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#but now that I picked sword and board I changed it to normal because I don’t know how to play
rhysnolastname · 10 months
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BG3 is fun because your entire party gets routinely wiped off the board by a brain with legs
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msweebyness · 1 year
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Class of Heroes AU: Royal Kidnappings, Part 2
Ya girl comes to you with a bit of a sequel post! So this is kinda the general routine whenever one of the royals gets kidnapped. As always, credit to @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27, special thanks to Artzy for inspiring the Nath scene. Enjoy!
Part 1
Adrien, Incident 9:
Marilan: Bow and arrows?
Kagamerida: Got them. Sword?
Marilan: Right here. Okay, rope and hook, food and water in case they’re that kind of assholes, smoke bombs for if we need a diversion. Looks like we’ve got everything. You have the MagiTrack unit?
Kagamerida: Right here, locked on the Sundrop. And Sass. (The color-changing snake hisses on her shoulder)
Marilan: Can’t forget the comfort snake.
Ondine, Incident 7:
Kimules: No no no no no nononononosomebodytookherohmyfuckingparentssomebodykidnappedmyprincessI’mtheworstboyfriendeverhowcouldIlethishappenI’msoFUCKINGSTUPI-*Aladdix slaps him across the face*
Aladdix: For fuck’s sake, Kim, pull it together! This has happened six times already! ‘Dine’s gonna be fine.
Maxiro: While I may disagree with her methods, Alix is right, Kim. If we leave now, there’s an 87% chance that we’ll get her back, and mostly unharmed.
Kimules: *Deep breath* Okay. *Death expression* Time to break some fuckers’ everything.
Mylene, Incident 2:
Julebeast: Uh…Ivan? ….Are you okay? Because you’re actually starting to scare me.
QuasiIvan: (Turns to her with a pleasant expression) Oh, I’m fine. Just thinking about the different ways I’m going to maim the fuckheads who kidnapped my songbird, that’s it. A skull can break six different ways, after all. (Picks up a club from the school’s armory) Should we get going?
Julebeast: …Yeah…sure.
Nathaniel, Incident 5:
BluRore: Now, Marc, I know this is upsetting, but let’s just take a breath, try to get calmed down-
MarcElsa: I will do NO SUCH THING. I will have VENGEANCE on those who stole my Rose Petal. (Cackles maniacally) I’ll leave them frozen for a few days, let them think they’re getting off easy. But years from now, when they’ve forgotten all about this, when they’re feeling their safest… DIE BITCHES DIE! (Laughs like a lunatic, growing ice stalagmites around himself)
Simon Pan: Dude….
Jeanzco: I don’t feel safe right now…
Austin, Incident 3:
Jeanzco: Okay, let’s go over the facts, shall we? We were all having a nice day, not a care in the world. Hell, TGIF, ya’ll. But that’s all out the window now, and you know why? Well, because some FUCKING BITCH. Had the balls-to-the-wall audacity to kidnap my FUCKING BOYFRIEND, apropos of FUCKING nothing. So, now, I have to add some murders to my already packed schedule, because no one has any fucking courtesy these days! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?
Aladdix: ….Hell yeah! Let’s wreck some motherfuckers! (Slams a bat against her hand)
IsmaGenie: Normally, I wouldn’t really be on board with killing someone, but this time…(traces black face paint under his eyes) let’s fuck up their shit.
And there it was ya’ll! Leave thoughts in the comments and reblogs!
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sanuske-ramblings · 2 years
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Fire Emblem Engage Thoughts:
I am so excited for Fire Emblem: Engage. I haven't stopped thinking about it since the reveal and the more I look into it the more excited I am.
Looking at Engage side-by-side with Three Houses, visually it isn't even a contest. Engage is so vibrant and nice to look at. Especially the animations. Three Houses combat had a much different feel to the usual combat because it was aiming for the "commanders on the battlefield" effect. So the attack animations sometimes felt more like toned down warriors animations instead of 1v1 battle animations. Which makes sense given most battles also had battalions chilling in the background. Engage's animations so far are a lot more personal and a lot flashier. The weapon hit effects in this game look so good, and they actually look like they are hitting the enemy as opposed to the massive arcs that the Three Houses attacks had. I have to imagine that ditching the Battalion system probably cleared up a ton of the graphical budget.
I'm not particularly a fan of Toothpaste-chan's design, but honestly it stopped bothering me almost instantly, and the rest of the designs look pretty solid. Overall the art direction is incredibly pleasing to the eye, and hopefully it won't have the same readability issues Three Houses had.
But Mechanics. That's what really has my brain hooked.
Now some of this is just speculation, but we've been given reason to speculate about some of the core mechanical changes. Here are the things that have me the most excited.
It looks like we're getting classes with more of an identity back. Classes seem to be weapon locked which means that each class/character has their own identity instead of classes just being skill containers. Hopefully this is paired with limited re-classing so we have some freedom on customization, but we don't end up with every character being able to be a wyvern lord.
Traditional FE Recruitment. Judging by the leaks, the Jaegan, and the fact that this isn't a school, we're probably heading back to the normal style of recruitment where you pick up random orphans/child soldiers across the story. This means you have a nice stream of replacement units and just new cool dudes joining your team, and that feels a lot more Fire Emblem than Three Houses's "Pick a school, kidnap some students, and then no new units"
Skills. The handful of skills we've seen actually have some massive impact. The Override/Momentum skill that we saw in the trailer where the cavalier charged through multiple units and damage both of them. I want that. I want to see more absurd movement/AOE skills that make you think up new crazy strategies.
The Engage system. I'm a bit hesitant on the idea of "summoning past heroes" because nostalgia bait, but also the idea of having a handful of powerups to assign to your army that give you some powerful and flashy new abilities is super cool and actually seeing it in action has me completely on board.
Maps. We've only seen a few maps so far, but they seem to be smaller and more detailed than Three Houses maps. This can be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective, but I'm hopeful that this means things are more tightly designed and lead to more interesting tactical decisions.
There are a few things that I'm slightly more iffy on, but they are minor issues that I'll need to see how the whole game is before I can really judge them.
Lack of Weapon Durability. Weapon Durability is a very controversial mechanic in many games, but it always felt at home in Fire Emblem. It allows the game to hand you super powerful items early, knowing that you can't just spam them through every challenge. Everybody who's played a classic FE game has had the dilemma of whether or not to fish for a Killer Crit or just beat a dude to death with an iron sword. Fates didn't have weapon durability, so it added downsides to a bunch of the stronger weapons, which sounded like a cool way to balance them, but it ended up making a forged iron sword the best weapon because it didn't have any of the massive penalties. Echoes also didn't have durability, but Echoes is amazing and weird and different.
Fanservice. The core concept of summing past heroes feels unnecessary and feels like just pandering, but also I'm aware that this was supposed to be a 30th anniversary game. Also Lyn is in it and I'm a hypocrite.
And that's about it. I have a few fears with how things could turn out, but otherwise I am 110% on board. I feel like I sounded a bit too harsh on Three Houses, but that's just because comparing them side by side the difference in visual polish between them is astounding. Three Houses is one of my favorite switch games after Smash and Dread, but I am blown away at the early footage of Engage.
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adamsvanrhijn · 1 year
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17, 24 for writers’ ask :)
Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?
i mean... yes?? i feel like that's an inherent part of the sharing process, it stops being just yours once you share it (which is why taking everything back last year was emotionally effective for me)
but i don't necessarily know how that is and what the nuances are... obviously as a writer there is both. (i feel like) people miss things i put in there, or, they find things i didn't mean to put in there but perhaps did.
i think the main thing about my motivation with fanfic in particular is i write literally just to get words specifically out of my head, it's only very very rarely that i like, sit down and intentionally come up with an idea about something to write or try to write to a specific concept/idea (which is why prompt memes frequently go badly for me) without having literally a string of words or a phrase or something to go with it, and sometimes that makes me really trip up when i start sharing it with other people... but it's a double edge sword because i benefit greatly from the external validation of people liking it and wanting to read more
if i were doing this for praise or attention or to monopolize a shipping tag and forcefully impose my views upon the rest of the fandom with over saturation as has been speculated i would have finished everything by now lmfao
to normal well adjusted people that one should not really be a surprise imho.
i also just. love characters and ships and stories a lot, and i think fanfic is a good format to present textual/literary analysis in a way that is relatable and easy to consume... demonstration of what i perceive and am picking out from the canon, which is fulfilling to me too, and obviously i like very much when people agree with my arguments (in the rhetoric sense) in this regard. i don't Need others to agree with me, i am perfectly happy being right all on my own 😌 (and also revisiting and adjusting my opinions with new information or new angles which if you're paying attention you would have noticed many times over), but it feels good when i change people's minds or draw their attention to things that they missed before. i think that's really rewarding and i appreciate the feedback when people say I've improved their experience in some way whether it is representing something they relate to or prompting them to see something that already exists in a different way that makes them happier and/or more satisfied with it. i am glad i can do that for people.
i think two other things are like.
one. i actually talk like this... like my meta and commentary (which is another genre of writing i am pleased has been well received + is also and much more explicitly about making an argument that something can and/or should be seen in a certain way) are usually in a tone i also use conversationally.
and two
i am like. in terms of how i perceive myself. incredibly basic, i do not consider my personality or interests to be particularly special or anything, and i don't think very highly of myself as a rule. like i think other people are frequently doing more interesting and valuable things than i am... obviously i can recognize that objectively the way i engage with things is out of the ordinary, but that's literally just how my brain works, i get deeply invested in and excited about things and it manifests in these research+pattern finding ways, i'm not like, trying to... usually there just isn't another way i can think to do or make myself to do something
like i am just talking.... that meme about saying words recreationally. and i say things definitively because i believe them or think they have value in the moment, and i try to cite sources and construct logical arguments because that's what my brain needs to support ideas and take things on board and i want to justify what i am thinking to myself and to others. but i really don't think i should have to say this every single time or always caveat that other people can interpret things differently or be right (Or be neither right nor wrong) about things too... I've tried to be better about this since the hooplah last year but i really don't want to be responsible for other people's emotional state about whether what they believe is correct or true or not, i am much too occupied with my own. like i don't think it's fair to expect me to do that. and a lot of what i share here and in fic is me trying to sort out what i think or believe and making sure my thoughts and beliefs are structurally sound. because that's how my brain works.
like i want to know a lot. and sometimes i think people assume that means i think they should know a lot too but that's rarely the case (exceptions include like. homophobia.), i realize that my way of approaching things is weird and too much for most people. but i don't want people to feel like they need to engage with me in the exact way i do things and i don't want people to feel attacked when i add things i know or bring up alternate angles when ideas they agree with are presented to me.
that's just not why i am here and it really hurts when people assume that it is. i really struggle when i feel like others don't understand what i am trying to say (which is another reason i try to back everything up). but i don't know how to be or do anything else because this is just how my brain works and it's also the only place i can let it work that way.
24 answered :-)
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monkprincess · 9 months
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In other news, La Fawn Épique has deigned to admit into her coterie of mutuals, a man who has nightmares about butterflies…and who is fairly convinced the sky changed (I meant to tell you about this but it requires gesticulations; regardless something has altered in the firmament).
I’m actually quite pleased you understood what I meant by the ‘psychedelic pynchonesque warscape’ thing. And I had no idea about the faux Hendrix thing…I read Coppola On Coppola years ago and I don’t think he mentioned it. Have you listened to ‘1983…(A Merman I should Turn To Be)’?
So finally I differ with you on something. One of the main things I didn’t like about Redux was the humanisation of Willard; I couldn’t see him doing that for Lance…and at one point I was mortified to see Willard smile. I took him to be a joyless man…as joyless and damaged as Kurtz. I do wonder if I’m defaulting to a framework of toxic masculinity in thinking this…I identify with Willard quite strongly.
Also, my own creative work deals with journeys/searches…a doomed voyage. So I think the austerity involved, emotionally, jives with me.
But…I’ve only watched Redux once. I recently I bought a 4K box set of apocalypse now, and it includes that cut…so I’ll give it a watch.
So…I wanted to ask which Hindu deity you’re most drawn to and why. Do you know any Hindus?
And also, I’m curious, are people intimidated by you at all? How do people irl perceive you?
omg 🤣 i had a feeling it was you lol… and you’re so eloquent i had to literally google words that u used. also wym the sky changed?? (pls do inform me about that). yeah from memory it wasn’t hendrix but a guy named richard henson? (and no i haven’t listened to that song i will now 😁).
yeah honestly haha i kind of both agree/disagree with u on the willard thing, i love the surfboard scene individually but i don’t feel like it works in the film because of how willard is meant to be portrayed. also what do u mean by ur creative work??? what do you make??? i’m intrigued… if you don’t mind sharing of course.
the hindu deity i’m drawn to most is definitely ganesha, i remember seeing him in this clothes store i shopped at growing up, they had this like glowing board with a picture of him lol it was so cool, and then my older sister gave me an old shirt with him on it, so yeah i just feel drawn to him. but also i had a vision of kalki the other night. i was just laying in bed trying to sleep then i had a hypnagogic vision of a blue god with a sword sitting atop a white horse and after i looked it up i realised it was kalki/vishnu which is crazy cos i didn’t know he was portrayed like that. so i want to explore that further. i also accidentally picked up one of iskcons books at my fave second hand store and became intrigued by krishna consciousness lol. it’s so beautiful and fascinating and inspiring. i’m curious as a hindu what beliefs do you ascribe to? or what deities/how many deities do you worship?
and no people are not intimidated by me, i am always intimidated by other people lol. i’m a normal girl irl i feel like people perceive me as like weak or smthing because sometimes older people that i know will talk down to me in a patronising tone and it makes me annoyed. idk if it’s because i’m a girl or they assume i’m stupid or something but it’s really demeaning. lol. so to answer your question i think people perceive me as a normal introvert 18yr old brunette from the suburbs
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free-pool-trash · 3 years
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x of swords - george weasley
part one of three
Summary: Growing up as Harry’s neighbor, you always believed that you were completely regular. In an attempt to feel closer to Harry (your best friend) you begin to dabble in the art of divination and, in the process, you uncover magic that you didn’t know you had. (i hate doing summaries this does not sum it up but you get the jist)
Relationships: George Weasley x Reader, platonic!Harry Potter x Reader, platonic!OC x Reader, platonic!Sirius Black x Reader, platonic!Remus Lupin x Reader, platonic!Fred Weasley x Reader, platonic!Nymphadora Tonks x Reader, platonic!Molly Weasley x Reader, platonic!Hermoine Granger x Reader, Sirius Black x Remus Lupin
Warnings: Swearing, anxiety, fluff, angst, mentions of torture, mentions of death (let me know if I missed anything!)
Word count: 22.9k 
so here it is 😏 i was going to wait until i was completely finished with this to post it but i didn’t wanna rush it and oh my god it’s already so long  😫 I’m moving to Edinburgh in 2 weeks so i won’t be able to write as i have so much to pack so i hope this keeps some of you happy for a while <3 obviously i put a lot of effort into this and spent a lot of time on it so i really hope yall like it and i will personally kiss everyone who comments. likes or reblogs <3
mastelist
Life on Privet Drive was definitely something- something being incredibly boring. Nothing even remotely exciting happened on the street and the company was, to put it simply, miserable.
You’d lived in 5 Privet Drive since birth which, unfortunately for you, meant that your family are extremely close with the Dursleys who live next door. The Dursleys are a family of bigoted, pig-headed bullies. Made up of Petunia, Vernon, Dudley and, in your opinion the only tolerable one, Harry.
From the age of five, Harry had been your only friend on the street and vice versa. Initially, the both of you had bonded over your dislike of Dudley but as the years rolled on Harry and yourself had become virtually inseparable.
It was certainly strange- how close your parents were with Petunia and Vernon. Your mother and father are actually quite lovely, they are the complete opposite of the Dursleys, they’re open minded, kind and extremely friendly. But, you supposed, their friendliness didn’t discriminate from person to person, even if said person forced their orphaned nephew to sleep in the cupboard underneath the stairs.
There was no denying that Harry had been miserable with the Dursleys, who were unfortunately his only remaining family and you supposed you should’ve been happy when your best friend finally got away from them after his 11th birthday.
You’d missed him for the entire school year and you only got a chance to ask where he’d actually gone off to when he’d arrived home for the summer. (You didn’t believe the story Vernon had spun about Harry attending a boarding school for juvenile trouble makers).
“It’s incredible, (Y/n), honestly! I wish you could be there too.” He’d told you when you finally saw him again, after he’d finished his first year in his mysterious boarding school.
“That’s great, Haz, but where exactly is it?” You wondered and Harry only gave you his signature grin.
“Scotland.”
With a heavy sigh you let the subject go, he was clearly happy wherever he was going to school so it didn’t matter where or what it was. As long as he was happy.
By the time his 12th birthday rolled around you’d found the perfect gift for him. You’d made your parents buy you a polaroid camera for him to take away to school, he’d told you so many amazing stories about his school, you wanted to see some of it for yourself so you figured a camera would be the best course of action.
The morning of his birthday, Harry was woken up by the sound of pebbles tapping against his barred up window. The boy looked out to see you waving at him, an excited smile on your face and a neatly wrapped present in your other hand. Harry couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his face as you beckoned him down with your hand. It was barely dawn but you knew better than to give a present for Harry to either his aunt or uncle because they’d only give it to Dudley, so it was best to get it to him before the rest of his supposed family woke up.
Hogwarts was amazing and Harry was over the moon to have discovered he was a wizard and make so many new friends, but he had missed you- his only friend in the muggle world. Your birthday was only a few weeks after his and he hoped that maybe you’d get a hogwarts letter of your own, obviously that hadn’t happened. Nonetheless he was happy to see you in the summer, he couldn’t shake the thought that Ron and Hermione would have loved to meet you though.
Slowly and quietly, Harry snook down the stairs and out the front door to meet you.
“Happy birthday, Haz!” You whisper-shouted excitedly, pulling the green-eyed boy into your house so he wouldn’t get caught outside when he wasn’t even allowed out of his bedroom.
Harry rolled his eyes at the nickname, “I hope you know that you’re still the only person who calls me that.”
“Good,” you said happily, closing the front door behind you. “Anyway, I got you something that you can bring away to school with you!” He rose an eyebrow at you as you pushed the carefully wrapped box into his hands, “Open it,” you instructed. And so he did.
It was very possibly the most expensive gift he’d ever gotten, you (or your parents) usually got Harry presents that couldn’t be stolen by Dudley. For example, your mother had taken to buying Harry his own clothes, seeing as your best friend was a lot taller and thinner than his horrid cousin.
You, on the other hand, would usually make him gifts with sentimental value, something Dudley had absolutely zero interest in. The camera though, you knew would be safe as Harry would be leaving for school again soon enough.
Harry stared dumbfounded at the cardboard box that held the rather large polaroid camera, judging by the image on the box it was a good quality thing, probably expensive. “This is… really nice, (Y/n).”
A bright smile found your lips as you rushed into an animated explanation about why you’d picked a camera as his birthday present this year.
“So you can take lots of pictures of you and your new friends in your new fancy private school and when you come back here you can show them to me!” Harry chuckled and nodded his head, hoping he’d be able to find time to take pictures like you wanted.
“I’ll take pictures of everything. Promise.” He told you, holding out his pinky with a cheeky grin. You linked your pinky with his and nodded gratefully.
“We should christen it,” Harry announced, tearing into the box and he quickly set the camera up before he pointed it at you expectantly. “Well, come on then. I’ve told my school friends all about you, they’re going to want to see what you look like too. So, smile-“ with a disbelieving laugh, you crossed your legs underneath yourself from where you were sitting on the floor across from Harry, and tucked your hair behind your ears before you looked directly at the lense of the camera and gave it the brightest smile you could muster. The camera flashed and the picture slowly revealed itself, it seemed to be good enough to satisfy Harry’s twelve year old self.
He’d shown the polaroid to Hermione first, the bushy haired girl had smiled softly as she held the polaroid gently, “She seems lovely, Harry.”
Harry had nodded his head in agreement, you were lovely. He just hoped Dudley wasn’t terrorising you too much while he was away. His cousin always had somewhat of a crush on you, which Harry knew was ridiculous considering you all but loathed Dudley.
True to his word, Harry had taken plenty of pictures, many were of (non-magic) areas of the Hogwarts campus, many were of his friends; Ron, Hermione, Fred and George Weasley (who had an absolute field day with the muggle contraption), one or two of Hagrid and he even managed to capture a nice one of the owlery. Although you were one of his best friends, sometimes thinking about you while he was in Hogwarts brought his mood down. It reminded him of how much he wished you could’ve shared in his adventures and not to mention how much he missed you, you could hardly send him an owl, what with being a muggle and all, so he only got to spend time with you during the summer months.
Things had changed during his third year, though. When he received a rather shocking, albeit very welcome, letter.
Dear Harry,
I’d like to start by saying: hi, how are you? How’s school? Good? Great. Now that that’s out of the way… when you come home I’m going to KILL you!!! I cannot believe you didn’t tell me you are a wizard! Well, I understand why you didn’t but anyway.
You’re probably wondering how I found all of this out. Long story short, I saw Vernon’s sister floating around your sitting room and then I saw you running out swinging a wand around. I put two and two together. You would not believe how long it took me to figure out how to get in contact with you. I practically had to beg Dudley to tell me how to get this package to you, he eventually told me how in exchange for a kiss on the cheek. It was as horrifying as it sounds, the things I do for you, Haz, honestly. Don’t worry though, you can make it up to me over the summer.
I bought an owl by the way. I’m guessing she found you okay? Look after her for a little while before sending her back will you? She’s just a baby so she can’t do too much long distance travel just yet.The lady I got her from is a witch, she was very kind and knew exactly what I was looking to use an owl for. Her name is Astra (the owl’s not the lady’s)! Isn’t she lovely?
Moving on from that, I felt bad forcing you to send me pictures and getting nothing in return so I have decided to very kindly grace you with my exhilaratingly normal life. You will also find I sent you some of those sweets you like.
Tell Ron and Hermione that I said hi! Oh and Fred and George too! Get into lots of trouble for me ;) I suppose I better stop rambling now, sorry about that I’m just excited (and i might be missing you… just a tiny bit!)
Write back to me soon, if you can! Tell Astra I’m proud of her for making her first delivery! (give her plenty of treats for me yeah?)
I’ll let you get back to your wizardy stuff now, Haz.
Lots of love,
(Y/n) xoxo
P.s. your magical secret is safe with me. promise.
Harry looked up from your letter with a dazed smile, your new little owl was looking at him expectantly, no doubt awaiting her treat, “Good job, Astra. Your owner says she’s very proud of you,” he informed her, handing her a piece of bacon from his breakfast plate and laughed when she hooted happily.
Astra is a gorgeous little tawny, she has brown and white feathers that were fluffy to the touch. Harry could already tell she was well suited to you though, she was friendly as anything with the most curious eyes he’d ever seen.
“Whose it from?” Ron grunted from beside him, munching happily on his huge breakfast.
Harry let out a short laugh, digging into the envelope to pull out the photos and sweets you’d sent, “(Y/n).”
“I thought she didn’t know about you?” Hermione asked from beside Ron, Harry only shrugged.
“She figured it out. She’s quite clever, I think you’d like her Hermione. She says hi by the way.” He answered somewhat distantly, distracted by the pictures you’d sent, all of which had writing on the backs. He paused on one photo, he guessed one of your parents had taken it, you were stood in the woods, surrounded by trees with a huge smile on your face, your eyes were closed and your nose was scrunched up as a very tiny Astra seemed to be nibbling at your ear affectionately.
“I’m sure we’d get along, I admire her determination, really. And she even bought an owl?” The girl questioned, reaching over and petting Astra gently.
Harry’s smile was gentle as Astra hopped onto his shoulder, “Yeah, suppose she did.”
“Alright! I’m gonna say it!” George Weasley exclaimed, plucking the photo of you from Harry’s grasp, he held it between himself and Fred, the older twin had somehow swiped the letter you’d written. “Harry’s girlfriend back home is quite cute, don’t you think, Freddie?” Fred nodded resolutely, pushing the letter into George’s face as he pointed towards a specific line.
“I have to agree and look, Georgie, she told Harry to tell us that she says hi! Ugh, such a darling,” Fred fake swooned and Harry felt his face heat up while George made kissy faces.
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Yeah, you had opened Harry up to a whole new world of teasing yet somehow he didn’t mind.
“Oi, do you think she’d like some of our Weasley products?” George asked genuinely, wiggling his eyebrows. Harry shuddered at the thought of you getting a hold of anything that Fred and George had created, because yes, you would like some magical pranking products. You had quite a talent for mischief, only in Harry’s worst nightmares would the Weasley twins ever get their hands on you.
Harry shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, “Dunno.”
“She single?” Fred asked jokingly and Harry scrunched his face up. He supposed you were single, though, he’d never really pictured you with anyone. He felt quite protective over you, but he supposed he'd like to see you happy with someone he approved of- or alternatively; anyone but Dudley.
“Think so,” Harry told him with another shrug before a cheeky grin spread across his lips, as he focused his attention on the twins who were nudging each other in mock victory, “Why? Should I write home and tell her the esteemed Weasley twins have a crush on her?”
George was the first the speak, he nodded, completely serious and Harry found himself worrying that perhaps one of the Weasley twins would get his hands on you.
“Yes. Absolutely,” Fred snorted and said no more, allowing his younger twin to continue the girl based antics seeing as Fred’s actual crush, Angelina, had started to glare. “In fact, give her my name. Tell her to write to me next time, eh?”
Harry’s eyes widened, oh Merlin, George was serious.
“Oh sod off, would you? The poor girl is a muggle, she’d throw herself off the astronomy tower if she got stuck with either of you prats.” Ron said through a laugh, none of them could deny it was quite funny, even Hermione had to bite back a smile at the chaos your simple letter had caused.
Around two weeks had passed until Astra returned to you, two letters attached to her leg this time.
You greeted her with a warm smile as she landed on the inside of you window, “Welcome home, pretty lady! Did you have a nice trip?” You cooed, patting her feathers and giggling when she nuzzled her head against your fingers. Having a magical owl as a pet was weird, but still, you seemed to be managing her okay.
Astra hooted happily, as if informing you that she did, in fact, have a nice trip. “That’s good! Let me take these letters off and you can have a well deserved rest, I’ve made a nice nest up for you,” you rambled softly as you untied the string that was holding the letters to her leg.
Astra hooted, hopping onto your arm and allowing you to place her on the plush pile of pillows and blankets which she immediately made herself comfortable upon, once again hooting in content when you placed a handful of treats in front of her.
You assumed that both letters were from Harry until you noticed the messy handwriting that covered one of the envelopes, handwriting that definitely didn’t belong to Harry. Besides, never, even in the furthest reaches of your imagination, would your best friend ever refer to you as; “Harry’s Pretty Neighbour”. You set that one to the side for the time being and focused on the letter you knew to actually be from Harry.
Dear (Y/n),
Hi. Sorry I didn’t tell you I was a wizard. If it makes you feel better I was actually planning on telling you this summer, but thank you for saving me from that conversation. I miss you too (only a tad). I hope you’re having a good school year so far, it’s been pretty chaotic here but I promise I’ll tell you every single tiny detail when we see each other at the end of May!
Did Astra get home okay? She’s a really lovely owl, she took quite a liking to George who (terrifyingly) has taken quite a liking to you. He’s been badgering me all week for “permission” to write to you, in his words, “just to say hello.” I think you’d actually get along but he and the rest of his family are very magic oriented, I’d be surprised if he didn’t scare you away… the pair of you together would be my worst nightmare. Don’t even get me started on how I’d feel if Fred was in the mix too. I’m tired just thinking about it.
Thank you for the sweets they were lovely, I put a chocolate frog in the envelope for you, it’s a really popular sweet in the wizarding world- don’t freak out when it hops, it’s just a charm the frog isn’t really alive.
I enjoyed the pictures too, I put a few in this letter for you too, the polaroid is running out of film but it should be enough to keep me going until the end of term.
Write to me again soon, I like hearing from you.
Take care,
Harry.
P.S. I’m really sorry you had to kiss Dudley, I’ll do something to make it up to you. Promise.
P.P.S. If George OR Fred manage to write to you PLEASE don’t eat anything they give you.
With a laugh you set the letter down beside you. Curiously, you reached a hand into the ivory envelope and pulled out the peculiarly shaped chocolate box as well as the polaroids. You viewed the photos with a fond smile, Harry always looked so happy, even with whatever chaos was happening around him. Wizard school definitely made your best friend the happiest he’d ever been.
Opening the next letter, which you now guessed judging by Harry’s letter, came from George Weasley, Harry’s friend Ron’s older brother. That was all you knew about him. You let out a gasp once you opened the seal, a small show of tiny fireworks shot out, exploding in balls of reds and oranges across your bedroom before they disappeared as if they’d never been there in the first place.
Slightly frazzled, yet amazed, you cautiously plucked the letter from the envelope and began reading.
Hello, Harry’s Pretty Neighbour.
I hope you enjoyed the show, hopefully it didn’t startle you too much… I’m not exactly sure what muggles are used to… if it did scare you I’m sorry.
Anyway, just wanted to say hi. Promised Harry I wouldn’t spook you, he’s quite protective of you, you know. It’s very sweet.
I don’t blame him, though. If I had a friend as pretty as you I’d be protective too ;)
Don’t break my heart, write back?
Yours truly,
George Weasley x
And that had been the start of it. Two years had passed since you’d discovered the wizarding world and it seemed as though things had simultaneously gotten worse and better. As it turns out, your lifelong best friend was some sort of prophetic hero in the wizard community and on top of that it seemed that there was a war brewing that he would be expected to lead.
Of course, you were completely useless as you don’t possess the ability to perform magic which also means you're at risk of being hate crimed by some classist, wizard, blood supremacists? You weren’t sure. But Harry was worried.
You’d been writing back and forth to a few of Harry’s Hogwarts friends (your friends now too) for a long while now, you’d even gotten a chance to finally meet them when you’d gone with the Dursleys to collect Harry from King’s Cross Station.
You got along best with Hermione seeing as she was raised similarly to yourself and Harry. However, of all of Harry’s school mates, you liked George the most. Everyone could have predicted it really, you’d been writing to each other constantly and the second you’d clapped eyes on each other in the flesh he’d broken out in a run to crush you in a hug. Harry had groaned at the sight of the pair of you, smiling widely at each other, seeming to slot together perfectly. He had to laugh about it now though, if things went well with Ginny he supposed you’d probably end up being his sister-in-law, assuming his predictions of George falling completely in love with you were correct (they were, he knew).
All air of laughter or wizard/muggle romances was gone at the moment however. You and Harry sat alongside each other, your hand holding his loosely between the swings you were sat on, he’d be going into his 5th year at Hogwarts soon, he’d yet to recover from the last. He’d made a friend only for that friend to be killed right in front of him. He’d almost been murdered himself for God’s sake.
“If you don’t feel safe, Haz… maybe, I don’t know? Don’t go back?” You suggested weakly, knowing he’d never do such a thing. As you expected, Harry shook his head and looked at you solemnly.
“Can’t. Not now that he’s back.” With a sigh you squeezed his hand.
“They should be paying you for this, you know,” Harry chuckled then, squeezing your hand in return.
“I’m doing this for you too. To keep you safe.” He admitted and you sighed miserably.
“I wish I could be of more help.” Harry scoffed, his green eyes shining with pure disbelief as he stared at you.
“More help? (Y/n) you must be joking…” he trailed off as you shook your head, you weren’t joking, you hated that you couldn’t help Harry through this, for once you knew there was nothing you could do to improve the situation in any way that would make an impact, “Oi. Look at me,” Harry demanded, no trace of the usual awkward sarcasm to be heard when he spoke.
You let your eyes meet his again and watched how they seemed to soften when he took in how utterly defenceless you looked, “If it hadn’t been for you, the first ten years of my life would’ve been an even worse hell than they already were. You were the only good thing and you’re still the only good thing about being back in this place.”
He watched sadly as your eyes fell to the floor again, “Besides, the sooner we get this mess with Voldemort sorted out, the sooner you and George Weasley can navigate the whole muggle/wizard romance thing.”
At his statement you barked out a laugh and Harry let himself smile too, “Shut up, Potter. S’not like that.”
Harry laughed then too, “Oh it is so like that, (N/n).”
“It so isn’t.” You grumbled, but your little smile confirmed to Harry that it absolutely was like that.
“Okay. Fine, please then do tell, what is going on between you and the infamous George Weasley?” Harry challenged, revelling in the way your cheeks burned with embarrassment. He let out a low chuckle when you shrugged shyly and kicked the stones beneath your feet.
“I don’t know… We write to each other a lot, and I think he’s really interesting and funny and sweet and of course I think he’s fit. But, I don’t know,” you bit your lip as Harry listened to you, he found it quite endearing. “I just don’t see how it would work. I like him, yeah, but…” Harry scoffed again as you trailed off. He hated seeing you feeling so insecure, Harry was clueless about a lot of things, but he knew exactly how much his best friend was worth- more than all the gold in Gringott’s.
“Ok as your best mate, and as someone who is very close with the Weasley family, I’m telling you that he’s mad about you. All he ever does is ask me about you, Fred is completely sick of him. He’s even told Molly about you, which is truly a commitment believe me,” Harry started, growing more content with the more bashful you became, “And didn’t he write to you just before the Yule Ball to tell you that he was going with Katie Bell as a friend but he wanted to tell you just incase you heard it from someone else and he didn’t want you to get the wrong idea?” Finally, you were back to fighting a smile.
“Yeah he did.”
“Well there you go. But seriously he hasn’t dated or even so much as looked at anyone else since he met you. Which I’ll be honest is super annoying for me but you deserve someone who thinks you hung the stars in the sky.”
