tight and good it would feel to have his filthy cock inside someone else’s pussy. Satoru knew it would hurt you, but it wasn’t completely his fault – you see, it was your husband’s choice to act on his desires, and his coworker’s choice to reciprocate despite knowing he was a married man.

And so your husband started coming home late, but not from work like you’d thought, no. He was arriving home after laying in the bed of another, engaging in an illicit affair that he excused as simply working overtime at the office. You initially believed your husband, but eventually, you developed your suspicions, and your light dulled – which pleased Satoru – because he could get closer to you. He would sometimes even try to alert you to his presence, but that never went according to plan – you’d always call out your husband’s name in response. You were loyal, and that annoyed him to no end because he already decided that you were his. 

He just had to be patient.

Until tonight – he had been watching you from the corner of your room. You couldn’t see him, of course, he was nothing more than a shadow to you. But that fated car had shown up, and as you peeked out the window, the last bits of your light finally blinked out like a dying star, and Satoru damn near rejoiced.

He soon followed you to the guest room, smirking to himself as he opened the door to see you tossing and turning, restless and alone – just how he wanted you.

Because you were his – to claim, to ruin, to feast upon.

“Such a waste to not take care of a pretty thing like you…”

Y/N’s POV

“Who are you?” you asked the darkness, eyes still darting about as you covered your top half with blankets as though that’d protect you from whoever– whatever this was.

“Hmm? Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me! Although I guess I can’t blame you – our bond isn’t quite strong enough for you to see the real me…” he considered, “you’ve called out to me many times before though, sweetie, even if it was by the wrong name – which was annoying, to say the least.” 

If you could see this…thing, you would’ve been able to discern the very obvious pout on its features. But, as its words sunk into you, a chill ran up your spine and every artery, vein, and capillary became doused in fear – realizing that this entire time you’d been joking to yourself about a ghost living in your home, it had been true. 

“My name is Satoru Gojo, sweets, so next time you call out – please use that name instead of the one owned by that disgraceful husband of yours,” the voice insisted, tracing its fingers along your side – a movement nearly invisible if it weren’t for the fabric that moved ever so slightly in response to his hand. 

“How– how do you know about my husband?” you asked, and he laughed.

“Oh, sweetie, you should realize that I know everything about you by now! I know how you take your coffee, how you perform chores around the house,” his voice dropped to a whisper, breathing directly into your ear, “how that husband of yours is unable to fuck you the way you want.”

You shuddered, unable to deny the slightest spark of arousal that nestled deep within your gut, but it did little to quell your fears of this…thing. You didn’t want to admit that he was right about your husband – not even to yourself – but the way he held that woman…

“Oh c’mon, relax. I can smell your fear, y’know – but I’m not gonna kill you!” Not yet. “I want to help.” The lies dripped like honey off of his tongue, sickly sweet as you drank them in. “Close your eyes for me, will ya? I promise I won’t bite,” he smirked.

Hesitantly, you obeyed and closed your eyes, and you felt the softest, sinful touch of his lips against yours – it was dizzying how they caressed you before he slowly entered his tongue into your mouth, causing a burning feeling to slip down your throat – as sharp as alcohol and as saccharine as sugar. Your mind relaxed, with the blood in your veins heating up before that warmth sunk down into your stomach and then lower. Your fear had been eradicated by lust, and as you finally opened your eyes, the being in front of you was one you’d never seen before – a tall, white-haired male, with eyes that deceivingly matched the heavens, who was adorned with wings and horns colored in a dark charcoal. 

“Now you see me, don’t ya, pretty?” he smirked, “I’m gonna take such good care of you – you’ll let me, won’t ya?”

You nodded without hesitation, only desiring more of the euphoric feeling that he seemed so keen on providing you with. 

“Need your words, baby, or else I can’t do anything,” he growled softly, and you squirmed underneath his weight as you forced your mouth open.

“Please,” you begged.

“Please what?”

“Please– please fuck me!”

You felt a sudden rush of cold as the bedsheets flew off of your body, leaving you stark naked on the mattress below you. Still, the cold was quickly replaced by the scorching hot yet featherlight touches of his hands tracing along your body – moving along your sides and then up towards your breasts, which he fondled before kissing you again with those syrupy lips, allowing more of that warmth to spread down your throat and into your skin. The weight on your chest was unrelenting yet pleasant as his tongue slipped into your mouth once again.

His hands toyed with your nipples, pinching and rolling them in between his fingers, pulling a gasp from you as he parted from your mouth in favor of sucking on your neck, licking a long stripe up toward your jaw before biting down just enough to draw blood with his fangs – he needed to feed off your life force somehow – you moaned as a heat spread from where he bit you all throughout your neck and shoulder, a pleasurable feeling which allowed him to drink in more of you before moving on to your tits, sinking his teeth into your nipples as well as he drinks freely from you, lapping up the blood with the flat of his tongue. You cradled his head as he sucked at your breast, encouraging him to keep going as a breathy moan escaped you – because it never felt this good before when your husband would do it. 

“Mmh, yeah? You like it when I play with your tits like this, baby?” he asked, voice muffled against your soft skin. You whined, eyes closed as you arched your back, the euphoric flow of pleasure coursing through you. He could tell you were slowly becoming obsessed with the way he was treating you – he just needed to wait a little bit longer.

“Fuck, so good– never…never felt this good before,” you moaned, and Satoru smirked as he sucked just a little bit more on your tits before traveling down towards your needy cunt.

“That so? Your husband doesn’t know how to fuck you, does he?”

You shook your head, unable to voice an answer as his breath fanned across your sopping pussy. 

“It’s okay, pretty, don’t worry – I’m here now.” 

He delved a single finger into your glistening cunt, gathering up your slick and bringing it up to his mouth to taste you. He groaned as he gathered more of it, forcing his fingers into your mouth, and your tongue immediately lapped at them like a puppy with its owner.

“You taste so good, pretty. So fuckin’ wet for me – such a good slut,” he smirked. He removed his fingers from your mouth before going back down and licking a fat stripe up your cunt, causing your legs to jolt at the touch. He snickered, “bet your husband didn’t know how to please you, bet he never even went down on you, the sick bastard.” You whined in response, causing him to chuckle. 

“Thought so.”

He buried his face into your messy cunt, his nose nudging against your swollen clit as he delved his tongue inside of your hole, licking up all of your juices into his awaiting mouth. You moaned, bucking your hips up into his face before he pinned them down, eating you out like you’re his favorite meal and he’s a man starved. It’s messy as he groaned into your heat, working his jaw as he savored your sweetness. He moved his mouth slightly up to your clit, pursing his lips around it and sucking hard as he probed two fingers into your needy hole, curling them inside of your sloppy heat. Your hands clasped around his horns and you arched your back, trying to push him deeper between your legs, obsessed with the way his fingers and tongue felt while pleasing you.

He pulled moan after moan out of your pretty little mouth, and he laughed to himself as his plan was going oh so well – to make you drunk on the pleasure he gave you until you became fully addicted and obsessed with him, becoming his little cock slut that he can breed and fill with his cum whenever he wanted.

Eventually, the tension building up in your lower abdomen snapped, and a sense of euphoria rushed through you, causing your legs to shake and clench around his head. He groaned, drinking up all of the juices that flowed out of you. Satoru looked up at you as he fed upon your cunt, and grinned as he watched your soul slowly but surely fade through his eyes. 

“I was right to choose you,” he groaned before slurping up the rest of your juices, overstimulating you as your grip on his horns tightened, pleading with him to let up on his ministrations. 

“Feeding me so well, pretty.” He nipped at your inner thigh once before sitting up and grabbing his cock, giving it a few strokes before lining it up with your sopping hole. He rubbed the bulbous head along your pussy, “tell me, how much do you want this cock, baby? You wanna get fucked by a demon like me?” 

You nodded, and if you were any less delirious you might have questioned what he meant by ‘demon’, but you were too far gone to care, simply nodding and begging “please” over and over again.

He slowly pushed his cock into you, grunting with how tight you were wrapping around him. “Shit, pretty–” he sighed, sinking into you until his balls were flush against your ass. He grabbed your legs and pulled them up so your ankles reached over his shoulders before slowly pulling out and plunging back in. His grip tightened on the flesh of your thighs as he started moving faster, his balls slapping against your ass with the force of his thrusts. Your mouth parted and tears fell down your cheeks, only being able to take what he gave you as his dick filled you up to the brim while pounding into your sopping cunt.

“You cryin’, baby?” he chuckled, and you could only whine in response.

“Good.”

He soon flipped you over and got you on all fours, slamming his cock back into you. You wailed as he kept forcing his fat cock into your greedy little cunt – the intensity only building upon itself as you felt your orgasm approaching once more. 

“‘M close…’m close,” you babbled, encouraging him to fuck you harder. Satoru reached around to rub your clit, and you gasped as you fell apart once more, gushing around his cock. Your legs trembled and you fell forward, unable to hold up your weight any longer as pleasure coursed through your veins. Satoru took this opportunity to trap you under him, with his torso flush against your back as he continued fucking into your tight pussy, not caring for how overstimulated you were becoming. 

“Fuck pretty, you love this dick, huh? Cumming all over me like that,” he grinned, his dick throbbing as he continued pounding into you. You nodded in response, but that wasn’t enough for him, so he gripped your chin and forced you to look up at him. “Uh-uh, tell me how much you love this cock, baby.” 

“Uh– fuck! Love– love it! Hah– need…need more–!” you babbled, tears flowing down your cheeks. He placed his hand around your mouth, and your moans became muffled as he dragged his cock inside your messy cunt.

“Shh, pretty, don’t want your husband to hear you getting fucked, right?” he grinned devilishly, “though, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already heard us – he’s probably stroking his dick to your sweet sounds, the cuck.”

You whined, oddly enjoying the idea that your shitty husband might be able to hear you – you took pride in the fact that he might know that you’re getting fucked better than he ever did with you. You started fucking yourself back onto Satoru’s cock, and he grinned widely – satisfied with how he’s turned you into his little cock slut. 

“Shit, baby– ‘m not gonna last much longer,” he admitted, his thrusts progressively getting sloppier and sloppier as he rutted his cock into you.

“Hah– you want me to cum inside you, baby? Want to get filled with my cum? I’ll fucking get you pregnant, breed you with my seed and turn you into my cumslut – you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Fuck– say it baby, say you want me to cum inside you” he groaned, his dick pulsing inside of you as he reached his end, and you nodded your head.

“Please, please Sa- Satoru–! Cum inside me! Wan’ to be your cumslut! Please!” you begged.

“Shit– ‘m gonna cum, pretty, fuck–” He pushed deep inside you, hips flush against yours as he released his hot seed into your womb, thick ropes of his cum filling you up until it started leaking out of your abused cunt. As he pulled out of you, causing you to whine at the feeling of emptiness that it created within you.

