#good luck valerian!

[uncreative-cryptid]

merry christmas 🕺 im writing ✍️ be warned

[thecupidwitch]

Herb’s Properties part 3

Aloe: femininity, healing, protection, beauty, love

Anise: dreams, youth, lust, blessing, cleansing, divination, offerings, protection, spirit protection

Alfalfa: protection, money, happiness, grounding, fertility

Bayberry: Good fortune, luck, healing, and stress relief.

Clover: money, prosperity, luck, happiness, spirit work, fae, protection, healing

Clove: healing, prosperity, friendships, money 

Catmint: healing, animal magic, relaxation, calmness, happiness, psychic ability, love, wishes, meditation

Cayenne: strength, curses, protection, heartbreak, curse breaking, love

Chives: protection, balance, divination

Lemongrass: psychic ability, divination, cleansing, communication, protection, love, luck, jobs

Magnolia: love, fertility, meditation, psychic ability, healing, strength

Mint: communication, energy, money, spirit work, cleansing

Olive leaf: healing, luck, protection, cleansing, fertility, offerings, blessings

Raspberry leaf: fertility, femininity, menstrual cycle, lunar magic, love, creativity, protection

Saffron: healing, offerings, wealth, strength, blessing, cleansing, psychic ability, sleep

Paprika: spell work, energy, psychic ability, curses, creativity

Tarragon: luck, calmness, secrets, peace, love, protection, meditation, spirit work

Valerian: spirit work, absorption of negativity, protection, self acceptance

Spirulina: power, strength, health, luck

Wheatgrass: cleansing, protection, blessing

Ylang Ylang: beauty, love, luck, happiness, relationships

Ko-Fi Herb’s Properties Part1 Herb’s Properties Part2

[lilianasgrimoire]

Herb Correspondences - S-Z

Sage - Used for self-purification and cleansing.  Helps grief and loss. Healing and protection also increase wisdom.   Element Air. 

Sandalwood - Burn during protection, healing, and exorcism spells.  Aids luck and success, meditation and divination. Raises a high spiritual vibration. Element Water. 

Skullcap - Aids in love, fidelity and peace.  Increases harmony. Element Water. 

Sea Salt - Use to cleanse crystals and tools.  For purification, grounding and protection.  Supports ritual work. Absorbs negativity and banishes evil.  Element Earth & Water.  

Sheep's Purse - Prosperity, protection and healing. Element Earth. 

Sheep Sorrel - Carry to protect against heart disease. Cleansing and increases luck.  Use in faery magic. Element Earth. 

St. John's Wort - Worn to prevent colds & fevers.  Induces prophetic and romantic dreams. Protects against hexes and black witchcraft.  Increases happiness. Use in Solar Magic. Element Fire. 

Star Anise - Consecration, purification, and happiness.  Use for curse breaking or increasing luck. Burn to increase psychic awareness.   Element Fire.  

Strawberry Leaf - Attracts success, good fortune, and favorable circumstances. Increases love and aids pregnancy. Element Water. 

Sunflower - Energy, protection, and power.  Aids wisdom and brings about wishes.  Use in fertility magic. Element Fire. 

Sweet Cicely - Use during rituals for the dead or dying.  It helps with divination and the contact of the spirit.  It is sacred to the Goddess’ of death. Element Earth. 

Sweetwood - See Cinnamon.   

Tansy - See Agrimony.  

Tarragon - Increases self-confidence.  Use in Dragon magic. Aids healing after abusive situations.   Element Fire. 

Tea Leaves - Use for courage or strength. In tea for increasing lust. Burn leaves to ensure future riches.  Element Air. 

Thistle - See Blessed Thistle.  

Thyme - Attracts loyalty, affection, and love. Increases good luck and psychic power.  Drink tea to aid sleep. Element Air.  

Valerian - Also called Graveyard dust. Aids sleep is calming and is a sedative.  Quietens emotions. Supports protection and love. Element Water. 

Vervain - Strengthen other herbs. Helps, peace, love and happiness.  Burn the leaves to attract wealth and keep your youth. Increases chastity also.  Element Water. 

Verbena - Psychic protection, peace and purification.  Healing and helps depression. Increases beauty and love.  Mind opening and clearing. Ideal use for exams. Element Earth.  

Violet - See Heart’s Ease.  

White Willow Bark - Use in lunar magic.  Reduces negativity and removes evil forces and hexes.  Used for healing spells. Element Water. 

Willow - Used for lunar magic, drawing or strengthening love, healing, and overcoming sadness.  Element Water. 

Witches Grass - Happiness, lust, love, and exorcism. Reverses hexes.  Element Earth.  

Wood Betony - Use for purification, protection, and the expulsion of evil spirits and nightmares.  Draws love in your direction. Element Fire. 

Woodruff - Victory, protection, and money.  Element Air. 

Wormwood - Used to remove anger, stop war, inhibit violent acts, and for protection. Use in clairvoyance, to summon spirits, or to enhance divinatory abilities. Element Earth. 

Yarrow - Healing, calming and increases love. Used in handfasting & weddings.  Increases psychic power and divination. Gives courage when needed. Element Air. 

[impish-baby]

Some ocs reaction to reader getting a mild injury - 🩹

Valerian (vampire caregiver) - fretting over it like it's the worst thing he's ever seen! His poor little bat!! They pull out the medical kit and excessively bandage whatever owie you may have, good luck getting out of bed if it's worse than a scaped knee (...probably makes you stay in bed for a while if it's a scaped knee anyway)

Marcus (HIWTHI dad) - very calm, carefully examines the injury before promptly treating it! He'll even kiss it better for you without needing to be asked. You could definitely milk pity points from it too, he'd know it isn't actually that bad but he can't resist the chance to baby his youngest without them fighting him

Areon (demon king) - for such a frankly terrifying creature, he treats you with the most care anyone's ever given you. If you get hurt playing or exploring his realm, he's crushed, feeling like he's failed at being a protector. The demon heals any bruise or bump and hugs you close for the rest of the day, not allowing you out of his sight

Madison (werewolf sister) - she's probably part of how you got hurt in the first place, loving to play fight and wrestle. Madison is aware enough to know when someone's hurt or it's gone too far, and she'll immediately stop and drag you inside. Most of the time, she can deal with it herself, but sometimes she has to get Rowen just because she's worried! After you're taken care of, she'll sneak you your favorite treat as an apology

Koda (naga brother) - oh no :(( Poor guy is freaking out a little no matter how minor it is. You're just a human and they're fragile! Will you be ok? He just loves his sibling so much, you'd think it hurts him just as badly if not more

[astra-ravana]

Cat Magick 🐈‍⬛

What is cat magick? Well it's no secret that cats have been beloved by witches for centuries, perhaps longer and it isn't hard to see why. They were worshipped in ancient Egypt, helped fight the plague by killing infected rats, and were even tortured and killed along side us in the witch trials. These powerful, intelligent, little creatures understand magick better than perhaps any other. After all, legend says that cats are really just witches in disguise. As such, they possess their own potent class of magick.

Cat Correspondences

Herbs: Catnip, cat grass, silver vine, thyme, basil, valerian, fern leaf yarrow, cat thyme, rosemary, sage, witch hazel, echinacea, licorice root, cat's claw, dandelion root, calendula, goldenseal, dill (all these herbs are cat safe)

Crystals: Mookaite, amethyst, cat's eye, turquoise, hematite, lepidolite, pink Botswana agate, lapis lazuli, fluorite, tiger's eye, emerald, rutilated quartz, black tourmaline, jade

Planets: The Moon, Saturn, Pluto

Element: Earth/spirit

Deities: Bast, Freyja, Diana, Hekate, Odin, Lilith, Artemis, Sekhmet, Parvati, Juno, Ra, Erishkegal

Abilities

• A cat can purr at a frequency between 25 and 50 hz, which has been show to relieve stress and pain, increase oxytocin production, heal wounds and injuries, and even repair broken bones.

• They can enter a meditative state whenever they like which makes them incredibly perceptive.

• Cats see/sense spirits, the Fae, auras, and all manner of energies.

• Natural generators that can lend their energy to spell work and divination as well as charge crystals/magickal tools just by touch.

• Cats can expand your auric field and increase your magickal output.

• They act as guardians against negative energy and malevolent forces.

• The only beings that can enter or leave a magick circle without breaking the energy field.

• Cats act as guardians of doorways and thresholds and are keepers of many spiritual secrets.

• They have a strong connection to the Moon and the powers of the night.

• Your cat can act as your anchor/tether while hedge-riding/astral projecting.

Cat Colors

Brown: Grounding, love, companionship, peace

Orange: Cheer, leadership, happiness, fun, Sun energy

White: Purity, bliss, peace, good luck, psychic boost

Grey: Hope, support, comfort, healing

Calico: Good fortune, relationships, prosperity, abundance, psychic ability, strengthens family

Two Tone: Friendships, harmony, warding, wisdom

Striped: Good luck, happiness

Siamese: Success, good health, longevity

Note: If using cat hair in a working, consider the color of the animal it came from and apply those properties.

Black Cats

• They represent witches and witchcraft, magick, the Moon, protection, prosperity, the in-between/thresholds, dark goddess energy, the night, mystery, independence, resilience, and cleverness.

• If a black cat crosses your path they're removing danger and blessing your way.

• If you see a black cat on your way to gamble, luck is on your side.

• To catch a thief, write their name on a fish skin and feed it to a black cat.

• If you see a large, black cat for seven days money is on its way to you.

• To get away with something, wrap your name paper around black cat hair and burn it with yellow rose petals on a Friday.

Black Cat Oil

This oil is great for protection, good luck, seduction, breaking curses/hexes, working with the dead, divination and more.

Recipe:

• Sage

• Bay leaves

• Myrrh

• Mugwort

• Dragon's blood

• Steel wool

• Lodestone dust

• Hair (or whisker) from a black cat

• Carrier oil

The Power Of Cat Whiskers

Naturally shed cat whiskers are one of the most potent spell compents you can get. These tiny treasures contain a ton of magickal energy and can be used in the following ways:

• Carrying a cat whisker brings great luck and helps you easily overcome obstacles.