A mock gasp left your lips and you released his hand to place it over your chest in faux hurt, “You mean to tell me you don’t think I hung the stars in the sky? I’m hurt, Harry. I think I’ll have to rat you out to Mrs. Weasley.”
Harry laughed but the lighthearted atmosphere didn’t last long before Dudley had shown up with his little gang of bullies, all of whom made fun of Harry’s nightmares.
It was then things had taken a turn for the worst, the sky turned black and storm clouds completely blocked out the previously scorching sun. You looked to Harry for answers but he seemed to be seeing something that you couldn’t, all you knew was that it had become unbearably cold, a feeling of misery making a home in your bones as Harry rushed to pull you to your feet.
“Run! Come on!” He shouted, clutching your hand tightly in his and sprinting through the neighbourhood until you, Harry and Dudley found yourselves struggling to catch a breath in a graffiti covered tunnel.
A terrified yelp left your throat as what you’d been running from revealed itself to you.
Several floating, cloaked shadowy figures swooped into the tunnel on both sides, their hands decaying and boney, their presence leaving you with the feeling that you’d never know positively ever again.
Harry had effectively used his body to cage you against the wall of the tunnel, his back pressed firmly against your chest, your own back pressed to the cold concrete wall, his wand was at the ready as the creatures approached rapidly.
“Don’t look at them.” Harry instructed, protecting you first as you watched in horror as one of the creatures seemed to be ripping Dudley’s essence straight out of his body.
It only took Harry a few painfully long seconds to take care of the creature in front of the pair of you, you’d wished you’d taken his advice and buried your head in his shoulder so you wouldn’t see the monstrous creatures before you, yet, you couldn’t seem to tear your eyes away from Dudley.
The rest happened in a blur, Harry had yet to let go of your hand as it (and your entire body) shook violently. Demontors broke even the strongest of wizards, Harry knew that as a muggle who’d never seen a magical creature, other than an owl, you’d react negatively.
“If it makes you feel any better, I used to faint every time I saw a dementor.” You nodded numbly, giving Dudley a side glance of concern while he mumbled incoherently to himself.
“Is he alright?” You questioned meekly, voice shaking. You were still freezing and the all too familiar feeling of uselessness didn’t do anything to help you regain your inner warmth.
Harry nodded, “He will be.”
“The ministry will be after my head for using magic outside of school,” he told you after a few minutes, squeezing your hand lightly for the umpteenth time, “So I’m gonna have to go away for a while. Probably tonight. Eat some chocolate, it should stop the shaking.” He told you, you hadn’t even noticed you’d reached Privet Drive.
“And they won’t-“ your breath got caught in your throat and your eyes filled with fear, “The dementors. They won’t come back, will they?”
Harry shook his head, “No. But come on, we should get you inside before the ministry shows up and tries to obliviate you.” His final words came out as more of a mumble than an actual sentence as he passed a bumbling Dudley over to Petunia and Vernon before steering you down your own driveway.
“You better not have broken her too, boy!” You vaguely registered Vernon’s voice shouting in your and Harry’s direction.
Your parents were away on holiday at the moment, in Spain. They’d wanted you to come but you hadn’t wanted to miss Harry’s visit, so when you shakily managed to open the door the house was completely dark, you weren’t sure at what point night had fallen.
Harry closed the door behind himself and made his way into your kitchen, the boy rifled through your sweet press before his hand finally settled on what he was looking for. A triumphant sort of yell left his lips as he pulled a bar of chocolate out of the cupboard.
While Harry tossed the bar onto the counter and busied himself with boiling the kettle, you stood in the hallway still, completely rigid.
“Come on, (Y/n). Sit down.” He urged gently, not turning around. Wordlessly, you fully entered the kitchen and slid into a chair facing Harry.
“Don’t you have better things to be doing than making me tea?” You wondered, setting your hands on the table and fidgeting with your icy fingers. Obviously, you appreciated Harry’s fussing but with the way he was talking about the ministry earlier you were sure he had more important things to worry about.
Harry only faced you once he was finished making your tea. He carried the hot cup and the previously discarded bar of chocolate over to you, he placed them both on the table before giving you a hard look, “I’m looking after you first. I’ll deal with everything else later.”
“I used to be the one who took care of you.” You said through a sigh, taking a sip of the hot tea and slumping against your seat as you began to heat up on the inside again.
Harry let out a low chuckle, “Oh how the tables have turned.”
“I liked it better the other way.” You complained, munching on a square of chocolate.
“Trust me, so did I,” Harry groaned, standing up and placing a comforting hand on your shoulder, “Don’t worry though, (N/n). Have a sneaking feeling that you’ll be looking after me again soon enough.”
You patted the hand he had clamped on your shoulder in appreciation, “Thank you, though, for looking after me.”
“Course. I better go. I don’t want you getting roped into anything else tonight,” he said with a sad smile and you nodded in understanding, “We probably won’t see each other for a while but I’ll write. Is Astra back from Cecilia's yet?” Celillia is the witch you’d gotten Astra from in the first place, the pair of you had kept in touch and she’d recently offered to try and teach you some basic divination skills, she claimed that, “Being a wizard isn’t exactly a requirement” and you desperately needed something, anything, to make you feel more connected to your friends in the wizarding world. You supposed you’d need to plan a trip to her cottage soon, after tonight you definitely needed some of her wisdom.
“No, not yet. She flew straight there from the burrow so I suppose she’s probably resting,” you informed him distantly, still clutching his hand, “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”
Harry squeezed your shoulder and let out a deep breath, “I’ll try my best. Promise,” with that he lifted his hand from your shoulder and extended his pinky to you, you gladly linked it with your own. Harry noted, very gratefully, that the warmth had now returned to your hands and you’d stopped shaking so violently.
“Send me a letter once Astra gets back, alright? I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on over on my side.” You agreed before walking Harry to the door, hugging him tightly and watching as he approached the Dursley’s front door.
As predicted, Harry, George, Hermione and Cecillia had let you know that the wizarding world was crumbling fast. Admittedly you were worried about your wizard friends, but Cecillia had done a great job of keeping you distracted by keeping you buried under heaps of divination books, tarot cards and crystal guidebooks. As it turns out, though, you had quite the talent for making accurate detailed predictions.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were descended from a powerful seer,” she’d written to you in awe after you’d managed to predict exactly how a date of hers would go without missing a single detail.
Reading tarot cards quickly became one of your favourite hobbies to indulge in when you weren’t in school. You’d made the mistake of telling George about it in a recent letter, Harry already knew and he also knew that there was no point telling you that he didn’t have a heap of faith in divination. George however was having a field day with the new information.
The older boy teased you at every chance he got, but it was all in good fun as in every letter he sent, you’d find a page that he’d ripped out of his own divination book, the pages would be crinkled and have messy notes scribbled along the margins, with explanations over words that he knew you wouldn’t understand as a muggle. They were actually really helpful. Aside from all the teasing he found it quite endearing that you were trying to get familiar with some form of magic. Even if it was a form of magic wizards tended to ridicule.
He’d been quite worried about you, Harry told him about the dementors and how you’d been quite shaken up after your encounter with them. He’d written to you on a weekly basis, constantly checking in on you, making absolutely sure that no more dementors paid you a visit. He and Harry both kept you up to date with the constant and seemingly never ending rules being imposed upon them by their new headmaster, or headmistress; Delores Umbridge. George also disclosed to you all about his and Fred’s plan to leave Hogwarts and pursue their lifelong dream of opening a joke shop. You had nothing but faith in the twins, really. Your complete faith in them hadn’t stopped you from sending George a handful of crystals that you believed would help his and his shop’s success. He’d teased you relentlessly in each letter since he’d received your package containing citrine, tiger’s eye, amazonite, aventurine and smokey quartz. What he hadn’t mentioned since receiving your little gifts, is that he’d been carrying the five crystals around in their little orange mesh drawstring bag in his pocket everywhere he went. He had to give credit where credit is due and, to be fair to you and your holistic ways, he hadn’t run into any serious obstacles since he started carrying the gems around.
November through June had brought forth a plethora of unfortunate events. You were practically swimming in school work which left you with no time to write to Harry, or even practice tarot. As well as that, you’d been having nightmares, although Cecillia had warned that these dreams could hold some sort of prophesies within them, you highly doubted that though, you weren’t a wizard, only a muggle. Whether prophetic or not, the nightmares plagued you, keeping you up at night or waking you at all hours of the morning.
On one particular morning, you’d awoken with a gasp. Sweat coated your face, soaked your pillow cases and caused your legs to stick to your blankets in a way not even the June heat could've caused. Your heart pounded against your ribcage, tears welled in your eyes, and your body shook as violently as it had the night you’d come face to face with the dementors of Azkaban. The unadulterated fear coursing through your bloodstream suggested that perhaps this bad dream had been something more than simply that.
As fast as you could manage in your panicked state, you dragged your body out of bed and stumbled towards your light switch, flicking it on before haphazardly ripping a sheet out of the refill pad on your desk, grabbing a pen and beginning to scribble down the dream that you could only describe as a warning.
Your laboured breaths stirred Astra from her slumber, the tawny hooted tiredly, hopping out of her cage and fluttering over to your shoulder, settling there as you wrote.
Harry,
I hope this letter reaches you in time. I might sound completely mad but something terrible may be about to happen. I’ve been having these horrific dreams over the last few months, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry but Cecillia suspects they’re premonitions and I’m terrified she may be right. I’ve just woken up, it’s around 2am and if I’m lucky, Astra should get this letter to you before 6am…
Onto the dream, you were there and you were asleep, I was standing by your bed, it was a four-poster sort of thing, the room was decorated in mostly red and gold. You woke up panicked, you looked completely overwhelmed and you began shouting about your Godfather Sirius, about how he was in trouble… From then on I watched the day play out. You, Hermoine, Ron, Ginny, a boy with brown hair I’ve never met, I think you called him Neville in my dream, and a blonde girl- Luna I think you called her, you all went to the ministry to rescue Sirius and find some kind of prophecy. Harry you have to listen to me, you mustn’t go, it’s a trick, Voldemort planted it in your head and if you go you’ll only put Sirius in harm’s way. But, knowing you, you’re gonna go anyway… so here’s my advice: keep your eyes open for the witch Bellatrix. Keep Sirius away from the veil and please please please, be careful.
I’m heading to Cecillia’s cottage for the day and maybe even the next couple of days, send Astra there when you find time to write back.
I hope I’m wrong but if I’m not; good luck, Harry. I love you and if you don’t look after yourself the dark lord will be the least of your worries.
Lots of love,
Y/n.
Folding up the letter and placing it in a stray envelope, you addressed it and gently tied it to your loyal owl’s leg. “I’m gonna need you to go as fast as you can to get this to Harry, okay Astra?” She hooted with what you guessed to be determination before she set off, out into the night. Thankfully for you, now that your owl was occupied, you knew Cecillia owned a telephone so you’d have no problems contacting her. While writing to Harry, you’d left out a few details about the dream. You conveniently forget to mention that you’d watched his only remaining family member killed at the hand’s of Bellatrix, it had looked so terrifyingly real that your mind couldn’t have possibly conjured it up all by itself. You also failed to mention hearing Harry’s agonising scream as Sirius fell, the noise was nearly deafening. Seeing Sirius, a man you’d only seen in pictures, die and watching your best friend mourn for him was, well, traumatising. There was no way you’d get a wink of sleep for the remainder of the night, so, you quietly tiptoed downstairs and made a call.
The line rang three times before Cecillia’s voice sounded, chirpy as ever despite the late hour, “Hello?”
“Sorry to call so late,” was all you managed, your voice although shaky was immediately identified by the much older witch.
You could nearly see the soft smile on her youthful face as she spoke, “Ah, Y/n my darling, no worries at all! How is my favourite student doing at half two in the morning?”
“Not well, I’ve had another vision. I think you might’ve been right about the dreams being prophetic,” you told her, willing your voice not to crack as the image of your bad dreams crept into your mind once again.
Cecillia let out a gentle hum, “Shall I apparate over? You don’t sound in the highest of spirits, darling.”
“Yes please,” you answered simply and within seconds Cecillia was standing before you, a worried furrow in her brow and her ashy brown hair disheveled from apparating to you in such a hurry. How could she not? You were, after all, her protégé.
“Oh, darling. You look terribly shaken up, come, come, let’s get you some water,” she fretted, guiding you to your kitchen, magically flicking on the light with her wand and filling up a glass of water, with a few flicks of her wrist the glass had floated over to your usual seat at the table, meanwhile Cecillia had stirred you into the wooden chair adjacent the glass.
Wordlessly, the witch peeled your damp hair away from your face and secured it back with a crocodile clip shaped like a huge golden bumble bee, it’s wings adorned with glittering gems. The bee sat comfortably in your hair as Cecillia finally sat down beside you, she made herself comfortable on the kitchen chair, crossing one leg over the other, resting her elbow on the table and using it to prop her cheek up. Her wide green eyes stared at you sympathetically, watching intently as you sipped your water.
“I’m assuming your loyal familiar is sleeping soundly?” She wondered, referring to Astra. You shook your head, simultaneously swallowing a gulp of water before responding verbally.
“I sent her with a letter to Harry, it was more of a warning really,” Cecillia nodded her head, signalling you to go on, “I dreamt of Harry and his friends going to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Sirius Black, but it was a trap. When they got there they were ambushed by dark wizards and Sirius well he…” you trailed off, eyes growing distant and unfocused when the sight of the man being murdered reentered your mind’s eye. A gentle hand on your shoulder pulled you back to the present.
“This one was far worse than the others then?”
You nodded, “It didn’t feel like a dream, cecillia. It was like I was actually standing there but I couldn’t do anything to help though… as per usual,” you muttered bitterly, receiving a harsh squeeze to your shoulder in response.
Cecillia fixed you with a maternal glare, “None of that! You potentially saved a life tonight. And, as I effortlessly predicted since the moment I met you, you’ve got the magical gift of sight,” her hard look melted into something more forgiving as she spoke, “You’re much more than just a muggle. You may have been an extremely late bloomer, but, you’re a witch and a seer at that. A peculiar case indeed, although in the wizarding world stranger things have happened,” the old witch told you proudly, eyes shining with glee as your own filled with confusion.
“How do we know the dream will even come true?” You questioned.
Cecillia simply shrugged and offered you a cheeky grin, “I trust your feelings, darling.”
True to your initial feeling, you hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, you knew you wouldn’t be able to rest until you found out whether or not your dream had come to fruition. Cecillia remained by your side throughout the night, eventually the sun had risen and your parents descended down the stairs, neither of them were surprised to see Cecillia sitting at the kitchen table. They saw her as an odd woman, very kind and perfectly lovely, but odd. You’d told them that she owned an animal sanctuary and that you’d been volunteering with her, it wasn’t too far fetched really, she had given you an owl after all, not to mention the amount of cats that hung around her cottage.
She explained to your parents that she needed your help at ‘the sanctuary’ for the next few days and that she’d drop you home once the work was finished. It hadn’t been a problem, so you traveled to Cecillia’s cottage after getting dressed and packing an overnight bag (full to the brim with tarot decks and only some clothes).
It was nearly 8 in the evening when Cecillia sauntered into her living room, where you were sitting, sporting a knowing grin, she held a piece of parchment in one hand and an unopened envelope in the other.
Jovially, she plopped herself down beside you, obviously doing her very best to contain a huge grin from forming on her face. Wordlessly, she placed the envelope on your lap with a mere, “For you.”
On the envelope you could tell by the handwriting that it had come from Harry. This was definitely a make or break moment for you. The contents of this letter would either confirm that you did in fact have magic, or, they would be responsible for causing you to experience a seismic amount of embarrassment. Swallowing the lump in your throat you tore the envelope open, freeing the letter and daring to read what was inside.
Dear Y/n,
Your dream was right. And that advice you gave about keeping an eye on Sirius? It saved his life. I suppose I’m mostly writing to say thank you. I’ve got some updates for you too: firstly, it’s finally been confirmed that Voldemort is back so my name is cleared. Secondly, it turns out that Remus and Cecillia are old friends, she contacted him earlier today about your vision and he and Sirius haven’t shut up about how impressive it is. I have a feeling you might be hearing from them soon, The Order now more than ever is in need of a secret weapon and genuine seers are hard to come by. I hate to involve you in this, it’ll probably be dangerous and you know I don’t want to see you hurt, or worse. But having said that, I’m glad we’re in this together now.
Astra got here in good time, by the way, she landed on my window just after I woke up from my vision of Sirius, it was actually quite freaky. I’m taking good care of her so don’t worry, she should be back to you at some point tomorrow.
Hermoine and Ron say hi too. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from George soon, seeing as he and Fred are in the Order… On that note I better get going.
Thank you again for the warning.
See you soon,
Love, Harry.
A bemused smile spread across your lips as you scanned the page, thankful to have finally made a significant difference in Harry’s life. Cecillia was grinning like a cheshire cat beside you, pride shimmering in her emerald eyes. She bumped her arm against yours playfully when you let the letter fall to your lap, “An old friend of mine will be stopping by in a short while. It seems he’d like to get you trained up in some defence against the dark arts.” She told you, still grinning.
“Defence against the dark arts?” You wondered out loud, you were sure you’d heard Harry mention those words to you before, however, the memories were fuzzy.
“Magic to keep you safe from darker magic, the likes of which the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters rely,” she explained darkly. Just then, a loud bang erupted from her open stone fireplace, a bubble of green dissipated as two men stepped less than gracefully onto Cecillia’s faux-fur rug. You recognised them both from your vision. They were Sirius Black and, if you were to take an educated guess, Remus Lupin.
Cecillia wasted no time before she was giddily jumping from her seat to greet the pair who had just appeared in her sitting room.
“Remus! Oh, how wonderful to see you!” She all but squealed, pulling the tall man into a hug and ruffling his already messy hair.
He reciprocated the hug with a gentle chuckle, “It’s nice to see you again, Cece. It’s been far too long,” he pulled away and the pair of them shared a fond smile before simultaneously looking to Sirius. “I trust you remember Sirius?” Lupin asked, almost rhetorically.
Sirius let out a booming laugh at that, “She could never forget me, now could you, Cece?” Cecillia rolled her eyes, and with a look of endearment nearly tackled Sirius into an embrace.
Seeing the woman who was essentially your magical mentor so overjoyed was lovely, Cecillia was jolly at the best of times but you’d never seen her quite like this. Her happiness added to your sense of helpfulness, Sirius Black was obviously important to more than just Harry, if the smile on the free-spirited witches face was anything to go by. Although you were ecstatic for the three witches and wizards before you, you couldn’t help but feel like you were imposing on an intimate reunion.
Awkwardly you cleared your throat, successfully bringing the trio’s attention onto you as you stood by the sofa, smiling unsurely. If it was even possible, all three of their smiles broadened when their gazes landed on you.
“Am I right in assuming that this is my guardian angel?” Sirius asked, separating from Cecillia.
Cecillia nodded, filled with pride, “And isn’t she just the loveliest guardian angel you’ve ever seen?” She gushed, half seriously.
You offered Sirius a bashful smile, along with a nod of greeting, “I’m glad to see you’re alright,” you told him.
His grin stayed fixed in place but he raised a single eyebrow in confusion, “Glad? And yet you’ve never met me before now…” his tone was laced with inquisition, as if he wanted to figure out what ulterior motive you could possibly have for caring about a stranger you’d only ever seen in a dream.
It didn’t take a seer or a psychic to see what Sirius was after, so you simply answered him truthfully, “No, we’ve never met, but you’re still a person, I watched that woman kill you, it was horrible, nobody deserves that. As well as that; I know how much you mean to Harry and what sort of best friend would I be if I didn’t try to help him keep his last family member safe?” Sirius nodded approvingly at your reply, looking between Remus and Cecillia.
“She remind you of anyone?” The black haired man asked in a low chuckle, Remus snickered and Cecillia bit back a grin.
The witch made her way back to your side and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, jostling you ever so slightly when she noticed your vaguely worried expression, “Don’t worry, darling, you just remind us of one of our most treasured school friends, I promise I will tell you all about it later. But for now, I believe Sirius was about to thank you for saving his life?” She prompted, waiting expectantly.
Sirius cleared his throat and straightened his posture before outstretching his arm, offering you his hand which you took firmly in your own. His voice was steady, strong and genuine when he spoke, “I am truly thankful for what you did for not only me but Harry today. I’m extremely proud of my godson for aligning himself with such a strong, powerful and wonderfully loyal young lady.”
“How sweet,” Cecillia cooed, before guiding you to the kitchen, “Come now, boys, kettles on- we have a lot to discuss!” She called over her shoulder.
There certainly had been a lot to discuss. The Order of the Phoenix thought having a seer at their disposal would be extremely beneficial in the upcoming war, the issue was; you are not yet of age and some members of the group didn’t wish to involve a child in their battle. Sirius, Remus and Cecillia made it abundantly clear that if you desired to join the Order, you were more than welcome but you would be welcomed under certain conditions. Those conditions being that your membership be kept under wraps and not disclosed to any muggles, meaning your parents.
“To keep them safe and to give you an escape route if things get too messy, even with the level of magic you’ll have gained by the time the war is in full swing, as a muggle born you’ll most likely need to flee quickly,” Remus explained, though it didn’t make much sense.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to run if my parents knew what we were running from? They’re open minded people, I’m sure they’d understand,” you attempted to reason, the trio but exchanged yet another loaded look with each other.
Cecillia placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, “We have a contingency plan in place, darling. Nothing you need to worry about for right now,” she reassured, easing your nerves a tad. “You trust me don’t you?” She followed up, her tone slightly stonier, more serious. You nodded your head certainly in response, there was no doubt about it; you trusted the witch with your life. “Then,” she began again, a somewhat chastising look on her face, “Trust that I will not allow a single hair on your head to be harmed.” This rule also extended to wizards not in the Order, which meant that when in the magical world, you were to air on the side of extreme caution.
Relating to that, another condition was that, at all times in the magical world, you were to be accompanied by an of age member of the Order. According to Sirius, who your were growing to like more by the second, he was going to arrange for a member of the Order to bring you to Diagon Alley in the morning to get you a wand. The prospect of having a wand of your own was terribly exciting, once again though, you found yourself wondering if you had it in you to properly wield one, or wield one at all for that matter. You were too exhausted to fret for too long, so the thoughts about magic levels and your own capabilities were only fleeting. Once all of the serious chat dissipated into friendly chatter, you managed to slip away from the table at which you were all sat. Making your way back to the sitting room, you tucked yourself into the corner seat of Cecillia’s old and very comfortable sofa, pulled your knees against your chest, wrapped your arms around them and rested your cheek against your knee. Slowly and deeply, you began to breathe in and out, fiddling with the amazonite bracelet that adorned your wrist in order to quell your ever growing anxiety. For a few sweet minutes you indulged in the calm silence, meditating peacefully in your comfy seat until a soft knock sounded from the doorway. When your eyes fluttered open they were met with the image of Sirius Black, leaning casually against the frame of the door, a hand plunged deep into his trouser pocket and another flipping a stray tarot card between his fingers. His eyes were focused on yours as he spoke, “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
You shook your head and patted the seat beside you, “‘Course not, come sit.”
The man chuckled but obliged, settling in the spot beside you and offering you the card he’d previously been fiddling with.
“The ten of swords,” you identified easily, “I assume you’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed if this card found its way to you.”
Sirius hummed, “CeCe tells me that you’ve a penchant for card reading. I was rubbish at divination back at Hogwarts, only took it because I thought it’d be easy but I could never get my head around it,” he reminisced, an airy laugh slipping from his lips.
“If you don’t mind me asking, who were you all talking about earlier when you asked if I reminded Cecilia and Remus of anyone?” He let out a deep sigh before fixing you with a soft smile.
“An old school friend of ours, she was more than a friend to me, but that’s a story for another time,” he started, staring out into the empty space before him a melancholy grin on his lips, “She was fiercely loyal to her friends, if she wanted to help there was absolutely nothing that would stop her from doing so. I know I don’t know you very well, but from what I heard today and the way in which you’ve been described to me by Harry; I can see her in you,” he finished, bumping his shoulder with yours and forcing a happy smile onto your lips which mirrored Sirius’.
“What’s her name?” You asked.
“Her name was Marlene,” Sirius answered.
Your heart dropped with his use of past tense, “Was?”
Sirius bowed his head slightly and began to twist the rings that adorned his slender fingers, “She was killed during the first war,” he told you, making eye contact once again, a grave expression on his face as he continued, “I saw your apprehension earlier when we brought up the topic of secrecy, but you must understand that during the first war we lost so many who were dear to us, keeping you in our back pocket will ensure that you aren’t harmed in the face of this war, if any dark wizards hear so much of a whisper of a muggleborn seer they will stop at nothing to eliminate you,” he paused for a brief second, never breaking eye contact, the gravity of the situation heavy on your chest your fingers absentmindedly found your amazonite bracelet once again. Your movements were halted when Sirius placed his large hand over yours, squeezing it warmly while staring at you determinedly, “You saved my life today, Y/n. So believe me when I tell you that I will stop at nothing to keep you safe,” he promised and you squeezed his hand in return.
“I know,” he smiled as he watched your eyes return to the ten of swords and your grin broadened with the sort of mischief he’d only ever seen in four people; James Potter, Marlene McKinnon and Fred and George Weasley. “I have a prediction for you.”
Sirius entertained you fondly, a mischievous air that reminded him of when he was your age surrounding the pair of you, “By all means, do tell.”
“I predict,” you paused for emphasis, “that we are going to be very good friends.”
Sirius let out a booming laugh of which the volume he couldn’t control, “That is a prediction I truly hope will come to fruition.”
“Oh no, this is a duo that spells trouble,” Cecillia giggled to Remus as they entered the sitting room.
Remus looked between you and Sirius with a grin, “With a mentor like you, Cece, I’m not surprised Y/n has a taste for mischief,” the ruffled wizard teased, receiving a gentle elbow to the ribs from your mentor.
“Oi, if you’re going to blame my beloved girl’s mischief on anyone you better blame it on a certain Weasley twin,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows and causing the boys to smile giddily like teenagers.
Sirius bumped your shoulder again, this time with a faux-scandalised smile, “A Weasley twin, eh? Come on then, which one?” You blushed heavily and cleared your throat in an attempt to alleviate the embarrassment filling your being.
“He’s just a friend!”
“Mhm. A friend that sends her annotated pages from his divination text book,” Cecillia sang and Sirius snickered.
“Whichever one it is must be quite taken with you if you made him actually crack open a textbook.”
“Annotations are quite intimate,” Remus half teased although you could see he believed what he’d just said, “I bet it’s George,” he directed the bet at Sirius who carefully observed the way you bit your lip and bashfully looked towards the wooden floor.
“I think you’re right, moony. Now!” He stood suddenly and pointed a finger at Remus expectantly, “We best get going and arrange Y/n’s accomplice for tomorrow’s field trip,” he wiggled his eyebrows before turning his head to face you again, he shot you a wink and you couldn’t stop the airy laugh that left your mouth at his lighthearted antics.
Remus gave Cecillia a one armed hug, “we’ll be seeing you both tomorrow then, it was lovely to meet you, Y/n, perhaps next time Sirius will allow me to get a word in,” he chuckled and Sirius responded by throwing his arm around your shoulder.
“I better get off, this husband of mine is growing jealous,” he told you in a teasingly hushed whisper.
Your eyes widened and you looked between the two men, “You two are married?”
A love struck smile took over both of their faces which immediately gave you your answer. “We’re engaged,” Sirius clarified before pulling you into a proper hug, “Get a good night's sleep, we’ll be sending an order member to collect you early tomorrow morning so you can be in and out of Olivander’s before a crowd can build,” he told you while giving you an affectionate squeeze, you could’ve laughed when you realised that it felt like you’d known Sirius forever but you also could’ve cried when you relived the image of him losing his life and realised that just because it was over and prevented didn't mean it hadn’t still transpired in your mind’s eye, you didn’t let that show on your face though.
“I’ll make sure I’m well rested,” you promised.
With that, Sirius bid Cecillia goodbye, and he and Remus left the way they’d came.
The rest of the night had been spent with Cecillia telling you story after story about her school days and the trouble she’d caused with Sirius, Remus, James and Lily Potter, Harry’s parents, and another boy who she only referred to as “the rat”. Though the tone of the stories were completely lighthearted, they weighed on your chest with a sense of such tragedy. A huge majority of their friends were killed young because of the war, a war that was now waging once again. It led you to wonder who’d be lost to this one, if perhaps you’d be on the list of names that Harry or Cecillia or George would speak about fondly with a dense undertone of sorrow in the years after the second war had long since been won. It was a risk you were willing to take though, the notion of fighting for a deserving cause filled you with a sense of purpose, a purpose you’d been searching for for years. More than that, you felt important. You were needed. An asset. You would actually be of some help.
True to your word, you’d been getting a good night’s rest. The bed in Cecillia’s spare room was the comfiest thing you’d ever come across, though, as you began to stir from your deep slumber you couldn’t recall the empty side of the double bed being quite so dipped.
Slowly and begrudgingly, you cracked your eyes open to see Cecillia smiling tiredly at you in the light of dawn, “Morning, darling. Sorry about the early start, I’ve made you some tea,” she greeted quietly so as to not disturb the peace of the early morning. She held two ceramic mugs, one in each hand and passed you the steaming cup that was hand painted green, keeping the brown one for herself. Tiredly, you patted the spot beside you and pulled the quilt to the side, inviting the witch into the warm bed. She happily slid in, pulling the quilt over her and chuckling quietly when you dropped your head onto her robed shoulder and began to sip the tea she’d made. Cecillia rested her head against yours and sipped on her own tea.
“Are you excited for today?” She asked and you hummed.
“I’m having mixed emotions,” you stated, “I’m excited to see everything, but I’m sort of nervous that I won’t have enough magic to even get a wand,” Comfort spread through your chest when Cecillia pressed her lips to the crown of your head.
“The wonderful thing about wands, lovely, is that the wand picks the wizard,” she began, “so whatever wand you end up with will accentuate the level of magic inside you. Its power will grow as yours does and you’ll soon come to realise that you couldn’t imagine wielding anything else,” her voice was wistful and her eyes shined with wonder as she recalled how it felt to bond to a wand.
“What do you think mine will be like?” You wondered, excitement awakening in you thanks to Cecillia’s encouraging words.
The witch took an exaggerated slurp of her tea before answering, “Something curious,” was all she said.
“Insightful,” you murmured and she shrugged unapologetically, her chaotic energy exuding now that she’d started to wake up fully. “What time is it anyway?”
“Half six, your chaperone should be arriving at seven and Olivander’s opens at eight,” she told you before shimmying out of bed, you whined in the absence of your head rest. “You better get dressed. Wear something nice, rumour has it that your tag along is quite the eligible bachelor,” she wiggled her eyebrows and all but floated out of the spare room. It was practically your room by now though, over the years since you’d gotten Astra and met Cecillia you’d stayed in the room on countless occasions. Cecillia embodied something that was something between a second mother, a spiritual mentor, a teasing older sister and a slightly kooky aunt.
“Oh? So do you reckon I should brush my hair then?” You jokingly called out after her only to receive a harsh scoff.
“Absolutely not! Don’t be desperate!” You barked out a laugh at her response, shaking your head and getting ready for the day ahead.
You were just about finished getting ready when a familiar bang sounded from the sitting room. Taking a deep breath, you gave yourself one last look over in the mirror, happy with the outfit you’d chosen, you made your way towards the sitting room to come face to face with your surprise chaperone for the day.
When you shuffled into the sitting room, a smile immediately stretched across your lips upon seeing who had been appointed to stick by your side for the day, “George!” His name left your mouth in a squeal that would’ve been embarrassing had you not been so excited to see him. It’d been upwards of a year since the last time you’d seen George in the flesh and although you’d seen each other in photos and written to each other at a rate that was almost excessive, the prospect of spending time together in person was, for lack of a better word; magical.
George drew his attention away from the framed pictures that lined Cecillia’s fireplace to see you standing in the doorway, looking as bright as the newly risen sun and sporting a smile that he couldn’t quite put into words how it made him feel. It only took a second before his own cheek splitting smile grew on his face, and with it left his hopes of impressing you with his cool and collected attitude. You hadn’t given him too much time to dwell on his ruined cool guy facade as you all but threw yourself into his arms. The red head let out an endearing laugh, catching you in his toned arms, wrapping them tightly around your torso. A scarlet blush rising on his ears when he felt your smile against his neck. “Hello to you too,” he chuckled against your ear and you pulled back enough to look at him, your arms still secure around his shoulders.
“Sorry,” you started, the smile that still adorned your lips telling him that you weren’t all that sorry at all, “Hi,” you greeted, bashfully pulling your arms away from him.
The sitting room was quiet for a moment as the pair of you only stared at each other, would it be too much to tell him that you’ve missed him? You didn’t want to come on too strong after such a long time apart, you’d already tackled him into a hug within the first five seconds, but with that came your next internal question of; did you really want to keep this boy on his toes?
George, having already discarded his notion of acting nonchalant with you, bet you to the punch. He rubbed the back of his neck and flicked his gaze to the floor before bringing it back to you, “I’ve missed you.”
A giggle left your lips before you could think about choking it down, you nodded your head, bouncing slightly on the balls of your feet, “Yeah, I’ve missed you too. Sorry I haven’t written, Astra is still with Harry.”
George gave you a grin, “No worries, darling. Heard you’ve been a very busy little psychic lately.”
Darling, you mused internally, the nickname echoing through your head and causing your heart to somersault in a way you’d never really felt before.
“Oh how sweet,” Cecillia sang from the doorway, a wicked grin on her face as she took in the two hopeless blushing messes, staring doe-eyed at each other in the middle of her living room. “I hate to break up the reunion, my dears, but the pair of you really should get going,” she instructed, strutting up to you and holding a cloth pouch in your direction, “Sirius left you some spending money, it’s different than the money you usually use but I’m sure George will have no problem helping you out,” Cecillia shot the boy a wink and he nodded, once again growing bashful.
