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mystsee · 8 months

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DRIFTED ✦ SIMON GHOST RILEY

PART 1 ✦ NEXT

✦ about: you and simon were lovers, but simon´s duty drifted apart your relationship. 2 years later simon comes back after a long mission and reunites with his friends again, what he didn´t expect was seeing you again.

✦ content: afab reader, anxiety, blood mentions, graphic descriptions of violence, stalker ex, protective simon, pining, reunited love, civilian life, no mask, panick attack, eventual smut, psycho, no mentions of y/n

✦ a.n: an idea of the outfit i had in mind :]

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

STANDING before your mirror, cold winter air strokes your hair, you keep trying your best to conceal your puffy eyes with all the possible makeup you have. you couldn’t keep your thoughts in control, spiraling to the worst case scenario.

ever since you broke up with the crazy man, paranoia is all over you, triple checking your locks, telling your best friend where you’re going, until today.

lily bursts inside your flat “what the actual fuck is wrong with him?” you thought the same, not believing what you heard on the call “i don’t know if i should call the police, will they believe me? i have no actual proof of him calling me, the number was blocked” you said frowning, surprised how the situation escalated so quickly.

when you broke up with him it was crazy to say the least, he was becoming this crazy jealous boyfriend every time you travelled because of work. working for the government as a translator caused you to travel a lot. but every time you came back, he started making arguments out of nowhere, making you confused as into why he was so mad everytime you came back, slowly realizing he didn’t trust you.

he was following you everywhere on his phone, always texting you, practically exploding with anger if you didn’t answer in less than 5 minutes. god forbid if you were at a meeting with your phone on silence, hell would come when you came back to your flat.

when the breakup came, he started throwing all these false accusations of you, cheater, you don’t care about me, blah blah blah and threats, it took you a call to the police to get the bastard out of your flat. but that didn’t calm your nerves. his words on the phone call today resonating on your head:

“don’t think i forgot about you, ill get you back again” his sick voice making you feel ill, but you won’t let a man control you.

you agreed coming to the pub because if he dares to come close to you and do something, you would be in public, and there would be proof. what you never expected was seeing him again.

as soon as you walked inside, the cozy ambient put you at ease, it was a small pub, lightly decorated of christmas. it was saturday, so of course it would be full today. you saw lily approaching you, with a big mischevious smile on his face, finding it odd

"hey you!" you said to lily hugging her close "you won’t believe it! chris brought someone new today! said he’s an old friend from the military” said lily raising her eyebrows at you, making you laugh, you weren’t really interested to seeing someone new right now.

simon saw the interaction at far, wondering who was behind lily, she was covering her entire frame “got eyes on someone?” chris asked suddenly “what? no, just curious who’s behind her” the moment he said that, lily moved, making simon’s heart freeze.

he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. you. all dolled up, beautiful as ever, a long black coat not hiding your curves under the skin tight black dress at all, the all black outfit complementing your absolutely beautiful face, those black tights making your legs look lovely in those high knee boots, to say he was in a trance was the least, he didn’t even realize you were in front on him, a very deep blush covering your cheeks, your scarf not helping you at all.

“simon?” he missed your voice, your soft angelic voice that brought him comfort after the hell he endured in a long mission, your voice that assured him everyday that he was loved.

you heard him say your name, making your heart stop for a second, it’s been a while 2 years since you heard his deep voice. you just kept staring at him, a bit wide eyed.

he felt his voice thick with emotion, aching to touch you again and feel your soft hands on him “so you are the old friend huh” you said after simon didn’t moved at all he was shocked

what a small world you thought “you know him?” asked lily to you in a small voice “uhm, yeah! long time ago though”

you just parted ways and never contacted each other again you were scared you would bother him if you called to see how he was simon went to a long mission, kept small contact with you, but he could see the distance that was growing between you both. he understood the breakup, quite healthy actually, but that didn’t mean you didn’t love each other anymore, it was hard dealing with the distance.

2 years passed, simon thinking of you practically 24/7, wondering where you were, thinking if he should call you to see how you were, and 2 years of you trying to move on, never forgetting him, matter of fact, you kept thinking of the breakup over and over again, thinking maybe you made a wrong choice.

after a while you thought maybe dating again would help, but you accidentally picked a very wrong guy a psycho to catch feelings for.

you could feel his stare on you as you moved to sit next to him, the only seat left, even though the table was big, simon chose to sit on the side where he had no chairs beside him on both sides, so he could spread comfortably.

but now he had your knees on his left side, you bumped into them a little, muttering a small sorry, simon feeling warm inside after finally feeling you again

he was checking you out, similar to what you were doing, you noticed his arms got bigger, bulging from his hoodie, making your mind go to another complete direction, you hoped your scarf covered your cheeks.

as the night passed, simon saw the way you slowly passed from tipsy, to funny drunk, your scarf long forgotten, making simon eyes wander to your chest, he remembered that of you, everytime you drank, you literally became the embodiment of a comedian.

right now you were way too deep in a debate about cats, the wine making your head go back to what you usually debate when your drunk, cats plotting against humanity.

“i swear everytime those fur balls purr they get inside our minds” you slurred, confidently laying back on the chair nodding your head, “as soon as suzy makes that cute as hell sound, i’m on my knees for her, which is weird you guys! they are contrlling us!" grabbing your glass of vodka again, until you felt a hand on top of you

"okay okay! you know what?" chris's laugh was way too contagious, making you laugh with him as well "i think its enough for today, why don't we move this to your flat?"

after many failed attempts of trying to open your door, and laughing manically, you finally made it, inviting all in, you knew this was a good idea, chris and lily helped you plan all this, the closer they are with you, the less he could come close to you.

as simon passed in front of you, you made eye contact with him, all the memories came flooding back to you. you felt simon touch briefly your hand, making you feel warm inside.

everyone accommodated to your 2 big sofas in your living room, you had your small desk behind the sofas where you worked, and the kitchen on the right side, it was an open kitchen.

you, not wanting the party over, went directly to the kitchen to grab some wine “anyone wants a glass of wine?” they all said yes. the only ones missing were 2 of chris’ friends, they went to buy some beer.

after serving the glasses of wine, you remembered a talk you had with simon a while ago

“doll, you really need to make this posters, i bet people would buy them, they are way too original” said simon looking to you, locking his arms around you, you were on his lap finishing a design, and simon kept distracting you with his small kisses here and there, on your neck mostly

“maybe in the future i will print them” you said with a small smile, nervous to show your works.

you nudged simon on his arms with a small smile and moved your head to your left side, where your room was “i want to show you something” simon was up in an instant.

as you opened the door to your room, you heard simon inhale deeply behind you, the alcohol making you forget what you two did inside this room simon literally rearranging your guts every night, you grabbed his big hand and moved him to sit on the bed, simon was very confused, because why on earth is he in your room.

you went behind your bookcase, and grabbed a big poster on your hand “look, i finally did it” simon was at loss of words, it was a design you both made one night, it had a special meaning for you both.

you went to sit next to him “i print it to remember us” you said slurring a little, the alcohol was sure as hell making you very open to him. as you slowly put your head on his shoulder, simon freezed to the spot.

“i remember when we made it” his gruff voice said, giving you shivers down your spine, you were so close to him, feeling his heartbeat on you, wondering if he felt how fast was yours beating.

you moved your head up to look at him, and he could feel your eyes on him, not daring to move his eyes because he would definitely kiss you right there. you just looked so beautiful tonight. “i still do them on my free time, but this is the one i love the most”

your hand moved to his thigh unconsciously, you used to put your hand on his thigh anytime, you liked it. but you forgot you are in the present right now, and simon with his thigh tense “oh! sorry sorry! i think i drank a bit too much” you said laughing, standing up with the poster on his hand. “i-i need to go to the bath-bathroom, wanna join?” you said laughing and slurring way too much. when you moved to the door, your eyes widened, slapping your hand on your forehead “wait n-no, that’s when i shower, hah, for-forget my invitashion” you said nervously speed walking to your bathroom, leaving simon alone in your room, he laughed, he really missed you.

you grabbed your glass of wine after going to the bathroom, sitting next to simon on the sofa, he was really close to you, you could move just an inch and be on his lap, you really miss sitting there, your favorite spot, but your mind still has a bit of self control, so you just kept nudging him with your knee laughing, making simon feel warm inside for the 500th time tonight.

chris was telling a joke when you heard the doorbell ring, remembering the friends of chris went to buy beer, so, you stood up to go to the door alone, big mistake, you opened the door with a big smile on your face, until you saw him, on your door, with a deathly smile to you. any trace of alcohol in your body vanished, as well as your smile. you felt your heart stop for a second, fear coming all the way up to your throat.

your door had a small hallway, so your friends couldn’t see who was on your door, you just closed the door with any force you could “go away!” you muttered with a small voice, anxiety was making you not breathe well constricting your voice. simon heard that, making his breath stop for a moment.

you tried closing the door on him but he opened with a lot of force, almost breaking it. he started walking towards you.

“go away!” you screamed, trying to push him out of your apartment, but he had way too much strength. simon heard the scream and immediately stood up. in less than a second he saw your small frame pushed to the plant behind you making you hit your head. he saw this psycho push you even harder to the wall, making you whimper, and he went mad.

chris got there faster than simon, the sofa he was in was closer to the hallway, and tried pushing him out of you, but the psycho had more force than him, he just pushed him away to the floor.

you were on the floor, your nose bleeding, making you worried, even though your eyes were spiraling all over the room. you had your back to him making it hard to see his next move, a big punch on your left hip, making you scream.

the bastard stomped on your hip, a small crack was heard. your screams made simon see red. the man almost got on top on you, until simon grabbed him with all his force and moved him away from you, chris grabbed him and punched him in the face repeatedly, dragging him out of the apartment.

by then, you were crying hard, you couldn’t feel your leg anymore, there was blood on the floor, when did this happen? you felt the panick attack creeping up on you “simon?” you said in between breaths, lily was calling 911 near you. “i’m here doll, hey look at me, i’m right here” you tried finding him but you were seeing small spots on your eyes making you dizzy “fucking hell, lily we need to take her to the hospital” simon was panicked, you were about to go unconscious. who the hell was that guy?

“hey, doll, come on, look at me, yes just like that” you tried your hardest looking at him, but your leg hurted too much “my leg hurts! i can’t move it” you said between whimpers. simon tried to stand you up, but you just couldn’t “baby, you’ll be okay, try not to think of your leg okay?” you felt simon arms slowly carry you to the door, you were staining his shirt with your nose bleed, but he didn’t care, he just needed to get you to the hospital.

he managed to get you out of the door, until you started to see black all around you, the last thing you heard was your name from simon’s panicked voice.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

hiiii, so! how was part 1? i just finished writing this, but i’ll start tomorrow writing part 2, there’ll be little to no angst in this story i get way too anxious with that xd im a sucker for fluff so there will be quite a lot of fluff in here hehe

as you can see, i like adding a pic of the outfit jiji, but! feel free to imagine it as your own! :P

i had this story in my mind for like 3 months i kept daydreaming about it and thought huh 🤔 why don’t i make it a story , i finally wrote it down! yay #proud! anyways idk how many parts this will be, i’ll write the plot as it goes, but it will be most likely centered between reader x simon so! hope you liked it!!!

#simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost x you #simon ghost riley fic #simon riley fluff #simon riley #simon riley x oc #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x female #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost riley civilian life #protective simon ghost riley #simon still loves you #reunited love #angst

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bellewintersroe · 2 months

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I DO HAVE A BOB REQ👀 it's heavy angst mixed with a comforting ending, but how would they react (whenever u want but in my faves are Liebgott and Roe) to them thinking their s/o (nurse maybe?) somehow died while saving someone or similar, but actually she managed to escape and run and she reconnects with the battalion a few days later? all battered and bruised but still alive EVEN BETTER IF SHE TAKES TO SAFETY THE PERSON SHE WAS HELPING because imagining them seeing their girl that they thought was dead coming back quite literally from hell alive is AGH💘

I LOVEEEE THIS!!! Thank you Anon I’m excited to write this <3 <3

Warning: mentions of death, grief, war, wounds, etc.

Easy Boys x EasyNurse! Reader - How They React To You Going MIA.

Gene Roe:

- Gene knew (thinks) you were in the church as soon as he watched the bomb explode.

- He kinda freezes and he literally feels his insides running cold and a sickness go through him.

- Can’t be real, I can’t express the level of trauma, pure horror and devastation he feels in that moment. It doesn’t end, the whole time he fully thinks you’re gone. It doesn’t help that the rest of the company are questioning him and going through their own grief for your loss.

- He wants to escape it as much as possible but he knows he can’t. He feels like a statue, completely glued to his foxhole, he runs on autopilot and Winters is about to send him off the line.

- I feel like Gene would have a pretty bad breakdown (understandable) when he’s by himself so he’s not showing the full affects of what he believes is your loss.

- doesn’t help he has absolutely NO answers. He plays the moment over and over again, torturing himself by picturing your last moments, imagining himself being just an hour earlier and getting you out of that church.

- Gene even wished he was with you when that damn bomb went off.

- 3 days pass and Gene’s sat in his foxhole, alone, staring at the enemy line. He’s near enough given up, no gloves, no blanket, he can’t eat, cant sleep.

- “Doc, Captain Winters needs you, pronto.”

- He literally feels like a zombie walking to where he’s needed. All he can think of is you, it’s painful, he can literally feel his chest yearning and breaking and his grief is too much.

- “Yeah we found her running around with the I-company boys, got a little lost, didn’t ya’ nurse?” A man’s words cause Gene’s ears to prick. He can’t see anything but a taller man facing Winters and Nixon with a smaller figure, blanket huddled over- you.

- Ugh- feels like his hearts about to explode. Literally freezes and thinks he’s going to be sick. His heart accelerates and when he hears your voice he quite literally feels faint.

- “got caught up with a patient there!” You turn around, sending a presence and both of you feel the intense hit of shock to be confronted with one another again. “Excuse me a minute…”

- All of a sudden you’re limping towards Gene. Your forehead is covered with 2 butterfly plasters and you have a nasty bruise under your right eye. Gene thinks he’s seen a ghost.

- Probably hesitates for a moment before you pull him aside, away from where the other men can see. “Gene.” You’d soothe and he’d let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

- Crashes into you. Literally grips you so tightly, he feels like he can’t breathe, his eyes are teary and it’s not until you let out a small yelp that he pulls back.

- “It’s okay, it’s fine Gene, it’s just a bruise.” Hearing your voice sends him into a spiral and he’s even more careful now to pull you close.

- Holds a hand to the back of your head, practically cradles you with wide eyes.

- “I thought- I thought you was dead.” He admitted.

- “No, I got caught up with a patient. After the church got bombed I managed to pull a patient out, Billy from I company- got lost on their lines for a few days, they took me in.”

- Soon enough he’s stammering with quivering hands, checking over you, asking if you’re okay. Winters had called a medic after all.

- Can’t stop looking at you, questioning if it’s all a dream, you’d catch him pinching himself. “Don’t do that Gene, I’m right here.” With a small hand on his cheek he can breathe again.

- Holds your hands tightly, the most affection he can show you in front of all the superiors. He’s still extremely tense, in shock from the close call, but he promises to keep an extra close eye on you, and he keeps that promise.

- Kisses your cuts and bruises when nobody’s looking, probably runs his hand over his face in surprise quite a few times, but honestly he’s sooo fucking relieved, like he actually cried when he saw you.

- “I love you so much, ya can’t do that to me again, evuh’.” With his little accent and a serious tone, ugh he’s a sweetie pie.

Joseph Liebgott:

- It happens in Eindhoven out of all the places.

- One minute you’re both celebrating together, with the rest of the company and the whole town and the next you’re not stationed with the rest of the nurses?

- The town gets bombed and barraged by the Germans that evening and he’s watching in pure horror. Recounts of nurses being KIA during the bombing spread real fast, and he refuses to believe what Battalion HQ are telling him.

- He’s shaking his head real fucking fast, denying and denying to all of them and himself.

- Throws a fucking riot- until he has to practically run off to be alone, wrenching and shaking at the idea that have could’ve happened to you.

- His anger and violence stems out of control, Winters removes him off the line real fucking fast, like he becomes a runner or something just for a break.

- Fraternisation is banned under all conditions, but relationships and affairs still take place, even the most superior of officers know that. So sometimes eyes are averted and now is one of those times that people choose to do that and help Liebgott through his grief.

- But 2 days have passed and it’s so raw, everybody’s in shock and disbelief at your lack of presence, for Joe he’s bottling up a painfully bitter feeling and he’s ready to explode.

- He never thought it would happen to you, you’re a nurse for Christ sake! Genuinely has to pause sometimes to just stop- like he can’t take it. Becomes so close to being sent to the aid station until one today he’s attempting to run a letter back to Battallion HQ when he see’s the back of a young woman wrapped in a blazer, overalls looking very familiar to your own.

- His heart genuinely gets shooting pains and he has to swallow the urge to cry as he watches this woman who painfully resembles you. Her khaki headscarf is bloody and he watches as another officer (he assumed from Dog) guides you inside the building.

- In fact he’s about to look away, until this girls head tilt to the side. He only catches a brief glimpse of her profile, Joe has to squint real hard when he feels his stomach drop.

- His mind has to be playing tricks on him so he turns away as the nurse rushes to aid a man on a stretcher.

- Slams the jeep door, literally kicks a dint into it as he storms his way through town. He just wants to deliver these fucking letters as fast as possible.

- “No, no, he’s German. He helped me out of Eindhoven, you must take care of him!”

- Joe’s head snaps just as he’s shoving the letters into some poor guys arms. He freezes, head lifting at the sound of your voice.

- “What the fuck?” He mutters, stepping a little closer. His breathing and heart speeds when he hears your voice again.

- “Sister. Make sure he gets to the infirmary, please… thank you.”

- He’d recognise that voice from anywhere.

- Literally feels like he’s choking when he stomps over, lost for words and breath and grabs hold of your arm.

- With a gasp, you stand there, bloody and bruised and protecting some Kraut soldier.

- You’re about to protest again until you come face to face with Joe, and suddenly your voice gets hitched in your throat, a loud gasp escaping your lips.

- “Joe!” It’s you that jumps into hug him first.

- Joe grips you tightly, “what the hell are you- what the hell are you doin’ here? Baby- y/n, I thought you were dead.”

- He has to pull back and hold your face to take a look at you and make sure it’s actually you.

- You can feel him shaking, and suddenly your attention is just on Joe and Joe only. He’s practically smothering you, not sure where to put his hands as he lets out a shaky breath.

- “Holy fuck I thought I lost you. They said you were gone. I knew you wouldn’t, I knew you wouldn’t leave me.” He gets super emotional so you two have to take a break somewhere real quick.

- By that I mean in the aid station where you’re supposed to be being patched up but Joe does that for the medic.

- “God dammit you are so stupid, you idiot, I thought I lost you.”

- “The German officer saved me Joe, he pulled me outta the rubble.”

- “he what?! Did he touch you, are you ok?”

- “He’s a nice man, Joe. I wouldn’t be here without him. He’s hurt so I got a little lost taking him back to the infirmary.”

- “nice guy? Baby d’ya got a concussion?”

- you scold him a little and soon he’s back to stroking your face and pulling you onto his lap, taking in as much as you as he possibly can.

- “Never leave me baby. Never leave me like that again.”

#band of brothers headcannons #band of brothers x reader #joe liebgott x reader #band of brothers imagines #eugene roe x reader

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lullyannie · 4 months

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Don't mind me, i just like to organize things before i start. here's the list of all the fics y'all recommended so far, thank you so much, that's exactly what i wanted. i'll definitely try to comment on every single one of them!

lost in the in-between (or so it seems) ✅️

The Legend of Winter's Hollow

Until the Last Rose

you know i didn't want to (have to haunt you)

Solicited ✅

oh so saccharine

Rough Surfaces

must’ve been a deadly kiss (only love can hurt like this) ✅

The Chance of You ✅

and you touch me (and i'm like)

Rìgh-Valk’bhòid

Friends Don't

all that we do (we do for love)

love in a few words

the boy who cried ghost ✅️

come on back to me

bloomed

stay, stay, stay

you're already home and you don't even know it

all these people think love's for show (but i would die for you in secret) ✅️

Routine Maintenance

i just met you (and this is crazy)

come on, guys

sleep well, beast

Perfect Landing

religion (u can lay your hands on me)

the thing is

all those jaguarsp0tted fics :)

Shoulder the Weight

After-Action

Routine Maintenance

old unfamiliar places

I'm On A Boat (Explicit Version)

there's a war inside of me

A Flash of Something Human

A Learning Moment

’Til Death Do Us Part

In The Middle of The Night

What’s the 411?

