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on-leatheredwings · 9 months ago

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Sleepover

Yandere! Damian Wayne x (Fem!) Reader

romantic > summary: During a sleepover, Damian makes his first foray into infatuation. > word count: 1605 > [ a/n: i just love writing from the yandere’s point of view! Damian is 19 or college-age here. honestly not much plot, just musings~ i will try to write from the Darling’s POV next time hehe.]

This must be love.

“Wow, Damian… I’ve never noticed but your nails are so pretty,” you compliment, satisfied with the boy’s upkeep. Damian feels his heart thrumming against his ribcage. You are holding his hand.

Not for the first time either, but the thrill never fades.

If this had occurred a year ago, before Damian learned of how casual (generous, even!) you were physical affection, he might have dumbly stated, “You’re holding my hand.” Instead, he simply thinks it, on loop, in one long string.

You’re holding my hand. You’re holding my hand. You’re holding my hand.

Unbeknownst to all this, you simply paint his forefinger with a stripe of green so dark it looks black.

“If we’re going to do this, it’ll be by my rules,” he had said.

In reality, if you needled him any harder, he would’ve accepted pink nails with glitter on them. Who cares? There wasn’t anyone who dared to make fun of him at school. Not to mention, it’d be obvious to everyone that you painted them. You'd be marking him as yours, essentially. And at night… well, Robin wears gloves.

“Hn. How so?” Damian asks with feigned coolness. Mainly because he wants to hear you praise him. In your hushed, awed voice. When he dreams, you often sound like that. (And he quickly pushes that thought away.)

You look at him pointedly, grinning. Oh, he’s not so slick. You acquiesce to his whims anyway.

“Your cuticles are impeccable and your nails are finely trimmed… I’m impressed. Don’t you do martial arts, too? Crazy they aren’t more dinged up.”

Martial arts. That was supposed to explain his abnormal strength and fighting capability, the one time you saw him nearly break a man’s wrist for trying to pickpocket you.

You accepted the excuse with only a little suspicion.

“It’s simple grooming.”

A catlike grin forms on your face. “Hm~ I don’t knowwww… Seems like you may be trying to catch the eye of a girl – you know, girls look at stuff like that.”

Damian frowns.

He’s infatuated but not delusional. He’s aware this ‘sleepover’ is pretty platonic on your end. After nails, it’ll be skin care. Maybe you’ll even do your makeup and take goofy pictures with him. You’ll laugh and platonically huddle against him during a movie. You may doze off on his shoulder while he’ll be committing your every dewy, moisturized pore to memory.

Because of Damian’s (self-admitted) social awkwardness with your peers, you think that gives you some sort of elder sibling-esque edge on him. You are the social butterfly, leading a naive, but well-meaning social pariah through the perils of young adult life. You don’t know you are so much more naive than he is, and he adores that.

Rather than addressing the question, he snorts. “When are you going to turn on the movie?”

You hum, completing his nail’s first coat. “Oh yeah, that’s right!” You grab the remote and press play. You continue painting, gingerly admiring his long, golden brown digits. Damian preens at the attention.

As the movie plays, you pause often to look up and gape at the screen. It’s a horror flick, and boasts an abundance of cartoonish gore. While a bit more sensational than something he’d put on, he likes your dark taste. An annoying teenager gets their head hacked off with a chainsaw. You laugh and Damian feels his heart sing.

There’s a chime that rings through Wayne Manor, and he has to bite back a groan.

“Pizza’s here!” you cheer. You begin to get up when Damian whips out his card in an instant.

“I’ll pay.” To his delight, you gape in surprise, cheeks warming.

“Oh… Thanks, Damian!” You never quite get used to him paying for things, but you at least know by now not to argue. You grab his credit card and – thank God – your fingers brush against each other. It sends the most pleasant trill down his spine. “Since you’re paying, I’ll go bring it! I won’t be long.”

A corner of his lips quirk. “I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it gets back to this room at all.” You stick out your tongue on the way out.

As soon as he hears your footsteps disappear down the hall – such clumsy, loud steps – Damian’s attention falls to the messenger bag you threw to the ground of his bedroom. He knows your diary is in there. (In his mind, he can hear you protest, It’s a journal!)

He’ll be quick. He flips open to a random page, and he already is laughing at your writing style. There’s little care for capitalizing letters and full of what you explained are “emoticons”, despite being handwritten. He flips to today’s entry, half-finished.

February 01.

there’s a guy in class who’s pretty cute… one may even say HOT xP

Damian’s jaw tightens. He knows exactly who you’re talking about, and he won’t allow that neanderthal anywhere near you. At least, not again. Yesterday, you told him that your crush had smiled at you. Brushed fingers with you when passing papers. In the only class you have without Damian.

(Also, “your crush,” he scoffs. What a juvenile concept. You and Damian share something much deeper. His feelings for you are not so trivial.)

The semester is still young. Damian can pull any string to land himself in your anthropology class.

The rest of your entry for today (and the past days prior) isn’t anything notable except for when he’s mentioned.

stressful day, but at least i have tonight with damian to cheer me up. he’s seriously the best …. i should tell him more often !!! (but it’d give him an even bigger head)

He doesn’t even attempt to stop the smile splitting his face.

Damian’s keen hearing catches you striking up a conversation with Alfred in the kitchen. Despite your promise, he knows you will, indeed, take long. You love talking to everyone, even in passing. It’s an admirable quality, and one he envies.

He unlocks your phone and rifles through some messages of yours. He uses his own phone for documentation purposes. What else is there to do… He spies your jacket on his bed.

There is a shameful thought and Damian’s heart skips a beat. It is… frankly, it’s humiliating as a concept. Yet he’s enticed. It’s your jacket, after all. He brings it to his face delicately and inhales, almost shyly. Once he catches the familiar scent of your body wash, however, he allows himself to breathe it in. After being lost in it for a few seconds, he rips it away.

Only to see his father standing in his doorframe.

He knows what this looks like. Damian knows what this looks like. After years of working with the man, Damian can hear his thoughts as if they were his own, as they happen.

Damian just smelled your clothes. Even if it was investigative in nature, he could’ve retrieved a sample some other way. Someone’s personal journal is open on the floor. A phone that he knows is not Damian’s is unlocked and displaying text messages. All these things are splayed out in a circle around him. It’s uncharacteristically messy of him, as well. Damian’s own phone is actively on his camera. Was he taking pictures? And most notable is the absence of you.

In summary? Damian must have some interest in you. And by this sloppy job, it’s quite emotionally charged. And at his age, it’s likely romantic.