“Now,” she grew serious, directing her words at George and making him slightly intimidated with her strong eye contact, “You are to be extremely careful. You are not to mention that Y/n is a seer and you are not to draw any attention to the fact that she is a muggleborn, if Mr. Olivander asks, she’s a half-blood who's been living in the states and that’s why she doesn’t have a wand,” you wore a confused expression, George nodded in complete understanding, “Did Sirius give you the list?”
George nodded once again, pulling a folded piece of parchment out of the back pocket of his slightly baggy denim jeans, “May I take a look?” Cecillia asked, already snatching the parchment from George’s long fingers and unfolding the sheet and reading it aloud, “Alright! A wand… seriously? He used a whole page of parchment just to write one thing?” She grumbled, stomping over to the nearest side table, leaning down and began to scribble on the parchment. You looked to George as she wrote, “Why do you have to say I’m from the States?” You asked quietly and George leaned down slightly to be closer to your ear.
“Witches and wizards in America don’t get wands until they’re of age, we get them here when we’re eleven,” just as he was finished offering his explanation, Cecillia walked back over, a hard look on her face that you weren’t used to seeing, though it seemed that the look was reserved for George.
Silently she handed him the parchment before looking to you, hard look dissolving back into her usual playful expression, “Have fun, lovely.” She then turned to George again, apparently having had enough of trying to intimidate the poor boy, she shot him a smile, “You’ll be taking the floo to Diagon Alley, my fireplace is big enough to take the both of you at once,” she handed George a pouch of what looked like green powder, “George knows what to do, now, not to sound like a broken record but do stay safe and have fun,” she finished, ushering the pair of you into her fireplace. You couldn’t lie, it was quite strange, you supposed you should get used to things coming across as strange, you were about to be exposed to the magical wizarding world for the first time after all. In the fireplace, you stood shoulder to shoulder with George, noticing the nervous look on your face, he slid his hand into yours gently. When you looked at him, he kept his face focused on his feet, “Ready, Y/n?” Taking a deep breath you nodded shakily.
“Ready, George.”
At your words, George slammed the green powder onto the ground and shouted, “Diagon Alley!”
You were sure you were going to be sick. Whatever the powder was, it had you spinning at a pace you didn’t know was possible, you had screwed your eyes shut and you were almost certain that you could feel yourself physically moving. It was only when George tugged on your hand that you opened your eyes to see that your surroundings had actually changed. “It’s horrible the first time, but you get used to it,” George said, pulling you by your still intertwined hands onto the cobbled street. The dizziness died down after only a few seconds out in the fresh air, the added sensation of George’s thumb rubbing soothing circles against your hand seemed to do the trick in settling you completely as you took in the street ahead of you. It was dazzling, really. A long cobbled street, lined with shops that looked like they were plucked straight out of a fairytale. As planned, the streets were fairly empty in the early morning as George led you down the path towards the shop where you’d hopefully get your wand. The name “Olivanders” was written above both windows of the dark shop, the words “makers of fine wands since 382 B.C.” were to be seen just above the door. Excitement had completely overridden your nerves and you practically skipped towards the door, George followed casually behind you, his hands tucked into his pockets and a fond smile on his lips.
“I suppose you’re excited then?” He asked teasingly and you didn’t bother trying to hide your obvious childlike wonder as you waited for him to catch up with you.
“It probably seems silly to you, but this morning Cecillia told me all about when she got her wand and it sounded so wonderful,” you told him, smiling when he bumped his shoulder against yours.
“I don’t think it’s silly, I still get giddy thinking about the time Fred and I got wands of our own,” he pushed the door open and motioned for you to step inside, slowly you walked into the empty shop. It was dark and somewhat dingy but there was something very mystically inclining about it, you could feel the energy and it was utterly exhilarating.
“Wow,” you breathed out, spinning where you stood, gazing at the boxes upon boxes that lined the shelves.
Only a minute passed before an old man stumbled to the front of the shop, smiling at the pair of you from behind the counter, “Ah, Mr. Weasley, it’s good to see you, it’s been some time. What can I do for you this morning? I see you’ve brought a friend,” the older wizard greeted and you smiled in response.
“I’m looking for a wand. I’ve been living in the states for the past few years but I just moved home,” you lied easily, George couldn’t help but smirk, what he’d give to have had you around for some of his and Fred’s pranks at Hogwarts.
The old man nodded in understanding, his eyes scanned you, his eyes were scrutinising and you fought the urge to squirm under his gaze, “Interesting. One moment please,” he said, murmuring to himself as he searched the isles for what he was looking for. A small “aha” sounded from within the isles, he was back in front of you within seconds, an open rectangular box in his hand. It was absolutely gorgeous, it resembled a raw tree branch, wood spiralling up its expanse until it stopped at the top, cutting off in a jagged, dull edge. He must’ve noticed how your jaw dropped, how could he not? He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off you since you’d wandered into his shop. He was an old wizard, but he wasn’t naive, he was well aware you weren’t returning from America, he could sense an energy in you that he hadn’t come in contact with in a long time. “Curious, isn’t it?” He prompted you, causing you to let out an airy laugh. Cecillia was going to tease you big time when you got back to her cabin.
“It’s lovely, what is it?” He offered you the box expectantly and you hesitantly picked up the wand with as much care as you possibly could. It was cool against your skin and was heavier than you’d imagined it would be.
“Thirteen inch, oak; cut from the base of a tree, which at the time, was almost six hundred years old,” he explained, watching happily as you ran your fingers along the wands several ridges,”With a phoenix feather core, quite a rare piece indeed. Unfortunately, this particular wand has been extremely difficult to match to a witch. But something tells me that you might be just the witch for the job,” he held your gaze and you once again got the feeling that he knew something he shouldn’t, “Go on, then. Give it a wave,” he prompted and you looked to George for further encouragement. George laughed at your lost expression, pulling his own wand out and pointing it towards the now empty box on the counter, “Like this, love,” he demonstrated, moving his wrist in a semi-circle motion, making the box levitate off the counter.
Another pet name. You ignored the butterflies in your stomach in favour of clearing your throat, squaring your shoulders and pointing your wand at the same box George had just made float, which was now settled back against the counter. Imitating the boy beside you, you moved your wrist in a swift semi-circle. Suddenly, a golden light poured from the tip of the wand and warm air surrounded you, gently blowing your hair back and forcing a laugh of disbelief to leave your lips. George stood wide eyed beside you, his lips parted slightly. He was amazed really, he went through five wands before he found the one that fit him, yet you’d found yours on the first try, and he had to admit; you looked glorious doing it.
After paying for your wand, you exited the shop, looking around George’s side at the list he was holding. From what you could make out, Cecillia had added a number of items to the originally very short list; 1) a wand, 2) a pendulum (crystal of the ladies choice), 3) crystals: labradorite, lapis lazuli & azurite, 4) mugwort, 5) new tarot deck (again, whatever she wants Sirius can afford it ;)).
“Suppose our next stop is the divination shop,” George said, mostly to himself but gave you a mischievous smile, “If we hurry up and get our shopping done fast we could probably get a butterbeer in before we rejoin the rest of the Order,” he sang, grazing his hand against yours as you walked side by side.
“Beer? You seriously want to drink beer at half eight in the morning?” You asked him, your eyebrow raised and he replied with an exaggerated roll of his eyes and draped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you close against his side and once again leaning his head down so his lips were level with your eye.
“No, you git,” he began with a laugh, “It’s not really beer, it’s pretty sweet; most wizards love it.”
You hummed in acknowledgment, “Sounds nice,” you told him absently, preoccupied with all the intriguing shops that surrounded you. George’s arm remained wrapped around your shoulder as you strolled further into Diagon Alley, seemingly uninterested in his offer for a butterbeer. The pair of you got what you needed from the shop and, since it hadn’t taken long, you decided to take George up on his drinks offer. You noticed that he seemed a little bit crestfallen since your noncommittal answer earlier.
“Hey,” you said, bumping your arm against his.
“Hello,” he replied, returning the gesture.
“So… d’you wanna go get one of those beer things that you were talking about earlier?” You asked nervously, your lip between your teeth. For all you knew, asking someone to grab a butterbeer in the wizarding world was the muggle equivalent to proposing.
George flashed you a grin that was almost childlike, it was mesmerising, so sweet and pure and you almost wished you’d brought your camera to take a picture of it. “I thought you’d never ask.”
With a giggle you let him grab your hand and lead you excitedly towards a building that had “The Leaky Cauldron” written above the door. When you got inside, George led you to a small round table with two chairs and you both sat down opposite each other. As casually as you could, you rested your elbow against the table and let your cheek rest against your fist, for a solid few minutes, while George ordered, you curiously looked around the pub until your gaze finally rested on George who was already looking at you with a soft smile, “Having fun?” He asked, genuinely curious.
You nodded your head, “Mhm, are you? I’m sure getting up at the crack of dawn to take me shopping isn’t something someone like you would usually like to do for fun,” you said, becoming slightly self conscious when you realised that he probably wasn’t enjoying the morning as much as you were. This was all normal for him, you’d nearly forgotten.
George gave you a perplexed look, “Course I’m having fun, love. But, what do you mean someone like me?”
You shrugged, once again pushing down the butterflies that arose in your stomach from the pet name, “I dunno, you’re just- you’re mischievous and fun and… I don’t know, shopping for stuff with me doesn’t seem like it’s something you’d want to do. I just hope Sirius didn’t force you into it,” you admitted shyly, smiling gratefully at the waiter when he placed the mugs of golden liquid on the table.
George chewed on his bottom lip for a second before he shook his head, “He didn’t force me. I sort of, well, I sort of forced him to let me take you. He wanted Professor Lupin to do it but I…” he let out an exaggerated sigh before giving you a smile, “I wanted to spend time with you,” he confessed sweetly, watching happily as a smile formed on your lips and you tried to hide it in the rim of your butterbeer. He laughed when your face lit up once the liquid hit your lips, “Like it?”
“This stuff is amazing,” you almost shouted, taking another large sip from the drink, “No wonder you all love it so much.”
George snickered, “Just in case it wasn’t clear; I’m having a lot of fun with you,” he said all too casually, taking a sip of his drink.
“Where to now?” You wondered, after you’d finished your drinks and set off back towards the floo network.
George shot you a cheeky look and wiggled his eyebrows, “I’m taking you back to headquarters.”
“Sounds ominous,” you commented, following him into the fireplace, nervously.
“D’you want a tip?” George asked out of the blue and you looked up at him expectantly, nodding. “The dizziness isn’t as bad if you keep your eyes open,” he whispered, taking your hand once again and throwing down the same green powder from earlier and shouting a new location that you hadn’t heard before. You cringed as the world began to spin, listening to George’s advice hadn’t helped much as the transportation was just as awful as it had been the first time. Unbeknownst to you, you were squeezing George’s hand like your life depended on it, George’s thumb had resumed brushing circles around your hand in response, the harsh squeezing didn’t bother him at all, not when it was you doing the squeezing. Just like earlier, George led you out of the fireplace and into the unfamiliar sitting room. Though the room was completely unfamiliar it was full of faces you immediately recognised, one face in particular standing out above all the rest.
In a second you’d dropped not only George’s hand, but all of your shopping bags to the floor carelessly and hurled yourself towards the boy who had already begun rushing towards you the second he caught sight of you appearing in the fireplace. Your bodies collided with so much force that you nearly sent each other tumbling to the ground, laughter sounded from both of you as you swayed the other, almost roughly, the way you always did when reuniting after an extended period of time.
“Glad to see you in one piece, Harry,” you told him with a cheeky smile on your lips, opting not to call him Haz in front of all of his wizard friends lest they tease him, not to mention you’d become quite possessive of the nickname, you wouldn’t be too pleased if anyone else started adopting it. Not that you’d ever admit that out loud.
“Yeah, you too,” his smile was as wide as could be when he shook his head, “I can’t believe you’re actually here.”
“Do you want me to pinch you?” You teased, jokingly taking his cheek between your thumb and your pointer, giving the skin between them a gentle squeeze. Harry swatted your hand away with a low chuckle and unraveled his arms from around you.
“Alright, you two, if you’re ready we have some matters we need to discuss with our newest member,” Sirius’ voice sounded from behind you, a knowing look on his face as he watched Harry sneakily pinch your arm in retaliation. He had to fight the urge he felt to reminisce on his old school days; when he’d purposely annoy James, Remus or Peter and receive the exact same mockingly vengeful look that you’d just given Harry.
“I’ll bring your things to the kitchen,” George announced, reminding you of his presence before he walked rather quickly out of the room, bags clutched in his hands.
Harry snorted out a laugh when Sirius followed George out of the room, leaving the both of you alone. Harry wiggled his eyebrows and did his best to make his voice take on a sultry tone, “he’s bringing your things to the kitchen.”
“Shut your mouth, Potter,” you replied, pinching his cheek for the second time and tossing your arm around his shoulder, him doing the same as he led you to what you assumed was the kitchen.
“Do I have your permission to open my mouth to tell you something,” Harry asked lightly, stopping so you were both standing outside a closed wooden door.
“I’ll allow it,” you answered, smiling softly at your best friend.
Harry grinned, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Haz,” the boy groaned at the name but made no further comment, he pushed the wooden door open and walked inside.
The room held a long table where many adults were sat, chatting in hushed whispers when you entered the room, some of whom you recognised and some you didn’t. Mrs. Weasley was fluttering about the table, filling people’s tea cups before she spotted you. The woman, who you’d only ever met briefly at King’s Cross station one year, rushed over to you and greeted you warmly, “Hello, dear! Come, come sit down!” She ushered you to a vacant chair beside George and across from Fred, Harry took the seat on your other side. “I trust you got everything you needed from Diagon Alley? I hope that son of mine didn’t cause any trouble for you,” you gave her a friendly smile and shook your head.
“Yes, we were able to find what we needed and George was very helpful,” Mrs. Weasley, seemingly satisfied with your answer, offered a gentle smile to you and George. She then pushed a cup of tea towards you before sitting down herself.
Beneath the table George bumped his knee lightly against yours, but didn’t break from his conversation with his twin as he left his knee pressed against yours. You didn’t draw attention to it either, simply letting your knee relax against his as the witches and wizards at the long table grew quiet in favour of staring at you wordlessly.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard the news of the seer we’ve acquired,” Sirius’ commanding voice broke the silence as he stood up from his chair, and placed his palms against the table, “I’ve brought her here today so that we may discuss proceedings to ensure her safety.”
“Yes,” a toneless drawl, drawn out nasally from the end of the table drew your attention to a black haired man at the opposite end of the table, “and what of Mr. Potter’s presence?” He asked, almost menacingly. Right off the bat, you didn’t like the greasy haired man. He was rigid and his face sported a permanent snarl and from across the table you could already tell; he wasn’t on your side.
“She’s my best friend, I’m here to make sure she’s not going to be put in any unnecessary danger,” Harry told the man shortly, in a tone that he’d more than likely perfected after having spoken to the man previously.
“As touching as that may be,” the older man snarled, “you are not a member of the Order.”
“Oh, enough, Serverus,” Sirius scoffed, pulling his hand down his face in exasperation before he let his eyes settle on Harry, “Perhaps you should wait upstairs for now. We’ll let you know of any significant updates.”
“I’ll tell you everything later, promise,” you whispered quietly, linking his pinky with yours beneath the table before he stropily took his leave.
“As I was saying,” Sirius spared Severus a glare and continued, “As we know, Yn is an unregistered wizard with an unregistered wand, meaning she won’t be on the radar of The Ministry of Magic. On the downside of this, seeing as her power manifested late, she is also untrained.”
All gazes fell to you once more, only Remus’ eyes were staring softly, crinkled at the edges from the smile on his lips, “I’ll be tutoring her in Defence Against the Dark Arts over the summer. She’ll catch up quickly, no doubt,” you smiled gratefully at him from your spot, relaxing a bit knowing that you’d actually be learning how to defend yourself the wizard way.
“I suppose I will be tasked with teaching the art of Occlumency? A seer with an easily accessible mind is hardly an asset,” Severus drawled. You didn’t have a clue what occlumency was, in all honesty, but you kept your mouth shut in favour of asking Remus when the meeting was over.
The meeting soon drew to a close, the older Order members slinking to one end of the table to arrange the schedule for your glorified summer school while you, Fred and George snuck away to find Harry. You found him sitting against the headboard of a bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms, “How’d it go?”
“Take a guess, mate, Snape had a right sour look on his face the whole time,” Fred answered, sitting on the bed across from Harry’s. George sat beside him and you made your way to sit with Harry.
“Ah, so that was the infamous professor Snape?” All three boys nodded, looks of exhaustion on their faces, “I don’t trust him. Something is very off about him,” you spoke thoughtfully and the boys nodded in agreement once again.
“I don’t like the idea of you being alone with him,” George said, his brows furrowed.
Fred snorted and clapped his twin roughly on the shoulder, “Getting a bit jealous are you, Georgie?” Harry laughed along with Fred while you blushed lightly and George felt heat rising up the nape of his neck.
“Sod off,” he muttered, but made no attempt to deny that he was slightly jealous of all the alone time his old evil potions professor would be getting with the girl he was harbouring feelings for.
The afternoon quickly turned into the evening and before long you were gathering your things and preparing to return to Cecillia’s. Harry would be heading back to the Dursley’s later that night, much to his dismay. You told him you’d be back on Privet Drive at some point the next morning since Cecillia would be dropping you home, as she promised your parents, so he wouldn’t have to suffer alone for too long.
That summer came and went in a bit of a blur. Two days in each week were spent learning how to protect yourself against the dark arts with Remus. He’s an amazing teacher, that couldn’t be disputed. In the space of only two months he had you duelling like you’d been doing it since the day you were born. Of course, you were thrilled to be bonding with your wand and developing (according to Remus) a very impressive skill for Defence Against the Dark Arts. But, on top of that, the shared conversations and exchanging of stories over hefty mugs of hot chocolate with the werewolf had been a huge highlight of your summer, and had caused the two of you to grow exponentially closer.
September was nearing and with it came a stiff breeze that prompted the hair on your arms to stand alert as you waited by the bus stop, the one just down the road from your house. Today was to be an important lesson with Remus, he hadn’t told you what the lesson would entail, but he had said that it was a charm that was “of the utmost importance”.
Although June, July and August were technically your summer holidays, you’d barely had a second to rest. You were, at this point, running on fumes and sheer will power. Extensively using magic was bound to wear you out, however, getting a good night’s rest after a gruelling training session had become something of a luxury for you. Visions of the future and retellings of past torments plagued your dreams and allowed you no time to rest. One vision in particular had been reoccurring, it arrived every night for the past two weeks, taunting you. The autumn chill that dripped down your spine reminded you of the premonition, having your hairs standing due to fright, rather than cold. It was always the same, no details ever shifted or warped and, unfortunately, the experience never grew any less harrowing. The warning that the vision brought about weighed on you heavily and followed you around like a stray cat. Images of a cold, desolate, blue-hued cellar lived behind your eyes, the phantom feeling of freezing metal shackles weighed on your wrists painfully and the undiluted terror combined with the indescribable agony brought about by the unfamiliar wand shoved against your throat had you forcing yourself to stay awake until you physically couldn’t anymore, each and every night. Nobody knew about the vision, you didn’t want to worry them, though, you knew that your distress was beginning to become visible; dark bags were prominent beneath your eyes, Harry had watched you fall asleep in the middle of the day, often on his shoulder, almost everyday that week and Remus could tell by the sluggish movements of your wand that your mind was elsewhere.
A few minutes passed before your bus arrived, the journey to Grimmauld Place was quite long but you couldn’t seem to warm up to floo travel, so going on a regular bus was the better option. When the red double decker pulled up, you greeted the driver with a smile and paid for your ticket. You made your way up to the second story and sat right at the front. The bus, as it normally tended to be, was empty. Resting your head against the window, you let your eyes slip shut, the noises of tree branches brushing against the speeding windows lulling you into a, hopefully, peaceful sleep.
Thankfully when you woke up, no visions lingered. You woke up just in time too as the bus was rounding up to your stop. As usual, Remus waited for you at the bus stop, his hands shoved deep in his tattered jacket pockets and a gentle smile on his lips.
Still groggy from your nap, when you exited the bus you greeted Remus with a tired wave.
“Dare I say you haven’t been sleeping well, dear?” He said gently, walking alongside you towards the house.
You thought about it for a second, perhaps telling someone wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. “I’ve just, well, I’ve been having this nightmare,” you started, growing nervous just thinking about it.
“Nightmare or vision?” He pressed as you walked into the house.
Guilt creeped into your chest upon seeing the clear worry on his face, “I think it’s a vision.”
Remus nodded quietly, placing his hand on the small of your back and pushing you in the direction of the living room. He gave you a warm smile, when you sat down on the sofa. He grabbed a blanket that hung over the back of the sofa and draped it over your lap. “I’ll make us some hot chocolate and we can discuss this,” he suggested.
“I thought you had an important lesson for today?” He only shook his head, smiling lightly.
He made his way to the door wordlessly and returned within two minutes with two big, steaming mugs in his hands. Remus handed you a mug and sat down beside you on the sofa, accepting your invitation to pull the blanket over his lap too.
“Now tell me; what has been going on in that wonderful mind of yours?”
You took in a deep breath, staring into the hot chocolate and avoiding his understanding gaze, “It happened for the first time around two weeks ago. I thought that it was just a dream, it didn’t feel like a dream but I thought that if I kept telling myself it was I would start to believe it,” you started, taking a sip of your drink before going back to staring at it, “But it kept coming back. Every night for the last two weeks. I haven’t been able to sleep, I���ve been too scared to,” your voice was small as you made the confession. You hated that the feeling of helplessness was beginning to wash over you yet again.
“What happens in this vision?” At his question, you placed your cup on the floor and turned to face him fully, turning on the sofa and pulling your knees up to your chest.
“It’s always the same. I wake up and the first thing I know is that I’m absolutely freezing. I’m in this cellar-like thing. I’m chained up by my wrists and my feet are barely touching the ground… I can’t see anyone but I can feel-“ your breath hitched and you rushed the swipe the tears that were falling away from your cheeks, “I can feel a wand against my throat, it’s pressing hard. There’s a whisper, it’s quiet and ghostly and I can barely make it out but I hear them say; crucio.”
Remus’ eyes widened in horror.
“Then I feel nothing but agonising pain and then I wake up,” Remus’ eyebrows furrowed.
“You’ve had this same vision every night?” You nodded.
“I know I should have said something but I didn’t want anyone to worry,” it was then that Remus grabbed your hands and looked at you with a sense of urgency you didn’t know he could possess.
“I need you to listen to me very carefully,” his eyes were wild and his hands shook lightly as they held yours, “You-Know-Who is back. There are already reports of certain Wizards going missing and none of us have any doubt that it’s his doing. And although I- we- care for you a great deal, it would serve us all well to remember that you’re a detrimental piece in this war. If he catches wind of you, he’ll stop at nothing to take you from us,” your heart was now running at the speed of a hummingbird. “We have a plan in place to keep you safe, I fear we may have to implement it sooner than planned.”
Before you knew it, you were surrounded by the entire Order of the Phoenix, all of whom looked grave. Cecillia sat to your right while Nymphadora Tonks occupied the seat to your left. You had the pink haired auror to thank for your duelling capabilities, as well as Remus of course. Her presence was comforting, she made it a point to shoot you a wink every time she caught your eyes looking more fearful than usual.
“Our original plan will need to be tweaked, I ran into Narcissa Malfoy in Diagon Alley and she very plainly insinuated that I was a person of interest in the death eating community,” Cecillia informed the table, a, for lack of a better word, bitchy tone laced in her voice. She’d told you many of her Hogwarts stories, you could recall her telling you that she and the woman she’d mentioned, Narcissa, had once been good friends until around their fourth year. She hadn’t told you what exactly had happened, only that it had been messy.
“What was the original plan?” You asked, growing frustrated with the Order’s lack of communication skills.
Thankfully, being one of the younger members of the group, Tonks understood your frustrations and spoke up on behalf of the group, regardless of whether they were ready for you to know or not; she understood that it was your life they were coordinating.
“We talked about relocating you to CeCe’s. We also, and far more pressingly, planned on erasing all traces of you from both the muggle and wizard world. Which would mean using a memory charm on your family and friends in the muggle world,” Tonks explained, eyes locked on yours while everyone else in the room glared daggers at the purple haired girl.
“Yes. Though we also planned on telling you this information with a far more delicate approach,” Snapped Molly Weasley from the end of the table, causing Fred, who sat to her left, to roll his eyes.
“She’s been riddled with visions of being ruthlessly tortured with an unforgivable curse for the past two weeks. I think the time for delicacy is long passed,” the older of the two twins practically scoffed. George nodded in agreement.
“Besides,” he set his gaze on you, eyes genuine and unwavering as he spoke, “she’s strong enough to handle the truth. It’s time you all stopped acting like she isn’t.”
The table fell silent. His words hung in the air as many of the adults hung their heads.
“By memory charm I’m assuming you mean obliviate?” You broke the silence, if you could you hoped to start an open conversation with the experienced witches and wizards that surrounded you.
“Yes. They’re completely reversible and once the war is over I’ll restore all of the memories.” Cecillia said.
“We know it’s a huge ask, dear, but it’s our best chance at keeping you out of that wretched creature’s hands,” Molly attempted to soothe both you and herself when she pictured what it would like to be in your shoes, how she’d feel if she had no other choice but to be forgotten by the thing she valued the most; her family. Molly Weasley had never been very good at hiding her maternal instincts, over the summer that fact had become glaringly obvious to you. You and Harry had laughed about how the children of Privet Drive had a special place in her heart.
“I understand,” you told her sadly, chewing on the inside of your lip, “I’m guessing by the atmosphere in the room that I won’t be home to say goodbye before you wipe their memories,” you shifted yours eyes from person to person, stopping when Cecillia took your hand firmly in hers.
Her lips were downturned and her eyes filled with guilt, she shook her head mournfully, “I’m afraid we can’t risk it, my darling. Even being here places you in danger at the moment.”
“Where will she go then? If CeCe’s place isn’t an option we’ll have to find a safe house,” Sirius sounded and, simultaneously, both Fred and George stood up, shoulder to shoulder with very professional expressions on their faces.
“We may be able to help with that, actually. George, if you would,” Fred started, nodding to his twin who straightened his shoulders and puffed his chest out over so slightly.
“Thank you, Fred. As you know, we have a property for Weasley Wizard Wheezes secured and we’ll be living in the flat above where the shop will be,” everyone at the table, including yourself, stared at the twins in confusion, not quite sure where they were going with their little pitch until Fred took over again.
“And that flat has three bedrooms,” he said, a smirk growing on his thin lips.
George spoke again, “Which means there’s one for me and one for Fred.”
“Which means there’s one spare,” Fred grinned wickedly.
Tonks let out an impressed laugh once the penny finally dropped, “We apparate her in and nobody would ever know a thing. Nobody other than those of us in the room know that Y/n is a friend of the Weasley’s, plus us visiting the joke shop wouldn’t raise any suspicion. I have to give it to them, it’s a great idea,”
“And one of the two of us will always be within shouting distance if anything happens,” George added, somewhat pleadingly.
Sirius looked across the table at you, “Y/n, it’s up to you. Whatever you decide will be final, we won’t interfere,” he promised sincerely. It was an easy decision, but still, it weighed heavily on your chest. In all honesty, you weren’t worried about your location, staying with the twins would surely be a light and fun time amidst all the doom and gloom. Your worry was that you would, once again, be handing over your control. Sirius dressed it up as though it was your choice, but you knew that this was probably their best option and in reality you really had no other choice than to move in with Fred and George.
“Sounds good to me,” you whispered halfheartedly, eyes dropping to stare at your lap as your teeth pulled anxiously at the skin of your lips.
“So it’s settled then,” Remus said, “Y/n will go with Fred and George tonight.”
Abruptly, you pushed your chair away from the table and stood up. Sparing nobody a glance, you left the room as quickly as you possibly could, before the lump in your throat could choke you or the tears that pooled in your eyes spilled like water through a broken dam. George made a move to rise from his seat only for Remus to stop him by placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Give her a moment.”
You found yourself locked in the second story bathroom, sitting in the bath. Your legs hung out over the side of the tub while your head was tilted back against the black tiled wall. As hard as you tried to prevent them, tears were streaming down the expense of your cheeks, neck and beneath the neckline of your shirt. The minutes ticked by yet your chest continued to rise and fall rapidly due to the sobs that shook it, your breath uneven. Visions of brutal torture were bad enough when you were in your own home, in your own warm bed, with your parents just a room away and ready to make you a hot cup of tea after you woke up screaming. Now, the visions would without a doubt continue to plague you, unlike before though, you wouldn’t be waking up in a familiar setting, nor would you fall asleep in the comfort of your own mattress, when you woke up screaming so loud that your throat grew raw, your comfort would rely on two seventeen year old boys who seldom took things seriously. It’s not that you didn’t trust them, no, you trusted them with your life- you are trusting them with your life, it’s just that there was already a lot going on in your mind at the moment, moving in with your crush and his identical twin brother isn’t exactly your idea of a nerve killer.
A knock against the bathroom door pulled you from your thoughts. You rushed to wipe your tears with your sleeves, sniffling, “Come in,” you choked out. Cursing your voice for breaking when you spoke.
Remus’ head poked through the door, his body following soon after. Even in an atmosphere as dense as this one, a sense of gentle calm always followed Remus wherever he went. Clumsily, the werewolf slid into the bath beside you with a low “oof” sound, mimicking your position with his much longer legs dangling closer to the wooden floor than your own.
“CeCe has gone to collect your things for you and get Harry, then, I believe, perform the spell,” he eyed you cautiously, hyper aware of your glassy eyes and puffy face. When your eyes widened and you whipped your face towards him, his stomach twisted into knots, he hated seeing you like this. He could sympathise with your feelings. When James and Lily were killed, and Sirius went to Azkaban and even when Peter was presumed dead, Remus had been left with a vicious frustration fuelled by his belief that he was utterly powerless in his own life. He could see in your eyes that that same notion was starting to creep up on you too.
“Already?” You gasped out, pulse rising again, a slight panic setting in. “It won’t hurt them will it? The spell?” You fretted, looking pleadingly to the man beside you.
He shook his head, tenderly taking your hand and placing it against his clothed chest, his beating heart present against the palm of your shaking hand. “I promise you that they won’t feel a thing. They will go on living an exciting life, travelling, seeing the world safely while you’re away. When this is all over we’ll place their memories of you back in their minds and it will be as though you were never gone.” Your teeth found the inside of your cheek again, gnawing relentlessly at the skin as you failed miserably to hold back a fresh set of tears. Remus squeezed the hand he held against his chest. “Let it out, Y/n. It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone,” he whispered, heart sinking lower when your bottom lip quivered and you let a rasped sob leave your body. With a deep sigh, Remus used the hand he was already holding as leverage to pull you into him, wasting no time he enveloped you in his arms, holding you securely as you cried against his chest. Admittedly, it felt good to let it out, Remus’ hand rubbed soothing circles against your heaving back and eventually, you didn’t know how long it had been, you calmed down, your tear ducts all dried out.
Remus held you in his arms for a while longer, even though you’d stopped crying, he could feel your body as it continued to shake. “I can’t promise you it will all be okay, but I can assure you that myself and Sirius, and everyone else for that matter, will be there for you at the drop of a hat; whatever you need,” he spoke against your hair.
“Whatever I need?” You echoed, the pit in your stomach ever growing.
“Of course,” he confirmed.
Remus startled slightly when you suddenly tore yourself away from him. As best you could in your awkward position, you turned to face him and grabbed his hands with as much urgency as he had done with yours. “I need you to do something for me,” Remus furrowed his brows in confusion, but nodded his head anyway.
“If anything happens to me… Don’t make them remember,” you instructed, maybe the request would’ve seemed radical if you had said it to anyone else, but you knew that Remus had experienced losses like no one else you knew, perhaps Harry came close but even his shortcomings couldn’t compare to Remus’. “It’d only cause them pain. If I die and they’re happily living none the wiser, leave them be, please,” the man let out a heavy sigh and took a moment to take you in. Your eyes were hard yet pleading, they left him no room to negotiate and he understood perfectly where you were coming from.
“Alright,” he agreed before raising his eyebrow and readjusting himself to get a better look at you, “However you should know; no matter what may come of this war, none of us will forget about you. In such a short time you’ve given us so much… you gave Harry his first friendship, a friendship that he cherishes more than anything in the world, I might add. You saved Sirius from death, my fiancé and Harry’s godfather. Mentoring you has given Cecillia a new lease of life and Molly Weasley one more child to knit jumpers for at Christmas,” he took a brief pause then went on, “For the sake of saving time I won’t even begin to tell you what you mean to the twins. My point is;” there was a melancholic type of smile on his face when he paused again, as if he was imagining what it would be like to remember you fondly if you did in fact die for the cause, “What you’re asking is incredibly selfless. And while your mother and father may not remember how wonderful you are, we all will.” Remus chuckled lowly when you shuffled your way back into his arms, squeezing his middle tightly. He slung his arm around your shoulders and delicately pressed his lips to the top of your head. You held so much love in your heart for the man who was currently cradling you in his arms. You debated telling him, you weren’t sure if it was entirely appropriate but after the speech he’d just given you couldn’t have cared less, “Remus?”
“Hm?”
“I love you,” you murmured, looking up at him innocently.
