#this throne is not mine crap

[harpers-tartarus]

the funniest thing to come out this throne is not mine is the fact that Riz is, for the most part, unflappable, and contrary to popular opinion, Fabian cannot handle it when Riz does things he considers hot lmao

“I’m going on strike!” Adaine declared. “As the Elven Oracle?” Fabian surmised and she bobbed her head. “I don’t think that’s going to stop elves from teleporting to see you at Basrar’s.” “It might just make them more mad,” Aelwyn agreed, her doubt plain. “Don’t forget Riz killed a lot of them.” “They deserved it,” Riz said sourly. “Weak assholes that couldn’t take down a goblin rogue even with a surprise round until I killed so many of them. Pathetic.” “I need you to dial back the aggression, please, I’m begging you, The Ball,” Fabian said, his voice strained. “That’s just ‘cause you’re into it,” Riz replied pointedly. “Maybe you’re the one that needs to dial it back.” Fabian muffled his complaints into his hands and Aelwyn sniggered, extending a fist for Riz to bump.

[shybluebirdninja]

The Wrong Wedding

Summary: You and Bucky accidentally show up at the wrong wedding after his GPS leads you astray.

Pairing            : Bucky Barnes x Girlfriend!Reader

Genre              : Fluff

It all started with Bucky's insistence that his GPS app was better than mine. He was so confident—borderline cocky—about it. We were supposed to be headed to Steve’s cousin’s wedding, which was in the middle of nowhere, somewhere off a dirt road, in a place with more cows than cell towers.

“Trust me,” Bucky had said, flicking his phone screen with his vibranium fingers. “I’ve been using this app for ages. It’s foolproof.”

Clearly, Bucky hadn’t met the one fool who could outsmart even the most advanced piece of Stark tech: himself.

An hour into the drive, I noticed something was off. The trees were looking... different. Like, spooky, “I’m going to kill you and your super-soldier boyfriend” kind of different.

“Bucky, I don’t think this is the way,” I said, squinting out the window. “Did Steve’s cousin plan their wedding in the middle of a horror movie set?”

He just grunted, glancing over at me for a second. “Relax. We’re fine. GPS says it’s just a few more miles.”

I leaned forward and saw the little blinking dot on his phone. “What does ‘Danger: No Road Access’ mean?”

He blinked. “Probably just a suggestion.”

“Uh-huh. And what about ‘Entering Restricted Area: Authorized Personnel Only’?”

Bucky shrugged, his fingers tapping the steering wheel like he didn’t just guide us into a potential military test site. “It’s fine. Steve’s family is kinda military, right? They probably booked a spot near a base.”

“Right.”

Another fifteen minutes passed, and finally, we pulled into a parking lot filled with cars. There were people milling around, music playing, and... was that a fountain of champagne?

“See?” Bucky smirked, throwing the car in park. “Told you.”

I eyed the fancy decorations and wedding arches. “Steve said his cousin’s wedding was supposed to be a ‘rustic, simple affair.’ This looks like Beyoncé’s vow renewal.”

Bucky frowned, glancing around. “Well... maybe rustic means different things to different people?”

I shot him a look but shrugged. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with. But if this isn’t the right wedding, you’re making the speech to the bride and groom.”

“Deal.”

As we got out of the car, Bucky fixed his suit jacket, pulling at the cuffs like he wasn’t used to dressing up. I, on the other hand, was just praying my dress didn’t ride up in the wind as we walked toward the entrance.

The moment we stepped inside, something felt... wrong.

First of all, there were way too many people for Steve’s cousin. Secondly, there was a chocolate fountain. With gold flakes.

I leaned over to Bucky, whispering, “You sure Steve’s cousin isn’t like, the secret heir to a throne or something? This feels kinda royal.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the room. “Yeah, this seems a little... much.”

Just as we were about to turn around, a woman wearing a glittery, over-the-top dress—clearly tipsy—grabbed Bucky’s arm. “Oh my God, you made it!” she squealed, eyes wide. “Natalie will be so happy!”

I stifled a laugh as Bucky’s face froze in horror. The woman didn’t even give him a chance to respond before dragging us toward the dance floor, where the bride and groom—Natalie and some dude we had never met in our lives—were having their first dance.

“Yep,” I whispered, biting back a smile. “We’re at the wrong wedding.”

Bucky glanced at the bride and groom, then back at me. “You wanna leave?”

“Are you kidding?” I grinned. “Hell no. We’re staying.”

He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Why do I let you talk me into this crap?”

“Because you love me, obviously.” I tugged him toward the open bar, smirking. “Come on, might as well enjoy the free booze.”

We spent the next half hour trying to blend in, sipping champagne and stealing bites of hors d'oeuvres that looked way too fancy for regular humans. Bucky kept looking around, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. I, on the other hand, was living for it.

“So,” I teased, leaning on the bar, “when are you going to make that speech you promised?”

His face went pale. “You were serious about that?”

“Dead serious.”

Before he could protest, the tipsy glittery woman from earlier suddenly appeared, now holding two glasses of champagne. “Oh my God, you have to give a speech! You’re practically family!”

Bucky looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor. “I’m practically family?”

The woman waved him off. “Natalie will love it! Go, go!”

I shoved him lightly. “Come on, Barnes. Time to shine.”

He groaned but stood up, adjusting his jacket like he was going into battle.

As he took the mic, I could see him searching for something to say. Anything.

“Uh,” Bucky started, clearing his throat awkwardly. “So… weddings, huh?”

I bit my lip to stop from laughing. This was already a trainwreck.

“They’re... great,” he continued, glancing at the bride and groom who were staring at him expectantly. “You know, marriage is like... teamwork. Like... um, the Avengers. You got your Iron Man, who’s always doing his thing, and then there’s Cap—Steve—who’s, uh, really good at giving speeches...”

Oh. My. God.

I buried my face in my hands as Bucky rambled on about superheroes and teamwork, comparing marriage to “coordinating a mission,” and something about “taking down Hydra together.”

By the time he wrapped it up with, “So yeah... uh, congrats, I guess,” the room was dead silent.

Then, suddenly, the bride—Natalie—burst out laughing, clapping her hands. “That was amazing! Best speech ever!”

The rest of the crowd erupted in applause, and I couldn’t stop laughing as Bucky stumbled off the stage, red-faced and glaring at me.

“Did you really just compare marriage to taking down Hydra?” I gasped between fits of laughter.

“Shut up,” he muttered, downing the rest of his champagne. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You love me, remember?”

He grumbled something under his breath, but I saw the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

The rest of the night was a blur of dancing, stealing more fancy food, and somehow convincing Bucky to slow dance with me. He wasn’t great at it—he kept stepping on my toes—but seeing the Winter Soldier awkwardly trying to sway to a love song was probably the cutest thing I’d ever witnessed.

By the end of the night, we were sitting by the chocolate fountain, eating cake and pretending we belonged there.

“So,” Bucky said, licking some frosting off his thumb, “wanna tell Steve about how we crashed the wrong wedding?”

I shook my head. “Nope. This is between us. Our little secret.”

He smirked. “Deal.”

As we got up to leave, the bride ran over to us again, giggling as she handed Bucky a massive box of cake. “Take this with you! You guys were so fun, I’m so glad you came!”

Bucky blinked, looking down at the cake. “Uh, thanks?”

And just like that, we walked out of the wrong wedding, carrying more cake than we could eat in a month.

As we got into the car, I glanced over at Bucky, who was still holding the box. “So... GPS app of yours, huh? Foolproof, right?”

He shot me a death glare. “Don’t. Say. A word.”

I grinned, leaning back in my seat as he started the car. “Admit it, Barnes. You had fun.”

He didn’t respond, but the small smile on his face told me everything I needed to know.

And as we drove away from the most ridiculous night ever, I couldn’t help but laugh. Who knew the Winter Soldier could be such a troublemaker?

[calisources]

𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑? 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒.

All these quotes are taken from different media and some made from scratch about the royal succession line and the troubles it brought during a medieval/fantasy period. Change pronouns, names, titles and locations as you see fit.

You poison a king so that they may take his place.

Have no fear, Stark. I was only keeping it warm for our friend Robert. It's not a very comfortable seat, I'm afraid.

I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one.

Seat Stannis on the Iron Throne and I promise you, the realm will bleed.

I will claim the Iron Throne by myself, with your swords and your allegiance.

If Daenerys is no more than a sweet young girl, the Iron Throne will cut her into sweet young pieces.

Princess Catherine. Your loss has endeared you to the people. They share your grief.

 You've had your courses for days, but you do not tell anyone. I don't understand.

God would have me wed Prince Harry.

But you are his brother's widow. It is impossible. It is forbidden.

I am every inch the soldier... And commander.

In England, widows don't handle swords, much less a widow carrying a prince in her womb. 

And I'll wager that you were praying for a boy.

My mother is already planning my next marriage, though in God's eyes it will be my first marriage.

If you are still a maid, then, Catherine, I can be your husband. 

I will raise you up, you... you and all of England. You will be my princess and... and my queen.

Ten years since the king has been on the throne and there is no heir apparent. Only his brother, gods forbid. 

Daughters don’t inherit, sons do. 

You have a son but you must have a spare too. Gods know what would happen if the boy dies.

The line of succession is clear on these matters. Girls are the last resource.

I am a woman, whoever I marry must be clear on his duty. He is not the crown, I am.

His Majesty has no male heir and will have none but he, Buckingham will succeed to the throne.

By assassinating His Majesty.

Right of Conquest is still a rightful way to gain a throne. Has anyone banned it as a law?

Will you like it when an old man tries to make love to you?

 God forbid that the king should abandon her just to ease his own conscience. I don't think the English people would ever forgive him.

She is threatening the peace in this realm by playing the king with empty promises. No one can predict a son. 

Perhaps the succession must change, this dynasty is large and will survive.

Your Majesty, I beg that you yield to the King's will.

To your wife, the mother of your child. You treat me so unkindly and in public neglect me.

You think he might invade England in support of the queen?

You underestimate the support he/she has with the smallfolk and highborn alike. They would  go to war if you dismiss them.

Perhaps, one day this little girl will preside over empires.

Now I am indeed Queen.

Perhaps Elizabeth isn't even mine! 

Perhaps there should be reasons to annul the marriage and make the king consider marry another. He is still young. 

Nothing like a young bride to make a man forget his troubles. 

He will have his heir or else he will have my head.

Tell Sir Francis to double the guards around the Princess Mary and defend her with their life- for if the King dies, some will be for the boy, others for her.

There shall be a proclamation soon, the king shall announce his heir and the realm will rest.

A lifetime of building an empire can fall in a day because of the wrong successor to the empire.

It is not by blood, anyhow, that man's true continuity is established.

He became their king by right of blood; he's held the position by beating the crap out of anyone who tries to take it away.

When the crown is weak and struggles, anyone can come and sweep it away. And in this world, it is allowed.

This small council tried to work out what that meant for the line of succession.

If she were to wed him, her claim to the throne will increase, as her popularity. 

While the king entertains the highborns, the prince/princess makes friends with the people they rule. The decision is easy.

Whoever he marries is as important as how many heirs he can produce. 

Sons are good for the realm, Daughters are good for alliances. 

My father chose me, his firstborn child, to succeed him. He held to his decision until death.

They stole my crown and murdered my daughter, and they shall answer for it.

I would rather feed my sons to the dragons, than have them carry spears and cups for your drunken, usurper cunt of a king.

I understand why you're angry. And you are my sister and technically have a claim to the throne. And believe me, I would love for someone else to rule. But it can't be you.

Father would hate to see you sit in his seat, when it was never you he chose.

The pretty decent king split the crown between his heirs.

Proclamations are good, but this should have been in written, send to every corner of the world. Now we have war.

When the king needed to be replaced, one of the royal family would be elected to be the new king.

Succession is never peaceful. The King new this and the reason he called a council for his new heir to be chosen.

The line must always continue.

That little bit of dragon blood in him allowed Robert Baratheon to sit on the throne and continue.

Our son is a wastrel and a halfwit. We shudder to think of the throne in his hands.

My greatest hope is that you will surpass me in every way, consigning my name to some forgotten corner of history.

What's most important is what he isn't like—his father. I think you'll find him to be a reasonable man.

The King is easily controlled by those in his council. All too happy to give some of the power away to another.

A king is a martyr to their ideals.

If the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne.

Women can rule as wise as men, perhaps even more.

Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne.

Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?

We have royal wombs, you and I. The child bed is our battlefield.

Ten years you’ve been king, and yet not once have you asked me to be your Hand.

The princess remains your best bet to step closer to the throne. Seduce her, marry her. 

In the end, history will remember little, as history is written by the winners.

You have not one son now but two, Your Grace. Perhaps some changes to the successions are to be made.

I know why you are here. Men want my crown as much as they want the pleasure of a woman. 

I need to give the realm an heir and plenty of spares. 

What use is to gain a throne if you are already in crisis by having no heir by blood?

I can give you what she never gave you. Another son. 

Are the rumors true, then? There is a child in your belly? 

All of my father’s work will crumble if I leave it all to a weak sickly child.

