#also lesser known: skin picking maybe??

[severus-snaps]

it's as though you've reached into my brain and written down everything i believe to be true

Talking to your autistic friends about autistic snape like

[hana-no-seiiki]

Hello! I hope you are doing well, I have an idea, feel free to ignore but I hope you like it.

Yandere Male Deliquent x GN Ex Bully

Like he tried to make them explode and being their “true self”, because in the past, when they were younger, they defend him and he became a delinquent just to see them again.

Sorry if my English is bad.

Bye!

YAN! DELINQUENT OC x GN! EX BULLY! READER

Also your English great anon! Dw about it.

AAAAAAA I’ve meaning to do more Yan! Delinquent recently anon!! You read my mind. For those new to my account. I already have a Yan! Delinquent OC named Mori Ban (see tag: hns.moriban) who was the first to really blow up from my yan! ocs. I always loved this trope with yan stories hhh

tw/cw: DDNE, mention extreme bullying, assault, and harassment. (brought out my trauma for this one). i imagine reader to be amab/masc for this one but there are no explicits allusions to that.

Uttering the name [L/N] [Y/N] was enough to strike fear in the hearts of men. Literally and figuratively speaking, your voice was enough to make even the highest of authorities piss their pants. Not only were you capable of destroying a person’s physical body with your very own hands, you were able to dismantle everything from their relationships and reputation to their financial situations in life.

People predicted you to grow up and become an even more menacing, ruthless person. You had the potential, and with the way you were it was simply the natural trajectory.

But like you always did, you broke everyone’s expectations.

You were like the delinquent version Serena Van Der Woodsen. Mindlessly strutting in as if you hadn’t put several companies to bankruptcy because the owner’s kid looked at you the wrong way. Nonchalantly eating your lunch in the same vicinity of your old victims as if you hadn’t shoved their face into the toilet as a way to pass time. Cheerfully waving at the student council president as if you hadn’t constantly blackmailed and assaulted them for several years just so they’d do your homework and projects. No one was safe from you. You had no code. As long as you felt like it, any life could be destroyed.

Standing opposite to your current path was Mori.

He used to be the punching bag of your lesser goons. Known for being weak and poor, only good for his academic excellence.

He grew up to be almost as fearsome than you. Where-areas you were coldblooded, revelling in the pain you brought upon others. He was a lot more morally guided. Sure, his enemies often suffered worse fates physically, but he wasn’t like you in the way he picked his battles. He only brought hell to those that deserved it. Those that hurt other people first.

And then there was the way he treated you.

You technically belonged to the category he dealt with. You ruined dozens, maybe even hundreds or thousands of lives in a whim. You were the devil in a pretty suit of skin. Despite your lack of hostility nowadays, you never apologised or took accountability, never attempted to atone for your mistakes. The only reason why others haven’t confronted you about it was because of fear. They didn’t want to potentially anger you and set off a bomb.

But Mori? Mori could handle you.

After all, he dedicated his whole life to being your equal; serving you, aiding you.

In fact, he was just so disappointed to see you this way. All disgustingly docile and horridly disciplined. What kind of monster tamed you to be like this? Mori chuckled at the thought. No one but him can match you. You must have started behaving yourself for the sake of appearance. All of this was just a façade. If you had truly changed you would have begged for forgiveness to those you’ve wronged. If you had become a better person then you wouldn’t be discreetly glaring at him when you thought he wasn’t looking.

If someone had truly taught you to be a goody-two-shoes he would have killed them ages ago.

“Hey, [N/N]. Sweetheart. How ya doin?” Mori leaned forward. He grew to be quite a ways taller than you and had to lean over to meet you face to face. Much to your chagrin.

“Fine. It’s so nice of you to ask Ban. If you’ll excuse me.” You adeptly moved to the side. You had dealt with this man-child several times throughout the semester already and knew to just avoid him at all costs lest you lose braincells and precious energy talking to him.

However, you could only take two steps before his hands grappled unto your wrist.

“Woah woah woah there. We’re not done yet.”

You don’t look back, and firmly yet calmly stated, “Yes, we are.”

“It’s a little late but we have yet to give you a homecoming party. That wouldn’t be fair for the great [Y/N].”

You turned back. Eyes wide, not of surprise or anger, but from sheer awe of this man’s audacity.

“I know what you want, and you’re not getting it from me right now.” You scowled at his beautiful pink eyes and effortlessly yanked your arm away from him. You didn’t know it yet back then,

but you had already lit the match.

©️ hana.no.seiiki - yun | 2023

[just0nemorepage]

Shout-Out Saturday is a weekly feature on my blog to promote one randomly picked lesser-known book blog in order to help it receive a little more attention. Please consider checking them out, following them, or maybe even sending a message! Every URL featured here will be added for good in the top half of my fellow bookish blogs page. If you are interested in being featured, please fill out this form.

This week’s bookish blog: @battyaboutbooksreviews

Name: Jazelle.

Age: 31.

Lives in: USA.

Favorite books: The Lunar Chronicles ; The Skin and It's Girl ; We Free the Stars ; This Is How You Lose the Time War ; The Night Circus ; Girls of Paper and Fire ; An Ember in the Ashes.

Unique blog features: Original Posts ; Book Reviews ; Book Lists ; Queer Books.

Also found on: Instagram ; Goodreads ; Literal ; Threads.

“A nocturnal, book-eating bat. Fueled by coffee & powerful prose. 🌒🦇🌘”

[amelheth]

Frieza's analysis #1: Frieza's transformations.

Frieza, our dearest lizard tyrant, is well known for his transformations, one of the most in count. I wanted to look closer to them and determine, why exactly those forms look like such and their functionality.

This post will include 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Final, 100%, Golden/5th, Black, some notes about Cold, Cooler, Frost and even Kuriza.

Lets start with Final form. Frieza's and the others' true form, excluding Cold (questionable). Final form is simple and slick in design, compact, covered with durable layer of bio armor all over the body from birth. Frieza technically is not naked, but rather an armored knight from birth. Colors of said bio armor is usually white, with slightly bluish tint on Frost, and more colorful appearances, like Black on Frost, black and metallic black on Black Frieza, two colors of gold on Golden, possibly purple on Cooler.

Why i assume Frieza is covered in armor and isnt nude? Its based on Frieza's other forms, where same white skin appears as bracelets and chestplate. It is also worth noting that body gems Frieza is known for only do grow on said bio armor as it is case with devolved forms of Frieza and Kuriza, also with Cold and Cooler. Frieza does shown posessinv pink skin underneath the armor so id only naturally assume white skin is second layer. Tho, it is also worth noting that when Friexa transforms from previous forms to 4th, he shatters into pieces, as if true form is sealed within devolved forms, assuming, that pink skin is most likely an outer layer on its own.

It is still unknown what purpose gems serve. More about it on planet deepdive.

Now! Onto other forms, starting with 100%. No. Its not a form, but rather a body state high ki fighters can achieve, including Super saiyan grade 3 and Cell.

Golden form/5th evolution. From Golden Frieza arc we learn that Frieza did picked golden form to show who is superior, assuming, he indeed designed form itself. It also explains why Cooler' 5th form looks so vastly different. Why is that?

Its mostly due to their mentality. Cooler always had an inferiority complex, disliking his brother's achievements, as his father does acknowledge Frieza as superior. Unlike Frieza, Cooler did trained, since he acknowledges the instant transmission technique, using it himself, assuming he unlocked form after training on various planets. His form is massive and probably was plannet to be used on Frieza, since Cooler never shown it to anyone else and probably had before Frieza' defeat. It also shows his desire to be stronger, more intimitading and bigger, showing his inferiority side. Unlike Frieza, who only shown off himself more with golden form, who wasnt much different from his true state, mimicking one color he could not defeat. Who was stronger than strongest. Super saiyan. Frieza probably took gold to own it, to show that this color of defeat will be his color of victory. Only negative trait he got rid off with Black form, accepting his true self. Same acceptance also appears during first form.

Now to lesser forms.

Third, being the first, was the very first time Frieza sealed onto in itself, sealing his power. It is wild, beastlike, probably done in earlier ages. Instinctive vile nature manifested into monsterlike appearance, to scare off and look more imposing. It could also be due to Frieza' complex of being short, which he himself hates due to mocking. Looking scarier and bigger only makes sense. It is also possibly a trait shared with Frost, since Frost do mirror Frieza and probably as well needed sealing his power. But , unlike Frieza, Frost lacks it, probably never needing it or trained enough to control himself. It is also lacks on Kuriza, who may have been less peaceful kid or never let allowed to have said form. Or maybe never uses it, not liking.

It is also possible third form is Frieza specific, due to how maliceful he was. Frost could simply mirror him.

Second form, second seal. Probably based off Cold, since Frieza does admire his papa, who was leader of strongest army before Frieza, someone most feared. Frieza mimimcking him and basing off power on Cold makes sense, since he does mimicking with superior also with gold.

Now, about Cold. Its highly unlikely Cold has a form stronger than his existing state. We cannot be sure if Cold even has other forms. It may be simply decorative to look bigger and above everyone, since it is tremendously strong. 40 million power level, unlike 1 million of second form. And yet, he still acknowledges Frieza at 60 milliion (true form) to be stronger than him. And when mecha Frieza died at 120 million, Cold simply cowarded and was ready to adopt Trunks for being strong only to sneak attack with blade. Its more of a bluff form with Cold and i doubt he has stronger form. Frost on other hand, lacks this form, probably either skipping it or lacking Cold figure to based it off, only having third under "assault form" name.

As for first form, third seal, Frieza probably accepted his own identity and based it off himself, saving traits he inherited from Cold form. So he is admired and be feared of for being himself, rather than being father's shadow. It is also shared by Kuriza and Frost. Kuriza probably based it off Frieza, his daddy, while Frost probly wanted to be a face of a hero that would br like him himself.

As for mecha, it is just mechanically updated Frieza that uses his full power without powering up.

And no. Metal cooler is not a form. It is an avatar Cooler built after becoming one with Big Gete Star.

[iantimony]

2023 year in review roundup

wow!! what a fucking year!!! goodbye and good riddance! happy first day of 2024!

this year i did 37 tuesdayposts! there were 53 tuesdays so that's about 70%! some of them were on fri/sat instead as shabbosposts but i think posting on tuesday or even monday does just work better for some fucking reason. maybe because friday and saturday are days that i am most likely to do New Activities for making/playing/watching/reading??? and so on monday or tuesday i can recap the just-finished weekend. shrug! we love tuesday so it's fine.

listening listened to all of twilight mirage and a little over half of partizan! shrieking shack podcast, just king things, well there's your problem, miscellaneous music (maneskin probably a notable winner in there)

reading a lot of little articles. a little tgcf. SO much fanfic. 'every heart a doorway' (bad). 'birthday of the world' le guin (good).

playing a little disco elysium. a little minecraft. a little nier automata. a little hadesgame. a LOT of pokemon go. and i got into magic the gathering this year!

watching a lot of youtube videos. so many gd youtube videos. evangelion, history of the world part ii, cunk on earth, vox machina animated series, cowboy bebop, first season of peaky blinders, the new tgcf donghua season!

making i did very little drawing/painting/illustration beyond life drawing a few times...however i was very prolific in crafting! i also theoretically made valentines gifts. i do not remember what they were tho lol.

fiber arts: i completed a big embroidery project (fermenting dregs album art hoodie), quantum shawl, mesh market bag, case for my knew laptop, finished that blue tank top even though i hate it, fixed the lining on my yellow knitted cowl, made a little knitted headphone top cover that i will probably redo differently, headband ear warmer for my roommate's mom, and FINALLY i just barely finished the scarf for my SO before the end of 2023!

print block carving: wristwatch print, gavelbocken holiday card print

misc/writing: some songxuexiao fencing au. some harrowhark abhorsen au. neocities website!

and so much pottery! this is all of it, barring the things i already gave away as presents before this photo (two pots and a little box and the little raven guy), but wow! that's so many fuckin object!

misc what a fucking year. some bad! had to file a big car insurance claim! got really sick while abroad and that persisted for a long fucking time! mini summer breakdown! some good stuff too - passed quantum mechanics FOREVER good fucking bye, did my first successful academic conference, finally started feeling better around the end of the year! learned my lesson: it's not fuckin worth stressing yourself to death over, and also i can't just Be At Home Aimlessly for months any more. it's bad for my mental health.

reviewing 2023 resolutions and goals --> I’d love to start writing again and play more horn but we’ll see i basically didn't do any creative writing at all this year barring a few lines of fanfic ideas (the abhorsen/tlt crossover one) HOWEVER i READ a lot of fanfic to marinate in and i played a LOT more french horn!! i joined the little youth orchestra which is like, uber goofy, but it means ive been playing on a regular basis again!

