#hope i caused no offense as that really wasn't my intention

[gatheringkeepsakes]

I think a lot of this is just a result of media illiteracy these days. People want things spoon fed to them. I can't count the number of times I've seen people compare this show against something like My Hero Academia which reintroduces it's titular characters and their abilities to the audience every few episodes.

Viewers these days don't like subtext. They want to be told exactly what's going to happen and when something defies expectations without loud enough warnings, they get upset. RWBY does set up for its tone shifts regularly, it's just subtle in its approach that those victim to the "sometimes the curtains are just blue" mentality refuse to pick up on. Or just don't know how to.

From the start, we are given ample hooks into something more going on. Silver eyes, Ozpin as the man behind the curtain with many secrets, Cinder being a bigger bad we're waiting to reappear for the entire volume, it being pretty clear she's not the head of this plan either once she does get reintroduced, etc.

RWBY has a structure that it's followed consistently since the start. Each arc is three volumes; the first two establish the main setting and conflict for that specific region, and the third flips the story on its head.

Beacon starts with the introduction to Vale, the world, our heroes, and their daily lives. Then the tone shifts in V3 with many mysteries being uncovered and the big bad being revealed. But there are still mysteries to be uncovered. Like what Salem's motive is, how she knows Ozpin, and why she's talking to him as if he didn't just die under a scorched pile of rubble.

Mistral arc is the aftermath of tragedy, the travelling to and saving of Haven, and the reintroduction of Oz through Oscar. We get vague reasons for how Oz reincarnates, and even when he tells his story to RNJR, there are constant reminders from characters like Yang implying he's not giving the whole truth. That the audience shouldn't completely trust him. Then in v6, we get that tone shift from The Lost Fable.

Atlas is the same. Two volumes to try and save the kingdom, a third where we find out even more lore about the story - the world, the gods, AND our first concrete look into the mystery of Summer Rose's disappearance.

I agree that the marketing for this show has not been good and is still pretty awful if we're being honest. It doesn't help that Certain Videos on YouTube have literal millions of views talking about how awful the show is despite rarely knowing what they're actually talking about, it keeps a lot of people away just by word of mouth. Rooster Teeth as a company does not foster the best tone for its fanbase in general either, but I'm not going to get too deep into that.

The issue despite these things is that people engage with RWBY as if it's some big corporate IP when it's essentially an indie webcomic that just managed to get animated. I'd also argue that while the original descriptions for RWBY being an attempt at trying to make their own shounen, that is more of a demographic target than one specific genre. I've seen folks compare this show to long running fantasy novels from the 80s where they often start with low stakes school settings, then through trials, tragedies, and escalation, end up raising the stakes to fighting gods and then some. I'd also argue it follows a lot more of the subverted magical girl tropes as a subgenre than anything. Madoka Magica is a great example, same with things like Revolutionary Girl Utena.

As for not doing a good enough job to show it's a subversion... 6 out of the 8 main characters being girls in a "shounen" demographic series, is in and of itself our first clue towards this. Of the 2-3 male characters within the main eight, all three of them (Jaune, Ren, and eventually Oscar) have allusions to genderbends of female characters.

And on the topic of gender, there is absolutely an edge of misogyny to a lot of the unjust criticisms this show does get. Many of the people that focus so hard on criticizing team RWBY's actions are those obsessed with characters like Jaune, Adam, or Ironwood. But it's not just the more RWDE sides of the fandom that are victim to this. In retaliation to that subgroup of the fandom, many fans over-obsess on the female characters, often denying any viability to the male characters we do have. For example, the sheer amount of discourse towards Jaune getting any screen time in V9 as if he also has not been part of the cast since episode 1 & 2. Or those that infantize Oscar, treat him like nothing but an Ozpin meatsuit (which has been debunked in show MULTIPLE TIMES) or spend hours of their time arguing that that he could never have so much as a friendship with a character like Ruby, let alone something more (once again despite clear tropey and textual evidence to the contrary).

RWBY suffers from the same thing Steven Universe did. Another magical girl-esque show from 2013 that challenged the status quo of the expected genre, and as a result became a breeding ground for the most unnecessary - and in my opinion - unwarranted discourse imaginable. People, no matter what side of the fandom they're on, want this show to be something it isn't and refuse to meet the text where it is because they don't know how to. Or because they simply don't want to. And to view it as anything other than the reality they've convinced themselves it is makes them feel incredibly unsafe.

And as someone that's been watching since the first trailer aired, it genuinely breaks my heart. I do largely blame this fandoms inability to be normal towards fiction as one of the reasons it is struggling to get greenlit nowadays. Why would anyone who hasn't watched the show already in the 10 years they've had the chance to, be convinced to hop on now when this is the environment its fandom fosters.

I've had this thought swirling in the back of my head for a while, but it's finally congealed enough that I think I can make a coherent pitch, which is: I think RWBY's problems with the more vitriolic part of its fanbase partially stems from the fact that RWBY is a deconstruction that doesn't advertise it's a deconstruction.

RWBY's status as a deconstruction is pretty textbook. It takes apart standard fantasy, shounen, and anime tropes in order to analyze them and their deeper meaning and then reassembles them in new and interesting ways for the plot/characters/series. Thing is, it never says that outright in promotional material, which can lead to later outrage in fans.

See, unless their way of discovering new shows is to close their eyes and stab their finger at random, most people tend to choose series to watch/read based on expectations. Maybe a friend said they'll like it because it has [insert thing], maybe they read the summary and were intrigued, maybe they thought the poster/cover art was cool, whatever. These small pieces of information are generally enough for people to make a snap-judgment of the style and genre of the series, which they can then gauge against their personal tastes and decide whether or not they want to try.

Most of the time, this works just fine. Well-written deconstructions also generally give the viewers some warning/buildup before they take a hard swerve. See Madoka Magica: the magical girl paradigm is shaded by the possibility of death as soon as we're introduced to it, then there's an onscreen death with blood, and then a few episodes later we eventually realize the Faustian bargain of it all. Even innocent viewers who stumbled into watching it, unaware of the show's reputation, would go "Oh, wait, this is not going in the direction magical girl shows usually go" by a third of the way through.

The thing is, with RWBY, this does not happen unless you're paying a lot of attention and/or looking for it. And neither the cover art nor the summary nor, I believe, the fanbase gives a lot of warning about the swerves ahead.

In fact, RWBY initially bills itself as a pretty standard shounen anime. The main protagonist is hinted to have Special Powers and gets into the Magic Monster-Hunting School in the first episode, and the first two-and-a-half seasons are taken up by her and her friends' superhero-esque slice-of-life shenanigans as they thwart robberies and terrorist attacks and gear up for a tournament arc against the looming background of a larger conspiracy.

Then in the last half of the third season the villains' entire Rube Goldberg machine of a scheme snaps into completion and the plot twists so hard the entire genre takes a hard right. If you're used to character analysis and common anime tropes, this is not completely a surprise -up until this point, RWBY's character arcs and plot have been subtly traveling in non-traditional directions that hint of greater flexibility in genre treatment ahead- but if you're not... well.

Thing is, people watching RWBY up until this point have signed up for pretty standard shounen and they've been getting it, but the third season's ending smashes that all to bits. From then on out in RWBY, it's like they ordered fries and suddenly got a hamburger. It might be delicious; but it's not what they asked for, what they wanted, or what they paid for, and they are, justifiably, displeased.

So when the reasonable people either adjusted their expectations or sighed, shook their heads, and clicked back out (perhaps with a grumble and a scowl), the unreasonable people dug their heels in and began insisting that everybody was Getting The Show/Character Wrong and that CRWBY is ruining it, because the fact that RWBY's method of deconstruction is to put standard tropes in a blender and then arrange what's left in deceptive patterns means that said unreasonable viewers can scan the bare surface and argue that all the stereotypical stuff is clearly still under there, somewhere.

So they're continually trying to drag RWBY back to the tracks of a typical shounen anime series (it's closest relative), which creates a dissonance between the show they're watching and the show they think they're watching. They're trying to turn the hamburger back into fries, basically, except that doesn't work and just frustrates everyone involved, because you're trying to make RWBY into something that it's not. Hence, this attitude probably starting/fueling some of the more contentious statements in the fandom, i.e.:

"Ironwood was right the whole time" (in most action movies and shounen anime, allied military leaders are trustworthy beyond reproach)

"Adam's character was wasted" (we all know how much shounen loves their powerful warrior antiheroes)

"Ruby and the others are in the wrong about [insert thing]/or for doing [insert thing], and this is bad writing!" (shounen protagonists don't usually make more than One Very Big Mistake over the course of their entire careers, which is usually fixed/overcome/redeemed via an appropriately rigorous training arc)

And to be clear, there's nothing wrong with shounen tropes or shounen anime. They're wonderful storytelling devices in their own way and their own time: but if you want standard by-the-book shounen without any new and interesting concoctions, then RWBY is definitely not the show for you. And most people don't find that out until it's too late.

[bevswashere]

Koi No Yokan

Chapter 30: Miss Fushiguro

December 2009 8 months later.

"I'm glad you took the time to meet with me, Miss Fushiguro."

"What did he do this time?"

"He stabbed his classmate with a pencil."

I look to the boy at my right, slumped in his seat with his arms folded as if he hadn't done anything. No, he knows he's done something wrong, he just doesn't care. "Why?" I ask him, not the principal.

"I told him to get out of my face," Megumi says. "I used the pencil when he got closer."

I sigh largely, massaging the center of my brow. "So, what now?"

"Your son is in consideration for suspension," the principal says. "I've brought up concerns about Megumi's behavior to your husband before—"

"He's not my husband."

The principal leans back in his seat, nods slowly, surely thinking two teenagers accidentally had a baby they can't control. Whatever the presumptions, they're better than the reality. "Your son has caused repeated disciplinary offenses, and is a danger to the rest of the students here. Expulsion isn't out of the question."

"We'll correct this at home," I try to say firmly. "Megumi will apologize to the boy he hurt."

Megumi immediately objects, "Who said I would—?"

"I wasn't asking."

The principal smiles. "Good, I hope we can get all of this in order."

We enter the parking lot, extremities tucked away in our coats to keep warm from the snow. "Seriously? A pencil?"

"Would you have preferred I use something else?"

We rush into the car and turn the heater on quickly. I breathe into my palms for warmth. "Is some other kid bugging you really so big of a deal you had to stab them?"

"It's not that he was bugging me," Megumi says, "He does it to a ton of the other kids too, pushing them around, taking what he wants from their lunches."

"Then tell your teacher, and have his parents meet with the principal." I pull out of the parking lot, back towards their apartment. "I'm not saying your intentions are wrong, but Satoru and I really don't have the time to keep going to these meetings."

"Then don't go."

Megumi, bundled in his coat, so small he barely takes up half of the seat, has his gaze fixed towards the window. "Would you prefer I say I don't care about your shit attitude, and just leave you alone?"

He doesn't answer me, and we remain silent for the rest of the drive.

∞

"You're late."

I sit myself down in one of the chairs of Yaga's office. "There was an emergency."

"You'll need to fix that habit by April."

"Spoken like a true principal."

"Let's try to be serious here, Kaede," he says. "Taking this job, you'll need to become a rock for these kids. That means no more lashing out, breaking furniture."

I defend. "I replaced all of it, didn't I?"

"If you're to lead young people, you can't act on your emotions like another young person. You need to be steady, reasonable." Yaga folds his arms. "And if a student dies, you move on, and teach the next one."

"That's harsh."

He takes a piece of paper out from his desk, and slides it across to me. "Order your uniforms, move your things into your new room and office. We'll go over matters of curriculum once that's done."

I unfold the paper to find only one line of text, an address. "You're sure this is right?"

"I'm nearly certain."

Taking the paper with me, I leave Yaga's office, only to turn back in the doorway, "Yaga Sensei."

"I'm not your Sensei anymore."

"Do you really think," I hesitate, "I can do this?"

"You're more than qualified."

"But am I strong enough?"

"Brazenly so."

∞

I boarded the soonest plane possible to Osaka, navigating my way into a run down condominium where the scent is sour and the dated wallpaper peels at the ends. I knock, wondering how long I would have to wait if no one is home, but I feel reassured by the steady flow of cursed energy growing closer to the door. I hear the door unlock from the other side before I'm met with wide green eyes. "How did you find me?"

"I called in a favor." I teeter awkwardly on my heels. "Can I come in?"

He opens the door wide, revealing the singular room apartment. All their clothes are neatly hung onto one rack, dishes and cookware piled in one stack by the dripping sink. A mattress is tucked away into the corner, across from it a fraying mattress pad, and between them one desk with books stacked beneath a short leg. "I know," Shigeri says, "What a fall from grace."

"Are you okay? You're eating enough?" Shigeri certainly looks thinner, more aged since we last spoke. "If you need money—"

"You came here to give me money?"

"No," I quickly defend, realizing how deplorable a person I must be, stepping into someone's home, expecting them to need money at first glance. "You stopped writing. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"The clan is still making things difficult for us." He rubs the back of his neck at the thought. "I couldn't be sure they wouldn't intercept anything I send, figure out where we're staying."

"You're already exiled. What more could they do?"

"They're already interfering with me taking any missions which would be the quickest way to get income." I can see the stress on his face when he says this, weighing him down, sinking his stature. "They could have us evicted, make us homeless for the rest of our lives."

"Why?"

"Spite," he says simply. "I was supposed to take over as head of the clan. They don't appreciate stepping away from a role like that."

"I should have found you sooner. I could have done something."

"I don't want your money, Kaede."

"Then I could have sorted things out with the Kamo clan."

"And how would you do something like that?"

"I could go there and threaten to kill anyone who messes with you."

"Since when do you kill people?"

I stutter at first. "I don't, but they wouldn't know that. Or I could arrange a way for you to get missions without interference. I'll talk to the higher ups–"

"Who will refer back to the Kamo clan saying Uematsu Kaede knows where I am." He smiles somehow. "It's okay."

I look around again, dissatisfied with the way things have turned out for someone so kind. "Where's your sister?"

"Working. When the clan cut me off from missions we both picked up part time jobs. I didn't want her to, but they're good to her anyway, give her meals to take home." He frowns. "Don't give me that look."

"I'm not giving you any look."

Shigeri steps closer, smiles in the soothing way he used to, where his eyes soften and only his top teeth can be seen. "You're pitying me."

"Of course I am. You're sleeping on the floor."

"Stop it." He takes both of his hands and rests them on my shoulders. "I'm okay, Kaede-chan, really. I know it doesn't look ideal, but we're getting through it."

I'm only half convinced. "There must be something I can do."

"You came here. That's enough." He pulls me towards the mattress pad. "Here, sit. Tell me what you've been up to."

We arrange ourselves, sitting side by side on his mattress pad. I'm relieved to find out it's well-cushioned at the least. "I'm going to start as the first-year teacher at Tokyo High in the spring."

"Really?" he says. "That's great. You love kids."

I hesitate at first to mention the Fushiguro's, or the deep despair I've tried to fight since graduation, or my attempt to join the cult of a mass-murderer, but honesty has always come easy between Shigeri and I. The second I confess one feeling, the rest pour out.

"Good thing he turned you away," Shigeri comments, "That could have been troublesome."

"I can't say I would have actually hurt anyone." The comforter above Shigeri's bed is soft, velvet. I find myself playing with the hems. "But there was nowhere else to go. All my family was gone, then my friends."

"What about Gojo-san?"

"Forget him."

