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bloatedandalone04 · 1 year

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➪the one where jack's career takes off and you're left alone.

Part 2

Warnings: angst, fluff, swearing, gaslighting, hehe

Word Count: 3.1k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine <3

You were proud. Beyond proud, even.

Jack’s career was taking off fast, you barely had a second to let it all sink in. You could only imagine how he was feeling.

The TV was on in the basement of his house, his mom’s cooking making its way down the stairs and emitting a growl from your stomach. Jack, who was sitting next to you, smirked as he took his eyes off his phone. You refused to make eye contact as your face heated up in a blush. “Stop staring at me,” you mumble as you continue to scroll through your Instagram feed.

Jack laughed as he pocketed his phone. “I told you to eat something before I picked you up,” he shook his head as your thumb continued scrolling, though you were no longer paying any attention to what the posts were displaying. “It’s not my fault you never listen to me.”

“I listen to you all the time,” you say back, deciding to just turn off your phone as you had become distracted by him. “You’re the one who wouldn’t let me go to the store to grab some of those chips I like.”

He laughed again and scoffed slightly. “You have, like, three bags of them at your place,” he pointed out and you turned to face him.

“But I don’t have any here,” you reply and watch as he shakes his head.

Just then, the door to the basement opens and his mom calls down that dinner was ready, unknowingly making your shoulders drop in relief. Jack, who turned to call back to his mother, gave you a smile and shrug when he faced you again. “There, problem solved,” he said as he stood up and held his hand out to you.

As soon as you took it, the TV switched programs and began playing the teaser trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water. You were only half way up when you sat back down again and tugged on his hand. “Ooh, look,”

Jack looked at the screen and felt his heart skip a beat at what was currently playing. “Seriously?” He asked no one in particular, his face heating up in embarrassment. He looked back down at you and his expression softened when he saw your look of excitement. “We’re not watching the whole thing, right? I’m probably not even in this one.”

As soon as he said that, the scene changed to show his character, Spider, in all his glory. You squealed in excitement as you tightened your hold on his hand and pulled yourself up. You wrapped your arms around his neck in a hug as you turned away from the screen. “I’m so proud of you,” you say and pepper his face with kisses. “Look, you’re on TV!”

Jack laughed as he wrapped his arms around your middle, the feeling of contentment washing away any ounce of embarrassment he felt at the fact that damn near every channel on TV had begun showing the trailer for the film.

If only you had known that this would be one of your last good memories you share with him, maybe then you would have savored the moment a little bit longer.

Jack <3: I miss you so much. Today has gone by so slowly.

You smiled down at the text, hiding your phone behind the table as you didn’t want to risk getting kicked out of class. This final year of high school was brutal, and in more ways than one.

Jack was away filming Scream VI, so the person who provided you with the most comfort was thousands of miles away. You were close to failing one of your classes, one required to get your diploma, and you recently had a fallout with your close friend.

So, yeah, things could definitely be going better.

Tell me about it. Chemistry is NOT fun. I miss you, too, btw.

You hit send just as your teacher looked up from his desk. Hiding your phone, you give him a tight lipped smile and a thumbs up, something he squints his eyes at before he is back to grading papers.

Your phone vibrates against your leg and you grab your book, opening it to make it look like you were reading from it, when in reality you were unlocking your phone.

Jack <3: I still don’t know why you chose that over drama. Acting is fun and easy.

You playfully roll your eyes and glance at the teacher before typing out a response.

Says the actor.

Jack <3: Fair enough.

You hold back a sigh as you put your phone in your bag. You couldn’t wait for him to come home. Granted, he just left and would be in Montreal for a couple more months. This was probably the first time you’ve ever wished for a summer to fly by. After spending almost every day with Jack, it was hard to go even a week without him. The thought of spending damn near a whole summer without him had your heart aching.

Two weeks in and you missed him more than words could describe. Stupid high school. Stupid long distance relationships.

Even though he texted you every day, or called you on the odd day, it still didn’t soothe your aching heart. You were so young, but that didn’t stop the love between you from growing stronger by the minute. A year and a half is a long time for young love.

Every time you looked at your phone you were met with his picture as your lock screen. It sent a jolt of pain directly to your heart whenever you looked at his smiling face and you silently cursed yourself for being so in love with him.

High school ended, as did the summer, and you couldn’t be more content. You couldn’t be happier.

September was nearly here, meaning the summer without Jack was over.

That’s who you were with now.

The TV was once again on, and like last time, neither of you were paying attention to it. Both your phones were turned off and placed on the coffee table a few feet away.

Your body was trapped between the backrest of the couch and Jack’s chest, his arms wrapped tightly around you and his chin resting on the top of your head. It had been like this for days, with the both of you wrapped up in each other’s arms without any words being said.

It was like no time at all had passed since you last saw each other, let alone a whole summer. Everything fell back into place and the two of you were reunited once again. You weren’t sure when he’d be called away for his job again, so you were spending every possible second you had with him. You hadn’t seen your own room in days as you’d been staying with him since he came back home, something you both had no problem with.

If there was one thing Jack hated about his job, and he wouldn’t even go as far as saying he hated it, really, it was the months he’d spend away from you. He hadn’t met you yet when he was filming Avatar, so he only had to worry about missing his family and friends. Then he fell in love with you.

The ache he felt in his heart during the entirety of filming Scream VI was only completely dulled when he returned home and found comfort in your arms. The months that passed were only being fueled by his want to return to you, the one person he felt his happiest with.

Despite knowing you for only two years, you play a big part in who he is and who he wants to be in his future. You are his future. He was young, damn near too young to be planning things with you this early in his life, but he couldn’t see it happening any other way.

He couldn’t see himself loving anyone else.

That’s how the rest of the summer went. Actually, that’s how the rest of the year went.

December came fast and that’s when everything changed.

Avatar: The Way of Water was officially released. Spider was officially introduced to the world, and Jack had never felt more excited. It had been years since he filmed his scenes for this movie, and to see it all come together was emotional.

You were his date to the premiere, something he had asked you months beforehand so you would be prepared, and to see Jack on the big screen had you crying half an hour in. The person you saw in front of you was one you didn’t know. You were complete strangers at the time of him filming this, and it was a big contrast to the version of him sitting next to you now, his hand holding yours tightly.

It was that night when the inevitable happened.

The movie was a massive hit, and though Spider was a character not many people liked, Jack was definitely a natural newcomer that had stolen the hearts of many fans.

His Instagram followers grew with each passing day and you were grateful that the posts he had with you on his account were swarmed with kind comments. You knew that his career would take off fast once his movies hit the theaters, so you were prepared when your own comments began filling with fans of his. Mostly on the posts that involved him, mainly the birthday one you had uploaded a few weeks ago.

Jack was called away for press tours and interviews and promo after promo.

It was a miracle when he found the time to just sit and facetime you.

The smile you were met with when you answered the call was enough to make you forget about the feeling of loneliness that had slowly started creeping into your body.

At the end of the day, he was still yours.

“Hi,” you say and place your phone on your desk, standing it up so you could go back to applying your makeup.

“Hi, baby,” he said back and you don’t bother hiding the smile that took over your face at the pet name. “What are you doing?”

You drop the brush you were using back into the container and meet his eyes. “I’m just getting ready to go out,”

Jack nodded before a teasing grin took over his face. “Got a hot date tonight?”

You rolled your eyes. “Depends, are you coming home tonight?”

Your question made his heart skip a beat. Home. God, he missed you. He was sick of staying at these hotels with the rest of the cast. All he wanted was to come home to you. He feared he was beginning to lose touch with how his life was before all of this, and the thought of getting caught up in everything had his heart racing.

“I wish I was,” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” you trail off. “Me too.”

A silence took over and you finished applying eyeshadow before you looked back down at your phone.

“I’m just going out with some friends from high school,” you answered his previous question after realizing you never actually told him what your plans were.

Jack nodded again before he gave you a boyish grin. He watched as you coated your lips in a shiny gloss before he sighed, “You are so pretty,”

Your face heats up and you refuse to meet his eyes as you begin cleaning up the surface of your desk. When you finally look at him, you find him already looking at you, his eyes full of love and longing. “I miss you,” you say as you grab your phone again. You stay seated as you hold the device closer to you, your eyes never leaving your boyfriend’s.

“I miss you, too,” he says back. “You have no idea how much I wish I could’ve taken you with me.”

You look away and chew on your freshly glossed bottom lip. “Can you promise me something?”

You hear the sound of shuffling and glance down to see that Jack had sat up to give you his full attention. “Of course,” he sounded unsure and you were beginning to question if you even had a right to be asking him this.

“Maybe it’s not my place to ask this, but,” you trail off, unknowingly making Jack’s heart fill with a sense of dread. You continued before he could call you out on it, though. “Just, don’t forget about me, okay? Please.”

You felt pathetic for asking him that, but it was the only way to let him in and allow him to see what the change was doing to you without actually telling him. You were terrified of losing him and it felt as though it was gonna happen sooner or later.

“Y/n,” he said sternly, making you meet his eyes through the screen. “Nothing could ever make me forget you. I love you and I miss you more than you know. I mean, I’m in the middle of doing press tours for the movie I was in and all I can think of is coming back home to you.”

You felt dumb for feeling the way you did. Jack was living his dream and you were worried about him forgetting you when all he ever did was shower you with love and affection. There was nothing to worry about. “I’m sorry,”

“I love you,” he said again and you smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach your eyes, something he noticed. “We’re gonna be fine. I promise.”

You nodded and continued to listen to him go on about how much fun he was having with the cast before your friend texted you to let you know that she was here to pick you up.

The call ended on a good note. A great one, even.

Things were going well.

Until they weren’t.

The release of Scream VI hit Jack’s career hard and completely flipped his world around.

People absolutely adored Ethan and were infatuated with the face who played him. Jack went from a newcomer with a small fanbase to millions of people obsessing over him within the span of a few hours.

Of course, you were his plus one to the premiere, and you got emotional at the way he played his character, your hand wrapped around his. You thought back to what you were doing when he was filming it, still stuck in high school and thousands of miles away from him. This person on the screen was one you knew, you loved, and belonged to you.

That was something a few people didn’t seem to realize. After gaining over five hundred thousand followers, some of his fans stumbled across his posts with you. Long story short, your comments were filled with hate and jealousy and envy. You made your account private a couple of days after the film was released.

That didn’t stop them from filling his comments.

She’s mid fr.

She needs to get away from my man.

Ew.

You can do better.

God, people were brutal.

Jack had no knowledge of the harassment you were receiving, but how could he? He was busier than ever and was once again off doing interviews and press tours.

You were alone again.

You knew what would happen to your relationship when he became a big time actor. You were prepared. You would have to share him with the world, and you thought you were prepared for that.

But, honestly, who were you kidding?

And what made things worse was when he slowly stopped answering your texts.

He was busy, you got that, but he would go days without talking to you, some of which were his most active days on social media.

It shouldn’t be like this.

Just the other day you were scrolling on TikTok and one of his videos came up. You looked through the comments and saw that he answered one that asked if he had a girlfriend.

The simple ‘yes’ made you feel both annoyed and reassured. You weren’t sure where you stood with him, so knowing that he was still at least somewhat involved in the relationship was comforting. On the other hand, seriously, he can answer a stranger’s comment but not a text from his girlfriend of two years?

You felt like a burden at this point.

Days go by without a word from him and you were beginning to lose control over your emotions. Your eyes ached from all the crying you did behind closed doors, and your heart felt as if it was decaying each day you were left unanswered.

What excuse would he have if he ever decided to answer you? He got so busy that he forgot to check his texts? His phone number was leaked and he was bombarded with random messages to the point that yours were so far down?

That would make you happy, you think.

Anything but the alternative.

He forgot about you.