--> I also wanna listen to more weird music, and invest in actually owning some files, especially for some of the lesser-known bands and through bandcamp and stuff i spent all year meaning to do this and kept pushing it off so it rolls over into next year.

--> I really want to kind of dial those [unhealthy coping mechanisms] back again, focus more on existing in Reality and more in each moment, which hopefully will also help with some of the skin picking and other anxious habits that resurfaced. maybe more yoga, maybe re-establishing a meditation process lol lmao. nah. but definitely rolling it over into 2024.

--> I would love to think more about my fashion and how I present myself too, and work on making and tailoring more of my clothing in general actually not bad! basically zero tailoring but i did a pretty good job wearing some cute outfits.

--> I’ve been pretty good about being active so I’d like to keep that up, I still can’t do a pull-up but maybe this is the year! (lol) I should also start doing some minor exercises for my shitty arthritis toes to keep those okay once again: lol lmao. health issues had me really regress in some of my gains goals. plus side is toes are doin pretty normal.

--> a lot of last year was kind of a wash regarding research so I’m really looking forward to refocusing on that and really getting things moving. oh it moved! in a good way! i'm making good progress and hopefully i will keep that momentum going!

--> finally! I want to get back to tabletop! I miss doing it so much! it fell by the wayside for me because of how busy and overwhelmed I was, especially this past fall semester, but I want to start running and playing games with my pals again a little! i should have been putting these in playing as i went oops. the tabletop group i've run was a little fallow this year due to at least half of our group, including myself, not being in Tabletop Mood but we've played a lot of res arcana and other such games instead.

i had a few other resolutions in my digital planner on my ipad that didn't go in the writeup last year: namely, practice languages more (i did practice my mandarin a little but did not really learn any hebrew or korean unfortunately) and establish a non-software component of my research (nope, not in the cards, but i'm hoping to do something else this summer to let me get better with physical data/setups), and finishing the masters degree requirements (that will be the end of this upcoming spring semester), but overall i really did hit most of my resolutions and goals! even with being ill for a while! (except the finances. i am simply not looking at them <3)

2024 resolutions and goals

definitely some rollover! i will format this to hopefully be a little easier to respond to next year:

- get back on a regular workout schedule: swimming 1x a week, weights once or twice a week. would like to try and work towards my One Pullup goal again. would also be cool to try and work towards a hand/headstand. - try and be more mindful. i'm going to continue the grief therapy but also think about meditating more, doing more yoga, and so on. - there's a gallery on main street that solicits work from local artists for bimonthy themed exhibitions and i really want to submit at least one thing to it this year! the one due by end of january is themed 'florals', and the one two months after that is 'layers', so i'd really like to submit something to one of those. - more weird art! use that big canvas i bought in literally 2022! paint!!! - finally put together that travel journal from korea & japan (and also scrapbook-ify the papers i have leftover in a pile from that) - also, maybe do current scrapbook a little different? might need a new binder at the very least. - hang up that expensive quilt i bought in august - speaking of quilt: do some hand quilting, english paper piercing! i have so much fucking fabric! - find a new apartment to move into that hopefully won't suck! - try to secure some sort of summer internship or project that will let me develop some new skillsets that i might not be getting with my current research - finish the masters degree - write...a paper? for the work i just presented??? - keep tweaking neocities and make some more pages - keep track of recipes this year as well in my making section

i might start a little spreadsheet this year to keep better track of all my stuff because i really did Not want to go through all my separate listening and reading sections and extract what i liked the most, etc. this post required me to first back up a few extra early tuesdayposts from this year to dreamwidth, and then skim all of them to accumulate the above, and that was kinda a pain. and i love an excuse to start a new spreadsheet.

we did it! happy 2024! i don't think i have anything else to add to this wrapup but if i think of something i'll tack it into the upcoming Normal Tuesdaypost tomorrow! good job good night and good luck everyone!

[nalyra-dreaming]

If you had to cast an actress as Gabrielle who would you pick and why? Would it be a well known actress like Nicole Kidman or someone lesser known? What about for Akasha? Their casting is so interesting to me because the chemistry is brilliant between not just Sam and Jacob but everyone they all appear to be friends and act incredible on screen together. And I heard Rollin already had someone in mind before season 2 even started to play Santiago, so it could possibly be the same that he has had someone in mind to play Gabrielle at least and maybe Akasha too and others. Thanks for taking the time to answer these asks some are long and you word your answers very clear and you’re very kind

:) Glad you like!

So there have been a lot of fancast already, and I think I would by gut feeling would love Gillian Anderson or Monica Belucci. Maybe?^^

And Akasha... it depends on what they want to do with her.

I mean, Akasha is originally from Uruk. That opens a lot of possibilities. They also seem to go for the "whitening" skin by blood and age that the books have (if Lestat's very pale skin in the teaser is any indication!) - and so I was wondering if they would maybe go for someone different than what the movie chose to do with Aaliyah.

We'll see.

Someone mentioned one of the production assistants on IWTV, Emilie Diatta, and since we know that they do use their crew if they can act?^^. Or Sevdeliza:

It will depend heavily for what exactly they go for them.

But whoever they will choose, and for whatever reason, I bet they will be perfect, because Rolin has such a good hand at casting.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hiiii!! I love these rare moments when Thena successfully cooks/bakes something for Gil! So how about she make something for him and it turns out good??

I think it would fit for the Bodyguard AU. If you think it would fit into another AU better please do it!

"Thena?"

Gil walked into the apartment, smelling...quite a few things, really. First and foremost, he could smell the evidence of something burning, which was his main concern.

Thena had told him not to bring food with him when he came over today. Apparently she was 'trying something'. He was pretty sure he had never seen her so much as attempt to use her fancy penthouse kitchen, so he wasn't entirely sure what she was 'trying'.

But she sounded excited, and that alone made him agree to it.

"What, uh," he blinked, on the verge of laughing when he arrived a true disaster in her stunning kitchen. There were bowls and failed attempts still in pans strewn everywhere. That was that weird burnt smell. He smirked, "is going on here?"

"Gil!" Thena emerged from behind the countertop with a bright smile. Her hair was pulled back and there was evidence of stuff all over her flawless skin. But she seemed positively elated to see him. "I'm so glad you're here!"

It was such a simple statement, but it really made his heart start flip-flopping around in his chest with glee. He shirked off his bomber jacket and laid it over the back of one of the counter chairs. "Is this what you've been up to?"

"Okay," she sighed, turning back to the stove.

It was going to take hours to get this place looking presentable again.

"I remember you telling me that you hum in the kitchen because your grandmother would," she narrated as she stirred the pot of...something. "Aren't some of your favourite recipes from her?"

"Uh, yeah," Gil blinked as Thena offered him sparing and fleeting looks over her shoulder as she tasted her creation. He had mentioned it, ever so briefly in passing. He didn't think she had remembered it.

"Well, my grandmother also made me most of my meals in childhood."

Gil blinked; Thena had never brought up her family before. Not much was known about them, and certainly she had never even so much as mentioned them.

"She was quite a good cook, or perhaps everyone else in my family was just so bad that she was the lesser of evils," Thena continued to talk as she added the very last dash of salt to the pot before turning off the burner. "She used to make us a soup called Ukha."

Gil had read about it--Russian or maybe Slavic in origin? It was a fish stew. He raised his brow, "fish?"

"I know," she sighed, finally turning to him and tossing away her hand towel. She tilted her head, "I knew you would catch that."

He chuckled, holding up his hands in surrender, "I'm just saying--you always have some complaint when I make fish for you."

"Because I used to eat Ukha all the time!" she huffed, rolling her eyes. He had never seen this particular light in her eyes, before. But it was quite similar to when she was particularly pleased with her latest performance.

It was pride.

Gil inhaled reflexively as she pushed the bowl in front of him. It was a semi-clear broth, probably a seafood stock, although it didn't smell super fishy. There were large, uneven chunks of carrots and potatoes and onions, and some very whole herbs that probably could have been ground up finer.

It was beautiful.

"You said you were still a little bit stuffy after being sick," she murmured more sheepishly now, toying with the apron she had on over her clothes (an apron he had bought her, since of course she didn't own one before). "I know you like soup--and it's rather hard to mess up broth. So, I thought... "

"It's great!"

Thena sighed at him, "you haven't even tasted it!"

He didn't care. It looked beautiful, and the hopeful eagerness on Thena's face said a thousand words. He picked the bowl up and took a deep, loud slurp.

"Gil!"

He made a nice loud 'ahh' sound too, as if he had taken a deep swig of beer after a hard day. But really...it wasn't bad. It was maybe a little over-seasoned, too many flavours battling it out for dominance. Even after her last dash of salt it could probably use more. He would guess that some of the larger veg pieces might be a little under done in texture.

But none of that mattered because it was the best thing he had ever eaten. "It's not bad."

"Really?"

He smiled, genuinely eager to offer his praise of the simple white fish stew. "I bet your grandma would be proud."

Thena blinked, her eyes going glassy. She sniffled, turning back to the pot for herself. "Well, I wanted to do something for you. Especially since I meant to, and then..."

She was referring to when she came over to his place to take care of him while he was sick and then fell asleep on his bed. He had eventually gotten up and made some miso soup for the both of them, much to Thena's embarrassment and frustration.

"Come on," he chuckled, taking a more civilised spoonful of soup. Actually, it was pretty good on his second taste of it. She had actually cooked the fish just right, which was probably the hardest part of things.

"Hm," she mused, taking only a few spoonfuls for herself in a small tasting bowl. "I suppose I've made much worse."

"It's good," he assuaged, although she still seemed to be ignoring his open praise of it. He tilted his head to try and get a better look at her, "careful, Thena."

She tilted her head at him as well.

"You'll get me hooked on this stuff. Then I'll be asking you to make it for me all the time."

She rolled her eyes at him, now more flustered over his warm reception of her first successful meal attempt. "You will not."

"Why not?" he shrugged, taking another spoonful and chewing the fish. It was actually nice and soft, almost...buttery? His eyes dashed over to the counters again and he spied one of the pans with what was definitely burned butter crusted onto the bottom. That was the smell; she had taken a few tries to get the fish butter basted before adding it to the soup. It was a nice touch, though.

"How are you feeling, by the way?" she peeked up at him, still somewhat shy from his open adoration.

He sniffed the soup again, letting its heavy dill and tarragon scent push through his sinuses. "Much better, now."

[oswaldsleftbicep]

basic relationship hcs + moodboards

none of the photos are mine.

genre: other

cw: suggestive/mature photos, feminine bodied people/hetero implied relationships in some photos sorry blame pinterest

Lucia

❧ fun dates!! whenever he gets free time, almost always will he choose to go out and do something fun, like arcades or carnivals

❧ he does love a night in as well, curling up in bed with a few snacks, watching a movie or show (also i say night in, but he would also be down to do this at like 1 pm)

❧ he's shameless with how much he loves you; he'll go all out with the flowers and presents, wear matching clothes/accessories and show them off, wear funny shirts that explicitly state he's in a relationship

❧ and don't get me started on the staring; this man looks at you like you hung the moon in the sky, any basic onlooker will be able to tell he's head over heels for you

❧ loves a good creative session, whether it's doing a silly craft or building legos! he'd make the two of you race to build things

❧ this man is goofy!! teases you like crazy!! and it seems to increase tenfold when you're in public smh. but he does it out of love <3

Levy

❧ this man is all about books, so expect there to be lots of reading together and bookstore dates

❧ he's quite the scholar, so if you also happen to be studying something, there will be study dates!! if not, he's more than okay with you helping him, or if you're just nearby doing your own thing

❧ loves to take you to quiet, scenic places for dates; there's something calming about being alone with you in a location almost as beautiful as you

❧ and at these special spots, he's fond of bringing along a picnic basket and blanket!