Damian’s skin rises to what feels like a boiling heat. What is Father going to say? He can’t stop him – he can’t. Damian doesn’t even want to talk about it, let alone be reprimanded. A feral need to escape bubbles underneath his skin. Despite the panic, he channels years of League training and hardens himself.

Bruce watches his son’s expression morph from dazed, to fearful, to steel, in real time. From Damian’s seat on the floor he offers his father only silent defiance. Bruce knows his son, his darker needs that stem from his cruel childhood. And perhaps he should’ve expected this to happen someday. Bruce exhales, eyes closing. When they reopen, his slate-grey eyes are firm and hard.

“No one gets hurt.”

And by that, Bruce means no one dies. Because Bruce and Damian are Batman and Robin – they’re all in the business of hurting people. People who deserve it, yes, but it’s still hurt. Pain.

Damian feels immense relief. He wouldn’t have killed his father – he’s not that boy anymore. But a life without you seems similarly unbearable. Damian feels… shaken. He doesn’t know what he would’ve done. He also feels grateful, that it didn’t turn out any other way.

His eyes drop to the jacket he holds in a fist.

“... Yes. Thank you, Father.” Bruce’s gaze lingers, but he leaves wordlessly.

This encounter reminds Damian of who he is. He is a detective, vigilante, assassin, and creature of stealth. He can’t be this careless, even if he knows you won’t notice.

Damian returns your belongings to their place, exactly how you left it. Diary back in your bag, jacket to where you were lounging, your phone underneath a pillow, because you carelessly tossed it aside. You’ll inevitably begin to look for it and he’ll grin once he places it in your hand.

You finally return to his room, two pizza boxes of deluxe cheese (for him) and pepperoni (for you) in your arms. You laugh sheepishly.

“Sorry for the wait, Dami.” His heart skitters at the nickname.

“It’s fine.” Your eyes glitter with excitement and optimism and purity. He finds it hard to look away, you raining down a gaze like that upon him.

“I was waiting for you.”

#yandere damian wayne #damian wayne x reader #yandere batfam #damian wayne #yandere damian wayne x reader #wish this was better but idc #its fun to just write u know :)#mine

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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 months ago

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Private equity rips off its investors, too

I'm coming to DEFCON! TOMORROW (Aug 9), I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On SATURDAY (Aug 10), I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

It's amazing how many of the scams that have devastated our economy and everyday people owe their success to the fact that we assume that rich people know what they're doing, so if they're doing something, it must be real.

Think of how many people lost everything by gambling on junk bonds, exotic mortgage derivatives, cryptocurrency and web3, because they saw that the largest financial institutions in the world were going all-in on these weird, incomprehensible bets.

Then there are the people who are convinced that online advertising is built around a mind-control ray, because tech companies claim that's what they have ("I am an evil dopamine-loop-hacking wizard and I can sell anything to anyone!"), and because huge, sober blue-chip companies hand billions to these soi dissant svengalis. Sure, online ads are a swamp of clickfraud and garbage, but would these super smart captains of industry spend so much on online advertising if it didn't work super-well?

http://pluralistic.net/HowToDestroySurveillanceCapitalism

From our worms'-eye-view here on the ground, it's easy to assume that rich people and the people who sell them stuff are all on the same side. "If you're not paying for the product, you're the product," right? If Facebook is tormenting you with surveillance advertising, it must be doing so on behalf of the surveillance advertisers, for whom Mark Zuckerberg has bottomless reservoirs of honest, forthright impulses.

The reality is simultaneously weirder, and obvious in hindsight. The reason Zuck is tormenting you is that he's a remorseless sociopath who doesn't care who he hurts. He rips off everyone he can rip off, and that includes advertisers, who have seen steady price-hikes and lower-fidelity targeting, even as ad-fraud has skyrocketed while Facebook draws down its anti-fraud spending:

https://www.404media.co/where-facebooks-ai-slop-comes-from/

This is not to say that Facebook advertisers have your best interests at heart, that they aren't engaged in active deception in order to better themselves at your expense. Rather, it's to say that there's no honor among thieves, and Zuck is an equal-opportunity predator. Moreover, both Zuck and his advertisers are credulous dolts, so the mere fact that they are pouring money into something (advertisers: FB ads; Zuck: metaverse) it doesn't follow that these are real or important or the coming thing.

For me, the Ur-example of "rich people are dumb, even when it comes to money" is the private equity sector. I've written a lot about PE, and how destructive it is to the real economy, from Toys R Us to pet grooming:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/05/rugged-individuals/#misleading-by-analogy

How they killed Red Lobster:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/23/spineless/#invertebrates

And how they actually created the death panels that Sarah Palin warned us about (it's OK, though: these death panels are run by the efficient private sector, not government bureaucrats):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/26/death-panels/#what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-CMS

The devastating effect of private equity on the real economy is increasingly well understood, and a curious side-effect of this is that people assume that if PE is destroying their lives, they must be doing so on behalf of their investors, who are making bank.

But – like Zuck – PE bosses are just as happy to steal from their investors as they are to to steal from the workers and customers of the businesses they acquire on those investors' behalf. They swaddle this theft in performative complexity and specialized jargon, but when you strip all that away, you find more fraud.

All the misery that PE inflicts on workers, communities and customers are just a convincer in a Big Store con, a bid to make the scam seem credible. For a certain kind of investor, any economic activity that destroys communities and workers' livelihoods must be a good bet. This is the dynamic at work in the pitch of AI image-generator companies, who spend tens of billions on technology that there is no substantial market for:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/25/accountability-sinks/#work-harder-not-smarter

AI image generators represent a high-profile, extremely visible example of "a job that AI can do." Nevermind that AI illustration went from a novelty to a tired cliche in less than a year. Even if you think that AI illustrations are a perfect substitute for commercial illustrations, that still won't come anywhere near making AI companies a profit. Add up the entire wage bill for every commercial illustrator in the world, hand it to Open AI, and you're not even gonna cover the kombucha budget for Open AI's staff kitchens.

