#nothing was so frustrating as trying to spell a word I'd seen before but hadn't yet memorized the spelling of

[sparklinpixiedust]

Coffee

A/N: charmcaster x ken, basically how they met. Not proof read, sorry for any grammatical errors.

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" WHY...WON'T ....YOU...WORK ...YOU ...LITTLE" The silver haired witch screamed as she repeatedly kicked the coffee machine at the end of the long hallway.

All she wanted was a nice cup of joe before heading up to her room to start grading the papers her half- brained students had turned in. Unfortunately fate had other plans for her , plans that frustrated her to no end.

Not to mention Freidkin's strict rules on the use of magic on the coffee machine, not after the 'incident' last semester , she couldn't even use a spell to fix whatever on earth was wrong with the appliance.

"uh excuse me , um would you like some help?"

"Well unless you're some coffee machine fixing genius, no thank you!" she snapped , still fixated on the metallic object.

Why did this place have only one of these though? It makes no sense!

" No but I am a major in mechanical engineering, I guess I could have a look " the man voiced again, hoping he could be of some help.

Charmcaster turned to look at the voice this time, only to come face to face with the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. He stood there leaning against a pillar with his hands in is navy blue jeans, his black t shirt making his deep red hair look bright.

Her breath got caught in her throat , the butterflies swarmed in her stomach as she tried to get the words out.

" well then, fine I guess, take a whirl at it red" she said finally, rolling her eyes for an added 'whatever' effect, trying to play it cool. The boy didn't need to know he had affected her now did he.

He gave her a small smile as he walked past her to the machine, pulling it forward and inspecting the mechanics of it.

" I didnt know this place offered a course in engineering" she began , trying to make small talk to pass the time. And also to get to know him, for she was sure she hadn't seen him around before. If she had, she definitely would've remembered.

" Actually I don't go here, but my little sister does. Just here today to drop off some things for her."

" oh I see"

She couldn't feel any mana on him, he was a human through and through. There were quite a few non magic humans here studying history and other magic related degrees that didn't require the actual use of mana, perhaps his sister was one of them.

She went silent for a bit , trying to come up with something to say. It dawned on her that for the first time , she had nothing. She's had crushes before, dated a little bit too. However it seemed like for the first time someone had actually made her mind go blank.

"what about you , do you go here?" he asked shattering the peircing silence.

" Not really, I'm actually a professor here, since the last 6 months"

The redhead looked at her wide eyed, " you're a professor? No way. Wow you must be really smart to have become a college professor at such a young age"

She felt her cheeks redden. She was pretty skilled for someone her age , though this was the first time anyone had ever really told her that. It felt.... nice.

" So why'd you want to become a professor?" he continued on as he crouched down to better look at the wirings.

She leaned back on the stone pillar, recalling what led her to do this job.

" Well I was ruler of this place, it's called Ledgerdomain, it's..It's this place of magic. Anyway I was bored and on my occasional trips to earth I came across an opening for the position. So I thought I'd give it a try. "

And so far the job despite it's shortcomings , wasn't half bad. She would even go as far to say she enjoyed it, especially when it came to passive aggressively torturing her favorite little redhead. She smiled thinking back to when she handed over an A- on her end of semester last year, watching her face fall.

He got up from his position and turned to her, " So you're basically a queen too? Man you're so cool."

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she smiled at him, " yeah I guess I am"

Now it was time for the butterflies in his stomach to take flight.

" so um ," He said sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his hair , " the machine's fuse isn't working right."

Technically the fuse was fine, the machine just needed a quick reboot. He knew that, she didn't need to.

" Oh I see. I was really looking forward to that coffee though, I have a long day ahead of me of grading papers. "

The boy's eyes lit up , a thought occurring through his head.

" hey you know there's a cafe off campus that sells amazing coffee. it's only a 15 minute drive from here if you're interested" He asked, secretly hoping she'd say yes.

The witch smiled. " I'd love that "

The boy gleamed, " after you m'lady"

She giggled as she began to walk with him. Was this sort of a date? They both hoped it was.

" it's Ken by the way " he said.

" I'm Hope"

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[seriously-nobody]

Love's Dark Afflictions

Chapter 10

Warnings: Romance, attempted suicide, depression, mention of murder, mention of blood, consentual possession

Preface: I'll be shortening the word count per chapter from now until the endings. There will still be the same amount of content for the fic, I've just split the story up into more chapters. With all that said, this chapter has some sensitive topics so plz read the warnings.

