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deviltoys · 3 years

Note

― this is my first time requesting so let's hope i don't fuck this up [lmao].

taking tobio's [who's the pastor's son] virginity and watching him ask for forgiveness for doing something so inappropriate in the church but then you proceed to degrade him. 🙇

— ‘𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝘄𝘀.’

tobio kageyama x top!male reader. (wc; ?)

#a/n: stop. this is my favorite request, ever. virginity loss ‘n blasphemy??? hello? too fuckin’ good, been cravin’ a good virgin tobio. thank you fer’ this, it was perfect!

warings. NSFW CONTENT, MINORS DNI, virginity loss, sacrilege, taboo acts, incest, age gap (18-30), pastor!reader, exhibitionism, sex in a church, misusage of the bible, religious speak, little to no prep, dumbification, creampie, degrading, manipulation, corruption, belly bulge, daddy k.

juvenile ministry took up a huge chunk of the church you operated. being the father to tobio kageyama, it was only natural that he was a frequent volunteer for the group of children who'd visit you both to be taught the righteous laws of god.

your boy was so doting with kids, it lay a smile across your lips to see him so devoted as you'd help demonstrate an array of practices to the youth. he was an apprentice of some sort— you two had a closely knit relationship when it came to chruch work.

almost a little too close.

nobody would ever suspect a thing, right? their nurturing pastor and his passionate son; they wouldn't dream of commiting any corrupt acts against the lord they so dearly fawned about.

the children certainly wouldn't know, such mindless followers. that's why during youth hours the two of you would mysteriously ‘disappear’ while everyone else contributed holy related activities to do while father y/n and tobio went to assist the lord.

you had be fighting the urge to take your son aside and tear his tiny body in half right there inside the sacred haven. but poor little tobio was a virgin, nobody would dare attempt to be the one who would strip the priest’s son of his innocence. you and the younger male had only gone as far as sucking on each others lips or caressing one another in sensual ways that would surely be forbidden by the church.

it was unethical practice to do anything under sexual pretense inside the chapel; with your offspring no less. you were already commiting unforgivable acts unbeknownst to your fellow ministers— what was one more? just another sin strewn onto the pile of ones you had been collecting throughout the years.

the line between faith and abandonment finally blurred out when you caught your little kageyama with pants a size to small for his waist. the fabric rode up, perfectly rounding out and drawing scrutiny to his chubby ass. you were well aware of the scandalous gestures he would send your way while he kept his attention on the children. wiggling his ass out every so often was his main form of communicating his intentions.

he was at last ready to make his daddy proud, giving his body to him as though you were christ himself; submitting to you.

all of his coherent brain function was corrupt by you a long time past, the degenerate acts you two would shun from the eye of society had finally caught up to him. he needed the embrace of his dad, his loving, heavenly father that would fill his holes up with the holy spirit.

“tobio, follow me for a second please? i need to speak with you privately for awhile.” a forged grin took reign of your lips, softly signalling for your son as you escorted him through the barren temple halls. after he had finished passing out coloring activities for the group to engross in, he swiftly followed your lead.

“yes father, what is it that-” you barely gave kageyama a warning before slipping your forearms under his thighs, entangling the remainder of his limbs around your lower and upper body. you lifted his smaller from with ease, hot breath tickling the shell of his ear as your tone dropped to a deep whisper.

“are you ready to give your body to our savior, tobio?”

“yes father y/n, yes i am.”

that was all the confirmation you needed to proceed with blessing him. abandoning your clothes at the altar of god, you began to strip the boy attached to your body. steadily yanking down his suit pants, your cock already springing to life as his own came into view.

it was insatiably erect, you forbid your son from even being curious when it came to exploring his hormones. you knew one day keeping him fresh, unexposed to lewd activity would come in handy.

and it did, oh god it did.

his body was sensitive to the touch, you were concerned he was going to cum without you even putting a hand near his bulge. much less before the fun started. it was like caressing a rock, he was so stiff, the tip already dribbling a tiny bit of pre by the time you were able to finish your first stroke to the hilt.

after giving a few more measly flicks to the head of his cock; you guided tobio’s naked body towards the bible you had prepped specifically for this occasion. the oak pulpit stood tall amongst the various rows of seats— at the head of the stand was kageyama; exposed, ass out, and face burried deep inside the open book sprawled out for easy reading.

he could barely squeak out the first few passages as your lube coated fingers spread his cheeks and stretched his virgin hole to a worthy size; able to fit your fat cock.

it burned and ached, the agony of your fingers poking around his walls overthrew any noticable pleasure that may have slipped in unnoticed; it was torture. he thought intimacy was supposed to feel good. he should've listened when you told him it wasn't fun, how it was a crime against god and how he'd be severely punished for doing as such until he was proposed to by the right man.

but you were the right man, at least that's what you would tell him. so why was it so discomforting, so harsh? you weren't purposefully harming him were you? the paranoia was getting to him, it was so overwhelming, the thought of the man he adored so dearly causing him pain. hot, salty tears pricked his eyes, lashes catching any access fluid as they could meanwhile the clear streaks dusted his cheeks with red.

his hole was still barely twitching with anticipation, and would be for awhile; throwing your head back, you painfully fed kageyama’s rim your length. every inch that ventured just as deep as the last forced strained hiccups to seethe from behind his teeth. he was unbearably tight, his guts sucked you in while his walls showed heavy resistance— pushing you in and out of your trembling son.

“fucking hell.. dumb bitch, you’re so tight. ease up, i thought you'd serve me better- maybe i was wrong.”

no no, you were wrong, right? he was great, such an obedient little cocksleeve just for you, all for you. all he ever did was to please you; the man who he chased after for years, claiming he wasn't as nice as he predicted? panick only settle into him more, ruthlessly he began bucking his hips to match your unenthusiastic thrusts. attempting to appease you wasn't an easy feat, but he was so utterly devoted to you that the condition of his vessel meant nothing if it meant you were proud of him.

he attempted to slur out a form of quivering tongue with a few biblical quotes shoved in-between. whatever he was reciting wasn't human, infact you couldn't tell if he was fucked out or just anxious. whatever it was, your words had preformed their purpose; you were far too impatient to fully prepare him for the world of sex. forcing him to mature on the other hand seemed to run it's course— he was the one himself impelling himself onto at the end of the day.

your arms snaked around his tiny waist, hoisting his feet up and off the ground. the entirety of his lower half no longer met with the floor, steamy tears teased eyes while the remainder of his efforts worked into engulfing you whole. the stimulation of being carried off the ground just like that was unimaginable; only to have his pussy pounded mercilessly into the wooden podium.

“ack! ah.. mm. daddy, pl- please i can do better! m’promise, don't hold back- i want to feel every inch of you!” so vulgar, you weren't aware of tobio’s filthy mouth.

angling your hips to perfectly kiss his prostate with every shift in your pace, you plowed repeatedly into the spongy skin until he was no longer babbling on about anything coherent. whatever bible quote he was now listing off was lost within euphoria; his hole was loosening up more and more with each thrust you planted deep inside of his stomach.

he know knew how desperately he craved seeing your cum gush right out of his gaping ass. more than anything in the world.

“hah, what a stupid whore, letting your father fill up your belly like this? no wonder you can't do anything but flatter me.”

“m’not a stupid whore, daddy i promise!”

the way his cunt squelched around you told otherwise, you didn’t let up on the insults; constantly bombarding the male with word after word. his trembling thighs and drool stained expression prompted you to continue the vile humiliation.

“oh-ho yes you are, you're lucky i’m even taking the time to fuck you like this. the lord wouldn't dare touch you, so why should i? you're charity work kageyama, nothing but pity.”

giving his plump rear a deathly tight squeeze, you ramped up the vigor in your movements. aching breaths escape your nose as you send forth more shivers down the length of his spine— as much as he wants to keep you satisfied he can only withstand so much. this is his first time being lost within the rapturous waves of an orgasm. religious words still on the tip of his tongue as your name bounces off the empty church hull.

there's a puddle of semen beneath you at his feet, he's cum far too many times for you to count and he's just now; once again fighting for release. his limp, shaking shaft all swollen as it spurts out the umpteenth load that session.

you swiftly follow behind, using the last bit of strength in your twitching thigh muscles— you sent your hips forward, fully submerging your fat cock down his rectum. he yelps almost violently, but he adores it. the way you use up his spent hole. the amusement in his moans fizzle once he finally comes to his senses, realizing there's no cum sliding down his guts and into his tummy. the expected feeling of warm, sticky fluid staining his intestines was the big prize he was looking forward to.

“don’t you remember, your only use is to please me tobio. and you couldn't even do that, that's why you don't get daddy's cum. understand?” a disappointed glare forms on your face, once he's luckily unable to see.

he implores like you've never heard from anyone before, you've had your fair share of sexual favours under the church’s nose. but the dark haired male in particular was one of a kind, he was begging you for your seed like his life was dependant on whether or not you fufilled his lustful desires. he needed your cum, right there, right now.

even attempting to guide your entirely hard cock right back into his enormous asshole, which you allowed. your composure was iron-willed, you knew you could cum on command if need be. giving into his sinful fantasies, you pistoned yourself balls deep once more— your hands moving his hips for him as he pleaded for the sweet release of your fluids.

“please daddy, m’such a good cum dump! i promise, please just cum inside of me. i need it, i’ll do anything! anything!”

anything indeed, you had just the thing in mind. and you were sure tobio wouldn't refute, how could he? there wasn't any other choice, it was your cum or no cum. simple as that.

#𓉔 — m.list #𓉔 — directory.#𓉔 — works.#c; tobio #kageyama tobio x top male reader #kageyama tobio x male reader #tobio kageyama x top male reader #tobio kageyama x male reader #haiykuu x top male reader #haikyuu x male reader #dark haikyuu #haikyuu smut #tobio kageyama

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fizzingwizard · 4 years

Text

Ep 38 is another good one! We are on a roll. I have some thoughts on why and whether I could still end up whining in future episodes again... but for now let’s just enjoy the moment.

We are finally catching up with Yamato (and Jou) who has the sort of episode you’d expect from the brooding lone wolf of the group. I wish they’d pushed it just a liiiittle further than they did and I’ll tell you why below. Still, the point is we learned some things we needed to about Yamato, and with some higher than usual stakes (for a side plot) than usual.

Pic of the day, though, is all about his highness, our lord and savior, JOOOOOOOOO.

You will bow before him, peasant!

More below.

Like I said, the stakes are a bit high this week:

Right off the bat, Gabumon’s been beaten, captured, and tied to a cross...

... where Mephismon (this guy) is apparently planning to kill him in ritual sacrifice.

In other words, this episode is: Yamato and Gabumon Go To Digimon Hell

I mean... Mephismon even looks scary. Very Satanic. Gives me chill, lol. Probably not as scary for kids who didn’t grow up being hit over the head with a Bible every day by evangelicals, though. Sometimes I look back on my childhood and just think “wtf?”

That being said, Mephismon is the sort of lackey you’d expect Millenniumon to have, much more in the vein of Devimon or DarkKnightmon. Aka, pretty darn scary. I was so frustrated for so long by all the small fry Digimon Taichi “struggled” with by himself for no apparent reason - they felt like filler episodes, tbh - filler for a show that has no reason to have filler!

And I STILL do NOT understand why we got WarGreymon’s evolution over a totally forgettable nobody Digimon, but these recent episodes with Koushirou, Mimi, and Yamato have all been serious crises where the characters put everything on the line, and yet nobody evolves. It’s not that I think they HAD to evolve here - I can see they’re leading up to it and since that guarantees more focus on them in the future, I’m totally down for that. What I don’t understand is why Taichi DIDN’T get that. Why play WarGreymon so early? The episode itself did involve Taichi challenging himself, but it all felt so setup. And so unmemorable that it’s just hard to care.

Anyway... I’m ranting about things that didn’t happen in this episode. Rant over xD Back to Yamato.

His desperate play to rescue Gabumon by himself goes as well as you’d expect.

Yamato: I’m too cool for this shit

He is chased by those gas mask-wearing Digimon whose name I forget. But they are conveniently blown back by the gush of a timely geyser. Geyser, you say? That means hot springs must be nearby. If hot springs are nearby...

Jou: Now I know what it feels like to be Team Rocket!

Jou falls out of the sky and right into Yamato’s path. Dressed in nothig but a towel, he looks to Yamato like a scrawny, nerdy, guardian angel.

Yamato: You’ve gotta help me, Clarence. Fly me to the top of the mountain.

Jou: I can’t, I haven’t got my wings.

Yamato: Yeah, you’re about what I’d expect my guardian angel to be like...

So, Jou immediately starts to chatter at Yamato, and it looked to me like Yamato might be getting annoyed. If this were 99 Adventure, he’d had snapped and said something like, “Can’t you see Gabumon’s gone? Aren’t you even going to ask about that or do you only think about yourself?”

But this is 2020 Yamato, and 2020 Digimon Adventure, where the kids are all Very Nice and don’t have much in the way of flaws. That’s my number one complaint about this show so far. So Yamato just waits for the moment where Jou needs to take a breath to break and ask for his help rescuing Gabumon.

(Gomamon reminds Jou to get dressed first, thankfully.)

Up on the mountain peak, Mephismon sacrifices the Data of poor blue!Elecmon to the fragment of Millenniumon he is guarding.

At first I was like, why do Yamato and Jou know about these crystals?? But then they’re like, we heard from Taichi over the digivice. Ah, of course. I kind of miss the old digivices that pre-date smartphones :P

Yamato explains how they ended up in this situation, and I REALLY like this. They came across Mephismon sacrificing innocent Digimon on their journey to reunite with the rest of the team, and it was Gabumon who insisted they had to stay and save them. Gabumon!

So this is not the first time we’ve seen the Digimon partners take initiative this season. The lack of personal flaws and personality clashes are my least favorite part of the reboot, but the increased agency of the Digimon themselves is probably my favorite. When DanDevimon swallowed Taichi, it was Agumon’s pain that caused his warp evolution. Not saying Taichi had nothing to do with it, but the focus was certainly way more on how losing his partner sent Agumon over the edge. Now we’ve got Yamato actually arguing with Yamato because he feels so passionate about rescuing the captured Digimon.

Yamato’s not heartless, of course - he just prioritizes the people closest to him first. And I have no idea if we’ll see much more of this sort of willpower from Gabumon - it’s partly there for convenience, since no one else is around. (Last time, it was Sora who wanted to help others at their own risk and Yamato clashed with her over the same thing.) The other reason is, this is the episode where we find out how Yamato and Gabumon became friends - which is especially important for the guy who gets the Crest of Friendship - so they needed something a bit more meaty than “the proof of our friendship is I follow you wherever you go and do whatever you want.”

But I love it because it really makes them feel like partners.

Of course, Yamato can’t say no in the end, so he and Gabumon go to save the Digimon. But they’re overwhelmed.

The vision of his partner’s bony ass shrinking into the distance as bullets fly overhead will haunt his dreams always ;^;

Yamato: Once a psychic read my palm and said I have an unusually short life line. I guess she was right. But she also said I’d marry Emma Stone and have eight children.

Jou: are you sure she wasn’t just playing a game of MASH?

While Yamato and Jou plan their strategy, we switch back to the rest of the team, where the girls are having tea time.

I know I complain about this every time but WHO DA HECK decided Sora and Mimi should wear the same color scheme look what you did now they both blend into the couch

The boys talk a bit of shop, then Takeru reveals that he and Yamato don’t live together because their parents fight and don’t get to see each other because they both work so much. He doesn’t really come out and say “they’re divorced” but he says he and his brother are separated. Even though Yamato calls Takeru to talk a lot, Takeru still feels sad that there are things he misses since they live so far apart.

Taichi assures Takeru that Yamato will be fine, pointing out that Yamato had already been adventuring in the digital world for an unknown amount of time before Taichi’s group ever got there. Wow, haven’t referenced that in literally ages. I’m glad these things are finally relevant again. Also like how it seems to confirm Taichi still kinda holds special admiration for Yamato. That seemed like the route they were going way back when Yamato joined the group in episode 8, but then it wasn’t touched on till now.

Then we get the long-awaited Yamato & Gabumon origin story! Yamato appears to have arrived in the digital world in a similar way that Taichi did. He looks the same, so probably it wasn’t a huge time difference (in human world time anyway).

At first, Yamato’s like, “leave me alone. I don’t have any interest in the digital world. Where’s the exit?” And Tsunomon says, “Fine, then I will just protect you whether you want me to or not.”

Yamato: Reeeeeally wishing Ikkakumon could fly, lol

Yamato recalls how, despite his chilly behavior, Tsunomon still jumped to his rescue.

(The rescue involved Ikkakumon shooting torpedoes up the mountainside so Yamato can grab them and climb to the top. What I don’t get is why this didn’t draw Mephismon’s attention :P I guess he figured his gas mask lackeys would handle it but uh.)

Past!Yamato rescues Tsunomon, who is so touched that he is able to evolve. Yamato makes an attempt to remain aloof...

... but in the end he turns into Taichi :P

So that’s the origin story! It’s more or less what I figured. Kind of surprised we didn’t get any scenes of them in the digital world proper, since I got the impression Yamato was familiar with that world as well as this plane that seems to be a sort of interface between worlds. But maybe not, who knows.

What they try to do here is set up that Yamato is an aloof type who tries to avoid relationships. But he snaps out of it and warms up to people so fast that it’s hard to really appreciate it. Plus he doesn’t really do much to push them away other than say “leave me alone.” Eh.

Lol it’s funny because he’s strapped to the cross but because his leg fur hangs like that, from behind it looks like he’s just standing there....

Mephismon starts to sacrifice Gabumon!

A power blast of dark energy starts to pulse from the mountain, sending everyone to their knees. Jou thinks fast and hides inside his bag. Nylon is good at blocking out satanic chanting after all.

His eyes fall on... his textbooks! Social studies, chemistry, the periodic table, Japanese history memorization textbook... these useless books! Could they actually be useful?!?!?!

no.

no they couldn’t

Yamato: Ahh! That’s it, I have got to start lifting more.

But wait - Jou gets an idea. There’s something that calms him when he’s stressed and that’s... chanting passages from his rote memorization technique books x’D So he sits down and... it’s basically a throw back to the Bakemon episode in 99. I believe he’s chanting things from the Japanese history book, but as I’ve never been a Japanese kid, I’d have to do more research than I want to to figure out for sure.

He then switches to chanting the numerals of pi! He has pi memorized! x’D I don’t know why that should surprise me. He soon begins to glow with the Zen energy of a cram school trance.

Jou: 3.14159265359... 3.14159265359...

Gas mask Digimon: 3.14159265359.... 3.14159265359...

These bright ripples emanate from Jou, counteracting the evil ripples coming from Mephismon’s mountain. It soon pulls the gas mask Digimon into the trance as well.

Ikkakumon: ... I have no effing idea what is going in this episode on anymore

Jou comes out of the trance to discover the gas mask Digimon ARE NOW HIS OBEDIENT SUBJECTS. WHAT.

(see I told you you’d bow)

seriously what just happened! XD is this Jou’s mutant power

or is this something all Japanese children who survive juku can do as a result of spending so much time memorizing shit

Ikkakumon then is able to shoot a bunch better pathway of torpedoes for Yamato to climb and MEPHISMON STILL DOESN’T NOTICE

Yamato finally makes it to the peak!

Mephismon’s like, “nice try, but what were you planning to do now? You left your friend at the bottom of the mountain and I’ve got your partner. And I doubt you’ve memorized all the numerals of pi.”

He kindly creates an evil burning vortex to increased the hellishness of the landscape. He understands that a Yamato episode needs the proper ambience.

Gabumon’s about to be sacrificed to Digi-Satan lmao

Yamato steps into the pentagram and get shocked. But he presses on despite the difficulty (and the hellfire), thinking about how much his partner means to him.

He drops to his knees while Gabumon begs him to save himself.

Yamato: “You’re my... friend!”

The power of friendship destroys the pentragram and also frees Gabumon from the cross.

The Crest of Friendship glows...

Gabumon is strengthened and becomes... WereGarurumon.

Yeah... seemed like a good time for MetalGarurumon but whatever.

After a cool but brief fight, Mephismon is defeated.

He appears frozen? Can Gabumon freeze stuff? Whatev. Anyway he’s frozen and then disintegrates.

Gabumon is tired but happy. Their bond is now even stronger.

Cute Takeru on Pegasusmon flies down to his brother at last.

And the others wave up to them from Komondomon. Aw. So finally the team is back together! ;__; Please let it last this time, please please please....

Kay so, overall... I liked this episode. The whole “You’re my friend!” bit would have been stronger if we’d seen more of Yamato resisting that though. I don’t really know why but the reboot seems to pull its punches a lot. I really wish they’d let the kids be mean to each other like 99 Adventure did sometimes. Being mean doesn’t mean you’re a bad person and a terrible influence on children watching your show. It just means you are human and your viewers can learn from watching your mistakes and seeing your growth. Try to understand that, showrunners :P

A missed opportunity in this episode: Yamato and Jou. I was excited that they were gonna be together because they often clashed in 99. And in the reboot as well, it was established that Yamato is annoyed by Jou, although he’s much more polite and hadn’t said anything about it till now (just stayed away from wherever Jou was until he fell asleep lol). So I thought, in this ep, we’d see them butt heads and learn to work together, something like that. But aside from the very first moment where Yamato might look a teensy bit annoyed, they just get alone fine. Idk. Not interesting.

