#they had to destroy the clothes to access their magic again

[katescribblesabit]

Foop and Ymmit got a pat on the back and a "good try" once meal time comes around.

It’s okay boys! You’re parents can teach you how to do it in a few days.

they will be escape artists in no time

part 1 - part 2

[dreamseersystem]

Overwritten Destiny

What happens if a story changes? Something that was supposed to happen later, instead happens before Multiverse altering events. Before the Apple Incident, a universe came into being that seemed to story the normal script. Until the final timeline... In a twist of fate, something in XTale changed and Cross now finds himself in his empty au, changed and his LV maxed at 20 and gained the power of Overwrite. What else will change? Whose destinies will now be Overwritten?

Pain, so much pain. His spliced together SOUL pounded in his chest as he was left totally alone. Even his brother was gone, torn apart by the LV that grew within the body as he fought friends and family over and over again till he changed into something inhuman. His father adding his SOUL to them as well to take control as his own body was dusting. He was torn apart as well. And all that was left was Cross, or at least he thinks it's mostly Cross, but he had memories of Chara and Gaster as well.

But that wasn't the only change. He was taller than he once was, purple flaming ecto horns stuck out of his head, his eyes were red and purple, the purple had an X going through it. Claws instead of normal fingers and toes. And a purple ecto tail with floof on the end of it that felt like soft fur. Could he even consider himself a person anymore? He felt more like a demon.

There was nothing left here. Just whiteness. Once Gaster's body died, the au fell apart. Even being in the joint SOUL couldn't save the place. Then again, it makes sense since Gaster's mind was destroyed or merged with Cross's. The same fate that happened to Chara at the same time. A SOUL was never meant to hold three people together.

He needed to get out of here, but he didn't know how. At least Cross didn't, but the memories of Gaster whispered in his mind to tell him of a way. A power he now had access to. He worked off the memory to summon a portal. Not knowing where he would be going, but it's away from this place, that's all that matters. There was a feeling of foreboding that he should leave it soon. So mentally preparing himself, he walked through and blinked as the sun hit his face on the other side.

A forest. With colors he never really saw before. His au was so limited in colors he realized. Why didn't Gaster make all these colors? Because it wasn't perfect the mind said. Fuck that. It was perfect in a way. He walked through it, admiring the colorful plant life until he found an exit.

The clearing ahead of him led to a hill. There was a big tree at the top that had strange colored apples. Apples of black and gold hung from its branches. Below the tree was a small skeleton monster and a bunch of other kids that were attacking them. He was begging for them to stop. That angered the Cross and Chara in them so they ran to the top of the hill and picked up the child quickly to protect them.

"Hey! Leave him alone. Haven't your parents taught you to treat others how you want to be treated?" He growled at the kids.

The kids stared at Cross and screamed, "DEMON!" Quickly they ran away down the hill to escape the scary adult and tell their parents of this new development. The child in his arms shaking and clinging as he sensed the new adult was safe since he protected him.

"Thank you," he whispered softly. "I'm Nightmare."

"You can call me Cross," he said as he placed the child against the tree to check over him. He was so dirty and some of his clothes were torn. And there were some cracks on his bones. "You poor thing. They really did a number on you huh?"

"Some are old... The adults beat me up as well," Nightmare said. "They all call me evil and bad because of my magic. But they only do it when my brother is away. They act nice when he is around."

"No one should ever call you evil or bad. You are just a kid Nightmare," Cross said as he worked on examining the exact damage. He didn't have healing magic tho, but Overwrite might be able to work as a refresh. He refused to use the control or changing aspect of it. He held Nightmare and brought up the button, coding also appeared that he ignored for now, even if the Gaster part of him understood some of it. He focused on what he wanted to do and pressed the button, the magic left Nightmare fully healed, his clothes looking like new, and he was all clean.

"Wow Cross! What did you do? That was awesome!" Nightmare exclaimed as his eyes changed into stars. He hugged the adult tight again.

"Just used my magic," Cross said. "It isn't much. But why don't you tell me more about you and your brother and this place. I'm kinda not from around here."

"Yeah, the villagers wouldn't like you either. You look like the demons the priest talks about when he was still nice to me," Nightmare giggled a bit. "I think it's cool!" He started rambling about everything. How the tree was their mother and what their job was, about his twin and everything they did together before the villagers came. As he continued to talk he got sadder and sadder and started tearing from it. "I miss my brother a lot. But he has friends in the village and I don't want to hurt him by telling him the truth," he cried.

Cross held him close and wrapped his tail around him. "I know it's hard, but you are brothers. Brothers should always tell the truth, even when it's hard. I had three brothers myself and we never lied to each other."

Nightmare sniffles as he looks up at the adult. "Where are they now?"

"Unfortunately they died," Cross said. "I'm the last one from my home. They all passed away and so I needed to move on."

"I'm sorry you lost them Cross. I can feel the emotions from you," Nightmare said as he held him. "Are you sure I can tell Dream? He won't get mad?"

"Nah. I bet your brother will be so worried about you being hurt by those he thought were his friends," Cross said as he petted the child.

"Where are you gonna go? You gonna leave?" Nightmare asked.

"I don't know. I don't really have anywhere to go," he admitted.

"Stay here! You can meet my brother and help protect momma with us! You are my first friend!" Nightmare exclaimed.

Cross laughed. "If you don't mind then. I can stay and recover here and help protect you and your brother," he said. It wouldn't hurt. And something drew him to the kid. It felt... Right to hold him and protect him. He was important. It brought up memories of when Gaster first came into being with Chara and Frisk. It was a similar feeling.

Cross stayed with Nightmare just in case the bullies or their parents came. While waiting, he told Nightmare a bit about himself, his training as a knight, and stories of things he and his brothers did together. Dream was the one that finally came to the tree. He looked at the adult with wild eyes as Nightmare tackled his brother.

"Dreamy! This is Cross! He is awesome and a knight he said! He has cool stories like the books you bring me sometimes!" Nightmare exclaimed excitedly as he started to ramble.

Cross listened and when he stopped he looked at Dream. "I kinda rescued your brother when I found this place. But he can tell you more about it."

"Oh, you did? Thank you mister Cross," Dream said. "My brother is so accident prone." Nightmare looked away at that. "Right I got some food!" He brought out a small bag that only had a few random vegetables and a piece of nearly stale bread that could barely feed one, let alone two kids. Cross made a face at that.

"Is that all you ever eat?" Cross asked.

"The fields won't grow as much as they used to," Dream explained. "This is all I was given for my work in the fields. Even the wheat harvest is low."

"So a famine..." Cross muttered. That would be why they see Nightmare as an ill omen with his magic that he explained about. He got up from his spot. "Why don't I try finding some food in the woods and see if we can make something together for the three of us? I shouldn't be long."

Nightmare nodded at Cross. It would be nice to eat something more filling for once. "Okay Cross! We will be here!" He can talk to Dreamy in secret now too. Once Cross disappeared into the woods he looked at Dream. "Dreamy... I need to tell you something."

Dream looked at his twin. "What is it Nighty?" Nightmare couldn't hold it back anymore. He hugged his brother tight and cried as he finally told him the truth about everything that has been going on with the villagers. Glad to finally be able to get it all out. Dream held him horrified.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked as he cried as well.

"They told me you would be very mad and hurt me too," Nightmare sobbed. "But Cross said brothers would never do that and I should trust you. I don't wanna lose you!"

Dream squeezed him tighter. "Never! Nighty you are my twin! My bestest friend! I don't wanna be friends with meanies! I'm never gonna go to the village again!" He swore.

"You mean it?" Nightmare asked.

"I do! I want to protect you Nighty! And momma too! They can't eat the apples! Momma said so!" Dream said with conviction. Nightmare hugged his brother tighter.

"I love you Dreamy!"

"I love you too Nighty!"

"Brothers forever!" They said at the same time.

It took some time for Cross to find food. He got lucky to find a few rabbits and set traps for them as he went to forage. He found good stew herbs, wild onions, and edible mushrooms. There were surprisingly some wild carrots as well. There might be a famine for farmers, but it seems the forest was still teeming with life. But it seems from what he could find, not many villagers come into the woods. No wonder they are starving a bit. He found a rabbit in one of his traps and took care of it with his dagger before he headed back to the kids.

They were sleeping, huddling against the tree as their crying wore them out. Cross smiled as he gathered the other veggies given to them and used Overwrite to create a fire and a pot to cook over the flames with water already in it. He spent the time preparing a stew with what he had. Making bowls and spoons to eat with, he set up the food and split the bread given. It would taste better with the stew anyway. He really didn't want to wake the twins, but they needed to eat. He walked up to the kids and shook them gently to wake them up.

"I made food," he said to them. Nightmare and Dream rubbed their eyes, confused until they had their first whiff of the food that was made.

"Smells good..." Nightmare said.

"Is it really cooked food?"

Cross chuckled and nodded. "Yep. I found plenty of food stuff in the forest to use for the stew. Even a rabbit," he said as he got the boys settled and handed them their food.

Both boys sat with him and took the spoons to take their first taste. Their eyes turned to stars at the same time, making humming noises as they dug into the food even more and copying Cross when he dipped his piece of bread in. This was their first time eating meat and it was really good too.

Cross decided to tell the twins stories while they ate. Stories of other worlds that his Gaster part once saw or was told by the strange being called Ink. He wondered where Ink even was or if he noticed that the au was even gone along with Gaster. There was a slight sadness in his SOUL he knew was from the Gaster still in him. There was a sort of affection Gaster had once felt for the chaotic being. He also had the vial that held the other half of Gaster's SOUL... He would need to find a way to reclaim that from him and dispose of it in the future.

The twins listened with such interest in the stories. Asking questions excitedly as the stories went on. Nightmare looked at Cross with a grin as the last story was finished and he yawned. It was already nighttime and dark, but the fire felt nice. "I wish the worlds were real. I would love to explore them," he said.

Dream yawned and agreed with his sibling. "Yeah. I wanna meet a Swap Sans and play with him. He sounds fun," he giggled sleepily.

Cross chuckled and after he cleaned up the dishes and made sure the fire was contained he picked them up to cuddle against their mother. The kids clung to him and let his tail wrap around them. "Maybe one day. The worlds are real, but I am not exactly good at traveling myself. I got here by luck," he said.

"Really?!" Both kids exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah," Cross said.

Nightmare seemed excited and then frowned. "I wish we could go, but we gotta guard Momma. If we leave, they will hurt her," he said.

"Well, I don't need to leave right away like I said. And you two seem to need someone to look after you and protect you while you are protecting your mother," Cross said as he held them tight. "That is, if you want me to."

Nightmare and Dream nodded at that. "Please stay Mister Cross," Dream begged. "You are the only adult that is truly nice to us without expecting anything in return."

"Yeah Cross. We want you to stay," Nightmare agreed. Cross smiled at them.

"Then I shall," he said as the kids fell asleep. Soon he did as well. The first time he slept since all of this began. He woke up as just Cross, and now he fell asleep as someone more than Cross, but at his core he was still him. His tail wrapped tighter around the kids, as if he was claiming them as his own.

The adults and kids sometimes came up to the tree in the following days. Mostly to look for Dream since he wasn't coming to the village to work in the fields anymore. Others glared at the adult now staying with them, whispering that somehow Nightmare summoned a demonic guardian for the twins. It wasn't helping the fields stop growing anything now, the famine getting worse over time.

Some of the adult villagers tried to chase Cross off, citing he was a danger to the tree guardians. And they soon found out he could defend himself as he summoned a giant red knife to block them. He never attacked, only defended him and the twins. They cursed at him and called him a demon. The kids did the same and tried throwing rocks, but Cross stopped even those as well.

He was starting to get nervous as he kept going into the forest to forage for more food. The kids were thriving with full bellies, but he knew the villagers noticed this fact and were getting jealous. There was tension in the air and all three of them felt it. He was climbing the hill one day when he was grabbed from behind all of a sudden. Somehow they hid themselves from him sensing them. He struggled, but they tied him up to drag him up the hill.

Once they threw him on the ground, he saw the twins cowering by their mother, scared at all the adults there with weapons pointed at them. Cross knew they were going to hurt them and himself. "Dream! Nightmare! Run!" He called out.

Both kids shook and cried out when they saw what the villagers did to Cross. One of the leaders held an axe to his neck. "If you two run, I'll chop off his head," they said. "We want the golden apples! All of them! They are the only things that can save us now!"

Dream cried as he held his twin tight. "We can't! They are not meant for mortals!" He cried out. "Momma said they would hurt you!" Another villager slapped his across the face.

"Liar! You have become as evil as your brother! The priest will cleanse you once we take care of the demon and his master," another growled.

"Leave the kids alone! They are innocent!" Cross yelled. He got slapped for it, magic dripped down from his mouth.

They pulled the kids apart, one adult holding and squeezing Dream, the others closed in to beat Nightmare with the weapons they held. Both of them are crying out, begging for them to stop. Dream bit the hand that held them and he was dropped and ran to his brother's side. He tried begging again only to get slapped and knocked up against the tree.

The tree shook, two apples fell in front of the twins. Black and Gold glowed and tempted them to consume them. They heard their mother urge them on. So they grabbed them and ate. Each eating their own colored apple.

Cross felt magic in the air and he was unsure if it was good or bad. He wanted the kids to stop, but something told him they wouldn't listen. Even now, more apples fell and they ate like animals. The villagers hit and beat them to try and get them themselves, but they were hurt when they tried to touch the magical fruit.

They ate and ate. Apples fell in front of them until finally each had one final apple in their hands. Both glowing with a strange orange and cyan light.

As they took the final shallow of their respective apples, a power exploded and knocked the villagers to the ground as the kids glowed and screamed.

Dream glowed with an golden aura that shifted into orange as orange, red, and yellow wings burst out of his back and a thin white tail with fluff on the end that was golden in color. His eyes flashed and now one was red with a yellow sun as his eyelight. The other orange with a normal yellow eyelight. His circlet now floated above his head like a halo.

Nightmare glowed with a purple aura that shifted into cyan as two black goopy tentacles burst from his own back and a matching thin black tail that had floof on the end that was purple and cyan in color. Half his face was covered in the black goop where the villagers crushed his skull in, healing or hiding the damage since he only had a single eye now, that was double colored purple with cyan on the inside that glowed dangerously. His own circlet had changed as well, the style changing to look like he had curved golden horns that had a crescent moon shaped low between them.

Clouds were covering the sky and a lightning bolt hit the tree, splitting it into pieces. Two of the biggest pieces landed in front of the twins who quickly grabbed them. They changed into weapons. Nightmare a scythe that was just his size and Dream a pair of farming sickles held together by a chain. They attacked the villagers in a blind rage.

Cross was at a loss at what to do. He finally was let go as the adults screamed and ran or attacked the twins, only to be slaughtered. Each moving on instinct to take out those hurting them. He struggled to reach his dagger, and was finally able to cut his bindings to get free, but it was too late. The village was on fire and the twins killed all those that lived there. Adults, children, babies... All gone.

When they appeared at the top of the hill, they attacked Cross at first, but he was able to defend himself. "Kids! It's me Cross!" He called out.

Finally Dream and Nightmare seem to see who was in front of them. Their weapons dropped and they started crying as the rain fell on all of them. Washing off the blood and dust they were covered in. Cross got closer and pulled the kids into his arms. So young they were to do something like this. Driven to by the magic of their mother and the apples.

"Shh shh. Let it all out you two," he said to them. "You are safe now. The villagers are dead. They can't hurt you anymore." He cradled them as best he could, their small forms rocking against him as they cried their SOULs out. Soon all that was left was the rain and their sniffles. No other sound could be heard, not even the rumble of thunder. Cross knew that something happened to the au when the tree died. Like the entire au died with her. They couldn't stay here.

"Nightmare, Dream, we can't stay here anymore," Cross finally said. "I'm gonna take you somewhere safe okay?" The kids nodded at him.

"You promised?" Dream asked.

"Yeah. Even if it takes a few jumps we can find somewhere. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you two," he said as he hugged them tight.

"Not your fault," Nightmare said. "They must have been planning this for some time... It could have been worse without you here."

Cross didn't think so. All three of the memories inside his mind agreed they should have done more to protect them. But what was done was done. He picked them up, noticing the weapons were gone now, confirming they were magical like his. He held them close as he opened a portal, putting all his intent on finding a private and safe place for the three of them. With no one around.

Once he stepped through the portal it was into a huge room that looked like a throne room of a castle. Frayed wall tapestries hung and weird torches lit up once they entered the room, glowing purple. He didn't focus on that tho. He pulled up Overwrite as he sat on the floor and made the kids comfortable as he looked at the code of the au.

It was empty and small. Just the castle, the courtyard garden, and some farm fields outside the walls. Cross focused on the main thing. It was empty. No one lived here and somehow evaded being destroyed by Ink's opposite, the god of destruction. It was full of forgotten magic that was already recognizing Cross as its new owner, giving him access to the place as it clung to the strongest being that entered their place since the last owner died or left. It would be a safe place for the kids to live with him. Away from others and give them all a home.

Cross used Overwrite to make a campfire on the stone and light it. Using the warmth to keep the three of them warm. "We can be safe here. There is no one at all to be found."

Nightmare looked around the room. "What is this place?" He asked.

"A castle."

"Really a castle?" Both kids asked.

"Yes. And my magic says its empty and wants someone to call it home," Cross said.

"So... We can be safe here?" Dream asked.

"Yes. We can be safe here," Cross replied. Both kids let themselves slump against Cross at the news. Already feeling exhausted and sleepy from everything that has happened to them.

"Go to sleep. Tomorrow once we are rested we can explore our new home," Cross said as he dried them off and summoned pillows and blankets they can use together.

The twins nodded and clung to him as they settled themselves to sleep. "Goodnight Daddy," Nightmare and Dream said together as their eyes closed.

Cross's SOUL lifted at being called dad by them. He smiled, a gentle one that would have reminded him of Gaster back when he was more caring. He nuzzled them. "Goodnight my children."

[whumpshaped]

I just had such a good whump idea omg

So let’s say whumpee is a character with a rare kind of magic, and whumper is sort of a god?? Inhuman magic person who has lived for millennia. anyways whumper is on the dictators side of a war and whumpee is with the rebellion. cut to whumper kidnapping whumpee because in all of their centuries of living, whumpee is the only one that shows enough potential to be whumper’s apprentice.

Whumpee is kept in a fully furnished beautiful room with reinforced windows. They are given good food, clothes, and access to books and a luxurious bathroom. but the training is grueling. with magic conditioning to open their body to withhold more forbidden and powerful magic, sparring and fighting techniques, scholarly learning, rituals, etc. whumpee resists through it all. whumper however, has patience. she sees herself in the spitting angry whumpee, so she waits.

whumpee destroys their perfect room whenever they can, only to find it put together again when they return. they’re exhausted. they start to resist less, deciding that if they learn the ways of whumper they could use it against her. which is when whumper rewards whumpee by giving them small privileges, like access to a gym, library, kitchen, and a television, plus the best healthcare and solutions for any physical problems whumpee had. whumpee is still angry but as the weeks turn into months, whumper remains patient. painting herself as the only one who truly understands whumpee. and it’s sadly true, as none of their team actually did back home.

Afterall, the best was to train an unruly animal was with positive association.

slowly, whumpee subtly starts engaging with the lessons, engaging whumper. slowly falling for the manipulation tactics, too tired and isolated to fight back as hard as they once did. they started conversing with whumper, having debates, intellectual conversations, and tactics in training. the witty comebacks seemed to slip from whumpee subconsciously, like they were back home talking to a teammate. even though they’re supposed to hate her—she treats alright compared to other warlords, she’s almost like a teacher. and it was so nice to talk to someone after months of not doing so. whumper was quiet, calculating, and a damn good instructor whumpee found. whumpee was becoming more and more similar to a younger whumper. angry, lost, confused and in need of guidance.

and whumper was glad to give it to them.

awesome prompt, awesome story, i honestly dont think i can add onto it. its great. i love shit like this. also just in general i rly love stories involving rebel groups..... and ok fine i admit i love rebel groups being Crushed. its. a specific flavour of whump i enjoy a lot. but this? this might become Another specific flavour i enjoy-

[artificial-transmutations]

Closer Than Flesh - Conflict

Jake is almost sad to see Dominik's body change. In this in-between state, Jake is Jake again. Not Dominik and not yet whoever he is going to become. Still, this doesn't change much of his state of mind. He feels powerful and in control, being able to freely use the magic of the stone now. He can't really control yet who exactly he is going to become, but that is only a matter of time. Hair explodes all over his body. A dense full beard forms in his face, and his stylish haircut grows out into a wild mane of hair. But not only his face gets hairy: All over his chest and stomach, body hair grows in. Not decent or trimmed, no. A wild forest of hair is what materializes on Jake's upper body. Soon, pretty much every part of his torso is covered by a dense fur of hair - clearly visible, since Dominik's natural blonde hair color has vanished in favor of a dark brown. The changes quickly spread to his extremities as well: Both his arms and legs are covered by a layer of body hair as well, and his large cock gets embedded into a rich pubic bush.

As even his feet and the back of his hands get hairy, finally, the rest of his body follows the changes. The already fit body of Dominik explodes with mass. Both fat and muscles stack on his bones, and he gets considerably taller, to slightly over two meters in height.

The biggest changes however are not to Dominik's appearance but rather to his body shape and motion. Whereas Dominik was fit and athletic, Jake is now broad, heavy and tall, a powerhouse of a man, a force of nature.

His face quickly loses the youthful softness of the streamer it had before and becomes rugged and weathered, piling up a few years of age, leaving Jake at least in his mid-thirties.

As the changes to Jake's body slow down, clothing starts to appear on him. Not bothering with any underwear, a sturdy pair of durable pants forms over his legs and groin and his hairy feet are being wrapped in heavy boots. Finally, as always, the world comes back. The wooden planks of a small fishing boat form under Jake's massive feet and a rugged Scandinavian coast line around him. Finally, the bright blue sky and the ocean come in, completing the scenery.

