#shes always expected to fill roles that have multiple levels of realization

[alicentalicent]

Trying to understand Otto a little more, and this scene is a good exercise. We have a Viserys who is frustrated because Rhaenyra is being a broody teen and he doesn't get why... (maybe because you married her homoromantic best friend idk). He doesn't know how to manage the marriage proposals, which is traditionally the wife's duty, and obviously Otto jumps in to help him.

My first thought about the expression Otto makes was him thinking: “I couldn’t relate LESS” but to be serious for a minute, I think he’s probably thinking “Well, aren’t you in a position to decide what happiness looks like for Rhaenyra, in the long term?”

I do think Otto believes that about Alicent, that the choices he is making for her and the things he's commanding her to do will lead to her happiness. The ambitious mind of a Hightower, Lord Hand, obviously prioritizes having his blood in the royal line, for him that equals happiness. So her feelings and wants and ideas of happiness don't really matter, cause "father knows best". And I think this is actually a good representation of shitty parenting, thinking that your child can be molded into a specific ideal of what the future should look like, in a lot of cases even getting into heights you couldn't reach yourself, and thus fulfill your dreams. Yes, Otto we know you wanted to marry Viserys, get in line Daemon also wanted to.

No, but really, in the next moment, he says that Aegon should marry Rhaenyra and in that way reconcile his desires with Viserys', thinking of their children and grandchildren as no more than pieces on the board. Full circle moment when Alicent literally points out this to Otto in 1x09, beautiful.

Otto shows his love by carefully laying a path before Alicent, with what he believes to be happiness at the end. Is it love, though? For him, it is. We have to ask Alicent, though. That love probably feels like feeding a little bird in a cage , asking her to happily sing the tune of her heart, and complaining when the bird wallows in her misery.

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E129 (March 16, 2021)

Tonight’s guests are Matt Mercer and Taliesin Jaffe!

Matt, on DMing Luc’s Revivify: “That was weird. It’s one thing when it happens because of player action and circumstances and the choices they make. When it’s entirely on me, unintentional, and just realizing different chess pieces you’ve set up, that’s rough.” It was especially rough since this was a child NPC related to a PC. “I was hoping somebody had a spell slot left.” He kept in mind that there are two clerics in the room and that they could resurrect the next day even if the Revivify went poorly. “A good chance, since it’s his first time. Okay, okay, okay, okay, I think we’ll be okay, we’ll see how this goes. It was really stressful in the moment! I did not set out to have that happen, but when I realized what was going to happen, I tried to see it through.” He wouldn’t have prevented a chance to bring him back. “There may have been an offshoot short-run series of games to find a way to bring him back. I would have found some way to correct the circumstance so the players could feel good about moving forward with the story and there was no undue punishment beyond their control.”

Taliesin on Cad’s response: “This is a big thing if you’re a cleric. It was very much coming in like an EMT. Everything should be fine... hopefully. Just focused in and got it done. The minute things started to go south it was like, okay, that’s the next problem.”

On Yeza’s feelings: “It is a very complicated situation. I think he, much like how Veth is trying to figure out what it is that she wants, I think he’s trying to help her find that while also figuring it out for himself. I think Yeza’s also noticing that because Veth’s the more active of the two of them she also takes the weight of the responsibility and the blame for things when they go wrong, unnecessarily. Especially when he himself acknowledges that he’s partially at fault for even dragging everyone in with the Conclave. As much as he’s appreciative for them coming back for him, there’s a lot of back and forth. He’s filled with a lot of regret, too, but he’s very much trying to convince Veth that it’s a burden that she doesn’t have to keep to herself, that they can share it and work through it together.” Matt mentions that, as an actor, he really loves exploring interactions between characters first and foremost. “Especially when you don’t know where it’s going to go.” He also praises Sam as a scene partner - “I really cherish that.”

