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chemicalpink · 3 years ago

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JK's Birth time analysis

First and foremost, I’m just doing this to occupy my mind in something else while I go through some stuff, I will continue to use the general consensus of the community for my astrology readings, I’m just doing this for fun, remember that we as fans are in no way entitled to know JK’s exact birth time, these are just fun educated guesses on some alternative that has arisen.

Now, I must say, when I first started the astro part of my bts blog I immediately thought 1 pm for JK’s birth time, I don’t have any factual backup on this one, I’ve talked about it before, I am kind of a human tarot deck lmao things sometimes just come to me. So I started roaming around and I found that JK’s libra rising made sense to me, and it was a general consensus for his readings so I said sure let's go. You know that I endorse and adore having conversations with you guys, my craft isn’t perfect and no one else's is so it is great to hear every opinion to forge our own judgement. I do only present to you information that I can back up, which is why as much as I’d love to I won’t be taking into consideration my own personal hunch on the info I’m about to present you, although you can read it as subtext when it is in italics like this hello this is an inner thought of marinette’s.

SO the big deal: Is JK a libra rising or is JK a sagittarius rising? General consensus says 8:04 am as speculated time of birth, some others say 1-2 pm.

Either way, JK’s sect remains nocturnal so there’s not much to go from there.

When it comes to appearances, I’ll update what I said before.

Libra rising appearance:

Very youthful look that it seems like you don’t even age

Gentle smile

Charming demeanour that makes people obsessed with you

Very symmetrical features

Fit body

Contagious smile

Put together look/ clean look

Dimples

Dark hair and dark eyes

Tall

Oval/Round face

Think Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Niall, Britney Spears

Sagittarius rising appearance:

Bulky thighs

Horse like face

Big forehead

Incredibly tall or more than average tall

Gain weight easily

Not really athletic

Pretty full lips

Think Kim Kardashian, Elvis, Jennifer Lawrence, Paris Hilton

Evidently, other aspects in astrology and genetics can alter these, but it is mostly true.

Now, I am not that well versed in vedic astrology since I stopped studying it due to lack of time BUT the infamous thread that looks into the possibility of JK being a sag rising is pretty elaborate, although it does run more on intuitive processes and symbolism, which are of course, valid, and it really is up to both the analyst and the ones reading the analysis to determine the weight of it. My craft is more oriented towards intersectionality so I don’t like to go by what we are able to see about him as an axis, more like confirmation about it. Idk if it makes sense. I just don't trust seemingly scripted content that much to run my analysis based on it. Everything mentioned about JK Jyestha makes sense when looking at the content presented, and it will make even more sense once we take a look at some other non western astrology systems. Again, I am not well versed in vedic astrology so right off the bat I would fight the conversion system rather than the information presented.

Regarding that thread, some of the keywords used to conclude JK’s Jyestha are as follows:

King, Winning, Ambitious, Passionate, Skillful, Eldest, 1st, Seniority, Expertise, Sensory indulgence, Celebration, Bravery, Heroic, Dragon Slayer, Warrior, Rain, Thunder, Umbrella, Protector, Provider, Scandalous, Impulsive, Bunny, Deer, Earring, Eye.

In western astrology, a general comparison on placements would look something like this.

Sun in 8° 33' Virgo

Moon in 27° 20' Leo

Mercury in 7° 49' Virgo (r)

Venus in 16° 58' Libra

Mars in 11° 7' Scorpio

Jupiter in 14° 15' Aquarius (r)

Saturn in 19° 35' Aries (r)

Uranus in 5° 28' Aquarius (r)

Neptune in 27° 33' Capricorn (r)

Pluto in 2° 55' Sagittarius

North Node in 20° 11' Virgo (r)

Chiron in 29° 45' Libra

Ascendant in 4° 20' Libra

MC in 4° 46' Cancer

1st House starts at 4° Libra

2nd House starts at 1° Scorpio

3rd House starts at 2° Sagittarius

4th House starts at 4° Capricorn

5th House starts at 7° Aquarius

6th House starts at 7° Pisces

7th House starts at 4° Aries

8th House starts at 1° Taurus

9th House starts at 2° Gemini

10th House starts at 4° Cancer

11th House starts at 7° Leo

12th House starts at 7° Virgo

In here, the main aspect I can relate JK to is Cancer MC, MC represents your public self, as well as the success level you might experience. Cancer MC is all about taking care of others, yet it can also point towards a career in arts, especifically singing and writing, it also indicates a strong possibility of psychic abilities which have been widely discussed in JK with his readings and such all while having the main troubles of being an impatient person and sometimes getting self conscious which we have heard him say before when he refers to himself knowing how to do stuff yet he doesn’t think he’s good at any of them, or his letters to himself about having to love himself more.

Another pretty JK thing I’ve noticed is his Virgo Stellium in the 12th House, which shows struggles with identity JK has, once again, being vocal about him growing up within BTS and how that has shaped him and how he has constantly been looking for himself. They often absorb the struggles of people around them. Does anyone else remember him saying he’s okay as long as his hyungs are okay? Also, singing and dancing are very powerful manifestation tools for these people huh maybe that’s why he writes and sings love songs. This aspect also indicates him having the potential to amass a large amount of wealth, some astrologers think about this stellium as an extremely karmic one, which can be translated into the whole JK’s soulmate narrative.

When it comes to his 5th house, it indicates him being a hell of a creative person, especially in a somewhat rebellious sense which I interpret as him getting a sleeve tattoo It also talks about not being traditional in relationships which I believe has come out a few times in his tarot readings.

With Sag rising, his chart would look something like this:

Sun in 8° 45' Virgo

Moon in 29° 46' Leo

Mercury in 7° 37' Virgo (r)

Venus in 17° 12' Libra

Mars in 11° 15' Scorpio

Jupiter in 14° 13' Aquarius (r)

Saturn in 19° 35' Aries (r)

Uranus in 5° 27' Aquarius (r)

Neptune in 27° 33' Capricorn (r)

Pluto in 2° 55' Sagittarius

North Node in 20° 10' Virgo (r)

Chiron in 29° 46' Libra

Ascendant in 5° 28' Sagittarius

MC in 18° 28' Virgo

1st House starts at 5° Sagittarius

2nd House starts at 7° Capricorn

3rd House starts at 12° Aquarius

4th House starts at 18° Pisces

5th House starts at 19° Aries

6th House starts at 14° Taurus

7th House starts at 5° Gemini

8th House starts at 7° Cancer

9th House starts at 12° Leo

10th House starts at 18° Virgo

11th House starts at 19° Libra

12th House starts at 14° Scorpio

In this case, his MC is in Virgo, it mainly indicates a tactful and slow success in someone’s career, these MC Virgo people are often regarded as overly responsible and as people that like to get recognised as people to whom nothing is hard enough for them to call it quits. While they openly seek perfection which ofc JK has always talked about improving himself they often love to do the stuff that others despise to do like countinc, calculating and organising.

Evidently there's no 12th House stellium, he would have a 9th House Leo stellium, which is most of the times noticeable at first glance, the moment these people open their mouths, everything is just extraordinaire, there’s a longing to be loved and to be admired in this aspect. They’re inspirational people to be around which JK is, if I remember the members saying that they get inspired when watching him make efforts. They’re also overly curious about stuff around them big doe eyes anyone?

In this case he would have a 5th House aries, meaning that there’s a need to be physically active and being creative on top of that which I mean does check out. They do tend to be openly superficial people and big-headed when they are in a successful position tho.

So okay, let’s talk native astrology, JK’s Tzolkin is Tz’i-Oc, noted by their need of freedom and less traditional relationships, they work tirelessly and have an innate ability to be successful and accumulate a lot of wealth once again, JK’s position in BTS shows up HE’s in a basic need of having a strong foundation, which he will not like to lead but more take the role of a caregiver that can easily turn into the one receiving care. Here’s the thing, there are a lot of Libra themes in his Day Sign and his Trecana Sign, both of them talking about justice, fairness, helpfulness, as well as him being a nomad which I interpret as having a libra/virgo mix that is really hard to miss Now, this is where it gets funny, His galactic tone is 4, which while it talks about balance and calmness and tranquility libra like it also is represented by a warrior, which is part of the twitter thread as one of the symbolisms to think about sag rising

Last but not least, JK’s bazi, since his contextual situation is leaning more towards it. I did a comparion and it caught my eye the next part:

One of the widely talked about symbols in the sag rising thread is the element of water being consistent with JK, and in his bazi, ¾ Na Yin, the element of water came out, however, they came out when his birth time is 08:04 am.

In his 08:04 bazi, some keywords are:

virtue

star

travel

In his 13:00 bazi, some keywords are:

monetary loss

star of arts

heavenly doctor

So really it all boils down to: we do readings for fun, craft is personal and completely valid in any form as long as we aren’t hurting anyone. We do not know his actual birth time and we actually might never know it, each astrologer is free to work with the birth time they consider the best fitting unless a specific time is given. I myself, see a libra rising fitting, perhaps if we were to trial and error it, some other might come out but honestly, these readings are a hobby and while I dedicate myself to my craft, I certainly don’t have the time that it would require to analyze each placement so I can see for myself which I find the best fitting out of 12 signs. But hey, this was a fun educational opportunity to dive into other practices.

#lmao im not tagging this

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aureostuff · 4 years ago

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Anger Issues

Brothers with an MC who has anger issues, cusses like a sailor and is also very strong, but is very supportive and caring.

Gender Neutral Reader

Lucifer

He can get quite annoyed with you at times since your outbursts tend to lead you to breaking anything within a five kilometer radius, and that includes his brothers.

He’ll have to lock you up in your room to prevent anything else from breaking.

Sometimes when you get REALLY angry at him, you’ll end up swearing at him so fucking hard that Satan would literally be cheering you on.

“Lucifer you motherfucking son of a bitch where the FUCK is my Limited-Edition Vinyl Box Set?!” “MC, what did you just call me?”

This man will not accept being called a ‘motherfucking son of a bitch’, remember he’s the avatar of pride. He will not take your insult well. It also turns out that he accidentally broke it.

Though you insulted him that badly over your broken Vinyl box set, you still care for him as usual. Scolding him for having a shitty work and sleep schedule. Insisting that he could get more work done rested well. (though you’d prefer if he worked less and spent more time with you)

Mammon

Is fucking scared of you, but also fucking in love with you. He’d even sacrifice the things he’s bought that were so fucking expensive, for you to use it as a stress reliever.

Story time, when Mammon tried to escape Levi and use you as a sacrifice. You’d literally grab his jackets collar, and said to him. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going? Are you that scared of some scrawny-ass bitch?”

Sadly, he managed to get away.

There are cute moments between you two at times. Like how you are literally helping him get over his immense fear of Lucifer and telling him to ‘man up’ and you also encourage him to stand up to the people who bully him, like a real man.

“Listen here Mammon, you gotta stop letting your lil’ brothers bullying you. You are literally the second strongest, act like it! You’ve gotta stop acting like a pussy!”

All I can say is you’re making progress, just very slowly.

Leviathan

Remember how I said that you called Levi a ‘scrawny-ass bitch’? He was very offended by that, but couldn’t help but accept it as the truth since he is what you’d call a ‘Slim-Jim’

He’ll yell at you, saying that was offensive. And he couldn’t help it since he was a disgusting shut-in Otaku.

“Who the fuck told you you could degrade yourself huh? I see nothing wrong with how you are you fucking dumbass!”

He’ll be crying tears of gratitude, but he’ll quickly wipe them away and get down to business to defeat, the Huns.

He’ll invite you to play video games with him (specifically games like Super Smash Demons) just to see your angered reaction when he wins. He’ll find it amusing and scary at the same time. It was funny to watch the loser rage when you won. And it was scary because unlike the times when he watched the losers rage, the loser, was RIGHT beside him, and could literally put him in the hospital.

Whenever he calls himself a gross disgusting otaku, etc. you will literally smack him and swear at him very heavily, yelling at him to stop calling himself that.

Satan

You think the avatar of wrath, ANGER INCARNATE, would get along with you, A LITERAL TICKING TIME BOMB THAT’S ABOUT TO EXPLODE. Well you are sorely mistaken.

You guys would literally be the best the best of buddies. No doubt about that. You both would go to libraries (and proceed to get kicked out because of how loud you are), go to art museums to admire art. (and proceed to get kicked out because you’re being too loud and disturbing the other people who are trying to admire the art).

He’ll vent to you about his daddy issues problems with Lucifer. And you’ll gladly help him vent out all his pent up anger. “Listen here Satan. The best way to vent your anger is through violence, so if you don’t want to beat somebody to a bloody pulp, now’s your chance to do so.” when you told him that he was like: dude wtf is wrong with you. Then you told him that he could just use a punching bag.

So yay! He can let out all his anger AND get ripped! Nice. He can use his (soon to arrive) muscles to crack Lucifer’s head open, yipee!!!

Though sometimes you get angry at Satan and vice versa. You two’ll get into fights and the room you two were fighting will be absolutely DEMOLISHED. Satan would be in demon form- no joke, he will be in his fucking demon form.

You will both be incredibly bloody and beat up, that the brothers wont be able to recognize you. Apart from those ‘small’ fights, you both are very good friends and always look out for each other.

Asmodeus

He’ll be telling you that being that angry will make you look like an old person, ew!

Honestly in my opinion, he’ll be the person you’ll complain about your (small) problems to the most. He’ll be painting your nails and you’ll be like: “Dude, Beel ate the fucking food I ordered from Akudonalds! I was fucking starving and Beel just had to come along and eat it.” “I get what you mean darling, one time Beel ate the limited edition perfume I had bought and was going to use on my date with this hot succubus.”

Whenever he’ll take a pic with you, you’ll always look angry or be mid-shout in said pic.

The replies on that photo would fall into one of three categories: a. They’re mainly focusing on Asmo, b. They would be laughing at your face or c. They’d be asking on who the fuck you were.

Asmo would reply to one of the comments in category c telling them: “He’s my significant other ofc~~”

You could always sense whenever he was feeling insecure, so being the good friend you are, you pull up a chair, and have a talk with Asmo.

Beelzebub

Your strong? Well now you’re Beelzebub’s gym buddy yayyyyyy.

Ninety percent of gym equipment is broken since you get a bit too angry, and Lucifer is going to give you one heck of a scolding.

Beel will eat your food (he’s the avatar of gluttony, what’d you expect), then you’d literally be throwing hands with this giant.

“BEELZEBUUUUUUUUUUUB, HOW DARE YOU EAT THE FOOD I’VE BEEN WAITING TO ARRIVE FOR A LITERAL FUCKING HOUR.”

He’ll feel sorry and try to make it up to you, he’ll give you food, more food, even more food. Till there’s a mountain of his stash of food (plus the food from the fridge) right outside your door, he would literally wait outside your door, starving, as he’s waiting for you to go outside.

When you do go outside, you’ll spot Beel, hugging his knees, most likely asleep. You’ll sigh and grab some of the food on the pile and made your way towards the man. You grabbed him by his hair, lifting his head up. Beel would yawn and blink twice, then he’ll see your face. “MC... I’m sorry about your food...” you sighed. “Don’t worry about it Beel, now eat this shit. I know you’re hungry.”

Belphegor

When he tried to kill you, your first thoughts were: Aight, time to kick this guy in the family jewels

And that you did.

Though you still died, so your efforts were all in vain, and then you came back to life. You literally charged at him and pinned him to the ground, shouting profanities as the brothers tried to get you off of him.

Honestly, you guys really wouldn’t get along that well. If he’s going to try to sleep, one way or another you’re going to stroll in arguing with one of his brothers. You were yelling loudly and swearing a bit too much that it caused Belphie to wake up, which in itself is an impossible achievement since Belphegor could literally sleep through an entire building construction even if it was all happening right beside him.

He’d be pissed that you woke him up, and then you’d forget your previous argument and focus on the one you currently having with the Avatar of Sloth.

He’ll be very happy when he sees you have fights with Lucifer, because nobody in their right mind would dare shout curse words and punch him in the gut, apart from him and Satan of course. When Lucifer locks you up in your room, he’ll make an attempt to help you escape your prison if he’s feeling generous.