Jake takes a deep breath of the salty air. There is no doubt the magic stone worked well. Even though Jake has never visited this part of the world before, he is sure that this was Norway. There are mountains in the distance and the shoreline just looks like Jake would expect from a Nordic country.

His new body feels powerful and great. It doesn't take a genius to guess that he is probably a sailor or a fisher. There is no one else but him on the small boat, so he has every time to explore his new body.

Everything about it is positively massive and strong. The dense coating of hair expresses his manliness well.

Jake scratches his head. What is it he wanted to do?

He groans when he remembers the conversation he had with his dick. It was so annoying. Having a talking cock sounds fun until you actually have one. Now he just wishes it would shut up for good and just be a normal part of his male anatomy.

He sighs. He should head to Båtfed now. To be honest, he isn't quite sure what he is about to do with the weapon there, but perhaps he can force that red demon guy to stop bothering him and make his cock behave normally.

That Jake has no idea on where his destination is or how he would steer a boat there doesn't pose much of a problem for Jake. He doesn't know, but his host body knows for sure. It's getting easier and easier to access knowledge and skills, so Jake just needs to close his eyes for a second. When Bjørnar opens his eyes again, he knows exactly where to go. Silently, he gets to work.

***

Skyler has mixed feelings. Mog'Tol's plan has worked extremely well, and from what he heard, the binding circle has been destroyed. The joy of revenge is somewhat diminished however from the fact, that the stone, that stone with the hated sigil of the past, has not yet surfaced anywhere. It is probably only a matter of time. Skyler has enough time, it's not like he is mortal. But he hates waiting, and every passing day makes him more vulnerable. It is not strictly unusual for demons to disappear for a year or a decade, but the more powerful ones, like himself, have some kind of representation at least. If word gets out about his powerless condition, he might very well lose more than just his reputation. And now that Mog'Tol knows, it's a race against the clock.

Still, humans are greedy. It will probably only take one or two months until one of them pillages the remains of the secret society, at most, and then he will have his magic back.

One or two months pass, and while Skyler is right about the pillaging, to his boundless frustration, 'his' artifact has not yet surfaced. There are other stones, presumably with demonic magic sealed in it that have appeared in the mortal world, but as big as the temptation is, Skyler dares not to lay hands on them. Not without his own magic, at least. If the original owner of that power would notice, Skyler would be no match for them right now. As frustrating as it is, the best course of action is to lay low and wait for now.

So, Skyler waits. And waits. And waits. Months become years, but there is not a single sign of his sigil stone. Of course, Skyler has sent his agents, human with weak minds that he is easily able to take over, to search for it discretely, but the stone does not appear in any collection. Over time, Skyler is forced to retreat more and more into his palace. Mog'Tol has apparently not yet told anyone about Skyler's situation, but there are rumors already.

To explain his public absence, Skyler has spread the rumor he is working on a bigger project in his palace. He didn't specify what exactly, which served in his favor, as the other influential inhabitants of hell are busier to discuss about what he is working on but to doubt it all together. But sooner or later, his lie will be revealed.

The years turn into decades without any new development. Just as his patience has worn out, Skyler senses a spark of hope. A tiny, miniscule part of his magic has returned to him, like a thin string of red mist. Someone has used the stone! Finally, the wait is over!

Immediately, Skyler heads for the mortal plane, following the traces of his magic like a blood hound. Would it just have been that tiny sliver of magic, Skyler probably would not have found its origin at all. But whoever used the stone seems to have taken a liking to his magic, as shortly after, more and more of his power is being activated and freed. It's still a tiny amount, and at this rate, it would take more decades for everything to return to him - but that isn't Skyler's plan. He successfully pinpoints the origin of the magic and will just take his power back from that mortal.

He did underestimate that mortal somewhat, Skyler has to admit. As he confronted the young man in his living place, he had the audacity of using Skyler's own magic to escape.

It matters little. Since he used magic to escape, *his* magic, Skyler just needs to follow the trail of power flowing back to him. That mortal fool might have gotten lucky once, but that won't happen another time.

It happened another time, and Skyler is confused by it. He had the situation, and that weak mortal's mind under his control - until he lost that control and he slipped away again. It is extraordinarily rare for a mortal to have a mind so strong he can resist Skyler's influence - and initially, this mortal had not shown any signs of such a strong mind at all. Still, at the very last second, Skyler's influence had been pushed out. That should be impossible. A single mind should not be able to become that strong all of a sudden.

Still, it was no problem. Skyler has another conversation with Mog'Tol, who hints that maybe his presence allows the mortal to use the stone like that. Nothing easier than that. There is no need to get his hands dirty himself, after all. He will just use his spies to find the mortal again and then appear and take the stone.

Skyler could scream in frustration as the mortal slips away again. He had the perfect opportunity and took over his spy at the right time, but still, the mortal being escaped his grasp barely. Skyler looks down at the dripping wet body he has stolen from some Polish construction worker. Time to change plans. He will send his minions to take away the sigil stone - and only then would he appear himself. That way, the stone wouldn't activate in resonance and the mortal has no means to escape.

Apparently, he had underestimated the mortal man again. It was a conundrum to Skyler. Even though the mortal obviously had a weak mind and succumbed more and more to the influences of the hellish magic, he had managed to activate the stone himself. How was this possible? He could consult Mog'Tol again but decides against it. He needs to adjust his thinking. Instead of chasing the mortal all over his plane of existence, he would just let him work for Skyler. Skyler had enough summonings to know how humans work. Promise them power, promise them immortality and they do exactly what you want. Skyler actually has every intention to honor this deal. It isn't hard to give the man what he wants, and he has proven to be an oddity among men. A conundrum Skyler would very much like to study further once he has his powers back.

So, the next time, he tracks his magic down to a place the mortals call south America, he proposes the deal to the mortal. He knows better than to press him for an answer - humans react poorly under pressure - which is a blessing most of the time, but not what he wants right now. After he sees the man disappear again, Skyler smiles. Not long now, and his magic and a brand new servant will be his.

***

Skyler really doesn't understand why he is having this visions of Baelnath, but for the first time after 'waking up', this is not the first thought he has. Baelnath has offered Jake a deal? Why didn't Jake tell him? Sure, his Dominik personality has been difficult, but this is important! Their lives depend on this! Then, another thought crosses Skyler's mind. What if Jake didn't tell him because he plans on agreeing to the deal? No, this can't be. Jake wouldn't have done what he did if he planned on becoming a servant of Baelnath. After all, why would he be looking for the angelic essence then?

A small part of his mind nagged on. There are possible explanations. Perhaps he wants to give it to his future master as a gift? No. Skyler refuses to believe that. Probably, Jake has only forgotten to tell him. That must be it.

Concentrating on his surroundings, Jake has obviously transformed into a new body again. Rough cloth rubs against Skyler's length and the space inside the pants is filled with sweat and hair. A lot of hair, actually. Skyler cannot remember a body that was that hairy down here. It isn't that bad though - that groin he is attached to is definitely manly and primal, which Skyler likes.

Pretty immediately, a gigantic hand readjusts Skyler's length. Apparently, he has chubbed up a bit thinking about the situation he is in. Skyler briefly considers getting harder and stimulating Jake further but can stop himself for a moment. On a rational level, this is getting him nowhere, and Jake potentially in a bad situation. On an instinctual level however... He is a cock. A piece of cockmeat. His prime duty is to get hard and be sticked somewhere to fuck. Or be jerked off. What does he care what situation Jake is in? He needs attention, now. When your cock calls, you have to answer, that what he... that's what... it? is for. Yes. Skyler is a cock and that is its purpose. Skyler is completely hard now, and it throbs inside the rough work pants. Jake's big hands come down to readjust himself, but every touch of Skyler's length only serves to make it harder and more demanding.

Finally, with a grunt, Jake's big hands open his pants and Skyler springs free. They are on a boat and as far as Skyler can see they are alone. But all that doesn't matter to it right now. Without saying a single word, the gigantic man wraps his hand around Skyler's body and starts to pump. No foreplay or more stimulation, just raw power and desire. Skyler feels as its mind meets the primal thoughts of the man jerking him and their thoughts become one once again. Just pumping away, trying to get more pleasure out of his dick. Jake/Skyler thrusts in his hand now, in complete silence but with barely contained force. After a few minutes, he can feel himself getting closer, and, with a non-descript grunt cums in a wide arch over the reeling, into the ocean.

The journey takes a few days since the town of Båtfed is on the other end of Norway, close to the very north. During the journey, Skyler thinks less and less about Jake's possible betrayal or what it has seen in this vision. In fact, Skyler thinks less and less in general. It lets itself being used for pissing, and of course for the regular jerk offs, but that's it. That's what it is for and that's what it does. Not a single word is exchanged between Bjørnar and his cock, during the whole time. Bjørnar is not a talkative guy in general, and there is nobody here to hear him. Skyler on the other hand, is a cock. Why should he speak to his owner?

It is only when Bjørnar and his cock finally arrive at Båtfed that the situation changes. Bjørnar moors the boat, and stretches, before walking towards the red wooden building of the stave church that is clearly visible outside of town. He has landed outside of town, since he likes to avoid any company if possible, and luckily, there is nobody there. During the days on the boat, Bjørnar had some time to think. After a few days of settling, Baelnath’s offer doesn't sound all too bad to him now. Sure, he would be a servant, but everyone is a servant of some kind. And being able to choose his bodies freely sounds really appealing, at least compared to going back to his magic-less life, that seems so far away now. However, he still has a trump card. He will get that divine thingamabob and trade it for an even better deal. Less servant, more equal to Baelnath. He, Bjørnar has the power right now, or at least he will have it shortly. No need to settle for anything less than what he wants.

Stomping towards the red building, he is surprised to actually see another human being out here. A twenty-something boy with blonde hair and a twinkish build is looking out to the ocean. Immediately, Bjørnar's dick reacts to the fuckable man, but Bjørnar disapproves. He has no time for that.

Instead, he tries the church door, only to find it locked. He rattles the door with some force, but it's stable enough. He would either need to get a key or break it down. There is no reason not to break it down, aside from the boy with the white shirt who has taken notice and approaches Bjørnar. Great. Human contact. Just what he needed.

"Do you want to visit the church?" asks the boy. Even his voice is light and cheerful. Disgusting.

"Fuck no. I just want to get in there." Bjørnar spits out.

"I'm sorry, but it's closed most of the time. My uncle is the priest here and he only opens the doors for service." The boy's eyes are sparkling in joy, even though he is talking to a hunk like Bjørnar.

"Oh, then I will break down the fucking door then." Bjørnar growls at the boy and stomps towards the door.

"Relax! I've got the keys right with me. I can show you the inside if you like, but only if you promise not to break anything." The boy quickly says and smiles a disarming smile.

"Okay, okay. No breaking anything. Lead on."

"Of course. But first... let us talk about the master's offer."

Bjørnar turns around, as the voice of the boy changes and gets a neutral, puppety tone to it. Sure enough, the eyes of the other man are glowing red now. He is being controlled by Baelnath now. Bjørnar just hopes that he is only here for him and doesn't know about the weapon.

Bjørnar grunts. Being so close to his goal, he has lost much of the respect for the red demon, especially since he is not here himself. Bjørnar still has the magic stone and can escape anytime he wants, but that would be rather inconvenient. No, he will resolve the situation another way.

"Right. The master." Bjørnar says slowly while trying to come up with an idea. "Who is that again?"

The tone of the boys voice does not change as he responds: "You know him well. Baelnath, the twisted master of flesh."

So, Baelnath is using magic to control that boy, huh? Well, Bjørnar has magic at his disposal himself. Time to use it.

He concentrates on the stone in his hand and feels the power surging. However, this time, he doesn't direct it at himself and his body, but at the young man's mind in front of him. He feels a slight struggle, but as Bjørnar can just throw more and more power at the problem, he quickly dominates the battlefield of the mind.

"Say it again. Who is your master?" Asks Bjørnar in a demanding tone.

It takes a moment, but the young adult responds differently now: "My master is... you. You are my master."

Bjørnar grins before being reminded to his arousal by his throbbing cock. "Good. Now, suck me off."

He opens his pants with his free hand and releases Skyler into the open. The blond boy does not hesitate for a moment and drops to his knees. In seconds, Skyler is all the way down the boy's throat, chocking him lightly. Bjørnar does not care about that he is out in public right now. There is nobody here, and if someone was, Bjørnar would not care. He pumps his hips, pushing Skyler down the boy's throat and smirks as he hears a muffled groan.

Bjørnar decides he needs more and pushes the other man's head with his free hand against his groin, almost choking him. "There. You are a good little slave, aren't you?"

The blonde guy interrupts his servicing only briefly to answer in the same monotone voice: "Yes, master."

"Good boy." Bjørnar says as he pulls down his pants even further and starts pumping his dick directly into the other man's throat. He thrusts and moans, finally cumming down the blonde's throat with a grunt.

After that, Bjørnar pushes the blonde from him and to the ground. He just bellows a "Now, the keys." and, as he receives them, does not care about the spent man on the ground anymore.

Skyler on the other hand is present like he has not been for a long time. It has mind-melded again with Bjørnar during his exploit and what it had seen scared it deeply. Bjørnar, Jake, is gone so far it really couldn't recognize any sign of its old friend anymore. Is that really it? Skyler cannot believe this. There has to be a way out for them, there just has to be. So instead of dozing off as it normally does after orgasm, Skyler stays present as good as it can as Bjørnar unlocks the door. Luckily, the beary man has not bothered to put it back into his pants, so Skyler can see.

The interior of the church is small, but quite beautiful. The sunlight shines in through colorful stained glass windows, and a few candles are burning. It's narrow in here and everything is made of wood. Naturally, the air inside is pretty hot, at least for Nordic people.

At the back of the church is a small wooden shrine, and Bjørnar is certain that what he is searching for must be there. He stomps closer until he stands in front of the closed shrine, hesitating for a short moment. Skyler isn't sure what is going on in Bjørnar's head, but he senses his chance.

"Jake!" he addresses the huge man who flinches a bit from the unexpected voice in his head. "I don't know what Baelnath promised you, but don't do it. We are here, Jake, and there is the weapon. Let's take it and defeat Baelnath!"

Skyler puts all the sense of urgency it can muster into these words. A moment passes and then Bjørnar starts laughing, in a deep, arrogant voice.

"I almost forgot you were there, little kuk[cock]! So, you little asshole listened in to the conversation I had with my slave?"

Bjørnar spits out on the church floor. "Know your place! But no. The deal is not bad, but I can do better. I'm not gonna take the deal. Instead, I am going to become much more, all on my own. Baelnath is pathetic. With the magic stone, I can be so much more powerful than him. I'll take over his slaves and make them mine. They are going to serve me. And nobody on earth can stop me, because only *I* have the magic."

Skyler is horrified. What is going on with Jake? It gets really angry. How can he just throw away everything like that?

"Jake, stop that! This isn't you!" Skyler shouts angrily.

"Oh, shut up! Nobody can stop me, not even you. Especially not you, you are just a cock. First thing I am going to do is silence you, for good. There is just one weapon on earth that is capable of stopping me, and that is inside this wooden box here. But not for very much longer."

With his strong arms, Bjørnar just rips open the shrine and reveals a crystal on a wooden stand inside. The crystal is beautiful: Warm yellow swirling light fills it and shines outward without any need of further illumination. The light isn't unpleasantly bright and yet, it fills the room naturally like the sunlight on a warm summer day.

While Bjørnar hesitates for a moment, Skyler's thoughts are spinning. If Jake destroys the angelic essence, all is lost, for good. It absolutely cannot let that happen. There is just one thing it can do now.

It has done it before and despite just having cummed, Skyler concentrates really hard on getting hard again. Come on! It has managed to do so in Romania, and so many other times now. Just... come on.

And really, Skyler's length grows rigid. Now it uses everything he has trained back in Germany. It knows that it will only stay in control for a short duration, the duration of one erection, but it has to try.

Skyler's strong mind overwhelms Jake's weak one as he is just reaching out to grab the crystal. Skyler stops the movement in his track and Bjørnar tries to use his other hand, sweat dripping from his brow in the hot church. It's a battle of minds, but Skyler eventually succeeds in bringing the hulking body under his control. It stands there, panting, and with a large erection. Now what. The hardon will subside eventually and then it's all Jake again. Jake is still present, in the back seat of its mind and there is nothing Skyler can do to hide something from him.

Skyler looks at the swirling light crystal and then at Bjørnar's body again. It is out of options. It needs to do *something*, anything at all.

Soon, Jake will control Bjørnar again and then the angelic essence must be out of his reach.

An idea appears. It's a crazy idea, but Skyler doesn't feel like it has much choice. It *must* act now, no time to think it through.

It grabs the crystal which feels warm and pleasant to the touch and carefully lifts it up to its face. Skyler just hopes this works, as it lowers the crystal until it touches the very erect dick. Skyler concentrates hard, but it is not even necessary. Easily as a wish, the golden light inside the crystal intensifies and flows out of its transparent home and into the flesh of Skyler's dick body, filling it and surrounding it for a moment, before sinking in gently.

Skyler feels a clarity it has not felt for a long time. Everything has a purpose, even it... no, even he. He doesn't know what this purpose is, and it is up to him to discover this, but as the angelic essence fuses with his being, it feels like he can do it.

During all the powerful emotions, Skyler has completely forgotten about his concentration, and as his dick body softens, Bjørnar is immediately present again.

Pure hatred fills his voice as he shouts: "You fucking idiot! You motherfucking traitor! Was that your plan all along? To have that power for yourself? Asshole!"

Angrily, he smashes the now-empty crystal to the ground, where it shatters into a thousand little shards and pulls out the sigil stone.

"So, that's how it is. My biggest enemy was never the demon, it was my own fucking dick. A fucking enemy, in my own fucking body."

His voice grows cold, as he continues: "If you are against me, I will need to look for allies elsewhere. I'm going to Baelnath now."

Demonic magic swirls around him, as he invokes the stone's powers again and vanishes in red mist.

Outside the church, a single black raven who had watched the scenery, spreads out his wings and flies away.

There is quite a lot going on between the two of them and things aren't exactly looking bright. Let's just hope this ends well. If you want to read the previous chapter, you can do so here. This magic link leads you all the way to the beginning. You can read the next episode here.

If you like to support my writing, be sure to head over to my riot page. Not only the warm feeling of supporting a mediocre TF writer awaits you there, but also awesome benefits, like the critically acclaimed Dropout Dorm storyline!

[broodwolf221]

Happy Friday friend!! I hope it’s okay for me to send you a Varric/Solas prompt? 👉👈 you’ve got me hooked on this ship I swear 🤣🤣 the prompt: ❛ spare me the ‘i’ve come to slay you’ speech and let’s get on with it. ❜  (I just know you’ll do something awesome with this one!) 💚

oh it is more than okay >:3 this was so fun omg. what a good juicy prompt for them <3 and hehehehe.... i am spreading the good word of solarric uwu @dadrunkwriting 989 words cws: vague death mention

“Solas,” he said dryly, staring at the elf. He looked so different… his armor was more like what those elves had worn in Mythal’s Temple, although he had added a fur cloak. Wolf fur, if he wasn’t entirely mistaken. “You never were as subtle as you thought,” he observed idly, just thinking aloud, but Solas smiled a little at it.

“Perhaps not.” He strode towards Varric, hands clasped behind his back, and that was achingly familiar. He was dressed different, he held himself a little different, with a boldness that had only rarely slipped through. But so much remained the same. The slight tilt of his head as he stared at Varric, the furrow between his brows as he considered something, his faint sigh.

“So, what? You come to finish the job?” He felt disoriented and couldn’t place why, mostly focused on Solas. Solas, who frowned; Solas, who shook his head.

“That is not—”

“Spare me the speech,” he interjected. “You’ve come to kill me? You’ll have to work for it.”

“Varric,” Solas began again, but he shook his head, frustrated now.

“Let’s just get on with it, then! Kill me, end the world, do what you’re going to do!” He took a few steps closer, his anger surprising him. But not surprising Solas, who simply looked resigned. “Don’t you care? You’re going to destroy everything!”

“As I have before.” His voice was soft, distant, even as he met Varric’s eyes. “However… I have not come to kill you. Do you know where we are?”

That gave Varric pause. What did it matter? But then he looked around and…

“How’d I… get here?” He asked, cursing internally at the faint tremor in his voice, his uncertainty bleeding through.

“I had wondered that as well. We are in the Fade. You, my friend, are dreaming.”

“Yeah,” Varric said slowly, nodding. “Okay. That makes sense.”

“Does it?” That head tilt again. “Dwarves do not dream. Why is it that you do?”

“What?” He still felt a little foggy, disoriented. Things were sharper and duller here at once. “I— I don’t know. I just dream, sometimes.” He shrugged. Of course he’d heard people talk about how dwarves don’t dream—his people have no access to magic. But he’d been through enough shit that a few dreams didn’t bother him. “I just do.”

“Curious.” Solas approached, then walked around him, observing him from all angles as if he could discover the source of Varric’s dreaming in the folds of his clothing or something. It was hard to hold still for the observation, but he managed.

“So… you didn’t come to kill me?” Solas had stopped before him again and frowned, shaking his head.

“I have no desire to kill you. Nor anyone else. But you must stop tracking me. This is difficult enough without such distractions.”

“I’m not going to stop,” he pointed out firmly. Stubbornly. Something. Solas sighed, staring at him for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was strange, distant and hard:

“I can make you stop.”

“You can’t kill me,” he protested, gesturing around them. “We’re in the Fade. Dreaming! I can’t die here.” Solas was already nodding.

“That much is true. But I can trap your mind here. I can summon spirits—demons, you would call them—to contain you.”

That made his blood run cold. Solas’ eyes were hard, his jaw was set, his posture firm.

It was frightening.

And it was a goddamn lie.

“You wouldn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re acting real tough, Chuckles, but I know you. You’re all bark. You wouldn’t do that to me. You wouldn’t do that to anyone.”