Hell, all the wages of every commercial illustrator that ever lived won't pay back even a fraction of the money the AI companies spent on image generators. The pauperization of an entire class of creative workers is just a canned demo, a way to fool investors into thinking that there is a whole universe of similarly situated workers whose wages can be diverted to AI companies. This is the logic of small-time spammers, scaled up to the scale of the entire S&P 500. Smalltime spammers looked at AI and thought, "OK, I can generate as much botshit as I want on demand for free. Science fiction magazines pay $0.10/word. So if I generate a billion words, I'll get $100 million." But that's not how any of that works: sf magazines don't buy botshit, and even if they did, the entire market for short fiction adds up to what Sam Altman spends on a single designer t-shirt. The point of destroying these beloved, useful things isn't to make a lot of money by taking their markets – it's to convince dopey, panicked rich people to give you lots of money you can steal, because they think you can do this to every market and they don't want to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/15/passive-income-brainworms/#four-hour-work-week

Take "divi recaps": after a private equity firm acquires a company (by borrowing money against its assets), it typically declares a "special dividend," emptying out the company's cash reserves and pocketing them. A "divi recap" is when PE then takes out another massive loan against the company's (remaining) assets and pockets that:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/17/divi-recaps/#graebers-ghost

All of this happens under an opaque cloud, thanks to the light-to-nonexistent disclosure rules for PE. A public company has to open its books for the SEC, its investors, and the world. PE is private – and so are its finances. It is absolutely routine for PE bosses to put their spouses, kids, and pals on the payroll and hand them millions for doing little to nothing, all at the expense of their investors:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/02/sec-set-to-lower-massive-boom-on-private-equity-industry.html

PE bosses charge huge fees to their investors – not merely the usual 2-and-20 (2% of the funds under management and 20% of any profits) – but also a wide variety of special one-off fees that pile to the sky. They also dip into their investors' funds to issue themselves massive loans that they use to make side-bets, without telling the investors about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/10/monopoly-begets-monopoly/#gary-gensler

PE investors are chickens ripe for the plucking: take "continuation funds," which allow PE bosses to soak the rich people and pension funds who supply them with billions:

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/matt-levines-money-stuff-buyout-funds-buy-from-themselves

Remember 2-and-20? 2% of all the money you manage, every year, and 20% of all the profits. You'd think that these would be somewhat zero sum, right? If you use some of your investors' cash to buy a company, and then sell off that company for a profit, you get the 20%, but now the pot of money you're managing has gone down by the amount you used to buy the company, and so your 2% carry goes down, too.

But what if you sell your portfolio companies to yourself, using your investors' own money? When you do that, you continue to hold the company on your PE firm's books, meaning you continue to get the 2% carry, and you can pocket 20% of the sale price as a "profit":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/20/continuation-fraud/#buyout-groups

This is straight-up fraud, wrapped up in so much jargon that it can successfully masquerade as "financial engineering" ("financial engineering" is really just a euphemism for "fraud"). PE bosses keep coming up with new, exotic ways to steal from their investors. The latest scam is "tax receivable agreements":

https://archive.ph/RczJ9

On its face, this is a tax scam. When a company goes public, early investors generally hold stock in the original partnership or LLC; this company ends up holding a ton of shares in the new, public company. When they sell those non-public shares in the LLC, this creates a (potentially gigantic) tax credit.

A TRA hustle involves tracking down these LLC shareholders and convincing them to sign off on dumping the LLC's shares, which generates a huge tax credit for the public company. The hustler offers to split these credits with the LLC holders.

All of this is especially attractive to PE bosses, who often take a company private, do a bunch of "financial engineering" and then take it public again, leaving the PE firm as the owner of those LLC shares that can be converted to a TRA and a huge windfall – which the PE bosses pocket, because they (not their investors) are holding those credits.

This scam is really doing big numbers. KKR – the monsters who killed Toys R Us – just diverted $650 million in TRA loot, prompting a lawsuit from Steamfitters union pension fund, which had handed these jerks millions of its members' money to gamble with:

https://archive.ph/kqQvI

This highlights another very weird aspect of the PE scam: they are absolutely dependent on pension funds. To add insult to injury, PE funds are notorious union-busters – they use union money to buy companies and destroy their unions:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/05/mr-gotcha/#no-ethical-consumption-under-capitalism

People who try to understand the PE business model often give up, because it seems to make no sense, leading many to assume that they're too unsophisticated to grasp the complex financials here. For example, PE is absolutely dependent on massive loans as a way of looting its businesses, but it also often defaults on those loans. Why do banks and investors keep making huge loans to PE deadbeats? Because – like the PE fund investors – they are credulous dolts.

The reason PE seems like a scam is that it is a scam. It is a fractal scam – every part of it is a scam. You might have heard about the "carried interest" tax loophole that allows PE bosses to avoid billions in taxes on the money they steal from their investors, creditors, workers and customers. Most people assume "carried interest" has something to do with "interest" on a loan. Nope: "carried interest" is a 16th century nautical tax rule designed for mercantalist sea-captains who had an "interest" in the cargo they "carried":

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

But rich people and other "sophisticated investors" (like pension fund investment managers) are no smarter than the rest of us. They are herd animals. When they see other rich people piling into some scheme or asset class, they rush to join them, which makes the asset price go up, which makes them think they're smart (until the inevitable rug-pull). When one plute jumps off the Empire State Building, the rest of them jump, too.

Which is why there's more money flooding into PE than at any time in history, $2.62T in "dry powder," handed over to greedy, thieving PE bosses in a poker game where everyone is the sucker at the table:

https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2di1vzgjcmzovkcea8f0g/portfolio/private-equitys-dry-powder-mountain-reaches-record-height

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/08/sucker-at-the-table/#clucks-definance

#pluralistic #tra #tax receivable asset #financial engineering #private equity #two sided markets #pe #looters #sucker at the table #kkr #debt #dry powder

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vivwritesfics · 1 year ago

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Horse Girl - LN4

High school sweethearts Lando and Y/N are very in love (she also happens to be Flo's best friend and they met through their yards) (any words you don't understand are probably just unimportant horsey terms dw about it) (also idk anything about flo's riding journey, so i made it mirror mine)

Lando Norris x reader

2.3K

"Flo," Y/N called as she appeared at the stable door. She had Gismo's bridle over her shoulder and her riding hat already on her head. "Think I borrow your martingale?"

Flo left her brush on her horses back and turned towards her friend. "I have conditions."

"Give them to me."

Flo held out her hand, checking things off on her fingers. "You clean it for me at the end of the week, you muck out for me tonight and we go on a hack."

Y/N let out a sigh. "I'm going out with Lando tonight," she said.

Being in a long distance relationship with an F1 driver wasn't easy. Y/N had to stay in England to take care of Gismo and Sooty while Lando was living in Monaco and travelling the world.

When Y/N could, she got somebody to look after the horses and spent a week with Lando in Monaco. When Lando could, he spent the week at Y/N's, visiting his family and watching her ride.

Y/N tried to spend as much time over the summer and winter breaks with him. But this year Y/N began competing Gismo. Lando travelled with her when he could during her competitions. He always had his camera with him, posting her on the jpg account.

