Not My Magical Destiny - Tumblr Posts

Not My Magical Destiny

Welcome one and all to my most recent self-created brainrot!! I have had this idea cooking for months and my creative writing class has given me the perfect avenue/inspiration for it. So, enjoy!

Kodi is a humble college student working at a bakery. Well, when their deferral is up they’ll be a student again. Their best friend Gabriel has been missing for a few weeks and Kodi has heard next to nothing from him, save one-word texts answering their messages. Finally, he shows up at the bakery, spouting tales of a magical world under their feet and above their head. He’s a key part of it in ways Kodi can barely stomach to think about; it would make them sick to their stomach if Gabe got hurt. 

How will Kodi deal with this revelation and the consequences of their best friend’s actions?

Masterlist

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Not My Magical Destiny part 1

Intro found here. next (part 2)>>

Kodi is interrupted by a welcome surprise: Gabriel. He has news and hopefully a damn good explanation as to why he went almost completely off the radar for the better part of two months

The bell to Purebread Pastries jingled sharply as my best friend walked into the bakery. Despite his all-black wardrobe, Gabriel had never darkened a doorway in his life; he was the most stubborn sweetheart I had the blessing of calling my best friend for the last decade. He was unfailingly good and only took criticism from anyone he held in the highest regard. Still, there was something odd about his entrance this morning. Naturally reserved, Gabe typically carried himself with an air of confidence, but now it was missing, tarnished like the chains strung between the pockets of his black jeans. His shoulders were broader than I remembered. He ran a nervous hand through his frizzy, floppy, poorly dyed hair. His roots were growing out, like mine – we always dyed it together. I hadn’t seen more than two inches of his natural jet-black hair since the first manic midnight four years ago in high school. While the difference unnerved me, I appreciated he hadn’t done anything that suggested he was trying to abandon me.

“Hey, Kodi,” Gabe said, picking at the grout lining the glass displays of pastry. Some of my finest work was behind there – palm-sized poodles, wreaths of roses, and a plethora of other puff pastry sculptures. 

I was not about to see my best friend, my soulmate, flounder for anything from me. In a weak attempt to lighten his mood, I said, “So you’ve come crawling back, have you?”

A smile cracked Gabe’s nervous composure. He let my teasing jibe fall flat, softly countering it with, “I missed you.”

“No, duh, you goof. I haven’t seen you for weeks,” I shot back, gently. I let the concern that had built up bleed through in a display of rare anger. “You’ve never replied to my texts in so few words. At least you didn’t call me, then I would have started worrying about you.”

He winced. “Sorry.”

“Hey,” I said, grabbing his hand and pulling it towards me. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to do your own thing. Just a little heads up next time you pseudo disappear would be nice. And remember, you can tell me anything. Or nothing. I love you no matter what.”

Tears welled up in Gabe’s eyes.

“Oh, hey, no. No crying. This is happy. You’re seeing your favourite person for the first time in seven weeks.”

Weakly, Gabe pushed my hand back at my chest where it brushed against the embroidery he’d done on my apron. 

This time, he said to himself, “Wow, I missed you, Kodi.”

Looking around the bakery ornamented with a zoo of hand-drawn animals, I ensured no customers were waiting before I retrieved a croissant from one of the bins in the back. I pushed it on a plate into Gabe’s mildly shaking hands and led him to sit at a table in the corner.

“Want to talk? Or just sit?” I asked, pointedly tugging at the singed collar of the flannel he had borrowed from my extensive collection. 

Cheeks darkening, Gabe tucked the exposed parts of the flannel into his black band shirt. “Just,” he stalled, “give me a minute. I need to collect my thoughts.”

“Of course,” I reassured, sitting back and watching him pick at the croissant. They had been a chore to make yesterday, but at least I didn’t get sore anymore. When I started working at the bakery part-time to fund my freshman year of college I had rarely been able to raise my arms above my head. It made waving across campus at all the acquaintances I had made difficult.

There were never any uncomfortable silences with Gabriel. Spending time together twenty-four-seven since meeting in a tree at six years old tends to do that to people. Nonetheless, there was a tension in the corner of Purebread Pastries that I hadn’t known with Gabe before. We sat in the quiet. I had to stifle the urge to squirm; it was easier to look busy with more people around instead of one person, even if that person was Gabe. I stole the last chunk of his pastry, returning his stuck-out tongue, the exchange loosening the worry that had been sitting on my gut for the past month and a half. 

“So,” Gabe said. He was stalling again.

I poked his side, right where I knew he was ticklish. He wrinkled his nose. He jabbed me back. I smiled. “So?” I prompted.

“I’ve been a little busy since I saw you last.”

I raised my eyebrows. No kidding. 

A guilty, nervous, awkward smile flashed across his face. Sorry.

It’s okay. I tilted my head forward.

If we wanted to have this conversation silently, we could. 

“It, uh,” stammered Gabe, “turns out I’m the child of some mystical prophecy.” It looked like it pained him to get the words out.

Were it anyone else, I would have accused them of pulling my leg. But we didn’t lie to each other and I hoped I would get a better explanation out of him if I gave him the time. I set a hand on his thigh, soothing. “That sounds like a dream come true for you, nerd.”

Gabe nodded. “That’s what I thought, too, at first. It went badly very quickly, though. Turns out the fantasy worlds I’ve been reading about don’t compare to the real thing. You see…”

I tried my hardest to keep hold of the thread of his explanation. He didn’t go into much detail. I tried to keep my expression placid and reassuring instead of betraying the panic of this revelation. It didn’t make any sense. I tried to grapple with the impossibility of what Gabriel was saying.  I knew Gabe had an active, vivid imagination, but he would never create such a twisted world lying beneath our feet and above our heads. It was so ridiculous no one could have made it up. 

The ranks of Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath, and others I couldn’t keep track of were trying to keep the world balanced. They had been suffering under the more numerous ranks of Gratitude, Temperance, Chastity, and their partners. There was brimstone and burning light, blades and acid, fire and frost. 

There was no way I could remember it all. Then again, I never did particularly well on tests. Still, I had no idea how he did it and stayed safe, relatively speaking. If I thought I was worried for Gabe while he was gone with next to no explanation, it didn’t compare to my fear for him now.

He wrapped up his account and revelations, looking at me with hope raw behind his eyes.

“Okay,” I stuttered. “Okay. Wow. That’s… a lot to handle.”

“That’s why they asked me not to tell anyone from my old life,” he admitted, studying the crumbs on his plate. “Why I promised to stay away. But I just needed to talk to someone. And we don’t keep secrets.”

I whisked the plate away and his gaze snapped up to follow my retreat to the kitchen. Finally out of view, I let my calm facade crumble. There didn’t seem to be enough time to process what he had told me. Maybe I had read too many books from the library that was his old room, but I almost found myself believing him. We had played pretend plenty, but this seemed different. There was a gravity to his words, a shift in his demeanor; if anyone could see it, it would be me. Gabe didn’t make anything up for the fun of it, lest it tarnish his reputation. He only created excellence, so there was no reason to tell tall tales about his life. 

It was only a moment between placing the plate by the sink and returning to the counter, but, still, something almost broke in Gabe’s face. Only thread and faith held him together. I crooked my finger and he practically fell over himself to join me behind the cash register. Pulling him into a hug, his t-shirt smelled like ash and despair instead of biblichor. He crushed his face into my shoulder; I felt every ridge of his face, his cheeks tugging into a fragile, relieved smile. Our hugs hadn’t changed since we’d met. There was always safety in our arms when we were together. Shoulders cupped in my calloused hands, I held him out in front of me and pressed our foreheads together.

