#i was also born yesterday. which is about the age you need to be to believe israeli propaganda

[hufflpuffin]

But the pro-genociders told me Sinw*r was relaxing in a mansion in Qa*ar this whole time? I dont understand 🤔🤔

[sttoru]

‘you finally got the results to your recent exams back — all which were passing grades. when breaking the happy news to your boyfriend, he comes up with a way to reward you for your hard work.’

☀︎｜tags. older bf!gojo satoru x female reader. age gap (reader early 20’s, satoru early 30’s). fluff & smut. kinda porn with plot, kinda not. soft dom satoru; vanilla, praise, dirty talk, cunnilingus, p in v -> unprotected, body worship kinda, spooning position, little bit of breast play, mention of premature ejaculation kinda, creampie, size difference, reader gets called ‘princess, baby, pretty, adorable’. reader wears a short skirt. not beta read because i’m tired.

“oh my god!” you almost drop your phone from the pure shock you just experienced. your hands shake as you look at the unexpected results reflected on the small screen.

satoru, who was minding his business in the kitchen, hurries into the bedroom the moment he hears your shriek. he was prepared to help you out with whatever had caused you to yell so loudly, though was surprisingly met with your beaming smile;

“oh, what got my princess so happy?” he asks with a grin of his own, stepping into the room. his gaze darts from the phone in your hand to your face and back again. satoru chuckles as you suddenly run up to hug him. he joyfully reincorporates the embrace; your happy mood being contagious.

you giggle and babble on about how you passed your two exams and how you ‘didn’t think you’d be able to attain such high grades’. your boyfriend hums and strokes your hair whilst you ramble, kissing the top of your head with a proud expression, “as expected of my smart little girl. i’m super proud of you.”

there goes the praise again — making your heart flutter in ways that no one else had done before. you sigh in content and bury your face into his chest. satoru pulls back after a moment, tenderly cupping your face so he could look into those pretty eyes of yours.

you’re his weakness. he knows you are — he’s always known you are, yet that adorable look on your face whenever you gaze up at him through your eyelashes never gets old.

that same look also makes him want to do unspeakable things to you; things that would have you crying from pure pleasure. you deserve to be shown what a true man would do for you out of love — what a true man like your lover would do to you for your own satisfaction and pleasure.

“i think my pretty girl deserves a reward for doing so well on her exams,” satoru whispers, slender fingers trailing from your jaw to your neck, brushing over your collar bone, “would you like that? a reward just f’you.”

you weren’t born yesterday. you knew exactly what he was indicating. you could tell by his loving yet lustful gaze, his fingers that sensually dragged along your skin and his tongue that darted out to subtly lick his lips. as if he was preparing to devour a five star meal.

which he was.

“f—ngh, satoru!”your legs were wrapped around his head, his mouth and tongue working their magic on your sopping cunt whilst his hands were holding you down by your hips. satoru hadn't wasted a single second after you agreed to his proposal. he instantly lifted your skirt up, pulled your panties down to your ankles and dived right between your legs.

your thighs were clamping down on his head—almost forcing him to continue pleasuring you. not that your lover minded; he'd gladly do this again and again if he could. satoru leaves sloppy kisses all over your pussy, drenching it in not only your own bodily fluids, but his own saliva as well.

“mm, a little needy, aren't ya?” he mutters whilst softly kissing up and down your slit. he was admiring both the sight and the noises — your back arching, hips stuttering and voice shaking with need. the older man certainly did enjoy the view of your cute little face contorting with pleasure each time the top of his tongue teased your clit, “yeah, c'mon - let me see your face while i eat you out.”

you hesitated, however eventually removed your hands that tried (and failed) to hide your flustered expression. satoru lets out an almost inaudible whine at the revelation; his cock begging to be freed from its confines. he wanted to fuck you into oblivion, but today was your day. he longed to satisfy your own desires first.

satoru was nasty with it too. the unmistakeable, erotic and wet noises of him slurping up your juices mingle with your moans and whines. the white locks of his hair brush against the insides of your thighs and right above your clit—tickling you in all the right ways and adding to the pleasure you were receiving.

“fuck,” the older man curses under his breath and the warmth against your pussy makes your lower body twitch. his big hands squeeze around your hips, silently warning you to stay still so he could properly enjoy you, “you're gonna make me cum before i can make you finish.”

his words were true. satoru could get off from simply watching and hearing his girl enjoy herself. he has no shame in admitting that fact; he can't help it when you’re this incredibly gorgeous. he grinds his crotch against the soft mattress whilst his mouth continues to eat you out in a painfully slow yet tender manner.

“t-toru, g'nna cum.” you whimper and try to grind your cunt against his tongue in search for that last push that would send you over the edge. your high-pitched voice sounding so extremely whiny sealed the deal for your boyfriend. he pulls his head away from your tingling cunt - which is a second away from reaching its orgasm - and sits up on his knees.

satoru smirks once he hears your mumbled complaints. one large hand settles on top of your head and gives your scalp a few relaxing rubs whilst the other hastily undoes the zipper of his pants. he tilts his head to the right, glancing down at your squirming form with a lopsided grin, “d’ya want another treat, princess?”

of course, you nod. you were aching for that release that'd been building up in your lower stomach— needing to reach that long awaited climax. your eyes follow satoru's movements as he pulls his pants down. again, as painfully slow as possible.

“just a nod? tha’s all i get?” your partner pouts, nonchalantly revealing his lengthy cock for you to feast your eyes upon. he sighs dramatically before trailing two slender fingers down to your cunt, gathering your slick and using it to coat his tip. the pre-cum mixes with your own fluids and the erotic sight makes your mouth water, “i know for sure that my smart little girl can use her big words to get what she wants — let me hear ‘em.”

whilst you gather your thoughts and words, satoru lays down behind you, helping your body onto its right side. you’re facing the wall and thus couldn’t see that cocky expression he had on. his arms pull your back flush against his chest, positioning your hips the right way and lifting one of your legs up properly.

“p-please, i need to have you inside me. can’t wait any longer, ‘toru.” you manage to beg in the end. the warmth radiating from your lover’s body from behind you only increases your sinful craving. he teases you by kissing your nape whilst his hands get rid of your top—fingers then immediately fondling your tits.

his husky voice whispers a 'good girl' in your ear and that’s all you got as an answer before you felt his cockhead prod at your entrance. satoru hisses at just the slightest of contact—not sure if he could last long this time. he feels like he will explode the moment his tip glides inside your gaping hole.

“so beautiful, can’t believe how lucky i got.” the white-haired man grunts as his lips refuse to leave your skin. from your neck to your shoulders and upper arms — he didn't leave a single inch uncovered. it was almost tortureous: the way he grinded his tip against your pussy as he touches the rest of your body with his hands and mouth.

you whine and rub your hips back in the same rhythm. you were indirectly begging him to put it in already and satoru took notice of it. since you had begged once before, he won't coax you into doing it again.

with a light moan, he slides his throbbing cock all the way up the tight space. the squeal you let out at the sensation of being stretched out to your maximum capacity, made satoru murmur a few more words of praise in your ear.

“you're doing so good - taking me so well,” his voice was smooth like honey, the same goes for his soft thrusts. the way your pussy grips onto his cock makes him see stars. your boyfriend never gets tired of making love to you because the hypnotising feeling of being inside you doesn't ever get old. it feels like the first time he had stuffed you full of his cock over and over again.

you were feeling light-headed by now; your eyes rolling back as your mouth formed an 'o'-shape—the cockdrunk look satoru loves to see on you. the squelshy 'flop flop flop' noises echo throughout the entire room with every deep thrust of his hips against the plump flesh of your ass.

satoru's long fingers go from playing with your nipples to groping your hips and ass. his eyes gaze downwards, watching as the fat of your bottom ripples after his pace quickens. you were trying your best to keep up, but the overstimulation of all your senses made it hard to match your movements to his.

“aht aht. you've worked hard enough on your exams already, princess. just lay back and allow me to do everything.” satoru (jokingly) scolds you. this was your reward and he didn't want you putting in any effort if your body couldn’t handle it. he wants you to relax like you deserve after a stressful period of exams and assignments. he’ll happily do all the work instead.

“oh, mmh! too good — fuck!” you mewl. your fingers curl around the bedsheets that moved back and forth with your bodies. a bigger hand settles on top of yours — intertwining your fingers and holding onto them tightly. you could feel satoru smiling against the skin of your shoulder as he kisses it, absolutely enjoying your little reactions to his thrusts.

“yeah? am i doing well?” he asks in a teasing tone. he didn’t have to ask that question; he knows he’s doing well judging purely by your bodily reactions. your back arches and your limbs shake uncontrollably, “am i pleasing my baby well enough?”

you can only moan out a couple ‘yes’’s, but that is enough of a confirmation. the older man is on cloud nine as he drags his thick cock in and out of your desperate cunt. every time he pulls out he can feel your pussy try to swallow him back in — it drove him nuts.

“i love how you look whilst i stuff you full of my cock. so innocent, yet so.. lewd at the same time.” satoru comments through another groan, the hand on your hip holding your body still so he could fuck his dick deeper into you. the tip of his cock nearly reaches your cervix due to the angles he uses to move inside you.

your long-awaited and much deserved orgasm was right around the corner. your moans increase in frequency and volume which was enough of a sign for satoru to increase the pleasure. his fingers trail down your hips and to the center between your open legs—thumb putting pressure on your clit.

the extra stimulation has got you biting into the pillow beneath your head, your lower body writhing around as your lover rubs the small bundle of nerves in circles and from side to side. his hand moves fast—its mission being to help you reach that intense orgasm you were chasing after.

satoru is feeling it himself as well. his cock aches and twitches as it gets ready to drain its balls inside your pussy, “cum with me baby—fuck—cum on my cock whilst i dump my load all the way into your tight little cunt.”

that was all the encouragement you needed. your eyes roll back and your body convulses as the waves of pleasure come crashing down all at once. you could feel satoru’s hips desperately push against your ass, filling you completely with both his dick and hot spurts of cum. you could feel the warm essence leavings its evidence in your womb.

the bedsheets underneath your two bodies was drenched in your slick after you calmed down a bit. your boyfriend continues to place comforting kisses all over your naked body, trying to show his appreciation for you in all the ways he could.

“you did so well. you deserved this, princess.” satoru utters softly, the hair clinging onto his forehead. he gently pulls his soft cock out after a minute of making sure that every drop of his cum stayed inside of your cunt. he loves the feeling of fulfilment that it gives him — loves the fact that he filled his girl to the brim.

you smile weakly. you were fucked out: completely and utterly. it felt good and you were satisfied with your reward. it even gave you enough motivation to do well on future exams, “thanks, ‘toru. ‘m feeling sleepy though.”

satoru snickers. you were always so adorable and vulnerable around him after the two of you partake in such activities. he loves it and it makes him want to take care of you.

“you deserve plenty of rest, so go ahead.” your lover smiles gently, kissing the top of your head after you close your eyes. one of his hands hold yours whilst the other rubs your side soothingly, “i won't leave. i'll stay right here with you whilst you sleep. i promise."

satoru knew you needed to hear those words in your vulnerable state. and surely enough, you smile once more and nod. your body falls asleep the moment his strong arms pull you into a loving hug.

his lips attach to your ear in the form a chaste peck. his smooth voice was the last thing you heard as you faded into an unconscious state;

“i love you so much.”

🏷️: @marimogf @osaemu @screampied @sukuette @sachiyoh @giannitaa @morinuu

[arielleslipgloss]

It Girl Habits!!

(none of these photos are mine)

“You cannot live your life to please others. The choice must be yours.” - Anne Hathaway

Stay busy!! Do you see those it girls like Serena Van Der Woodsen scrolling on their phone all day? No, you rarely do. It girls are always busy doing something. So, therefore do some self care, study, workout, read, journal, go shopping, go on solo dates, hang out with friends, paint, have a dance party, etc. Do fun activities and take care of yourself. Another example of a busy it girl is, Elle Woods. Elle Woods wasn’t becoming one with the couch everyday. She had goals to achieve. She had people that doubted her to prove wrong. So get up! Start planning out your day or week. Start making goals!!

Have goals! You wanna know why you’re bored all the time? Well, it’s because you have no goals. You practically don’t have a life because all you do is sleep, eat, scroll, and repeat. You’re wasting time doing nothing. You could’ve had a clean room by now. Maybe you could have finished that book. Whatever it is, you could have had it. You could’ve been 1% better than yesterday. You don’t though because you have no goals. That time you’re wasting, can be used toward your goals. It can be used toward your dream life. Maybe, you do have goals? Yet you don’t even take action. What are you waiting for? For someone to do the work for you? No, get up and start taking action.

Be mindful of what you consume online!! Just like how who you surround yourself with affects you. What you consume online affects how and who you are. For example, listening to sad music makes you feel sad. Music is meant to tell a story that you feel deeply. You may not even relate to the song, but you feel as if you do. So, you become sad and continue to listen to sad music. When listening to uplifting music you gain confidence. You still feel like you relate to the song. Just with a more positive effect. As for what you watch and read. Don’t read/watch stuff that will put you down. Watch/read content that will help you.

Complimenting yourself every time you pass the mirror!! Some may say it’s cringy, but DO IT. Would you rather be cringy or be the best version of yourself? Exactly, so either say it out loud or in your head. Say it even if you might not believe it. Say it because you deserve it! Try to be creative with your compliments. Not all compliments have to be about your looks. It could be your personality, your thoughtfulness, how creative you are, etc. Also loosen up, be your own hype girl. When you see the mirror you could say, “Omg I look like the main character.” “Oh wait, I am!” Lastly, don’t forget to have fun with hyping yourself up.

Mediating or journaling when stressed!! When stressed we start to feel a lot of tension. So, that’s why meditating is so important to do when stressed. All you have to do is sit down and focus on breathing. Plus, It calms down your nerves, relaxes the mind, body, and soul. Not just that, but plenty of other benefits. Which includes, helps focus, betters mood, helps you sleep, slows down aging, etc. As for journaling, it’s practically free therapy! That is, at least in my eyes. All you need is a notebook, a pen or pencil, and yourself. Journal what’s making you stressed or anxious. Let all your emotions out, write freely. Your words don’t have to make sense. Nor do you need to have perfect writing. In fact, when you journal it may be all over the place. However or whatever you write, just let it out.

Expressing your gratitude!! Life is so beautiful and has so much meaning. So, either write down what you’re grateful for or thank God. You are so blessed to be here today. That is only just one thing to be grateful for. There are so many things to be grateful for, air, family, friends, your mind, being born as you, water, books, food, shoes, clothes, and so much more!! Express your gratitude everyday. It could be the most random thing like, a poster. As long as you’re truly grateful, then express it.

7. Having a low screen time!! Cliché, I know but it’s true. Your devices are consuming you. Think about what you use your device(s) for. Good examples are, for work, for motivation, tips, workout videos, inspiration, knowledge, and maybe even faith reasons. Now here are bad examples, procrastinating, sinning, hating on others, scrolling, because you’re bored, to watching videos of people that make you insecure, and lastly to cope with something. Which to clarify, trying to cope by using your phone, I understand somewhat. On the other hand, it could make what you’re coping with worse. I say that because there are so many studies on why our phone is bad for us. Seriously, so many and we are completely unaware of the damage it does. So for that reason, try to use your phone only for the good. I know you’re probably going to make an excuse. Which we all do and that’s ok, but please try.

8. Encouraging yourself to do better!! You should always be working hard to be 1% better everyday. So on the days you don’t feel like doing anything, encourage yourself. Show up for yourself, you will be so happy after. Lastly, trust yourself to get whatever done!!

9. Having a healthy sleep schedule!! For me, I try to aim for 8-11 hours of sleep. For others, it may be 7-10 hours of sleep. Whatever makes you feel the most well-rested should work. Just try to be consistent and mindful of the time. I also recommend to be off your phone for at least 30-60 minutes before going to bed. It will improve how you sleep a lot. That also being said, try not to be on your phone when you wake up either. It’ll help improve your health by a lot. Especially, the health of your brain and eyes. As I had mentioned, try to be consistent. Set a certain time to go to bed and turn off your phone. Then, get your lovely beauty sleep gorgeous!!

