#but the drawback is that if she's not careful she could accidently hurt others

[astrids-multiverse]

time to lock in and drop some jacky lore.

so basically, jacky's great-great-great grandmother was a witch right. and all the children that came after her 3x great grandma were all witches or they inherited witch abilities but not all of them were aware of that, and some didn't practice at all out of fear of being caught etc. now back to the 3x great grandma's timeline, she was part of the coven and this coven had certain rules which were that you could use your magic for anything as long as you didn't hex or harm anyone or any innocent individuals. but if you did, and if you were caught, not only were you kicked out of the coven, but they would take your magic away as a form of punishment and to avoid any of the future generations to commit evil acts like this. however the magic arts was taught up to jacky's great grandma and only minimal stories were being told, and even after that, jacky's mother would not tell her about these stories because she always believed magic was never real and was all made up ( not to mention that the hereditary magic did not pass down to her, it skipped her but it didn't skip jacky ). while jacky was born with these powers, she didn't know that they were hereditary until she ran away from home one rainy day and her green gem necklace was glowing in which triggered/activated her powers ( she possesses almighty magic, and it's green amongst other powers that i'll talk about in another post ), then learning that she was a witch. since her mom didn't believe in witches or magic, she couldn't tell her what happened and wanted to avoid her mother thinking that she was cursed by a demon spirit ( since they're really religious only when it benefits them just to believe that they're good people but we're gonna get into that later ) so she did her own research without her parents finding out ( especially her dad, since he always has a reason to attack this girl smh ) and she did, she found many things and found a way to reconnect with her ancestors and have everything explained to her and the fact that they chose her to possess this ( powerful ) magic that she has and has yet to master. and when she did, she vowed to be true to the principles of the og coven which was to respect the magic, use it for good, and never abuse it in any way, shape or from. therefore become the emerald mayhem of earth-1610 and using her magic to become a hero and help the city.

[widow-maximov]

Whole again

Pairing: Wanda x Fem Reader, Natasha x Fem Reader

Warning: Language, angst, fluff

Summary: Y/n never had an easy life in every aspect of life, finding love again but being betrayed is the worse feeling...

Word count: 4.7K

Tag-list: @diaryoflife

(If you want to join my tag list, click here and enjoy my future posts :3)

⸻⸻⋙🗲⋘⸻⸻

Life couldn't be better at the moment, in your whole life you have always been pushed, not only by the Avengers but by your parents are well.

They always wanted the best for you and you did the best you could but it never was enough so you simply moved away from them when you turned 18, it was hard living alone, working somewhere that only paid for your rent and bills but never left you enough for food.

When you joined the Avengers, you instantly felt the difference here, food was always here and you never had to worry about not having enough. Everyone was accepting, especially Wanda.

The two of you got along quite quickly, she shared some interest you did and visa versa.

It was perfect, she always listened to you and reassured you that you always did your best, it was amazing being with Wanda. You felt safe around her and she always held you with so much love that it made you feel useful.

You loved her and each day spent with her, made you fall for the witch deeper, little did you know she did as well. She loved listening to you talk about your childhood, and how bravely you would overcome struggles.

She loved everything about you, from the way you would stick your tongue out when you couldn't get something right to little snorting that came out when you were very tired.

She adored you in secret and you did the same, you were always amazed by her powers, the way she would always find new ways to improve them or find out more about them. The way she would pay to every detail of every mission you told her.

The questioning that followed after, made your heart melt at how much she cared. She always wanted to be near you and hold you tight in her arms, this only worsen when the two of you have gotten together.

The dates would be amazing, she was really romantic and you would be hopelessly in love with everything she did for you. You would shower her with gifts and always be there for her whenever she had a rough night.

For some people being with one person for a long time is boring but for you it wasn't. You felt that you were always learning new things about Wanda, from the way she would tilt her head to the side slightly when you made a teasing comment.

~~~~~

Sitting in a meeting full with your teammates and unable to contain your desires is the worse feeling. Your powers are similar to Wanda's but only with the telekinesis part, the rest you just have to reply on your fighting skills.

You looked over to Wanda who was opposite you, she was too focused on what the meeting was about, rather than looking at you. You looked down at the papers in front of you and smirked, as you gotten inside her head and spoke.

"Would you like to do this?" You asked as you showed her an image of Wanda being pressed against the wall and your face pressed against her core.

She looked at you as soon as that image disappeared with wide eyes "or this?" You showed her another image, a lot more filthier than the one before.

When she came out of it, you could sense the confusion and the lust coming off her "We are in the middle of a meeting!" Her voice found itself in your head.

You smirked slightly at her and spoke back "So?"

"So? How can you expect me to concentrate on what they are talking about"

The way your eyes darken as you looked at her lips "I don't, I want you to focus on me and the way you'll be a mess after"

Her head tilted to the side with a small smirk across her face as she looked away from you and at the person who was at the front. You looked around and no one even noticed that the two of you had a whole ass conversation in your head.

~~~~~

To the way she would hide her face in the crook of your neck when she was embarrassed.

~~~~~

It has been a month since Wanda went on a mission, she was suppose to come back today, they were on a stake out to watch a hydra base, it was a successful mission but the only drawback was the fact that she was away for so long.

You kept yourself occupied and that was mainly with missions that required a lot of brainstorming, so when you heard that Wanda was coming back, you decided to prepare something for her.

You prepared everything for a warm bath and even went out of the way to get her favourite chocolate that she always loves to eat, along with that, nice dinner so after she is done she can eat proper food.

You sent her a message saying to shower and meet you in the room the both of you accidently found, that practically no one visited, obviously there was a little note with your clothes that she always loved wearing.

She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in your arms, but agreed to your message because it doesn't matter where she falls asleep as long as it is next to you she was more than happy.

When she walked in to all of the things you did for her, she was blooming with happiness, she held her hands close to her chest as a smile spread across her. She went through everything you listed in the note, and when she made it to the room, it was something she wouldn't expect.

You might not have been the best at showing your love but you learnt and tried your best, so you stood there with everything prepared for her and the way her heart would beat so fast just at the sight of you surrounded by the little lights.

She walked over to you as she took a proper look this time at the things inside, you smiled as you opened your arms for her and she took the hug without hesitation, she pulled away and without letting you say anything, she kissed you.

At the contact of your lips, a small moan escaped her mouth, causing you to raise your eyebrows at her and pulling away "Did you just... moan?"

Her cheeks turned a red colour so fast, she manged to giggle and hide her face in the crook of your neck "Shut up, it has been a month.."

You laughed and smiled as you tighten your embrace around her and allowed yourself to enjoy this.

~~~~~

But that all changed.. The day Vision was introduced to the team, he was connected to her by the stone the way you would never be connected, the way she would always spend her time with him instead of you.

The way she would listen to his story and never ask about yours, always avoiding you and your way of showing her your love, she would scold you for touching her, even if that was simply walking past her and your shoulders would brush.

It was difficult keeping this from the team, they loved you, like literally adored you, you always were the one to check up on everyone who went out on a mission. If anyone was injured even a little scratch you would always offer to help them in any way they want.

Everyone appreciated you and when they found out you found someone who claimed to love you in a different way they did... They were excited and happy for you, which meant they would always be up your business and Wanda's.

They grown to love Wanda as well, she was harmless and shy but you wouldn't want to be on her bad side, though some don't really care whether she was powerful, they would easily knock her out.

Today was movie night, the whole team sat on the huge couch Natasha on your left whilst your right side was empty, that would be Wanda's side, she wasn't here which didn't really concern you.

She was always late or sometimes didn't come but she promised to be here with you today, yet she wasn't coming. There was a gut feeling that something wasn't right yet you couldn't just walk out as Tony wanted to show you some things during this time so you stayed.

You tried your best to pay attention but it failed so when the movie was over, you stood up quickly and made your way to find Wanda, you rounded the corner and when you gotten closer to your shared bedroom, the noises only gotten louder you gulped as you opened the door carefully.

It was like a horror movie, you opening the door as if there would be a monster behind it, but this was much worse than any monster. If heartbreak had a sound, you would be definitely heard. You stood there taking in what is in front of you, Wanda and Vision in the bed you shared with Wanda before.

He was on top of her and she was a mess riddled with pleasure, it doesn't take any idiot to understand what they were doing, with so much pain in your heart, you walked out of that room and walked back to your room.

The stiffness in your walking was obvious that you was hurt, that's how anyone who knew you for a long time would know you were hurt. You knew this was the end of your relationship with Wanda..

The worse part is that this has happened before, not with Wanda but with someone else you dated, Wanda promised you that she would never do anything like that when you opened up to her.

You yet again failed your own promise, the promise that you would never let anyone in but yet that witch did something to you and you fell for her.

And here you are, sitting against the door as you muffle your sobs with your hands, you were so glad to have picked a room far away from the others so no one could hear you.

⸻⸻⋙☸⋘⸻⸻

You seemed to create a schedule to be out of the way of everyone, making sure no one saw you or even tried to bother you but you did clash with someone eventually and the way you would pretend, made no one question if you were hurt or not.

No one would notice, they just thought it was you being you. Good that you had a habit of avoiding people from time to time when things were overwhelming so no one questioned it.

You thought no one noticed your strange behaviour but you were wrong, Natasha did. She was a spy after all so analysing people was like walking, easy and smooth and she gotten so used to it she forgets she even does it.

She caught on the times you went to the gym where you would spend all of your day, you would avoid everyone including Wanda. You didn't even know she was on a mission for 6 months so your avoiding was pointless, she wouldn't even notice your absence.

You was in the gym, assaulting the punching bag as if it took everything away from you. You punched it with so much energy, you were kind of surprised it didn't come off the ceiling.

Natasha stood there, staring at you as you threw such powerful punches. It was odd how you looked so emotionless when you would practically made the bag look so weak. She did what she thought would make you talk, she walked over as she made herself known with her clearing her throat.

Your looked over your shoulder and relaxed when you noticed it was Natasha "Sorry, did you book today? I thought it was clear for today"

She shook her head as she walked closer towards you "No I didn’t, usually it’s empty..- Actually do you want to spar with me?"

You faced her now as you took a sip of your water and nodded, usually you would just be here alone and no one bothered you but since she was already here, you might as well, the two of you made it inside the ring and took your poses, she was rested and less of a mess than you, you was exhausted from no sleep and constant nightmares so you were no match for her.

With one move, you was down as she pinned you down and hovered above you, you tried with every strength in your body to move from her grip but you had no chance.

"What happened Y/n?" She asked with seriousness in her tone.

You tried your luck again to free yourself "Nothing"

"I can get Wanda to do this for me" She bluntly spoke as she watched your reaction.

Your eyes widen at her words "No, I don't want her here"

Natasha let you go as she sat down next to you but you just laid there, you knew she will question to why suddenly you don't want to be around the witch.

"Why?" Was the only word that came out from the Russian.

You shook your head as you tried to erase the embedded scene "No"

Natasha narrowed her eyes at you "What do you mean no? Why can't Wanda be here Y/n?"

You covered your face with your hand as you took a deep breath, feeling the tears form in your eyes "She cheated"

Natasha's eyes widen at your words, the feeling of range building up, she knew Wanda was suppose to go on a mission today so she will be able to catch her "With who?"

"Vision" You managed to choke out as sobs were threatening to spill out of your mouth.

Natasha felt so angry, the fact that Wanda was capable of doing something so horrible to you and she was so close to getting up and making sure that Wanda gets knocked into the next universe for what she did but when a sob came out of your mouth, she was quick to forget what she would do but quickly pulled herself near you and held you as you cried in her shoulder.

Natasha was your true friend but for Natasha you was more than a friend for her. She was deeply in love with you and when she heard that you are dating Wanda, she was heart broken. She started to slowly distance herself and hoped you would notice but Wanda was occupying your head for you to even notice Natasha missing, well at least that what the redhead thought.

She loved everything about you, from the way your eyes would sparkle at the mention of a new movie that was coming out to how you would drink too much and sing bunch of songs that didn't even make sense.

She loved you but you never felt the same even if she could swear to herself that you did feel something for her but she convinced herself she was just seeing things, she wanted to believe that you would fall for her the way she fell for you but that didn't happen so she had to live with herself and these feelings.

⸻⸻⋙☸⋘⸻⸻

She took you to your room so you could rest and made her way towards Wanda, she was in your old bedroom acting as if nothing happened, she didn't even care that you wasn't here, actually she was happy you didn't bother her.

Natasha marched inside as she could feel her anger boiling over, and when her gaze met Wanda's she couldn't control herself "What the fuck is wrong with you!"

The way Wanda's eyebrows raised as if she didn't know what the Russian was talking about "Are you okay Natasha?"

"You try to seem so innocent and shy but you are a fucking liar and the worst person in the planet!" Natasha raised her voice as she pointed towards Wanda.

She stood up as she looked at the spy with shock "What the hell are talking about!"

Natasha scoffed "Please, keep pretending but I know what you did with Vision"

The Sokovian's face fell as she heard those words "What do you know?"

The Russian rolled her eyes at the witch "How much you fucked up the only good thing you had in your pathetic life"

"You can't tell Y/n.."

The redheads eye's narrowed "She already knows.."

The gasp wasn't a shocked one but more of a surprised one, why didn't you say anything? She had to find out, so she did what was on her mind but Natasha moved in her direction.

"You won't disturb her, you will go on your mission and leave Y/n alone"

Just as Wanda was going to protest, she was alerted that she had to go, she was the only way this mission would be successful. She barged past Natasha as she left for the mission, in hopes that when she comes back, she will finally talk to you about the subject she should've voiced way before.

⸻⸻⋙☸⋘⸻⸻

The past 2 months have been hard on you, you tried to not drag Natasha into this but she was there regardless of your attempts. You even somehow ended up sleeping in her room because your nightmares have gotten worse, she reassured you that you were safe.

~~~~~

Natasha couldn't sleep, she decided to go through some work reports, hoping that will make her somehow sleepy and she would be able to finally get some rest.

Her eyes darted up at you and her expression softened at you and the way you was snoring, you passed out on the couch watching a movie so Natasha took you into her room and tucked you into her bed, she decided to grab bottle of water and some more files.

When she walked out, as if her present kept you at bay, your nightmares started to wake you up, the second they got heavy you jumped up so still as your eyes went wide, looking ahead of you slowly registering where you are.

Natasha walked through the door with everything but when she noticed the fear in your eyes, she rushed to you and at her touch you relaxed, the way her strong arms held you as you hugged into her, your breath steadied as Natasha rubbed your back in soothing motions.

Your head rested on her shoulder and wiped the fallen tear from your face, there was silence, for Natasha it was comfortable silence but for you it was embarrassing, she had to witness you in this state.

You unglued yourself from her as you covered your face "I'm sorry you had to witness that"

She shook her head as she gently grabbed your hands and pulled them away from your face "You have nothing to be sorry for, красивая (beautiful). This is a normal thing that people experience so don't be sorry"

You looked at her as tears filled your eyes and with a sad smile you spoke "Well then I'm glad it's you who is by my side through this"

Natasha smiled as she pulled you into a hug and the both of you decided to finally sleep, she was your safe haven from nightmares.

~~~~~

When she had her nightmares, you were there even if you were suffering.

~~~~~

Natasha went to bed earlier than usual and you not waking to disturb her as she slept so lightly, you decided to just go back to your room and try sleeping there.

Aside from your nightmares sometimes you was able to sleep through the night without constantly jumping, you tried to do something to occupy your mind, even ended up sitting by the window as you stared out in the stares just in hopes that it would make you sleepy.

You took a deep breath and walked towards the kitchen, you opened the fridge and took the cold water, taking a sip as shivers ran through your body, you turned around and started to walk towards your room again.

You stopped at Natasha's door, pressed your ear against it to listen. Maybe she was awake? but there was no movement so you sighed and slowly opened the door.

Making your way inside, as you see Natasha sitting in the middle of the bed, with her head resting on top her knees, she looked so small and fragile, you placed your water down and quickly made your way to her.

Your arms found themselves around her as she so easily fell into you, her face covered in trails of tears causing unsteady breathes to escape her mouth.

"It's okay Natty.. I'm here" You tried your best to reassure her as you whispered.

She loved your voice and each time it worked to calm her so she just nodded as she let her arms snake around you, gripping onto your shirt.

Your hand played with her hair as your free hand was placed firmly against her so you could tighten your embrace around her "I'm sorry"

You smiled sadly at her as she looked up at you when she spoke "There is nothing to apologise for, I am more than happy to be here for you"

She shook her head "This shouldn't be about me Y/n/n, you are the one with the most painful pain here"

You cupped her face as you stared into her eyes "You are just as important as my pain Natty.. Please don't say that"

A tear rolled down her face, you wiped it with your thumb and kissed her forehead and pulled her into you again "You are important Nat, don't tell yourself otherwise.."

No matter how much you wanted to break down from the pain in your heart, but you kept yourself together for her because in this moment she needs you and you were happy to do that...

~~~~~

Natasha never wanted anything back for what she did for you, she did it because she still very much loved you, she would even jump in front of a speeding car if you told her to, because being away from you pained her more than watching you fall in love with someone else.

After those 2 months you finally gotten a grip on your life, you started to heal and having someone near you only helped you heal faster, Wanda wasn't around but her walking microwave was, he would observe you and what you did.

So far for the past 4 months, you did pretty good, you seem to smile more often than at the start, you started to feel normal again and that was all because of Natasha, she stuck beside you at your worst and you wouldn't want it any other way.

Right now it was one of Tony's parties, you weren't so much in the mood for one but Natasha being here was more than motivating, so you attended.

Wearing one of the dresses you never had the chance to use, with some minimal make up, finally feeling good about yourself, so you made your way towards where the party was held. The first person you searched for in the crowd was Natasha and with ease you located her near the bar.

You made your way towards her as she slid over a drink that she prepared, you eyed the drink "How did you know what I like"

She shrugged as she sipped hers "I'm very observant"

You smiled widely as you took the drink and sipped on it as well, she was watching you, turning her body towards you "How are you?"

The tone she used wasn't something she used with everyone, you knew the meaning behind it "Definitely better now.. What about you?"

She shrugged once again as she looked down "I'm not sure actually"

You placed the drink as you grabbed her hand "It's okay to not know. You know you can talk to me, right?"

She looked up as her eyes locked with yours and she nodded bringing a smile upon your lips "Great, now drink that and let's go dance, before you turn into a grandma"

She raised her eyebrow "Grandma? Are you trying-"

"Sorry! I can't hear you, the music is too loud!" You shouted over her as she shook her head with a playful smile as she drank the rest of her drink.

You was already done with yours so as soon as she placed the glass down, the hand you held from earlier, you pulled towards the dance floor, feeling the burning sensation in your throat as alcohol made it's way into your blood.

Both of you danced for so long until you started to feel sober again, Natasha never left your side since she knew how you were when you drank, a little of alcohol made you so brave that she feared you might accidently punch someone.

You went to the bar alone, Natasha had clear sight of you but she was distracted with dancing as she waited for you. You knew this night was too good to be true, especially when you forgot that Wanda would be back today.

You didn't even notice the witch until she aggressively tapped your shoulder, making your head whip towards her and your eyes widen at her angry face.

"What do you think you're doing?" She questioned you as if you were suppose to be scared.

You rolled your eyes and ignored her as you continued to wait for your drink but she grabbed your shoulder and span you to face her, angering her more.

"What do you want?" You asked so unbothered by her presence.

"When did you start acting like a slut, Y/n?"

You raised your eyebrows at her, the way those words easily slipped out of her mouth "I'm acting like a slut? I am waiting for my drink and you are disturbing me"

She rolled her eyes, she felt her powers pumping inside her veins "You are the only person here, all over all those women"

You looked around to see what women she was talking about "What women? I was just dancing with Nata-" You paused "I don't have to explain myself to you, now leave me alone"

"Yes you do! You definitely need to tell me why you are all over Natasha? Are you sleeping with her?"

It was started to irritate you, she didn't care about you so many months ago and suddenly when things get better, she takes an interest, it's like her life goal is to destroy your happiness.

"You have to be joking right now.." You scoffed as you stared at her with so much disbelief across your face.

"Yes we sleep together, in the same bed! As she fucking helps me through my nightmares you gave me!" You poked her chest as you raised your voice at her.

"You think I will believe you? I seen the way you look at her Y/n-!"

You grabbed her hand as you showed her what you dream off, each night. Jumping up in fear and sweat as tears roll down your face and how each time those nightmares get worse, seeing how Wanda betrayed you over and over again and you were forced to see it, enduring more pain than it is healthy.

You let go of her hand as she finally looked at you but with a different emotion; guilt.

You scoffed as you walked away that's when Natasha noticed you was gone for too long, her gaze caught you walking away towards the elevators away from Wanda, she felt the anger in her raise but you were more important than dealing with Wanda.

You made your way towards the kitchen, as you wiped the runny make up down your face, using the reflecting bit of the coffee maker to see where the make up was ruined.

Suddenly a voice spoke up from behind you "How did you think that would end?"

It wasn't the voice you would expect to hear, you straighten yourself as you swiftly turned towards Vision "Are you as stupid as Wanda, I left to be left alone so why are you here?"

Your tone didn't faze him "Wanda never really loved you Y/n"

You rolled your eyes "Look you walking fridge, I don't give two shits what Wanda felt or not, I care about you leaving me the fuck alone before you regret it"

He stood there completely still, no emotions displayed "Did you think Wanda would love someone so simple, she has a connection with me through the mind stone but with you? Nothing"

You wanted to be angry but you knew this is why she left you, she had that connection with him that you could never understand, he laughed at your reaction "See, pathetic little girl who can't even get over the fact that she left"

"You never was enough. I am so much more better than you-" His sudden stop to his words, made you look up.