Lando and Y/N had been friends for a bloody long time. When Flo started riding lessons, she was stuck behind a girl on a fat little pony that refused to do more than a walk. When their lesson activity had them riding side by side, Flo and Y/N became fast friends.

They went from a weekend lesson together to being at the yard every single day. They loaned the same horse, Y/N riding him for half of the week and Flo riding him for the other. Most of the time they'd be there on the same day, mucking out his stable together and cleaning his tack together. On Flo's day's to ride, Y/N was the one who sorted the jumps and picked up the shit.

When they were younger, when they'd spend all day at the stables, Y/N would sleep over at the Norris house. Flo lived closer to the yard so it just made sense.

Staying at the Norris house meant meeting Flo's big brother. Y/N had heard stories of him before, stories of his karting and his dreams of being in F1.

And then Y/N met Lando. He was the kind of boy who, when Y/N slept over, he wouldn't leave them alone. He was the annoying big brother that stopped by to make a comment on the film they were watching, steal some of their snacks and run off to play his PlayStation.

When they were teenagers, Y/N fifteen and Lando seventeen, things changed. He kept on with that whole annoying big brother image until he was around fifteen. And then he didn't care about teasing the girls - he was too busy winning in F3.

But at seventeen, he started to see Y/N a little differently. She was fifteen, almost sixteen when she watched him win around Silverstone. When he saw her afterwards, he saw her in a new light. Maybe it was that post win haze. But no, because the feelings didn't go away.

Lando waited two and a bit years before he made a move. He was in F2, then, waiting to take his place on the McLaren F1 team. Y/N and Flo were show jumping at the lower levels and Flo was Y/N's show groom for when she tried her hand at eventing.

Lando came up with every excuse in the book to join Y/N and Flo when they went eventing. He offered to drive the trailer for them, offered to groom and tack up Sooty for her. Of course, Lando had no idea what he was doing when it came to grooming and tacking up.

Flo was heavily judging her brother, but she let him come with them. He stood by the trailer, feeding Sooty mints while Y/N and Flo tacked up.

Before Lando entered F1, he knew he had to make his move. Y/N had agreed to help Flo with her horses for the night while she was off doing something unknown. It was November and Lando had just turned 19. It was now or never.

Lando made his way down to the stables. It was dark and freezing, the stables lit by floodlights. Y/N had mucked out Flo's horses and had moved onto hay. Her own horses hadn't yet been taken care of; she could deal with them once she was done with Flo's horses. Lando walked across the yard, trying to avoid getting mud on his shoes. "Y/N?" He called, looking from stable to stable.

Y/N emerged from a barn. She was in her black riding pants, mud splashed up the side. The mud disappeared under her coat and she wore a knitted beanie on her head. "Lando? What're you doing here?" She asked as she walked out of the barn with hay in her arms.

Lando let out a laugh when he saw the mud up her side. "Did you fall off or something?"

She let out a laugh as she threw the hay over the stable door. "Yeah, Sooty decided there was a gremlin hiding in the corner of the arena and freaked out," she answered as she bolted the stable door shut.

With Flo's horses done, Y/N started looking after her own. As she mucked out, Lando talked to her and gave Gismo attention. "So, McLaren, huh?" Y/N asked as she moved Gismo away from the stable door. "You excited?"

"You know it, baby!" Lando cheered. But his cheeks flushed with embarrassment and he scratched at the back of his neck. "Are you gonna come to any of my races?"

"Yeah I'll go with Flo."

But that wasn't what Lando meant. He cleared his throat and rocked on his heels. "What if Flo doesn't go to any? Will you?"

Y/N stopped and put her broom against the stable wall. She crossed her arms over her coat and turned towards her best friends brother. "What are you trying to say, Lan?" Because there was clearly something he wasn't getting across.

Lan. He loved it. He loved when Y/N called him Lan. He somehow went even more red as he looked at her. "I want you to come to my races with me, whether Flo is there or not."

Y/N's eyes went wide. "Oh holy shit, Lan. I'd love to." She looked back at Gismo. "But I can't. Not when I've got these guys."

"Let me take you on a date then, before I go."

That was five years ago. Now, everybody was waiting for the couple to get engaged.

They were in the process of trying to move in together, but that meant Y/N moving the horses with her. Trying to find a stables just outside of Monaco that wasn't over the top expensive seemed too be an impossible task. Lando was happy to pay any amount of money to have his girlfriend and the horses there with him.

But Y/N didn't want to do that. She didn't want to have to rely on Lando to pay for everything. She was going to make it to Monaco, to be there with him, on her own.

Until then they were stuck with the odd date night whenever Lando could come back to England. If Y/N could, she paid somebody to look after Sooty and Gismo while she went to Monaco or to the odd race.

"Is he meeting you here?" Asked Flo as they walked across the stables, towards where they kept their equipment.

Y/N nodded her head. "Should get here just before I'm done with Gismo," she answered. "Pretty good timing if you ask me."

Lando was an incredibly supportive boyfriend. He had to be, with Y/N supporting his Formula One career. Whenever Lando could he came to one of her shows. No matter if she was eventing or jumping or doing dressage, Lando was watching with his camera.

Flo let out a sigh as she passed the martingale to Y/N. "You know, it might actually be nice to see him," she said as she and Y/N made their way back over to the horse.

Y/N quickly got herself and Gismo ready. She led him out to the arena and mounted. She rode him around the arena, warming him up and sending him flying over jumps as she waited for her boyfriend to appear.

Boyfriend. It had been weird saying that at first. After he and Y/N had their first date Lando was whisked away into the world of Formula One. They called a lot in that time, but it was strange. Their dynamics had changed but they weren't together yet.

It was a while before they got to have a second date.

A month after the second they had their third. That was when Lando officially asked her to be his.

That was five years ago.

As soon as Lando turned up to the stables, he knew white trainers had been a mistake. Actually, bringing such an expensive car had been a mistake. But, he got out anyway, locked it, and walked to where he knew he would find his girlfriend.

Lando was in awe every time he watched her ride. He couldn't tear her eyes away as she sent Gismo flying over the jumps, throwing her hands forward to let his neck stretch.

Lando had sat on Gismo before. He was the calmer of the two horses, the only one Y/N trusted to take care of Lando.

When Y/N finished jumping and brought Gismo back down to a trot, Lando clapped. Once upon a time he had whistled for her, but Sooty had spooked and Y/N had fallen off. Lando hadn't done it since.

"Lan!" Y/N called as she steers Gismo towards him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," said Lando as Gismo put his head over the fence, searching him for treats. When he discovered Lando didn't have any, he resorted to getting attention instead. "Missed you as well, Gremlin."