10. CLEANING!! The last habit is, cleaning. Now, I don’t just meaning cleaning your room or house. I mean even your body and mind. For starters, a clean room equals a clean mind. Therefore, stop procrastinating and start cleaning. Turn on some fun music and maybe even romanticize cleaning. Just make it fun and DEEP clean. I know someone reading this has been procrastinating on cleaning. You know who you are, so clean everything. Then, for cleaning the mind a little extra meditate. I feel like I already went over a bit about meditation. So lastly, for the body, take your showers consistently. Also, please wear deodorant. I see way too many people nowadays not wearing deodorant. Seriously, wear your deodorant.

“Always walk around like you have on an invisible tiara on.” - Paris Hilton

Remember, always apply lip gloss and stay pretty! Love you, dolls 💋

Info I used: https://reallifecounseling.us/blog/benefits-of-meditation

My Pinterest: @arielleslipgloss

[defrosted69]

A line Hook to you

(Danielle Marsh x Male Reader)

A/N: Its been a long time but here's something to you guys. Enjoy!

Note: 7k words

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“The invisible string theory is the idea that the universe itself is stitched together with unseen threads, all of which lead us to our destinies.”

You sighed as you finally clocked out of work with your back aching with a pocking pain. Working on heavy machinery for a good 9 hour shift isn't really ideal for you body who's used to be so athletic and is used in locomotive motion. But time just keeps on going forward, not backward so changes will be applied in life. And before you know it, from writing and sleeping at the back of the class to having to deal in fixing heavy engines and inspecting them everyday to make sure they work properly.

"Why the long face? Come, The old guys are going for a drink tonight. You should come with Y/N"

A pat on the shoulder made you sighed as you heard his voice. Despite this heavy loaded schedule and work you had, there was always a friend that keeps you laughing and knows to make your frown upside down and uplift your spirits.

"Ah I'll pass this one Sunoo. Since tomorrow is Sunday, I'll enjoy my 1 day break"

"Oh Bummer. But I understand since I'll pass with them as well."

"Huh? How come?"

"The last time I joined them, they cause a ruckus in a bar. Remember how our pay got cutted because Boss preety much used our checks to pay up their damage."

You chuckled remembering that fragment of your memory like it was yesterday. It was quite funny because despite how Sunoo claim they are, they were actually great seniors to you. When you were still new to the company, they knew you lacked experience when it comes to the actual field so they were open to teaching you stuff you were confused with. And the funny thing is here is that you were above them when it comes to terms relating to work.

Cause you see, the seniors are all mechanics and car parts specialists but you on the other hand are their supervisor. You graduated in college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and it wasn't that long when you landed a job in this medium sized delivery company. Of course they were first surprised to see that their supervisor was new and unexperienced but you gained their respect when you had to show them on solving a problem in the Pistons of the engine.

Pistons are one thing to fix but to make adjustments on the fly and make the engine working twice as powerful as before made their jaw at Awe. If most of of them before didn't believe in geniuses, we'll you just debunked their belief.

But since then, you had a good relationship with all of them and you got more wisdom from them since most of them are family oriented now and others have unique experiences that preety much makes you amazed and inspired by them.

"Well where you heading too then Sunoo?"

"Duh I'm gonna watch my Drama. That's the only reason why I have Netflix."

"Right. I completely forgot about that."

Kim Sunoo was your very loyal and emotional friend. Everyone in the company knows he's the golden retriever of the bunch since he's just all smiles especially most of the times. But don't let that distract you that he's one of the best employees the company has. Despite only finishing highschool, he worked hard to understand how the engine works and he had to prove everyone why he's also one of a kind. Despite the two of you being born in the same year, Sunoo has more experience and knowledge when it comes to the company and working experience.

But he is also an open armed person meaning he's not afraid to help you whenever you were need. There was a time your window in the apartment got cracked because of a storm, and you couldn't go to work. Sunoo came after the storm passing with tools for replacing windows and he actually gave you a free window without even costing you any expenses at all. All he wants was to see you at work since it's been a while since he's had someone his age to talk too.

"Well enjoy your stranger things drama or whatever it is. I'll see You at work on Monday man."

"Yeah Man see you in Monday."

He waved you goodbye as he went on the opposite of your direction of where you were going. The night was very chilly and the sky was clear as the day. Looking up, the moon was shining brightly with its stars twinkling next to it creating a perfect harmony in the sky. You were used to walking to your apartment since it's usually just 15 minute walk from home and you could admire the beauty of the building around and scenery.

But something had to ruin the beauty of what your eyes admire as couples walk past you showing their affection to their love one as if the sidewalk was their hallway to act all flirty with each other. You had no objection to people being extra PDA with each other since you'll be getting a good show but it just throw you off.

Perhaps since you've never had a female in your life, you've become the bitter old man who gets angry when youngsters and couples exhibit their love in front of you. It seemed like salt was thrown at you, as the cosmos is continuously reminding you of how lonely you are in this world. So taking deep breath, you decided to take a small detour and feed your stomach a bit after all, you didn't have proper lunch since the company cafeteria is serving nothing but sandwiches and energy drinks. And you were never a fan of energy drink especially after that small incident you had when you drinked an energy drink despite only having 2 hours sleep.

You really though you were gonna die when your heart felt heavy and you started breathing heavily. Luckily for you, that attack only lasted for 5 seconds before everything returned to normal but you were glad it didn't lead to something worse.

So after taking a detour of going to your favorite ramen shop, your stomach grumbled one more time reminding you to eat already or you might faint from starvation. Entering the place, there wasn't much people around since it was night time already which you preferred more than a jam packed day time. So ordering your usual bowl, you took your food to your favorite spot, near the window side on a single chair.

That place has hold a significant place in your heart because ever since Highschool that seat has always been your spot admiring the sunset, the cars, the people but more importantly, it's because that solo space gave you sanctuary to the problems of life.

So anticipating it to be unoccupied, you froze when your eyes saw a woman with a smirk showing how proud she was in her position as she spoke.

"I knew you would be here. The Invisible string really is true!"

You were confused at to what she was saying yet she smiled and stood up and immediately taking over your personal space as she got close to you with her eyes glittering like stars.

"I meant to say is that fate us brought us here together. Because I need your signature right here"

She pointed with her pen a piece of paper in a clipboard which had a few signature of some people as well but, it was smudged and the paper looked like it was dried from air after being soaked in water.

"Is this paper dried up?"

"Ohh eer… Dont mind that. Just sign it please. For my extra credit in college. Pleeese Mr. Pleeeese."

She began begging you like a wild Woman as other people anf some staff look at the two of you weirdly. Thier Stares somewhat made you feel embarrassed of her so without even hesitation, you signed whatever was in that clipboard hoping to end this already. Once you wrote down your signature and name, she smiled brightly and giggled cutely.

"Thank you Mr. I'm sure I'll see you again in the sidewalk. See you next week again. Bye bye Mister~"

She happily waved at you and giggled her way away of the restaurant leaving you perplexed and with so many questions than answers.

"Who the heck is she?"

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Danielle extended her arms out and giggled joyfully as the sun caressed her face. She was overjoyed once again since she would finally receive additional credit for her completed assignment. That signature from last night was what she needed the most since she was finally able to obtain 100 signatures on her paper, which wasn't easy given the time constraint their professor had set. 5 days to get 100 signatures isn't as easy as it seems. So she was pleased to receive her final signature from someone she knows well.

After doing her usual morning routines, Danielle smiled happily as she leaves her dorm with a sense of happiness amd joy filling her body right now. The sky was clear and the air was perfect for her for a walk so with that she did. She began walking to her university humming her favorite song along the way. The common sidewalk that she has been walking was so colorful in her eyes right now and everything was so just blooming.

"What a wonderful day to eh mate?"

She asked herself as she giggled to herself. Yet among the busy people walking tbe familiar sidewalk, her eyes were looking for a guy who she was very thankful since the first day of her college days. As she keeps looking for that man, from a far and from someone's perspective, she looked like a mole appearing in and out of the crowd of people trying to look for you.

That's right, there was a reason why she waited for you at that restaurant last night although it was mostly just her guess and it was completely coincidental that the events unfolded that night. Never in a million years would she would have known that the stars aligned just to answer her wish to make her last signature poetic. She betted on herself that someone special will sign the last space on her paper and boy was she right.

At the very last second, just when she just admitted that everything isn't a fairy tale and her stupid brain admitted that ideal scenarios will come to reality was a slap and a wake up call for her. But you pulled at the very last second and helped her once again. Just remembering the first interaction you had with her made her blush and squeal in delight which earned a few confused and weird looks from the people.

"Shit. I'm public I forgot.."

Danielle giggled as she continued her walk to university. Although she didn't see you today, she understands that you would have left your place earlier considering your a working adult and she's just a college student yet, in her eyes and brain, she's as equal to your status in society which further more pushes her agenda that the invisible string theory exist. Because there must be some kind of connection in which you would be a part of her huge life. After all, Your first encounter with her was during her first time being in the city.

Being a college student means that you have to choose a college to go to and unfortunately for her, her desired course was far away from her city and her family. And of course, that sucks and is hard to understand but Danielle knew that this was a huge chapter of her life and as much as she didn't want to get away from the hugs of her parents, she had to let go of the meantime and travel to an another city with no friends, no nothing at her silos disposals.

She was starting at level 0 where everything had reseted for her but that didn't stopped her to be productive and she continued to encourage herself everyday that what she's doing is the best for her family and for herself. Life may be hard but you have to got an iron will to keep up with the waves of life and keep on moving forward with a stronger resolve to finish college.

Now is where her first encounter with you was. She wasn't sure if you had remember it but you were the guy who picked up her wallet when she had dropped it on the sidewalk where you and her were usually walking. Although she was to be blamed of why she had let go of her wallet because, she choose to admire than to keep her valuable in check within her reach. Honestly, the moment she realized her wallet was gone from her elbow immediately made her feel a cold shiver down her neck.

Everything she needs in collage allowances was in that wallet filling with bank cards and IDs for her to use in public to identifying her. But more importantly she didn't want a handful of earing coming from her sister about her losing her Wallet. But as soon as she turned around, you stood there returning her wallet back at her.

There was this weird trait for Danielle in where she remembers the people's face of those who showed her kindness so it wasn't such a suprise why she would remember you but if she recalled your reaction the other night, she knew she fucked up big time and leaving a good impression of her.

"Gaahh! Why did I spew that nonsense infront of him!"

Daneille ruffled her hair in embarrassment and irritation from herself for acting like a complete fool to the person…

She might have caught feelings for.

In Danielle's defense for this such claims is that she is attracted to people who shows her kindness even if it's just a small one. So despite meeting you before, Her total times of meeting you was 3 times in total considering the other night. Since the guys who were nice to her was absolutely no one. She was often mocked for being an aussie or her accent was made off back in middle school. They weren't that rampant back in high school yet as time moves forward, that claims are now reversed.

"Morning Dani. Did we sleep well?"

Lily Morrow asked her friend who wore a bright proud smile as she walks with Danielle to campus. Hearing her voice snapped her in her characther emission fantasy about which you were glad because everyone in school would know how much of an idiot she is sometimes.

"I slept well. I'm sure I'll get my credit today hehe."

Danielle smiled brightly as the two of then catches up their weekend drama as Danielle happily explained to Lily what she felt during that time as Lily was on full mode listening to every details eh spoke out off. But as soon as that was done, Danielle proceed to the teachers office as Lily went to attend her class. Danielle carefully knocked before entering the room where her professor was waiting for her.

"Ah Ms. Marsh. I assume you brought in your task I have given you?"

"Yes sir."

Danielle pulled out her clipboard along with it was the signed paper yet it didn't take 10 seconds, her progress was returned to her. And that slowly made her confidence shatter into millions of pieces.

"I'm sorry Ms. Marsh but I can't accept this paper."

"But sir, I completed the 100 signatures under 5 days."

Her professor sighed as He knew this was the reaction of Danielle once he rejected her paper. It's not that like her report was not significant to her course but what irks him, was how obvious that her paper had gotten wet or soaked to be more exact.

"I know Ms. Marsh but you gotta understand. Your already in your 3rd year and yet you can't understand simple instructions. I had given you a clean paper to work on and you returned it to me like a wet Wipes dried up?"

"But sir-"

"I don't wanna hear it but I'll give you on last chance to get that extra credit you want."

Danielle was now in full effect to listening to her professor because she needs to pass this subject without enrolling it next semester. It would be such a waste of time and year of she didn't take college seriously.

" I'm gonna give you another paper but this time it's only 75 person BUT, I need you to pass this in Wednesday."

Danielle widen her eyes knowing that getting 75 signatures in 3 days isn't gonna be easy since her college schedule for this semester was absolute trash. But if it means to pass this subject she would do it. So Danielle accepted it and he handed her a new copy. She thanked him as once she leaves the room, Danielle let out a frustrated groan from her as her task was easy enough yet hard to execute.

Although she still has 2 days to work on it and she could easily fill in that 75 person mark, the requirement for that is people outside of the campus and not students. She wouldn't break a sweat if it was just students since it would be very easy. But for strangers? It might be very difficult for her considering that she doesn't know strangers at all and sometimes they could have intentions and very bad at one.

"What do I do?"

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.

.

The sun was slowly shining down as you clocked out earlier today. It was quite a suprise for everyone when the boss announced that today would be an early work off day since he had something to do. It was very odd since Mondays are usually a busy day at the company with a lot of the trucks being used as transport for its services. But if it means more time for you to relax and sleep in your bed.

Yes, the bed is your best place to relax and just forget about the reality of things especially in the adult world. Rest is the most important factor because it's an escape for you from all the troubles of society and life itself.

Upon changing into your casual wear, Sunoo got your attention once again as he smiled at you.

"Whats your plan now? It's still quite early."

"Bed."

"Why? You wanna watch porn or something?"

"Nah I just love sleeping."

Sunoo nodded his head in understanding but you can tell from his body language that he was itching to tell you something so not wanting to make him look like a fool anymore, you decide to break his bubble.

"What? What are you trying to tell me?"

Sunoo chuckled in embarrassment as he got caught by your keen observation but then again, that's what makes you stand out from the rest of the guys working in the company and its the reason why your his supervisor. Your eyes always managed to observe every small detail and remembers them which leads to new adjustment and improvement of the engine. And mind you, it's no ordinary engine, it's a truck engine. Those who big and carry a lot of horse power.

"Well you see. My friend hooked me up and he said we need a third player and I was thinking you-"

"Pass."

"Okay."

Sunoo gave up now. Once you set your decision on one thing it means you wouldn't change your perspective on that decision. And he knows your not into relationship as of the moment as far as he knows. But that thought made him question you.

"Say Y/N, why don't you go on a date now? I mean your finished in college right? You have a good job now so why not right?"

"I don't think I'm ready for it. The responsibility of taking care of someone is a Challange especially since I can't even take care of myself."

Although the real reason why you don't want a girlfriend right now is because you thought you don't deserve to be loved after all, one rejection back in the past really pushed you way back into not stepping into the world of romance. The pain of rejection and seeing that girl choose the wrong girl will never be not funny and painful for you.

"I guess your right. But there's nothing wrong in at least trying something new right?"

"It's not new to me, I already have been in that position before."

"Then why stop at one and live a life of repeating cycle when you can add new things in your cycle of life."

You wanted to speak up but you decided to take in what Sunoo said. There was no hint of any lies in his words as they were all pointing at you about your daily life. Yes it was a repeating cycle of sleep-work-eat-repeat and that's it. Nothing was really getting in between your daily cycle of life which was kinda boring in a sense.

But boring life is what you have been accustomed to and somewhat that's what you like to live in. But is that all there is in your life now since your really crossing the late 20s now. At the age of 25 where many people get married and have a family, your still wondering what your life's purpose is. As you walk the familiar street towards you apartment, the question still lingered on your head.

What do you really wanna do?

A simple question yet it has so many possible wrong answers depending on how you read into it. For you, you definetly have no proper answer at all to that question because you yourself was finding that purpose since College and even now, that you have a proper job, that question still lingering on your mind and time wasn't helping you since people your age have already figured out their path in life. Yet for you, you were still trying to pick up the pieces together and look for that glue that connects everything together yet, you couldn't find it.

Sighing was the only response you could get out of your problem but your bubble of thoughts were popped open when you heard a soft voice of sobbing and sniffing from someone. Of course your not that person to mind someone's business but when your eyes landed on the side and saw a familiar girl with her head down, back reciprocating in a deep breathing motion, and her hands cover her eyes. You just sighed at the scene.

Your legs wanted to keep moving forward and ignore her but the voice of Sunoo once again entered your brain. Will you be stuck to mediocrity forever in your life? Will you never cross that path of change that is really needed in your life right now?