Or he forgot how to be a boyfriend.

Or how to be a decent fucking human being.

You weren’t sure what you were expecting when you got ready for your date with him. It was planned weeks ago, set for the day after he returned home.

Your texts went unanswered, but you got ready anyway.

This was a test - one you hoped he passed.

But, as the day turned into night with no sign of him, you felt the last piece of your heart break. You also felt the last piece of your self control snap.

He failed.

You grab your phone and click on his contact, not bothering to roll your eyes once you were sent to his voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. Um, you failed the test I gave you,” you say and quickly wipe away a tear that slipped down your face. “I don’t know what happened to us or what happened to you, but I’m…I’m done.”

You glance at your nightstand and pause when you see the framed picture of the two of you. If you could turn back time and go back to how things were at the time it was taken, you would in a heartbeat.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t enough for you, I really wish I was. You meant everything to me and I wish you kept your promise,” you continued to look at the picture as you thought of what else was left to say. “Good luck with everything. I wish you nothing but the best, and, yeah. I’m done. Goodbye.”

You hang up and toss your phone on your bed, grabbing the picture afterwards. You stare at it for a few more seconds, and slowly your sadness turns to rage.

Another second goes by before your hand moves and throws the frame across the room. It hits the wall opposite from you and you hear the glass shatter before it hits the ground.

#jack champion #jack champion x reader #jack champion imagine #jack champion imagines #scream 6 ethan #ethan scream 6 #ethan landry x reader #ethan landry imagines #ethan landry #scream 6 x reader #scream 6 imagines #imagines #angst #fluff

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alleyskywalker · 9 days

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It's honestly really misogynistic to say that Alicent "seduced" Viserys the way some people do. And I'm not even talking about the age difference or her youth, though they're not irrelevant. The thing is, nothing we see Alicent do vis-a-vis this situation is in any way sexual or seductive. She and Viserys have conversations. That's all. (Completely none-sexual or romantic ones, as far as we see btw.) Yes, they are alone for at least some of them, but during these conversations Alicent is dressed modestly, acts modestly/a bit shyly, sometimes even looks uncomfortable. She sits at a respectable distance from Viserys. They don't touch. Most of the conversation seems to revolve around him, his grief for his wife, his hobbies, etc.

Is it possible that Viserys, through these conversations, became attracted to a pretty, apparently empathetic girl/woman? Of course! But that's on him, not Alicent. To say that her being kind, polite and pretty is seduction and that a man's ultimate interest in her is somehow her fault is ridiculous and the same kind of victim blaming misogyny that leads to people saying things like "well. if she didn't want to be sexually assaulted/raped, maybe she shouldn't have flirted/worn a short skirt/etc." Yes, Otto was hoping that Viserys would become interested in her; maybe he was hoping Alicent would be more proactive in her efforts. But she wasn't. All she did was exist as a kind person in his vicinity. Stop blaming women for being attractive and nice where men can see.

#hotd #alicent hightower #pro alicent hightower #op

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ottoslab · 11 months

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(Shakes you) otto you've GOTTA tell me more about the freelance mystery solvers I GOTTA KNOW ABOUT EM WHAT ARE THEY DOIN !!! I love your designs sm btw your SO REAL FOR THIS AHH

HEEHEE ohhh ok cracks my knuckles. Im gonna be writing this right before passing Out for the night so apologies in advance if this isn’t very comprehensible but i will GLADLY explain the funny freelance mystery solvers o7

EDIT HI This got so long im putting it under a readmore KGJFNGKJSGK.

Also! I didn’t draw anything to go with this ask because i told myself id give my hand a break, but I do actually have some recent doodles of Vern and Kitty i was doing in between the lineup so I’ll put them here for a little display ^_^ theyre not in context of anything im about to mention, just some dynamic exploration stuff that are their own whole other rambles

Ok! Readmore time! Paragraphs of nonsense! For your viewing pleasure!

So!! Vernon and Kitty are both employed by True Psychic Tales independently of each other when theyre older. Vernon is an illustrator/interviewer for the graphic novel division and Kitty works in special effects makeup for the more-recent live action film division! They don’t end up crossing paths for a while until being assigned to work together to research stuff for an up-and-coming TPT film project or smth. They become work buddies after reconnecting (though they choose to mostly ignore the fact that they knew each other as kids due to How They Were back then. They’re both very embarrassed about it for numerous reasons)

It becomes commonplace for them to help each other out with projects, and eventually through their research (fact-checking and digging through old psychonauts mission archives) they start to come across old psychonauts files of unfinished or ‘suspicious’ looking missions, ones that normally didnt get the green light to be told in graphic novel form due to the fact that they were inconclusive and, as a result, don’t make for good stories.

Kitty and Vernon end up sort of… picking up on these old missions in their spare time. It’s not psychonauts work but its also not not psychonauts work, you know? They team up to try and work out what lead to dead ends in missions and cross-referencing possibly related stories with other stories, and go out into the field to try and get answers. I picture it a lot in my brain as an episodic mystery series vis a vis scooby doo. They pick their archived mission log of the week to check out, go out, get some answers, and get a conclusion to bring back to TPT and a new graphic novel is made of the story they were able to uncover! With some more overarching plots where they get a little in over their heads here and there.

Franke’s got a bit less of a fleshed out role in all of this atm, mostly because i havent thought of him as much as the other two? My current vague-idea i have is that she and kitty had a falling out during their teen years, and Franke calls Kitty and Vernon falsely claiming to have a lead on a mystery theyve been working on, in order to try and reconnect with Kitty after she stopped talking to him. He has to come clean when whatever she leads them to actually ends up being a real psychic issue, and she has to explain that she doesn’t know what’s going on because she hadn’t actually called in about anything legit.

Franke does end up being a good help despite technically being the reason they got into deep shit in the first place, and Vernon’s probably the one who asks her to stick around (Kitty isn’t against it, but definitely isn’t really all too welcoming about it either.) They definitely have a whole thing where they all get closer and Kitty and Franke get to mend fences (a character arc along the lines of franke realizing he was kind of a hardass who wanted to make up without actually accepting any faults, and some other super impressive character arcs along the way im sure.) And all three of them continue to go on mystery deep-dives and uncover unfinished psychonauts missions!! Wahoo yahoo!!

Mystery incorporated asses! They’re fun, i enjoy them a lot! Hopefully this is some good tidbits of detail for u thank u for asking about them :]

#psychonauts #agent aquato and co au #art :0]#asks :0]

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aemiron-main · 1 year

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btw I don’t just think it’s about “Mike realizing suddenly that he’s in love with Will” persay- rather I think it’s about Mike figuring out what romantic love and attraction actually IS, what it actually feels like throughout the seasons (especially with him being gay and realizing he doesn’t like girls), and then realizing that what he’s felt for Will even since s1? that feeling, THAT’s what romantic love is.

Mike and his internalized homophobia and heteronormativity and thinking that the way he feels about El is what romantic love is supposed to be like, because that’s how his parents are (miserable and fighting all the time, Karen-Ted vis El-Mike parallels), he thinks that’s just what romance is supposed to be like, just like how El has a romanticized, idealized view of romance/relationships, Mike has the opposite, he has a more pessimistic/“putting up with it” attitude towards how these things are supposed to feel for him because shitty, opposite of movie ideal relationships are what’s been modelled for him. and don’t even get me started on how Mike ms relationship with Karen has put him into a position of feeling like he has to cater to others’ emotions all the time and not even consider his own so then during his relationship with El, it’s about what SHE wants, what SHE feels, with little consideration for how Mike’s feeling, and it’s not even El’s fault, it’s the fault of how Mike’s been raised.

Mike realizing that all those things he’s felt for Will? That he’s felt over the years? THATS LOVE THATS WHAT LOVE IS AND THATS HOW WILL FEELS ABOUT HIM AND MIKE WONT EVEN BE ABLE TO BELIEVE IT!!! BECAUSE HOW COULD SOMEONE AS WONDERFUL AS WILL FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT HIM?? just. Mike realizing that THAT’s what love is. It’s perfect. It’s not just Mike realizing WHO he loves but instead it’s about realizing what love IS which is also how gay Mike ties into byler.

Mike getting together with Will realizing that love isn’t just something you have to put up with and try and cope with and push down your upset feelings, realizing that it’s something wonderful and enjoyable and happy.

#stranger things #byler #mike wheeler #will byers #st analysis #mike wheeler analysis #byler analysis

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training4theapocalypse · 8 months

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Finders Keepers Ch 12. (Cormac McLaggen x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit 18+ (no smut)

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: None

Summary: As the first Muggleborn caught by the Muggleborn Registration Commission, the Ministry decides to make an example of you.

A/N: Prison Mike: The worst thing about prison was the... was the Dementors. They were flying all over the place and they were scary and then they'd come down and they'd suck the soul out of your body and it hurt!

Tag list: @countlambula, @ratsys, @aweidlich, @navs-bhat, @stainedpomegranatelips, @chiaraanatra, @xxvelvetxxxx, @ohnoitsrosie, @dracosisteer, @daisydark, @intense-sneezing, (let me know if you want removed at any point btw!)

Masterlist

Chapter 12: Cold, Hard Facts

IIII IIII IIII IIII

Mr McLaggen was right about one thing. The trial was a sham.

According to those presiding over the courtroom, you were the first Muggleborn who had been caught red-handed, breaking into a wizarding home and stealing magic.

And you were to be made an example of.

One year in Azkaban.

Blinding flashes of light hit your face as you were dragged through the Ministry foyer with chains around your wrists - The Daily Prophet photographers were ready to plaster your face on the front page when they announced the first successful conviction of the Muggleborn Registration Commission.

The light danced behind your eyelids turning from white to green in a whirlwind of confusion. One second you were in the foyer, the next you were being led through a fireplace and the burning smell of Floo Powder became the cold, salty air of the North Sea when you arrived in Azkaban.

Before you had time to get your bearings, a placard was being forced into your hands, with your name and ancient runes depicting your crime. You were photographed again - this time by Ministry Officials. Absurdly, it reminded you of your first day of primary school when your mum and dad made you pose on the front steps of your flat, holding your little pink school bag so they could take the Polaroid of you that’s still stuck on their fridge to this day.

Your parents.

Now as you sit alone in your cell, thinking about your arrival to this place, the familiar feeling of despair creeps over you. Your thoughts turn to your mum and dad - hoping against hope that McLaggen will write to them and tell them what happened. That they won’t think you started your Quidditch career and simply abandoned them.

McLaggen.

You haven’t seen him since that night at the McLaggen Estate. Twenty days ago, you think. Forty servings of cold porridge, twenty dim sunsets glimpsed from the window in the empty cell across from yours - yours is windowless. Or was it twenty-one yet? This island in the middle of the sea is so grey today that you’re not sure if it’s the dead of night or just cloudy. You always wondered why in old Muggle films, prisoners would etch tally marks, counting the days onto the wall. But now you understand. You find a small piece of stone and give into the old clichė. The monotony. The isolation. The distant screaming. It all blurs into one dismally bleak streak.

And what’s worse, every time the Dementors drift along your corridor, you find yourself descending into hopelessness, reliving every bad memory you’ve ever had. Now, as you etch lines into the wall, you can’t stop replaying McLaggen’s dad gladly offering you over to the authorities. You wonder if he’d ever really removed your name from the list of known Muggleborns. Or if his plan was to hand you in all along.

On the first day in Azkaban, you fretted about McLaggen. You pictured him waking up and arguing with his parents. In your imagination, you could clearly see him being so furious that he got into another fight - this time with Mr McLaggen. Then you worried. Worried that McLaggen had been taken in for questioning too. And it was all your fault.