In the end, though, the ep was clearly meant to be Yamato only and Jou was just there as a matter of convenience so the whole group would be together at the end. Since the team is finally reunited, I hope we do start to see all of them interacting in different ways that show their personalities more. Might not be the same as 99 (or, I should say definitely won’t be, at this point), but just something more than “look how well we all get along.”

Next week...

Looks to be a light and funny episode. The Burgermon were one of my fav bits of Frontier. But I’m a little nervous about this being a Jou epiosde. It’s his turn, I know, but everyone else got something meaningful. Even Mimi - though there was lots of humor in her episode, she was also major league cool the entire time. Maybe that will be the case with Jou here, but I’m not sure because 2020 Jou is a little different - more scatterbrained, more open, more talkative, less serious, less likely to act sullen... he’s quite different, now that I think about it. So I’m actually having difficulty imagining what his personal test will be in this episode. Guess we’ll have to wait and find out. Maybe it won’t even be that kind of episode anyway.

Also, just a guess, but next week is ep 39. So ep 40 maybe will be the start of something big again. It would be good timing: the team’s together and everyone’s had a chance recently for an episode to themselves...

See y’all next week! As usual didn’t check for typos :P

#fizz watches digimon 2020 #digimon adventure:#digimon adventure 2020 #digimon adventure reboot #digi spoilers #digimon

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radishaur · 4 years

Note

Can we please get a Burn by love a part 2 after Aang defend Ozzie?? Thank you and PLEASE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!

I’m assuming you meant Scars of Love, but yes! Honestly, Scars of Love has turned into probably my favorite work so far. I’m so glad to see so many of you enjoying it and I’m more than happy to write a part two!

If you haven’t read it yet, here is part 1!

•••

Scars of Love (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: Mentions of burns

Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst

Part: 2/2

Summary: See Request

•••

I woke up to the burning pain in his chest. I winced as I cracked my eyes open, taking in my surroundings. I saw light filtering in through the windows and groaned as I forced myself to sit up. I realized very quickly that I was in the infirmary.

My first thought was to find her.

She had been injured in the battle with Azula, jumping in like always to be my savior when I was down. I cursed myself for being weak; for not being strong enough to protect her, like always. I was struggling to get out of bed, legs dangling off the side, when the doors opened.

Standing in the doorway with the brightest smile I had ever seen, was you. My eyes lit up the moment they landed on her.

“Y/N!” I exclaimed.

She rushed over to me and pulled me into a suffocating hug. I wrapped his arms just as tightly around her, ignoring the pain in my chest as I pulled her close. I felt tears prickling at my eyes.

“You’re ok,” I said, voice cracking and giving away my worries.

She pulled back, her own teary eyes meeting his own and nodded. With slightly shaky hands, she signed back to me.

“I’m fine. Just glad that you’re safe.”

I chuckled, letting a few stray tears fall down my cheek as I looked her over. She was wearing a red Fire Nation dress and had half her hair pulled up into a top knot. I also noticed that she wasn’t hiding behind her veil, instead leaving her scar for all to see.

I wondered why that was, briefly, before my thoughts quickly returned to concern.

“Are you hurt?” I asked, visibly looking her over as I held her still by her arms.

She rolled her eyes, but pulled up her shirt to reveal a small bandage that wrapped around her stomach. My stomach churned as I thought about Azula burning her, as if she hadn’t suffered enough at the hands of my family. Suffered for me.

As if she knew exactly what I was thinking, she smacked me upside the head. That caught my attention immediately and she shook her head furiously.

“Stop it,” she signed, leaving no room for arguing, “I’m ok. You’re ok. That’s all that matters.”

I couldn’t help smiling at her. She was my beautiful ray of sunshine, always brightening my day. I took her hand into mine and kissed her knuckles a few times.

“My beautiful princess,” I murmured against her skin.

I looked up as I pressed another kiss to her fingers and saw her smiling down at me, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. I intertwined our fingers, relishing the feeling of her hand in mine.

“I love you so much. Never forget that,” I said, the warm feeling in my chest growing until it was almost too much to bear.

She shook her head before burying herself in my arms again. We stayed like that for a few hours, simply just enjoying each others presence, before she had to go. She came back and visited me every single day of my recovery.

Finally, the day came that I was to be crowned Fire Lord. I was being primped and prepared by about a million servants when she came into the room. I was getting my hair brushed back into my top knot when she came by my side.

“Hello my love. Are you-“

I stopped, finally seeing Y/N in the mirror. She looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing a gorgeous, long red dress that danced around her ankles. She had the sleeves of the dress hemmed to be slightly above her wrists, so that they wouldn’t get in the way of her signing. Her hair was flowing beautifully down her back and, like the past few days, her scar wasn’t hidden behind a veil. But, the most beautiful thing about her was the way she smiled at me, like I was the only person in the universe.

I shooed the servants away, telling them to give me five minutes alone with her. They bowed and left the room, throwing sly smiles over their shoulders and giggling to eachother like school girls. I stood up and cupped Y/N’s face, kissing her forehead and then pulling her into a hug.

“You look beyond beautiful,” I whispered happily, kissing her neck a few times before pulling away.

She was blushing, but still smiling like a mad man.

“I dressed up for your big day. I’m glad you like it,” she signed.

“You always look good, princess. Although...,” I said, debating wether or not to ask.

She frowned slightly, worrying causing her to crease her forehead and sign back, “Is there something wrong?”

“No no!” I assured her quickly, pulling her back into a hug quickly before letting go and saying, “I’ve just noticed that you haven’t been wearing your veil. Why is that?”

She paused, as if thinking of how to put her thoughts into words.

“I used to wear it because I was self conscious. I thought it made me ugly and that people would judge you for being with someone like me. You’re a prince and I’m just a scarred nobody. But then we met our new friends, and they helped me love myself,” she signed, pausing again to press a kiss to my cheek and added, “I want to show you I’m strong enough to be your significant other. In the public eye.”

I couldn’t stop the tears from prickling at my eyes as I pulled her into a hug. I felt so guilty. Everything she had gone through was my fault. I dragged her into my family’s mess and made her feel like a nobody. She was always so worried about me that she sacrificed herself for my wellbeing. I felt my tears sliding down my cheeks and tried my best to keep them from falling on her dress.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry. You’re the strongest person that I’ve ever met. You’re much stronger than I could ever be and you’ve made me into the person I am today. I owe you everything, baby. I’m so sorry I dragged you into my mess. I’m so sorry,” I apologized, my voice cracking with occasional sobs.

She tapped my back three times, the signal to pull away so she could talk. I did, wiping my tears slightly as I did. She was crying too now and I carefully wiped them away with my thumbs.

“Zuko, I love you. I chose to jump in front of you. I chose to come with you. I chose to hide my scar. That’s not your fault. What matters is that I love you and I want the world to know it. Scar and all. I see it as a symbol of the love I hold for you more than as a punishment. I would jump in front of you again and again if it meant I could protect you,” she signed, tears falling once again.

I laughed through my sobs and kissed her face all over. I said I love you in between every single one. I was so lucky to have someone like her love me and I wanted her to know. I wanted to remind her everyday for the rest of my life how much I loved her.

That thought sparked something in me and I paused, pulling away. She was smiling up at me and she was beautiful and I wanted her to be mine. I wanted her to be mine forever.

“Y/N. Would you...Would you like to get married? Today?” I asked.

She seemed surprised for a moment before breaking out into the biggest smile I had ever seen. She nodded her head frantically and I had never felt happier. I kissed her with all the love I had in me. Her lips were warm and soft and everything I had come to know over the past few years.

“I love you, Y/N. I love you so much,” I whispered, pulling back to see her face again.

She cupped my face and smiled. And then, she did something I couldn’t ever have imagined possible: she spoke. It was hoarse, scratchy, and quiet, but it made my heart melt. I didn’t think it was possible for her to speak ever again.

“I love you, Zuko.”

If anyone asks, I would have no shame in saying I cried. I pulled her close to me and cried the happiest tears I had ever cried. I kissed her anywhere I could and I felt her hugging me just as tightly.

“H-How...I didn’t think you could ever talk again,” I managed to ask.

“Well, I can’t really. It’s limited. I’ve been practicing for a really long time to say that,” she signed, blushing slightly before adding, “I’m sorry I can’t say more.”

“Don’t even think that. I love you no matter what. If those are the last words I hear you say out loud that will be enough. You will always be enough,” I said firmly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She smiled the brightest and most genuine smile I had ever seen. I would never get tired of seeing her smile like that. She truly was my whole world.

“Are we really getting married?” she signed, a nervous smile on her face.

“Yes,” I answered before smiling excitedly and saying, “I have something for you.”

I disappeared into my study to root through my drawers. Eventually, I found the box and pulled it out. I came back into the room and handed it to her with a huge smile on my face.

“Open it,” I encouraged her.

Carefully, she took the lid off the box and her eyes widened at the sight. Sitting carefully against the felt was the Fire Lady’s crown. She carefully picked it up and let her fingers dance across the material. She looked up at me and her eyes were practically sparkling.

I informed my advisors of the minor change of plans and watched them hurriedly rush off to make the necessary preparations. Y/N was rushed out of the room to be prepped in proper Fire Nation makeup and hair. It was too late to get a dress that fit her, so we promised to make one after the fact for the portraits and such. For now, her dress would have to do.

Getting crowned Fire Lord was something I had mixed feelings about for a long time, especially recently. Now with Y/N by my side, it didn’t seem as scary. Kneeling down and feeling the crown slip into my top knot and seeing Y/N in her Fire Lady crown was all the reassurance I needed that I would be just fine. The Gaang found us after the immediate coronation and swarmed us with questions and congratulations.

I was talking with Aang when I saw her out of the corner of my eye. She was smiling and signing away with Katara and Toph, Katara translating for Toph, and I couldn’t help but smile. She looked absolutely radiant, scar displayed proudly instead of hidden away, and the crown in her hair. She looked like she was made to be Fire Lady. Like she was made to be my wife.

My wife.

I made eye contact with her from across the room and she smiled at me like I hung the stars. The amount of love she held in her eyes was clear from across the room. I signed I love you to her and blew her a kiss, which she generously sent back.

This was all I could ever want.

#zuko #prince zuko #prince zuko fanfic #prince zuko fanfiction #prince zuko fic #zuko imagine #zuko x reader #fire lord zuko #firelord zuko #firelord zuko x reader #fire lord zuko x reader

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melancholydreadfuldream · 5 years

Text

Cosmic Love Nightmare

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: Whittaker!Master x Reader, 13th Doctor x Reader

Summary: DW AU. You and the Master are definition of bad romance. The Doctor is determined to separate the two of you.

Warning: ooc, use of violence, mention of rape, murder, bad moral, depression, dark!reader, etc

A/N: So, lately, I have been reading plenty fan fiction about Whittaker!Master and Dhawan!Doctor and I love each one of them. I got inspired to write one too.

I’m sorry for the quality of the language as English is not my first language so you will probably get a bit or a lot of headache. So, I’m not sure about this fic, I hope you all enjoy reading it? And if you do like it, please like/comment.

The Hybrid.

A Galiifreyan prophecy that predicted that a hybrid creature of a crossbred from two warrior races would stand over the ruins of Gallifrey and unravel web of time, breaking a billion billion hearts to heal its own.

“Hybrid bla bla bla...” The Master said with a mocking tone as she rolled her eyes.

I frowned. “And...what? The other Time Lords think that hybrid thing is us?”

The Master shrugged her shoulder. “Look around.” She said. “Here we are standing in a ruin of a planet.”

We stood on top of a cliff with the best view of the ruination.

“Not Gallifrey though.” I said with a shrug. “This is just a general chaos.”

She smiled as she come closer to me and whispered, “Only you would call the ruin of planet a general chaos.”

I shrugged. “If we didn’t do it, someone else would.” I said with a careless tone. “I’m not the only one who called it general chaos. You did it too.”

The Master grinned and did a dramatic twirling. “I know. Let’s call ourselves team Hybrid from now on.” She said.

As if on cue, they could hear a distant echo of groaning Tardis of the Doctor.

I sighed. “And here come team Tardis.”

The Master sighed dramatically just as a man walked toward us followed by his three companions. “Oh, Doctor, have you come to join the party?”

“Stop it. Both of you, stop this nonsense right now!” The Doctor yelled in fury.

“But where is the fun in that?” The Master said with adorable pout.

I watched the interaction between those two. Apparently, they have been dancing around like this since forever with the everlasting theme of savior-villain. I let them have their moment and then turned away to watch with fascination the fiery ruin before me.

“How could you stand with her, (name)?” Yaz suddenly called out to me.

I rolled my eyes. I have no interest in defending myself to a bunch of goodie-good. I shushed her much to her dismay. But she didn’t get the hint and stepped forward toward me, demanding my attention. What a foolish bitch. The only reason she still standing is because I’m currently in a good mood and also the Master told me not to harm the Doctor’s companion directly. She warned me that the Doctor is a goodie-good but he is also dangerous when it come to the protection of his companion.

“Don’t come any closer. I won’t be held responsible for hurting you if you are within distance for me to break your...” I looked her up and down with disdain. “...well, everything...” I said with a fake sweet smile.

Yaz still opened her mouth to blabber but thankfully, Ryan and Graham pulled her away from me immediately. They knew I am a mutant, that I am very strong, I could break their bones without breaking a sweat. They also knew that I am a killer and a monster. Who else would join the Master in her quest for chaos?

I sighed. I got bored already. “Master, can we just go? This is getting boring...”

The Master and the Doctor stopped their banter and glanced at me.

The Master gave me a fond smile before stepped forward toward me but was stopped when the Doctor gripped her wrist.

“Master, please...” The Doctor begged. “The way you are going right now...Gallifrey will come for you and her...”

“Doctor, are you worried for us or are you worried me and (name) will destroy your precious Gallifrey, Mr President, dear?” The Master pulled her wrist out of his hold and mockingly took a bow at him.

The Doctor groaned in frustration.

The Master grinned mischievously as she walked backward and then turned around to face me. She pulled me to her and kissed me hard.

I smiled into the kiss. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the companion of the Doctor making a disgusted face at the sight of us kissing.

“Come on then, my dear, our work here is done.” She said.

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor suddenly said.

We ignored him as we walked away from them. I was about to put on coordinates on my vortex manipulator that would get us back to the Master’s Tardis but stopped when the next thing he said gave me chill.

“But I can’t let you two be together any longer.” The Doctor said.

I turned around and growled at him for the threat on us.

The Master stopped me and turned to glare at the Doctor. “And how are you going to stop us?”

Yaz suddenly grabbed me and put some bracelet on my wrist. I didn’t expect that so I have no way to stop it. She is quick to release me and took a few steps away from me before I could attack her.

“Master!” I yelled when I realized I couldn’t get the bracelet off me.

The Master turned to look at me and at the bracelet just as the Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver toward me, activating the bracelet. Her eyes widened as she realized something. “Nooo!” she yelled as she tried to reach me but before she could, I vanished in a blip.

The Master fell into the ground in shock then she turned to look at the Doctor. “What have you done, Doctor? Where did you send her?”

The Doctor actually looked almost sorry but he was calm. “(name) is safe. I just send her faraway from here, to a place not of this universe, where you can never reach out...”

The Master stood as she glared at him. “Oh, you just watch me, Doctor.” Her eyes blazed in fury.

7777

I fell into the ground and immediately puke. Cold sweat covered my face. I blinked my eyes and tried to focus on the surrounding.

I was in a park on Earth...I think? But something is wrong. The sky...the color is a bit off and the oxygen here just not the same as I used to. The Master once told me in passing about alternate universes where some things were different and others remained the same. I dreaded the thought that damn Doctor actually would go this far in order to separate me from the Master.

The Master. My heart felt like it was about to shatter. I was hoping to hear her voice right about now. But I realized I was alone. I glanced at the cursed bracelet on my wrist. To my surprise, the bracelet fell off my wrist easily this time as if it knew it already finished its purpose. I growled angrily. I begrudgingly picked up the offending item, hoping to figure out a way back using it. But I am not a genius like the Time Lords, hell, not even a human genius. I am just me, a mutant, and a result of human experimentation gone wrong.

I fingered the vortex manipulator on my other wrist and to my great frustration, it was broken. Not that the vortex manipulator would be much use, it can’t be used to travel to another alternate universe.

I prayed I was wrong, that I wasn’t in some alternate universe. My hope got smashed when I confirmed my worst fear as I pick up the newspaper from the nearby seller.

I made a vow though that I would do everything in my power to return my beloved, the Master. I have to find some calibre genius to use to figure out this dilemma. I wonder if I should track down the version of the Master in this world but decided against it until further investigation.

“Just you wait, Master, nothing can separate us...” I whispered.

Six months later...

Six painful months later, I was still stuck in this alternate earth. I have to work to support myself. I worked in a diner somewhere in New York. I went my daily life with annoyance. It was a miracle I could restrain myself from killing half the idiot people here.

I lay on my dirty bed inside my small and dirty rent room. I raised the vortex manipulator, hoping it would stop being broken already and let me use it to travel off the earth. I growled as I shake the damn thing really hard. To my surprise, it started to make a bleeping sound.

I moved into a seating position and observed the vortex manipulator. “No way, it works!” I said with a disbelief laugh.

7777

Thank God, the vortex manipulator works otherwise I would have loss my sanity and started killing people just for breathing wrong near my vicinity.

So, what is the first thing I do? I track down a version of myself in this universe. Apparently, the thing that remained the same is the other me being caught and experimented on by the Division.

Division is an organization who worked outside the law and consists of both alien and human. Their main purpose is to monitor the happening within the universe and sell the information to those who is willing to pay a high price. They are not the good guys, obviously. Their purpose is to create a world that fit their agenda, so, depending on the current agenda; they might step in as the saviour of the people or become the instigator of chaos.

Their purpose at the time they caught me back in my universe is to create super soldier with the intention to sell them to the highest bidder.

I was an orphan after I lost my parents in accident. I was nobody, no family, so they thought even if I was missing, no one would truly care. I was taken to be used as an experiment. Luckily, if you can call it that; I was one of the successful experiments. I got super strength. I broke through the restrain in my fit of anger and attacked every last one of my tormentors with my bare hands.

I was covered in blood from head to toes after I finished with my slaughters. That’s when the Master came into view. She took me in after that, she took care of me and she helped me understand my power and to use it to do the most damage. I love every second of it.

Of course, at first, I didn’t trust the Master. I almost kill her that first time but something she said made me let her go and it helped that my rage already subsided by then, enough for me to see reason. I demanded to be left alone and she did for the most part. She gained my trust after she saved me when I was taken by surprise and ambushed by Division’s soldiers.

She saved me even though I almost strangle her to death the first time we met. She reasoned with me that she is on my side. She gave me my space albeit with a lot of mocking on her part. Once I let her in, she showed me everything, taught me everything I need to know to survive and to fight back. I knew she is not on a side of good, she told me so, but thanks to her, I craved for chaos as she did after she show me the joy of ruining lives. They have ruined mine so why shouldn’t I ruin others too?

The Doctor found me and wanted to take me in his care. The Master allowed him to take me just so we could play a nasty game with him and his companion. That’s how I knew the Doctor and his stupid fam. Apparently, I passed the test from the Master regarding whether I would be influenced by the goodness of the Doctor.

The Doctor warned me that the Master is only using me, that she didn't really care about me. But he didn't know us. I have enough confident after the time we spent together to believe that the Master did care for me. I didn't know if she loves me but I didn't mind it for now. I love how she kissed me hard and flirted with me. She made me happy and that's what matters.

Anyway, back at present time, the base where the other me is imprisoned, located in the same place as my past so, sneaking my way into the base is quite easy. I disguised myself and I located the other me, she was restrained and looked absolutely pathetic. Do I want to rescue her? But I would like to know if she is truly the same as me? Will she gain super strength too?

I thought about the Master and wonder what I should do. I think she would want me to mess the version of the Doctor here. So I made a plan to get the Doctor here and rescue the other me and the others. The Master taught me how to cheat with psychic paper. I was able to send SOS signal toward what I hopefully into the Doctor’s psychic paper. Now I only have to wait for the goodie-good team to arrive.

7777

I was floored when I saw the version of the Doctor here. I recognized her companion, the annoying fam I remembered back in my universe. But the Doctor...she has my beloved’s face, she has the Master’s face! How is that even possible? I confirmed her identity when I heard Yaz called her the Doctor. Ugh, I’m going to barf. And what kind of clothes she is wearing? Glad to know every version of the Doctor in universe apparently have bad taste in fashion. Seriously. My beloved Master dressed better than her!

Wait, if she is the Doctor, then the man who is called the Doctor back in my universe would be...the Master over here? Ugh, what kind of twisted world is this?!