“It’s okay, baby, I’ll be back for you. I’ll visit you every night if you wish, just so you can get your fill of my cock,” and so I can get my fill of your delicious soul, he thought, grinning to himself.

Suddenly, the weight lifted off of your chest, and once you opened your eyes – he was gone, leaving you a mess with his cum leaking onto the bed sheets. You sat up and hobbled your way over to the shower to clean yourself off, trusting in his promise to come back each night.

You’d be waiting for him, not realizing that was his plan all along.

Taglist: @o-oreo , @k-a-t-h-r-i-n-a @wow-im-gay, @peanutpunchy, @love-me-satoru, @perfect-again, @dinosaur-crime-scene, @thisbicc, @gojoscumslut, @everyonesfinaldestination, @leehoonii-i, @kyojurismo, @crazycatlddy, @briefrebelfanalmond, @izuoyarmin, @ahashiraswife, @d1gitalbathh, @223princess (if your name is crossed out, it means tumblr didn't allow me to tag you - apologies for the inconvenience)

I hope you enjoyed!!

[maxinexstars]

Arrow

Request by anon:Cupid x Female reader where the arrow hits her (just one arrow) and she falls in love with the reader

Cupid x femreader

Moodboard: @alrawabi-imagines

somehow Cupid had accidentally hit herself with one of her arrows,and you ended up being the poor soul she saw first. Now she was completely and utterly in love with you. She stood up, giggling cutely and blushing

"Well, hi there, beautiful...~" it was clear that she was very much in love. Completely and utterly, in fact. You were the object of her obsession at that moment, the target of her affections. You didn't know what was going on with her,or why she was all over you for no reason.

"Hi Cupid" She giggled and approached you with a wide and adorable smile, her cheeks a lovely pink color. She reached up and put her hand on your cheek gently, smiling more in a flirtatious way.

"You're so gorgeous~"

"What's gotten into you?" You asked,she was behaving out of character. She was usually calm and composed,the person you'd go for good advice but now she was acting like a lovesick fool.

"Hmmm, what do you mean by that...?" She blinked with a slightly clueless and naive expression, before laughing lightly as if it was a joke. "I'm just happy to see you, that's all... You make me happy~" She giggled more, and continued to lean into the conversation, now closer than ever. Thankfully the bell rang and you headed to different classes. Except you didn't go to class,you snuck away to the library. Hoping you'd find an answer to what's happening with Cupid. You searched and searched through the various books that lay within the library, before finally stumbling across the correct section,one on love. Within that section, you discovered a book that detailed cupids such as Cupid herself. The 'symptoms' section detailed that a cupid, when hit with their own arrow, would go absolutely nuts for the first person they saw. You read further,the book gave the various symptoms, which you were already experiencing, and then suggested the various methods of coping with such a cupid, including; ignoring them,which could cause a dangerous reaction, including possible violence. Having them hit another arrow on another target,which would just make another person obsessed with the cupid or trying to woo them,which is what a cupid would expect from their love target. You knew you couldn't do any of that,so you searched for a way to break the spell. The book suggested that there was something of a loophole that only a few cupids knew about, and some did accidentally stumble across it. If their 'victim' was actually in love with them back, it could nullify the effect... Which means you had to fall in love with cupid. Or fake it. You were debating as you kept flipping through the book. The last page read 'A last resort to break the spell is to break the-' the rest of the page was torn. You sighed deeply, frustrated at how you couldn't finish reading the book that gave the last piece of information needed, but then, you had a lightbulb moment. If what the book said was true, then you technically didn't have to fall in love with her,you just had to get her to believe that

you already had those feelings. Or find out what you had to break. Maybe there'd be more information in her room. You were onto something there. Perhaps her room would yield some more information, if you were lucky. You had to be sure that no one would stumble across you leaving the library though, and so you left discreetly, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. But when you got there the door was obviously locked,why hadn't you thought of that. You knew Cupid had the key and you had to trick her into opening it for you. You waited outside her classroom and eventually she came out. She didn't even notice you as she had her earphones in, bobbing her head to whatever tune she was listening to. She was so into it that she wasn't even aware of her surroundings, the poor girl being completely distracted. She made her way to her locker,you put your hands on either side of her,on the lockers. Trapping her between the lockers and you. She was startled at first, a small squeak escaping her mouth as she turned her head to look at whoever it was that had interrupted her music... Only for her cheeks to go pink when she saw that it was you, the person she was pining over.

"O-oh,Hi there~" She spoke softly, her eyes not leaving your own, a smile spreading across her mouth. You leaned in closer

"Hey,how about we take this to your room?. Just the two of us" The pink on her cheeks only grew more noticeable as her eyes widened slightly. Cupid was clearly embarrassed, yet utterly infatuated that you were flirting with her in such a way. A love spell or not, she'd love the idea as herself or anyone else. Cupid stuttered a little, but managed to respond.

"S-sure,if you want to" She mumbled softly, letting her guard down for you. You may just be able to pull this off.

"Lead the way,darling" you cringed at yourself,simultaneously feeling bad about doing this. Cupid blushed as her expression shifted from flustered to giddy. She took your hand and began to lead you over to her room, her cheeks still a noticeable pink. As you passed others, you could see some of them giving you an odd look, clearly wondering why the love cupid would be hanging out with you so suddenly. But, you paid them no mind, focusing solely on Cupid as she continued to guide you towards her room. Her broadcasting room was a beautiful open place,with her equipment set on a table,a bookshelf which you hoped would hold the answer. As you looked around you saw an empty case with a key hanging next to it,but it was empty. "What's that for?" Cupid turned towards you in confusion, before realizing what you were talking about. She smiled and gave a soft chuckle, before answering your question.

"Oh... It's where I store my bow. I always do that when I'm not working." Cupid explained,smiling. A chill ran down your spine,it was empty and her bow was nowhere in sight.

"Where is it now?" Cupid shrugged her shoulders, giggling cutely as she did so. She twirled around, before giving a twirl of her feet for some reason. Whatever had caused this, it certainly left her happy.

"Oh, I don't know. It's probably somewhere in-" Cupid paused and her voice trailed off when she noticed that the case was empty. A look of panic spread across her face as she turned to face you. "You don't think someone took my bow, do you?"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of,we need to find it. But first there's something I need you to do for me" Cupid nodded her head frantically, clearly panicked as she worried about where her bow could possibly be. She looked at you with worry in her eyes, waiting for you to ask for what you wanted. She'd clearly do anything for you at that very moment.

"Okay... What do you want me to do..?" Cupid spoke softly, looking at you to await your instructions.

"Sit down and try to stay calm" She nodded her head, before she sat down on the ground, taking in a deep breath and letting it out, trying to calm herself to an extent. Although she was panicking a lot, she had to do something to stay calm,after all, you had asked her to.

"Okay, okay I'll try.I'll try to stay calm. Anything for you” Cupid spoke softly, looking up at you as she did so. You looked through the bookshelf,hoping you'd find the same book and you did. The last page was completely intact and read 'the final way to break the spell is to destroy the bow' you read further. It read, ‘If the spell is not nullified by their target being in love with them in the first place, or if their target denies the cupid's affection and refuses them, then the only option is to destroy the cupid's weapon, their bow. The bow itself is what gives cupids their power. Take that away from them, and they are no longer affected.’ This was the last resort to break the spell.

"We need to find your bow before whoever has it now causes trouble. Cupid nodded her head in agreement, panic in her eyes when she heard that someone else had her bow. She stood up, giving a nod to you in return.

"Yes,you're right, we have to go find it. Who knows what trouble they'll cause if they have that in their possession" Cupid spoke softly, clearly worried. As you ran through the school until you were stopped by Frankie

"Hey Y/N,I've been looking for you everywhere. I found a way to break the spell" she said,but there was something bigger now

“That's good but Cupid's bow is missing and we need to find it" Frankie reassured,revealing that she had taken the bow for safekeeping. The panic that was on Cupid's face lessened the moment Frankie said she had the bow. She let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders slouching slightly as she did so. She was clearly very glad that the bow was safe and no longer in the wrong hands.

"Well, thank the love Gods you have it,I was worried sick, thinking about if someone else got their hands on that thing,but at least we know it's safe now"

"Now we just need to smash it,so the spell will be broken" you said,reaching for the bow but Frankie pulled away.

"We still need to free Draculaura from Valentine and then we can break it," Frankie explained. Cupid's eyes widened a little as she heard that it needed to be destroyed, before she nodded her head slightly in understandment.

"But,how are you going to break them apart? I saw them together the other day.They're pretty attached at the hip."

"We use your arrows and make her fall for Clawd,come on let's go" Cupid's eyes widened slightly when she heard the plan, before she blushed and nodded her head in agreement. She knew how to work her arrows, how to make any monster fall in love using these babies. She reached into her quiver, pulling out an arrow and loading it into her bow.

"Okay, let's go then." After you saved Draculaura from Valentine,that left one thing. Freeing Cupid from her own spell,by smashing the bow. She seemed to snap out of it completely,but looked confused. The moment you smashed the bow, Cupid gasped and her eyes widened in surprise. She looked at the fragments of the bow before her, before she looked back at you in surprise.

"Wha... What has happened..?" Cupid's cheeks were still a light pink, but this was more out of confusion than affection. She really was confused about what the hell had happened in the last twenty four hours or so.

"It's a long story,maybe I could tell you over coffee?" Cupid blushed when you offered to explain this over coffee with her, biting her cheek slightly as she nodded her head in agreement. She was back to her usual, composed self, yet there were still lingering tinges of the cupid magic about her.

"Yea,that sounds nice.I'd like that."

[certifiablyinsanez]

Buckle in guys this is gonna be a doozy. Keep in mind that some people have sworn this isn’t their experience with the fandom and frankly I would like to know what spaces you are in because this is mine:

As someone who loves HH and HB, I’m going to say it; the Hazbin and Helluva fandoms are probably the worst I’ve ever encountered. Here are my top 5 gripes. Mentions of SA within the show ahead.

1. The problem fans have with the actors, studios and of course, most of all Viziepop. I’m not going into that drama, the point I’m trying to make is that white cishet men have been getting away with absolute murder for ages in this industry and have not received even a crumb of this much flack. The fact that an independent, queer, woman of color is being put through the SHREDDER online and her work is devalued despite having extensive queer, BIPOC creators, cast and characters frankly leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t think she’s perfect and free from criticism but I’ve seen people foam at the mouth in defense of people like Taylor Swift (despite her being a billionaire because yes being a billionaire is never ethical and an eco terrorist). I don’t think I have to spell out the double standards further.