Y/N took two minutes to cool Gismo down before she jumped off. She took him back to the stable and untacked him in record time, all while Lando watched. It was incredible watching her do the thing she loved, he realised. She must've felt the same way about him.

As soon as she was done, it was time for date night. Y/N finally managed to wrap her arms around Lando, holding him close. "You're gonna stink of horses," she said as Lando squeezed her even tighter.

"I don't care," he answered before he kissed her.

Keeping one arm around her waist, Lando walked her out to the car. Her boots were muddy on his cars interior, but Lando didn't care. She could have walked shit into his car and he wouldn't have cared.

"I brought that dress you like," Lando said. Before he'd gotten to the stables he'd stopped at Y/Ns apartment to get something for her to wear.

"You're the best, Lan," she said as she sorted the music.

I won't bore you with the details of their drive to their drive to the restaurant. Once they pulled up in the car park Y/N tried her best to get dressed in the not very spacious car, since their was no way she was getting in in her state. She combed her fingers through her hair, brushing out any hay.

"Goddamn," said Lando as she stepped out the car. Y/N slipped her hand into his and she walked in.

The restaurant was nice, rather fancy. The pair shared a candle-lit Italian dinner, with music playing softly in the background. Y/N listened eagerly as Lando spoke about his last race. "I really wish you were there, though," he muttered as he finished his dinner. "I can't wait for you to move to Monaco."

"I know, Lan. I can't wait either," she replied. They were making progress. Y/N had found a stables near enough by and it wasn't too pricy. She had a key to Lando's apartment, where she was staying for the weekend while he was away at another race.

As soon as they were finished eating, Lando asked for the bill. "No dessert?" Y/N asked with a frown. Lando loved his dessert, but today he was rushing.

"Nope," Lando answered as he paid. "My trainer would kill me."

As soon as he had paid, Lando escorted Y/N out of the restaurant. He walked her over to the car, stopping half way to do up his laces.

"Thanks for tonight, Lan," she said as she turned towards him.

But, when she did, Lando wasn't doing up his laces. He was down on one knew, an open ring box in his hand. Inside of the ring box was, well, a ring. It was simple, a band with a small stone, just the way Y/N liked it. "I know we haven't moved in together yet, but I really wanna marry you."

There was a moment where Y/N couldn't answer him. She was in complete and utter shock. The only talks of marriage had been tabloid speculation, no indicators from Lando himself. "Holy shit, Lan," she said, because that was all she could say.

It wasn't a question of whether Y/N wanted to marry him. Of course she did. She wanted that more than anything.

"Holy shit Lando Norris. Of course I'll marry you."

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cupid-ghoul · 8 months ago

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ghouls have fur and toe beans

that means they probably clean the spaces in between their toes like cats do

ghouls groom themselves and each other to bond and for comfort

that means there will be hair balls

can you imagine you're a sibling sneaking through the ministry at night and hear the typical cat hacking sound only to see swiss on all fours on the ground, his body doing the 🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗 , dry heaving and hurling up a huge hair ball

after that he just scurries off and you're left in the dark hallway with a hairball the size of a golf ball

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kiame-sama · 1 month ago

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Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x fem!Reader) Monster AU pt 13

(Malleus has a full dragon form that is much larger than his Humanoid form, though he rarely uses it. The few times Malleus uses his draconic form is in combat and to hold his Hoard. As a Dragon, he receives comfort from having his Hoard with him and being able to shield his entire Hoard with his own body. In combat Malleus has less control over himself as he only really fights when there is no other choice or he is enraged enough to turn his fangs and flames on the offending party. The only time Malleus would ever deign to be in his Draconic form outside of combat or comfort would be if the members of his Hoard request it of him.)