❧ he loves to learn, and seems to be especially fond of history, so museum dates are a must! you both make it a point to visit one museum per month, trying to find the lesser known ones

Mefy

❧ he's the perfect balance between chaos and calm; he gets his bursts of mischievousness and you already know you're in for a fun night

❧ his secret guilty pleasure is going to arcades and absolutely demolishing kids in multiplayer games; he shows them absolutely no mercy, and he expects you to join in lol

❧ he's also not above messing with people's belongings and property, trying to stick to the whole "confuse, don't abuse" way of pranking

❧ you're not safe from his torment, either, not even in public; as soon as you have your back turned, he's already in the middle of doing something odd to you, just to see a reaction

❧ on the more gentler side, he adores your quiet nights in together, how the two of you can unwind with some skin and nail care, a bottle of champagne, and the latest gossip

❧ he's a bully and unpredictable, but he adores you more than anything and values all time you spent with him

Oswald

❧ a true nature boy, probably grew up as a granola kid, so spending time outdoors is a given

❧ everything hozier sings about, this man embodies <3 his vibe is just tea and whiskey

❧ absolutely gives you little flowers everyday, sometimes paired with a quick love note sprawled out in messy writing

❧ no matter what your size is, this man towers over you and makes you look minuscule, which makes for fun opportunities where he picks you up and carries you around or holds you in different manners

❧ wants to be more domestic with you, so the two of you will often have baking attempts, which more often than not turn out messy as flour covers every available surface, including yourselves

❧ soso gentle with you; he absolutely adores your whole existence and handles you like one of his flowers

Kaim

❧ classy. this man is a gentleman at its finest, so expect him to be very formal and traditional with you

❧ prefers to go out at night, mostly to fancy restaurants, but because of his work schedule, date nights are maybe once a week

❧ his love language is most definitely acts of service: he'll get you a beverage in the morning, make you breakfast in bed, cook dinner for you, massage your body; anything you ask, he'll do it

❧ he can play a few instruments, and if you play one too, great! time for a duet!! if not, he loves having you just sit and watch him play

❧ random slow dances are a must; he's not great with his words, so whenever he invites you to dance, think of it as a declaration of his love and adoration <3

Mikael

❧ y'all are definitely that couple that shit talks and thinks knows they're better than everyone else

❧ most of your days together are spent in ease and relaxation, nothing fast paced, just calm and gentle moments together

❧ hates cooking for himself, but you can badger him into cooking with you as a way to spend time together

❧ definitely a wine guy; if you drink, the two of you more often than not end your days with a small glass to unwind and talk about everything that happened during the day, and anything else that comes to mind

❧ loves a good mind game to pass the time, i'm talking chess, scrabble, even clue; they're fun and a good way to exercise logic

❧ soft intimacy is a must, it's nothing too extreme, just cuddle time, soft caresses, and a shared bath here and there to reconnect with each other

Ricardo

❧ oh boy,,,it's the relationship that to outsiders seems incredibly toxic, but the two of you know that it's not, and more than anything else you both value the consent and trust you've built together

❧ he's sososo touchy in public, and out of public too; pda and physical touch is his thing, both giving and receiving

❧ another fan of late night dates! he likes going to the movies, seeing what's out there and making fun of trailers, and he also likes the thrill of sneaking in food even tho staff doesn't care

❧ his cool, rebellious attitude hides the fact that he adores you, and he treats you like a precious, fine china doll; he wouldn't let anything hurt you

❧ loves to give you piggy back rides and carry you around, which usually leads to him throwing you on the bed repeatedly like a cat lol

Noel

❧ you're definitely his first relationship, and he appreciates you going slow and taking the time to try new things with you

❧ a foodie at heart, he loves dates that involve eating: diners, ice cream shops, homemade pizza, decorating gingerbread houses

❧ he also keeps a small garden, and loves when you help him prune and weed; he'll even pick the prettiest flowers to give to you and let you put in his hair

❧ sleepy sleepy soft boy, loves to take naps with you, and enjoys making your bed as soft and cozy as possible with plush toys, blankets, and pillows; essentially, he wants to make a nest lol

❧ this man is clingy, always has to at least be near you or touching you in some way, so that he knows you're there. he also appreciates the little milestones the two of you share and loves making couples crafts to commemorate them

Lucas

❧ another outdoorsy guy, but in less of a granola way and more of a cottagecore way

❧ loves to go traveling with you and renting quaint air bnb's that are surrounded by plenty of nature for the two of you to explore

❧ especially fond of the little moments, he likes to take the time to smell the flowers with you, dance in the rain, and just take a minute to breathe with nature

❧ he's a big baker and enjoys making sweet treats for you; he'll often have you taste test them, and he values your opinion on recipes more than his own

❧ when it comes to cooking tho, he prefers to do that with you as he finds it more domestic

❧ loves dates where the two of you can make things to display in your home: bob ross tutorial paintings, pottery making, even those diy couples crafts; anything to commemorate and display your love for each other

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

I love Wind having master sword burns so so much, please give deets :D

*taps mic* I wrote that fic like, nearly a year ago, so I don't remember much, but I can provide a few details (most about the fic itself, as the whole "MS burns" thing is pretty simple

You can't wield the Master Sword if you do not have the hero's spirit. Zelda, however, as the descendant of Hylia, can wield it (which doesn't make sense to me but whatever)

This was actually before I hopped on the train of Four being Zelda’s cousin, I think, so really I was going for the descendant of someone with the hero's spirit also being able to hold it (to a lesser degree)

I've always visualized Wind's scars to cover his entire hand (hands?), like he laid it evenly on a sheet of hot metal, as opposed to like, just where the hilt touched him. No unblemished skin.

I started another fic about Wind without the hero's spirit (entitled as "ANGST HAMMER" in my docs, whereupon he used the Master Sword to kill Dark Link, and thus died himself) but never got more than a few lines (enclosed below, because I will probably never finish it unless a sudden bout of inspiration strikes. Be warned, it's quite old)

A detail only in that fic- Wind also has scars on his shoulder from where the hilt of the Master Sword rested

(Fun side note- those two are the only fics where my hc of "Blue becomes Edward Elric when his height is mentioned" is present)

This fic was intended to be a looooot angstier but somehow it ended up as a comedy. Writing Wind is just very fun and it's somewhat hard to take everything seriously from his pov

I looked up whether or not WW Link wore gloves to base the placement and extent of his scars on

The burns never got past, like, second degree. Most of the pain was like, a magical thing (the divine curse mentioned by Sun)

There's a running gag in my fics of a Link meeting another Link and calling them "Other Link", and here Sun does it as well (she and Sky are dumbass4dumbass)

This isnt relevant at all but someone made art of the scene where Groose picks up Wind and looking at it now, I just realized Sky is standing in the "you know I had to do it to em" (I think anyway) pose and I'd be upset but that's just so funny

Wind has always known he doesn't have long.

Ever since he pulled the Master Sword, he's held his lifespan in his hands, grains of sand spilling between burned fingers.

Was it not enough? To fight Ganondorf, blood from broken blisters slickening the Master Sword? To live every day in pain, sometimes not even able to do the most basic of tasks?

(He already knows the answer, has known it since the first day he drew the Goddess's blade.

It never will be.)

-

"Good thing the old man is here, right?" Wild says, nudging Wind's side and sending a jolt of pain through him.

Today has been a bad day; he'd woken up unable to curl his fingers in all the way, and his shoulder has been burning, only worsened by the hilt of his sword rubbing against the scars there.

"Yeah." He agrees, tuning back into the conversation. Sky had been demonstrating how his beetle worked, only to wedge it in between two branches out of arm's reach.

"Is it just a hero's spirit thing to be short?" Legend asks. "Time is the only tall one here."

"I don't know." Time says, ruffling Wind's hair. He tries not to wince at the jolt it sends through his already frayed nerves. "The sailor might still get taller than me."

Wind tries not to laugh at that; if Legend is right, then he really might be able to get taller than all of them, if the curse doesn't kill him first.

"I could still get taller." Four rolls their eyes.

"Yeah, right." Warriors scoffs. "You're even more of a shrimp than Wind."

"I'm not a shrimp! This is a perfectly normal height!"

"For a ten year old, maybe."

"I don't know." Legend says. "I think it's more like an eight year old."

-

-

-

He twists the blade into the Dark Link's chest, fire burning through him. It howls, clawing at him.

"Wind, no!" He hears Time yell.

He looks back, smiling. "It's what heroes do, right?"

[valley-of-the-lost]

Okay, so I’m fresh off of reading These Violent Delights, and until under the cut it’s going to be spoiler-free but it’s all ramble.

Would definitely recommend this book, especially to people who had trouble getting into Romeo and Juliet or haven’t read it since a high school english class. It’s a significantly less strenuous read but nonetheless still full of depth and beauty and the soul of the original tragedy.

BIG spoilers under cut, if you haven’t already please enjoy the book first.

I did manage to loosely predict some things, like that one of the Dexters was probably the Larkspur, and that the Larkspur was the source of the insects.

The Larkspur being the source of the insects and then basically monopolizing the vaccine on it made me wonder if Chloe Gong is maybe a fan of Exoptable Money, Presentable Liberty’s lesser-known prequel. I saw very broad similarities between the plans of Paul Dexter with his insects and Dr. Money with his virus. It was actually those similarities that had me honing in on the Larkspur once he and his cure kept popping up beyond showcasing scammers taking advantage out the outbreak.

That being said, there was still a lot in the book to surprise me, some probably intended by the author and others were just me being slow.

Good twist by author: Qi Ren being the monster. More or less perfectly boils down the backdrop of the book’s setting where white westerners are continuously moving in to colonize Shanghai and either oust or control the Chinese people in their own city. Qi Ren was a victim of a white British guy who thought human suffering was not just acceptable but perfectly fine as long as his pockets were lined. Perfect thematically, really, and speaks to what was going on in Shanghai generally, just with maybe less insects.

That’s some nice, tight writing.

Me being dumb: Not realizing Lourens is Friar Lawrence until Juliette picks up the fake death stuff.

Marshall (for now) dodging the mirror fate of Mercutio gives me hope Roma and Juliette can do the same, though I suspect it might end up along the lines of how the Anastasia Broadway play ended, with them having to fake their deaths and leave Shanghai and change their names to live in peace.

I noticed we still don’t know who the White Flower spy in the Scarlet Gang’s inner circle is. I’m guessing its Rosalind. The book’s been dropping hints that she’s not as close or loyal to Juliette than Kathleen, and honestly while I understand her reasons for being stressed, my opinion of her is hovering low right now for putting Kathleen’s life and identity in danger. I’m also sensing a thread where she’s maybe not got her twin’s best interests in mind considering Juliette was the one who intervened on Kathleen’s behalf regarding Amethyst and Rosalind was willing to leverage Kathleen’s precarious position against her. Which is... something a good sister doesn’t stoop to, but I’m curious to see where it leads.

OOOOOO I WANNA PUNCH TYLER IN THE TEETH OOOO. I hate smugass men with no tact who make situations worse because they’re too narrow-minded. Perfect little shit to crawl under my skin and I hope Juliette becomes his worst nightmare.

Speaking of Juliette and Roma I love them. “Cute” seems to be the wrong word to describe them, considering the “cute” era of their relationship is long over, but they’re pain and longing and they got me invested enough that I want to see them happy together. We got like a blip but that was it. Both of them honestly deserve their own little blurbs but I feel I’m cultivating a Juliette bias.

My copy of Our Violent Ends is waiting for me, but I’ve got an obligation to finish Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor first. But I’m so glad I picked these books up when I was at the bookstore, and in hardcover too. Hoping to get them signed maybe someday.

[the-insomniac-emporium]

RE8 Ladies + S/o with chronic pain HCs

Type/cause of chronic pain is kept ambiguous, but some of the hcs might seem geared towards migraines, since that's the main thing that I personally struggle with (and these are very definitely comfort hcs). Features Alcina, Bela, Cassandra, Daniela, Donna, Mother Miranda, and as a 'lil bonus Ava. Not particularly long, but the combined length of every character is enough to be put under a read-more (About 2,500 words in total).

Alcina:

It’s difficult for her to know that you are suffering, but be unable to deal directly with the source of the problem. Chasing off unwanted nuisances or hunting down threats to the castle was one thing, trying to solve complicated medical issues was another thing entirely. If only she could tear your condition asunder without tearing you asunder.

That being said, she’ll still support you endlessly, however she can. It doesn’t matter how expensive or hard-to-access possible treatments are. If there’s something you haven’t tried, and are interested in trying, she’ll find a way for you to get it.

The biggest, and arguably most helpful, thing that she does is set up a space for you within her office. She spends quite a lot of time there for her family’s business, but doesn’t want to leave you alone on bad days. So this was her idea of a nice compromise.