[crazyk-imagine]

Old Age and Fated Bonds

Pairing: Felix Volturi X Hybrid!reader

Characters: Hybrid!reader, Alice Cullen, Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, Demetri Volturi, Aro Volturi, Marcus Volturi, Caius Colturi, Jane Volturi

Warnings: Reader protecting themselves, fancast Felix is here to slay, Edward being a big dummy, reader butting head with the dumbass, reader teasing her mate, Felix teasing reader, the feeding scene, the feeding scene makes me feral, this became oddly sexual, these vampires know how to seduce someone, Felix gives baby sub vibes, Felix and reader are a power couple, I feel like I made the reader a little bipolar but-

Word Count: 2,496

A/N: I wrote the feeding scene before work, lost it and then had to back track before leaving. I was so pissed but it's good. It's exactly what I wrote but a smidge different

The Volturi forget reader is a hybrid even after Reneesme is born then they're like oh wait it can be true, we have proof

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

"Felix, take your dearest to your room. We still have some unfinished business to attend to with the Cullens and Miss Swan."

He moves from beside you, placing a hand on your back to guide you out of the throne room.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Are you scared?"

"That doesn't answer my question."

"You haven't answered mine."

You purse your lips, rethinking whether he was hot or if you're so lonely you're desperate for contact. You don't glance up at him to know he's smirking.

"We're going to my room where you'll stay until I'm finished."

You scoff, "I'm not a dog."

"No, you are not."

"Thank you."

"Dogs know when to listen."

Your jaw drops, gaze falling onto the door as it clicks shut. You roll your head, listening to the cracking of your neck; wondering what you should do to get back at him for his comment.

You sit, thinking back to the moment that led you to your current predicament.

-

You made sure not to be too far from Alice, knowing she’d be more helpful to you than Bella or Edward.

You keep the block up in your mind, so he doesn't hear how much of an idiot he is.

The guards lead you to the infamous throne room.

You inwardly hum, taking note of every nook, crack, everything really.

It's such a gorgeous room, shame it's used for more torturing people for whatever they see fit.

You knew the Volturi had money (they've been around for so long, naturally they were bound to be rich). But seeing it, completely different than what the Cullens told you.

You glance back at the three and rush towards them, not needing to get lost or discovered. Someone would have a fit if that ever happened.

-

You're not paying attention to what the odd king is saying, not until a body being slammed down draws your attention to the people in front of you.

You step closer to the vampire with a pixie cut, watching as the tall and lean, attractive vampire practically throws Edward into the ground.

The corners of your lips twitch, not entirely empathetic towards him.

He made his bed, almost literally, and now he must lie in it.

You take the time to lean forward, wanting only her to hear you. "You didn't tell me they would be hot."

Edward groans, for more than one reason.

"Who said that?" Caius leans forward.

Aro claps with excitement in his eyes.

"Oh, crap."

"Demetri," Aro calls for him.

The vampire doesn't know what to do when he can't sense you.

He calls for the guard again, smile widening at his struggle to find you. "Magnifica!" He claps his hands.

Alice stands still, shaking her head.

You realize why she told you to stay quiet.

"Show yourself dear. I'd like it if you could show me who holds a power such as yours."

You don't move, clutching onto her coverup.

Aro notices and gestures for Jane to use her powers; they don't work because she can't see you.

Caius is irritated and demands you show yourself.

"Before you turned, weren't you ever scared? What do you expect me to do? Roll over and do as you say."

"That is no way to talk to your kings."

Edward huffs, "would you stop delaying this and show yourself already."

They can't see you to see your sarcastic and menacing smirk, although the tallest guard can sense a change in your attitude.

"Excuse me for one second." You stand before him, opening your mind slightly so he knows where to look. "I am so tired of your shit Edward, and you've pissed me off enough today." You hit him in his stomach.

He removes himself from Bella (who screams for someone to help him); as he bends forward, holding it; you grab him by his neck.

You had yet to realize as you fight him, you're not using your power and begin showing yourself.

You lean close to his ear, "better hold on. Wouldn't want you to fall before I'm through with you." You lift him off the ground, his feet dangling (shocking everyone watching) and slam him into the ground.

Kneeling beside him, applying pressure to your grip, watching as the crack appears. "Next time, don't piss me off." You push yourself off the ground, brushing away the imaginary dirt.

You slowly lift your head, realizing they can see you. A shy smile breaks onto your lips, followed by a nervous chuckle, "hey."

Aro claps his hands like crazy, walking towards you with a bounce in his step.

An unmuted scent floods Felix's nose as he stares at you, somehow finding his way beside you.

You notice the way the silent king is gesturing for his brother. "I think your friend wants to chit chat."

He turns and reaches for his hand. "What a pleasant surprise and all thanks to the Cullens and Miss Swan."

You furrow your brows, turning around towards Alice. "Alice?"

She hums.

"I would remove yourself from my sight before I do the same to you as I did your brother."

Her eyes widen, this was not how today was supposed to end. "What? I-"

"Do as I say, they already have someone waiting at the door to escort you. I don't appreciate being lied to and I will not tolerate it. If you don't want your major to end up in a fight, I'd leave."

The three walk away.

You huff, crossing your arms before smirking. "I know you want to hurt me, blondie."

Her glare hardens.

You spin around and chuckle before finding the king’s eyes on you. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"A pleasant discovery has been made today. You are Felix's mate. How wonderful."

You stare at the weird king. "This is not where I saw today going."

He giggles, "I know, dear, but now you get to enjoy your new life within the walls of this castle."

"Is that supposed to persuade me?"

He merely smiles.

-

Some time passes and he's back.

"You haven't moved?"

"I have nowhere to go. No plans, no friends."

He removes his cape, carefully hanging it up.

"Aren't you going to be punished for not wearing a piece of your ensemble?" You chuckle.

He finds himself smirking, it was a good joke (or is he just saying that because of the bond, he doesn't care because you're all he cares about). "Funny."

"I know I am."

"Do you-" he struggles to find the words, not wanting to make you uncomfortable. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about?"

"You know what I'm referring to."

You roll your eyes and chuckle to yourself.

He takes your chin between his thumb and index finger, turning your head to look at him. "I will not allow bratty behavior to come from you."

Your eyes widen.

The corner of his lip curves upward, "still think I'm hot?"

"You know I'm not afraid to fight you."

"I know, watching you take down the Cullen was," he leans in, nuzzling his nose underneath your jawline, placing a tender kiss there. "The highlight of finding my mate."

You melt under his touch before realizing the words he said. You push him back. "I'm sorry. What?"

"You're my mate."

"I heard that."

"It didn't sound like it."

"I," you push yourself out of the seat, walking past him; not noticing him drooling over you as you do.

His eyes never left you as you pace and unintentionally use your powers. He settles himself in the chair. "Where'd you go?"

"I'm still here," you tell him, standing beside him. "It's just- it's a lot to take in, you know."

He nods, "I understand."

"How are you so calm?"

"One of us has to."

You purse your lips.

He reaches for you, pulling you into his lap to calm you. "I know it's going to take a lot before we have a proper bond of trust built but believe me when I say, I'm with you. You are not alone."

You snuggle deeper into his embrace, eyes closing as today’s events took a lot of your energy.

He settles you into his perfectly made bed, watching over you for a few minutes before exiting the room, grabbing his cloak on the way out.

-

You wake, finding no one around.

It saddens you a bit, but you know that he is a busy man and just because he's found you doesn't mean his schedule is going to change entirely.

The burning in your throat returns, how long has it been since you fed? Apparently too long.

You exit the room and search for something, anything to satisfy yourself.

You know a feeding tour is going to happen tonight, they mentioned it earlier.

-

You wander through one too many halls and the faint scent of humans’ wafts through your nose. You follow and find a group being led into the room; you can only assume is the waiting room.

You manage to sneak in using your powers, giving you the advantage of pretending to be one of the tourists and the opportunity to pull one of the humans with you, sinking your fangs into their neck.

The others finish, but you continue, always being one to take your time making it more special (in case it was ever your last time or before you met the Cullens).

Demetri rapidly taps on his friend's shoulder.

Felix groans, tossing the person he fed on aside. "What?"

"Look."

He turns in the direction of where his friend was pointing and finds a peculiar sight. "I think your mate is more than what the kings realized."

He steps away, ignoring the babbling as he makes his way towards you.

You open your eyes, giving whoever is petting your hair a fierce look.

How dare they interrupt your feeding until your eyes focus and you find your mate in front of you, his body blocking yours.

He removes his hand from your hair, reaching for the human's wrist, slowly sinking his fangs into their skin.

As you two finish, he tosses them aside, reaching for your chin.

He pulls you closer like he did earlier, his cold breath fanning against your warm and bloodied lips, sticking his tongue out, licking the last remains away; only he can leave marks on his beloved. "You have some explaining to do."

You nod as if hypnotized before yawning. "After a nap, I can explain everything to you."

He nods and lifts you up into his arms, letting you settle in before he starts exiting the room; ignoring the teasing looks he knows Demetri is throwing his way.

He debates on setting you in his bed or sitting in the chair and letting you rest on him directly. He pulls the covers over you and listens to your soft and calm breathing.

-

You wake to a dark room but know he's still nearby, turning to find your suspicions to be true.

He stays still, keeping his gaze on the book.

"It's upside down."

He tries to read a page and flips it over, finding it to be true. "No wonder I couldn't read it." He furrows his brows, "how'd you know?"

"I sold that book to an annoying man back in my younger days."

"How old are you?"

You lay on your back, staring at the ceiling. "You know, it's never wise to ask a woman her age."

"I can handle you, I'm not afraid to ask." You sped out of the bed, using your powers to gain the upper hand and yank him out of the chair, straddling his lap. Your hand on his neck keeps him hooked to the ground.

He stares up at you amazed by every way you move and think. His hands find their way towards your hips, grounding you to him as if you could sink further into his grasp.

"I'm old, honey."

"Yet you've never looked younger," he smiles up at you.

You roll your eyes and push yourself off him, "you're just desperate for my touch," you tell him with a teasing tone.

He watches you walk around the room before taking your place on the bed.

You cross one leg over the other and slightly lean back, letting your neck rest on your shoulder. "Do you plan on telling them or should I?"

He's quiet, not ready to share you with anyone else (you assume).

"We can wait till tomorrow."

He nods, preferring that option.

"If your friend can keep his mouth shut."

Felix rubs his face with annoyance.

"If he does blab, you should at least know... I'm a rare breed as they say."

"What does that mean?"

"I can survive on human food or blood. My father was a vampire while my mother was human."

"And... then you arrived?"

You nod. "Apparently, my father was, as some say, a man whore and fell for my innocent, virgin mother then their miracle baby arrived but when she died, so did he."

"Why?"

"They were mates, the purest of bond for mates."

"But you were left alone?"

"A doctor found me," a fond smile breaks out onto your face, "and helped the any way he could before he got sick."

"How'd you get involved with the Cullens?"

"I may have," you shrug. "Had to get them out of town before our kind was discovered."

He nods.

"How do you feel?"

"About?"

"This whole mate thing. It was thrown upon you; you didn't really have a choice in this."

"I'm surprisingly, fine."

"Fine? Just fine? I'm kind of freaking out here again and- hey!" You tilt your head to stare into his eyes. "You licked me."

"That was hours ago."

"I- shut up."

He smirks.

-

You don't know when you fell asleep but find yourself waking just before sunrise. You push yourself up and look around the room, searching for the large man (you get to call yours).

"Looking for something?"

You tilt your head and offer a sleepy smile.

"No."

Felix raises a brow, clearly not believing a word out of your mouth. "I informed the kings of what you told me."

"And what they say?"

"Master Aro was pleased. Master Marcus was happy to inform me of our bond and it will become stronger with time."

"The blond one?"

"Master Caius is... it's hard to tell what he's feeling."

You open your mouth to call his name but find yourself drawing a blank. "What was your name again?"

"You don't know my name?"

"The weird one only said it once, what am I supposed to remember every name I hear? I'm a hybrid, not working at a place where I have to remember everyone's names."

He can't help but chuckle, surprised that you two didn't at least share this simple piece of information. "Felix. My name is Felix."

You smile and tell him yours in return. 

[harpers-tartarus]

Just me making a conspiracy board about the relationship between Galicaea and Sol and the destruction of Ankarna and Cassandra for my fabriz fic 👀👀😈

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Brennan said specifically that SOL didn’t steal Cassandra’s partners domain.

But we know that Galicaea and Sol were plotting against Cassandra. Galicaea seems to be no stranger to destroying a god and/or scooping up their domain.

And does anyone else find it really odd that the idiot corn god doesn’t just have corn powers, but also powers that seem to relate a whole lot to the powers of sun and summertime?

And the Unnamed God became not just a God of Rage, but also a God of the Nine Hells. Someone in opposition to the “Good” gods. Like maybe your wife’s sister and/or idiot nephew. And maybe they told this god that Cassandra had been behind their plot. So in opposition to her. Taking away one of the few supports she has outside her toxic family

Another thing… despite Riz/Murph’s insistence on saying “Demon” Bakur is a pit fiend. A devil. In service to a god of devils. Demons are famously opposed to Devils. Demons supported the Nightmare King, and it was with the help of devils that she was sealed in Sylvaire the first time. Which the Unnamed Rage God or their servants might do as an act of vengeance for Cassandra’s “betrayal”

There’s a lot of thread to unravel and I feel like Sol, Galicaea, and Helio are at the center of this mess

[yuus-sentient-teddy]

"You're staying here."

