#sparklings deserve to be weird in fun ways

[kissingghouls]

Last X-mas (Part One)

Mary Goore x f!Reader

Summary: A shitty xmas party brings you and Mary a little closer. (900 words)(Part One takes place before Winter Chill and Part Two takes place after the other More Goore stories ♥) tags: prequel kinda?, more Goore '24 universe, he/they Mary. warnings: Mary's a little depressed, Reader's boyfriend is an asshole, manipulative behavior. (These things are barely there, but I want everyone to be safe ♥)

Note: Mary anon, your prompt is also included in part 2. I got carried away tbh. ♥ soft Mary forever.

There was nothing worse than a bad party. Scratch that. There was nothing worse than being stuck at a bad party. But there Mary was leaning against a wall at Chaos House, stuck and not having any fun. The living room was full of people in ugly sweaters despite the intense heat being created by said idiots writhing in the tiny space. A poorly decorated artificial tree stood in the corner bent at an odd angle because no one ever properly stored the thing, they just tossed it down the basement stairs when its time was up. Around him, people were having a great time laughing and dancing. But his beer was warm, his mood was sour, and he couldn’t help thinking he wasn’t supposed to be here. 

As much as he loved his friends, watching them all dance to blast beats over that George Michael song wasn’t enough to distract him from all the shit that had gone wrong that year. That shitty relationship. The even shittier breakup afterward. That driver’s test mishap. That job offer in the city that fell through—the one that was supposed to get him out of this shitty little town. Part of him knows this was for the better somehow—that relationship was already beyond doomed, that job would have fucking sucked and he didn’t have a car anyway. But his mind still wandered through all the ways the next year could’ve been different if he wasn’t such a spectacular fuck up. 

They dragged themselves away from the party and slipped through the back door undetected. It was a moonless night and the light on the back porch had burned out at least a year ago, but Chaos House didn’t earn its name ironically and Mary didn’t really mind sulking in the dark alone. They dropped into a chair in a shadowy corner, lit a cigarette, and stared up at the sky. The universe carried on spinning and whatever momentary calm that and the nicotine had brought them was quickly undone by the sudden appearance of you. In all their pathetic self-loathing they hadn’t even realized you were at this party and that, for some unknown reason, made them feel ten times worse.

But there you were, adorable as ever, with sparkles in your hair and a weird Krampus on your shirt.

They sat up and opened their mouth to speak as you passed, not wanting to scare you by being a creep in the shadows. But you marched straight past, heavy boots stomping like you were on an angry mission. Like you were escaping and you couldn’t get away fast enough. You were halfway down the steps before the door flew open and your shitty boyfriend appeared. He crossed the deck without noticing Mary and quickly caught up to you.

“Why are you being like this?” he hissed as he caught your arm to stop you. “It’s not a big deal!”

You whipped around with fire in your eyes and pried yourself free of his grip. It was obvious now that you’d been crying and the more you tried to get away from the guy, the more Mary could tell you were drunk. On unsteady feet, you managed to back out of his reach, mumbling as you swiped at your face and smeared your makeup even more. 

“Not a big deal?” you asked through gritted teeth. “You’re such a fucking asshole.”

Mary’s stomach sank. He leaned further into the shadows, embarrassed about overhearing such an intense and clearly private conversation. He never liked the guy and couldn’t give a fuck less about what happened to him, but you—god, you deserved so much better than this dipshit. 

“C’mon don’t be like that,” he groaned and reached for you.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” you warned, stumbling back a few steps.

“God, you’re really going to act like this? It’s not a big deal—”

“If you say that one more time I’m going to kick you in the dick.”

“Whatever. You’re just mad because you’re drunk. Let’s go,” he ordered in an annoyed tone and tried to wrangle you back up the steps.

“Don’t touch me—”

“Hey!” Mary shouted as he stood. He rushed from his spot in the dark and leaned hard into your boyfriend, shoving him away from you. “She said don’t touch her.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ, not you,” he groaned, rolling his eyes. “Mind your own fucking business, Goore.”

“Nah, this is my business now, so why don’t you fuck off?”

“You know what? Fine. Why don’t you take her home since you love her so much. I’m fucking done,” he huffed and stormed off.

Mary stood silently, watching as the hulking shadow of your asshat boyfriend made his way around the outside of the house. Seconds later a car door slammed and tires spun, leaving you and him awkwardly alone outside.

He turned toward you and cleared his throat. “I…uh— “

“Don’t,” you begged quietly.

“Wasn’t gonna. You ok?”

“No,” you admitted shaking your head. “Why is he so…”

“I don’t know. Probably because he’s a dick.”

You sniffed hard and wiped the tears away with the back of your hand. “I wanna go home.”

His chest grew tight. The only thing you wanted at that moment was something he couldn’t really give you himself. “You want me to help you find a ride?”

“Nah, I’ll be ok.” You looked up at him with big, sad eyes. “Thank you, Mary.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothin’.”

“It’s something, Goore. Accept it.”

“Okay.”

You gave him a soft smile and a tiny wave before making your way back up to the house.

“Hey, uh…Merry Christmas or whatever,” he called after you.

You snorted and turned back to him. “It’s July.”

[kkuzushi]

જ Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby. . .ᐟ

˚𖦹 ‘ Chapter 16 : Holidays hit different this year. ִ ࣪𖤐

— PREV | MASTERLIST | NEXT

Hooray!! Christmas eve with your friends!! This is what you’ve been waiting for, a well deserved break and hanging out in a complete circle. The night was perfect—ordered and homemade food, a bunch of games the five of you created, and just having fun at Lumine's dorm.

“This is so much fun than my class party,” you started, leaning against Lumine on her bed while the other three sat on the floor.

“Don’t say that,” Xiao replies, “I’m sure you had lots of fun with Scaramouche.” He was just teasing and you all knew it, yet his stoic face made it seem like he was telling the truth.

Was he telling the truth? You don’t wanna answer, but everyone else was laughing like they all agreed.

“I hope you all get coal.” You glared at all of them.

“Yes, like you weren’t bringing a bunch of presents all the way here.” Lumine giggled.

You rolled your eyes, “What if they’re big coals?”

“As big as–”

“Don’t even.” Xiao interrupted Hu Tao, to which she playfully nudged him for.

“Alright, why don’t we just move on to some karaoke?” Aether chimed in to stop the playful banter. It worked, as Hu Tao’s sparkling eyes darted to him.

The group starts to sing in turn. While it was Lumine’s turn, your phone lit up and a notification popped up.

You didn’t know what to feel about that. Considering the fact that you actually haven’t responded to any of his messages, it almost seemed rude to reply to this one just because it’s a holiday greeting.

But then again, he’s your ex so it’s understandable, right?

The message didn’t leave your mind even if you didn’t reply. You kept quiet and just turned off your phone. Unfortunately for you, Lumine was quick to catch your weird behavior.

“Hey, you okay?” Her question echoed through the microphone, making everyone else turn their heads to you. Deciding it’d be useless to hide from them, you told them the truth.

“Nothing too important, but Scaramouche just chatted me..” You answered, the group humming an “ooohh” as a response.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” Hu Tao grinned.

“Just reply, we all know you want to.” Xiao added.

“Shut up.” You scoffed, “I’m not letting him ruin my–”

Your phone buzzed again.

“The man’s clearly desperate to double text, just reply already.” Lumine sighs.

The peer pressure was insane, but a simple greeting won’t mean anything, right?

— ꒰꒰﹒This is the last Christmas Special update! I hope it was to everyone’s liking, thank you for reading and always staying tuned to my updates. I truly appreciate you all! <3

— ꒰꒰﹒TAGLIST : @raineyun @hayamie @sketcheeee @wraithisd3adinside @heusalettle @liuaneee @yevurin @mywillt0live @kaikaidenkai @alatusorrow @shrimplyasleep @minstarrs @reivelmin @scaraenthusiast1

— ꒰꒰﹒OPEN. [ 14/50 ]

© kkuzushi | Please do not translate, repost, or plagiarize my work. This AU is posted in Tumblr only unless stated otherwise by yours truly.

[transingthoseformers]

Translucent sparklings?

OOOO I'VE THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE IN CONJUNCTION WITH MY "aquatic/amphibious sparkling" IDEA

YES

[itallcomesfromhoney]

TEASER - Kiribaku x Reader (friends to lovers) ft. fakedating!au

not my gif

“You really let Bakugo and Kirishima have it tonight.” Mina said giggling as you walked arm in arm back to the girls’ dorms. Momo nodded in agreement, both enjoying the drama that you brought.

You roll your eyes,

“They deserved it.”

“What even happened? Bakugo looked like he was about to snap his fingers and light everything on fire, while Kirishima looked like he was gonna pull a muscle with the expression he had.” Momo asked you, frowning a little.

“I have no idea, I was just dancing with Todoroki when they blew up at me and Bakugo called me a bitch” you shrug and scowl at the memory.

Mina scoffed, “I feel like I have a pretty good guess as to what their problem was.”

“Hm? What’s that?”

“Maybe they’re jealous of Shoto?” Mina said with a teasing tone, as if she wanted to get a reaction out of you. Momo nodded, agreeing with Mina’s theory.

You freeze,

“Jealous? Why would they be jealous, they’re my best friends?”

“Because they want to be more than just friends, obviously.” Yaoyorozu laughed, finding it funny that you didn’t understand the pink girl.

“Ah- no way, Momo” you stammer, flushing at the other girl’s words.

“It’s so obvious.” Momo continued to giggle, while Mina nodded again.

It was clear that they thought it was funny that you didn’t realize it, especially with how Bakugo and Kirishima were acting lately. You paused to think, it was true they didn’t like other guys around you, and they had sabotaged every time a guy might had tried to ask you out.

“Do you really think so?” You ask the girls.

“I absolutely do” Yaoyorozu said with a smirk. Mina nodded again.

“Bakugo has always been way overprotective of you, so it makes perfect sense when he gets this way when he sees you with another guy. Even Kirishima is acting pretty weird over the situation. Honestly, I am still surprised that you haven’t noticed it sooner than this.” She smirked as she spoke, finding the whole situation amusing.

“Well I’m not talking to them until they apologise for ruining my evening” you pout, choosing to ignore the theory flying around.

“That’s probably not gonna take long.”

“I give it a day before they both come running to you.”

“Unless I really annoy them” you muse, a plan for revenge already forming in your head.

“Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?” Momo snickered, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Mina raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

“Who do we know that would piss them off the most if I started dating?” You muse “Me being anywhere near him would about give Katsuki an aneurysm”

The two of them both burst out laughing as you spoke.

“Perfect.”

“He’s the perfect choice.” Mina said, finally speaking up after several seconds of laughter.

“If you could give him my number and explain the situation I’d be so grateful, he’ll definitely be up for getting under their skin” you ask Mina.

“Oh, I would love to. It’ll be fun seeing both of them have a complete meltdown over this.”

The next day, you’re sat reading on your bed, mulling over the night before when you feel your phone buzz next to you.

Note: Just a teaser for a fic I had knocking around! Could be a fun one but let me know if you want the actual chapter/fic!

[sunnylands-world]

as someone who also thinks aidan deserves more apprietiation, can you do one where the reader has really cold hand all the time and he has to warm them up? orrr same cold handed reader suddenly has warm hands and he's like ".....wtF?! warming your hand was MY job dummy 🙄😥...wait who did it for you?!"

Lover's hands

Pairing: Aidan x fem reader

Summary: Aidan's out of town and he's expecting to come back and find everything just the way it was before but when he comes back he walks in on his worst nightmare, you replacing him…

Word count: 711

Warning: jealous Aidan, weird coworkers, reader has cold hands

Universe: celebrity

A/n: sorry for the wait hope you like it though

Nice thought, reblogs, and inboxing is appreciated and motivational ❤️

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The winter was extremely cold and you were glad you had Aidan to keep you warm in more than one way. Whether it was kisses on your forehead from his warm lips as the air blew or hugs when you stood in places long or simply his hand holding yours to keep your fingers from becoming popsicles. he'd scolded you about forgetting your gloves but you still did, partially by accident and partially on purpose.

Something about his hand in yours as the sky rained snowflakes and the ground covered in a light coat of fluffy white Ice.

He'd been gone for a bit so your hands began to chill till you blew puffs of air against them.

It wasn't until your friend Matt from work offered you his hand teaching you a method to keep them warm. It was a foreign feeling having someone else keep your small hands warm because that was just… Aidan's thing.

When Aidan did finally come back he spotted you with Matt planning to surprise you. Aidan had a…neutral relationship with him. He didn't like him but tolerated him nevertheless because you worked with him and nothing he felt was worth you losing your job because you loved working at the small coffee shop. Matt was very flirty with you and Aidan noticed, even if you didn't.

For some reason you had self doubts no matter how many times Aidan tried to show you how he saw you through his eyes. As Aidan stepped closer he noticed your hands resting in Matt's as he gave you a grin, his blue eyes sparkling with mischievousness and his smile didn't seem as sweet as he tried to make it look… or maybe he was just jealous.

Aidan didn't exactly tell you that he admired his fingers being laced with yours but he'd hoped his slight squeezes and circle rubs meant something to you. He tried to mask his anger and hurt as he walked over making you smile and jump into him for a hug. He hugged you back thinking of what to say as you loosen your hold on him.

"You and Matt having fun?" he asked sarcastically, his voice dripping with jealousy

Great job Aidan.

Before words even got out from you Matt interjected.

"Yeah! isn't that right sunshine?" He said to you more than Aidan pressing a kiss to your cold hand. Aidan clenched his jaw

"I was teaching her a technique to keep her tiny little hands warm. She said you usually keep them warm but you weren't here, poor baby…so I taught her another way!" He grinned. Aidan looked over to you seeing your eyes filled with worry…or was it guilt.

"I think that's enough, I'll take it from here," Aidan said, reaching his hand out for yours. You nodded timidly, standing to your feet but matt locked his fingers with yours stopping you from leaving fully.

"Matt let go of my girlfriend's hand…now," Aidan urged but Matt ignored him, looking in your direction.

"Do you wanna go sunshine?" He asked, giving you puppy eyes but you nodded with a firm yes.

He let go still staring to the point where it turned creepy as Aidan walked you out of the store, his hand tucking yours and his in his coat pocket.

"So I see you and Matt were getting quite comfortable with each other," he announced.

"He's my co-worker Aidan."

"Yeah because people hold hands with their coworkers all the time!" He said, rolling his eyes.

"Aidan, are you upset I let matt keep my hands warm?" You teased, on the verge of laughter.

"Okay, Yes I was jealous! but that's my thing! it makes me feel like I'm showing you the small things you know? Caring if you're cold and what not," he confirmed. You giggled, making a slight smile pull at the corner of Aidan's lips.

"Aidan, I know you care about the little things which is why you're the one I trust with everything. And for the record Matt is a terrible hand warmer. I prefer my boyfriend's way," you said, looking forward.

Aidan smiled letting out a sigh, he didn't know why he was worried about it when he knew in the end you'd always choose him.

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[annymation]

The Kingdom of Wishes- A “Wish” Rewrite

Chapter 15- At All Cost?

Chapter 14

Asha is now in the middle of the wishes room, staring at the queen standing on the king's study.

She feels her heart racing for a moment, she's scared... But then she remembers what she's holding right now, her sketchbook and her magic pencil.