As predicted, once team Tardis found out about the human experiment going on inside the base, they set their goodie-good shoes to set them free. The Doctor even gave whoever in charge of the base a firm oncoming storm talk.

I watched in secret as the Doctor interacts with the other me. The other me looked very grateful to be rescued. The Doctor took all patients to the best hospital in galaxy. They even stick around for a while to observe the damage on the patients.

That’s when I made my way to the room where the other me currently lying in bed peacefully. She woke up when she noticed someone in the room and her eyes widened in shock when she saw me.

I grinned viciously. “Hello, me.” I said as I pulled the machinery that monitor her heartbeat off. It wouldn’t do to alert the others that I was here.

“What?”

“Goodbye, me.” I said flatly as I grabbed a pillow and pushed it to cover her entire face rendering her unable to breathe. Easily, I removed her body and dumped it somewhere where no one would find for a long while. I took her place and get into the bed and put the machinery back on me.

Not long after, a nurse came in for my check-up and to draw some blood. The result of that blood test would surely get the Doctor to come and see me. The Doctor can’t resist mystery so she will definitely want to talk to me.

Mission to infiltrate the Doctor’s inner circle is now commencing.

7777

All I have to do next is put on doe eyes and pretend to be surprise to suddenly have super strength and faked a mini freak-out. I purposely broke everything in sight in my total panic and acted as if I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t hard to do. I smiled as I remembered my past. I once got amnesiac and forgot about my power and did exactly that, breaking stuff without meaning too. The Master told me I was very adorable and very damsel in distress-like. But she was glad when I finally got my memory back because she can't stand that version of me who was stupidly innocent.

So, now I just have to pretend I didn’t know my own strength. As predicted, the Doctor invited me to travel with her on board of the Tardis. She said she will help me understand my power and if there is a way to cure it off me in case I didn’t want the power. I got a bio damper on my person to hide the void stuff that the Master once told me someone who have crossed on alternate universe will have. I can't allow the Doctor to find out that I was not of this universe.

Yaz, Ryan and Graham are very welcoming and friendly. They kept sending me a look of pity every time I told them about the torture that the Division put me through. Since it really did happened to me, I didn't have to fake the emotion regarding it.

The Doctor, though, seemed very upset. I could see the dark look passed her expression for a few seconds and on that few seconds; I almost thought she is my beloved. The Master once told me about the Doctor's dark side and should he ever give in, he will be the cruelest villain in the whole universe. I must admit I'm curious about the Doctor's dark side but on this version of the Doctor, the one who has my beloved's face.

The Master, I wonder how she is doing back in our universe. Did she still trying to get me back? She has to, right? She has yet to grow bored of me. I'm the best companion she could ever have. My heart aches for her. Seeing this version of the Doctor certainly didn't help.

Sometimes I want to kiss the Doctor whenever she is being adorable, then next thing I know, I just want to punch her and claw her stupid face whenever she is being too sunshiny for me. Why did she has to have the Master's face?

She made my life difficult because sometimes I could have believe she is a better version of the Master, one that might be capable to love me properly. But I know better. I am a monster and the only one who could ever love someone like me would only be someone who is as mess up in the head as me, like the Master, one could hope. Even then, I still don't know what exactly I am to her. We were not exactly traditional couple. The circumstance of our meeting is shaky at best.

I clawed at my arms till I drew blood at the thought I almost got swayed by the goodness that is the Doctor. If the Master knew, she would be disgusted with me.

7777

We went to a random planet on the Doctor's whim. Next thing I knew, the fam and me were taken hostage by the royal family in order to ensure the Doctor's cooperation. I was ecstatic to see the oncoming storm in action. I was planning to let thing unfold to see what is going to happen.

And then this royal bastard has to go be an ass-hat. He went after Yaz for being mouthy. Stupid bitch. He tried to rape her. And he was going to do it in front of us too. I snapped, enough said. I must have black out for a bit because I woke up drenched in blood in a corridor littered with mangled corpses. And the companions were understandably decided to keep their distance from me. They were afraid of me.

Well, this is suck. I hated it when my fit of rage turned me into a basic hulk. I have no control. It was a miracle that the Doctor's companions survive unharmed during my raging period. This kind of ruined my plan to stay the innocent companion for a while. Will the Doctor kick me out of the Tardis now that I did this? Surely, she would want to keep her companion safe from me. But I have to stay with the Doctor until I could figure out to use her to get back to the Master. What do I do now?

I must still in haze from the blood lust that I didn't realize the Doctor has bent her knees in front of me, uncaring that her clothes will be littered in blood. She was fussing over me. She pulled her sonic screwdriver to scan me. She look relieved upon realizing I was unharmed and that relief immediately turned to horror when she realized what exactly I have done. The companion steered clear of me. They cautioned the Doctor to do the same. But the Doctor ignored them and gently shaking me out of my stupor.

She thought I was in shock and I played along. I was mostly pissed at my out of control rage. And then, I remembered when I have that royal ass-hat's neck gripped tight within my hand, I saw the Master, or at least, a hallucination of sort.

"I love it when you are feeling murderous, dear." She said with a wink. "Go ahead, you know you want to. Make it bloody. Make him suffer. I knew you always had a weakness for these types of bad guys..."

She was right. I would kill indiscriminately if I have to and if she asked me to. But rapists and torturers pissed me off greatly, the Master said I suffered traumatic experience with that sort of thing, which make me lose my shit whenever I come across those types. I honestly didn't quite remember the trauma though. I took very great pleasure in torturing and killing them. The man was begging me to release him but I ignored him. I would rather listen to my beloved.

"Though, I'm kind of worry that you are beginning to be a softie, dear. Staying with the Doctor would do that to you. Are you now good, my dear?"

I growled at that.

"Was it because she has my face? Did she make you want to be a good girl?" She asked teasingly.

I tightened my grip on the man's neck.

"Prove it then. Kill him. Kill his royal family and his soldiers. Make it bloody rain, dear." The Master grinned as she urged me to surrender to my blood lust. "Show me a bad girl."

I could distinctly hear the companion saying something to me but I ignored them. I lost my shit afterward.

7777

The Doctor covered up my crime. I would have thought the goodie-good would surrender me to authority. She said she forgives me. She knew I didn't mean to do it. Yaz did say I did it to save her from being raped...somewhat. Even though she can't explain why I lost my shit and gone on a killing spree.

I faked a panic attack and asked to be left alone after I cleaned myself off all the blood. I even cried telling them that I was a monster and I deserved to die and sobbing stuff like that. As predicted, the Doctor and companion tried to calm me down and reassured me that I am a good person at heart. I almost snorted at that. Almost. I purposely being dramatic and said I have to leave the Tardis now. The Doctor won't let me go though. I think she wanted to keep an eye on me. Ugh, now I have to be extra careful around her. I hope I could get back to my universe soon. This universe is suck and I miss the Master so much.

In the end, all ended well, I remained on board of the Tardis. Though, the dynamic is changed now that they were wary of me. It was like they were waiting for me to lose my sanity again and go on a random killing spree. But I remained angelic for display. I acted with hesitation and wary of leaving the safety of the Tardis. The Doctor promised me she would keep an eye on me and made sure I will be okay for the duration of our next adventure.

7777

I purposely put myself in danger in order to rescue the Doctor during one of our routine adventure. I did it to establish reputation within the Doctor's circle that I could be redeemed or whatever. At least, that is what I said to convince myself. It was her face, my beloved’s face that made me want to save her. For a second, I forgot that she was not the Master and I didn't want her to get hurt so, I jumped into a line of fire to save her. That is what happened. No more.

The Doctor kept giving me a look I can't decipher, once I was on board of the Tardis, resting in the med-bay, after she treated my injuries. She was upset that I risk my life for her; that I could tell. Well, that won't happen again, pal, don't worry!!

7777

Oh, this is bullshit. Of all the thing that could happen to me, I had to get ambushed by the Division. They somehow heard that the experiment on 'me' was successful and now they wanted to capture me for their own gain. But they were prepared. They slapped a cuff that somehow damper my ability. I was helpless and under their mercy much to my annoyance.

And then I saw her. Sonya. I knew her back in my universe. During captivity, we became friend. But, she was one of the failure subjects and she got disposed as a result. But, this Sonya...she has power. She can control mind and bitch is trying to control my mind. Well, shit! Apparently, the Division has got to her earlier in this universe and she has become their lap dog. I saw the collar she wears though. I recognized the collar back in my universe. It has a calming effect and a bomb encased within to ensure the subjects' cooperation. They put one on me here too. Double shit!

The Doctor and companion have no idea who captured me but I have faith that the Doctor will figure it out. She is smart, isn't she? She will know and hopefully come to my rescue soon before they turn me into mindless pet of the Division.

Back in my universe, the Master made it a point to invade my mind once I deemed her okay. She said she wanted to make sure I would be ready in case someone or heck, maybe even the Doctor, tried to get inside my mind to make me agreeable to whoever. She taught me to put a block on my mind. I was very grateful for her lessons now. Sonya is hilariously frustrated because she can't remove the block in my mind. But, I could tell she is very powerful. It would only be a matter of time before she breaks into my mind. I can't afford that. She could outed my true identity. If only I have my power, I would have snapped her neck in an instant.

It finally happened. She broke through the block. I immediately pushed my memory of being friend with the Sonya of my universe. Sonya look confused. I showed her my devastation when the Division took my Sonya away. I showed her the experiments on me and how I lost my control and killed most of Division's people on the base back then.

"You...are not (name)." She said. "What happened to the real (name)?"

I showed her my memory of killing the other me.

She stared at me as if I was crazy. "Why would you do that?"

I pictured the face of the Doctor and my intention with her. "I want to go home..." I finally whispered.

'You...are really not from this universe?' She asked telepathically.

I nodded and I said some stuff to her from within my mind so that no one can hear. 'But you can't tell anyone...' I begged. 'Please help me. Don't let Division control us.'

Sonya didn't reply for a few seconds.

'That collar contain bomb, you know, they lied to you. It does have calming effect but it was also a tracker and a bomb. They can't afford of losing their asset and if the assets become useless or a loose end, they will detonate the bomb.' I explained.

'Do you know how to get the collar off?'

'I know of a way, yeah, but we need a sonic screwdriver. You need to contact the Doctor and tell them where we are.'

'The Doctor?'

'She can help us. She will be able to receive your telepathic message too.' I said. 'Do it if you want your freedom, Sonya.'

Sonya left without a word. I hope what I said convinced her or I have no choice but to serve as the Division's pet. Ugh, I would rather die. I tried to carefully mask my thought of killing Sonya deep down. If she knew, she would not want to help me.

7777

Alarm within the base suddenly blared loudly. I sighed in relief. I hope that would be the Doctor coming for me. Shortly after, the Doctor came inside the room where I was restrained. She let me go and I expressed my most sincere gratitude.

"Thank you." I whispered weakly. "Thank you for coming back for me."

The Doctor gave me a sweet smile as she sonic the collar offs me. But I noticed she hesitated for a brief moment to sonic the damn cuff off me. Thank God, she did. "I got your message from Sonya. Nice girl."

"Where is she?"

"She is controlling the Division men to leave us alone." The Doctor said. "I really need to do something about this Division."

But, the Division is like that villain organization from those superheroes movies, hydra something, cut off one head and another grow, like worm or whatever? At least, back in my universe, when I hunted them, they just seemed to come back again one way of another. Even with the help of the Master, I still can't completely get rid of the Division. It would probably be the same over here.

"So, you already freed her from the collar? I'm glad I was right about you coming back to rescue us." I said with the most angelic look I can muster.

"Of course, I would. I would never abandon my companion." she said with cheerful tone.

"Is that what I am? Companion? Not a charity case?" I asked.

The Doctor glanced at me with an expression I can't comprehend. "I would like to think we are friend now, (name)."

Shit. That face... My heart just skipped a beat and I didn't like it one bit. I can't be catching feeling for her. I think I will barf.

7777

The Doctor took us to a carnival in some planet for holiday. I managed to purposely lose them. I pulled my vortex manipulator intending to take care of the loose end called Sonya.

But, she knew I was coming for her and she warned me not to cross her. What a bitch. She did promise to keep my secret. I warned her back that if she broke the promise, I would come for her and torture the hell out of her.

"You saw within my head. You know what I am capable of." I said.

Sonya nodded. "And you better not come back for me again later. Or I will take control of your mind and make you my puppet." she said.

So, I left her and returned to the carnival. I found the Doctor and companion immediately and apologized for making them worry.

The Doctor pulled me close to her and showed me one of the attractions that caught her attention. She asked me to play with her and so I did. Some people in the carnival thought we are a couple on a date.

7777

The next time team Tardis got into the usual trouble, it was the Doctor who stepped in and pulled me out of harm way to the point that she was the one who got hurt. I was pissed at the random villain of the weeks and I kind of lost my shit, wanted to go after him. I didn't see his minion drew their weapon toward me but the Doctor did and the goodie-good actually jumped and pushed me out of the way.

What the hell, Doctor? What the hell is wrong with you?? I was pissed at her and worried for her. That last one is new. But I calmed myself down by telling myself she would do the same for the other companion. But, her face, I hate to see her in pain. I kept telling myself it was because she looks like the Master; not because I care for her. The Doctor was okay, though, thankfully.

I suddenly was feeling angry at myself. Did I actually worry for the Doctor? She might have the Master's face but she is NOT the Master, dammit! Get a grip, Me!

I have to kill someone, right now, preferably, one of the good guys. Better yet, I thought I should leave the Tardis for the time being or maybe forever. The Doctor is no help anyway in figuring a way of home. Though, that was partly my fault because I didn't exactly tell her what I need from her, did I? Shit. Shit.

Perhaps I should try locating the version of the Master in this universe as much as it would make want to puke to ask the face of the Doctor back in my universe. But, with the Master, there is no guarantee he will want to help.

I growled angrily. "This is bullshit!!!" I raged at the world. "Fuck you, Doctor! Fuck you!!" I cursed the Doctor back in my universe. I hope the Master made him pay greatly for what he did to us.

7777

I left the Tardis. Pretty sure, the companions were relieved that I decided to go, especially Yaz. I was not blind; I knew she has feeling for the Doctor. And, I knew the Doctor also care for her a great deal. Given time, I think they would end up together. I also get that feeling with the Doctor and Yaz back in my universe is the same. Some things were meant to be. Did that mean I robbed the Master of this universe his (name)? Ugh, just no! The other (name) is better off dead.

The Doctor tried to stop me but I asked her to respect my decision. I spouted bullshit about wanting to find myself. She was reluctant to drop me off but eventually relents.

So, I left and I decided to take a break from the world for a while. Then I found her, my mother, I meant, the other (name)’s mother. It was purely coincidence to meet her. But I recognized her from the picture I used to keep back in the Master’s tardis. How can she be alive here? If she is alive, the other me actually still got a family, so, why was she captured by the Division?

I eventually found out that the other (name) ran away from home. Her mother was so happy to see me. She hugged me in tears. I was shocked. I let her took me home.

I missed my mother. I suddenly felt guilty for killing the other (name). I couldn’t tell her that I wasn’t her daughter. I was weak with nostalgic emotion and all I wanted right now is to be a daughter. So I did exactly that.

7777

I was happy for a while with my mother until the Division came again for me. This time, they knew the truth that I was not the real (name). They found her body and they were very curious about who I really am.

During the confrontation, my mother was taken hostage and eventually got killed. And the rest is…you can guess. I lost my shit again and went on a killing spree. I was lucky to get a move before they could slap that power-dampening cuff on me.

I was in pain. The grief of losing my mother, she wasn’t even my real mother, but it still hurts so badly. So, I did the only thing I could do to lessen the pain, I went hunting for Division and I tear every member of the cursed Division limb to limb. I let the monster out and I didn’t care.

Like I said before, this version of Division is pretty much the same as back in my universe which mean I knew most of their secret bases. I didn’t always use my bare hands. I used weapon and bomb to lure and destroy them. The Master would be proud of me. The Doctor would frown and be disappointed but who care about her opinion?

I went to one base and another. Pretty sure, the Doctor would eventually caught wind of what I have been doing and knowing her, she would try to capture and reason with me. Just like the Doctor in my universe once did to me. I didn’t care though. Let her come. But I won’t be letting her capture me. I have an exit strategy, one that I hate to use but I will if I have to. Lately, I felt like giving up altogether. I felt like I could never come home to the Master. I lose hope. What if the Master also given up on me? Why else she still not here to get me?

To my surprise though, it was Sonya who appeared before me. She was sorry for my loss but she begged me to stop killing.

“Get out of the way, Sonya! Do not make an enemy of me!” I yelled.

“If you won’t listen to me, maybe you will listen to her.” She said with a sigh.

I frowned before realizing that it was a trap as I turned around, the Doctor was already behind me and she was quick to put that damn power-dampening cuff on my wrist.

I screamed in rage as I attacked her. But I was no longer strong. She easily captured both of my wrists and tried to have me calm down. But I wouldn’t listen. I started sobbing and crying in her arms. Before I knew it, she put her hands over my forehead and I fell into a deep sleep.

7777

The next time I was awake, I was in a glass prison. Predictable. I was angry as I raged within my prison. I knew I was not on Tardis, the Doctor probably didn’t want me to endanger her precious companions. This is somewhere I don’t know. But the security of the prison is of high quality. I can’t believe it. The Doctor actually put me in a private prison, not a galaxy one that I can be thankful of, but still a prison is a prison. I hated this.

The Doctor and Sonya eventually came to visit me.

The Doctor glanced at me in sorrow.

I observed her and then turned to Sonya. “You broke your promise.”

Sonya shrugged. “I have to. You are making scenes with your reckless killing.”

“When I get out of here, I’m going to enjoy torturing the hell out of you, bitch.” I said with a cold smile.

The Doctor stepped in front of Sonya and pleaded with me. “What happen to you, (name)? This isn’t you.”

“Really? And how do you know that this isn’t me, Doctor?” I asked mockingly. “If Sonya here has told you the truth, then you know everything you think you know about me is a lie.”

“But you saved me. You saved my friends. We saved each other.”

I scoffed. “It was just part of my elaborate ruse.”

The Doctor looked like she want to argue but she didn’t. She scrutinized me with her sad eyes. Finally, she asked, “Why did you kill the Division men?”

I shrugged. “They killed my mother.”

“Don’t you mean the other (name)’s mother? Who are you, really? Sonya said that you are from an alternate universe. How did you get here?” The Doctor asked, no, demanded. “Why would you kill the other you?”

I smiled viciously. “How else would I be able to get your attention, Doctor? I need to be with you in the Tardis.”

“Why?”

“I want to go home.” I finally said. “I thought if I stay with you, I would eventually figure out the way home.”

“Why didn’t you come to me and ask for my help honestly?” She asked. “Why use the elaborate ruse to gain my trust?”

I sighed. “I suppose I thought it would make her proud.”

“Who?”

“The Master.”

“You know the Master back in your original universe?”

I smiled evilly. “Jealous?”

The Doctor scoffed. “You kept bad company.”

“Well, ours is always a bad romance.”

“You? And the Master?” she asked in disbelief.

“Why so surprised? Who else would love a monster but a fellow monster?”

“You are not a monster, (name).”

“You are still deluding yourself, Doctor. The (name) you think you know never existed.”

The Doctor is visibly upset with herself and me. “How did you get here?”

“I never wanted to be here. It was you, the other you, who did this to me! He felt threatened by the Master and me, so, instead of killing me, he sent me far away from my beloved.”

“You want to go back home to the Master.” The Doctor said, finally understanding my motive.

“She can’t be allowed to come back to the Master.” Sonya suddenly said.

I glared at her. “Shut your mouth, bitch!”

“I saw her mind. The word ‘hybrid’ came to mind.” Sonya turned to face the Doctor. “…something about a crossbred of warrior races that will stand in the ruins of…”

The Doctor’s eyes widened as she turned to look at me again. “You and the Master…are the hybrid? Did you two destroy Gallifrey?”

I rolled my eyes. “Gallifrey still stands, at least the last time I heard about it.” I said.

“The Doctor, in your original universe, he believed that you and the Master are the hybrid.”

“Not only him; the Time Lords seemed to think so, at least that was the Master said to me. They kept trying to kill us. We haven’t even step one foot within Gallifrey and already they condemn us. Time Jackass.”

The Doctor frowned at me. “Sonya is right. I can’t let you go back to the Master.”

My jaw dropped at what she said. “Doctor, don’t you dare…”

She glanced at me in sorrow. “I’m sorry, (name).”

“So what? You are going to keep me here? Like a freaking pet?�� I yelled as I hit on the glass wall in front of me in my anger.

The Doctor sighed. “I will cure you, (name). That power of yours, I study the project, you are always angry because of the power within your veins. I am going to help you.”

“I don’t need your help. If you think you can experiment on me again, think again!” I yelled. “You think I wasn’t prepared for this eventuality?!”

“Oh, I know what you did. I removed that bomb you planted inside your body. I won’t allow you to hurt yourself.” The Doctor said calmly.

