#'She has the practical knowledge but not the experience' as my friend put it

[delaneytalks-tostatues]

This entire bit rattles around in my head 24/7. I love Hera. She contains multitudes.

(Yes we all know the script is wrong she says 4 not 3 in the episode)

[tinydefector]

Not really a request but more of a ramble. Ive always been torn betweenn Cybertronians not really having any material instincts and just essentially knowing how to function since creation. Kinda like Steven Universe. They can be young and differ in how much knowledge they hold but overall they have the bases of how to function without any caretaker needing to be around. But then I immediately start shaking at the thought of them having even stronger instincts that humans. Maybe closer to animals that have come to accept a human as their own. Just picturing a cybertronain seeing someone who's carrying and immediately is distressed on how little protection our clothes offer. Nows theirs a bot who keeps hissing at those who get to close other humans included. Their plating is ruffled and if they are a seeker their wings are spread in a threatening manner. May you have the patience of a Saint if said seeker has a large trine because now they all share the same feral need to protect. A con that stumbles upon a lost child and immediately claims them as their sparkling.( if you wanted to make it a bit gross I can imagine they do a forced adoption the same ways farmers do sometimes. Where they just kinds cover a stray baby with the fluids of a mother to create that connection. Kinda gross but I can see it being used to further claim a child) They consider the biological parents of the child nothing more than food and shelter for their now sparkling. They try a coo and speak to the child in their natural tongue. A seeker that chirps and clicks its glossa. A grounder that does low hums and songs like a whale. Sorry for the long ramble haha. I just think the ideas of cybertronains either having no idea what instincts are but also the ideas of them drowning in them. Or meeting humans just relights their feral mindsets in any and every way.

I happen to really love both ideas a lot. I enjoy the idea of Cybertronians not understanding family or parental rolls, Forged sparks start off in smaller frames and slowly gain more framing as they get older. Instead, it works more like a mentor and apprentice side of things. They teach you how to do your job, keep your head down like Terminus with Megatron. Their race doesn't have a name for the connection they have so in turn they call each other friend, but intruth it's more than that but they don't know how to explain it or express it, they dont raise the younger one but they are their for special events such as plating ceremonies. To Megatron Terminus is an elder, someone to be respected for his knowledge and teachings. And they both care for each other, when Terminus us gravelly injured Megatron does everything he can to try and help him because he feels like he owes it to terminus for everything the older bot as done for him. It's a mutual benefit of a bond that's isn't family but also is much closer than friendship.

But on the other hand, I look at Optimus and Codexa, and I love the idea that I found this little bitlet and instantly went mother mode. Practically scoops him up out of a hotspot and takes him home with her. She's very attentive and is the one who even names him. In all aspects, he is her son, and she does everything she can to try and raise a good mech, and she does a wonderful job. She teaches him to read, sings to him, and each plating ceremony, she keeps a piece of his old plating similar to humans and baby teeth. She celebrates when he gets his first job as a Liberian because she put so much effort into making sure he had a comfortable job, not wanting him to struggle like so many other mechs less fortunate.

And then there is my headcanon for birthed sparklings, which differs depending on what frame type they are. They experience different behaviours. Grounders are in different sub sections

- Tanks: Megatron, Tarn, Warpath, Blitzwing

- Mine frames: Megatron, Terminus,

- Hauliers : Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet, Inferno, Kup,

- Emergency services: Prowl, Ratchet, Pharma, inferno

- Battle Chargers: Ironhide, Hound, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker, wheeljack, Tracks,

- Praxian carters: Prowl, Bluestreak, skids, Smokescreen,

- speeders: Rodimus, Drift, Jazz, mirage, redalert, blurr, Tracks,

- mini vehicle: Bumblebee, Tailgate, grapple,

- Vosian Fliers (later Seeker's): Starscream, skywarp, Thundercracker, sunstorm, Nacelle and so on all of the Jets.

- Helimech: Whirl,

- aerial Shuttle: Cosmos, Omega Supreme, Senator Shockwave.

- Combiners: stuntacons, combaticons, constructicons

- Cassettes/ mini bots: Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, Rewind, Lazerbeak, buzzsaw

- non Traditional frames: Rung,

- Non shifters:

There's a lot more but these just just who I can think off off the top of my head.

____

Tankers and Mine frames don't get the luxury of families or raising sparklings, most of them are cold constructs, and don't get a chance to see life outside of mines or duties they have been put into. But if given the chance they are actually very protective of a sparkling, they will fight to the death for their bitlet even if it isn't their. Their behaviour is very similar to a bear mother with their protectiveness of a child, human or cybertronian.

Megatron's optics focus on the tiny form in his lovers arms. If it were any other situation, people would think he is glaring at the tiny baby being placed again in his Chassis. "They have no plating or outer frame, no protection." He states while looking to his lover. "They are a baby, Megs, human babies don't have anything like sparklings, they are very fragile," they explain with a smile as they watch their child try and grab Megatron's large digits. His optics soften as he watches their child as the baby babbles and giggles up at him. It makes a switch inside his possessor flick. Nothing would ever hurt this child. He would make sure of it. A deep rumble leaves his chassis as he lets them play with his large servos. A laugh leaves his lover as they watch him. "You look like a grizzly bear with a cub," they chuckle as they lean up to press a kiss to the side of his helm.

Hauliers tend to see a random sparkling and go. "You're mine now, I'm going to warp you up in bubble wrap and keep you in my cab so no one can hurt you" Hauliers tend to be very attentive carriers/ Sires to adopted or sparked bitlets. A lot of Hauliers tend to be very nomadic in the rust sea moving inpacks. They tend to behave more like migrating herds when on cybertron, but those who live in the cities tend to make a very homey and comfortable for sparklings. But also they are the ones who panic the most when their child puts something in their mouth they shouldn't have.

Optimus chuckles as he watches his bitlet roam around. Playing with sticks and mud. He sits not far off watching them as they play his optics soften as they giggle and let out little buzzes of excitement as they find a new rock. "They seem to be enjoying their first proper road trip," His lover calls out as they walk their way over to him. Leaning down to press a kiss to his Helm. "They are very fascinated by a lot of things on Earth," he rumbles his optics, meeting his partners. "Can you really blame them, I remember a certain bot being very fascinated with Terra's fauna when we first arrived here," they tease him. Another squeal of delight comes from their sparkling as they begin trying to chew on a rock. Optimus let's out a slight noise of panic as he quickly moves towards them. "No, no, Bitlets, you can't eat that," he states while trying to pry the rock from the little ones' servos. They squeak and squeal in protest before eventually letting go of the rock. Another laugh leaves his lover as they watch the two.

A lot of emergency vehicles tend to not be the best for being parents. Mainly due to their work and just not having the time for a bitlet. But they are very attentive to those who do have them, trying to calm them and make sure that they aren't hurt and can make it back to their parents. A lot of the time, they will put up the disgruntled act of the dad who said they didn't want a cat, but then ends up with a child curled up on his chest as he works.

Praxian carters tend to act very similar to seeker, but with children and sparklings its as if they can feel where they are but have a tendency of paranoid when they can't see their little ones. Their door wings will flicker and twitch when they hear their children and will respond back with soothing little clicks. A lot of the time, they will carry their sparklings on their back between their door wings.

Prowl wasn't impressed with Sunstreaker or Sideswipe. The two young mech burst out into fits of laughter watching him with a human baby strapped to his chest. His wings flutter in dispair as they begin taking photos to send to every mech they know. "Oh Primus Prowl, when did you get yourself a bitlet!" They ask while also fauning over the baby who giggles and reaches out with grabby hands. Prowl let's out a slight,all collection of angry clicks as his optics narrow in on the twins. "I am looking after them as their parent had an important meeting today," he snaps as he begins walking, trying to outpace the twins as they continue shooting questions at him. "But you have them strapped to your chassis like they are battle gear!" Sunstreaker laughs, which earns him a smack up the side of the helm from Prowl. "They are too small and too young to be left to their own devices, and the safest place for them is where I know they are," he grumbles before slamming the door to his office shut.

Speedster are one of the cybertronians who tend to forget their child exist sometimes, having no awareness until they are like something is missing. Oh Primus, where is my Bitty!. They are very live fast die hard kinda mechs and it translates over to their child. They are very much the one who will proudly show off their child who is currently eating something they shouldn't be. But they are also one of the most cuddly with their child. Curling up with them to their chassis as they purr loudly.

"RODIMUS PRIME, DRIFT DEADLOCK WHATBARE YOU LETTING MY BITLET EAT!" their voice boomed as their optics narrowed in on the two speedsters and sparkling. Drift turns around in an instant. "I tried to stop them, I swear, but Roddy dared them," he states. Rodimus looks sheepishly at his lover as their sparkling laughs and shouts. "Told you I could!" The little one shouts in excitement, not carrying about the disappointed look from their other parent. "You timeout, you Decontamination spray Now, and You... I'm not angry, but I'm disappointed, " they state, which makes Rodimus face drop. "Nooo. That's worse!" He shouts only to have his bitlet laugh at his whining.

Seekers are the most parent of all cybertronians to the point that some trines work as a family system. Each seeker is a carrier to one seekling, but also being the sire to another or having one seeker who is the sire to two. But then their is the others who aren't spark bonded to others in their Trine, because tries can consist of siblings, cousins, parents or complete strangers so each trine is different. but the family works to train and care for all of them together. They speak in a pigeoned vosian, which is a mix of chirps, thrills, and other little vocial noises. They are also the most social. With large gatherings for sparklings to meet and also bond with others so that they can eventually find their own trine.

For example, I love the idea of Thundercracker and skywarp being brothers, but starscream is trine bonded with them.

Acid storm, Nova storm being a bonded couple who ended up with Sunstorm who is much younger who try care for as their sparkling.

Dirge, Thrust and ramjet who are all random Seeker's who became friends at a young age and are a trine but aren't together at all, they be the boys who go out on the town and wake up in their flat with a hangover and a random mech/ Seeker in their berth.

Nacelle trills lightly as the little seekers curled up in blankets and pillows. Wings fluttering in delight as he watches the little mechs curl up again each other. His two lovers chuckle softly, watching how me preens and chirps and thrills at his two little bitlets. One of his lovers moves closer to him, resting their helm against his backstruts as his wings flutter again. "They are just sleeping sweetspark you can step away. They aren't going anywhere," they call out to him. "I know, they are just..." he starts before his other lover calls back. "Fresh, I know and very you, but they are here finally, you don't have to stand guard all the time," They tease before leading him into the room towards the fluffed up berth. "I think that's enough playing guard for the night"

____________

Link to second part for Megatron

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[rafecameronsslxt]

Pretty

Rafe Cameron x Virgin! Reader

Synopsis: A sweet girl falling for a man like Rafe Cameron leads to nefarious gazes as you and Rafe walk out sweaty and red lipstick covered on his neck.

Warnings: Thigh riding, slight corruption?, Angst at the end.

A/N: Making a part two because why not? Also, the request fan fictions will be out tomorrow.

An hour before your parent's event, your brother was nowhere to be seen. It was the most significant advancement for their company to expand and aggrandize. More or less, Rose asked you to find Rafe, and knowing he was with your brother, you ran in your ruby-red Christian Louboutins if running was concluded to waddling in the Country Club, all eyes, failing to look at their girlfriends and to you instead. Most girls give you dirty looks, their eyes falling on your body. Having everyone stare at you was never intentional, but you also never noticed.

   There they sat in casual clothes, talking with each other. “Nathan, our parents need us to be there. Where is your suit?” You knitted your brows together. “We’re living precariously,” Nathan said with a lively tone as Rafe snorted, receiving amused looks from both of them. You sigh at the childish behavior. You shift on your heels, becoming uncomfortable in the sun's warmth, illuminating the highlighter and Chanel red lipstick. You bite your lower lip, looking at Rafe, who has barely said a word to you as usual.

   Anytime you were around, he’d get quiet, unwilling to look at you. “We’ll go.” Rafe glanced at Nathan, who stood up, leaving you behind to catch up. You were practically just the younger sister in every situation because, as people said, you were entirely sweet and innocent though it was true. 

   You couldn’t help but let your eyes wander to the man before you, watching his tanned arms flex almost too perfectly in the grey and black shirt, showing off every vein in his forearm while he adjusted his grey backward hat. You saw Rafe every day. Whether it was at your house or his or during your morning jog, he was always in your line of sight.

   You once asked your parents what they thought about the Cameron boy, and they worded their sentence, carefully trying not to bash him as your parents were good friends of Rose and Ward Cameron, but to say the least, they are not fond of him and wished your brother wouldn’t hang around with such bad influence as Rafe Cameron, so why would you want a man like him? A man who would only break your pure heart.

   We arrived at the house, but you had to get going quickly. You couldn’t help but feel deep sadness as you walked out the door. Did Rafe hate you? You called Kiara to pick you up, hoping she would advise you. You barely had any boy experience, and it shames you because you’re nineteen and dated only one guy just for him to drop you for another girl, but he quickly got put in his place by your brother and Rafe… 

   “Doesn’t even GLANCE AT YOU! You’re drop-dead gorgeous. Who couldn’t like you? But, wait, who is he?” Kiara’s jaw dropped, and she gestured her hands all over. 

    You smile at Kie’s reaction but tauten as you’ve been edging around Rafe’s name. Kiara would freak out if she knew it was Rafe, you fancy. “I don’t- remember his name.” You rub your neck nervously, stuttering over words. “What?” Her lip arches in confusion as she parks her car, and we get out. You avoid the comment. “Ok… Since you don’t want to reveal the mystery man, I must find my parents.” She pulls you in for a short-lived hug and disappears into the crowd, leaving you alone. 

   You go to the front, lifting the red floral summer dress in hopes you won't fall as your parents start their speech, causing everyone to go quiet. They talk about how grateful and happy they are to make it where they are, but a fragrance envelops you, cedar and Caledonian sandalwood, and to your knowledge of cologne, it's from Chanel, and the scent entices you to turn your head only to be met by a pristine Rafe. His towering body glances down at you, feeling flustered. You avert your eyes back at your overjoyed parents. 