A/N: Spoilers for Prologue, Books 1-6, and certain events. Sorry! I've had this story in my drafts for so many months. I hope ya'll enjoy it and please let me know what you think.

EDIT: I accidentally posted this while in the middle of editing and decided to still work on it while it was posted XD

". . . What? Hang on--"

"Calm down, we just need you to be our in-between in case the beast gets to us. Having you up here means you can get to the Headmaster faster--"

"Wait, stop. Stop." Yuu squinted at Leona, incredulous. "You could have one of your dormmates do that. Your dorm is based on athletics, I'm pretty sure whoever he is could get to the Headmaster faster than me. Not to mention, I'm a Beast Tamer, I should be going with you guys!"

"You're also magicless." Leona was mercilessly blunt with that fact. The words reminded Yuu of all the jabs of random bullies throughout the schoolyear, and they gritted their teeth. Before they could argue back, Leona said, "I'm not saying that that makes you useless, but let's face it: you're not going to survive that oversized house cat unless you can put up a barrier or counter a spell."

"I probably wasn't meant to survive a lot of things since coming here, but look what happened--" Yuu spread their arms out--"I'm alive anyways."

"It's probably because you had one of us or Grim with you," Ace said. "Dealing with the ghosts at Ramshackle the first night and every other thing after that, Grim. Fighting the Phantom in the mines, the three of us. All of the Overblots, a group of us." He was counting off each instance with his fingers, clearly not sorry for making a case against Yuu. "I know you're not thrilled about being left out of something as big as this, but without Grim, you're not going to be able to do much, let alone protect yourself. We can't keep an eye on you either, so it's basically better if you stay here."

He didn't shrink away from the look of betrayal and anger on Yuu's face and stood still when they marched up to him. "Okay, first of all, when have I ever asked any of you to keep an eye on me? Yeah, never. And second in case you forgot, I've handled myself pretty damn well when it came to random magic crap. I literally can't count how many times I almost got burnt by fireballs, impaled by ice, and struck by lightning by people that can't aim, and there are a lot of them at this school. Yeah, Vargas's 'catch-up' lessons helped with my speed, but my point still stands."

They held up a hand, stopping Ace from rebutting. "And if you're going to bring up Grim probably throwing out spells with weird side effects, don't. I've suffered enough curses getting thrown at me and potions being snuck into my food to get used to weird effects."

"Wait, people have been doing those things?!" Kalim's eyes were wide in disbelief and shock. "Why?"

Yuu half-heartedly tossed their arms, palms turning upward, as a form of a shrug. "Probably because they're assholes and I'm an easy guinea pig. If we're being a little pessimistic, it's probably also because no one would miss me. Magicless nobody from another world and all that."

"That's a horrible thing to think about!" Kalim cried. The Ramshackle Prefect was a helpful person and tried avoiding trouble the best they could. Not to mention, they weren't in line for something major like a merchant business or a throne. How could anyone want to trouble Yuu? (And how could Yuu think no one would miss them?)

"No surprise they'd think that," Idia mumbled.

"Hate to break it to you, but even if you got potioned and cursed a lot, there's still going to be something you won't be able to handle," Ruggie said. "I get what you mean, though. I got cursed and potioned a bunch of times before I started working for Leona and still a little after. At some point, you're more annoyed than bothered by whatever happens to you."

There were times he saw his freshman self in Yuu. Struggling to understand the lessons, having to bear with a handful of cruel upperclassmen or fellow classmates, left to carry out a difficult task on their own... he sometimes may or may not have been at the right place at the right time to offer help--in exchange for a favor, of course.

"That still doesn't mean you should throw yourself into a fight without knowing what could happen to you," he added, almost scolding.

"I know, but I still helped with the Overblots, didn't I? I think that's enough proof that I can handle being in dangerous fights," Yuu said, crossing their arms. Their sleeve got pushed up and a healing scar on the back of their wrist was revealed, which caught multiple eyes.

Savanaclaw and the Leech Twins remembered the cry of fear and pain when the Octopus Phantom's tentacle snatched their arm, right after they had stepped out of the way of a funnel of water. Octavinelle and Kalim remembered Yuu being sent flying after the Genie Phantom shot a spell that created a force upon impact. They would have hit the wall like a rag doll if Azul didn't catch them with wind magic. The VDC group members remembered them on the ground, twitching sporadically as one of the Hag Phantom's regular sized apples innocently rolled away like it didn't poison them through touch. (Deuce panicked so hard he summoned a cauldron to crush it even though just stepping on the apple was all that was needed.) And who could forget Yuu yanking their arm out of a nest of thorny branches that had been summoned by the Dragon Phantom? They had scars from thorns that got particularly stuck.

After realizing they were staring, Yuu followed the gazes and put their hands in their pockets as casually as they could.

"If you're worried about us thinking less of you, I assure you we wouldn't," Azul said. "There's nothing about the offer that you should be worried about. Again, it's not because your magiclessness makes you less valuable. It's simply letting you avoid another troublesome fight."

He didn't turn on the charm; no smiles or overly fawning words. He was dead serious and it made Yuu uneasy. Why did he want them to take the offer? Although--and this uneased them much more--it was starting to feel like most of the boys were conspiring to keep them out of the fight.

"After everything you've gone through, you pretty much deserve this. Don't worry about Grim, either." Deuce pounded his chest. "We'll be sure to bring him back in one piece."

"I. . . appreciate. . ." Yuu gestured vaguely while also feeling that 'appreciate' was a strange thing to say. They didn't appreciate being pushed out of something important without being heard, and they weren't sure how to feel about the unexpected concern for their wellbeing, especially at a time like this. "I appreciate you guys wanting to give me a break, but I really am serious about coming with to save Grim."

They saw shoulders slumping and heard frustrated huffs. "Listen!" they yelled, starting to feel frustrated themself. "I almost lost Grim once! I need to be there to make sure I don't lose him again. I know you guys can do what I can't, I've seen you all fight before, and I know you all will be able to handle what's coming, but I can't stand being on the side again! So, like it or not, I'm coming with. And why do any of you care about me getting a few scratches or hits from magic, anyway? It's not like it hasn't happened before."

No one responded.

". . . Guys?"

Finally, Leona clicked his tongue. "So annoying. I told you all it would've been pointless to do this."

"What's going on?" Yuu scanned the faces around them, noticing how uneasy Jack and Riddle looked, how Ace and Deuce seemed to have something to say, how irritated or hesitant everyone else appeared. Malleus approached them and they immediately noticed his brows furrowed in concern. "Tsunotaro. . . ?"

"Two night ago, we all shared a prophetic vision, likely similar to what you have been experiencing as of late. All of us were gathered together battling the chimera form of Grim in the same area as the current one. He casted spells that were beyond his usual abilities, including one that made it hard to breathe. Somehow, in the blink of a moment, you ended up alone with him trying to get him to come to his senses."

Yuu held their breath as Malleus said, "But then he opened his mouth and lunged towards you, and the vision ended. Forgive us for not telling you sooner. It is difficult speaking of someone's prophesied death and we did not want you to lose your confidence."

Multiple eyes carefully watched Yuu process everything he said. Some wondered how this would affect their character (Malleus admired them for their courage, considering their circumstances, and Ace liked them for their gutsy and surprising moments; hopefully nothing would change).

Others hoped that Yuu would relent and let the group fight Grim without them (Rook was regretful of leaving Yuu behind, but someone as special as them needed to be kept safe; Riddle simply didn't want to lose a dear friend).

And others prepared to rebut Yuu if they were still stubborn about going (Leona was mentally groaning and Vil shared his sentiment; aside from the Freshman Squad's reputation for having hard-heads, the two understood how much Grim meant to Yuu).

The Ramshackle Prefect started to observe them in turn with an unreadable expression.

Then they scowled. "You all realize how fucked up it is to keep that a secret, right? I mean, shouldn't I be told I might be walking to my death? Or is it--I don't know. You all think I can't make my own decisions?"

"That's the thing, Yuu. You care a lot about the people around you, and when it comes to Grim, you'd do anything to keep him safe. Even if we told you about the vision, I'm willing to bet you'd try to convince us to let you come anyway," Ace said. "You're right, it was fucked up to keep the vision from you, but we can't let you be so careless about yourself, especially since it's basically confirmed you might die."

"That cat has no idea how lucky he is to have a patient and caring person like yourself," Sebek said. "It wouldn't do for him to learn it through severely injuring you."

"And actually, none of us would be able to stand it if you got hurt or worse and we had the opportunity to prevent it," Ortho said. "You've done a lot already. Just this once, we want to handle this without troubling you."

Yuu silently stared at their Squad, mouth agape.

"When we found out you had gone with Epel and Hunt to find S.T.Y.X.'s headquarters, we seriously thought wouldn't see you again," Deuce said. "You gave us a heart attack with what happened in Scarabia. What you did then was unbearable."

"I know it's pointless to think about, but I sometimes worry over what would have happened if I didn't get my Unique Magic in time," Epel said. "Seeing that vision of Grim pouncing on you, though. . . it's made it harder to sleep at night."

"Frankly, the headmaster could be more considerate of you," Jack said. "Having to take care of Grim and being a Prefect can't be easy. Not to mention, what was he thinking tasking you with stopping Azul?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the side. "On top of being a little reckless, it makes it hard to not want to pull you back from any trouble."

"So, whatever you tell us, we're not taking no for an answer," Ace concluded.

The anger they had towards everyone for their audacity to keep the vision a secret was dimmed a little (just a little) by their friends' worry for their well-being. At the same time, the worrying made their heart tremble and throat tighten. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath. "You know, this whole time I was expected to be a stone wall. I forgot what it felt like to be cared about."

"Huh?" multiple voices chorused.

"What do you mean by that?" Deuce asked.

"Well, I was pretty much thrown into a lion's den and expected to survive it. I wasn't given much sympathy either by nearly everyone I met, especially during the first month." (A few of the boys internally cringed, remembering the hurtful words he had said.) "There's also the fact that most of the school consists of pricks who are self-absorbed year-round. It's not very comforting to know that if something happens to me, there's a good chance no one's going to give me a hand, except if it's people I get along with or people who can benefit from my suffering."

"I don't blame you for wanting certain attitudes to change, but you know as well as I do that you'll encounter pricks and predators anyway beyond the school walls," Vil said but not without some sympathy.

"I do," they said bitterly. "Look, I get it. I shouldn't expect the world to hold my hand or offer me everything on a silver platter. But--god damn it, would it have killed anyone or even any of you guys to have some sympathy? To be a little more decent?”

"I was able to bear the atmosphere of NRC for a while, but at some point, it gets so fucking tiring. A student population that can't be a smidge nicer unless they're beaten up or more upfront about their actual intentions." They shook their head, then made a derisive sound. "That's why I'm having a hard time processing this. I'm sorry, but I can't wrap my head around the fact that you guys, who come from Night Raven College, are actually showing that you care."

The corner of their lip twitched upward, forming a broken smile. Concern was visible on everyone's faces.

"Yuu," Ace said, "are you okay?"

". . . No. I haven't been okay since coming here, or maybe I wasn't okay before coming here and it just got worse. I don't really know."

They turned their face to the side, but it was too late: everyone saw a tear slide down their cheek. Except for Grim and the rest of the First Year Squad, no one ever saw the Ramshackle Prefect cry. It strangely made everyone concerned, and some reached out a hand.

"Yuu..."

"Prefect..."

They raised a fist to their face, as though it could stop the tears before they could spill. They took a slow, deep breath to calm themself, but they never let that breath go in fear a sob would escape.

"Yuu." A hand gently touched their shoulder. "It's all right."

They shoved the person away. They couldn't see who it was from the torrent of tears that suddenly spilled and blinded their sight. "It's not!"

"I was starting to believe people when they said I wouldn't be anything! They told me I was useless and dumb and a nobody. They told me I should've stayed a janitor because I couldn't do anything right. They'd try to beat me up for some etiquette I didn't know or for some stupid reason."

Insulting Yuu's parents and them. . .

Riddle noticed Trey setting aside a big cookie during preparations for the Unbirthday Party. It was for Yuu. Earlier that day, someone or some people had stolen their bag and stuffed it with crumpled paper and empty food wrappers. Their notebooks--thankfully still in tact--had been tossed haphazardly around the school and led to the field where the bag was left. Trey found all this out when Ace and Deuce returned to Heartslabyul dorm scowling. The Unbirthday Party went on as usual, and Yuu seemed cheered up by the cookie and receiving the honors of petting a hedgehog. Much, much later, Riddle caught a bully red-handed and dished out the consequences for breaking Rule #53: You must replace anything you steal. Sadly, it didn't deter other bullies from stealing Yuu's bag, but Riddle still punished whoever he could for breaking an important rule and troubling someone so undeserving.