How does Caduceus feel about Revivify and Speak with Dead? “Speak with Dead is an interesting middle ground, because he knows that it’s not actually speaking with the dead. It’s really just-- it’s almost medical, really. This is just reactivating a brain at a certain point. It’s practically just a muscle twitch at this point. That doesn’t really prod him in that direction. Revivify is interesting, because it had never really come up. At first I thought of it as bending the rules, but it’s not bending the rules. You knock over a plant, you replant it, you don’t stare at it and go ‘Well, that’s over.’ This is just doing the work. No, we can bring this thing back to health. This is all part of the circle of life, that sometimes we can save something. Especially given the stress that he’s put himself through over the past year of being with these people. He’s started to think of himself a bit as a battlefield medic, and triage is just part of the deal, and it’s completely acceptable.”

Did Trent really just want to talk? “Yeah, that circumstance, as it came together, Trent would never have arrived if there wasn’t an indication that there was some kind of infiltration or attack. Even beyond that, it was Jester breaking the concentration on her charm on that one guard when she created her duplicate.” The guards’ job is to inform a member of the Cerberus Assembly, and Trent lived the closest. “He didn’t know who it was, didn’t have any expectation necessarily. The minute he saw the illusion, he knew a powerful magic user was involved.” Seeing Caleb was an unexpected surprise. “I don’t think he wanted to throw down necessarily. He was more interested in figuring out exactly what the nature of this was.” Matt had multiple battlemaps that didn’t get used. “They managed to cleverly out-maneuver him in his surprise of seeing them.” The Nein rocketed up his priority list after that very quickly. Taliesin: “We’re so fucked.”

On Cad being “Uncle Caduceus” to Luc: “It’s the thing he misses most about home, is being a juvenile shit. It’s nice to be able to express that part of him again, as opposed to the serious, life-threatening, constant intensity. I’m very at home just being a little difficult.”

Cosplay of the Week: an amazing Beau! (_rumor_king, photography by kourtyardproductions on Instagram)

On Marion: “Like a lot of people in this whole narrative from the beginning, getting swept up in things larger than her and trying to adapt. This is a circumstance she’s avoided for a long time. She’s having a rough time in some ways, but simultaneously, she’s enduring. Like a mother would. She’s adapting, she’s making it work. Without much of a choice, you just kind of do the best you can and lean on the people around you to help you where they can. Luckily she has a daughter there. She’s probably surprising herself at how well she’s doing given the circumstances.” Matt talks about how weird it is to feel proud of character he’s created. “Of the many things Marion is incredible at, she’s a studier of the human condition. She’s seen and heard the stories of so many. That gives her a very special perspective. She can see elements of that fractured individual within Caleb, and knowing the good that he’s brought to his friends, and knowing he’s possibly saved her life from bad circumstances, she couldn’t not speak up. She very easily falls into that role of maternal comforter, because it’s one of the many things she’s really good at, she enjoys it, and she can see well when people need it.” He’s been enjoying having Marion along for this (despite the difficult circumstances) because he was always a little sad that they only got to see her for short periods of time.

On the Blooming Grove’s safety: “He’s afraid that it’s a premonition. He’s not pinned it down, but he’s happy to let his imagination wander. He at the very least feels like there’s a reason he’s having these thoughts, and that there’s a reason to go there. He’s a big believer that these things don’t just happen. He’s more likely to think that there’s a good reason to go versus a danger to go. He’s had a couple of ominous warnings lately, and he’s not used to them and not a fan. He’s more likely to read something like that as, there is something there waiting for you that you have to discover. There is something that is going to be helpful to you, even if it hurts.”

On Astrid: “While maybe not as readable in overall personality as Trent is, I still want to be careful to not discuss things that are still being discussed within the game and tossed around as possibilities. Astrid is another complicated character, as anyone would be who’s been through the life she has. I can’t say too much. I can say she’s definitely legitimately happy to see Bren/Caleb after all this time.” His reemergence definitely caught her off guard. “We’ll have to see where it goes from there.”