• To see your desires manifest, whisper your wish to a cat whisker and burn it over a yellow, gold, or orange candle.

• Hold a cat whisker in your hand while hedge-riding for a safe journey.

• Boosts the power and potency of any spell.

• Burn with jasmine and mugwort to bring prophetic dreams.

Whisker Appearance:

• The whisker length is said to reflect how long the spell will last.

• A very long whisker will aid in a long term goal and a short whisker; a short term goal.

• White whiskers aid in purification, healing, purity, empowerment, and luck.

• Black whiskers protect from bad energy and can be used for binding magick, spiritual power, and baneful workings.

• A grey/blue whisker represents neutrality, deities, shielding, patience, and resolve.

• Orange/copper whiskers bring success, strength, joy, truth, and encouragement.

• Banded whiskers assist with stability, physicality, love, comfort and peace.

Miscellaneous Cat Magick

There's a lot more magick to cats than I could ever cover here but here are some more examples of cat magick:

• Use cat hair in shape-shifting rituals.

• Burn a cat shaped candle and carve runes/sigils/prayers into it to protect and empower your cat.

• Feeding your cat the last of your meal keeps them from running away/getting lost.

• Bringing your cat/cats to a new home first brings good luck.

• Naturally shed cat claws can be used in spells for getting out of a tight situation. In baneful magick they help your curse "grab on" to the target and brings them sudden agony.

• Stroking a cat's tail nine times brings good luck in love.

• Hang a protective charm such as a bell, pentagram, or cowrie shell from your cat's collar.

• If a cat licks itself against the grain, a storm is coming.

• If the same cat comes to your window, three nights in a row, a witch has cast a spell on you.

• To learn the answer to a question, ask your cat while they sit on one side of a doorway. If the cat walks through the door with their left paw, the answer is no, with their right paw, the answer is yes.

• Incorporate catnip into your workings to draw your cat and borrow their power.

• You can divinate based on cat sightings/behavior, this is called ailuromancy.

• August 17th is 'Cat Night', a sentiment that has its roots in Celtic legend. A witch could turn into a cat eight times, but upon the ninth transformation, they would stay a cat forever. This is the reason we say cats have nine lives. Honor/celebrate your cats on this day and leave food for strays at night.

• A protective blessing for cats: "Bast of beauty and of grace, protector of the feline race, shield [cat's name] from hurt and harm, and keep them always safe and warm, watch over them from day to day, and guide them home if they should stray, grant them love and happiness, and a life free of strife or stress".

[lu-dao-writes]

— 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐭 (𝘼𝙞𝙨 & 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧)

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨 Don’t go touching random plants.

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) Sex pollen, threesome, skull fucking, riding, dom Ais, needy Leander, gn!Reader.

𝘼/𝙉 Someone asked and I’m glad I was able to deliver lol. I’m giggling at this. But eat up and MINORS DNI!

Hopefully I didn’t write these two too badly!

It was only meant to be a hunt for herbs…

You and Leander had spotted Ais leaving Kuras’ clinic and the gang leader said he was grabbing some herbs the good doctor needed.

You offered a helping hand, and Leander had too much free time on his hands and happily tagged along.

“Alright, Sparrow, why don’t you look for sage. Let’s see how much you know,” Ais assigned to you with a simper.

“Sounds easy enough! I know what that looks like!” you reply confidently, striding off.

“And what about me?” Leander asks with his standard charming smile.

Ais flashes his teeth, looking at the Bloodhound leader with a raised brow. “Are you even familiar with herbs?”

“I’m a mage, Ais, of course I have some knowledge,” Leander says confidently, not bothered by the mocking.

“Fine. Fetch me valerian, echinacea, and clotsfoot,” Ais orders before walking off. He’s in charge of getting thyme, lavender, yarrow, and digitalis purpurea (the flower that reminds him of Vere).

You didn’t have to hunt long for the sage, picking enough for Kuras to have when suddenly an inviting smell comes to your nose.

It smelt of… Chocolate? Now that’s something new. You venture further, following the delightful scent until you come across pulsating, blue flowers all clustered together.

Now this was something! Flowers that smell like a sweet treat sounds wonderful! They’re so beautiful, and with each step you take the flowers seem to sway, as if dancing…

You get down on one knee and reach out to gently touch one of petals, soon leaning down to smell the flower a little more when there’s a sudden shout.

“Sparrow, get away from those!”

You flinch back and see Ais sprinting towards you.

“Wait why?!” you squawk, getting up, but it’s too late. Suddenly the flowers shoot out large streams of gas, your surroundings soon getting hazy.

And just your luck you trip.

“Shit!” Ais curses, diving into to get you.

You grip onto him but something seems to have your ankles hostage? You’re accidentally falling once more and taking Ais down with you.

“Leander, where the fuck are you?!” Ais barks out, trying to once again get you and now himself up off the ground.

Leander’s muscled form soon breaks in and he sends a blast of magic just a few spaces behind you both, burning the flowers to a crisp, and creepily enough you hear them actually screaming.

He hauls you and Ais further away before sending another blast of magic, not stopping until all the flowers are gone. Soon the fog slowly dissipates and bits of glowing green fire cling to the other flora, the fire soon dying as well.

“Shit,” Ais curses again, his chest heaving. He looks at you and your hardly able to stand, your eyes rapidly blinking.

Your skin feels tingly and you feel extremely flushed, your legs almost feeling numb.

“Yeah.. We better hurry somewhere other than here,” Leander mutters, his face red with blush.

“What… The hell was that?” you pant.

“That, Sparrow, was flower you most definitely shouldn’t have touched,” Ais huffs.

“Well no shit, Ais!” you gripe. “But are we gonna die!?”

“No,” replies both men.

“Those flowers are a natural aphrodisiac, but they’re very dangerous, especially if you don’t get rid of them,” Leander supplies with a nervous smile.

You blink once. Twice. “You’re fucking kidding?”

“‘Fraid not,” Ais mumbles.

And you’re not clueless to what that entails.

And that’s how you end up in this position.

Ais gripping your head as he drills his thick cock into your throat, his red eyes clouded with lust as he stares straight into your soul.

And Leander has your hips in a death grip as he braces his legs and fucks up into you desperately, lost in his own pleasure and the haze and greedily enjoying your warmth as you squeeze the life out his poor aching cock.

He’s whining and moaning about how good you feel, greedy fucker having cummed so many times in you already while Ais has only came once down your throat.

But not to worry, you’ve cummed too, Leander touching you and his cock hitting the right spot. It has you seeing stars.

Ais soon grunts and pulls out from your mouth, a string of saliva connecting from your lips to his dick. His thumb resting on your bottom lip as he fists his cock rapidly. “Keep your pretty mouth open, Sparrow.”

And oh, he moans and groans so prettily as he cums, his head slightly thrown back.

Your tongue hangs out to catch some of the thick, white ropes that spurt from the angry red tip of his cock, the rest splattering on your face and some even in your hair, but you couldn’t care less.

Leander moans loudly, busting another load into you, and he has enough stamina to help you finish as well, your body shuddering and your hole squeezing him again, causing him to drool a little with tears clinging to his lashes.

Poor Kuras won’t be getting those herbs anytime soon…

[thatdruidgal]

Nature Correspondences - Cliff Notes

The best basic herbs to have on hand are sage, rosemary, cinnamon, and lavender.

cinnamon - protection, healing, luck/prosperity, wisdom, happiness, fertility

lavender - peace, eases depression, helpful for sleep and memory

rosemary - healing, cleansing, useful for good dreams and studying

sage - wisdom (pregnancy/breastfeeding warning)

Protection

Herbs + Plants

Balsam fir

Bay leaf

Cinnamon

Cedar

Clove

Mint

Pine

Rosebuds

Roses

Water

Rain water

Storm water

Sun water

Sea water

Spring water

Elements

Calas

Healing

Herbs + Plants

Amaranth

Cinnamon

Chamomile

Chickweed

Cleavers

Daisy

Feverfew

Holy basil

Morning glory

Peppermint

Rosemary

Water

Dew water

Moon water

Sun water

Ocean water

Well water

Cleansing

Herbs + Plants

Cattail

Cleavers

Fern

Pine

Rosemary

Roses

Water

Rain water

Dew water

Moon water

Sun water

Sea water

Spring water

Elements

Gwyar

Energy

Herbs + Plants

Bay leaf

Grapefruit mint

Mint

Peppermint

Spearmint

Water

Rain water

Sun water

Elements

Nwyfre

Luck/Prosperity

Herbs + Plants

Basil

Cinnamon

Cattail

Clover

Daisy

Dandelion

Water

River water

Sea water

Spring water

Waterfall water

Rainbow water

Love

Herbs + Plants

Basil

Chickweed

Rosebuds

Water

Dew water

Divination

Herbs + Plants

Amaranth

Dandelion

Flatweed

Morning glory

Mugwort

Roses

Water

Moon water

Sun water

Ocean water

Well water

Wisdom

Herbs + Plants

Balsam fir

Cinnamon

Sage

Water

Well water

Peace

Herbs + Plants

Cattail

Cleavers

Lavender

Lemon balm

Mint

Peppermint

Spearmint

Water

Snow water

Sea water

Creek water

Lake water

Unknown Correspondences

Herbs + Plants

Bull nettle

Calendula marigold

Eastern white cedar

Eucalyptus

Hyssop

Jasmine

Juniper

Lemongrass

Lemon verbena

Mullein

Pineapple sage

Spruce

Staghorn sumac

Sweet clover

Sweet grass

Valerian

White pine

Yarrow

Like why you see? Consider supporting me! ko-fi.com/thatdruidgal

[cosmos-within]

Herbs and Uses (N-Y)