"You alright Miss?"

Taking a huge step forward, you kneel down on her level and what you saw is something you didn't know would happen. Danielle literally looked at you with tears and snott coming out of her nose as if she just had the biggest heartbreak of her life. Her mascara was all smudge down on her eyes and it was preety disastrous seeing her Iike this. But one part of you wanted to laugh at her face right now but you took every ounce of your spiritual being not to laugh at her and try to understand her situation.

"M-Mister? The guy from the ramen restaurant? The one I always see in this sidewalk?"

"Yeah but how come I have many nicknames?"

Danielle sat up as you handed her your handkerchief thinking she would wipe her tears away but no, she used it to blow off the snot she had and that made you froze up. She cleaned her nose and felt her cheeks blushing red mad after realizing what she has done.

"Oh no I didn't mean to make your handkerchief all disgusting. I'll.. Umm.. I'll wash it for you."

Danielle began to panic as she didn't know what she would do since she didn't want to look like a complete fool to you after all. You saw the panic in her eyes which was a little puffy from all her crying. After snapping out of your shocked state, you shook your head.

"No need. It's fine, I mean handkerchief are used for wiping stuff anyway."

"Naur but still. I'll wash it for you. As an Aussie, I promise to make it smelling like a jasmine flower."

"You don't have too."

"Naur I'll-"

GRUMBLE

A large lion roared in her belly and as you look at Danielle's face, the color red slowly took over her face as she looked away covering her face and groaning in embarrassment. There's was no way this day could have gotten worse in Danielle's books but it just got worst. The last on her list is to embarrass herself to someone she looks up and this was a sign that today wasn't her day.

You chuckled at her stomach and your laugher was the hidden laughter that you have been keeping since earlier after seeing her face. Danielle immediately looked back at you with a glare which you immediately stopped your laughing but her glaring and with a few tears was amusing to look at. Maybe a little to adorable in your book.

"Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry the timing was just to perfect. I'm sorry."

But despite your words, you still couldn't control your laughing and this only made Danielle form more tears in her eyes and seeing her glaring while her lips quivering being mad, embarrassed and sad made you shut up at your action.

"Okay I'll stop. Sorry"

You were genuinely apologizing for your action yet Danielle continued to pout glaring at you trying to intimidate you which is failing exponentially because all this is doing is letting you see an adorable Australian pout cutely at you because she doesn't know how to get mad to people. Knowing that she won't stop pouting and glaring at you, you had to take an action to this one.

"Alright. Let's get something to eat instead so your stomach doesn't roar anymore and perhaps we can talk there about what bothering you. Is that fine with you?"

Danielle didn't reply to you but nodded her head. So taking that as her answer you stood up from the bench with Danielle trailing behind you. Honestly speaking, most people would have just ignored her or to be exact, Danielle should be calling for the police or be at least questioning your true intentions to her but no she didn't. And that though in turns question you why Danielle, trust a stranger like you because as far as you can remember, you don't know her at all except the other night where you first met her, in that restaurant.

But as you were thinking about Danielle, She was silently wiping her makeup and adding new ones. She pulled out her lip tint and applied it on her lips by a small portion. Next she made sure her eyelashes stand out and adding a few blush and powder on her face was the final touch. Using her phone camera as her mirror, she smirked seeing how preety she is as she knows she needs to look preety infront of you right now. Because we don't know when will be the next time you two will meet like this.

Upon arriving at the Restaurant you ordered your favorite meal as you turned back to ask her about her dish.

"So What do you want-"

You got cut off by your own words as Danielle looked nothing like what you saw earlier. Infront of you was a beautiful woman who shined bright as the sun. Her sweet smile was so warm and her headband was the icing on the top as you stood there not knowing what to say next.

"Hmm? I'll have what you have hehe."

She smiled and turned her to the side which really made you stare at her for a good while before the cashier snapped you out of your trance. You order two of what you were having as you paid and choose a seat for the two of you. Unlike before, when you would just sit alone in your favorite place, you have to look for a new place since you have company.

"Let's sit there."

You looked at her a bit shocked because the place she picked for the two of you to sit was where you always sit. Danielle grabbed an extra chair and sat opposite to you smiling happily. It felt weird having to share a seat with someone when you were usually alone in that seat. But nevertheless, you sat down as well on your favorite seat.

"So what made you like a mess earlier?"

You spoke up first trying to break the ice between you two as Danielle spoke up.

"Ugh just my signature getting rejected"

"Huh. Was it that the paper I signed the other night soaked?"

"Hehehe."

Danielle scratched the back of her head guilty of what she did as you sighed and Chuckled a bit. No wonder you found the quality of the paper before weird. It was soaked the dried up quickly.

"So what are you doing now?"

"Well now I have to do another one. But only 75 people signature this time and it's due on Wednesday"

"Oh so your boss needs it?"

"Boss? Naur my professer need it."

"Naur? You australian?"

"Yeet."

You smiled by her energetic response as the two of you shared a laughter together. This was quite a surprise for you because unlike a few of those times when meeting a new person, it was always about business and there was no feeling or sense of friendship that could brew between yet with Danielle, there was no such thing like that. It felt like you have known her since you were in highschool. An old friend kind of vibe.

"Can I see those papers miss…"

"Danielle! Danielle Marsh. 22 years old, college student studying management… And hopefully the one you call baby girl.."

Danielle mumbled the last part and you didn't even get a whip of what she said in the last line because Danielle quickly showed her the papers in which your attention went through.

True to her words, it did need 75 signature from strangers and somehow you felt bad for her knowing she had limited time to do this task. Then a light bulb of an idea popped into your head but will you really take that risk of getting out of your comfort zone to help someone?

Once again, the words of Sunoo echoed in your head making you choose the light bulb of your idea. It will be risky but at this point, you just trusted your guts and went with it.

"I'll help you out. By tomorrow afternoon this should be all signed up."

Danielle gasped covering her mouth with her hands as she couldn't believe your making a move on her. As crazy as it sounds, to Danielle's checklist, this was her first strike that the guy was perfect for her. Of course you didn't know this as you read her expression as shocked but what you didn't know was that she gasped because she thought you were making a move on her by helping her.

"R-Really? You'll help me?"

"Yeah sure since my last signature was wasted. I want it this time to be for good use."

"Oh thank you so much.. Err…"

"Y/N. Just call me Y/N"

"Thank you Y/N."

Out of nowhere, Danielle stood up and hugged you with her face deep in your chest. That action made your heart race so fast as you were sure Danielle could hear it. You were about to push her away when a sudden calmness washed over you when you saw Danielle looking up to you sweetly. It really felt weird seeing someone like her keep you so calm and relaxed without even trying. Add in her cute smile and eyes that see your reflection.

.

.

.

True to your words, you managed to get 75 signature from everyone in the company. You even got your boss to sign because Sunoo told everyone a fake lie. Sunoo must have heard it wrong but in reality, he heard it correctly. You were trying to help Danielle with her signature and he began spreading the word that you helping your secret girlfriend in college and everyone ended up signing it so fast to the point your boss even gave you his blessing.

Of course this made you a little annoyed how they signed it just to show their support for you but that also makes you happy that the people your working with was supportive of you. And perhaps it could also be a sign they want you to have a girlfriend already. So since you already have Danielle's contact on your phone you called her and not even a second in she already answered it in a heartbeat.

You told her that you'll be meeting her in the bench on the familiar sidewalk to which she agreed upon. So as the time to leave for work had arrive, you excused yourself to leave early which your boss was all okay about it. So you left work not even realizing your still wearing your work polo with the logo of your company on it. You sat there waiting for Danielle and it didn't take long before Danielle arrived.

Her bright smile once again shined as you couldn't get enough of her smiling beauty.

"Heyya Y/N, you look like a hard working man hehe~"

You blushed in embarrassment realizing that you were still in your work polo as you chuckled about it. Usually you would just brush off the compliment but when it comes to Danielle, somehow those compliments hit your heart in a bullseye accuracy.

"Oh.. Umm thanks Danielle. Ah right, here's the paper"

You handed her her project and truth be told, you did keep your promise as Danielle look so shocked and happy upon seeing the Paper filled with signatures.

"You really did do it! Thank you so much!!"

Danielle leaped unto you forcing you to catch her in your arms as she hugged you tightly. You were already blushing because this is the second time you hugged her and it felt so right to have her in your arms. She giggled as she buried her face on your chest and you really didn't want to let her go but it would very awkward to just keep on hugging her this long. So as you were letting her go, Danielle felt your arms getting loose so she hugged you tighter hoping you would get the signal that she didn't want you to let her go. She didn't care if she wanted to be clingy, because she IS clingy.

"Who said you can let go? Hmph! Meanie.."

Danielle looked up at you with a pout as you chuckled and sigh as you decided to hug her again. And just like that, Danielle was once again happy.

"I need to repay you somehow Y/N."

"You don't have to Danielle It's fine."

"Naur it's not. You helped me alot. I know, I'll make you lunch from now on and you can't say Naur okay?"

"But-"

She placed a finger on your mouth shutting you up as she giggled and smiled.

"Please? Preety pleaseeee?"

"Well I guess that wouldn't hurt."

"Yeet!"

Danielle giggled as she once again buried her face on your chest and at this point, you were getting accustomed to her Being a clingy girl and a sweet sunshine.

.

.

.

Waking up to get to work again wasn't something new you to yet this time it felt more postive in a sense your actually eager to work today. There was that postive aura around you right now and you couldn't help but smile as you looked at yourself in the mirror looking alright. You checked your watch as you stepped out of the door, only to be greeted by ms. Sunshine.

"Morning Y/N. I made you lunch as I promised hehehe~"

Danielle was holding a packed lunch but what caught your eye was her wearing an apron in her clothes and it looked like she just went to a slug fest with so many stains all over her apron. You felt a huge burning sensation growing up your cheeks as you felt embarrassed and happy by her gesture.

"You didn't have too Danielle. I told you I don't-"

Danielle got up close to you placing a finger up your mouth shutting you up as she giggled and puffed her cheeks.

"I told you didn't I? I promised to make you lunch until then. So just please accept it."

Knowing that she went through hell to make you a lunch box and it shows in her apron and in her hands because there are 4 bandaids in her fingers which she was trying to hide under the lunch box. Seeing her and the fact she mafe effort for you just show how serious she is when it comes to keeping her word so you accepted it. And boy the way your fingers brushed against her, Danielle's cheeks burned red and her heart rushed so fast.

"Thanks Danielle. I'm sure I'll enjoy it."

"Hehehe~ Goodluck at work today."

She waved goodbye at you waved back and walked towards your workplace. As you walk your mind couldn't believe that you actually got a free lunch and you didn't have to suffer from the horrible lunch at work and not to disrespect the lunch lady there, but the food they are serving their are so limited and so small. Yes it's delicious but the portion is so small your stomach would be asking for more. So having a packed lunch from someone isn't just a good reason to avoid the cafeteria at work but it also means that someone cares for you.

And immediately that thought made you smile a little and blush as you couldn't believe your own thoughts.

"Gosh what are you doing to me Danielle."

As you look at the packed lunch you saw a sticky note on the top of the cover that says

"You need a lot of vitamin ME"

Which made you chuckle in amusement by her Witty jokes and it was the perfect quote to start the day ahead of you. And this continued on as Danielle continued to make you lunch every morning with witty jokes which are subtle hints of her feelings for you such as the quotes like:

"I am yours, No refund"

"You must be a camera because you make me smile"

"You know it's hard to find a girl who's so smart, cute, preety and top it all, an aussie. So don't Lose me got it mate?"

And there is one quote which really was your favorite of them all as it says:

"Don't you look away, don't pass me by Anything you want, babe, tell me what do you need"

Danielle knew that sending that quote was risky but she was ready to risk it all for you and when you read that quote your heart raced and a huge blush appear on your face. You usually sit away from the crowd in the cafeteria since you got lunch from Danielle and you didn't want to make any rumors about your life and you didn't want anyone to know about Danielle. Except for one guy.

"Gotcha you bastard. Who packed you lunch huh?"

Sunoo finally caught gist of you as you usually spend lunch with him so when you started to isolate from him, he began to raise an eyebrow and this only made him more believe that your doing something fishy which he believes is related to your relationship status. And he could be right.

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Don't lie, you can't cook shit. So who made you lunch? Your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a-"

"Or perhaps your dating someone?"

"I don't-"

"You like her don't you?"

"I…. I….. Yeah.. I think I have fallen for Danielle"

"Wait.. Wait so you DO have someone?!"

Sunoo couldn't believe it. His theory was proven right and your walls just crumbled and it was all Danielle's fault. She broke that protective wall of yours that you kept away from romance yet Danielle, pushed through and got it broken down. Her efforts didn't go in vain because you noticed it upon yourself too.

"So the reason you work so hard and happy was because of her dude?"

"Am I really showing happiness at work?"

"Duh. You have been more brighter for the past few weeks compared to the last few months or even when you started here. You were so non chalant and bland yet now, you seem to be shining brightly."

Danielle's bright personality has finally rubbed into you as you couldn't believe the postive impact she has brought upon you and to others.

"But what if she hates me or-"

"Dude, she made you lunch just once?"

"No she's been making me lunch for the past few weeks."

"Fucking marry her and don't ever let her go dipshit."

Sunoo shook you as he said this and you decided to take his words once again. Danielle has nothing but sweet and a ball of sunshine for you. Your usual cycle of repeating boring process has come to an end with Danielle now in that mix. Everyday seems so enjoyable now and you look forward to it more than before.

But are you really ready to take that risk to love again? Will it finally clicked this time and wouldn't end in vain? This questions has been running rampant on your mind as the day goes by. The moment you clocked out of work, you saw the sunset setting and you took in all what have happened for the past few weeks and there you already found your answer.

Just as the universe seems to be setting you up, you got a messaged from Danielle that says,

"I made you dinner. I made too much earlier Lol"

The perfect scenario was upon you and a sudden hit of nostalgia rushed in your mind making you smile a little but instead of leaving in pain, you were optimistic something good was gonna happen so you rushed out of the company wearing your suit and the winds pass you by.

Danielle on the other hand was patiently waiting infront of your door with a bowl and a sticky note which was her last. Because today she was gonna do it. She had consoled Lily about today and it was the day of confession. Her heart couldn't keep it in anymore as it just screams your name everytime she sees you or everytime she makes you lunch. She needs to let her heart speak now and that last sticky note is the last one that speaks her heart.

But she didn't have to wait long as you walked up the stairs and there she stood and as if she was in a painting, the sunset behind her gave her the perfect complimentary to her beauty as ger white Capri sun dress and twin tails just makes so picture perfect. You Stared at her in Awe for a couple of seconds before walking up to her quite nervous and scared. Scared that history may repeat itself again.

"Hey Danielle. That's a huge pot."

"Oh right sorry I made too much earlier. Hehehe."

Her sweet smile really got you smiling and attracted to her and you wished this girl would be in your arms right now. But how will you pull the trigger on what you wanted to say? Anxiety was slowly beginning to creep up to you and it makes you so-

"Ah, I have one last note for you Y/N."

"Last note?"

Danielle nodded and that made you feel so sad and devastated. It felt like the ride was about to end with her and you would go back to your usual boring repetitive cycle. Danielle turned the cover of the pot with the note that says..

"Baby your my special one, cause you're the one I like"

Danielle stared right straight into your eyes not wanting you break eye contact because tonight was gonna be big for her. Her heart was racing quick and her hands were sweating but she took one deep breath as she let her heart do the talking.

"Y/N. You have been such a great person to me. You have helped me a lot of times now and I really am thankful for that. I thought I was crazy at first but I didn't expect that the person I fell in love with was within my view all this time."

You stayed silent listening to her as your heart was pounding so fast.

"We walk the same sidewalk everyday yet before I wasn't aware of you but ever since I saw you, my eyes was all locked in you. Because in that sea of people, I only have my eyes set on you."

"So before I… Before we have our… Meal.. Which I hope is not the last time we see each other because I don't want to make things awkward.. Umm.. I.. I.. I just wanna say-"

"Yeah I fell for you too Danielle. A lot."

"I love you-Wait what?"

You stunned Danielle so fast her eyes went so wide like the sunset as you chuckled at her reaction. Hearing her words was enough to confirm that your heart and her heart screamed the same song called love.

"My life has always been a repeating a cycle but I thought that was enough for me. Until you came into my life and change that. Everyday I See a reason to keep me smiling and motivated to work because you, you Danielle make my world so bright."