She has nothing to fear, if anything, it's the queen who should be scared.

After glancing at the objects in her hands, Asha takes a deep breath and calms down, and faces the queen boldly.

The queen smiles at that, as she begins to speak with her usual honeyed voice "Hello dear, such a pleasant surprise to have you back so soon." She looks down to Valentino, the goat in cowering between Asha's legs and shaking in fear at the sight of the lynx next to the queen, her smile widens "Awww and you even brought a little snack for my pet, how thoughtful." she lets out a quiet chuckle.

Bravo is salivating, staring at the baby goat with predatory eyes.

Asha starts to think on what she can draw, the queen hasn't moved yet, so maybe she can ramble with her for a bit and then catch her off guard...

Asha realizes how the queen looks older than the last time they've met, not too old, but the white hair streak and the subtle wrinkles on her previously perfect skin are noticeable... Just like Aster, she sees this change as an opportunity to make fun of the royal.

"Yeah, glad to be back. Though I thought my last visit here in the castle was 2 days ago, but judging by your face it must have been AGES, huh?" Asha says with a smirk, knowing that would infuriate the queen.

And she was correct, for the queen's smile immediately fell into a cold glare.

(This is the closest I could find in the movie of Amaya looking evil)

"It is churlish to comment on a woman's age, have you no manners?" Her tone is condescending.

Asha simply smiles, seeing that struck a nerve "These are just the manners you deserve, "your highness"" She says the formal title with sarcasm.

The queen looks at her with a serious expression as she raises one eyebrow, almost impressed with how much that sweet and insecure girl they met changed so much in so little time... But her smiles returns slightly, because she has already planed on how to take all that courage out of her.

"You really think so? This way you might hurt my feelings, child..." She places a hand in her chest making a fake sad expression, that instantly returns to a wicked smile as she takes a potion flask from inside the front of her dress "Perhaps I should give you just what you deserve as well."

Asha notices the flask and instantly turns to her sketchbook to try drawing something "What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thi-"

But before she starts to draw, she notices... The floor she's standing on is covered with something... Something shiny, that look's like blue sand.

She glances around the room and sees that the whole floor around her is covered with a thin layer of this weird sand, Asha has a puzzled expression.

The queen notes her confusion "Ah, I see you finally noticed the fire salamander ashes, quite pleasing to look at how they sparkle, don't you think?"

Asha feels a chill run down her spine as she hears the word "fire" coming out of the woman's mouth "W-What?" She turns to the queen, and sees she's now opening a flask with an orange shinny liquid inside.

"Oh yes, it is known as one of the most inflammable components in the magic world, and it also so happens to have such a beautiful reaction when mixed with dragon's blood..." She explains like she's just sharing an interesting fun fact about her hobby as a potion maker, her tone becomes sinister as she opens the flask and asks "Would you like to see?"

"No- NO NO WAIT!" Asha screams in desperation, completely forgetting about her magic pencil as she takes Valentino in her arms to protect him from what she already knows is coming.

The queen drops one single drop of the shiny liquid on the floor, and a HUGE blue flame forms in front of her, spreading slowly to the whole room covered in fire salamander ashes.

(If you're wondering where the heck Amaya get's all these ingredients, let's just say that line she had in the movie about "Why a sorcerer needs what a sorcerer needs is not your concern" is a line Magnifico probably said to a lot of soldiers he sent off on dangerous quests over the years.)

The queen laughs maniacally as she snaps her fingers, making the huge door made of mirrors close in front of her, trapping Asha in the fiery room.

The flames are spreading and approaching Asha slowly, she thinks fast and pulls from her sketchbook the drawing of the flying carpet.

As the carpet flies out of the page, she jumps on it with Valentino. Now they're both safely flying above the flames, surrounded by the wish bubbles.

The queen has no idea they're safe from harm, and Asha smiles with that notion. She'll open the door sooner or later to see if Asha is dead, so all the girl has to do is play along and pretend she's in mortal danger.

"THERE'S SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH YOU LADY!" Asha yells from the carpet, trying her best not to laugh while faking she's scared for her life. Valentino also catches on to the plan and lets out some fake scared bleating, Asha pets him to show she's proud.

The queen falls for it, as she says in sarcasm "Who meee? Why, all I want is to give my beloved pet some freshly cooked meat" She's sitting down with her back against the wall of mirrors, as she too pets her lynx's head gently... Her eyes light up as a devious idea pops in her head, so she says with her words dripping with venom "...Besides, wouldn't you agree this is the most fitting end for you? To burn into ashes just like your dear mama and papa?"

Asha is stunned at the mention of her parents, but her surprise quickly turns into anger "Don't you DARE talk about my parents!" She almost forgets she's supposed to sound scared right now

"Awww sensitive topic, my flower? If it serves as any consolation, they would've suffered way more had I picked how to kill them." Her voice has a twisted sense of humor hanging on every word.

Asha's eyes widen "... Wait... What did you just say?"

"You see, Magnus has always been more of a "Get things done quick" kind of man, and although I love that about him, I oh so wish we had gone with my plan of poisoning their garden..." Amaya continues casually like she's just sharing small talk with the poor girl that is having this terrifying revelation unfold before her "But oh well, I suppose starting a fire with magic was simpler. Such a shame you weren't inside with them, would've spared us a lot of grey hairs." She says as she holds a strand of her newly white hair streak.

Asha feels her world crumble as she process what Amaya just told her...

All this time she thought it was just bad luck, that they had an accident with the fireplace or dropped a candle... But it was them...

Everything was because of them. The reason she never got to learn how to draw with her mother, the reason she never got to hear her father stories, the reason she never got to grow up with them, the reason she and her Saba were alone... It was all THEM.

Asha sees the fire consuming half of the room bellow her, the flames are reflecting on her eyes as she asks with her voice more furious than ever "WHY?! WHAT DID THEY EVER DO TO YOU?!"

The queen laughs at the question "You are just like them, darling. They were worthless little weeds festering in our garden, inspiring our roses to grant wishes by themselves. We simply had no choice but to root them out." Amaya explains with her voice turning more and more maniacal as she finishes "And now, it's your turn to join them!"

... That was the reason? Because her parents encouraged people to chase after their wishes? Her parents lost their lives... Because these two sickos wanted to control EVERY SINGLE PERSON in Rosas?!

Asha sees that the room is almost fully consumed by the flames, and so is her heart consumed by anger. So she lets out a scream, from the pain she feels in her chest and also to trick the queen into opening the door.

"AAAAAaaAaaaAAAAAaAAAH!!!"

The queen is content hearing the girl painful screaming, thinking that's the last sound she'll ever hear from her.

"It seems your meal is ready, Bravo" She says with a twisted glee while getting up, Bravo looks just as exited as his owner.

The queen snaps her fingers, opening the huge door made of mirrors. The whole room is covered in bluish flames. With one drop of another flask she had with her, this time with a blue liquid, the fire is quickly extinguished like the flame of a candle being blown out.

Once the fire was gone the queen expected to see the girl and her little goat lifeless bodies laying on the floor... But they're nowhere to be seen.

"... What in the-"

"Looking for me?" Asha's voice comes from above.

The queen quickly looks up, gasping in shock when she sees the girl flying on a magic carpet.

The queen barely has time to react before Asha jumps from the carpet, and with one swift move of her hand, points to the surprised lynx, wordlessly commanding the carpet to deal with him.

The carpet flies towards the queen, and she cowers in fear and closes her eyes trying to protect herself. But her eyes quickly open again when she hears her pet meowing desperately, the carpet took him and flew with him to outside the window.

(Ya know, originally I was gonna write a chase scene between Valentino and Bravo, but I realized we kinda don't have the time and I'm not feeling like writing that, soooooo I just throw the cat out the window instead. He'll be fine.)

"MY BABY!" The queen shrieks, worried sick for his safety

"Relax, I sent him somewhere safe. Unlike YOU, I'm not a monster." Asha sounds fierce but also with a hint of pain in her voice, like every word that comes out of her mouth gives a sting in her heart, as she's fighting to not cry in front of the queen. "Valentino, go hide while I deal with her." Her voice is serious, while she's flipping through the pages of her book, and once she finds the one she was looking for she pulls out a sword just like the one she used to practice sword fighting with Aster earlier.

The queen sees Asha doing magic in disbelief, as she's now walking backwards slowly shaking her head "no" with a terrified expression.

Asha doesn't hear Amaya whisper under her breath "That boy didn't say anything abo-"

The queen stops mumbling when Asha begins to run, charging towards her with sword in hands, ready to attack.

Amaya tries to run out of the way, but she trips on her own dress and falls on the floor.

Now, Asha is the one in control, pointing her sword to the woman laying down beneath her. Her enraged face shows clearly that she's after revenge.

Amaya for the first time loses her composure, and stutters in a desperate attempt to reason with her "A-Asha, now now ca-calm down, listen to me-" her voice is helpless.

"NO! YOU LISTEN!" Asha's voice echoes through the large room "All the pain and suffering I've went through ALL MY LIFE ties back to the two of you! All because you wanted to keep this SICK AND TWISTED sense of control over everyone in Rosas." She points the sword closer to Amaya's neck, the older woman is shaking "But guess what, no matter what you did, you could NEVER control me! I overcame everything you threw at me, and now, I'll make sure you two can NEVER hurt anyone else ever again!" Asha raises the sword above her head to strike down the witch-

...

But Asha stops.

She can't do it.

She's not like them.

Asha looks down on the queen breathing heavily and lowers her sword. She doesn't know if she's doing the right decision... But that's her decision.

The queen sees Asha's hesitation... And a smile slowly creeps in on the corner of her red lips "You can't do it, can you dear?... Because unlike me, you're not a monster." She repeats what Asha said moments ago with a faux soothing voice.

Asha quickly points the sword back to Amaya's neck, as a warning that if she moves Asha won't hesitate anymore, she speaks with the queen with a cold expression "I never intended to kill neither of you anyway, the plan was just to-"

"Apprehend us and have Rosas decide our punishment?" The queen finishes her sentence, now with a full smile. Asha's eyes widen in surprise "I must say, I found that part of your little plan quite adorable, so nice of you and your friends to show us mercy." Her voice mimics a sweet tone, dripping with sarcasm.

Asha feels a chill run down her spine when the queen mentioned her friends... This, and the trap that was set up for them in the kitchen... How did they know?

"How? HOW did you know we were coming?!" Asha tries to hide her fear, speaking angrily while getting the blade closer to the queen's neck.

Amable doesn't even flinch, she simply warns her "I'd be careful with that blade, my sweet. You lay one scratch on me and my darling king will be quite upset." That doesn't really phase Asha at all as she just squints her eyes at her, wanting some answers, so the queen gives her an answer "Let's just say a... Sleepy little pawn of ours made himself quite useful."

Asha's eyebrows scrunch in confusion, she thinks for a moment and... Realization hits her.

"... Simon?" Asha's mind is rushing, she's stares at the queen nodding positively in front of her, and she feels like she's the one who was cut by a blade... He betrayed them?... No, he wouldn't, the king must have forced him "What did you two do with him?!" She asks furious.

"Nothing at all, he ratted you out. For you see my dear, our "sick and twisted sense of control" you speak of runs oh so much deeper than you think" Asha is staring at Amaya straight in the eyes, so she doesn't see that the queen's hand is reaching for something inside the a hidden pocket inside her long skirt "You can't trust anyone in this kingdom, in the end, they're aaaaall just little pawns in our game of chess."

"You're wrong... Simon didn't tell you our whole plan. If he did then you'd have known about my magic." Asha says with certainty, not fully understanding what happened yet, but still believing that her friend at least fought against telling them everything.

"Indeed, he failed to mention it, which gave you an advantage... However, it hardly matters how many advantages you get, for when playing chess-" Her smile widens into a maniacal expression, and she raises her hand holding a potion flask that was hidden inside her dress "The QUEEN is the strongest piece on the board!" She throws it on the floor, it shatters, creating a cloud of thick blue smoke.

Asha coughs, that caught her completely off guard. She looks around and can see nothing but the thick blue smoke, she tries not to breathe too much of it in by covering her face. Still holding on to her sword tightly.

The queen is no longer on the ground, Asha can't see where she went... But she hears the sound of something made of metal hitting the floor.

She turns to the direction of the sound-

Queen Amable took a sword that was previously decorating the wall, and is now running to Asha ready to attack.

Asha gasps in surprise, raising her hand drawn sword to defend herself, and she succeeds. The two are now pressing their swords against one another, with the queen trying her hardest to get Asha out of balance to stab her.

The queen fights the girl with finesse and precision, like this is something she has experience with, while Asha's movements are more clumsy and rigid, but she's still more agile and relatively stronger than the older woman, since she was cursed and is now 10 years older than she was previously.

(Cute fun fact I guess: for the longest time Magnifico was a bit paranoid that if people found out they were evil and a "hero" could try to defeat them, so, just like how Asha practiced with Aster, he taught Amaya how to defend herself just in case anything happened to him... I hate them, but I also love them as a couple)

As their swords clash against one another, the metallic sounds echo through the room. Asha tries to show confidence, smiling while they fight "Y-you two won't win! Magnus doesn't stand a chance against Aster in the forest, he's gonna be here soon and-"

The queen can only laugh darkly as she speaks "Oh darling, it is your little star who doesn't stand a chance! For you see, dark magic is not be his only weakness! Hahaha"

Asha is still fighting, but her face looks concerned...

Aster's weakness?

Now... We cut to the woods.

We see a dash of light quickly flying through the trees, until they reach a specific one and flies to the top of it.

The dash of light is obviously Aster. He sits on a tree branch and knocks on the tree "He'll be here any minute now, you guys ready?"

From a role in the tree, two round shinny eyes open, and a voice comes out sounding mysterious: "Of course, a pleasure to be of service."

"Great, thanks again for the help fellas" Aster smiles excitedly, he looks down, just waiting for Magnifico to show up on the trail bellow.

... But then he hears something...

Instruments... Again.

The instruments sound slow, like they're warning Aster of something, and judging by Aster's annoyed face it's something they've already been alerted about before

"Yeah, I knooooow I can't let him get my magic. Don't know if you guys realize but that's the whole reason I'm trying to break that staff in the first place." Aster speaks looking up with narrowed eyes.

The instruments sound... Worried? I don't know how one would describe a worried orchestra, but it's like they're playing cautiously.

Aster this time responds calmer, trying to reassure them "I am being careful, I swear. I won't let him-" Aster stops for a moment and thinks... He doesn't actually knows what would happen if the king got his power, well, except for the part that without his magic he can't exist so the king would pretty much kill him. But Aster doesn't know what would happen to the king and queen... He might as well ask "By the way... Has that ever happened before? A human absorbing a star's power?"

The stars go quiet for a moment, before a single flute plays a small sad melody

"I see..." Aster has a worried face "And what happened then?"

Aster listens to the orchestra sounds, it's an ominous percussion mixed with some erratic violins.

Aster listens to it all attentively, his face slowly becomes more and more shocked, as if he's listening to something out of a horror story.

He slowly nods, humming a little with the concern now growing inside him too.

But then he hears one thing that gets his attention.

"Wait wait wait back up" The instruments all stop "What was that about "The human fell into madness"?"

A single cello plays a small melody... Aster's eyes widen.