"I'm sorry that didn't work out." I laugh at this. "Hey, I mean it. I never wanted you to get your heartbroken, even if it was by him."

"It's fine. It's been a long time since then." I look out through their singular window, see the snow sprinkle onto the sill, quietly, gently. "What if you came to work at Tokyo High with me?"

"Let's try to be serious about this, Kaede-chan."

"I am being serious." My eyes meet his, soothing like pine. "Yaga is still looking for a third year teacher. If you can't get missions for now, you'll still have income from teaching, and you guys wouldn't have to worry about housing anymore. Besides, I won't have to fly every time I want to see you." Whatever I had to say next is cut off when Shigeri leans in and kisses me.

It's short, lips locking for only a moment before he pulls away, "Sorry. I had to know what it felt like at least once."

I let him because it's reassuring in some ways, admitting everything I had done, and him still wanting to kiss me. "Try again."

He scans my face, taken aback. "You don't have to." So, I lean in this time, feeling the hair above his neck ruffle through my fingers, his hand on my cheek. It's unexpectedly pleasant. His lips move with a certain tenderness, hesitancy that's comforting, makes me want it more. Even when his lips trail down to my neck it's light and loving. "So," my breath grows heavier, "You'll come to Tokyo?"

His words vibrate into my collarbone. "If you want me there."

I lean into him, feel the flesh of his ear against my lips, "I want you there."

I reach for his chin, lifting it to reconnect our lips. Then by the center of his chest, my hand guides him backwards into the mattress pad. I get on top of him, leaning over to resume our kiss. When I grind myself against him, I can feel he's hard. He moans into my mouth, but breaks away, "Not like this."

"How do you want it then?"

Shigeri props himself up onto his elbows, reaches out to push the hairs away from my face. " I meant not here."

I understood, however disappointed I may feel, and remove myself from on top of him to lay down at his side instead. He wraps a hand around my jaw, stroking the skin with his thumb. "You'll really come to Tokyo?"

"I'll go wherever you want me to." 

[fantasyloverisabel]

Dragons Rising spoilers below

I've seen mixed opinions on Arin, specifically the selfishness. And some people are saying stuff like "He wants his parents back that isn't selfish!" And thats true, wanting your parents is never something thats selfish. What IS selfish is that you'll make everything about yourself, and completely disregard the fact that other people are missing their families too. It's not just Arin that lost his family/loved ones it's multiple people.

Even Nya can be used in this example (and Zane) they've both lost a loved one. And even when Nya "finds" Jay, she prioritizes the mission because she knows it's important to the world. Now you could argue saying "Nya is a grown adult and Arin is a kid" Arin is about 16-17 and when the Ninja first started about they were about that age and all I can really say is to just look at Kai's development from the beginning.

For Sora lying to Arin, I think in the moment she shouldn't have told him, but once they reached the monastery she should've. But her character doesn't like to disappoint others so she was fearful of that, but even when he confronted her she told the truth and didn't lie. But linking that with what Ras has been telling Arin, it's one of the reasons why it's annoying (no offense) when the "Arin isn't selfish" people are ignoring this. Arin is only with Ras because he can lead him to his parents, and despite the fact that Ras has endangered their lives on multiple occasions(even trying to split them up) and was sided with someone who was using dragons for fuel.

Then you move onto the training bit, where Ras inadvertently trained Arin on how to properly do Spinjitzu,(theory) and I've seen people talking about how when Arin does it fully it has red streaks because he's forcing it and it'll likely hurt him somehow in the future. But back onto the training, Lloyd had said multiple times he doesn't think he'll be a good master and Arin kept pushing that onto him(and excluding the fact he doesn't even see the Ninja as people more so idols and still saw them as such till this season).

Then moving on when Master Wu said he caused the merge (which he could've said that he did because he couldn't prevent it, me and a friend actually talked about that) Cole was in shock and Arin's immediate thought was "wow they can't even believe Master Wu would do something like that" No Arin, Cole was in shock because he didn't expect that. And you told Lloyd this information when he's fighting the enemy, and when he said he'll deal with it later that didn't mean "I won't believe this information you've given me" it's a "I'll digest this information AFTER we defeat the enemy" and even Zane says it's a lot of information to process. This entire time Arin was just being selfish and unempathic.

The only thing I can praise him on was the whole detective thing he has going on, which was good, but overall was selfish the rest of the time. What makes it a bit frustrating is that Arin being a character thats written selfishly isn't a bad thing, he can have major character development and seeing a main character like this is really cool to see. But trying to erase that crucial part of his character is silly.

Anyways I hope I didn't make anyone angry with this post, and if I did that wasn't my intention to. There's also probably A LOT of spelling errors I didn't see so I apologize for that. And Im open to discussion! If you haven't already make sure you drink some water to stay hydrated and have a lovely day!

[softhaus]

I just saw a tiktok about women who are only attracted to mascs and like...... Its really kinda frustrating me and I can't tell if I'm just reading way too far into it and seeing things that aren't there. I don't think the person has the intention to offend which is why I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that I'm the stupid sensitive one but I don't know.....

Like to paraphrase the tiktok is about this person who is saying that they think some wlw (they specifically said wlw) aren't actually into women they just want men. The reasoning for this outcome they came to was because of their personal experience of when they presented more masc in the dating scene. They stated girls would get the ick from them displaying any sort of girlyness after thinking they were masc. They also said "how can u say u like girls when u don't like the girly side of girls..."

And if I'm being forreal like I get the irritation especially if u don't identify as butch and ur just in general androgynous or masc in appearance and then being held to an expectation that ur butch (or even stone butch) and I get that it's upsetting when someone changes their mind about you once you get more comfortable with showing yourself past first impressions but like...... They have the right to not be attracted to what they aren't attracted to 😭 it doesn't suddenly mean they aren't wlw and idk the whole argument of like u like girls therefore u have to like the gender norm traits/appearances that are expected of girls to actually truly be wlw..... It feels somewhat gender essentialist in a strange queer way??? I can't explain it but like this is why "my gender is lesbian and I'm attracted to other lesbians who's gender is lesbian" makes sense to me cause it doesn't define us into boxes of "girl" and whether there is an expectation that "girl" is girly.... I really can't explain it but I hope this makes sense.

Another lowkey thing is I can't tell what they mean by girly cause that's so broad like do u mean u wore dresses and presented more feminine or did you have a trait that those girls associated with a gender? Like be more specific because those are two different scenarios imo (example like sewing or gardening or being soft spoken is not a girly trait/hobby it's a thing that shouldn't be gendered and if someone breaks up with u over a trait/hobby/interest they deem as girly and not masc then that's their own issue but if they're attracted to butches and then you show up in makeup and a dress they probably aren't gonna be into you and like that's okay?? It doesn't suddenly make them not wlw)

Idk just a strange tiktok all around and the comments are just full of what you would expect

This part is also just 100% speculation and assumpative but I feel like they wanted to say lesbian but changed it to wlw cause it's more broad and way less offensive to say "some women just want men with pretty faces" then to say that some lesbians want men. Idk.... It's just when u say wlw know that that's including femme4butch femmes and they're exactly the ppl u are criticizing here and exactly the ppl you are claiming to "actually want men"

Makes me feel like they'd claim I wasn't a lesbian if I told them I liked when dykes have facial stubble :/ something that I personally don't see as gendered but a lot of ppl do

I'm definitely open to hearing other opinions on this!! like maybe I'm being too sensitive about it

[youremyheaven]

hiiiii i mean this with all due respect; it came to mind after i saw your faq and i had to let you know my perspective as someone who's sent one of those "what's my dominant planet" asks to you before:

for me personally, it's not about "claiming" a planet. that would be a silly notion to have—we are tiny beings in front of an entire planet, and every chart has every planet. how can we ever claim a planet or its associated energy?

you have such fun, fascinating conversations on your blog. but i, who does not know what to identify with, do not know when to participate. this is not to say you're under any compulsion to facilitate an anon's participation on your own space. i just mean i can't share fun silly anecdotes about, say, venusians when you guys are talking about them. because i don't know for sure if i am a venusian.

also, as someone who struggles to see themself in a positive light. citing your jupiter posts as an example: h o w am i supposed to note that i have jupiterian influence, when the jupiter people in your posts are so positive? again. not your fault. 

seeing the asks brings up another point of confusion for me. how do these people know what their dominant planets are? how do they say it with such confidence? what if tomorrow they realise it doesn't fit? i understand self-discovery is ever evolving. but i also struggle with feeling like a fraud when it comes to identifying with anything, because i've been invalidated and trivialised too many times when i tried to use a "label".

granted, i am far more familiar with western astrology than i am with vedic. the only person whose vedic placements i am familiar with is myself. western astrology is easier to figure out in that way. but, yeah. i wish there was a way i could know for sure what i identify with.

you are definitely valid in your perspective. you are not wrong. of course you wouldn't know what a stranger should identify with. it's just that (at least for me) it's not about wanting to claim planets. it comes from a place of genuine confusion and wanting to understand myself. 

i really hope this ask does not come off as offensive, because that wasn't my intention at all! i hope you're having a good day!!

hi babe!!! im not offended!! you've articulated your experience very lucidly and it helps me understand what exactly people mean when they ask about their dominance because, i, personally don't consider myself anything dominant because i identify with most of my chart so i dont feel like anything is "dominant" over the rest??

perhaps thats why its so confusing to me when people send me those asks because if you have that planet/rashi/nak in your chart, isn't that good enough???

i wonder whether you have Ketuvian influence since you've talked about struggling to understand how you relate to your placements.

In order to grasp astrological patterns and to build those associations, i do think its important to have "strong Rahu" influence (something Claire also mentioned) because a "strong" Rahu can see through Maya and grasp the truth.

strong Rahu/any planet= not badly aspected, not in a malefic nak/house etc

Do you have many 7h/8h/12h placements?? I feel like these natives struggle with identity a lot

I dont know how to help you, Im sorry 😭you probably do many things associated with many of your naks and are unaware of who is influencing what, which is okay

The people sharing their experiences have enough understanding of vedic to at least have a rough estimate of what's causing certain experiences but we're all on a learning journey!! and we're all learning new things about ourselves and our charts !! so its all okay!! You'll figure it out as you go

[jerzwriter]

Would it bother you if someone else picked the same FC you use for your MC for their own?

Hey Nonny,

You're going for simple questions that never cause controversy in the fandom, I see! 😂😂 This tends to be a loaded question, and I have mixed feelings about it.

Let's be the mature adults we're supposed to be for a moment. No one owns an FC. So none of us have the right to claim exclusive rights. However, fandom etiquette dictates you should refrain from using another creator's FC. (Note: I've never seen a copy of this fandom etiquette book, copies are not provided when you join.... but god forbid you don't adhere!)

But, my personal opinion is if you know someone else is using an FC, the polite thing to do is to find another. There are a zillion to choose from. At a minimum, if you are aware that another creator is using an FC, shoot them a DM and ask if they mind if you use it too. People take a lot of time to select their FCs, and while we have no claim to them, we should do our best to be considerate of others.

Please note the bold and italics. In the same way, we don't get that etiquette book upon fandom entry, we don't get a masterlist of all FCs used by all creators either. It's impossible to know every FC used by everyone. Sometimes people will innocently use an FC that is already in use. It's happened to me in both directions. I promise you I wasn't aware the FCs I selected were used by others until the hate anons poured in. I like to give others the same benefit of the doubt if they use an FC that I do. (I hope it goes without saying that if you feel the urge to send anyone hate anon over this - or really anything else - seek help because it's not normal or cool.)

In my opinion, there are levels. If someone uses an FC for a side character, I don't see it as much of a big deal as if they use it for, say, the same MC in the same Choices story.

I also don't think it is as upsetting if they use it for another Choices story. For example, if someone uses an Open Heart MC FC as their It Lives MC's FC. But that's just my opinion.... and we know what they say about those. I've had my head chewed off and been accused of heresy for doing just that - even though I had no freaking idea someone was using the FC I selected in a fandom I don't even follow.

As with most matters, if this happens: 1) Try not to take offense. It really isn't always about us. When I've had this happen to me, I legit think, well, this person has excellent taste! 2) If this happens to you and you're upset, politely reach out to the other creator and discuss it frankly and civilly. NEVER resort to hate anons or flipping out to the entire fandom, save the one person you should be discussing it with.

So after that long-ass answer... lol... Personally, I'm more attached to some of my FCs than others. For some, it wouldn't be phased at all. For others, NGL, I wouldn't be happy, but again, what can you do? There are bigger problems in the world. If it wasn't done maliciously, I'd smile and move on with my day. Rule of thumb, assume good intentions unless you know for a fact otherwise.

[radical-sainthood]

thank you! Though for some reason I don't feel like its anything sapient causing it. Which would probably make dealing with it easier. I think, since we weren't completed, I want to make this thing function in our overall favor. (Think like upgrading a fancy spaceship). But that means I gotta work out all the annoying bugs first. Because they don't... serve much of a purpose really.

But for now, I need to try and calm down the bastard. (Aff). And, again, I hope there are no hard feelings about how I reacted to you. It wasn't intentional.

-🦌👁

None at all my friend, as long as you are well. Should he need to vent his frustration, he is welcome to do so, I will not take offense. Anger does not scare me. I am a well versed in all human emotion.

If it is not sapient, I recommend slow forms of building tolerance, take small steps towards overcoming it. Try to sit through the dizziness for a minute, then five, then more.

I also recommend if you're looking to use this programming to your favor, making or trying to form an alter that is good at programming (though I'm certain you could be rather skilled at it) make alters for tasks you struggle with. (School, homework, eating, etc) Give them singular purposes and make sure they don't become anything more than that, or you may have an issue on your hands.

[timeguardians]

The FRIGID air causes tremulous breaths to HANG precariously in the scant, dimly-illuminated space between them. Adrenalized THUNDER batters stormily over her heart and rings insipidly LOUD against her eardrums. She locks eyes with the STRANGER once more at his assurance that he would NOT bring harm to her. There is no way she could swallow down, nor ignore the BESEECHING locked in the fathoms of his piercing gaze.

"Je m'appelle Belle." She murmurs in the undercurrent of a still frantic exhale. Belle's quaking form hazards a few steps CLOSER, as if drawn by a magnetic force. "Pa--Patrick Michaels? " His name is waveringly parroted. "You-- you are A--American? No?" The brunette searches for confirmation or a sense of correction over the assumption. "Why-- why are you here in Alsace?" She softly presses.

"And-- and have you SEEN my papa?" A part of her considers that this well-built man could have KILLED her father. That she could be courting considerable DANGER. Yet, she must ask. "He's--- he's sick. I-- I need to get him home." She supposed she could DELAY, long enough to HELP this poor soul. Only a stone-hearted individual could LEAVE a man here, in these horrendous conditions.

Her now squinted gaze intently follows his to the ropes. "Ga--Gaston and Monsieur D'arque?" She deigns to guess. If those two had become his foes, than the gentleman had probably NOT done anything truly OFFENSE worthy.

The man, Monsieur D'arque, had been after her FATHER. Treating him like some kind of lunatic because of his eccentricities, would not sell him his inventory, and because he would not COMPEL Belle to marry outside of her will. Her father really wasn't INSANE. He was --sick-- but not in the SAME way they implied. No. The cough that possessed his lungs had been there since the start of the month. Nothing would seem to convince it to RELENT.

