#fun fact: I only knew about her birthday cake because I had a lesson about it a few years ago

[blueepink07]

Hello!! I'm always amazed by the sybolism and connections you find -- I was wondering about your thoughts on your favorite/most interesting of the birthday cake art!

THANK YOU, I'm really glad that you like these analyses!!

I know that I have been posting a lot of Muu lately, but her birthday art is my favourite! It's simple and elegant and looks different from the other cakes, which makes it more interesting!

Before starting, I will separate this in sections so it can be easier to read!

1. Cake

2. Accesories and dress

3. Flowers

(mentions of murder, suicide and death)

Cake

Muu's cake is called Galette des Rois, a dessert originated from France and rich in traditions!

"This dish is eaten to celebrate Epiphany which is the day that the newborn baby Jesus was believed to have been visited by the three kings or Wise Men or Magi."

"Inside the cake, a fève or a miniscule trinket is usually hidden. Fève translates into ‘fava bean’ which was originally believed to be hidden in these cakes. Nowadays, a porcelain or plastic figurine representing baby Jesus is often put inside the Galette des Rois instead, a shift believed to have occurred towards the end of the 19th century. The person who gets the slice containing the fève gets a crown as well as the right to be treated as king or queen and choose their queen or king for the entire day."

Based on this description, we can see the similarities between this cake and Muu's Queen bee portrayal in the second MV. Her being shown doing what she pleases, finding comfort in her friend group.

However, before proceeding, it's necesseraly to give a brief history of this tradition and how it evolved over time...

"We traced this tradition of picking up kings back to Antiquity. In those ancient times, during the festivities consecrated to Saturn. Romans used to pick up king between their slaves. During one day this slave would have the luck to live like a master. Luck? Well.. after the day, in the best case he was returning to a state of slave, or he was just put to death. The roles were inverted to thwart the evil days of Saturn."

Awfully familiar, isn't it? The galette des rois it's a good representation of the dynamic in Muu's friend group. Because of how easily she was betrayed, it makes me think that the group was already formed or they knew eachother for a while. Despite that the old tradition tells that a poor person was chosen to be the king, which seems contradicting, because of Muu's financial state, if she were in the vulnerabile position of being new and not having friends, than she could be considered "poor" in terms of relationships. The friend group integrated Muu and started admiring her for the expensive things she had and for her beauty. For a short while, Muu felt like a queen, because of the attention she got at the expense of giving items to her friends. (In an older post I explained that Muu has the love language of giving objects to the persons she cares about!) Based of the phone messages, we find out that she has given an expensive lipstick to one of her friends, followed by Sayu who is expressing her wishes to try it too.

However, once Rei damaged Muu's reputation, the admiration and the "care" these girls expressed meant nothing in the end, followed by Muu's almost killing herself to be freed from the pain.

Basically, if we take in consideration the Galette des Rois tradition, Muu has been given the slice with the fève. She got the crown and have been treated like a queen for a short period of time by her friend group. Once the day was over (when Rei damaged her reputation), this privilege has been taken away from her. She had become nothing but a slave for these girls to make fun of, followed by Muu almost dying to escape from the pain. The same thing that happened to the people who were chosen as kings for a day in the past: being killed.

Gallete des Rois is usually eaten during Epiphany, a celebration that commemorates the visit of the Three Kings or the Three Magis to see the baby Jesus after he was born.

What I want to point out are the gifts that there were given to celebrate his birth, which are foreshadowing his life story.

1. "The gold represents Jesus’ kingship.

2. The frankincense represents Jesus’ deity.

3. Commonly used to embalm bodies, the gift of myrrh foreshadows Jesus’ death."

For Muu:

1. Muu being trated like a queen for a short period of time

2. Muu's great financial status

3. Muu being betrayed by her closest friends and almost dying because of them

Quite similar and interesting at the same time! The fact that the birthday art was foreshadowing Muu's second MV...

Accesories and dress

-> Earrings

Not a lot of symbolism, but more me describing what they represent!

The earrings look a lot like the hourglass from her MVs!

She also has a teardrop coloured in green (the colour of the honey in her MV) representing her pain and sorrow during that period of time, and how with every passing moment she felt more and more suffocated in this horrible "friend" group. For this birthday art however, Muu is crying out of joy, so let's hope that the honey teardrop represents more her happiness during her birthday!

-> Dress

This was written in my latest post...! I didn't change much, since my thoughts about it are the same!

Muu's dress looks similar with Belle's dress from the "Beauty and the beast."

I think it's interesting how the story (not the Disney version) is originated from France. No matter what version you take, Belle saved the beast by reciprocating his feelings and seeing past his appearance, Belle's presence awakening his good inner self.

Somehow, I think it fits with Muu's and Haruka's relationship, in a way. Haruka thinks of Muu as his benefactor, the one who helped him become more confident and cheerful. Although Haruka considers himself as being "useless", Muu saw past this, and found a friend that she can rely on in a weird place like Milgram. She takes care of him bringing him food, prasing him and giving attention, basically, showing kindness.

"Haruka: Muu-san praises me. The useless me… She praises me, acknowledges me, looks at me, and she needs me. My current self only exists thanks to Muu-san."

Her presence and her kindness is one of the factors that contributed in making Haruka feel more confident, changing him. Haruka and the beast are both characters who weren't used to being treated with compassion... And so, the appearance of Muu, respectively, Belle ultimately saved them, based on their perspective and situation.

Also, "Belle" means beautiful in French and Muu is canonically described as gorgeous!

Flowers

The flowers have been found by @oehale on twitter!

->Rosa Rugosa

"Rosa rugosa is a strong symbol of Love and adoration.

Rosa rugosa is associated with the Greek goddess of beauty and love in ancient mythology, Aphrodite. Goddess Aphrodite is often portrayed as having a rose crown on her head."

This flower can represent the friend group's feelings of adoration and awe towards Muu, before the incident that changed their perspective on her.

In the second MV, Muu is in the center of attention, every eye is on her and every worker bee is waiting for her comand. Adoration and loyalty is depicted as the honey which is given to her by the others. This substance is sweet, alluring, like love, a sentiment which can become addicting, until you can't live without it. The fact that the honey is more green than yellow, can symbolise the superficiality of the "love" and "adoration" that the friend group has given to Muu. The second MV illustrates how Muu escaped from this intoxicating addiction of eating this honey (towards the end she is eating less and less, until she literally escapes from the honey, without consuming it), flying away from the hourglass, the place where she once felt safe and happy, which now is just an empty, broken space.

Rosa rugosa, in the language of flowers, means sad and beautiful. Sorrow and pain are sentiments that Muu felt during the time she was bullied. Sadness was a daily thing at one point, the girl wishing that tomorrow will not come, so she would not experince it again. Beauty it's one of the aspects that made her to be so adored by her peers, and also one of the factors that, due to jealousy, made her a target of bullying.

Moreover, the presence of the teardrops on her earrings, and the way she is drawn, as a queen, elegant and pretty, further illustrates this symbolism.

-> Penstemon

"These flowers are also known by the name beardtongue. This one is supposed to mean gentle courage or risks of the heart."

Penstemon is a representation of Muu's sorrow and pain and how she escaped from it. Being pushed to the point were she felt trapped in an awful situation, where she couldn't ask for help, her pleads being ignored, she managed to escape my eliminating the source of her problems. A risk of heart done in a moment of disperation, in which, once again, her feelings were not listened or taken into consideration, which ended up with Rei's death.

Courage for finding a solution to her problems, in a place where she only had herself as a friend, and avoiding, in the end, to succumb to those inner feelings which were pushing her to wish of her own dissapearence.

"Penstemon provides great strength, courage, and perseverance during challenging life circumstances. If you are feeling sorry for yourself, you may benefit from taking this flower essence. Those who have been through unusually hard circumstances may feel more ease and grace after taking Penstemon. Those circumstances could include the loss of something special, which causes a soul to lose faith and feel pity or intense despair. Penstemon brings about more courageous energy for that soul, rebuilding it with feelings of trust and hope."

After murdering Rei, she finally felt relief, hoping that things will turn to better and be as it was before. She is feeling sorry for herself and what she has experienced, in the first VD, being unsure of her actions that lead her to this point...

"It looks like each flower is sticking a bearded tongue out of its mouth, which is why we also call them “beardtongues.”

This distinctive aspect of this flower can symbolise Muu's pleads and cries which ended up being ignored by her peers and adults... She tried to alert people of her pain, but it seems like, no one has cared enough to help her to escape from this circumstance...

Thank you for reading! ~ 🎂

[nanamisflowerfield]

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It was a big day, well at least for Idia. After all it was his crush’s birthday! Scared and excited, he tried to prepare a gift for his beloved crush in secret.

︶✿︶︶✿︶︶✿︶︶✿︶︶✿︶︶✿︶︶✿︶

@teashopwritingzz I know I don’t have to do it, but I really really really wanted to give at least one small present to you! Because you totally deserve it!🥺❤️ Happy belated Birthday! I know that yesterday was your birthday, but I wasn‘t online yesterday due the post+ demonstration! D: I still hope that you had a wonderful day yesterday and today and the whole week! Stay safe and healthy too!!

Idia took a deep breath, staring at the list of gift ideas that you might like, but a small voice back in his head kept telling him, that you would never like any of those gifts. “I’m sure that (Y/N) (L/N) will like it!” His younger brother always said, but the tall dorm leader of Ignihyde was still pouting at his thoughts. If you would reject any of those, you would also reject his feelings. It would be like a critical hit, getting it from the most greatest SSR character ever. “If you are still unsure, you can watch them. Maybe you will figure out what (Y/N) (L/N) will like.” Ortho advised his big bro, who glanced over his shoulder to the only person he might listen to at this very important situation. “Maybe you are right…” Idia’s gaze wandered from his brother to the list he had on his phone. Headphones, phonecases, games, books and more were listed on it, but would you liked them?

“Owww! My paw!” Grim cursed the ground, after he fell down from the bed, being accidentally pushed down by you. “Sorry, Grim.” Apologizing by petting him on the head and promising to give him a can of tuna later, he halfheartly accepted your apology, walking with you to school for another mayhap exciting school day. “I will only accept it, because it’s your birthday.” The cat-like friend of yours, fummed, watching the Heartslabyul duo walk into your direction to greet you and wish you a happy birthday. “Trey-senpai even baked a cake.” Deuce told you, getting elbowed by Ace, who groaned at him that the birthday party should be a surprise, only to spoil it himself. “A surprise party…? I’m probably not invited…” Idia watched the screen, his eyes never leaving you, hopeful to get any informations of what you might wish for, while his fingers tipped on his keyboard, coding something he always had on mind.

As you wrote on paper everything important professor Crewel told the class, Ace drummed with his finger on the table, while Grim was half sleeping next to you and Deuce tried his best to be a perfect student. “Hey, can you read the list of invited students later on? Did we invite every friend of yours?” Deuce whispered to you, getting harsh words of the professor for interrupting the lesson. But every time Crewel watched away, you read all names of your friends on it, only noticing that one name was missing. The person you wanted to see not only through screen. Idia Shroud. But maybe he couldn’t come over or doesn’t want to for being such a shy and yet adorable being.

Surprisingly the day went on like every other day. You laughed, had fun, talked to your friends and went to the Heartslabyul garden, while wearing shiny bright white clothes to show the whole school that it was indeed your birthday, like many other students had to wear on theirs. It was a bit embarrassing to talk with plenty of students about your birthday, but it still made you happy nonetheless, even when you still hoped to talk on specific student of NRC on this very day. But he didn’t came, so maybe you should get your little present from him by visiting Idia. “That’s a great party, guys. Thank you all so much, but I will be gone for a short time.” You smiled at your friends, watching them having fun, eating delicious food and talking to each other.

Idia yelped as he heard a knock on the door. Wasn’t everyone gone and having fun right now? Who was knocking on the door? Arguing with Ortho with mere stares, the younger Shroud walked to the door, opening it to your delight and Idia’s dismay, as he stared at the door opening more and more and then- oh no, by the great seven, was it truly you?! You were supposed to be at your party, having the time of your life with your dear friends and not be here! Why were you here?!

Like a good child, Ortho greeted you, standing next to the door to give you some space to walk through the door to Idia’s room. While you were smiling at the Shroud brothers, Idia was sitting on his chair, turning around to hide his blushing face that got warmer by every second you stood there and talked to Ortho. The tips of his hair and ears were dusted cheek and he was sure, that some might compare to him to fresh cherries!

“Sorry to disturb you-“ You started, getting interrupted by Ortho, who dragged you into the room, telling you that you would never disturb any of those two. “Oh… Uhm… Alright.” With the same smile that Idia fell for, your eyes stared at his back. Oh, how much you had wishes to hold the introverted boy in your embrace, pat him and give him the love and affection he deserved. “I-I-It’s… alright…” Idia sputtered and stuttered, trying to avoid your gaze in fear that you might tease him for having a crush on you. He just couldn’t help himself. You were such a lovely person. So nice, helpful and that smile. He could babble around, what a great person you were in his boring shut-in life. That you were like the light in his dark life. A total ultra super duper rare card in the gacha games he keeps playing, being frustrated that he couldn’t get those cards, but at least could look at them on photos. “Am I creepy…?” Idia mumbled to himself, forgetting your presence for a second until you asked him to repeat it, after not able to hear it. “N-Nothing!”

Fortunately or mayhap even unfortunately, Ortho knew of Idia’s feelings and how much he had took a liking towards you, which is why he had asked you, why you were in the Ignihyde dorm. “Oh… I wanted to get my present.” The blue-haired tall student turned around, nearly shrieking in fear that you figured out, that he wanted to give you a gift as well like plenty of your friends, who unfortunately had gifted you many presents he had listed a couple weeks ago. “My present would be… to spend more time with you, Idia.” Your gaze wandered to the ground as your cheeks got warmer by your mere words and wish you had, not realizing that Idia’s face was mirroring yours at the same time your words had left your mouth.

That was a gift that he would love to give you every day as long as you wanted to have him by his side. His mouth opened slightly, wanting to talk, before you had asked him what he was programming right now as you took a look at the codes, ignoring the fact that a humming Ortho left the room, so he might not disturb you two love birds. “A g-game… I’m trying to make a small game I had in mind for quite some time.” He answered, staring at it once again.

“Have you finished it already?“ The bluehead nodded. “May I play it?” Mumbling a few words here and there, Idia hoped that his hair hide his flustered face, but he nonetheless let you sit next to him and play his selfmade game, even though he feared that you would reach the end of it and find out about his big secret he never wanted to reveal to you.

“Another level up. Great!~” You cheered, playing the rpg of Idia’s even though your friends might miss you during your birthday party. You should get back, but you couldn’t stop playing the game, after all you has nearly reach the endboss! “Is that a giant cat? He reminds me of Grim.” You chuckled, trying to defeat the endboss with the spells of the protagonist named Hadia. It was a cute game.

The plot of it was like plenty of other rpgs. The protagonist Hadia, a royal guy fell in love with Readi, a sweet princess who got kidnapped by the evil cat-monster Grimopy. Grimopy tried to be the strongest wizard and king and had plenty of henchmen like Dice and Acepo, which were quite strong enemies. Hadia had to train a lot and even gained the help of different wizards like Lio, a sleepy lion, Otto, a cute robot. Then there were Ralice, Tri, Phone-Addicted Rabbit, who still had no name, because Idia couldn’t find a good fitting name for the character. Marteus, Kala, Azure and many other characters and all of them reminded you of your friends. That meant that Hadis was probably Idia and the lovely princess Readi was… you. “Cute game.” You whispered to yourself, using the last spell to defeat the boss, watching the end scene of the rpg.

Hadis was rushing through the castle until he found his beloved princess. When he leaned down to kiss her awake with the kiss of true love, she woke up and they confessed their loves, swearing to each other to be together forever until they lives will end.

“I think I have a new ship.” You giggled, pointing at the protagonists, while you looked at Idia, the blushing mess. “I’m really glad that they are together. They are perfect and cute together. So sweet. I hope that my Hadis likes me as much as he does…” You commented, shutting his computer down, while Idia clenched his fists, knowing that you finally know about his feelings. “Come. We have to go to a party, Idia.” You smiled at the marveled dorm leader. “P-Party?!” Faster than he could expect it, you grabbed his hand in yours, pulling him away from his room towards the garden of the Heartslabyul dorm. “Oh, I like you too, my Hadis.” - “I-I like you too… my Readi.” With the other hand of his, he tried to hide his red face as you chuckled at him, happy that you finally can call him yours.

[midgardianweasley]

Hey! Can I get a George Weasley fluff where you’re baking a cake, and he ends up joining and throwing some batter at you, and it ultimately ends in a food fight. Then he kisses the batter off your lips. Please and thank you <3

Of course! Here you go love, I hope you like it <33

Aprons and Kitchens

George Weasley x fem!reader

Summary: George claims he’s going to help Y/N bake a cake for his mothers birthday, but, chaos follows him wherever he goes.

Word Count: 1187 words

Warnings: fluffier than cotton balls - consider yourself warned

Message/ask if you want to be added to taglist! <3 

Today was the day. It was my mother in law’s birthday, Molly Weasley. Ever since dating her son, George Weasley, she’s taken me in like I'm one of her own and has always made me feel so welcome at the burrow. She has been like a second mother to me over the years and because of that, I’d said that I want to be the one to make her birthday cake, as a way to express my appreciation of the love and support she’s not only shown me, but George and I as a couple. I’d just finished laying out all of the ingredients i’d needed, flour, eggs, milk, all of the initial basics and the equipment i needed. I’d decided to wake up relatively early to get a head start, expecting to be working on it myself, until I started icing that is, knowing George liked to steal some when he thinks I'm not looking. I’m pleasantly surprised when I feel two arms wrap around my waist from behind and a soft whisper in my ear, slightly raspy from just having woken up.

“Guess who”

“Hmm” I muttered, practically hearing the smirk on his face.

“Fred?” I gasped, but before I could begin to turn around to see the shocked look on his face, one that I knew was there waiting for me, I felt his fingers dig into my sides and begin to tickle me, sending me into an inescapable laughing fit. If laughing was a workout, this man would’ve given me an eight pack by now.

“Okay okay okay stop” I yelped between laughs “I learned my lesson! I’m sorry!”

“You have to say the magic word, and I’ll stop”

“Pleeeease?” I looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes

“Well, it was actually ‘Georgeisthebesthusbandintheentireworld’” He quickly spoke, “But i’ll make an exception seeing as you said it so nicely.”

A blush crept onto my face as I quickly turned back around, looking over the recipe once more to ensure I knew what I was doing when out of the corner of my eye, I saw George grab two aprons that had been given to us as a wedding gift by Fred, they were a light blue colour with ‘Mr’ on one and ‘Mrs’ on the other in Black cursive writing. He put my apron on first, pulling my hair out of where it had been tucked under the neck string, and tied the string at my waist in a loose bow before tugging his one on. “Okay, where do we start?”

~TImeskip~

Things had been going well so far, we worked in a comfortable silence, with the occasional comment or question murmured between the both of us. It was perfectly peaceful, until I felt George poke my arm, leaving a little circular mark of flour on my arm. I’d decided to pretend I hadn’t noticed, hoping that it would be left at a poke. This hope soon faded when I then felt, not a poke, but a full handprint landed on my arm, leaving whatever flour that didn’t fall to the floor, on my arm again.

“George! We need to finish this cake for your mum's birthday, it needs to be perfect!” Playfully shoving him, expecting him to take it even just a little bit seriously, but, this is George Weasley, his middle name may as well be ‘mischief’. This point was clearly shown to me when I then felt a handful of flour thrown towards me and hit my face. I attempted to look annoyed, but failed the second I turned round and saw his cheeky grin looking mighty proud of himself, it was impossible to hide my smile when looking at his.

“You know I’m literally holding an egg, right?” I smirk, but before I could get a chance to follow through with my threat, I felt the other side of my face receive a healthy handful of flour.

“Okay, you asked for it, it’s on.” I smacked the egg onto his chest, yolk covering the ‘R’ on his apron. Not having a chance to laugh at the fact that he now had an apron appearing to barely have an ‘M’ left on it, I ran and ducked behind the counter and the brown stools that were tucked away underneath. Thankfully, i’d managed to grab a bag of sugar on my route to escape the wrath of George in ‘food fight’ mode, grabbing a big handful of the grains and throwing them in his general direction. Thinking I was safe where I was hiding, was a big mistake, when I suddenly felt a wooden spoonful worth of batter splat onto my head, ultimately running down the sides and leaving a less than pleasant feeling on my scalp. He’s totally in for it now.

After a lot of laughing, throwing, poking, slapping, and basically making the biggest mess a pair can make, we eventually called a truce, realising that we would eventually need to clean it up, and although we could use magic, we sometimes liked washing and drying up together. Walking towards me, George held his hand out and we shook on it, agreeing that upon looking at the mess and the now severe lack of eggs, we’d need to stop before we end up not having enough to bake Molly’s cake, something I was not letting happen in a million years.

“You’ve made such a mess George Weasley!”

“Says the one with batter on her face, Y/N Weasley!”

Moving my hand to both sides of my face, I wiped them over, hoping to rid myself of the attack of batter I'd faced.

“Did I get it?”

“Almost, just missed a spot on your cheek.” He smiled, looking in awe of me attempting to blindly clean my face, ultimately making it worse, covering it with sugar, but I’m sure it was fun watching me try, for the second time.

“How about now?”

“Here, let me get it” Shutting my eyes, expecting to feel his thumb rub off where i’d missed, I felt a pair of lips gently press against mine, his tongue softly pressing against my lips, but before I could deepen the kiss, he pulls away, licking his lips in the process.

“There we go, all gone!” He winked

“You told me it was my cheek!” I exclaimed, although, I wasn’t really complaining

“Maybe I just wanted an excuse to kiss my gorgeous wife”

Smiling, I lean up, hovering my lips just above his, muttering so quietly that I’m surprised he’d heard me

“Bubble war for round two?”

He pulled my body closer to his, stroking my hips, lips still not touching, but I could still feel his breath clashing with mine.

“Merlin, I love you” was all I heard before I felt his lips back on mine, the only thought on my mind while pulling away being that, I was glad we’d started on this cake early.