"If you don't leave this room, I swear the only thing that will be left is that stupid gem from your stupid head"

He raised his arms up as the gun was pointed at his head, Natasha might've drank a little too much, then again she doesn't exactly gets drunk, she is Russian and Russians are really hard to get drunk.

"Now leave" It was a demand that fell from the redheads mouth, he nodded and stepped out of the kitchen and left. He knew better than to start a war with the former assassin.

She placed her gun down as she rushed towards you and without a word just hugged you, you took a deep breath "Thank you.."

She pulled away slightly as she looked worryingly into your eyes "Whatever he said, it's not true-"

"Natty, there is no need to sugar coat it anymore" The smile that was spread across your lips wasn't as sad as it was before "She left me because I just wasn't what she wanted in the end, she might've left me in a horrible way but it's okay"

The Russian shook her head as she cupped your face with both of her hands as tears of her own dropped "You are just perfect, she made a horrible mistake"

You bought your hand to wipe her tears "Maybe, but that's her problem now and I couldn't be happier with where I am and who I am surrounded by"

She smiled as she pulled you into her, letting out a breath she was holding back, you always seem to have that effect on her whenever your face would be too close to hers.

⸻⸻⋙☸⋘⸻⸻

Another 6 months went by so quickly, and you seem to be closer to Natasha than before. She trained you and you in return showed her what fun tricks you can do with your mind.

She was amused by you but also annoyed each time she would place something and it suddenly it was gone. The team soon started to snoop around your business as they noticed Wanda no longer being all over you.

You told the team and they were more than understanding, respecting your wishes or else they would know what Natasha's fist tastes like.

You noticed how much you grew fond of the feeling for Natasha, you seen her in a whole different light and if you were honest you actually really liked it.

You could've promised yourself that you would never want to be with someone again but you knew that this is a whole lie and the more you spend your time with Natasha the stronger you felt towards her.

You could pinpoint the exact moment you realised that what you felt wasn't friendly but more romantic

~~~~~

You always loved cooking as a way to relax and that's what you were doing today, Natasha was against cooking, she wanted to do her reports but you managed to convince her with your famous cookies.

The mission the both of you attended was tense but not as hard as others so a little cooking couldn't hurt anyone, you looked at Natasha who just sat there as she leaned on her hands.

"You could help me instead of being a weirdo and just staring" You spoke as you eyed her from what you were doing.

She chuckled as she protested "I was told to accompany you not be your elf"

You raised your brows at her "Elf? it's not Christmas season just yet darling"

If you were silent enough you could've heard Natasha's heart skip a beat at the nickname you used, she just stared at you with a smile so you continued not realising her obvious staring "Plus elf's are cute and very useful so more your ass and help me if you want some of these cookies"

She rolled her eyes playfully as she made her way towards you, you handed her some ingredients to mix together as you did your part as well.

She stood there, mixing it as her muscles flexed catching your eye once or twice... or all the time. You tried your best to keep your focus on what you were doing and finally when she was finished, she pushed the bowl towards you without saying anything.

You looked at her and the smile that was spread across her lips was the most innocent smile anyone could witness. Sometimes Natasha manages to act like a child just to impress you and it did work most of the time.

You smirked as you took your finger and dipped it into the melted chocolate and with one swift motion you rubbed it onto her face, her mouth fell open as you started to giggle at her.

She frown at you but failed to act upset as your giggles made her smile, so she did what she thought was payback and took some of the chocolate as she rubbed it on your cheek.

You looked at her when you suddenly stopped laughing "Okay, okay, I deserved that"

You tried to wiped the chocolate away but she stopped you and looked into your eyes, the sense of innocence was gone "Let me get it for you"

When her face moved closed to your cheek, you froze and then you felt her tongue on your cheek as she licked off the chocolate she just wiped on you, when she moved away and hummed at the deliciousness, your eyes were slightly wider as you stared at her.

This feeling wasn't friendly and definitely not innocent

~~~~~

You was sitting next to Natasha on the couch, with your head on her shoulder as she scrolled down her phone to bunch of 10 second videos of cats. You planned to ask Natasha out for a walk later in the day to finally talk to her but the thought of planning what you were going to say to her was interrupted.

"Sorry Y/n, can I quickly talk to you?" Wanda spoke up as she stood couple feet away from the couch.

You felt Natasha tense which made you look at her and nod slightly to let her know it's okay, she relaxed and smiled at you but her narrowed eyes came back as soon as it landed on Wanda.

"Sure" You spoke with just one word as the two of you made your way towards the kitchen, far enough from Natasha's hearing range.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to apologise.."

You took a deep breath, thinking it will be one of those scenes where the ex begs to get back but she held her hand up as she spoke before you could "I'm not here to 'beg' you to come back to me, I just wanted to say that I am really sorry how things turned out"

"I had a lot of time to think about what you showed me and I didn't realise the pain I had in flicked on you by doing what I did. It was a mistake with how I handled it and I am sorry"

You took a deep breath, this is all you wanted from her and in the end she finally understood her wrong "Like I said, I'm not here to beg you because I did fall out of love with you and nothing has changed since that time but I just wanted to say I'm sorry Y/n"

You would be lying if you said it didn't hurt, because you used to love her with your whole being but at the same time, you didn't love her like that anymore, someone else owned your heart and you were more than happy to gift it to them.

You nodded with a smile across your lips "I know Wanda, Thank you for this"

She nodded as she looked past you at Natasha "I'm just glad you were able to fall in love again.."

You looked where she was looking and smiled widely to yourself as you whispered "I know.."

⸻⸻⋙☸⋘⸻⸻

You dragged Natasha along with you by her hand, she wanted to stay inside as it was cold but of course to managed to convince her, she of course said she would blame you if she gotten sick and you promised to be there for her if she was.

You pulled her towards this tall bridge that had a little pond beneath it, it was covered in ice which was more beautiful, the way the lights would light up the darkness and that's exactly how you felt with Natasha.

You stood in the middle of the bridge, smiling widely as Natasha's cheeks were slightly pink "Why are you smiling so much?"

The smile across of your lips never left as you answered her "Because Tasha! Look around it's beautiful"

She kept her gaze on you as you looked around "I agree with you" she didn't care about anything else but you in this moment admiring the beautiful of the world whilst her world stood right in front of her.

"Well why are we here?" She asked curious to why you wanted to drag her out here.

You took a deep breath and finally looked into her emerald eyes, taking in her warm hand "I brought you here so I can tell you something important-"

She whined "You could've told me in the warmth of my bedroom"

You rolled your eyes "No, no I could not have"

"Fine, okay.. Tell me" She sighed with a small smile.

"Natasha, where do I start... You have changed so much in my life and I really hope this will change a lot of things for good"

She looked confused at you as her heart started to beat fast in her chest and you continued "I never thought I could get over what has happened but you made it so much more easier which is what made me fall in love with you"

"You have been nothing but amazing to me and I regret not seeing how strongly I feel about you. Because of you Tasha, I am whole again and-"

Before you could continue, Natasha pulled your face into hers as she smashed her lips against yours, the way her lips moved against yours made you feel so loved and happy.

She pulled away with the biggest smile as she pressed her forehead against yours "I had always loved you медовый (honey) and I would've done anything you told me even if that meant staying away"

You sighed at her words "I don't want you to stay away"

Natasha smiled with so much love "Good, I couldn't even if I wanted to"

You pulled her in for a kiss but before actually kissing her you whispered "I love you too Natty" and finally allowed yourself to kiss Natasha with the same love as she was giving you.

[zevlors-tail]

Depressed and touch starved Shigaraki crushing hard on y/n, a new recruit for the league/liberation front. He wants to be in a relationship with her, but is afraid of her turning to dust by his own hands. Little does he know, she feels the same way.

Warnings: Jealous Shiggy, bit of OOC/Yandere Toga? Knives, brief mention of villains/heroes fighting, heavy pining, tiny argument between Shig and the reader.

Ever since the day he laid eyes on you, Shigaraki had it bad. You had only joined the League of Villains a couple months ago, but within that short time span, you had completely captivated his heart. Maybe it was your quick thinking, or your reserved personality, or maybe the way your eyes seem to sparkle with mischief when he talked to you about future plans for the League. Whatever it was, it drew him in further every time he looked at you, brought out feelings in him that he hadn’t felt in a very, very long time; feelings that both scared and excited him to the point where he wasn’t sure whether to pursue something with you or run away.

At first, he chose the latter. A week in to getting to know you and he was terrified that he had feelings for you, so he pulled away in every aspect imaginable. He ignored you during missions, talked to you as little as possible, and barely even looked your way. You were lucky if he even passed by you in the halls of the hideout. He spent most of his time pent up in his room muttering and trying to scheme, although any plans he attempted to make were ultimately thwarted by thoughts of you. It didn’t help that even with the forced distance between the two of you and his giving you the cold shoulder, you were ever the friendly and kind person you made yourself out to be. You still tried to talk to him on the occasions he passed by you, still tried to get to know him without judgement or bias. Ignoring you completely just seemed to make the situation worse for him, so he finally had to face his newfound feelings and accept that yes, he, Shigaraki, had a crush on the new recruit for the League.

But with the acknowledgement of those feelings came another realization: as much as he cared about you, he could potentially hurt you with his quirk. Even if you returned the feelings, further disaster could ensue because of his existence, and that fact stung like no other. All he wanted- no, all he needed -was you. Your touch, your laugh, your whole essence...there was no part of you he didn’t like. He spent nights dreaming of your soft lips, of embracing you from behind and pressing kisses to the top of your head, of loving you without worry and limitations, and yet, he couldn’t have you. The world was continuously cruel to him still, relentless and ever inventive in the ways it found to torture his soul. You, on the other hand...you were the only good thing he had to hold on to in this desolate place.

As Tomura paced the wooden floors of the bar, he brought a hand to his neck, the familiar itching sensation driving him to scratch the same spot over and over again. He hated that damn habit of his, though truthfully he didn’t think he could stop. It kept him sane, gave him something to focus on other than the murky anxiety he felt welling up inside of him. He was like this whenever you were gone, but more so today than ever; he couldn’t stand knowing you weren’t here in his line of sight, that you weren’t under his protecting and watchful eye. Currently, you were on recon with Dabi and Toga, and he had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. His gut lurched whenever he thought about you, and he wouldn’t be satisfied until you were back at the bar in your usual seat, your familiar smile spread over your lips as you sipped on your favorite drink.

“Kurogiri. Any word from them?” This was the second time he had asked about you and the other two LOV members today. His patience was running out now, and he just wanted you back.

“They’re due back at any time, now. I’m sure they’re alri-”

As if fate wanted to prove the bartender wrong, the door to the hideout blew open mid sentence, and Dabi stumbled in with your unconscious form slumped over his shoulders, Toga hot on his heals behind.

“What happened?” Tomura growled out, immediately making his way toward you.

“Recon gone wrong, that’s what,” Dabi quipped. “We got spotted by some heroes on accident, not our fault. Y/N fended them off but she overused her quirk, and they almost got her.”

“Don’t worry, I sliced them up real nice! They were no match against my pretty knives...” Toga trailed off, a murderous glint in her eyes as she brandished a clean knife to look at herself in it’s reflection. “And I saved Y/N. I made sure to teach them not to touch what’s ours, Tomura! No one can have Y/N but us!” She let out a demented giggle.

Shigaraki wanted to correct her. Not ours, mine, he thought. His possessiveness got the better of him, and one look at Toga’s intense gaze was all he needed for jealousy to take root. He surged forward and seized your form from Dabi, careful not to touch you with all five fingers at once as he held you up. Dabi put up no fight in letting you go, completely understanding the situation and passing you over to his boss.

“Is she hurt?” he asked demandingly, giving you a once over for any obvious signs of distress or wounds. He found none apart from small scrapes and bruises.

“I don’t think so. Just unconscious. Side effect of her quirk, I bet.” His blue eyes stared off into the distance behind you and Tomura, gears spinning in his head as he recalled the fight from earlier. “I’ve never seen her quirk in action like that before. She’s strong, I’ll give her that.”

Of course you were strong, Tomura wanted to say. He knew the basis for your quirk, the basics of how it functioned and how it affected others, but new nothing of the drawbacks of it. This was new to everyone.

“Y/N’s quirk is so cool! Isn’t she just the best, Tomura?” 

Something about Toga’s smile annoyed him and made the itchy burning sensation return to his neck. Before anyone else could say anything, he turned abruptly and started towards your room to lay you down and let you rest.

“Kurogiri,” he called as he was leaving, “I want a full report of the recon mission later, no details spared. Make sure they understand that.”

“Of course,” he replied cooly.

Tomura supported your frame against his shoulders as he trudged down the hallway with you, every step he took careful and measured so as not to disturb you any more than was necessary. His gut feeling had turned out to be right, after all. If he had just gone with you, this wouldn’t have happened. Even better yet, if he had just kept you here with him, then you wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place. This was his fault, wasn’t it? It was hard to stop his thought process once it was started, and from there it all snowballed. You would never know how he really felt, and even if he was getting to touch you now, even if for a brief moment just to get you to your room, who’s to say something wouldn’t go wrong? What if he accidentally touched you with all five fingers, and you turned to ash right there in the hall, and died in his arms?

His thoughts were becoming too much to handle, even with you right there beside him. He was pathetic. Leader of a revolutionary and important group of misfit villains though he may be, he still wasn’t brazen enough to tell you how he really felt. And as he pushed open the door to your room and gently laid you down on your bed, he decided it was for the best if he just left you be. Even if he wanted to stay, it would do him no good. He gave you one last soft look and sighed heavily before standing. His brows knit together in frustration as he stepped forward, but a light tug on his sleeve kept him from going any further.

“Tomura...?” you mumbled groggily. “What happened?”

His self doubt slowly ebbed away at the sound of your voice, his anguish quieting for a moment as he down on your bed and met your gaze to explain. Who was he trying to fool? He could never just leave his feelings for you be. “You overused your quirk and fell unconscious. Dabi and Toga-” he shuddered involuntarily at her name, “took you back to the bar after fighting off some scum heroes.”

You sat up as he spoke, your head throbbing but otherwise feeling fine. “How did I end up in my room?” you wondered aloud, looking around to take in your surroundings fully.

“I carried you,” he answered matter of factly. 

He couldn’t be completely sure, but he swore a faint blush appeared on your cheeks then.

“Thanks for that.” You smiled kindly at him, warmth radiating from your features and making his face feel oddly hot.

“Oh, sure.” It sounded sarcastic, bitter even. Not how he wanted it to sound. He was getting frustrated again; why did he have to ruin everything he touched, figuratively and literally speaking?

There was a small lull in the conversation, and you unexpectedly reached your hand out for his, resting it on top and caressing his fingers gently in a sudden move of boldness. He recoiled almost instantly, and the next thing you knew he was moving to get up and walk away.

“Tomura, wait-” you tried, desperately wanting his attention. He did pause, but he didn’t turn around, and once again his hand found it’s way to his neck. He really was getting irritated with himself. 

“What?” he snapped, pivoting on his heel to face you.

“I’m sorry, I think I misinterpreted something...I- I didn’t mean to...” you trailed off, the dejected tone in your voice stabbing through his cold heart. “I thought you were-”

His blood ran cold at what he thought you were trying to say. Surely you couldn’t mean... 

“Thought I was what?”

“I thought- No, I think it was just me hoping this whole time, but...I thought maybe you had...feelings...for me. You seemed so concerned a minute ago, and there was that moment where your face- Um, I could see it behind your hair-” You stuttered out your words, embarrassed to admit your feelings that you were now certain he did not reciprocate.

Tomura, on the other hand, wasn’t sure what to say. You had just openly expressed your feelings for him while believing at the same time that he didn’t feel the same for you, and he hated it. He hated it with all the burning fires in the world, with all the passion and drive he had left. And the worst part about it was that it was his fault. He should have told you. He wished he had told you. He could still tell you...but he wouldn’t. Not if it meant endangering your life, not if it meant that he could potentially hurt you. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

Lucky for him, you weren’t willing to let this go so easily.

You saw the tortured look on his face, saw the longing in his eyes and the way his fingers twitched, as if he wanted to reach back out to you. With newfound resolve, you stared him down, willing him to break.

“Don’t look at me like that, damn it.” Curse you. Damn you to hell and back. You did things to him that you had no idea about. 

“So you really don’t feel the same?” you pressed, doubt creeping back up your spine. 

Maybe you were wrong after all...

“It’s not that!”

Or maybe not.

“Then what-”

“Don’t you know I could kill you?” The words left his lips before he could stop them. “I could accidentally turn you to dust, Y/N. Doesn’t that scare you? Or are you really that stupid?”

“I know that.” You spoke with conviction, understanding finally dawning on you.

He was afraid to hurt you. That had been his reason for pushing you away, for not talking to you, for trying to ignore his feelings for you. He was scared. And rightfully so, with a quirk like his. The thought had crossed your mind before, but truthfully, it hadn’t really been anything more than a passing thought. Once you really got to know Shigaraki, once you saw him leading his small family, you had put all of your trust and faith into him. He was not to be laughed at or underestimated; he was calculated, thorough, and kept his family together at all costs. Even if Dabi sometimes was unruly, even if Toga creeped him out, even if Kurogiri failed sometimes, they all belonged together, and you were happy to be a part of that. You admired him for everything he had done, everything he was currently doing, and all of the great things he would do in the future. Maybe others couldn’t see it right at the moment...but this man was going to change the world.

“But I believe in you, and I trust you would never do something like that to me, even on accident. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“I’m not. Your quirk doesn’t scare me. I mean it. And another thing,” you gave him a pointed look. “I’m not stupid,” you spat defiantly. For someone so reserved most of the time, you sure had an iron will. 

Tomura followed you with his eyes as you got up and attempted to walk over to him, but tripped in the process, still a little out of it from the overuse of your quirk. He was quick to catch you before you could hit the ground, and you smiled up at him once more while he just stared back at you, confused.

“What are you grinning like that for, hm?”

“I told you I trusted you. You didn’t turn me to dust, did you?”

“That’s not funny, Y/N.” Although, his words were all bark and no bite. What you had said was true, and it gave him a bit of relief to think that you were right.

He could make this work, after all. And for the first time in a very, very long time, Tomura Shigaraki felt calm. 

He helped you back to bed and sat down with you again, this time planning to stay. And when your hand once again found his, he let you keep it there, enjoying the warm feeling of your touch. 

“I know it’s not. I’m serious. I trust you with every fiber of my being, Tomura. I think I love you.”

He could have sworn his heart stopped, or maybe it was time itself that stopped. Either way, he never wanted this moment to end.

Instead of returning your words with his own, he layed down next to you and draped an arm over you. “You should be resting.”

You had once heard that everyone had different ways of saying ‘I love you’. For some, it was telling you to stay safe when parting. For others, it was asking if you had anything to eat yet. So when he spoke, you recognized the meaning behind Tomura’s words even if he wasn’t saying it outright. 

‘You should be resting.’

I love you, too.

A/N: WOW OKAY THIS GOT LONG. Also, I’m so, so, SO sorry this took so freaking long to finish. I literally sat down tonight and told myself I was going to work on it, and I got hit with inspiration and BAM it happened. Shigaraki is actually not on my list of characters that I write for, but because it was my first request and I wanted a challenge, I made an exception and wrote it. And damn, anon, did you give me one hell of a challenge. Holy FUCK. Idk why this was so hard to crank out before now, but I’m kind of in love with this? I hope you all like it as much as I do!

[braided-roses]

What is the best way to tease someone?

A 3,449 word essay broadly covering the methods with which we tease

Twenty-five minute read

"There can be no true despair without hope... I will feed the people of Gotham hope to poison their souls."

Bane: Dark Knight Rises

“Without hope, there is no despair. There is only meaningless suffering.”

D. Morgenstern

For this essay I will define teasing as a playfully enforced delay of indulgence. While the above quotes are dark for sure, and do not directly apply to this topic, I think they highlight aspects of teasing that are foundational to its differences from other forms of play. I believe there can be no true teasing without hope of gaining one's desire. If one feels they cannot reach their goal or desire, I believe that becomes an expression of submission to another, to the situation, but not a teasing of the mind.

Studying the possibilities of this field of play is one that takes special care because it draws on what we know about our counterparts like few other disciplines do. It requires us to first know what our counterpart desires most, and how to then playfully enforce the delay of indulging in that desire. Finding out what another craves, and creating structures with which to playfully impede the immediate gratification of that craving are challenging enough on their own, but combining these working pieces of teasing into a system is incredibly complicated— requiring intimate knowledge of one's counterpart’s boundaries and turn offs. While there can be no best way to tease someone, because of our inherent human complexities, this essay will attempt to put forth the best practices I know to have a mutually rewarding and pleasurable experience.

I think the first step in the process of teasing is to gain understanding; Get to know each other, build understanding, rapport and trust. This knowledge may be gained through focused, play specific conversations. Communicating in this way allows effective play to happen sooner. For example one could have a conversation as brief as please rub my clit until you break my mind, I'll beg you to let me cum, but don't let me. I'll tell you to stop if something goes wrong, and we'll talk about it after. The two drawbacks of this style of conversation is that it will remove some surprise as there isn't enough information yet to synthesize possible play patterns on your own, and one will lack a whole understanding of the person one is going to play with.

If a more holistic experience is desired though, it comes through best, in many cases, through a conversation as broader life and fantasies are discussed over many conversations that take place naturally and organically. The bits of information that may apply to play may be more separated, but they come with so much more information that can all be used to generate a deeper relationship, and broader play. We learn about each other through the listening mentioned above, and in our turn sharing our own desires and hesitancies. We have to open up also so we can be cared for ourselves and build trust through reciprocated, honest, vulnerability. These conversations inform us and build trust as we learn that both sides hear each other, want good things for the pairing and will not shy away even from the more sexually hungry sides of each other.