"Huh, really?... I wonder if the king knows about that..." Aster ponders quietly. Then Aster hears a sound that is not instruments this time, but a twig breaking on the ground bellow, Magnifico's coming "And speak of the devil, that's your cue friends." Aster says knocking on the tree.

Down bellow, Magnifico is walking on the trail, with trees all around him. He's holding his staff over his shoulders casually as he singsongs to himself:

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder where you are..." the king looks around the woods... It's quiet... Too quiet. The star is plotting something, but that's alright, because so is he "Come out come out lad, we both know you can't hide from me the whole night long... I just wish to have a little chat with you." The king says in a faux friendly voice.

"Yeah you can keep wishing that but I ain't granting it!" Aster's voice comes from the tree tops

The king looks up with a wide smile, ready to cast a spell to capture the star. But his smile instantly vanishes as the green light from his staff reflects on many tiny eyes staring down at him, revealing that on the trees above there's a whole army of Genets ready to pounce:

(Genets: Slender cat-like nocturnal animals that can be found in Spain... Imagine a bunch of these fellas staring down on you at night, terrifying me thinks)

They all jump on the king, climbing all over him and scratching his clothes. Magnifico screams while holding tightly to his staff and trying to protect his already scarred face

"AAAAH GET OFF ME YOU WRETCHED- NOT THE FACE NOT THE FACE!!" Magnus is wobbling around covered in wild cats.

Aster lets out a childish laugh as he cheers while flying above the desperate king "Yes! Get the face everyone! And also those fingers if you can! Hahahaa"

The king turns red with fury "ENOUGH!" he uses his magic to throw all of them away from him, some genets scatter while others stay, ready to attack him again, but the king is having none of that "GET NEAR ME AGAIN AND I'LL MAKE FUR COATS OUT OF YOU"

The all get scared, and run away to the depths of the forest.

Aster looks sad for a moment but he has no time to think too much about it, for the king immediately turns to him and tries to capture him once more.

Aster swiftly dodges the king's magic and hides behind a tree.

He then shrinks down to the size of a hand. He's the size of tinker bell.

The king is catching his breath after all the commotion, but he has enough energy to scream some facts to the star "Just accept it, boy! You can't best me! throw me your plants and I'll burn them, throw me your animals and I'll scatter them!"

Aster face is deep in thought, he hates to agree, but they have indeed been in this game of cat and mouse for a while, and Aster is not even close to getting that staff, not to mention how they hate to put even more animals in danger...

The king upon receiving no snarky comment in return, calms down slightly, knowing that the star deep down is just as tired of this game as he is...

He reaches for something inside his vest.

"So how about we stop playing, and just talk things out, hum?" Magnus voice is once again "friendly" but with a clear ominous undertone.

Aster thinks... He might be able to catch the staff while the king is distracted blabbering whatever he has to say... So he plays along.

"You really must love the sound of your own voice, don't ya? All you do is talk all the time." Aster's snarks while hiding behind the tree "Fine, what do you wanna talk about so bad?"

We don't see what Magnifico pulled out his vest, but he's holding a small object on his hand. Looking at whatever it is with a mischievous smile.

"That girl... You love her, don't you?" The king asks nonchalantly.

Aster's eyes widen in shock... EVEN HE NOTICED?!

Aster knew he couldn't let this man know how he and Asha felt about each other, as he'd totally take advantage of that, so the star tries to lie "W-what?! What you talking about?! We-we like- We just met 2 days ago! That's crazy talk!" Aster is a terrible liar by the way.

Magnifico has a pleased smile, as he walks forward to where Aster's voice is coming from, he's holding his staff with one hand while hiding the other behind his back. "And I fell in love with my wife in two minutes or less, what's your point? Heheh" he chuckles like he's reminiscing of something, but then continues, sounding as if he's talking to a stubborn kid that refuses do admit something obvious "Come now, starlight. Wishing stars are supposed to only give humans some guidance, but here you are going waaay above and beyond your purpose, breaking all the rules for her... Because you love her~" He singsongs that last part as if to make fun of the star.

Aster is about to say something when he notices that Magnifico is getting closer to his hiding place, so he flies to the ground, still on his miniature size, trying to hide in the low vegetation and move to somewhere else.

Magnifico notes the silence, and just chuckles "Well, either I'm right, or you're just too incompetent to even guide her at all, aren't you?" The king says jokingly.

That strikes a nerve with Aster, as he's quite done with the stars calling him incompetent and naive for so long. The star is still hiding in his small size but his voice is just as loud as it would be if he was normally sized:

"You know what?! YEAH we are in love! And it's thanks to our love that we'll defeat you! Because we'll fight to protect each other, at all cost!"

The king's grin grows even more devious.

"At all cost? Hmm, how charming." The king coos, and we see him holding the mysterious object tightly and focusing to perform a spell... He whispers some words in latin:

"Ligneus. Pupa. Crescere. Et dolus."

Aster doesn't hear what the king just said. but suddenly, he starts to hear the stars all speaking with him at the same time, the instruments play alarmingly all at once. They're speaking over each other, so Aster doesn't understand, the star looks up in frustration and whispers "Guys o-one at a time please- UGH I don't understand nor have time to talk ri-"

"Did you hear that, Asha? I told you he cared." The king speaks sweetly with someone else.

Aster feels the world stop when he hears that name come out of the king's mouth.

Aster flies out of the bushes and sees it... Magnifico is holding Asha by her shoulder, she's tied up by a rope made of green magic, her mouth is covered and she's struggling to free herself.

The star doesn't even think before he returns to his normal size, their animation looking rough and sketchy as he yells "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF-"

Aster sees a giant green hand made of light coming in his direction.

The star remembers he can't let himself get caught. In the blink of an eye he stretches his body down, like he's made of rubber... Get it? He's animated like a rubber hose cartoon for a second.

Aster dodges the king's magic once again and flies to hide behind a large tree.

"Ha! Almost caught you this time!" The king exclaims victorious while laughing.

Aster's mind is rushing with questions as he starts to panic... How did he get her? Is she hurt? Their plan went wrong? How can he save her?!

In the confusion that is their mind, they can't focus to listen what the stars are trying to tell him, the stars are just muddled voices to him now.

"I bet you're wondering how I found her, aren't you?" The king asks with a sadistic sweetness in his voice, holding the girl close to him "See, while you were flying away and hiding, like a coward, a guard came into the forest to tell me they found the poor thing lost in our garden" His voice is filled with a mocking fake sadness like he's describing a tragedy "And she just wouldn't stop calling your name... So here he is Asha, your daring "hero" hahaahaha!" His evil laugh echoes through the woods.

Aster didn't even know he could feel so much fear and anger at the same time. He places a hand on the ground and uses his magic to try attacking Magnifico with vines.

The king notices the plants beginning to grow next to him from the corner of his eyes, and his smile just grows as he says "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were youuu~" He points his staff to her face, with the green gem shinning brightly and menacingly.

Aster can hear Asha muffled screams in fear, and he get's the message. He stops the vines from growing. The star looks down defeated.

Magnifico sees the vines retreating, and takes the staff away from her face "That's better. Now! How do you feel about a little bargain?" His voice is full of excitement like he's a con man ready to make a big deal.

Aster may be naive but even he knows where the king is going with this, and his not falling for it "Do you think I'm an idiot!?" The star asks angrily

"Why, yes! Very much so!" The king answers gleefully.

"You want me to surrender in exchange for Asha's life... But we both know your word isn't worth anything!" Aster is trying to speak boldly to mask how scared he actually is.

"*Gaaaaasp* You think I would lie?? Meeee??? I'd never!" The king says dramatically with sarcasm clear as day "Hehe jokes aside, I can assure you I NEVER break my end of a deal... If you don't break yours." He puts emphasis on that last part, he then begins to speak very quickly the terms of their deal "So here's the trade off, you surrender in, let's say, the count of 5, and in return I'll have your little doll here sent to some other kingdom where she'll be safe from harm and can live on to thrive and chase after her dreams yada yada yada happy ending! What do ya say? Come on."

Aster is too overwhelmed to think- He obviously can't trust Magnifico's word, but if they don't do as he says then Asha is done for- But who's to say she'll be safe later when the king has his mag-

"Let me make this easier for you... One"

The king starts counting.

Aster mind is spinning, he tries to think clearly, but his emotions are clouding his judgment. The stars voices are just white noise.

"Twooo"

The king prepares to use his magic on the girl.

Aster feels some tears form in the corner of his eyes... He promised Asha he would't let himself get caught but-

"Threee"

Aster hears Asha's muffled voice screaming for help, but not the stars above him...

He breaks his promise.

"ALRIGHT!" The star yells, flying out of their hiding place, with his hands up.

And before he knows it, there are glowing green chains on his writs that quickly pull him closer to where the king and "Asha" are. Once the chains are on him the sound of messy orchestra instruments stops all together, since Aster's powers are diminished by the dark magic, he can no longer hear the stars.

The star doesn't struggle, accepting his loss. The king pulls him in closer and closer until Aster is standing right in front of him, Magnifico looks down on him with a cruel smile.

Aster is not looking at him, his eyes are full of sadness and fixated on the ground, unable to face "the girl" the king's holding.

"Awww why the long face, little one? Here, she's free just as promised." The king snaps his fingers and "Asha" is free from her restraints, now just standing still next to him. "... Any last goodbyes before I send her off?" Aster doesn't notice but Magnifico is trying his best to hold in his laughter.

Aster can only look down, not wanting to face her yet, but he apologizes for not granting her wish "... Asha... I'm sorry... I tried everything I could but- I failed." a single tear runs down the star's face as he begs her "When you're away from here... DON'T come back, and DON'T look back... I just want you to be safe and-" Aster stops as he finally looks at her face.

It's devoid of emotion... And her eyes are soulless... Like a dolls eyes.

Aster is worried that Magnifico did something to her, he reaches out to hold her hand "Asha? What's wro-" but when he holds her hand... There's nothing... No star inside of her... That's not Asha.

As realization dawns on the star, Magnifico can't hold it in anymore "Pffft HAHA HAHAAHAHAAH HAHAHAAH"

With every "ha" Aster's face becomes more furious, both angry at the king and himself for falling for his trick.

"YOU LIED TO ME!" Aster shouts as he tries to get away from Magnifico, who simply pulls him closer by the chains so they're face to face.

"Did I? I thought I was quite clear." He smiles sadistically "I said I'd "have your little doll sent somewhere safe", remember? Aaaand" He snaps his fingers, and the magic that made up the fake Asha disappears like it was blown away by the wind, and all that is left of her is a small wooden doll. The same wooden doll Magnifico made for Asha all the way back in chapter 4.

(... Get it? He turned a wooden doll into a real girl... Like Pinocchio... Heheheheh *Jumps out the window... Gets back to write the rest of the chapter* ahem, anyway, congrats @gracebeth3604 you guessed it, I made Magnifico pull a Hades move on our wonder boy)

"Here she is!" Magnifico exclaims excitedly while placing the doll inside Aster's chained hands "She's all yours, lad! You can even choose where you want me to send her while we go back to the palace." Magnifico says like he's doing Aster a favor. He starts walking and pulling the star to come along.

Aster looks at the doll with rage and throws her away into the bushes.

Aster tries to pull away from the chains and keeps himself still with his feet fixated on the ground "I AM NOT LETTING YOU USE ME TO HURT THEM! IF YOU THINK I GONNA JU- GHHAaaAAaAAAaaaA!!!" Aster feels a shock wave of pain course his body as the king uses a spell to electrocute him, his animation becomes fully disjointed like he's struggling to keep his physical form. Once it's over, Aster can only kneel down in pain.

"Not so funny when it happens to you, is it?" Magnifico's eyes are now full of spite, highlighting the scar over his left eye "I've enjoyed this little game of ours but we really must hurry, I'd hate to keep my queen waiting... Not to mention, your girl is just DYING to see you too."

Aster is weak from the pain but he manages to look up to the king.

"W-what...?"

Did they get her?

We now cut back to the palace, Asha is still fighting with the queen.

The girl looks exhausted, swinging her sword around and defending herself from the unhinged woman. She doesn't have time to stop and take her sketchbook to draw something else to attack.

But Asha slips up, and Amaya manages to disarm her, throwing her sword away to the other side of the room.

Asha gasps in shock.

"NO!- UGH!"

The queen KICKS the girl's legs, making her fall on the ground, now their positions are reversed from how they were before.

Asha looks up horrified to the queen pointing the blade to her face, she's looking down on the girl with a smirk "So... Ha ha- how's that for an "old lady" huh?" The woman is panting like she could collapse from exhaustion at any moment, but she still keeps her composure as she threatens the girl bellow her.

Asha tries to reach for her sketchbook tied to her belt, but the queen quickly takes it off her hands. Asha doesn't have time to react before Amable throws it away to the other side of the room.

Asha is petrified, she has nowhere to go.

She can see Valentino hiding behind the curtains of a window, he's scared.

"You put up a good fight child, but I'm afraid this is where your story ends, with you... All alone." Amaya raises the sword to end the girl's life.

Asha can only close her eyes and prepare for the impact... Until she hears a familiar voice

"Think again WITCH!"

Both Amaya and Asha are startled by the sudden scream, however, a smile quickly appears on Asha's face when she sees who it is.

Amaya turns around and is quickly knocked out of balance by something pushing her to the side, away from Asha. The queen drops the sword on the floor.

What pushed the queen was Dahlia's crutch, as the girl is now standing in front of Asha offering her a hand with a relieved smile "Sorry we took us so long, you okay?"

"Better now you're here!" Asha hold her best friend's hand and goes in for a hug, feeling relieved to see her safe. While they hug, Asha opens her eyes and sees that behind Dahlia there's also Gabo, Hal, Bazeema, Safi and Dario. All of them glaring at the queen laying on the floor.

"Ho- HOW DID YOU BRATS GET IN HERE?!" The queen demands to know, her hair is partially covering her face, she looks like an absolute mess.

Hal points to the small elevator on the wall, used to get food from the kitchen straight to the king's study "Did you forget how you get your meals everyday?"

(How did all 6 of them fit in the elevator?... Same way they did in the movie, cartoon logic)

Amaya just groans in frustration as the teens walk closer to her.

Asha gets her sketchbook on the floor, she sighs in relief before saying with a smile "*sigh* Alright, just like we planned, everyone" She begins to draw some squiggly lines on her book, and as she touches the page the lines come out as long pieces of rope.

Her friends all get a piece of rope. And they walk to tie up the evil queen.

(Hahah get it? The 7 dwarfs references are the ones who save her from the evil queen! Heheheeh I love when references fit the narrative)

The queen's screaming for them to stay away from her in the background. But we focus on Asha, who's calling Valentino to come out of his hiding place.

The baby goat does so, rushing to her arms happily. Asha hugs him with a big smile "It's alright, I'm fine" She reassures him, and also reassure herself.

Asha looks around to her friends and notices... There's one missing.

"... So it was true" She begins to speak with Dahlia, the only one that didn't go help tie up Amaya, preferring to stay by Asha's side "Simon really did betray us..." She sounds hurt.

Dahlia places a hand on her friend's shoulder and explains "At first, yeah, he did. But who do you think pulled us up here?" She smiles at Asha, and gives her a wink.

Asha's eyebrows raise "Wait... So he changed his mind? How?" She asks confused

"Let's just say the king's mind control was no match for the power of friendship... Also Gabo kept screaming and swearing at him like a sailor." Hal said joyously.