On Cad’s successful Divine Intervention: “He’s definitely hit the ‘on a mission from god’ stage. He’s been that way for the entire campaign of, this, this is what I’ve been waiting for. Even when it sucks a lot, it’s been nice that those things have popped up to remind him, no, no, you’re doing it right, everything’s good. Probably not going to survive the next week, but you’re doing good! Not quite 1 in a 100 chance, but I forget so often to make that roll, and it’s such a great roleplaying roll. I don’t know how at level 20 you could deal with the fact that you can do that every day.” 

On Zeenoth getting his comeuppance: the kidnapping was a concept Marisha brought up for Beau’s backstory, and Matt went with it even though it was opposed to the Cobalt Soul’s philosophy because he knew rooting it out would make for an interesting story. “I felt it was an important beat to bring to her, because it was something that she was wronged by. And to show that there are still some good people out there who are trying to make things right.” After the tentative peace, dealing with this became Dairon’s next focus. “I was glad we finally got to it. So many people don’t have the opportunity in their lives to get that sort of justice and vindication, so if I can bring elements of that justice into our world, even for our own hope, I’m going to do that. Especially for my wife’s character, especially for a character that deserves that.” Taliesin points out that if it had come too early, Beau wouldn’t have believed it.

Cad’s thoughts on the Tomb Taker betrayal? “He knew it was gonna come at some point. There was no way that was gonna last. He was hoping it was gonna last a little longer. He was really hoping they had a vested interest in getting them all the way to the end. Nope, this is apparently as far as we go, and he was not prepared for that.” He was expecting the potential for de-escalation. “Caduceus is the only character in there that doesn’t have a history with Lucien. I think he sees him a little more clearly than everybody else does. They’re all looking for this person that Clay, at least, is of the opinion that he’s just not there. This is a very manipulative, very dangerous infernal human. Just smarter than all of them. Really aware that there is no calculating what the hell is going to happen. Conversation is the only way you can deal with someone like that.”

Fan Art of the Week: An amazing Caleb closeup! (rynn_birb on Twitter)

Taliesin on Lucien: “I’m excited he’s the one that’s going to kill us all. Poetic that this is how the game ends.” Matt was delighted when Taliesin handed him carte blanche to do what he wanted with Molly’s past. “I was like ‘shit... oh, wait!’ The character of Lucien was always intended to be an antagonist so that it would have been Molly being chased by the person who wanted their body back. But then it happened that he got his body back.” Taliesin: “He’s so much worse than I ever hoped.”

Matt, on the Holy Avenger: “I hadn’t thought to initially even give that sword.” The good roll was the only reason Kima handed that over. “Well, sure, you get the sword. It was very reactionary, it wasn’t my intent originally. I was like, well, I mean, there’s two avenues she can take with this.” Multiclass into Paladin, or lean into the fact that her subclass is essentially a barbarian paladin. “This really works out in a uniquely beautiful way. Let me see if I can lay out a path for her to earn it.”

On Cad’s attempt at lying blowing up in his face: “He was like that kid that had a really bad day in high school and was like, you know what? I’m going to let loose. This is it. I’m gonna dye a streak in my hair. And then tries to give himself a haircut and ends up with half bangs. Well, okay, obviously I’m not that person. I was feeling a little distraught and I didn’t handle it well. Maybe I’m going dark... no, I’m not going dark. Nope.” Matt mentions how much he relates to Caduceus.

Matt, on the Eyes: “What can I tell you? I’m enjoying the hell out of it. The moment they began to really push to read that book, I was like, okay, this is on you. I’m excited for the point in the narrative where the march continues back to Eiselcross. I am almost impatient - not really - because we’re on the cusp of getting to more of the meat. There’s so much to learn, so much to see, so much to explore. I love instilling my players with absolute terror.”

Thoughts on Jester’s Tarot reading? Taliesin cackles. “Molly made the cards, so. Did it to himself, he did, he did.” Matt: “Once again, another example of things working out unexpectedly and too perfectly for an improvised moment. Fuck.” Taliesin: “Bless the wisdom of chaos.” Matt: “I love that even at this point in the campaign, Molly continues to fuck with people. I’m just so proud. That deeply shook Lucien, for reasons.” Taliesin: “It’s the everlasting gobstopper smoke bomb.”