He offered you a toothy smile and breathed out a soft laugh, “I love you too.” With a content nod, you rested your head back against his chest, enjoying his soothing heartbeats against your ear. A melodic hum rumbled against your cheek, a quiet giggle left your mouth when you recognised the melody to the song he was humming. The tune of “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac floated through the bathroom bringing a genuine smile to your lips. The werewolf’s humming was interrupted by another knock against the bathroom door, whoever was knocking didn’t wait for a response before entering the room. Sirius stepped in and quietly shut the door behind him. He didn’t question you and Remus' position in the bath but simply slid into the tub on the other side of you, sandwiching you between himself and Remus. The black haired man let out a heavy sigh and leaned his head back against the tiles.
“The mother hens downstairs are worrying up a storm,” he said in exasperation, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tonks so riled up about someone’s safety. I tasked Molly with making you some hot chocolate to keep her occupied”
“Maybe I should go back down…” you muttered halfheartedly, begrudgingly peeling yourself away from Remus’ warm body.
Sirius gave you an apologetic look, “I held them off for as long as I could.”
“Thanks,” you whispered, bumping your shoulder to his, making him chuckle. After pulling yourself out of the bath, rather clumsily, you took a second to check yourself over in the mirror.
“You’re glowing, darling,” Sirius all but sang from behind you and you couldn’t stop the slight snort that escaped you.
“That’s one way to put it.”
“If you don’t believe me go on downstairs and ask George what he thinks,” Sirius teased, wiggling his eyebrows and receiving a light shove from his fiancé who couldn’t hide his grin.
“Leave her alone, love,” he chastised weakly, “You look perfectly fine, Y/n. Go downstairs and get something to drink, you need to rehydrate.” A bittersweet smile broke out on your lips, his fatherly tone simultaneously soothed you and left you yearning for what you were in the process of losing. Trying not to dwell on the sad fact, you left the bathroom and slowly descended the stairs.
As you assumed, the second you stepped back into the kitchen, Molly began to fret over you as if her life depended on it. Sipping on the hot chocolate she’d given you, you were reminded of how desperately tired you were. All the crying hadn’t helped ease the heaviness in your eyes either. Every bone in your body felt heavy for that matter, you were struggling to even hold your head up.
“You can lean against my shoulder if you’d like,” George’s voice broke you from your hazed state, you’d completely forgotten he was sitting beside you despite his leg that was pressed against yours beneath the table. You gave him a sleepy but grateful smile, as subtly as you could you scooched closer to the ginger and slotted yourself against his side, letting your head fall onto his shoulder. “Will you keep me awake until Harry and Cecillia get here?” You requested in a slurred murmur, your eyes fluttering between open and shut.
“Of course,” was all he said, he looked down at you adoringly, smiling like an idiot when you nuzzled into his shoulder, your nose rubbing against his neck. Try as he might, George couldn’t pull his eyes away from your drowsy face. “What do you propose we do?”
You shrugged your shoulders lightly, “Just talk.”
“How would you like your new room decorated?” He asked quietly, his head tilted down while he spoke to you, so you could hear him and so he wouldn’t ruin the lulled bubble you’d managed to obtain between you by talking too loudly. A sweet smile grew on your face, a smile that all but knocked all the breath out of George’s lungs when you angled your head to make eye contact.
“Can I have a double bed?” George snorted at your question and shook his head no.
“Nothing smaller than a king. What else?”
You pretended to ponder for a moment, “Can we paint it?” The ginger nodded, taking his bottom lip between his teeth.
“If you want to,” he started, almost sounding nervous, “We could paint it together?” Even in your sleep deprived state you hadn’t missed the vulnerability in his voice, it was the same vulnerability that you’d noticed when he’d asked you to go get a butterbeer with him a couple of months ago.
“I’d love that,” you told him, your answer causing his lips to twist into a pleased smile, “How do you feel about the colour green?”
Immediately, his smile dropped and he let out a disgusted scoff, “Green is a Slytherin colour.”
“You keep forgetting that I don’t get the whole house sorty thing,” you reminded him, not happy with his reasoning for hating your favourite colour. “Besides, I love green, it’s my favourite colour.” You told him truthfully. Not content with his disgruntled facial expression you began to defend your preference, “A lot of beautiful things are green; you’ve got grass, trees, emeralds- did you know that emeralds are really useful for enhancing psychic abilities? It also evokes clarity of thought,” you rambled, willing yourself to be quiet when you registered George’s fond expression.
The look of endearment aimed at you brought butterflies to life in your stomach, effectively waking you up somewhat.
“Do you have any emerald?” He asked, you assumed he was only feigning interest, you didn’t know that he could’ve listened to you go on and on about anything and everything for the rest of his life.
“No, not yet. I should probably get some though.” You said through a yawn. Your breath against his neck made him giggle, it was pure and unsuspecting but you took note of it. Everything about George Weasley felt like sunshine to you, his laugh filled your chest with warmth whenever you heard it, his eyes found yours like a lighthouse, guiding your lost mind back to the present each time your gazes connected. His voice, like his laugh, warmed you up when you were cold, giving you a reason to stay awake when you’d rather just slip away. In conjunction with the sun, even if you couldn’t physically see him, you never doubted that he was always there. As well as all of that, like your favourite tarot card; The Sun, he signified good things, hope that hard times will end with you on top, contentment and happiness. While your thoughts consisted of George’s similarities to the sun, his were consumed with the, in his mind, overwhelmingly cheesily romantic notion that you were the moon and the stars, he would’ve cringed if he didn’t wholeheartedly believe it. Everything that made the night sky magnificent was reflected in you. Like the stars, you were mysterious and captivating. Nothing seemed to compare to your glow or beauty, if you were to ask him what he preferred; you or the night sky on a clear night, he’d happily ignore a blank, starless sky in favour of simply staring at you as you went on tangent after tangent about crystals or tarot cards.
The pair of you were pulled from your musings when Harry rushed through the kitchen door looking unmistakably heartbroken, ever the empath when it came to his best friend, Harry’s heart sank the moment he laid eyes on your form, limp against George’s side. The second you saw him you all but ripped yourself from George’s side and the older redhead felt a surge of irrational jealousy begin to build in his chest at how fast you left his hold in favour of the chosen one. He knew it was ridiculous, he’d heard the way each of you respectively talked about each other, at this point you were practically siblings. But he supposed it was rational to be jealous when you liked someone the way he liked you.
Quickly, you crossed the room to Harry who had his arms already outstretched. He knew you were emotionally exhausted when you didn’t bear hug him. You meekly slid your arms beneath his open zip-up hoodie, tucked your head beneath his chin and didn’t say a word. “I shouldn’t bother asking if you’re okay then,” Harry muttered to himself, leaning his cheek against the top of your head and wrapping his lanky arms around your frame.
“Did Cecillia remember to bring Astra?” You asked, it was all you wanted to know about the night’s events.
“She’s in her cage in the living room, darling,” Cecilia said, walking into the room looking guilty.
“C’mon, let’s go have a chat,” Harry suggested, leading you out of the kitchen and upstairs to his unofficial room. Once inside the room you sat down on the edge of the bed, the blue duvet softly creasing beneath you. Harry plopped himself down beside you and offered you a gesture that was always saved for when either of you felt the other was on the edge of something dangerous. Your hands rested against your lap and he deftly slid his pinky over yours, intertwining your two littlest fingers. It was such a familiar experience; he’d done it when your grandparents died, when you’d cried over failed exams that you worked hard for, and in turn, you did it for him when he’d felt as though he had no place in the world, when he’d open up about his parents and when Cedric died and the ministry dragged his name through the mud you’d find your pinky tangled with his almost every night after he’d sneak over to your place after another nightmare or panic attack. “Do you want to talk about it?”
You shook your head, “Not tonight. I don’t want to cry anymore,” you croaked out, looking straight ahead of you at the grey painted wall.
“I understand,” he said, sighing and dropping his head onto your shoulder, “Let’s talk about something else then.”
“Like what, Haz?”
Harry snorted out a chuckle, “Like the way George looked like he wanted to hex me when you left him to come to me,” he teased, a smug lilt to his voice.
“He wasn’t teasing me, perhaps I’ll go back to him,” you grumbled, ignoring Harry’s childish giggles.
“Yeah you’d like that wouldn’t you?” You smacked his arm lightly with your free hand, doing a bad job of containing giggles of your own. “Don’t worry, since he’s going to be your new roommate there will be plenty of time for “oh George I’m so sleepy, please hold me until I fall asleep”,” you let out a cackle at Harry’s terrible impression of your voice, laying your cheek against his wild hair.
“That is so not what was going on, Haz,” you defended with a tiny smile.
Harry let out an airy, disbelieving chuckle, “Then what was going on?”
“He just said I could lean on him until you and Cecillia arrived and we just started chatting about how I wanna decorate my room,” you explained truthfully and Harry nodded.
“Riveting,” he mumbled sarcastically. Despite his snarky comment, the boy removed his head from your shoulder and pulled you against his chest. “Jokes aside, I’m glad you’re staying with him, I know he’ll look after you for me,” you rolled your eyes at the sentiment.
“I don’t need to be looked after,” you reminded him, looking up at him with a chastising smile.
He rolled his eyes right back at you, jostling you slightly in his arms, “No. But you like to be.”
You threw your head back in laughter, “Yeah, I suppose I do.” You did. You quite like both doting on people and being doted on, you’d grown up in an affectionate family so it was no wonder really.
“It’s getting late. We should get you settled into your new home,” Harry announced, pulling himself and you up from the bed, “I wasn’t going to say anything but you look terrible. You need sleep.”
“Thank you, Harry. Just what every girl wants to hear before moving in with her crush,” you joked, gently hitting your hip against his.
The kitchen was quiet when you returned, it seemed everyone had grown tired from the dramatic events of the evening.
“Ready to go then?” Fred asked, his coat already on and a handful of your bags in his hands.
“As I’ll ever be I suppose.”
After saying goodbye to everyone you, Fred and George traveled to their apartment by floo, to your dismay. The apartment was bare as they’d only just moved in but you could see it had lots of potential for becoming a cozy home for the twins.
As your first night in your new residence began, your aching eyes and tired mind didn’t leave you with any time to dwell on current events, the second your head made contact with the pillow you were out like a light. A dreamless slumber welcomed you for a while until your peace was broken by the all too familiar nightmare.
The first thing you recognised was the burn coming from your wrists. Shackles adorned them and effectively held your hands high above your head, stretching them uncomfortably. Goosebumps painted the expanse of your arms and legs, due to the freezing temperature in the nondescript cellar. A feeling of hopelessness planted firmly in your chest, the feeling only hightening when the familiar echo of footsteps, heavy and loud, drifted from the corridor outside of your field of vision. You knew who was approaching, you’ve lived this before, and so, you held your lip between your teeth and squeezed your eyes shut. The face of the dark wizard who always brought about your intense suffering was, for the most part, completely fuzzy, unrecognisable, featureless and bone-chillingly terrifying. You’d learned over the last two weeks of having this vision that it was less harrowing if you closed your eyes.
“I’ll ask you once more,” The voice was distorted, like it was being heard through a weedy radio, ominously unplaceable, “Where is he?”
You held no control over your voice, as was the norm during visions, as you felt and heard yourself reply, “I’ll tell you once more; I’d sooner die then sell him to you.” You felt your teeth gritting and your jaw clenching while you spoke. Jaw only tightening when the pointed tip of the wizard’s wand stabbed unforgivingly against the column of your neck.
“And die you will, my dear. But not yet-“ your eyes sealed themselves shut and you did your best to shake yourself out of the vision before what you knew was coming took place, as usual, your attempts were fruitless, “-Crucio.” Just like that your body was consumed by pain, the likes of which you’d never imagined possible, until you couldn’t even register yourself screaming anymore.
You bolted upright, clutching at the sheets of your new bed. Laboured breaths left your mouth and you aimlessly gripped at your neck, where the wand had been pressed, and let the tears spill freely. Momentarily disoriented, you’d forgotten where you were. Deep, heavy bursts of air left your mouth as you hastily scurried out of bed and towards the door. Somewhat aimlessly, you gravitated to the door across the hall. A yellow hue seeped from under the frame into the otherwise dark hallway. Light flooded the hall once you managed to fumble the handle down and pull the door ajar, a discombobulated ginger greeting you with half lidded eyes, obviously having been dozing off before you disturbed his peace.
“Sorry,” you rasped once your peace of mind returned to you and you realised where you were. Despite knowing that you shouldn’t have been standing numbly in his doorway, your feet seemed to be rooted in place, you couldn’t have walked away if you wanted to.
“S’alright,” George called out to you softly, sitting up in his bed, his back against the headboard. “You can come in, you know.”
Shutting the door behind you, you nervously shuffled into the room, stopping when you reached the side of his bed. George’s eyes roamed your face and he took notice of your still somewhat panicked expression, he drew his covers to the side and patted the empty space by his side. Something that always intrigued you was people’s preferred side of the bed, some people gravitated towards the left while others were more biased towards the right, but George Weasley? He slept right in the middle. The twin slept with a huge number of pillows, to the point where it was almost laughable, many of which you could only guess he’d smuggled from the Burrow.
Far too wound up to save face, you slid into his bed and didn’t shy away when he guided you into his side and tucked you tenderly beneath his lean arm. His embrace offered a greatly appreciated warmth as the chill of the dank dungeon always lingered long after the vision itself was over.
“What’re you doing up so late?” You asked, your voice gravelly. As you spoke, George effortlessly shuffled your body and his down so that your backs were resting on the mattress and not the headboard. Your head found it’s home against George’s shoulder and your hair was being tentatively twirled between his fingers.
“It’s our first night actually sleeping here. I couldn’t get to sleep,” he explained, his voice low and laced with fatigue. “I’m not really used to having my own room. It’s strange not hearing Freddie snoring or breathing.”
“I get that,” you whispered, “it’s quite comforting knowing for certain that someone is there with you.”
George nodded then. His eyes were glued to your face and he hadn’t even registered his own thought process before his lips were pressing delicately against your forehead. Today had appeared to be the day for laying all your cards out on the table, yourself and George hadn’t danced around your feelings for each other half as much as you usually did when you’d be in each other’s presence. Neither of you had the energy anymore, besides, if today’s events proved anything it was that; things were getting seriously messy as the war built momentum and it was clear that time was something that could very well be running out.
“Yeah,” he regarded you carefully, a little grin growing on his lips, “It is.”
A comfortable silence overtook the room. George’s twirling of your hair never ceased, every now and then his fingers would ghost over your shoulder and you’d catch yourself smiling against the cotton of his shirt as your eyes grew tired enough that they were close to falling shut.
Just as you were working up the motivation to lift yourself up and trudge back to your own bed, George spoke, “You can sleep here if you want, with me,” there was that innocent vulnerability again. There was never an ulterior motive when it came to him, he did things purely for the sake of making others happy, if he felt he could make a difference he simply needed to. Especially when it came to you, he realised.
“You don’t mind?” You asked, daring to peek up at him.
“Course not. I could use some company anyway.” He reassured you, his lips returning to your forehead, only this time the action held far more intention. “You don’t snore do you, love?”
You snorted out a giggle, looking up at the ginger cheekily, mischief dripping from your little grin that forced George’s heart to stutter rather violently and he hoped you hadn’t noticed. “No. But I drool.”
George’s face contorted, his nose scrunching up adorably in disgust, “Do you really?”
“Suppose you’ll have to find out, won’t you?” You teased and he sighed deeply, his disgruntled expression melting into a soft, adoring smile.
“I should’ve expected this, I knew you couldn’t have been completely perfect,” he said, mockingly sorrowful.
You scoffed, pushing his chest lightly, “You’re doing a lot of sweet talking tonight, Mr. Weasley,” you told him and he shrugged innocently.
“Just wanted to see you smiling again, darling.”
“Yeah, well, you’re doing a good job,” you assured him, the bashful yet tired smile that stretched your lips as you gazed up at him proved that you meant what you’d just said. “I like it by the way, the sweet talking.”
At your words, a huge, shit eating smirk grew on the boy’s freckled face. He managed to rearrange your bodies so that you were still tucked under his arm but you were now facing each other at eye level. “I knew it,” he proclaimed cockily.
You raised a challenging eyebrow, biting back a smirk, “Oh did you?”
George nodded pridefully, “‘Course I did. You see, I’m a little bit psychic,” his words forced a booming laugh from your lips, your cheeks hurting from the smile he’d orchestrated.
You shook your head, smile never dulling as you let out a chastising whisper, “oh sod off.”
“I love your smile,” he said suddenly, his eyes widened in horror when he realised he’d uttered the words out loud. The world could’ve stopped in that moment and you wouldn’t have noticed, all you could take in was George’s face, his eyes searching yours for something.
Carefully, you slid from hand from his chest to his red, blushing face. You cupped his cheek gently, moving your thumb against his cheek bone, almost swooning where you lay when he nuzzled against your touch. Working up some Gryffindor courage, George mimicked your movement, removing his arm from around your shoulder and bringing his palm to rest against the curve of your jaw.
As you stared at each other, you weighed up the pros and cons of telling him that you were completely head over heels for him. Your decision, apparently taking far too long, was made for you when George tugged you impossibly closer to him.
“I wasn’t going to tell you… you’ve had so much going on I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” he said, brown eyes boring into your soul.
“Tell me what?”
He took a deep breath, preparing himself for every possible outcome that may spring once the words on the tip of his tongue are spoken aloud, “That I love you.”
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saturnsstufff · 3 years
Text
The Empress (pt.V)
Emperor Vacation! Pog! Remember to drink water today lovely’s!
also if you squint hard enough you might see me simping for C!Philza.
Warnings: swearing, mentions of death
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   The flight back to your village was long, it wasn't that you were in bad company, just after sitting so long you were extremely stiff. You could only shift positions so much before your butt, and legs were numb. So when Phil had mentioned seeing land, you were more than glad it was over.
  Phil was right about having a extra cloak on too, the wind was horrible, not to mention the altitude you flew at was already freezing. Phil and Techno were smart on leaving when we did though as well. By the time we reached the village it was easily past noon. You were kind of giddy on showing Phil around your village. On the way up you and him discussed a bit about it, and your heritage. He was very open and interested when you explained how everything came to where it was today. Along with going home, you were also more excited to see and hug your parents. You could only imagine what your father would say about you working for a ruler.
   When Phil and techno landed it was near the village, but also in a bit of a walking distance. Phil had made wind that he didn't want to land too close, and risk scaring anyone. After Phil had helped you out of the plane, all of you were stretching out. Especially Philza, he had made comments on how the plane's only down side was the confined space for his wings. When he let his wings span out you were awe struck. There were massive, easily wide enough to lift himself off the ground. The wings, although made for use, were oh so elegant. When Phil stretched you could see his figure better now. his wings spanning out wide behind him into the air, almost like a bird preparing flight. He wasn't in his normal Robes, instead he exchanged them for a simple black shirt that clung to his form. The arms were cut off, allowing you so see his fit arms. this didn't surprise you, the sword Phil always carried looked like it had a bit of weight to it. For being a father, Phil was very fit. Once his stretching was finished he took a light cloak from the plane and precisely wrapped it around his shoulders, minding his wings.
   Well you two worked the numbness away techno had approached. He also was stretching. But simultaneously shedding a few of his layers. He casually tossed the cloaks and capes into your seat of Phil's plane. You did shed a few layers like Phil, but not as many as Tech.
   "Are you sure you don't want something to block the sun? Sun burns suck" you said to techno. He unbuttoned the top two buttons to his shirt, before pulling his main braid out, changing the style for his ponytail.
   "If I wear to many I might get heat stroke" He said simply, watching you. Without his mask he wasn't as menacing, but you definitely weren't used to seeing his face. you gazed at him with a perplexed look. 
   "Heat stroke?" You knew what it was, but you were a little confused. He chuckled lightly as Phil looked up to you two.
   "My body runs hotter, princess" he crossed his arms, relaxing into his stance. You flushed at his words again. Glancing away to avoid his eye contact. ’fuckin’ hell there he goes again’ His tone was casual, but he was obviously still in his teasing mood.
   "Since Tech is part Piglin his body is always warmer than you or I, that's why sometimes he just walks around in the snow without freezin'" You looked up to Phil and nodded. It made sense, you will admit, sometimes you forget that techno isn't fully human. When you think of Piglins you usually think of a gold obsessed beast. But Techno carried himself with elegance and pride. Yes he adorned himself in gold, but that was part of who he was. He had a right to be proud of it.
   You started towards your village with the two. As if a unsaid agreement occurred they made you walk between them, walking like your own personal body guards. Techno strolled on your right well Phil kept close on your left. When you saw the children playing outside you smiled brightly. You missed this. The sound of children's laughter carried around like ringing bells. Sweet and ever so innocent.
    As you walked into town. Some of the older kids ran up to hug you, jumping into your arms without hesitation. You without a thought picked them up and spun them about in your arms. These were your friends. Your community was small so everyone was close. Phil and techno respected this and just quietly stepped aside to give you the moment. Soon some of the other towns people had stepped out to see what all the commotion was about. Your mother included.
   When she saw you her eyes lit up with love. She couldn't help but grab her skirt and run to you. Hugging you tightly to her chest, almost knocking you off your feet. Her tears of joy could be felt on your shoulder as you held her tight. Your nose buried into her neck, you missed this. You missed her. You missed the village. Everything just made you beyond happy at this moment. everywhere you looked there were smiles, wide and contagious. Soon you herd a quiet voice. Your father. When you looked up it was your turn to tear. he was hobbling over to you, his arms wide. You smiled widely hugging him tightly, but carefully. You didn't want to hurt him.
   "I did it.. I did it- I did it!" You were so ecstatic. Your father put his hand on the back of your head gently well he hugged you. You were his little girl, and he was beaming with pride for you. 
   "I'm so proud of you.." He was tearing. He was proud of you. So very proud of you. He was even happier to see you back home safely too. He pulled back, taking a moment to take you in, you looked a tad different from your trip. not in a bad way, just a little different. Your fathers eyes moved from you, to Techno and Phil. "I assume these two are with you?" Your father asked. He was mostly summing Tp techno, you assumed because he was basically a year older than you. Phil sent your father a kind smile and nodded.
   "Oh! Mhm! Sorry, I forgot to introduce them. This is Philza, and his Imperial Highness Technoblade." Your fathers eyes widened. When he realize was in the presence of royalty, he tried to go to his knee to bow. Techno quickly grabbed his arms in turn. Sopping him from doing so.
   "Please.. (y/n) told us of your pain. I couldn't ask formalities from you, sir" your father was speechless. He could only look at Techno with awe. Techno helped him stand properly. Only letting him go when he safely had himself steadied. Your mother chimed in.
   "Would you like something to eat or drink perhaps?" She asked looking between your father, Phil and Techno.
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   After hearing the young emperor was in your house, the village was buzzing around trying to tidy up a little. Nestled inside your house however Techno and Phil were eating. You had ate, but also were packing a few more possessions that you held dear to you.
   You knew that after today you would start your full time job as a blacksmith. In the beginning you were nervous. Everything you herd about there kingdom was terrifying. But after seeing who is in control you actually have felt very at ease with them. Wilbur was ever so kind, Phil treated you like an additional child of his, and Techno was something all in himself. You did find yourself thinking back to how he has taken up the nickname 'princess' for you. It made you blush obviously, but it was just how he said it that made you want to hear it again, and again. He could be so brooding and quite. But also find a way to joke and tease. Not only that, but just from what had happened outside your home. He didn't want your father hurting himself on his own account. It was the little things like that, that somehow just made your heart maybe skip a little faster. 
   Well you pondered Techno and his family, you didn't realize that he was leaning on your door way until he spoke up.
   "Having troubles packing?" He asked. You couldn't help but jump. Turning to face him. His eyes were relaxed, along with his stance. He was just hanging about basically.
   "Sorta" you said. Glancing him over. He slowly walked into your room and looked about curiously. Mentally you were thankful you cleaned before you left. Your room was small, your bed shoved against the wall, navy blankets resting on top of the mattress. Next to the bed there was a nightstand with the candle still half melted from the last use. Your dresser was across your bed, old and worn, it had been your grandmothers previously. Next to that was a little desk you and your dad had built. Your room wasn't much, but you could tell somehow techno didn't mind. "Its hard in a way..." He looked up at you. His eyes dancing between yours.
   "How so?" He questioned as you sat on your bed. He took the que and leaned on your dresser. Respecting your space. He knew he wasn't familiar to you like Wilbur or phil. He did want to get to know you more, but he also didn't want to force you to befriend him.
   "Well... I mean I've grown up here. All my life and memories are here... I know I can make more at the palace with you and your family." You smiled softly. "Wilbur already wants to teach me how to ice skate..." Techno smiled a little.
   "I bet you'll fall" he mused. You laughed a bit. smiling down to the boards under your feet. 
   "I probably will.” you were smiling gently, It’s the little actions like this that made you happy to see the family for what they were. Rather then what the rumors had painted them as. “I dunno, I know I want to work for you. I know my parents will appreciate the money and-" at this Techno’s brow furrowed slightly before he cut you off.
   "(Y/n) are you sure your doing this for yourself. Or for your parents?" The question took you aback briefly. Earning a slight head tilt. Techno pressed his lips, thinking of how to continue. "Are you working for me to make your parents happy. Or are you working because you will be happy?" You could only look at him with a blank look. He had a point there. "If your working to make your parents happy, you will be miserable the whole time your with us" He was watching your expression. Trying to read it for how you felt. You were kind of stumped. Techno had stepped closer. His boots were in front of yours. When you looked up he was right there. "I don't want to see you miserable well working" his gaze was gentle. He wasn't talking as a ruler, but rather as a friend. you understood too. If your hearts not in it, your work will never be as good. You paused a bit.
   "I do want to work for you. Its.. what my heart is telling-" again he cut you off, leaving your mouth agape with the words of your sentence lingering.
   "Your heart is a organ, it cant tell you what it wants" ok you wanted to hit him. He knew what you meant.
   "I mean... my consciousness is telling me to go with you and Phil. I really like your guy's company. Your brother Wilbur Is a lot of fun too." You shrugged and looked down a bit. Techno moved again and slowly sat beside you, almost hesitant like he wasn't sure if he could. When he sat the bed dipped quite a bit. Not that he could help it. He was a built man. "Maybe its just telling me to go because your family is the closest thing I've had to genuine friends..." Techno's face contorted into a little confusion. Getting a 'heh?' Out of him.
   "Don't tell me you've never had friends, princess" he said looking down at you.
   You smiled a little. "I've had friends... but usually there years younger than me. Like four or five. Maybe seven. I mean friends closer to my age like you and Wilbur" techno hummed a bit. His cheeks a very faint pink.
   "So you think of me as a friend now" his brow raised in question. his gaze was curious. not swaying to disgust, nor pure joy.
   “I mean, if I can count you as one...” You said looking up to him. If someone would have walked in at this moment, they would have thought they disturbed a moment between the two teens. Techno was tall, but that didn't stop his head from lingering down by yours. Your Voice was softer almost unsure now. Techno didn't speak at first, his eyes only lingering your face. soon he hummed in response, standing slowly.
      “Mmn... I mean. I guess you could.” his cheeks were tinted the faintest pink as he moved his fist to his mouth, clearing his throat. “yeah, yeah... I suppose were friends”
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   When you were fully packed you walked out from your room, Techno in tow. Your fathers eyes saw your form and lingered on the two of you. Your father wasn't born yesterday, something inside him knew that there was unspoken chemistry between Techno and you. He didn't mind that though. Well, ok maybe he did. You were his daughter after all. 
   “do you have everything you need?” your father asked, his tone softer when addressing you.
   You nodded, slinging the bag over your shoulder. “I believe so, If not ill just have to come back” You smiled gently. Your father returned the smile. Phil looked up to Techno who was standing behind you, his arm’s crossed as he leaned on your door frame.
   “We should probably leave soon if we want to make it to the Mansion by night fall, Techno” Techno offered a nod to his father. when looking at Phil he couldn't help notice how your fathered watched him. Techno did understand though, it was probably unnerving to know he would be sending his young daughter several miles away with a teenage boy. Of course Phil was present, but that was minor. Techno simply just returned a look to your father, not trying to be hostile, nor too passive. After all techno did have a name to keep up.
   Your small group slowly moved outside to the street. you didn't notice, but your father had pulled Techno aside well you went with your mother and Phil. You hugged your mother tightly. wanting to savor the feeling of her hug. knowing it would be quite a while before you got another one.
   “Promise me you’ll be safe (y/n)...” she said softly. you nodded slowly, nuzzling into her neck. you could feel the tears threatening to spill. You knew the goodbye wasn't forever, but that still didn't lessen the slight sadness. This was a new chapter in your life. you couldn't live your life on a single page. it was time to move on and see what else awaited in your story. when the two of you pulled away, your mother saw your tears and wiped your eyes gently. “Chin up, you’ll make a lovely smith, honey” you smiled softly, taking deep breaths to calm your tears. Soon Techno had returned back to Phil’s side after his talk with your father. You turned towards the two of them together and smiled at them. Techno offered you a nod well Phil smiled back at you.
   “I'm going to miss you runnin’ around that forge” Your father said, he also had a few tears welled up in his eyes. “You better bust your butt down there and show em’ what your made of” You nodded at him, taking his words of courage to heart.
   You hugged him tightly. Him returning the tight hug. “Ill miss you...” you muttered to him. keeping your face hidden in his neck. Your dad was your grounder, he was along your side the whole way. Starting the new chapter without him was hard, but you knew it was necessary. “I love you...”
   “I love you too... Be safe for us...” he said, pressing a kiss to your forehead.
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   By the time you reached France's countryside it was night already. Well in flight you had rested yourself on the side of your seat. Watching the ground fly past with incredible speed. Phil kept a keen eye on you to make sure you didn't fall. The last thing he wanted to do was have to turn around and explain to your parents that you fell to your death.
   Techno and Phil made wind of wanting to find somewhere to set up camp for the night. Knowing they both shouldn't fly well tired. When they saw the mansion up ahead however, they lost there ideal for a camp. Instead they landed nearby and prepared themselves to enter. Rambling off about where to enter. You were quite unsure about this, after all this was someone’s home. As they went on about a plan you looked the mansion over. It was rather massive to be honest. The mansion, although big, was ever so detailed and beautiful. The owners took amazing care of the structure. Well your eyes scanned the side, you saw movement from one of the windows. this made you realized that there were things inside. they planned to raid a mansion that someone lived in. Your eyes wondered for more movement and that's when you saw it. A Pillager. You felt rage take hold of your chest.
   "What are we doing here." Your voice was harsh, this caught Phil off guard. He wasn't used to hearing you take up such a tone. Phil and Techno swapped quick glances. Pondering if they should tell you about there plan. Ultimately Techno figured you should be included. Seeing that if this raid wad successful, your first task would be presented.
   "Do you know what Pillagers are?" Techno inquired. He knew you did, but he meant his question beyond face value. He was quizzing to see if you where aware of their history.
   "Yeah, heartless creatures that kill for fun" You hissed, not wanting to be near the mansion anymore. Techno watched your eyes. He could see the hate swirling within. To him this was intriguing to see you angry. Usually you were more quiet and docile.
   "Pillagers are a branch of Illagers..” Techno started slowly “The Illagers were a old type of Cult that was formed for the sole purpose of Black Magic" His tone was slow and calculated, he wasn't talking down to you, rather just simply explaining. "They are known for dealing with Alchemy, and Witchcraft" his eyes glinted with something that you couldn't quite put your finger on. "They even have been Rumored to deal with Necromancy" You were a little confused now.
   "What's Necromancy?" You inquired, your hate was leaving and slowly replacing with curiosity. Simultaneously, you didn't understand where this was leading.
   "The ability to raise the dead." You felt a shiver run down your spine at his words. You sent glances between the two of them. that's ridiculous, no one can raise the dead, it was impossible. Once you were dead, you were dead. You started getting uncomfortable with the way the conversation was leading. "It is rumored they have a Item that can bring those who have died back" Techno’s eyes never left yours.
   "That's.. That's impossible..." You said quietly, watching Techno intently. His eyes glinted again, you weren't familiar with his side of him so it raised alarm within you. This wasn't the Techno that sat with you in your room. Nor the one that asked your father not to bow. This side of him was different, almost more daring, and challenging.
   "Oh, but is it?" He paused briefly, His voice rose up now. Taking a tone of greatness. Turning to face the mansion. Soon expanding on his thought. "You see (y/n), sometimes rumors are so far  fetched... That they just have to be real." You glanced to Phil who only watched Techno like you. "The item they have, rather a totem actually... Can indeed bring the dead back. But it has to be on the person upon there death. You cannot bring someone who is long gone, back" he said simply.
   "How do you?..." you struggled to find your voice. “How do you know it’s true?” you asked no longer liking his tone. He turned back to face you, his emerald earring catching the moon light.
   "Because I have tested it" He said, looking into your eyes. Once he saw your eyes and the emotion that swirled within them he paused. He swallowed thickly, pondering his thoughts briefly. "I want you to stay back with the planes..." His tone had softened, it was the same one he used to address his father nights ago. "You'll be safe with them..." He glanced away, no longer able to keep your gaze.
   "We'll be back soon, I promise" Phil said, sending you a reassuring smile. the two of them turned and headed towards the entrance. there swords drawn, ready to counter what was inside.
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   You had been waiting for a while now. The sound of the forest was peaceful. You had missed the frogs croaking, well the crickets chirped a endless harmony. In the artic this wasn't a luxury, the land was so snow covered that not many bugs resided, if any. The only sound you could hear was a low whistle, or hum, which was only the wind really. The temperature had dropped well you sat waiting, causing you to rub your arms for warmth. You looked down into the cockpit looking for one of the cloaks left behind. You felt one of them and pulled it onto your shoulders, securing the clasps. The feeling of the fabric quickly warmed your arms. You laid your head back, pondering the look that Techno had in his explanation. The look he had was hard to explain, it’s almost like he wasn't himself. Like he had something else within him, fueling him, talking to him. You didn't know Techno deeply, but you had seen him for a few weeks now, his attitude then compared to now was different. It was unnerving to say the least.