“You have no idea what I’m capable of,” Solas pointed out in that same voice, but Varric wasn’t having any of it.

“You’re wounded, desperate, and trying to fix everything. I get it. And maybe that can drive you to extremes—maybe it already has, maybe it will, I don’t know. But I do know that you can’t look me in the eye and condemn me to being a prisoner of the Fade. Even if you can destroy this world, I don't believe for a minute that you can destroy me like this.”

“I could leave,” he observed in that same cold tone. “If you believe me incapable of looking you in the eye as I destroy you, you should know that's not the only option. I need not suffer your distractions or your demise.”

“Right,” he drawled. “Of course. You'll just summon one of your friends to do your dirty work for you.” There—a frisson of emotion crossed Solas' face. “And you'll leave me doomed with a clear conscience. Is that it?”

“I have killed many—”

“And you didn't want to—”

“—including those I called friend!” Solas finished, voice raised and breathing hard. He seemed to realize his mistake and looked away with a hiss.

Varric wondered about that. Wondered who Solas had killed, wondered how. By guiding them into battles that had been lost? Or had they died by his own hand, turning on them in his desperation? Had they betrayed him? Or had he betrayed them?

“Maybe so,” he began, voice soft now. Imploring. “But it's pretty obvious you didn't want to. And you don't have to do this. Any of this.”

“You have no idea—”

“Then tell me!” That startled Solas, forced his gaze back to Varric, eyes wide. “Tell me what the problem is, tell me your secrets! I'll help, damn you! We can figure something out together.”

Solas stared at him, expression more open than Varric had ever seen before. Fear and desire warred openly in him. At last he laughed, shaking his head as he stepped away. “You are dreaming, Varric. It is a good dream. I will not condemn you to my nightmare.”

“Solas—” but just like that, he was gone. And Varric was alone, cursing up a storm in the fucking Fade of all places.

[paperanddice]

Caira Xasten wants to destroy the world. Decades ago, her fiance and partner was killed by a falling meteor, an accident so random that there was no one to blame but the gods. Attempts to get him raised from the dead failed, as no one with the capacity to do so after the complete destruction of his body would agree to it, and her anger and bitterness grew greater and greater. The gods stole him from her, then their followers refused to correct that act, and so eventually her thoughts spiralled into a desire for nothing more than to get revenge on the gods themselves. She twisted her bardic training to steal power from the gods, learning many of their strongest clerical magics without offering worship in return, and defying their magic in her fury.

Revenge still seemed impossible until she discovered writings in an otherworldly library about Atropus, the world born dead. Thought to be either the being that came before the gods that sacrificed itself to bring them into existence, or the divine afterbirth of their creation, it was a great blight upon existence. Floating through space until called to a world by a great event of death, it devoured all life on each world it found and left nothing but an empty husk behind. If she couldn't kill the gods, she could destroy one of their precious creations. She would arrange to summon Atropus.

Her plan required time. She needed to initiate destruction on a scale the world had never seen before, and spent years crafting a special ritual to achieve such a thing. With the assistance of all kinds of ancient, evil writings, she has created the apocalypse from the sky ritual. Using an artifact as the focus, she can pervert a meteor swarm spell, casting it over a 24 hour time period to instead deal 10d6 bludgeoning and 10d6 fire damage to every creature in a 150 mile radius centered on herself. If successful, this will annihilate tens or even hundreds of thousands of people in moments, levelling cities, destroying forests, and causing so much destruction surely it will call to the world born dead. Even if it costs her life in return, she will bring about such pain to the gods as revenge for her lost love.

Decades of anger and bitterness has not been kind to Caira. She's long given up on tending to herself, her body and clothing rank and coated in filth. Her hair is tangled and crusted, her face twisted into a rictus of fury, her eyes bloodshot and twitching. She cares for nothing except her revenge anymore, having forgotten her husband's face and voice even as she prepares to end the world in his name.

Originally from Elder Evils. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I’m working on, consider backing me there!

5th Edition

Caira may have a meteor swarm on hand, but she is loath to cast it if the party confronts her while she is attempting her apocalypse from the sky ritual. If she spends it, she must wait to regain her spells to attempt the ritual again, giving time for further interruptions. She will rely on other allies, her spells and magical equipment, and possibly even melee attacks before giving in and unleashing the swarm when it appears she has no other hope of victory. She mocks followers of the gods, promising that they will lose that which they hold most dear, and tries to steal their spells whenever possible in order to throw more divine magic back at those who would stop her. She drinks her potion of invulnerability as soon as she is confronted, relying on it to help protect her as she tries to kill her foes.

Caira Xasten Medium humanoid (human), neutral evil Armor Class 17 (bracers of defense, cloak of protection) Hit Points 187 (25d8 + 75) (212 with aid) Speed 30 ft. Str 13 (+1) Dex 18 (+4) Con 16 (+3) Int 15 (+2) Wis 22 (+6) Cha 16 (+3) Saving Throws Str +2, Dex +11, Con +4, Int +3, Wis +13, Cha +10 Skills Arcana +8, Deception +15, Perception +12, Religion +8 Damage Resistances fire Senses passive Perception 22 Languages Celestial, Common, Infernal Challenge 20 (25000 XP) Divine Magic Resistance. Caira has advantage on saving throws against divine spells and magic. Sneak Attack (1/Turn). Caira deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage when she hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of hers that isn't incapacitated and she doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll. Special Equipment. Caira has two potions of superior healing and a potion of invulnerability. She wears bracers of defense, a cloak of protection, and wields a frost brand rapier. Actions Multiattack. Caira makes two weapon attacks, or casts one spell and makes one weapon attack. Frost Brand Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) cold damage. Spellcasting. Caira casts one of the following spells, using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks): At will: bane, cure wounds, fear, inflict wounds, shield of faith, spiritual weapon 3/day each: aid (as a 5th level spell), banishment, dispel magic (as a 5th level spell), hold monster, insect plague, spirit guardians (as a 5th level spell) 1/day each: divine word, feeblemind, harm, meteor swarm Reactions Mental Defiance. When Caira is forced to make an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw by a spell, she can take 7 (2d6) psychic damage to redirect the effect to another creature of her choice within the spell's range. The new target has disadvantage on the saving throw. Steal Spell (Recharge 6). When Caira is targeted by a spell or is included in a spell's area of effect, she can force the caster to make a DC 20 saving throw with its spellcasting ability modifier. Divine spellcasters have disadvantage on this save. On a failed save, Caira is not affected by that spell, and steals the knowledge of the spell from the caster. She gains one casting of that spell, using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks), which she must use within 1 hour or lose the spell. The caster can't cast that spell for 1 minute. Legendary Actions Caira Xasten can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Caira regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn. Attack. Caira makes one Frost Brand Rapier attack. Simple Spell. Caira casts one at will spell using her Spellcasting. If this spell requires concentration, it doesn't cost her concentration but it only lasts until the end of her next turn. Tumble. Caira moves up to half her speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Complex Spell (Costs 3 Actions). Caira casts one 3/day spell using her Spellcasting. If this spell requires concentration, it doesn't cost her concentration but it only lasts until the end of her next turn.

13th Age

Once a follower of the Archmage, Caira has learned magic that even he wouldn't lay his hands on. Her ritual represents the most destructive magic brought to bear in an Age, and if successful could bring down Atropus to end the current age. Whether the new age would be even recognizable in the aftermath of the world born dead's visit is impossible to say, and even the Icons combined will be pushed to the back foot to stop it. She mocks the Priestess, stealing divine magic from her clutches, and used writings the Diabolist keeps hidden for fear of their destructive capabilities. Demons rebel against the Diabolist to bring about the end of the world, and undead rise in numbers not even the Lich King can contain as Atropus approaches.

Caira's stat block is quite large and has several complicated features, so be sure to read it carefully before using it in a battle. She unlocks more powerful attacks and features when her enemies get weaker, and her steal spell action can represent a serious threat depending on what spell she takes. Stealing an at will or reusable spell strips the caster of that resource until they make their save, but gives Caira a weaker attack that may not be valuable compared to her own spells. On the other hand, stealing a once per battle spell, or even a daily spell could be incredibly deadly, turning an incredibly powerful weapon back against the players. She'll use her song of the world's end early in the fight, in order to weaken her enemies and drive them to despair at the inevitable end of everything, and try to stay nearby over the duration of the song to reduce as many enemy's saving throws as she can to keep that effect and her crisis of faith spell on them.

Caira Xasten  Double-Strength 12th level caster [humanoid]  Initiative: +16 Frost Rapier +17 vs. AC (2 attacks) - 40 damage plus 40 cold damage. Sneak Attack: 1/turn Caira deals an extra 40 damage if the target is stuck, stunned, or weakened, or if the target is engaged with one of her allies. R: Javelin of Faith +17 vs. PD (one nearby enemy, or one far away enemy at -2 atk) - 120 holy damage, plus 20 damage if the target is at full hp. Natural 18+: Caira can make another javelin of faith attack against a different target as a free action. R: Judgement +17 vs. MD (all nearby staggered enemies) - 120 holy damage. Miss: 60 holy damage. Limited Use: 1/battle. [Special Trigger] C: Steal Spell +17 vs. MD (one enemy spellcaster) - The triggering spell misses, and Caira steals the spell from the target (save ends). Until the target saves, it can’t cast the triggering spell. Caira can cast the stolen spell once, using the attack bonus and all effects the target would for the spell, including feats. Limited Use: 1/battle, as an interrupt action when an enemy attacks Caira with a spell and rolls a natural odd attack roll. Recharges when the escalation die reaches 6. Crisis of Faith: All nearby enemies with 120 hp or fewer take a -4 penalty to their MD and take 24 holy damage whenever they miss with an attack roll. Song of the World’s End: 1/battle as an action Caira can start a funeral dirge for the end of everything. She makes a deep despair attack immediately. As a quick action on each of her turns, she can attempt to sustain the song by rolling a normal save. On a success, all nearby enemies take a -5 penalty on saving throws until the start of Caira’s next turn. On a failure, or if she chooses to end the song, she can pick one nearby ally. That ally can move and make a basic attack as a free action. [Special Trigger] C: Deep Despair +17 vs. MD (all nearby enemies) - 30 ongoing psychic damage and the target is weakened (save ends both). Natural 18+: The target makes a basic attack against a target of Caira’s choice within range, or takes an extra 60 psychic damage (Caira’s choice). Holy Resistance 18+. AC 27 PD 22 MD 26 HP 700

[sabo-has-my-heart]

TPRG: Ch.8 Feeling of Love

Word Count: 1290

     Walking back into your room, you sighed, allowing the maids to start cleaning the dirt from under your nails. The small patch had required more work than you’d expected, having to pull out a number of dying or ‘wrong’ flowers. The brothers had asked what was wrong about them, but you just shook your head and pulled them out. It was already too easy to talk to them, too easy to tell them everything, you had to stop yourself from saying anything further. If you were being honest, what was wrong with the flowers wasn’t necessarily ‘wrong’ per say. It’s that the plant had grown too strong, it’s magic grown too far, they were dangerous if left unattended. Another of your mother’s observations. They’d grow stronger and stronger, their petals would turn from white to any one of a number of colors depending on the particular type, powers that could kill a man with just a touch or cause blessings to surge and destroy entire countrysides. Flowers that were too dangerous to leave be. Part of you wished you could truly continue your mother’s research, access all of her journals, continue her experiments and observations, attempt to recreate the strange and wondrous tonics. But you weren’t the scientist she was, her studies weren’t your passion like they had been with her. Picking up and twirling one of the flowers in your hand, you couldn’t help but smile lightly before bringing it close to your face and inhaling. Obsession. That’s what your mother had named this one. So named for what it could do if allowed to grow too far. A simple warm feeling in your heart, like a feeling of love, of being loved. It was one you enjoyed when you missed your mother, imagining her holding you in her arms and singing you a lullaby or drinking tea together and talking about anything and everything. 

     “You okay, Princess? You seem… I don’t know… off, I guess.” Ace said. Slowly you opened your eyes, smiling and the brothers.

     “Yeah, just… enjoying the beauty of my mother’s flowers, I suppose.” you said, unable to help the loving gaze you sent their way. Standing up, you straightened Luffy’s guard outfit before dusting him off, smiling once you’d finished before moving on to Ace, removing a large number of leaves from his hair and clothing. He’d chosen to lean against a wall covered in foliage, the greenery sticking to him with ease, leaves that now littered your bedroom floor, the eldest brother blushing as you dusted him off.

     “What was that for? I mean, I know I had some leaves in my hair, but it wasn’t too bad.” he said defensively as he looked away. You smiled as you faced Sabo, the blond looking the cleanest of the three.

     “Just… taking care of the people who do such a good job of guarding me.” you said softly, gently removing some soot from Sabo’s fingertips where the flower had burst into flames before inspecting him to make sure there was nothing else that needed to be done. 

     “What flower was that that has you so… affectionate?” Sabo asked with a chuckle, picking up the flower you’d placed on the coffee table.

     “Obsession. That’s my mother’s name for it. Though don’t worry, it’s harmless in its… it’s harmless.” you said, gently taking the flower from him before holding it up to your lips and blowing. Sabo’s cheeks flushed bright red as he stared at you, swallowing hard.

     “W-wow. I uh… that’s something.” he said, turning away from you.

     “I wanna try! Let me see!” Luffy shouted. You gently blew against the flower again, watching as Luffy’s face lit up.

     “That feels really good!” Luffy said, giving you a tight hug, “it makes me want to hug you and take care of you! Kind of like how Gramps took care of us but with less hitting.” Luffy said, making you laugh. Before Ace could even take a step back, you were already hitting him with the effects of the flower, the young man immediately turning away from you, his cheeks bright red and his heart pounding.

     “W-what was that for?! I never said I wanted to be a part of this! This is… it’s distracting!” he said nervously, trying to ignore how happy and giddy he felt. Part of him wanted to pull you into a large hug before spinning you around, another part of him wanted to hug Luffy so tightly, even the boy’s rubber abilities wouldn’t save him, and yet a third part wanted him to ask if there was anything you, Luffy, or Sabo needed in an attempt to care for you. 

     “You can’t deny that it feels good, Ace.” Sabo said with a chuckle, taking a few deep breaths as he tried to gather himself together and stay focused. Luffy was rarely focused and Ace was distracted, one of them needed to be keeping an eye on you. It felt really good, too good. He almost wanted the sensation to last forever, but he had his duties, meaning he had to do his best to ignore his desires to shower both you and his brothers in all the love in the world. 

     “So uh, not all of the flowers are the same then?” he asked as you smiled down at the flower in your hand before letting it tumble from your fingertips into the nearby trash.

     “No, I… don’t know much about them, but I know there’s a few different kinds in the garden. This one is my favorite. Don’t worry, the effects will only last an hour at most.” you reassured, sitting down on a chair and letting yourself enjoy the feelings that it brought you. The brothers hesitantly did the same, though with Sabo still on alert, or as on alert as he could be with the feelings that kept flooding his system. It was a while later that the 4 of you finally shook off the effects, though none of you moved to get up.

     “So do we have anything else on the agenda, Princess?” Sabo asked once he was no longer having a hard time concentrating. You hummed in thought, looking up at the ceiling, you no longer had lessons with Madam Serena, your lessons to rule the kingdom weren’t until tomorrow, though you suspected those would soon become a daily thing, and you didn’t have any meetings today.

     “Just one thing. I’m craving some sweets.” you said with a mischievous grin, the brothers mimicking the look as you all jumped up and started grabbing things for a little ‘excursion’. You were free from prying eyes, you were free from the duties and harassment of Madam Serena, and you were craving more than just a few treats. It couldn’t have been more than half an hour before you were outside the castle walls once more, grinning like a madwoman. 

     “So, after we get something to snack on, is there anywhere else you’d like to go? We know of a few great shops, we could get lunch, we should have some time before anyone needs us.” Ace asked, his hands behind his head as you walked down the streets.

     “We shouldn’t take any longer than necessary though, people might get suspicious if we’re not careful.” Sabo reminded, making Ace sigh.

     “I say we get lunch! There’s a place in midtown! They have the best meat!” Luffy suggested, already salivating at the thought.

     “Sweets, lunch, and one shop, then we’ll head back, is that alright?” you asked, glancing at Sabo, the blond nodding and smiling. 

     “Just don’t get me executed and I’m happy.” he said as the four of you headed towards your favorite pastry shop. 

[missimbalance]

corkscrew for the ask game pls

Corkscrew is: favorite folktale. Which is both the most fun and the hardest to answer. There are just so many great ones from all parts of the World. So, thank you for the opportunity to let out some of my love.

One of my favorite sub-genres is: someone is trying to accomplish something on the shortest night of the year.

* I've seen several rocks with origin story like: an evil magician/witch/lesser devil tries to destroy a town where people are just too good and too happy. So, on the first night of summer they try to drop this huge rock on this town, for the good folk to either perish or at least be not as happy anymore. But, since the night is too short, the magic fades away too soon, dropping the rock right on top of our villain, crushing them to death if they were mortal.

* My favorite one with a treasure only accessible on the first night of summer: there is a cave under a waterfall, thet you can only enter on one night, and only on hot summers. There, if you're brave enough to pass through numerous monsters and spooks with not a trace of fear in your heart, you will reach the innermost chamber, where a princess sleeps a magical sleep surrounded by all her treasure. There was but one man brave enough to pass through the labyrinth of caves and tunnels not even flinching at monsters growling at him or wights tugging at his clothes. He reached the princess, more beautiful than the tales he heard, sleeping soundly. At last he found a thorn of a poisonous plant in her foot and yanked it out--at which her eyes finally opened and filled with tears of pain. And this man, the bravest one ever, with no fear in his heart, startled at the sound of her cry. Which was enough for the monsters lurking in the dark to sense his fear and devour him. That year, once again, the river turned red from the blood of another brave young man.

But then, I've been researching more interesting pieces of werewolf lore lately, and I just can't not mention any of that.

* There's a story of a cursed wedding: all the guests as well as the young couple disappeared suddenly in the middle of the feast, no trace left of anyone. However, since that night a pack of wolves started roaming around the area. When some locals hunted one of them, it turned out that there are wedding clothes hidden under the wolf's pelt. They all got cursed by a neighbor who wasn't invited to the wedding and got mad about it.

* There's also one that is more literature than folklore, but it shaped my whole idea of what a werewolf story should be, so here it goes: a young man goes to war, leaving his fiancee behind, though she begged him not to leave before marrying her. He eased her worries though and promised to come back in a year. Year had passed with no sign from him, so the girl went to a witch, to ask if she had any means of seeing 'her lost brother'. "He's no brother to you, but a lover," the witch says, "and I can see him safe and healthy, with a lovely new wife".

The girl goes to see it all with her own eyes, and, exactly as the witch told her: a nice home, a lovely wife, and her unfaithful lover, who of course refuses to explain anything and pretends not to know her. So, in justified anger, she returns to the witch asking for a way to panish the asshole, and receives a talisman to hang around his neck. The moment she puts it on him, he turns into a wolf, kills his wife as well as his former fiancee, and in the end also finds and kills the witch.

I read it when I was 10 and it still lives rent-free in my mind.

I could open yet another door by explaining how Persian story of 'Amu Nouruz is connected to Bulgarian martenitsa, but I'll leave that for the first day of spring.

If you're still here, thanks for reading!

[eternally-writing]

hot in here | jjk

genre: smut

rating: R (18+ ONLY, minors dni!!)

pairing: Jungkook x reader

word count: 2k

warnings: fingering, unprotected sex (practice safe sex!), creampie, dirty talk, kinda public sex, the reader is a brat for 0.5 seconds, kinda dom!jk, light spanking, sex in a hot tub, use of hot tub water jets sexually

synopsis: A night in the hot tub with Jungkook gets steamy, to say the least.

banner by me!

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--

You and Jungkook had been teasing each other all day long. First it was your bathing suit strap magically falling off your shoulder while you were tanning in the morning sun. Then it was Jungkook doing some new strength training workout that looked very suggestive and required too much endurance that he just had to take his shirt off. It fleeted into suggestive lingering touches here and there, and it was no secret that by now your body was basically on fire, begging to be touched by Jungkook.

It was your friend group’s yearly trip to Seokjin’s beachside summer home and given that it was the first time you and Jungkook would be attending as a couple, he had promised that he would make this trip “memorable”, whatever that meant. Little did you know, you were about to find out.

—♡—

“We’re heading in for the night, have fun you two.”

With Jimin and Taehyung heading out of the hot tub, it left you and Jungkook some very precious and warranted alone time. The way that moonlight was shining down on you two seem to be beckoning you two closer to each other, but the sexual tension that had built up between the two of you over the day seemed to keep either of you from making the first move.

“Are you wet for me, kitten?” Whispered Jungkook from across the hot tub.

The obvious answer to that question was yes (you’d been wet since Jungkook first peeled off his shirt when he went for an outdoor run in the morning), but you felt like being a brat today.

“Of course I’m wet Kook, we’re in a hot tub,” you said sarcastically, lifting your arms out of the water to show the water dripping off of you, your expression basically saying duh to him.

Smirking, Jungkook rose from his position across from you in the hot tub and walked over. Looking at Jungkook’s figure towering over you, you were waiting for him to touch you. The way that his gaze bore into you made it feel as though you were already naked.

Instead, Jungkook pressed his knee in between yours, pushing your legs apart until his knee was flush against your clothed pussy. You couldn’t help the soft gasp that escaped your lips. He could feel your core pulsing against his knee, demonstrating your excitement at the situation.

Jungkook leaned down to whisper in your ear.

“I’ll ask you again baby. Are you wet for me?”

Desperate to be touched, you couldn’t keep neglecting your needs any longer and began to nod your head feverishly, giving into exactly what Jungkook wanted.

The minute your head nodded up and down, Jungkook pounced on you. Grabbing your chin in his hold, he smashed his lips against yours, itching to feel you close to him. As your lips moved in perfect synchrony, you could feel exactly how excited Jungkook was, as his cock was hard as a rock against your body.