[genshin-impacted]

empress of the first water // Zhongli x Reader (3)

Word Count: ~3.5k

Palace/Harem Imperial Drama AU: You are a princess, soon-to-be-Empress, and Zhongli is the teacher invited by the royal court to show you the ropes before you ascend to the throne after a royal tragedy.

Notes: female!reader (she/her), Zhongli/Reader, Zhongli POV, mutual pining!!!!, slight Amber/Reader but if you squint your eyes it can be platonic, crams my favorite tropes into one fic so yes... subtle touches and wearing his coat

[Previous] [Next]

Chapter 3 Synopsis: Names hold a lot of meaning, for they carry also with them the weight of the emotions behind them.

The names and nicknames from the soon-to-be-Empress are powerful indeed, Zhongli thinks. Not a month has passed and the palace has already begun to address him by Zhongli xiansheng to demonstrate both his status as first-born and his role as the Princess’ teacher. There is no need, to be honest, for the entire palace to refer to him as that title, but half for propriety’s sake and half because it is the Princess calling him by that name, it is what it is. The nobles may call him this in your presence in accordance to proper decorum, but it seems everyone else has followed in your example-- beloved as you are. 

Disregarding the nobles, you are generally well-liked within the palace walls for your kind aristocracy that is so unlike many of the entitled nobles that reside here. The guards are evidently fond of you and the maids that are allowed in your chambers are especially doting on you (Noelle comes to mind almost immediately). It is a shame though, that in the grand scheme of politics, it is not their favor that truly matters-- though he thinks you have not placed much weight into buying favors with nobles that have never viewed you as anything more than a glorified puppet.  

Zhongli takes pride in his title as your xiansheng, for what he could not be involved with academia, he is able to live a life how he would have imagined when he is teaching you. He thinks you have come to call upon him fondly as xiansheng as well, which makes the title all the more appealing. Very few people, he realizes, are able to gain a title or another name of some sort from you. He only knows this when he is escorted by Amber to the outdoor pagoda where you have invited him to tea. 

“Princess, I have brought Zhongli xiansheng,” Amber says, and Zhongli is amused to hear the eagerness in her voice as well as consoled by the idea that he is not the only one greatly fond of her royal highness. 

“Thank you, Amber,” you say warmly, and, behind her, Zhongli can see the way Amber’s ears redden, “quick as always.” 

“Of course, my lady,” Amber says, bowing respectfully. She continues as Zhongli quietly takes the seat that you have presented to him. “Is there anything that the Princess requires of me?” 

You hum. “Not at the moment, no. Except, would you like to join us for tea?” 

Zhongli watches in alarming clarity as Amber’s face turns as red as the decorations in her hair. “For tea?” Amber stammers, glancing over at Zhongli, “I-I couldn’t--”

“It’s only the xiansheng, Amber,” he hears you say with gentle humor, and he thinks you don’t understand the power of your words when his heart beats rapidly at the thought that the level of comfort you have with him matches your lady-in-waiting. Though, he feels sympathy towards Amber, because he can only imagine the mix of embarrassment and elation at being invited for tea, and the intimacy that is insinuated with an invitation in front of another person.

Still, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t find amusement in teasing the poor girl with you.

“If it matters,” he says smoothly, “I do not mind. Tea is enjoyable with a certain number of people; three is indeed a fortuitous number.” 

“True,” you reply immediately after, a smile in your voice. “Any more people and we would have been in trouble.”  

“I-I have, um,” Amber starts, red-faced. “I have something I have to finish. But thank you for the invitation, my Princess.” She bows, her red hairband's ribbon drooping down from her head. And Zhongli takes notice of this because he begins to understand the nickname you have bestowed upon your favorite lady-in-waiting.

“Thank you for humoring me, bunny.” Zhongli doesn’t know how you instilled that much fondness into your words, but you do, your voice as warm and gentle as the morning rays of sunlight. “Let’s drink tea together later when you’re finished with your work then,” you say. 