   Well pondering and listening to the casual hum of the woods, something caught your ear. You pushed yourself up so you were sitting. You could plain as day hear crying. But not just any crying, it was a Childs. You slowly climbed down from the cockpit. You know they told you to stay put, but you also couldn't just listen to a child cry. Your hand fell to the sword that hung on your hip. Slowly you started your descend into the woods, determined to find the source.
   The woods were thick. Everywhere you looked there was a branch ready to swat at your head. Minding the branches, you were able to spot the small crying toddler. He was curled up tightly, his knees to his chest as he wept. He had dirt on him, his face stained with tears and mud. His red and white shirt was torn to hell. At the sight of him your heart hurt. He saw you and without hesitation he reached up, wanting you to pick him up.
   "H-hey.. Shh.. sh.. your alright.. your safe.." Your tone was gentle as you carefully picked him up. Subconsciously your body started swaying without a spare thought. The boy did slowly quiet down. You glanced around and  tucked the boy within the cloak next to you, wanting to keep him warm. You needed to find Techno and Phil, like. Right now. "I'm gonna h-help you ok bud?.." you could feel him nod his head against you. Gripping to your clothes tightly.
   You tried to hurry back to the mansion, but luckily that wasn't hard to find due to the fact it was on fire. Wait why was it on fire. You now broke into a run, fearing that Phil and Techno were caught within it. But no, of course not. They were simply in front of the burning mass, watching the once beautiful mansion turn to ash.
   "What the hell happened here?..." You drifted off as your eyes scanned the flames with wide shock. Phil turned to you and smiled.
   "Oh there you are (y/n)- whatcha' got there?" He tilted his head seeing the bump underneath the cloak. Techno turned as well, blushing faintly when he saw you.
   You stared up at the giant fire well approaching them. "I uh.. found him.." you pried your eyes from the train wreck in front of you, still not able to wrap your mind around this.
   "What did you find?..." Techno asked trying to see beneath your cloak, that was actually his. But he didn't want to bring that up yet, finding you within it quite adorable.
   You moved the cloak to show the toddler, Phil's wings puffed out a bit when he saw the child in your arms. Both of their eyes widening. "I wanted to bring him back to you... He was alone when I found him and I've never taken care of a toddler so..." You slowly handed the child to Phil. He didn't fuss much with being handed off. Instead he just buried his head in Phil's neck. As if on instinct he checked the child to make sure he was ok, no cuts, or bruising "I couldn't leave him out there..." you said chewing your lip. Phil only kept his eyes on the child. Pondering.
   "No of course not.." Phil said slowly, looking down to the child. Rubbing his back. "Hey buddy.. do you have a name?.." Techno and you watched curiously. The toddler nodded. Sitting up to wipe his big round blue eyes.
   "I'm Thomas.." His voice was rough, showing he had been crying a while.
   "Its nice to meet you Thomas.. I'm Philza, and this is Technoblade, over here is (y/n). How old are you?" Phil asked slowly. Just like he would with his own boys. Tommy held up two tiny fingers, showing how old he was. "Your two? Wow your a big man, ya?" Tommy slowly nodded. "Do you know where your mom or dad is?" The boy shook his head and broke into a large sob. "Sshh.. don't worry.. we'll find them ok?" The small boy nodded through his cries, gripping to Phil.
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   After finding Tommy we checked every nearby village we could think of, but no one claimed the poor child. The longer he was with us, Phil started to grow very attached to the boy. Techno wasn't very surprised with this of course, and neither were you quite honestly. You knew he had adopted Techno on a whim from what Wilbur explained. That's why Phil popped into your brain when you found Tommy.
   We ultimately decided to head home with Tommy. None of the villages we searched seemed to recognize tommy, so Phil figured it was the universe telling him that he has another child. Phil kept him on his lap most of the trip. Occasionally handing him to you or letting him ride with Techno, to whom your surprise, seemed to have a soft spot for children. Tommy found a lot of joy out of being in the plane with you three. You would bounce him on your lap when he was under your watch, letting him stretch out in joy. His little giggles rang out loud, bringing smiles to Phil's face. You did pull him into your arms securely when you reached the artic air however, mostly just to keep him warm.
   When you arrived to the palace Wilbur was confused on your early arrival. He had expected you three to be gone for at least two, to three days. But when he saw the toddler he mostly summed up the early arrival. Phil didn't linger long on the hellos of being home. Instead he took tommy straight to the physician to make sure he wasn't sick at all. His parent sense buzzing in full drive.
   Well waiting for Phil and tommy to show up again, Techno, Wil and you had found yourself comfortably in the library. You were extremely tired. But like Techno you were waiting to see Phil and Tommy first, before you made a run for your bed. The fire was lazily burning in front of you offering a warm wave of comfort. Your head started to roll from your sleepless state. Even Technoblade started to droop his head. Luckily Phil walked in with a happy tommy on his hip.
   "The Physician says he’s all good health wise. nothing we should be concerned about thankfully" Phil said. Claiming his seat beside Techno. Tommy made his way into techno’s lap, interested with the earrings he had. Instead of telling him no, or swatting his hand away, Techno just took one of his earrings out. showing tommy the jewelry. The two of them were honestly were too adorable.
   “Is he our new brother?” Wilbur asked, watching the curious two year old.
   Tommy held all of your attentions, his actions were all done in innocence and curiosity. He was a cute kid, he had little Ringlet’s of blonde hair that matched Philza’s. “You think we can handle another mouth to feed?” Phil asked looking to Wilbur. Wil nodded in response. The idea of a younger brother exciting him. Phil looked back to Techno and Tommy.
   Tommy was happily babbling off about things he thought were cool on Techno. Techno only sat with kind eyes and a soft smile, replying to tommy.
   “I suppose I do have a new son now” Phil said, a kind smile dancing on his lips.
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emma-d-klutz · 3 years
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IF I were to write a Maribat fic
It would be mostly a played for comedy and drama take on “Marinette picked up this whole Bat thing way too quickly.”
Like, post Miracle Queen, Marinette is just overtaken with so much guilt about Master Fu and is also desperate for a new mentor to be a replacement and a distraction from the blame she puts on herself and the burden of being the new Guardian. She is absolutely sure she is not ready to be in charge.
She calls Damian and asks for an audience with Batman. Damian is like, “Oh, isn’t this the girl who kicked me out of Paris? What was it you said? ‘No Gothamites in my city.’ Isn’t that what you said? Didn’t you say you can’t have our “type” of vigilante in Paris, because we’re too, what was it, overemotional? Is this that girl who is on my com right now? The one who rejected joining the Teen Titans? That’s you? You want me to TALK to my FATHER? I would barely ask him a favor for someone I actually LIKE.” Except then she kind of blows up at him and tells him the situation, and Damian gets real quiet and listens, and he feels a little sick because he’s remembering the Ric Grayson situation and also Alfred’s most recent death, which he ALSO blames himself for, so like... they got shit in common. He says he’ll talk to Batman about a video call.
Cut to three months later, Marinette has just THROWN HERSELF into being Batman’s disciple. She calls him Master. She practices fighting day and night out of the suit, and IN the suit she uses her powers for training and is often seen sprinting for miles or scaling the Eiffel Tower with only her upper body strength. She comes to school covered in bruises and with the darkest circles under her eyes, and her friends are WORRIED, they really are, but she’s like 80% less bubbly then usual, so no one is really confronting her and are just silently wondering what the heck happened. Most people assume that this has something to do with her taking Adrien and Kagami being an official couple really hard. 
For fashion design, well. Marinette has gotten really into armor lately.... huh.  (It’s because the Batfam encourages her to not rely on a magic suit that can turn off at the worse time, and she is convinced she must be prepared to be Ladybug at any and all times. If anything, she’s lamenting that she doesn’t know how to make weapons.) (She got a grappling hook styled like a yo yo as a present from Master Bat.) 
She texts Kagami out of the blue one day like,  >>Hey. Come over. I am in the process of making my masterwork >>Oh and bring a sword >>A sharpened one, not a training sword And Kagami comes over to see a twitchy (”ok that’s pretty normal”) super serious (”well that’s not. she’s usually so flighty and indecisive”) Marinette. And in the place where there was once an Adrian shrine and stalking schedule is now what seems to be a Hawkmoth shrine and stalking schedule. Marinette brings out what looks sort of like shiny silk with jewels woven in, and Kagami’s assumption is corrected. No. It’s a polymerized titanium she synthesized herself with light elemental defense crystals woven in by hand. Marinette is very proud. It’s a prototype. She plans on making a material that can be beautiful formalwear and as stab-proof as any kevlar. But it’s still a prototype so Kagami can you pretty please do some slashing and stabbing on it pretty please? See she wants it to be really good before giving it to her other Sword Friend, because Dami is a really harsh judge, and her motivation just won’t be able to take it if she gets notes from him this early on in the process. Kagami is actually really on board and helpful in this venture. 
She does like indirectly ask Marinette if she’s heartbroken of if she’s with Luka or what have you, and Marinette just gets really harsh and says she has other priorities. She also makes some grandiose proclamation that neither of them are good enough for Adrien, because Adrien is pure goodness, he’s kindness and forgiveness personified, and it’s just... it’s just... it would be really clear to anyone who has ever heard Batman wax poetic about Superman where she is getting this highkey cringe behavior.
She’s on video calls with Batman all the time. They definitely have a conversation that goes something like this:
“I am certain the mean girl from my school is working for my main supervillain.” “Good. You can find him through her.” “Yess! I have been looking forward to the chance. I am going to interrogate her.” “Ladybug, no.” “I am going to tie her up with my yoyo and dangle her over the highest skyscraper in Paris and tell her I’ll drop her if she doesn’t tell me the identity and location of Hawkmoth.” “Befriend her at school and track her movements.” “Ok but wouldn’t it be quicker to dangle her off a building?” “You’re letting your emotions about someone from your civilian life interfere with your judgement and letting yourself act hastily and with negligence, which is exactly how you lost your first mentor.” “Ah....... you’re right. I’m sorry, Master. I won’t be reckless.” “Good. Tap her cell phone.”
As for Chat Noir, he is FREAKED OUT by her change and all the secrets she’s keeping now. And her behavior towards him has REALLY changed. Well not too much, but it’s noticeable in a way that unnerves him sometimes. Like she’s become a super serious workaholic, but she’s also insanely protective of him, to the point where he feels a bit resentful that he’s not being treated as a competent partner. He’s really trying to get Ladybug to talk out what she’s going through, and he’s anxious all the time that she’s on the cusp of becoming akumatized. Honestly, he’s not wrong on that part. He knows that this is all because she blames herself for Master Fu, and he is also aware that she is spending much more time in contact with that Robin from Gotham who they met once or twice, and he knows she’s keeping some secrets, but NO he is not aware for at least half of the story that she is being remotely trained by Batman. She’s telling him to shut up a lot more and bossing him around more and seems to know way more about Hawkmoth’s movements than him and it feels like he’s out of the loop, but she’s also, like, often spewing out how important he is to her as her partner and keeps giving him handmade pastries and saying, “An army crawls on its stomache,” so like honestly wtf mixed signals much
Batman agreed to mentor her temporarily and has been trying to find someone else from JL to take over, preferably Wonder Woman or Flash, because he agrees with Ladybug’s assessment that to be a hero in Paris it is necessary to have weaponized optimism, or Zatanna or Shazaam, because they could train Ladybug in her magic hopefully. He is told several times that it would be easier to get her mentorship if she agreed to join Teen Titans or Young Justice, which of course they all know, so thanks, but Ladybug would def refuse to leave Paris and her partner, so her joining YJ isn’t really up for discussion. 
Flash said that she’s great but that, “She’s SUCH a Bat,” and that clearly she’s so attached to him that she should just stay one of his. Batman asserts that she is only being like this because she is desperate for a mentor, and if someone else took her on, she’d probably/hopefully change again just as fast. Flash says he isn’t so sure, and that at this delicate point in time, being handed off to someone else might, like, retraumatize her or smth. 
Ladybug literally started breaking fingers interrogating someone.
It is on camera.
The LadyBlog is in SHOCK.
No one knows what to do.
Even Hawkmoth sees the video footage and is like, “Jeez, am I... Mayura, are we in over our heads here? Did we break the teen hero? Is this our fault?”
Anyway, those are all my favorite ideas of the ones I’ve daydreamed so far. There is also stuff about how she interacts with the other members of the Batfam and that she uses the Horse Miraculous to travel to Gotham to be trained in hand-to-hand and also to just sob for hours and scream at things because she CAN’T let her emotions out like that in Paris and the bafflement of the Batkids like “you... came to GOTHAM... to NOT repress your emotions. um, k.” And Cass loves her and thinks she is Baby Sister and if someone is mean to baby sister in front of her she will stare into your soul until you are quiet ect ect many ideas. 
The reason this is an IF and not a WHEN:
dudes I have no plot
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Final Fantasy 7 prompts # 71
1. Post AC Turks get turned into bunnies. Rufus only loves them more.
Its even funnier if the Turks go about thier duties as normal. Can you imagine being interrogated by a bunny?
2. Sephiroth gets turned into Cloud and isn't sure how to undo the transformation. AVALANCHE unwittingly invites him in, ignorant to the fact that the real Cloud was on a different continent entirely.
3. Cloud was incredibly jealous when Sephiroths attention wasn't on him.
Thankfully, the silverette didn't seem to notice
4. Cloud goes full psyco possessive over Zack the same was Sephiroth does over him. This, of course, does not sit well with the silver stalker and Zack is just there trying to keep them from stabbing eachoth-oops. Too late.
5. Time traveler Cloud, but he's a really weak poltergeist. He kept scaring people with vague ghost things until Genesis finally convinced Sephiroth and Angeal to do an Ouija board session with him.
Inspired by the idea of Cloud telling Genesis to 'fuck off' via spelling out letters on the board.
Cloud might also resort to txt speech if he gets desperate.
6. Au where Genesis was sent to check out a meteor crash site, only to discover a blond man and three silver haired children drinking mako strait from the pools.
Genesis just stared for a few seconds while these nutcases drank the mako like a dying man drinks water in an oasis.
He's later surprised by how quickly the silverettes took to Sephiroth. They were even referring to him as thier "big brother" withing five minutes of meeting.
Hes not jealous. He's not. He's more amused by Sephiroths awkward joy than anything.
Then there was the blond. "Cloud" tended to follow Angeal around like a grumpy chicabo, often staring at the mans sword. His childhood friend was overjoyed when he discovered the blonds knack for gardening. Infinite in mystery indeed.
7. "What the hell!?"
Tifa rushed over to where her boyfriend had knocked over his barstool in his haste to stand up. "Cloud?" She asked hurriedly, "are you alright?"
The blond shook his head in disbelief, "Someone prayed for rain."
Ruby colored eyes blinked owlishly, "and thats a problem, why?"
"Because they prayed to me."
8. Cloud accidentally does the one thing that terrifies Sephiroth.
The blond is baffled that something so mundane could have sway over a wannabe god
9. Time traveler Cloud is popped back into his 16 year old self body, with all his enhancements but none of his gear.
He explores the tower a bit, swiping materia (he learned from the best) and looking for a weapon.
Unfortunately for Angeal, Cloud noticed the Buster Sword on his back and just- yoinks it from its harness and takes off running. Cloud flees the tower and goes on the run, leaving the very confused commander swordless and in shock.
Several months later, Angeal is pleased to finally have his sword back and the blond in custody. He wanted to ask the blond why he would steal Buster anyway. Too bad the blond escaped soon after, stealing the sword from his right off his back- again- and even took one of the commanders potted plants, which he still couldn't wrap his head around.
Hint: It was spite
10. Sephiroth accidently travels to the past and wakes up to a certain blond Trooper bridal carrying him to a log cabin to escape the snow.
11. Time traveler Sephiroth carrying an unconscious Trooper Cloud to Hojos lab to recreate the experiment that made him "perfect"
Hojo is thrilled that there's two Sephiroths and a new test subject hand picked by his greatest creation.
Sephiroth also begins communicating/ sharing memories with this worlds Jenova to help keep an eye on Clouds progress and to make sure the good doctor isn't doing anything hes not supposed to.
Meanwhile, Kunsel is reporting to this world's Sephiroth about the multiple sighting of a second General...
12. Aerith and the planet trying to play matchmaker
She couldn't help herself, she always thought Tifa and Rude were cute together. Oh, and Cloud and Vincent! So romantic!
Shera and Cid weren't getting out of this unscathed either. No one is safe!
13. When the planet suggested that her champion should change his approach by "appealing to the trinitys heroic sides" she didn't mean "become the villain and force thier hand"
She shrugged it off since it was working, but was the cape really necessary?
Aka Cloud becomes an overdramatic fake villain to save the world and enjoys it much more that he thought he would. Also trolling Sephiroth and the angry red head is a lot of fun, almost as much fun as the ridiculous monologing and dramatic speeches.
He bursts out laughing when he discovered that made a TV show about them.
14. Every so often Cloud has to drink a bit of high concentrated mako to keep healthy.
Sometime people catch him doing it and freak out
(Inspired by Shinra making SOLDIERS by letting people down mako like shots)
15. Au where Cloud killed Don Corneo and became the new mafia boss. Cloud is surprisingly terrifying when he wants to be.
Bonus: Time traveler Denzel gets taken in by Kunzel and kicks Hojo in the crotch.
Sephiroth: Are you sure I can't adopt him?
Kunzel: No, he's already mine.
Genesis: Too bad. I'm his second dad now. You can't stop me.
Denzel: My dad is Cloud Strife
Cloud, who is like 15: ???
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sery-chan-13 · 3 years
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Innocence
Niragi Suguru × Reader
So, this is something I was very excited to receive a request about!
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(Yall... please, the most adorable thing I've ever been requested to write-)
I absolutely loved the idea, as it's something I go through, and a few of my friends go through, although it might be a little different. (My friends as well as I  (ooh, exposing myself) have a little space(different from a sub space. It's age regression and not at all sexual or wrong. It's totally OK to do this) , and I usually take care of them and they take care of me through it, so I get the panic attacks and drops! What this person requested is probably quite different from that, so It's not the exact same thing. Also, keep in mind, everyone expiriences panic attacks differently, I'm going off of my personal experience with them.
Warnings: past trauma, panic attacks, swearing, mentions of death, blood, let me know if I missed any!
You had been put into this world. A desolate one. It looked like your home of Tokyo, but it wasn't. There weren't  any people, and it was empty. It was like a giant prison... except bigger. In your opinion, it was a prison, and no one was around to judge you, so it was. You had been quite scared waking up, not knowing what was going on. Wandering around the new Tokyo, you felt a feeling of dread. You were alone. How you hated being alone.
At night, however, things changed. One of the advertisement boards in the middle of Tokyo lit up, pointing towards a place and the words 'way to the game arena' sprawled across it. You just followed the light up sign, and ended up at a skating rink.
Your eyes lit up at the sight. There were pretty colors, flashing lights, and popular music was playing in the background. You swayed on your heels, back and forth, unsure of what to do next before seeing a table with phones. On the same table was a sign that read 'One for each player.' What did they mean by player? You didn't know. You picked up a phone, and it turned on. The screen read something about facial recognition. You stared in awe at it, thinking it was cool. You were so immersed with the phone, you didn't notice other people come in. When you did, you were a bit intimidated. You didn't know why you were here. It dawned on you in a moment, and you started to fidget with the edge of your skirt. You saw two people who looked nicer than the rest, and decided to aproach them.
"Hi! Um... I'm sorry to bother you,  but do you know what's going on? I just woke up here..." you explained, looking at them. It was a boy and a girl. The girl had short, dark hair, and was wearing black spandex with a colorful pullover that was unzipped a bit to where you could see the black sports bra under. She was so pretty in your eyes. The boy had dark hair, his bangs falling into his face. He was wearing a t-shirt, and shorts. They looked at each other, and back to you. "It's a game," the girl said. You smiled. "A game? I like games what kind of game?" You asked. "It's not... it's not normal games. They're more difficult... and dangerous," the boy explained. You were confused. "My name is (Y/N). What's your's?" You asked. "I'm Arisu and this is Usagi," he introduced. "I like your names," you said cheerfully. The phone pinged, and you jumped slightly.
'Registration closed. 8 players. Difficulty 4 of spades. Game 'Roll Away'. All players will put on the roller skates. They can't be taken off once put on. There will be different challenges in the rink. It might be dodging something, getting chased by something, or other obstacles. Clear Condition: You can not take off the roller skates through the duration of the game. Doing that will result in immediate death. The way to win is to dodge the object or things and pass the challenges. Game start in 10 minutes' (this is the dumbest game concept I've come up with, I apologize in advance)
"Here, stick with us, and we'll try to make sure you don't get hurt, alright?" Usagi said, placing her hand on your shoulder. "Ok! Thank you Usagi-Chan! Thank you Arisu-Kun!" You chirped, bowing your head in gratitude. They smiled to eachother, one thought clear and present in their heads. They had to protect you. Something they didn't say about a lot of people, but something was different about you.
That's how they took you to the beach. At first, you were scared. You didn't know anyone there, there was people staring at you, and there were some that had weapons. Your eyes had so much to focus on, and it was so overwhelming. Your first thought was to focus on something shiny. You liked shiny things. The problem was, there was to many shiny things to focus on. The windows, guns, swords, accents on the wall, hell, everything might as well been shiny. You stayed still, sitting up as straight as you could, playing with the sleeves of the sweatshirt you had on. "So she's basically useless?" One of the people there said. You frowned at the words. "No, no, she's very capable. I think she'd do well in club games. And she doesn't require a high rank right now. Just for a her to be safe," Arisu said, protecting your from their words. "Alright. Just inform her of everything. Niragi, why don't you take her to get a wristband and to her room?" The man, who you had learned to be Hatter suggested, although he knew it was a command. Usagi gripped onto your shoulder softly. "I'll go with. Just because I feel she is my responsibility as well," Usagi said. In reality, she was worried of what he'd do to you. She didn't trust Niragi, and from the short amount of time she had known you, noticed you to be more trusting and innocent than most. You smiled widely, and looked up at Usagi. "Let's go then."
You walked in the middle of both people. Usagi, looking forward most of the time, holding your hand to guide you around, and Niragi. That's what Hatter had called him anyways. He was rather tall, longish hair with half tied back. He had piercing on his nose and brow. Shiny pieces of metal which you found yourself staring at constantly. There was a gun slung over his shoulder, which scared you. "Here we are," he said, opening the door to what you assumed to be a storage room. He handed you a bracelet. You played with the stretchy cord, stretching out and back in, being entertained by it. Usagi grabbed your hand, and gently slid it on. "Don't take it off, ok?" She said softly. You nodded. "What is she? A damn kid?" Niragi scoffed. "No. Be nice. People have different situations, and you have no right to judge," Usagi repremanded him, her tone strong. He rolled his eyes. "Ok, there's three rules at the Beach. 1, you have to wear a bathing suit, 2 all card go to Hatter, 3 death to the traitors," he said. "Mmm... death? What do you mean by that?" You asked. You knew what death was, you just wanted to make sure he wasn't threatening you. "Death means death. We catch you planning to leave, or keeping your cards, you die. Simple as that," Niragi stated. "Ah... oki! Usagi-Chan, I think I'll be ok with out you for now. Thank you!" You chirped. Usagi shook her head. "I'm not leaving you alone with him," she stated, glaring at him. You felt hands grab your waist, and pull you back. It was Niragi. For whatever reason, you felt safe. He was bigger than you, and most likely stronger, and it made you feel safe. You shrunk into him, liking the feeling. "Yeah, Usagi-Chan... Let her have fun," he mocked, sticking out his tongue. Usagi could hear the hidden meaning behind his words. But, to her surprise, you didn't. Were you that innocent? "I'll be fine. Tell Arisu-Kun thank you again for me though... You guys really helped me through that game," you smiled. Usagi nodded her head, and against her better judgement, left. "Ok, just you and me now sweetheart," Niragi sighed, leading you around. You rushed to catch up with him, and grabbed his hand. He flinched, pulling his hand away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He asked, scrunching his face in disgust at the contact. " 'M sorry... Didn't want to get lost. I don't like being alone," you apologized, looking down, and swinging your leg back and forth. 'Damn it... She's cute... NOnononono, backtrack, hold up, not cute. She's fucking annoying. There we go. That sounds better. Not at all cute. Annoying.' He sighed, remembering the way Usagi had spoken to you, "It's fine. Just don't go doing that, ok?"  You nodded excitedly, walking besides him.
"Ok, and this room is the one Hatter told me to take you to. The two people you were with live on the next floor up. No I don't know what room, neither do I care. They'll tell you, most likely. Bye," he said after leading you to your room door. "Niragi... thank you!" You said, smiling. "What?" He questioned, turning around to face you. "Thank you. Really, I would have gotten lost without you. I hope to see you soon!" You repeated, skipping into your room. He stared at the spot you just stood in, in shock. 'She's odd. But interesting. Is her innocence an act? Or is she just like that?' He thought as he walked off. You hadn't made any sort of shy or disgusted expressions when he talked to you. Especially when he used more risqué remarks. You just smiled or laughed as if you didn't understand the meaning behind his words. You were definitely interesting to say the least.
"We're really sorry we couldn't find another one for you... It's just the rules here, ok?" Arisu apologized. They had to find a swimsuit for you to wear, and they had found a white one. It wasn't horrible, just showed a lot. "You're allowed to wear a cover up though. Or like a sweater," Usage suggested. You nodded, rushing to the bathroom where you had changed. You grabbed the fluffy zip up hoodie you had on before you changed. You slipped it on over your body, and smiled. "Much better," you chirped. They laughed slightly. Arisu couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy when you were around. Not in a romantic way, but more in a protective way. He didn't want anyone to harm you. Usagi felt the same. "Can I go walk around?" You asked, playing with your hair. They nodded. " You don't have to ask for permission. You can do what you want," Usagi said. You nodded, saying goodbye, and leaving the room.
You hummed as you walked around, looking at all the people walking around. You nodded your head to whatever rythym was going on in your head. There were so many things to focus on, it felt like your head was going to explode. You shut your eyes for a bit and kept walking. Bad idea.
"Oi, you damn brat! Watch where you're going!" Someone shouted at you. You had bumped into them, falling to the ground. " 'M sorry! Didn't mean to!" You squeaked out. You heard them laugh, and you opened your eyes. "Whatever. And stop talking like that. What are you? A ba-" they were cut off by a snicker. "Really? You have the right to say that?" You recognized the voice from earlier. It was Niragi. You looked up to see Niragi pointing his gun at the people bothering you. "What? She talks like a fucking baby. And acts like one. Is she your little play thing?" The person taunted. Niragi scowled. "I'm only letting you go right now because Aguni doesn't let us kill in front of others. Be glad I'm letting you off right now," Niragi threatened. They all rushed away, seeing as their bravery was only for show. Niragi looked down to you on the floor. "You good?" He asked. You nodded, getting yourself off the floor. "Thank you once again, Niragi," you said, your attention on the floor. He couldn't help but notice your nature. You were innocent, childish, and playful. So different from all the other girls here. It was annoying, but also... cute. He was so lost in thought, he almost didn't feel you standing next to him and grabbing his arm. "What are you doing? We talked about this," he stated, trying to pull his arm away, watching as you nuzzled into him. "You're warm... and I like this feeling... I don't know what it is, but it's nice," you muttered. He pulled you around, back to his room, ignoring the stares he was getting.
He opened the door, and walked in, shutting it behind you two. "Where are we?" You asked, looking up at him. "Guess," were his only words. You basically beamed up at him. "Ooh, like a game! Umm... I don't know... tell me?" You chirped, placing a finger on your lip. He sighed, basically throwing himself on his bed. "You're annoying, you know that right?" He said. You frowned, twiddling your fingers. "Don't get offended by that. I have questions I want answered, come here," he stated, the commanding tone in his voice obvious. You stood straighter, and walked over by him. He looked up st you, confused. "Sit,'' was the only word that left his lips. You did so, sitting up straight. "So... is this an act? Your whole innocence thing?" He questioned, motioning to you. You tilted your head in confusion. "No? It's just... me," you responded. He hummed to acknowledge he heard you. Your hands kept looking for something to do, and you impulsively put one of your hands on his head. He moved away, grabbing your wrists, putting them to your body. "Hands to yourself princess," he said, a bored tone present. You shook your head, your hair swaying and bouncing with you. He laughed at the sight as you pouted. "Don't wanna. I like the feeling I get when I touch you or when you touch me," you said, your fingers being able to lightly touch his hand. "What feeling?" He asked. "I don't know what it's called... I just like it," you responded. "Well explain it," he said. "Mm... I feel really warm and protected. And... safe..." you responded, feeling his hands leave your wrists. After feeling his hands leave your wrist, you looked up at him. You crawled next to him squirming from happiness. "Oi, stop it," he scolded, grabbing your shoulders to keep you still. You pouted, looking up at him. "Then can I pet you?" You asked. "What am I? A damn dog?" He spat. "I like dogs. Dogs are cute. You're cute. But you're not a dog. Good boys deserve pets. You're a good boy, so... you deserve pets," you rambled, patting the top of his head softly. He look at you as you did so. He dropped back onto his bed. "I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep before tonight's patrol. Don't kill me," he yawned, closing his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.
When he woke up, he heard humming. He opened his eyes slowly, and saw you curled up on the end of his bed, humming. "Hello?" He questioned. You turned so fast, he swears you gave yourself whiplash. "Niragi you're up!" You chirped. He sighed. 'Who gave her the right to be so damn cute... this isn't fair on me right now.' He nodded, and got up. He looked into the mirror on the dresser, noticing his hair was tied back. He went to take it out, but soon saw it was braided. "Did you... braid my hair?" He questioned. Now, he wasn't mad, and he didn't hate it. He just wanted to know why. "Yeah. Sorry," you said, looking down. "I- forget it. Why?" He asked. Your eyes lost their spark for a second. "um... uh... I... I just wanted to," you said shakily. "Tell me why. I can see through that lie," he stated, taking his hair out of the braid. "Umm... I... I don't think you'd care, it's nothing," you deflected. "Look, if I'm asking, it means I want to know. So say it," he said, turning to face you. "Ok... I was just alone in my thoughts, and I decided to braid your hair. It made me feel less... anxious. My sister used to always ask for me to braid her hair. So she could look just like our mom... and she did look just like out mom," you explained, tears filling your eyes.
You didn't like talking about your sister because of what had happened to her. Your mother had died when you were 9, your sister was just a baby. She looked exactly like your mom. And due to circumstances, you were never able to be a kid. You had to be an adult at a young age. You never got to be childish. So, you did it more when you grew up. Your sister... Your sister didn't really care all that much. She acted like a kid, and got to be a kid. You made sure of it. Some things just couldn't be helped though. She had died after a car accident. You all went to get some groceries. It had been a great night, and you three had gotten ice cream. On the way back, a drunk driver had hit the car. Your father lived and yourself lived, but he blamed himself for it. He tried, he really really tried to be a good father to you, but it wasn't enough. Somehow, you could never seem to win.
"I'm sorry, I don't really like talking about her, can I talk about something else?" you said, quickly wiping the tears away. He could tell you didn't want to talk about. It made him want know more, but for whatever reason, he left it. "My patrol starts I'm a few minutes. So you'll have to find someone else to bother," he said, fixing his hair again. "But I don't wanna go around anyone else. Wanna be around you," you pouted, walking to his side. He stared down in shock. No one has ever wanted to around him out of their own free will. "Look, just... go to your room, and if I remember to go, I'll go and visit for a bit."
That's how it started. You would constantly be around him, rambling about your newest topic. He didn't respond a lot, just listened, throwing the occasional sigh of you being annoying. It didn't bother you anymore, because something told you if he actually found you annoying, you wouldn't be alive right now.
"Hey hey hey (N/N)!" Kuina greeted with a smile. "Kuina! You're back!" You giggled, running over. She hugged you, spinning you around. "How's my favorite human?" She asked, setting you down. "I'm ok... How was your game?" You asked, walking around with her. She led you down to where all the cars came in. "Hatter put me in charge of checking to make sure no one keeps their cards today. Help me out?" She asked as soon as you got there. You nodded, and stood by her.
All was fine, till one of the last groups came in, speeding. You watched nervously, hoping nothing bad happened. You felt the world around you move in slowmotion, and the air in your lungs get shorter everytime you breathed. You heard the tires screech, and Kuina's voice was somewhere in the background. You felt like you couldn't breath, you felt the cold stone wall behind you and you slid down it. Tears rolled down your face, and you scratched at your arms unknowingly. You felt people trying to touch you, and you kicked or hit them away.
"Someone get help! Arisu, Usagi!" Kuina yelled at them. They had come outside, hearing a commotion. They tried to touch you, or get closer, but you wouldn't let them. Blood came out of the scratches you had made on yourself. "Who else can help her?! Think quick, please!" Arisu panicked. You were crying and scratching at yourself. They could hear you muttering 'no' and 'can't lose them again' over and over under your breath. Anytime someone tried to get close to you, you would kick or hit them. "Get Niragi," Usagi said. "What no I'm not going to-" Kuina started to argue. "Do you have any other ideas?! Go get Niragi before she hurts herself more! Now!" Usagi shouted. The panicky feeling was in everyone. Kuina quickly looked over at you, and nodded. This wasn't about who she did and didn't like. It was about making sure you were ok. Kuina ran off, going to look for Niragi. "Usagi, you go look for him as well. You're faster than me, I'll kept on eye on her," Arisu said. Usagi nodded, running off.
You were still crying, your nails tearing into your skin, crescent marks left behind, and trails of crimson dripping down. People were still trying to help, but we're crowded all around you. You couldn't breath, air couldn't get into your lungs. The people all around you looked like they were closing in around you. A flashback of the moment the other car hit you flooded your brain. Your sister's cut off scream. Her blood soaked shirt, the pieces of glass embedded into her skin. The pain you felt when you called out for her, but she didn't answer.