But it’s been almost three weeks. There’s been no sign of McLaggen in Azkaban and there probably never will be - McLaggen had been painted as a victim of your corruption rather than an accomplice. It was his magic that you’d been accused of attempting to steal.

So what would be next for Cormac McLaggen? By now he’s probably joined the Ministry already. Maybe he’s even a part of the Muggleborn Registration Commission. Maybe he’s with someone else. Maybe he’s married. Oh, no. How long have you been in here again?

You hear a disturbance some way away. The familiar sounds of another prisoner being brought in. During the first few days, you’d press yourself up against the bars of your cell, desperate to see signs of life being dragged past and along the dark corridor by a Ministry official. But recently, you hadn’t even had the energy to get up from the cold stone bench, resigning yourself to accepting that yet another Muggleborn had met your fate.

This time, however, the guard opens the cell opposite yours. You look up from your dirty, bare feet just for something to do. It’s not like you want company, on the contrary, the less crying and whimpering you hear in close proximity the better. From the distraught screams of the other prisoners, you’ve deduced they’re keeping all the Muggleborns on the same floor - right at the top - the coldest and highest cells where they used to keep Death Eaters. But in this new regime they were the ones who were out free while you had taken their place.

“Alright, alright. No need to push me, mate,” says a young man’s voice - a voice you recognise from what seems like another lifetime.

The official throws him in the cell, locks the door and swiftly departs to leave you and your new neighbour staring at each other across the corridor.

“Alright, mucker?”

You drop the small piece of stone to the floor with a clatter.

“Carmichael?” You barely recognise your own whisper. It’s hoarse. Strained. You haven’t used it in so long.

You walk over slowly and rest your head against the cool wrought iron bars, trying to get a glimpse of him in the darkness.

“You look like shit,” Eddie Carmichael says, grinning.

Grinning.

You almost forgot what that looked like. The strip of teeth stretching across Carmichael’s face looks foreign in here. But as you look at his smiling face, something that was sleeping inside you stirs. It’s like his happiness - his baffling, out-of-place happiness - makes you briefly remember who you were before you came here.

“What are you here for?”

“Same as you I s’pose. Though I didn’t get the same spectacular trial or press cuttings you did. ‘The Muggleborn who Hoodwinked the Holyhead Harpies’ was the latest, if you fancy. Nah, it was Dolores Umbridge and a pretty pink quill checking a box this afternoon before tossing me in. They were only s’posed to snap my wand in two… Then she realised I was a former member of Dumbledore’s Army.” He snorts.

Dumbledore’s Army.

You’d almost forgotten about the little club that Carmichael, Cho, Marietta and McLaggen had joined nearly two years ago.

“Have you -” you gulp, your tight throat struggling to get the words out. “- have you seen McLaggen?”

“I ain’t spoken to nobody in weeks. Your mush is a sight for sore eyes - even in this getup.”

You look down at your tarnished grey and white striped robes. Or at least the stripes used to be white. The corners of your mouth turn up slightly at his smart-arsed comment. It makes your facial muscles hurt. Here he is. The same cheeky Jack the Lad you knew from Hogwarts, cracking jokes.

“How did they catch you?”

“Snatchers,” he clicks his tongue bitterly. “Packs of ‘em are out looking for Muggle-borns in exchange for gold. Or silver in my case. My bounty wasn’t as high as the likes of Hermione Granger.”

“They’re looking for Granger?”

“And Potter and Weasley. Anyone who had anything to do with the Order of the Phoenix. Greedy bastards thought they thought they might get a bit more when they heard I was in the D.A. but no such luck.”

“The Order of the Phoenix?”

“Christ, you are out of the loop. It’s what the resistance called themselves back when Dumbledore was leading it. They’re back again now he’s gone.”

“And what? Potter’s leading the resistance?”

A tiny glimmer of hope that’s immediately dampened - you’ve seen the way he manages his Quidditch team so you’re not sure how much stock you can put in Potter leading a resistance to save the day and get you out of here.

“Nobody’s seen him since Dumbledore’s funeral,” says Carmichael. “Some say he’s dead.”

Dead.

“And you’ve not heard anything about McLaggen?”

“Not since you were plastered on the front page for ‘stealing his magic’.” Carmichael laughs softly. “Would explain why he was such a big berk at school if you had, though.”

You look at him stony-faced. “Why are you in such a good mood?”

“I told ya, didn’t I? You’re the first person I’ve spoken to properly in weeks.”

“Carmichael, we’re in Azkaban.”

“Yeah, but we ain’t done nothing wrong.” You chew your lip. “What? You gonna tell me you actually did attack the Minister for Magic’s daughter and hold McLaggen and his mum and dad hostage?”

“Of course not.”

“Then both of us ain’t done nothing wrong,” he repeats. “You need to remember that or you’ll go doolally. Or maybe you already have.”

“Ask again in a week when you’ve been around the Dementors long enough. Then we’ll see who’s going daft.” You scowl. Carmichael has no idea what it’s like in here.

“I know there’s nothing wrong with being Muggleborn. And that’s the only reason we’re here. It’s not a happy thought but I’m gonna hold onto it. That way the Dementors can’t take it.”

“That’s the only reason we’re here…” Saying it aloud reminds you that’s why you’re here - why you’re really here. It de-mistifies something in your brain. Brings you clarity.

“C’mon. Don’t go soft on me. That there’s a fact. We Ravenclaws stick to cold, hard facts, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you say. And for the first time in weeks, you can feel your resolve strengthening. Actually strengthening. “I’ve been wrongfully arrested.” It feels real.

“That’s a good fact, see? Not happy. Tell me another one,” says Carmichael.

“I learned how to do a shield charm this summer,” you say. It feels like it’s helping. Maybe he’s onto something. “You tell me one.”

“Marietta’s working for Umbridge.”

“She - she what?”

“Yep. Couldn’t even look at me today. She was right there and didn’t even lift her head up when she heard my name.” He slumps down on the wall. “I’m worried she’s been Imperiused. But what’s worse is if she hasn’t been.” Carmichael looks at you despairingly. “And then what if she-”

You realise what’s happening. It happened to you. A sad memory easily slips into catastrophising then before you know it you can’t stop.

“Eddie. Don’t speculate. Cold, hard facts remember?”

He shakes his head, snapping himself out of it.

“Dean Thomas got away from the snatchers when they got me.”

“Good. Marcus Flint is missing most of his front teeth after McLaggen knocked them out.”

“He is?” Carmichael perks up significantly at this. “God, I hated him.”

“Yeah, it gave him a lisp and everything.”

Carmichael bursts out laughing but stops abruptly. You hear the rattling breathing of a Dementor coming your way, drawn by the sounds of happiness. Instinctively you back away to the cold external wall of your cell, as far away as you can from its presence.

It pauses between you and Carmichael for a few moments, basking in his joy at Flint’s expense before retreating back to where it came from.

When you see Carmichael again, he’s in the corner, white as a sheet, with his legs pulled up tight to his chest.

Shivering, you crawl back over to the bars.

“Carmichael?” He doesn’t reply. “Eddie? Come on, give me a fact.”

“I…” He falters.

“McLaggen’s started playing football,” you tell him, gripping the bars and looking at him imploringly.

He takes a few deep breaths before meeting your gaze again. “Unbelievable.” He looks shell-shocked.

“You alright?”

He pauses for a few seconds. There’s silence. A few drips leak from the ceiling onto the stone floor. “I’ve been banging on about West Ham for seven years - he starts going out with you and he thinks he’s Frank Lampard.”

“He’s more of an Andy Goram.”

He scoffs. “You’ve not got him into the Scottish farmer’s league, have you?”

“What did we say about sticking to facts?” You smile then quickly rearrange your face. “No fun facts or we’ll attract one again.”

IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII I

Time passes more quickly with Carmichael around to help stop you from going mad. You’re both careful to reign each other in any time the other makes a joke or even says anything remotely optimistic. It’s a miserable way of living but infinitely less so than when you were dwelling alone on everything that happened at the McLaggen estate.

You stop yourself from wondering what McLaggen is doing. Any thoughts about him either turn into hope that he’s thinking about you or despair that he’s simply… not.

The two of you recite facts all day. After deciding that football was a much too emotive topic, Carmichael tells you things about magical creatures he learned during his N.E.W.Ts and you tell him about the different properties of potion ingredients you learned in yours.

After discovering that you actually sleep through the night when you’re tired, you both start exercising. Once your evening porridge has been wolfed down, you spend time before bed doing pushups and burpees. You’re careful to do it in silence, making it punishingly difficult until you can’t move anymore - if you have too much fun you’re reminded of sorely of Quidditch practice and that sends the Dementors gliding along to the no man’s land between your cells.

The two of you sit on the floor, eating quietly. Carmichael’s cell has a window facing out to the sea but yours doesn’t - just three walls and some bars facing his. As the evening sun sets, the tiniest sunbeam casts light into his cell.

“The nights are getting shorter,” says Carmichael, moving slightly so the beam of sunlight hits his face. He closes his eyes and sighs deeply. “Do you think it’s September yet?”

You count the etchings on your wall. “It’s the second of September,” you say with reasonable confidence.

“School will have started. I wonder what Hogwarts will be like this year?”

“Speculation,” you chide, pointing your spoon at him. “No wondering, no hoping, no-”

“No despairing. I know, I know.” He finishes his porridge and puts the empty bowl on the floor outside his cell. It vanishes immediately. Carmichael gets up, stretches and looks out the window at the sunset.

“Can you describe it for me again?” you ask, leaning your head back against the wall.

“It’s clear today. The clearest it’s been… I think I can actually see the mainland.”

Scotland. You know you’re somewhere in the North of Sea but if Carmichael can see the mainland it must be Scotland.

You get to your feet and stand on your tiptoes.

“Move out the way, Carmichael,” you say, craning your neck and trying to make out the horizon. You jump up and down on your tip toes but you still can’t see it. You sit down again, trying to reign in your disappointment before you start spiralling.

“It looks like a small black blob,” he says unhelpfully.

“I bet it’s beautiful - sorry! I know… Speculation.”

“You’re not missing much, honestly.”

Not missing much. That’s the understatement of the year.

When night falls, you both go into your usual routine of exercising again until you can’t stand any longer. You lie on the hard stone slab and stare at the ceiling, trying to make your mind blank. You don’t pray for sweet dreams. If you dream too happily, you’ll attract a Dementor.

Especially when those dreams are about McLaggen.

You must drift off because the next thing you know, you’re awoken by a bright silver light in your cell. You sit bolt upright, feeling unusual warmth spreading from your numb fingertips to your freezing cold toes.

You squint, adjusting to the source of the light.

“What the-?”

A large translucent German Shepherd emits a glowing silvery light as he pads up and down your cell.

“Oh my god,” says Carmichael from across the corridor - he too must have been awoken by the bright light. He presses up against the bars, trying to get as close as he can.

It’s a Patronus. You’ve never seen one in real life but you recognise it from reading all about them when you were studying for your O.W.Ls several years ago. But wands were strictly banned in Azkaban - who could have cast it?

The German Shepherd sits and tilts his head from side to side. His big ears flop over each time he does it.

It’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen. Or at least the funniest thing you’ve seen in here.

You laugh. A side-splitting laugh that echoes through the entire floor. And you just know that the Dementors won’t come. Your laugh sets Carmichael off too. Somewhere along the way as your mind clears, your tears of laughter turn to sorrow then quickly back to joy again when the German Shepherd goes into a play pose, wagging his tail enthusiastically.

You reach out to touch it. As your fingers meet its nose, it disappears, leaving a trail of silvery mist in the air. With a grin at each other, both of you scramble to your usual spots across from each other.

“Do you think someone in here has a wand?” you ask excitedly.

“Another prisoner? No chance.” You frown. “But didn’t you recognise it?”

“No? Did you?”