The light FLICKERS threateningly, nearly casting the shoddy room into the darkness. It is enough to STARTLE Belle out of her own thoughts. "I did NOT think to carry a knife," she confides. Her teeth dipping into the plush of her lip as she begins a FRANTIC sweep over the room. A senses of PANIC begins to WASH over her again. She tamps it down as BEST she could, against a terrible fit of SHIVERING. "Would you suppose broken GLASS could work?" Without so much as waiting for an answer, she upends a fly infested plate. And as HOPED, it gifted her a razor sharpened edge.

Belle turns back to him, holding the dying lantern in one hand and the glass in the other. "Wh-- where are you bound?" She softly but earnestly asks. She moves CLOSER to him in order to start what is likely a strenuous task.

Before the Blizzard--Belle & Patrick

@timeguardians

Continued from here

Patrick only has to listen to the plaintive calls for a few seconds to realize the person searching through these rooms is not his tormentor returning for another round. Whomever she is, she is searching for her father. The soldier’s heart sinks abruptly as he slots a few potential pieces together. There is only one woman he can easily think of who would be searching this ruined hulk for her father. It had to be Maurice’s daughter, the one who the kind old man begged him to find before he succumbed to the cold, and the injuries that should have been inflicted on Patrick. Guilt wells up in Patrick’s chest, mixing with dread about the news he will likely need to deliver in a moment, and concern that the young woman has taken herself into this dangerous situation rather than wait at home for news of her father. The combination is acrid, and his empty stomach rolls dangerously for a moment before he forces it to settle. Now is not the time for those reactions. Right now, he needs to focus on the situation at hand. He can wallow later. A moment later, a thin beam of light heralds the young woman’s arrival as she enters the room. The flickering glow settles over him for a second, prompting a frighted reaction from the young woman. “I’m not going to hurt you!” He tries to reassure her as soon as he sees her recoil in terror. At her tremulous request for his identity, he swallows. “I’m Patrick—Patrick Michaels.” Either his words assure her, or she plucks up her wavering courage on her own. Either way, she carefully raises the light again in an attempt to see better into the gloom. With the way the flame keeps flickering behind the glass, Patrick reckons there’s only a few minutes of light left. Not much time to get them both out of here, then. He glances down at the ropes, his eyes roving over the rough cords as best as he can. “I’m not sure—I’m a stranger around here so I don’t know all the names. I saw the guy around town though—he was a crony to some muscle-bound idiot I got in a fight with at the bar. I guess he figured he would impress the big down in town by dragging me in here.” As he speaks, Patrick debates when it will be a good time to mention Maurice. If this young woman is his daughter, she came here seeking him out. It will be cruel to keep her in suspense any longer than he absolutely has too. But first, he needs to get his arms free so he can defend himself if he needs to. “Can you find anything that can cut through these ropes? Or do you have a knife on you?” He asks the second question in a burst of futile hope. He doubts most women carry knives with them everywhere they go. Patrick had his own knife, but the idiot who tied him up decided to take it. He will have to go get that back when he has a chance—he likes that weapon.

[whorror-barbie]

Corruption (AU! Priest salesman x Nun! reader)

Summary: the reader loves to tease the priest, will he go back to his old ways, and give in to temptation?

Warnings: religion/corruption kink, BDSM elements, masturbation, sadistic salesman, rough vaginal sex, power dynamic, slapping, degrading kink, humiliation, naming calling, dumbifcation. DO NOT INTERACT IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18, YOU WILL BE BLOCKED, AND IF ANY OF THE WARNINGS TRIGGERS YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTHER.

A/N: I'm sorry it took a while, I don't really know what direction this was going to go in to be honest, this is harder than I originally thought, but here goes nothing?😅

A hot older priest was exactly what you needed to recover from your sexual desires, how unfortunate. You are definitely a great and sweet nun to everyone in the community, though it was a different story when it came to the priest. doing subtle flirty tactics such as making seductive eye contact with him while he inspires the community around the church, or not so subtle flirty tactics such as bending over right in front of him to pick up the bibe you "accidentally" dropped. He notices your antics, though he ignores your advances, well he tries to anyways. he's definitely met women like you in the past, usually, he would deal with a slut accordingly, but he was a changed man after all, so it was not going to work on him.

It's in the early hours of the morning, you are in a circle with the other women going over the scripture from late last night. You were pretty tired,so you couldn't help your thoughts wondering about how your priest would fuck you. thinking about how he sounds, what kind of lover he is, and how he tastes. your mind still drafting into la la land until. "Hey, are you alright, sister?" The head nun quizzed you which causes you to look at her like a deer in headlights "oh I'm so sorry" you bow then she looks at you, not really buying your story yet it wasn't a judgemental look either, just more out of concern for you, but she continues to read the Bible anyways for a couple of mins when footsteps started to gathers closer to the circle, it's what made you look up and it was the priest himself. "hello, fathers"were exchanged around the circle happily and he smiles in return, greeting everyone as well. "Hi, father," you say with an innocent tone though it was laced in a seductive intent.

He stares at you with disgust by your lustful behavior then looks around to distract himself. "So, How is everything, ladies? " He smiles to the circle warmly. " It's going great, we are going through some of the scripture that you talked about last night" the head nun speaks happily. He nods with a kind smile "good" patting her on the shoulder. the scripture in question is specifically about lust, you don't think that's a coincidence at all " hope everyone can learn a thing or two, I would hate for anyone to fall for it.. a sin like that should be a punishable offense" he looks directly at you when he is saying this. feeling your core tingle at his words, you fight the urge to bite your lip. " Oh, I think it's a great thing that father is teaching us this important valuable lesson." You smile innocently then continue "I'm always up for learning my lesson, sir." looking through your lashes at him. He clears his throat at the subtly seductive tone in which you said it in, the tension is thick between the both of you. "Well, I'm going to do service in about an hour. I'll see you, ladies there, don't be late" waves then makes a swift exit. The nuns say their goodbyes to him.

After the study session was over, all of you started to gather all your things, making it to the service. " Hey, you gotta stop being so flirty with the priest " your friend chuckles. You look at her with innocence. " Hey, don't give me that look, you know what you're doing "She points at you as you both start walking out the room together " why does he have to be so fine though" you pout to her then she sighs " you're doing so well, don't do anything you'll regret. It's the devil getting to you" smiling mischievously at her statement " the devil huh? I mean if the devil looks like him, I would let him hit if I'm honest with you" she hits your shoulder, sharing a giggle with each other as you enter the nave. making eye contact with the priest who is giving you a friendly hello, and you do the same. He lingers on you a little too long, then Looks around trying to shake his urges of you. More people start filling up the rows of seats and the service begins.

"Thank you for all that showed up here for the service, and remember God bless us all. I'll be taking confessions now" he smiles at the crowd as your heart melts for him, you are definitely Slutty distraction for him the whole time he was preaching to the nave. everyone is scattering and chatting as they make their exit"well, that was a great service he's always so inspiring, yeah? " Your friend says, giving you a knowing smile " of course...so inspiring" bite back a smile, checking the priest out. " Hey, wanna go get some lunch together? I'm starving" you think about it for a second "hmm, I need to do something first, I'll meet up with you later" she rolls her eyes "ok, I'll see you around then" as she gets up " don't do anything stupid, you hear me? " She laughs and you nodded at her with reassurance. You both say your goodbye, then make your way to where the confessional booth is to sit down. " Hello, father" you greet him with a soft voice. "Hello please state your sins," he says waiting for your confession. " Bless me,  father for I have sinned, it has been months since my last confession." Your voice comes out so shaky for some reason." go on, tell me your sin" as he looks up wanting to hear this, he knows it's you. " I have confess that I have the desire for the father himself." you move around in the booth then continue "I have been consumed with the filthy desire of you having your way with me, using me for your pleasure " you get breathy in between words, the former salesman is getting rock hard at your confession. "I also love to tease you just to get a reactions out of you, it feels me with so much joy that I have some type of power over you. "giggling mischievously which cause him to clench his jaw in frustration.

"I masturbate to the thought of you as I lay awake in my bed, thinking about the horrible things you would do to me. I need you inside of me so bad" you moan out a little bit with a tiny giggle, you can’t help yourself,always tease this poor man. "These are my confession" He's looking down at the booth floor trying to resist temptation himself, he wants to take you in the booth right now,not caring who may sees. clearing his throat "having sexual urges and desires is normal, but it's important to distract yourself from them as much as possible. you have to find ways to not let it get to you, don't let the sin consume you." He knows what he's saying is bullshit, he wants you just as much. "I have absolved you from your sins, in the name of the father and of son and of the holy spirit " you bow in your seat " amen" you're pretty sure you are wet from his deep voice alone. " now go in peace " exiting the booth to leave the nave proud of yourself while he's sitting there with a boner, pinching the bridge of his nose, he's definitely going to make you pay for this.

It was 7 hours ago from your confession, it's late now so you decide it's time to turn in for bed. Though you wanted to mess with the priest first alittle bit more, you get the mischievous idea to see him asking help understanding the scripture from today. Walking down the darkly lit hallway, you make it to his door "father?" you say loud enough, but no response that's strange he should be in here. opening the door to see the priest touching himself at his desk and you cover your mouth with your Hands in shock. You look to the left side of the room to see a sex tape playing on his tv of the salesman himself with a woman that he is brutally fucking in a hotel bed. He sees you but doesn't stop though, his hand tucking up and down his cock as you hear the woman moans from the tv in rhythm with him. Wow, the priest is so gifted you thought,looking at his big cock, you want to ride him like a race horse. then all of sudden, he cums with a deep grunts, catching his breath which makes you get wetter. you wanted this man so bad. "Are you going to come clean me up or what, slut? " he chuckles darkly. " Umm - I " you're supposed to be the one teasing him,not the other way around. "What's wrong? not so bold, huh?" He gets up and approaches you while your heart is skipping a beat as he's making eye contact" Taste me" he simply instructs with his cum on his hands. You put his finger in his mouth to suck on it, tasting the saltiness of the cum. "pretty good at sucking I see" pulling his hand away, giving you a satisfied smile as you look down on the floor. " you want to tease me? maybe I need to teach you a lesson then. meet me here around the same time. " caressing your face as your eyes look innocently at him, but you wanted him to hurt you so bad right now. "Yes umm-,sir" as you turn around to leave then he shuts the door. you smile to yourself as you walk to your room, deciding whether you should tease him even more and disobey tomorrow.

[randomshyperson]

The Scarlet Witch Prophecy - Chapter 23 - The Witch's Cabin (Part Two)

Thanks to my gif maker and friend of course, @abimess.

Summary: As the youngest daughter of Howard Stark, you have ordinary expectations for your years at Hogwarts. Little do you know what adventures await you when your destiny is intertwined with the legendary Scarlet Witch.

Warnings: +16. Adaptation of the Harry Potter Saga, Magical Thematic, Prophecies, Mentions of Violence, Torture and dark magic, Language (swearing and minor/major offenses), manipulation of will, Underage kissing, insinuation of smut with minors, Smut (overage), descriptions of death, aggression, obscurity, angst, fluffy, soulmates analogies. || Chapter Warnings: +18, smut.

Series Masterlist ||  Read on AO3 || All Works Masterlist

Chapter 23 - Part XXIII - The Witch's Cabin (Part Two)

You weren't sure if Wanda wanted some time from you as well, as you watched her walk through the garden, sit alone on one of the benches while looking at the rocky mountains in the distance.

What you were sure of was that she was distressed. So much so, that even as she blocked out her emotions, strands of her discomfort escaped, and you felt your body shiver slightly.

Sighing, you put your hands in your pockets, resisting the urge to join her as you watched her from the balcony.

"Here, Miss." It is Charles who says beside you, with a mug of reheated tea. You raise your eyebrow in confusion, and he smiles tenderly. "I thought a hot drink would bring you some comfort." He explains, and you mutter a thank you as you accept the cup.

Charles stands beside you, watching the landscape in silence for a moment. When you take the first sip, and sigh lightly, he asks, "Did it help?"

"Not much." You reply. "I appreciate the intention, but I won't feel good over tea until she is."

It's a simple statement. And Charles just murmurs in understanding, not needing you to explain further.

There is another pause, before he speaks again.

"Then I think you should talk to her." He says.

"She said she needed some time alone." You retort, scratching the back of your head with your hand quickly, and placing the cup on the large one on the balcony. "I'm giving her space."

"Oh, I see." He murmurs. "Are you sure that the alone time included her protector?"

You give a short humorless laugh. "You know, people have weird ideas about this whole thing. We're still two separate people. Wanda can have her time without me."

"Of course she can." Charles agrees quickly. "Forgive me, I think I expressed myself badly. I didn't mean to say that you two aren't independent, or to put me on the same level as sensationalist wizards who don't know anything about ancient magic." He speaks, causing you to frown. "I only meant that it is my understanding that scarlet witches and their patrons have a special relationship. If I remember correctly, it is written that the patrons bring a profound sense of safety and comfort to their sorceresses when present."

You feel your cheeks flush, and you look away quickly. Charles doesn't seem to notice, or if he does, he says nothing.

"So...do you think she'll like it if I talk to her?"

" Well, she's your sorceress, you know her better than I do, Miss Stark." Jokes the man. "Don't let an old book tell you what you must or mustn't do."

You bite the inside of your cheek, lingering your gaze on the crestfallen figure of Wanda meters ahead.

"Thanks for the tea, Charles." You mutter before starting to walk toward the gardens.

To avoid frightening her, you make a noise with your steps, but Wanda only lifts her head when you are practically at her side.

And you swallow dryly when you notice the tears on her face, approaching calmly to sit beside her.

You don't have to say anything really, and you don't mind waiting for her to tell you whatever she needs to. But Wanda just waits for you to sit down, and then she leans against your body, sinking into your embrace as you run your hands around her.

She relaxes immediately with your touch, sighing. You think Charles was right after all.

Her tears cease, drying against your shirt, and she inhales deeply against you.

“Thank you.” She whispers, making you smile shyly, as you run your fingers through her hair.

"For what?" you whisper back, half-joking, not knowing exactly what you've done.

"For staying."

You sigh, hugging her tighter as your fingers gently scratch the back of her neck, and Wanda shivers against you, before relaxing completely. "I told you I'm never leaving."

You stand like that for a few more moments, until Wanda starts to move again. She pulls her face away to look at you, and you just smile at the intense way she does so.

"I'm sorry." She says, and you frown in confusion. She straightens up before continuing, taking a deep breath, as if she is finding the right words. "With everything Agatha showed us, I finally understood that I never had a choice on my fate. And before, when I was going to erase your memory, how angry you got, I didn't understand why. Because to me, I was making the right thing, sparing you somehow. But now, I understand." She confesses quickly, gesturing as her eyes fill with tears. "It was your choice. And I don't think you would ever forgive me if I moved on without you, when you chose to stay with me. And as much as I hate how dangerous this is, and I don’t want you to get hurt, you have the right to choose to stay by my side if you want, because those are your feelings and I had no right to try to take them away from you."

You nod, sighing, and raise your hand to her face, caressing her cheek.

"It's okay, darling." You say. "I haven't been angry in quite some time. But I appreciate that you apologized."

You move closer, kissing her softly on the lips before pulling away. "I guess in the end I broke my promise about not touching you before the apology." You joke making her smile. "I couldn't help it, you're just too irresistible."

Wanda laughs shyly, raising her hands to your neck, looking at you fondly.

"Do you want to talk about what we saw?" You ask next, and she sighs, nodding.