“And you betrayed their trust for me?”

Gabe yanked me back into the hug, grumbling, “Of course.”

I smirked. “Does that mean you like me?” I singsonged.

Shoving me away, Gabe cackled, the first true joy I had seen on his face since he walked through the door. Through snickers, he said, “Goodness, no. We’ve tried that before.”

Stifling my own laughter, I corroborated, “Yeah, that was a trainwreck.” Platonic and romantic feelings were hard to differentiate when you weren’t straight. We had dated in junior year of high school but realized what we felt for each other wasn’t good old-fashioned romance. I would say we broke up, but what we did together remained the same before, during, and after our “confused period.” How could you break up if you weren’t together, to begin with? Labels were complex, even with people you knew better than yourself. 

“So, no,” smiled Gabe, “I don’t like you. I love you, Kodi.”

“Love you more.”

Gabe sighed with more world-weariness than I wanted to hear from him. “I should probably go,” he said. “They’ll be wondering where I am.” His feet looked like they weighed as much as a house as he trudged towards the door.

“Gabe!” I called.

He turned in time to see the roll flying towards his head. For a moment, it glowed purple. The roll stopped its arc. It dropped into his hand. He stashed it in his black over-the-chest bag. He smiled his thanks.

“Hey,” I said, fixing him with a look. He knew what it meant. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“To you?” Gabriel scoffed. His expression softened. “Never.”

next (part 2) >>

Not My Magical Destiny part 2

Intro <<previous (part 1) next (part 3)>>

Gabe brings the fight and some friends to the bakery. How is Kodi coping with these new revelations? Spoiler: not well

After the breakfast rush, I was pulling buns out of the oven when I heard Gabriel calling my name from the shop. Frantically depositing the finished bread on a parchment-lined tray, I rushed to the front.

“Kodi, Kodi!” Gabe panted, rushing into my waiting arms. “I need to hide.” His hair was singed and strange yellow stains somehow showed up on his studded leather jacket. I remembered getting it for him, the beginning of his all-black wardrobe. 

“Anything! Anything. Duck behind the counter.” I shoved him out of sight. Moving to stand at the cash register, I spoke out of the corner of my mouth, trying to be subtle, but not doing well. “Are you allowed to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m being chased.”

“No,” I snarked, “really?”

He bumped his forehead against my leg. “Idle, Envy, and I were facing off against some goons, but reinforcements showed up. Envy told me to run – I couldn’t handle the fight and it would be easier to retreat in stages.”

“Envy?” I prodded. Explaining things always calmed Gabe down whether they were on topic or not. 

Picking at the fraying edges of my overalls, he began, “Envy’s my mentor. She’s really sweet once she gets to know you, but is a little uptight. She’s been doing this gig for ages and it’s been taking a toll on her. Me showing up is going to do a lot of good, but for now its pretty rough. She didn’t sign up to take on a protege. She’d gut me if she heard me talking about us like that.” He chuckled weakly. 

Gaze narrowed on the street, I ruffled his hair. “I think it’s safe to come out,” I said. Gabe started to stand. “I don’t see anyone coming-”

The door burst open, the bell rang across the room and hit the wall by my head with a clang. Gabe paled, springing into action. His fists glowed purple as his hair swayed in an invisible breeze. Pale, burning gold eldritch silhouettes blew into the bakery. The tables that weren’t thrown against the wall started charring in their presence. Something black and green streaked in behind them. She was difficult to look at, somehow old and young at once, with eyes that had seen millennia. She looked more beaten up than Gabe, black oozing out of a cut on her cheek. 

“Envy!” called Gabe. He strode forward, purple light wavering in formless blades in his hands. “Get Kodi to safety. I run interference better than you.”

Envy raised an eyebrow.

“Please.”

When she spoke, her voice was raspy, with smoke or by nature, I wasn’t sure. “You sure, kid?”

“I’ll be fine,” said Gabe. He shook a fist as the purple flickered in and out of existence. “Idle is on her way, right?”

“You worry too much, Pride,” grumbled Envy. She strode over to me, greasy black hair swinging. A chunk of hair was missing by her ear, burned off. Her nails dug into my shoulder like claws. “Come on, mortal. You cannot handle conflicts of this magnitude.”

The only thing that made me go with her was the concern creasing Gabe’s face.

I stumbled with the force she threw me into the pantry. “Stay here. Don’t leave,” she said, looking at me like I was a fraction of her age and didn’t possess significant intelligence. It was the same look and tone I’d give to a toddler. It made my skin crawl; she was entitled to her unsettling view given what I had understood from Gabe last week. She cast one more glare over her shoulder, saying, “Unless you want to die.”

She seemed to be daring me to leave, seemed to want me dead. I flinched as she slammed the door behind her. I saw it coming, but it made little difference. If that’s how it was going to be, I’d be more than happy to make the feeling mutual. That was only if she wasn’t doing so much to help Gabe and if she didn’t mean so much to him. I had never been good at holding grudges like Gabe did.

A crash rattled my bones from where I sat on a bag of flour. I hoped the bakery could be rebuilt. It meant a lot to me since I started working here over two years ago. There was a flash of white and the sound of something shattering. My pastries had better survive – I had spent too much time on them for them to be covered in shards of glass or incinerated by magic. It seemed trivial to be concerned about desserts, but it was the only thing I could think of without going insane. I recognized Gabe’s cry of pain and resisted the urge to rush to his aid. Metal shrieked and I clapped my hands over my ears; this was going to be challenging to fix. I knew it wasn’t something to worry about, that the world was on the line, but I was trapped in a room listening to destruction I couldn’t see on a scale I couldn’t understand. A wave of blue lapped underneath the door and I instinctively picked up my feet, but the light felt like nothing when I returned them to the floor, even as it curled around my ankles. Something let out a deafening muffled thump and splinters of whatever shattered pattered against the walls, knocking at the door.

Soon after, an actual knock rang out. I jumped a little, but relaxed when I heard Gabe call, “Kodi? It’s okay now.”

I opened the pantry to carnage. Chairs were in pieces, and a figure in braids held a stray leg in front of her defensively. Envy stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed and head tilted to the ceiling. She breathed deeply as her arms stopped smoking and the light died from where it gathered around her fingertips. Running my hands over Gabe, I found a burn on his shoulder and a graze exposed by a rip in his black canvas pants. Pulling him towards the storage closet where we kept a first-aid kit, I passed his leather jacket where it was discarded next to the cash register. The register had miraculously survived with only mildly melted plastic on the side facing the bakery floor. Gabe grunted as I pushed him to sit on a step stool so I could dress his wounds. 

“So,” I said, ripping out a section of tape and sticking it to Gabe’s cheek for safekeeping. His head moved back with the force I applied. “I think I deserve an explanation given what happened to my bakery.”

Envy opened her mouth, the expression on her face guarded and venomous. “Mortal,” she spat as if it were an insult. “It is not in your jurisdiction to–”

“No,” said Gabe, wincing as I dripped rubbing alcohol on his angry graze, “They’re right. And they’re my friend. Kodi is entitled to know about my life, especially when I drag it into their work.”

The only other figure in the room piped up from where she was vainly trying to clear the rubble from the booths, “I think that’s fair enough, Envy.”

