i put a spell on you

[knockyoursocksoff]

The Witch's Curse


A fantasy AU meme where witches are real, and they are vengeful. Specify your character's role: the witch (or sorcerer), the subject of the curse, or the curse breaker. Tag around and pick or RNG a curse.

1: Change of Form: human turned animal, mythical beast turned human, human turned inanimate object, human made older/younger, the possibilities are endless

2: Obeisance: you are now cursed to follow the witch's every command and it's useless to resist, or perhaps you simply have to obey every command given you no matter who gives it

3: Curse of Sleep: like princesses before you, you are cursed to sleep for all eternity, or at least until your one true love finds you

4: Possession: be it a demon or any other kind of spirit, your body is no longer your own

5: Isolation: some witches use towers, others use forests of thorns, but either way the message is clear-- you are never seeing the outside world again

6: Resurrection: even death is not an escape from the witch's power, for some can raise the dead

7: Bad Luck: some curses are more minor, only causing you to stub your toe or drop your books, but they're still annoying

8: Defects: you weren't turned to an inhuman shape, but were somehow made hideous, clumsy, or repellent in some way-- maybe you smell terrible, or maybe people who get near you just feel uneasy and want to leave

9: Wounds: you have a wound that simply won't heal-- maybe it's slowly killing you, maybe it's just annoying, but it's not going away

10: Monster Magnet: wherever you go you're always being attacked by creatures, demons or monsters or ghosts, etc, that want to kill you

11: Never to Meet: you become an animal during the day while your true love is human, then you switch forms at night, so you can never both be human at the same time again

12: Death: your death is approaching and you need to find a way to avert it or remove the curse entirely

13: Objectification: you didn't avoid the death curse, and now your soul is bound to an inanimate object, perhaps to provide more power for the witch, to bind a spell to the object and give it power, or maybe just so you can't move on to your next life

14: Cursed Object: maybe it wasn't the witch themselves, but something that used to belong to a witch that put the curse on you, and now you must find a witch who can remove the curse

15: Cursed Ground: your house is built somewhere it really should not have been, and now you have to deal with ghosts or demons or the undead, which will really ruin your property value

16: Wildcard: choose your own adventure!

[adapted from original found here]

Comments

[outstandingbalance]

You don't really want me to stay here.

[Natasha takes a seat, slowly, cautious.]

You can just let both of us go.

[projecthydra]

[She pours tea into two dainty plastic cups and sets one in front of Natasha.]

Don't forget to put your pinky out. That's the most important part.

[Much more important than entertaining the idea that any of them are going anywhere.]

[outstandingbalance]

[Her pinky goes out automatically, though she frowns.]

Is this what you have planned for forever? Tea parties and extorting hugs from Captain America.

[projecthydra]

Forever's a really long time. Go on, drink up. Take little, ladylike sips.

[She provides an example, but models the action with an empty cup.]

[outstandingbalance]

[She tries to fight it, but the longer she's here, the more it becomes fighting an automatic reaction rather than choosing not to do something.

She sips.]

[projecthydra]

[The tea is a strong, pungent brew. It tastes like cinnamon and pears blended together with lemongrass. None of it goes together. But as the disconnecting flavors occur to her, it occupies the part of her brain that notices things. Everything else seems softer and fuzzier, easily left languid as the brew coaxes her to be more pliant and receptive.

The girl will continue the gestures with her empty cup, making sure Natasha sips regularly.]

I feel so sorry for that little girl, stuck out here in the woods all by herself. She seems lonely.

[outstandingbalance]

What girl?

[Natasha's gaze settles on the tea. She doesn't trust it, bu she can't seem to stop drinking it at intervals, and every dip makes her head just a little fuzzier.]

Where's Steve?

[projecthydra]

That girl sitting in front of me. She looks so small and innocent.

[She doesn't feed Natasha anything about the Steve issue. She'll ignore it until those questions stop coming.]

[outstandingbalance]

That doesn't make any sense. You're the only girl here.

[Natasha grimaces, trying to stop sipping the tea. If she could just put it down.]

[projecthydra]

It makes perfect sense. I'm just listening to myself think.

[There's no way the tea is staying down.]

[outstandingbalance]

[After only a moment, she lifts the cup again, sipping at it absent mindedly.]

No. [She insists. She's not letting go of this. Natasha has to keep fighting.] No one's alone here. This is a trick.

[projecthydra]

The girl would be alone, though. If I left, who would watch over her? She's so small...

[ Natasha's getting to the bottom of the cup. The girl deftly switches it for the second one she'd filled. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha shakes her head, struggling to clear it, trying to stand.]

Steve. Where's Steve?

[projecthydra]

[When Natasha tries to stand, the girl plucks a stuffed animal up and shoves it back into the chair. The force will hit Natasha like a gravitational pull.]

Steve seems so happy here. We could be happy together. We could give that girl a family.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha swallows hard, slammed back down in her seat and rocked mentally by the command.]

I don't have a family...

[projecthydra]

I know what it's like to have to grow up too fast. This little girl deserves better.

[She'll guide Natasha into sipping more tea.]

I have to stay and take care of her.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha drinks more, this time, her mouth moves silently after the girl's, repeating the words. Then...]

No, I... You should come with us. You'll be safe in New York.

[projecthydra]

[She'll give Natasha a moment's reprieve then, a thoughtful pause before continuing her assault.]

Is it really her birthday tomorrow? She seems so excited for a party. It won't hurt to push things back. We can get out of here when she's ready. She deserves to have some fun first.

[outstandingbalance]

Is it really your birthday tomorrow...? It's not April.

[Her voice is softer, the fight fading despite her effort.]

[projecthydra]

It's April.

[She says it firmly, decisively.]

Today is April twenty-third.

[outstandingbalance]

April twenty-third.

[The girl sounds so confident. Natasha can't help but believe her words.]

[projecthydra]

[She rises from her seat and steps to Natasha's side, close enough to whisper conspiratorially in her ear.]

Today is April twenty-third and I'm going to stay with this child. She needs a family. I'm going to give her the family I never had. We're happy here.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha closes her eyes as the girl whispers into her ear, her breathing slowing.]

A family...

[elcapitan]

[The whispering continues for long after that, but it's harder to tell where her natural thoughts and and where the others begin. It just all seems so peaceful, a perfect house that's too perfect to ever leave, and a perfect day that'll never change no matter how many times the sun rises and sets.

Steve'll be with her next, shaking her shoulder gently.]

The tea party was that fun, was it? Did you get enough sleep last night?

[outstandingbalance]

I guess I dozed off.

[Natasha blinks. They were having a tea party, and then... a blank. he shakes her head.]

Not really. Hard to get a good night's sleep in a forest that's trying to kill you.