   Once they announce who they're partnering with, the mass breaks out into a cheer, and you clap, smiling, proud of your parents, and everyone begins to split into groups again. Your bones feel strained, and butterflies appear in your stomach, only for you to stumble backwards, landing in Rafe’s arms, then moving to hold your waist. “I’m so sorry- I’ve been really uncoordinated today.” You give him a thin smile, but the smile fades, deterring you from thinking optimistically about his reaction and the atmosphere surrounding you and Rafe. It wasn’t anger or enmity, but it felt tense and something else you couldn’t place as he leaned down to your ear, his breath light. “I’m going to ruin you, pretty girl.” Your body stiffens as he places a feathery kiss on your red lips, yet a bright red stain marks his. Rafe smirks at your cherry face, but his blue eyes are a dark sea, and his jaw sharpens. 

   Rather than leaving, he intertwines his hand with yours, taking you to an extensive vacant room crammed with spare decorations and chairs. You don’t realize you're holding your breath until Rafe brings you onto his thigh. Your heart is palpitating, and butterflies have become aching for him. The room is cold, making you shudder. Rafe’s gaze is piercing as you try to get comfortable, but wiggling around on his thigh is futile and instead stirs a quiet moan from you. 

   You feel embarrassed. “You know how pretty you look like this? You know how long I’ve wanted you?” His low voice mumbles into your lips, and he places his large hands on your waist, pulling you farther up his thigh. You relax into his soothing touch, but the nervousness doesn’t leave. You’ve never had sex or have done this before; Rafe guides your hips back and forth, creating friction between his thigh and your clothed clit. You whimper against his lips as you start to move into the rhythm of his hands. 

   You feel selfish for letting him do all the work, so you bring your hand to his tangible erection and start palming him through his dress pants. His size makes your eyes widen, Rafe was a big guy, but his length was impressive. “Fuck- you don’t have to do that, pretty girl,” Rafe grunts out while your movements against his thigh become swifter. “I want to.” You moan into the sickening sweet yet dirty kiss as he slips his tongue into your mouth, greedily accepting it. You gasp, pressing your body harder into his thigh but keeping your languid pace on his cock. Your legs feel weaker as pressure builds up in your stomach, and the throbbing initiates burning in your lower abdomen. “Rafe-” You wrap an arm around his neck, and your face is hidden in the nape, mouth open and pressing your plump lips to his Adam's apple. His hands grip your waist indefinitely to leave a red imprint. 

   “My good, pretty girl. Only for me, hmm?” He rasps out through grunts. You nod; words would be incomprehensible in the condition you are in. Edging release until the pure gravelly voice of Rafe pushes you over the boundary, officially connecting yourself with the Cameron man in more ways than you ever thought would happen. You are spasming around nothing; adrenaline is still coursing through the white splotches as you pant. Despite Rafe not receiving much, he has a dazed look in his eye, and you lay your forehead on his. But you see hesitation cover his relaxed complexion. 

   What are we? The question is a broken record in your head. You didn’t want a hookup with Rafe. You trust he won’t take advantage of you, but you hold him to higher standards. Rafe would never do that to you. Yet, Rafe must see your wheels turning because he reassures you. “I like you, pretty girl.” His thumb hovers over your lips, outlining them until you recognize the red lipstick gleaming on his neck, lips, and cheeks. Your jaw drops. Your widened eyes look to Rafe’s calmed ones. You put your hand under his jaw, lift his head, and take a picture of all the marks to show him, to which he shrugs. “Your lipstick is smeared too, pretty girl. There’s no bathroom, so we’ll just have to go out.” You wobbly stand up from his thigh and timidly raise a brow at the noticeable strain in his black dress pants. 

   He stands up, unzipping his pants. “Rafe-” He doesn’t answer. Instead, he brings down a hand and starts rearranging, tucking his hard-on under the waistband of his boxers. “Let’s go, pretty girl,” Rafe says carelessly, slinging his arm around your shoulder, not wasting time on your answer or pleas. 

   It’d be an understatement to say all eyes were on you. Everyone criticizes you with sharp eyes, and you decide you are lucky you aren’t under eighteen because your parent's face drops, livid at the sight of Rafe’s neck and your puffy lips. Kiara is stunned, and your protective brother begins to walk you out, with Rafe following. “I can take her home, man.” Nathan is coldly stern as Rafe leans down to kiss you softly and wave him off. You take off the ruby-red pumps, placing them on the floor of Nathan’s truck.

   “Why Rafe? Rafe Cameron, of all people, you had to get involved with him. What changed in the last hours to have you walking out like that!? Do you realize how pissed Mom will be? Jesus, did you guys seriously have sex? You berated me for barely making it, but you could barely stay and got my friend's dick wet instead.” 

   “We didn’t have sex! You can sleep with fifty girls, but I get with Rafe, which becomes a problem. What the fuck, Nate!” You’re not one to scream, but the circumstances quickly overwhelm you. A disgusted look holds on your face, not at Nathan but yourself. You throw your hands into the air, pinching the bridge of your nose, tears threatening to fall because of how embarrassed you’ve become of the situation, not weighing the consequences or reactions.

   The orange sky had slipped away to a dark starry night, and few cars were on the road. The rest of the drive had been eerily silent until Nathan pulled into the driveway, and we finally reached the front door. 

   “Rafe is not a good guy. We know this. You. Know. This. But if you like him as your brother and friend, I support you, and I’m sorry for being a dick.” You can’t explain how much you love your brother for comforting you and being open to your relationship with Rafe. Nate tightly wraps his arms around your waist as if he is losing a piece of you, but he is open-minded to the new chapter that will begin in your life, with or without the people around you. 

[the-witchhunter]

I’ve had an interesting thought swimming around my head that I swear I’ve been meaning to write

You know what would be an interesting combination of characters?

Jazz and Harvey Dent/TwoFace

Specifically a Dent just getting back on his feet, released from Arkham and trying to learn how to exist in the world with his condition

I’m thinking a reveal gone wrong, Danny has disappeared to ancients know where, so Jazz cuts ties and Stays with her Uncle Dent, or maybe her bio dad if that’s more your game. Just an soaking wet and miserable Jazz showing up at his crappy apartment saying she’s his daughter or niece and him resisting the urge to flip a coin because he has enough on his plate as is, only to let her in telling her they’ll talk about it in the morning and point her to the shower so she can clean up and dry off

Why do I think this would be an interesting combo?

Jazz’s interest in psychology. A lot of times, as a fandom we depict her as an expert, and in a future timeline where she went to school and has been practicing psychology maybe, but default Jazz? She’s not an expert

Jazz wants to be a brain surgeon, psychology is an interest of hers but her understanding is very limited. She quotes Freud and Jung and has some amount of academic knowledge of the field, but she clearly doesn’t understand that psychoanalyzing friends and family and offering unwanted psychiatric advice is actually rude and something she shouldn’t do. She lacks understanding of actual therapy and is clumsy in applying her knowledge to people she knows

And I find putting her in proximity of someone with DID and probably PTSD would really be an eye opening experience for her

Because Dent might humor her, TwoFace will call her out. They both have hung around Harley to know enough to tell her, “maybe don’t take Freud so seriously” because man does everything go back to sex with Freud, and maybe quoting a guy that says she wants to boink her dad is not as strong of a point as she thinks it is

And the thing is, Harvey would likely still be receiving therapy as an outpatient, potentially taking meds to help deal with his conditions, likely a mood stabilizer or anxiety med to manage PTSD symptoms, so she’s front seat of him learning to live as a regular person in Gotham with his condition. She’s gonna see his good days, his bad days, the side effects of his medication, and it’s going to change her idea of what psychology is. It’s not just quoting things at people, it’s not just saying “this is good for people” but she’d see what it being put into practice would look like

Maybe that’ll push her away from the subject. Maybe it’ll make her more inclined to study, to learn not just about it as an abstract but how to actually apply it to help people. Learning about actual therapy practices. Maybe living first hand with mental illness would be the push to switch from neurosurgery to clinical psychology in her future plans

Also I just think that Dent would be empathetic and do what he could to help her, meanwhile TwoFace would help her cut loose a little, get a little chaotic and have some fun

You can’t tell me there’s not something fun about her and “Uncle Two-y” having a night on the town that only results in a little property damage. Relax Harv, they didn’t do anything too illegal, because they didn’t get caught or nothing

[xuchiya]

princess charm school [k.yeosang]

mentions of: murdered, killed, semi-corruption(?),

i know some of you are like, "Oh its must be similar to barbie?" yes, it is but i'm adding a little reality to it.

barbie m.list || k.hongjoong || p.seonghwa || j.yunho || k.yeosang || c.san || s.mingi || j.wooyoung || c.jongho

Kang Yeosang, he doesn’t know where or what happened, but to him— if fate does it then it might be for him. Yeosang always had a strong belief in fate. He had thought that maybe moments weren’t for him or maybe it is for him but not today, tomorrow or whatever day it would be as long as it sits on the perfect time.

That is until he found himself questioning fate—”Me?”

Why would he find, in a position he would not think of– not even close to being part of some family drama? He stood in the middle of a feud that has nothing to do with him yet it all seems like he is the centre of the problem. Yeosang mentions living in an apartment with his two other friends from his old school– Wooyoung and San– who were studying the art of dancing which to his relief, he was also accepted in the said school until he was invited to a prestigious school— The Starlight Academy.

His aunt who raised him in the academy, eventually pulled him out after an incident and raised him in the urban areas of Aurora— no one knows why but he grew up to be a nice kid and well mannered one too. It was around the age of 14 when he was invited to the academy. He walks in not knowing anything about royalties or tea parties— he knows how to pour himself 4 cups of coffee in a day or swear every time he plays Valorant with Yunho or eats with a simple tableware not with multiple ones.

That is until his Aunt, who has worked in the academy since the beginning, spoke to him about his invitation and his purpose.

“I’m the King’s—?”

“..–princess?” The grand gates of Starlight Academy loomed ahead, a majestic symphony of marble and swirling vines. My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Unlike the other students, all exuding an air of practiced poise, I felt like a fish thrust onto land. Coming from a normal family in the city of Aurora, I find my situation quite interesting and downright unbelievable. 

If this moment were to be witnessed by my sister, she would be laughing at how ridiculous this is and how a person like me— a baker in a small city of Aurora— trade my ripped jeans and dirty apron and worn-out sneakers for a sparkling tiara and a frilly dress. 

The letter. This started with a letter, a mysterious yet embossed with a silver star as seal for the letter. Apparently, my “hidden potential” was shined in the lights of Aurora and it is worthy of attending the Starlight Academy, the most prestigious finishing school for princesses of different parts of the country. Intrigued with the future held in my days of becoming a “princess” and slightly terrified of having zero experience and knowledge— aside from curt bows if that would be acceptable— I packed a meager bag and boarded the silver royal Mercedes that whisked me towards the palace of Aurora. 

I looked down on the invitation letter, “How did I manage to get myself an invitation–” It was like nature heard when a text from my sister came in.

    “You’re still young pabo so I put you into this school to learn not only to be a princess but to learn how to sit like a gad damn woman!

Anyways, mom says goodluck and she loves you.” 

I shake my head, a smile on my face.

Now, here I stood, feeling like a misplaced comma in a perfectly punctuated sentence. The other girls—royalties apparently— all with their perfectly coiffed hair and confident smiles, seemed to belong here in this enormous palace. They glided through the academy with practised ease in their steps, mannered laughs tinkling like windchimes. 

In other words, I felt like a total stranger, desperately trying to fit in this circle. I shake my head, come to my senses and push the thought that not many lucky students like me got to be invited to become a student in this prestigious academy for royalties. I sigh, “I can do this.” As I breathe in and out sharply, taking my first step when I was tackled down by a big fur.

“Ack!” Wet glands were smeared all over my face, the sensation was ticklish as I chuckled softly and pushed the big fur away, “Hey hey stop pabo stop!” 

“Oh dear, Charlie stop boy!” As the voice commands the dog, they listen and barks at the owner of the voice. I wiped the remaining saliva off with the back of my hand but a white handkerchief was replaced instead, my heart jumped as a male figure was in my view and wiping off Charlie's saliva. 

“I’m sorry about his behaviour. It is rare for him to act this way. My deepest apologies, my lady.” My eyes gaze at his soft golden hair. As if it came out in the movies, his aura was reflected by the golden sun creating a soft radiant halo behind him as his porcelain skin shines on the bright sun of Saturday. His soft skin is so tender and smooth and the way he handles the situation has my heart in his hands already.

    “Here let me help you up.” His veiny and big hands wrapped on my small ones and pulled me ever so softly— yet it caused me to stumble on my feet and had me crashing on his chest. I closed my eyes in embarrassment and at the same time, I couldn't help but feel like I’m in cloud nine to feel close contact aside from my sister. And maybe I have developed a tiniest crush on this man.

“My lady?” My heart pounded from his voice, going back to my thoughts, I did not come here to flirt and if this is a test then I have absolutely failed so abruptly, I pulled away, laughing awkwardly, “Sorry about .. that. I should get going. Bye!” With an awkward and stiff curt bow, I scurried towards the entrance of the academy leaving the man alone with Charlie, who is looking at his owner with his tongue out.

“Arf.” 

“I know Charlie, she seems … familiar.” The man, Prince Sebastian, sighs, looking across the academy where the Starlight Palace is seen at the back, “I hope she is who we think she is.”

After days, weeks and months of being a student of Starlight Academy, I must say this is amazing. Being able to come out of my shell within weeks, the head minister— Madame Kim was a strict and graceful adviser yet at the same time, an easy going person. She has been giving me advice and lessons to improve. Sebastian has been a great mentor and friend at the same time as I continue practicing my walks, etiquettes and much more. His patients never wavers from the long hours of learning the history of each royalty and whatabouts of their hierarchy and laws.