While this type of understanding centered communication is meaningful on a grand, human scale, even in the comparably limited topic of teasing it is needed in many ways. First, that trust built will be necessary in teasing play as it often leads to walking the edge of what a person can handle in the moment, both mentally and physically. To what degree we can trust, we can relax our fears of being hurt, allowing us to enjoy each sensation with less calculation of how to protect ourselves, allowing us to live in the moment in proportion of our trust, and to have the confidence that our partner cares to hear us when we make objections. Secondly, the information gathered in good communication is essential in order to know: the desire we are waiting to fulfill, the stimuli we will later use to push our counterpart to the point until it consumes every bit of them, warn us of the stimuli that could end play terribly, and how to recover from that event should it happen.

Some examples of what we may learn about play in everyday life- You may learn how meaningful it is to your partner when you hold your partner's face in your hands as you kiss them, or he/she may ask you if the you like being made to chase them down in a kiss. They might mention how they love the pain of their workouts, or that high rep sets are their favorite because they get test how long they can go before their will breaks. Watching a movie, and seeing one of the couples depicted playfully kissing each other, your partner might reveal that pulling away from a kiss doesn’t read as a building of desire to them, instead it feels like one is trivializing their highest expression of love— Making them feel their love is disrespected and devolved into a game. These lessons should be drawn deeply within ourselves. Making note of what makes them feel loved and pleausured, and special note of what makes them feel awful. Violating these turnoffs by accident or design may have terrible trust breaking outcomes. It is important to understand the reasonings and depth of their dislikes. One's dislike may be superficial, like forms of pain that, with a different approach, can be enjoyable, but some, like the kiss, may be fundamental to their world view. (Example of what could be synthesized from the above person’s information may be found at the bottom — Bonus Example 2)

The second thing is to determine how you will delay their indulgence in what they crave, by means of space, time, or even their own will. All of these modes and tools can be used in vast and narrow applications. Space, for example, can be used in inches or miles. Suppose your submissive wanted to touch, but you knew they wanted to be teased even more than to rub. You could grab your trusty ropes and tie their hands, one to the bed post, and the other by way of slinging a rope through the head board. You could release the tension until their hand is an inch away from their most sensitive spot. They can twist and moan and beg as they can almost reach, their finger tips just able to move the sensitive flesh nearest their most sensitive spot. They could reach up and play with less sensitive spots, but they won’t be able to reach any more, at least not without raising their hips to their hand, which can become quite challenging. Space has now been used as a tease. A boundary on their experience that they cannot get out of, nor do they truly wish to escape. A second instance of space as a teasing tool, known as "The Kiss" will be given in my final example at the end of this essay (Bonus example 1)

As examples for time and space — At work, one could be sending sexy texts to their counterpart who decides to be a little bratty. The dominant in this exchange could text back, “Say that again and I’ll have to remind you what happens to brats when their dominant gets home.” Knowing that their submissive will have to wait hours longer for the thrill of the attention of the punishment they asked for. In the same way a domme could send, "You've been such a good boy today, working so hard at work. I’ll keep dinner hot for you." Attached to this text would be little gif of her rubbing herself for him. He too will have to endure the boundaries of time and space. Time has been a tease in that hours will pass before they get their desire. Space has been incorporated in time because even if all parties from the individual couples decided to meet in the middle somewhere, they'd still be teased by time as they cannot magically teleport home to cross the space (if you can, please teach me). An example of time alone being a tease would be giving a submissive a vibrator with only five or ten minutes charge left in it. They can play all they want with it, but they don't know how long it will last.

The previous examples examined using time in minutes or hours, Time, like space, though, is incremental. Time can be used in minutes, hours, or like in the next example, seconds. Suppose you had an exhibitionist submissive walk with you in the woods and told them that they will flash you whenever you want them to. Already they’d be excited to have their desire at hand, knowing you crave to see them exposed, as well as the desire to be under your caring control. As you two walk you command your submissive to flash you for a few seconds here and there. Blushing, but proud, they obey. You praise them appropriately and enjoy your walk. Eventually you two hear the distant, barley audible, murmurs and stompings of a team of hikers. This time you turn to your submissive, order them to stop walking and command them to flash you, they willingly obey, but the knowledge that hikers are approaching you they risk discovery. They can hear the hikers drawing closer and they continue to obey, trusting you. Each tenth of a second registering in their minds and each snap of a twig causing their heart to pound in excitement. Time has become a tool for this second by second tease. As soon as you hear the first full word of the hikers you know they are almost close enough to see, so you order your sub to cover. You then praise your sub highly for their perfect submission and continue on your walk, no hiker the wiser.

Will is unique among the teasing tools. Time and space exist outside of our bodies, but will is our’s alone to interact with. Of all the tools of teasing will is perhaps the most wicked and most variable of all. If your submissive is a lawful-good type and aims to please, then you could use their will as a tease and simply ask them to spread their legs and start to rub or stroke for you. Tell them that they are not to cum without your permission. The pleasure from their body mixes with the pleasure from their mind as they internalize the fact that they are uniquely pleasing you, hopefully bolstered by your praise. These stimuli serve to push against their will to obey. What makes this particular mode so wicked is that their desire to please and obey is fueling their mental pleasure. Their will to obey forces them to stay within the boundaries you set, or lose what they truly crave- the sensation of pleasing you. As they get closer and closer their requests turn to quivering moans and groans- the craved treat of a teasing dominant-. You tell them no, and they continue to obey, rubbing or stroking for you. Their requests are denied until they speak in pleadings and beggings. In a bounded, short term tease of ending play, you simply let them cum, and praise them for their perfect obedience. In a boundless, pushing kind of tease though, you could deny permission until they slip over the edge and spectacularly cum. This form of play, for an obedience minded submissive, will feel like disobedience to them. — You must reinforce the fact they did all they could to obey you. You wanted to find their limit and they showed you beautifully.

For long term teasing you could tell them they are not to cum without your permission, if they do they will be punished for it. This punishment is one they are okay with, but might not know. This leaves them to fight their own will for pleasure, obedience, freedom, and even pain. Lest they slip over the edge, they might force themselves to stop altogether, or you could command them to stop, leaving them quivering in utter denial. Their will has been the tease preventing them from indulging in orgasm. You comfort them and tell them maybe you’ll change your mind tomorrow, but, for know, they're done. Now time and will act as the tease. You cannot supervise them at all times, and especially without chastity- their own self will begins tease them until eventually they must resist their own desires at all hours of the day. Proving to themselves they crave metaphysical pleasure more than the physical release.

You may also balance will with consequence of pain if your submissive is bratty or masochistic in a way. Telling them that if they slip over the edge they will be punished, even tortured. Without knowing exactly what it is they may fight harder to stay on the edge. They edge spectacularly for you, but eventually crumble under the self inflicted stimuli, they cum and you deliver the next stimuli- maybe you simply force their hand to hold the vibrator against them, turning teasing play into overstimulation, or turn them over to spank them.

The third thing that must be done is to manage the environment we are in to best suit the play we will have. The space we are in should be constructed to do as much of the heavy lifting in our communication of the tone of the experience, and the desires of our counterpart, that we can. For example, an environment that is clean and bare suggests that nothing else will be happening in this space but what the two of you create. This type of room seems fitted to a private submissive who cherishes time and quiet exploration, and will become stressed or distracted by a number of other stimuli. A single sash and short rope laying on the couch suggests light bondage will be involved. A kind of quiet in the room implies that no one will be interrupting their play. They can take all the time in the world. On the other hand, a hot kitchen that is just a few steps from a noisy living room full of friends can generate a whole new tone. One of desperate craving for your counterpart, a contrast between the necessitated quietness of your actions and the noise and business of the space, a daring display of desire as you two risk discovery of your intimate acts with even the smallest allowances of expression- such as slipping your hand under their shirt and scratching up then down their back. If they let out a noise, they could be discovered. If someone walks in, they'll have to act like they haven't been delightfully toyed with for who knows how long, or the two of you might have to talk your way out of it. (Bonus points by the way if you pretend to be casually doing something else while your sub enjoys the predicament you're creating) Suddenly a kitchen becomes an environment perfect for sadomasochism and borderline exhibitionism. A room were will, time and space are used to holistically create a tease.

Finally, words and tone should be used to highlight the teasing. Drawing on the hope of the situation, highlighting what prevents them from indulgence, seems like the most fundamental approach to using our words to tease. Even in a relatively SFW tease with a short sub that is into strength kink, and having her height used against her. You could hold a stuffed animal out of her reach, she'd enjoy her feeble attempts at trying to snatch it away from you. Highlighting this exchange with your words would likely be welcomed. "Oh come on, hun. You have to be stronger than that. Maybe get up on your tip toes and reach for it. Haha. You're using both of your arms. Can't you pull harder? To end this form of play you could simply hand it to her, or let her gain some ground and take it from you before you transition to another fun game.

In summary, the best general approach to teasing someone is by fully utilizing the knowledge we have of their desires and drives, selection and use of proper abstract and practical blocks to that desire formatted to what degree they like to be pushed in their comfort levels or have their impulses blocked, that balance hope and the knowledge they will likely not succeed should then be traced with our words. All of which is bounded within trust and care for their overall well-being.

Bonus examples

1. The Kiss

I grasp her face with both my hands, knowing this makes her feel desired. My eyes meet hers and she knows this will be no little kiss. She shuts her eyes. I use her favorite kiss, placing the softest kiss I can on her waiting lips. She lets out a little shiver. She pushes into me gently, and I pull away just enough to keep our kisses feathered. I kiss down her jaw line, moving my face nearer to her ear and whisper a command to stay perfectly still as I let her go. I pace around her once, gently caressing, with one finger, places that catch my eye, her sensitive jaw line and clavicle, along her lower spine. I slip a finger into her waist band and slide across a few inches. Then I tug her by her waist band to me. I catch her by her shoulder and steady her, placing my hand on her jaw I pull her in for another kiss. I praise her for keeping her eyes shut. What a good girl she is. While I caress her cheeks and brush her hair away from her face, kissing her cheeks and forehead as I do this. I ask “are you going to continue to be a good girl for me? She breathes out a hot “yes” , “Look up”, I command. I place my hand on her neck and pull her into a deep kiss- gently moaning into her lips. I push her off and again praise her for being so obedient, so compliant. Praising her plump lips. I bring her back this time for gentle kisses. This proceeds until they become more insistent again, my grip on her neck tightens ever so slightly and she kisses me more intensely. I push her off and tell her soft kisses now. We return. She does so well at first. It’s not but a minute or two before she starts to get more intense though, whining and squirming into me trying to kiss me more deeply. Now I begin to pull slightly away each time the kiss becomes to firm. Leading her in a chase. Backing myself slowly into the corner she has lost track of. I push her off of me and say “You will kiss me gently. Yes, baby?” “Yes. Please” “Good girl. Now kiss me”, she goes to lean into me, but realizes my strong arm will no longer let her. She fights my strength, choking herself in my grip- I’m careful to keep my palm away from her trachea. I see her hunger flicker to desperation- I tell her to open. Her eyes snap open and I see her pupils constrict as they focus in the light and on me. As soon as she opens her eyes I grab her shoulder with other hand and pivot my hips, stepping forward and slinging her to my former spot as I switch places with her- now she is in the corner and I say, leaning in to just outside of her necks reach “oh, come on, baby. I thought you wanted to kiss me?” I feel her hot breath on my lips. “I do, please” I extend my arm again. “Prove it” she pushes again. Hungry eyes on mine. I watch her expression waiting for the slightest break in arousal, a second or two later I allow my arm to bend and let her come to me. It’s her turn now to lead. I grab her rib cage and let her press her lips into mine as she please. My hands caress her sides as she spins, pushing me into the corner. I match her passion and rhythm. She presses her body into mine, squirming against me as she places kisses on my lips, fevered and then soft and then heavy again. When she seems to be fading in decision, I slowly spin her back into the corner. My forearm framing her face on one side, my palm on her cheek, my fingers in her hair, and my extended arm on the other side boxing her in. I place soft kisses on her flushed skin and proceed to praise her and hold her gently.

2. Bonus example two. Referencing paragraph six. — Once we have this information of preferences and possible obstructions of it we can begin to synthesize it into possible modes of, and tools for, play for long or short term. For instance, using the above examples we can put together a possible play session that involves lots of skin to skin contact, unbroken kisses and maybe a pushing of minor, but prolonged pain to be a style this counterpart would enjoy. Such as having your sub straddle you, so your legs are touching theirs, putting your hand under their jaw, you drawing them in by it, using slow, soft kisses, but putting a teasing parameter on the kiss of a moderate painful stimuli, like slowly twisting the sensitive flesh on their ribs as long as they kiss you. They get a small dose of pain that they enjoy, lots of kisses and lots of skin to skin contact- both of which they adore. The pain they enjoy mixes with all of their love languages and make a special thing happen in their mind while it acts as a form of a will tease. After they limit is reached one could return to normal kisses and start a form of aftercare.

[blackscarabfilmz]

Date Night by Michael Gleason

There’s this prompts website that does a weekly contest with several prompts and I decided to take a crack at one of them, the prompt for this story was:

Start your story with a character saying, “Are you coming tonight?”

“Are you coming tonight?”

I looked up from my computer to see the smiling face of my coworker, Erin, looking down at me.

“Coming to what?” I asked.

“We're all going out to karaoke tonight, me, Carlos from accounting, Andrea from reception, Steve from marketing, you know, the Gang!” Erin replied.

“The Gang” was the nickname that Erin had given the group of single work-friends from our office that occasionally go out to bars together and try to pick up dates. The group used to be much larger, but it dwindled the more success the individual members had romantically. There's a metaphor for something in there, but I can't think of one at the moment. Erin had been championing my inclusion in the group for months now, and sometimes I went out with them and had fun, but I knew what tonight was, and it meant I had to turn her down.

“Sorry, I'd love to go, but I've got plans tonight.” I smiled.

“Romantic plans?” Erin questioned.

“A gentleman never tells,” I chuckled. “Maybe next time.”

“I'll hold you to that,” Erin said as she started to walk back to her desk, but she stopped. “You know, it's funny. You always turn me down whenever there's a full moon, makes me wonder...”

After a few moments of an intense staring contest, Erin broke out into a fit of giggles and continued back to her desk. Now, I know what you're thinking, the full moon thing, I get what's going on, I'm a werewolf and that's why I can't go out during full moons. And you're wrong, although my real reason does have something to do with the supernatural. The night of the full moon is when the barrier between the natural world and the spirit world is at its weakest. And for me, that meant it was date night.

About a year and a half ago, my fiancee, Christina, died in a tragic car accident, but I couldn't let go of her. We were high school sweethearts, we were gonna get married one day and have kids and a whole life together... and it was snuffed out in an instant because of one faulty stoplight. I fell into a dark pit after that, I started drinking heavily, went on autopilot for months, I was weeks away from being fired, from losing my apartment, and one night, months after Christina's death, in a drunken fit of grief, I used a Ouija Board to try and contact her spirit. I don't know what I expected to happen, to be honest, so imagine my surprise when I found it that it actually worked!

There Christina was, back in my living room, sure, she was a little more translucent than usual, and wearing all-white, but I had her back! We were both ecstatic to see each other, and I resolved to never lose her again. But, obviously, I had to keep my renewed relationship a secret, for one thing, I doubted anyone would believe me, and if they did, I get the feeling that dating a ghost is probably taboo. Unfortunately, the drawback is that we can only see each other once a month when the full moon is in the sky, but for me, that's a small price to pay to have Christina back in my life. Just talking to her and knowing that she was okay in the spirit world made me feel better. Everyone around me noticed how I'd changed, although they thought I'd finally gotten through the grieving process, they were none the wiser to the fact that I'd lost the need to grieve at all.

“Erin's still trying to get me to put myself back out there, but don't worry, I'd never stray from you.” I raised a wine glass and took a sip.

Christina sat across from me, sitting cross-legged, although sitting is the wrong term as she always levitated slightly above the ground. She couldn't partake in drinking or eating for that matter, but Chrissie didn't mind that I did during our date nights. I think she enjoyed the normalcy it created.

“That's nice...” Christina seemed distracted tonight. I hoped it wasn't something I'd said.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Robert... How long can we keep this up?” Christina replied with a question of her own.

“What do you mean? Keep what up?”

“This! Our date nights! Our relationship! It was great at first, it can get lonely on the other side, but... this isn't healthy for you...”

“This isn't healthy? You saw what I looked like the first night! I'm a lot healthier than I was before that! Before... I got you back...” tears started to well in my eyes and I took a shuddering breath.

“I know that my love, but... You need to move on.” Christina looked away the moment the words left her lips. She knew how I felt about that particular phrase.

“Move on? Why would I move on when I have everything I've ever wanted right here?” I reached out and tried to grab her hand, which failed for obvious reasons.

Christina just shook her head and sighed.

“You see me once a month, but you have a whole life you live every day that I can't be a part of anymore! And I've tried to make this work, for both of us, but it's getting harder every month.”

“So what? It's long-distance, like when you did that study abroad program in college!”

“This isn't the same and you know that! Besides, whatever we might have done together can't happen now! We can't get married, I can't give you children...”

“Marriage is a piece of paper, Chrissie, what we have goes deeper than that! Who cares if we don't have a ceremony or exchange vows? And we can adopt!”

“Adopt? Sure, and our kids will have a ghost for a mother? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? You won't even tell my parents about this, but you'll tell our children?”

“Babe, that's years away, we don't need to think about that now! We have time!”

Christina stood up suddenly and soundlessly stomped her foot on the ground, her foot slightly sinking through the hardwood floor.

“We don't have time! Our time ended the moment that car slammed into mine and killed me! And I can't let you keep your life on hold for a future that can never happen!”

“We'll make it work! I know we can!” I was on my knees begging by this point, tears flowing from my eyes. “I can't lose you again!”

“Robert, you never had me back to begin with, this was never supposed to be a permanent solution. I'm dead! And nothing can ever change that! When I came back, it was because I saw how you were and I couldn't leave you in that state. But it can't be forever. There's a place beyond where I've been, where souls at rest go, and I can't leave unless you realize that! We both have somewhere else we should be right now. Erin's a nice girl, from what you've told me, I think she likes you, and you should be with living people who care about you right now, not a ghost.”

“Please, don't leave!” I begged.

“I have to... and I can't come back,” Christina sniffled through her tears.

Christina started to sob and I saw her form slowly fading away. I rushed towards her and tried futilely to grab at her.

“Robert... Always remember that I loved you.” Christina said quietly as she vanished into the ether.

I silently mouthed “I love you” back to her, before breaking into the most anguished cry that I'd had since the night I'd gotten the news about Chrissie's death.

True to her word, she never returned, not even on the next full moon. I'd lost my fiancee again, but somehow it didn't hurt as badly as the first time, maybe because I'd already grieved her loss. I took to heart what she told me, and I stopped trying to live the life I'd had planned out, and started living the life that was unfolding in front of me.

“Are you coming tonight? Oh wait, it's a full moon, right? I guess I already know your answer...”

I looked up from my computer to see Erin, already starting to walk away.

“What is it this week? Karaoke? Bowling?” I asked.

“Escape room, actually,” Erin replied. “Does that mean you're in?”

“It does,” I smiled.

“What happened to those 'other plans' you usually have?” Erin questioned.

“They fell through, so whose idea was the escape room?” I answered.

I was still going to take it slow, but Christina was right, Erin liked me, and while she could never replace Chrissie, I knew that wherever she was, she was smiling down on me and happy that I was moving on with my life.

[kurogiriis]

Hiii! your doing so well on your blog 🥰 could I request a headcannon where Aizawa and Hizashi accidentally hurt student reader during the final exam. They even have a permanent scar or limp but they don’t blame the teacher at all for what happed. I crave some dadzawa cuz there’s not many platonic headcannos as of late 😔

A/N: AAA dadzawa is so pure I-🥰 also DADMIC!!!! I’ve read like an amassed total of 2 fics about him and I seriously need more :P I kept the same pairs as in canon but switched one of the characters with the reader hopefully that makes sense

Hizashi Yamada - Present Mic

Present Mic watched as you groaned on the floor holding your bleeding ears.

After getting out of the arena with the help of Kouda’s bugs, you noticed everything sounded weird and your body was off-balance.

The ringing sound was excruciatingly painful, and you couldn’t see where it was coming from or how to make it stop. 

Worried, Present Mic walked towards you and called for immediate help from Recovery Girl.

However, this couldn’t be cured with her quirk. 

When Present Mic heard Recovery Girl’s words, he was heartbroken and overcome with guilt.

He knew his quirk could be dangerous, but he didn’t notice he was overusing it with his own students. 

Although he was deaf himself, he knew the struggles that came with it. 

Regardless of how many times you clarified you knew it was an accident and that he should leave it in the past, he always apologized whenever he noticed you were having a hard time doing something due to your hearing loss. 

He took it upon himself to teach you sign language and show you the ropes around hero-work when you couldn’t hear anything. He became a bit overprotective over you, and you became his not-so-secret favorite student.

He always rooted for you during school events and even bragged about your wins to other teachers. 

He was so proud of how far you’d come, and you were glad your teacher was always by your side to help you.

Aizawa Shouta - Eraserhead

You and Yaoyorozu had finally settled on a plan. Both of you knew that capturing the villain, in this case Eraserhead, would practically impossible.