Oatstraw (c/s): Money, Rejuvenate, Clarity

Olive Leaf (whole or c/s): Abundance, Peace, Protection

Orange Peel (c/s) : Love, Luck, Money

Oregano (c/s): Vitality, Energy, Joy

Parsley (flakes): Money, Luck, Protection

Passion flower (c/s): Money, Attract Friends, Diffuse Tension

Patchouli (c/s): Money, Love, Fertility

Pau d'arco (c/s): Protection, Strength, Dispel Negativity

Peach Blossom (whole flowers): Love, Abundance, Renewal

Peony (crushed petals): Money, Luck, Success

Peppermint (c/s): Purification, Abundance, Clarity

Pine Needle (c/s): Protection, Purification, Rejuvenation

Plantain (c/s): Protection, Grounding, Manifestation

Plumeria (crushed petals): New Beginnings, Strength, Creativity

Poppy seed (whole): Sleep, Fertility, Luck

Quassia (chips): Love, Money, Happiness

Raspberry Leaf (c/s): Fertility, Love, Protection

Red Clover (c/s): Money, Purification, Positive Energy

Rooibos (c/s): Relaxation, Healing, Vitality

Rose (crushed petals): Love, Luck, Harmony

Rosehips: Good Fortune, Love, Protection

Rosemary (c/s): Love, Protection, Money

Rue (ruta, c/s): Protection, Uncrossing, Counter Magick

Sarsaparilla (c/s): Love, Money, Health

Saw Palmetto (powder): Passion, Vitality, Lust

Senna Leaf (c/s): Purification, Release, Transformation

Shepherd’s Purse (c/s): Protection, Money, Healing

Solomon Seal (c/s): Protection, Success, Counter Magick

Spearmint (c/s): Healing, Love, Mental Powers

St. John’s Wort (c/s): Protection, Banishing, Blessing

Star Anise (c/s): Luck, Protection, Psychic Awareness

Strawberry Leaf (c/s): Success, Luck, Purification

Tansy (c/s): Rebirth, Longevity, Protection

Uva Ursi (c/s, leaf): Divination, Knowledge, Inner Peace

Valerian Root (c/s): Protection, Diffuse Tension, Counter Magick

Vervain (c/s): Love, Protection, Prosperity

Violet (whole flowers): Wealth, Creativity, Wisdom

White Clover (c/s): Abundance, Luck, Love

White Oak Bark (c/s): Success, Good Fortune, Uncrossing

White Pine Bark (c/s): Money, Luck, Protection

White Sage (c/s): Purification, Cleansing, Protection

White Willow Bark (c/s): Happiness, Friendship, Intuition

Wild Cherry Bark (c/s): Divination, Love, Luck

Wormwood (c/s): Protection, Uncrossing, Counter Magick

Yarrow (c/s): Luck, Love, Warding

Yerba Mate (c/s): Clarity, Focus, Connection

[nikethestatue]

The Agreement

Chapter 6

Azriel, Lord Night, Duke of Velaris

Azriel turned off the water in his shower and sighed, looking down at his rock hard erection, which he’s been sporting for what seemed like hours. Was he considering calling on his physician? Perhaps. If this thing didn’t calm down at some point, he would have to take drastic measures. Though what could a physician do in this–unfortunate–case? Give him some valerian root? Attempt to relax the randy duke whose cock was out of control? Good luck with that. Besides, what was he going to tell the dignified doctor about the situation?

Pardon, Dr. Dawn, but my manhood had been harder than granite and could probably tear through my trousers any minute now.

It would also require him to use words like ‘my member’ and ‘my manhood’, instead of ‘cock’ or ‘dick’ which was his preference. But he couldn’t very well announce to the doctor ‘my dick’s been hard for three hours now. I blame Elain’. Because technically, it was all because of her. Even more technically, it was actually his own fault. He was the one who left that unmistakably  possessive mark on her delicate, lovely neck. He was the one who sucked on her skin, who bit her and who made her wear his bruise, which stained her perfect flesh, reminding him every second that he glanced at it that she was his. It was his fault, and now he was paying penance for it. Because last night, Miss Elain Archeron simply floored him, when she arrived to dinner in a pretty dusty-pink dress, which he otherwise probably wouldn’t have noticed, but it did show off her bare arms and was revealing enough to allow a nice view of her chest and her neck. And that’s when he spotted the mark. In fact, bruises peppered her upper arms, her shoulder, and there was an explicit, delightful bruise on her neck. She tried to cover it with a lock of her golden curls, but it was no use.

She was still pouting from their afternoon disagreement, and when she arrived at the dining room, looking pretty, and acting snooty, he had to smile to himself. As if he was going to be deterred by her attitude! It was adorable that she was mad at him. He, in fact, kind of liked it, and was looking forward to kissing and fondling the attitude right out of her. 

Since it was only the two of them, it left Devlon as the one attending them at dinner, and Azriel, not being a stickler for rigid etiquette, also had Cerridwen assist, if there was need for extra help. Devlon always bristled at the fact that Azriel allowed women to attend at dinner, but Azriel cared very little and also, liked to tease Devlon until the man was in danger of popping a vein. 

Devlon had served at the Queen’s Court, and when there was an opportunity to serve as the Head Butler to the Duke of Velaris, he immediately latched on to the opportunity. Little did he know that the young Duke of Velaris liked to ignore all the rules, didn’t care for decorum, wasn’t interested in following prescribed etiquette, and was painfully wayward. 

“Good evening, Miss Archeon,” Azriel told her, as he sipped his gin and tonic, standing by the sideboard,  “you look lovely.”

“Thank you, sir,” she responded icily and it made him laugh.

“The colour becomes you,” he complimented her further, knowing that he was just annoying her now and sort of relishing in her foul mood. 

Miss Archeron has no idea what an arse he could be when he wanted to. So, he stepped towards her and cupped her face in his hand. 

She gasped and tried to pull away, but he only squeezed her jaw tighter and turned her face to the side, so he could kiss her cheek, and then her neck. 

“My lord,” she hissed, trying to swat him away, but he only kissed her harder, whispering, 

“I like seeing you wear my mark, Elain.”

Her fingers flew to the bruise on her throat and he kissed the tips of her fingers, before pressing his lips back to the bruise. 

“I’d like to see you wear more of them,” he suggested, his breath warm on her neck. 

She was shivering next to him, her bare arms covered in goosebumps, panting softly against his head, while he nuzzled and licked on her delicious skin. She tasted amazing. There was something uniquely hers about her sweet, floral scent–he could’ve sworn that it was honey. Yes, warm honey. He thought that he might want to kiss and lick on this perfect skin for the rest of his days. Her soft, small hands made an extremely feeble attempt at pushing him back, though mostly, she ended up kneading his chest with her fingers. Which he liked. 

All of this would’ve been better if they were naked though.

At that moment, Devlon arrived at the dining room, and Azriel stepped back, releasing Elain’s flushed face. 

Elain sat down, her breathing visibly uneven, while Devlon moved silently and expertly, serving consomme with dumplings. Azriel leaned back in his chair rather informally, paying little attention to the food.

“What have you been doing this afternoon, Elain?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

She couldn’t act pissy in front of Devlon, therefore, she answered calmly,

“I’ve been making plans regarding your messy garden, sir.”

Azriel laughed.

“Is it? Messy?”

Primly, she announced, “it’s unkempt. It needs care and some effort.”

“Ahhh. And do you wish to offer it care?”

She dipped her eyes down and chewed on her lip, before nodding.

“I would. I would like to care for it. Make it beautiful. Make it flourish.”

Azriel wasn’t sure if they were still speaking about the garden, or something else entirely.

“I believe that the garden would appreciate that. It does need care. It needs some love.”

She looked at him, her gaze testing and unimpressed. She read right through him, which amused him to no end, and while Devlon was busying himself with the fish course, plating the fillets, Azriel smiled and winked at her. 

“Anything else?” he pressed.

“I wrote a little…”

He raised his brow and said, “Indeed? What, may I ask, are you writing, Miss Archeron?”

She offered him a fierce look and announced, 

“A story.”

“Ahh, what about?”

She pursed her lips and remained quiet. Devlon set their plates in front of them–steamed turbot, with cream sauce–and Azriel told Devlon,

“Mr Devlon, I think Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru for the fish and the chicken course…”

Devlon’s eyes popped wide open when he heard the request. It was one of the most expensive wines in the cellar.

“My lord,” the butler began, but Aziel gave him a bland look, which brooked no argument.

“Of course, my lord.”

Once the butler was out of the room, Azriel stood up from his seat, walked over to Elain, while she watched him in alarm, and cupped her face between his palms.

“Have you forgiven me yet?” he asked and pressed his lips to her forehead. She wrapped her fingers around his wrists and looked up at him.

“Have you forgiven me?”

He though for a moment and shrugged,

“I suppose, though I expect you to do a little more begging…”

“My lord!”

“Your lord would like for you to tell him more about your writing.”

“Oh…What about the begging?” she asked dumbly.

He barked a laugh and said,

“Oh, you’ll beg, sweetheart. Not yet though,”

“For what?!” she exclaimed.

He stroked her face with his knuckles, gently dragging them over her cheeks and lips. She was looking at him expectantly, blinking her huge gentle cow eyes at him.

“For your lord to make you feel incredibly good.”

He smiled and then nudged at her, “What's your story about?”

“About a girl who comes to serve in the household of a tyrannical duke!”

He chuckled,

“A tyrannical duke? I like the sound of it.”

“You would!”

“Will it be an erotic story?” he inquired, to which Elain gasped and covered her face in her hands. He kissed her hands and wrapped her body within his big arms, pressing her to him. He was laughing merrily at her squirming discomfort. “You are adorable, lass. I, for once, would love to read your tales about John Thomas and Lady Jane.”

She whimpered in his arms, and he kissed her hands and the top of her head again. 

He was amused–Elain in fact knew the slang terms for male and female genitalia after all.

He disengaged from her quickly and suddenly and slid back into his seat. A heartbeat later, Devlon arrived with the wine bottle.

-

Azriel hadn’t slept, which was nothing new. Before the sun was even up, he went downstairs, to his private gymnasium, where he exercised with dumbbells, jump rope, and boxing. He always kept himself in top shape, and even participated in bare knuckle fights on a monthly basis, in underground fighting rings in Whitechapel. It wasn’t something that men of his status and circle did, but he figured that if they could be whoring with low born women in brothels, then why couldn’t he fight with dock workers and labourers for money? He didn’t take the money, but he liked to win and he donated the winnings to local charities. 