Threatening to take a tooth. . .

Leona overheard a conversation while napping in the botanical garden. In between sleep and waking, he initially thought he was dreaming the times he overheard the servants whispering disapprovingly about him. What made him wake up was hearing plots to get Yuu kicked out. He couldn't be bothered to care what ridiculous crap the herbivores in the other dorms or his juniors in Savanaclaw got caught up in, but this was something different. Joke or not, someone had to step in before either party gets kicked out--and that's what he did, telling the students off for planning something ridiculous and highly risky (and glaring harshly when he recognized some of the students as members of the Magift Club). After the students scrammed, he settled back down to sleep and his mind wandered to Yuu. He felt a little deja vu when he thought how they needed a tutor to keep themself from failing (and Grim too even though that fur ball could pay to be less annoying). It would dig into his rest time, but he had an idea for what Yuu could do to make up for that. Say, help a certain hyena finish his given tasks quicker.

"It feels like I'm only here for people to use or take from. I keep wondering why it always happens. Is there something wrong with me? Was there some invisible sign telling people I was a tool that didn't need repairs? Was I cheap labor because I'm on the bottom of some hierarchy?"

Taking Ramshackle Dorm away. . .

Once, Azul came across a group of students playing 'keep away' with Yuu and their lunch box. For a moment, he was reminded of his child self, trying to get back a seashell from a couple of bullies who were tossing it to each other over his head and taunting his slowness. He snapped out of his memories when Ace, Deuce, and Grim entered the scene, magic ablazed and yelling. It wouldn't be the first time he would see this happen: anytime anyone picked on Yuu while using magic, their friends would come to their aid. (If Azul had to be honest, he envied the Ramshackle Prefect for having people like the First Year Squad look out for them.) But then, some time after his Overblot, he came across a couple of students on brooms waving Yuu's homework from their perch. The sight particularly irked him, but before he could step in, one of the bullies lost his grip and a couple of papers got blown away. The rest of the homework got lost when he and his accomplice tried grabbing the sheets. It all drifted onto the wet grass below or sailed over the trees, and the bullies, suddenly remembering they had something more important to do, left Yuu scrambling to salvage what they could. Azul wouldn't forget the Prefect's face when they asked, defeated, what he wanted in exchange for helping them with the missing papers. He neither wouldn't forget their face when they asked how he had been able to deal with being picked on so much. For once, he didn't feel the urge to strike a deal.

Using them for a plan. . .

When the high of partying in the desert died down, all Jamil could think about was how he would tell his family that he Overblotted and why. It churned his stomach picturing their horrified faces, and it was made worse when he wondered what the Al-Asim family would do if they heard that their heir had been caught in a dangerous situation by none other than the loyal best friend. What would happen to him and his family then? Amidst the inner turmoil, the Ramshackle Prefect and Grim were far from his mind until he and Kalim found them practicing for the VDC tryouts. A proper apology was due, but he didn't have one prepared. It didn't seem to matter to the two, though, as they acted like nothing happened. As though he didn't force them to "solve" another dorm problem right after Grim expressed not wanting to. When Vil Overblotted, he saw Grim rearing to fight while voicing how troublesome it was to deal with yet another Overblot. His eyes slid over to Yuu. . . and it was crystal clear they didn't want to deal with anything anymore. They stared at Vil's cackling, levitating figure with despair, eyes telling of exhaustion and mouth tugging into a grimace, a sign of reluctant acceptance. He tried to protect them when he could from poisonous spells--emphasis on tried, since he still had Kalim to keep safe--and afterwards, offered leftover food whenever Scarabia had parties.

"Was an Overblot all it took for people to see me differently? I can't control how other people act, only how I respond. All I can do is take things easy and forgive, but I don't know if I can keep doing it. It's just. . ."

Their voice trembled. "So hard to keep going when it seems like barely anyone wants to consider you."

Word spread fast around Night Raven College and it wasn't long before Vil recognized that Yuu was in a challenging position: they lived in a literal ramshackle dorm, had to live on a small budget, and were entirely new to this world. He had to hand it to them, they possessed quite the will and backbone. After all they experienced, he counted himself lucky that they warmed up to him rather quickly--which was why he noticed how tensely quiet they became the night after their friends snuck a bite of unknowingly cursed dessert. When asked, they told him bluntly that it was painful seeing food used like that. They were struggling to pay off lunch debts and it was made much worse when already broken windows broke a little more or parts of the roof had to be patched up after a short downpour. Vil could see a little hunger in their eyes as they talked of instances where they had to decide between repairs and eating dinner that night, even the next two nights. He didn't know about their struggles in the first place, but he nonetheless felt terrible about what he did and deeply apologized. For the rest of the VDC training camp, he ignored any footsteps that came from the Prefect's bedroom and headed downstairs, even as they made the floorboard creak loudly.

Idia sometimes thought about how the Prefect looked when they thanked him for listening to their rambles of all the anime they watched back on Earth. The two of them were sitting in Ramshackle Dorm's lounge, waiting for the next level of the game to finish loading, when he glanced over. Serene and distant, like they had recounted a fond memory. He thought back to all the isekai manga, anime, and video games he consumed. Some protagonists seemed pretty eager to be in another world, others were immediately wishing to go back home, but those who expressed homesickness did it in a cool way, like staring at a moon while sitting next to a best friend (he did remember reading fanfiction where it was more emotional, though.) None had a protagonist talk about something as mundane as the shows they loved to watch, let alone a protagonist who would talk to someone awkward like him. Didn't Yuu have their squad for these sort of heart to heart things? But they insisted that he was the guy they wanted to talk to; according to them, he was the most similar to the friends they rambled to about anime and would very likely 'get' what they would be talking about. Idia was simultaneously flattered and frightened: flattered because his expertise in the media was recognized and frightened because he was in a position reserved for those with high relationship levels. In fact, he panicked when Yuu suddenly got teary-eyed. The saving grace was the next level finishing loading and the characters getting thrown into chaos. The next time he came to Ramshackle Dorm, he brought with him some anime he thought Yuu would appreciate.

"And that's the thing. I don't understand how people forget there's more to a person than whether they have magic. There were times I wished no one had magic so they'd just shut up and stop acting like they're better than me or anyone else. It's like having magic is an excuse to be an ass."

Yuu sometimes joined Malleus on his nighttime strolls. Most nights they would be sound asleep, which was why he treasured the times they were awake enough to walk with him. The two talked about anything that came to mind: gargoyles, schoolwork, differences between Earth and Twisted Wonderland. Then one night, Yuu casually mentioned that many of the students were rather. . . unwelcoming. "Some of them act like I don't exist, but it's better than getting my homework stolen and thrown to the wind." He was surprised, but not unfamiliar with bullying from Lilia's recollection of cruel humans and various history lessons. He asked why. They shrugged, answering, "Probably because I'm low on the hierarchy. I don't have basic knowledge on magic on top of being magicless." When he said it still didn't warrant such behavior, they smiled sadly and replied, "Well, that's how it goes when you got something another person doesn't, and that other person just so happens to not really fit in a certain place." Later, Malleus was distraught to hear from Lilia that some of the students who were unkind to Yuu were of Diasomnia. The dorm was founded on the elegance of the Thorn Witch, surely the students would act with decor. But Lilia told him not to worry, he had a word with those students on being more open. But Malleus still wondered if there was something he could do. It turns out the answer was simple (even though it took place after his Overblot): hang out with Yuu during the daytime. They were a fellow student, were they not? So why should they be treated any different?

"Sometimes, I wonder if anything would change if I Overblotted. Would anyone wonder then why it happened and be nicer? Or. . ." Yuu let out a bitter scoff. "Would nothing change and people just see me more as an alien freak?"

They scrubbed the tears in their eyes. "Maybe I'm just a dumb ass and my Phantom would just eat me. It's not like I have anything else to offer it. God, what am I doing?"

The weight of what they had spilled for the past couple of minutes started crashing down like a crumbling shelf. They didn't want to see what the others' reactions were and continued to wipe their eyes with their hands and sleeves, even if there wasn't much to wipe. Their mind cycled through anything they could say to escape such an embarrassing situation. So sorry, I didn't know where it came from. Let's go back to arguing why I can't come with you guys to save my cat. He has been nothing but a pain in the ass, I should know, but he's become nicer and been my primary protector. He keeps insisting he'd protect me because he's the boss and I'm his henchman, and it's so endearing sometimes. And he's comforted me when I become so sick and just need someone to hold me--

"How long has this been going on for?" It was a gentle question. Yuu lowered their hand and found Ace and Deuce standing before them, the worry on their faces making their heart clench.

"A long time."

"Why didn't you say anything? We could have done something, you know," Deuce said.

Yuu shook their head. "This school runs on sink or swim. 'Losers don't have the right to complain.' And did you guys forget that we're freshmen? What can you guys do against the whole school? I actually talked about this with the school counselor and all he could do was apologize and tell me he'll put in a note for the headmaster."

Yuu almost laughed at the faces Ace and Deuce made. "I'm pretty sure I'm his first case for something like this."

"Still, you shouldn't just take everything lying down," Deuce said.

"I don't want to anymore, but I'm so tired of fighting. At what point can I stop?"

Yuu was once again seen under a new light. The viewpoint was different for each boy: from magicless outlier to honorary dorm member, notorious problem solver to exhausted errand runner, doe-eyed student to determined but kind mastermind, just to name a few. Yuu had laid bare wounds previously covered up by uniform sleeves, things they couldn't talk about or didn't feel comfortable sharing because otherwise they'd go against the school norm and grab negative attention to themself. Their closest friends knew of these wounds; others caught glimpses of certain parts. With the revelation, they all shared a similar viewpoint: an ordinary person so far from home, dropped into a magical, chaotic world and more vulnerable than what anyone realized. More exhausted and heavily scarred than what anyone realized.

"When Leona told me to stay here, I thought all along you guys didn't think of me as someone who could stand beside you and that everything had just been you all tolerating me." Yuu's voice dropped to a whisper. "That had hurt me more than any of you could know."

". . . Anyone who thinks you're undeserving of your position knows absolutely nothing," Riddle said. "Not counting your grades, you've proven yourself enough to have a place in this school."

Yuu gave Riddle a wobbly smile and he found himself feeling a little bashful. "Thanks, Riddle."

The smile suddenly became strained and they looked away. "I'm sorry. I know I said I took things easy and forgave, but--" they grimaced--"I can't bring myself to let go of some things you and the others did."

A/N: This accidentally became a two parter

EDIT: I forgot to add the link to part 2. Here it is

[mvjerbs]

Prince Ballister

SO OK WJJDJFJ this au is literally making me giddy just by thinking about it. So here it is (name), I know you wanted to hear mine.

like every royal and noble family, one must birth to an heir to continue their legacy. 

unfortunately, the queen is unable to make one because she's infertile.

she resorts to adopting an heir which made the director protest because it must be biological, so she tried to convince the queen to keep on trying but the queen made up her mind.

One day she strolled through the market where she first meets Ballister.

in this au, Ballister never had the dream to be a knight. But all he wanted to do is to help others to try and make their situation better

the queen saw Ballister buying bread with his own money that he worked hard for(she doesn't know that part yet) and proceed to give to a child who was hungry despite being hungry himself.

the queen took interest in Ballister and decided to approach him

for the next few weeks the queen would meet and get to know Ballister more, and eventually she adopts him.

The adoption immediately went all over the news and people celebrated and accepted Ballister as the new prince.(except for the director obviously)

ballister still underwent knight training because he wants to learn how to fight for himself and to not rely on other the whole time.

ambrosius, being gloreth's descendant, became Ballister' personal knight. And they both fell in love.

no one knows about their relationship except for the queen and ballister didnt know that the she already knew.

cue to Ballister being a blushing mess when the queen told him about it.

time skip to the knighting of the knights, Ballister gets framed for killing the queen and everyone thinks he did it so he can have the throne for himself.

The queen was killed through assassination, one of the guards was bribed by the director to kill the queen and injure Ballister and she'll try to fabricate the story.

How would she do it? Well she'll tell the people that Ballister ordered an assassin to kill the queen and harm him so he would also appear to be a victim as well.

the assassin turned to attack Ballister, with a clear plan to give a big Ballister the biggest cut, but ambrosius jumped to protect Ballister and got his arm cut instead. So now he's the one with the missing arm.

The assassin was immediately apprehended, but yelled out that Ballister was the one planned the assassination and that they never wanted to kill the queen. They were threatened to do it.

Then people turned on Ballister. The other guards were about to capture Ballister when ambrosius grabbed him and ran away.

Now both ambrosius and ballister escapes and are both being hunted.

The events that happened both went and didnt went to the director's plan because she didn't expect ambrosius to go with Ballister, so now she lost the decendant of gloreth.

they stumble upon the abandoned tower where Ballister bandaged and created a prosthetic arm for ambrosius (it was a hobby that the queen, the director and ambrosius knew about).

both tried to process the things that had happened, but soon Ballister breaksdown because of he death and ambrosius pulls him close to comfort him.