Envy shot daggers towards them, snipping, “If you were one of my minions, Idle, you would not speak against me like that.”

“Well, I serve Sloth, not you. Besides, Gabe is the one with the highest authority here. He gets to decide what is told,” Idle, apparently, countered. 

Huffing, Envy bit back what I guessed would be a rebuke about having more experience. 

Gabe ignored her look, deciding, as he so often did, that he was right in his stance. “So, last time, I told you about the big players in the world hidden from you. A while back, I haven’t been told how long, Pride disappeared. She was the authority figure on one side, so everything fell out of whack. Ouch, Kodi!” he yelped as I ripped the medical tape from his cheek to put on the dressing for his graze.  

Our gazes bore into each other. I’m still mad at you, mine said. 

I know, I’m sorry. This isn’t an excuse you deserve. Cutting off our silent exchange, he continued, “Then a little over two months ago, there was a concentrated attack against me by Patience and Perserverence’s goons, and some latent magic was awoken within me. Soon after, Idle showed up, followed by Envy. It turns out I’m some strange reincarnation of Pride. Envy and the others are hoping I restore balance, but it’s been slow going as the world is decaying while I have to learn how to use my powers.”

Towards the tail end of his explanation, my movements had slowed as I wrapped his shoulder up. There was a ringing in my ears as panic clawed up my throat. I tilted my head back to rest against the closet door and closed my eyes. The first-aid kit was an elephant in my lap and against my chest even as it barely reached my knees. My hands dropped from Gabriel’s shoulder. The collar of my purple flannel choked me and my overalls dug into my shoulders and legs. 

There wasn’t a single mark on me. 

I breathed deeply like my dad taught me, slowly tuning back into the conversation. 

Still sounding like she was underwater, I heard Envy saying, “Look… done… listened… me. – never learn.”

I blinked away the tears that had been gathering in the corners of my eyes before the others could see them. Gabe’s face was etched in concern and he lifted his uninjured arm to cup my cheek. “Kodi,” he said, “I think you fainted.”

The world had only just stopped spinning with the implications of his earlier words, so I refrained from shaking my head. “I just need a minute.” I hadn’t fainted and it hurt to see my oldest friend underestimating me. How much had this world changed him?

“I told you not to tell them,” hissed Envy. 

With effort, I pulled my vision back into focus. “You’re being safe,” I asked weakly, “right, Gabe?”

He avoided my gaze. “Yes.”

I jabbed his side, right where he was ticklish. 

“As safe as I can be,” he corrected. “I’m not letting anyone ruin my world or hurt my friends.”

“Okay, okay,” I breathed. There was something still burning in the bakery. If luck was on my side, it wouldn’t be anything in the kitchen. It hurt to look around the wreckage, but I fixed Idle and Envy with a glare. “Does any of your preserving the world involve fixing the mess you made?”

“We’ll do our best!” chirped Idle, picking up where she left off earlier.

Envy sighed, “For someone who means too much to Pride, I suppose. We did bring the fight to you.”

“Thank you,” I said, standing on unsteady legs. “I’ll be in the back if you need me. I don’t think there’s much I can do out here.”

Gabe fell short of grabbing my hand. He stood too and turned away to start on the mess. I let the door swing shut behind me as I tried to let the comfort of the ovens wash over me. My hands still shook.

<<previous (part 1) next (part 3)>>

Not My Magical Destiny part 3

Intro <<previous (part 2) next (part 4)>>

Something happens with Gabriel and he turns to the one person that he feels can help him: Kodi. The bakery is barely fixed and much the same could be said for Kodi.

The grandfather clock had just ticked beyond half past four when there was a knock at the glass door to the bakery. I nearly jumped out of my skin, sending flour skidding across the counter. 

One hand pressed to the glass, Gabriel looked at me pleadingly. I wiped my hands on my apron, the one he had embroidered with my name and a phoenix so long ago. Abandoning the puff pastry mid-roll, I walked over to the door. The lock needed replacing, especially after the fight; it had been finicky before but now I had to wrestle it open without it stealing my keys. The owner of the bakery insisted on keeping it since the mechanism still worked in a pinch and they were hard up on funds after renovating the torn-up booths. Gabe’s throat bobbed as he stepped back from the door. His hair was a bird’s nest, shedding whenever he moved quickly. Whatever poise I had seen when he walked into the bakery two and a half weeks ago had vanished. He looked defeated in a way I hadn’t seen in ages. I spread my arms wide, twitching my fingers towards myself in invitation. He barrelled into my embrace. I stumbled back. 

Softly, quietly, I walked him into the office where there was a beanbag. I guided him onto it and covered him with a fluffy blanket patterned with macarons. I kissed the crown of his head, which still had far too much regrowth.

I whispered, “I’ll be back. I just need to get the quiches into the oven.”

He was too shattered to nod back.

As I rhythmically folded and rolled out the dough, I could barely focus. I hadn’t seen Gabe this distraught since before he had started testosterone. We had spent many nights curled up together or apart, depending on what we could stand. Sometimes he was shaking from the wrongness that permeated his existence in those moments. I’d have to hold down his wrists in a hug so tight I took away his breath. Those days were the hardest – when I had to go home knowing he’d come to school the next day with clumps of hair missing and eyes red from crying and lack of sleep. It hurt me almost as much as it hurt him. 

Of course, he had returned the favor. He had wiped my tears too, had taken up the scissors for me when I finished with his hair. I remember the relief on his face, weight dropping from his shoulders just as it did from his head. That was one of my favorite afternoons with him; both of us sought our joy and helped each other achieve it.

I would do anything for his happiness. 

Finally, fumbling only once at the thought of him crying in the office, I put the pastries in the oven. I scrubbed my hands of flour but it never relinquished itself from under my nails. I hung my apron on its nail so I wouldn’t cover him with more flour. It swung limply next to the mural Gabe painted when I started the job.

He hadn’t moved when I shuffled back into the office. His gaze bore into the wall, staring at nothing through the chibi cupcake calendar. I yearned for a smile from him, wide and true and pulling at the dimple he earned from knocking his head on our treehouse. I flopped down next to him, sending him upward and knocking the blanket to the ground. He made no effort to grab it. I picked it up and tucked it around us. I threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into another hug.

Lips pressed into his hair, I ordered quietly, “Tell me what happened.”

Tears dripped onto my collarbone. A sob tore from his throat. He wrapped his arms around me, tight as a limpet, and cried. His breathing was unsteady with gasps wracking his shoulders. It took a lot for him to cry this much. I was ready to kill anyone who did this to him, otherworldly or not. I rubbed circles into his back and tried to keep my breathing as metronomic as I could to give him something grounding, to eventually aim for. 

The quiches were almost halfway done by the time he had calmed down enough to get out a few words.

“It was Idle,” he croaked.

“Hm?” I asked, squeezing his arms once gently. 

He sat back so I could see his face. “Or, Patience.” His expression contorted in pain again. “She was posing as Patience to sabotage my return as Pride.”

“Oh,” I said. She was dead meat. “What did she do?”

“Last night she attacked Envy and made a move for me. But she and her companions always underestimate the others. As soon as she turned her back on Envy, Envy sunk a knife into her back,” he said, monotone. “She retreated and I ran off after that.”

I wiped a tear from his cheek. Quietly, I asked, “And then what?”

“I walked around for a bit.”

“You didn’t go home?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t told anyone but you.”