Last Christmas (I Gave You My Heart) This Year...

Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Coffee Creamer

Romance in Everything

hey princess

you were an army officer, and i just a rockette

Couch Sessions

[podfic] way too well (fic here)

[podfic] Your Very Own Christmas (fic here)

The First Gentleman

Lighthouse

The Looking Glass

Here I Go, Don’t Let Me Go

Fallen from grace (My love keeps writing, again and again)

Deception

Close Quarters

Kings of Everything

Double Back

Civilian

Impossible Man

From that Show

You’re Blowin’ My Mind (With the Things You Say to Me)

We Need a Resolution

Your Secrets are Safe with Me

Giving Him Something He Can Feel

We’ve always been impossible

Not our Time

beggars and choosers

tell me you’re joking

wish that i could wind (like a spiral stair through time)

Start Here

(it's your kiss) hey princess

behind everything that we do

someday; always

Love is Stored in the Dumb Jokes

patterns of recognition

in eyes not yet created

(check writerkenna`s masterlist)

Stolen Moments

A Dangerous Lifestyle

Peace Within Yourself

his hands in my hair

Out of The Fog

Baby Please Come Home

Don't shy from the light

cut and run (right back to me) ✅️

You're my Calling (Cure my Longing) ✅️

Ashes & Dreams

Take Care ✅️

#fic rec list #sambucky fanfic #sambucky #to read #winterfalcon #my sister wanted to read it too #so this is for her as well

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nightswatchdisbandmentera · 24 days

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Randomly struck me how Arya's first trip down to the Winterfell crypts seems to parallel Jon's recurrent crypt dreams on one particular motif - a dead king rising.

Robb took them all the way down to the end, past Grandfather and Brandon and Lyanna, to show them their own tombs. Sansa kept looking at the stubby little candle, anxious that it might go out. Old Nan had told her there were spiders down here, and rats as big as dogs. Robb smiled when she said that. “There are worse things than spiders and rats,” he whispered. “This is where the dead walk.” That was when they heard the sound, low and deep and shivery. Baby Bran had clutched at Arya’s hand. When the spirit stepped out of the open tomb, pale white and moaning for blood, Sansa ran shrieking for the stairs, and Bran wrapped himself around Robb’s leg, sobbing. Arya stood her ground and gave the spirit a punch. It was only Jon, covered with flour. “You stupid,” she told him, “you scared the baby,” but Jon and Robb just laughed and laughed, and pretty soon Bran and Arya were laughing too.

Arya IV, AGOT

Last night he had dreamt the Winterfell dream again. He was wandering the empty castle, searching for his father, descending into the crypts. Only this time the dream had gone further than before. In the dark he’d heard the scrape of stone on stone. When he turned he saw that the vaults were opening, one after the other. As the dead kings came stumbling from their cold black graves, Jon had woken in pitch-dark, his heart hammering. Even when Ghost leapt up on the bed to nuzzle at his face, he could not shake his deep sense of terror. He dared not go back to sleep. Instead he had climbed the Wall and walked, restless, until he saw the light of the dawn off to the east. It was only a dream. I am a brother of the Night’s Watch now, not a frightened boy.

Jon VIII, ASOS

In Jon's dream, he's a witness to the Stark kings rising to confront him. But in Arya's POV, Jon is the dead rising from a tomb to confront them.

It's just funny because a common theme in Jon's crypt dreams is how he doesn't belong. He voices the rejection to himself - he's not a Stark, he has no place.

Jon shook his head. “No one. The castle is always empty.” He had never told anyone of the dream, and he did not understand why he was telling Sam now, yet somehow it felt good to talk of it. “Even the ravens are gone from the rookery, and the stables are full of bones. That always scares me. I start to run then, throwing open doors, climbing the tower three steps at a time, screaming for someone, for anyone. And then I find myself in front of the door to the crypts. It’s black inside, and I can see the steps spiraling down. Somehow I know I have to go down there, but I don’t want to. I’m afraid of what might be waiting for me. The old Kings of Winter are down there, sitting on their thrones with stone wolves at their feet and iron swords across their laps, but it’s not them I’m afraid of. I scream that I’m not a Stark, that this isn’t my place, but it’s no good, I have to go anyway, so I start down, feeling the walls as I descend, with no torch to light the way. It gets darker and darker, until I want to scream.” He stopped, frowning, embarrassed. “That’s when I always wake.” His skin cold and clammy, shivering in the darkness of his cell. Ghost would leap up beside him, his warmth as comforting as daybreak. He would go back to sleep with his face pressed into the direwolf’s shaggy white fur. “Do you dream of Horn Hill?” Jon asked.

Jon IV, AGOT

He dreamt he was back in Winterfell, limping past the stone kings on their thrones. Their grey granite eyes turned to follow him as he passed, and their grey granite fingers tightened on the hilts of the rusted swords upon their laps. You are no Stark, he could hear them mutter, in heavy granite voices. There is no place for you here. Go away. He walked deeper into the darkness. “Father?” he called. “Bran? Rickon?” No one answered. A chill wind was blowing on his neck. “Uncle?” he called. “Uncle Benjen? Father? Please, Father, help me.” Up above he heard drums. They are feasting in the Great Hall, but I am not welcome there. I am no Stark, and this is not my place. His crutch slipped and he fell to his knees. The crypts were growing darker. A light has gone out somewhere. “Ygritte?” he whispered. “Forgive me. Please.” But it was only a direwolf, grey and ghastly, spotted with blood, his golden eyes shining sadly through the dark …

Jon VIII, ASOS

Yet Arya's POV shows that Jon does have a place. Not only that, but he becomes a resident of the crypts as a ghost. There's the implication too that he spends more time in there than all his siblings as he waits for them to arrive. Then when they do, he rises out of his own tomb like the dead Kings of Winter rise out of theirs in his dreams.

Bran's POV also says that only Starks belong in the crypts.

After that, oddly, Rickon decided he liked the Walders. They never played lord of the crossing again, but they played other games—monsters and maidens, rats and cats, come-into-my-castle, all sorts of things. With Rickon by their side, the Walders plundered the kitchens for pies and honeycombs, raced round the walls, tossed bones to the pups in the kennels, and trained with wooden swords under Ser Rodrik’s sharp eye. Rickon even showed them the deep vaults under the earth where the stonemason was carving father’s tomb. “You had no right!” Bran screamed at his brother when he heard. “That was our place, a Stark place!” But Rickon never cared.

Bran I, ACOK

It seems that Snow or Targaryen, bastard or trueborn, it doesn't actually matter. At the end of the day, Jon will always be one of them: a Stark son, and a true King of Winter.

#hehehe back on the king of winter propaganda #we cheered!!#agenda posting #asoiaf #jon snow #valyrianscrolls #arya stark #bran stark

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spiralhouseshop · 5 months

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Hellebore Yuletide Hauntings 2023 issue! Now in stock at the Spiral House!

A Christmas Cauldron of Folklore and Fiction - Yuletide Hauntings Brews Spellbinding Tales

As winter nights grow long and crackling fires ignite, delve into the spectral heart of Britain with Yuletide Hauntings. This A5 magazine, bathed in the tradition of Christmas ghost stories, unveils 96 silk-coated pages overflowing with chilling delights.

Join renowned authors as they conjure tales of phantom Roman armies on modern motorways, mournful grey ladies in ancient halls, and headless coachmen galloping through moonlight. Luxuriate in evocative artwork and bask in the essence of folklore, history, and the very spirit of Britain itself.

Embrace the Yuletide Hauntings. Order your copy now and let it whisper forgotten secrets on a winter's breath.

Words by Verity Holloway, Edward Parnell, Maria J. Pérez Cuervo, John A. Riley, Julia Round, Katy Soar, and Alice Vernon. Cover by Courtney Brooke. Art direction by Nathaniel Hébert. Edited by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo.

#hellebore #folk horror #zines #yuletide hauntings #hellebore magazine #hellebore zine #witch shop

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dewitty1 · 2 months

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Fic Recs Wrap Up March 2024♡(੭ˊ͈ ꒵ˋ͈)੭*･:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

tissue of silver by fearlessdiva

A love story concerning possessed furniture, black silk pyjamas, courtroom drama, premonitions of doom, assassination attempts, Death Eater yoga, absinthe, bare feet and a sensible werewolf. Rec Post

The Piano by shushu_yaoi_lj @orange-peony

He arrives on a boat during a particularly stormy day. Harry knew Astoria Greengrass had sent for a husband, someone to keep her company on the particularly dreary and dark winter days on this remote island. Harry didn’t know who it was she had arranged to be sent here. All he knew was that the weather was horrid today, and the Portkeys had never properly worked in this remote corner of the North Sea. The island was special, its magic working in odd and surprising ways. Rec Post

Turn From Stone by harryromper @harryromper

Something happened in the hours after the final battle, after the evacuation of the living and the dead. As the last of the survivors left the castle, and as the castle itself turned its wounded back on them all. The loss of Hogwarts has been felt by their entire community. And it’s something that needs to be put right. Harry knows there’s nothing he can do to stop Hermione (war hero, historian, author of the reissued “Hogwarts: A History”) once she sets her mind to something. Even an extremely risky last-ditch effort to restore the ancient castle and lay its newest ghosts to rest. What he wasn’t counting on was her insistence that Draco Malfoy be part of the plan. Rec Post

With and Without You by Shewhxmustnxtbenamed @shewhomustnotbenamed

Harry and Draco realize that they’ve been living in the same building for the past five years, hiding from the Wizarding world in Muggle London for a variety of reasons. They grow unexpectedly close and Harry realizes that Draco’s relationship with his boyfriend is abusive, spiraling as he tries and fails to figure out how to help. In Harry’s rejection of the Wizarding world in general, he has fallen out of touch with his friends and his magical abilities, but has to reconnect with both in order to find himself again. Rec Post

Inevitable [Drarry] by violenttulips @violenttulips

After the war, Harry Potter becomes a talented Senior Auror with a penchant for injury in defense of his colleagues. Draco Malfoy leaves the country for five years and becomes an accomplished Specialty Healer. He comes back after he accepts a job at St. Mungo’s Hospital. When they meet again, it’s clear that Draco has changed significantly in the years since they attended Hogwarts together, and Harry finds himself strangely attracted to his former rival. But things never come easy for the Boy-Who-Lived, and that’s not about to change now. Rec Post

Learn To Fly by Ladderofyears @ladderofyears

January 2004: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are two of the finest Seekers in England, deadly rivals and secret lovers. As far as Draco is concerned, that’s how it’ll stay forever. He is betrothed to beautiful heiress Astoria Greengrass, and they are due to have a big summer wedding. Everything changes during a hotly fought Arrows versus Wimbourne game when Draco falls from his broom. To his huge shock, when Draco awakes in St Mungo’s, he discovers he is pregnant. What will Draco do, now everything in his tidily compartmentalised life has to change? Rec Post

He Comes Like a Thunderstorm by korlaena @korlaena

Draco is doing his best to balance the life he wants to live and the life he’s forced to live. He’s nearing the tail-end of a long, post-war probation when Harry Potter crashes back into his life with all the grace of a charging Erumpent, breaking through his carefully constructed rules and routine. Caught up in a whirlwind of sex and lust, Potter unwittingly shows Draco that his life as an Incubus doesn’t have to be as lonely and unfulfilling as he thought, but how long can it last? Rec Post

Denouement by the_never_was

Pale face in paler hands, he is devoid of color. He is only the moonlight. And he wonders if he’ll find the sun. A story about Draco entering a period of change that will either shatter him or enfold him into Harry Potter’s world. Rec Post

Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well!(ノﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ━☆ﾟ･*:.｡. .｡.:*･.*･｡ﾟ*:・ﾟ✧

Stalking Harry by orphan_account

Harry Potter is the most eligible bachelor in the Wizarding world. Draco Malfoy is a disgraced ex-Death Eater with emotional baggage and a bit of a crush.

Through His Eyes (I Am Set Free) by Shewhxmustnxtbenamed @shewhomustnotbenamed

Harry and Draco have a telepathic connection that remains unexplained in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds. Draco is assigned a mission by Voldemort to locate and capture the Boy Who Lived-- the trouble is that they don't know anything about him. While Draco struggles to gather information on this mysteriously absent hero, he and Harry start communicating again for the first time since they were kids. Harry continues life as normal until he discovers information which compels him to abandon his ordinary Muggle life with the endeavor to rescue and emancipate his only friend-- even if that means bartering with his own life.

A Private Reason for This by Femme (femmequixotic) @femmequixotic

When the wife of a star politician in the Scottish Ministry turns up dead just outside Hogsmeade, Draco Malfoy and his murder investigation team are called in from the Edinburgh Auror force to find her killer. What DCI Malfoy doesn't expect, however, is to have an ex from two decades past end up in his murder room, endangering not only his case, but also his heart.

Consequences of Redemption by bobbirose @ominousflags

When Draco makes an impromptu decision to rescue Harry Potter from Malfoy Manor, the two find themselves completely alone and facing the looming climax of the war against Voldemort. Harry must start from the beginning with Draco--and starting over has more consequences than either of them anticipated.

( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡ I hope you enjoy these fics as much as I have! Happy reading, y’all! xoxo Carey (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

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dangerously-human · 7 months

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Twice in The Hollow Boy, Lockwood leaps for Lucy and it's not enough. The first time is jumping between her and a ghost on the Wintergarden staircase and he still can't save her, Holly has to. And of course, that's still when I think he had his oh moment, realizing he's in love with Lucy and has been for a while, so there's an emotional leap too and he's too scared (etc) to tell her in the aftermath, and they end up more distant than ever. The second is when he jumps into the Aickmere's pit for her, and that time he is able to save her on a literal level - and how delicious that he's saving her from the hollow version of himself, which is exactly what got between them the first time - but on the emotional side of things, he tries telling her how he feels, as best as he can manage for now, and it's not enough, he still loses her, just days later.

And to add to the anguish, @womaninwinter's response to this was, "Not being enough as a theme for Lockwood in THB - how did you make it worse???" Which, like, there's a lot to unpack there, actually, in terms of Lucy and Lockwood's parallel journeys in that regard. A lot of repetition in this book of Lockwood trying, and somehow always getting it wrong. Which is something we saw Lucy struggle with so much in the earlier books, and she's just beginning to develop some confidence in her decisions now, only to be met with resistance that she interprets as Lockwood not believing in her. So actually, maybe parallel isn't the right word - their development in the "not being enough" realm intersects here, painfully, because they're dealing with the same problem but at different angles and keep catching on each other's edges.

Which brings us to the Black Winter, and Lockwood's scheming to reconnect with Lucy and maybe, just maybe, convince her to come back. There's a huge hole between them now that he's afraid he can't really stretch far enough across to reach her - and maybe it is shaped a little like Aickmere's, what he tried to confess to her (about his past and the future he's only just beginning to hope for and his heart his heart his heart) and she still ran - and what if he takes another leap and she still doesn't take the hand he's offering? What if she never takes his hand again?

(Not like I need any reasons to be more devastated about The Hollow Boy and Lockwood's spiral during the Black Winter, but hey, I just finished the first very messy draft of the sleepless/Catholic Lockwood/hands fic - the one inspired by Won't Give Up by Colony House, please join me sometime in sobbing about how well that fits for both Lucy and Lockwood - and in the meantime, had to inflict this thought on everyone in a more meta form. You will be seeing it again in a more narrative format later, but that's not ready yet and I'm having too many feelings about it not to at least say something about it now.)

#personal #lockwood & co #writer probs: fanfic edition

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starshinedragon · 6 months

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SSO: WINTERDALE Fan written main storyline

The Map of Winterdale:

The Life Warden Trees of Winterdale:

Story design:

-> This is the updated version of an old post, taking into account the new main story quests and describing the quests in much more detail. -> It takes place after aging Concorde up and escaping Devil's Gap, after all of the main story quests up to 2023 December. -> Part of SSO Rewritten (my writing project of the whole story of SSO until defeating Garnok). You can find the story related posts with the tag "sso rewritten" -> Phases 1-2-3 is the main story so far, here I wrote phases 4-5-6 which are the main story quests connected to Winterdale.

-> The area of Winterdale was established in the Star Stable Winter Riders game and I added elements from SSO (kallters, rangers, druids) to fill in the empty places. The focus characters of the Winterdale main storyline are going to be Katja (as the main opponent), Linda (as she is her rival), Mr Sands (redemption arc) and the kallters. The setup for them is already in the game with the extremely effective hook when the MC spots them in Dino Valley leaving. The thematic guide for the Winterdale story is the rumor of the Ice Witch, already suspected to be Katja. The final confrontation of this phase is tied to Garnok and Pandoria.

So saddle up and get ready for the adventure!

PHASE 4 – Entering and exploring Winterdale

PART 1: Icestorm

Unlocking Winterdale:

-> MC is called to Valedale. At the runestones before the portal spiral leading to the Secret Stone circle, we meet with Avalon, Evergray and the druids who arrived from Winterdale. The leader of the Winterdale druids is Cairn Stevenson (middle aged, but younger than Evergray, white beard, blue and brown robes) and his horse is a white Percheron wearing new brown and light blue druid tack, called Ossian. They came to ask for help, since the storm in Winterdale has gotten worse. Last night a huge blizzard hit the valley and they think it is magical and suspect the hand of the Ice Witch might be in it. They are unable to dispel it and ask for the help of the Soul Riders.

-> We ride with them through Dino valley and they give us some exposition about Winterdale. They say Pine Hill ruled over most of the valley historically. They tell us about the cold micro climate, when the kallters migrated from Dino Valley to Winterdale, and that the current persisting winter storm started many years ago. The storm is sometimes weaker, sometimes stronger, but always present. It cut them off from the other parts of Jorvik as the Frostfire pass leading to Ashland and the Seaview pass leading to Marchenghast froze over and the blizzard halted the works on Northlink tunnel. The Lord of Pine Hill mansion, who has the strongest voice in how Winterdale runs itself does not seem to care anymore. Avalon asks them how did they leave and intend to go back to Winterdale then if there is no way open.

-> MC, the Soul Riders, Avalon, Evergray and Cairn arrive at the Icengate where Nanook and Sedna (kallters) wait for us on horseback. They perform a ritual and open the magical lock on the passage. The team is escorted through the tunnel of ice and rock, made of a similar design as Stonecutter’s vault. Halfway through it Magnus Steinar’s ghost appears as he guards this tunnel. Sedna tells him everyone here is a friend and they are to have safe passage through the Icengate whenever they please. The team exits the tunnel high in the mountains and looks over the snow covered Winterdale valley ravaged by the blizzard.

Fighting the Storm:

-> The team descends on the steep Meander trail (from the Winter Rider game) and arrives in Meander Stables, where the druids set up camp. You are greeted by Eric Lowe, the owner or Meander stables. There you are introduced to the other druid characters of Winterdale by Cairn. They tell you of the situation: the magical storm started some days ago and won’t stop. Katja’s frost powers wreaks havoc, flash freezes sweep across the valley every other minute and the winds, snow and raining icicles destroy houses, stables and threaten to freeze everyone to death. The team is asked to help the valley. MC agrees to help, while the druids try to figure out a solution to stop the storm.

-> MC is sent on four different missions in four consecutive days with the Soul Riders to introduce you to the layout of Winterdale. For each mission, you go to a location in Winterdale to help the people fight the storm by dispelling frost, gathering firewood, saving the animals, etc. To get anywhere, you have to ride through the storm. Each time a flash freeze is coming you have to take cover. Icicles rain on the way indicated by the circles appearing in front of your horse that you have to dodge. You and your Soul Rider partner get there, help out and return to Meander. First, you go with Lisa to Cape Point village, next with Anne to Icewind Station, then with Linda to Pine Hill village and finally with Alex to Anvil Woods Druid Village and back to Meander.