My eyes widened in panic when I realized my exit strategy is basically taken away from me. “No. NOO.”

7777

I didn’t know how long I was in the prison. It felt like months. It has been a while since the Doctor’s last visit. Sonya is within the prison as some sort of warden. She saw my mind and she knew I have been thinking various way of killing her once I got out. But she was confident that I wouldn’t get out.

With times, I did lose my hope of getting out. I can’t even kill myself. The Doctor has taken that choice away from me. People always do that to me, except, the Master. But she is not here. Why isn’t she here???

I got depressed.

7777

“Hi, honey, I’m home.”

My mouth hangs open as I saw the Master, my Master, right in front of me.

The Master winked at me. “Step back; let me get you out of this horrid place.”

I followed her instruction and took a step back away from the glass wall.

Once the glass wall shattered, I walked forward and stared at her, still not believing my eyes.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” The Master asked impatiently.

I slowly smiled as I jumped out and hugged her. “Where were you?!”

“Ugh, you smelled.”

“Oh, nice, ruin the moment, why don’t you?” I said in annoyance.

It was then I noticed she wasn’t alone. Yaz is there but she looks like she is in daze. The Master must have used mind control on her.

“Is that…?” I asked as I glanced at the Master.

“She is the Yaz of this universe. I found you through her. Her Doctor dropped her on earth for a break. She thought I am the Doctor.” The Master explained. “Speaking of, I can’t believe that the other me is actually the Doctor. What’s up with that?” She scrunched her nose in disgust.

I laughed. “Exactly what I thought the first time I saw her.”

The Master grinned at me. “I heard you have been a very naughty girl. Tricking the Doctor into making you a companion…but you got caught. What happened?”

I frowned and grinned slowly. “Did you happen to meet a Sonya on the way here?”

“The telepath. She tried to use mind control on me. But I turned the table on her.”

“Of course you did.” I said as I glanced at her with fondness. I raised my wrist in front of her. “Do you mind?”

The Master smirked. “Say please.”

I rolled my eyes. “Pretty please.” I said deadpanned.

She grinned and used her version of sonic cane to disable the cuff off my wrist.

I smiled. “Thank you, love.”

Sonya was screaming non-stop as I kept my promise to torture her. The Master is dancing in the middle of room, waving her cane around, dancing to the telepath’s scream.

I knew she is sending psychic message for the Doctor to help her. But I won’t let the Doctor rescued her so I snapped her neck immediately. I know the Doctor will be coming anyway…for Yaz. I glanced at Yaz who finally regained her bearing and was staring at me and the Master in fear.

“How could you do this, (name)?” Yaz asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Why wouldn’t I do this? The Doctor and Sonya trapped me in a prison.”

“They just wanted to help you.”

“I don’t need their help.”

“Obviously you do.”

“You really need to shut up, Yaz, don’t make me want to kill you.”

Yaz visibly paled and she, thankfully, shut her mouth.

“The Doctor is on her way here. Should we leave?” I asked as I turned toward the Master.

“Why? I would like to meet the other me, the one you have been chummy with.” The Master replied.

I rolled my eyes. “You can’t seriously be jealous. She was annoying as hell, you would hate her. I hate her.”

“Then, we should torture her together.” The Master said with an evil grin. “What should we do to her Yaz?”

I shrugged. “Are you sure? You said the Doctor is…”

“I know what I said about him and I don’t care. The Doctor here will pay the price as the other Doctor did for what they did to you.”

I was touched that she actually was mad on my behalf. “What did you do to the other Doctor? I hope you give that bastard hell.”

“Oh, I trapped his Yaz on the same mirror he used to trap one of his enemies, a family of blood? Whatever. He went inside the mirror to fetch his pet so I shattered it. It would take him a while to figure out a way out. Best case scenario would be making him watch his Yaz grew old inside that mirror while he remained trapped and immortal. He always hated ending and now he will be forced to face an ending.”

I frowned. “Wish you would throw him into the void…” I muttered. “He has the tendency to come back.”

“Don’t worry, my dear, we will deal with him once we return to our universe.” The Master promised with a feral grin. “And then we will fulfill the hybrid prophecy…” She pulled me to her and kissed me hard.

I honestly didn’t care about the prophecy. I was just happy to be back by her side.

The Doctor’s Tardis materialized on the room. She stepped out of the door and was taken aback to see her own doppelganger was kissing me.

The Master stopped the kiss and turned to greet the Doctor. She grinned at her. “Hello, Doctor. I heard you have been treating my companion very poorly.”

The Doctor turned to look at me. Her eyes widened. “I…she is the Master?”

I smiled a chilling smile. “Now you know…”

The Doctor’s face looked very pale.

Of course, the Master and the Doctor would have to have the same usual dialog of savior-villain theme again. So, I let them have their moment.

“What did you do to Yaz?” The Doctor demanded.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” The Master said.

“Yaz, are you okay?” The Doctor asked.

“I think so.” Yaz replied.

The Doctor then proceeds to threaten us but was stopped when she saw me put a hand over Yaz’s neck.

“Let us leave and you can have her back.” I said.

The Doctor frowned. “You know I don’t take kindly to a threat.”

“And I don’t take kindly to people who imprison me!!” I yelled angrily. “Don’t test me!” I turned to the Master who is glancing at me curiously. “I just want to go home. I’m done with her and this universe.”

The Master nodded, for once acknowledging my wish. “Your wish is my command.” She raised a hand toward me.

I pushed Yaz hard toward the Doctor. The Doctor was barely able to catch her. I walked toward the Master as I rose to reach for her hand.

The Master and I disappeared with her vortex manipulator.

7777

They are now inside the Master’s tardis in space.

The Master put her forehead over mine. “I’m sorry that I took so long, my dear.”

“I’m just glad that you found me.” I said with a watery smile.

“Did you ever doubt I would?” She whispered softly

“Well, truthfully…”

The Master pulled away from me. “Don’t ruin the moment.” She said.

I laughed. “You did it first.”

“You did smell bad before.”

“Now who is ruining the moment?”

7777

“The Doctor, she said, this power I have, it was what causing me so much anger, a side effect of the experiment? Did you know?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Does it matter?”

I pondered over it. “Not really. I don’t regret it. This power, it was what led me to you.”

“Oh, stop it; next, you are going to break into a song.”

7777

And they returned back to their original universe where the wrath of Galifrey descends upon them, leading the army to squash down the suspected hybrid before they ever think to set foot into Gallifrey.

The Master lost her only companion that day. She was taken and imprisoned within Gallifrey where she eventually hack her way out and found out the truth of the Timeless Child. She is the Timeless Child.

In a fit of rage, she destroyed Gallifrey.

A/N2: I love Florence and the machine; I listen to Cosmic Love on a loop while writing this.

Originally, I planned to make the Master and Reader stay a while in 13th Doctor’s universe causing chaos. 13th Doctor would eventually defeat the Master and tricked the Reader by pretending to be the Master.

But the Reader would recognize her as the Doctor through how she kissed her. Because the Master is complicated person and although she does love the Reader, she also hates her that every time they kissed, she would give her psychic message in her mind about how much she hates the reader for making her weak.

I decided not to write this because I kind of feeling like the reader is tired and just want to go home and hopefully cuddle with her beloved? Though that bit with the reader’s death come so suddenly. I wanted to end it with fluff but somehow it ended with the timeless child fiasco.

Well, that’s it folk. Hope you love this fic. I know it is far from perfect but I’m just going to say that I’m evil that’s why I posted this regardless whether anyone actually bother reading this fic.

#13th doctor x reader #thirteenth doctor x reader #whittaker!master x reader #doctor who fanfiction #doctor who imagine #thirteenth doctor imagine #whittaker!master #dhawan!doctor #shiefenwrites

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02/17/2021 DAB Transcript

Leviticus 4:1-5:19, Mark 2:13-3:6, Psalms 36:1-12, Proverbs 10:1-2

Today is the 17th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you, hump day, as we move to the center of one of the 52 weeks that we have. I guess there’s 52 hump days, 52 centers of every week and here we are at another one crossing through the middle, heading into the back half. It's wonderful to be able to share some time together around this Global Campfire to just step in, step in and out of all the other stuff that's going on, and just take our place, relax, exhale, allow God's word to speak into our lives. And, so, let's continue the journey. We began the book of Leviticus yesterday. We will continue that journey today. Leviticus 4 and 5 and we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week.

Commentary:

Okay. Well…I got a great idea. Let's talk…let's talk about something we like to talk about. Let's talk about sin. Let's talk about sin, our probably favorite, one of our top favorite subjects to talk about, right? Sin. It’s like a confusing word. We know when we've done but it but it's unclear like exactly what the parameters are. So, let's begin by just trying to come to some sort of maybe common understanding about what we’re even talking about because there’s plenty of definitions for sin and…but…but it seems like from a biblical perspective sin is basically doing what we know we’re not supposed to do before God. And maybe even a better way of understanding that is simply asking ourselves, “could I have done that in the name of Jesus? Like, could I have done that representing the king and the kingdom?” And that makes it stark enough for us to go, “okay, now I know what we’re talkn’ about. Now I have some handholds here to understand what we’re talking about.” God has an order to things. We see it in the Scriptures, but we see it in the natural rhythms of life itself. And this perfect order, like if we were to say, “the way things were supposed to be” or “the way things that…the way things are supposed to be”, like perfectly in order according to the Lord's will, then that would be called shalom. So, in effect. Sin is willingly interrupting shalom, whether in our own lives or whether in the lives of others, but sin is destructive, it leads to destruction because it separates us from God. And, so, if we want to perpetually live separated from God, then we are talking about the worst possible scenario that could ever happen. So, it actually is a big deal, it will kill us and separate us from God. So, kind of like a very, very toxic poison. If you have children you probably…like if they’re young children, like toddlers, you probably don't let them play under the kitchen sink, right? Probably because there's some toxic poison under there of some sort that is to be used for different purposes besides ingesting. And, so, we would want to impress upon our toddler that that's off limits, that opening those cabinets is not allowed and if they persist we might even spank their hands, or we might even put them in a timeout, like we might punish them in some way so that they get clear because if they get into that cabinet and we don't catch it, and they drink that poison it's gonna destroy them. So, hopefully we’re kind of on the same page here. This is largely what we’re talking about in the book of Leviticus today. It just comes in the form of sacrifice, and we just have no way really to relate to animal sacrifice in most of the cultures that we live in. And, so, we come to this point in the Bible, this kind of notorious point in the Bible we’re you’re like, “what is going on here? I don’ relate any of this. What does this have to do with my life? This is so boring. This is like laws and rules and customs that nobody lives by anymore. What's the big deal here?” And, so, this is where a lot of checking out happens and so we miss what's actually going on, a discussion about the results of sin. And as God is weaving this into the culture it's tedious, it's a tedious thing. So, we can just glaze over, yawn, and go, “I don't…we don't have to sacrifice animals. Thank God. Jesus is the last sacrifice” and just brush the whole thing off not understanding that there’s something really really deep going on here. Imagine that you did discover that you were…you were sinning whether unintentionally or whether you absolutely in rebellion did something that you knew you were not supposed to do and that you definitely could not do in the name of God. If…I…I mean I was gonna use like our…our…our pets as an example because that would be the closest example, we can get to to bring context, but let's just skip that. Let’s just say we had goats or we had sheep or whatever and we fed them every day and we talked to them every day and we brushed them and we knew them and they were kind of part of the fabric of our family culture and they were…they were part of the story, like we got milk for our children or we made cheese whatever…whatever…whatever. Imagine that you have to go select one and that you…you have to select the perfect one, like your favorite one, like the best one, the most perfect thing of them all, and you have to take that and you have to put your hand on it before the priest, you have to put your hand on its head, and you gotta take a big blade and you have to slice its throat, right? And you have to bleed the blood out and the life leaves them and then…then it's brought before the altar. Like if you had to do that it would be a stark reminder that sin is costing something. It's costing something beautiful and perfect. It's costing because it's…because it's destroying. And, so, this animal serves as a stand in for what is deserved. So, I don't know how to make this more clear other than like that would be hard to do right? Sin is the blade at your own throat. We’re not beginning to read the story of the bloodthirsty, angry, vengeful God. We’re reading the story of a God who wants us to starkly, clearly understand what will destroy us and separate us from Him, which is the last thing that either one of us wants. It's a deterrent. It's a…it's like a road closed sign - don't go down this path that leads to destruction. And let's remember, nobody had to sacrifice anything if there wasn't sin. And let's remember that that is the work of Christ. And we can think about animal sacrifices as barbaric, but didn’t we just read the crucifixion a couple days ago in the book of Matthew for the first time this year? How much more barbaric can we get? And what we are observing is the last sacrifice for sin once and for all. So, as we continue this journey let's…let’s do…let’s stay rooted to the story. Like, I know we’re reading the law in the book of Leviticus and I know that the law is like I said, it’s not riveting reading, but it is not purposeless reading either. So, let's stay rooted to where the journey is taking us and where God is leading us.

And I use that as a dovetail. Can we talk about something else for a quick minute? I know we’ve been talking already for a few minutes but today…today is a very important day that ties in with all of this, a very important day on the Christian calendar. Today is known as Ash Wednesday and this inaugurates a season known as Lent, a season that leads us right up to the day before Easter, 40 days from now. And most years I point this out and I say generally the same story, which is I didn't grow up knowing anything other than the name Lent. And Ash Wednesday, I mean, I grew up seeing people with black smudges on their foreheads, occasionally moving around a city or a store or whatever, but not really even understanding what the point was. Maybe you have that smudge on your forehead today because you’ve gone to an Ash Wednesday service somewhere or maybe you're familiar with the fact that this day inaugurates a season of repentance and lamentation of considering deeply what sin cost and where it leads. Everything that we just talked about. Jesus becoming that final sacrifice, that it cost the life of the precious beloved Savior is something that we should contemplate and meditate upon because it's our sin. So, for centuries and centuries and centuries brothers and sisters all over the world have entered into this time of lamentation of fasting of repentance. And we may…you know…if we’ve never observed Lent or ever even understood really what the…what's going on, then we may consider…well…it's when you fast something, right? You decide you’re…you’re not gonna eat chocolate. That was like the most popular thing that…that I had I ever heard…like I’m not gonna eat a candy bar, I’m not gonna eat sugar for Lent. Or fasting social media for Lent. Or I'm going to fast certain foods for Lent or certain behaviors for Lent. That's great, that's fine, it's important even. When we fast something that we crave then every time we crave what we are fasting it is an inherent reminder of why we are fasting, and we can press in to that. But I have to tell you, it's maybe even less about fasting candy bars and more about understanding that this is a season in the year that is leading us to resurrection day. And resurrection day represents all things being made new within us again, that the resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead, restored us to God, but sin separates us from God. And, so, really, to embrace Lent is to put everything on the table, not just candy bars. It’s to put everything on the table with open hands and say, “God I embrace this season that is leading me to all things being made new, but a season that reminds me that sin leads to death. And, so, I'm opening my hands and I'm loosening control over my life and saying what is here that is separating me from you? Identify that and show me how to walk away from it. Even things that I think, or thought were good habits and behaviors. Like Anything that is distracting me in some sort of way. I'm…I'm allowing you to take out of my life whatever needs to take…be taken and I'm allowing you to put into my life what needs to be there. And I'm allowing you to rearrange the things that are in my life so that they are aligned with the way that you would have me go in this next season of life.” So, this is a season to slow some things down and not be so frantic, to give some space to contemplation, some space to consideration, quiet consideration about what it took to give us the freedoms that we take for granted and still understanding that sin only leads one place and that is death. So, that's a little about Lent. Maybe you've never observed Lent in any way before, it was a little weird or whatever. Maybe it's not so weird. Maybe that the trajectory that the Christian calendar gives us, to contemplate the…the important parts of our lives helps us after the same fashion that the law that we’re reading the book of Leviticus, where everything that these people do reminds them of something deeper. Lent actually does this. And, so, maybe something to consider as we move through the next weeks toward new life toward resurrection through the end of the winter and moving into the springtime here in the northern hemisphere. Lent let's us sit with where we are and hope for where were going.

Prayer:

Jesus, we thank You. We thank You in advance, we thank You continually for Your sacrifice, for Your love that is so profound that it is really impossible to articulate. We’ve been trying to find the right words for thousands of years and we've said many many beautiful things, but it's still beyond us, Your beautiful life sacrificed in exchange for our rebellion. And as we enter into this season, we want to sit with it. We…we ask Your Holy Spirit to make it stark and clear to us what's happening when we when…when we participate in sin, because when we participate in sin against our brothers and sisters, against You, we are perpetuating darkness, we are bringing the darkness and allowing it to have its way with us. Your sacrifice informs us that that is not how it has to be. So, come Holy Spirit. Show us where we are. Show us what's going on inside. Show us the things that are drawing us away from You and toward destruction. Help us to own these things instead of blaming somebody else or some other set of circumstances. Help us to own our lives, own our sin and repent because we know that we are ashes to ashes and dust to dust. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Song:

Worlds Apart - Jars of Clay

I am the only one to blame for this Somehow it all ends up the same Soaring on the wings of selfish pride I flew too high and like Icarus I collide With a world I try so hard to leave behind To rid myself of all but love, to give and die To turn away and not become Another nail to pierce the skin of One who loves More deeply than the oceans More abundant than the tears Of a world embracing every heartache Can I be the one to sacrifice Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow To love you - Take my world apart To need you - I am on my knees To love you - Take my world apart To need you - Broken on my knees All said and done I stand alone Amongst remains of a life I should not own It takes all I am to believe In the mercy that covers me

Did You really have to die for me All I am for all You are What I need and what I believe are worlds apart And I pray To love you - Take my world apart To need you - I am on my knees To love you - Take my world apart To need you - Broken on my knees On my knees I look beyond the empty cross Forgetting what my life has cost Wipe away the crimson stains Dull the nails that still remain More and more I need you now I owe you more each passing hour Battles between grace and pride I gave up not so long ago So steal my heart and take the pain And wash the feet and cleanse my pride Take the selfish, take the weak And all the things I cannot hide Take the beauty, take my tears Sin-soaked heart, make it yours Take my world all apart Take it now, take it now And serve the ones that I despise Speak the words I can't deny Watch the world I used to love Fall to dust and blow away

I look beyond the empty cross Forgetting what my life has cost Wipe away the crimson stains Dull the nails that still remain So steal my heart and take the pain Take the selfish, take the weak And all the things i cannot hide Take the beauty, take my tears Take my world apart, take my world apart I pray, and I pray, and I pray Take my world apart Worlds apart

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daphner20 · 4 years

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Aaron Roberts

Prologue It’s 2:45 pm sighed Aaron, there was a staff meeting for everyone in the Ballroom at 4pm. The rumors were swinging like a pendulum: we were being sold; we were having mass layoffs, we are closing our doors, and it went on and on. As Aaron, looked out of his office window, which overlooked one of the most beautiful beaches in the world ( don’t take his word, it is ranked in the top five of every Tourist/Travel magazine), he took a short walk down memory lane. He has been with The Kingdom, for the last 10 years, and he has no regrets. By the time he was 22, he had a bachelor’s in Accounting, A Master in Accounting, and a MBA. He had also sat the CPA exams and pass all sections on his first attempt. He worked at, CPDG, one of the largest accounting firms in the world, for 3 years, and he hated every minute of it. His salvation came, when his frat brother, told him about The Kingdom, the name alone piqued his interest. And 10 years later at 35, I was the youngest CFO at a major hotel resort. Yeah!!

The chime of his alarm, brought him back to reality, it’s 3:40. Time to make his way to the Ballroom. It will only take 10 minutes, but Aaron was a stickler for time. 'Good afternoon, every one, thank you for coming, said Mr Keith O’brien, (General Manager). First let me address the rumors, there will be no layoffs and we are not selling the hotel. I will retire at the end of the month. I will stay on for an additional 2 months so that there will be a smooth transition. So without further delay, the next General Manager of The Kingdom is Mr. Aaron Roberts. What the #$&%?

