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be-the-spark-flyboy · 4 years

Text

Could Use Some Love

Call It What You Want (2/?)

Series masterlist

Pairing: Med student!Poe x Reader (college AU)

A/N: This got wayyyy out of hand, and i apologize for nothing. Also this took so long cos i came up with a plot, hated it, then changed the whole plot, hated it again and now i have no plot and im just gonna see where this takes me :( what is canon I don’t her

Chapter summary: Due a broken heater situation, you end up crashing at Rey, Finn and Poe’s residence.

Word count: ~2.7k

You’ve been having an absolutely horrible week. And it is Wednesday. Work had been piling up in your internship firm, as well as in college. You’d barely slept for a total of 3 hours in the last two days and needless to say, you were totally exhausted. You had barely gotten back from work when your supervisor had called you to dump more work on you.

Great, another sleepless night.

Your tiny apartment was eerily quiet without your roommate Jessika. She told you she was staying over at her boyfriend's place for the night. It wasn’t the first time it had happened but, you hated staying alone in your apartment, especially at night.

The snow falling outside and the temperature rapidly falling in your own house did nothing to improve your mood. You pulled you knitted blanket tighter around yourself as another shiver racked through your body from the cold. Was the heater even working? It had been giving you problems for some time now, you were pretty sure it was already working way past its expectancy. You made a mental note to talk to your landlord about it, turning your attention back to your work.

Minutes pass and it only gets colder. Now it got to the point you couldn’t put your feet on the ground without recoiling. It wasn’t a good sign at all. You reach for your fuzzy slippers and pad across the room, still in your blanket, to the thermostat.

The thermostat display was working fine, but it seemed the heater wasn’t. After several minutes of walking back and forth to the heater and thermostat and several google searches later, you come to the conclusion that your heater was broken. And there was nothing you could do about it at this hour.

Your eyes well up from the frustration, a few tears falling. You try taking a few deep breaths to calm yourself, but the cold air only stings your lungs, reminding you of your predicament, mocking you. You go back to the couch, sitting cross-legged and rocking back and forth as you mind reels.

It was too cold for you to spend the night without a working heater. It was times like this that makes you want to smack yourself for not being able to make more friends. All you have is Jessika, who won’t be able to help you out right now, and Rey, who stayed with Finn and Poe in an apartment just nearby. You could ask Rey if you can crash on her couch for the night, but you felt like you were bothering her.

You had never been over to their place, despite knowing them for months now. Finn and Rey had invited you over a few times before but you always had some excuse to not go. You just weren’t that great with people, even if it was people you knew and care about.

You honestly didn’t know why Rey tried so hard to stick around you. You never made it very easy for anyone to be your friend. Your naturally aloof nature had made sure of it. Jessika has been the only one who had stuck around since middle school, and when both of you ended up in the same college, you jumped at the chance to room with your best friend.

You rub your eyes, picking up your phone. The time shows 1 am as your finger hovers above the call button on Rey’s contact. Just do it you have no choice, you try to convince yourself as you hit the call button.

---

The doorbell rings you stuff a few extra clothing and your laptop in a bag, just as Rey had instructed. You go to open the door, wrapped up in an overcoat, and hoping you don’t look as much of a mess as you feel. But Finn catches sight of your puffy red-rimmed eyes and immediately pulls you into a hug. The warmth is welcoming after feeling cold for so long, and you gladly fall into the embrace.

Thankfully Rey was still awake when you called. The second she had picked up the phone, the tears started flowing freely as the stress of the whole week hit you at once. She had managed to calm you down until you sounded coherent enough to tell her what your problem was. Both Rey and Finn were both willing to let you take up the guestroom in their apartment for as long as you needed. Rey told you she was picking you up and Finn had insisted he come along since it wasn’t safe for the two of you to be alone in this weather. They had basically shut down any apologies you sent their way, insisting it wasn’t any trouble for them.

“Rey’s waiting in the car,” Finn informs you. You sling your bag onto your shoulder. “You good to go?”

---

The first thing you noticed when you stepped into the ridiculously large living room, was the cityscape. Tiny lights twinkling in buildings as the snow fell, softer than feathers. It looked like a scene from the movies.

You can’t help the woah that you breathe out at the sight before you. You’re aware of exactly how stupid you look standing there, mouth agape, but you can’t help it. The entire apartment looks gorgeous.

Rey giggles at your expression, dragging you along to the guest bedroom. Which, unsurprisingly, is almost as big as your entire apartment. Settling your things on the table, Rey sits on the bed, gesturing for you to take a seat as well.

“You better now?” She asks flinging an arm around your shoulder. “You can stay here as long as you like, don’t worry I’m not expecting you to pay me or anything.” She jokes. “You know you can ask me if you need anything, right?”

It’s an effort not to start sobbing at her kind words. You lean your head against her shoulder. “You’re too nice to me Rey, not everyone would do this for anyone.”

Rey chuckles, “Firstly, you’re not just anyone, you’re one of us now,” she pulls back, holding your face in her hands. “And secondly, you would do the exact same thing if our positions were reversed.” You just nod, too dumb to say anything.

“Finn and Poe stay upstairs. I haven’t Poe since morning, he locked himself in his room, studying for some test I think,” she engulfs you in a bear hug before getting up. “Just knock on my door if you need anything, I’m right next door. And there are some snacks in the kitchen if you’re hungry. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

---

It is 3 am and Poe, utterly exhausted after an entire day of cramming for his hematology test which was probably still going to kick his ass, finally pulls his headphones off his ears. He thinks he surely looks as tired as he feels. The whole room is a mess of books, notes and granola bar wrappers strewn around, an empty coffee pot and mug on the table. He tells himself he’d clean it up tomorrow, after getting some sleep and food in his system. His stomach growls, reminding him of his hunger again and he collects the coffee pot and the wrappers and sets off to the kitchen to get something to eat before heading to bed.

His phone lays forgotten on his bedside table. He doesn’t feel like picking it up, already anticipating the number of missed texts and calls he would've received from his girlfriend. Studying medicine was hard work and time-consuming. It was easier to just pretend like his phone didn’t exist sometimes rather than try to explain to Sarah why he needed the whole day to study. He’d deal with her wrath later.

Poe sighs heavily treading down the staircase. The living room is dark and empty as expected, but there’s light coming from the kitchen. A small part of him couldn’t help but feel thankful for that. He wasn’t scared of the dark per se, but the recent horror movie had led him to question some of his life decisions. Like whether it was worth being friends with Finn and Rey. He probably would’ve walked out of the theater within less than an hour if you weren’t there, holding his hand. The memory brings a smile to his face.

Imagine his surprise when he sees you. He expected to see Finn or Rey at the kitchen, but there you are sitting at the dining table, a frown on your face as you click away at your laptop.

Was he hallucinating?

—-

You are sitting cross-legged on one of the dining table chairs. Your laptop sat on the table, alongside a few detail plans spread out, as you edit your drawings. The table in the guest room wasn’t big enough to fit the large plan drawings. So you had moved to the dining table since everyone had already gone to sleep.

You feel like you have stepped into an alternate universe where everything feels new to you. The view of the city through the full height glass window was just so breathtaking, but the large living room only feels emptier and somehow colder than your small apartment, even with a working heater. Regardless, you slowly slip into your own rhythm getting more accustomed to the almost eerie silence.

You startle when Poe calls out your name. “What are you doing here?” You look up and oh god he looks adorable. His hair is tousled and he pushes a few curls back from his face trying to tame it. He’s smiling at you, brown eyes sparkling, and it makes you feel all soft and warm inside and- and he just asked you a question. And you are just staring at him like a creep instead of answering.

“Oh, hey Poe!” You try not to cringe at yourself, hoping he hadn’t noticed you staring. Poe grimaces when you explain your whole heater situation to him.

“Well, I hope you’re comfortable,” he says. “Don’t mind me, I’ll be back in my room soon enough,” he smiles again, moving to walk past you. You hear him rummaging around in the kitchen for a few moments.

You mentally slap yourself, feeling like such an asshole. He has a girlfriend, for god’s sake. No matter how much Finn and Rey seemed to hate his girlfriend, you still feel guilty for thinking of Poe as anything other than a friend. You cuddled him in a movie theater, christ. You resist the urge to slap yourself on your forehead. What were you thinking?

For someone who just said ‘don’t mind me’, he makes it pretty hard to ignore his presence. He is back at the table and takes a seat, curiously frowning at the plan laid out before you. His cereal bowl is on the table before him, carefully placed away from the papers you had spread out. You continue your work, trying not to get too distracted by the man beside you.

“What are you doing?” Poe asks you. So you explain to him the long-winded process of the schematic drawing before you and how you need to add in the changes marked out to the 3D model in your laptop. You’re pretty sure you are rambling halfway through it, but Poe seemed to be interested enough, occasionally asking you more questions here and there. Explaining your work becomes complaining about it and soon you find yourself exchanging internship horror stories with him.

Halfway through your conversation, you hear a patter of tiny footsteps and the cutest corgi you’ve ever seen emerges from the hall. Poe immediately perks up at its arrival scooping the ecstatic canine into his arms. “Buddy! Why aren’t you sleeping?” The corgi paws at his shirt, barking and licking his face. Poe laughs, scratching its fur, “I missed you too, buddy.” You can’t take your eyes off the scene unfolding before you, heart swelling at the interaction, you’re sure you’re making heart eyes at them.

Once the corgi calms down enough for Poe to comfortably hold it in his arms, he turns his attention back to you. “This is Beebee,” he introduces his corgi to you, “My son,” You laugh and Beebee tilts his head inquisitively, looking up at you with his sparkling brown eyes. Like father like son, you think.

The bowl of cereal lays forgotten on the table as the two of you continue chatting. Well, he does most of the talking as you continued on with your work, your attention mostly focused on Poe regardless. He absentmindedly pets Beebee, who is now dozing off on his lap.

“He’s a big baby, can’t live alone. Honestly, I think anyone would go insane if they lived here alone,” Poe concludes his story of how Finn had practically begged him and Rey to come to live with him. Poe is your senior by two years and had been staying in a dorm before Finn started college.

“Big baby huh? Says the one who can’t watch a demon on a screen without looking like he’s going to cry,” you snicker, bumping his shoulder with yours.

“They’re just really scary okay? I don’t how you can sleep after watching things like that,”. He grimaces, holding Beebee closer. “Great, now I’m thinking about demons,”

“Oh no! Quick, think about something else,”

“About what? Ask me something,”

“Um... okay, how did you meet Finn and Rey?” you ask him.

“Oh that’s a long story,” and so he begins the tale of how both his parents, Shara Bey and Kes, were in the Air Force where they met and fell in love and-

“Wait, are you giving me your entire biography?” You interrupt him.

“No no, it’s relevant, trust me,” he assures you before continuing. Queue the entrance of a new character named Han, who was their best friend and was married to Leia Organa, who would become his godmother-

“Wait, Leia Organa?” You gasp, “Senator Organa is your godmother?”

“Great so you’ve heard of her-” you don’t even let him finish his sentence again.

“Heard of her? I've been a huge fan since the time she crushed the Vader dude during that debate,” he chuckles before continuing.

The story takes a somber turn when he tells you that his mother passed away due to an illness when he was 8 years old. He quickly skims over that part before telling you about going to live with his godmother in an obscenely rich neighborhood, since his father was away too much due to his work. Leia’s son Ben, apparently, was the resident asshole of the place, who hated Poe for reasons unknown to him. So Poe had resorted to making friends with the two younger children living across the house instead.

It’s an endearing story, which could’ve been told with lesser detail, in half the time. But you would be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy listening to him talk.

It’s a miracle that you are almost done with your work. Its almost 4.30 am and it occurs to you that you’ve been keeping Poe for quite some time. You see him trying to stifle a yawn in between words as he tries to narrate the story of how Finn had broken his arm trying to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night.

“Poe, don’t you have classes in the morning? Don’t you need to sleep?”

Poe feigns offense, “Am I boring you?”

“No,” you laughed. “I stay up all alone sometimes, and it gets very lonely, so thank you for keeping me company.” You answer sincerely. You are pretty sure Poe is beaming, but that could also be the side effect of not getting much sleep for days. Well at least you can sleep in tomorrow, and the guestroom bed looked really inviting. “But, you also really need to sleep,”

“Well my classes only start after lunch tomorrow- I mean today, so I still have time to sleep,” he stifles another yawn with the back of his hand. “Actually, you’re right, I need to sleep,”

BB8 is asleep, snoring lightly on his lap when he finally relents. He scoops up the corgi in one hand and the mostly empty bowl of soggy cereal on the other, dropping it in the kitchen sink.

“Good night, or is it morning already?” He flashes you a grin that makes your insides flutter.

You chuckled, “See you later, Poe,”

You’re so fucked.

---

The Dameron taglist (open):

@writefightandflightclub @arkofblake @yougottakeeponkeepinon @multifandomlife22 @skymerons @smol-peter-parker @rae-rae-patcha @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol @spider-starry @hkmultifandom

#poe dameron #poe x reader #poe fluff #poe dameron au #college au #starwars au #poe dameron fanfiction #Starwars fanfic #me:im gonna keep this short and sweet #also me:i need to explain e v e r y t h i n g #Is this good or absolute trash #i can no longer tell #that ending was so abrupt urgh

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loud-bread-boy · 3 years

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The Den (Colt Cassidy x gn reader)

Request: Bro— hear me out, Cole and Gabe are werewolves, but Colt has a human S/O and is introducing them to gabe (cuz he’s basically the dudes fanon dad at this point) and sizes this person up to see if they’re w o r t h y of his boy

God ur so fucking smart ily

Also I was torn because ,,,werewolves,,,abo,,, I ended up not doing it but listen there's this guy that makes uh,,,,spicy audios with Colt and lets just say I do fully plan to make an abo story, whether I post it or not

Characters/prompt list , askbox !

Featuring Dad Reyes, son/brother/boyfriend Colt, and sibling Sombra

Content Warnings?: implied werewolf Colt, Gabriel and Sombra, Gabriel being intimidating, few to no couple moments between Colt/Reader, abrupt ending (I'm rusty okay)

Ok here

You chew your lip so roughly you can feel the skin ripping between your teeth.

"Don't look him in the eye," Colt reminds you, fidgeting with his hands. He reaches for the doorbell again, then pauses and pulls his hand back. The process repeats once, “Don’t mumble,” twice, “A-And call him sir and stuff, he likes that,” then, as he lays his shaky fingers on the button, the door swings open. Colt clears his throat and stands up straight. His dad, on the other hand, is already standing like there’s a stick in his ass.

“Colt,” He starts, looking your boyfriend up and down with an expression that isn’t helping your idea about the stick.

“Yessir.” He turns to you, giving the same treatment but looking a bit more skeptical about it. He manages to catch your gaze, which knocks the air right out of your lungs. His face is covered in scars, but that isn’t even the scary part. His eyes are a horrific shade of red, darker than Colts, but then he speaks in your direction.

“Welcome home, son.” His mouth is full of some of the sharpest teeth you’ve ever seen. You realize you’ve broken one of the first rules Colt told you, so you quickly snap your head down to look at the ground. A large hand comes into your vision, a deep voice following shortly after. “Gabriel Reyes.”

You take his hand, taking a second to remark at the size difference, then give him your name. It came out quieter than you meant for it to, but you didn’t expect him to tighten his grip on your hand and demand that you speak up. You say it again, louder, with power in your chest and a sir tacked on at the end. You squeeze his hand right back, not taking the time to regret your actions. He seems a bit surprised, raising a brow and tilting his head to the side while looking you up and down again.

“Come on in.” He grins, showing the teeth that have no doubt ripped someone's throat out. Colt takes his hat off and presses it to his chest while he walks around Gabriel. You take another moment, briefly wondering if you want to put yourself in this situation. “It’s cold, kid.” He grumbles.

“I know,” You reply, dipping your head down but finding yourself unable to tear your gaze from his eyes. There’s a moment where all either of you are doing is staring. It’s awkward, but possibly no where near as bad as eating dinner with the man.

“We’re not going to kill you.” He assures, the bluntness of it catching you off guard. “Oli- urgh- Sombra made tamales.” He closes his eyes and mumbles some things about Sombra, counting to three by stretching his long fingers away from his grip on the door. “Are you coming in or not?” His face looks frustrated but his tone seems slightly defeated. You answer by nodding and pushing past him into the house.

The dinner was tense. Colt's younger sibling seemed to find it all hilarious, which lightened the mood every time they'd giggle at Gabriel's glare. Said glaring monster told Colt and Sombra to clear the table, which everyone seemed to know was code for giving you and Gabriel some time alone. He deepens his glare at you, then sighs, features softening.

"You know about Colt's upbringing, yes?" The question gave you a few of your own. Did he mean political or religious beliefs? Or the fact that Colt was adopted at twelve? Either way, you know all of it. Colt tells you as much as he can.

"I'm pretty sure, sir."

"Then you know he's more fragile than he seems." You pause before answering. Of course you know that, it's just a bit surprising that Gabriel does. He stands before you can answer, leaning over the table and getting in your face. "If you ever hurt my son," he starts, voice dropping to a low growl and you can swear his eyes are glowing. "You won't even have time to be sorry. Understood?" He cocks his head to the side.

"Understood." You confirm. He nods, then sits back down with a sigh.

"So, tell me about yourself, kid."

#Colt Cassidy #Colton McCassidy #Cole Cassidy #Colt Cassidy x Reader #Colton McCassidy x Reader #Cole Cassidy x reader #dad reyes #werewolves #werewolf!Colt #werewolf!reaper #werewolf!reyes #halloween prompts #gender neutral reader #requests open #gn reader #mine

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

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TLTNL- THE HOGWARTS HIGH INQUISITOR

"Padfoot mate, you don't really think you think," he cut himself off and went cross eyed before trying again, "I mean that Harry is-" then he stopped again for the ludicrous statement couldn't even manage to pass his lips.

Sirius watched with some distant form of amusement as James struggled to find words, a concept in itself, as he ran his fingers hard through his hair and tried to find a way to answer. "What if I do? All those stories we've heard about what happens to those in Azkaban, what makes you think that didn't happen to me after twelve years? Turning into a dog could only have saved me so much-"

"Don't," James snapped, his eyes darkening by the second. "I can't stand thinking of you like that, it's never going to happen."

"It's already happening Prongs," Sirius whispered back. "What if we can't stop this, it's all supposed to happen in less than a year! People will start going missing, and then Dumbledore's going to come around and get you and Lily to go into hiding, and I'll do it again, I swear I will, I'll hunt down that rat bastard and-"

"Think what you're saying," James snapped, fighting hard not to knock him upside the head while he did. "Future tense mate, we'll find a way to stop this happening well before then, so stop acting like it's inevitable already. You're not going to turn into that, I refuse."

Sirius still couldn't seem to take his words to heart, gazing at a picture Lily had hung up on the wall of a forest that had branches swaying in the wind, an occasional critter flipping in and out of sight. It reminded him of the Forbidden Forest, where he'd had so many happy memories, and it scared him how tainted those already were, and kept reminding him it was only going to get worse. "It's my worst nightmare come to life, I don't know how but the universe did that to me. Made me go as mad as my folks, in a different way I'll grant but all the same, and then jailing me right back there."

"It's not going to happen," James repeated, and would keep doing so until it sunk through his thick head.

They met eyes, Sirius almost absently saying, "you have always been around to remind me of that," and then quickly flipped subjects before even the notion of this no longer existing could linger, "honestly though, I thought you were going to bring me up here to rib me for talking to Harry like that."

James snorted and rolled his eyes, forcing himself to relax as he seemed to think he'd accomplished something. "I'd be remiss if you didn't tell Harry he wasn't having enough fun in his life. I still think you should show up at Hogsmeade and show those three what we used to get up to, Harry needs more fun in his life and he's clearly not getting it from his friends."

Sirius bit at his lip as he realized Harry wasn't getting that from him either, he'd been far too consumed with his own pity party, but at James' words, he was now at least holding out hope it would come true soon.

James watched as Sirius was already starting to fall back into wallowing, and he couldn't let that stand. Sirius was usually his inspiration to start all the madness they got up to, seeing him so low now truly was doing something to him he could hardly put into words, and he desperately hoped that the next time Sirius' name came up it would be in some form of his release back into a normal life already, he'd suffered long enough for it. For now he grasped his shoulder with a tight squeeze before actually managing his old laugh back and saying, "come on now, let's see what kind of mass destruction the school causes in rebellion against whatever that stupid comment of Percy's was. Dumbledore not in charge, pfft, Fudge couldn't do any such thing."

Sirius did at least smile as he followed him back for that, any talk of setting Umbridge in the area with the twins was bound to cause a laugh, which he was hoping to hear from soon. The methods she used on Harry weren't going to hold long.

Lily and Remus were still very concerned by whatever that reaction had been, but also knew James was the best, if not the only person Sirius would get help from with it and so were plenty satisfied to see him not visibly lingering on it when they came back.

Harry most of all wanted to persist on the subject, as he felt like he'd let Sirius down in some way, but when his godfather flopped down beside him with a normal smile in place Harry just couldn't bring himself to mess it all up again when his dad had clearly seemed to comfort him about it. So as James picked up the book and began, they were all feeling almost slightly hopeful again this was all going to somehow work out.

They'd expected to have to comb the paper to find this mysterious article, but instead it was right on the front page, with a very large shot of Umbridge accompanying it.

"Urgh, as if you don't get enough of that around the castle, now you've got closeups," James crinkled his nose in disgust.

The title read the woman's new position as High Inquisitor.

"Why do I already have a bad feeling about whatever the hell that made up title is?" Remus sighed.

"You've got good instincts," Harry's eyes were already narrowed with dislike.

Harry asked what that could mean, as Hermione began reading the article about the Ministry passing new legislation giving itself new levels of control inside Hogwarts.

James struggled to understand even the first sentence! What did that mean, the Ministry had control over their school?

Lily had her lips very tightly pursed as her mind flew through the ramifications of that. Hogwarts had always been of its own body and under the guide of the current Headmaster. This had allowed for a lot of free will inside the school outside of Ministry influence which many considered a good thing, as it left the children to grow up and form their own opinions of what they thought were right and wrong. Now their own government was more than actively stepping in as more than just a substitute teacher role? Just what the hell was Umbridge going to have these students doing? Aside from torturing them!

James looked to his friends like he was hoping for some kind of clarification from them, but both seemed just as confounded by the idea.

The Minister had been growing uneasy about the goings-on of the school for a while, says Junior Minister Percy Weasley.

"Did they have to post his title? I find that entirely unnecessary as of course his Junior would agree with him," Sirius scoffed.

"I just wish they hadn't said his last name, marks a bad light on all the Weasleys," Remus rolled his eyes for poor Arthur and his reaction to further seeing his son agreeing with all this.

Minister Fudge is now responding to the concerns from anxious parents who were concerned of the direction the school was moving in.

"Then they should talk to the Headmaster, and deal with this in house as it's always been," Lily stated absently, still trying to wrap her head around how this abrupt change had just sprung up overnight and it was entirely allowed.