You’re half a mile out from the mansion grounds when you come to a stop and dismount your horse. You pull out your flintlock from your waistcoat and examine it, glinting in the morning sun before a cloud passes overhead. “Alistair.” You summon him keeping your eyes on the mechanism. “I’m right here.” He materializes in front of you. “If I die,” You pause, trying to keep your composure as tears prickle at the corners of your eyes. “Will I end up in the ghost realm with you?” You ask him. He opens his mouth to answer but then pauses, fully taking in the implications of the question. “If your spirit is restless then yes.” He says. You nod and blink to clear your vision from the blur of tears. You look up at him and place the barrel over your temple, cocking back the hammer with a sickening click. “But,” He puts his hands up and cautiously steps closer to you. “You don’t have to join me yet, if you’re not ready.” He says trying to persuade you. You screw your eyes shut. “I’m not ready,” A few tears roll down your cheeks. “But I want this torment to be over with.” You growl, pressing the barrel further against your head. “Oh, no, darling. I promise you I will find a way to keep that nasty servant away from you.” He says placing his hands on your waist. You hang your head but keep the gun aimed true. “It’s not just about the servant.” You choke, your hand trembling against the trigger. “It's alright.” He shushes you. “You can tell me anything.” He strokes your waist. “You wouldn't understand.” You sniffle. “I rather think I would.” He smirks at you. “We have much in common, you know. You may be a mortal but you have a very powerful, restless spirit within you, just as I.” He tilts his head. You pause to consider his past, his murders, and possibly his similar feelings.

“I’m not right. There’s something broken in me, in my head. I can’t feel things like others do. I'm numb to emotion. Before you, before I met William even, everything, everyday, felt the same. It was all dull and boring, and the worst part was it was doomed to repeat itself again the next.” You begin to grow frustrated. “Day after day, mundane task after mundane task, there was nothing that made me feel happy. I barely felt alive. Business trips, disgusting family gatherings, greedy galas, house parties, it tired me to no end. I could've bought anything I wanted, god knows I had the power and money to, but I knew it wouldn't fill the emptiness I felt.” You take a breath. You hadn't even noticed you had dropped your pistol. “Nothing made me happy.” You punctuate. “Until…” You trail off. “Until?” Alistair asks cautiously as to not provoke you in your current state. “Until, I started looking for ways to bring back Eleanor.” You sigh. “My goal was never to bring her back, but to end these silly seances. They'd dragged on too long and I wanted out of them.” You huff.

“Though, I never thought I'd find anything but parlor tricks. I found something more, something darker than I had imagined. It intrigued me and I chose to look into it. But when I did, I became fascinated with it. The spilling of blood, the enthralling chants and spells, it was… infatuating. I felt a dark desire to draw closer but I couldn't. With my status in society, if I were seen performing such things it would’ve ruined my reputation further. So I stopped searching, kept it all a secret, and fell back into the numbness.” You sigh. “After a time I became restless again and decided to act on impulse and try something reckless.” You pause thinking if you should tell him about your secret.

“I… tried making something that I saw from the rituals…” You say cautiously. “Go on.” Alistair grins from ear to ear. “I believe it might’ve summoned you…” You say. “I knew it!” Alistair says. “You showed me how it felt to take a life first hand. It reawakened that darkness and when I killed for the first time with you, I felt genuine happiness again.” You smile warmly at him. “You helped me feel happiness when I thought I could never feel it again.” You cup his cheek. “I don’t want to go back to numbness again,” Your smile falls. “But I can’t keep killing to bring me happiness. People will find out and I'll either be executed or locked up in Bedlam. So,” Your raise your gun again to your temple. “I want to leave this realm on my own terms, not theirs.” You say. “If I may interject, one final time.” Alistair interrupts. “Let me take you somewhere where you can live out your immortal life with me in the ghost realm. Afterall, it's better than this old dusty road in the middle of nowhere.” He suggests. “I hate to drag this on any longer. But if it means eternal happiness, then what's a few more hours.” You put away your flintlock.

“Alright, where is this place?” You ask him. “Well I could direct you there, or…” He trails off thinking. “What is it?” You ask curiously. “Well, I could possess you and take you there. It won't hurt as long as you relax and don't fight it.” Alistair suggests. “If you don't give me a nose bleed or do anything rash, I'll allow it.” You say. “Excellent.” Alistair says. He reaches up slowly and gently touches two fingers to your temple and you feel his presence enter your mind. “Remember to relax and I'll do the rest.” He says through your mouth. You watch through your eyes as Alistair mounts your horse and spurs onward down the path.

Chapter 12

[marzipanandminutiae]

you probably already know this and this is a silly observation to make, but you do have a point on "gymn"! it derives from ancient greek gymnasion, whose root is gymn- "naked" as opposed to a nonexistent *gym-. additionally, there's also an affinity with hymn which makes us think of gymn over gym, as the greek words hymnos and gymnos have virtually the same spelling and behaviour, and as such should be expected to receive the same treatment! Love, a greek speaker who doesn't understand english

Right?! It only makes sense! I have no idea if I saw “gymn” written as an abbreviation when I was a kid or just saw “hymn” and extrapolated. But that way is much more logical. “Gym” just looks the wrong shape to me, like it’s been cut off too soon.