Kissing his way down your neck, Jungkook made sure to savor every inch of exposed skin. The steam coming from the hot tub rose to create a delicate sheen on your body, making you look like a goddess who emerged from the sea. Jungkook took his time as he pressed hickeys into your neck, wanting to make sure that you knew that you were truly his. In that moment, Jungkook was an artist, and you were the most beautiful canvas he had ever painted on.

Without alerting you, Jungkook managed to sneak one hand under the water to cup your sex, replacing where his knee had been just minutes earlier. You gasped in response, and couldn’t help but slightly grind against his palm.

Jungkook chuckled at the sight.

“So needy babygirl. My baby will fuck herself on anything won’t she?”

You whimpered, overcome with need and a desire for anything to help you reach your orgasm. Jungkook made sure to make eye contact with you, and asked one more time. You even verbalized your response, essentially moaning out how desperate you were to get off and how you do anything to get there.

Quickly taking control, Jungkook pulled you up to standing in the hot tub, turning you around so your back was flush against his chest. He took his broad palms and used them to spread your legs open again.

“Ready baby?” He whispered with his mouth perched by your ear, just far enough that you were left yearning for the feeling of his breath on you.

What happened next seemed to happen in a blur, and before you knew it the jets in the hot tub turned on, and one was firing right onto your clit. (You would find out the next day that in true Jungkook fashion, he spent 20 minutes earlier that day trying to figure out the most sexy way he could turn on the jets).

You instantly became a moaning mess in your boyfriend’s arms, and you were eternally grateful that he was there to hold you up as your legs turned to putty beneath you.

“Ah -, oh fuckkkk”

Jungkook pressed a kiss under your ear and held you tighter against him. You could now feel his cock pressing into you, and the friction you were receiving on both sides was making you lose control. He took one hand to undo your bikini top, allowing your breasts to be exposed to the environment and also giving Jungkook full access to groping them. He rolled your nipples in his fingers, pinching them ever so slightly now and then to make you squirm.

“Do you like this baby? You look so fucked out right now and I love it .”

And he was right, if an innocent bystander (or more likely, your friends) even saw you like this, they would see you as a red-faced, panting, moaning mess in Jungkook’s hold. Even without Jungkook even laying a finger on your pussy, you were completely submissive to him and his ministrations.

You could feel the knot in your stomach tightening, and Jungkook could feel it too. He moved his attention away from your nipples and instead brought a hand to your pussy, giving it a slap that had you quaking in his hold. He then inserted a finger into you, making sure the water was still hitting your clit and providing you extraordinary levels of pleasure.

“Cum for me babe, cum all over my fingers.”

Like a genie granting wishes, at Jungkook’s command you felt your orgasm overtake you. You felt your body tingle in Jungkook’s hold as he let you ride out your high on his fingers.

“Do you want my fat cock to destroy you, don’t you babygirl? Is that why you’ve been teasing me all day?”

Pressing a finger to your clit, applying just enough pressure to make you squirm, you moaned in response. Even though you were still recovering from your orgasm, you wanted to feel your boyfriend inside you - knowing his cock was rock hard and probably leaking in his shorts mere inches from you made you want to moan instantly.

“Please kook,” you panted, “w-, ah, want your cock.” You grasped at his swim shorts while your brain was still clouded with your post-orgasm haze, hoping to reach his cock.

As you saw him reach to pull his cock out of his shorts, you bent over, ready for Jungkook to thrust his cock into you. However instead you felt him flip you over, pulling you so you are chest to chest.

In a moment of softness, Jungkook took one hand to caress your face, treasuring the way you looked at him.

He whispered, as if he was worried someone could possibly overhear you over the sound of the bubbles - he spoke as if he wanted this moment to be shared just for the two of you.

“Needed to see you while I destroyed that pussy. Look at me baby.”

Taking one hand to run the length of Jungkook’s toned body, taking in the way he shined under the moonlight. You couldn’t help but gasp as you saw the look in his eyes - they were filled with passion, desire, hunger, and so much more.

The moment the tip of Jungkook’s cock entered you, you both shared a collective gasp. Despite the numerous times that you and Jungkook had fucked, there was always something special about the way it felt to have him buried into you. He slid into you at a torturously slow rate, wanting to make sure you could feel every inch of his dick enter you. You could hear his breath hitch in his throat at every inch, and you were mirroring his actions.

Jungkook wanted you even closer to you, and hoisted you off the hot tub seat into his hold, making sure your chests were flush against each other. You couldn’t help but press a passionate kiss to his lips, wanting to savour this intimate moment.

Without hesitation Jungkook began to drill himself into you, pounding into you at a relentless pace. Overcome with pleasure, you barely could keep your head up and instead laid it in the crook of Jungkook’s neck. Your moans were so loud that you were sure the neighbors could probably hear, but Jungkook was fucking into you so well that your brain felt foggy.

“F-feels so good Kook. Sooooo good,” you moaned out to him. Unconsciously, you clenched around him, eliciting a sinful groan from your boyfriend.

“You feel so good around my baby, clenching around my cock so well like the good girl you are.” He lightly bit your earlobe, increasing your pleasure.

He punctuated his words with every thrust as he continued to whisper dirty, sinful, sweet nothings in your ear. “My good fucking girl. Mmmm. So fucking sexy.”

For the second time that night, you felt the knot in your stomach tighten at your climax approaching.

Jungkook did not let up on his face, pounding into you while grabbing a fistful of your ass in his hands. He could tell you were close too and he wanted to help you reach your orgasm.

“Are you gonna come for me babygirl?”

You couldn’t make any coherent noises and instead nodded your head. Without faltering, Jungkook scooped you up into another kiss and snuck a hand down to your clit again.

“That’s it sweetheart, cum for me.”

The way your pussy clenched around Jungkook’s cock when you came had Jungkook losing his mind, and with a few deep thrusts, he buried himself deep into you as he released his load inside you. Despite being surrounded by hot water, you could feel the warmth of Jungkook’s cum in your body.

He always liked to take his time before he pulled out, just wanting to savor the glorious post-sex feeling that he always had with you. He gently stroked the hair out of your face, cupping your face gently as he pressed a sweet kiss on your forehead. Making sure you were steadily placed on the seating of the hot tub before letting go, Jungkook slowly pulled out (eliciting a groan from both of you in response at the loss of sensation) and took his spot beside you in the hot tub.

As you both came down from your highs, breathless and rosy-cheeked, Jungkook took a glance at the now cloudy water in the hot tub and chuckled.

“So… who’s gonna be the one to tell Jin that his hot tub water is now mixed with cum?”

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--

If you enjoyed what you read please interact/follow! Thanks for reading ♡ - Emily

[agathaloseshermind]

Season 7 transformations

I’ve been procrastinating both cause I’m a lazy person but also I hate these ones so I am not excited lmao

WHAT AM I LOOKING AT

I’m horrified I hate it. This transformation is why I became nicer to Neo Enchantix.

I don’t quite get the activation but considering I watched bits of the episode where they earn it, Faragonda somehow has artifacts that let them travel through time which they do to save the digmoles and earn Butterflix after blasting the beast who trapped them down.

..............sure

Ignoring the part where if Faragonda had access to these magic stones in the first place why didn’t she use them way before during times like when Domino fell, the curse of Sirenix was created, Darkar kidnapped Bloom and Valtor started destroying everything to name a few things this stone could’ve been used for. I googled why they needed this transformation and it says 

H O W??????

Bloomix is the power of the DRAGON FLAME, is a spark of the power that CREATED THE UNIVERSE and was so powerful that it couldn’t be taken from Bloom in Season 6. You’re telling me this random former fairy poacher IS IMMUNE?????? It’s reason to exist is honestly awful given they already had a nature fairy who can do all that nature stuff. Oh and the fairy of fucking animals if Flora didn’t cut it. I’m not someone who cares much about Roxy always found her meh but she was flat out robbed this season. 

Design wise the girls do look good, the pink on Bloom looks solid though I do wish she wasn’t in pink given Stella and Musa are in pink and look better but is this really the best they could come up with for a nature themed transformation that also relates to butterflies? Like I’m just saying butterfly wings are very unique and each girl could’ve been based off different butterflies depending on who they are. Like Bloom as the leader can keep the monarch butterfly but the other girls should get unique butterflies. I’m not sure what butterflies to assign each girl but like there’s tons of butterflies the designers could’ve used also the wing design is strange to me given how butterfly wings actually are and how much cooler they look, like just google butterflix redesign and you’ll see the girls in actual butterfly wings and different clothes which make them look much better. The redesign of this transformation I like most if this Bloom one here and then the rest of the girls could’ve followed its base idea too or do the redesign here with wings I similarly like too. Yes it looks similar to Harmonix but I mean i

Ultimately my dislike of the design is not only cause its uniform because as I said in previous posts I don’t mind uniformity if I enjoy the design already but Butterflix just doesn’t do ENOUGH with how much it has to work it and like with Cosmix, you kind of just have to guess the girls’ elements based on colors because they don’t have anything to set them apart with their element.

Transformation sequence wise.... I don’t think I need to tell anyone why it’s bad but I guess I have to for this post but the sequence of the girls transforming is zooming into their face - they get the dress - they turn around - boom wings. It’s so bland and again there’s no individualization for each girl just butterflies. The meme dance is horrible, dancing in Winx Club has always been awkward due to how their bodies are drawn and its just exasperated here. Also it just kills the excitement of the new mood because why are they suddenly dancing. They just defeated a beast and saved a species which earned them a shiny new transformation and rather than excited I’m left with a wtf did I just watch feeling. Also the song is meh, its not a banger and not horrible but eh Im just not getting into it.

Rating wise its 3/10, I heard that it cant hurt anything from nature which sounds good but also makes the girls pretty helpless in a lot of cases. The only reason it gets 3/10 is cause the designs are kinda cute and I can’t bring myself to be too harsh on it though its definitely my least favorite of all the transformations.

Onto Tynix now

The way they earn makes sense enough, makes sense given how vast magic is that magical creatures can grant transformations so check mark on that though it immediately loses some of that check when its use is for the girls to shrink down and enter the mini worlds. Like seriously guys Enchantix already did that, like that it lets them bond with their fairy animal more though (unless I’m misunderstanding mini worlds and they’re not literally shrinking down to go into a place, they’re teleporting into the mini worlds using Tynix in which case, okay transformation to enter special locations makes sense). Makes perfect sense given they were the ones to give them the transformation to begin with.

The designs are um a bit much? The gems are nice though I hate Techna’s dress and Musa’s hair doesn’t really fit her outfit. Maybe its just cause of the picture but the hair looks off with all the gems, colors and her skirt. Also I don’t like blonde Flora. Bloom, Stella and Aisha look good though. Particularly Aisha, she slays

Transformation wise the idea is pretty cool though I don’t get where the fashion model idea came from given this transformation is from fairy animals. You’d think the fairy animals was involved in some way with the transformation but nope I guess its just the girls posing for the camera. I’m not into songs like the one for Tynix but it is good for its genre

Don’t have much thoughts on this transformation tbh its just meh to me. Rating 6/10

[ekaterinatepes]

Nothing but the Best

Author’s notes: hello, and thank you so much for all your reblogs, likes and comments. I absolutely adore reading all your reviews. Thank you for taking a minute to comment. It motivates me to write and have a better understanding of how you see the characters and story development. Please know the tag lists are still open! Let me know if you would like to be added!

XI.

Suguru woke up around 6am. He figured you would be already out for your morning run and coming back soon for a shower and breakfast.

After making his bed and taking a shower himself, Suguru put on a pair of grey sweat pants and a black fitted t-shirt. His sleeve of tattoos partially exposed, his right arm covered in carefully designed Chinese, Japanese symbols, Nordic runes and dragons. Aside from the pleasant although chaotic aesthetic, the art work etched on his skin served as a form of seal or an amulet. Something to keep the darkness within in check.

He decided something simple was in order, knowing you, there wasn’t much that he could get away with making and expecting you to eat with your rigorous diet requirements. Scrambled egg whites with some parsley, cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper. For a drink he prepared a blend of that green juice you liked: with green apples, pineapple and celery.

The raven haired sorcerer set everything on the table and looked at his phone. I was 6:45am. You were already late. You usually were back home by 6:30am. Maybe you went out later and decided to extend your run. It was your free day after all.

Although… you usually made sure Suguru knew so he wouldn’t worry.

Grabbing his phone he texted you

***From: Sugu

To: Kitten 🐱

Breakfast is ready!***

Immediately he heard your phone go off in your room. Now, that was weird. You always took your phone with you to listen to music while working out. Did you perhaps sleep in?

Knocking at your door Suguru called “hey doll face! Are you awake?” No answer came back from the inside. He could not hear the shower running either. “Hey! I’m coming in” he announced but when he opened the door he found your room empty, your bed was still made and cold. Your phone on the night stand along with your apartment keys.

Fear coursed through his veins when he tried to check for your energy trail and found it long gone. You have been gone since last night.

“Fuck!” One didn’t need to be a genius to know Satoru had something to do with your disappearance.

Putting on his shoes he ran out the door. He had to find you before something bad happened. Gojo had not been in a good state of mind back in Japan, he didn’t even want to imagine what was going on in his head now that he had you so close. So stupid! Suguru should have kept a close eye on you instead of trusting that just because you were in the same apartment you would be safe from Satoru.

-

Your mouth was dry, your body overheated and sore. The sun hitting your face made you groan softly, you tried to turn around and continue sleeping but you couldn’t. Your body was trapped by heavy and strong limbs wrapped around you.

One pale and strong arm around your waist, the other supporting your head. Legs intertwined with Satoru’s. The platinum haired man laid behind you spooning you. He had you on a death grip.

Panic.

Last night came rushing altogether, with the frenzied memories of the passionate sexual encounter you and Satoru shared. And of course that had not been it, in the middle of the night he woke you up with tender kisses on your thighs and his head between your legs, setting aflame your senses over and over again; he wanted to have you once more. Second round lead to third and soon the sun was rising by the time your sweaty and exhausted bodies curled together to fall asleep in each other’s arms.

You moved as softly as possible, trying not to wake up the sleeping sorcerer who snored slightly on your ear. Removing his arm from your middle section was first, then you proceeded to try and detangle your legs from his.He groaned and you stopped moving, looking behind you Satoru merely adjusted in his sleep and continued snoring lightly, allowing you enough time to leave the bed. Your clothes laid destroyed and scattered all over the floor.

Swallowing thickly you decided to grab a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt out of Satoru’s closet. You had to get out of there. NOW!

Barefooted you left the suite and walked down the main hall hurriedly receiving weird stares from the people you crossed on your way out. Taking the elevator down your hands trembled. ‘Come on! Come on! Faster!’ mentally hurrying the elevator until you reached the lobby. As soon as that door opened you sprinted towards the main entrance where the hotel taxis lined up. You got in one and gave him your address.

The drive wasn’t long, when you made it home you told the cab to charge the ride to Gojo Satoru’s room. You didn’t have anything on you to pay. The kind looking old cab driver agreed and left.

You were about to walk in when Suguru came rushing out with a frantic look in his eyes. The moment he saw you his stomach tightened, you were dressed in Satoru’s clothes, barefooted, with your h/c hair disheveled and all the marks that covered your neck, visible through the collar of the shirt you wore. Your e/c eyes looked at him, rimmed with tears when you ran into his arms. Geto held you tightly for a moment giving you the solace you needed.

“Come on y/n… let’s go inside” he whispered on your ear guiding you back into the building and towards the elevator.

As soon as you made it up to your apartment you broke down. Suguru had to pick you up and take you to the couch where he held you in his arms

“What happened Y/N?” He asked dreading the answer. Had Satoru forced himself on you? He didn’t even want to think about it. If his best friend had done that… Suguru would find a way to kill him.

You shook your head and tried to calm down enough to speak but that didn’t happen for the longest time.

Finally when it seemed you cried a river you avoided Suguru’s eyes, looking down you said “I… fucked up… “ it was a small whisper “I slept with him” you admitted “he showed up here last night and warped us back to his hotel and then… everything got out of control” you avoided saying that Satoru had tried to force himself on you at the beginning. You didn’t want to make things worse than they already were.

“I’m sorry…” you mumbled before you broke in tears once more. Suguru and you were not in a relationship but a part of you felt you had betrayed the possibility of a future with him last night.

Suguru swallowed hard, he had no right to demand anything from you, it wasn’t your fault you were in love with Satoru and not with him. He still chose to remain by your side because he didn’t have the heart to leave you alone when you needed him the most.

-

Crystalline blue eyes opened, he stared at the ceiling of his hotel room before a hand searched the spot on the bed next to him. It was cold and empty. He sat up like a spring, you were gone “Y/N!…” he yelled but you were not there anymore “fuck!” When did you leave? You didn’t even give him the chance to explain, to talk to you about what he felt and what he was willing to do to get you back. He didn’t want you to think last night had been a one time thing nor an ‘exes fling’.

It seemed he couldn’t do anything right. Last night had been… magical for a lack of a better word. He felt your love in your kisses, your tender and passionate touch, in your arms he felt redeemed, when you allowed him to have you Satoru thought…. he hoped to be on the way to get you back. Despite his mistakes and his guilt you welcomed him inside you once more and gave him everything.

He didn’t want all those hours of love making and love promises to mean nothing. He had to talk to you and he had to be ready to accept whatever it is you were going to say.

Grabbing the shreds of your clothing from the floor he inhaled deeply finding your lingering scent on them. Once more, the fact he almost forced you stabbed his chest with a piercing pang of guilt. Last night had been fueled by his jealousy. But when he realized what he was doing he changed his behavior and instead chose to show you how much he loved you, how much he needed you in his life.

Something in him was changing. Last night he opened his eyes to the monstrosity he was capable of committing. It wasn’t right to do this to you. He was inadvertently destroying the shards of your relationship.

A revelation washed over him like a bucket of cold water

He had to be willing to lose you if he wanted a chance to get you back. It had to be your choice. He couldn’t rob you of your autonomy just because he was going to lose his shit if you chose to leave him for good.

It took a few hours of getting ready mentally and preparing himself for what he was going to say to you. He wanted to talk to you and explain that what happened last night meant everything to him, he wanted to open his heart and lay it at your feet. He was afraid of what he was going to encounter. Will you reject him and tell him it was a mistake? Will you still push to go through with the divorce?…. Will you give him a chance to prove to you he was truly remorseful and willing to make changes to get you back?

He warped outside of the door of your apartment and rang the bell.

-

Suguru opened the door to see Satoru standing on the other side. His anger and frustration got the best out of him so he threw a punch that incredibly connected with Satoru’s cheek. The white haired sorcerer tumbled backwards but didn’t fall on the floor. He chose not to use his infinity on purpose, he owed that one to Suguru.

“What do you want now Satoru?” Asked his best friend while standing in front of the door, his frame blocking the access.

“Can I… talk to her?” Gojo asked in a tame tone, he didn’t come here to make demands, he wanted to fix things once and for all.

https://youtu.be/DGxHSt8gRkY

“I’ll talk to him Sugu” Your voice came from behind. Geto turned around to look into your eyes, doubt plagued his expression. He wasn’t certain it was the best thing right now. But before he could protest you continued “I’ll be alright… I have to do this…” squeezing his arm trying to comfort him Suguru sighed and nodded “I’ll be in my room if you need me” shooting Satoru a last warning glance he left walking down the hall.

|||

See you've been changing, baby

In good ways and bad ways

Can't say what I say, it's far too late

And I think you made me, baby

Made me too nervous

Crying and this hurt and I gotta tell you why

|||

“Come in…” Satoru followed you into your living room “y/n… I… I am sorry…. “ you were about to interrupt him but he lifted one hand asking you to wait “please let me say this..” agreeing you let him continue.

“I am sorry for all the pain I put you through, it was selfish and stupid. I never loved Sookie, it was always you. The only woman in my heart. And I know this sounds like a stupid excuse but it’s the truth. “ taking a deep breath he steeled himself for the next part. You were going to hate him but he had to come clean

“I was an idiot… I thought, before Sookie… I thought that maybe I was not really in love with you…. That… if I met someone else I wouldn’t feel this need… this terrifying addiction I feel for you… I was wrong. Everything intensified tenfold, I realized I love you more than anything in the world… more than myself. I wanted to fix everything but… it was too late because the damage had been done” swallowing hard Gojo continued “I failed you… as a husband, I know it has no forgiveness and yet… I cannot even start to think of a life without you in it. My days are miserable without you. I can’t sleep, I can’t think, I can’t function like a fucking normal person without you Y/N.

It hurt so much to hear his words. It made you feel like all the promises, all the love confessions he made before convincing you to marry him were lies. Why did he ask you to marry him in the first place if he wasn’t sure he loved you? What kind of sick game were you to him?!. You had to make a conscious effort to not sob. Biting your lower lip, forcing the tears to remain contained.

Almost as if he was listening to your thoughts Satoru continued “I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you Y/N. When I held you in my arms that night outside of the ballet studio in Tokyo, when I pulled you away from that car… I loved you. I just…. Was too stupid and too selfish to admit that to myself” he took a step closer and held one of your hands “I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize you were… you are all I need. Please Y/N, please forgive me. I can’t live like this anymore. The guilt and despair are consuming me alive” he said in a broken whisper. “last night meant the world to me… baby, I love you so much…” continued looking into your eyes with his azure orbs while he held your hand.

This was too much to handle…

It was one thing to think Satoru fell out of love and that’s why he found someone else. But it was another completely different to hear he had not even been sure of his feelings for you in the first place.

Pulling your hand away you couldn’t control the tears that escaped your eyes, like translucent cascades, pouring the pain you felt “leave….” You whispered looking at the floor.