Taglist: @horrorxweasley @dracofknmalfoy @gaycatlord-stuff

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Tikki’s blessing

Because I had already made a “Plagg’s revenge” kind of fic, and Tikki deserves to do some justice herself, I wrote this.

Personally, I think Tikki is more vicious when she wants to punish someone.

-

“I can’t believe that brat!” Marinette left herself fall into her fainting couch and grabbed a pillow, screaming into it.

Tikki went out of her purse, already knowing what had happened. The class was organizing the same annual bake sale they always did, but thanks to Lila’s manipulations, Marinette had ended up with almost four times as much work as before, and half the price to boot. “Because you’re  a nice person, aren’t you, Marinette?”

At least her parents had agreed already, and some of her classmates had actually agreed to help her too, but still, what was done was done.  

Tikki has had enough of Lila too.

She knew some lies were a necessary evil in everyday life, but that bratty girl was taking it too far. She couldn’t remember anything she had said that was truth. She wasn’t even sure that the liar’s name was “Lila Rossi”, or that she was Italian.

Tikki wanted to do something about it, but by the looks of things, her current holder, Marinette Dupain-Cheng seemed to think otherwise, probably because Plagg’s current kitten advised her to not rock the boat and the take the high road, otherwise, Marinette could have exposed Lila a long time ago as Ladybug, or as herself, and prevent a lot of headaches.

Being a teenager was stressful. Being the savior of Paris was even more stressful, so Tikki didn’t like this lying liar who lies adding even more stress to Marinette.

Many people had called Tikki a “Goddess of Creation” or a “Creation Spirit” or even a “Creation Fairy”. She was none of those things. She didn’t “use” creation. She is creation itself, and unlike Plagg, she had control over what she could create, and a good intuition about creating useful things.  She wasn’t Life, however, as other people usually said, but it was close enough.

And the thing is, She is Creation of All Things, and all things include havoc and retribution.

So she decided to bless Lila. And by “bless”, she meant she was going to give Lila some of her own creation powers. She wasn’t crazy, of course giving Lila even the tiniest fraction of her powers was risky, but she could revoke the blessing at any time, and she could also put some failsafe in the bless itself.

So after she was sure that Marinette was asleep, she put her plan in motion. Tikki really hated to work without telling Marinette first, and really hated herself for it, but she was pretty sure her holder would veto her idea, as she had to admit it was a bit cruel and devious, but still, that brat needed to learn a lesson about lying. She sighed deeply, finding her resolve, and flying outside the house, going through the window.

She didn’t know exactly where Lila’s house was, but she had a vague idea for how she had heard the liar speaking. She hoped at least that was true.

Jackpot.

She finally found Lila’s house, some hours before sunrise, and found the liar’s room easily.  

Tikki smiled in a sad kind of way. Lila didn’t look different from any other girl from this point of view. Her house was nice; her room was filled with anything a teen would want.  She really couldn’t put her finger on why this girl needed to lie so much. But regardless, she had taken her decision and was going to bless this bratty kid, no matter what.

She puckered up the things that passed for lips on a Kwami and kissed Lila on the forehead. She hadn’t blessed anyone like that in a long time, so the tiny kiss shinning for a second came as a bit of a surprise. It had been so long… She sighed satisfied, and hoped against hope that this brat would learn her lesson. Heh, at least she would get to have some fun.

She shrugged and left for home. Thank herself she didn’t actually need to sleep. She’ll just ask Marinette for some breakfast cookies to get energy for the day.

The next day (Or already, for Tikki), it was Nino’s birthday, and Marinette decided to surprise him with a box of éclairs(which were Nino’s favorite) to share with the class to celebrate him. Only the freshest ingredients (As Always), the creamiest cream, and she even took the time to color the chocolate in green and blue, Nino’s favorite colors.

Everyone was happy with the treat that Marinette was offering, but before they could even bite into it, Lila… of course Lila had claimed to be lactose intolerant, throwing herself a pity party about how she wouldn’t be able to taste the oh so delicious éclairs that Marinette had made!

And she didn’t want to prevent everyone from eating the delicious treats just because she wouldn’t be able to partake in the festivities. She knew her public, and of course everyone else felt guilty and immediately reassured her that if they couldn’t get them, then no one would, much to Nino and Marinette’s disappointment. Everyone returned the éclairs to Marinette.

And Alya, good and sweet Alya, decided to buy Nino a vegan cake so that Lila could enjoy with everyone! Despite the fact that Nino didn’t like those kind of cakes, but it was for Lila’s sake!

And Alya, good, sweet, naïve Alya, got everyone to chip in some money for the cake. Lila of course took the chance for another low blow to Marinette, commenting how it was a shame that the Dupain-Cheng Bakery didn’t carry vegan option for people with allergies like her (Never mind that she claimed to be intolerant, not allergic). Marinette was quick to point out that they did made vegan option upon request. And again, Lila commented it was a shame that they weren’t ready to pick up.  

Marinette gave the whole box of untouched éclairs to Nino so he could enjoy them later, which he greatly appreciated and thanked her for them. They  were taken aback when Alya asked for her to give some money for Nino’s cake, and Lila of course took this as an opportunity to stir more trouble, she claimed to be broke because she gave all her money to some charity, otherwise she would gladly give it to the cause. Everyone was whispering about how selfless Lila was, but Nino, bless his heart, showed everyone his box of éclairs, the ones they had rejected, and kindly reminded everyone that Marinette had already given him a gift. Lila tried to say that having a bakery, the éclairs were no problem to her, but Nino very politely told her that he’d rather have the éclairs than some nasty vegan cake with fake milk. Alya got mad at Nino for being so rude to Lila, and cancelled the whole cake thing off, returning the money to everyone. She didn’t talk to Nino for the rest of the day.

Later that day, during lunch hour, Lila noticed that she actually didn’t have any money on her, but she figured she had forgotten it at home, and guilt tripped Alya into paying for her lunch, which she gladly did. She didn’t expect that Lila would get the most expensive item on the menu, seafood with garlic sauce.

And then she had to run to the bathroom after drinking her chocolate milk, which curiously, no one reminded her that she was actually lactose intolerant, but she figured she had gotten something bad in her lunch. Probably the expensive seafood she had made Alya buy for her. Then again, it was probably because she mixed chocolate milk with seafood.

Tikki snickered inside Marinette’s purse when she heard what happened to Lila (And that Alya had to run after her). Her blessing was working.

Next was during P.E. class, where Lila told Mr. D'Argencourt that she was having “feminine issues” having bad cramps and other related issues and would be unable to do the exercises. She had to run to the bathroom again when her period actually started, bad cramps included. Alya again accompanied her suffering friend.

Tikki smiled to herself after learning of this. Her blessing would allow Lila to create things about herself, so when she claimed to be lactose intolerant, she became just that. When she claimed to be broke, her money actually disappeared. She had claimed to be on her period, and now she was.

She wasn’t dumb, she knew that sooner or later Lila would claim something good about herself, but she also knew that if there was something Lila loved more than gaining attention due to her many talents and connections, she also love to play victim to get out of showing those fake talents and connections, so anything good she said about herself would immediately be negated by something bad she said about herself. And even if she didn’t play victim, Tikki thought it would be a nice trade-off if she used an actual talent (gained through magic, but still) to impress other people, instead of her usual lies.

She also know that although the brat wasn’t a master manipulator like Marinette thought, she also wasn’t particularly dumb, and would eventually realize she was under a spell and would try to take advantage of it. And the failsafe would act at that moment, revoking the blessing.

It could last a day, a month, or all of Lila’s life, but Tikki was in no rush, after all, she was Creation, and she was eternal.

[wrenhyperfixates]

Party Favors

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: Loki comes to the rescue when your nephews’ birthday party is on the brink of disaster. Warnings: some curse words and implied smut; fluff

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

“No! Don’t run there. It’s slippery.”

“Hang on, the bathroom’s right inside.”

“There’s going to be cake later, and you don’t want to get a tummy ache.”

Gosh, kids were tiring. You’d promised your sister, Katie, that you’d help out at your nephews’ birthday party. It was a sticky summer afternoon, but the heat did nothing to slow down the thirty-something kids running around the backyard. Between neighbors, classmates, and camp friends, the birthday boys had quite the guest list. Your sister and brother-in-law were both chaperoning the party, along with some other parents, but you were still outnumbered. Even if you weren’t, kids in large groups seem to have a penchant for trouble. It sure didn’t help that they were all at the age where chaos seemed like average fun.

Spotting the twins, you decided to take a few photos for your sister, who was busy running around to make sure everything was running smoothly. “Hey, Timmy. Hey, Tommy. How’re my favorite nephews today?” you said after snapping a few shots.

“But Auntie (y/n),” Timmy started, “we’re your only nephews.”

“Yeah, and we’re eight now,” Tommy continued for his brother. “You can’t trick us anymore.”

“We’re big boys now,” they finished together.

“I guess you are,” you replied, laughing. “Not too big for the bouncy house, I hope.”

“Of course not, Auntie. Bye!” they shouted, running towards the inflatable castle.

You walked over to the boys’ father, Lucas, and helped him check all the Slip 'N Slides and water balloon supplies. Just when you thought you might get through the day without any disasters, your sister came running up to you and Lucas.

“The clown just cancelled. There was a huge traffic jam and he can’t make it in time,” she said in a conspiratorial whisper.

“That’s all right,” Lucas said. “I’ve been saving some grade-A dad jokes for a situation like this.”

Both you and Katie groaned, eliciting a hurt scoff from her husband. And then a genius idea hit you.  

“Wait a minute, guys. I literally work with superheroes.”

A few years ago, you’d scored a position at Stark Industries and, though you’d never worked in the field, often helped the team from the lab. You’d even played a large role in designing Tony’s latest suit.

“Could you really get one of them to come? I mean, aren’t they busy?” your sister asked.

Truth be told, you weren’t sure that they were free, but they definitely owed you a favor. You’d saved their butts more times than you could count. It was, at very least, worth a try. You found the quietest place you could, then called Tony. Then Thor. Then Steve. Then Nat. None of them picked up. In a desperate last attempt, you phoned the Tower hoping someone would pick up. F.R.I.D.A.Y. answered and confirmed the presence of one Avenger in the Tower. You immediately asked her to put them on, not bothering to check who it was.

“Hi. I have an urgent matter and need to call in a favor.”

“And since when do I owe you one?” a smooth baritone came from the other end of the line.

Shit, you thought, of all the people in the Tower it had to be him. You and Loki got along well enough, but you weren’t friends, per se. The two of you constantly kept up a witty banter that was often flirtatious. The others teased you about it, and you were sure they placed bets on which one of you would ask the other out first. That, of course, was stupid, as Loki obviously did not feel that way about you. And how you felt? Well, it was best not to dwell on it.

“Oh, hi Loki. Sorry, you weren’t who I was expecting. Where’s everyone else?”

“Out at the movies. They should be back in half an hour, if your urgent matter can wait that long.” You let out a frustrated groan, which prompted him to say, “Well, that’s certainly not how I imagined getting that sound out of you.”

You were thankful he wasn’t there to see you blush. You didn’t know if you could wait that long for the rest of the Avengers. That didn’t even include the time it would take for them to actually arrive. You were about to hang up and tell Katie she better try to find a replacement clown or magician when you got your second great idea that afternoon.

“Loki,” you said, “I’m sending you my location. Just come over as fast as you can. I’ll explain when you get here.”

Then you hung up before he could respond. You raced to the front of the house to wait but were nervous that he wouldn’t show. You didn’t have long to worry, though, because he suddenly materialized, making you jump a little. Sometimes you forgot that he could teleport.

“Your savior is here,” he declared, striking a dramatic pose.

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “Yeah, yeah. My hero,” you said before explaining the situation to him.

“Well, I’m afraid I’m not very popular with the masses, (y/n). I think you’d be better off waiting for one of the others.”

You couldn’t help but notice how he tried to hide the sadness behind those words. Before he could leave, you protested, “Kids may love superheroes, but you know what they love even more? Magicians!”

He raised a skeptical eyebrow at that. “I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion. Besides, I don’t much appreciate being reduced to a mere magician.” He stopped for a second to tap his chin as if deep in thought, before continuing, “But, I suppose if you ask nicely, I might consider it.”

You made your best puppy dog eyes and stuck out your lower lip while giving him a pouty please. He considered you for a moment before responding.

“Very well,” he said. “I will save you this time. Just remember that you owe me. In fact, I’ve already got just the thing in mind.”

The devilish grin he gave you with that last part caused an involuntary shiver to run down your spine. He noticed but decided not to push his luck. Besides, he genuinely found it cute. In fact, he found everything about you cute. However, he refused to acknowledge the way his heart beat faster when you took his hand to lead him into the house. As you were walking, he conjured a classic magician outfit for himself. Though, he opted to have green accents instead of the traditional red. When you turned back around to face him, you couldn’t stop the girlish giggle that escaped your lips.

“Like what you see, darling?” he asked, striking a pose.

“Oh, fuck off.”

Despite your harsh response, you were blushing. As much as you were loath to admit it, he was rather dashing in the suit and top hat. You felt a sudden rush of nervousness as you introduced him to Katie and Lucas. You could see on their faces that they were trying to figure out where they knew Loki from. The second they connected the dots, their faces fell, but the reassuring smile you gave them must have worked since they started gathering the kids for the show. In all honesty, you hadn’t thought about their reaction to his being there. Or the other parents’ reaction, for that matter. It was hard to remember that the world was still clinging to the madman he’d been at the battle of New York when you knew he was just a witty prankster. Actually, he did a lot of good for the world. To you, he was just Loki.

You offered him a grateful smile as he stepped up in front of the kids and introduced himself as Loki the Magnificent. For as reluctant as he was in agreeing to this, he was putting on quite a show for them. It was a good thing, too, considering how brutally honest kids could be. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding when it became apparent how enraptured all the children were with his act. He even brought Timmy and Tommy onstage to assist him with a few tricks. You made sure to take tons of pictures, partly for your sister, but mainly to tease Loki with later.

Once he finished his last trick, the kids were seated at various tables and the cake was brought out. You wanted to run up to Loki and thank him, but you had to help distribute the cake. After double checking that all the kids got a slice, you brought a piece to Loki.

“Hey, you were great up there. And I guess you really saved my ass,” you said, mumbling the last part.

“It was my pleasure. Believe it or not, I had fun.”

He raised a bit of cake on his fork in a sort of salute to you. You fully expected him to leave once he finished eating, but, to your surprise, he stayed even after all the guests had gone. You two were cleaning up the junk in the backyard when you found yourself thanking him again.

“Really,” you said, “I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Well mortal, let this be a lesson on how superior I am and-”

His sentence was cut short by you dumping a bucket of water down his back. You were laughing so hard that you didn’t notice him get one of his own to return the favor. You shrieked in delight as he started hurling leftover water balloons at you. You ran away from him, but his aim was impeccable. Pretty soon, you were drenched. Though you were able to seize some ammunition of your own, you were no match for the god.

“Okay, okay,” you shouted to him, bent over, trying to catch your breath. “Truce.”

“No way,” he replied, running up behind you and grabbing you by the waist. Lifting you into the air and spinning, he said, “I’m claiming this as a victory!”

Your laughter was making such a racket that Katie came to see what was going on. Through giggles, you apologized to her, but she just waved you off. Seeing as you and Loki were both sopping wet, she thanked you for all your help and sent you home to dry off. You wondered why she didn’t let you stay there to do so, but the smirk on her face answered that. Rolling your eyes at her, you said goodbye and then shouted farewells to Lucas and your nephews, who were inside.

You and Loki made your way to your car in a peaceful silence. You offered him a ride, but he insisted on teleporting you home instead. Only problem was, he brought you straight to his bedroom, not your home. You gave him a quizzical look that demanded he explain himself.

“Don’t forget, little one. You owe me a favor.”

“Oh yeah? Bring it on.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After their movie ended, the Avengers tried to return your calls. You never did pick up. They didn’t have to wonder why for long, though. The sounds coming from a certain bedroom answered that question perfectly.

[memoriashell]

first impressions ( are they pointless if fate has already decided? )

Characters /  Pairing: Fukawa Touko/Naegi Komaru, ( implied ) Syo / Komaru

crossposted on ao3

Notes: day 7 of @tokomaruweek​!! soulmate prompt.

sorry if i manage to absolutely fuck up posting this one i'm half awake rn.

i appreciate how unrealistic and improbably soulmate aus are. anyways i knew i wanted to play with this idea as soon as i saw the prompt. i think that bodyswap au has interesting potential. the bodyswap soulmate au in the specific sense that you’d theoretically get to see the kind of hardships your fated might be going through but that’s not really the angle i took on it here but i mean do any of us want komaru to face abuse and bullying? no. i cannot comit to that. someone else can do that i am going to live here angst free anyways in case it isn't obvious the basis premises around this is that once you come of age, you swap bodies with your soulmate. HONESTLY not sure how a body swap au would work w/ a did person but considering that every alter / identity is considered their own person, i figured that it would simply just swap w/ the host, meaning any alters would be left behind. i do think it'd be an interesting concept to play with, maybe?

tw for trauma / abuse ( /ive parents )

Summary:  most circumstances to figure out the identity of your soulmate are pretty unfortunate, but she thinks this one might take the proverbial cake in some regard.

For most people, this would be the kind of momentous occasion that people would count down to. For Touko, it catches her completely off guard because she hardly registers the fact that her birthday is coming up until the day it happens.

‘It’ being the day she comes of age and is supposed to find out who her soulmate is.

She’d be lying if she said she didn’t think about this kind of stuff on occasion. It was kind of a given, with her entire shtick of being a romance author. But quite frankly, she tries to forget it, because really? Soulmates? For someone like her? Not likely.

Who would want to be stuck with someone like her? Best not to get her hopes up too much, and stick to unrequited crushes on people she knows she’s probably not destined for.

The sound of an unfamiliar alarm is what wakes her up— Touko doesn’t really process anything more than trying to turn it off and laying down for a few minutes. And then realizes her body doesn’t quite feel right. Empty. Something’s missing and it’s too quiet and it all feels horribly wrong. And then opening her eyes and realizing she can see perfectly fine without her glasses.

Oh. Oh no. No no no no no.

She hops out of bed and spots a phone ( thank christ ) and confirms her fears. Right. It’s her birthday. Thank god she doesn’t need to know a passcode to figure out that information. Well, nothing she can do about that. Time to sleep off today, so she can go back to living her life normally, soulmate-free.

Or well, that is what she plans to do, until a picture frame catches her attention from the corner of her eye, and— oh. Oh no? Oh no. She absolutely recognizes one of the two people in the picture. She presumes the girl is the one whose body she’s currently inhabits ( nothing particularly special to note there, plain as plain can be ). The boy— she loathes that nonchalant, easygoing expression— the boy she recognizes as her classmate. One Makoto Naegi.

God, it’d be just her luck, huh. Speaking of which—

“Komaru!” Ah, so that’s her name. She hears a shout from downstairs, followed by footsteps. “You’re going to be late!”

Shit. Shit shit shit shit.

In a panic, she sprints to dive back under the covers and pretends to be asleep still. Maybe she’ll get off without much of a punishment that way? Definitely less than the realization that she’d been awake and not getting ready for...school, presumably. She has no clue what this girl is usually like, but hopes that it isn’t painfully obvious what is going on here.

“Komaru?” The voice is closer this time, the sound of the door opening follows close behind. While she panics over the thought of what to do asides from pretending like she’s asleep, Touko misses the sound of footsteps approaching and flinches when the covers are tugged away from her head. She doesn’t mean to let out a whimper of fear when a hand comes down on her forehead, teeth clenched, not that the sound is interpreted as fear. “Are you feeling all right, dear? You’re not feverish, but you are a little sweaty...”

It takes her a moment to recognize the tone of this woman’s voice is one of concern, an incredibly foreign concept for her to expect from any parent ( she’s presuming this is the mother ). It certainly was never one she’d expected to hear from her own mothers, squeezing her eyes shut as if to ignore the truth. “N-No...” It’s not a lie, at least— all of this makes her feel sick to her stomach.

( It leaves an awful taste in her mouth, knowing the love that she is being shown here is just an illusion; not meant for her at all. And yet Touko wants something that she has never had. What an awful child she is )

“Why don’t you take it easy for today, then? If you feel no better later, you can start taking medicine.” She manages to utter a thank you, whatever will get her with no repercussions and left alone again, and there is a hand gently stroking back her hair before she is alone again.

Once ‘her’ mother leaves, she locks the door and buries herself under the blankets, so she can sleep and forget about today ever happening.

In comparison, Komaru Naegi finds herself having a much less than pleasant awakening. In that she doesn’t know what wakes her up, just that she is suddenly, forcibly awakened and in a room she doesn’t recognize.

Weird. Is she dreaming? It kind of feels that way, because she has no control over the body she currently resides in, marching over to the desk and reaches into the draw for...a pair of scissors? Really, really sharp scissors, but a pair of scissors nonetheless.

It’s not a dream. Get out. They hiss at her, scissors pointed at her— themselves? Oh boy. Uh.

“I don’t think I can do that.” She says aloud; wincing. “I don’t— I don’t know what’s going on...?”

Ugh. You think I know any better? ( Yes! Yes she does!! ) It’s totally bullshit that this is my wake-up call after ages, and she’s not even awake and instead I’m stuck with you? Ah. Shit, hold on a second how long has it been. They reach for the calendar, and she feels her face frown. Aw, it hasn’t been that long? She really forgot her own birthday coming up? Some heads up would’ve been nice instead of just waking up to this fucking mess. The voice continues to complain.

“Um...” She hates to interrupt, but she’s still pretty confused. “What do you mean? Who are you?”

You’re expecting me to just give that up without knowing your own name? Or do you not care?

“Sorry!” And she is, given that she’d kind of gotten ahead of herself. “Komaru. Komaru Naegi. But just Komaru is fine!”

Ah— Naegi? What are the odds— Dekomaru it is!

“What? That’s not my name at all!” Komaru completely manages to miss the faint recognition, huffing a pout. “And I told you, so answer my questions!”

Syo. And what I mean is that now I’m stuck explaining this shit— did you seriously not pay attention to any of that or are you that dumb? Geeze, listen to me this time. Okay, so we can have a lesson on proper terms and all that shit another time, long and short of it is that we share this body— miss gloomy and I. It’s technically her coming of age birthday today, which is why you’re here instead of her.