They stayed like that until they heard someone knocking on the door. Ambrosius pulls out his sword and slowly approached the door.

he opened it and raised his sword only to be met with emptiness, ambrosius lowers his sword and looks at Ballister, who went over to his side to check as well, and shared a confused look

then nimona scared the crap out of them by appearing behind them. (Lowkey find this cute because I picture ambrosius putting himself Infront of Ballister to protect him from nimona).

”Should we pillage a village? lay low until they dont remember and then we rISE LIKE A FIERY PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES AND OVER THROW THE GOVERNMENT TOGETHER WITH YOUR EVIL ARMY THAT YOUVE BUILT! And the people will scream “AHHHH THE EVIL PRINCE AND HIS LOYAL KNIGHT HAS RETURNED WITH AN ARMY TO DESTROY US”..............or we could just talk. :)”

ballister and ambrosius looks at each other, very unsure about nimona. and tried to shoo her because they thought she was a kid.

Since ambrosius is here, the escape scene never happened, instead they went to the institute to find the assassin and interrogate them. Nimona was supposed to be left behind but she joined them which scared them again

While capturing said assassin (they knocked them out), they were caught because ambrosius and nimona were having a small argument because nimona wasn't supposed to be there and ballister tries to quiet them down. Failed because ballister yelled out to silence them but alerted he guards instead.

Cue to nimona shapeshifting and they all escaped.

Once they arrived and nimona shifts back and celebrated their victory, which was cut short by ambrosius drawing his sword on nimona.

"is this how you say thank you to a fellow henchman?"

"henchman? You're not not even human! You're a mon-"

"DONT call me t h a t. I literally just saved both of you from getting captured and imprisoned in a room with no toilet!"

"she's right ambrosius, we should truth her"

"WHAT?!?"

It took awhile for ambrosius to give in but he eventually agrees to let nimona join. (He just gave in to Ballister's puppy eyes)

Time skip, the assassin wakes up and he's surrounded by the three. The same conversation happens, eventually the assassin reveals that the director was behind all of it

Ambrosius and nimona was shocked but they never felt so betrayed like Ballister. He had always looked up to that woman, he trusted her like how the queen trusted her too.

With that information, they let the assassin go. Not without being harmed though, when they dragged the assassin out, ambrosius decided to beat the assassin and nimona happily did it with him.

That is all I have for now. Few things are missing and some ideas didn't really sound right to me so I might change some stuff in the future. :))

[skyfallscotland]

I’ve just read the thread regarding Xaden’s being an inntinnsic. Honestly, I do hope that he didn’t lie. This would be so disappointing if he did

At the same time, he totally read her thoughts. What I think is that reading thoughts was new for him with Violet. He is not that dumb to respond to thoughts, unless he didn’t get she hadn’t voiced them. So probably it was new for him. I guess he really can only read intentions with other people. But his signet is developing. So it evolutions with Violet in the first place because of their connection, plus high emotions when he is around her. Emotions do stimulate signers based on other cases.

But eventually he will be able to be some kind of telepath, being able to both read thoughts and project his own (like in throne scene).

What do you think?

I just don't think it's plausible that he never noticed that many times. Regardless, while I can agree that's probably how it will be explained if it does develop into 'full telepathy' in future books, I still don't think she planned it that way. I think to a certain point a lot of the 'everything is planned', 'every little detail' discourse is crap—the book was written in like two months supposedly, so I really don't think she thought it through to the extent a lot of people think she did.

Another instance where things don't add up is in Iron Flame when they're at Tecarus' palace. Violet has him blocked out, that's a specific point made very clear in black and white, yet when they make it to the ballroom Xaden somehow specifically references what Cat said to her...rooms, literal floors away. If Violet's shielding and their bond is blocked, he could only have gotten that from Cat, Mira, or Syrena's minds. There's no way he heard it—he was rooms away, Violet even comments on that herself and there's no waving that away as intentions. You can't make a pointed comment like that and not know you've heard those words, so like...?

The scene in question, for reference:

“With Xaden?” Her eyes narrow, then drip with false sympathy. “If you don’t already know that he’s not the kind of man who gets flustered or loses control, then there’s really no hope for you. Save yourself the energy, because he’ll simply think any fight you pick is childish.”

“She has the gift of heightening the emotions of the people around her, and she’s exceptionally powerful. If you hadn’t blocked me out all evening, I would have told you sooner.” My jaw hangs for a heartbeat before I snap it closed. First at the knowledge that I actually managed to block him out—

He laces his fingers with mine, and we walk around the table toward the crowd where Tecarus waits. “Maintaining control is nearly impossible around Violet.” My face heats. What the hell? Did he hear her out there? That’s impossible. Cat stiffens next to her uncle, her face falling like Xaden’s just delivered a killing blow in a battle I hadn’t realized they were in.

[creampuffqueen]

tell us about the tlok gen 2 kids

ask and you shall receive!!!! making fankids is such an obsession of mine lol

so i have futures and kids planned out for pretty much everyone, but i'll just go over the main krew ships + kainora for now. and i'll try to keep it kind of brief but i have So Many thoughts about them so we'll see if i'm successful. i have like. an entire labelled timeline. it's wild

under a cut because this got so long holy crap

the easiest to start with is the bopal kids. they get married a couple years after the end of tlok and start having kids pretty soon after. they end up with four kids (somewhat considering adding a fifth but we'll see. there's already so many ocs)

their eldest is jade, who is an earthbender. then they have a pair of identical twin boys, named san and goji. san is named after bolin's father. san is an airbender, goji is an earthbender. their fourth child is a girl named tempa, who is an airbender. she actually ends up becoming blind later in life. not whatever toph had, as she was born seeing, but she had some degenerative disease that slowly took her eyesight. she actually ends up developing a technique similar to seismic sense, but with airbending, to help her get around! she keeps her head fully shaved so she can always feel vibrations in the air

the next up to have kids is, surprisingly, kai and jinora. this was not intentional on their part. but they've been dating since they were like 12-13, so i honestly don't think it's much of a stretch that they would end up becoming parents as teenagers. pema and tenzin are a bit upset that their daughter got pregnant at 17, but at this point they've accepted kai into the family, and they respect the young couple's decision to keep and raise the baby

and then after they have their first baby, they decide that they're going to hold off on getting married until their family is complete, so all their kids can be a part of the wedding. like bolin and opal, they end up having four kids as well. all of them are airbenders. their first born is a boy named sangye, second is another boy named tadashi, third is a girl named zaya, and fourth is a girl named tara. it's the jinora and tenzin parallels for me lol. two boys, two girls, four airbenders. despite their young age they are very good parents

then we have the korrasami babies. they have the smallest family, with just two kids. i did some research and as it turns out, sperm donation/artificial insemination procedures were a thing in the 1920s. of course they were WILDLY unethical at the time but hey, they did exist. this is how they end up with their kids. mako is the donor, which i know some people may find that weird but mako is their best friend, i feel like they would rather have a donor that they know and trust than just. some random guy

korra is pregnant with their first baby, who they name katara. she's a waterbender. asami is pregnant with their second baby, a little boy they name hiro, after asami's dad. hiro is a nonbender. they are literally the best moms ever <3

and last but not least, we have wuko's kids. for the longest time they are the cool, childless gay uncles. i think they're both really good with kids, but neither are ready to be parents for a long time. not to mention in my timeline it takes a solid ten years for wu to get the new democratic earth kingdom up and running smoothly enough that he can abdicate. and even after he abdicates and he and mako get married, they're still unsure about kids for a few more years. when they do decide to have kids, they both for sure want to adopt. i have a whole separate post i could make about mako quitting the police force to become a social worker and opening up a youth shelter. but he knows he wants to help out kids, so hopefully none suffer the way he and bolin did. wu does not want to have any bio kids, as he wants the royal bloodline to end with him so there is no possible claim to any kind of throne

but then korra and asami are like 'hey, if you guys want a baby, we're cool with helping out' because i mean mako already helped them have their family, they can do the same for him and wu. and since they're offering, mako and wu decide to take them up on it. korra ends up being a surrogate for them, and they welcome a little baby girl that they name naoki, for mako's mom

then, soon after naoki is born, they end up finding a trio of very young sisters out on the streets. their mother passed away, their father walked out on them, and they have no other family. the eldest girl is only 8 years old. when mako meets her it feels like he's looking into a window at his past self. the girls are very frightened, but mako and wu are able to earn their trust enough to help them out. and in the process of caring for them, they end up totally falling in love with these kids. they ask them if they want to be adopted. all three say yes

the girls are named kasumi, ryoko, and hikari. all three are firebenders. naoki also ends up being a firebender. there's so many firebenders in the wuko house. i'm also spreading my girldad mako agenda. him and wu taking these girls in and giving them a family is actually super emotionally healing for him. he's able to make sure another set of siblings out on the steet has a family

anyway that's a very basic rundown!! i love chatting about my next gen kiddos so so much so thanks for asking! and of course if anyone has any questions about specific kids or families please feel free to ask!!!

[harpers-tartarus]

I like to think that Riz thinks Hangman doesn't like him and Fabian's like wtf dude, Hangman has liked you since you and Fig went to hell.

like your dog liking your partner just as much as they like you, you know?

One day Riz is running especially cold and Fabian finishes owlbears practice to find his husband snoozing in a corner cocooned against a hellish lava dog and has to take a picture.

[frostyblustar]

HEAR ME OUT JACK ROSE/WANDERROSE FANS

OKAY- THIS LOOKS WEIRD I KNOW ITS A WARRIOR CATS FAN SONG BUT THIS FITS JACK SO WELL I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT - I’M DISSECTING THIS SHIT LYRIC BY LYRIC.

I implore you to listen to the song first/while hearing me out :)

I see this as Jack having some sort of jealousy and resentment towards Wanderlust, seeing him as someone who he has to be opposed to. Really this speaks to me as Jack during Majesty, realizing ‘hey this doesn’t feel great’ when he helped with Wanderlust turning into a servant. Okay, now I’m gonna go into the lyrics so you understand what I mean.

“I’m not who you think I am if you think of me at all. In this callus ground of loneliness, you’ve planted my upward fall.”

This speaks to me as Jack being isolated and saying they don’t think of him till they need him, and Wanderlust thinks of him wrong if they think he’s going to help them defeat his mother. Also theres a lot of flower puns in this song (Rose loll), ‘planted’. Also, upward fall makes me think of that platform he has that rises. Basically, his mom set him up for an upward fall.

“You’ve let hate blossom now you cannot recognize.”

Blossom, Jack Rose, again think that’s cool.

“And in my wreckage may you burn upon your throne forged from unbloodied stones.”

Jack has a throne, but it’s made from ‘bloodied stones’. Wanderlust has a throne, but it’s one that isn’t based in fear and innocent lives being corrupted. Jack is thinking in his defeat, Wanderlust will be able to be cozy on a throne he doesn’t despise.

“The reflection stings so rejection brings- A mirrored shame that’s shared ‘tween our pair of frames.”

In Jack’s dressing room there is a crap ton of mirrors (Locked Out of Heaven/Treasure) He also rejects Wanderlust when they meet in Majesty, and I’d imagine Wanderlust would feel a little shame in the fact he trusted Night Swan’s son so easily while Jack would feel shame in helping her. So mirrored shame.

“It seems, to me, that I have always been the problem, Though I’d wish to solve it. Foolishly I’ve gone and charred each star that’s fallen.”

Well self deprecation on the account of who he is makes sense- ‘Charring each star that’s fallen’ could refer to him taking down Wanderlust and seeing him metaphorically as a falling star.

“In this frozen state of apathy, I’ve blossomed with every flaw.”

Jack feels like he is frozen and trapped with his mother, causing him to feel quite a bit of apathy to his situation. However, he sees himself as incredibly flawed due to his mother striving for perfection (it doesn’t exist lady) Oh also, another flower pun.

“This feels wrong, It’s not playing out right… How am I colder now, Upon a bridge, I chose to ignite?”

This is basically during Majesty, him realizing he doesn’t feel right doing what he did to Wanderlust. This sort of guilt is persistent throughout the song.

“Am I all wrong? It doesn’t feel like it should. This hollow triumph doesn’t fill the pain I thought it would…”

This goes along with my last note, pretty much, cool asf though.

“How could you be so blind? You close your eyes but open mine! I hate the way you make me hate myself for sharing eyes!“

This fits really well with the idea of Jack seeing Wanderlust as blind for trying to ask for his help. In this blindness however, Jack saw what he did as wrong. He realized he didn’t enjoy having people corrupted, and he likely hated what he did, in turn making him hate himself and his actions.

“Pushed me to walk ‘neath starless skies! Because I’ll never shine as bright as the light of your eye…”

He sees himself as inferior to Wanderlust in a way.

“What good is it to even try? You’ll never hear, or see, or face, all the parts of you you despise-“

He sees Wanderlust as carefree, without any guilt. He’s envious of this.