“Well, when I was in the D.A., there was only one person who cast a Patronus in that form.” You feel your heart racing. You already know the answer.

“Cormac,” you say softly, pure happiness surging through your chest. “But he’s not… do you think he’s here?”

“I don’t think so.” Oh. “I’ve heard some people can send their Patronuses long distance. But that’s really advanced magic. I dunno how McLaggen pulled it off.”

“And you need to be happy to send a Patronus, right? Like, really, really, happy. Do you think it’s good news?”

“Speculation,” he warns but you shake your head. You know the Dementors aren’t paying your corridor a visit tonight. Not after a Patronus has just been here.

“They’re not coming back tonight, Eddie. I can just feel it.”

He hesitates. “I mean, once you get the hang of casting a patronus you don’t need the same amount of concentration on a happy thought.”

“Oh.”

“But it means we know he’s alive at least, innit?”

When you both turn into bed again, you feel like you’ve drank some Elixir of Euphoria. You can’t wipe the smile off of your face.

His dad might have handed you over to the Ministry but McLaggen is thinking about you. He’s okay. And he’s given you a precious few moments without the Dementors so you can feel like yourself again.

You lie on your side and trace grooves on the stone slab with your fingertips. If you close your eyes, you can almost pretend it’s your fingers running across his chest as you cuddle into the crook of his arm.

You fall asleep, this time dreaming of McLaggen.

IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII II

The morning after the German Shepherd appeared, the security bringing in captured Muggleborns doubled. Today the other inmates being brought in to be locked up - or worse, taken away for questioning - are accompanied by at least two Ministry officials.

Neither of you had managed to come up with a good theory about why security had tightened but you both agreed that something happened outside Azkaban that had the Ministry spooked. And that was a good sign.

“Footsteps,” says Carmichael later that afternoon and you both prick your ears up. “Three sets, I reckon.”

As predicted, another poor soul is dragged past your cell by two officials. When they lock them up they walk past your cells again.

“Oi, s’cuse me?”

The Ministry officials stop, taken aback that an inmate actually has the energy or the audacity to speak to them. You furrow your brow - what’s Carmichael playing at?

“Are you done with that newspaper?” They look at each other nervously. “It’s nothing untoward mate, I just fancy a bit of sudoku.” One of them cautiously passes the newspaper through the bars to Carmichael. “Much obliged.”

He waits until they’re out of earshot. “I thought I saw a headline when it was sticking out of his pocket. Fuckin’ hell. Listen to this,” he clears his throat. “‘Infiltrators Disrupt Ministry Proceedings. Yesterday, the second of September 1997, three Ministry officials were attacked and impersonated by a terrorist group known to the Ministry.’”

“You think it’s that Order group you were talking about?”

Carmichael nods and continues reading aloud. “The group infiltrated Ministry proceedings and freed a group of Muggleborns, suspected of obtaining magic by unlawful means. Deputy Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, Gregor McLaggen -”

You groan.

“Hold on, hold on - lemme finish,” says Carmichael. “‘Gregor McLaggen said ‘We’re investigating this attack on the Ministry of Magic as a top priority. Our Aurors are working to ensure the three individuals responsible for this incident are brought to justice. The Department for Magical Law Enforcement urges those who fled the scene to hand themselves into the authorities immediately so the Muggleborn Registration Commission can conduct its due process.’”

You both mull this new information over for a few moments. “Do you think it was McLaggen who broke in?” you ask, thinking of his Patronus.

“McLaggen wouldn’t need to impersonate anyone to get into the Ministry,” reasons Carmichael. “Besides, it said ‘three individuals’ - if we’re in here, who does McLaggen have that would break into the Ministry with him?”

You purse your lips. “Do you think it was Potter, Weasley and Granger?”

“Yeah… maybe!”

You hear the rattling sound of a Dementor drifting down the corridor towards you, attracted by your renewed excitement, and you both shut up and retreat into the corner of your respective cells. You know by now that the best way to shield yourself is to rid yourself of any thoughts and sit numbly until it passes. Neither of you dare to speak again for the rest of the day.

IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII III

Every evening after sunset the German Shepherd Patronus appears at roughly the same time. It’s the highlight of your and Carmichael’s dismal existence.

When it comes it feels like everything changes. During its arrival and for a few hours afterwards, you’re able to actually wonder about what’s going on outside these walls and talk about things that make you feel. Really feel. Which is just as well because you think you were running out of facts.

After spending your nights talking with Carmichael, you wake up with a renewed sense of purpose every day. It’s not optimism as such. It’s resilience. And each morning you recite the same mantra - reminding yourselves that you’ve done nothing wrong and don’t deserve to be here.

“So McLaggen’s dad turned you in?” Carmichael asks you one morning. You nod solemnly. “If I’m honest, that actually makes me feel better about Marietta blanking me at the Ministry.”

“How so?”

“McLaggen’s dad is high up in the Ministry and he had to hand you over. What was Marietta gonna do? She’s just an assistant.”

“I don’t know if he had to hand me over. I think he planned it.”

“You reckon?”

“I don’t know. It happened so quickly but he must have, right? ‘She’s in here, we’ve got her.’ He must have known they were coming.”

“Shit.”

You hear movement along the corridor. “Footsteps again,” you tell Carmichael, listening carefully. “Only one set?”

You shuffle closer to the bars to see why only one person is coming along the corridor. In the darkness, you can make out a tall man making his way towards your cells. He stops in front of you and the sliver of morning light coming through Carmichael’s window illuminates his face.

It’s Mr McLaggen.

His stern face looks down at you. You feel remarkably small on the floor of your cell.

“Speak of the bloody devil,” mutters Carmichael. Mr McLaggen ignores him.

“The Head of the Muggleborn Registration Commission has summoned you for questioning.”

“Me? What? They know I don’t know anything about where I got my magic,” you say.

“Questioning about the disappearance of Cormac McLaggen.” His lips tighten into a thin line.

Cormac. A shiver goes down your spine. But what about the Patronus?

“McLaggen’s missing?” Carmichael springs to his feet. “What’s she got to do with it? She’s been locked up in ‘ere.”

Mr McLaggen ignores him once more and extracts a set of chain handcuffs and a key from the pocket of his robes.

“Hands out, please,” he says.

Please. After all this, after everything he’s done, he still thinks manners are important.

He unlocks the door and handcuffs you. When the handcuffs click shut, they glow blue for a second before returning to their original dull state - no doubt some enchantment to stop you from doing a runner.

“Follow me.” He turns on his heels and walks back down the corridor.

This is unprecedented. Normally prisoners are dragged through these wretched halls. Maybe the Deputy Head of Magical Law Enforcement doesn’t know the finer details of the Azkaban protocols.

“Carmichael.” You take the opportunity to clutch his hand through the bars. His cold, clammy hand is the first human contact you’ve felt for almost two months. “I’ll find out everything I can, I promise.”

There are worse people you could have been stuck in Azkaban with than Carmichael. As long as you’re together you can make it through the rest of your sentence. Two months down. Ten to go.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, mucker.” Carmichael gives you a half-smile and squeezes your hand once.

“This way, please,” calls Mr McLaggen.

With difficulty, you bring yourself to let go of him and your bare feet slap stone as you catch up with Mr McLaggen. He collects his wand from the security desk and stands in the fireplace at the prison entrance. You join him, looking down at his wand. It’s just there.

“Don’t even consider it,” he says simply before grabbing a handful of Floo Powder and saying loudly, “The Ministry of Magic.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s much too bright. It’s much too loud. Too busy. And by god, it’s stifling hot compared to Azkaban.

You gasp for air, choking on the green smoke as you stumble out of the fireplace. Mr McLaggen grabs your upper arm to prevent you from falling flat on your face. He keeps a hold of you this time as he leads you through the busy foyer and the crowd parts like the Red Sea.

Squinting in the bright light, you make out faces amongst the Ministry employees shrinking away from you, looking at you in a mixture of fear and contempt.

When you get to the courtroom you’re jostled into a cage in the centre of the high-ceilinged room. Your handcuffs magically attach themselves to the bars of the cage, preventing you from moving around. You shift in your worn seat awkwardly - it might as well be a bean bag compared to your slab in Azkaban.

Dolores Umbridge clears her throat and your eyes snap upwards, looking at her sitting at a high desk amongst the benches in front of you. The benches are by no means packed but there’s a decent crowd - including a Daily Prophet reporter with his camera at the ready. Your eyes widen in alarm when you see her, scribbling away beside Umbridge.

Marietta.

“What can you tell us about the current whereabouts of a Mr Cormac McLaggen?” Umbridge asks, her mouth twisting in a saccharine smile.

“I - I- don’t… Doesn’t he work here?” You strain your neck to look at Mr McLaggen standing by the courtroom door.

“I want answers. Not more questions. Where is Cormac McLaggen?” she asks again.

“I don’t know.”

She titters. “Oh, that’s not true. Try again.”

“I haven’t seen him in weeks.” You gesture to your tattered robes. “I’ve been in Azkaban.”

Amused chattering buzzes around the crowd. You didn’t intend it to be a joke but it certainly lands like one. At Umbridge's expense. The corners of her wide mouth turn downwards and her eyes narrow.

“Hem - hem,” says Umbridge firmly and silence falls through the courtroom again. “I’m aware of that, dear. So tell me, where are the headquarters of the organisation known as Dumbledore’s Army?”

Now you’re even more stumped. “I’ve got no idea-”

“Lies!” Umbridge cuts across you.

“It’s not a lie! I was never even part of Dumbledore’s Army.”

“More lies.” She laughs. An awful, drawn-out sing-song laugh. “Miss Edgecombe, will you please refresh the Mudblood’s memory?”

Mudblood. Not a single person in the room flinches. You suppose that in the time you’ve been in Azkaban, it’s become an acceptable term.

Marietta waves her wand and a piece of parchment flies towards you and opens itself in front of your cage. You lean forward to read it. It’s titled ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ and there’s a list of names: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, Eddie Carmichael, Cormac McLaggen… This must be the cursed piece of paper that caused the word ‘sneak’ to scar itself across Marietta’s face.

Your eyes fly to the bottom. There’s your name.

That’s not possible.

You narrow your eyes, your foggy brain whirring trying to scrutinise it. The handwriting is more or less the same. But why is yours bolder? Unless someone copied Hermione’s handwriting with a different quill…

You look past the paper and try to catch Marietta’s eye but she stares determinedly at the stack of parchment on the table in front of her.

What is she up to?

“That’s your name on that piece of paper, is it not?”

“Yes but-”

“A piece of paper, showing the known members of Dumbledore’s Army?”

“Yes but I-”

“So you admit you were a member of Dumbledore’s Army?”

“No!“

“Lies!” she screeches, her nostrils flaring. “We have it on good authority that Cormac McLaggen is being held captive by Dumbledore’s Army and unless you tell us where they’re keeping him-”

“I don’t know where they’re keeping him. I was never part of the D.A.!”

“Enough!” She snaps. “Take her back to Azkaban. Perhaps another two years on your sentence for attempting to pervert the course of justice will refresh your memory.”

“No, please - I swear I don’t know anything!”

“Your plea of ignorance didn’t help you in your first trial and it certainly isn’t an adequate defence today. That will be all.”

The photographer flashes his camera at your horror-stuck face. Your handcuffs detach from the cage and the door behind you swings open. Mr McLaggen takes your arm, roughly this time, and hauls you forcibly out of the room and back to the Ministry atrium.

This time your eyes have adjusted enough to observe the foyer clearly. In the centre of the room is a gigantic statue of a witch and wizard, carved from black stone. As you pass, you read the inscription ‘MAGIC IS MIGHT’. With disgust, you realise the handsomely robed witch and wizard are sitting atop mounds of carved humans: hundreds and hundreds of naked bodies, men, women, and children, all twisted and pressed together.

