#my guy you definitely owe something to witch

[winxwiki]

On the W.i.t.c.h. vs Winx Club plagiarism case

According to this forum user that has spoken to active Disney Italy artists, Francesco Artibani took the character designs sheets and proposed them to Rainbow before the official W.i.t.c.h. comic came out.

Officially, Artibani has said that he was called by Rai "to make sure Winx was not too similar to W.i.t.c.h.; Disney was fine with me working on it". That's odd, since he's credited as a writer on Winx, not as a consulent or anything like that (there is a fashion consulent on the team, for example).

The W.i.t.c.h. project started in '97, while Winx started in '99, both while Sailor Moon Sailor Stars was done airing in Italy. The Magica Bloom Pilot was approved in 2001 by RAI but Iginio Straffi decided to scrap it in 2002, albeit parts of it were salvaged (according to his Rimini Comix interview, likely for episode 1). If W.i.t.c.h.'s italian 2001 release influenced the pilot's retooling is unknown, though storywise Winx was already set in stone according to Iginio. It was only the artstyle that needed retooling.

Timeline by user Iku

It's curious though that Magica Bloom did not have a diverse cast, as Flora and Musa were white. Musa was also redesigned the most.

To make the spy rumours worse, official Winx art taking poses from W.i.t.c.h. does exist:

this concept art of Flora which has never been inked and colored

Various comparisons from a russian website

It's also well known by credits that Disney and Rainbow had freelance artists working left and right. The italian comic and animation industry at the time was just very small.

The lawsuit Disney made focused on the brand, genre and name instead of investigating further on character designs and ideas being tossed around despite NDAs. Could it be that Disney didn't want to make enemies of their best writers and artists?

Afterall, Artibani still works for both Rainbow and Disney to this day and so do many others... despite claiming of having left for 6 years in 2004. While working on the W.i.t.c.h. cartoon and Monster Allergy (while it was under Disney).

Either way, don't be shocked, as this is common in magical girls. Wedding Peach was one of the earliest Sailor Moon "clones" made by ex staff of the series and Izumi Todo's team at Toei constantly references itself and other properties with Precure and each new series even in official art (Tokyo Mew Mew? Doremi? Sailor Moon? Precure A La Mode has it all!).

[kingkat12]

I have had this idea for a fic forever but it's probably lame. What if witch!reader met Olivia Godfrey and could tell she was rotten. That she just had the worst intentions for everyone. So the reader spelled protection charms (like jewelry or trinkets) for Roman, Peter, Letha, Shelley, ect. to try to keep them safe?

now this... this is something I can work with lol, enjoy!!!<33

safe (roman godfrey x reader)

WARNINGS: none lol (can you believe it)

summary: when you get confronted with your boyfriend's mother, your existence is threatened. but no matter the dangers, love will always prevail; your love will always come first to you.

word count: 1,191

"So you're not going to tell me what happened?" Letha said, watching me with a worried look on her face. I could barely sit still, watching other students pass us by as I anxiously ripped at my nails, hoping our lunch break would never end. 

"Well, dinner with his family went well," I mumbled, making myself comfortable on the bench in the courtyard. "But I could just feel it in my bones that something was... wrong."

Letha put away her lunch, turning to me. "In what sense?"

"His mom-- Ow, fuck!" I hissed, realizing I had ripped too deep into a nail. I also didn't know how to explain this properly to Letha without giving away too much about my identity. "It's just this... This feeling I haven't sensed before. I can't put my finger on exactly what was wrong with her, but it was something dark, something ancient." 

"Okay..." Concerned, Letha put her hand on my shoulder. She obviously thought I sounded like I was having a manic episode, but Letha being who she was, she still found a way to approach me with kindness; "I hear you, and I get that meeting Roman's mom must've been quite intimidating for you... However, I still think you should answer his messages. He's going a bit crazy," 

I shouldn't. "I don't know," I breathed, reaching into my purse. I had spent the whole night trying to put some protective spells on a couple of rocks I had found in my backyard, having found nothing else. Finding a small, round rock, I handed it to Letha; "Keep this in your purse. Or in the front pocket of your jeans. Just... keep it close, okay?"

Understandably, Letha grimaced, taking the little rock into her hands. Judging by her facial expression, I realized I probably sounded absolutely insane. Still, she smiled back up at me with the same soft smile as always; "Uh... Thanks. It's very sweet of you to give me this... rock, but--"

"No, I'm not talking to Roman," I said, getting up from the bench. "I can't. I seriously can't." Having been born into ancient magic myself, I knew I couldn't get involved with anything as big as upirs without any backup. And currently, I didn't have any. After having been forced to move from one state to another because of a neighbouring witch-clan, I somehow found myself in Hemlock Grove, once again feeling remnants of something supernatural in the one guy I had somehow gotten feelings for. However, I had forced myself that I was just imagining it, that I was being paranoid, that upirs were just legends-- until I met his mother. I had sensed specks in Roman, but nothing compared to her.

Even worse, I knew Olivia Godfrey could definitely sense something in me as well, and that put everyone around me in danger. I had to protect them somehow, didn't I?

--

My locker slammed shut right in front of me just as I was about to take out my history book. I yelped, taking a startled step back as my eyes darted up at the culprit. 

Roman's big, green eyes were staring down at me with anger I hadn't seen in them before. It made me want to turn around and run for my life, save myself from whatever was about to come, but instead, I froze. I couldn't move, not even if I wanted to, as my eyes widened with a mix of both shock and fear.

Roman stepped forward, cornering me back up against my locker. "What's wrong with you?" he said, voice low. "You think you can just disappear on me like that?"

I succumbed to a slight tremble, at a loss for words. I knew a guy like Roman wouldn't take a situation like this lightly-- he had his pride to protect, after all. 

"You think that ignoring me for two days is okay?" he sneered, his eye twitching just slightly. "That's not how this works. You don't get to do that."

I held my breath-- he was right. My heart thumped hard in my chest as I pushed away all thoughts of how gorgeous he looked right now, his hair styled back as always, his pink, plush lips pursed in anger.  "I'm sorry," I breathed, not knowing what else to say. This was absolutely killing me; I was crazy about this guy. This was not how I wanted this to go down. 

"Seriously? That's all I get?" Groaning, Roman ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated with me. "The one time I take someone seriously, and you pull this crap on me?"

It felt like he was ripping my heart into hundreds of tiny pieces, the remnants scattering across the floor of the busy hallway. Roman had been the one good thing in my life since I left everything behind and moved-- I didn't want it to end like this. I didn't want it to end at all. 

I just didn't want to move again; I didn't want to have to never see him. In my mind, it would be better to break it off now and watch him bloom from afar, than to get myself deeper into the dark shit I knew would follow if Olivia found out her son had serious intentions with a fucking witch. I doubted that she wanted anyone foreign like that in her territory. 

"Roman, I..." With a sigh, I reached into my purse once more with a trembling hand, fishing out another protective stone. This was all I could do. I had to do something to protect him, didn't I? I was praying to all the Gods in the world that Olivia wouldn't find it in his pockets or anything along those lines, but I couldn't let him walk around unprotected with a creature like her roaming the halls of his own home. "Take this. Keep it close. I can't explain, but I need you to not let your mom find this."

With a huff, Roman took the rock into his hand, our fingertips touching during the exchange. If only we could stay here like this forever, touching, close-- but I knew fate wouldn't allow it.

"A rock? A fucking rock? And what does my mom have to do with this?--" Suddenly, he froze, eyes rounding out as he balled his hand around it. Something told me Roman could feel the spell, that he knew what it was and why I had given it to him, but I told myself that it was just my wishful thinking trying to soothe me. 

"I'm sorry I can't explain," I breathed, letting out a shaky breath. "You're wonderful. You're gentle, you're kind, and I... I just don't think we should be together. I don't think it would be good for us."

Roman stared down at me with an expression mixed with disbelief and shock. His hand clenched around the rock, slowly opening his palm to glance at it once more. "You... Wait, is this thing seriously what I think it is?--"

I frantically shook my head, stepping away from him. "It's nothing. Just stay safe. Please," He didn't need to know. It wasn't safe for him to know.

And I needed him to be safe.

[sirenfromthelostcity]

The Scarlet Witch Alt

Hello! Been some time since I posted but I really hope y’all enjoy this lil thing. It is a Scarlet Witch reader story but it is NOT connected to my Movie Night series. Honestly I just wanted to practice writing more emotionally intense scenes and since this character dealt with a lot of loss I figured I’d just channel it here. Initially I wanted to write this scene with Bruce but somewhere along the way I changed my mind. Anyways yeah I hope you guys enjoy it! Feedback would be very much appreciated! <3

Side note: It’s Damian Wayne x Scarlet Witch reader and there are mentions of death.

Word count: 1.9k

Dick had been walking for what felt like hours, searching through the woods but to no avail. Doubt creeped into his mind that maybe he was given the wrong location so he decided to facetime Tim to confirm. Fortunately the connection in the area was decent so after a few rings he answered. 

“Hey, are you sure you gave me the right coordinates? There’s nothing here but trees and whatever else you normally expect to see in the woods.”

“Let’s see,” said Tim and Dick could hear the quick tapping of his keyboard. “On my side it shows you’re in the right area. The energy readings aren’t as crazy as last night’s but it’s still considerably high? You sure you don’t see anything hinky over there?”

“No, but I’ll keep searching. Were you and America able to find out anything new?”

“Actually yeah, new and terrible.”

“What’d you find?”

“Remember those weird markings we saw on that giant octopus that attacked America?”

“Yeah.”

“Well according to her, all the creatures that had previously attacked her had similar markings on them. I couldn’t find any leads in our database so I sent some pictures over to the league and Zatanna reached back to me. They’re runes, Dick. Not only does this mean someone is definitely summoning these monsters to attack America but that they’re also powerful enough to control these things and send them on a chase through various different universes and it wants her power.”

“Shit,” Dick grumbled. 

“My thoughts exactly,” sighed Tim. “Zatanna’s offered to help and she’s working on locating Constantine for more assistance.”

“That’s good, hopefully- OW!” Dick jerked back as he seemingly walked into nothing. Upon impact he dropped his phone and instinctively rubbed at his forehead. He stared ahead in confusion. There was nothing in the way. At least, nothing he could see.

“You okay, what happened?”

Remembering his phone, he quickly bent down and picked it up. 

“I just walked into something that’s not there.”

“Uhh… come again?”

“Something very real, or at least it felt real, knocked into my face but there’s nothing there,” Dick paused and narrowed his eyes as he studied the space before him. “Tim, look at this.”

He flipped the camera and showed his outstretched hand. 

“Okay?” Tim replied, not exactly sure what he’s supposed to be looking at. Then Dick flicked his fingers and particles of static momentarily covered the afflicted area, similar to what you’d see on a glitchy TV screen. “Oh-kay! That definitely counts as hinky. What is that?”

“My guess would be some kind of force field, it feels tingly,” Dick replied as he flicked his hand again, causing more static to appear. 

“Stop flicking it, what if it sucks you in or something?”