#obey me #obey me x reader #swd #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me headcanons

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retvenkos · 4 years ago

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“this place feels like home”

A/N: someone mentioned it, so here i am

WHAT THE HOGWARTS COMMON ROOMS LOOK LIKE, IN MY CLEARLY SUPERIOR OPINION...

gryffindor common room

i’m no interior decorator, and i’m betting godric gryffindor wasn’t either, so it looks like a glorified man cave

lots of designated areas for just hanging out, a huge, central fireplace, lots of open places perfect for pulling your wand on someone to duel, but very cluttered in other areas where you are meant to be close for house bonding!

secondly, there are a total of like, 4 desks you can use to work on, and they’re pushed to the walls, the chairs constantly stolen for something or another.

the main focus of the gryffindor common room is the couches and chairs

there’s a recliner that some muggle-born student brought in, and when they first kicked it out the purebloods went absolutely feral

they don’t know how it works, but they love it

there are so many radios... gryffindor has the best sound system for any kind of party. the other houses have to use charms to get the sound evenly distributed, but gryffindors just use their like, 10 different radios

there are a lot of spare pillows and blankets, but they don’t exactly have a place to go - they’re usually just thrown on the back of the couches or cast to the floor.

sometimes the 1st years will play “the ground is lava” and it’s vvv sweet

the ceiling has constellations mapped onto it, and they’re actually accurate. using your wand, you can “shift” the sky and it’s a really effective way to get your astronomy homework done

harry didn’t notice it because he’s as observant as a doorknob

the most chaotic thing about the gryffindor common room is the fact that there are real swords and battle axes on the wall, all of which belonged to godric gryffindor himself

students will 100% try to use them as jokes, but they can never manage to actually grab them? their hands just go right through them like they aren’t real

but if you approach them with nothing but wonder and reverence, when you reach out, you can most definitely feel them, and they are real

i really just want someone to have picked up a battle axe during the battle at hogwarts, now

there are a couple of portraits that give life advice, but most of them are #tired and leave their portraits to go visit others because the common room can get so crazy

the amount of animals this common room has,,,, i sure do hope you’re not allergic

there are lizards, rats, toads, cats, tarantulas...

if you’re afraid of any of them, tell your classmates when you’re still a first or second year and the whole of gryffindor tower will rally behind you to make the other person put their animal in their dormitory

there always seems to be leftover food from a party, so you’re well fed.

and if you’re from another house, this is the easiest house to steal food from.

oh, and the carpet (because YEAH, someone put in carpet with some kind of magic) does not match the furnishings at all.

minimalists cry at the sight of this common room

slytherin common room

first of all!!!! this common room has a glass ceiling because someone else came up with this idea and it is legendary

they mentioned the merfolk help with classes! they know sign language! i am very here for it.

then,,, there is an entire section of the common room that is dedicated to games - checkers, chess, poker, solitaire, even some muggle board games

it’s how they foster community. friendly competition is everything to slytherins and slytherins can actually do friendly competition, unlike ravenclaws

at lot of purebloods are still trying to win risk. it confuses them so much.

there’s probably a cat or two in this common room

they actually get along fairly well with the owls, but every so often snape has to come in and stop then from attacking each other and it would be hilarious if he weren’t so intimidating

there’s a lot more space in this common room, or maybe it’s just set up as to give the illusion of more space. either way, the slytherins are more spread out.

they don’t like breathing on each other

the gothic aesthetic does exist, but it’s not all gloomy because some intelligent slytherin’s know that’s bad for mental health.

they probably have a fourth of the room (maybe in a corner) that’s a little more lighted and cozy, with the most supportive portraits in that area

the slytherin common room has bean bags

this was a later addition, ofc, seeing as there is no way in hell salazar slytherin would ever allow that to happen

but everyone loves them a whole lot. 1st years always beeline for them

and slytherin was a good interior decorator, so we have the perfect ratio of portraits to wall space and the amount of lamps is actually palatable.

and there might be a dramatic hamlet skull on a table or two, but they’re not real - just decor. sometimes slytherin’s use them for pranks.

there’s actually a fair bit of communal property, too? like, there’s a lot of blankets, a bookshelf, and a table that always has food on it because the dungeons are hella far away from the kitchens and many slytherins like a good midnight snack

the slytherins actually talk more to ghosts than the other houses - ghosts like to hang out in the dungeons, and the amount of ghost jokes that the slytherins know is incredible

a group of hufflepuffs swear they once heard professor binns laugh at a ghost joke one of the slytherin’s retold

the snake iconography of this room is so high - it would honestly be a little unnerving if everyone wasn’t just used to it.

there’s probably a game going around where someone will conjure up an extra snake decoration and every week the first and second years are trying to find out which one it is

sometimes a very tired 5th year will give you a hint

there’s not a space that’s specifically designated for studying, but you can often find space in a few different places.

the desks are always being used for games, like i mentioned above, but someone had introduced the idea of lap desks and slytherins love that so much.

ravenclaw common room

this is the most minimalist of the common rooms in decor and style, but there’s so much happening at all times that it never looks bare

and a fair few ravenclaws are BIG about organization, so this is one of the more compartmentalized common rooms

it’s also formatted this way because the studious ravenclaw has threatened the musically inclined ravenclaw, saying that they will not hesitate to sabotage the other’s saxophone if they ever hear careless whisper while trying to study for n.e.w.t.s again.

also, i just want to say that ravenclaw house is probably one of the most diverse houses because creativity is so broad, and that combined with their individualistic streak means that community is a little less strong in this house, but there’s a place for everyone

i have no doubt that someone has enchanted the common room to expand on the inside, so it has much more room than say gryffindor common room or hufflepuff common room.

they’re also big about making boundaries - there’s probably actual walls and doors between different areas.

like, one for studying, one for art (like drawing and painting), one for music, etc.

also, you would think this is a quiet common room but you would be wrong.

the quiet ones are slytherin and hufflepuff. gryffindor and ravenclaw are both p chaotic.

except for the quiet room, which is as silent as they come. if you need quiet inspiration, you go there. it’s also the study room, though, so when you’re struck with inspiration, you have to keep quiet.

now, ravenclaws like to keep what is theirs, but they do have some communal property, mostly in the form of books and materials like typewriters and art supplies (although some people are very territorial about their brushes. it’s a toss up.)

there’s a floor to ceiling window that can actually be opened up - kind of like doors. the ravenclaws have it instead of the gryffindors because they have self control and won’t jump out the window without a sure plan of survival.

there’s also statues and busts! rowena ravenclaw was decent at interior design, and she loved sculpture - maybe she had a sculptor lover at one point? who knows? there’s just a lot of busts in ravenclaw tower

no doubt they’re enchanted to give advice or tbh just to gossip. i imagine there’s a lot of gossip in ravenclaw tower

the walls are painted in some places. it’s a rule that you don’t paint over other people’s art, but the paint is also enchanted so that if you look closely, you can see the name of who has painted what, and ravenclaws are too proud to do idiotic things like drawing crude doodles on the walls.

the only person to ever paint on the ceiling is luna lovegood, and she was commissioned to do so after her time at hogwarts.

there’s also a chalkboard wall for when you’re studying and need to write things down to think. beware, though, because your work can and will be erased.

you can also write on the large window i talked about! muggle students have brought dry erase markers and they are much needed.

oh, and ravenclaws have a lot of owl access - they owls like to stop at ravenclaw tower for treats and whatnot, and ravenclaws definitely use this to their advantage. they have priority for mail service and it’s a win tbh.

hufflepuff common room

now helga hufflepuff was no interior decorator either, but she was a homemaker, so we all know that this common room is the most home-like of the bunch

first of all, there are potted plants everywhere. hufflepuffs are known to be good at herbology, and that tradition means there are a whole lot of life in this common room

there’s also a curious amount of sunlight, too, despite being in the basement. i’m not exactly sure how it’s done, but the common room has actual sunlight - it’s important for the plants.

i also imagine there’s one wall that is a long mirror. you can use it for whatever you like, introspection, self affirmations, or reflecting light or whatever, but helga thought it was important to always be aware of yourself.

muggle students have brought sticky notes and now the mirror if full of them - little reminders, little motivations, fun quotes, jokes, etc.

there’s also a lot of couches and desks. the desks are usually very cluttered, but you can always find space for your stuff, somehow. and the couches are the softest at hogwarts, gryffindors have been trying to steal them for years.

also, the marauders were incredibly presumptuous, thinking they had found all of the secret passageways in the castle - there are at least 3 secret passages that only hufflepuffs know about and it’s one of the best kept secrets at hogwarts. they all connect to the common room.

and as initiation, on their first night as hufflepuffs, first years traverse secret passageways in the dark trying to figure out where they lead, all of them having to work together to figure out the lumos spell for some light.

and one of those passageways leads to the kitchens. it’s how they get the best food for parties. hufflepuffs often put in requests for what they want at breakfast or dinner.

this is also the warmest common room. i’m not exactly sure how it’s done, but the common room is never cold - maybe a little chilly, but not cold enough that you need a sweater.

the flooring is carpet, but parts of it are hard wood - it’s clear it used to be carpet, but was stained beyond repair from a broken pot or two.

there is toad supremacy in the hufflepuff common room. there’s probably one or two toads that don’t have real owners but are treated as the house pets.

there’s also a few paintings - all of them are smaller because there’s so much going on in this common room already, the walls have to be mellow to account for everything else, but there’s a couple and all of them like to tell jokes and give really good advice.

two of the newer (and favorite) additions include cedric diggory and tonks. they both get along quite well, although tonks is more mischievous and cedric is more down to earth.

cedric will often tell you how to charm a professor, if you ask, and he might give answers to homework questions to favorite students.

similar to gryffindor common room, there’s a lot of cozy areas that encourage students to chat with each other and spend time together.

but similar to slytherin, there is a lot of games about - they involve less strategy and more fun (like hide and go seek or charades) - but games is a bonding strategy that hufflepuffs utilize.

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

-- taglist: @musicallisto, @theletterhart, @locke-writes, @randomfandomimagine, @brokenandheadoverheels, @timeofmadness, @writerdream22, @lotsoffandomrecs, @neelia-thedaughtherof-athena, @coffee--writes, @lenalxvegood, @cooloaflandhero, @swanimagines, @noesapphic, @amortensie // message me if you want to be added!

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cheeriecherry · 4 years ago

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Ty for answering that -w- I wanted to make sure of your comfort zones before I asked this. What are your HC for when some of our favorite UA teachers realize they have a thing for a student (who they may or may not have realized have a crush on them back)

Ofc! I should make an official list of thing I’m comfy writing/uncomfy writing <:3c

Anyhoo! I’m assuming our fav teachers are the same, but in case not, this post includes Aizawa, Yamada, and Yagi!

Warnings: Depictions of student x teacher! This is a work of fiction, and in no way represents how I feel about the matter irl. Please read at your own discretion.

AIZAWA SHOUTA|ERASERHEAD

-He has an ‘oh fuck’ moment XD

-At first you were just one of his most tolerable students; kind, hardworking, level headed. He sees a lot of potential in you, so he does his best to train you well.

-You have a habit of always wishing him a good afternoon when class is over and you’re headed out the door. He keeps a straight face, but deep down he finds it charming that you always take the time to say goodbye.

-Probably doesn’t realize how deep his feelings for you actually run until you’re older, maybe a second or third year. You come back to his classroom after summer break, and the moment you walk in the door, laughing with a few friends, his heart clenches in his chest. It fucks him up for the rest of the lesson.

-I think he’d let it stew for a while, anger and shame pressing at the back of his mind. Every day he sees you he falls deeper, whether you’re laughing and smiling with friends, or concentrating hard while studying, or even just meandering around the campus. Everything about you draws him in.

-He’d never act on his feelings, not while you’re a student. Besides the fact that he could lose his job if you got caught, he wouldn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize your future. He cares about you too much, and you’ve worked too hard to have it ruined.

-Until he notices you staring at him in class. The moment he catches your eye, you look away and pretend to be interested in something else, but that specific moment sticks out in his mind. It’s the first of many.

-Sometimes you fluster when you get caught looking at him, other times you’re so lost in thought that you don’t even realize he figured you out. It’s usually when you’re daydreaming that Aizawa gets a good look at you; pretty features, soft skin, cute lips wrapped around the end of your pencil as you think about him-

-The moment the bell sings and everyone starts leaving for the day, he beckons you over. Probably sprouts some kind of nonsense about how you’re distracted in class, and how you need to pay more attention or your grades will start to suffer. It’s complete bullshit, but coming from him it sounds serious.

-At least, it would to anyone else but you.

-You sit on the edge of his desk, leaning back casually and swinging your legs, and you look at him in a way that almost makes him feel like prey.

- “If my grades suffer, you could always give me some extra credit~” you say with a coy smile.

He’s deadpan as always when he replies, “Your grades haven’t dipped. Not yet, at least. This is a warning, Y/N.”

You pout a little, and sigh. You’re obviously dejected about something, but he’s got no idea why you’d be sad about having good grades...

“Pity,” you mumble, “a private tutoring session could have been fun.”

-You slide off his desk and make your way towards the door, and only then does it click for him. You like him, the same way he likes you.

-He calls out to you right before you slide the door open, and motions you back over. You huff and do as he says, and move to sit back on his desk, but just as you’re getting settled, he reaches forward and pulls you into his lap. It feels a little awkward at first, while you squirm and get comfortable, but once you find a good seat it’s actually pretty comfortable.

-You’ve got an arm tossed over his shoulders, and you’re leaning against his chest with your face tucked up by his neck. He resists a shudder at the feeling of your warm breath against his skin, instead looping an arm around your waist to keep you steady.

- “You’ve been flirting with me,” he says, and it’s not a question.

He can feel a smile break out across your face, before your lips press tenderly against his throat. “I have been for the past eight months, but thanks for noticing.”

He deadpans and pinches your thigh gently, earning a muffled squeak from you, a noise he decides he likes very much.

-But the overall question looms over him. What to do now? He didn’t want to put your future at risk, not to simply sate his own desires. He loved you too much to do that to you.

- “We can’t do this,” he says, and he feels you freeze against him. “Not yet, at least.” He feels you relax.

“I figured as much,” you grumble, but there’s no malice in your tone. “I’m gonna wait for you, you know that, right? The moment I graduate, I’m jumping you. I see the way you look at me when you think no one’s watching; you want me just as much as I want you.”

-He doesn’t deny it, simply holds you tighter.

-You smile softly and take his face in your hands. “If it’s gonna be a while until we can do this again, then...a kiss for the road?”

-It’s sweet, and warm, and a little bit desperate. It’s been a long time since he’s had anyone with him like this, and you’re spectacularly warm and pliant. It’s not a kiss he’ll soon forget, and will only serve to make you both yearn for more, but it’s worth it to feel your lips against his.

-You keep things on the down low after that, sneaking conversations here and there and whenever you can. He gives you his phone number in case you ever need anything, but you mostly use it to send him cat memes and suggestive texts.

-He scolds you every single time, but you both know his heart isn’t in it.

-He takes you out on an official date not three days after your graduate.

YAMADA HIZASHI|PRESENT MIC

-Unlike Aizawa, he does not have an ‘oh fuck’ moment. His feelings for you culminate slowly, and he’s quite aware of them, just the same as he’s aware of your��feelings.

-He notices your lingering glances, small smiles, and cheerful greetings whenever he’s around. You’re not obvious about it, not being more than friendly from everyone else’s point of view, but he’s perceptive, especially when it comes to people.

-A little piece of him hopes you get over your crush on him, so that he in turn could get over you too, but the big emotions part of his heart wants you to keep loving him in hopes that he might have you some day.

-He tries rationalizing it when he’s on his own, telling himself that he’s really not that much older than you, and that he’s seen larger age gaps, and that after you graduate you’ll just be another hero. He knows he shouldn’t be harboring such strong feelings for one of his students, which is why he doesn’t tell anyone, but he figures that as long as he doesn’t act on it then no one will get hurt.

-But it’s very hard. By the time you’re in your third year, you’re openly flirting with him. He doesn’t necessarily encourage it, but he doesn’t dissuade it either. If anyone ever questions him on the matter, he’ll say that he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings or embarrass you so it’s best to let you work through your feelings on your own.

-He absolutely plays favourites, though. He only calls on you in class when he knows you know the answer to something, and always offers helpful advice about your classes when he’s able to. Some of your classmates grumble about ‘special treatment’ but none of them take it any further than that.

-It all comes to a head one rainy afternoon when he finds you curled up under a tree, looking very, very sad. He hasn’t got anywhere to be, but even if he did, he’d still come over. You’re still his student, even on weekends, and he cares about you a lot.

-You’re surprised when the rain suddenly stops dripping on you, and you look up to find Yamada holding an umbrella over your head, while the rain starts to soak him. You scold him lightly, complaining that you’re already wet so it doesn’t matter if you don’t have an umbrella. He has none of it though, and offers a hand to you.

-He pulls you to your feet and carefully arranges the umbrella so you’re both under it, and after a couple beats of silence, he finally asks what’s got you looking so down.

-You fidget a little, chewing your lip in consideration and wringing your hands. But you’re almost a graduate, you tell yourself, so it shouldn’t matter now if he knows. You’re pretty certain he likes you back, anyways, but on the off chance he doesn’t, you can cope with a month or so of awkwardness.

-You sigh deeply, and explain to him that your classmates were teasing the shit out of your earlier, on a subject that is very near and dear to your heart. You’d had enough of their antics, so you’d left to dorms to get some fresh air, and it had started raining. You’d hoped to get some respite beneath a tree, to no avail.

-He looks you up and down quickly, just now fully realizing how soaked you were. Your clothes cling to your skin in a way he never sees you dress, and it’s a little unsettling how something so mundane gets his heart racing.

-But he pushes through, and rests a hand on your shoulder, going on about how other people’s opinions can hurt but ultimately don’t matter, and that it’s most important how you feel about yourself. He tells you that you’re deserving of kindness and respect, and praises you lightly for being his favourite student and a bright young hero.