“Y/N…. Please don-…”

You cut him “LEAVE!” A firm yell came out; half broken, half desperate. “You… you lied to me! All these years! Y… you lied to me! “ the statement was like a dagger straight to his heart. Spoken in a painful tone. He wanted to explain further but you cut him “I heard what you had to say now let me be…” the glacial tone in your voice froze the blood in Satoru’s veins. Your eyes hardened inclemently as you regarded this man who you once thought was the beginning and end of your life. You really couldn’t see the man you fell in love with in him. Not anymore.

|||

Said I can do this all night, baby

Said I was actin' out of line, maybe

Can't put my trauma to the side

When you told me I was lyin'

Had me feelin' like I died, baby

I seen a grown man cry, baby

Just see you do it, ain't special, no

|||

“Y/N..” absolute terror transfixed Gojo’s handsome features. Tears of despair running down his handsome pale face. Your aura was so cold and distant. He had never seen you like this before. “Please Y/N… I-…”

“I said… leave! And don’t come back. I am done with you. Good bye Satoru…” you turned around and walked away, disappearing behind the door of your room.

|||

And I know it might mess you up

Hatin' me ain't gon' get you love

Ain't nobody gon' set you up

I ain't even gon' sweat you, love

And we'll never be friends like this

God couldn't forgive like this

Way I really went in like this

Thank God I ain't been like this

|||

Suguru heard the loud exchange and came out. He couldn’t help but feel conflicted about his best friend. On one hand he was mad at him and wanted to kick him out himself, but seeing his desolate face as he stared at the closed door of your room made him feel bad for him. ‘You dug yourself in this hole my friend’ was all he could think “I think it’s best if you leave now Satoru..”

Gojo’s eyes were stuck on the door behind which you disappeared, his lower lip trembled, his hands shaking with anxiety, his heart contracting painfully in his chest, suffocating him. He needed.. he needed you but… you didn’t want him there. He wanted to say fuck it and steal you once more but he couldn’t solve things that way. No, you deserved more… better.

Without another word he warped away.

————-> Chapter 12

||| Tags:

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[kinsey3furry300]

So how the heck do the Avengers pay for stuff, and how rich are they?

So, in the wake of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” There’s a lot of debate about why Sam didn’t seem to get paid well for his work in the Avengers (at least in the MCU continuity), and this has got me thinking: we’ve got no evidence that the Avengers are, financially, anything but a hot mess. So lets break it down, Avenger by Avenger, using real-world pay scales for the ones who have jobs.

Tony: a billionaire, so clearly he’s a financial genius, right? Well….. his actions say otherwise. He’s shown to be wildly irresponsible with his money. He inherited a lot of wealth form his parents which was managed by the first Jarvis, Obadiah, and Pepper for him, he buys and then gives away not just woks of art, but entire collections by major 20th century artists on a whim, destroyed his own cars and home without concern, he tanks the value of his own company in the first Iron Man with a bad press interview, gets kicked of his own bord of directors, and ultimately, in Iron Man 2, gives control of his company to Pepper. He’s insanely rich, and insanely smart, but man, he’s not smart with his money. So all the cool stuff, his suits, the Avengers tower, the facility up-state: that’s all paid for by him, but Pepper is holding the purse-stings.  So, does he pay the others? We have no evidence for most of them… but we do with Spidey. Peter Parker is in the Stark Internship Program a euphemism to hide the fact he’s training and mentoring him as a super-hero, but I find the wording interesting: he refers to Spidey, his surrogate son and chosen heir, as an intern. I.E., Unpaid.  I’m guessing this is Howard’s influence over him, some sort of ‘make you own way in the world, son’ attitude, but  if he’s not paying Spidey, is he paying anyone else? He certainly pays for stuff super heroes suits and things, equipment, fuel, the base, but does he pay anyone a wage? No one ever mentions it. You think it would come up.

So, if he’s not paying them a wage, where do Avengers  (and thier allies) get their day-to-day money from, and are they rich? Using google and https://www.federalpay.org, lets find out.

Cap: Well, before Civil war, he’s a shield operative, and he presumably still holds his military rank: he’s a US Army captain, with (well) over 40 years service, so USD$88,142.40 per year, with $237.71  drill pay (pay per drill you have to do on weekends, on leave or outside of normal service) and $175.00 per month hazard pay (which I bet is interesting) on top of that. As a WW2 veteran, he’d be eligible for a war pension if he:

Was not discharged for dishonorable reasons; and,

Served 90 days of active military duty; and,

Served at least one day during wartime ("wartime" as determined by the VA); and,

Had  countable family income below a certain yearly limit; and,

Is  age 65 years or older; or

Regardless of age is permanently disabled, not due to wilful misconduct.

As he’s still receiving 90k per year, he’s ineligible for a pension as his countable yearly income is above the limit.  So if shield pays him in accordance with his rank and years of service, about $90, 600 per year incuding hazard pay.

After civil war, he’s a fugitive on the run, so presumably flat broke. I’d asume he gets his pension returened to him after the snap.

He’s also just gone from the 40’s to the present day, so 70 years of inflation probably makes buying things very confusing for him: everything would seem insanely expensive at first. He’d also not know what the correct prices are for anything invented after 45. You might get used to how much more expensive food and coffee is, but how much is a smart-phone worth? $200? $2000 $20000? Who knows? I bet the others have to facepalm a lot when he either refuses to pay for what he sees as clear price-gouging, and at the same time regularly pays insane amounts of money for goods and services because he doesn’t know better. He also has no known assets other than his pay: he rents an apartment making him one of the few American males in his age-group who isn’t a home-owner

Thor: Does Asgard even have currency? It’s depicted like a “Crystal spires and toga” type utopia with no poverty: even working class Asgardian’s like Scourge seem to be pretty well-off and want for nothing, so he’s from a post-scarcity society where actual magic is a thing. His “Another” coffee cup smashing and the fact he doesn’t have a computer of phone in Ragnarök might indicate that, no, he just doesn’t have, need or understand money. Splitting a bar tab with him must be a nightmare. His breakdown post snap indicates he’s got some cash, but not a huge amount, and is probably skiving of Valkyrie and the other Asgardians.

Banner: Okay, so a PhD could make you a lot of money from patents… in pharmacology or engineering. Theoretical physics? Not so good. And if Banner did have any patents, they’ve probably been seized under eminent domain by the US military.  At the start of The Hulk film, he’s working a entry-level factory job at a botteling plant in Brazil. The minimum wage in Brazil is 1069.62 Real per month, that’s 12,835.44 Real per year, or around $2437.79 US per year, before everything goes wrong for him! He then runs off to India, works for Tony for a bit and then gets shot into space. Spidey may actually make more in allowance than Banner does, and Banner is a gown ass man with bills to pay: I’d imagine he loses a lot in ripped clothing.

Natasha and Barton: Pre Civil-war, both are government spooks, so how well does that pay? The salaries of CIA Intelligence Analysts based in the US range from $25,838 to $685,701 , with a median salary of $125,340, so let’s assume that Shield pays in a similar range: $685,701 per year for Director Fury, around 125,000 for Natasha and Cliff, which explains Cliff’s nice, middle-class mid-western home. Post civil war, presumably not great: we know that Natasha spends a lot of her savings running and hiding all across the world, and Cliff takes a deal and presumably lives of his savings, pension and his wife’s income.

Rhodes: Full USAF colonel with over 10 years service? $105,562.80 per year, plus $293.23 drill pay per drill and $175 per month hazard pay, and because he’s team Stark and not Team Cap in Civil War, he’d not lose any of that. He presumably also gets an injury pay-out after his accident. After T’challa and Stark, he might be the best paid avenger.

Dr Strange: spends all his money he made as a surgeon on trying to cure his hands: spends literally his last dollars heading to Nepal to train. Wong even jokes with him about their lack of worldly money when asking for a tuna-melt. But, can use illusion to make people think he has money, and his home and clothes etc. come with the job, so in the same boat as Thor in that he has no money, but needs none AKA, he’s a bastard to try and split a restaurant bill with.

Wanda and Vision: No know source of income, just sort of live in Tony’s hose and eat his food, and on top of that Wanda goes on the run after civil war… yet they can stay in fancy hotels in Edinburgh, a relatively expensive city, and Vison apparently bought them a house to retire in, so one of them has some source of money. Maybe Tony gave Vision years of back-pay form when he was still Jarvis, or maybe the vison has a day job, which is, frankly, hilarious. Could you imagine him as a barista? I can, and it makes me very happy.

Scott Lang: I’d assumed he’d be super, super broke, but apparently the average pay for a private security consultant in the Bay area is $85,430 per year. Not bad. Pity he gets sucked into the quantum realm just as his business is taking off, so presumably, flat broke again.

Bucky: no known income, and I doubt Hydra paid him for being the Winter Soldier so he probably has no savings, but he should, technically, qualify for a military pension. As a single veteran, he’d be  eligible for federal tax-free pension of up to $1732 per month, or $20,784 tax free per year. Not much for someone who lives in NYC. He may also be eligible for medical benefits over the loss of his arm. Whether or not he got to see any of that money given how confused his life has been over the past 10 years is unclear, but on paper he’s eligible.

T’challa: He is, quite possibly, richer than Stark, and as an absolute monarch pays no tax and has access to his Nation’s vast wealth in vibanium. It’s good to be the king!

Captain Marvel: USAF captain, and a test pilot; the test pilot school only accepts applicants with a service length of less than 9 years 6 months (10 years six moths of helicopters) as they don’t want older applicants. With 8 years service, $79,538.40, plus drill pay and hazard.  However, no know (human) pay since 1990. Flat broke.

Guardians of the Galaxy: no data, but I’m assuming “Cowboy Bebop” levels of perpetual never-ending poverty given the way they choose to live. I’d also assume Rocket has taken all their cash into some sort of Ponzi scheme of his own creation, because just look at him, of course he has.

Spidey: he’s got about $10 of his aunts’ money at any given time, so he can buy lunch… which may in fact be more than Banner or Lang, and we know it’s more that Strange or Thor.

 So, here the big one: how rich or how broke is Sam?

Sam Wilson: annoyingly, we’re not directly told what rank Sam held in any MCU film. USAF pararescue “Maroon berets” are generally NCO’s (but there’ are officer-ranked pararescue) , and he’s seen working on his wings at one point, where as officers don’t generally work on or maintain airframes. He’s shown wearing a Nation Air guard grey while jogging at one point to confuse the matter further. The general consensus on redit is he’s a former USAF tech sergeant (E-6). But how long was he in the air force? With six years service (the minimum sensible time he could have served to work in pararescue based on his age), that would be $41,464.80 per year, plus drill pay and hazard. As Anthony Mackie, the actor that plays him, was 36 as of Civil War, and assuming the character is the same age, and assuming he retired from the air force that year, and he joined the USAF at 17, the youngest you can join, he’d have served 19 years, giving him a pay of $51,566.40, the maximum pay you can get at this rank before promotion to Master Sergent,  but meaning he left just before he’d qualify for the 50% final salary pension you’d qualify for after 20 years. Which seems weird. So let’s assume the character is one year older than the actor that plays him and served 20 years (ages 17-37), that means Sam has a military pension of $25,783.20 per year (20,784 of it tax-free), plus any injury benefits. He councils other veterans, but doesn’t get paid for that. He also chooses Team Cap in Civil War, so would become a wanted criminal, and so lose his income between 2016 and 2018, and then gets snapped and has no income for 5 years, which would destroy his credit rating. Like the rest of Team Cap, he presumably gets his post snap pardon, and goes to work for the US government at his former pay and rank. However, given how Captain John Walker treats him as an equal, it’s possible he’s been promoted to a captain when the  hired back, giving him a pay of between $54,176.40 to $88,142.40 (with 20 years experience, depending on if they take into account his prior service or not, and how much prior service he has), but either way, he’s just starting this as a new job after being legally dead for 5 years: no savings, and no credit.

Commercial fishing vessels cost about 10% of their total value per year in maintenance alone. I can’t identify what sort of boat the Wilson’s have, but some quick googling indicates that the cheapest  15m long wooden in-shore shrimp trawler costs around $140,000, so that’s $14,000 per year in maintenance costs alone, minimum. And that’s a lower estimate, assuming the rest of the business is sound, which we know it isn’t.

So, in concussion, yes, Sam is in some serious financial trouble until he can re-build his savings and credit, but the scary bit is he’s not alone in that: he’s probably better off than Lang, Banner, Danvers, Strange, Thor, Bucky, Wanda and Parker. Only Clint (if he gets a full pardon and gets his full pension), Rhodes, Stark and T’challa aren’t in some sort of potential financial problems. That asshole bank teller was right: despite the fact it seems to pay well on paper, with a few exceptions, the Avengers financials are probibaly a mess. EDIT: Rocket is running the Ponzi scheme, if that’s not clear from context. The others know they have money somewhere, but not where it’s gone. And It’s been pointed out to me that as he’s technically a POW while he’s the Winter Soldier, Bucky is owed over 70 years back-pay, equal to over 3 million dollars, details in the notes.

[nobodyfamousposts]

My-Crack-ulous: Aku-Maid

In which I am a horrible person...

No seriously. Don’t read this.

For @mermain123, for bringing up the cursed image that started this mess in the first place.

Mermain: i said i was suffering

Mermain: i didn't want you to make the internet suffer

Me: That sounds like the internet’s problem.

Also for @bloody-writes. You know why...   ; )

_________________________

Hawk Moth was a supervillain who had been terrorizing Paris for the better part of two years.

But no one could really argue that not all of his ideas have been good. Or well thought out. Or in any way sensible even.

Like the time he akumatized a baby.

Or the time he akumatized a girl to transform people into exact replicas of herself.

Or the fact he keeps akumatizing Mr. Ramier for going on 29 times at this point…

Or the other time he akumatized a baby…

Times that he destroyed Paris. Times that he nearly destroyed the world. Times that he gave people powers that were completely contradictory to the goals of getting the Miraculous he was after by erasing the heroes from existence or transforming them in ways that made the Miraculous inaccessible.

But none of his akumatizations had ever gotten him as much hate, caused as much misery, were were ultimately as pointless as this most recent incident.

Aku-maid.

It was known the instant she was akumatized. As soon as she was transformed, a wave of power enveloped the city. And within that wave, half of the people of Paris were transformed as well. 

…the male half.

Her power was to transform all the men of Paris. She didn’t even have a weapon or attack that did it, it just happened almost instantaneously. All men suddenly found themselves changed.

Or rather, their outfits…

“Ah!”

“What the hell—!?”

“I can’t get it off!”

One by one, every male in Paris suddenly found themselves in a much different state of attire. What had just been a normal day full of various styles and appearances had all suddenly become very…frilly.

“WHY AM I A MAID?!”

Much as implied her namesake, the akuma’s power involved transforming whatever any man was wearing into some variation of a maid outfit.

Every man.

All over Paris.

From Andre Bourgeois, who has refused to leave his office to make an official statement…

“ANDRE!” Audrey shouted, banging on the door. “Get out here this instant!”

“But, honey, I can’t be seen like this!”

To Roger Raincomprix, who has tried to continue his normal duties despite the…change of uniform…

“Stop in the name of the law!” Roger shouted, reaching into his pockets in an automatic reaction to try to get his handcuffs. While the dress he was wearing did still have pockets, the only item they procured was a cleaning rag, which was notably less threatening as the suspect in question stared for a moment before deciding to take off.

“HEY!”

And yes, even to…

“I’m a Macrophage!” Adrien gushed happily as he lifted his lengthy skirt to give a twirl.

…even to Adrien Agreste, who was apparently the only one to find anything pleasant about the current crisis.

Nino stared.

“Dude. Seriously?”

“I’ve always wanted to cosplay!”

Nino, having been long-since exposed to his friend’s deep love for anime in its many forms, at least knew what a Macrophage was. But even so, he couldn’t help but feel there was something odd about the way Adrien took to the long pale dress and cap.

Kim rested a hand on Nino’s shoulder. “Just let the guy enjoy this.”

“At least somebody is.” Nathaniel muttered bitterly as he tried to hide as behind his sketchbook. It was a futile attempt, of course, as he at most only covered his face, leaving the red dress, white apron with pockets, and knee-high boots on full display.

“I don’t understand how he can.” Max complained. He tugged at his own skirt in vain, looking at Adrien’s ankle-length ensemble enviously. The skirt was much shorter than he would have liked—reaching a couple inches above his thigh and almost seemed to be defying gravity to stay that way despite his attempts to get it to either flatten or otherwise lower. “I question the design choices.”

“But you look just like Misaki from Maid Sama! And Nathaniel looks like Lizbeth!” Adrien insisted. “It’s totally a cosplay!”

Max just stared incredulously. He was wearing a black dress with puffy sleeves that tapered off just shy of his elbow, white apron, a cap, and thigh-high black stockings and knee-high boots, it seemed Adrien did have a point.

Max, in all fairness, didn’t particularly care in favor of the problems that came with suddenly finding himself in a short dress, heels, and a corset.

“I just can’t peg where Kim or Nino’s outfits are from.” He continued, studying the outfits in question contemplatively. “But give me a little time! It’ll come to me!”

The boys had been having an afternoon hangout session in the park. No girls. No teachers. No Gabriel Agreste or bodyguards to whisk certain teen models away. It was supposed to be a normal non-drama-filled day.

…which was naturally when it became something less than normal and certainly more than drama-filled.

“I think I get why girls complain about this sort of thing now.” Kim said, looking at his shoes. “These heels are kind of uncomfortable…”

“Are you sure it’s the heels and not the flippers?” Nino asked, annoyed.

Sure enough, Kim was wearing flipper-heels. They were black and also had black ankle straps with a little bow on each. This strange footwear did seem to go with Kim’s talent in swimming, which was also emphasized by the ruffle maid swimsuit they matched with.

“Nah, it’s definitely the heels.” Kim insisted.

So this was what their all-boys’ afternoon had come to.

Kim was wobbling on unsteady heels.

Nathaniel groaned and kept his ever reddening face covered.

Max was questioning where they could procure jackets. Long jackets.

Adrien was giggling to himself and asking if they could do a full Cells at Work group cosplay.

And Nino paled, suddenly realizing something.

"Guys. Guys, we have to hide!"

"Why?" Kim asked. "It's annoying, but this akuma doesn't seem really dangerous."

"No, you don't get it!" Nino hissed. "If Alya catches us, we will NEVER live this down!"

Nathaniel looked over the edge of his sketchbook. “Alya wouldn’t actually post pictures of us to the Ladyblog, would she?”

A long pause followed.

The boys paled.

Except for Adrien, who turned to them with a gasp of excitement. “Do you think she would? We could do a group picture!”

All the other boys paled even more, looking downright ill.

And immediately took off running.

Or at least as well as they could with heels. None of them made it very far without tripping, stumbling, or simply struggling to stay upright as they still tried to move away from the area as quickly as the heels would allow.

“But what’s wrong with—?”

“JUST RUN, ADRIEN!”

“Who thought maid outfits with high heels was a good idea?! How can anyone be expected to clean in these things?

“I will never draw high heels on a super heroine again.”

“I can’t breathe! Who created corsets?! What objective does this achieve besides crushing one’s lungs?”

Nino groaned, still running. “I hope Hawk Moth is suffering as much as we are!”

_____________________

If Nino Lahiffe had the ability to break the fourth wall and peer into the events happening outside of his immediate vicinity, he would be happy to find this was actually the case.

And he would laugh.

Oh, how he would laugh.

“Sir…?”

“Don’t.” Came the dark growl from a very unhappy supervillain. “Don’t say anything, Nathalie..."

This was an akuma that impacted every male in Paris. Every male.

…even to Hawk Moth, himself.

“Why did this happen?”

It would appear that even Hawk Moth was not immune to Aku-Maid’s power as he had been similarly transformed. And unfortunately, due to the change, he could no longer access his Miraculous. The Butterfly broach had disappeared, having been transformed along with his outfit.

And his outfit had…actually left much to be desired.

Which was truthfully just a nice way of saying it was ugly.

Really, really ugly.

Normally the picture of stoicism, Nathalie had to pretend to cough to avoid reacting.

“Can’t you order the akuma to undo it?” She eventually was able to ask.

He lowered his head and closed his eyes in concentration. “No. It’s no good. I’ve lost the link!”

His eyes widened and he clutched his chest in a panic.

“Where is the Miraculous?!” Hawk Moth demanded, trying—and failing to pull at the tasteless dress. But as others across the city had already discovered, the clothes were magic and would not be removed or displaced. Not even the frock or the cap he now wore.

“Sir, you were transformed when you changed. It looks like the Butterfly Miraculous was transformed along with you.”

He froze, eyes widening in horror. “But that’s—”

He grasped at the empty place on his chest. Where once had been his lapel and pin now only had ruffles and a leathery texture. His mask remained in place, though it was now fully black except for the openings around his eyes and mouth, which were bordered with a lighter grey color. The material and outfit overall had a shine to it that could be found on any wetsuit.

To put it nicely: he looked atrocious.

To put it bluntly: he looked like some sort of BDSM role-player with a maid kink.

So it was fortunate, perhaps, that no one else in Paris would have to be subject to the sight.

Except Nathalie. Who was probably going to have nightmares.

Or a coronary from the laughter she was trying to hold back.

It was admittedly a bit hard to tell.

But it seemed she was handling the situation a bit better than Hawk Moth, despite the fact that the man was currently unable to see himself or the full extent of the monstrosity he now wore.

…this was probably for the best. Given the man’s fashion sense, there was really no telling whether he would be horrified or inspired, and nobody would want to find out.

“I can’t contact the akuma! And I can’t call it back!”

He moaned, covering his…already covered face with his hands. “I’ll never be taken seriously again!”

Nathalie resolutely held back from pointing out he was barely being taken seriously now.

“It’s…not that bad?” She tried. Not very well, but she tried.

Hawk Moth clutched his head in horror. “Unless Ladybug and Chat Noir can stop this akuma, we’re doomed!”

“Sir, it’s just an akuma that puts men in maid outfits. It’s really not that bad.”

“DOOOOOOMED!!!”

__________________________

The akuma, for her part, was unaware of her benefactor’s misery, too busy enjoying the abject misery of everyone else around her.

Nobody knew just what had set the girl off to get her akumatized in the first place. Her comments about men being “the eye-candy now” suggested an argument. The maid outfits involved suggested what the topic of the argument had been regarding.