Managing to put the handcuffs on him was an unfathomable task when his capture weapon came into sight. There was just no way to get close to him without getting captured yourself. 

However, you still needed to find a way to escape. 

His capture weapon and your inability to use your quirks were a major drawback.

As you were running towards the exit, you noticed Momo was not by your side anymore. When you looked behind you, you noticed she was dangling by her foot on Aizawa’s capture weapon. 

You ran towards her and used your quirk to jump-kick your teacher.

However, while you were in midair, his red eyes locked with yours and you started falling.

He tried using his capture weapon to catch you or to at least break your fall, but he was not fast enough.

With a loud crack, you landed on the floor, screaming in pain once your nerves felt your hip breaking. 

The face you made was ingrained in his brain, gnawing at him slowly along with guilt. 

Quickly, he and the other teachers got you to recovery girl’s office where she tried her best to heal your injury. 

Once recovery girl was done and you had gotten rest, Aizawa visited you with a swarm of apologies. 

He feels incredibly bad about the accident. Although he would never admit to it, he cared about all of his students as if they were his own children. Seeing you get hurt because of him broke his heart. 

He knew he had to be more careful. After all, he was the teacher and the Pro-Hero, he should’ve calculated the risk of incapacitating your quirk while you were in midair. He blamed himself for everything and relentlessly looked for a way to make it up to you.

After months of physical therapy, your limp never truly went away and Aizawa will forever feel guilty about that. 

He didn’t want to be the end of your hero career, so he took it upon himself to help you train regardless of your limp. 

You became closer and he was kind of like a father figure to you. 

Although you told him you didn’t mind your limp and that you knew it was an accident, you notice how his expression falls a little whenever your limp gets in the way. Nevertheless, every time you succeed his heart swells with pride.

[gizkasparadise]

cdrama rec/review: le coup de foudre

KDRAMA AND CDRAMA MASTER LIST OF REVIEWS

Series: le coup de foudre / love at first sight / i don’t like this world, i only like you Episodes: 35 w/ a special Genres: then & now, slice of life, high school to adult life, romance, reunion/getting back together, working with the ex Spoilers in the Rec: for set-up/light ones for character backgrounds If You Like, You’ll Like: the reply series, sad-looking dogs that are loved very much, because this is my first life (VERY similar male lead), sibling love, my sunshine but if people were nicer and had significantly better hair, multiple couples that are all a lot of fun

Rank: 10/10

PREMISE

flashback to 6-8 years ago (because the OP here can’t remember lol): it’s desk selection day in qiao yi’s classroom! a very dramatic moment for all high schoolers, qia yi has to select who she sits next to. because she’s at the bottom of the class ranking, she gets last pick, which essentially narrows down her choices to that creepy kid who writes love poetry to every female student in the class and yan mo, the scary genius student who has placed 1st in their class since...forever.

taking a gamble, qiao yi goes with yan mo. yan mo eventually agrees to tutoring qiao yi outside of class and they become friends. then...friends? if you know what i mean. it’s very sweet and cute. only problem is that yan mo is both a genius and from a Family of Means, and so is already planning on attending cambridge (yeah, fucking cambridge) after graduation. not wanting to separate, yan mo asks qiao yi to come with him and she agrees to study hard so she can get accepted to a university in the UK, too.

but then, well, bad shit happened. 

qiao yi ended up staying in their home town, yan mo left for cambridge, and we got two v heartbroken teenagers on our hands.

4 years later, yan mo returns after studying in the uk, and by chance they end up bumping into each other. angry because qiao yi hurt him, yan mo puts up an ALOOF AND COLD AND I DONT CARE AT ALL front that she sadly buys. but after he leaves for the big city to pursue a business opportunity, qiao yi harnesses some amazing big dick energy to go after him, in a sort of inverse DONT LET HER GET ON THAT PLANE! move. very abba. 

the plot bounces between their (and their friends’) high school years, their lives as reunited adults, and their future lives as married folks. i love it very, very much.

MAIN CHARACTERS

zhao qiao yi

as a high schooler, qiao yi was a quiet girl with low self-esteem, who consistently ranked at the bottom of her class and was always attempting to retreat into her school tracksuit like a turtle. despite this, qiao yi has some solid friends and is always kind if somewhat shy or uncomfortable in certain situations. as a adult, qiao yi works as a television producer and is clearly more confident. 

she buys truly awful graphic t-shirts as thank you gifts that one feels obligated to wear. falls for scams easily. will help you fold 1000 paper stars for your boyfriend even if she hates your boyfriend because she’s ride or die like that. look at how cute she is no one is allowed to be mean to someone as cute as this.

yan mo / “frank”

if you liked se hee in because this is my first life, you’re in luck because here is a 10% angrier version. at first, yan mo seems cold, aloof, snobbish, pretentious, arrogant...

okay, but he’s ALSO got a lot of feelings and will help people out. well, at the start of the show, he’ll help two people out. but that expands to like 10. so, progress! in high school, he falls for qiao yi in the typical Cannot Spit It Out fashion, buying her sentimental cans of coke, PUTTING IN ONE EARBUD SO SHE CAN LISTEN TO THE BEATLES WITH HIM, feeling Weird about her tying his tie, and single-handedly ruining a for-profit afterschool tutoring business in about 30 seconds, because they weren’t teaching qiao yi anything, and he knew he could do it better. tbh he completely fucking destroys a lot of things and people in under a minute. #ruthless

he’s very protective of qiao yi and rather than explain it, here is a clip from the special episode where yan mo confronts another student who left a love confession meant for qiao yi in his desk by mistake (subtitles have to be selected under settings, but it’s subbed in english):

zhao guan chao

zhao qiao yi’s twin brother, who has always placed 2nd in their classes after yan mo. despite his high grades, he comes off as a laidback teen heartthrob and has a reputation for being a flake and a playboy. BUT he’s legit a chill dude and clearly popular for a reason--he gets along with (almost) everyone. he loves his sister and is extremely protective of her, especially since she’s so shy and has low self-esteem for Reasons That Will Be Explained in the Tragic Backstory. he’s such a good brother. the best brother. also looks out for qiao yi’s best friend, wu yi. understands the value of shoes.

hao wu yi

qiao yi’s best friend, and another classmate of The Crew. i say this with so, so much love, but she’s got a lot of chaotic dumbass energy. struggling along the bottom ranks with qiao yi during high school. she has the worst taste in men as a teenager, falling for the guy who literally bullied her in like. ep 2. thankfully she’s got qiao yi and guanchao.

the trio are close, and that doesn’t change as they grow up. wu yi ends up becoming a novelist who writes pop and steamy romance novels and has a significant teenage girl fanbase. it’s amazing. 

fei da chuan

my boy. another classmate, he, qiao yi, and wu yi make up the official Dumbass Trio of their high school class and have adorable adventures + solidarity in it. he’s also yan mo’s uncle. somehow. because rich people families are wild. while he’s got a place to live, he more often than not crashes at yan mo’s, who Does Not Like It. but da chuan does not notice or care. 

abrasive but 100% sincere about everything and toward everyone. people will think he’s an asshole or a gangster but then he’s secretly feeding abandoned kittens in the corner or something. as an adult, has the best business casual outfits. serves as a big brother figure to a lot of people, but qiao yi in particular. cannot, cannot fucking do math.

SUPPORTING

“alicia” / cheng youmei. an old family friend of yan mo’s who is very posh and rich and dignified. studied abroad with him at cambridge, and is cold toward qiao yi after arriving back in china. cosplays B)

teacher gao. everyone’s high school teacher who later owns a bar that seems to be there only for dispensing advice. seriously. there is no way this bar is economically sound as the only customers you ever see are gao’s students coming in one at a time for Wisdom and you never see them pay for anything. also the bar has no fucking roof and is directly above traintracks. i have hang-ups about this bar

lin shu. yan mo’s mother. very sweet and pretty and a ballernia turned program director. is almost never home but clearly loves her son. du chaun’s sister. somehow.

zhao suyin. qiao yi and guan chao’s mother. one of her kinks is roleplaying condor heroes characters? okay okay okay

tian weimin. qiao yi and guan chao’s stepfather who works as police officer. best dad award. he’s so sweet and corny and peak dad humor. he loves them kids & they love him back

grandpa. yan mo’s dog in high school. a very old basset hound with sad eyes:

dollar or d. i cant tell you anything about him, other than he used to be a stray and yan mo says he’s ugly, which, rude.

DRAWBACKS

plot...hm. there’s SOME plot, but this is about characters + romance + friendship + family. if you’re looking for scheming mothers-in-law or tragic car accidents or secret destinies this isn’t the one for you. similar in vibe to Reply 1988 (they even watch the show in the show :’D / make references to it)

OKAY SO every plot summary i’ve seen says that yan mo is in a relationship with someone else when he gets back to china. no he is not. i say this because it was a huge turn off for me/initially put me off watching the series. he is definitely a one-and-only type. there’s no cheating in this show. lmao, hell, neither of the mains are even interested in anyone else but each other

i liked du chuan and his love interest a lot, but they definitely didn’t get as much screen time as the others

while it’s clear qiao yi + yan mo are the mains, another couple gets a lot of screen time as well. this might be a skip if you don’t like multiple couples/secondary relationships in a show

i surprisingly enjoyed the high school storyline a lot more than the adult one? which is super weird for me, but idk i was sad when it was over because it was so cute.

some...weird technical decisions. every once in a while, the camera will have like a nostalgia filter and then it disappears and then the edges get a bit blurry and idk it feels very film school 101 to show that what’s on screen is a ~memory. the soundtrack/music is sometimes also too loud--to the point where it can drown out the actors (particularly janice wu in the high school arc, since qiao yi is soft-spoken)

REASONS TO WATCH

the lead actors (janice wu + zhang yujian) are legit two of my favorites and they have great/easy chemistry. all the actors are amazing. everyone’s loveable

SIBLING GOALS the zhao twins are amazing and they’re both each other’s biggest fans. gaunchao had some really heartwarming brother moments

i love love lmao. this spoke to a lot of my favorite dynamics: exes reunited/having to work together, childhood sweethearts reuniting as adults, “gangster” and princess, childhood friends turned lovers, bickering couples, cold man who actually has a lot of feelings, lots of people being overprotective, idk. everything was just great. 0 complaints on any of the ships.

i genuinely liked every character other than that one piece of shit poppa zhao. even alicia, who’s put into the stereotypical rich bitch role, was actually really fun and subverted a lot of expectations for this trope

it’s just. real cute y’all. probably my favorite cdrama and definitely in my top 10 (maybe 5?) dramas overall.

FINAL THOUGHTS

i love them ;;

[rainofaugustsith]

Memory of Healing

Also at Ao3! 

Content warning; this fic has references to bruises, cuts, injuries and needles, including self-injury.

The scars and burns are rare…but they happen. Viri is almost never injured directly by her opponents; they usually can’t even catch her. It takes far more cosmic effort to harm her: caves falling on her head. Ancient spirits with nefarious intentions. Force alchemy. Cursed fire. She’s learned to deflect them all, but every now and then, she gets nicked. And when she is, she and Lana can usually heal the nicks themselves. They’re that tightly bound now. It’s just that every now and then, there’s an anomaly they can’t channel away. No big deal. Viri sits casually on the couch in the Alliance’s wound clinic, one ankle crossed neatly over the other. The chrono reads 2:42; these trips always seem to happen in the middle of the night when the base is still and quiet and nobody else is in the medical center. It’s better that way; better that Viri is not seen in the medical center by the daytime Alliance staff. It tends to make them nervous. ”We’re ready for you, Commander.” The aesthetic surgeon droid comes to the door, her metallic voice echoing through the nearly empty room. Viri nods and rises from the couch; Lana follows.

Lana knows the routine; she’s seen it several times now. She extends one hand to take Viri’s clothing from her as she strips out of her boots, socks and trousers and hops onto the examining table. The scar on Viri’s thigh, an artifact from a vicious fight in the Gree Enclave, screams out at her, red and furious. 

”Take this away, please,” Viri says, gesturing to her thigh as she reclines on the table.   ”Yes, Commander,” the droid says, gathering her tools. “Anesthetic?” ”Yes, please.” Viri always asks to be numbed. Lana understands; there’s no reason to feel the work when she’s already felt so much. Lana drapes Viri’s clothes over one arm and extends the other, offering Viri a hand to hold. As always, Viri grabs it, threading her fingers through Lana’s and leaning into their bond and love. The droid leans over Viri, blocking Lana’s view of the scar. It’s better that way Academically, Lana knows the droid is there to help; emotionally, the moment she sees the needle piercing Viri’s skin she has an urge to rise and cut the miserable thing to scrap for hurting her wife. Protective rage bubbles through the bond and Viri locks eyes with Lana as she senses it, keeping both of them focused elsewhere. ”Jokes?” This is another part of the ritual; Lana will offer Viri a means of distraction. Jokes. Ridiculous anecdotes from their Sith years. A cynical review of the latest reality show on the HoloNet. Viri’s eyes flick down toward the droid at work, and then quickly up to the ceiling again. Her leg jerks slightly, a flicker of pain coursing through her even through the anesthetic. ”Apologies, Commander. You have had another repair here before, and I encountered subcutaneous scar tissue.” ”It’s fine,” Viri sighs. The repairs are layered on each other, but she forgets.

“How many of these have you erased? I’m just curious.” Viri’s lips curve slightly, but the smile does not reach her eyes. “I’ve lost count.”

“The memory stays as an echo, you know,” Lana says. “Your body still remembers.” 

”You were reading <I>Essence of Spirit</I> again this morning,” Viri laughs. ”I was. It’s intriguing. And I think it has a point. The pain becomes a part of you.” We already know that, Viri says, shrugging. It’s true; Lana has come to recognize the background level of pain always present in Viri through their bond. ”Still,” Lana says, raising an eyebrow. “They were referring to more.” ”Could you read me?” Viri says, amused. ”I could try,” Lana says, suddenly curious. ”May I?” Viri shrugs. “Of course. But why? I was joking..” ”It would be an interesting experiment,” Lana says. ”Feel free to look. You know I hide nothing from you.”  

Lana closes her eyes, taps into the Force, and sweeps her hand over Viri’s right arm. The Mark of Union on Viri’s hand glows purple in her mind; welcoming and secure. However, beneath it, several scars emerge. Calluses and rips on the palm. Surgical incisions on the wrist. Bruises shaped like hands. 

”I broke my wrists when I was twelve,” Viri murmurs, seeing along with her. “You know why. They had to be set. The other bruises…you know why those are there, too.”   Lana nods grimly as she continues to read. Precise slashes across Viri’s inner forearm come into view in her mind’s eye. ”You cut yourself,” Lana mutters, surprised. ”Correct. It helped for a while. Or I thought it did. Upper Academy.” ”I see.” Burns from Manaan and Iokath. Scars from the cave-in on Quesh. Bites from a carnivorous plant. Bruises from the shackles placed on Viri when she was captured by the Eternal Empire, haloed by an echo of terror. Layers of pain. Muscle aches that lingered for weeks. Lana winces. ”You’re on my lightsaber arm, what did you expect?” Viri chuckles. “Of course it’s sore.” ”I didn’t realize…” But I should have. I feel how much you hurt. I just didn’t realize it had been going on for so long. What I do is not without cost. Viri looks straight ahead. I don’t pay attention to it, lover. You know that. Do you remember the last time you were without pain of any kind? Lana asks seriously, catching her eyes. The last time you kissed me. Our bond tends to make it fade. Viri smiles, and Lana feels her heart swell. …you’re evading the question. When was the last time you were without any pain at all, without my help? Lana presses. I don’t remember. Oh love.  I use it. I channel it. I do the best I can. You know that. Love. Lana squeezes her hand again, sending a wave of Force healing around her. Viri closes her eyes again to drink it in; her head tipping back against the table. The aesthetic surgeon droid sits back. Where a jagged scar had crossed Viri’s thigh, there is now shiny, unbroken skin. “I’m done with your leg, Commander. I’ll leave you to get dressed.” ”Thank you. Commander override: wipe memory from 02:30 to present.” Viri repeats a series of complex passcodes. The lights on the medical droid’s chassis blink as her memory wipes. “Hello Commander. Is there anything I can do for you?” ”No thank you. Please return to your duties.” ”As you wish,” the droid leaves the room. Feeling better? Lana asks, watching appreciatively as Viri dresses. Yes. Enjoying the view? Viri winks, wiggling her hips as she pulls on her trousers. I always do, Lana laughs, but a moment later, her smile fades. Viri…you know you don’t have to get these scars removed.  I know, Viri shrugs, buttoning her trousers. I want to. I don’t need the souvenirs. I only keep the…most important. And the ones that aren’t bad. Aren’t bad? Lana raises an eyebrow. How…  ”Read here,” Viri whispers, taking Lana’s hand and putting it on her face. Lana’s fingers trace the long ragged scar that crosses her cheek, concentrating. Love spills from the scar; the care and attention of a mother’s fingers, suturing her injured daughter’s face. As Lana concentrates she can hear Viri’s mother in her mind: Hold still, baby. Just focus on my voice. “She sang the whole time,” Viri murmurs, leaning into Lana’s touch. “I see why you kept this one.” ”Try here,” Viri says, repositioning Lana’s hand on her bicep. Lana sees the intricate script of the Sith protection incantation on Viri’s tattoo through her fingers; feels Force energy pulsing from the ink. In her mind’s eye, Viri is reassuring herself: This will protect me. 

Lana opens her eyes. “I’d like to read the rest of you. This has been…fascinating. Not here. But later.” Viri nods, her eyes full of trust. “Only if I get a turn.” ”Of course.”

“Preview now?” Viri asks, her eyes glowing. She grasps Lana’s left hand in her own and concentrates until her eyes flutter shut. 

Pain in the hand. Explosions; shattering. Bones and skin sutured and bandaged. Viri shudders. ”I explained that,” Lana murmurs, picking up on Viri’s consternation. “A walker missile hit me.” Viri nuzzles Lana’s hand as she reads further. Aches from Hoth. Klor’slug bites from Korriban. Needle-sharp teeth piercing skin. A broken finger. A second. ”That one was just a speeder accident. I was learning to pilot and I fell,” Lana explains. Viri kisses her palm, infusing it with Force healing. ”Love, it’s healed, it doesn’t need help now.” Viri shakes her head, letting more healing radiate through the hand as she holds it to her cheek. “Nobody hurts my Lana.” ”Sweet Viri,” Lana murmurs, letting her fingers curl around Viri’s chin. ”Commander? Is there something you need assistance with? What brings you to the clinic today?” The droid reappears at the door. Viri sighs in frustration. “No, you don’t even see us. We’re not in the clinic. Commander override: wipe memory from 0300 to present.” Let’s go. Otherwise we’re going to have to keep purging her memory. Lana tugs on her sleeve. Viri nods and follows her out of the room. As they exit the clinic they wave their hands toward the security cameras, erasing the few seconds where they were visible in the lobby. Viri and Lana walk back to their suite in silence. With her leg healed, Viri’s gait is fluid again; her long legs easily carrying her along. She raises her head to breathe in the night air, her curly hair whipping around her face in the nocturnal breeze. ”Still numb?” Lana taps into their bond, finding a suspiciously pain free spot on Viri’s leg. ”Mhmmm,” Viri mumbles. “It’s strange.”

Strange to be without pain. Sadness pricks through the bond.

”Don’t,” Viri says, entering the first and second sets of codes at the deceptively simple keypad at their front door. “You know how it is.” ”I’ve accepted that our line of work has drawbacks. I still wish it didn’t,” Lana replies, taking Viri’s hand again. I wasn’t kidding. I really do hurt less with you around. Viri’s face is turned; her body still as the biometric security system scans her. Lana closes her eyes as the scanner sweeps across her too, and the door opens slightly to allow them into the atrium. Their HK droids, 51 and 55, silently nod their greetings as Viri and Lana continue through the hallway to the next security checkpoint. More biometric scans. More passwords. All so they can sleep without someone killing them. ”Even on Dromund Kaas it would be like this,” Viri shrugs, leading Lana into their suite. They’ve become accustomed to tuning out the noise of the durasteel door closing heavily behind them. The edge of Viri’s leg, where it meets her prosthetic foot, has begun to ache, and she drops to the sofa to  channel healing around it. ”Let me,” Lana whispers, kneeling next to her. “You said I help.” ”Always,” Viri murmurs earnestly, looking into her eyes. “A kiss might do the trick.” Lana runs one finger across the top of Viri’s knee, skirting across the numb spot on her thigh. “Just a kiss?” ”I didn’t say how or where,” Viri smirks. “That leaves plenty of possibilities.” ”Brat.” ”Beloved.” Viri wraps her arms around Lana, settling her on her lap. “Kiss it better.” Lana leans in close, worrying Viri’s bottom lip with her teeth before closing her mouth on Viri’s. Salt. Sugar. Fire. Electricity. Lana hums into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Viri as her pain drops away.

***

[mysteriouslytransparentwitch]

Why Meghan Markle is Being Such a Jerk—An Astrological Study

First of all, if you have never read my website, I am not politically correct. If you are a snowflake who is “hurt” by strong sentiments, please stop reading now. If you are still here, I will tell you why I have such a strong message in my title.

First of all, there is a sociological aspect to Meghan’s complaints. Yes, the world has been racist. Yes, there are bigoted morons in the world. Yes, a public figure will be criticized unfairly. Look at Melania Trump. So, when Meghan made the decision to marry Harry and partake of the wealth and fame of the royal family, she was, in effect, signing up for these unfortunate societal things.