“Did you at least find somewhere to rest?”

Again, he shook his head. “Couldn’t.”

I gathered him into my arms again, more for my sake than his. I’d never found a greater peace than when I was with him. Gabe had expressed the same to me more times than I could count. So, I let him bask in the feeling before I tugged at his composure with more questions. 

“When you say you haven’t told anyone else,” I began, “are you talking about what Patience did?”

He shook his head.

“You haven’t told anyone about anything? Not the prophecy, not the other world, nothing?”

Gabe nodded and buried his face further into my chest. I didn’t need to see it to know the shame tracing his features.

“Why haven’t you told anyone else?” I questioned, forcefully meeting our gazes. “You were asked not to, but that’s never enough for you. So, why?

Gabriel sighed. He sounded as old as Envy seemed. “It’s dangerous,” he began, “for people outside our circles to know. People don’t hide knowledge well, and most people can’t defend themselves against the forces that seek to keep or disrupt the balance by any means necessary.”

“Okay,” I said, reassuring him even as the floor beneath me dipped. 

He took another shaky breath; it smelled like his mother’s dal, which I knew she hadn’t made in two days. He continued, “I just couldn’t keep it from you. Like I said the first time, we tell each other everything. You’re just so strong, I knew you could handle it. Can handle it.”

When he paused the wheels in both our heads were turning. In very different directions I was sure. I kept my mouth shut.

Eyes sparking weakly, he said, “What if you come with us? You’d be under our protection so I wouldn’t lose you, and you’d be safe. At least I hope. Envy is going to take a while to recover.” His eyes darted around the room and his grip tightened on my hands where they had fallen into our laps. “And it’s my fault. I trusted Idle, Patience, let her tag along with us. She had so many opportunities to hurt us, it’s a wonder she didn’t do it sooner.”

Gently wiggling my hands, I extricated them from his. I placed them on top of his palms, feeling their clammy warmth, trying desperately to soothe his racing thoughts. My mind was reeling from what I had learned. Standing, I said, “You’re not ready to leave yet. You can keep me company until the bakery opens, but then you have to go. I love you and I love having you around me, but I might get in trouble for letting you loiter while customers around. Besides, I’m sure Envy will be worrying, so you’ll need to find her.”

“Thank you,” Gabe said into his knees, which he had gathered to his chest during my proposal. 

He ended up dragging the beanbag into the entrance of the pantry so I could dance around him now and again when I went to grab ingredients. We made some idle conversation, but the weight of his breakdown sat heavy with both of us. Every step I took was weighed down by what was to come, for Gabe or for me.

<<previous (part 2) next (part 4)>>

Not My Magical Destiny part 4

Intro <<previous (part 3) next (part 5)>>

Eager as always, Gabe gets a brilliant idea: bring Kodi along for a typical adventure. Nothing will go wrong, right? How will Kodi cope? Surely they'll be fine. Won't they?

Closing the register on a customer’s order, I heard my phone ring. Fishing it out of my pocket, a chill ran down my spine when I saw it was Gabe. His contact photo smiled at me from the summer after our senior year, wearing an unfortunate tan in the shape of aviator sunglasses. I looked around the bakery. The corners of the walls were still black with smoke since I couldn’t reach them to clean and the owner couldn’t afford to replace them. The tables were refurbished and largely empty of patrons. Once I determined there was no one needing my attention, I picked up. 

“I need your help.” Gabe’s voice was tinny over the line, something I wasn’t used to hearing. We never called each other – it started as a point of nervousness when we first got phones and continued out of principle. I was good at answering the phone now, at least, after helping my dad at his therapy office and taking orders at the bakery.

My heart raced at the implications. I hoped the distortion over the phone would disguise my voice shaking. “What with?”

“The thing” – Gabe hesitated – “I am not allowed to talk about where people can listen in on.”

If my heart was cantering before, it was galloping now. I could barely deal with the attack on the bakery last month, so the thought of being directly involved, of being asked to be part of the living nightmare that was Gabe’s life nearly paralyzed me. I stammered out, “Are you sure I’m the right person for this job?”

“You can hang back!” said Gabe, rushing to reassure me. “I’ll tell you more about the… situation when you get out here.”

“I’m working!”

“Please? For me?”

Gabriel never gave up when he made a plan. And I never bailed on him.

“Fine. I’ll be out in ten.”

“Great! Thank you, Kodi.” It was worth agreeing just to hear the relief in his voice. “Meet us at the edge of town.” He hung up.

“Well that wasn’t ominous or creepy at all,” I muttered to myself.

It didn’t take long to take stock of the shop. I took the generous ten minutes I had given myself to straighten the display of cookie cats, ferret eclairs, and paw-shaped tarts. A sickly sweet stickiness always lingered on my hands whenever I did this, so I normally saved it for the end of the day. Still, no one was as meticulous as I was at Purebread Pastries, so if I was calling my shift in early I had to do it now.

Satisfied with my work, I called out, “Hey, boss? I have a family emergency. Can I go?”

Years of reliable work and covering shifts made the answer easy. With the boss’s approval, I hung up my apron. I ran my thumb over Gabe’s embroidery. It was naive and pointless to wish for that time when it was simpler, safer. It didn’t stop me from wanting a magic-free world.

As I walked to the meeting place, I pondered Gabriel’s words. He wouldn’t put me in danger he couldn’t protect me from. Staying in that world couldn’t have changed him too much from the boy I had grown up with, could it? We had chosen names together, had discovered ourselves together, laughed, cried, screamed together. The boy I knew wasn’t lost, right?

Doubt grew in my mind when I passed the last row of houses. The bags under Gabe’s eyes were dark and prominent, worse than I had ever seen before, and I had helped him through a week without sleep. Despite this, there was a fire in his eyes, vengeful and fierce. It scared me. He had recovered the bulk he had when he reappeared in the bakery what felt like a lifetime ago. Standing tall, his stance was stiff and fragile, filling out a plain grey shirt I had never seen before. A chill ran down my spine, though no wind stirred the sparse trees.

It didn’t help that Envy hovered by his shoulder, resentful and brooding. She had cleaned up since the last time I’d seen her, which made sense. Her faded green sweater vest had holes worn through it, but at least there were no scorch marks this time. She was gripping her biceps, arms crossed, and tapping her fingers impatiently. 

As soon as Gabe caught sight of me, his shoulders released from where they had tensed around his ears. 

“Kodi!” he called. The flannel he wore around his waist, my flannel, flapped as he skipped towards me. He gathered me in a two-second hug. “Thank you, thank you, for coming. I knew you would.”

“Pri- Gabriel. The plan?” prompted Envy. She already looked sick of our affection. 

“Right!” Gabe said, steamrolling ahead as usual. He shoved a handful of throwing stars into my hands. Their reflectiveness blinded me. “Take these.”

“What am I supposed to do with them?” I asked, looking at them closer while holding them like they’d bite me. If they had been used before, they had been cleaned well. 

“You play ultimate frisbee.”

“Played. It’s been a year. I can’t afford to anymore, remember?”

“Still,” Gabe insisted. “You’re equipped, so let’s move!”

As always, I followed Gabriel. “You still haven’t explained anything,” I said, stumbling on a crack in the ground. 

Envy tried to shepherd me through an arch formed by two trees off of the path, but I stood firm. Oblivious and headstrong, Gabe was striding ahead.

