#child rearing vocabulary

[tokidokitokyo]

Child Rearing in Japanese

子育て　こそだて　child rearing

育てる　そだてる　to raise (a child, plant, etc.)

育つ　そだつ　to grow up ( a child, plant, etc.)

すくすく　growing up healthy

のびのび　(growing) quickly

成長する　せいちょうする　to grow up, to develop

面倒を見る　めんどうをみる　to watch or to take care of (a child)

～児　～じ　suffix for young children (e.g. 2歳児 [にさいじ], a two-year-old child)

イヤイヤ期　イヤイヤき　terrible twos (a period where children are becoming independent and have more frequent tantrums, etc.; usually 2-3 years old)

魔の２歳児　まのにさいじ　terrible twos

寝かしつける　ねかしつける　to put a child to sleep

寝かす　ねかす　to put to bed

ぐっすり眠る　ぐっすりねむる　to sleep soundly

読み聞かせる　よみきかせる　to read aloud to another

暴れる　あばれる　to act violently, to struggle

乱暴する　らんぼうする　to behave violently, to be rowdy

叱る　しかる　to scold

すねる　to pout, to sulk

ぐずる　to complain about something

歯ぐずり　teething

怒鳴る　どなる　to shout (in anger), to yell

嫌がる　いやがる　to express dislike, to appear to dislike

喜ぶ　よろこぶ　to be happy with something

優しくする　やさしくする　to be nice to someone or something

仲良くする　なかよくする　to get along with others

抱っこする　だっこする　to hug, to carry in one's arms (e.g. a child, a pet, etc.)

おんぶ　piggy-back (carrying someone on your back, with their arms around your neck or shoulders)

肩車　かたぐるま　carrying someone sitting on your shoulders

ハイハイする　to crawl (on all fours)

四つん這いする　よつんばいする　to crawl (on all fours)

おむつ　diaper

おしゃぶり　pacifier

絵本　えほん　picture book

おもちゃ　toy

積み木　つみき　wooden blocks

滑り台　すべりだい　slide

ブランコ　swing set

[spell-cleaver]

Portrait of an Empire

Flufftober

Day 4: Market Day

The holocams were rolling. Sheev made sure to take Luke’s hand and angle them both so the nearest one, branded as Imperial News, the network he owned himself, got a stellar shot of them. This part of Coruscant could only be described as hippy, with colourful banners streaming wherever the eye landed, flower petals drifting upon their heads from where the plants themselves spilled out of flowerboxes far above them, and something that Sheev was to understand was meant to be music pounded through the duracrete at their feet. It was all very overwhelming for a young boy, but Luke was running around in excitement for now.

He would tire later, and throw a tantrum, but they would make sure to turn the holocams off and get him out of there before that happened.

The stalls that lined the two side of the footpath over the Coruscanti airways were equally overwhelmed, barely supporting the weight of the goods they held. Trinkets, all of it—dangling decorations, scarves, jewellery, sweet soaps small enough as to be useless, and good luck charms. As a much, much younger senator, Sheev had occasionally frequented markets like these. The stalls claiming to be spiritual, which peddled advice for meditation, soothing tinctures, and enchanted amulets, were largely nonsense. Either fools or scammers—or both. Sheev had seen even the open-minded Jedi walk past them with a wrinkled nose.

But sometimes—sometimes—they got their hands on something of true power. A Sith artefact, or Jedi emblem, imbued with some echo of its creator’s strength. Sheev had always known he must be the one to acquire it before a Jedi could find it. He’d built up a curated image of himself as an art and artefact collector and critic so that the Jedi did not suspect a strong interest in the Force from him.

There was nothing here today. Sheev had had the market swept in advance of their visit—while valuable, artefacts could be dangerous, and the last thing he needed was Luke getting hurt while on holocam. Still, the boy made a beeline for those occult stands, staring wide-eyed at crystal balls, silks, and rings that supposedly helped your sleep. Sheev tamped down a pulse of irritation.

He was on holocam. He couldn’t say anything too harsh, anything that would offend the stall-keeper—a Zabrak woman with enough piercings and tattoos that Sheev thought she might be Dathomirian at first glance. But he did not want Luke wasting his time here.

“See something you like?” the stall owner asked Luke, her wheedling sales tone softening into something a little more genuine. Luke looked up at her, blushed, then looked at the many twinkling trinkets on her table.

Shiny things. That was it. Children liked shiny things.

Luke pointed hesitantly to a box of crystals. Before the stall owner could react, Sheev leaned over to answer him first.

“What is it about them you like, Luke?” he coaxed.

Luke looked up at him, then the lady. “Pretty,” he squeaked out. “And”—he squinted at the sign—“magic.”

The stall owner smiled knowingly. “They are. Sleep with them under your pillow, and they absorb your stress. So you sleep peacefully and have a great day when you wake up.”

Kyber crystals did do that—to an extent. Kyber crystals absorbed all the world around them, especially the emotions of those who they had a connection with. But these weren’t kyber crystals. Sheev would be surprised if they weren’t just stained and polished glass.

But Luke’s eyes widened. He looked up at Sheev. “Grandpa,” he said, his tone urgent with want.

Sheev was about to say no—being involved with the rearing of a child meant that was one of the foremost words in his vocabulary—before he remembered the holocams rolling behind them. Luke had already drawn a crowd, various people awing at the sight of him, their own personal holocams lifted. He had his own little cult following already, the boy, thanks to the events of Sheev and his PR team.

They needed to buy something at this market. Otherwise, what use was it as a PR stunt? They could’ve just walked along a balcony and had the same effect.

But he still gave Luke a hard look. Luke got the point. “Please?” he tried.

Sheev let his face break out in a grin. His warm, grandfatherly smile wasn’t as winning as it had once been, before his scars, but Luke had never known him to smile otherwise. It still worked fine on him. His reaction made it work on everyone else.

The stall owner was already sifting through the crystals. They clinked together—definitely glass, by that sound. “What’s your favourite colour?”

“What’s your favourite colour, Grandpa?” Luke asked.

Laughter and more coos. Sheev, blindsided, blinked. He needed to say something regal. Something that fit with the image of the Empire—and, even if those watching the stream wouldn’t appreciate the significance, with the image of the Sith. Black was no good; there were no black crystals in the box. Red was better. The colour of his lightsaber. Of blood. Of the scarlet banners that added what little splash of colour came to Imperial design.

“Blue,” he said.

It had been, a long time ago. When the seas and skies of Naboo were the only freedom he’d known. Then purple—for the prestige that accompanied it on his homeworld, and the implicit connection to power. Slowly, his outfits had shifted darker and redder. The Sith, perhaps. But also just because he no longer needed purple to show off, and he liked to cut a dark, striking figure. Blue sat in the background too easily for him to endorse it.

Only sometimes, though, he thought, looking down into Luke’s eyes. Only sometimes.

When he looked up again, there was an ultramarine shard of glass in the stall owner’s hand.

Hating to give credits to these peddlers, Sheev gestured for an attendant to bring payment. He consoled himself with the positives. It was good that Luke was showing an interest in magic, as he’d breathed so reverently. That would keep him engaged in his training, and perhaps one day he’d be interested enough to assist Sheev with his own research into Sith artefacts. As such, his interest should only be encouraged.

And the want welling in him at the sight of the pretty crystal was to be encouraged as well. Sith wanted, and what they wanted, they took. Abnegation was only practised by the Jedi.

But the stall owner shook her head. “For you,” she told Luke, pinching the end of the crystal and holding it out to him, “for free.”

Luke’s smile was shy. He took the crystal and immediately buried himself against Sheev’s side. Everyone laughed. Without needing prompting, he said, “Thank you.”

“Are you sure I can’t induce you to take…” Sheev asked the stall owner, but she shook her head. Then hesitated, narrowing her eyes at him. She was likely one of those loudmouthed intellectuals who said they disapproved of the Empire but rarely did anything about it. Talking to him wouldn’t be good for her image in the circles she ran in, bowing to him even less. But she inclined her head. The red guards behind him probably encouraged that.

His smile widened. If Luke came to assume that all he wanted was due to him for free, and there was no requirement for fair exchange, all the better for a Sith.

“Very well,” he said. To Luke: “Is there anything else you wish to examine? We can move on.”

Luke shook his head, pulling back. “For you,” he said—and held out the crystal.

Sheev blinked. It seemed none of the many onlookers knew how to react either. He raised a hand to his chest. “Me?”

Luke nodded earnestly. “You work hard. The Empire is busy. You’re always stressed. I can sense it.” What Luke was sensing was the dark side, Sheev suspected. But he couldn’t explain that in front of everyone. “It’s for you.”

Finally, Sheev inclined his head and accepted the gift. “Thank you,” he held. With an effort that he put on for show more than necessity, he knelt down and opened his arms wide. Luke threw himself at him in a hug. “You are always so thoughtful.”

More cooing. Over Luke’s shoulder, Sheev smiled. It was always so easy, charming the crowd.

Especially when Luke was here.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

The sight of chubby baby cheeks is often enough to transform even the most committed curmudgeon into a babbling softie.

Sentences become shorter, sounds are exaggerated, and the overall pattern of speech is more singsong and musical.

Researchers have dubbed this “motherese,” or, more formally, “infant-directed speech.”

“We’re not changing the words that we’re saying, we’re changing the way that we’re saying them,” says Laela Sayigh, a marine biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Hampshire College in Massachusetts.

Only a handful of other species have been shown to change their calls when addressing young, including zebra finches, rhesus macaques, and squirrel monkeys.

Now, Sayigh’s new study, based on three decades of data in Florida, reveals common bottlenose dolphins use motherese — one of the first times it’s been documented in a species other than humans.

It's a major discovery, agrees Rindy Anderson, a behavioral ecologist at Florida Atlantic University who was not involved with the research.

The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "suggests that using these modifications when communicating with young assists them in learning how to produce these calls themselves,” she says.

Talk to me

Learning language is hard. Yet infants, incredibly, sop up the verbal soup around them and learn how to construct sentences with the appropriate structure.

How? The answer has to do with how we intuitively talk to babies.

Making our sentences shorter strips away unnecessary words. Emphasizing sounds makes words clearer. And — importantly — we increase the pitch of our speech.

Studies have shown these vocal characteristics grab and hold the attention of children far better than normal adult-directed speech.

And when parents are coached on how to use motherese, their child babbles more and has a bigger vocabulary as a toddler.

Language scientists make an important distinction between motherese and what is commonly referred to as baby talk.

The latter, they say, consists of largely made-up words with inconsistent and incorrect grammar and syntax:

It’s the difference between telling a baby, “Look at that DOGGY!” and “Wook at dat widdle puppy-wuppy!”

That’s why the list of species that use the more accurate motherese has so far been limited.

“Vocal learning is actually very rare. Out of the millions of species that use sound to communicate, there’s just a few groups that must learn their vocal communication systems,” Anderson says.

Signature sounds

When Sayigh began working with a pod of wild bottlenose dolphins in Florida’s Sarasota Bay in the late 1980s, she observed that these marine mammals shared many characteristics with humans.

For instance, mothers and their offspring live within intricate social groups held together by a complex language of songs and whistles.

Over time, the biologist began to wonder whether females use motherese to communicate with their calves.

Bottlenose mothers nurse their young for two years, and the animals generally stay with her until they’re between three to six years old, learning how to hunt, navigate, and stay safe in the ocean.

Father dolphins generally aren’t involved in rearing their young.

Dolphin communication is profoundly different from how humans talk.

The most common dolphin vocalization is their signature whistle, a sound unique to each dolphin that serves as the cetacean equivalent of a “Hello, My Name is…” sticker.

Dolphins, however, don’t use another animal’s signature whistle to direct communication.