He watches as Amber looks at you with unbridled adoration and reverence before bowing deeply. If only your charisma would melt the greedy hearts of nobles, the world would know peace, he thinks as Amber walks away with her head held high, knowing she is favored by you.  

“I’ll apologize to Amber for teasing her so relentlessly today,” you say, uprighting the teacups from its tray. “But to be fair, I did not expect you to join in with me so seamlessly.” You laugh. “What a pair we make.” 

“Allow me,” Zhongli says, reaching out to retrieve the teapot, still warm to the touch, and pouring its contents out. “Ah, have these leaves been steeped by the maids?” 

“Yes.” You say, blowing the steam from your cup. “Are they not to your liking, xiansheng?” 

He takes a moment to be properly abashed at being seen like that by the Princess. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to sound unappreciative.” At the flippant wave of your hand, he continues, “It is just that I tend to steep the leaves myself according to the type of leaves to their proper temperature. I find it soothing-- almost meditative-- to perform the proper techniques, so I would not have minded brewing the tea myself.”

You take a sip of the tea and he follows after you, the liquid flowing down his throat easily and warming him from the inside. “Then perhaps I will see your technique the next time we have tea,” you say. “I’ll tell the maid to prepare it for you.”

“The next time?” He echoes before he can think of his words. 

The amused look you give him is enough to make his ears feel warm. “Teatime can be a daily occurrence, can it not?” You ask teasingly, “Surely you can fit me into your busy schedule.” 

(Always the playful one, he thinks fondly.) 

Zhongli hides his smile behind his cup. “I suppose if it is for the Princess,” he says, “then I shall find my best to accommodate my schedule to her wishes.” 

.

.

With lessons going well, Zhongli finds that the breaks in-between have grown to be one of his more favorite moments. His favorite moment so far was when he was able to delve into the history of Liyue Harbor and its trade and business. He thinks your eyes may have glazed over for a moment, but to be fair, he had expanded on the architecture, history, and influence of each type of building and boat. 

But even better than the short reprises are the days you are able to extend an invitation to him for afternoon tea. For the first few sessions, you indulge him as he explains the differences between each tea leaves and the temperature in which they must be steeped in order to bring out the aroma to its full extent. He resteeps the leaves multiple times, observing how you take to each flavor, and is heartened by the fact that you seem just as eager as he was to experiment in the richness of each cup.

To reward your diligence, Zhongli requests the maids to provide him the proper equipment for a tea ceremony, including a fresh batch of tea leaves. The next time you ask him to drink tea with you, he offers to teach you how to perform yourself. 

"Must everything we do be a lesson?" You tell him with a hint of fond exasperation, to which he chuckles. 

“I believe you will enjoy the relaxing motions that a tea ceremony provides,” Zhongli says. “Also, no knowledge will ever go to waste, Princess; this will serve you well when you must greet guests in the future.” 

“Alright then,” you concede with a small smile on your face. “What do I do?”

Zhongli stands behind you and directs your actions clearly: warm the pot, discard of the water, place the tea leaves within the teapot. "Now," he says, leaning down as you lift the newly filled teapot, "we will perform the first steeping of tea leaves. Like so…" He trails off, gently placing his hand lightly on your wrist to maneuver it into swirling the pot smoothly. 

He's surprised to watch as your hands stiltedly move the pot, untrained and clumsy, which are so unlike your movements before this. Is it difficult for you, he wonders, removing his hand to offer extra instruction only for your hand to slip from its grip from the pot.

"I-I apologize," you stammer, nimble enough to catch the pot from falling. You quickly turn the pot easily in the motion Zhongli has taught you and ask him, without looking up, "What's the next step?"

Your behavior is odd but not alarming-- and the feeling is brief. As requested, Zhongli explains that you are to pour the swirled water out and begin the infusion step, filling the pot with water until it is overfilling.

"Performing a tea ceremony has been known to have a soothing effect," Zhongli says as you wait to steep the tea for a brief moment. Just as you look at him, he continues with a small, teasing smile, "Though it seems like this activity has been quite the excitement for you, from what I have witnessed."

And there is that wide-eyed look of embarrassment again.