“Gabriel,” I said. I still knew the tone to make him stop in his tracks – in that he hadn’t changed. “Tell me what is going on or I’m leaving. I love you, but this is getting to be too much.”

The eagerness in Gabe’s expression crumbled a little. He fiddled with the zippers littering his jacket as he answered, “There’s information we need from one of Diligence’s stashes. The others are too busy with their duties to help, and we need someone to watch our flank as Envy and I break in. We’re supposed to be diplomatic but we already know what Diligence’s answer will be and we don’t have time to waste.”

I could already feel my resolve weakening. “Okay. This won’t be as… intense as the battle you took to the bakery, will it? Because I won’t be able to handle it.”

Gabe shook his head vigorously, safety pin earrings jingling. He was quick to affirm, saying, “Nope! Envy and I are professionals at this, so you shouldn’t have to step in. It’ll be over before you know it. We just need a little bit of backup for Envy’s peace of mind.”

Going off of Envy’s expression, he should not have said that in front of me. Envy’s glare could have melted steel. Her hands twitched irritably where they rested on daggers at her belt.

“So I won’t have to use these?” I asked, barely wiggling the throwing stars.

“I promise you won’t have to do anything but hold them,” said Gabe, tugging me forward. “They’re for my peace of mind.”

Finally satisfied, at least for the time being, I stepped through the trees. Gabe’s hand holding mine was the only thing that stayed consistent, warm and solid. I almost fell as the world shifted under my feet. The air was nauseatingly fresh, cool in the shade of evergreens. My stomach lurched as I tried to find my bearings again.

I watched Gabe’s shoulders drop and set firm; he seemed more comfortable out here, more driven. His steps made no noise as he led me towards the gate he sought to get through. It was situated in a clearing with two figures at the entrance. They were dressed from head to toe in silver plate mail and each held an erect spear. There was no movement as the world seemed to hold its breath.

Realizing we were missing one of our party, I scanned the area for Envy and nearly jumped out of my skin. She had made it around to the other side of the glade and was raising her hands. Light danced between them in a web, growing and strengthening in brightness. Spiderlike, she struck. Her net flew through the air and wrapped around one of the guards. They let out a wheeze and flew backward with the momentum of Envy’s pull. The other guard snapped forward into a defensive stance. Gabe took this as his signal to move. 

He pushed me behind a tree, which I was grateful for. Flitting forward, a purple orb of light gathered in his open hand. He lobbed it towards the second guard. It landed on their face and their hands immediately went to where their eyes were. Or at least, where I hoped they were. 

The battle was almost beautiful in its choreography. Envy incapacitated their opponents, encasing them in woven light and pulling them out of commission. Not a single cast came close to hitting Gabe. He struck with the purple blades I had seen in the bakery. He aimed for gaps in the armor; while not every strike was successful, each one knocked the fighters off balance. I called out as a desperate foot snaked out to try and trip Gabe. The guards barely stood a chance. Even as a routine patrol of two others joined the fray, at my shout Envy and Gabe took them out systematically, easily. One of them landed a lucky hit on Gabe, nicking his forearm with one of the shattered spears. They only had time to let out a single cry. 

The battle was over in two minutes. Gabe looked alive, catching his breath and looking over at me, puppy-like. I smiled my approval, weakly. Practically bouncing from my reaction, Gabe joined Envy in dragging the bodies aside. My insides writhed a little at the carnage, no matter how brief it was. They had just returned to pick up a second guard when the knot in my stomach dropped.

The guard’s shout had alerted someone beyond the gates. They were approaching, armor blinding, from around the corner. Raising their spear to strike, aiming for Gabriel, I knew he wouldn’t have time to react to my warning. Instinctively, I drew a throwing star. Though I was rusty having not handled a frisbee in high stakes for a year, the star felt familiar in my hand. I had never thrown at a person without the intent for them to catch it. I aimed high just in case my muscle memory had faded.

The throwing star soared across the clearing. It was lightning fast, faster than any frisbee I had thrown. It flashed in the sun, glinting directly into my eyes. I swore I could see the air fracturing in its path. It hit before the guard’s arm reached its apex. 

It landed in their neck.

The clearing, the world, went silent. Blackness encroached on my vision. It crept in from the edges and pulsed in the center. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hear anything but my thundering heart. My breathing quickened.

Vaguely, I was aware of Gabriel springing to his feet at the sound of the guard collapsing. My head swam from a lack of oxygen, a lack of explanation for what had just happened, for what I had just done. I felt the ground beneath me vibrate a little with Gabe’s approach.

I lost my tentative grip on the world before he reached me.

Intro <<previous (part 3) next (part 5)>>

Not My Magical Destiny part 5

Intro <<previous (part 4) 

the end :)

A college student dressed in all black walked through the door. His hair brushed his ears, half black and half terrible auburn. Chains and blunt spikes lined the seams of his dress pants. A strained smile pulled at his face, dimple creasing by his temple. I stood from where I was restocking the desserts: roses, poodles, and other puff pastries.

“Welcome to Purebread Pastries, what can I get for you?” I greeted brightly.

I had never seen anyone’s face drop faster. Tears welled in his eyes, which I noticed were already red-rimmed. Empathy flared in my chest, unbidden but welcome. 

“Oh, hey. How about a cupcake, on the house?” I suggested, desperate to cheer this person up. “For here or to go?”

He sniffled and nodded, jerking his thumb towards the door before pointing to a blueberry tart sprinkled with edible gold glitter. It was one of my favorites to make and eat. I added it to the box with the pastel cupcake.

Walking over to the cash register, I asked, “Anything else?”

He started to shake his head but stopped with a look in his eye I couldn’t place. He spoke for the first time since setting foot in the bakery. “Would it-” His words rasped to a halt. He cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, and tried again. “Would it be weird to ask for a hug?”

I set the box to the side and stepped around the counter. “Not at all,” I said, stretching my arms out. I twitched my fingers forward. 

The force he slammed into me sent me stumbling back. My ribs felt like they were cracking from his warm embrace. Given he didn’t seem to want to let go, I leaned into the hug. He smelled like biblichor, reminding me of an old library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Before I closed my eyes, my gaze caught on the wallpaper singed from the kitchen fire not too long ago. 

He stepped back, hands lingering on my shoulders for a moment. I let him be the one to continue the retreat.

Finally on the other side of the counter again, he murmured, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” I said brightly. “Here’s the receipt. Have a good one!”

As he stepped away from the counter, he seemed reluctant to leave. He took his desserts to a green-clad woman who seemed to be his companion. The pair seemed to be in their own little world, oblivious to how loud they were in the near-silent bakery. I had nothing better to do, nothing better to think about, so I listened in.

“They don’t remember me, Envy,” he whispered, choked up.

The woman, Envy, placed a hand over his. She said, “It’s for the best. I wouldn’t have wanted the favor I called in to go to waste.”

“There’s nothing I can do, is there?”

Envy shook her head. “You shouldn’t try. Chastity’s magic is not something to be messed with, especially with something as potent as a memory wipe. They were already unstable as it was.”

What a strange conversation. I hoped that the desserts they bought would help. At least the generous tip would go towards my college funds and possibly also the reinvigoration of my ultimate frisbee endeavors.

“I don’t know what I’ll do without them. I’ve never… never done anything…” Some quiet emotion broke off whatever the boy was trying to say.

Stiffly, the woman slung an arm across his shoulders. He curled into her embrace, desperate. 