Sebastian's presence had become an anchor in this whirlwind of transformation. He wasn't just a mentor, patiently drilling me on royal walks and etiquette. He was a friend, a confidante, who shared knowing smiles when I mastered a particularly tricky curtsy and offered gentle encouragement when frustration threatened to bubble over.

His dedication went beyond social graces. We spent countless hours delving into the kingdom's history. He unravelled the intricate tapestry of past rulers, their triumphs and failures, their impact on the ever-evolving hierarchy and labyrinthine laws. His lessons weren't dry recitations of dates and names.

Until Madame Kim encouraged another student that she proudly spoke to, to tutor me since Sebastian and I’s schedule were different so and here I thought we would get along but spoke too soon when he suddenly blurted out.

“You’re not a princess, so stop acting like one.” Kang Yeosang spoke nonchalantly. My mouth drops when I straighten my back after doing a curtsy before dancing, I watch him walk away— leaving me alone in the ballroom. My face was a shade of red hue from the embarrassment and shame.

   And ever since then, I had hated his guts for technically criticizing everything I do, even by just closing a book, “A princess needs to close the book silently. You close it like it's an encyclopedia.”

“... and then he proceeds just criticizing my every move. Madame Kim told me that I’m improving and you’re telling me that I’m improving. So I don’t know what his problem is.” I rant to Sebastian as we strolled down the hallway. He chuckles, hands behind his back as we make our way towards the library, “Don’t take it down to heart dear, he is just like that. You’ll get used to it.”

I scoff, rolling my eyes, “His panties get twisted all the time.”

Sebastian has been accompanying me since the very beginning of my princess life—after he apologies about George’s sudden attack but even so, Sebsatian had made my adjustment to my new life better and I have been thankful for this beautiful angel saving me from what could lead me to my last string of sanity.

From speaking fluently in the accent of Aurora’s language, he praised me for immediately picking up the language as if it had been programmed in me to speak that language. Then to let me read at least (a size of my hand) books each week and summarize them towards dancing waltz for 2 hours. 

“A princess never rolls her eyes and tame that tongue of yours.” I yelp, jumping to the side as Yeosang’s deep voice echoes the library. Sebastian chuckling, patting my hand that was gripping his biceps, I apologized to Sebastian before moving away. I look at Yeosang, scoffing, “A prince should know speaking nonchalantly makes him less handsome.”

Yeosang glanced by the corner of his eyes, “I am speaking in a truthful manner.”

  He had a book in one hand while the other tucked in his pockets, uniform neat and well-ironed and his blonde hair pushed softly in his reading glasses, giving an accessible view of his forehead. His aura gives off a simple yet elegant look that makes my heart leap at how perfect he looks. My eyes widen slightly before moving past him, looking for the book of Aurora. “I can talk as I can and I will roll my eyes as much as I want even if I become a queen.”

Yeosang said, “I hope this queen you highly speak for yourself can see a brain up there.” which I yelp, embarrassed, “Shut up!” 

Sebastian watches the scene unfold and laughs silently, “I must remind both of you that you have Etiquette later at 3 pm sharp.”

Yeosang closed the book with one hand, looking at Sebastian, “Thank you but no need to remind me, I’m on my way actually.” With that he walks off, bumping his shoulder to Sebastian. I felt that bump a little too personal, looking at Sebastian, “You okay?”

Sebastian stood firmly after the bump–being a little personal— before sighing gently, “Yeah.”

I stood at Etiquette class with a nervous vibe radiating off my body as I heard Madame Kim would not be able to attend and sent off a different adviser, Lady Choi. She is the sister of the late Queen Choi of Aurora, who apparently died in an accident along with her husband and their first born baby.

Lady Choi is the definition of perfection and that made me more nervous. Unfortunately, Sebastian is not in this class and he will be taking this one tomorrow and another unfortunate thing is I shared this class with Yeosang.

Then, a hand landed on my shoulder, startling me. It was Yeosang, his usual stoicism replaced by a hint of concern. "Feeling overwhelmed?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.

"A little," I admitted sheepishly, my heart not being able to register the fact that he is in fact not nonchalant, for once. "Everyone else seems to know exactly what to do."

Yeosang offered a rare smile. "They've probably been prepping for this their entire lives. We'll learn the ropes together." His words held a reassuring weight, and I straightened my spine, a spark of determination replacing the nervous flutter.

Her voice could curdle milk, and her icy gaze made even the most confident students squirm. Lady Choi launched into a lecture on proper posture, teacup holding, and the art of polite conversation. It was all incredibly intricate, the rules seemingly endless.

During a tea demonstration, I fumbled the delicate porcelain cup, sending it clattering to the ground. A wave of mortification washed over me, my cheeks burning. But before Lady Choi could unleash her icy stare, Yeosang stepped forward.

"Excuse me, Madame," he said, his voice calm and polite. "May I demonstrate the proper way to retrieve a fallen cup?"

Lady Choi raised an eyebrow, but acquiesced with a curt nod. Yeosang knelt gracefully, retrieved the broken shards with a practiced ease, and even managed to offer a rueful smile.

"Accidents happen," he said, his gaze meeting mine briefly. "The key is to recover with composure."  He returned to his seat, leaving a stunned silence in his wake. A flicker of a smile played on Lady Choi's lips, something that could have been mistaken for… approval?

The rest of the class passed in a blur of curtsies, napkin folds, and cutlery etiquette. Yeosang, surprisingly, proved to be a natural. He moved with a quiet grace, memorizing the lessons quickly. It’s as if he had grown up here in the academy to be a prince or was he really born to be a prince or is he …

During a break, I found myself next to him in the rose garden. Sebastian texted me that he will be off his study in the next hour. "Thank you," I said, unable to contain my admiration.

He shrugs. "You must act calmly in any situation."

"How long have you been here?" Suddenly my words came out before I could even think about it. I was about to apologize but Yeosang had already said, “Been here since I was a kid but I was pulled out and came back again at age of 14. ”

I nodded, my feet swinging slightly, “That explains why you know so much about being a .. royalty.”

“Because I am.”I look at him. Hearing my silence, he looked over at me with an unreadable face. The sudden turn of the topic was giving me slight curiosity as to what kind of Royalty drama this is. “So you’re a prince..?”

“I am a prince based on what my aunt told me— I came from the line of Kang’s but an accident happened the same as the late royalties .. “ He pauses then looks around before turning to you, “But from what I heard the daughter is alive.”  The word hung in the air, and Yeosang's expression turned serious. My eyes widened, so the rumors or the article that I read a few days ago about the history of the Choi family tree were true. 

The late King and Queen died in an accident after the coronation of the King’s brother— which a month later the King was also found dead and the Queen was accused of murder. It was concluded an accident even though there were multiple signs that it was planned but it was debunked by Lady Choi saying that there was a spy during the night of the coronation party of the King’s brother. 

  The Queen was in a hospital or facility after going berserk finding out of her husband’s death. And adding more to the overlapping accusation towards her and what snapped from her last string of sanity is her baby missing or from what she heard—was also killed.

   It was gruesome and heartbreaking. The Kingdom of Mist— the King’s brother’s kingdom was left in the dust and not so many citizens stayed before fleeing to different parts of the kingdom. 

Kang Yeosang, he doesn’t know where or what happened, but to him— if fate does it then it might be for him. Yeosang always had a strong belief in fate. He had thought that maybe moments weren’t for him or maybe it is for him but not today, tomorrow or whatever day it would be as long as it sits on the perfect time.

That is until he found himself questioning fate—”Me?”

Why would he find, in a position he would not think of– not even close to being part of some family drama? He stood in the middle of a feud that has nothing to do with him. Yeosang mentions living in an apartment with his two other friends from his old school– Wooyoung and San– who were studying the art of dancing which to his relief, he was also accepted in the said school until he was invited to a prestigious school— The Starlight Academy.

His aunt who raised him in the academy, eventually pulled him out after an incident and raised him in the urban areas of Aurora. It was around the age of his early 20’s when he was invited to the academy.

“I’m the King’s descendant?!” Yeosang exclaimed.

“Huh?!” Sebastian looked at me with a ‘wtf’ look. I shrug.

After staring at the photograph of Queen Amelia and King Raphael with their first born baby girl— Anastasia and their royal dog, “George!” Sebastian and I pointed at the same time at the similar golden retriever dog that never left my side when I first stepped inside the palace. Yeosang glance at the picture to the side, the King and his father stood side by side. His fingers grazed gently on his father’s face then towards the names,

King Choi Raphael & King Kang Yeo-saHis eyebrows frowned, his mind was slightly jumbled on the names. Choi and Kang? Weren’t brothers supposed to share the same last name? And it is a tradition for the female spouse to take the last name of the husband. So why were their last names different? 

   “We have to stop Lady Choi …” Suddenly a dawn of realization washed over me. I look over my shoulders, “Lady Choi might have been behind this fiasco that happened 21 years ago. If I am the princess of Aurora then I am the rightful heir of that throne. I cannot let my parents be thrown off that throne just like that.”

Yeosang, for once, saw a different side when he glanced at you. He saw the fiery determination to bring justice to your parents. 

"The crown," Sebastian explained, his gaze fixed on me. "It's shrouded in legend. Some say it could bring ruin upon the kingdom, a fate worse than anything we've known. But there's a chance. If the rightful heir is revealed and claims their birthright as Queen, Aurora might be spared."

Yeosang took my wrist, “Let’s go.” I nodded. The royalty of Aurora and my parents who were the city’s late King and Queen made me the princess of Aurora. The day that I was found in the urban areas of Aurora was the day my mother tried to save the Queen— my real mother—from losing too much blood but in the end…

“Anastasia must be kept safe until she becomes the rightful Queen.” Taking her last breath after giving me to mom.

 As we reached the coronation room, Yeosang and Sebastian opened the oak double doors, “Stop!” The silence was deafening, the mic of the higher head gave terrible feedback before it dissipated. I walk in— a sudden boost of confidence runs down my veins— after all this has become a rightful path for Aurora and my parents.

“What is this nonsense?! Madame Kim, discipline your students!” Madame Kim looks between me and Lady Choi with a confused look before signaling me to stop yet I carried on.

The booming voice echoed throughout the room, momentarily silencing the stunned crowd. A bead of sweat trickled down my temple, but the knowledge that coursed through me like a newly awakened river pushed back the tide of fear. I straightened my spine, “I, Anastasia Amelia Renaldi, Princess of Aurora, ordered you and the rightful heir of this throne to step down and discontinue this coronation!”

   The crowd grew with murmurs and the media were strained by the drama unfolding. I walk, step by step, forward towards the platform, “You, Lady Penelope Hudgens Choi, are arrested for the murder of my parents— the late King Raphael and Queen Amelia and also the death of King Kang Yeo-sa and Queen Joan.”

Lady Choi scoffed, grabbing a handful of her gown and marched towards me with a furious look, “Stop this nonsense child! Just because you were chosen to be a student here in Starlight Academy doesn’t mean you have to delusion yourself to be the “missing” princess. And what do you mean by the death of Kang Yeo-sa, he is alive and well!”

Yeosang steps in, showing a vial of powdered potion, “This cost not only the life of my parents but the entire kingdom of Mist.” 

Sebastian soon steps in throwing a bunch of photographs, “The bougainvillea— it may seem unharmful but this one has very ornamental vines and thorns used to create numbing pain but with unmount usage of this can cause heart attacks of clog of esophagus due to the thickness and irritation of the powder by inhaling.”

  I stop walking, a victory smile on my lips, arching an eyebrow, “We have more than what you are seeing right now.”

Her face fell, face drained from the realization. I step forward again, “You have been manipulating and giving false information on the media for the past 21 years. You have murdered not mine but Yeosang as well—- the Prince of Mist Kingdom.”

As the truth slowly unfolds in the media, Yeosang and I were able to handle them. From the afternoon sun towards the moonlight of my 22nd birthday, the words keep going around– the crown is still not yet to be given until the investigation is finalized and I am indeed the lost princess of the late King and Queen. That is until the ministry and the courtiers were able to drop down every process and the investigation was concluded after 3 months and the coronation was tonight.

 I looked at the big wall mirror of my new room as I spun to look at the coronation dress given to me by Madame Kim. Everything was overwhelming and I have much been drained this past weeks from the constant meetings and law cases against Lady Choi. 

Until the big day arrived, and Yeosang visited me. 

 “The Kings are not brothers?” He nodded. Yeosang sigh, “They were not related to one another. Many people thought they were one because of how it naturally comes out of them to treat like brothers. I met the late king’s mother; they were never blood related.”

I nodded, “So you’re still a prince?” He chuckles, pushing me slightly making me laugh at him, “Of course your majesty.” Mockingly bowed down. I took a handful of my dress and kicked him on his claves playfully. He laughs gently, making my heart fly with his cuteness. It was just last week we were against each other's throats and now, it's as if fate made a different path for us.

The grand hall of Aurora Palace shimmered in the soft glow of countless candles, casting an ethereal ambiance over the scene. Golden banners bearing the emblem of the kingdom fluttered gently in the breeze, while the air buzzed with anticipation. It was the day of my coronation, a momentous occasion that was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era of prosperity and peace for the kingdom of Aurora.

As I, dressed in resplendent robes befitting my station, made my way to the dais where the crown awaited me, a hush fell over the assembled nobles and courtiers. The weight of responsibility lay heavy upon my shoulders, but I stood tall and proud, chin up, ready to accept my new destiny.

However, just as the whole coronation soon to end where I am about to claim the crown, a commotion erupted at the back of the hall. Gasps and whispers spread like wildfire as Lady Choi, a formidable figure known for her insatiable thirst for power, strode forward with a determined gleam in her eyes. My eyes widened in shock, her figure hunching and dirty— probably escaping the prison and finding multiple ways to get here.

"Stop!" Lady Choi's voice cut through the silence like a knife. "I will not stand by and watch as this kingdom falls into the hands of an inexperienced child." Yeosang, who has been on the side, immediately came to me with a protective arm out.

My heart hammered inside my chest as I watched in disbelief. She was able to escape prison with limited resources yet those were able to let her break free and be here to take the throne, she still has the power and that scared me.