“Oh, okay.” Komaru nods along in agreeably, before her mind catches up and process the implications of what she’s been told. “Wait, you mean I— she— this is my soulmate?!” Her voice cracks as it pitches, hands quick to clasp out of her mouth, a little worriedly.

Yeah, obviously. And don’t worry, the rooms are soundproof. Otherwise, I would’ve already told you to stop replying out loud. People would think that’s weird. They sound amused, reaching back towards the table and fumbles around for a moment before raising something up into the field of their view.

This is a student ID card, which provides her with several helpful bits of information— none of which Komaru chooses to fixate on. “...Hope’s Peak?” What were the chances of that?

Focus, idiot. Do you have any idea of what this means?

Komaru beams, an expression that might have been frightening for anyone else to see on this face. “It means I can be a Hope’s Peak student for today!”

No. Ouch, that’s probably the most cold they’ve sounded so far. Which is saying a lot, considering how they’d greeted her. Well, maybe. I know she really wouldn’t like it if you went around in our body. She doesn’t like it when I force control over our body either, but if it’s you then she probably won’t care. Personally, I don’t give two fucks— I can give you tips on acting more like her if you want.

Komaru makes a face. “I’m bad at acting. Am I really that different?”

Given that you don’t shut up, yes. That’s not a bad thing. They add on when they seem to sense the indignation rising in her. You really want to go around like normal today?

“Please?” She begs in what is sure to not be the last time that Syo enables her in doing something she probably shouldn’t do.

Okay! You’re more fun to have to share with than madam morose. This is way more chaotic. If things go wrong, I’ll help you cover up.

Komaru thinks that’s supposed to be a compliment. Or flattery? Either way, she enthusiastically takes to observing her appearance in the mirror for a good several minutes— more than several, but who’s keeping track? Syo. Syo is— before they point out they’ll be late for class and still haven’t had breakfast. But Komaru really only registers late and class and grabs her bag and rushes out into the hall, only to realize she didn’t really know where she was supposed to be going.

Syo sighs at her and directs her in the right direction of their locker and then their class while Komaru considers what’s the best way to seem cool if she can’t technically be herself. And also try not to nervously overthink things. That is also a thing she tries to avoid.

You know it’s weird that we’re going to class early, right?

“It’s fine...!” She grumbles. I can’t help but be excited, okay? It’s not everyday I get to pretend to be attended one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

Uh huh. Okay. I don’t think it’s really ‘cool’ to be this early to class, but.. Syo snickers at her, and she pouts before opting to ignore them, gathering her nerves before ( with more confidence than the actual Touko Fukawa would ever muster ) pushing the door open and stepping inside the classroom.

And then the whole act cool plan falls apart because while Komaru had registered the, we’re at Hope’s Peak Academy, she had failed to consider the whole, this is the school my brother goes to, I might run into my brother dilemma that she is immediately forced to acknowledge in a very graceful manner.

( And by gracefully she means she very embarrassingly screams at Makoto and Syo cackles at her, and she learns a very important lesson on why she should not trust Syo so easily )

Unfortunately for Touko, her body refuses to sleep much, which means she is wide awake when someone tries to come into the room just after four. Clearly not giving up, a knock soon follows, and, “Fukawa-san? Can you let us in?”

And then the sound of her own voice, way too cheery for her own liking. “No one else is home right now, so you don’t need to worry about it. Please? I really want to meet you! Uhm, properly.” Silence follows, since Touko makes no attempt to acknowledge that- if she pretends to sleep, then they’ve got to give up eventually. Even if she can only run away for so long, given that Makoto will probably just confront her tomorrow if she doesn’t. “Uh, Syo-san says they’ll take matters into their own hands if you don’t...? I’m not really sure what that means, but...” Makoto makes a panicked noise and god damn it Syo. She hadn’t counted on Syo working against her as well. Should she have expected that from them? Eh.

( It might speak more about the other girl, if she’d managed to get something like Syo’s...approval? That doesn’t seem quite right, and feels weird to think about either way )

“Give me a moment.” She calls, just to make sure Syo doesn’t go ahead and try and start picking the lock or break a window or something else that’s drastic and unnecessary. Takes a deep breath as she pulls herself out of bed, doesn’t bother double-checking if she seems too presentable and trudges over to unlock the door.

No sooner than she does so, the door swings open cautiously— Touko manages to sidestep out of the way before she needs to worry about being hit by it. She can feel the other’s gaze focus in on her almost immediately, but she very pointedly decides to not meet her gaze, mostly because it feels weird to be looking at herself, and looks at the same bookcase she has been staring at for the past four hours straight.

( Manga. She hates it. Of course, she would be stuck with someone that loves something that she practically loathes. She also hates the fact that she’d also been so bored that she’d almost considered reading it )

The only thing she chooses to acknowledge is the fact that her hair is down and not braided, really could she not have put forth even that much effort— and that while having her in front of her now is much different from what she might have thought it to be, she really has no idea of what to think of her.

And then the other seems to decide that enough is enough and holds her hands in hers very excitedly. She can only guess what Syo makes of all this. Schadenfreude, probably. She doesn’t actually say anything to her, just giggles to herself ( she’s not sure if she’s trying to be creepy, or if that laughter is directed at something Syo is saying ).

“Stop that...It’s w-w-weird to see my face doing that.” She gnaws on her lip— is this what everyone else saw all day? That’s awful.

As if reading her mind ( and certainly not the atmosphere of room ), Makoto helpfully chimes in, “Give her a break, she’s done a pretty good job trying to not attract any unwanted attention.”

“They made me skip class.” She pouts, crossing her arms. “Syo even said that they’d take the blame for it, but no, I had to skip out.”

“You screamed at me and scared Fujisaki-san? I was more relieved that Ishimaru-kun was willing to get you excused for the day.” Oh good, at least she can count on having reliable notes and not misplaced homework like with some people ( Syo ).

“It wasn’t that bad, Makoto, you’re making it seem worse than it was—”

“Because screaming like that could come off as good somehow?” He butts in.

“— and what’s done is done, so with that said, let’s eat!” She raises a bag that she’d failed t notice earlier. “I know it’s a little weird, but it’s still your birthday, so we can at least celebrate, right? I even asked Syo what you’d prefer the most while we were at the bakery.” That kind of disgustingly desperate face is all too fitting and completely foreign on her face, and Touko scowls at her.

It’s also a very foreign thought to actually be celebrating her birthday for once, and with a practical stranger nonetheless.

“Actually, I have a call I’m supposed to make. So I’ll be waiting downstairs, Komaru— we do have to get back at a reasonable time, so I’ll come back up if you’re staying too long, okay?” Makoto flees in the most inelegant way possible, fittingly.

Traitor, she wants to yell at him. She’s not quite being left alone here, because Syo is clearly present, but it’s not the same. She still feels a sense of betrayal here on all sides nonetheless.

“Touko-chan! Come sit with me!” Not that she gets any say in this, dragged along by her hand into following. She considers telling her off because when did she say that she was allowed to call her that? But bites her tongue for the moment because she’s still a little startled about the ease at which she has accepted all of...this, given the fact that she’s currently got Syo co-fronting. She suspects that they have arbitrarily elected to not acknowledge the elephant in the room which is very annoying to her, but she’s not really given a chance to acknowledge that either since a plate is shoved into her hands.

Fruit tart. So she’s not lying about the fact that Syo has taken a liking to her, apparently.

( No she’s not jealous over her own apparent soulmate. Why on earth would she envy that? )

“Fukawa-san?” Pale lavender eyes peer up at her, lips pursed in a small pout. “I know this isn’t the most ideal situation, and..I don’t expect you to warm up to me right away. But I’d like it if we could meet again sometime, as ourselves.”

Touko gives her a long look, scrutinizing, and then looks away. “I’ll think about it.”

“Okay!” She’s quick to agree like she’d said yes; humming happily with a fork in her mouth ( which would be cuter if she didn't have to look at her own ugly face ).

[villca]

* RICARDO HOYOS, CIS MAN + HE/HIM | you know CHASER ‘CHASE’ VILLCA, right? they’re TWENTY-THREE, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, ONE YEAR? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to TRUTH by ALEX EBERT like, a million times this year, which makes sense, ‘cause they’ve got that whole COWER OF A DOG AROUND FIREWORKS, FULL BODY FLINCH OF A HELD HAND & CAKED MUD IN THE KNOTS OF THEIR HOODIE’S DRAWSTRINGS thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is NOVEMBER 10TH, so they’re a SCORPIO, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( tasha, 22, est, she/her)

hullo!! my name is tasha and i Hope Everyone is Doing Well During these Unprecedented and Uncertain Times n also having a happy ny x my second lockdown quarantine fixation of choice was degrassi n it shows FJGHK anyways b4 i go back to binging more (it’s all on youtube?? iconic??) here r the deets on my boi! i look forward to plotting w all of u :~) my discord is tasha#3566 pls feel free 2 add me!! tw for cults and brief mentions of violence/neglect/abuse. 

backstory !

was raised in a traveling commune, which bounced between state parks and forests. all intense survivalists but also...not, like obvs can’t have sustained agriculture traveling from park to park, so the group’s leaders would often detour alone to pick up supplies every now and then. 

but a horrible place to grow up, not that he knew that ‘cos it’s the only life he’s ever known. was just a pretty violent / toxic atmosphere with a hyper survival of the fittest mentality, a lot of sparring that would go too far, not nearly enough resources for the weather conditions, or anyone with actual medical training for when anyone got sick or injured - all under the guise of self sufficiency.  

also very poorly homeschooled, chase barely knows how to read, and stories/info was often read to them or recited by memory. 

at eighteen he’s given more responsibility, gets to go on supply runs. goes to like, cvs, for the first time. hates it FJHG, really just has no desire to explore more of the world even though he knows for sure it’s out there now. his ‘family’ are thrilled about this - knowing they basically have him for life.

trains and mentors the younger members, unwittingly encourages violence, sort of pushing them to their limits because for the group it’s less about winning and more about being able to survive - endurance and being able to endure is so wrapped up in reverence which he mistakes for love. 

when he’s twenty the whole commune gets busted, apparently they had been secretly under investigation for a while. his parents were in the commune too but never make that distinction known so the cops tell him and he’s like ok and ? just like, doesn’t know that that’s meant to mean anything.

goes to jail directly to jail does not pass go ... takes a bit to go to trial, but he ends up serving two years. and that’s what you missed on glee ! currently living with his grandparents at lilac ridge, which is weird. they feel very much like strangers. also on parole still, f in the chat.

personality !

hates it here, feels like shit just wants to go vibe in the woods again. is a lot more quiet than he used to be, truly flopping like a fish out of water.

always saying the wrong thing then getting frustrated at himself bc humiliating ! and if no one respects him, ‘cos he knows nothing about anything anymore then how can anyone ever love him ! this thought depresses him - finds it super hard to make friends ! doesn’t understand any pop culture references.

can be a bit rude, a wee bit hostile, physically aggressive, immature. just doesn’t think before he speaks smh. won’t admit when he’s wrong either will just be like, ya that’s what i meant. 

competitive as heck ! catch him trying to out chin-up the person next to him at the outdoor gym down at the beach. loves games too, but not like board games, think he’s only ever played cards anyways ... but like, duck duck goose. 

for all the survivalist training, not even that street smart (and not book smart at all). like ya he can identify types of mushrooms and wipe his ass with a leaf in a pinch but i mean he doesn’t need to do that now rip. 

easily influenced but pretends he isn’t, his grandparents were like chaser ? that’s no name. we’ll call you chase. and he was all like whatevs ... but now he introduces himself to people as chase.

fun facts !

other song choice for app was cop car by mitski, but chase doesn’t listen to music. or particularly like it, but he’s had to get used to his grandparent’s excessive radio use.

has dimples, very cute when he smiles. this is a fact and i personally find it very fun.

will eat anything. tho his fave food is honey on toast the cottagecore girlies are quaking !

favourite story is jack and the beanstalk which he still thinks was made up by the commune. doesn’t know it’s an actual book/tale bc they’d always recount it by memory.

everyone called him chaser because he was good at chasing people FGHJ, king of tag !

begrudgingly saving up for a phone, doesn’t see the point of it but apparently it’s imperative for his “ future life prospects ” ???

wanted connections !

really feels out of the loop with everything like he’ll never be caught up but, someone give him a pop culture 101 lesson ! 

someone to get him into music, film, art etc ... 

makeover montage ? rly do imagine him with the worst style !

someone who gets him out of his shell a lil, makes him has fun, takes him to a party or the arcade, endless possibilities truly. 

a future roommate, he simply does not have the funds to move out yet... but imagine...if they let him stay with them for free KFGH or let him crash whenever. honestly probably the worst housemate, just pacing at all hours, leaving the fridge door open. 

alternatively people who either know his grandparents ( who i imagine as a muriel and eustace FGJKH ) or live in lilac ridge ! 

people he gets in fights with...grew up where violence was a first resort unforch so the moment things get heated he’s throwing hands. or like, him asking who do you need me to beat up to someone sad over an ex or smth and actually meaning it...

co-workers ( where he works tba ).

and all the usual jazz, friends, enemies, hook-ups, unrequited crushes.

also stuff specific to the locations could be rly cool !

[mcheang]

Happy birthday Lila

I’ve noticed that when Adrien and Marinette celebrated their birthdays, it was never during school.

Chloe would never celebrate her birthday with the commoners. She just invites Adrien and Sabrina for a special spa vacation. (As a model, Adrien needs to have a flawless face and even a manicure)

But what happens when Lila’s birthday comes around?

Marinette for sure wouldn’t attend. The whole class knows she doesn’t like the girl.

As a result, it is peaceably agreed that Marinette can skip the surprise party planning the rest of the class is partaking in.

Alya suggests they inform Mrs Rossi as well.

Rose was the one who proposed they hold the party on Juleka’s family boat after Lila talked about how fun Prince Ali’s yacht party was.

Adrien asked where Marinette was, and was informed she would be skipping the party so as to avoid any unnecessary discomfort.

Feeling bad for Marinette and not wanting to spend time with Lila any more than necessary, Adrien volunteers to spend time with Marinette so she won’t be lonely. The girls gleefully support this. Nino shrugs it off. Lila wouldn’t be too crushed, she told him herself she doesn’t like Adrien that way.

On Lila’s birthday, the class wishes her a happy birthday. Lila had earlier informed them that her Mother has planned a big surprise for her, apparently she is going to La Jules Verne.

The class had internally hid their winces. Sheesh Mrs Rossi, you didn’t have to raise Lila’s expectations. Their planned party food would be good, but not that good.

Lila was indeed told she would be spending the day with her mum, but assumes it will be just a normal fancy dinner.

Adrien wishes her a happy birthday. He had helped to plan her birthday but he hid the fact that he would be spending his own day with Marinette, deciding not to trust Lila with any information like he had done in telling her about Kagami.

Mrs Rossi blindfolds her Daughter and leads her to the boat.

Lila feigns glee but is internally panicking. Why oh why did they plan her a surprise party. She hates surprises, they leave her so unprepared.

Lila asks if her Mother will be staying and Mrs Rossi confirms that she cleared out her whole evening for her baby girl.

Rose excitedly adds, “And she can tell us all about your trip to Achu.”

Before Mrs Rossi could voice her confusion, Lila pounced on the nearest distraction she could find: a very cute guitarist with blue hair. “Oh, you must be Juleka’s Brother! Your Sister has told me how talented you are at reading music.”

Luka gave a small polite smile. He did not like this girl. Her melody was a discordant mess! But a party was a party.

Her own Mother was scanning the crowd. “And where is young Adrien? I would love to meet my daughter’s Boyfriend.”

Nino coughed out soda.

The girls gaped at either Rossi.

Luka knew he wouldn’t like the following conversation.

Alya was the one who finally spoke up, eyeing Lila warily. “Adrien is seeing the latest Jumanji movie with Marinette.... I didn’t know you 2 were dating.”

And I clearly don’t believe it, was what she didn’t need to add, but was heavily implied.

Lila laughed nervously. “I may have exaggerated my glamourous school life to my Mother. I don’t always have a good time at every school I’m enrolled in.”

Mrs Rossi nods, and rubs Lila’s cheek. “Oh, Ma Bella, you didn’t have to lie to me. I always want to know how you are. You don’t have to pretend to be strong.”

Rose fidgets nervously then hurried to change the subject because the air was getting awkward. “I know, how about Mrs Rossi tells us about your trip to Achu.”

Lila quickly demurred. “No, I want to hear your band play. I haven’t had the chance to see you perform live!”

Rose squealed and hurried the wary band to the stage. Nobody missed Mrs Rossi’s confusion.

As Lila hurried her Mother to the stage, she cast a silent pleading look to her to play along, out of sight of the others.

Guessing that Lila tried to make herself look good, Mrs Rossi sighed and nodded.

Kitty Section did play well. But Lila couldn’t really enjoy the party. She could sense her class’ unease, her Mother’s disappointment, and she was irked that Adrien chose to skip her party to go on a date with Marinette! But she can stew on that later. Right now she had her reputation to save.

The main problem was her mother’s lack of information of Achu. She may be a diplomat but even she can’t remember all worldwide country customs and dignitaries!

As the band played, only innocent Rose believed in Lila. Alya was really tempted to check the internet but refrained out of politeness to the band.

Nino personally felt betrayed. Lila lied to him, didn’t she?

When the band finished, and it was time to light the cake, Lila made a wish that she would survive this party. (She really should have been more specific. Of course no one would murder her at her own party).

While they ate the cake, Rose persisted that Mrs Rossi tell them about their time planning fundraisers with Prince Ali.

Lila silently blessed Rose for giving enough information.

Mrs Rossi gave a delicate cough. “Well, planning royal fundraisers is actually harder than your average fundraiser. The bigger an event, the more there is to plan. But I must say that Prince Ali is the most caring and responsible man I have ever met.”

And here Mrs Rossi made her first unwitting mistake. She assumed that the fundraising Prince was grown up, not a boy who should be in school.

Rose looked confused by her phrasing before assuming Mrs Rossi saw Ali as a boy older than his years, and thus a man.

The class was more skeptical.

“Oh, but I’m sure Lila was amazing at it. To think that she could juggle fundraising, sightseeing, catching up with our lessons and homework!”

At the second sentence, it was Mrs Rossi’s turn to choke. She could excuse Lila’s lie about working with her, but that bit about school work began to raise suspicions in her mind.

If Lila lied about her school life, could she have lied about the akuma attacks too?

But why? Was she so nervous at school? That can’t be it. Her class seemed so friendly when they called her to plan the party.

Mrs Rossi has not been blind to their suspicion, and now gave her own Daughter a stink eye.

Lila tried for the innocent look. At this point, Lila only prayed she could still salvage her truancy.

Thankfully, it was still her birthday. They would be polite for her sake. Once the party was over however, all bets were off.

It was the most awkward party Lila had ever been to. None of her classmates except Rose would talk to her. Even her own Mother couldn’t face her.

Goodbyes were curt and tense.

Lila couldn’t hope to attract an akuma with only her dread, let alone with her Mother keeping a close eye on her now.

Alya began to work on Lila’s claims, starting with why Marinette believed Lila was lying. Marinette was currently with Adrien and he gave the OK. Marinette admits she saw Lila throw a book aside and Ladybug confronting her. (She phrases it as if it was by chance. Adrien thanks her for saving him from homeschooling and is furious with Lila)

Juleka asks Rose to question Ali about Lila. Rose naively agreed, thinking Juleka meant to remind Ali it was Lila’s birthday. Oh poor Rose. What a shock she received.

Kim was asked by Alya to look up Lila’s ailments.

The next day at school, the class were seething with rage or just plain hurt. Even Marinette wasn’t smiling because of the negative atmosphere. On the bright side, her date with Adrien had been perfect!

Adrien had finished explaining his reasoning for not calling out on Lila to the class - that she attracted an akuma when he calmly chided her - until Marinette pointed out the akuma was originally meant for her when she felt left out by her class for seating arrangement and Lila’s threat (which is a whole lot more believable than Lila getting Akuma angry from a simple request to be honest)

Adrien is excused and is now out for Lila’s blood.

It is a twist. For once, Marinette was early. Alya dragged her out of bed for an emergency class meeting about Lila. The latter arrived as late as she could to delay the confrontation.

After convincing her Mother that she just felt pressured to make a good impression on her class, that she wanted to assure her Mother she had made friends, and that the Achu lie had taken place years ago, Mrs Rossi agreed to forgive Lila but forced her to attend school and to apologize to her class for lying to them. Yeah right!

Lila spent all night preparing an excuse. She could excuse her mother’s expressions and choking as unprepared for such interest in her job. But the main root of their suspicion came from her lie about Adrien. She knew the girls were fiercely defensive and supportive of Adrienette (gag her already). She could say that her Mother had been worrying about her finding a stable boyfriend, and Lila had mentioned Adrien before knowing about Marinette’s crush on him.

Lila crossed her fingers to find confusion and mild suspicion. She found anger and betrayal instead. Alya and Adrien looked especially hateful at her.

Oh crap.

Lila decided to take the lead before the class could. “I know why you’re all upset, but I can explain!”

She gave her excuses.

The class did not look appeased.

Rose finally burst into tears. “You’re lying. You’re lying! I spoke to Ali last night. He never heard of you before!”

Lila had to stop herself from retreating. “He’s a busy prince. He can’t remember every one of his associates.”

“You aren’t even friends with Ladybug. Adrien told us about it!” Ok, so now Alya was lying. But she didn’t want Lila to target Marinette anymore.

Nino blurted out, “You stole my man Adrien’s book and threw it in the trash!” Ok, how did he even know that? Did Ladybug catch her in the act before confronting her. Ugh, Alya must have gotten an interview beforehand.

Adrien’s cheeks were flushed and he glowered at her. “And you threatened Marinette.”

Lila glared at said girl. Marinette only looked at Lila in pity. How dare she? Then she quickly changed to a scared face and began tearing up. “Me? She’s the one who threw a napkin at me!”

“Yes,” Alix said sarcastically, “a soft napkin that can apparently blind a boy with glasses.”

Max pushed those glasses up. “We will avoid mentioning that moment please.” It will forever be a source of embarrassment to him. How could he have been so gullible?