You spend the next few minutes talking. Wanda feels bad about the whole thing. About all the lies, schemes, and about never having had a real choice. No matter what would happen, she was always going to become the Scarlet Witch. And no one asked if she wanted that.

She didn't talk about Natalya, and you respected her time.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive Agatha completely for the things she did." Wanda confesses a moment later, you two are sitting side by side, looking at the mountains. "But a part of me will never be able to hate her entirely. And I detest that."

"It doesn't bother me that she matters to you, Wanda." You say. "Even with everything that happened, she really believed she was doing the right thing. And now she's helping us. And I know you've spent a lot more time with her than I have." You clarify quickly, and Wanda looks at you with a slight frown. "I just mean that even with the pain she caused me, it's okay for you to still care about her. I won't hold a grudge over it."

Wanda nods, reaching your hand up on the bench. She entwines your fingers together, and moves closer to lean against you, resting her head on your shoulder.

"Can we stay here just a little longer?" She whispers. The sunrise is approaching. You were going to say you would stay as long as she wanted, but your speech becomes a yawn halfway through, and she laughs softly. "Maybe the bed would be better."

You laugh softly too, and Wanda squeezes your hand before moving to pull you back into the house.

When you go through the kitchen, Agatha is there. She and Wanda exchange a look, but neither of them says anything, and you just follow the brunette in front of you upstairs.

You think you'll sleep until lunchtime at least.

//-//-//-//-//-//

You grunted in pain as you fell to the ground.

"Everything okay there, Stark?" Agatha's softly teasing voice made you give a wry laugh.

"Perfect." You grumbled as you stood up, wiping the dust from your pants. "Again please, and try something stronger this time, Agatha, I think you're starting to go soft on me."

The witch laughed, raising her wand quickly. The next spell hurt more than the first.

It had been eight and a half weeks since you had been in Agatha's house.

Things were going well, if you could put it that way.

After that day when Agatha showed the memories out of the pensieve, she and Wanda were on thin ice, and no memories were shared again. They treated each other politely, with occasional sharp pins, but nothing ever too aggressive.

Meanwhile, Agatha was really helping the two of you to become better sorcerers.

You think you never learned so much magic at once, but you weren't complaining.

Even Charles was helping you with potions, a passion he seemed to share with Erik.

And with the intensity of your studies, Agatha hoped that soon you would be worthy of pulling Rowena's diadem out of the hat, but she never seemed to find the right spot, and it was making everyone slightly frustrated, even if no one would admit it.

You haven't heard from the order.

With Fury's death, the radio went silent. You believed that no one but him had been arrested, or killed, because nothing was said in the Daily Prophet. But it wasn't easy to ignore the tightness in your chest at not knowing for sure.

Now that you were practically considering yourself a master at dueling, even if Agatha wouldn't admit that you had far more knowledge in defense against the dark arts than any other witch your age, you expected her to continue the lessons in Occlumency and Legilimency that Erik never managed to finish.

"You're not ready for that yet." She replied, for the third time you brought up the subject, and you sighed impatiently.

"But professor-"

"Erik taught you the basic level of that magic, Y/N." She interrupts, moving her hands so that the objects in the kitchen begin to prepare lunch around you. Wanda is in the house library, studying with Charles, and you had spent all morning practicing dueling spells, and learning to become more resistant to them as well.

Your whole body was sore from the times you fell to the ground when you were hit by stupefy and the most common duelling spells , but it was better than being knocked out at the first attempt if you had never practiced before.

"A master of legilimency would be able to dominate the minds of an entire city at once. You're not ready for that kind of magic yet."

"But I don't need to control an entire city, Agatha." You argue back, following her through the kitchen around the house. "You can just continue from where Erik started and-"

"Enough." She interrupts by turning to you, but she doesn't look angry, just impatient. "You won't leave me alone if I don't agree won't you?"

"No."

She sighs. "I can teach you Occlumency, Stark. But I won't teach you Legilimency, it's...against my vows."

You frown in confusion, "Your vows?"

But Agatha gives you only an insinuating look, and you understand.

As Legilimency is directly considered a forbidden, and dark magic, it would break her vow to only do the right thing by the scarlet witch, her promise to Natalya.

You've never been more curious to know how Agatha got around the perpetual vow for so many years, but the way she’s back walking tells you she's not going to share that with you anytime soon.

"Charles is a master legilimens." She continues talking, moving downstairs where the library is. You in her trail. "He can teach you."

"Really? That 's great!."

As you arrive at the study room, the huge piles of enchanted books surrounding you, your gaze immediately seeks Wanda's.

As Agatha tells Charles to teach you, you approach the girl, finding her distracted with a reading. You smile at how lovely she looks, and can't help but move quickly closer, and steal a surprise kiss from her that makes her sigh.

"Hey, you." You say as you pull away, and she giggles as she relaxes.

"Hey, you." She repeats as she stops you from moving away by holding you by your arm, pulling you back to kiss you properly.

"Hey little love birds, your first lesson in Occlumency is going to be tonight." Agatha warns in a tone of teasing, as you give an embarrassed chuckle breaking away from Wanda, leaning on the pilaster next to the chair she is sitting in. "And you, Miss Maximoff, can practice your natural legilimency skills with Charles on the same schedule as well."

"Yes, ma'am." You and Wanda answer together, and Agatha gives a warning sneer before turning, squeezing Charles' shoulder gently before leaving.

The man turns to you. "Miss Stark, please do not spill mud on my parchments."

You look down to your clothes immediately. Well, it wasn't your fault that Agatha had knocked you to the ground so many times. You were a mess, and you raised your hands in a sign of surrender.

"Sorry, Charles." You mutter as you walk away. "I just came to give my beautiful girl a kiss, I'm going upstairs to take a shower. See you two at lunch."

You give Wanda a wink of goodbye before walking away, being careful not to bump into books along the way.

//-//-//-//

You grumbled softly in pain as you removed your tangled sweater, realizing that perhaps you should have asked Agatha to go easy on the spells instead of challenging her.

Distracted, you startled when you heard knocking on the bathroom door, but relaxed completely when you saw that it was only Wanda, who smiled and leaned against the doorframe, looking up at you.

"Hey, babe." You greeted her, working to remove your shoes. "Do you want anything?"

"No, I just decided to take a break from the books." She replies. "But I would like to know how you convinced Agatha to teach you Occlumency so easily." She comments in a mixed tone of teasing and impressiveness and you laugh softly as you kick your untied shoes away.

"With my charm of course." You return, making her laugh.

When you motion to remove the shirt, Wanda bites her lips. "Allow me."

You stand still then as she steps up to your front, looking at you with the same tenderness that you look back.

Wanda works on the buttons of your shirt, and when she is finished, she pushes the material away, sliding it down your arms until it falls to the floor. You blush slightly under her curious gaze, but say nothing, letting her move the straps of your bra, and then open the clasp, soon the garment falls too.

She moves her fingers down your waist, to reach the zipper and buttons of your pants, and unzips them. You move timidly to remove the item as well, taking your panties with it.

Wanda gives a soft giggle, and you look at her curiously.

"What?"

"It's nothing." She says shyly. "It's...I just realized that it's the first time I've seen you naked."

You blush, but respond. "I wish I wasn't covered in dirt."

"I wish you weren't covered in bruises." She retorts sharply, and you swallow dryly. The purple marks around your body are a result of the spells, but you don't care about that. The pain isn't exactly strange after all.

"It was worth it, though." You retort softly, and think that part of you is really referring to getting stronger, learning new magic. But the other part, the part that knows it's all for the girl in front of you, adds, "You're worth all the effort."

Wanda looks away, swallowing dryly as well. "Don't say that."

"It's the truth, Wanda." You say simply, and she sighs, straightening her posture softly.

"But you don't have to say it."

"You want me to lie then?"

"I just don't want you to say it so proudly." She retorts almost scoldingly, and you bite the inside of your cheek, not wanting to argue. She sighs, and puts distance between you, turning toward the exit.

You clear your throat, and call out to her. "I don't want you to be angry." You murmur. "I can't help it to say things like this, you know that."

Her expression softens. "I'm not angry, darling." She assures you. "I'll just get a towel for myself."

She leaves before you understand what that implies. Wishing you didn't look like a complete mess, you quickly step into the tub you left ready as soon as you arrived in the bathroom, and sink against the hot water, waiting for Wanda to join you.

Wanda doesn't take long. She leaves the towel in the sink, and smiles at you before she starts to undress, right there in front of you, as if she had done it a thousand times before.

You blush, but don't look away. And she doesn't seem to mind that you follow every movement of her hands, although her cheeks redden when she has her breasts exposed in the air.

Soon, she steps into the tub with you, taking the seat in the opposite corner, smiling softly as you hug your legs, looking up at her.

"I'm sorry I said that, I know you don’t like it and I shouldn’t have." You mutter. But Wanda just shakes her head, steeling herself to move closer, her hands touching your forearms.

"Don't worry." She says. "It's the truth after all. You are my knight in shining armor, and I can't do anything to change that."

You laugh softly, and Wanda smiles, stroking your skin with her thumb.

"I want to try something." She says next, making you look at her curiously. "Something I read about it this week. Can I?"

"Of course, darling." You say, and then she is pulling your forearms gently so that you stop hugging your legs, and you sink your hands into the water, waiting, as Wanda moves her fingers, guiding you so that you sit properly, and she sits between your legs. "What are you going to do?"

You ask curiously, even half embarrassed to have her so close, but Wanda just smiles, moving her hands out of the tub, where she makes the soap magically fly to her.

"First, I'm helping you get clean, babe."

She says, dipping the soap in the water before bringing it to your skin, lathering your shoulders gently. You relax under her touch, looking at her intently.

"Can I do the same to you?" you ask in a whisper, and she smiles.

"Of course."

Wanda raises the soap at face height, and with a flick of her hands, the item doubles itself to another. You raise your eyebrow. "Show-off." You tease, making her chuckle, as she hands you the other soap.

For the next few minutes, you help each other soap up amidst giggles, and stolen glances. Wanda's touch is as gentle and affectionate as her gaze, and you are so comfortable that you don't even have time to think about how intimate the whole moment is.

As you finish washing off the soap, Wanda begins to run her fingers along your shoulders. "Will you stay on your back for me?" She asks lowly, and you murmur in agreement before shifting to obey.

Without seeing her, your curiosity makes you tense up, and Wanda smiles as she moves closer, her hands on your waist. "Relax, darling." She asks against your ear, her fingers moving up your skin slowly as you obey.

"Do you remember last summer?" She begins, and suddenly you are feeling soft twinges on your skin. It's Wanda's magic. You don't know what she's doing, but it feels good. Little shocks around your back.

You just murmur, relaxing against her hand.

"When Papa taught you about mirroring magic, I mean." She continues, her tone low and soft. "So that you could take my damage from possible attacks."

"And you were so upset about my wrist breaking when you fell off a broom that you put me to sleep in Pietro's bed." You complete making her laugh.

"But I didn't send you away because I still wanted you in my house." She retorts and you laugh in agreement.

"Yes I do, darling." You say next. "I remember everything I went through with you."

Wanda bites her lips, blushing at your statement. But she continues to talk beyond that.

"There is another kind of spell like that." She says. "Charles was reading with me a line that said If the protector can take the pain, the witch must learn to heal the pain as well. You understand what I mean?"

You sigh softly as you feel the pressure of her fingers increase on the points where you knew you were injured. But it's not discomfort that you feel. It's a different sensation, like an electric shiver that turns into a gentle tightness.

"Yeah, I think so. You'll be able to heal my wounds now, right?" You ask with your eyes closed, instinctively leaning even closer against her hand as the pressure increases, and Wanda just murmurs in agreement, concentrating on her task. "That's pretty cool."

"I still need to learn it properly." She continues. "And I don't want to have to practice."

You chuckle softly at the comment. Of course she doesn't. For her to learn to heal your wounds, you would need to hurt her so she gets to practice, and that possibility is horrible for Wanda.

"I'm sure we'll find an alternative to that, Wands." You murmur lazily, so relaxed against her touch that you begin to feel sleepy.

Wanda continues for a few more minutes, and when she finishes, she goes around your waist with her hands pulling you gently against her, making you sigh.

"How do you feel?" She asks with her face resting on your shoulder, her arms hugging you as you relax against her.

"I feel incredible, love." You reply with your eyes closed. "Thanks to your magic fingers."

Wanda giggles, turning her face to kiss your neck, her lips touching your skin softly and making you smile and sigh.

"Can I make you feel even better?" She asks as she returns her mouth to your ear, playing with the lobe between her lips and teeth, making you hold your breath. "I could use my magic fingers."

You bite back a smile, nodding. Wanda inhales softly, settling herself better against the tub.

Her hands go around your belly with her fingertips, moving upward. You gasp when she reaches your breasts, stimulating your nipples between her fingers.

You let out a satisfied murmur, and your body gradually warms up.

When your nipples are hardened enough, and Wanda has you shivering, she wraps your breasts with her full hands, pressing the flesh against her palm, and you gasp, throwing your hips forward unter water.

"Wanda." You sigh softly as she continues to play with your breasts. "Don't tease."

"I'm not teasing darling." She murmurs back, returning the gentle caress against your nipples. "I'm just getting you wet."

"Just... touch me." You whisper, starting to move back into her, the tightness in your belly growing, and all she did was touch you softly. "Please."

Wanda lets out a sigh, like a giggle, and you don't have to look at her to know she's smiling. "I didn't know you were the begging type, babe."

You grumble under the teasing, but Wanda finally lowers her hands, and you shiver in anticipation, forgetting to respond.

She runs her hands down your inner thighs, but never where you want her. And when you sigh impatiently, she chuckles against your ear.

"Say pretty please again." She teases and you feel your cheeks burn, quickly turning your face to the left, putting distance between her mouth and your ear. All Wanda does is chuckles again, but this time, her fingers go straight to where you want her, caressing your entrance and you gasp.

“M-more.” You ask but she just stands still, her fingertips against your clint while her mouth kisses your shoulder and her other hand goes up to your breast, to repeat the moviments from earlier.

You have trouble keeping your eyes open, and when you try to force her finger against you, she just moves them away with a giggle while you grumble of dissatisfaction.

“Wanda.” You warn, but her hand just rests against your thigh.

“C’mon, babe.” She says. “You sounded so hot when you said please. Do it again.”

“No.” You retort stubbornly, but your affected tone makes her smile, her fingers moving closer to your warm center but still not touching and making you clench your closed fists.

"Say, please fuck me." Wanda whispers against your ear, and you feel a sharp, tightly pulsation in your belly, sighing heavily. "And I will."

But you didn't want to give Wanda a taste of victory, even as you came so close to begging for her touch. All you did was press hard against her, your ass fitted against her hot core, and she gasped in surprise and arousal, digging her nails into your thigh.

"Cheater." She murmured breathlessly, making you smile, but your advantage was short-lived when she pressed your breast into her palm, and without any warning, slid a finger into you, entering easily through both the water in the tub and your arousal.

"Oh." You moaned loudly, one hand gripping the edge of the tub as Wanda moved slowly inside, making you squirm. "More, babe. Please."

Wanda chuckles at your hopeless tone, but obeys, inserting another finger now. It slides between your edges with ease, and you bite your lips to avoid being loud. But when Wanda presses her palm against your clit as her fingers move in and out of you in a slow, torturous rhythm, you whimper, squeezing your hands on the edge of the tub until they turn white.

"You're so tight." Wanda whispers against your ear, her hot, wet breath sending shivers throughout your body. "My sexy baby taking my fingers so well."