There’s a very comfortable sofa that folds out, a cabinet filled with the softest blankets, and several pillows of a few different sizes. Servants are instructed not to interrupt Alcina’s work without good reason, but she has a couple who ensure your snack cabinet is always well stocked.

If there are certain environmental factors to your condition, such as sensitivity to light and sound, she does her best to reduce their effects. Lights remain dimmed (or she’ll rely on candlelight), her music will be kept quiet enough to be soothing, and she’ll refrain from taking any calls while you are with her.

Bela:

To think that Daniela once tried to claim that Bela would “never need to know any of that (medical) stuff”! Sure, there haven’t been many people who have needed (and received) treatment from her, but that didn’t mean the skill was useless. Admittedly, she doesn’t know enough to replace one of your doctors, or try to create her own version of a cure, though no one really expected that much from her.

Still, she knows enough to help soothe your pain. Obviously there are different techniques for different kinds of pain, and she does research before trying anything specific. Bela’s also aware that you’ve been dealing with this for far longer than she has, meaning that you probably wouldn’t be pleased if she came in, acted like an expert, or assumed that you hadn’t really thought about the most popular remedies. So she’s tactful with how she approaches things, always checking if you’re familiar with a subject before she tries to explain anything.

Bela ends up surprising you with a lesser-known skill of hers: Massage. Studying anatomy has given her a decent idea of the body’s more sensitive spots, and the rest she’s figured out through her own, ahem, experiences. Regardless of where you’re in pain, your girlfriend can help reduce your suffering. Okay, well, if your pain is more internal than external, it’s a bit harder for her, but she can still help you relax.

One of her favorite things to do after giving you a massage is to just pull you in close for some cuddling. Preferably you’ll be in her lap, with her arms around your waist, her chin tucked on top of your shoulder. Then she’ll do her best to whisper you praises, reminding you how strong you are, and that she’s incredibly proud of you.

Cassandra:

She’s, uh, not great at this. At least not at first. Maybe she’ll never be more than good at it, though. But she’s definitely trying! And learning! By Jove, that’s something, right?

First things first, she’s always ready to try to distract you, primarily through kisses and gentle touches. Fingers softly trailing over your skin, lips tickling your neck, featherlight in all the right places… It’s not inherently sexual (though it can quickly go that route if you ask), just intimate. It’s harder for your brain to process pain when you’re also processing pleasure, so there is some science behind Cassandra’s methods, even if she herself isn’t entirely aware of that.

While she’s not great with words, there are certain things that she manages to articulate well enough. For one, she makes sure you know that you aren’t a burden. Taking care of you- no, helping you take care of yourself- is a labor of love, if a labor at all. More than that, she knows full well that you probably don’t like feeling pitied, or coddled. That, over time, being sick ends up being beyond frustrating. She never wants you to feel like your condition defines you, or like it puts any strain on your relationship.

That said, she’ll avoid telling her family any specifics unless you do first, and ensures that the staff know how to accommodate you (without telling them why, because it’s none of their fucking business, and she’s their boss, and for fuck’s sake it’s their job to do what she tells them. Maybe she gets a lil bit overzealous with it). At no point will she ever complain about helping you, or otherwise indicate that your needs are “troublesome”.

At the end of the day, the best comfort she brings you is her presence, simply being near you, endlessly loyal, tireless in her affections. Especially considering she gets clingier the worse your symptoms get.

Daniela:

Hope you enjoy cuddling. Seriously. There’s nothing Daniela loves more than curling up with you, and that goes double for bad pain days. Some adjustments will be made position-wise if you need, but she’ll still hold you as close as possible, for as long as you need. Although she might eventually fall asleep (because damn are you comfy), she’ll play with your hair or run her fingers along your scalp until she eventually dozes off.

If you want a little more from her than light snoring, or if she feels like going above and beyond, or honestly just if she’s thinking about how much she loves you (so all the effing time), she’ll do something she’s always loved in movies/books: Reading to you! She’ll pick special books that neither of you have read before, so you can experience them together on your sick(er) days. Which does, of course, mean that it might take months to finish even a single one. Surprisingly, Daniela won’t even briefly consider reading any without you. Even if the plot is really good.

But, uh, if you wanted her to read to you on a day where you aren’t bedridden? Hell yes, my friend, she’s absolutely down for that!

On days where she’s too busy to spend hours upon hours in bed with you, or days where her ADHD is just particularly bad, she tries her best to leave you with a “substitute”. AKA a massive fucking teddy bear, in a reddish brown color, with a green bowtie. Custom ordered (The Duke did not dare tease her for it). There’s a heart stitched onto the stuffed animal’s chest, which features your first initial alongside a D for Daniela.

Additionally, she has a blanket she only brings out for you, which she periodically sprays with her favorite perfume. That way you can hold it close when she’s not around, as if you were cuddling her. For her sake, though, don’t hold the teddy bear or blanket too tightly when she is around. Homegirl here will get jealous of inanimate objects, even ones that she gave you.

Donna:

“I think I have a tea for this…” Damn right she has a tea for this. Donna has a massive garden, with dozens if not hundreds of different plants, including a variety of herbs/spices. At least one of them has to be a little helpful for you. Whether it relieves pain, helps you nap off some of your misery, or just distracts you by tasting bloody-well delicious! Besides, few things make you feel quite as loved as holding a cup of freshly brewed tea in your hands, knowing your lover made it just for you. Like a hug in a mug, it is!

Similarly to Alcina, Donna will also try to create a comfortable space for you, but isn’t likely to put it downstairs with her workshop. Instead she’ll let you take over one of the larger guest rooms, customizing it to suit your specific needs. There will be some easy to care for plants for decoration (ones that won’t mind potentially missing out on natural sunlight), a couple relaxing paintings, and a shelf near the bed with things to help you pass the time, mainly books.

Furthermore, she’ll do her best to keep you company as often as possible. She’s naturally a fairly quiet person, so you won’t have to worry about sound if that’s something you’re sensitive to. While she prefers using a sewing machine, she’ll do things by hand while you’re in pain, just to reduce the chances of you getting irritated by the sound.

Speaking of potentially irritating sounds… by god can Angie be difficult to be around when you’re ill. Thankfully, Donna is perfectly understanding of this, and, as the only person Angie ever listens to, makes sure to give the doll a stern talking to about your health. To your immense surprise, it actually works. You’re not exactly sure what was said, but Angie certainly becomes a lot more compensating afterwards. She’ll keep her antics to herself, and usually even on another side of the house from where you rest, but only for as long as you’re tucked away in your room. As soon as you set foot outside, her restraints are metaphorically removed. All hell breaks loose (as is her universe-given right as the physical embodiment of both Chaos and Entropy).

Mother Miranda:

If the two of you weren’t lovers, there’s a decent chance you would completely misinterpret her actions. She might come off as irritated, like she has bigger concerns than your health, you fragile little human. After all, she is a goddess (well, practically). But the truth is that she’s aching inside every time you have a bad pain day, knowing that (for once) she cannot cure your ailment. Maybe if she had infinite subjects with the same condition as you…

But, at the end of the day, that’s the problem. There’s only one of you. One of her beloved, her little human darling, so dangerously fragile in comparison to the scale she works on. Even with all the time in the world, which she most certainly has, she cannot cure you without taking incredible risks. With your life at stake… It is a gamble she refuses to take. You are hers, and while she hates to see you suffer, the truth is that she’ll always be selfish enough to let you endure on your own.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t help, though, just that she doesn't do a full-out experiment on you. Instead, she keeps notes. She’ll track your activities, bedtimes/when you get up, dietary habits, when you have pain, what you do to treat said pain, how effective the treatments are, etc, etc. All of this can be very useful in establishing patterns (a skill she’s gotten very good at, in her many decades of being a scientist), which can in turn lead to less pain days.

(For example, many people with migraines find that certain foods seem to trigger a migraine, or at least increase the chances of getting one. Though admittedly they don’t always end up cutting the food out of their diet. I mean, come on, you want me to give up chocolate? You want me to drink normal milk, like an adult? Kidding, kidding, I don’t have any food triggers. Nor do I particularly enjoy chocolate milk, nor do I dislike it.)

Moving on! While her work seemingly takes precedence over your condition, Miranda is not heartless, and she does do some things to lend you more direct comfort. Specifically, she tries to work in the same room as you when she can, normally while making electronic copies of physical documents, or while looking over the details of a finished experiment. She’s not always one for cuddling, so she won’t often get in bed with you during the daytime. But at night? Yes, fine, she will wrap her arms around you, maybe one of her wings too if you like how soft they are.

Just don’t think that she secretly loves every second. It’s not like she’ll spend half an hour whispering about how sweet and adorable you are as soon as you fall asleep, or anything like that. It’s twenty minutes at the most.

Bonus!Avaskian Caldwell:

“Oh, fuckin’ mood!” Followed by a solid thirty seconds of pure regret. Seriously, though, Ava has spent xer entire life (starting at age 10) dealing with chronic migraines. For a while xe also dealt with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), which meant lots of chest pain, but that (thankfully) faded as xe grew into an adult, as is fairly common with the condition. If anyone in Castle Dimitrescu understands unrelenting, unexplainable pain, it’s xer.

That being said… Ava never really managed xer chronic pain, at least not when xe was at xer worst. Xe had to drop out of school because of it. Hell, xe didn’t have a “real” job until xe was almost 23! Didn’t have a chance until things just calmed down for xer. So xe gets anxious whenever you talk about your health, worried that things are (or will at some point be) as bad for you as they were for xer. Other than that, though, you might initially think that xe doesn’t care, or didn’t understand the conversation.

Truth is, xe knows how absolutely fucking ANNOYING it can be to have to explain your health to every new person you meet (like the dozen different doctors you’ve met over the years, possibly every nurse who takes your pulse and thinks it’s a little bit high). So xe did a shit ton of research on your condition, in order to reduce how much you need to explain. Sure, xe will still have questions, and there are always aspects that only you can tell xer, but it’s a nice gesture.

As for helping you destress, xe’s pretty much a mix of Bela and Miranda. You’ll get plenty of massages (because Ava has learned from personal experience what sort of touches help with which sorts of pain), but also some scientific insight on any noticeable patterns. Lots of holding you close and telling you that you’re the coolest person in the world, and that Ava feels beyond lucky to have you.

[samwisethewitch]

10 Magic Herbs You Can Find at the Grocery Store

When you’re first getting started with witchcraft or another magical practice, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the material stuff involved. Witchy hashtags on social media are filled with pictures of huge sparkly crystals, gorgeous handmade ritual tools, and beautifully elaborate altars. Many spells in books or online call for a long list of herbs, some of which are expensive or hard to come by. For baby witches, it’s easy to feel like you can never be a “real” witch unless you have money for these expensive tools and toys.

This is not true. As we’ve talked about in previous chapters of this series, you don’t need any tools or material components to cast a spell — however, harnessing the energy of plants, crystals, and imagery can be a helpful way to add energy to your work. This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money. In fact, many of the most powerful and useful magical tools can be found on the spice aisle in your local supermarket, or even at the dollar store.

For example:

Salt. Salt is a witch’s best friend. It can be used for cleansing, banishing, protection, grounding, or to neutralize energy. Surrounding something with a circle of salt will protect it [Note: do NOT make salt circles outside, as salt will kill plant life!], and washing something with salt water will cleanse its energy. I often include salt in any spell that I feel needs an extra layer of protection.

Sugar. Just as salt banishes unwanted energy, sugar attracts the things you want into your life. Sugar can be used for any and all attraction spells, whether you’re looking to attract love, money, success, or something else. It can also be used to “sweeten” a situation, or make it more favorable.

Cinnamon. There’s pretty much no positive spell that doesn’t benefit from cinnamon. Cinnamon has associations with healing, love, success, and material wealth, but is also strongly associated with protection. I love burning cinnamon as incense — it fills the whole room with warm, cozy energy.

Cayenne. Cayenne is often used for banishing or binding spells, but a lesser known use is for getting things moving. Cayenne is a very fiery plant, so any spell dealing with passion, motivation, or drive can benefit from its inclusion. Cayenne can be used to “light a fire” under someone to motivate them to action. However, cayenne is a more harsh energy, so I often pair it with lavender or another soothing herb.