Kim crossed his arms. “Speaking of that napkin incident, how do we know your ear and wrist were ever injured?”

Lila gasped. “Of course I was. Why would I lie about that?”

Mylene wasn’t impressed with Lila’s show. “Gee, maybe it was so we would buy and carry your lunch?”

“Or so you could sit next to Adrien?” Nathaniel muttered.

“You can’t prove I was faking,” Lila pointed out. “My wrist sprain has healed and my tinnitus was cured long ago.”

Chloe scoffed. “Like it’s that hard to check on your medical records and doctors’ notes.” Well... not hard for her.

Alya straightened. “And we actually have witnesses this time.”

Adrien nodded. “I was actually there when Ladybug came over, remember Lila?”

Of course she remembered. That was the most humiliating moment of her life.

“And if I recall correctly, your wrist was fine when you admitted you lied to me.” Marinette was so relieved the truth was out.

Sensing her “I was honest” route wasn’t working out, Lila switched tactics.

“Alright,” she wailed. “I admit I’m a big liar.”

The class waited, not sure whether to believe her this time.

“I only wanted to make friends. I had heard so much about your accomplishments and was afraid you all would look down on me.”

Adrien wasn’t falling for it. “If you wanted to make friends so badly, why threaten Marinette.”

“I was scared she would take you all away from me. I didn’t mean it!”

Adrien’s face didn’t soften. He remembered Lila’s grudge against Ladybug. “Stealing my book?”

“It was a mistake! Anyone can make mistakes right?”

Marinette admitted this was true. She stole phones, but at least she returned them! She felt herself softening just a tiny bit.

Ivan growled; “serving you lunch?!”

“I forgot my lunch money.”

Juleka mused, “that still doesn’t explain why you were absent.”

“Can you blame me? I had been akumatized. I was embarrassed.”

Sabrina levelled a look at the liar. “It’s still truancy, Lila.”

“Yes, it is,” came a new voice. The class turned to see their frowning teacher finally cross the threshold.

Late as Lila had been, Caline had come to the class soon after but had decided to stay in the shadows to eavesdrop. No one knew how much she had heard.

“Young lady,” she said sternly to Lila, “go to the Principal’s office. I think it’s time we called your Mother to discuss your absence at school, bullying and how long you’ve had your ailments.”

As Lila meekly followed her teacher, Ms Bustier added to Marinette, “Oh, Marinette, you’re in charge. The rest of you can revise pages 65 to 79. I have a feeling I may take a while.

I’ll let you imagine what the class did when the pair left.

When Ms Bustier returned, Lila was absent. Ms Bustier refused to divulge what had happened.

Like that was going to stop Chloe. She asked the principal what had happened to Lila, and told Sabrina and Adrien, who told Alya who told everybody else.

Mrs Rossi came down from work and was astonished and hurt that her baby girl was so wicked and deceitful.

Lila was currently suspended, would not return to the class since she wouldn’t be welcome, and would repeat the grade. She should have been expelled but apparently the principal bought her sob story about how her threat to Marinette wasn’t real and that she just wanted to make friends. Mrs Rossi was skeptical but didn’t want her Daughter expelled. However she had her own punishment, Lila was grounded. She would have no allowance.

It was official. Lila had the worst birthday ever.

On the bright side, she got presents on the boat, even Adrien had given her one.

Lila stifled a yell when she saw Adrien post an Instagram photo of himself and Marinette at Disneyland. He wanted to thank her for returning his book and to comfort her after Lila’s long ago threat.

What surprises is me is that I could actually see the class forgiving Lila with her latest excuses. Except Adrien. He can’t forget her role in Oniichan. But then Caline came along and had to be the responsible adult. She can excuse bullying all she likes, but she can’t excuse truancy, forged documents and an angry model with a large fan base furious about Marinette’s treatment.

[wildegreenlight]

Ready to Believe

A/N: What better reason to come out of semi-retirement than the Birthday of our lovely ginger knight, our passionate sassy king, Ron Weasley!! This little plot bunny came to me earlier in the week and (apparently there are miracles in this world), I was able to finish it in time!! 

Thanks to the fantabulous @trademarkblue for helping me polish this little nugget! As I told you earlier, the only thing I value more than your fic expertise is your friendship! Thanks as always to @callieskye for cheering me on and always being willing to read my ramblings! Love you both!!

If there is real magic out there, this may actually motivate me to finish my other WIPs!! (Not sure if anyone is “ready to believe” that!)

March 1, 1995

Even as the sentence was forming in his mind, before he opened his mouth to give it breath, he told himself to stop, to change the subject, to stuff his face with cake and move on. But it was his birthday, and if you can’t have a little fun on your birthday, then what’s the point?

“For someone so smart you sure can be thick sometimes, you know that?” 

And just like that, they were in the middle of a row. To be perfectly honest, he wasn’t exactly sure how it had started. Ok, maybe he had an idea; it had been only a matter of time. Since their big blow up at Christmas, they had settled into an uncharacteristic period of peace. One that couldn’t hold forever.

“Thick? Because I don’t believe in some silly, childish…” she was waving her hands in that way that meant she was just warming up. 

“ ‘snot silly or childish- it happens to be very real magic.”

“It happens to be absurd.” 

Ron knew he should probably just let it go. There wasn’t any real chance that he would change her mind, or even if he did, she certainly would never admit it. 

“You are the only person I know, the only person I could ever think of, that could attend an actual SCHOOL OF MAGIC and not believe in magic.”

“Of course I believe in REAL magic: spells and potions and charms, but wishes, birthday or otherwise, are not real- they don’t work!”

“They are and they do.” 

As he leaned back on the opposite end of the sofa from her, hands behind his head, he wondered if there was any way that she could be enjoying this as much as he was. Maybe it was weird. It’s not like he enjoyed real fighting:not like the mess with the rat last year or how he was such an ass to Harry over the bleeding Goblet of Fuckedupedness. But this? This was like chess. Anticipating her moves, countering with his own. 

“Well if that’s the case,” the twinkle in her eye made it obvious that she thought she had the winning move, “ why doesn’t everyone just wish for a fortune on their birthday?”

Well played, but not quite good enough.

“Doesn’t work like that.”

“Because it doesn’t work at all.”

“Does too, but there’s rules.” Hermione was smart, probably the smartest person he knew when it came to books, but she didn’t now loads of things about the Magical world because, well some things just aren’t written down. He knew it irritated her, and he had learned to not call her out on it, especially in front of other people. That was another thing about Hermione, she seemed real cocky about her abilities, but she was always secretly worried that she was an outsider.

“Such as?”

“First off, it can’t be a “thing” - like no brooms or galleons or toys.  And no wishing for more wishes,” he ignored her exaggerated eye roll, ”or combining a bunch of stuff into one. You get one a year and only on your birthday.”

“And let me guess: you can’t tell anyone what your wish is or it won’t come true?”

“ ‘Course you can’t tell, that would ruin it.”

“Anything else? Or have you thoroughly enlightened me?”

“Just that you really have to want it,” he turned toward her then to add emphasis to his point, “like REALLY want it.”

“Obviously. And so there’s no way for you to really prove it to me because you, very conveniently,” she turned to face him challengingly,  “can’t tell me about what your wish is.”

So there it was. She needed proof, but the only proof he could give her would negate the very thing he was trying to prove. It was rare, but in rows, just like in chess, when you aren’t checked, and you have no more legal moves, you end up with a draw.  It wasn’t quite as satisfying as a straight-out win, but he suddenly knew how to make it even better. 

“No one can prove to you what you’re not ready to believe.”

@@@@@@@

March 1, 1997

“Can anyone tell me what this is?”

Slughorn made a flourish and the slightly petulant students crowded forward. Ron stared into the cauldron- its surface was shiny and swirly like one the giant lollies at Honeydukes. It looked so similar in fact, that he was surprised that its fragrance was anything but sugary.  To be honest, the scent was hard to describe , but more than familiar. There was a woodish smell like the worn lines of a broomstick after a fly, or the tickle of dusty shavings in his Dad’s shed. And that? That was a warm, wool smell-like a Christmas jumper-one that’s been worn- with a hint of almond shampoo and a bit of ink stain on the sleeve…

Bloody hell!! He knew that smell! It was the old jumper that he’d let Hermione use last year! She’d argued with him at first, but he knew she was just as cold as she was stubborn, so he made her take it. When she’d returned it the next day, he’d lied to himself about being too lazy to clean it - lied to himself about the sudden broom-drop feeling in his gut when he imagined it wrapped around her, covering her; it was almost like he was wrapped around her. He’d lied to himself about how much he loved keeping it in his trunk, relishing how its smell seeped into the rest of his clothes. He’d lied to himself about so many things. Why had it taken him so long to see the truth?

“Oh Ron, no one can prove to you what you aren’t ready to believe,” Hermione touched his shoulder gently, offering him a sad little smile before walking past him out of the classroom.

He turned to follow her, but the whole scene disappeared. There was nothing but darkness. He tried to call for her through the blue-black void, but for some reason he couldn't make a sound. Suddenly he felt like he was choking; he couldn’t catch his breath. Panic. Heart. Pounding. Panic. Flailing. Falling. Panic. He had to get to her, had to tell her, before it was too late

His back hit the ground, hard, dislodging what felt like a bludger from his throat. It was still dark and he had no idea where he might be, yet all he could think of was how to find her. 

Whispers. Faint. Far away. Harry? Slughorn? Had he fainted in the middle of the lesson? Had the cauldron been poisonous? 

Hermione had been close to it-was she safe? Where was she? Why had she walked away? 

Wait...it wasn’t like that. The swirly potion was...months ago. She had...he had...cocked it all up. If he found her, would she listen to him? Would she even look at him?  

Too late. Too late. Too late.

Whispers. Again. Louder. Closer. Harry? Was that...it couldn’t be... Hermione? He had to get to her somehow. It just couldn’t be too late, he wouldn’t let it be.

He tried again to call to her, and this time his desperate plea found a way, crawling through his throat on rusty spurs.

“Er-my-nee” 

@@@

The light was so dim, that for a few confused minutes he wasn’t entirely sure that he had woken up. As his eyes adjusted a bit, he was able to put together the fact that he was lying, more like sitting to be honest, in a hospital wing bed. His head hurt too much to try and piece together the series of events that had ended with him in such a position, but he was curious as to how hurt he actually was.  

Afraid to move too much, Ron risked turning his sore neck gingerly to the right ok, my head’s still attached and to the left what is that? Better yet, who is that? Someone was currently resting their head on the side of his bed. Someone’s curls were in such a state that they were practically spilling into his lap. He didn’t need an OWL in Divination to figure out who it was, but he just couldn’t believe what he saw. Maybe I’m still out.

Truth be told, ever since Christmas he’d been having increasingly vivid dreams about Hermione. It was not unusual for him to wake up in his four-poster sweaty, confused, and disappointed. He reached his hand out and gently brushed his fingers through her disheveled mane. She sure felt real. He inhaled deeply: almonds, wool, ink. He was so relieved he could’ve cried! 

Quite suddenly she jerked her head up from the mattress and he took his hand away like a toddler caught with his hand in the biscuits. He was sure he must look a fright, but, despite the fact that her eyes were as wild as her curls and her face was blotchy with tears, she was the most beautiful sight he could imagine. 

“Hey,” he cringed at his voice, apparently I’ve been gargling with nails. 

“You’re...you’re awake.” A brilliant smile danced across her face, but quickly disappeared, leaving her expression apprehensive.  

“Think so.”

“Oh..sorry. Did I wake you? I shouldn’t...I should go...sorry,” she scrambled to her feet. 

Sorry?! No! He couldn’t, wouldn’t let her go, not now!

“Wait!” He reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Please, don’t go...I...I want you to stay.”

“You do?”

“ ‘Course I do.” 

How could she doubt that? Oh, yeah...why shouldn’t she doubt it...doubt me? 

“Alright, I’ll stay...for a bit. I just don’t want to keep you from resting. Are you sure you’re ok? Do you need anything?” 

Just you...probably too soon to say that, right? 

“Some water would be great.” 

She immediately began to fill a glass from the pitcher on his bedside table.  

“And.” he added, noticing the flush that began to show in her cheeks as she turned back to him, “maybe you could tell me…”

“Tell you what?”

If you’re as nervous as I am.

“What happened?” As he took the glass of water from her, their fingers brushed together. He held his breath, urging the moment to linger. 

“You were...poisoned; Harry saved you,” her voice broke and she pulled her hand away to wipe at her eyes. “Do you remember anything?” 

“Not much...I think it’s my birthday...or was...not sure how long I was out.”

“I think it still is, technically.” 

“Ok...well, that’s good”

“Sorry.”

“For?”

“I didn’t get you anything,” she sat down again, looking very tired and very sad.

“Didn’t really expect you to,” he swallowed the last of the water and tried to steady his resolve, “I know I’ve been a real prat...and I want you to know that I...well..I shouldn’t have been.”

“No...it was me...I’ve been horrid to you and I...well I...and then you almost,” she was crying in earnest now and it didn’t make him feel vindicated like he had imagined it might, it just made him want to comfort her.

“We were both not so great...but that doesn’t mean we can’t fix it, yeah?” 

She smiled a tentative little smile that made his heart clinch in a way that was probably not entirely good for his current medical  condition.  

“Yeah...that sounds good.”

He knew that he owed her more, owed himself more, but it wasn’t time yet. Maybe he was a coward; he didn’t want to push his luck, not when he had her here, actually looking at him and talking to him and seemingly glad to do so. For now he would have to be satisfied with old patterns: smooth it over with a little humor.

“Brilliant! Now if you tell me you have some  biscuits on ya, it will be a perfect birthday after all!” 

She laughed and shook her head God I’ve missed that sound! 

“If only I had a cake,  you would still have,” she glanced at the clock, “three minutes to make your birthday wish.”

“Cake would be nice, but I already made my wish this morning.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” Before I even opened my gifts...been planning it for weeks. 

“I know it’s crazy of me to ask, but what did you wish for?” As she leaned closer, he was intoxicated by her: the way the dim light twinkled in her eyes, the way her hair looked like a frizzy halo. 

“Hermione! You know that is entirely against the rules!” 

“Of course, how silly of me!”  And that eye roll...how have I lived without that?  “Can I at least ask if it came true?”

“Yes.” Definitely got my wish.  

“Yes, I can ask, or yes, it came true?”  

She had to know, didn’t she? It always seemed to him that he had been beyond obvious, but the last few months had made him think otherwise. There was only one thing he had wanted, and he had gotten it.  Not quite how he had pictured it this morning, but wishes could be funny like that. 

“It so came true,” he tried to communicate every bit of what he could not say in the look they shared. “I know I may not be able to prove it to you...yet, but I will.”

“If I’m ready to believe?” 

“It’s alright...I can believe enough for both of us until then.” 

[spacedancer1701]

Joanna’s French Teacher

(a Star Trek AOS fic)

Fandoms: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (AOS) Characters: Leonard “Bones” McCoy, Joanna McCoy Rating/Warnings: None Tags: Leonard is a loving father, Love, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Daddy Leonard Word Count: 1,329

I actually wrote this as a birthday gift to a lovely Trekkie friend, who happens to be a devoted French teacher, but I thought you might enjoy this little ficlet, too! 

Summary:  Once a month Leonard gets to talk to his daughter via subspace. Those are the days he lives for. Also, Joanna's French teacher is a real sweetheart.

Read it on AO3: Joanna’s French Teacher  

Leonard was walking out of sickbay with a huge smile on his face, a sight that attracted curious glances from all around. Some people openly stared, others quickly looked away again, but the doctor didn’t mind either way. In fact, he got a real kick out of confusing the hell out of everyone by being unashamedly happy and giving his crew mates a break from his default grumpy face once a month.

Because once every month, he got to talk to his darling daughter via subspace, and today was The Day. What’s more, there had been no last-minute emergencies or other catastrophes to keep him from this sacred routine, which was exceptional in itself. He couldn't even count the times he’d missed his little girl’s strictly scheduled subspace slot because of something or other. And God help the people unfortunate enough to cross the doctor’s path after such a missed call.

Today, however, was a good day. So far, everything had gone according to plan, and Leonard could barely wait to see his lovely daughter, who was a lot like him in many ways, except for the seemingly permanent beaming smile on her face, that never failed to brighten his – as well as most everybody else’s – day.

To everyone’s amazement, and Jim never missed a chance to point this out, Joanna was a real little sunshine. A trait she quite obviously hadn’t inherited from either of her parents, but which Leonard lovingly attributed to her Grandma McCoy’s genes. His mother was certainly the warmest, kindest woman in all of Georgia, and not even Jocelyn made a secret of how much their daughter enjoyed every visit to her grandma, happy to spend as much time with her as she could.

“Daddy, guess what?” Joanna burst out excitedly before the channel had even opened properly.

“And hello to you, too, sweetheart!” Leonard laughed, his heart brimming over at his daughter’s unbridled happiness. “I don’t think I can guess. You’ll have to tell me!”

“I wrote the best French test of everyone in my year!” she proudly announced, and the doctor couldn't have been more impressed, if she’d just won a Nobel prize.

“Did you now, honey,” he nodded his approval. “That’s wonderful news! I’m so proud of you!”

“It wasn’t really that difficult,” Joanna went on, rolling her eyes a little, “but most of my class mates just don’t get the subjonctif, even though it’s completely easy and logical.”

“I’m sure it is for you,” Leonard smiled, “but not everybody is as bright as you are, sweat pea.”

“You always say that, Daddy,” the girl giggled, melting her father’s heart with the musical sound. “But I’m lucky, I have the nicest French teacher, too!”

“Is that so?” the doctor raised an interested eyebrow. “What’s her name again? Ms. Anita?”

“Oh, Daddy, you always get that wrong!” Joanna groaned, treating her father to another one of her trademark eyerolls. “That’s our Spanish teacher. And she’s weird.”

“Don’t say that, pumpkin,” Leonard gently chided. “You know I don’t like it when you speak disrespectful of people. Especially your teachers.”

“I know, Daddy. Sorry!” his daughter replied, looking at him contritely. “It’s just that she’s really a bit … scary. But Ms. Anne, my French teacher, is really, really nice. She’s my favourite teacher of all!”

“She must be really nice, then!” the doctor smiled. “I think I’d like to meet her someday!”

“I’d like that, too!” Joanna squealed, delighted at the thought. “She’s so much fun! She tells the most amazing stories, and she has this lovely cat she sometimes brings to class, and she starts every lesson with a really bad joke and says her cat invents them. Can you imagine?”

Leonard had to laugh at his daughter’s enthusiastic ramblings. This Ms. Anne really sounded like a wonderful teacher. He was glad his little girl enjoyed school so much.

“Maybe you can come home right before the summer holidays next year?” Joanna asked hopefully. “Then you could come to our family days at school and enter some of the father-daughter competitions with me!”

“I’d love to, sweetheart,” Leonard sighed, “but you know how it is. I can’t make any promises other than I’ll certainly try. But I promise we’ll have a lovely time during my next home leave, even if I can’t make it to the family days.”

“It’s ok, Daddy,” Joanna said mildly, the doctor’s heart melting at the understanding in his daughter’s voice, “I’m sure I can get Ms. Anne and her band to give us a private bagpipe concert whenever you come.”

“A what?” Leonard spluttered, not sure if he’d heard right.

“A bagpipe concert!” his daughter repeated, looking at him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“But we’re talking about your French teacher here, right?” he asked again, just to make sure.

“Yes, Daddy,” Joanna confirmed, heaving an exasperated sigh. “But she’s good at everything! Just like you! You’re a doctor, and yet you make the best peach cobblers!”

“So I’ve been told,” Leonard laughed, feeling ridiculously pleased that his daughter thought so highly of him.

But of course, only someone who knew that peach cobblers were Joanna’s favourite food in the world could appreciate the high praise.

“Time’s almost up, sweetheart,” he said softly, always dreading that moment and hating how it seemed to dim the bright sparkle in Joanna’s eyes a little.

“Already?” she asked, frowning as she checked the chronometer on her screen.

“Afraid so,” Leonard sighed, “But we’ll talk again next month, pumpkin!”

“Can’t wait, Daddy!” the bright smile was on again.

Then Joanna’s face turned serious, and she briefly looked around, probably checking that her mother was out of earshot.

“I know that mom gives you a hard time when you miss our calls,” she whispered conspiratorially. “And I used to be really upset when I was little. But I’m a big girl now. I get that doctors sometimes can’t get away from treating people.”

Leonard had to swallow hard to find his voice again.

“I’m a grown up, and I still get upset when I miss one of our calls, sweat pea. But sometimes it can’t be helped. I’m very glad you’re old enough to understand that now. Just know that I’d never miss a call for anything less than a real emergency.”

“When I grow up I want to be a doctor just like you!” Joanna beamed. “I want to help people and make them well again, too! My friends are all so jealous that I have a dad who lives in space and helps all sorts of aliens get well again.”

“It’s certainly interesting and a big adventure,” Leonard smiled, trying not to give away what he really thought about living in space.

“Mom says it’s a stupid job and you can’t have a proper family. But you can! You have me and grandma, and I love you lots!”

“Love you more, sweetheart,” the doctor grinned, unable to keep his eyes from filling up any longer.

Joanna was so warm-hearted. So incredibly kind and loving. Basically, everything her mother was not. The girl really was the light of his life, and he was so proud of her. She made every pain Jocelyn had ever put him through worthwhile.

“Got to go now, pumpkin. And you need to go to bed. You’ve got school tomorrow,” Leonard told his daughter, then jokingly added, “Say hi to Ms. Anne from me, darling!”

“I will, Daddy! Did you know it’s her birthday tomorrow? She said she was going to bring a French cake. Some tarte, she called it.”

“That sounds awesome, sweat pea! Enjoy! Love you to the other side of the galaxy!”

“And I love you to the other side of the galaxy and back!” Joanna replied, giggling at their usual good-bye ritual, while Leonard made a face as if he couldn't believe so much love even existed.

“Sleep well, sweetheart! Talk to you again soon!”

“Merci! Bonne nuit!”

************ Disclaimer: Nothing of or associated with Star Trek is mine – it all belongs to Paramount / ViacomCBS (or whoever else is currently holding the rights). This is a work of fanfiction, no infringement intended.