You moan softly, becoming even more aroused by Wanda's words. She sighs against your ear, quickening the pace of her thrusts, and you begin to feel the tightness under your belly reaching the limit.

"W-wanda... I'm clos-oh" You can't maintain a coherent sentence, thrusting your hips in the same rhythm as Wanda's fingers move in and out of you, and Wanda grunts against your ear, her fingers sinking into you.

"Show me how it feels, Printsessa" She asks and you need to concentrate beyond pure pleasure to be able to share your sensations with her. When you do, Wanda moans loudly against your ear, the hand on your breast squeezing firmly, pulling you against her and making you gasp. "Is this how you feel with me, baby?” She asks with a breathless whisper. “It’s so fucking good." She whimpers, increasing the pace of her fingers, and now stimulating both you and herself, and you use your free hand to keep yourself from screaming, knowing that the noise would attract the attention of the other residents.

"I can't hold it." You whimper, your body beginning to spasm out of rhythm with the strokes, you are so close.

"So don't." She gasps back against your ear, and it's the next second that you come, your walls clenching against Wanda's fingers, and you see stars, your loud moan is muffled by her hand on your mouth when you can't keep the gesture and clench your hands under the water.

And you are barely recovering from your orgasm when Wanda reaches hers, sharing it with you, and you moan deeply, turning a complete mess against her, feeling your body explode with pleasure again.

You stand in silence, trying to normalize your breaths, Wanda's fingers slip out of you, making you sigh, but she keeps her hand on your thigh, until she joins the two at your waist, smoothing you better against her.

"I can't feel my legs." You mumble breathlessly, your body tingling completely from the intensity of the orgasms. Wanda just gives an equally affected laugh, moving one of her hands up to push her wet hair out of the front of her face.

"Too bad, I still want to taste you."

You grunt softly, feeling your face heat up. But you sure as hell won't protest when Wanda's hands start coming down again.

//-//-//-//-//-//

“It really worked.” You murmurs impressed, as you button a clear shirt up, getting ready for having some food since you and Wanda skipped lunch, being busy with things. The bruises that you once had, are all gone. A few red spots were seen, but nothing too remarkable as before.

Wanda bites her bottom lip, kneeling in the bed, still naked. The vision was a gift from heaven you could say.

“If you feel any pain, tell me.” She asks as she watches you dressing. “I could try to ease that too.”

“You’re too good for me baby.” You commented with a shy smile, getting closer to her again. Agatha liked well dressed manners, she said. That’s why almost every set of clothes she gave you had ties, and sweaters. You and Wanda teased her about being old.

And that's why you're knotting your tie, and Wanda is unbuttoning your shirt. Wait, what?

"Hey, hey." You quickly warn, holding up her fingers, as Wanda giggles with her gaze gleaming in mischief. "We can't stay here all day, sweetheart."

"Can’t we?" She retorts in a mixed tone of defiance, making a pout that makes you want to kiss her.

"You know we can't." You retort with a smile, caressing her cheek before buttoning the buttons she has opened. Wanda bites her lips as she watches you. "I can bring you something to eat, but eventually we have lessons."

"No, that's okay, I'll come down with you." She says but doesn't move from her spot, and you raise an eyebrow curiously, but Wanda was just waiting for you to finish buttoning your shirt before pulling you up by your poorly tied tie, rising to kiss you on the mouth.

You smiled against her lips, bringing one of your hands to her neck, kissing her firmly.

"Are you sure we need to go downstairs?" She murmurs breathlessly against your mouth, and you sigh.

"Maybe another ten minutes."

It takes another half hour for you to leave the room.

Wanda accompanies you, straightening your crumpled clothes before you head to the kitchen.

Fortunately, Charles had saved some lunch for you, and between smiles and stolen glances, you ate in silence.

And when Agatha asked you to join her upstairs, for her occlumency lesson, Wanda kissed you on the cheek and wished you good luck.

Agatha's private study room was dark.

Unlike the library, or Charles' offices, which were extremely cozy.

Here, you felt almost intimidated. But Agatha seemed relaxed, and you felt confident enough with your magic to enter.

"You know the fundamentals, Miss Stark, so let's not stall." She says as she walks over to one of the cabinets, working to remove her rings and place them on the wood. "Sit back and relax. And know that I'm going to try the real thing, Y/N. Just like an opponent would."

You swallow dryly, but murmur in understanding, walking over to sit in the armchair that Agatha seems to have left ready for you.

She turns around, and takes the seat in front of you. With a flick of her fingers, one of the books on the bookshelves in the room comes flying toward her, floating in the air, open at eye level.

She grumbles softly as she reads, probably checking the spells correctly, and then the book closes and returns to the bookshelf.

"In a fight, a wizard's mind can be their greatest enemy, Miss Stark." She begins, rolling up her sleeves, and you hold your breath in anticipation. "That's why you need to protect yours as best you can."

"Professor Erik taught me a few things." You mutter, but Agatha raises her eyebrow in disbelief, and you are almost offended. "Hey, I'm not that helpless."

"Is that what you think?" She challenges. "Look closer."

You frown in confusion, and try to understand what she means.

Then you notice the other figure in the corner of the room and almost jump out of your chair.

An illusion, Agatha never sat next to you, and she disappears the same second you noticed her.

"What the fuck....?"

"Illusions, Miss Stark, will be the least of your problems if the dark lord has access to your mind." Agatha warns as she moves from the shadows of the room, her hands folded on her belly, looking at you, who was still in shock from the last trick. "But I will teach you to recognize and escape false images first."

The first lesson is not easy.

Honestly, it is so exhausting that by the time Agatha frees you, you are stumbling sleepily to your room.

You fall into bed still in your study clothes, and are almost closing your eyes when Wanda walks in.

"Hey, sweetheart, aren't you going to dinner?" She asks, but you don't even open your eyes, muttering that you were going to sleep.

Wanda walks over to you, gives you a kiss on the cheek, and turns out the lights.

//-//-//

It takes another three weeks for something to happen.

Technically, a lot has actually happened.

You have learned to break illusions, create them, protect your mind from mid-level invaders, lie in a way that rings true in your mind and fools any invader.

Agatha won't admit it, but you are a very talented Occlumens.

And Wanda, is quite the opposite of that.

Charles often comments that maybe it's the power of scarlet magic, but he''s never seen someone who could manipulate the mind of others so easily. Not since Agatha, and the witch makes a sarcastic remark, but has a proud smile as she goes out to harvest carrots.

Where you are expert at protecting the mind, Wanda is at attacking it.

She doesn't have the same strength as you in blocking Agatha, but you can't invade anyone's mind without putting in a lot of effort.

"I think it's an interesting thing, actually. " Charles comments next to you, in the fourth week of studying mind magic, with the four of you sitting in the room, and Agatha in the armchair in front of you, while you have your wand raised and try to get into her thoughts. "You balance each other perfectly, you know? Y/N can protect your mind while you attack, Wanda. It's quite useful."

"Great observation, Charles." Agatha congratulates impressed, not seeming to have any difficulty blocking you even while talking to someone else.

"Does that mean I can get inside your head through her magic?" Wanda deduces in curiosity, but didn't expect anyone to confirm, her eyes glowing red and connecting with your mind.

You choke, firming your touch on your wand, and because you were already trying the spell, you manage to get into Agatha's mind without any problems with Wanda’s magic.

A small girl is running down a hallway; it's Hogwarts.

"Freak!" " Weirdo!" are the whispers of the crowds of children she is passing through.

And then the whispers change to "watch out, she's the principal' daughter" "I heard she killed that Ravenclaw boy"

A mirror. Agatha must be sixteen now, she looks young. She stares at her reflection, and then punches the glass.

"You are a disgrace to this family." A woman says in front of her as the memory fades to another, looking at her with contempt. "A scandal like this. Our coven will recommend your expulsion."

"I never wanted to be a part of this, Mama!" Agatha exclaims in a mixture of anger and hurt. "I hate those old backward women, I want to learn everything I can and -"

The slap is loud. "Rules exist to keep everyone safe, Agatha. You're too selfish to realize that."

It gets faster, the flashes. You watch Agatha grow up, study in hiding, kiss a girl behind the candy store who pushes her away when the older schoolmates laugh, you listen to the cruel comments, watch her buy the cottage, meet new people, and many colored lights, the spells she has already cast blending throughout the memories.

"Please, daughter, forgive me" She pleads in a crying voice, but Natalya looks at her with contempt. "I will do the right thing this time, please, I-"

"Swear it."

You see a flash of the day she took the perpetual vow, her hands entwined with her daughter, and then you see more quick flashes of lost moments, until you focus on the day she was alone in Magda's house again, her hand on the cheek of baby Wanda, now asleep.

"Forgive me, I have failed again."

The memory shifts, you watch Erik crying at a memorial service, many other people dressed in black beside him.

She talked to Erik about the girl, asking if he had noticed anything strange.

Visiting a mansion, your home. You see yourself, about five or six years old, playing in the backyard with your brother, the emaciated image of your father talking to her in a low tone, delivering a letter.

More unclear flashes.

Agatha writing the acceptance letters from the school that year, the name Wanda Maximoff emblazoned on the paper.

The day Wanda and Pietro enter Hogwarts, Agatha rummaging back into her old journals and books.

Agatha starts to resist then. You see two more flashes of class, before she pushes you and Wanda out of her thoughts, and you choke breathlessly, stumbling away.

The teacher gets up quickly, aggressively throwing herself at you two, and you cover Wanda with your body immediately, but she calms down, because Charles puts his arm around her waist.

"Agatha, breathe." He asks softly, and she seems to come to her senses, shaking her head, and casting an almost embarrassed look at you, before muttering apologies and leaving the room.

You and Wanda are wide-eyed, in shock at all you have seen for long seconds, as Charles sighs and moves to organize the books you had messed up when the lesson began.

"She's going to need some time." He says turning to give you a tender smile. "But don't worry, I can continue the lessons with you two. For now, I suggest a cup of tea to everyone, and we can continue tomorrow."

"S-sure, that sounds great." You mumble awkwardly, turning your face to Wanda, who looks troubled. "Everything okay?" You whisper to her, and she forces a smile, nodding.

You won't push it, so you even squeeze her hand gently before following Charles into the kitchen for tea.

//-//-//-//-//

Agatha doesn't leave her room for six whole days.

Charles just says that she is tired, and brings her meals.

You only study next to Wanda; it's not as if you can feel guilty about something she has done to you so many times.

And then, as if no time has passed, the former headmistress comes into the kitchen in travel clothes, while you are eating lunch.

"Good morning?" You exclaim in surprise, and the teacher only murmurs with a nod, picking up an apple from the fruit tray and turning toward the front door.

You exchange a confused look with Wanda before the two of you quickly stand up.

"Agatha, where are you...?"

"Hogwarts." She replies without stopping walking, as you follow her down the hallway to the exit. "Stephen has hidden the darkhold in the spiritual plane of the castle. I'll get it, and read it to Miss Maximoff as promised."

"I-" Wanda starts half uncertain, but Agatha gestures quickly.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." She clarifies. "We'll need him to perform the ritual as well. Please help Charles with the house, and if possible don't damage my vegetables."

And on the porch, she apparated.

You and Wanda stared at the empty space for a long moment.

"What just happened?" You mutter.

"Did our spell drive her insane?" She retorts back, and you sigh, turning to go back inside, and close the door, Wanda following you inside.

"I have no idea." You say. "Let's let Charles know she's gone, and try to keep him from blowing up other cauldrons while she's out."

//-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-//

Tag list > @imapotatao / @aimezvousbrahms/ @ensorcellme/ @helloalycia || @mionemymind / @abimess / @stephanieromanoff / @yourtaletotell / @tomy5girls / @thegayw1tch / @idek-5 // @helloalycia // @ensorcellme // @aimezvousbrahms // @drpepperobsessed // @sighsam // @olsensnpm // @sxfwap // @table57 // @madamevirgo // @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo // @emptysince18x // @xastrydx || @yuhloversxx || @ymzki-haruki || @wouldirunofftheworldsomeday || @lostandsearching || @lezzzbehonesthere || @musicinourlips || @chaekhan || @diaryoflife || @nervoustrack || @aquamarinescarlet || @cristin-rjd || @idamaemann || @fortunatelynerdylight || @iliketozoneout || @blackwow34 // @spongebobtentacles || @cyberbonesworld ||

[hamliet]

Hello good morning, I really like your CFC ask so I come here with one after today’s chapter… especially because I don’t know how to feel in regard to 203 after HY’s reveal. What do you think? I like HY, I kinda had an inkling he either had something along the lines of the ErHa flower or he was undercover, but after 203 I discarded this idea, albeit not completely and now I’m kinda conflicted cause 203 was non-con and… yeah 😓 I trust you cause you’re very eloquent and can out into words what I can’t

Hi! So... my thoughts aren't super positive, unfortunately.

I'm really strongly reminded with this present arc of what happened during the final arc of the manga Tokyo Ghoul:re. Those of you who have been with me since then already know my Strong Opinions on it, but the short of it is that the author was under so much stress and pressure that he lost the ability to taste and smell, wasn't sleeping, and feared that if he took a break he'd never finish the story, so he rushed the ending. I've always held he did the right thing for himself. Please don't think I'd ever think otherwise. He's a genius writer of unique talent.

However, that doesn't make the story itself any better. The rushed ending was done in such a way that the main theme got utterly broken. The framing was contradictory chapter to chapter, and it ultimately took its powerful message and inverted it to something I personally found triggering and offensive. Even my personal feelings and triggers aside, it was objectively not well written.

I don't know what's going on in Meatbun's personal life, and I'm not gonna speculate. But the novel itself is a thematically contradictory mess at this point, and I don't know if it is salvageable. I'm inclined to say it's not.

This is a shame, because honestly I feel like Case File Compendium started off as by far the strongest of her novels, and up until the fight scene it pretty much kept impressing me. It took themes and concepts from 2ha and Yuwu but refined them, expounded on them in ways that felt fresh and unique, and offered powerful messages on redemption and the meaning of life. The story perfectly straddled the line between realism and cyberpunk/sci-fi.

That's kind of all gone now. It feels like everything plunged into an acid vat, and I mean colloquial acid.

The framing of 203 completely contradicts the entirety of the story before it.

So let's back up a bit. Framing is what tells you how to view a plot device, character choice, moment, etc. It indicates authorial intent in some ways. For the record, I can read pretty much anything if it's framed well. I am all for those enemies to lovers who try to kill each other, have killed a loved one, kidnap each other, whatever. But, it needs to be framed in a... morally defensible way for me to enjoy it personally. Meaning, it should be dealt with.

But, you say, the story might just not be for you, Hamliet! That's very true. It's all fine to write what you want and frame it how you want. However, it's also true that no story occurs in a vacuum, and the issues CFC explores (sexual assault) are very, very serious, and often triggering. Still, competing needs are a thing, and it's not morally wrong to read or write a story that frames it as less than a horror (it's a trope in romance, and LGBT+ media for a reason--gee, it's almost like fiction aimed at people who are societally conditioned to not express sexuality might find the concept of what's initially forced sexuality leading to hope and romance and new life resonating with them).

The problem with this in CFC is that it has made the incident in the 50s one of the inciting incidents of the novel. Now, the framing of the Club Scene actually bothered me way less than, in theory, the framing of QJJ's first sex scene between Yao Wenyu/Qiao Tianya did (it wasn't consensual, but it was not framed as a violation). However, the QJJ scene is not a major scene in the novel. 