This was not the first time Fudge had been seen influencing the school of late, as of the end of August he'd also enacted Educational Decree Number Twenty-two, giving the Ministry power to elect a teacher at the school should the Headmaster or mistress not find a candidate.

"Oh that's even better, they've been at this since the summer," James said in exasperation, already a spiel of comments he could imagine his parents saying if they'd heard about this.

Weasley continued speaking about how this was how Umbridge had begun her time there, and she was an immediate success-

"Let's put Percy in detention with her and see how long he holds that," Harry said grimly as he rubbed absently at the back of his hand.

"He'd have to be set up to be put in there, and even then I'll bet he could kiss her arse out of it," Sirius growled, perhaps even more darkly than he should have just for having to watch Harry do that.

Harry cut in there to protest the absurdity of that statement, but Hermione shushed him and kept reading about Percy saying she was revolutionizing the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"By not teaching them! Yeah, I'd say that's revolutionary!" Remus balked at the absurdity.

The success of this function lead into current Educational Decree Number twenty-three, the creation of the High Inquisitor. A position that allowed the Ministry to evaluate the teachers on premises and make sure they were up to scratch to be teaching future youths. Professor Umbridge had delightfully accepted this role along with her teacher's position.

Lily had to swallow a bitter taint as she almost realized what a good idea that could have been coming from anyone else. Abysmal teachers like Lockhart and Snape wouldn't have been a problem then...but that's not what this job was really doing, and she knew it full well, so didn't bother speaking it.

These new transitions had received much support from parents who had children attending school.

"I do not believe that," James scoffed. "If my folks had heard the Ministry was weaseling around inside Hogwarts they'd have thrown a fit. They never have before and they're just suddenly doing it now after they've spent the summer campaigning what a mentally unstable person Dumbledore was? That doesn't seem the least bit suspicious it's all happening at the same time?"

Lucius Malfoy being quoted as saying his mind was much more at ease knowing Dumbledore was being put under evaluation.

"Ah, well at least that support suddenly made sense," Remus scowled.

The paper continues in saying this was something that should have long since been done considering the controversial appointments over the last few years, including half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, a delusional ex-Auror known as Alastor, Mady-Eye, Moody, and the werewolf Remus Lupin.

Remus suddenly felt such a sharp twist of fear in him he retched on the spot and felt lucky he didn't vomit. He'd never been afraid of attention before, unavoidable when you made friends with James and Sirius, but the fact that his name was actually being thrown out like that honestly made him question how he was even still alive. After all, the last werewolf that had ended up in the papers had a hole hunt formed around him-

Sirius gently cut off this train of thought by smacking Remus upside the head and saying, "knock it off Moony, if they haven't done anything to you before now they're not going to suddenly start just because the Ministry is pushing in. You're long gone, clearly not making a bid to come back, and Dumbledore's got you doing that shitty arse underground work that leaves you so far off the radar anyways it's a miracle if you'll even be reading this."

Remus almost found the comfort somewhere in there, at least his body stopped trying to throw up.

Harry was honestly curious enough to interrupt what this mysterious underground work was. He'd long since gathered it had something to do with Remus staying in contact with other werewolves, but he still longed for details he decided against asking even now because it was such a touchy subject for the poor guy.

Others were not as enthusiastic about these changes, two of the Wizengamot had quit in protest of this.

"While I applaud them," Lily nodded sadly, "but it's almost a backfire on them as well, for the same reason Tonks and Arthur haven't quit their post yet. They do more good holding their tongue and staying on the inside."

"That method ceases being useful when it's all you end up doing," James scowled, though at Harry for holding his tongue far too often.

One being quoted as saying that was a school, not the next outpost for Fudge, this was only further attempts to discredit Dumbledore.

Sirius gave a merry little applause for that bit at least, thankful that this had been put into the paper at all the way it was running lately.

The article ended then with the ominous comment how one of those who had quit had details of goblin subservice groups on a separate page. Hermione said at least now they had their reason of Umbridge being here, and now she could go and inspect all of their teachers? This was outrageous!

Harry agreed with his fist tightly clenched, the words etched into his hand already a dull white instead of having vanished.

James saw red as he realized four days had already been enough to put that mark into his skin. Years later and it was still there. None of them had the delusion this wasn't going to happen to Harry again, and he doubted he could read through it without screaming some more no matter how little good it would do.

But a grin was unfurling on Ron's face.

"I immediately like where his thoughts went," Sirius piped up at once as the same grin appeared, thinking of that foul toad trying to inspect someone like McGonagall and blissfully aware who was going to come up on top.

They asked what he found to smile about, and he said he couldn't wait for Umbridge to inspect McGonagall, the toad wouldn't know what hit her.

The others caught on as well, and now they were all grinning in anticipation of watching McGonagall have a thing or two to say to that pitiful excuse for a teacher.

Hermione stopped the conversation then by getting to her feet and reminding they had History of Magic. Harry was surprised when he didn't find Umbridge in there to inspect the lesson.

"What are the odds she won't be inspecting any of the ones Harry's in?" Remus said without a trace of hope.

"Non existent," James said without looking up.

Nor was she in potions, where Harry was given back his essay with a D for a grade.

"I find it an actual miracle he didn't just flat give you a T," Sirius rolled his eyes.

Once all the assignments had been handed back, Snape gave a speech at the front saying he'd graded these as if they had been OWL finals, and hoped to see better improvement over all, or he would start handing out detentions to the dunces that got d's.

Lily almost felt a twitch appear on her lips again at his alliterations, he'd always gotten a giggle out of her when he did this, but she forced herself not to react.

Malfoy snickered loudly that someone had gotten so low a grade.

"I'm guessing he gave you an O after you cheated off of someone else's," James rolled his eyes.

"Or paid another student to do it," Sirius agreed.

Harry saw Hermione looking sideways at his and he quickly stuffed it out of sight before she could see.

"Why bother?" Remus asked curiously.

"I can already hear the lecture she'd give about how I should have tried harder or some nonsense," Harry sighed.

Lily frowned at him for that, wishing he would try harder in this class even if he did hate the teacher, but at least holding herself back.

Determined not to give Snape a reason to ruin this attempt, Harry carefully studied every line of instructions today before brewing his potion. It was still a bit more runny and not quite the right shade of turquoise like Hermione's, but he handed it in with the satisfaction Snape couldn't say anything about it with mingled defiance and relief.

"I commend you, considering at some point I'd have just chucked the cauldron in his face," James snorted.

Hermione began babbling at once about OWL grades as they left for lunch, saying while she hadn't expected the top grade,

"I don't actually believe that," Remus snorted, "I can already imagine her near the end of this crying every five seconds if she doesn't get all O's."

even a pass at this stage was encouraging.

Neither boy responded, so she kept going on about how they now had time to improve, these grades were the baseline for their future-

"Is she going to keep going with this?" James groaned as he eyed the pages with misery. He'd been starting this thinking of more Umbridge carnage, but instead he'd been suffering through some OWL memories he'd have rather forgotten.

Ron finally cut her off if she wanted to know their grades, she should just ask them.

Hermione feigned surprise at the question, but finally did ask.

Ron said he'd got a P, while Fred popped up then to say there was nothing wrong with a good healthy P.

"Err, doesn't P mean-"

"Poor, yeah," Sirius said with chipper, "only one letter off from acceptable, so really they're not wrong."

Hermione was surprised at this statement, as P stood for Poor?

Lee agreed, then said at least it was better than D for Dreadful.

"I always thought it stood for Dunderhead," James grinned.

"Stop naming things after yourself James," Remus quipped.

Harry did not enter the conversation, but Hermione was still in full swing.

"This is most likely going to be an ongoing topic until next year, when she'll move onto complaining about her NEWT grades two years too early," Sirius groaned.

Hermione kept going saying the passing grades were O for outstanding, then A-

Though Fred corrected her E came next,

James gasped wildly, and then frantically prodded the page with his wand as if insisting to find a flaw.

"What do you mean Hermione doesn't know all these by heart?" Sirius agreed mildly. "The way she was obsessing over them, even having done some pre exams last year, you'd really think she'd know that."

"I'm actually quite sure she only took note of what the top grade was and didn't care about the others," Remus rolled his eyes.

for Exceeds Expectations. Personally he thought he and his twin should have gotten E's on everything, considering they exceeded expectations just by showing up.

Causing all five of them to giggle.

They all laughed except Hermione,

"Why is that a recurring thing, it always makes me sad," Lily sighed.

"Someone needs to tell her she's getting a T for her sense of humor, see if she lightens up any then," James agreed.

who ignored him and agreed then it was A for acceptable, and that was the last passing grade.

Ron mock celebrated then you could get a P, then D, while George finished with T, for troll.

Harry laughed unexpectedly, then looked around and realized that while they were smiling, he realized it was at his reaction, and he blinked in shock.

Harry laughed again, though he was not sure whether or not George was joking.

"Nope," Sirius grinned, "though I don't understand why they'd want to give you a letter grade that would make someone think, well that's better than B for Blast-Ended Skrewt."

"You're an idiot," Remus rolled his eyes.

He imagined end of year and getting T's on all his grades, and immediately resolved to do better on his work.

"Whatever gets you through it love," Lily grinned as the thought had never crossed her mind Harry would do any such thing. Even while being at his breaking point he'd still been putting effort into his homework, there was just no way he'd do so poorly on all his exams if he just tried a little harder.

Fred asked if they'd had an inspected lesson yet, because they just had in Charms.

George agreed she'd just sat in the back of the class making notes the whole time, and Flitwick was perfectly polite to her of course. Then near the end she went around asking them some questions on the subject.

Fred asked who they had for their afternoon classes and when Harry started with Trelawney, Fred agreed a T if ever there was one.

Causing them all to snort with laughter as they suddenly imagined the wonderful idea of if the twins had taken her class and the mayhem that could have been.

Then Umbridge herself.

George warned Harry about minding his manners then, because Angelina would do him in if he missed any more Quidditch practice.

"Because that's the important part," James said grimly as his eyes flashed protectively to his son again, wondering if it was possible Umbridge's detentions could somehow get worse if she realized Harry wasn't going to take her message.

Harry didn't have to wait for his last class to see Umbridge again though. As they were taking their seats inside Divination, a sudden hush went over the room as Umbridge entered, causing Trelawney to look around as Umbridge greeted her.

Lily felt an interesting struggle taking place in her mind. She'd disliked Trelawney from the instant she'd been introduced because of insisting her son was to die, which would set any mother on edge. Yet she hated Umbridge quantifiably worse for actually hurting her baby. She wasn't really sure what she wanted to see happen here, but she wouldn't deny she was listening just as curiously as the others.

She began by asking if she'd received the note Umbridge had sent about the date and time of this inspection?

Trelawney went stiff, nodded without response, and then spoke to the class as if she wasn't there that they would continue looking through their dreams.

"Can't deny I'm already intrigued," Remus said grudgingly. "Trelawney shouldn't have had much to do with her before now considering how rarely she leaves her own tower, which means her ire with this woman must come from something we haven't seen yet."

"Maybe just from students like Parvati and Lavender who might have talked about her," Sirius offered without much thought, but immediately corrected himself when he realized, "but they haven't exactly gone out of their way disliking Umbridge themselves yet either."

"I'm sure it's just the insult of her class being inspected," James snorted.

They divided into pairs and Trelawney went to take her seat, realized Umbridge was standing right behind it, and instead began circling the class.

Harry quickly made up a dream on the spot about how he'd drowned Snape in his cauldron.

"They say dreams are where you live out your fantasies," Sirius snickered.

Ron snickered as he went to work on this, saying you were supposed to add age to the date of the dream, plus the number of letters in the subject, before asking if that was drowning, cauldron, or Snape?

"Drowning, isn't it? The other two are nouns," Remus said absently.

"Nouns can be the subject," Lily shrugged, "it depends on verb usage and-"*

"Please, this is why I was grateful Hogwarts never subjected us to Muggle classes, don't start on things I don't care about," Sirius groaned.

Harry couldn't care less about the answer as Ron went to work while Harry eavesdropped on Umbridge catching up to Trelawney and beginning to ask her some questions, such as how long she'd been in this position?

Trelawney regarded her for a moment before deeming the question worthy of the answer sixteen years.

Harry felt a sudden whack at the base of his skull for some unknown reason, absently reaching up and brushing at the back of his head as if to make sure it was still attached but ultimately ignoring the sensation.

Then Umbridge asked that Dumbledore had appointed her himself?

Though it was getting harder by the moment as Umbridge's questions really were starting to dig something out of the base of his skull that was beginning to build up quite a bit of pressure...

Trelawney kept up her curt replies as Umbridge then asked that she was the great-great-granddaughter of the renowned Seer Cassandra Trelawney?

Remus felt an odd smile flicker across his face as some old Greek myth came to mind about the Seer Cassandra who nobody believed truly was one, but he didn't point this out to the others for once as he was more invested hearing about this.

But she was the first in her family line to have inherited the gift of Second Sight?

Trelawney had to hesitate for a moment before saying these things tended to skip, err, three generations.

"Was the pause because she had to think about it and count that on the spot?" James mocked.

Umbridge was clearly not impressed as she made a few notes of this, and then looked on and asked for a prediction to be made.

Trelawney was outraged at once, saying the Inner Eye did not See upon command!

James was almost amused by this, as normally Trelawney spat out so many predictions in a lesson you couldn't shut the woman up. Now Umbridge was asking for one, and that was offensive?

Umbridge shrugged with indifference as she went to make a note of this, but then Trelawney wildly switched to grasping at the pink cardigan, apparently overcome with the fear of what she was seeing, a dark peril looming...

"I think she made herself worse by doing that," Sirius sighed. "Should have just stuck with the first thing she said, then later and a lot more randomly spouted something at least generally more threatening than that generic mess."

Dolores Umbridge was in grave danger!

Umbridge raised an unimpressed brow and ticked off something before saying that would be all.

Lily actually had to catch herself to stop from laughing. Even knowing Trelawney was a true Seer still didn't make this waffle intimidating in the least, but she despised Umbridge too much to agree with her on any level so she held it in.

She turned away and began asking some students questions, while Trelawney stalked over to Harry and snatched his dream diary away, proclaiming in a carrying voice for all to hear that even his most mundane dreams were filled with fortunes of his death.

"Yeah, there it is," James said tartly, least she could always fall back on that one, though how she managed to make that less believable every time was an actual achievement on some level.

Harry was having a hard time feeling sympathy for her during this, and when they were finally released and entered Umbridge's own class, the woman was humming.

"Urgh, having to listening to croaking all lesson, I'd rather live with a cicada," Sirius rubbed at his ears in thought.

They took their seats in the back and pulled out their books, while the teacher instructed those hopeful few who'd left their wands out not to do this very thing.

"I'm not sure if that's ignorance or delusions," Remus sighed.

They were to begin chapter two now.

Still smiling to herself, she set about some papers on her desk. Harry began flipping mindlessly through until the thought occurred to him if there were enough chapters to keep this going all year, and he was just flipping to check on that when he noticed Hermione's hand raised again.

"So were there?" Lily asked.

"Don't know, never checked," Harry shrugged.

"Even if there weren't, I'm honestly wondering if she'd have just made you reread it from the start or something," Remus rolled his eyes.

Umbridge took a different approach this time and approached her instead, bending down on her level as Hermione told she'd already read chapter two.

When Umbridge told her to go on to the next one then, Hermione stated she'd read the whole book.

"Man I wish I was more surprised, actually I'm just sad for the wasted time," James sighed.

Umbridge looked mildly surprised as she then asked Hermione what the author had said about counter-jinxes in chapter fifteen then?

Hermione gave the accurate answer at once, and Harry saw Umbridge was impressed against her will.

"People get that a lot around her it seems," Sirius mused, he didn't always like Hermione either, but she never failed to impress him with her knowledge at least.

Hermione kept going though, that she did not agree with Mr. Slinkhards interpretation of counter-jinxes and his statement they were only used as another form of jinx-

Umbridge cut her off this wasn't up for discussion.

"That was already established," Lily cocked her head to the side as she tried to understand, "what was the goal of her doing this?"

James shushed her and read quickly to find out, if anyone could find a way to push Umbridge's buttons and make something interesting happen in that class, he'd bet on Hermione.

Hermione tried to say something else, but Umbridge cut her off by taking five points from their house, while Harry demanded what for? Ignoring Hermione's warning for him not to get involved.

"She is sitting right next to you when she started this," Remus rolled his eyes, "don't tell me she really thinks you'd stay out of it."

Umbridge gave the answer for disrupting class pointlessly.

"She simply asked a question of what she was supposed to do now she's done with the work," Sirius tried for an innocent tone, ineffective as he wasn't likely to receive an answer for that anymore than Hermione.

She was going to teach them a Ministry-approved method that did not include inviting students to give opinions on things they didn't understand.

"Every bit of that was the most ludicrous thing I've yet heard her say," Remus said faintly.

"I particularly like the part they're not supposed to have opinions on what's being 'taught'," Sirius sneered.

"She read the whole book, how can she still try to make that claim!" Lily demanded.

"I'm beginning to wonder if there's something conceded about her," James said deadpan.

Their previous teachers, with the exception of Quirrell, would never have passed an inspection-

Harry cut off Quirrell had been great, except the fact that he'd had Voldemort's head sticking out of the back of his own.

"I'm actually wondering how many of the students knew that at the end of the year anyways," Remus suddenly blinked in surprise.

"Not the point," Harry grumbled.

Umbridge hardly acknowledge what he'd said except to give him another week of detentions.

Lily made a guttural, maddening noise of frustration for Harry suffering through that all over again, and she vented on the only person available. "Harry James, stop antagonizing her! It's clearly done you no good, after multiple people have warned you to stop, and you are suffering more consequences than doing any good!"

Harry flushed with anger for a moment, considered snapping back he was doing more good than anyone else was even bothering to try, but then considered the fact that snapping at her would achieve nothing. His mother was simply angry with the situation and he did not want to start yelling at them like he had been his friends in the past, so he simply held his tongue and nodded absently, also failing to mention whatever he did he couldn't go back and stop himself from doing it here now could he.

The first consequences of this came up at dinner that night, where Fred's prediction came true at once and Angelina caused such a racket with her yelling at him over having to miss another practice that McGonagall swopped in and interceded, taking points away at once for all the noise in the middle of the Great Hall. Several Ravenclaws at the table behind were still watching the show.**

Angelina wasn't deterred, saying he deserved it for another detention ruining her regime.

McGonagall turned sharp eyes on Potter, demanding who this detention was from, and very clearly displeased at the answer as she took another five points away.

"Who takes away house points after you find out someone has detention?" James demanded in outrage. "What's McGonagall playing at, he's already suffering enough for this!"

"I guess she did warn him not to continue messing with her," Remus sighed, "this is her way of punishing him for disobeying her as well."

"That did not make this feel better," Sirius scowled.

Harry tried to protest he was already being punished enough, but McGonagall wouldn't hear it, claiming detentions didn't seem to work on him so maybe this would.

"The worst part is she doesn't even know what's going on in those detentions," Lily groaned miserably, just begging for the sharp eyed woman to spot Harry's hand and raise hell for it any day now.

She warned them both to confine the shouting to the pitch before departing.

"I do love how she says confine shouting at Harry, not stop it," Sirius muttered.

Harry slammed into his seat beside Ron in a fuming mess as he demanded how it was fair he was getting his hand sliced open and losing points?!

"Maybe she wouldn't if she knew that part," James seethed.

Ron was sympathetic for him, saying she was out of order with that one.

"Are we really the only ones insisting on how dumb it is you haven't mentioned this," Lily demanded. "What about Hermione?"

"Still haven't told her yet either," Harry muttered as he shifted uneasily in his seat, still wishing this would stop being mentioned all together.

Hermione, however, merely rustled the pages of her Daily Prophet and said nothing.

"So she does know?" Remus yelped at this glossed over development.

"I guess Ron did tell her at some point," Harry blinked in surprise, he'd been too angry to realize what he was saying to whom at the time. "Honestly I'm just happy she didn't give me another go to Dumbledore speech, so I'm grateful I wasn't around when she did find out."

Nobody agreed with him, though clearly repetition wasn't doing any good regardless.

Harry snapped at her that he thought their head of house was in the right then?

Hermione answered cooly that she wished Harry wouldn't get points taken away, but she also wished he'd stop losing his temper around Umbridge.

"Hermione was the one who started the last two fights!" Sirius couldn't help but defend. "Harry more than likely would have sat in the back of the class and not said a word if it wasn't for her."

"You can't blame Harry's action on what Hermione decides to do," Lily scolded.

"Doesn't help one of his mates isn't trying to fix this problem either," Remus shrugged.

Harry did not speak to Hermione all through their next class, but all memory of the fight evaporated when he walked into Transfiguration and first spotted Umbridge instead of McGonagall.

James actually began wriggling in place in sudden excitement. If he'd put money on anyone giving that toad a run for her galleons it would be McGonagall, there was no way she could push her around like she just had to Trelawney.

The three watched almost eagerly as class began, McGonagall acting as if the extra woman wasn't even there as she instructed Dean to pass out homework, and Lavender to start handing out mice, and warning that vertebrate animals were much harder to-

Harry was distracted as he got his work back and saw he'd made an A.

"And that was with the minimal effort," James applauded, while Lily rolled her eyes at him even if she did agree.

Dean took his seat and mouse and was at once scolded for doing something to it that would wind him up in detention-

"What'd he do?" James demanded on the same breath as he'd finished.

"He was trying to place it on Parvati's shoulder," Harry shrugged.

"Less inventive than I was hoping," Remus sighed.

While Umbridge used the same, hem, hem, cough to try and get attention.

McGonagall turned cold eyes on her as Umbridge began that McGonagall had received the date and time of her inspec-

McGonagall coolly cut across of course she had, otherwise she'd be wondering why the woman was here.

James made a little squee noise when he was done with that response while Sirius was already full blown laughing, he knew McGonagall was his favorite teacher for a reason!

Harry and Remus shared a triumphant smile while Lily said impatiently, "James if you don't keep going, I will," though her eyes were sparkling with their own amusement for their old head of house.

James clutched the book to him protectively as he kept going with glee.

Then she kept going as if nothing had happened, even though Umbridge did the same act again not moments later.

McGonagall didn't even face her this time as she said sharply how Umbridge expected to get an idea of her teaching methods if she kept being interrupted, as she did not permit others to talk while she was.

James couldn't do it though, he immediately burst out laughing again, and this time Lily couldn't deny joining in. This was hardly the fiery pit they wanted to toss Umbridge into for what she'd done to Harry, but even seeing someone hold their own against her in this way was the most satisfying thing that had happened so far!

Umbridge looked as if she'd been slapped, before hastily turning to a fresh page and scribbling furiously.

"I would pay anything to get my hands on those notes," Sirius' grin was slipping past amusement right into evil. "See just what her version of, I need a burn healing charm looks like."

Looking supremely unconcerned, Professor McGonagall addressed the class once more.