People say she can’t have her cake and eat it too. I agree. She was not famous before her marriage. She did not have the same level of public voice before her marriage. These are part of the benefits. The drawbacks are that people target you. Anyone should know this. Therefore, it is hard to feel sympathy for her. However, if she truly does not want to be a royal, she should give up the title and become a private citizen. This includes giving up the wealth and status.

That is my opinion, but that is not why I am writing this article. This article will show WHY she is doing this; why she is so clueless. We can see this in her natal chart. I have, also, done a synastry with Harry. I cannot see how this marriage can work. It is a synastry from hell. I have posted the synastry above but I have an article on it and I will link it.

For now, we will look at her natal chart. To put it very simply, Meghan is an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. Meghan is not how she appears, through no fault of her own. She has a chart with a full bottom half–i.e planets occupying the lower half of the chart. This is the chart of an introvert. An introvert needs to accept that she is an introvert. If not, she will be skating on thin ice on which she cannot navigate. Meghan tries to have a “big personality” and it is not her natural state.

Now, we have to add the Leo Sun, which does have a big personality i.e a big show. However, the rest of her chart is introverted. That means she is very self focused, through no fault of her own. It is the chart energies. However, she takes everything very personally and this is not a good omen for being a royal. All royals get hammered in the press. Fergie was called fat. Diana was called dumb. Charles was called ugly and a loser. Camellia was called a dog. If people harrass Meghan for being mixed race, which I have not seen, it is simply the ejaculations of ignorant moronic people–nothing more or less than the treatment of other royals.However, due to the fact that Meghan takes things so personally, it is almost impossible for her to shake it off.

Now, I can relate to her on this.She has the dreaded Cancer Mars. It is a very hard Mars. Hers is much harder due to the placement in the 12th House. Cancer Mars may be the flu, but Cancer Mars in the 12th house is Ebola. I will explain why.

Cancer Mars is a Cardinal Mars, so we have leadership and strength. However, the sign of Cancer is an inward oriented sign. When Cancer Mars gets angry, they stuff it. They stuff it and stuff it and then they either explode or implode. Usually, they implode. They can do self destructive acts like overeat(very common) or just make fools of themselves because they did not deal with a normal emotion(anger) in a forthright and direct way.

One trait of the Cancer Mars is passive aggression. There are few that are as “talented” in passive aggression as is a Cancer Mars. It is simply the nature of how this Mars handles strong emotions. Hence, when Meghan blindsided the Queen, I bet anger had been building up for a long time and Meghan did not know how to handle it in a direct way. I do give her a pass, in a sense, because her Mars is in a very suppressed house, the 12th house. Hence, for her to take direct action is like a poodle flying a plane. It is almost impossible.

Now, we have her family—URGG.This is not her fault. She has a very non nurturing relationship with her mother. I feel very sad when I see this. Everyone needs to be nurtured. When you are not, the pain runs very deep. It makes you into a kind of mutant. Weird things come out of you as a result. You are not “totally right”. No one is really “totally right” but people who are not nurtured try to receive nurturing in ways that are not healthy for them. This can result in poor choices and poor planning. I don’t think Meghan thought out the ramifications of being a royal. Poor planning is a big part of her current problem.

I can see her relationship with her mother in the Moon/Saturn conjunction.She has Moon/Jupiter which does give her a bubbly personality and this is very real, but her mother was not her friend. Her mother was very critical of her. In return, she is very critical of herself.

Also, we see she had a unstable childhood due to the Pluto in the 4th house. There was violence in some form, perhaps suppressed, but it was an unsafe home.

She is somewhat low in water. She has one personal planet in water. Water gives us empathy. Hence, her empathy to others is not huge. I am not saying she does not have empathy, but it is not a very string trait. If we combine this with introversion, it points to a very self focused person. If you are a royal, it would be hell if you could not “shrug off” the criticism. This is one of the major problems she is facing now and why she is acting like a “spoiled brat” to all outward appearances.

Her father was good to her. She gets along better with men than women. I don’t think she trusts women. Hence, she and Kate and she and the Queen must have a cool detente. This is not her fault. It is the nature of her chart.

Lastly, her highly afflicted Mars squares her Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. This makes the relationship with women so much harder than for most people in the population. It makes her much more critical of herself. It makes her doubt herself a great deal. Hence, we see someone who is trying to be important, but feels like a speck of dust.

The more I write, the more I feel sorry for her. Her chart is not one for a royal. I do not see the marriage lasting and she should be very careful that an “accident” does not befall her.

@talkingtarot  @keepingupwiththebananadramas  @houseofbrat

[let-it-show]

Open Wounds

This...this started as something to curb my annoyance with something else, and somehow evolved into a look at Anna’s trauma. Elsa wanted her to stop worrying about her so much and voiced it and from there, it really spiraled. I’ve always been curious about how younger Anna dealt with things before the coronation and before their parents died. Elsa’s just as curious and honestly what she gets here is just the tip of the, er, iceberg. I plan to write more about this soon. Anyway this fic is set in the same storyline as my fic “All The Love I Found In You”, however you definitely do not have to of read that one to understand this, there’s just a couple nods to it.

"You have powers. You should have used them for this. No, instead you said 'I'm a spirit!' before running off and tripping down a bunch of rocks."

Elsa cringed as Anna slammed the door shut in a huff. "I was just trying to help! It didn't require me to use my powers, so I didn't. I didn't think I was going to trip over a thing on the ground-"

"Your own two feet you mean?"

"-and not only fall down but keep rolling! No one plans for that!" Elsa rarely ever fell down, so how was she supposed to anticipate that? It was a complete accident.

"Yea well I..." Anna snorted and held up her hand but she couldn't actually say anything. How could she? It was a mistake!

"Also at no point did I say 'I'm a spirit!' That happened once - ONCE and I was joking!" Elsa went to fold her arms and winced. Her left arm hurt where she had initially fallen before rolling. Her whole body kind of ached from that, most of all her head.

"You were thinking it," Anna accused and turned around when they reached the bed, studying Elsa. Her eyes held worry in them as she looked her up and down. "I think you'll have to lose the dress. Er-not yet, I have to actually open the door again."

Elsa sighed. "What are you on about?" Walking into the room was okay but she was really feeling the aches. And she was sure she cut up her legs. One of the drawbacks of not wearing pants under her dress was...getting hurt if she fell down. Seriously, that was it.

"I'm going to clean you up, you have a lot of dirt on you," Anna told her.

"Do I?" Elsa finally took a minute to stretch out her arms and look herself over. She hadn't even had time to after crashing to the ground and going over rocks nearly into the water. Anna had been on her in seconds to haul her up and ask in a very frightened way if she was okay. Before Elsa could even answer that she was a little dizzy, Anna was already dragging her back to the castle. It was a good thing they were close to it. A guard had tried to help too but Anna had nearly bitten his head off for daring to touch Elsa.

Poor guy.

Anna nodded as she scampered back to the door. "Yes. I'll be right back just-just stay here," she said, holding her hands up and out as if to emphasize Elsa should stay put. Before Elsa could say she wasn't a dog, Anna was out the door again.

It was just like her to worry, Elsa thought as she looked back at her arms. They were kind of dirty, little bits of dirt and grass on them. Not a good day to go sleeveless, she supposed. When she looked down the light purple fabric of her dress was covered in dirt. The little designs of diamonds and snowflakes didn't show well, the white of them drowned out. If she hadn't braided her hair it would be a disaster.

The dress would have been an easy fix if it were one she created, but it was a gift from one of Olaf's little friends that had lived at the orphanage. She and Anna had helped the little girl find placement two young men who badly wanted a family and as a thank you they insisted on making her the dress.

To say it was cherished was an understatement and Elsa felt frustrated with herself for getting it soiled. It could be laundered, though.

She wasn't going to sit on their clean comforter with, well, a filthy butt, so she paced. Her ankle complained; she hadn't twisted it but she had knocked the side against something. There were some scrapes near her elbows too.

The more she looked at herself the more she noticed. Her body was going to be complaining even more the next morning, and Anna would insist on taking care of her. The thought of that made her feel suddenly very guilty and she stopped in front of the window to stare at the cloudy afternoon sky. Rain was surely on the way.

Anna really did a lot for her. She cared for Elsa constantly and despite no doors or fjord between them, Anna still pushed aside a lot of her own happiness at times to be sure that Elsa was okay. It wasn't that she hovered and suffocated her, if that was even possible. Elsa never grew tired of her presence when she was there and sometimes the days kept them apart more than they wanted for one duty or another.

Guilt started to creep over her, and Elsa didn't argue with it. After everything she had put Anna through the girl did so much. Time and time again her mind reminded her of how hard Anna had tried to watch over her in the forest. Her mind reminded her of Anna's gentle touch and endless patience as she took Elsa's hands to tell her she was a gift and that she believed in her.

Closed doors, a frozen heart, secrets, Anna had carried it all on her shoulders only for Elsa to hurl it all away and break her sister's heart on that beach. Elsa shoved her into Kristoff's proposal as Anna scrambled to put herself back together in any way she could, wedging pieces of her puzzle into spaces they didn't fit. She broke her and gave her a piece back here and there, but never enough to make a strong frame, nevermind get near completion.

When she returned for good she still turned the girl's world upside down, her fiance turned best friend leaving for the north and the future again an anxious mystery.

It was as she thought about that pattern and silently berated herself that Anna returned with a pitcher sitting in a bowl holding a bar of soap, and with a cloth over her arm. The pitcher and basin were light green with sunflowers painted on, something she had given Anna during Yule. She could never give her enough to make up for her failings.

"Alright, lose the dress," Anna commanded her and she looked less irritated, more amused.

"Sure," Elsa said with a little smile. Anna's concern was definitely still there, but Elsa still knew her to be mischievous, especially when clothing came off. Her beloved was not above making the dumbest excuses to touch Elsa - one time she insisted Elsa's hands were 'colder than usual' and it was a good idea to warm them between her thighs. She supposed the kissing and eventual moaning that followed were also part of the hand-warming.

The dress was removed slowly as she left the window, easily sliding over her shoulders. Elsa preferred not to wear an undershirt normally but had made for herself a small silver one to go between her skin and the dress, plus cups to support her full chest. She was down to that and a delicate pair of dark blue underwear that she again didn't make, but liked. There was no design on them, they were just plain and looked nice.

Anna set the bowl and pitcher on their little bedside table. "The shirt, too," she said, twirling the cloth around while she stood in her little green and black sleeveless dress. Her hair had been in a bun when she left the room, but was pulled out and hung loose upon her return.

Elsa knew what she was up to. She found it adorable, but her feelings of guilt were still persisting and she was unable to really enjoy the moment the way she wanted. "Anna...I don't think my stomach or chest were dirtied," she told her matter of factly as she carefully set her dress aside.

"Gotta make sure you didn't hurt your uh, ribs," Anna insisted with a little blush.

"My arms and legs need attention more," Elsa answered softly, keeping the shirt on. Her head still throbbed but she didn't mention it. She would love to watch Anna's face light up, but once Anna's hands and lips touched her, the girl would already be in a haze and Elsa would feel terrible leading her on in that moment. "I am sure I will have bruises on them."

The words caused Anna to drag her gaze from Elsa's chest and a little frown started. "You're right. Sorry I was harsh before. It's not like you were trying to crash down like that."

"It's okay Anna. I know you worry a lot-what are you doing?" An eyebrow raised as Anna walked toward a corner of the room, toward one of two simple but comfortable wooden chairs they had. There was an armchair in the room as well they sometimes cuddled in but Anna likes chairs that could be moved around. After all, sometimes she didn't want to sit in the corner by the window, she wanted to sit by the fire but not at the angle of the armchair, and so on and so on.

With the chair firmly in her two hands she carried it toward Elsa and the table. "For you to sit on. If I ask you to sit on the bed I..."

Elsa just shook her head and laughed a little. Oh, she knew exactly why Anna didn't even finish speaking. On the bed Anna would crawl over her to wash her down and then get distracted examining every part of her body closely. Anna wasn't really uncontrollably horny but she did take any chance she could to enjoy Elsa's body. She sat herself down in the chair once placed and watched Anna.

"I wish...you wouldn't worry about me so much, you know," she managed as Anna poured some of the hot water into the bowl and dunked the cloth in with the soap. "I don't like you so worked up over me falling down."

"Then don't fall down. Give me your arm," Anna said, standing in front of her.

Elsa sighed and held her arm out. Anna took her hand and turned it over, palm up. She started the cloth on her open hand and began to slowly drag it up, lightly wiping the dirt and other bits of ground from Elsa's arm. "Sometimes I'm going to get hurt, Anna. Everyone gets hurt sometimes, its inevitable. I understand where it comes from, your worry, but I don't want to see it eating at you." Just as she said that Anna cleaned one of the longer scratches on her arm and she hissed at the slight sting.

"I don't want to see things like this," Anna said, pointing at the scratch. Her eyes were focused on Elsa's arm.

"It's superficial. By tomorrow morning it'll be a line and nothing more, it won't hurt."

"It's all superficial at first, but it still hurts," Anna muttered.

Elsa tilted her head. "What was that?"

Anna was almost to her shoulder with the cloth and she paused to rinse and ring it in the basin. Elsa's gaze was focused on Anna's face, which still only showed focus and didn't betray whatever she might be feeling. After another little pour of clean water, Anna started back down her arm. "It...a lot has happened and by the next day or next morning, we've been fine, but it still hurts. You came back from Ahtohallan, but there was still so much pain."

The words were a bit jumbled but not hard to understand. And Elsa knew how Anna felt. They'd discussed it in detail before. It also meant she knew the trauma wasn't going to leave her loving sister anytime soon as she continued to deal with it. But it was the same theory as her own fear, right?

She urged Anna not to worry over the minor incidents, the same way Anna kept on leading her out of her door after the Great Thaw. Anna never gave up on ridding Elsa of the fear that had devoured her entire being and likewise Elsa wouldn't stop with Anna's worry.

She also knew that at times, it still came back to haunt one's mind. Elsa still had dreams where Anna remained a frozen statue at her hand and when she woke she had to feel her pulse, listen to her heart, kiss her lips to taste her breath and stroke her warm skin. The panic could hold her for long stretches of time too, if she was too tired or stressed.

The thing was, she didn't feel it on a day to day basis. Now she just felt her guilt toward Anna's stability but she wasn't going to put that on her beautiful girl as well.

"I get it," she said after Anna finished that arm and held out her hand for the other one.

"I don't know if you do."

"Anna?"

For once, Anna wouldn't meet her eyes. "It's not-it's not just what happened in the forest, it's not just you staying in Ahtohallan. It's what mother and father did to you, and to us as well."

Their parents? Confusion flooded Elsa. She knew the way her parents had separated them and treated the whole...incident...was not right. They did more harm than good ripping the two from each other and keeping the truth from Anna. They caused more pain than they had to know. It wasn't a new thing.

However in Elsa's mind they did more damage to Anna out of the two of them. Her words didn't make sense. "Did to me? What are you talking about?"

Slowly Anna cleaned her other arm. It was more banged up and didn't hurt too much right then but she knew it would in the morning. "They turned you into someone who hid her hurt. Who had to conceal everything. I won't always know if you're really okay or not, because sometimes you might not realize how you are. I've seen it in you before, in your face here and there where you were definitely in some kind of pain but you told yourself not to feel for so long that...that..."

"Anna, I'm not like that anymore." It had been a mountain of a task, but she climbed it anyway. "I can admit to myself when my heart aches and old wounds come open, and I can tell when all I've done is bruise myself up as well. I can feel my pain and figure out what it is." At least, for the most part she could.

"How do you know?" Anna was so careful as she cleaned her, every touch conducted with affection behind it.

Elsa's eyes narrowed. She didn't like the behavior it was seeing, like dark clouds floating in front of the sun. "I just-I just know. I'm doing better than I ever have been, largely thanks to you," she pointed out.

Surprisingly, Anna didn't smile at that. The younger girl looked ready to cry. "Am I really helping so much? Or are you sometimes holding it all together just for me?"

"Anna!" As Anna brought the warm cloth back down to her wrist, Elsa took her free hand and squeezed it. "Now where did that come from? Please, if I'm upset or something, I'll tell you. As tempting as it is to hold back so you won't worry, I know it's wrong. You deserve honesty!" She tugged on her hand.

Anna put the cloth on the table and took Elsa's other hand, finally meeting her gaze. "I get it, I do. It's..." She worried her lip. "I'm...part of it too is I often find myself angry, very angry at mother and father. They left you worried about becoming a monster and didn't do right by either of us, I guess, but you couldn't be close with them and-"

"Anna, sssh." Elsa pulled her hands closer, drawing one of Anna's soft palms to cradle against her face. She leaned into Anna's hand and kissed it before looking back to her. "I'm not sure I caught everything you said there...it got a little jumbled. I can't say I'm surprised you are angry at mother and father. I wish...I wish you could let that anger go, along with your constant worry about me. You deserve a light heart and all the happiness in the world."

At those words Anna smiled and leaned over Elsa's lap to brush their noses. "I have all the happiness in the world right in front of me. I love you so much Elsa, I-I want to give you everything."

"I feel the same way about you, you know," Elsa whispered to her.

"I know." Anna let her eyes fall shut as she drew in a long breath. "Sometimes I'm happy it's just you and I...um, that's not to say I'm happy mother and father...it's just, I remember the time before their voyage, I felt very hopeless in those last couple of years," she admitted. "You were in your room and they-they didn't really spend time with me or anything."

"Anna..." If there was one thing Anna never really talked about, it was the later years of their separation. In fact Elsa didn't think she'd ever heard or asked how she felt then. Anna would talk about her devastation when they were first separated and how she had wished to play with her sister. She'd talked about that frustration, but she hadn't addressed her early teens.

Anna's hands dropped a bit and Elsa's came down with them, still holding, still squeezing. "You kept me going, even through the silence, the knowledge you were there on the other side of the door. I didn't understand what was happening of course and I was sad mother and father didn't give me much attention. I thought though they were doing something for you, to help you and someday we would-we would be a family."

As she spoke, Elsa was quiet, paying very close attention. She had no idea when Anna might open up again about her feelings and their parents. It was indeed rare. Her heart was beating fast as she was allowed insight to her sister's pain. Anna had paused and Elsa worried she lost steam.

However Anna took a breath and finally reopened her eyes, looking down at their hands. "I was wrong. They hurt you. They broke you and taught you not to be yourself and not to speak up. You ask me why I worry? Because I know sometimes you still don't want to admit your deepest thoughts. I know because I still feel lonely sometimes, like I was just there as an extra child that mother was handed instead of another magic daughter, or a son." The words weren't said with any kind of venom.

Yet, they still did inflict pain. Elsa never wanted Anna to compare her existence to her own. "Oh, Anna-"

"I'm not saying this for you to feel guily! I-I don't want you to feel sad. It's not like I knew about your powers until the coronation either, but I can't always rid myself of that thought. I feel they cared for us equally until the accident I still don't fully remember. I don't understand why to keep me safe, they separated us entirely. I felt punished. I know you punished yourself." Her head drooped and her voice had grown thick, tears were surely on the way.

Elsa released Anna's hands and instead reached her arms out. What she was saying was certainly crushing even if it was in the past, and Anna knew she was incredibly loved. It was new information for Elsa to process and in that moment all she wanted to do was hold and cherish Anna. She wanted to give her what she was without for so long and spend all her time making up for it.

She was overwhelmed by her own love for the girl.

Anna move closer and as soon as Elsa could even start getting her arms around her, she pulled her toward her lap. She didn't need to put much effort into it. Anna easily settled on her legs and wrapped her arms around Elsa's shoulders as she sniffled, her crying started. "I'm sorry Elsa, I'm sorry to put this on you."

"No. Nono, sssh. I'm sorry, Anna. I - ah." She was going to point out how she started it all by hitting her with her ice, but that would only make Anna feel worse or again force her own feelings aside to comfort Elsa. "...I wish I could have fathomed how alone you were, wish I could have done something for you," she told her and that was true too. She squeezed her.

Anna's shoulders shook as she cried."You've done so much for me Elsa. No one has done that much just- just for me. Even when mother and father left us...they did so to find answers about you as if they didn't have another daughter here. And why did they even need answers? Mother came from a magic forest, how big a mystery-anyway. I told you when we found out that you aren't responsible for their choices, and that includes the relationship they had with me." Her body twitched with her sobs.

Elsa had to swallow and count backwards in her head to keep from crying right along with her. She had to be the strong one. Her role at that moment was to be there for Anna and give her the direct attention she deserved. She needed Anna to know she was heard. "I don't understand why they felt they had to find answers either," she told her honestly. Less and less made sense each day, which was depressing when she thought about the initial joy of seeing her mother's image in Ahtohallan.

"If they needed answers so badly, why did they wait so long!?" Anna continued and she nearly yelled those words. Elsa startled at the raw frustration ripping forth from her sweet sister. "Why? They waited until you were eighteen and then they decided they needed to do something for us. Why did they make us wait so long? Why did they keep you behind that door, and why did they just-just tolerate my existence?"

"They didn't to-"

"What even was I to mother and father?" Anna's whole body rocked with new sobs; Elsa imagined them burning her throat and knew how red, how pained Anna's eyes would be. "I was just there, and I couldn't even see you. They might say they wanted you to control your powers and wanted me to be safe but all I knew was feeling lonely! All I knew was I did something bad to you or in general and maybe I was being punished! You shut me out for some reason and they didn't stop you! You got the first lessons on this or that and I heard you would be queen and I...I..." Her words finally failed her and all Elsa could hear, all she could feel was wailing.

Wait. That wasn't all she felt.

There was a certain chill in the air, a very fine dusting of snow, and it wasn't from her. Ever since they had found their souls in each others' bodies sometimes there were traces of evidence that showed it wasn't all a wild dream.