Coffee. I most often use coffee for grounding or to anchor things to the physical world. For example, I might include it in a prosperity spell to make sure the results manifest in my everyday life. Coffee is also energizing and brings mental clarity, and can enhance psychic abilities. Brewed coffee is also used in some traditions as an offering for spirits.

Bay leaves (Bay Laurel). Bay leaves are one of the most popular spell components because of their association with granting wishes. You’ve probably heard of the practice of writing a wish on a bay leaf and burning it to manifest your desire. I often include bay leaves in manifestation magic for this reason. Bay leaves can also be used for purification, cleansing, and exorcism.

Ginger. Ginger adds power to any spell it is included in. Ginger tea or gingery food can also give you a personal energy boost. I add ginger to any spell that needs some extra “oomph.” It is also associated with success.

Basil. Basil is very commonly used in money spells. Carrying a basil leaf on your person is believed to attract wealth. It also has associations with protection.

Peppermint. Peppermint is another herb that can add power to virtually any spell. It can bring healing and purification, can remove obstacles and free up stuck energy, and can enhance psychic abilities. Peppermint is a common ingredient in dream pillows. You can find peppermint tea at virtually any grocery store, and many stores also carry the essential oil.

Lavender. Lavender is my favorite herb for bringing peace to a situation. It’s very good for healing magic and for soothing difficult emotions. Lavender is also associated with love, and I especially like to use it in spells for self love. Most stores carry lavender essential oil, and you can also find herbal teas that include it as an ingredient.

With the above herbs at your side, you’ll have everything you need to cast virtually any type of spell. Honestly, even if you just have salt, sugar, and maybe some white candles, you can create powerful spells for dozens of different intentions, from protection to self love to getting a job. Remember, what matters isn’t so much what you have — it’s your intention.

These are also edible, so they can be incorporated into magical recipes for different intentions. In fact, most of the ingredients you cook with every day have magical associations and can do double duty as powerful additions to your spells. For more information about the magical uses of common household herbs and spices, I highly recommend the book A Green Witch’s Cupboard by Deborah J. Martin, which is where most of the info for this post came from.

Other useful magical items that you can pick up at the grocery store include:

Olive oil. Olive oil can be used as an all-purpose anointing oil for candles, ritual tools, or your body. It can also be used to dilute essential oil, or as a base for custom magical oils.

Tealight candles. These small candles are perfect for candle spells. White tealights can be used for any intention.

House plants. Many common houseplants have magical associations. For example, aloe brings protection and healing. You can also grow some witchy herbs, like peppermint or rosemary, indoors.

Epsom salt. Epsom salt is a great base for bath spells. You can add essential oils and herbs to make custom bath salts — just be sure to research oils and herbs ahead of time, as some can cause skin irritation. [Note: Epsom salt is not actually salt, and cannot be substituted for salt in spells.]

Notebooks. Writing things down is an important part of witchcraft. Keeping a record of your spells, divination, and magical experiences makes it easier to keep track of everything.

Again, I want to stress that you don’t need a specific set of tools to be a witch. In fact, you can do highly effective magic without ever working with herbs at all. But if you want to gather some items to add power to your spells or help you feel more witchy (after all, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to set the mood!), you can get everything you need for a few bucks at the local supermarket or dollar store. Remember, our ancestors worked magic with what they had — not with expensive crystal collections or exotic herbs.

[bloodycassian]

COLD NIGHTS - Cassian x Azriel x Reader - Prompt: 

hi i love your work so much!!! I was thinking a cassian x azriel x reader (i just love them sm, why have one when you can have two ) where the reader is sister of a high lord maybe day or winter court, and reader goes missing (kinda angsty) and her brother (a high lord) panics and goes to the night court for help (bc if her two bat boys can’t find her who will)  and az and cassian go full on panic mode and search for the reader, i was also thinking a fluffy cute ending where reader is just cuddling with azriel and cassian while her wounds heal take as much time as you need to write this, don’t pressure yourself. Take care lovely

Kallis would never forget the screams. The terror and panic that rushed through him when he realised that you were gone.  He sent half the city to search for you. He called upon Helion to inspect the magic. He was frantic in finding you. But it was like you had just disappeared out of nowhere. No sign of struggle, not a drop of blood spilled. The offender was sloppy in their ways, but their magic was strong. Helion could sense it.  They had a deathwish from Kallis himself if he ever found them. +  The first thing you saw were your cracked and bloody hands. They were split open from the dry cold wind. Sea air drifted into the cave. The cold brutal howling outside mixed with the roar of waves breaking confirmed your nightmares. Cape Tragedy. 

The islands off the coast of winter were known for their unforgiving nature to ships. Hence their name, Cape Tragedy. Also known as the Tragic coast, no stories were ever heard of any survivors of those crashes. If they had managed to survive the churning water, then the false salvation of the islands would kill them. It happened often enough that there were lighthouses set atop many of the bigger islands for ships to avoid on stormy days.

You coughed from the dry air, earning a pair of yellow eyes to dart to you. One of the three lesser fae males noticed you were awake and clapped. "She wakes! We've been waiting for you, sweetheart." His green skin was pale in the overcast light streaming in from the mouth of the cave. Snow Bear pelts lay all around. A disgrace in your culture. No citizen of Winter court would do such a thing. You looked to the walls to find weapons, and strange markings along the stone. Sailors from far away lands. 

Not even sailors. Pirates. A chill ran through you.  

"We're going to get your weight in gold, pretty one." The scaled male curled a piece of your hair behind you ear. Your stomach turned, and you tried to scoot away. "My brother will kill you first. And he'll take a long time doing it." You promised, trying to make your voice sound strong. Terror had you by it's grip though, and it was hard to do anything other than panic

. "Your brother? The pretty one that shears the Elk?" The green one asked. You laughed, and then were hissing in pain when the scaled male yanked on your hair. "What's so funny?" 

"You think my brother is an elk herder?" You spat "You must be dumber than you look." The males glanced between each other, then to the one who hadn't said anything yet.

"Who ye think you are then?" The male holding your hair stammered, trying to keep his panic under wraps. 

"Kallis' sister." You said with deadly calm. "And the high lord does not negotiate." 

"If you're so noble why you got such a mouth on ye?" The third male finally spoke.

They laughed.

"Maybe we will see just how much of a mouth-" He started again. He didnt have a chance to finish his disgusting words. You kicked, bending an ice spear straight up from the rocky ice floor and through the third male's body. Then the beating from the other two came. 

They bound your wrists and ankles in rope and tar. Their hands shook when they did it. It gave you a small bit of satisfaction. The potion they gave you to knock you out was just barely strong enough. You fought it as best you could, but it won. You could only hear the faint sounds of arguing then a crash of glass, then the cold winds whipping around you. And when you woke, your body ached.  The cold bit into your limbs. Your fingers were pale. Far too pale to be healthy. You knew frostbite when you saw it. Your body refused to move under your own power. Your blood was frozen to the icy ground. They had used a potion and transported you to a peninsula, and you could only faintly hear the ocean below. You could feel the potion wearing off, but you knew you weren't healing. Not yet. You reached down into your own mind, picking up the fading tendrils of power. Of your bond to the two you knew could save you. And you pulled as hard as you could manage.  --- "Fuck." The roaring thought shook Cassian awake. Bleary eyed, he glanced about the room as if there was someone actually shouting at him.  Then he felt it. The weak tug that had been silent for so long. And he knew it was nothing good. Frenzied, he met Azriel at the dining area. Where they spent the rest of the night planning, deducing a probable reason for you to be calling so weakly. They sent their worries to Rhys, but they were shooed away. "I'm researching. Meet me in the library at dawn." The two males tried to comfort each other. But the worry pulsating through the bond was too much to focus on. So they waited. Kallis appeared that morning. He spat his story and begged for help, practically in tears as he spoke to the three Illyrians. Cassian and Az knew something was wrong the moment you were attacked. Court laws forbade them interfering on Winter Court territory though.  As soon as the approval was given, the brothers winnowed to the border of Winter and started flying. + You were coming to terms that you would die in the cold. You had imagined death differently. Battle was the primary way you thought you'd die. Or at the end of a High Lord's magic for being too much of an advisor. Smiling at the memory of putting Tamlin in his place, you gave another tug down the bonds to your mates. And like a snap, they both tugged back. Almost in unison. It was hard to tell. You closed your eyes, listening to the soft waves below. They lulled you into a cold sleep yet again.  + Despite the cold, the Illyrians flew as fast as they could. They could sense your light fading, and chased it for mile after mile. Their wings cut through the harsh winter winds, fueled by rage and desperation. Then they spotted the dark figure frozen to the snow below. Cassian landed first, a few feet away. The ice cracked beneath him. "Get us out of here." He growled to Azriel.  "We need to make sure she's okay before we move."  Cassian growled, but didn't protest. Azriel understood. He felt the anguish and frustration through the shared bond. Az's hands pressed gently to your neck, checking your pulse. He swore. "Baby, we need you to wake up for us. We're here. We got you." Cassian put a hand to your cheek and fought back the tears that threatened.  You groaned in response. They both sighed in relief, their breath making clouds in front of them. "I'm stuck..." You managed through your stiff jaw.  Cassian stroked a thumb over your cheek. "Stuck? Honey you're-"  "Cas..." Azriel nodded to your side, to the ice that crept its way up your damp clothes. Azriel could have taken a very very long time torturing the beasts that did this to his mate. The rage coiled in his gut at the sight of your injuries. The only reason you hadn't bled out was the blood and water mix turning your wounds to ice.  Cassian pulled at the ice web that encapsulated you. Under the heat of his rage it broke, and broke and broke. Azriel placed small patches of his shield over your frostbitten fingers. "We're gonna get you out of here. Just stay still." Azriel smoothed back your hair, and darkness swirled over you. The change from the harsh overcast light of Winter court to the soft sun of Night court was jarring.  Madja put her hands on you and you were asleep in an instant. Her warm hands were a blessing from the Mother.  +  "She's lucky she has that Winter blood in her or she'd be dead." Madja wiped her hands off and handed both the Illyrians a small vial. "That is the scrap from a poisoned sword that broke off in her shoulder. I got all the pieces out, but the poison lingers. It may heal slowly, but it should get better."  Anguish burned both of their stomachs. Azriel's throat tightened and he looked away, but gripped the vial tightly. Cassian stared at it, his eyes murderous. Madja left without another word. "She was almost killed. And we couldn't do anything." Cassians' voice was low, with violence dripping from it. "We need her here. In Velaris where we can... watch her." He didn't know what he was saying, but the instinct to protect was overriding every other logical thought he had. Anger burned and burned in his stomach, swallowing him with rage. He could feel Az mirroring the same feeling, but with a cold deadliness that begged to simmer out of him.  "You know she wont go for that. She loves her home too much. Her brother." Azriel whispered back. "We're her mates. She should be with us." Cassian was looking for a fight. All the tension and anger of the day had to be worked out. Azriel felt it too. His shadows ran anxiously through the room.

The wind outside howled. It shifted the dark clouds that covered the moon. It seemed to be a cold day in all of Prythian. A cold day in your mates hearts to the pirates that had taken you. They spoke their rage mind to mind, imagining the ways to torture the bastards. 

How to find them would be the first priority. Azriel kept circling back to that part. + The healer cleared his throat at the door. "She's asking for you." He nodded to Rhys' brothers. They left Rhys behind in unison, walking in perfect step with each other. Their minds hummed together over that bond they shared with you. "Protect protect protect." They both seemed to demand.  Azriel knocked softly, his heart flipping when he heard your voice again. "Get in here." You demanded, giving them a broad smile when they practically shoved each other out of the way. 

"Come keep me warm." You weakly folded the blanket back, exposing some of the bruising on your skin. 

They complied with enthusiasm. Azriel's hands were cold at first, but they got better when he reached around you to hold Cassian closer. They worked in tandem to keep you covered, making sure that you weren't too crowded or too warm. Azriel summoned his cool shadows when you got too warm and had to kick the blankets off. Cassian's warm breath would keep you warm when they became too much. You traced Azriel's cheekbones, the sharp edge of his jaw while falling alseep. Cassian's muscled forearms hugging you from behind were like a heavy pillow. 

"Rest now, we can have more fun later." Az winked, making your stomach flutter. Cassian groaned and pulled you further to his lap. You tried not to think of the hardness that pressed to you now.  "Goodnight." The shadowsinger kissed your forehead and like a light, you were out. Finally resting peacefully wrapped between your two mates and their warm bond you all shared. 