"I told him bad words he didn't even know existed! And I'm literally younger than him!" Gabo says proudly while pulling a rope to tight up the Amaya's arms on her back.

"He can pull himself up the elevator, so he'll be here to help us pretty soon!" Safi comments.

Asha is happy that her friend came to his senses... But she still has a bad feeling.

"Did he say how much he told about the plan to Magnifico?" Asha asks Dahlia, with concern clear in her voice.

Dahlia's smile fades, she also seems worried "He doesn't know actually, he can't remember much about how the conversation went."

Asha looks down and thinks for a moment "... Okay, he didn't tell them about my pencil, so maybe he didn't tell them everything, we can still win." She smiles confidently.

Asha and the teens are suddenly startled once they hear a familiar voice shouting aaaaaall the way down the stairs of the palace:

"NO NO IT'S FINE, I CAN GET HIM UP THERE ON MY OWN! YOU ALL JUST SOUND THE TRUMPETS AND GATHER THE CITIZENS!" The king's voice echoes through the castle, he's talking to the guards in the entrance.

"Aster!" Asha exclaims worried.

The queen is all tied up, smiling in the background.

"I- I gotta go help him! You all stay here." Asha rushes to the door.

"Oh no we won't, we're not leaving your side again!" Dahlia exclaims holding her wrist.

"No, you don't understand, Magnifico CAN'T get even close to you all, not while he still has that staff, I won't let him hurt you." Asha explains to her friend with a serious expression "I'll find a way to save Aster and break it... Somehow." She doesn't sound so sure of herself, but she knows she has to try.

"And how can you do that?" Bazeema asks concerned

Asha holds her sketchbook and her pencil and starts drawing a key "I'll use my imagination" She smiles.

Asha pulls out the key from the page, she turns to tell her friends one last thing before leaving. But when she turns something catches her attention, on the king's desk there's a a small cloth bag full of blue sparkly sand, the bag is labeled "Fire Salamander Ashes". Asha takes the bag from the table and says quickly "Also this might come in handy."

She opens the door with her hand drawn key and tells her friends one last thing "No matter what you guys hear, don't leave the room." She runs down the long flight of stairs.

Meanwhile Magnifico is dragging Aster up the stairs, the king looks exhausted as he tries to perform a teleportation spell to get them to the top, but he can only teleport a few steps up.

"ARGH I'm gonna give myself a splitting headache because of you!" Magnifico says, with a hand over his forehead, he speaks to himself under his breath "Never had to teleport so many times in one day, thought such a simple spell wouldn't exhaust me that much..."

Aster hears that, he's still struggling to not get dragged away by the king as he exclaims "If just teleporting a bunch of times to get us here gives you a headache then you REALLY not gonna like what'll happen if you get my magic!" This isn't a bluff, but an actual warning, as Aster remembers what the stars told him... Maybe he can convince Magnus to stop "LISTEN! My powers may seem weak now, but even the most powerful of sorcerers couldn't handle the power of a star inside them, it's TOO MUCH for a normal human to handle!"

"Yeah well, good thing I'm no normal human." The king says with a frustrated expression while dragging the star up the stairs.

"YES YOU ARE, MAGNUS!" Aster screams, trying to reach out for some sense of humanity inside him.

"Don't call me that." The king warns sternly, he's not looking at Aster as he speaks.

"You only have power at all because of that green gem on your staff. And even with it, you're not strong enough!" Aster continues while still getting dragged by the king

"I'd really not test my patience right now if I were you, boy." He sounds more and more angry.

"I'm trying to save you! If just performing a spell way too many times gives you a headache then MY POWER will make you LOSE YOUR MIND-" Aster tries to spell it out to Magn-

"AND I WOULD RATHER LOSE THAT THAN LOSING THE WOMAN I LOVE!" Magnifico shouts, now looking straight to the star behind him, enraged in a way the star has never seen before.

Aster goes silent, staring at the king in shock and... For the first time feeling like the man was 100% honest with him.

Magnus takes a few seconds to realize what he just said out of anger and exhaustion... He puts himself back together, straightening up his posture and taking a deep breath, before looking down to the star with his usual smile full of sarcasm "Thank you for the concern, Aster. Really appreciated, but you have nothing to worry you shinny little head about" He taps on the star's forehead with one finger "I've already planned on how to get myself a-... Let's say a "Power boost" before performing the spell to get your magic humhum" He chuckles lowly, excited to show the star what he means by that "Besiiiiiides, all the sorcerers that tried to yield the power of a star only went mad because they tried to do it on their own, while I have someone to share it with."

Aster is dumbfounded... The king KNEW that the power of a star can drive someone mad... And he choses to go after it anyway because he THINKS that by sharing it with his wife they'll be fine?... Aster realizes he is too far gone.

"Nothing I say is gonna change your mind, is it?" Aster asks with frustration in his voice, the king simply shakes his head "no" with a smug "... Then you don't love her at all, you just wanna use her to get more power." The star says with a scowl.

The king is stunned for a second by the gall the star has to say that, before his rage comes back at full force, he doesn't take his eyes off the star as he makes shock waves of pain go through Aster's body again, the star kneels down in agony.

"ASTER?!"

Asha's voice comes from the top of the stairs, surprising both the star and the king, but they're surprised for completely different reasons.

Aster looks up to the top of the stairs with a huge smile despite the pain he's in right now "ASHA!"

The king however turns to her in bewilderment "YOU?! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALI-" He stops as he has a realization... His face turns into a cold glare, hiding a hint of worry in his voice "Where's Amaya?"

Asha ignores the king's question, as she's already drawing the first thing that came into her head to stop him.

She throws out of her sketchbook what she just drew and...

A hand drawn piano manifests right above the king

"WHAT THE-"

BLAAAAAAM

The piano fell on the king. And keep in mind Simon didn't mention the magic pencil, so from Magnifico's perspective Asha just randomly manifested a piano out of nowhere.

Aster is free from the king's restraints, and he quickly flies up to Asha and gives her a hug, Asha hugs him back and the two have a second to breathe and be relieved that they're both okay.

"I was so worried about you! Are you okay?" Asha asks holding his face with both her hands.

"I'm the one who should be asking that!" Aster sounds worried sick.

"I'm fine, the others saved me from the queen, she's all tied up. Now we gotta focus on breaking that staff" She looks down the stairs to the destroyed hand drawn piano that the king is under "Do you think that was enough to knock him out?"

Asha's question is immediately answered by the remains of the piano being engulfed by green magic. It begins to float as the king violently throws it out of the stairs.

(Yeah sorry, he's unfortunately fine, because cartoon logic and this ending would be underwhelming.)

They can hear the loud sound of the piano falling on the ground bellow, as well as the sound of the king practically roaring in anger. He gives the two teens a death glare while trying to stand up.

"NOPE!" Aster answers, holding her in his arms, Aster flies as fast as he can up the stairs, fast enough that the king doesn't have time to catch them with his magic.

He does however have enough energy to do one simple spell. He snaps his finger, which locks all the doors that lead to the wishes room.

Asha and Aster are in the treasure room, the dimly lit room where Magnifico and Amable sang "Wish Away" to her.

The two of them are startled when the entrance they just went through shuts behind them and one second later the exit does too, they're trapped in the dark and large room full of treasure exposed like a museum.

But Aster quickly comes up with a solution.

"I-I'ts okay, I can unlock the door!" The star reaches out to use their magic, but Asha holds his arm.

"No! We can't keep running away from him, otherwise we'll lead him straight to the study, to where my friends are." She explains to Aster with concern, but also determined to fight back instead of running.

"Then what do we do?" Aster asks her quickly.

"I- I... I have a plan." Her face lights up with an idea, as she holds the star's hands "I don't have much time to explain so pay attention-"

"Oooooh Asha~" The king's voice comes from the other side of the door, he's getting closer.

Asha holds the star by the wrist and guides him to hide behind one of the many artifacts in the room "Aster- Turn into your human disguise NOW." They're now crouched down, hiding behind a small pillar with an old vase on it.

Aster is confused "What?? But I can't use my powers when I'm in that form." Aster explain nervously as they hear the king's footsteps approaching

"You can't glow either, you need to stop glowing so we can hide in the dark." She whispers quietly, her glance is practically rushing the star to just do as she says.

Aster doesn't know what she's planning but he trusts her wholeheartedly. He quickly goes from a 2D drawing with shiny hair to a 3D animated character like Asha, with normal blonde hair.

"Okay, so what do we do no-"

They hear the door opening.

The two teens keep their mouths shut.

"... Playing hide-and-seek again, little star?" Magnifico's voice echoes through the room, he lets out a low chuckle and says "Alright, let's play one last game."

Aster and Asha are staring at each other, it's dark but they can see one another thanks to the dim blue lighting above the treasure they're hiding behind. They hear the king's foot steps as he slowly walks around the room looking for them.

Asha can feel her heart pounding, how can she tell the plan to Aster if they can't speak?

...

She remembers they both know how to communicate without speaking.

She begins to speak in sign language, Aster can see her hands under the dim light:

"I'll make a distraction, while you take this and spread it all over the floor when he's not looking" She signs and takes from her belt the bag of blue dust she took from the king's desk.

Aster doesn't understand what that is or how she can distract him at all, he signs to her back "How are you gonna distract him?"

She's about to sign to answer his question, but then the king begins to speak casually

"Ya know, Asha. I'm actually so glad you evaded Amaya's trap, truly I am." We see the king looking at his own reflection in one of the artifacts in the room, not really in a hurry to find them "For you see, I have a little secret I wanted to share with you... Wanna know what it is?"

Asha obviously doesn't respond, she's holding her sketchbook and pencil like she's preparing to draw something, she tries her best to focus and ignore whatever the king is talking about.

"Your grandfather's wish." Asha's eyes widen, she stops drawing "The very thing that started all this... Yeah, me and my wife miiiiiight have told you a little fib, shocker I know heheh" he jokes, as they both know all they've done is lie to her from the start "But I decided to come clean, since I happen to actually remember now what his wish was: "To inspire the people of Rosas with my songs"" The king quotes what the wish was, with a clear tone of disdain.

Asha feels like everything fell into place... Saba really was just like her... Or maybe she was a lot like him. This is probably the first time anything the king says brought her a sense of actual comfort.

Aster is surprised as he himself didn't know what Sabino's wish to the king was, but by pure coincidence it's the same thing he guided Asha to do.

But the king obviously is not sharing that to give her a wholesome moment or anything, he continues with a smirk "I'm sure now you see that I did him a favor by never granting that wish."

Asha's face becomes an angry glare. And she begins to draw something in her sketchbook quickly.

The king can hear the sound of the pencil sliding on the paper, and he follows it while speaking calmly "I mean, if I did grant it, he could've ended up crossing the line... Like you did."

Aster notices he's getting closer and looks at Asha anxiously as if to rush her to finish what she's drawing already. Asha looks like she's almost done.

"And when you cross the line..." Magnifico grin widens, he get's closer to the sound and...

He sees Aster dragging Asha to a different hiding place as fast as he can, but not fast enough.

Magnifico uses his magic to grab Asha with a giant hand.

"AAAAGH!" Asha screams as the king raises her up.

"NO!" Aster yells in desperation

"THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES!" Magnifico says with a twisted glee, and he throws the girl all the way to the other side of the room.

Aster runs to where she is, but to no avail as Magnifico holds him with his magic. The man is laughing maniacally as he walks to the girl.

"Ha ha aaah and it looks like I win our little game, now who would've thought?" Aster is struggling to free himself from the king's magic while Asha is laying on the floor, looking up in fear "But I'm afraid you won't get to see what happens next, my dear." He grins as he points his staff to her, but just when he's about to charge up an attack-

"W-wait!" Asha exclaims, looking up terrified "... Can I just a-ask one thing?"

The king raises one eyebrow "Your last words? Hmm it's cliche, but oh alright I'll allow it, what is it?" He asks with a relaxed smile.

Asha looks down defeated "I- I just wanted to say..."

She looks back up to him with a smug.

"I got way better at drawing self portraits, didn't I?" "Asha" asks full of confidence.

Magnifico's evil smile disappears, replaced by a face of pure confusion, completely taken aback by the girl's random comment.

"Wha-"

"Oh yeah! You look amazing, and I look pretty good too." "Aster" comments cheerfully, still tied by Magnifico's magic, but he doesn't seem to care at all anymore.

The king turns to the star in confusion, not understanding what these kids are talking about... But he notices something he didn't see before because of how dark the room is... "Aster" is black and white.

Before he has time to fully process that, the two living drawings smile at him while going from 3D animated, to 2D, to looking like rough sketches, until they both disappear completely.

... He got tricked.

"Hey Mag!"

Asha's voice comes from behind him. He turns around in shock, and sees the REAL Asha and Aster as standing in front of the now open exit. Aster is back to his 2D glowing self, and he's holding a now empty cloth bag.

The floor is shining with blue dust all over it.

"Here's a little trick your wife taught me!" Asha exclaims with a defiant smile, and she throws a hand drawn fireball from her sketchbook.

The fire hits right in front of Magnifico. A large black and white flame grows, it looks like scribbles one would draw on paper, but it shines and burns just as much as normal fire, and it's spreading all around him.

Magnifico get's so startled by the fire that he finally lets go of his staff for a second.

And that second is all that Aster needed. The star stretches his arm all the way to the other side of the room, grabbing the staff and bringing it to them.

(I mentioned on Aster's "How I'd Reimagine the Characters in Wish" blog that he could stretch his body, but he kinda never used this ability, so what better moment to have him use it than now)

"No-NO WAIT!" Magnifico is trying to avoid the flames as he begs.

Aster spins the staff in the air before HITTING IT ON THE FLOOR with all the strength he can manage.

"AAAGH!" Magnifico quivers and yells in pain.

The gem is broken.

Asha and Aster run out of the room, and Aster locks the door behind them with his magic.

They can hear the king's painful screams coming from the other side of the door...

The two run up the stairs that leads to the wishes room, Asha is breathless as they stop in front of the door of the king's study.

"... We did it? We won?" Asha asks almost in disbelief, but with a smile already beginning to form in the corners of her lips

Aster looks to the staff now with no green gem on his hands, and let's go of it, letting it fall on the floor, he looks to her with a bright smile "... Yeah, it's over!"

Asha hugs him and laughs in relief. Aster holds her tightly while spinning her in the air.

"That was GENIUS!" Aster exclaims once he stops spinning "You finally figured out how to draw yourself!" he sounds proud of her, as he knows that was a skill Asha always struggled with.

"All I needed was to understand what I was drawing... And now I do." Asha says with a warm smile, placing a hand on her chest, reflecting on how this whole experience helped her understand who she really is.

She pulls Aster by the hand for them to go through the door of the wishes room. "Come on! Let's go tell the others."

Once she opens it, they see her friends all around the door waiting for them, Gabo is holding the sword Amaya was fighting with earlier, like he's ready to attack if who came in was Magnifico.

"ASHA!" They all scream in excitement and relief. Everyone rushes for a group hug

Including someone who wasn't with them earlier, but managed to pull himself up the rope elevator.

"YOU GUYS ARE OKAY!" Simon exclaims, embracing the whole group with his big arms.

Asha is smiling despite almost suffocating in the group hug "Heheh yup, we're fine, but we still got some wishes to free!"