“Relax, Tim, whatever this thing is it was pretty adamant on keeping me out just now it’s not gonna-” Suddenly Dick’s hand sunk into the apparent portal before him and he felt a strange tingling sensation throughout his body as more particles of static started to surround the area.

He tried to use his other arm to pry himself free but he could tell the struggle was only aiding his entrapment. Tim’s distorted voice echoed all around him as he was pulled fully into the portal until he finally landed on new ground. Dick quickly gathered himself and assessed the new scene. 

The sky was a brilliant blue and a blooming garden replaced the gloomy forest scene he was in mere seconds ago. Several rows of cherry blossom trees surrounded the area and he could hear birds happily chirping. He bent down to pick up his phone and show Tim what he found but somehow the battery was completely drained. 

“Great,” he grunted as he put the now useless device into his back pocket.

He spotted a little cottage house a few meters away and with having little to no options he walked over to investigate it. Upon finding a window he peeked inside for any insight of the owner. The home was littered with books and sheets of paper but no weapons, at least none he could immediately see. There were remnants of an unfinished breakfast on a nearby wooden table, but no person in sight. Next to the unattended breakfast was a series of sketches and he squinted to get a better look at them but he couldn’t fully make out the contents of the drawings.

The questions running through Dick’s mind were growing by the minute. Judging by the contents of the cabin, he didn’t feel like there was a threatening presence but why the secrecy? Why a force field in the middle of the woods? Why let him in?  

His train of thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out his name and although he recognized the voice he almost couldn’t believe his own eyes. 

“Y/N… oh my god,” before he could think, he embraced his estranged friend. “Where’ve you been? How have you been? What are you doing here?”

Y/N lightly chuckled at all his questions and gently pulled back from the hug, “It’s nice to see you too, Dick.” 

“Did you make all of this?” he gestured to the environment and she nodded. “Why did you take off like that? We didn’t see you at the funeral. You can’t… you can’t just disappear like that.”

“I’m sorry. After everything that happened,” she briefly looked away. “I just needed to be alone. Regroup with myself. I know my departure was abrupt but I didn’t mean to make anyone upset.”

“No one’s upset, Y/N, we were just worried. The people we lost that day…I miss them every single day. But they wouldn’t want us to deal with what happened alone. Damian wouldn’t want you alone.” 

At the mention of his name she visibly tensed up and he almost regretted bringing him up. Yet before he could say anything else, she had already changed the topic.

“What are you doing here Dick? How did you find me?” 

“Actually, I think it was you that found me and let me in.”

Y/N looked at him confused and they walked together as he explained to her how he ran into her little force field. 

“There’s this girl, she’s with Tim right now back at the cave, she’s being chased by monsters. It’s a bit of a much longer and weirder story but if you’re up for it we could really use your help.”

“I’ve been out of the field for some time now. I’m not sure I’d be able to provide much help.”

“We’ve all seen what you can do, Y/N. Don’t see yourself short. Besides you created this beautiful little utopia for yourself here, honestly it’s impressive.”

At that she grinned.

“Why don’t you bring America here?” she suggested.

“Here?”

“Yes. Don’t get me wrong, the bat cave is safe and all but here she’d be well hidden…” 

She turned to look at Dick as she noticed he stopped walking with her. He didn’t say anything but his look of mistrust and apprehension told her everything.The ball had dropped.

She deeply sighed and cast her look down at her feet.

“You didn’t tell me her name.”

“No,” he slowly shook his head in disbelief. “I did not.”

“You know, the hexes were always easy. But the lying… that part not so much.”

Y/N extended her hand and as she expertly moved her wrist the world she created began to fully unravel. As if someone suddenly turned off the sound, the birds stopped chirping. The garden was swallowed by her red energy and replaced with dark, dead trees. 

Even her attire changed to a dark red cloak with an intricate crown placed around her temples. Her fingertips were coated in black, the mark of the possession of the Dark Hold. The unholy book floated near her as her previous illusion finished falling apart. 

Dick’s eyes immediately went to the Dark Hold. 

“God, Y/N… what have you done?” 

“Nothing yet, but even then it’s more than what you have done.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he replied, taken aback by not only her tone but her accusation.

“The Lazarus pit,” she snarled. “You could’ve used it on him, on them. You could have tried SOMETHING!”

“You think it didn’t cross my mind? None of them would’ve wanted that! They would’ve been nothing but a shell of who they were, a living reminder of the people we lost. The pit wouldn’t have worked the way you wanted.”

“But they’d still be here and I could have found a way to fix what the pit could not restore. I’m not who I used to be anymore, Dick. The Dark Hold has shown me so much-”

“It did more than that. It changed you, Y/N.”

“Growth is accompanied by change.”

Dick scoffed. 

“Why send those monsters after her, what do you want with America?”

“Believe me, sending those creatures after her instead of myself was mercy. All I want, all I need is her power.” 

“She’s a child! You know she won’t survive the process.”     

“I don’t relish hurting anyone, Dick. but she’s not a child. She’s a supernatural being with powers that are, quite frankly, beyond her control.”

Dick was astonished at how cold she sounded. He could not believe the words coming out of his former friend’s mouth.

“I know I can put them to better use,” she continued. “I plan on using them to leave this universe and go somewhere where Damian is alive. And despite your judgments, I’d like to offer you the chance to come with me,” She slowly started to walk around him. “You and I share the same pain, which is why I offer you this. We can leave this place. We can have Damian, Barbara, and Bruce. I can make you forget this world ever happened. It’d be as if we never lost them.” 

As she spoke, Y/N wove her hands together and summoned miniature glimpses into various universes from the book. Dick’s eyes teared up as he saw images of Barbara, Bruce, and Damian. They were alive and well having dinner together as a family in one scene and stopping a bank heist together in another. 

“You could have all of your family back,” she said as she summoned scenes of his parents, gray haired, alive and well as they introduced the performers at Halle’s Circus. “Just say yes.”

All the images and sounds tugged at his heart strings and wiped away at the tears that managed to escape him.

“No,” he pleaded. “Y/N we share the same pain. But this is not the way. I can’t trade one life for another.”

“It’s not just for one life. It’s her for them,” she gestured to their loved ones. 

“But the blood shed would not end there. In these worlds, there are other versions of us, what’s to happen to them?”

At this Y/N tore her gaze from a scene of an alternate version of herself cuddled up with Damian to him and in her eyes he saw an unrepentant gleam. From that look he knew there was no use in reasoning with her. The friend he had once known and loved was no longer there.

“You should have taken my offer when you had the chance,” she angrily flicked her wrist and the images quickly vanished. She turned to walk away but he called to her one last time. 

“What happens next?” 

“Prepare to hand over America by sunset, peacefully.”

“And if we don’?”

“Then it won’t be Y/N who comes for her. It’ll be the Scarlet Witch.”

[emotionalinfideleddie]

So Eddie and Buck are doing a group costume for Halloween as "the guys from supernatural" only they're not really fans they're kind of just in it for the aesthetic. And Buck calls dibs on Dean because obviously he's the coolest and also he heard somewhere Dean was bisexual. And of course Eddie also wants to be Dean but then he's like "wait wasn't one of them a badass angel or something?" And Maddie, who actually watched more than three episodes of the show, chimes in like "Oh my god, Cas? He's definitely badass. And when he confessed to Dean? I cried for days."

And Eddie is like "Oh wait the angel is in love with your guy? Maybe Tommy would wanna be him instead."

So Buck texts Tommy to ask and Tommy is keen so Maddie tells Eddie "Well, you should go as Sam."

"That's the... brother, right?" Eddie says.

And Maddie tries very hard not to look like she's exploding him in her mind as she says, "Yes, Eddie, that's the brother."

So anyway Buck, Eddie and Tommy all get their costumes (with a little help from Maddie) but at the last minute Tommy gets roped into covering a shift for a colleague and when he tries to wriggle out the colleague reminds him in no uncertain terms that he owes her and also she's planning on proposing to her boyfriend on their anniversary while dressed as Morticia Adams and does Tommy hate romance?? So in the end it's just Buck and Eddie at the bar dressed as the brothers Winchester.

At first it's going great, they're drinking and laughing and having a great time. Eddie awkwardly flirts with a sexy demon who asked if he'd like to exorcise her. Buck's telling a pair of ghouls about the history of cremation. But as the night wears on and they get steadily drunker, they gravitate back to each other, and they start getting weird looks that they don't understand. Someone dressed as Neo from the Matrix high fives Eddie. A cluster of witches and vampires glare at them from the dance floor. Finally, Buck asks the bartender, who laughs and shrugs.

"I wouldn't worry. It's just, when you told everyone you were Sam and Dean Winchester, I don't think they realised you were here together."

And Buck is like "What"

And the bartender is like, "You're dressed as a pair of pretty well known brothers. It's a bold choice for a couple's costume, that's all."

And Eddie is like "What"

And they're just standing there wrapped around each other like this

[helios-writings]

Love Potion No.9

Sabo x gn! Reader

WC: 1.6k

Warnings: None

You’re a witch who’s been commissioned to make a love potion, and you’re struggling with it. Until you meet Sabo.

You cough as the cauldron expels black smoke, the spell backfiring. You’d been working on this potion for a few days, a customer had requested something like a love potion for her 20th anniversary with her wife. Something that would help them feel like teenagers in love again.

You wouldn’t know what that felt like, having never been in love, but you weren’t the best witch around for a hundred miles for nothing.

You scratch an ingredient off of your list. “Okay, mermaid’s tears are clearly a no. I’ll have to think of something else.”

You groan as you throw out the whole pot and then you notice the young man standing awkwardly at your front door.

“Sorry to uh, interrupt.” He says with a small smile.

“Oh that? Just my job. What do you need?”

The scar over his right eye is more noticeable now that you’re looking at him more intently. His blonde hair is hidden under a rather unflattering hat, too, but you won’t tell him that.

“My name’s Sabo, I need medicine for my brother, Luffy, and I was told you’re the one to see?”

“Medicine? What’s wrong with him?”

You beckon him inside so you can grab your notebook and a few other books. He sits at the table.

“Nice place.” Sabo tells you.

Your cottage is a hodgepodge of plants, decorations, spellbooks and potion bottles. The table he sits at is made of dark oak and is stained with paint and is riddled with cuts from knives.

You sit across from him. “So, what’s wrong with your brother?”

“Right. Well, he won’t eat, he sleeps, but it’s fitful. He has a fever, he coughs a lot. Ace, my other brother, said that he’s been sleepwalking but every doctor in town that I’ve been to says they can’t help, and everyone else says to come to you.”

You flip through your book. “Okay, and what was he like before and how long has he been like this?”

“A week or two? It’s hard to say, I’ve been staying up all night to take care of him. And he was energetic, loved to be up and about, and he definitely could eat, I’ll tell you that.”

He rubs his eyes, his hands covered in black leather gloves.

You frown and stand from your chair, hurrying over to your cabinet. You throw a few herbs and some oils into a bowl and grind them into an ointment. You then gather a few more herbs and place them in a bag.

You hand them both to Sabo. “The ointment is for your brother, rub it on his chest and back until the whole thing is gone, he should be better by then.”

“And what’s the bag for?”