-Less than two seconds after he finishes speaking, your lips are on his. Soft and damp, and your fingertips are cool against his jaw where you’re holding him, but he doesn’t mind. Not in the slightest. He drops the umbrella in lieu of gripping at your hips, pulling you flush against him so he can kiss you back.

-You stay there for a few moments, rain soaking further and further into your clothes as your lips mold and slide against each other. He has half a mind to push you back against the nearest surface and deepen the kiss, but he remember that you’re still in public, and you’re still his student.

-He pulls away slowly, grinning inwardly when he sees how breathless and hazy you are. He presses one last kiss against your nose, before he’s grabbing the umbrella off the ground and tugging you along.

- “That can’t happen again,” he tells you, “Not while you’re still a student here. Okay?”

You begrudgingly agree, even though you know it’s for the best. you really do love him, and you don’t want him to lose his job -or worse- over something like this.

“Understood,” you mumble sadly. “I’ll try to get over it, and I’ll stop flirting with you in class.”

-He tilts his head slightly, a questioning gesture, and gently laces his fingers with yours. Just once, out here in the rain, where no one can see.

“I said ‘while you’re a student’,” his tone is playful. “Sweetheart, the moment you graduate, I’m wining and dining you like it’s nobody’s business.”

-Your heart soars after that, and your anticipation for what’s to come makes your last month of school -and your friends’ teasing- more bearable. That, and the fact that you get to text him whenever you feel like, and how your sweet private conversations. He chides you when you get too lewd about something, either in your words or in photos you send him, and tells you to be patient.

-By the time you graduate, you’re just about ready to say fuck it and dive on him, but he beats you to the punch. After the official ceremony, he scoops you up and spins you around a couple times, asking you how it feels to be an official hero.

-You simply kiss him.

YAGI TOSHINORI|ALL MIGHT

-Most concerned out of the bunch. He��s got one hell of an image to uphold, and he never wants to put any of his students in harms way. He probably notices really early on the way his heart flutters around you, the way his stomach twists up in knots when he hears you laugh, the way it’s hard to breathe when he watches you train. Ngl, it scares him a bit.

-Having feelings like that is one thing, but having feelings like that for a student? That’s got bad news written all over it. And it’s especially bad when he realizes you don’t treat him like you do your other teachers; you’re kinder, softer, more interested in lessons.

-Sure, you could just think he was a good teacher, but he’s had many a people crushing on him over the years, so he knows the signs. You like him.

-He hides himself away from you at first, keeping you at an arms length, a curt distance, a professional ways away. He realizes that he may be coming off a little harshly towards you, often keeping any one on one time to a minimum and overlooking you in class.

-You thought he felt bad for liking you? Look how shitty he feels when he realizes he’s made you sad. The day you seek him out after class and ask him why he dislikes you so much, it feels like someone has stepped on his heart and ground it into the pavement with their heel.

-The way you hold yourself to appear smaller and less threatening, the way you avoid his gaze like you’re afraid of his judgement. He decides then and there to be honest with you. You’re almost done your second year in school, so you’re a little more mature, a little more capable of handling what he has to tell you.

-And tell you he does. He explains the way you make him happy, how he enjoys your company, how your smile warms his heart. He also tells you about the guilt he feels for looking at a student in such a way, and how he wouldn’t be offended if you never wanted to speak with him again.

-You, of course, have not been subtle about your feelings towards him. Strange as the situation is, it’s comforting to know he thinks of you the same way. You take his hand gently, marveling a little at how it dwarfs yours, and assure him that you don’t think less of him, even if he thinks you should.

-You can tell that he’s genuine and serious about having feelings for you. You’d never want to put him at risk for anything, so you quietly ask him if he’d be willing to wait for you, until you graduate. After that, you’ll no longer be his student, there’ll no longer be any risk associated with your relationship, and you can be together.

-He’s got his reservations still, but you talk about it more throughout the months, convincing him by the beginning of your third year to pursue something more after you finish school. Once that’s decided, he finds it difficult to keep you at an appropriate distance, but he does his best. From time to time he’ll keep you after class to ask how things are going, how you’re doing, etc. almost always ending with a gentle kiss on the forehead.

-From the outside, it looks like you’ve patched up whatever hole was formed between you, with only the two of you sharing knowing and longing glances across the room. He tutors you and gives you extra lessons when he’s able to, wanting to make sure you come out of this with as much skill as possible.

-The year is long and every day is more difficult that the last, but the weekend after you graduate, the two of you are curled up on his couch watching a movie after eating dinner, sharing sweet kisses and basking in each other’s presence.

#aizawa x reader #aizawa shouta x reader #eraserhead x reader #yamada hizashi x reader #present mic x reader #yagi toshinori x reader #all might x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha headcanons #mha headcanons #Anonymous

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todomitoukei · 4 years ago

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hey im kinda confused abt the hpsc and i feel like you could explain it pretty well. is the theory that they’re corrupt and the real villains based in canon or is it just fanon? bc from what i remember they were only mentioned pretty vaguely, so i feel like i might have missed a chapter or something...if it’s based in canon, could you tell me where? (if it’s not too much trouble ofc)

It’s not canon per se, but it’s a theory based on what we know about the HPSC thus far along with some other factors.

As for the HPSC, their job is basically to manage the interactions between heroes and society. In a way, they are the PR team for heroes as a whole. They are also responsible for coordinating the heroes teams with the police, high-profile cases, as well as the provisional hero license exams. We don’t know exactly how one obtains their license to be a Pro Hero but considering the HPSC hands out the provisional licenses, they most likely also take care of the real thing.

With that, they have a lot of control over everything, almost like someone playing chess, with the heroes, police, villains, and civilians being their pawns.

We got a better look at the HPSC once Hawks was introduced, specifically when we got the flashback of him being given his undercover job. There are two noteworthy points from that scene.

The first one being that the HPSC is okay with casualties, giving Hawks the permission to ignore the victims, while he befriends the villains. The HPSC places its importance on the greater good, rather than trying to save everyone.

The second part is about Hawks and his overall role for the HPSC. Though they call it a proposal, Hawks points out that he isn’t given a choice here.

Similar to Eri’s current appearance, people have different opinions on whether using children for the hero side is right or wrong, considering that Eri agreed to use her quirk on Mirio, and Hawks wanted to become a hero.

We don’t have the full picture of what this “special program” that Hawks was a part of entailed, and whether or not he was the only one in it. Although, concerning the last part, we don’t really see any heroes his age so it feels like Hawks was the only one part of this “program” and was always anticipated to be used as the HPSC’s secret weapon. Officially, he’s a hero, but in reality, the HPSC has a lot more control over him than any other hero. Part of that is also shown through his hero outfit, which features the HPSC logo on his shirt.

Keep in mind, Hawks was a kid when he got taken in by the commission. They saw a vulnerable child that happened to have a strong quirk that could be useful to them, so they took said child and turned it into the hero he is now for their own advantages.

Aside from Hawks and Eri, we also have U.A. and any other hero school. While this hasn’t really been addressed by society in the story aside from when Bakugou got kidnapped, this is a high school, which means the students are 15-18 years old. Although the story does tell us that hero students encountering actual villains is a new occurrence, they are still children who get put through very intense training. In the most recent arc, they are being put on the front lines, even though their role was just to evacuate the civilians, it’s obvious from their mindsets and their sense of duty that they are not going to leave it as just that. As mentioned at the start, the HPSC is responsible for coordinating these types of situations so it was their decision to put these kids there. Even if you don’t see an issue with hero high schools like U.A. existing, I think we can all agree that there is something very wrong about putting teenagers on the front lines against the biggest terrorist organization in the country. Funnily enough, the one person to address this is a villain, Dabi:

It makes sense for someone like Dabi, who was created and raised as a mere pawn himself instead of being allowed a normal childhood, to be able to point out that sending kids to a fight like this is not okay.

Speaking of villains, since the USJ arc, the League of Villains has been presented to us as the main antagonists of the series, specifically Shigaraki as the successor to All For One, since Deku, the protagonist, is the successor of One For All. But over time, the members of the League of Villains have been shown to us as being very layered, sympathetic people. Shigaraki has found his own reasons for doing what he does, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has always been and continues to be nothing but a vessel for All For One.

Despite the fact that All For One in his current state technically can’t do much, especially not without Shigaraki, him still being around and still saying that Shigaraki isn’t complete yet shows us that All For One is still the bigger threat and we haven’t seen the last of him. When it comes to the question of how can Shigaraki redeem himself, he would first need to realize that he is just being used by All For One. Because the main difference between him and Dabi is that the latter has recognized that he was only used and is now fighting back, whereas Shigaraki hasn’t become aware of that yet. To redeem himself, he not only has to realize this but also figure out how to break away from All For One. Unlike Dabi, he can’t just leave, since All For One can possess him from the comfort of his highly secured cell.

Speaking of Dabi, some people are also theorizing that the HPSC knew about Touya and helped cover up his death, but that this is unconfirmed so while I’m not ruling it out (according to Endeavor he did search for Touya instead of immediately accepting his death so they most likely do know about it but whether they knew the circumstances that have led to this is unknown), I wouldn’t count it as evidence for the time being.

Circling back to the students of U.A., after the USJ arc the rumors of a possible traitor came up, and after Bakugou got kidnapped, we got this meeting between the HPSC and the police, where they first mention that they will need to make some changes.

Later on, Principal Nezu tells us that, though officially the dorm system is for the students’ safety, it’s also so that they (the HPSC and police) can investigate in secret, with both the teachers and the students being possible suspects.

The story hasn’t exactly mentioned this since or explained how exactly they investigate in secret. We do know that there are robots with motion detectors/cameras on campus that report any kind of movement to the teachers, like when Bakugou and Deku had their fight outside. But what about in the dorms? Are there hidden cameras? Maybe even in the rooms? We don’t know that yet, part it’s still a fact that the HPSC even suspects the kids and puts them in dorms under false pretense when in reality it’s easier for surveillance/control reasons.

So to sum it up, the HPSC has a lot of control and they make sure to keep it that way and get even more control. Of course, considering that it is their job to keep the country safe, it is more or less expected of them. But they more often than not show that they have no issue with using child soldiers, and they are also okay with casualties. Overall, they are a corrupt organization in many ways. With the current arc, especially Dabi calling out Endeavor and thus possibly (hopefully) making society question heroes a little more, it would then also make sense for the HPSC to be questioned, though probably at a later point in the story and not quite yet. However, in order for that to happen, people on the hero side first have to start recognizing these flaws and start questioning the current system that is in place.

#also thank you for thinking i can explain this well?!#hope this helped!!#bnha #ask #also reminds me of psycho pass #meta #i think before the story focuses on that it's going to focus on criticizing the heroes first though #and then eventually realizing how the hpsc plays into that #me-meta #Anonymous

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plutoswrath · 3 years ago

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Heyy! I was catching up on your NCT rising sign posts and firstly it was sooo cool to see how in-depth u and other go that’s my fav like if u wanna guess risings u can’t just go off of looks! U gotta think any house and planet placements lol the whole thing. I wanted to come here to share my thoughts on Chenle and Heachan specifically bc I recently put a lot of thought into it for some reason lol

For Chenle I know he’s a sag/Scorpio cusp but I rlly think he’s a sag and I was running the numbers and for him to be a sag he would have had to been born after 3pm! I used to be rlly confident he was a cap rising bc he has intense bone structure and eyes but not in a Scorpio way, more in a strict saturn way. But to be a sag puts him past a lot of potential rising signs so the only ones left that have him at sag sun were Aries to Libra. I played around w some of them and I feel like he could be a Gemini rising! It makes sense cuz he’s known for being sooo friendly, bright, curious, and playfully witty and snarky. Here’s the selling point tho, depending on the time it could put his Gemini Saturn in first! Which explains why he looks like a cap rising to me lol

I’m bringing Haechan into this too bc I know a lot of ppl think he could be a Gemini rising and tbh I’d still buy it but I wanted to propose another idea. I think he could def be an Aries rising! And that would put all the sign in their natural house which I think makes sense w his Leo moon in 5th and the Gemini in 3rd etc. and when I try to compare him and Chenle in regards to whose more of a Gemini rising, it makes haechan seem less like one. He does act b Gemini cuz I mean he has 3 Gemini placements lmao..,, but Aries rising are loud, opinionated, independent, but also has that bored or distracted easy Aries thing. Quick temper, very like what I see is what I want. they’re not a curious as Gemini and they can be outgoing but their focus isn’t rlly on like inquiring about people like Gemini?

Anyways that’s my theory lol I just wanted to bounce ideas off someone who gets it! I love theorizing

Hello! Ohh, I love theorizing as well, so this is the place for you haha x

So,I hope it's okay but I think with the recent info that Haechan allegedly confirmed his birth time (which I personally take with a grain of salt because I've read that he apparently talked about his birth time before and said it was around 12 pm so....we gotta take his word here but I think we all generally know one has to be critical with all casual mentioned birth times from celebrities, but guessing peoples rising sign is for fun so in the end it's not that serious and let's have our fun disecting the chart with the info we have now!!) I want to talk about Haechan's rising sign first!

So one thing that always stood out for me when it came to Haechan was that he seemed very sensitive to me. It's almost like it's kinda written on his face when he speaks (or doesn't) and I think by the way he acts (very animated and reactive) it just underlines this sensitivity and just emotional receptivness. So I wasn't really suprised to see that he has a Cancer Mercury. Being a Gemini sun already places a huge empathize on his Mercury sign, and Gemini with the influence of water really makes for some pretty reactive people, because they can be highly sensitive to the words, moods and hidden intentions of others. Makes one really moody as well, especially if it's a Gemini with water influence but that's just a random fun fact I wanted to add on asdfghkl. If we take his alleged birth time into consideration, he'd have not only a Scorpio rising, but also a Pluto in the 1st. I think the look of his eyes can be pretty droopey at times and yet very focused/piercing at the same time, kind of like he challenges you in that sense, and this is certainly a theme I noticed in a lot of Scorpio risings, especially if they have Pluto in the 1st as well (which a lot of second/third decade Scorpio risings have). Also, having his Chart ruler in the 1st and in the opposite of his Sun and Venus would explain why he is kind of 'on and off' in that sense with his energy and moods (when you watch him in interviews with 127 especially, behind the scenes, at vlives, etc), especially him asserting his presence in the room with a Sun opposite Pluto would make a lot of sense (btw, this is all written in a neutral perspective and no critique, this is just me explaining his behaviour with astrology here). Haechan also is extremely 'scheming', even when he just sits and doesn't talk in an interview he seems to think ahead and I think this os something that comes really naturally to him, just connecting the dots and adding his own twists and turns to a conversation and story. Also, his Mercury in the 8th adds to the sensitivity I got from him, and that with his Scorpio rising and Pluto in the 1st really add to his driness at times, just really flat with his responses and reactions (which come pretty quick and surprising as well). And let's not forget his Uranus and Neptune in the 3rd: very distinguished and unique voice, as well as having Uranus in the 3rd would contribute to his 'on and off' switch but generally very high energy he has, especially when having a conversation. Despite that having Sun and Mercury in the 7th in a conjunction makes one really sociable in the sense you could feel the need to communicate and interact with others (especially when the Sun in 7th is involved, outs great empathise on being with others, lack of social connections can result in strong lonliness at worst). Oh and not to forget he'd have a Virgo MC with a Scorpio Ascendant. For me at least, it only adds to the fact that Haechan is really a jack of all traits, Virgo MC people usually come across as pretty capable and are pretty self composed (also can come across as quiet judgy and they don't even notice it).

OKAY I WILL STOP NOW ITH HAECHAN WOWIE LET'S MOVE ON TO CHENLE okay so I think I've mentioned before that I think Chenle's face has strong Cancerian/Jupiterian vibes for me - his bone structure is phenomenal ofc, but I think his face seems kind of 'stretched' (same with Taeil) which is btw not (!) meant in any negative way because that doesn't exclude being pretty ofc. I know an anon before mentioned that they believe he is a Sagittarius rising but with him being a possible Sagittarius Sun that would explain the effect of his Cancer Jupiter! I think I once talked about him reminding me of young Leonardo DiCaprio so much that I just wished for him to be a Libra rising, but to be fair I think an Air Ascendant would make sense for his nature in general. Ex: to have a Libra rising he'd have to be born around 2am, which ofc would make him still a Scorpio but would put his Cancer Jupiter in the 10th house, also in a possible exact conjunction to his MC (and even if not it's still the closest planet to his MC). He'd have his Moon, Mars and Uranus both in the 5th house which would generally explain his extremely friendly nature (if we can believe Johnny's rising and I sadly kinda doubt it tbh because I can see him just trolling us with his birthtime I'm seeing the parallels here) and why it's so easy and probabl also important to him to conenct with others and be on good terms. Generally speaking I find him pretty jolly in nature and I think if he'd have his Jupiter in the 10th, possibly conjunct his MC and an Aqurius stellium in the 5th (+ possible Libra rising) that could be it. He'd have a Scorpio stellium in the 2nd house with his Sun in the 29th degree, and even if this is said to make people closed off, part of Scorpio in the 2nd house is a) maintaing close and intimate relationships is key for them, they really need that and b) they trive on being liked and admired. Not to say that he is fake in that sense (all people are to an extent but that's beside the point) but this can definitely add to a general charisma! But idk if Chenle is actually 'edgy' enough for this potential birth chart, probably not I believe

Another possible rising sign I thought for him was actually Taurus rising, putting his Sun, Mercury and Venus (exactly on the Descendant here if it would be in the 2nd decan) in the 7th house and his Aqaurius stellium in the 10th, Jupiter in the 3rd. With his Sun being already in Sagittarius I think it would add to a natural 'want to feel good' attitude and searching for pleasure and good times in every situation and Aquarius in the 10th can make for very sociable people, even if they feel more introverted in that sense they have an easier time making connections with others, or others feel drawn to their friendly and understanding nature. Also, his Jupiter in the 3rd would be in a trine woth his Venus in 7th (especially if it's on the Descnedant) which can grand him an easy hand with social groups and settings to begin with!