[astaroth1357]

How about the brothers + diavolo reacting to an mc that smokes cigarettes, but only when stressed out? I hope this ask doesn't make you feel uncomfortable. 🙂

So this is interesting for me because I'm actually an asthmatic and cigarette smoke is one of my triggers. Naturally, that means I'm not the biggest fan of smoking (because I like breathing air) but I'm going to try not to turn this into a straight PSA. I assume if you smoke, you already know what's up and if you don’t, you're probably not considering it and leave things at that. I imagine what you want is the characters' perspectives and not mine, so I'll do my best to give that to you here. I hope you like it!

An MC Who's a Stress Smoker

Lucifer

Not the biggest fan of their habit, but mostly due to smell. Actually needing that bit of stress relief - he totally gets.

After he found out that they smoke he set a lot of ground rules: "No smoking in the House; No smoking at RAD; No smoking in uniform" yadi-yadi-yada… but he never straight up banned them from doing it.

If he catches the MC out smoking, he'll usually keep his distance until they've finished (and ideally changed clothes) before calling them in to ask what's wrong.

If they can't keep to the rules, that's when he's going to start having a problem. Cigarette/cigar smoke gives him a headache and he really can’t tolerate it for long…

If they start smoking in places they're not supposed to, then he will try to ban them cold turkey so better stay mindful about it. It wouldn’t take many slip ups unfortunately…

 

Mammon

Yeah… I know some people HC that Mammon smokes too. I wouldn't go that far, but I'll say he's most likely done it before.

Mammon picked up smoking for a century or so from his trips to the human world (humans freaking loved tobacco for some reason) but eventually stopped because the smell annoyed Lucifer and it has some weird effects on Diavolo…

When he caught the MC smoking on their balcony the first time, he was a little surprised because he didn't peg them for the type, but throwing stones in glass houses and all that… Who is he to judge?

Mammon actually likes to stick around during their outdoor smoke sessions. It's a pretty relaxing, dare say intimate, affair. He'll grab a cigarette himself and just let them vent about whatever's bothering them. Zero judgment about it all.

He will warn the MC about Lucifer’s dislike of the smell though… They have to be careful or he'll start getting on their case, you know?

Leviathan 

Smoking is fairly common among badass characters in anime so it's not like he has a super negative image of it to start with, anyway. 🤷‍♀️

Surprisingly understanding of their coping mechanism, I mean, this man has made a life out of his own.

If he sees that they’re out smoking he may pop out to go ask what's up. He won't be much bothered by the smoke unless they blow it right in his face or something (which is a little rude anyway).

Will be a little disappointed that the MC only does it to calm down and they're not actually some kind of secret badass (or maybe they are, I dunno) but he gets the need to have some kind of grounding more than most.

Isn't nearly as bothered by the smell as Lucifer, but not about to jump in and join them like Mammon… He's pretty down the middle about it.

 

Satan

Though he can't fault them for looking for relief, he's done enough research into human health that he really can’t condone this method…

Satan, bless his black soul, is going to be the nag of the family. He will bring up how unhealthy smoking is and he will urge them to try and find a different habit.

To be fair, he did the same to Mammon too - but to a lesser extent because demon bodies can cope with the toxins a lot better. Since the MC is human, he feels a lot of urgency… it comes from a good place.

The MC should expect to have to hide from Satan if they’re out smoking because he will crash their de-stressing with a mini-lecture. He won't go as far as to take the cigarette from their hands, but he will ask them to put it out.

He's not blind to their feelings, though. If they’re smoking, he'll ask what's wrong and how he can help so they can just stop for the night. If they do want to quit, then he's more than willing to support them through the transition. He won't leave them high and dry, but he will make his thoughts known. Be aware of that.

 

Asmodeus 

Uh, don't they know what smoking does to your skin? Your teeth?? Oh no, honey, you gotta try something else!

Yeah like Satan, Asmo isn't a huge fan but unlike Satan he's mostly worried about the physical damages alone. Poor guy can't understand why someone would actively do something with those negative effects when there are much healthier options!

He will pretty much be on a mission to give them other stress relief outlets like massages, bathes, music, meditation, or whatever else he can think of. He'll keep throwing stuff at a wall until it sticks. 🤷‍♀️

Again, it comes from a good place (albeit a somewhat more shallow one) but he cares deeply about them and always wants them to always look their best.

Unfortunately, Asmo's not even coming near them if he sees them smoking. He knows secondhand is a thing and he wouldn’t risk it, but he may call them or text them while they're out there to see what's wrong.

 

Beelzebub 

Beel's pretty easygoing one way or another so I see him accepting the MC's choice with little judgment. Their life and all.

Being an athlete, I also can imagine he may have a bit of knowledge about why it's not good for you but he won’t hammer it in like Satan. He might remind them once or twice if they start coughing because he worries… but that’s about it.

If there's anything he's going to be sad about, though, it's if their smoking habit starts to diminish their sense of taste… There’s so many foods he wants to share with them, he hopes they can enjoy it all… 😥

If Beel sees them out smoking, he'll pull a Levi and just come out to see what's wrong. He may not stay long because he doesn’t want to breathe in too much secondhand (still an athlete and all) but he'll still check in on them… Such a sweet guy.

 

Belphegor 

The smell did take some getting used to, but he used to nap around Mammon all the time so it's not like it's unfamiliar. He can adapt.

Really can't give two shits on whether or not their habit is healthy for them. In the long term, that may bite him in the ass, but that’s also kind of Sloth's whole deal so…

More or less would treat them the exact same way, smoking or not, because that doesn't much affect him or his chances to cuddle them.

If there's anything that is going to bother him, it might be coughing when he's trying to sleep... But that won't be a serious concern unless it gets BAD.

If Belphie sees them out smoking, he'll ask what's wrong… but also if they want to just come inside and sleep the problem off. He's trying to help… in his own way. 🤷‍♀️

 

Diavolo 

Daddy Devil smoked and you can't convince me otherwise.

The smell of cigarettes and cigars kind of give Diavolo a knee-jerk familiar reaction - like when you smell a food or soap that you associate with your childhood. It may not be a good smell or one you even like, but you're drawn to it anyway for the memories.

Doesn't matter how many times the MC has changed clothes or how long they scrub their body for, he can still smell it on them and it's like hitting a lightswitch in his brain - he knows that smell and it's oddly comforting…

Diavolo is going to hover around them a lot. Expect a lot of hugs or just standing a bit too close so he can get a good whiff. Lucifer is going to be utterly confused by his actions but Barbs knows what's up.

The MC is strictly forbidden by Lucifer to smoke anywhere near Diavolo, but that’s hardly going to matter. He can pick up when they've done it recently and he'll ask what's wrong… probably while hugging them because he's looking for that comfort too.

[down-in-devildom]

MC being Used by Lesser Demons (Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor)

Second part of this prompt: Part 1

CW: Violence, Torture, Manipulation, Murder, Cannibalisms ...general demonic behavior

Asmodeus

Asmo is always surrounded by all kinds of demons vying for his attention and he thinks it is absolutely adorable! He is someone that is just so magnetizing and mesmerizing that it is almost unsettling when people can resist him. Enter MC. Someone both equal parts strange, wonderful, and scary; They worth every ounce of love they can get! So he isn’t all that surprised when MC starts to develop their own little entourage of Lesser Demon fans.

Asmo lives for the attention and is happy to share the experience with MC. They go on little shopping sprees together and always have plenty of demons willing to carry their bags or buy them some gifts. The amount of times that Asmo and MC got in trouble with Lucifer for bringing home way too many gifts and taking up all the hallway closet space was starting to get ridiculous. It didn’t phase Asmo though. He is just happy to be able to steal the MC away, even if they are never truly alone.

Now, Asmo was rather observant and was quick to pick up some of his dedicated fans started to join up with the MC’s little group. He wasn’t jealous, per say, but it is odd when these demons that followed him all around the Devildom for centuries were now more interested in a human. He didn’t want these ugly internal thoughts to turn him ugly externally, so Asmo shoved the matter to the side for now.

When a particular Lesser Demon that he used to remember following him around rather faithfully gave the MC a gift, he was more curious about what they gave them than why they were not giving him items anymore. Whatever the Lesser Demon had handed to the MC had them practically gushing about it for most of dinner that day at HoL. Apparently, it was some sort of beautiful silk scarf and it looked absolutely amazing on them. MC had invited this particular Lesser Demon out to grab the newest latte at the DevilPop Shop as a thank you.

MC was so excited for the café date that Asmo didn’t have the heart to tell them that he already tried the newest latte and it does not photograph very well nor was it worth the calories. The day of the venture into town, Asmo sent the MC off with a gorgeous outfit that incorporated the new scarf, and a kiss on the cheek. Asmo had a makeup live stream to host so he wasn’t able to join them.

Asmo was still in the middle of filming when he heard the door to his room open. He could have sworn he told his brothers not to bother him for the next four hours and was kind of miffed. He turned his head briefly away from his camera and lights set up only to see MC dash by and flop themselves onto his bed. They yanked the scarf that they were given off of their neck and buried themselves in his covers. Asmo was quick to excuse himself and apologize for cutting the stream off so quickly before.

When Asmo made his way to the bed, he could hear the MC groaning and see them appear almost restless under the sheets. He gently pulled the covers off and gasped when he saw the MC with swollen, patchy welts all over their face, neck, and the beginning of their chest. He was now starting to become frantic because the irritated areas looked so painful and the MC looked like they were desperately trying to both hide their face and not cry at the same time.

When the MC explained how the date was going so well until their neck started to burn and the Lesser Demon they were with started to showcase such a cruel smile. The scarf must have either been hexed or treated with a fast acting poison that causes the MC to have an adverse reaction. The Lesser Demon had taken pictures of their pain-stricken face and threatened to post it all over Devilgram if they kept getting in the Lesser Demon’s way and taking too much of Asmo’s attention. This kind of behavior isn’t all that unheard of for some of his fans, but Asmo is generally very quick to put any wayward bullies in line. Maybe the Lesser Demon thought they could get away with it because MC was simply a human.

Asmo first treats MC’s welts with some of his skin care and makes sure that most of the pain is gone before having them drink some sleepy time tea to relax. When the MC inevitably goes to sleep after their harrowing ordeal, Asmo sneaks off and tracks that particular Lesser Demon down. It wasn’t hard finding their location after he used his various social media accounts to ask for their whereabouts. When he finally did find the demon, Asmo decided it would only be fair to give the Lesser Demon their own personal facial seeing who they felt so starved for his attention. He then proceeds to scrap the Lesser Demon’s face all across the brick and concrete grounds in the vicinity, painting the sidewalks red and really improving the other demon’s image, what with them not having a face anymore and all. Asmo is as sugary sweet to the MC the next day and continues to coo over them and their injuries. He also is sure to breezily mention that the Lesser Demon decided to disconnect from the media and social trends, whatever that may mean, and wouldn’t be around for quite a while.

Beelzebub

Beel was widely admired. He was a strong athlete and super sweet to most demons unless food denial was in play. He was also known for going on rampages when he was hungry and it was a big deterrent for many demons outside of his Fangol team and the Hell’s Kitchen chef. He didn’t really mind though. He has his brothers and now MC. Between him always having to worry about where his next meal would come from and how to keep his family together, Beel already had to take into account his environment and the threats that they held. 

When more and more demons started to watch him during his Fangol practices, he was confused. Typically, only the MC would come to cheer him on or wait for him to finish before heading out to grab some cheeseburgers. It didn’t really matter though. He was still able to give his best on the field and no demon got in his way when he approached the MC to start leaving for the day. It was only when the MC paused in their tracks after talking about their day did Beel turn to look at them with some concern. He asks them what is wrong before they said that one of the Lesser Demons were a really big fan of his and wanted to hang out.

Now, Beel is a very laid back type of guy so he was more than ready to grab a bite to eat with more company. MC waved one of the demons in the distance down and soon enough, the three of them were on their way into town for some snacks to have before dinner. The market was full of all kinds of street vendors so it was the perfect place to try everything at once. The first stop was a crepe stall that was super generous with their fresh cream and strawberries. The Lesser Demon was kind enough to pay for the treat and handed it out to Beel and the MC.