Muggles. Like your parents.

Mr McLaggen marches you so quickly towards the end of the atrium that you’re practically jogging to keep up with him without tripping. He pulls you into the fireplace and takes a handful of Floo Powder. He mumbles something, throws the Floor Powder to the ground and the two of you succumb to the surge of green flames.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr McLaggen’s grip releases you when you arrive into the next grate.

“Let me get these damned things off you,” he says, pointing his wand at your handcuffs. They glow blue again before falling to the polished, hardwood floor.

Hardwood. Not grey stone. It feels warm on your feet.

You look up at Mr McLaggen in shock and he nods his head to the left. Hardly daring to breathe, you turn slowly and see him.

Cormac.

Cormac McLaggen standing in the middle of the entrance hall of his house.

That must mean you’re in his house too.

Your head starts to spin and the next thing you know, a cozy knitted jumper is pressed up against your face and you’re enveloped by the heady smell of amber and jasmine as McLaggen catches you from falling.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he says in a soothing voice. “Reflexes still aren’t all that bad.”

You let out a helpless, ragged wail into his arms. Your chest tightens as you sob, you’re not even sure you’re crying - your body is just reacting to the impossibly overpowering stimuli being presented to it.

“Cormac, you need to leave. Now,” says Mr McLaggen from behind you.

With difficulty, he tries to help you stand upright in his arms but your knees buckle.

“Come on,” McLaggen murmurs. “We’ve got to go.”

“Eddie,” you bawl, your voice muffled by his soft jumper.

“Cormac…” he reminds you softly, looking down at you with concern.

“No, Eddie - Eddie Carmichael… In Azkaban.” You hiccup. “We can’t - I can’t leave him.”

“They’ll be here any second. Cormac, you know what to do.” Mr McLaggen hands Cormac his wand. You grip McLaggen for support as you try to stand upright. Try to understand what’s going on.

McLaggen puts the wand in his pocket and extends his own. His arm trembles.

“Do it!” Mr McLaggen urges through gritted teeth.

“Obliviate!” he says and Mr McLaggen barely has time to look dazed before Cormac brandishes the wand again. “Stupefy!”

A red jet of light hits Mr McLaggen and you clap your hand to your mouth when he collapses on the floor with a thud.

“Can you run? I can carry you.”

You swallow, thinking about how Carmichael will be doing burpees alone in his cell tonight, looking at the empty space you previously occupied. “I can run.”

“Hurry - we need to get past the gate so we can apparate to headquarters.”

And with that, McLaggen grabs your hand and the two of you burst out of the oak front doors of the McLaggen Estate and run. You feel the gravel stabbing and cutting into your feet as you sprint but you hardly care. The fresh, country air fills your lungs, making them burn as the two of you barrel down the path as fast as you can and out to the gate.

McLaggen opens and shuts it behind you. His hold tightens on your hand again before you disappear into thin air with a crack like a whip.

Chapter 13: Dunkirk

#cormac mclaggen x female reader #cormac mclaggen #cormac mclaggen x reader #ravenclaw #ravenclaw fanfiction #fanfic #harry potter and the half blood prince #harry potter fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #freddie stroma #finders keepers fic

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ataris-lantern · 2 years

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making my own post bc apparently we cant have nice things~ arcane rant under the cut

vi haters piss me off so much. why do yall pretend like vi isn’t just as traumatized and fucked up as jinx. it’s not black and white!!! the whole point of arcane is that relationships can be incredibly messy and making vi out to be some cold heartless monster defeats that entire purpose. im begging you just to have sympathy and compassion for vi. despite being parentified at such a young age she still sticks up for powder at every chance she gets. you can’t look me dead in the eyes and pretend like you wouldn’t feel rage upon learning that the death of your found family was caused by your sibling, once again, not listening to your instructions even though you’ve always defended her. not to mention the fact that powder didn’t seem to care that she just killed vander mylo & claggor but was just happy that her bomb worked? obviously its because she doesn’t really understand (vi knows this too) but still, vi would’ve felt even more pissed off at that. yes, it was a bad idea to walk away with silco around! but she didn’t abandon powder, she could literally still see her & was like 15 feet away.

despite the fact that powder killed their family on accident, vi still deeply cares for powder. vi’s guilt over her actions has haunted her all throughout her time at stillwater. she feels like it was her fault that powder became jinx (it was not, btw that was silco lmfao don’t even start)!!! even so, what does vi do the second she gets out of prison? look for jinx and try to set things straight. for 8 years, vi’s only goal was to get back to protecting powder because she KNOWS that she fucked up and craves forgiveness.

jinx’s feelings of abandonment are completely valid. i sympathize with her because at one point i was the same way; just a scared kid craving for any kind of validation. i can totally understand her perspective! but this doesn’t excuse her actions, and it doesn’t make her an Unproblematic Cutesy Manic Pixie Dream Girl. it doesnt make vi the Big Evil Unforgivable Sister. like, why is jinx allowed to experience a complex range of emotions but vi isnt? your inability to consider others’ points of view is honestly a little concerning.

#txt #arcane #vi arcane #jinx arcane #arcane spoilers #yes vi WAS parentified dont even deny it #yes vander loved powder but it was clear he was much more involved w/ vi than powder #thus leaving it up to vi to actually be a role model #proshippers and other weirdos fuck off #thought blocking the i*cesty & the like tags were enough but apparently fucking not

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astroboyanalysis · 3 months

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2. The Hot Dog Corps

I've always thought this was one of many Astro Boy stories that would lend itself very well to a more serious and adult remake, (a la Pluto) but this one with a distinct horror vibe. You know. On account of the body horror.

Atom (smiling serenely): wow Mr. Tezuka you're getting really angry can we change the subject

Anyway obviously he makes a good point here. Could talk for a while about cultural double standards especially when animals like dogs and cats are involved. But like, this is an explicitly sympathetic story to the dog and animal testing is a thing we do. So I feel like it should have been allowed to show but I do understand different countries have different standards surrounding what is deemed "appropriate" for children to think about and see. America's just very strange in general to be honest.

Wow that's awesome Mr Ban. I do not want to dog sit for you ever btw.

First really funny gag so far imo. You go Kenichi have a dog treat.

Okay this is interesting to me and probably no one else. Tezuka put little gags in like this if he thought it was getting too serious, which is fine and normal - but it's been less than a page since the last gag. People say we have short attention spans now (and we do) but entertainment has basically always vied for your attention and had to constantly jump around and dance and say LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! DON'T LOOK AWAY!

anyway I love you hyoutan-tsugi don't listen to him

Ban confirmed in debt (joking. or am i)

normal way to act yeah. Fuck up this guy's car and probably kill him with fire and then drown him and also steal his dog and be like. Tee hee hee... stupid idiot... hee hee...

Smiling his angelic little smile like "Did you break the law and endanger others mister teacher?"

God hes just so cute. There's gonna be a lot of "ohhhhhhg my god.... ghgh,h,..... oghgh h look a him...." probably. but ohghghghggggg g loook at hi

Excellent use of class time man

Now's probably a great time to mention you'll notice a heavy focus on like school and child development and stuff in my analysis - I'm a student teacher in Elementary! So I think about this kind of thing a lot and it sticks out to me as a result. Anyway.

Great gag. There's some good ones in this story.

Okay because I'm reading it physically but using an online version for images, most online versions stop abruptly right around here so I don't have good pictures. I'm sorry in advance for the wonky pictures I took.

Idk grand duchess it kind of seems like your fault because you decided to kidnap dogs instead of just having someone train them for you at your bigass winter palace or whatever the hell.

I love how evil things are here. You just dont get cartoonishly evil villains nowadays (because I don't watch kids TV all that much I suppose. But also there's a general trend toward movies and shows without cartoonishly evil villains that I've noticed which is interesting. Suits reality a little better since most people won't be like YOU SEE! I'VE DONE IT SO I CAN KILL AND MURDER! MUAHAHAHA! when you ask them about their motivations in doing something.)

HOLY SHIT THERE WERE PEOPLE IN THE SHIP THEY BLEW UP I get that this is the point but I don't think I ever noticed that before lmao.

Oh hes so cute.....

This is strange as their minds are dog minds and therefore they probably shouldn't have robotic movements. A keen observer like Atom should be able to recognize that they're not all that organized when compared with robotic timing.

"Aren't supposed to be able to" just indicates to me that it's a limitation imposed by creators to align themselves with the laws of robotics and avoid getting in trouble, which I would think would also mean people could make robots that can kill and there's really no reason they wouldn't be able to do that. That said it would be very strange for the story if robots really could be used as weapons as easily as they can in real life. But unless you categorize a machine and a robot differently based on their AI and self determination, I would think it is easier for a robot to kill humans as they don't have to take it into account at all if they aren't programmed to.

That said, in the world of Astro Boy, the laws of robotics are absolute and people do not really break them. They just do an insane workaround loophole like. I dunno. Putting dog brains and nervous systems into robot bodies. Shit like that. I suppose if they were laws that could be broken, that would be really interesting though. It would be like something the United Nations has agreed on so a country caught doing something against it would be refused trade and that kind of thing. So they'd have to be sneaky.

I'm getting off topic.

Okay so there are human workers in the fortress, but all the guard members are cyborgs.

(Annoying guy voice) BUT I THOUGHT HE ONLY LISTENED TO BAN!!!!!!

strong contender for funniest panel so far

REALLY good way to show 2 days have passed this is awesome

To be honest it makes sense to me that a traumatic surgery and event like having your nervous system and brain stripped out and put into a new shape and new environment and shit would make you forget most things. Really sad.

actually devastating im not kidding

Ok yea sure. Literally why though. Atom you do it because you're the main character I guess. This is where I really appreciate Pluto's realism in that Atom is used more as a figurehead and symbol of peace than like. a functionally useful substitute for specialized jobs.

Then again because he's recalling where it was in the next panels, it's possible this is more a result of not having functional and immediate satellite imaging at the time this comic was being written, so you would need someone who knew where they were going to lead you there.

This would indicate to me that there is a temperature Atom's circuitry is not able to function at due to it being too low, but Space is colder than this so I think that is not the case (or we can say it's not the case that space is cold in this universe). Anyway it's slightly less horrifying than him potentially being trapped in ice and aware of the passage of time and fully cognizant so I do see why Tezuka did this.

Also he's shapes.

(The rest of this post will be continued in a reblog as you can only have 30 images per post)

#astro boy #mighty atom #tetsuwan atom #completely forgot how LONG hot dog corps is god DAMN that is a long story #i thought it was gonna be a 1 sitting run through but it really was not #I should have split this up by the sub chapters. Oh well!

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francy-sketches · 3 years

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Quick sketches of Jonnington and his anime son bc I just read their introduction a few days ago and I’m already way too excited for them

#jon connington #aegon vi targaryen #young griff #a song of ice and fire #valyrianscrolls #asoiaf #my art #fanart #mr gaystannis this is all your fault smh #I feel like I know way too much about joncon at this point lmao #uh btw if anyone’s curious #I kind of based him of off that black sails guy but I sorta gave up at one point and did my own thing lol #I rlly like how he turned out tho :>

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mikuhats · 2 years

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smthing i didnt like w arcane is that vi like Saw the state jinx was in like several times and never rly..... IDK she rly didnt act like she was worried for her? that much? even tho this is her sister she hasnt seen in like 10~ years and she’s so obviously not in a good mental state. AT ALL... she just said comforting things but idk i feel like she rly couldve done more to portray the loss she felt being separated from powder for so long and the loss she felt when she realized powder is like... barely still there. and that jinx is so obviously mentally unwell. idk. idk. like the way jinx felt when reuniting with her sister, having to remember how they left things off, ect. ect. i think that was written so so well but with vi it just felt weird? idk

#text #idk how to articulate my thoughts on this #also i think jinx leaving vi at the end of s1 was rly good move.#i dont think jinx couldve been happy with vi and im being srs. i think jinx in a way rly hates vi for what she said to her when she was a ki #kid*#bc so much of her current personality is like. Because of what vi said to her and how badly that affected her thru out her life #i dont think silco at all is responsible for jinx's like mental state i think it was all just a domino affect from when vi blamed her #for their family's death even though it was not powders fault and she was like 7 #idk idk #its not vi's fault either btw its just #*insane ramblings*

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patroklides-archive · 2 years

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shhh you don’t see this.