You smile. “For you to get some sleep. Crush the leaves and make them into a tea. Let me know if it works, okay?”

He nods and thanks you. “How much do I owe you?”

“No charge. Not for something as important as this.”

“I can’t just take this.”

You roll your eyes. “You can and you will, now go on.”

He stands up and nearly falls over. “Sorry, I’m half-blind so….”

“It’s alright.”

You watch him walk away until he’s out of sight and then turn back to your cauldron. “Alright. Love potion round five.”

***

Two weeks go by before you see Sabo again, but this time he’s joined by two others and they all wear a matching grin.

You just got done throwing another batch of love potion out, so you wipe your hands on your apron. “Sabo, it’s good to see you again. What brings you by?”

“Well, you asked me to tell you if your ointment worked.”

The youngest stepped forward. “Thanks for helping me! And thanks for helping my big bro too, he hasn’t stopped talking about you this whole time!”

The other one, who you assume is Ace, slaps Luffy lightly on the shoulder. “Be nice, man.”

“Do you guys want some tea?”

They all nod enthusiastically and Luffy practically bounds in after you.

The brothers sit around your table, but leave the chair next to Sabo empty for you.

You set the cups in front of them and take your seat.

“So,” Ace starts, “what were you working on?”

“Oh, a woman in town asked me to make a love potion for her, but I’ve been having trouble with it.”

“Why?” Luffy asks.

“Part of it is ingredients, but the other part is that I’ve never been in love.”

“Really?” Sabo seems shocked, which is flattering.

“No one ever tells you this, but magic is half knowing what you’re doing and half knowing the feeling of the spell or potion you’re making.” You add a little wink to come off mysterious and Sabo flushes.

“That’s so cool.” Luffy praises, eyes wide.

“Oh, not really. Anyone can do it.”

“You’re too humble for someone who saved my brother’s life.” Ace remarks offhandedly.

“You should get up and walk around before you fall asleep.” Sabo tells his brother, who sighs heavily.

“I’ll take the crybaby with me. C’mon Lu.”

The two of them walk out, leaving you and their blonder brother to chat.

“Your brothers are great.” You tell him with a genuine smile.

“Ah, thanks. They’re a pain in my ass sometimes, though.”

You laugh. “I’m really glad Luffy made a full recovery. I mean that.”

“They’re all I have left, so it means the world to me that you helped him.”

You’re the one that's flustered this time as you avoid his gaze. “That’s just what I do.”

“What you do is amazing, you’re amazing.”

“You’re too kind.”

“Ace is right, you are too humble.”

You pick up the empty cups and put them in the sink. “Being humble is better than being arrogant.”

Sabo stands next to you and you switch sides with him so you’re on the side with his good eye. He thanks you and helps you wash the dishes.

“You should come by again sometime.” You tell him as he collects his things and calls for his brothers.

“Of course. You’ll have to come by sometime, too.”

He kisses your hand like a real gentleman and bids you farewell. You see Ace follow him with Luffy bounding behind them, a huge grin on his face.

You stare after them, your hand burning where Sabo’s lips touched it. For a few more minutes, you stand there, just thinking about his lips.

***

Sabo doesn’t leave you alone and nor does he leave your thoughts. Almost every day he’s at your cottage, helping you make the love potion that you still haven’t been able to complete, every batch a failure. Days turn to weeks, and the weeks to a few months.

You lay your head on your table. “This is pointless, I should just give that poor lady her money back. Her anniversary is next month.”

“No, you can do this, I know you can.” He tells you, your hand in his.

You smile shakily at him. “You really think that?”

“Of course. But for now, let’s take a walk.”

He stands up and pulls your chair out for you, waiting for you to stand before he opens the door for you.

The two of you walk shoulder to shoulder through the forest, and his hand never leaves yours.

“Luffy’s got this new friend, Usopp, one of the funniest kids I’ve ever met, but scared of everything. So different from Lu, it’s crazy.” He tells you.

“Well, you know Luffy, picks up friends whenever he goes.”

“He’s been begging for you to come back over, by the way.”

You smile. “After I finish this potion, I promise.”

“D’you think you’re close to figuring it out?”

“I think so? It’s hard to tell.”

He reaches into his bag and pulls out a small notebook. “Well, I was thinking….”

You listen intently as he lists different ingredients that might help. It’s peaceful in his company and you always feel your worries drift away when you're with him, the feel of his hand in yours is enough to calm your nerves.

It hits you then, that you may be in love with him. It wasn’t as dramatic as the books made it seem, but it was suddenly just there. A Feeling that you had now realized.

“You alright?” He asks after you don’t answer.

You don’t plan on saying anything, but the sudden swell of emotions is almost too great to keep a secret from him. “I’m in love with you.”

He seems confused. “I love you too.”

“Sabo. I’m in love with you, romantically.”

“I don’t understand, we’re together, aren’t we?”

Your jaw drops. “No?”

His face turns red. “Oh.”

“How long did you think we were together?”

“A month or two, at least.”

“And you didn’t think: oh it’s a bit weird we haven’t kissed, but it's okay?”

“I was raised to be a gentleman! I was taking it slow.”

You grab him by the coat and pull him into a small kiss, which he smiles into.

When you both pull away you grin. “I think I can finish that potion now.”

He grins back. “Then let’s not waste a moment.”

The two of you hurry back to the cottage and you finally finish the potion, the pink pearly sheen gleaming at you from the black of the cauldron.

“Smells almost like flowers.” He tells you.

“That’s a good thing. I hope.”

You bottle it carefully, sealing it with a light kiss.

“You’re amazing.” He tells you, a lovesick smile on his face. You wonder how long he’s looked at you like that.

“Thank you.” You respond, finally accepting a compliment from him.

He kisses the top of your head and pulls you close. “I love you.”

You say it back.

[darlingdawnauryn]

How I Use Technology in My Practice

I know we've all been watching the online world disintegrate in real time -- and the rise of spiritual psychosis on Tik Tok is something I definitely don't want to think too much about -- but I'm here to tell you that it's not all doom and gloom and modern-day technology can still be utilized in a beneficial way. Here are some ways I use it to aid in my practice.

Music for Meditation and Ambience. There are a lot of premade playlists to help people meditate, consisting of binaural beats, eastern inspired zen music, and instrumentals and chants to help connect to a specific deity -- and that's probably only scratching the surface. But what I like about the modern-day landscape where anyone can post anything is the specificity: we're not limited to what could previously only be found on a CD your mom might've gotten from the back of a magazine; instead, there are playlists like "you're taking a bath in ancient greece," "2 AM," and one of my personal favorites, "T h e D r e a m p o o l s." There are people who post their own compositions too, like in the case of help me.'s channel! Most of the time I don't even use it for meditation; I put it on in the background when I write spells and hypersigils, when I work my herbal magick, when I feel like working energy by dancing, etc.

Liminal Portals. Speaking of the poolrooms, I use liminal spaces a lot in my work. Due to my mobility issues and my inability to drive, I can't exactly visit a cemetery, a crossroads, or even an abandoned house whenever I want. So I do the next best thing: pull up a picture of a liminal space and meditate on it however I see fit. Similar to the wider variety of music, this affords me the opportunity to pick a specific, sometimes niche location to harness a specific energy -- it's not like you can go to a funzone midday and expect it to be vacant, let alone expect to work magick with all the kiddos running around. I also like using the images as portals: something to focus on before I sleep so I can conjure it in dreams and do work in the astral.

Inspiration and Motivation! Like a lot of people who came of age alongside the Internet, I now spend more time on Youtube than I do watching TV or even using other streaming services. I use it for shits and giggles as much as the next guy, but I also try to be conscious and intentional with my screentime. I find more and more that I use Youtube for a place of inspiration: magickal as well as mundane. As I've said in previous posts, journaling and writing are serious hobbies of mine. I watch a lot of junk/journal Youtubers, so this video popped up in my recommended the other week -- decidedly un-witchy and completely separate from anything magickal. But I ended up using it to make a journal for my hypersigils, and it feels so much more personal that way. As far as witches go, I'm way more intrigued by Q&As and those in the community interviewing each other; I find the candid conversations more practical than short little how-to videos. Plus, they're a great go-to when I feel disconnected from my practice. Listening to a back-and-forth between two people who are clearly passionate about their Craft gives me the kick to get back into mine again!

Mapping Out the World. This one is a bit headier than the others, so bear with me. First and maybe most importantly: I've been a supporter of the New Age movement since before I knew what it was -- I've always been in contact with spirit guides, fairies, and other nature spirits, and I've always had an affinity for crystals and Hippie Culture (TM) and seen firsthand how the Law of Attraction can be both beneficial and detrimental to one's overall health. While I don't interact much with that side of the Internet anymore, owing to the alarming turn to far-right mindsets and some other problematic beliefs in that community -- as well as my pseudo-disillusionment with the movement at large -- I still think there's something to be said about some of those principles -- particularly the LoA. In a sense, the algorithm as we know it is a mini version of our lives. Do I think every word, thought, and emotion should be policed in an attempt to achieve the myth of ~high vibration~ and enlightenment? Of course not. But let's look at an example that's completely free from any kind of spiritualism: if I ask you to look around the room you're in right now and count as many red objects as you can in ten seconds, that should be a relatively easy task, right? But if I ask you to then conjure up the number of yellow objects without taking another look around, you won't be able to. Why? Because you were focused on the red ones. And in my experience, the world works much the same way and technology exists to reinforce this belief: what we watch, read, and give our attention to online will multiply; it's up to us to curate our experience.

The second thing I'd like to touch on is something that's completely personal -- what I've taken to calling Small Living. Maybe this was brought on by collective nostalgia for the aughts, but lately I've been preoccupied by early-days Internet (web 1.5?) and how much more contained everything felt back then. People can make their filtered edits and try to recapture the vibe by creating bygone-feeling analog horror, but it truly was an experience, going on Youtube and watching "ghost caught on camera" videos or logging onto Quizilla to read anything from local urban legends to proto-creepypasta. It goes without saying that a lot of this stuff was bullshit, but there was something exciting and transgressive about semi-hidden forums dedicated to paranormal and occult information -- back when nothing was monetized yet and people were earnestly either trying to spread knowledge or scare the shit out of unsuspecting viewers and readers.

In a way, getting into the Craft has brought me back to that smallness. Despite the paranormal boom that happened twenty-odd years ago, it was still rare to find people who actually took it seriously: ghost hunters, fellow witches, and the like. Now that "alternative spirituality" has gone mainstream, books about opening your third eye and connecting with nature spirits and high frequency diets are a dime a dozen, meaning it's the same handful of points regurgitated by people who are most likely just looking to make a quick buck. (And don't get me started on the bastardization/commercialization of metaphysical shops.) Thinking about this objectively was one of the biggest things that led me to starting this blog: compared to Insta, Tik Tok, Reddit, and even the cesspools that are Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr is almost a dying breed. I like to think I'm not too far off in feeling like those who stumble across my page looking for first-hand experience and/or potential pointers had to do some digging in order to find it. I'm also getting a kick out of older, secondhand copies of occult books for the same reasons. (Related sidenote: turning my attention to helping my immediate community instead of giving myself IBS flare-ups stressing about every worldwide issue has helped my mental health astronomically. Another pro of Small Living.)