Chapter 1 It’s has been 3 months now, since that incredulous announcement was made. I didn’t expect it. To be honest that promotion was the last thing on my mind. I think I ambitious as the next person. But to be appointed as General Manager/CFO is a feat. Yes I retain my position as Chief Financial Officer as well. The Kingdom is a 700 room 5 star hotel, on an island in The Bahamas. With a staff compliment of 2000. We all live on the island. We are the sole employer as well. So my responsibility, is not limited only to the hotel, but the entire island. From the airport, staff quarters, beaches, etc. Not bad for that skinny, shy altar boy Yeah!! My family were so elated, when they heard the news, I think my mom is still crying, and my priest Father John Cooper, (who was also my math teacher in high school) and the entire parish family is still sending congratulations. Am I proud of myself? I think I am thankful and grateful to God. I remembered as a child in CCD, Sister Marva, constantly said, all good and perfect gifts comes from heaven above. Am I overwhelmed? No, I have a great team. We have nearly 100 % occupancy year round. But there is a feeling I can’t put my finger on I Am Lost!!! Chapter 2 I am the way, the truth and life, no one comes to the Father except through me. What does that mean, wondered Aaron. He keeps hearing it in his heart, whether awake or sleeping, those words are there. On top of that he felt lost. I don’t lost is the right word. I have a good job, a great family, am in excellent health, am single (I see it as a plus, so I can focus on my career). What more is there? I was about to find out. A few weeks later, during an executive meeting, the Director of Sales, Shelby Robinson, said “that we have a group, that wants to book our entire hotel all 700 and meeting rooms for one week”. Wow, everyone exclaimed, awesome. We’ve had groups before, but never on the scale. It was a religious group. It was a Pastor of a mega church in New York, a membership of 50,000 . It is considered an evangelical non-denominational Christian Church. I don’t know what that means. I was born and raised Catholic. My parents are Catholic, I was an altar boy, from the age of 8 – 18. I attended only Catholic schools and universities. We are the true Christian Church. Yeah!! Chapter 3 The hotel is a frenzy, in good way. After months of negotiating, the day of the big arrival had come. The negotiating had been relentless, they had so many demands. We’re used to that. But they had some non-negotiable items. No alcohol, no secular music, limit Internet access (block all ungodly sights). The list was exhausting!! After calculations, the revenue which was in the millions it was worth it. We will be in the black for years. Every meeting space and restaurant will be utilized. This was considered a conference for men. There were bishops, deacons, men's ministry and lay members. We had a total of 5,000 men descending on The Kingdom, it felt like another Kingdom was invading The Kingdom! On my career side my life was awesome, we were able to negotiate a deal of a life time. However, in my personal life. It was the tale of two cities. Some days I am overwhelmed by this emptiness, that I am feeling, that I can’t sleep or eat! Thank God, I have been able to conceal it with work, nobody seems to be the wiser. I have taken praying the Rosary even more. ( My mother will considered that a dream come true). What is “ I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me.” Lord, I cried out “ if you are real, what does this mean.” Help me please!! Mr. Roberts, they are here! Chapter 4 It is not a custom for the General Manager to meet hotel guests, but this was an exception and necessary. Arriving first Apostle Dylan Freeman, he was the Senior Pastor of Greater Cathedral of Brooklyn, New York. He looked like any ordinary man, I think because he had such a large congregation, that he would look ‘holy’. That’s just the Catholic in me talking. I have never meet a modern day Apostle before. The ones that I knew of , were Jesus disciples in the bible. “It is a pleasure to welcome you Apostle Freeman, to The Kingdom,” said Aaron. “I have come to The Kingdom, for such a time as this,” replied Apostle Freeman. His entourage laughed heartly . I didn’t get it, maybe it was Christian lingo or some inside joke. I escorted him to his suite which is on the 69th Floor. The Kingdom has 70 floors. The 70th Floor is our major Ballroom, which is called ‘The Great Hall.’ This is where there will be a welcome cocktail reception. ( Minus the cocktails) at 7pm. I hate cocktail receptions, but duty calls. It’s 6:30 pm. Most of the guests are here, taking in the breath taking view of the island. The Great Hall, has a panaramic view of the entire island. So, there were a lot of selfies. Apostle Freeman, arrived precisely at 7pm. My goal was to make light chit chat, then make my escape. Finally, he was alone, I eventually got to him, before I had a chance to say a word, he said “ I have a word for you.” “ You want a word with me? “ I asked. He looked at me, and just starting laughing. What was so funny I thought. He must have read my mind. Because he stopped abruptly. ‘ Forgive me, we pastor's believe everyone understands what we are saying, he said apologetically. “ I have a word for you, from the Lord,” he said somberly. I felt like I just got suckered punch, my insides felt like jelly. I didn’t know to say. I thought I was speechless for hours. But he graciously said to me, “ Don’t worry, everything you have been experiencing these last several months, will be made clear to you. And just like that he was throng again, by the other guests. For the next several days, I was eager to have an audience with the Apostle, but with his schedule, I know that was impossible. It was the last day, I knew that it will be hectic, so my daily morning jog on the beach was imperative. As I was about to begin, Apostle Freeman suddenly appeared. “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father, except through me”, he said to me. “ Do you know what that means? I just shake my head weakly, saying no. Thus says the Lord, this emptiness you are feeling, it is your soul yearning for the one true God. And you can only have that with Jesus as your Savior. “Do you want to make Jesus Christ you personal Savior?” asked Apostle “Yes, “ I was openly crying now. Repeat after me: Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. In Jesus name I pray Amen. As I prayed those word, the Peace of God flooded my soul, and the emptiness vanished. Thank you Jesus. As I looked on that beautiful water, I knew what I wanted more than anything. “Will you baptize me, Apostle”, I asked. As Apostle Freeman, baptize me in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I knew that I was truly alive and Jesus had given me a new life. Later that morning, while I was escorting Apostle to his car. He said this, “ I have two things to things to say to you. “ Jesus loves you and see you next year. Yeah!! THE END

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beyond-the-mirror · 5 years

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Music of the Night (V x Reader)

Welcome back to another chapter of Music of the Night!

From this chapter and on, this fic will continue a bit kinda like the musical and the movie albeit with a few changes on the plot. This is an AU after all, one that mainly focuses on our dear and mysterious Phantom and his relation with the Reader.

Tagging @minteyeddemon and @thedyingmoon as a special thanks for believing in this idea since before I started writing it. Hope you enjoy!

…………

Chapter 4: An Angel Ready to Take Flight

- Two years later -

“This trophy from our saviors, from our saviors from the enslaving force of Rome!”

The conductor signaled to the orchestra the start of the opera Hannibal’s Overture. Right on time, a parade of actors and actresses entered the stage from the side, marching while backup singers among them continued with the song.

“With feasting and dancing and song, tonight in celebration, we greet the victorious throng, returned to bring salvation!”

The scene flowed beautifully, the gorgeous red dresses and attires that the performers were wearing looked stunning from Trish’s place near the first row of seats. Next, the backup dancers appeared on stage, their choreography signaling the triumphant entrance of the war general Hannibal.

“The trumpets of Carthage resound! Hear, Romans, now and tremble! Hark to our step on the ground! Hear the drums, Hannibal comes!”

The soldiers and ladies of the court stepped aside to reveal the arrival of the great general, played by main tenor Ubaldo Piangi.

“Sad to return to find the land we love threatened once more by Rome's far-reaching grasp-“

“Gentlemen, gentlemen…” Interrupting Piangi’s solo, the conductor nervously tapped the stand before him, stopping the music altogether. “Monsieur Lefevre, we are in the middle of a rehearsal right now.”

Lefevre had sauntered into the stage accompanied by three other men.

“I am terribly sorry Monsieur Reyer, it’s only for a quick announcement.” Lefevre excused himself before quickly clearing his throat “Monsieur Rever, Madame Trish, ladies and gentlemen. Please if I could have your attention thank you very much.”

Making a brief pause and waiting until everyone gathered round, Lefevre continued “As you know, in a few weeks I will be retiring, it has been a great pleasure for me working alongside an extraordinaire crew such as all of you. And now, it is my pleasure to introduce you to these two gentlemen who now own our Opera House, Monsieur Richard Firmin and Monsieur Gilles Andre.”

He gestured to two of the men who stood by his side. One of them, which you presumed was Monsieur Firmin, stepped to the front and took the word. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. And we are deeply honoured to introduce our new patron, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny.”

The third man in question was tall and with a lean figure, he had warm hazel eyes and curly blond hair. He was rather handsome and looked to be well-mannered considering his posture the entire time.

“My parents and I are honoured to support all the arts, especially Fortuna’s well renowned Opera House.”

“If you allow me Vicomte, gentlemen.” Lefevre interjected, beckoning Carlotta and Ubaldo. “Signora Carlotta Giudicelli, our current leading soprano; Signor Ubaldo Piangi, lead tenor of our fine Opera; and Monsieur Reyer, maestro in charge of our orchestra.”

“An honor Signor, Signora, Monsieur. I believe we are keeping you from your rehearsal. My apologies for the interruption everyone, you may continue with your duties.”

The three men retired to the side of the stage while Trish ordered to repeat the scene once more from the top. The premiere would be that same night and the last dress rehearsals must go according to the tight schedule programmed.

Lefevre invited the new administrators to stay and watch the performers first hand, soon enough Trish joined them so he could properly introduce her.

“Gentlemen, I proudly introduce you to Madame Trish. An unparalleled choreographer and dance captain that’s been gracing our beloved Opera for these last years.”

“An honor meeting you.” Trish responded politely before showing them the routine the dancers were currently practicing on stage. “As you can see, we take great pride in the excellence of our ballet. We primarily focus on the discipline of our ballerinas rather than their mere talent, in order to ensure the success of our productions.”

The three man observed attentively at how the scene before them took place, impressed at the incredible skills and professionalism all the staff members showed for their work.

“Now I see why madame, especially that exceptional beauty performing over there.” Unbeknownst to you, Firmin pointed towards your dancing figure.

“(Y/N) (L/N).” Trish informed him. “A very promising ballerina Monsieur, one of the best this theatre has ever witnessed. Now please follow me gentlemen, we don’t want to stand in our performers’ way.”

As they gave the performers the space they needed, Raoul centered his bright eyes on you. He was enthralled by the swift flow of your movements, as if the choreography was basically second nature to you. The scene continued with the rest of the actors marching to the center, followed by a mechanical prop of a magnanimous war elephant.

“The trumpeting elephant sound. Hear, Romans, now and tremble, hark to their step on the ground. Hear the drums! Hannibal comes!”

A glorious crescendo filled the Opera House before the scene reached its finale. Silence took over for a few moments before the new administrators and the Vicomte clapped at the great performance they had just witnessed, not registering Carlotta’s frustrated voice as she strode towards them.

“That number was astounding! We are very excited about tonight’s gala-“

“All day! All they ever want is the dancing!” Carlotta rudely interrupted Andre “Allor… I hope you are as excited about dancing girls as your new managers, BECAUSE I WILL NOT BE SINGING! Addio a tutti!”

She stomped furiously to her personal assistants, ordering them to gather all her belongings for her. Carlotta’s sudden departure left Firmin and Andre in absolute shock, while the rest of the staff were simply unfazed by her attitude, already used to this kind of meltdowns from her.

“What can we do now?” With no other options at hand, the new owners had no choice but to follow Lefevre’s advice to this particular kind of situation “Grovel. Grovel, grovel.”

So of course, Firmin and Andre immediately took after Carlotta to stop her from leaving the stage, loudly exclaiming any possible compliment they could think of in order to appeal to her.

“Beauty!” “Principessa!” “Bella Dama!”

“Si! Si! Si!”

“Oh Goddess of Song!”

“If you excuse me, please.” Everyone turned to see the Vicomte approaching Carlotta with a rather calm and suave expression on his face “Monsieur Reyer, isn’t there a marvelous aria for Elissa in Act. 3 of Hannibal? Perhaps the signora-“

“Yes, yes, but no!” she angrily interjected “Because turns out I don’t have the right costume for Act 3 because somebody made a horrible disaster out of it! And I hate my hat!” She sobbed and lamented, very much like a spoiled diva in the eyes of the staff members. Raoul, however, remained unfazed by her sudden outburst and simply smiled warmly at her.

“I was wondering, signora, as a personal favor… would you give us the privilege of a personal performance? Unless of course, Monsieur Reyer objects.”

“No, aspette! aspette!” Taking in deep breaths, Carlotta composed herself, the Vicomte’s words having their desired effect. “If my managers command, Monsieur Reyer?”

“If my diva commands?” Reyer spoke in a mirth voice to appeal to her, which made her beam in joy.

“Yes I do!”

Reyer quickly returned to his position at the head of the orchestra, the pianist preparing himself for Elissa’s aria. Taking hold of his baton, the conductor signaled Carlotta.

“Signora?”

Carlotta first applied some throat spray and readied herself before confirming. “Maestro.”

Elissa’s aria ‘Think of Me’ was indeed an exquisite piece, only the most privileged voices could ever properly bring forth all the emotions contained in its beautiful lyrics. Carlotta Giudicelli may be an insufferable diva in the eyes of those who worked with her, but there was no denying that she had a rather wonderful voice. The entire theatre fell silent as a sign of respect to her magnificent singing, no one dared to interrupt her, no one dared to disrespect La Carlotta in such way.

That is until a snapping sound made everyone’s hearts drop, and the next thing they all knew, a heavy curtain was falling down right towards her.

“Signora!”

Panicked screams resonated through the stage. Raoul managed to pull Carlotta right out of danger’s way, her ample dress, however, ultimately made them both topple down due to the weight of its many layers of fabric. Many rushed immediately to help both the Vicomte and mostly the lead soprano, who was trapped beneath the heavy curtain.

“Oi Buquet! What in heaven and hell happened over there?!” Nico screamed furiously at Mr. Buquet, the man in charge of operating the changing scenery at the fly floors. “You are lucky nobody got killed for this!”

“It wasn’t me Nico, I swear! I-I remained in my position all the time, Lord Sparda knows I wasn’t near that curtain.” Buquet stuttered nervously, the poor man fearing the possibility of losing his job over this accident.

Adjusting her glasses, Nico walked around trying to look if someone else had been up at the fly floors tampering at the ropes, but couldn’t find nobody.

“What are you talking about? There’s no one else there.”

“Do you think… it could have been the Phantom?” Buquet murmured almost inaudibly.

“Please Buquet, don’t be ridiculous! Seems that I’ll have to examine the grid, the least I want now is a broken pulley or something.” She was sure Buquet hadn’t been responsible for the incident, for everyone knew he was a very hardworking and trustworthy person. So the only possible explanations Nico could think about were either one of the pulleys got damaged and broke down, or the rope wasn’t secured properly.

Meanwhile, the situation on the stage wasn’t looking pleasant at all.

“We are deeply sorry for this signora, I’m sure this kind of stuff tends to happen from time to time.” Andre tried his best, and failed, to calm down a ver altered Carlotta.

“Two years! For two whole years this kind of stuff has been happening! And has anybody done something to stop them? NO! So until you manage to stop this incidents, I refuse to set a foot in this Opera!”

As she stomped out of the theatre followed by her hurrying assistants, everyone could feel in their hearts that unlike her previous outbursts, she was not coming back this time. And now the question lingering in their minds was: What were they going to do now?

…………

The performers were gathered at the green room, already out of their costumes and in casual attire instead. All staff members were told to leave the stage so Trish, Lefevre and the new owners could discuss on how to proceed and find an imminent solution as soon as possible.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to cancel.” Firmin lamented as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. “We have lost our main star and there’s no way we can find another soprano for tonight’s premiere.”

“Calm down Richard. There must be a substitute, an understudy-“

“Understudy? With all due respect Monsieur Andre, but there’s no understudy for La Carlotta!” interjected Reyer who was visibly nervous about this turn of events.

Tension and concern filled the entire Opera, and as much as the Vicomte and Trish tried their best to control the situation at hand, still no plausible solution had been found yet. Firmin and Andre were mainly worried about the imminent decision of returning all the earnings, the Opera was having a full house that night after all and that could mean a terrible economic loss for the company.

You were currently sitting on the floor hidden behind one of the side curtains of the stage. Curiosity had completely taken over you and now you were secretly trying to listen to the discussion taking place on the stage. You didn’t mean to eavesdrop so rudely, but you were terribly worried and couldn’t help it. All the efforts of your friends, of the people you now considered pretty much your family. If a substitute is not found by tonight, then it all would be in vain.

“My nightingale, my angel of music…” a familiar voice filled your ears “Why are you worried? What is filling your heart with sorrow?”

You could feel his presence right behind you, but you dared not look back out of respect. The Phantom always kept his identity a secret, the least you could do to repay everything he taught you, was respecting his decision not to be seen.

“Our lead soprano is gone… if we don’t find someone, anyone, then…” you trailed off, fighting to keep your tears from falling. “Everyone has worked so hard for this production, I don’t want their efforts to be in vain…”

He remained silent.

A warm breath grazed your ear, making shivers run down your spine.

“I believe you are ready then…”

“Phantom? …What do you mean?”

“… I believe in you, my angel. Go forth, and bless the world with your divine voice.”

The presence behind you was gone.

“Phantom? Wait!” You turned around, but he was already gone.

Did he mean…? No, there was no way you could do this. You may have improved a lot since your first lesson with him, but were you truly ready to perform before a real audience? A full house? What if you get the lyrics wrong? What if you get nervous and stutter during a musical number? No, you couldn’t do this.

But the Phantom… he believed in you. The Opera, your friends… they needed you.

… Your father… he… he always believed in you.

Taking a deep breath, you slowly got on your feet.

…………

“Please excuse me everyone.”

Eyes turned to you, the discussion coming to a pause.

“(Y/N) is something wrong? You look worried about something.” Trish walked to you, concerned after noticing the few tears in the corner of your eyes which you quickly wiped away.

“Please, allow me to do it.” the words came out of your lips in an almost inaudible whisper.

The others on the stage looked at each other in confusion. “Miss, you don’t mean…”

There was no turning back. With great strength in your eyes, you voiced your request with confidence. “If it’s not too much of a bother, please allow me to play as Elissa.”

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise. Andre turned to Firmin “But she’s just a dancer, there’s no way she can do it.”

“(Y/N) do you have any idea of what this entails?” Trish was looking at you incredulously, genuine concern in her eyes. “This is the main role we are talking about, not just anybody can perform it correctly.”

“I know the choreography as well as the lyrics. I can assure you I’ll be able to do it.”

With a sigh leaving her lungs, Trish turned to Reyer. “Maestro would you kindly call your pianist over? Allow her to sing the Act. 3 aria and we shall see if she’s fit for the role.”

“Right away, Madame.”

As the pianist rushed to the orchestra pit, the Vicomte beckoned you to the front of the stage.

“Over here Miss, don’t be shy. For the moment let’s just hear the beginning of the aria, understood?”

You nodded. As Reyer and the pianist got ready, you closed your eyes and remembered the faith your family always had in you, your father’s words, and the teachings of the Phantom.

And so, the first notes to the aria sounded.

“Think of me, think of me fondly

When we've said goodbye

Remember me, once in a while

Please promise me you'll try

When you find that once again you long

To take your heart back and be free

If you ever find a moment

Spare a thought for me.”

Silence.

“M-Magnifique! Absolutely magnificent!”

With wide eyes and clapping hands, you were congratulated by the everyone in front of you.

“(Y/N) that was wonderful!” Trish added in utter surprise “Now why hadn’t you mentioned you could sing like that before, darling?”

“To be honest, I’ve never sung professionally before. But I’ve been receiving lessons for a while and seeing our current predicament well… I decided to at least give it a try.”

“And what an extraordinaire performance that was.” Raoul walked to you and joined Trish at her side. “Miss (Y/N), due to our current circumstances and your impressive demonstration, we are proud to inform you that you may play Elissa in tonight’s premiere. We believe you will be able to deliver a breathtaking performance tonight.”

You could feel your eyes water again at their words. All those days you practiced, they were finally bearing fruit.

“Then I promise I won’t fail you.”

Trish gave you a warm smile. “Alright then, the show must go on and there’s no time to lose. Come (Y/N), we must rehearse your lines and musical numbers.”

A shadowed figure in the long abandoned Box Four smiled down at what was happening on stage before retreating. After all, the Phantom had a very important gala to attend that night, and there was no way he would miss his beloved angel performing on her debut.

…………

As Nico finally reached the grid high above the stage, she took out her flashlight and started inspecting the pulley of the fallen curtain. To her surprise, however, the device was in top-notch condition. Nothing broken, rusty or unstable

“Huh? Well that’s weird.” She had also previously checked the rope. It had no signs to have been cut or damaged either, so the only logical explanation left was that whoever was in charge of tying and securing the ropes made a terrible job, either that or… someone untied it and let the curtain fall on purpose. Then again, she couldn’t find anyone else on the fly floors other than Buquet, and he was too far away to have done it.

“Argh… I’ve already told them over and over again to check their damn ropes.” She muttered to herself before getting out of the grid.

…………

After one last conversation with Firmin and Andre, Lefevre decided to retire for the day. However, there was something else he had to take care to before leaving the building. He reached for the inner pocket of his coat, pulling a sealed black envelope with no name or address written on it, its only prominent characteristic was a lilac wax seal on the back.

Lefevre stared at the envelope for a few moments before putting it back in his pocket and proceeding with his task. Entering the green room, he spotted Trish and (Y/N) going over Elissa’s lines.

“Excuse me Madame Trish, may I talk to you for a few seconds. I’m afraid it’s a very important matter.”

She stood up and after instructing (Y/N) to keep practicing her lines, she followed him out of the room.

“What happened Monsieur Lefevre? Did something happen?”

He gulped audibly before answering. “Trish. You have worked in this theatre for a couple of years now, enough for me to realize how valuable and loyal you are for the company that I basically nurtured for most of my life. Which is why I trust you fully to complete the task that I’m about to give you. Please listen carefully what I’m about to tell you, and please, promise me you’ll handle this with complete and absolute discretion.”

Lefevre reached for his inner pocket once again and handed her the mysterious black envelope.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand Monsieur. What is inside this letter?” She inquired worryingly.