2. The HORRIFIC sexualization of characters. This is so bad I have to split it in categories.

•In Helluva Boss it’s Loona. Seriously, the way people are absolute CREEPS about Loona is one of the worst cases of perversion I’ve seen of a character within a fandom. And I watch anime. I’m very familiar with the incel-y, body-pillow having, foaming-at-the-mouth weird perverts that come with animation. The fact that it’s possible Loona started out the show underage makes it worse but here’s the kicker…if Loona was not and is not underage, the obsession with her is still gross to me. About 90% of content with her is basically rule 34. They joke about it in the show with the fourth wall break, but honestly guys? Get a hold of yourselves. Especially under certain context that she might be an SA victim is worse. (See the syphilis comment in the pilot. That disease manifests symptoms over years this isn’t necessarily canon but if it ever does become canon in the future it will make the sexualization downright unforgivable).

• ALASTOR. Alastor would be a clean #2 below Loona on the sexualization scale. As an asexual aromantic person, I’m frankly insulted (but not surprised) by the fandom’s approach to Alastor. Alastor is a canonically asexual character. People will (and have) argue with me that he’s canonically ace but it’s technically not confirmed that he’s aromantic and therefore use that as a justification to use him as bait for shipping wars and fic material. Viziepop said that she doesn’t mind certain things and has the one condition that we be “respectful”. I honestly think the fandom has entirely and spectacularly failed at that. People see Alastor in 2D. He’s witty, funny, sassy, self-assured, dare I say fabulous. Therefore, people seem to forget he’s ace. I’ve literally seen people say “I’m supposed to believe this guy is ace?” YES! Because he is! This hurts me as bad as it does because I have been out as aro ace for 10 years now and I’ve been exposed to so much vitriol at our community. If you haven’t been exposed to that, I’ll just say that the general picture people have of our community is that we are robotic, loveless, and empty from something people consider as fundamentally “human”. Still to this day people debate whether we’re even real. Alastor doesn’t fit that picture with his candor and charisma, and therefore people drop his ace identity at the drop of a hat. I can see it happening here because I’ve seen it happen with real people countless times. Even if that’s not how you see it, look at it from this perspective:

It’s confirmed that Alastor had no relationships in life or in death. Some people swear that he’s canonically sex-repulsed which I agree with but can’t confirm so I don’t claim it to be true canon just yet. But look at it like this. What have we seen from Alastor so far? Angel’s advances disgust him. He rebukes all advances. It’s canon that Alastor very likely cannot see others in a romantic way (and here is why I’m sure why): because he thinks pretty much everyone is beneath him. Yes it seems he is friendly with fellow cannibal overlord Rosie and lets Nifty touch him whereas others cannot, but what does it tell you when the “closest” people to him don’t catch his eye in the slightest? Because pairings in these shows are EXTREMELY intentional. I should also say the reason I’m adverse to shipping Alastor with anyone is the same reason I don’t ship Sir Pentious with anyone. It’s absolutely not important to their character. I understand having a fascination with him, believe me I love him too, but it really seems as though these shows have been reduced to shipping fodder. Also, Angel is canonically gay and no one ships him with women because that is something folks can understand and have respect for. I personally don’t see the difference between the two (in terms of sexuality).

3. The hyper-criticalness of it all. I honestly feel bad for the cast and crew because I swear y’all are never satisfied. I see endless complaining that Hazbin sucks because the “developments are bad” or some shit. What??? Including the pilot there have been 5 EPISODES. For fucks sake WAIT. Many great stories didn’t start off awesome. Why did we all forget that stories take time to come off the ground? I feel like everyone’s been poisoned by the writing advice that if you don’t “immediately hook the viewer on the first page/episode then it’s bad” or something. With Helluva Boss that has more episodes, its usually the fact that people hate the female characters. “Loona is a bitch to everyone”, “Octavia exists solely for Stolas’ development”, “Millie doesn’t exist outside Moxxie”. I’ve even seen people SYMPATHIZING with STELLA. Okay, first of all:

• Loona is canonically the lowest class in hell and very well could’ve been born and raised in a pound for 17 YEARS. Imagine if you grew up in prison and your only chance out was for someone to come along and buy you. If the comment from the pilot holds any weight (it may not but it might), then she was SA’d too. That’s complex trauma folks and ITS NOT PRETTY.

• Octavia literally had her own episode that showcased development for both her and Loona as well as the rest of the cast. But at the end of the day, her being sidelined for Stolas isn’t a shock because who is going to carry more weight in this story? Her, or her father who is the love interest of the MC? Stolas has a bigger role, that doesn’t mean Octavia is good for nothing else. I think it’s an interesting showcase to have her as a teenager going through the trauma of a divorce initiated by an affair. It’s a very real thing that happens but I never hear talked about. I just think that it’s a pointless battle trying to have her and her fathers importance be equal. From a storytelling perspective they just aren’t and it’s okay.

• Millie is a WONDERFUL character! For anyone who has seen Demonslayer, I say that Millie got the “Mitsuri Kanroji treatment”. She’s one of few female characters that isn’t necessarily defined by a traumatic past. So far it seems like her story is a country girl born and raised on a farm with lots of siblings and somewhat iffy parents. Not exactly as dramatic and horrifying as Moxxie’s mob past, or Blitz’s life ruined by fire. I know the biggest critique is that she’s nothing outside Moxxie. Like, I’m sorry, what? Since when is it a crime to be madly in love with someone you married? I would say Moxxie is more dependent on Millie than the other way around and yet the burden of that is placed on Millie and I KNOW it’s because she’s the woman. I ADORE Millie because she’s just…normal. She’s funny, bright, sweet and bad af. If I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure as to why she is hated so much. I genuinely don’t see what’s not to love about her.

• STELLA??? Guys it’s gone too far. Do you sympathize with her because Stolas cheated and the marriage was just as arranged for her as it was for him? Because after everything she’s done I don’t care in the SLIGHTEST. Because Stella had ALWAYS been cruel. Did you not see her kid picture??? She TORTURED LITTLE ANIMALS. If someone does that in real life, we don’t defend those people for a second. It’s clear that she’s hit him before. That shot where Stolas catches her hand implies that there were many times that Stella did that and he did not intercept. Stella always talks bad about Stolas no matter what. Whether it’s to her friends at parties or to Stolas’ actual face. I know she brings him down around her daughter too. She humiliates him any chance she gets while Stolas has been shown to usually refrain from doing so (does Via even know it was her mom who tried to kill her dad?). So far we have not seen her have any real love for Octavia (Stolas put her to bed always and she never got up for her). But also, the tiny detail of SENDING AN ASSASSIN AFTER HIM. And she had not a cent of concern for how that would affect Via. I genuinely see nothing in her that’s worthy of defending. Sometimes women are abusive guys I don’t know how to tell you this.

4. The hate on Hazbin ladies. People hate Charlie, Vaggie, and Nifty. They always say it’s because Vizi cant write women, I just think it’s the fact that their media literacy is in the toilet. If Charlie was anything other than the eternal, naive optimist the story of Hazbin wouldn’t even exist. It would be impossible. No one else would’ve ever started such a project as a soul rehab in hell. I’m excited to see more developments with Vaggie (cuz I know that five episodes isn’t enough to have the perfect picture of a character) but so far I’m fine with her. I like how easy and low key their relationship is. Which is funny because everyone else hates it for the same reason. Nifty is comedic relief and everyone LOOOOOVES those characters…when they’re men, which Nifty isn’t so they hate her.

5. Finally, the fact that I can’t tell who are the haters and who actually likes the show. Because the tie in with the hyper critical responses but also the fact that people cannot simply not interact with this media. Some people genuinely watch it to shit on it. I don’t understand why. Please leave us in peace to have fun and enjoy. I’ve never seen so many haters in a fandom space before.

If yall have a response like “bro where the fuck have you been interacting with the fandom” PLS tell me where y’all have been avoiding this because this shit has haunted me EVERYWHERE.

[tiredwitchplant]

Everything You Need to Know About Fruits and Veggies: Apples

Apple (Malus domestica)

*Poisonous *Medical *Culinary *Feminine

Folks Names: Fruits of the Gods, Fruit of the Underworld, Silver Branch, The Silver Bough, Tree of Love

Planet: Venus

Element: Water

Deities: Venus, Dionysus, Olwen, Apollo, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Diana, Zeus, Iduna

Abilities: Love, Healing, Garden Magic, Immortality, Spiritual Development, Opening the Door Between Realms, Manifestation, Abundance, Hexing

Why Poisonous?:The seeds within apples contain chemical compounds that cause cyanide poisoning. Mild symptoms include: anxiety, headaches, dizziness, and confusion, while acute poisoning can cause high blood pressure, paralysis, coma or death. Do not consume a large amount of apple seeds at once.

Characteristics: The tree is small and deciduous, reaching 3 to 12 m tall, with a broad twiggy crown. The blossoms are produced during the spring while the fruit itself is matured in the autumn. The flowers are white with pink tinge that fades over time.

History: Originated in Central Asia with its ancestor plant, Malus sieversii which is a wild apple native to southern Kazakhstan. In the bible, it was used a symbol of temptation as it was the fruit that tempted Adam and Eve to be thrown out of the Garden of Eden. It is also known as a symbol of immortality, health, vitality, love and fertility by many religions. In Wicca, you cut an apple through its core to reveal the five-pointed pentagram that represents the four natural elements plus Spirit. It has been written that witches would use apples to hex and poison their victims, while the tree itself is sacred to Druids. The druids believed it was one of only two tress that would support their beloved mistletoes. On the Twelfth Night tradition, Pagans would sing to the tree, hoisting cheerful mug of wassail to drive wassail demons and coax out an abundant harvest for the Earth. It is also said that unicorns love to dwell in apple orchards and love the taste of the fruit. Before eating an apple, one must rub it to remove demon or evil spirits that maybe hiding inside.

How to Grow An Apple Tree:

Easy to Grow? No

Rating: Moderate/Expert

Seeds Accessible: Yes

How to Grow an Apple Tree

Video Guide

Where to Buy Seeds

Magical Properties:

On August 13th, Diana’s Festival in Greece (Venus’ in Rome) was celebrated where a ritual meal was prepared with apples still hanging on their boughs.

Wiccan altars are piled high on Samhain for apple is considered the food of the dead

Their blossoms can be used for love spells, sachets, brew and incenses

Can be used for love divinations by cutting the apple into two and counting the number of seeds

Banish illness by rubbing the apple on you and burying it

Eating an apple can help you gain immortality through wisdom

The wood of the tree can be made into charms for longevity

Apple wood makes for excellent magical wands, especially for emotional magic

Rubbing an apple peel on your forehead can waken your third eye, allowing your intuition to develop

Eating an apple or drinking apple tea can fill you with trust and abundance

Medical Usage:

Apple blossoms and the fruit are full of fiber, vitamins A and C, and quercetin, an antioxidant believed to help prevent cancer

Placing crushed apple leaves on a wound can prevent infection

Can lower the chance of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and promote weight loss and brain health

May help reduce airway inflammation related to allergic asthma

Sources

[frmamnac]

Theory about considering that Marco and Toffee were connected

Do you remember the theory that Marco and Toffee are connected? It is a theory with a lot of negative opinions, but I tried my best to think about it.