Looking down at his cock that was standing at attention like a faithful soldier, Azriel shook his head and sighed. He stepped in front of the sink and got his shaving kit ready. His valet had the easiest job in the world, because Azriel required very little assistance, but Balthazar was useful for other things besides pressing jackets and tying bow ties. Besides, Azriel simply preferred to do things himself. He was a man. He could dress himself. 

He lathered his chin, standing at an awkward angle next to the sink, trying to avoid smashing his cock into it. 

The fact that Elain was now under his roof, in his domain, under his control didn’t make things easier for him. She was no longer a hypothetical. She was someone he could have. And would have. And wanted to have. The conundrum that he was facing was rather simple–he didn’t only want her sexually, because the more time they spent together the more he enjoyed her and her personality. And that was a problem, because all he was supposed to have been wanting was her sex and her ripe, fertile body.

He finally was able to rid himself of his erection, though it took much longer than expected–a lukewarm shower, a shave, and finally the time it took him to dress. 

It was still only 7:30 AM  and it wouldn't be surprising that Elain was still asleep, but it didn't stop him from walking past her bedroom door three times in a row, in hopes of hearing any type of movement. 

Maybe he should order her to sleep with him, in his bedroom?

But then he’d never not have an erection.

But then he also wouldn’t have to be away from her. She’d be sleeping next to him, preferably draped over him like a blanket and he’d be perfectly pleased. 

But he also told her not to sleep with him in the same bedroom, as per their Agreement.

Yet he said that she is ‘not required’ which didn't mean that he couldn’t make it a requirement.

He was not a good man. He was not a kind, good, honourable man like his brother Cassian. Instead, he was a scheming, cold, truthless, needy monster, whose desire to dominate and win overrode all decency and good will. Perhaps the only good thing he’s done in his life was not divorcing his poor maimed wife Morrigan and not assigning her fate worse than death and dismemberment. Him being almost 30 years old, that wasn’t much of an accomplishment.

Like a vulture, he circled around her bedroom door, until finally, huffing in frustration, he made his way downstairs. Should he order Nuala to wake Elain up? Or should he simply require Elain to be awake and ready to receive him in any manner he wanted by 7 every morning? That seemed like a reasonable requirement to him. Besides, he needed to breed her, and that couldn’t be done on her own time.

His thoughts drifted towards a different direction–imagining Elain soft and warm, swelling with his babe, her belly curving with the heft of his child, her breasts filling with milk, her hips rounding for the birth.

He licked his lips, imagining putting her on her hands and knees and watching her heavy belly descend towards the mattress, while he entered her from behind, filling his hands with large, ample breasts. He’d fuck her often, and would try to be gentle. 

Which brought another thought into his head–they hadn’t discussed what would happen between the two of them once she was impregnated. Would they have to cease their relations? Of course, her pregnancy and her state would dictate that, but he now felt that it was an oversight on his part. He should’ve included the requirement of her sleeping with him and taking his cock even when she was pregnant.

Biting his lower lip, he frowned, pondering how to rectify the omission. That was stupid and shortsighted of him, but it wasn’t a total loss. She was naive and accommodating–he wouldn’t have to take it. She’d just give it to him. Hopefully, if everything went according to plan, he’d teach her to enjoy sexual relations, and eventually, crave them. Crave him. Because he’d show her how to please him.

He trotted quickly downstairs, his clothes still unkempt: his waistcoat unbuttoned, his sleeves rolled up, the collar open. He preferred not to wear a tie until the very last moment before he absolutely had to wear a tie. He grew up in the country–with horses, and hiking, swimming, hunting, boating, and even fishing. All of his life, he found formality stifling, unnecessary and tiresome, which was a great point of contention with his stern, old-fashioned father.

Voices alerted him once he made his way towards the kitchen. He figured that Cerridwen might have already been up, preparing breakfast, and perhaps Balthazar was around, because it seemed that he was sweet on her, with both of them thinking that Azriel had no idea. Azriel had an idea, a very good idea, but at this time, he chose to look the other way, hoping that if his servants were intimate, then Cerridwen was smart about it. Balthazar better make an honest woman out of Cerridwen, if she fell pregnant. However, Azriel hoped that it wouldn’t go as far as that, and that Balthazar would be an honourable man and would ask her for marriage property. After all, debauchery was the privilege of the wealthy and the titled. Like himself.

The voices though, weren’t those of Balthazar and Cerridwen. They were all female.

He opened the door and entered the kitchen.

Laughter and giggling greeted him. Some sort of doughy mess was spread on the butcher’s block, and Elain was kneading it, her small hands strong and able, working the dough expertly, rolling and stretching and slapping. Her movements were confident, and a little sexual. The twins were hovering near her, one beating eggs in a bowl and the other was preparing the morning tea. Or coffee, for Azriel. 

He took a few moments to observe and enjoy the sight of Elain. She looked so happy, smiling widely, her thick golden brown curls loose and escaping from her pin. He’d have to help her out with that and see that beautiful hair tumble over her slender body. There were so many things that he wanted to see and explore with her.

She wore a simple linen housedress, with a few front buttons and some lace edging around the collar and the sleeves. The dress was loose and there was something about it…Azriel couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it fit her…differently. 

“Good morning, sir!” she finally spotted him and smiled her beautiful smile at him.

The twins straightened and curtsied a quick curtsy. 

“Good morning,” he said, folding his arms on his chest and watched Elain’s caramelly eyes track the movement. Oh, she liked that. So, shamelessly, he flexed his biceps for her, making them bulge under his shirt and the swallow that she produced without even noticing it, told him everything he needed to know. His mouthy virgin was attracted to him. He’d assumed that she didn’t find him unbecoming or repulsive and therefore signed their agreement based on some semblance of attraction, but yesterday in the garden it became quite obvious that she found him physically desirable. “I thought you were still asleep, Miss Elain,”

“No, sir,” she shook her head. “I slept, but not well. I could never sleep well in new places,”

“I am sorry to hear that. Were you uncomfortable?”

“No, no,” she shook her head quickly, “it was incredibly luxurious. It’s just…”

“What?”

“I could’ve sworn that I heard walking in the hallway,”

The twins dipped their eyes to the ground, both hiding their insolent smirks, which made Azriel smile too. Nothing slipped by those naughty twins–they noticed everything. That’s why Azriel valued them so much and trusted them implicitly. Now, he trusted them with Elain.

“I wonder what it might have been,” he pondered dramatically. “Perhaps the rain drumming on the roof…”

“Maybe,” she nodded, thinking. “But it sounded like footsteps…”

“So you woke up and decided to start baking?” he jerked his chin towards the butcher's block, changing the topic of conversation.

She wrung her fingers and whispered, “it’s been so long, sir. Is this permitted?”

“Of course, Elain,” he assured her gently, and stepped into the kitchen. “The house is your house. You can do whatever you want…”

“Thank you, sir,” she looked up at him and he stupidly felt pleased with himself because he made her happy.

“I wanted to make you breakfast,”

“And I would like to eat it then,” he chuckled.

He looked at the twins and then read his expression immediately, as they made their way out of the kitchen. When she passed by him, Cerridwen stopped and said,

“My lord, may I go to the shops with Miss Elain and Nuala?”

“Is that the plan for today?” 

“Yes, lord, but I won’t be able to make luncheon,”

“Obviously you may go, Cerridwen,” he said simply. 

“Thank you, sir.” She beamed at him happily.

“I am a grown up,” he smirked, “I can make myself a sandwich or eat at a restaurant. In fact,” he reached into the back pocket of his trousers and pulled out a couple of bills, “buy whatever you want for yourself and have luncheon at a cafe,” he handed the money to Cerridwen. “But ladies, please be back before dinner. I’d like to dine with Miss Elain.”

“Of course, lord. Thank you.”

Thinking it was her cue to follow the twins, Elain threw a sad glance at the dough, and then began walking towards the door as well, before he caught her with his arm, and wrapped it around her waist.

She gasped and Azriel tsked, smiling at her,

“And where might you be going?”

“But I thought…”

“I thought you were going to feed me breakfast?”

“Oh, you want it?” she confirmed, grinning happily.

“Yes, I want it. I remember we decided you’d be eating at least two meals with me.”

She was soft next to him, her plump breasts pushing into his chest, her arms soft and smooth as well, and the hips that were just below his forearm nestled comfortably against him. He wanted to squeeze her bottom. Desperately. 

But he held off. For now. 

“Now, where is my morning kiss?” he asked innocently.

She stared at him, her body now fully moulded into his, and her gaze fell on his mouth. 

Azriel was intrigued. Would she actually go for a full kiss? Herself? Without deferring to him?

Loudly, and abruptly, she smacked her lips on his cheek and then said, “your morning kiss!” before wiggling out  of his embrace.

He barked a loud laugh and released her, though he took his seat by the counter and watched her go back to her dough. 

“What are you making?” he asked curiously.

“Currant buns!” she explained, as she began pinching bits of dough and rolling it into balls. Azriel didn’t comment, but watched her closely, especially how her breasts moved beneath the dress, swaying softly alongside the rhythm of her hands. 

“You are a good lord,” she commented offhandedly, brushing each bun with melted butter. Azriel watched her, enjoying the sight of every movement, every flick of her wrist, the way she handled the dough with such gentle care. Her neck bore a bruise from his mouth. He liked that even more.

“Why? Because I allowed Cer to go to the shops?” he chuckled.

“Not all lords would,” she argued.

“Perhaps. But maybe I am only doing it to impress you. And I am–what did you call me yesterday?--oh yes, a tyrannical duke.”

Her cheeks lined with pink and she laughed nervously.

“Why would you want to impress me anyway?”

He pulled out his cigarette case from his pocket and said,

“Who knows…Maybe I am an eccentric tyrannical duke.”

He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, while she wrinkled her cute little nose.

“Does this bother you?”

“No, not much. But I don’t think that it’s healthy,” she commented. 

“No?”

“Inhaling smoke into your lungs cannot be healthy,” she said reasonably and he realised that he never thought of it so simply. Perhaps, she was indeed correct.

“My doctor says that it’s not dangerous for my health,” he told her.