The conversation trailed off, and the boy seemed more lost than ever. If I was to describe heartbreak to someone, I would show his face. He opened the door, letting his companion out first. He paused in the doorway, looking back at me.

“Goodbye, stranger,” I called. “I hope you feel better soon.”

He never introduced himself to me, not when he walked in, not after hugging me.

“Goodbye, Kodi.”

He closed the door behind himself, resting it shut, lingering on the steps. His shoulders rose and fell unsteadily. Every step he took away from the bakery seemed more unsure than the last, but he continued on.

Under my breath, I whispered to the retreating figure, “Goodbye, Gabriel.”

<<previous (part 4) 

Good tidings to NaNo Week 2!

I didn't do great this week, falling off a little on the weekend. I'm trying to be gentle with myself, so I'm giving myself a pass for doing things with my family.

I've still done well with writing at least a little bit every day. Sometimes it was a bit of a scramble and there was some time shuffling, but there was enough for me to be happy with the consistency I've had.

I've officially lost the plot journal I had for my solo novel. I don't have time to turn my room upside down, but I may make it yet from threads and bones at 4am. Still, it gave me an excuse to fall in love with my newest blorbos again when doing a POV experiment. Bitter & Sweet is coming along slowly, but it's difficult juggling two people's ambitions and responsibilities. Hopefully next week will be more fruitful.

Total words written: 7,690/50,000

Average daily word count: 389

Snippet: Gabe's POV from Not My Magical Destiny

I barrelled into their arms. The world was right once again. Kodi smelled of cinnamon and sage and home. I buried my face into Kodi’s neck, reveling in their warmth. I didn’t know how I had gone so long without their arms around me. It felt like every hug we’d had since we’d met. It didn’t matter how we’d grow, where we’d go, what we’d do, we were ourselves together. I felt safe, finally. Pulling away slightly, Kodi cupped my cheeks between their palms. They pressed our foreheads together, thumb tracing the dimple at the top of my cheekbone. Softly, they said, “And you betrayed their trust for me?” Pure, unfiltered love burst in my chest. I pulled them back into a hug, needing to be held still. “Of course,” I murmured.

Intro Part 1 (the mirror)

Ever wonder what Gabe was thinking? If your world turned upside down in a freak display of magic and destiny, wouldn’t you go to your oldest friend for comfort? Surely they can only react well. If only Gabe can pluck up the courage to go inside and confront the person he basically ghosted. Also featuring the only full body description of Kodi.

I almost backed out. Just thinking about Kodi’s face was agony. I knew, I knew I stood outside of Purebread Patries for too long. It was a miracle they didn’t notice me through the window. Yet, the closer I was to Kodi, the more I could breathe.

The last month and a half was a whirlwind. I thought I knew what it meant to live in a world upside down; most of the population oblivious to your very existence, but this was something I could never have read about, let alone dreamt about. Kodi had always been the grounding force in my life, offering advice, an ear, or a knock up the head. It killed me, it was killing me, having not seen them for so long. I had barely talked to them. There was no way they weren’t fuming. The thought of them mad at me scared me almost as bad as facing the Virtues.

I had to do this, though. For me and for Kodi.

Timidly, I pushed the door open. The bell rang far too loudly, too sharp for what I wanted to be a subtle entrance. I never wanted to make quiet entrances, but this circumstance cowed me. The bakery smelled like home. Never once had I regretted getting Kodi into baking. They had taken to it like Tolkien to fantasy, coming alive with a whisk in hand, oven beeping in the background. All it took was a year when my parents ran out of time and they baked my birthday cake. Now, more often than not, their apartment smelled of sugar and butter and flour.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I said, “Hey, Kodi.”

Kodi’s head snapped up. The relief in their eyes almost made my knees buckle before I reached the counter. They dusted their hands off on their apron, the one I embroidered, and meandered over to where I stood picking at grout. Their mustard yellow flannel had a smear of frosting on its cuff. They had paired their black skater skirt predictably with the combat boots that peeked out from behind the counter. Running a hand through their green hair, which I saw they hadn’t redyed, dark brown roots growing out, they smirked drily. Their eyebrows didn’t unfurrow. “So you’ve come crawling back, have you?” they snarked. Of course, they were trying to lighten my mood. That didn’t stop me from seeing right through the brave face they were putting on.

And what a brave face it was. I could have done with seeing it more often when dealing with Envy. Tears clawed at my throat. I choked them back. “I missed you,” I stage-whispered. I couldn’t muster anything else.

Their eyes softened. “No, duh, you goof. I haven’t seen you for weeks,” they jabbed. I could see the tension in the cords of their neck, the fire behind their brown gaze. Kodi didn’t get angry. Frustrated, sure, annoyed, of course, but never mad. There was raw anguish in their words that threatened to hurt me as much as they had been hurting. They said, “You’ve never replied to my texts in so few words. At least you didn’t call me, then I would have started worrying about you.”

“Sorry,” I said, wincing. For all my bravado, I was starting to think I was the cowardly one in our decade-and-a-half-long friendship.

But, of course, Kodi being Kodi, they didn’t let me wallow. They grabbed my hand and pulled it towards their chest. My callouses almost matched theirs now, but that didn’t stop the hold from being so achingly familiar that I started welling up. Softly, while kneading my palm, they said, “Hey, it’s okay. You’re allowed to do your own thing. Just a little heads up next time you pseudo-disappear would be nice. And remember, you can tell me anything. Or nothing. I love you no matter what.”

I looked up, blinking back tears.

Immediately, they released my hand. They leaned towards me hurriedly, making urgent eye contact. “Oh, hey, no,” they commanded, “No crying. This is happy. You’re seeing your favourite person for the first time in seven weeks.”

This could have been the thousandth time they had made me laugh while crying. It felt like fireworks were lighting up my chest, brighter than any display of magic I had seen in the weeks past. “Wow, I missed you, Kodi,” I whispered. Kodi’s mouth twitched.

Taking my hand again, they strode around the counter. I made a mental note to steal the flannel they were wearing; it was either very new or very old and would regardless make one of my planned ensembles ten times better. At this point, I doubted I would be able to ask for it. As nice as Kodi had been so far, there was no way they didn’t hate me for what I pulled. We told each other everything and saw each other almost every day; there was no one closer to me and I had neglected our relationship for almost two months. Kodi practically herded me into a table in the corner, shouldering in beside me and placing a croissant in front of me. I hadn’t noticed them grab it. I was grateful for it, though. I would always be hungry for their desserts, of which croissants were legendary.

They pressed into my side and asked, “Want to talk? Or just sit?”

“Just-” I swallowed a bite that melted in my mouth and ripped myself another piece “-give me a minute. I need to collect my thoughts.

I missed sitting in silence with Kodi. It was normally my favorite thing to do. We would lie snuggled up together for hours, cogs turning, dreams unfolding invisibly on the ceiling. Still, their company made gathering an explanation easier. As they shifted beside me, rattled by something, I desperately tried to scrape together coherent thoughts. It all seemed outlandish to anyone who hadn’t seen it. I’d barely kept hold of my sanity, despite reading stories about a hundred eldritch horrors in millions of endless voids.

Maybe the words would come to me if I started. “So,” I said. Or maybe Kodi would hate me. I started shredding the croissant.

Kodi poked my side. I shrieked and pulled away, dropping the pastry with a clatter on my plate. They knew every ticklish spot I had: they always won tickle fights. “So?” they parroted, grinning.