The Club Scene was always the big "can we come back from this?" moment. He Yu's own arc started when he realized how wrong he'd been to treat Xie Qingcheng so, and there was such regret and suffering--think of He Yu writing I'm sorry, XQC over and over and over again over a significant length of time. We even had a repeat where He Yu goes back to the club to self-destruct and Xie Qingcheng decides he's not afraid this time and marches in to haul He Yu out. It was framed as deathly serious.

Now that's gone. Listen, maybe 203 is in retrospect supposed to be read as dubcon, if Xie Qingcheng really did know all along--it could, because I don't read Chinese, so clearly I'm limited in my understanding. But, I haven't heard anything from people who do read Chinese that indicates it was readable as dubcon. And even if that is the intention, which is my understanding at the moment... it feels icky.

Why would you bait readers with a serious topic that was previously framed as such a serious moment? Why is that the topic about which to pull a sudden switcheroo? It's not a good twist. It doesn't add anything to the story that revealing it earlier would have not added. It just makes us feel confused. There is 0 narrative point to keeping Xie Qingcheng and He Yu's situations a secret other than to just get off on noncon p*rn but then whoops, don't worry, it's fine. It doesn't work with the previous framing wherein it was seriously dealt with and gut-wrenching to read.

It undermines the previous handling of the topic. It just feels cheap. I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

[inkedtae]

Hiii!

I just want to be as respectful as possible because racism in Kpop is sometimes overlooked and it hurts my feelings to see it brushed aside as a black person. Obviously we all know bts has done racist things, and the problem isn't solo stanning bc PLS stan as many groups as you want 😭. It's just saying skz aren't racist is slightly offensive as although they haven't all done something, the black face incident was really horrible for a lot of black fans to witness. Now ofc I'm not saying don't stan them because that's COMPLETELY your choice and you can write as many fantastic fics as you want (all your fics are amazing!) But please don't downplay their wrongdoings.

I'm not trying to hate or anything because i love your page sm but I just wanted to shed some light on why some people may be upset with the situation. The way the previous anon phrased it wasn't right at all and I'm sorry you had to experience that so I'm trying to be as respectful as possible 😅. I'm sure they were white and uncultured like that other anon said 💀, but i felt n-word and blackface discussions don't extend to ALL kinds of POC as its only affects blk stans.

I hope you understand where I'm coming from and hope you know we all love you and your page 💓💓💓

Hi! Thank you for writing in, I hope you've been well!

I agree with everything you have very well written. You are right in every aspect of this and I would like to apologize for the way I handled and brushed everything off. Though it was not my intention, it is what I did and for that I am sorry.

I am adamant on speaking up about injustices, especially racial ones. I have never shied away from discussions of this nature nor do I plan to. It is very important to me that everyone who would like to interact with my page, whether sending asks, reading fics, or even looking at reblogs, feels safe and comfortable doing so. My claim that stray kids are not racist, is a personal opinion and one, in this context of harm/damage to the black community, I do not believe I have the right to have. I want to apologize for sharing it in an ignorant way as well.

What particularly irked me about that previous ask was the sheer entitlement and arrogance behind both their wording and tone. It seemed to pin racial offenses solely on stray kids, who are not at all innocent and also not the only kpop group to do highly racist/offensive things, and shame me for not only writing about them, but liking them as well. Their use of "disappointed" struck a chord with me because it placed me at fault, not them for setting unwanted and unrequested expectations on me. This is in no way an excuse for how I poorly handled the situation. I am just explaining my thought process at the time.

I will educate myself more about the racist history of groups before forming a personal opinion and will not dismiss matters I have no real right to or experience with.

I sincerely apologize for dismissing the conversation, offending and causing further harm.

Thank you again for this and I hope you have a wonderful day/night! 💕

[xneens]

love me, hate me - part two

Warnings: explicit sexual content, swearing

Word count: 3.3k

Summary: Christmas comes around and Ransom wants you more than ever.

part one

"You're telling me you actually want to date this guy? The one who can't even make you cum?" you asked, licking the remaining frosting from your finger. You placed the messy bowl in the sink, watching your best friend trying—and failing—to get the egg shells out of the mixture.

Meg gave up, dumping the brownie batter down the sink with the water running, fed up with the shells. "Yeah, but sex isn't everything, you know. I don't know—it's just this guy isn't like my exes. He genuinely cares about my feelings, and doesn't control me. Besides, he made me cum a few times. He's nice."

With Mariah Carey's Christmas music playing in the background, the miniature Christmas tree on the table, and the snow falling, the Thrombey household felt festive. Although, the people bundled up and arguing in the next room—not so much. Yet, neither of you cared while you continued to work, helping Martha out, on the desserts. It wasn't going as well as planned, but you took it as a positive considering you hadn't started a fire. Yet.

"Ah, yes, nice. Can't relate. I'm currently attracted to assholes who have anger issues." you commented, passing Meg the flour once again. Your creation was in the oven, and all you hoped was that no one got food poisoning because of it. Even you couldn't live with the guilt of Ransom, or his touchy father, throwing up Christmas morning.

"Currently?" Meg asked, raising an eyebrow, getting eggs out of the fridge for the hundredth time. She glanced at the direction of the door, the sound of it opening drawing both of your attention. "I'm pretty sure your daddy issues didn't just happen recently. Speaking of which, you may be the main reason Ransom decided to come back for Christmas instead chasing a model around."

You rolled your eyes, sitting back in your chair while contemplating whether or not it's too late to ditch. While Ransom was hot, his spoiled attitude wasn't worth tolerating for a quick fuck. With sarcasm dripping, you sighed. "Oh, how wonderful. 'Cause, that's exactly what I need right now."

Meg chuckled, focusing on the task at hand, trying not get shells in the mixture again. She had held off on mixing the dry stuff, much to your dismay, but to her it made sense to get the hard part out of the way so it wouldn't fuck everything up. Your best friend had just finished cracking her last egg when Harlan walked into the kitchen, Ransom trailing a few feet behind him. The playboy's eyes immediately landed on you, yet you didn't meet his, too preoccupied with the phone in your hands.

Harlan's slight frown lifted into a smile, surveying how messy the kitchen had gotten. "My, my, I wasn't aware a cake had exploded in my kitchen."

Looking up, you grinned at the old man, the smile reaching your eyes until you saw who was behind him. Ignoring Ransom, you giggled at Harlan's remark. "You call it a mess, we call it baking."

"As long as you ladies are having fun." Harlan replied, patting your shoulder before heading off towards his office, too tired to deal with his dysfunctional family at the moment.

Ransom lingered, walking up to you, a smirk impended on his face. Yet, you refocused you're attention back on your phone while Meg left the room, her apron still attached to her. You didn't question her sudden disappearance, knowing she was just as annoyed at Ransom's presence. The man in question peeked over you shoulder to see your screen showing off another man's dick, the words right below it explicit.

His jaw clenched in jealousy. Much to his chagrin, the man's dick was just as big as his own. But, he kept the icy exterior up. "Would it be offensive to ask whether or not your baking will make me sick this evening?"

You scoffed without looking up, tapping out of the dick pic your previous hook up had sent. "Since when do you care if you're offensive or not? Who are you, and what have you done to Ransom Drysdale?"

Ransom shrugged, leaning against the kitchen island while facing your annoyed expression. His smug behavior got under your skin, and the bastard was well aware. "Maybe all this Christmas spirit got into me. Or maybe I'm trying to be nice."

You raised an eyebrow, getting off your chair, rushing to the window, pretending to be looking for something. After a few seconds, Ransom's curiosity got the best of him and he joined you, looking for anything unusual outside. The snow-covered land showed nothing out of the ordinary, furthering Ransom's confusion.

"What are you looking at? I can't see anything." he said, squinting at the general direction you had look at.

Shrugging, you moved back to your seat, propping your elbows on the back of the chair, allowing a smug smirk lift your lips. "I thought pigs were flying. Ransom Drysdale isn't capable of being nice, yet alone say the word. I'm shocked hell hadn't freeze over. Yet."

The playboy rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he took your body in, wrapped in his favorite color, the dress hugging your curves. "What's a guy have to do to be taken seriously with you? You and I both know I can give you everything you want, and more."

"Are you trying to buy me right now?" you asked, half teasing, half annoyed. Ransom could not take a hint, and you hated the fact that he didn't back off despite the sarcasm and insults you threw his way.

"I'm trying to be nice but you're making it really hard." Ransom answered, his cockiness wearing off. He was growing frustrated the more you looked at him like he was a piece of trash. All you wanted him to be was nice, now that he was trying to be, you wouldn't believe his intentions, despite wanting to prove it to you.

Pursing your lips, you tapped your finger against the table, the acrylic nail making a clicking noise. "You wanna prove it? Fine. You've got til midnight tonight. If you're unable to change my mind, you have to buy me my spring break vacation, all the fees and expenses."

"And if I do change your mind..." Ransom smirked, brushing a stray hair behind your ear, earning a half-hearted glare. "... you have to go on a date with me."

Ransom nearly burst out laughing from your shocked expression, the genuine look of surprised slapped on your face with the words. You shut your hanging jaw, still not processing what he was saying. "Excuse me?"

"You have to go on a date with me if I convince you that I'm willing to change my, and I quote, 'bratty and douchebag ways.' An actual date where we sit down, eat dinner, talk about our feelings, and get drunk. Whatever happens, happens." Ransom purred, placing a finger on your bottom lip. You slapped his hand away, and his smirked grew. "Are you going to back out of this already, princess?"

It was your stubborn side that made agree, pressing your lips into a thin line, you grabbed Ransom's hand, shaking it. He raised an eyebrow while you sighed. "You're on. Hope you have enough money to pay for a lengthy trip. I plan on drinking every bottle of wine in Italy."

Despite your baking debacle, you left the kitchen, leaving Meg's monstrous creation on the counter along with Ransom. You went into the living room, trying to find the girl in question when you happened to stumble upon Richard. He barely got to say a word before you turned around, and left the pervert behind. It was always a puzzle how Ransom turned out so hot with Richard and Linda as parents.

Climbing the stairs, you heard the family arguing growing quieter with each step. The second floor was almost a safe haven considering Harlan didn't let anyone raise their voice in the upper level, making it the only quiet place in the house, safe from any Thrombey fights. It was a wonder how the family hadn't murdered each other yet; it was only a matter of time.

Unable to find Meg in your shared room, you sighed, patting your body to find your phone only to realize you left it in the kitchen. With Ransom.

"Looking for this?" Ransom held out your phone, coming up behind you. His usual smirk was gone, a small, genuine smile in its place. It made him look less arrogant.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

You took your phone back, half expecting him to take it back just as you wrapped your fingers around it. But he didn't. You realized he was pulling out all the stops, all the little things that you found annoying was gone. He was acting. Eyes narrowing, you unlocked your phone, studying him. "Thanks. I think."

"Meg is helping the Brazilian maid." Ransom answered your silent question. Your thumb hovered her contact, going back to the home screen. Your eyebrows had risen by his mis-categorization of Martha's race and employment. "Pretty sure they went to the grocery store or something."

"Oh, okay." you replied lamely, putting your phone in your back pocket, the tight jeans making it nearly impossible. Opening the door to your room, you stepped in, not giving Ransom another look. But he followed inside, making you turn around. "Do you need something?"

Ransom stuffed his hands in his pockets, the cream-colored sweater shifting with the gesture. "You didn't exactly give me much time to prove myself. And looking around, we're all alone. I can't think of a better time."

As much as you hated to admit it, he had a point. The bet was a bit unfair considering how stubborn you were, and the amount of time he had to convince you. But it was a bit unsettling seeing Ransom try so hard, let alone being nice. You nodded, agreeing. "Fine, but can I change first? I'd rather not be covered in flour while you try to seduce me."

"You and I both know I wouldn't seduce you before dinner. There's no way in hell I'd treat you like the others." he mumbled to himself, but you heard it. Clearing his throat, he stepped out of the room. "Yeah, I'll be outside. Waiting. Take your time."

As soon as the door closed, you looked around the room to check if you were being pranked, expecting Ashton Kutcher to burst out of the closet along with a bunch of cameramen. After a few seconds, you came to the conclusion that Supernatural was in this universe, deciding "Ransom" was a shapeshifter or a demon possessed him. It was the only reasonable explanation.

Reaching for the hem of your top, pulling it off in one swift move, dropping it on the bed. Your jeans piling on top, allowing your legs to breathe. Despite Joni's hippie side, she had let Meg sneak in a few joints, the smell becoming stronger as you neared both your suitcases. You didn't think Harlan would be too please to have weed in his house, no matter how lenient he is.

You took your time, a little baffled by what to wear. Ransom hadn't exactly given you an agenda on his plans, leaving you to grab a clean pair of black jeans, and a classy, yet simple, red top. You looked decent enough to fit in a nice restaurant, but casual in case Ransom decided he wanted McDonald's, and most importantly: warm. If he wanted to take you to the North Pole, then he'd have to give you his cozy-looking sweater.

You opened the door, the sight of Ransom rocking on his heels greeting you. His back was to you, his hands inside his pockets as he looked out the window, frost crawling along the edges. It genuinely concerned you how much this man was acting; if you didn't know better, you'd think it was real.

Clearing your throat, you watched him jump in surprise, quickly turning to you. Raising an eyebrow, you tucked your phone in your pocket, meeting his warm, blue eyes. "I'm ready."

"Okay." said Ransom, motioning for you to follow him. You walked down the stairs without a word, the air becoming thick as you walked behind him. The sweater did little to no good disguising his broad shoulders, the muscles somehow still visible under the clothing.

As soon as you reached the bottom, you glanced around, the Thrombey fighting becoming louder with each second. It wouldn't be long before one of them stormed out of the room, muttering a curse under their breath. You'd seen all of them do it at least once. You crossed your arms, wary of whatever Ransom was planning. "Be honest, you're not just going to drive me off to the middle of the woods and murder me, are you?"

Ransom chuckled, giving you a wink as he held his hand out. Without hesitation, you took it. "If I was planning to murder you, I wouldn't do it in the woods. If you're going to die, it's going to be epic."

"Oh, well, that makes me feel better." you sneered sarcastically, instantly rolling your eyes. In the back of your mind, you pondered how long it would take for your eyes to get stuck in your brain with the amount of times you rolled them at Ransom.

He led you towards the door, smirking. "You ready?"

"No. Let's go."

—

"Fuck, baby."

He spent a few moments just staring at your spread pussy, amazed and aching for you more than he ever ached for anything.

"Don't you know why I want you to see it, Ransom?"

Ransom just shook his head without taking his eyes off the your pneumatic body.

"Because it's yours," you sighed. "All yours, baby. You're the one I've been keeping it nice and fresh for."

"Fuck," he muttered.

He kept staring at you, waiting for you to rub you pussy again, but you didn't. You just kept holding it spread.

"Don't you wanna taste me, Ransom?" you purred, barely above a whisper. "C'mon, baby, please. I want you to lick it so bad. I love you so much and I want to give you everything that belongs to you."

The playboy was all but paralyzed by your words. He finally dragged his eyes off your open pussy and looked at your face. You were staring back at him with a glazed look in your eyes. His solid cock was pulsing hard in the tight grip of his fist. No girl had ever looked at him the way you were at that very moment, yet at the same time, he knew you were playing with the hottest kind of fire there was.

"Sweetheart, you know this wasn't the deal." he whispered, distracted.