Instead, they repeat their own signature whistle and listen for another dolphin to respond with their own.

It’s analogous to your mother standing on your front porch and yelling her own name to summon her kids, says Kelly Jaakkola, a cognitive psychologist and marine mammal biologist at the nonprofit Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key, Florida.

As part of their ongoing research, the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program performs regular veterinary exams on the wild dolphins, which have gotten used to the scientists’ presence.

During these exams, Sayigh and colleagues would sometimes attach a small recording device called a hydrophone to a mother dolphin’s forehead with a fist-size suction cup that the researchers later removed.

By analyzing recordings of 19 different female dolphins over 34 years, Sayigh found that the signature whistles of dolphin mothers had a greater range of frequencies — the high pitches were higher and the lows were lower — when their calves were nearby.

The high-pitched sounds are out of the range of human hearing.

Endless questions

To Jaakkola, who wasn’t part of the study, this work was “a fantastic first step.”

“The data here are beautiful,” she says. “The trick comes in possible interpretations of what’s happening.”

The work only looks at dolphin communication in one specific context, which means scientists can’t say definitively that the dolphins are speaking to their calves in motherese, Jaakkola says.

For instance, the results could be due to vocal changes in caused by lactation, or some other unknown variable.

However, in a 2017 study, researchers noticed an identical change in mother dolphins’ signature whistles while examining the effects of human-made noise, which lends support to the authors’ conclusions that the dolphins change their pitch as needed.

For Sayigh, the questions are endless — and fascinating.

“I just can't even articulate what an amazing project it is. I could spend three lifetimes there,” she says.

[angeldayschool]

The importance of playgroups in raising children

Playgroups in schools play an important role in promoting the holistic development of young children. These interactive and fun events provide a unique space for children to learn, explore and socialize in a structured yet playful environment. In this article, we will delve into the importance of playgroups in raising children and how they contribute to the overall development of a child.

1. Social Development: Playgroups are social environments for young children, helping them develop important social skills. Through interactive games, group activities and free play, children learn to communicate, share and collaborate with their peers. These experiences lay the foundation for positive social interactions, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

2. Emotional well-being: Participating in playgroups allows children to express themselves freely in a supportive environment. Participating in activities helps them understand and manage their emotions, building resilience and emotional intelligence. Through play, children can develop stronger self-esteem and confidence as they navigate through life situations.

3. Mental development: Play is a natural and effective way for children to develop their imagination. Playgroups often incorporate activities that stimulate creativity, problem solving and critical thinking. Whether it’s building blocks, solving puzzles, or participating in pretend games, these experiences help develop the cognitive skills necessary for later academic success.

4. Language Development: Language acquisition is an important part of children’s development. Playgroups provide an environment where children can talk, listen to others, and express themselves verbally. Through games, stories and group discussions, children improve their language skills, vocabulary and communication skills.

5. Motor Skills: Sports clubs emphasize the development of fine motor skills and toughness through activities. From drawing and painting to running and climbing, children engage in physical play that helps improve coordination, balance and muscle strength These physical skills are key to future learning and physical development .

6. Parental involvement: Playgroups often encourage parental involvement, creating stronger connections between parents and their children’s early learning experiences. Parents can participate in group activities, workshops and events, gain insight into their child’s development and learn how to support that development at home.

Conclusion:

The conclusion is that playgroups are invaluable child rearing resources. Children are provided with a structured yet enjoyable environment for social, emotional, intellectual and physical development. By recognizing the importance of play in learning, schools can build a foundation that prepares children for a successful learning journey and a fulfilling life ahead.

[labellefrance]

The French culture family structure is not very different from many other cultures. The norm typically being heterosexual couples who have children. Reproduction is seen as a way to carry on a family. Families also encourage children to stay at home until they finish their education, and they usually move out when they are financially stable enough to do so. The families are in charge of socializing their children including teaching them values and manners. They learn the French language as a child, and are expected to do well in school. While many of the traditional gender roles have been changing over time, there are still examples in which women and men are expected to act differently. For example, when dating it is typical for the man to ask the woman on a date, traditionally dinner. When it comes to the household duties, many French women work and make an income for the family. However, according to Cultural Atlas the, “Men are often still seen as the primary income earners. Many women are still expected to fulfill more traditional gender-stereotypical roles such as cooking, cleaning and child-rearing’”. Women are also expected to act in stereotypical “feminine” behaviors, and not to be seen as vulgar. When it comes to the reinforcement of either individualism or collectivism, in general the French encourage individualism. They want people to take pride in their own work. Children are encouraged to go after what they are passionate about. They are also brought up to respect their elders and they are looked up for their wisdom. Family is overall very important to the French, and they have many family gatherings. These are also seen as a time for children to practice their socialization skills. One unique thing about this culture is how much they prioritize their work-life balance. They are encouraged and expected to take at least 5 weeks of vacation time a year. Once the work day is over they are off the clock and not expected to answer work phone calls or emails. This is enforced so that people can spend more time with their families, showing how much family is valued in French culture. As for the effect of globalization on French culture there have been many changes in the past 10-15 years. As was mentioned earlier, gender roles have changed dramatically in recent years, and a big part of this is because of globalization. The main change is in the ideas that are brought in from other families and people moving here. Some are good such as same sex couples being more accepted and the offering of more parenting techniques. Some may have “Concerns about the potentially negative effects of globalization are particularly salient in France because of France’s long standing desire to maintain a universal culture and concomitant fear of cultural domination” according to Philip H. Gordon and Sophie Meunier

[leapsandboundss]

Advantages of Day Care and Childhood Education

Daycare and childhood education offer numerous advantages for children's development and overall well-being. The Leaps and Bounds Preschool Fontana, allows kids to interact with other kids in a structured environment. This socialization opportunity helps them develop social skills, such as sharing, taking turns, and cooperating, which are vital for building relationships and navigating future social settings. 

Some of the key advantages of daycare and childhood education include the following:

1. Socialization: Children get opportunities to socialize with their peers in a structured atmosphere through nursery and early childhood education. They learn to share, cooperate, communicate, and develop important social skills necessary for later stages of life.

2. Cognitive development: Early childhood education stimulates cognitive development through various activities and experiences. Children engage in age-appropriate learning activities that promote language development, problem-solving skills, creativity, and critical thinking.

3. Emotional development: Day care and childhood education settings offer a nurturing and supportive environment that promotes emotional development. Children learn to regulate emotions, develop empathy, and form healthy relationships with teachers and peers.

4. Language and communication skills: Early childhood education programs emphasize language development through storytelling, singing, reading, and conversation. Children experience various linguistic situations and a wealth of vocabulary, which aids in developing excellent communication abilities.

5. School readiness: Children attending daycare and childhood education programs are better prepared for formal schooling. They acquire pre-reading, pre-writing, and basic math skills, which give them a head start in their academic journey.

6. Physical development: These programs often include physical activities and playtime contributing to children's physical development, motor skills, and coordination. They learn to move, run, climb, and engage in active play, promoting a healthy lifestyle.

7. Cultural and diversity awareness: Education settings at Leaps and Bounds Daycare Fontana, expose children to diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. They learn to appreciate and respect differences, fostering a sense of inclusion and cultural awareness.

8. Parental support and involvement: Many day care and childhood education programs encourage parental involvement. Parents receive guidance on child-rearing practices, early education techniques, and ways to support their child's development at home.

Why Choose Leaps and Bounds?

At Leaps and Bounds, we understand the importance of providing your children with the best care and education. The following are the justifications for picking us:

1. Enriching activities: We offer a wide range of enriching activities at our Infant Fontana. From hands-on learning experiences to creative arts and physical activities, we engage children in stimulating and enjoyable activities that promote their overall development.

2. Building confidence: We prioritize instilling good values and manners in children. Our dedicated staff at Infant Care Fontana guide children in developing confidence, from walking to effective communication. We believe in nurturing their self-esteem and helping them grow into confident individuals.

3. Emotion regulation: We understand that children sometimes struggle with controlling their emotions. Our Preschool Fontana program teaches children how to manage their emotions appropriately. We help them develop essential emotional regulation skills by providing guidance and support.

4. Character development: We believe in building positive qualities in children. Our Day Care Fontana emphasizes kindness, empathy, sharing, confidence, effective communication, and proper posture. These qualities are essential for their personal and social development.

5. Materialistic learning: Children can acquire ideas and skills at their own pace in a pleasant and interesting learning environment provided by our Fontana daycare. We ensure that the learning experiences are age-appropriate and tailored to each child's needs, allowing them to learn comfortably and effectively.

[ultrak9proreviews]

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A dog crate might be a good investment if you're going to be away from your dog for a short time. When you are unable to watch your dog for an extended period of time, a crate will provide it with a safe and secure area into which it can go.

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These Primal Nutrients Grab a paper towel if your dog is shedding and covering everything in the house. Rub it down his back in the direction of fur growth after lightly soaking it in water. Your dog will adore the attention, and the loose hair should easily come off on the paper towel!

To keep your dog from getting hurt, clip its nails regularly. This can happen when the dog scratches itself or when its nails get stuck in things🌐 UltraK9 Pro Reviews like carpet. Check with the groomer or veterinarian to make sure you are cutting the nails correctly.

If you're thinking about getting a dog, you need to pick the right bread. For instance, large, vicious dogs might not be a good idea if you have children. Or, if you live in an apartment, you might prefer smaller breeds. Choose a dog that complements your lifestyle.

Be insightful about rearing your canine. When a female dog is bred repeatedly, it almost always results in severe health issues for both the dog and the puppies that are born from her. Do your homework first if you intend to breed to ensure that you are doing the right thing for your animals.

When you first get a new dog into your home, be careful about how much freedom you give him or her. You have to work for the right to have access to all parts of your house. You might have to fix broken furniture and other problems if you let your pet roam too much. When you are unable to watch your dog, house him in a crate of the appropriate size and use baby gates to help restrict his movements.

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It's likely that you'll notice a lot of people owning dogs as you walk down the street. Maybe you own one too, and wish to discover somewhat more about them. You will learn the fundamentals of dog care and other helpful hints in this article. If you continue reading, you will quickly become an expert on dogs.

Begin preparing your canine when you bring them home. Make a vocabulary list that everyone in your family will use to tell the dog what to do and stick to it. When 🌐UltraK9 Pro directions are not given to dogs using the same words, they can become confused. The dog will interpret "come" and "get over here" as distinct commands.

In the event that you are considering getting another canine for your family, be certain you are ready for this responsibility. Smaller dogs will require a commitment of at least 14 to 16 years, while larger dogs will require a commitment of at least 10 years. Do not select a dog as a pet if you are not prepared to own it for its entire life.

UltraK9 Pro Benefits:

You need to be a responsible pet owner if you want a dog that is healthy and happy. There are numerous things you should do and that won't just assistance your canine, yet will be useful to you and your relationship with him, as well. Make the most of your time spent with your dog by following the advice presented here.

Verify that the appropriate flea treatments are being applied to your dog. Many contain harmful ingredients for children. Converse with the vet to decide whether there are different choices for your canine.

While preparing your little dog or canine, keep the meetings short! A dog's attention span is comparable to that of a young child, if not shorter, according🌐 UltraK9 Pro Reviews to experts, and prolonged training sessions will actually make him forget everything you've learned together. Keep your training sessions to no more than 15 minutes and use positive reinforcement.

Take your canine to the vet routinely. Although taking your dog to the veterinarian so that he or she can check for diseases and ensure that he or she is in the best possible health may appear to be an additional expense that you do not need, Naturally, this prevents issues in the future

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Your dog may eventually come into contact with a skunk if they spend a lot of time outside. Mix one teaspoon of dishwashing detergent, four cups of baking soda, and one quart of hydrogen peroxide solution (but no more than three percent) together if he gets sprayed. Allow the mixture to sit on your dog's coat for five minutes before applying it. Afterward, thoroughly wash your dog.