[if-found-return-to-gusu]

Happy Birthday to Me Pt 9

I slapped my face a couple of times and shook it hard to clear myself up.  When we went back to join the others we found that they had already cut the cake and had started to eat it. A-Yuan was demanding everyone eat some.

“It’s so yummy!!” he said happily. And then he looked over and saw me coming back and scrambled over to me as fast as he could with a piece of cake. 

“Xian-Ge! You have to!” he said, offering a forkful of the cake to me. I crouched down and gobbled up the bite with a loud “OMN” sound, making him giggle.

As I knew it would be, the cake was the most delicious cake ever created.

“Lan Zhan, you have to taste this!” I said, offering him a bit off the same fork. I barely finished my sentence before he’d taken the bite, not even bothering to take the fork out of my hands.

And then as I was considering the fact that I’d accidentally created a cliche ‘indirect kiss’ situation, the asshole had to go and lick his lips in the sexiest display I have ever seen in my life. 

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

I managed to smile at him as he nodded his approval at me. I REALLY hope he hasn’t noticed how much I was blushing that day. Ugh. I’m a mess. 

I took Lan Zhan’s hand after that and decided we should officially rejoin the party. Walking turned into challenge mode as it often did when A-Yuan was around, because he grabbed onto my jeans as I walked. 

I’ve had more than one close call with that kid in regards to almost kicking him in the damn face. Ugh.

I stood a bit behind Lan Zhan to hopefully hide how red and gross my eyes were from all that crying. Fortunately everyone was further distracted by SangSang asking for the first brave soul to go up to sing. 

Unwilling to stop touching Lan Zhan, I pulled on his shoulders a bit so I could rest my chin on them. I pressed my cheek against his neck and asked him what he was going to sing. 

He shrugged, which was weird with my head on his shoulders but I was not to be dislodged. This close I could feel the heat coming off his poor red ears. 

I decided NOT to remind him that this was HIS idea. XD

Surprisingly enough, it was DaGe who stomped up on stage first. Never would have pegged him as the musical type!

He further shocked and wowed the crowd by not only singing something from Frank Sinatra, or at least something that sounds like him ( I have no idea what singer sings what. Don’t AT me!) but singing it WELL! He’s got this really deep like slightly raspy kind of voice when he sings. It sounded so GOOD! Talk about a tough act to follow! Fuck I thought karaoke was supposed to be for people BAD at singing!

His song ended up competing against uproarious cheers and whoops, led by Lan Xichen and the kids who easily out-shouted us. (For such a quiet man, Lan Xichen has some PIPES when he wants to be loud!)

A-Ling and A-Yuan somehow ended up on the little podium with him so that they could cheer and dance around him. I can’t imagine they cared either way for the song, but they definitely enjoyed the excuse to scream. Clearly amused, DaGe knelt down to sing TO them, much to their delight. I couldn’t help but laugh as Wen Ning even joined in, pulling the kids a bit further away for safety and twirling in a circle with them in some fun made up dance. 

The song finally ended with a flourish and a bow and much more screaming. When he looked up he seemed to lock eyes with Lan Zhan who immediately looked ready to just book it. He looked even more prepared to bolt when SangSang joined his brother on the stage. 

And just like those creepy twins from The Shining, they asked Lan Zhan to sing with them. 

And not just sing

Oh no.

They asked him to sing Celine Dion with them. 

I may or may not have secretly taken a picture on my phone that I will cherish forever. Just sayin.

He didn’t move at all until Lan Xichen practically shoved him up there. He looked at me for help, but I wasn’t gonna pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity. No way in Hell! So I help his brother push.  Just to seal the deal I used his own words against me. The ones from when I was sick. 

“Do it for me!”

I know I’m an asshole but how could I not?

I didn’t know his spine COULD bend that much. He slumped forward onto the stage, looking utterly defeated. 

Honestly I felt so bad about it I was about to go up and pull him back, but I was too late. The song had started. 

Turns out it wasn’t a Celine Dion song. 

It was THE Celine Dion song. 

Titanic theme BBY!

DaGe draped his arm over Lan Zhan’s shoulders, probably to keep him from running, as Nie Huaisang started off the song with as much over the top passion and drama as is demanded by law for that song. He said something to him but I couldn’t hear it over SangSang’s lovely crooning. 

And then it was  Nie Duet. For once I actually could believe they were brothers! Their shit-eating grins were identical as they pingponged poor Lan Zhan between them with their nudging, trying to get him to sing too. 

Eventually he gave in and between the three of them they made the most amazing, wonderful show I’ve ever seen. Lan Zhan even got into it eventually as he and SangSang practically screamed gracelessly into the microphones.

Amazingly enough, it was DaGe who managed to hit all the high notes. Did he have fucking lessons or something? How??????

I don’t think I’ve ever come CLOSE to seeing Lan Zhan acting that… SILLY before! Oh. He ended up looking like he was having SO much fun. It was so wonderful. I wish he could have that much fun every day of his life!

He looked a bit meek again after the song ended so I hugged him tight after he got off stage. Meanwhile his older brother was pushing his way ON to the stage. Apparently it was his turn now. 

I was trying not to laugh again, afraid he’d think I was making fun of him like he clearly thought before. I didn’t do a great job of it because he told me to go ahead and laugh. “I know it’s lame.”

Oh that got me going, though not in the guffaws that threatened earlier. I chuckled at him for being adorable and told him it wasn’t lame at all. I told him I was just happy to see him acting so damn silly and that I’d love to see it again. 

He pulled back to look at me and I could only start laughing again. A real in the gut laugh. It was good. So good. It was like it cleared up the last of the sobbing I’d done earlier. I felt so much better. 

“That song though,” I said, not able to resist teasing him as I put my head on his shoulder again. “I was NOT expecting that one. Celine Dion? Really??”

And then he pinched my side. Probably trying to tickle me. It did a little but that’s a dangerous game to play when the tickler themselves is QUITE ticklish and the ticklee KNOWS it. 

I pinched him back in the exact same way he pinched me and he lept back so fast it was like a cat jumping out of a bath! And even better, he stumbled RIGHT into the peacock. (brief heart attack because the peacock had at some point stolen A-Lian from her mother, but my precious niece was perfectly fine. ) 

He gave Lan Zhan a LOOK like his patience was seriously being tested, but sighed in the end and offered him A-Lian in what looked very much like a peace offering than anything else. 

“At least you’ll be more careful with her, I hope,” he said in the most threatening tone I think I’ve ever heard from a bird. 

And then Lan Zhan proved he had no qualms with stooping to the lowest of lows by using my beloved niece as a SHIELD while calling for a truce! He held her up so she was standing on his lap and her face covered his and he wiggled her arms all adorable.

And A-Lian just gave me those doe eyes that she learned from her mother and collaborated with him!

So I did the only thing I could do. I shuffled closer, bracing one hand against Lan Zhan’s neck, and tickled my traitor niece instead. She squealed and squirmed, her face turning cherry pink! 

When MianMian and Qin Su started singing some spice girls or destiny’s child or some song or other, A-Lian started to wiggle to it even though I’d stopped tickling her. 

“You like that music?” I heard Lan Zhan say as he took her by the hands to help her keep her balance as he wiggled along with her. He sounded so warm and happy. 

But then I made a mistake. I looked at Lan Zhan again. And oh that FUCKING FEELING came back. 

No! I’m good with being an uncle! I don’t need more! 

My life is a MESS. I can’t even take care of myself! How am I supposed to think about…

But then if he was with me… 

NO!

He’s NOT with me! This is just idle fantasy and I SHOULDN’T be daydreaming about it! YOU KNOW BETTER WEI YING.

Besides even if that were… a thing. It’s kinda putting the cart before the horse. 

One step at a time. If we ever do actually make it past step one THEN we can start thinking of… what would that be. Step 15?????????????????????????????????????????

UGH.

He was looking at her with such a tender expression. It made my heart squeeze with want so hard it almost hurt. 

I grabbed a glass of wine and downed it to help keep my mind away from such dangerous fantasies. 

“I didn’t know you were so good with kids,” I said once the burn of the alcohol had settled in my stomach. 

“I didn’t know either,” Lan Zhan said. Do Lans not have kids? I suppose he’s probably spent most of his time with his brother, and he doesn’t have kids so maybe that makes sense. 

“Maybe A-Lian is just that good with adults,” he continued after a thoughtful pause, making me snicker.  I leaned in to kiss my niece’s chubby (and admittedly kinda sticky) cheek and she giggled, making my heart squeeze again. 

Then she made grabby hands at me to pick her up! ;dklsjf;saj I must have done something right because she doesn’t ask for me very often! So naturally I scooped her up immediately. Lan Zhan seemed unwilling to give her up, not that I blame him, and held her a little longer even though she was secured in my arms already. 

Eventually he did let go though, saying he was going to get more cake. I made A-Lian wave at him as he got up and asked him to bring me a slice of the cocai--cake too. 

[xsecretblastsx]

1x10 - High Society

Finally I’ve reach a double digit episode, and what an episode, I feel this is where I really start questioning characters decisions, but I also love drama so, withouth more preamble, here’s the recap. Again it got insanely long.

Thoughts I had while watching the episode:

I love “comin home baby”, so right there this show is making me so happy.

I’ve actually paused the episode to see the date of the debutante ball a.k.a Cotillion 

I love Blair’s red tigh outfit, also where did that guy Prince Theodore came from?

Chuck’s proud face when Nate mentions how happier Blair seems lately, and also, dude really you don’t miss your girlfriend haha

Honestly I feel this scene with all these parallel conversations about Cotillion is great, right up my alley.

All the subtle drama in that rehearsal, the secret glances, Chuck and Nate keeping their eyes on Blair all the time, this is the kind of content I’m here for. 

I would  like to know why everyone is in their preppy uniforms and then there’s Kati and Is who look like they’re part of Flashdance

Lilly rolling her eyes the moment she sees CeCe, and then really enjoying Cece’s mortification when she realizes Dan is a Humphrey. I love Lilly.

And from Cece’s horrified face we go to hottest PG-13 make out ever. For real though I love this scene, they both look so good and so into it, and they’re so deliciously flirty and their chemistry is out of the charts. Great choice in music too.

I don’t know who is more frustrating by Nate interrupting Chuck or myself.

Chuck’s little smile when Blair says to Nate they should  move on, only to be whipped out in the next minute

Two things about the heart pin: that was an incredibly smart move on Nate’s part, and if you had any doubt Blair Waldorf is such a hopeless romantic.

Cece such a manipulator, it’s unbelievable. Imagine if Serena was more like her family...

Nate’s tux fitting deserves an honorable mention just for the fact that Blair’s actually wearing jeans. Also he kind of deserves she’s lowkey ignoring him

I mean, Dan is so annoying, like yeah I get his point Cotillion is such an elitist unnecessary event, but the way he goes about it gets on my nerves.

Hello Carter. I actually don’t mind him this episode. 

Out of all the seasons I feel like Season 1 is the one where it’s weirder for the final reveal of who gossip girl is, right now it makes the guy really look like a sociopath, with all the stuff he pretends not to know.

Oh Nate! This scene is so fun, like Chuck is so done with the conversation and then “you guys are still pretty close aren’t you?” Dude you have no idea. And the Cherry on the cake “Could you find out who she’s seeing? - Me” he told you Nate, he told you.

Cece’s words to Dan are cruel, but it is the crux of their relationship,, right until the very end and he deals with it in the worst way possible, and why in his mind, every issue in their relationship is always Serena’s fault. Ugh.

Between Dan and Carter, yeah she should have ended with Carter, too bad Cece’s word weren’t profetic.

I wish we had a clearer view of Blair’s outfit in that scene she’s talking with that New York Times guy, because I think it’s purple, and I wish we had seen her using that color a bit more.

Chuck is so jealous and Blair’s like yeah whatever as if. But a jealous Chuck is scheming Chuck. 

I love Rufus, you go Dan (just for this one time)

I’ve always felt Serena’s look for Cotillion was a lot of gold, not in a good way, but right now? I’m kind of feeling it. And she looks gorgeous. 

I mean I think there was probably a better way to say that Grandma Cece is evil, but still I’m not sure it would have matter Serena didn’t want to listen, she never does actually now that I think of it, the end of S3 comes to mind.

Blair has the funniest lines “I’m gonna go Naomi Campbell on you” Is so sad though that we got to see so little of that Erickson Beamon necklace, it’s lovely.

“Hey Beatiful” oh the things one notices when one no longer hates Carter and VanderBaizen is your second Serena ship.

Lily and Cece’s faces at Serena’s presentation stament are to die for.

The pretty little liars song! But since I haven’t watch that show, this one is going to remain a Gossip Girl song for me.

Seeing Cece and Lily at Cotillion makes me think that Blair’s parents are the worst, it’s their daughter debut and none of them could be bothered to attend the event

It didn’t remember this was the first time they mentioned the Santorini incident, less of all in the way Carter tells it, I thought this was first mentioned in S2, 

Not exactly a fan of Lily’s scene with Dan, because yes I agree at this point for the most part Dan is a good influence, but she almost makes it look like Serenas change is thanks to Dan, and that’s not the case. She had decided to change even before she met him.

Also this is feeding Dan’s ego and his belief that he’s the best thing to happen to his girlfriends. 

Oh Chuck finding out than when it comes to Blair scheming is not an easy feat,  and to think this in only the first time this is going to happen.

Poor Chuck, that hurt. Nate’s wink adding salt to his wounds ouch.

That phone between Ruflus and Lily, yes you shouldn’t have let her go!!!

Oh how I used to like that last scene between Dan and Serena.

Seeing that scene of Cece taking her pills made me think of S5, and that’s probably the episode I hate the most in the whole show.

Blair and Nate finally get to it, but seriously Blair doing it with Nate while wearing the necklace Chuck gave you, is tasteless. Also compared to a certain scene at the start of the episode, this looks a bit dull..

Chuck running away, also him looking at the news paper where Blair is happily smiling with some guy, reminded me again of S5. 

Ending this episode with “Apologize” was so 2007, remember how popular this song was?

This was a really packed episode. It introduces us to Cece, and gaves a bit more insight into Rufus and Lily’s history. We have Jenny picking the UES over her family, she’s changing. A dash of Van der Baizen, and our first glimpse to their shared past. Dan and Serena having another clash of worlds, that ends with Lily finally acepting Dan for real; and finally the end of Chuck and Blair 1.0 and the star of Nate and Blair 2.0.

While interesting Jenny’s and Rufly bits this episode, they’re a small part of the episode, Jenny’s in particular feels like a setting up of events to come and as such I feel I have not much to say about it right now. So this episode Dan and Serena had to deal with quite an opponent: Grandma Cece.

Cece while manipulative did raised some interesting points, mainly how out of place Dan feels in the UES, all those things she mentioned are things that Dan resents about the UES, and he may be brushing it up aside for now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t linger and fester in his mind. And then we have Serena who for some reason (which i can’t help but feel is related to Dan) has decided to ditch Cotillion, the even that according to Lily she wanted to attend since she was much younger, and sure people change, Serena is proof of that but in this case I feel her not going is in part to annoyed her mother but also to prove Dan she’s the girl he thhinks she is, i know I may be projecting my dislike of Dan and Derena on this, but it just feels like that to me, and it’s a troubling aspect of their relationship. Also when Dan mentioned to Serena about Cece’s ploy, she doesn’t believe him, doesn’t want to hear it at first, and I just feel for her because sadly is not the first time she’s going to have to accept that her family is not who she think they were.

Last but not least there’s Chuck and Blair. So their secret fling lasted only a month, since the beginning it took Chuck much less effort to embrace the situation, for all his playboys ways the morning after their first time... he wanted them to get breakfast, and it took him Nate messing up again for him to convince Blair of giving them another chance. So when Nate shows interest in Blair, this is Chuck’s worst nightmare come to life, Blair had her whole life with Nate planned out since she was a little girl, she only gave up on that dream when it was clear Nate wanted no part of it, and sure Chuck knows the potential they have, he lowkey always knew, and that’s why he falls so fast, because subconciously he was halfway there since foreve, but it’s very hard to compete with years of Nate, Nate Nate, in Blairs head. So he panics, he gets jealous... and he plots. And it backfires horribly. And for the first time in his life he gets his heart broken.

I don’t judge Blair on this one though because well she knows Chuck, he has an agenda always, and him being Chuck Bass it never occurs to her that he may be realy into her beyond just sex, to her all they being doing is fooling around, she tells Chuck that he needs to learned to behave for them to move to something more, and Chuck behaving is an eufemism of so many things: trust,knowing that she matters to him enough, that he cares. And that’s a big step and it’s a conversation that needed to happen.. and then it doesn’t. Thanks Nate. But really having Nate finally wanting her, and then Chuck seemingly only caring for himself and his own amusement is not suprise she picks Nate. 

I do feel for Chuck because when he gets desperate he doesn’t think properly at all,  he knows Blair, how smart she is and that she’s a good at him at plotting and manipulation,and yet he fails to take that into account, like this episode, he wants Nate to cause a scene to shatter Blair’s image of Nate, because she tells him he would never, so it’s not hard for Blair to see that Nate only caused one because Chuck manipulated into it, it’s transparent. And this is a lesson that sadly he’s not going to learn anytime soon. 

Random bits I would like to mention: ( a bit surprised I got so many for this episode)

So Blair’s birthday is the 15th of november, this means Chuck and Blair version 1.0 lasted a month. Common knowledge I suppose, but I’ve read fanfics where the timeline is much shorter. 

A bit of personal trivia: I love the song “you’re a wolf” (the one playing when Chuck and Blair are making out) and last year was kind of weird for me and I had like a thousand mood changes so anyway, so there was one week I started listening to this song, and I just couldn’t stop re playing it, just so out of nowhere, I played it so much, it ended up being my most played song last year according to Spotify. 

I remember when the type of purse Jenny has was on fashion, and it was cool because it got to the point that street markets they were sold really cheap because they made them out or recycled materials

Chuck tells to Nate that “like the book says she’s just not that into you” and it made think that this was so long ago that there was only the book, the movie wasn’t out yet, wow.. 

I wonder what would have happened if she hadn’t fight with Dan, because then Carter wouldn’t have been at Cotillion, and then the drama between Chuc, Blair and Nate could have ended up in a completely different way.

The Palace does likes like a good place to have the Cotillion, not sure that would have been the case in real life, but here it fits nicely.

Irrelevant but apparently Kati and Is do everything together at such an extent they were scorted by two guys that I guess were brothers because they had the same last name.

You won’t believe but The Pierces have a 2020 version of Secret, it came out on my new releases list on Spotify last week.

[waltzofthewifi]

Kota Chapter 34: Gifts and Presences

Table of Contents | Beginning

"Think about it," Alix said. "You said that you can use your phone without worrying about monsters because your sister's friend fixed it somehow. Well, who do we know that is intelligent enough to do that, who owns technology that you've used without attracting monsters?"

"Max?" Lacy asked. "What does that have to do with Kim?"

"If Kim was a demigod, who would he tell first?" Alix questioned. "Max."

"But he's above the claiming age," Lacy argued. "If he's a Greek demigod, then why hasn't he been at camp?"

There were exceptions to the rule - an over-protective family, like what Alya has, or some weird prophecy thing, like what happened to Piper and Leo. But if Kim theoretically already knew he was a demigod, then they wouldn't apply.

"Who said anything about being a Greek demigod?" Alix said. "There are plenty of pantheons he could be a part of."

"Yeah, but I don't think they have the same problem," Lacy said.

"Maybe not. But with the way Max researches, he might have stumbled upon the idea anyways."

"You have a point," Lacy said. "But it doesn't seem like enough proof to me."

"I also know that he never met his dad," Alix said. "But that his dad is alive."

"That's true for lots of people," Lacy reasoned.

"I'm just saying, it adds up," Alix argued.

Lacy glanced back at Kim, who was joking with Rose and Juleka. He did remind her of some of the kids at camp - but that didn't mean anything.

"We could always just ask him," Alix said.

"True," Lacy agreed. "But not today. When he's in a better mood."

Someone tapped on Lacy's window, and she opened it see Ladybug waiting for her, box in hand.

"Is it my turn?" Lacy asked as she let Ladybug in.

Ladybug nodded. "You understand the responsibility behind having your miraculous permanently?"

Lacy nodded, rocking up onto her toes in excitement.

Ladybug handed her the box, and Lacy opened it up.

"Finally!" Orikko said, zooming out. "It's been so long since I've been outside for more than just an akuma."

"I'll make sure to give you the grand tour," Lacy responded. "Ooh, can I transform just to go running on rooftops?"

"Yes!" Orikko said.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with your other responsibilities," Ladybug answered. "Chat Noir and I are going on patrol, would you like to join?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, suit up."

.

Patrolling was awesome.

Kota had never been able to run so fast. The cold air against her face was rejuvenating. And Paris looked so pretty at night from the rooftops.

She followed Chat Noir on his usual patrol path. He was willing to indulge in Kota's want to go fast, and to climb things for no reason than just to climb them. In fact, he was enjoying himself just as much as she was.

They met up with Ladybug, followed by Pegasus, on the Eiffel Tower. The view was beautiful, and while the rest of the superheroes talked, Kota just stared out onto the city.

She could get used to this.

.

Fu had not been exaggerating about Orikko.

Right at sunrise the next day, he opened his mouth and screamed.

Lacy threw a pillow at him to shut him up.

"You're going to wake my parents," she hissed.

"Sorry," Orikko said, in a way that made her think he was going to do the same exact thing tomorrow.

Lacy readjusted her pillows with the intent to go back to sleep.

"Well, get up!" Orikko said. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and you have things to do!"

Lacy groaned. "It's too early."

"It's dawn," Orikko said. "And you have the miraculous of dawn. This is your time of day!"

Lacy intended on ignoring him, but she did feel strangely awake, and Ladybug said she could transform if it didn't interfere with her responsibilities.

"Okay," Lacy repented. "You feel up to transforming?"

"Always," Orikko said.

"Great. Orikko, sun up!"

.

Lacy arrived at class grinning.

Going out as Kota was fun. Plus, she had had time to eat a good breakfast and finish up a homework assignment that wasn't due until tomorrow. Waking up early felt nice.

"You okay?" Alix asked. "You never look this awake this early."

"Yeah, just slept good last night," Lacy replied.