Dispelling the Storm:

-> In the meantime, Evergray and the druids tried everything and figured out that they can’t dispel the storm alone and need help from Fripp. MC is sent to ride back to Valedale through the Meander trail, Icengate passage and Dino valley (there is not an available trailer in Meander yet- not until you open Northlink). You ride to the spiral portal in Valedale and fail to open the way.

-> Katja appears on horseback, cornering MC, tells you that they have blocked your access to the Secret Stone Circle. MC vows to stop her terror of Winterdale, but she just laughs and tells you not if I stop you first – forever! She sends fer frigid powers after you. You race back to Meander the way you came, dodging icicles and also Ice Spectres, that are like shadow seekers, but made of mist and frost and are controlled by Katja. You get back to Meander and tell the druids that Katja blocked you from opening the portal. Evergray is unusually cheerful about this and when they ask him why is this a good thing, he tell you that he figured it out. Katja blocked you from going to the Secret Stone Circle, because the solution lies there. By uniting the power of MC, the Soul Riders, druids and kallters and Fripp, you will be able to stop the storm. Avalon, the forever optimist points out the only problem is getting there.

-> You can actually get to the Secret Stone Circle on foot, however, there is one problem besides the storm, and that is the cursed Nightmare Forest. You have avoided it so far, taking the paths next to the Meander river, but now you have to go through it. As only the Soul Horses are strong enough to go through the storm and the dark forest, Alex, Anne, Lisa and Linda are riding double with Cairn, Avalon, Sedna and Uyarak (the other magic user of the kallters beside Sedna) and MC takes Evergray. You ride through the storm, hiding from the flash freezes and ride into the dark forest. The Nightmare Woods in covered in snow and ice, shadow seekers patrol and dark blue and purple wisp-like spirits drift amidst the gloomy trees. The team takes the path through the abandoned Crescent Lake Ranger Station up to the Aurora pass and then the western road leading up to Starshine Mountain. You ride up the steep mountain path (design based on the Starshine Legacy games) and get to the broken bridge.

-> Katja appears behind you sending an army of Ice Spectres. You run through the narrow path and jump the broken bridge. She stops before the jump and her horse rears, not being able to come closer to the Secret Stone Circle. Fripp awaits you in the circle and tells you don’t worry, no servant of darkness can come into the circle again, because he woke up the guardian tree of the Circle: Astral Crown. You see the formerly leafless big tree towering over the circle now covered in azure and lilac leaves, that shine like stars. The riders dismount and form a magic circle, everyone positioning themselves in front of each runestone. They perform a ritual and dispel Katja’s Icestorm from Winterdale.

PART 2: Exploring the valley

The Roads to Winterdale: Marchenghast and Northlink

-> Now that the storm is gone, MC can properly explore the valley. The Secret Stone Circle’s portal to Valedale is open again. A cutscene takes you back to Meander so you don’t have to ride through Dino valley again. Eric, the owner of Meander stables thanks you for saving the stables and the village and promises to put in a good word for you for each place in Winterdale. The Meander Championship is unlocked, it runs through the Coldstone forest and Frostbitten fields.

-> After the full introduction to the Meander area, it is time to open Winterdale properly for people and the horse trailers. Eric sends you to Cape Point to meet a ranger friend of his (Aiobhinn, the leader of the Winterdale rangers) who will lead you through the Seaside pass up to the Marchenghast Castle. Eric apparently knows everyone in Winterdale.

-> At the Marchenghast Castle they open the gate for you. There are very few people and servants there and MC meets the lord of the castle. He was told that you stopped the storm and asks how. As you can’t say magic, can choose from different stupid options to try to explain scientifically how you stopped a whole blizzard. Whatever you choose, Lord Marchenghast laughs and says he know about magic in Jorvik, don’t worry he just thought you would be better at lying. He opens the gates and grants you safe passage through the castle and estate and sends you on your way. The rocks have been removed from the road in Goldenhills and cars can now access it, opening the trailer options in Winterdale.

-> MC rides to the Baroness and tells her that the storm is over and the work on the Northlink tunnel can continue. You are sent to tell this to the workers. While the main story calls you back to Meander, the tunnel dailies are now unlocked, requiring you to help in the work for seven days to build the tunnel.

Rangers and Pine Hill:

-> Eric tells you Aiobhinn liked you and is willing to properly show you Winterdale, now that the storm is gone. You are led though Coldstone forest with the blue crystals and trail riding pathways and arrive in Explorer’s Rest Ranger Station. You are going with Aiobhinn as she checks on all of her rangers throughout the valley. You help the rangers clear the paths covered by the snowstorm, unlock races. They show you the path leading to Frostfire pass, but it is not accessible, until it melts.

-> Next, you ride north, and he shows you Pine Hill village and tells the gossip about the lord of the mansion, Mr Sands. You meet the people of the village and stables, unlocking many side quests. The ranger shows you the Rimefang woods, but you only ride on the path next to Meander river, because the forest is infested with wolves. Frosted mammoth pine trees, fallen trunks, misty woods. If you go too close to a wolf, it will start to chase you and you need to gallop to lose it. If it catches you, you are teleported out of the woods with the message: “Your horse got you out, but be careful, next time you might not be this lucky!” She tells you there is a hidden kallter village in the middle, but you can’t reach it, unless they invite you.

-> You ride to Icewind station. You meet Henry Stevenson(the old guy from the Winter Riders game), second in command to Aiobhinn and brother of Cairn who is the leader of the rangers at Icewind station. He reports to Aiobhinn and tells you the rumors about the Nightmare Woods and that there are two abandoned stations there. They plan to man them again one day, but not until the woods are haunted. You unlock side quests and races in the Icewind Woods.

Druids and Cape Point:

-> Aiobhinn remains in Icewind and Henry offers to guide you through Anvil Woods to meet the druids and his brother. You ride to Anvil Woods and are introduced to their Life Warden Tree, Wise Leaf. They built their village around it. The tree is a gigantic oak who talks in verses, metaphors and talks like an old wizard and is generally whimsical and wholesome. In the side quests, you help the druids fight against Dark Core, as the corporation wants to cut down the forest. The Anvil Bay Championship is unlocked (joint project of the druids and rangers, organized by Henry and Cairn, running through Anvil and Icewind).

-> The druids tell you of their brothers and sisters in the other druid village of Winterdale: Jorwatch. You go there and meet them, unlock quests. They tell you that they guard the path leading to Jorcrater, since noone is allowed to enter as it is too dangerous. Finally, MC is asked to meet Fripp and Cairn in the Secret Stone Circle and you are rewarded with 100 Star Coins (just like at the end of each phase).

PHASE 5- The Kallters and Mr Sands

PART 1: The Redemption of Mr Sands

Secrets of Pine Hill Mansion:

-> Meeting at the Secret Stone Circle. The dark side have been awfully quiet lately and the Soul Riders suspect they are up to something. With Pine Hill Mansion so close, Linda proposes a plan for she and MC to sneak into Pine Hill Mansion (like she did in Starshine Legacy 2) and gather information. MC meets Linda in Pine Hill Village and they wait for nightfall.

-> The hole in the wall Lisa made back in SSL 2 is still there, hidden by a bush, but Linda knows where to find it. It is dark now and you have to find your way through the maze. You do, but there are some guards and dogs outside the house, you have to sneak past them. This time, unlike in the game, you get in through the greenhouse after finding an open glass panel. Linda tells you of the adventure they had here back in high school with Lisa, when she got stuck up in a scaffolding. Luckily, the house itself is empty so you are free to wander.

-> In the main hall, Linda shows you the pictures of the Soul Riders she saw last time here. However, there are four new pictures on the walls, paintings of the Dark Riders (Sabine, Katja and Jessica) similar in style, wearing similar ceremonial dresses. The fourth picture is still covered with a tarp, high on the wall, so you can’t see. MC and Linda get into the library and start looking for clues. Linda finds Sands’ journal. They find out about Rosalind, who was burned at the stake hundreds of years ago for being a suspected witch. She was in fact, a druid and Sands hates the druids because they didn’t save her. He himself turned to dark magics trying to bring her back, but only managed to reach Garnok, who offered him immortality and Rosalind back if he helps the forces of darkness achieve victory.

-> Mr Sands appears and captures them, trapping them in two magic circles. Linda and MC focus their powers (playing a slider-click mini game), but cannot bring his spell. Linda asks him about Rosalind and tells him she understands why he did it, but this is not the way. She manages to upset Mr Sands enough to break his concentration and MC breaks the magic circles. Linda makes a moonlight flash and they run away, escape through the main entrance. Meteor and MC’s horse wait for them there and they escape Pine Hill Mansion.

Saving Justin (again):

-> Katja makes a plan to lure the Soul Riders into a trap. Just like she kidnapped James in Starshine Legacy 4, she now plans to kidnap Justin. Justin has discovered his druid powers since meeting the Singing Yew in South Hoof and has been training. Justin was to meet MC for training in Silverglade, but he doesn’t arrive. After waiting a bit, you get up to investigate. MC finds signs of struggle and uses moon vision to see what happened. You see Katja surprising Justin and even though he tries to fight back, Katja charms and mind controls him, like she did to James. You call the Soul Riders to tell them Justin was kidnapped, but they say Katja already called and gave them an ultimatum: she wants MC to come to Dark Core Platform and bring their Soul Horse.

-> It is an obvious trap, but you have to go. No sneaking this time: you are to meet the goons at the DC ferry in Moorland. MC and their horse are brought to the platform and led in front of the portal, where Katja, Jess, Sabine and Mr Sands wait for you. Katja is keeping Justin in a magic circle at the edge of the platform where he last fell and Mr Sands is not happy about this situation at all.

-> Katja says get on with it, sacrifice MC’s horse to bring Garnok into this world. MC uses her powers to make a shield around them. Katja says fine, then I will push Justin off the platform and time you can’t save him. MC asks Sands if he is going to let this happen? What would Rosalind think of him now? She would surely not want a kid to die so she can live again? Mr Sands hesitates, doesn’t know if he is willing to sacrifice Justin for a promise of Rosalind. MC says Garnok is a force of destruction, not life and he is lying to Sands and cannot bring back Rosa, but Justin lives and he is his family. Katja is waiting for permission from Sands and she is getting more impatient by the minute. She yells at Sands to give the order and he can’t.

-> Katja pushes Justin off the platform and MC can’t do anything from the shield. The Dark Riders laugh, but Justin levitates back up. He says he has been practicing and just like his mother, Catherine, he is also very talented. He didn’t like almost dying the last time and prepared for this case. Katja is furious, and raises her hand at him, saying, cute, but cheap tricks won’t save you from the true power of darkness. She shoots dark energy at him, but a shield appears around Justin, cast by Mr Sands and it reflects the power back to hit Katja. The explosion also dazes Sabine and Jess.

-> Sands shouts at MC to flee and take Justin while they are dazed. Justin jumps on your horse and you also want to take Sands. Before he can react, a blast of dark energy hits him from behind, cast as a joint spell of Jess and Sabine. Jessica says I have always wanted to do that. You have to flee and leave Sands there.

-> You escape the platform and leave with the little boat to Goldenhills. You ride to Jasper’s farm with Justin and meet the Soul Riders there. Jasper is scolding you for getting Justin into trouble, doesn’t like this druid business that took his Catherine from him. You tell the others what happened. Linda speaks up, says I am fine with being the one to say it, but we need to save Mr Sands now. Justin agrees.

Saving Mr Sands:

-> Meeting at the Valedale spiral, going to the Secret Stone Circle, Justin is also there. Reporting what happened to the druids. All druids from Harvestlands and Winterdale met to debate whether to save Mr Sands. The conclusion is that we need allies and intel so we are going to rescue him from Dark Core. The others say we cannot be even sure that he is alive, so Linda and MC conjure up a moon vision to look for him. It shows that he lives, but barely, kept captive in some unknown Dark Core facility. You have to find out where.

-> Spying on DC with Derek. As a government agent, he knows where and how to get the information to find Sands. MC, Justin and Derek go to every possible Dark Core location and follow a trail. Finally we end up at the station above Valedale and manage to find a photo validating that Sands have arrived to the location of his imprisonment. It is not written where as DC is very secretive about him.

-> We meet up at the Valedale spiral and show the picture to the others saying that is all we have found, ready to give up. Lisa looks at the picture and recognizes the place: it is the DC Barricade, where she freed Starshine from is SSL 1. It is located just north from Anvil Woods, but the road is closed so we need a boat again.

-> Going to Cape Point to find someone willing to ferry us there. The Soul Riders and MC all plan to go and we manage to convince Justin to stay in Cape West as it is too dangerous for him to come. With the guidance of Lisa, we sneak into the DC Barricade at night. Linda conjures a vision and now that we are closer, is able to find Sands. He is held in the main building where Starshine was also held. MC, Lisa and Linda are going on foot, trying to find Sands, while Alex and Anne take the horses to a point where we can get on to escape.

-> We go through the Barricade and see many weird Dark Core projects, shipments of drakonium, artifacts, pandorian creatures in cages and imprisoned in a runic circle there is a massive, formless shadow monster. We can only see its glowing six eyes and huge clawed hand. We manage to sneak into the main building and find Sands in the same cage where Starshine was imprisoned. He spots them, but someone is coming. MC, Lisa and Linda hide and see Katja is there to taunt Sands.

-> She laughs. Oh look, how the mighty fall. Held captive in the very cage where you imprisoned the first soul horse. Another failed quest of yours. You could not get anything done even back then. Maybe I am going to be the new general of Garnok now. Sands tells her no, she isn’t going to be as she is nothing compared to Elise. You are weak, Ice Witch. You compensate well with your smarts, but you always were and will always be weak. And you know Garnok only values raw power. You are nothing to him.

-> He knows this will make her lose her cool. Linda realizes this is an opening and attacks Katja. They duel and Katja is too angry to concentrate. MC and Lisa get the cage open and get Sands. Katja wants to shoot him with dark power again, but Sands throws it back at her, weakening her a great deal. Katja uses an illusion spell, but Linda had enough of her magic. She counterspells, makes Katja lost in her own illusion labyrinth. The team runs and gets on the horses. Alex has stolen the remote opening the gates as Lisa instructed and we escape. We get to the shore and the ferry takes us back to Cape Point. Justin meets him and Sands says sorry for everything.

-> Mr Sands reconciles with Justin and the Baroness and moves back to Pine Hill Mansion. The Pine Hill Championship is unlocked. He becomes our ally, gives the Soul Riders important information about Dark Core and the Dark Riders. He promises to help us against Garnok.

-> MC has a vision: Darko has been stuck in the realm between worlds ever since Elisabeth’s sacrifice. Now Garnok needs a new general, so he rescues Darko. MC tells this to the others and Sands warns them that Darko is unpredictable, dangerous, very power-hungry and not to be underestimated.

PART 2: Cleansing Starshade Woods

Gathering intel:

-> The Nightmare Woods are still inaccessible, infested with darkness and shadow seekers. Team meets up in Meander, Linda’s idea is to check on Mr Sands and ask him for help in cleansing the Starshade Woods. MC and the Soul Riders ride up to Pine Hill Mansion and knock. A very grumpy Mr Sands opens the door and tries to send you away. You convince him to let you in, but he continues to be extremely grumpy. He leads you to the library.

-> You ask him what he knows about the Nightmare Woods. He tells you it is was the dark side’s plan to stop you from accessing the Secret Stone Circle, Darko, Jess, Katja and Sabine all kept throwing their worst dark magics to corrupt the forest. Over the years, the Starshade woods got so dark, the druids had to leave, the rangers had to leave and now noone dares to go into the haunted forest. Sands doesn’t remember all the monsters and magic that was thrown in there, so the Soul Riders keep investigating and find lists of them.

-> Sands also tells you, that the forest has a dark secret, but even he doesn’t know what it is. You have to find out if you want to cleanse the forest. Going around Winterdale, asking to people about the Nightmare Woods. Long investigation, eventually you go to Lord Marchenghast, but he only gives you cryptic answers. You investigate the Baroness’ and Fort Maria’s library too to find out more about Lord Marchenghast.

-> You find out what happened in the Starshade Woods hundreds of years ago: that was where the witches (druids) were burned. You and Linda go to Marchenghast Castle to confront the lord about it, but you cannot find him. You go into the castle and get lost in it, realizing it is cursed. You keep wandering and see the pieces of history as it was basically a tragic misunderstanding and the then young and gullible Lord Marchenghast was pressured into ordering the burning of witches. He and the castle was then cursed by one of the dying druids to suffer misfortune until he admits the truth. You and Linda finally find him in the „throne room” of the castle. Linda realizes using her powers, that the visions were not the complete truth, the castle shows you the lies of Marchenghast. You get him to admit he is not blameless in the tragedy and it is his fault as well. When the truth comes out the curse of misfortune is lifted. Marchenghast gives you a diary of the events.

-> The main story continues as you prepare for the Battle for Starshade Woods, but the Matchenghast Castle side quests are now opened. Lord Marchenghast wants to open the castle as a museum for the public and host an equestrian championship. MC is tasked to try to convince people that the curse is gone. You get merchants and horse people to come and organize the first Marchenghast championship. As the name roughly means „dark fairy tale” new magic horse breeds will be available to buy here after you do the introductory fairy tale quest line for them.

Preparation:

-> MC and the Soul Riders make a plan for the Battle for Starshade Woods. Now you know the druid ghosts, that originally haunted the place and the dark creatures the forces of evil put there. You have to find ways to neutralize each. Linda briefs you on the plan: come back every day to decrease the darkness of the woods to a manageable level until we can finally go in to cleanse the forest. You get a progression bar and have to complete daily quests for some weeks like with the Rune Runner grind.

-> You get multiple, various dailies every day. One quest is always soul riding, where you are sent into the edge of the forest to close a portal, vanquish a dark creature, etc. The other two are coop quests with one of the Soul Riders. With Lisa, you sneak in, avoiding the hostile creatures and heal and cleanse plants and animals from the darkness. With Alex, it is basically a sniper mission, you ride to a high point and shoot Shadow Seekers with lightning. With Anne, you use your light powers to dispel the dark wisps, collect their light and use it to cleanse a patch of forest from the darkness. With Linda, you ride to certain points in the forest and dispel Katja’s illusions by playing various mini games.

-> Every time you reach a milestone in the progression bar, you get a quest about the druid ghosts that died or were burned in the forest. The druids were five in total: Nimue, Moria, Lucius, Einar and Rosalind. You have to help the ghosts find peace. First, you find them in the forest, then you solve their murder (for example one was frozen to death by Katja), you make their last wish happen (e.g. take their bones out of the forest and to the place where they want to rest eternally) or bring their descendants to meet them (convincing people to come meet a ghost in the haunted forest is tricky). Lucius was Marchenghast’s friend and now wants revenge on him. MC convinces him to just talk and maybe tell him to go to hell, but Lucius ends up forgiving him and from now on lives in the castle.

-> Rosalind is the last one, who wants to meet Sands when you tell her he is alive to make sure he is okay. You bring Mr Sands to the Nightmare Woods and Rosalind says goodbye and tells you all that now she can rest in peace. The progress bar is completed and the Battle for Starshade Woods can begin.

Battle for Starshade Woods:

-> Druids, Soul Riders and MC gathering in Meander again. As the darkness decreased in the woods, Sabine and Jessica appeared attempting to restore it. You cannot let them undo your work, so it is now or never. The plan is to sweep through the forest, dispelling the final remnants of darkness and cleanse the Starshade Woods for good. The battle takes three days.

-> On the first day, you go into the part east of Crescent Lake station and disperse the remaining Shadow Seekers and dark wisps with the soul riders. The druids march behind you, cleansing the trees and animals. You get to Crescent Lake station, but Jessica is waiting for you there, defending it. Boss fight: she stands in the middle with a magic shield around her, powered by Shadow Seekers she summoned. You have to charge your lightning powers with the „catch a runner” soul riding mechanic and shoot the shadow seekers. After that you can hit her shield and defeat her. If the timer runs out she releases a dark explosion that knocks you out and you have to start again. When you defeat her, she retreats into the dark woods. You have taken the eastern part of the woods back.