#( image. ) — vi.#( study. ) — vi.#( headcanons. ) — vi.#( ic. ) — vi.#( misc. ) — vi.#( aesthetic. ) — vi.#( image. ) — viktor.#( study. ) — viktor.#( headcanons. ) — viktor.#( ic. ) — viktor.#( misc. ) — viktor.#( aesthetic. ) — viktor.#[ honks my clown nose ]#[ this is all nox’s fault btw<3]

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momosbrainrots · 2 years

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Hurts me too | Arcane Imagine

Comfort after a breakdown with Jinx, Vi, Sevika and Caitlyn.

These last few weeks have been... Awful. Horrible. BUT finally I will have some free time... Not for long but enough write something, expect more posts coming soon! I'll try, pinky promise!

Btw request r still open!

Can you tell I like writing comfort fics/imagines? Yeah...

Tried writing about other characters, not bad for a first time, hope all of you enjoy it

Keeping such a positive attitude when you're really having the worst week is a bad idea. You thought all the anxiety and stress would go away if you pretend they're not there huh? Nice try, but no. Everything you're holding has to come out somehow and not because you ignore it will go away. And then it happened, all the weight you were holding came crashing down on you in a matter of minutes.

You had a breakdown, a big and horrible one. It was so bad that it left you emotionally and physically drained, unable to think or speak properly. You don't like being seen after moments like this, tears streaming down your face, a blank expression and weak stance, but this time you didn't care, you just wanted to go home as soon as possible.

When you finished the last mission/task of the day, you went straight home, knowing that the person you most needed to see at that moment was waiting for you there...

No because the second she sees your face her heart falls to the ground. There's nothing that hurts her more than seeing you down.

She's instantly by your side. Needs to know what happened. A rough week? Does she need to beat someone up? Please tell her, she's worried sick.

We know Vi is a touchy-feely person but will be hesitant to touch you just to not overwhelm you. Unless you give her an ok she'll keep her hands to herself.

If you don't feel like talking at that moment she will understand, will wait until you're ready or if you don't want to talk at all about it it's okay, but let her spoil you, It's the least she can do for you.

But if you need to vent don't worry because she will be there to listen and reassure you when needed.

You need time alone? Done. Whatever you need to feel better. (although she'll wait for you like an abandoned puppy :( )

But let's be honest here, with Vi? The only thing you need is one of her tight, gentle hugs, those who make you feel like putty and warm inside. Shell pepper you with kisses and smooches all over your face, head everywhere. And will hug your troubles away.

Will tell you stories from when she was younger, about how she used to cheer up her little sister when she messed, or explain you how her day went, what she did and that silly little thing she saw that reminded her of you. In hopes to make you forget that awful feeling.

I imagine her carrying you to bed, leaving you well settled for a session of cuddles, all cozy and intimate. Your face buried in her neck or chest, feeling every thrumming of her voice, while she's holding you, keeping your bodies close so that she can feel your breathing as it steadys.

Jinx

"You're home! ...toots?"

Oh no you're not ok, she instantly panics thinking it was her fault... And the voices don't help.

The convenient thing to do is explain what happened or how you're feeling. Starting from there she will be able to act according to the situation. Communication is key with Jinx!

If you need some distraction you're with the right person! She will take you to places she thinks are nice, high abandoned towers where you can visualize all the lights shinning in the night, will ask you to help her decorate her lair maybe help her with the latest graffiti she has in mind...

Need some rest? Then prepare for the best quality sleep ever, she'll hold you, face to face, all tangled up, while on the background there's playing some soft music she knows you enjoy.

Not the best at comforting but she's trying, would do anything to bring a smile to your face.

If you cry oh no, what is she going to do?! Will be desperate trying to think what to do that she'll end up so frustrated that will cry too.

Will remember what her sister used to do when she had a breakdown and try to do similar things that worked for her.

But it's complicated when it comes to Jinx... She's very insecure and the slightest change in mood will make her overthink and even if you explain to her that it's not her fault, she's going to end sad and worried.

in the end you both will need comfort, doesn't sound too bad...

Caitlyn

Mmmm British piltover finest woman huh? oh yeah, good choice. One of the safest options here tbh.

Caitlyn knows what she's doing. Knows how to treat you in any mood, what's the best for you and what you're comfortable with. You're in good hands.

The moment she hears your home can tell by all your sniffling and how your steps sound that you'd been crying, there's no use in hiding it, she knows.

Be ready to be treated like royalty. You'll experiment in your own skin the richest pampering you've ever felt.

Will sit you down in the sofa and wrap you with a blanket, then she'll prepare you a cup of your favourite tea, a good warm beverage to calm you down first and then if you feel like it, you'll talk about it.

If not it's ok, she won't push you but know she's there for you always.

Will run a hot bath for you, with some aromatic salts, those ones that make you feel sleepy and cozy, and will add some bubbles if you like them. She believes it is a good way to relax the body and clear the mind, it works for her when she has bad days.

If you want her to join you, you just have to ask. She will give you small massages around your sore body and will wash your hair for you. Ah so intimate and wholesome...

You'll end up so fuzzy from the bath and the warm that fills your body when cait treats you so delicately and appreciation, the moment you get in bed you pass out.

SEVIKA

She heard someone knock on the door, she knew perfectly well who would be at her door so late at night, what she did not expect was to see you in such a state.

Normally when she opened the door there you were, always with that smile, or you entered as if it were your house while you complained about something silly... But not this time, your face was wet, traces of dry tears on your cheeks and your head looking at the ground

"What, happened...? Come in."

It will be awkward at first, she is unsure about what she should do, she is not someone who knows how to act on these situations. Wants to say something but is afraid she won't find the right words.

Don't get me wrong, she is emotionally very intelligent but being in that situation so suddenly shocks her enough to the point that she doesn't know how to properly react. She's constantly in a very violent and harsh environment, so having to comfort someone is sort of a challenge.

But for you, the one who has been by her side, the one who healed her wounds whenever she came home injured, the person she has grown fond of, would do the impossible to return everything you have done for her.

This time you kept silent, that worried her but she would wait until tomorrow to talk about it if you wanted. Silence is something that is common between you, just some nod on your part and some question on theirs, enough to let her know that you needed some soothing.

She'll take your hand, leading you to the big window of her apartment, opening it wide, a light breeze brushing your faces and ruffling your hair. She would hug you from the side, her coat/cloak now placed on top of you. She would light a cigarette, if you smoked too you would share it, all in silence, only the sound of sniffles and head kisses now and there.

It's simple, but you don't ask for more, no words or big gestures are needed, you just need to be close to her to be able to release all the burden you feel.

You know she cares and she really does.

#arcane imagines #arcane imagine #vi x reader #jinx x reader #caitlyn x reader #sevika x reader #sevika arcane #jinx arcane #vi arcane #caitlyn arcane

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brokenstrings · 2 years

Note

Yo could I request breakup headcannons with jinx, Vi, Caitlyn and Viktor where their s/o breaks up with them.

Don’t feel like u have to answer if your too busy :)

:rolling over to you in my blanket burrito: tysm for this i was bored hhhh

oh btw can you believe it guys christmas just in two days christmas is in two days woohoo i am so happy about this information /ref

on christmas eve and christmas i’ll try to write something winter themed if i remember to 😭

Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn and Viktor when their s/o suggests they should break up

Jinx

She gets super attached super easily so even if it was for about a week she’ll be super sad when you suggest this

Even if it’s ’lets just be friends’ which is my favorite vocaloid song /j she’ll be really shocked and by this

”Wh- You wanna… Break up with me?”

The voices get really loud, she can’t even attempt to block them out;

”It’s your fault. They hate you. They lied to you. You’re a failure.”

”No no no I’m not, I’m sure it’s not just me shut up shut up SHUT UP!!”

She tries her absolute best to get you to stay, shes crying and grabbing your hand, yelling and pleading

“Please bubs, you’re all I have left… PLEASE!!”

If her convincing works and you decide to stay in a relationship she sits you down with you and talks about if she did anything wrong and how she should change

If it doesn’t work, there’s only a 3/10 chance you’ll be able to salvage a friendship from it, to her; you left her, she trusted you, you broke it

She loved you a lot, she was the one that suggested a relationship, once you tell her it’ll hurt but she gets it

”Oh… Well yeah, we can split up, can we please stay in touch though?”

She doesn’t want to lose you 100% but she’s okay with just being friends, she has a replacement cupcake afterall :I am pointing at caitlyn: /j

If you do end up wanting to leave her 100% she’ll let you it’s just…

You took away around 4 years of her life and gave her about 5 1/2 grey hairs /hj

Shes emotionally fucked up by you leaving her 100% but if it’s just be friends its only 35%

Vi doesn’t quickly rebound afterward, it takes her about a month to actually get over you then ofc she has to find another cupcake :squeezing caitlyn and she squeaks like a dog toy: like that one /j

She wants to know what she should refrain from doing when you’re friends, wanting to keep you comfortable

”So is there some things I should stop while we’re friends?”

”Excuse me ’while?’”

“Yeah 👦👍”

She still calls you cupcake, she doesn’t care about that unless you say

“Vi istg if you don’t Q U I T T H A T.”

Caitlyn

:i am looking at episode 8: HAHAHAHAHA #SMILETHRUDAPAIN

If it’s a let’s just be friends situation that’s completely different but AHAHAHAH-

If you pull a “oil and water 💔⛓🥀 we r not meant to be cupcakke 😢😔” (im so sorry for this one sentence) she’s devastated

Dude she takes like a whole year to recover it hurt her so badly

Listens to sad Adele, Taylor Swift, and Mitski songs in the shower to cope with it

If it’s just be friends she ju- why is little miss perfect playing which one of you /hj

She thinks of all the memories she has of the relationship and tries to think of things she did wrong, she thinks it’s all her fault

She’s happy to be your friend and is happy you didn’t abandon her though;

”You’d like to just be friends? That’s… Yeah that’s okay, I’m sorry if I did anything to make you really uncomfortable, I swear I’ll be more careful in the future.”

She passively tries to get you two back into a relationship sometimes, like passive flirting

Like one day you’re talking abt your favorite Taylor Swift song or sm idfk and she says

”I‘d like to say that you remind me of last great American dynasty or the 1 maybe?”

”The 1?”

”…Yes.”

If that works she is so proud of herself for that

If it doesn’t end up working and she has to rebound it takes her so long

You’ve already had 2 different partners and then she finally comes up like

“Hey this is my new gf Vi” /hj

Viktor

Man I don’t wanna see him sad :sits link shinji from that one scene of evangelion: /jov

He’s hurt, even if it’s “Wanna just be friends?” He needs some time to process it

”Excuse me? Uhm… I- Heh…”

Once he’s collected he‘ll try to hold back any negative emotion, not wanting to make you feel bad for this

”I see why you want to and I’m fully fine if we separate.”

The second he leaves the room and is alone he’s sobbing to himself

”I can’t have one thing go right with other people can I?! Why me?!” He’s whispering stuff like that to himself, he’s a mess

After about a week or two of being split up he’s more comfortable around you, he just needed some time to recover from the breakup

During his time of being more comfortable, he’ll sit down with you and discuss why you think the relationship wasn’t going good

”So why did you break up with me? I’m sorry this is awkward but I’ve been wondering it, I didn’t see many problems while we were together.”