And I really like your idea behind the Gemini rising, depending on the decan, his MC could still be in Aquarius with his Aquarius Mars in the 9th conjunct his MC and his Uranus in the 10th conjunct his MC as well, and again, putting his Moon in the 10th. Idk but his Aquarius stellium being possibly in the 10th just really seems to resonate for me 🤠🤠 Also, having a Sagittarius Sun in the 6th would make him most likely someone who's easier to work with, because these people value having a good and rather lighthearded atmosphere around them. Very enjoyable and loyal as friends and extremely passionate in their work place/when they pursue something their heart is in.

#i present to you: a novel or as i like to call it #word vomit #asdfghjk #replies #virghogh #astrology #haechan #chenle #nct astrology #nct dream

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whumpbby · 4 years ago

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Hi! So this is kind of a random ask, but I know you have beta fish, and I’m considering getting one. I’ve had beta fish in the past, and despite educating myself on how to take care of them they haven’t lived very long, so I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me. For my past beta fish, I keep them in a five gallon tank (for clarification, I never had more than one beta fish at a time. So I didn’t have multiple of them in the tank don’t worry—they just all lived at different times in the same tank) that had a filter with a pretty low flow on it. I never saw any of the fish have problems swimming with it on. I always used a highly rated water purifying product for the tank water (I forgot what it’s actually called) and I never had any sharp plants that would hurt their fins. I fed them a little every two days because I heard that feeding them everyday was bad for them. Do you happen to know what I was doing wrong? It was frustrating for me because I put a lot of effort into keeping them alive and healthy and then I would see people who kept them in small half gallon bowls have their fish outlive mine. It’s been a couple years, and I want to get another, but I don’t want to accident hurt/kill another one. How do you care for your beta fish? Do you have any advice? Sorry about the rant, but I follow you for your Jason content and happened to stumble upon some of you fish posts and need help. Thanks so much for reading this, and if you do end up offering any advice, I want to thank you for that too!

Hi dear, sorry if I took long to answer - tumblr notoriously does not inform me of messages>>

I understand your pain - especially that the situation with bettas is very frustrating. They tend to suffer from quite a few genetic defects (they are prone to tumours, for example) and are a very abused fish in the aquatic industry. Oftentimes by the time they will get to a caring and dedicated owner, they’ve already went through a lot:0 We just don’t know how healthy the fish is before we got it.

I am by no means an expert, I have lost a few babies since I started the hobby a couple years ago and I can only assume what a few of them suffered from:( One thing that seems to work is leaving them and the tank alone for as long as you can once it’s all set up and cycled and running - apart form the regular maintenance. I am a chronic fiddler who needs to change and add plants, filters, etc, so I constantly have to hold myself back form doing things to the tank. My sister has the same betta for a second year now and the only thing she does with her tank is water changes once every couple weeks - and both him and a thousand of cherry shrimp that live there thriveXD

Some things I nowadays pay attention to that may be useful, however, are:

- water temp has to be consistent, on the warmer side. I keep mine at 26-27C (I don’t know how much that is in F, sorry>>). To that effect the tank needs a lid - it will trap the warm air, protecting the betta form inhaling cold air then they come up for a breath. They labyrinth breathing organ is quite sensitive to that.

- I feed my boys twice a day, so I am not a part of the ‘feed them little’ club. I give them a little pinch of the good flake in the morning (Bug Bites is nice) and a 3-4 granules of a King Betta or a pinch of a protein-rich micro pellets in the evening. A betta breeder I talked to a couple times advised that it’s better to feed the boys a couple times a day in small quantities rather than once - keeps their digestive tracts working and they can avoid constipation. Constipation happens often with bettas and is a headache to solve. I leave frozen bloodworms for special occasions and just rotate the dry foods for variety.

- I change water every week - and every other week make sure to vacuum gravel the substrate. In the planted tanks I vacuum only about 2-3cm of the top layer to not disturb planting substrate below and not to suck up any shrimp, so it’s a gentle operation. In the gravel where there is no growing substrate I go deep - the reason being that I want to free any possible air bubbles stuck underneath where bad bacteria may grow.

- Pick a filter and stick to it. I was very bad at that, but I finally managed to hotwire a combo that seems to work so I will stick to it;) If you can stand the noise, I advise a sponge filter - it’s so easy to clean and manageTT If you can’t stand the hum of the air pump and the bubbles, I recommend a matten filter - or hotwiring an internal filter to a sponge filter - like so - instruction in German, but the visuals are very self-explanatory;] I used gel superglue to connect the filterhead to a sponge filter and now all I have to do once a month or rarer is to pull the sponge off and squeeze it few times in the used tank water! And sometimes clean the showerhead from algae;] It saves you so much money on the cartridges (corner sponge filters are a couple £/$ and last years) and provides extra filtration. My shrimps also eat off it;]

- get a snail. Seriously, I have a snail in every tank - a single nerite will do best for a 5gal. They don’t breed in sweet water, don’t grow large and will keep your glass clean for you - I have not cleaned my tanks’ glass since... ever>> Joe I and Joe II do it for meXD They also provide company for the betta and something fun to look at. And he will scarf uneaten food form the gravel.

- I assume you know about the nitrogen cycle, so I will not bore you here about bacteria and such. But a best chance of saving the betta form stress when you get him home is a cycled tank. You can get an ammonia testing set - or, if you find that a bit intimidating (I do for some reason) you can go to an aquarist shop and they will check your water for you. My local store in town does it for free. I am not sure about big box stores, tho. If you see something being wrong with the betta, check water and see if it needs to be changed asap.

- water changes are mandatory and have to be regular. A 5gal is a convenient size - I am using a 5l bottle left over from mineral water as a measuring tool;) This way I know I am always changing roughly 1/4th of the tank’s water. It’s very easy to see how much water I removed and how much I have to put back in - I can control the water temp and add dechlotinator/vitamins etc before it goes into the tank, so I do not shock my critters with too hot or too cold water. The rule I practice is leaving the dechlorinator in the bottle for about 10 mins before pouring it all into the tank.

- you don’t have to be intimidated by planted tanks:) A little bunch of anubias on a stick is often enough to start with and a good look for a tank, in my opinion. It also makes for a more natural space for the betta he will certainly appreciate. The less fancy stuff the better - I got my first natural rocks form the side of the road (ofc I boiled the life out of them before they got even close to the tank) and they are usually quite cheap on amazon. A stick with a plant and a rock and some small-size gravel is often enough to look good. The plants will also help with eating up nitrites and keeping the water healthy.

- goodness, what else. Medicaiton. Ok. I have tried many meds for my boys and once the fish is in a bad way not much will help, form my experience :( My med set consists of Melafix - I add it to water according to instructions whenever I see my betta without appetite or acting off. It’s a mild anti-bacterial mixture that does not affect snails/shrimp. If that does not help, I use eSHa 2000 or eSHa Exit - they are two very comprehensive meds that deal with a variety of problems. I have never used aquarium salt, but some people swear by it - there’s no specific reason I don’t use it, I just never got around to it.

This is all the chaotic advice, but things to remember (I am not trying to be condescending, I just don't know how much you know;]) are: cycled tank, regular water changes&filter maintenance, consistent temperature and quality food. Bettas are hardy little suckers, but sometimes they are also frail in ways we can’t see until it’s too late. I am already seeing a tumour growing on one of my boys and there is nothing I can do about it except giving him the best life I can - he is still going strong, but I know he will probably not last to the end of the year. It’s a hobby that sometimes seems thankless, but if you do everything right, even if they leave early, at least you’ve given them a good and peaceful time before that:)

If I you have any more questions or just want to share woes, feel free to message, I will do my best to answer:)

#bettas #fishkeeping #Anonymous

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smolbeandrabbles · 4 years ago

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Director’s Cut 2: Ralph Anderson

“In interviews I read Mendo aiming for a Gary Cooper type performance, strong, silent type. I think your fics are AU, right? Not much mention of the Terry Maitland case or El Cucuo. So are the fics with the OFC with the child fix-it fics for the loss of Derek in the show? At any rate, I enjoy his fics.

I read the Outsider, I love Stephen King and was cautious about the tv show because Holly Gibney appears in earlier books ( the Bill Hodges series) and I am protective of her character, I think they did her justice in the show and I was truly captivated by Mendo’s performance. You’ve posted stuff about disliking the series. Can I ask why?”

So, I’m gonna tackle this in 4 pieces. 3 for the different tracks I’ve written Ralph under - and then my opinion of the series!

Like with my Andrew one I’m gonna refer to my Readers by their OC names.

1: Trouble (un-named Reader character)

I’ll start with the two sets of fics that include the theme you’re specifically referring to: with Reader and her baby being a replacement for Derek. Very true, I thought it was a good premise for the request given to me; I originally started with something more romantic - without Jeannie where Ralph/Reader end up together, buuuuut I liked it a little more keeping Jeannie there and giving the Anderson’s a child back (as it were.)

Not necessarily AU set though, this particular fic is set before the events of The Outsider the TV show, hence why Jack Hoskins is also kicking around. 😁 My mistake for not mentioning that fact anywhere, but yeah, Terry and El Cuco hasn’t all happened yet, and therefore are kept out. But, staying on the ‘replacement for Derek’ and ‘lack of mention of Terry & El Cuco’ theme...

2: Harmony & Renee Andersson: ( Sure Be Cool If You Did / Bienvenue From Hell, Mon Amour / Made in the USA / Cold Night / I Could Not Ask For More / Thank you Muppets, No More Questions! / Under The Weather)

This is where I started with Ralph, roughly a year ago before the show came out. I’d read the book, the trailer was out and I wanted to write for him and the character I’d come up with as his S/O - Harmony. With all I had to go on at the time really the book, we retain all Book!Canon names, settings and personalities/relationships in this series.

Because I removed Jeannie & Derek entirely (no divorce or deceased children here!) yes, this is certainly AU set. The reason why El Cuco and Terry get fleeting 1 sentence mentions (often just referred to as “The Impossible Case”) is because this AU is set after the events of The Outsider. Harmony transfers to Flint City as a new Detective and replaces the now deceased Jack Hoskins. Although she’s much more Ralph’s partner than he was.

Because I wanted to keep that family dynamic / fatherly thing that Ralph has going on. And because I hadn’t really explored it before, Harmony has her adopted daughter, Renee... and so she kinda replaces the ‘Derek’ factor!

The Andersson / Anderson thing is intentional, more importantly the R.Andersson / R.Anderson thing is intentional 😁 It’s a good source of banter, and things I have yet to write! *ehem* proposal fic anyone? *ehem* 3: Dia (Shifter!Reader) - Halfway Home / Control (3rd part coming soon)

This is really the only series where I go into detail about the Case - although ‘Halfway Home’ only really gives a quick skim over of all the events of the show as again, the majority of this is set after The Outsider - but is more directly influenced by what happened in the show than my ‘main’ series is.

Again, Derek and Jeannie don’t exist - and Dia and Ralph have been together four years prior to the events of the series. So, yes! AU, but show AU rather than book AU this time as we retain the same characters, personalities and settings from the show. This started as more of a ‘what if’ exploration. “What if you found out your S/O was a mythical being?” and then also got to explore the “Well, Ralph’s just encountered one and it wasn’t good. What is his reaction to her going to be?” And I like the good / evil black/white and also ‘grey area’ twist I get to put on this series as well as other themes I get to explore surrounding trust, and the depth of your love for someone, why people lie about things, and that idea of ‘not judging a book by its cover’ or... ‘tarring everyone with the same brush’ (or whatever you’d want to call it). Kinda... ‘love and consequences’.

I got to explore ... uhm... explain? a lot more of Show!Ralph’s personality in this one. I guess it was helpful to me, and also therapeutic! haha! 😅 I ripped out his episode 10 monologue to The Outsider and had him say it nearly word to the woman he’d loved for 4 years (who happens to be a shapeshifter) and it just hit better - side note, the way Ben delivered that gave me chills...

Interestingly although we don’t have a child present, I still tackle the theme of children here. I don’t have a replacement for Derek - but I keep the fatherly Ralph idea present through a look at wanting to, but not being able to, have kids.

4: My Dislike of the Show

I mean I don’t like talking about the fact that I don’t like the show as much as I really want to talk about the fact that I don’t like the show. I know a whole bunch of people really like the show and I don’t want to come across as “that person” or like “you can’t have that opinion!” or... talk bad about something that someone really enjoys, right? I’m also conscious that a lot of the Newer members to the Mendo fam are here because of this show (Welcome guys! It’s so lovely to have you join us 🥰) and I always wish to be kind and helpful towards the newbies! 🙏 I don’t want them to feel like they can’t come talk to me because of my dislike for what brought them to our little fandom.

But it comes down to this: I really, REALLY loved the book. I don’t ever think I’ve loved a book and it’s characters so much. It was my first Stephen King novel and is such a great introduction to his writing. Yes, I basically only read it because Ben was going to be in the show - but, bottom line is I couldn’t wait to see this book be brought to life on screen... And it just wasn’t the same. I get that changes need to be made between page and screen, but I really think they made too many (in many cases unnecessary!) changes. Characters completely changed how they acted, relationships between characters changed because of this. Plot points were scrapped in favour of... new little side stories that didn’t add anything...

Unfortunately, Ralph Anderson (and as our main character, perhaps also the one they should have just left alone!), suffers from this the most.

Essentially I will never understand how we got this show from that book. How the writers can read Stephen King’s novel and go “Yeah, this is great but you know what would be better-!” and then... write this show. I do plan to do an in depth analysis of the shows 10 episodes... Probably next year when it’s been out a year and my feelings have settled...! 😊 And maybe that will help things!

Thank you for asking, I really appreciate it! Actually your ask made me realise that even when I write a character with several different readers to interact with, there are certainly similar themes that I run with for these characters. (Kids, in Ralph’s case for sure.) So that’s been an interesting discovery of my own; thank you for that! 💙 I hope I answered your questions satisfactorily! 🥰

---

I am once again asking for you to ask me Fanfic directors cut questions! I will beg! It’s not beyond me! 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

#Fanfic Directors Cuts #I mean I could have just left it as Trouble but I totally misread the question...#...and thought you were asking about Renee as a replacement for Derek #then I read the question again and I was like /Wait? Harmony and Renee? So I had to edit it all again...!/#and I was like /well yeah but he didn't lose Derek in theirs..../#but by then my head was already in Harmony mode #and why leave out Dia when I can talk about how cool she is?#Ugh! I can't wait to post the final 15500 words of that. ahahaha!#Why is my theme with Ralph kids? Because that theme in the book is so good?#Because of The Outsider for sure for Renee I think. Because he's always like /You have a little girl/#Trouble it went with the theme #and... I think for Dia it was to add a plotpoint about her particular brand of Shifter. But also...#...Holly mentions it a couple of times in the book. Whether they're sterile or not. So I followed that theme with my own twist...!#Long Post #Not as long as Andrew but comfortably long

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boogiewrites · 5 years ago

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A Girl Walks Into A Bar 14

Characters: Declan Harp x Bella Fiore (OFC)

Summary: Modern Declan harp AU. For their first outing on the town together, the sexual tension is ripe and heavy in the air. Will their night end how they plan it?

Warnings/Tags: Mild Language. Date Night. Flirting. Sexual Content. Violence.

Click on my screen name then go to Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. Please leave a like, reblog or comment if you enjoyed this! It makes me want to write more of what you want if you let me know!

Bella found herself floating like a much younger girl who’d never been hurt, slumping against the door after a slow and tortuous goodnight kiss.

She could smell him on her hands where she’s buried them in his hair and under his jacket, feel the plumpness of her lips, swollen from kissing him so long. She hummed with calm energy, biting her lip and smiling with no one around to make fun of her girlish behavior. No one except Robbie anyway.