To be honest, nobody had actually realized she was the akuma responsible. She did appear fairly normal by akuma terms, dressed in a seemingly authentic Victorian era dress more befitting as an authentic Lady’s Maid compared the frillier, lacier varieties that the men around her had suddenly found themselves in. What would normally have gotten her a few odds looks was mostly ignored in the face of the sudden change. Few even took notice of her dark purple skin or black hair. Or the fan in her hand.

“THAT’S RIGHT! SEE HOW YOU LIKE BEING OBJECTIFIED!”

The yelling…was a bit harder to miss.

It was the first thing that drew the attention of the three girls settled at the cafe.

The second thing was the various cries of horror as several of the men around them suddenly discovered their state of dress transformed into…well…dresses. Of a variety that made the little cafe appear more like a maid cafe than anything.

The third thing was the appearance of a familiar face running down the road, holding up his long white dress to make running easier as he looked for a place to hide.

Marinette stared.

“ADRIEN?!”

Adrien Agreste was running around in a long white and pale cream Victorian-era dress and cap, looking like Cinderella running from the ball. Except a maid.

A quick glance to her companions showed that both Alya and Kagami were similarly staring in befuddlement, so this was neither her imagination or a fever dream.

“Adrien? What’s going on?” Alya asked for everyone.

“It’s an akuma!” He replied, quickly. “She’s putting everybody into cosplay!”

“…cosplay?”

“Yeah!”

“…everybody?”

He paused, glancing around. “Well…all the guys, I think?”

Marinette stared.

“…Just that?” Alya asked, thankfully taking over while Marinette’s brain started to become aware that this WAS Adrien she was talking to. “She’s not doing anything else besides putting guys into…‘cosplays’?”

He blinked in confusion. “I…think so?”

“She isn’t…I don’t know…commanding you or anything?”

“Well, she hasn’t yet. Which, really, isn’t so bad for an akuma if you think about it.” He said with a frown before he noticed the strange look on Kagami’s face. “Kagami, are you okay?”

Kagami made a strangled sound.

“Marinette?”

Marinette pretended to choke on a drink from an empty glass to avoid speaking.

“Can I add to your order?” The waiter came by, seeming unconcerned by the ruckus or the act that he was now wearing a rather cutesy maid outfit the likes of which would be seen in a maid cafe in Japan.

“You don’t seem put off by this.” Alya pointed out, noting his relatively unfazed attitude compared to the panicking of the other men around them…or the gushing from Adrien.

The waiter took it in stride.

“It’s okay.” He replied blankly. “I’m already dead inside.”

“Oh.”

He turned to Kagami. “Do you need anything else, Miss?”

Kagami was still staring at Adrien, blushing furiously.

“I think I have a problem.”

“You mean a kink?”

“A. Problem.” She spoke through gritted teeth.

“Story of my life.” The waiter replied as he refilled her glass of water, either unaware or uncaring of the specific nature of her trouble.

Alya gasped in sudden realization. “Wait! If this is happening here then…” She turned to Adrien. “Where were Nino and the boys?” He blinked, curious. “Oh, they decided to head home. Why?”

An almost sinister smirk formed on Alya’s face. One that would have anyone it was directed at cowering in fear. And strong enough to be felt from several blocks away.

Unbeknownst to them, Nino felt that smirk like a trail of cold fingers down his back, and promptly threw himself into his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

As if she sensed this, Alya slammed several bills on the table and dashed out the door.

“GOTTA GO!”

Realizing an akuma was about, Marinette was right on her heels. She found a nearby alleyway and immediately prepared to transform and face this latest threat.

“Oh my god. OH MY GOD.” She broke down, letting out the laughter she’d been trying so hard to hold in. “He’s a dork! The boy I’m crushing on is a complete DORK who is in to cosplaying! He thinks maid outfits are COSPLAY!”

…or she would be.

“And here I’ve been driving myself nuts with anxiety over just asking him out and he doesn’t even—”

Any minute now…

“Marinette!” Tikki hissed. “You need to stop the akuma!”

“Can’t I just take a picture first?”

“MARINETTE!”

“Oh fine…”

_____________________

Luka didn’t realize anything had happened. He felt a bit off balanced for a moment, and a bit colder, but attributed that to being on the Liberty. So he simply shifted his stance to be a bit more steady and continued playing. It wasn’t until the drum stopped that he realized something was actually wrong.

The look of shock from Mylene and the following shriek from Ivan cemented it.

He spun around, not sure what could have elicited such a cry from his fellow bandmate. And at first, he couldn’t really tell what had happened. Ivan was crouched behind the drum set, covering his face with his hands and trembling in what appeared to be mortification.

Then he noticed the mobcap on Ivan’s head, which he was pretty sure hadn’t been there before. And Ivan’s shirt seemed distinctly…fluffier and frillier than he remembered seeing a few minutes ago. He tried to move closer to offer help, only for his own balance to be off. And when he looked down…

Oh.

The dress was new.

As were the stockings.

And the notably thinner and sleeker heels on his boots.

He hummed to himself, considering the change.

“Akuma?” Juleka asked him.

“Most likely.” He replied.

Mylene had rushed up to their practice stage and to Ivan’s side, even as he moaned for her to not look at him. The poor guy was completely red in embarrassment. Seeing how upset he was, the other three had backed away, leaving Mylene to try to help her boyfriend.

“Luka, are you okay?” Rose asked worriedly, trying to respect Ivan’s need for space while also checking in on their other effected bandmate.

“I’m fine. It was just a surprise at first.” He replied.

It wasn’t every day that you suddenly found yourself in a maid outfit, after all. It was a simple outfit. White off the shoulder puffy sleeves with black frills. A black tube skirt. White apron. And…he reached to his neck where a weight was, feeling a choker.

Huh…

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Honestly, he could be in worse.

Rose seemed surprised at that. “Really? Even with those shoes?”

He looked down at the shoes in question. The boots were his style—surprisingly, given it was an akuma. The higher heels were definitely different from his norm, and clearly what Rose was referring to. In any other circumstances, she would be right.

But...

Luka smiled, shifting his stance and resting a hand on his hip. “Well, someone had to teach Jules to walk in heels. And I couldn’t show her if I didn’t know how myself.

Juleka huffed. “Don’t say that like you didn’t enjoy playing dress up.”

Luka merely curtsied, not only showing off more of his slightly ripped and punk-looking fishnet stockings, but almost proudly displaying his ability to move fluently in heels.

Rose appropriately “oo-ed” and “aah-ed” at his display. Juleka merely shook her head and smiled. Ivan was still recovering from his panic attack and had resolutely refused to come out from behind the drums, despite Mylene’s reassurances.

“So it has to be an akuma, right?” Rose asked.

“If it is, I want a picture or two, at least.” Juleka muttered as she admired Luka’s outfit, mumbling about commissioning Marinette to recreate it in her size. She hadn’t known maids could come in this style.

Mylene nodded from her place at Ivan’s side. “Though it seems rather fortunate if this is all the akuma is doing.”

“We don’t know if that is it, though.” Luka warned. “For all we know, there could be some other ability she has if she catches us. It would probably be safer if we hid out inside until this is over.”

The others agreed. And Anarka, bless her soul, actually came up with a large blanket for Ivan to wrap himself in to preserve his dignity. Then she and Mylene helped the taller teen to safely relocate to inside. Much like Luka, Ivan’s shoes had changed, but he was substantially less able to maneuver in them. And no amount of effort or force on his part could seem to separate the heels from his feet.

Once he and the others were inside, Luka moved to follow. He hesitated, however, at the sound of something landing behind him.

“Viperion? We’ll need your help.”

He turned to see Ladybug standing tall. And was that perhaps a hint of blush on her face?

Oh. 

A shame.

It looked like Juleka wouldn’t be getting her pictures, after all...

_____________________

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

He shuddered, backing away from the door as far as possible.

“Ninoooooo…”

It was a fight for survival.

“C’mon, Nino. Just open the door.”

The survival of his dignity, but still!

He’d lost track of the others and immediately rushed home and to the safety of his room. His room, which he could lock and hide away in until this all blew over.

“I have a key!” Came Chris’s voice. “Somewhere…”

“Give it and I won’t take any pictures of you.”

“Deal!”

His room, which his traitorous little brother was willing to allow the enemy entry into.

Under any normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be this desperate. But if Alya caught him like this…

Black dress. Puffy at the shoulder, sleeves that extended to his wrists and were bound by white cuffs. A white smock tied back with a white ribbon. White bow at the neck and white frills along the bottom of the dress?

Oh yeah…Alya would never let this go…

He knew he shouldn’t have gotten into all those anime Adrien pushed him into! So what if the maids were cute? And sure, he’d admit he's had a thought or two of Alya in such attire...

But how was he supposed to know Alya had such thoughts as well? And in the complete opposite direction! Clearly this was the akuma’s magic punishing him!

Nino looked to his window.

It would be a long fall, but it was his only escape.

But would the broken legs be worth it when Alya would soon figure out what he did and be able to catch up to him easily?

Maybe he could try to climb up instead…but in these heels? It was suicide!

“Fufufu!”

…screw it. 

He opened up his window, only to meet a new pair of eyes.

Ladybug stared in surprise from her place at his windowsill, a certain box in hand.

“…hi?”

“Oh thank god!” He exclaimed. He took her by her shoulders, half leaning out and half pulling her in. “Alya’s insisting on taking pictures! Please tell me you have my Miraculous with you!”

“Actually, about that—”

“I don’t care! I’ll do anything! Just please—SAVE ME!”

Ladybug looked back behind her to a distant rooftop and the other allies she’d left behind.

The sound of a key jingling could be heard and Nino stared up at her, pleadingly.

Well, she could never resist the eyes…

By the time they’d gotten the door open, the room was empty.

Nino was gone.

_____________________

Six heroes stood assembled.

Ladybug.

Chat Noir.

Carapace.

Viperion.

King Monkey.

Pegasus.

Six heroes.

Five of whom were male.

And…still wearing some semblance of feminine maid-like outfits.

Ladybug wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or worried.

“What the hell?! I thought the Miraculous were supposed to change us into our hero suits?” Nino groused.

Contrary to his hopes and expectations, using the Miraculous had not transformed him into his normal Carapace look, but had rather simply given him a different outfit. The dress itself was green and had a turtle shell pattern, while the apron and waist belts were a brown color. The bowknot around his neck was a dark green and a brown to match the apron. He wore stockings. And to his very limited relief, his shoes were flats instead of heels.

“Well, at least this skirt is longer.” Pegasus said, now wearing a dark brown blouse and bicycle skirt. The skirt went to just above his ankles, for which he was grateful. But this seemed to be countered by the increase of height to his heels.

Plus no corset. The outfit was still fit tightly and not very comfortable, but at least he could breathe now.

“Though I believe we’re getting away from maid-wear now.” Chat said, conversationally.

Pegasus gave him a flat look. “I’m not complaining.”

If Chat had witnessed his earlier ensemble, surely he would understand.

King Monkey, for his part, seemed somewhat appeased with his Miraculous suit. It was a notably more Eastern style of dress, appearing more like robes worn by palace servants. He wore a light brown waistcoat with wide sleeves over a blouse and a wrap-around skirt. It looked heavy, but Kim seemed to have no trouble with it. Maybe it was made of a lighter material…?

And Viperion’s dress was different in style as well. Whereas his maid outfit as Luka had been more punk, this was more sleek. Wearing a green sleeveless dress and white smock, as well as what appeared to be a green corset. The dress had a slit at the sides, giving more maneuverability for his legs…as well as more show, given the appearance of a garter belt and stockings. His shoes were high heeled but including a beautiful snake design that wrapped around his ankles. To finish it off, rather than remain bare, his arms were covered in what appeared to be loose green sleeves that started at his elbows and extended to his wrists.

…maybe a picture or two wouldn’t hurt? Or three? Because the amount of details on these outfits were amazing and she was just brimming with ideas now…

Ladybug broke out of her musings when someone tugged on her shoulder to get her attention.

It was Chat. Chat who, much like the other heroes, as dressed in a fantastical outfit. Though a maid outfit, it was definitely more cat-themed with a giant paw-like gloves covering his hands, a paw print on his apron, and bow and bell on his tail which rang as he shifted.

What material was that made of, anyway? She kind of wanted to give it a feel and see if she could find something to compare it to. Maybe a quick sketch?

Oh. Right.

Akuma.

Maybe if she was lucky, they could finish this quickly so she could rush back home and take notes while she still had the ideas bouncing in her brain.

…maybe someone would have gotten pictures by then…?

“Ladybug?” Chat whispered, snapping her back to reality.

“Yes?”

Chat frowned in concern. “Is the Guardian okay with this?”

Ladybug froze.

“PSST! Ladybug!” Came a voice from a nearby rooftop, drawing her attention.

“Master Fu?”

“Ladybug! Here’s the Miracle Box. Take as many allies as you can and resolve this as soon as possible!”

“Master? Are…you hiding in a box?”

“No questions! Just go!”

“…he’s fine.”

Chat seemed uncertain, but decided not to pry.

“Let’s just split up and find the akuma.” Ladybug said. “But don’t engage until we’re all together!”

With that, the six split into three groups, with Chat and Carapace going one way and King Monkey and Pegasus going another, leaving Ladybug and Viperion searching together with the former trying not to get caught stealing peeks at the latter.

“Is something wrong?” He asked with a smile.

…trying. The key word was trying not to get caught.

“No! Nothing!” She replied quickly. “I’m just…surprised that you can still move so quickly in those heels.”

“I’ve had practice.” He explained, still smiling. He even lifted one leg behind him, managing to stand perfectly balanced even on one leg in heels.

“I…see.”

Part of her wanted very much to laugh. It was the same part that had found this entire day ridiculous. The other part of her was her inner artist at work and really wanted to make a few sketches inspired from the presented outfits. Like Viperion’s sleeves…and those shoes with a snake coil wrapping around the ankle…

“Ladybug!”

Gaah! Focus!

She turned towards the shout to find King Monkey and Pegasus stumbling towards her.

Her fingers twitched. She ignored it.

“We found the akuma.” King Monkey reported. “She doesn’t seem to be doing anything. Just…kind or roaming around.”

“And laughing.” Pegasus added bitterly. “She appears to be doing a lot of that.”

“How’s THAT for ‘doll them up’?” Came a shout from street level. “HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, HUH?!”

As if on cue…

Ladybug and the others peeked over the edge of the roof.

“Has she displayed any other powers?” She asked.

“No.” Pegasus replied. “From what we could see, her power has already been activated to…obvious effect.” He hesitated, resolutely avoiding mentioning his new outfit or the indignity he’d already suffered. “She has only been laughing. And tripping the occasional person while searching for someone in particular—possibly the one responsible for her ire.”

Ladybug nodded. “At least she’s distracted and doesn’t know we’re here. We just need a plan of attack before we try to fight her.”

“No problem!” King Monkey said with a grin as he reached for his weapon. “We can just do a head on attack with our weapons and—”

They stared.

In place of his staff was a broom. A normal cleaning broom.

They sent cautious glances to each other before they checked their own inventory.

Said inventory consisted of a broom, a bucket, and a feather duster.

“I believe that constitutes as a problem.” Pegasus stated worriedly.

“That’s no fair!” King Monkey exclaimed. “Adrien was able to summon a machete!”

Ladybug blanched at that. “A what?!”

Pegasus pushed up his glasses. “I believe it’s a component of his…‘cosplay’?”

“Pfft!” Ladybug covered her mouth with her hand.

“Ladybug?”

“I-it’s nothing!” She replied hurriedly.

Viperion raised his eyebrow at her but didn’t comment.

King Monkey at least seemed to take it in stride.

“Now we just need a plan for attack!”

“With what?!” Pegasus questioned, waving the feather duster in frustration. “Our weapons don’t work!”

“More like our weapons aren’t actually weapons.” Viperion said, considering his bucket.

“I could smack her.” King Monkey offered, holding up his broom. “Maybe your feather duster has dust on it and could make her sneeze?”

Pegasus gave him a flat look.

“I think the broom is the best weapon we have right now.”

“Don’t knock a bucket!” King Monkey commanded, resolutely. “I got one stick on my head one time and it took hours to get it off! Buckets are evil, man!”

Pegasus sighed and rubbed his head. “It concerns me that you’re the second person I know whom that has happened to.”

Ladybug coughed, discretely trying to draw attention off that particular subject lest identities be at risk. “Anyway, I think I have a plan...”

______________________

To be honest, it wasn’t that difficult of an akuma. Especially not with six of them teaming up against it.

Akumaid truly see to have no ability other than the initial one of transforming what any male in Paris was wearing into something embarrassing...unless you were Adrien, apparently. Aside from that, she showed no other power—neither over the clothes themselves or the people wearing them. Well, she wasn’t controlling any of the victims or shrinking the clothing to choke them at any rate...which if you think about it, was rather lame for an akuma in the power department.

The only real disadvantage in battle came in the difficulty the boys had moving freely in their current outfits. And the afore noted lack of proper weaponry.

Their advantage of surprising was ruined by Chat’s bell ringing before they could ambush her, and both Carapace and Pegasus losing balance with their heels and falling over. King Monkey’s outfit, while longer, also meant more fabric to flap about and resist his movements regardless of how light it may have been, so he wasn’t able to get a hit in fast enough before the akuma turned on him and knocked him away.

Chat was able to get a hit in though.

With his…Kitty Wand…

“THIS IS MAGICAL PUNISHMENT!” He shouted as he smacked the akuma over the head.

“Chat. Chat no. Chat why?”

And Ladybug had hopelessly lost her composure by this point and was laughing. Just laughing. Laughing so hard she was crying actual tears as she smacked her own thigh in her struggle to breathe. Viperion was trying to help her stay standing, keeping an arm around her to support her as she half leaned and half chuckled tears into his chest.

“What’s going on? Does the akuma have some power over Ladybug, too?” King Monkey asked.

…

Viperion sighed.

“Sure. Something to that effect.”

Ladybug wheezed.

“LADYBUG!”

“Lu-haha-lucky haha-charm!”

It said something when her own Lucky Charm magicked up a paper bag. With Ladybug still victim to her fit of giggles, Viperion simply put the bag over her face and had her try to breathe.

“A paper bag doesn’t help with out of control laughing.” Pegasus noted as he forced himself to his feet.

“Do you want to try to figure out the Lucky Charm?” Viperion bit out in annoyance, Ladybug still shaking in his arms.

Pegasus coughed and backed away. “No, thank you.”

Ladybug let out another giggle.

“All right, enough! I’ll stop her!” Carapace shouted, reaching for his back. “With my…serving plate.”

His shield.

His precious shield was gone.

“…Carapace?” Ladybug asked.

The newly rendered Turtle Maid sighed and simply threw the plate as he had his shield, not expecting much.

…the plate slice flew through the air at a surprising speed, but missed the akuma entirely. Instead, it sailed past her, hitting a light post.

Ladybug had expected it to bounce, but instead there was a sound of shredding metal as the serving plate actually tore through the lamp post and into the concrete itself.

The lamp post, now detached, tilted and fell over—conveniently on top of the akuma before she had the time to realize what was happening and move out of the way.

SLAM!

It fell on top of her and she hit the ground.

“Huzzah?” Kim asked.

“Well…that’s one way to defeat an akuma.” Pegasus marveled.

“Great. Now can we fix this already?” Carapace asked impatiently. If they took too much longer, someone was bound to catch them.

That someone would probably be Alya.

And that was the last thing he wanted at this point.

“But I kind of wanted to make a sketch at least…” Ladybug muttered to herself, holding the paper bag Charm to her chest.

“LADYBUG!”

She waved her hands insistently. “I’m on it!”

But she could dream…

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

It was with some disappointment that the Miraculous Cure wiped away the outfits of the other heroes, returning them to their original costumes.

“OH THANK GOD!”

“That was…horrible…”

“Corsets were invented as a torture method, I swear…”

“Shieldy!” Carapace exclaimed, hugging the shield in relief. “Never leave me again!”

“You okay now, Ladybug?” Chat asked her in worry.

“I’m fine.” She said, even though she wasn’t really. She felt like she’d missed a chance, even if it was for the greater good. But it would have been an abuse of her power to be taking pictures of the guys in that state and she already felt bad enough for breaking down laughing in the middle of the fight.

In that moment, however, the loveliness of ladybugs that made up the Cure returned from their task of restoring Paris to flow over Ladybug herself before vanishing, leaving her holding an envelope in their wake. Curious, she opened the envelope…

She gasped.

Inside were a multitude of photos of the other heroes. From different angles. In different positions. All of them in their new outfits.

Ladybug bit the inside of her cheek to keep from responding and drawing attention to herself.

…Thank you, Tikki.

Best. Kwami. Ever. “Ladybug…” Carapace said in growing wariness. “What is that?”

“Nothing!”

“Ladybug. That better not be what I think it is…”

She shoved the photos back in the envelope.

“It’s nothing at all!”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

Noticing the stand off, the others approached as well.

“It was just something I was missing, yeah.”

“Then let us see it.”

“Can’t.” She replied, clutching the envelope to her chest. “It’s…Ladybug stuff.”

“Hand it over. Right now!”

"NOOO! THESE ARE FOR THE FUTURE OF FASHIOOOON!”

“GIVE US THE PHOTOS!”

“Wait—did she get any of all of us in a group cosplay pic?”

“NOT NOW, CHAT!”

Unfortunately, that small distraction was all she needed to get away.

Viperion, the only one having been pretty nonchalant this whole time, simply watched her leave and the others shout after her.

“…isn’t she going to take our Miraculous back?”

_________________________

Angela sighed, already dreading what was to come.

It was a humiliating end to an already humiliating week as the former akuma victim had been forced to return to her job to go over the updates for the new Ladybug game with the rest of her team.

Said updates were apparently to include maid outfits for the female heroes thanks to one particular coworker who had decided to work on maid outfits for the female heroes instead of the level he was assigned. It had been part of the reason she had been angry enough to be akumatized.

The fact that he was insistent on shoving his maid fetish into the game for no good reason other than having them be eye candy was the other part.