You smirked. "But you still won."

He finished the thought by leaning down and sliding his tongue up and over your generously offered pussy. You pulled in a sharp gasp when Ransom's tongue lit up your heavily tingling pussy. Your hips rolled instantly in response, your gasps turning to moans while Ransom eagerly slathered his tongue all around your creamily delicious slit. He soon focused his attention on your clit and slipped a finger up inside your hole at the same time.

The man's finger curled and twisted inside you, searching for you g spot while he suckled and lapped at your fully swollen clit. You could barely form words as you gasped and moaned, your luscious body now writhing with desire.

Your pussy oozed heavily the more he licked and fingered you. Your cream was sweet, tangy and intensely intoxicating. Ransom probed at your hole with his finger and the tip of his tongue at the same time, but he soon drew his soaking wet finger out of your hole and wedged it between your ass cheeks, searching for your puckered rimhole.

You gasped deeply and lifted your legs up higher, giving Ransom better access to your asshole. He massaged your tight bud with his honey-coated finger and made deep, hungry love to your pussy with his mouth.

"God god god god, Ransom!" you cried, your hips rolling harder and harder against the man's mouth and finger.

Your body went tense for a few moments and then relaxed. Ransom backed off and watched you languish after your orgasm, pausing briefly to catch your breath. Then you shifted your body and took the hem of your outfit into your hands and peeled it off over your head. Ransom pulled off his T shirt and slid over on top of your luscious body, grinding his rock-hard cock against your pussy as he lowered himself to kiss you.

You whimpered while Ransom's chest mashed down against your heavy, naked tits. They felt amazing against his body, and he was beyond reason when the your mouth opened and set your tongue into motion against his.

Ransom had never kissed any girl so hard or hungrily in his life. Nor had any kissed him back the way you had. At the same time, you were grinding your slick, wet pussy against his cock as hard as he was grinding against you. Then he squeezed his hands in between them and grasped at your tits, kneading them eagerly with his strong hands.

He released your mouth and said," Baby girl, reach down there and put my cock inside you for me. I need that pussy bad, but I can't bring myself to let go of these fantastic tits now that I finally have my hands on them."

You giggled happily and kissed him again while you worked your hands down between your naked bodies. Finally, you got one hand on your pussy and spreading yourself open while you wrapped the other around Ransom's thick cock.

"Oh geezus, fuck, Ransom, you're so fucking hard," you cooed. "Oh god fuck me deep."

You tucked Ransom's cock head into your wet maw and he began grinding his shaft deeper into your sheath. Your pussy felt so tight and creamy, and you both groaned as his rock-hard flesh gradually filled your body. You looked at each other in disbelief, even though nothing had ever felt more right or natural.

Ransom growled as he began to pump his cock in and out of your spectacular body with long strokes. His grip on your tits went tighter and he lowered his head to suck and lick on your swollen nipples.

You whimpered with pleasure, wrapping your legs around his hips and grinding your pussy hard against his thrusting cock. It wasn't long before he was straining to hold on and keep fucking you deep and hard. You didn't make it any easier because of the way you were moaning and your cunt squeezed his pounding cock every time you came.

Finally, Ransom raised himself up on his hands while he pumped your succulent pussy hole as hard and fast as he could, watching your pretty face twist with pleasure while your tits heaved with the force of his lunging body.

"Gimme your cum, baby. I want it in me...fuck!"

With a final, frenzied volley of full body thrusts, Ransom's pulsing cock exploded in your pussy, filling you with a hot flow of jetting spunk.

After, they spent a long time kissing while Ransom caressed the your beautiful tits. He kept his cock buried inside you until his flesh finally started to relax.

You fell asleep in each other's arms, and Ransom knew he had the girl he always needed right there with him. He had been right, all the sarcastic comments and stupid fights had been worth it.

In the morning, Ransom awoke from a haze of dreams to look down and find you lying between his legs with your lips sliding up and down his swollen cock. When you realized he was awake and watching you, you released his big cock from your mouth, giving his shaft a long lick before greeting him.

"Merry Christmas, Ransom."

[missmeinyourbones]

so instead of addressing the fact that you misused aave as a non black person, you just delete the tag and pretend like nothing happened? I really want to be nice about it because you are one of my favorite writers on here, but not addressing something you did that is offensive to one’s culture only makes you look bad. A simple “I apologize” or “I didn’t know and I won’t make that mistake again” would have sufficed. I’m not saying you can’t say slay or use aave. I’m saying to at least study the history behind it and learn from other AA’s on how to use it. If a person of color has told you that something you did is offensive to their culture, you owm up to it and apologize; that’s literally it. I apologize if this seems like I’m coming at you in a really mean and rude way, but it honestly hurts to see that someone who’s writings I enjoy, probably does not care about black people like they claim to.

hello, a message below the cut!

hi anon, i hope you are doing alright. i totally understand where you are coming from and right off the bat would like to apologize for overstepping and saying something i shouldn't have. for those of you who don't know what this is regarding, i used a tag that said something along the lines of "new theme slay" when talking w/ a mutual of mine.

it is never my intent to many anyone feel upset in any way, let alone make anyone of a minority group feel discriminated against in any shape or form, as it is something i as a white person have the privilege of not experiencing in my life.

yes i deleted the tag from the post because i saw your message, read it, understood where you and others might be coming from, and deleted it. truthfully, i thought about posting an indirect message about it...something along the lines of "to the anon who asked about my 'slay' tag, i deleted it, as it was not my intent to use it in a way that offended anyone, sorry for the mistake/misunderstanding!" but i ultimately decided against it, as i truthfully thought complimenting a mutual in a tag saying slay wasn't a huge deal. but yes, i saw your comment and deleted it, and seeing how you interpreted this in a disrespectful light, i do apologize.

in absolutely no way did i consciously mean to disrespect, dismiss, or belittle your feelings. again, i apologize, i am genuinely very sorry for the hurt the miscommunication caused. i am assuming you're the same anon who has addressed me about this before (and if youre not, even more of a reason for me to address the mistake) but i genuinely thank you for correcting me/holding me accountable.

however, i would like to end this by saying: please do not ever associate me with any sort of purposeful or conscious oppressive outlook or discriminatory perspective. i am a person who makes mistakes and should own up to them like everyone else. with that being said, i would never purposefully imply that i "do not care about black people like i claim to" and if thats something you truly believe i support/endorse, then please unfollow me. i am learning but i am also a person, and will not tolerate any form of hate against my personal character, especially about very serious allegations that are the opposite of the truth on a blog that is supposed to be a fun and safe place for all kinds of people.

i am sorry for my words, it was never my intent to hurt or offend anyone. if any of my black or poc followers would like to talk with me or further educate me on continuing to better myself and learn as an ally, my dms and inbox are always open for your words.

[ambrosiaaddiction]

Not Meant To Be

Word Count: 3,750

Summary: Anthony became the center of your attention, and it seemed as though his feelings were mutual for you. But in light of recent events, he’d only be able to comfort you in more ways than one. With the help of a loyal friend, you have no doubts that Simon will regret leaving you.

Pairing(s): Anthony Bridgerton x reader, Simon Basset x reader

Part 3/6

a/n: Sorry for the incredibly long wait! I knew that editing takes time, but I didn’t think that I would have writer’s block for, well, however long I’ve had it. So much has happened, and I lost motivation after motivation. Although, it’s not entirely fair for those of you who want to read Bridgerton fanfic. Without further delays, here’s part 3!!

                   ⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

One might think that when he stood outside my home with roses, Viscount Bridgerton had finally set himself on the route to having a family of his own. The Viscount was welcomed by Charles and invited inside, which caused Mama to almost fall over her feet. “Lord Bridgerton! Heavens! What a pleasant surprise this beautiful afternoon to see you!”

It took a lot of willpower not to roll my eyes at mama's change of mood from just minutes earlier. Lady Bridgerton wrote to me her apologies, that were not even pertinent at all, and mama blamed me of humiliating the Bridgertons yesterday. Papa didn't make his typical remarks, but I knew what he had been pondering regarding my misdeeds.

Other than that, Lord Bridgerton told them his hellos, and when he saw me in the family room, his smiling face grew greater. “Miss Denbow, good afternoon. As it always is, you never cease to look so exquisite.” If I wasn't mistaken, I assumed he was intending to flirt with me, and undoubtedly fooled mama with whatever act he was putting on.

“Lord Bridgerton, how kind of you to give my daughter compliments after seeing what she did yesterday at the picnic. In this town, you and your family are truly the most genuine.” Mama was eager to speak in my place, and when she tried to bring up the incident for the second or third time, I swallowed thickly.

Anthony’s mouth twitched at the corners, and he stepped over to me in order to gift his bouquet of roses. “Lady Denbow, I do not blame Miss Denbow for anything. She was suffering and knew no other way to communicate.” Before he slipped back, his fingers lightly stroked both of my hands, then he sat in an empty chair.

Cheeky bastard. He was making light of my missteps, which Mama considered especially inexcusable. And for his compassion, I could not have been more forever thankful. “Oh, Lord Bridgerton, thank you. To hear you say that alleviates my anxiety. And thank you for these roses.” I ran over the smooth petals with my thumb, then bent closer to take in the fragrance of them.

But once again, with more berating remarks on my ‘unladylike’ and ‘outrageous’ nature, Mama ruined the temporary pleasant environment. “I can't understand why, my lord, you want to court her. She may be my only child, but I'm sure she would be a far better choice for another lord of her equals.” My own mother had a toxic tongue which might ostracize her if she didn't take caution of others.

In order to defend against the offensive expressions she was thinking about me, as if I weren't really there, I opened my mouth, but Anthony decided to stand up from his seat and settled next to me. “I'm going to say this as politely as I can, Lady Denbow. What Miss Denbow did at the picnic was not wrong, and she's a wonderfully capable young lady. You are her mother, and I must admit that what you have said makes me very mortified.”

With discomposure, Mama's face grew red and, at last, she remained at a loss for words. “Lord Bridgerton, my apologies. Forgive your mama, y/n. My intention was not to negatively impact you such a way. I'm worried you can't even defend yourself.” Excuse after excuse were all I heard coming from her, but I needed to leave this conversation in the past.

“Mama, I'm forgiving you. But please don't think of me like that. When you do not see that I am well aware of what I'm doing and what I believe is important, I am in despair. I'm no longer a little girl.” Mama nodded, but in sensitivity, she refused to speak as she left Anthony and I in the room alone. "Well, either that may well have gotten out of hand, or the way I hoped it would.”

A chuckle escapes from the Viscount, and I recline against the back of the sofa with a tired sigh. I loved my mama and papa, but sometimes they treated me like I would never age from my childhood years. Despite having no brothers or sisters, I had friends who supported me and shared the same interests as I grew older.

Having Lord Bridgerton here was an enigma that I couldn’t fathom, but I appreciated how he stood up for me when mama complained without cease. Now that she was gone, I took the opportunity to ask him as to why he came to my home. “Anthony, can you tell me the reason for your visit? We both know that you don’t have intentions to court me contrary to what outsiders might believe.” I crossed my arms and waited for a reply, which was his hand resting on the top of my thigh. Perplexed, I looked over at him to see his eyes full of sympathy.

“Y/n, what Hastings said could have been less severe than they actually were, and Daphne chastised him for doing so.” Anthony began, his grip squeezing in reassurance, and he gently pulled it away once I’ve had enough time to comprehend what he told me. It warmed my heart to hear that Daphne was upset in my stead, although I’m sure anyone in their right mind would have done the same for me.

My thoughts wandered to how both the eldest child and the Duke of Hastings were famous rakes with great influence. One had brothers who would take his title and estate if he were to pass, whereas the other had no known relatives and only Lady Danbury to defend his name after his death. I found it funny that I’ve fallen in love with the latter, and he was treating me like I didn’t have a place in his place.

I must’ve been worrying Anthony with my lack of response because he waved a hand in front of my face to bring me back into reality. I shook my head of the unrelated topic and smiled sheepishly at him. “I’m sorry. I became lost before I realized that I’d drifted off.” “Oh, it’s quite alright. Trust me, I do the exact same thing when I’m alone.”

“I’ll be impartial with you, Anthony. I hadn’t given it consideration that your sister would do such a thing, and for me, no less. Perhaps I’ve had the wrong impression of her from the beginning. Everything is going terribly, and I haven’t been able to think properly.” I wore my heart on my sleeve for him to see, and I didn’t care about exposing my weaknesses to him. But Anthony seemed be torn between hugging me and giving a simple pat on my shoulder lest an unwanted third party were to walk in.

If anyone noticed the unusual display of affection, then news would spread that rather than waiting to fulfill the courtship rituals, I was advancing on a lord. He wouldn't be much of a gentleman, in Anthony's opinion, if he were to neglect a woman in distress. “When you weep, I don't like it. It so pains me when I'm labelled useless, but when you're laughing, you look the most spectacular, y/n. Simon's blind and ludicrous, but I know you really love him, don't you?”

“You're right, my lord. Again. I need to let go of my struggles and to live my life to its fullest. The Duke encouraged what I would like to go do, become, and pursue, but under false premises, he is intimately involved to your younger sister.” I forced my body to stand, and in confusion, but without doubt, Anthony quickly followed. In my own house, it felt too stifling, so I concluded that a stroll outside would hopefully help take my mind off what occupied it at the moment.

“Is there anything other than whining and moaning that I could do instead? Wait, Queen Charlotte is holding a ball for her nephew, is she not? I do believe his name is Prince Friedrich.” Anthony gave a short nod, and I could tell that he was already dreading a night of being surrounded by desperate mamas along with their unabashed daughters. Who would blame the Viscount for trying to discourage total strangers from making unwelcome advantages?

I was unexpectedly given the best idea by his affirmation, and I couldn't wait to put it into motion. I wanted to prove my worth to Simon, which would make Anthony and the Prince the ideal partners to irk him. “What say you to opening Simon's eyes in the notion that I attract His Highness tonight? I will have to be in the most magnificent ballgown, and I know that you can help me with this.”

“In the heat of the moment, it won't take a lot of effort to raise feelings of inadequacy in Hastings. He will be fixated on Daphne and attempting to keep conversations with literally everyone who comes across him, but I don't find it unlikely that he will be observing you with the Prince. I know I wouldn't have the means to take my eyes off you, my dear.” That was just what I expected to hear from him, and furthermore. I felt that I had done well enough to seek a Viscount who had awareness of everyone else around him.

Then that settled it. I was going to win the Prince's favor, and Simon would spectate from the sidelines with no likelihood of attempting to snatch me away. It felt invigorating even to think about how it would play out tonight, but it would be seamless with Anthony's help. “For your time and soothing words, I am beyond delighted, Anthony. Until the ball, there is more than enough time, so I want to use it to aim for perfection. Tonight, I hope to see you, my lord.”

“Miss Denbow, I am forever happy to console a lady when she is enduring pain. And indeed, tonight, to my great reluctance, you will see me. For now, I will leave you and I look forward to enjoying your progress.” Anthony bowed as he started to walk out of the family room, and with a curtsey and a goodbye, I accompanied him to our front door.

Since then, hours have passed, and I finally found a dress from Lady Delacroix that was incredible. She wasn't even from France, and her accent didn't fool me.  Not important.  My makeup was done by Marianne, my hair was styled by Lucinda, and mama lent me her diamond necklace to wear. It matched the diamond earrings I got from papa on my eighteenth birthday, and tonight, nothing could go wrong. I was positive of that.