Declan had a dopey smile on his face that he didn’t try to hide from anyone. Smile staying as he kept sighing, feeling a fullness in his chest as he drove home. The line had been crossed, his patience had been rewarded with an amazingly soft and sweet Bella and kisses of the same description. His moody little badass, his low key sweetheart and an absolute stunner in his eyes. And she wanted more. Of him, specifically which made his shoulders go slack and his insides melt at the words. A big puppy getting its belly rubbed is what he felt like, all warm and wiggly and excited. A kiss like the one they shared could only mean that other things between them would also be good. Man, they had chemistry, he thought to himself as he grew only slightly distracted on the empty road at the late hour. He knew he’d be thinking about her until he saw her again. He already wanted to. But he had to show restraint. Didn’t want to come on too strong for a woman like her, scare her off. He had her purring like a kitten in his arms, a smile on her lips after he kissed them, whispering she was looking forward to the date and more of this. It’s exactly where he’d wanted her, and he was going to make her his.

———

Mid-way through the workweek the whole office is buzzing about Bella. Did you see her in PINK lipstick? Hear her listening to Al Green? See the way she smiles at her phone when it lit up now? Her normally curmudgeon behavior had softened its edges just slightly. At least when she thought no one was paying attention.

“You gonna fess up yet?”

“Nothing to confess.” She says brow still low as her fingers shifted through a binder.

“Then tell me why you’re smiling at your phone at least? If it really is nothing I can squash the rumors.”

“Rumors?” She scoffs

“You know, secret boyfriend, secret girlfriend? Hitched in secret, pregnant with a hidden long term partners child?” She offers with a smirk.

“None of those things.” She replies looking up with a not hateful but not accommodating face.

“You gonna blame it on dog memes again?” CeeCee quirks a brow.

“To be fair...it usually is dog memes.” She lets out a low chuckle.

“Fine. I’ll find out one of these days.” She calls out as she walks down the hall.

——

“I closed up before you even got back, boyo.” Mike already grinning ear to ear as he puts on his apron, Declan sat at the bar and going over his books.

“It’s because I got back after that.” He says in a sash tone Mike is used to.

“And…? How’d it go?” He asks leaning on his elbows on the opposite side of the counter.

“Great.” He says plainly.

“Oh c’mon!” He says and shoves Declan’s shoulder.

He takes off his reading glasses and purses his lips at Mike.

“Ya not talkin? That bad? Or that good?” He asks with a jutting out chin and smile that read as patronizing.

“I don’t kiss and tell.”

“You’ve not had no kissin TO tell in so long and Christ knows I innit gettin’ any so give me somethin’. Let me know my boy's heart’s intact. That we’ll be seein’ little Bella again.”

“If I told you and she found out she’d be pissed.”

“Likes her privacy eh?”

“Anyone with a brain would assume so.” He shoots Mike an obvious glare.

“So there’s somethin to tell?”

“There’s not...nothing to tell.”

“Fuckin spit it out, if ya can’t tell ya best mate who the fuck can ya tell?”

He sighs and gives in, having her on his mind constantly he wanted to tell someone bless him, it was in his nature to share good news to those close to him. “Paintball was a hit, she was great, liked it. Ate at Tony’s, perfect. Talked for hours. She was...well ya know. I think she was amazing.” He muttered the last part.

“Oh look at him! A wee blush to his cheeks! He’s got it bad he does!” He pinches Declan’s cheek and he smacks him away. “So ya didn’t take her to bed yet eh? Never known two adults who like each other so much to take it so damned slow.”

“We didn’t sleep together but…” he smirks, “I did kiss her.”

“There he is! Lady killer! Get her boy!” He growls and cheers enthusiastically as Declan grins at him slapping his arm.

“We’re going out on a real date this weekend.”

“Oh, a real one eh? That mean you need to clean your apartment?” Mike teases.

“Already did so, jokes on you.” He answers with a groan as he stretches his back. “But I might not be back that night.” He adds.

“I sure as fuck hope not!” Mike says obviously.

————

One part of Bella didn’t want to seem too eager, but another part of her brain wanted to just say “fuck it!” and get all sexed up. She knew he would be looking fine as hell, how could he not? They were going to a place that required reservations, so she takes her time planning her date night look.

It’s been years since she’d cared about such a thing. Dates were casual and in most cases led to nothing after. There were jeans sure but there was also the occasion high heel thrown in the mix, the clipping in of a few wefts of hair, but as she stood in the bathroom and gathered all her things to prep and shave and scrub she remembered that this particular bit had never been fun. Bella wasn’t one to make a big fuss over body hair. Particularly at her age where her main opinion was if he doesn’t want hair on it, he’s too immature to eat it. But with a want to impress she found herself considering it. She shaved her legs and pits and trimmed the rest in the end. Maybe Declan would be into it? And shrugs at the thought and starts to wonder what sort of situation she’ll find on him.

With successfully not getting distracted and having to masturbate before the date thinking about him, unlike the past week where her toys had seen ample use, she now stands in front of her closet in the dress she’d picked out. Should she go for the fuck me pumps she’d splurged on years ago, thinking she would surely find an occasion to wear them, and she hadn’t much at all? Certainly not enough to warrant what she paid for them. But the bottoms matched her tight red dress and she decided she couldn’t pass it up.

Teased and polished she sways and looks at herself in the mirror, knowing another check of her bed would warrant nothing new. She’d cleaned and situated everything just so.

“Can you believe mama might be getting some tonight?” She asks Robbie.

He seems disinterested as he lays on his toy mouse on the corner of the bed.

“I sure as hell can’t.” She mutters, primping just for the hell of it, taking selfies and letting the Slow Jams Hard playlist fill the room.

Declan admittedly hadn’t put so much prep into his look. He was a very low maintenance kind of guy. Plus everything she’d ever complimented him on was covered, wavy hair and beard intact he only trims a little on his face for good measure. He trimmed a little below the belt as well, just as torn on the decision as Bella had been. Neither would have cared ironically. Bella was really into the natural look anyway.

He takes a cab, something that throws her off but shows her he plans on having some fun. And she would always be down for fun with Declan.

She peeps out of her window, strappy black heels ticking across the hardwood floor. “Fuck.” She whispers. God, he looked good. In a black button-up shirt that was tight in all the right places, a few undone at the top to reveal a charm necklace he looks positively edible to her. He cleaned up well, and she wasn’t normally a fan of dress clothes on men, but he’d changed her opinion on so many things already she shouldn’t be surprised. He still wore his big black boots, she could hear them heavy on the front porch, a jingle of a chain, a deep voice clearing his throat as a tingle ran down her spine.

She opens the door before he even knocks, being more than ready to see him face to face after being without him for days. She’d thought about him more the past week than she had in all the months of knowing him.

With his hand raised to knock, he forgets to lower it for a moment as she reveals herself. He felt underdressed despite the slacks and button-up shirt because next to her he thought he’d look downright sloppy.

“Hey...Bella..” a drawn-out and delayed greeting with eyes not meeting hers as he looked at her in her tight red dress. Just a hint of thigh, thin straps over her shoulders holding a chest that demanded he looked with its glimmer. Her skin gleamed as she moved but nothing compared to the smile he found on her face when he managed to drag his eyes up to hers.

“Hey yourself.” She gives him a cocky nod, getting the reaction she wanted out of him. And she better have, what with how much this lingerie had cost. She’d never spent so much on such little fabric before. But she was a fan of an indulgent purchase from time to time.

He turns and holds a finger up to the cab driver and moves inside to shut the door. “Can I tell you just how fuckin’ good you look without you slapping me?” He asks with glazed eyes and a smirk.

“I insist.” She purrs in response, her heels making her so much taller than before, standing up closer to his 6’ 4” daunting frame. He was a beast of a man but he could play civilized as she was seeing in his choices tonight.

“I’m glad we have reservations because otherwise, I might just tell that driver to fuck off.” He says with a slight laugh to his voice, hands moving to her bare upper arms and leaning in for a kiss.

“I’m not so glad about it.” She speaks softly back and gives him a playful tug at his bottom lip with her teeth. “Because you look so good in this, Declan.” Her voice breathy and, making his heart race. Her hands rub up against his chest, fingertips over the bare skin to his neck where she gives his beard a tug to bring him into another kiss. Round after round, the kisses could’ve gone on forever, but he wasn’t about to miss out on his hard attempts to woo her properly. Or at least what he thought she deserved.

He isn’t sure what he expected from her, but this sultry sort of behavior hadn’t been it. He’d been behaving himself, not sure where to put his hands at first, but when her fingers with their long nails snaked up the back of his neck, scratching into his scalp he moaned, a low chuckle against his lips. “That’s what I want to hear.” she smiles, looking up at him and his closed eyes. “You don’t have to be so well mannered Declan. We’re past that now, don’t you think?” she asks sweetly with naughty intentions with a tilt of her head, tongue giving his lips a little teasing lick. Man, was she feistier than he anticipated. But it only made him more eager to know more of this side of her.

“I didn’t wanna...insult you, ya’know? Didn’t want you to think that’s what this was all about.” he says with still closed eyes as she continues to scratch.

“You’re too sweet Declan.” she coos. “You don’t have to to worry about me dropping you for touching me. You’ve proven you’re not just around for a fuck. Besides... I really want you to touch me.”

With expressed permission, he forces his eyes open and looks down at her, a seductive portrait of a woman, and looking at him with long lashes and a wicked smile that told him everything else he needed to hear. “Good.” a deeper, more masculine voice and version of him emerges, no longer trying to withhold himself from her. Perhaps she was only hesitant before, and now that she felt she trusted him, all the walls that had been up that kept them from expressing just how much they wanted each other were now rubble, a clear attraction finally able to be confessed. “Because I’ve thought about touching you all week.” he adds before taking her for another deep kiss, big broad hands finally wrapping around her waist. She was so soft. Moving further down he gets handfuls of her ass, lifting her slightly which makes her let out another soft laugh into his mouth that he eagerly eats from her. The hard bars of her nipple piercings pressed through a thin bra up against his chest, just barely visible under the skin smoothing fabric.

“So have I.” she says, pulling away, hands to his cheeks now as she gives him one adoring look that makes him want her on more than a sexual level. How long had it been since a woman look at him like that? And a sober woman, with more than just a quick fuck on her mind. There would be nothing quick about his plans for her if he could help it. He wanted time with her, more and more the more he got. Any question he’d had about how the night would end was certainly answered for him now.

-------

Their hands gave away their want first. Walking her everywhere with one secure to her back as he moved, making sure no one nudged her or got in her way as they walked down the busy street and into the just as full restaurant. With a leather jacket over her dress, she still looked like she belonged in the most upscale place he’d possibly ever been. They were more than a few pay raises over the usual crowd from The Trading Post and she looked much more at ease than he did.

Bella had been in these sorts of places before. She certainly didn’t prefer them to places like Declan’s, but being best friends with a woman who married a businessman who was given a high position in one of the huge, mirrored window buildings that dotted the city skyline because of who his father was meant mixers, business parties and her and her new fancy friends wanting to sip skinny girl cosmo’s and talk about how hard it was to get their children into the best pre-school. Bella had nothing to really lend to these conversations. She’d gone to public school, so had her parents, and if she ever had a kid, it would go to public school as well. She wasn’t bred well, the daughter of an Irish hippie and a blue-collar Italian and had no illusions of being more. But despite the bad vibes from the picture-perfect women she had to stand with and nod politely for Charlotte’s sake, the buildings and food themselves were never that bad. So with the current company, someone else willing to slum it like she was, she wasn’t worried in the slightest about anyone else and what they thought in that bougie restaurant.

Declan for all his goofiness, was thorough when he wanted to be. Reserving a small U shaped booth near the back for some privacy and coziness, too close to the kitchen for most of the clientele she imagines. There was none of his usual almost clumsily loose body movements tonight, no big eye wrinkling grins, just a controlled and intense version of the sometimes puppy-like man she’d grown so fond of. She was unknowingly getting a glimpse at Black Wolf, the behavior that gave him the nickname. She watched him situate after settling her in, low brow over dark and questioning eyes, surveying the space.

“You didn’t have to bring me to a place like this you know.” she says with a soft and sweet tone, speaking low as he scooted right next to her, his arm around her and stretched across the back of the booth, taking up space and looking predatory.

“I know I didn’t have to.” his smile read more in his eyes than anything else now. His voice low and smooth and making the corners of her mouth slowly rise to give subtle approval to his words. “But I wanted to.” he leans in and nods.

“It’s really nice. Thank you.” she says with a polite bow of her head before crossing her legs towards him and patting his thigh. “Have you been here before?” she asks, looking over the market price only menu after sliding her jacket off, and of course, him lending assistance. With her highlighted shoulders now on display, his hand moves down to rest on her upper arms that were so close to showing definition she’d been momentarily angry they didn’t lean out before the date. But as his thumb swept across her buttery skin, slow drags of callouses from work, it was far from her mind.

“Nope.” the corner of his mouth twitching upward as he leans in close to read with her as she brings the menu between them.

“Me either.” she admits. “Places like this but not here.”

“Doesn’t seem like your kind of haunt.”

“It’s not. I’ve gone with Charlotte and her fancy ass friends.” she dismisses with a shake of her head. “I bet the meat here is amazing.” she says quietly, looking for him to add on his interests but he’s distracted by the fluff of her curls against his nose as he smells that intoxicating blend of deep patchouli and warm, sweet vanilla that he’d never smelled anywhere but on her.

He grunts and she looks up to him with curious eyes. “You smell amazing, babe.” he admits with a deep coo that forces a wider smile across her face, her bold red lips looking even more inviting to him set in the welcoming pose.

She leans in closer to his chest, giving a strong inhale that makes him chuckle, seeing the expanse of his chest jiggle slightly with the massive pecs she wanted to bury her face in. “You smell absolutely edible.” she adds with an amused hunch of her shoulders.

“I’m not sure if that’s the case.” he grins, a softer face pulling through.

She narrows her eyes playfull, chomping her teeth at him in an audible snap that makes his more goofy grin appear. “Don’t tell me what to do.” she retorts with a flip of her hair and turning back to the menu.

He laughs a chest rumbling and moving sound that made her ego inflate. He leans in and kisses her temple, a reward for reminding him why he’d pursued her in the first place. “Not one for being bossed around, huh?” he asks almost innocently. The back of his mind couldn’t help but wonder if her preferences carried over into the bedroom.

“I mean..” she shrugs and smirks, snuggling up closer to him. “For the right man who knows what I’d be into.” she doesn’t meet his eyes but the smirk on her painted lips is enough to make him let out a low growling laugh and give her a good squeeze, another kiss to the head.

“I think I might want to try giving you some orders sometime.” he says into her ear with a clearly intentioned voice that does its job.

Her skin blooms with goosebumps and she hums happily, moving her face to his. “Oh you’re welcome to try anything, Declan.” she purrs and kisses him softly with a wrinkle of her nose.

“Then I will,” he says grazing his nose to hers. “Later.” he says with more authority in his voice as they share another tender kiss.

They order, and they don’t hold back, as per his instructions. Their bodies couldn’t have been closer, a large hand rested on her bare knee, slowly running down her legs and back up again with fingertips teasing the hem of her dress as he spoke. She kept touching his tender jaw, soft and lingering chaste kisses when she couldn’t stand it any longer. Her hands for the most part behaving, but sinking into his collar to his neck, playing with the chest hair with the revealing unbuttoned top of his shirt. She played with his rings and hands while he told stories, but still listening. He would brush her hair back, lean in so close she could feel his breath on her neck and ears before he spoke. There was spoken and unspoken tension that they both knew was building to a peak.

They both get the best steak, a bottle of wine and a dessert to share. Picking the messiest on purpose, Bella demands only one spoon, and let’s playtime continue. She feeds him tiny macarons with her precise fingers. Both taking turns, deciding on which sweet to try next. The underlying lust between them fueled everything they did with all the flirting and wine between them. Her full lips puckered against his large fingertips while he paused and let her playfully bite them as he hand-fed her. He kissed and licked away rouge splashes of cream and chocolate, taking it from her lips with a slow passing of his thumb to suck it into his own mouth. She was utterly mesmerized. On the last bites, taking her finger and wiping the fruit purée from the plate she sucks on her fingers, looking into his eyes, being bold and humming with sexual energy. He couldn’t help but feel and be charged by it.

“Lemme try some baby.” He speaks so low and deep she feels her body thrum like a guitar string deep between her legs when he spoke like that to her.

She repeats the action and he takes her finger into his mouth, and she’s worried her legs would no longer work when he tried to stand. That and her panties were definitely ruined by the forward action. Her lashes flutter and her cheeks flush, licking her lips as he grins seeing her face be so transparent. She takes a deep breath and a tiny little noise escapes her.

“What is it babe? You like that or something?” He teases, nose on her hair and words traveling directly from his lips to her ears. Every time he’d call her some sweet pet name her insides quivered. A gentle affection with intentions that were anything but.

She gathers herself before speaking, moving her face back to his, forcing eye contact to prove he hadn’t won yet. “It makes me wish the ride back home was a whole hell of a lot shorter.” Her lips and taut and speak with articulation, tongue flicking for dramatic effect and it all worked seamlessly. “I wanna take you home, Declan.” She coos, fluttering her lashes and rubbing her fingers down his neck. “Let me show you what I like.” She adds before pressing another kiss to his lips.

“There is nothing else I’m more interested in doing, sweetheart.”