Her friends let go of the hug, fully focused on the task at hand.

"Right! Aster, give us a lift to the ceiling will ya? There are some pulleys up there, that must be how we can open it!" Gabo exclaims, pointing to the top of the wishes room.

"Oh-ho! A few lift ups coming right up!" Aster says cheerfully, and uses his star dust on a few of the king's books, making them float to the wishes room, just waiting for the teens to get on them so they're lifted up there.

The teens run to the wishes room, Asha stays behind in the study for a moment to see... The queen is all tied up, looking at her in horror.

"Where is Magnus?"

If it was anyone else Asha would probably feel sorry for her, but this woman deserves no sympathy. So Asha just says with frankness "Burning down stairs. You're a widow, again. Consider that my wedding anniversary gift."

(Yeah I couldn't fit anywhere else so here's a reminder that back in chapter 2 Dahlia's mom said they had to go to the market to get her some ingredients, because she had to make a cake for the king and queen's wedding anniversary, and guess what? That is TODAY! So uuuuh yay tying up with the 100 anniversary disney movie theme... Also they kinda canceled the celebration for obvious reasons.)

The queen holds in a gasp, as if her cold heart just shattered.

Dahlia was next to her friend and is surprised by her tone "Woah Asha, I know she's evil but y-"

"They killed my parents, Dahlia." Asha puts it simply to her best friend while walking to the wishes room to join the others.

"THEY WHA- OOOH That's what you GET you WITCH!" Dahlia shouts in Amaya's face, now fully on board with Asha.

(I love that witch is the closest I can get to have them calling her the B word)

We see Gabo, Dario, Safi, Hal and Bazeema all being lifted up by the books, as there are 5 pulleys for each one of them to pull.

Aster is flying around the wishes, looking in amazement to the blue ones, and holding the green ones, which makes them turn back to their original blue color, un-cursing them. He is flying around repeating the process on as many as he can.

Asha looks up to her friends and the wishes, she smiles in relief that everything is finally falling into place... But then she notices Simon is standing in the corner of the room, his eyes are downcast.

Asha walks to him "Simon, you okay?" She asks him worriedly.

Simon doesn't even know where to begin his apology, for everything. He looks at her full of regret "Asha... I'm sorry, I am so so sorry." He begins, Asha looks to him and listens attentively "I don't expect you to forgive me. I was so scared that we could get hurt- I just- I couldn't believe that everything we knew was a lie" he begins to tear up "... And I wanted so badly to believe in him-"

Asha gives him a hug.

"... You were hurting in silence for so long because of the things he did... And I was too, we all were." Asha says calmly, trying to reassure her friend "What matters is that he's gone now, he can't hurt us anymore."

Simon has tears running down his face but he hugs her with a smile.

Aster flies closer to them, holding a wish bubble "And I think THIS belongs to you!" The star says warmly

Simon and Asha still can't see what's inside the bubble, but just by getting close to it Simon can feel it "My wish?" Simon asks in surprise "... No, I don't deserve it, I put all of us in danger and-."

"Everyone deserves to know their wish" Aster tells him with a bright smile "He tricked you, so what? Happens to the best of us, literally happened with me today"

"The important thing is that you see the truth now." Asha says, she looks at Simon and then at the wish with a smile, as if to encourage him to get it.

And he does so, reaching out for the bubble, and once he holds it reveals the image of Simon wearing knights clothes... Simon's smile is replaced by disappointment.

"Well... This is awkward." He says letting go of his floating wish "That's not what I wish for anymore... Guess I can't have it back."

"Hey now, that's not how it works." Asha smiles as she holds his wish "It's not about what the wish IS, it's about what it MEANS." She repeats what Aster told her back in the cave when they were talking about her wish, the star smile widens at that. Asha continues to explain "Sure, on the surface it may look like all you wish for is serve the king... But there's so much more to it than that." She places the wish in his hands "You wish to protect those you care about, like you've been trying to protect us this whole time, because even without your wish, THAT'S who you are. This wish is what makes you... YOU." Simon's smile returns "And NO ONE should live a life without being themselves fully." She finishes, her eyes sparkling with joy for her friend finally getting his wish back.

"... Thank you." Simon takes his wish and brings it to his chest, it is quickly absorbed.

Immediately there's a change in him, the bags under his eyes are gone, he gets a better posture as his back becomes straight, his smile widens once he realizes for the first time in 3 years he's not feeling exhausted.

"Woah... I forgot how this felt like heh" Even his voice is more full of life now.

"Uuuuh hate to interrupt the wholesome moment, but we're having some trouble up here!" Gabo's voice comes from above them.

Asha, Aster and Simon look up, seeing that the teens are struggling to pull the ropes to open the ceiling

"Do you think you can use your magic to open it, Aster?" Asha asks him

"Those panels are waaay too heavy for my dust to make them float..." They explain disappointedly

"We need more weight..." Hal says, she looks down and thinks for a moment, and an idea pops in her head "Alright! Who here ever wished to be an acrobat?" She asks them excitedly while preparing to jump with the rope tied to her hand

"What are you doing???" Safi asks her worried

"Follow my lead! YOOHUUUL!" She jumps with the rope, pulling the triangular plate from the ceiling right open.

All the teens understand the plan, as Dario doesn't hesitate and jumps right after her, followed by Bazeema, Safi and lastly Gabo.

The ceiling is open.

Asha is jumping with joy as the wishes begin to fly out of the castle.

"Well done guys! You're ready Aster?" She asks the star thrilled

Aster is just as thrilled as her when they answer "I fell down here ready!"

He flies up to the middle of all the wishes. The star focus his magic and opens his arms wide, magically turning all the green bubbles into blue ones.

The teens and Asha clap and cheer from bellow. While Bazeema is holding Valentino in her arms.

Aster looks beyond relieved he was able to actually do this... After this, Asha's wish will be granted.... And even if that means he'll have to leave, he couldn't be happier that he could give that to her.

Aster prepares to send all the wishes back to Rosas "And now! Time to return you all to who you belon-"

(*siiiiiiiiigh* ... I hate myself for what I'm about to do with these kids)

...A giant green orb holds all the wishes...

Aster sees he's surrounded by dark magic. He is mortified by fear.

And so is Asha as we see her and the teens looking up in horror... The magic that created the orb came from behind them.

Asha can't move, she doesn't want to turn around, but she hears that condescending voice she thought she'd never hear again... And he sounds very excited about his big entrance:

"Surprise~ Did you miss me?." Magnifico's voice echos, and all the 7 teens turn around to see who they already know who it is.

King Magnifico is completely unharmed, holding the staff with no green gem on it with one hand, while hugging a now untied Amaya with the other, they're both smiling deviously at the frightened teens.

Asha hasn't turned around yet.

"I certainly did, darling. Although, I didn't doubt you'd come back for a second." The queen says honestly, as that heartbroken expression she made earlier was just an act, she knew Magnifico had a precaution in case they got his staff.

Asha finally turns around, she's trying to hide her fear as she speaks "How? W-We broke the gem from your staff, how did yo-"

"Oh you mean this gem?" Magnifico says casually while pulling a glowing emerald from inside his vest... The actual gem from his staff.

Asha is stunned, and so is Aster, watching them from the bubble, trying to get out.

"Fun fact about magic power sources, kiddos." He explains like he's teaching a class, while placing the gem back into the staff "Although it is easier to use them in an amulet or staff, if you have it with you anywhere then its magic can still be used however you please." He fits the gem back into its original place, finishing his little explanation "And that includes making it LOOK like the magic is coming from a fake power source, such as that one you broke down stairs." He smiles at Asha triumphantly.

"... You knew we were planning to break it." Asha already suspected it from the moment Amaya told her Simon betrayed them... But she was hoping maybe he didn't say that part of the plan, or the king was too full of himself to come up with a precaution.

The two royals are walking towards them as the queen says "Of course. Thank you so much for the tip, Simon, we really couldn't have done it without you." Her voice once again has a mocking motherly tone to it as she speaks to the oldest of the group, who looks like he wants to burry himself on the ground right now with all the regret he feels.

"I- I DON'T REMEMBER TELLING THEM THAT!" Simon exclaims to his friends, who are all looking at him with sadness in their eyes, except for Gabo who looks ready to kick his kneecaps

"Well you were rather sleepy, perhaps it slipped your mind heheh" The king's eyes glow green, just to indicate what he did.

The two of them are approaching, but Asha is not about to just stand by and let them win like that, she's in front of her friends as she prepares to draw-

"Ooooh no you don't." Magnifico uses his staff to snatch the sketchbook off her hands

"NO!" Asha tries holding it with all her strength, but it's no use, as the sketchbook flies straight to the king's hand.

And just like that, Magnifico summons a green flame with his hand and burns the sketchbook.

Asha feels tears form on the corner of her eyes as she watches all her drawings burn in front of her.

She still has her pencil though, which she discreetly hides inside her sleeve.

"Welp, this was fun and all, but I think it's high time we get to the main event of the night." Magnifico says as he and his wife walk, looking up to the trapped star above them, who has been throwing himself on the walls of the large bubble all this time trying to get out.

Asha wipes away the tears forming in her eyes, she's NOT letting them win, she's not letting them get Aster.

"ASTER! Can you hear me!?" The star stops trying to get out and looks down to her, nodding "yes". So she continues to shout "If you get ANY chance to escape, do it! GO BACK TO THE SKY!" She begs him, knowing that's the only way to protect him and Rosas "Don't look back! It doesn't matter if my wish isn't granted! I just need you to be safe!"

Aster is looking down to her already with tears in his eyes. She's saying pretty much the same thing he asked to that illusion the king created in the woods...

And said king is standing right behind her "Giving up at last? Good. But I'm afraid our star is not going anywhere." He grabs her by the shoulder and pulls her closer to him, threatening to use his magic on her while looking up to Aster with a threatening smile "If he does, I might take my anger out on someone else, and we wouldn't want that, would we Aster?"

Aster looks down shaking in fear, his animation is more sketchy... He can't do it, he can't leave her.

Asha get's out of the king grasp and turns to him in defiance, refusing to show weakness "I'm not giving up! And neither will anyone else in Rosas, even if you get Aster's power, they will NEVER knell to you!"

Magnifico and Amable just look really amused and even intrigued by her boldness, after everything she still has spirit... And they can't wait to break it.

Magnifico leans down to look at her angry eyes "You really think so?" His eyes move away from hers, and he changes his focus to the 7 teens "Hmm let's test that theory..." He begins to walk towards them, ignoring the girl "Ooh Simon~ I believe you just stole something of mine-"

Asha doesn't think twice before holding him by the cape and pulling it.

"Leave them alone! I'm not letting you hurt them-"

Magnifico holds her with his magic and THROWS Asha to the bookshelves on the wall, the girl screams in pain upon impact and falls on the floor.

Aster can't be heard from the bubble but he's clearly screaming. While the teens gasp in fear.

"Frankly Asha, you REALLY should start worrying about yourself once in a while." He says sarcastically while turning back to the other teens, specifically to Simon.

Asha is laying on the floor in pain, but she sees the books that fell down from the bookshelf... Paper.

That's all she needed.

"Now where was I? Ah yes, you stole a wish from me." He chuckles darkly and speaks in mocking reprehending tone "Tsk tsk tsk first you break your end of our deal and now this? Asha really is such a bad influence."

Simon is no longer scared, but rather furious with every word the king just said "This wish is MY wish! And YOU are the one who broke the deal! You said Asha wouldn't get hurt!"

"Ah ah ah wrong in both instances. First of all: I said IF you kept all your friends locked up, then I, as in ME, Magnifico, wouldn't hurt her... But my dear wife promised you nothing, sooo really it's your fault for forgetting she existed, young man." He explains smugly.

"Indeed, how dare you?" Amaya complements, like she's offended he forgot about her.

Asha is quietly ripping off a page from a book on the floor. She tries to think on something to draw... But nothing comes up, her head is pounding in pain after being thrown to the bookshelf. And all the ideas that do come in her head just sound too risky, if she messes up the king will break her pencil.

"And second of all: ... I believe you misunderstand what I actually DO, Simon. So allow me to explain." His voice is more menacing this time as he approaches them, Simon has his arms open to shield his friends behind him "When you give me your wish, you're not just lending it to me, no no no, you GAVE it to me... So I can do whatever I want with it."

That get's Asha's attention as she tries to get up, using the desk to balance herself.

"No one agreed to tha-"

"SO" The king interrupts Simon and places a hand on the young man's chest, surprising him and all the others "If I say I want to change your wish, I will. If I say I don't want your wish to be granted, then it won't be" A blue light starts glowing on Simon's chest, the boy looks scared at the king smiling deviously to him "... And if I say I want your wish BACK"

He pulls out Simon's wish. Simon immediately feels himself grow weaker.

"Then I'll take it back." Magnifico says simply while looking at the blue orb.

Simon feels hopeless, the fire he had in his eyes a moment earlier is all gone.

Asha sees this happening all the way back in the king's study, she hides the piece of paper she got inside her sleeve. She's still trying to stand up as she asks.

"Y-you ugh- You can STEAL people's wishes?!"

"Oh I "wish" heheh" He laughs at his own joke "But nah, I can only take back from those who have given it to me once willingly." He holds Simon's wish in his hand with a smirk "Now the question is... What should I do with this one?" It's a sarcastic question, as he knows exactly what he'll be doing with it.

Simon is horrified, thinking the king will change his wish into something else, maybe even control him.

"Ah I know, how about a little demonstration of what happens with wishes in this real world? heheh" His grip begins to tighten on Simon's wish.

Simon gasps in pain as his legs go weak, his friends all worriedly ask what's going on with him and try to help him stand up.

"They get CRUSHED." The king destroys Simon's wish. Absorbing it's energy like it's the most wonderful sensation going through his veins.

Simon collapses, his knees on the floor as his face is now lifeless.

His eyes are unfocused. He's catatonic.

"Si-simon?" Dahlia tries to shake him to wake him up, but he's not responding, he's just breathing.

Asha is still in the king's study, shaking her head "no" in disbelief.

Magnifico pulls her back to the wishes room with his magic.

"What was that you said about Rosas "never kneeling to me", Asha?" He says smugly, pointing to Simon kneeling in front of them.

"What did you do with him?!" Asha is struggling to get out of his magic's grip

Magnifico just ignores the question and lets go of her, as he walks to the center of the circular room.

But Amaya gladly explains with a wicked smile "Have you forgotten what kind of wishes he takes? Your deepest desire that shows who you ARE, one might even call it... Your soul." Asha and the other teens look at her shocked. "Or at least HALF of it, people still need the other half to keep living or whatever." She finishes dismissively

Magnifico hits the floor with his staff, sending magic waves all around the room. And before they know it the whole room is being lifted up.

He then turns to Asha with a menacing grin "And ya know, your sweet little star did mention I'd have to be very powerful in order to sustain his magic... So take a wild guess where I'm getting that extra power from." He gives her a clue by looking up, as if he's pointing to the wishes trapped above them with his eyes.

Asha looks up at all the wishes and then to him in disbelief "No... You can't- They didn't do anything- They don't deserve-"

"I decide what everyone deserves." He puts it simply with a grin, as they reach the top of the tower.

Chapter 16

Final Thoughts

... So... How many of you fell for it? I mean, maybe it just felt like an obvious fake out death to me because I'm the twisted and sleep deprived mind that came up with it, but come oooon ya'll didn't think I'd only end ONE of them, right?