[honourablejester]

Heart: The City Beneath - Quick Class Impressions

Cleaver: This place is a world of eldritch flesh and eldritch blood, and you’re the sort of person who learns by eating. Quite literally. A methodology that can, if you choose, also be applied to people. Taste the flesh, taste the world. This is a delightfully tactile survivalist class that gains skills and power by getting squishy about it.

Deadwalker: What more perfect dance partner could there be for a thief and a killer than the sentient shadow of their own delayed death? Heaven and hell are mere vaults before the right fingers, and your death loves you, so why not? If you want to play a metaphysical sort of rogue, this is the class for you.

Deep Apiarist: The chaos of this world is a sensory hell, so you drowned it out by allowing eldritch bees to make a living hive of your body. Because that’s a thing sane people do. But you are now glitteringly sane, owing to the order-inducing abilities of said eldritch bees, so … a successful experiment? Honestly, this is my second favourite class.

Heretic: Yours is a heretic faith, a faith that would get you killed in places that are not here, a faith not in the moon above but the moon below, but her silver light guides your hands regardless. There’s a definite inquisitorial, Bloodborne-type hunter sort of vibe to these priests. The damnic virtues are a little bit on the intense side. But I can vibe with that.

Hound: Once upon a time, an unlucky few, three hundred, were sent to die so others wouldn’t have to, and did something dreadful to survive. Now, they can never die, and their curse echoes down to all who bear their standards. But you were always unlucky anyway, and someone still needs to do it so others don’t have to. Do you want to play a cursed WWI soldier possessed by the genius loci of the trenches, forever standing your ground for the sake of others? I love the lore here.

Incarnadine: You were so fucking good at being perpetually in debt that you drew the attention of the god of being in debt, and they wiped your old life clean in psychic balance. Now you bear their mark, and your life is a razored game of balancing costs, but it’s not without its rewards. I’m not entirely sure of the lure of playing a rank on the totem pole of metaphysical loan sharks myself, but you do get to buy and trade in reality while you’re at it?

Junk Mage: You’re a high energy junkie on the bleeding edge of magic, stealing slivers of power from the many eldritch beings that live in the City Beneath. You’re mad, of course, but what’s life without a little madness? I get a lot of PF2e’s thaumaturge from these guys. Also warlocks, obviously. Junkyard magic, begged, borrowed and stolen, but it’ll burn you out eventually. They’re itchy and I like them.

Vermissian Knight: The train system was plugged into the heart of the eldritch beating thing that is this place, and immediately broke reality, and now you, armoured in scraps of eldritch train steel, must explore and stand guard over what remains. Far and away my favourite class. I love them.

Witch: The Heart gets in your blood, oh, so very literally, and courses its power through your body like a disease. Exactly like a disease. But oh, you are a blood-red, beautiful thing in the process. Something between a witch and a werewolf, if you want a class that lets you plug yourself directly and physically into the eldritch vibes of the setting, the witch might be the choice for you!

Overall, the Incarnadine is the one that pings for me the least. My personal top three are Vermissian Knight, the Deep Apiarist, and the Cleaver.

Also, side note, there is so much body horror in this game. I’m vibing with it, but my sister was quite distressed by the Deep Apiarist in general, and a couple of the Cleaver’s abilities as well. This is a squishy, squelching, writhing sort of game. (Or, well, it can be. If you have a party of Heretics, Vermissian Knights and Deadwalkers, it might lean more grey and desolate and technological. But if you’ve got Witches, Apiarists and Cleavers, it’s gonna get messy).

[potentialguybodyswaps]

HBO Titians Superboy and Beast Boy Bodyswap part 1

“Dam superboy really is shredded huh” I said to myself feeling my stolen chest… well not really stolen but more like forcibly given…

See after superboy and lex Luther had been

poisoned by this witch (lex Luther was already dead by the time superboy fell ill) the titians had me morph into a virus so I could enter his blood and try to fight off that of something there was no cure for. It had to be me, I was the only chance to do anything medically for superboy on the inside, I mean after all he was the son of Superman, the man of steel. nothing we have would be able to cut into his skin, and if we use kryptinite to soften him up, the magical poison could have just spread faster resulting in his death

The team was worried that if I became an organism that small I might not be able to get out of his blood stream or if I lost control and changed sizes inside of him, it’d kill us both.

But what choice did I have, do nothing and let superboy die? Or risk both our lives to save him? Well I wasn’t gonna let one of my best friends die, so I shrunk down into a tube, and let them inject me though his airway (basically like a nasal spray)

Once inside of him I made my way around microscopically for hours, destroying bit by bit of the poison untill I got the signal that he would be fine

Now getting back out was a bit tricky, even if they could tell exactly where I was in his body and inject a needle to pull me out, there would be no needle…… they kind of have a habit of liking to break in half when you try to insert them inside of someone that’s as hard as steel…

So I decided best course of action is to go out the way I came in, though the lungs, once in the lungs I morphed into a fly, his immune system didn’t exactly like that, or maybe I just ticked his lungs haha, cause I was immediately blown out with the force of a hurricane, lucky I didn’t go splat hitting, well any object on the way out… to be fair the moment I saw light (despite me flying at hundreds of miles an hour, out his system in a split second) I started to remorph into myself, so they probs helped with not going splat, when I hit the floor.

“Gar, are you ok?” Asked knightwing (our team leader)

“Yay, just hurt a bit after getting blown out going Mach Jesus” I said weakly

“ well thanks to you, superboy is gonna be fine, we’re glad we didn’t lose ether of you, we had our doubts, but you did it, you saved the day gar, go get some rest, you’ve earned it” knightwing said patting me on the shoulder

“Ow that hurts dick” I said wincing

“Okay well goodnight gang ima go sleep for like 12 hours, come get me when we have a mission/ ready to hunt down that witch again” I said already half asleep dragging myself along the walks to my room and bed

That night I had some of the weirdest dreams, I dreamed that I was superboy, but I knew that I was me still on the inside, but I couldn’t control my transformations, like I’d focus on transforming and it was like I could just feel time slow down, nothing would happen

I woke up 10 hours after I saved superboy, I was in my bed and I could feel the torn clothes around “oh no, I must have been sleep transforming again” I thought to myself

“Am I still transformed? I feel bigger, and full of energy, and this is coming from the guy that everyone clearly knows has adhd, and spends most of his time as a lion or other big enemies helping take down the bad guys” I thought to myself

I swung myself around to sit up on my bad, and opened my eyes to look at myself, “nope still human” I thought to myself “that’s good”

I yawned as I got up and started stretching. but i could still feel the breeze from tearing my clothing in my sleep

I opened my eyes again and looked down just to scream

“Ahhhhhh why am I so big, I’m not even green, so this definitely isn’t a animal transformation” I said trying to remain calm

I ran to the mirror but was there in less than a micro second, “what the fuck” I said catching myself on the sink careful not to break it with my impact

I looked up into the mirror and lost it, “i-I-im superboy” I said feeling my face

“Oh man this is so crazy, I have to go tell dick, or even raven, she’d know what to do, this must be a side effect of the magic that was in his blood or something

Oh man, it’s gonna be weird having 2 super boy’s on the team “ I said still checking myself out in the mirror

So far I’ve been very careful not to look at superboy’s dick but if I’m stuck looking like him, I mean it’s only a matter of time right?

I decided before I go confront the team, I guess I should go shower first, typically when I have dreams like these where I transform in them, I kinda sweat a lot…

I stepped into the shower and started washing my hair, and eventually the time came to scrub my body.

I looked down and gasped, “dude, I know superboy is a clone but what possible need could superboy need a super dick for, like this thing is huge” I thought to myself as I began stroking it

Unfortunately for me, and superboy I guess, it doesn’t feel as good as it did when I was still me, I was probably stroking it for close to 40 minutes before I was even close to cumming, “dam” I thought to myself “if it takes me this long to even get close to cumming, superboy could probably fuck someone to death”

After that thought I started laughing to myself, “ man besides the whole lack of sensitivity down there, this might not be to bad of a problem, I mean after all who wouldn’t wanna fuck superboy right?”

At that point starfire came running into the bathroom yelling my name “Beast boy, I know your probably wanting to get acquainted with your new body but nows not the time”

“What do you mean” I said “I’m super boy”

“ no your not, super boy is in your body that’s still in the medical room, we’ve already cleared him for combat, come on I know it’s you gar, we gotta go, we got a new lead on that witch, she’ll have the answers to how this happened”

“B-b-but star are you sure, like I haven’t even had this body for like 2 hours yet, I don’t know how to use his powers” I said with a look of confusion

“Funny, superboy said the same thing… Just punch hard, come on we gotta go NOW gar.”

#edit this post originally had nudity in it of some guy that looked like the superboy actor but tumblr blocked it…

Guess a more explicit version will have to wait till I make a patreon haha

200 followers and I’ll start making explicit versions on patreon ?

[shadysadie]

I want to shout out to Principal Bump.

I feel like Bumpipoo really deserves some love before we inevitably see him petrified because he is such an ally to his students in so many different ways. I feel like one thing really missing from Media is supportive principals. Principals are almost exclusively bad guys in cartoons. At best they are idiotic obstacles to the young protagonists, at worst they are straight up evil overlords who like to torture children for fun. Principal Bump is neither of these things. He genuinely cares about his students and wants them to succeed.

Even in his first appearance in Once I Was a Teenage Abomination, where he was framed in that light of "evil principal", he wasn't malicious. Yeah, he tried to dissect Luz, but he didn't know she was sentient. He was genuinely curious about his student's work and also investigating potential cheating. And when he realized Willow was in a track that was not best suited for her, he switched her immediately to a track where she would thrive.

 In Convention, when he asks "what is the height of magical achievement", and Mattholmule does a trick where he blows up his head like a balloon. Instead of yelling at Mattholmule for embarrassing him in front of the Emperor’s Coven, he just says, "wow, I have failed you as a principal." Echoing the idea that "students don't fail, only teachers do."

In Something Ventured, Someone Framed he immediately embraced the idea of Luz being a student, believing that the student body could benefit from having such a unique exchange student. He also is genuinely interested in learning more about the kind of magic she can do. He also takes this as an opportunity to teach Eda a lesson, which honestly, she definitely owed it to him after all the incident reports he had to write. (As a former teacher, I can assure you, incident reports are the worst! Eda OWED that man.) And even after everything Eda put him through, even after Luz caused such chaos on her first visit, even after Luz and Gus destroy the detention pit, he still welcomes Luz as a student. He does this by the way, knowing Eda is a wanted criminal. Not just a wanted criminal, but the most wanted criminal on the Boiling Isles. He also promises that she and Luz are both safe at his school. I repeat, without any hesitation,  Bump promises to harbor Public Enemy #1 from the Emperor himself, because not even the Emperor is going to interfere with the way he runs his school. He never once breaks this promise.