——————-

They were like two hormonal teens in the back seat of that cab in the dark. Cozied up close and every touch feeling electric and sending signals to every amorous part of their brain and thus, body. Flirtatious giggles and their quietening with kisses turns hot quickly. Her hand on his neck and jaw, his rubbing up the outside of her thigh up to the swell of her hip, dragging the hem of her dress higher. If they weren’t kissing their faces stayed close with sweet whispers and affectionate nuzzles the whole ride home. The well-lit city fades to more spaced street lamps of residential areas and before they knew it they were back at Bella’s and both covered in a sheen of sweat.

“Thanks. And some extra for having to deal with us.” He chuckles and gives a nod to the driver. “Kept it strictly PG-13 don’t worry.” He grins and joins her in readjusting their clothes as they stand on the curb for a moment.

“C’mon handsome.” She says with a smile that was more happy than sexual, taking his hand and walking up to her door.

He puts his hands on her hips as she finds her keys in her purse and kisses the rounds of her shoulders. She was finding it very hard to concentrate. With hands almost Misbehaving and roaming up to just under her bra, they felt like they could wrap around her entire torso they were so big. Although that was far from factual, the fact that he was making her feel like something dainty that could be taken and overpowered had her nipples standing at full, sensitive attention from thought alone.

“Movin’ a little slow there baby.” He grins against the bend of her neck, lips hovering by her ear.

“You’re doing a very good job of distracting me.” She huffs out a laugh and finally gets the keys in and the door open. He hangs her coat first, then his as she enters the security codes. Lazily tossing her purse onto the small bench by the standing lamp in the hallway that went straight from the front door to the kitchen, it gives the perfect amount of ambient light to the living room. It illuminates the warm-toned, retro and southwestern style room just enough to be alluring but not be clumsy.

After the chain leaves her hands from her bag, his are back on her. Snaking around to her lower back and into her hair at the nape of her neck which gave her a thrill all the way down into her stomach. He meets her eyes, her face lit by the lamp but his shadowed, he looks over her expectant expression of slightly parted lips and doting eyes.

“Would you think less of me if I told you I was tired of taking it slow? ” She unexpectedly whispers as his thumb traces her bottom lip, getting an intimate look at her up close.

His eyes threaten to roll back in his head at her words, he could feel his pulse in his throat and lets out a low masculine grunt at her confession. He takes her face into both of his, entirely encapsulating it in his grasp. “I don’t intend on rushing with you baby. But I promise I won’t make you wait too long.” He promises in a rasping whisper before joining their mouths.

The kiss slips over chest and light, her arms around his neck, pulling him close as his hands control her body, moving it back towards the living room couch. With deep, probing turns that had their tongues wrapped around each other, escaping their mouths as one would have to stop to pant or moan. Their eyes are rolled back behind their lids, their hands desperate and now free to roam as they pleased. Hers sank into that glorious mane of his, the almost black roots like her hair color fading lighter from his time in the sun as they traveled down to his collar bones. Her fists balled into it, and with the feeling of finally giving in to something he’d wanted to do for longer than she liked to admit, she moans as she gives herself over to the pleasure of it.

Showing her impatience she pulls him to the couch, one finger into his belt loop to tug him her way, and it didn’t take any more than that to have him follow her. With a strong hand moving self assuredly down her backside to her thigh, hiking her leg up and causing her dress to shimmy up in the process, he grabbed her tightly and with his strong arms and long legs he lowered her onto the couch on her back.

Him not even making it to the bedroom wasn’t lost on her. She said she didn’t want to wait and he wasn’t going to make her. Her muscular thighs latch ahold of him, small desperate noises escaping her as his hands finally grabbed her with purpose like she’d been daydreaming about. With a growl and a firm hand to her ass, his kisses start to travel and she sighs out helplessly against him. Buried in her neck she feels the suck and bite of him against her, shutting her eyes and fully indulging in it, her back arching off the plush couch involuntarily.

Her hands move between them to reach down and run her hand over his growing length, biting her lip and snarling at the hardness she finds there pinned against her.

In response, he bites the fullness of her breast over her dress and makes her let out a breathy chuckle. He kisses his way across her bare skin, nipping at her piercings that were now pushed prominently against the strained fabric. “Ugh, these are so fuckin sexy baby.” He noses against the bump of bar. “These, the tattoos...so fuckin’ sexy.” He groans and takes a big mouthful into his mouth.

“I like yours too ba- Oh!” She squeaks as his phone starts to vibrate against her in his pocket. With a shared laugh, he takes it out and silences it, putting it on the coffee table and moving back to kissing her. “Thought you’d bought some toys to the party.” She giggles as he kisses her cheeks and the sides of her mouth while she nuzzles against him. “Although I’m certain you won’t need them.” She purrs and reaches down to grab him gently, fingertips tapping and dragging over him sensitive length.

He grunts and starts in on her jaw, a muffled “Nuh uh.” A shake of his head against her, working back down to her chest again. His hand had worked its way under her dress, which was now around her waist revealing the black and mesh thong that makes him drag his tongue across the swells of her breasts to her mouth again. “Fuck Bella.” He exhales softly, looking down at her soft and thick thighs. A perfectly framed, chubby mound grabs his attention, proving every bit of her was soft, so he does the same to it. His hand cupping over her entirely, fingers feeling between her thighs and finding her already wet through her panties, cueing another deep, drawn-out “Fuuuuck.” as he rubs over her, propped up on one arm and sucking away at her neck as she lets him explore her body.

His phone buzzes again, the call goes unanswered and barely noticed with their noisy kisses and moans, her unbuttoning his shirt and him pulling the front of her dress down. Her hands are working on his belt, fumbling with the buttons. as he broadly licks over the mesh cups on her bra. They were in their own little bubble again, hands harsh and needy, kisses hard and biting. And his phone buzzes a third time.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who wants a piece of you tonight.” She jokes, kissing his ears, voice extra breathy in his ear as she takes his earlobe into her mouth.

“Well fuck ‘em.” He mumbles and she exhales an amused sound into his ear before taking a nibble. He retakes her mouth with his into a messy kiss with a hard grip to her thigh and she hums contently in his embrace. He shifts, hard cock herring against her middle with pants undone, her with her dress around her waist and his weight grinding into her making her swear and bury her hands in his hair again with a tight grip. But then the phone rings again.

With a pause from them both, Declan lets out a rugged sigh.

“Go ahead.” She says sweetly, understanding the cause for stopping for a moment.

“Shit.” He groans, running his hand through his hair. “It’s Mike.” He knew Mike wouldn’t interrupt him on this night, of all nights for no reason. “Baby I’m afraid I need to-“

“Take it babe.” She insists with a shake of her head, snuggling into the couch and her hands going back to roaming over him. A sneaking under the band of his boxers over his muscular ass, a hand running over his chest and into his hair where she began kissing as he spoke.

“Mike you better be dead you asshole to be calling me.” He growls out, face stern and intense as he stares into the darkness of the room to concentrate.

Bella continues on under him, rubbing her hips against his, palming him over his tight and now wet boxers with a serene face and bitten lip. The usual questions follow, who, why, when. But she knows the gig is up when he lets out a loud and annoyed sigh and buried his face in her chest, hair covering his face. “Fuck you man, yeah.” He forces out angrily. “Shut up I’ll be there.” He says hanging up on him and putting the phone back on the table. He sighs and touches her cheek, hips subtly moving with her still moving against him.

“You have to go don’t you?” She whispers as he runs his thumb across her lips.

“Yeah, baby I’m-fuck I don’t want to.” He lets out a frustrated laugh. “Some asshole is fucking up the bar and asking for me.”

“Your reputation precedes you.” She grins and gives him a soft and slow kiss they both allow themselves to get lost in for a minute.

“I hate this shit. I try to stay out of this bullshit and-“ She pulls his face down into a hard kiss and he moans into it.

“I get it. I fucking hate it but I get it. When you’re the boss these things happen. I know.” She says with a graze of her nose to his.

“You’re too good to me baby girl.” He says with a disheartened sigh and another lippy kiss with her center throbbing at the pet name. He pulls back and she watches him move, making no move herself to hide or change position, her hand only trailing between her legs to find the, even impressive to her, wetness that had seeped through the panties.

“You’ll be good to me later.” She winks and sticks out her tongue. He looked her over, biting his lip and latched his pants back up.

“I’ll be the best to you later baby. I swear.” He says leaning over and taking her foot and kissing her ankle, then her calf, leaning in for another kiss to the lips. “God damn it’s hard to leave you looking like this.”

“You left me plenty wet for me to have some fun without you. I won’t be happy but I’ll live. I’ll be pretending it’s you anyway. Will you think of me later baby?” She playfully licks his lips as he raises again to separate himself, finding it hard enough watching her with her tits almost out, dress pulled away, her red nails rubbing circles over her panties, sinking into the glistening wet and softness.

“Every fucking minute until we’re back like this.” He groans.

“You go take care of business, boss.” She orders with pouty lips and a deeper turn of voice. “You ring him up by his fuckin neck for me baby.” She smiles wickedly and he takes a deep breath and exhales towards the ceiling.

“Fuck you are….well you might just be fucking perfect. Fuck.” He groans and mumbles.

“You’ll find out soon.” She whispers, hand disappearing down her panties.

“Fuck yes I will.” He says stalking with a still hard cock straining against his pants. “And I’m sorry baby, I couldn’t be more sorry.” He says with his hand on the doorknob.

“I know big guy.” She grins and moans. “You know where to find me.” She giggles, running a hand through her hair.

“Night baby.”

“Night.”

—————-

The number of people outside the bar told him something was wrong. Normally, when someone was raising hell no one would look twice, it happened, it was a bar. But as he stepped out of the cab, his impressive stature primed and ready for a fight, the men parted to let him through, their rubbernecking ceasing for a moment. He slung the door open with a loud and carnal growl, it slamming against the rubber stopper and bouncing, taking the attention of the man causing the trouble. He knew him or knew his brother anyway. Another abusive piece of shit he’d beaten up months ago because he’d hit one of his friends in front of her kid. Declan didn’t stand for that shit. He’d gone to jail recently, and he’s guessing this poor drunk bastard was acting out and looking for someone to blame. Well, he’d found him.

“There’s the mother fucker!” the guy drunkenly yells.

Once Declan sees who it is, no longer worried about a fight, he looks around to the damage done. Mike wasn’t joking. An end of the bar was still on fire, taps searing red hot and all the stools broken, a few booths had been knifed and gutted, a neon sign smashed, it was enough to make Declan want to wreck the guy, but he’d already fucked with him on the wrong night.

Throwing his jacket off he charges like a bull to the guy, ignoring the knife in his hand and putting one hand around his neck, and picking him up off her feet and slamming him into a wall. Hard. The other hand takes the knife while the guy was caught off guard and pushes it into his cheek, enough to let him know he was serious.

“You picked the wrong night to come fuck with me you little shit.” he barks in his face, spit flying as he growled from his gut, all his frustration into the guys face.

“I’m gonna fuckin’ keeeeel you, you mother fuck-” he begins but Declan squeezes his throat and he chokes, knocking his head against the wall again.

“You think you are? You stupid piece of shit?” he takes him and throws him into a table, stalking over him, leaning and looking while he struggled. “Is this what you wanted? Me to kick your fucking ass, huh?” he shouts, kicking him lightly with his boot. “Because I could fucking KEEEL you for coming in here. Fucking with MY shit. Ruining MY night with my girl? Fuck you!” he yells, giving him a kick to the ribs.

“Declan. Slow down.” Mike warms while trying to put out the fire.

“So I beat the shit out your brother? So what? He’s trash just like you. You wanna send the rest of the family down? I’ll kick their asses too.” he growls and stands over him now holding him by the shirt.

“HE went to jail because of you!” he drunkenly slurs.

“No. He went to jail because he’s a fuckin’ idiot who can’t keep his god damn mouth shut. Must run in the family huh?” he snarks, slapping the guy across the face.

“If you hadn’t-”

“If I hadn’t he would’ve kept beating Sasha and that kid would’ve seen it and had to live with that. You might not care, but I do. And your brother deserves whatever he gets, same as you. Now c’mere.” he yanks him up, the guy's feet not even on the ground as he holds him to his face. “Now you can get the fuck out of here, or I can put your name on the fuck ton of paperwork this is gonna take to get the damage your little fuckin tantrum has caused and your ass will have to pay for it. And we’ll have to go to court, and you’ll have to pay for that and get a lawyer. So what’s it gonna be? You get the fuck out and stay the fuck away from me and mine? Or do I need to make you disappear?” he threatens with a low threat. He knew he could if he wanted. He’d done it before, he’d, unfortunately, have to do it again, he was sure.

“I’ll go-fuck-Jesus.” he sputters out of a bloody mouth.

Declan carries him like a battering ram and throws him onto the sidewalk. “You gonna come for me you best not miss mother fucker.” he says giving him one last kick to the ass and knocking him down again.

Declan whips back his hair, running a hand through it and letting out a sound of frustration, blood pumping fast and fingers tingling with anger.

“Get back in boys, before you start calling attention to us.” he calls out, stomping back inside. He slams his hand down on the non-burnt end of the bar. “Give me a fucking drink!” he shouts and Mike obeys, handing him an entire bottle of whiskey. He takes large gulps and closes it back. “God damnit.” he growls again, still angry, the burn in his throat fitting for how he felt.

“Yeah this is-”

“A fucking mess.” he says with his eyes shut. “And a week before the fucking show.”

“And on date night.” Mike mumble which he was the sorriest for. “Didn’t mean to interrupt ya mate.” His eyes lowered he throws a hand towel to Declan who is covered in smudges of red lipstick.

“YEAH! THAT TOO!” he yells and groans. “What?” He wrinkles his nose at the offering.

“Ya got a bit a-“ Mike motions to Declan’s neck as he turns to see the polka-dotted lip prints across his skin.

“Fuck.” he roars out in frustration, thinking about having to leave in the middle of the act of those prints being left. “Fuckin’ bullshit. Stupid mother fuckers. Goddamned idiot-” he mumbles walking into the back to get the folder for the insurance information.

Mike sighs and purses his lips. There wasn’t any way he could turn this to make it better. So he just let Declan boil until it all evaporated and went down to a simmer. Because a furious Declan wasn’t something you wanted to be in the sights of. Even if he wasn’t coming for you.

-----

Bella, not having heard from Declan becomes slightly worried amid her horniness. She takes pictures of herself, dimly lit room and not a stitch on.

When a lackluster response of “You’re killing me baby.” With radio silence afterward she goes to sleep mildly concerned.

A call to the bar just rang unanswered, and she didn’t have Mike’s number so she does the next sensible thing and goes to the bar after work.

She stands in the doorway with wide eyes. Men with clipboards and hard hats carrying out chunks of the bar and booths, and little Mike sweeping and looking rather forlorn.

“What the fuck happened?” she says with a frowning face as she steps aside for a man to get through the door.

“Oh hell, Hi Bella.” Mike says with a sympathetic looking nod. “The reason I had to call and interrupt last night happened. Sorry ‘bout that by the way.” he shrugs.

“Looks like you had a good reason.” she says with a hand running through her hair.

An exhausted looking Declan comes out the back room, hair tied back and in worn and dirty jeans and t-shirt. “Oh fuck.” he sighs out and rubs his face. “I still hadn’t called you back. Shit.” he groans and walks towards her, reaching out and giving her a hug. “I’m gross but-”

“Shut up. Are you okay?” she asks, patting him down with her hands and then holding his face.

“I’m fine.” he dismisses her worry. “But the bar…” he sighs.

“Yeah. Fuck dude.” she answers, still looking him over, putting loose strands behind his ears as she looks around the bar. “You sure you’re okay? No offense but you look rough.” she says with a kind, soft laugh, her thumbs rubbing over his cheeks as the softness makes the tension in his neck ease.

His shoulders slump and he finally focuses on her and her worried expression. “C’mere.” he says, taking her hand and leading her into the back, behind a door that led to a flight of stairs and a door with lots of stickers and banners on it.

“What’s?” she asks before he opens it, revealing a studio apartment. “Whaaa?” she says surprised.

“You didn’t know?” he chuckles, shutting the door and moving to wrap his arms around her.

“No I didn’t know this was here.” she laughs, feeling a bit dumb. “I didn’t wanna be nosey.” she shrugs.

“Well this is my apartment.” he says with a nonchalant shrug. The space wasn’t huge, but not small, all exposed brick and wood and industrial looking. It felt old, the wood worn and haggard, two walls to block off a bedroom, a bar for seating in the kitchen, a bathroom tucked away in the corner. It felt very him to be so bare bones.

“I like it. Very... rustic.” she says before he takes her face and kisses her. “Mmph. Oh okay.” she mutters into it and giggles, moving to wrap her arms around him and kiss him back. After a few rounds that were for comfort more than anything he parts, his forehead to hers.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t call you back.”

“Well, you’ve clearly been busy.” she says supportively.

“So fucking busy. No excuse. I’m sorry, okay?” he insists and she kisses him softly.