Beel was content for the moment with his twenty-three assorted crepes and was munching away when the Lesser Demon went to hand the MC their crepe. Unfortunately, it looks like the Lesser Demon tripped and smeared the dessert all over the front of the MC’s RAD uniform. The Lesser Demon apologized and was saying how sorry they were that now the MC would have to go home to change, but MC said it wasn’t a problem and they don’t mind still hanging out even though they were wearing their food. The Lesser Demon was adamant that they would need to change but MC waved them off.

Beel was just glad he still had some crepes to work through and offered up one of his to MC. There was a bite out of it but MC accepted it gratefully anyways. Beel noticed that the Lesser Demon had a strange look on their face and was looking at the shared crepe and the MC with a furrowed brow and a frown. Maybe the Lesser Demon wanted another crepe too? Either way, the trio still made their way over to Hell’s Kitchen and talked along the way. Or, rather, the Lesser Demon talked the whole time while Beel and MC just listened. The other demon sure appeared to be passionate about Fangol because that was all they wanted to talk about. That and about Beel being the star player that RAD desperately needed.

When the journey was finally over, they sat together at the bar in Hell’s Kitchen. The Lesser Demon wanted to sit between MC and him but he did not mind that much. Beel was quick to order just about two of everything on the menu. When the food finally arrived, Beel was making quick work of his order while the Lesser Demon continued to fill the space with more of their Fangol play formation theories. The MC was having a good time enjoying the meal and the conversation when they finished their singular portion of food and waved down the wait staff to order something else. 

MC looked so excited about the triple chocolate bat’s milk brownie sundae they ordered, Beel was almost inclined to order another helping of the dessert himself, they made it look so good. But before MC could scoop any into their mouth, their spoon was snatched from their hands. Beel and the MC looked at the Lesser Demon in shock and confusion on why they took away their utensil. The Lesser Demon then goes on to say that the MC already had enough to eat and it would go to better use to go to someone as active as Beel. The Lesser Demon then proceeds to take the plate from in front of the MC and add it to Beel’s dwindling food mountain.

Beel and the MC were frozen in place. Neither of them move but Beel could see past the Lesser Demon’s shoulder when the MC’s head hangs down briefly before they hurry to push away from the bar with an excuse that they have some business to take care of and leave the restaurant. The Lesser Demon looks...happy… that MC left and turns back to Beel and talks more about Fangol as if nothing happened. Beel felt in his gut the uncontrollable hunger that comes when he skips a meal take over him. The Lesser Demon is too busy yapping to see the shift in Beel’s eyes but they sure did stop talking when a growl from deep within Beel’s chest vibrated throughout his body and shook the ground itself.

Beel was famished and the only thing that satisfied his hunger was the demon that dared to deny his MC of something as important as food. Beel’s mouth opened impossibly wide as his jaw seemed to know no bounds and his fangs elongated. Before the Lesser Demon could get away, Beel’s mouth was at the other demon’s throat and the jugular was ripped clean out. The demon’s body fell to the floor in shock and Beel was quick to pounce and shred his meal apart, consuming the flesh and bones and leaving nothing left. Nobody in the restaurant stopped him. When Beel’s hunger subsided, he paid the bill and walked out to go find the MC. He just knows that they would love some macarons from Madam Scream just about now and he wasn’t about to deny them that.

Belphegor

Belphie typically struggled to find the motivation to do much of anything most days. Or rather, it isn’t much of a struggle if he had no intention of doing anything in the first place but the point remains. Today, he was actually able to summon the miniscule amount of energy required to go with the MC to the movies to see a documentary about human space exploration. Granted, he had almost every intent and purpose to just fall asleep the second the lights dimmed anyways, but he could at least be some form of company for MC during the show. 

Belphie was told to meet MC outside of the theater’s entrance about fifteen minutes before the flick. The only reason they were not able to walk from HoL to the theater together was because MC had some resource material they had forgotten to return to RAD and needed to run by there real quick before it was overdue. Bephie didn’t mind though. It meant he could sleep in a bit more before having to head out. When he did arrive at the meet up point, there was a Lesser Demon practically glued to MC’s side and Belpie would just feel his limited energy reserves drain.

When the MC spots him, they are quick to pull him aside and explain that they ran into the Lesser Demon at RAD and asked to hang out with them. When MC went to reject the offer and explain that they already made plans with Belphie, the demon was even more insistent about spending time with them. The Lesser Demon wanted to get to know more demons with an interest in astronomy and was a bit too shy to approach Belphie by themselves. Now that they had gathered the courage, they would not be persuaded to do anything else but tag along. The other demon appeared very keen on not letting MC and Belphie out of their sights and walked over to join the conversation after a moment.

Belphie was not exactly happy about some stranger ruining his movie experience, but figured that it wouldn’t matter too much rather the other demon was there or not. He was still “seeing” a film with MC. When they all walked inside to get their tickets, the Lesser Demon would not shut up about how excited they were to finally get to talk to more astronomy fans. MC did not appear to mind though and was being fairly polite. They would answer as many questions as possible but it was becoming apparent that the Lesser Demon wasn’t exactly listening to the replies and would turn around and ask Belphie the same questions. He ignored the other demon though because they were being annoying.

Once they walked to their seats, the Lesser Demon tried to sit between both Belphie and the MC. He wasn’t in the mood to humor the other demon so Belphie plopped down in one of the seats and pulled MC down into the one next to him. Because of the arrangement of the seats and some random demons seating on Belphie’s other side, the Lesser Demon was made to sit on the other side of the MC. Belphie could tell they did not appear all that happy about the arrangement judging by the deep frown that etches into their face. Well, too bad. This was originally his movie date with MC, not the Lesser Demon.

When the lights finally went out and the curtains pulled back completely from the screen, Belphie got comfortable in his seat and laid his head on MC’s shoulder. He was planning on getting on top of his well deserved nap as soon as possible, but something in his gut was keeping him just on this side of wakefulness. Although his eyes were closed and his breathing was slow, Belphie was on alert. He was naturally a demon with a lot of suspicions about other’s motives, so he was a bit weary of the frown on the Lesser Demon’s face a few moments ago.

Belphie heard the Lesser Demon start to whisper in MC’s other ear and had to focus a bit to hear the conversation over the film’s loud music score. The other demon appeared to be continuing their earlier barrage of questions. The MC whispers to the other demon that they would like to watch the movie and could answer everything later. The questions continue anyway and start becoming more and more morbid and strangely personal. What were human funeral customs like? Could humans sense when their life is in danger like prey can? Do human hearts taste better when they are still beating or shortly after being stilled?

That last question gave both the MC and Belphie pause. The Lesser Demon continues though, slowly moving their hand up the MC’s arm and across the chest until their hand rested lightly against MC’s neck. “I always wondered what it was about you that drove the Seven Avatars to becoming shadows of their former selves. Even Belphegor, with his intense hatred of humans, is over there sleeping on your shoulder like a newborn kit. Maybe the brothers just need a reminder of how weak and helpless humans are in order to snap out of their feeble minded states and become real demons.”

Belphie just lets out a snort of a laugh at the ridiculous monologue the Lesser Demon felt the need to recite before materializing his tail. The other demon seemed to realize their mistake too late and their neck was snapped all too quickly. Beplhie finally opens his eyes to peak up at the MC. They were looking at the Lesser Demon’s body and the way their head was twisted to an unnatural degree. Ah, well, there goes his movie nap. Belphie was about to get up to leave the theater, thinking that MC would probably not be in the mood to watch the film anymore and would prefer to not be next to both him and a corpse, when he was tugged down into the seat instead this time. The MC quirks a brow as if to say the movie wasn’t over and goes back to watching the screen. Good thing too because Belphie was past the point of simple sleepiness and wanted his movie nap, for demon’s sake.

-----

Thank you for reading part 2 of this request. Sorry I didn’t include the original question in the post but I am too lazy. I talk a lot so please excuse the run-on sentences -Leo

[izzyfandoms]

A Sleep So Sweet - Chapter One

(This is not the first chapter. There is a prologue, linked in the A Sleep So Sweet masterpost)

When Emile discovered he was the soulmate of the prince of a magical species known as Beings, he did not know how to react. Beings were terrifying, powerful creatures, who often did not care for humanity, and, in their first meeting, his soulmate, the sleep prince, seemed to be no different.  

Will Emile fall in love with his soulmate, or are they simply not meant to be?

SHIPS: Remile, Date (Janus x Nate)

WARNINGS: N/A

GENERAL TAGLIST: @quillfics42 @aj-draws @phantomofthesanderssides @phlying-squirrel @sly-is-my-name-loving-is-my-game @because-were-fam-ily @imtryingthisout @a-creepycookie @littlestr @spooky-scary-virgil @fuyel @mimsidoodles @soupgremlin @aroaceagenderfluid @birdsbookshiddeninrealbirdsskin @quirkalurk @gingers-trashy-stuff @iinyxtello @justaqueercactus @melodiread @mrbubbajones @pun-master-logan @gayturtlez @k1ngtok1 @yourneighborhooddisaster @alexxander-the-gay @full-of-roman-angst-trash @selfcarejanus

A SLEEP SO SWEET TAGLIST: @spellingwillbethedeathofme

Masterpost

A Sleep So Sweet Masterpost

Emile stared at the soulmark on his wrist, not daring to take his eyes off of it just in case it somehow disappeared. When it had appeared in the middle of the night – waking him up from his sleep – he had been shocked, of course, but he had also been tired, half-convinced it was only a dream.

But now he was completely awake, and the tiny crescent moon and stars were still there, like a small silver tattoo, but just a little bit shinier.

It didn’t even feel real, like he was still just dreaming. He ran his thumb over his wrist, like he was trying to smudge paint, but the soulmark didn’t even budge.

It finally hit him. This was real.

Oh, wow, he had a soulmate.

He had a soulmate!

Emile raised his hand to his mouth, finally letting out a delighted giggle.

“Oh my gosh,” he said to himself. “I have a soulmate!”

Wow. He needed to tell his dads.

He finally took his eyes off of his soulmark, looking around for his phone. He picked it up, turning it on and immediately opening the group chat he had with his two fathers: Nate and Janus Picani. They weren’t soulmates – soulmates were a rare thing, after all – but they were still deeply in love, and Emile had always hoped he’d get a love like that someday.

Now that he knew he had a soulmate, maybe that love wouldn’t be so far away.

Emile couldn’t help but let out another delighted laugh, almost bouncing up and down on the spot.

He began to type out a message to his dads.

Emile

Guess what!!!!

He then waited, his eyes flicking between his phone and his soulmark, checking that it hadn’t somehow disappeared in the last few seconds, which it had not, before he got a response from one of his dads: Nate.

Dad

What?

Emile

I got a soulmark!!!!

Nate immediately started typing again.

Dad

Woah really?

Emile

Yes!!!

Dad  

Hold on lemme grab your other dad

Emile waited, practically vibrating with excitement. He lowered his phone, taking another look at the soulmark on his wrist. It was shiny, almost reflecting the light, and he could not help but smile just taking a look at it.

It almost didn’t feel real, like he was having a very pleasant dream, but when he reached over and pinched a bit of skin below the soulmark, he definitely felt it. It was real.

He smiled.

Father

Congratulations!

Dad

Can we see the soulmark?

Emile opened the camera on his phone, taking a quick picture of his soulmark and sending it to his parents immediately.

He then waited for their responses, seeing that both of them had started typing. Then, they both stopped typing at about the same time, and Emile blinked at his phone.

Why had they stopped typing?

He waited, but they did not start typing again.

He blinked, confused, and began to type out another message.

Emile

Hello?

Then Janus started typing again.

Father

Have you seen the news?

Emile

What news?

Dad

The news about the being prince

Emile stared at his phone, wondering what on earth this had to do with his soulmark.

Beings were powerful creatures – abstract things come to life, like fear or memory – and the Being royalty were especially so. Humanity was lucky that Beings were rare and tended to avoid them, as they were dangerous and often did not care much for them.

They were rarely in the news – often ignored by humanity, as if ignoring them meant that their danger was lesser.

Emile

What news?

He waited, staring at his phone, before he received a link from Janus. He clicked on it, and saw that it was a news article, titled: Being prince has a soulmate?

Emile stared at the headline for a few seconds.

How was that relevant to his own soulmark?

A pit began to form inside of Emile’s stomach, but he pushed down the immediate uncomfortable feelings.

No. This was just a coincidence. So many people had soulmates, though they rarely had Beings for soulmates.  

This was just a coincidence.

He scrolled through the article, skimming over the information.