She huffed under her breath and he motioned his hand at her, noticing her derisive shrug, 

“Well, tell me more.”

“The same doctors wouldn’t wash their hands between patients only 20 years ago…some still don’t. I hope your physician is more knowledgeable and not so set in his ways,” she told him primly, arranging the buns on the baking sheet. 

“Hmm,” Azriel considered, saying, “you might be correct, Miss Archeron.”

“We are back to Miss Archeron?” she inquired archly. 

“Forgive me,” he smiled and inclined his head. 

“All I am saying is that I want my baby to get the best possible care and not from someone who thinks that smoking isn’t harmful.”

Azriel extended his arm across the counter and clasped her hand. Usually, he wouldn’t like to expose his arms quite so much in front of anyone, but with Elain, it didn’t seem uncomfortable, or unnatural. She hardly seemed to even notice them, as her other hand lightly caressed his forearm.

“Come here,” he whispered to her.

There was some worming feeling in his chest when he heard her say the words ‘my baby’ and how she wanted to ensure that her child would be cared for and protected. Elain was thoughtful and loving, fearless to the point of foolishness and Azriel knew that she would make a good mother. One day. One day she would have a babe of her own, maybe a few, and she would be a most embracing and caring mother to them. 

A twinge of sadness and regret invaded his chest when he realised that she’d never be a true mother to his child. 

He pulled her to him and made her stand between his legs, resting his hands on her hips. He could see her vein pulsating in her neck and before she could do anything, he pulled her even closer and licked along her jugular, tasting the frenetic pulse and the hot blood beneath his tongue. She whimpered in his arms, but settled obediently between his thighs, not attempting to pull away from him, which pleased him. 

“I am much happier when you are agreeable, Elain,” he murmured into her warm throat. 

“We agreed not to quarrel,” she reminded him breathlessly, and for the first time, her hands touched him willingly. He wasn’t sure if she realised it herself, but she threaded her fingers into his hair, holding his head closer to her neck. He opted not to point it out, loving how she held him, his her slim fingers pressed and massaged the back of his head. 

He hooked his finger in the collar of her dress and pulled it away from her neck, baring her collarbones and a bit of her shoulder. Kisses were allowed, so he did not need to ask for permission, but this–

“May I?” he groaned into her shoulder, as his fingers found the buttons of her dress.

She was shivering next to him, her skin hot, and when he glanced at her face, her eyes were both hooded, but also sparkling warmly at him. 

“What do you want to do?” she stammered quietly.

“I just want to check something,” he said vaguely, grazing her shoulder with his teeth. 

“Will you bite me more?”

“Is that what you want?”

She nodded. 

“Of course,” he promised. His girl was an innocent–but not only in body. She was a girl of their time–kept pure and unaware of any sexuality, because their old Queen insisted on pretending that she was overly pious. Well, with all the children that the Queen had and considering her obsessive love for the late Prince Albert, Azriel somehow doubted that the Queen was as innocent as she liked to imply. Elain was though. And it was important to him that he passed no judgement on her desires, or that she thought that she was being shamed for her needs. If his girl liked biting, then bite her he would. 

He lightly clamped his teeth over the juncture of her neck and shoulder and she released a blissful moan, her eyes closing, her head falling back and exposing more of her neck to him. He kept kissing her, while his fingers undid the buttons of her dress. Once he was done, he didn’t uncover her, but let her come to, and then they both looked down between their heaving chests.

He waited for a moment, to see if she would react, or reject him, but she didn’t.

“What did you want to check?” she asked softly, panting. 

He cupped her cheek in his palm and made her look at him. His thumb skimmed over her cheekbone, and then brushed down her cheek and her jaw, before stopping at her mouth. He pulled her face closer to him and thumbed her parted lips, dragging his finger over her lower lip. She keened towards him, and he kissed her neck, before sliding his thumb back and forth over her lips. 

“Open up,” he ordered gently.

Her lips popped in an enticing O, and he carefully pushed his thumb inside her mouth.

She gasped, but sucked it in and just watched him and his reaction.

Well, she should’ve been watching the reaction down below, because  it was…immediate. And wild. His cock strained inside his trousers, awakened again, after Azriel had put so much effort into calming it down. But his sweet girl was gently sucking his thumb, and he was only human. And weak.

“That’s it,” he whispered, his breathing uneven, ragged almost, “that’s my girl…”

His affectionate praise caused the desired reaction from Elain. She perked up, instantly growing more confident and more eager. He smiled at her, letting her suck, while he stroked her face. 

“Are you being my good girl for me?” he asked with a smile, “did you do as I asked? And put on a pretty brassiere for me?”

That’s what was different about her.

At first, he couldn’t understand, but gone was the stiffness and the rigid posture that the corsets forced on the women. When she was rolling the dough balls, it finally dawned on him–the plump tits were moving beneath the dress. They weren’t hidden within the confines of the laces and bindings, but while contained, they definitely swayed attractively and the newfound movement made his mouth water. 

She attempted to answer, but he shook his head ‘no’ and said, “keep sucking”. 

She obeyed, while he parted the top of the dress and looked at her breasts.

He was correct. She wore a satin bind, which was trimmed with lace and had three mother-of-pearl buttons in the front. Her breasts were cradled in the satin, but Azriel immediately acknowledged his mistake–he should’ve ordered them in lace, with some satin trim, and not vice versa. He wanted to see her skin, wanted to observe the puckering of her nipples through the lace. The satin, while nice and luxurious, didn’t show him everything he wanted to see.

Pulling his thumb out of her mouth at last, he queried, “Do you like it?” 

She almost made to cover herself, but he stopped her and circled her wrists with his hands, before bringing her fingers to his lips.

“It feels…unusual,” she admitted, blushing prettily. “As if I am uncovered.”

“Oh,” he smirked a devilish smirk at her, “you’ll be a lot more uncovered very soon, dear girl.”

She looked at him and then pressed her lips to his fingers. 

God he loved it.

He loved her taking the initiative and kissing him herself. But he also loved that she kissed the ugliest, most maimed part of him so willingly. 

“Will we truly be in the nude?” she asked timidly.

“Absolutely. I want to see every part of you,’ he vowed hotly, watching her licked her lips and then bite the tip of her tongue between her teeth. “I want you spread open in front of me, sweetheart. You are too beautiful not to admire,”

“I am not that beautiful,” she protested shyly, though he knew that she liked the compliment.

“That’s for me to decide. And I’ve decided that you are gorgeous. And I can’t wait to explore every part of you…”

“I want to see you too,” she blurted out suddenly, and he grinned at her.

“Good. You will see every part of me as well. You will touch it and taste it,”

“Oh my,” she gulped nervously. “Will it be more than…fornication?”

“Oh indeed,” he promised. “So much more. I’ll have to use you in every manner imaginable, even if some ways don’t lead to conception,”

“But why?”

“Because it feels good. For both you and I.”

“I like the kissing,” she began to say, but he interrupted.

“That’s a start. How about this then?” he wondered and before she could say anything, he pinched both of her nipples between his fingers. He did it through the satin, but he did it hard. 

Elain cried out, stilling in front of him, her expression that of utter shock. He smiled at her, but did not let go. 

Her nipples were nice and thick, not tiny like peas, but nicely swollen with arousal and he fought the need to tear the stupid cover and bare her to him. He yearned to see those plump, full tits, and how she would swell for him. 

“Oh my Lord,” she cried out pathetically, once he twisted them and squeezed his fingers tighter.

“Tell your lord how it feels, my beautiful girl,” he encouraged her, lightly biting the tip of her ear.

He rotated the tight peaks mercilessly, rubbing and pinching them, upping the level of pain bit by bit, to see how much she wanted. Her stifled little moans told him that she was just enjoying herself. 

“Please,” she pleaded, his polite darling girl. “Please, it feels so…oh…fantastic!”

Her hands fell on his thighs and she squeezed them, keeping herself upright. 

“That’s good,” he approved. “Hold on to me.”

“Please. Please more,” she begged, whilst he released some of the pressure on her nipples and just worked them over with his thumbs now. 

“Does it hurt?”

She swallowed, squeezing his thighs harder, and shook her head.

“It’s good…it’s good if it hurts,” she confessed. 

“Good, my sweet girl. Embrace what you like,” he encouraged her, kissing her neck, gently dragging his tongue over her lips. She lurched towards him, wanting her kiss, but he tsked and chuckled,

“So eager,”

“Kiss me!” she insisted. “You promised. It’s part of the agreement.”

“I have some ideas for our first kiss. You’ll get it. And you’ll love it.”

He gave her nipples a sharp parting pinch, making her yelp loudly and then removed his hands from her breasts.

“You are simply delicious, sweetheart.”

Stumbling and mumbling something about her buns, Elain jammed the cooking tray into the oven and then Azriel caught her in his arms and placed her firmly in his lap.

He cupped her breast in his palm, but only squeezed and massaged it gently, acquainting himself with its delightful heft. For someone so slim and malnourished, Elain possessed lovely full breasts, which he promised himself to explore more and often. All the time, in fact.

“Is this courting?” she asked naively.

“It’s a little more than courting,” Azriel said, kissing her cheek lightly. 

Once the buns were baked, Elain removed them from the oven and allowed them to cool for a few moments, while Azriel prepared tea and coffee. She stared at him with ill-concealed shock, considering that he was a duke, and here he was, without a jacket or a tie, with his waistcoat unbuttoned and preparing drinks no less. 

“Not used to men cooking?” he chuckled. 

“My father never has. Though he is an invalid right now, he’s never even so much as boiled water in a kettle.”

Azriel then ordered her back in his lap and fed her the freshly baked buns, while she gulped a cup of freshly brewed coffee, moaning softly under her breath. Azriel was plenty satisfied with fondling her at his leisure, filling his hands with her breasts, something which she clearly enjoyed. Though he thought that the buns were delicious as well.

-

Azriel was standing by the window, drinking Irish whiskey. 

He’d spent most of the day at Westminster and never did he feel more pleased to return home than he did today. More than anything, he wanted to play with Elain and make her respond to him and his ministrations with her pretty moans and demands for more.