During First Day, when Luz asks if she failed, he assures her he's seen worse. Which might sound harsh, but is often the best response when a teenager knows they messed something up. (False praise makes teens feel patronized, where as "I've Seen Worse" tells them, yeah, it didn't go as well as you wanted it to, but others have messed upp too, you can always improve) 

While he is shown to be a bit more antagonistic by refusing to let students branch out into multi-tracks and instead throwing them in the detention track, he comes around remarkably quickly, and in the fight against the Basilisk his first priority is protecting Amity.

In Enchanting Grom Fright he asks Eda to chaperone, almost as if he wanted to make sure the most powerful witch on the Isles around in case something went wrong. Again showing that in spite of how brutal a Hexside education can be, he still prioritizes the safety of his students.

In Escaping Expulsion, while he does kick Gus, Willow, and Luz out of school at the behest of Odalia, he is incredibly upset about the decision, crying when he has to chase them off school grounds.

While he doesn't have any speaking lines, Eda's Requim shows him beaming with pride when Luz is ahead in the Gland Prix.He excitedly worked with Eda and the Bat Queen to organized Palisman Adoption Day in order to make sure all of his students have access to a Palisman after Palistrom wood became too rare for them to carve their own. (Also, Oh My Titan that hair! That glorious, glorious hair! What a beautiful old man!) 

Them's the Breaks, Kid reveals that even though Eda made his job a living nightmare, he still stuck his neck out for her because he saw her potential and refused to give up on one of his students. He also tells Eda he is proud of her refusal to go along with Terra's game even though his job was on the line.

After opening up the multi-track study for all students, in Labyrinth Runners, he conspires with Adrien Graye to try and protect his students' freedom. While this ends up being a trap, it shows how far he will go for his students' happiness. When the illusion takes over the school, he gathers all the students to a safe hideout. While he doesn't trust Hunter at all, he listens to Willow, Viney, and Skara when they insist on saving him. He also doesn't give any response to the teacher who suggests they use Hunter as leverage in a hostage negotiation (because my boy, Princey-B isn't going to use a teenager's life as a bargaining chip). He then helps defend his school against Adrian, and puts the coven scouts in their place by brushing aside the threat of "you'll pay for this," with "lol, go ahead, tell Belos you lost to a bunch of teenagers" while looking so proud of his teenagers for WRECKING the coven scouts. 

Add to that the fact that he set up refuge for his students during the Day of Unity and managed to successfully defend that refuge from the Collector even though doing so resulted in him becoming a puppet….yeah, Principal Bump deserves that statue in For the Future, he really was the Coolest Principal Ever. And I really hope he somehow survives being petrified

[mephestopheles]

Okay, so this meta is a kind of catchall but it didn't solidify for me until episode four. Spoilers ahead.

So while I don't think Capitalism is the actual bad guy of this season, I do believe, autonomy and choice is at the forefront, not just the importance of Story, which is definitely present, I think Brennan is kind of interrogating not only the role of Story narratively speaking but also how things like fate and destiny are you used as shorthand for 'plot'. The fairies of the neverafter have decided that something is very wrong if the characters and 'people' of the neverafter don't follow their required paths.

Now look at each of the characters and how they're interacting with Story.

Gerard wants to get back to his story. He's the one most likely to follow the wishes of the fairies and do what they want because he just wants to get back to what he believes he's owed. Yes, it is terrible that he was turned into a frog as a little boy and then expected to understand how to rule a kingdom when he's full grown and the curse is lifted. Yes he's going to have a very black and white view on what the expectations of his life 'should be'. So, of all the people who are going to follow the rules of the fairies, he's the one that will have the hardest time going against his own nature and whatever pull Story has on him. He's comes across as a spoiled prince and a coward because he's an adult.

But his entire worldview was set when he was very young and then he spent who knows how many years living in a pond waiting for a princess to break the spell.

Rosamund is another character that is still very much tied to her Story. Again, another young character cursed and locked away from any kind of growth and developed the expectation that a prince would come to save her. She still very much believes that a prince will find her and save her even if she's becoming disillusioned by events of the narrative so far. Her talk with Cinderella is hopefully going to have lasting effects for her but narratively, the "main story" has strong vines.

Pinocchio, poor Pinocchio. I think it's an easy guess that stepmother is one of the fae. Not a witch, but kind of like an archfey. I wonder if she's also the evil fae who cursed Rosamund. Her having many roles in the stories holds to how Brennan seems to be plotting this. I absolutely didn't know that in one version of Pinocchio, he kills the cricket. Yes Pinocchio wants to be a real boy again, but I think he's much less inclined to follow the narrative if he can get away with things he might start pushing back. See the broken off nice as an example. Also his relationship with Pib is interesting. Despite the terrible story where he met Pib with a fox. Pinocchio has trickster qualities that might help Pib more than stepmother, although she does have Pinocchio's father under her thumb.

So I had an image stuck in my head of the entire crew and I think I got them all. I think I'm conveying this correctly, like this is where we start Neverafter off and these are the current positions after EP 4.

Tim is a fence sitter, I get stronger "do it for others" vibes from him than Gerard, but not as strong as Ylfa. Ylfa is not pulled as much by the story as she is by needing family, especially her grandmother. If she has to be in a story for that to be possible then she might go for it, but she's the first to put herself on the line to help others so she has a bit more of a selfless vibe to her.

Pib is very self driven, the vibe of a shit head cat, what pot can I stir to make this fun for me? That's our scrappy little kitty right now. The meta stuff might fade a bit but he's still so much out for himself he'll torpedo a story if something is cooler on the other end.

Pinocchio is on the line, waffling all over the place at the whim of his fae patron.

Overall it's going to be interesting how this resolves. I don't think they'll end up all over into the meta selfless side. In fact I can see Ylfa learning to take care of herself, and Pib is at the end of the day a trickster and he may learn something but not quite enough to apply it somewhere else.

The really cool thing about all of it is that several of these stories begin when they were exceptionally young. Rosamund was a baby when she was cursed and she had to grow up with the knowledge of the curse her entire life. Gerard was a young boy when he was cursed, same as Pinocchio. Ylfa is twelve and is a werewolf. Pib is a cat that defies placing any official age and once again trickster. Tim is kind of outside the narrative by being mother Goose, a storyteller in his own right.

[hasishtardoneanythingwrong]

Dragon Witch on the Unholy Night

Valentine's season was always a bit hectic in Chaldea. There were enough Servants running around (and time had been undone for long enough) that it usually lasted for at least a full week. And as could be expected, the ways that Servants showed their affection was something Val had all but stopped trying to predict. She could expect chocolate at some point. There was no guarantee if it wouldn't be inedible, drugged, or a literal dumbbell, but it was at least something she could expect to see. Everything else was anybody's guess, though. A giant plush hippogryph. A fursuit. An eternal tropical vacation (that the Count had thankfully saw fit to bring an end to). A fucking gun. At their worst, they strained the definition of what could be reasonably considered a Valentine's gift.

By that standard, The Coffee Incident had been downright reasonable. Alter had still been adjusting to... everything, and hadn't quite gotten a hang on things like "earnest emotional expression" and "being able to have feelings outside of hatred". Still, Val had appreciated the gesture (even if it had firmly cemented her distaste for the drink. Ten cups, ugh.)

For Alter, though, that moment was like a lead weight. Even though she had grown closer to her Master, she found Valentine's to be a source of shame, frustration, and anger. It had started with a handful of singed Servants, but quickly settled to Alter shutting herself away for the season, like she was hibernating until everything died down before reappearing. It wasn't ideal, but Val could understand needing some space.

This meant it was a little concerning when Alter showed up two days into the festivities, dragging Val off to the Master's room.

"Everything okay?"

Alter just stared at Val, like she was trying to work herself up to say something. Then, faster than Val could react, a hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck. Heat flared, just shy of being uncomfortable, and then was gone, leaving a patch of tender skin. Alter nodded, evidently satisfied.

"...Okay, what was that?"

Alter huffed.

"Wanted to do something special, show you that you're stuck with me. Chocolate's just gonna get eaten, and stuff's gonna get lost, so I figured I'd give you something that would stick with you. Something that'll last. Lucky me, that blue asshole owed me one, and runes are bullshit that can do whatever the hell you want them to, so I didn't need to learn how to use one of those needle gun things."

"...Did you just give me a neck tattoo?"

Alter nodded, a satisfied look on her face.

Val did her best to suppress a sigh. It wasn't that she didn't like the idea of getting a tattoo. Val kinda wanted one, but between not knowing what she would get and the whole incineration of humanity business, it had just never come up. She was a sucker for Alter's designs, so she was sure it looked fine, but she really wished she had been consulted first. Really, she just wished that it went somewhere else. Maybe on her wrist, so she could look at it when she wanted to. But what was done was done, so she resolved to appreciate it for what it was. Turning around to face a mirror, Val tilted her neck to get a better look.

Blink.

"...Uh, Alter?"

"Yeah?"

"There's nothing there."

"...What?"

Val turned back around, pointing at the empty patch of skin where Alter had grabbed her.

"...Okay, what the fuck! 'Should be simple enough' my ASS! Next time I see that guy I'm gonna grab his staff and shove it so far up his ass he'll be coughing out splinters for a month!"

Val could smell the smoke already. Not great. She looped an arm around Alter in a loose one armed hug, in the hopes of keeping fires to a minimum while they got this fixed.

"It's okay, we can just get a new one done together, right? How about you show me how you wanted it to look, we'll find someplace to get it done, annnnnnd..."

Val trailed off, the thought dying on her lips. She stared, as black ink streamed across the skin of her arm, tongues of stylized flame spiraling up to her wrist. She pulled away to get a better look, watching as a pool of black flickered on her palm, like it was one of Alter's fireballs. It almost seemed to have a pulse of its own, synced up with Alter's breathing.

"Alter? You gave me a living tattoo. Holy shit this is awesome."

Alter's eyes were glued to Val's arm, watching the ink before swirling into a gently flickering ring around Val's wrist.

"Of course, now you really need to show me what you designed. I have to see what ideas you came up with. Come on!"

Val took Alter by the hand. Flames jumping between their intertwined fingers, she dragged the red-faced Servant out of her room.

---

A/N: Oh hey there, been a while. Guess what's looks at wrist 4 months late. In case it wasn't clear, blue guy is CasCu. Anyway, this too is Yuri.

[thereosheep]

Writober Days 4+5 - Lose your Head + Peer into the Darkness

Inspired by @/Stychu-stych cotltober prompts.

"Looking for something, handsome?"

Ron's soul almost left his body as he heard the high-pitched voice coming from behind him as he perused the office's storeroom. He wasn't doing anything... Too illegal, he was just... Curious. And on his break. And bored. So what was the harm in seeing what supplies the higher ups were keeping from them? A small amount of breaking and entering aside, of course.

In hindsight, he probably should have expected someone to be keeping watch over the room. The fact that it had no visible security cameras pointed at the door should have been a big warning that it wasn't as simple as it looked.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down and turned around, a big smile plastered on his face, "h-hey! Yes! I- well, I was looking for a new stapler, I think someone stole mine from my desk, and I... Thought..." but as he talked, he realized there was no one there. He looked downwards, thinking that maybe it was a mouse who spoke or other similarly smaller species compared to his over six-feet lion stature, or even someone's kid, but also coming up empty.