Marco and Toffee both have a planned and meticulous personality. I think... their gestures are sometimes similar, I was making comparisons (1-5).

Besides, The following are the ones that appear in Toffee's first appearance episode.

Star's penstand with holes. I think it's similar to the symptoms of victims of Solaria's magic.

Dead End signs, Star and monsters.

A fortune cookie message that Toffee sent to Star says "Love is always the answer".

Toffee sees Star helping Marco.

Toffee say that "You're not the only one who is the victim of magic" to Ludo's gang.

What if these are things that foreshadowing something? When Marco is involved in magic, he often combines with purple things. The monster arm emits purple liquid, Marco's corpse in the closet (with Mewberty Star's hearts) has purple skin, his hands turn purple when he touches Mewberty Star, Princess Turdina wears a purple dress, and the purple cloth he wears has nothing to do with magic, but look at the shape. Doesn't the drape look like a Septarian's tail?

Purple-ish black unicorn stabbed Marco. What if Toffee and unicorn's dark magic (I guess) were related to Marco's monster arm?

Toffee said he knows the future. What if Star, her friends, and monsters are killed by Mina's forces' magic, when Star won't destroy magic? (In fact, most of her friends and monsters were almost killed) Then, What if Mewni was destroyed in the battle between Mina and Eclipsa?

Daron Nefcy said Toffee as Magneto-type villain. Magneto was Professor X's best friend, Marco was Star's best friend. So, if Star fails to destroy the magic, maybe Marco'll shapeshifted to Septarian by unicorn's dark magic and time-traveled to the ancient Mewni. (It may sound silly) Glossaryck may have created a weird time loop. so, Toffee could have been Other Marco who come from such bad future timeline.

Toffee may knew that he would be killed as Star's first enemy, so he probably decided to give Star the idea of destroy the magic for change the wrong future, but in the process, probably he entered Realm of Magic and went crazy, and died as like "Toffee" who was in his original timeline. Glossaryck may has seen Marco as Toffee's 14 year old version. When they first met, Glossaryck said he wouldn't let Marco read magic spells book. I feel like he disliked Marco until day that Star rode the bike.

Even if Marco was influenced by evil monster arm, he is not necessarily evil. In this case, Toffee wouldn't kill Comet, but his subordinates would do it at their discretion. Glossaryck's been acting like a pet for a while after Toffee's death, Maybe that was because he felt guilty about making Star killed "Marco".

Well, Marco is just a boy from Earth, but he tried to become a knight because he wanted to get close to Star, the princess of Mewni. Marco's exploits with Toffee's death gave Marco the idea of ​​becoming a knight. I wrote that about Toffee was acting like a knight. And what if Marco's Blood Moon's nightmare warns his fate that he will be killed by Star when he falls in love with her? Toffee lives in Star's past, and Marco lives in Star's future. Star and Marco, who are tied by Curse of Blood Moon, will be bound in weird time loop forever, untill Cleaved canceled bad future.

I don't know why Toffee stole Ludo's castle and his gang. He manipulated Ludo a lot but it also made Buff Frog a Star's friend, it triggered that Star wants Mewni to stop the monster abuse and protect monsters.

I think Toffee's apparent age is 30s. Marco at Neverzone is still child with an adult body. too childish. Star and Toffee's mental age is too far apart, he maybe saw Star as his old best friend. Throughout the show, Star and Toffee barely had a chance to speak. Marco is the type who is into the role he plays, and he is good at hiding his emotions. If he felt responsible for Star's grandma's death, he wouldn't be able to tell the truth. He may have been acting like a crazy, cruel man to Star and her friends on purpose, in order not to kill his childhood. "Surprise" is a word when the Diaz family celebrates Star every day, so it may be a symbol of friendship.

Toffee has existed since he was a teenager. The reason why he was shocked when Marco said, "You're boring" would because he had the time he was able to live as his true self was too short, and he forgot what he was like living as himself. On the other hand, he may have despised his past self who had no power or knowledge to protect the important things. Toffee's last words were probably a warning or mocking to his past self, and were probably the answer to "boring".

"Code name is Sailor V", a spinoff of Sailor Moon came to my mind. The villain in this story was just a common soldier who wanted to become a knight to get closer to the princess of Venus, Minako's previous life. However, after everyone died in the war and the queen of the moon let reborn everyone with magical powers. Even though he was Minako's enemy, he tried to help her grow, but he died when doing fortune-telling that Minako was destined to kill the person she loved. Minako will ended up killing her boyfriend who became an enemy. Daron loves Sailor Moon, and Mina's name is taken from Minako, but Minako looks like Star a bit.

But how can Marco be so dark and conspiratorial?

I think Marco knew very little about monster abuse in Mewni. He would be angry if he knows that, and he will try to protect the monsters from Mewmans as one of the earthlings because he knows Mewmans were earthlings, and would be thoroughly research magic and Mewni's history. And Marco's charisma will be gather the support of Septarians. In order to protect the existence of Star, he may had to keep Butterfly family alive while dealing with the monster's hatred for Butterfly family, and he would have been afraid of losing the support of the monsters.

Marco was once unable to oppose princesses in St. Olga for fear of losing the support of them. Perhaps his harsh environment has made him ruthless. He may have been bound by his past as Septarian and had limited things to do. I think he has reason for hating Glossaryck. Glossaryck made Star's ancestors, the colonists of Earth, into Butterfly family and Mewman.

The reason he wore a suit instead of a general's uniform in front of Star and Marco was because that's the style of Earth politicians, and he wanted things to be resolved by negotiation, not fighting. And he didn't stand in the way of Marco (his past self) going to Blood Moon Ball and getting cursed with Star by curse of Blood Moon.

Unfortunately, Dark magic that Toffee was melting in Realm of Magic will strengthen the desire for revenge. He may have wanted to inactive MHC and Moon because them empower Mina's rebellion. What if the magic and Star's family destroyed his life? What if magic doesn't exist? What if the colonists from Earth, the ancestors of Star, didn't go to Mewni? What if Star was born as an earthling? What if Marco chose Jackie instead of Star? Almost everything he has experienced could give him reason to hate magic.

His purpose in S1 would to protect Star, but in S2 may have changed to save Marco's life from Star. The reason he was so obsessed with his lost finger was probably because it was the only point of contact between his past self and his present self. The motivation in that case will be self-love. Realm of Magic will not kill Star, but there will make her suffer. He may have locked Star there to teach her his suffering, instead of telling her who he is. In my native language Toffee said "bye-bye" to Star. it is the farewell word between Star and Marco. (in English that's "bye")

(I think this has a "you're fired" kind of nuance, but Marco does something like this when comforting his friends. What's interesting to me personally is that Buff Frog will soon be a father to babies.)

Edit:2024/07/17, Fix

[memeasaurus-promptus]

Dark and Scary AUs and Prompts to Write

*Feel free to specify characters if applicable and to change/alter prompts as needed

The Corruption of Soul- Someone is possessed by the character who has died under their watch (or the character is being possessed by someone who had died by their hands) | There is something malevolent (or benevolent) that is now controlling the character and it won’t stop until its satisfied | No one knows the character shares a body with another soul and the times it takes over has increased over time.

Baying at the Moon- The character knows they’re being hunted by a werewolf, but it may or may not be someone they know | The character has been hiding an infection and is slowly starting to show symptoms | The character is a werewolf and is on the trail of prey (one that smells familiar)

What’s a Bite Between Friends- Character is a vampire trying to lure someone into their covert (or vice versa) with varying success | Discovering (or being discovered) as a vampire due to circumstances resulting in them needing to feed (and they certainly are hungry...) | Character keeps waking up in the morning with bruises and punctures on their body with no memory of how they got them.

The Thing Beyond the Pale- Character was used as a sacrifice and something from beyond has come through | Character realizing that something isn’t quite right with their friend(s) | Character makes a deal with the devil and now everyone will pay dearly.

Death is Sweet- People in the character’s life are ending up dead, and the blood trail is leading right up to their doorstep | Character is certain their roommate is a serial killer but is confident they won’t kill them... right? | The character has killed someone but the only thing between them and freedom is one single witness. 

Monster in the Woods- The truth is, the character is the monster in the woods, and the next victim approaches | The character has fallen and twisted/broken their ankle, but something is following them in the dark 

Cursed- The character has been cursed, its effects are catastrophic | The character casts a curse, but it befalls one of their closest friends instead | The spell used against the character doesn’t work as intended... 

Pulled Away and Stand Alone- There’s a new person around, and everyone the character loves soon starts gravitating towards this new individual and leaving the character behind | It’s been some time since they last saw each other, but everyone keeps treating the character like a stranger now | The character introduces one of their friends to another friend of theirs. The pair hit it off well- almost too well, as the character finds themselves third wheeling in their own friend group. 

Left Behind- The character had been injured and left for dead | The character is traded for the others’ freedom, but no one comes back to rescue them 

Behind Enemy Lines- What was thought to be allies turns out to be enemies | The character is a spy and time is running out | A surprise attack led to the character being captured 

It Hurts Doesn’t It- The character is being tortured (or the character is torturing someone else) | An old injury is being used against the character | The character is forced to watch as a friend is tortured

The Weather is Out to Get Us- The character(s) are forced to travel through hot/cold/stormy weather and the exposure starts taking its toll on the ill-equipped...

What Lies in the Deep- The oceans are vast, and the character learns why there were so many stories about sailors being lured to their deaths beneath the waves | Every mer knows not to travel into the abyssal zone... but curiosity kills the cat, doesn’t it? 

Furies Take Flight- Everyone knows the winged folk were dangerous, and the character was going to prove them why messing with them was a grave mistake | To lose one’s wings was the greatest shame of all, and the character has them mounted on their wall 

Fire and Brimstone- Dragons were just like any creature; to trespass into their territory was an offense worth punishing. To steal from them was a crime only absolved through death. | The character shapeshifts into a person shape if only to integrate themselves into roaming adventurer parties looking to plunder their own treasures. | The character just needed a single gem to sell off and buy food from the city during a widespread famine in the countryside, but they might become someone else’s dinner. 