"Chishiya! Chishiya! Have you seen Niragi?" Kuina yelled after the short boy. He turned around. "Why would I care ab-" Chishiya started. "Chishiya, not now. It's (Y/N). Please, just- do you know or not?" Kuina interrupted, taking in shaky breaths. He shook his head. "Last Boss might know he's over there. If not Aguni," Chishiya said. Kuina nodded, running over to the aforementioned man.
Eventually, she found him on the roof. 'He's always on the damn roof' Kuina thought. "Niragi! Don't ask questions, just come with me!" Kuina yelled at him. He turned with a face that read 'no'. "Why should I-" he started. "It's (Y/N), please just- she- come with me," Kuina stumbled over her words. It had been at least 6 minutes. He tried not to show any emotion, but looked around and nodded. He walked quickly besides her as they made their way back.
"Found him!" Kuina shouted. Arisu turned to them and nodded. "Just go over to her," Arisu said. Niragi walked over, and everyone around you, immediately parted. "Go away," he threatened. Everyone left, and he was able to see what was happening. Your previously white swimsuit was now stained with red. Your arms were marked up with scratches and crescent shaped wounds. "Hey, (Y/N), it's me... calm down... breath," he whispered, so only you could hear. He kneeled in front of you, and got gradually closer. You didn't push him away, nor did you pit up a fight against him. The feeling of being safe and protected that you only got around Niragi appeared. The warm feeling spread over you, making you calm down a bit. You were able to breath a bit now, and you whimpered about something he didn't quite hear. Arisu and Kuina sighed in relief, seeing as he was able to get close to you. He grabbed your hands, taking them away from your arms. You took a shaky breath. "N-niragi?" You questioned. "Mhm... just calm down for now," he said. Arisu and Kuina looked at eachother and nodded, deciding to leave. Niragi had it under control.
You grabbed onto Niragi, and held onto him tightly. He heard you sniffle and say an apology into his neck. "Don't apologize for that. Are you ok-ish now?" He asked. He felt you nod. "Ok, well, we need to clean you up. And you can tell me what happened later, ok?"
He had carried you up to his room, cleaning up the blood on your body. "Sorry... I'm sorry," you apologized again, as he bandaged up your arms. "Stop apologizing, it's pissing me off," he stated. You frowned with a shaky sigh. "I... I didn't mean that. I'm sorry," he apologized, sitting besides you. You snuggled up into him. He was going to scold you, but decided against it, seeing as he rather liked the feeling. He always had. "Niragi... you forgot to do something," you muttered. "And what's that princess?" He asked. "Kiss it better?" You asked, looking at him with the puppy dog eyes. He felt his face get hot, and cursed himself. He rolled his eyes giving in, "Fine." You gave him your arm, and he kissed over the bandages. You giggled slightly. "Tickles," you laughed. He couldn't help but laugh. You smiled, "Niragi... Can I help you feel better?" You asked. "What? I'm not hurt though," he said, confused by your words. "Ok, fine... maybe it's not to make you feel better... just wanna give you a kiss. I really really really like you," you admitted, blushing slightly. He froze up for a second, before smirking. "Go ahead then. I really really really really like you too."
So... how was that? Um...bi may have gone overboard, but I am all for soft Niragi hours even if he's OOC, it's called 'I'm sad, he's my comfort character.' Umm... yeah... cool!
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kingwuko · 3 years
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(Please note I haven't read the comics.) Hello, good morning (at least where I'm from!) Or good afternoon or evening, I have brought to you some more Wuko headcanons and they are, drum roll please:
-The outside of their fridge is stacked with papers. (The inside of their fridge has, like, two eggs and a cartoon of milk, they need to go shopping.) Papers from Lin about the police department, recipes from Pema for airbender food, recipes from Grandma Yin for what to do with all the halfway-decent fruit from Lu's cart in Ba Sing Se she sends once a month, a NutTuk magnet, a landscape drawing of Republic City drawn by Meelo that he insisted go on top of all the other papers, an 'airbending scroll' drawn by Ikki that Wu and Bolin both agree just look like stickmen dislocating their stickjoints, a colorless sketch of BumJu that Jinora said they could gave the final picture of once it's done. (Probably didn't give it to Uncle Bumi because he'd gasp in horror and say "This isn't BumJu! This is a fire ferret!" And she'd either end up taking that to heart or starting a lecture about spirits.) Also on the fridge is a list of emergency contacts with Asami at the top.
-Their apartment isn't really decorated besides for the fridge. The only thing they have hanging up is Mako's badges and various awards from the police academy, Probending awards, and pictures of Team Avatar and Co. Some pictures, like the one Mako took of an off guard Bolin playing Pai Sho with the champ Pabu, get smushed up against the spirit vines growing outside their apartment complex. (Mako couldn't decide whether or not being the farthest away or closest to the Republic City portal was good or not until Korra AND Jinora lectured him about spirits and humans living in harmony, good spirits and bad spirits coexist, he can't remember the rest.) They have a radio that plays quiet, jazzy tunes Wu will dance to and sweep Mako in, it's right next to a science experiment they did with Meelo and Ikki (hypothesis: do plants from other nations grow faster than others? with each plant with different soil from each nation.) It's a simple life and a lot less suffocating than that of the Earth Kingdom, but it also has the Avatar and her engineer girlfriend, a lavabender, a rebirth of a nation, and 💖Mako💖
-That's not to say they don't go on adventures. They'll often accompany Tenzin and Pema to find airbenders, sometimes Kya and Jinora will join and Kya will tell embarrassing stories. Tenzin will come back with how they didn't talk to each other for months over fighting over Lin. Kya will then reply "What do you know you're the youngest" (which is so freaking funny) and Tenzin will just clench his jaw and change the subject. Once when this happened, he suggested signing songs and decided to start off with an "airbender song Father thought me." It was Secret Tunnel. Wu immediately pointed it out because he had learned some songs from Chong when they were in the Earth Kingdom and that it was more Earth Kingdom (specifically Omashu) origin than anything else. And Kya just starts cracking up at that and points out "Not everything Dad taught you was a secret airbender thing!" Tenzin was grumpy and silent for the rest of the ride. Ever since then Wu will quietly sing Secret Tunnel and it just makes him break out into a grin because, oh my god, airbenders are hilarious. Mako just melts at his singing, no matter it may be, and his big grin.
-Since Wu can't bend and it's something he feels insecure about, he decided to take up weaponary. He heard Tenzin's Uncle Sokka was a master at weapons and even had a space sword but, sadly, there were no cool outer space rocks to make into swords in Republic City. It's ok because he didn't really like the way a sword felt almost like it was tipping him foward because he didn't have balance, bow and arrows caused blisters on his hands and he needed aim anyway (shitty eyesight Wu rights), and boomerangs came back fast and knocked him backwards when he did catch them. Finally, he tried throwing daggers and they're much easier and don't require aim, just general area. He has a set of two throwing daggers, a green orietnal set with an Earth Kingdom symbol and badgermoles on the handle, and a practice set that Mako got for him. It has a simple wood handle and blade that constantly needs sharpning. The handle has a heart and a "M+W" carved into the handle. He first tried throwing them on the spirit vines until Jinora got upset, then Mako got him a dart board and they'll play knife darts. They've both gotten really good at throwing.
-Mako didn't get back into Probending because of his arm and he feels weirdly jealous when he sees Bolin with a bruise the size of a pizza pan on his stomach and Korra with healed burn scars on her arms. He knows he why he's upset and that's because he misses Probending and the exhilaration of it, and knowing why he's upset makes him more upset and it's a cycle; so sometimes when Wu catches him listening to the match while clenching and unclenching his jaw, he'll softly turn off the radio, run a hand gently up his sccared arm, tracing the scars like it's the Bayan-grove tree roots, telling him it's ok, there is bravery in your scars, and pick his hand up to kiss his knuckles. When it's really bad, like when he wakes up at night feeling filled with electricity and lightning and the power Ozai praised Azula for having and shaming Zuko for not, he'll open the window and point his scarred arm outside. Nothing happens. Nothing ever does, but he feels a little relieved and will go into the bathroom to wrap his arm up tight before going to bed again. Wu notices and leaves the window open while they sleep, sometimes wrapping his arm for him.
-Sorry for the angst, but now, please consider: them babysitting BumJu and it's a mess because what do spirits eat? And Korra, BumJu went into the Spirit World agai, is that normal? And Jinora how do you play with spirits, do you just chase them around or throw a stick?
Anyway that's all I got, have a great day!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖
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OP all this is beautiful and well thought out. I especially like Wu using throwing daggers.
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azucanela · 4 years
Text
[HOME] IS WHERE THE SHIP IS [PT.2] 
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HOME MASTERLIST
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SUMMARY: in which a lot of doors are slammed, because zuko is an angsty mess. but it’s okay, because at least he has Y/N by his side as everything becomes a big mess.
WORD COUNT: 7.1k
WARNINGS: mentions of death, threats
A/N: sorry this took so long! i hope you all like it! also im at 400 followers wow klasdkhkhaks idk why haha, anyways remember to drink water my friends
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This shouldn’t be possible. 
Staring at the young boy in wonder, Y/N can’t help it as her mouth gapes open. He’s Airbending. Making him the last Airbender, making him the Avatar. The issue, Y/N L/N is the Avatar. Or at least, she thought she was. Maybe she was just a cheap knock off? So many thoughts circled through her mind as her brows furrowed, the Southern Water Tribe was the last place she would’ve expected someone who was well over a century old to be hiding out. Though the ‘old’ man, appeared to be younger than Y/N. 
Regardless, from the look in Zuko’s eyes as he took the young boy into custody, he had hope that they could return home without Y/N arriving in a pair of cuffs and immediately being sentenced to either death or life in prison.
It was nice to see him happy again.
Ever since they’d discovered her ability to Waterbend, making their search for the Avatar pointless, Zuko’s small sliver of hope to return to the Fire Nation had diminished. Iroh had noticed this sudden change in attitude, and made several attempts to brighten the young boy’s mood to no avail, though he had no idea about the major issue the pair was dealing with. Or perhaps he did, Iroh was a mysterious man, with a mysterious amount of information. Y/N had contemplated asking him for information in regards to the possibility of two Avatars several times, though she elected not to, fearing she would arouse suspicion.
Then again, who would Iroh tell? He clearly wasn’t fond of his brother, and it appeared his loyalty lied with tea, pai cho, and Zuko, who had no intentions of allowing Y/N to fall into Fire Nation hands, but Zuko didn’t like the idea of living in a ship for the rest of his life.
At this point, home is where the ship is. 
Y/N found herself staring at the child capable of Airbending as they took him to the brig, a wave of sadness washing over her. He was a kid, he didn’t deserve this, he had done nothing wrong other than exist. Now that she followed the guards as the placed him in one of the cells in the brig, Y/N wondered what would become of him if he was ever in the Fire Lord’s presence, she tried to shake off these thoughts though, sighing as she turned away. He was probably just as confused as she was, well maybe not as confused, he was blissfully unaware of the second potential Avatar on the boat. 
“Get some food, I’ll watch over him for now.” 
The two guards that had escorted him here alongside her exchanged looks, before turning back to her, “are you sure, ma’am?” 
It was easy to forget that Y/N was basically a guard as well, a glorified one, but a guard nonetheless. Being Zuko’s right hand had come with a lot of responsibilities when they were in the Fire Nation, and keeping him alive had been one of them. It had obviously come with several benefits as well, but Y/N tended to forget in recent times. 
“Yeah, go on ahead. Just don’t leave me for too long, eh?” She waved them off. Given Zuko’s attitude, one of them had to maintain good rapport with the other members of the ship, otherwise they likely would’ve revolted a while ago. It was a job for two, one that her and Iroh shared. Regardless of rapport and general kindness, Y/N wanted a moment alone with the young Avatar, she had questions. Lots of them.
It appeared he did too as he looked at her, she’d sat herself across from his cell, sword strung over her lap. “So..” Y/N began, “where have you been the past century?”
He looked up at her, head tilting, likely in confusion as he responded. “In an iceberg. I kinda went into hibernation I guess, to keep myself from dying during a storm.” He plopped down onto the floor of the cell, “what happened the past century?” The boy asked in turn, looking at Y/N curiously, his hands bound in chains.
With a frown, Y/N replied, “nothing good.” She stared at her hands, feeling shame flood her. Her nation’s actions had never been... good. And she didn’t want to be the one to tell the young boy about the genocide of his people, but it had to be done, “in case you haven’t heard, the Air Nomads were... eradicated. The Fire Nation is now striving towards world domination.” It was the truth, the sad truth, the Fire Nation had been working towards the goal of world domination for quite some time now, and it seemed they might be successful. 
This boy could ruin all of that.
His face visibly darkened at this explanation, looking away, his voice seemed to harden, “yeah. I heard.” There wasn’t really much else to explain, the war had been the only constant in all this time, Y/N couldn’t find a way to see the brightside, probably because there wasn’t one. Just a side filled with incredibly bright flames that would likely lead to the end of the world.
Swallowing nervously, Y/N’s lips formed a tight smile, “I’m Y/N. By the way.” Maybe it was weird, but Y/N wanted to form a friendship with this kid, something about him felt different, and she wanted to understand what exactly that was. 
A small smile found it’s way onto his face, though the remnants of what was likely anger, sadness, and confusion were still evident on his face as he replied, “I’m Aang.”
It felt odd, sitting across from him as their eyes met. Like there was something buzzing in the air, like something was wrong. The hairs on the back of Y/N neck rose, and she felt goosebumps form on her skin as she gave the young boy a smile as well. His mouth seemed to gape open, brows furrowing in confusion as he prepared to speak.
“Miss L/N.” Called out one of the guards, earning both the attention of Aang and Y/N, who had been mesmerized by the mysterious feeling in the air. “I came to relieve you of guard duty.”
Y/N’s smile remained as she turned to the guard, “thank you.” Though she wished she had more time to speak with Aang, it was clear he’d felt whatever it was as well. Not that she could ask him about it with anyone else around, though she’d been on the ship for years now, her lack of trust in the crew remained the same. 
Inhaling deeply, she stood, and she could feel the gaze of Aang on her as she walked away, the odd feeling slowly dissipating the further she got from him. Now, a new feeling filled her, guilt. They’d locked away a child who awoke in an entirely new world, only to find that his entire civilization was dead.
Frustrated, Y/N brought a hand to her temple and sighed as she made her way to her room. She opened the door, and went to slam it, except her hand never touched the door, though she did fly against the wall on the opposite side of the room as she did slam the door.
With a gust of wind.
That’s new. 
Y/N cursed, shaking her hand aggressively as she glared at it, she sat up from her position on the floor, her room now in disarray thanks to the random gust of wind. Y/N moved to pick up one of many things that fell on the floor when her door swung open, a million different excuses for the mess were suddenly running through her mind as she tried to think of one that actually made sense. Opening her mouth as she looked up at the intruder she realized it was none other than Prince Zuko, who tackled her in a hug. 
None of this made sense. 
Her arms slowly wrapped around him as her brows furrowed, confusion flooding her as Zuko spoke, “we did it!” Listening to his words, she realized that she hadn’t heard his voice sound that happy in a while, and Y/N couldn’t stop herself from smiling momentarily. Key word being momentarily, as she soon recalled that it was a literal child that would be their ticket back to the Fire Nation, guilt consumed her.
Y/N did not support this, and despite the way Zuko smiled for the first time in forever, she contemplated releasing the Avatar once she got the chance, for a variety of reasons. Not that Zuko needed to know that as she replied softly, “yeah, we did.”
“We can go home, Y/N.” He released her from the hug to look her in the eyes, his hands remaining on her shoulders.
Raising a brow, she teased him, “I thought I was your home.” A light pink dusted Zuko’s cheeks at her comment as she continued, recalling that day, “didn’t you even say I was your girlfrie-”
“What happened to your room?” He asked in an attempt to change the subject, finally beginning to look around, his brows furrowed.
Y/N hollowed out her cheeks as she gave him a sheepish smile, “raccoons.” 
Yeah, that was the worst excuse on her list. It was better than nothing though, stressing Zuko was the last thing she wanted to do, and an accidental Airbending incident while the last Airbender was on board the ship would probably stress him out. 
Zuko opened his mouth, likely to tell her how stupid that sounded, though he was interrupted by another person shoving Y/N’s door open, “Y/N, we have a proble-” Upon seeing Zuko, the guard froze, pausing his sentence. Y/N already knew the news must’ve been bad if the guard had wanted to come to her first, likely expecting Zuko’s reaction be rather explosive. It was well known on board the ship that the only person capable of minimizing Zuko’s temper was Y/N, which is why most bad news tended to come from her, after another crew member told her. This seemed to be one of those instances, though it had gone wrong seeing as Zuko was in her room. 
The guard’s eyes met Y/N’s momentarily as she nodded for him to continue. Zuko simply rose a brow at this interaction. “The Avatar has escaped.” 
Everything went downhill from there. 
The attempt to recapture the Avatar went rather poorly, and Y/N hadn’t really done much in assistance if she was honest. The boy had started glowing, that wasn’t something normal people did, then again he was the Avatar. Y/N couldn’t help but wonder if she could glow as well, even as Zuko questioned her lack of action. 
Due to his failure to recapture the Avatar, Zuko’s mood seemed to worsen immediately, and his anger was mostly directed at Y/N. She was a talented Firebender who had done little to help recapture him, partially because she was focusing on ensuring half the crew didn’t die of frostbite. Not that Zuko was taking this into consideration during his bout of rage.
Had Y/N been more focused on him, she probably would’ve knocked some sense into him, but she figured Iroh had it handled as she handed the final crew member a blanket before returning to her incredibly messy room. Serving only as a reminder of another one of her problems. 
One, the only Airbender in the world had just disappeared, shortly after she discovered she could Airbend, leaving her without someone to teach her. Two, this probably would’ve happened regardless since Y/N really didn’t want to sentence a child to death at the hands of Fire Lord Ozai. Three, Y/N had no choice but to figure out how to control all her abilities, or else another accident could occur and she’d expose herself to someone who wouldn’t be as merciful as Zuko.
She’d mastered Firebending and Waterbending for the most part, though it was difficult without a master, she’d managed to teach herself just fine. Y/N wouldn’t deny that training in secret was difficult, with only an old Waterbending scroll to aid her, but something was better than nothing. And she was doing better than the Waterbender from the Water Tribe, so that was good news she supposed.
Zuko had been helpful, nobody questioned it when he ordered a random stop on the coast and they’d disappear for hours at a time. He’d been supportive of her endeavors to learn how to control her abilities, training alongside her, Y/N had noticed the way he was slowly incorporating Waterbending movements into his own Firebending, though he’d deny it if she pointed it out.
There were peaceful moments on the beaches they practiced on, ones that reminded her why she’d joined Zuko in banishment, why she cared for him.
Right now was not one of these moments.
As Y/N picked up a book that had fallen onto the floor due to her Airbending incident, placing it on her desk, the door swung open for the third time that day, hitting the side of the wall. This action knocked down her book, and Y/N didn’t need to turn around to know who it was as she extended her arm outward to signal for Zuko to remain silent as she inhaled deeply, trying to maintain patience. 
“Reconsider whatever you are going to say.” Y/N began, closing her eyes, “because I am this,” she puts her fingers ridiculously close together, “close to ending your life.” 
He rolled his eyes at her words, but closed the door more gently and leaned down to place the book back on the desk before speaking, “why didn’t you do anything to help against the Avatar?” When they’d discussed it earlier, she hadn’t given him an answer, mostly because she was busy melting the other Firebenders out of the ice that had entrapped them during the fight with the Avatar and his new friends. But Zuko sounded calmer than he had earlier, which meant he'd taken her threat seriously.
Good.
“He’s a kid, Zuko.” Y/N replied incredulously, continuing to go about cleaning her room. She bit her tongue as she contemplated pointing out that they were kids too, they shouldn’t be dealing with this. “And he’s the only person who could possibly understand what I’m going through.” Her voice is quieter as she says this, as though there’s someone else in the room who could hear her. Despite the fact that she’d been training with Waterbending, they had tried their hardest to avoid discussing the fact that she was the Avatar. Or, kind of the Avatar. 
Zuko grimaces at her comments, looking away from her awkwardly, “we deserve to be living in a palace.” Y/N swallows nervously, his words only serving as a remind of their past, her past. 
“You didn’t seem to mind leaving that behind when we found out what I could do.” Y/N retorted, staring at him as he desperately tried to avoid her piercing gaze.
These words seemed to strike a chord in him, and all the unspoken words from the day they found out seemed to be revealing themselves as they spoke, “because we had no other choice!” Zuko exclaimed, gesturing wildly, “now, we have a chance at returning to the Fire Nation.”
Picking up a small box, she placed it onto her desk alongside several of her things, “what if we just didn’t go back?” Y/N proposed quietly, staring at the small figurine. She’d had the thought multiple times, maybe it would’ve been easier to convince Zuko before they’d found another Avatar. Prior to discovering the Airbender, there had been no point in searching the world for the Avatar, and settling down somewhere would’ve been far more ideal than living on a ship for the rest of her life. Iroh had expressed similar feelings despite his blissful ignorance of the Avatar living alongside him, though he supported his nephew’s endeavors, “what if we ran away from all this Zuko? Your Uncle has always wanted to start a tea shop we could-”
“Are you crazy?” Zuko asked, “Y/N we are so close. If we find him again then my father will restore my honor. “ He insisted, and the desperation, the pain in his voice almost hurt Y/N as well, the fact that he still believed in his dreadful father. Y/N opened up her mouth to respond, only for Zuko to continue, “don’t you care?” 
Y/N wanted to scoff at this comment, and couldn’t help the way her fists balled up as she felt anger consume her. Did she care? She had gone to banishment with him despite the protests of the Fire Lord himself, and he was wondering if she cared? After everything Y/N had done for him? She couldn’t help but feel bitter as his words washed over her and suddenly, all the things she’s done for his sake came to her attention. Oh god, if only he knew what she did.
He’d probably kill her.
Y/N quickly shook away those thoughts as she responded, “I refuse to condemn a child to the likes of your father.” Zuko wouldn’t acknowledge it, even after 3 years, but his father was horrible. Y/N knew from experience how far his ambition went, she knew how much he was willing to give up for power. Y/N tries to ignore those memories as she exhales sharply before replying, “we've both seen what he’s done to his own children.” 
Zuko is silent at this comment, his eyes narrow at her  and Y/N quickly realized she struck a nerve, grimacing as she mutters, “I need... to go see Iroh.” She’s grappling for any excuse to escape this conversation. And Y/N supposed this was better than the raccoon excuse she had used earlier. 
Y/N quickly decided that she could apologize later as she made her way to her door, sparing Zuko a glance to see that he was staring at a painting that had fallen during her Airbending incident, one of Y/N, him and Iroh. The glass of the framed image had cracked, and Y/N couldn’t help but wonder if that was a sign. Her secrets were piling up, and today only made it worse. From Airbending to the... interesting connection Y/N seemed to have with Aang. She couldn’t let him get into Fire Lord Ozai’s hands at least until she had a better understanding of this connection, for all she knew, if Aang died, she would too.
Heading over to Iroh’s room had once been an excuse, but now she had a mission, she was going to ask him about the possibility of two Avatars. And perhaps drink some tea for the sake of calming down, though her fight with Zuko hadn’t gotten too heated, she knew the tension between them would remain for days to come. Though they had no choice but to get over it, the two worked side by side each day, and they both needed a clear head to get through each painstaking day on the ship without complications.
If Y/N had an attitude like Zuko’s, the crew might just abandon ship.
Coming upon Iroh’s door, Y/N begins to reconsider her decision, maybe he was napping, or busy in some other way. Perhaps, this wasn’t the best idea, and consulting with Zuko before doing something so drastic would be better. Then again, she wasn’t really on speaking terms with him at the moment, so she summoned her courage and knocked on Iroh’s door, a small part of her hoping that he wouldn’t open it.
Y/N’s wish didn’t come true as a smiling Iroh opened his door, “Y/N, welcome.” He greeted. Iroh’s room smelt of tea and candles, and looking at it now, Y/N realized he was a rather organized person with very few belongings. Though, the things he carried with him clearly had sentimental value. “What can I do for you?”
“Do I have to need something to come see you?” She asks playfully, Iroh had always been someone pleasant to converse with, even before banishment. Though these years traveling together had certainly brought them closer together, bonding over Zuko was a common pass time, though their friendship had long since expanded into other topics of conversation.
Iroh hummed in response, sitting down in front of his tea kettle, “so you don’t need anything?” He begins to boil the water, retrieving some tea leaves from a cabinet that Y/N is sure has an endless supply.
“I do have a question.” Comes her reply, taking a seat across from him. “About the Avatar, and such.” 
Taking two teacups, Iroh looks to her curiously, “there are a few things we could discuss in regards to the Avatar.”
Y/N considered how she could word this without sounding suspicious, and she quickly realized that her options were rather limited as she opened her mouth, “I was wondering what the other Avatar sightings could’ve been, if.. this kid is the real Avatar.” What she said wasn’t a lie, there had been dozens of sightings of other people bending more than one element. And from the research she’d done, most of the people who were allegedly capable of bending more than one element died at a young age. 
Iroh hummed in understanding, pouring the tea into the cups he’d set out for the two of them, “do you know what a Dualbender is?” He asks, looking to her.
Y/N nods slowly, “I’ve heard the myths, but I don’t know much. Some question if they are just that, myths.” She’d considered the possibility that she was a dualbender, and made an attempt to research the topic, but there wasn’t much information since it was rather rare. That and the fact that the name ‘Dualbender’ implied the capability of bending two elements, and Y/N could evidently bend three. 
“Well, the Fire Nation has encountered a few in the past.” Iroh explains, “Dualbenders are born when the Avatar experiences near-death.” He blows on his tea, staring into the dark liquid, and Y/N follows suit. “To put it simply, they’re mistakes. A failed attempt to continue the Avatar cycle because the Avatar at the time doesn’t actually die.”
Y/N’s brows draw together at his words, a mistake? She decides that’s a lovely way to regard herself as she speaks, “the Avatar said he was frozen in an iceberg all that time he was gone.” Iroh doesn’t question how she attained this information, simply nodding along to her words, “would that qualify as near-death?” Aang had referred to it as a state of hibernation, and Y/N wondered if this could explain her existence. Regardless, this meant that she wasn’t the Avatar, or an Avatar. She was a mistake. If Y/N had to guess, she wasn’t capable of bending Earth, and given how long the Avatar had been in his state of hibernation, that’s the only reason she was capable of bending three elements of four in the first place.
“Yes, I believe it would.” His eyes fell onto the small circular window of his room, looking outside it at the crashing waves. “There are likely several dualbenders out there. Or...” Iroh paused, likely considering his next words as he turned back to Y/N, “an incredibly powerful one.” Y/N couldn’t help but curse Iroh for his mysterious way with words, though he likely knew nothing of her little secret, it sure felt like he did as his eyes pierced into her very soul. 
“Interesting.” Y/N said, trying to seem disinterested, sipping her tea nonchalantly. 
Iroh raised a brow, “speaking of the Avatar. What are you going to do now that we’ve actually found him?” Y/N wanted to laugh at this statement, nobody had expected to actually find the Avatar when they set out on this trip. 
“What do you mean?” She asked, tilting her head at him in confusion.
Exhaling deeply, Iroh sighed, “should my nephew successfully bring the Avatar back to the Fire Nation, you’re going to a have a problem.” Understanding washed over her as she met Iroh’s eyes.
Y/N’s face darkened at his comment, “I’ve tried to convince him not to go back, to abandon this.” 
“But he refused.” Iroh said knowingly, his nephew was certainly set in his ways. Regardless of how many times both Iroh and Y/N had broached the topic of giving up on the search for the Avatar, he’d always rejected the possibility. Though Y/N had never managed to actually have a discussion with him about it until today since she never thought that they’d see the day that they actually found the Avatar and had a chance to go home. She thought she had time. 
Iroh shook his head, “Y/N, you need to tell him.”
Her timeline had just been moved up. 
Scowling at the reminder, Y/N turned to Iroh, “I don’t regret it.” She affirms, placing her tea down to face him, she says this mainly to convince herself, not Iroh. Though she appreciates him and all that he has done, confrontations like these are less than favorable. 
With a shrug, Iroh replies, “I didn’t ask if you did.” 
“You didn’t need to.” Y/N grumbled, her mood souring. This day had been horrid thus far, and Iroh was not helping. 
Picking up her up to take another sip of her tea, Y/N jumped at the door slamming open, exhaling deeply in an attempt to calm herself. She already knew who it was, only one person on the ship had that bad habit. 
“Uncle, I need-” Zuko paused upon noticing Y/N.
“Thank you for the tea, Iroh.” Y/N spoke with a tight lipped smile, before giving Zuko an empty look and sitting up, “I was just leaving. Have fun.” Stepping past Zuko, Y/N contemplates bumping shoulders with him, but ultimately decides against the petty action as she gently closes the door behind her. 
She doesn’t notice the way Zuko reaches out for her as she exits, or the way he groans in annoyance as he brings his hands to his face. 
Iroh gave the young prince a look, “what did you do?” He asks, putting away Y/N’s cup of tea, and bringing an empty cup down for Zuko as he gestured to the now empty spot in front of him.
“Hey, it wasn’t just me!” Zuko exclaimed, plopping down on the floor across from his Uncle, watching him pour a cup of tea before taking it begrudgingly. 
Iroh hummed in response, “then it sounds like you need to have a conversation with Y/N. Not me.” He pointed out. It wasn’t the first time they’d both come to him after a fight, Iroh was aware of the bond the two shared, and the mutual denial of how extensive it was. But recently, things seemed to have changed, and he wasn’t sure if it was for the better or not. 
Zuko scoffed, sipping his tea, “she’s being mean.” He almost scowled at how childish his words sounded, but her reference to his father had caught him off guard. Then again, he’d insinuated that she didn’t care, even though she had traveled the world in search of someone they thought didn’t exist.
Okay, they’d both said things they regretted. 
Maybe Zuko was right, maybe Y/N was being mean, but that was mainly because she had bigger problems than capturing the Avatar, Zuko only knew about... some of those problems. 
Entering her room, Y/N sighed, looking around to see it was now clean. Likely a courtesy of Zuko. Actions speak louder than words, and Zuko wouldn’t be the one to apologize verbally, she knew that much. Making her way to her bed, Y/N collapsed into it, this day had been longer than she’d expected. 
Sleep sounded nice right about now.
Y/N opened her eyes to see she was in the air, rain pouring violently down onto the saddle she was seated in. Thunder rattled above her, and she could see a flash of lightning strike down into the water, spinning around, she noticed that all she could see for miles was water, the ocean seemed endless.
Moving to look over the saddle, Y/N saw fur, quickly realizing that she was on Aang’s Sky Bison, her mouth gaped open in shock, turning to the front of the animal where a panicked Avatar sat, attempting to steer the creature to safety. 
Scrambling towards the front of the Sky Bison to try and speak with Aang, Y/N extended her hand, only to see that she wasn’t wearing traditional Fire Nation clothing, instead her clothes left her arms exposed. A tattoo of two dragons snaking around her arm, one colored white and the other colored black, the image leaving Y/N’s brows furrowing in confusion.
She didn’t have a tattoo. 
Shaking off the confusion, she quickly realized there were bigger problems at hand than a mysterious tattoo before grabbing Aang’s shoulder. He turned to look back at her, eyes red due to the tears streaming down his face and mixing with the water pouring down on them, panic clear in his face, though his eyes seemed to widen in shock at the sight of her. 
Y/N wondered who would’ve spoke first had they not begun to fall towards the water, quickly getting sucked in by the current. Sstruggled to keep control of her body, and though her vision was blurry, and her eyes stung due to the sea water, she could make out Aang and the Sky Bison in the water, swimming towards them despite the burning sensation in her lungs. 
She reached for him, preparing to swim upwards as quickly as she could to ensure they both survived, but he began to glow, causing her to falter. Though Y/N quickly realized she had no choice but to grab him or they’d both die, and her hand shot out to grab his arm. 
Once she’d made contact with her, the tattoo snaking up her arm began to glow as well, and she felt panic flood her.
Everything went white as they were encased in ice.
Shooting up from her bed, Y/N gasped out for air, as though she’d actually been drowning, her hand coming to her neck. The shock of the dream almost distracted her from the rapid series of knocks coming from her door, her head whipping towards it as she blinked, once, twice, before sitting up from her bed and shakily making her way towards it. Y/N opened the door, to see Zuko’s hand preparing to ram against her face now that the door no longer stood in his way, along with several other crew members standing behind him.
They were all in sleepwear, and Y/N suddenly realized she’d fell asleep in her Fire Nation armor, looking to them for answers as to why they’d gathered in front of her door. There was a panicked look on Zuko’s face as one of the crew members that had noticed her confusion explained awkwardly, “you were screaming, Miss L/N.” 
Oh. 
Y/N let out a small laugh of embarrassment, her hand coming to her neck, “sorry about that guys. Bad dream.” She looked away from them, trying to determine what to say next.
Zuko spoke first, turning back to the crew, “you heard her.” When they did nothing, he continued, more frustrated, “leave!” He exclaimed, as though it was obvious, and the crew members that were there suddenly nodded rapidly, saluting the two of them before returning to their quarters.
Zuko turned back to Y/N, his face red as he sighed, “are you okay?” He grumbled out. 
Y/N nodded slowly, bringing her arm up as she recalled the tattoo from her dreams, sliding up the sleeve to see that her arm remained free of a tattoo.
It was just a dream.
“Yeah.” She mumbled, inhaling deeply. “Sorry to wake you.”
He’s still staring at her as he repeats, “you were screaming.” 