Danielle just stared at you with the most loving look as if she was ready to melt under your touch and you decided to do just that. You cup her cheeks and kissed her forehead and said the words that stopped Danielle.

"I love you Danielle."

As soon as those words was spoken Danielle placed the pot on the floor let and hugged you tightly and began bombarding your cheeks with kisses.

"You don't know how much I was holding myself to not kiss your cheeks. Now I can kiss you as much as I can. Hehe~"

You laughed whole heartedly as you let Danielle kiss your cheeks so much as you really felt the love coming from her. Despite having a painful memory of heartbreak, Danielle was the reminder that change is the only permanent thing in the world. But more importantly, Love wins all.

"You know my co-workers will be shocked that your in college."

"Naur they won't. Besides, My friends will be proud I have such a working adult boyfriend. Who will understand my craziness."

"Oh believe me, I have seen more crazier things Danielle."

"Prove it to me babe. Hehe~"

With a smirk, you carried Danielle, princess style making her blush and laugh as you two entered your apartment but aside from being so happy where the strings between you two has finally connected, the pot of food was left outside.

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.

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[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think that some wizards are naturally born with significantly greater magical power than others?

For example, the Dumbledore family seemed to be like this: Albus himself was a great wizard, and both his sister and nephew were able to withstand an Obscurial inside them for as long as possible and not die at a young age because of it.

Lily and Tom Riddle were able to control their magic at an early age, which I believe might have been due to their lack of understanding about what was happening to them. However, they used their abilities for different purposes; unlike Tom, who used his magic to harm others, Lily used hers solely for fun.

Although each wizard developed their magic differently, Dumbledore was naturally talented and actively sought knowledge. However, the tragedy involving his sister led him to reevaluate his ambitions of ruling alongside Grindelwald. He lived for over a century, continuously honing his skills. In contrast, Voldemort lived only half as long as Dumbledore, devoting his entire life to the pursuit of domination over others.

Unlike the two men, Lily had a very short life and didn’t have the opportunity to reach their level of knowledge. From what we know of her, she seemed more skilled in specific areas of magic rather than mastering all fields. Another key difference is that both men sought power, while nothing of the sort was mentioned about Lily. She was described as vivacious and sociable, focusing more on the human aspects of life—such as family, love, and friendship—though she was certainly not stupid.

Another point to consider is Lily's sacrificial protection. While magic typically requires intent, it doesn’t always need a wand as its conduit; wandless magic is indeed possible. Lily’s childhood ability to harness her magic without a wand may have unconsciously intensified her desire to protect Harry.

Many have speculated whether others have faced a situation similar to Lily's on that fateful night, where they were presented with a choice they ultimately refused, sacrificing themselves to protect their loved ones. While such instances may have occurred, Lily's magic was inherently more powerful than that of others, which played a crucial role in ensuring Harry's survival.

Hi 👋

And yes, I do. I think some wizards are more innately powerful than others and are more skilled in certain aspects of magic.

It is stated multiple times in the books some wizards are more talented in different areas of magic/are more naturally inclined to these areas of magic:

“Pettigrew . . . that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?” said Madam Rosmerta. “Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,” said Professor McGonagall. “Never quite in their league, talent-wise.

(PoA, 207)

“Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future,” Professor Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. “It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy,”

(PoA, 103)

And some wands also are more inclined to one field of magic over another:

Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration.

(PS, 61)

You have your mother’s eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work.

(PS, 61)

And if we're talking power levels, if we look at the Golden Trio, we can see Harry clearly had the edge in terms of raw magical power, bending the very way spells are meant to be cast:

She aimed a curse over her shoulder. The tank rose into the air and tipped. Harry was deluged in the foul-smelling potion within. The brains slipped and slid over him and began spinning their long, colored tentacles, but he shouted, “Wingardium Leviosa!” and they flew into the air away from him. Slipping and sliding he ran on toward the door.

(OotP, 809)

And that Harry's magic is more intuitive than basically every other wizard we meet:

Dust swirled around Harry like mist, catching the blue gaslight, as Mrs. Black continued to scream. “Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonor, taint of shame on the house of my fathers—“ “SHUT UP!” Harry bellowed, directing his wand at her, and with a bang and a burst of red sparks, the curtains swung shut again, silencing her

(DH, 171)

(I have more evidence for this here)

That being said, magical power is affected by other factors. Years of study and experience like Dumbledore has would make everyone a better wizard. Dumbledore himself is powerful, but he puts a lot of effort into studying and advancing his skills in magic, something Harry doesn't do, but can still get similar results. Magic is referred to as a skill that you can train, even if the talent isn't there:

“Yes, but it took a great deal of skilled Legilimency to coax it out of him,” said Dumbledore

(HBP, 367)

“You cannot pass an O.W.L.,” said Professor McGonagall grimly, “without serious application, practice, and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an O.W.L. in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work.” 

(OotP, 257)

Or how Harry is told to practice Occlumancy, or how Snape has them practice silent casting in 6th year. Like with most skills, practice makes perfect.

So even a mediocre wizard in terms of natural talent could do some complex magic with practice, as seen with Crabbe, actually:

“Fiendfyre — cursed fire — it’s one of the substances that destroy Horcruxes, but I would never, ever have dared use it, it’s so dangerous — how did Crabbe know how to — ?” “Must’ve learned from the Carrows,” said Harry grimly.

(DH, 537)

Fiendfyre is no easy spell to cast and control. He shows he can't quite control it, but he can cast the powerful curse even if he isn't very magically powerful or talented because he's been taught and he practiced.

Similarly, mental state can effect one's magic. Neville was thought to be a squib when he was younger:

but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy.

(PS, 91)

(Also, fuck, Neville's childhood makes me so sad)

But he isn't magically weak in any way. I wouldn't say he's incredibly powerful, but he's also not weak:

He and the D.A. were resisting her under her very nose, doing the very thing that she and the Ministry most feared, and whenever he was supposed to be reading Wilbert Slinkhard’s book during her lessons he dwelled instead on satisfying memories of their most recent meetings, remembering how Neville had successfully disarmed Hermione, how Colin Creevey had mastered the Impediment Jinx after three meetings’ hard effort

(OotP, 397)

His self-doubt and being under stress affected his magic negatively. Neville is another example of a wizard whose magic gets better with practice, both due to his boosted confidence, and the fact that practice does help.

Even Harry, who is one of the more magically powerful characters we see is affected by his own perception of what he can and can't do, regardless of whether it's magically possible as I mentioned above. When he thinks he can do something, like fix his own wand with the Elder wand, he can do it, even though Ollivanders thinks it's impossible to accomplish (I talk about this a bit more here)

So, long story short, yes, I think there is an innate talent/power factor to magic. But, like many skills, it can be honed with practice and improve with your mental state.

Magic is kind of like drawing. Some people are naturally talented and it comes naturally to them easily. Some need to work much harder just to get the same results. Some practice for years in professional environments and get really good at it. Some rando on the internet taught themselves, but their pieces wouldn't look out of place in a museum. Some people don't have the talent but work their ass off to get really good at drawing, and some don't have the talent and are fine with just drawing stick figures forever. Some would rather draw better but feel incapable due to the amount of effort it'll need, so they stick to stick figures even if they aren't happy with it. And your mental state and inspiration matter, sometimes it's hard to draw when you feel like shit. And how these different people would think of drawing would be different depending on their natural inclination, some would just know where the light comes from and how the shadows would look like on the object because that's how it works, while others would need to find a reference to look at or have a completely different way to visualize it.

As we see characters like Dumbledore and Hermione have a very rigid by-the-book approach to magic. Both have talent but they hone their talent in study and bookish approach to magic. Harry, on the other hand, is very instinctive with magic. He doesn't really know why what he does works, he just knows it does because he has a lot of natural talent.

Tom Riddle and Severus Snape are examples of characters who are a bit of both. They are clearly naturally talented and can approach magic intuitively — Tom learned to control his magic before he understood what it is, and both of them invented spells quite easily compared to most wizards — all signs of natural, intuitive talent in spellwork. But they both also studied like mad to improve themselves even more. And their studies do pay off, they are two of the more powerful wizards in the books.

Young Lily, as you said, casts some very well-controlled accidental magic, much like Tom does. So, yeah, I'd say she is naturally talented and powerful and it likely had a hand in her being able to cast her protective magic over Harry by instinct in her death — like we see Harry cast magic in instinct. I think Lily had an approach to magic on an instinctual feeling level very similar to what Harry has. At least, in my headcanon. But, I think the magical protection is basically a lot of circumstances coming together on half-coincidence and half-Lily casting a spell like the "shut up" scene I brought up above where Harry accidentally casts "shut up" as a spell because of strong emotions — so I think the protections she left for Harry are similar in how the magic worked all on her force of will and intention. Nut raw talent definitely helped. Lily would've likely gotten more powerful with study and practice had she lived longer as shown by other characters.

TL;DR

Magic is a skill. Some people are born more talented, or with a better disposition for the skill, or aspect of the skill, but this isn't all there is to magic. Factors like study, practice, confidence, and your mental state in general do heavily affect your ability to do magic. Some need more or less practice to achieve the same results, but most magic is possible to everyone assuming they put in the work (bar special inherited gifts like Parseltongue, or being a Metamorphmagus)

[jayzfort]

Remember that time? || Panville

Pairings- Pansy P. x Neville L. A/N- I'm feeling a tad bit overdramatic today, and yesterday I read a prompt about "signet rings" and may have gotten a somewhat angst-y idea. It has a happy ending, obviously.

Remember when you "almost" got married?

Neville was cleaning up the attic of their house when he came across a dusty old trunk. Brushing off some of the dust, he saw his wife's initials carved into the trunk, next to the Parkinson family crest. "Pansy Parkinson," it read.

"August?" he called out for his son. His 14-year-old son ran up to the attic, giving a visible shiver. "Why'd you shiver, son?" Neville asked, concerned.

"Nothing, just this place has always given me the haunts. I am sure that this house has a ghost that sings at night; Francesca told me," August said, causing Neville to let out a hearty laugh.

"I assure you, there's no ghost in the attic. Besides, shouldn't you be used to ghosts? After all, Hogwarts has ghosts," Neville said as he pulled up the trunk, which was quite heavy. "What did your mum put in here? It's so heavy," he muttered absentmindedly.

"Dad, I'm telling you, there's a ghost who sings at night. I've heard her, when I was five," August insisted, trying to get his dad to believe him.

"Honey, are you sure it wasn't just Francesca singing in the shower?" Neville said.

"I heard that!" came a voice from downstairs. It was his middle child, Francesca.

"Whoops," Neville said. "Aug, I need you to go downstairs and ask your mum for the key to this trunk. Also, call her here; she might want to give away some of the things inside."

"Got it, be right back," August said, racing to the living room of the Longbottom household to find his mother. "Mum?" he called out, but there was no answer. "MUM?" he called out louder.

"I'm here, baby," his mother called out from the study. When he entered, he saw his older sister, Francesca, complaining to their mother. "Thankfully, I don't need to hear him say that again, ever."

"Say what?" August asked his sister.

"You know, when Dad starts every Herbology class with one of us in it by announcing, 'I'd like to inform you that I'm only sleeping with one of the students' mothers in this class,'" Francesca replied. August scrunched his nose in disgust. His sisters, Alice and Francesca, had been on the receiving end of this "joke" from their dad since their first year, and he did not find it funny at all.

"It's really not as funny as he thinks it is," August told his mom and his sister.

Pansy just laughed. "Let him have some fun; he's getting old, you know," Francesca told her brother, which earned her a playful glare from her mum.

"He's not old; he's quite strong and fit for his age," Pansy said to her daughter.

"You're only saying that because you're a few months older than Dad, and if we say he's old, that makes you OLDER," August teased his mother.

"I miss having Alice around. At least she'd take my side," Pansy said, crossing her arms.

"Too bad, Mum. Your favorite twenty-year-old decided to pursue wand making in Australia for a year," Francesca said.

Just before they could complete their banter, Neville came down the stairs, carrying the old heavy trunk with ease, and placed it on the table, flexing his very prominent arm muscles. Francesca muttered, "Show off," to her dad, to which he just sent a lovable wink in her direction.

"See? I told you, he's more than fit for his age," Pansy said, smirking at her husband.

"Ew, Mum, stop, or else Alice wouldn't be your only kid off to Australia. Aug and I'll go off too," Francesca said.

"August, did you ask your mum for the keys?" Neville asked his son.

"What keys?" August replied. "Oh—the keys to the trunk, right. Hey, Mum, Dad found this old trunk of yours up in the attic. He wanted the keys to it," August asked his mum. Neville just rolled his eyes at his son.

"I'm telling you, they switched up kids in the hospital when he was born," Francesca told her dad, which earned her a shove from her brother.

"I haven't opened this trunk since we moved in here. Been like twenty-two years since that. I think I have the key somewhere," Pansy said, opening one of the drawers in the wooden desk. She got out a bunch of antique-looking keys. "Try one of these."

"Why don't you just use the Alohomora charm?" August asked.

"It's an ancestral trunk. My father used this trunk for—well, things we don't need to talk about. Although your grandmother cleared out most of the dark magic, the privacy charms were too strong, and it can only be opened by the key," Pansy explained.

"Isn't that how a regular muggle trunk works?" Francesca said. "You can open that trunk with a simple Alohomora; you can't open this with any of the charms that exist."

After Pansy opened the trunk, Neville gave her a look, a question of permission. She agreed. Neville rummaged through the trunk, finding old books, old cardigans, photo albums, sweaters, and jewelry.

"Hey Mum, what's this?" August asked, digging his hand deep into the trunk. He revealed a ring with a snake carved into the letter P. It was quite small, but August thought his mum was always on the shorter side, which was ironic because his father was quite tall.

"Ah, that's my family's signet ring," Pansy said, with a look of disgust.

"A what ring?" Francesca asked.

"A signet ring. Previously, the heir to a pureblood family was given a ring with the family's crest on it," Pansy explained.

"What significance did it have?" Francesca further enquired.

"Well, now it holds no significance, but back in my parents' generation, where arranged marriages were quite common, the man usually gave his signet ring or the family locket to his betrothed as a symbol of promise and love," Pansy explained, slowly rubbing her thumb over the signet ring.

"Weren't most of them just marriages of convenience where they'd have extramarital affairs of some sort?" August snorted. Francesca and Neville burst out laughing at this.

"Honestly, August, think before you speak—but yes, you're not entirely wrong. But think before you speak," Pansy scolded her son while trying to hide her smile.

"Dad, do you not have a signet ring?" Francesca asked, looking up at Neville. He shook his head.

"My Nan gave me the one my dad wore after the war when she saw me 'worthy' of it, but I seemed to have lost it in my early days of teaching at Hogwarts."

"She gave it to you because she wanted you to give it to Hannah Abbott as a symbol of promise when she was trying to set you up with her," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. Even after being married to Neville for twenty years, she was still very possessive of him. She knew that her husband was a war hero, that she had been on the wrong side, and that women of all ages tried to suck up to her Neville. She tried to act as if it didn't bother her, but it did. Neville always told her that he was always hers and no one else's, but Pansy would always say he had the best glow-up in history and that everyone was going to eye him up and down like a piece of meat.

"You're still jealous? Parks, I thought you'd be over that. It's been twenty-two years since that," Neville said, laughing affectionately, pulling his wife to sit on his lap.

"WAIT, what do you mean set you up with Ms. Abbott? The Leaky Cauldron's Hannah Abbott? You were supposed to marry her?" Francesca asked, not believing what she'd just heard.

"Free butterbeer for life, that sounds so cool. No offense, Mum," August said, as Pansy raised her eyebrow at him.

"What did you bring to the table, Mum, so much so that ol' Herbology Daddy Dearest here ran behind you instead of lovely Ms. Abbott?" Francesca asked. Pansy was super offended at this, but not in a bad way. She knew her kids loved teasing her, a trait they'd gotten from their father.

"It's not about what one brings to the table, Francie. It's about the love, it's about—" Neville started saying before August interrupted.

"I'll answer that for you, Francesca. Two words: ancestral inheritance. That's what Mum brought to the table."

"Are you calling me a gold digger, August Longbottom?" Neville asked his son.

"Indeed, yes, I am," he said, laughing and cackling.

"Ancestral inheritance, and probably the fact that he'd gotten Mum pregnant, which left them no choice," Francesca said.

"Honestly, you two are talking as if you're our parents, and not our children," Pansy said, getting up from Neville's lap, to which Neville made a pout at her.