Warnings: yandere, yandere behavior, protective behavior, aggressive behavior, cursing, poachers, case made for both sides, threats, shinigami vs dragon conflict, platonic yanderes vs platonic yandere vs romantic yanderes, Cervitaur, Crow, Shinigami, Dragon, Raiju, Vampire Bat, mention of Water Nymph, more history of my AU,

~~~~~~~~

You woke up in an increasingly familiar way with your face snuggled up in the fur between Silver's shoulder blades. The warmth was tempting to give into as the rest had been deep and peaceful, but you wondered where the others had gone. Slowly lifting your head you hummed and snuggled the warm Cervitaur. Grim was laying in the space of your neck with his tail curled over his nose.

"Ah, you're awake."

"Mhh, Silver? Where did everyone go?"

"... Lord Hades has arrived and wished to speak with you, but Lord Malleus insisted he have the chance to speak his case first. Father and Sebek have gone with him. The Headmage insists we do not interrupt the conversation and tells me they will reach out when they have finished speaking."

You sighed and lay back where you had been sprawled across the Reindeer's back, cuddling your cat friend close. Concern colored your outlook on things and you wondered if you were going to be taken away from the home you had made at the school. If push came to shove, you preferred the hell you knew over the hell you didn't.

There was a part of you that wanted to say 'screw it' and invite yourself into the conversation being had over your future, as you should have greater say than anyone else on the matter. Another part of you wondered if it was best to let Malleus deal with the situation as the Dragon was likely better versed in political talks. You weren't entirely sure what Hades was like other than what you had been told, but you hoped he would be as understanding as you needed him to be.

It was during this thinking that you realized it had been a few days since you were last able to bathe in the comfort of your home. Where you had been cleaned up after the attack and magically cleaned to go to classes, it still didn't sit well with you that you hadn't been able to take care of your own cleanliness and grooming. If anything, a nice shower to scrub off the day seemed quite tempting and may help you clear your mind to have some time alone.

Still, you couldn't get there by yourself due to your still aching leg and tender arm. To think, you had been hacked with a Headsman's Axe and stabbed with a serrated blade within days of each other. Even so, the idea of having time to yourself to just relax in some hot water was a tempting one.

"Silver, I want a shower. Can we go back to Ramshackle?"

"Of course."

Silver carefully got up, keeping you and Grim in place on his back. Luckily the blanket you had been using was small enough that Silver could just take it with you. You didn't even have to adjust as he got down from the large nest, both you and Grim still cozy beneath the blanket. Part of you was tempted to just slip off into sleep again as the rhythmic click of his hooves on the ground served as a fine melody.

Students who lived in Diasomnia only spared a quick glance in your direction before getting out of Silver's way. All of them acutely aware of how seriously their dorm leader took your safety and how seriously Silver would take your safety as a result. Some were curious, but none dared to approach or bother the Cervitaur for their curiosity.

All you wanted was that bit of time alone and felt almost happy to know Silver was a natural deterrent for the curious students. Grim had yet to wake, even with being jostled and continued to nap in your arms as you lay across the Reindeer's back.

~•§•~

"So as you see, Lord Hades, though it is not an ideal arrangement, it would be improper to remove her from where she is comfortable and a crime to threaten the removal of a Hoard member of a Dragon."

The large Shinigami contemplated these words in silence, his tired eyes far too alert and sharp for comfort. Though this was an ancient being, even the weathering of time could not take away the razor sharp intelligence and strong morals from the Shinigami. Time could rob him of everything else, but it would never rob him of his wits and strength.

Despite being in his smaller form, the Shinigami towered over the others and was just as intimidating as he would be in his original large form. When the Shinigami moves others get out of his way.

"And this talk of poachers?"

"She would be threatened by poachers everywhere regardless of who it is protecting her. Better she be somewhere she is comfortable than take her somewhere new and still have to face the dangers of poaching."

"She would not be under such threat on the Isle of Woe."

There was truth in the Shinigami's words as the ancient being was solely in control of who entered his lands or not. The Isle was the only place that poachers would not be able to infiltrate regardless of effort or time dedicated. It was the ideal safe-space for a species that had already gone extinct such as Humans.

"Yes, she would be."

Malleus' interruption was odd as the Dragon was usually well spoken towards those of equal or greater standing than himself. Naturally, Hades was of the mind that everything the Dragon says should be taken with his own personal attachment to the Human in mind.

"How do you figure, child?"

"You cherished Humans and protected them before they died out, many of your kin did not. Who's to say that your own kin won't turn on her themselves? Young Ortho's disabilities are the direct result of Shinigami turning against family. Who's to say others won't do the same?"

"You make a vaild point, but the truth still stands; this is not a safe enough place to keep the last member of a contested species. All attempts at maintaining any semblance of safety have been thwarted by poachers looking to line their pockets."

"Then make it one."

"Speak again, child, I don't believe I understood you properly the first time."

"You say it isn't safe enough for her to stay here? Then make it safe for her. She is happy enough here and finds comfort in the presence of those she has befriended. If you can't do that much and insist on taking her from here, my Hoard and I will follow where she goes."

Hades actually cracked a smile at this, pleased with the Dragon's determination to keep and protect the Human in question. He had previously figured the young Dragon was only acting on instinct to keep that which was selfishly Hoarded away by a beast whose wings were too small for his ego. Now he could see that the Dragon was willing to uproot his own comfort to follow where his beloved Human goes regardless of how the choice panned out.

"You are determined to keep her, this is clear. How can I trust your Hoard won't turn on her either?"

"We have slept in the same nest since my child of man arrived at Night Raven. Lilia, my own teacher and first Hoard member, has guarded myself long enough for me to know his feelings on the matter. Silver and Sebek are my retainers and have acted as such for (Y/n) since her arrival. Sebek is newer to the Hoard, I conceed that, but he is no less protective of her."

Hades hummed at this, turning to look at two of the mentioned Hoard members. The Vampire Bat was a familiar face and Hades himself had heard of the Bat before. The Raiju was not a familiar face, but it was clear by the way he stood that he was currently standing on guard for the Dragon he protected. As humorous as it was to think a Dragon needed protection from anything, the Raiju clearly took the task seriously and even tried to stare down the elder Shinigami.

"Tell me, child, do you know why Humans need to be protected?"

"They are fragile and magicless."

"Yes, but do you know the way other species interact with Humans and why it can be so dangerous?"

"I don't believe I follow."

Hades stood now, his hands clasped behind his back as he walked to one of the windows nearby and looked out at the campus. He knew much of Humans, having been the primary benefactor and protector of the species he loved so deeply. There were many truths lost to time about the soft species, but Hades still remembered it as clear as the day he first encountered the odd simian-species.

"Humans are addictive. I don't mean in a poetic way either, Humans are truly addictive to many species. To the species that befriended them, Humans became an emotional addiction due to their own ability to cover their emotions and even model their emotions around those among them. To the species that ate their flesh, they were physically addictive and drove many- such as the early Gnolls- into a hunger driven state of madness that could only be curbed by partaking in consumption. For those that loved them and embraced them as mates, the very feel of their bodies and the emotional support they provided became addictive. Why do you think so many Fae were in such a state of mourning after the extinction of Humans? Why do you think so many Unicorns are desperate to have a Human in their life? Why do you think I took so much of my own time and resources to shelter them in my home?"