The Being prince – a magical being: sleep come to life – had found a soulmark on his body. This meant that he had a human soulmate, and he wanted to find them. He had made the announcement public, in the hopes that he would find his soulmate as quickly as possible.

Emile scrolled all the way to the bottom, and his heart stopped when he saw the image at the end of the article.

It was a single image of an eye – pitch black and surrounded by silver skin, with black hair peeking out from the top of the picture – and right in the centre of it was the now-familiar crescent moon and three stars.

Emile gasped, and his phone slipped out of his hand, clattering to the floor.

He almost wanted to swear, but he bit his tongue before he could.  

This couldn’t be real. Now he was certain that he must have been dreaming. This... this was impossible.

His soulmate wasn’t a Being. They couldn’t be.

Immediately, there was a pang of guilt inside of Emile.

Beings might have been powerful, terrifying creatures, but who was Emile to judge them? Sure, some of them hurt people, but most of them never did, as far as Emile knew. Who was he to decide that all of them must be cruel and evil and dangerous?

If the universe had decided that a Being was his soulmate, then that Being, at the very least, had to be a good person.

Well, perhaps person was the wrong word, but they had to be good. The universe wouldn’t have paired him up with someone bad. They were meant to be!

Okay. Emile’s soulmate was a Being – a prince of Beings – and that was... not bad. Maybe it was even good! Maybe his soulmate was wonderful – the soulmate of his dreams! Maybe they would be perfect together.

No, not maybe, definitely. His soulmate was his soulmate. They had to be perfect.

Emile nodded to himself. Okay. This wasn’t bad. This was good! He didn’t need to continue his quest for true love: it was being given to him, right in the palm of his hand.

He took a deep breath, and then bent down and picked his phone back up.

He checked his group chat with his dads.

Dad

Thats your soulmark right?

Father

Are you alright?

Emile wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Was he alright?  

He was excited about having a soulmate. He was terrified that his soulmate would be terrifying and cruel. He was guilty that that was the assumption he’d made about his soulmate. He was just conflicted.

He thought about it for a moment, but before he could respond, his phone lit up with an incoming call from Janus. He blinked, before he answered the call and lifted it to his ear.

“Hello?”  

“Did you read the article?” came Janus’s voice from through the phone.

Emile paused. “Yes.”

There was another pause, before he heard his other dad’s voice through the phone.

“Is that your soulmark?”

“I think so.”

“Okay,” Nate said, his voice calm despite what was going on. “How do you feel about that?”

“I... don’t know.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Nate said.

“You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to,” Janus said seriously. “You don’t even have to meet him if you don’t want to.”

“I know,” Emile said. “But...”

“But?” Nate prompted.

“I don’t know. I mean- I mean he’s my soulmate, right? I know Beings are... scary. But... he’s my soulmate.”

“He’s a Being,” Janus said.

Nate sighed. “Jan.”

Emile frowned. “I mean, I know, but... he’s my soulmate. He can’t... he won’t be bad.” He took a deep breath. “I mean, how much do we really know about Beings? I know the stories, but they can’t all be bad! My soulmate... he could be good.”

“He is your soulmate,” Nate said. “And you’re the kindest person I know. I doubt you’d be saddled with a shitty soulmate.”

“Still, if he is bad, we need to keep him as far away from you as possible,” Janus said.

"I appreciate it, but I’m an adult now, dads,” Emile said. “I can take care of myself.”

Janus hummed like he wasn’t sure whether or not he believed him. Nate let out a laugh, and Emile heard a sound that sounded like he was clapping Janus on the shoulder.

“He’s right, babe. He’s an adult. We can’t protect him anymore,” he said. Emile could practically hear the amused smile on his face. “Just make sure to introduce your soulmate to us once you meet him. I just can’t promise that Jan won’t go all overprotective father on him.”

He laughed, and Emile laughed, too.

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” he said.

In his mind, he imagined what it would be like to introduce his soulmate to his fathers. Hopefully it would go well. Hopefully his soulmate would get along well with his parents.

Would his soulmate be polite and serious? Or would he be funny and entertaining? Would they get along well? Emile certainly hoped so.

But maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself. First, he actually had to meet his soulmate.

Emile paused. How was he even going to do that?

“Gosh, how am I even going to meet him?” Emile said aloud.

Nate hummed in thought.

“I don’t know. Get yourself in the news?”

Emile’s nose wrinkled. “I would rather not.”

“Uh...” Nate said. “I have no idea then. But I know you’ll figure it out!”

Emile smiled. “Thanks, dad.”

“I need to get to work,” Janus said. “Let us know how finding your soulmate goes.”

“I will.”

“Love you!” Nate said.

“I also love you,” Janus said

Emile smiled again. “I love you both, too. Bye!”

“Bye!”

“Goodbye.”

Then, they hung up, and Emile was alone again.

His gaze was immediately drawn back to his soulmark. His eyes traced the curving shape of the crescent moon, and the three small stars that were underneath it.

The sleep prince was somewhere out there with that exact same soulmark just on his eye instead of his wrist. Emile wondered what he was thinking about in that exact moment. Was he thinking about Emile, like how Emile was thinking about him?

Emile could not help but smile at the thought.

Gosh, he couldn’t wait to meet his soulmate.

But first, he had to find out how to.

***

Emile had been on his computer for ages, searching for a way to find his soulmate, but the internet was mostly unhelpful.

There was a ton of research done on Beings, but it was difficult to tell what was reliable and what was useless. Beings were such a wide variety of creatures – some appeared out of thin air, some were once other things – research about one was unlike research about another. And most of the research was about what they were and how they worked, not about how to find them.

Emile sighed, reaching up and massaging the bridge of his nose. This was impossible: it was starting to seem like the only way to find his soulmate was to go through the same methods his soulmate had used to get the information public. And he really, really didn’t want it to come to that.

He was lucky that it was his day off today, so he had plenty of time to research.

Emile clicked on a new article, one labelled ‘Whispering Beings’, that he wasn’t too hopeful would actually be helpful. But he was still going to look, just in case.

His eyes skimmed the first few lines. Whispering Beings were a type of Being that could hear every whisper ever spoken. In fact, they existed in whispers; sometimes they didn’t even have a physical form, they switched between a human-like body to a whisper taken form at a whim. They could be summoned through whispers and used to send messages. Their physical forms looked cloud-like, not entirely physical and they were often benevolent towards humans.

Wait.

Emile suddenly straightened up, his eyes going back a few lines.

They could be summoned through whispers and used to send messages.

There. That was it.

That was how he was going to find his soulmate!

Emile let out a laugh. Finally, he was going to be able to find his soulmate!

Okay. Okay. Now, he just needed to figure out how to summon a Whispering Being.  

His eyes returned to the article.

Whispering Beings could be summoned through whispers. Apparently, you could whisper something into the night sky, and – very occasionally – they would hear you. They would appear in front of you, and they would take your message and bring it to whoever you requested.  

But they were rare. Your message needed to be interesting to them, or they would simply ignore you.

Well, Emile thought that his message was interesting enough. He was the soulmate of one of the princes of beings, surely that would catch the attention of anyone.

Okay. He could do that.

All he had to do was wait for it to become night, and then he would whisper into the sky. He would get his message to his soulmate; he was sure of that.

***

Emile had been waiting impatiently all day for night to come, and when it finally did, he was practically vibrating with anticipation. He couldn’t sit still, tapping his foot against the floor and his hand against his leg.

Was now the right time to do it? The sun had set, the sky was black, but what if he needed to wait until midnight? The article had been unclear, and every other source he had found had been, too.

What if it needed to be at a specific time? Midnight or 1am or 2am, something like that? Emile had no idea. He didn’t want to do it wrong.

After a moment of thought, he stood up. Okay, he might as well try now. If it didn’t work, he could always try again later. He could try as many times as it took for it to work. He would try all night if he had to.

He walked over to his window, opening it and feeling the cool night air wash over him.  

The sky was black, speckled with stars, and the moon was full. Maybe that meant something. Maybe the full moon was something special and would mean that the Whispering Beings were more likely to hear him. Emile had no idea. He was really out of his depth here.

He was a simple therapist! He watched cartoons and documentaries for fun. He knew nothing about magic, and yet the universe had dropped a magical soulmate into his hands.  

This was his life now.

Emile took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. He could do this.

Then, he opened his eyes. Okay, he could do this.

All he had to do was figure out what exactly to say. His brow creased in thought. What did he even say in this situation? What was the right thing to say to summon a Whispering Being? The article hadn’t exactly given instructions on how to summon one.

Well, apparently Whispering Beings heard every whisper, so maybe all he had to do was say who he was and they’d listen.

Okay. He’d give that a try.

He took another deep breath, before he began to whisper.

“My name is Emile Picani, and I’m the soulmate of the sleep prince,” he whispered into the wind. “I want to find him. Can you help me?”

He then waited. He waited and waited and waited, but nothing happened.

Okay. That was okay. He could just try again.

“My name is Emile Picani, and I’m the soulmate of the sleep prince,” he whispered again. “I want to find him. Can you help me?”

“I heard you the first time,” came a voice from behind him. It sounded like a whisper, but was somehow also loud and clear.

Emile jumped, spinning around so quickly that his glasses fell from his face.

Standing there, in the middle of his living room, was a blurry figure, that Emile couldn’t quite make out the details of him without his glasses. All he could tell was that it was white and vaguely human-shaped.

He bent down quickly, picking up his glasses and sliding them back onto his face. He stood up, and saw that the human-shaped figure was almost as blurry as they had been before he had put his glasses back on. They looked like someone had taken a cloud and pressed a man-shaped cookie cutter into them, but the clouds had seeped through the edges a little bit. They didn’t even have eyes or a mouth, despite the fact that words had come from somewhere.

“H- hello,” Emile blurted out, just a little bit terrified of the obviously-inhuman Being.

“Hello,” said the Whispering Being.

“What... what’s your name?”

The Whispering Being just stared at him for a few seconds.

“Beings don’t have names.”

“Oh. Right.”

There were a few seconds of silence.

“So, you're the prince’s soulmate?” The Whispering Being said.

Emile straightened up. “I... think so. The soulmarks match, so... yes.”

The Whispering Being tilted their head.

“Would you like me to bring a message to him?”

“Yes, please.”

“Alright.” The Whispering Being nodded. “I shall. What would you like me to say?”

Emile... hadn’t really thought about that. In his excitement to send a message to his soulmate – and his daydreams about what would happen when they first met – he hadn’t thought about exactly what he wanted to say.  

“Um...” Emile said, fidgeting with his hands. “Tell him... tell him about me and tell me that I want to meet him.”  

The Whispering Being watched him for a few moments, before they nodded.

“Alright. I shall do that. Is there anything else you need?”

Emile thought about it for a moment, before he shook his head.

“Thank you,” he said.

The Whispering Being nodded again. Then, they began to lose their form, becoming more cloud-like and less human-shaped, until the fog that was their body began to fade. They became translucent and then transparent and soon they were gone, and Emile was alone.

He stared at the spot they had been for a few seconds, before he let out a deep breath.

Okay. This Being was going to bring the message to his soulmate. Then, his soulmate would come and they would meet.

Emile could not help but smile just a little bit at the thought. Oh, gosh, he was going to meet his soulmate soon! He didn’t know exactly when, but if his soulmate had been so quick to put the soulmark in the news, then surely he wanted to meet Emile as much as Emile wanted to meet him.

They were going to meet each other for the first time soon.  

Emile let out a little laugh, and practically bounced up and down on the spot, doing an excited little wiggle. He clapped his hands together.

Oh, Emile was so, so excited.

He wondered what exactly would happen next. Would the prince send the Whispering Being back to Emile, with information about a meeting place? Yes, that made the most sense.

But when exactly would the Whispering Being return? Emile had no idea. Maybe they would return again tonight; maybe they were busy and wouldn’t return for another few days. There was no way to know.

Perhaps he should have asked.  

Emile shook his head. Well, there was no point in thinking about that now.

A cool wind came through the open window, and a shiver ran down Emile’s spine. He turned around, reaching out and shutting the window.  

Then, when he turned back around, he yelped and leapt backwards when he saw that there was a new figure standing in the centre of his living room.

He was tall and thin – quite a bit taller than Emile, though that wasn’t difficult – with silver skin, black hair and solid black eyes. In the centre of his left eye was the now-familiar symbol: a silver crescent moon with three stars underneath it.

Emile gasped.

“You’re-”

The Being smiled, crossing his arms.

“I am,” he said. “Hello.”