The dim street lights were illuminating the empty street outside, while rain was beating down ferociously. April showers would bring May flowers. Flowers that he was going to give Elain.

“Good evening, General,” he heard Devlon’s voice and in the next moment, heavy footsteps echoed in the foyer, before his brother entered the salon.

“‘Evening,”

“What are you doing here?” Azriel demanded.

Cassian’s dark brow furrowed and he said,

“It’s Tuesday? We dine together on Tuesday. Or do I have my days mixed up…” he looked around in confusion. Azriel sighed.

“No, no, it is Tuesday,”

It dawned on Cassian and he grinned, asking, “are you entertaining?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Azriel said evasively. 

“And what manner is that?”

Azriel went to pour Cassian a drink and his brother made himself comfortable on the sofa, clearly with no intention of leaving. 

“How are you doing with all your lording and passing laws that us plebes must adhere to?” Cassian inquired and Azriel couldn’t help but smile at his brother’s blase attitude. 

“Goodness you are odd, aren’t you,” Azriel mused.

“Yes, but think about how sad and empty your life would be without me in it,” Cassian shrugged, taking a generous sip of his whiskey. 

Azriel couldn’t argue. Cassian was the closest being in his life–a friend, a brother, a colleague–all rolled into one.

“So, who is she?” Cassian asked bluntly.

The answer came from Elain herself, who entered the room, looking down at her dress.

“Good evening, sir,” she said, without looking at Azriel. “How do you like this dress that we bought today?”

Azriel glanced at her–it was a deep cobalt velvet dress, with fluttering chiffon sleeves and splashes of sequence to add some dimension to the dress. It draped her shoulders beautifully, leaving them almost bare, and with a good amount of smug satisfaction, he noted a smattering of bruises on her neck and shoulders. 

“You look enchanting as always, sweetheart,” he said with a smile, watching her.

She lifted her eyes at him at last, and smoothed the dress over her belly and her hips.

“It’s been so long since I’ve worn something so lovely, sir. Nuala insisted on me buying the dress and I couldn’t resist!”

“And I am glad that you didn’t resist, darling Elain, and that she was persuasive. You look stunning.”

“You do,” Cassian’s voice boomed from the sofa, and Elain jumped with fright.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed, but Azriel was at her side at once, and wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her in place.

“Elain, may I introduce my brother,” he said calmly. “Lord Cassian, General Night.”

Cassian stood up and Elain gaped at him and his immense stature, before curtseying before him.

“General,” she extended her hand to him and Cassian bent to kiss it.

“Miss Elain, I presume?”

“Yes, Elain Archeron,” Azriel said.

“Lovely to meet you, Miss Archeron.”

“General, I read about you in the newspaper,” Elain said, while Azriel led her to the dining table and pulled the chair for her. 

“Indeed? What did they say?” Cassian smirked. “Something horrible?”

“No,” she laughed. “It was the story about you in the war–crawling for three days, when you were wounded, while a hungry tiger stalked and tracked you.”

“And here I am!” he laughed. “In one piece.”

“Thank god!” 

“The dress becomes you, Miss Archeron,” Cassian complimented her and Azriel threw him an annoyed look.

The dinner was pleasant, but Azriel wanted to crawl out of his skin.

He wasn’t worried about Cassian judging him, or even Elain–Cassian was wild and debauched and usually lacked judgement. However, Azriel wanted Elain’s attention only on himself. Cassian was handsome, funny and free and ladies gravitated to him. While Azriel might have been considered more handsome, he also had a quiet, surly and closed-off personality. He wasn’t engaging or kind like Cassian. And while Elain listened to his brother ramble on about his adventures, Azriel seethed and wished for this damned dinner to be over.

He also didn’t want to reveal Elain or his plans just yet–to anyone–and now, it was all out in the open. He’d have to explain. He’d have to reason and confess why he was holding this beautiful girl virtually hostage in his house, while paying her money to breed her. That was the only reason why she was here–to take his cock and his seed, so he could impregnate her. There wasn’t a way for him to make it ‘pretty’ for Cassian’s ears.

At last, eclairs and coffee were served, and at the sight of the pastries, Elain’s eyes lit up with excitement. 

It pleased Azriel.

Yes, he did it for her. He told Cerridwen to bake or buy pastries for every dinner and seeing Elain so pleased in a most childish, adorable way was exactly the reaction that he was hoping for. She glanced at him, gratitude shining in her eyes, and he inclined his head, confirming her suspicions. 

“Give my compliments to Cerridwen,” Cassian said, “she outdid herself tonight!”

They were done with dinner and Azriel could sense that Elain was growing tired.

“I will,” Azriel promised and then got up from his chair and came behind Elain. He stooped and cupped her face in his hand from behind, before tilting her head and kissing her neck. 

Cassian watched the exchange in silence.

Elain blushed intensely, but didn’t say anything. 

“Good night, sweet girl,” Azriel whispered into her neck, and she lightly stroked his cheek. 

Cassian got up and bowed his head.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Archeron. I should like to see you again.”

“You will,” Azriel told him dryly.

“Well, that’s wonderful.”

-

“Are you out of your fucking mind?!!” Cassian bellowed once Elain was upstairs and the doors to the smoking room were tightly locked.

Azriel didn’t answer, but only went to pour himself a drink.

“What. Are. You. Doing. Azriel?” Cassian demanded, walking back and forth erratically, his wide stride eating up space again and again as he circled the room.

“I will breed her and have an heir,” Azriel announced bluntly. Better to get it over with.

“No. No you will not!”

“Yes, I will.”

“This is a gently reared girl!” Cassian was waving his finger in the direction of Elain’s rooms. “This is not a whore or even a peasant girl who came here to,”

“I know who she is,” Azriel sighed, his head hanging low. “But I’ve made up my mind,”

“You are going to destroy her life!” Cassian hissed. “Why?! Why do this to her?”

“I am not,”

“You absolutely will and you know it! You will destroy her reputation. You will,”

“Shout all you want,” Azriel was shaking his head dejectedly. “But I am not letting her go,”

“What is this, Az?” Cassian stopped stomping about. “Why are you doing this?”

“I need an heir,”

“There are other ways to beget an heir!” he yelled gruffly.

“I am not letting her go,” Azriel repeated. “This is not your concern, Cassian.”

“Who is advocating on her behalf?!” Cassian demanded. “I bet she never even told anyone about this…this…madness!”

“Who she chooses to tell, is her business. I didn’t want to tell you, but here we are,”

“Azriel,” Cassian implored again. “For the love of god, think! Think, mate. Think with your head and not your cock,”

“Fuck off,”

“I will, once you realise that this is the wrong thing you are doing. She is an innocent. A virgin, I bet,”

“Of course she is,”

“And if you haven’t breached her, then it’s not too late. Let her go. Pay her a few hundred quid, and you’ll set her up for life. This is the only honourable thing to do!”

“Cassian,” Azriel tried again, feeling the truth of his brother’s words in his gut. Cass was correct of course. He was absolutely right. Azriel didn’t have the right to selfishly destroy Elain’s life–deflower her, fuck her, breed her, and then take away her baby.

“Are you lonely? Is that what this is?” Cassian asked, his voice softening. “I know it can’t be easy for you after Mor, but,”

“This isn’t about Mor. But why is everyone entitled to happiness?” Azriel cried out petulantly, “but me? Why should my wife fall off a fucking horse and lose her abilities and functions,”

“You could divorce her,”

Angrily, Azriel shouted, 

“I can’t! And you know that! I can’t divorce Mor,”

“The courts would understand,”

“It’s not about the courts! Should I divorce her, she loses my protection and goes back to her hateful father. He will send her to live in an asylum where she will be treated worse than an animal, forced to lie in her own waste for days on end. Do you not understand that, Cassian?”

Cassian collapsed in an armchair and buried his head in his hands.

“I like Elain,” Azriel pleaded quietly. “She is…she is sunshine. She is goodness. She is everything I didn’t know I wanted. She is kind and sweet and she…she stops and pets every dog that she sees! She has no money, but she gives a copper or two to all the vagrants on the streets. She bought me a pastry when she knew she’d come and see me…Even today, she returned from her shopping, and she had bought me a tie,”

“With your own money,”

“It’s irrelevant. I cannot let her go!”

Cassian looked straight at him and said solemnly,

“But you must. You know you must. That’s the only kind thing to do. Care for Elain the way you care about Morrigan.”

“I can’t,” Azriel gasped.

“I know, brother. But you will.”

-

Later that night, Azriel stood at Elain’s door, his head and his heart both pounding painfully in unison.

Cassian was correct.

He had to let Elain go.

She was a dream. 

And a dream she would remain. 

No damage was done yet.

Cassian was correct.

She still had her virginity, her dignity and her honour. He didn’t mar Elain with his darkness, with his greedy need. She remained as he’d found her. 

His sunshine.

And he was going to let her go.

[writerdreamerwhatever]

Detention ~ Harry Potter

“Thank you, Potter! You’ve made us late. Yet again!”

Running through the Hogwarts hallways, I glared at Potter, shaking my head.

“Well, sorry! But it’s not me who took the opportunity to start yet another fight.” I raised an eyebrow once I saw him roll his eyes.

I couldn’t help the hatred towards Gryffindors like Potter, being a Slytherin and all. And it’s not the first fight between us that makes us late to our classes.

“Oh, yeah, but it’s not me who refused to work on our Astronomy project! Did you really think I’ll be doing the whole work by myself?!” I almost yelled, both our footsteps loud in the empty corridors, emphasized by Potter’s silence, “That’s what I thought.” I said to myself, a bitter look on my face.

Our discussion was cut short once we arrived to the Potions classroom.

“Well, the sleeping draught-” Professor Slughorn was cut off when he heard the door to his classroom open. Suddenly, all eyes were on us, making me blush and squirm under the gaze of more than twenty people, “Ah, Mr. Potter, Ms. Y/L/N! You came in time; we were just starting a new potion. Come in!”

Potter and I looked at each other when Slughorn ushered us in. I just rolled my eyes and made my way over to a desk to sit next to Blaise, while Potter sat next to his two goons.

“As I was saying, the sleeping draught helps the drinker to fall into a deep, but temporary sleep. Now, can anyone tell me what ingredients are used to make this potion?”