“Tough up princess.” Yeosang whispered. I look at him, gulping down the nervousness down my throat, “I’m trying.”

   With a swift motion, Lady Choi ran towards the stand to snatch the crown from its velvet cushion but Yeosang was faster. He grabbed her arms, Lady Choi grunting trying to pull away from Yeosang’s grip  whilst I stood, hands shaking, “Guards!” I spoke. They immediately took her but— of course she wouldn’t come without backup. 

Multiple men came in and surrounded the securities around the throne room and took Yeosang in their hold. Leaving me defenseless, Lady Choi chuckles darkly, looking at me with her evil eyes, “I will lead Aurora in its finest and majestic era so step down child!”

I shake my head, even with my heart pounding so loudly in my chest and up to my ears, I stood tall, “No.”

  Her lips curled in a nasty smirk, “Such a stubborn child … just like her father.” In impulsive thoughts, she pulled the sword that was attached to Yeosang’s hip and swung it at me. My eyes widen, feet glued to the ground as the silver weapon nears me, “NO! DO NOT TOUCH HER—” Yeosang screamed.

  Lady Choi’s eyes were maniac, “Goodbye princess.”

  “Not on my watch.” A sound of metals clashing and a presence on the left side. I turn to see a female dressed in a musketeer's uniform, the emblem of Diamond Kingdom on her right arm sleeve, “Stand down Lady Choi. You are not to interfere with the coronation of Princess of Aurora, your men are arrested for the crime of trespassing.”

The musketeer kicked Lady Choi on her stomach before standing in front of me, Lady Choi huffs looking up at the musketeer with a sinister smile, “Idiots, protected the wrong treasure!” 

One of her men managed to grab the crown while we were distracted by her and tossed it to her. Catching with one hand, Lady Choi rose up on her feet. My breath hitches as the thought of Aurora’s doomed in just a minute, how I already failed as the new leader of the Kingdom, “No don’t do this please!” The musketeer held me back as we watched Lady Choi raise it high above her head, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though the crown would indeed settle upon her brow, sealing her claim to power.

But then, something extraordinary happened. As if guided by an unseen force, the crown veered off course, bypassing Lady Choi altogether and descending gracefully towards me. Time seemed to stand still as the crown hovered inches above my head, its golden light bathing her in a radiant glow.

“The crown doesn’t need to be protected, it protects it’s rightful heir.” Said the musketeer as she moves to the side. Lady Choi looking in disbelief, her head shaking uncontrollably as she stumbles towards me, “No no no— After I work hard to claim the thrown, I am not letting a child ruin me!”

  In a blur, Yeosang broke free from the men, taking his rightful sword and stood with the tip of the sword deathly on her throat, his eyes were slit with anger, “You have killed so many people, the people of my kingdom and my parents. I am not letting you do the same thing again.”

   Back in the moment, I felt a surge of power unlike anything I had ever known. It was as if the very essence of Aurora itself had chosen me as its champion, affirming my rightful place as its princess. With a steady hand, I reached up and gently took hold of the crown, allowing it to settle upon my head with a soft click. Instantly, a wave of energy washed over me, filling me with a sense of purpose and resolve.

  Lady Choi's face contorted with rage and frustration, but she could do nothing as I ascended towards the throne, every step imbued with grace and dignity. 

“Grace on to the Princess of Aurora!” The musketeer cheered, bowing down on one knee. Soon whoever, along with the men, inside the room all did the same. Yeosang smirks, bowing down too.

“On her grace!”

“Well … that took a huge turn.” I look beside me to see Yeosang, smiling. “I mean we both deserve justice.” I chuckle, looking over the horizon. The beach of Aurora was beautiful with the sun kissing the glimmering water and the salty smell of it sends shivers down my spine. I look down to see a few people surfing and cheering, celebrating their annual competition.

“You know in a few years time, you’ll be crowned as queen right?” I nodded, “I’m still preparing myself Yeo, this whole princess-coronation thing is already overwhelming and all the drama is happening.” Yeosang understood that if I took more of the responsibility, I would have wished I never intervened with all the clues of the missing princess and Lady Choi’s plans.

  Yeosang looked over, taking my hands in his big ones, “And that is why I’m here. I’ll be crowned as Prince in a few months and maybe, together we can make this kingdom a better place for our people.” 

I smile, squeezing his hand and at the same time bumping my hips to his, “Such charming prince.”

As I stood before my people, I knew that my journey was just beginning. With the crown upon my head and the support of my kingdom behind me, friends to push me to keep fighting and Yeosang to stand by me, I am ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, secure in the knowledge that I was destined to rule as the true princess of Aurora.

[silverynight]

A charming witch

Part I (of 3)

When he was a little kid, Izuku summoned a demon by accident; he's not sure how it happened and his mother never explained it in detail, but all he knows is that the demon looked like a kid too and that he tried to bite Izuku's neck.

Fortunately, he didn't, but it made Izuku chose a more peaceful path when it came to practicing sorcery and magic.

Now he practices green magic and he has a little store in the middle of the village where he sells potions for all kinds of trouble and illnesses. The good thing is that flowers and plants are a very safe way to do magic. No demons involved.

There are other types of witches who deal with dark magic and summon demons (or banish them) for all kinds of purposes.

Izuku is happy with his potions and herbs; he certainly doesn't need anything else.

But that doesn't mean that trouble doesn't find his way to his doorstep anyways.

***

Izuku has a friend named Uraraka, she's a witch too, but she deals with more powerful magic; however, sometimes she needs a couple of potions and that's how she ends up in Izuku's little shop most of the time when she finds herself in the village.

That particular day she walks in with a demon; the demon is all pink and keeps smiling and looking around in awe like a very curious child.

Izuku knows not all demons are dangerous or seek to eradicate human kind and yet he gets a little bit startled when he finally sees her.

"Sorry!" He blushes when the demon squeaks in delight; she's bonded to Uraraka by magic so she has to go wherever the witch goes, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"You were right," the demon grins at Uraraka, staring at Izuku with interest. "He's such a cutie."

Uraraka rolls her eyes, but looks mostly amused.

"This is Ashido Mina, the demon I summoned to assist me for a while. In exchange, she gets to see our world because for some reason she likes it."

"I do!" Ashido smiles, prompting Izuku to finally relax around her. "It's like being on vacation! And trust me it's better here at the moment because Blasty has been insufferable for the last few years... He's pining..."

"Blasty?" Izuku mumbles in confusion, not entirely sure he wants the answer to that question.

"My boss, the demon king," Ashido explains, like it's not a big deal.

Izuku nods and offers them both a cup of tea; the shop is quiet that day so he can spend time with his friend and her demon.

"I don't smell other demons on you," Ashido observes after a while.

"I don't summon demons," Izuku says calmly, a little bit amused by Ashido's surprised expression. It's fair since most of the witches have summoned one at least once in their lives.

His own mother did once and it ended up with her having a baby and being abandoned years later, which was not a good experience. But Izuku doesn't like to talk about that and he doesn't think any of them are interested in that.

"Why not?"

"His blood can only summon very powerful demons apparently," Uraraka says, surprising Izuku who looks at her in confusion. "Your mother explained it to me once. No matter the symbol he writes, his blood immediately summons another completely different."

Ashido puts a hand under her chin, like she's deep in thought; Izuku gets a little bit distracted by her horns and wonders if it'd be rude of him to get out his notebook and start taking notes about her.

"That's... interesting," she comments after a while. "Are you an omega?"

"A what?"

"Mina, I told you humans are not like that," Uraraka says, like she's had that conversation before. "We don't have a second gender."

"Like betas?"

"No... well, yes, just like them."

"What are you talking about?" The green haired witch asks, as curiosity and excitement make him forget about politeness.

"Demons have secondary genders," Uraraka tells him, chuckling when Izuku's eyes glimmering with curiosity and excitement. She's never seen another witch so hungry for knowledge.

"We can be alphas, omegas or betas," Ashido cuts in, happy to talk about her kind. "Alphas and omegas usually make good couples, but there are all kinds of them."

Izuku listens with undivided attention and finally makes his notebook appear because that's just so fascinating to miss.

"Wait," he cuts her off, immediately feeling terrible about interrupting, knowing he's probably blushing to the tip of his ears at the moment. "You mentioned something about bites earlier, what did you mean?"

"Instead of getting married, like humans do," Ashido says. "Demons mark their partners with a mating bite; it has to be done on the scent glands, which are on our necks."

The information unlocks a couple of memories in Izuku's brain that he didn't know he had up until now.

There's a blond demon with red horns and red eyes that looks like a kid and is telling Izuku that he needs to bite his neck immediately.

"The demon I summoned tried to bite my neck, that's why my mom got scared..."

"Was he a pup when that happened?" Ashido moves closer, eyes shining with excitement. "I mean the demon, was he a pup?"

"A pup?"

"She means a little kid."

"Oh. Yeah."

"A blond gremlin with piercing red eyes? Very bossy for his age?"

"Uhh... something like that," Izuku mumbles, having a very bad feeling about where the conversation is heading already.

"Are you Deku?" She says excitedly. "I can't believe I found the famous Deku!"

"My name is Midoriya Izuku actually," he corrects her, having the feeling that he has heard someone else call him that before.

"This is amazing!" Ashido squeaks in delight. "Blasty's ridiculous longing will finally come to an end! We need to summon him!"

"Blasty as in the king of the demons?" Uraraka quirks up a brow at her demon friend.

"Yes!"

"No," Uraraka and Izuku utter at the same time, shaking their heads. The pink demon starts pouting.

"Why not?"

"That's a very powerful demon, I won't be able to control him if he decides to do something," Uraraka replies, earning another pout from Ashido.

The demon even rolls her eyes at them.

"Alright, listen. I know he looks like a gremlin who's constantly angry at his own existence, but he'd never harm his Deku."

"My name is Izuku," he corrects her again. Suddenly, another one of his memories unlocks. "Are you talking about Kacchan?"

Both girls (the demon and the witch) stare at him like he just said something in another language.

"His name is Bakugo Katsuki, but I think I heard him mention something like that to Kiri... you used to call him that, right?"

"I..." Izuku starts feeling weird out of the sudden. He's dizzy. "I don't know."

He gets closer to the main cabinet behind the counter and takes one of the potions he makes for himself. Ashido grabs one of his arms to get his attention and Izuku gets a glimpse of a very tall and muscular blond demon sitting on a throne with a permanent scowl upon his face.

He doesn't have visions like his grandmother did, so it's weird for him to see things like that and it's even more puzzling and confusing when he gets the impression that the demon stares back at him for a brief moment.

"Deku?"

Instinctively, he shakes Ashido's hand away and takes a few steps back.

"Alright, that's enough," Uraraka takes the pink demon's hand to lead her towards the exit. "It's time to go."

"Wait! At least give him a chance!" Ashido pleads. "He won't hurt you, I promise!"

"It's a dangerous practice for someone who has never done that before, like me," Izuku explains, besides, he can't believe the demon king is the same as the little bossy demon who tried to bite him once. She must be mistaken.

He gives Uraraka the potions she had commissioned a couple of weeks ago and decides to close the shop early that day because he feels so very tired suddenly.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Ashido."

"Same, cutie." She sighs, before waving at him. "Although I still believe you should summon him."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

***

Next--->

Patreon

[whatthebodygraspsnot]

#me going ‘hot new neighbor older ian and smitten flirty mickey / is that anything’ and just thinking about it a lot -> 🤲 right here pls

oh boy cross. oh boy cross.

(age difference - 22/32)

mickey and mandy live together and are really close to the handful of neighbors on their street (all ages/personalities/occupations). like they've formed this family and spend a lot of time together. it's so normal for them to eat dinner together during the week that they have a rotation on who hosts and cooks. lil commune, almost.

this new guy moves into the empty house next to mickey and mandy and everyone's kinda ehhh about it until they start introducing themselves one by one. mandy gets a call from Joan two houses down and is on for a LONG time. when she gets off and comes into the living room it's with some scalding gossip for mickey. the new neighbor is apparently a total dreamboat and the kindest mf on the planet and mandy declares that she's going over to welcome him IMMEDIATELY.

when she comes back she is BUZZING with how charming and funny and down to earth this guy is and mickey is all uh huh...yup...etc. because surely this is just female hysteria (mickey you can't say that). but then he actually meets ian. idk how. idk when. running into him coming home from work? idk. and like.......wow, god damn the ladies were not kidding. dude may have a decade on him but he's all built and strong and has a beard and glasses and possibly worst of all, he's very nice. very charming. but all the fawning behind the scenes is really getting on mickey's nerves, so it kind of taints it a little.

yada yada yada oh my god ian is coming to dinner. Joan has invited him into their little circle. it goes really well and everyone gets along really good and mickey's just sitting there wondering how one man can look so impossibly hot while sheepishly dodging stray compliments. eventually theyre cleaning up and it's somehow just mickey and ian and it's nice. it's really comfortable. ian is really cool and has good advice from that extra decade.

time jump. lots of dinners and hanging out with the group. one night mickey hits up his other gay friend and they secretly go to the gay bar a little past the city limit. mickey's still in the closet, even to mandy, so he needs these nights to just like...exist. him and the friend are getting drunk as fuck. mickey is laughing and goes to wobble his way to the bathroom and accidentally runs into this tall dude who turns around and ope! guess who it is! uh oh! but is it uh oh? because mickey may be getting outted, but ian's also here for the same reason. and they're kinda just standing there for a second, their smiles falling and their brains turning with this new information, and then ian gets pulled back along track by someone.

next dinner. everyone is very normal and fine but ian and mickey are chomping at the bit. when dinner's over, mickey practically drags ian into another room and goes through the whole "you can't tell anybody, alright? nobody knows" song and dance. and ian is like "yeah no of course not. and i hope that would extend to me too." and they make a pact that this knowledge will stay between them.

which is very easy. except for the fact that mickey comes to the realization that oh fuck, they are compatible. oh fuck, he really likes ian as a person. oh fuck, he knows there's that decade between them but he would drop to his knees for him in a heartbeat if ian asked him to. which he doesn't. and doesn't. and doesn't. but mickey's getting more and more attracted to him and actually, the whole beard/glasses/life experience thing is really fucking hot to him.

so he starts trying to flirt. starts laying the groundwork. mowing the lawn with his shirt off. asking ian if he wants to work out in the garage together. keeping his bedroom light on while he undresses in front of the window. he even opens it one night when he sees ian's window open too and lets just say...puts on a show, not truly knowing if ian can hear him, but hoping so.

idk how it ends. idk how far it goes. all i know is ian is Very cognizant of the age difference and makes great strides to keep everything at an arm's length. SEXUAL TENSION (bass boosted). but mickey is mickey. and mickey has a lot of fun trying to get ian to fuck him.