"Well then, tell us, how exactly did Dad almost get married to someone else?" Francesca asked.

**************

Pansy had recently marked her fifth year of teaching at Hogwarts, which meant it had been six years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Those six years felt like six decades to her, as she had changed for the greater good, cutting off ties with her Death Eater father and helping her mother tip off the Ministry about his and several other Death Eaters' locations.

For Neville, he had just completed his first year of teaching at Hogwarts and knew he had found his forever passion. Within the first few months of teaching, he was unofficially crowned "Teacher of the Year" by the student body.

Between Pansy and Neville, there had been 'tension,' and not the bad kind—the kind where there's an unspoken agreement to leave any party together and wake up in the same bed the next day, only to pretend they were just colleagues until the next gathering. It was a full circle.

"Professor Longbottom? You've missed your morning mail," a fifth-year student said, interrupting the Herbology class with the second-year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.

"Thank you, Mr. Cooper, but I'd be happy if you decided to knock next time," Neville said, smiling at the student. The student rubbed his hand behind his neck with embarrassment.

Neville tucked the letter safely into his pocket and resumed teaching the class.

Meanwhile, at the other end of Hogwarts, Professor Parkinson was brewing a potion. This didn't seem unusual for a Potions Master, but the potion was for a test—a pregnancy test. Pansy had suspected she was pregnant when she'd missed her period twice. She had assumed it was due to stress, but now she had a hunch.

She considered going to Madam Pomfrey because she would have the potion, and this wouldn't be the first time someone had gotten pregnant on the premises. But then she knew Madam Pomfrey would gossip about it to Madam Pince, to Madam Hooch, and then to the students. She decided it was safer to do it herself.

"Just two more minutes, and I'll have the result," she muttered as she gulped down the potion and waited.

"When my abdomen starts to glow golden, that means I'm with child. If it doesn't do anything, I'm not pregnant." She waited, glancing down at her stomach. She knew she was pregnant and who the father was.

Her abdomen started to glow with a very bright golden hue. Pansy didn't know how to feel. She was happy, yes, but she wasn't nervous because she knew she could care for this baby even if the father refused to.

"Well, I better let him know," she said, getting off the stool and walking towards the brighter side of Hogwarts, where the clink of her abnormally high heels was lost among the chattering of students and the chirps of the birds.

She went to the greenhouses. Neville hadn’t dismissed his class yet, but he saw her and came outside. "I have half an hour of class left," he said. "You could wait in my quarters."

So she went up to his quarters and started wandering around. "It’s much bigger than my quarters," she murmured. "He’s got an extra study attached." She entered the study and seated herself in the leather chair, noticing a letter and a box on the desk.

She tried hard not to open it, but the Slytherin in her thought, "Fuck it, I’m the mother of his child." She justified her actions and opened the letter.

"Dear Neville,

How have you been, dearest? Great Aunt Agatha was asking about you a few days back when she came around for tea. You’ll turn twenty-four within a few months, and I’m not getting any younger either. My last wish would be to see you with a wife.

Agatha suggested that she’d look into pureblooded families, although there are very few of them left. She thought it’d be best to keep it within. She has a friend whose great-niece was in your year. Lovely woman.

Miss Hannah Abbott? She’s the barmaid of the Leaky Cauldron.

I was a little doubtful, considering it’s not the most conventional career, but from what I’ve heard, she’s made the Leaky into a lush, green, welcoming lodge. I’m suggesting that you meet her soon. Not pressuring, but it’d be good to see you with someone nice.

Also, I found your father’s signet ring, which belonged to my husband, your grandad. I think when it’s time, you can give it to your someone special. If all goes well, maybe I’ll see Hannah wearing this by Christmas time?

All my love, Gran."

Pansy felt a pang of jealousy. Hannah Abbott was indeed pretty, a short blonde Hufflepuff who radiated innocence. Which guy wouldn’t like that? She didn’t know what got into her. She picked up the box holding the signet ring and stuffed it in her skirt pocket.

Running out of the study, she stood in front of the quarters instead of going in, to prevent suspicion.

"Parks, you could’ve waited inside. Nothing you haven’t seen before," Neville said, winking at the shorter woman. She huffed in annoyance and followed him inside, acting as if it were her first time back here today. "Your room is a lot larger than mine. Clearly, McGonagall played favorites," she muttered. He just laughed, undoing his tie a little and rolling up his sleeves.

"Perks of being a Herbology professor. But Sprout did have it all with yarn and patchwork pieces I had to clean," he said as he sat on one of the leather couches.

"What's that?" Pansy asked, pointing at his robe pocket, where the letter Neville had entirely forgotten about was tucked. The one his nan sent, probably 'sweetly' forcing him into a courtship with Hannah Abbott.

"Something my nan sent. Besides, you wanted to talk?" He focused on her.

"No, no, I can wait. Write back to her," she urged him. He got up, and she followed him into the study.

"Another letter?" she asked Neville as he sighed, sitting in the chair and reading it to himself.

"Dear Nev,

I spoke to the Abbott family. They are wonderful people, none of the pureblood superiority nonsense. They just want a strong, nice man for their only daughter.

Although they did remind me, she might be a little sensitive, considering she just got out of a courtship with one of the Oolong boys. I suggest you meet her tomorrow. She's coming around to Hogsmeade to look around the Three Broomsticks.

Love,

Gran"

"Abbott, huh? Sexy," Pansy whistled as she read the letter over Neville's shoulder. He looked at her, rolled his eyes, and said, "Privacy?"

She shook her head in response and asked, "Are you going to go? I mean—to Hogsmeade to meet Abbott?"

"I don't know," Neville said unsurely. "I think I should meet her. Gran and Great Aunt Agatha might stay away from my path then."

"I think you should. Abbott is lovely. She'd make you a lovely housewife with four wonderful little blondies and brunettes toddling around," Pansy said jokingly.

"Lovely? Parks, you realize that this is the same Hannah Abbott you bullied during our years at Hogwarts because she was 'curvier' than you were. You literally dunked her head in the girls' toilet," Neville said, amused.

"That was eight years ago. Besides, I'm much curvier now, and I'm a changed woman," Pansy scoffed.

"You know it shouldn't really bother you who's curvy and who's not. It doesn't really matter," Neville said, furrowing his eyebrows. The things he said made her go weak in her knees.

"Yada yada, Longbottom. Go on the date, score a pretty blonde. Besides, you're getting old. The Potters are expecting their first kid by February. You're hanging back," Pansy tutted, knowing deep inside how much she wanted him to NOT go.

"Parks, you're older than me. Aren't you hanging back?" Neville retorted.

"My friends haven't had kids yet. Well, everyone except Zabini. His wife gave birth to the HOTTEST kid alive, Caesar. And before you stop me, that kid is liquid fire, I'm telling you."

"So are you going to go?" she prompted.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked, stepping close to her.

"It's not what I want; it's what you want," she said.

"I want what you want."

"Excuse me?" she asked, surprised. Yes, she wanted him to not go, but this was sudden. She had loved Neville, and every moment she spent with him, she loved him more. But she refused to acknowledge that. She assumed she would end up co-parenting alongside Neville.

"You heard me. If you want me to go, I'll go," he said casually. Pansy was getting angry. She didn't know why, but she was. Hormones maybe? She was, after all, two months along.

"Go, I don't care," she said, turning on her heel and walking toward the door.

"Have you seen my ring?" he asked. As she turned back, he was frantically searching for the package that was hidden deep inside her skirt pocket.

"You're going to propose to her?" she asked.

"No, it's my dad's ring. Gran sent it over," he said, looking in the drawers. She took off her own signet ring from her ring finger, held his hand, and placed the ring in his palm.

"You can give this to her," she said as she walked away.

"Parks, that's not how it work—" Neville's voice was cut off by the thud of the door shutting.

***********

"Hannah, you seem amazing, but—" Neville started, but Hannah cut him off.

"But your heart resides with another," she said understandingly.

"Not exactly, but somewhat along those lines," he exhaled.

His mind was running with thoughts of the short Potions professor, how she had avoided him for the entire day without even telling him the 'important' thing she wanted to share in the first place.

"Pansy, right? Parkinson," Hannah said. Neville looked confused. "Your heart, it belongs to Pansy. You love that woman," she said, smiling.

"I guess so. How'd you figure?" he asked, intrigued.

"You're preventing blood flow to your pinkie because of her ring. Besides, her giving you the Parkinson signet is a way of telling you that she will forever love you, no matter what."

Oh. Neville didn't know that.

"Hey, Abbott, I have to go," he said, getting up and throwing some coins on the table, then frantically running to the castle, drawing several looks from students visiting Hogsmeade that weekend.

Neville knocked on Pansy's door. "Parks, come on, open up, please."

"Honestly, can't a woman rest? I'm fatigued, Professor Longbottom," Pansy said sternly as she opened the door, dressed in her nightgown.

"The ring," Neville panted. Pansy thought he had figured out that she had nicked his signet ring from his office.

"What ring?" she replied nonchalantly.

"Your family ring. What does it mean? The custom," he questioned.

"Oh, something along the lines of promise, true love," she said.

"And you gave yours to me when I couldn't find mine. What does that mean?" Neville asked.

"It could mean two things: either I'm a very good friend who wants you and Abbott to get engaged, or it could mean that I will love you no matter who else you love," she said monotonously, as if she hadn't just potentially confessed her love for Neville.

"You what—wait, let me just rewind. You just said you love me? Is that right, Parkinson? Well, fifty percent chance," Neville asked, slowly regaining his composure.

"Yes, I might. Big deal," she said. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. These maternity potions have been taking my energy off," she said, closing the door.

After two seconds, Neville realized what she'd just said. "You're pregnant?"

"Why else would I be taking maternity potions? Oh, also, it's yours. The child. You're the father," she replied, shocking Neville once again.

"What? Wow. You're not scared? I mean, I'm really happy. I'd love to be part of this. Let me help you in any way. This is great news, Pansy," he rambled.

"Nev, the best help you can give right now is probably to allow me to get some rest. Also, you could get me those herbal tea leaves you have in your quarters, and then maybe you'd like to join me in here?" Pansy questioned, the last part tinting her cheeks red.

Neville nodded and took off to his room.

"Wait, are you still on with Abbott?" Pansy asked.

"I left her midway so I could come here, so I don't think so," Neville replied.

"That's great, not the leaving her alone part, though. You've got to apologize."

***************

"Wait, so you stole my signet ring?" Neville asked his wife, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Wow, he's really getting old, huh? Mum's mentioned that probably eight times, and he asks her that question," August whispered to his sister, causing her to giggle.

"I heard that, August Longbottom," Neville said, not looking away from his wife, who was now avoiding the question.

"Come on, Dad, it's been like twenty years. Bet you forgot about the ring before this," Francesca reasoned.

"I did think about it. When I wanted to propose, I had to get Gran's ring, which wasn't really modern-looking," Neville told her.

"I love your Gran's ring. Besides, if you want the signet ring back so bad, I'll get it for you," Pansy said, rolling her eyes.

"Sometimes it's hard to believe that I am her son, y'know?" August piped up as Pansy left to get her jewelry box.

"Because you're not. You're adopted. In fact, on a rainy day, we found you outside the house," Francesca teased her brother.

"Doesn't rain during March, genius," Neville said, shaking his head.

"Here, take your lovely signet back, Longbottom," Pansy said, handing it back to him, probably after twenty years.

"Honey, it was always yours to keep, but I'd have been happier to give it to you myself," Neville said, hugging his wife.

"When I found out I was pregnant with Alice, I thought you wouldn't want to be part of her life, considering you had the fame, and women, and men running behind you. So, I took it as a keepsake for Alice," Pansy whispered.

"I'm hurt you'd think that. I love you, Pansy Parkinson. I always will."

"Nev?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Longbottom now," she said, rising up on her tiptoes and kissing him.

"And here I thought you'd say you love me too," Neville said, laughing.

"If she didn't, neither one of us would be here," August said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Also, I think we should give the ring to Alice, considering it was nicked for her," August continued.

"She has her whole life left to give a promise to the one she really loves," Neville said, getting a little overprotective.

"Yeah, she could give it to Fred," Francesca said. Pansy and Neville gave her a confused look. "Come on, it's been like five years since they've been together. Who do you think is her roommate back in Australia? Fred Weasley the second."

"Nev? I think we need to have a talk with Alice once she's home again," Pansy said after a while.

"And I need to talk with Fred," he replied.

August and Francesca gave each other a knowing look, realizing they'd just thrown their sister under the bus.

[fellow-anime-weeb927]

Hii, I'm back. First off, I'm sorry about the request I send yesterday, I think? I didn't see the 'angst' under the 'don't do' 😭 🙇‍♀️but I'm back with a rant (I should pay you rent for staying in your asks this much- I can pay it with kaldo drawings 😭)

I recently checked the sons' ages and well- Doom, Fanim, Epidem and Delisaster were born with only 1 year of difference (also, the whole family was born of 11th of something- Innocent zero was a weird guy. He even shares birthday with Mash lol) and knowing that a pregnancy lasts 9 months there would be 4 months of non-pregnancy state with each of the 4 first sons (I calculated it- I needed to know if it was actually possible to pop out 4 kids in 4 years like that). Yes, they literally were born Doom-January, Fanim-February, Epidem-March and Delisaster-April (Domina was born in May, but Mash wanted to be different and was born in November 😭). There is a problem, Mash and Domina were born the same year, less than 9 months in between their birthdays. To which I can only find the excuses that, again, Mash wanted to be different and decided that he would be born premature lol (or they just speed up his birth, if mother was getting ill or her health was going down). Also, I checked how much each kid weights and I'm pretty sure Innocent zero starved them- BECAUSE WHAT DO YOU MEAN DOOM (who's 2 meters tall) WEIGHT ONLY 88KG??? THAT MF IS HUGE😭 My older brother (who's 25, 5 years younger than Doom, apparently) is like 1,80m and he weights 110kg😭 Domina (who's 1,76,i think) weights 68kg (that's around my weight, I'm 1,65± and 15 y/o). So, knowing that information I want to add that after mother fell into a coma, Innocent zero had more power over the sons so he starved them (bc before it was impossible. If they told mother that they wanted to eat, or even if they didn't, she gave them food and made sure they ate at least 3 times a day. Since she suffered a lot from starvation herself and almost every family member (all of her three brothers and her mom) died due to starvation), and it would also explain why tf Delisaster has such a thin waist.

It's also possible that, instead of her bearing the children in her womb, they just decided to mix their DNAs in an incubator of some sort. Innocent zero would say something that it wasn't necessary for her to bear them and that it wouldn't benefit neither of them, since he doesn't want for a strong ally to be unable to work for over 9 months and he read that it pregnancy can affect her health (again, that means that his ally will be weaker than before (imagine his reaction when she randomly falls into a coma after mash's 'birth'- and doesn't wake up for a long time). And mother would also prefer it by just mixing the DNAs (✨trauma✨, and probably not liking physical touch?). I'm also sure that after some time, Innocent zero would put some spell on mother just to keep her in the coma (let's say her necklaces worked only around itself and since it didn't cause any actual damage they weren't activated) so that he can manipulate the sons more. I also imagine them visiting her, maybe on their own birthdays or her birthday or just randomly showing up to check on her idk.

I also imagine that when Innocent zero is defeated by Mash and mother wakes up and gets context of everything that happened during her 'absence' (she really didn't care if the realm was destroyed since they didn't care about neither her or those similar to her), she would be mad with both Wahlberg and the divine visionaries (even though she didn't like the realm, she had some respect for Wahlberg when they were young bc he had good ambitions and she expected for him to at least try to make them reality) bc "what do you mean after 100 years the law against lackmagic is the fucking same and nothing changed? And then you dump it all onto a 15 y/o boy? Wtf" She would 100% slap Wahlberg in his face (and it's a good one, after all the sons didn't get the physical abilities from their father lol) and say that if they don't change things soon, she won't hesitate to start a revolution. I also don't know how would Mash react to his biological mother appearing out of nowhere. They would probably have a talk, at least and she would say that she won't interfere in his life unless he wants to and that he should contact Domina if he wants to talk with her or needs something from her, since she doesn't have a phone bc she was in a coma.