She wasn't that early anyways. The other two chronic over sleepers - Adrien and Marinette - had already arrived. Adrien and Nino were watching something on Nino's phone, and Marinette was having an intense discussion with Alya and Mylene.

Kim leaned forward from his desk. "You still up for our bet Friday, Lace?"

"Oh, I'm ready," Lacy replied.

"I calculate a ninety percent chance that Kim will win," Max said.

Alix snickered. "Yeah right."

"Kim will win what?"

Lacy startled, not having seen Marinette approach their desk.

"Win against Lacy in a rock climbing race," Kim said.

Marinette looked Lacy over, and then Kim.

"Okay, I want to see that," she decided.

"I'm always up for seeing Kim lose a bet," Chloe added.

"Okay, one, I'm not going to lose," Kim replied. "And two, why does everyone want me to lose?"

"If you're willing to buy your own tickets, then I'm fine with you tagging along," Alix said.

"Ooh, maybe Alya can video it?" Lacy said.

"You're very confident," Max noted.

Lacy shrugged. "Just thought it would be cool to have it recorded."

"I'll ask her," Marinette said. "Anyways, I had something else I wanted to ask you girls about. It's Kagami's birthday tonight, and we managed to convince her mom to let her stay at my place as a birthday celebration. Now, her mom thinks it's just us two, but we're actually planning another mass sleepover."

"I'm in," Lacy said.

"Same," Alix said.

"Chloe?" Marinette asked.

Chloe spluttered. "You want me to come?"

"The more the merrier!" Marinette replied. "As long as you think you can behave yourself."

"Well, I can't stay the night," Chloe said. "But I might pop in to say hello and bring a gift."

"Oh, Kagami said no presents," Marinette replied. "But I'm sure she'd appreciate a card or something. Sabrina?"

"Oh, I can't," Sabrina replied. "Family obligations. Tell her I said happy birthday for me!"

"I will!" Marinette replied. "See you there!"

.

Lacy was surprised to see her dad already home from work when she got home.

"I'm taking Elisabeth out on a surprise date," he explained.

"Aww," Lacy cooed.

"You're good for dinner?" Her dad asked. "I know you texted me about the sleepover."

"I'm heading over as soon as I pack my stuff," Lacy said. "It's at Marinette's, so we'll be good for food."

"Just remember, it's a school day tomorrow," her dad said.

"I'll be back before school," Lacy said.

Her dad raised an eyebrow.

"I tried a new alarm clock this morning," Lacy said. "Worked like a charm."

"That's good."

Speaking of her alarm clock, she needed some way of making sure Orikko wouldn't start screaming at tonight's sleepover.

"If I bring a small pillow, can you scream into that?" Lacy asked when she reached her bedroom. "To not wake any of the other girls?"

"I'm a rooster, I'm not screaming into a pillow," Orikko argued. "I'll just find some small secluded room to scream in."

"Okay, but don't wake anyone else up," Lacy stressed.

"Yeah, yeah, you aren't my first chick with a secret identity," Orikko said. "I'm very subtle when I need to be."

Lacy doubted it, but she guessed she'd find out in the morning.

.

Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Alya, Marinette, Lacy, and Alix all made the sleepover. Chloe arrived mid-dinner, and agreed to stay for dessert.

After dinner, Marinette's parents brought out a huge cake, and Lacy brought out her camera.

Kagami looked overwhelmed. "No one's ever baked me a cake before."

"Any friend of Marinette's is worthy of Dupain-Cheng cake," Marinette's dad said.

"Make a wish!" Marinette said.

"Huh?"

"You're suppose to make a wish," Marinette said. "Before blowing the candles out."

"But you can't tell us what it is," Rose added. "Or else it won't come true!"

"Okay." Kagami closed her eyes and blew the candles out.

Lacy snapped a photo.

Everyone got a slice of cake, and they abandoned the dinner table to gather around the living room.

"You know, I've been thinking of joining an exercise class," Marinette said. "Any suggestions?"

"You could take a dance class with me," Mylene said.

"Or you could take archery lessons with me," Kagami added. "It's not as aerobic, but it takes lots of muscle strength and focus."

"I could teach you to roller skate," Alix added.

"Ooh, I know," Alya said. "Nora's making me take this self-defense seminar next weekend. You totally should come with!"

"That actually sounds like a great idea," Mylene said. "I might see if I could come."

"I think it's a great idea for all of us," Kagami agreed. "I'll see if I can convince my mother to let me come."

"Let's do it," Marinette said.

.

Marinette woke that morning to the distant sound of someone screaming.

It was faint, and muffled, and no one seemed to stir at the sound, but Marinette didn't want to ignore it if someone was in trouble.

She slowly stood up and started tiptoeing to the stairs.

"Marinette? What are you doing up?"

Marinette turned to see Lacy sitting up.

Oh, right. Lacy had Orikko with her, and Orikko screamed in the morning. In fact, it was miracle that it sounded so muffled, and the only reason it woke Marinette up was that she hadn't trained herself to sleep through akumas.

"Bathroom," Marinette lied.

"Oh, okay." Lacy didn't sound convinced, being a walking lie detector, but she had never been one to push. "I think I'm going for a run."

"This early?" Marinette questioned.

"Yeah, it helps me focus during school, I think."

"Okay, just be careful."

Marinette went upstairs just long enough to make her cover story seem realistic, before heading back down stairs.

She prodded Alya awake.

"I just saw a hero run by," Marinette whispered. "Want to go hero hunting?"

"Do I ever?"

.

"Guess who just got an interview with the newest hero?" Alya announced, waving her phone around.

"Kota?" Kim asked. "Or the mouse one?"

"Kota," Alya confirmed. "I caught her while she was out patrolling this morning."

The class all crowded around the phone. Lacy peaked over Alix's shoulder, curious as how she looked on camera.

Alya pressed play, but the video was instantly interrupted with a phone call.

"It's from Nathaniel," Alya said.

"Nath?" Alix asked. "But he hates calling people."

Alya answered and put it on speaker.

"What's up?"

"We're trapped in an akuma attack."

Next Chapter

[gallantgautier]

That Gautier Family Meta That No One Asked For

I’ve been thinking about the Gautier Family on and off for the last few weeks. Dribs and drabs of little details that slowly but surely have been coming together into something cohesive. Today I wanted to spend some time collecting all of those headcanons together to give myself a nice little piece to refer back to, and maybe some fun reading for others. As always, I welcome any and all questions!

Margave Gullan Adán Gautier

Naming Inspirations

“Gullan”

as a boys' name is of Old Norse derivation, and the meaning of the name Gullan is "battler, warrior". Gullan is an alternate form of Gunnar (Old Norse): from Old Norse gunnr "strife". Going with Rai’s Headcanon that the Fraldarius territory is loosely based upon Norway (albeit only geographically,) I looked to Scandinavian names for Sylvain’s father, as well as keeping similar “ahn” sounds at the end of the name. (It’s worth noting that “Sylvain’s” name in localisation fits better due to the inspirations for his name. However, in other languages his name is actually pronounced more like Sil-vahn. Just a fun tidbit)

 Another reason for my name choice comes from; “The surname Gullan was first found in East Lothian, where they held a family seat on the English/Scottish border. After the Norman Conquest of England many of Duke William's rebellious Barons moved north. The border became a convenient but turbulent no-man's land where the persecuted Many were given land by King Malcolm Canmore and later by King David of Scotland. Some were native Scots. In the 16th century they became known as the 'unruly clans'. The name was first recorded in Scotland in Gullen in the parish of Dirleton in East Lothian.”

“Adán”

Quite simply, the Spanish form of Adam. As I mentioned briefly in another post of Sylvain’s middle name being that of a biblical figure and translated into its Spanish form, Gullan’s follows that trend.

 Personality

On the surface, Gullan is a seemingly cold man who never says more than is necessary. Each and every one of his words has purpose and motive, and he is not the type to lay praise on thick unless it’s either warranted, or strategic.

His purpose is to defend the border, a task he takes so seriously that his devotion to it can often come across as boastful. There are likely those who believe he ‘showcases’ the worth of his house, ever eager to ‘prove House Gautier’s usefulness.’ And indeed, Gullan is happy to allow that attitude to continue rather than spend time attempting to change minds that can instead be spent ensuring his troops are ever ready for another assault from Sreng.

Much like his youngest son, Gullan has a tendency to put up a front, to be as unshakable as the border defences. While this serves his purpose well at official business, war councils and formal functions, it does hurt his ability to be a father. This trait runs so deeply that he always put his duty before his family, which extends to ensuring his son can take up the mantle after him, and thus his reliance on his family Crest. (See “Crest of Gautier, Lance of Ruin and other details” further below.)

 Margravine Eloise Ambre Gautier

Naming Inspirations

I didn’t think too deeply about choosing this name. I just like it. Sue me.

Personality/details of note

Eloise is a person of striking contrast to her husband. She is softly spoken, warm and kind-hearted. That said, in regard to her family and the expectations placed upon them, she often finds her hands tied in what she can actually do for her children. She would have loved nothing more than to coddle them but knew that would only harm them in the long run.

Eloise’s health has never been the greatest, little energy and of low appetite. Pregnancy and childbirth were great ordeals for her, which is why they stopped having children after Sylvain. A family that places such importance on passing on their Crest wouldn’t reasonably – I believe – stop at only one.

 Miklan Anschutz Gautier

Naming Inspirations

“Miklan”

Sadly, after much googling, I can’t find anything. This appears to just be a case of “let’s make a name similar to yet distinct from his brother” style of name choice.

“Anschutz”

Not to copy paste some previous things I talked about but “North German (Anschütz): occupational name for someone whose job was to keep a dam or pool filled with water (German anschützen ‘to fill up’), especially a dam above a water channel serving a mill or mine.” TL;DR: He’s a placeholder.

Personality/details of note

Long story short, Miklan was a monster before he got his hands upon the Lance of Ruin.

Short story lengthened; Miklan is a jealous, entitled person without much in the way of a moral compass. There is only one reason he hates his brother, the fact that Sylvain has a Crest and he does not. Children of noble families are tested upon birth to see if they bare one, at least, that’s what Sylvain tells us. It’s possible that only his family does this, and he believes all families are like that, or that some or many families do that, but not all. Still, it’s reasonable to believe that at least House Gautier tests their children for Crest Inheritance at birth.

What kind of person hates a baby? Enough to want them dead and even attempt to kill them himself? Someone who lacks a moral compass.

On that same train of thought, Miklan was disinherited (not disowned) only three years prior to the events of the game. This means that, while he would never be the head of House, he was still in line to inherit something. Perhaps not lands and prestige, but he would have been able to live comfortably. He would have this regardless of being Crestless, and yet, the fact that he wouldn’t have everything is enough to drive him to multiple attempts to murder his brother. It’s difficult to think that this man has any redeeming qualities, considering that fact.

 Sylvain Jose Gautier

Information regarding the origins of Sylvain’s name and its meanings are all over both the wiki and this blog, as is the case with aspects of his personality, so I’m not going to get too into detail about those. Instead, I’m just going to list some fun tibits about his early life.

As a very young child, Sylvain was actually very shy, he was often found hiding behind his mother’s skirts. He didn’t like the way people would look at him, though at the time he didn’t understand it was because of his Crest. It was largely Glenn’s encouragement that got him out of his shell.

 For a long time, he didn’t really know how food worked. That is, he thought all you had to do was place the ingredients in a bowl, put it in the oven, and five minutes later, out comes food. The kitchen staff once caught him trying to place a glass bowl full of flour, too much sugar, an entire stick of butter and three whole eggs (yes, whole, 100% intact) into the oven. He wanted to make a cake for his mother’s birthday.

As seen in Etude and Learning the Melody, Sylvain took piano lessons as a child and had no small amount of talent for it. He gave it up though, believing his family’s encouragement came only from a place of wanting him to have whatever he wants on account of his Crest and not from a place of love.

 Crest of Gautier and the Lance of Ruin

The Crest

Crests are often seen as a status symbol in Fódlan, and it would be reasonable to think that House Gautier is of the same opinion. This is an attitude that Gullan perpetrates in order to secure a successful marriage for his son to pass on his Crest. In truth, however, the importance of the Crest of Gautier is solely to ensure that the Lance of Ruin can continue to be wielded.

Lance of Ruin

Heroes Relics are weapons of incredible power, and the Lance has been used to defend the border with Sreng. The reliance on the weapon to do the task stems from how the Lance has likely become a symbol of ruin to the Srengi people. In fact, the question has been asked; “Why is it that all the Relics have actual names like Areadbhar and Failnaught, and yet only two are Sword of the Creator and Lance of Ruin?” While I cannot speak for the Sword, I believe that the Lance once had a name that was slowly lost to time, gaining its new moniker some years after the formation of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus when it was brought to bear against Sreng.

[bookworlders]

the wedding date - ch. 9

percabeth fake dating!au based on The Wedding Date movie

part 1 | FFnet | ao3

masterpost

The wine was flowing.

If the rehearsal dinner gave any indication of what the ceremony was going to be like the next day, it was sure to be lavish. Piper’s mother and father, supermodel Aphrodite Love and actor Tristan McLean, were paying for the ceremony. Zeus Grace, Jason’s father and host of the rehearsal dinner, had obviously not wished to be upstaged. Zeus had hired an upscale party company to completely transform the front lawn of the Big House into some kind of fairytale winery, much to Chiron’s protest.

Every post on the wrap-around porch was wrapped in twinkling lights. The porch itself had been transformed into an altar for the rehearsal ceremony. Picnic tables laden with white table clothes, succulents, and lanterns littered the front lawn for the dinner. The parents of the bride and groom greeted the wedding party as they arrived: Tristan and Zeus shaking everyone's hands and Beryl Grace and Aphrodite shooting each other reproachful scowls — they had worn the same dress.

Percy sat with Will and Calypso as their dates rehearsed walking down the aisle. Jason’s annoying cousin, Octavian, was officiating. Percy caught Annabeth’s eye from where she stood at Piper’s side on the porch. He made faces at her until he saw her smile crack. He grinned at how cute she looked, trying to stifle her laughter. Reyna, standing directly behind Jason, noticed and followed Annabeth’s line of sight, she shot daggers at him.

When he was sure Reyna wasn’t looking anymore, Percy winked at Annabeth and motioned to her neck. She blushed.

After dance lessons, Percy and Annabeth had fooled around in their cabin before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. Annabeth had even more hickeys on her neck to conceal after that afternoon, especially with the low-cut neckline of her lavender rehearsal dinner dress. Percy didn’t exactly know where they stood with their agreement, but he knew he was having fun with Annabeth regardless of all the lines and boundaries they had crossed by being intimate..

“You are not allowed to look at me tomorrow!” Annabeth said, punching him in the shoulder after they finished rehearsing the ceremony. Percy pulled back her chair for her as they sat down at the head table with the wedding party.

“I agree,” Reyna replied, but Percy had a feeling she was not joking at all.

The food was amazing, but the wine was better. Percy was in bliss, chowing down and refilling Annabeth’s wine glass as the parents all made their rounds of speeches. Dessert was served just as Tristan McLean concluded a monologue from one of his 90s chick flick movies that he was dedicating to Piper. The dessert was vanilla cake with blueberries.

Percy’s eyes lit up and he attacked the cake with his fork, “Heck yes!”

Annabeth grinned at his enthusiasm as she adjusted the napkin on her lap, “What is it with you and blue food?” She ate a piece, it was really delicious.

“It’s a thing between me and my mom,” Percy spoke through mouthfuls. “I asked for a blue birthday cake when I was little, and my old stepdad was being an ass, ‘Blue food doesn’t exist!’” Percy stabbed a blueberry on his fork, dark juice staining the white china. “After that, my mom made an extra effort to make me blue food like pancakes or bringing home all the blue candy from when she worked at a sweet shop.”

Annabeth reached out and brushed icing away from the corner of his mouth, “Your mom sounds great.”

Percy looked at her, smiling, “She is.”

Annabeth broke away from Percy’s gaze. Her face started to feel hot. She stood, “I’m gonna go grab some water, do you want some?” Her feet were taking her to the beverage table before Percy could respond.

Annabeth filled a glass with ice and water and downed it. She refilled it once more, gulping it down. She had felt the words I’d like to meet her about to escape her lips right then. She had to be more careful or she was going to fall into this façade. This arrangement was just for this one weekend. She was never going to meet Sally Jackson.

“Annabeth! Hello, dear.”

She turned, “Aphrodite, hello.” Piper’s mom reached by her to fill her glass with ice. She managed to make the casual, rustic dinner outside of the Big House look like the backdrop of a photoshoot. Annabeth thought, she was too beautiful, too perfect.

“How was the food?” Aphrodite asked, gazing at her as she sipped her water. She had the same kaleidoscope eyes Piper had, but whereas Piper’s gaze was warm and comforting, Annabeth could barely look her mother in the eye.

“It was great. Nice speeches too.”

Aphrodite smiled, her lipstick unsmudged by her glass, “It’s nice to see you sitting over there with your date.”

Annabeth’s stomach dropped, she already hated where this conversation was going yet she just nodded and smiled.

“You’re such a pretty girl,” Aphrodite continued, “You’d never have thought with a face like that that you’d have such trouble in the love department. Well, then I saw how you are about work and your little job. I’m so happy that you finally found love! It feels so much better than drawing some buildings, doesn’t it?”

Annabeth’s jaw tensed, “Yes.” After years of friendship with Piper, she learned it was best not to argue with her mother.

“Your career may be what makes you happy, but love is what you needed.”

“Right, Aphrodite,” Annabeth muttered through gritted teeth, she gripped her glass and walked back over to the table.

She was fuming when she sat down.

“Whoa, whoa,” Percy asked, cautiously, seeing her tensed shoulders, “What did I do now?”

Annabeth crossed her arms. “Not you,” she spat, “Piper’s mother ugh. She had some commentary about my personal life again.” Annabeth hated, hated, hated conversations with Piper’s mother because they always ended like that. A successful career and love are not mutually exclusive.

However, in Annabeth’s case, it had been. Luke had left her because she chose her job.

Percy took her hand, “Hey, come on, forget her, let’s dance.”

The wine had loosened Annabeth enough to actually join Percy on the makeshift dance floor, and the mandatory shots for the bridal party got her to let Percy twirl her into the middle of the dance circle.

Michael Bublé’s “Sway” came on next, and Percy and Annabeth made for Will and Nico as they salsa-ed into the middle.

Annabeth’s left hand rested lightly on Percy's shoulder as they swayed on the outskirts of the dance floor. As the sun went down, fireflies began to twinkle on the lawn.

“Is this even real?” Annabeth muttered, her gaze following a lightning bug, “How did we get here?”

Percy chuckled, twirling her, “Not sure.”

“For real, how did you become an actor, Percy?”

Percy shrugged as Bublé transitioned to Sinantra, “I never wanted to be an actor when I was younger, I just wanted to swim. Competitive swimming led to scholarships. I was undeclared and Grover was my freshman roommate and he did tech for the theater department. I hung around him and other theater majors who ended up casting me in their studio shows for fun. When I needed to declare a major, the only thing I had enough credits in was theater.”

“I’ve never met anyone who was an actor who didn’t want to be.”

“I like it, I really do. I don’t want to be famous or anything, though. There are enough acting gigs in New York and connections from college to keep me busy and employed until the next thing.”

“What’s the next thing?”

“I like acting, but not forever. I might go back to school, maybe a masters? I have a little sister, Estelle, so I want to stay New York.”

“How old is she?”

“She’s only nine, she’s my half-sister from stepdad, Paul. I want to be there as she grows up so I would never leave New York.”

“That’s what we all said.”

“Hm?”

Annabeth’s expression fell, “We all said we’d never leave New York. I’m the only one left. We all went to camp up here, and I remember we all talked about how we’d move to the city together. We all did at first, but eventually everyone moved to New Rome out in California.”

“Yuck,” Percy joked, “Imagine leaving the greatest city in the world for California.”

“I don’t know, what’s New York given me? Rent I can barely keep up with and my only friends now are my roommate’s.”

“Not true. Look at you, only 25-years-old and the most successful architect I’ve ever met.”

“You meet a lot of architects?” Annabeth grinned.

“No, but I know you designed that new building on Lexington Avenue.”

Annabeth’s heart warmed at the fact that he remembered the building she was proudest of designing.

“Why did you want to be an architect?”

Annabeth paused, they weren’t dancing as much as just swaying in place with the music now. She thought about it, “I wanted to build something permanent. Everyone in my life is always leaving and moving, but buildings will be there pretty much forever. Camp is the only home I’ve ever known.

“I moved around a lot with my mom and my dad and step family and my cousins in Boston. I finally asked my dad to send me to boarding school just so I at least knew where I would be for the next four years no matter where he moved. Boarding school and camp. Even my friends, Piper and all of them moved back to New Rome. I’m just tired of people leaving.”

Annabeth’s last thought hung in the air between them. Percy brushed a strand of hair out of her face. The song changed into an upbeat pop track.

“Oh gods, here she comes,” Annabeth muttered.

“Who?”

“Annabeth! Well, this must be the first time you’ve ever gotten on the dance floor, isn’t it?” Aphrodite said, walking over to the couple. She eyed Percy and grinned, her perfectly white teeth glinting, “And I finally get to meet your date.”

“Er, Percy, this is Piper’s mom, Aphrodite. Aphrodite, this is my, uh, boyfriend, Percy Jackson.”

Percy held out his hand, “Nice to meet you, Mrs. McLean.” Aphrodite held her out like she expected Percy to kiss it. He awkwardly shook it.

“Oh, please, call me Aphrodite. Piper’s father and I are not married.”

“Oh sorry-”

“You know, I’ve always had a knack for couples, and you two simply look perfect together. Seeing you in this particular setting. Annabeth, I’m sure you’re just itching to walk down the aisle after last year-”

“Mom! There you are,” Piper called, walking over to them with Jason in tow, “Um, Dad is telling Jason’s parents how you guys met, you better get over there-”

“Tristan knows I hate the way he tells that story, he tripped me on the red carpet…” Aphrodite muttered, stalking over to the parents’ table.

“Sorry about my mother, Percy,” Piper nudged his arm, “But, hey! You survived a conversation with her at a wedding so you’ll survive any holiday with us now.”

Percy shrugged, “I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Speaking of which,” Jason said, “You really got along well with all of us this weekend, it’s like you’ve been part of our little family this whole time.”