Harry wasn't paying much attention to her warnings of the complexity of the larger the animal the harder it was to vanish, he was to busy whispering to his friends how she could get onto him about losing his temper when she wasn't acting much better. There was no anger though, as he grinned at McGonagall, all anger forgotten.

"Technically McGonagall hasn't gained a detention yet, so she's still doing better than you," Sirius smirked even as he was leaning forward eagerly to hear more of this.

At the end of the lesson, Ron was putting away only a wriggling tail,

"It is indeed a good mark he's already got the larger portion of the body by the end of the first day," James agreed absently, his eyes still eagerly hoping for more between Umbridge and McGonagall.

as they began to file out, but hung back when they realized Umbridge was going up to talk to McGonagall. She asked only one question, of how long she'd been at this post?

McGonagall said thirty-nine years in December.

Umbridge jotted this down before saying she'd receive her results in ten days.

McGonagall gave the curt reply of how she couldn't wait as she swept away.

"She really shouldn't act so thrilled, sets a bad impression," Remus snorted.

She barked at the three lingering at the door to get a move on, but Harry swore she smiled as she passed.

"Favorite teacher," James repeated warmly, hoping that would leave some kind of impact on Harry in Umbridge's next class. He wasn't the only one defying Umbridge.

Harry sadly turned up at his next class only to find Umbridge there again, already talking to Grubbly-Plank. She was being asked that this was not her standard position, to which the sub agreed she was only standing in for Professor Hagrid.

"I don't think anyone's yet called him that," Sirius' face crinkled as that registered.

"Does sound kind of weird, even if it is appropriate," Remus agreed.

Harry's spirits sunk as he watched Malfoy approaching as well, knowing he'd love nothing more than to gossip about Hagrid strait to the Ministry.

"He's already been doing that, surely he can't do even worse damage," Lily said with unease even she didn't believe.

Umbridge then asked if Grubbly-Plank knew anything of Hagrid's absence, but the woman was bare on the subject, saying she'd simply been asked to fill in for an unspecified time, she'd agreed, and here they were.

Umbridge waved for her to start the class then, and they continued their work on bowtruckles as Umbridge went around the class and began asking students about magical creatures, to which no one gave a flawed answer. Harry at least felt hopeful none of them were letting Hagrid down.

Remus couldn't help but wince for that, thinking that was far more likely luck depending on the questions she was asking.

Then Umbridge circled back to Grubbly-Plank, asking how a new staff member felt here? Supported, or more ostracized from the everyday crowd.

Grubbly-Plank gave the simple answer she'd always felt welcomed here, never had a problem.

Umbridge looked politely incredulous,

"That she's the only one being treated like scum? Can't imagine why that would be," Sirius snorted.

"I'm sure that's a look," James snorted, his liking for Grubbly-Plank going up somewhat. Sure she was having to stand in for Hagrid, but at least she wasn't going behind his back and trying to rub up to Umbridge, he could respect that.

She then switched to asking of reports she had from injuries in this class, but Malfoy enthusiastically stepped in then, saying that was done to him, he was attacked by a hippogriff.

"At his own stupidity," James emphasized. "Everyone seems to skip that bit!"

Umbridge began almost happily jotting this down, while Harry shouted over at them it was because Malfoy was being too stupid to listen to Hagrid before it happened.

"Oh, thank you Harry," James groaned, that hadn't been what he meant at all.

Harry shrugged without remorse.

Umbridge turned a pleased smile on him as she gave him another week of detentions.

"What was that one even for?" Lily all but screeched. "Doesn't she still have to give a reason!"

Baby Harry began squirming in unease underneath his toy so she forced herself not to keep going while James pushed on, mostly because the answer was no, that woman didn't have to give a reason to anyone about anything she did. It was becoming quite clear that was the scariest part of all to look forward to.

That evening, despite the late hour, Harry did not return to the common room empty this time, but found Ron and Hermione waiting up for him. Hermione seemed anxious at his visage as she pushed a yellow bowl towards him, telling him it was essence of murtlap and it would help.

Harry wasn't quite sure what that was, but when he put his hand, that was bleeding freely, into it it soothed the pain at once.

Ron still tried to push Harry should tell someone about this, McGonagall would do something, but Harry still wouldn't hear it, pointing out next thing they knew there'd be a decree that the person who questioned Umbridge would get fired.

"That would still cause enough of a stir in the community for it to be relevant and absolutely worth it," James tried to keep his voice even as he explained to Harry. "McGonagall's tough as they come, even if she did have to leave for a time she'd be right back the next day because Dumbledore would never let that stand, and he'd have support from those realizing how ludicrous this all is getting."

"Please tell me you've been seeing reports in the Daily Prophet about more people saying what a problem this is," Lily agreed.

Harry just shrugged though, Hermione only passed along very certain things, and she hadn't said anything about this. If the wider wizarding world did care about what was going on, he wasn't hearing about it.

Ron tried to think of some way to argue, but then closed his mouth back.

Hermione hissed what an awful woman she was, they really should do something about her.

"Tie her to the Whomping Willow?" Sirius suggested at once.

"Transfigure her into a cat and introduce her to Fang?" James smirked.

"Introduce her to the mermaids of the Black Lake," Remus said just a touch bitterly.

"See how long she could survive in the Forbidden Forest," Harry envisioned the fun.

"Poison?" Lily couldn't seem to stop herself tacking in much to all the boys amusement.

Ron had suggested poison,

"Ha!" Lily pumped a fist in triumph, "two against you lot!"

"That's fair," Sirius miraculously gave in.

"Can it at least be a slow acting one?" James contended.

"I can work that," Lily agreed.

but Hermione said she'd meant something more practical about her horrid teaching habits, how they weren't learning any Defence this year.

"Well I mean, she's not wrong," Remus snorted.

"Yet I don't really see how that's so different from your first two years either," Sirius sighed.

Ron couldn't see a way around this, she had the job and that clearly wasn't changing any time soon.

"At least until the end of the year," Lily still looked for that bright spot.

Hermione shot Harry a nervous look before beginning to tell what she was thinking today,

"Should I be worried that's how this is starting?" James looked bemused as he kept going.

that they should just learn DADA themselves.

"That's really not that far fetched an idea," Remus shrugged, "we had to do it a few years as well. Our teachers never got to the level of trying to kill us mind you, but they weren't all stellar either."

"I don't know, remember Novak? Considering how many spells he used backfired on himself, I think at some point that counts as attempted murder when he still encouraged us to trust him," Lily shrugged.

Ron scoffed at the idea of doing more extra homework, they were already behind as is.

Hermione said this was more important than homework.

"Hang on," Sirius mimed cleaning out his ears, "alright read that bit again."

James ignored him.

The boys goggled at her saying such blasphemy, Ron insisting she'd always said homework was the most important thing in the universe!

Hermione brushed them off for being silly,

"She had yet to say otherwise," Harry rubbed at his ear at all her remembered lectures.

stating this was about learning to defend themselves from what was out there.

Harry looked honestly bemused Hermione had taken his words to heart like that, no matter how much he still vouched for them being true.

Ron still wasn't on the idea, saying sure they could look up jinxes and practice them, but-

"Just like you did at the end of last year," James agreed, "that seemed to help you out loads, even with a competent if murderous teacher."

but Hermione said it would be all the better if they had a teacher, someone who already knew a boat load of spells and could correct them if they were doing it wrong.

Harry began if she was talking about Lupin,

"Naw, you're the first teacher he thought of Moony," Sirius chuckled.

"Shut up Padfoot," Remus said around a smile.

but Hermione at once said that wouldn't work, he couldn't come around often enough to be of help.

"Not with that Umbridge woman about anyways," Lily said grimly, as it had honestly been a good idea for a moment for Dumbledore to summon him to the castle at his random choosing, and just incidentally running into Harry and his friends, for a few hours, no one in the school would really question that too much if it had worked out that way. That pink frosted lump of dragon dung though would put a wrench into anything like that.

Harry couldn't imagine who else she was talking about, but then she said him of course.

Harry looked at his dad in bewilderment, before looking at the other three who all looked just as surprised at the answer as him to his relief.

"Honestly, for a moment there I thought she was leading up to herself," James snorted.

"I mean, I suppose she's not got the wrong idea," Lily pulled gently on a strand of hair as she thought about it, "but no offense love, I haven't really seen you with the patience yet to be teaching anyone much."

"Ron was better at teaching you chess than you were explaining how a phone worked," Sirius snorted in agreement.

"Oh stop picking on him," Remus scolded, though Harry hardly looked offended, he still had a politely puzzled expression on his face like he was still nursing the idea and had hardly heard them. "I don't find it a bad idea at all, Harry was the only thirteen year old I've ever seen to manage a Patronus, even you two hadn't managed that until fifth year to find out what you were going to turn into only a few months later. If Harry could master that, I'm sure passing that knowledge along wouldn't be much of a challenge."

"There's a difference between being a good student and being as good a teacher," Sirius shrugged, but he backed down altogether as Harry was starting to look a little hurt they were still giggling more than anything at the idea.

James kept himself going in hopes Hermione would come to some conclusion this should be more a group effort between the three than Harry starting secret lessons to teach these two anything.

Harry was stunned at the idea, turning to Ron for some backup, but he seemed just as keen on this as Hermione now she'd pointed it out.

Harry began laughing it off, saying what good would he do, while Hermione said in exasperation to think of all he'd done.

"Really Harry, you apparently spent all summer complaining about this bit, but you need this part explained," James rolled his eyes.

When Harry still didn't get their meaning, Ron started to laugh he didn't want someone this stupid teaching him, before beginning loudly of all his accomplishments, like second year killing the Basilisk and Riddle.

Harry tried to interrupt that had been Fawkes and-

"I really am loving the reverse of this conversation," Sirius gave a forced smile. "How are you the one saying you shouldn't get credit for doing this now, when it was you shouting at them you did all this single handedly to them at that house?"

Harry was scarlet by now, both from remembered shock of his friends throwing this at him, and how true that comment was that put on the spot he still didn't want to admit all the things he'd done no matter how angry he'd been he'd felt ignored.

"Can't have it both ways," Lily told him gently as she seemed to read his mind.

Ron completely ignored him and was still going on, coming up with fourth year and everything he'd done there as well, he and Hermione were smirking by the end as Harry felt his temper rising, he wasn't even sure where the anger was coming from.

"Actually neither am I," James frowned lightly from the book to Harry now. "At most they're still pulling your leg, what's the anger for?"

Harry brushed at his scar without comment, a deep look in his eyes that shot a thrill of fear through James instantly promising him he actually didn't want to know the answer, so he quickly moved on.

He began telling them how he'd blundered through all that, not because he was any good at Defence, he'd always had help and- stop laughing at him!

Remus let out a low whistle of surprise as he told Harry, "when you get angry, you really ramp yourself right to the top at once."

"Harry doesn't do anything halfway," Sirius said halfheartedly, Harry leaning back into the couch looking miserable he'd been caught shouting at them again, and they hadn't done anything even remotely close to deserving it this time.

He lunged to his feet so fast he knocked the essence of murtlap away, now practically shouting at them they didn't understand, none of that had been skill when he'd fought Voldemort, that Cedric had been just as good as him and he'd died so if they were insinuating he'd messed up and Harry had somehow done something better-

James had winced at every blow Harry dealt his friends, of all the pain and fear his son had suffered without anyone there to help, how even hearing it first hand hadn't quite left them with the reality Harry had lived through. To them it was all in a distant future, something they hoped never had to happen to him and so without underplaying the events happening they kept pushing past these terrible moments because it would ultimately help him to remember them just to find a way he'd never have to live through them. Most of all, James wanted more than anything for Harry never to have to witness what had happened in that graveyard, to Cedric.

Ron looked aghast Harry had come to the conclusion they were having a go at Cedric.

Harry was aware, and very grateful no one had snapped at him for this in here. He distantly saw himself doing these things, pushed into this uncontrollable anger from something he didn't understand, but one truth stood out his friends would never insinuate any such thing, so he was grateful for the silence ringing in here.

Hermione was near tears now as she insisted this was exactly the reason they needed to learn, he was the only one who had ever faced V-Voldemort.

"Well there's a distraction if ever there was one," Sirius blinked slowly to refocus off of Harry's anger, how everything he'd said had been all too real.

It was the first time Hermione had ever said Voldemort's name, and for some reason this calmed Harry. He sat back in his seat, his hand now throbbing worse than ever and gazed at the broken glass and essence of Murtlap now seeping into the carpet.

Hermione got her feet as if to go to bed, quietly asking him to just think about it.

Lily opened her mouth, wanting to say something in comfort as well as push for a change of subject, but Harry was still looking miserable and rubbing hard at his scar again, so she was afraid to push him while he was too vulnerable.

Harry nodded silent agreement now as she went off to bed, Ron following suit. Harry repaired the bowl with a quick spell, but could do nothing for more medicine for his hand.

"Wonder how she got hold of that," Sirius happily shot off, as always just looking for something to say in the awkward silence.

"She's too proud asking the house-elves for a batch," Remus played along, "I more imagine she might have asked Madam Pomfrey for some, given a vague reason as to why she wanted it."

"I'll buy that," Sirius said, looking hopefully at Harry like he was hoping for confirmation, but even if he had ever bothered to ask Harry spoke nothing for or against the idea.

He was more exhausted now than when he'd stepped in, but still he forced himself to climb up the stairs rather than sleeping in the common room, and had another restless night of dreams full of locked corridors, and waking to his scar prickling again.

Harry twitched harder than ever in his seat, his eyes swimming with pain as he yearned to understand how it all fit together, and terrified of learning the answer.

HPHPHPHPHP

I probably came off pretty anti-government in this chapter, and I swear I'm not actually trying to whip up a rebellion and start an anarchy, I just always found it really extreme that clearly since it's conception Hogwarts seemed to have stood as it's own body, but suddenly the government was stepping in and causing a ton of reforms, and the public seems generally okay with this? Of course the Daily Prophet likely didn't post more outrage than a couple people quitting, I don't even know how it would have been put into the narrative, I'd just have liked to see more people be confused and angry about this sudden regime change going on inside the most popular wizarding school in Britain.

*I was actually never very good at English, I have no clue what the actual answer was, thank you for nothing four years of high school.

**I pointed this out in the last book, but this is now a blatant mismatch of the house tables. Last time it was the Hufflepuffs on their other side as Harry had to walk past them, this time it's Ravenclaws? Someone must have been right in saying it does switch up on a regular basis.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #Marauders #Jilly #OotP #James Potter #Remus lupin #Sirius Black #Lily Potter #The LIfe that Never LIved

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arlakos · 4 years

Text

Oblivio Ending Rewrite

Something I just came up with one night.

...

When Chat Noir got hit by Oblivio’s blast, the last thing he remembered was going unconscious… then nothing… until a flash of red and black spots woke him to find him in his Lady’s soft embrace as the two stood close to each other

Realizing their compromising position, the two quickly leapt apart in awkwardness, before both turning to see the face of Ladyblog reporter Alya Cesair and Nino Lahiffe.

“Guys, you haven't seen a supervillain named Oblivio, have you?” Chat asked as his partner glanced around at where the akuma could be hiding.

Nino grinned awkwardly “ You've defeated it already, dude.”

“Actually, he was… us.” Alya said with same awkward expression, almost embarrassed by the revelation.

Well, that made things easier.

Sure, they don’t remember the fight, but In Ladybug and Cat Noir’s perspective however, it just meant that the mission was complete.

“Oh, okay.” They both said as they looked at eachother.

“Pound it?” Ladybug asked as she raised her fist confusingly

Chat just smiled and raised his fist in agreement, making the former smile as well.

“Pound it!” the both exclaimed.

After all, even if they don’t remember the fight, it was always felt right to do their signature fist bump.

Chat took a moment to stretch as he looked at his Lady. “Once again, the Cat and Bug duo save the day! You have to admit that we are just killing this akuma fighting thing. I swear these fights are going so fast, they are becoming...forgettable!”

“Urgh! First of all, its Bug and Cat duo, and that pun was worse than the ones you usually make.”

“That means that you find my usual puns to be better!” Chat dramatically sighs with a dopey grin. “If only you loved me as much as you loved my puns, then this day would have been perfect.”

Ladybug frowned. “So… not that much.”

“You know you love my jokes.”

Her frown didn’t disappear though. “As much as I...tolerate your puns, I told you to drop it with the ‘couple’ stuff. We are a team, and I have a crush on another boy, remember?”

Chat’s smile dropped a little bit at that rememberance, but he still kept his grin.

“Well considering that you haven’t declared that you’ve become a pair yet, I don’t think he sees what’s in front of-” Chat moved to continue, but he stop as he saw something that made him stop cold.

“Chat? Chat are you o...kay…”

Ladybug turned to see what Chat was looking at, and both of them froze at what they saw (though for different reasons)

Alya was smiling from ear to ear as she proudly showed the picture she snapped.

Which just so happened to be Ladybug and Cat Noir kissing. And likely happened during the battle that the two of them had likely forgotten.

Chat Noir could only stare in surprise as he saw himself and his Ladybug locked in a passionate embrace, the two of them obviously sharing a kiss as the two held each other so closely.

Chat felt himself experiencing a variety of emotions as he stared at the image, from happiness, to jealousy, to hope, but he eventually just stuck on happy as he stared at the picture with an awed smile.

Ladybug on the other hand… didn’t take it so well.

“ Everyone saw that?.... This is a disaster! What on earth happened?!”

And just like that, that small bit of happiness just disappeared.

Chat felt that emotion fade into almost pure emptiness as he turned to look at Ladybug, who stared at the image with shock, horror and even apparent revulsion at the thought she actually kissed him.

“I don’t-How!? This had to have been some sort of trick, a mistake! There was no way we could’ve kissed!” Ladybug said in denial as she looked at the image.

Chat felt his heart twist at he stared at his partner, hearing what she said. Sure, he didn’t expect her to have the same reaction about the picture he did, but he didn’t expect ...well… this.

(Or for it to be so horrible to her.)

Ladybug's shocked moment would have to come to an abrupt end, as her earring gave a rapid beep, signifying she was about to transform back. She stared at Chat Noir with an expression that was both nervous and angry.

“Th-This is not over! Chat, don’t you dare think anything about it!”

Ladybug quickly grabbed her yoyo and zipped off.

Chat felt a pain in his heart as he processed her reaction and saw her leave, standing there for a brief moment.

But as he started remembering his job, he decided that he needed to finish his responsibilities with what time he had left, and he went to check up the former akumatized pair.

“So, you guys are alright?” he said as he walked towards them.

Nino responded. “Uh...we were fine dude! Aside from the akuma thing, we’re alright! It’s just, how we got akumatized that’s bothering us.”

“Oh? What happened?

“We kinda got caught playing a game together called Super Penguino on our trip…” Nino explained, embarrassed. “Both of us got caught by our class-mates and laughed at because of it. We felt really embarrassed about it… which as you kinda guess, led to us being akumatized.”

“But it's fine, because now I have the perfect image!” Alya said as she raised her phone in the air, causing Chat to wince again. “This will make the Ladyblog explode!”

Remembering the reaction Ladybug had made to that picture soured his mood, but he quickly masked it with one of excitement as he stared at Alya. “Could I have a look at that picture again?” he asked as he raised out his hand?”

“Hmm…? Oh yeah sure!” Alya said as she showed him the picture.

Chat felt time slow to a crawl as he stared at the picture again, seeing the obvious comfort he and Ladybug shared with each other. He felt his mind start to race as he questioned how his mind-wiped self came to embrace his other.

Had he and Ladybug knew each other in their normal lives, and assumed that they were in love? Or had they just lost all their memories, but still fell in love again by some magic bond the two of them had? Chat couldn’t tell, but there had to be something that made this picture happen, that Chat himself (ironically) had forgotten.

Still, it didn’t mean seeing Ladybug’s reaction hadn’t hurt. It did hurt. A lot. Sure, he knew that Ladybug didn’t exactly love him the way he loved her, but he never thought that the idea of being kissed by him would make her that distraught. The way she stared at the picture was something between disgust and horror, and he wasn’t sure how much of it was directed at him.

Did he even mean anything to Ladybug, outside of fighting akumas?

A beep from his ring brought him back to his sense, and he looked at Alya. He stared on last time at the picture, almost as if to savour something that might’ve been.

“That picture...really made me happy.” Chat said to himself, with Alya smiling as she overheard what he was saying.

“Unfortunately…”

Chat stared with a forlorn grin as Alya’s face dropped at the change of tone.

“I guess it will have to be just like Oblivio… a lost memory. Yoink!”

Alya was startled at Chat suddenly ripped the phone from her hands at a blinding speed. “Hey-What the-?!” Alya exclaimed. “Give that back! That’s my phone!” she said in anger.

“Sure Ladyblogger, but I’m sorry to say that the pic has gotta go!” he said with a plastered cheeky grin.

Alya’s eyes widened in horror at what Chat was about to do, while Nino stood there unsure of himself.

“No you can’t!” Alya hurriedly said. “I gotta have that picture for my blog! Give my phone back!” she said angrily as she ran after Chat.

Chat, unsurprisingly, outpaced her. “Sorry, but we were kinda memory wiped when you took that picture, and I kinda don’t want the wrong idea to go around for my Lady’s sake!” Chat said as he deleted the picture off Alya’s phone, making sure no traces of the picture existed.

(But not before he saved it on his phone)

Chat tossed the phone back to Alya, who quickly checked as moaned in dismay as the picture for her blog was now gone, giving the Cat Hero a nastly glare at her spoiled blog post. Chat however merely grinned back.

“I’ll be happy to give an interview next akuma fight, but this one’s gotta be forgotten! Cat out!”

“You’ll pay for this you sneaky cat!” Alya said as Chat jumped off the roof. “I will show the world that my LadyNoir ship is real!”

‘Heh. You and me both.’ Chat thought to himself miserably as he leapt away, his face morphing to that of disappointment now that he was no longer near other people.

A part of him honestly wanted to believe that there was hope for him and Ladybug based on that picture, that there was hope that the two of them could fall in love for real.

But after seeing the reaction that reaction Ladybug pulled at that picture?

Chat wasn’t even sure if Ladybug even liked him as a friend.

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug fanfic #Angst #MLB fanfic #Slight salt if you look but not that much really

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creative-frequency · 4 years

Text

Cal Kestis x Reader: DEAR STAR SYSTEM Ch. 04

Word count: 3849 Pairing: Cal Kestis x Female Reader Summary/Contains: There is a time and place for pining but first you need to save the Wookiees. Partial canon-rewrite. Pining, probably. Notes: This is a long chapter but I hope it makes up for the wait! Also lmk if you’d like to be tagged or not. Also sorry if I forgot to tag someone.

Previous Chapter

My Writing Masterlist

DEAR STAR SYSTEM // 04

Your heart wrenches in the most distressing way.

Listening to Saw Gerrera explain what is going on; the Wookiees enslaved, the planet being harvested and destroyed by the Empire… There has to be a way you can help.

On Zeffo Cal found out that the next step of Cordova’s path lies on Kashyyyk, so that’s where you headed next. After a brash jump from the flying Mantis, hijacking a walker and helping the rebels and Gerrera’s Partisans to clear the area, anyone could settle for enough adventure. But Cal still wants to help.