Once you explain he agrees it’s better if you stayed separated for the time being

He has no interest in rebounding unless the other person initiates it, meaning he might not get a partner at all afterwards

mmm we r loving the angst

THE STARY OF CAITS IS SO FUNNY IM SO SORRY,,,,, SAME WITH SOME PARTS OF VI’S IM TIRED IDK

#arcane #arcane lol #arcane netflix #arcane headcanon #arcane x reader #arcane league of legends #viktor arcane #viktor x reader #jinx #jinx x reader #jinx arcane #vi #vi lol #vi arcane #arcane vi x reader #caitlyn arcane #caitlyn lol #caitlyn x reader #arcane imagines

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funklorde · 2 years

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What have we done?,

- 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑥 𝑉𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛！𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘！𝐺𝑁！𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

A/n: idk this was based on a MoM theory so

Warnings/tags: Angst, talk of sewerslide, Vision being in love with a villain but like they was a hero before, Idk it’s just sad af, reader has purple powers btw, T*m K1ng’s Vision reference *gasp*, also this kinda reminds me of the strange supreme episode of what if, the reader is a bitch, also reader dies lol

Low and behold. There your past lover stood. You couldn’t fully see them in the purple smoke but you knew. You could sense it.

No made-up no reset no nothing. You had them exactly how you left them. Well, it seems.

“Vision?” You smiled and dropped to your knees. Your body was in terrible pain. But you’d finally get the love of your life back. “Y/n?” He looked down at you. Their face was filled with sadness.

“What’s wrong, baby?” You grabbed their hands. “We finally can be at peace again.” Tears fell from your eyes at the last words and your voice broke.

Vis grabbed your hands and helped you up. They stared into your eyes cupping your face. It was a long silence. You couldn’t believe you were holding them once again.

A tear formed in their eye. “I’m so sorry.” They cried out. “W-what’s wrong?” Your hands shook. They stood sad. “Tell me. Please.” You sobbed.

“Was this all of my fault? Was I the reason you killed all those people?” Your heart dropped. It was your Vision. But for some reason they knew everything you’d done to get to that point.

“I love you so much,” They put their head in your neck. “…But I didn’t want this. For you. And for us.” They lifted your hand and untwined with your fingers.

You stood there with no expression but tears fell down your face. You broke so many rules and ended so many lives and relationships just for them to be yours.

All this time, you’d never thought about what they’d think about your actions. You just assumed that they will take you in open arms.

You dropped down in pain but they grabbed you just in time. You sobbed in Vision’s arms in regret. “I’m so sorry,” you mumbled into their chest. You didn’t feel reassuring hands on your hands or head.

When you were done you looked at him shaking. “I know my naiveness could never leave me. But I will make sure this never happens again.” They said flatly.

You mouthed a ‘no’ still sobbing. “You made me feel like shit all because I couldn’t help you. When in reality you are so wrong.” They cried.

Your hands balled up. You looked down letting tears hit the concrete. “We had something. Real. But I could never have that again with you after all I’ve seen.” They watched you cry louder.

“Real? What the fuck do you know about real?” You cried out in anger. “What the fuck are you, huh? Are you even fucking real?” You pointed at their chest.

You looked at there face. They were so sad. You’d never ever seen them like this. It was your fault. They shook their head crying. “It’s over. It’s fucking over.” You’d never hear them whine out like that.

“I did so much to get here and your breaking up with me? Fuck you, Vision!” You sat as they got up on their feet. They had one last thing to say.

“I would’ve never done this to you.” they mumbled. They phased their hand through your chest.

“Kill me.” You said. “I have no meaning without you.”

And so they stood. But they couldn’t. They couldn’t just kill their love.

#black writers #the vision #x black reader #marvel fanfiction #marvel x black!reader #vision marvel #vision x reader #vision x you #ok here’s the actual stories

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mostlywritersblock · 2 years

Text

Arcane FF

Author’s note. This is not a Silco/Powder but more of a trauma induced father-daughter relationship. That being said feel free to read it however you like. Hoping to post on AO3 here soon. I try to update every Monday and Wednesday.

This takes place between Ep 3 and 4

Trigger warnings: trauma, gore, depictions of child death, panic attacks, slight suggestion of suicide.

(I am in no way a medical professional so I apologize if my depictions of medical care are incorrect. Thank you!)

PS. This one has dark themes. Please see the warnings above. If that isn’t your cup of tea please feel free to skip, I promise we’ll get back to the hurt/comfort soon.

Also this chapter is a little longer because I will be visiting family next week, so I’ll only be posting one chapter then instead of two.

Thank you to all who read these btw, I feel like my pre-story notes keep getting longer and longer, sorry!

Part 8.

Part 7. Part 6. Part 5. Part 4. Part 3. Part 2. Part 1.

New series: Aftermath (Silco centered fix-it fic) post every Friday.

=============================================

Powder stared at the toy outstretched toward her.

“…Where did you get that?”

“Does it matter.” ‘Other Powder’ frowned, sitting down beside her. “Now.” She set the toy between them.

“Let’s talk about Vi.”

================================================

The moment he opened his eyes, Silco knew he was dreaming. He was back in the cannery, daylight streaming through. Somehow he felt different. Blinking up and around him he slowly touched his face.

And gasped. He didn’t need to see his reflection to know the scarring was gone.

Stunned he slowly began walking towards the exit leading outside.

Shielding his gaze from the bright light with a hand, he stopped at the entry.

Fresh air greeted him.

“Silco?”

===============================================

“Powder?” ‘Other Powder’ prodded her gently. “Do you wanna go first, or should I?”

She stayed silent, staring down at the toy. The other version of her blew a raspberry.

“Okay, I’ll go first.” She pulled the tory toward her. “Vi was holding us back.”

“What?” Powder frowned glancing at her, “no, why would-“

“Ah, ah! I said I’d go first, you can have your say in a minute.”

She frowned but stayed quiet.

“She didn’t believe in us. Even when she said she did, she didn’t mean it. She never gave us a chance to prove her wrong either.”

‘Other Powder’ slowly pushed the toy back in-between them. “Your turn.”

Powder blinked, gently she pulled the stuffed animal into her arms.

“She did give us a chance to prove her wrong, lots of them. Like the inventor…we just -kept messing up.” Powder squeezed the toy close. “Like we always do.”

===================================================

Silco spun around, but there was no one behind him. Glancing wildly about for signs of another person he stepped further outside.

After a moment of looking, he narrowed his eyes, paranoia creeping up inside him.

“Show yourself!” He growled out, body becoming tense.

Silence.

Quickly becoming frustrated, he marched back inside the cannery -

“Where are you going?” A voice called.

- and stopped. Clenching his fist he stalked back outside, realizing the sun was swiftly setting.

“I said show yourself!” He yelled, anger rising.

A shadow suddenly ran past him.

Momentarily startled, Silco gave chase.

=================================================

‘Other Powder’ pulled at the animals ears as she held the toy. “What happened wasn’t our fault remember. The inventor shouldn’t have even made those things, I mean who does that?” She gave a hard yank, “But Vi blamed us for what happened, and Mylo blamed us for losing the stuff we’d found. But none of that was our fault.”

Powder couldn’t say she necessarily disagreed.

“And that whole speech on the roof, she made it sound like everyone makes mistakes. So why is it that when we do something wrong it’s suddenly; ‘Powder isn’t ready’ and ‘Powder should stay behind.’ Silco is right, if Vi had just taken us with her in the first place, none of this would have happened!”

There was a small ‘rip’ as ‘Other Powder’ gave a particularly hard tug on an ear.

“Oops, uh heh, sorry.” She placed the toy back down.

==================================================

Silco followed the shadow toward the back of the building, night having suddenly fallen. A chill seemed to pick up around him. Feeling uneasy about the entire situation he slowed his pace as the figure dashed down the same alley/tunnel they’d taken the previous night.

What was happening??

“Silco.” The voice eerily beckoned from within the darkness.

He hesitated. Some part of him instinctively telling him not to go any closer. Against his better judgement however, he called out.

“Who are you? Show yourself!”

Suddenly the chill was replaced with an intense heat as an explosion went off behind him, the force of it knocking him forward onto his knees. Whipping his head around he watched as the cannery became alight, fire licking up from the bottom, windows blown open.

Coughing heavily from the fumes, he stumbled back to his feet. Shocked, he watched as the building began to crumble inward on itself, the entire top floor collapsing.

That hadn’t happened

A scream ripped through the air. Silco’s eyes widened, the familiarity of it hitting him full force.

Jinx!

Taking off at a full sprint toward the burning building -

- Silco was painfully yanked back. Struggling against the grip, he moved to shove whoever was holding him away. Only to stop cold.

“Where are you going?” Vander hissed, gripping him tightly.

Stunned, Silco stared back, “Vander?”

“I said where are you going?” The large man growled.

Fumbling for words, Silco glanced at the building as another scream rang out. “Jinx, she needs help.”

Vander frowned, his grip tightening even more if it were possible. “You can’t go in there.”

A weird righteous anger was rising in him as he tried to pull his arm free. “Let go!”

“You’re too late.” Vander spat out. It felt like a slap to the face.

“No! Can’t you hear her, she needs help!” Wrenching his arm finally free he stepped back, but Vander made to grab him again.

“You’ll only make things worse!” Vander yelled. Silco ignored him, choosing instead to race toward the building.

==================================================

“Vi was trying to protect us.” Powder mumbled out, fingers playing with the ripped stitching, the ear hanging on by a thread. “That’s why she told us to stay. But…I wanted to help. I wanted to prove I could be just as good as everyone else. That I could be smart like Mylo, or tough like Claggor and…brave like Vi. That I could be someone Vander would be proud of…”

Wearily, she held the toy out to ‘Other Powder’.

Instead of taking it, she simply put a hand on the stuffed animal’s head. “They’re dead, Powder, we can’t be like them because we aren’t them. And we can’t make someone who isn’t here anymore proud, so why try. Why keep holding onto something that will only bring us pain.”

“The past can’t be changed, why waste time with ‘what ifs’ when it does more harm than good. The sooner you understand that, the better.”

Powder blinked. “What did you say?”

“I said I think it’s time we move on.”

======================================================

Silco hesitated as he reached the building, eyes scanning the area for any signs of movement.

“Jinx!” He yelled. The smoke making it difficult to see anything.

A scream came again, but not near the flames; further away this time. Confused he stepped back, following the sound once more to the side of the building.

“Help me!” She screeched.

Silco rounded the corner, Jinx coming into sight as he did so.

Just like the night before.

Only this time she wasn’t alone. There was another figure standing next to her.

Swiftly moving toward the child he felt himself stumble as his eyes grew wide. It wasn’t some figure; it was him.

Silco watched himself crouch down, Jinx sobbing a mere foot away. Time seemed to slow. It was surreal, seeing himself from afar like this.

He waited.

Waited for the child to fling herself at him, for him to drop the knife in surprise. To decide to take her with him.

But as the seconds dragged on, the chill from before returned.

“Please!” Jinx cried, “help me!”

Silco took a hesitant step forward.

Why wasn’t it playing out like it had the night before? Why was-

The Silco near Jinx pulled out the knife.

Jinx didn’t notice him though; instead she glanced over his shoulder, right at Him.

Silco felt his stomach drop.

“Help me!” She screamed.

He ran. Fully prepared to knock into the other version of himself -

-the version of himself that was bringing the knife down on the child.

“NO!”

=====================================================

“I can’t just…move on.” Powder grumbled out, “they’re my family.”