His claws scratched the back of his head. Was he starting to go crazy? But then the voice rang out again, "On the shelf, idiot," punctuation their words with a laugh.

Rob grumbled, looking to the direction of the voice to see a... Decapitated head...? On the shelf, inside some kind of glass jar.

It was a prop. Obviously. There was no way it could be anything but.

It had pink fur and candy-cane horns for fucks sake!

The hyper realistic eyes were... A choice. But there's no way anyone could have that spiral-looking pattern naturally-

The head's smile widened, and it's lips moved as it spoke, "you can scream now."

Rob didn't know at the time that the room was soundproof, and probably never would. But he would probably appreciate the fact that his scream was head by no one except the head in the jar.

The head's bat-like ears pined against its head and it grimaced, immediately shouting back "Cut it out! Do you have any idea how sensitive my ears are?! What do they teach you people nowadays?! How to play monopoly?!"

Rob panted as he tried to regain his breath, the head's comments bringing him out of his fear and into something resembling anger, "what-? You-?" he chuckled, nodding to himself, "right. Right... Great prank, by the way! You can come out now! You had your fun!"

"Ugh, you guys seriously have no imagination." the bathead grumbled, somehow shaking its head (itself?) from side to side in... Was that disappointment? "Why couldn't I be trapped in a jar during the witch hunts...? I'd at least be toasty if anyone found me..."

The lion moved towards the shelf, his panda picking up the jar and turning it this way and that, the head flopping around inside with nothing securing it to the bottom of the jar, "how do you turn off this thing...?"

"Ow! Hey! Rude!" the head used its tongue to right itself as the lion held it at an angle, "How would you feel if I asked how to kill you? And then shake d'you around like a maraca"

"You're not even alive! I can see the black cap at the base of your neck! You're just a prop!"

"Look again, bitch!"

"Why would I- Shit!"

"OW!"

The jar clacked against the floor as Rob dropped it, his hands shaking as he still stared at the pulsing mass of flesh at the base of the head's neck, something that definitely wasn't there before. He could see the blood pumping through closed off veins, the tube of the trachea tensing up and relaxing as the head breathed.

Rob's hands shook with fear, his eyes wide as he stared at the impossibility of nature laying at his feet. "what... the fuck are you?"

The head huffed, puffing up it's cheeks as it pouted, "well, now I don't feel like telling."

"you'll speak or- or..." his eyes darted around the store room, picking up a stapler that was nearby and raising it above the jar, "o-or I'll smash you in."

The head rolled its eyes, sticking out it's tongue at the lion, "well, if you must know, I'm Yoshalah. Disgraced goddess of Chaos." Silence filed the room as the lion stared dumbfounded at the head- Yoshalah, who was also the one to break it, "But call me Yosh. You?"

"R-Robbert- Wait, no. Don't change the subject. I'm asking the questions here." he shook the stapler at her in what was supposed to be a threatening motion, "And how I know you're telling the truth, 'Yoshalah'? If that's even your real name. I mean, how do you even capture the severed head of a goddess in a jar anyway?"

"Disgraced goddess. Pay attention, Robbie." Yosh humph'd, "you know how it is. Not enough prayers, one night of drinking, a few eyes turned inside out-"

"excuse you?"

"-And next thing you know, you're sharing the same fate as Walt Disney!" another pause. "what? That was funny, you gotta give it to me."

"Well, goddess or not, you're clearly unhinged. And I hope you'll stay stuck for a very long time." Rob stood up and threw the stapler away half-harzardly before making his way to the door, ready to chalk this all up as a result of food poisoning and leave it all behind. Honestly, he'd rather the head was thrown into a volcano or buried six feet deep, but he didn't really have anywhere inconspicuous to put the big jar in for the rest of his shift.

"Hey! Robbie! Wait!" Yosh's voice ring out through the room, "Help a gal out! C'mon! I'll even grant you a wish if you'd like~!"

"A wish from you? You'd probably find some way to turn me into a toad or something. No way."

"I can pay you! With money!"

"You're a severed head. You don't have money."

"Goddess. How long do ya think I've been alive for? I got money."

His step faltered for a moment, but he shook his head and said, "too risky."

"At least leave the light-"

Rob closed the door, his hand hitting the switch down on his way out, drowning out Yosh's voice. He smiled to himself at the crazy things he just saw. A fucking goddess' head in a jar. Of all things...

+++++

"... On..."

Yoshalah stared into nothingness as the storeroom was bathed in the familiar darkness once more. At least in her new position she could try rolling the jar around and...

And... Nothing, it seemed. Robbert was the last person she'd seen in... Maymocrone knows how long. And even if she lucked out in the next person being completely blind and deaf to not notice her rolling by, she could not count on the whole world to be like that.

So hello to her old friend, the darkness.

Or "the darkness", as it were.

Because all that time without any stimulus, and any brain starts to go cuckoo.

At first it took a month, or at least she thought it did. It was hard to be sure of time in the dark room. But back then she at least had new ways to entertain herself: from creating mouths on her tongue that led nowhere, to shifting the position of her eyes inside her skull, making them rotate, do summersaults... She even tried juggling them for a while, launching them from the top of her head and catching them with her tongue.

Sometimes she prayed to the other gods, and listened to their prayers back. Her only method of communication with the outside. And since she didn't know where she was, rescue was a very big impossibility.

But eventually it all becomes mundane.

And as the goddess of Chaos... of Transformation... Of Change...

The mundane was a slow and visceral killer.

She could feel her being twist and turn on itself in order to avoid total destruction. And when her brain completely gave up, and began create stimuli to stave off her end.

The lion was the first creature she actually talked with in a while, usually too drunk in her own delusions to distinguish real form fake.

If it wasn't for the feel of the glass sliding beneath her as it swayed form side to side, she might actually have thought he was fake too.

Or maybe she did completely lose it.

And as colors started to swim to her through the darkness, a part of her wondered what was so bad about that.

[rosesoflilac]

WELCOME TO THE ERAS TOUR!

summary: the eras tour comes to the devildom! how excited are they for the hottest show in town? pairing: demon brothers (excluding belphie and beel) x gn!reader, suggestive (asmo) a/n: hi my name is rose and ill be your host this evening :p this has been a long time coming.. :0 sorry for the puns. i will take any chance to relive the best night of my life. hope you enjoy I had a lot of fun thinking about the bros going to the eras tour bc they r just so silly. apologies for not including belphie and beel, i love them but not enough to write them </3

LUCIFER - evermore (ivy, marjorie, happiness).

-> Lucifer does not understand the hype around the eras tour. Loud and large events arent really his scene, but he goes to have this shared experience with you. He values its importance because you are so excited and he would do anything to keep you smiling at him like that.

-> Leading up to the concert, to get him excited you gift him some of her albums on vinyl that you'd think he enjoy. I think he would really love folklore and evermore because of their instrumentals. I also see him enjoying Lover songs. If he is less perceptive to listening to her albums, start playing piano-only versions of her music to lure him into discovering other parts of her discography.

-> As I mentioned before, Lucifer would prefer piano instrumentals, impressed that the meaning of the song is still conveyed without knowing the words. 

-> To make him less grumpy take him on a Taylor Swift mjuseum tour!! I think he would appreciate learning more about Taylor's life before connecting to her music. He also just loves a good tour.

MAMMON - reputation (i did something bad, dress, new years day).

-> Girl the amount of debt he owes to witches triples when he learns that you like taylor swift. prepared to be spoiled with taylor merch and lots of it. (he definitely has bets on what surprise songs she might play).

-> Mammon is more of an r&b kind of demon but I think he can still appreciates the different genres taylor has explored. 

->i can see him resonating a lot with fearless (golden color -> grimm/how it feels when you look at him), reputation bc what if one day he leans into the scumbag roll his brothers assigned him? it's also the love album of taylor swift albums.

->He'll “never” let you know his true feelings about Taylor but it's obvious he likes her because you do. Days leading up to the concert you hear him humming melodies of her songs- of course he'd learn the setlist for ya, he wouldn't embarrass you- himself by not knowin’ the words!

LEVIATHAN - 1989 (TV) (new romantics, how you get the girl, wildest dreams).

-> Let's be real, Levi bought you the tickets because he understands the hype and needing to see your favorite artist in person. Plus, you would do the same for him. However, he is super nervous about being in such a giant crowd. He goes back and forth about wanting to go- surely you’ll have a better time with someone else right? Give him plenty of reassurance that he is the one you want and all will be well!

-> Goes all out for the costumes. He makes the perfect couples costumes for you two to wear and you guys slay! It’s more song themed than you guys trying to look hot (think evermore tree)  At the show everyone is complimenting your fits- Levi gets embarrassed when you give him credit for the costume work.

-> Omg all his karaoke sessions instead of anime songs it's Taylor songs now. I see him being a 1989 girlie because of its high energy. Similar to Lucifer, I think if there are any anime rendition covers of her songs or any video games Taylor related he will love it lol. I'm picturing like Taylor Swift meets Hatsune Miku Colorful Stage.

-> Overall is so happy he went, is super impressed with the choreography and stages Taylor set up for her different eras. Congrats Taylor! A new swiftie has been obtained.

-> Omg side note- he definitely is able to get the rare merch (like the cardigans) and will wait all day for any contests/enter so many giveaways just for you.

SATAN - red (TV) (state of grace, better man, run)

-> I think Satan finds out about Taylor Swift before the Eras Tour was even a thing because of some cat themed merchandise of hers that you were wearing. Learning of her love for her cats gets an easy Satan stamp of approval.

-> Satan learns about her history and delves deep into her lore and how the entertainment industry works in the human world. He finds it fascinating that there are a lot of hollywood/entertainment industry mysteries. I can see him taking a particular interest in old Hollywood unsolved murder cases. 

-> As for his favorite album, I see Satan loving Red, the songs on that album have that fall study vibe and delve into more angstier emotions. I see him appreciating evermore and folklore as well for their storytelling ability.

-> At the concert, he is there to vibe with you but is on the chiller side. Will only consider dressing up if you really want him to do (and its cat related (see: the person who dressed up as Taylor’s character from cats))

ASMODEUS - midnights (maroon, bejeweled, vigilante shit)

-> Asmo is def going with you to spend time with you and for the vibes, he can’t turn down a good party! He feels a bit jealous with how excited you are, like he could do the Eras Tour right at home for you <3 Only during and after the show he understands your excitement; Taylor is gorgeous and ate her performance. His favorite sections were Lover and Vigilante Shit <3

-> Another incentive for Asmo to go is the promise that he can dress you up! Similar to Levi, he loves a good costume moment. However, he goes for the looks to kill approach instead of cosplaying different things in her songs or her previous outfits.

-> Asmo will learn most of her music but doesn’t really care about that- he’s there to see you look adorable and record you having the time of your life. He swears there isn’t anything more enchanting than when your favorite era begins. 