The time had come, and I was one of the few to arrive at the castle fashionably late. The eyes of all were on me, making my chest swell with pride. I got a glimpse of Simon and Daphne who were standing by the refreshments, and they couldn't stop watching as I elegantly walked down the stairwell.

To my amusement, Prince Friedrich was the first one to approach me, and he held my hand and placed a feather-light kiss on the back of it. “Good evening, my lady. You are by far the most beautiful and hypnotizing center of attraction in this ballroom. May I inquire for your name?”

I concealed the lower half of my face with a fan and smiled with my eyes, captivated by his mannerisms. “I have the luxury of being graced by your presence, your highness. My name is y/n Denbow.” After I've presented myself, Prince Friedrich's face lit up, and he guided me off the the last two steps. “To my ears, your name is like music, and it's perfect for a maiden like you, Miss Denbow.”

His flattery would make any young lady practically beg the Prince for a dance at the ball. Well, if he could ever tear himself away from me, that was. “Thank you, Your Majesty. You make me feel like I've got my head in the clouds. If you keep complimenting her, you will certainly find yourself a maiden to court this evening.” From my comment, I swore he blushed a bright red.

“Ah, hello, Prince Friedrich! Miss Denbow! I see that you have made friends with each other. Y/n, I'm so happy you've arrived safe and sound back in London.” Lady Danbury tapped her cane on the ground twice to emphasize her excitement, and I couldn't have been more relieved to see a familiar face among those whose names I couldn't match.

“I have so much to tell you, Lady Danbury. But not here, especially when I came so late.” I apologized to the Prince and wrapped my arm around Lady Danbury as we walked into a more private area. She furrowed her eyebrows together, but she didn't inquire until we got to the place where we could be alone. “Well, speak to me, y/n. What are you so worried about? And why did you come by yourself?”

I bit my lower lip and exhaled deeply, which all the more displeased Lady Danbury. If I tried to explain my desperate condition to her, she was going to have countless questions, and I knew she would never let Simon live in the humiliation he brought upon himself. “I'm sure you've recently read Lady Whistledown's column, and my relationship with Simon, Lady Danbury, is complicated.”

“Unbeknownst to me, when I was in France, he and Miss Bridgerton declared their engagement. He did not give me a letter or even a note when I returned to London that he had gone ahead with a marriage proposal to a young woman he had never met before. I invited him and the Bridgertons to have a picnic just yesterday. I have never been able to remain quiet forever; you know this, Lady Danbury. He lashed out at me, claiming that if he had known that I would be so self-centered and petty, he would never have gotten to know me.”

She went on a tangent as I predicted about how she raised and trained "the shameless rake" to do better than what he did. During the length of her grievances, I remained silent, then patted her arm softly when she started to run out of words to illustrate the Duke. “Compared to his late father, he's not terrible, but he might just be so after he treated you, y/n, and I apologize on his behalf.”

In disagreement, I shook my head, not acknowledging her apologies because she had nothing to do with that. In the sense of flirting with Prince Friedrich, all I wanted from her was to be an addition to humiliate Simon. “If we succeed, then he'll see the good thing that he lost because he agreed to marry another needy girl.”

This caused Lady Danbury to chuckle at my remark, and I had an inkling that her mood improved just a little bit. “I’ll take part in your schemes, girl. Now, let us return to the ball before we’re asked of our whereabouts.” She winked playfully, then gently pushed me back the way we came from.

Men and women danced to their heart’s content, their veins pumping with champagne and even the possibility that they will be courting after tonight. I see Anthony and Simon quietly bickering where no one could eavesdrop on the conversation, but their secrets weren’t going to be hidden from me. “Lord Bridgerton, I thought you promised me a dance?”

I chimed into the midst of their argument, and Simon’s mouth hung open in shock. He quickly closed it, though, and I bowed to him as acknowledgment for his presence. Anthony gathered the remnants of his dignity before offering a hand for me to take. “My apologies, Miss Denbow. I promise you that never slipped my mind from the moment that I asked.”

After the brief yet nerve wracking encounter with the Duke of Hastings, I’m led to have a dance with the Viscount and my new partner of schemes. I felt everyone’s eyes glued to us, which makes me uncomfortable because of the unwanted attention, but it dissolves when Anthony nudges me to look up at him. That’s when I knew how much I admired the man, and perhaps, there wasn’t any obstacle that we wouldn’t be able to overcome.

I may have lost my first love to Daphne, but I also had the power to pull the necessary strings to get what I wanted. Anthony tightened his grip on my waist then closed the gap between us, and out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Simon glare at our swaying figures amongst the others. The spectacle made me laugh softly against the Viscount’s shoulder, and his chest rumbled with a quiet laugh of his own.

“I believe that taught him a harsh lesson, don’t you think, Miss Denbow?” Anthony whispered into my ear, and an involuntary shiver ran down my spine. After clearing my throat, I nodded in agreement. The man wasn’t exactly reputable in every way, but he damn well had my respect. “Yes, it most certainly did, Lord Bridgerton.” I replied, head tilted downwards to avoid eye contact with him.

Once our dance came to an end, I was approached by Prince Friedrich a second time this evening. Young and older women alike flocked around his highness, and I took a small step closer to Anthony in fear that I would be ridiculed by them. Wait, what am I thinking? I shouldn’t be afraid of the people that make their bosoms unnaturally larger than they actually are nor should I be backing away!

“Miss Denbow, may I have this next dance? It’d make me extremely delighted.” Prince Friedrich asked, unknowingly breaking the tension growing between myself and the disappointed women behind him. All I gave him was a smile along with an enthusiastic nod, and Anthony released his arms from around my waist. “I’d love to, your highness. And I could say the same about myself.”

The prince took my hand just when the next song began to play, and we danced as if we were one. If I were being completely honest, he needed a little more practice with his feet, but I was enjoying myself nonetheless. We shared a few words and I kept glancing over our shoulders to see if Simon was keeping an eye on us. In fact, he had been watching the entire time, and Anthony gave me a signal that our plan had succeeded.

I bowed deeply to the prince when our dance came to its regrettable end, and bid him farewell for the rest of the night. Simon appeared out of nowhere then pulled me to an empty area despite my cries of protest. “What do you think you’re doing?! Just because you’re jealous does not give you the right to drag me as you so please, Hastings!”

“Will you keep it down, Y/N?! We both know that I’m not the only jealous one here.” He huffs angrily, and for the first time in a long time, he’s rendered me utterly speechless. No, I won’t play by his rules. Not when there was so much more for me to accomplish. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m simply fulfilling my role as a maiden who hopes to have a courtship.”

Simon rolled his eyes in disbelief, turning away from me so that I’m only staring at his broad shoulders. I’m beginning to lose my calm composure, and the more I stay alone with him, the less I’ll want to leave. He can’t learn of the nights when I suffered alone in France, and he certainly couldn’t force me to risk my reputation for his sake.

“You’ve changed, Simon.” My voice broke at the end of my sentence, but I continued to speak. “I’m not doing anything for you, so don’t get your hopes up.” He scoffed, not convinced by my words, and turned back to face me. His arms find their way around my body like they used to in the past. The next thing I knew, we’re kissing passionately against the cold marble walls.

He had me mewling his name over and over again, begging for a release that was on his fingertips. Simon muffled my sighs of pleasure with his mouth, and we fixed the bridge that was crumbling between the two of us. When we were satisfied, he muttered apology after apology as he kissed my skin. But we both knew that we run away with the position that he was in.

“I’ll figure it out, so wait for me. Please, Y/N.” “Don’t make me promise you, Simon. I want you to prove to me that I’m the only woman you love.” I kissed his neck and cheek, my heartbeat slowing to its normal pace before I fixed my dress. We’ve both been gone for too long, and I didn’t doubt that I would be questioned of my whereabouts.

Simon understood the weight of my words as well as what we would both face when we left separately. He kissed me one last time, and made his return to the ballroom until I did the same. Thankfully, neither Anthony or Mama asked where I had been, and I could breathe easy again. But now I was even more conflicted than before. I made Simon jealous, which ignited sex and doubt that we would be together after all this time.

Although... if I were to adjust my original plans in order for us to have a wedding and deal with the consequences afterwards, then it shouldn’t be very difficult, would it? Well, we would just need to face the challenges when the time comes, and I was determined to have Simon all to myself again.

[sims4imperialhouseofmarasea]

Fairytale Romance: An engagement interview!!! HIRH Prince Imperial Darius and his Fiance Miss Alysha Estep sit down for an interview with Selena Murdoch!

Marasean International broadcasts from The Imperial Palace a live interview with HIRH Prince Imperial Darius and Miss Alysha Estep.

Selena Murdoch: YIRH, Miss Estep, Thank you for agreeing to sit down with me today and congratulations on your engagement. I'm sure many Maraseans agree with me when I say we are very excited for the up and coming nuptials.

HIRH: Thank you Ms Murdoch.

SM: So I guess the first question should be, which every one is dying to know, when did you two start dating? We know you met whilst you were both at University, but when did you know there was potentially something blooming between you?

HIRH: Well yes. We met during an Eco Rally, it was one of the few occasions our respective universities weren't competing against each other. Alysha actually wouldn't give me the time of day. She simply brushed me off at the Rally. It wasn't till a few days later at a convention when I tired my luck again.

Alysha: Believe it or not, I hadn't realised who Darius was until one of my roommates at the time told me that evening. To tell you the truth, I was shocked and didn't believe her until Darius found me at the Unified Marasea convention a few days later and asked me on a date.

Alysha: I'd say, it wasn't until the fifth date and, maybe... two, two and a half months of speaking via telephone, video calls and text messages did we feel that... well spark, where we got really comfortable with each other.

HIRH: I think I fell in love with Alysha pretty quickly, maybe after the third date.

Alysha: Darius actually said I love you first. This was maybe after 8, 9 months of dating.

HIRH: Which was fine. Dating a member of my family is never easy nor straight forward. Alysha didn't want to rush into anything, we both didn't. And rightly so, Alysha also wanted some guarantees that her life wouldn't be turned completely upside down. I was glad to give it to her.

Alysha: Yes, Darius was very understanding, and patient might I add. Admittedly, I was initially terrified, but, Darius was so attentive and caring, it didn't take me long to fall for him and to fall hard.

SM: And the rest of the rest is history?

HIRH: Yes, almost five years later, the rest is history.

SM: So you took your time?

HIRH: Yes, I didn't want to push Alysha, because I knew she was special, and... I wanted to give her an out.

SM: An out?

HIRH: Yes, an out. As a member of my Family, our whole lives are dedicated to public service, which can sometimes leave time for little else.

Alysha: Darius did explain to me, after about two years of dating and a couple of months before I met TIRM's what it would mean to join the Family. It was already clear by that point that the relationship was serious, if not quickly getting there. Of course we have discussed this in more detail since.

SM: And we know around that time you had just moved in together. There were reports about a number of break-ins and security had to be increased. Could you tell us a little more about that? I must have been a difficult time for you.

HIRH: Well we won't go into too much detail about that, but yes it was a difficult time for me, for us, but especially for Alysha. We had kept the relationship under the radar pretty well until that point. We were going out in public a bit more often, and with that comes the increased likelihood that we will be spotted. Hence the Lady in Red edition in the Marasean Times. After that, another news outlet produced what can only be described as a resume on Alysha from what could be garnered on the internet. Thank fully not much. But there was enough trivial information to stimulate some interest into who Alysha was, or maybe because there was so little. Some employees of a news outlet that shall remain unnamed, where... overzealous, and saw an opportunity to be the first to ''spill the beans'' on the Imperial Prince's girlfriend. We won't say anymore on the subject...

SM: Fair enough. So how long was it before you introduced Alysha to the Imperial Royal Family and visa versa?

HIRH: As you know, we were dating for two years before I introduced Alysha to my parents. It was actually my Uncle ( the Imperial Duke of Sulani) , who met Alysha first. By the time of our graduation I had already relocated to where we live now and was spending most of my time in Sulani by that point. It happened organically really. Alysha was there for a visit and he just dropped by with the family, my cousins and my Aunt. We're not very far from each other, maybe a 10 minute walk. We're dropping in on each other all the time. It wasn't planned, it just so happened that Alysha was there that time around.

Alysha: Darius' Uncle, Aunt and cousins were all really welcoming and we ended up spending the rest of my stay, if think I was staying for two weeks at the time?

HIRH: Yes about that.

Alysha: We ended up spending the rest of it with them.

HIRH: That was the first year of dating, a couple of months after that it was my brother (Imperial Duke of Linacre) and Lorna, he had been dying to meet Alysha, so they invited us around to dinner. My little sister (HIRH Princess Imperial Erika Cara) was there too. And then it was Nerina and Greyson (TIRH The Grand Imperial Duchess and Duke of Marasea), again for dinner. A couple of months after that, it was time to meet the parents.

SM: So the Christmas get way to Terra House last Christmas wasn't the first time you introduced Alysha to the family?

Alysha: No, I had met them all before that point.

SM: Did you have any worries about meeting them Miss Estep?

Alysha: No, not at all. I was more worried about the protocols and addressing everyone by the correct titles. Once you get past that there was really nothing to worry about. Darius only ever referrers to them like any other son would, sister, brother, mother father ect... To me I was meeting his family.

SM: And what about your Family Miss Estep?

Alysha: It was within the first year of dating that Darius met my sisters. I was living with them during my last year of University. So, it was easily done. Darius came over and we ordered in some take away and that was it really, it was a really normal night.

SM: Your sisters? Are you not an orphan?

HIRH: That is an in inappropriate and personal question...

Alysha: No, Darius it's okay. Yes, I am an orphan, but family isn't always the one you are born with, sometimes it is the one you choose and make for yourself. So yes, my sisters, I have four, are my family. I make no distinction between them and those I may be biological related to.

SM: I'm sorry if I caused any offense, it was not my intention. What you have said is very moving... apologies.

Alysha: Thank you...

SM: So the wedding, is there anything you can tell us about it? Will it be a private affair?

HIRH: There is not much we can tell you about it now, we haven't even decided ourselves...

SM: Nothing at all?

Alysha: Sorry no, unfortunately everyone will have to wait. We can say that there will be announcement made soon.

SM: Okay, we will all, no doubt, be eagerly waiting for the news. YIRH, after you are married, have you made any decisions in regards to your position in the Imperial Family? We've known for years that you have wanted to step back for a more private life like you Uncle, The Imperial Duke of Sulani. Has that changed now that you have met Alysha?

HIRH: Well yes, yes it has...

SM: And???

HIRH: I, well we, have decided to stay and serve as working Imperial Royals. I realised, when Alysha and I attended a couple of engagements together, that what I was really missing was a partner. A weight of the responsibility is shared when you are able to perform you public duties with a partner. My brother found it, my sister found it and my mother found it too. I have found my partner, in life, service and in love in Alysha.

SM: Unbelievable, wonderful. Such a beautiful sentiment. What about the charity in Sulani, you were setting up with HIRM, Prince-Consort Ngata?

HIRH: That will still go ahead. We are still dedicated to setting up a charity there. We will have our main residence near to Mother (HIRM Empress Sheva) to be of service, but will split our time between here and Sulani. We are determined to make this work.

SM: Wonderful! That's a perfect way to end this interview. Thank you so much for your time. May I offer you my congratulations once again!

HIRH: Thank you...

Alysha: Thank you...

Phew! That took forever to write, I hope you all enjoy!!! Fingers crossed. It's a long one, but I saw no way to shorten it... :)