Smartass Granger was quick to raise her hand, “Flobberworm mucus, lavender, valerian sprigs and standard ingredient, sir.” I glanced at Blaise who looked at me and mocked Granger silently. We tried our best to muffle our laughs, but we didn’t go unnoticed by the professor.

“Excellent Granger. You’ll be working in pairs to brew the sleeping draught. And since Ms. Y/L/N and Mr. Zabini can’t refrain themselves from laughing…” Both mine and Blaise’s eyes grew wide at the remark, we already knew what was going to happen, “Y/L/N, you’ll be working with Mr. Potter, and Zabini with Granger. Hopefully you’ll take this class more seriously.” Slughorn smiled nonchalantly at us.

As the student started pairing up, Blaise whispered to me.

“Good luck with Saint Potter.”

“You’ll need it most with Granger.” I said back, winking at him. He just rolled his eyes and went to Granger.

I heard a small thud and a huff, and turned to see Potter next to me with his potion book on the table in front of him.

“Don’t think I’m too happy about this.” Potter snapped.

“Because you think I am? We both know I’ll do all this by myself.” I glared, crossing my arms.

“Can you quit it? It was just one time. You knew I had quidditch practice! And I don’t think astronomy is that important.” He retorted back. After a moment of silence, looking at him, I finally replied, annoyed at his antics.

“Whatever, Potter. Let’s get this over with. I can’t stand your presence.”

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Things never seem to workout with Harry Potter.

“No Potter! You have to heat it for a minute!”

“You have to heat it for two! It’s written in my book!”

“Well, in my book it says one!”

“Well, your book is wrong, Y/L/N!”

“How can it be wrong?! It’s the school’s boo-”

“Silencio..”

I was cut off by Potter himself. My lips were moving, but no sound came out.

Potter was just looking at me with wide eyes, taken aback by his own actions, but not disappointed.

Without thinking, I took the small cauldron in front of me and spilled the contents on Potter.

It looked like the potion was harmless to the touch. It didn’t hurt the guy in any way. Unfortunately.

“Mr. Potter! Ms. Y/L/N! What is going on?!” We heard Slughorn shout.

I tried telling the professor the previous events, motioning towards Potter, but no sound came out.

I heard Potter softly chuckling at my helpless state, placing his hand on his mouth to muffle the sound.

The git is laughing at me!

“I regret to tell you but I have to give you both detention at the end of your classes, considering your actions.” Professor Slughorn informed us, shaking his head. “Sonorus.” He added while targeting his wand at me, making me finally utter some words.

“Oh, you’re so dead, Potter.”

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

“You’ll clean the classroom. Floor to ceiling. I want to come back and find it spotless. Oh, and don’t forget the cabinets. Those can be nasty sometimes. Don’t misbehave! And for the love of Merlin, don’t fight again. Please.” Professor Slughorn chuckled, leaving the classroom and closing the door, leaving me alone with Potter.

I turned around to face him, my arms crossed.

“Happy?”

“Very.” He said sarcastically.

“Let’s just clean so we can leave early.”

I started cleaning the cauldrons while Potter dusted the shelves.

After a while of dreadful cleaning, I broke the deafening silence.

“You know, I was surprised Slughorn gave you detention. I always thought he liked you more than others and let you get away with things.”

“Oh, yeah? Good thing it wasn’t Snape. He would’ve given me detention for the rest of the year and took the remaining points off Gryffindor. And he wouldn’t even bat an eye towards you!” Potter exclaimed, moving the rug around in the air to emphasize his point.

“You know, just because I’m a Slytherin doesn’t mean that Snape necessarily likes me. He hates me just as much as he hates you.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah.”

After ending up talking for a bit, without pulling each other’s hair, miraculously, we found out that we both hated Snape, even if he was my head of house, and we agreed on the fact that Trelawney can be a little crazy in the head sometimes, despite her obvious actions.

“Glad we finally agreed on something.” Potter admitted, leaning on one of the desks, finished with dusting.

“You know you’re pretty decent, after all. Not as bad as I thought.” I confessed, placing the last cauldron in the cabinet after I cleaned it.

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. After we leave this classroom, we’ll get back to the way we were before.” He looked at me, refusing to smile but ending up betraying himself. He sighed, “Just because your group of friends hates me doesn’t mean you also have t-.”

“Oh please, don’t finish that sentence. I think you just shortened my lifespan by five years from your stupidity.” Raising my eyebrows, I crossed my arms.

“I said when we leave the classroom, not right now!”

Not much romance in that one, but I liked it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[uncreative-cryptid]

yap yap yap all i do on this site is yap

anyways oc stuff i finally have his cherished items now that i have an idea of his background/story

Cherished Items

Item 1: Worn Stone

A small oval shaped stone of dark blue coloration. The stone has a few cracks on the edges, but is entirely smoothed out in the center. The stone is common and easily found, but it's glittery appearance and smoothed center seems to hold a lot of fond memories for Valerian, who occasionally seems to hold the stone in his hand and runs his thumb along the center.

Item 2: A broken Quartz necklace

A single quartz pillar, no larger than the length from the tip of his thumb to his first knuckle, bound by gold and black leather, Valerian never seems to wear it but always seems to keep it tied to his belt. When asked, he smiles and calls it his good luck charm. He doesn't seem convinced of this answer, but it is the only answer he will give.

Item 3: An old recording

A soft few plunks of piano keys can be heard, the recording sounds crackled and worn, but a soft melody can be heard playing against the occasional audio corruption. The melody is short, clunky, and followed by the soft giggle of a girl, "How was that, dad?" A warm chuckle follows after. The recording is too corrupted after this point.

[justplainwhump]

Just A Fling: Distraction

Because @wildfaewhump has amazing (hot!) characters and Dany just can't keep her hands to herself, here's another spicy AU. In which my Dany and Vic's Peyton have had nothing bad happen to them and are successful rich kids working in their parent's companies. They also happen to have insane chemistry.

[Just A Fling Masterlist]

(Don't worry though, there's plenty whump on the horizon. Peyton isn't exactly a nice guy.)

(This is technically aligned with the "Everything and Nothing" AU of Vic, focusing on Valerian as Peyton's spouse)

Content: (Very) Spicy flirting. A lot of innuendo.

Night has long fallen, and Dany leans back in the leather chair of the hotel bar, staring at the city lights far below. Young Leaders in Management, the conference is called, and it's an honor to be there; chances are a bunch of them will be in next year's "30 under 30" list of top managers. It's hard to truly believe in it, when most of them work for companies that have their parents' name.

People like Peyton Montgomery, 29, CFO of Montgomery Capital. Charlene Lennox, 26, CFO of Baxter, Lennox and partners. Orville Roscoe, 25, whose grandmother put the R in WRU. And herself, Danielle Hammond, 29, COO of the Hammond Group.

Charlene had invited her to dinner over their joint venture building up a freight airline; and as always she'd been a strenuous and utterly un-fun conversation partner, leaving Dany in desperate need of a drink after their meeting had finally ended.

A drink, and a distraction.

She pulls out her phone with a sigh, scrolling down to find the respective apps.

"What are you doing?", Kate asks, suddenly alert. Shes been half asleep before, and Dany almost feels the pang of a bad conscience. Kate is second shift of her security detail, but that still means she's been working all night.

"Bumble." Dany turns her screen for Kate to see. "I need a fuck."

"Dany," Kate groans. "Please, give me a break. You know how hard it is to vet random strangers on the internet? For all I know, any of the men in that app could be a serial killer."

"Well, what else do you suggest?"

"Look at what's right in front of you. How about..." She makes a vague gesture. "Peyton Montgomery? He's sitting at the bar and he checked your ass out twice in the last five minutes alone."

Dany glances over her shoulder through the dim light of the half empty bar, easily spotting Peyton's dark curls. He's sitting at the bar. Alone, it seems - a state that seems entirely wrong for him. At home during any social events, he's the heart of the party; him, his spouse and their elitist circle of old-money friends. She'd never felt any need to belong.

"Pretty sure your line of arguments is flawed," she notes. "Rich boys can be serial killers, too, you know."

"At least I can be sure that he isn't in it for your money." Kate shrugged and pushed her glass of water from one side of the table to the other. "Plus, he lives in the same hotel. Neither of us has to get out in the cold."

Dany sighs and looks at him again. She's attended a panel with him, earlier today, 'Cost cutting by Process Automation'. Arrogant, spoilt, pumped with the casual confidence of those who always got whatever they wanted. He's also got a pretty smile, dry humour, and a way with numbers. And she really likes the way his shirt emphasises his shoulders.

Maybe it's worth a shot.

His head goes up to the mirror over the bar and he smirks, acknowledging her stare. Slowly, not breaking eye contact, he raises his glass to his lips and takes a small sip.

Fuck.

Just for that smirk, she'd swipe him right in any app.

She breaks their eye contact and looks back at Kate, half defeated. "I'll talk to him."

Kate grins and raps her knuckles on the table. "Good luck."

~

"Dany Hammond." Peyton smiles as she steps up next to him. "Really enjoyed that debate with you today. You're up late."

"Thanks. Right back at you. Still not over your cost efficiency argumentation, though. These numbers are obviously -" She bites her lip and shakes her head. Focus. She's here to find something else entirely. "Well you're right with one thing. It's too late to talk business."

"It is." He tilts his head at the empty bar stool next to him. "Let me buy you a drink?"

Dany raises an eyebrow, stepping back to look him down slowly. His shoulders and arms under that expensive shirt look even better up close. He really is her type. "Depends on what your intentions are with that."

He chuckles and returns the favour, taking her in head to toe. "Well... I could certainly come up with some ideas for my... intentions." Peyton glances over her shoulder and raises his glass towards Kate. "I guess it all depends on what your bodyguard back there will let me do to you."

"Ah." Dany clicks her tongue in fake disappointment. "Wrong answer, rich boy."

"Oh?" He narrows his eyes, a hint of a challenge sparking in them. "Depends on what... you'll let me do to you?"

She takes a sip of her drink and tilts her head. "Better."