Had it been Elsa wailing it would have been a snowstorm...

She couldn't think about that. She rubbed Anna's back and very gently swayed with her, turning her face into her beautiful red hair to kiss the side of her head. One of her thighs began to ache faintly as Anna was settled on part of her that had banged into the ground but she pushed it aside. The throb of a bruise was nothing when Anna's heart and mind were consumed with such anguish.

"I was just there! I needed so much, and on top of that, I had so, so much to give!" Another soul-wrenching sob tore through her. All Elsa could do was keep holding her. Her head hurt from her fall and spun with the words spilling from Anna. "I had so much love to give, Elsa, and the only thing I could give it to was the door."

Elsa bit her lip briefly. "I got it, you know. I was always right there with you." As soon as she spoke she regretted it a little. That didn't help Anna's current state, did it?

Perhaps she was wrong though as Anna moved against her  and leaned back, her arms still around Elsa. Her face was tear stained, eyes puffy and red, her nose running. She almost looked like she'd been thrown into mourning. She slowly traced one finger from Elsa's back, up her neck and around to her jaw as she took careful, stuttering breaths. "I know now. I imagined you were then too because it hurt to think otherwise. But I know. And I'm so grateful to you Elsa, more than I can say..."

"...Why?" Elsa asked in confusion.

"Because I had that love to give and could only dream it was both received and accepted. Now I know it was without a shadow of a doubt," she said and her voice had dropped down low, a bit hoarse. "I wanted someone to cherish and adore and maybe somehow I knew that would always be you. Back then, I couldn't really give it to mother and father. They weren't very receptive. You? I didn't know, and not having assurance it was rejected helped me keep giving it." She tipped Elsa's face with her finger under her chin and gently pressed their lips together as she rested her fingers on Elsa's cheek. When she pulled back she looked a little more under control.

"Elsa...I know I worry too much, I follow you around and I keep watch. I do genuinely worry like anyone would for their loved one - but the thing is, I also do it simply because now I can. Now I have friends I care about and take care of, now I have the love of my life to do it for. Maybe I overdo it, but our lives haven't been allowed to settle down for any long period of time before we're disrupted again. When our world feels a little more stable around us, I can shed some of these ill feelings. Until then I just ask that-I hope-"

With a kiss to match Anna's initiated by Elsa that time, the words were cut off. "Of course I'll be here through it. You aren't going to work through this without me, you...you never abandoned me." Elsa sighed and began to stroke Anna's hair while the other girl still sniffed and tried to stop the last few tears. "Anna...thank you for opening up."

Anna blinked. "You're um...welcome?"

Elsa couldn't resist a little smile. "I have never really asked how you felt during those later years before mother and father passed. And you never exactly volunteered. I got so focused on my own thing that I never properly addressed any of it, and now, now I have an idea. Every little thing I learn about you is important and I hope you'll speak more about it."

"Oh..." Anna looked down. "It's...really hard. It really hurt."

Her pale fingers continued to stroke Anna's hair and Elsa kissed the top of her head. "I know," she whispered. "I know, my dear one."

Anna took an uneven breath as she still tried to gather herself. She was quiet for a second before leaning forward again to put her head on Elsa's shoulder. "I love you, Elsa," she said quietly.

"I love you too," Elsa said as she again hugged her, keeping her warm body close.

They stayed like that for a while, Anna trying to come back down from her alarming emotional burst and Elsa just trying to calm her. The light snow had stopped but there was still cold air. If Anna noticed, she hadn't said anything, yet at the same time Elsa's soul had curled into her other halfs to steady and assure her. Anna surrounded her and gradually she became less intense, less anxious. When Elsa felt that Anna was close to being balanced again, she began to speak.

"Anna, would you like to wash your face?" she asked softly.

"Oh." Anna nodded against her and then pulled back. "Yes...."

"Actually, I'll do it for you. Do you feel tired?" Elsa asked, reaching one hand to the side for the bowl and pulling it a little closer. The water was still a little warm and she could feel it splashing to the side of the bowl just a bit. She picked up the cloth and squeezed other water out.

"Exhausted, but it's the middle of the day," Anna admitted. "My head really hurts."

"Don't you worry about the time of day. You've exhausted yourself, and I...I went for a bit of a roll," she joked and was rewarded with the tiniest little laugh from Anna. She set the cloth on the edge of the bowl and poured some fresh water on it alittle awkwardly, one arm still around Anna. "We can have a little nap, and still keep our important meetings this evening," she added.

"Can we...?" Anna immediately followed those two words up with a yawn, turning her head away for the duration. In was deep and obviously full of fatigue. She turned back to Elsa with a look of surrender. "Okay. I guess maybe we better rest, huh."

"Mmmhmm." Elsa brought the cloth to Anna's eyes, gently wiping at the corners. She finished one side and placed a kiss on the corner of that eye before doing the other one. "If anyone else doesn't like it...tough."

"I think news that you took a tumble has probably already made its way around the staff. I'm sure they think you're recovering with help from me, or something," Anna suggested with an amused look on her tired red face.

Elsa had to laugh at that. "I'm sure they do. That's just fine by me," she replied as she carefully pulled the cloth down Anna's cute cheeks.

With a clean face and a cuddly nap,she was sure the light would be back in Anna's eyes.

[r00en]

Still Good-Chapter 7

Midoriya what's to know more about the number three hero in America.

All Might / Reader (OC) 

This one is mostly just Paladin talking to Midoriya about her quirk and fleshing out the differences between the US and Japan when it comes to how hero’s work. It also touches on quirk breeding and how quirks effect jobs and employment in society....a little. To make up for the fact that this is much more of a slow burn that I expected I’ll write part 2 of Caught. 

"Hm? You want to know more about my quirk?"

The near violent bouncing of Midoriya pulled a small giggle from the nurse as she finished wrapping up his finger. Sure she was going to have to do it at least twenty more times before the end of the month at his rate. His legs kicked slightly under the cot he was perched on trying his best to contain that near aggressive fan boy excitement that was rushing through his body.  "Yes please! You were the number three hero in America for almost five years without ever having beaten a villain yourself! I want to know how you did it!"

Paladin sighed and stood up, rubbing the back of her head in a bit of embarrassment. "Well when you put it like that it sounds more like an accident huh?" her nervous chuckle sent the young boy into another mild panic and wave of muttering. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! What I mean is your style of combat and fighting villains is unlike that of any other hero! I want to know how that's possible!" They both watched other for a moment at the old hero tried her best to think of a good response that might calm him down. "Alright, what sort of thing do you want to know?"

As if she had opened the flood gates the green haired student raced into a long winded stream of questions. His notebook and pen in hand ready to write down every word she said. "I know you're Recovery Girls granddaughter and quirks are often inherited but also mutate with each genetic passing from parent to child but what sort of change did your quirk go through that makes it so different from hers? For that matter Recover Girl is far from a front line fighter and is know as one of the best support hero's so what make you decide you want to fight rather than use your powers as back up and after combat care? Did you use any support items at all while you were a hero? Did they enhance your healing capabilities or give you an offensive edge in your battles?! what about-" A hand came down on Midoriya's head with a soft yet stern wack which quickly silenced his sudden outburst. "S-sorry! Sorry...."

After a brief pause to make sure he had gotten his ranting out of his system or at least had control over it, Paladin sat back in her seat and tapped her chin. "Well then let's see....my quirk is pretty simple when you think about it. It is generally just recovery. Like grandma I'm able to heal wounds rapidly on others. Though exactly like her's there is a limit to the amount of healing I can give someone without causing undo stress on their bodies and possibly killing them. Which of course means major life threatening injury's are out of my range unfortunately." The young student was already scribbling down in a page with her hero name painted in bold large letters at the top. Her her horror there was also a crude drawing of her in her old hero costume from years back. Hopefully no one else would be peaking into those books any time soon.

"If that's the case...then how can your own body heal so quickly during battle. In your fight against the Code Weaver you were impaled on iron spikes from the rubble of a building....and against Lady Dino she managed to rip your leg off TWICE! You can regrow your own limbs and different body parts so how come that doesn't apply to others." He spoke like this was such a normal thing to talk about. Horrible mutilation at the hands of villains. Perhaps in this day and age it was. Something Toshi was trying so desperately to avoid for years and something he still grew dark and somber about when it was mentioned around him. Now that she was also confronted with the cold facts of her time as a hero she understood why her dear 'friend' acted the way he did and seemed to want nothing to do with her old time as a hero. Outside of the nice press releases, interviews and seamless happy rescues that was. He adored those beyond belief and often replayed them while they ate dinner together. But major battles were off the table. She god it now.

Tapping her pen against the young students medical report she wondered if it would be best to explain her great strengths and weakness to a child. Then again he was meant to be learning after all and All Might held the boy in great regard. "Mmm...it's like this. Say I'm healing a broken leg on you, that uses life energy which drains quickly when the speed of recovery is increased draining to much can kill you...but my body heals itself so rapidly that the rate at which my life energy is replaced far exceeds that at which it's expended. Like a small crack at the bottom of a water bottle. I also don't have to direct my quirk to work to set parts of my body. As long as I activate it it will seek out the injury and repair it without any other help from me. When healing others since it's not my own body and one I'm accustom to it's better to use Grandmas  techniques and assess the damage and distribute my quirk in smaller doses. Your body can't keep up the same way mine can so it's safer that way."

"Right...that makes sense! But You said something before about being able to tell what's wrong with a body but unlike Recovery Girl you never went to medical school....how-" "Well that's my father quirk." "You have two?!" "N-no quite....ah...you see it's not very uncommon for selective quirk breeding to come about accidentally." Midoriya gave a look that screamed confusion "W-what I mean is, often times you'll find in very select fields of work people will commonly have the same quirk type. You know doctors marrying doctors, construction workers with construction workers. These special fields often allow the use of quirks which draws the same kind together in large groups. Hospitals are often filled with support quirks that are pratical for anyone in the health industry to have." tapping her lip Paladin got a grave look on her face "Which is a bit of a downfall....now it's less likely for those without these special catered quirks to get into the fields of study and work that they wish. There are drawbacks to this hero society we created..." The pair of them kept silent for a moment. If Midoriya was honest he did never think of it that way. Some people weren't exactly free to decide what they did in life. Their quirk often dictated a path they might not have chosen for themselves. It also often shattered their dreams if it didn't line up correctly. A fact he himself knew all to well.

"B-but back to what I was saying! People in the same line of work often have the same type of quirk which will lead to accidental quirk breeding! The round about legal if not accidental way of breeding powerful advanced quirks! My grandfathers was being about to feel an injury or illness in a person. He couldn't correct it but he could often diagnose a problem given enough time." "And your father" "Ah...he could rewire the body to respond differently to things like pain and stress. He was a physical therapist. But my grandfathers works in favor with mine! As I said my quirk though the body I can feel the issues as it passes over injury. If you told me your shoulder hurt I might not be able to tell right away by looking exactly what part of your shoulder but if my quirk passes it it more or less reports back to me what it's doing to correct the issue. If it's not a wound or injury, something like All Might's muscle stress I can help him by telling his body to relax and pull pressure off the scar tissue around his trauma areas."

The boys hands clapped together as if he just recalled something important. "Oh yeah! I see All Might come by here all the time! Is that what you two are doing? Physical therapy?" The sudden rush of blood that raced it's way to Paladins cheeks was far to fast for her to hide or get a handle over. Spinning herself around in her office chair she faced the wall and started to laugh nervously. "W-Well he's a good friend of mine after all! O-o-of course I would want to help him with any pain he might be under! That's what friends do right!? Friends help friends!? He also comes to see grandmother too so it's not just me! There's no way he just comes here to see me or eat lunch together! That would be silly who would do such a thing!?" Her sudden outburst seemed to go over the boys head who just sat there with a serious look on his face.

"Your power seems incredible....maybe if you could reverse All Might's injury...." A hand came down to ruffle the body green hair. Over with her little panic session Paladin smiled down at him with an almost sad look of mourning. "I'm sorry Midoriya....no quirk in the world is going to be able to bring All Might back. Even when it happened it took three different quirk users just to keep him stable. The damage is far too great." They both shared a somber moment. As if once again reliving the time they learned that All Might was gone, at least the symbol of peace, was hitting them all over again. A somber air hung in the office and felt cool and damp. The young student was the first to snap out of it. "Oh yeah, we didn't go over your weaknesses. If that's alright I mean not all hero's like to disclose that sort of thing."

Ruffling his hair again Paladin sat back. "Nah it's fine. I'm not in the hero business any more and if I'm going to be taking care of you kids it's good that you know my limitations. Let's see, as I said before like Recovery Girl I can't heal others to great extents. My support abilities are handy but no replacement for major surgery and at times it's far better to let the body heal naturally over time. You know this stuff already after grandma filled you in during the entrance exam. For me personally there are a few major flaws in my quirk. For one thing some types of damage start to degrade the cells in the body. Fire is the first one that springs to mind. Burnt up cells can't regenerate properly with is why burn scars are normally so much more unnatural looking. They can't reshape correctly. It takes much longer for my healing to do it's job if the area is effected by a fire quirk. Same goes for chemical type burns. I'm no good against acid villains. But I would say my biggest is the fact that I need to activate my quirk. It's not something that happens naturally. If I'm knock unconscious I won't heal."

"But I've seen you get hit tons of times and get right back up! None of those ever knocked you out before?"

"Oh no plenty of them did! Most I'm guessing. But that's were my training comes in. I need to predict an enemy's move and determine if the impact will in fact knock me out and activate my quirk just seconds before the blow lands. If I'm able to do that my healing will rush to the head injury and often fix allowing me to wake up and finish the job myself!" "I see! So by reading your opponents moves you can cushion the blow AND preemptively heal yourself before any damage is done!" "Right! Smart kid! But this dosn't work with natural suppressants or drugs. If a villain is using a sleep gas my body won't respond to the attack as it thinks the effect is harmless. Like white blood cells and cancer. If there isn't something it deems a threat I can't target it to heal. I'll be out for the fight!"

"So while your power seems amazing and unstoppable it really does have some major down falls. I never even thought of these sorts of things..." "Every quirk has it's weak points. It's all about finding them and exploiting them in a fight if you want to win. I have next to no offensive abilities but my healing allows me to wear out criminals, assess their quirks and expose their weaknesses to other hero's. I'm sure you know in America most hero agencies work with team based hero groups over single hero's. You guys often team up in Japan but there are very few groups that work together full time. That's one of the big reasons I was able to be a front line hero! I don't think I would have stood a chance here in Japan." It was true, hero's in Japan often worked alone or with one to two side kicks at best. It allowed the agencies to spread hero's across the map without having to cluster them in smaller locations. But in America hero's were often paired into large groups of six or more. All large names with rather impressive statistics and track records. Of course there were solo hero's but since the cities were set up so different it made more second for a network of hero's to control a single city and allow smaller hero's to branch out into less hostile areas. It worked well enough and often the threat of large hero's with vast communication and skill working together as a group often scared away the larger criminals or networks if villains. Its easy to get past a hero or two but a large group with comparable quirks and skill working together was a far different thing.

Midoriya beamed up at the nurse as he snapped his note book shut. "This is great! Thank you so much Paladin! I had no idea your quirk was so advanced! What made you suddenly decide to work here at UA? Seem's like such a step down from your heroing..."

Her voice caught in her throat, fingers clutched tightly to her work skirt unsure how to answer. Instead she opted to ruffle his hair again and laugh. "Ah it just wasn't for me anymore! I would much rather help the next generation be the best they can be! Besides grandma asked for my help. I couldn't really refuse." The slide of the office door caused both of them to turn with a sudden startled jump.

"You ready to go Paladin? If we catch this next train I might be able to get the soup started sooner so we won't need to eat so- Y-young Midoriya!?" There stood as flustered and tired looking All Might. His face painted a light pink at the realization that he just outed the two of them with their dinner plans. "You two....eat together?" Both the staff members scrambled, looking at each other and waving frantically at the young student who sat ridged and shocked. "Wait All Might! Is this the staff member you were asking advice about on the beach?!" Paladin looked at Toshi with a sly expression, trying desperately not to tease him. This wasn't the time though she did get a rather warm and fuzzy feeling over knowing he was even asking students for advice about her. What ever that meant.

"T-T-That's! It's not! Y-young Midoriya this is hardly the time or place to be asking such personal questions from your teacher!" He tried his best to put on that stern authority voice but the tremble in it wasn't very convincing. "You should be heading home now, don't leave your mother worried!" As if remembering the time the student jumped up from the cot and shoved his notebook away in his book bag. "Shoot you're right! Thank you All Might! And Paladin! Thank you so much for the information on your quirk! I'll be sure to study it!" Both of them watched as he scrambled down the hall deciding at least for now that it was alright for him to run. Once he was out of sight they both let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. "I don't think he'll remember. I packed his head so full of hero facts that should keep him busy for a while."

Toshi chucked and rubbed his neck nervously. "Yeah? Sorry about that....I figured everyone went home already. Thank goodness it wasn't Aizawa." The thought of that dark looming man and his icy grin and knowing eyes set a shiver down Toshi's spine. "Small favors...." Paladin nudged his side softly to get his attention and the smile she gave him warmed him almost instantly. "Let's get going yeah? Now you have me in the mood for this soup you mentioned!" "R-right..." As the shut down her office, Toshi flicking the lights off and locking the door for her he thought of something.

"You were teaching Young Midoriya about your quirk?" "Mhm, he wanted to know exactly how it worked and how it's different from Grandmothers. We went over strengths and weaknesses and all that, I was sure to remind him that combat training even without a quirk is an important tool to read your opponents moves and react accordingly. I think I might have a hand for this teaching stuff after all!" The happy tone in her voice plastered a smile on his thin face. She didn't have to be so kind, go out of her way to help the students like she did and think of all the little ways to help them improve even outside of her designated job as school nurse. This was something so special about that light she carried within her that Toshi found himself drawn to it like a moth. Happy to just be dazzled by it from afar.

[mycatpetssite534]

Canine daycare: Is it the best option for your pet?

Grace was constantly painfully shy. Being around others left her sensation anxious and uneasy. In social circumstances, if Grace could not leave the room, she would generally sit off to the side, waiting on the moment when she might go home. Grace's younger sister, Sydney, is the polar reverse: fast to make good friends, flitting about from group to group, introducing herself with enjoyment. Often, Sydney's gregarious nature can be a bit much to deal with-- beginners aren't constantly sure how to deal with her. If they do not share in her enthusiasm, Sydney vents her frustrations on Grace, by jumping on her head and biting her face. Wait, what? Grace, a 40-kilogram Mastiff mix, and Sydney, an 11-kilogram Welsh Springer Spaniel, are on opposite ends of the canine sociability spectrum. Sydney is the pet dog equivalent of a human extrovert-- she likes to play, interact and be in the company of other pets. Grace is far more shy; she is not afraid of other dogs, but she prefers the business of people, and keeps her canine interactions to a minimum. It's important to keep in mind that these distinctions are neither good nor bad; it's simply the method it is. By honouring our dogs' essential nature, and respecting their choices, it's possible to meet their needs and prevent potential problems-- even for pets as various as Grace and Sydney. This is specifically essential in considering what kind of everyday care they need while you're away at work. Recently, we looked at the benefits and drawbacks of pet dog walkers. Today, here's another alternative-- dog day cares. Ally Fodero gathers her charges at Soulmutts, a Toronto pet dog service that provides daycare. Pet dogs are social animals, and meeting with others can give them a break from the usual routine. (Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail).

The advantages of pet day care

A well-run daycare, with staff trained in dog body language and behaviour, can be a perfect option for many animals and their individuals. An excellent pet daycare supplies:. -- Safe and supervised play: Dog parks are not always congenial places for off-leash interaction. Daycare pets have been evaluated for energy level and temperament, and are carefully kept track of while they play, to guarantee every pet dog has a good time and stays safe. -- Mental stimulation and social contact: Dogs are social animals. Meeting doggy pals, even one day a week, provides your family pets with a break from the usual routine, and permits them as much (or as little) social interaction as they desire. -- Flexibility for owners: Dog daycare is normally offered in full-day or half-day increments, that makes it an ideal service for individuals with odd work schedules or occasional canine care needs. Daycares are often more versatile in their arrangements than dog walkers, who have a schedule to keep. -- Pinch-hitting for your canine's exercise requires: While a day spent at day care can use your family pet out, it's not a replacement for your duty as an owner-- namely, twice-daily strolls with some play and training mixed in. Nevertheless, for hectic households with packed evening schedules (think hockey games and ballet recitals), sending your pet to day care when you're not going to be house during the night is a brilliant compromise to make certain all household members are taken care of. -- Management for issue behaviours: Some pets struggle with separation anxiety-- a panic-induced state where the pet feels deserted and becomes destructive and physically ill during an owner's absence. Being surrounded by individuals and dogs can help to mitigate this action while the owner deals with a fitness instructor (and maybe a veterinarian) to resolve the underlying behaviour problem.