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Even if you don't intend to spend a lot of time teaching your dog special tricks, you should still teach him to train. A canine necessities to grasp the fundamental progressive system of the home and ought to be ready to tune in and advance all through his life. In the beginning, practice the fundamentals like "sit" and "down," and occasionally introduce something new.

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Verify that you have the appropriate dog supplies. Make sure you have the appropriate supplies before bringing your dog home for the first time. A large water and food bowl, a collar and leash, toys, and a cozy place to sleep are essential for Support A Healthy Happy Dog every dog. Also, don't forget to get an identification tag right away.

Brush your canine frequently, regardless of whether he has short hair. It's good for his skin and coat and can tell you if he has fleas, tics, or eczema. The dog🌐 UltraK9 Pro Reviews will enjoy the attention as well, and brushing him on a regular basis will prevent more of his fur from flying around the house and landing on your carpets and furniture.

If you're looking for a purebred dog, check your neighborhood shelter. If they do not want their dog or are unable to keep it, many dog owners surrender it to the pound. Basically call your pound and see what they have. You might actually be saving a wretched existence simultaneously.

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Albeit a few canines excel on the prescribed measure of food to be given every day, a few canines need pretty much. Try to pay attention to your dog's body rather than simply feeding it according to what your food says. Reduce the amount of food your dog eats if you notice that it is gaining weight.

Brushing your dog's teeth on a regular basis is important for their health. In addition to preventing other diseases, this assists in the prevention of dental 🌐Dog Health issues and gum disease. The kidneys and heart, among other parts of the dog's body, can be infected by mouth infections. Pet stores sell unique toothpaste for canines.

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Read More Reference Links:

https://linkhay.com/blog/551424/ultrak9-pro-reviews-does-it-work-what-to-know-before-buy

https://www.dibiz.com/dustie

https://melaninterest.com/pin/ultrak9-pro-reviews-2023-price-and-more-details/

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[letarasstuff]

Can I stay with you?

(A/N): This is based on this, this and this post. I really hope you are ready for the feels, because they are there and they are heavy-

Summary: Following the events of Emily's death, how will Spencer and his daughter cope with it?

Warnings: Angst and lots of it, mentions of drug use, contemplations of drug use, mentions of needles, we also got some bittersweet fluff

Wordcount: 2.5k

✨Masterlist✨ _______________________________

A hospital is not a place where a child should be, Spencer knows that much. But he picked (Y/N) up on his way for two reasons:

The first one being the simple occurence that the babysitter is not able to keep her any longer, because she has classes in the next morning. The second one is selfish and the father knows that, but he needs her presence, the comfort she brings to him.

“Daddy”, the child breaks the silence in the waiting room, “Is Auntie Emily going to be ok?” She sits in his lap reading a book before looking up at him. Her eyes hold something he wishes to never see again: Fear. The fear of losing someone she loves dearly.

“I hope, Baby. But let’s not forget one important fact: Your Auntie Emily is one of the strongest women I know.” Spencer gives her a kiss on the top of her head and cuddles her closer to him, seeing (Y/N)’s eyes dropping. The rest of the team watches the interaction with aching hearts.

The girl is asleep for half an hour when JJ enters the room. Everybody gets up crowding her. Spencer is careful to not disturb his daughter as he moves her head to his shoulder and hooks his arm under her legs.

“She never made it off the table.” These words echo in the genius’ mind, seemingly being the only things he can think about. “I-I never had the chance to say goodbye.” JJ hugs him, trying to give some sort of comfort. In this process (Y/N) wakes up. As soon as she spots her father’s tears, she knows not to ask a question. Instead she loops her arms around his neck.

“It’s fine. It’s gonna be alright, Daddy”, the toddler recalls the words he says to her whenever she is upset in hopes to cheer him up.

The next couple days are hard on the whole team. They try to grieve together, especially while the funeral takes place. (Y/N) notices that the color black is fitting, since her Auntie really liked to wear it. She likes that they do the same to pay their respects that way.

“Auntie Penny, is she watching?” The blonde woman carries her while the casket is walked down the aisle. Since her death, (Y/N) doesn’t dare to say Emily’s name. She thinks if she avoids it, she is going to inflict less pain when she is talked about.

“Of course. Emily is in heaven and watches this beautiful beautiful ceremony we hold for her. So wipe that frown off and put on that smile she loved so much. Alright?” Confusing to her, the adults want (Y/N) to smile all the time. But they are frowning and crying more often than not.

“Can she hear us? Because I want to say I love her. I forgot to say it the last time I saw her.” Trying to distract herself from seeing the casket lowering into the grave, the girl plays with Penlope’s hair. She in turn has to fight tears back. Only now she realizes the impact the whole thing has on her.

“I’m sure she does. What about when the majority is gone, we go to her grave and talk to Emily? Do we have a deal?” (Y/N) nods.

As soon as the ceremony is over, Spencer takes his daughter, cradling her close to him. As if she senses his sadness, the girl is petting his back in a comforting way. He squeezes her closer to him, leaving her not much room to breathe.

“Daddy, I wanna talk to her. I need to get down.” (Y/N) wiggles in his grasp after she whispers this into his ear. Reluctantly Spencer lets her down and she toddles over to the freshly made grave. A little plastic card sticks out of the grass in place of a headstone.

The adults try to give her as much space as possible, they have to let grieve on her own.

“Hey, Auntie Emily. I-I wanted to say I love you, and I forgot to tell you this the last time so I say it a second time. I love you. And I miss you. I think Daddy misses you too. He is sad since you are gone. I’m too. I think it’s because we miss you. But I hope you like Heaven. Maybe you see my Mommy. When you do, can you say I love her?

“I’ll try to see you soon, Auntie. Goodbye!” (Y/N) goes back to her father and makes grabby hands towards him. Gladly Spencer picks her up again, putting a kiss on her head. “Wanna go home, Daddy.” The child mumbles, exhausted by all the stress and emotions from the day.

The father is relieved to have an excuse to skip the meal with the team. He is scared that the evening at the little restaurant is clouded by sadness and angst. Spencer doesn’t need that right now, a nice sit in with his daughter sounds way better.

After saying their goodbyes the little family sits in the car on their way to the apartment. As soon as Spencer starts the car, (Y/N) is fast asleep. He looks at her through the rear view mirror, happy to see her at peace. It gives the father time to sort through his own thoughts. Since Emily’s death (Y/N) tries to be around him constantly, which he is thankful for, because she keeps the darkness away.

Her last hours play again and again before his eyes. The different ways he could have stopped all of this. Why didn’t he say more when she began biting her nails? When she said “Laura Reynolds is dead”? Maybe all of this is his fault?

His forearm begins to itch. Exactly where Tobias Hankel injected the needle same as he did several times. Maybe, maybe it would make everything better? Just this one tim-

“Daddy? When are we home?” The small voice cuts off his train of thought. Spencer needs a few seconds to clear his mind. Did he really think that? Taking dilaudid while the reason he fought his addiction literally sits right behind him? “Just a few minutes, Sweetheart. Do you want to go to bed after dinner?”

As if she knows that the father can’t be left alone in this state, (Y/N) answers: “No, I wanna watch a movie with you. Can we watch Alvin and the chipmunks? I love Simon so much!” This places a smile on his face, the excitement in her eyes scare his dark thoughts away. “Sure, Peanut. We can watch whatever you want.”

It's the fourth evening in a row that the girl sleeps in her father’s bed. She either falls asleep there or climbs next to him in the middle of the night, so he figures he lets her sleep there right away.

“Good night, Sweetheart”, he tells her as they lay down. Even though it’s quite early for Spencer to go to bed it’s (Y/N)’s time. “Good night, Daddy”, she tells him while snuggling closer, “I love you. Soooooo much.”

The young doctor decides to take the next few days off from work in order to work through the events. The first one he spends coloring in books with her the whole day. While she works on her own books gifted by various members of the BAU, Spencer has his own extra made for adults. He can’t deny the soothing effect it has on him. The repeating moves calms the storm of thoughts inside his head.

The next day the two of them sit the whole day on the small couch in the living room, (Y/N) on his lap, and read. Sometimes they read for themselves, others the father reads outloud from his own or (Y/N) from her own. It’s kind of therapeutic to hear his child doing something he enjoyed his whole life.

“Daddy, do you think she feels lonely in heaven? There is nobody she knows, she has to wait for us to follow her, doesn’t she?” Not prepared for such a deep question, Spencer is caught off guard.

He clears his throat before answering. “Uh, Auntie Emily isn’t that lonely up there, you know. You can’t remember him, but Uncle Gideon, a friend from work and someone I looked up to, is there. He surely greeted her with open arms, happy to see her. And your Mommy is also there, she certainly asked lots of questions about you.” “A-are you sure? I told her to say Mommy ‘I love you’ when she sees her.” (Y/N) looks up to her father with big eyes.

He is not sure if he is lying right now to her, but he sees that his daughter needs the reassurance. “Yes, I’m sure.” To lighten the mood he begins to tickle her, which ends in a tickle fight which in turn ends in tiring the girl out and falling asleep while watching a Disney movie.

The next day is by far the worst since it all happened. Both (Y/N) and Spencer haven’t slept much due to nightmares from both sides (him comforting her as she tears him from his own), which results in a grumpy toddler and a non stop coffee drinking adult.

“Sweetheart, you need to put that shirt on. Auntie JJ is expecting us in ten minutes. Please, stop fighting me”, he begs, but she continues to cry. As Spencer tries for a third time to put it on her (Y/N) throws herself to the other side of the bed.

“I don’t want that, Daddy!” She finally gets out through her sobs. Spencer halts in his movements. “Why? That’s your favorite, Baby.” While (Y/N) begins to cry louder, he leaves the clothing article on the bed and gathers her in his arm, rocking her back and forth additionally to whispering sweet reassurances in her ear.

“She gave it to me. I don’t wanna make it dirty or ruin it”, the toddler says between shaky breaths. For what feels like the trillionth time, the young agent’s heart breaks over this statement. He has a bigger vocabulary than the average English speaking person, but at this moment Spencer is at a loss of words.

“Sweetheart, I apologize for not acknowledging this right away. I’ll get another shirt out for you, ok? Thank you so much for telling and helping me.” Just a few minutes later the little family is on their way to the next metro stop. It’s then that Spencer realizes his day won’t be any easier.

“(Y/N) you can sit in the seat next to me like you always do. Why do you have to sit in my lap today?” Normally he isn’t someone who denies his child physical contact, but the seating chart has a logical purpose. Being on a train with a child means you have some kind of luggage with you, which leads to occupying a four seats compartment. In order to prevent somebody taking the seat next to him, Spencer places his daughter there. It’s a win win situation for everybody, really.

Unfortunately for him (Y/N) is extra clingy today and won’t stop crawling onto his lap. With a sigh he accepts his defeat and tries not to think about the amount of germs that fly around.

Another problem that torments the father: Over the last few days his cravings grew. Especially today the feeling, the need, for another shot and another high is undeniable for him. As if sensing this (Y/N) sticks by his side throughout the whole time, keeping his mind off of the drug that changes him.

While they are at the Jareau’s and Lamontagne’s household, his daughter refuses to play with Henry. “I wanna stay with you”, she murmurs into his shoulder. Again Spencer accepts his defeat and sits down on the couch next to his best friend.

“Sweetheart, you need to let me go. I have to go to the bathroom, you can’t come with me.” This is followed by a tsunami of tears. While JJ tries to console her, he slips out of the room discreetly.