The images in question that he insisted on bringing featured the three female super heroes of the city: Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee.

But not as anyone had ever seen them.

Instead of their usual hero suits, the three girls were portrayed in sultry, even provocative poses. And most notably, all three were wearing some mockery of a French Maid outfit…as what would be believed by Americans, no less.

They might as well have been the initial sketches of pinup posters.

“You can’t still be serious!”

“Hey, I’m not the one who got akumatized just because I was jealous that someone else had a good idea.” He said bitingly and giving her a pointed look, perhaps still a bit bitter of the aforementioned experience that her akumatization had caused.

“It’s not a good idea, John.” Angela countered. “There was no reason to have the girls be running in maid outfits.”

He shrugged. “We could just say an akuma did it. After all, we did just get an akuma who did exactly that.” He said, giving her another look.

She clenched her fists and was about to retort when their team lead entered the room.

The meeting commenced and she’d been forced to bite her tongue. Each of the team members went over their progress and updates for their contribution to the game. Level design. Enemies. Testing.

And then came his grand achievement. Instead of the level he was assigned, he gave scantily clad designs for three of the eight known heroes.

What effort.

“I was thinking we really need to include something to make our game stand out, so I made some extra skins for the heroes.” He bragged, sending her a smug look. “The appeal would sell plenty of copies.”

“Or the controversy.” Angela muttered back before turning to the team lead and hoping that the man leading their group had more empathy…or sense.

The team lead looked over the designs with an analyzing gaze. Tiffeny, despite the initial impression his name would give, was a rather buff man who took no shit. But was also a guy. Who liked guy things. But did those things include young women in maid costumes?

After a moment, Tiffeny dropped the pictures on the table and looked at John incredulously. “You know, if you were going to base skins off recent events, you could at least have been authentic.”

John stared. “What?”

“It was the guys who were affected by Akumaid. Not the girls. If we’re going to do maids, we need to keep it true to life, just like the rest of the designs we’ve included. We talked about this when we started this project.”

“But it’s what the audience wants!” John argued.

“Do you know who comprises the majority of our audience?” Tiffeny asked. “Girls. Girls, gay guys, and those who are exploring their interests. Guys in the outfits would sell leagues more than the girls.” He started ticking his fingers “It’s different. It’s original. And it’s based in actual events. People would love it.”

“But…they’ll love this!”

“Man, if people wanted to see sexy girls in skimpy clothing, they’d play literally any other game! Or watch porn.” Tiffeny explained. “But what game do you know of has had guys in maid outfits?”

“Well...”

“Exactly. We want to stand out. And we even have recent events as justification. So if you’re going to be wasting time you should be spending on level-making to put people in maid skins, then get those male heroes some maid costumes.”

“But that’s not fair!” John exclaimed.

Tiffeny paused at that. “Hmm…you’re right.”

With that, he turned to her. “You’re good at designing. Make some butler outfits for the girls. Something dashing to serve as a counter for the guys.”

Angela blinked in surprise for a moment before smiling.

“Sure thing!”

“You know…” one of the other workers noted. “While we’re on the subject, I WAS thinking of some medieval armor designs for the girls and princess dresses for the guys.”

“Hey yeah! Like a light green for Viperion!”

“Maybe teal might be better?”

“Ooo! How about…”

Soon enough, everyone seemed to be invested in the new plan.

Everyone that is, except John.

“Lovely!” Tiffeny said cheerfully. “Plan it out and bring the concepts to me later.”

With a new task in hand and John’s pouting to forever be a memory to hold onto, it seemed her day was looking up…

_________________________

“That was some akuma battle.” Marinette said as she slid into her seat next to Alya.

The reporter, however, only looked annoyed. “Ladybug had apparently called all the male heroes and I completely missed it!” She groaned and leaned back in her seat, bemoaning the lost opportunity.

If she’d hadn’t been so focused on tracking Nino for the purpose of collecting blackmail ensuring his safety, she would have been able to catch all of the male heroes in their maid outfits.

Marinette smiled. “You know…I may have a connection…”

Alya gasped.

“No.”

Marinette giggled and slid over her phone with a picture showing.

“NO WAY!” She cried out before staring up at Marinette in shock. “Girl, you have to send me these!”

“Wait—you have what now?” Nino had arrived, initially hopeful that he had avoided the worst of that day only to have those hopes immediately dashed upon arriving to see the two girls sharing what could only have been one thing…

“I have pictures of the heroes in their new outfits.” Marinette replied cheerfully as she swiped through her phone. “Oh look, Nino! You’re in here, too!”

“WHAT?! NO!” He shouted, rushing forward.

Marinette quickly grabbed back her phone and hid it in her pocket with an overly sweet and not at all innocent grin.

“Mari, come on, no! Don’t do this to me!” He begged.

“Don’t do this to ME!” Alya cut in. “You can’t just show me that and take it away! That’s just not fair!”

“Don’t worry.” Marinette assured them. “It’s going where all my blackmail material goes.”

“Wait what?”

“Since when do you have blackmail material?”

“Since somebody started a game of ‘let’s take pictures of Marinette while she’s asleep and post them online’.” Marinette replied dryly.

Nino groaned. “Come on! I said I was sorry!”

“And now I can be just as sorry.” She replied blithely.

Which was to say: not sorry at all.

“Come on! Alya made me do it!”

“It was just in fun! Marinette! Please!”

“Do you want me to beg? Cry? I’ll cry.”

“I’ll pay you! Pretty please! At least the heroes if nothing else!”

“Oh no you don’t!”

“My blog NEEDS this!”

Marinette smiled at the minor chaos she had caused as the normally happy couple bickered with each other.

Sweet sweet music.

“Hey, Marinette!”

And speaking of sweet…

She turned to look up at a certain blond-haired model as he arrived at his own desk. Though he seemed to be a bit distracted by the arguing couple.

“Hey, Adrien!” She greeted, for once with no stutter to speak of.

“Hey, um…are they okay?” He asked, gesturing to the two.

“Oh, they’re fine.” She said, waving them off. “Just…a bit excited over the recent akuma.”

At that, Adrien brightened. “Wasn’t it awesome?”

She nodded, trying to keep her laughter inside.

“You…ah…enjoyed yourself then?”

Adrien shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. “Well, it’s not often I get to dress up in a way that’s ‘silly’. Or in anything that isn’t promoting Father’s brand. And I’ve never gotten to cosplay. So it was…really fun.”

Oh. Ouch. Okay, that one kind of hurt. The poor Sunshine Child…

“You know…” Marinette said, leaning over her desk and smiling at him. “I’ve seen a bit of that one anime you mentioned.”

“Cells at Work?” He asked, brightening up.

She nodded. “Mmhmm. I could make you a jacket based off the lead Red Blood Cell. And if you like, I can keep it so you can wear it whenever we hang out.”

He gasped. “Really?”

“Sure! Maybe you can come over sometime so we can try a fitting. We could even play Mecha Strike.”

Adrien beamed. “That sounds great! Thanks, Marinette!”

She waved him off and went back to full sitting in her seat.

Alya and Nino both became distracted from their arguing by the miracle they had just witnessed.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng had just spoken to Adrien Agreste…and not a stutter to be heard!

“What the heck, girl?” Alya whispered, sliding into her seat beside her friend. “Since when could you do THAT and why haven’t you done it sooner? I could swear I saw hearts in his eyes!”

Marinette shrugged, grinning sheepishly. “After seeing Adrien Agreste in a maid dress, I kind of wondered why I was so scared of talking to him to begin with.”

Alya laughed. “Well, at least something good came out of this, then.”

“You know...more good WOULD come out of this if I had pics of those heroes..." 

“Really, Alya?”

“You’re pretty much the only one who managed to get any shots of the male heroes!” Alya exclaimed. “Seriously, how?!”

Marinette giggled.

“Just lucky, I guess.”

________________________

OMAKE 1:

Knock! Knock!

“Felix?” His mother called on the other side of the locked and barricaded door. “Will you be coming out?”

“That depends. Do you have a camera?”

A pause. Which was all the answer he needed.

“Then no.”

OMAKE 2:

Fortunately, in the midst of their searching, the team had managed to find the akuma and her primary target, getting between the two.

“So what happened?” Ladybug asked him.

John gripped his skirt, nervously. “She’s my coworker in developing a new video game and she didn’t like my input.”

“What set her off?”

The guy rolled his eyes. “She’s one of those types who wants to take the fun out of video games.”

“What?” Ladybug blinked.

“Okay, so I wanted to put some maid costumes in the game! It was just for fun! Besides, it would have added a bit of pizazz! Something for the players to enjoy!”

“You could just try making a good game.” Pegasus pointed out. “If you have to rely on a cheap gimmick to get buyers, it may not be a good product.”

"I'm sorry, really! I mean, sure, I'm still going to put it in the game, because who wouldn't want hot maids, but still! That doesn't mean I deserve this!"

The akuma raised her fist and shouted at him. “THEY ARE HEROES, DAMMIT! THEY DESERVE BETTER THAN MAID SKINS JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE GIRLS!”

Ladybug blanched. “Wait…is the game about me?”

Pegasus coughed and looked away. “There have been…rumors, yes.”

Viperion tilted his head. “That seems like a double standard though…since we’re the ones in maid outfits...”

“Not the point, Viperion!”

Ladybug frowned.

“I don’t think I want to help now.”

“Ladybug!”

[hogwartsfirebolt]

cw: wizarding war, and the violence it ensues.

The year bled.

It bled great gouts of wizards, beacons of hope shining bright red at the tip of their wands. Led them to their deaths, in the battlefront that had taken their friends and family, yet remained unsatisfied.

The year took his Hagrid, took his Ron, the year flung a sword into Harry’s survival instincts and turned them inside out — backwards, all wrong. He lived and breathed for his days on the front, inhabited the outermost trench for longer than anyone was allowed, his wand glowing green more often than red.

Voldemort’s tooth — sharp, a snake’s poisonous incisive — hung on a thread, rested against Harry’s throat, had for the better part of the season. Yet the war raged on.

There’d been a time when things had been simpler.

“Will you be resting this fortnight?” Hermione had asked him when she’d served, a few days earlier. She was at a safe-house, now, replenishing her core, drawing energy from the underground streams that pulsed with golden magic so she would be ready to return to the fight. It was was everyone did, every couple of weeks, what their warlord had ordered.

Harry’d not been to a safe-house in three months. He’d not known anything but carnage in all those days, was beginning to suspect that the inexhaustible nature of his core didn’t extend to his body, definitely didn’t extend to his mind.

“Where are they getting this strength? These numbers?” Ron had asked, the night before a Death Eater had torn his head right off his neck.

They still did not know the answer. It happened everyday, at the strike of dawn: dozens of Death Eaters arrived at the front, and it didn’t matter that Harry sliced right through their ranks like a sword, there were dozens more the next morning. And they still did not know the answer.

It was not simple. Nothing was simple.

“They must have found a way to clone their soldiers. It can be done — they have Voldemort’s knowledge on soul-splitting.” Kingsley had written, in the letter Harry had received two days earlier. “Soon enough they will press at their advantage. I trust you will know what to do. Do not fail me.”

There was no “soon enough”. The advantage was already being pressed, every waking second, on multiple fronts. Harry spent his days blocking them with his magic, with his body, and his nights fighting against their secret weapon, they one they seemed to reserve for him only — the mind games.

“They impersonate us?” Arthur had asked, when he’d brought health potions the previous week.

“They show up as you, or Molly, Gin, R-Ron. I’m not sure what they want, they seem to be trying to extract information, but not on our lines, not on our manpower. I don’t know what I have that they want.”

“Don’t trust anyone.”

The days cut him, and the nights suffocated him. He got approached by group after group of imposters, wearing a different face every night. People Harry loved and hadn't seen in months. Those ones didn't hurt as much. Not like it hurt when it was people he had loved and lost.

Arthur had told him not to trust anyone. Some nights, he didn’t even trust himself.

He was going mad, sending away whoever it was that wore Cedric’s body, that showed up in his mother’s face, that slipped into Sirius’ limbs like they would into a coat. People he trusted, people he loved, and whose memory would forever be tainted by this, in his mind.

The night Draco Malfoy showed up, Harry thought it was another mind trick. Then, he realized that it broke the pattern. He’d never trusted, never loved, never even tolerated Draco Malfoy.

But there he was. He showed up, nose bleeding, broken arm cradled against his chest, miserable, everything Harry raged against. His tears shone bright silver over his cheekbones, down his jaw, carrying magical energy, draining him.

“Please,” he said. “Please, I don’t know where else to go.”

Harry didn’t trust him, he shouldn’t help him. But he did. He mended the fractured bones, cut his own palm with a knife and gave him some of his magical energy, poured it right into his gaping mouth. Saved his life.

Malfoy stayed.

Something like guilt, if he was still capable of that, draped itself across Harry’s shoulders as he fed him their food, let him drink from their goblets, gave him their healing potions.

He didn’t trust him. He didn’t trust himself.

Malfoy talked, at least, which was useful.

“Portraits.” He coughed, shivery from the core-loss. “They all have hundreds of them, their magical energy split. Not their souls, that’s not sustainable, it’s their magical energy. And they take them out, give them life. There’s an energy source, and an ancient spell, a rune ... I wasn’t told, but I saw, she performed it in front of me. Please, I’ll tell you. I ran. I need your help.”

Harry didn’t need to ask who she was.

“I can fight. I can help. Please. Please, they killed my mother.”

And there were the tears again, but crystal clear, no longer carrying Malfoy’s power. Harry had successfully stopped the drainage.

“I shouldn’t.”

“Please. Write to your general, I’ll say anything, I hate her.”

There had been a time in which Malfoy’s desperation would have made him feel at an advantage, would have made him laugh, prod at the wound. But that time was long gone, desperation was the only thing he knew now, as well, and there was no winning. It was a winless fight. Malfoy was too human, too scared, not an instrument of war.

“No. We don’t know he’s telling the truth, I forbid you from sheltering him.” Kingsley’s letter said.

There’d been a time when things had been simpler.

But the war raged, the weeks blended into each other, and the pain, renewed as it was every single day, numbed him.

Harry was human. Harry was scared. Harry was an instrument of war.

He sheltered him anyway.

“One wrong move, and you’re out. You have one chance.”

Malfoy nodded, weeping right there in the trench, in his blood-stained clothes. Harry couldn’t afford to distrust him, was too busy staying alive.

And Malfoy did not fail him. In the morning light, dozens of Death Eaters Harry had killed a million times marched into the battlefield, and Malfoy fought next to him. Harry’d not had anyone watch his back in months, and it made for a nice change.

At night, they fended off the imposters, and Harry fed him his own magical energy, watched him grow stronger with it. His core was inexhaustible, he knew. He didn’t have to send Malfoy away to regain strength, he gave it to him, every single night.

It was forbidden, but it was also the only thing that seemed right in the vortex of destruction he’d been living in.

“She keeps an artifact at the Manor. It looks like a prophecy, is kept under lock and key inside her chambers. I saw it, she made me clean it once. I think it’s the source of all this. I think if you destroy it, this will be over.” Malfoy said, three weeks after they’d been fighting side by side. He looked stronger, energized, and if Harry closed his eyes, he could feel his own magic inside Draco’s corestream, like an extension of himself.

“How?”

He felt Draco prodding back, felt him extending his energy so it circled back to Harry, so it flowed freely between them.

“There’s no time to look. Burn down the manor.”

The discovery that they could access each other’s magic should have been monumental, yet felt like nothing at all. They’d known, they’d experienced it every night for weeks. An intimacy unlike any other, between enemies, between allies.

“I thought I forbid you from taking him in.” Kingsley’s letter said, when Harry proposed the idea. It didn’t feel like a reprimand. It felt like a father, telling a child off for keeping a stray kitten. “I have sent reinforcements to the front, come to headquarters. Both of you. We’re burning the house this week.”

The plan was to march off to Malfoy Manor the morning after they arrived at headquarters. Instead, they slept for three days straight.

They were in different rooms, but Harry only had to close his eyes to trace his energy back to Draco, and it soothed him.

They’d been enemies. They were human, they were scared. Now, they were allies. Now, they were one, more than they were two.

“I think we can read each other’s minds.” Malfoy said when they woke up, except he wasn’t anywhere in the room. The voice had come from Harry’s head.

“So it seems.”

They found each other in the kitchen, had breakfast, made vague conversation, not a single word spoken out loud.

“Is the war ending?”

“Once they stop multiplying like crazy, we can beat them, and stop fighting. Live our lives, maybe. But I don’t think the war will ever end, Draco.”

He wanted to explain that he felt like he would carry it forever, but he didn’t have to. In the space between thinking it and wanting to communicate it, he already had.

“I know.”

For the first time in months, when Harry searched inside himself, he didn’t feel empty. There was energy, magic, there was someone else with him, in the space that had existed between his anger and his grief.

“Also, I can do wandless now," Draco added.

“Yeah, that’s on me.”

“Do you think this means we are …?”

“Yeah.”

They showered.

After, they apparated to Malfoy Manor, didn’t even have to touch to do it together, the crack of the spell going off in unison, turning heads once they arrived. The entire Order was there, and, in front of them, the house aflame.

The Manor bled. It bled tendrils of black magic that dissipated into thin air, screamed, called to the tooth hanging at Harry’s neck. He wrapped his fingers around it and held it tight — his trophy, his burden.

All that was left of the enemy army were twenty wizards that scuttled out of the blazing house like fleeing rats. She wasn’t amongst them. Somehow, Harry knew she’d died trying to protect her energy source. He knew that he would have, and soldiers weren't so different.

He and Draco took care of the survivors, both their powers pulled into a single explosion of green.

“Wow.” Hermione said, standing next to Harry.

“We think it’s over.”

“You two are …”

“Yeah.”

“Permanently.”

“Yeah.”

“You know that’s forbidden.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

The year had bled, had been an open wound. Then it had been cleaned and stitched, messily, but closed. It ached. It bore the name of the friend Harry had loved the most, his other half. It would never go away, it would scar.

But it was healing.

Harry reached out with his magic, and felt Draco meet him halfway.

-

Written for @drarrymicrofic prompt "forbidden"

[sailormoonandme]

Usagi’s Evolution as a Healer Goddess

The other day I saw a post discussing the evolution of Usagi’s fuku and it occurred to me how Eternal Sailor Moon’s costume was her first Senshi uniform to ditch the tiara. 

That in turn led me to consider how that kind of makes Usagi weaker as it removes a very useful weapon for her. After all, if you include the movies, Usagi uses some variant of Moon Tiara Action in practically every season prior to Stars.

However, dwelling more upon it I realized how this tiny change was all too appropriate for Usagi’s character development.

Firstly, by supplanting the Tiara with her Moon planetary symbol, Eternal Sailor Moon more closely resembles both Queen Serenity, her own Princess Serenity form and her future self as Neo-Queen Serenity. 

Since all three are objectively more powerful than Usagi typically is as Sailor Moon I think the change emphasises how she has ‘levelled up’ in her Eternal form. When combined with the angel wings, Eternal Sailor Moon shifts Usagi visually closer to her future self as NQS, which in the anime is implied to be her most powerful incarnation.* It is almost as though the visual was communicating that the Divine Miracle Magic that she’d previously drawn upon as Princess Serenity in Classic-SuperS had now become ingrained in her standard Senshi form and thus was more accessible to her. 

It was in thinking of her previous efforts as Princess Serenity that I inevitably recalled her duel with Metalia/Beryl in episode 46 and realized that Eternal Sailor Moon was the first time since Classic that Usagi’s default attack was a healing  technique not a destructive one. 

Moon Healing Escalation was Usagi’s first healing technique but until Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss (and it’s later upgrade, Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss) it was also her only healing technique. 

Between regaining healing techniques and ditching her tiara/other destructive attacks/weapons, I think this represents her subtle growth in both her power and status. After all, it is a sad fact of life that it is easier to destroy something rather than fix it, thereby making the latter far more impressive.**

This skewing towards healing power rather than destructive power is also (arguably) thematically appropriate given the nature of Sailor Moon as a female power fantasy as (rightly or wrongly) the act of healing is typically coded as feminine. 

We can even take this further by examining things from the ‘opposite direction’ as it were.

Consider that in the climactic final episodes of Sailor Stars, Eternal Sailor Moon’s healing technique actually fails her when used against Galaxia. In later episodes, upon adopting her Princess Serenity form (complete with larger and more obviously angelic wings), she uses a sword to duel Galaxia.

Obviously a sword is, at least predominantly, an offensive weapon and can therefore be viewed as symbolic of aggression; let’s leave any Freudian or gendered interpretations alone for today. Her use of the sword is highly uncharacteristic (in the anime). Even her explicitly offencive weapons (like the Cutie Moon Rod or Spiral Moon Heart Rod) weren’t as clearly aggressive nor obviously violent. Desperate times calling for desperate measures? Perhaps, but we might also speculate it was her subconsciously reacting to grief. Not only can grief make you act in ways you wouldn’t normally, but a sword after all was a weapon wielded by her lover in his Prince Endymion incarnation. Her lover whom Usagi had just learned Galaxia had murdered. In other words, amidst her grief she reacts by going too hard in the other direction after healing her enemy proves ineffective.

However, when all is said and done the sword fails her.*** Ultimately is simply escalates the conflict by prompting Galaxia to become Chaos Galaxia and thereby make Usagi’s chances of victory all the slimmer. If we wished to stretch things, you could perhaps say that this is a commentary about how war and violence ultimately begets yet more war and violence.

Even if that is an over extrapolation though, it still served to emphasis the point that a sword is not befitting of Usagi, that she was doomed to lose if she continued to battle with destroying her enemy as the end goal.

In fact, her road to real victory begins when she not doesn’t attack Galaxia but makes it easier for herself to be attacked. In the end, Usagi doesn’t confront her most powerful enemy as the God-Queen of the future, the demi-goddess Princess of the distant past, the sailor-suited soldier of love and justice in the present, nor even a humble school girl.