“Apparently.” Comes her response, but looking at him, Y/N realizes he was more worried than he’d let on. “You wanna come in?” She asks, opening her door wider.
Wordlessly, he enters, slipping past her and into the room. Zuko immediately looks to her bed, the sheets are messily tossed across it, spilling onto the floor. Some of her pillows had also found their way onto the floor as well. The thin layer of frost that coats her wall reminds Y/N of what Aang had told her earlier.
He’d gone into a state of hibernation within an iceberg, after a storm.
She had just witnessed the day the Avatar went missing. In her dreams. Or maybe it wasn’t her dreams, how could she dream such a thing up, and so vividly? 
It felt like she had been there.
Y/N realized her list of problems was growing rather rapidly at this point as she looked up at Zuko, who had already been staring at her, opening and closing his mouth as he searched for the best words before he finally said, “you wanna talk about it?”
He’d never been good at comfort, Y/N knew this, and the fact that he was even offering brought on a new wave of emotions for Y/N as she extended her arms outward, hoping he’d understand.
Zuko’s cheeks flushed, and he made his way towards her, allowing Y/N to wrap her arms around his neck as his came around her waist. He was stiff in the hug, and Y/N wasn’t shocked by this, though she was shocked he agreed to a hug in the first place.
She found comfort in the warmth of his arms as she spoke, “I’m fine.” 
And maybe those words provided comfort for the both of them.
But her mind was swirling with thoughts, and Y/N can’t help but feel distressed as she realizes her list of problems won’t stop growing. She’d have to deal with mastering Airbending now, though the entire culture was wiped out, and most valuable artifacts had long since been stolen from the Air Temples and sold for who knew how much. The only other person who could teach her Airbending was the enemy, and someone she’d have to chase down.
That someone being Aang, who she appeared to have some odd connection with, one that Y/N couldn’t understand at all. For some reason, his past was appearing in her head, and she didn’t know what to do about it.
Then there was the fact that she might have to worry about returning to the Fire Nation should they actually manage to capture Aang, years ahead of schedule. And if they did return to the Fire Nation, Y/N would have a lot of explaining to do. Even if Y/N wouldn’t die at the hands of the Fire Lord, she might die by Zuko’s hand instead.
Her final problem was Zuko. 
Yeah. He was a big problem. In more ways than one.
Y/N was only reminded of this fact as she was practically dragged out of bed the following morning to help handle the ship repairs that were very necessary given how much damage the ship had taken during the skirmish with the Avatar. Zuko had barged into her room, and Y/N wondered when he left last night, as he was now fully dressed and the sun was out. Neither of them mentioned this though, and nobody on board mentioned her little incident, thankfully. Though Y/N had a feeling that was because Zuko had threatened them, she didn’t approve of this possibility, but for once, she was grateful for it. 
With a sigh, she descended down the ramp of the ship, heading towards Iroh. Y/N couldn’t help but feel worried that Zuko wasn’t in sight, he had a tendency to make poor decisions, considering the fact that Y/N was pretty much his impulse control. 
“Good morning, Y/N.” Iroh greeted, beaming at her. “Lovely day isn’t it?”
Thus far, her day had gone pretty bad, considering she had woken up screaming, but Y/N nodded in agreement nonetheless, “yeah. This port seems to have a lot to offer. I might go shopping a bit.” Though this didn’t sound very ideal as she recalled what had happened the last time she’d visited a port market. Being held at knife point was not one of her favorite memories, nor was the fear that had swallowed her whole that day for several reasons.
Y/N had tried to avoid markets since then. 
“Sounds like a good idea.” Comes a voice from beside her, in the corner of her eye Y/N can make out the figure of someone in Fire Nation garments. Turning, she quickly realizes who it is. General Zhao, one of the higher ranking members within the Fire Nation.
Y/N hated him.
He made his way over to her and Iroh, and bowed his head to the older man, “the Dragon of the West. An honor to meet you.” Though, as he speaks these words, Y/N has a feeling that he doesn’t truly mean them, given his rather condescending tone. Iroh regards him with a more respectful tone, his brow raised on the man’s sudden appearance.
Maybe murder is the answer.
General Zhao turned to her, “Miss L/N, correct?” 
Y/N nodded, a tight lipped smile on her face, “yes. You’re General Zhao, no?”
He returned her smile, which she suspected was as fake as hers, before responding, “that would be me. I believe I recall your strategies helping us win a few battles.”
“Actually, her strategies have helped the Fire Nation win dozens.” Y/N sighs as she realizes Zuko has arrived, and the look on the General’s face makes her wonder what he’s hiding. “Y/N is a valuable asset.” 
The General raises a brow at Zuko’s words, “then why isn’t she in the famed War Room at the palace?” 
It’s a silent reference to Zuko’s banishment, and everyone knows it. “As Prince Zuko’s right hand, I’ve joined him in the...” Y/N faked a grimace as she tried to diffuse the situation, “unsuccessful hunt for the Avatar.” 
This seems to satisfy the General, the fact that Zuko has failed, but Y/N had a feeling Zuko was glad she had lied in regards to the Avatar as his hand comes to the small of her back. “If you’ll be excusing us, we have repairs to tend to.” 
“Yes.. might I ask what could have caused that damage?” 
Y/N was starting to wonder if she should write out an actual list of excuses, such a thing would be helpful for moments like this, “we ran into a glacier in the South Pole.” Zuko explained nonchalantly.
“Why don’t you join me on my ship while you wait? We could have a nice cup of tea.” The General suggested, though Y/N already knew he was baiting both Zuko and Iroh.
The way Iroh lit up at the mention of tea was rather obvious, and he quickly exclaimed,  “sounds like a wonderful idea!” Though Y/N appreciated the action, since Zuko was acting rather suspicious. 
Y/N wasn’t shocked when the General found out they’d discovered the Avatar, and she wasn’t shocked when Zuko challenged him to an Agni Kai, just disappointed. But Y/N was definitely angry when her own name was mentioned in the Agni Kai.
The two stood across from each other as General Zhao spoke, “when I win, I will be taking Miss L/N, and the rest of your crew. Along with any information you have in regards to the Avatar.” 
If looks could kill, Y/N would’ve ended the lives of both the General and Zuko as she glared at them, though her attention was mostly on Zuko, who stood in front of her. “You can’t just bet me like I’m some sort of object.” She hissed at him, “if you lose-”
“I’m not losing you.” He responded, and Y/N doesn’t miss the way his cheeks flush as he clears his throat when he realizes what the sentence sounds like. Y/N found it funny that he still found time to be embarrassed despite the violent situation at hand. “Or the crew.” He adds, though the look from his Uncle causes him to look away.
Y/N scoffs in response, trying to ignore the burning in her own cheeks, “I’ll kill you if he doesn’t.” She grumbles, leaning against the railing of the ship. But it’s an empty threat, they both know this, they also both know that Y/N is very capable of killing him. 
When the fight begins. Y/N wouldn’t deny that she was shocked when she’d actually witnessed how much Zuko had improved in the past few years, under Iroh’s guidance. Though the General was certainly talented, Zuko skillfully dodged his blasts of fire, leaving Y/N to wonder how much Zuko could’ve possessed had he always been under Iroh’s charge.
Life would’ve been very different.
It doesn’t last as long as she anticipated, and Y/N wouldn’t deny that she didn’t think the odds were in Zuko’s favor, even as he dealt the final strike. Y/N was sure Iroh was practically beaming with pride as he watched his nephew win the Agni Kai, that and since he’d spared Zhao’s life.
She certainly wouldn’t have. 
And the way he turns around to strike Zuko, even after losing, makes Y/N wish she had been the one in the Agni Kai in the first place as she steps in front of the blast. She parts her hands, directing the fire in opposite directions before a sword of fire is clear in her hands, the tip held against the General’s throat. Iroh had pushed Zuko behind him protectively, and Y/N stared down Zhao, though she can’t see Zuko, she can practically feel his anxiety.
The General has been bested, and yet he’s grinning at her as he says, “so you are as good as they say.”
Y/N decides she doesn’t really want to know what they say as she responds, “stay down. Or you’re dead.” The sword of fire dissipates into the air, and Y/N begins to walk towards Zuko and Iroh.
“Your talent is being wasted.” He calls out as she leaves, but Y/N ignored him, smacking Zuko upside the head as she moves ahead of him, though she remains alert. 
Zuko can’t help but feel as though the man is right.
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A/N: everytime i start a multipart fic i always gotta write a really short part one because its like the pilot but then part two is like hi im too many words
anyways i hope you all enjoyed it! im trying here lol its 4AM, who needs sleep, i do my best work sleep deprived.
PART 3
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taglists[lmk if you want to be added or removed via comments or askbox]
home: @toobsessedsstuff​ @x-a-delama-x​ @haylaansmi​ @a-hopeless-fan​ @danicalifxrnia
zuko: @outerxorbit​ @shawni-h​ @lil-lex1​ @boxofteenageideas​ @izzieserra​ @eridanuswave​ @bigbuckyenergy​ @celamoon​ @savemesteeb @shephard17895​ @ijustwannabecanadian​
atla: @bubblebars​ @jada-cleo​ @Art-flirt @the-deli-meat
579 notes · View notes
Note
I know the purple lion/palladin would be amazing, but Lotor as black palladin? That would be very sexy of him. Imagine Black choosing him after Zarkon stolen him/died. The bayard changed for him during blood duel. Your headcanons?
Hi, anon! Thanks for the note! Yeah, it seems like Black Lion at least acknowledged Lotor in some way, for him to use that bayard. Even if that were a fluke/one-time thing, then Lotor, as a prince known for fighting alongside his soldiers in battle, commanding generals of varying personalities, being an expert pilot, and being charismatic enough to win enemies to his side, seems to have a lot of leadership qualities that Black Lion would look for.
I could see Black Lion choosing Lotor after defeating his father, but I also wonder if maybe another musical lions event would happen at an earlier time that was critical for Keith as well?
I started thinking about headcanons for a possible Black Paladin Lotor VLD remix…and ahh, got a little carried away into basically writing a story outline for it, haha:
In this AU, Keith’s reluctance to lead and his increasing interest in Blade of Marmora, along with Shiro’s clone being contaminated by Haggar’s magic, would perhaps establish why Black Lion seeks out Lotor and searches his heart as a candidate to begin with.
It could happen in a revised ending to s4, where maybe Lotor’s move to stop Keith from sacrificing himself to save others is a little more harrowing. Like say in the attempt, Keith still gets injured and Lotor’s ship is destroyed, and Zarkon’s forces are pounding down on them. So Lotor boards Black Lion in a desperate attempt to save them both from his father. Black Lion acknowledges Lotor has an interest in Saving the Whole™ in a way that Keith hadn’t grown to understand yet, so it opens its controls to him. The battle continues with Lotor shakingly at Black Lion’s controls, in the lead of Team Voltron.
Bonus if during this entire switch, the consoles to all of the Lions begin to glow brighter, because on the astral plane, the Lions are in communication with Black Lion, deliberating on the decision to accept Lotor as the new Black Paladin. They accept after Black Lion shows them that it will connect with Lotor and make him understand things too. The consoles in the Lions then return to normal, and Lotor’s spirit is locked in on the astral plane, which he feels.
Double bonus points if in this scenario, Keith is fully aware of what’s happening (maybe he just has a broken arm and leg or something), and he’s in a frazzle, trying to tell Lotor how to use the controls to get them out of there. And Lotor snaps back, also in a frazzle, “Don’t tell me how to fly.”
Triple bonus point if the other paladins are kinda freaking out that Lotor just took control of Black Lion, and that Black Lion accepted it.
“If you want to survive to argue with me, paladins of Voltron,” Lotor calls roughly through the controls, “then fight with me now against my father.”
Hunk is squeaking in shock and executive dysfunction. Pidge is flailing like, “Uh, guys??? Can he just do that??” Lance is sputtering because “Excuse me, why is HE the Black Paladin now?” Allura is very, very silent. Her father had connected her life-force to Voltron—so perhaps she felt the Lions’ debate on the astral plane. She very quietly moves to say, “Keith is injured, and we can’t lose Voltron to Zarkon. This is our only option for now.” And she demands to Lotor, “Black Lion has accepted you, which means it—” her face ticks—“trusts you in some way to get us out of here. And we’re taking on fire. We need a unified response.”  
Coran is flailing in the background on the Castle ship. Shiro is eyes narrowed, leaning forward in curiosity about this son of Zarkon.
Haggar is watching through Shiro, in shock.
Lotor reverts to his training, offering simple commands to push back his father’s forces and have the Voltron Lions rendezvous back at the Castle ship for further discussion.
Lotor had no idea how deep the well of power was within Voltron. Like, he knew this thing was a beast of a war machine, but he had no idea it was quite like this.
Lotor tiredly boards the Castle of Lions, helping a limping Keith out of Black Lion. The sight makes Hunk and Pidge hesitant to throw Lotor into the Tube of Shame. Lance and Shiro move to help Keith, who’s trying to awkwardly brush off that he just tried to commit suicide and that he has a broken arm and several sprains. Shenanigans abound.
Allura walks up to Lotor, eyeing him hard. He eyes her back. (Is this the first time he’s really seen Allura???). Bonus if he blushes holding her gaze. Just a lil.
Allura moves to demand of Lotor, “How did you manage to convince Black Lion to give you control? What did you see? What did it tell you?”
Lotor admits he intended to board Black Lion to plea for his life in exchange for information about his father, who clearly despises him. Black Lion responding to him in such a way was a complete surprise to him as well.
Keith is meanwhile getting bandaged up and is leaning against Black Lion’s paw. He’s kinda relieved he doesn’t feel the leadership bond. But he’s also relieved that Black Lion still sends him positive waves. Black Lion simply knows his heart is elsewhere and that he is a good Blade, in the way of his mother. And good leaders know resources work best where they’re happiest/most productive. Black Lion knows they will see lots of Keith yet.
Lotor sighs and offers himself up for incarceration and interrogation for how to undo the bond with Black Lion. He didn’t want to be like his father, anyway.
The fact that he rejects the legacy of his father makes Allura hesitate. She knows Black Lion wouldn’t choose someone it couldn’t trust or teach, and that its own ears had grown deaf to Zarkon. Instead of incarcerating him, Allura does demand that Lotor live up to Black Lion’s expectations, and that he accept the Castle scanning him for potential bugs or possible security breaches. Also, that he undergo the same tests she put the paladins through originally.
Black Lion often shows Lotor visions of the past—of a version of his father who once did great and protective things for the galaxy. Things that Lotor has dreamed of being able to do, and that he can do through Voltron. Lotor tries to understand what all went so wrong with his father and how he might have some things in common with this pre-corrupted version of Zarkon. He panics when he realizes that Haggar is actually a corrupted form of his true mother, and he tries to deny it.
Haggar, meanwhile, has not yet recalled her life as Honerva. She knows Voltron is still the key to opening the rift…or else that she can do something with the comet Lotor had started building ships out of…
Season 4 ends/Season 5 begins with Keith temporarily in the healing pod, and Lotor picking up the armor of the Black Paladin. There might be some form of Lion musical chairs again, unless Keith convinces Lance that being someone’s right hand also means working to ensure that the leader has his head on straight. Which, honestly, Lance might be a little over the top, but he is good at questioning stuff and was shown in s3 to admirably pick up slack where Keith flailed.
Bonus points if Lance activates that Altean broadsword again during Lotor’s training and fights him, with Lotor praising his tenacity while also schooling him on technique and strategy. This reiterates Black Lion’s judgement in naming him Black Paladin and results in Lance tentatively accepting Lotor as Black Paladin. Lotor perhaps realizes that some of the animosity has nothing to do with lions and mostly to do with Lance’s interest in Allura. He wins some favor with Lance by offering to teach him the art of the sword.
Lotor ends up sleeping in Black Lion often because he doesn’t quite trust the paladins either. Not yet. He blushies if he ends up accidentally running into a pajama-clad Allura in the middle of the night. Realizes awkwardly that the paladins call his father The Turtle, and that he himself is also afraid to take off his armored shell. Which means he is a little more like his father than he thought. But he doesn’t feel safe enough to take his armor off yet with the paladins around….until he realizes that they are not wearing armor around him at all.
Keith is easily healed in the Altean healing pod and takes up his position in the Blades full-time. The Blades and Team Voltron get closer than ever, working together most days to take down strategic Galran outposts.
Kolivan interrogates Lotor at least once.  
Hunk is probably the most diplomatic with Lotor during the initial integration phase. He asks questions about Lotor and what it was like growing up as Zarkon’s son. Lotor trusts Hunk’s opinion on most things, especially when it comes to the sensibilities of other Voltron Coalition allies. But he does rely on Hunk to help him know what’s good food, too.
The colony plot doesn’t exist in this AU, but I could see a version where maybe past!Lotor tried to help out Alteans like Bandor escaping his father’s genocides—and that the attempt to help them escape didn’t go so well. So Lotor clings hard to the concept of Black Lion giving him the chance to protect people again. Maybe in this remix, Pidge helps Lotor to hack into top-secret Galran systems that Zarkon had blocked him from. It creates the opportunity for Team Voltron to break out various Altean prisoners from Zarkon/Haggar’s clutches, who were either being harvested or forced to work for the empire in secret locations. Bonus points if Bandor was one of those prisoners who gets freed and lives to reunite with his long-lost sister. The s5 arc would therefore in part be the Voltron coalition working to actually establish a true Altean colony based off the number of prisoners they free. Allura is breaking down in happy tears that she and Coran and Lotor aren’t the only ones left.
Lotor starts piecing together that Haggar was searching all of these Alteans for information about a place called Oriande. He comes to realize that it’s a real place and encourages Team Voltron that they have to get there before Haggar does.
Lotor gets his cat back somehow. Kova probably tries to chase Allura’s mice around, resulting in shenanigans and at least one overturned table and a food goo fight. Bonus points if it ends with the mice cuddling up to Kova for warm sleepy time.
Keith’s space wolf he picks up during a Blades mission, Kosmo, ends up chasing Kova at least once.
Kova has very odd diet demands that occasionally make Team Voltron go on a side adventure to look for something. Lotor had gotten used to his generals doing this for so long but enjoys trips to the Space Mall to find toys for his kitty.
Coran and Krolia tend to mother-hen a bit more over Team Voltron during this time. Lotor finds better parental figures / role models in them. Lotor might open up to them about Haggar being Honerva.
Dayak comes to visit at least once, upset that Lotor has turned his head from the position of emperor of the Galra. She might be how Lotor gets his cat back. Dayak thinks Team Voltron is beneath Lotor but sticks around because her ultimate loyalties are to Lotor.
Lance gets Lotor into video games.
Lotor sometimes assists Keith with understanding certain odd things the Blades do as Galrans, which helps Keith rise in ranks there and continue to provide cavalry support to the Voltron Coalition.
Allura and Lotor both play in Monsters and Mana. Lotor is a bard, dumps all of his points into charisma just to see what chaos does to strategy. Keith joins in when he can, plays a princess because why not.
Lotor likes Shiro but feels there is something deeply wrong with him. He keeps information about Oriande away from Shiro, but the trip to Oriande reveals at least its location to Shiro and Haggar.
Haggar successfully reaches Oriande and passes the trials, inheriting deep knowledge. But the ancestors are silent with her and unwelcoming. Unperturbed, she then rebuilds Lotor’s fallen/abandoned ships with the comet ore, realizing how to build an anti-Voltron (the Sincline mecha). Her goal is a bigger and better mecha for Zarkon to pilot once and for all against Voltron. Because they don’t need Voltron anymore.
Being Black Paladin doesn’t mean Lotor immediately wins his way in Oriande. But he still has the Mark of the Chosen and determines that he will one day go back to finish the trials so that he can experience being connected with the ancestors.
Lotor had rather pleasantly forgotten about his old ships until he sees his designs in the risen Sincline during a battle with Zarkon. He is incredibly incensed that his father slandered his ships’ original paintjob. The paintjob honestly bothers him more for a time than the concept that Zarkon has rift technology, but he soon gets his priorities straight.
Team Voltron suffers a significant loss to Zarkon/Haggar tag-teaming Sincline. Lotor’s parents have also begun to reopen the rift, which is destroying planets and the very fabric of reality.
The Blades are called in to help.
Because Sincline is in part Lotor’s creation, the mecha has a weakness. Lotor is able to connect with it long enough to deflect some of Zarkon’s commands for it. It’s possible that a Haggar-contaminated Shiro activates at this time to try taking Black Lion back over, or to specifically unseat/injure Lotor.
Cue a major face-off again between Haggar and Allura, with Keith moving in to try and stop Shiro while Lotor desperately tries to maintain hold of Black Lion and Sincline. The entire Team Voltron spiritually works together to decouple Shiro from Haggar and to hold off Sincline long enough for other allies to arrive as backup.
Lotor’s old generals switch sides and end up helping Keith and the Blades.
Zarkon and Haggar flee, realizing that Sincline has a weakness they did not expect. A weakness they have to kill, because they’ve sensed that Lotor can and will kill them to stop them.
Haggar is unsettled because she saw in Lotor’s memories that she was actually his mother—and that he is genuinely disgusted by Haggar. This awakens a part of her entirely that not even the rift creatures/dark entities can fight.
In a symmetry to revised s3, Keith takes controls of Black Lion—which still accepts him because he’s worthy of it—to help an injured Lotor pilot to safety.
Team Voltron reconvenes in the middle of a fairly damaged galaxy, building a plan to take down Sincline before it can try opening any more rifts.
Zarkon demands that Haggar poison Sincline entirely against Lotor.
Haggar, who realizes she’s actually Honerva, starts to have significant breakdowns in trying to fulfill Zarkon’s wishes, who is her husband trying to kill her son. The more she remembers of Honerva, the stronger and more solid she becomes about who she is and how dark entities have deceived/manipulated her worst aspects. She begins to understand why the Altean ancestors had been silent with her.
Honerva realizes that Zarkon is too strongly controlled by rift creatures/dark entities, but that she’s also ruined her own chances of creating a backdoor in Sincline. Zarkon turns against her upon discovering she is no longer like him. He reaffirms that he will kill his own son to achieve supremacy, and that he will kill Haggar too if she defies him.
Honerva desperately tries to run away.  
Meanwhile, Lotor acknowledges that Shiro is perhaps in a perfect position to slip past Sincline’s defenses—having had Haggar’s magic on him and her technology—and take over the ship from the inside out.
Cue an epic battle where Zarkon loses, and where Team Voltron and Lotor win because they believe in the power of teamwork and strength in unity. This results in a battered Voltron still standing, with a battered Sincline being piloted by Shiro, who has successfully connected with Sincline. In this AU, Shiro is stronger than ever in fighting off the darkness, in a reversal to his arc as Haggar’s puppet.
Sincline has been growing increasingly sentient and recognizes Shiro as the Galra’s Champion. Sincline accepts Shiro’s command to stand down.  
Even with Zarkon killed, the rifts he opened are beginning to expand to destroy worlds, and Allura is trying to hold it off with the spiritual help of her fellow paladins.
A secondary, mysterious source kicks in to help her heal the rifts.
It’s Honerva, somewhere, trying to undo what she helped create.
Lotor remains Black Paladin post-battle and helps to redesign Sincline as part of a Defender Fleet. He helps the universe pick up the pieces as everyone limps along together toward a new era of peace and undoing the evils of the empire.
The Galra, recognizing Lotor as Zarkon’s son and as the inheritor of Black Lion, ask if he would be their new leader.
Lotor is tempted because he has always wanted the validation of such a title. But he already has a home with his found family—with the Fleet, where for once he feels like he’s where he is meant to be.
Lotor functions as Emperor Pro Tem to help ensure order through the next Kral Zera, backing Kolivan as the best possible leader. Which also opens up the Blade of Marmora as needing a new leader….which Keith has been training for…
Some Galra are disappointed that the reign of Zarkon’s lineage will be broken. But Lotor is in fact peaceful about it. He knows he’s going to be quite busy exploring and helping to defend the universe from whatever else may come, alongside the people who came to accept him as family.
He still ends up with an ambassadorial/very high official title within Galran government, gaining a greater respect for Kolivan and the ways the Blades work to unite the Galra under what their culture was before it got hijacked by Zarkon.
Keith’s actions in the final battle result in everyone else agreeing that he has achieved a level of leadership that is perfect for the Blades. Team Voltron attend the ceremony where he is named a Commander.
Lotor’s old generals receive honors and become official members of the Blades as well.
Lotor connects deeply with Allura and the Altean colony, and spends time on Earth learning about the human culture of his fellow paladins. He gets to explore, just like he always wanted to do. Team Voltron works in the aftermath of battle to assist in stamping out the Fires of Purification rebellion, rebuilding fallen worlds and their cultures, and protecting against dangerous space anomalies.
Black Lion is a happy Lion, keeping in contact with not just Keith, but also Sincline and by proxy the healed Shiro as well, as part of its own expanded Fleet. Black Lion recognizes it was built originally to protect just a galaxy—and it needs a greater Fleet for a much larger universe, working in harmony with more leaders. Black Lion can evolve and grow too, to recognize that Voltron really is stronger when it works together with others.
Lotor consistently spends quality bonding time alone with Black Lion—not because he doesn’t trust his expanded family. But because Black Lion was actually his first true friend who believed in him.
Black Lion enjoys getting washed and scrubbed. Lotor is very insistent that Black Lion be clean and sparkle like new at all times, because he recognizes he is a tenant of Black Lion and that Kova has a tendency to shed, and—“Kova, get down from the console! How many times—?”
The end!
Oh my god, this post got so long. I’m so sorry, anon. I really ran away with this prompt, oof. Thanks again for the note!
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*arrives with a cup of hot cocoa instead of coffee* oh hey, you know you guys have been waiting long enough. Here’s the captain. Just ignore the Mumbo in the background having a crisis
@petrichormeraki
Grian regretted going through the portal almost immediately as a wave of nausea hit him. “Are you okay mister grain?” he gave a weak laugh at Crumb already figuring out that nickname.
“Yeah, just didn’t expect this place to be so charged with Vault God energy. Oof, no wonder I can’t remember anything. Can you try sending a message to Tommy?”
“Ye ye ye!” Crumb replied before tapping away at her own communicator. She stopped, jumping as someone wearing a white mask with a black symbol on it landed in front of them.
“Heyyyy!” Grian pointed finger guns at the Watcher that landed in front of him.
“Xelqua. What are you doing here?”
Grian frowned, recognizing the voice. “Ugh, Lynn… Look, I’m just here for my family and a friend of Tommy’s. I didn’t know it was going to be this bad.” He fumbled as Lynn threw an identical mask to the one she was wearing to him. He put it on and felt relief as it helped stabilize him a bit, though he could feel it activating his Watcher powers further. “If you know where they are, I can be on my way.”
“Fine, try not to take too long.” She gave Grian some directions before leaving.
Grian went to pick up Crumb, but found her looking a little scared. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Well, when me and Tubbox was getting flown away by the big bird, it made a portal dat looks like dat.” She pointed at Grian’s mask.
“Oh, yeah that bird was probably me. It was very much on accident though as you can see that is not happening this time.”
Crumb stared at him, half surprised, half skeptical, but mostly confused. “Are you a shape shifter like me den?”
Grian chuckled. “Nope, just an avian. Okay maybe not just. I was born an avian and then made into a Watcher, and to show off power they get wicked cool forms that sort of reflect who they are. Since a good number of Watchers are human based in origin, they basically turn into what people think of as angels. That’s… actually probably where those came from.” Grian shrugged. “Eh, who knows, it was who knows how long ago. Let’s just go find your friends.”
When Grian walked into the building Tommy was hiding out in, he got stabbed. He knew that it made sense, but he couldn’t help but look down at the sword. “Ugh, not again.”
His voice seemed to help the others figure out who he was. “Grian?”
“Hi Tommy! Sorry if I scared you. It’s just I kinda need to wear this mask or else I’ll feel sick and drunk at the same time or something.”
“Tommy an’ Tubbox!” Crumb jumped at the pair when she saw them, shifting to a hybrid form midair and then hugging them.
“Crumb!” Tubbo hugged her first. “Are you doing okay?”
“Ye ye ye!”
“Everything should be okay here soon guys. I’ve got some friends who are definitely going to take care of Dream for you guys once and for all. At the same time, I talked and we’re really going to make a permanent connection between here and Hermitcraft so you can visit all the time. Admin duties will be shared between the servers, but X said he won’t step on any toes, it’s just as a precaution.”
Tommy crossed his arms. “And what are you doing about your boyfriend?”
Grian hesitated at the lack of Tommy using Mumbo’s name. “You mean Mumbo? I mean, he’s a disgusting mess after barely sleeping and eating taking care of me, but I’m sure he’ll get better. Unless you’re concerned about how he was after being here, because again, bit of a mess but he’ll be fine.”
“Not going to get upset at me coming back?”
That really made Grian pause. What was Tommy talking about? “What do you mean Tommy?”
Tommy didn’t respond, just getting so angry he could barely say anything, so Tubbo answered for him. “Just before Mumbo left with you, he yelled at Tommy. He sort of said he wished Tommy never showed up in your world.”
Grian frowned. “Well, you’re fine to come back. I’ll make sure he has a stern talking to. Come on, let’s go back to the portal.” Grian then looked over where Techno and Philza were playing a game of… well Grian wasn’t sure, but it looked like some kind of board game. “You can come too if you want.”
Philza shook his head. “No. Whatever Dream did turned Wilbur back into a ghost, so someone showed up and took him away to fix that. We’re going to wait here until he’s back to normal.”
“Oh, alright then. Well, don’t be a stranger or anything. C’mon kids!”
“Hey! I’m not a kid!” Tommy complained, just making Grian ruffle his hair.
“Were it not for the laws of this land, that being you’re literally my brother, I might have adopted you. Also if we maybe had a few more years between us.”
Grian dropped off the trio at Tommy’s tower before flying to Mumbo’s base. He set his mask down on a table and then walked to where Mumbo’s bedroom was, surprised to hear the shower still running as he passed the bathroom. Grian paused and knocked on the door. “Mumbo, when you’re done in there, we need to have a chat. I’ll be waiting by the counter.”
Grian sat down on the ledge in front of the life counter of Mumbo’s base after feeding it an apple. He stared out at the jungle, waiting for Mumbo to arrive. He finally heard the redstone walk up behind him and then started to address him. “Mumbo, look. Tommy told me you-” He turned to look at Mumbo who was dripping wet. It was like someone pushed him into a pool while he was wearing his suit. “Mumbo why are you all wet?”
“You said to take a shower.” Mumbo said like how he currently looked was the most normal thing in the world.
“I didn’t mean in your clothes! Oh my god, go get changed!”
“I thought you wanted to talk?”
“We can do that after you’re dry!”
Mumbo was quiet before speaking again. “You know I don’t really have another suit.”
“You have your bamboo one!”
Again, he was quiet for a worryingly long time before he just sat down next to Grian. “Can we just talk and get this over with?”
Grian was reluctant and nodded. “Tommy said you yelled at him.”
“I know… I was upset. A lot of things had just happened and with everyone with amnesia, I was really the only one who was able to do much. And Dream had messed with you so I was angry. I barely got to sleep, and we had just had a war with that guy and we were all over the place and I just sort of… lost it.” Mumbo started to lean on Grian’s shoulder, but quickly stopped himself. “Through all this, you’ve been focused a lot on Tommy and your family, and everything else, but you weren’t really…”
“Oh Mumbo. Why didn’t you say anything?” Grian realized what Mumbo meant.
“Well, I sort of knew Tommy was sort of the priority. Plus you had a lot on your plate. I didn’t want to put more on there.”
Grian nuzzled against Mumbo’s chest, not noticing how he stiffened up. “Mumbo, I’m not going to stop loving you. I’m just going to have love for my family too. You know how we hermits need to be there for each other, and Tommy is a hermit too.”
“Yeah…”
When their comms buzzed, Mumbo gave a small sigh as Grian sat up to look at the message. He saw there were actually a few he had missed and laughed a little at them. “Looks like Crumb’s dad is looking for her but he was told he’s at my mansion. I’m going to fly over there and take him to Tommy’s tower since that’s where I left them. If you want we can talk more later.”
“Go deal with them first. And can you tell Tommy what I said?”
Grian nodded and then flew off to his mansion. He quickly arrived since it wasn’t too far even on foot. “Hellooo? Crumb’s dad? You in here?” He called out before spotting an unfamiliar man. “Oh, hey there. Sorry that Crumb’s not here. She’s actually at Tommy’s tower. I can take you there if you want.” Grian stood there as the man in front of him stayed quiet with his back turned to the avian. “Uh, hello?” He then put a hand on the man’s shoulder.
Sparklez jumped slightly, shocked out of his train of thought before he whirled around and saw Grian.
“Hi! Sorry if I scared you. Crumb’s not here, but I can take you to her.”
“Is… Do you live here?”
Grian nodded. He must not have seen many of the other bases. “Yup! Built the mansion myself. Why?”
Grian’s eyes widened as the man held up a lost child poster. “Where did you get this?”
“Uh, that’s from my old world. The kid’s not mine though. Just sort of-”
Grian was cut off by Sparklez. “I know he’s not your kid. He’s mine!”
“Oh my god you’re the captain.”
“Yeah, I am. People don’t normally call me that.”
Grian just grabbed Jordan’s arm. “No, argh! I mean… Tubbo’s here! Your kid is here! They’re with Crumb and Tommy right now.”
“You mean… that kid… with the green shirt, red bandana. That’s him? The whole time that was him?”
“Oh great, looks like you’ve seen him already. That should make things less awkward. Even more of a reason to go over to the tower. Let’s go!” Grian grabbed Sparklez and pulled him over to an ender chest to hand him some spare elytra and rockets. After he had put the wings on, they both got into the air and then flew to the tower.