-> The next day, you meet up in Cape Point village and do the same dance. You cleanse the part of the forest west of Storm Hill with the druids coming behind you. Sabine is waiting for you at the top of Storm Hill, promising she won’t go easy on you like Jess and makes a circle of fire around her and MC. Her bossfight works similarly to the Mr Anvir fight in Pandoria, except she is the monster chasing you. You have to dodge waves of fire, falling firebolts, gather sparks of power the Soul Riders summon to charge your attack and then run into her. She flees and you have Storm Hill Station.

-> The third day, you help Lisa and Anne first in pushing the front in Crescent Lake, then you fight with Linda and Alex in Storm Hill. In the middle you find Darko who is ready to unleash a massive dark creature he borrowed from Garnok. The thing is standing behind him in a cloud of darkness and you can only see its glowing evil eyes. Darko says if the forest can’t be theirs then it will be noone’s and the creature will have it. Mr Sands appears and taunts Darko. He says maybe you got what you wanted but it is not as easy being Garnok’s general as he thinks. Mr Sands counterspells Darko and the creature attacks its master. Darko teleports them both away in a panic and we win. Linda asks Sands if Darko is dead, but Sands says probably not, he has proven quite difficult to get rid of. -> The Nightmare Woods are cleansed and it returns to its original state: the Starshade Woods. It looks similar to the Hollow Woods, but with blue wisps flying around and also has a mother runestone and quests. Now we can get to the Secret Stone Circle on foot and the Winterdale rangers send people to the Crescent lake and Storm Hill Stations. The Starshade Championship is unlocked.

PART 3: The Kallters

The Blizzard:

-> Katja appears once again and unleashes a blizzard, but only on the Rimefang Woods. MC and the druids want to help, but noone can reach the kallter village unless they are invited. MC goes into the blizzard into Rimefang Woods anyways, trying to dodge the wolves. They start chasing MC and you run, but end up cornered in a gorge. A kallter girl Erika and her wolf Idun appear and save you. She leads MC to their village.

-> You meet the kallters: the council of leaders are Takuraq, Sedna, the high priestess and Uyarak, the spiritual leader (kind of a druid) whom you already met in a previous quest. Erika is the daughter of Takuraq. You have already met Nanook, who is a horse breeder. Malina and Anniq are the twins of Sedna, girl with golden hair, boy with silver and they do a little moon and sun circle magic. Kauyar is the main wolf trainer and Nasami is his wife.

-> MC is led into the communal hall and the council of elders accept your help against the wolves and Katja, but you have to gather reputation before progressing with the main story. Erika introduces you to the kallter village. It is in the middle of the Rimefang woods, next to a small lake. You have fishing dailies here. All of the kallters have their own tame wolves that keep the wild ones away from the village.

Gaining their trust:

-> In order to be able to properly help them and move around in the forest, you need a wolf. MC is sent to speak with Kauyar, who helps you bond with a wolf. They will run next to you in the Rimefang Woods and keep the wild wolves away so now MC can go wherever in the Rimefang Woods. You name it like you name a new horse you buy.

-> MC gathers firewood in the forest, helps repair the village walls, lights fires that the storm estinguished. In the forest, you have to hide from the flash freezes and dodge icicles, like in the first storm when you entered Winterdale. You have chores in Nanook’s stables for the fjords. You are introduced to Silver Runebark, the kallters’ Life Warden tree, that keeps Katja’s storm from destroying the village. When running around in the Rimefang Woods, you can sometimes see a wolf bigger and meaner than the others watching you. The kallters tell you it is called Amarok, but are strangely secretive and refuse to tell you more.

Fall of the Ice Witch:

-> Once you gathered enough reputation, the main storyline continues. The wolf pack of Amarok attacks and MC helps Nanook protect the kallters’ fjord horses. Katja is there, helping the wolves wreak havoc and using her ice powers. She says she has finally come to have revenge. MC helps stop her from freezing the village, but Nanook is cornered by the wolves. He turns into a bear and fights Amarok. The wolves are driven back and Katja flees.

-> Sedna and Nanook tell MC, that Katja is half kallter and hates them, wants to destroy the village. Nanook and his brother were cursed by Katja into a form of a bear and a wolf. MC agrees to help break the curse. The brothers have to trust each other again to break it (Amarok thinks Nanook betrayed him). Sedna and the twins help MC.

-> You have to find clues on how to break the curse. With Erika, you sneak into the den of the wolf pack using your magic. You find the writings of Amarok that he wrote before going crazy and permanently becoming a wolf. It tells you the full story of how Katja became like this. For looking different, having strong powers and being only half kallter the villagers treated her like an outsider and blamed her for every bad thing happening. She eventually got recruited by Garnok and destroyed the kallters’ previous village in Dino valley, making them leave for Winterdale to find a Life Warden Tree, that can protect them from the monster they created.

-> You confront Sedna and Nanook with this and they admit it is the truth. Nanook also chose the village over Amarok at one point and he is bitter. Amarok in turn used his wolf form to hurt Nanook’s horses and the cycle goes on. Erika says this is stupid we cannot be like this or the village is done for. Katja appears in front of the gates. She says now you see MC, I have a good reason for doing this. Help me get justice. MC says no and Katja unleashes the strom, blasting open the gates and the wolves pour in. Nanook changes into a polar bear and fights Amarok again, wins. Katja wants him to give in to hatred and strike Amarok down. This way he would complete the curse and stay as a bear forever because of his hatred. MC shouts to him not to and Nanook realizes. He changes back into a human and holds out a hand, saying i forgive you brother and hope you can forgive me as well. Amarok has managed to change back to human as well and takes his hand. The curse is broken. Katja shrieks impossible, but she cannot do anything. MC and Sedna unite their power and dispel the storm and Katja flees. Amarok returns to the village and the wolves of the Rimefang woods are no longer hostile.

-> Unlocking the Kallter Championship. You are rewarded with 100 Star Coins as it is the end of a big main story phase. The Wintersoul grind: the second "free" horse, like the Rune Runner. Now that you have completed the kallter questlines, you can start the soul riding-like grind and reputation collection with Uyarak. The Wintersoul is a special silvery-gray kallter fjord horse with ice blue kallter markings and it wanders in the Rimefang Woods. It was created when the a remnants of katja’s evil storm was trapped in a horse that ran away from Nanook’s stable. It has part of Katja’s power, freezing parts of the forest around it, needs to be tamed and who better to take care of it than MC.

PHASE 6 – Apocalypse

PART 1: Ashland and Sabine

Frostfire:

-> The dark side is properly angry now, that you have defeated every one of them again. They gather more dark power and openly attack Winterdale, sending Sabine to wreak havoc with her fire powers. Sabine always wanted to prove herself as best- now she wants to prove herself to Garnok, drunk with power.

-> The siege lasts a week, Sabine attacks different magical parts of the valley each day, until she depletes the powers she got. Every day MC gets called to a location and has to stop her. She brags about showing you all, that she is better, stronger, than Katja, who failed, just like Sands. Once the week is over she leaves and noone like the calm before the storm. The Soul Riders decide you have to figure out where she went, but before you could get on with it the earth shakes and there is a plume of smoke rising from Ashland.

Ashland:

-> This is bad. You have to get there to stop whatever Sabine is doing before she makes the volcano erupt and destroys half of Jorvik. First, you five are taking Avalon, Evergray and a Winterdale druid and ride to Explorer’s Rest and a ranger escorts you to Frostfire pass, but it is still frozen over. The druid says there is another way into Ashland. You ride to Dino Valley, but of course the path is still frozen.

-> The druid directs us to go talk to the Life Warden Tree of Dino Valley in the summit. Glacier Heart is peacefully slumbering still and we debate how to wake her. Before the team decides on anything, the ground shakes again and she wakes. At first she gets angry at you, but you manage to explain to her, that this is not your doing and you want to go to Ashland to stop it, but the path is frozen. Glacier Heart sighs: Do I really have to talk to her? Can’t you people just melt the ice of the road? The druid tells her respectfully that we are in a hurry, trying to stop the volcano from erupting and covering half of Jorvik in ash. That does it, because Glacier absolutely does not want warmth in her valley.

-> You can hear the telepathic communication between the trees. Glacier Heart calls out to her sister, Fire Glory in Ashland. She is very chatty and very ADHD and very excited about everything. It takes some tries for Glacier to explain to her that people want to go to Ashland, but the road is frozen. Fire Glory is very excited that she will get visitors and says hold on one second. She uses her fire powers to melt the ice on the road and the path to Ashland is finally open.

-> The team rides to Ashland and arrives in Ashfall village. There is a small community living there, some families and druids. The people grow extraordinary fruits and plants in the volcanic soil and the druids are stationed there to watch the volcano. Ever since the first quake, ash is falling from the sky like snow and the ground shakes here even more often. You ask about Sabine, but they didn’t see anything as they had to hide. You leave your druids in the village and go to ask Fire Glory about her.

Firefall:

-> Meeting Fire Glory, who is on one of the surrounding peaks, overlooking a valley. She likes the warmth in here, can’t image living in a cold place like like Dino and won’t shut up about how much she finds the fires beautiful. Linda politely shuts her up saying surely she would not want the valley to burn tho. She says no and we ask her is she saw Sabine. She did see her.

-> First, Sabine went to the caldera, and tried to control the fires to empower herself, but could not. Glory then saw her running around in the valley looking for something. We ask if she knows what, and the tree tells us about the Firestones. Hundreds of years ago, then the mysterious meteor shower rained pandoric stones, many landed in Ashland. Along the years they collected the fire energy of Ashland, and their pink glow turning to orange, they have become Firestones. Sabine is probably looking for these.

-> The Soul Riders and MC run around Ashland to collect the stones before Sabine does. Two progression bars show your and Sabine’s stones collected. When you found all you can, you return to Ashfall village as the druids found some more firestone locations. You go out, get them and now you have more stones, than Sabine.

-> When you return to the village however, you find the Soul Riders locked in anti-magic nullification circles. They tell you Sabine came and she was stronger than the four of them and she kidnapped Avalon. Alex tells MC that you are the only one still strong enough to defeat her, that’s why she attacked them separately. Sabine called you all to the volcano to surrender or she throws Avalon into the volcano.

-> You five ride up to the caldera. Sabine is at the edge, holding Avalon with magic over the lava. She’d drawn five more anti-magic circles and orders you to stand in it and surrender. Your lives for Avalon’s. The Soul Riders and MC all do, their powers are useless now.

-> MC has a plan to play on Sabine’s weakness. You kneel before her and admit defeat, saying she was right, she achieved what Sands could not, succeeded where Katja failed and Dark Rider Malumi is really the strongest opponent. The Soul Riders look at you like you’ve lost your mind and their reaction sells it to Sabine, who lowers her guard. Then you push Sabine and blast her with lightning and reach out for Avalon, barely catching him. Sabine falls into the lava and as her concentration is broken so are her magic circles and the Soul Riders help you pull Avalon up. Alex says nobody tell Fire Glory, but I fripping hate this place.

-> You collect Sabine’s firestones and go back to the village. As you have no use for them, you take them all to Fire Glory. She is very happy and melts the ice blocking Frostfire pass, opening the final blocked path to Winterdale. You ride back there.

PART 2: The Fall of Pandoria

Spying:

-> With Sabine gone, Katja weakened and Darko hurt by his darkness creature the Keepers of Aideen decide it is the perfect time to strike. Council meeting in the Secret Stone Circle, making a plan for how to defeat Garnok. Fripp tells us that he found the weakest point of Garnok’s prison: the Pools of Pandemonium in Devil’s Gap. He tells us that as of right now, he is imprisoned between the dimensions, that’s how he is able to access both Earth and Pandoria and that is how he was able to get Darko out of there. We debate different plans, but no decision yet.

-> The Soul Riders gather in Fripp’s rooms below and say that Linda and MC should scout DC using visions. You sit down to meditate and a series of cutscenes take place. First you see Darko standing in front of the portal, talking to a shadowy figure in it. They talk about Garnok’s return approaching, but the plans have been set back, since Sabine fell. The dark figure says my return also nears, you just have to buy some time. Darko asks what strategy you suggest and the dark figure says: They are so trusting in each other, it is disgusting. Time for some doubt. Conquer and divide, sow discord, make them make a mistake.

-> Darko’s evil plan, what we don’t see, is to make the Soul Riders send Garnok to Pandoria, where he will gather even more energy, will be stronger than ever and will be able to finally anchor himself to Earth. Darko knows MC is spying in a vision and he stages a scene. MC and Linda see him and Jess talk about how they must stop the Soul Riders from banishing Garnok to Pandoria.

-> We tell what we have seen to Fripp, not knowing this is a trap. Fripp thinks it makes sense. We have to sacrifice one world to save the other. We tell this to the druids and they agree to the plan, believing Garnok will be powerless and unable to reach Earth anymore if we manage to banish him to Pandoria. However this decision really divides the good guys, as a lot of druids believe Pandoria is not evil, there are creatures living there and the Keepers swore to protect all life. Evergray doesn’t like it either: How would you feel if someone decided Earth has to go, just so your world can live?

-> Ydris appears: How indeed. I believe one would feel quite resentful towards said people and would swore never no help them with anything ever again. Some druids ask him how did he get in here, but he just point at the runestones. I am pandorian you imbeciles. Typical humans. You surround yourselves with the magic of my world, take what you want and let the rest rot. Don’t count on my help when Garnok comes to destroy you all. Zee rears and they vanish.

-> The druids still go ahead with the plan. MC and the Soul Riders are piecing together the ritual that they will use to imprison Garnok in Pandoria. You go to the libraries of Silverglade, Fort Maria and Pine Hill with Linda to study magic circles. You gather magical herbs with Lisa, practice portals with Anne and go to Pandoria with Alex to gather crystals.

-> Now you only need to go to Devil’s Gap and convince Sive to let you do this. Linda stresses the whole way how will you convince Sive to give up the ancestral home of the vala (even if they drew power from Garnok’s prison), but when you get there she’s nowhere to be found. The Chaos Vortex is worse, than ever, a storm is raging above the gorge and lightning strikes. MC goes well that was easy, but Linda says easy never meant anything good for the Soul Riders. You go back to Fripp to report that you are good to go. Your final quest is going with Anne to close all of the portals to Pandoria.

Devil’s Gap:

-> Arriving at Devil’s Gap: the team still debates wheater they should do this, but settle for yes, they won’t have another chance like this. Using the many narrow, winding stone pathways of the valley you draw the lines of the magic circle. At certain points you carve pandorian runes into the rock walls as makeshift runestones. You make the whole valley into a big magic circle to open the gate of the prison for a moment, then banish him to Pandoria. The success of your mission relies on the fact that he is technically still sleeping.

-> Once the magic circle is done, however, Garnok stirs. MC has to ride with each Soul Rider to four different points of the valley and help them activate a rune, before riding to the middle. While riding through the pathways Garnok’s tentacles appear (like in SSL 4 and when you escaped Pandoria after finding Anne). You activate the four runes and manage to ride to the middle to complete the ritual. Garnok roars, a portal opens and the dark presence leaves the Pools of Pandemonium and is sent to Pandoria.

-> The good guys think they have won, but trouble hits immediately. Darko appears on one of the rocks above you, laughing at how you fell right into his trap. He meddles with the spell. Linda and MC have a vision of Garnok turning Pandoria dark blue and purple, breaking the islands and laughing, deep as an earthquake rumbles through the doomed world.

-> You have to act immediately. MC and Anne open a portal to Pandoria and the Soul Riders go there to stop him from destroying all of Pandoria. Once he’s done, he will also come for Earth, your only luck is that he is too busy breaking Pandoria. Linda directs you to make a binding rune, similar to what you did in Devil’s Gap. Riding around, dodging his powers. You manage to contain Garnok in Pandoria, but the realm now answers to Garnok and tries to kill you. Escape from Pandoria, the portal is collapsing. Some sun circle druids sacrifice themselves, staying behind to stabilize the portal, while we escape.

PART 3: The Hope of Pandoria

War effort:

-> Pandoria is off-limits now. All the portals are closed and the locations are guarded by druids to alert us if anything tries to come through. Garnok is empowered by Pandoria and even through he cannot come to Earth, his evil magic can reach it. Garnok-effect appearing everywhere in Jorvik, the sieges led by Katja, Jess, or Darko. MC has to fight it with soul riding quests.

-> Chaos in Ashland, a fiery entity terrorizes the valley. The Soul Riders are sent there to investigate. Sabine returns as a flying fire-ghost entity(the ghost model is like in the picture in SSL 3's Pandoria) and she is really pissed at you. She joins the sieges.

-> This cannot go on, we need a plan. MC suggests to use Jessica. We need information, have to find out how to defeat this kind of void power and how to seal Garnok back to sleep. Jess has a rivalry with Katja and still wants to outdo her to show Garnok she is the stronger one. We organize an ambush: Anne is the bait. When she attacks her, all of us appear and say we just want to talk. We manage to strike a deal with her- in exchange for information, she will have a victory over us that Katja did not. Some druids and Anne are against this plan, but they have to make a sacrifice to have a chance.

-> Jess tells the info we need right away. Anne is suspicious, says she must be lying, why not wait until we fulfilled our promise? Jess says because she can count on the good guys being disgustingly honorable and if she told something useful, they will surely make good on their promise. Jess reveals that Pandoria can be saved if we bring Garnok back to Earth to his prison. The prison ship also used the dimension between world to keep him imprisoned. If we manage to do this, his generals will lose a good deal of power also. Linda still uses moon power to see the truth and announces that she’s not lying.

-> Agreeing on the plan: the Soul Riders are to attack the DC Barricade, pretending that we are trying to free the creatures and get the artifacts. Now we cause all kinds of havoc in DC territory. Katja and Jess arrive to protect it. MC and the Soul Riders have set a trap for Katja and we imprison her in a circle. As Darko arrives Jessica attacks us and we pretend to fall back to put on a show for him. Jess got a good point from Darko for defending the barricade, while Katja failed again.

-> We tell the information we got from Jess to Fripp and he agrees to the plan. We need to try and save Pandoria even if it means endangering Earth, as we cannot let another world be destroyed by Garnok. We just need to convince the druids of it when we get the chance.

Shadowfrost

-> Evergray calls us to meet in Valedale. Why hasn’t Sabine come back to her human form? Evergray suggests the Dark Riders can be defeated by the combination of their own power and their opposite Soul Rider’s. For Sabine it was fire and lightning. Jess must be defeated by darkness (in Pi’s swamp) and Anne, Katja by ice (in Dino vale) and Linda. We plan to make these happen. We split up: MC helps Anne and Lisa defeat Jess first, while Alex and Linda prepare to defeat Katja. If we manage they too will turn into elemental ghosts (shadow and frost), like Sabine. They will still be able to fight us, but without human consciousness, just as primordial powers. Until they get their bodies back, this will leave Darko alone in fighting us.

-> Anne and Lisa lure Jessica into Pi’s Cauldron Swamp, playing on her pride. Anne can go all in, make it seem like she gave in to hatred, then when Jess is sure she will win, Anne reveals Jess has walked into a trap pursuing Anne. She stepped in the darkness seal made by Pi, which draws power from Jess’s magic. Lisa, Anne, and MC focus their powers on Jess, she disappears, a dark ghost flies away from the swamp. This was the easy part.

-> MC, Alex and Linda go to Dino Valley, but Katja knows already what happened to Jess, she is angrier than ever. Finding her at the Ice Witch portal, she attacks us. 1st race through Dino: to lure her to the frozen lake, where we can fight her. 1st phase: Soul-riding-like bossfight in the frozen lake, Katja has a frost shield. Dodging icicles, Linda helps see where K’s magic will hit, so MC can dodge it, Alex shoots her shield with lightning. MC has to keep them ice-free, free them if they are iceblocked. Without Linda, MC can’t see where the ice will hit and without Alex it is only her shooting the shield. After removing half of her shield here, Katja starts breaking the ice on the lake.

-> 2nd race: to the higher valley, through the pine forest. The 2nd phase of the fight takes place amidst the ice columns, same fight, lightning strike her, remove her shield. She is defeated, but with the last of her power, summons illusions of many characters, hides herself as one of them. Linda and MC is find the one and point at it for Alex to blast it with lightning. When Alex turns, the illusion wears the body of James. Katja begs Alex as James not to hurt him, but Alex collects the storm from above the valley and lightning strikes her. A frosty ghost flies away. Cutscene: Darko roars and curses before the portal of DC platform as the three elemental ghosts hover before him silently.