Lefevre inhaled deeply before continuing in a whispered voice “Inside this envelope there are exactly 1,800 euros. At the end of every month, you must place that exact amount of euros in a black envelope like this one. I keep them in the third drawer of my desk, as well as some lilac sealing wax and a seal stamp with a design like the one in this envelope. Then, you must take the money to Box Four and slide it under the curtain. That box must remain unavailable for the public always. It is imperative that nobody, absolutely nobody, sees you when delivering the money.”

“What? But who is this money for?”

Sweat started forming on Lefevre’s forehead, and when he remained quiet, it only worsened Trish’s concerns.

“Just… promise me that you will do it. And please… don’t ask anymore questions to me or anybody else.”

She hesitated. She had no idea of what was it that got Lefevre so nervous, and then there was the fact that he was willing to pay an unknown person such an important amount of money every month.

There was something quite sketchy behind all of this. And yet, she somehow trusted Lefevre.

“Fine… I just hope this won’t get me in any trouble in the future.”

“Don’t worry, I promise you this is the only thing you have to do. Thanks for everything Madame Trish.”

And with those words, Lefevre left the Opera.

Trish examined the envelope in her hands and turned it around. Her eyes centered on the mysterious lilac wax seal, or more importantly, the peculiar design of the stamp.

A single yet elegant ‘V’ decorating its center.

#devil may cry #phantom of the opera au #dmc v #v x reader #v x you #self-insert #fanfiction #fanfic

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lilhemmo · 5 years

Text

the forbidden fruit pt. three

the forbidden fruit PART THREE: the surface

ao3 | wattpad | masterlist | askbox summary: the reimagined persephone and hades au that nobody asked for word count: 3.2k+ warnings: alcohol and blood tw part one | part two

T H E S U R F A C E

"I grow tired of this world," she complains, digging her feet into the dirt. She looks up at his statue, glaring into his eyes, "I think you're scared of me, Prince of Darkness, Lord of the Shadows. I think that is why you will not come and find me."

Lilith shakes her head and a laugh bubbles from her lips, "I am glad to have you during this time, though. Mother is growing tiresome. She continues to tell me to be just like the other children, but I will not do it. I will not succumb to their weak-willed conformities."

She runs her fingertips over the engraving at the base of his statue, admiring how his name looks dug into the marble. Lilith tilts her head as the familiar sounds of her serpent friends distract her from her monologue.

"Good evening, darlings," she reaches out to the smallest serpent and allows her to crawl up her forearm and lick her face. Lilith giggles before petting the thickest serpent, scratching gently on the underneath side of his head.

Lilith lays down in the dirt, looking up at the night sky, "How can such terrible gods create something so beautiful?"

The bigger serpent slithers up her chest to look into her eyes. She smiles at him and he opens his mouth as if to reciprocate the expression, but he is still limited to his own body and therefore looks more intimidating than he means to be. Even still, Lilith rubs her index fingertip over the top of his head down to his tail.

"I wonder if Sweets knows that his nephew is throwing a party down here on Earth," Lilith raises a brow at the smallest serpent. "I wonder if he will attend?"

The Serpents stay until Lilith has to return home. They slip back to The Depths and morph into their human forms before seeking out their Maker.

"He's not going to listen to you," Fangs seethes as they approach The Maker's chambers.

Topaz shrugs, "It has to be worth trying."

The Maker looks down from his ashen throne and smiles at the Serpents down below. He materializes in front of them as a puff of smoke, a grin on his lips.

"Yes? Is there something you need, my friends?"

"Maker," Topaz starts, her clawed hands crossing together in front of her scaly body, "your nephew, Dionysus, will be-"

Hades shakes his head and holds his palm up, "Is this another ploy to get my back to The Surface?"

Fangs steps forward, tilting his head to implore his Maker, "Lord, we just want to see you get out of this bleak place now and again. It cannot be healthy."

"I will not listen to this," Hades waves his hand. "The humans do not appreciate my presence on The Surface. It is better for me to stay here, but the two of you are welcome to go and taste the wine of my nephew."

Topaz and Fangs glance at one another one final time before bowing their heads and stepping away from their Maker.

Together they spend days traveling back and forth to and from The Surface, spending time with Lilith, waiting on their next opportunity to try and convince The Maker to return.

-----

"I do believe your Maker should attend this festival," Lilith gushes one day a few weeks later. She rolls around in the sweet peas, laying on her belly and looking the snakes in the eyes. She grins, "I think he would love this festival. We are all gathering together to send coins down to The Underworld for the souls who have yet to pass down the River Styx."

She runs the pad of her finger down the back of the smallest serpent, "Won't he like that? It will send the wayward souls down The River, allowing him some sort of peace. Don't you think?"

The young woman with dark hair and gray eyes sits quiet, waiting for them to responds. The serpents' flick their tongues out in some sort of answer, and it makes a giggle split her lips. She purses her mouth and pushes her tongue between her teeth to mirror their actions.

"I will go and wait for him there," she tells them, "even if he does not come, I'll be there. Will you tell him?"

The serpents slither back into the grass and Lilith is left on her own once more.

They are quick to deliver the news of the event to The Maker.

"Good for them," Sweet Pea responds with a wave of his hand. "It will be nice to have a new rotation of wandering souls at the base of The River."

Topaz rolls her eyes and thrusts her hands towards the god, "You cannot go on like this forever, my lord."

"Oh, Topaz," he smirks in a devilish way, "you underestimate me."

-----

Lilith twirls a sweet pea stalk between her fingers, a girlish grin on her lips. She stares up at the marble statue, her savior of sorts, and sniffs the floral bud.

"I suppose I should stop telling you about these festivals to try and get Sweets to show, huh?" she asks the small serpent in front of her. Her smile falters slightly as the heat of tears wells up in the back of her eyelids, but she forces herself to pick up the pieces and continue on anyway.

"This one would be spectacular," Lilith explains. She rests the flower atop the tiny serpent's head, and watches as she tries to balance it on her scales. "It is a celebration in honor of Sweets himself. The whole city is gathering to celebrate the day he birthed the Underworld."

The serpent tilts her head and then coils around Lilith's arm, tightening around the appendage to steady herself. Lilith rubs her cheek against the serpent's head, closing her eyes at the motion.

"I understand why he keeps himself locked away in that prison," Lilith tells the serpent, her voice quiet. She has sadness hanging in her eyes, "He is so poorly treated here on earth, and in Olympus. All the other gods are clearly not supporting him like family should."

She shakes her head, dark hair falling over her shoulders. Lilith gives the serpent a half-smile, "I will take a sip of blackened wine in his honor, little one. I know you're trying your hardest to bring him to our land for a visit. He will come, but the stubborn god will have it be on his own time."

-----

Topaz grabs Fangs by the collar and practically drags him across the Underworld floor. He tries to push back against her, but it's no use – she's much stronger than him.

"Maker!" she shouts as Hades begins to walk down The River.

Sweet Pea looks over his shoulder and smirks, "Yes, Topaz?"

She huffs, her serpentine tongue flickering between her teeth. She crosses her arms over her chest, "There's a festival tonight, on The Surface."

"The Surface, you say?" he asks, sarcastically entertaining the idea. He tilts his head in the serpent-girl's direction, "I would like to see how you try and coerce me into attending this time, Topaz."

"I-It's a festival in your honor, my Lord," Fangs supplies, reaching out to touch Sweet Pea on the shoulder. He smiles, "They're going to be drinking black wine and eating dark fruits. There will be fires made and animals sacrificed in your honor! Tonight is all about you, Maker."

Sweet Pea rubs his face which has grown stubbled in his negligence. He chuckles, a deep rumble that shakes the very ground they walk on, "The humans do not wish for my presence on The Surface, my friends. They may claim this festival is in my honor, but I do not think I would be welcome."

"How could you not be welcome at your own festival?" Topaz sneers, narrowing her eyes in questioning. Fangs looks at her with widened irises, a warning in his gaze.

"The humans see me as they want to see me, serpents," Hades explains. "If I go, all I will do is frighten them."

"Not all of them," Topaz supplies in a high-pitched voice, avoiding her Maker's eyes.

Hades sighs, running a hand through his dark locks. He shakes his head and fights the smirk on his lips, "If you insist, my serpent friend. Ready the horses, we will leave soon."

He walks up the hill to greet his canine companion, his grin growing with every step he takes further into the ash, "Come, my pet. There's no reason you cannot join us as well."

Topaz turns her head in confusion, skin glittering as the fire permanently ablaze in the underworld glints off of her. Hades begins to twirl his fingers and Cerberus' body starts to contort, shrinking down into the dirt.

"Holy you," Topaz stares in awe at the single-headed, normal-sized dog loiters in front of her, licking at his Master's fingertips. He bounds around, dark eyes staring up at the both of them, waiting for some sort of affection.

Hades scratches behind his ears and looks up at Topaz, "I think we are ready to go."

-----

It is sunset when the black chariot from the underworld finally splits through the ground. There are lanterns hanging in the sky, burning blue to represent the fire of the underworld. As the chariot rides past, Hades watches from the distance as people drink from black chalices, their lips stained dark with wine.

He chuckles, "I would expect Dionysus is at the root of this."

"It's beautiful," Topaz hisses from around his bicep. The Serpents are still not allowed to show their humanoid form on The Surface, but they can still communicate with Hades despite their restrictions.

"It's something," Fangs echoes, twirling his head every which way to take it all in. He flicks his spiked tongue between his fangs and crawls onto Hades' shoulder to look out at the scenery.

Hades brushes his fingertips through Cerberus' hair, smiling down at his canine friend. The chariot halts and the god steps down onto the earthen ground. He then turns his head to glance at each of the serpents before pushing his way through the crowd gathered around a large fire.

The stench of hot blood and flesh fills his nostrils as the god walks closer to the pyre where the offerings are burning. Hades can feel the sacrifices make their way to the underworld; his body feels refreshed, restored. He opens his eyes and coils his fists, a triumphant smirk on his lips.

He pulls his cloak further around his face as he begins to weave through the crowd, Cerberus held on a leather rope attached to the god's wrist. The serpents hide under his clothing, tightening around his biceps and resting their heads in his collarbones.

As Hades passes, people grasp at their throats and bellies, complaining about a churning and a bubbling suddenly sparking in their bodies. He tries to steel his spine against their reactions at his arrival and wills himself to disregard the negative aura he's surrounded with. The serpents literally clutching his muscles does help to sober him as he feels his godly blood pumping in his own veins. Cerberus continues to guide him towards a fountain so he may drink from it, tongue parched from the heat of the Underworld.

Sweet Pea licks his lips and guards his face from those who might identify him, keeping his back to as many passersby as humanly possible. He swallows as he gets closer to the heart of the event, more humans crowding him and making him sweat.

"It must be the wine," he hears an older gentleman gripe. "Dionysus must have given us an old batch, uncured and rancid. I think I'm going to be sick."

The god refuses to pay mind to measly mortals. He huffs, thinking: They probably just can't handle the amount of alcohol Dionysus keeps. They'll be fine in the morning. Or they'll be dead. I guess I'll be the first to know.

Cerberus sniffs people's feet, drawing some attention but only to himself. The crowd loves to reach and pet behind his ears, and Cerberus has an equal desire for the affection. In his smaller form, his ferocities are fewer and he craves the human touch. Hades wishes that he were the same.

"I don't feel so good," he hears a small child whine from beside him. Their parent picks them up, holding them around the waist and shushing them.

Sweet Pea pushes closer, feeling stronger as the offerings grow in number. Prayers press against his ears, but he tries harder not to hear them. He grips the leather strap holding him to Cerberus tighter, the worn material biting into his palm and giving him some sense of clarity amongst the chaos.

Another woman turns as soon as he brushes past her shoulder, "Adrian, I am suddenly unwell. Do you think we might turn in early?"

The god hears voices such as this all around him, complaining of their sickened bellies and their rancid wine. He is suddenly so overwhelmed with the fearful thoughts of those around him that he doesn't pay attention when he bumps into a young woman, causing her to stumble.

He reaches out, accidentally touching her elbow as he steadies her. A swift apology passes his lips before he turns his back to her so she is unable to identify him as the monster she sees.

"It's quite all right," she chuckles, even though he's already dismissed her. "This wine is getting to my head as well."

Her mother, Hades assumes, reaches out and grasps her by the shoulders, "My love, I believe the wine has been poisoned or poorly prepared. Are you not sick like the others?"

Sweet Pea pushes past her just as he hears: "No, mother, I actually rather liked the drink."

The god tucks his hood further around his chin, hiding his true face from those around him as a crowd gathers to the bonfire.

"Tonight we celebrate the Prince of Darkness, the Lord of the Underworld, the god of The Depths!" A man stands tall in front of the crowd, his arms gesturing wide, "Tonight, we lift up our prayers to the most evil Lord Hades in hopes that he will turn his ear towards us and heed our cries! He has sworn off prayer, that much we know, but it is possible that if we can prove to him that we are worthy of his affections, he may open his mind to us all once more."

Suddenly, all around him, people begin to fall face first into the dirt, their hands raised above their heads as they recite prayers and passages under their breath. They dig their fingers into the ground and whisper to the god of death, eyes shut as the fire beats down on top of them.

The voices all come at him twice - once directly and once again indirectly. The amount of prayers pushing through the field of the underworld makes him dizzy and cold. He wraps his arms around himself in an attempt to hold his body together.

"I pray you will punish my husband," one woman requests with gritted teeth.

"Please, Lord Hades, help me rid myself of my awful wife," a man pleads with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, great god," an older man speaks, "please heed my cry and take my life. I am in far too much pain to stay here another day."

It is all so overwhelming. Sweet Pea's mind begins melding at the flood of voices and words and emotions coming through all at once. He blinks hard, trying to rid himself of all the negative, dark thoughts he is wading through.

"I think we should leave," Topaz whispers to her Maker, tightening around his bicep. Fangs gives him another squeeze, seconding her request, and Hades grasps Cerberus around the rope and tugs him away from the scene.

"I don't even know why I'm here," he hears another voice say. "None of them truly understand you, sweets."

The words make his toes dig in the dirt, his body halting as the nickname hits his ears. He looks around frantically, wondering if the source of the voice is one of his kin. Sweet Pea fights a smile at the idea of seeing one of his brothers again.

When he turns his head, all he sees is the backside of a young woman, dark hair covering her shoulders like a curtain. The spit in his mouth turns sour at his hopefulness. He scowls, and Hades pushes the thought of his family out of his mind. Hades begins forcing himself to walk further and further away from the gathering. People try to grasp him by the arms and legs and beg him to pray to himself, but he shakes them off and continues through.

His body is somehow weakened by the time he returns to his temple, legs shaking under the strain of being in a human form for far too long. He gasps, digging his palms into the dirt so the Serpents have a way to slither back down into the dirt.

"I need a moment, my friends, if you would be so kind," he manages to push the words through his white teeth. Sweet Pea sits on his knees, staring up at his very own statue, the marble looking back at him with soulless eyes and a broken heart.

"This is all they think of me," Sweet Pea whispers. "They think of me as some mercenary they can offer burnt rabbits to in exchange for my taking of a soul. I am nothing but a transactional god to them."

His lower lip trembles and he looks up to the heavens, "Zeus and Poseidon were right. I will always be in danger here, everywhere."

He beats his fists into the ground, cracking the stone he kneels upon. Tears drip onto the marble and he seethes curses through his teeth. Nothing can repair his damaged heart, his broken mind, not now.

Sweet Pea stands to his feet and the Serpents guide him to the chariot. Cerberus climbs in the front, awaiting his master. The horses buck, ready to return to their home. Their black hair gives way to a burning red mane, the heat from their flaming extremities warming Hades' face.

"Let's go home, my friends," he whispers, grasping the reigns and sitting back in his seat.

The horses are quick to pick up speed as the ground opens beneath them. The Serpents can morph into their opposing forms as soon as the grass grows back from where they once came. Topaz gasps for breath, the transformation still strange as it mutilates her bones and stretches her scaly skin.

Fangs lays his head on his Maker's arm, "I am sorry, Lord Hades. They do not deserve you."

The ride into The Depths is silent, save for the clambering of the horse hooves and Cerberus' occasional barking. Hades keeps one hand on the reigns and the other on Cerberus' neck, scratching him with his thumbnail.

They land with a thundering of hooves and a burst of flames as the chariot makes contact with the obsidian ground of the Underworld. Sweet Pea steps out, pulling Cerberus by the leash as the Serpents exit on the opposite side.

Sweet Pea bends down to unhook the leather from around Cerberus' neck when he feels the shift, the change in the atmosphere. Suddenly, the Underworld feels much-warmer.

He turns to ask Topaz and Fangs if they feel it too, but he's interrupted by a voice he's heard only in his dreams.

"Wow, it really is you."

a/n: OH MY GOD IT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!!

disclaimer: without @thesweetestsweetpea my life would be a wreck and i would’ve quit before i ever started. i am forever indebted to you, my darling. so send her a thank you if you liked this chap!

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yourdeepestfathoms · 5 years

Text

The Blood Inside of Ewe

TW: Abuse

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

“I’ll thrash the devil out of you!”

Realizing that her attempt to sway John into believing that she and the other girls were doing good by accusing people wasn’t working, Mary catapults herself over the table to get away from him and his whip. She clambers over the top, scattering plates and cups and any food left there, before tipping over in a very ungraceful landing. After hitting the ground, she scrambled up again, but John was already upon her.

“I sa-!!”

Before she can get the words out, the whip connects with her back with a horrible CRACK.

Mary doesn’t scream, but she does whine sharply at the burning sensation blazing through her shoulder blades. She scampers around below John, as she had easily been sent to her knees by the blow. She’s fidgeting and fumbling, trying to speak up without sounding pained, as that would make her seem even weaker.

“Mr. Proctor, I-”

Another lash streaks across her lower back and Mary grits her teeth through the pain. Her fingernails claw and catch into the floorboards, but she would have much preferred splinters uprooting her nails than this beating.

“Worthless girl! When will you learn to obey me?!” John roared overhead before cracking the whip against his servant’s waist.

Mary’s arms give in and she toppled over onto her side. She squirmed helplessly, pushing her heels against the ground in an attempt to get away, mouth agape as she watched John raise his arm yet again.

“I-”

This time, Mary does scream.

She does scream because the whip lashes right across her stomach and the fresh pain makes her see black spots. Her head threw itself backwards, knocking her skull against the floorboards, but it’s not enough to lessen the searing sensation burning itself through her midsection. For a moment, she can only choke and cry out, but then the incomprehensible wail turns into words.

“I SAVED HER LIFE TODAY!!”

John’s arm freezes right as he went to deliver yet another whipping. His head snaps up and he meets Elizabeth’s wide eyes, who had just been watching the beating go down. He sees his wife’s grip tighten on the weird little poppet Mary had given to her.

“I am accused?” Elizabeth asked fearfully.

Mary doesn’t answer- she doesn’t even really hear her mistress. She had curled herself around her stomach, pressing a hand to the slice made in her dress and dreading the sticky warmth blooming between her fingers.

Then, there’s a tight grasp on the back of her collar and she’s yanked up like a kitten by its scruff. John prods her in the back with the handle of his whip and Mary puts the pieces together to realize what it was exactly that Elizabeth had said.

“You were...” She swallowed thickly, “somewhat mentioned...”

John nor Elizabeth say a word, and Mary realizes she’ll have to continue speaking.

“But-but I told the court I never seen no sign of witchcraft and they dismissed it!” She went on.

“Who accused me?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’m bound by law, ma’am, I cannot say.” Mary said. She winces at the tightening of John’s fingers around her collar. The way Elizabeth tossed the poppet she had made for her up onto the mantle like it was worthless didn’t make her feel any better, either.

“Go to bed, Mary.” John growled.

Despite her desperate need to be independent, Mary obeys and doesn’t argue. She skitters away to the staircase, leaving the couple to discuss between themselves.

“The noose is up.” Elizabeth muttered grimly.

“There will be no noose.” John assured her, making her scoff and shake her head.

“Abigail wants me dead, John.” Elizabeth said, “You know-”

She was cut off by a loud thump.

Turning, both John and Elizabeth saw their servant half sprawled on the staircase after she must have fallen. She wasn’t moving to get up, though, which annoyed John. Little rat must have been trying to listen in on their conversation so she could report to her lord and savior, Abigail, with more insight.

When John stepped forward with his whip, Elizabeth tenderly touched his shoulder to stop him and went to go check on the girl instead.

“Mary,” Elizabeth crouched down beside the girl’s body, hearing tiny whimpers emit from her. “Mary.” She pressed on one of her shoulders to try and rouse her, “Get up. You cannot lay here.”

Mary doesn’t respond or listen. She’s awake, however, Elizabeth knows she is from the noises she’s making and how her fingers twitch ever so slightly. They’re clutching tightly at a large red patch steadily growing on Mary’s dress.

“Let me whip her and we be done with this.” John growled, clearly impatient

“She’s bleeding.”

“What?”

That certainly caught him off guard.