And so do you.

“Wooaaah, wait a minute, hold on, wait a minute.” Greez motions everyone to stop speaking. He is not too convinced it’s a good idea to participate in some freedom fighting. “The Mantis works wonders, I mean it’s a great ship, excellent pilot, but…”

You raise an eyebrow at him.

“It is not built for close support,” he ends decisively.

“We’ll stay here and monitor Imperial transmissions,” Cere calms him, “With a bit of luck we’ll intercept any distress calls.”

“’Preciate it,” Saw nods and turns to Cal: “My lieutenants and I will scout ahead to prepare the attack. Join us when you’re ready.”

As Saw leaves with most of his troops, Cal turns to look at the rest of your crew. His expression is filled with determination, defiance even. Nothing is going to stop him and he is daring you to try.

“You hair is still wet,” you quip. You notice the curve of your lips is a tad too relieved and Cal is absurdly good at pulling off the wet poncho look.

The mood has been slightly… careful between you since the necklace episode. You regret ever letting it happen since now you’re hyperaware of Cal’s presence at all times and weigh the meaning behind every look. It’s an unexpected but not unwelcome pastime, and you shouldn’t consider him in that way but you just do. Cal, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be effect by those same troubles at all. It’s frustrating because you feel like you’re losing in your own game, which is not supposed to be a game but somehow it still is.

Urgh.

“It’s good to see you too,” Cal says and chuckles. “Glad you’re alright.”

“This place is a dump,” Greez mutters and glowers at the overgrown nature around the landing zone. It must be horrible for him.

“Your plan worked. And now you want to follow Saw?” Cere asks cautiously and folds her arms on her chest, not entirely approving of her young mentee’s intentions.

“What do you think of his plan?” Cal returns.

“He might win this fight with our help, but in the long run… I don’t know,” you say in thought. You sigh and look around the destroyed forest. The smell of smoke and burning metal prickles in your nostrils. You’re starting to get desperate for fresh or even filtered air.

“I doubt the freedom for the Wookiees is his only goal,” Cere adds in a hushed tone.

“He seems trustworthy,” Cal shrugs.

“He might prove to be, but there’s more going on here than we know,” Cere reminds him. Cal nods.

“And don’t forget the Empire fights dirty. Watch your tail in that refinery, kid,” Greez says. Is that a hint of worry you detect?

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Wait. I’m coming with you,” you say on the spur of the moment before Cal can turn to leave. There’s no way you’re sitting on your hands inside the Mantis while Cal tumbles head on into danger to save the Wookiees.

The crew pauses to stare at you.

“They’ll need all the help they can get,” you explain, “I’ll go grab my gear, hold on a minute.”

Cal doesn’t know what to say. Cere holds a sigh and Greez shakes his head. “I knew this was gonna happen one day,” he mumbles.

“Does she…” Cal starts but finds it difficult to finish the question. The last thing he wants is to doubt your competence, but he would blame himself if anything were to happen to you out there.

“She can take care of herself, I’ll admit that. You need to focus on your part, Cal,” Cere assures.

“Right.” The young Jedi still looks bemused but swallows the rest of the questions.

The two electroswords, both miraculously fixed by Cal, are waiting to get back to what they were created for. Such flashy weapons haven’t been your strong suit before but it’ll be interesting to try them. As you grab and attach them to you belt along with a blaster and its holster, an ambiguous feeling grows inside you. The decision to go with Cal wasn’t made as impulsively as you even yourself initially thought. Spending time with Cere and Cal must be affecting your sense of justice and will to act. Goddamn Jedi.

Who could’ve guessed someone with your messy past would become a freedom fighter? Definitely not you.

You silence the nagging voice whispering that you’re only doing this to impress a certain person who makes your heart race. Is this really something you’d normally do just to get back to the top of things aka your feelings? You refuse to believe that. But anyone who knew you before you met Cere, would disagree and tell you this is exactly how you always respond. They would tell you this is what you do best. You’re always the one in control and won’t lose without a fight to the death.

You inhale and puff out the air in a long sigh. The door of the Mantis swings open and the smoke-filled air hits your face again. It makes your eyes water.

You tap the blaster holster on your side. “Let’s not keep Saw waiting.”

Cere gives your posture a cursory look but settles for nodding. Greez’s eyes are wide and you realize he hasn’t seen you carrying a weapon before. Just because it wasn’t in plain sight, it doesn’t mean you’d enter shady cantinas unarmed. Greez’s expression is filled with doubt and fearful respect.

“Alright.” Cal sounds wary but decides to trust Cere’s judgment.

“Be careful out there. Both of you. Coming back in one piece is still part of the plan, right?” Cere throws dryly and fights a smile.

“Yeah, I’ll bump it up on the priority list!” Cal grimaces as if he had already forgotten and you roll your eyes. “C’mon, BD!”

Greez hmphs and paces up the Mantis’ ramp, shaking his head and muttering to himself. Cere follows him as you and Cal leave the landing zone. With hasty steps, you head to the direction of the sap refinery.

“So what do you know about the Partisans?” Cal asks in a low voice as you pass a few.

“Just rumors. They’ve got bounties on their heads. Preeetty pile of credits is resting between those shoulders.” Your eyes dart around the freedom fighters in the area and, honestly, they don’t look like much. Just normal people, but apparently they do know which end of the blaster goes where.

Cal looks at you dubiously, pondering whether to ask why you would know such a detail.

“That way, right?” You nod forward.

“Saw is up ahead,” one of the Partisans kindly offers directions towards a narrow clearing that leads to the refinery.

The path is anything but straight; filled with cut-down jungle to make way for elevator tracks from the landing zone to the sap refinery. The comfort of an elevator is nowhere to be seen so you’ll have to get your boots dirty. The swarm of flame beetles buzzing near the tree line is likely the least of what you’ll encounter further in. The short electroswords feel reassuring against your thighs. You grip the blaster handle and draw in a long breath, inconspicuously. It’s been some time since you had to fight anyone.

“Are you okay?” Cal asks and visibly fights himself to not urge you to return. Of course he would notice you psyching yourself up.

“Yeah. Let’s go!” you say. You jump down a ledge before he can say another word and Cal follows you after a beat.

The thought of trudging the jungle floor dirt turns out to be more intolerable than actually treading it with Cal. He is helpful and considerate even in the stressful and pressing situation. The list of things you wouldn’t have fun doing with him is likely as short as a rancor’s patience. And that’s another train of thought you need to crash before it reaches a finish line.

You’re jumping over endless pits, balancing over fallen tree trunks (Cal holds your hand, just in case) and finally climbing up a ramp to reach Saw Gerrera. You’re a tad out of breath when Cal reaches a hand out and pulls you up. He can certainly keep up the pace and you realize you’re dangerously starting to fall out of shape. Greez’s cooking is to blame.

“Still okay?” Cal smiles and holds you for a moment too long. His free hand falls onto your shoulder.

“Thanks. All good,” you huff and try to reach a responsive smile. Cal squeezes your shoulder in his frustratingly casual manner and you remember his touch on your neck while you should be focusing on the life or death mission ahead.

Saw Gerrera and his lieutenants are in position and you crouch to talk with them. Saw gives you an examining look before turning his attention to Cal. “Imperial sap refinery lies dead ahead.”

“What does the Empire want with tree sap?” Cal wonders and looks at the target building through the binoculars.

“Nothing good,” Saw replies.

As he starts explaining the situation and the plan, BD-1 makes a holoprojection of the area. Saw’s troops will create a distraction while Cal uses his lightsaber to rescue the enslaved Wookiees. He makes it sound so simple.

“Creating a distraction, huh? Sounds like you could use every blaster you can get,” you mark to Saw and he nods gravely.

Cal quickly turns to look at you, about to say something.

“I’m going with them,” you hurry to interrupt him.

His mouth closes, an abrupt frown flashes before it’s replaced with badly concealed worry. He knows it’s the best call in the situation.

“Beep?” BD-1 tilts his head.

“Alright. Be careful out there,” Cal says, nodding.

“You too.” You hold eye contact for a moment, but at the same time wonder what that look on his face means.

Cal and BD get on their way down when you follow the Partisans to the main entrance. Saw was right about the Imperial troopers having spread themselves too thin. The amount of resistance you face is almost ridiculous in the face of the battle-hardened Partisans. Saw Gerrera fits out to be the fiercest of them, making you wonder how far he is capable of going. The precision and rage he fights with is unmatched and sparks inspiration in his troops. You no longer wonder why they’re considered radicals by the Empire.

After the first battle, Saw asks you to play it safe in a passing comment. You don’t want to overthink his request or what he believes is between you and Cal, so you continue shooting at the Stormtroopers. The Partisans are counting their marks and the notion makes you feel uneasy. You try not to listen to their banter.

After the third earth-shaking explosion, Cal can no longer resist the urge to ask how you’re doing. Your wrist comm buzzes.

“Doing okay there?” The transmission catches a lot of background noise and it sounds like someone isn’t playing it safe.

You roll to take cover behind a ledge just when a blaster bolt flies over your head. One of the Partisans fighting next to you gets the Stormtrooper.

“A little busy… Don’t you have a job to do?” you huff into the comm device.

Cal chuckles. “I’m almost to the prison now. Just wanted to make sure you’re still safe.”

Safe is a very relative term in the situation you’re in but your stomach makes a jolt and you bite your lip. Can he not do this when you need to stay focused to avoid getting shot? Also, you’re fairly certain Cere can hear you exchange.

“You’re sweet to worry about me, but there’s really no need, Cal.”

A pause.

“Right. Sorry, I–”

“At least you both are still alive in there,” Cere joins up the conversation. “Imperial distress calls are going out across the planet. If you don’t get the prisoners soon…”

“We can do this. I promise,” Cal says decisively.

“See you when you’ve released the Wookiees, Cal,” you say and wait for the comm to snap but it stays silent.

A few moments later a small batch of Wookiees joins the fight, but your distraction group finds itself trapped behind a jammed door in a passageway filled with deadly blaster bolts. The rest of the prisons ahead are still closed and the Stormtroopers are gathering reinforcements. The situation is quickly going from dire to desperate.

“Hold on, we’re gonna get you out of there!” Cal’s voice cracks through your wrist comm.

He is on the other side of the wall, getting closer to the control room. You can just barely see flashes of his blue lightsaber through the fire and smoke. He is fighting and you can’t help the bloat of worry that suddenly rises up your throat. No matter that you’re in a life or death situation yourself.

The Wookiee cell doors suddenly blast open and roars fill the air.

“You’ve done it!” Saw yells. “The Wookiees are free! Get to the roof!”

Cal is on the other side of the glass of the control room, seemingly unharmed. He makes a small wave at you and BD stretches up to look over his head. You form them a thank you on your lips and dart after the Partisans.

By the time Cal gets to the roof, all hell is on the loose. Stormtroopers carrying flamethrowers get up close and personal with the freedom fighters. They get support fire from the upper roof, so you have to stay behind a cover but not moving means the flames will reach you any moment. Unless you deal with the blaster bolts first, you won’t have a chance. Something about the fire and the frying pan crosses your mind.

You yell at the couple nearest Partisans to focus on the enemies firing from up and take out your electroswords. They whirr to life and electric blue cracks around both rods. The handles feel familiar but weird in your hands. It’s been a while. You suppress the disabling feeling of the adrenaline and look for an opening.

When the Flame trooper retreats to reload, you close in.

Cal is running towards the same enemy, but it’s clear that you’ll reach the target first. He barely breaths and time slows as he watches you narrowly slide underneath the angry blaze and make a slicing motion at the trooper’s knees. The shower of flames turns towards the sky when the trooper starts falling and ends abruptly when the electrosword in your right hand slashes again across his chest. It’s over so fast that your brain catches up to speed when the trooper is already lying on the ground.

Cal changes his direction and leaps onto the next Flame trooper, mind void of anything but the ongoing fight and the simple thought that he was a fool to be worried about you. You’re clearly no stranger to a melee weapon.

The area is almost cleared when Imperial support arrives.

“Cal, look!” you scream and point into the air.

Cal is just finishing the last Flame trooper. He brutally kicks the enemy down and drives his lightsaber through the armor’s chest piece. He looks up, mouth hanging open in surprise.

An AT-ST walker lands with a loud thump.

“Jedi! We don’t have the firepower to breach its hull!” Saw yells. He is fighting on the upper roof which is almost cleared out of enemy troopers. The handful of the Partisans left standing, and the freed Wookiees, look for cover. Normal blaster bolts won’t make even a dent on the walker.

“We’re on it!” Cal shouts.

“Be-beep!” BD-1 confirms and tightens his grip of Cal’s back.

Cal searches and catches your gaze but doesn’t need to tell you to stay back. Your feet are already pointed at the poor shelter the nearby doorway offers. You’re going to sit this one out and focus on the rest of the troopers on rooftops so the Jedi can handle the walker.

The AT-ST sows grenades to where Cal stood just seconds ago. His lightsaber cuts red, molten streaks on the robotic legs, breaching closer to the inevitable moment when the walker will topple down. He manages to land an attack after another – all the while parrying incoming blaster fire and dodging disabling electric fields and grenade drops.

With the weapon in hand, Cal is like another person. Brutal, efficient. You’ve seen enough to fully appreciate his legwork and fluid movements in close combat. He is both raw and calculated in his attacks and you wish the troopers were gone already so you could just fully commit to staring.

You’ve never seen a Jedi fight before. Actually, you’ve never even met a Jedi before. The stories that are whispered around the galaxy do no justice to seeing the real deal hand out blows. It makes you wonder.

Cal doesn’t waste time in getting rid of the walker and the fight is over before the Partisans have the chance to watch.

Loud cheers erupt in the air. Everyone crowds around the Jedi and suddenly you feel abashed at approaching him – the new hero of the cause. Your steps heading towards Cal slow down. Saw Gerrera gets up on a platform to hold an inspirational speech:

“Everyone! These have been hard years. We’ve lost comrades, friends, family… to the Empire.” He pauses. “Dark times. And yet the fire… still burns. Hope… still burns. The Jedi are not yet lost.”

All eyes turn to Cal. Saw knows how tight the situation was. If it wasn’t for Cal, none of you would be there alive.

“We are not yet lost. Kashyyyk is not yet lost! For the cause!”

Everyone cheers. Cal looks confused but pleased from the attention. They pat his back and smile, most relieved, some awe-inspired. Words of thanks are said loud and clear. Two of the Partisans who fought beside you come to thank you for the help. You mumble that you didn’t do it to gather gratefulness.

You want to go to Cal but Saw reaches him first. They talk for a while next to the Partisans’ transport ship. Cal can feel your gaze on him and wants to wrap up the conversation quickly. Saw’s offer to join the fight is appreciated but Cal still has his own mission to finish. The mission of the Mantis crew. The mission you’re a part of.

He still hasn’t had the chance to check on you after the fight. If Saw notices how Cal’s attention keeps drawing to your presence, he says nothing. Cal is still too high on the adrenaline to care. He would take up another walker in an instant if it meant he could go and ask are you hurt. He feels an urgent need that pulls him towards you. He knows you’re alright but he needs to make sure with his own eyes, undisturbed.

While waiting for Cal to finish his conversation, you approach Mari Kosan and one of the freed Wookiees, Commander Choyyssyk.

The Wookiee Commander promises you something but you understand only a few things in Shyriiwook, which he kindly uses for clarity, so you have to look to Mari for translation. The things you would understand in Wookieespeak are very… rude in Galactic Basic: A lot of things concerning one’s ancestors and their defining traits.

“Choyyssyk says he’ll do whatever he can to find Tarfful and vouch for you,” Mari translates.

You nod gratefully. “Thank you. I’ll let Cal know.” You glance at the Jedi still exchanging words with Saw.

“Could take some time because they’re always on the move. We’ll be in touch with your ship,” Mari continues.

Choyyssyk agrees and that much you can understand. He apologizes and leaves to be with his comrades who were also imprisoned. Your heart goes out to the Wookiees. They’ve been through something you don’t think you could survive.

You’re just about to ask Mari what the Partisans will do now, when Cal calls your name and runs over to join you.

“You, you’re–” He struggles to find the words, looking rattled but happy.

“A rebel? I guess I am,” you crack to finish the sentence in case Cal is about to comment your fighting style. The less attention your backstabbing methods gain the better.

A rebel is not what Cal meant but the bloat of worry erupts into a fit of light laughter. He takes your hand from mid-air and squeezes it gently.

Your mouth forms an o. It’s hard to conceal your surprise and delight. Your hands lower down and for a moment you feel like you’re about to burst. From holding a guy’s hand. You.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Cal murmurs solemnly. He has that same look in his eyes as when you parted at the refinery entrance.

“You too, Cal. I’m glad you’re in one piece,” you reply in a hushed tone.

Mari clears her throat and awkwardly moves her weight from one foot to another. You pay her no mind but a hint of pink flushes right across Cal’s freckles.

“We should head back to the Mantis. Greez is probably freaking out,” he says and chuckles again. He lets go of you, leaving your fingers tingling pleasantly.

You huff, amused at the thought of Greez stuck in the middle of wild nature and agree: “Yes. Let’s.”

Cal turns to Mari and a look passes his face which hints that he didn’t realize she was standing with you and maybe he should’ve exercised more caution and self-control – though he doesn’t want to think about the reason why. So what if he is happy to see you survived unharmed? The uneasy feeling in his chest doesn’t agree.

“Thank you, both of you,” Mari says.

“You guys stay safe. Good luck out here,” Cal wishes.

“Will do. For the cause.” Mari raises her fist across her heart just like Saw Gerrera earlier.

Part of you hopes the elevator was still out of order since the journey back to the Mantis is way too short. Going out there to help the Wookiees with Cal was a good decision and you’re happy, but also feel an inkling; a stirring inside your chest that makes you nervous to be alone with him in the large elevator. You don’t talk. Only smile whenever your gazes cross and each time your heart makes a leap.

When the elevator stops, you’re fully aware of how much in trouble you are.

Next Chapter

Tagging: @sherniwrites @lucianhuntress @singlebecauseofthechocobros @sevansheart @owldearest @stellar-trinity @bd1babey @winchestergirl907 @thuutthuutbilly @rilakkyungsoo @lizbid33 @twistnet @fangirl-inthe-us @campmccarran @grandadmiral @droidrights @maulblr @la-vide @dej-okay

#cal kestis x reader #cal kestis #jedi fallen order #swjfo #swjfo fanfiction #star wars #cere junda #greez dritus #saw gerrera #bd-1 #my writings #dear star system

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porcelaine-whispers · 3 years

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RED RUBIES OF AFFLICTION | PW

“What a familiar sight of a successful figure, Atty. Fuentes.” A sudden greeting from a woman in a wine-red dress, with jewelry that reflects its stones of red rubies. Her eyes sparkled. She had the sweet smile of an angel. In events like these, meeting familiar faces were no surprise. Her presence was comforting as if her greetings were anticipated. It made me feel safe.

‘Atty. Valentina Ally Fuentes; the only heir of Fuentes Pharmaceutical.’

Spoiled rich girl? Such a stereotype I refuse to be associated with. My mother is publicly recognized as Dra. Amelia Fuentes, the owner of Fuentes Pharmaceutical. As for my father, he is the company’s CLO, Atty. Christophe Fuentes. Our business is the fruit of my parents’ sacrifices. Having the title of being one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country, Fuentes Pharmaceutical continues to flourish. Knowing that our family business is a growing company still astounds me, but along with the wealth it brings is a deprivation that silently suffocates.

After passing the board exam five years ago, my father offered me a job to work under the company’s legal department. Years of working experience exposed me to the environment and exhaustion that comes with handling the company’s legal matters. There was no special treatment, for I am an employee of my parents and I wish to keep it professional in that manner. Having to work for my current title was an endless cycle of sleepless nights.

‘Atty. Valentina Ally Fuentes.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’

It is a title I have brought upon my name through perseverance. I have always wanted to be known for being Valentina Ally Fuentes and not only as of the daughter of my parents. With determination, I am with pride to say that I have successfully created a name for myself. I proved that I am more than just the heir of Fuentes Pharmaceuticals, that I deserve the company because of my hard work. I am to be remembered as Atty. Valentina Ally Fuentes, a lawyer, successor of the leading pharmaceutical company in the Philippines, and most importantly, a woman of her person.

Being an only child, I grew up in an environment too mature for my age. My parents were often preoccupied with the stress of managing the company. Being in the industry made it hard for them to provide time for me. I have always had a close bond with my mother. Although she used to be the CEO of Fuentes Pharmaceutical, I know how she would consistently check up on me and my state of coping with school. My energy is at its fullest when I am with my mother. She became the source of my motivation if ever I disappointed myself. Her voice gave me the peace that made me realize how valuable her presence is in my life. She is the comfort I will continue to long for.

“I apologize for my mother’s absence. On behalf of Dra. Fuentes, it was a pleasure catching up with you, Dr. Cabrera.”

I flew to Manila to assess the Fuentes Pharmaceutical Laboratory in Makati. My mother usually does the inspections of the laboratories; unfortunately, she is currently unavailable because of her emergency conference at Torres Medical Hospital. Upon arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I placed my carry-on baggage in the trunk of the car and had Ashton drive me to the laboratory. Ashton is the son of our maid, Agatha, but he is now residing here in Manila after getting married. Even before my existence, Agatha has been working for our family. She worked as the caretaker of my grandmother, but because of my grandmother’s passing, she now works to take care of us.

Our laboratory in Makati is our second biggest after the main laboratory in Mandaue. I met up with Dr. Cabrera, a member of the board of directors and a trusted family friend. He toured me around the offices and introduced me to the staff. I never really introduced myself to staff due to some being intimidated by my presence.

So far, the laboratories are exquisitely designed. All were accessible and had a system that made it easier to inspect, and at the same time keep order and cleanliness. Of course, cleanliness is a sector that I meticulously assess. We are a pharmaceutical company after all, how could we risk the lives of our consumers as well as our staff?

After completing the inspections, I had to immediately catch my flight home to Cebu. It was around 5:35 in the afternoon when I called Ashton to pick me up and drive me to the airport. During the car ride, I felt this fear and uncertainty. I started sweating and trembling, not knowing the reason for my abrupt shivers. I calmly looked out my window, diverting my attention to the towering buildings in the area. City lights remind me of the times I used to come home late with my mother since I would always insist on coming home with her after my student council meetings. If only I could go back to the days where I am in the comfort of my mother’s warmth. I instantly avoided the sight, trying so hard to forget the distinct memories instilled in my mind.

“Oh my god! If I walked to the airport, I would have probably arrived there by now. Is this a sign to stay the night?” I said in annoyance.

The traffic in Manila is dreadful. Imagine sitting in a vehicle for almost an hour, what a hassle. If only I could just spend the night in my condo at Rockwell Makati, which is only a few minutes away from the laboratory. Unfortunately, I do not have all the time in the world especially now that I have duties to attend to back in Cebu. Good thing my secretary, Mrs. Aphelion, booked a flight at 9:25 PM so I do not have to worry about missing my plane. What would I do if I miss my flight due to traffic? At last, we arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport before the expected boarding time. Ashton assisted me with the door whilst saying his goodbyes. I boarded the plane, tired from all the wandering I did the entire day.