The Dead Don’t Talk- The character is a necromancer who brings back the fallen to solve crimes, except the dead no longer answer their calls on this recent case... | The character has been dead for a long, long time, and yet no one notices even as their summoner parades them around in front of their friends 

Death Rattle- The character is dying, but is anyone there? | Someone is dying beneath the character’s hands, and they are powerless to stop it

These Powers Cause More Harm than Good- The character has a superpower/ability that causes severe damage and ruin, but they only wanted to help | Being able to kill someone with a single touch may have been useful when killing people was more widely acceptable, but all it did now was prevent anyone from being willing to touch them 

[keithbutgay]

the silly guys (and yes, they're gay :P)

(much info under cut)

okay so main worldbuilding--- i havent actually really thought this through but the idea is that basically its this really unoriginal kinda dystopian-ish world where there was this government created robotic spore, something that would go into your bloodstream through open wounds. the spore would then corrupt your body, and there was no way to stop it.

the idea was to keep it among the higher-ups of the country, using it as a sort of punishment for criminals but after all these victims inevitably re-entered society, questions started getting asked. eventually someone anonymous hacked into the blueprints, the information was released and the spore began spreading, infecting hundreds and hundreds of people.

(and yes, i realised after creating all this that its basically just the plot of wilder girls. do i care enough to change it? not really)

ghost (he/she/they)

-actually the silliest of guys

-gay disaster

-trans guy, would only like to be referred to with masc terminology despite their pronouns

-eye and entire arm had to be amputated after a car accident

-eye was filled with an amber-like substance that hardened over time as a result--- while it was still soft a bug flew inside and became trapped

-shoulder blades and arm became much more veiny and translucent, which is why he always covers his arm

-has a lot of scars on his arm, they show up more on the translucent skin

-constantly changing hair color. because she can

-adhd be upon ye

-asexuality be upon ye

-demiromanticism be upon ye

-is really energetic most of the time, gesticulates a lot while talking, but will sometimes forget about their arm and be confused about why its not moving

-experiences phantom pains in their missing arm, and also experiences chronic pain in their wrist and neck because they got really fucked up in the accident

-really normal about the ocean /lie

-struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and severe bipolar 1 disorder, and experiences hallucinations and other symptoms of psychosis because of that

-dont really like people standing on their blind side, which is partially because of their paranoia and partially because they're self-conscious about their arm (and because holding hands)

alright moving on cause i said a fuck ton about them so now its time for smoke

i dont have that much for them sadly

i designed him second which means that he doesnt have that information on him but its okay because i love him

smoke (they/he)

-they're SUCH a guy. like. the most guy. in an agender way

-autism be upon ye

-also a disaster gay

-got into a lot of fights because of where he was brought up and the people they interacted with. this ended in their face getting cut up a bit at a really unfortunate time, and they were infected

-he cant actually fully zip or unzip his face--- instead they can feel their skin being stretched apart constantly

-its because of this that he doesnt talk or smile often because it often hurts to move his face. he will sometimes use asl, but doesnt know that much beyond finger-spelling and they prefer to just listen to other people

-if they do talk, its really quietly and slowly. they really only talk to ghost because they know he wont judge

-anxious boi

-definitely has bpd but no he will not be unpacking that today, thanks, that is getting shoved deep down along with his probable autism, depression, and panic disorder

-also getting shoved down along with his sexuality, he does not have the time or energy to think about that right now

-never really had many friends ever, and its historically been really hard for them to really get along and get close with others so they dont approach people very often

-really normal about space /lie

[magnumdays]

Magnum PI - S05E11 - Hit and Run review

We're back. I guess. It feels strange knowing these are the last ten episodes it seems likely we're getting but judging from just this first one it's going to keep on being one heck of a ride at least for that :P

(Full honestly, something is wrong with my internet so I watched this with like 1 million little lags and annoying loading bits so... may have affected my viewer enjoyment. Also gotta go to bed because I gotta work tomorrow so this is a little short and 5% spell checked...)

Miggy

Wham-bam, thank you, ma'am. It would have been more shocking if we hadn't gotten the "I'm late in the promo" but still, it was fun to explore this for an episode. They didn't touch back on what Juliet said about not being sure if she wanted a baby or not, but from how the discussion went today she seemed to have changed her tune. Would have been good to have addressed. I thought the would with Magnum being incredibly award when she told him. (This was low-key a favorite part of mine because not knowing what to say Magnum is pretty rare.)

Loved that they're keeping the Miggy banter and Thomas Magnum logic going strong even with big life-changing-ish news looming on the horizon.

"Yeah but if you are pregnant you will be more pregnant tomorrow."

"Just like how you said you weren't scared of spiders?"

I think this was a big set-up for how the series is going to end. Which I think is going to be very Mentalist and we kind of needed to have them talk about and want a baby, even if not right now. (Seriously, if the show doesn't end with a Miggy wedding and baby on board I'm going to be annoyed.)

So yeah, I'm glad they had the baby talk and that it leads to Confessions! (have I been watching too much K-drama? Maybe. Yes.)

And is it weird that I cried there with them being all "I love you" at the end? Like I thought, kind of that I'd gone through my mourning process for this both with thinking season 4 was the end and during the past few months knowing season 5b is the last. But apparently, I was wrong. I still have tears left.

Watching this episode just kind of made me realize how much I love this show (all over again) and that I'm going to miss it and my babies sooo much.

TC being sad = sadness

It's was kind of hard to watch our favorite guy going through tough stuff. I feel like the *protect TC at all cost* society will sue someone :P no but I was really thankful things seem to be going in the right direction for him both with emotionally dealing and getting some feeling back!

Rick + Piper...

So Rick's got a new GF? I feel like she gotta have some connection to something bigger. Like she's for sure a spy or something right? Wasn't her being all "that dump never" just too great of a start? I mean Rick is cute and all, but just introducing her as a love interest would be a little frivolous? Though they have done that before with Ethan and Lia.

Anyway, Piper is cute and I can't wait to see what happens with it.

The Case!

I really liked this case, even if it the excitement was somewhat lost because my internet kept lagging. It's pretty classic "hitman decides to save victim" only with a Magnum and Higgins twist. It could have gone a lot of different ways and in a way it felt a little too quick for it to end. (I think this might be another K-drama symptom where most things just keep going throughout the season.) I was hoping/thinking when I heard "boarding school, sick mom" that we'd get a Juliet/kid bonding moment.

I would have liked Mr. Hitman to not have died so unceremoniously. I mean this poor kid, her mom is dead, her dad is dead, her brother just tried to kill her with 2 hitmen and now the guy who saved her (even if he was a hitman to start) dies? I mean come on! Couldn't he have gotten caught and she'd be like "I'll come visit you in jail" or something?

The Jin + Book

Are we going to get more flashbacks of Jin imagining the White Knight with superpowers? Because that was so weirdly hilarious. I was like? What? What? WHAT? Then I totally cracked up.

But yeah, hope we have something more with the TR Bell + White Knight. That kiss back from early season 4 is still one of my faves of theirs (even if it wasn't actually 'them'.)

Next week seems fun! Like, repo a fish? What a strange world, but it sure going to be amusing.

[owlsandwich]

Alphabet Superset - Week 2

B - Betrayal

Again, I am having to post this via my phone as Tumblr's browser version won't let me make posts. No idea why! The "Post" button is just always greyed out.

Anyway, It's week two, and this short story is set a good few hundreds of years before The Mechanics of Magic starts, with characters never seen or heard of in the narrative so far. It's one I've had in my mind for a while, and this event will have some small knock-on effects in book 2 and also if I ever write my epistolary of Ewen's life.

I really love the scene, and I hope you do too!

@teacupsandstarlight :)

***

The coach juddered as it sped along the dark road. Aelricus pressed his fingers into his temples. Every hoofbeat seemed to throb through his head, and he dimmed the magelight floating above him until its light barely showed his thin, pale hands. Even this simple magic proved a strain. It had been a day and a night since he’d last slept. Deep bags hung under his eyes, and his brown hair tumbled loose around his ears.

Those who had been struck by the new illness fell suddenly, and he’d been called from Ademeer’s Palace to various country manors and back again with barely a pause to eat. If he hadn’t used enough magic healing, the rest had been spent fighting his own exhaustion. Only a champion could have done it, and even he was reaching his limit.

“It makes no sense.” Turbert’s words floated through Aelricus’ mind. “Yes, there are diseases that display these symptoms, yet there have been no signs in the general population. Those taken were not in close proximity. In fact, the cases could not be a further distance for us to travel.”

The voice was more an impression of idea than a sound, though the tone held the same staccato as his mentor had demonstrated in life. Emotion flowed from Turbert’s presence; an anxiety that sparked through Aelricus’ own heart.

“There is no proof of malicious intent.”

Aelricus sent the thought back, but he knew Turbert would sense that he didn’t believe it himself. Generations of experience had taught him what to look for, and had it been just one... But what motive was there for these specific victims? What foolish poisoner could think he wouldn’t see the signs? Not after Emeline.

“It won’t be a matter that concerns us much longer.” Aelricus thought bitterly.

Another bump rattled the window shutter despite the passive spells he sensed woven into the wood for strength and soundproofing. He gripped the cushioned bench he sat on as a wave of nausea overtook him.

Not much longer. Then he could rest.

From his cousin’s home, it would be a small matter to acquire a fresh horse. By dawn, he would be among allies. As for the King... By the time King Silvester and the others knew he had gone, it would be too late.

His eyelids drooped. The floating magelight flickered as the onset of sleep stole his concentration, and his dulled senses only picked up the foreign burst of magic a second before it struck.

A bolt of energy slammed into the side of the carriage. Strong enough to blast through any defence, it exploded through the wood. A splinter sliced across his cheek before he could think to generate a shield. Then he was tipping, falling, weightless as the coach swayed to the side. The door hit the dirt, and Aelricus crashed against it. His head cracked against the panel, and he was plunged into darkness.

Panic dripped through the fog of unconsciousness.

“Aelricus! Aelric! You must get up!”

Aelricus groaned. He blinked, but no vision of the carriage swam into view. His limbs screamed in pain as he forced himself up, and he rubbed at his eyes before realising his magelight had died with his loss of focus. He was shaking. Cold. Damp? He plucked at a billowing sleeve that now clung, wet and heavy, to his skin, and sucked in a breath. Not blood. A stagnant smell permeated the confined space. River water. Seeping in through the buckled door beneath him.

As he noticed it, the coach lurched, and he lost his footing once more. Broken wood tore across the palm of his hand as he braced himself. He cried out and instinctively reached for his magic to heal it. The effort made his head spin, but Turbert’s presence flowed in close beside him.

“Leave it,” Turbert ordered. “The water- We need to get out.”

“I can’t!” Aelricus exclaimed out loud. The door was jammed. He barely had the strength to move.

“The other door. Climb! Hurry!”

Aelricus crawled across the carriage. With no light, he had to grope for the handle. Finally, his fingers touched smooth brass. He forced the door up, feet slipping in the slick damp, until finally it swung open. It was only with Turbert’s encouragement that he managed to drag himself free.