Saving Pandoria

-> Soulriding stuff all over Jorvik, fighting the three Dark Rider entities. The Keepers try to agree on the plan. The options: A, Fully sever G’s connection to Earth and get rid of hom for now (he still may find a way back later) and let Pandoria die, or B, Save Pandoria by bringing Garnok’s full consciousness back to his Earth prison, just like Jess said. The alliance finally decides to try to heal Pandoria, sever Garnok’s link to it and defeat the monster on Jorvik for good.

-> MC and the Soul Riders are going to the Garnok-ruled Pandoria: instead of pink, it is dark blue now. We are trying to stay hidden and set up a base camp. Anne really hates being here, we have to talk her into not breaking We have to avoid Shadow Seekers and corrupted creatures. We manage to heal a small bit of Pandoria.

-> Darko notices this and comes to confront us. He siphons power from corrupted Pandoria and gives the Dark Riders their human bodies back. They are so empowered, they are just toying with us. We take part in the three bossfights for each of them, losing in each. Our Soul Rider partner magics us to safety every time, but ultimately, it seems like we have lost. Our Aideen magics start to weaken as Garnok gets stronger. His giant silhouette appears on the horizon in the distance in an epic shot.

-> MC still wants to try and fight Darko, but he blocks all your pathetic attempts at magic. The Soul Riders are on the ground, giving up. Even Lisa says all hope is lost. Then, Ydris appears with the Hope of Pandoria to save the day. For him it transforms from a fridge into a pink and golden blazing Sun and flies up to the sky its searing rays of light burning away garnok’s darkness. The low roar or a kraken reverberates from the distance.

-> Ydris combines his power with the Soul Riders’ and MC's, but Anne is still on the ground. He shouts at Anne: Stand up Sun of Pandoria and help us send him back to his prison! Concorde walks to her and holding onto Concorde, Anne is pulled to her feet. She guides the spell, and we banish Garnok from Pandoria completely, back on his prison ship on Earth, fully anchoring him to Jorvik. Darko and the Dark Riders are also sent back to Earth.

-> Linda walks up to Ydris to thank him, but he says he is still angry at them for doing this to Pandoria. He only helped the world, but still won’t ever help us again. Pandoria is accessible again, but parts are still corrupted and in ruins. Garnok is banished from Devil’s Gap and the Chaos Vortex disappears.

-> Victory, end of main storyline in Winterdale. You get a reward of the final 100 Star Coins upon returning to the Secret Stone Circle and the druids talk about possibly soon heading north to meet their brothers and sisters in Spring Valley.

TO BE CONTINUED!

THE OTHER PARTS:

SSO Rewritten 2nd Part: Springvalley https://www.tumblr.com/starshinedragon/716459529087401984/sso-rewritten-springvalley?source=share

SSO Rewritten 3rd Part: Summerplains https://www.tumblr.com/starshinedragon/726343248992419840/sso-rewritten-full-story-series-summerplains?source=share

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captain-mj · 1 year

Note

WEREBEAR KÖNIG ANON HERE, I'VE BEEN MEANING TO SCREAM ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE PART 2. Thank you so much for writing it! Of course I am here to request a part 3 too, maybe even for horror night (no pressure to get it in in for that tho, I am already excited for any of the monster/horror stuff coming out that night) I need them to go running in the woods together, fuck, them intuitively helping each other out in their own way can be so soft and so personal. KÖNIG GIVING HIM HIS FUCKING HOOD. I love the dynamic you started building here, Ghost needs and deserves a pack and people he can trust and rely outside of himself. Seriously, man, thank you for this.

Yes Yes Yes!! Part 1 and Part 2

Also I told myself I should post more and then I checked and although I post a little less, everything is like twice as long as it usually is and I feel less bad

König had gotten his hood back the next day, washed and dried. At first, he had worried that Ghost had put it through a machine and it had been shrunk but upon further inspection, he could see it had been hand washed and air dried. He brought it to his face and breathed in the smell of the soap. It wasn't his. It smelled like the one Ghost used on his clothes. Something about the thought made König's thoughts spiral.

It was close to winter, meaning König was getting tired. Part of his body wanted to eat more and get stocked up for the winter, but he doubted Ghost would let him just take up real estate in the bedroom like that. He'd also need to ask for the time off and extra rations and dozens of other little things. It was hard to explain this to his instincts, but he was a human at the end of the day and he could just ignore them. Well, most of them.

As much as he appreciated the gesture, Ghost had made the hood almost unbearable to wear. Everytime he breathed, it smelled like Ghost. He’d need to rewash it because this was hell. People kept trying to talk to him and all he could think about was his Lieutenant and what he was doing and how he was feeling.

Then, the question reappeared. How long had it been since Ghost had shifted? It had been vaguely explained to him that Ghost was rather wild while shifted. Dangerous and lethal. It’s why he was usually put on missions where it wasn’t needed to shift at all or where his nature could be used. Seeing how he went for the killing bite with no hesitation, even with the small rapport they had between them, König had no doubt it was true. The soft look in Ghost’s eyes when he shifted back showed he desperately needed to shift more. It wasn’t particularly healthy to stay locked in as a human all the time.

This led to a rabbit hole of thoughts though. If Ghost shifted, he’d need someone nearby to help him. It would have to be König of course. And that meant König would be near him. Both undressed.

His face turned so red he was worried people would see through the mask somehow. Ghost had been so pretty when he had seen him. He wanted to see more. So much more.

König made the decision without really thinking about it. He knew if he kept thinking about it, he wouldn’t do it so he had to ask as soon as possible.

“Ghost.”

“Yes, König?” Ghost looked up from where he was practicing his sniping. He had such light eyelashes.

“Do you want to go out tonight?”

Ghost paused his movements on the gun and moved so he was laying on his back and looking directly up at König. “What?”

“Tonight. Do you want to go to the woods?”

“Why?”

König shrugged, anxiety creeping in. “To shift. Blow off steam, ja?”

Ghost continued to stare at him for a few minutes before nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Seriously?”

“Ask me again and I’ll change my mind.”

König quickly just nodded before grabbing a gun and sitting next to him. They were both excellent at hitting the targets, but König twitched occasionally. He’d bounce his leg or shake his arm like he had something on it. Ghost watched him do these things, thinking of how it was clear why they wouldn’t let him be a sniper, but also finding the need to move rather amusing.

“Sorry…” König sounded sheepish.

“It’s fine.” Ghost blew the head off of one of the dummies. “Ah. They really need to improve the quality of these. They’re rather bad.” He got up and stretched, joints popping as he did. He offered König his hand and he gladly accepted, letting him pull him up. They went their separate ways and it wasn’t until after dinner they met up again.

“So how do you usually leave base?” Ghost appeared next to König who luckily did not jump.

König hummed. “Usually just walk out the back door.”

Ghost nodded. “Fair. Doubt anyone would try to stop a big guy like you.” He meant it as a compliment. König didn’t know how to feel about it but he nodded.

Ghost followed König, looking around nervously. It was odd, being switched like this. König walked around confidently. Ghost blamed everything he was feeling on the fact that he’d be shifted.

God.

He’d be shifted.

Ghost hadn’t thought this through.

König led him to his favorite spot, a thickly wooded area that had a few paths that made it easier walk around when he was a bear. He, again refusing to think, started to undress.

Ghost stared and he let his eyes roam over König’s back. Thick scars from claws wrapped around his sides, most likely from grappling with other animals. A few bites here and there. And then once the hood and mask was removed, he saw the thick scars again. Now that he could take a good look, even with the moonlight making it hard, it was clear that it was from a collar. Ghost slowly took off his gloves and then his jacket. His hands shook when he went to remove more clothing.

“Stay turned around. I’m not out here to let you ogle me.” Ghost grumbled at him.

König put his hands behind his back and stayed at attention.

Ghost pulled off his shirt and then his boots. He kicked off his pants and shifted.

König heard the thump of paws and subsequent growling and took that as a cue to shift as soon as possible. They looked at each other and König tensed, just in case the wolf decided to brawl. He was a bear so it wouldn’t be the most intelligent thing to do, but cornered dogs and all.

Ghost jumped at him, slamming their heads together before jumping back again and barking. He slammed his paws down and König was bewildered. Maybe he should’ve read up on wolf mannerisms before doing this.

Ghost barked loudly to get his attention before trotting around dramatically. His tail wagged and König realized he was trying to play. There were so many thoughts in his brain but he ignored them all to lumber after Ghost. He had to be careful. Ghost was big, but he was still bigger and he really didn’t want to accidentally hurt him and ruin the first time he had shifted for fun in a while.

Ghost ran off and König chased after him. He couldn’t do sharp turns too well but when Ghost noticed, he did them less, trying to keep them in pace with each other instead of running off. König eventually managed to trick him and pin him down.

Ghost’s tail wagged harder but he bit König’s limb to make it clear he did not want to be pinned. He rolled in the grass and looked… happy.

König rolled next to him and wiggled so the grass would scratch his back a little. The stars were pretty.

Pretty soon, Ghost was up and at ‘em again, trying to tussle with him.

Their playfighting was a little awkward but they were having fun. König noticed Ghost letting him win rather easily and wondered why. He stretched and yawned. Ghost jumped back and his ears went down, staring at König. He calmed down as soon as König closed his mouth again. Something about his teeth… Too big.

Despite how much fun they were having, they couldn’t stay out there all night. They still had things to do in the morning, so regretfully, they had to shift back.

Ghost’s body popped as he shifted back. He groaned and twisted to make the rest of his back pop, still lying on the ground.

König felt awful. Horrible. Ghost was vulnerable. The soft look on his face.

But they were shifted and they were right next to each other and then König’s lips were on Ghost’s. It was soft. Sweet. Ghost’s eyes fluttered closed and he didn’t move just yet.

König pulled away, already ready to apologize when he saw how cold Ghost’s eyes were. How blank the expression was. But he was yanked down before he could think about it. Their lips met again and König gasped into it. Ghost’s mouth moved against his own, tongue pushing past his lips to map him out.

König slowly put his hands on Ghost’s body, gently touching him like he’d shatter or snap. Ghost had no such reservations as he bit König’s lip and then ran his hands down his back. He yanked him away by his hair, feeling such a rush at seeing the bigger man let him.

“I want you. Right now.”

König blushed bright red. “We don’t have lube. Or protection.”

Ghost flipped them over and grabbed his coat. “Vaseline works right? I’m clean. Get checked every six months and I haven’t slept with anyone sense.” He forced König’s legs open, glad he hadn’t let him get dressed yet. König

König nodded, covering his eyes. His whole body had turned as red as strawberry and Ghost got the urge to bite him like one. So he did. He made pretty indents of his own teeth.

König squirmed and panted as he worked him open, not going easy on him. Ghost growled at him. “You’re too tight. Relax.”

König panted softly and tried, but it was a bit difficult. He clenched around Ghost’s fingers in a death grip and Ghost slowed down. He made circles on König’s hips with his thumb and moved his fingers steadily instead. Once he found his prostate, he brushed it gently, watching König shiver and arch his back. König bit his lip hard and he tried to press back against him. Ghost didn’t let him do more than brush against it, working him open a lot easier now that König had a goal in mind. When he pulled out, he thought König would start crying.

More vaseline and then he was carefully lining up with him. König grabbed his hand tight and his legs wrapped around his waist. Ghost pushed in slowly and had to pause to catch his breath.

König was gorgeous. All littered with scars and freckles and muscle. His tummy was a little soft, perfect to grab and his waist was definitely… what did they call it? Slutty little waist?

But he was also deathly tight. It was almost painful but König whimpered and Ghost needed to hear more of those. He slid in a little more and König let out a shuddering breath, looking anywhere but Ghost.

“So big…” His accent had thickened and the words were barely comprehensible.

“That all you can take?” Ghost meant it genuinely. He wasn’t exactly small and he didn’t want to hurt König.

König only heard it as a challenge. “No.” He pulled him closer and Ghost grunted as he bottomed out. Those damned whimpers. It took too much self control to not start rocking his hips into him. Self control Ghost didn’t have.

König’s hands gripped Ghost’s hips and at first, he thought he was trying to make him stop but he just held on to him. He brushed his sweet spot again and König moaned and then buried his face in Ghost’s shoulder to hide. Ghost learned from the prep and moved slowly, now hitting it dead on and being steady.

König was breathing pretty hard and kept clenching desperately. He clearly wanted more, but Ghost was going to make him ask for it. Took longer than he was expecting, but König was anxious at the best of times.

“Please, Simon.”

Ghost slammed into him and König bit him in retaliation. He refused to make any more noises besides the whimpers he couldn’t choke down. Ghost’s arms wrapped around his waist as they held on to each other, being more feral than they should be. More feral than they had the excuse to be. König’s raked his nails down Ghost’s back, noting the scent of blood but ignoring it. Ghost moaned when he did and nuzzled against him encouragingly. They found each other’s rhythm, slotting together like puzzle pieces.

König pushed one of Ghost’s hands to his cock and it was embarrassing how little he needed to finish. Ghost pulled out and finished on his thighs. He hadn’t asked to cum inside and he didn’t feel like asking now. They panted for a bit and Ghost shook his head.

“I shouldn’t… If I cro-” König yanked him down to kiss him. Words didn’t seem to work well with Ghost so he was trying this instead.

Worked perfectly.

#cod #cod mw2 #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare ii #simon ghost riley #ghost cod #König x ghost #König

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rastronomicals · 1 year

Photo

9:02 PM EDT June 12, 2023:

David Sylvian & Holger Czukay - "Plight (The Spiralling Of Winter Ghosts)" From the album Plight & Premonition (March 1, 1988)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

★★★★★

The best ambient album I have ever heard.

#David Sylvian & Holger Czukay #Plight & Premonition #Plight (The Spiralling Of Winter Ghosts)

0 notes

mystsee · 8 months

Text

DRIFTED ✦ SIMON GHOST RILEY

PREV ✦ PART 4 ✦ NEXT

✦ about: something happened when simon left, something you don’t want him to know, yet when he comes back, your reaction to him gave him all the answers.

✦ content: afab reader, graphic violence mentions, mentions of possible s/a, panic attack, blood, knife, death mentions, anxiety, depressive thoughts, no mentions of y/n

✦ a/n: ehehe wrote this in one go 🫠

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

just a week has passed since simon left, enough for a certain psycho come back to you.

you were trying to sleep in your room, cold weather making you all cuddled up in your bed. after a long session of work today pulled an all nighter, your body was begging for a rest. which was what you thought you would be doing.

an hour of tossing around in your bed, a sudden sound woke you up, it was weird, like someone was pushing around something. you thought it was maybe a neighbor moving around a table or so. it was barely 8pm, but winter made the sky look darker right now, making it look like it was 3 am.

a minute later you heard it again, but this time louder and clearer. that was definitely not a neighbor, it sounded way too close to you. you felt fear creeping up on you, was someone on window?

a million thoughts spiraled inside your mind, that couldn’t be him, he was arrested wasn’t he? maybe something crashed on your window? a bird? who fucking knows, you tried not to think it could be him.

you always had very good hearing, and it was very useful right now. slow but deep footsteps were heard, like they were trying to find something or someone.

by now you were sure none of your friends were inside your home, they always told you when they would come over. definitely an intruder, you thought.

immediately you grabbed the knife next to your bed, reminding you of simon

“keep it love, you never know what could happen” a worried stare was evident in his eyes “acting like i live in the most insecure neighbor simon” you said softly laughing “i’ll be okay, nothing has ever happened here” oh how wrong you were

your heart was beating so loud you couldn’t even hold the knife correctly, you were standing beside your door now.

the air in the room was way too cold, making the leggings and sweatshirt you were wearing not helping at all, you were shivering so bad you could drop the knife.

holding the knife stronger, you heard the footsteps closer to you, and faster, making you dizzy for a second, what where you supposed to do know? just stab who ever was in your home?

you heard very subtle the door handle moving, making you hold your breath, slowly the door started opening, covering your entire frame, but you could see with the mirror in front of you who was it.

that’s when your heart stopped. he was supposed to be arrested! with the police officers! interrogating him! what the hell was he doing in here?!

his sick voice said your name, making you flinch, oh how you hated his voice, he started walking closer to your bed. the sheets making it look like you were there, hence why he started touching all your sheets trying to find you you were sure you were going to burn them now

you saw him looking around your room, until he stopped, and looked in the mirror. you moved as fast as the speed of light. but all his attention was on finding you, making him see the subtle movement.

in a second the door was closed, very loud, and he was smiling like a freak, you just showed him the knife, pointing at him “stop!” your voice sounded so fragile “don’t you dare step close to me”

he just made a small laugh sound making your insides turn sourly “why so scared? i just came here to talk” he said putting his arms up a little

“by breaking my door lock?” he took a step closer to you making you raise the knife higher “what is wrong with you?” your breath was making it harder for you to breathe “why don’t you leave me alone?” “because, you belonged to me, and you’ll belong to me again”

he grabbed your hand with the knife and twisted it, making you almost scream “get away from me!” you said pushing him with all your force, but that didn’t bother him at all, it almost looked like he liked it.

he pushed you to the wall, making you hit your head and loose your sight for a second “if you keep moving you’ll just hurt yourself dear” he managed to cross your arms in front of you, his face so close to you, making you nauseous. but you still had the knife with you.

“i said let go of me” you felt his hand wander lower to your leggings, making you panick, his other hand was on your throat, if you didn’t do it know, you would go unconscious.

his chest was pushing your arms to you, but you managed to move your arm with the knife lower, closer to his stomach. the bastard was so focused on his hand near your lower parts he never saw you still had the knife

you were going dizzy by now, your hand was loosing force but you found all the strength in you to do it. the moment you felt his hand touch your lower part, you angled your hand to his stomach, stabbing him so deep he screamed.

“you fucking bitch!” he stopped choking you, slowly moving to the floor. you felt the air again inside you, tears coming out of you.

you let go of the knife, your eyes were so wide you couldn’t even breathe properly, what the fuck did you just do? you just stabbed a person psycho. you stood there in shock for about 5 seconds, what am i supposed to do now? you thought panicked.

the blood was spreading fast on your carpet, making you nervous, it wasn’t a pretty sight. you grabbed the wall behind you for support and moved to the side fast.

but it seemed like he still had a bit of life left, he grabbed your ankle while you were walking, making you double over to the bed, you didn’t have much strength left, making it easier for him to drag you to him.

you grabbed the duvet with all your force and moved yourself up to the bed. your phone was on the other side of it, making you stain the duvet with his blood. you grabbed your phone from the nightstand and called 911. you could’t see him bleed out in front of you, in your room.