Due to (Y/N)’s current grumpiness and Spencer’s fatigue they quickly call it a night, even though he could use some more comfort from his friends.

“Good night, Sweetheart. Sleep tight and dream nice. I love you”, he says after tucking his child in and giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Night night, Daddy. I love you, too”, her small voice echoes back to him and makes him smile softly.

Spencer finds his way back to the living room and sits down with a book in his lap. As expected he doesn’t get much reading done, too distracted by his own thoughts. The events of the night of his colleague’s, his friend’s, death replay themselves over and over again.

What if he made his conclusions faster? He is supposed to be the smart one, the one the team relies on for making important connections. But he failed once so who knows what happens when he fails again? Next time it could be the whole team dying. He could die. He would leave (Y/N) alone with the team gone. His mother isn’t capable of caring for her and his father doesn’t even know she exists. She will go into foster care, into a home with too many kids. She will be looked over, too small to be seen. Her potential will go to waste and she will never achieve anything she is capable of. And all that because he hasn’t made a conclusion fast enough.

Spencer’s scars on his forearm itch worse than ever. One shot. Only one shot to make the thoughts go away. To make the guilt go away, the bad feelings. He needs it. He needs to cure himself from the symptoms of being a human.

Before the young doctor even registers what he is doing he already put his jacket on and looks for his wallet when a voice startles him.

“Daddy, i can't sleep. Can I stay with you again?” (Y/N) stands in the doorway, clutching her stuffed animal and her blanket, shielding her eyes from the light, oblivious to what her father was about to do.

“Oh Darling, of course. Do you want me to read to you? Or we drink hot chocolate and watch a movie?” He suggests, ready to distract himself from anything that’s going on in his mind. A few minutes later his daughter cuddles into his side while watching once again Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Spencer is just happy to have his light in his life all the time and is ready to tackle any task to keep her there, may it be once again the weekly visits for anonymous narcotics or time off from work to process the events together in therapy.

Taglist:

All works:

@agentshortstacc

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl

Spencer Reid x child!reader:

@ilovetaquitosmmmm

[tokidokitokyo]

Photo by Svetlana Gumerova on Unsplash

2024年10月31日

Cozy season is in full swing, and it's almost JLPT time. I hope everyone's studies are going very well and that you have seen improvement since last month! As the holiday season and the end of the year (!) approaches, I would like to begin to assess my progress for the year and prepare a path for my studies for next year. Every year at the end of the year I feel like I fell short of my goal, and wish to ramp up for the next year. But I have been trying to be more realistic, so I'm excited to see how my goals and my actual studies line up at the end of the year.

秋と言えば勉強したい季節ですね。もうそろそろ日本語能力試験の時間になりますね。皆さんの勉強が上手く進んでいますように。後少しで年末年始なので、自分の進歩を調べて、そして来年の目的を考え���めようと思います。毎年の年末で目的を越えなかったと気がしますし、来年もっと頑張らないといけないと気分があるんだけど、最近はもっと現実的に目的を作るつもりんですが。今年の目的をどれくらい当たったのを調べるのを楽しみにしています。

October Progress

This month I spent the most time Reading (I read every day!) and the least time on Kanji. I practiced a lot of Vocabulary, focusing on learning and remembering vocabulary rather than just reviewing a large amount. I reviewed Grammar (both N2 and N3) so that I can try to make the usage stick in my mind.

I realized that I really can't do passive Listening, which I tried to do while doing mindless work, because I don't catch a single thing. It isn't like osmosis either, where something entered my brain without having to try. I was listening to native material (child-rearing info) but it really didn't leave any kind of impression. Active is really the best way for me, otherwise I tune it out.

Study Habit Check-In:

〇 = Great, △ = Decent, ✖ = Not Great

Read daily - read something almost every day 〇

Write sentences 4 times a week - I wrote sentences more like once a week which could be better △

Review kanji and vocabulary flash cards daily - lol no ✖

Review 1-2 N3 grammar points weekly - reviewed once a week 〇

Learn 1-2 N2 grammar points weekly - learnt 2 N2 grammar points this month △

Listen to 1 podcast a week - yes! 〇

Continue to work on hiragana with my son - writing is going well with しまじろう drills to supplement his reading practice 〇

November Goals

As the end of the year approaches, I want to wrap up any goals that seem doable for the end of the year. I tried earlier in the year focusing on one area of study (e.g. vocab, kanji, reading) each day, but since my days are so busy that has kind of fallen apart. I'd like to continue to try to balance my study so that each area receives somewhat equal attention, and then start looking forward to my plans for 2025.

Goals for this month:

Continue working through Sou-Matome N2 workbooks

Continue practicing with Sou-Matome N3 drill workbook

Continue working on Keigo textbook

Finish working through various borrowed Japanese textbooks

Finish one novel this month

Continue with small daily study habits

Continue with hiragana writing practice

I wish I could spend long hours just practicing Japanese whilst wearing a comfy sweater and drinking hot tea, but unfortunately life doesn't allow that, so I will keep trying to fit in my study where I can. Wishing everyone the best of luck during your journey to the JLPT!

何時間連続勉強しながら暖かいお茶を飲みたいんだけど、それはなかなか無理です。そしてできるだけ日本語を勉強しようと思います。皆さん日本語能力試験の勉強頑張ってね！

[sirthisisa-wendys]

Can I ask something like: reader being engaged to someone of the Zen'in clan (not willingly) and discovering that she is pregnant with Getou's child, which she's having a secret relationship. So this would lead to a huge conflict. Feel free to add smut or change anything if you don't feel confortable writing it! Thanks for your work. Lots of love <3<3<3

SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER (who happens to be me)

Arrangements: Geto Suguru x Fem!Reader

wc: 1.9k

tw: nsfw, angst, mentions of abuse

The priceless china teacup - the only one of its kind in the set of four - drops from your hand and to the dining room floor, where it shatters into a million pieces.

"No."

Your father looks at you with concern, as if you had just spoken some foreign language.

"No," you repeat, this time with much more emphasis. Didn't he understand the meaning of the word? Or was "no" not a part of his vocabulary?

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice, y/n. You and Naoya have been paired together since birth, and it's now time for you to--"

"I said no!" You stand from the table and walk past your father to exit the dining room, pushing the door open with fury. As you stalk away from the arranged marriage to a Zen'in and your father, you feel tears well up in your eyes.

You scrub them away as you push past your bodyguard and into your room, where you lock the door. But the tears come faster than you expect, and you can't help but weep. It isn't until the sun goes down that you stand from your seated position and move to your desk, where the picture of you and your best friend sits, his black eyes glaring at the camera as you pinch his cheeks, smiling at him with glee. You were only five then, but if you knew then what would happen to you fifteen years later, you would have begged to run away with him much sooner.

The 'plink' of a pebble smashing into your window calls you out of your daydream, and you place the picture back down before moving to open your windowpane.

"You really could just knock," you advise Suguru Geto, who stands at your window with a silly grin on his face. "It'd be a lot less annoying."

"But what's the fun in that?" he wonders, climbing inside easily. "Plus, it gives me an excuse to find pebbles around the grounds. You know how I like rocks." You roll your eyes as he leans in, placing a deep kiss on your lips and wrapping his arms around your waist. "Mmm," Suguru hums. "You've been crying. What's new?"

"Nothing," you lie, but he tilts your chin up, examining your face.

"Looks like you've been crying for a while... Did your father say something to you at tea time?" You hold in a sob, lips quivering. "Perhaps a spat over something he sees as trivial, per usual?"

"Stop," you beg, pushing his hand away. "I don't want to talk about it."

Suguru steps back, rifling around in his pockets for something. When he produces the black stone, he hands it to you, letting your fingers drift over the polished texture as you consider opening up to the only man you love. "Here's one of my worry stones. You can rub at it and it'll take the negative feelings away."

You hold it in your hand, making a note to save it with the other pretty things Suguru has given you over the years in the box under your bed. You sit on your bed and he follows suit, laying beside you and sighing.

"Have you ever thought about running away?" you wonder, and Geto bites his lower lip thoughtfully.

"Sometimes. But then I remember that I can't run away from all of my problems, and I'd be leaving you behind."

"Maybe we should run away together." At your proposal, Geto puts his hands underneath his head, staring at the spinning fan.

"I can't condone that. You'd be running away from your problems, y/n."

"And? What does it matter if I only have you? Is that enough?"

"It matters a lot," Suguru mumbles, and you sigh. "I can't ask you to give up your life for one of hardship. I've been working on saving a bit of money, though. When I get enough, I'll buy a ring, come to your dad, and ask him for permission to marry you. Just wait a little while."

"We don't have a little while," you blurt, and he frowns. "My father wants to marry me off to some Zen'in, and--"

"What?" Suguru sits up, black hair falling down his back. "Say that again."

"My father wants to marry me off to some Zen'in," you repeat, and Suguru's eyes widen immensely before squinting.

"No, no, no... that can't be right," he breathes, and you shake your head.

"That's why I've been crying." Shock gives way to a blank look and he stands, running a hand through his hair.

"I have to go."

"Wait!" you cry out, but Suguru is out of your window in a flash, walking across your lawn without turning back.

_____________________________________________________________

The look Naoya Zen'in gives you is revolting.

When he strides into the room, your insides melt to nothingness and apprehension takes over. He circles you like prey, smiling at your shape and making lewd comments about your child-rearing abilities.

"Looks like you have a set of hips that are perfect for---"

"Naoya," your father chides, and the man slides his eyes to your father's face.

"Right, well..." the man clears his throat. "I would like to see what she's like by herself if you don't mind." Your father gives you a look that says 'behave' and you plead with him in your head to remain in the room. But he leaves you two alone, and that's when Naoya's face drops its smirk.

"Alright, let's be frank with each other." He leans forward on the table between you, lacing his fingers together. "I'm not in the business of making you feel good about yourself. You have to do that on your own. I'm going to tell you what I need when I need it. If you can't provide it, then you should seriously consider emptying that little head of yours of the idea that I won't remind you of your place."

You recoil at his words, lips curling up in disgust.

"And don't even think about replying with some smart-ass remark. I'm not the Chief of Hei for nothing." Bile rises up in your mouth at the thought of this swine being your betrothed, but you force it down, swallowing hard.

"I understand."

"Good. Now, let me see you turn around and walk out. I want to watch your hips as you walk away."

_____________________________________________________________

You rush into your bathroom and lean over the toilet, all of your consumed food coming back up. You vomit until nothing is left in your stomach, and dry heave for the rest of the time you're perched at the toilet bowl.

When it's all said and done, you wipe your mouth and flush, face redder than it was before you started feeling ill.

'Plink'.

Your head swivels to the window, and you rush to open it, coming face-to-face with Suguru.

"Babe..." he whispers, face flushed. "I brought you something." When he comes inside and sits on your bed, you consider telling him about the encounter with Naoya, but when he opens a small box, you're stopped in your tracks.

"Su!" You eye the small moonstone ring with curiosity, a smile creeping across your face. "Su, this is gorgeous."

"Solid rose gold and moonstone; your favorite." You slide the ring onto your ring finger and hold it up to the light.

"I love it... I love you." Suguru stands and brings you close to him, holding onto your head carefully.

"I'm going to take it to your father right now and--"

"I really wouldn't recommend you do that," a voice calls out from your doorway and both of you pull apart, startled by Naoya's sudden presence. "I had a feeling you'd be otherwise occupied." Naoya closes the door as he enters, smirking. "I should tell Mr. L/N myself that I've discovered this little tryst, but I think I'll let this poor man off the hook just this once." He turns to Suguru and gives him a deadly glare, crossing the space between them. "Leave. Don't come back here. I don't care how you feel or what you've done. But she's my property now, and no one other than me touches my things." Geto bristles at the threat, eye twitching.