But if you're DONE with Magnifico and Amable, don't worry I am too, can't wait for them to be defeated next chapter, for real this time, no cap, we'll get a happy ending for our traumatized heroes I swear.

But let me lighten the mood with an imagery that cracks me up every time I think about it... Magnifico sneaking in the room while Asha is having her little speech with Simon.

Like dude just got in like:

Then he unties Amaya and listens as Asha is like "He's gone now, he can't hurt us anymore" and they're both thinking like "OOOH WE GONNA HURT THEM SO BAD LMAO" like the abusive parental figures they are, because that's what they represent by the way, they're like Mother Gothel and the whole population of Rosas is Rapunzel.

Asha is better than me by the way, like, if I saw this man alive again after ALL that I'd just do like Bravo and jump off the window. But she just keeps going, keeps finding new ways to fight back, I love my girl so much, like, you guys may think I hate her for putting her through this, but I can't wait for us to get to her happy ending! BUT I CAN'T RUSH IT OTHERWISE IT'LL RUIN THE WHOLE THING.

Anyway, this is already way too long, pray for Aster, I think ya'll can guess what'll happen to him next chapter, and pray for Rosas, because Magnifico will not be making them knell down by being chaining them to the ground like in the movie... Sooo yeah.

Thank You For Reading!

[prettywhenicryyyyyyyy]

For all coffee lover girlies, this one's for you.

Hope you'll enjoy this 🩷

i cant sleep (heeseung ver)

⠀ ˖⋆࿐໋ᯓ★ ˖⋆࿐໋

you had tons of assignments to complete, coffee was your only source of energy. 3 cups of strong coffee was the only thing you needed to complete your assignments.

Later in the evening heeseung came over and surprised you with your fav cheese fries and cherry coke. As he stepped in he pats your head says

"Way to go, princess! You worked hard on those assignments and you deserve a reward" a soft gentle blush crept your face, as if his words are the only thing you need. "Come on lets eat i know you haven't eaten yet" he said. You guys ate while he rants you about his group members weird habbits.

After the dinner he asked

"Can i stay at your place? i promise i'll make it worth your while" *smirks*

"i would love that, lets see how good you are at keeping your promises"

*he smirks, a mischievous glint in his eye*

"is that a bet?"  he asks *stepped closer, his body inches from you*

"it is now" you murmured. Your breath caught in your throat as he moved closer. You like to tease him, but the consequences are *painful* you walk away from him "i should go and keep the dishes in sink" you said "excuses ahem" he said in a husky voice

you blushed

Later on, you enter your room and saw him on your bed. You felt a flutter in your chest as he stood up and approached you, his arms encircling your waist.

"come here" murmured, his voice low and seductive

"i need to hold you" you melted into his embrace your body perfectly fitting against his, pulling you down on top of him as you guys settled for a cozy cuddle session.

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close against his chest. "You look tired," he murmured, his chin resting on top of your head.

"I am," you admitted, nuzzling your face into the curve of his neck.

"Then come here," he said, gently guiding you down onto the bed. "Let me hold you while you sleep."

You sighed, melting into his embrace. "Mhmm, that feels good," you murmured, your eyelids growing heavy.

At 2 am

you stirred from your sleep, your eyes fluttering open in the darkened room. You glanced over heeseung lying beside you who was still fast asleep, and sighed. "I can't sleep," you whispered to heeseung. His eyes slowly opened. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at you with a sleepy but concerned expression. "Can't sleep, huh?" he mumbled, his voice raspy from sleep.

You nodded reluctantly, a small frown on your face. "Yeah," you said, sighing. "I had too much coffee this afternoon, and now I can't seem to turn off my brain".

He chuckled and said "We could try something else to help you relax."

He leaned in closer, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Like gaming," he suggested, his voice low and playful. "It's a great way to unwind and forget about anything that's keeping you up at night."

"Sounds fun and exciting but whats the use? because i cant compete with you in gaming" you said with a cute baby voice

He smiled at you, his expression affectionate. "It's about having fun and enjoying each other's company. And besides... I think you're cute when you use that baby voice." He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

He stretched out his legs and relaxed into the couch, spreading his legs wide apart in a casual manner. He patted his lap, indicating for you to come closer. "Come here," he said, his tone soft yet commanding. "Take your seat princess"  he said, his voice low and sultry. "I want you right here, nice and close to me".

You moved closer to him, As you approached, he reached out and pulled her onto his lap, positioning you so that you are facing him, your legs straddling his hips. You could feel the heat of his body through the thin fabric of their clothes, and you could smell the faint musk of his cologne.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, explaining about the game rules. He caught you staring his lips, "You're not even paying attention to what I'm saying, are you?" he teased, his arms still wrapped around your waist. "Your eyes keep drifting back to my lips. You want a taste that bad, huh?"

"i cant help it, they just look so... inviting?" you said

"Well, don't let me stop you." He murmured.

He leaned in closer, then without any warning he captured her lips in a deep, passionate kiss.

Comment down snippets you liked the most.

Thank you so much for reading.

[weird-bookworm]

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗔 𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗠 ♥︎

this year has been crazy, to say the least. i'd write a long ass message, but actually, each and every single one of my moots deserves their own

so here goes

@silversailormoan- you were my first moot, and i still don't have a name for you. all i know is that i am eternally grateful you trust me enough to share part of your life with me, and that i'm very glad you went from my fav ao3 bts writer to someone who randomly messages me whenever. thank you

@yrhome- i was shocked when you followed me back actually, but after that you've just poofed off the site. i'm sorry we never got the chance to interact more, because you were one of y fav writers on here. i hope we can get closer this coming year!

@maeleelee- mae mae oh mae you are one of the most special people i know on this hellsite, and that is saying something because i know so many people i love here. you were my first friend on here, as unhinged as me, and with such a friendly and warm personality i almost cried (that is a lie. i have definitely cried because you're too cute. i am not joking). we've shared so many moments here, and you've trusted me so much, it made this year so much more special to me. promise you'll keep being your adorable self next year too, but most of all, promise you'll be happy next year <3

@imagine-a-life-like-this- talking to you for the first time felt like a fever dream, even though i had sent asks before and i was already friend with mae. you have always been a writer i respect and like a lot, specially with your smaus (chef's kiss fr). on top of that you are always so sweet??? hello, is this a dream?? i'm glad we got close enough for me to see your more unhinged persona (which i am in love with) and that i could see your bts debut lmao. let's have even more fun next year

@mxnsxngie- you're so mother istg it's the best thing ever lol. what i've said about you in my moots list is very true, you gives me fairy vibes. you're so pretty and lovable and asdfghjkl i just love you okay? i've loved every single conversation we've had and i lovee how you read my rants and then respond with a veryyy long message with a ton of typos because you're getting ready for work in the morning (thank you for still reading and replying though, you're so busy but you always take out time for me <3) keep being adorable!

@hannieheartuu- i love you. you are always so sweet and kind and sensitive and talented i just wanna cuddle you and keep you in my pocket and call it a day. i get too much cute aggression with you and i get too protective over you, but can you blame me? you've given me so much love and so much trust it warms my heart, so thank you ylli. thank you for being an adorable lil bunny and loving me and letting me love you, let's carry forward this energy <3

@fairyhaos- is it just me but i feel like you don't really need me to tell you how grateful i am and how much i love you, specially after what happened today lmao. but honestly, you were one of the first svt writers i came across, you have always been this really kind angel, and you ranting about shua makes my day in the best way possible. you're talented and adorable and so so reliable, and i'm really grateful for that. i'm glad i can call you my friend and i'm glad that you call me that too

@idubiluv- ah, yes, my virtual didi lmao (you said it, not me). you come here rarely because unlike most of us, you are slightly more responsible. and yet, you are so fucking loved and adored and i just love to see you getting so much affection, because you deserve eevry inch of it. we've had really fun conversations and your pfp always leads me to believe that you are absolutely gorgeous (i remember my sleep riddled brain once thinking that you would sparkle like edward when i'll first meet you...yeah i'm weird ahem anyway) and you have such a sparkly personality to match? heaven indeed

@the-therapist-needs-therapy- i remember us interacting continuously for a while, and then we just stopped, and i don't know why. let's become closer this next year, talking to you was fun.

@babyboyquokka- okay so we've talked a total of 4 times, but it was enough for me to decide that we really need to talk more (i am aware our timings don't really match but i have those rare days i pretend to be an owl and stay up very late so we'll see lmao)

@cadenonlinelive- how did we go from me being scared of you (...don't ask) to me actively teasing you (hello reply to me don't leave me on read) it might have something to do with the fact that the wifeys constantly call you adorable but ahem i do quite agree. i feel like my age plays a big factor why you might not feel the most comfortable with me, but i hope we can become good friends next year :))

@slytherinshua- eeeeeee you're my adorable lil (we are going to ignore the fact that you are taller than me) gremlin who makes me wanna kms but also bae are you okay. you have somehow made me question life within the short (yes i know surprising) period we've known each other, and also made me believe that with determination, anything is possible (like ranking 125 smth idols according to how much you love them). i'm really glad you made our server, because i don't think i would've stayed on this hellsite otherwise lol

@icyminghao- why is it that one of us will start a conversation in the other's askbox and then we just. stop interacting again ∏~∏ i love your work and i'd love to be closer :(( let's become good friends the coming year!

@ryuwonieebae- same as with haru, we talked and then stopped, and i wish we hadn't. i hope life is going well and you're happy :))

@rubywonu- niaaaa my love is it just me or did we barely interact but it still feels like we're already pretty good friends lol? i swear your work sends tingles down my spine it's that cute. you're also my favourite couprang, so i'm gonna take that as a free invite to rant to you about him whenever and wherever hehe (this is me telling you to expect ig reels in your dms i have way too many cheol reels saved)

@mesanthropi- weiwei!! bae you give me so many noni vibes + this-is-one-person-i-wanna-keep-around-for-a-long-time-if-they-will-have-me vibes it's crazy. i love our quirky conversations and i adore your art, but i specially like seeing you in others' inboxes— your asks are always just so cute. also, you are definitely someone i have cute aggression with so (...my pocket is large enough me thinks, you're always welcome)

@wheeboo- okay first and foremost, thank you for inviting me in the server in the first place, it has become a trusted source of entertainment and fun and just general clownery, and who doesn't love that? you and zanna really created a safe space for all of us and i'm so honoured that you even thought to add me there sob. BUT i also read your jun fic before anyone else i was squealing did i tell you? i was sooo excited afghjkl the end line is— thank you for trusting me and being my friend ilyyy

@hanniehaee- bro why did you randomly show up one day with a ridiculous amount of reblogs and disappear off of tumblr altogether WHERE ARE YOU I MISS YOU

@aaniag- hello fellow a little too crazy with the emoticons desi carat have i ever told you i love you? i have? well i don't care! i love you anyways lmao. a, i absolutely adore your random ass asks filled with 218 twins (spare me please), b, i love how you never stop yourself from going crazy with the emojis and emoticons, and c, i am very thankful that you love me so much, please don't stop doing that

@woozvc- noraaaa i feel like we've gotten so close lately, i specially love our little trio with cien hehe ^^ i love love love you and the way we blamed noni for never realising we weren't friends on discord for the longest time shall always make me smile. talking to your bf was adorable and i want you to keep reminding me that i have to write a fic for you, please and thank you!

@eternalgyu- to the awesomest most iconic goddess coded person ever, hello bae hru :D how tf r u so gorgeously stunning tell me the secret please i am so whipped but also, GREMLIN LINE!! you are as unhinged as zanna and that is truly appreciated. also, thank you for getting me into riize (i still need help) (also i will show up to tomorrow's quiz promise) i swear everything's so fun when you're around and i really hope we can get upto even more shenanigans next year mwah!

@welcometomyoasis- shu! adorable pretty shua coded shu! thank you for assigning me soonyoung in your end of the year post, and i meant everything i said in the tags okie? you're shua coded because you're soft and sweet and adorable and talented and i just really love you okie? never stop writing though, it gets me through on the bad days and i love it.

@springdayysworld- you get nothing, i'll see you in school (show up please no leaves allowed)

@mirxzii- look, all i know is that i love your voice, and that i really want you to show up in the server more so we can interact more, let's get closer next year!!

@blue-jisungs- axeeeee thank you thank you thank you for handling my silly little rants, specially yesterday's. your typos are adorable, your jokes are impeccable, your boomerness is lowkey rubbing off on me, and i really hope that i can write like you one day. i wish we can become better friends this coming year and continue being idiots. please don't stop being so axe :D ilysm <3

@haecien- cienciencien my smol tiny little bean i know you're older than me but ignore that please it's so fun to tease you and talk to you and simp with you. everything's just so much more fun with your unfiltered commentary and random rocket pictures (please don't stop). one day i would like to count all your husbands and complain to your bf (when is he asking you out please spare us) but until then, i love you.

@aakomii- i'm still surprised you followed me back tbh, you've always been a writer i've appreciated a lot and i'm glad i made an impression big enough lol, let's become good friends next year!

@etherealyoungk- give me your patience or your talent please, it takes me out every time. another thing i wonder is how are you so calm after stanning kwon soonyoung of all people (what is the secret tell me i need to know) but either way, i hope new year treats both of us well <3

@glosskirt- heheheheh fellow army ilysm we haven't interacted much but i hope we talk more because you're sooo fun <333

@candewlsy- mizu!! let's talk more because we really vibe and i look forward to every meme you send me (and the flirting. gotta love the flirting lmao)

@kkooongie- when you become moots on the last day on the year 😁🥰

[c-c-cherry]

Return of the king!!!!!!

For the ask game, you know I’ve gotta ask about the slayage #beachepisode

Hello everyone. I got two asks on this one so it's time for a story. (Ask game in question)

"#slay #beachepisode #reigentraintrauma" is the name of a google doc I created around 5am during Fall midterms last year that I never actually filled. This fic in question was manically story-boarded by myself and my roommate in one all-nighter because we needed a fun little reward during exams (but we apparently found some better reward because we never ended up writing it).

I have looked everywhere and cannot find a SINGLE TRACE OF THIS OUTLINE. This document is EMPTY. But the gist of it is under the cut. Buckle up. Does it still have potential?

◇◆◇◆

Picture this. A well-needed vacation. An expedition to the wonderful Rice Prefecture. A fantastic view of Mochi Mountain. A vacation home on the beachside of (insert another silly rice-related location I've forgotten). The cast is having a well-deserved holiday.

I can't remember how they even got into this situation. I have vague memories of Teru entering some kind of sketchy sweepstakes that won them this place for a few days? I have no idea. All I know is that it's free, they're all invited, and it's definitely not Reigen's idea.

This is supposed to be a calming vacation, but Reigen just cannot relax about it. For some unknown reason, every fibre of his being is entirely against making this trip, and he can't figure out why.

The cheapest transportation option is so clearly the train (which brings up some iffy memories), but he's been okay on them for the most part. Train trips are fine. There's no reason for him to decline a free vacation when everyone is this excited. He's been fine with this before—he should be fine.

The more veiled problem is this goddamn mountain.