…

never did you ever thought you would stab someone, let alone your ex. it’s been 3 weeks since the attack, and you never told your friends. you were still in shock you stabbed someone, how would they react?

police finally got him inside jail, you installed a camera with simon before he left outside your apartment, psycho didn’t see it, all his breaking the lock thingy act was evidenced.

he was arrested, and a trial was going to happen. you had to testify. a part of you was terrified to see him again, you stabbed someone, you still see his blood in your room.

you were somehow calm to know he was in jail for now, but that didn’t mean your paranoia left.

every night you woke up almost screaming, the nightmares were eating you alive by now, your eyes were begging for sleep, yet you couldn’t. you see him in your dreams and you hate it.

your friends were worried, they just saw you slowly pass from energetic and glowy to almost sick. you just couldn’t bring yourself to tell them. you hung out less with them too, every once a week maybe.

all these madness was making you sick in the head, body and soul. your apartment was a mess, your dishes were dirty, your poor cat even looked worried for you, going you almost everywhere you went around the apartment.

you knew simon was coming back anytime now, add it to the list of things worrying you. will he be back? is he okay? what else could happen now? you dying? that could probably be much better than enduring whatever the hell is happening.

you just wanted a pretty life away from any danger, him, and be at peace. it seems like it’s all the opposite now. it was shameful how depressed you were. you couldn’t bring yourself to even make the bed. your thoughts were depressive as hell, guilt as well on yourself.

you lost track of time, you weren’t sure if it’s been already a month or maybe a week has passed again. therefore it was quite the surprise when simon was infront of your bedroom door, confused as hell.

simon was back now, he had a long talk with price, managing to stay here for a while again, with no unexpected missions. he was almost dying to see you again, how were you? what have you done? perhaps something new related to your job, he was all excited to see you again.

as soon as simon knocked on your door, the door moved, did you knew he was coming back? he thought, what he didn’t know is you were scared to call someone to fix your door lock, what if they knew you live alone and stalked you? ptsd was on you again.

you just pushed a bunch of chairs in front of your door and tried to sleep, keyword tried. simon moved even more the door, and heard all the chairs screeching, what the hell?

you knew sleep deprivation was gonna make you crazy anytime now, so you decided to take a sleep pill, it seemed like today was going to be your first day to sleep more than 3 hours.

simon moved through your flat, and saw all the mess, he knew you were very tidy, ocd, yet when he saw your plants almost dying and a big pile of dirty dishes, he knew something was wrong.

even though you were deeply sleeping, your body was still on high alert, meaning as soon as the chairs screeched, your body bolted up, your hand instinctively grabbing the knife next to you.

you were scared, to say the least. your neighborhood was very safe, the only person that could be coming inside was him again. you felt your throat close. he’s in jail. you repeated that mantra in your head.

simon never crossed your mind, that he is back. you stood again beside your door, seeing the door handle moving slowly. it all felt familiar again, the tears threatening to fall again.

as soon as the door opened, you went for it, you moved infront of the door with the knife on your hand “don’t mov-“

simon. was infront of you, with part of his gear still on, wide eyes as same as you. “you’re back?” simon heard how fragile your voice was, your body was practically trembling with fear. in an instant he connected the dots

“did the bastard do something?” you heard his harsh words, and slowly realized he knew what happened. anyone who came inside your flat could see the signs “he-he is in jail, what do you mean?”

you were denying it, in front of simon, a soldier who may have a 6th sense. “don’t lie to me love, and please, drop the knife” his tone wasn’t as harsh as before, yet you knew he was getting impatient “i’m not lying, i’m okay simon” you said angrily wiping your tears.

you moved behind and hid your knife quickly “you’re saying, you a total control freak, with a literal mess on her home, chairs on your door, may i say your lock broken, and ready to stab me, is okay?” you freezed spot on

your back was to him so he couldn’t see your scrunched up face “stop, please” stop what?” he scoffed “don’t try getting all angry at me, what the fuck happened in here?”

simon was mad at you, that’s what you thought, but he was worried sick inside, he thought the bastard was in jail now “i’m sorry okay” you said facing him “i’m not okay right now and i would appreciate it if you left me alone” simon knew you didn’t mean those words, but he saw how stubborn you were acting, and decided to take your words “fine, i’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want”

you saw him walking out as fast as possible, closing the door to your room. you panicked, anxiety making it’s way to your throat. you didn’t mean that at all:(

“wait simon” you said crying outside your door, he was on the first step of stairs, and just turned his head to you, not even his back. he knew you wouldn’t let him go.

“i’m sorry okay? this is very hard to me” you said clutching your door with all your force “i’m not okay right now, and it’s hard for me to-to” you were hyperventilating, simon was in front of you in an instant “hey, breathe for me please?”

he walked you backwards, until you hit a chair. simon just turned you around and closed your door pushing the chairs. he dragged you to your sofa, but made the mistake of grabbing your wrists, you winced and moved your hands away from him.

you tried hiding them from him, but he just manhandled you until you were on top of his big thighs, and your arms on display for him. he saw all the bruises, more specific, the hand prints on your arms.

you just snatched your arms from his hands and moved all the way to the other side of the sofa “don’t, please” he saw your angry stare on him. which rarely happened. maybe this was more serious than he initially thought

“will you tell me what happened?” you were trying to contain the sobs, this would be the first you would talk about it, and it wasn’t going so good.

simon felt a big wall in between you, it’s almost like you were a whole different person. he saw you looking straight past him, a lost gaze on you

maybe it was actually good if he left “look” he took a deep breath “just know that i’ll be here when you need me” he was dying to know what happened even though he knew what happened. as soon as he stood up your words frozed him “i stabbed him” he heard your small voice, shaking with fear again.

simon just turned his face to you “what did you just said?” he was not expecting this at all

“i said i fucking stabbed him simon, and it’s making me fucking crazy” you said in between angry breaths.

“i keep seeing him on my bedroom floor, his blood staining everything, and i just can’t erase that image out of my head” your head was in between your legs now, guilt building inside you

“i’m going on trial next saturday” you muttered

simon just stood you up, startling you for a second, and held your face on his hands “don’t you dare feel guilt on you right now” you just stared at his chest. simon moved your face up to his eyes “you heard me?” his deep voice was very close to you now. “you defended yourself okay?, i don’t know what the hell happened in here, but what i do know is that the bastard deserved it”

you felt like you could breath again, all the tension in your body left. you just needed to hear it, to know you weren’t at fault.

you knew what he said was true, making the tears fall freely from your eyes. you slowly moved your arms up to his back and held him close to you.

“i know, but still, it feels so fucking weird, i never thought i would do that in my life” he knew very well how you felt. he moved his head on top of yours and kissed it “i know, but i’m here for you know aren’t i?”

you felt simon take a deep breath. he needed to let it out, being without you felt empty, and he promised himself that after this mission he had, he would never let you go

you moved your head, practically craning all your neck to see him, his deep voice rumbling in his chest “i regret myself for letting you go in the past, even more now, perhaps you wouldn’t be dealing with all of this if i fought harder for you” did you just saw a tear on simon’s face? it was very dark, so maybe you were wrong

“all i know is that i won’t make that mistake again love, will you allow me to be in your life again?”

he felt anxiety inside him, he wasn’t sure if you would accept, it would be totally okay though, he understands, he did just left you for a month. he didn’t realize he was inside his head overthinking until you moved your soft hands to his face.

“simon you were already in the moment i saw you again” he felt his heart stop, you had a soft smile on your face. he grabbed your face again with his left hand.

you saw him put his forehead on top of yours, your lips so close to each other, with just a slight movement and you could kiss each other.

you moved yourself closer to him, your lips almost touching his, until you felt simon’s fingers on top of your lips “wait” he saw your doe eyes move up to him, a questioning gaze on him “i need to ask you something” “go on” you were impatient now, you needed to fell his soft lips on you again

“will you move in with me?”

your heart stopped, were you dreaming?

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

AHHHH cliffhanger 😏

i think the next part will be the last one!!!!!!!

perhaps a little angst will make an appearance 👁️

taglist

@the-queen-of-england183 @sluttyforsimon @hotaruteba @honey-on-mars @actorryswife

#protective simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley civilian life #simon ghost riley fic #simon ghost riley x female #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost riley fluff #simon ghost x you #simon cod #cod mwii #cod x reader #cod x y/n #simon ghost riley x y/n

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orqheuss · 11 months

Text

For whatever we lose (like a you, or a me)

(Ominis Gaunt/Sebastian Sallow/GN!Reader ANGST)

Pre!Parenthesis Universe

Summary:

“Oh for the love of—” Sebastian cut himself off, quickly drawing his wand from his sleeve and pointing it at your chest. Images danced behind his eyes; Solomon destroying the plant that could have cured Anne; The blurry image of the goblin that had cursed his sister running from the house, cackling in villainous mirth; finding his parents bodies in the cellar, thick plumes of colored toxic smoke spewing from their cauldron. His vision faded to a striking black. White hot pokers stabbed into his temples, and he cast his wand at you in a blind rage. “Crucio!” *** The Scriptorium called your name, and who were you to ignore its song? At least, that's what you told yourself as Sebastian pushed you and Ominis deeper and deeper into the mausoleum.

Word count: 9k

Tags: arguing, violence, cruciatus curse, dark!sebastian (kind of), sexual humor

AN: I’m moving all of my fics over from Ao3 to make them more accessible! These are my fics.

Not a sound could be heard in the moonlit, desolate hallways of Hogwarts. The distant star casted a haunting glow over the courtyard and shone through the grand windows of the Great Hall. Figures long lost to time danced through the paintings lining the hazelwood walls, waltzing to an imaginary concerto. The ghosts floating about chatted quietly about their history, telling tales of cadences forever forgotten in old textbooks. Their whispers shivered the leaves in the trees on the campus grounds, leaving them humming at the fall winds cascading from the sky and turning their once vibrant green spires into a burnt orange. Lanterns lined the Grand Staircase at the heart of the castle, a paragon of regality and the wisdom of the great wizarding school. Baroque styled banisters basked in the glow, expelling person-shaped shadows on the enormous walls lining the mystical architecture. Down the stairs laid an ornate stone door, its architrave adorned with a cosmic silver snake. Two freshly lit braziers framed the entrance and swayed in the steely breeze of the dungeons, its smokey ash pirouetting in romantic couplets towards the ceiling.

A third was sparked to life just down the way. The line of light seemed to lure in anyone who were to walk the halls past curfew; beckoning them with the promise of mischief and pleasure. Standing before the final brazier, basking in its luminescence, were three young students. One leaned against the far wall of the corridor, arms crossed tightly against his chest with a sullen look adorning his features. His eyes seemed to catch the light and shimmer like frosted glass on a winter morning. Another stood in front of the boy, directly under the cold stone of the giant candelabra. He was beaming with elation, his eyes glittering with waywardness and intrigue. His brown irises seemed to reflect the fire back in challenge, almost daring it to blaze brighter than he did. Between the two was the final student. A slight frown quirked the corner of their mouth, glancing back and forth between their two friends in trepidation. They could feel each emotion emitting from their companions like a thick fog, coating the hallway and leaving the braziers the lone match shining through the storm. Each felt something different about their quest— had different motives for the scintillating adventure. They all heard the distinct call to the Scriptorium before them, and felt more than compelled to answer. With a great rumble, the stone wall sloughed away and opened up to a chasm leading downward. A spiral staircase slithered from below and attached to the ledge, hissing out a stream of steam in its wake.

The three friends stood in awe at the display, amazed at the grandiloquence of the long dead wizard who made this place. They were about to enter Salazar Slytherin’s Scriptorium, a feat very few could claim as their own.

Sebastian Sallow turned on the balls of his feet and beckoned his friends over, a giddy look twinkling in his eyes and stretching his smile. The prospect of finding a cure for the curse that plagued his sister heavily outweighed any unease he may have had at the daunting entryway. He nearly vibrated with excitement— the need for thrill buried itself deep in his bones. He could taste the tombs of secrets hidden in the enigma before him, feel the leather bound books worn with oil from the fingertips of his house founder. The forbidden magic thrummed in his veins and set his blood aflame like the brightest sunlight. Something unfamiliar flashed in his eyes, something dark.

Ominis Gaunt, the heir of Slytherin himself, flicked his wand from his large robe sleeve and sparked it to life. A red light pulsed from its tip, and the hallway came more into focus in his mind. He pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards the imposing archway, closer to his family history simmering below. He looked striking, noble even, with his even, strong steps. Only someone close enough to be in his own skin would notice the slight tremble in his hands, the sweat that beaded at his brow. Anyone else with his condition could hear the steady hammer of his heart against his rib cage, the fast but even beats swimming in his ears and resting behind his eyes. He thought of his dear aunt Noctua, the last of the Gaunt’s to enter the foreboding mausoleum— how she had disappeared soon after finding its entrance. A shiver ran up his spine and something akin to fear lodged itself in his throat.

You looked on at the two boys. You had no feelings for this moment, nothing to go off of but the words of your two comrades. You peaked down the chilling stairs into the never-ending darkness. It seemed to hiss in contempt at being awoken. This metaphorical pit of serpents had fangs, and each dripped with a deadly poison befitting the strongest men. The blackness crept up your arms and buried itself in your hair— it whispered sweet nothings into your ears, enticing the ancient magic flowing under your skin. You inhaled the titillating aroma of devillment and stored it deep in your lungs. Excitement and worry crashed against your soul and swirled like a hurricane in your stomach, sending ripples of anxiety through your very bones. You truly didn’t know how you felt at that very moment, but you knew, more than anything, that you wanted to protect your friends. Something inside, though, felt familiar. Something was calling out to your magic, and you felt inclined to answer.

You pushed the anxiety aside for now. The two boys, now standing next to you, both had things they needed to learn from the Scriptorium, and you were going to help them find it. The idea of adventure took over your senses at that moment and spread heat through your chest, glowing as bright at the braziers you had just lit.

Even Ominis, a very stoic and reserved boy to most, seemed to have a gleam about his face that shimmered in eagerness. Not many knew, but he most definitely had a taste for chaos— he had to with the company he kept. There was something so intriguing about the Scriptorium to him. Maybe it was something forged in his very being, him being a Gaunt after all. Either way, the young wizard turned his attention towards his companions in a silent confirmation that he was ready to go. You cleared your throat hesitantly, drawing the attention of Sebastian away from the dark hallway before you.

“Alright boys,” you gestured towards the entrance with your hand, “shall we?”

The two nodded in your direction. Sebastian turned to you with a cheeky grin decorating his features. “I haven’t seen a tunnel this big since your mum.”

Another thing about the Sallow boy: he very rarely took anything seriously.

At the unimpressed look you gave him, he held his hands up in a placating manner, chortling to himself, “Aw, come on. That was a good one—”

You reached your hand towards his face and promptly thumped him on the forehead with a flick. Sebastian dropped the troublesome smirk and quickly brought his palm up to rub at the affronted spot, hissing through his teeth in pain.

You looked at Ominis next to you, and as if sensing your disappointment he shook his head while looking up at the ceiling, muttering to himself, “Merlin, help me,” before beginning to walk down the daunting staircase.

You and Sebastian fell into step behind the young Gaunt, trusting his instincts and sentient wand better than your fleeting eyesight. The tunnel was unequivocally dark, even the lumos dancing in front of your face barely pierced the surface. Your shoes made a distinct squelch sound on the wet cement with each step deeper into the pit.

Down,

down,

down you went.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, descending into the fathomless unknown. Each sound echoed off the tightly packed walls, bouncing back and forth like a well crafted game of wizards chess. The seconds ticked by slowly, cascading around you like the steady stream of drips coming from above. The piping loomed imposingly above your heads and drizzled along the black-stone walls. You must be truly under the castle, you supposed. You felt tightly packed like a tin of sardines— three fish wiggling together towards the unknown fate of the stew pot. Ominis could smell your discomfort behind him, and quite honestly, he was inclined to agree. He couldn’t sense the end landing, if there even was one, in the infernal devilry that was the accursed sepulcher. The scent and taste of mildew and stale air coated his nasal cavity and larynx, making it impossible to determine anything else from the two orifices. He would gripe about his lack of sight in situations like this, at least normally, but he doubted that it would make much difference at the current moment. There was truly nothing around them.

Sebastian could taste the unease in the air from his two companions, and he detested the feeling greatly. It was of the utmost disrespect to the boy to turn down adventure; there was absolutely nothing in this world that he didn’t want to poke and prod, to know how it ticked. If there was one thing that his parents passed down to him before they died, it was that. He understood that it was a daunting task, and a very large ask of his dear friends, to take this journey with him, but for Merlin’s sake, it was Slytherin’s Scriptorium! He had only ever read about this monumental library, hiding deep in the caverns of the Hogwarts underbelly. How could he say no to this journey, this discovery? If it helped Anne along the way, what was the harm of it all?

Just as you were beginning to think you would never leave the Hadean staircase, it finally puttered off to a smooth path of river-stones and a dimly lit concourse. Ominis stood at the forefront of the group, his wand casting a small bale-fire and illuminating more of the imposing hallway. Sebastian chuckled lowly behind him. Wrapping his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders and leaning his head towards you, his eyes focusing deep into the darkness before him, he hummed.

“Hmph. Dark, ominous corridors. My favorite!” He cheesed at your bubbling laugh, snickering to himself at the obvious annoyance of the other boy.

Ominis bemoaned the statement, groaning and throwing his head back minutely. A hand raised to pinch at the bridge of his nose. “No comment.”

You turned towards your blond haired friend, placing your own hand on his shoulder and leaning in next to his ear, a dangerously coy simper tweaking up the corners of your mouth.

“I certainly love one of Ominis’ corridors.”

The wiry boy wiggled out from under your arms, making a sound of disgust at the comment as his cheeks turned a bright fuchsia. Sebastian desperately held in giggles behind his hand, watching as the boy made an obscene gesture with his middle finger in your general direction. The taller boy stepped closer to the other, gently grasping his arm by the wrist and redirected the gesticulation to face more fully at you instead of a little to the left where it once was pointed. Both of you paused, looking between each other's eyes and the offending finger with barely contained mirth, before combusting dramatically into boisterous laughter. Sebastian leaned against the wall in support, nearly screaming around the laughs that wracked his body. You still stood across from Ominis, doubled over with your hands on your knees. Gasping breaths left your lungs as you teared up in humorous pain. Ominis’ scowl somehow got deeper, and once again he turned away from the pair of you and began to walk down the hallway himself— screw you two hooligans to the sticking place for all he cared.

“Yes, yes. Hardy har, laugh at the blind fellow. Incredibly mature, you both are.”

Sebastian walked up to your hunched form, patting you gently on the back before grasping at your shoulder and helping you stand. You both leaned on the other for support as the last of your giggles tittered into the air around you. Taking a deep, cleansing breath before shakily releasing the air, you began to walk after the tiffed boy. His haunches were raised above his ears, only the tips poked out and were flushed a light pink. You quickly ran to catch up with his quick steps, waving your wand around in front of you to avoid any obstacles in the low lighting. Your arm landed on his shoulders once again, and you sniggered jovially,

“I do apologize. That was terribly coarse of me, my dear Ominis.”

Sebastian slid up on the other side of the boy, wrapping his arm around his other shoulder and resting his hand at your elbow. He accentuated his accent, adopting an incredibly posh vernacular. “Indubitably. Frightfully uncouth of us. Please forgive us, dear friend.”

Ominis growled in the back of his throat, mumbling curses under his breath and shrugging off both of your arms. “Go lick a leprechaun taint, the both of you.”

You both gasped in outrage.

“How dare you, good sir!” Sebastian cried, a hand fluttering over his heart and a scandalized look decorating his visage.

You took a similar stance. “We are children of God! Deviant behavior such as that must be saved for one's wedding bed.”

The two pureblood wizards paused and turned towards you, confusion laced in their eyebrows. The brunette leaned closer to you, arms now crossed in befuddlement, and glanced at you from his peripheral vision like he was about to share a secret.

“What’s a ‘God’?” Sebastian whispered out of the side of his mouth.

You turned towards the boy, finger raised and mouth open with an explanation at the tip of your tongue. You quickly decided against it, though, as you knew it would just confuse them more. Best not try to explain muggle religion to two boys who have never stepped out of their small towns until it was time to go to school. You sighed, lowering your hand and about facing the end of the hall, ambling along ahead of the pack. The two boys shrugged and continued after you.

At the far end of the hallway stood two imposing stone walls, an ostentatious doorway slid into the space between. Looking at the entrance, embellished in the texture of scales and decorated with serpent imagery, you felt a sense of dread wash over you. Each turn in this maze of a catacomb seemed to linger with a foreboding aura, flooding your senses and raising the hairs at the back of your neck. You turned to look at Sebastian, now at your elbow just behind you. He was gazing at the door in pure curiosity, his eyebrows pinched together in contemplation. He ran his hand along the intricate carvings, tracing each snake with delicate precision.

Ominis slowly entered the room, his head tilted left and then right with a pensive look adorning his face. He stood in the center of the room and closed his eyes, seemingly listening to something that only he could hear. Soft hisses slithered through the room from the pipes above, adding to the dreadful vibe. Each hiss caused him to twitch in one direction to the next. If you didn’t know any better, you would say that he was possessed by a snake itself.

His eyes suddenly snapped open, startling you with his ferocity. He quickly paced towards the door, running his hand along the carvings with Sebastian. The homing signal at the tip of his wand cast an eerie glow on the wood, mingling with the green fire torches lining the walls. He leaned his ear on the door, listening closely to the whispers in the walls. He tilted his head towards the pair of students, gesturing with his chin at the entryway.

“It’s speaking to me.”

You quirked an eyebrow at the boy. “The wall is talking to you?”

He nodded, pressing his ear against the wall once again. You walked towards the blond, pressing the back of your hand to his forehead in puzzlement.