[writers-wrongs]

I'm begging please yandere gotham oswald cobblepot with a male readers hc

For a queer character there is surprising lack of male reader stuff with him

i think thats bc you can just pretend youre eddie for the experience lmao. but yeah, we need more ozzie content. btw, this is only gonna cover season oneish, mostly bc this man goes through so much and i cant possibly cover it all in one post

yandere!gotham!penguin x male!reader

-you work at fish's club as a waiter, so hes known you for a while. youre one of the only people who treats him with any kindness, the only others being his mother and (sometimes) fish, so he spends most of his free time with you

-he falls for you hard and fast, but he takes a while to recognize it as love. hes been bullied all his life, so he assumes that his feelings for you are just friendship. of course, his mother recognizes her son is in love and gives him a little talk (she assumes its a woman, but her hearts in the right place). once he knows hes in love, he does absolutely nothing with that knowledge

-dont get me wrong, he utterly adores you. youre on his mind constantly. he just doesnt feel like hes important enough to have you yet. why would you ever want a pathetic little umbrella boy? so he stays friends with you, and he starts planning. if he doesnt deserve you now, he'll have to work to earn you

-then the whole "fish tries to have him killed for betraying her" thing happens. and up until he takes over her club, theres not much he can do about you. hes moreso focused on survival at the moment. but when he takes the club, he keeps you around and promotes you to co-owner

-this man spoils you constantly. you want a new suit? he gets you a personal tailor. you say you like a color? the club is covered in it within the week. you say you dont like someone? theyre found dead the next day, and zsasz has a new tally on his arm. anything you want, he takes to the extreme

-aaand now hes fighting for his life again. my poor boy, hes suffered more than jesus and weve only just finished season one. hes now the self-proclaimed king of gotham, and his ego is through the roof. his first act as king? shows up at your doorstep with a bouquet of purple roses and begs you to be his

-if you accept his love, you rule gotham by his side. directly by his side. you two share the throne in the most physical interpretation of the phrase, this man is so clingy. youre never out of his sight for more than an hour, and if you are, all of his men start searching the city for you. oswald practically worships you. to the gotham underworld, youre known as his better half. if someone can convince you to let them live, oswald will listen because thats what his lovebird wants, and what his lovebird wants, he gets

-if you dont, he does his best not to cry. in front of you, that is. he rushes to his mom and sobs for hours. once he calms down, gotham becomes a dark place. no mercy is shown to anyone who messes up, infighting is almost encouraged, and the only rule of the penguin is that youre not to be hurt. people are allowed to affect your life, though. any partners of yours tragically die, youre constantly put into (controlled) danger, your apartment even gets broken into so you dont feel safe at home. if youre not going to embrace oswald willingly, he'll just frighten you into running into his arms

[fyonahmacnally]

Keys to My Heart

“Hey, Alex.” Kara calls out as she walks into their shared apartment, a confused look on her face. She drops a small cardboard box onto the island in the kitchen and starts rummaging through it. “Look at all the things I found on the rooftop. It’s weird. It seems like something appears every day. I can’t figure out where it’s coming from. No one goes up there except for me. Well, except our friends when we have parties, but you know what I mean.”

The tell-tale crinkle makes its appearance on the blonde’s face as she continues to pick up each item. She fervently sifts through the rooftop haul mulling over the possible origins in her mind. Surely no one in their apartment building is dumping random objects onto their roof, right? She thinks. Nah, It can’t be on purpose. Why would someone put coins and keys up there? Oh, there’s even a ring! Someone has to be missing that, right? Right?!

Alex leans her head back to glance over the back of the couch into the kitchen to see what her sister is going on about. The redhead can see her sister pulling things out of a box with a very bewildered look on her face. When she sees some of the items strewn across the countertop, she can’t help but laugh. She can already tell this is going to be one of those conversations. She sighs and takes a deep breath before pushing up off the couch. 

Kara’s incredibly intelligent. When it comes to science, languages, math, history, and almost any other academic topic, she is one of the smartest people around. However, the younger Danvers is sometimes lacking in the more practical knowledge that usually comes from interacting with the world and experimenting with boundaries as a teenager. Unfortunately, Kara didn’t really do any of those things. Her little sister led a pretty sheltered life in a remote country before her parents passed away when she was 12. Then, she was so traumatized when she was adopted that the Danvers may have been a bit over-protective. Yet another thing that didn’t do her any favors in collecting the ‘practical knowledge’ she needed to navigate the world. 

“Whatcha got there, Kara?” Alex bemused, wondering what the blonde is going to respond with. “Are you collecting random things off the street? We don’t have much space in the apartment so you can’t go full hoarder on me.” She chuckles as the crinkle on her sister’s forehead gets more pronounced and her head tilts like a confused puppy.

Kara sighs, dropping her chin to her chest before raising her head and her brow at her sister. “Really, Alex? I just told you when I walked in that I found all of this on the roof. You know I’ve been going up there everyday for the past few weeks to feed the crows.” She grins at her sister as they stand side-by-side combing through the loot. She picks up a set of keys and the ring to present to her sister. “They like it when I feed them and I like spending time up there. Anyway, these two things seem to be the most valuable of the odds and ends I found. Someone is surely upset about missing their emerald ring, but the keys to a BMW? Pretty sure someone is outright pissed about that.” 

Alex grabs the BMW key fob and key chain from her sister’s palm, looking at it for any kind of identifying information. “You know, you can take this to any BMW dealership and they can get it back to the owner. These fancy fobs store the car’s service information.” She sits the fob back on the counter and picks up the ring, inspecting it for engraving or some other identifier. “The ring is personalized too. You might be able to post online that you found it and that there is an inscription. The owner will know what the inscription is.”

“That’s a brilliant idea, Alex! You’re so smart.” Kara smiles and starts packing all the little trinkets back into her box. Midway through, she stops and looks at Alex again. “Where do you think this stuff came from? We never see anyone up there and I’ve never run into anybody when I feed the crows. Plus, there isn’t anyone that lives in our building that drives a car that fancy. I mean, maybe someone from one of the office buildings across the street, but how would it get on our roof?” She tilts her head to the side and furrows her brow in thought.

Alex has an internal debate about whether she should tell her sister about crows and their gifting behaviors. On the one hand, it would put an end to the ongoing confusion on her sister’s face. On the other hand, this could be so damn fun to watch. She’s in need of some good entertainment. Her life has been kind of empty since she and Maggie split. She grins, she can’t pass up this opportunity to mess with her sister. 

“Odd. Not sure how those things would get on our rooftop. You sure there hasn’t been anyone else up there?” She watches her sister finish packing her little collection back into its box and drift off into thought. “I mean, sure you haven’t seen anyone, but that doesn’t mean someone hasn’t been up there. You said most of the stuff just started showing up this week, right?”

Kara nods her head. “Yeah, I haven’t noticed anything until this week. I fed the birds on my lunch break Monday then came back down to finish my afternoon at work. When I went back on Tuesday during my break, there were coins and shiny rocks. Today when I went up to feed them, I found the ring and key fob so I just grabbed everything.” She scratches her head and looks back at her sister. “You don’t think someone is stealing things and leaving them on our rooftop to come back later, do you? I mean, I don’t think that would be a very practical thief, but I can’t think of anything else.”

She does her best not to outright cackle at her sister, but she can’t hold back her laughter so she attempts to turn it into a cough that ends up sounding more like a combination of a horse and a pig. Trying to retain her composure, she clears her throat and slides her hands across her face to shield her amusement. “Why don’t you give it another week and see what happens? In the meantime, you can post the ring on Facebook in one of the neighborhood groups and walk over to the BMW dealership down the block to see if they can find the owner of the fob. Maybe by the end of the week, you’ll have it all figured out.”

The blonde smiles and slides the box off the counter to carry to her bedroom. “That’s a good idea, Alex. I’ll get this mystery solved one way or another!” Kara excitedly stomps off toward her bedroom as Alex just shakes her head in fondness at the adorable idiot.

“This is going to be fun to watch.” Alex giggles to herself and her sister practically skips down the hallway. She should probably feel guilty for entertaining herself at Kara’s expense and maybe she will, but right now, it’s just funny to watch. As brilliant as her sister is, she thought she would have read all about crows. Apparently her curiosities don’t extend to the birds she feeds everyday. Giggling again, she heads back over to the couch to resume her evening, looking forward to what the next week brings in her sister’s bird saga.

Lena is running late. Her morning started with a 6:00 a.m. phone call from a client she never wanted to represent in the first place much less speak with before she’s had her goddamn coffee. Then, Lillian shows up at 7:30, knocking on her door. They are supposed to be having lunch at The Italian Affair, a new restaurant that just opened downtown, but her mother felt the need to ‘check in on her’ via an unplanned house call for a reason she still hasn’t been able to decipher. 

Now, she’s driving in downtown traffic trying to get to the office while sipping on a coffee that is definitively not what she ordered. She sighs, exasperated. She knew better than to stop at the chain store and not her normal little coffee shop. Checking her watch again, she groans, at this rate, she is not going to make her 9:30 meeting on time. A perfect way to top off her annoyingly frustrating Thursday.

She presses the call button on the steering wheel of her BMW M8, rolling her eyes at the traffic as she crawls through downtown. “Call Jess.” She speaks into the cabin of the car. 

The line rings three times before her assistant’s voice fills the interior. “Luthor & Lane, LLP, this is Jessica speaking. How may I assist you?”

“Good morning, Jess.” Lena drawled. “Has Ms. Arias arrived yet? My morning was derailed by Mr. Langley and followed up with an unplanned visit from Lillian. Now, I’m stuck in traffic.” 

Jess chuckles. “Sounds like your Thursday morning started with a bang, Miss Luthor.” Lena can hear papers shifting in the background before her assistant continues. “Ms. Arias hasn’t arrived yet, but I will put her in the small conference room if she arrives before you do.”

Lena lets out a sigh of relief. “Is there anything else I need to know? Did you confirm my reservations with Lillian for lunch today?” She glances around the car in front of her, hoping this traffic will suddenly vanish. At times like these, she wishes she had the ability to portal to places instead of driving.

“Your lunch reservation has been confirmed for 12:30.” Jess hums as she shuffles through the messages on her desk until she finds what she’s looking for. “Most of the messages can wait until you get into the office, but I did get a call from National City BMW earlier. Someone turned in your fob yesterday. I scheduled a courier to pick it up and drop it off this morning so you should have it by the time you arrive in the office.”

“Thank, fuck!” Lena huffed. “I still can’t figure out how in the hell they disappeared. Lucy and I were sitting on her balcony on Monday discussing a case. They were sitting on the table next to my laptop. We stepped inside to get food and when we came back, my keys were gone. We were inside for less than 10 minutes, Jess! How can they just disappear like that?!” She throws her hands into the air in frustration.

Jess laughs, she can imagine her boss with a scowl on her face and gesturing wildly inside her car. “At least someone found it. The gentlemen said all the other keys were still on the ring as well. Don’t forget to return the spare to the safe this afternoon in case you need me to bring it to you again.” She does her best to stifle the smile on her face, but is sure that her boss can hear it in her voice.

“Go ahead and laugh, Jess. I know you want to.” She jokes. “If it was you in the situation, I’m sure I would be laughing as well.” She shakes her head and smiles. The situation is amusing, even if it is still perplexing. 

She finally arrives at the office with 5 minutes to spare before her 9:30. Fortunately, Ms. Arias was stuck in the same traffic as she was and hasn’t quite made it yet. She sweeps into her office in a whirlwind, dropping her bag next to her chair and plopping herself into it. Already exhausted and her day just started. 

Lucy peeks her head around the corner into Lena’s office with a questioning look on her face. “You okay, Luthor? You seem a little…frazzled.” She makes her way inside her friend and business partner’s office, easing into the chair in front of her desk as if trying not to startle a cornered animal. “Jess said you had quite an eventful morning. She also said your fob got returned to the dealership. What’s the story there?”

Lena huffs and leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yes. My morning has been annoying. I still can’t figure out what Lillian’s angle was this morning. She rarely ever makes surprise visits unless she is scheming.” She groans and drops her head back into her plush leather chair. “I really hope she isn’t trying to set me up on another one of her well-intentioned blind dates again. You remember what happened last time.”

A loud and boisterous belly laugh erupts from Lucy’s small frame. She leans forward in her seat and slaps her thigh with amusement. “Oh, you mean the one with the guy that you said looked like Eddie Munster and Napoleon Dynamite had a baby? What was it you said he talked about the entire time?” 

The mirth shining in Lucy’s eyes made her lips twitch up in a smile, but she did her best to hide it. Lena narrowed her eyes at her best friend and cocked her head to the side. “Well, that’s difficult to say, Lane. The first half of the meal was about his collection of troll dolls.” She rolls her eyes and glares at Lucy. “Then, he spent the rest of dessert going on about the appropriate temperature of the storage unit he keeps them in to prevent any moisture or condensation.”

Lucy laughs heartily, oblivious to her friend’s annoyance. “Yes, that’s the one! I cannot believe your mother thought you would be remotely interested in that guy. She has to know your type by now, Lena. All of the men and women you have dated are leagues different than that guy.” She shakes her head and dabs the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. “Speaking of, you never told me what she said when you called her out about that set-up?”