“Correction. Were, they were your family.” ‘Other Powder’ scooted closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Look, I’m not saying we should forget them, I’m just saying maybe we stop dwelling on the past? If Vi really cares, she’ll come back, right? So why don’t we just enjoy our time until then.”

Powder scrunched up her face, “enjoy our time?”

“Yeah, I mean have you even thought about the possibilities now that we don’t have Vander telling us what to do and where to go? Or Vi breathing down our necks every time we want to explore the city. We’re free Powder. We can do whatever we want now!” She stood excitedly. “We can say whatever we want, eat whatever we want, take whatever -“

“Yeah, but, what about Silco?”

“…What about him?”

Powder fiddled with the stuffed animal. “Don’t you think he’ll have rules too?”

“Sure, all adults do.”

“Then…we’re not really free are we?” Powder frowned deeply.

‘Other Powder’ folded her arms. “He’s different though.”

“How do you mean?”

“He made us a sandwich and let us eat those muffins. You think Vander would have let us do that?”

Powder was about to say ‘yes, yes he would’ but was cut off.

“Besides…he gets us.” Then softer, “he gets me.”

Powder looked at herself in confusion. “You? But we’re the same?”

‘Other Powder’ looked down. There was something - off - about her gaze. “I told you. I’m better than you.”

Powder felt the floor give a small shake, distracting her from the ‘Other Powder’s’ implication. Oh no! I’m doing it again! She quickly covered her face. Despair creeping in around her.

===========================================================

Warning. Graphic depictions of gore and child death, skip to next line break.

No matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t reach her. Some unseen force was holding him back. Helpless he watched.

He watched as a version of himself repeatedly brought the knife down, easily tearing through the child. Her screams still echoing in his ears.

She was dead by the third strike. Silco had seen the light leave her eyes; that odd shade of blue and violet and face wet from her tears, frozen in time.

There was blood. Everywhere, and as sick as the sight made him he couldn’t rip his gaze away. For some reason he felt as though he needed to see this, needed witness what might have happened. Too see just how monstrous he could have been.

And in not saving her, he owed her. He owed her to see it through.

Hands stained red, he watched himself shakily stand.

“I told you.”

Both Silcos turned around.

“You’ll only make things worse.” Vander walked up beside him.

Silco was unable to respond, instead he looked back at the child.

“You know.” The other Silco spoke up, looking at Vander. “I couldn’t just let her walk away. I need The Lanes support, how would it look if word got out that I’d killed you?”

“You’re not my only enemy Silco. Remember that.” Vander growled back. “There may not be any war, but the battle for Zaun has only just begun. Are you ready for that kind of responsibility.”

The other Silco snarled. “I’ve been ready for years! You were the one who was never ready!”

“I did what I thought was right!”

“As did I!”

Vaguely Silco realized the two had continued to yell insults at each other, ignoring both, he slowly made his way over to the child.

The fire was beginning to spread, it’s blaze casting long shadows on her face. Eerily, it gave the appearance she was still breathing.

Kneeling heavily beside her, he gently reached out, hands shaking.

She was still warm. Silco felt bile rise up, turning away from her he emptied his stomach.

How.

How could he have considered killing her.

A child.

Shame, horror, anger, he didn’t know what to feel. He was disgusting. A true monster.

Guilt.

…her siblings had been children too, not nearly so young, but he hadn’t given them a second thought the moment they’d came for Vander.

He felt guilty.

He’d wanted Vander to understand. To make him realize; to see that all he’d wanted was for the Underground to be as great as he knew it to be. What was so terrible about that?

But Vander didn’t see, and so he’d set out to make him understand and in doing so, he’d destroyed this girl’s family. In doing so he’d broken her.

Just like him.

A broken.

Twisted.

Vile.

Monster.

He felt the disfigurement return to his face.

Slowly he turned back to her.

========================================================

“Whoa! Did you feel that!” ‘Other Powder’ exclaimed, when the floor finally stopped shaking.

“How do I stop this, I don’t what to make another hole.” Powder worried aloud, standing as well.

“Actually - that one wasn’t you.”

Powder looked at her in confusion. “What? I thought you said I made the hole, that I’m controlling this dream, or whatever.” She folded her arms, face becoming pensive.

“Right, yeah, and you did. But just now…that might have been me.” ‘Other Powder’ said sheepishly.

“So you’re controlling my dream now?”

“Our dream. And sure, but only because you’re letting me.”

Powder was quickly becoming frustrated. “What do you mean? You keep changing what you’re saying.”

“Yeah, because you keep changing the rules!”

Powder froze. “What rules?”

‘Other Powder’ let out her own frustrated sigh. “Whatever you want, usually we just follow whatever someone else tells us. But these last few days, we’ve been following less and less, and it’s been great! We’re leaders Powder, not followers! Why should we have to listen to anyone else!”

Powder glanced around the room, had it always been this dark? “Look, I don’t - I don’t really understand any of this -“

“Of course you don’t!” ‘Other Powder’ hissed, mood instantly turning sour. “You’ve been too busy trying be someone you're not that you’ve never even noticed me!”

“But you are me!” She yelled, anger and a small bit of fear lacing her words.

The room suddenly felt like it was closing in around them.

What was happening??

‘Other Powder’ glared at her.

“For the last time. I’m not you, I’m -“

“Better, yeah, I heard you the first time!” Powder snarked but still moving away, “how can you though, if this is my dream, how are you better than me.” She snatched the stuffed animal off the floor. “And - and if I’m in control then I should get to decide what happens next.”

‘Other Powder’ looked confused. “What?”

“You’re scaring me.” Powder stated, holding the toy close. “I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to wake up.”

Taking a step closer, ‘Other Powder’ reached out, “wait, don’t go, we still have so much more to talk about.”

Powder looked down at the pit from earlier. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

‘Other Powder’ flinched back, actually looking hurt. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.”

“Powder, please-“

“No.” Fearfully she looked between the hole and her other self.

‘Other Powder’ narrowed her eyes. “You can’t leave, not yet.”

“I’m sorry.”

‘Other Powder’ frowned. “Why are you-“

Powder rushed her, and in one giant push, she shoved the other version of herself back toward the hole.

“What are you doing!” ‘Other Powder’ screeched, nails digging into her.

“I’m sorry!” She cried out again, eyes watering.

‘Other Powder’ looked over her own shoulder, just as her heels dropped over the edge of the pit. She began to fall backwards. Reaching out she latched onto the stuffed toy.

They stood for a moment. ‘Other Powder’ balancing on the tips of her toes and hanging by the ears of the toy. Powder standing firm as she stared into the eyes of her other self.

“Don’t do this.” ‘Other Powder’ breathed out. “You need me. You won’t survive without me.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I’m not, Powder listen to me-“

“No. Not about that. About Vi. You said she was holding us back. You’re wrong.”

The stuffed animals’s ear gave another small rip, the tether breaking, ’Other Powder immediately tipping back.

Powder snatcher her hand at the last second.

“I - I knew you wouldn’t let me fa-“

“You’re holding me back.” Powder stated.

Then let go.

‘Other Powder’ stared back in momentary shock, before letting out a chilling scream as she fell.

Powder watched as the pit consumed her.

===================================================

Silco held her close. The heat from the fire getting awfully near now.

He didn’t feel it though. And if he did, he didn’t care.

He couldn’t - put into words - couldn’t describe everything he was feeling in that moment. How could a dream be so reveling of one’s emotions?

And yet.

Here he was. Unable to move, unable to detach himself from her small body.

He didn’t cry, didn’t scream in anger. But he felt it. Felt how much this child had changed him in the span of a day. Imagine what she could do in a week, a month, a year?

He heard soft footsteps approach.

“If you don’t move soon, you’ll both go up with the flames.” Vander said, strangely emotionless.

Silco wanted to shout at him, wanted to ask him how he could just stand there. Did he not care? Wasn’t she like a daughter to him?

This was a dream.

Calming slightly he tried to rationalize the situation, but there was no point. Perhaps if he let the fire get them he’d wake up.

Maybe he wouldn’t.

Maybe he wouldn’t wake ever again.

Something about that thought settled and unsettled him.

It was getting hotter.

“Silco.” Vander warned.

She, was getting hotter

What the hell?

“Silco, get out of there!”

He looked up, surprised to hear the fear in Vander’s voice, but he was gone.

“Sir, wake up!”

What?

His hands and arms were burning, the child was burning; still he didn’t let go.

“Silco!”

Silco’s eye shot open, Sevika’s worried gaze hovering nearby. Immediately he bean to sit up, but was hindered by a weight on his chest. Looking down he found the child clinging to him.

Alive.

She was alive.

The relief he felt in the moment was once again - embarrassing. He needed to get a grip, and fast.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his tired brain trying to play catch-up.

“I think we should get her back into the tub.” Sevika was already heading toward the tap.

Silco looked back down at the child, quickly realizing that the heat hadn’t been from the fire in his dream; she was burning up again. Sweat was covering the child’s face, her hair matted down. She was paler than before.

He carefully slid them out of the bed and kneeled beside the tub. Gently he placed her inside. She was still sleeping it seemed, but the jerky movements she made showed just how restless she was.

Sevika stood, looking between the two of them. “I’ll get the doctor, keep her in the tub until we get back.”

Silco nodded, eyes not leaving Jinx.

He heard the door shut behind her.

==================================================

There was a stillness. A deafening silence as Powder stood above the pit. For a moment she felt good, like an unknown weight had lifted.

Then she saw it.

A small, trickling of sand.

It dusted onto her head. Glancing up she watched as small amounts seeped in through cracks in the ceiling.

Strange.

Then she felt it.

A pain so sharp it brought her to her knees. It tightened around her chest, strangling, squeezing. She couldn’t breath. All at once she was too hot and too cold.

The pit grew wider.

Fearfully she scrambled back, but the pit only continued to grow, the sand quickly filling up what space was left within the room.

“No, no, no” She whispered, too afraid to break the strange silence.

There was nowhere to go. The window she’d come through earlier, gone. Horrified she watched as the pit grew ever closer, sand now falling in as well.

She was going to die.

Or fall into an endless darkness.

She wasn’t sure which was worse.

“Wake up, wake up!” She tried pinching herself. “Come on!” Letting out a frustrated scream, she tossed herself against the nearest wall, “wake up!”

She tried again, and again, and again. Her shoulder beginning to ache. The pain in her chest not letting up.

“Wake up, please, wake up!”

She was running out air, out of time.

“I’m supposed to be in control, then. Wake. Up!” Shakily she slapped herself. Feet slipping in the sand, she got on her knees. She pressed herself as close to the wall as she could get, the pit only a foot or so away now.

“Please,” she begged. “Please, wake up, stop this, please.”

The pit didn’t listen and in the next moment she felt her legs drop out from under her; she didn’t even have a chance to let out a scream before sand and darkness consumed her.

distantly someone was laughing.

#silco #arcane silco #powder #powder arcane #vi arcane #sevika arcane #arcane #jinx arcane #powder is traumatized #this is a dark one #let me start off by saying I listened to my favorite things by mary j blige #and carol of the bells by john williams for inspiration during this #I know that sounds weird but here you go #it's the holidays after all #anyway #everyone is working through their trauma in this chapter #dreams I find are a good way for the conscious to air out its dirty laundry in the unconscious #silco is going through some major conflicting emotions #will he learn from them #eh #powder is smarter than I think a lot of us give her credit for but her naivety gets in the way often #I think powder is also showing early warning signs for mental illness #silco too but that's another series of tags I don't want to write #sevika is just out here trying her best #she really doesn't get paid enough #these chapters are the foundation for silco and powder's relationship #if things seemed rushed that's only because I'm a firm believer silco and powder bonded early on #they still have a strong relationship but things have calmed #as always you guys are amazing <3 #thanks for reading! :)

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