“Wow, thanks, man. That means a lot.” Annabeth gripped Percy’s arm tighter.

“Good, because we need a favor. Dakota’s flight is delayed in Ohio, he’s going to try to drive up tonight to make it in time for the reception tomorrow, but would you fill in tomorrow during the ceremony for him? You can walk Annabeth down the aisle and Nico can walk with Drew.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’d be honored,” Percy said, somewhat surprised.

“Oh, gods,” Piper said, glancing over to their parents along with other partygoers since the volume of their conversation was escalating, “We better go deal with that.”

“Hey,” Percy, nudging Annabeth who had been strangely silent during the conversation, “You okay?”

“I just need another drink. Make that two. But hey, I guess you’re entitled to the free bar now that you’re part of the wedding party.”

Percy threw his arm around her shoulders, “Coming right up, milady.” He steered her to the bar.

Annabeth was drunk. So drunk that if Percy let go of her waist, she’d probably fall right over. Good thing Annabeth had no intention of letting go of Percy any time soon.

She was all over him, and she wasn’t the only one to notice. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were crowded around the beverage table as Leo called for another round of wedding party shots. Annabeth threw her glass back confidently, aware of Luke watching her. He’d been staring at her all night. Of course, Annabeth stared right back at Luke as she looped her arms around Percy’s neck. Luke grimaced and stalked away.

A song Leo had requested came on and they all dispersed back to the dancefloor. Annabeth, in no shape to dance, dragged Percy back to their table.

“You are doing fantastic!” Annabeth said, grinning, her nose inches away from Percy’s face.

“Thanks?”

“Did you see Luke’s face? He looks like he wants to just about die. You must really look into me. Oh, gods, they all love you, especially Piper. When I tell them, it’ll break their hearts.”

“Tell them what?”

“That we broke up.”

“What?”

“Yeah, we’ll eventually have to fake break up, but we shouldn’t drag this on any longer than we have to. We can’t fake date forever or we’ll have to fake engaged, then get fake married and have a fake wedding. I’ll probably wait until they’re back from their honeymoon to tell them we broke up. I don’t know, I’ll say I got too busy at work.” Annabeth mulled over, her eyes getting glassy.

“Uh, yeah. Right...that would be believable. You choosing work over me.”

Was that a dig at her? Annabeth’s brain was too foggy for her to comprehend. She reached for her glass of wine. However, her depth perception was quite off and she knocked the glass directly into Percy’s lap. He yelped as the red liquid seeped into his slacks.

“Oh, Percy! I’m so sorry!” Annabeth jumped up and grabbed a napkin off the table and began furiously rubbing Percy’s crotch.

“I got it, I got it!” Percy protested, trying to stop her assault on his pants.

“Let me help you-”

“Annabeth, stop,” People took her wrists, struggling to pry her hands off of him and bumping into his drink spilled on Annabeth’s shoes.

“Look what you did, you’re such a Seaweed Brain! Just let me help you!”

“Look at what I did, look what you did, Wise Girl!”

Annabeth dropped the napkins, crossing her arms. Percy sighed, looking down at his now ruby stained trousers.

“What the hell is going on over here? Lover’s tiff already?” Thalia asked, sauntering over to the couple.

Percy panicked, his arm immediately went around her waist to pull Annabeth into his lap to hide the stain, “Of course not, just, uh, talking you know.”

Thalia laughed, “Relax, Percy, accidents happen. Annabeth gets clumsy when she’s drunk.”

“Hey!”

Annabeth moved back to her own seat, “I do not.”

Percy rose, grabbing a napkin to hide the stain, I’m just going to run back to the cabin and change. I’ll be right back, okay?” Percy kissed her on the forehead before walking away, whether for show in front of Thalia or habit, Annabeth had no idea.

“You guys are too cute,” Thalia said.

Annabeth smiled tightly, if anyone was going to see through this ruse, it was going to be Thalia.

“Come get another drink with me, Annie.”

At the beverage table, Thalia got a glass of wine, but Annabeth opted for water.

“Annabeth, I need to tell you something.”

Percy made sure not to lose his balance on the steep path back to the Big House from the cabins. He had a fresh pair of pants on, and was eager to get back to the party.

“Hey!”

Percy turned to see Luke Castellan trekking up the hill to meet him, “Oh, you.”

Luke stalked right up to him, “Listen, dude. I don’t know who the fuck you are-”

“Whoa, Luke, chill out,” Percy could smell the alcohol radiating off of him, giving him flashbacks to his childhood apartment locked up with his terrible first stepdad, Gabe, “You’re drunk.”

“Don’t tell me what the fuck I am. I don’t know who you are-”

“I’m Annabeth’s boyfriend-”

“Clearly, she just brought you here to make me jealous. Are you from work? You’re just some bitch architect at her firm, aren’t you?”

“Listen, Luke. I’m not doing this-”

“I’m sure she seems like she’s super into you, but she’s not over me yet.”

Percy glowered, “Fuck off, Luke. Get out of here. Sleep this off.”

Luke glared, downing the rest of his drink and stalking away.

“What is it, Thals? Is something wrong?” The two had walked over to a grove of tears to talk, further away from the rehearsal dinner.

Thalia looked like she was about to cry. Annabeth had never seen her cry.

“I’m in love with Luke.”

Annabeth blinked, she definitely just had a stroke. From the heat or from the alcohol, but, “What?”

“Annabeth, I’m in love with Luke. I’ve been in love with Luke. Since we were all younger. The whole time you guys were dating, it broke my heart every fucking day.”

“Thalia, I...I don’t know what to say.”

“I know it’s awful because we’re best friends. The three of us were best friends. It didn’t even make me happy when you guys broke up last year because I knew you were still so in love with him. Every time we talked on the phone when I moved to New Rome, I knew you weren’t over the engagement yet.”

“I-”

“But now, I see you with Percy and you’re so happy and we love Percy. Luke and I are so much closer now in New Rome, and I like him. Maybe you can finally get over Luke and-”

“I’m paying him.”

“What?”

“I’m paying him. Percy. I paid him to come here to make Luke jealous. He’s not my boyfriend.”

[loyalflutist]

The Importance of Education (F!Byleth x Edelgard - NSFW)

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: N/A Words: 7,698 Summary: Edelgard must learn everything around her in order to become an efficient emperor for the Adrestian Empire. However, what she didn’t know was just how inexperienced she is in the form of passionate lovemaking.

A/N: It’s been 6 years since I’ve last sinned. Have fun with this! I feel like my age is slowly catching up to me since I’m having even more difficulty writing in this genre compared to my 17-year-old self back then.

--

Education is important to a person’s growth. Without it, a person’s growth is stunted. Types of conversations would be limited. Actions would lack variety. The next generation would lose plenty of opportunities and lessons. Lacking education could easily lead to ostracization from the community. The consequences are fatal. However, a human’s brain is unable to store countless information. It isn’t a supercomputer. A supercomputer wouldn’t even be able to store limitless data into its system either.

That means it’s okay to not know everything, right? Dimitri, Claude, and even her professor, Byleth, admits that there was nothing wrong with this.

“Edelgard, even I don’t know everything. My family has ruled over the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus without worldly knowledge. I am certain I can follow after their footsteps.”

“Nothin’ wrong with not being the all-knowing-goddess, right? Sometimes it’s better to be ignorant. Knowing too much could lead to your downfall…”

“Edelgard, there’s so much to learn in this world. As a professor, even I don’t know everything. I don’t even think I’m a good professor— Oh, you flatter me. I’m glad you think otherwise. Still, I learn alongside my students. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, okay?”

For Edelgard, this is unacceptable. She must allow her brain to absorb all that it could. For the Adrestian Empire future emperor, a single detail not known could very well lead her nation into demise. The 18-year-old was like a sponge. Various tactical plans and ideas were tested in chess duels. Subjects ranging from complex physics in the field of magic to survival skills needed for the wilderness are mastered. Extracurricular activities such as the art of being a seamstress and singing in a choir are sought after. Interactions with Byleth’s colleagues and volunteer positions (such as being a weekly chef at the monastery’s kitchen) expanded her social network.

Edelgard snagged at every single piece of knowledge like a hungry beast.

She would become an emperor.

She would reclaim what her father had lost.

She would lead a fulfilling life with her lover, Byleth.

Yes… Knowledge was especially crucial for their relationship.

It was a dinner during the time of her birthday that led to the planted seed. Edelgard had not hoped for much. Actually— she foresaw that there would be no results! They had spent countless hours together, but none dare led to a relationship beyond platonic. A student and a professor. A noble and a commoner. A princess and a mercenary. The only thing they had in common was their status as warriors on the battlefield. Otherwise, they were never on equal footing.

Edelgard wanted to close the gap. The birthday date was the most opportune of time to confess her amorous sins to the very person she fell for. A small cake dashed with whip creams and decorated with strawberries sat between the two. Had it not been for the cup of sweet herbal tea found in the mountains, Edelgard would have lost so much of the confident composure. The tremors in her delivery, the rapid heartbeat, the occasional twitch from her eye, the chewing of her lower lip, and the gnawing fear were evident.

“I love you, Byleth.”

Dread overcame her thoughts as the older female no older than by three years hardly reacted. There was no flushing of the cheeks, there was no change to the respiration rate, there were no subtle movements… She simply stared back at the recently-turned 18-year-old. Edelgard had balled the hands on her lap into fists. How humorous. Was her professor disgusted with her? Same-sex relationships were not uncommon, but that does not mean everyone agreed to it. It just wasn’t their preference.

The girl remembered her palms becoming clammy. Edelgard felt her mouth go dry as that particular reason crossed through her mind.

What if Byleth wasn’t into girls?

“I love you too, Edelgard.”

But it never came to that. Byleth embraced Edelgard’s forward nature and never once shamed the young lady of her sexuality. The unfolding scene almost felt like it came out of a left field. Yes, to an extent. Byleth had never once expressed romantic feelings to any of her students or colleagues. Not even Sylvain or Dorothea could rattle the ex-mercenary with their flirtatious personality. To respond with a smile, a tinge of pink discoloration upon her cheeks, and the sudden hug was not how her professor would have acted!

What Edelgard had forgotten was Byleth’s true nature. Despite the facts that a concrete slab has more expression than Byleth in her waking hours, underneath the stoic demeanor is that of a young woman who wishes to be with others. The mercenary life and community that she used to surround herself with thickened the outer shell. Making allies was easy. Making friends was not.

Edelgard had noticed how much time the instructor met with Jeralt and Manuela during days off after Byleth’s explanation.

“I didn’t know how to approach you.”

She was, in a way, emotionally stunted. Expressing them was difficult as she was used to concealing them as a mercenary. That stunt came to erode and was replaced with growth during the first two months at the monastery. The cheeky personality that everyone has come to adore bore fruit. What Byleth was not prepared for was the concept of love. Yes, she loves her father. However, the older male would always remark to his colleagues and curious students from all three Houses about the lack of physical affection she showcased to him.

“Love is a foreign concept to her,” he shook his head after Edelgard had approached him one day. “I can tell how she is feeling, but only because I’m her father. I could only hope she meets someone special like my wife to help break her out of her shell.”

Edelgard had no way knowing that that special person was none other than herself… and she would have never known had she not initiated.

They shook hands on a deal. The two made a promise to keep their relationship a secret until Edelgard graduated. Both did not want to be at the center of gossips, especially in the case tension arises between the three nations and church. Comically, Byleth and Edelgard were unable to pry the hands from the rest of the Black Eagles as their curious nature were too much to handle. Not that the Black Eagles weren’t supportive, of course. They cheered on for the two and sealed their lips about the private affair to the rest of the students and staffs. Even Hubert gave the green light… once he had given Byleth a long, brother-like lecture on dating Edelgard in private.

“If I ever see, hear, or sense Edelgard in distress because of you, I will have no choice but to remove you.”

How brotherly of him!

Nevertheless, nothing could prepare her for a very green relationship with her professor. Textbooks held little to no knowledge about love. In lieu of it, fairytales and wondrous legends substituted the dense material. It’s unfortunate that the ones she’s heard of never went beyond a kiss… Not that Edelgard even knew that you could do something more intimate than share a pleasant peck on the lips. It was only recently that she decided to pursue this new concept thanks to the encouragement from Ferdinand and Dorothea.

“So long as Hubert doesn’t hear about this, then you’re totally fine!” Dorothea chirped when the three ate lunch together. The fashionable commoner tucked a stray brown hair behind her ear as she sipped on her juice. “Still, I can’t believe that you didn’t know about THIS.”

“It’s a shame my rival is so oblivious about it,” Ferdinand shut his eyes and shook his head, a hand rested on his temple. “My Edelgard won’t be able to get married and have kids!”

Edelgard’s brow twitched.

“How entertaining for you to speak like I am not present,” she stared at the male. “I am also not yours, Ferdinand. I have—”

“Teach,” he finished. His eyes opened and a playful grin ran across his lips. “Yeah yeah, we got the message.”

“If you had known, I prefer you focus that energy on finding someone special yourself.”

“Relax~ I will. No promises that it’ll just be as scandalous as yours with Teach~”

“Ferdinand! Why must you make everything a competition between us both?”

Before the two nobles were able to launch into verbal warfare, Dorothea immediately interfered with a long and theatrical “okay!” It’s astonishing that no one else in the cafeteria turned their heads towards the noisy trio’s direction.

“Goodness, both of you, please have some class!” the young lady scolded. It was something of a sight to see someone in her social standing act this way. It almost feels like the role was temporarily reversed… Dorothea shifted her focus onto Edelgard and raised an index finger up like an older sister. “Edelgard, I recommend that the best time to attack is during the evening.”

“I can’t do it now?”

“Unless you’re a rabbit in heat, I suggest you do this privately with the professor. I’m sure you don’t want anyone to hear you both.”

And so Edelgard heeded to their advice after one last review of her battle plan with Ferdinand and Dorothea. She admits, there were three moments in her life where she felt the jitters. The first was the inevitable fate of becoming an emperor for the Adrestian Empire. The second was the dangerous practical lessons against bandits and rebels of the monastery. The third is facing Byleth with an outlandish request. Edelgard felt the palms of her hands moistened. She placed them on her lap and did her best to wipe the sweats away, only to no avail.

Should she back away from the plan? The rubbing of her palms increased its pace. No… That wouldn’t be right. All that hard work of owing her shameful romantic inexperience to Dorothea and Ferdinand cost dearly. Edelgard’s hands slowed down to a stop. Maybe she should delay this. But how long can she push it back?

The sun eventually began to set on a Friday evening as she pondered long and hard. Time was running extremely short. Edelgard needs to decide her next course of action right here, right now. As for her professor, the young lady in her early 20s had just finished preparation for tomorrow. This upcoming weekend consisted of the usual field trips to train for Saturday and a day off for Sunday. It was the usual schedule as a teacher.

‘ Why am I always out on the field, but the other professors aren’t? ‘

Correction: it was the usual schedule as a teacher for Byleth exclusively. Because she was a professional mercenary alongside her father in the past, it made her an ideal model to guide the future prince and princess of their nation compared to other educators. Though Manuela and Hanneman were in charge of the Blue Lions and Golden Deers, they weren’t frequently chosen to handle sensitive missions and tasks ordered by the archbishop herself. It was always “Byleth this” and “Byleth that.”

Byleth loves to teach her students. She really does. She may have various hiccups in her teaching methods, and she is eccentric due to her lack of knowledge in social normality, but she cares for her students. Though it doesn’t hurt to have a break for a bit… right? The other professors were cycled through in a way to spread their workload for Saturday. Why can’t she have that same treatment? She can get tired too!

A weary sigh. The instructor adjusted her hold on the notebook. At least there’s Sunday to look forward to… Byleth let a small smile crack through her frustration. She continued through the empty field and into a hidden narrow passage as a short-cut, her mind set on spending this luxurious day off with fishing on a Sunday.

An imaginary thought bubble floated above her head, a poorly doodled version of Byleth smiling with a fishing rod in one hand and a fish in another. Oh, how she misses this peaceful hobby. Maybe she should invite Edelgard out too.

That seems to have brightened her dull features. The thought bubble began to include the poorly drawn noble shuffling next to the teacher. Edelgard also held a fishing rod in one hand and a smaller fish in another. Just like Byleth, she too was grinning from ear to ear.

‘ Let’s do just that. ‘

She nodded to herself.

“Aren’t you lovesick.” The familiar voice of Sothis pierced through Byleth’s eardrums. As if by magic, Sothis appeared out of thin air and floated beside the walking teacher. The young girl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “You’ve changed since you and Edelgard hooked up.”

It has always intrigued Sothis of Byleth’s and Edelgard’s relationship. Although the green-haired care more for the professor whom she has always watched since the time of birth, she cannot help but find more questions than answers. The concept of love is complex. Not everyone views it the same way as the next person. When Byleth struggled with her emotional attachments towards Edelgard before the confession, Sothis had always comforted her. She knew it was not in her place to tell the young woman what was right and what was wrong. All she could do was lend a listening ear.

Just what exactly drew Byleth to Edelgard, and what drew Edelgard to Byleth? The two had opened up to each other during the birthday date, but Sothis excused herself to sleep out of respect. Now she feels a tinge of regret for the missed opportunity. Not that it mattered much in the end. Whatever sweet nectar they poured together taught her host to express more of her emotions. She was even able to chuckle and laugh! It was a huge improvement from the teasing smirk that glossed over her lips for a split second.

Sothis let out a sigh. “Frankly, I’m in awe that you are able to keep your relationship under the rug.”

Byleth shot a glance at the floating woman. “I think it’s best no one outside of the Black Eagles know about this,” she murmured. “I won’t know what to do.”

“Feel free to use a bit of my power to get out of it if you’re ever in a pinch. It’s meant for battle, but I’ll make it an exception this time around.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Sothis sure acts like a mother to Byleth. Then again, she’s been with the professor since who-knows-when. At birth? After birth? When she became a teenager? No one knew the answer, especially from Byleth herself.

Now out of the short-cut route, the teal-haired spotted her bedroom. Unlike her father and other professors, her sudden transfer into the educational institution gave Rhea and Seteth little room to prepare a private office. The best they could do was squeeze her into a spare commoner room on the dormitory’s first floor. It was small, but warm and cozy at least. The last thing Byleth needed was to share rooms with an unfamiliar face on the first day.

She stood in front of the locked door and fumbled for the key in her pockets. Since it was a Friday evening, many students and staffs all congregate in the cafeteria for today’s special menu, prayed to the Goddess Seiros at the church, and visited the marketplace. The remaining few were either sneaking outside of the monastery’s safety net for a little adventure of their own or practicing in the training arena with Catherine or Shamir. That meant all dormitory floors were completely empty, save it for Byleth.

As Sothis watched Byleth unlock the door, the instructor went back into a blissful, vivid imagination of fishing with Edelgard. Now the scrawled image of the teacher and student sat next to each other on the wooden platform, their fishing rods out and ready for an exciting session.

‘ I hope we can catch a big fish to cook and eat. ‘

“Byleth.”

The daydreaming sequence came to a screeching halt. Byleth tumbled backward from tripping on her own feet and let out a faint yelp. Sothis couldn’t catch her host. The transparent arms aren’t exactly used for catching anything physical! Luckily, Edelgard was there to catch her. Just like a noble figure in various stories, the shorter female had swooped in, Byleth landed into the shorter’s chest face-first, and Edelgard’s arms wrapped around the older woman.

“Are you alright, Professor?”

Byleth blinked in Edelgard’s embrace. A flash of heat trickled into her cheeks.

“You startled me!”

“I apologize for my carelessness. I did not mean to scare you like that.”

“That’s okay.”

The two parted—Temporarily, that is. Byleth was about to reach out, touch Edelgard’s face, and lean in for a small smooch. It was their usual way of greeting each other when no one was around. Since Edelgard had also saved her from the doom of falling, she would express gratitude too. Instead, she was greeted with her back against the dormitory building’s wall near her room, nose centimeters away from her girlfriend’s, and her girlfriend’s hands planted near her head. Since the future lord is shorter than Byleth, from the distant, it looked like Edelgard was bullying the educator. For Byleth, she thinks otherwise!

Edelgard became rough! She’s taking dominance! Just what in the world is going on?!

Their breaths tickled each other’s skin. Edelgard’s expression remained firm. Byleth’s features deepened its shade of red. Beads of sweat begin to form on the teacher’s skin. She gulped. Soon, she felt the corner of her lips quiver. If there was ever a moment when the usually stoic woman would melt into a puddle of mess, it would be whenever Edelgard becomes intimate.

“El? What… do you think you’re… doing?”

“Wall slam.”

Byleth’s eyes nearly boggled out of its sockets.

“…excuse me?”

“This is a wall slam.”

Oh goodness, what is Edelgard trying to achieve here?! Byleth knew what a wall slam too, by the way! The professor isn’t THAT dense! Byleth felt her breath hitch as the young lady leaned forward. She braced for a kiss… only for the student to near her ear. Then, with a tinkly whisper,

“I want to have sex with you.”

“…”

Did she… just…

No, that can’t be it.

“…”

…she said it, didn’t she?

Byleth felt her entire body freeze up. The heat was already unbearable from their proximity, and the ex-mercenary’s hand loosened. A notebook fell onto the cold slab underneath their feet with a faint thud. Other than the item, the air became still and the silence filled it. Byleth heard her heartbeat thumping. It was slow but abnormally loud to the point it reached her eardrums. She’s never been this shook in her life. Not even in the heat of battle, littered with death-defying injuries and mental fatigue had ever shaken her to this extent! She shakily exhaled. Their eyes stared into each other once Edelgard separated from her ear.

“Did you… just say you want to have sex with me?” she blinked. “That’s what I heard… or think I heard, right?”

“Do you doubt me, Byleth?” Edelgard tilted her head. “Your silly expression says otherwise.”

She wasn’t wrong. The Adrestian Empire’s princess hit a bullseye instead. Granted, the teacher had fantasies about doing it with Edelgard, but never really initiated it. Two things had held her back: if Edelgard was ready and if there was ever a time to do it. Having their first time be a quickie would be a real buzzkill. The older female gathered scraps of her logical processes to formulate a rare, squeaky response.

“It doesn’t hurt to double-check.”