Also, after Innocent zero is defeated, I'm sure that the castle doesn't fall down, so as she wakes up she goes through it and sees all of her sons (or their remains) dead (Except Doom, since he did live after the battle with Mash) and she doesn't know the cause of it yet, but when she sees the 'arrows' that attacked Domina she would get the puzzle together that Innocent zero have killed at least one of her sons (she couldn't care less about the realm, but won't hesitate to hurt someone tenfold if they hurt her sons in the slightest), he would have had hurried to hunt that mf down, but tending to Doom's injuries is more of a priority at that time.

Anyway, I'm really sorry for that request, it was my bad. I would send a kaldo drawing as an apology, but I can't send photos when asking as anon🙇‍♀️ have a good time

-🎨anon

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

(original ask:)

A/n: dear anon you sure are discovering a whole lot oh my goodness- now that you explain the entire thing I’m like o_o I’m literally confused about the logic (but anime/manga logic am I right?-) so I’m not sure what to do about this, would you still want the ask?

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Are you okay and confortable with writing for Baelor Breakspear? I read the Hedge Knight comic yesterday and OMG Baelor is so 😩😩😩😩😩 and he is sitting like he knows he is fine 😭

Sun dragon prince of goodness and duty

Baelor Targaryen (son of Daeron the II) x fem!reader

warning : kissing, injury/comfort, mention of brutality during a tournament, alcohol

Summary : The heir to the throne of the realm finds himself at a tournament at Ashford Meadow not only to set things right and fulfill his duty, but also to reunite with a certain innkeeper and puppeteer whose paths had crossed on a few occasions for reasons of devotion and duty.

info : Ahhh i am so happy about the request dear anon ( not only more for the Targaryen Tuesday) also so happy and yes Baelor is one of the few really sincerely good ,,sexy" knights and men in asoiaf. So have fun here and all the others as well ;)

masterlist

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

The year two hundred and nine after Aeon's conquest, a year in which the empire once seemed peaceful. Peaceful for King Daeron the Second and his heir to the throne, his first son Baelor, named after his great grandfather's cousin.

Even if he had nothing in common with him, except perhaps the name and his goodness, they were all the more different in appearance. The blood of the dragon mingled with the sun and the strong spear of Dorne. A sun dragon.

A prince with the blood of two strong houses, former enemies and yet there were always whispers of enemies. A Targaryen without Targaryen appearances could ever be an heir to the throne.

There were always whispers but the realm loved its heir a man of middle age handsome to the ladies of the realm, a man of honor to the lords, kind to those who needed help and the common people and with duties and honors he took seriously.

Like the dragon himself, he was dangerous to those who threatened his family but gentle to his friends and his people. But in this year after the conquest a tournament of the house Ashford took place a tournament to celebrate not only the birthday the thirteenth name day of the daughter of Lord Ashford and also to crown the queen of love and beauty.

The tournament was attended by candidates from other high and lesser houses as well as the princes of the realm. In black armor, dragons resembled mementos of their house symbol and the creatures they had once mounted to make the skies theirs. But the highborn princes Targaryen came riding into the tournament on horseback.

The dark eyes of the Targaryen, only a few years older, lay with joy on the people as they arrived, raising his hand to wave to his friends, the Houses and the people. ,,Everyone seems to be looking forward to the games," he said to his companions.

His lord and house heir friends who rode behind him agreed, friends from childhood and tournament participants with whom he had shared wine and bread.

,,Wretched only here for the bread," he heard the murmur of his nephew, his brother's son, and unfortunately also the bad one of this Targaryen whose coin seemed to choose madness.

The madness was slowly spreading and he had already tried several times to show him the right way but his nephew well he was a different dragon he was a Targaryen with light hair and deep violet eyes a being not of this world.

He rode a little closer to his relative and said in a calm voice, ,,Surely the high-born ladies are looking at you in awe of your stately armor, nephew," and looked a little surprised at first before seeing the satisfied grin and the prince rode ahead a little faster with his hand raised in greeting.

Another simple problem solved, however much the coin fell Baelor could make it spin a little further. But even though he enjoyed taking part in tournaments, enjoying the festivities and drinking and eating with his new and old friends, there was one thing in particular that he would visit during the tournament.

Of course after he had taken care of Lord Ashford and presented his daughter with a jewel of the crown, ,,Such bright eyes need a stone to match them my lady" said the heir to the throne and knelt down around the smaller girl who had red cheeks and a grin on her lips.

Everyone wished to be her, each of the women and maybe even a few other noble men. Baelor gently took the girl's hand and slowly put the necklace on her before he gave a consolation to the king in the name of his father and everyone joined in, even the two pairs of eyes standing far behind…the prince would come to them sooner or later.

,,Forgive me my lord and lady, I would like to take care of the people, they also have plans that I am happy to follow" the prince apologized and left the table of the elder, his dark eyes already fixed on the two stands on his way across the large grassy and sandy earthy square.

He watched the tall woman with the black hair as she skillfully made the little wooden knight move with her fingers while her partner steered the flying red kite above the doll. Still so talented he thought and a smirk came to his lips as he saw her brief reciprocating look of love and then her nod towards the tent next to the puppet theater.

Thanking her with a coin that landed lightly in the bowl, he went into the larger tent next to it, an open tavern with fresh bread, roast meat, soup and some fish from the river.

As he sat down at one of the tables, the greetings from those around him were not yet too warm, most of them were already waiting in the stands, but some wanted something to eat. ,,Have a wonderful day, my Prince Baelor… I hope the roast tasted good?" he heard a voice and from behind a flap she emerged, the traveling companion and friend of Tanselle, a woman as young as the puppeteer, her eyes captivating him, a body he had often loved and her lovely fingers playing with the light strands in his hair.

,,You too my hostess I will pay you again and again for such a good piece of meat you must make more…you could come to the royal kitchen?" he suggested with a grin when he saw her feigned excitement and joy, ,,Oh indeed my lord!" she exclaimed happily before she came closer to him and sat down at the table and they exchanged glances.

She could lose herself in his handsome eyes over and over again. Even if he didn't look like a Targaryen, he was the best dragon there ever was. Before they got closer there was a brief hesitation to see if anyone was there but the rest was gone, his rough big hands on her neck pulling her closer to him and her delicate hands holding onto him before they lost themselves in a kiss.

The smell of leather, sword and fire always surrounded the prince while he found the exotic spices and various ingredients on her, a sign of their travels.

Journeys on which she had sailed and ridden across Westeros and Essos with her partner. She always came back with new recipes and little things to share and Baelor loved to listen, finding it engaging and completely enchanting how devoted she was to her cause.

The little emotions in her eyes always watching her hands telling the stories and her sweet voice trying to echo the sounds and voices was absolutely incredible to him. ,,My heart belongs to you for this," he murmured as he detached himself and stroked the small book on her belt in which she recorded new ideas and thoughts - thoughts that had already made the prince blush like a virgin several times.

Words of the heir to the throne that made her blush and let her fingers wander absently through his dark hair with the overlooked white strands here and there. ,,For your good heart I am yours Baelor…besides, Tanselle senses when someone is as good as you and she stands up for that too," she replied and continued to play with the prince's crisp dark hair while his deep eyes lay on her, his heart beating calmly in tune with her breathing.

Despite the world out there beyond the tent, the tournament, the brutality, fighting and death, whenever they were together he seemed to be not only dutiful but also completely devoted to someone other than the throne and his father.

But as much as she loved him, she had always loved him after he had saved her from Aerion, who had disagreed with the food and the dolls' entertainment, his blow had knocked her to the ground, the armor had made her cheek bleed, and Tanselle had found one of her dolls broken.

Baelor had slapped his nephew back and stood up for her, replacing the doll for Tanselle and paying for it. But his kindness was for the woman in front of him, his fingers running over the small scar on her cheek, her head in his hand and the contented sound.

He was always gentle with her, even when he had brought her to his tent, cleaned her cheek with a damp cloth and personally applied the healing tincture. Her stammering words had ended with a kiss and it was no different now. It was a bittersweet reunion of a sun dragon and a traveling lady who always found each other with their hearts in their hands.

,,If only it could always be tournaments like this and you here without injury," she murmured as the noise outside increased and Lord Ashford's speech of thanks was probably delivered.

A sentence that made him laugh sadly and yet he slowly rose with a sigh, his arms wrapped around her soft body and he held her close in an intimate embrace as he kissed the top of her head, ,,Don't worry my love I haven't lost a tournament I won't lose anything today I'll be back with you soon" he said his hand caressing her cheek one last time and the look of uselessness disappeared from her eyes with a slow nod.

,,And I will wait as always my Prince Baelor" she curtsied and waved to him as he walked out of the tent not knowing that in this year two hundred and nine after Aegon's conquest their love would be put to a test greater and harder than any tournament they had ever been to.

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

[thehighfiveproject]

Hey, friends: the challenge begins!

Treasure Hunt will run from December 15 through January 15. That's right: a full month of opportunities to hand out high fives to all the authors who write fic for us all to enjoy! This is intended to be fun and easy just like our normal Fandom Boost Bingo, but here are a few things to keep in mind.

Rules:

You must leave a comment on a fic for each square. Just kudos won't do this time around (although please feel free to leave kudos too!). The comment should be at least one sentence telling the author what you liked about their story, not just a 'thanks' -- "I loved the characterization here!" is enough! Hopefully the author will feel the crispness of your high five and be glad. [Note: very occasionally on older fics there may be no way to comment. If commenting is impossible, you can make a rec post instead. But comments are preferred!]

You must include a link to the fic on your bingo card. You can add a rec if you want, you can say how it made you feel, whatever creativity sparks in you -- but we need to have at least a title, an author, and a link to AO3/tumblr/Livejournal/wherever.

If you want to share your bingo card when you're done, please include @thehighfiveproject whenever you're ready to be sure we see it. You don't have to complete every square! If you get a blackout, that will be awesome -- but even if you only have the time to do one or two items, do it! Share it! Prove to everyone that you're a cool cool fic-reader who appreciates the hard work authors do!

That's it, those are all the rules. The only other thing to keep in mind is to be positive and friendly and spread the high fives around and even some low fives, if you're feeling groovy.

Below the cut you'll find an even more exciting EXPERT MODE card, which is a 4x4 with a few more fic categories if you're feeling up to it! Also below the cut are definitions of each category if you're not sure what's what.

If you want to go EXPERT we salute you! But feel free to just do the regular challenge instead if that's all you have time for. Remember, you don't have to do every square -- so good luck and happy reading!

Keep in mind that, just like with Fandom Boost Bingo, this is completely open to any fandom, any mix of fandoms, any characters or pairings or tropes or ratings. The only thing it has to be is a fic. With that in mind:

Here are the square definitions:

old fic: well, this depends on the age of your fandom, doesn't it? Can't be a hard and fast rule if your fandom's only a month old. Still, try to go with your gut here: look for something that you would consider to be semi 'original' for the fandom, or -- if you're in a well-established fandom like Star Trek or greek mythology fandom -- at least not something posted in the last few years.

new fic: this is the opposite of the above! It doesn't have to be a fic born yesterday, but you know how long your fandom's been around. Maybe it's something from this week (sort by new on AO3 is your friend); maybe in Star Trek fandom it's something from this year. You know what feels new to you, right?

fandom classic: you know those reclists that go around that have the same tried-and-true fics on them? Big fandom juggernauts that everyone loves? This is your opportunity to pick the one you really love and give it some love. One thing about those 'classic' fics is that a lot of people figure the author's heard it all already; whether that's true or not, we think they should get a little love anyway!

underrated fave: you know those reclists that go around that always have the same tried-and-true fics on them? This is your chance to pick a favorite of yours that you think deserves to be on those reclists! What's a story you just can't get enough of that you want everyone to read? Comment, link it, tell us all about it.

<1000 hits/<100 kudos: time to love on a fic that hasn't gotten enough of it! Seek out a fic that has a small readership and let the author know you appreciate it. (For this category, you can also use <100 notes if it's on Tumblr; on Livejournal, this is harder to track, but <15 comments is a good gauge.)

<1000 words: a shorty. Just because it's between 1 word and 1000 words long doesn't mean it doesn't want some love.

>10000 words: a longy. Seek out one of those that you need a little more time to sink your teeth into.

new (to you) author: it's easy to just read fic from familiar faces or friends over and over. Now's your chance to go out into the unknown and try someone new. Maybe it's someone brand new to fandom or maybe it's that person who's been around forever but you haven't tried them out yet. Love 'em either way!

Now, the EXPERT squares:

outside your main fandom: time to launch into the wild blue yonder! Find a fic that's not your usual and give it some love. If you're a Star Trek reader, maybe try... Star Wars.

rare character/pairing: like old and new up above, this is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Every fandom has those big characters and big ships that seem to take up most of the fandom space. Find a fic that features characters that aren't so popular in the fandom of your choice -- they probably need a high five, too.

'underdog' character/pairing: this is a little distinct from the last one, and a little trickier. You know that character you don't usually like, or that pairing that's really usually not for you? Let us know about a fic in your fandom that worked for you that featured them. (Don't squick yourself on our account -- but if you usually like fics with Mr Spock and you don't love Scotty, try to find a Scotty fic that does the job!)

'underdog' trope: like the last one, this might be a little tricky. Maybe you don't usually like AU fics, or time travel, or whatever nsfw trope or tag you can think of -- but this author just really made it work for you. Again, obviously don't squick yourself, but this is a good chance to try stuff outside of the tried-and-true!

1st/2nd person POV: not everything has to be 3rd person. Search out that "I" or "you" that worked for you and let the author know they did a good job.

AO3 Archive Warnings: here be monsters -- find and comment on a fic that uses one of the 'big four' AO3 archive warnings, OR that uses 'Choose Not To Warn'. Tread carefully, and if you're not sure about the fic maybe ask a friend if it'll be a good one for you to try! But we celebrate all fics, including the ones that say ?! or !.

Epic: 100k words or more: we hope you don't have anywhere to be in the morning. These are the hefty ones, the novel-lengths, the ones the author spent hours and days and maybe weeks/months/years working on. They need love! Give them a high five and a comment as thanks!

Happy hunting. - 🖐

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

do my worst cal? Well let's see 😘

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ (I'm downloading this for the Monday ao3 downtime and I wanna see how far I'm going to get 😁)

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

🌌🌌🌌🌌

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Enjoy your long weekend! Do you have any plans apart from a tiny bit 😅 of writing? It's the beginning of the summer holidays here, so the kids are celebrating with lots of screen time and I with lots of editing 😁

HII!!! Yessss this is the kind of challenge that excites me DAMN.

And thank you! Not a lot of plans here! I spent the day yesterday relaxing by beautiful Lake Huron, so that's mainly it.

Good luck to you and the kiddos as the summer rolls on!

Here we go...

42 (Jesus) for ⚡️ (I hope you enjoy it!!!):

---

It could all be very grating, but Eddie finds that he’s smiling and laughing at the cute little things she says more than he’d have thought. Eddie can’t say he enjoys extended time with little kids, generally. And maybe it’s just that the longer he’s with Buck, the more Jee is pretty much a niece to him, and he does love her, in that extended family sort of way. But maybe… Maybe the truth is just that it’s nice having a little kid in the house.

Eddie’s not going to lie and say he’s not a little nostalgic for when Christopher was this age. Not that time in his life - fuck that - but when Chris was tiny and needed him all the time. When Christopher giggled at the silliest jokes instead of being wittier than Eddie. He loves being a parent to a young man, who makes him insanely proud every day. But he also loved being a parent to a sweet, funny little kid. 

And it strikes him… Maybe he just does love being a parent. Maybe it’s not as Chris-exclusive as he thought. 

He’s spoken a bit about it with Frank, based on his conversations with his own father and Buck. In four months of deliberating, he’s never been able to come to a concrete resolution. Figuring out what he wants versus what he thinks he deserves. He knows he keeps holding all the mistakes he’s made against himself, like demerit points in the decision to see if his parenting license should be renewed. But now he’s sitting at the coffee table in the living room with Buck, Chris, and Jee, and Chris is patiently trying to explain that they have other, more fun games they could play with her, and Eddie is wondering if maybe Buck was right. Maybe he’s been looking at this all wrong. 

If Eddie was the same person right now as he’d been when Christopher was born, yeah, he probably shouldn’t be considering having another kid with anyone, regardless of how much better of a fit they are for him. But he’s not. He’s changed. And look at his life now. Look at what his life could be, if he keeps trending in this direction. 

They set Jee up on the air mattress in the living room to sleep. When Buck is done helping her get ready for bed and making sure her teeth are brushed, Jee comes running down the hallway towards Eddie - clad in a shooting-star print purple onesie - and gives Eddie a gentle little hug. 