Mochi Mountain is supposed to be one of the region's wonders. Instead, even the idea looms over him incessantly during the days leading up to the trip. The mountain is logically harmless. Beautiful, even. But looking out the train window and over to that towering peak on the way to the vacation spot makes everything click as to why this terrible gut feeling of his is so insistent. If you're familiar with the ova, it's no surprise. The combination unlocks some kind of trigger that he didn't even know was possible. Like, serious alarm bells are ringing. The type that tell him, "You are totally gonna die alone staring at this thing." The trip there is torturous, but he conceals it (for the most part).

When they finally arrive, Reigen finds that this holiday was more than a fatal mistake. That mountain did not stay with the train like in his past experience. In fact, he has a perfect view of it from the beach house's lounge, wrap-around deck, living room, kitchen, and is it really possible for the mountain to be in every single window view he can find?

He doesn't sleep. His silly businessman sparkle is gone. He opts to stay home while Serizawa takes the others out to do stupid tourist things that should have been fun. Even the isolation from staying inside is just as suffocating as a train car. He's the worst vacationer ever, and he hates it.

And worst of all? He can't stop thinking about what might happen on the ride back. The dread of the future completely ruins the whole point of this "relaxing" trip. He spends the rest of his time tailing the others on the beach or sitting off to the side while they all watch TV or play games, doom-scrolling on his phone as it seems like the only thing that distracts him from this weird limbo of anxiety (it is doing a horrible job).

The espers and Dimple start to notice, and someone finally has enough of Reigen being half-present. We couldn't decide on this next part. Do they take his phone and hide it? Does someone go way too far and accidentally drop it into the sea? Or maybe they pull some kind of light-hearted prank on him where they've all disappeared from his peripheral, just waiting for him to notice? Or use their psychic abilities to launch him into the ocean for a quick dip?

Whatever it is, it is definitely the wrong thing to do. Reigen totally loses it. Everything (embarrassingly enough) bubbles to the surface, and he starts to dissolve. His reaction concerns the kids the most, who feel like its totally come out of nowhere. Meanwhile Dimple's like, "jeeeez I'm used to talking Shigeo down, but how am I supposed to do damage control with something like this?"

And…Serizawa? Maybe he has no choice but to step up and take control of a situation he'd typically be a victim of.

All at once, this beach episode is in total shambles!!!

◇◆◇◆

And……..I can't remember how it ends. Or if it even had an ending. I'm not sure if we thought that far ahead. It's lost to the ages unless we uncover this outline in an archaeological dig. This would be fun to revisit and write up sometime, maybe as a long two-shot. Beach episode with a little twist? Who knows.

Thanks to anyone who stayed around to read this weird draft!

[bless-my-demons]

I just wanted to let you know that I am WAY too hooked on Redamancy that I keep just being like I wanna read angst? Oh, it's time to read Chapters 14 and 15! Like, come on, how can you take these okay characters from a weird ass series and turn it into something like this? I honestly think you are doing better than smeyer did! I also hope that soon things get to chill out, and we can see some half fun times with Jas and Emmet! Stay hydrated and well fed!!!

Omg when I tell you this ask made my heart SOAR😭 I’ve loved this series since I first saw the movies in high school (I just aged myself, RIP), but I always imagined them… different than SMeyer did; I’m re-watching the movies this week and I keep noticing what I would’ve done differently. Also, sparkles? You’ll never catch me mentioning that lmao honestly I just take her baseline for the characters/story and make it make sense in my eyes. And honestly I think it’s just the difference in vibes from 10 years ago to now - what we want in romance, perception of paranormal (not that anything about this is realistic, but making it more believable), and having time to criticize the saga.

Jasper is my Roman Empire, he is such a complex character - they all are! They deserve better storylines and just more overall, I just love writing my thoughts with him. But it’s like a coin, the other side is the wolves - more specifically Paul👀 oh my god I don’t even know where to start with the wolves, there’s so much. And I do have a doc started for Paul for after Jasper (there might not be a true and final ‘after’, but like once I crank out BD part 2) for when I can focus my energy on that instead of trying to split it with Redamancy, it’s full of ideas, things I wished we had gotten - especially with imprint relationships. Ugh and then I have that pre-vampire Jasper WIP that’s unrelated to Redamancy🙈 how the fuck do people organize their thoughts to do multiple series at the same time lol

The last part of your ask I’ve been thinking about since I posted Ch29, do you guys like the in-between? Like, the stuff between the timeline events that’s not in the books/movies? I’m always so worried about those parts, because if improperly done, I’m worried you guys are waiting for me to get to the point-to the shit you know is going to happen. Like the grad party, the newborn army fight, big plot points like that; versus the little injects like spending time with Quil, or Emmett, or reader’s mom, those things? I promise those little things have meaning down the road (some for the plot, some to just add angst/fluff/or to just fix SM’s holes) but I’m curious about your guys’ opinions! I’ve definitely read some fics that have had plot fluff that I’ve skipped because I just wanted the meat and I don’t want to bore you guys with that shit if I’m not writing it correctly enough😅

I also just love asks like this that make me think deeper about the story, because it definitely influences and inspires my writing lol thanks love🫶

[randomperson0k]

the evil thoughts got me fucked up and shit

OH forgot to mention: top 2 images are the final 'redesign', 2 images below are concept sketches i made for the 'redesigns'

tgs jekyll and hyde but they got evaporated by my evil headcanon beam and stitched back together by somebody who has no experience with using a needle and thread to the point where theyre more just like a seperate character

im sorry for my sins

PLEASE HEAR ME OUT BEFORE BITING A CHUNK OUT OF MY ARM. if anybody wants to read about my evil headcanon world all the stuff is below. wasnt really exaggerating when i said i ripped their character apart and stitched them back together though.

i do have a google doc full of everything i headcanon for tgs but some of that is embarrassing as hell so im just slapping the important stuff here

most of these 'headcanons' are here more because they make me happy than to actually make any sense. as a warning.

smokes fat blunt puffs it in your face anyways uh trans henry jekyll yeah (gets shot) ty person from the j&h community i was messaging that dragged me to the dark side and introduced me to the world of embracing my j&h trans headcanons. a true angel.

i really like more book inspired takes on j&h than the musical ones soo uhh.. yeah theyre the same person fully no j&h arguing thing. im soooorrrrryyy its just my preference for adaptations and i find it a lot more fun to play with story wise. also some other reasons but i wont get into those

polyamorous and bisexual (bi because... obvious reasons. poly because of that one couple they meet up with in the comic every now and then. my favourite ... ship (i think thats the right term?) in the comic. i love them.)

gas mask because it looks cool + chemical shenanigans ("oh but those didnt exist" shh. shhhhh.")

speaking of chemicals! they are much more into science. mostly does science-y stuff when theyre hyde though. they like to break into lodgers rooms and contribute to experiments.

facial hair. thats it. no further reasoning will be given

tried making jekyll in the concept redesign of him look older. failed SO bad im sorry i know its horrible.

hyde has pointy ears + pointer teeth (and green tongue because potion goop) + slit pupils because i am incapable of designing a human hyde. i have no idea why but i just cant.

earrings because 1: i have a bad habit of giving designs earrings and 2: i remember seeing a few headcanons of j&h with earrings and they were so tasty to look at so i had to do my own

bandage scarf thing from the beta tgs hyde design + newer tgs design that only shows up in the mind... world.... thing.

added the uhhh goggles from the old design too.

red and green hat because i couldnt decide if i wanted hyde to have the red hat from the old design of tgs hyde or the green hat from the current design. ripped it in half and chose both. great decision making i know

chunks of brown hair in hydes because why not. also red ring around one eye as like a weird variant of half heterchomia.

hyde has weird patches of green colored skin idk it just looked cool when i was fiddling with colors so i kept it

hyde has red scales in certain spots of the design. no further explanation

gave hyde black gloves to contrast jekylls white gloves + cmon. hyde probably touches the most gross revolting shit with the places they go to. they deserve some gloves.

changed their body type a litttttle bit just a smudge

i was going to give jekyll a cravat around the neck (a really bad designing habit of mine is to give characters cravats. not my fault they look so cool) both as a fancy thing + to hide lack of a adams apple buuttt the design felt way too clumped so im scrapping that. ignore the cravat in the drawing. grrr bARKBAKRABK

actually does sparkle visually/not just as a non-existent visual effect and people can actually see it. lanyon always swats them away because the sparkles get in his face.

hyde is more shorter than shown in the comic, more like book hydes height. like a foot or more shorter than jekyll. jekyll stays around the same height though. hydes probably the shortest one in the society.

permanent eyebags. does not sleep but cmon we all already knew that

hyde has a strong scottish accent instead of the other accent he fakes in the comic that i always forget the name of

has a cane like the og book. its a sword cane.... yeah i have a addiction, im sorry. (like half my own personal characters have sword canes)

i suck so bad at drawing shoes so hydes shoes look like ass but theyre supposed to be big boots since this guy probably walks through yucky mucky areas and stuff

i would totally write some oneshots or something like that of these guys going on adventures doing experiments and stuff yknow . (stuff like lodgers content and interactions, lanyon and hyde interactions because i enjoy secret identity and person said secret identity personal knows outside of their secret identity interactions, that one couple i talked about before interactions with jekyll/hyde and just in general random oneshots that make no sense) if i actually had any literacy skill

anyways im done my ramble. now you guys can shoot me

[usernamesuggestionsarefunny]

Wish spoilers ahead.

The start of Wish is exactly like that of Encanto but without all the heart. It is literally the meme of "Can I copy your homework?" "Yeah but change a few things so it is not too obvious."

Also Asha deserved a pretty dress in the end like wth are you going to sell to little girls Disney you are all about money and you failed miserably even at that.

And it is for real soooo unfair how the queen did get a pretty dress the whole movie and Asha only got some lazy ass sparkles added to her boring ass dress.

Asha... not bad, ok, but she is copy paste Anna, Mirabel, and Rapunzel. Youtuber ModernGurlz is right about Disney's "adorkable" problem. All their main girls since Rapunzel have the same "quirky" personality save a few details. I have liked them all but it is getting boring. Give me a princess with a monotone, sad personality, give me a shy princess who only smiles and talks around close friends, give me back the classic super girly personality Aurora and Snow White style, give me an angry girl with a brutal sense of humor like Merida. Be creative, please!!!

I love the queen's design, super gorgeous. Too bad her character added nothing. Her help was barely needed since Asha's friend had already sneaked them into the castle and it was her who deciphered the king's magic. A super villain couple would have been way more fun.

Oh, yeah, Asha's friends. There were so-damn-many of them and only like 3 were rememberable or needed for the story.

The villain is a complicated issue. I appreciated Disney's attempt at another fully evil character, I liked how he wasn't yet another badly set up "twist villain" revealed only at the end. But I didn't like the end result that much.

His backstory was super underdeveloped and to "get" his motives better, if they really wanted to make him evil-yet-complex, they should have shown us a flashback of him losing his family Encanto style (They copy pasted the start might as well do the same with the antagonist backstory.

What the hell was the missing piece of tapestry for if it wasn't going to have any significance later on? Did the writers just forget or what even?

Worst part for me: The stakes were low as fuck. Disney doesn't respect its target audience, nowadays it thinks that children can't handle anything worse than a main character getting disappointed. The worst this "super evil" villain does is make people sad temporarily, for like two minutes (Kid you not), like one character stays sad for longer but MOST people in the kingdom seem happy and normal after giving up their wishes, he legit just makes people sad a few minutes (Again, I kid you not, no one dies, the wishes he "eats" to make himself stronger come back, nothing he does has a permanent, devastating effect, he is not even revealed to have killed Asha's father in a dramatic way or something). Yeah he makes people forget their wishes which is pretty sketchy but up to that point he seemed to have complex reasons for that, reasons that seem to disappear or have never even been there the second half of the movie when he magically becomes more evil due to a forbidden green spooky magic he uses, and then suddenly he becomes Maleficent (The cool, perfect villain version, not the woobie one) style evil in a very, very rushed and over the top way. I feel like he should have started up as fully evil with no backstory (Just a simple, Gaston or original Maleficent style, self centered guy, who wants more and more power and adoration), and simply gotten worse and stronger OR given more complexity as to why he became that way, but instead we got this weird thing in between where it is clear he just wants power and love from the people for the sake of it and yet he has this half-made sob story on how his family died.

There was a great lack of originality in this movie at the climax as well. Anyone watched "The little mermaid II"? That was pretty much it. Villain gets power boner, says he will enslave everyone (Worst thing he does in whole movie and yet no one trying to defy him dies at least off screen or gets hurt in any meaningful way). Then heroine saves the day.

The funniest part of this movie is that the villain's fate is worse than anything he ever did in the movie I swear. He gets trapped in a freaking mirror and then locked up in a cell (Similar to the Little mermaid II villain's end too lol). That is straight up torture till death, it is so fucked up. And his wife who literally sees how the green spooky magic is the main thing responsible for his bad day (If we are being honest that is all it was, other than the taking wishes part he seemed to be a good king) leaves him to rot and becomes queen Catherine II style, it is hilarious. Like girl, you turned against your husband like five minutes ago because apparently through decades of seemingly loving marriage, you never knew he was evil but now somehow you are ok with him rotting in solitary confinement till the end of time? So dorky and silly. So bad, so bad.

Lastly, that goat was annoying as hell.

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP Memes from Reddit’s Thread “What’s a casual unpopular opinion you will always stand on?”

“I really don't feel the need to update my wardrobe to "modernize" it. “

“People who tell you that they're "brutally honest" are usually just mean.” “Leagues don’t exist in dating. You never know who someone would be into.” “I prefer my water plain. Never liked any flavored, carbonated, sparkling water, or whatever else that isn't just plain water.” “Over half the dog owners are terrible pet owners, let their dogs do whatever it desires and don't deserve to own any pets.” “Here’s my hot take: I actually love rainy days!” “I think its great to be lazy and not be permanently on " The Grind" or giving your 100% in your day to day experience on a regular.” “Plain lettuce is delicious.” “People who don’t like cats are people who get offended by being told no or things don’t go their way.” “I don't like lemon in my water. If a restaurant serves me water with lemon in it, I'll fish it out with silverware.” “Winter is my favorite season.” “Grey vinyl plank floors are the ugliest, cheapest looking, tackiest thing you can install in a home and I wish they would be outlawed for assaulting my eyes for the past 10 years. “ “Barbecue sauce is disgusting on anything and always makes a dish worse.” “When eating a string cheese, I don’t pull it into “strings” I just bite it.” “Death is a part of life and shouldn't be feared in the way it is.” “Alcohol sucks in every way.” “You can typically fix being cold but it’s harder to fix being hot.” “New car smell is gross. It literally makes me want to vomit.” “There are much worse things in life than being alone.” “I think chocolate is boring and overrated.” “Tea is better than coffee.” “I refuse to sleep naked.” “Residential recycling doesn't work. More than half of that stuff ends up in the trash anyway.” “I could eat mustard straight. It’s the best.” “I love sleeping with socks on. It's like a blanket just for my feet.” “My unpopular opinion is I like QR code menus. And even more if I can order directly from it.” “Toast must be burnt. Unburned toast is just warm bread.” “Pineapple goes on pizza and it’s delicious.” “Pot is not as cool as everybody thinks it is. It is overrated and stinks way worse than people think.” “Fried eggs are the best food ever. If there were no side effects, I'd eat three meals of them everyday for the rest of my life.” “You can’t just change your sports team because they are losing. Pick a team and stay with them.” “Its pop not soda! The bubbles go pop. This is one of my strongest opinions and I will never back down to a soda-er.” “We can change at any age.” “It's never too early to decorate for a holiday you like.” “Iced coffee is INSANELY overrated.” “Don’t listen to those that have been successful. These people are an example of survivorship bias.” “Vegetables are actually very tasty in raw and all other forms. A carrot or a celery stick is as fun to me as chips or biscuits.” “I think it's a weird flex to brag you have no friends or that you hate people” “Salt and vinegar chips are amazing. I don't care how much it hurts my tongue.” “The tooth fairy is real.” “Milk should always be poured before cereal. Soggy cereal is disgusting.” “Mayonnaise doesn't taste good, and neither does ketchup.” “Flat soda is delicious. They should just make cola and rootbeer flavored water.” “Not every sandwich needs cheese on it.”