They had crashed where the forest met the river. Long grass tangled his clothes as Aelricus pulled himself towards the path. Night insects chirped through the gloom, like screams of warning, deafening in the calm night. He was filthy with sludge. From here, he could see a sharp bend in the road ahead. The sight made him shudder. Had they gone over there, he doubted he’d have had time to escape.

The mud was soft and inviting. Aelricus felt his arms give way, and then he was lying down, gazing towards the upturned, sinking carriage. Broken wheels, like the bones of some long dead creature, jutted out against the gap of sky. The horses were gone. Their harness lay loose on the ground where it had fallen. It seemed a minor curiosity at first; his addled mind unable to comprehend the sight. Then he saw his driver, crumbled and unmoving, against a tree.

No living body could have bent into that shape. Acid burned his throat, and he rolled over to vomit onto the wet grass.

As he did, light illuminated the surrounding space, followed by a familiar voice, deep and smooth.

“I’d have thought you to have a stronger stomach, Aelric.”

“Randall?” Aelricus croaked. It turned into a fit of coughing as he spoke. He gasped for breath, blinking through the bright glow of the magelight to find its source. “I can’t... Help. Please.”

Randall emerged from the trees. A tall man, though surprisingly slight for his voice. He moved silently over the leaf littered road until he was standing close enough that Aelricus had to crane to look at him. His green doublet seemed bleached white by the night, and the ruff of lace at his throat danced in the faint breeze.

This close, Aelricus could feel the weight of magic radiating from him. As strong as his own at full strength, his fellow Champion appeared unconcerned by the circumstances around him.

“So you do live.” Randall spoke as though talking to himself. “Good.”

“We were attacked, Randall. It is only by luck that the carriage didn’t plunge fully into the river. My driver-“

“Yes, my timing could use improvement.” Randall tilted his head, and his eyes seemed like deep pools of darkness as they met Aelricus’ own.

Dread settled into his empty stomach. In his mind, he felt Turbert’s own exclamation.

“No!”

“Where were you going, Aelric?” Randall said.

“I...” Aelricus’ thoughts moved slowly. The story... He couldn’t remember.

“Your cousin!” Turbert spoke urgently in his mind. “She’s expecting us.”

“Do not keep me waiting,” Randall prompted sharply.

“My cousin...” Aelricus replied. “I left a note with Jacob to expect me back in a few days.”

“At least do me the courtesy of honesty,” Randall replied. “Do you truly think I don’t know?”

Another coughing fit stole Aelricus’ voice, but Randall made no offer of assistance. Of course he knew. Of the four Royal Champions, it was Randall who presided over intelligence. A spy. One who tracked his own people. As the coughing subsided, so did his fear. He was too weak. There was nowhere to run.

“I go to seek justice,” Aelricus spat.

Randall narrowed his eyes. “You’re a traitor, Aelric. Of all people, you are his Friend!” He said the word as the title it was.

“And he was supposed to be mine!”

The burst of anger left him dizzy, and Aelricus tried to slow his rapid breaths. “How could he? Emeline-“

“Should have been of no concern to a Champion.”

“She was innocent!”

“As innocent as her conspiring family?” Randall replied. “Your naivety makes you an easy target, my friend, but your affection would have doomed her either way.”

Aelricus paled. The cut on his hand carved a line of burning pain across his palm, but the guilt stung harder. “I would have done nothing,” he whispered. “It was harmless. Sylvester had no need to order her death. He is no king, but a tyrant, and I will have no part in it!”

Randall gave a thin smile. “Perhaps it will comfort you to know the King did not know.”

Aelricus’ mouth fell open.

“We all do our duty,” Randall continued. “Such things are messy and unpleasant. It is my line who spare his heart.”

“You!” Aelricus growled. He tried to force himself to his feet, but his legs slipped out from beneath him. Tears stung at his eyes until his vision blurred. Tubert was speaking to him, but his presence was far away, pushed back by the turbulent emotions that overwhelmed him.

“You are messy, Aelric,” Randall spoke from somewhere above. “A Champion turned traitor. Betraying your own King.”

“I never wanted this...” Aelricus croaked.

“Can you not see that losing you that way would have broken his heart?” Randall crouched down, and Aelricus could hear the steady flow of his breathing. “It is lucky that he never needs to find out.”

Aelricus’ head shot up. “You would let me return?”

“Oh no, you misunderstand. It’s far too late for that.”

Magic flared from Randall as he called his power to the surface.

“You can’t!” Aelricus scrambled back, as though distance would protect him. “I will inform the next in line when they awaken. You cannot hide this.”

Randall paused in his movement. “Ah yes, the potential. We all know it’s most likely to be Jacob. It will grieve you to learn that he has been taken ill. Without you in the palace to tend to him, it is likely he will not survive the night.”

A chill wind sucked any remaining heat from Aelricus’ body. He spoke through the shiver that wracked his frame. “Please, Randall! Were we not children together? If I have destroyed any love you once had for me, then for Silvester’s sake, do not harm Jacob. I swear I will say no word of tonight. I told him nothing of my plans.”

“Be grateful you did not, or you would have further blood on your hands.”

Any emotion faded from Randall’s face. His magic flared once more, choking the cry from Aelricus’ throat as it gripped him.

The last thing he heard was Turbert calling his name. 

[kitsu-katsu]

Ok, but people who say that dro horrible is bad because Billy is kinda an incel are missing the point

He never knew Penny, he was in love with the idea of her, he didn't have a solid core of beliefs to even fall onto

I very much believe that he did want to change the status quo in some nebulous way and realized the world is shit and attacking a symptom of the problem won't fix it. HOWEVER, he did say a lot of what he said to either impress Penny or to justify his actions as righteous as he was acting out of spite and a thirst for revenge because captain hammer got to actually date Penny

He was eight about hammer being a dick and not good for Penny, but not because of the factual shittiness of hammer, rather just by chance while he said stuff oit of jealousy (and a vendetta against hammer cause he beat him up all the time)

Hammer was not a good person by a long shot either, Penny stayed with him as she hesitated because he got her all she wanted to help people and because he was attractive and seemingly what she should want, while denying herself the fact that she didn't want him. Hammer meanwhile, only did good for attention, got her the shelter to look even better and brag about his goodness on the news again, saw her as "the girl I might have sex with twice this time", he saw her as an object and never got her real objective of helping people because he's just selfish, he just wants attention

Them both being dicks in a sense is part of the point

Penny's the only real good person thoroughly in the whole musical and she's purposely a flat character

When Billy kills her, he's confronted with more of a dilemma. He was the cartoony mad scientist archetype, he never did a murded, that's out of cartoony bad guy logic. He only got the motivation to commit to the murder because of jealousy, hammer beating him was not what got him over the edge, it was taking Penny whom he saw as "rightfully his" (if you need this spelled out: just because hammer was bad towards Penny, this doesn't make Billy's reaction actually righteous either). His plan backfires, he almost gets killed himself for parttaking in basking in glory and getting his name out there for the league, and in the end, the real victim is still Penny. He kills her and he's shellshocked, because he's gotten everything he's ever wanted but it's empty, not because he killed Penny and they actually had a connection, but because he never actually made a connection with anyone, he betrayed what up to that point seemed to be his moral compass and now he's going to move forward because this is supposed to be what he wants, Penny or not, Bad Horse noticed him

It's the fight between his two idealized loves: The girl he barely knows but has idealized in his head and the greates supervillain who is finally seeing him as a worthy asset to his group, if he only becomes more drastic

And the last frame shows us he regrets his decision

His idealized life plan is hollow

He's mourning Penny, even if he never knew her. Her death still affected him

Amd the most tragic victim is Penny. Never seen, objectified, defined by her partner, killed by whom she'd started to see as possibly a friend, and rememberes as what's-her-name

And she was the only one with actually rightful intentions

[prying-pandora666]

My Azula Diagnosis Analysis Part 8: Identification With the Aggressor

As the master post I wrote was too long, I’ve divided it into parts. Find them all here.

Sick of bad armchair diagnosis for Azula? Me too! So in this thread let’s discuss Azula’s most commonly “diagnosed” illnesses and disorders, and find out what she actually meets the criteria for, if any.

“Identification with the Aggressor is one of the forms of identification conceptualized by psychoanalysis. Specifically, it is a defence mechanism that indicates taking the role of the aggressor and his functional attributes, or imitating his aggressive and behavioral modality when a psychological trauma brings about the hopeless dilemma of being either a victim or an abuser. This theoretical construct is also defined as a process of coping with mental distress or as a particular case of zero-sum game.”

In other words, it’s a coping mechanism to deal with abuse where a victim mimics the abuser’s actions and beliefs to escape being further victimized.

Does Azula display Identification with the Aggressor?

Identification with the Aggressor Claims

—Azula reflects whatever Ozai wants to hear

—Azula is both afraid of and dependent on Ozai and will do terrible things she doesn’t even want to do to stay in his good graces

—Azula would prefer to act like her abuser than be viewed as the victim, even if it means going against her own desires and goals

So Does Azula Demonstrate Identification with the Aggressor?

As always, symptoms can present in a number of ways. People are all different. But diagnostically significant symptoms include:

—Mirroring the Abuser: The most obvious case is with Ozai. Azula parrots his political beliefs and grievances since early childhood, something that makes her come off frightening for such a young child. Interestingly, her manipulative and scheming qualities seem to come from both her parents, as Ursa is the one who came up with the plan to assassinate Azulon to protect Zuko.

—Concealing Vulnerability: Azula’s breakdown is the most dramatic reveal of her hidden internal vulnerability, but it isn’t the only one. In The Beach, Azula deflects from her own emotional wounds with a joke (“My own mother thought I was a monster… She was right, of course, but it still hurt.”), but we later learn how real this trauma was for her. She also conceals how much she cares about others, often couching advice or help behind a veneer of mockery.

—Enmeshment with the Abuser: Azula displays a concerning lack of agency or personal desires outside of Ozai. We never are given any motivations for her that don’t serve Ozai (or occasionally Zuko) except for when she wants to flirt with boys her age. The moment she tries to act on her own desires, her incredible confidence and aptitude vanish. Even then, she attempts to woo Chan by offering the very thing she knows her enmeshed abuser would want: world domination. To tragically disastrous results.

—Kicking the Scapegoat: When desperate to protect herself, Azula will turn on the scapegoat child (Zuko), no matter how much she loves him, hoping to deflect the abuser’s ire to a more acceptable target.

—Deflecting and Transferring the Blame: As confronting the reality that their abuser, whom the victim is both afraid of and desperate to please, is the source of the problem may be too painful or frightening, victims often subconsciously transfer the blame to an easier target. Both Zuko and Azula do this to avoid directing their grievances at their true abuser: Ozai. While Zuko tends to pin the blame for the abuse he suffered on Azula, Azula tends to pin it on Ursa.