“Oh you know, the typical Lillian response of ‘he’s from a good family, dear’ and ‘he’s a little eccentric, but he’s nice’... the usual.” Lena throws her hands up in surrender. “I just want to meet someone who’s honest, fun, and a little nerdy. Is that too much to ask?” She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“People like that don’t just fall from the sky, Luthor. You actually have to go out and mingle in the real world for that to happen.” Lucy chuckles. “It’s not like a bird is going to pluck you for the sidewalk and drop you into their arms! Live a little, Luthor.”

A soft knock sounds on the open door to Lena’s office as Jess peeks her head inside. “Ms. Arias is waiting for you in conference room 2, Miss Luthor. Good morning, Miss Lane.” Lucy smiles and nods at Jess before taking her leave. “The file you need is on your desk underneath your messages. Would you like me to sit in on the meeting?”

Lena grabs the file and flips through it quickly before grabbing her coffee and promptly sitting it back down after remembering how terrible it was. “Yes, I would like you to sit in on the meeting, but can you get rid of that atrocious excuse for coffee and grab me some from the kitchen on your way?” 

“Of course, Miss Luthor. I will be right behind you.” Jess smiles and quickly disappears as Lena takes a deep breath, heading to the conference room for her first meeting.

Kara sighs. It’s been a really long morning filled with nonstop work on a sci-fi novel from one of her newer clients. As much as she loves her work, she needs to take a break. She left a high paying corporate investigator job after she got burned out. Too many years of 60+ hours a week on top of her side job. She’d spent years doing proofreading, copy editing, and ghost writing on the side for extra money. After a while, it started bringing in more work than she could keep up with. After her burnout at her corporate gig, she decided she wanted something different. Here she is working from home, choosing her own clients, and making her own schedule. It’s nice. 

Plus, she still picks up the occasional corporate investigation client too. Mostly work for attorneys. Well, one attorney, really. Lucy Lane. She and Lucy became friends when her cousin Clark started dating Lucy’s sister. They don’t see each other much, but they do text regularly and Lucy’s office is across the street from her apartment so when they work on a case together, it’s very convenient. That reminds her, she needs to check in with Lucy so she sends the brunette a text before she looks back at her computer screen with a huff of exhaustion.

She’s been working non-stop all day and her eyes are starting to feel crossed from staring at her screen for so long. She’s almost done with this manuscript so she’s been trying to power through until the end. The desire to get it back to her client before the end of the day has been driving her, but it seems her eyes have other plans. Leaning back in her chair, she groans as her back pops and cracks after being in the same position for hours. 

“Okay. I need to take a break.” She says to her empty apartment. Shaking her head and laughing she pushes herself away from her desk. “And now I am talking to myself.” She swings by the kitchen to grab the leftover Italian food from the fridge and pop it into the microwave. Then she gathers the things she needs to feed the crows and sits it next to the door. Once she has everything she needs, she heads to the roof with her lunch to take a much needed break and to feed her new bird friends. She briefly wonders if she’ll find any random treasures up there today.

When she opens the door to the rooftop, she smiles. The sun is bright, the sky is a sparkling blue, and the little plants she brought up here give the area a nice little pop of color. There’s also a little table in the corner that has a little umbrella that she stashed up here. That’s where she heads to eat her lunch and enjoy the nice mild weather. She’s just barely finished her lunch and is basking in the sun's warm rays, when the first of the crows makes an appearance. 

Kara smiles. She reaches down and grabs the food she brought for the birds and makes her way over to the edge of the building. For a moment, she just watches the majestic creature. Their eyes meet and Kara realizes how much intelligence the crow’s eyes hold. There is an understanding there that is almost startling. She holds her hand out, her palm filled with fruits, nuts, and vegetables. As many times as she has fed the creatures, she’s never offered it from her hand and she’s interested to see what happens. She can tell the bird is hesitant, but she’s got all the patience in the world. 

Her patience pays off. The crow she has affectionately been calling Raven in her head slowly steps closer to her hand and quickly grabs a piece of fruit before hopping away to eat it. That happens several more times before more birds show up. A peel of laughter bubbles inside Kara’s chest and floats past her lips as the birds eat from her hand. She’s placed more food on the ledge of the building and just watches with wonder as they feast on the treats she brought. The blonde settles in to watch the interactions and antics of her new pals.

Lena is frustrated. This day has been trying her patience from the start. Her last client meeting ran 30 minutes longer than it should have and now she is running late to meet Lillian for lunch. One of the things her mother hates most is tardiness. Her relationship with Lillian hasn’t always been stellar, but they’ve managed to get along reasonably well since both Lionel and Lex are gone. That doesn’t mean Lillian’s snarky tendencies don’t still shine through at times. Of course that generally brings out her own snark and sarcasm - something Lillian has always frowned upon. It still occasionally gets a little nasty between them, but they’ve learned to rein it in over the years. 

When she finally gets parked and makes her way into the restaurant, she can see the irritation all over her mother’s face. She pauses at the hostess station and takes a deep breath before making her way to the stoic woman. Pulling out her chair and taking her seat, she smiles across the table at her mother and apologizes for her tardiness. Surprisingly, there are no petty comments or snide remarks. That alone makes Lena feel uneasy. 

They make it through the meal without any underhanded remarks or any snarkiness. It isn’t until Lillian is signing the receipt for their food that the real reason for her mother’s presence at her home this morning is finally revealed. 

“So, are you seeing someone?” Lillian asks, a neutral look on her face. “Francois mentioned you have been coming home late a lot recently.”

Lena does her best to contain the urge to roll her eyes at her mother, but they have a mind of their own and she feels them nearly roll into the back of her head. She pinches the bridge of her nose for what feels like the 100th time today and sighs. “Mother, why are you talking to the doorman of my building about my comings and goings? No, you know what, I’m going to be filing a complaint. He has no business speaking to anyone about my private business.” She glares at her mother. “Including and especially you.”

A small gasp escapes Lillian as Lena rolls her eyes again at her mother’s feigned offense. “I’m just a concerned mother worried about her daughter’s well-being.” She places a hand on her chest for added effect, again causing Lena to roll her eyes. “Don’t take it out on Francois. He probably thought you talked to me more about your life.” 

“Mother, stop being nosey and stop probing into my private life. I am not seeing anyone. I don’t need your help getting dates and I’m perfectly happy with my life.” She sighs and starts gathering her things to escape this personal inquiry before it turns sour. “In case you have forgotten, I co-own one of the most successful law firms in the city. I don’t have time for your meddling in my personal life. Now, if you will excuse me mother, I need to get back to work.”

They both stand and give their customary air cheek kisses before they part ways. Lena mumbles under her breath about her meddling mother the entire way back to her car and throughout the drive back to her office. She lets out a breath of relief when she parks in her space next to her office building. Finally, she can get some peace from her busybody, gossipy mother. Deep down, she knows that Lillian is trying to show that she cares, but there are so many other ways to go about it. Why she is suddenly focused on her love life is something she can’t figure out. At least she has escaped it for a few more days. She leans forward to press her now throbbing forehead onto her steering wheel and prepares herself for the rest of her busy day.

Grabbing her bag and her keys, she steps out into the glowing sun of the breezy afternoon. She wishes she could bask in the warmth of the rays for a bit before she steps back into her office, but work awaits. Locking her car, she steps onto the sidewalk heading to her office. Her phone starts ringing so she steps to the side and pauses at one of the benches along the sidewalk. Sitting her keys beside her bag, she fishes her phone out to see Lucy’s face staring back at her. 

“Hey Luce, what’s up?” Lena says just as a black bird lands next to her bag on the bench. It startles her a bit, but she doesn’t think much about it. “I’m almost back in the office. I’m on the sidewalk out front.”

She barely gets those words out of her mouth before the creature staring at her from the bench snatches her keys and takes off. At first she is so stunned that she can’t speak. That quickly morphs into a tirade of profanities that has Lucy laughing.

“Lena, what the hell is going on?” Lucy chuckles again.

“Dammit, Lane. It’s not funny! A goddamn bird just flew off with my fucking keys!” Lena angrily spit back at her through the speaker. “I’ve gotta go. I think I know where the little thief went.”

Lucy was still laughing pretty hard on the other end of the phone. Lena just growled and hung up. She was pissed. It makes her wonder if this is how her keys disappeared on Monday. They were sitting outside on the patio table at Lucy’s apartment and the apartment wasn’t far from here. It would make sense if the little thief snatched them and flew to the building across the street. From the looks of it, there is a whole family of what appears to be crows hanging out up there. Regardless, Lena had to get her keys back. 

She tosses her phone into her purse, zips it up, and secures it onto her shoulder. Preparing herself to march across the street and get her damn keys back from that thieving little bird. When she makes it across the road and into the lobby of the building, she finds the elevator out of order. Of course it is, she thinks. That’s par for the course on this shitty day. By the time she gets to the top floor, 6 flights of stairs later, she is out of breath and even more pissed than when she started. 

Kara is having a blast feeding and interacting with the crows. They’re so much more intelligent than she imagined. She’s long since run out of food to give them, but they seem to be chatting amongst each other. It’s interesting to watch their social behavior and which ones seem to be the ‘leaders’ of the group. She’s just considering going back down to her apartment to get back to work when one of the crows lands on the ledge in front of her with something shiny in its beak. 

“Whatcha got there, little fellow?” She coos at the bird. It seems to cock its head sideways in understanding and hops forward to drop the object in front of her. “Oh no. Oh no.” She gasps and looks around the roof. There are several more little gifts up here that weren’t here earlier. It suddenly clicks in her head. The crows have been bringing her ‘gifts’ for feeding them. And it appears they really like this set of keys since she is almost positive it is the same set she just returned yesterday. 

She looks up at the bird still eyeing her. “Um, I do appreciate the presents, buddy. I promise, I do. But, uh, you probably shouldn’t steal people’s keys.” Kara bites her lip. She feels really bad, but has no idea what she is supposed to do about it. “I’m going to have to turn these keys in again and the dealership is either going to think the owner of them is irresponsible or I am some type of odd thief.”

Kara has just finished her one-sided conversation with the bird and is about to head downstairs to walk the keys back to the dealership when the door to the rooftop slams open. It’s so loud that it scares her and sends all the birds scattering into the air. She spins around. One hand flies up to her chest while the other darts out in front of her in some form of protection or surrender. She isn’t sure which. Either way, the keys are dangling from the middle finger of her outstretched hand. 

Her eyes lock onto a pair of the most stunning and mesmerizing eyes she has ever seen. When she finally manages to shake herself from the hypnotizing depths, her own eyes scan over dark inky raven locks pulled back into a high ponytail, pale porcelain skin that seems to glimmer in the sunlight, a jawline that could cut glass, and a curvy, suit clad body. She’s suddenly drinking in absolutely the most ethereal, captivatingly gorgeous woman her eyes have ever had the privilege of seeing. Her brain screeches to a halt and all words promptly vacate the premises. 

Lena throws the door open, her anger simmering under her skin like a snake ready to strike. This is just the icing on the cake of her shit day and she’s ready to fight. Well, she is until she makes eye contact with ocean blue eyes filled with sunshine and starlight. Her body is shocked into stillness. Her heart, previously racing with adrenaline and anger, starts racing for another reason entirely. Her mind starts drowning in the depths of those soulful pools of deep blue sea. Slowly, she shakes herself free from the gaze as her eyes track up to loose blond curls, then back down to full, pouty pink lips, strong broad shoulders, to what appears to be her keys sitting on long tanned fingers, and further to muscular, jean-clad thighs. This is certainly one of the most handsome women she’s ever laid eyes on and she suddenly forgets what she came here for.

Eventually, Kara’s brain seems to unscramble itself and she clears her throat. Keeping her hands up in what she hopes is a peaceful gesture, she takes a step toward the mystery woman. “H-Hi. I’m, um, Kara. K-Kara Danvers. I’ve never seen you in the building before. Do you, uh, live here?” She glances around, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. “I’ve, um, met most of the people in the building before and uh, I w-would have remembered m-meeting you. I’m sure of that. Y-You’re v-very p-pretty.” She snaps her mouth shut and can feel her cheeks burning as she lowers her eyes and starts to fidget with her hands.

That’s when she remembers the keys in her hand. “Oh. I need to take these to the dealership again.” She says, removing the key ring from her finger and moving to put them in her pocket. “I’m sorry. You didn’t need to know that.” She chuckles nervously, feeling the heat climb up her neck.

A smile crawls across Lena’s face. This woman, Kara, is adorable. She can’t help but be enamored with this incredibly cute and undeniably attractive blonde. “I’m Lena. Lena Luthor.” She steps closer, continuing until she’s roughly two feet in front of the endearing stranger. “And I am pretty sure those are my keys.” She chuckles and points at the hand that is now fidgeting with the dangling keys. 

“Oh! OH!” Kara says and turns her hand over to offer the object to Lena. “The, uh, the crows brought them to me.” She points over her shoulder to the empty rooftop behind her. 

Lena laughs, takes her keys, and nods her head. “Yes, I know. The little bastard stole them right off the bench across the street when I was trying to grab my phone.” She dips her head down to gather herself, trying to will herself not to blush from the simple brush of their skin in the exchange of the keys. Raising her eyes back to the blonde, she smiles in amusement. “I’m guessing this is the second time my keys have made it up here? You’re the one that returned them yesterday?”

“Um, yes. That was me.” Kara giggles, this was not what she expected to happen today. A gorgeous stranger whose laugh makes her soul smile, whose eyes make her heart dance. “I’m sorry my little crow buddies keep taking your keys. I didn’t even know they would do things like that until today.”

“Yes, they are incredibly smart animals. I’ve watched a few documentaries about them. They’re pretty fascinating.” Lena blushes again. She internally face-palms. Why is she saying things like this?! Get a grip, Luthor. You know how to talk to pretty women without being a complete dope. “Sorry. I watch a lot of documentaries. I’m a big nerd at heart.”