"Make me, you piece of dogshit."

It's apparent that Naoya isn't quick to anger, but his fists clench in defiance. "I see," he breathes, letting go of his fists and running a hair through his light-colored hair. "You'll regret those words." And he leaves you two in the room, closing the door behind him carefully.

_____________________________________________________________

You stare at the little bump protruding from your belly in disbelief, fingers quivering over the skin. You try to recall the last time you and Suguru had unprotected sex and realize it was over a month ago, right before Naoya had appeared in your life.

The heavy onyx ring sits on your finger, reminding you of your engagement and the despicable man who had chased your lover away on that dreadful night.

Footsteps approach your room, and you quickly dress in your loose-fitting cotton shift dress, concealing any signs of pregnancy. Naoya throws open your doors and strides in, eyes looking about the room. "I have a little surprise for you, doll," he smiles, holding his hand out for you to take. Without hesitation, you grip it, knowing any delay could mean a swift backhand or a bruised wrist. "You'll enjoy this. I think I'll consider it my wedding present to you."

Naoya half-drags, half-walks you to the courtyard, where many of the townspeople have gathered, their faces somber and uneasy.

And chained to a post at the front is Suguru, his shirt torn and scrapes dragging across his skin.

"Just in time," Naoya chirps, pushing through the crowd and making you stand at the front, where Suguru could see you. His eyes widen, and he mouths something to you, but you shake your head, hands trembling.

"This man has been accused of stealing from the town's jeweler," Naoya calls out, circling around Suguru carefully. "And in his possession, we found a valuable piece of evidence." The accuser holds up a moonstone ring - your moonstone ring - showing it to the crowd proudly. "The punishment for theft is usually loss of a hand. But I feel that he should be delivered a much less barbaric punishment." Your heart leaps out of your chest, and you bite your tongue to keep from crying out.

Nothing Naoya would do would be less than barbaric.

"Fifty lashes are appropriate for the crime," he announces, and a man comes out of the crowd with a whip, standing behind Suguru with authority. Your eyes sting with tears, and you try your best to hold in a scream when the first lash lands across Suguru's back.

His black eyes are trained on you for the first fifteen strikes, but when the sixteenth lash rings out in the crowd, they begin to roll back, and he cries out in pain, voice echoing across the courtyard. Naoya sidles up beside you, gripping your wrist.

"See what happens when you sleep around with thieves?" he hisses, and you begin to weep, your vision blurring with tears. He chuckles and you hide your face behind your hands, sobbing furiously.

By the fortieth lash, you're all cried out, and Suguru's lost consciousness. His eyes are closed and his head lolls forward, hair drooping across his face. And when the man finishes, Suguru is left on the post, his blood and sweat mixing together across his back. You can hear ragged breathing after a minute of waiting, and Naoya goes up to Suguru's body, pulling his head back by his hair.

"Learned not to mess with my things?" he grins, and Suguru drags himself from the edge of consciousness to whisper,

"For y/n? I'd do it all over again."

The look of pure, unadulterated shock on Naoya's face is enough to haunt you every day afterward.

[floatingbook]

Habit shift #23 - Don’t apologise for existing

- practical actions that can be taken to fight internalized misogyny

Why: “Sorry, but…”, “Excuse me, I think that …”, “… if that make any sense … “, “maybe we could consider”, … Sorry, sorry, sorry. Women are always apologising for existing and having opinions. How often do those words pass our lips, “sorry” and “excuse me”? For things as mundane as needing space to pass by or a little quiet to work in? For things that require no apologising for, like expressing our thoughts, our beliefs, our opinions? For things as important as  refusing insistent male advances or putting an end to misogynistic jokes and exchanges? We are taught from infancy that we should be discreet and silent, that we should stick to the kitchen and the child-rearing. That we are stupid and vapid and just good enough to clean and reproduce. We internalise it to the point that we can’t seem to stop apologising for daring to open our mouths, whatever the setting. It’s not a question of politeness, or of good manners. It’s our socialisation in a misogynistic system which taught us that what we have to say is worthless, hence the “sorry” and “excuse me” which spill endlessly in our language. But we have nothing to apologise for. We are allowed to exist. We are entitled to our opinions. Disagreement is not the subject; we can be wrong and still not have to grovel every time we speak. We have a right to make mistakes and to speak out of turn and to say inepties. And more often than not, what we have to say is important and smart and brilliant and needed to be said. Our words don’t deserve an apology, they deserve ovations and praises.

How: So stop apologising for existing. Make the conscious effort not to tame down your words. It’s a long road, because you have to pry away a deeply-entrenched habit. Bannish “sorry” and “excuse me” from your vocabulary. Forget the words that dilute and weaken your positions, like “maybe” and “perhaps” and all their declinations into “in my humble opinion” and its variations, especially when you’re talking about a topic you’re trained in or you’ve done some research about. You have a brain, you can rely on it, stop shooting your own statements in the foot. Don’t sell yourself short. Let others deal with your brilliance (they’ll survive). You don’t need to make yourself palatable. Thank people for their kindness, patience and understanding if you do make a mistake, but otherwise don’t apologise. You’ve already done it enough for a lifetime.

[jenny-bridget-writes]

The Dragon Who Doesn’t Want to Keep the Princess Locked Up In His Tower

Arkhon the Great Unknowable Wyrm Beneath the Mountains Great and Vast, Vast as His Hoard of Gold Upon Which He, Arkhon the Great Unknowable Wyrm, Slumbers, was an average ordinary dragon. He was an introvert, preferring the company of his libraries and his piles of treasure to that of humans or other dragons. He had a wicked look, with glimmering blood red scales and a pair of jagged horns atop his head. His lungs could shoot gouts of liquid flame from the top of his mountain keep all the way down to the forests below.

Except for one thing. Arkhon had a burden. A loathsome, pink-clad, eighteen-year-old burden.

A regal young lady with eyes of emerald green and skin of almond brown. Hair like waves of dark water spilling forth from… something or other. She was a human, a mere hors d'oeuvre by size, and just as short-lived in the face of the Unknowable Wyrm. Princess Jahanara from the kingdom of Quambley had been imprisoned in the tower above his cavernous lair. He didn’t know why, but someone had paid him a hefty sum of gold to keep her locked in the tower. With his eyes full of gold and his brain full of wonder at all the shinies he could collect, he agreed to the deal without quite thinking it through. After all, how hard could it be to keep track of one human? All she could possibly need was water and sunlight. Or was it food and water? Maybe still some sunlight? 

But then came the whining. Every day without fail, Princess Jahanara would sit by her window, singing woeful songs, reciting -mediocre- poetry that she must have written herself, or just thinking out loud as hard as her singular brain cell would permit. By the gods, princesses were just as bad as princes in that respect!

“Oh how I long for a brave knight to rescue me from this tower and sweep me off my feet!” she said, “Oh how I wish someone would slay this beastly dragon and free me from this prison!”

“Have you tried sending a carrier pigeon?” Arkhon asked in reply, his voice a bone-shaking bass, “They can travel farther than your voice. And they’re wonderfully silent.”

“You don’t understand me!” Jahanara shouted, “Nobody does! Not you, not my parents! And not that damned vizier!”

“Is that why nobody’s come for you?” Arkhon said with a taunting flick of his head, “Because of your insufferable personality?”

“They will come!” Jahanara stamped her foot. “Knights from all corners of the globe! … Eventually. Look! There’s one now!”

Arkhon looked down the mountain. At the gate of his keep stood a knight in shining steel astride his faithful steed. He had no helmet, and instead let his long blonde hair blow in the cold breeze.

“Hie, foul devil! Hateable demon! Beastly worm!”

“It’s Wyrm, you amateur,” Arkhon said with a growl.

“Belial, Behemoth, Beelzebub! Asmodeus, Satanas, Lucifer!”

“Arkhon,” Arkhon corrected him, “What are those names?”

“I come to slay thee, beastly beast!”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Your intimidation shall not stay me, Archimedes! I come seeking the hand of the fair Princess Jasmina!”

Arkhon raised a scaled eyebrow. “Oh… Oh honey, your princess is in another castle. I’m keeping Princess Jahanara, and she’s more dark-complected than fair.”

The knight shrugged. “That will do. Nonetheless, I must slay you, beastly beast of beastfulness!”

“Why do you keep calling me beastly?” asked Arkhon, “I’m certainly more well-read than you, you country bumpkin-looking child.”

“You are a foul beast!-”

Arkhon leaned down toward the knight, so close his nose almost touched him. The knight’s horse reared back and fled.

“You will be more creative with your vocabulary, young man,” demanded Arkhon, “Call me beast one more time and I shall crush you with my pinky claw.”

The knight, sufficiently frightened, continued his stupid little speech. “You are a foul bea-… um… devil! And it is my duty as a knight to vanquish you and free fair lady Jonathan!”

Arkhon’s eyes grew distant as the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked together for him.

“I’m not a character,” he said, “I’m a roadblock. An obstacle for a young, hot hero to overcome. Is that why a princess was locked in my tower? So some sniveling brat like you can prove themselves by murdering me?”

“That’s,” the knight said, “that’s sort of the idea, yes.”

“Well, I’ll have no part in your foolish games. You want the princess? You can have her. Frankly, you two seem perfect for each other.”

“Hiya!”

Suddenly, Arkhon felt a sharp pain in his foot, like he’d been stung by some sort of insect. He looked down and saw the knight trying to pull his embedded sword out of the dragon’s foot.

“Ow!” Arkhon cried. He reflexively brought his foot up and stomped down on the knight, as if swatting a mosquito. He took the longsword between two claws and pulled it out. Princess Jahanara wept as Arkhon picked the oozing pieces of the knights body out of the cracks in his scales. “Terribly sorry, child. I sincerely didn’t mean to do that.” He covered the body as best he could with a handful of rocks, and stuck the sword into it as a sort of grave marker. The poor child was foolish, but he deserved some dignity in death.

-------------

Another long week passed. Arkhon kept the princess fed with meals of mainly roasted meat. Every day she’d protest, saying “I’m a vegetarian! My faith doesn’t permit me to eat this meat!” But she eventually caved. Arkhon felt bad for making her break her religious vows, but he was no chef. Nothing grew this high up in the mountains! His hands were too large to work a stove or boiling pot! He had no way to feed her fruits and vegetables, and he certainly didn’t want the poor girl to starve!

But another week passed, and the girl was still alive. Arkhon slunk up alongside the tower one day and peered through the open window.

“Princess?” he asked carefully, “May I ask why you are here?”

At first, the princess seemed in no mood to talk. She was curled up in her bed, with her knees drawn to her chest and her head hung low. Her curly hair stuck out in all directions. She didn’t sing, or recite poetry. She didn’t even whine anymore.

“I’m here,” she said finally, “Because I refused to choose a suitor.”

“You used to sing every day about wishing to be rescued by a brave knight,” Arkhon said, “And yet you tell me now that you refused to choose a suitor?”

“Men and women from the four corners of the globe sought my hand,” Jahanara said.

“Actually, a globe has no corners… nevermind… continue.”

“But they were all twice my age! Middle-aged women and men with gray beards! I didn’t want to marry and become a trophy in some duchess or viscount’s bed! I want to sing! I want to travel the world and sing of its many beauties!” She blushed a little. “And… meet its many beauties.”

“Why not just run away, then?” asked Arkhon.

“My parents would not hear of it,” Jahanara said, “Instead of choosing a suitor, they had me imprisoned here. Then, whoever slayed you and ‘won’ me would be worthy of my hand. I’d fall in love with them for their good deed of rescuing me. And it would have worked, too! I would have been enthralled by my savior for at least two months! More than enough time to entrap me in an unbreakable marriage!”