The disadvantage of canine daycare

Not every pet is appropriate to a daycare setting. Pets with health or mobility obstacles, older pets and young pups might find the environment unpleasant and frustrating. Day cares are likewise improper for undersocialized pets, and do not provide the right setting to help over-reactive animals. Even if your pet is an exceptional candidate for a daycare setting, there are still possible pitfalls:. -- Overstimulation: While having fun with other pets throughout the day, every day, might sound like your idea of pet dog paradise, every dog needs a break sometimes. Sadly, the most playful pets will typically go till they drop, with no awareness of the need to take a step back. Well-trained personnel will keep your dog from getting overstimulated, by offering some down time (either alone in another space), or through managing the entire group's energy level with a kindergarten-inspired nap time. -- Exacerbating issue behaviours: While day care can help handle some behaviour issues, it's possible it will make others even worse. Dogs can get bad routines, like leaping up on individuals or furnishings, marking and even overly-rough play. A good daycare will deal with you to understand your guidelines for your pet, and help to impose the training you've been doing. -- Injuries and worse: When it pertains to bumps and bruises, canine daycares are no different than play grounds for kids. Pet dog play consists of open mouths and making use of paws-- occasional nicks and scrapes are going to take place. However, more severe accidents can take place in the blink of an eye, and sometimes battles can break out. Certified staff can assist keep these incidents to a minimum, however owners must know that as with any activity involving other pet dogs, there's a chance your family pet may get hurt.

[justsomerandomweebo]

An AU I Think (Side Effects)

Alright so I've never done one of these before but this has been haunting me for days now. So here's the thing: what if the ninja (and by extension all elemental masters) suffered side effects from their powers?

Starting with our fire lord Kai:

The drawback for him is that his fire makes him have a short fuse so to speak.

Like it could be something as passive as a leaf falling in his hair just after he did it and he will freaking explode (not literally of course).

"What the hell?! I spent an entire hour doing my hair and this stupid freaking leaf just-" *cue massive flame up* (The Bounty almost gets burnt down a lot)

He hates it though because he knows it's usually nothing big and he shouldn't even be mad in the first place but he can't let things like that go, no matter how much he wants to. Not without throwing a fiery tantrum first that is.

This of course makes it soooo hard for him to even be around the others or anyone for that matter because he lives in constant fear that his explosive and uncontrollable anger towards the simplest of things will result in someone being seriously hurt.

He avoids Zane like the plague outside of missions because of this. (You'll see why)

Speaking of Zane, our beloved snowflake, the boi is as cold as ice. In more ways than one you see.

Not only does he have a hard time connecting with anyone (humane, mechanical and otherwise), but he is plagued with a feeling of deep, freezing cold.

No matter what he does, he can't warm up and because of this, he often wears a lot of layers.

To everyone else though, he's average in temperature.

He gets along well enough with plants and animals since they don't require conversation or too much attention.

The never ending cold really gets to him though. If he isn't monitored, he will do things like sticking a limb in a flaming hot oven or worse- purposefully make Kai flare up.

*pushes Kai* "You should really watch where you're going." *Kai does the big snap*

Jay has to fix and replace parts on his person due to direct exposure to Kai's intense fire while Kai holes himself up, swimming in guilt with Cole trying to make him feel better.

And when that fails, he often lowers the temperature in their entire base so they can feel as cold as he does too. He usually feels a flare of guilt a few minutes in and stops.

Jay, the lovable cinnamon roll cannot. Stop. Talking.

His mind goes a mile a second and he just. Can't. Stop.

He tries to lessen his time with being around the others because he knows he's annoying, jumping from one topic to another in the span of a few seconds to the point where it's impossible to keep up a conversation with him.

Be careful when touching because he's always charged up. He zapped several of the ninja and innocent bystanders on accident.

Sleep is so hard for him because he can't get his mind to shut up long enough to fall asleep.

On bad days, he can be found on the nearest roof, digging into his scalp until it bleeds and muttering to himself. Aside from Lloyd, Nya finds him most of the time and help bring him down enough so he'll stop trying to scratch his brain out.

Dearest Nya. After unlocking her true potential, she becomes so mellow. Absolutely nothing phases her.

Kai's having an explosive episode? That's cool. Zane nearly melts his arm off? Radical. Jay spent three days doing half projects without a lick of sleep? Neat!

She. Freaking. Hates. It.

But like everyone else, she can't do anything to stop it. Deep inside, she just wants to scream because she can't show that she actually cares properly.

Which makes her ideal in getting Jay to calm down because he could talk for days about 100k things and it wouldn't phase her. She would just nod and sometimes interject to show him a cool water trick.

Despite that, she just can't seem to take anything seriously, despite how desperately she wants to. Part of this is the reason Cole tries to keep his distance.

Precious rock boi Cole. Everyone thinks he has it easy. He doesn't have fiery tantrums or can't connect to people or can't stop thinking or can't take things seriously. But that doesn't mean he doesn't suffer still.

His problem is stubbornness. Once he sets his mind to something, that's it.

"What time is it Cole?" "It's 1am." "I think you mean 1pm." "No. AM." "Dude, the sun is out." "Which is exactly why it's AM and not pm!" "No dude. You've got it wrong-" "Think what you want to but it's freaking AM and that's that." *stalks off, ground rumbling with each step* (an actual conversation with Nya)

He knows he's wrong about most things (because first thoughts/impressions stick) but he just can't admit it for the life of him. And what makes it so much worse is that when he gets into one of these arguments with the Ninja and he decides he's going to be mad at them, he can't not be mad at them ever since.

He's reluctantly furious with Nya because she doesn't give in like most of the others do to spare him. She keeps going, proving him wrong when he knows he is but can't utter a word to say he is.

The only ones he can still talk to without being mad is Wu, Jay (he isn't able to stay on topic long enough to prove Cole wrong), Kai (who does everything in his power to avoid arguments) and Lloyd.

LLOYD MY GOLDEN CHILD. Oh boy, he does the big suffer. So, Lloyd's problem is having. Too. Much. Energy!

He feels like he's on a sugar rush 25/8.

He has to keep moving, has to keep burning energy or else his energy will build up and his powers will go haywire. (Last time, his powers blasted the mast clean off the Bounty and it landed a few yards away from the ship. Luckily, they were docked.)

Morning, mid-day and nightly runs are a thing when they're on land.

Insomnia. Panda eyes. Jitters. The big depression he hides from everyone.

He just keeps going until he passes out. All the ninja take turns carrying him to bed when he does. (He once fell asleep half over the railings on the Bounty. While they were flying.

Some flare-ups are the result from his frustration. He can't even play videogames because they aren't engaging enough! He can't do anything that requires staying still for more than two minutes and it makes him so sick and tired he just- may have accidentally destroyed one of Jay's half projects laying around. (Luckily he doesn't mind)

Avoids sweets like the plague, despite his longing to have even one. He doesn't need any more energy. In extension, he sometimes purposely misses meals.

Despite his problems, he tries his best to help the others out. He doesn't talk much around Cole but he listens and while he couldn't go near Kai during his flare-ups, he does invite him to train or go running with him to take his kind off things. He knows Nya really cares and makes sure to let her know he knows that. He brings Zane small cactai and other small plants as well. He also lets Jay talk his ears off and while it does get confusing, the challenge of keeping up with his conversations takes a lot of his focus and energy (which he's grateful for).

He also helps them all pull it together for a mission where they can remind themselves why they go through the things they do instead of passing their powers over to someone else and being free of it all.

In return, they do everything they can for him and while he appreciates it, some things restrict him and cause energy build up. (ie, doing laundry for once puts a huge hole in his messy schedule to keep him moving.) He encourages them not to most times.

Bonus:

Our favorite Sensei. Garmadon (sorry Wu ily2) has to destroy things. Not as often as he needs to with the evil gone from his body but it's still a need to prevent his powers from building up.

To solve this without causing actual damage, he brings bubble wrap everywhere. Everywhere. He stashes them all over his monastery too. There's even some in his staff.

When he runs out (he never does but if he should), he takes to crushing pebbles instead.

Wu can't help but laugh seeing his brother so focused on popping individual plastic bubbles but also makes sure he never runs out as well.

Now our just as favourite Sensei Wu of course has the reverse problem. He needs to keep creating.

This is where the Tea comes in. He creates several different blends done several different ways so he's never drinking the same tea done the exact same way twice.

If he can't do that then his Nin-Jo (his staff) also doubles as a sort of puzzle. (Half of it at least). It has several tiny sections you can twist and turn to create different clicking sounds and combinations. He hasn't run out of combinations yet but he only uses it for emergencies.

As for his students, he has already gotten a gist of what the previous elemental masters went through (getting them all together for the first serpentine war was hell!), so he knows how to avoid certain incidents. Alas, he is only one old man (a very, very old man) and he cannot stop everything. He does have a special tea brew that calms their emotions enough to help prevent a flare up (but they can only have one cup a day else it represses their emotions completely and the effects only lasts about 4-5 hours. He calls it ClariTea) and a reverse version to increase emotions for Nya (He calls it EmotionaliTea). He's still looking into a tea that'll help Zane get warm as he is the only one who he hasn't been able to help (since ClariTea would make him even more distant and EmotionaliTea would most likely fuel the side of him that wants others to feel what he feels and that would be very bad).

He does have difficulty sleeping but not because of his powers. It weighs on his conscious heavily that his students have to suffer for Ninjago to be safe. How can he sleep peacefully while his students suffer after all?

He soon recruits Mistaké's help in curing the side effects of their elemental powers but nothing is forthcoming so far.

That's it for now. It's not the best but if you guys have questions, feel free to let me know and I'll answer as best as I can! If you have additions, I'd love to hear them too!

[oswald-privileges]

Imperfect Specimen

(Written for @pilesofnonsense and the RQBB event! You can also read it here on ao3.

Also, it’s a companion piece to @throwaninkpot‘s podfic! You can listen to it here and here. They also put together a really nice moodboard which is just. So perfect.)

Statement of Llewellyn Morgan. Regarding the donation of an unusual specimen jar to the Magnus Institute, originally resident in the archival basement of Shropshire County Natural History Museum. Recording by Kat Vandemeer, Assistant Archivist to the Usher Foundation. Statement begins.

I am not here because I changed my mind about your offer.

I feel as though it’s important that you understand that. I like the job I’ve already got. It took a long time to get everything just how I like it, and I can work to my own schedule without oversight from people who think they know better. So, in spite of everything that’s happened to bring me here, I am not about to go abandoning that.

And maybe if I fill in one of your forms and give you something for your archives, you’ll stop trying to drag me out of mine.

For all that we call ourselves after the county, I don’t think the museum building is actually in Shropshire. The turning is just after the “Welcome to” sign, but the road doubles back over the border almost immediately, meaning most visitors end up here by accident. Anyone actively trying to find us doesn’t seem to have a hope. So it’s not unusual for me to find myself standing at the turning, looking to wave down a delivery I’m expecting. It saves a lot of arduous conversation over the phone.

Unfortunately, it also means that if a driver wants to just pull over, drop the donations on the pavement, and take off again, there’s very little I can do to stop them. And that’s pretty much exactly how that morning started. With me ankle deep in cardboard boxes, sheaves of string-bound papers, and bubble-wrapped display trays, shouting after a disappearing van.

Now, I wouldn’t say I’m a stereotype of my profession, but doing delicate work for long hours indoors has certain drawbacks. I had to call the front desk and ask the receptionist to give me a hand. It’s not like it was her responsibility to come and help me- after all, her job description is visitor check-ins and answering the phone, not lugging crates of dead insects around. But on my own, I would have been trekking back and forth along the road all morning.

Still, there were no complaints from her. Just rather a lot of professionally chirrupy chatter. The obligation to make conversation is not one I shoulder with enthusiasm, but happily for the both of us, she seemed not to need her conversation partner to really say anything, or even give much of an indication that they’d been listening. All I had to do was occasionally say things like “Right” and “Mmhm” and “Please, please be careful with that.”

She was the one to find the jar first.

“Were you leaving this for me to carry?” She asked. It was probably a joke. I told her no, just in case it wasn’t. I hadn’t even seen the thing before she’d called me over to take a look.

“How could you have missed this?” She said, “It’s huge!”

She was right. It was maybe two feet tall, and bulky with it. A sealed specimen jar, poorly made and poorly maintained. The solution was a dullish, near-opaque brown, obscuring the specimen itself almost completely.

The receptionist didn’t seem phased by this. She was crouched on her heels, turning the jar back and forth.

“What do you think’s inside it?” She asked.

Her fascination was beginning to irritate me. The jar wasn’t listed on my inventory, but then neither were half the items surrounding it. The other half that were listed were missing from the delivery entirely. Add to that the way that the specimen was floating and therefore clearly rotten, and it was like finding a dead mouse in your post. If the post was mostly addressed to someone else, and the mouse was starting to ooze.

I let the receptionist know all of this, and finished by telling her that it didn’t matter what it had been to begin with, as by this point it was just a hazard and disposing of it was just another thing taking up space on my to-do list.

I probably came off as rather terse. But I rather feel that bridge was never even built, let alone there to be burned.

Here is what happened next; I remember relocating most of the donations to my darkroom to reduce any further light damage. I remember getting in the car, the trip to the waste centre, and I remember talking to the front desk worker, explaining the problem. I handed over the butterfly trays I had in the boot. He gave me a bit of a look, but was very polite as he explained that he didn’t think that there was any alcohol or formaldehyde in there, and that they didn’t accept material over the counter anyway. Besides, didn’t the museum already have a collection contract with the company?

I already knew this, and told him so. Possibly less politely than he really deserved. Then I took the butterfly trays back, and drove away.

Something had gone wrong somewhere, and I couldn’t work out exactly what. I turned the past half hour over in my head as I drove. Darkroom, car, front desk, butterflies - no step in that process was missing. But something wasn’t there. Wasn’t right.

I missed the turning, as everyone does, and spent twenty minutes trying to find a place to turn around. By the time I got back, the mental itch was maddening.

To make matters worse, I found the receptionist was in my workroom, waiting for me. Actually in my workroom- not waylaying me at the front desk or hovering around the doorway, actually in there. I asked her what she thought she was doing.

“I wanted to watch while you changed the alcohol,” she said, bright as anything, “If that’s okay?”

Over her shoulder, the jar was squatting in the centre of my work bench.

I knew I had taken the thing to be destroyed. The jar wasn't listed-

No. No, I knew that I had gotten into the car, to go to the waste centre. That was not the same thing as knowing that I had taken the jar with me. I hadn’t, I obviously hadn’t. The proof was there, solid and filthy as ever.

But I had decided to destroy it. And then I had gotten into the car, with the butterfly trays. Somewhere between deciding and acting, something had gotten lost. Or, not lost. Cut. A taut thread of intent, or control, or direction, neatly split.

Somehow, that idea felt so much worse.

That realisation came coupled with another; I was still speaking. The receptionist was staring at me, attentive as a schoolchild, and I listened with her as my lungs and throat and tongue worked without my input. I was in the middle of promising her, or maybe asking for, or maybe ordering, “The other necessary things.”

If I had already said what those things were, I don’t remember. If I hadn’t, I didn’t want to allow it. My voice stumbled and died, and for a moment, my tongue was limp and alien in my mouth. I was intruding on myself.

The feeling passed almost instantly, and at once I told her to get out of my archive. Those were my exact words. I do remember that. I know it wasn’t professional, and I know for certain that I hurt her feelings, but I needed to be alone.

The receptionist retreated without a word, and I was left trying to work out what the hell had been happening to me all morning. Not for a minute did I think that I might be going mad, or that some form of early on-set dementia might be manifesting. I didn’t believe in the supernatural, but neither did I make a habit of doubting myself or my senses. Something had interfered, that much I couldn’t argue with.

I needed to take another look at that jar.

Trying to examine the thing was- strange. It was right there, in plain view, but- it’s difficult to explain. It wasn’t that I couldn’t see it, just that what I could see didn’t… prompt anything. No connections, no fear, no interest, nothing. And that wasn’t right, it’s very lack of wrongness was wrong, because everything you can see has a connection to something else.

I sat in front of it, hands at the sides of my head to tunnel my vision, and looked.

It was big, I could see that much. And it was sealed with rubber in a way that should have immediately called up the word “antique” or “old fashioned” or “obsolete”. But I can only add those words now, without it here in front of me. The seal also hid the central point of an expanding pattern of fractures. They spread outwards from the rim, and they didn’t look like anything other than the cracked glass of a jar.

The fluid inside was just as opaque, concealing the specimen it held. That, though, was something I could fix, with a bit of direct light.

I looked up, reaching for the overhead lamp.

I picked up a block of notecards from the shelf. The butterfly trays at the end of my work bench needed relabelling, but were otherwise in remarkably good condition. Perhaps they could form the centre point of a new exhibit. Not for too long, though, of course. Overexposure would ruin them completely.

It wasn’t until I was driving home that I realised vaguely that it had happened again. A cut. The connection between what I had meant to do and what I had done had been severed.

But by that time, well. Since the discrepancy didn’t cause any problems like it had at the waste centre, and my cassette player had just that moment decided to throw a fit, I was more concerned about the tape that was being chewed. After all, nowhere nearby sells the damn things any more.

After that - and this is going to sound stupid, but - I just sort of forgot. I don’t know how much of it was the quiet severing of mental threads, but for the next few days, when I came into work and saw the jar on my workbench, or the floor, or up on a shelf, I would think, I really must get around to throwing that horrible thing away, and then I would go on to do something else. And when it vanished entirely, I didn’t even think that.

It never sat quite right with me, but there were... other things to occupy my attention. At first it was just the usual work things - restoration, admin, trying to keep the photosensitives from fading too quickly. Then things started to go missing. First it was from the archives themselves; I would pick up a tray and find a handful of the pins no longer held their insects. Any inventory I tried to make would come up full of holes. Then the branch of mounted lorikeets that was the centrepiece of our exhibit on Non-Native Taxidermy vanished, and nothing was really done. We all just stood around, looking at the gap, and someone said something about phoning the police and then we all just… drifted away.

And then there was the receptionist. At some point, she stopped showing up to work. It was generally agreed that she had left, had better prospects elsewhere, and there was some vague mention of setting up a leaving do. But since she seemed to have already gone, the idea sort of fizzled out. A replacement was hired, a boy barely out of his teens who typed at the speed of someone trying to win a slow bicycle race against a glacier. I think his name was Adam, or something.

I didn’t even know what the previous receptionist’s name had been.

If anybody else felt the same unease as I did, they didn’t show it. I tried to talk to the general manager about the missing lorikeets, and then again when I first realised that I hadn’t seen the receptionist in a while, but she genuinely did not seem concerned.

“Don’t worry about it,” was all she’d say to me, “Don’t worry about a thing.”

I always worry about things.

It was kind of a clever trick, really, all those little disruptions in the workplace. They distracted me from that nagging half awareness, the feeling that something was wrong. But it wasn’t enough. The lack of knowledge bothered me. It shifted in my head, unmoored, the itching ache of a loose tooth.

Even so, a vague feeling wouldn’t have done me much good if I hadn’t spent so much time at work. It’s always been kind of habit of mine to stay longer than I really need to, to the point where in the winter months I doesn’t always get a chance to see the sunlight hours. It’s a point of much entertainment amongst my colleagues. I’m fairly sure they even make bets about it at times.

Still, the point remains that nobody knows the building better than I do, especially not its archives. They’re more of a home to me than the flat where I happen to sleep. I’m more comfortable surrounded by my papers and my specimens than I am anywhere else.

Except I wasn’t any longer. Coming into work, shutting the door behind me - instead of relief, I would begin to feel almost claustrophobic. Only imperceptibly at first, but getting worse as the days inched by. It was like putting on a pair of shoes you’ve owned for years, only to discover that for no discernible reason, they’ve begun to pinch and give you blisters.

When it got to the point where I found myself standing there, outside the door, wrist locked and physically willing myself to turn the handle, I decided that I’d had enough.

Instead of setting to work and giving anything the opportunity to distract me, I put the back of a chair against the door, sat down, and looked at the room in front of me. Now that I was paying attention - really paying attention - the feeling of something missing was stronger than ever. But nothing seemed to be actually out of place. Books on my desk, desk itself to my left. Specimens on the workbench and the lamp that hung overhead. Cabinets and cases to my right. The pattern of items didn’t change, no matter how many times I went over it.

Obviously I needed to try something else.

I allowed myself a moment to fetch a pen and paper, an errand that had me organising and reorganising the books on my desk for nearly half an hour before I was able to drag my focus back to what I had intended to do. Then, without looking up, I made a list of what I should be able to see. Desk on the left, a list of the titles I knew were there. Another list of specimens, workbench and lamp in front of me, door to the darkroom beyond that. Three filing cabinets on my right, only two of which locked. Then I scanned the room, slowly, marking off what I saw against my list.

I stayed in my archive for a long while that day, long after everyone else had gone home. The words I wrote on the page writhed in the corners of my vision, squirming from the grip of my memory the second I looked up. I would write things down twice, or not at all, and eventually have to start over again when the page became more crossing-out than word.

I sat. I wrote. I checked. Crumpled paper forming a small pile around my ankles.

And then - oh, then - I caught it.

“Got you now, you little bastard,” I told it. “You can’t hide from me here.”

The handle to the door of the darkroom was covered in a very fine layer of dust. I hadn’t opened it in weeks, even as the butterflies and ink on paper faded right in front of me. Why would I? There had been nothing in my head to connect the need to use a darkroom and the fact that I had one. Another thread cut.

I opened the door.

The smell hit me first. Thick, and chemical, and dead. The greasy stink of formaldehyde. No time even to choke, though, because I was pulled in, and the door shut behind me.

Whatever the jar had been doing to hide itself, hide this room, didn’t apply here. It distorted space like a huge weight, skewing the outline of everything towards it. The floor sloped upwards, the ceiling, down, the bench it rested on splintered under the pressure of it. I skidded towards it, impossibly, uphill.

I flailed to keep my balance, and ran into resistance immediately. Strands of- what, fishing wire? Hair?- webbed out from the jar, strung with things I couldn’t make out at first. Dead insects and butterfly wings, photographs of people I recognised from work. Bright feathers that must have come from the stolen lorikeets. The strands all thrummed with a horrible, living energy, squirming against my vision like an afterimage.