Kara beams, a giant toothy grin. “I love documentaries! I’m a big nerd too. We should watch something together sometime and compare notes.” She snaps her jaw closed again and feels the heat claw its way up her chest, her neck, and onto her cheeks. She drops her head and stuffs her hands into her back pockets before swallowing hard and forcing her eyes back up. “I mean, if that’s something that you’d like. You don’t really know me and I realize that might seem kind of weird so feel free to just ignore that if you, um, want to.” 

Before Lena can stop herself, she is reaching on to place her hand on Kara’s bicep. She bites her bottom lip when she feels the bulk of the muscle under her palm. She quickly shakes her head and removes her hand. “It’s okay, Kara.” She clears her throat and smiles, feeling her cheeks heating again. “I think I’d like to compare notes sometime.”

She glances at her watch and curses internally. “Unfortunately, I have to get back to work right now since I found my keys.” She jingles her keys and drops them into the purse as she digs out one of her business cards and passes it over to Kara. “But, I’d definitely be okay with you calling to set something up.”

The blonde's eyes go wide as she takes the card and glances down at it. A small gasp escapes, her eyes bouncing between the card and Lena several times before a toothy, lopsided grin fixes itself on her face. “You’re Lucy’s business partner!”

Lena tilts her head and raises a brow in question. “Indeed, I am. She’s also my best friend. Do you know Lucy?” It would be just her luck that she meets this gorgeous woman and she’s already had an entanglement with her best friend. That would track perfectly with the days she’s had. “I don’t remember ever meeting you before. I’m sure I would remember you.”

“Lucy and I have known each other for years. Her sister is married to my cousin, Clark.” She smiles at Lena. “Plus, I’ve done some work for her on a few corporate cases. I used to be a corporate investigator with Jones Investigative Services. I still do some contract work for her occasionally. To be honest, I am surprised we haven’t met before now.”

The raven haired attorney is stunned. She’s heard Lucy talk about Kara, but never knew her last name or saw a picture. While Lena and Lucy have known each other since law school, they never really spent much time around each other’s family by design. They both have complicated relationships with their families and liked that they could commiserate about it with each other while keeping it separate. Now she’s mad at Lucy for keeping this beautiful woman from her for so long.

“I’m surprised we haven’t met before either. I’ll have to give Lucy a hard time about that.” She winks at the blonde and steps back toward the door. “I really do have to get back to work though. I hope this isn’t the last time we talk.”

“I hope not either.” Kara says as she watches Lena disappear down the stairs and fixes her eyes on the business card in her hand. 

[maidenofsophia]

Offerings to Lady Sophia

I've had a few people ask me, when worshipping Sophia as a Pagan or Witch, what kind of offerings they could give to Her.

Just wanna preface this by saying this is totally based on my own personal experience as a Sophian devotee for the last twenty years, someone else might have a totally different relationship with Her. Because Sophia is known throughout so many different cultures as Divine Wisdom, I do believe that everyone's own UPG of Her is valid for them. But I just wanted to share my own workings with Her.

When I first got asked this question, my initial answer was that Sophia is not the kind of goddess who demands offerings. She always gives Her gifts freely as any loving mother does without expecting anything in return. This was how I tended to think other deities and spirits worked outside of the Jewish and Christian "pantheon" as it were. But delving back into my Pagan practices has given me a new perspective on why we give offerings to deities and it's not because the gods are necessarily self-serving or demanding etc.

Offerings to Sophia are not obligatory. But, She is Our Mother. And it's nice to do things for Her the same way it's nice to give our earthly mothers Mother's Day gifts or just treats and favours to show our appreciation.

I feel the exact same way with my patron god Cernonnus. I don't think he's there tapping his hooves waiting for me to give something back to him in return for his help, but he is my father/brother/friend and so I like to give him something as thanks. However because Cernonnus is so heavily connected to the earth and to agriculture etc, my offerings to him tend to be things like burnt herbs, seeds, grain, twigs and other things I've picked up usually when I'm out on walks. They're usually things that I give to him because they reminded me of him and they were little signs of him being near me or just something I thought stood out and looked cool and I wanted to share with him.

Now Sophia is quite different. Sophia for me is much more to do with the spirit, the mind, with the metaphysical and mystery of the Universe rather than the physical. So my offerings to Her tend not to be objects but rather that which stirs the divine spark inside of me.

These can be:

- Praying. Very simple. Whether it's a short prayer or a rosary. I use a slightly tweaked version of the Filianic Rosary but there is also the Gnostic rosary or those who have tweaks of the Catholic Marian rosary for Sophia. What's important with using these as offerings however is truly meditate while reciting, don't just go through the motions. Truly connect to the Daughter, Zoe Sophia, within and let your soul rise with Her.

- Singing. Doesn't matter how tonedeaf you are, if singing is something you enjoy and helps you release a lot of energy than Sophia loves to listen. Doesn't have to be a religious or devotional song, it can be Taylor Swift or whoever, so long as it makes that spark inside burn bright.

- Dancing. Same as singing, when I dance I find my ability to visualise is so strong and imagination is something Sophia adores because it's us opening our eyes to more than just the material world and to the potential of more, of everything that is contained in the Pleroma.

- Read aloud page or passage. Again, doesn't have to be any type of scripture, doesn't have to be fiction or non-fiction, just share with Her something that has hit deep inside you. Doesn't have to be anything smart, remember that Wisdom =/= Knowledge, it can just be something that gave you a new perspective or just hit you in the feels as it were.

- Meditation. If you don't feel like speaking or dancing, the most simple of offerings can also be the most meaningful. Sit quietly, put on some soft music or light candles if it helps, and just close your eyes. Meditating to connect with Sophia is as meaningful as picking up the phone to have a chat with Mum. Feel her both within and outside yourself, connect to both the Mother and Daughter. Sophia loves most just for Her children to want to be close to Her and come to Her.

Now this isn't to say don't offer physical objects to Sophia, you absolutely still can and I often do. The Daughter Zoe is Life, She exists within everything The Mother lovingly created. Look at the correspondents of crystals and herbs and whatever you feel connects you to Sophia you can always place on an altar for Her - on a little statue I have representing Her I've placed little lapis lazuli shards. I also found an owl feather in my flat the other day from where I'd left the window open - owls are connected to Athena, who I see as an aspect of Sophia, so I placed that close to Her statue too.

I should also mention that one Christo-Pagan friend I once had used to bake little honey cakes as offerings for Sophia, who she believed was also Asherah and obviously this is a reference to the forbidden worship of Her in the Bible:

"and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven."

[cloutchaserkineme]

Hi! I hope you are doing great. Can you please do a detailed reading about Charles Leclerc future spouse? Who is she? Her character, job, look etc. How they going to meet and their first impressions about each other? What charles' friends (especially close ones) and his family (especially his brothers and mother) will think about her? How they will confess their feelings to each other? What are fans and society going to think about their relationship? Will the relationship be successful? Thank you :)

Hello to you too! As much as I appreciate this ask, I have to say that I'm not that well-versed in astrology. I don't think anyone is, to be fair, because in order to predict/divine it to be as exact as to pinpoint a bit of shell as a particle of sand on a beach, one would have to study and be immersed in so many esoteric texts, to put it into practice as well as continue having life experiences, that they would be beyond caring to use their advanced astrology knowledge to see what would happen in a random person's life, simply because they're several PhD's worth of jargon deep into the tradition they are practicing and researching.

As much fun as I have making my silly little posts about F1 racers and being delighted at the outcomes of every race depending on who is affected by the transits that day, free will still exists! The stars guide, they do not decide. At least, I am one of those astrologers/astrology enthusiasts who believe it that way. It does not matter what I interpret about these people's charts, because seeing what they actually do trumps me guessing what they're about to do every time.

People smarter and wiser than me have debated, dissected, sauteed, and deglazed the ethics of reading someone's chart that deeply without their knowledge or consent as well. I only do the ship/partner/teammate ones because 1) they're all somewhat public figures with somewhat public facing lives; 2) I cannot add to the spread of misinformation and cause harm to these real people on my end, because being a random blogger with few followers on a weird, hard-to-navigate website that has the third-party search off removes most of the authority or gravity that I have with my words. I am basically surrounded with neon-lit signs that point to me and say "UNRELIABLE DO NOT TRUST". The only way I can make this blog- which doubles as my online diary too, btw- more private is if I password-locked it like the LiveJournal girlies did in the old days. Unfortunately, I can't do that on this one because I find typing another password on this particular website tedious.

Now, lengthy disclaimer aside, the astrology knowledge I do have I can cobble together to piece what Charles' type could be- but again, his real mileage might vary. There is probably another grown man out there in the world who was born in Monaco the same day, hour, and minute that Charles was and they're most likely not an F1 driver with the same life experiences. They could share charts but not lives, and certainly not tastes.

When we look at romance/crush on a man's chart, typically we look at Venus- but it's not as simple as delineating that planet and calling it a day.

To look at someone's type, or best possible spouse (which some astrology practices still do to careful detail to this day), we look at the conditions of Venus or Jupiter, we look at connections to their personal planets, and we look to the 5H, 7H, and 9H.

Assuming that Charles Leclerc the F1 driver is Kinsey-zero straight, we can use Venus in Sagittarius 2H as indicator of spouse/partner/girlfriend/whathaveyou, ruled by Jupiter in Aquarius in the 4H. This Venus is conjunct his chart ruler, and makes harmonious aspects to the rest of the traditional planets on his chart.

Venus in Sag = This could represent his spouse, as Venus is traditionally a woman in a man's chart, but if you subscribe to the same way they view women in the ancient times we'll never get anywhere in a conversation now. Venus in one's own chart represents how one connects with others- and the most complex and advanced form of interpersonal connection is typically consummated in a union or civil contract, whether it be through sex or marriage or business deals or peace agreements or childhood swears of being best friends forever on a childhood playground.

Sagittarius is a sign traditionally ruled by Jupiter. Zeus. That guy. It is loud, proud, soul-searching, fun, and incredibly wise if a bit wonky with it. Sagittarius can be seen both through that nerdy, activist professor of yours who shares the most outrageous but poignant life stories during class and inspires you to learn, as it does the wild and cannot-be-tied-down crusader whose life is dedicated to the road and the wind in his hair.

This particular Venus has to be fierce and able to fight and/or fend for herself, or at least open to new experiences with just a little bit of fire for life, because this is conjunct the ruler of Charles' chart. Whatever the public perception of Libra is, they will always look to the other person, whether that is the enemy or the partner or the best friend- Libras do not have the luxury of identifying as a "self", at least not without something to bounce off of. The fact that Charles' Venus is conjunct the planet that represents himself best in his chart, means doubly that whatever the public thinks of him, they also need to think the same of his girlfriend in order for the union to be seen as socially acceptable.

Hence, Charles having beautiful girlfriends. The more beautiful the girlfriend, the more they will forgive him the sin of being taken (and her, the sin of being!)- it adds to his fairytale syndrome, a bit. "It is okay for the Prince to be taken if he has a Princess" type of thing. Never forget, as a public figure in one of the most financially-driven sports* in the world, that Charles is a marketable commodity too. He could be so much more useful to the FIA and Ferrari if he was single and they could make a business out of that, but he isn't, and therefore his girlfriend also needs to be marketable and goes with the brand. This is also owing to the fact that Venus is the Lord of his 7H of partners/open enemies/contracts. As much as the halo effect works for him, the other person also needs to have the halo effect work for them. It's just non-negotiable.

Charles has 5H in Pisces, ruled by Jupiter in Aquarius in the 4H = He would likely be attracted to someone he shared a history with, like someone from his hometown, or someone he knew from childhood, or shared ancestry etc. They have to be incredibly sociable and open-minded, and like Charles they could also bond about feeling like outcasts or temporary people in their share past/history/hometown. Nostalgia, as well as learning from the past, is another important thing for him.

Charles has 7H in Taurus, ruled by the above-mentioned Venus in the 2H = Must be beautiful, must match him (and his freak, if you take the natal Venus-Mars connection literally), and must be equally invested in keeping things comfortable and pleasant- which could mean a lot of things. "Comfortable" and "pleasant" could mean differently for a rich, famous, white, heterosexual, and able-bodied man who has been adored and supported in his endeavors all his life. The demand for that needs to be high too.

He has Cancer in the 9H, ruled by Moon in Aries conjunct fallen Saturn in the 6H = The partner needs to be as devoted to her own goals in life as he is to his work, even if that goal changes, the devotion and passion must not sway. He cannot understand someone who is wishy washy about which goals they have in life, but he cannot stand a half-assed attempt at anything. The ruler of the house of God in his chart is found in the house of service and daily routine; Charles is religious to his work, in a way, he has rituals and devotions and yes, personal sacrifices, in order to be racing. Also- he moves around a lot (Lunar influence in the house of long-distance travel means frequent trips) so that is a make or break factor for him. The 9H is the house of purpose in life- if this and his future spouse 9H is in conflict, the relationship will... probably not be total trash, but it wouldn't be as fulfilling otherwise, for a "couple" kind of view. Two people who decide to be each other but never known as a "unit" can probably live with clashing 9H, especially since if one or the other travels a lot for work. But still.

Anyway this is all it. Other people could come and affect different parts and places in Charles' natal chart and it would still be up to him to react to it. Alexandra Saint Mleux, his current girlfriend, for example, has her natal Venus in Charles' 7H, her Mars conjunct his Venus (and Mars) which is usually good to see for romantic partnerships, her Gemini stellium (and possible Aquarius moon) trine and sextile his heavy Fire-and-Air placements. She is a very good girlfriend and partner to him on paper- but whatever they have going on between them is their business, and will be so much more better than interpretations, because it is a lived experience.

*I will keep repeating it, F1 The Event is a Venusian sport because the races don't earn the companies any money by making new carbon-fiber shells each year that get destroyed every other race weekend. Automobile racing might have started as a friendly competition, but ever since the first Formula One race in Silverstone, with the monarchy present and people from all over the world watching, F1 is basically a big marketing event that also doubles as a high-speed, high-risk science experiment. The cost for it all breaks even, except for the FIA, whose financial reports I still have to actually research on because those fines are in fact excessive, but these racers earn more than that anyway.