Elizabeth grabs Mary’s shoulders and rolls her over onto her back, further revealing the stain, which is definitely getting bigger. Carefully, she parts the frayed fabric of Mary’s dress and finds the source of all the blood- an angry red trench that’s nearly carved all the way across the girl’s stomach.

“John, she’s bleeding!” Elizabeth said, this time with much more urgency.

“She always bleeds when she gets whipped.” John said dismissively.

“You have never whipped her on the stomach, John!” Elizabeth turns her gaze back to Mary, who has her eyes opened, but they’re foggy and unfocused. She gently pats the girl’s flushed cheek to rouse her. “Mary? Mary, can you hear me?”

Mary isn’t really meeting her gaze, rather staring fearfully over her shoulder. She’s staring at John and his whip, Elizabeth realizes.

“You are scaring her, John.”

“I am standing here!”

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head, reverting her attention back to her injured servant. Mary is writhing, now, curling up her arms and legs while whining in pain. She only froze because Elizabeth cups one of her cheeks and her touch had to be the most gentle thing in the whole world.

“We need to take her to Rebecca.” Elizabeth decided.

“No we do not.” John clipped, “She brought this upon herself.”

“She’s still bleeding, John! She’s bleeding a lot!” Elizabeth said, “I will bring her, just help me get her outside.”

“Elizabeth, this is absurd.”

Realizing that her husband was going to be no help, Elizabeth gathered all her strength and carefully lifted Mary into her arms. She found that it was a lot easier than she expected, as Mary was already very small for her age, but light, too.

That probably wasn’t a good thing.

“Woman, are you listening to me?!” John barked, stepping in the doorway. His nose curled at the blood getting on his wife’s dress.

“John,” Elizabeth said firmly, narrowing her eyes. She finds herself holding Mary closer without even really realizing it. “I am taking her to Rebecca. We are not losing our servant because of your ignorance. Now get out of my way or go get me the horse.”

John grinds his teeth and then stormed out of the house. Elizabeth smiled ever so slightly when she realized he had gone to get one of their horses.

After getting up onto the saddle, Elizabeth gets John to hand Mary to her. The man is disgusted by the servant blood smeared on him when he does so, but his wife’s gratitude made him lighten up a little.

With Mary awkwardly positioned on the front of the saddle, leaning against Elizabeth’s chest, the horse takes off down the path to Salem.

Even with the thunderous hoofbeats against the dirt road, Elizabeth knows Mary is nodding off. She has to occasionally shake the girl to wake her up, always sparking a tiny whine of discomfort.

“It hurts,” Mary croaked, digging the back of her skull against Elizabeth’s shoulder.

“I know, dear, I know,” Elizabeth said, keeping her eyes forward. “We’ll be in town soon. Just stay awake.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There is nothing for you to apologize about, little one.”

“Did you like the poppet?”

That makes Elizabeth look down. Mary’s eyes are big and glassy. The girl is clearly delirious from blood loss.

“Yes, I did.”

“Really?” Mary’s voice softened, “You threw it up onto the mantle...above the hearth...I don’t think you liked it.”

Elizabeth’s grip tightens on the reins. Sure, she thought the gift was a little strange, but maybe it was rude of her to set it aside so carelessly. Before she could answer, however, Salem came up in the distance and she urged the horse forward faster.

Mary had fallen silent by the time they reached the Nurse house. Elizabeth gets off the horse first, then reaches up to help Mary down. The attempt to carefully get the girl off of the saddle was clumsy and when Mary’s feet hit the ground, she screeches. Thanks to the not-very-light landing, a fresh spurt of blood gushes free. Mary’s body crumpled to the dirt.

Elizabeth stares in horror when the wound starts to ooze again. She debates on whether she should pick Mary up and carry her to the stoop, but decided against it, instead opting to go pound on the door herself.

“Rebecca!!” Elizabeth shouted, not caring about who else she may wake up with her yelling, “Rebecca, wake up! Come out here!!”

There’s a wail from behind and Elizabeth knocks and speaks louder. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices candles flicker to life in nearby houses and a few doors creep open as people try to figure out what the commotion was.

“Rebecca!!”

Finally, the door flung open and there stands Rebecca Nurse, clad in her nightgown. Frances is close behind her and both of their eyes are wide with alarm.

“Elizabeth, what ails you?” Rebecca asked.

“My servant,” Elizabeth sidestepped so the two could see Mary’s shivering, curled up form. “She’s bleeding. Badly. I didn’t know who else to turn to.”

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Reverend Parris has woken up, armed with a bright torch, alongside Reverend Hale. Abigail is also with them, already eyeing Mary’s body.

“My servant is hurt!” Elizabeth snapped.

Parris’ eyes widen and he swivels around, aiming his torch towards Mary. He takes a wry step back when he sees the blood coming from her stomach.

“Witchcraft?” He immediately said, making Abigail and Hale’s heads pop up in intrigue. “Who sent their spirit out to harm her?”

“Nobody!” Elizabeth said, exasperated with all the witch nonsense. “John-” She sighed heavily, “John got mad at Mary for going out to the council when he said not to and whipped her. She kept moving and he got her across the belly. She never been lashed there before.”

“You whip your servant?” Hale finally spoke up. He stole another glance at Mary and there was definitely worry in his eyes.

“Well- Yes.” Elizabeth said, “I mean, I don’t. I certainly do not partake in such a thing, but- Doesn’t Reverend Parris whip his slave?”

Parris shot a glare at Elizabeth for throwing him under the bus.

“And I never said that was any better,” Hale said, “But at least Tituba is an adult. Your servant here is but a child!”

Mary wails, halting a possible oncoming argument.

“Bring her inside,” Rebecca said urgently, “Frances, clear the table. Quickly now.”

Carefully, Elizabeth hoists Mary up into her arms and carries her into the house. Upon Rebecca’s command, she sets the girl on her back on the dining room table. Instead of bothering to try and remove the dress, Rebecca just takes a pair of scissors and cuts down the middle. Half-conscious Mary is anything but happy about being almost completely nude in front of all of these people, and it must have shown on her face because Elizabeth sets a tender (but cold) hand on her now-bare shoulder.

“She’s helping you, Mary.” Elizabeth told her.

Mary looks up at her mistress with big, foggy eyes. Despite her vision being muddled and blacked with spots, Elizabeth still seems as angelic as ever, and her presence is comforting.

Candles lit up around the house, thanks to Frances. He hands Rebecca a bottle of clear liquid labeled only by a crude sketch of a cross on it and then another bottle that smelled faintly of alcohol when opened. Rebecca flushes out every inch of the wound on Mary’s stomach with the clear liquid, then drenches the whole length with the second liquid. The reddish-brown fluid streamed down Mary’s bare abdomen, groin, thighs, along with the bubbling of the blood that gets washed out by whatever was in the first bottle. Elizabeth was about to look away when Mary whimpered.

“Shh, shh, little one,” Rebecca murmured softly, but didn't touch. She kept her hands in the air like a surgeon and, indeed, Elizabeth saw that she was holding a needle and stitching. “Mister Hale,” She eyed the man hovering in the open doorway of the house, along with a few others, “Come here, will you please?”

The minister glances at Parris, then Abigail, and finally stepped inside.

“What can I do?”

“Grab a candle and angle the glow on her belly. I need more light.”

Hale nodded and then retrieved a candle, doing as he was told.

“Frances, hold her wound shut for me. And Elizabeth, keep the child calm. Distract her if she starts to get worked up.”

The close candle was necessary, but the light of the other fires was growing, too, flickering helpful warm yellows and oranges over Mary’s pale face and down her exposed body as Hale and Elizabeth situated themselves in a comfortable position. Unlike Frances and Rebecca, this was clearly a first time for both of them.

Rebecca bent over Mary and started the stitches. Mary gasped and jerked out of her daze, looking to the source of the pain and finding the old woman.

“It's okay, Mary, it's okay,” Elizabeth said softly. Rebecca is hovering over her servant, waiting, letting Mary get her bearings and settle. “You’re getting stitches, dear.”

Mary stared up at Elizabeth for a moment, then looked at everyone else, clearly a little embarrassed. Her head drops down against the table.

“Okay,” She breathed. Elizabeth could see a light sheen of sweat developing along her nose, cheeks, and forehead. Her servant’s eyes fluttered closed.

“Child, stay awake.” Rebecca ordered, noticing somehow, even though she was supposed to be stitching.

“She’s just resting.” Elizabeth said, a little defensive, but when she earned a hard look from Rebecca, she opted to obey the professional and lightly shake Mary’s shoulder. Mary shuddered too much, jarring Rebecca’s meticulous work and making the woman lean back to mutter obscenities, something Elizabeth thought she would never hear.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Mary sobbed, sensing the frustration around her. “Don’t hurt me. Please don’t hurt me... I’m sorry...!”

At the “don’t hurt me” Hale makes a face. He glanced at the wound and then at Elizabeth, replaying the woman’s explanation of John whipping the girl.

“Nobody is going to hurt you, Mary.” Elizabeth said to her servant. “You’re safe.”

“Calm her, Elizabeth.” Rebecca ordered, readying the needle again.

“You are not in trouble, dear,” Elizabeth said, softening her voice to a more velvety tone. She lifts a hand and strokes strands of sweaty hair out of Mary’s face. “Just stay calm. Don’t move.”

After looking around, she notices a quilt folded on a chair. Mary whines in panic when her mistress darts from her side, but calms when she returns rather quickly.

“Here,” Elizabeth whispered, pushing the quilt up against Mary’s chest. She couldn't explain the urgent need to cover her servant up- perhaps to keep her modesty intact, to get her warm and stable. She did know, however, that Mary was quite the clinger and tended to grab onto things for stability. And by the way the girl gripped tightly onto the quilt, Elizabeth assumed it was helping.

Mary’s eyes shone with gratitude as she held the quilt closer. One hand lets go, however, and grabbed onto Elizabeth’s apron, instead. Hale chuckles softly from his position.

“Keep talking to her, come on,” Rebecca spoke up again. She couldn’t help but smile slightly at how Elizabeth was trying to make sure her servant was comfortable and calm, but she began to worry about Mary drifting off.

“Right.” Elizabeth nodded. However, she didn’t really know what to ask about. Sensing her loss of words, Hale jumps in to help.

“How long have you been working for the Proctor’s?” He asked, shooting Elizabeth a small smile. The woman gives him a look of thanks in return.

“Umm...” Mary looks up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly. “Four...? No, five-? How old am I?”

Rebecca cusses softly again and her hands quickened their pace. Hale and Elizabeth exchange worried looks. Frances doesn’t look up from where he was holding the wound close.

“You’re seventeen, darling.” Elizabeth said, giving Mary’s shoulder a small shake. The pet name definitely roused Mary, because she blinked harder and her eyes cleared up a little.

“Three years.” Mary finally answered Hale, who raised his eyebrows.

“Three years? That’s a long time.” He said.

“Sort of.” Mary shrugged slightly, “When I first came here, Goody Proctor took me to the tavern she and John have and these two girls, Abigail and Mercy- do you know Abigail and Mercy? Abigail is sort of scary, but I think she just acts like that because she wants people to take her seriously. And Mercy is anything but she name’s sake. She once grabbed a whole fish out of the water with her bare hands! Then she threw it at Susanna- do you know Susanna?”

“The story, honey,” Elizabeth reminds Mary, who was getting off track. She smiled and chuckled in endearment at the girl’s babbling.

“Right. Sorry.” Mary blinked a few more times and breathed through the pain for a moment before speaking again, “So Abigail and Mercy come in and I was cleaning some of the tables and they walk up to me and start talking to me like I already knew them. I definitely did not, though, because you would remember someone with a name like ‘Mercy’.”

“What did they want?” Hale asked.

“Well, they wanted to just know who I was. I guess they liked me because we still all see each other.” Mary smiled fondly, although a deep guilt eats away at her because of the lies she and her friends are now partaking in.

Suddenly, she gasped as Rebecca pulled the thread through. She let out a sob. Her eyes screwed shut as tears spilled free.

“Only a little more to go. Keep her awake.” Rebecca directed to Elizabeth.

“You’re okay, darling.” Elizabeth whispered to her weeping servant, “It’s almost over.”

“Okay,” Mary breathed. “I'm, uh,” She looked around, “cold.”

“You're sweating.” Hale replied grimly.

Mary looked at him and then let her head fall back again. She grips tighter to the quilt and Elizabeth’s apron. Her body continued to tremble.

“I don't wanna talk. Is that okay?” Mary slurred.

“Yes, that’s okay.” Rebecca answered. She gave Elizabeth a look and she nodded, knowing the conversation part of her job was over now.

For awhile it was just silence broken by the occasional noises- the fire cracking, any remaining people murmuring outside, the wind blowing, Mary’s whimpers and rapid pants. If Mary squirmed, Elizabeth would stroke her hair and shush her gently.

Finally, Rebecca clipped off the end of the stitches. They were expert-level precise.

Before anyone can say anything, however, the old woman is moving again. After cleaning her hands of Mary’s blood in a basin, she retrieves a wet rag and began washing off her patient’s stomach.

Mary stares blankly up at the ceiling, tears still trickling free. Even though a needle is no longer piercing her flesh, the wound’s bone-deep pain still lingers. With it, the memories of why exactly it was there came back to her.

This pain was nothing compared to those who will hang because of her lies.

“I-I don’t f-feel good.” Mary choked out in a sob. Her gasps built up as she realized how little air she was getting. She threw off the quilt and clutched her chest, clawed her throat like she was trying to open an airways for oxygen. Elizabeth’s hands on her forearms startles her badly.

“-spinning out right now. Mary, it’s a fit. You’re having another fit. You need to focus, darling. Clear your mind. Drink something.” Then Elizabeth’s head turns away as she looks for something for her servant to drink from.

“What’s going on?” Hale asked worriedly. He looked at Rebecca, who was equally as concerned. “Is she-”

“Mister Hale, excuse my rudeness, but if you ask if she’s being attacked by some person’s spirit, I will slap you.” Elizabeth said. “She’s having a fit. She’s been having them for years. Before any of this witch nonsense started up.”

At the mention of the witch hunt, Mary cries out, shaking her head back and forth. Elizabeth turns back to her and carefully sits her up, being mindful of the stitches.

“Is there water here? She needs to drink something.” Elizabeth said; this time it was her turn to give orders. She noticed Frances retrieve the first cup he saw- a wine glass, but it would do just fine. While he was getting water, Elizabeth returned her attention to the girl propped up in her arms. “Stop thinking. Drink this. Focus on me.”

Mary sniffled and nodded frantically, tears still rolling down her cheeks as she sipped from the glass Elizabeth brought to her lips. Her right throat denies the water, but she forces it down.

“Good. Stay with me.” Elizabeth spoke so softly. Her touch is tender and caring when she brushes hair from Mary’s sweaty face. “Are you with me?”

She swallowed and nodded.

“Say it.”

“I am with you.” Mary’s voice was wet and shaky.

“What was that?”

“I am with you.” Mary repeated.

“Say it again. Keep saying it until I believe it.” Elizabeth challenged warmly and Mary nodded- this process between them seems practiced and routine. Mary kept saying the phrase, taking slow breaths to ease the sting in her chest. It takes a few minutes, but Elizabeth eventually nodded.

“Good girl.” Elizabeth murmured. Mary looked up at her, almost having forgotten she was there. She smiled lovingly and strokes her hair to soothe her further. She allows her servant to bury her face against her neck.

“You’re very good with her,” Rebecca finally spoke up.

“I like to think so.” Elizabeth chuckled lightly, rubbing circles against Mary’s back.

“What made her get like that?” Hale asked.

“Mary?” Elizabeth looks down at the girl in her arms, but she shakes her head and makes a tiny noise of resistance. “She doesn’t want to talk about it.”

Hale nodded and stepped back. He glanced at the doorway when the sound of distance hoofsteps reached his ears. Slowly, he walked back outside.

“Rebecca, Frances, I cannot thank you enough.” Elizabeth said to the elderly couple.

“You’re welcome,” Rebecca said. Then, her eyebrows furrowed, “Where is John, though?”

“He...” Elizabeth sighed and held Mary closer, “He did not think it was necessary to bring Mary to you. Since she bleeds all the time during whippings, he didn’t think the trip would be worth it. Like I said earlier, however, Mary has never been whipped on the stomach before. I was too worried to let her go to bed like this.”

“You made the right choice.” Rebecca nodded. However, she didn’t seem happy with John’s view on the girl’s injury. Before she could say anything about that, though, there was yelling from outside.

“Stop! You’re wrong! She’s not-”

Hale’s voice was drowned out by the clamoring of horses and men. Cheever and Herrick suddenly enter the house. Armed guards hover behind them. Mary starts to shake very badly in Elizabeth’s arms.

“Rebecca Nurse, you are under arrest.”

#the crucible #the crucible fanfiction #mary warren #john proctor #elizabeth proctor #rebecca nurse #frances nurse #reverend hale #reverend parris #abigail williams #tw: abuse

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anoldfashionedlife · 4 years

Text

COVID-19: Sunday, April 12

Easter.

I read an article from the February issue of 1843 about headphone use in public spaces: "Headphones have destroyed our sense of common purpose,” the author writes. "A bedlam of babble in a handful of headphones.” Now, I read everything in the context of a global emergency: if we can’t be together together, how can we be alone together.

I run to Times Square. I leave my house and run my normal route to and across the Manhattan Bridge. I run a few blocks down Canal to Broadway, where I turn right and head north. Broadway will take me all the way to Times Square where it meets 7th Avenue and a whole mess of other things. It's an arterial avenue that cuts through the city from bottom to top.

I run through SoHo, which is empty. SoHo hasn’t been a “cool” neighborhood for a long time, but it’s still popular with tourists. It’s also the closest neighborhood when I need something from a big brand like CB2 or Uniqlo and don’t want to pay for shipping or wait a few days for it to arrive.

I pause at Houston because I’ve always paused at Houston. There’s little traffic so I could cross, but it seems safer to wait for the signal. “Look both ways before crossing, even when crossing a one-way street.” Advice given to incoming freshman at NYU—patronizing and comical, but useful because bikes and assholes don’t always follow the traffic rules.

I get the signal to cross, and I cross to the median where I pause once more. Out of habit I wait for any cars turning onto Houston, not paying attention to pedestrians, but there aren’t any. Everybody has different criteria for “when you become a New Yorker.” For me it was the first time I didn’t hesitate to yell at a driver turning into me as I crossed the street: “Fuck you! I’m crossing here!"

I didn’t live in New York on September 11th—I was a sophomore in high school in suburban Indiana—but I’d read accounts of New Yorkers in the days after who came out into the streets for no other reason than to be with other people, to commiserate and to mourn. Union Square was one place where they'd congregate, not only because it was a public space but because it was the largest and closest public space to the World Trade Center not cordoned off by the NYPD.

When I approach Union Square I slow down to keep my distance from others, mostly people coming out of the Whole Foods. I cross 14th Street into the park and most of the people there are homeless men, sitting on park benches with no place to go.

On the north side of Union Square I run past a bucket drummer, a nuisance in normal times but now a sort-of beacon in a sea of silence. I can hear him all the way past 19th Street three blocks away, and if there wasn’t a light breeze I could probably hear him for another few blocks.

Between 22nd and 23rd the sidewalk widens. There is plenty of space, but I run into the street to keep as much distance from others as I can. As I pass between two parked cars I lock eyes with an Asian woman who, behind a mask, looks at me as though she’s caught her pre-teen son out with friends instead of staying home to study for the PSAT: disappointment mixed with anger.

Continuing up Broadway I skirt between the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park. Broadway between Flatiron and the ACE Hotel is an interesting mix of Yuppie District—sweetgreen, Milk Bar, Opening Ceremony—and the 28th Street Flower and Bargain Districts, but everything is closed. I run past a homeless man huddled next to an access ramp and think about white flight. In the 50s and 60s we fled to the suburbs. Today we've fled to our apartments.

I run through Herald Square and notice that the garbage cans outside Macy’s are empty. Garbage cans in Manhattan are never empty; they’re almost always overflowing with the detritus of petty consumerism: plastic Starbucks iced coffee cups, Chick-fil-A sauce, Hop-On Hop-Off bus maps.

I think about one of my favorite bars in the city, it’s nearby: Keens is one of New York’s oldest steakhouses, but if you’re not eating there—which I’ve only done twice—you can still order a drink at the bar, and they mix a good Manhattan.

I continue up Broadway and run past security personnel guarding empty office buildings and police officers patrolling empty public spaces. I make it to Times Square, and I think to myself: there are too many people here. There aren’t many people, but it still seems like too many.