Conclusion: Azula does identify with the aggressor.

An interview with the head writer only drives it home even further, where he overtly states that Azula was trapped doing worse and worse things to please Ozai as she had become alienated from her mother and had no one else.

The book 2 novelization also makes it concrete, spelling out Azula’s fears of vulnerability and rejection.

This may also perfectly explain Azula’s reaction to Zuko being burned.

[grislyintentions]

||Personal Depiction: Aha (HC) ||

It is easy to perceive Aha as an agent of chaos and be distracted/annoyed by their joy-seeking antics but dismissing their capabilities would be a grave mistake. At their core, they are cruel in the same way children are cruel to their playthings and what out of all life would be the most entertaining to subject to the teachings of chaos? Humans.

Aha toys with the extreme emotions of intelligent creatures (love, joy, sadness, sorrow) and delights in subverting/shifting/changing the fate of others (regardless of what happens to them in the end), oftentimes with drastically devastating or different results than how they were supposed to go. They have been shown to hold a lot of influence over the movements of all living things, being able to imperceptibly and delicately manipulate their reality. But is this all a calculative approach to things? Not really. They simply do things on their own whim. [Reference: Making a Noblesse worm an Emanator to see if they can enter the Genius Society then discarding it, playing ‘pranks’ by blowing up an entire planet along with half of Akivili’s Express, interfering with the Simulated Universe and loaning their path’s blessings to those seeking to end the Aeon of Nihility and granting his blessings to the Mourning Actors because they found it ironically funny.]

All in all: Aha’s unpredictability and chaos is only a part of what their path embodies. The true crux lies in causing changes in life, be it minor or massive effects. That is what truly entertains Aha. And even if they were to be killed or defeated one day, they too would find pleasure in the unexpected nature of it all.

Demeanour

Aha’s expression of emotions are exaggerated, extreme and intense. To witness the Aeon is to be subjected to a rollercoaster of unpredictable mood swings and the sensory overload that follows. Prolonged meetings with this Aeon can often result in fainting spells, dizziness, temporary hearing loss, headaches and more.

Those who are blessed with the Elation and subsequently had their blessings stripped from them are likely to fall victim to symptoms of mania (loss of impulse control, aggression without reason, sudden onset paranoia/anxiety, delusions etc) and depressive episodes. In severe cases, it can and will lead to death.

Emanators

While Aha chooses their Emanators willy-nilly, those who are given access to the knowledge and power of his path tend to be capable of inciting large changes by instinctively knowing what, where and how to meddle with things. (One good example, given the theory and implication that Sampo is affiliated with the Masked Fools, would be how he doesn’t directly play a part in Cocolia’s confrontation or Svarog’s conflict with Wildfire. And yet he was somehow always the key to leading to the sequence of events and got to reap the rewards by watching it unfold).

His Emanators excel in their ability to disguise and can even impersonate others. They will be granted the unique understanding and perception that life is but a play and a joke: that there exists an entity (us, the player) out there, watching them go through things impassively. Some wound up losing their minds to existential dread and breakdowns. Others willingly accept that and lose their reservations about going along with what they truly wish to do.

There are, however, elements of risk when it comes to being Aha’s Emanator as well. For while it grants Emanators the power of being able to assimilate, change and disguise, the human psyche really isn’t meant to do so at an extended period of time. It could lead to the gradual diminishing and blurring between realities. As well as the inability to remember who they themselves are.

[tsunflowers]

I started drawing more outfits for kris and luke. I keep thinking about them

kris grew up in a lightly spooky manor house deep in the woods. all the women in her family are psychic mediums for real and people come from far and wide to hear the dead through them. most people with magic get it through the maternal line and every family has a specialty, with some talents appearing only once every few generations. kris is the only living member of her family to specialize in necromancy, physically raising the dead rather than just channeling them. her mom and aunts and grandma all hate it bc it is not marketable. they're not con artists, they really can speak with the dead, but they're businesswomen first and foremost. the people who come to them are Not interested in seeing what kris can do. for most of her teenage years she got put on entertaining the clients' kids duty and learned a lot of sleight of hand magic tricks (many of which she cheats at using blood magic bc if her blood is on something she can call it back to her)

but kris's true passion was always reading necromantic tomes and forbidden spells and raising squirrels in the woods and her family was like STOP!!! so they sent her to spend time with the youngblood family as a diversion and it was the worst mistake they ever made. although it did end with her getting out of their hair so maybe it was good

luke's family moved to the country for him to convalesce bc he's dying of fictional disease that has only the symptoms the writer wants it to. he loves reading but has been losing his eyesight due to this mysterious disease. his mom is old friends with kris's mom so they hatch a plan to keep kris out of trouble by having her come read to luke. they hit it off and started hanging out without being forced but eventually kris started talking about necromancy bc shes crazy for the stuff

luke's condition gets worse but kris's skill at necromancy improves and the topic naturally comes up. does luke want kris to kill him and raise him as a zombie. zombies have excellent night vision so he would be able to see and read again. they don't feel pain and they have enhanced strength. in a lot of ways it would be very cool to be a zombie. there is the problem of being entirely dependent on the person who raised you for continued survival but kris swore a blood oath that she would keep him alive for the rest of her natural life or until he wanted to pass on, and a blood oath from a blood mage is serious business. they really thought they had thought everything through and they hadnt but, young love, you know

kris's specialty returns the soul to the body in the condition it was in at the time of the ritual. since she and luke plan everything together and she's the one to kill him that means his body returns to about 30 seconds after his death at the age of 19 every month when she re-ups the ritual. they did not really consider how this will work out for them in the future but since luke looks like shit he can probably continue to pass for the same age as her into his 30s

they run away and join the circus where kris uses her charisma, sleight of hand skill, and dark magic to wow the crowds. luke as her handsome assistant mostly helps by showing off props and getting cut into pieces before "miraculously" standing up whole again. they put makeup on luke when performing so he looks a little more alive to the audience but I think everyone who spends any amount of time with them realizes that theres something wrong with them. but necromancy is a big taboo and most people wouldn't think of it so they're just like oh there's kris and her gaunt greenish boyfriend with the dead black eyes that don't reflect light

after they get tired of the circus they settle down in a big city with lots of crime and solve those crimes by reanimating the victims and asking them who did it

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

hi hi hi little gayboy please please please elaborate on The Sickness -Sculk

HI SKULK ILY HIIII OK!!!

Context: I'm gathering asks about my Life Series [/Hermitcraft] Fantasy AU (tagged with #kingdoms au)

So the concept of The Sickness comes in several forms, I'll be super happy to explain them cause they rot my brain completely.

Mage Sickness: Magic users who overuse or misuse their magic, or use a lot of dark magic such as necromancy, become corrupted by the magic. Sorcerers are particularly susceptible because of their innate magical ability and general lack of self-control. Mage Sickness is pretty obvious physically, as it takes over the body slowly with a skulk-like disease. The skulk can be removed early on to slow down the process but there is no known cure, only preventative measures like potions. Mage Sickness takes over the mind last, and tends to make the victim swing to using dark magic if they didn't already. It makes dark magic more powerful but comes at the physical and mental cost of the magic user. Anyway this is Scar's entire deal as a Sorcerer. He's had Mage Sickness for ages and he's kind of owning it.

Inherited Sickness: some magic users inherit Mage Sickness from their parents. They are actually more resistant to showing symptoms and less likely to get full-blown Sickness, but it's in their genes and they can pass it on to others if they cast magic upon another person. For example, this is what happened to Bdubs when he was still a student of Life Magic. He didn't know he was carrying the gene and his magic backfired, killing two people and getting himself hurt instead of healing them like he was supposed to.

Mismatching: this is when someone's magic does not match up with their body's physical ability, causing them to basically short-circuit and gain Mage Sickness. For example, if someone gains demonic magic while being in a human or hybrid body, the magic will corrupt them. This is what happened to Doc, as he was turned part-demon and his magic registered as demonic, but his body is still non-demon enough that it hurt him, basically an overload of power. This also spreads like skulk across the body!

Soul Loss: if someone loses their soul (or it is taken from them) they will become corrupted with skulk-type stuff as if they have Mage Sickness. This doesn't kill the affected person but it makes them physically weaker and can alter them mentally. It also makes the user unable to perform magic, if they could before losing their soul.

Spreading Sickness: Mage Sickness can be passed on to other people via magic. For example if an infected person tried to use a healing spell on another, they run the risk of either getting the opposite effect (harming) or infecting them. The Sickness can also be spread willingly, if someone understands their Sickness well enough.

Other effects of long-term Mage Sickness: if you have Mage Sickness for a long time (like Scar) you can adapt to understand it a lot better. It can act as a new sense, as it links you with the world's magic, and eventually you can learn how to not spread it when casting magic on other people. However, it can also cause bodily decay in the long-term and eventually results in death. There has been no record of a cure as of yet.

I hope these tidbits are interesting! I love this au a lot haha.

Asks about the au are welcome and wanted! Check the tag #kingdoms au for everything so far :)

[treehousesinfrance]

Love Leaves Traces - Chapter 4

Sirius found that after settling back into school and after recovering from his injuries, time went relatively quickly. They had all pulled off a successful prank, charming all of McGonigal's furniture to the ceiling and narrowly escaping detention for the next month. Sirius worried about Madame Pomfrey and what she might be thinking, who she might be talking to about his marks. He had chosen to trust her, but he did so with caution. However, the next moon came and went and Remus didn’t seem to act any different around him, so if nothing else, she hadn’t told Remus and that was something to cling to.

Thinking about his marks so much made him curious again. Sure, he had always been fascinated by them, but he hadn’t been so invested in finding out what they meant since he was a child, choosing to ignore them and often forgetting they were even there.

That’s how he’d ended up at the library. He’d read a lot now about werewolves, from his earlier research and even more after they found out about Remus and he hadn’t come across anything like his marks, so he was sure it was something else.

He traipsed the isles, looking around every now and again to make sure no one was watching him. Sirius Black in the library was suspicious enough as it was.

He pulled out a book titled ‘Blood Magic and Curses: a Diagnostic Guide’. The thought of blood being used in magic made him feel a little ill, but he needed a place to start and this seemed broad enough.

Skimming through the pages, he looked for anything noteworthy. He wasn’t going to read the whole thing cover to cover. That was a more Remus or Lily approach. He skipped past the chapters about blood oaths, using blood to seal portals, more blood blah blah.

Curses were hopefully more what he was looking for. Maybe someone had done something to him as a kid that made him this way. They did only start up when he was 4. There were your standard curses that they were taught the defensive spells to in Defence Against the Dark Arts and their respective symptoms and remedies, but there was another section, right at the back that came with a warning beforehand. Unforgivable Curses.