Upon my arrival at Mactan International Airport, I went to the parking lot and decided to drive myself home. I was on my way home when a sudden buzzing came from my phone. I ignored the call because I was driving, and I did not want to kill someone with my awful driving skills. Driving is not something I would do often. I barely passed my driver's license test. What choice do I have now that I am driving on the road together with reckless drivers?

“Urgh! Who again is calling?!…” I answered the phone when it rang again at the stoplight. It was Emsie, one of our maids. She rarely calls me, why would she call me multiple times now? I was about to speak when I heard her voice of fear.

“Ally, you need to come home right now! Please...” She sounds muffled. Her voice was breaking as if she was restricted from breathing. I felt needles puncture my skin, anxious about the reason for her flowing emotions.

“Madam is—”

“Ally, your mother is—” The call ended.

My mother? Did something happen at the conference? My thoughts were jumbled. I started imagining things I should not be imagining. My mind was too occupied with the thought of what had happened to my mother. From there, I knew it was something serious. I said how driving was never my expertise; but with shock, I drove fast and even forgot to breathe.

As I arrived home, the guards opened the gates with panic seen in their gestures. I ran inside as fast as I was capable of, not even caring about the glass sculpture I broke while rushing to find my father. The staff were in tears, I was confused. They pointed in the direction of the study. When I barged into the room, I saw a group of men talking to my father. They have dressed in navy blue uniforms with one holding a folder; they were policemen. My father’s eyes shifted and met with mine when he saw me, panting from all the running. I could not comprehend what was happening in front of me. I love my mother so much that I did not even bother to ask about what happened; instead, I screamed in pain asking where she is.

“Where is my mother?! Where is she?! I want to see her now...” My vision became blurry, tears filled my eyes. I was trembling, my body felt pain in the numbness; I was paralyzed. I could hardly stand properly when the policeman holding the folder turned to me. He looked disappointed.

“I am sorry for what happened, Attorney Fuentes. Three men have been suspected of the incident; it was an ambush. Dra. Fuentes was shot multiple times, hitting her neck and chest. I am sorry Atty., but Doctor Fuentes died at the scene due to excessive blood loss...”

They handed over a clear plastic bag. It was a set of jewelry with shining red rubies.

My mother’s signature set.

She believed that rubies are stones that can bring happiness and passion into the life of the wearer. Thus, her signature stone being ruby. I remember clearly how she would get ready in her vanity, with a smile on her face as she puts on her earring of shining red rubies. Ruby is a stone believed to protect the wearer from negative entities that leach positive energy, promoting spiritual vitality and wellness overall. My mother is an optimistic spirit. Her words are gentle and comforting; yet what am I now that those words of comfort could never be heard in the same voice ever again?

I collapsed, closing my eyes as a flood of tears gushed down my ashen cheeks.

My mother...is gone. I could never hear her voice, see her smile, and feel her warmth again. All was so sudden that I did not have the chance to say what I wanted to say to her. I felt a pang of guilt in me, it was like she died without knowing how much I loved her. Just like a nightmare, this is the horror that never wanted to happen in my life, yet it did. So many questions came to mind; my thoughts are distorted.

I felt a sharp sting in my chest, a puncture in my stomach, and a bullet through my head. I was in suffering.

“Ally be careful with your dosage! Are you even aware of the amount you intake?!” Hearing the voice of my father, I gradually opened my eyes. I look over to see my psychiatrist checking the bottle of pills. Was it all a vivid flashback?

I then realized how my thoughts took over my body. Driving home and seeing flashing city lights triggered the memories of my mother to flood my mind with thoughts of her tragic death. I felt tightness in my throat, rapid palpitations in my chest. I reached for my medication, unaware of the amount I am taking, hoping that it could relieve the choking sensation that silently suffocated me. With the sound of aggressive honking, I drove drained of strength and energy. Arriving home, my body began to respond to the side effects that came with my medication; It led to my slumber.

After being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Dr. Torres prescribed me pills to cope with my sudden anxiety attacks. The death of my mother scarred me. My mother died in an ambush when I was 15 years old, almost 20 years ago. I am now 35 years old, a lawyer, a CEO, and a woman determined to grow my mother’s legacy. I know how sentimental the company is to my mother, so I continue to work hard to make what she started to flourish into a company she sacrificed for.

‘A goal without a plan is not a goal, it is only a dream.

- Dra. Amelia Fuentes.’

When she died, I saw how she still looked glowing. Although she died blood-soaked in a silk dress, her beauty was radiant. My mother is the woman that ensured to raise me with passion in all my works. She has left me with the knowledge that made me grow into the woman I am today. Her wisdom will forever remain with me; the most valuable gift she has ever given.

Even after 20 years, it still haunts me, yet I decide to focus on the path ahead of me, instead of longing for the past that I could never bring back. I may not be able to go back to the days we spent as a complete family, but I gradually accepted that my mother is now home in the heavens. Her presence is something I have been longing for ever since she left. I would even hallucinate seeing her in events, imagining her voice of greetings, her smile of an angel, and her gentle touch.

She is now an angel that continues to protect my father and me from this selfish world. I may not feel her warmth anymore, but I feel her presence.

"My mother will forever be the source of my tranquility.

She will forever be my angel."

-----

[Porcelaine Whispers]

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firstpuffin · 3 years

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Sub-par action, fantastic characters: the Fairy Tail anime (yeah, there are spoilers)

You know, for an action series, Fairy Tail should maybe abandon the fighting.

Okay, not true. But Fairy Tail is interesting in that the action and the story itself are really more of an excuse to expand on the characters. I’ve previously written about how poor the character of Laxus Dreyar is, but in the same piece I mentioned both Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes who are fantastic and complex.

Hiro Mashima, the author of Fairy Tail, has a really interesting way of bringing characters into the story: they are often around for some time before being expanded on. What I see as the key example of this is Elfman Strauss, a large and loud fella with an obsession with men being men, who in his mind are tough and honourable; Elfman appears early on as a background character, joining in squabbles and shouting about masculinity, but he only ever appears for short scenes until the Phantom Lord story arc.

Basically the Fairy Tail magic guild are attacked by the rival Phantom Lord guild, yada yadda etc, and Elfman randomly joins the main cast in invading their base. The natural assumption is that he’s going to be somewhat of a red-shirt, there just to show the power of the antagonists, but Elfman actually plays a vital role. He gets the usual emotional flashbacks normally saved for the heroes we already know, and gets a power-up that feels very much natural and internally consistent, and is important to the arc.

Elfman continues to reappear throughout the story, sometimes in the background and sometimes being important.

Another example is Cana Alberona. She also starts off in the background, chatting to other characters or being a joke, but during the Tenroujima island story arc she suddenly gets fleshed out further. She had a good moment during the Laxus story arc too.

This story arc begins as basically an exam for the heroes and Cana is oddly desperate to succeed. At some point she has chosen to not to tell her estranged father, valued member of Fairy Tail Gildarts Clive, that she is his daughter until she passes this exam.

There are flashbacks, internal conflict and guilt until she eventually decides to fess up and there is a really powerful moment as he realises he has a child and that he’s watched her grow up. And Gildarts has only been in the story since the beginning of this arc and yet the viewer is completely invested.

This is where Fairy Tail stands tall and strong.

Unfortunately the action is so often- urgh. For example, the Tenroujima island arc has this big action set piece towards the end, but instead of committing to it, the show keeps hopping between different fights happening at the same time, doing so so frequently that there’s little to no progress in any of them until each fight ends on an abrupt climax. That’s poor directing.

But the fights themselves are often pretty poor as well. Mashima has no sense of scaling conflicts. One later fight pits four characters in a two on two fight, all characters that have been built up for this very moment and the audience are excited.

So it’s kind of distracting when one team are being totally overpowered, then things flip so that they then completely overwhelm the first pair, and then it flips again, and again. Like seriously, when our heroes inevitably win they’ve been beaten down repeatedly before standing up again and easily, without any kind of power-up, dominate once again.

This weakness in the writing happens again and again throughout the series and is a cheap and piss-poor means of raising tension, but to anyone who does more than blankly stare at the screen it really grates. We don’t even want some complex, in-depth scaling system for the characters, just keep it consistent with what we’ve been seeing. Internally consistent.

Internal consistency is probably one of the top five things that I want from any series, and these dodgy fights bother me all the more because I adore the characters so much. With this sort of emotional up and down I can’t help but get exasperated and rant a little bit. And I’m not asking for much either.

We’ve seen power-ups in the series up until now, the hero Natsu Dragneel has done so repeatedly by eating other magic sources with success (and suffering devastating side-effects which I adore in fiction), and even has a new power-up that he could use to make things feel right. His teammate, Gajeel Redfox, has been gone for three months to train so it would also feel right to see him pull out something new as well.

But we don’t.

Yeah, this is all only a pet peeve and none of it has been enough to stop me from watching it. But it’s all fair criticism and I’ve provided the means to fix these and similar problems for any writers who may read this.

It’s not especially hard to do.

#first puffin #fairy tail #anime #manga #character #writing #elfman strauss #cana alberona #hiro mashima #thosetagswilldofornow

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thirstyforbishiesimagines · 5 years

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Hi! I was wondering if you could do an imagine with Eugene x female reader with unexpected pregnancy? You choose if it's after the apocalypse or in it! I love this blog💕

Beautiful @rachelfischbach, Part I is finally done! I’m so sorry it took so long! I really wanted this one to be perfect because you were just a gem to chat to while discussing deets with this request. I hope you enjoy it and I’ll get working on Part II & III. Lots of love xx 😘

Unexpected : PART I - Eugene x Reader

* image from Lucydreams, Dangerous Fellows

Word Count: 4,026

Angst

Warning: Profanity (18+)

“Is everything ok, (Y/N)?”

There was a soft knock on the cubical door.

Sitting idly on the toilet, you stared blankly at the graffitied wooden panel in front of you; unsure of how to answer your anxious friend. Burying your head in your hands, you let out a forlorn sigh.

“Judy! I’m 2 weeks late!” Yanking your pants up, you pushed the door open and let her slather hand sanitiser all over your palms.

“Maybe your body is just under a lot of stress? That’s probably why your cycle hasn’t…”

“Not two weeks late though!” You threw your head back, exasperated – interrupting her.

“Eugene and I… We’re not exactly careful…”

How is he going to react?

Judy placed a gentle hand on your trembling shoulder, reassuring you with a sympathetic smile, “You need to tell him.”

The ethereal moonlight illuminated the classroom that you and Eugene both shared. Bathing in the aftermath of your night of passion, you rested your head on your boyfriend’s warm chest; twining and tangling your fingers with his playfully. He kissed your temple softly and you felt a pang of nervousness in the pit of your stomach as Judy’s voice echoed in the back of your mind. You let out a heavy sigh, attempting to shake her out of your head.

“What? My kiss not good enough?” Eugene chuckled as he watched you sit up; caressing your arm gently with the back of his fingers.

Clutching the blanket to your breasts, you furrowed your brows and met his amber orbs with apprehension. The smile on his face faded once he saw your quivering lips.

“Hey? Is everything ok?” He settled beside you and wrapped his arms around your waist; sincerity evident upon his boyish face.

Averting your gaze, you gnawed on your lower lip; contemplating over your words.

“Eugene, I think I’m…” Pausing for a moment, you studied his facial expression. Your boyfriend watched you earnestly, encouraging you to continue with a small nod. “I… I’m pregnant.”

“What?” The golden-haired male stared at you blankly, searching for any hint of humour in your anxious eyes. “How?”

You scoffed at his question, irritated at the fact that he couldn’t put two-and-two together.

“Well, that’s what happens when you have unprotected sex, Eugene. You fall pregnant.”

You were furious with yourself for responding to him in such a sardonic manner – guilt consuming you entirely. It was a harsh reality check towards the stunned male and his brows furrowed instantly at your shrewish remark.

“I’m not an idiot, (Y/N)! Shit! I’m just… I’m just shocked. I wasn’t expecting this at all!”

Tensive silence fell between the both of you.

After what felt like hours, Eugene stood up. His body language screaming with disbelief as he began to dress himself. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he wandered towards the door - your delicate voice halting him in his tracks.

“Where are you going? Don’t you want to talk about this?”

You felt wetness welling up in the corner of your eyes as you inhaled deeply, attempting to calm your heartache and nerves caused by his unexpected reaction.

“I… I can’t right now. I just need some air.”

As Eugene slid the door shut, you fell onto the floor in a heap - dejected. You huddled into a tight foetal position and allowed the emotions to pour out from your shattered heart, your hands muffling your doleful cries.

A waterfall of tears pooled onto the cold hardwood floor. You stared down at your belly with clouded eyes, remorse and sadness consuming every inch of your body. Peeling your shaking hands reluctantly from your lips, you held your tummy just below your navel; trying your hardest to convey all the warmth and affection you could muster for the little being growing inside of your womb.

I don’t know if I can do this without him, little one…

Deep down you knew that Eugene wouldn’t take the news too well; hence, you prolonged announcing it to him. You feared that you would lose him completely. That he would no longer want you… or your baby.

Has your worst fears become reality?

Maybe your expectations for a better future was unrealistic.

Maybe the notion of raising a child in this godforsaken world was just too simplistic.

Maybe… maybe you were just naive.

The twisted ache in your heart trembled beneath your chest as the thought of losing Eugene over an unwanted pregnancy was too painful to bear.

“Please… don’t leave me…”

Gazing down at your hunched over belly, you exhaled with overbearing pain and stammered, “Don’t leave us…”

Your quiet plea was left unheard and you cried once more, hugging your abdomen tightly. As moments passed by, you let out a mournful sigh; blinking your tears back. With a gentle caress of your belly, you made a silent promise to your unborn child. A promise that you will protect them, no matter what the costs may be.

You fluttered your swollen eyes shut, attempting to sleep – waiting for your boyfriend to return.

The crisp air embraced your shivering form before the morning rays eventually warmed up the empty room, welcoming a new day… a day where you awoke with no partner by your side.

And as days soon became weeks, you both never spoke about that night again.

The winter breeze whipped the strands of your (h/c) hair across your solemn features as you sat out on the rooftop, watching idly towards the mist-covered city - overridden by mindless zombies. Alone, you hugged your knees to your chest; shielding your belly from the cold as you nibbled on the chocolate bar that was rationed during the afternoon meeting.

“You’re going to catch a cold if you stay up here for too long.”

The irritated tone of the man you yearned for snapped you out of your listless stare. Your heart skipped a beat and you tilted your head to the direction of the entrance as Eugene stepped out onto the concrete, his presence - apathetic and sombre. Relieved to see him safe and unharmed from his supply run, you managed a tiny smile as you watched him stop right at your feet.

“Here.”

He thrusts a small water bottle, a large bag of crisps and a protein bar your way, “Found these at a nearby store. You need to eat.”

Peering up to meet his vacant gaze, you gathered the snacks and crossed your legs to place them in your lap.

He was expressionless.

You missed his charming smile and the sound of his spirited laugh. His lack of emotion broke your heart as you only wished to see him beam at you once more.

“Thanks…”

Averting your eyes, you began to fiddle with the ends of your hair anxiously; fearful of the constant rejection as you craved for his company. “Do you have food? I mean, we can shar-“

“I’m fine. You’re eating for two.”

His abrupt words were a painful reminder of your current relationship status. If you tried to strike up a conversation, he would generally cut you off mid-sentence or walk away from you. During meals, you now sat with Judy and Sue while he would be with Zion or on his own. You hated this feeling… this constant ache in your chest. Dropping your head, you struggled to fight back the tears from this continuous isolation.

Suddenly, a familiar warmth enveloped your shoulders as the comforting scent of Eugene embraced your senses, protecting you from the bitter cold. Your body relaxed into the residual heat that emanated from his jacket before perking up to see the blonde heading towards the door.

“You should really get inside, (Y/N). Unless you want to freeze to death out here.”

The rhythm of your heart thrummed happily as you toyed with the zipper of the garment fondly. You let out a soft giggle as your lips curled up affectionately. His words were crass, but it was enough for you to know that he still cared.

Emerging from Judy’s room, you rubbed your weary eyes and yawned.

Urgh… Why am I so tired this morning?

Your tiny bump was hidden underneath your jacket and you gazed down at your torso, humming softly. An expression graced with a grin as wide as a Cheshire Cat’s, your face emanating with blooming love at your growing tummy.

You must be taking up all of Mummy’s energy, little one.

You gave your distended belly a little rub ‘hello’ before stopping in front of Eugene’s classroom, staring longingly at the wooden door. You couldn’t remember how many nights it had been since you’ve slept in the same room together. The loneliness you had endured was finally too much to bear and it led you to ultimately accept your best friend’s invitation to stay with her instead.

Letting out a dispirited sigh, you began your way to Classroom 1-C.

As you entered the general meeting room, you noticed Judy and Zion engrossed in what seemed to be a serious conversation. Intrigued, you began your way towards them until you felt a gentle hand tap on your shoulder.

“Good morning, (Y/N). Would you mind preparing the food before I commence today’s meeting?”

Lawrence greeted you with a kind smile.

“Sure, Lawrence.”

Pivoting on your heels, you accepted the job and strode back out the door.

“Oi! Wait Up! I’ll come help!”

Recognising the male voice hailing you down, you spun your head around just as you were about to enter the food storage room. A soft smile grew upon your face as Zion approached - his crimson hair bouncing as he jogged down the hallway.

The two of you began to ration the morning meals for all eleven people residing in the school and you sighed, realising that there would only be enough for the next week or so.

“I know it’s soon, but I think we’ll need to go on another food hunt.”

“Yeah… This doesn’t look like it’s gonna last for very long.” Zion nodded in concurrence to your suggestion, “We should let Lawrence know when we get back.”

As you lined the items in a small cardboard box to take back, the redhead perched himself on a desk adjacent to you - capturing your attention.

“So, this thing between you and Eugene has been going on for waay too long.”

Legs crossed on the desk, Zion propped his elbow on his knee - chin resting in his palm. His golden orbs were fuelled with genuine concern; an expression familiar to you way back when you both had dated as teens.

“The guy is like, my idiot brother. He’s my compadre and he won’t even confide in me.” He sighed, furrowing his eyebrows sympathetically, “It’s been months, (Y/N)… What happened between you two?”

Exhaling deeply, you dropped your gaze to your feet; contemplating on what to say to your friend.

“I… It’s a little personal.” You decided not to tell him the truth as to why Eugene hadn’t spoken to you, “It’s not like I wanted this, you know. He seems to want space, so I’m giving that to him.”

A flooding warmth glazed your (e/c) eyes as you tipped your head back, rejecting the unshed tears from falling.

“I miss being with him…” The note in your voice went quiet. You grit your teeth, finally coming to terms with your worse fears, “Zion… I don’t know if he loves me anymore.”

As your emotions washed over your shaking form, you sobbed uncontrollably; burying your moistened face into your trembling hands.

If even Zion had noticed the distance between Eugene and yourself, then it would obviously be evident amongst your friends. This notion tore your heart in two and the hope you held onto was beginning to fade.

Why is he still avoiding me? I mean, he’s half responsible for… for this!

You laced your arms around your waist as you let the tears stream down your cheeks.

Why does it feel like this is punishment for falling pregnant?

I hate what he’s doing to me! I hate feeling so hopeless!

You soon felt arms wrap around you - strong and gentle. That comforting feeling was followed by a gentle pressure on top of your head as Zion nestles his cheek upon you. It was very uncharacteristic of him to be compassionate; however, you welcomed the embrace, nuzzling into his broad chest.

“I’m worried about you guys. I’m worried about you, (Y/N)…” He placed his large hands over your shoulders and pulled away - smiling tenderly. “You know, if it’s any consolation, I’ve seen that moron stare at you from time to time. He looks like a man in love to me.”

“Thanks, Zion. I needed that.” Using the ends of your sleeve to wipe away the tears, you managed a weak smile.

His crimson hair blazed from the morning sun shining through the half-boarded windows - a sure grin across his porcelain face.

“Let’s head back. I’ll talk to him if I get the chance.”

“It has been brought to my attention that we are low on food.”

Lawrence pushed up his round specs as he explained the dire situation to everyone gathered in 1-C.

“I will personally go out for this supply run and if you don’t mind, Ethan, I’d like you to assist me as well.”

Ethan nodded his head in agreement, his usual nonchalant face never giving away his thoughts.

“Zion and I will come too. We know exactly how much food is needed to keep us going for another few months.”

Eager to help - and to get some much-needed fresh air - you shot Lawrence a look of determination and he accepted your voluntary offer with a warm smile.

“YOU CAN’T GO!”

All eyes fixated on Eugene, who had been quiet since the commencement of the meeting. He shifted awkwardly and averted his gaze from everyone else, “I mean… I’ll go instead of (Y/N)… I remember which store has the most food supply from the last run.”

YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS?

You took a deep inhale before contending your cause.

“I already have the inventory memorised. It’ll be easier if I go. Just tell us where this place is.”

Folding your arms across your chest, you narrowed your eyes at him - refusing to back down. You needed to get out of the confines of the school, cabin fever beginning to eat away at your sanity.

Eugene shot you an insistent glare, “It’s been a while since you’ve been out there. It’ll be faster if I go since we had to make new safe routes to different locations.”

“Well, obviously it’s been a while! You keep butting in before I could even volunteer to go into town!”

“It’s because you’re more suited for yard and hallway patrols than outside. Zion and I-“

“EXCUSE ME? MORE SUITED? CARE TO EXPLAIN, EUGENE?”

Your temper erupted as rage crept up your neck. A scarlet hue to complement your angered face.

You were fuming!

You had barely spoken even a few sentences together for months and you couldn’t believe that he had dared to claim that you were not ‘suited’ for supply runs.

Shocked by your outburst, Eugene froze with his mouth agape - speechless.

Vexed by his stubbornness, you sprung to your feet and curled your fingers into a fist, “I’ve been cooped up in here for ages because you keep making excuses as to why I can’t go! I. AM. DONE. HERE!”

You stormed towards the door before turning your gaze at Lawrence, who sat there dumbfounded by the situation, “I’ll prepare my bag and I’ll meet you guys at the gate.”

A pair of footsteps raced after you as you exited the classroom, furious with what had transpired.

Slamming the door open to Judy’s room, you gathered your essentials with sheer frustration; preparing for your trip out into town - Eugene hot on your tail.

“I’m going on this food run and that’s FINAL!”

“LIKE HELL YOU ARE! Not in your state!”

Anger surged through your veins and you snapped your head back to scowl at the man you hopelessly yearned to be with again. You desired nothing more than to be enveloped in his arms; however, at this moment, he was the last person you wanted to see.

“MY STATE? Are we actually going to talk about ‘my state’? After you walked out on me that night I told you I was pregnant, you have NO SAY in the decisions I make.”