I read the displays. Disney says: “Thank you to all the healthcare workers and first responders around the world / We are grateful for you.” T-Mobile says: “Please practice social distancing.” American Eagle says: “We are in this together. We are stronger together.” Clear Media says: “Not all superheroes wear capes.” Sephora says: “To all the healthcare, emergency, and social workers: \ You have our immense gratitude \ Thank you. \ We belong to something beautiful.” Green Giant says: “To all on the frontlines, you are the true giants.” Below the ball-drop is an impressive four-piece vertical public service display: “PL \ EA \ SE \ Practice \ social \ distancing \ & help \ save \ lives. \ cdc.gov/covid19 \ Prevent the spread of germs \ Please \ Stay \ Home \ When \ You \ Are \ Sick \ Prevent the spread of germs \ cdc.gov/covid19.” Amazon advertises a new album from The Strokes called The New Normal. #nystrong

What isn’t missing from Times Square is the guy who walks around carrying an “end is near” sign: “Because of sin Noah’s ark was built. No one believed him. Flood came—they perished. End is near. Judgement day is coming. Repent today. Confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Only way to heaven.” That he isn't at whatever off-brand church he belongs to on Easter makes his message a bit less convincing.

I think about another one of my favorite bars in the city: Jimmy’s Corner, an old-school bar with boxing memorabilia covering the walls. You’d think in a place like Times Square it was actually owned by Yum! Brands or something, but you can find Jimmy there most nights.

I leave Times Square and run east on 42nd Street. Bryant Park is utterly empty. No homeless men, no vagabonds. Nobody except me and a park employee tending to the garbage cans, replacing one empty bag with another.

The emptiness isn’t surprising, but I should explain why. Since its inception the Bryant Park Corporation has been particularly aggressive in keeping out undesirables. First by removing park benches and adding metal tables and chairs. William H. Whyte, an urbanist in the 1970s, championed them as giving park users a semblance of agency in public space without actually providing it.

More importantly, removing park benches eliminated a surface on which homeless people could sleep. Over time, more and more features were added: upscale food for sale, movie nights on the lawn in the summer, a skating rink in the winter, Fashion Week. Sharon Zukin describes it as “pacification by cappuccino.”

Urban thinkers and advocates have been asking this question for years: Who’s city is this anyway?

I run a few blocks east to Grand Central. Once inside I don’t break pace as I run down the ramp towards the main concourse. For some reason this doesn’t strike me as unusual until I reach the main concourse. Shocked, I stop and take in the sight of an empty, cavernous space normally brimming with activity: commuters catching a train upstate if they don’t live in the city, the subway if they do; tourists careening their necks up to the ceiling painted with the constellations; me grabbing a drink at The Oyster Bar or Campbell’s Apartment, just because.

I’m lucky that my friends and family haven’t been infected by coronavirus; the hardest thing so far has been weeks of quarantine. I haven’t cried during this pandemic—I’m no “boys don’t cry” kind of boy, but doing so seems like an admission that things won’t resemble “normal” for quite some time. But standing here, taking in the sight of my city hollowing out like this, I tear up.

I turn around and run back home. I run down Madison Avenue to Madison Square Park. I turn left onto 23rd Street and then right onto Park Avenue South. Left onto 18th Street, right onto 3rd Avenue, left onto 12th Street, right onto 2nd Avenue. I cross Houston and take Forsyth to the Manhattan Bridge back to Brooklyn.

Back home I put a bottle of sparkling wine in the freezer, but it doesn’t fit because it’s full of frozen food, so I put it in my oversized ice bucket that once graced the tables and suites at the Waldorf Astoria. I bought it salvage a while back and don’t use it as often as I’d like: it fits two bottles comfortably, but one bottle looks silly, like a kid wearing his dad’s tuxedo jacket. I was hoping it’d be a fixture of backyard barbecues this summer, but that seems unlikely.

For dinner I make Ethiopian food. The doro wat turns out quite well, but the injera that’s been fermenting for a few days is an utter failure. I eat the stew with rice.

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fairyofthemoonandstars · 5 years

Text

No Light in your bright blue eyes (Part II)

Part I

Part II - The House was awake with shadows and monsters

It has been weeks now since Y/N had moved into the house. She was taking care of Michael full time. Pretty soon his mind joined his body and he was now acting like a teenager. He was a wreck emotionally and was sometimes very violent, even toward her. And this was a challenge of every day to take care of him.

But he was also loving and caring. He started to show some signs of magic, and pretty soon she would have to help him control it as much as possible. That’s when he learned she was a witch, and his admiration for the woman who was taking care of him was only growing.

One day, he tried to struggle her against the wall, this was the time she thought about giving up. But when few seconds after he apologized and burst into tears she couldn’t help but care for him. She knew this relationship wasn’t bringing much good in her life. But the need she had to protect him was getting over everything.

She didn’t know what she was capable of doing for this boy until it got her killed.

One morning, as she was preparing breakfast for the sleeping boy upstairs, she heard someone knock on the door. She was surprised as she thought her magic had fixed any problem of having future owners. She didn’t want Michael repeating his killing on people who tried to settle in.

As she opened the door she saw three hooded figures. All cloaked in back. Her first instinct would have been to shut the door at their faces, but she didn’t know who they could be. Maybe witches although she highly doubts that.

She raised an eyebrow, confused as the man in the middle of the trio smiled at her. His smile was giving her chills, she couldn’t trust him or the two women by his side, that she was sure.

-Who are you? Can I help you? She was not certain she wanted the answer but she asked anyway.

-I am Anton LaVey, Black Pope of the church of Satan, and these are my cardinals. The man said very sure of himself

-Is this some kind of joke? Y/N she asked a bit amused by the man in front of her.

-We followed the dark star from the West, one of his cardinals added, the signs are impossible to miss: the temperature in this house, a home build over the portal to Hell, the crows worshiping from above.

She seemed far too excited about the news that Y/N’s blood freezes into her veins. Yes, she had noticed that the house was warmer than usual, that sometime during the days, hundreds of crows were flying over the house but she didn’t take it as any sign of anything excepted the soul of the house living. She knew it was built over the portal to Hell and it was the only explanation she ever needed.

-Michael is the chosen one, he will rise and bring us all to the Armageddon. The other woman said.

-I will not let you touch a hair of his. Who do you think you are? If you ever come again to this house I will not hesitate to kill you.

She was scared but anger was burning inside her eyes. Who do they thought they are, they will bring Michael down a dark past that she desperately tried to keep him away from. With the flick of her hands, she banished the three of them out of the property and lock ed the house with the spell that they could never come across.

But they were not going to give up that easily. The fact that Michael was protected by a witch wasn’t scaring them.

Her breath was shaking she couldn’t quite digest what she just heard. Was Michael’s real destiny to bring the end time? She wasn’t sure about anything, but one thing, she will not let anyone take him down that dark path.

-What happened? His voice came from the top of the stairs. I heard you screamed.

-It’s nothing love, just some stupid kid playing with the door’s bell. He wasn’t sure he believes her, but the smile that she finally gave him brought all his thought away. Let’s go get your breakfast

She offered him her hand, he went down the stairs to take it, his skin was really warm in comparison to hers, but she didn’t mind. Leading him to the kitchen so they can both enjoy their breakfast together.

For the first time, Michael found himself capable of doing something new. He was afraid to tell Y/N about it, because he was using it on her. He was listing to her thoughts, what she wasn’t saying, he could hear them as clear as if she was speaking them out. Most of the time he was doing that to help him fall asleep, her voice was calming him.

But that night was different, she was worried sick about what happened this morning. Michael knew she lied to him about the kids, he wasn’t mad about it because he knew, somehow, it was to protect him. Until a few nights, they were sleeping in the same room, it was the only way for him to really find sleep, but this time, she was thinking too fast for his liking.

And as she thought about him went on, he found himself scared. Scared that she might leave him all alone, because she was afraid, of him. Why would she ever think like this of him? He wasn’t always easy on her, that he would admit. But he loved her, in a way that he couldn’t explain how all this love could fit into himself.

She turned to look at him as she thought he was peacefully asleep. Her thought changed, and Michael was feeling much better, she loved him too, maybe not the way he wanted her to, but it was more than his grandmother ever loved him. She gave a small kiss on the top of the head and her mind went back to her book. Michael finally found sleep.

She had been sleeping for few hours when she woke up. It was terribly hot inside the room, she was sweating from every pore of her body and the fan in front of her wasn’t doing her any good. As she sat back in the bed she looked down at Michael, jealous that he was able to sleep under this heat. She gently pushed back a curl that was falling in front of his eye, trying not to wake him up. A soft smile crossed his sleepy face.

She wondered how he had grown to be such a beautiful young man. His features were so perfect, too perfect that nobody couldn’t actually believe that he could harm anyone. She lost herself, maybe he was some kind of fallen angel who had taken over the five years old boy she knew. There was so much humanity in him, he was desperate to be good and she felt that.

She crawled out off bed and walked silently out of the room. In need for fresh air, she went to see under the porch and was grateful for the air running on her wet skin. She felt safe, she hadn’t seen the three lost souls of the Church of Satan from all day, pretty sure that her magic had scared them away.

Y/N had realized far too late how wrong she was as something stung her neck and an unknown fluid run through her veins. She became quickly dizzy when she understood what happened, it was already too late, the woman with short hair from earlier on had drugged her. She tried to fight through it, but everything became dark.

Ms.Mead, that was her name, looked over the unconscious witch’s body, surprise that her plan worked so easily. She affirmed to her fellow Cardinal Ms. Crowe that she would sleep for three days, they only had to get Michael and her ready for the Black Mass.

When she woke up, Y/N was so lost, she couldn’t remember what had happened last. A strong yellow light was blurring her vision. Then she felt the pressure, her hands and feet were tied up to the table she was laid on. She started to move, shaking herself, screaming for help. She was so lost and couldn’t understand what was happening to her. That is when she saw his face that she remembered what happened.

-No need to be so loud you know, nobody is going to help you, he said, a vicious smile growing on his face.

Anger was growing inside of her, she could feel her blood boiling. But when she tried to use any of her magic, nothing happened. And now she was scared, tears rolled down her cheeks.

-No, no, no. Don’t cry, it will be over soon. He shook his head. Did you really think we let a witch get in our way?

Two new silhouettes entered the room, bringing the good news with them. Michael was ready. Then she was scared for someone else, she left him alone and now the Black Pope had his hands on him. I don’t know what Michael knew about her, what insanity had they put inside his head.

-What have you done to him?

-To him, nothing, he is my lord and savior.

-How broken-hearted he was when we told him you left him, all alone. Poor boy. Ms.Crowe told jubilating once more

-He knows it’s a lie, I will never …

-And yet here you are, he is alone, you left him. Ms.Mead added

It was so painful for her to think that Michael could ever believe she left him. To know he was broken once more, they made him so vulnerable to anything they were saying. He was ready to believe anything they were saying, even that he was Satan’s son.

She screamed to the sharp pain of the knife plunging through her chest. It was the worst pain she ever felt in her life, her all body was shaking and sweating the pain out, but it wasn’t enough. They were crazier than she expected as they were cutting her open.

But the worst was yet to come as the hand of the Black Pope went inside her open chest to take her heart. She gagged when his hand pressed over it, a malefic smile on his face, before tearing it out of her body.

And that was it, she died. Losing all her blood on the floor, her heart out of her chest. And all she can do was to watch her body lose all color, her skin turning grey and her eyes empty of life.

It took her some time to realized that her soul has left her body and there were both separate from each other. First feeling was panic, she was dead and she was trapped in Murder House forever. But then came hope, she was separated from her body, she could probably use Vitalum Vitalis to bring herself back, she never tried it, not even on somebody else, but it was possible she learned about it.

But it was impossible to do it without her heart. Without a second thought, she followed the blood leading her way to where the Church of Satan took her heart. As she was running on the corridor upstairs, she found a room light with candles.

When she approached the room it was already too late, Michael had her heart in his hand and before she could say anything he bit in it. She collapsed on the floor under the pain, it was even worse than when they took her heart out of her chest. She was screaming out, but the people in the room didn’t seem to hear her. Michael didn’t seem to hear her. That broke her even more.

She was powerless, watching her heart being eaten by that boy she loved so much. He seemed so different, so in control, as Satan’s shadow took place instead of his own, the rest of the room cheered and chanted « Hail Satan »

The tears of pain were running down her cheeks and she couldn’t stop them. She never felt so vulnerable in her life, she was dead and yet she felt everything, and she was doomed to relive this moment for eternity. She was trapped in the Murder House forever.

___________________

The story is yours to make now, choose your ending (No worries you can always come back and read the others)

Once Madison had told Cordelia what she found out, all the witches gathered to find a way to bring Y/N back to life. And they did succeed, bringing her with them as they return to Hawthorne to face Michael.

After Ms.Mead’s execution, Michael retreated to the forest to summon for his father. He spent two days without food or sleep when he saw a hallucination more real than he could have imagined.

It took years for Y/N to liberate herself from the Murder House. Once she did and found out Michael’s plan was already on march and there was no stopping. She found a way to include herself in Outpost 3, as a grey. Month at past in the Outpost, she was losing hope to ever see him again. Until the alarm of intrusion went on, announcing his arrival.

Ending I - Ending II - Ending III

#michael langdon #michael langdon x reader #michael langdon x y/n #michael langdon fanfiction #american horror story #ahs apocalypse #ahs fanfiction #ahs apocalypse fanfiction #cody fern #church of satan #murder house #my writing #reading #fanfic

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rahelawaters · 5 years

Text

Prompt #1: Voracious

For @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast‘s #FFxivWrite2019 challenge.

Ao3 link here!

W'rahela was always a hungy child. But she possessed no strength to swing a sword or draw back a bow; she made for a poor huntress, and thus had to rely on her mother, W'yulhia, to feed her. But even then, W'yulhia had to contend with a great deal of obstacles to feed her family. Her hometown was at the very southernmost part of Thanalan; a pointed mesa known as the Gold Fang. It was one of the few settlements south of the Sagolii that still stood. The harbor at Cape Deadwind had been on the decline from pirate attacks even before the Calamity irrevocably wrecked the place and broke the earth, cutting off the entire region from the rest of Thanalan. The W tribe's rivals of the U did not help matters by competing for what little land prey was left. Most of Rahela's meagre childhood meals consisted of various fish from the sands and seas, and little else. Occasions when the W tribe huntresses were lucky enough to bring down sandworms and sundrakes were her idea of a lavish meal…

"And with that, I bid you enjoy the feast!"

Thus, the now up-and-coming adventurer sitting down for the royal feast held in her honor, could scarce believe her eyes at the sight of the impossibly rich banquet laid before her. More foods than she knew the names of lined the table of the Fragrant Chamber, filling her nose with more scents than she could describe. Steaming, freshly-baked bread rolls, with golden brown and bubbly crusts. Countless kinds of meat, some pink, some white, some dark brown, some in-between, all juicy and glistening. Roasted popotoes cut into bite-sized pieces, made colorful with green and red spices. Sauces and melted cheeses to pour over top of everything…

The anxiety she'd had at rubbing elbows with the Ul'dahn . Any and all reasoning that once resided within her brain was henceforth given to her appetite; she was a stormy vortex and all food within her arms' reach was going to disappear within her mouth. Eyeing the meats, she grabbed the biggest fork in front of her and speared slices of every kind onto her plate. With a spoon, she scooped up the popotoes. While her bare hands were all she needed for snatching the bread from its basket.

Her hand was a blur as she formed a small mountain onto her plate. Once she'd had a satisfactory pile, Rahela dug in. She began by taking a roll and chomping down, savoring the crackling crunch of the crust beneath her teeth, contrasted masterfully with the much softer warmth of the bread. One roll, and then two were quickly devoured, at which point she noticed a miniature plate containing a scoop of butter. The third and last roll was quickly sliced open, and a smattering of half-melted butter was smeared between the split before it closed again; Rahela practically purredat the difference that the addition had made in the flavor.

Next were the popotoes; the skin was crisp and salty, the spices giving mouthwatering flavors to what might otherwise be bland flesh. Even better, their compact size meant Rahela could stab three pieces upon a long-pronged fork and eat all three at once.

And the meats… Gods be good, the meats… The tastes of them defied all description. She could never, ever, ever go back to eating fish after this.

Her reverie abruptly ended mid-chew when she chanced to open her eyes and see a masked lalafell looking right at her. The upturn of his mustache indicated that he was… sneering at her. Rahela stared back, confused, unconsciously swallowing her mouthful.

"Your Grace," the masked lalafell said, leisurely turning his head in Nanamo's direction. "I accept that this banquet is meant to hail this, ah… this 'lady' adventurer as a savior of Ul'dah, and is meant to cater to her limited palate. But I ask you all, must we really watch her gorge herself with such reckless abandon?"

"Wh-- huh?" Rahela froze, her ears folding back. Was she doing something wrong? And did he really use air quotes when he called her a lady? What was he saying? "I-I, I was just, I, I…"

"Lord Lolorito," Nanamo spoke up, her voice even, but icy cold. "I ask that you refrain from mocking our guest of honor at her own banquet."

Lolorito? The man who tried to have Wystan killed for wanting to help the poor? The man who terrified Rahela into hanging up her staff for a week, and nearly forever, for fear that the same would happen to her? THAT Lolorito?!

The monetarist goes on, not reacting to the sudden, visible fear that had gripped the adventurer. "Then I ask that the guest of honor act in a manner that reflects as much. I can hear her chewing from here, and her elbows are on the table. Scrawny as she is, I suppose I could tolerate her simply eating quickly; but honestly, I've seen swine with better table manners."

"I fear that not all of us have been entrenched in etiquette lessons since before we could talk," Nanamo deadpanned. "If the sight of a hero vigorously enjoying a well-earned meal is so unbearable for you to watch, then don't."

It seemed that Lolorito had run out of motivation to argue the point any further, because he said nothing else. Despite the mask covering his face, Rahela could still feel him glowering at her. And now, thanks to the scene he made, she could feel the stares of everyone in the room. She'd made a fool of herself in front of the entire upper class of Ul'dah, just by eating in front of them. By not knowing unspoken rules that nobody told her existed. Just by existing and enjoying a nice meal, she was an embarrassment…

The spiral of anxiety was abruptly ended with the sound of a low belch directly next to her. And immediately all the judgemental stares were drawn away from her, and honed in on the source of the noise.

Rahela blinked, and turned her head to the one sitting at her right. The source of the belch was a young midlander man with slicked-back, snow-white hair; there was something familiar about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. He held a cloth napkin to his mouth, and then cleared his throat. "Do excuse me; the meal was so exquisite that I forgot myself."

That voice! Rahela felt a warmth in her cheeks; she didn't recognize Thancred with lowered the napkin from his face, and took the briefest moment to give her a knowing wink.

"But what's a little faux pas between friends?" He punctuated with a shrug, and a disarming laugh. The tension in the air remained, but it passed into simple awkwardness as the dinner guests returned to their meals and conversations amongst themselves.

She'd been eating like a slob in front of Ul'dahn high society, and in front of her crush… Thankfully, he seemed to be on her side; and so did the Sultana. But Nanamo was on the other end of the table and Rahela at least knew enough that yelling her thanks across the table would not help matters. But, her mind digressed. "Thancred, I, uh, I, I didn't…"

With a smile, Thancred crossed his arms in his chair. "I wanted so badly to remind him that it was the Monetarist vote that was prevented the Sultanate from giving aid to Cape Deadwind after the Calamity and accelerating its decline into poverty. But I doubt you would appreciate my telling him where your family lives. So instead I opted for the diversion."

"I…" Rahela wanted to say more, but no words would come to her. Instead, all she could communicate was a simple, "Thank you."

"'Twould be remiss of me to sit by and let that bastard humiliate you," he reassured.

"But, Lo--"

"Don't mind him, or any of them. This is your feast, not theirs."

Rahela knew he was right, but… "Still, I went overboard, and made a slob of myself in front of everyone here…"

"And? So what if you did?" The bard shrugged. "A man of my occupation has seen his fair share of well-to-do social events. Etiquette is important for keeping up appearances and blending in, but it's all performative. No need to be self-conscious, friend. Truly, I understand."

"Understand what?"

"Being excited at the prospect of having access to more food than you've ever had in your life," he explained. "For them, a feast like this is nothing; they eat this well all the time. But for starvelings who've never seen so much food in one place, freely offered to them? It's an experience beyond all our imagination. Don't let the upper crust snobs ruin this for you."

(In the din of the room, Rahela didn't catch onto the meaning of Thancred's use of 'our'.)

"In fact, allow me to make your feast even more indulgent…" Pulling some roast popotoes from the pile and putting them onto a small plate, Thancred poured a thick cheese sauce over them, letting it drape over them, followed closely by another, thinner brown sauce. He then nudged the completed dish towards Rahela. "There we are. Popotoes, combined with cheese and gravy; or to call it by its proper name, poutine. You are welcome."

She looked to him, then back to the dish. Scooping up a spoonful of this new dish, she lifted it to her mouth, and… By the gods, he was right; all the flavors she loved in the popotoes combined with delicious cheese and meaty gravy? Somewhere deep within her throat came a high-pitched squeal as she chewed, the look on her face akin to one who'd just reached the Seventh Heaven.

"The only thing I would advise regarding your eating," Thancred advised, while watching her reactions with a crooked smile, "is that you pace yourself. And save room for dessert, of course."

Rahela's ears perked up and her eyes flew open. "There's dessert?!"

"If I know Her Impetuousness' sweet tooth, most certainly."

#ffxivwrite2019

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