Arkhon paused for a moment. “I… understand how you feel, Princess. I too have never chosen a mate. I’ve never seen a need to. And I-”

Suddenly, something tapped the side of Arkhon’s head. He looked down toward the castle’s gate. A helmeted knight slung a bow over their back. Their armor was unpolished and smeared with dirt. They said nothing as they approached the gate.

Arkhon leapt from the tower, landing with an earth-shaking thud at the gate.

“Her Highness is not seeking any suitors right now,” he hissed, “Leave if you wish to keep your head on your shoulders.”

The knight said nothing. They looked up at the dragon through the shadowed slits of their helmet… and bolted for the gate! Arkhon swung his heavy claw down, but the knight pulled their sword off their back at just the right moment to deflect it. Arkhon stumbled. He stumbled! That was certainly new. The knight ran onto the stairs that wound up the side of the keep and into the tower. Arkhon tried to smash the knight against the wall, but they were too nimble, and leapt between his great fingers. He spread his wings and rose into the air to get a better shot at them. He opened his mouth, and felt his fire breath mixing in the back of his throat. Like bile and saliva gargling together. A stream of liquid flame spewed forth from his mouth. The knight raised their shield, covering most of their body. The flames stuck to the wall and the shield, which the knight had to discard after getting some of the sticky flame on their gauntlet. They were almost to the tower. Once they got inside the door, there would be nothing Arkhon could do. It was nothing but a well-protected spiral staircase all the way up to her.

The knight stopped at the door. It was locked. Aha! Arkhon had them now! He gargled another glob of fire breath. Right as he let fly his blazing saliva, the knight moved out of the way of the door, letting the fire breath break it down for them.

“NO!” Arkhon roared. He had failed to protect the princess. He soared up to the top of the tower, where Jahanara had been watching the whole fight. “Princess, I’m sorry. I have failed you. The knight! The suitor! They’re coming up the stairs!”

“You let one get through?!” Jahanara gasped. She paced around the room. “Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. They’ll send me back to the castle. I’ll never see freedom again! My life is over before it’s even begun!” She sank to her knees and began to sob.

Just then, there came a banging at the door. Jahanara grabbed the most weapon-like object she could find: the fork that she used to eat her heretical meats.

“Oh, the key’s right there,” came a voice from the other side of the door. The knight threw open the wooden door and raised their sword to the window where Arkhon was. Jahanara stepped in front of the knight.

“Stop!” she cried, “Stop right there!”

“Woah, woah!” The knight sheathed their sword, “Princess, I’m here to rescue you!” The knight took off their helmet, revealing a long braid of auburn hair. The knight was in fact a woman. Her tanned face was lightly dusted with freckles. A scar split her left eyebrow in two.

Jahanara faltered for a moment. Arkhon saw the enamoration on her face. But she held up her fork again. “I’m not going back to my kingdom.”

The knight shrugged, still holding her hands up in surrender, “Uh, okay. Can you offer me some sort of compensation? I’m getting paid a lot of money to rescue you, but I’d happily drop you off at the port if the big guy can spare some gold from his hoard.”

Arkhon and Jahanara both looked this woman up and down. Her armor was not of this region. In fact, is was a mismatched monster of different pieces. A samurai’s lacquered shoulder pauldrons, a knight’s steel breastplate, the leather greaves and bracers of some pit gladiator. Was this…?

“Are you… an adventurer?” asked Jahanara.

“I prefer ‘hired help’ when working with royals,” the adventurer said, “But yeah, I’m an adventurer.”

The fork clattered to the ground.

“Do you…” Jahanara stammered, “Would you, perhaps… need someone to… um… sing, um… of your exploits?”

“Sure, that’d be nice,” the adventurer said, her cheeks turning a touch red, “I’ve never had anyone sing about me before. But I also want money.” She looked to Arkhon. “Hey, you’re Arkhon, right? Arkhon the Great Unknowable Wyrm Beneath the Mountains Great and Vast, Vast as His Hoard of Gold Upon Which He, Arkhon the Great Unknowable Wyrm, Slumbers? That’s you?”

Arkhon was absolutely smitten. If Jahanara was his to give, he would give her to this adventurer right away.

“You know my whole name,” he remarked.

“Know your enemy,” the adventurer replied with a wink.

Jahanara stumbled back as if struck by an arrow. She and Arkhon exchanged a look.

“Yes,” Arkhon said, “Oh, yes… you’ll get a portion of gold, my dear. Just enough to set you on your way, pay for a new shield, and a nice dinner at the port.”

The adventurer gave Arkhon a thumbs-up. “Sounds good to me!”

Arkhon held up a claw. “You can start toward my hoard. I’d like a word with my prisoner.”

The adventurer shrugged again. “Okay.” She headed for the door, but turned quickly before leaving. “Don’t. Kill. Her.” Jahanara nearly fainted. The door remained open as the adventurer made her way down the stairs.

Jahanara went to the window where Arkon peered in. She placed a hand on his scaly skin. “Thank you for protecting me.” She gave him a quick kiss on his snout.

Arkhon smiled. He himself didn’t wish for such things as romance, but seeing it in other people brought such light into his otherwise dark and miserly life. “Thank you,” he told Jahanara, “for being my prisoner.”

[featherfur]

Big Knife Meet Little Blind Ch.2

Xue Yang meets A-Qing before he meets Xiao Xingchen and decides he needs a disciple. Somehow he ends up with a kid, a heart, and an absolute mess of a cultivation world.

Warnings: Gore, Blood, Murder, Questionable Child Rearing, Xue Yang and A-Qing's potty mouth, Xue Yang isn't a good person and needs to get there, will eventually be SongXiaoXue

Read me on Ao3,

Read Chapter 1

Xue Yang returned home much more relaxed and even entertained the idea of taking his next day off to travel down to Yunmeng with A-Qing to let her try osmanthus cakes. She’d probably enjoy the river boats and he could afford a trip there and back if he annoyed Jin Guangyao into paying him early.

“A-Qing, are you still crying like a baby?” He called cheerfully towards the shack, kicking open the door and blinking when he found it completely empty.

The hearth was still cold and the soup from last night was gone so A-Qing had returned after he sent her off. The blankets for their bed were still made like A-Qing insisted on doing every morning, even the hidden pouch of money was still tucked in the jar of seasonings on the top shelf. Yet A-Qing was nowhere to be found.

Where the hell had the brat gone?

Had she run off because he scared her? If she could get over a fierce corpse devouring and murdering humans she shouldn’t be such a coward just because he got pissed and stabbed someone. It wasn’t like he was going to stab her. If he did that then he’d have to go through the trouble of finding another disciple and he liked his.

“A-Qing!” He shouted, mentally convincing himself that he wasn’t worried at all. After all, he could always get another brat right?

A second later the door swung open and he spun, Jiangzai already before him. Luckily for him, A-Qing was still much too small for his stab to be in her general area.

She collided with him forcefully and he was about to reprimand her when he realized she was clutching onto him.

“Eh? Why are you crying brat? Did you think I wasn’t coming back?” He snapped even as he sheathed Jiangzai and crouched down so he could look her over. She was fine beyond a few scratches and he rolled his eyes at her dramatics, he really should have killed her and grabbed an older brat. They didn’t cry nearly as much.

“Yang-ge, someone tried to break the door! They wanted to kill me.. They kept yelling for you. You weren’t here.” A-Qing sobbed, the irritation that rose in Xue Yang at her obnoxious crying was immediately flooded with the fury that anyone would dare scare his A-Qing. “You didn’t come home… I-I-I hid… I hid where you told me too. Then I heard you.”

Well atleast, some of his words had gotten through her thick skull.

“Who was it?” He barked, groaning when she just kept crying. He smacked her cheek and she blinked blearily up at him.

“Answer me brat, who was it?”

She shook her head, trying to tug herself closer to his chest and he pushed her back with a disgusted noise. She was covered in snot and tears and he didn’t want to have to wash his clothes so soon. It was disgusting and he liked to play with corpses.

She just snuffled loudly despite his glare and hold on her shoulders, still reaching out to him.

“I don’t know, I promise I don’t know.” She swore, grabbing hold of his forearms with a vice-like grip. It would have been impressive if she wasn’t so damn annoying.

Xue Yang stared at her, wondering if he could smack her again to make her shut up but she just blinked her white eyes at him with unwavering trust. An unfamiliar feeling built in his chest and he released his grip on her shoulders.

She rocketed into his chest with a fresh wave of sobbing, clinging onto him with a strength that surprised him. He fell back onto his ass, crossing his legs under him as A-Qing curled in his lap.

He pulled Jiangzai out as a precaution, wondering if A-Qing would panic like before. To his pleasant surprise, as soon as the blade was resting on his knee in easy reach she finally started to calm.

Her small fingers were tangled in his robes and he reached up to pat them in a move of comfort that completely surprised himself. Then again, he didn’t like breaking his own toys so treating them properly was the best way to make sure they survived. Even if he was confused by his own actions, A-Qing had started to calm and her obnoxious crying had finally ceased so Xue Yang counted it as a win.

Still, a steady wave of anger was still sliding through him. Someone had tried to break into his house and scared what was his. Even if her own clumsiness was what caused her scratches, she wouldn’t have had to run if it wasn’t for those bastards. They owed him.

Xue Yang was going to get even, tonight. He’d had a really bad day and it was time to make it someone else’s problem.

He waited for A-Qing to fall asleep before he moved back to his feet, keeping one arm under her so she could rest against his shoulder. With a child on his right and Jiangzai on his left he stepped out of the house and started to make his way around the house.

There were indeed footprints that weren’t from him, two sets in fact leading back to the local village. They weren’t familiar to him, but that just meant it wasn’t anyone from the Jin sect. There were plenty of others who wanted him dead or beaten black and blue.

He returned to the house to drop A-Qing off but she woke the moment he put her down.

“Yang-ge, are you leaving again?” She asked, her bottom lip wobbling and he poked her cheek to startle her.

“Don’t start that crying shit, got it? Yes I am, stay here.”

Rather than listening she just bolted forward to hold onto his leg instead.

“Yang-ge don’t leave me, take me with you.”

Xue Yang kicked her off, waving Jiangzai between them to keep her from trying again. Yet she still just wobbled back up to her feet with that stubborn streak that made him take her in the first place.

The temptation to give her a reason to fear Jiangzai was almost irresistible, a few more cuts wouldn’t do anything other than scare her after all. Xue Yang was good at swordsmanship, a few slices like paper cuts would be perfect for getting her to remember her place. He flicked the sword up with a twist of his wrist and was about to slice down across the reaching hand.

“You’re… going to kill them… right?” She said and Xue Yang paused long enough for her to grab his robes again and reach up towards Jiangzai. “Like earlier.”

“No, not like earlier. I’m going to kill them myself. Now let go or I’ll kill you first.” Xue Yang warned with a growl but she barely even blinked.

“Take me with you.”

That made him lower the sword with curiosity, tilting his head down at the dirty little brat he’d stuck in his house. There was a sudden panic in his mind, like when he’d come home to find A-Qing missing, at the idea of her being anywhere near murderers. She was tiny! He could kill her with a half kick to the head and she wanted to go with him?

“Why?”

“You left and it was scary.” She said simply, letting go of his robes to hold her arms up to him. “Take me with you.”

“Little Blind,” He said ignoring her scowl, “you do know I’m going to kill. Like the man before. You cried like a little bitch not even twelve hours ago.”

He remembered that she was roughly five when she just blinked up at him and waved her hands. Right. She’d watched last time.

The panic started to drain quickly and he shrugged.