I didn’t want to see that expression fade. But Kodi deserved an explanation. Kodi deserved everything. I steeled myself. “I’ve been a little busy since I saw you last,” I tried.

Kodi raised their eyebrows, piercing glinting. No kidding.

Sorry. I grimaced, trying to twitch my mouth into a smile. My ears heated up.

Kodi tilted their forehead towards me, almost bumping mine. It’s okay.

We could still talk without saying a word. I could have screamed for the joy exploding inside. Courage blooming in my chest, I blurted, “It, uh, turns out I’m the child of some mystical prophecy.” The words burned on the way out. As soon as they reached Kodi’s ears, I yearned to swallow them back. They were going to think I was crazy. The only thing I hoped would save me from being accused of making excuses was the sheer scale of trouble I had gotten into.

Kodi smoothed their expression, tamping down on the worry that always made their nose twitch. “That sounds like a dream come true for you, nerd,” they said.

I nodded. We were both thinking of my room. Over the course of three gift-giving holidays, four birthdays, and half a dozen trips to thrifting bookshops, I had turned my room into a magical library. Every available wall space was a bookshelf, with more compartments behind my wardrobe and under my bed. Some books filled space, encyclopedias, and the like, but most were fantasy, from Tolkien to Lewis to Stoker. I had read every single one, and Kodi had read at least half.

“That’s what I thought, too, at first. It went badly very quickly, though. Turns out the worlds I’ve been reading about don’t compare to the real thing.

“You see, there’s a whole plane hidden from us. Well, not from me anymore. There’s some hellish dimension, which honestly stinks. It makes sense, given its made of brimstone and sulfur. And then there’s its mirror, made of light that burns anyone that looks on it. I haven’t seen that, but I’ve been told. I’m getting ahead of myself. Do you know the deadly sins? Pride, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, and Wrath?”

Kodi nodded blankly.

“Right, so they and the heavenly virtues, Humility, Kindness, Diligence, Temperance, Charity, Chastity, and Patience, are in charge of keeping the world, the universe in balance. But recently, well, I say recently, but from what I’ve gathered it’s been about a century in the making, the virtues have been overstepping in the quest to ‘save humanity.’ That’s been throwing everything out of equilibrium, so the sins have to step in more. Are you following?”

Again, Kodi nodded. Their gaze was far away but locked onto my face. It didn’t worry me, though. Sometimes they concentrated like this.

“Right, so there was a big incident that ruined the situation even more,” I paused, censoring myself. They didn’t need to know about Pride. I barely knew about Pride, which seemed ironic and complicated the sins’ predicament. “There’s been a lot of fighting, with the sins getting cut down. There’ve been pivotal battles, like when Chastity almost buried a village in an avalanche but was stopped by Wrath’s fire. I mean, literal fire. The illustrations they have of this are terrifying.

“Anyway, I’ve been wrapped up in this because of… discoveries I’ve made. I’ve been to battle too, if you can imagine. I’ve seen them summon weapons from nothing, made of light, or something. Whatever the blades are made of, they eat through anything, except each other. But I’ve handled myself.

“Honestly, that’s been most of what I’ve been doing. Fighting. And when we sit down, some of the sins I’ve met and I, they teach me a little more about what’s going on. It’s been hard to catch a breath, though. That’s what this is.” I gesture wildly at the bakery. “I’m breathing again. Taking a break. I don’t know how long I have to rest, though.”

Kodi took a breath of their own. It shuddered on the exhale. “Okay. Okay. Wow. That’s,” they repeated, “a lot to handle.”

I did my best to meet their gaze. I regretted finishing the croissant. Now that I had nothing to busy my hands with they strayed to the chain on my jeans. It jingled, sharp and loud and crude in the silence building between us. I swallowed the lump that had appeared in my throat again. “That’s why I promised not to tell anyone from my old life.” I gave up on looking at them, instead studying my plate. How long would it take for ants to clear it away, until there was no trace left, no memory of the food? “Why I promised to stay away. But I just needed to talk to someone. And we don’t keep secrets.”

My eyes were ripped from the plate as Kodi wordlessly whipped it away, gathering it against their chest. Their hands were shaking. My heart was shaking.

What was I thinking? In no world would anyone take that well. I hadn’t taken it well, I wasn’t taking it well even two months in. And, what, I was expecting Kodi to accept it in seconds? I threw them in the deep end with no regard to their feelings. That was if they even believed me. As the words were coming out of my mouth, I knew I ridiculous they sounded. Kodi didn’t like surprises; they thrived in routine and predictability. They were open to new experiences but needed warnings and explanations that made sense. Even though I didn’t make excuses, that didn’t make what I said more believable. Or excusable, for that matter. I had almost disappeared, giving only one-word answers to texts and letting every conversation Kodi started die. I was a terrible friend. And this was no way to come back into their life. Kodi deserved so much better than what I could give them.

It felt like an age before Kodi returned from the back rooms. I scrambled to detangle my fingers from the chain I’d been fiddling with. I saw the look on Kodi’s face. Something had changed. I nursed no sane hope of rekindling our friendship. Surely, I had ruined the one constant in my life. Stopping five paces from the table, Kodi raised their arm. They crooked a finger.

Oh, thank everything.

I barrelled into their arms. The world was right once again. Kodi smelled of cinnamon and sage and home. I buried my face into Kodi’s neck, reveling in their warmth. I didn’t know how I had gone so long without their arms around me. It felt like every hug we’d had since we’d met. It didn’t matter how we’d grow, where we’d go, what we’d do, we were ourselves together. I felt safe, finally.

Pulling away slightly, Kodi cupped my cheeks between their palms. They pressed our foreheads together, thumb tracing the dimple at the top of my cheekbone. Softly, they said, “And you betrayed their trust for me?”

Pure, unfiltered love burst in my chest. I pulled them back into a hug, still needing to be held. “Of course,” I murmured.

I felt them smile against the crown of my head. Smug, they asked, “Does that mean you like me?”

Laughter bubbled up and I shoved Kodi away so I could double over. Giggles slipped out as I tried to catch my breath. Kodi was absurd. Wonderfully and gloriously themselves, strange and infectious in their humor. “Goodness, no,” I snickered, cheeks aching already, “We’ve tried that before.”

Kodi smiled, matching mine. “Yeah, that was a trainwreck.”

It was a mess of hormones and affection. It was a scant few weeks while we practiced for the SAT; it was amazing and terrible, a state of being where nothing changed while we insisted it had. Somehow everyone and no one believed us when we said we were dating. By traditional views, we broke up, but, to us, we were never together to begin with. We were never traditional.

All the love I didn’t share, self-inflicted, I knew, shone on my face. The more time I spent with Kodi, especially after so long apart, the more the world felt right. “So, no. I don’t like you. I love you, Kodi.”

They bumped my shoulder. “Love you more.”

But I knew love wasn’t enough. Love wouldn’t bring victory to the sins, wouldn’t teach me faster. Love couldn’t save the world here. Love wasn’t enough to keep me with Kodi, no matter how much I wanted it to be. I sighed, trying to banish the cobwebs of destiny from my mind, if only for now.

It was irresponsible, though. Reluctantly, I said, “I should probably go. They’ll be wondering where I am.” I started making my way to the door, desperate for Kodi to grab my hand, to insist that I should stay.

They didn’t.

“Gabe!” called Kodi.