I could regain my footing, but not stop myself from stumbling towards the jar. The pressure of it’s pull, the weight of it, physically hurt to look at. The fluid inside wasn’t opaque any longer, but luminescent, like filthy amber, and I could finally see what was inside.

A bundle of chitinous legs, suspended under a flattish mass the size of my palm, stretching and bumping against the glass. Gently shifting mouthparts causing flakes of dead matter to swirl in tiny eddies. A studding of blank, bead-like eyes. A spider. Not of any genus or species I could have named. More like someone had taken all the worst possible ideas of a spider, observable or imaginary, and jammed them together into one horrible, twitching creature.

I am not afraid of spiders. But, confronted with the raw spider-likeness in that jar, somehow that didn’t matter in the slightest.

My impossible upwards fall was brought to a halt. The jar didn’t take up any more room in my line of sight than it ought to, but I could see every detail of the thing inside it. It’s pedipalps weren’t moving idly. They were latching onto flecks of something that was drifting downwards through the fluid. With an effort of will, I forced my gaze upwards.

The receptionist was standing over the jar’s unsealed mouth. She bent and twisted with the warped dimensions of the room, but either it didn’t hurt her, or she didn’t care. Her hair hung down in patchy sheets, her scalp scabbed.

She had a box cutter in one hand, and was carving slivers of flesh from her fingertips. They left a tiny ballooning trail of blood as they drifted down towards the waiting spider.

I tried to call out to her, but my voice was swallowed immediately by the dead air. And, of course, I didn’t even know her name. I didn’t know anything, not how to move, how to blink, how to breathe. All ties between my mind and my body were cut, and with no connection, no strings to pull them, my limbs just hung there, useless.

The receptionist kept carving away.

I am not afraid of spiders. I was very, very afraid of the thing in the jar. The fear kept me paralysed, a familiar paralysis, the feeling I have after a nightmare. I wake and the terror is still real, some animal instinct keeping me locked still.

I am not afraid of spiders.

Move, I thought, move.

If I could move, then the nightmare would have lost. It’s logic would collapse, the whole structure would break up into a hundred odd-shaped pieces that never fitted together to begin with. Strange, but not frightening, only ever faintly ridiculous. Get up, I told myself, Time to start the day. There is work to do. You don’t have time to be frightened.

I still couldn’t move. I was being pumped full of fear as though it were venom, and that, I realised, that was important, because it was not my fear. And spiders do not kill their prey with similes.

The thing in the jar was not a spider. It was inconsistent, contradictory mess. It didn’t matter whether it had eight eyes or six or four, so long as it had too many, whether it spun web or hunted, so long as it was a predator. If I were to take it from the jar and clean it and dry it and cut it open, I’d find no venom glands, no internal structure at all. It matched nothing, and it was not real.

And it was trying to frighten me with that.

It had invaded my archives, filled my memory and my inventory with holes, stolen a room from me to hide in, and then, as if that weren’t enough, it had the audacity to tell me that I should be scared of it? Why? Because it was a made-up spider hiding a receptionist in my back room?

I was moving again, reaching for the jar. The ties were not longer cut, because that is not how brain and nerves and muscle work, not in the real world, and, for just a moment, not in this nightmare-world either. Just for a moment. The flare of anger that powered me was drowning already, overwhelmed by fear that wasn’t mine.

The receptionist slammed into me, wrapping me in arms and wire and hair. My mouth was full of butterfly wings. But she must have been down here since she disappeared; her limbs were nothing but bone, and any strength she had came entirely from rage. I lunged forward and through the humming, living wire, and the jar shattered on the ground.

The receptionist screamed, hurling herself at the spider-thing as it slithered across the floor. I hung onto her, not thinking about why or what to do next. Her howls thrummed along the wires and bit into my skin and I could do nothing but tighten my grip and wait.

The air contorted, and slowly, far too slowly, it relaxed. The receptionist was slumped in my arms, unmoving. It wasn’t until I had dragged her out into the electric light of the main room that I saw how much damage she’d done to my arms and side with her box cutter. Of course, I wasn’t until after I’d noticed it that it started to hurt.

The next few hours were the cliche, post-trauma blur. Bandages from the first aid kit, helping her into the passenger seat, waiting at A&E. The receptionist barely moved the whole time, except when I directed her. Even if the cutting of ties wasn’t real for me, it seemed to have had a much worse effect on her.

I returned to the museum in the early hours of the morning. I didn’t feel like having to explain my bandages to any of my co-workers, and I was hardly going to waste my time with the police. They might try to poke through my archive, and I already had enough cleaning up to do.

The darkroom was as I’d left it - strung with wire, smelling of formaldehyde. But that’s all it was, a tangle of garbage and a bad smell. Whatever power had been channelled, whatever awful weight the thing in the jar had had was gone.

Almost gone. The spider-thing still pulsed weakly as I scooped it out of the pool of fluid and broken glass and into a plastic container. Looking at it, it seemed kind of shrunken and vulnerable out in the open.

I decided to take it to be incinerated with the rest of the rubbish.

I cleared out everything that the receptionist had brought into my darkroom. The decorated strings of wire and hair, containers of chemicals and empty plastic tubs that seemed to have once held mealworms, all of it. I bagged it up, and left it and the container with the spider-thing outside in the courtyard. Then I went back into the archive.

After a bit of digging, I found what I was looking for. A jar, one of the old glass ones with an antique seal, dusty from years spent sitting in the corner, repeatedly forgotten every time the recycling came around. With the spider thing inside it, and the alcohol in place, it might as well have never been broken. The solution was already starting to cloud.

I could have resisted. I’m certain of that. But honestly, the thing seemed to want to move on, and by that point I was more than happy to speed it on its way. I don’t need to explain why I thought to send it to you. Either you actually deal with things like this, and will know what to do with it, or you don’t, and I’ll have given you the first genuine piece of supernatural nastiness you’ve seen. Possibly the last, as well.

Either way, it’s your problem now.

So you can stop sending me emails.

Statement ends. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from our sister institute, even if this is the wrong place to file complaints. Their recruitment drive seems to be proceeding apace.

It’s always a pity when someone promising won’t share their talent. Selfish, some would say. And there’s always a risk that another side will poach them off us. But I don’t think there’s any need to worry about his turning into a spider freak, at least.

What does worry me is the fact that this statement turned up so far away from home, and without the jar it was supposedly attached to. The intake form lists both an artefact and a statement, but the statement was all I could find.

If she had succeeded in hatching the jar, we would have had another Amalgam on our hands, and that’s always a pain. Why dear old Mother keeps trying to make them, I’ll never know. They’re always unstable, they always collapse, and they always make a mess. Still. I suppose it’s nice to have a hobby.

[whitleyschn33]

RWBY for the character thing

Like.... all four of them? Okay, then.

---Ruby Rose---

How I feel about this character:

For the most part, I really like her. How could you not love a character whose concept is “badass Little Red Riding Hood”? On a more serious note, I do appreciate how her outlook on things is, quite literally, fueled by love and compassion. She’s a brilliant fighter, but she only goes ham on the Grimm or people that are hurting others - her goal isn’t to kill, but to protect those she cares about and innocent people, and she will do whatever she can to do that. That’s probably my favorite aspect of her character.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Penny is the main one, but I also have a guilty pleasure for Lancaster (cause the fanart for it is all honestly pretty adorable), and Whitley x Ruby.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Oscar - they’re really sweet together, but I don’t really ship it romantically. Not opposed to it, but it’s not a diehard thing.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Hmm... not sure if this counts, but I much prefer her V1-3 voice to her current voice. It’s too high-pitched for me, personally, and it can get really grating at times.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Let Ruby meet Whitley -

Give her a Jabberwock, no I’m not Sisters Grimm trash, what - 

I would like to see a real, open, honest conversation between her and Oz about leadership and hope. I think there’s a lot that they in particular need to discuss, and if this Salem-fighting thing is gonna go anywhere, Ozpin and RWBY need to be able to come to an understanding (and I mean understanding, none of this “Oz is completely wrong and has to come crawling back to them BS”)

---Weiss Schnee---

How I feel about this character:

Definitely my favorite of Team RWBY. She’s got the best themes, some of the best executed character development, her designs are (usually) great, I love her weapon and Semblance, even if I wish she used the Semblance less and the rapier more, and all around she is a character I very much enjoy aesthetically. 

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Uh, honestly? Freezerburn is both the only Weiss ship I have, and the only ship among Team RWBY that I have. I really prefer the girls as a sisterhood rather than romantically paired or grouped in any way, but Freezerburn is my one exception in that regard. I think that the two work well together, and I’m a sucker for fire and ice pairings, so I have a soft spot for it. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Winter and Ruby (I don’t see them being particularly close, but I do like them as a comedy duo).

My unpopular opinion about this character:

See: my blog. 

Okay, but seriously. As far as that goes, I would have to say 1) that Weiss is responsible for her actions, meaning she can’t blame Whitley for “taking the inheritance” when that was a direct result of her actions, and 2) Weiss doesn’t need to be the one to take over the SDC. She would clearly rather be a huntress than a CEO, so why not let Willow and/or Whitley take over once Jacques is outed?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

One thing I wish had happened: A few more talks/moments of growing friendship between Ruby and Weiss, since it just doesn’t seem that they interacted as much as they really should have.

---Blake Belladonna---

How I feel about this character:

I used to be a lot more interested in Blake - I am personally the quiet book-nerd type that would rather read in the corner and only speak when necessary than be the center of attention, so her character spoke to me, and in the beginning, the Faunus and White Fang plotline was pretty interesting. But after about Volume 4, the pacing and how the Faunus subplot was handled just dragged Blake down for me. Her sections became my least favorite parts of V4/V5, and it’s unfortunately made her my least favorite of Team RWBY. 

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Oddly enough, for the character that seems to have the most potential love interests, I don’t really ship her with anyone. I honestly would rather see her focus on herself before getting into a relationship.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Sun - I really do like the dynamic they have. Night and day, leader and follower. I think they have quite a bit of chemistry, and they’ve had some sweet conversations together. 

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Uh..... honestly? For a character that’s so representative of the Faunus subplot, her experiences with it aren’t that interesting. I kind of want to see more of her experiences with the White Fang, see how her decision to leave was because of the practices of the Fang as a whole, rather than just Adam. Having her already have changed her ways when we meet her feels like we skipped over a lot of really interesting parts of character development. Ilia kind of fills this role, but I think it would have been interesting to see Blake go through that. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

That the timeline with her background was a bit more consistent, since she seems to have joined the violent version of the Fang at 12 or 13, and that’s just.... no. Having her have joined at 15 would have been a bit more comfortable and make more sense. 

---Yang Xiao-Long---

How I feel about this character:

I generally like her - her attitude at the end of V6 has kind of soured me a bit, but overall I enjoy her concept and general character progression. I think her issues with Raven and her trauma from losing her arm are both interesting ideas, and I wish more importance had been placed on her adjusting to her arm and pulling herself out of her funk, since seeing the “spark” go out of her at the end of V3 was honestly one of the most interesting character moments she had had (to me) up to the point. What parts of that she does have in her development are probably my favorite parts of her character.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Weiss (as explained above).

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

RUBY. I’m a big sister myself and as much as we bicker, when it comes down to it, I would do anything for my little sister. Please please please please, RT, let Yang treat Ruby like her kid sister more, cause the sisterly moments we have with them are golden (pun intended).

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I’m gonna earn myself some enemies with this one, but I’ve kept quiet on this for a long time, and this seems like a good place to vent a little.

I personally think that Yang’s feelings for Blake are mostly one-sided, and as things stand now, unhealthy - and this is mainly coming from All That Matters. Now, I love All That Matters - I think it’s a beautiful, tragic song, and I listen to it quite often. However, I also think that it throws up a lot of red flags on how Yang sees Blake. The entire message of that song is how she can’t trust Blake, something she says multiple times, that she feels that Blake doesn’t care for her feelings and just “destroys” her pride, but that doesn’t matter, cause the only thing that does is that she came back.

The thing is, Blake didn’t even come back to Yang - she found her by accident, then decided to stay, and as of this moment, very little of Yang’s issues with Blake that were raised in the song have actually been addressed. They haven’t talked onscreen about how Yang feels about Blake, Yang hasn’t gotten to air her frustrations to anyone but Weiss, it just feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Yang has a right to feel as though her feelings matter, that she can trust Blake, and I just don’t think that, as it is now, that’s been properly communicated and shown.

Just... if RWBY is going to get me on board with Bumbleb33, Yang and Blake need to have a lot of talks in their future.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

More emphasis on her arm and how it affects her. Just, how does it react to weather changes? How does she maintain it? What are the ranges of possibilities, and what are the drawbacks and limitations that come with it? Just - more Yang learning to live with her arm, please.

Phew, that took a while. Thank you for the ask, though!

[lukes-writing]

Character Introduction: Whisper Johanna Archer-Gutenberg

Project: The Dreamcatcher series Name: Whisper Johanna Archer-Gutenberg Age: 19 Height: 161 cm (5″ 3,4′) MBTI: ENFP

Continue reading below

Appearance

Whisper is a slight girl of average height with fair skin and flat chest which is sometimes a target of mockery. She has dreamy, faraway hazel eyes and a winsome, mysterious smile; the combination of these traits lends her a slightly otherworldly, uncanny appearance. Apart from her face, her most prominent feature is her fair hair tied into long dreadlocks.

Whisper's style of clothing is as eccentric as her hairstyle and personality. She usually dresses in loose-fitting clothes of bright colors and floral patterns including long skirts, sundresses and airy blouses. She feels the best walking barefoot.

Whisper also wears excessive, flashy jewelry and plentiful of talismans, magical amulets and lucky charms. She has also several tattoos, the most prominent being a large dreamcatcher on her upper back. Due to her eccentric appearance and style of dressing, she's nicknamed "the hippie girl" by her friends and she doesn't mind it

Personality

Whisper is a difficult person to understand. Even though she's generally kind, caring and positive person, it takes a careful, delicate approach to reach into her comfort zone and gain her trust. She is whimsical, even erratic, and nobody knows what's going on in her mind at the moment. That makes her difficult to lead and control, even though her spontaneous and impulsive behavior can offer a solution to many challenging situations.

She is generally an extroverted person who enjoys company, but like most aspects of her personality, her temperament is a subject of frequent changes. She enjoys time alone, spent by relaxing, meditation or long walks. She is the happiest when she's at peace with herself and the world and values all kinds of harmony.

Whisper is also very sincere about her feelings and is not hesitant to express them, no matter how harsh it may sound. She is also open about which people she dislikes and tends to avoid them at all costs, even if it means getting into more conflicts which is frequent because of her stubbornness and quirky nature. On the other hand, when she gets on well with someone, she quickly becomes attached and makes a great friend.

Even though Whisper seems timid at first, she is open about nudity and sexuality, claiming it's a natural part of life. On the contrary, she strictly condemns any kind of intolerance, hate, bigotry or unnecessary violence. Her opinions are liberal and she has trouble accepting authority, especially when the person is trying to assert their dominance using force.

She abstains from alcohol, but rather frequently smokes marijuana which helps her unwind and focus. She claims it also enhances her ability of astral traveling. She is open to experimentation of all kinds, but she's also rational enough to not let it go too far.

Skills, talents and weaknesses

While Sienna is the team's most valuable member when it comes to logical thinking and far-sighted decisions, Whisper is appreciated for her intuition and creative approach to problems. She always follows the voice of her feelings rather than cold logic which can end up with various results.

Whisper is artistically gifted - she is able to paint, compose poems and play several musical instruments, which takes a toll on her practical abilities such as the knowledge of technology or the ability to do manual work. Since she is usually lost in her thoughts, she's also forgetful and scatterbrained.

Another of Whisper's strengths is her empathy and ability to understand people. She can see the person's true nature and intentions just by spending a few minutes with them. She's extremely sensitive to body language and can perceive the person's aura to some degree, making her an efficient lie detector.

Whisper's greatest weakness is the lack of physical strength. She's not proficient in any kind of martial art and neither can she handle a firearm or a weapon. This is partially caused by her strictly pacifistic nature and also by her slight, delicate frame not suited for physical combat. Moreover, in stressful situations, she often tends to panic and rushes into stupid decisions. That's why she usually counts on her battle-skilled teammates when it's going tough.

Special powers

Whisper's special power is astral traveling, an ability to detach her soul from her body and travel through the astral realm. This allows her to travel unseen to dangerous or restricted areas without the risk of getting hurt. During the detach, the body and soul are connected by a silver astral rope called a "Lifeline" by the travelers.

Her ability requires years of training in the form of meditation and relaxation techniques and has several levels of mastery:

Out of Body - the traveler can detach their soul from their body and roam the astral realm;

Out of Space - the traveler's soul isn't affected by space, allowing them to immediately transfer the soul to any place in the world;

Out of Time - while traveling, the traveler's soul is unaffected by time, able to change the subjective perception of it.

The ability also has several drawbacks. The most obvious one is that Whisper's physical body is unconscious when her astral body is detached. That requires her to either perform the detach on a safe, isolated place or to have someone to look after the senseless body and protect it from harm. Also, to perform the detach, Whisper has to remain relaxed and focused for a while, making it hard to detach in the middle of the fray. Another danger are the immaterial astral beings known as "Hunters" which possess a potential threat to the detached soul.

Her abilities allow Whisper to serve as an efficient spy since physical boundaries don't affect the detached soul. Also, while on the Out of Space level, she can immediately contact any other person able to tap into the astral realm anywhere in the world.

Questions

Favorite color? Green

Favourite artist? 

Favourite animal? Dog

Least favourite animal? Toads (because they’re slimy)

What element would they be? Wind

Theme song? Waiting on the Sky to Change by Downplay

Alignment? Chaotic Good

Deadly sin that best represents them? Lust

Which animal would they be? A swallow bird

Socioeconomic level? Comes from a rich family, but money doesn’t mean much to her

Hobbies? Reading, poetry, music, walks in nature

Patience level? Variable, according to her current mood

Favourite place? Anywhere green and calm

Role model? Her uncle Wiccan Salisbury

Favourite foods? Grilled salmon with vegetables, sushi

Favourite book? The Harry Potter series

Pets? Four budgies (Godric, Rowenna, Helga, Salazar) and three dogs (Arwen, Frodo, Gandalf)

Most appropriate TV trope(s)? “Granola Girl”, “Does Not Like Shoes”, “Cloudcuckoolander”

Smells like? Spring air and a soft perfume

How do they feel about love? She believes in true love and soulmates, but her urge to seek variety and new things in life makes her doubt she would be able to stay with just one person for the rest of her life

Quote/catchphrase: She sometimes tends to replace profanity in a sentence with some more innocent word, creating expressions like “What the twig is going on here?”

Least favorite color? Gray

Fears or phobias? She suffers from mild claustrophobia; being in a closed, isolated room makes her anxious

Music they listen to? Ambient music, soft rock

Bad habits? She occasionally smokes marijuana

What turns them on? Quiet, affectionate talk, soft touches, neck kisses

What turns them off? Roughness, insensitivity

Religious and to what extent? Any spiritual beliefs? She firmly believes in some kind of higher power, but is not a part of any organized religious movement

Kind of student if they attend/were to attend school? (e.g. class clown, straight A) Her grades varied greatly according to the subject and her current mood. She wasn’t too eager to study as she preferred to groom her artistic side.

Random fact!

What ONE item would they take to an uninhabited island? A notebook to write down all kinds of ideas she would come up with

Outlook on life? Always positive, “happy accidents” outlook

Favorite object? Her decorative brooch shaped like a key with wings - she considers it her lucky charm

What was your character like as a child? She tried to be well-behaved to her parents’ image, but her erratic, moody personality sometimes caused discords

What is something other people assume about your character? Judging from her look, the people can guess her loony personality and inclination to art, but they also often assume she does drugs and/or takes sex very irresponsibly

Nervous habits? Talking to herself

Addictions? Apart from harmless addictions like tea, books and music, she has no harmful addcition

Enneagram type? 4

Siblings? Knight Edward (older brother), Liberty Camilla (older sister)

Wears jewelry? Yes, she wears a lot of excessive, flashy jewelry

First kiss? (when and with whom) When she was 18, she experienced her first kiss and first intimate experience with her best friend, Noelle

Glass half full or half empty? Half full

Belief in an afterlife? Yes

Views on gambling, lying, killing, etc...? Strictly negative. She is a person of firm morals and she hates people with questionable moral code.

Do they stand up for what they believe in? Always, firmly

How much do they value money? Not much. It can buy nice things, but it’s not the most important thing in the world.

Wants to get married? Indifferent

Wants to have kids, raise a family? Indifferent; not yet decided

Cat or dog person? Dog

Is there one fictional character (print/stage/screen) you could compare them to? She has a part of Luna Lovegood in her, but there are a lot of differences

Anyone they really hate? Bigots and hateful people

How has their look/design changed over time? Not really, I’ve always wanted her to be like this, so I created her this way. She was maybe more timid in the early stages of development.

What brings them the most joy? Being herself; people accepting her for who she is

Do they play any instruments? Violin, piano, flute

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

Favorite holiday? Christmas

Nickname(s)? Often nicknamed “hippie girl”

Would they dare kill someone? Only if there was no other way to save a friend/family member in danger

Body modifications? (Piercings, implants, tattoos, etc.) She has several tattoos, with the most prominent being a large dreamcatcher on her back

Author’s Note

So this is my first character introduction (with more to come in the future), of course I’ve picked my favorite in my current project ^^ If you have any further questions for/about Whisper, or if you have any feedback about her, please send me an ask or post a comment! If you enjoy my work, you can consider a small donation at www.paypal.me/lukassladky. Thank you for stopping by!