He's not moving for a moment, simply assessing her, and she wonders if Kate's been wrong.

"Let's say..." He begins, and something to his tone makes a warm shiver run down her spine already. His eyes are firmly on hers now, very carefully observing any reaction. "Let's assume my intentions were to fuck you over every horizontal surface of my suite?"

Dany's heart is racing with anticipation. "Hmmm." Her lip twitches into a smirk. "Then I guess you should order these drinks to go."

Peyton snaps his fingers and signals the bartender without taking his gaze off of her. "You should just know, Dany," He gives her an almost boyish grin, as the bartender scurries back to pick up a bottle. "I was prepared to properly seduce you. I'd have given you the whole nine yards. The words, the smiles, the body language, the touches. People tend to admire my effortless charm."

Dany slides from her chair, their bodies almost touching, but just not, close enough to feel the heat radiating from each other. "Oh I don't have a doubt you're a good actor", she admits, and reaches out, fingertips resting on his chest. "But haven't we found on in that debate that we both rather share a passion for..." She leans in, acutely aware of how her hair falls over his shoulder, how her breath must feel on the skin of his neck. "... efficacy."

He moves faster than she expected, his hand on her hip spinning her around, and then she's pinned between his body and the bar, and it's his mouth that is on her neck, his teeth grazing over her skin.

From the corner of her eye, she sees Kate jump to her feet.

Peyton chuckles, holds out his hand, and a cold bottle of champagne is handed to him.

"Make sure your bodyguard knows not to disturb us," he murmurs into her hair. "We're going to be making a lot of noise."

[canon-vi]

[ Ru ]

Хочу пожелать себе и Садо удачи сдать пробник по русскому, ну и пока я не задушила себя проводами пойду хлебну валерьянки и лягу спать

[ Eng ]

I would like to wish myself and Sado good luck in passing the test exam in Russian, and before I strangle myself with wires, I’ll go take some valerian and go to bed

@sadokushi

[freezegirl]

THE BIG CANON MASTERPOST* [note: if you write any of the characters mentioned, i just want to reiterate that you do not have to comply with anything written below, this is just for fun and because i love world building*]

(originally written: 17-01-2022 / version 1: 16-02-2022 / version 2: 17-12-2023 / version 3: 21-7-2024 / @theskyuniverse)

khione hima goossens (iman vellani) has lived in maxville her entire life. as have her parents. though her paternal grandparents and their ancestors came from europe and her maternal grandparents and their ancestors came from surinam, india and pakistan, respectively. khione grew up in the richer part of town, in the same neighborhood as gwen grayson, and spends her time at the maxville ice arena and ice slash snow sculpting.

her dad, evander (neil jackson) is a cryokinetic. he used to be known as the superhero permafrost but has since gone inactive - or so he clains - to focus on his acting career. he's been tapped for the 'darkstar' franchise, playing the titular character. in reality, an altercation with barron battle forced evander to hang up his cape for good.

her mom, saraswati, who's more commonly known as sara as per her insistence (jameela jamil) has hydrokinesis abilities and is a retired superhero - in solidarity with her husband - turned tv personality, being known for the fabulous lives of superhero wives. and, yes, khione has been on the show too. multiple times, in fact. it's all over tiktok and youtube and it's in the top 10 on netflix, much to her despair.

khione has inherited both her dad's cryokinesis and her mom's hydrokinesis, which means she's got a big family legacy to live up to. much like will stronghold, khione is a she's a third gen.

evander and saraswati never should have been allowed to name their only daughter. aside from huge expectations for their daughter, a tendency to manage her life, a huge dose of haughtiness, as well as loftiness and a remarkable hatred for pyrokinetics, whom they deem "beneath them" as well as "dangerous" and "destructive", evander and saraswati are a normal couple.

well, as normal as two retired supers can be.

especially if one of them has a secret.

khione may be an only child, but evander has another child out there: zach braun-springer (noah lalonde) who possesses photokinesis and an immunity towards the cold that people thought was just sheer dumb luck on his part.

this secret comes to light during zach's freshman year and khione’s sophomore year at sky high, a few months after royal pain’s rampages have largely been forgotten. the super community can change like the wind, at the drop of a hat, or a coin. it goes from loving to vicious. from soft to sharp and back again. it ruptures the marriage of khione’s parents (though they stay together instead of divorcing), and does the same to the marriage of zach’s parents as well. khione tries to keep her head above water by focusing on her classes and her friends.

sometime during her senior year at sky high, nurse spex passes away, rendering her grandson valerian - laser eyes kid - effectively an orphan. his parents died on the job and nurse spex, his grandmother, took him in. in her opinion, she’s raised the finest boy in maxville. no one had the heart to tell her that her grandson was behaving terribly. after nurse spex’s funeral, laser eyes kid takes out his grief on everyone around him, khione included. but he finds a home with mr and mrs timmerman, who end up fostering him alongside jolene hamilton (and they adopt both of them down the line).

khione manages to make it to graduation. her parents don’t show up as she walks the stage because they’re both in europe for their jobs. shortly afterwards, khione gets accepted into sky u.

in the transitional period between high school and college, the superhero world is shaken to the core when josie stronghold (nee demarco) dies. khione attends the funeral with her parents - who fly back from europe for this - and does her best to be there for will in the aftermath when his paternal grandparents fly into town.

during her first year at sky u, disaster strikes again: warren’s father, barron battle, escapes the maximum security prison. people speculate it’s an inside job. the downtown area of maxville gets turned into a disaster zone made of smoke plumes, flames and screams. khione, warren, will, layla, zach, magenta (brianne tju) and ethan are deployed to put a stop to barron's battle against the citizens of maxville.

things turn from bad to worse, however, when barron gets away and kidnaps ethan banks (jonathan daviss) who is, by far, the smartest member of khione’s friend group and it takes far longer to get ethan back than khione would have liked.

enter katherine "katie" baxter shortly after khione's second year of uni has started. she and her twin michael “mike” baxter have sound based powers. while barron has escaped prison, mike is still locked up and katie is hurt and enraged about it. she and mike have gone through some shit and now they don’t quite know how to exist without each other. katie kidnaps khione, thinking that if she presses the right buttons, the stronghold seven (or six, in this case) will pull some strings to get mike released. khione is gone for about a week and the squad gets video updates. khione's parents are informed as well and they fly back from europe immediately (though whether they are truly concerned for their daughter's wellbeing or for everything they've invested in her so far is truly anyone's guess).

while she has her, katie excessively uses her sound powers on khione who tries her hardest to fight back until she’s exhausted. when it becomes clear that khione has received training when it comes to dealing with sound based powers to the best of her ability (because of course khione’s parents would do so, even though it hurts like hell), katie realizes that she needs to press harder. so she does, promising to wean khione off of all her friends when it becomes clear that they're not going to help her get her brother back.

the stronghold seven (or six, in this case) find khione locked up inside maxwellness, a wellness and beauty centre ("for maximum wellness!”) located somewhere in maxville. katie left khione in a sauna booth with the settings way up high. after she gets out of there, she faints and it's a race against the clock to try to get her core temperature back down before she dies. this whole experience exerbates khione's existing case of claustrophobia too.

ethan and khione hang out more afterwards. they bond over their respective experiences. ethan comes out as queer. khione tells him she’s pansexual. they bond over that, too, and magenta organically adds herself into the mix when she comes out to them as bi.

both of them spend the majority of their time catching up on the stuff they missed in regards to schoolwork as well. ethan and khione also end up training together (and seperately) so that neither of them get taken against their will ever again.

khione's third year is filled with pro and anti super sentiment across the board. after supers are forced to go public when mr medulla's particle accelerator explodes, the general public has a lot to say. turns out, he hadn't really "gotten rid of that horrible weapon, forever" like he said so many years ago and kept tinkering with the reversed pacifier behind the scenes. he just couldn't help himself. medulla was certain that he was doing a good thing here: he was going to bring about advancements in (mad) science, physics and advancements in medicine. still, the consequences are long-lasting. and never before had the debate on whether supers need to hang up the cape or not, on whether "their secret identity needs to become their only identity" been fiercer.

after graduation, khione officially takes up the mantle 'skadi' amid the pro and anti super discussions and enters the field alongside the others and officially becomes part of the stronghold seven.

[synesindri]

Try the gummies with lemon balm or valerian. If that doesn’t work uhhh good luck.

ohh interesting. is this something to buy or a pairing suggestion?

i'm not optimistic about my prospects with enjoying this but hey you never know!

[dark-lina]

Continue from :

x

@a-hazbin-spider

Valerian smiled a bit sadly and sympathetically at Angelo, oh how he knew what Valentino was like, too well… sometimes to keep him away from Valeria… well he gave him tasks on the other side of town, when he did something wrong so that sometimes, he was the one who picked up moth girl from work. "What can we do… that's the way he is… but if we do well… he will be busy for some time, doing business…" he muttered quietly, pressing something into Angel's and Valeria's hands.

When they opened their palm, there were small magnets in them… which could be attached to the lining of the dress to stop it from flying up so much. "Good luck," Valerian muttered quietly, well Vox waved him his hand, it meant one thing that he had to come immediately, he was the head of security, he made sure nothing bad happened.

"Wow… all the big guys," Valeria muttered quietly, walking next to Angela, "I know many of them by sight… and some come to watch me sing," she whispered quietly. Well, Angel knew some of them as clients, he was always the one booked for the biggest events… Nowadays, however, customers seemed to keep their distance a bit and behaved much more politely.

Well, it was hard not to notice Valerian's glances from time to time, his eyes narrowing dangerously as a customer came closer to exchange a few words. "And here is my biggest star, Mr. Asmodeus… Angel Dust… the best of the best" Valetenno's voice rang like a steel bell… forcing Angel and Valeria to stop. Even in his smaller form, Asmodeus was impressive. "I've heard a lot of good things about you, Angel Dust… Valentino can't praise you enough, tell me, what's it like working with him?" Well, Ozzie wasn't looking at Valentino, but the look he was currently giving Angel was menacing and telling. "Don't screw it up… or you'll get double shifts." Valeria hid behind Angel a bit… the energy she felt from both powerful individuals was slightly overwhelming her.