“Goodnight, Uncle Eddie,” she says in a sing-song voice. 

Eddie’s heart melts. She’s never called him that before. Which means someone - Maddie or Chim or both - has been using it organically around her. Again, Eddie feels struck by how different and right the picture of family in his life has been feeling lately. 

“Goodnight, sweetie,” he says, returning her hug. “I hope you have good dreams.”

“You too!” She exclaims brightly, then lets go of him to return to Buck. 

Eddie makes his way towards their bedroom, and listens to Buck tucking Jee in in the other room. He’s reading her a story that Maddie packed in her overnight back. Eddie lays on the bed and tries to think about the future. He thinks about how nice it might be to have someone to read bedtime stories too, again. Especially now that he has someone else there to read with him. 

So Maddie obviously launched some sort of biological warfare on Eddie through the use of poor, innocent Jee-Yun. The kid can’t help being charming and adorable. The worst part is, it worked. Eddie thinks he kind of wants one. 

---

15 for 🌊:

---

“Okay, Buck.” Eddie smiles. “Good. It suits you better.”

Buck smiles sort of crookedly. “Maybe it does.”

Eddie takes another healthy sip of his coffee. He hopes Buck realizes they are extending far beyond plausible deniability of that straight label he’d mentioned when Eddie came to the bar. 

“So, uh, I think we were just talking about how you couldn’t stop thinking about me for an entire year?” Buck prompts. 

Yep. Heterosexual line marker trampled over several talking points ago.  

“You left an impression,” Eddie admits. He’s not too proud to say it.

All flirtatious energy wipes from Buck’s features, replaced by a startling display of sincerity.

“Will you please tell me what happened?”

---

21 for ❤️‍🩹:

---

Chris swallows. There’s a lump in his throat that feels like gravel. 

“I said something really mean to him.” Christopher admits. 

“I heard,” Buck says.

“He told you?” Christopher whines, pulling away from Buck. 

Which can only mean one thing, right? If Dad told Buck that Chris forbade him from falling in love with him, then they both must know that the other feels that way. Maybe they were already in love with each other, and all Chris did was hold the inevitable hostage. 

“Yeah, well, we had a long wait at the hospital and he was pretty upset. Cut him some slack on this one, kid.”

Christopher sighs. “Are you mad at me?”

Buck shakes his head. “I think I was a little disappointed when he told me. But, now that you’ve told me how you’re feeling, I’m pretty sure I get it.”

“I think I was wrong,” Christopher sighs. 

“You need to talk to him, Chris.” Buck says again. “Your dad just wants you to be happy.”

---

18 for 🌿:

---

“Jee looks out for you, too, because she’s a great big cousin.”

“Mhm,” Nico nods.

“So, see? Everything is okay. Dad just needs a bit of time to think about what happened, okay?”

“Okay,” Nico agrees. 

Eddie smiles at his youngest son. “What do you say we go out there with Dad and eat some dinner?”

Nico looks back at his LEGO blocks and weighs his options. It’s a sad state of affairs that both Eddie and Buck combined may not measure up to some manufactured plastic blocks, but Eddie does love how focused Nico gets when something inspires his creativity. 

“Okay, Dad.” Nico says. “Let’s go.”

Eddie presses a final kiss to Nico’s forehead before Nico tears ahead of him out towards the kitchen. And, really, Eddie thinks things are mostly solved. Buck will process. They’ll talk to Nico about Margaret and Phillip together, even though Nico will never have to see them again. Case closed. 

---

21 for 🚨:

---

Eddie strains down into the well pipe and grabs Hayden’s tiny hand. Eddie imagines if he wasn’t wearing thick gloves, it would feel like grabbing at an ice block. 

“There we go,” Eddie pants. “There we go. Almost there.”

He’s getting ready to pull Hayden towards him when his thirty minute timer goes off. 

Shit. 

“No, no, no,” Eddie panics aloud. 

He feels the sharp tug of the rope against his harness, ripping him from Hayden’s grasp.

“NO!” Eddie shouts, uselessly, as if they could possibly hear him. “NOT NOW!”

He’s pulled up and up, each inch of distance decreasing Hayden’s chances of survival. Eddie can’t let this kid die. 

“Hayden!” He screams. He wonders if this is what is was like for Buck when the tsunami tore him from Christopher, magnified by a million because of their connection and the higher likelihood of Buck’s own death. 

Buck did whatever it took to save Chris. Eddie will do that for this boy. Consequences be damned. 

He pulls out his knife, brings it to the rope yanking him from Hayden, and cuts. 

---

12 for 🌌:

---

“I’ll put a timer on for five minutes, and we give ourselves that, and then you really have to leave,” Buck explains. 

“I don’t know,” Eddie mumbles.

Yes. Yes, he does know. He wants it. He wants whatever five minutes of sin can get him. 

“Okay, well,” Buck pulls out his phone and begins tapping. “You have five minutes to make a choice.”

“Wait!” Eddie exclaims.

Buck taps the start on the timer and flips the phone screen around to show Eddie the ticking clock. He’s wasting seconds here. 

---

15 for 🩸:

---

His skin feels hypersensitive to every touch or draft of air. His eyes strain against the light. 

Eddie feels like he’s been unconscious for a hundred years. He feels like he’s resurfaced from being dropped to the bottom of the ocean. 

It takes him a moment to situate himself. He’s in a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors. Once he figures this out, it takes him another few moments to remember why. The memory of Kim pinning him against the wall, his blood spilling from her mouth, elicits a frightened groan in him. How the hell did he survive that? How the hell is he here?

His pathetic fucking mewling causes a stir to the left of his bed. 

“Eddie?” 

Buck’s voice rings out like music, and Eddie is surprised at how nice he finds the sound. Has Buck’s voice always been that nice? He wants to float towards it, like it could ease his otherwise persistent discomfort.  Eddie can’t float towards Buck. All he can do is emit another raspy, pained grunt of confirmation that he is, in fact, awake.

[365sylviaplath]

If I Was Anything, I'd Be Everything - 12th House x 12th House Moon

astrology blurb: from my perspective, houses tend to be the thing that separates the astrology enthusiasts from the Vaguely Curious But Not That Into It. houses kind of ask that you really learn the material and apply it, think a little deeper, etc etc. my perspective. anyway, the 12th house in astrology is probably the first of the houses i began to seek more information on. discovering i have a luminary (my moon) in the 12th house was a trip.

we follow the houses through a life cycle- born in the 1st house, going all the way around until the 12th, the end of the cycle. 12th is where we review everything before we die, but we are not yet ready to let go. it's like how in older age, you remember bits and pieces - less of the details and more of the feelings. the feelings will never die. to me, 12th house has always felt like i've had the feelings and am looking back reflectively, but i have no recollection of the experience itself. like i'm reviewing a life i haven't even experienced myself. here, i attempt to elaborate.

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/mitskiarthistory/612950940503441408/illustration-for-goodnight-moon-clement-hurd

pulling a line from Carrie Bradshaw after hearing Big was engaged - “after the relationship ends, where does the love go?”. except my focus is neither of those bozos. it's the concept of this intangible- what happens to a feeling once the circumstances have changed? what happens to this part of you that does not die after it's been born? what happens when you're born into a house of memories?

on a cellular level, i can never forget any of it. the conscious memories always lied dormant, which i speculate is why it was so easy to begin to feel them again when given the prompt. it takes time to make peace with reality. some of us never belonged in linear time to begin with. some of us have a physical response to what has never happened to us on this plane of existence, and it makes us look insane to the external eye. i could never put it to words and i thought for all this time it would be useless to try -- maybe it still is -- maybe i don't mind it being useless. in the grand scheme of it, no one can tell me what matters to me like i can. nobody writes the thesis statement for the essay that makes no sense and elicits criticism for its incoherence and complete rejection of mandatory structure. nobody remembers the writer who is too old to live and too young to die.

i am enrolled in film 101 and i am presenting a homemade psychedelic mind trip of a final project as a freshman who is exploring fantastical concepts i don't quite believe in. i immediately fail the class critique. i am trapped at the intersection of the dreamers and the realists and i remind them they are more alike than they are opposite. at the end of it all, we become the same thing over and over until we can no longer be differentiated. i love you in the sense that our molecular structure was once interwoven and i never forgot, i just needed to see again. i love you in the sense that i would never deny that we forever change each other every time we meet, and we always arrive at exactly the time we need, each and every time. we are there exactly as long as we need to be and not a second more - but there we always were and always will be. i speak like this about everyone, platonic, familial, romantic, past present and future, because they all coexist. much like everyone i've ever loved, time also can no longer be differentiated. the smell in the air reminds me of yesterday, 5 years ago, a day soon to come, the rest of my life and i know these things all to be true with no evidence to provide until it can be demonstrated in the linear scope. why can’t i trust myself to know? by that point, no one will care, but it was never going to matter to anyone but myself. i can only bear witness to myself in here, i cannot see anyone else despite my best efforts

state change is the only thing most people will recognize. i've left, i've started again, i've done something markedly new and different and i have stopped the old. nobody saw what i did before the change. nobody saw what brought me there, how hard it was to be in the state of inbetween, incapable of witness and intangible to everyone including myself. it hurts to be here because i do not know where anything is going, how i'll know when it arrives, anything more than i will just have to hope.

i have faith in what i cannot yet see. i look insane for it. i know the joy i will experience because it lives within me and i have felt it throughout time. einstein's "spooky action at a distance" or quantum entanglement is an attempt to describe and quantify this phenomenon that many of us viscerally know and feel (whether we admit it or not). in essence, pieces of us will influence others without ever having solid evidence as to why. entangled pairs, as they call it, will tell you more about each other than you’d be able to learn about them individually. things that are true about one will be immediately and entirely true about the other. i never had to even know you to have been influenced. we share the same state and have no idea until perhaps one day in this life, we meet. over and over, the universe creates parallels, pieces of each other will live together / separate / in some bizarre in between state of together yet separate / forever influenced though intentionally separate. in minor ways, we are always preparing for what will be coming. meeting people changes our lives forever. the universe is very romantic in this way! i may love you for my entire life and never even fully realize it until much later. or ever at all! we may never even meet, but it is still there and a major piece of me. in dedication to the love i don’t know, i hope you’re out there somewhere feeling held by our unwitting mutual state. i hope you have a deep love for everything we both are. and i hope you never feel alone when you wake up anxiously in the middle of the night, because i am awake with you.

being born honors an entire prior lineage. i love who i never knew but always will be. i can never be without you! i reject the notion that i can never know the women who came before me and didn't live at the same time as i did. i'm more them that i can ever cognitively realize. i feel pain when visiting places i never even knew she suffered in. i speak what was hidden without a clue as to why i'm saying it. you cannot put me in the box that hurt her. i won't fit. i am the opportunity to try again and i do not have the option to go back in. i am crying out in pain because she wished she could, i wake up confused as to why i'm crying -- i'm crying for us all, so she can finally be free and at peace -- she deserved it long ago.

[meglyfer]

Quick recap about what's going on in Gaza

(Spoiler, the recap is not actually that quick, but I tried to summarize the most amount of information as possible)

On October 7th (if I'm not mistaken) Hamas launched an attack against Israel, destroying buldings and taking hostages As a response, Israel proceeded to attack Gaza, Palestine, injuring and killing hundreds and thouthands of people (Btw, punishing the population for what a selected group of people has done, os a war crime)

From the 7th to today, 28th of October, Israel has been attacking Gaza non stop. They have cut all electricity, water, food and medical supplies from entering the city, leaving the people so that, if the airstrickes don't kill them, the unability to tend to their needs will Israel has also told the people of Gaza to move to the south where they'll be "safer", only to attack the south

So far these are the numbers that Israel's agression has caused: • Death toll hits 7703. • 3595 children killed. • 19,734 injured. • 1800 missing, including 1000 children. • 825 atrocities committed. And still counting!

Yesterday, Israel destroyed the communication center in Gaza, meaning that not only they have lost all contact to the outside world, but they are also unable to call friends and family to check up on them and, most importantle, they can't call ambulances During this black out, Israel did the deadliest attack so far. People on Egypt, 80km away, reported that they were able to feel the ground shaking from the airstrikes

"But what about the hostages? What about Israel? What about Hamas?" I hear you saying Although it's true that Hamas continued their attacks, the amount of dead israelies is 1400 people which, although it's really bad, it doesn't even come close to the 7000 of Gaza About the hostages, they are completely fine. A woman that has recently been freed said that Hamas treated her and the rest of the hostages with kindness, gave them food and medical attention if needed Not to mention that Hamas offered multiple times to release ALL the hostages in exchange of stopping the airstrikes on Gaza, but they declined all the offers

On more recent news, Elon Musk offered help to restore the internet and communications on Gaza, but Israel said that they will prevent this from happening (information from about an hour ago)

To understand better this situation, here you have a history leasson:

Over 75 years ago, all the territory that is now Israel, used to be Palestine, but it all changed after WWII. After the holocaust, zionism was born, the idea to make a state completely run by jews where they would be safe, which is in concept a good idea, but the problem was that there was no land left to make this state, which meant the had to take it from somewhere, which ended up being Palestine. World potencies like the US or the UK liked this idea, so they gave zionist all necessary to make their dream come true, thus begining the Palestinian nightmare. The zionist, or Israel, started kicking out Palestinians out of their own land in an event that would later on be called the "Nakba", or translated from arabic, the "Catastrophie", self explenatory. Ever since then, Israel has been launching attacks against Palestine every few years, k1lling them, kicking them out of their own homes, and all that stuff, which leads us to today, where only 10% of which used to be Palestine is not *completely* occupoed by Israel (The population on those places is Palestine, but the goverment is run by Israel). Also I must add, nobody is able to leave or enter Gaza (at least legall) from even before the 7th of October, not only because of the LITERAL GIANT WALLS THAT ISRAEL BUILT TO KEEP THEM IN, but also Israel military forces them to keep them inside. There is currently also over 10.000 Palestine people arrested in Israeli prisons, which ended up there with no jury nor explenation of why they are even there, a good amount of these people are under the age of 18. This was never about Hamas, Israel just took their most recent attack as an excuse to continue their g3nocide and colonialism, because that's what it is, A G3NOCIDE AND COLONIALISM

[llondonfog]

You know how Lilia often talk about the fact that Silver grew up so fast, for him it’s like if he was a child yesterday and now he’s already a young fine man ?Well, the other day I realized how it felt when I looked at my brother’s cat, Soup.

For context, I know Soup since the day she was born and didn’t realize how fast she grew before holding her in my arms in the other day. Suddenly, I felt that she was not as small and light as she used to be not that long ago. But the shook really hit when I looked at the calendar and realized she was only 5 months old. Like, she was as small as my hand this spring, how could time flew that fast ?!

And then I realized that Soup will probably die in a couple of decade if she lives a good life, waaaaay before me. So I sat and though deeply about this feeling and in a way I understood how Lilia may feel about Silver.

Because Silver is his little kitten, his baby that he loves like his own son. And even if Silver will grow and age much faster than him, he’ll probably be his little kitten until the very end in his eyes, even if Silver is not youthful anymore.

Because like 20 years fly in the blink of an eyes for us, 80 years is nothing in the long life Lilia lived. Yet, the same way our cat will probably leave a deep memory in our lives years after they’ll quit us, Silver will certainly be remembered by Lilia until he himself die.

Of course, I already thought before that this must be quite horrible to feel, as a species that can live longer like fae, to see the ones you love pass out so quickly… But I think I didn’t expect to actually be able to grasp this feeling myself with my relationship with this cat.