He now turned back to the group that watched him curiously, his old eyes noticing the way the Bat Fae averted his gaze. The Bat knew the addictive qualities of Humans and still sought to be around this new Human because it harkened back to his memories of Humans long since departed. Lilia had first-hand experience of how addictive it was to stay in the presence of a Human and be shown the coveted affection of those Humans. Despite the threat of addiction to this new Human, Lilia casually sauntered into forming a friendship and potentially more with the Human and knowingly allowed himself to be pulled in.

"Your teacher knows of what I speak. I know this addiction well and I know others are susceptible to it. Even you, in all your magic and power, are subject to the Human caused addiction. I would see Humans brought back to this world and treated properly by all in Twisted Wonderland, but many would see the destruction of this last Human to be the end of an age of obsession. Even now, we cherish and cling to the remnants of a species that was too weak to survive among us on their own, yet too treasured to be forgotten."

He moved back around the long conference table and towards the Dragon who tried so hard to convince him to keep the Human. There were many variables and this Human was certainly a treasure among treasures, but would the Dragon be able to stop himself from becoming addicted as well, or would he saunter into it the same way his teacher and advisor had?

"Can you say with confidence that you can protect her from the many addicts looking for their next fix? Can you assert that you can keep her safe from those that crave her very presence and flesh because of their driven need for her? Can you swear to me that your own addiction will not cloud your judgement to make decisions in her best interest and not your own? If you can, I will aid you in her protection. If you can't, I will remove her from the situation she has unknowingly entered and you will not see her again. Even if I must declare war on Briar Valley to do so, I am still able to say with certainty what would be best for her as a Human in a world of addicts. So, what say you, little Dragon prince? Can you swear to me that all you say is true?"

"..."

~•§•~

Your shower was much needed and felt like it washed off more than just the weight of the day. Silver insisted on getting you a stool to sit on so you wouldn't strain your leg by standing on it and insisted on keeping guard outside the door. The time alone was a relief as at least the Cervitaur respected your request for privacy.

Ortho had been thrilled to see you again and wanted to show you all he and Idia had done to improve your home, only backing off when you promised to take a look once you were done bathing. Luckily for you, the Shinigami was quick to agree and even tried apologizing to you for involving his ancestor the way he did. Grim assured you he would take a look at all the new things added to your home while you bathed and tell you if it was satisfactory or not.

Idia was thrilled to have the little cat-beast volunteer as it was clear the Shinigami was fond of felines. You felt comfortable enough to let the Shinigami brothers keep an eye on Grim while you bathed.

Now, as you dried off, rewrapped your wounds, and pulled on the clothes Silver left out for you, you felt more at peace with the situation you found yourself in. The clothes you were given were actually unfamiliar, as you didn't remember having the loose fit pants or the flowy shirt in your wardrobe, but you didn't have much in your wardrobe anyway. You vaguely wondered if you could convince Malleus and another Housewarden to accompany you to find clothing more your style. Of course, this also meant that you had to aquire enough funds to purchace the clothing you wanted.

"(Y/n)," Silver knocked on the bathroom door, "you've gone quiet. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking."

"Do you need assistance wrapping your bandages?"

"Nope. I'm fine."

"Let me know if that changes."

You sighed softly, knowing it would be rare to have time to yourself but also knowing there was reason behind the almost intrusive protective behavior of those around you. If those Wolves had managed to learn about your collar enough to remove them during the attack, then others would no doubt have the same advantage. In some ways you cursed the Water Nymph for his stupid act of telling the world about you, but in some ways you recognized that if he hadn't done it someone else likely would have. He just had the misfortune of doing it first.

When you emerged from the washroom, you were not too surprised to see Silver laying outside the door. He had taken to laying down in order to help you climb onto his back as you still technically weren't supposed to walk around without aid just yet. Even as you climbed onto the back of the Reindeer, he was careful when he stood as he didn't want to jostle you too much.

"Hooman!"

Grim called out, jumping from the banister railing across from you and up into your arms. The little beast didn't seem overly upset or bothered, so you figured he just missed you. If anything, your view of Grim had become rather motherly as it was clear the young cat-beast had taken a shining to you and sought you out for comfort.

"Flames has something he wants to talk with us about. I think you should hear him out because he's actually kinda smart and the things he says don't really make sense but are good enough to believe!"

The softest of chuckles escaped you as Silver began carefully making his way down the staircase to the main common area of the dorm. You assumed that was where Ortho and Idia were waiting for you, as that was the main hub where they set up most of various device feeds to display. New curtains added over the large windows of the room had been drawn to block out a good portion of natural light. Screens were shoved wherever they would fit and all seemed to be displaying something different.

Both brothers were sitting on your couch and holding controllers, playing what seemed to be a cooperative two person game. When Silver walked in, Idia was quick to pause the game much to Ortho's dismay before he noticed you as well.

"Nee-san!"

Ortho cheered and hopped up, only the slightest stiffness in his mechanical limbs giving away his more limited range of motion. Idia stood, holding one arm and biting the sleeve of the other as you approached. It was clear the Shinigami was still nervous around you, but he seemed less stressed than he had been when you first met him.

"Hey, (Y/n), you- uh... You alright?"

"Been better."

"I figured after everything that happened... I do want to say sorry for not protecting you enough. We got assigned as your guards and you were injured that very first day. Absolute fumble on our part."

Idia sighed, letting go of his sleeve and somewhat swaying as he tried to avoid locking eyes with you. He was clearly anxious, but still trying to talk to you directly despite that feeling of stress inside of him.

"Well, I don't wanna drop this bomb on you too quickly, but we need to talk about those poachers."

"What's there to talk about? They're dead."

"But the one who hired them isn't."

"What?"

Idia gestured awkwardly to the couch as if he wanted you to sit first. Silver was quick to help you off of his back and onto the soft cushions, standing guard nearby despite not needing to in the comfort of your own dorm.

"I have reason to believe someone high up is trying to game the system an put a hit out on you. Real scumbag no-GG full of themselves type person."

"Wait, why do you think someone hired the Wolves?"

Idia turned to the large screen- a new addition among many others likely made by the brothers- and tapped what seemed to be a blue hologram keyboard in front of him. You were somewhat entranced by the movement of his flame hair and magic now that you could see both on clear display in front of you. The gemstones on his cheeks caught the light of his hair and almost made the Shinigami glitter in the low light of the room. He was surprisingly beautiful.

"I was reviewing the information about your attack and noticed some things. I hope it doesn't freak you out, but I have cameras all over Night Raven College and even a few in the forests. I don't- I can't really- I have issues with others and interacting with them. That's why I don't go to my classes, I just record them and show up for tests..."

He glanced at you then back at the screens again, his grey toned skin almost seeming to have a bit more color to it while he spoke to you.

"Those poachers went after Grim first. The one you value most and the one out of the two of you who can use magic. Then they went after your collar which tells me they knew the purpose it serves. Only those told about the collars should have known what purpose they served."

"So did one of the Housewardens hire them?"

"I thought so at first, but then I realized Headmage Crowley had to tell the various scientists and representatives what steps he was taking to ensure your safety. Looking at the lists of those who have come to Sage Island, I found more than a few whose theories on Humans would be called into question by your existence. To them, it would be better if you were gone. There were even a few who may have political motivations and that's why they hired the more beastly appearing Wolves to hunt you down instead of any other species. On top of all of this, they knew to drive Leona away from the school and deeper into the woods. You would have died of your injuries before you reached the villages and towns in the valley below the school."