Whatever. If she died then fuck her, he’d burn her corpse or bring her back for his experiments. Oh that was an idea.

He hummed to himself as he bent just enough to swipe her legs out from under her with his arm and leave her perched on his hip and elbow.

If she died she could make a wonderful little subject to see about finally recreating a conscious corpse like the Ghost General. It really was too bad that he was completely loyal to Wei Wuxian, Xue Yang could have used a babysitter.

“If you start crying I’ll leave you in the chest cavity after I break it open.” Xue Yang threatened her and she just gave him that same confused blink. He scoffed and grabbed a cloak to toss over her and made his way out.

He was going to have to fix her poor vocabulary soon. She was great at playing a beggar for a kid, but she really missed the point of his threats and that wasn’t going to stand.

“Do you remember what the bastards sounded like? The ones who came looking for me,” Xue Yang added irritably when she continued her blinking habit. That jogged her memory and she nodded, looking out towards the approaching town.

Night had already started to fall and the last rays of light were quickly disappearing as lanterns were lit instead. Xue Yang grumbled to himself as he realized the footprints would soon be invisible but he couldn’t risk putting A-Qing down for a fire talisman or to sheathe Jiangzai even for a few seconds.

“He… He sounded like the… the…” A-Qing pouted as she tried to remember and Xue Yang suddenly understood why people found kid’s cute. If she wasn’t so annoying, A-Qing would be adorable for a little stray, she was just like a cat that never shut up.

“The pig man!” A-Qing finally declared happily, smiling at Xue Yang and lost the adorable look when Xue Yang just felt annoyed instead.

“I thought you said you didn’t know who they were.”

“I don’t. One of them sound like the pig man… He wasn't the pig man.”

Xue Yang jerked his arm to make her squeal in fear of being dropped. Then he realized what it was that she was saying.

“You mean he has the same accent as the butcher?”

Right, Xue Yang thought as she blinked blankly at him, she’s five she doesn’t know what accent means.

“You have the ugliest face.” He finally told her, grumbling when her thin fingers shoved into his cheek.

“Yang-ge don’t be mean to A-Qing.” She admonished like it was bath day and not a trip to kill a man.

“Okay brat, I get it, keep your hands off my face or I’ll bite them off.” He snapped his teeth in her direction and she retracted her hands quickly with puffy cheeks and pouty lips. The second time wasn’t nearly as adorable but when she reached to wrap her arms around his neck again he let her without question.

Honestly he was waiting for her to fall asleep on his shoulder so he just evened out his footsteps and made his way through the back alley’s to the butchershop.

“Don’t make any noise unless I tell you too.” He warned, waiting until she nodded that she understood before he finally stepped behind the shop itself.

The candlelight wasn’t very bright so Xue Yang slipped closer, peering through the window at the small group. At first he only recognized the butcher himself, then he realized he did know the other two.

They weren’t anyone important but a few years ago Xue Yang had gutted their sister for smacking him, he hadn’t realized he’d been seen at all. They must have been hunting him since then and only just now caught up after he got stuck long-term in this damned town. He would have to clean that up eventually anyways.

Talk about two birds with one stone, he thought to himself and turned to lower A-Qing to the ground.

“Are you going to help me? Or do you just wanna watch?” He whispered and she shrank down against the wall of the house before reaching out to pat the hilt of Jiangzai. “Good girl, wait right here for Yang-ge.”

He straightened with a grin, patting her once on the head before sliding open the door silently and strolling through.

“Hello you two, I heard you were looking for me.” He chirped excitedly, holding up the well-known blade. “Really, you could have just left a note.”

“You.” One snarled.

“Xue Yang.” The other said and Xue Yang rolled his eyes, chuckling at their posturing.

“Don’t dirty my name, I’m rather fond of it.” He hummed, almost seeming to glide over the floor towards them as they stumbled back. “Actually, let me correct myself. You should have just left a note. Then I’d maybe be able to bring myself to be a bit merciful, Jin Guangyao’s been teaching me all about it.”

“Will you just- Shut up!” The butcher’s voice joined the mess and Xue Yang glanced at the knife he was wielding.

A loud laugh bubbled up as he saw it, swinging Jiangzai to point at the taller one.

“You really think you can do anything to me?” In response the knife came flying at his head and he sighed softly. A simple lean was all that was needed to leave the blade well out of range of his head and it struck the wall behind him instead.

“Now, I need a volunteer.” He said with another step forward. “See, my kid’s still new to all of this but she needs to learn, so who wants to help me teach her the different arteries to cut? The other two I’ll kill a little faster.”

“You killed our sister, after we kill you we’ll get your little brat and return the favor.” The youngest brother yelled in outrage, brandishing his own sword. It wavered in the air almost shaking as much as his owner was.

The smile disappeared from Xue Yang’s face and he flashed forward. With two strokes blood spurted from the two others’ throats. He left only the youngest to cower with a scream that was silenced a moment later when Xue Yang’s fingers grabbed his tongue and with a single slice was tossed behind him. The wail was easily stuffed out with a handful of the bastard’s own robes, forcing them down his throat until he choked and gagged.

“Found my volunteer.” Xue Yang pulled him to his knees by his hair, waiting impatiently for the neighbors knocking to cease. When no one answered they dispersed with mumbles about rowdy visitors and summoning the guards to complain.

Xue Yang dragged the man through the bloody mess on the floor, glancing back at the corpses with a mournful air.

If only I hadn’t brought A-Qing, then I’d have two new subjects to play with.

He hummed as he stood in the middle of the room, realizing that this was one of those moments that Jin Guangyao had told him about. Ones where Xue Yang should have planned better before jumping into slaughter.

He wanted to take his time and teach A-Qing a thing or two, but the bastard crying on the floor had warned everyone. If Xue Yang brought him back home to teach, then he’d have to deal with the smell of blood in his house and the potential of Jin disciples finding the body.

Jin Guangyao should be proud, Xue Yang thought proudly as he dropped the man on the ground and promptly sat on his stomach, I’m thinking it through and everything.

“A-Qing, come here.” He called, waving her forward and holding his arms open to tempt her even further. As expected, she bolted into his arms without a care for the carnage around her.

“Good girl, now, I’m going to show you this trick.”

A-Qing flinched slightly when the man they were sitting on wailed against the robe. Then she scowled and leaned over him to smack his cheek like Xue Yang did to her earlier. This one was much harsher than Xue Yang had been but it still managed to make the man freeze.

“Good girl,” Xue Yang cheered, the vicious mood from earlier seeming to dissipate as he squeezed her cheek. “Very good, now, listen to Yang-ge.”

A-Qing nodded her head rapidly as Xue Yang moved over the struggling man to trace a nail over his carotid artery with a rather proper explanation of death by exsanguination if he said so himself. He followed the man’s neck down to his windpipe, explaining how to slice it properly. The man still writhed so Xue Yang clamped down on his throat, squeezing it until the body spasmed and stopped moving.

“And that is choking. Don’t worry about that right now, you’re too tiny to do it.” Xue Yang said, tilting his head to listen to the slow moving footsteps of whatever the villagers had managed to gather for a guard to check. He sighed, resigning himself to bringing her to one of his experiments later and scooting her off to stand.

He twirled Jiangzai, humming to himself as he felt its blood lust, and held it against the unconscious man’s neck.

“Well? Do you remember what I just taught you?”

A-Qing glanced back and forth between the two of them with visible hesitation. Xue Yang supposed this could be a little fast, she’d only seen her first murder earlier in the day after all.

I’ll read those damn child raising books when I get home, maybe I should wait until she’s atleast six before committing human murder. Jin Guangyao said that was harder for most people to do.

Even as he planned to kill the man himself, A-Qing’s hand moved to Xue Yang’s and held the hilt of Jiangzai. She pushed carefully until the sword was just over the artery just like Xue Yang had taught her, then she plunged it forward.

Her white eyes were glowing with fascination as blood bubbled around the wound and, when Xue Yang pulled out, the way it sprayed before Xue Yang covered her from it with his black sleeve. Still, she moved to peek over his arm when it finally stopped spurting over them. She blinked in her curious way at the corpse then scowled over at Xue Yang.

“Your robe is all dirty. It’s bath day.” She said seriously, just like Xue Yang would say when he came home to find her filthy.

Xue Yang was in such a good mood he could only scoop her up as he sheathed Jiangzai and laugh as he skipped to the door. He paused midway through and bounced back to grab the purse on the butcher and the package before bolting as the acting guards started to bang on the door.

“Oops.” He hummed, looking around the alley before kicking off to land on the roof next door. Perhaps he didn’t think things through like he thought he did.

Whatever, He slipped the purse into his robe and started back towards home. He jumped on three more houses before deciding that was good enough and leaping to the ground to walk the rest of the way.

“Yang-ge?” A-Qing said sleepily against his shoulder. “Can I go to work with you again?”

“Sure, kid, I’ll bring you again later.” He hummed to himself, cheerfully waving the package of whatever he’d stolen through the air. He debated on chucking it against a tree just to see its contents but A-Qing’s sleepy snuffles distracted him instead.

She’d done so well already, this disciple shit really was working out a lot better than he thought it would. He was surprised she hadn’t even sobbed but then again, he hadn’t cried after his first kill either and he was only two years older than her then.

He glanced down at her as she promptly passed out, completely comfortable and safe in the arms of a murderer.

So this is why people have kids, they’re actually kind of cute when they listen.

He would have to figure out something about leaving her alone in case other enemies showed up, but maybe if he dug at the Ghost General enough he would finally get that ghost babysitter.

He almost turned to head towards the experimentation compound but a single glance at A-Qing’s sleeping form made him turn back towards home.

That can wait until tomorrow, A-Qing needs more sleep than me.

[catrasredemption-moved]

(i know you kinda did this already but) (also i read that one it’s super good) catra is hurt/sick and refuses to admit it and adora can 100% tell ?

Adora should have known better. Adora did know better.

The problem with introducing magic to a world that had lived without magic for so long was that magical creatures now had to learn to live around the other beings who had made the planet their home. They didn’t like sharing, unfortunately.

And sometimes they made it known.

“Shit, damn it, damn it, fuck-”

“Adora we’re all impressed by your extensive swear vocabulary,” Catra said through gritted teeth, “but maybe save the air for running.”

She was the one who sounded out of breath, and Adora was about to point it out, but a scream brought them back to reality. Glimmer reappeared beside them, and they skidded to a halt. 

“You find them?”

“Yup.” She grabbed both of them by the shoulder, and they disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

Five years on, things were more or less peaceful. But there was always something ready to upturn their lives.

Today, it was an invasion of magical something or others (they were still working on vocabulary) that invaded a village and stole a bunch of kids. They had already ambushed the things once, and managed to get a few of the kids back, but there had been more creatures than fighters at the time (just Adora, Catra, and Glimmer), and they had gotten away again. Glimmer had gone to get reinforcements and look ahead while Adora and Catra scouted the woods.

Adora’s eyes were continuously drawn to Catra’s leg, though. One of the things had grabbed her. And Adora swore she’d heard a crack. And Catra was almost certainly limping, at least a little. But she refused to stop. And Adora couldn’t make her.

So they continued on, against her better judgment. Glimmer teleported them to where Bow, Perfuma, and Scorpia were already fighting off the creatures. Glimmer hurried to grab a couple of kids and bring them to safety, and Catra dove into the fight.

Adora would freely admit, if asked later, that she had been completely off her game. She took a few hits that shouldn’t have landed, missed a few hits that definitely should have landed, and wasn’t at all focused, because her eyes kept seeking out the red blur of her almost wife darting around.

Almost wife. If she did something stupid to get herself killed a month before wedding, Adora was going to be furious.