Anyway, I needed to share this feeling and since I know you love Lilia and Silver relationship I thought you’d be interested.

as a first-time cat owner myself, i can't tell you how much your ask hit home with me, and makes a perfect reference point for how we interact with these characters. i know exactly how you feel— when i picked up my cat at three months old, he was the smallest, cutest little bundle of fluff, his ears accounted for half of his size! and it's so crazy to look at him curled up next to me now, in the space that could have fit three of him as a kitten. we're celebrating his third birthday in november, and it's hard to believe so much time has passed— where did it go? it feels like only yesterday i was eagerly prepping for his arrival and fussing over his every move, so worried that i wouldn't know how to care for him properly.

and the thought will strike me from time to time, just as it has with you about soup— i will outlive my cat, this sweet little creature that's given me so much joy, purpose, and delight in my life. the very notion of it doesn't seem real, and it's humbling to realize that life is so fleeting and precious, and we have to cherish the time we have with our loved ones (even if they're cats!) because time can only keep marching on.

also, as a person in my late twenties enjoying the game, lilia and silver's relationship really hits home when i consider silver's struggle to accept his own father's decline and compare that to my own parents and the inevitable fact of aging. i don't think i've ever seen a piece of media demonstrate the grief and fear of losing your family structure as well as twst has done, and it honestly floored me with how much respect and nuance that they're treating this relationship.

like you pointed out, the differences in silver and lilia's species and overall ages only underscores how treasured their relationship to each other truly is— lilia is over 700 years old and only found silver at the end of his life. silver is just on the cusp of adulthood, and lilia is all he's ever known, he's silver's entire world and the cornerstone of which he bases all else. and i think that prior to ch7, silver fully expected his father to live beyond him, and i think that was almost a comfort, in a way. to have lilia always be by his side, to never lose his most precious family member and to have the rest of his human life to give lilia the happy ending he keeps wishing for his father to know, only to now realize that those wishes can never come true. lilia will die before silver, and seemingly soon— can we even begin to grasp what that must feel like when you have no other family?

as i've mentioned, i just really appreciate how twst has been handling this development with the gravity and emotional weight that it deserves. silver will always be lilia's one and only son, and i hope that despite all that he's learning about his father's past and even his own, that lilia can remind him of that. no matter how fleeting silver's presence was in the span of lilia's long memory, it was the happiest time of his life.

in any case, thank you for this sweet ask, i really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and how it affected you when you applied it to your own daily life <3 and thank you for allowing me to ramble about my own in return <3

[sunsetgloom]

yesterday i said i was trying to work out how Mace Windu's legends padawans fit in a timeline today, i bring you the fruits of my labour :)

Behold:

And if you want to take my word for it? Go right ahead. You don't need to keep reading this post. If you want explanations and detailed workings out? Keep reading, for in this essay I will tell you exactly how Mace Windu's four legends padawans fit into the canon Star Wars timeline :) Here are the rules I worked with and the assumptions I made while working on this accursed thing: Rules 1. Canon takes priority (Movies first, shows second, Wookiepedia third. This is stated FOR A REASON, see: Depa and Anakin fighting over who is the youngest on the Council) 2. Legends is to be included as best as possible (the whole point of this is fitting all four of Mace Windu's padawans from legends on a timeline) 3. Fanon? Only in small doses (see: me trying to place Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's Mandalore mission several paragraphs down). This also includes any headcanons of my own, which I will try to use only as last resorts to narrow down specifics. Assumptions 1. 13 is a limit during Obi-Wan's time at least (see: that book series he's in, Ahsoka being 14 during the first year of the Clone Wars) 2. Padawans can be taken earlier than 13 (see: Anakin, Bant Eerin, Quinlan Vos, Mace Windu) 3. There is a one padawan at a time policy with rare exceptions (see: TPM - Qui-Gon asking to train Anakin and basically being told Obi-Wan needs to be knighted first) 4. Jedi training is on average 10+ years but can be shorter or longer depending on the Master-Padawan pairing (see: Obi-Wan Kenobi's padawanship lasting 12 years, Ahsoka being offered promotion after barely two years, and Vernestra Rwoh the youngest Knight ever at age 15. That's two peacetime examples and one wartime example) Cool? Cool. Here's where I dove into timeline hell.

Some of it was easy to figure out; Mace Windu is canonically born 72 BBY, Obi-Wan Kenobi canonically born 57 BBY, etc. We also know for a fact (a.k.a. Google Told Me So) that Mace Windu was made a Councilor at the age of 28. 72-28=44 BBY. Tales of the Jedi allows us to fact check by giving us a rough time estimate for when he took over for the deceased Master Katri, whose canon Wookiepedia page states she died sometime between 68 and 42 BBY. Perfect, it all lines up!

Now, there's a reason I've included Obi-Wan Kenobi's birthdate on the timeline. According to his canon Wookiepedia page, "[Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi]'s continuing training issues were discussed with Jedi Councilors Depa Billaba and Mace Windu in an attempt to find a remedy[.]" This can be found under the 'Early travels and visit to Kashyyyk' subsection of OWK's canon page. Notably, the subsection right after is labelled 'Protecting Satine Kryze'. This means that Depa Billaba is already a Councilor before the mission to Mandalore, which according to canon Wookiepedia places it to be about 41-39 BBY. The timeline ran out of room to give it a definitive placement, but we'll assume it's sometime during 40 or 39 BBY as most fics I've seen place Obi-Wan at about 17 years old (57-40=17). Additionally, Depa Billaba's Legends Wookiepedia page states, "After serving as a Knight for a few years, Billaba was appointed to the High Council; the youngest Master to ever sit upon the august body." Typically 'a few' references to about three years, so we'll assume she was a Knight for only three years.

However: here's where my 'canon take priority rule' threw in a bit of a wrinkle. Depa's legends page places her as the youngest to sit upon the Council, but Revenge of the Sith says Anakin Skywalker is the youngest to ever sit on the Council. Here's where I let my inner Obi-Wan out to play. From a certain point of view both are correct. Depa is the youngest Master. Anakin is the youngest Knight (and might possibly be the only Knight as typically, as you do need to be a Master to be on the Council. See: the whole 'we do not grant you the rank of Master' scene from RotS). This distinction is not a vital thing in the long run as will soon be seen in regard to age logistics for Mace and Depa but I thought it important to be pointed out here.

There is still a little wrinkle but it is why I stated the movies take first priority in terms of canon. Wookiepedia says Anakin is born 41 BBY, which is physically impossible if he is only 9 years old in The Phantom Menace, which it is explicitly stated he is. TPM takes place entirely in 32 BBY, meaning Anakin is born at most in 42 BBY and he is turning 10 during that year according to the movies. Movies take priority, so that's how old he is. He's not on the timeline because I didn't realize how important his age was until I started writing this :( Anyways, as far as I've seen when it comes to how old Anakin is by the end of the Clone Wars, he has an age discrepancy of about a year - I'm solving this by combining it. He is turning 10 in TPM, and turning 23 in RotS. Thus, Depa Billaba is probably at least already 23 and at most 27 turning 28 when she is made a High Council member. Looking at Tales of the Jedi, Mace Windu goes on a mission with Dooku and together they investigate the death of council member Master Katri. At the end of the episode it is revealed Mace Windu is being considered for Katri's replacement. Depa Billaba is nowhere to be seen on this mission. As Depa is a fully canon character, we can probably assume she's been Knighted at this point. And if she's only a Knight for 'a few years' and then on the Council by 41 BBY and Mace Windu joins the Council in 44 BBY... The best logical conclusion is that Depa Billaba was knighted prior to the mission in 44 BBY. Reminder: Mace Windu is 28 in 44 BBY. His canon Wookiepedia page reveals he was a padawan by at least 60 BBY as this is when he goes on a mission with his Master, Cyslin Myr. This means he is taken on at about age 12 or perhaps before that. If Depa joins the Council in 41 BBY, the oldest she can be to be the youngest is 27 and the youngest we know prior to her is her own Master who joined at 28. 3 years prior to her. Huh??? (I called it timeline HELL for a reason folks). So, she's not 27 as that would make her Master only four years older than her and I doubt things would work like that in peacetime. 26? 5 years older. 25? 6 years older. 24? 7 years older. 23...? 8 years older. This is the absolute lowest we can push Depa's age because if Anakin were any better adjusted and any less forced to take on the role by Skeevy Sheev he likely would have been the youngest Master on the Council. Some quick math can now reveal Depa's birth year: 41+23=64 BBY. If Depa is 23 when she joins the Council, she is 20 when she is knighted. If 10 years is roughly the average of a padawanship, she'd need to be taken on at 10 years old, when Mace is 18. He is a prodigy in the Order, sure, but either way, taking on a padawan immediately is seemingly discouraged in the Order (see: TPM, Yoda's reluctance to allow Obi-Wan to take on Anakin. Without rewatching the movie/reading the novelization I won't know for sure the context unfortunately, but it does fit my headcanon that Knights are encouraged to take some time to find their own before teaching the next generation). Let's say, because of Windu's prodigal nature, he is able to train his own padawan in 7-8 years. 8 for a nice round number that won't give me a headache when trying to put it on the timeline. We now have Depa's padawanship covered!

And now, we must finally turn to Mace Windu's legends padawans. He has three others: one unnamed failed padawan, Devan For'deschel, and Echuu Shen-Jon. We know very little about these padawans other than Devan is born circa 53 BBY and dies circa 19 BBY, and Echuu was able to take on two padawans of his own who were siblings. Echuu's first padawan, Stam Reath, died 22 BBY during the first battle on Geonosis, and that same year he was assigned Stam's sister Naat Reath. It is also known that the unnamed padawan failed sometime before the Clone Wars. Let's deal with Devan since we know their rough year of birth. If Devan is placed at 53 BBY and we assume the 'must be taken as a padawan before 13' rule is still in effect as they're born only four years after Obi-Wan Kenobi, Devan must become a padawan at 40 BBY. This fits well, as Devan's padawanship was during Mace Windu's tenure on the High Council (which started 44 BBY) and stated to be 'nonstandard' due to this (I found this on a wayback machine page I can link if you want to read it for yourself. The extent I went to confirm some of these things :/). This also makes Devan Mace Windu's second (fully trained) padawan. We also need to make sure there is enough room for Echuu, who would have to be Mace's third (fully trained) padawan to have roughly the same amount of training as Devan and to be given breathing room as a Knight before taking on a padawan of his own. For simplicity's sake, I propose giving them both roughly 8 years of training as anything more than 10 would be too much and not give the failed padawan any room to breathe either. Plus, it's the same length as Depa's own padawanship.

Let's talk about the failed padawan. We'll call him Bron from here on out. All we know about Bron is that he was deemed to have failed as a Jedi sometime before the Clone Wars began. This could either occur right after Depa, between Devan and Echuu, or after Echuu. If we put Bron between Devan and Echuu or after Echuu, that gives him only two years of being a Padawan. Assuming he's taken on at 13, he'd only be 15. However, if we put him after Depa and before Devan, he'd be 17 at the time of his failure. There are a couple of issues I have with both of these options. The first is that Bron is either 15 or 17 - still young and a male human. Two words: Puberty and hormones. Additionally, if Bron is after Depa, Mace has just been added to the Council when the padawanship between him and Bron begins to give them the longer time period together. It has already been said that Devan's training was 'nonstandard' because of Mace being on the Council at the time of her own padawanship. I counter myself with these thoughts: if Bron was taken on in 44 BBY, that places him in the same generation as Obi-Wan and Bruck Chun, an initiate who died after being tempted by the Dark. Alternatively, if Bron was taken on in 24 BBY and fails only two years later, the galaxy is tipping closer and closer to war before it erupts. The Dark side of the Force is a real concern in this generation and is what causes Bron to fail - his failure to recognize the darkness in his own actions and reactions (wrath, pride, and fear as the Wookiepedia page says). Even if he is still in Obi-Wan and Bruck's generation, the Dark side is still a concern due to Bruck and Xanatos' own actions less than four years prior (for Xanatos at least). We also don't know what exactly Bron's behaviour prior to being taken on as a padawan is like nor what his fate after failing was. Perhaps there were already concerns about wrath and pride. Perhaps he chose to join one of the Service Corps, as he did offer to Mace that he could still learn. Either way, we now know the timeline of Mace Windu's padawans and now I AM DONE AND I CAN PUT THIS BEHIND ME.

Fun fact: Have a look at 44 BBY. Windu was made a Jedi Councilor either before, during, or after all of that and I feel sorry for him and the amount of shatterpoints he must've seen that year. . . . (Do you want me to solve other timelines? Because I will definitively solve them for you. I actually had a lot of fun doing this despite all the head banging it made me want to commit)

[benjaminthecoathanger]

Hi please talk about dragon quest 9

i need u to understand i was on a train yesterday. so i had so much time to draft a dragon quest 9 infodump <- threat

INFODUMP BELOW:

OKAY SO DRAGON QUEST 9

originally i got drawn to it bc it let you play as a girl which was very important to preteen me. also i only had the nintendo ds so i was playing like. basically any game i could beg my parents for shdjsks. the other games that krungled me were like. the professor layton series. harvest moon. you know?

anyway so the premise is. the Almighty made angels to keep an eye on the world below (the protectorate). The angels reside high above the lands below, in a place called the Observatory. you play as a junior angel, assigned along with your teacher Aquila to watch over the small sleepy village of Angel Falls. Your job is to do good deeds and help out the people who live there, in exchange for an ethereal representation of their gratefulness- a weird blueish green glowing blob called benevolessence. the angels use benevolessence to feed the world tree yggdrasil in the hopes that it will one day bear fruit. The fruit of yggdrasil heralds the return of the angels to the side of the Almighty.

The game starts on your first day as guardian of angel falls, having taken over the job from Aquila. you spend the day helping out the villagers, and collecting benevolessence, and after you return to the Observatory to drop off your benevolessence, you find that yggdrasil has borne fruit. As the celestial express (literally a flying golden train) comes to collect the angels to take them to the realm of the almighty, a beam of light blasts up from the world below, sending you (and the celestial express) tumbling down to the world below.

you wake up in angel falls, missing your wings and your ability to see benevolessence, but retaining your ability to see ghosts and magical creatures. eventually you find the fallen celestial express, along with its controller, a fairy named stella.

You then set off on a quest together, both to collect enough benevolessence to get the celestial express running, and then to figure out why you fell.

it's genuinely one of my favourite games. you make your own party, so there's no like. fixed party members. and there's a small character creator to customise your little guys. ALSO the place names are puns. i'm told by a friend who had played more of the dragon quest games that this is a staple of them but. there's a quest where you have to infiltrate a boarding school called swinedimples. instead of hogwarts. there's a town called upover where everyone talks with australian accents. it's built into a mountain. the main villains of the game are the gittish empire. a play on the british empire. who are gits.

anyway it's genuinely a good game despite its age and the whole thing of like. yeah you're an angel. but you fell. and you're still beholden to angel rules and the final boss of the game is also a fallen angel like you and just!!! good fucking game dude. sorry if you didn't want spoilers but. it drives me crazy. anyway highly recommend it if you ever decide to play it!!

[felisglacialis-stuff]

The end of an Era

Yesterday morning, on the 27th of March 2024 my dear cat Neo passed away at an age of almost 17 years. He was the last of our Oriental cats and his passing marks the end of an era for me. Our first Oriental Longhair was Jayto, born November 27th 2003 who later got company of Nintu, a black Oriental Shorthair born August 26th 2006. Sadly, Jayto got sick and died at an age of only 3 years old, not long after Nintu came. Nintu needed another Oriental cat friend because our ‘regular’ cat Joey, who had been with us since early 1995, was not interested in Oriental cat style stickiness. And so Neo came;  a black Oriental Longhair born on May 9th 2007. Neo and Nintu have been best buddies for over 13 years. They played together, slept together and went on adventures together- including our family holidays. Their personalities were polar opposites and that made them such a good match.

When Nintu died on May 7th 2020 at an age of almost 14, Neo missed his buddy so much that we adopted Yuka, a red ‘regular’ cat. He gave Neo some proper distraction with his naughtiness - hence his nickname “Geboefte” , which means criminal in Dutch.

Neo was one of the loveliest, social and most easy going cats whom I’ve known. He was timid and careful but also the most talkative and intimate. Cuddles were almost always welcome and most led to roll and belly-rub session. He had the peculiar habit to do ‘stairs sticky’ as we called it: he stood on the first or 2nd floor while you had to stand a few steps lower on the stairs with your face was at his level and cuddle him.

We often gently joked about his funny look and mannerisms. He was exceptionally small (3.5 kg at max) for a tomcat, always had a bony butt, a pronounced sternum bone that stuck out and a lean but well filled ‘sack of organs’ along with a slightly kinked tail tip. Despite his small size, his paws were proportionally huge, which was not a desired trait for the breed - but I didn’t care; I love big paws. He had a very typical quiet, calm and elegant gait with small steps and an elevated head. Quite the opposite of Nintu’s big steps  and -always-in-a-rush- pace. Neo and the other Oriental cats have left us so many precious memories. These will always remain. 

Neo was also the last Feline with whom I had an intimate bond. Since I moved out of my parents’ house in 2012. I was not physically living with him anymore but I came back regularly and Neo was always there to be ‘sticky’ again. Until now. The next time I’m going back, he won’t be there anymore.

But his spirit stays