There are more lyrics I could reference but these are the ones that stuck out to me as Jack Rose coded. Gah, I love this song, and Just Dance Lore. Please leave a comment, I’d love to talk about this.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I Am All In Rewatch - Episode 2x2

[So, now, what do you think when Lorelai comes to tell Luke, Hey, come on out, I want you here.] I was blown away by that scene. I was blown away by that whole arc um because you know, he really showed how devastated he was. You know, he really did, and even in front of her, and he was he was so devastated he couldn't hide it, and he's good at hiding stuff. Um yeah, I just yeah, I beefed up over the hiatus, didn't I was? I guess I gained I gained I gained weight. I'm thinking I was working out too much. It's like, what's going on there? I just I don't know, I looked a little large for for my comfort. No, but I thought those I thought those scenes were you know, if you're sitting there with look the first look when they were sitting there, the king and Queen of the party, the engagement party, right in their thrones, And the first time that Lorelai looked over to see the diner and the light was on, I thought, uh-oh, and that's look, that's a tell that she's thinking about Luke and to the audience and it's like, whoa, whoa. Okay, she's not going to marry Max. She's thinking about Luke. He's over there, how's he feeling? And you know she said to him when she got there, I just you know, you're a friend of mine and I want you to share and be happy for me. But we know what a bunch of crap. [Who leaves their engagement party to go into a diner to talk to the dude filling the ketchup bottles? Like do you know what I'm saying?] He's inventing chores for him to do to avoid it. Basically, basically he set a trap for her with the light on, come on in because because at that time of night, it's well, I guess it's still open. It wasn't too late. It was like eight o'clock, so maybe he's still open. [But I mean then she's dancing and it's very sweet and there you are and she you know, your eyes connect. It's just like come on.] The iconic scene where I sitting next to the little ballerinas. I mean, that's that's that's as iconic an image for Luke as I think there is. Well, they really at the time, they really pushed that image in the marketing side of things...  Perfect setup. What a party. I wanted to be at that party? -Scott 

[ms-katonic-of-tamriel]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love!

SPOILERS BELOW: AoD, Wolf Queen, Prodigal Dragonborn, Unfated, And When The World Remembers

Age of the Dragon, even if it is a beast. Started out as a what if crossover, ended up being an epic adventure touching on colonialism, first contact, toxic organised religion, overcoming religious trauma, overcoming addiction, saving the world but at a cost, arriving in a new place and ending up overturning half their culture, how far are you willing to go to win, what salvation really looks like, redemption, freedom, and reuniting long-lost family. It gave me Cicero's Uncle and I love him very much. It gave Alistair his New Dog, and I love that very much too. XD

Wolf Queen Awakens - it just works. It just came together so easily, and I'm proud of it. The last scene still moves me to tears, it's like, yeah, Elisif, you did it. You saved the world. You won your throne. You avenged your husband. You got a new one. You're not a helpless figurehead any more and never will be again. And now you're Queen. You enjoy yourself, you earned this.

Prodigal Dragonborn - it is a fluffy romance between a lonely nerd who wasn't really expecting to find a partner, but was looking for an adventure and an amazing scientific discovery, and manages to come home with all three. I really liked writing Lucien. He's so sweet and lovable and definitely on the ace spectrum and probably autistic as well. Teasing out the backstory that Joseph Russell didn't put in and quite possibly didn't intend to be there was a lot of fun. "I'm the one using the library for its intended purpose and I'm the problem??" and "my amazing scientific discovery loves me back!" were the two most iconic lines, I think. Plus we also get Miraak with no memories looking for redemption and finding it in this scientist who will surely perish if not protected... and in the end, choosing love and forgiveness over wrath and retribution and realising his fate is not set in stone after all, and there doesn't have to be a divide between his real self and the part that loves Lucien. Also there's the cat. How can you not love Lucien's cat. That cat's practically a character in her own right. Lived in fear Joseph Russell would find out what I'd done with his boy and flip out when I started writing it, but by now I've largely realised I probably needn't have worried.

Unfated - crack turned serious. Silly Skyrim version of a silly DND webcomic, in which the Markarth Incident gets averted due to shenanigans but those shenanigans result in peace talks, an agreement, a wary truce between magic-phobic Stormcloaks fresh from a war that left them all traumatised and Reachfolk not sure how to treat the ones who were invading their country five minutes ago, and slowly the two cultures start merging as everyone involved starts to heal. And then the reaction comes, and consequences, and suddenly it all starts kicking off and then Teenage Cicero shows up. Soon followed by his now-Tranquil Uncle. It's got very intense, but I am enjoying picking this one up again. Also everyone's younger selves are proving a delight to write. Keirine newly First Matriarch and still unsure of herself. Madanach who never went to Cidhna Mine and has five young kids to look after. Farkas and Vilkas as teenagers. Uncle Cicero in his mid-forties. Custom follower Kaidan as a wee babby and his mum alive and I really love writing her too. Teeny tiny Leliana uprooted from Orlais and everything she's ever known. Delphine in her twenties and one Blade among many, serving alongside at least one who remembers what she was like before the war and will not put up with her crap. Elisif's parents! Tiny Vex of all people (people went nuts over Tiny Vex and she's only a bit character). MADANACH'S KIDS. Eola as a tiny baby who loves meat already and turned out to be the one to convince Ulfric to give in. And of course Ulfric Stormcloak, 29, war crimes averted, getting therapy, in a healthy relationship and healing. All the Stormcloaks, healing. Able to lay down their weapons, work with non-Nords and magic users at that, and live peacefully - mostly. It's an odd little universe but I love it.

And When the World Remembers - Dragon Age Inquisition, but the Herald of Andraste is stupidly OP and an ex-Dark Lord on the run, who falls face first out of Apocrypha and into his new cult and is absolutely delighted with his new Andrastian minions. And then he changes. Slowly he starts remembering how to be human again. Slowly he starts realising he actually likes these people. And then he meets this flamboyant necromancer from Tevinter who turns his life upside down before you can say 'future husband' and now there's two of them both trying to work through their issues and save the world and try to be good people while doing it. And then Miraak's past comes back to haunt him, and then Dragonborn Three arrives and he has not just a partner and an Inquisition... but siblings again. I fully intend to finish this one day, I swear it, but Unfated ran away with me.

Thank you so much for the ask! And now the tagging.

@rheilea @evil-is-relative @kookaburra1701 @expended-sleeper

And anyone else who has writing they want to tell their followers about. If you can't think of five, wax lyrical on what you do have.

[akitoscorpio]

Dead of winter Pt 10

"EIC Log entry 2, Commissar Bogdan recording the log."

"The boss said he needed what amounted to a 'head of security role' around the base. I guess because I was the one that he trusted the most, not to mention the only that still had all his bits functional, I got the job."

"I had a couple requests though. The main one being he needed to take the Dominion's offer to make him part of their nobility seriously. He finally caved and we started to make him a throne room. I guess it doesn't look great when they have to give you a title in the entryway of the base next to the Paste grinders."

"I wonder if he climbs that ladder enough we can get some proper food around here?"

"Now I had a few idea's how to really impress the Dominion when it came time for them to show up and promote the boss. I had us set up an external mine shaft so we can exploit some of the deeply buried resources under our base to try and muster up something special to doll up the new room."

"It turned out we were parked on top of a deep vein of Eltex, that fancy ore that's used in creating clothes and weapons to make Psycasters a but more potent. The empire loved the stuff."

"Now my original idea was to plate the walls with the stuff, or maybe add some pillars to the place, but the boss said it seems like a waste of a rare resource"

"The guy is a corpo big wig but he anit fixing to bling his throne room out? I asked him for alternatives and he just said 'Why now use some of that gold we had in storage. We found a decent supply of it we anit using it for anything'".

"Of course it wouldn't be a Rimworld if shit didn't go tits up at the drop of a hat, we had a toxic rain storm hit the area."

"The whole outside area took on this sickly green glow, it was even setting of the radiation alarms, The boss said the base would shield us from it, as long as we stayed put till it was safe to travel outside again."

"Oh and this happened as well, Tapia commented that god was clearly pissed off at something to be stacking this much crap on us at once."

"So not only was the snow now trying to kill us, but random lightning bolts of Psychic energy was striking down around the base."

"Axl of course, in that very Axl kind of way was picking our brains, asking what we all knew about the storms. He has a one track mind, wanting to get to the bottom of every single thing that happens around here. Of course as Katie put it 'Were not the damn weathermen Axl, we don't know.'"

"On a positive note, our two not quite former federation raiders must have decided since they were not part of the Federation hold outs any more, it was okay to start hooking up. I didn't mind to much but I'm not sure how the boss would feel about having babies around the base."

"While this was happening, we were starting to see lighting hit the base near the base at least three to five times an hour"

"If one of them hit the solar panels, we'd have to go out and fix them and I wasn't to keen on that idea."

"I say that and then a lightning bolt blew a hole in the barracks."

"Fun fact, the lightning flashes caused the solar pannels to spike in power output for a second, so maybe the lightning had a bit of a perk to it"

"Katie and Lips dug up some armor designs they had seen bounced around their old stomping grounds, and we managed to recreate the armor. It protected us better than the hodge-podge of scavenged armor and clothes we all had before. It was also far better suited to the weather as well, which was nice."

"We all felt pretty good about it all things considered."

"Well I'd reckon that'll be enough to make the boss man happy, I'm going to snore some angel Grace and get some shut eye now, this is Commissar Bog, end of log."

[ratlombot2]

I know god exists

.

I do know god exists, - And "it" is annoying!

It is not really "faith", Its knowledge

.

And as knowledge denies "faith"...

I feel overly familiar with "it".

.

So,

It is more of an "over-familiarity invites contempt" situation, rather than a "belief" situation.

. - god is like the postman or an annoying traffic warden, just a 'fact of life' to me. - that's why I use a small 'g', I have enough familiarity with god to feel nothing but contempt for god,

I can't prove it, of course.

But I don't need to.

That bullshit is your ego-driven issue, not mine.

So, you go deal with your own annoying shit. 

.

With god buzzing around me like a constantly irritating, nasty biting, itchy stinging, all-powerful yet spiteful, ghostly spirit insect. 

I have my own annoying shit to deal with.

.

There is no way I'm going to kneel to the golden throne and ask anything of that shitty rat bastard or any of his glowy crapy angle bodge, chicken shit, crew!

.

Screw That crap!.

.

Fucking shitty god... I hate him/her/"it"...

.

[helenaheissner]

MAGICAL GIRL EXORCIST SQUAD (Issue #13: The Floodwater Comes For Us All)

“D’ya really wanna do this? Here? Now?” Winona asked, hands raised, palms flat, backing up further into the woods. 

“Honestly? When I first heard you’d escaped the Floodwater, all I could think about was this moment. And the moments afterwards I’ll spend ripping you apart atom by atom. So yes, I think I want to do this here and now,” Astaroth, or rather, Astra, said. Her black hellfire blade shimmered with white moonlight; her purple eyes hungry for blood. 

“Are you entirely sure about that? Because with that sword, this whole forest goes up in smoke, and that sounds to me like more attention than you want,” Winona said. There was no way she could take Astaroth in a one-v-one, not when she had that sword. So, she would need to either weasel her way around this or find some way to disarm her opponent. Thank God for my disarming charm, she thought with a smirk. 

“What are you smirking about, girl?” 

“Oh, nothing.”

“Thought so,” Astra said. “Now, I believe you were about to explain as to why you’ve been harassing my Amanda.”

Winona’s smirk flowered into a cackle. “Fucking hellfire. What is it with deadbeat parents? They’re out for cigarettes for years, decades, even, but then they come back acting like they’ve been helicopters the whole time, like a few bits of lip service towards watching out for their kids makes up for all that negligence.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I? I mean shit, I’ve been stalking Amy for the past four years, but it takes you until now to show up? Shouldn’t you at least be carrying an oversized burlap sack with a dollar sign on it to cover all your child support?”

“Don’t start with me, kid,” Astra said, purple irises consuming the rest of her eyes. 

“I’m six hundred thousand years old,” Winona rolled her eyes. 

“And I’m six million. Everything’s relative,” Astra said, holding the edge of the sword to Winona’s throat. 

Oh, crap, Winona thought. Okay, time to bust out the truth-bombs. “Your daughter is a Magical Girl.”

“I know,” Astra grunted. Probably she did know, had known for a while, but still hadn’t figured out how to deal with that. Good. Winona could work with that. 

“Then you know you’ll have to fight her eventually, right?” Winona said. 

“Not necessarily.”

“Oh, and why’s that? You think you’re gonna win her over to your side? Your nice Christian girl daughter who has an actual family, an actual mother, who loves her to death? You think she’s gonna fall into line because the mom who walked out on her as a baby shows up and starts barking orders? How stupid are you?”

“Not as stupid as the girl mouthing off to someone pressing a hellfire sword to her throat,” Astra said, smiling with teeth. 

“My followers know I’m here,” Winona said. 

“So do mine.”

“So then this is how it starts? The Demon Legion versus the Army of Monsters, round one for the throne of Hell? Right here and now? Because if I die, my second in command has orders to slaughter all the pigs and let out all six hundred and sixty-six of my friends.”

“You’re bluffing,” Astra said. “You wouldn’t show your hand that easily.”

“Maybe not the old me, but as you’ve pointed out, I was in jail for over half a million years- it made me a little bit CRAZY!”