She does it by literally stripping herself of all those things, of stripping herself of everything in fact.

Her weapons? Gone.

Her other items, like her Tiare? Gone.

Her comrades? Gone, and they’d be powerless against Galaxia anyway.

And finally, even her clothes? Gone!

Beyond the Silver Crystal (an outward visualization of her heart/soul) and the angel wings (symbolic of her role as a saviour) she is completely (but tastefully) naked.

Usagi visually and quite literally is more vulnerable  than she’s ever been, even more so than on her first night as Sailor Moon.

And yet this is Usagi at her actual most powerful.

It is her distilled to her absolute essence as a person, all other trappings removed. She’d just one person showing another they will categorically not harm them, that they bear them no malice and they have nothing to hide. That openness and compassion is what ultimately enables her to connect to the good within Galaxia and pull her away from the darkness that had corrupted her.

Usagi in this moment completely fulfilled her character arc.

·      In the Dark Kingdom arc Usagi destroys (or seals away depending upon your POV) Beryl/Metalia.

·      In the Hell Tree arc, Usagi resolves the over all plot via a healing technique (although it is functionally similar to a destructive attack). However, that only happens because the Hell Tree both instructs Usagi to do that and because it lets her. It is the equivalent of a sickly doctor instructing a nurse on what to do to make them better. The nurse might have the power but their agency as a healer is limited.

·      In the Black Moon arc, Usagi, with help, destroys Wiseman/Death Phantom. 

·      In the Death Busters arc, Usagi does save Hotaru and ‘purify’ her. However, like the Hell Tree, that was something Hotaru wanted. Additionally, her purification functioned as a way to heal the body of someone sick and who wanted to sacrifice themselves, not someone actually evil. The evil in question was Pharaoh 90 and it is presumed that Usagi destroyed him (although it might’ve been Hotaru or the pair of them together). 

·      Forgive me for skipping the Dead Moon Circus arc as Chibiusa is the real protagonist there, and Usagi’s role is chiefly as a rescuer. It therefore doesn’t really apply, although the Nehelenia mini-arc from Stars is a different story. There, Usagi was a healer again, but she did it with the help of her loved ones and with the aid of her Tiare device. Nevertheless, we can see by this point Usagi’s capacity as a healer heroine had been gradually growing until we get to the battle with Galaxia.

By the end of series, Usagi has successfully healed Galaxia and it is neither with the aid of her comrades, nor with the power of a weapon or device, nor with any instructions from her ‘patient’ or any other third party.

Additionally, Galaxia (unlike Hotaru) wasn’t someone’s who was saved from a noble self-sacrifice or had a physical ailment that needs to be addressed. In Galaxia’s case, her very soul had lost it’s way and become corrupted. She had lost who she was supposed to be and her purpose in life had been perverted.****

When combined with how powerful Galaxia always was, how Chaos and the Star Seeds empowered her further, Usagi’s victory here cannot be understated.

Her ‘patient’ was more powerful than all her other adversaries, was in need of more healing than her other ‘patients’ and was more resistant to being healed. Not to mention, since she’d directly murdered her beloved friends (and indirectly aborted her future daughter), Usagi would’ve been forgiven for not  even trying to salvage Galaxia 

And yet, with no weapons, no backup and just the power of her heart and soul basically, Usagi succeeded. 

After Stars the idea that Usagi could heal the entire planet after a global catastrophe and reshape it into a fairy tale crystalline utopia was all too believable.

What’s healing one planet when her ability to empathise had already healed a whole galaxy?

Who needs a tiara to reduce evil to dust when you can simply convince evil to be good?

*This is arguably symbolized by baby Hotaru’s vision of NQS transforming into Eternal Sailor Moon in episode 1 of Stars.

In fact, we might argue that a low-key subplot running through all of Stars (both the Nehelenia and Galaxia portions of it) is gradually transitioning Usagi closer to the person she is destined to become as Neo-Queen Serenity, hence why the first episode features the most explicit reference to her fate as Queen since R. 

**Personally I am an atheist, but nevertheless I and others like me can grasp why  deities in most major religions through history weren’t simply capable of mass scale destruction, but also of essentially manipulating reality to create  things too.

By that same token, it’s little surprise that perhaps the widest spread religious figure in history was Jesus Christ who rarely (if ever) engaged in aggression or destructive acts, predominantly employing divine healing powers.

I suspect the attraction of such figures to human beings lies in the fact that on some level we know that, given the right time and resources, we mere mortals would be capable of destroying anything. Given time it’s all but certain we will develop the technology to even destroy planetary bodies. On the flipside, I think we also intuitively grasp that  reversing  such damage, of reattaching a limb, of stanching bleeding, etc, is far more difficult if not impossible. Hence we attributed the ability to do such things to larger than life Divine Entities.

*** Now that I think of it, it’s also poignant that Usagi tries and fails to defeat Galaxia with a sword when we take Sailor Uranus into consideration. 

Uranus is of course associated with her weapon, the Space Sword and, like Usagi, tried and failed to use such a weapon against Galaxia.

Giving Uranus a sword is symbolically appropriate given her role as the leader of the more aggressive branch of the Sailor Team. Having her fail against Galaxia and Usagi consequently fail by in some way ‘mimicking her tactics’ is equally symbolically appropriate. Not only because of their ideological conflict in Sailor Moon S but also their tensions in Sailor Stars itself. In both situations Usagi’s more open, less aggressive, ideology was ultimately proven correct. 

Thus in using a sword against Galaxia it represented how Usagi was always doomed to fail by taking the aggressive/destructive route and how she was arguably not being true to herself in that moment. 

****It’s not to dissimilar to Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker now that I think about it. 

[asunafairywizardessheart]

Nine Months Series Part 3: Due Date

Elias/MC

Warning: Details of child birth.

Elias and Asana were due to leave the Goldstein Estate well after the New Year’s Ball they were scheduled to attend alongside his esteemed family. Being a Goldstein certainly had its obligations and responsibilities in the public eye.

However, it was well after that ball. Walter, Klaus and Alfonse had returned to their work now that the formalities of the festive season were over. Winter was starting to leave for another year bringing forth a blooming spring but Elias and Asana were still at the Goldstein manor after agreeing to attend more Goldstein functions delaying their return home until February.

Days ago Klaus had come to the manor bearing bad news.

“What?” Asana was bewildered by the news he shared with them in the study room.

“Are you kidding?” Elias wondered.

Klaus shook his head, “Would I joke about something this serious?”

“Well, how long until they fix it?” Asana asked him.

“Probably months.” Klaus answered her question, “Even with the use of magic to restore the damage, it will still likely take some months for it to be operable again.”

The only route to their home in the countryside had been completely destroyed by dark wizards. A bridge that provided train access to the countryside had been completely demolished leaving massive eighty kilometre gap in the tracks.

Being heavily pregnant, air travel was out.

“We can’t even get their by carriage?” Asana asked.

“That would take a couple of days and I don’t want you to risk going into labour on some random road ages away from help,” Klaus rejected her idea, “I think it’s best if you stay here.”

Elias and Asana panicked as nothing had been prepared for the baby’s arrival at the Goldstein estate.

“What? The baby is due any day now and there is nothing prepared here if I give birth here,” Asana stressed, “Even everything that I need is all prepared at home.”

Regardless of their arguments, Klaus strongly suggested that they remain at the manor until the bridge was repaired, “I know how you feel but as a doctor you would agree that travelling for days in a carriage could be a risk if you were to go into labour. If you give birth many hours away from the nearest town and something goes wrong during the birth, what would you do?”

As a doctor, she couldn’t argue with his logic there. While there was as much a chance of her surviving the journey home without going into labour, it was the same chance of her going into labour too. He was right, it was too much of a gamble.

She looked to Elias, “We can’t possibly impose on your parents like this.”

Mary had overheard the news too and approached the couple, “Don’t worry about that Asana.”

“Mother,” Elias turned to her voice.

Standing by her son she smiled at them, “ I would rather the three of you be safe here and I certainly don’t want to risk the health of my granddaughter and her mother by sending them home.”

“But, everything is prepared at home,” she argued.

“We will prepare swiftly for baby’s arrival here too,” Mary pinched both their cheeks, “We are family, right?”

That pinching twist they knew all too well along with that motherly tongue. They had no room to argue with her and she had already ordered a nursery to be prepared next to their chambers. It wasn’t what they had really expected or imagined.

“I know this is not what you wanted,” Klaus read their minds clearly, “But, it also can’t be helped. What difference is this home to your cottage in the village? You’ll get there again one day, just not in the next few months while the bridge is being repaired.”

He was right and they knew that he was too.

“Now Asana,” Mary gave her undivided attention to her daughter-in-law with a self-writing notepad hovering in the air next to her, “Tell me what you need and I will procure those items for you.”

“…Wait, what?” she didn’t want to use their money.

“Tell me what you need?” Mary quizzed again, “Any maternity clothes you may need? Bottles? Baby clothes?”

Since they weren’t expecting to give birth to their daughter in the capital they had thought to bring anything baby related with them. Which meant that everything had to be purchased once more, “No,” Asana refused her offer, “I can’t have you and Father foot the bill.”

“It’s no trouble. Besides, we are partially to blame for delaying your return home too.”

“But, I’d feel bad.”

Walter and Mary had already made plans to add a nursery next to Elias and Asana’s usual chambers. They had in mind the times they would come to visit the family during the festive seasons and for other celebrations that required them to come home. The base plans were already decided and the builders were already booked in to start construction.

“We were going to build a nursery anyway for when the three of you came home in the future. Now is a better time than never given the circumstances,” Mary refused to accept her daughter’s refusal, “I already called in the builders to start construction early. They are on their way as we speak.”

Klaus was impressed by her swift decision making and turned to his brother while Mary whisked Asana away from them, “As quick as ever,” he commented, “You can’t win against Mom when she’s like this.”

Elias agreed, “Yes. Did you end up catching the people responsible for the destruction?”

Klaus shook his head, “They are powerful and smart.”

“I appreciate you taking time to tell us,” Elias bowed to him gesturing his gratitude.

“I must go back to the investigation now,” Klaus reached for his coat he left on the rack near the entrance of the house and put it on before glancing back at his brother again, “Tell Asana not to stress too much. It’s not good for Charlotte.”

“Are you still confident that you have correctly guessed what her name will be?” Elias smirked at him.

“Am I wrong?” Klaus smirked confidently.

Walking him out onto the marble portico Elias warned him, “Just don’t tell anyone else until we have.”

Broom in hand Klaus was ready to depart the property, “I won’t,” he said mounting his transportation and hovering in the air, “I don’t want to miss Alfonse’s reaction.”

With that last remark, he flew off into the sky his magic power kicking up a gust of wind.

Asana meanwhile, lost the fight to Mary. She had given in to her mother-in-law to buy what they needed under the circumstances since they couldn’t return home in time for the arrival of their daughter. Elias had caught up to them as Asana reluctantly listed everything she needed verbally. The quill catching every word onto a notepad.

“That should be all I need,” Asana finished.

“Excellent,” Mary ripped the paper from the notepad.

Neatly folding the paper into a rectangular shape she tucked it inside her purse. Collecting her handbag she headed for the front door just as a carriage pulled up outside. She turned to face them, “I will be home after I have done shopping for everything.”

“Wait?” Asana couldn’t comprehend her urgency, “You’re going now?”

“Yes,” Mary answered her feet trudging to the door, “Time is of the essence and we don’t hold the clock to control it. Baby Goldstein does.”

Before any more protests could be made, Mary was out the door and the carriage transporting her pulled forward following the looping pebble path toward the street.

“She’s so fast,“ Asana amused.

Unbeknown to Elias and Asana, it was a stroke of luck that Klaus had so strongly rejected them travelling by carriage in order to get home to their mountainside cottage. Another stroke of luck that Mary had organised a nursery to be assembled so quickly. Because time was not on their side.

It had been a day since Klaus had told them about the bridge and how a couple hours on the express train home would be impossible.

Elias accompanied his father to the workshop where the family’s prized magical tools were produced. Mary went to a luncheon with a bunch of wives of ministers. Klaus decided to finish his investigation reports in the comfort and privacy of the manor. Alfonse deciding to procrastinate in the study on the second floor. Asana finding herself suddenly alone in the big mansion.

When she was with others it never seemed so grand. Although an accepted member of the family, she still felt weird walking around alone. It felt like she was always sneaking around. For the next couple of months Asana would be nursing her newly born daughter within these walls. It wasn’t how she had imagined but the manor was still a home for them and would be for their daughter too.

Feet padded in slippers and a robe hugging her body, Asana wasn’t aware Klaus and Alfonse were home but tucked away in different areas of the house. She stretched for body as she made her way to the kitchen downstairs for her back had started to throb since late afternoon yesterday.

She had nothing particular planned today since both parents and Elias put her under strict instructions to take it easy while they were out. Her back pain was noticeably worse this morning than it was yesterday but she thought nothing of it. She did happen to be in the mood for baking and hoped the exercise would help soothe her back pain.

An enormous kitchen fit for the finest chefs was cleaned spotlessly. Right now, it was empty and provided her with the perfect opportunity to make something easy and quickly. She just had to decide what to make with the ingredients on hand.

“Let’s see,” she studied the contents inside the pantry, “There’s flour, baking soda, cocoa. I’m pretty sure I saw eggs and milk in the fridge too. Oh, vanilla extract too. Cupcakes it is!”

As she moved around the kitchen, her back pain only worsened and she could swear the pain had spread around to her belly as well. “O-Ouch,” she grimaced as an almost unbearable ache travelled along her nerves.

She took a deep breath to desensitise the aching. Taking a moment to gather herself she went ahead to open a small bag a flour. As she reached for the measuring cup and sifter, the discomfort returned. The sensation was dull but enough to immobilise her movements, “O-O-Ouch,” she wore a painful expression.

The aching felt like it had drained her strength that she used the sturdiness of the kitchen island to support her body as she sank to the floor. Her desire to bake cupcakes was forgotten as this never-felt-before pain became relentless. Tears began spilling from her eyes from the pain she was experiencing.

“…Wand?” she murmured to herself, “Where did I put it?”

She wanted it but remembered she had left it upstairs in their chambers. That realisation only made her tears multiply and stream down her cheeks to hang and fall from her chin. All she could do was wait until someone came home.

“Elias!” she called for him over and over again through breathlessness and teary eyes, “I need you to come home now,” she hoped somehow he’d telepathically hear her.

Upstairs Alfonse decided to bother his brother, “Working from home today?”

“Yes. Go away,” Klaus shooed him.

“Don’t be like that,” Alfonse refused to leave, “I came by to ask if you wanted something to eat from the kitchen.”

“Not hungry,” Klaus replied.

“Alright then,” Alfonse now took his leave, “You sure?”

“Go away.”

“Going!” his voice drifted down the hallway leaving the door to the office wide open.

“Close the door!” Klaus scoffed.

Asana heard their loud voices from the kitchen, “Alfonse! Klaus! Is that you!?”

Hearing their names being called and sensing the distress in her voice they hurried downstairs.

“Where are you Asana?” Alfonse called out to her from the second floor.

“…K-Kitchen!” she almost screamed back as another uncomfortable ache spread through her body.

Sweat glistened across her face as she endured the intense pain she was feeling. While she waited for them to reach her, she felt a new sensation different from the dull and unbearable aching waving through her body. “…N-Not yet…,” she breathlessly begged. This new sensation felt like a slight pressure being released from within her body. The source of the strange pressure was now visible as a gush of fluid trickle from her onto the marble floor beneath her.

Running down the stairs they hurried to her side in the kitchen. As they came closer they could see flour strewn across the surface of the kitchen bench but couldn’t see her. “Asana, did you fall?” Klaus asked as both brothers suspected she was behind the middle island where she had laid out ingredients on the bench.

Without an answer to his question, she cried with a small scream passing through her lips as another ache, more intense from the dull pain she felt previously, sent waves through her nerves, “…C-Call… Elias please,” she cried.

They found her sweating across her face with eyes wet and streaks of hundreds of tears leaving a mark on her cheeks. “Klaus,” Alfonse pointed to the fluid beneath her, “I think she’s in labour.”

“Call Elias and a doctor” he instructed.

“What will you do?” he asked.

“Make her more comfortable,” Klaus placed her arm across his shoulder while Alfonse hurried off to the magic phone inside the house.

Carefully lifting her body into his arms he carried her to an unused bedroom inside the manor. Her entire body was damp with water from her sweat and tears and from the fluid of her water breaking. Being lifted into the air and moved from her position on the kitchen floor didn’t do anything to stop the pain.

Writhing and wiggling in her arms Klaus found it hard to carry her, “Hey, stop squirming.”

“Shut up!” she snapped at him, “This hurts!”

Never hearing her snap like that before Klaus was stopped in his tracks for a moment but resumed walking to the bed. He didn’t hold it personally against her since she was in labour, “I’ll forgive that one,” he chuckled, “Aren’t you happy you’re not travelling home right now like you wanted to yesterday?”

“W…Where’s E-Elias?” she demanded, disregarding Klaus’ question.

“Alfonse is contacting him,” Klaus assured her, “He’ll be here soon. Take some deep breaths.”

He stayed by her side for almost twenty minutes before he heard hurried footsteps coming closer to the door. Klaus expected Alfonse to return but barging through the door was Mary followed by Alfonse, “I’ve called the doctor, he’ll be here soon,” he told her and turned to Asana, “Elias is coming too, okay.”

Mary stripped her jacket off and rolled up her sleeves, “Klaus, towels. Alfonse, go get a cold damp cloth,” she instructed her sons while she stayed be Asana’s side, “Asana. Take some deep breaths.”

Klaus returned with towels from the bathroom ensuite inside the bedroom.

“Do you know how long she has been like this for?”

“We only found her in the kitchen just now when she called out to us about twenty to twenty-five minutes ago.”

“Her water was already broken?” she asked him.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Mary heard her, “Where is Alfonse with the cloth?”

Klaus went to investigate but before he could put a step forward, Elias barged through to the room with a cold cloth in hand. Mary saw him with the cloth in hand, “She’s feeling hot put the cloth over her forehead,” she instructed.

As he did so her pink eyes and pink smile gazed at him.

“I’m sorry,” he apologised, “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

“It’s…okay…,” she said reaching for his hand, “…You’re here now.”

Walter also returned home with Elias after he bolted without a word from the workshop, “How is she?” he enquired from the threshold of the door.

“Give her some privacy!” a familiar voice scolded from the hall with a black medical bag in hand, “Go on. All you men but the father may leave.”

Walter, Klaus and Alfonse were shooed from the room like flies with the door closed in their faces. Inside, Mary moved to the side and stepped in as a nurse while the doctor commanded the situation.

“Now then,” the doctor gloved up to inspect how dilated she had become, “We are not quite there yet. We’re only at four centimetres dilation.”

“What does that mean?” Elias asked.

“She has to be at ten centimetres dilation for the baby to be delivered,” the doctor explained, “She has many hours ahead of her yet.”

“Hours?”

“Childbirth isn’t a quick walk in the park, son.”

“Just keep her calm and keep that cloth cold, okay,” Mary instructed him.

“You went through this three times Mom?”

She nodded, “The first is usually the longest. Took eleven hours before Alfonse was born compared to you. You were pretty much right out.”

Elias blushed bright red, “M-Mom, seriously?”

Time seemed to pass by for what felt like an eternity. From the fresh morning to the start beginning to retire for the day but there had been now news about the baby arriving just yet. Klaus had completed his investigation reports while keenly listening for any movement.

Joining his father and brother in the tea room, there still was no news. He glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room the iron hands pointing at exactly four o’clock, “Nothing yet, huh?” he concluded.

“No,” Walter read the newspaper, “Babies take their time. She could be here now, she might be here tonight or tomorrow. It’s on their terms.”

Alfonse lounged lazily across the sofa abandoning a hot cup of tea on the coffee table. Klaus decided to brew a fresh pot to suit his taste. “I hope she’s here soon,” Klaus commented in the silence.

“Yes, I wish she’d hurry up,” Alfonse agreed, “Her poor mother.”

“I’m rather curious to know if Elias has made it through this,” Walter chuckled curiously.

Klaus waited for his tea to steep. Steam scented with the smell of assam only made him more impatient to drink the cup. He was quickly pulled from his daze when he heard the door to the birthing suite open. Exhaustion was evident on Mary’s face as she appeared in the tea room. There were hints of blood on her clothing.

“Well?” Walter enquired impatiently.

A tear fell from Mary’s eye, “She’s finally here. Mother and baby healthy and happy. Give them some time. Poor Asana is very tired.”

“You look tired too,” Walter stated.

“Oh, I am,” she laughed, “I’m going to clean myself up.”

Inside the birthing suite, Asana and Elias couldn’t tear their eyes away from their newly born daughter.

“She’s perfect,” Asana still cried, this time tears flowing with happiness.

A tiny human was enveloped within a warm blanket. Soundly sleeping. All cleaned up since being born and the umbilical cord severed.

“She has your nose,” Elias commented.

“You think?” Asana yawned, “She got nothing from me. She’s all you.”

Catching her yawn Elias swept strands of her hair from her face, “You did an amazing job bringing Charlotte into the world. You should rest.”

“I’m quite tired,” she admitted, “But, I’m sure your father and brothers are itching to meet her.”

Asana gently passed their daughter across into his arms and encouraged him to go show her off.

With careful steps Elias cradled his tiny daughter carrying her to the tea room where he could hear them chatting about nothing important. Alfonse saw him coming and bounced off the sofa. Walter restraining him.

“Quiet,” he scolded him, “She’s asleep.”

Standing before them Elias introduced his daughter to them, “Asana would love to join I’m sure but she’s sleeping right now. Everyone, meet the newest member of our family. Charlotte.”

“No, I was wrong,” Alfonse pouted.

Klaus chuckled proudly.

“How did you know?”

“Asana’s mother’s name was Charlotte. I had a feeling that’s what her name would be.”

Walter put a hand over his son’s shoulder, “Congratulations to the both of you. Welcome to the world little one.”