“Are you feeling alright, Ominis? Are you ill? How can the wall be ta—”

“Shush!” He gently grasped your arm and lowered your hand to your side. “No, you numpty. It’s speaking parseltongue, the language of snakes.”

Sebastian leaned away from the door, snapping his fingers in excitement and pointing at the blind boy.

“I forgot you could speak parseltongue!”

Ominis huffed to himself, trepidation coating his tightly spoken words, “Well, I don’t particularly enjoy it. Parseltongue is notoriously associated with dark wizards, something as you know I have tried very hard to disassociate myself with.”

He leaned away from the door, instead resting his hand on the wall beside it. He looked up, unseeing, at the grand archway decorating the edges of the room and listened carefully once again to the hissed whispers.

“I think I need to speak to the door for it to open. Please step back, the both of you. I don’t want you hurt if something goes awry.”

You both took a noisy step back, making sure to alert him since he briefly put away his wand in favor of leaning on the stone wall with both hands.

Ominis sighed to himself, blowing upwards and dislodging part of his hair from his styled quiff. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”

From his mouth came a series of lethargic hisses, stringed together as if in a sentence. The sound seemed to fill the entire room, echoing off the stone walls and bouncing back at you from all angles. It amplified steadily as the hisses from above answered in turn.

Three of the decorative serpents came to life within the wood, slithering through the holes of the door and gliding along the edges of its carved trenches. A stream of mist puffed from its outer ridges, silencing the voices floating around you with a defined burst of powerful air. It blew the hairs dangling around your face backwards, tickling the tips of your ears and the back of your neck. Every hair on your body stood on edge and you suppressed a shiver.

The three of you stood silently for a moment, basking in the sudden quiet. It was like a bubble that had mysteriously appeared around your heads spontaneously popped, sending a rush of startling stillness pulsating directly into your ears.

Ominis was the first to break the spell, clearing his throat around the tightness that rested there, his cheeks glowing with a soft rosacea, and gestured through the now open doorway.

“After you.”

Your face broke out into an animated grin. “Ominis, you truly possess a rare ability, indeed!” You gently brushed your hand on his shoulder as you passed through the archway. Ominis’ cheeks blushed a darker red, and he reached his hand behind his head, rubbing softly at his neck in embarrassment.

“Oh, er, it’s nothing.”

Sebastian stayed in the back of the group, a scowl on his face and his arm crossed tightly across his chest. He glowered at the door like it affronted him, cursing it for allowing his friend to show his rare gift. Stalking towards the next room, irritation heavily prevalent in his steps, he muttered to himself the phrase you had just spoken in a mocking tone. He wasn’t sure which of you he should feel jealous of— you complimenting Ominis, or Ominis getting complimented by you.

Both, he decided. He was jealous of both.

The three students passed under the bend and entered into the next room of the monolith-lined maze. Once fully inside, the imposing door behind you closed with a loud slam. Sebastian ran at it, pulling desperately at the carvings and pushing with all his strength. Ominis joined him, throwing his weight at it with a grunt. The door didn’t budge.

“Shit!” Hissed the brunette, punching the door one last time before taking in the room behind him. “Guess we’re stuck in here until we find the next room.”

The blond leaned back against the wood, an annoyed puff of hair leaving his mouth. “Until we find the next room? How do we even know that there’s a next room? We could very well just be stuck here until we inevitably die of thirst or hunger, whichever happens first.” Ominis turned his head towards the sound of the pacing boy. “Sebastian, we’re eating you first.”

Sebastian stuttered in outrage, “Why me?!”

“Because it was your idea to come here in the first place!”

“Say that to my face you—”

Tired of listening to the boys argue, you lit the tip of your wand and began to explore the new area you had unlocked. It was a large stone room with a gunmetal gate at one end, a giant lock decorating the middle. Spiderwebs covered every corner, starting from the very far bottom corner and stretching to the upper corner across the room. You shuddered, thinking of the large arachnids you had fought not that long ago. You hated spiders. Making your way closer to the gate, you traced your finger along the lock, noting strange shapes in the metal. It seemed like it wouldn’t take a key like normal, it was a puzzle of some sort.

Turning towards your friends, you tuned back in their argument. They were face to face, arms crossed, with indignant expressions.

“It’s your ancestor that seems to like puzzles so much!”

“Look in a mirror, Sebastian.”

“How dare you!” He stuttered for a moment, wracking his brain for a suitable comeback, “Were you dropped on your head as a child?!”

Ominis scoffed, a sarcastic grin stretching his lips, “Oh, bold of you to assume I was ever held—”

“BOYS!” You shouted for them from the gate. “Can you have your lover’s quarrel later? I found something.”

Their faces instantly softened a fraction at the sound of your voice. They stepped away from each other, embarrassed by their squabble, straightened their cloaks, and walked over to where you stood.

Sebastian came up to the gate, running his fingers along the lock like you did, before grasping at the bars and giving it a good shake. The gate rattled against the ground, scraping at the concrete below, but refused to budge. He took a step closer, craning his head around and looking through the small slits in the metal. His collar dug into his neck uncomfortably. Growling, the boy tugged on the offending cloth.

“This bloody collar—”

The freckled boy stood back, looking at the gate once more for a moment before undoing his robe and tossing it unceremoniously to the ground. He shrugged off his jacket and vest next, leaving him just in his white button down and tie. He quickly pushed his sleeves up to his elbows, shaking out his arms in the process, and loosened his tie before undoing a few buttons near the top of his shirt. Grasping his wand between his teeth, Sebastian took hold of one of the horizontal metal rungs in the gate and pulled upwards with all his might. Still no movement.

A blush began to creep up your neck at the display before you, and you averted your eyes from the very attractive boy. You turned towards Ominis, only to find him in a similar state of undress. He was in the process of carefully undoing the buttons around his cuffs and folding the sleeves to his elbow. You noticed he had neatly gathered his jacket, vest, and robe and placed them atop one of the assorted rocks littering the ground. He began to walk towards the other boy, listening to his struggling grunts of effort. Your blush somehow got brighter.

“Let me try.”

Sebastian took a step back and waved his hands in a “have at it” motion. Ominis approached the gate in a similar stance to the other boy, flexing his forearms and pulling upwards once again. You could see his muscles straining under the material; he may have been slim, but he certainly wasn’t unfit. Eyes skipping from one boy to the other, one with his hands on his hips, panting at the effort he had just exuded, and the other now pondering the gate before him, a finger resting on his chin and hand resting on his other elbow across his chest, you suddenly felt like the room had gotten at least ten degrees hotter.

In your flustered state, you took a step back away from your companions. You bumped into something just behind you, a piece of sharp stone slicing through your shoulder. Releasing a hiss in pain, you grasped at the wound and quickly turned around, looking for the offending object. Just over your shoulder stood a large stone statue of a snake poised to strike. It was resting on two circular bases, one atop the other with just enough space between to twist them to different directions. You noticed symbols decorating the rims of each— they were the same shape and style as the two on the gate lock. You quickly crouched down and took hold of the stone, turning it until both bases lined up with the ones on the lock. A loud click sounded through the room and the gate before you opened.

The three of you quickly turned towards the sound, wands poised in front of you ready to strike. Seeing no danger, you all lowered your weapons and turned back towards the statue. You crouched yet again, running your fingertip along the other symbols.

You spoke to the boys over your shoulder, “It’s a puzzle. You have to match the gate symbols to the ones on the snake.”

Sebastian barked a laugh, coming up behind you and gazing at the sculpture. “Absolutely brilliant, you are! Bet I could do that just as well, eh?” He patted you on your shoulder with pride, not noticing your new injury. You clenched your teeth, a pained hiss escaping through the gaps. The brunette drew his hand back in alarm, looking at the small streak of blood on his palm. He took your arm gently, eyebrows furrowed at the medium sized cut in concern.

“Stars, you’re hurt! What happened? Are you alright?”

You placed your hand over one of his, looking at him over your shoulder and forcing a laugh. “That’s how I found the statue in the first place. I’ll be fine, it’s just a scratch.”

He looked at you with doubt, but let it go, releasing your arm and taking a step back. “If you say so.”

You stood, shaking out your arms and shoulders. His hands felt like small fires against the cool air of the mausoleum.

“Okay, Ominis and I will stay here and look for more of these puzzles. Sebastian, you go look in the other room and see if you find anything. Call out if you need backup.”

Sebastian saluted two fingers in your direction before running at the open gate, grabbing at the taller ledge of the other room and heaving himself up. You watched him disappear onto the other floor. You and Ominis spread out, each taking a different corner of the room. It was bigger than you originally expected, going on for at least the length of a classroom. There was another gate at the very center of the room, the same as the other. Your eyes scanned each corner of your side for the distinct shape of Salazar’s sculpt, calling to Ominis on the other side of the room.

“So, why does Salazar Slytherin like snakes so much, anyway?”

Ominis shrugged, “Some legends say that he was an animagus— that his form was a basilisk.”

You whistled lowly, “That’s a big snake.”

The boy chuckled softly, going back to the original silence directly after. Ominis bit his lip, chewing it over what he should say next. He didn’t like the silence, it made him feel like he was back home. The ambiance of the Scriptorium certainly didn’t help, either.

He took a deep breath before speaking. “Are you truly alright?”

You smiled, moving over to his side where he was feeling along the wall. You rested your hand on his shoulder, a feather light touch that felt like a heavy weight because of his nerves. “I am, I promise. Please don’t worry about me, everything is fine.”

He turned his face towards your voice. “I always worry. About the both of you.”

Your face softened at the confession, bringing your hand up to gently caress his cheek. He leaned into your touch, eyes closing at the contact. Brushing your thumb against his cheekbone, you felt a surge of nerves in your stomach; butterflies bumping around in the inner lining of your gut. You opened your mouth to speak.

“Ominis, I—”

A short shout cuts through the quiet. You both whip your heads in the direction of the open gate, calling out to the boy on the other side.

“Sebastian, are you alright?”

You hear him fumble around for a moment, calling in return, “The statue bit me! Be careful not to get it wrong!”

Ominis gently grasped your chin, turning it back towards his face. He listened to you expectantly, patiently waiting for you to continue your thought from before. The blond was incredibly nervous, hoping that you couldn’t tell that his hand was shaking. You hesitantly flick your eyes from his irises to his lips, soft and inviting. You wet your own, taking a shaky breath in.

“What were you saying?” Ominis whispered, his face a hairs length away.

Your eyes quickly slid over to the left, feeling incredibly hot under the collar all of a sudden. A strange shaped rock caught your attention, curved at the base like a worm. There it was, the final puzzle. You gasped, fumbling out of Ominis’ hold on you and quickly scurrying over to it, turning the dial to the shapes on the other gate. Just as yours slotted into place, a second click could be heard from the room over. The second gate opened with a loud, rusted creak, leading into a third, and what you hoped was final, room.

Sebastian made his way back over to the two of you, an elated grin stretching across his face as he gazed into the next section of the crypt. Ominis had dropped his arm when you de-tangled yourself, now crossing both in front of his chest with an expression similar to someone who smelled something foul.

The three of you crept into the room, wands poised for any danger that may come forward. The gate slammed shut behind you once more, trapping you there like before.

“Salazar Slytherin isn’t done with us yet,” Ominis whispered, a grave seriousness adorning his visage.

You quietly make your way to the other side of the room where a large, disfigured door lay. It was covered in carvings; scratches marred the corners, flowing dangerously into disturbing images of screaming faces. You felt the air around you grow even colder than before, a shiver running down your spine. There was a flutter of paper to your right, and you swung your wand towards the sound. The tip illuminated an old piece of parchment, covered in dust with sections of it nibbled away by rats. You gently pick up the letter, afraid it would fall apart at the slightest movement. On it was a journal entry of sorts, big looping cursive depicting the fate of the last explorer to make it to this room. You carefully scanned the note, each word filling your chest with dread. Gazing down at the ground near your feet, you quietly gasp at the sight of a decaying skeleton. Its bones were a stark alabaster against the gray concrete floor; spiderwebs weaved throughout the skull and down to the rib cage.

Noctua Gaunt.

You quietly ushered Sebastian over to where you stood, handing him the final journal entry of the woman before you. He scanned it, his eyes growing larger by the second and his face adopting a grim expression. The freckled boy looked at you for confirmation, and you gestured to the skeleton below. He gasped quietly in his throat, looking over his shoulder at the other Slytherin quietly pacing by the gated entrance.

You quietly spoke, sympathy lacing your tone, “Ominis, I’m so sorry to have to tell you this. There’s a note over here, next to a body.” You cleared your throat uncomfortably. “It’s Noctua.”

The boy froze his movements, head tilting down towards the ground in sorrow. “What happened to her?”

“The note says she was stuck in here, and that she could only open the door with an unforgivable curse. She didn’t have anyone else in here with her, so she was unable to escape.”

You walked up to the now shaking boy, his hands grasping at his opposite elbows to ground himself. You gently moved your hand to his shoulder, stroking the joint with your thumb. He roughly shrugged your hand away, returning to his pacing; his face morphed into a look of pain. His hands ran through his hair in anguish, mussying it up into a wild mane.

“She died stuck in here, and we will suffer the same fate. We will be stuck down here forever— the next person to enter will find our bodies like we found hers.”

Sebastian bent down to pick up the note you dropped, studying it closely again. He quickly paced towards you both, anxious nervousness rubbing off of him in waves.

“Don’t give up quite yet. She says that she couldn’t leave because she was alone and had no one to cast the spell on. There’s three of us— we can get out! We just have to cast the unforgivable.”

Ominis threw his hands down in agitation, spitting at the other boy, “That’s dark magic, Sebastian! Unforgivables are unforgivable for a reason. You can’t just cast one, you need to mean it, and I don’t particularly want to hurt either of you. Do you?”

Sebastian’s eyebrows knitted together in irritation, “If it means getting out of here alive and finding a cure for Anne, I’ll do anything I have to.”

You stepped between the two squabbling boys, holding your hands aloft to keep their distance from the other. This argument was getting heated fast, a darker, more dangerous aura rested under the surface than the argument in the prior room. You spoke to the brunette to your left, “Sebastian, which spell is it? What do we need to do?”

He scanned the note for a third time, eyes alight in a combination of rage and panic. His expression grew grave, and he felt something lodge itself in his throat. He forced the words out from around it, slightly choked with emotion, “We need to cast the cruciatus curse.”

Ominis’ wrath was palpable in the air, filling the room like a thick fog. “Absolutely not! There must be another way out. There is no way in Merlin’s name that I’m letting either of you cast that spell!”

The taller Slytherin growled, throwing the note down on the ground and pacing back to the horrifying door. He ran his hand along the faces, each twisted in pain. He sighed, pushing his anger back down into his chest. It would do them no good to argue with each other.

“I understand that you’re scared, Ominis, but there isn’t another spell. This is the only way out.” He took a deep, steadying breath, before finishing his thought. “You’re the only one here who knows the spell. It should be you who casts—”

“Are you soft in the head!? I would rather die than cast that spell again. I question our friendship just at the fact that you would ask that of me.”

Sebastian pressed his forefinger and thumb against the bridge of his nose, pinching it in exasperation. He turned on the balls of his feet towards where you were, silently watching the fight with fright in your eyes. He walked towards you, placing both of his palms on your shoulders and looking deep into your eyes.

“It’s up to us, then.” He paused, searching your face for something. His eyebrows creased in concentration and something else that you couldn’t name. Fear? Anger? Assurance? You weren’t sure. You weren’t sure you wanted to know. He quickly spun away from you, beginning to pace the length of the room while muttering to himself, tapping his wand against his leg in a sporadic rhythm. You watched from your spot next to the door. It seemed to glow with evil energy, spreading its wicked tendrils around the room like a well-fed devils snare. You could almost feel it crawling its way into your nose and mouth, wrapping around your throat and squeezing the air from your lungs. Rapid breaths escaped from your lips, your heart pulsing rapidly in your chest. Your wide eyes, absolutely swimming in terror, refused to leave the daunting door. You open your mouth to speak, before a resolute voice cuts you off from your thoughts.

“Cast it on me.”

Your breath caught in your chest, freezing in your veins as your blood ran cold. Surely you didn’t hear him correctly? He wasn’t asking you to—

“Cast it on me, it’s the only way.”

You slowly turned in his direction, meeting Sebastian’s beautiful brown eyes, normally filled with warmth but now cold and hard. He stood directly across from you, the glow of the door casting a striking shadow on his youthful face. His demeanor was all straight lines; tight and unmoving in discernment. There was no changing his mind, he had made his choice— his figurative bed. He would rather take the curse himself than have to cast it on either of his closest friends. You saw the determination in his eyes, in the thin line of his lips and jagged edges of his clenched jaw. He was an immovable force, and who were you to try and bend physics to your will? You closed your eyes, gathering your resolve, before meeting his eyes once again. The fire behind your irises burned brightly, a blazing inferno ready to take the entire world into its flames.

“Alright, if you’re sure. Do you know the spell?”

He looked at the door again in trepidation before meeting your gaze, something unknown still swirling in his irises. “In theory. I can teach it to you.”

The both of you moved through the motions of the spell, repeating it a few times to make sure you knew what you were doing. The movements in itself felt dirty— wrong, even. Like you weren’t supposed to be privy to this kind of knowledge. Your wand arm felt numb, like the cold was seeping into your very bones and inducing hypothermia. You swallowed thickly, before raising your wand to Sebastian’s chest. You stared into the other’s eyes, both filled with intense worry and fright.

“Are you ready?”

The brunette took a deep breath through his nose, clearing his mind and attempting to calm his rapid heartbeat. He nodded his head, not trusting his voice, eyes squeezing shut in preparation for the unimaginable pain he was about to experience.

Your shaking voice spoke, mouth feeling weird around the accursed word.

“Crucio.”

A slight red spark shot from the tip of your wand, but no pain came to the Sallow boy. His eyes shot open, looking at you across from him. You were shaking like a leaf, staring confused at your wand and then at him. He knitted his brows in angered confusion.

“What happened? Why didn’t it work?”

“I-I don’t know.”

Ominis spoke from the back corner where he had sat himself, head leaning heavily on the wall behind him and his arms resting on the tops of his knees. His face was riddled with resignation. “I told you, you have to mean it. You have to want to inflict pain on the other person.”

Sebastian growled loudly, his teeth clashing together harshly as he clenched his jaw in anger. “If you’re not going to offer anything helpful, just be quiet.”

You stood in stunned silence at the boy's ferocity. He quickly rounded back towards you, teeth clenched in a near snarl. He pointed at you accusingly,

“Why aren’t you angry? You need to be furious! Yell at me— tell me this is all my fault! Let me have it!”

You stuttered at the boy, hands shaking even more forcefully now. You knew what he was doing; he was trying to make you hate him. He wanted you to be so angry at him that you could easily cast the curse. Unfortunately, the tactic seemed to have the opposite effect on you. Your heart ached for the boy, listening to each word he said and knowing somewhere in your heart that he thought this of himself. Apologies filled your mouth and spilled out like a waterfall of dismay. They splashed against the ground and the droplets sprayed everywhere, bouncing harshly against the echo chamber walls.

Sebastian continued yelling, rage pouring from his being, “Stop apologizing! I brought us down here, it’s my fault we’re in this situation to begin with! I’m the reason you have to cast this spell! You didn’t want to come here at all before I basically forced you and Ominis. Look at him, he’s petrified! I did this, cast it on me!”

Tears gathered in your eyes, horrified terror coursed through your body because of the boy across from you. He was breathing heavily, eyes ablaze and nostrils flaring like a bull. You had never seen him like this before. The anger poured from him and swirled around the air like a dense cloud, permeating every inch of the desolate cavern. Ominis hesitantly stood from the corner, intense worry spreading across his face. He slowly approached the two, steps soft and slow, hands outstretched in front of him like he was dealing with a raging animal. He could smell the tension, feel the red hot heat of fury and agitation.

He hesitantly spoke, his voice shaking with a soft timber, “Sebastian, take a step back. You’re scaring them.”

The frenzied boy rounded at his friend, snarling and gnashing his teeth, “No, they have to do this!”