Wings of heavenly light erupted from Winona’s back, and a golden halo shone over her head. The wings clamped shut like a vice and wrapped around the handle of the infernal claymore, prying it from Astra’s hands, while the contact from the wings singed Astra’s skin and left harsh red marks. Astra stepped back, and when it was over, the sword was pointed at her throat. “Now I have a hellfire sword. Ho ho ho,” Winona said. 

“You know I have more of those, right, nephilim?” Astra said through grinding teeth. 

“I’m counting on it. And don’t be racist, you dirty fucking succubus.”

“Don’t start with me-”

“Or would you prefer ‘literal sex monster’? ‘Cause that works too. Maybe not as punchy, but still,” Winona said. 

“This isn’t over,” Astra said. 

“Damn right it’s not,” Winona said. “Now go. I still have plans for you, and much like with your smoking hot daughter, they’re harder to realize if you’re dead. So go scamper back to your dragon’s den, lick your wounds, and GO FUCK YOURSELF LIKE THE SLUT YOU ARE!”

Astra’s forehead-vein nearly popped. But instead, she vanished in a hail of purple fire. 

And with that, the Lady of the Legion was left alone with a sweet new hellfire sword. “Ho ho ho, bitch,” she said, twirling it about in her hands. Then, privately, she said, “I should really give Dad a call.”

***

Basketball practice freshman year, first on the court but last to play. It always started with Nicole and Travis, and if they were lucky it ended with them. The hazing wouldn’t stop no matter how good they were. If anything, that made it worse. Made Travis’ brother angrier and angrier. That and the fact that Nicole refused to do anything to stop him. Nick was a shield, not a sword- he couldn’t be used that way. And she could try as she might to shield the people around her, but it wouldn’t work. And she was already in a precarious position- if she screwed up, got into a fight, it might cost Mom her job. There wasn’t a right answer, which meant the right answer was no answer. Nothing could be done except to endure. And endure and endure and endure, even when Travis showed up to practice one day with a black eye on his face, and his brother Derek was grinning over it like he was laughing at a private joke. 

And this time, he looked at Nicole and said, “It is a joke. The joke is on you, you soft-hearted coward.”

He stood in front of the interior wall of the high school gym, only for a limo to crash through it and run him over. The driver’s seat opened, and Amy stepped out wearing a slinky black sequin gown and carrying a rifle. “Get in, loser! We’re going demon hunting!”

Nicole happily obliged, suddenly fresh from the salon and dressed to the nines, as Amy pulled her in for a makeout session inside a flying limo, soaring through a pink and blue void surrounded by unicorns playing the trombone. 

That was when Nicole woke up and got sad. 

“Why are you crying?” Cass asked, sitting in front of a television playing Super Smash Bros, wearing a flannel bathrobe and a towel around her hair. 

Nicole rubbed her eye and found she was in fact crying. Must’ve been the dream. Bad memories mixed with new feelings she wasn’t sure what to do with. She laid on a bed, beneath a yellow comforter in a room with golden wallpaper. The bed was pressed into a corner next to a window, out of which Nicole saw the beach, saw the sprawling expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, black and silver beneath the foggy night. A writing desk and chair sat at the foot of the bed, and a bookshelf packed with Marvel comics occupied the opposite corner. Just off to the side of that was a television and a Wii and a few bean bag chairs, as well as a makeup stand. The remaining wall consisted of a wardrobe full of clothes and a door that led out into the rest of the house. 

“I’d rather not say,” Nicole said. 

“Eh, fair enough,” Cass responded. She played as Samus, going up a platforming stage tearing through enemies. 

“Is this Amy’s room?” Nicole asked. 

“Yup. We’re at the Donahue house in Hull.”

“They live at the beach.”

“Nantasket Beach. Because they are filthy fucking rich.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Nicole said. “Where are the others?”

“Well, Debbi kind of had to come out of the closet. She did that right when we got here.”

“Oh boy. How’d that go?”

“It went incredibly well. Victoria and Patrick are about the chillest people to ever walk the earth. But Debbi started crying so Patrick and Victoria took her and Heather out for a drive. Said they’re going to buy booze for dinner tonight.”

“Oh wow. Sounds like an interesting night for Heather too.”

“Yeaahhh there’s meeting the parents and then there’s this. Anyway, the boys are here standing guard while Amy makes dinner.”

“Amy’s cooking?” Nicole said, her mouth practically watering.

“Yup.”

“I should go help,” Nicole said, pushing her legs off the bed. 

“Enjoy,” Cass said with a flat affect. 

Nicole stepped towards the door, but stopped and looked at Cass. “Hey. Is everything alright?”

Cass didn’t answer, simply button-mashed with greater severity.

“Cass, come on. Please,” Nicole said. “Talk to me.”

Cass paused her game, basked in the glow of the television in the darkened bedroom. She didn’t move her head, didn’t adjust her tone. “You don’t know me, Nicole.”

“No, but I’d like to,” Nicole said with a gentle smile. 

“... I didn’t pry when you said you didn’t wanna tell me why you were crying. So why can’t you do the same for me?” Cass said, still not looking at her. 

Nicole blinked. “O… Okay. Fair enough. How about some quid pro quo then.”

“How about instead you gimme some fuckin’ space, blondie?” Cass said, finally looking at her, glaring at her, practically snarling. And yet there were tears in her eyes. 

Nicole balked. Best not to push on this one. Still, she wanted Cass to be okay- from what little Nicole had gleamed, Cass had been through so much already. And she normally wasn’t like this- she was reserved, a bit standoffish, but not openly hostile. Something had happened, something she would need to talk about if she wanted to be okay again. But now wasn’t the time- press too hard, and most people would break before they bent. “Alright,” Nicole said. “But I’m here if you need me. And if you ever wanna know why I was crying, you can just ask. You don’t have to tell me about yourself if you don’t want to.”

And with that, Nicole left and closed the door behind her, trying not to hear the sobbing on the other side. 

She stood at the top of a staircase, one other bedroom and a bathroom occupying the remainder of the floor. There was one more floor above, presumably an attic, while below was another floor consisting of three bedrooms and another bathroom. In one bedroom was Damian, who was busy throwing darts. In another was Jason, reading a book. She descended the rest of the stairs, arriving on the first floor. To her left was a sprawling living room with a massive television and a shamefully large DVD collection. Timothy was watching Double Indemnity, and the fourteen year old paused and gaped as soon as Nicole walked by. 

Nicole waved. 

The boy’s jaw dropped. He retrieved a blanket next to him and hid himself under it. 

“Don’t mind him, he’s only within the past year discovered girls,” a voice came from behind her. 

Nicole turned to find Richard carrying two cans of soda. “Ah, I see.”

“Hey Timmy, get out from under there- you’re missing the part with the indemnity,” Richard said with a knowing grin. 

Tim poked his head out.

“Here you go, you little weirdo,” Richard said, handing his little brother a soda. “Now say hi to our sisters’ teammate like a gentleman.”

“Hi,” Tim said, his voice cracking. He put a hand over his mouth.

Nicole giggled. “Hi, Tim. Good to see you.”

He hid back under the blanket. 

“I see the affinity for blondes runs in the family,” Richard rolled his eyes. “I blame Dad.”

“Beg pardon?” Nicole said. 

“Oh, nothing. Just go easy on our sister. She’s nuts, but we care about her, you understand?” Richard said. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Nicole feigned.

“Sure, you don’t,” Richard said, cracking open the soda can. “Well, she’s in the kitchen if you wanna talk to her.”

Nicole nodded. “Enjoy your movie!” 

“Will do!” Richard said, raising his drink, then clinking it on the side of Tim’s submerged head. “Look here, Timmy. See how Wilder’s constructing this scene- it’s brilliant.”

Nicole followed the hallway into the kitchen, where she found Amy putting onions, carrots, garlic, and chicken into a big pot. They sizzled, releasing a tantalizing aroma into the kitchen. She poured on a generous spray of curry powder while everything cooked together. 

“Japanese curry?” Nicole asked. 

Amy jumped slightly, then said, “Yeah. Standard yellow curry. Glad you’re awake. How are you doing?”

“Not bad. A little stiff, but I’ll manage. Do you want any help?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No, you worked yourself unconscious again,” Amy said, stirring the ingredients with a wooden spoon and turning up the heat. “Twice in two days, in fact.”

“So?”

“So, I’m worried about you- you’re gonna hurt yourself. What if you pass out and miss a fight? Or, I dunno, a class or something? Or a cat stuck in a tree?”

“I’d be mortified,” Nicole said, rubbing the back of her head. 

“Exactly, now sit down,” Amy said, pointing at a wooden chair situated at the kitchen table. “You can taste-test if you want, but I’m handling this. It’s the least I can do.”

“What does that mean?” Nicole asked, sitting down. 

“Everyone else is dealing with heavy stuff right now,” Amy said. “I’m just trying to help.”

“I mean… You’re dealing with stuff too, Amy,” Nicole said. 

“Yeah, but… Debbi is doing something huge right now. Heather is supporting her. You’re working yourself to the bone everyday. Cass is clearly going through something else on top of all this Prophecy crap. My problems aren’t much next to all that. And honestly, this relaxes me.”

“You do look very Zen doing that,” Nicole said, resting her chin on the kitchen table. 

“Thanks,” Amy said. “Eight mouths to feed, Mom needed all the help she could get.”

“Makes sense. How are you feeling, though?”

“I… I think I’m ready to finish that conversation we were having yesterday,” Amy said. 

Nicole gulped, and a sickly-sweet sensation overtook her. “A-are you sure?”

“If you are,” Amy said, pouring two cups of water into the pot. “This will need a few minutes. Step outside with me?” 

It took her a moment, but finally, Nicole said, “Okay.”

Amy went into the mudroom off to the side of the kitchen and retrieved two white overcoats. She put one around herself and the other around Nicole, and Nicole felt the sickness start to diminish. It was all turning sweet.

They stepped onto the sand and walked barefoot on the foggy beach, stopping a few inches before where the water met the land. Low-hanging clouds drifted over Nicole’s skin, and it reminded her of flying. And of home. Not Manchester, but her father’s boat, the Sunshower. “You ever do any boating?” Nicole asked. 

“No, why?” Amy said.

“It’s just something I love doing, ever since I was a kid,” Nicole said. “My dad would be away for a while at a time, but then he’d come back, and we’d have a grand old time together, but I could always tell he didn’t feel totally at home on land. Like his sea-legs had overtaken his land-legs. So, over the summer, I’d start going out on the boat with him. We’d go to the coast and launch the boat, stay in a hotel for a week, come home with a haul of fish and sell it. It was freeing- no ground underneath us, just a wide-open sea to navigate. It could toss us about, try to get us to go one way or the other, but at the end of the day, it was all there for us, stretching out as far as the eye could see. Sometimes we’d be out all day and we’d watch the sun set into the horizon, casting this red and gold glow over the water, like we were bathing in the light.”

Amy smiled. “That sounds nice.”

“It was. Flying reminds of it, especially when the sun sets or comes up. There’s this freedom to it that I can’t quite describe but… Sometimes it’s like I never wanna get on solid ground again.”

“So what brings you back to shore? And back to the ground?” Amy asked.

“The people I care about,” Nicole said simply.

Amy gave a shallow nod. 

“So,” Nicole asked. “Aidan accused you of having feelings for me.”

“He did,” Amy said.

“Is it true?”

Amy paused for a moment, stared at the ground. A crab scuttled past them, returned to the sea where it belonged. “Yes. I do have feelings for you. And they’re… And they’re romantic ones. I like you, Nicole Nygaard. I’ve… I’ve never really felt this way about a girl before, at least not consciously. But you’re a girl, and I like you. And if that means that I like girls, then… Well then, I guess I like girls.”

Nicole’s head spun. She couldn’t believe it. This was insane. Her heart pounded inside her chest, and the reverberations shook her vision out of focus. A giddiness ran through her, a sense of validation and euphoria unlike any other she’d ever felt. She breathed in the salt-air, the fog tickling her skin. It was all almost too much, especially when a part of her, the rational, structural part of her mind, kept telling her to run away, that this was a trick, that she would only get hurt from this, that Amy hadn’t really changed. 

But I have, Nicole thought. 

Amy took a sharp breath. Then another, then another. 

“Hey,” Nicole said. “You’re okay. This is okay.”

“I… I just… I’m so scared. That was so scary,” Amy said. She was shaking, holding her arms together and rubbing them.

“Coming out? Yeah, it’s incredibly scary,” Nicole said. “Why don’t we go back inside, get you warm. Your pot is probably boiling by now-”

“No!” Amy said. “I just… Please. I need to know: how do you feel about me? You’ve had a whole day to think about it, same as I have. Please. Tell me.”