Glimmer had gotten most of the kids out, but there was one stubborn bastard using a child as a shield, making it impossible for anyone to get a good shot at him. Catra grabbed Glimmer’s arm and muttered something to her, and then they were gone, reappearing behind the creature.

Several things happened at once. Catra reared back and swung, clawing the creature right in the head. A tentacle shot out from the thing’s back, grabbing Catra as she struck, and squeezing, ripping Catra off to the side and bending her leg in a way that legs should not bend, and throwing her away as it went down, releasing its hold on the child.

“Catra!”

Adora darted forward. Glimmer hesitated before going for the child to get him home first. Catra would tell her the kid was more important, and it was best to save them all the argument. Everyone else hurried to make sure Catra was okay and guard her from anything that might attack.

“Fuck,” she hissed, breathing heavily, hands probing uncertainly at her bent leg.

“Are you okay?” Adora asked stupidly, kneeling beside her. “Shit. Someone is going to need to set it, but I can heal it.”

“I can set it,” Catra grunted. “Someone hold me steady-”

“Absolutely not,” Adora said. “You can let the healers at Bright Moon deal with it.”

“I’m not wasting anyone’s time-”

“Ugh, I knew you two would already be arguing about it,” Glimmer grumbled as she returned. “Scorpia, Perfuma, can you take care of the village while I bring these guys home? I’ll be back soon.”

“Absolutely,” Perfuma said while Scorpia nodded emphatically. “Let us know if you need anything.”

Glimmer took Adora’s and Catra’s hands, and Bow rested a hand on her shoulder. Catra groaned, face ashen, as they reappeared in the Bright Moon infirmary. Three teleports in a row was taking its toll. The broken leg probably wasn’t helping either.

“I’m fine,” she grumbled as Adora and Bow helped her onto a bed, and the healer came hurrying out to see what the problem was.

“I’m uh... gonna go get food for you guys,” Bow said, backing up. Catra was about to be in a lot more pain, and she didn’t particularly enjoy it when people saw that. “I’ll bring it to your room.”

Adora gave him a strained smile. “Thanks, Bow.”

He flashed them a thumbs up and hurried out.

Bow was right - setting Catra’s leg was a painful process. She clung to Adora’s hand, making a high-pitched noise through her teeth, claws just barely piercing her skin. It was fine. They’d be gone when Adora transformed back. She was so tired of Catra’s leg making unnatural cracking noises.

“Damn it,” she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. “Fuck, fuck, fuck...”

“Ready for me to heal it?” Adora asked, squeezing her hand.

“I don’t need you to magically heal every bump and bruise-”

“Do you want to wear a cast down the aisle?”

That got her a scowl. “Fine. But you only get to use the wedding once. Remember that.”

Adora smiled faintly, resting her hands on Catra’s leg. A golden glow enveloped the limb, and Catra relaxed noticeably, looking more tired than pained now. It had been a long day.

She was still grumbly when Adora carried her back to their room. “So,” Adora said conversationally as she settled Catra on the bed. “Any reason you didn’t fall back the first time they hurt your leg?”

Catra glared. “Because the kids needed to be saved and I wasn’t going to ditch you guys over a little leg pain.”

“I heard it crack.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“Bones aren’t supposed to crack,” Adora reminded her. “Or bend the way yours did.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? I’m fine.”

Adora sighed, rubbing her temples. She had really thought they were both passed working through the pain and knowing their limits. “Catra-”

“Don’t give me that look,” Catra cut her off. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Do you want to marry me?”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “I thought we got this out of the way already.”

“Just answer the question.”

“Of course I do, dummy.”

“Okay.” Adora took Catra’s cheeks between her hands. “Then stop being stupid and bench yourself when you’re hurt. We’re supposed to be doing better, aren’t we? We’re supposed to be treating ourselves better.”

Catra closed her eyes, sighing. “Yeah. I know. I got tunnel vision today.” That happened more than she liked to admit. Adora rested her forehead against Catra’s.

“I should’ve called you out. I’m sorry I didn’t. Ah!” Adora stopped Catra from protesting. “I held back because I didn’t want to argue with you.”

“It was an emergency.”

“That doesn’t mean you get away with running around on an injured leg. And I can’t be afraid to tell you to step down.”

Catra took a deep breath, closing her eyes, counting to five, and letting the breath out. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Adora pulled back to kiss her forehead. “I am too. We’re working on it. Right?”

“Yeah.” Catra smiled faintly. “Right.”

[honeypwark]

[ You’re Hot ]

  ↳ Showcase: Star in US

       ↳ Kiryoung gets checked out by her members. She nearly drowns. She almost gets kidnapped.

m.list

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“Alright, let’s go!” Kai says excitedly once he’s rid himself of his tee shirt.

Soobin catches him around the waist and stops him from running straight into the ocean.

“Sunscreen first,” the leader says, pushing a bottle of spray-on sunscreen in his hands.

Kiryoung sets up one of the two large umbrellas they brought with them to the beach while Taehyun finishes up with the other. She double checks that it won’t fall over before pulling her shirt off. She quickly takes off her shorts as well, grabbing another bottle of sunscreen and walking a few steps away to apply it.

Kiryoung catches Taehyun’s attention as she goes to spray herself with sunscreen.

“Why is Kiryoung like... hot?” he says.

Confused, the other boys look at Kiryoung and have the same realization. She wears a floral patterned two piece swimsuit, the bottoms high waisted and the top styled with ruffles. Her stomach is toned as well as her legs. Her hair falls prettily around her shoulders when she lets it back down after putting sunscreen on her neck.

She walks back over to them and looks at them confusedly, “What?”

“Kiko, you’re hot,” Kai says bluntly.

Kiryoung flushes almost immediately, “Um... thank you?”

“Kai, shut up, you’re literally a child,” Soobin says.

“He’s not wrong,” Yeonjun adds.

“Don’t encourage him!” Soobin scolds.

“Hyung, you were looking at her, too,” Taehyun says.

“Because I was confused why you all were watching her!” Soobin protests.

Yeonjun pats Soobin’s shoulder, “Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy.”

Kiryoung laughs awkwardly, “Okay, let’s go swimming now haha woohoo yeah swimming.”

Lucky for her, the boys drop the subject of her being hot and race each other to the water. Kiryoung tries and fails to keep up, reaching the ocean after they’ve all splashed in. Kiryoung wades out to them, arms retracting up to her chest at the chilly temperature of the water.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“Okay, if you don’t play you lose, rock paper scissors!” Taehyun calls.

Just as she puts her hand up as a rock, a wave crashes into Kiryoung and sends her underwater. She kicks off the bottom and back up to the surface, hand still out as a rock.

“Wow, that sucks, you lost, Kiko,” Yeonjun says. “Looks like you have to go buy food.”

Seeing how much Kiryoung is struggling, Soobin grabs her arm and lets her use him as support. She wipes her eyes and sees all five boys holding out paper.

Does she doubt that they all actually put out paper before she almost drowned? Very much so, yes. Does she mind getting a break from attempting to stay afloat while her five giant friends can stand on the sea floor? Very much she does not.

“Fine.”

Kiryoung gets a mouthful of saltwater and spits it out.

Coughing, she says, “I’m gonna go do that.”

Kiryoung starts doggie paddling toward the shore, eventually making it onto dry land. After drying herself off briefly, she grabs her wallet and walks down the beach toward the snack shack. She orders six slices of pizza and six sodas, balancing them all in her arms carefully as she walks back to her group’s spot.

The boys are already waiting for her on their respective towels. They cheer obnoxiously as she gets closer to them. After eating the boys head back out but Kiryoung stays on the beach, tired from trying not to die via drowning.

She situates her towel under an umbrella so she can lay down in the shade. She lays there comfortably for about twenty minutes, just enjoying the warm day.

“You look bored.”

Kiryoung opens her eyes as someone speaks to her in English. She sees that a man has approached her, hair swept back and face cleanly shaven. He’s very tall, Kiryoung can tell even as he crouches down beside her.

“No, just enjoying the day,” she says and sits up.

“I could help you enjoy it a little better,” he says.

“How?”

Kiryoung doesn’t understand why this man has approached her. Does he want to sell her something?

“Well, there’s this motel just up the road that we can get a room at. Just the two of us.”

Kiryoung finally understands what this man means, having been confused just moments before due to not being a native English speaker and not being used to men approaching her out of nowhere.

“Oh, no, thank you,” she says quickly.

“Come on, little thing. You got anything better to do?”

When he grabs her arm, Kiryoung can feel her fight or flight response kick in. Apparently she’s unable to do either.

“Please don’t touch me,” she asks politely.

“Don’t be a bitch, I’m offering you a good time. Come on.”

“No no no no no no.”

She feels as if all the English vocabulary she’s every learned has been stripped from her mind, leaving her helpless to talk her way out.

The man roughly pulls her to her feet and she realizes how bad of a situation she’s in. This man is much stronger than her and significantly taller; she has no chance of fighting her way out either.

“Please let go of me,” she pleads, trying to drag her feet in the sand without falling as the man pulls her.

“HEY!”

Kiryoung and the man look behind them to see all five of Kiryoung’s members running toward them. Soobin grabs the man’s arm and makes him let go of Kiryoung. Beomgyu tugs Kiryoung away from the man, taken aback when she immediately hides in his chest. Fear and adrenaline still course through her and she doesn’t much care how pathetic she must look.

“What’s your problem?” the man growls at Soobin

Soobin doesn’t speak English, but he still strings together, “You don’t touch my friend.”

“She’s just a slut anyway, hanging around a bunch of dudes.”

Yeonjun steps up beside Soobin, “Hey, why don’t you back off?”

The man looks Yeonjun up and down, “You gonna make me?”

“There’s five of us and one of you, how do you think this is gonna end?”

Yeonjun and Soobin continue to stare the man down. Taehyun and Kai are just slightly behind the two older boys, the four making a wall between the man and Kiryoung, who is still being held by Beomgyu.

After what feels like an eternity, the man scoffs, “Tourists.”

He turns and walks away in a huff.

Beomgyu looks down at Kiryoung without removing his arms from around her.

“Are you okay?” he asks her softly.

“Yes,” she whispers.

It’s obvious she’s lying due to the way she’s visibly trembling. Beomgyu keeps an arm around Kiryoung as they make their way back to their belongings. The sun has began to set now, oranges and pinks beginning to dye the sea as the glowing orb in the sky sinks closer and closer to the horizon.

Kiryoung sits on her towel gently, finding her shirt and pulling it on over her swimsuit. She takes a drink of water and sighs, letting her terror from before melt away.

“Better?” Soobin asks.

She nods.

“Do you believe us when we say you’re hot now?” Yeonjun asks.

Taehyun throws sand at him but Kiryoung laughs. The boys’ worry lifts as they hear that.

“You guys can go back out if you want,” Kiryoung she’s.

“I’ll stay here.”

“Someone should stay with you.”

“I’ll keep you company.”

“We’re not going to leave you alone again.”

Taehyun, Beomgyu, Yeonjun, and Kai look at one another then away awkwardly. Their care for their female member, normally hidden behind teasing and playful bullying, rears its head as they all offer to stay with her simultaneously.

Kiryoung can’t help but smile at that.

“I’ll stay, you all can go,” Soobin says.

The other four boys start to get to their feet slowly, reapplying sunscreen before they go.

“I told you that you’re hot, I just didn’t think someone would try to kidnap you because of it,” Kai says as they start toward the water.

Kiryoung laughs with them and the four boys run off to meet the waves. Soobin’s forced laughter doesn’t fade as quickly as Kiryoung’s real laughs. He turns to look at her.

“Yeah, you’re not going anywhere by yourself for the rest of the tour.”