Motioning an imaginary circle around your growing belly, you glared at him with indignation, “This? This right here is going to happen whether you like it or not. However, me being pregnant shouldn’t hinder me from going out on runs, and I for one will NOT let a man dictate that. Especially someone who hasn’t been there for me emotionally for the past few months.”

Maintaining eye contact, you curled your hands into a fist once more and let out a stuttering sigh before continuing your outburst, “I needed you, Eugene. My body is changing. I’ve been nauseous and hungry, and I just needed my boy-… I just needed you to hold me… To tell me that everything will be okay and that we can survive in this damned world with a baby. But all you’ve done was avoided the situation. Avoided me! You’ve shut yourself away instead of working this out together. It’s selfish and cowardly, and…”

Biting your lower lip, you stopped yourself from saying any more in fear that you may regret it later.

“You know what? Just… Just, forget it…”

Exasperated, you swung your backpack over your shoulder and made your way towards the exit until Eugene suddenly grabs your wrist. His irritated expression fell into distraught, remorse evident in his crestfallen gaze; unable to form the words that he wanted to convey.

Instead, he manoeuvred his hand to hold your own; caressing your knuckles gently with the pad of his thumb. His eyes remained fixated on the feel of your skin against his, clearly missing the physical connection as he displayed a long-awaited sign of affection.

All the anger was swept away with his touch alone and you desperately wanted to throw your arms around him - to feel the warmth of the man you love so dearly. With all the emotional agony he had put you through, you desired to know only one thing.

Cupping his cheek with your free hand, you guided his gaze to meet yours - searching for answers.

“Do you love me?”

Your whisper had caught him off guard and he looked at you with slight apprehension, his vibrant orbs suddenly glazed with tears.

“(Y/N)… I-”

The hesitation in his voice shattered your heart and you withdrew yourself away from him completely - lips quivering in trepidation.

Why would he hesitate?

Does he doubt his love for me now?

Why do I keep allowing him to make me feel this way?

It felt like the ground beneath you would give way – enticing you to fall into the welcoming sense of oblivion. A nauseating sensation began to churn within the pit of your stomach and you felt like you were going to be sick. Before all of this happened, Eugene was always so affectionate, always doting; his love was unconditional, and he would always express that to you.

If he feels nothing for me… for us, then I will love you with everything that I have, little one!

You subconsciously, placed your hands over your belly - safeguarding your child.

A cocktail of emotions whirled through your mind and you could no longer hold back the tears. The sadness resonated in your voice as you whispered.

“Actually, no… don’t answer that. I don’t think my heart can handle the constant rejection.”

Anger, sorrow, and hopelessness consumed your entirety as you sprinted out the door; not wanting to look back at the remorse shrouded upon Eugene’s tear-stricken face.

Zion looked up at the window where his friend remained, watching you and the others exit the school gate. The redhead gave Eugene a reassuring nod. An unspoken promise to make sure that you remained safe and unharmed. The hooded male caught his gaze and motioned his head in return before focusing his melancholy eyes on you; wishing that he had seized the chance to apologise, to tell you how he genuinely felt about everything… to have tried harder to live up to the man you needed him to be.

Desperately longing that he had returned to you that night he left you.

Eugene slammed his fist against the window, angered at what he believed was a cowardly act. He should have told you that he was anxious and scared… scared that he wouldn’t be good enough to be a father. Ultimately, his life would change with ‘baby’ in the picture and he was unsure of whether he was ready to fulfil such an intimidating role.

Eugene’s breath stammered as he mentally beat himself down at how selfish and inconsiderate he had been these past few months. He couldn’t imagine what you would have gone through. He could only assume that you weren’t ready to become a mum yourself. That you were also afraid of the future ahead.

The painful guilt he felt for abandoning you during such a daunting and vulnerable time ate away at his conscience. Regret devoured his entire being and he felt utterly pathetic that he was unable to express how much you truly mean to him.

As you disappeared around the corner of the gate, he placed his hands on the frosted glass - attempting to reach out to you in a desperate hope that you would feel his undying love for you.

The suffocating silence in 1-C was deafening.

Witnessing the scene of only two of the four hurtling back into the gates stunned everyone into paralysis. Inundated by a swarm of zombies, Lawrence and Ethan were forced to cut the search short; unfortunately resulting in you and Zion becoming separated from them. With darkness threatening their safety, the two men had to retreat back to the school with heavy hearts.

Eugene stood there in disbelief before a flood of remorse washed over his trembling body. He hunched over, winded from the news. Clutching his hand over his shirt, his breath grew rapid as his heart hammered underneath his ribcage - the pain overwhelming to bear.

“(Y/N)…”

The whisper of your name was meek, agonising, and sad - he couldn’t believe that you were gone.

Images of your enchanted smile bombarded his mind and his breath hitched within his throat, torn at the thought he may not ever see it again.

I shouldn’t have let her go! I should have forced her to stay!

Internally screaming at himself with regret, moisture glazed over Eugene’s eyes; threatening to escape as guilt began to tear at his soul.

His legs froze on the spot, overcome with mind-numbing despair. His thoughts, running a million miles an hour; uncertain of how he’d ever be able to live on without you by his side.

It’s because of me… This is all my fault!

FUCK! How could I have been so stupid?

You were no longer within the safe haven of the school building… no longer within reach of his grasp.

I… I’m the reason she wanted to leave.

It’s all my fault… IT’S ALL MY FUCKING FAULT!

Why did I let myself become the reason she wanted to leave?

The blood in the young man’s face drained as his whole world began to crumble. The chance to prove to you that he loves you and that he would try his damn hardest to step up to his responsibilities were ripped away from him.

But if Lawrence said that they got separated, maybe…

Heart pounding, his eyes widened with sudden realisation as he muttered to himself - adamant with his decision.

“I need to see for myself!”

Before anyone could stop him, Eugene had grabbed his bag, readied a weapon and bolted out the gate alone in search for you and his unborn child.

x mod bambi

#dangerous fellows #dangerous fellows eugene #dfel #dfel eugene #eugene #eugene angst #angst #dangerous fellows blog #reader x #reader x eugene #reader x character #reader fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic blog #dangerous fellows otome #request

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three-houses-text-files · 5 years

Text

catherine/seteth

c-a support + paired endings

*warning: contains story spoilers

Seteth: How are you, Catherine? You look well enough. Catherine: Hm? Oh yes, I'm fine. Never better. S: That is good. I cannot help but be concerned, given your tendency toward incautious behavior. S: While boldness can be a virtue, I do hope you will bear in mind that recklessness is not. S: A moment's negligence can lead to a mortal wound for even the most skilled fighter. C: You worry too much. If they saw me in action, the wounds themselves would cower! S: That is precisely the attitude that worries me. Especially given your history. You have been gravely injured before, as you no doubt recall. C: Me, "gravely injured"? When did that happen? S: You mean you have forgotten? It was during your days as a student at the Officers Academy. S: There was an excursion—a monster hunt. You charged ahead and left your fellow students behind. S: You ended up alone and surrounded. You almost died. Do you truly not remember? C: Are you sure? All I remember is cutting down monsters left and right. S: That is true enough. But you nearly bled to death in the aftermath. S: The archbishop was so concerned for your life that she tended your wounds personally. C: Oh! That was when that happened! Finally, it all fits together. C: Lady Rhea looking after me—now that I remember clearly. C: That was the first time she ever spoke to me. C: I was lying on the ground, caked in mud, and she gently picked me up, even stroked my hair... C: The emotions were so overpowering that they must have just cleared away my memory of the whole incident. C: So, it was during the monster hunt! Thanks, Seteth. That's been bothering me for ages. S: That is not quite why I brought it up... C: Come to think of it, Lady Rhea hasn't healed me since then. C: Maybe if I get wounded badly enough, I'll have that honor again! S: I know you have a fondness for the archbishop, but do try to control yourself. C: We’ve got to find Lady Rhea, and then maybe someday she'll honor me like that again…

*i’m assuming this support occurs after rhea’s 'mysterious disappearance', if we take into account cathy’s last line

——————————————————————————————

C: Hey Seteth, I've been meaning to ask you. What is your relationship with Lady Rhea? S: That is certainly an abrupt question. C: You’re much closer to her than anyone else in the entire church. C: Certainly you're a good, upstanding person, but I can't help but feel there's something more to it. S: Supporting the archbishop is my sole professional interest. Personally, I consider her to be something akin to a companion. C: A companion? S: Yes. As in a traveling companion. Friends who walk the same path, toward the same destination. C: Hmm, companion, huh? A companion. I guess that does sound about right, now that you say it. C: Though, I'll confess to being quite jealous! Not many people can call themselves companions of Lady Rhea. S: I do not know how she feels about it. C: Oh, come on. You must trust that she feels the same about you. S: There is no need for that sort of trust. My duties are the same regardless of her perspective. S: I consider you to be a companion also. C: A companion in fighting for the archbishop? S: Certainly. Our goals are firmly aligned when it comes to that, are they not? C: You’re right, they are. I suppose you and I could be considered companions in that sense. S: I am pleased to hear my sentiment reciprocated. S: I rely on you a great deal, after all. More than most. C: Whoa there, what's all this now? Flattery won't win you any prizes with me, Seteth. S: I do not flatter. I merely want you to understand why it matters to me that you be more cautious in battle. S: As your companion, it is my wish for you to be safe. C: Oh good, we're back in familiar territory—with you admonishing me. Don't worry, I'll be careful. C: I’ll always try to live up to your expectations. So don't expect too much, or you'll wear me out!

——————————————————————————————

C: Hiiiiiiyah! Take that, you goons! And that! S: Ugh, no. Catherine's at it again. S: She has charged too far forward. I'd better join her before she—hyah! S: Urgh... Are you all right? C: That’s what I was going to ask you. How could you be so reckless?! C: All those times you scolded me, and now you get yourself all beaten up. C: To think, nearly getting yourself killed in a minor skirmish like this one! S: Quite right. Thankfully, I am not badly hurt. My apologies. I didn't mean to worry you. C: What’s gotten into you? S: How do you mean? C: Don’t play dumb. I was supposed to patrol this area, not you. What are you even doing here? S: Just happened to be passing through? C: Seteth, this isn't like you bumped into me on a stroll around town. Nobody passes through a battlefield! S: All right. I wanted to protect you. C: What? S: You'd pressed much too far ahead. I feared your life might be in danger. S: Once that thought occurred to me, I could not stand idly by. I had to shield you from harm. C: And you were injured in the process. I don't know what to say... C: Seteth. I didn't realize you worried so much about my safety. C: I apologize...and I'm grateful. I guess we really are companions. S: I did not do this merely to assist an ally. S: I did it for you. I don't want to lose you. C: I… I... S: And if I am willing to risk my life to protect you, just think how much scolding I am capable of. S: So you had best take better care of yourself. C: All right. You've made your feelings clear. When you say it like that, I can't refuse. C: I'm sorry for making you worry all the time. I'll be more careful. I promise. S: Please do. For my sake and yours.

——————————————————————————————

paired endings

After the war, Seteth fully confessed his love to Catherine and asked her to marry him. Intending to accompany Rhea to a life of seclusion, however, Catherine declined. Over the years, as Seteth worked to rebuild the church from the monastery, he continued to write love letters to Catherine. When the rebuilding effort was complete, he journeyed to the Red Canyon, where she and Rhea had been living, and delivered all of his letters by hand. Catherine was deeply moved, and with Rhea's blessing and no more reason to refuse him, she accepted his proposal. The two were wed and lived out their lives happily alongside Rhea. (blue lions + church route)

After the war, Seteth fully confessed his love to Catherine and asked her to marry him. Refusing to remain at the monastery, however, Catherine declined. Over the years, as Seteth worked to rebuild the church, he continued to write love letters to Catherine. Her answer was always the same. Finally, when the rebuilding effort was complete, Seteth left the church and went to see her, declaring his love anew. With no more reason to refuse him, she at last accepted his proposal. The two were wed, and swore to walk side by side together through the new age. (golden deer route)

#fire emblem three houses spoilers #fe16 spoilers #fe3h spoilers #catherine x seteth #seteth x catherine

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modosphere · 5 years

Text

All I Want For Christmas Is You

“Soph! Can you come down for a moment, please? Your father is calling you!”

“Down in a sec!” I yelled back, closing my bedroom door again, so I could say my goodbyes to Rose. “Okay, drive safe and text me, alright? I want to know how everything goes. I’ve got to go, my parents want me.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later, bye!”

I hung up and head downstairs, throwing my phone onto the bed before I did.

“What’s up?” I asked, walking into the dining room. Mum and Dad were sitting at the end of the table, a cup of tea each and a packet of biscuits between them.

“Sit down.” Dad told me, a small, smug smile on his face. Oh dear God, this wasn’t going to be good. Not for me, anyway. “Don’t look so worried, Soph, relax.”

More reason for me to be worried.

I sat down on the other end of our table, opposite my dad, at the head. Bring it. This was bad. Either Dad was having another mid-life crisis and had decided to moan about his life more publicly than usual, or they were adding to my weekly quota of family time again.

“Soph, Zayn’s parents just rang.” Mum told me calmly. Dad watched me carefully beside her and I felt my stomach flip at his name. Okay, I was definitely not ever going to get used to that. His name, I mean. Even from my mother’s mouth it sounded ridiculously appealing to me and that in itself was so dysfunctional beyond words, I almost shuddered in disgust.

“Oh, did they?” I tried to sound neutral. It kind of worked. “What did they say?”

Dad took a sip of tea and looked over at me.

“They’re inviting us to their Christmas party.” He said the last two words with contempt and I tried not to wince and roll my eyes at the same time. Dad was still having... Issues about that. “It’s next week on Christmas Eve and then they invited us to spend Christmas Day with them, too, to have... Lunch.”

“That was nice.” I opted for saying, going with the neutral answer. “A bit short notice, isn’t it?”

“Well, apparently, Zayn was meant to mention it to you.” Mum turned to me and I felt my body tense slightly at the icy look in her eye. “You see, this is why we don’t like our young, Muslim daughter working in journalism and finding her own husband, because we can’t control your exposure to him and find everything out last.”

I couldn’t help but feel my anger rise slightly, even though I knew I was rising to the bait.

“Well, not really, you know exactly what happens and when I see Zayn.” I frowned, irritation seeping into my voice.

“Yes, darling.” Mum said patronizingly, in that way that made my skin itch. “But if we had from the beginning, you wouldn’t be engaged right now, would you? You didn’t tell us when you met Zayn before, because you knew we’d disapprove.”

I scowled, even though I’d heard that wasn’t a great look for somebody who had graduated.

“I think what your mother is trying to say,” Dad interrupted coolly. “Is that it would be nice if you didn’t withhold information from us, sweetie.”

He called me sweetie.

Yeah, I wanted to kill them both.

“So either Zayn’s parents are lying, which I don’t see any reason for them to do.” Dad continued. “Or Zayn didn’t tell you. Or you didn’t tell us.”

“And if Zayn didn’t tell you, that’s not a very trusting relationship, is it, darling?” If my darling mother patronized me one more time, I was going to jump across our stupid glass dining table and rugby tackle her to the floor.

“He did tell me, I just didn’t think it’d be your thing.” I said defensively, not liking the way my parents automatically wanted to blame Zayn. It wasn’t because they even wanted to think their daughter perfect; no, it was because the more dirt they had on Zayn, the more they could rub it in my face.

“Leave it to us to decide whether it’s our thing or not.” Dad said, sounding slightly menacing now. I clenched my jaw and tried to envision happy thoughts. See? I couldn’t win. If I didn’t back up Zayn, I was marrying a total loser and my parents would be on my back about it. If I took his side, they felt all pissy because I wasn’t a part of their crappy little gang. Urgh, I hated them both. “Now-”

“I just thought you guys wouldn’t want to go and anyway, you wouldn’t unless they called to invite you.” I frowned.

“See, there, it wasn’t so hard to tell the truth, was it?” Dad smiled patronizingly and again, the urge to rugby tackle somebody took me over. I shook my head to protest, but Dad just shook his head at me. “Now, now, Soph, we’re just trying to help, we’re not throwing accusations, are we, Ruby?”

Mum just raised an eyebrow at me.

“So, what did you say to them?” I sighed in defeat, clenching my fists under the table. “Do you want to go, then?”

“Well, I was going to tell them we’d think about it, but your father thought that would be too abrupt.”

I decided to not look in my mother’s direction. When she was like this, I only wanted to gauge her eyes out with a plastic fork.

“Do you want to go?” Dad asked me carefully.

Oh, God, I knew this was a trick question.

“Are you here that weekend?” I asked, proud of the neutrality in my voice. “And doesn’t that mean we’d have to stay in Bradford for a few days or something?”

“You leave that to me.” Dad told me calmly. “Do you want to go, Soph?”

I was tempted to tear my hair out. I mean, what a stupid question. Did I want to spend Christmas with Zayn? As opposed to staying, okay, yes, in London, but with my family, awkwardly fighting for volume control as I tried to watch the Doctor Who special?

Then again... Even if Matt Smith was no David Tennant... There was still the Doctor Who special.

“I think it’d be nice.” I said carefully, ignoring the triumphant looks on my parent’s faces. You’d think they’d be a bit more mature. I mean, for goodness sake, Zayn was my goddamn fiance, the least they could do was understand that that meant something.

“You won’t just be seeing Zayn, his entire family will be there.” Mum told me coldly and even though I knew she was only playing Bad Cop so Dad wouldn’t, she was still seriously pushing it. Whether she admitted it or not, she liked Zayn, so I didn’t see what the goddamn fuss was. “I hope you’re not just doing it to please him. I mean, God forbid you should try and please your parents, but this boy comes along and oh, you’ll do anything for him-”

“Alright, Robina, do you want to have this conversation with her when I’m not here?” Dad snapped. Ah, there it was. Dad’s false sense of manliness. What difference did it make if we spoke about feelings? Not that I did that anyway, but I did simply loved the way my Dad acted like we were talking about periods or something whenever my feelings for Zayn came up. Not that I really... Had anyway. I mean, a second ago I’d referred to him as my fiance and no matter how true that was, IT CREEPED ME OUT TO SAY IT. “Soph, if you want to go, we’ll go, okay? Do you want to go?”

I nodded reluctantly. Hadn’t somebody once warned me that love was all about sacrifices? Well, I was screwed. I refused to admit I had any type of positive feelings for Zayn and I was still sacrificing the years of teenage rebellion I’d built against my parents for him. What even.

“Right, then your mother can call them back now and we’ll tell them we’ll see them next week. It’s not a problem.” Dad smiled at me and it was one of those rare moments that I didn’t know whether to accept his sudden niceness and forgot he was mostly a prick, or be suspicious. Mum opened her mouth to complain, but Dad just glared at her. “Oh, for God’s sake, Robina, she’s already marrying the damn boy, what more embarrassment can she cause us?”

Yeah... Prick it was.

“Hey, Adam!” I yelled over the din of surround-sound Power Rangers. “Do you want to go to a Christmas party next week?”

“No.” Adam shouted back, before shuffling in, in all of his eleven-year-old glory. “No, wait, whose party is it?”

“Zayn’s parents.” I told him calmly, feeling slightly better as our parents watched us, confused. “I think it’s in Bradford, though.”

Adam thought for a minute.

“Is Zayn going to be there?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, that’d be cool, we’ll go.” Adam told us importantly, before going back into the lounge and watching whatever crap it was he was watching.

“Adam, why should we go and see Zayn?” Mum shouted out, teasing. I heard Adam grunt at the interruption. He’d finished his studying for the day, I knew what that meant; his brain was officially dead until he had to wake up for school tomorrow. “Don’t you think it’d be more fun to stay at home, just us four?”

“No.” Adam said back, snorting from the other room. Mum could see him from where she was sitting, but I didn’t need to watch him to know what face he was giving her; the look that clearly meant she was crazy. “Zayn’s cool, he said he’d play COD with me.”

“When did you meet Zayn?” Dad asked sharply.

Adam was so good, I didn’t even bat an eyelid.

“I didn’t, but he follows me on Twitter.” Adam said. “I’m watching TV now.” Translation; shut up and leave me alone.

So we did.

. . .

1 WEEK LATER

“Make sure Zayn knows the boundaries.” Mum was telling me quietly as Dad parked the Range Rover somewhere we wouldn’t get blocked in. “If your father sees him touching you, he’ll kill him.”

“I know!” I sighed, rolling my eyes as we waited for someone to open the door. The driveway to the new house was packed with cars. I knew the boys would be here. Rose was going to be late – Harry was picking her up from the station, he’d been running late anyway – but the others should be here.

Including Zayn.

I’d gone for the natural look today, not that I’d had much choice, what with the whole no-red-lipstick-until-the-wedding-day thing. I was still wearing more make-up than usual, though. Black eyeliner, mascara, tinted moisturizer, fairly natural looking pink lip-gloss. The clothes I had chosen myself, for fear my mother would make me so feminine, Zayn wouldn’t recognize me. I was wearing skinny black jeans, a stripy jumper that screamed “festive season” and some navy high-top Converses to match the stripes.

Adam clearly looked the smartest out of all of us. He also looked way too much like a rockstar for my liking. Skinny black jeans, a white shirt and a black blazer, with his own black Converses. He and Mum had argued over the shoes, but Adam had argued that if I was the only reason we were all going and I wasn’t being forced to glam up, he shouldn’t be either. And Dad had just agreed because we’d been running late.

I rang the doorbell, chewing on the inside of my lip nervously.

“Soph, don’t be nervous.” Mum told me quietly, squeezing my hand. “You look hot, Zayn must be bloody blind if he doesn’t see that.”

That made me snort, especially as I saw Adam shoot Mum the most freaked out look ever.

And then the door opened.

“Louis, you wan-” Niall’s eyes widened as he saw me, eyebrows raised, standing with Mum and Adam. “Soph! You made it!” Niall shrieked, before grabbing me in a great bear hug.

Now, I love Niall’s hugs, I do. But my mother isn’t such a fan.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or not. He was so... Enthusiastic. I hadn’t seen any of the boys for the past few weeks, what with the second leg of the tour and everything. I’d spoken to Harry a few times about the whole thing he was going through and the other guys had emailed a couple of times... I hadn’t really spoken to Zayn much. Sure, he’d called and text, but I’d always found a reason to cut it short.

Don’t judge me, okay? The whole... Getting married thing was scary. Especially considering... Well, everything we had gone through to get here. But it all seemed so much more real now. I mean, I was getting married. To Zayn. Of all people in the world.

“Soph’s mum, nice to meet you.” Niall grinned, letting me go to hug Mum instead. Adam and I glanced at each other, trying not to laugh, as Mum politely hugged him back, looking confused.

“Hi.” Dad nodded to Niall as he let go, appearing out of nowhere. He had his polite voice on. “Shall we come in?”

“And you must be Soph’s Dad!” Niall yelled happily, shaking Dad’s hand enthusiastically. I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Lovely to meet you all, truly. And you must be Adam!”

“Hi.” Adam said politely.