 Unforgivable Curses are punishable by imprisonment in Azkaban Prison or death. The descriptions in these pages are meant to educate, not inspire. Do not attempt these curses under any circumstances. 

His interest was piqued. He was sure this book was meant for the restricted section, but nevertheless, he read on.

 This group consists of four curses: The Imperious curse, to control, the Cruciatus curse, to torture, and the Killing Curse. 

He reread the sentence, his heart sinking. He skipped ahead.

 The Cruciatus Curse, just like any Unforgivable, must be performed with deep genuine anger targeted at the recipient for the spell to take hold. Victims will feel excruciating pain until the attacker decides to end the curse. 

 Survivors have described the sensation as an intense pain through every nerve of the body, seeming to hit the magical core directly. Prolonged exposure may cause madness. 

 Though there are no prominent visual physical symptoms, victims may feel lethargy, increased endurance to pain, and bleeding from the mouth, as well as a number of psychological issues detailed below. 

He stared at the page, unblinking. He’d heard those words leave his mother’s mouth on a number of occasions. Crucio. He’d felt that pain. He’d felt that pain over and over to the point it didn’t hurt as much anymore, as though his nerves had been singed at the ends. He’d lay there, on the cold marble floors waiting for it to be over, unable to scream or cry, his body convulsing with dark magic.

He stood up too fast, his vision going a little spotty and closed the book with such vigour, that students looked up from their work, annoyed. He didn’t even notice them. He ran to the nearest bathroom and was promptly sick. 

He stayed there for a while. After he’d emptied the contents of his stomach, and heaved a little longer for good measure, he sat there on the cold floor of the stall, not even bothering to cast a   scourgify . He was shaking and breathing shallowly, a layer of sweat on his forehead. His brain felt like it was made of mushy paper. Any cohesive thought came through in a jumble, an incoherent stream of words he couldn’t understand. He couldn’t comprehend anything other than right now and the hot pressure behind his eyes.

Even as his thoughts became more clear and he realised where he was, that his friends were waiting for him somewhere, that he wasn’t in danger, he still didn’t move. Taking deeper breaths and leaning his head against the back of the wall. He was ok. He was ok.

Eventually, he hoisted himself up, his legs wobbly, and cast a   scourgify . He felt a little better and braved the halls, holding his head up and winking with anyone he made eye contact with. Pretending to be ok was one of his specialties.

“James”, Sirius whispered through the dark, “James. Are you awake?”

“Mmhmmnn”. Sirius took that as a yes and drew back James’ curtains, slotting in easily to lie next to him.

“Evening Sirius. Any reason for this visit?” James’ bed was warm and even though they had the same standard-issue Hogwarts sheets, James’ always seemed to be a little softer, like they’d been washed too many times.

“Have you ever heard of an Unforgivable Curse?” 

James sat straight up, suddenly wide awake. “Have you?” He looked Sirius right in the eye as if he already knew what he was thinking. That’s the thing with James. Sometimes Sirius thinks he knows him better than he knows himself. James always knew there was trouble at home, but Sirius never wanted to talk about it, and he didn’t pry. 

Sirius nodded.

“I think-”, he took a breath, “I think my mother might use one on me.” James was silent, so he continued. “The Cruciatus curse. I only learnt about it today, but-”

He was cut off by James pulling him into his arms, strong and safe and warm and Sirius had only now realised that he was shaking again. He let out a choked sob into him. James only held him tighter.

There was something about saying it out loud that made it real. Before, it was just a memory in his head, free-floating and elusive. Now, it was solid and harsh, pushing against his bones in a way that made him ache and he held onto James like he might disappear. 

They simply breathed together. Slow and soothing until Sirius was calm again. They slept like that, curled together and Sirius knew that it would be ok. After a very emotional afternoon, all he needed was his James.

It had been a week since Sirius had told James. A week since he learned what was happening right in front of him. You’d think your life would change after finding out news like that, but everything was weirdly normal. They went to class and Remus forced them to study. They played quidditch and Marlene told him about her latest boyfriend with about as much enthusiasm you’d expect from someone receiving socks for their birthday. 

The only thing different was that Peter was sometimes missing, off in the castle somewhere with Béatrice, and James had started checking in with him to make sure he was ok. 

It was a little annoying, but mostly sweet.

It was a Friday afternoon. The four of them had just exited a transfiguration test and for one of the best students in their year, and three animagi in training, they had done abysmally. 

Somehow they had come to the decision that they should go swimming in the Black Lake. Adrenaline and a clean slate or something. They snuck around the edges of the castle, a route they often used for pranking and detoured off toward a hidden section of the Black Lake.

It was, of course, forbidden to swim in it, but they never did listen to the rules.

Sirius was excited, pumping himself up to jump in. It was surely freezing, but that’s what warming charms were for. It was only when he saw James hopping out of his shoes and pulling off his shirt he realised he’d made a mistake.

Before he could say anything, Remus spoke. “It looks bloody freezing. I’m just gonna stay out and keep watch.”

“I’ll stay with you!” He grimaced at how eagerly he’d taken that opportunity. James looked at him in concern, mouthing ‘Are you ok?”. Sirius just waved him over to the water, settling on the grass next to Remus. He’d chosen a good spot under a tree so the light around them was dappled.

Pete and James were standing at the edge leaning over the water, holding hands as they counted down from ten and squealing as they leapt off. 

“You could’ve gone in, you know. I don’t need you to stay with me.” Remus looked a little peeved.

“I know.”

“So why didn’t you?”

Sirius raised an eyebrow in confusion. 

“Why didn’t you go in? You were all for it earlier.”

“Changed my mind, didn't I?” Remus was silent for a while, so Sirius continued. “Swimming would be fun, but I guess I just wanted to spend time with you.” He didn’t know where that came from.

Remus’ ears did the thing they did when he smiled. “Sirius, you see me every day.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Do I?”

Sirius didn’t even know what he meant.

“Maybe not.”

It was quiet for a while and Sirius lay on his back, looking up at the twisting branches above him. He picked a piece of grass from the ground and twiddled it with his fingers.

“Rem.”

Remus lay down next to him.

“Yeah?”

He put his arm up to block out a bit of sun. Distantly, he could hear James and Peter splashing about and laughing.

“What do you think you're gonna do? After all this.” He gestured vaguely to themselves and the castle.

Remus had rolled onto his side toward him, and Sirius looked over, his hazelnut hair catching the scattered pieces of sun, a glint in his eye Sirius hadn’t seen before. It was intoxicating.

“You mean after Hogwarts?”

“Yeah.”

“Not really sure. Haven’t really thought that far ahead.”

“I think I’d like to be a dragon rider.”

Remus sat up to look down at him. “A dragon rider? Where did that come from?”

“Well I love flying, and I love magical creatures.” He propped himself up on his elbow. “You could come with me if you want.”

“Really?” 

They were very close. Sirius could see the spattering of freckles on Remus’ nose.

“Of course.” They stayed like that for a beat. Close.

“-and James and Pete.”

Remus flopped back down next to him.

“Of course.”

They lay in comfortable silence and Sirius had his eyes closed.

“I’ve been-”

Just then, James clambered out of the water, his hair sopping wet and streaked over his face. He pulled it away and rubbed the water off his glasses. He was grinning.

“That was bloody brilliant.”

Peter followed looking a little less invigorated and a little more cold. Remus flung a warming charm at him and Peter smiled at him appreciatively.

“Can’t believe you guys missed it,” James was blabbering, “Peter was almost eaten by the giant squid!”

“I was not!”

“Ok, he wasn’t, but we totally saw a tentacle.”

Sirius wasn’t paying any attention, still laying on the grass next to Remus.

Peter woke Sirius up in the middle of the night.

“Sirius. Sirius, wake up.”

He rolled over and pulled the covers over his head, only half awake.

“Sirius, there’s a storm. We have to go now.”

How on earth did a storm mean that Sirius had to get out of his warm bed? He pulled his sheets over further. Bloody storm.

He suddenly realised, poking his head out to look at Peter.

“Storm?”

“Yes. Sirius a storm. Let’s go, and don’t wake Remus.”

It made sense. They had been doing the incantation twice a day for over a month now, and only last night had he and James felt the double heartbeat, discussing it in quiet hushed tones after Remus had fallen asleep. Peter had felt it just the other morning. This was the night he was going to become an animagus.

Slipping on his shoes, he realised how nervous he was, but there was something like excitement lodged in his chest. He looked over and saw Remus asleep in his own bed. He was exhausted, the next full moon in only four days away. If this all worked, they could maybe spend it with him. The thought urged him forward to James, who was waiting impatiently at the door. 

They were huddled together under James’ invisibility cloak, which was only used for Very Important Top Secret Missions, in case it was damaged or confiscated. They were getting a little tall for it, so if anyone were to walk past, they would see three sets of waddling feet. 

They made it to the edge of the castle and slipped off the cloak, starting the trek to the forbidden forest. They walked in silence. None of them thought to use any spells to protect them from the rain that was drenching them. Instead, they listened to the sounds of booming thunder as they made their way to the cave.

It was impossibly dark, but every so often lightning would fill the sky above them, illuminating their surroundings. Sirius expected something to jump out at them in these moments, but he only saw trees. Tall and looming. 

To think just that afternoon, Sirius had been reading his new book, excited to talk to Remus about it. The mundanity of it seemed so parallel to the scene around him. He almost laughed.

They trudged deeper into the forest, further than even Hagrid went until they saw a small opening in the side of the rocks. 

James cast a   lumos,  the light just enough to see inside the dripping cave. He looked behind him at his friends before striding in. Sirius wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to warm himself up. 

Their footsteps echoed off the sides of the walls, the sound of the rain muffled.

In a small alcove, they found their potions. All three, propped up next to each other in a small pocket in the wall, looking significantly more like blood than when they had put them there. 

Peter gulped next to him. “So we’re actually doing this?”

Something made a noise deep in the cave, and they all jumped. Thunder rumbled and the ground shook beneath them. 

Sirius was shaking. Maybe from the cold, maybe something else. He was a proud Gryffindor, but he could admit when he was scared. He knew this was dangerous, that this could potentially end very badly for him. He thought back to Remus curled up warm in bed. What that sweet boy had to go through every month, scared and so alone.

“Bottoms up”, he said, but his voice came out shaky. He reached out and uncorked his vial, taking it all down in one. It tasted like earth and grass and his stomach rumbled uncomfortably.

He took a deep breath, recovering from the taste. His heartbeat thumped in his ears.   Do it. Do it. Do it. 

He pointed his wand to his heart, squeezing his eyes closed.

He spoke the incantation for the last time, “Amato Animo Animato Animagus”.