When they landed, Grian had to hold Jordan back because he looked like he was about to tear the tower apart. “Hey Tommy!” Grian shouted up to the tower. “Are you guys still there?” When the blond called back in affirmation, Grian shouted again. “Can you three come down here? It’s important!”
“Give me a second! I need to grab some more elytra. Hey can you remind me to change the floor 2 elevator to a down tomorrow?”
“We’ll see. Might be busy for us then.”
In a few moments, Tommy was gliding down with Tubbo, Crumb in Tommy’s arms. Crumb was the first to see Sparklez and frowned. “Aw myan… do I have to leave?”
Her dad didn’t answer as he half stumbled towards them and then held Tubbo in a bone crushing hug.
“Ah! What’s going on?” Tubbo, having no context was confused.
Sheepishly, Grian gave the answer. “So remember how you said you went missing when you were little and couldn’t find your dad? I found a missing person’s poster? Well, Crumb’s dad is the one who made that poster… making him your dad too.”
Everything was silent as everyone comprehended the news, Sparklez just holding Tubbo close and not wanting to let go, but finally Tubbo half screamed from being so surprised. “He’s whAT?!”
Mumbo sat in his room, still dripping wet. He knew he could just go sit in front of some lava or stand in the nether for a while if he felt daring, but instead he was just sitting in his room leaving a puddle behind. He wasn’t sure why he set up an ice mirror, but there it was, waiting for him to take his shirt off.
He just stared at himself, trying to will himself to move, but it just wasn’t working. So he tried talking to his mirror self. “Alright Mumbo. Stop acting like a spoon and just look. It’s going to be there. He was lying and Grian seemed fine when he left. They’re supposed to stay forever. A few years won’t do anything to it.”
Still, Mumbo didn’t move, he just kept staring. “Fine, if that’s how we’re going to do it, I’ll just go ahead!” He closed his eyes and took his tie and jacket off. His hands trembled as he got to the buttons of his dress shirt, but then he steeled himself and undid two of them, pulling his left arm out of the sleeve. There was no hiding it now. He would open his eyes and right there, on the skin just under his clavicle, Mumbo would see it.
The redstoner took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking into the mirror. He was staring at his face and now where he should, but it was hard to look away. No, he told himself. He had to look and put this all past him. He shifted his gaze and his heart dropped. It was gone, like it had never been there at all.
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The first to react was Kine.
“Hey~! Water! It’s the sound of water!”
“Where’s the sound coming from?!”
Kirby and co. surveyed the area.
“The tree’s roots!” Kine shouted. “The water's coming out of the tree’s roots!”
From the roots of the Dreamstalk, in the lake, clean water gushed out. Not only the water, but the Dreamstalk itself was changing. The trunk and leaves were dull colors, but, in the blink of an eye, it became a bright green.
“Look!” Kirby yelled. “The Dreamstalk’s all better now!”
“Because Pirka’s heart has been cleared,” Coo said, “the spell’s effects have disappeared. Which means…”
Coo got cut off by a sudden voice.
“Huh? Where am I? Why am I here?...”
It was King Dedede.
Looking as if he had just woken up from sleep, he looked around. Meta Knight was also returning to normal.
“What happened? Why is water flowing out of the roots of-”
Meta Knight looked at the group one by one, and, in the end, stopped on Pirka. He seemed to have pieced together what had happened. He sighed, and picked up his treasured sword Galaxia again.
“It seems that King Dedede and I, possibly, were being controlled. Sorry.”
“What? I don’t remember anything about being controlled!!” King Dedede insisted.
“Don’t you remember?” Rick asked. “You sent me flying with your hammer!!”
“Wait, what?”
King Dedede shifted his focus. His sharp gaze caught Pirka.
“You did this, didn’t you!?!”
“Wait, Dedede!"
Kirby stood in front of the great king and spread his arms out to block him.
“It’s over already! Pirka’s our friend now!”
“What do you mean she’s our friend now!? What an insult to someone as great as myself!!”
“I told you it’s over!!”
“Out of my way, Kirby!!”
King Dedede, looking absolutely furious, swung his hammer. Kirby nimbly dodged.
“Hey, that’s it,” he said, “let’s play tag!”
“Whaat?!”
“King Dedede’s it! Everyone, run!”
Kirby started running. Rick, Gooey, and Pirka ran in different directions.
“Heyyy! This isn’t a game of taaag! I’m getting really mad right now!!”
King Dedede, absolutely furious, chased after Pirka. Pirka was fast, but she was no match for the king, who was making a serious effort. In the blink of an eye, he caught her.
“Get ready, you pesky pixie!”
He was about to squeeze her, but Kirby tackled him.
“That’s enough! Pirka’s it next!”
“Yeah, I know!”
“RUN AWAAAY!” Pirka screamed.
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Kirby started running. Even King Dedede got caught up in the fun and ran.
“Why am I…?” he said. “I shouldn’t be playing stupid games like tag. I’m really mad right now, so-”
As he said that, when Pirka started drawing near, the great king picked up in speed.
“Who would get caught by a loser like you!? Not me!!”
“Waaaait!”
As Pirka chased after the king and Rick, before they knew it, a loud laugh filled the air. Before everyone ran around, the lake had been filling up with more and more water.
“Clean water~!” Kine said. “Listen, Coo, do you think this water’s fine to swim in?”
“Perhaps,” Coo said, “with the shadow cast over Pirka’s heart gone, the Dreamstalk has regained its original power. This water should be pure and unpolluted.”
“Is this the same water that Kirby sucked up~? Are Kirby’s stomach and the Dreamstalk connected? Umm… umm…?”
No matter much he thought about it, it was impossible to understand. Kirby’s stomach was full of mysteries. So, Kine stopped thinking about it and jumped into the lake. As he swiftly swam around, he called out:
“Feels great~! This lakewater is super clean!”
“It appears the situation has been resolved,” Meta Knight said, “I was far from able to help. I was holding everyone back…”
“No,” Coo said, “if you two hadn’t fallen under her control, we would’ve caught Pirka much sooner. If that had happened, Pirka wouldn’t have been able to have a change of heart. In the end, we were very lucky to have struggled.”
“...though I’m hesitant to admit it, that is correct.”
Meta Knight nodded his head, then raised his voice:
“Come, let’s return to land soon.”
Kirby and the others, who heard this, stopped playing tag and gathered.
“Pirka, let’s go together!” Kirby said to Pirka.
“Huh? No, I...”
Pirka shook her head.
“Don’t worry,” Rick said, “of course we’re not gonna spill all the details to everyone. We’ll just tell them that we worked together with you to solve the problem up here.”
“Thanks, but I’m going to return to the village I came from, not Dream Land.”
Pirka looked at everyone.
“I haven’t gone back since I was exiled, but I still want to see everyone there. I must apologize to the children I had controlled. I don’t know if I could ever accept forgiveness, but… this time, I will try to become their friend.”
Pirka’s eyes were brightly sparkling.
“Is that so?”
Kirby nodded his head.
“Well then, farewell, Pirka! But, since we’re your friends, remember to come visit us here in Dream Land sometimes!”
“Thanks. I am truly grateful, Kirby.”
Pirka tightly held Kirby’s hand.
“Goodbye, everyone!”
“Goodbye, Pirka. See you later!”
Pirka spread her transparent wings and took off over the lake.
“Now then,” Meta Knight said, “let us return to the small boat.”
“Okie dokie!”
“Back to the painfully cramped boat again, huh?” King Dedede said as they walked to the small boat. “Great… hmm?”
Noticing Gooey unsteadily walking beside him, Dedede groaned.
“Why are you coming with us? Gooey!”
“Huhhhh?”
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Gooey looked at the king in surprise.
“Because I wanna go home.”
“Didn’t you fly your way here?! You can go back by yourself!”
“Nah. I’m tired after all that fighting.”
“There’s no room for you!”
“There is~!”
“If I say there isn’t, then there isn’t!”
...somehow or other, all seven of them boarded the small boat, getting jam-packed in.
The small boat landed on the shore of the Rainbow Islands. Everyone who had been eagerly waiting for the return of Kirby and the others gathered at once. Captain Vul and the Meta-Knights greet Meta Knight, the first to get down, with cheers of joy.
“Lord Meta Knight! You’re safe!”
“Indeed. The operation was a success,” Meta Knight plainly informed. The Rainbow Islands’ inhabitants, surrounding the small boat, resounded.
“Just as one would expect from Lord Meta Knight!” Captain Vul shouted excitedly. “With Lord Meta Knight’s power, the Rainbow Islands were saved! Everyone should be grateful!”
“No, Captain Vul. It wasn’t my power.”
Meta Knight didn’t seem to want to be thanked, but Captain Vul didn’t understand.
“Oh! Someone as heroic as Lord Meta Knight would never show off his own accomplishments! What modesty! Everyone should follow his example!”
“Aye!”
The Meta-Knights were in high spirits.
“I knew I could count on Lord Meta Knight!”
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t accompany you!”
“I wish I could’ve seen Lord Meta Knight’s efforts!”
“Please let us hear the whole story later!”
“...”
Meta Knight became more silent than usual. After King Dedede got down from the small boat, all the Waddle Dees simultaneously sprung up in celebration.
“Hurraaaay, hurraaay!”
“Hurray for His Majesty!”
Just like Meta Knight, the king had been under Pirka’s control. However, he held no shame about it.
“Of course,” he said, proudly puffing up his chest with pride, “prepare for a barbeque on the beach! Grill the meat and vegetables! Don’t forget the marshmallows! Set up my parasol and beach chair!”
“Yes, Great King!”
Bandana Waddle Dee handed the king his life preserver and sunglasses. The king was in the mood for a vacation.
“Let’s get this party started! A beach party, Dedede-style!” the great king shouted in high spirits, when, suddenly, the area became dark, and then raindrops started falling.
“Wow, rain!” the islanders shouted with joy.
“Hurray! It’s been forever since we’ve gotten rain here!”
Their faces lit up, as they merrily frolicked around in the rain. Kirby, Rick, Kine, Coo, and Gooey got down from the small boat. Pick dashed up to Rick and embraced him.
“Welcome home, Rick! You really did it! It’s raining again!”
“Thanks to your lucky charm!”
Mine, seeming happy, cuddled up to Kine.
“Kine, did you get hurt?”
“I’m A-OK! I did my best for you~!”
“I know. I knew that if anyone could make it rain again, it’d be you!”
Pick and Mine, along with a large number of islanders, crowded around the group.
“Thanks, Kirby,” Pick said, “you saved the Rainbow Islands.”
“Gooey saved your island. We just helped him!” Kirby said. As he did, the islanders started clapping loudly.
“Thanks, Gooey!” they shouted.
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Gooey, who was not very good at being all sunny and radiant, waved his tongue shyly. The rain steadily evolved into a downpour, dampening the dry ground. The once dried-up lakes and rivers filled up with water again. The fish jumped in with great energy. Of course, the only one on the joyous island who had become sulky at this sight was King Dedede.
“Ughhhhhhh…”
His plans of vacation had been ruined.
“Who had to make it rain!?” he yelled with a bitter-sounding voice.
“Um… you did, Your Majesty…”
“Wait, you’re right! Ughhhhhhh… I HATE THE RAAAAAAAIN!!”
The violent sound of rain drowned out the king’s laments.
The rain continued for the whole day, moistening the dried-up Rainbow Islands.
The next morning…
As the rain stopped, the morning sun shone down on the Rainbow Islands. Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee, who had woken up early, walked to the sandy beach.
“I knew you could do it, Kirby,” Bandana Waddle Dee yelled, “the withered flowers are all better now!”
“We all worked together to get the job done!”
“I wish I could’ve gone with you too…”
“You could’ve gone with us if Meta Knight’s small boat was just a bit bigger.”
Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee agilely jumped over a puddle of water.
“Tell me about what kind of adventure it was! What was above the clouds?”
At Bandana Dee’s question, Kirby sweetly smiled.
“It’s a secret!” he said.
“Huh? Why?”
“No matter what!”
“Oh, tell me, Kirby!”
“Nuh-uh!”
It was a secret that he couldn’t even tell a close friend like Bandana Dee. Bandana Dee seemed disappointed, but then, suddenly, he noticed something and yelled:
“Kirby, look! The Rainbow Bridge!”
From island to island, pretty Rainbow Bridges connected. Due to the lack of rain, the bridges had begun to fade away into nothing. Thanks to the rain returning after so long, the seven bright colors sparkled.
“Woah…”
“How nice!”
As the light of the morning sun intensified, the Rainbow Bridges’ colors grew prettier and prettier. As they basked in the refreshing breeze, the two would forever admire the Rainbow Bridges.
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oh-for-fic-sake · 4 years
Text
Geeking Out
Masterlist
You work onset of the witcher as the resident handy girl there to repair the props onset rather then them being sent off to be fixed, when working on Geralt’s sword Henry comes across you and with one slip of the tongue your inner geeks collide.
Warnings: Fluff, Swearing
A/N: Had this on my mind for a while just a cute little fluff piece hope you enjoy XX
Taglist: @havenoffandoms​ @iloveyouyen​ @angelofthor​ @thatgirly81​
Incredible text dividers are from @writeyourmindaway​ I suggest you go check out her others they are soo usefull xx.
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You hummed quietly managing to secure yourself a table in one of the busy tents just off set, you moved quickly furiously mixing the epoxy trying to combine the two parts with the lolly stick. Your task? you were trying to fix Geralt’s sword there had been a small mishap during a scene renfri's brooch had been hit in one of the takes and had come off. Your job was to put it back on and make sure its stays on , so this time you were forgoing the original glue and using a tiny amount of epoxy it was stronger and once it cured that little brooch wasn't coming off for love nor money. Your job was maintenance on the props ,you were kept onset with a small arsenal of tools to fix anything that gets damaged quick and skilled repair jobs anything from the horse tack to props jewellery the only things you didn't touch was wardrobe because...Fuck no. Textiles was not your thing.
You moved fast wanting to have it mixed thoroughly. This particular resin cured fast...very fast well for resin anyway, so it was always a rush to combine it. You moved a syringe and pulled the plunger up then dotted the resin on the hilt of the sword swiftly applying the brooch then looked around for the clamp. Shit. It was to far you couldn't reach it. You tried stretching down into your bag for it but it was no use suddenly someone was behind you.
"Need help?" You nodded to the slim clamp in the bag
"Yeah could you pass me the clamp forgot to get it out just got this bloody thing central and can't risk it slipping" you focused on your work holding the brooch steady as the person hummed leaning down then handed it to you.
"Cheers lovey" you thanked them and leaned down with one final check that everything was positioned correctly nodding you placed a rag across it protecting it and clamped it securely.
"Sorry about that... Misjudged the angle and hit it to hard I'm afraid" you froze looking up seeing Henry in full wardrobe bar his contacts smiling sheepishly. Even tho you'd been onset this whole time you'd never actually spoke to any of the cast there was no need. You quickly swallowed your shock and laughed.
"Don’t matter to me, keeps me in a job so go nuts!" you both laughed he looked over the things you had out across the table, you followed his gaze. Noting how he then moved to stare at you intently, you felt a flush creep across your chest but cleared your throat nodding to the prop.
"I've used epoxy on it ...It should be a lot stronger." He hummed not really paying attention.
"Anyway its not your fault they used a mid strength glue last time.. I don't think they had a clue how much of a beating it was gonna take" he hummed then peeked over the cup that had a small amount of resin in it still.
"So I can go to town on it?" You nodded wiping your hands down and smirked at him.
"Knock yourself out muscles! I doubt even you will be able to snap that off again....And that's not a challenge either" he rubbed the back of his head smirking at you as you moved dumping the cup with the left overs in a bag then in a small bucket with sand in it that was used as an ashtray for the crew on set. He looked at you questioning. You nodded to it.
"Get's hot when curing so I will leave it there to be safe then take it out when its set..." he hummed in agreement  then moved with you helping to pack up your things.
"So how long will it take to be finished then?" You froze wide eyed
"Why do they need it now?" You panicked they had said it wasn't needed today so you could work on it... did they change their mind? he quickly held his hands up
"No no we are done with it for today...I just wondered was all.." you stopped and flushed at him, you felt a little embarrassed as you had begun to cuss him out in your head thinking he was being rude trying to rush you.
"About an hour...Well I hope an hour it really depends, if there is any leakage  then I will have to sand it with my dremel...and to do a proper job of that I'd need to go through a few different grits and but if theres no leakage  or any nastiness then we should be done in about half an hour....This epoxy cures in ten to twelve  minutes but to be sure I'd want to leave it around twenty to twenty five ish but either way by the end of the day you sir will have your sword back." He looked between you and his prop wilth a huge smile.
"Sounds like a plan! .....Still feel bad tho I'm sure you have tonnes to do already...nevermind me adding to it." You waved him of with a wide grin
"Your kidding! Been waiting to get my hands on this baby since day one! Needed to see the details for my -" you stopped yourself before you said to much not wanting to 'geek out' in front of him he tilted his head sharply.
"Your what? You making a replica or something?" You flushed at him bobbing your head side to side a little.
"Well yes and no...not a full scale one I'm gonna make a mini..." his face lit up and you could see him become excited.
"You make mini's? Like wow and stuff?" He asked buzzing in the way all geeks do when they find a fellow nerd to speak geek with. You giggled an nodded.
"Yes I can't paint them to save my life but I draw and make them on the pc for people to download and use on their 3d printers....I'm more into scenery dioramas...I make tabletop boards" he grinned at you practically vibrating on the spot.
"Seriously? That’s soo cool...Do you have any pictures of them?" You smiled and nodded just as you got your phone out you both heard it Henry's name was called by Joey he sighed and gave a small chuckle.
"Looks like I'm needed...I will be back later to see them and collect my sword...If not hold on to it for me?" You gave him a funny look as he stayed for a moment giving you his best puppy eyes. You laughed and nodded to him, he grinned and quickly left. You stood dumbfounded as he stole a few glances over his shoulder at you before disappearing around the corner. Well that was weird, normally the props were picked up by...well anyone to be stored the cast never did hence why you'd never seen them. You shrugged it off and continued placing your stuff away zipping up your bag.
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That was the first time you met the man, later that day he did indeed return and spent nearly two hours geeking out looking at your collection of dioramas, he specifically liked the ones base on Lord of the rings and the few marvel and dc ones you'd done. All of which were centered around villains. It wasn't long before it became a habit that between takes he would seek you out, sometimes bringing Joey along. Soon you found yourselves together all the time, they seemed fascinated by your work and hobby always asking questions, to the point you'd snapped at them when they wouldn't shut up when you tried fixing a particularly fiddly jewellery piece . Even then they stayed sitting either side of you staring as you maneuvered the tiny gems and links back into place.
By the time the production came to a end you had all become close friends each of you exchanging numbers and always texting in a group chat. You couldn't help harboring a little crush on Henry, and you had tried but he was just so...him and maybe he liked you back? You wasn't sure but he seemed to be touchy...Not in a bad way god no! But he was a hugger and holder. When ever he was around you he always seemed to be touching you in some way holding your hand or arm as he dragged you about set,slinging an arm around your shoulders or waist at lunch or when you was working stuff like that. Maybe you were just reading into things to much but it felt like there might be something there. Or at least you hoped there might be, he was sweet funny and dorky but still mature and masculine he was basically your dream man, and then some!
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You sulked today was your final day on set you were looking forward to returning home and just relaxing but at the same time you'd miss the guys. You'd all clicked with one another and were so used to them popping up whenever. You tilted your head as you ran your pen across the sketch in you book. It was a close up of Jaskier’s lute details you'd been working on. You were trying to take your mind off things you were scared of them forgetting about you, it wasn't often you managed to click with people let alone men, you supposed you were anxious usually you were fine alone but you found yourself craving company since hanging around them. You glanced up when you heard them before you saw them as they approached you . Sitting up you quickly shook off your sadness as they both made their way across to you.
"Hey bitches" they chuckled at you taking seats at the table the three of you had claimed for the past months.
"God I can't believe its over...I cant wait to see it!" Joey said enthusiastically make you and Henry nod.
"Me neither its gonna be incredible! Its gonna be big you know that don't you? After the great flop of game of thrones their fanbase are gonna be lost and looking for something similar" Joey blinked he hadn't thought of that.
"Really? Didn't think of it like that." You smiled at him and wriggled your eyebrows "And you sir are never escaping that fucking song either so be prepared" he furrowed his brows
"How’d you know about that?" You smirked
"It was one of the few scenes I was allowed to watch them film...and it was stuck in my head for a fucking week the worst bit? I couldn't go and download it from youtube either it was hell!" He chuckled at your frown and leaned over you his eyes caught the page you were working on it was the first time he'd caught a glimpse at your artwork.
"Oh shit! That’s cool" you looked down alarmed then went to cover your image but he had already pulled it from under your nose.
"Henry look!" You flushed a not wanting them to see your sketches. He smiled and flicked a few pages. He looked up through his lashes at you.
"These are really good y/n super detailed... They for your mini's?" You nodded at him sheepishly as you noticed he had found your Geralt cheat sheet. He smirked seeing the page full of his Geralt pulling various faces then skipped a few pages to Joey's Jaskier.  He past it back to him.
"Here there's yours" Joey gasped at them
"Holy shit...Did you do all the cast? Are you gonna 3d print em?" You nodded to him
"I did the main cast once I get home I’m gonna start putting them into the computer but yes eventually they will be printed for people to use...After I sort them out  I’m gonna be making a witcher diorama to display them." Henry smiled at you
"Can you teach me to make one?" You blinked at him not sure you’d heard him right
"What?" He nodded to your book.
"Id like a set for my collection and small a diorama for them...I have always wanted to try it but it seems expensive to get the stuff if I’m crap at it...And it would be fun to make one with you...If you wanted to that is?" You flushed at him gaping.
"Err Ive never done a collaboration before but sure we could give it a go...Could do a witcher one for you to display these mini's...I wont be painting them tho not good at it, sketching is fine but I can't do detail paint....scenery is more forgiving... " he nodded enthusiastically at you like a kid on Christmas.
"Really! Fuck Absolutely! I always wanted to try scenery that would be brilliant." He flushed a little as Joey snorted at him and received a sharp look. It had become common knowledge that he had a thing for you. Everyone seemed to have caught on to it and had all told him to go for it but he was shy...He was nervous what if he had read you wrong? And you didn't like him back? He would be quite embarrassed  and torn up if he asked you out and you shot him down...so no he would settle for being friends.You smiled at him missing their exchange between them.
"Err sure just let me know when your free...I’m not that far from You in London right? Just give me a heads up when you wanna come round" Henry looked ecstatic, it was true he had found out a few weeks ago you was literally Fifteen minutes away from his place in London. He realized you had caught him staring blushing he moved directing his attention back to your drawings again. Joey noticed the awkward moment and swiftly poked your side.
"I want some too! A perfect mini me! Just what everyone needs" You scoffed
"A mini you sounds like a threat! god help us all!" You all laughed spending the remaining time reminiscing on the last few weeks until finally it was time for you to leave. You pouted hugging both of them.
"Gonna miss you two have fun on the promotion tour and stay in touch okay guys" they smiled hugging you back Henry squeezed you tight pulling you up off of the floor making you whine at him.
"I will definitely call and will probably be round September October time" you nodded and finally wriggled away from him leaving the hotel heading home.
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Once home you quickly got to work uploading and designing your mini's on the pc you had been speaking to the boys a bit but as time went on you heard less and less from Henry until finally six weeks later all conversation had stopped. Which really didn't surprise you, he was busy...Well that's what you told yourself, it was a shitty excuse you were saying to keep yourself from getting upset. you had found yourself enjoying his company to much. You liked him like liked him, it was fun talking to him,  he was interested in the same things as you and was funny and you had brilliant banter you wasn't constantly worried about how you acted around him because he just got you, you thought you’d both got on well and could remain friends. Somewhere in the back of your mind you stupidly had hoped something would come of it ....But that was a silly childish fantasy. Still you asked Joey a few times and he said that Henry was dealing with some stuff and would come around eventually but it did nothing to cheer you up. You resigned yourself to the fact that he was bored and needed someone to talk to on set that was it. You and Joey still spoke at least once a week even if it was just a quick 'hi how are you?'. You could kick yourself as even when you realized Henry wasn't going to meet up with you, you still began his diorama... Some silly little hope that he might still show but it was unlikely so the diorama was now yours ,you'd planned to make one using your new Netfilx witcher mini's the base was done and you were building up the Styrofoam. The design was going to be a small woodland area with a tiny waterfall running into a stream next to the witchers camp in which the four main characters would sit...Well five including roach. You sighed looking at the blocks of Styrofoam they had been glued down and are now ready to be carved. It had been ready for two weeks but... You suppose it was a little hope that if you didn't start it he would come around like he said. But when Christmas came and went you finally realized he wasn't coming.
Just as you moved to the wall socket and turned on your hot wire cutter you heard the doorbell go frowning you got up dragging your feet as you walked through the kitchen to the hall, as you got closer you could see a huge frame through the frosted glance. It looked a lot like..
"Henry? What are you?" He smiled sheepishly down at you. He chuckled nervously.
"Ah hi y/n...Long time no see?" You crossed you arms at him making him gulp.
"What can I do for you?" You tried keeping your voice even tho inside you were a a quivering mess of irritation anxiety and my god you felt weak in The knees and all the man was doing was standing there!how you even formed words you don't know. Henry the man you'd been pining over was here. He was on your doorstep. And you hadn't let him in what the fuck? why hadn't you invited him in yet?. Pride was the answer, you didn't want to seem desperate. he just straight up ignored you...for months!. You were intent on being angry with him, wanting to give him a piece of your mind. just as you rose your gaze to his you froze.Shit. you gulped eyes softening as you took in his appearance, he looked so anxious and guilty? even then he took your breath away, as gorgeous as you remembered him. he stood a little less confident to what you remembered shoulders slouched his eyes darting around almost as if he was fearful of your reaction, you took a deep breath gripping your front door in a white knuckle grip.He looked to you neighbors door step seeing the nosey old women Mrs Hamlin standing there staring outright, then turned to you going a little red twisting his coat pockets in his hands sighing, sucking it up and started talking.
"Hey I know we haven't been talking its just I ah...well I got a little caught up with the promo tour and that then had to negotiate season two and on the way to the final stop I lost my phone-well I destroyed it really dropped a fucking dumbbell on the thing in the gym..Then Christmas was hectic...Anyway that’s not the point...The point is by the time I got a new phone and found Joeys number and had him send me yours it...I felt like I had left it to long to reply... I wasn't sure if you'd be angry thinking I was ignoring you..." you blinked up at him stunned. That’s why he suddenly stopped he broke his phone and lost you number? You took a step back feeling incredibly stupid. You’d honestly began thinking the worst of him. You felt so bad.
"So...instead of phoning or texting you thought you'd just...come round?" He winced at you tone
"I wanted to talk in person...I wanted you to know I was genuinely sorry...I am sorry I let my anxiety get the better of me...I-I should go" you panicked as he began to turn around and quickly grabbed his arm
"Thank you Henry...You don't owe me anything but you coming here to speak to me means a lot ...I just assumed you were busy...I'll admit I did get a little upset when time went on and you still didn't reply...But now I understand why, we waited for each other to start a conversation again, like a couple  of school kids...Would you like to come in for a coffee?" He grinned wide and nodded glancing to the side eyeing your neighbor who had continued staring at him. You followed his gaze she was really giving him the evil eye.
"What er what is wrong with your neighbor? I mean I knocked on the wrong house but she is kind of freaking me out." You glanced at her and smiled waving
"Morning Mrs Hamlin" she hissed out a pleasant 'go fuck yourself' at you and entered slamming her door. You laughed at Henry's shocked face.
"She's just not a people person...Any way come in your letting all my heat out" you moved to the side letting him enter the small hall closing the door behind him.
"Hang your coat up and I will get some tea on" he did as you asked and followed you to the kitchen then spied your hobby room.
"Is that where you do all your bits?" You smiled nodding as you made the tea
"Yep! Here come in I was just about to start on the witcher one you can help carve, here I'll show you" he followed like a lost puppy paying attention as you began to guide him through the steps letting him carve out the shapes you wanted smiling ear to ear the whole time as you showed him your plan for the scene.
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It took a week but finally the diorama was finished, Henry bless him had found some of the steps tricky resulting in a few cuts and burns from the hot wire cutter but he had enjoyed every second of it.Today was the last day working on the project everything was done and you both looked at it.
"Wow its a lot of steps but...It look so realistic...I loved doing the water ripples using the airgun tho it was genius!" You smiled looking at it then jumped up.
"Not finished yet tho here, I printed them last night." You moved over to a small tub with your Netflix Witcher cast mini's and roach in it, they were in isopropyl  alcohol to clean them up after printing. You'd spent some time re-scaling them to fit the scene you'd just finished. His eye went wide as he saw them.
"Wow...these are from your drawings...How'd you get so much detail...May I?" You nodded to him as he carefully moved them from the tub and inspected them. He was fascinated.
"Thank you so much! Their great...perfect even...I've had so much fun this week" you patted his arm
"Me to big guy, its been nice having someone around to talk to, your really good with a bit more work you’ll be making your own in no time" he moved placing the mini's on the finished diorama then stood back.
"That’s a bit of a stretch don't you think...I'm dreading painting it tho.." you laughed holding your hands up.
"Hey don't look at me I print em you paint em that Mr Cavill was the deal" he rolled his eyes biting his lip. The last week had been above and beyond what he had hoped for. He couldn't help wanting more from you tho, he in a way felt a little selfish he wanted you to himself. He stood tall in front of you contemplating his next move.Should he?. Could he? He knew he wanted to try and pursue you but he still had doubts. You blinked and gulped seeing a heated glint in his eyes that was clouded with anxiety.
"Hen-henry?" He hummed in response his heart just about jumping out of his chest as he moved in slowly noticing you leaning towards him to...Did you want him to kiss you? You looked like you wanted to kiss him... Should he let you kiss him first? Or was he reading this all wrong. Fuck. He couldn't take it his nerves and thoughts buzzing he panicked momentarily and just went for it. Dipping his head quickly he connected his lips to yours tilting his head he moved closer shuffling his feet forward. It took you a few seconds to realize what he was doing but when the shock finally disappeared you moaned into him moving to cup the back of his neck. He grunted pulling back for air taking one large gulp then wrapped himself around you pinning you to between himself and the table, clutching you to his front cradling you against him as you accepted him into your mouth groaning as he was quick to explore, dragging your tongue to dance around his moaning and teasing you letting his hands fall to cup your bottom grabbing the full cheeks rolling them around lightly then pulled back from your mouth. He looked down through half lidded eyes and smiled seeing your dazed expression.
"Well...That was, a long time coming and definitely worth the wait...Hopefully i wont have to wait as long for the next one?" you glowed red at that and wriggled a little freezing noticing he still had a firm grip on your ass. You nodded shyly at him.
"Y-you waited to do that?" He nodded moving his hands up from your ass to your sides smoothing his thumbs across your ribs lightly not willing to let you go for a second.
"Yes..For a long time the others were pestering me but I was shy...Wasn't sure if you'd like me or not...Didn't want to ruin our friendship..." you stuttered looking up into his sparkling eyes seeing him flustered and shy made you feel a little better
"Of course I do!...Had a crush on you for...well a long time but just like you I didn't want to rock the boat" he looked at you shocked then laughed loudly.
"Well now that we both know where we stand would you like to order in we could get your favorite?"
"You know what my favorite food is?" he tilting his head down to yours with a knowing grin taking a deep breath he started listing off a few of you favorite's.
"Of course I do, Chinese is your top sweet and sour chicken chow mein and hors d'oeuvres namely seaweed and prawn toast and Japanese is a close second wagamama's if I remember correctly , your favorite chocolate is Lindor and favorite drink of all time is apple juice" you gaped at him, he had remembered all that.
"Wow I'm impressed you listened to my nervous rambling let alone took anything from it" "I love listening to you, you get so passionate about everything you love its cute..Hard not to pay attention...what do you mean nervous?" you felt all giddy when you realized he had been paying attention as you rambled on about what you thought was random uninteresting things.
"Well I'm always a little nervous around you...I do have a crush on you." he chuckled pulling you closer pressing a sweet kiss to your lips.
"That makes two of us, any way Chinese? My treat?" you jumped up nodding at him definitely up for some take out.
"Absolutely! but I warn you I can eat...Like I EAT." he chuckled moving down to give you one more kiss then pulled away from you to grab his phone to order online.
"And we can watch Netflix" you faltered and smiled up at him impishly causing him to raise a brow.
"I-I err don't have Netflix..." he gaped at you blinking as if you had a second head
"What? how could you not- you worked for them..Have you even watched the witcher yet babe?" you flushed at the pet name...And the embarrassing truth of why you'd avoided watching the show.
"W-Well you see that err...No I haven't...Kind of avoided it to be honest.." he frowned at you, you were so excited about seeing it yet you had...Avoided it?
"Why?" you squirmed under his gaze, the blues peering down you could feel them seeing through you.
"W-Well I...It was hard I really really liked you and then you just stopped talking to me...I was upset and each time I saw you it made me worse...Like I’d been punched in the chest there was no way I was gonna get through episode one with out getting really upset so I didn't watch it..." he swore dropping his phone to the table and wrapped his arms around you tight
"Shit...I'm so so sorry love...I promise not to do that to you again! come here... I've got Netflix I will give you my log in and you can watch it ....Not when I'm around tho not too keen on watching myself much" you grinned at him as he rocked slowly with you
"Okay then deal..Is watching yourself on tv like re-watching old family videos then i take it?" he laughed pulling away nodding
"Yes almost...Maybe not as cringe tho...Now come on go get the tv on I will be in there in a second just need to order this then we can get settled and pick a film" you smiled leaving him with a quick peck then ran down the hall to the sitting room barely containing yourself as it sunk in that he liked you back and this might just be the relationship of a lifetime.
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