P.S. - the friendship bracelets with the brothers go hard. you make their own individual ones with their name and signature color

[quizmasterfred]

Come with me on a quick journey:

- Missy makes it back to 12, and they die + regenerate together

- the Master is actually somewhat stable after a regeneration (as seen in Utopia, and with several other time lords), so gets to be just as baffled as all the humans as to why 13 is acting “like that” during TWWFTE

- the fam going “do you reckon she really is an alien” and “is she making up the whole gender thing” and he has the job of going “yeah she’s actually serious, I was a woman as well” but none of them believe him either because he’s a bit of a dick and is likely just trying to make fun of them

- tries to wander off before 13 gets teleported away to find the TARDIS, “oh no you don’t - we still owe those Fatality Index weirdos 900 years, come with me”, gets thrown into the vacuum of space and will NEVER EVER EVER let her live this down

- he still doesn’t quite get that humans are real people with interiority and sentience, so he thinks 13 deliberately brought them along for Ghost Monument to teach him a moral lesson, and spends half the time complaining that he has to deal with humans, as if a desert planet full of deadly robots and flesh-eating water wasn’t bad enough

- still got those violent tendencies, so defaults to “maybe we could just kill them” for half the villains: Tim Shaw? Can’t activate the DNA bombs if he’s dead. Ilin? I’m not saying kill him, just make him think we’ll kill him if he doesn’t get us off this planet. Krasko? Violent-Time-Travelling-Mega-Racist - surely this guy is okay to vaporise, please Doctor just let me vaporise one dipshit!

Basically every episode has this moment:

- Speaking of Jack “shooting’s quicker” Robertson: now this is a guy I can relate to! You’ve spent all this time trying to show me that humans are smart and important, all you needed to do was gimme this one - he gets it!

- the fam deciding to become proper companions like “the doctor’s fun, but it does mean we have to put up with that guy she insists on dragging along”, and deciding the wonders of the universe are… probably worth putting up with him

- absolutely zero knowledge and interest in human culture, so is the perfect target for historical info-dumping (Rosa, Partition, Witch Hunts), while also complaining that he doesn’t give a shit every single time. Yaz trying to relate to the other Asian guy like “my family are from Pakistan” and he just goes “what planet is that?” (Or let’s be honest probably something ruder)

- despite everything, weirdly defensive about the Doctor; threatens King James for not taking her seriously, “I’ll show you some fucking magic” [pulls out tissue compressor while 13 desperately tries to stop him assassinating an historical head of state]. And learns to get defensive over the humans, not because he genuinely cares for them (yet? 🤔), but because he knows 13 likes it when the humans are kept safe: “were you worried about me??” “No, but the Doctor would be if she knew you were running off on your own like an idiot, so here I am I guess!”

- also knows the gallifreyan fairy tales (because he met the Doctor’s Granny 5 when they were kids???) and holy shit the solitract is real!? A brief shining moment of joy over something freaky that shows the humans “oh my god he has a personality other than thinly-veiled psychopathy?”

- graham wanting to kill Tim Shaw, and the master having to battle between “yeah, yeah, we should definitely do it this time, kill the fucker” and “ugh, no, the Doctor wouldn’t like that. I’ll talk to Graham… I guess”

- NYE special, instead of the Dalek Scout, they discover the Timeless Child stuff TOGETHER, and you either get a heart-warming hug-it-out “neither of us knew this, but it doesn’t change that we care about each other”, OR he goes off the rails like in canon and now it’s all the more heartbreaking and the fam have to deal with the fact that they know this guy too now, and he’s fucking snapped and “yeah I know you were trying to rehabilitate him, but he’s gonna fucking kill us if we don’t do something about him”

[loveronlineee]

Change: Chapter 4 (Eli Moskowitz x Reader)

All Chapters

Eli Moskowitz x Reader (She/Her)

Warnings: Mentions of SA

Chapter synopsis: The Halloween party doesn’t go as planned

Y/N notes: none

“Oh, skeleton. Classic. Nice.” Demetri complimented as Miguel walked up to them. The party had definitely started at this point. Music thumping, people dancing and drinking. Demetri and Eli had stayed by the wall to no one’s surprise.

“Thanks.” Miguel replied. “I like your sorcerer costume.”

“Sorcerer? Please, I’m a necromancer.”

“What?” Miguel blinked.

“Didn’t you see the amulet?” Demetri pointed to the thing around his neck. Miguel decided not to continue this conversation and instead turned to Eli.

“So are you a regular doctor or-“

“Plastic surgeon. I-I fix lips.” A part of Miguel was saddened by that last part but he decided not to bring it up.

“Nice. Where’s Y/N?” He looked around, eyebrows furrowing.

“She said she’s gonna be late.” Demetri complained, looking back at his phone in annoyance. Miguel decided to take that as a good sign.

She must be taking her time getting ready.

At least… that’s what he hoped?

“She said she’s for sure coming right?”

“Yeah yeah she’s coming, Y/N’s fine.” Demetri reassured, waving a hand dismissively in front of him. “She’s always a bit… not like herself at these things. Less mouthy which to be honest is sometimes a nice change but- we always make sure she still has a good time.” Miguel blinked at that last part.

“Wow. That’s the first time I’ve heard you say something that makes me think you actually like Y/N.” Demetri sighed.

“Yes she’s a thorn in my side but she’s also one of my best friends. I want her to have a good time just as much as Eli. Right Eli?… Eli?”

Eli wasn’t paying attention to them anymore. His gazed seemed to be fixed on something across the room.

Demetri and Miguel turned to see what their friend was staring at. Y/N had just walked in. It took the boys a moment to even recognise her.

Black dress, black heels and a little witches hat to finish the look. She spotted them by the wall and gave them a wave as she walked over. Miguel waved back, smile on his face.

“Hey guys. Cool costumes!” She greeted.

“You too Y/N.” Miguel said, still smiling. Him and Y/N shared a knowing look. Demetri pointed, an eyebrow quirked up.

“So… this is a new look.” Y/N laughed.

“Yeah I don’t know.” She looked at Miguel. “I guess I just wanted to go with something a little different. Put in a little more effort.”

“You look great Y/N.”

“Thanks Miguel.” Y/N finally turned to Eli who hadn’t said anything since she arrived. “Nice plastic surgeon costume.”

He seemed to finally snap out of his trance when she directly addressed him. He blinked a couple times before finally replying.

“Uh thanks. You ah y-you look.” Eli stumbled over his words trying to form a sentence. He was glad his made was covering most of his face to hide the blush. Y/N giggled as Miguel tried to hide his own laughter.

“Thanks. I’m gonna go get a drink I’ll be right back.” The boys watched her walk away. Miguel felt a buzz in his pocket and took out his phone.

Guess I owe you $10

Keep it. The look on Eli’s face was enough for me.

Miguel could see her laughing as she approached the drinks table.

Thanks again Miguel. You’re a good friend.

He was happy to see her in such a good mood. He looked back at Eli who couldn’t stop staring.

“You okay there dude?”

“U-Uh yeah. Yeah I-I’m good.” Miguel smirked.

“You gonna be able to form sentences?”

“She… she looks really pretty.” Eli mumbled. Miguel gave him a nudge.

“You should tell her that.” Eli’s eyes widened and he shook his head.

“Nope. Definitely not.”

“Well you’re at least gonna ask her to dance right?”

“Ha!” Demetri laughed. He leaned an elbow on Eli’s shoulder. “This guy has attempted to ask Y/N to dance at every school dance we have ever been to. Has he ever succeeded? No.” Eli sighed.

“Well come on, tonight could be different!” Miguel hyped up.

“What’s different about tonight compared to all the others?” Eli asked, already sounding defeated.

“Y/N’s outfit?” Demetri answered. The boys looked back over at Y/N. A guy had started talking to her. She was smiling and conversing, cup of punch in her hand.

Miguel realised that he never saw guys approaching Y/N before. Which was odd because she wouldn’t look out of place hanging with the rich girls. Maybe it was because of the company she kept that made guys look the other way. It made Miguel wonder why Y/N was friends with Demitri and Eli in the first place. “Or maybe this is hard mode now.” Demitri added. Eli sighed.

“Y/N’s a pretty girl.” Miguel commented. “It’s not gonna take long for other guys to realise that.”

“I-I know.” Eli nodded.

Y/N looked back at him and smiled. Something that immediately made his body stiffen. How could this girl have such an effect on him so easily? Eli watched as she shook her head at the guy she was talking to and walked back over to her friends.

“Uh he asked me if I wanted to dance with him.” Y/N smiled at the floor, holding her cup in both hands.

“And?” Miguel said. She looked back up.

“I said no. I don’t want to dance with him.” Her eyes darted to Eli then back to Miguel.

“Fair enough.” Miguel replied, knowingly. She turned to face out at the dance floor, giving Miguel a nudge.

“What about you? Any girls take your fancy?” Miguel’s eyes wandered over to Sam.

“Any single girls?” Y/N nudged him again. Miguel chuckled. Demetri and Eli watched them talk from further back.

“Okay. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna ask her.” Eli hyped himself up. Demetri scoffed.

“Yeah right.”

“No dude, she looked at me. She wants me to ask her.”

“All right then Eli. Go for it.” He took a deep breath in then out and walked over to her.

‘H-Hey Y/N.’ She turned around. Miguel silently supported him from the side.

‘Yeah?’

‘Would you, uh…with me. Would you like to- no pressure! Do you want to da-‘

‘Excuse me.’ The guy who approached Y/N earlier walked back up to her. ‘I know you already said no but, can I ask for a dance one last time?’

Y/N looked up at him then back at Eli.

‘Uh Eli what were you going to say?’ Y/N asked hopefully. Eli looked at Y/N then the guy.

‘It’s nothing.’ Miguel sighed. Y/N’s face dropped slightly. She turned back to the guy.

‘Yeah, okay.’ Eli’s heart sunk as he watched Y/N be pulled on to the dance floor.

‘Good try Eli.’ Miguel said. Demetri put a hand on Eli’s shoulder.

‘That’s what happens when you wait too long. Better luck next time my friend.’ Miguel scanned the walls of the room.

‘Hey look, those girls are dressed as dragon queens.’ Miguel spotted three girls dancing together. ‘Let’s ask them to dance.’

‘Dragon queens? Yeah okay this could work.’ Demetri nodded. Eli couldn’t care less about the other girls on the dance floor. He just watched as Y/N was spun around. She looked like she was having fun. He could feel his stomach twisting at the sight.

‘Okay, are we ready? Let’s ask the dragon queens to dance.’

‘Slow your roll. We got time.’ Another guy walked over and took one of the girls to the dance floor.

‘No.. shit! We just lost one to Dr Who.’ Miguel sighed.

‘I have to go to the bathroom.’ Eli said.

‘Yeah me too.’ Demetri agreed. ‘That punch is going right through me.’ Miguel sighed again and reluctantly followed the two.

‘First high school dance in the book and we didn’t even make an attempt.’

‘Well, statistically speaking, zero-for-zero is better than zero-for-one so it could have been worse. Or maybe Eli’s counts as 0.5.’ Some other voices could be heard entering the bathroom.

‘Yo, so frustrated man.’ It was Kyler. ‘I was just about to give her the bracelet.’

‘Like that cheap one you gave that East Valley slut?’