"No, it's nothing like that," you say, watching the still water gather. "This has been very relaxing; I can see myself doing this on my own just to compose myself." You glance back up with narrow eyes that hold no real heat to them. "Though, I'm not sure if I should be pleased or not that my xiansheng has gotten familiar with me to tease me like that."

To his better judgment, Zhongli feels his ears warm at the admission of such fact, pleased as he is with it. "Ah, yes, well, I must say it is only thanks to your highness' benevolence and welcoming nature that I have the audacity to address you in such a manner."

You laugh, and Zhongli thinks he is glad that it has become a more familiar sound.  "What a silver tongue!" You say, allowing him to take the pot and pour its contents into cups, "You have such a way with words, Zhongli xiansheng. I can only hope to charm others with that level of skill."

"A true charismatic ruler is a natural wordsmith-- a poet in their own right," Zhongli replies, watching you take in the scent of the tea before drinking it. "Perhaps that shall be our next lesson."

"As long as I do not have to memorize poetry--" You gape when Zhongli only looks away and sips at his tea. "No-- no, we're going to--"

"As part of the aristocratic court, you must be well-versed with prose and poetry." Zhongli says simply, amused, "I am quite fond of poetic verses, so it will be remiss to not teach you."

(You think about hearing Zhongli recite the longest love ballads to you in your small, private classroom and feel your cheeks grow warm.)

You hold your cup into your hands and absently turn it, watching the tea ripple. "My education," you tell him, sighing, "is in your hands."

.

.

.

The two of you enjoy the tea until the water is cold, drinking your third infused cup with as much savor as the last. With the waning moon, there will soon not be any light once the sun sets, and Zhongli can feel the cool autumn breeze dip down into colder temperatures. You have just stopped regaling the story of when you had fallen into the koi pond in your childhood when you shiver, and Zhongli thinks that no matter how much he enjoys your company in the palace garden, surrounded by glaze lilies and silk flowers, there can always be another time.

"Shall we head to the library?" He asks kindly, "Or perhaps the study?" He hears you lightly sniffle, and he smiles at the attempt to hide your affliction. "I'm sure we might both enjoy better conversation in warmer climates."

"Yes," you say, breathing hot air onto your hands, "that does sound like a good idea."

The two of you go to stand, and Zhongli shrugs off his outer coat to drape it over you, much to your surprise. And for a moment, he thinks he must have overstepped or violated a rule of etiquette (despite how unlikely that may be), but you mumble a thanks and tug the coat closer to you. 

"My pleasure," he replies, walking to stand next to you. "It would not do for you to catch a cold, Princess."

"Hm…" You hum, and Zhongli has taught you long enough to know that you are distracted. He sees you raise your hand to your face, his umber sleeves following it. "You smell like oak," you remark, and he feels his face warm despite the breeze, "like freshly bound books and letters, and--"

You take a glance in his direction when he has grown quiet and your eyes widen in alarm. "-err, and, um, incense, probably. Very familiar-- from the shrine maybe?" You stammer, inching away from the pagoda, "Sorry, I just-- your coat--"

What kind of expression is he making, Zhongli wonders, for you to look as panicked as you are, as flustered as he has ever seen you. He is almost startled by the fact that this has been one of the first times he has ever seen you uncomposed. With the amount of time he has spent with you, he has been able to see the way you interact with others, and he has concluded that you are a person who takes things in stride.

With your messenger Bennett, unlucky as a person can be, you offer only kind gestures and a breezy conversation to take his mind off his tumultuous route. With your maids, you never react badly to any mistake that would have cost them their heads had they been serving anywhere else. But a dropped silverware, broken porcelain, you are nonplussed and difficult to anger when there is no reason to be. Even with nobles, you show grace by speaking to them without a hint of disdain or resentment, so they never have any chance to vilify you. If Zhongli did not know better, he would never have expected you could ever harbor ill will towards another, but he knows now that you are calm-- and if anything, your anger is icy and self-righteous in the face of prejudice.