[milf-lover42]

Now that I have collected a few pieces of my heart off the floor after the finale, I can finally speak in a manner intelligible to humans. YJ finale spoilers ahead!

The comparison of young Misty to Adult Misty in a crisis is striking. Young Misty: Ally breaks her leg, she puts pressure on it, it makes it worse. Crystal falls off the cliff, Misty tries CPR but it just makes blood pour from her mouth. Shauna giving birth, Misty was the only one who paid attention in health class but she still panics because this is not something she is trained for at all, and the baby does die (not anyone’s fault). She knows things in theory, but not practice. Most of the knowledge she needs to help is there, but none of the wisdom of experience is there to tell her when NOT to do anything. When enough is enough, and she needs to let go.

Natalie’s death shows just how she has matured and learned. Taissa says, “What do we do?” And Misty’s reply is a defeated, “Nothing, it’s too late.” She isn’t a scared, inexperienced girl in the woods trying her best to save everyone anymore. She is a scared nurse in different woods, with the experience and practical knowledge to know that trying anything would be useless and likely only further Natalie’s pain at this point.

I’ve seen a few posts saying that Naloxone could reverse the effects and Misty would have had some on her just in case, but Naloxone will reverse the effects of opioids, not barbiturates such as phenobarbital. I don’t disagree that Misty would have it on her, but it wouldn’t save Natalie either way. Ironically, if she had used fentanyl as she did on Jessica, Naloxone would have been an acceptable antidote. There is no reversal agent for barbiturates. There was nothing she could do.

And she accepts that.

Her best friend is dying in her arms and she accepts that she cannot do anything but hold her, and more importantly tells the others - who expect her to always have a plan or idea as to what comes next - that there is nothing that can be done.

[dumbbanana]

@ido100 asked:

Could you maybe explore your characterizations for Monomon and Herrah? Your take on Lurien is incredible!

Phew! I did one for Herrah last time and said I'd do one for Monomon in another post.

So here it is (checks calendar) 9 FREAKING MONTHS LATER. Thanks for your patience!

As with the previous Dreamer asks, the main answer is under the cut!

Sooo the first thing I'd say about my Monomon interpretation is that, compared to other people's interpretations of her, she's a bit of a bimbo (to put it lightly). Most interpretations I've seen of her are of a sagely, delicate, scholarly lady who can do no wrong and knows everything or of a mischievous mad scientist (not saying this is a bad thing) but when I was designing her, I had the general idea of her being a bit of an airhead who doesn't always engage the brain before opening her mouth. That doesn't mean she's entirely stupid - she could tell you from her hoards of knowledge the exact way a mechanism for a complex lock works along with it's history, advantages, disadvantages and how to bypass it. But she'd still spend an hour pushing on a door that says "pull" until it's pointed out to her (if it ever is).

So yeah… Everyone else's Monomons: Graceful, elegant, erudite, high class, sensible This Monomon: Knowledge of an entire kingdom, wisdom of a wooden spoon

In a similar vein, she's pretty much comes off as the "dumb" friend of the Dreamer friend group and, being the kind of friends that they are, any two will not pass up the opportunity to mess with the other. Since I like to think of her as a somewhat impulsive and reckless personality, she may more often than not act on something without thinking, causing trouble for those around and earning endless facepalms from her two best friends (if they weren't dragged into the mess to begin with). While I don't think she's any less intelligent than the other two, I imagine it to be more of a case of her being clever in her own way. While Lurien and Herrah may have more "classic" and "logical" methods in the way they do things, Monomon's odd way of doing things may come off as downright bizarre to the average person but they do produce the desired results and that all she needs.

Leading from that, when she's not being a complete wally, I think of her as an ambitious and potentially cunning person - when she has set her sights set on something, everything is fair game and she'll make as many friends or enemies as she wants to get it. After all, as the Teacher of the Archives, she holds a pretty interesting position in Hallownest so I like to think she has her ways in having come to that position and fending off any threats to her power and post. I also like to imagine that she can be highly irresponsible, often not really caring for the consequences of her actions and that she is rarely the one who has to deal with it. This mixed with her earlier mentioned recklessness and impulsiveness may cause her to have a certain kind of arrogance about her as, so far in her life, everything has gone her way exactly the way she wants.

On a happier note, regarding her actual job: while I usually see her depicted as some kind of introverted genius scientist, with her role as an archivist, I quite like the idea that she actually enjoys going out to see and experience everything in the world and to document it for her archives. Since her whole schtick is about the preservation of knowledge, I like to imagine that she regularly goes on Indiana Jones like adventures either in recovering artefacts that require preserving and protection or transporting documents which may be highly sensitive and valuable. Thus, she is often getting into fights with foes ranging from petty thieves to maybe hired assassins. Her being her, I imagine has had quite a lot of practice engaging these enemies over the years and it's just another day in the life and she's more than able to handle herself.

She, of course, is more than happy having Quirrel by her side (I've mentioned before that their designs are based off the lovers known as the Cowherder and the Weaver Girl and I certainly headcanon them as a happily married couple) even if, and this is purely because the young child in me always wanted to see such a situation, he is the love interest in distress that she ends up rescuing in every adventure 😆

Thank you as always for your ask and I hope this was worth the wait! Have a great day! 🍶

[cutthathair]

i made it a thing.

CHERCHET!DIRTY DANCING AU BASIC LORE

- Sherri “Cherry” Valance as Frances “Baby” Houseman.

Cherry’s parents are wealthy, having much more money than a family of four genuinely needs. Her father is a well-renowned law firm owner whose name is constantly on other’s tongues. Her mother, on the other hand, works part-time as a public attorney. Every summer they stay at the Sheldon’s Resort — the owner is one of Mr. Valance’s business partners which is the reason they always specifically go there. She is the baby of the family, Richie (older brother), being five and a half years older. Gets upset with how she’s constantly being babied, even if she knows the offender does not mean any harm. Completely against the idea of being married to Bob and avoided her parents for a while when they first told her their “plans.”

- Chet Baker as Johnny Castle.

Youngest of five siblings and he originally was not even interested in dancing. However, as a teenager,he did take gymnastics for a few summers and excelled at bar — which is where he gained and maintained most of his upper body/core strength. Barbie, his sister, attended dance classes. She would “force” him into spotting her as she spun and leaped, using her brother to practice lifts or any choreography she was given. Instantaneously he ended up with more dance knowledge and experience than expected. When Sheldon’s announced they were looking for decent dance instructors, he immediately jumped on it — not expecting to actually land the position. With Bev’s guide, he hastily caught a good grasp of the art form and now finds joy in it, mainly when dancing with her.

- Beverly Jittney-Bush as Penny Johnson.

Met Chet through the resort and is currently the female dance instructor. She has taken classes for dance ever since she was three, technique and skills well rehearsed in all styles. Originally disliked Chet when he was first hired because he was only decent at dance — not perfect like she was. His meek knowledge of the art was not up to par with her talent. Both have grown over the years, with Beverly teaching Chet after hours in the dance studio until he perfected his craft. They keep the guests entertained and by doing that, formed a sibling-like relationship — bantering just like a brother and his sister would.

- Bob Sheldon as Neil Kellerman.

The son of Frank and Venetta Sheldon. His parents own “Sheldon’s Resort,” also frequently called “Sheldon’s.” His future has already been predicted for him: become the owner of the resort, continue on the legacy, and marry Cherry Valance. Well — at least that is what their parents want. The pair dated earlier on in life before realizing they just were not right for each other. Bob was too hard-headed for her and Cherry, too adamant for him. Neither of them desires this outcome, but their relationship as friends has grown through their forced proximity — putting on a “performance” for their parents.

- Marcia Meyrink as Lisa Houseman, Baby’s sister.

However in this case we are just going to make her Cherry’s best friend who goes on vacations with the Valance family. The two have known each other since childhood, hence why they are so close. Their parents swear they could communicate telepathically due to how close they are — always attached at the hip. The only one who really knows about the drama going on in Cherry’s family as she is always involved with them.

- Terrance “Trip” Dipp as Billy Kostecki, Johnny’s cousin. (the watermelon guy if that’s easier to remember).

I was planning on choosing Brill, because I think or at least in my head Chet is closer with Brill. Instead, I chose Trip because I wanted to push the Cherry and Trip friend agenda… Not related to Chet at all so scratch that plot line from Dirty Dancing. They became friends through working at the resort and hanging out in the staff area after hours.

how do we feel about this gang… also @chetbakr for the chet lore ly gang 🫡 maybe going to add more chars depending on how this au turns out

[pure-garbage]

Not-So-Quick Thought Dump

I'm currently working on a handful of chapters that are actually incredibly important to me. I've been a victim of domestic abuse in the past, so it's an unbelievably difficult topic for me to write about. As much as writing can provide therapy and catharsis, I'm still only human and I get triggered sometimes trying to work through trauma I've personally experienced. I'm sure I'll end up hiding all the pain under a few layers of comedy, which is also fine. That's valid as an art form(I think).

That being said, I'm very pleased with the way I present the situation playing out roughly through chapters 123, likely to around 127. Character aspects like the ones explored here are a huge part of the reason I love the straw hat women so much, especially Robin(Lots of love for Nami too, but she is significantly younger and I head canon her as less experienced/wise).

Robin is the friend I always wanted but never had when I was dealing with my own struggles. She's centered, she's grounding, she's practical, and she can be amazingly fierce when it come to protecting/advocating for the people she cares about.

Going through my own experiences, I never had anyone who told me what I was going through was not okay. It can be incredibly confusing to be victimized by someone you have strong feelings for, whether that's romantic or familial. One of the hardest things in the world to realize is that two things can be true simultaneously: you can love someone and still not be okay with the way they treat you. You can create boundaries, have tough discussions and try to change behaviors. If change isn't possible, it becomes necessary to walk away, which is a separate challenge in and of itself.

Also the concept that someone can hurt you without meaning to and that's still not acceptable. It's easy to make excuses for the people who hurt us instead of holding them to account. Justifying the actions of someone you love is a hell of a lot easier than communicating with them. It's a lot easier than telling them you aren't okay with what they did. It's a lot easier than asking them not to do it again. Especially if they don't realize or don't want to admit that they hurt you. Maybe they were just playing. Maybe they thought you could handle it. If you're tempted to make excuses for them, you'd better believe that if you try to have a conversation about what happened, they'll likely make excuses for themselves.

This point cuts extra deep, at least for me, because it goes both ways. We can hurt the people around us without that being our intention. Hurting someone doesn't automatically make you the bad guy. Every fight in a relationship doesn't necessarily have a 'right' or 'wrong' side. It's fine to have a little self-forgiveness, but it has to be paired with caution. Don't make excuses for yourself instead of taking responsibility. The only thing you can really do to wrong another person is violate the boundaries they set knowing that you're doing so.

Whatever happened, even if it was a little thing, a petty thing, a 'stupid' thing: if you didn't like it, that's enough reason for it to never happen again. That's called setting a boundary and anyone who cares about you will respect the lines you draw in the sand and go out of their way not to cross those lines again. Which probably sounds super basic, like it should 'go without saying', but some of us were raised in dysfunctional households. For us, this really basic knowledge is a completely alien concept that we learn about later on. It's a life-changing epiphany if you're lucky enough to realize it consciously.

So if there's one lesson I can impart with this little arc, I hope that it is this: love and respect go hand in hand and they have to be mutual. Put the work in, be considerate, but don't forget to demand the same effort and consideration in return.

And walking away from a bad situation never makes you a bad person.

[luckystarchild]

Who would survive the longest on an abandoned island out of the LC gang (including the not quites and hiruko and anyone else u want)

No powers or anything, just pure skills and knowledge!

Oh, I love this ask! I'm going to limit the characters to the core YYH cast + my notable OCs.

BORN SURVIVORS: Kurama, Hiei, Hiruko, Genkai, Minato, and Post-LC Not-Quite-Kagome

Stranded solo or in a group, either way these characters wouldn't have any trouble surviving on an uncharted island for any length of time. Thanks to natural affinities, extensive training or past experience, they know how to obtain food, build shelter, and avoid perilous plants/animals/weather. The ideal people to get stranded with!

Strong Skills: Kurama's knowledge of plants and animal instincts, Hiei's time spent living in the Demon World badlands, Minato is basically a Navy Seal, Hiruko has existed for thousands of years so there's no way in hell he doesn't know how to exist without modern conveniences, and Genkai... is Genkai. Enough said! Also note that Not Quite Kagome will be taking survivalist courses eventually, and once she has those under her belt, she'll basically be unstoppable.

STRUGGLING SETTLERS: Shizuru, Not Quite Keiko, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan

These characters have some skills suited for survival in the wilds, but they lack key abilities or haven't received formal enough training to get by easily. By banding together with others (and with enough luck and practice while stranded solo), they could probably learn to survive... but it will be an uphill battle to get comfortable, that's for sure!

Notable Traits: Yusuke's cooking skills and time spent with Genkai, Kuwabara's time being trained by Genkai, NQK was raised by an outdoorsman in their previous life, Shizuru is simply too tough to let anything kill her without a fight, Botan's training with Hiei and roughing it in Spirit World when she fled prison

STRUGGLE-BUS RIDERS: Pre-LC-Not-Quite-Kagome, Koenma, Kaito, Amanuma

It's not that they don't have the ABILITY to learn survival techniques. It's just that they've never had need of them before they got stuck, putting them at a major disadvantage. These characters will try so hard, though. So, so hard. Alas, they don't have any training that might have prepared them for this kind of situation, and/or they're very, very scared of bugs and dirt. Sorry, friends. They're toast.

Dangerous Deficiencies: Koenma is a prince and has never roughed it in his life, Kaito knows some things from reading but has zero real-world survival skills, Amanuma has spent his life indoors playing video games, and Not Quite Kagome pre-training wouldn't be caught dead peeing in the woods