“Welcome to the brotherhood, man, we’re all playing video games in the other room, so stick around.” Niall told him sincerely and I felt my shoulders relax as Adam smiled broadly up at him. It was one thing for Adam to approve of Zayn, but it was another for him to approve of the other boys. “I’m Niall, by the way.” Niall said to Mum and Dad, smiling. “I’m the token Irish one in the band, I work with Zayn.”

I knew Mum recognized him from my hardcore One Direction days, back when they’d just released the first album. Dad nodded and smiled like he knew what was going on and Mum brightened a little. I knew what she was remembering; me and her cheering Niall on as he Irish-danced on Alan Carr.

Niall hustled us in and I stared at how... Busy everything was. There were people everywhere, to start with. Drinking, laughing, talking – yelling at kids.

“I’d avoid her if I were you.” Niall told us cheerfully. “One of Zayn’s relatives friends or something, all I know is that she likes shouting a lot, she hasn’t made many friends.”

I shook my head at Niall, smiling, as he took our coats.

“Soph, I’ll go and find the rest of the boys, they’ll be so glad you’re here, we didn’t know if you were coming or not.” Niall grinned. “I mean, Zayn told us you were coming with family, but we didn’t know if you’d actually be able to make it or not, coming in from London and all.”

“Nice save.” I mouthed as soon as my parents back were turned and Niall shook his head at me, Adam giggling beside us. The boys knew about the constant battle Zayn and I were having against my family.

“Adam, come with me, you can join our little tournament.” Niall clapped a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Soph, I’ll-”

“Oh, you’ve arrived!” I heard somebody gasp and I turned, with a smile, to my future mother-in-law. God, that term was dysfunctional. “Niall, why didn’t you tell me? Honestly, you boys are useless – Robina, you look lovely!”

I let Patricia do the whole happy-hostess thing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved her to pieces, but I knew she had to play it up for my Dad. Which she did. She looked stunning, as always. Yaser – sorry, Uncle Yaser (future father-in-law, oh God) came out and he and Dad seemed to be getting along.

It was surreal, I’m not going to lie. Not the party; the 1D Mums loved me. Why wouldn’t they? I kept Harry in check, pushed Liam to get a love life, ate relatively healthily with Niall, made sure Louis didn’t let anybody use his minutes so he had enough to stay on the phone with his Mum and... And, yeah, okay, Zayn was my future husband. But still. The girls came over and said hi. The usual; hugs, kisses, “Oh my God, you look great!” being passed around.

“Oh, there you are!” Aunt Patricia – you see, I had no problem calling her Aunt, I mean, c’mon, I’m Asian, I’d been doing it for years, but it was weird, because the boys instantly thought it made Zayn sound like my cousin, which, just, ew, no – looked behind me, rolling her eyes. I felt my shoulders tense. She only reserved that equally loving and irritated tone for one person. “Look who’s arrived.”

I knew I shouldn’t have tied my hair away from my face, what shield did I have now?

I turned and saw Zayn standing behind me, his hands shoved into his pockets. I’ll admit it; my heart stuttered a little bit. He’d let his hair grown out even more than from the last time I’d seen him; it wasn’t gelled up, so was a thick, wavy mess. Black trousers, a black V-neck jumper. Of course, his black and purple Air Max trainers.

He didn’t have his studs in, because he knew it irritated my parents. He’d shaved properly, so there was no end-of-day stubble. He was standing slightly awkwardly and I quickly looked away, as I saw his head begin to turn in my direction.

This was utterly pathetic. He was putting the ring on my finger and making our engagement fully public in a couple of weeks. God, when I’d hated him I’d been way more confident, how was it that, having one of the hottest guys on the planet want to marry me made me feel all... Gushy?

Easy. Because I was still trying to pretend that it didn’t bother me that he’d made the first move, how much I truly cared for him and Hell, how I fully planned on jumping him repeatedly on our wedding night.

Ahh, wedding night. How about I didn’t think about that right now??

“Hi Uncle.” Zayn said with a small smile on his face, shaking Dad’s hand. He kissed Mum on the cheek. “Aunty Ruby, you look stunning-” I blocked out, wincing as I heard him high-five Adam. It was so wrong. Zayn and Adam getting along was just so wrong. I mean, Adam felt protective over me when Dad complained about his tea, but the guy I was marrying? No, Adam was cool with that.

This is what I got for brainwashing Adam into a Directioner in my teenage years.

I chewed on my lip, arms folded over my chest as I looked up, feeling Zayn turn to me.

I looked into his stupid, stupid, stupid brown eyes. They looked green in this light.

“Hey.” He said softly, smiling that stupid, horrible, cute, brilliant, sexy little smile he saved just me.

“Hi.” I managed to say, just as quietly, chewing on my bottom lip with a small, forced smile. Oh, God, I felt sick. Oh, God, Zayn was making me feel sick. See, this was a problem. Why couldn’t it be the way it had been when we’d hated each other? I’d had way more confidence then!

There was a flurry of instructions then. Uncle Yaser (FATHER-IN-LAW, SO VERY DYSFUNCTIONAL, PEOPLE) took Dad to sit with the other men, Aunt Patricia took Mum off with a wink, Niall whisked off Adam and then... It was me and Zayn.

“Why are you staring at me like you would the penguin enclosure?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at him and feeling slightly more comfortable at how confident I sounded. Not felt, but sounded.

“You look beautiful.” Zayn told me, allowing himself to grin at me goofily. “I think someone made the effort for me.”

“Oh yeah, Mum was out to impress.” I nodded, knowing that was exactly what he hadn’t meant. I went to walk away, agonizing over the fact I’d have to walk past him.

I didn’t get far.

As I went by, Zayn subtly placed his hand over my wrist, our shoulders touching.

Ah, ah, ah, help, help, help, close proximity!

“I think you made an effort.” Zayn murmured to me quietly, looking into my eyes. Oh, God, it was really hard to be in denial when he was pulling out the eyes. I mean, that was unfair. I didn’t have eyes like his. I mean, they were brown, but they didn’t have freaking superpowers like his. “I appreciate it.”

“You know if my parents see you touching me before the wedding, they’re going to butcher you, right?” I managed to ask, my voice sounding slightly shaky, even to my own ears. I could smell his aftershave. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek as he spoke and dear God, I wanted to run away screaming. And not because I hated it. The opposite.

“I don’t see you complaining.” Zayn smirked at me. He shuffled slightly closer, so he was standing half in front of me, obscuring everybody else’s view, his chest not too far away from being pressed against mine. Help. Have mercy. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Not... Not avoiding.” I managed to stammer. Oh, God, oh GOD, his lips were RIGHT THERE... This had been a bad idea. “Just creating suitable distance.”

Zayn’s smirk widened.

“You’re going to be my wife in a couple of weeks, Soph, we’re going to be close.” Zayn’s eyes fell from mine and travelled slowly up and down my body, giving me tingles. “... Very close.” Okay, that was it. I was going to cry out of pure sexual frustration.

Yes, I said it. Sexual frustration.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I was glad (sort of) that it’d be... Special, when the time came.

But, in case nobody else had noticed, my fiance was ZAYN MALIK, okay? It was torture. Especially when he did... This. I mean, I hadn’t even kissed the guy. Not that I didn’t already know about the absolutely epic sexual chemistry we already had. I mean, come on, last week had been practically nothing to what was going to happen on D-Day (aka, Wedding Night, aka When Soph Stops Being Virginal).

“Sounds like you’ve got it all planned.” I cleared my throat first, sounding nonchalant. I tried to tell myself I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of getting me flustered... But I knew that was a lie.

A LIE.

Because I knew the more I acted like he wasn’t bothering me, the more Zayn would try. And honestly, I didn’t want him to stop talking.

“Oh, yeah.” Zayn nodded neutrally, before smirking at me, his eyes smoldering from underneath those killer long eyelashes. Arrgh. I was going to throttle him, I swear to God. I was going to pull a total Lady Macbeth and stab him in his sleep. Was that Macbeth? See?! Zayn was messing with my brain so much, I was getting my literature mixed up! ME! “I should probably warn you, actually, so you’re prepared. I’m going to start with your-”

“Soph!”

I almost passed out with relief as Liam popped his head around the door, beaming at me. Zayn stepped back smoothly, letting go of my wrist, his head down as he hid his giant, triumphant grin. Smug bastard.

“Hey!” I forced a smile and stepped away from Zayn, feeling giddy. Arrgghh, Zayn was making me swoon. How pathetic. Hey, would he catch me? OH GOD, SOPH, NOT HELPING. “Sorry, I was, uh,-”

“Are your parents around? Or can I hug you?” Liam whispered, looking around.

I laughed and hugged him quickly, making sure to inhale deeply. Liam smell. Not Zayn smell. Zayn smell made me feel giddy, Liam smell just smelt good.

“Zayn messing with your head?” Liam asked me quietly, sounding amused.

“Aha, you have no idea.” I whispered back, before pulling away.

. . .

The party was... Great.

The food was great (though I didn’t say it in front of Zayn, because I knew he’d helped and he was charming my parents too much for my liking already), everybody was really friendly (except that one lady who we’d seen when we’d walked in, but Adam and I had mostly avoided her) and even my Dad was having a relatively good time. I mean, I’d seen him laughing.

Shock, horror.

“He’s fitting in well.” Zayn nodded towards where Adam and Louis were battling each other on the X-box, sidling up behind me.

“Too well. He’s adapting better than I am.” I smiled, shaking my head and turning to face Zayn – freezing as I saw how close he was. His face was inches away from mine and the way I could see the teeniest of smirks on his lips – on the lips I was very, very close to – instantly made me know that it was deliberate. “The party’s going well.”

“Yeah, you’ve gone down a hit.” Zayn murmured, smirking again. I stared at him for a moment, about to say something – but unsure of what – before I turned away. “Everybody’s going to be leaving soon.”

“So early?” I asked in surprise, turning back to him, but making sure there was more distance between our faces this time.

Zayn gave me a funny look.

“Soph, it’s nearly midnight.” Zayn blinked. “Countdown to Christmas starts in a couple of minutes and then people will be leaving. Including you. Are you coming to lunch tomorrow?”

“No idea.” I shrugged, stiffening and wincing as, by shrugging, my arm grazed Zayn’s stomach. Okay, so he was wearing a jumper, but still. WHAT IF HE HADN’T BEEN? Oh my God. I was going to find that out soon enough, wasn’t I? What it was like to brush against Zayn, in general, when he wasn’t wearing ANYTHING? Argh.

You see, this was why I had been “avoiding” Zayn. It wasn’t avoiding him as such; it was more the fact that I was kicking myself. I mean, I’d been this super-confident, borderline-cocky, perfect flirt before. Not before, before, I mean between before before and now before and URGH – you get the point. And with the wedding approaching (by wedding I mean D-DAY), I was expected to still be that sexy motherfucker (if I do say so myself). And I wasn’t. I was petrified. Not in THAT way, but just, generally...

Argh.

“Oh, God.” I muttered, seeing couples standing up and slow dancing, as a cover of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Michael Buble began to play. Mum was shifting next to Dad, who was probably playing a game, on his iPhone. Zayn followed my eyes. “Way to make her feel like shit, Dad.”

“What’s the matter?” Zayn frowned, looking at them. “Your parents?”

“He’s not dancing with her.” I sighed, rolling my eyes. “It’s something small, but it’ll hurt her. And even if she says it – which she probably already has – he’ll brush her off.”

“Does that bother you?” Zayn turned to me, his eyebrows furrowed. Argh. Perfect eyebrows. NO SOPH, STOP IT. “That she’s not dancing, I mean. Do you want her to?”

I snorted.

“Yeah, watching my mother slow-dancing has always been on my bucket-list.” I snorted, before sighing. “But... I don’t know, she doesn’t have memories like that with my Dad. Romantic ones, I mean. That makes me sad, not the fact she’s not dancing.”

Zayn folded his arms across his chest, watching Mum, and I could see the shape of his arms.

I’m going to go and kill myself now.

“I’ll be back in a sec, alright?” Zayn told me, walking off before I could answer.

“Yeah, that’s-” I stopped muttering and felt my eyes widen as I saw him walk over to my parents. OH DEAR GOD, NO. “Zayn!” I hissed, even though he couldn’t hear me. Which was weird, because I saw him incline his head slightly, from the other side of the room. “No, no, no, Zayn, no, you stupid-”

“What’re you spazzing about?” Adam asked, appearing of out nowhere, looking at Zayn. Adam frowned. “Why’s he over there?”

“Come on.” I muttered, edging closer to them with Adam, trying to make it look natural.

“... Married first.” Dad was saying, glowering at Zayn’s head. I winced. Not good. “Then she’ll be your mother-in-law, ask me if you can dance with her then.”

I can safely say both Adam and I gaped at Zayn after hearing that.

“Well, Uncle, I was going to ask you, but it didn’t seem your thing.” Zayn told Dad sweetly, smirking a little. I stifled a gasp over my mouth. Oh my God.

“Nooo.” Adam muttered. “Dude, no way.”

“Shut up, Adam, it’s not funny.” I muttered, trying not to laugh. No. Not funny. “He’s challenging Dad’s authority, that’s not nice, that’s not, uh, what’s that word? Oh yeah, respectful...”

“He’s also standing up to the grumpy old man, I don’t know what planet you’re living on, but I find this bloody hilarious.” Adam snorted.

“Shut up, Adam!” I shoved him gently, covering my mouth as I laughed. Okay, so it was a little funny. Very funny. “Oh my God, look.”

Dad had waved his hand dismissively, standing up and already calling somebody, Zayn taking Mum’s hand, her face full of a mixture of surprise and a blush at what I guessed was Zayn’s flattery.

I smiled to myself, without meaning to. Yeah, Zayn was good at stuff like that.

I watched as Zayn said something to Mum, making her laugh and slap him on the shoulder, telling him to shut up. Zayn was grinning as he danced with her, slowly, to the music.

As the song began to finish, Zayn caught my eye over Mum’s shoulder (not that that’s particularly hard, at exactly five feet, Mum was the family midget) and smiled at me.

I mouthed a thank you, trying not to smile too much. Stupid charmer.

. . .

Ten minutes to midnight.

Dad had to disappear to the hotel; something about an emergency meeting with Pakistan about the new school or something. Mum was having a great time with Aunt Patricia somewhere – she’d cheered up considerably since Zayn’s efforts – and Adam was inside, playing with the boys.

Zayn had asked if he could talk to me in the garden.

It was cold and I was ill-equipped without my coat, so Zayn gave me the jacket he’d (cleverly) brought with him into the garden. It was snowing in Bradford. A real white Christmas. Maybe it was worth missing the Doctor Who special, not that I hadn’t recorded it. In London, all we wouldn’t gotten was slush.

Kudos, Maliks.

“Well, this is cliché.” I said suddenly, laughing. Zayn looked at me. “You know, the whole... Thing. Me and you originally hating each other, becoming friends and now we’re getting married... Cliché, don’t you think?”

“Should I take that as a compliment?” Zayn asked with a confused smile.

“Definitely.” I nodded. “Rose and I sob like babies every time we see The Notebook, cliché works.”

Zayn didn’t say anything, walking to the end of the garden. He brushed some snow off the small back wall and sat down, motioning for me to do the same.

“Nu-uh.” I shook my head. “I’ll get your coat wet.”

It was weird. Zayn gave me a strange, small little smile.

“It’s fine, Soph.” He said gently, freaking me out even more. “C’mon, sit down.”

I went to argue again, but – realizing that it sounded like I cared – I shrugged quickly instead and sat down, going to brush away the snow. Zayn got there first, shrugging when I looked at him questioningly.

“What do you want for Christmas?” I asked suddenly, looking at him. It was starry tonight. “I never really thought about it before, what do you want?”

“What?” Zayn laughed in disbelief and I shrugged at him, grinning for some strange, strange reason that was unbeknownst to me. “Bit late, isn’t it?”

“Tell me.” I commanded, grinning still.

“Well, good thing you don’t need to go looking for it.” Zayn smiled at me sweetly and I watched him, questioning. “I just want you.”

Oh.

“Well, I, you, I mean, uh, we, um-”

“I mean, all of you.” Zayn said quickly and I stopped stammering to stare at him in surprise. “I know you’re holding back, Soph. I just don’t know why. If you really don’t want to do this, we don’t have to get married, I-”

“No!” I burst out, feeling my cheeks turn red as Zayn raised his eyebrows at me. Awkward. “I... I mean...” Damn it. I took a deep breath. Man up, Soph, where’s your metaphorical penis now? “I do... Want to... Get married.” I said awkwardly. “To you.” I added quickly, watching Zayn’s mouth twitch. “”Oh, get lost!” I muttered, laughing as Zayn burst into laughter. “I was clarifying!”

“I noticed.” Zayn grinned, before becoming more subdued. I watched him, feeling... Weird. Happy weird. GOOD weird. “And you’re sure?” I nodded. Stupid question. I wasn’t exactly one to go gushing my feelings but... I... Liked Zayn. A... A lot. “Well, in that case...”

“In that case what?” I smiled, watching him take a nervous breath. “Zayn?”

“Well, my Malikah-”

“Oh, you Asian.” I snorted loudly. “Princess in Arabic? Next you’re going to start praying aloud on a bus.” I pretended to tut at him, watching Zayn’s incredulous expression. “Bloody terrorist.”

Zayn fought it. I watched him. His mouth was twitching and he was biting his lower lip to not laugh, but his shoulders were shaking and before I could even fully start grinning at him, he’d let out a large hoot of laughter and was trying not to fall over.

In fact, he nearly fell face-forward into the snow, so put a hand on my knee to steady himself, still choking.

For a moment, I froze. Anybody could be watching, aka, my parents.

But... I realized I didn’t mind.

So I laughed too.

“That... Is not the point.” Zayn laughed, shaking his head. “Look, I know we’re not meant to do this until February-”

“If you try and rape me, I swear to God, I’ll kill you.” I said automatically. Not that it mattered. I mean, what could any guy say to that?

“Yeah, it’s not rape if you like it.” Zayn smirked and I felt myself blush. Yeah. He could say that. I watched as Zayn went into his trouser pocket, pulling out a –

I covered my mouth with my hand, refusing to gasp. A turquoise box with a white ribbon.

A Tiffany’s box.

“Zayn...” I managed to whisper.

“Your favourite movie is Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I thought it gave me a bit of a clue.” Zayn smiled at me. “Hand?”

Wordlessly, I let him take my hand as he opened the box.

“I know I can’t give it to you now, but I wanted to see if it fit.” Zayn told me quietly, not looking at me properly. I didn’t see the ring as he took it out of the box and put the box away in his pocket. Silently, he slid it onto my wedding finger and tilted my hand in the light, showing me.

I gasped.

It was stunning.

It was simple. A shining, beautiful plain silver ring, a circular, beautifully cut diamond nested in the middle. As it caught the light from the house, it sparkled brilliantly, making me stare at it, speechless.

It was amazing.

“Soph...” Zayn seemed to struggle with his words. Not that I was listening. Oh my God, this ring was stunning. OH DEAR GOD, THIS WAS MY ENGAGEMENT RING. “I l- I really like you. You know that, don’t you?”

“I love you too.” I murmured, staring at my ring. Oh my God. This must’ve cost a bomb. I couldn’t let him buy me this. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was so pretty and it fit perfectly and everything and OH MY GOD, I’D JUST TOLD ZAYN I LOVED HIM.

My words died on my tongue, but I kept my face on the ring. Oh God. I’d just told Zayn how I felt...

... And it hadn’t killed me.

And it felt good to finally say it.

I loved Zayn.

I could feel him staring at me. Slowly, I brought my eyes up to meet his.

“Well, that’s one way of putting it.” Zayn was fighting a smirk, but he lost; he broke into a smirk, then a smile and then such a big grin, he looked at the ground sheepishly and laughed self-consciously.

And instead of pretending I rolled my eyes in my head and thought he was being a girl, I did the same thing. I laughed.

I’d finally admitted my feelings for Zayn. I mean, it was no secret why I hadn’t in the first place; my horrendous commitment issues, maybe, or the fact that we were so different, we were bound to fail?

But... Well, we hadn’t.

Because, yes, we were different and yes, I’d seen people just like us – so opposite – who’d tried and failed to have relationships, even marriages. And I’d seen my own parents stuck in their own, unhappy marriage, despite how crazy they’d been for one another and I’d gone through so much of my life not believing in love, even when it – he, Zayn – had been on my doorstep.

It felt good to allow myself to be happy for once.

And in that moment, I wasn’t scared anymore. I wasn’t scared of D-Day, or the wedding, or what it would mean to be Mrs Soph Malik after it. The pandemonium that would ensue once we released to the press, the constant battle it was going to be to maintain a relationship when Zayn was away; not that we’d discussed that yet.

The idea of us being and making a family.

I’d always told myself I never wanted kids. Cars were better than kids was what I’d snorted at any girl who told me about their plans for a family in high school (you’d be surprised at how low aspirations were for girls with IQs over 100). But, I had secretly admitted to Rose and a few scarce others, that I didn’t want any children because it was likely that, even if I did end up loving my partner, it wouldn’t be the kind of love that could sustain a child. I wanted to be so happy, so in love, so perfect in my life and the man I was spending it with, that having a baby and sharing that love with him or her was the most brilliant idea in the world. I didn’t want to just have a baby for collateral, or because at four years of marriage, that was what I was supposed to do, before my ovaries got dusty and fell out.

Who would’ve thought that guy would be Zayn? If anybody had told me that, I would have punched them in the face.

I still might.

We heard fireworks go off and a loud cheer from inside the house. It was midnight.

“Merry Christmas, Soph.” Zayn told me quietly.

I didn’t think about what I did next, or who might be watching, or whatever other crap. I just did it. I tangled my hand with Zayn’s, my engagement ring sparkling under the sky.

I turned to him and smiled. I loved Zayn. I was in love... With ZAYN.

“Merry Christmas, Zayn.”

#all I want for christmas is you #aiwfciy #zoph #xmas specials #xmas2011

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bubblepunk99s · 5 years

Text

. Chapter four: The house of Five Waters

Lying before them was a bridge that branched across the canal. Curved like an arched back, the bridge was constructed of dark blue stone, permeated by lines of dully shimmering gold. The most eye-catching aspect of the construct, however, where the gates on either side. Two squat towers of the same blue stone marked the corners of either end of the bridge, upon which were engraved two serpents with golden scales that wrapped around them. Listening, both girls could hear the whirr of unseen wires and technology emitting from it, like the snoring of a sleeping beast.

"Urgh." Tia groaned. "Just looking at this thing is giving me the aches."

"You get the aches 'cause you keep your Baran on at full blast 24/7."

"I aim to live gracefully. You saying this thing doesn't give you any pain?"

Amara shrugged, but as they moved towards the bridge she couldn't deny the feeling of gnawing apprehension this construct gave her. She could taste its power in the air as a sharp metallic tang on her lips and a crackling sensation on her skin. The space between the two block-towers was bizarre to look at, as if a veil of malformed glass had been strung up there. Staring at it for too long before had made her eyes smart all day, so Amara made a point of not looking.