The words got lodged where the back of Nicole’s mouth met the front of her throat. She wasn’t sure how she felt- she was being torn two ways, and neither one seemed like a safe road to travel. “Amy, you’re… You’re really pretty. And you’re nerdy and funny, and you’re a sweetheart under the right circumstances. But I don’t know if this is a good idea- we’re teammates, and we’re roommates, and we’re friends. I don’t know if I’m comfortable risking all that-”

“That’s not what I’m asking,” Amy shook her head. “I’m asking how you feel about me. That’s all. Not anything else, not practical considerations. I know I… I hurt you, when you were in a sensitive place. And that was wrong of me. But I’ve changed and I… I…”

She needs to hear it, Nicole thought. But do I? It doesn’t sound so bad, being with her. I don’t think she’d ever hurt me again, at least not deliberately. And it would help her. It would help her a lot if I could be that for her. She needs a rock, and she wants it to be me. 

It’s the right thing to do.

So why does it feel wrong?

Nicole reached out a hand. Amy took it. Her hand was warm and soft and steady. Nicole started, “I think, maybe, I-”

“Well well well well well. Well well well well well well well well wellllllll,” came a high, shrill voice behind them. “What the fuck do we have here? Amy, you lying little minx- you told me you don’t like girls.”

Nicole let go of Amy’s hand and snapped to attention. “Winona?”

“Hiiiiiiiiiiii,” said the girl without any semblance of boundaries. She walked up to them, waving with both hands. 

“What the hell are you doing on my family’s property?” Amy spat. 

“Hey, last I checked this is a public beach,” Winona rolled her eyes, still marching towards them. “Now, seriously- what the hell, Ames? You’ve been holding out on me.”

“No, no I haven’t,” Amy growled. “Now get out of here.”

“Not until I get an answer- what’s this girl got that I haven’t? Why’s she your closet key and not me? C’mon- that’s not fair? Is it a race thing?”

“Winona,” Nicole said. “I don’t know what you’re doing here-”

“I followed you here, that’s what I’m doing here,” Winona said, smiling widely and giving the thumbs-up. “It’s because I’m stalking you, dearie.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Nicole said, eyes narrowing. What the heck was wrong with this girl?!

“I’ve been following both of you around for a while now. Mostly Ames and Cassie. You’re a recent addition to my portfolio, Nikki, though I’ve gotta say you’re really interesting in your own right. Any chance you’ll reconsider going out with me?”

“No,” Amy said. 

“Aw, Ames- speaking for others again? Why do you gotta make everything about you?”

“I’m calling the police,” Nicole said. 

“With what phones? You left them inside, remember?” Winona smirked. 

Terror rippled through Nicole. 

Amy stepped forward, fists balled. “Get. The hell. Away from my family.”

“Mmmmm no!” Winona laughed. 

She snapped her fingers, a blue burst of concussive energy exploded silently in Amy and Nicole’s faces, propelling them back into the ocean.

Nicole tumbled through the air, only to land in Amy’s arms. She’d fully transformed already, and a determined look was carved into her face by the night’s horrible circumstances. Nicole beamed at the older girl, who gave her a cocky grin. 

“We’ll make a cheerleader of you yet, Nygaard,” Amy said. “Now hurry up and transform so we can take this bitch down!”

“Right!” Nicole said, jumping from Amy’s arms and engulfing herself in God’s white light. She landed on her broomstick and skimmed the surface of the ocean as she launched herself towards Winona. 

Surrounding herself with Pink Light seemed to act like a sort of shield against attack- the only drawback to it was how quickly it exhausted her. She would need to be conservative with it, only summon her shield when an attack was actually upon her-

- like right now! Eep! Nicole thought as another blue-white missile launched at her. She swerved left and summoned the shield, and the missile winged her right side. The force of the impact shook Nicole through the shield, but she kept flying. She reached the shore and channeled white light into her fist and buried it in Winona’s gut. 

Winona grunted. 

And absolutely nothing else happened. 

Nicole’s face warped with shock as she retrieved her fist and launched another attack. She struck Winona in the face, only for the other girl to deflect it and throw her own punch, forcing Nicole to back up. More and more, until Nicole realized they were in the water.

Actually, they were over the water. Winona was floating just as easily as Nicole was. 

Nicole’s eyes bugged out, and her jaw dropped. 

“Not a demon, sweetie,” Winona said. “Not even a cambion like your little whore back th-”

She stopped when the fog rolling in from the sea became laced with shadows. A thick blanket of darkness settled around them, forming a circular wall. Winona performed a series of double-takes as she searched for a way out, while the circular wall formed a dome. 

Nicole punched Winona in the face, knocking her into the water. Winona flew out of the way of the water’s surface, white-light wings erupting from her back, a halo crowning her head, her eyes howling with heavenly light. 

“Y-you-you’re an angel,” Nicole said, jaw plummeting into the ocean depths.

“Awww, you’re so sweet, no wonder she picked you and not me,” Winona said. “To be precise, though, I’m a Nephilim. Born to one of the Watchers before the Flood. And I’ve been waiting a very long time for my day in the sun.”

Nicole flew upwards, and the Nephilim followed with a flap of her wings. Propelled through the sky, giving chase, fog and darkness on all sides.

From out of the darkness, a broomstick emerged, shooting out and nearly jabbing Winona in the throat. She swatted it away, and said, “Hah! Nice try-”

That was when Amy fell from the sky and buried the bottom of her foot into the top of Winona’s skull. The Nephilim grunted and fell to the ocean below as the shadows cleared. 

“Nice!” Nicole said, Amy shining in her eyes.

“Thanks!” Amy grinned. She stuck out her hands and painted the spot where Winona had landed below with another swath of shadows, trapping Winona beneath a sheet of darkness. 

White light exploded all around, dispelling the shadows as an angry angelic figure shot through the sky towards them. Nicole and Amy flew in separate directions, and Nicole jerked her head around to find Winona chasing Amy. 

Nicole turned and launched herself at the Nephilim. Even if she wasn’t a demon, she had to have some kind of weakness. 

Nicole summoned her shield and rammed into Winona, pushing them both below the water’s surface. 

That was when Winona screamed, exploding with heavenly light and pushing all the water around aside. A cavity was left in the sea, and Winona flew out of it. Nicole barely managed to do the same before the water came rushing back in. Her chest throbbed with exhaustion, but that seemed to have worked- Winona hated being underwater. 

Now to exploit that. 

“What do you even want?!” Nicole screamed. “Why are you doing any of this?! Why?”

“Because I need to,” Winona said, a pained smile gracing her lips. “And because I can’t do this without her!”

“Well you can’t have me!” Amy said. “Now get out of here!” 

Winona cackled. “Who’s gonna make me? You?!”

“YOU’RE GODDAMNED RIGHT I AM!” Amy screamed, charging Winona, a trail of shadows running behind her. Winona flew into the sky, and Nicole and Amy chased after her, zipping and zooming about as the Nephilim turned and pivoted and accelerated and decelerated. 

When they were far enough from the shore, Amy blanketed everything behind them in shadows. 

“You think that’ll stop me!” Winona said. “Amy, Amy, Amy- I’m a the daughter of one of the Sons of God- you think shadows are something I’m concerned about?! Uncle Samael held me in his arms as a baby and showed me right then and there that all you need to deal with shadows IS A LITTLE MORE LIGHT!”

A column of radiance erupted from behind the shadow wall, blinding Winona. Nicole clamped her eyes shut, but she heard Debbi’s voice cry out, “I COULDN’T AGREE MORE, BITCH!”

Nicole opened her eyes to find Debbi and Heather double-punching Winona in the gut and the face respectively, sending her tumbling backwards before she extended her wings and cushioned the fall. 

The four of them loomed over Winona. 

“Did you guys just get back?” Amy asked. “Where are-”

“The boys were waiting for us outside when we got back,” Debbi said. “They heard the explosions on the beach and loaded up the pets and emergency supplies into a car. Mom and Dad are already getting them to safety.”

“Oh, thank God,” Amy said, hand over her heart. “Wait, where’s Cass?”

“... We thought she was with you?” Heather said, face dropping with concern. 

Debbi and Amy both glared at Winona. “WHERE THE FUCK IS OUR SISTER!” 

“I dunno,” Winona shrugged. “You can’t blame me for every bad thing that happens to y’all- that’s just reductive. And fatalistic. And-”

“Nicole, hit me,” Heather said. 

Nicole happily obliged, tossing a softball of Pink Healing Light at Heather. Heather buried her fist in Winona’s face, and then again, again, again, again, until Winona exploded with energy and sent her flying back. And Heather simply leaped back into the fray, fighting mid-air as Winona blocked and deflected and threw her own punches.

“Nicole, we’re gonna need you to supercharge us,” Debbi said. 

“We still don’t know what’ll happen when I do that to you and Amy,” Nicole said. 

“Yeah, but we don’t have much in the way of options here- we’re fighting an angel for fuck’s sake!”

“Point,” Nicole said. “Float up to me.”

Into both her hands she channeled her Pink Healing Light, a boost of electrifying energy from deep within her soul, the part closest to God, the part that most intimately knew His love and His power. A rapturous, exhausting sensation pumped through her, and she put her glowing hands on the shoulders of both Donahue sisters. 

And forward they flew. Nicole took to the front and summoned more pink light to form her shield, the place next to her heart thrumming. Debbi and Amy flanked her, and Debbi shot a pike of white light forward. Mid-flight it erupted into a purple energy flare. Heather ducked out of the way of the energy-javelin, and it exploded right upon contacting Winona’s chest and sent her flying back. 

Amy did the same, and her shadows ignited into a black pyre, obsidian flames laced with golden edges, while the stench of brimstone filled the air. 

Nicole recognized it as Hellfire. And by the look on her face, so did Amy. Her visage warped with horror as the jet of black flame tore through Winona’s wing and sent her tumbling below the water.

For a second, it was over. There was nothing but the four of them levitating over the ocean, the horrible realization of Amy’s full power threatening to drag them beneath the surface with their enemy.

And then the explosion happened, launching a tsunami at them. It was a wall of oceanic wrath, rising at least twenty feet high and barreling towards them, towards the shore behind them, towards the homes both empty and occupied.

“Heather!” Nicole said. “I’m gonna recharge you. Can you-”

“Hell yeah I can!” Heather screamed. 

Nicole summoned one last burst of Pink Light and supercharged Heather. Heather launched forward and punched the tsunami with all her might, and the wave shattered and released a shockwave hurdling them all backwards. 

They landed on the shore. Nicole was bruised all over, sore in places she didn’t remember having. She willed the Light through herself, forcing herself to heal even as it exhausted her more and more. She got up and healed Debbi first, then Heather, and then she got to Amy. 

Amy stared at her hands. They were trembling as black flames spiked from them, and she breathed rapid, shallow breaths. 

The horizon was clear, Winona having evidently flown away. The stench of brine and sulfur polluted the air. Amy kept burning, and burning, and burning. “This is… I’m… I’m… Oh God. Oh God it’s true.”

“Amy,” Debbi said, “You don’t know that. You don’t know what this is.”

“What the fuck else could it be?” she whispered. “It looks like Hellfire. It smells like Hellfire. It ate through an angel’s wing, when your purple energy didn’t do the same. It’s Hellfire. I’m a cambion. I’m… Oh, God, no- I’m a monster!”

On instinct, Nicole grabbed Amy’s hands, the Hellfire unable to break through the shields of Pink Light. “Amy. You’re not a monster. I promise you. No matter who your mother is, no matter what your heritage, you are completely and beautifully human as far everyone else is concerned. You’re here with your sister, and your friend, and with… With me. Someone who cares about you more than you can possibly imagine. It’s okay. You’re okay. And no matter what happens, God still loves you. He loves all His children, you included. If He didn’t, he wouldn’t have made you a Magical Girl. So, remember that you’re okay. We all still love you.”

The Hellfire slowly died away as Amy sobbed and collapsed in Nicole’s arms. Nicole held her for a while, sitting with her on the beach and propping her up. 

Eventually, Nicole turned to Debbi and Heather. “Why don’t you guys go get the rest of the Donahues and tell them it’s safe to come back. After that, we should go look for Cass, make sure she’s okay.”

“That sounds good,” Heather said, nodding. 

“I don’t,” Debbi stammered, “I can’t just leave my sister like this.”

“Babe,” Heather said, smiling gently, “Nicole’s got this.”

And with that, the purple and green magical girls took flight and left them there. Nicole stroked Amy’s hair while she sobbed, and she knew at that moment that she wanted no harm to ever come to Amy again. No matter what, she cared for this girl. That scared her, that outraged her, and that confused her, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny. She wasn’t ready to admit it, and yet the words fell from her lips: “I have feelings for you too, Amy.”

Amy looked up at her with wide, wet verdant eyes. “Even though I’m a freak?”

“You’re no more a freak than I am,” Nicole said gently. “I promise you.”

“What’s gonna happen now?” Amy asked. “Everything I knew feels like a lie, and Winona is on the warpath. We’re not safe.”

“We’re never safe,” Nicole said. “That’s why we have to keep fighting. But right now… Right now we need to catch our breath and regroup. Together.”

Amy nodded, and Nicole held her there as the fog parted and the full moon came into view overhead, shining its light over the two of them as they kept each other warm. 

An ominous feeling crept into Nicole’s gut. Tonight was a warning. Things were on the move. Things were changing. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, and she wasn’t sure which of the night’s revelations scared her most. She swallowed it, and decided it could wait. For now, this was enough. It didn’t feel entirely right, but for right now, it was enough.