"Okay, so why didn't they know about Malleus then?"

"It's kind of an unspoken rule among the Fae variants that one should not tell anyone another Fae's business. Headmage Crowley is a Crow Harpy Fae, he wouldn't dare say anything about another Fae. The Housewardens know Malleus has taken you as a Hoard member. The representatives and scientists? They would have no clue. The Wolves didn't know about Malleus and they were killed for it, but they knew about your collars."

You were surprised and shocked by the logical conclusions of the Shinigami and it did make sense. It had bothered you that the poachers knew about your collar, but you had avoided thinking about them and only now realized how odd it was they knew about them.

"None of the students here have a reason to hire the poachers. I did suspect that Water Nymph Cater for it at first, but that guy is a wreck right now and hasn't posted on Magicam since the day he took those pictures of you. He's way too deep in his feels to have hired the Wolves and he had a mental breakdown when he heard you were attacked. Talk about trying to tank when you main dps."

"Crowley said the representatives are going to come to Night Raven soon and talk about my safety at the school..."

"So they probably planned the attack to make Crowley look incompetent and get rid of you in one swoop. I've already told Papa Hades about it and he agrees that someone is controling the poachers behind the scenes. That's why he's here now. If we can find the one who hired the poachers, we can prove this whole thing is a sham to get to you or Crowley."

"So he doesn't want to take me away?"

"He does think you'll be safer on the Isle of Woe, but Papa Hades isn't an idiot or cruel. He wouldn't go against your wishes even for his own peace of mind unless he thought it would save your life. Try to cut the old man some slack, he did love Humans, you know? He has been asking about you since the moment Ortho told him you were here."

"Papa Hades?"

"It's- he prefers to be called that as our ancestor and his Humans used to call him that. Honestly, it would mean the world to him if you called him 'Papa Hades' as well. Just so you know."

You stood in silence for a moment before there was a heavy knock at the door. Silver was quick to trot over and answer it himself instead of letting you walk to the door to answer it. He seemed to have a quick word with whoever it was before someone very similar to Idia entered with Crowley, Malleus, Lilia, and Sebek.

"Hello, little one."

#kiame-sama #yandere #x reader #yandere x reader #reader insert #tw yandere #humans are extinct twst au

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blushcoloreddreams · 3 months ago

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Perfume IS an essencial: Here’s 4 reasons why

Good Afternoon Dear Reader! Happy Saturday directly from Argentina

Before we dive into today's topic, I wanted to talk briefly about why these "practical" and lighter and style blog posts are JUST as important as the heart-felt blogs on heavier topics and more practical ones like organization, cooking and cleaning tips

This blog is a place where I am trying to gather useful information to help us grow as feminine women, whether that is in our hearts, our homes, our lives, or even in our own skin. I believe in a well-rounded growth perspective: I am trying to improve many areas of my life, even if they are just practical and simple.

So today I wanted to talk about one of these more "practical and simple" topics: perfume.

At first glance this topic can seem kind of boring, like "yeah, no one likes smelling bad, so wear perfume, DUH." But I think perfume is so much more than that!

I believe that a spritz of perfume can actually improve your day, your confidence, and your overall aura as a feminine woman.

***DISCLAIMER: I know that smells can trigger allergic reactions in people, and there are actually fragrance-free zones such as certain churches or work environments. Do not break those rules just to follow my advice LOL!

The women jn my life were always had a passion from perfumery and I remember using it even as a child, but I only started being interested in it during my teenage years and in the past my interest and collection only grew. But I remember that during times of intense sadness in my life, I understand that something simple as even filling in your eyebrows can be a completely exhausting task! So much personal care falls off your daily routine when you can't handle what life is throwing at you and I think that adding perfume to your routine can be an easy way to elevate your grooming.

In order to really stick to this habit, I decided to focus on WHY I should wear perfume. So here we go! This may convince you too.

1. Perfume Adds LUXURY To Life

I know what some of you may be thinking: "I'm just at home, and deodorant is good enough for me!" or "I'm just in an office chair, why do I need to smell amazing?" and finally, "I'm just going to work out later so it doesn't matter!"

You know what I say to all those reasons?

You are an amazing woman and you deserve to have a little extra luxury in your day, even if you are behind a vacuum, a computer, or a treadmill.

Most of us aren't going to be lounging on a velvet chaise with champagne and a cashmere blanket wrapped around us tonight anyways! We're not living that lux life, so why not add extra luxury into our days?

When you're vacuuming the house or reading through spreadsheets, it can be easy to feel like cinderella BEFORE she went to the ball. A fragrance reminds you that you are an elegant, feminine WOMAN, and that you are WORTHY of a little luxury.

So pick up a fragrance you love, (doesn't have to be costly,) and indulge! You are WORTHY of that extra 10 seconds on yourself.

2. Perfume Can Make You HAPPIER!

So today I was spritzing on some body spray when I realized that I had a soft smile on my face. Seriously: I was just smiling to myself! Sol de Janeiro cheirosa 71 (my newest obsession! ) evokes a reaction of pleasure: it makes me smile.

Do you remember learning about the senses in school? They can evoke emotion, thoughts, feelings, and action. Touch can make you take action when you feel pain. Taste evokes pleasure when you encounter delicious food. Likewise, smell can evoke pleasant emotion or distaste.

If there was a little life hack that could have you smiling 2 more times a day than you already do, wouldn't you do it? Fragrance is SUCH simple way to accomplish this!

And a bonus? When you smell good, other people notice! I LOVE when my husband tells me I smell good, or when a friend goes in for a hug and comments that she loves the smell I'm wearing. Smelling good feels GOOD!

3. Perfume Helps You Get in Touch With FEMININITY

When I was a kid, Id watch every morning my mom and grandma get ready and wear their favorite perfumes ( that I have the smell in my memory to this day). I made a promise to myself that when I became a woman at the age of I would begin doing 3 things EVERY DAY: wearing lipstick, carrying a stylish purse, and wearing perfume.

I think I knew, even as a child, that perfume was for women. Full grown, feminine, gracious, beautiful women. Adding fragrance to your routine is a way of stepping into that feminine womanhood and embracing yourself.

Perfume can also be especially helpful for women who are kind of uncomfortable with their femininity. You can begin exploring the possibilities with just a small change. Add a bit of mystery, femininity, sweetness, or glamour to ANY outfit. Elevate your look and tip toe into femininity with a fragrance. Pair a ponytail and sneakers with some vanilla body spray: you might be surprised at how it makes you smile!

4. Perfume Helps You EXPRESS Yourself

I truly believe that the sense of smell is neglected in our modern culture. We are MUCH more focused on the visuals of our beauty routine: hair, fashion, makeup, etc. And why? Well, you can't smell a picture on Instagram! Why invest in something so small when no one can really experience it? Who cares about smell?

Well, maybe we SHOULD care! When you meet someone, you are taking them in through a lot of the senses: a firm handshake, the visuals of their face, the way their voice sounds, and yes, THEIR SMELL!

When you go out into the world, think about the entire picture of you as a person: your smell, your style, your "vibe." What is your overall aura? Perfume can help you add a dimension of creative expression to your overall vibe and style. Express yourself!

***Bonus tip: Hydration is essential for perfume performance and it starts from the inside by drinking enough water and continues with applying lotion before your perfume. (Even better if you can do it post shower when your skin is still a bit damp). Some people also apply a small bit of vaseline or petroleum jelly to your wrists and neck (the pulse regions) before you spray. It helps your scent last longer!

And closing, perfume can add luxury to our day, help us feel happy, help us get in touch with femininity, and allow us to express ourselves! What's not to love?

xoxo

Júlia

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