“Forgiven.” she says with a smile, reaching to give him a hug. “Don’t worry about me. You’ve got enough on your plate.” she insists, rubbing his back. How had he gone without this sort of comfort for so long? He grunts into it and she smiles, nuzzling into his hair and kissing his head. “You’re exhausted. Have you slept?” she pulls away and strokes his face.

“Not really.”

“That’s what I thought.” she nods. “Can I help?”

“You are helping.” he sighs out.

“Good.” she smiles and kisses his temples. They stay like that for a moment, her rubbing on him, easing the pain in his joints and muscles with the moment of recharge she was giving him. “Shit. What about the-?” she blurts out.

“Show. I know.” he shakes his head and groans. “I got the paperwork started last night for the insurance, then called these guys first thing this morning. We’ve been surveying and taking pictures and all that shit all day, so we’re getting out all the damaged stuff now. Insurance will be here in a few days, so that’s good. But the taps are destroyed, so’s the register and some of the stock. I can replace the booths and stools and shit no problem but the other things take time.”

“Do I need to cancel my stuff then?” referring to the walkthroughs she had scheduled for later in the week to set up the sound and lights.

“Nah. It should be fine. I’m helping the guys out, I’m a workhorse. We can drive out and get some shit from the supplier ourselves, it’ll be faster. I think we can manage.”

“You’re gonna be exhausted.” she responds with a pout of her lips, already seeing it on his face.

“Yeah but...gotta be done.”

“I can reschedule.” she insists.

“No, no. You’ve worked hard on it. I’m not gonna start this off with backing out. Don’t wanna jinx it like that.”

“It’s your call, babe.” she says with a supportive, soft smile.

“And it’s still on. It’ll be a shit week but by the end, it should be worth it. And if this works out then that money will be much needed to cover everything until the insurance comes through.”

“What’re you gonna do about the taps and everything? The POS?”

“A register is easy. The taps harder but doable.” he shrugs.

“Well, you could take this opportunity to upgrade a few things?” she says cautiously, not wanting to offend. “It’d cost more and I don’t wanna be nosey about your finances but a few upgrades could really give you an edge.” she offers with a face that was hesitant but honest.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean get some taps installed, some temperature regulated ones, keeps the head just right. A one-touch POS that you could program everything into, wouldn’t have to remember prices. WOuld really help with the temps. You get a report at the end of every day, you can manage everything from a computer. If you get volume in here it’ll really help you out. And if I have anything to do with it, you will.” she nudges her nose to his and he smiles down at her.

“You’re brilliant but I have no clue how to even go about that.” he chuckles in self-defeat.

“Lucky for you, you know a girl who does.” she beamed at him.

“I am lucky. You know that?” he hums and leans in and kisses her.

“Stop being so sweet I don’t know how to act.” she lets out a laugh that shook her shoulders.

“Get used to it.” he huffs out and kisses her again, squeezing her around the ribs. “How about you come down and talk to the guys? Before they tear too much up.” he grins.

“No problem.” she says cheerfully. “I’ll text my bar guys for prices and time frames and all that.” she says getting out her phone.

“Bar guys?” he says with a playfully territorial smirk.

“Oh yeah, I just collect you all. Didn’t you know?” she laughs.

“I did not!”

“They’re owners from when I used to travel and do shows and stuff. Some have done well for themselves over the years. I helped them with the manual labor to get some air time in the beginning.”

“After all this is over I’ve got some manual labor I’ll be needing you to do.” he gives her a goofy grin and she lets out that giggle he loves as he bites on her neck and growls, a handful of her ass in her tight jeans, the rough turning quickly to loud smooches to show his gratitude for her.

“I’d say so. You’ll owe me BIG time big boy.” she boops his nose and he smiles like a dope. “I’ll take my payment in installments over a long period of time if you don’t mind.” she snorts and his eyes turn to hearts as she lets herself go around him, her jokes being a way for her to be sweet without the vulnerability.

“No lump sum for you.” he shakes his head. “How long of a payment plan we talkin’?” he asks with a kiss to her cheek.

“I don’t know…” she pouts her lips in thought dramatically. “Depends on you doesn’t it?” she sass’s back.

“I have excellent credit I’ll have you know.” he retorts and she laughs and puts her head into his chest.

“I thought we were talking about something else entirely. Unless excellent credit is what you call your dick.” she holds in a laugh with a wrinkle of her nose, her front teeth showing as she hunches her shoulders.

“Nah that’s old faithful.”

“Also a good indicator of regularly scheduled payments being made!” she says with a beaming smile and a tilt of her head.

“You’re fuckin’ ridiculous.” he lets out a rolling laugh and gives her a good solid squeeze and kiss while they grin against each other. “C’mon. Work first. Then play.”

“Agreed.” she chirps and pulls him in for one last kiss before they return back to the world of professionalism.

Please leave a like, reblog or comment if you enjoyed this! It makes me want to write more of what you want if you let me know!

@vale0413 @littledeadgirlwalking@jaegeeeeer @phillipkopusimagines-and-stuff @mjolnir96 @xmother-mortemx @this-isnt-madness @thors-hair-extensions @divadinag

#Declan Harp #declan harp x reader #declan harp fanfic #declan harp fic #declan harp fan fiction #declan harp frontier #jason momoa #frontier au #modern declan harp #modern frontier #declan harp au #declan harp x ofc #frontier fic #frontier fanfic #jason momoa frontier #frontier fandom #frontier fan fiction #frontier fan fic

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littlehollyleaf · 5 years ago

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@bold-sartorial-statement - to compare to your straight friend watching Good Omens experiment, I have got MY straight friend to watch it as well! :P

To give context, my friend is an English Lit student like me, so he has some experience analysing fiction (albeit, like me, is more proficient doing so with the written word than with television - but like, REALLY proficient, his marks were always higher than mine, he’s a smart guy). So he’s generally open to all different interpretations of a text ANYWAY. He has also had to suffer my constant rants about various queer readings of different shows/ships for years and years, so he is often aware of how certain moments/dialogue can be interpreted in a queer way. Generally though he is quick to tell me stuff like - yes Holly, I absolutely see that this look/moment/conversation can be read as gay (he typically uses ‘gay’ as an umbrella term for LGBTQ+ as opposed to ‘queer’ like me), but you have to understand that while you can read it that way it isn’t actually being written/portrayed like that and nothing is actually going to come of it in the story. And, well, usually he’s correct (the one time he WASN’T was with Oswald in Gotham - I showed him the almost kiss on the sofa with Ed and he was all ‘no Holly, they were never going to kiss, it doesn’t mean anything.’ But ofc the very next episode Ozzie confessed to being in love with Ed :p I crowed at him about that for ages!)

Anyway, that’s context of my friend. To add to this - his watching the show was, I’m afraid, in NO WAY a ‘sterile’ experiment. I literally told him “I need you to watch this show so you can tell me if it’s gay.” It was really the only way I was gonna get him watching. So he went in ‘prepared’ in that sense.

I got the ball rolling by making him watch the first episode with me. He turned to me after and said ‘the answer is no, nothing yet’ in regards to queer subtext/text. Which is fair - on my first viewing I didn’t feel there was a great deal of queer subtext in the first episode either. I mean, you know, obviously THERE IS subtext, but just, what I might call the general, subtle, ‘hidden’ kind that you get in lots of shows that... never goes anywhere explicit. I did point out that Zira shelters Crowley with his wing at the start, but my friend didn’t think that was enough to imply love of any kind.

After that I had him promise to AT LEAST watch to episode 3, because the beginning of episode 3 was the part I was most interested in hearing his opinion on.

The above convo was after he’d just finished episode 3 at home :)

He then finished the whole show over the next few days and we’ve got together a few times now to discuss in person. Here’s so some key points of discussion, paraphrased.

The first thing he said to me was - “yeah, by the end it was super gay.”

Lol.

The conversation got sidetracked a bit after that with him complaining that there was too much Queen (he is not a fan - don’t judge him, okay? we all have flaws!), but that did give me the chance to ask what he thought of how the songs were used and if that contributed to how Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship was being portrayed. He mentioned how they’d used ‘Somebody to Love,’ but followed up immediately by saying they’d also used ‘My Best Friend’ so *shrug*... I asked him today to clarify if he meant that he felt the use of both songs was giving ‘mixed signals’ about the relationship and he said yes, though he was interested to learn that ‘My Best Friend’ was actually a song about marriage / a husband and wife (I learnt this from you tumblr, I hope I wasn’t giving misinformation!) and said that maybe that changed things.

I asked him if he felt Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship was romantic and he’s been a little bit cagey about it, insisting that ‘well, it’s not explicit.’ But is overall pretty adamant that there are strong gay/romantic elements to them.

He knows about queerbaiting as a concept and has actually asked me several times if the show is an example of it, because the romance is not explicit. So far I’ve not gone into too much depth about the whole thing because... well, you know, it IS a Whole Thing that’s kinda exhausting to talk about. In a nutshell, I’ve told him I personally don’t feel like it is, but that there is debate. I’ve also sort of mentioned in passing that the lack of ‘explicitness’ does allow for Crowley and Zira’s love to be understood in different kinds of ways, like as asexual or aromantic love (I gave a brief explanation of the latter since I didn’t think he’d be familiar with the term - I wasn’t until tumblr after all), and that I think that’s cool. But we haven’t got into any of that in depth (yet!).

It’s very much the ‘we could run away together’ aspect that he keeps bringing up as the key thing. THAT was the part that made their relationship ACTUALLY queer to him (fascinating difference to your friend @bold-sartorial-statement in that my friend didn’t really get much from the church scene, while that was the one part that your friend almost DID get something? ...for my part, that bit with the swelling music and zoom in on Zira at the church was PIVOTAL to me thinking ‘holy shit they REALLY ARE pushing this as romantic, wow, fuck, shit just got real!’ so it’s funny to me that my friend was nonplussed by the moment).

I realise now that I don’t think I ever brought up the issue of the romance being one-sided on Crowley’s part again... but it didn’t seem an issue. The way my friend talks about the relationship when we’re together very much implies he sees whatever feelings they have for each other as mutual.

The one thing that has me satisfied from all this is that when I asked him specifically - ‘so it’s not just me? there’s really something there between them?’ His answer was, in no uncertain terms - ‘no, it’s not just you.’ So... I’m relieved, I guess :p The show passed the ‘Holly’s One Specific Friend Recognises And Admits That It’s Gay’ Test. Bravo, Mr Gaiman and team, bravo!

(aside: my friend also said that he genuinely enjoyed the show, which was a surprise tbh, because he’s not BIG on fantasy, but he said he felt a lot of it was actually MOCKING various fantasy tropes and he enjoyed that, plus he was really surprised and impressed at how good Jack Whitehall’s acting was apparently - probably gonna ask what else he liked another time :p)

#good omens #about me #a true but boring story

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jobsystem-blog · 6 years ago

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possibilities for pc agency in choice of games romances

long post under the cut about my feelings about romance in games, particularly choice of games (along with stuff like genderflipping characters based on the pc’s gender and sexuality), basically just wanna vent + organize my thoughts on this! [cw for sex mentions + a single assault mention]

i’ve been playing and thinking about a lot of choice of games recently. i’ve always been drawn to them because nearly every one features lgbt characters and romances, but as much fun as i’ve had with the format, as well as the individual settings and characters, that romance aspect that had me so drawn always fell just a little bit flat. a lack of individuality and character in romantic options. they generally weren’t defined, and were customizable to the point of being boring. even now, even when they have their own personalities to some degree, none of the intimate moments between your characters ever feel real or special, because they are either the same across different romance options (choice of the deathless is a sore spot for me lol), or the moments aren’t integrated into the plot and don’t have any sort of emotional basis (i.e. they’re just tacked on)

i remember my first cog that wasn’t just the basic choice of dragons, romance, etc., heroes rise. you only got one love interest, who looked just like a specific celebrity you chose at the beginning of the game. in the next game, you literally choose another love interest’s name for them. of course, genderflipped chars tend to have this issue worse than characters with established genders, not because of that inherently, but because the lack of characterization and high customizability shows even more blatantly. that being said, even non-genderflipped characters can feel cookie cutter and boring after the first playthrough (again....choice of the deathless*)

over the course of the heroes rise series, you do actually get the chance to have romances with established characters, which really intrigued me. i never actually finished those romances (particularly not jury, which REQUIRED you to nonconsensually kiss him to begin the romance, but that’s a whole nother thing), but i remember being really excited realizing you actually could have a relationship with jenny, jury, and prodigal. especially since they felt like they each had their own sexualities, rather than just being bi for convenience, or straight/gay based on your sexuality**

there was something about those romances that felt, to me, much more integrated in the plot. like i was actually having a real romantic subplot in some superhero movie, instead of it just being tacked on and empty the way some of the romances felt***

over time, choice of games have definitely focused more on character development than their predecessors, with a much higher volume of characters with set genders and sexualities. the problem is....it hasn’t been nearly enough

i get that not every game is going to have romance be a big deal. my issue with this is that if you’re going to include romance, it should feel like it’s part of the story, not just some random aside. if writers aren’t going to give as much attention to romance as other parts of their story, why even bother including it? i think cog authors need to start understanding that there doesn’t need to be romance in their games for people to enjoy them, and boring romances don’t do anything for the quality of their stories

i’ve been quietly frustrated about this for a while now, but after playing heart of the house, with its relatively well-developed romances (and surprisingly detailed sex scenes lmao), my issues with how choice of games typically handle romance have become clearer in my head. i’m realizing now that the level with which heart of the house incorporated romance into the story should be the bare minimum that a game that markets itself as having a romance element should. even the one genderflipped character had a fleshed out personality, and good romantic/intimate scenes.

that being said

heart of the house still falls into some of the same traps that virtually all other choice of games do:

1. “pick this one specific flirty option to begin the romance”

this isn’t specific to choice of games, pretty much any game with romance that’s not a dating sim does this. it’s frustrating, because it only really works with certain pc’s personalities. i wanted to romance bastian in heart of the house with a weird occult nerd who doesn’t quite understand social conventions, but finds himself falling for bastian over time. i eventually had to break character if i wanted anything to happen, because apparently in the world of choice of games, characters can only understand love/flirting if it’s in the form of a saucy pickup line, which again, works for some characters (like the one i romanced dev with in another playthrough), but not for others.

the solution: give players multiple ways of starting a romance that can suit a variety of personality types. allow multiple ways to flirt, allow ways to subtly indicate your interest to your prospective love interest for people who wanna make shy, passive characters, and give multiple points at which a romance can start throughout the story so that people can experience their characters gradually falling in love instead of having to miss out on their chance to romance a character because they didn’t imply they wanted to fuck within the first five minutes of meeting them

2. linear romance

despite giving you a bunch of other personality stats and traits for every other part of the game, romances generally tend to play out in the same linear ways across playthroughs. somehow all these things affect every other part of the story....except for romantic + intimate scenes. it really breaks me out any immersion, especially when my character has to act out of character to even access any romances in the first place.

the solution: give players more agency during romantic + intimate scenes. let them take the lead, or allow the love interest to. let them direct the flow of the scene, just like any other non-romantic scene in the game.

3. genderflipping and perspective

genderflipping is controversial among the cog player base, with the majority of people relaying a single criticism of it: accusing the author of writing a character as a specific gender (male or female), and then just switching pronouns. another related complaint, is that of authors writing love interests for specific genders of pc (for instance, the way the sex scene with dev is written makes me think it was primarily written for a female pc, particularly with the way your male pc’s sexual preferences are basically decided for him). it’s true that many games do give off this vibe. however, many of the complaints strike me as strangely essentialist, as if a character should have a completely different personality if they’re male than if they were female, it’s true, gender has a huge impact on people, but this essentialism denies the reality that we are all human, we are all suggestible and influenced by our environments (which imo, largely account for gender differences in personality trends), and there is no one personality trait that every woman has that every man does not, and vice versa. i think we can criticize heteronormativity, homophobia, and misogyny without reifying the concept that men and women are intrinsically different on an emotional and personal level. imo, this very essentialism, where characters whose genders are variable across playthroughs (both love interests and the pc) are written from a specific gendered perspective, is what causes people to be alienated during romances, one way or another

the solution: again, this is where player agency comes in. allowing players to define their own narrative based on their own idea of their character will help players feel connected to their character. additionally, having a strong idea of what a character is like is key. rather than defaulting to heteronormative assumptions of how romance and sex must play out for male love interests vs. female love interests, take a minute to actually think through the personality of your character and what their preferences would be like. this is what i loved about bastian in heart of the house, because though he was a genderflipped character, what he was doing in the sex scene felt very in line with who he was, regardless of gender. meanwhile, dev’s sex scene was...well-written, but didn’t really speak much to dev’s character, in my opinion. in some ways, it almost felt out of character, and it was certainly very ooc for my pc, who was an outgoing flirt who liked to take charge. if you have a strong handle on what kind of person your characters are, they’ll seem genuine regardless of anything else.