"Alright, let's get this done with." Tia said. With that she made for the right tower while Amara positioned herself in front of the left one. In unison, the two held their bare wrists upwards until they were level with the serpents on their respective sides. Instantly, there was a faint click and a beam of light shot out from the serpents' eyes, onto the girls' exposed skin. Amara winced slightly as the light made contact, but the serpents' check-up was done in a few seconds. They snapped back into their stationary states, while the veil between the two towers began to change. Much like Amara's mirror back home, it started coruscating until it settled as a smooth sliver-like surface, obscuring the bridge behind it.

"Dammit." Tia said as she strode to Amara, glaring at her wrist. "Got burnt again."

"Probably didn't hit the whole of your chip. I keep telling you that you need to hold your arm higher." Amara chided.

"Whatever." Tia grumbled. "I still think this system is a joke."

"Oh, look on the bright side. It's the fun part now."

At that Tia gave Amara a sly grin. "You seem keen. I'm guessing you don't want to hold hands anymore."

"That was once, Tia. It was required on our first day-" Amara began but was stopped when Tia held out her hand.

"Relax. I remember." She assured. "But it is our big day, so I figure we should enter in style."

Amara rolled her eyes but still slipped her hand into Tia's. "Live gracefully?" She said.

Tia winked. "Always"

The two girls walked through the veil.

They did not go through gracefully.

First, both girls experienced a sudden destabilizing shock- similar to falling in in cold water while having your armpits electrocuted. They had both been expecting this so it bothered them little. What did surprise them was what happened next. Before either of them could take their next step, a sudden tugging sensation yanked them violently to their left, like a kite being pulled by a sudden gust. Within an instant, Amara and Tia were off their feet and speeding through a tunnel of pulsing light. Amara could feel her body shake and throb with blinding energy that stabbed through every fiber of her being. Just when she thought her head couldn't take it anymore, the rushing pull came to an abrupt stop. For a second, they floated in air. Then both girls tumbled to the floor. As they did, Amara noticed that her body bounced ever so slightly off the ground before settling. They had arrived. But what had all that been about?

"Gah" Groaned Tia who was lying next to her. Pulling herself up, she brushed her braid back behind her shoulder and gave Amara a gentle shake. "You OK?" She asked.

By way of response, Amara gave quick thumbs up. Her throat felt weirdly narrow, as if it was somehow parched with thirst. Still nothing seemed broken, so as far as she was concerned she had come out on top. Getting up, the girls began to take stock of their surroundings. They appeared to be in some form of room, with a domed black ceiling that still managed to emit light somehow. The floor beneath them mirrored the roof by being smooth to the touch and constructed of cool metal. There appeared to be no door, but there was a hole located straight in front of them. And beside it was a man.

The man seemed to be in his middle-ages with a neatly trimmed beard, the sharp edges of which nicely complimented the geometric patterns on the sides of his tunic. Said tunic was a navy-blue color interwoven with threads of gold that shimmered in and out of sight as he moved, much like the stone of the bridge-entrance. A light blue cape was draped over one shoulder with a border pattern of black diagonal lines, indicating his rank and status: archivist with a record of one tenure. He held in his hand a small electronic writing tile and appeared to be ticking something on it with a silvery pen.

"You two." He said. His tone was authoritative, but his Baran- which was wobbling between different frequencies- betrayed a certain uncertainty to him. It was clear to Amara that he wasn't used to the role he had been assigned.

"You two." He began again, more forcefully now. "Come. The ceremony is barely a minute away."

"Ceremony?" Tia asked incredulously, while Amara felt her stomach drop faster than a convict at the gallows.

The archivist narrowed his eyes. "You are initiates in the scribal arts, correct?"

Before Tia could respond, Amara stepped in. "We are just that, sir." She said. "Both of us were just slightly confused about how events would proceed." Just to be safe, Amara also reduced her Baran to a faint hum allowing the archivist's to be heard more clearly. Tia followed her example. This simple move was a classic act of respect, indicating deference to one's superiors. It clearly had its desired effect, as the man's own Baran steadied to a heartbeat-like pace.

"Not to worry." The archivist said, eyes glued to his tile which he appeared to be ticking. "Just seat yourself and we'll commence."

He then snapped his fingers. Instantly, a portion of the floor in front of him opened and a small coracle came up, right in front of the hole. Inside were two grooved seats. The archivist had stopped talking, his work apparently done. Tia, however, took the hint and lead Amara into the small boat. Once settled, the girls looked for some means of propulsion- be it a paddle or an engine- but found precisely nothing.

"Excuse me-" Amara started, but before she could finish her request the archivist (his eyes still trained on his tile) gave the coracle a sharp shove with his foot, booting it through the hole. The girls yelped as their vessel fell down before landing with a splash in what appeared to be water. They heard a door slam shut above them and were then placed in near-total darkness.

"Tikan!" Yelled Tia back accompanied by a violent spike in her Baran that Amara was sure would give the archivist above an ache in the brain. Tikan referred to a type of endoparasite worm that was common in sick labor beasts that frequented the void-ports of the city. If Tia was willing to bust out her biological knowledge Amara knew she must be pissed. Though her own feelings made Tia's anger seem far, far away despite her sitting right next to her. That word went back and forth in her head like the tolling of a bell. Ceremony. How could she have forgotten? Had her mind been so fixated on the finish line that she lost sight of the first hurdle?

Amara thought back to the coin she had flipped into the river. She had done so as a good luck charm; a little trick to secure fortune for the day or so her mother had told her. But looking ahead, it seemed that a little circle of metal resting on the bottom of a canal wasn't going to do much good in the face of what was coming.

"Hey Amara" Tia's voice reached through Amara's hurricane of stressed thoughts and grabbed her attention in the gloomy dark. "Sorry for blanking out back there. Your save was much appreciated."

"Thanks." Amara said back. "I take it you've remembered the ceremony now."

Tia groaned. "Yeah. How many do you reckon-"

She was cut short when the darkness they were in was broken by sudden bursts of light. The floor beneath the water was suddenly illuminated with a ghostly blue glow as pockets of light began to shine, gradually growing in intensity like shining flowers opening to a hidden sun. Their radiance was mirrored in the lines of blue light that could now be seen on the ceiling, trailing and criss-crossing over one another like the trail of some ghostly snail. Their coracle then began to move. slowly but surely it edged forwards, despite their seemingly being no force propelling. Instead it felt like they were being pulled, gently yet ceaselessly down the softly shining channel.

"It's begun." Amara observed, feeling the sudden blue light covering the tunnel wasn't proof enough that weirdness was afoot. Turning to Tia, she asked "You all prepared?"

Tia gave an awkward smile and said. "Think as much as I can be. It's just a matter of keeping our Barans on a leash, right?"

The coracle was gaining speed now, as they turned a corner and began to gradually flow downwards. "That's true but there's more to it than that. We're going to have to merge with all the others. Ever done that before?"

"I think you know the answer to that question." Tia said irritably as they sped down a slope of water.

Amara sighed, but she couldn't say she had much experience either. She had been so fixated on what manner of text they would be assigned that she had almost completely failed to remember the assembly; the opening ceremony wherein all the scribal initiates would be grouped together. As one, they would raise their Barans to the ceiling, hiding nothing from those who would be examining them. Their superiors would then place the girls in groups of four based on how well their Barans complimented each other. And it was in these groups that the initiates would analyze the text given to them.

As the pair began to pick up speed, Amara heard noises in the darkness. The sounds of whispering was coming in through the walls around them, underscored by the faint but unmistakable noise of Barans contrasting and playing against one another.

With a sharp swerve to the right, the girls rounded a corner. Up ahead was an exit with light streaming out of it. Closer and closer it got. Amara inhaled deeply and looked Tia deep in the eye.

"Get ready." She whispered as the two passed through the door way and into the light.

Almost immediately Amara was overwhelmed.

Before she could take stock of her surroundings, her brain nearly cracked open like one of her father's eggs. A wave of Barans came crashing down upon the shore of her mind. Drowning her. Crushing her. She came close to blacking out until Tia grabbed her hand and squeezed tight, digging her nails into Amara's flesh. The shock was enough to jerk Amara back into reality. Breathing in, she looked up and properly saw her environment. High black walls stretched upwards, though illumination came from the glowing surface beneath the water and a solitary skylight located far above in the ceiling, the shine from which was beaming down directly on to the dead center of the room. Converging on to this point were waterways streaming from every corner of the room. And floating on these streams were the initiates.

There was about four on each path. Glancing back, Amara could see three more pairs trailing down the waterway they were currently on. They were all wearing the same dark red uniform marking their status as initiates and all of them seemed to be as stunned as Amara had been. Their faces darting back and forth, quicker than buzzing flies, trying to take in the enormity of this new space. Amara felt a pang of sympathy for a young girl who was sitting hunched in her coracle, shivering under the sheer volume of Barans swarming around her, while her partner rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her. She considered reaching out to help, but was distracted by the Tia tugging at her side. Glancing ahead, Amara could see that in the point where the streams converged was a massive pool where the coracles were starting to fall into and group together.

Amara tried to steady her breathing as the pair of them sloshed down into the pool. She had managed to grow accustomed to the amount of Barans in the hall and could even feel her own again. She gave Tia's hand a gentle squeeze, who smiled faintly back. It was clear their entrance had been draining on her too.

Eventually, all 16 pairs had flowed into the central space. Once the last pair entered, a mechanical whine suddenly emitted from the coracles. In an instant, each boat stuck to the side of the one directly next to it until all of them were joined in one big metal net. Around her, Amara could see her fellow initiates glancing around, whispering to each other though some simply tried to recover from the Baran onslaught they had just experienced. A few seconds passed. Then their attention was drawn by a deep, solid creak emitting from the end of the hall. Craning their necks, they could see that the wall there had begun to open. Beams of prismatic light shot out from behind and Amara could catch the mummering and footsteps of what seemed like several people going about their business. Then three figures slipped through the entrance, closed the door and made their way to the assembled students.

They arrived and took places around the pool. With just a glance, Amara could tell that these three were higher up in the academy's strata than anyone she had come across before in her three years of studying. The man standing in front of her had a deep crimson tunic, heavy gold bands encircling his wrists and a face as hard as quarry stone. His eyes were sharp and black, never fixed on one place for long as they swept over the assembled initiates. From the intensity of his gaze, Amara almost felt like the assessing ceremony had already began and she was being shoved under the spotlight.

"Gathered initiates." Said one of the other figures standing above the pool. Turning her head, Amara was pleased to see her teacher- Miss Amaharan- who had instructed her and Tia both for the past three years. Her wrinkled face looked so warm in the falling light, her eyes calm and still as they surveyed her students from over a slightly curved nose.

"Gathered initiates." She repeated. "First and foremost, I would thank you for your prompt and dignified arrival. Efficiency is our priority here."

Amara listened intently, though she chose to edit the 'dignified' part of Amaharan's sentence considering her and Tia's entrance into the academy had involved them literally falling flat on their faces.

"Secondly" Amaharan continued. "Cherish that appraisal. Chances are you won't be experiencing easy thanks like that for some time. True praise is hard-won in the House of Five Waters- and all the more meaningful as a result."

She gave a slight chuckle. The man in red, however, frowned and gave an impatient jerk of the head in Amaharan's direction. Taking the hint, she sighed and assumed a more upright position.

"As you are aware, you will now be expected to raise and intermix your Barans." Amaharan said. "You needn't have anything to fear, though. Our examiner has you under all her protection."

She gestured to the third person to have come in, standing to her left. This was a young woman, brown skinned with a bob of black hair. She didn't say anything, but Amara noticed the corners of her mouth twitch, revealing small scars on each side.

Sounding disappointed for some reason, Amaharan continued. "We begin in one minute. Please prepare yourself."

She stepped down from the platform. Immediately, whispering began among the initiates, everyone bracing themselves for the test. Amara simply closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She'd burnt through the majority of her worrying. All she cared about now was getting it over with. Still, Amara opened one eye just to check on how Tia was doing. She had her eyes fixed forward, but on feeling Amara's gaze, she gave a weak smile. As the final seconds ticked away, she mouthed something to Amara- though she couldn't make out what it was.

Amaharan's voice echoed in the dark hall.

"You may begin."

In an instant, all of Amara's filters dropped.

Her Baran-which had been suppressed fiercely ever since stepping out her door-expanded to its full form. As it did, Amara felt her consciousness get tugged out of her body, flowing with her now free mental field. Soon she was lost in the noise and color of the rapidly building storm of energy that was now filling the hall. Countless sounds swirled in her mind. She flitted between droning hums, calming sighs, fluctuating whistles, more and more with each passing second, slamming and combining with each other in the cacophony. Then came the visions. One second, she was walking through a room, bare feet bouncing off a floor warmed by the steps of many others , the odor of scented wood filling her nostrils. But before she could settle into this scene, she found herself in another. Now she was standing in the docks watching as a bow shaped ship lifted off the ground and headed toward the sky, which opened up to receive it, revealing inky blackness beyond...

On and on it went, more and more visions piling on top of one another. More than she could count, more than she could process, streaming through her mind. Who even was 'she'? Was she the girl surrounded by the books? The one sitting in prayer? With each passing second, she was drifting further and further apart, losing any sense of individuality in the swarm of histories, color, sound and...

ENOUGH

After what felt like hours of floating aimlessly about, Amara was jolted back into her body with the force of a fly suddenly dying in the middle of hovering. She blinked and looked around blearily, her flesh feeling like a strait jacket after the anarchic freedom of the Baran vortex. Several of the initiates were groaning and slumping in their coracles, clearly experiencing the same backlash that Amara was going through. Tia herself was swaying from side to side, mumbling something about ships coming into port. Amara considered giving her a gentle shake but held back, figuring that even the slightest nudge might push her befuddled friend into the water.

Glancing upwards, Amara could see the scar-mouthed examiner looking down on them like a hawk. Her eyes briefly met with Amara's and in an instant the young girl knew who had brought her back to reality. The examiner had the darkest eyes of anyone that Amara had ever seen. One look was enough for her to immediately quit staring and turn her attention back to Miss Amaharan.

"Excellent display, initiates." The teacher said, quickly glancing side to side to make sure none of her pupils had passed out. "Your hard work has borne fruit. For the time being, however, you can rest."

She held her wrist up and typed a sequence on to the bracelet there. The doors at the hall's far end opened, letting in a stream of honey-colored light.

"15 minutes break in recuperation chambers" Amaharan continued. "Then you will be informed of the results."

At that, there was an ecstasy of fumbling as the initiates picked themselves from the coracles and stumbled out of the pool. Amara leant the still groggy Tia a hand as they made their way to the door. As they passed, Amara felt a tightness in her throat and knew that the examiner was still staring at her.

The nest few minutes were a blur. The group was lead down a well-lit hallway, a welcome change from the darkness of the gathering point they had left. If she had been herself, Amara would have probably taken note of the inscriptions on the walls. Or the patterning on the floor they walked on. Or the fact that they were probably going through the catacombs of the house of the Five Waters. But none of that registered. Her mind was still reeling from the Baran storm. With every step she took Amara worried if she was going to wind up stepping into someone else's memories again.

Eventually, the group took a turn to what appeared to be a dead end. Naturally, the wall shifted and dissolved, leaving an oblong gateway to another room with long benches and cushions waiting. The group flowed in, with Amara making a beeline for a particularly big cushion squashed into the far corner. The other initiates huddled together, whispering about their ordeal, making predictions and speculations. Amara made no attempt to join in. Her capacity for meaningful social interaction had fizzled to zero over the last half hour. All she wanted now was to re-charge before being swamped in more faces and voices.

As the minutes passed, Amara noticed that the walls were emitting a soft pulsing green light. She smiled to herself, knowing the choice of lighting was done to help calm down the initiates after their demanding experience. Still, she thought, the only thing that'll reassure me is finding out who I'm working with.

Glancing around didn't fill her with much excitement. Everyone in the room was about her age, for sure, but most had already bunched off into groups of their own. Amara felt a pang of dissatisfaction but quickly pushed it aside. She hoped the people she was sharing the room with got a match-up that suited them. Right now, the only person she knew was...

"Right behind you." Tia said. Turning back, Amara could see her friend standing behind her, a bleary smile plastered on her face.

"Well, that was..." Tia continued blinking hard. "That." Amara shuffled to the side and let Tia flump down on to the cushion with her.

"You reckon I did a good show?" Tia asked.

"You were the ship going through the void port."

"yeah"

"You'll be fine. That wasn't embarrassing or anything was it?"

"Oh alright." Tia said. She sighed, apparently satisfied with her lot. Amara wondered what she had seen, what the others had seen. A Baran was the sum total of a person's experiences; in combining them together each initiate had allowed their peers a glimpse into who they were. Nothing much. Just an image seen through a keyhole. But enough to go on.

"Enough to start making assumptions. Making Judgements." Amara winced, as her doubts made themselves known again. She pushed them aside best she could, fidgeting with a loose curl of hair as she stared at the softly pulsating walls - trying to lose herself the way she had lost herself back in the entrance hall.

Her daze was interrupted by the sound of the entrance opening again. Stepping through was the red-robed man. His eyes were black as ever, though they weren't intensely gazing like before. Instead the seemed unfocused, as if his mind was someplace else. Drawing himself up to his full height, he said.

"Thank you for your patience." Amara was surprised at how melodious his voice was, considering the roughness of his face. "Our results have been tallied. You may come through."

He then turned without a second word, leaving an open wall behind him. Not wanting to stew in her worry any longer, Amara shot up and headed after him, Tia trailing alongside.

"Would it kill him to wait?" Tia asked as they turned down the hallway.

"All part of the new emphasis on self-sufficiency, I guess." Amara replied.

Tia snorted "I don't care how much they pound into my head, I'm never finding my way around here."

Amara chuckled, but she could see her point. Now her mind had been sharpened by anticipation, their surroundings seemed much more vibrant. The walls appeared to shimmer somehow- rippling under the light above like fish scales. Every so often, the shape of a doorway in either wall would suddenly flit into Amara's line of vision only to flit out again, in an instant. She didn't even realize she had walked through an arch until a whole new room seemed to blossom right in front of her.

This space was much airier than the darkened hall. Light flited in through rectangular windows, becoming prismatic as it went through the glass. Scholars came down stair cases in the four corners of the room, the light from the windows dancing on the muted colours of their robes. At the far end of the room was a fountain, comprised of five interlocking dragon heads that intertwined and rose as one single point like some bizarre flower. Seated around this fountain was Miss Amaharan and the red-robed man- both of them locked in what appeared to be an intense conversation.

Determined to get this over with Amara strode down the room, vaguely aware that she had actually become the leader of their little troupe. Noticing them, Amaharan immediately dipped out of her conversation and resumed her warm smile. Getting up, she raised her hands in a celebratory manner and began to speak.

"Initiates! What a performance from you all. But enough anticipation, let's see the fruits of your labours!"

She snapped her fingers. Immediately the flow of water coming from the dragon heads ceased. There was a pause, followed by a faint rumble of hidden machinery. Then five beams of light shot up from the heads, projecting several tables on to the wall, in which were displayed the names of the initiates, four to a cube.

Instantly Amara's eyes began darting over each box of names. She was going so fast that the writing seemed to be just lines punctuated by the occasional circle. Slowing herself down, she forced herself to take in one table at a time. Eventually she found it; on the furthest set to the left. Her name directly on top- one circle flanked by two diagonal lines. And beneath that...

Amara sunk into her relief like a hot bath, the release of tension so great that even Tia's excited nudges felt like they were happening to someone else. Underneath her name was Tia's- two vertical lines followed by a horizontal and a diagonal. Amara quickly glanced at the other two underneath, but realized she didn't know them. Didn't bother her much. Just having one person she knew along with her for this job was enough to make her hope she had a chance. Or at least someone to catch her should she fail.

"Alright" Miss Amaharan said, apparently content with the level and duration of her students' chattering. "Now you understand who you're working with, may I ask you to kindly follow our inspector up the stairs. She shall escort you to your respective workspace."

The inspector- who had somehow appeared at the foot of the stairs in the far left of the room- gave a sharp jerk of her head, imploring the initiates to follow her lead. Amara and Tia began walking, but were stopped by a Baran very deliberately brushing against their minds.

Turning around, they could see miss Amaharan standing, an affectionate half-smile playing on her aged features.

"Sorry if I was a bit rough. Age makes handling one's baran quite strenuous." She explained. She then grimaced slightly and sat down on the fountain's side.

"Oh, look at me." Amaharan continued. "I'm your teacher. I should be doing more than just stating the obvious."

In response, Amara gave a polite chuckle, doing her best to ignore the growing drum-beat of concern pounding in the back of her head.

"I imagine that comes with the territory." Tia said, causing Amara's drumbeat of panic to evolve into a full-grown marching band at the prospect of her best friend pissing off one of the few adults in this entire academy whom she was sure was looking out for her.

Thankfully, miss Amaharan's response was a happy little cackle and a nod of approval. "That and more besides!" She exclaimed. "Speaking of which..."

She reached inside her robe and pulled out two pieces of paper. On them was the sigil of the house of the five waters- a circle separated by two diagonal lines and another running down the middle.

"Hold out your arms please." She said to both girls. They did so as Amaharan placed both pieces of paper on to their forearms. Instantly they began to smoke and Amara had to suppress a yelp as the sigils on them appeared to burn on to her skin before disappearing completely.

"Just a minor upgrade." Amaharan explained to Amara and Tia, who was tentatively prodding the space where the sigil had been with a concerned expression on her face. "The other students will receive it when they get to their workplaces. You can access the academy in its entirety now."

She gestured the pair to look around their surroundings, which they promptly did. The change was remarkable. Doorways she had half-glimpsed now stood clear as day. Every colour seemed crisper, every line more defined. Yet despite the dramatic increase in focus, Amara noticed that if her eyes stayed too long on one surface she began to see through it. Glancing down, she glimpsed corridors snaking through boxed-off rooms in the level beneath the floor.

"Disorientating, I know." Amaharan noted, looking down with Amara. "But you'll get used to it soon enough. Plus, keep looking long enough and you'll find some interesting ways around."

She pointed to a space nestled near the north-east stairway. After a moment's staring, Amara glimpsed another doorway wedged there- flickering in and out of her vision like a candle flame.

"Go through that door, follow the path, first door you come across will lead you to your workspace." Amaharan said brusquely. She then gave one more look to the two pupils.

"Good luck" She wished. With that the elderly teacher did a small jump backwards. Instead of landing back on the floor, she sunk right through it, as if the stone was no more substantial than water.

Tia and Amara stood there for a second, trying to process fully what they had seen. Realizing that they were standing around when they should be getting along, Amara decided to break the silence.

"Well I guess she wasn't kidding when she was talking about those interesting ways around." She joked.

"Yeah..." Tia replied uncertainly, eyes darting across the floor. She felt Amara staring so quickly looked up with a smile. "Lead the way."

Amara did, stepping forward to the flickering doorway. Turning around she noticed Tia hopping on exactly the same spots she had walked on. Rolling her eyes, Amara pushed forward through the door and stepped right through.

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