You continued to spew apologies, the words getting swallowed by the thick, maroon fog and evaporating into vapor. Tears cascaded down your frightened face, staring unblinking at your rampaging friend. He was nearly foaming at the mouth in outrage, his eyes wild and hardened. He didn’t look like himself, a complete stranger in his own body. All Sebastian could feel was anger, extremely hot and branding his very soul with a wave of wrath. He could hear your pitiful cries, Ominis’ begging for him to stop. He wouldn’t let you both stand in the way of curing his sister.

“Crucio!”

Your screams filled the small room, ricocheting off the walls and burying inside the duo's ears. Ominis slapped his arms around his head, bending over in pain, his sensitive ears amplifying the violent outburst tenfold. His heart shattered in his chest at the sound of your pain, crushing his soul in its devastating grasp. The sound snapped Sebastian out of his trance, his face morphing into one of absolute horror and revoltion at what he had just done. He dropped his wand in shock, stumbling backwards into the nearest wall and sliding down it. Tears welled in his eyes as he watched you writhe on the floor in never-ending pain. He brought his hands up to his mouth, covering it in distress, and whispered curses and pleading apologies against his skin.

“Oh Merlin, what have I done? I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to.”

Pain— that’s all you knew. Your blood was boiling under your skin, the veins feeling like they were going to burst out of you in a shower of blood at any moment. You clutched your abdomen in agony, nails biting into your arms in desperation. Blood ran down from your hands, coating your sleeves and staining them red. Each organ felt like it was dying slowly, decay seeping deep into your body and coating every surface. Your heart pounded harder than ever before, threatening to combust right through your ribs and out of your chest. Every nerve ending fired off in rapid succession, blazing through your body like a wild inferno and leaving intense burns in its wake. Your head was the worst. It felt like someone stabbed a freezing ice pick through your eye socket, retracting it and pushing back in with each pound of your heart against your skull. Bile rose into your throat, evaporating around the force of your wails of pain. You were curled on the ground, arms tight against yourself in protection. It felt like you would never be happy, be well, again. The torment went on for what felt like years, centuries even, wracking your body with heaving sobs and otherworldly screams.

In an instant it was over. Sparks of residual magic shot against your skin, shaking your body to its core. The world around you was dark and silent, your senses absolutely fried. A heavy weight was resting against your back, pressing against you with a relieving, grounding pressure. Your hearing returned first, flooding in like you had just rinsed the water from them.

“Come back to us! Are you alright? Damn it, please say something!” The panicked voice of Ominis filled your electrified brain, the sound grating against your ears. He pressed his palms against your cheeks and raised your head from its spot on the cold ground, wiping the tears from your face. He rested his forehead against yours, listening closely to your shuddering breaths. “Please, give me a sign that you’re still in there.”

A groan eased its way out of your tight throat, pushing past the damage your screams had done and croaking through like a toad. Ominis sighed in relief, pressing a soft kiss to your temple before gathering you gently in his arms. He stroked your hair, letting the last of the tremors make their way out of your body. Your consciousness faded in and out, lids fluttering open and closed around the blackness resting just behind your eyes.

“Shush now, don’t push yourself. Everything’s going to be okay.” Ominis gently coaxed your head to rest against his collarbone, his cheek pressing against the roof of your head. He continued his movements along your hair absentmindedly, lulling you into a soft sense of security.

The blond spoke to the distraught boy behind him, voice devoid of any emotion. “We need to get them to the infirmary.”

Sebastian broke out of his morose stupor, panic rising in his voice, “We can’t! She’ll know that we’ve used an unforgivable! Not to mention, we’re out past curfew. We’ll likely get expelled, or worse!”

Ominis sighed inwardly, his head leaning back and smacking against the wall behind him with a dull thunk. He knew that Sebastian was right, no matter how much he wanted to throw the boy to the wolves at that very moment. If they were to bring you to the hospital wing the nurse would ask all three of them questions, and none of them were prepared for that. There wasn’t a single lie in the world that would be that convincing. With a final growl of agitation, he made a decision.

“Fine, the Undercroft, then.” He leveled the taller boy with a harsh glare. “Go get whatever you’re looking for and meet us down there. I hope this trip was worth it, Sallow.”

The clock tower sounded three times, signaling the beginning of the witching hour. Two students rested against the chaise lounge conjured up out of an old shipping crate. Your shoulder had been dressed, the bandage peeking out from under your ripped blouse. The same was done for the indentations on your arms, half moons lining your biceps in a circle from your sharp nails digging into your skin. Ominis gently stroked your hair from where your head rested on his lap. You had fallen asleep not long ago, your quiet whines of pain tempered out and gave way to startling silence. Anger festered under the boy’s skin, warming him to an uncomfortable degree. It burned in the back of his mind, boiling against the memory of your screams and whimpers of immense pain. He had half a mind to curse Sebastian where he had stood in the Scriptorium. Ominis heard his panicked breaths and whispered apologies after he brought you to your knees, truly realizing the damage that he had done and the dangers of dark magic. Good, he thought. Maybe he’d finally stop moving down the dark path that he was so set on. He deserved to beg for your forgiveness.

The metal gate of the Undercroft squeaked open, the sound of heavy footfalls following after. Ominis gently picked up your sleeping head, standing from the chaise and lowering you onto one of the many pillows lining the cushions. He quickly paced towards the brunette, eyes blazing with barely concealed fury. Sebastian paid no mind, flipping through the large tomb he had collected from Salazar’s Scriptorium. He looked up and saw the approaching boy, not noticing the very prevalent anger on his face.

“Ominis, you’re not going to believe what I found—”

The smaller boy slammed into him, pressing his forearm against his neck and shoving him harshly into the nearest wall. His wand was pressed against his chin, glowing menacingly in the candlelight of the hideaway. The blond’s mouth was twisted into a gruesome snarl, teeth looking like fangs in the dim lighting. Sebastian gulped against the arm pressed against his larynx. He dropped the book in surprise, a cloud of dust puffing up from the ground at its harsh landing. Even though Sebastian knew that Ominis couldn’t truly see him, the boy’s heated glare seemed to set fire to his very soul.

Ominis growled at the taller boy in a gravely low voice, his teeth gnashing around each word. “If you ever hurt them again, you will be dead where you stand. This is the last I want to hear of dark magic, Sebastian. You’ve gone too far; people have gotten hurt. Promise me that you’ll stop— you’ll find some other way to heal Anne, or this friendship will continue no longer.”

Sebastian nodded as much as he could around his friend’s arm, squeezing the words out of his crushed throat, “Yes, I understand, I’m sorry!”

The anger seemed to evaporate from the smaller boy in mere seconds, his arms dropping to his sides and his shoulders slumping. He grasped the front of the freckled boy’s shirt, leaning his forehead against his chest with a heavy sigh.

“I almost lost you both today. I can’t do that, don’t make me live through that again. Please, I can’t lose anyone else, I can’t bear the thought.”

His shoulders began to shake, tremors rocking his entire body and sending the tears gathering in his eyes down his pale cheeks. He softly cries into the shirt of his friend, grasping harder at the cotton between his fingers and burying his face even deeper. The freckled boy stands still for a moment, startled by the sudden emotional whiplash. He hesitantly raises his arms and circles them around the shoulders of the crying boy, looking over to your sleeping form with guilt swirling in his eyes.

He had hurt both of his friends today over something he thought was so trivial, so insignificant. He just wanted to find a cure for his sister, not cause undeniable pain to those he loved. He truly was turning into a monster; the dark magic he was so fascinated by had begun to circle around his heart, squeezing it with its thick tentacles. Sebastian buried his head into Ominis’ neck, deeply breathing in his scent. The mildew of the cellar was thick against his skin, but reminisce of his expensive cologne and natural scent, something musky and rich, still lingered there. He focused on it, the familiar smell warming his insides and bringing his heartbeat to a slight increase.

He hadn’t promised the boy that he’d stop exploring the dark arts, instead twisting his words into something that sounded like agreement. Sebastian knew that he would come to regret that decision, but he couldn’t give up on Anne. She was his flesh and blood, his twin sister. She was everything to him. He knew that he would hurt his two closest friends more than words can express with his decisions, but deep in his heart he believed that he was doing the right thing.

With a heavy heart, Sebastian basked in the comfort of the Undercroft and the arms wrapped around his waist, praying to anyone who would listen that this wouldn’t be the last time he felt this safe.

AN: Did I make an "Ominis gets pegged" joke? Yes, yes I did.

***

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marblemoovt · 1 year

Text

Winter Soldier - Simon Riley/Sunny (Reader)

Masterlist

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Angst. If I have to hurt, so do all of you.

Summary:

What if...? Sunny doesn't die. What if the enemy finds them and brainwashes them onto their side? What happens when Simon meets the ghost that's been haunting him?

Note:

Birdy and Sunny belong to @darklordofthesimp. Highly recommend you check the blog out if you want fluff and to get your heart stomped on. Someone did an ask which lead to a drabble where Sunny ended up dying, sacrificing themself to save Birdy. That shit tore me up inside, and someone brought up the idea of a winter soldier moment. I don't watch Marvel but I think I get the gist, thus this was born.

Happy Reading! ヾ(•ω•`)o

─── ⋆ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ☽ .* :☆ﾟ｡⋆ ───

The plane rocks. The roar of the engine and the occasional scuffle of feet disrupts the silence. Simon stares at the floor, keeping a tight leash on his self-control. Fists so tight his fingers might snap themselves and shatter his bones into tiny pieces. He squeezes and squeezes until Simon is gone and all that remains is Ghost.

Half a year. Six months. 182 days. 4383 hours since the remaining sliver of his cold heart finally shrivelled up and died. Now his chest rattles like an empty soda can; hollow and spent. He promised himself he would never let anyone get close. He couldn’t go through what happened with his family again. But then came fuckin’ Sunshine. Unapologetically blunt and a thorn in his side. Little by little, his cold heart started beating with warmth, fueled by anger and jealousy at times—but for once he felt something.

They say the line between hate and love is blurry and easily crossed. Sunshine was a right cunt, an absolute menace, a demon in a military uniform, and the love of his life.

A quiet chuckle sends his head snapping toward the source. König and Birdy are seated in the far corner. The pair are huddled close together with Birdy leaning against him. A flash of anger simmers in Simon’s veins. Crescent moons dig into his palms and the heat bubbles to a boil. How dare they? How fucking—

“Easy, Simon,” Price speaks in a low tone, like he’s comforting a startled animal. Simon is a raging bull that refuses to look away from the red curtain taunting him. “Sunshine—”

“Don’t.” Simon cuts him off. “You don’t get to say that name. Why don’t you go back to what you originally used? The body?” It’s a low blow and completely uncalled for, but hearing the name flips a switch. Price presses his mouth into a thin line, brows furrowing under the weight of guilt.

“I didn’t mean—”

Simon interrupts him again. “Leave me alone, John.” Not Price. Not Captain. John.

Simon goes back to staring at the floor, unable to look at Price’s face. He’s sick of the pitying looks. They don’t understand anything.

Once again he’s been left behind. Had his heart ripped from his chest and beaten like a tenderized piece of meat. Maybe that’s why his chest still aches, still stings when he sees the mats in the training room or goes to sleep at night, the other half of the bed still untouched.

The quiet laughter grates his ears; makes him want to claw at his skin until there’s nothing left but blood and viscera. His eye twitches as he glances at the corner. Look at them in their own little world. Laughing. Smiling. Simon hasn’t done either in six months. They don’t get to act so happily while Sunshine rots in some ditch. Why must he be the only one that remembers when everyone else has already forgotten? Everyone lost a friend, a comrade, and a family member.

Simon lost fucking everything.

The plane lands before he has time to spiral into a monologue. He heaves himself off the bench and forces his legs to walk down the ramp. Orders are repeated, but Simon hears none of it. He heard it the first time; he knows what he’s doing.

“Ghost,” Price barks. Dead eyes blink in acknowledgement. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Roger,” Simon rasps, already feeling the adrenaline pumping through his body. The team was concerned there would be complications given the location. He’s still calm and calculated, a killing machine, but there’s an edge of recklessness in all his actions now. It’s almost like he wants to brush up against Death. He fought tooth and nail to come on this mission. He was prepared to hijack the plane if necessary.

Six months is a long time to be exposed to the elements, but he was going to—no he will find Sunshine. Even if it means meeting in the afterlife. He checks the silencer on his pistol and the knives stowed across his suit. A simple scouting. Go in, disarm the system, and dispose of any hostiles. Clear the way for the rest of the team.

Simon slips between covers, moving like a shadow. He reaches a building and creeps inside. It’s quiet. The warning signals in his mind go off and he reaches for the radio.

Bang.

A smoking hole indents the concrete column behind him, inches above his shoulder. The red dot on the wall moves toward his head, and he darts for cover. Another shot rings in the air, and a chuckle turns his blood to ice.

“Y’know, I thought you would be much more impressive when I read your file.” Simon pales, the ache in his chest threatening to swallow him whole. No. It’s not possible, he tells himself. “Are you going to keep hiding like a coward?” It’s glacial, apathetic, and mocking, but he recognizes that voice anywhere.

His steps are silent. He needs a closer look. He has to make sure he’s not losing his mind. There, leaning against a pillar with a rifle in hand is Sunshine. Questions form one after another. How? Why? His brow creases.

“What happened to you?” It slips out of his mouth before he can stop it, and the bullet misses again.

“Intimate question for someone I don’t fucking know. Why don’t you come out so I can kill you?” Sunshine says, staring at the concrete protecting him. And then memories hit Simon like a freight train. Sparks and Washington. He clenches his fist. Not this, not again. What are the odds of a brainwashed teammate trying to kill you? Multiply that by three, and the answer is still bullshit. How fucking unlucky do you have to be for the universe to take every little thing you love and either: kill it, or have it kill you? He won’t let it end like last time. He’d rather die than give up.

“Sunshine,” he speaks with a waver in his tone.

“Sunshine? What kind of shitty name is that? Is that what I should call you? You’ve got some weird kinks.” It’s not the same, but he feels like a stray that’s been offered scraps. “Tell you what, I’ll drop the gun and kick your ass the old-fashioned way.” The voice is much closer than it was a few seconds ago. He barely has time to dodge the fist coming his way. He grabs onto their arm and pins them against the pillar.

“You’re Sunshine,” he states. Simon wants to cry, he can feel the tears pricking his eyes, but his body still senses the danger oozing from them. He wants nothing more than a hug. Six months of no touch has left him starving. His arms remain in place, wary of the firecracker trapped between them.

“I’m your ticket to Hell,” Sunshine spits, face drawing close to his mask. Narrowed eyes burn him with their intensity. This hatred leaves him numb, it doesn’t excite him, and he certainly doesn’t find it amusing. “I don’t want part of whatever bizarre fantasy you’re having.”

The faraway look in their eyes reminds him that the person he loves is gone right now. “Who are you? What did you do before this?” he asks, hoping the brainwashing isn’t irreversible. Maybe if he can poke some holes in the programming, Sunshine will snap out of it.

“And why should I tell you? What are you? My best friend?” Sunshine scoffs, but he notices how uncertainty tugs their lips into a frown.

“We were,” Simon whispers. “And so much more.”

A hollow chuckle bounces off the concrete walls, it grips his lungs and squeezes until all the air turns to dust that sits heavy in his chest. “Pathetic. What would I want with some masked weirdo?” The arm slips out of his grip and Sunshine ducks, pivoting away from him. “Hate to break it to ya, pal, but I’m here to kill you. Wipe you off the face of the Earth. End your existence. The only thing you can kiss is my fist.”

“Come with me. Let’s go back home,” Simon pleads.

“I don’t take orders from you,” Sunshine sneers.

Simon smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Used to, not like you really listened anyway,” he rasps.

A glint flashes in his peripheral vision. He moves his head to the side. One slash and his cheek stings. Sunshine tsks disapprovingly. Three more slashes and the mask is torn off his face. “Good to see you, Simon,” Sunshine drawls, lips crooked in a smirk. His eyes widen, and he freezes. The indifferent stare doesn’t change, and his shoulders sag. “What’s the matter? Sniper got your tongue?”

They continue their little back and forth until Simon manages to knock the knife out of Sunshine’s hand. He tackles and sits on top of them, forcing all his weight to minimize the struggle. “I can’t hurt you. I love you!” His shout rips through the vicinity with enough force to bring the building down to its foundation.

And he’s naked, exposed. Skin flayed open for the world to see that the rattling in his ribcage is now an erratic drumbeat. Vulnerable like a frog on a dissecting tray; so open and honest. The confession leaves his throat raw and sets his skin ablaze. His shoulders heave with each pant and he stares into Sunshine’s eyes for an inkling of recognition. The cloudy look dissipates, and it’s like six months never even happened. He wants to scream, to cry out in joy. Because he did it, he got through.

A sharp pain ruptures from his side as cold steel sinks into his flesh. The serrated edge of the blade shreds him on the way out. Warm blood leaks from the wound, almost masked by the burning. His hand instinctively applies pressure to the area. Of course, it wouldn’t be that fucking easy. He feels like shit. More so than usual.

“Feeling a bit woozy, Lieutenant?” The taunt is full of mock concern. A feral grin exposes sharp canines. “Then the poison’s doing its job.” Simon is shoved aside like a ragdoll. He lands on the ground with a thump and crumples into a ball. Sunshine stands up and dusts off their clothes, watching him writhe with amusement. “I thought you would be more of a challenge. How disappointing.”

“Ngh,” Simon lifts his head with a groan.

Sunshine tsks and crouches down. “What’s the matter, ghost face? Any last words before you’re completely paralyzed? I hear your organs shut down next.” Hands grapple their shirt, and Simon smashes his forehead against the bridge of their nose. A scream pierces his eardrums.

“What the fuck, dude?!” Sunshine cradles their nose, blood streaming down their mouth and dripping off their chin. Mustering the last of his strength, Simon rises and performs a body slam. Sunshine is flung to the ground, landing on their back.

A crack followed by silence.

“You always get too cocky when you think you’ve won.” He grunts and rummages through his pockets, using zip ties as makeshift restraints. Sinking to the floor, he leans against a pillar for support. Shaky hands reach up for the radio. “Found Sunshine, but I’m injured. Possibly fatal, definitely poisoned.” Wincing, he lifts his hand to check the wound. Fuck it doesn’t look good.

Price’s voice crackles on the comms. “This isn’t the time for jokes, Ghost. What’s your status?”

“Wasn’t jokin’. Found Sunshine. Requesting medical aid and evac,” Simon wheezes. It’s becoming harder to breathe. He hopes the medic has anti-venom on hand.

“Don’t move,” Price orders.

Simon rolls his eyes. “That’s a shame. Was gonna see if there were any hostiles who wanted to have a cup of tea together.” He chuckles and sucks in a sharp breath when it agitates his wound. “I’m bleedin’ out, Captain,” he whispers the last sentence. Slick hands press harder to no avail. The poison is spreading through his system.

“Don’t you fucking die on me. That’s an order.” There’s a wobble in Price’s tone. Simon chuffs at the old man’s concern. The frantic shouting over the comms fades to background noise.

He crawls to Sunshine. Sticky hands stain the floor crimson. His limbs feel stiff, but they no longer feel heavy. The invisible sandbags filled with grief are untethered from his body. He caresses Sunshine’s cheek, admiring their face instead of a picture for the first—and possibly last—time. “I love you, you fuckin’ cunt.” His grin is watery. Pressing a kiss to their forehead, his eyelids flutter shut. The doors slam open and footsteps rush to his location.

“Bloody hell, Simon. You could have told me to leave the body bag behind.”

“That’s not a body; that’s Sunshine,” Simon murmurs, slipping into unconsciousness.

Fuck you, universe. Not even death can separate the two of them.

─── ⋆ ｡ﾟ☆: *. ☽ .* :☆ﾟ｡⋆ ───

End Note:

I totally headcanon in this timeline that Simon calls Sunny 'Zombie' afterwards.

I was going to do a sad ending, but I like happy ones too much. I'm too nice, unlike some people, and do not wish eternal suffering on others.

Time to crawl back into my den and finish that Price fic I've been delaying for far too long. I blame the discord server for giving me Simon and König brainrot,

I’ll see you guys at my next hyperfixation! (。・∀・)ノ

Reblogs are appreciated

#simon riley x reader #simon riley #cod x reader #mw2 x reader #cod mwii

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