4. integrating romance with the story

oftentimes, you can tell right away when a romance scene is going to be happening in a cog. the story suddenly gets diverted from w/e you’ve been focusing on until now, onto either some circumstance that has very little plot relevance, but is contrived to bring you and another character together, or a circumstance that does have plot relevance, usually with a brief diversion focusing on your chosen romance, followed up by the consummation of your relationship shortly after. even when you’re romancing a major character, during plot-important scenes, their dialogue with you often does not change, regardless of the level of relationship they have with you (enemies, friends, lovers, etc., it’s often all the same). the fact that you’re in a relationship with any given person generally doesn’t affect the overarching plot (except for choice of romance, ofc), and romances often feel tacked on for extra flavor. i don’t think i’ve seen a game that combines all these issues in one (except like....choice of the dragon but i dont think that counts lol), but most games have at least one element of this. in heart of the house, the first and only intimate/sex scene you have with your love interest always happens during the ball, and at no other time. in dinoknights, you may as well not have had a romance at all, except during a few brief asides.

the solution: this one is more complicated than the others, but even if you don’t want the player’s relationships to directly affect the main story, romantic + intimate scenes often feel much more integrated when they aren’t mainly segregated to defined “romance portions” of the game. a better way of approaching it is letting the story happen as it will, making sure love interests are interesting, well-defined, and relevant to the story, and considering how a romance might affect events as they play out. in my own game concept, there is a choice you can make that determines whether a certain character lives or dies. if that character lives, the aftermath of the danger that threatened them results in a vulnerable moment for them, and is the first point at which you can start a romance with them. this event would happen in the story regardless, but the way it proceeds would change based on your relationship with and reaction to them and the event, making a pivotal part of the story a similarly pivotal part of the development of your relationship.

i don’t know if this is all i want to say on the subject, but i wanted to get my thoughts out and down, for reference and also to help me think through the subject

congrats if you managed to read and stay interested in all of this lol

*ironically, the genderflipped character in deathless was the most interesting romance, iirc **i don’t actually think this is inherently a bad thing, but having characters with a variety of sexualities makes every other character’s sexuality feel more fleshed out, imo ***that being said.....i really did love lucky when the hero project first came out djshkjhs ****i’m referring to bastian with he pronouns, because that’s what he was in my playthroughs, and i don’t actually know what the female version of his character is named

#💌#🌱

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smellofparchment-blog · 6 years ago

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By Moonlight and Sunrises: Chapter 4 - Nostalgia

Story Title - By Moonlight and Sunrises (ffn link)

Story Description - There was no awkwardness. No need to fill the empty space with words because the space wasn’t empty. There was something - inaudible, invisible, of course, but there was something there anyways. “How can I possibly want to kiss a woman whose name I don’t even know?” Percy finally asked, breaking the silence.

Story Rating - teen (T)

Story Characters - Percy Weasley, Audrey Shacklebolt, George Weasley, Keegan Shacklebolt (OMC), Sabina Kopitar (OFC), Oliver Wood, Kingsely Shacklebolt, Zhara Shacklebolt (OFC), Kristopher Shacklebolt (OMC), Kelsey Rowle (OFC), Thorfinn Rowle, Molly Weasley I, Arthur Weasley

Story Pairings - Percy/Audrey

Chapter - 4) Nostalgia

24 August 1999

Seeing Percy again had left Audrey in a distracted trance. The events of that night had been nothing but a hazy memory, but as soon as she recognized those bright blue eyes, she could see it clearer than what she ate for breakfast.

At Hogwarts, and even shortly after graduating, Audrey had not given Percy Weasley much thought. He was the Head Boy, in charge of delegating her shifts and running those tedious weekly meetings. He was Fred and George's older brother, who they incessantly made fun of. He was the "young man" Kingsley always spoke of with a concerned tone. All of that stood in the way of Audrey recognizing his sheer ambition and loyalty... and she remembered the day it was so conveniently pushed out of her view so she could see Percy Weasley for who he truly was.

"Here's some files you should read up on," Kingsley started as he set down a very heavy box filled with muggle notebooks on the rickety table, "secret operatives of the Order, their missions, and their code names, should you two ever need to go undercover to provide back-up."

Keegan nodded thoughtfully and grabbed a handful of the notebooks. Audrey paused for a moment and glanced worryingly at her uncle before doing the same. This was it. As soon as she grabbed one of those notebooks, there was no backing out. She delicately turned the pages of the notebooks, taking in the information within the pages... wincing every time she got to one with a searing red stamp that read "DECEASED" boldly dominating the top of the page. For the most part, all of these were the people she had expected to be in the Order. It took a couple hours for Audrey to finally get caught off guard and do a double-take.

Audrey paused as her eyes took in the new page before her, a mix of surprise and sudden revelation dawning on her.

Code Name: Knight

Real Name: Percival Ignatius Weasley

Blood Status: Pureblood

Mission: Ministry intel, muggle-born protection, double agent

Notes: maximum clearance, mission and post must be maintained at all costs

Almost half the notebook was filled with details and information related to Percy and his mission just in the last month. In a typical Percy Weasley fashion, he left no stone unturned and no details omitted.

"Kingsley..." Audrey called, trailing off. "Is this right?" she asked as her uncle entered the tent.

He sighed heavily before slowly nodding. "Yes, I was just as shocked when Dumbledore had told me. I don't think anyone's given up more than he has for the Order..."

After the war, Audrey had expected Percy to be revered as one of the Order's heroes. She had been as behind-the-scenes as it got, and there was no doubt in her mind that if people had found out about everything he did for the Order, it would be front page news. However, months went by and there was nothing. Not a squeak. Logically, it made sense to Audrey. He kept it hidden and focused on what really mattered: his family. Still, he lingered in her thoughts. The file, the encrypted contact she had with him during the war, and that one time she had had to go undercover for him... it was all too much to forget.

It was pure chance that he had been on that balcony that night, and Audrey had most certainly not planned to kiss him... but everything had been perfect. He was captivated, Audrey was intrigued, and they were all alone under a moonlit sky. Perhaps part of it was the "hero goggles," the popularized Witch Weekly term for finding someone more attractive because of their role in the war, but in that moment, Percy was simply a poetic man that couldn't walk away from her. It was truly - as much as Audrey hated to say it - perfect.

Too perfect.

"Good day to my favourite ladies!"

Audrey was snapped out of her deep thoughts by the familiar sound of Keegan's voice as he dropped into the empty seat at the table that Audrey and Oralee had chosen. It was a small French-style patio table, bright turquoise in colour and situated right under the midday sun. Keegan still managed to look completely relaxed in the tiny chair, and he ruffled his little cousin's hair with a joking smile on his face. Turning to Audrey, the older Shacklebolt added, "How'd your day together go?"

"Audrey's going to eat Moroccan food."

The young woman snapped her head towards her little cousin with a glare. Bloody snitch, can't trust little kids with anything, she thought to herself bitterly.

"Moroccan food? That's... oddly specific," Keegan commented.

"A man asked her."

"Ah, there it is."

"Stay out of it, Keegan," Audrey warned as she set her glare onto her older brother.

"Oh yeah, or what?" he challenged.

"Or I tell Mum who you're dating."

Keegan paused and narrowed his eyes at his younger sister for a moment of silence before finally replying, "Go ahead, we both know Gran Lucinda will love her and that's the only opinion that matters. Now, who's Mystery Man?"

Audrey rolled her eyes at Keegan's smugness and simply crossed her arms as she looked away in defiant silence.

"It was Percy Weasley!"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Kingsley needs to get this one a sibling," Audrey grumbled.

"Oh, such ruthlessness!" Keegan exclaimed as he high-fived Ora. "You'll make a magnificent Slytherin, love."

Audrey fought back a smile at Ora's beaming face. She could never stay too mad at her adorable little cousin. Her brief moment of happiness, however, was quickly interrupted by Keegan's inquiries.

"So, how'd that happen?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face. He was enjoying this far too much.

"Nothing happened, it's just a bloody dinner," Audrey replied with a roll of her eyes. She knew she was trying too hard to down-play this, but her frustration was getting the better of her. Surprisingly, however, Keegan did not push back.

"Fine, don't tell me," he concluded with a shrug, "but be careful, all right? Remember what Dad said: lay low. A Weasley and a Shacklebolt is not exactly laying low."

Audrey slowly nodded but didn't reply. She had to admit that Keegan made a good point - this was definitely something that would catch a lot of attention, both good and bad. Admitting that out loud, however, was a whole other thing. And in any case, she could handle herself.

"What did you do?" George asked slowly as Percy entered the joke shop.

After a brief pause, Percy hastily answered, "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Noth - ah forget it, I can't do this," George started. "We both know what you did, in any case."

Percy scoffed. "Sure you do," he replied disbelievingly. He was absolutely certain that George had figured it out, but over the years Percy had learned that the best way to deal with the twins was to mess with their heads just as much as they did with his. Besides, the last thing he needed was George to go blabbing to Mum about Percy's love life.

However, the next thing to come out of George's mouth surprised Percy.

"Just be careful, all right?" his younger brother warned. "She may be Kingsley's niece but... she's also a Slytherin and part of a big pureblood family with lots of ties to Death Eaters. Don't be stupid."

Percy narrowed his eyes at George, a sudden wave of defensiveness coming over him. Where did he get off on making those kinds of assumptions about Audrey? Perhaps while they were at Hogwarts, Percy would have thought the same of her, but he knew that was far from the truth. He remembered seeing her name alongside those of other Order members after the war, and he remembered how serene and thoughtful she had seemed that night at the gala. Perhaps George had some more experience with Audrey and had a good reason to say that, but Percy was simply unable to accept that logic in that particular moment.

"Noted. I'll see ya later," Percy replied somewhat bitterly, before bidding goodbye to his brother and making his way back to the Ministry.

George may have just been trying to look out for him, but Percy was capable of making his own decisions. It seemed as if ever since the war had ended and Percy had started to reconcile with his family they were all walking on eggshells around him, like they expected him to just leave again. It was those moments he wished more than ever that he hadn't kept so much from them.

26 August 1999

"So, what's new?" Sabina asked as she heavily dropped herself on Audrey's coach.

"Where do I even start..." Audrey muttered tiredly.

Sabina Kopitar was Audrey's closest friend. They had been in the same year at Hogwarts, and a perfect example of how a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw could be completely unstoppable together. The two had been inseparable since their first year. After graduating, they took different paths in the professional world, Sabina choosing to train as a Healer, but their friendship had still remained strong. Then, when the war truly reached its peak, Sabina was right alongside Audrey in the Order, putting her skills as a Healer to use whenever she was needed. The two of them truly had been through thick and thin together.

"Beer?" Audrey offered, raising her own bottle.

Sabina shook her head, her blonde ponytail swinging around. "No thanks, took up a medi-witch shift tonight," she answered. "Dad begged me. New Keeper is a little reckless apparently." She sat up straight and fixed a frown on her face, before adding in a near perfect imitation of her father's Slovenian accent, "'This one is more square than the rest of them, I tell you!'"

"Reckless quidditch player? Why I would have never guessed," Audrey said sarcastically as she sat down next to Sabina.

Sabina laughed and added, "All right, you can only avoid talking about yourself for so long."

"Damn you Ravenclaws," Audrey grumbled, following with a sip of her beer. "So I have a date," she started as she set down her drink.

"Nice, nice, what's he do?" Sabina inquired.

"He, uh, he works for the Ministry," Audrey answered.

"Doing what exactly?" Sabina coaxed, evidently starting to get impatient.

"He's uh... he's the Head of the Floo Network Authority."

Sabina's grey eyes stayed fixed on Audrey and almost pierced through her very soul for a pause, before the blonde woman blinked a few times and slowly stated, "You're going on a date with Percy Weasley."

"Yes, that would be correct."

"Does he know your name this time?"

Audrey rolled her eyes as Sabina cracked up laughing. Audrey had always known telling Sabina about the what had happened at the gala would come back to bite her in the arse somehow, but one could never quite predict anything accurately when it concerned the former Ravenclaw.

"It honestly isn't that shocking that he didn't remember me, all right?" Audrey reasoned. "I mean, Merlin knows Penny was a bit too possessive back in the day."

"Oh hell, don't even remind me. I had to share a house with the girl," Sabina agreed, her laughter dying down just slightly. "Still, you saved the man's life once."

"Well, he doesn't know that. Code names and disguises, remember?" Audrey justified. "Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, Keegan had to save my arse that day, and you did too."

Sabina sighed and nodded, a grim look appearing on her face as she recalled the mission. She quickly forced a smile on her pale face before changing the subject. "Anyways, as much as I like to tease, I am happy for you. Getting out there and having an actual date instead of a regretful one-night stand."

"Bloody hell, it happened once," Audrey grumbled as she rolled her eyes, then grimacing slightly as she recalled her brief, drunken reunion with her ex all those months back.

"Okay, seriously now, he seems like a nice bloke," Sabina admitted. "A little full of himself, but hey - birds of a feather."

"You just can't stop, can you?"

"Nope!" Sabina agreed cheerily as she jumped up from the coach. "Anyways, I gotta get going now. Thanks for the update, love."

Audrey waved goodbye to her friend with a small smile on her face and a shake of her head. Hearing some positivity from Sabina did lighten her mood a bit and take her mind off of Keegan's warning, but it brought other troubling thoughts to her mind. Audrey hadn't thought about one of her missions in ages, but that mission in particular always sent shivers up her spine and triggered a sharp pain throughout the scar that ran along the length of her left leg. Some parts of the war were truly inescapable.

Percy always enjoyed family dinners now. There was nothing he had missed more after he had left home, and now he tried to attend as many as possible and truly make the best of them. He knew, deep down, that he could never actually make up for that lost time - but at least he could try. Weasley family dinners after the war were always a chance to leave your worries at the door for a few hours. Despite his small spat with George the other day, they still hugged and smiled and chatted throughout the dinner like it hadn't happened. Family dinners were now a sacred event for the Weasleys.

One of the clocks in the living room chimed one o'clock and Percy lifted his head to look out the window at the night sky. The tea in front of him had gone cold yet again, so Percy swished his wand to warm it up... again. Even though the family dinner had been a nice distraction, afterwards his head was still plagued by George's words the other day. With his mind racing, he could barely stand staying in his childhood bedroom, so he headed downstairs to the kitchen to brew himself a cup of tea and try to calm his nerves.

So far, no luck.

"Ah, can't sleep?"

Percy's head snapped towards the direction of the voice but visibly relaxed when he realized it was Arthur. He shrugged lightly and replied, "Just a lot on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Arthur offered as he walked over to the kitchen table and sat across from Percy.

Percy stayed silent for a long moment, considering how he could talk about what was on his mind without giving his father too much information. He didn't want anyone else knowing about him and Audrey - especially not when there was so many questions racing through his head. He felt inexplicably attracted to her, but there was so much he really didn't know about her. Everything he was feeling defied logic.

"Do you think your Hogwarts house matters as much as people say it does?" Percy finally asked.

A slight look of confusion dawned on his father's face. "What do you mean?" he asked in reply.

"Just, you know... all Gryffindors are brave, all Ravenclaws are smart..." Percy added in explanation, "all Slytherins are cruel."

"Ah, I see," Arthur voiced with a knowing look on his face. "No, I really don't think that. Pride is one thing, but it would be pretty insane to think that every witch and wizard truly and wholly belonged in one of four categories."

"That's not the popular belief though," Percy countered. "Especially not nowadays."

"No, it's not, and it is very easy to get caught up in that," Arthur admitted. "Happens to me sometimes, but then I remember one simple fact."

"Yeah, and what's that?" Percy asked, partly out of curiously, partly because he hoped it was something that would help his case a little.

Arthur's smile widened. "Your Nana was a Slytherin, and I know she was only alive for a few years after you were born but she was damn near the kindest woman you'd ever meet," he said with a longing tone to his voice.

How could Percy forget about Nana? Cedrella Weasley had been a household name among both blood purists and so-called "blood traitors" for quite some time after she had been disowned by the Black family. She had just fit in so well with the Weasleys, though, that no one ever questioned her ties to the Black family, let alone the fact that she had been a Slytherin some decades ago. He supposed it made sense from the vague memories Percy did have of her. She was always carefully watching and analyzing, and he had a very distinct memory of somehow convincing Bill to clear the garden gnomes completely on his own one day.

"What's got you thinking about this?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Just um, a lot happening at the Ministry," Percy replied vaguely. "There's lots of innocent people with ties to Death Eaters and it's a recipe for cruel gossip."

"Like Kingsley," Arthur said with a sigh.

A bit of panic filled Percy as Arthur got dangerously close to his real concern, but he decided it would be safer to just play along with it. "Right, it truly can't be easy for him, especially as Minister," Percy contributed.

"It's not... and on top of what they did to his father and parents-in-law during the war, it's a shock anyone questions his loyalty," Arthur continued, "but unhappy people always need to find someone to blame. All you can do is try to show some empathy."

Percy nodded, deep in thought. He remembered the day that Arthur was talking about all too clearly, but it was his father's advice that Percy focused on in that moment. He had been so busy being offended by George's forwardness that he hadn't considered the storm of emotions George hid from all of them on a daily basis. He should have been more understanding of his little brother's concern.

"Thanks, Dad," Percy replied quietly with a small smile.

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