‘Yeah it worked on her, so I might as well try it again, but Sam’s dad had to ruin everything.’

‘I’m sorry dude. You had her in the palm of your dick.’ The trio began to back up slowly but knocked over the lacross sticks. They fell to the floor. Kyler and his gang spotted them and slowly walked over.

‘Oh shit.’ Demetri and Eli ran, leaving Miguel to deal with them. The two ran and ran until they were out of the school.

‘What… about… Miguel?’ Eli managed to say through breaths.

‘It’s… his own fault.’ Demetri replied, dropping down on the curb. ‘He should have ran with us.’ The school’s double doors burst open again. The duo jumped up ready to run again. But to their surprise, it was not who they thought it was.

‘Y/N?’ She held her heels in her hand, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. ‘W-What happened?’ Eli asked, walking closer to her.

‘That guy I was dancing with.’ She managed to say in a croaky voice.

‘What did he do?’ Eli’s usually soft voice hardened with the question.

‘I told him to stop, but he wouldn’t.’ Eli and Demetri gave each other a look. Y/N didn’t need to say anymore, they knew what the guy was trying to do. ‘So I started walking away but he gripped my arm. So I punched him in the face and ran out here.’

‘You punched him in the face?’ Demetri asked, ignoring the more important information.

‘A-Are you okay?’ Eli asked. Y/N showed her arm where the guy had grabbed her. There were faint nail marks in her skin. Eli stared at the marks, unsure of what to say. Y/N pulled her arm back down and looked at the ground.

‘I should never dress like this. This is what I get.’

‘No, this wasn’t your fault. I-It was his for being a creepy asshole.’ Eli said with anger in his voice. Y/N looked back up. ‘You should be able to wear whatever you want without guys like that touching you.’ Y/N pulled Eli in for a hug. He tensed up for a second.

‘Thanks Eli.’ Eli relaxed and put his arms around her too. Demetri awkwardly walked closer to the pair.

‘At least I know that every time you’ve said you’d punch me in the face, you weren’t kidding.’ Y/N looked up at him and chuckled. ‘I’m gonna go home. See you guys.’

‘See ya later.’

‘Bye Demetri.’ The two watched him walk out of sight. The night was peaceful. The distant sound of party music could be heard behind them. They looked up at the sea of stars above them. Y/N shivered at the cold wind. Eli took off the top part of his surgeon costume and put it around her.

‘You’ll be cold now.’

‘I’ll be fine. I’ve still got my normal shirt underneath.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Hey Y/N?’

‘Yeah.’

‘For the next party that we’re at, I promise I’ll dance with you. So you can wear whatever you want knowing that the guy you’re dancing with isn’t going to do anything you don’t want.’

‘Thanks Eli.’

‘Yeah of course.’

‘…Hey, where’s Miguel?’

[landinoandco]

Hey could you do one with max verstappen, where the reader a fight about him not helping around the house (witch he doesnt do because he is just tired from working hard but the reader dont know) so they yell at max and he suddenly walks away but then they find him crying in bed, because hes overworked and feels like hes never gonna be good enough at being a driver and the readers boyfriend. And feels like he can only dissapoint the reader, his dad and cristian. But the reader comforts him. Tnx

Because I'm not good enough...

Max Verstappen x Reader

Warnings: angsty

Word count: 2 k

Requests are open :)

You were sat at the dining room table, staring out at the empty seat in front of you. Your arms crossed across your chest and your lip in between your teeth. You had been sat there for an hour - in the grand scheme of things an hour didn’t seem like such a long time but it was his final warning and an hour was just long enough to allow for your anger to boil over.

Dinner was in the fridge - the same dinner you had cooked an hour ago, your phone lay screen up on the table - the same phone you used to call Max two hours and a half hours ago, he told you he was on his way home. Home whilst you were in the UK was 25 minutes away from the Redbull HQ. This was becoming a regular occurrence, some nights he would come home so late that you had already taken yourself to bed. The atmosphere in the house seemed to freeze over whenever he was around even though you were yet to come out of summer, there was something hanging over the pair of you - unspoken feelings and as of now a red hot anger that threatened to escape from your usually composed nature.

Ever since the championship had taken a turn in the favour of Redbull, Max had started to become much more distant. It started off with him not inviting you along to the races, leaving on the Wednesday before race weekend and sometimes not seeing him until the following Tuesday and that was on a stand alone race weekend. On the triple headers, it could be nearing two weeks until you two were spared 5 minutes alone and even then it was a brief conversation before he rushed back to the factory or to train.

You thought you knew what you signed up for and since yours and Max’s relationship and that was three years ago so you thought you had seen it all - been through it all with him, witnessed every high and every low. This was a new territory and you knew that if it wasn’t tackled soon -

The click of the door lock echoed in the hallway, you straightened in your seat - eyes locked ahead of you and your knee bouncing.

Max sighed loudly and wiped his hand over his face, it had been a long day - he had been at the factory up until Christian had invited him out to lunch, it was nice to catch up with his boss and Max felt like he owed the man so much; guiding him through the years that had led up to the moment they found themselves in. Max felt like over the past years he had matured as a person, sometimes still short tempered but being an F1 driver it wasn’t necessarily a bad trait. After his lunch with Christian, his dad had called him - the less said about the conversation the better. By the time you had called, the last thing he wanted to do was come home and risk upsetting you. He had taken himself on a run - to clear his head and focus on what he was going to say to you because he felt like something definitely needed to be said.

He also owed a lot to you, you had put up with so much over the years and standing by his side even when he had made a mistake - although you were very quick to tell him when he was in the wrong. You seemed to be on his level, a blunt and forward look at life - there was no time for dawdling about when you had things to be done. Life was short and there was no time to waste.

Recently however, he was putting so much pressure and stress on himself about work that the hours slipped away from him and so did the time spent with you. He felt the atmosphere change around the pair of you - as though he was always walking on thin ice, the cracks beginning to show. The guilt he felt was nothing like he had ever felt before, all he wanted to do was talk to you but he was scared of pushing you away - which is ironic because not talking and letting the pent up anger build up was having the same effect. He was never that good when it came to talking about how he felt - as much as he wanted to he felt as though he would be a burden and that he would put too much pressure on you. He could never tell you what he really felt like inside. It was embarrassing, he knew that a professional athlete should never feel what he felt. It weakened him and having weaknesses in a sport like Formula 1 was not an option.

Max shrugged his coat off and walked through to the main room of the apartment - the room where you were sat waiting to pounce as though he was your unsuspecting prey.

He offered a tired smile, in response he got a sneer. Swallowing hard, you felt the anger take over, like some monster escaping from a cage.

“I have been sitting here for an hour, Max -” You shot to your feet, pointing at the table, your voice cracked slightly. “For months, you’ve been leaving me - it’s me who’s been cooking for us both, cleaning, washing - everything, Max. By myself.” You were shouting now, your heart threatening to break free from your chest. Max just stood there, a blank expression on his face - his gaze fixed to the ground. “I don’t understand what went wrong, Max. We were happy, hell, we spoke to each other. Now, I’m alone. In fact, I may as well be alone if this doesn’t change.” The words had fallen out of your mouth before you had any time to consider them - or the consequences. Your eyes went round with shock and you fell back to your seat. A loud silence filled the room.

Max, too, had not expected the words that had initiated the silence. He opened his mouth, eyes still on the ground, then closed it again before raising his head and looking you dead in the eye.

“You don’t mean that.” He managed to mutter, barely being able to raise his voice any louder. He felt a tired emptiness, this was the last thing he had wanted to happen.

“That’s all you have to say to me.” You rounded on him again, angry tears threatening to fall from your eyes.

“No - I -” He stuttered, then closed his eyes, inhaling slowly, “I just don’t think we should talk things through whilst you’re angry -” He saw you about to interject, when he raised his hands. “You have every right to be. That’s not what I’m saying. I think we should wait to talk about it so we don’t say things we are going to regret later.” Max could feel his throat constricting, he was battling to keep his emotions at bay.

You sniffed and nodded slowly, placing your head in your hands - hot tears escaping and shoulders tensed.

Max swallowed thickly, his eyes swimming with tears. He made a move and after no interruption left the room. He had only made it to the stairs before he collapsed, the fatigue getting the better of him. He was such an idiot, a fact he was certainly aware of now, how could he have let things get this bad. Did that make him a selfish person?

He couldn’t hold it in any longer, a harsh sob escaping from his mouth - fingers shaking and his head a loud mess.

As soon as Max had left the room, you had gotten up to get some water - when you paused, a sound catching your attention - a deep sounding sob. You waited, a line appeared between your brows. Slowly and carefully, you inched towards the door - waiting with baited breath for the sound again.

It was coming from the stairs and there was only one person it could be. Regret instantly pooled in the pit of your stomach, you hadn’t meant for him to cry. You were just so angry and he needed to know that.

“Max.” You called out softly, unsurprisingly there was no response. You went in the direction of the stairs and hunched over in front of you was your boyfriend - attempting to stifle his sobs. You rushed forwards, placing your arms around his shoulders and pulled his body into yours. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around your waist. You kissed the top of his head, stroking his hair as he continued to cry - you allowed him to empty his emotions out; some tears of your own betraying you entirely.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” Came a muffled voice. Pausing, you released your hold of him and placed your hands either side of his face - offering him a watery smile. Then, using your sleeves you wiped his tears away - he watched your every move, waiting for you to say something. When you didn’t, he braced himself - lips trembling; he knew it was now or never. He had to tell you how he really felt.

“I’m not good enough.” He stated simply, his eyes glossy. Your forehead furrowed. “I’m never going to be good enough to take the championship, I’m going to let everyone down. Everyone that has ever believed in me - it doesn’t matter what I do, how much work I put in - I’m never good enough. And you -” He paused, meeting your gaze, a lump forming in the back of your throat. “I keep letting you down, time and time again. I was the one who caused this, I’m never going to be good enough for you.”

“If you believe that -” You began, kissing the newly formed tears away, “Then I will eat your race shoe.” You moved to sit next to him on the stairs, pulling him into your side. “Why didn’t you tell me that’s how you felt.”

You felt Max shrug, the side of his head resting on yours. “I didn’t want to burden you with all of my problems, you already put up with so much.”

“I will always have time for you, Max.” Grasping his hand in yours, “You are enough, you are more than enough. You are Max Verstappen, the fastest, strongest guy I know.” You chuckled lightly, “I know it may sometimes feel like that and that’s ok. You are putting yourself through so much - maybe, it’s time to give some consideration for your personal life. It’s unhealthy to work all of the time - then we run into issues like these.” You spoke softly, almost whispering but you could tell he was hanging onto every word you spoke. “I love you, Max. I don’t know what I would do without you.” You admitted, turning your head to look at him. He chewed on his bottom lip, processing your words.

“I love you too, more than anything.” He murmured, placing his forehead on yours. You lifted your head slightly to leave a soft kiss on his nose, earning the corners of his lips to quirk up.

Closing your eyes, you relished being in his arms again, to have him close to you. You had missed it. You had missed him. Both of you knew you had a lot to work through, that it wouldn’t simply disappear but both of you were going to do it together. Hand in hand. And that was more than enough.