[leventart-den]

Interactive ZoSan fanfic. Ch.01

AN:

Hello dear Straw Hearts!

So here we begin our journey with the first chapter of the interactive ZoSan fanfic. Please remember that I am not a writer and English is not my native language. But I will try and I hope we all have fun. I have some ideas but your choices are what decide where the story goes. In the vote, you chose that our story will take place in the canonical One Piece setting. But since I have not yet seen many events and am not familiar with all the characters (I only just met Brook in the anime at the time of writing this but I happily spoiled some things for myself so I know roughly Sanji's story), my vision may conflict with canon. There may also be spoilers here, so be careful. This first chapter is just setting up the scene.

 If you prefer to read on AO3, then the first chapter is here.

This is also beta-readed by wonderful @dad-cahoon ! Thank you so much for your help!

So, without further ado, buckle up and let our journey begin!👀

***

-= My 4am Sun =-

Ch.01 "Distraction and consequences"

Sanji really thinks that Zoro will be the end of him one day. One way or the other. He's such a distraction. And he doesn't even know about it. And Sanji would never tell him. His sword work is blinding. Every time it catches the light and the glare hurts his eyes and Sanji hates it. He hates how it makes him freeze and silently demands “look at me.” 

Look at me. 

Look.

And Sanji looks.

Because he can't not.

And he stares.

Because no one really knows but Sanji loves.

He loves endlessly all the big and small things in this world that he finds beautiful. And now he loves how the 4am sun embraces the swordsman and grazes the steel of his swords. It stole the breath away from him in the same way it did on that momentous day when Zoro took a blow from Mihawk with his arms open and his gaze determined. Something shifted in him that day. Something sparkled and he treasures it still, keeps safe deep in his heart. Sanji will never admit it but Zoro became someone special to him that day. Someone he looked up to and strived to become in some way. Zoro was strong, passionate, and a man of his word. He was ready to follow his dream no matter what. Sanji was the same in some parts. Objectively speaking he was strong and passionate himself, but he always lacked self confidence. He always sought so much less of himself. Although It was always compensated for by him trying his best. And actually doing his best no matter what circumstances he was in (no, we are not talking about his weakness for women in this house). But nevertheless, Sanji was almost always blind to his own achievements. He never praised himself, even a little, and took the praise of others as if it was the biggest treasure. He never thought of himself as deserving anything good but still he dreamed of kindness and love and friendship.. 

And he always wanted to be friends with Zoro. And after all these years, he kind of thought they were. Even though from an outsider's view their friendship looked more like hatred, in reality it was just rivalry and they both loved it, at least Sanji thought Zoro liked it too. 

Sanji enjoyed their bickering and fights, he truly did. But there were times when he could get tired of it. In those moments he really wished they could have a “calm” friendship. Sanji tried from time to time to guide their relationship in that direction, but Zoro never got the message. It always ended up with sharp jokes, insults, or fights and every time Sanji–with an inner sigh–followed Zoro's lead. 

But also Zoro sometimes surprised Sanji by looking weirdly happy, or even proud when seeing the cook coming to the fight scene. It really throws Sanji off every time because he doesn't know what to think of it. It is too weird. And other times Sanji thinks that Zoro may even care for him. Like that time on the sea train when Zoro screamed at him to not go along further and wait for them because it was too dangerous. Of course it was turned into a joke in the end, but nevertheless. And if Sanji would be honest it drives him crazy every time. Every time he thinks they may have their “ordinary friendship” moment, Zoro snatched it away as fast as his swordwork. And once again Sanji sighs and goes along. Although to be fair, Sanji himself often starts the fight or bites first so he has nothing to complain about, really. Right?

Right.

So, he's completely okay with not having a normal friendship with the stupid mosshead.

It's only fair, he thinks. And dives down at the last moment, barely avoiding a killing blow from the enemy. It's a really bad idea to be distracted right now, in the middle of the battle on the deck of their ship. Sanji was actually starting to feel tired, and not only him, judging by the way others were fighting. The attack happened suddenly, late at night. A huge ship appeared as if out of nowhere, fortunately Zoro, who was on watch, quickly raised everyone. Their opponents were fast and tiring. And there were many of them. Although the entire attack was strange, as if they had a specific goal unknown to the Straw Hat Pirates. And their captain hasn't even shown up yet. They were also terribly silent, making the atmosphere of the battle sickeningly depressing and oppressive. Sanji and everyone else were used to the fact that their opponents were usually loud, demanding attention to their person, no matter how deadly, the atmosphere was almost always like a chicken coop fight. Noisy, bright and reckless. That's probably why Luffy loved these moments so much. He had a lot of fun, of course, when the situation wasn't life-threatening for his nakama. But now even their captain looked out of place. 

Suddenly, Sanji felt a long-forgotten but familiar chill running down his back. That kind of dark anxiety that cannot be explained because there is no reason for it.. But nevertheless, something inside begins to scream heart-rendingly, “run!”

And perhaps Sanji would have run, if in the next moment he had not felt a firm push of someone's palm to his back. Everything around seemed to freeze for a moment, for one painful heartbeat. The place where palm touched felt numb, but after a moment there was a tingling spreading throughout his body along with an increasing ringing in his ears. His head started to hurt. For a second he thought something had snapped inside him and a terrible heat exploded. He couldn't even scream.

He took a breath.

And blinked. 

And time seemed to rush forward again, drowning him in a cacophony of sounds

He felt confused. What just happened? Where was he? What was he doing?… Why is it so light already?

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a familiar voice next to him.

"Hey Sanji! I'm terribly hungry, can you cook something? No, not something, meat! A lot of meat!" Luffy slapped him on the shoulder as he passed by, making him step forward from the force of the impact. He shouldn't have though. Of course, their captain was many times stronger than any of them, but such a movement should not have moved Sanji so easily. He almost lost his balance. He felt shaken.

He blinked again, gritting his teeth and realizing that there was no cigarette in his mouth. He couldn't light a new one though. Not now, when his hands are shaking so much, hastily hidden in his pockets.

He looked around. Everyone went in different directions. The battle was over, they were moving away from the smoking ship of the unknown pirates behind them. Judging by the sun, it was now about eight in the morning. He lost time.

He lost time.

Sanji swallowed nervously. He should think about something else. He can't spiral  now. He can't fall apart. Not here where everyone can see him. He must be just tired... There is no reason to worry and especially no reason to give others reasons to worry. It sounded stupid even in his own head, but he has no choice but to persuade himself like this at such moments. He has a lot of practice. He just needs to hold on a little longer. 

And he will. 

He always does.

He exhaled, glad that Luffy did not wait for his answer and apparently did not notice his confusion. He will think about everything later, but now he needs to get to breakfast. Everyone is probably terribly exhausted and needs to replenish their strength. Sanji would make them the best breakfast he could. Something from rice. And not at all because the stupid Marimo loves rice dishes. Again. Sanji will never admit it, but he loves to surprise that stupid swordsman. He feels it as a small victory and grins proudly every time he sees that he likes his food.

He thought to himself as he walked to the kitchen and desperately tried to ignore the trembling which threatened to take over all of him. Nervousness was creeping through his entire body and as soon as the door to his personal temple slammed shut, hiding Sanji from prying eyes, he leaned against it wearily, hastily taking out a new cigarette and lighting it. It took him several attempts before a small flame touched the tobacco tip. He took a drag and exhaled, closing his eyes and resting the back of his head on the wooden surface.

He lost time. A few hours. What happened at that time? Has he passed out? Is he even awake now? No, no. He can't go there. He will drive himself crazy. He can't afford it. He must trust his crew. If he's passed out and it's a dream, they'll wake him up. If not, then to hell with it. Whatever happened during the lost time is not so important if no one asked him about it. 

As if in mockery, the hand mark on his back reminded him of itself with an already familiar numbness, as if someone else's palm was still touching him. It was disgusting.

"Fuck." His hand hit the wall before he even thought about what he was doing. He desperately tried to convince himself that everything was okay, but the truth is that he is scared to the guts. Sanji takes a breath and relaxes the fingers that he hadn’t noticed he had clenched into a fist.

Okay…

Okay.

Breakfast.

Taking another drag from his cigarette and exhaling through his nose, Sanji determinedly headed to the countertop, gathering the necessary ingredients as he went. After washing his hands, he took out a cutting board and a knife, forcing his hands to stop shaking, feeling the pressure in the back of his head starting to build up again. It made his ears ring disgustingly. He ignored it, clenching the cigarette between his teeth and starting to chop the vegetables. He will do what he should do. For what he became a member of this crew. Sanji would not allow himself to be a burden or a problem for this team. For his team, he corrected himself. Because he's part of it. He should not forget or deny it, even if at times he considers himself unworthy. 

His knife made the first “knock”, cutting through the vegetables and connecting with the board. 

It sounded oddly muffled.

He blinked.

Sanji watched dumbfoundedly as something was burning in a frying pan. He choked on his breath, dropping the extinguished cigarette from his mouth and hurried to turn off the heat, putting the frying pan aside. Feeling the world shift from the sudden movement, he hurried to grab the countertop to steady himself. A cold shiver ran through his body, his heart was pounding wildly, and his bones and muscles ached as if he had just taken a severe beating. Sanji sucked in a raspy breath, watching with incomprehension as dark blood dripped onto the surface of his precious kitchen, staining it. He touched his face, feeling the warm stickiness running down his lips and chin. 

This was wrong. 

He never bled out of the blue.

Sanji heard laughter coming from somewhere outside and winced. He hurried to the sink, washing the blood from his face and then wiped the countertop with a napkin, tossing it in the trash and throwing the scraps on top. 

He almost sank to the floor after that, but kept himself on his feet, making an incomprehensible quiet whining sound through his teeth, full of anger and something deeply painful. 

He felt weak. 

Again. 

He didn't understand what was happening or why. 

He will be a burden to them. 

He did not want that. 

Fucking hell. 

He didn't want it.

His eyes stung, but he took a breath. He must stop.

Breakfast.

He looked around the kitchen. Everything was ready, all that remained was to set the table.

Whatever happened to him during the lost time, his body apparently continued to work. That was good.

A small mercy.

He took another breath and lit another cigarette. His body ached, but felt calmer. It felt as if it was healing. Maybe it was. 

Okay.

He will set the table, get through breakfast and then decide what to do.

He's not weak. Not anymore. He can handle it.

Sanji felt something was torn somewhere in his body, he felt cold. He spat the blood into the sink and washed it off with water. 

He'll get through this, damn it.

.

.

.

TBC.

====================================

If you made it to the poll you probably read the chapter, so thank you for that!

It's time to decide where the story will go next! Keep in mind that some choices may lead to similar results just in a different way.

[astrxlfinale]

"I have a great gift in mind for you, listen! How about I, Sparkle, grant you the gift of a choker hold~ My legs can wrap around your thin neck and suffocate you until the Aeons are in your line of vision. That sounds like fun!" (Sparkle)

Was that actually possible?

See, normally this could constitute as either a full on threat, or a direct call out to some hidden masochist tendencies he may have. Though what Sparkle proposes feels like it can have validity, given how she's an enigmatic figure in general. That initial shock that led to widened eyes were soon sharpening, allowing his disposition to offer a sense of challenge as he peered down without a remote inch of shame. This was required surveying.

For here was the Masked Fool known as Sparkle, talking up a good game about allowing her legs to become the judge, jury and executioner while making some smartass jab of calling his neck scrawny of all things! An ego such as his was sure as hell not going to take that laying down! This was the neck that faced Emanators and all sorts of horrific damn things all the same!

In the end, Caelus would huff before a smug disposition settles on his face. "C'mon now. For that to even be a realized dream, to touch on reality, you'd have to make sure you never missed Leg Day all the way up to this point!"

... .........

"Still." There's a timely pause as those formidable legs of her's were perceived. Try as anyone might to talk about the silken glories of how she takes care of them. From the thigh down to the calve, what Caelus would perceive was that she spent a good share of time roaming with those. They held some much deserved glory, and Lady Sparkle here might've done that for a reason.

Aha was one weird as hell Aeon at the end of the day. What if of all things, a Path to THEIR maddened gates truly did require him to risk getting his neck on the precipice of shattering like a corn chip by her thighs? That soon led his eyes to squinting towards her, parking his gaze back up to situate eye contact, challenging such a wild idea with a Trailblazer's vigor.

"I think the bigger issue here is you think I'd probably be down and out in ten seconds. Look, smartass, you'd have to wrangle me like you were trying to crack a Stormbringer's spine. Bring it on, I can understand if you'd be shivering in your sandals at the idea of taking me to Aha's realm."

@pcrdiseseekers

[sickfires]

How do you maintain the delusion of being in 2012? Asking because I really need- I mean, "want" it myself.

buckle up, i'm about to break down the secret internal rules of 2012 for you, real smooth style. so smooth a little baby can swallow it down. here's some browsing music. or some more browsing music. yes they have to be the music videos.

BE UNAPOLOGETIC. do you really think anyone in 2012 on this website felt shame. this was years before internet drama culture started to really pick up (around 2014-2015) and before shipping drama apart from fandom infighting was even a twinkle in your mother's beautiful green eyes. go back to your roots. embrace the weird, embrace the ugly, embrace the cringe. yes, even that cringe. yep, that too. detach yourself from the concept of cringe entirely. e

BE KIND OF INSANE. the other side of the be unapologetic coin. to be unapologetic you have to stare into the eyes of the wild mustang that lives in your soul and come to terms with it's fighting passionate spirit. if that means going somewhere in public in full homestuck cosplay and LARPing with best buy employees, then that is what you must do. society's idea of what's right and wrong isn't real. you make the rules now. you're free.

CURATE YOUR ONLINE EXPERIENCE. this one is pretty self-explanatory, but blocking anyone you just don't want to see isn't a crime and should be done liberally and with great pleasure and gusto. you are your own web-ring. manage it with tender loving care.

i'm sure there's more but you get the gist. i have some stuff for you though, in a little goodie bag. here.

you're a homestuck fan. download pesterchum, it still works just like it did back in the day. hell, make some sprite edits, or read the comic from the very beginning, just like it was yesterday, the way it was meant to be read. there's even a working replica of the mspa forums.

if you want to take it even further, code your own website on neocities. maybe a little earlier than 2012, but there were and still are plenty floating around- and it's fun to flex those creative muscles. here's a more indepth guide. miss flash games? flashpoint has got your back. there are a ton more cool things to find- you just have to look! also delete tiktok. and twitter, if you can. you deserve better.

TL;DR: sparkle on, it's 2012! don't forget to be yourself!