It’s no good. Byleth can’t seem to tear her gaze away from Edelgard’s. Those eyes that smolder with intensity, the way the noble angled her body towards the other, the double entendre questions that follow afterward, Byleth is powerless against the empowered female. If anything, their roles are clearly reversed. Another dry swallow came from the teal-haired. That was Edelgard’s cue to affectionately kiss her teacher. Abrupt, but it was much needed. Their eyes closed momentarily at the moment. Another tender kiss on the lips. Simple, but it always seems to draw upon pleasure.

When they parted with bated breaths, Byleth embraced her lover once the other lowered her arms. The instructor buried her face into Edelgard’s shoulder. She deeply inhaled the subtle flowery fragrance. It was not long until she nuzzled into her school’s dark uniform.

“Are you sure about this?” she quietly murmured. “I don’t want you to feel rushed.”

If anything, it would kill Byleth if Edelgard was under the impression that this was a must. Patience is a part of a relationship. She could always wait until Edelgard was ready. Besides, they’re at the midst of growing tensions within this continent. The girls’ love affair could always be in the back burner. The youngster squeezed her girlfriend in response.

“I wanted this, Byleth. If anything, it was my decision.”

There’s nothing wrong with forgetting about the war, even if it’s just for one night.

“Hubert would never allow this though,” Edelgard grumbled. “If he catches us, I don’t think he’ll ever let me out of his sight ever again.”

“Let’s not get caught then.”

When they entered into Byleth’s bedroom, the youngest did not hesitate to lock the door from behind. The room was lit with a nearby lantern. Decorations hung about in the room of the good memories Byleth’s made during her time as a mercenary and as a mentor. Stacks of books and scrolls were tucked in the corner. The desk hosting a personal journal and calendar for the school year. By coincidence, the room upheld an amorous vibe. The professor had to pat herself on the back for keeping the room this way most of the time. It would be awkward if it were a preference to chaos.

Byleth was just able to toss her notebook onto the desk’s surface when she felt a rough tug. The role reversal continued as Edelgard shoved her lover down onto the tidied mattress. Hands by her head, Byleth’s covered chest rose and fell with each breath. The ex-mercenary was opened to the noble. The princess climbed on top of Byleth like a sly cat.

It was clear who was dominant at this moment. Byleth cracked a brief smile in admiration of the brave young lady. The first step into bypassing the boundary and it would be Edelgard who leads. Though there was one little thing Edelgard had forgotten to disclose... and it became prominent when their staring session lasted longer than five seconds.

“El?” she breathed. “Have I lost you to my beautiful eyes?”

“Perhaps.”

But nothing was advancing. The two were fixated in their current position. Not a single inch had budged, and not a single disturbance was felt. She allowed a couple more second tick by from the nearby wall clock.

Still no progress.

Byleth raised an eyebrow.

“Um… Edelgard—”

“Professor, I don’t know what to do next.”

…oh. So, it appears that it slipped from Edelgard’s mind on how inexperienced she is. Ferdinand and Dorothea may have taught her the ropes of getting their professor heated and riled up, but they obviously left out the more explicit contents from their explanations. A shade of red, albeit from embarrassment, discolored the noble’s cheeks. Byleth readjusted her posture so she was able to cup Edelgard’s face. The movement caught the leader of Black Eagles off guard. Then, the educator squished her cheeks.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” she chuckled. “Tell me the truth, El. The reason you want to have sex is that you want to learn more about it, am I wrong?”

Edelgard’s facial features twisted into a mix of shame and timidity. Her eyes began to shift around as she mumbled, “Yes.” And what better way to learn about it than with someone you love? Besides, her classmates told her that it was the next step in bonding together. Edelgard clearly wants their relationship to strengthen without it becoming stale.

“Good girl.” Byleth immediately nuzzled with her girlfriend’s nose. They made brief contact with their foreheads before the teacher slid her hands down to the female’s side. Edelgard let out a yelp once their positions flipped. Now on her back, the youngster’s respiration rate picked up knowing what will happen next. Her professor straddled the noble and began to shed her thick overcoat. “You chose the right teacher.”

Frankly, Byleth had never done this with someone. That doesn’t mean she hadn’t witnessed it being done.

It was accidental. She swears upon the Goddess of Sieros that it was purely an accident. The mercenaries never had roots and were always camping and sleeping outdoors. There was barely any sort of privacy, yet kids were being reproduced in her father’s group. Clearly, the members demonstrated intercourses at the quiet times during nightfall. The majority of the mercenaries were at least courteous enough to step away from the camp so their loud moans and groans weren’t heard. Unfortunately, the minority did it right at the premise. Byleth had seen it all from beginning to end as a teenager.

Traumatizing as it may be, at least she’s gained valuable knowledge. Now it was time to put it to use with someone she deeply cares for.

The older woman had now rid of all her armors and stylistic leggings, leaving her left with a white undershirt and wear. Observing Edelgard, she placed both hands on the female’s abdomen.

“How do you feel?”

“Excited… but also scared,” the noble breathed.

“Scared?”

“I’ve never done it and I’ve never heard about this till today.”

“Huh. How did you learn about it?”

“Ferdinand and Dorothea.”

Byleth blinked. “Why am I not surprised.”

“You aren’t?”

“Ferdinand is always a gentleman who tried his best to woo the ladies. Kind of shocked that he still hasn’t found anyone—well, aside from you, that is. Dorothea is always flirting with everyone, so that was predictable.”

“You know them all too well.”

“It’s my job to know my students,” she shrugged. The professor leaned down and proceeded to undo Edelgard’s top attire piece by piece. As her fingers worked on the buttons, Byleth’s eyes twinkled. “That means I get to know more about you too.”

Edelgard felt beads of sweat fly out of her head.

“Byleth, please go easy on me…”

“I will.” Now that the buttons are off, the ex-mercenary gave a quick peck on the girl’s nose. “Let me know if it’s too much for you. I can stop at any time for you.”

“Okay.”

Once Edelgard nodded, the teal-haired started with the first step. A kiss is in order. They may have smooched many times, but none of them rivaled this one. It started off as something simple. Their lips captured one another. Eventually, Byleth’s tongue began to poke, prod, and suck at the sealed sensitive body part. Edelgard’s eyes widened and her lips instinctively parted for a groan. This newly-form entranceway easily allowed the mentor to slip her tongue in. Accompanied by the hand motions of slowly feeling and brushing the student’s concealed chest, sides, stomach, and arms, this eased Edelgard into a world full of bliss.

“Mm…”

They parted. Hot, fast breaths tickled their noses as their eyes were fixated on one another. Then, they resumed where they left off, their tongues tangled and tasting each other. Faint moans came from Edelgard as she realized just how good it felt. It was nothing like she’s ever experienced in her lifetime! For Byleth, she was somewhat in awe of how she’s making the princess tingle from her touches. Edelgard would groan into her mouth as she pressed onward. No wonder why the mercenaries were always trying to hook up with one another outside of battle. This felt amazing.

“I… I never knew you can kiss this way,” Edelgard panted in-between. “Byleth, please teach me more.”

The professor felt an inner switch click on. It was rare for the rising lord to plead. Byleth felt a strange desire to hasten through the lessons and go straight for the main course. However, she internally squeezed the animalistic cravings to a minimum and planted a peck on the student’s lips with a smile.

“I’ll teach you everything, El.”

The second step, the neck. Byleth leaned in to plant soft, fluttering kisses upon the exposed skin. Edelgard felt the heat rise from her head and crawl down to her core. It was different from receiving it on the lips. Although it was not as sensitive as the pink flesh, their current circumstances intensified her sense of touch. She gasped when her teacher gently sucked on areas where she pressed her lips. It was ticklish. The student immediately grabbed ahold of Byleth’s arms and curled her fingers inward, her body slightly squirming.

“Sensitive, aren’t you?” Byleth breathed upon the bare skin.

Edelgard intentionally tightened her hold on the dominant figure. Between her groans, she mewled, “S-Stop asking me those—ah, those questions.”

Byleth’s eyes darkened like a predator. “You’re too cute.”

The next step was one of the sensitive parts of a human’s body. As they were females, their size was far bigger than those from their male counterparts. Byleth’s hands slowly spread apart the upper uniform as she continued to occupy the girl’s neck, allowing the bountiful, now-bare breasts to bare themselves into this world.

She distanced herself to get the full view of Edelgard’s upper body. The pair are so pure and in pristine shape. Not a single battle scar tattooed themselves on the girl’s skin. (Excluding a surgical operation near her ribcage and arms. Those scars had mostly faded.) Compared to the instructor’s battle-worn body, Edelgard was the definition of perfection. Byleth let the word “beautiful” slip from her mouth. This caused the beet red noble to cross her covered arms almost instantly.

“Do we really need to include this in the curriculum?”

Byleth laughed quietly and gently urged Edelgard’s arms apart. It took some time, but the merciful strength conveyed its message successfully. The white-haired exposed herself once more to her teacher with quivering lips. Edelgard had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next as her teacher continued to shed her top attire. She resisted the temptation to flee half-naked from the bedroom.

“Ah!”

Her breath got caught in her throat. The aristocratic female was startled by her lover’s hands’ contact with her breasts. Though they’ve touched each other before when tending to their wounds or bathing, none of them were meant for reasons far more intimate. Edelgard nearly slapped those naughty hands away. The female fisted the bedsheets in lieu of it. Byleth proceeded to massage the mounds with great care as if she were making pottery. She encompassed the pair and gave it a squeeze. A moan escaped from Edelgard. The instructor’s thumbs soon toyed with the hardened tips, rubbing them with her index. Another moan crackled out from her girlfriend. Seems like the mentor is doing something right. Pleased, Byleth continued to pour affection into them as the noble squirmed underneath. Had it not been for the professor’s straddling, she would have been bucked off the mattress!

Hickeys were carefully littered amongst the royal’s neck, the tortuous pleasant waves continued to assault the young lady. Edelgard’s fists tightened its hold on the crumpled bedsheets as Byleth’s adventurous hands twitched and toyed the sensitive tip of her breasts. Another blissful wave washed in while her mind narrowly focused on the electric touches. She jerked from the ministrations as it grew rougher. Whimpers and ragged panting disrupted the perfect imagery everyone envisioned from the noble. Words won’t ever accurately describe this burning desire to moan every passing second.

One hand was eventually removed. Although it should’ve eased the intensity, it was, instead, substituted with Byleth’s mouth.

“Hnngh!?”

Byleth swirled her tongue around it and gave it the occasional suck. Such a foreign object that circulates around the tip of the prized area, this drove the younger girl crazy. Edelgard squeezed her eyes shut and stifled a much louder groan. Any lingering fear that possessed the student now eroded away. These touches sent chilling sensations that shortly transformed into sweet, burning euphoria.

The spare hand massaged the supple mound one last time before it casually left the premise. Byleth had another goal in mind as it trailed downward. It tickled Edelgard in midst of her sexual high. Her fingertips brushed upon the hems of Edelgard’s skirt. That snapped the royal’s eyelids open as her professor raised her head. Their eyes locked with each other. One was breathing as though she ran a marathon, one was breathing as though she had completed a meditation.

“Edelgard… how are you feeling?”

“Spare me the questions, Professor,” the princess scoffed lightly. “You know I can’t answer that.”

“That’s okay. Your body told me everything.”

“You—”

Edelgard wanted to grab her teacher’s cheeks and pull on them. It wasn’t a very regal way of handling the cheeky attitude of Byleth, but the girl was already flustered enough in her current state, she needn’t any more of it. The ex-mercenary bit the bottom of her lip as she glanced at the skirt. She lifted herself up from straddling Edelgard and clung to the edges of the clothing.

“I’m going to take these off.”

“…okay…”

She didn’t sound sure. There wasn’t any resistant… So that means Edelgard gave the green light. Still, the flushed girl’s expression held a mixture of other emotions. Byleth smirked as she slowly pulled down the piece of article. Pop quiz time.

“As your professor, let me give you a pop quiz.”

“Byleth, really?”

“You’ve asked to be taught.”

“I didn’t mean it THAT way!”

Edelgard shifted her legs as the skirt bypassed her knees. Though her cheeks are flamed, the white-haired felt the tension in her core slightly loosen. She frowned and felt irritated. This was going to kill their mood. Luckily, Byleth isn’t so oblivious as to leave her lover sexually frustrated. The teacher has seen it happen one too many times with her old mercenary allies.

A flick of her wrist chucked the dark skirt out of the way. Now working on the red tights, Byleth presented the question.

“How are babies made?”

“…I’ve always thought the Goddess Sieros bestowed them to the parents.”

“Who told you that?”

“Rhea.”

“Urk…”

That was awkward. Dorothea and Ferdinand could at least help their teacher out by explaining this to Edelgard! Or rather, the blame should be entirely placed on Rhea. Who in Fodlan would use the goddess to explain this natural phenomenon? Sure, the archbishop is a holy maiden that should not be tainted. But wasn’t the main point of the Officer’s Academy was to also teach students the reality of the world? An imaginary bead of sweat ran down the side of her face as she finally took off everything except the undergarment. Byleth gave a little huff.

“That’s wrong. This…” Byleth placed her finger on Edelgard’s exposed stomach. With an index finger, she slowly dragged its tip all the way till it hit the white barrier. It was somewhat moist on the single layer that protects the most treasured part of a woman’s body. The noble jolted and gasped as Byleth gently rubbed the wet fabric with a single finger. “This is how babies are made.”

Edelgard scrambled after a response. Any kind of response, really, to hide the squeaks and inconsiderably loud pants that emitted from her direction. It was a mind-boggling experience. How could a single finger tapping and rubbing lightly spark so much pleasure? It was like firecrackers! A long groan resonated from her throat when Byleth vertically swiped the slender finger at a lazy pace.

“Byleth— Hah…"

It was getting out of hand. The younger girl knew that body wanted this. This body wanted to embrace the spicy touches and feel her teacher’s touches to its fullest extent. As much as Edelgard wished to stay dignified in the middle of intercourse, her desperate expression and wiggling body says otherwise.

“I-It feels good,” she whispered.

Byleth’s eyes blackened once more as she had both hands pull the last lower garment out of the way. Just like the skirt, it was flung to the floor. She then leaned forward and closed in on Edelgard’s ear. Sweet nectar dripped from her faint words. Edelgard shuddered in response.

“I’ll make sure you feel even better, El.”

There was no hesitation in her next action. Using the same index finger that had pressed against the white underwear, Byleth copied her original move set on the bare flesh. The slender finger continued to swipe up and down, left and right with flicks. Unbearable gratification of such delicious feelings shot up from that one spot all the way to Edelgard’s brain in flashes. Edelgard struggled to keep her voice down as her body squirmed. This caused Byleth to drape an arm over one of the legs to keep her girlfriend from launching her to the opposite side of the room. Of course, this was to make sure she has plenty of space to work on the sensitive folds.

“Byleth— Agh!”

Nothing was stopping the pleasure train from crashing in. Soon, it was getting difficult for the young lady to keep her respiration rate consistent. Edelgard’s heart was pounding wildly against her chest. She feared that she might overheat from the session! Alas, that was not the case as she had enough willpower to stay conscious from the sudden spike in euphoria. A cry left Edelgard’s mouth when Byleth’s thumb pressed against the clit. She applied pressure at the nub a few times in successions before resting it between her index and thumb.

A pause. Byleth glanced upward. Past the naturally spread legs, the partially clothed Edelgard trembled. The student’s chest rose and fell at a fast pace, back still laid upon the soft furniture. Edelgard’s gaze was jumbled as she could hardly think. This small break won’t last forever, though. They were in the middle of the course.

“This is the most sensitive part of a woman’s body,” she explained and pinched the clit. That elicits another outcry from Edelgard. Byleth kneaded it between her fingertips as if it were a small ball, causing the poor noble to jerk her hips upward. Byleth grunted. The professor applied extra force into her arm in order to keep the legs from sending her to Brigid. “Y-You see, when we are in our mother’s womb, both male and female don't have noticeable sex during development.”

Not that Edelgard was paying any attention to the lecture. The sensation was powerful and overwhelming. If a man derives extreme pleasure from his testicle, then for a woman, it would be their clitoris. (As Byleth elaborates in the background, it’s an underdeveloped version of a male’s testicle.) It was building up. The strange, alienated bubble that kept on producing tiny fireworks within her core increased its intensity.

“Nnngh—! Byleth!”

“…so as you can see, it’s something to keep in mind.”

“Byleth!”

How could her girlfriend still be chatting away while she’s pleasuring her?! Edelgard would like to have a word with her professor, but she was too bothered to care. All forms of her sanity were thrown right out the window when Byleth slowed her rubdown. The teal-haired woman faintly smiled at the frustrated Adrestian Empire’s princess. Oh, how much she loves Edelgard. Just hearing her scream out her name is music to her ears.

“I’m surprised you’re all riled up from my fingers. There are other ways to make you feel good too.”

“What are you— Hey, w-wait! Don’t go down there— AH!”

This was a first for the ex-mercenary, but she decided to tackle it head-first. The fingers were replaced with something drastically different. A strong, but small, muscular muscle had just brushed its rough surfaces against Edelgard’s most prized area of her body. This made the noble twitch and shake from the new texture. Euphoria coursed through her vein as blood pooled into the fleshed. The noble immediately reached down to hold onto her older girlfriend’s head. Byleth was seen to have both of her hands strongly grip against the thighs of the other female, her face buried at the blooming flower. A couple of licks were given before Byleth paused once again. Edelgard hitched her shoulders at the hot breath in the private sector.

“The mercenaries weren’t wrong… it tastes interesting.”

“BYLETH!”

What is wrong with this woman? Her socialization skills really need some improvements, especially with bedroom talks. Had it been someone else other than Edelgard, they would likely have left Byleth a long time ago! Despite the strange wordings and phrases slipped past the professor’s lips, the teal-haired ignored her girlfriend.

‘ …what do I do next? ‘

Throughout the entire session, it was a lot of work for Byleth. She may have enjoyed it just like Edelgard, but it was her first time too. Memories of the mercenaries work on each other, male or female, threw suggestions into the air. She had to pick and choose what was most appropriate for their current situation. Besides, Byleth didn’t want to sour their first make-out session.

‘ I’ll finish this. ‘

The relentless assaults resumed as she secured her hold on Edelgard’s legs, her fingers digging into the thighs. Byleth indulged once more into tasting the girl’s wet folds. Her tongue ran against the exterior surface in all sorts of direction, a little sloppy in terms of techniques. That matter not to Edelgard. Edelgard right now was battling against the embarrassing noise that proudly proclaimed how pleasant Byleth’s tongue was on her right now. The fireworks were gradually becoming larger and the sparks jolted at an even interval from the sex organ to her core. Her fingers tangled with teal locks as her back arched here and there.

When Byleth buried her tongue into the moist entranceway, Edelgard harshly squeezed her girlfriend’s head.

“A-AH! Haa— Haah! B-Byleth! Oh, Byleth— AH!”

Each thrust that came from the boneless body party went as deep as it physically could. Edelgard repeatedly forced her instructor’s face into the private region. She was intoxicated by pleasure, and she allowed raw instincts to dominant her reasoning. For Byleth, she did her best not to suffocate in Edelgard’s nether region. She responded by pushing against the thighs in order to gain better access. The woman then licked the inside of her walls like a drunken sailor. Edelgard’s bodily fluids were leaking out in preparation for the ultimate climax, the young lady shaking uncontrollably similarly to her moans.

A short-lived scream was heard from the shorter female whenever Byleth’s tongue wiggled and curved either upward or downward. Hearing her girlfriend’s cries turned on the older woman. Though she had never masturbated before, that thought did cross through her mind for a split second. Nonetheless, she shook it off and paid her upmost attention to Edelgard. She expelled her bliss by aggressively tackling the sensitive nub like a suckling.

“H—Haaah! Byleth— I… I can’t— Hah! I can’t hold it— HAH!”

It was driving Edelgard past insanity. Byleth’s tongue and mouth showering love upon her lower region between the legs was all that occupied the student’s mind. Nothing more, nothing less. She breathed rapidly as if she were in a marathon, and the young female arched her back once more. Byleth knew that she was about to be shoved over the edge of the cliff. Who better to do it than the teacher herself? She removed her tongue from the core and focused her entire attention on the clitoris. Enveloping her lips around the small nub, she gave it a few, strong sucking as if she wanted to drain the girl.

“Byleth—! I-I’m— A-AH!”

The fireworks gave a barrage of explosions as the student immediately sat up, curled forward, and trapped Byleth between her legs and partially dressed upper body. Her entire body stiffened as it bore through the explosive sensuality. The professor kept marching forward with the assaults in hopes of dragging her girlfriend’s Cloud Nine experience as long as possible. When Edelgard released her hold and plopped back onto the mattress, Byleth raised her head and felt her body vibrated from the impact. Although she was out of breath from the laborious efforts, that was nothing compared to the white-haired.

Byleth crawled over to the side of Edelgard, faced her, and laid down. As they tried to refuel their lungs with the necessary oxygen, the professor reached out to place a hand on the girl’s chest. It was beating wildly like a horse.

“Are… Are you okay?”

Edelgard wasn’t able to quip in until her breathing slowed down to a reasonable interval. She swallowed and turned her head over to Byleth. She blinked and… smiled.

“I’m more than okay, Byleth.” There was another pause before she added an additional remark. “If anything… I should thank you for teaching me about sex.”

A chuckle emitted from the professor. “Believe it or not, this was my first time.”

“Really? I am honored to be your first. However, you seem experienced enough to have done it with someone else.”

“Back when I was a mercenary, I’ve picked up some of these tips and tricks.”

“…so you’ve watched a couple go at it.”

“It was an accident.”

“Sure, it was. Sure.”

The two then fell into silence, their eyes interlocked with each other. Byleth then leaned in to place a gentle kiss like that of a swan on Edelgard’s lips.

“If you’re up for another lesson, I’m always free for you, El.”

“Since you’ve brought up that offer…” Before the 21-year-old could open her mouth, she found herself straddled by the royal figure. Edelgard began to strip the rest of her upper attire and proclaimed, “I think it’s time I show you what I’ve learned today.”

Meanwhile, Sothis peered from outside of the bedroom's door, her eyebrows raised higher than the ceiling.

"They're STILL at it?! I just woke up from my nap while they had their fun! Guess it's time to sleep again..."