My head snapped up. From only a few weeks of training, I could sense something flying towards me. Raising my hand and turning, instinct sent magic flaring up my arm. To my horror, the projectile roll glowed purple momentarily in front of the bakery’s patrons. No one said anything if anyone had seen. The roll dropped into my hand, just as the magic had planned. I smiled shakily, hiding my nerves.

“Hey,” said Kodi, staring into my soul. It was chilling, and they were far too good at seeing past any facade I put up. “Don’t be a stranger.”

My smile solidified. “To you?” I snorted incredulously. Kodi meant everything. “Never.”

Walking away, no roll had ever tasted sweeter.

sofia content sofia content

this is mostly hypothetical scenario but also plausible. it would take place after the narrative of not my magical destiny

The sky was inky and freckled with stars. Disturbed by their climbing, a rock clinked down the cliffside. It took ten seconds for its tumbling to stop. Another chunk of the mountain, this one divoted out by Sofia’s pick, bounced down. It landed by Gabriel, making him shriek where he sat, sketching. 

“Hurry up,” hollered Sofia. His breathing was slow and easy despite the weighty tool he wielded.

Gabe groaned but snapped the book shut. He turned to the cliff face and wheedled, “It’s still dark. We have time.”

“I’m not missing this,” I said, finding Sofia’s old handhold and hauling myself up. “And I don’t want to leave you behind.”

“But the view of the constellations here is so good,” whined Gabe, climbing all the same.”

“It will be better from the top,” promised Sofia.

Air plants and moss nestled in the cliff face. The mossy rocks made for crumbling handholds, pulling away from the rock and the slightest pressure. It saddened me, knowing how long it took for the moss to grow and how fast it was removed by the slip of a hand. I couldn’t smell the city from up here. The pre-dawn chill made the air fresh and clear. My hands started to cramp. Sofia had taken me climbing many times before but only on pre-traversed rock walls. He was carving this one out as he went.

“Are we there yet?” asked Gabe. His hands were surely hurting more than mine. They were soft from years of flipping through old books. At least I played frisbee and climbed semi-regularly with Sofia – I had some callouses built up.

Sofia scoffed. “What are you, five?”

I took pity on my childhood friend. Holding myself away from the mountainside, I caught a glimpse of the top. “Almost,” I reassured him. “Only thirty metres to go.”

Gabe groaned. I heard the thunk of his forehead against the rock. I snickered.

Moving another ten metres up, the burn in my legs started. I tried to distract myself, focusing on the rubbing of my canvas shorts between the rock and my skin. Birdsong was starting, ringing out across the canyon below. It carried beautifully in the young morning air. A blue jay flitted past my peripheral vision. Instinctively, I whipped my head around to catch another glimpse. The movement unbalanced me. My heart ricocheted between my throat and my feet. Undignified squeaks left my mouth.

“Kodi, love?” called Sofia from above. “Are you okay?”

“Mhm!” I managed. “Just give me a minute.”

My foot scrabbled for purchase. The drop yawned below me. My pulse was a brigade in my ears. The only thing I could feel was my accelerating breathing.

Finally, finally, my toe found a divot in the rock. I wiggled it further in. I didn’t care if it got stuck. Resting my head against the cliff face, I waited for my breathing to slow.

I opened my eyes. I didn’t even realise I closed them. A ladybug crawled across the nook of moss my face landed in. Smiling weakly, I watched it amble towards the mouth of the cranny. It used a stalk of grass for a launch pad, crawling to the tip and leaping off it into the rapidly brightening sky.

Something tapped against my ankle. I shrieked.

“Feeling better?” asked Gabe.

“Not if you scare me like that,” I said, extricating my foot from the rock. Heart rate closer to normal, I started climbing again.

My muscles were quivering when I finally hauled myself over the top. I at least managed to collapse into a seated position gracefully. Gabe, on the other hand, collapsed like a dropped marionette in a heap. He looked up from his face full of gravel. A pebble or two stuck to his cheek, matching the indents on his forehead. I chuckled. Sofia laughed, too. Gabe rolled his eyes.

He was quick to scramble up, though, when I patted the ground next to me. We sat with our backs to the cross signifying the peak. It was wood and weathered to velvet. Thankfully it had a sturdy foundation, making it a perfect place to rest against.

Our trio sat in silence, bathing in victory and growing sunlight. The sun washed the valley in shifting hues, going from hazy purple to rusty red. Bees flitted up, blocking the view with their adorable fuzzy bodies. They disappeared against the zesty orange light as the sun rose higher. Ever prepared, Sofia whipped out a pair of sunglasses. He put them on top of his head for later, wanting to enjoy the sunrise unobscured for now.

The valley was bright with white sunlight when we stood up. Gabe snapped his notebook shut, hiding his artistry until he polished it later. He retrieved two pairs of sunglasses and handed one to me. There was no need to be blinded as we headed down the mountain.

(psst if you want more content with these lovely characters check out my ao3)

Do It For Her

I was drafting ideas for this and was inspired by steven universe (that one devastating episode). it came out angstier than i expected oops. i think the parallels got to it

“Most everything begins with your stance,” Envy said, pacing at the edge of the room. “Keep your stance wide, focus on your proprioception. You need full awareness of your physical body before you tap into any greater power.”

Gabe exhaled shallowly, almost whistling. He kept his arms by his side, feet a little wider than shoulder width apart. His shorts rested against the outside of his thighs. Wind blew through a gap in the room, ruffling them and the tank he wore; the cloth brushing his knees and top surgery scars was distracting. Flexing his fingers, he tried to bring his attention to his body instead of what was happening to him.

“Remember, everything you do is for them,” Envy said. “You are responsible for protecting the world, just like she was.”

Although he resisted wrinkling his nose at the expectation, Gabe couldn’t stop the annoyance flashing through him. Why was everything about her? Pride this, pride that, he was his own person.

“Focus! You must give everything you have to this,” bit Envy. Of course she saw him losing his cool. “You cannot afford to do anything else.”

Gabe thought about his life before being thrust into this war. It was so much simpler, finishing his studies, contemplating his future in academia. But when he saw the lights, was burned by a battle between Virtues and Sins, there was no going back. Not to see Kodi, not to his library, not to any sense of normalcy.

Furrowing his brow, Gabe cast his thoughts back to his physical being. Peace washed over him as he let go of tethers to the conscious world. Energy pulsed around him, faint from his isolated position. He focused in on his own arrogance, confidence, instead. Light concentrated around his hands, visible through his eyelids. Opening his eyes, he caught the last of the weapon fading into the air.

“Good, but not good enough. If you want to live, you must do better than this. You’re not just a human, you are Pride.” Envy’s words gutted any sense of accomplishment at his progress.

“Envy,” Gabe finally snapped. “I’m not just a weapon. I’m tired, I–”

Envy shot him down immediately. “No. You cannot afford a break. We cannot afford to falter. With your kind of power we finally have hope of reclaiming the balance we once had. You keep training.”

“But I can’t–”

“You rest when you can no longer stand. Keep moving.”

Happy WBW! To kick off the spooky Asks, what are monsters like in your world? Real? Fictional? Surrounded by their own Cryptidology?

Heya Tori!

In not my magical destiny (which I WILL write most of by the end of the year I am promising myself) a form of monsters are real.

Most of the world exists as we do, but the sins and virtues play a delicate power balance game underneath. Some of that includes petty squabbles where they create monstrous creatures to attack the opposing side. Also, arguably some of their minions look monstrous, being specific offshoots of whatever sin or virtue they serve