Zhongli tries not to feel pleased about being able to see another part of who you are and fails. Still, as endearing as your embarrassment is, you are a Princess and it would be remiss of him to allow you to flounder about. 

"Princess," he says, hoping to ease you from your thoughts. If anything, addressing you directly makes you retreat further, and Zhongli sees you take a step back-- a misstep-- toward the pond.

"Ah-!"

Zhongli reaches out to you almost instinctively before you even begin to fall.

If Zhongli had thought he had seen you at your most flustered, he can feel it clearly for himself. With his hand on your waist, holding you tenderly with your hands braced on his chest, you are hot to the touch, your face heating up to the point even he can feel it through his clothes. He feels your hands curl into the lapels of his shirt and the press of your body against his.

His first thought is not to apologize for the proximity or not ask for your well-being, but the fact that you were right. His clothes do smell like oak, of a forest and of pressed wood, and now, he thinks, you will smell like him.

(He does not have time at the moment to process how this makes him feel.)

It is a brief moment of infatuation-- you possess a soft scent, befitting of your gentle attitude and tenderness-- but he remembers how his heart had beat fast because he was afraid of your fall and pulls you away from him (even if your presence in his arms was a comfortable one). "Are you hurt, Princess?" He asks, scanning your arms and legs. Like clockwork, he says, "I apologize for my actions, but I had thought you were going to fall in."

You shake your head furiously, and your hands copy that motion. "No, no, I understand. I would have fallen without your help. I was just--" You stammer, covering your face with your hand. “I was just surprised, is all.” 

“Are you not feeling well?” He asks, the thought coming to mind as suddenly as you turn your head to him again. He thinks it makes sense though-- your unsteady hands, your lingering warmth...

“Huh?” You squawk, pressing your hands to your cheeks, “What makes you say that?”

I should check her temperature, Zhongli thinks with concern gnawing on his conscience. He remembers cool palms on his forehead when he was feverish and reaches out to provide the same to you.

“Ah, allow me to--”

"Princess, xiansheng," one of the guards addresses the two of you, bowing deeply, providing you a moment to recompose and him a moment to retract his hand. "The further villages have informed us that there will be a storm headed our way soon; please allow me to escort you back to your chambers."

"Thank you," you say calmly. "I would like to have a word with Zhongli xiansheng for a moment, if you would not mind."

"Of course, my lady."

Zhongli watches the guard walk away as you turn toward him with your regal composure still about you, and he wonders how many times he has almost forgotten who he's talking to at times. Just as when he gently scolds you for being distracted or when he's muffling his laughter when you say something particularly witty, or when you allow him to touch you-- casually like before and intimately like the two of you were just now, he thinks that he has let his guard down around you tremendously to forget exactly why he's here and who he is serving. "Princess," he begins, bowing his head deeply in respect. When he lifts his head, he thinks he sees a flicker of disappointment on your face, but it is gone a moment later. "I apologize if I have upset you in any way with the manner in which I have conducted myself.” 

The wind blows past them much more harshly than before, but it picks up your laughter, light as it has always been. “I'm not upset," you tell him. "If I minded your actions, I would simply not allow you to do them.”

He thinks back to his outstretched hand, reaching to place his hand tenderly upon your face in a show of affection not befitting of a tutor like himself and shifts uncomfortably. "Still," he says, "in retrospect, I see that it's been inappropriate how casually I act around you, which is ill-befitting of someone of your status. Perhaps I--"

"Do not let my status as royalty put a wedge in our friendship," you say sharply enough to make him clamp his mouth shut. "I enjoy your company, as I hope you find the same with mine, and I find that simplicity much too rare to throw away because of who-- or rather, what I am." You soften your eyes and continue, "I mean it, Zhongli. I want you to treat me as you normally do. I promise you I will let you know if I deem something unfavorable."

"You always have been quite straightforward," he settles, almost in resignation. When you grin, he thinks your countenance could be a weapon if you chose to wield it as such.

"Then we are in agreement with something at least," you reply. You shiver in the cold wind and Zhongli takes this chance to press his hand against your forehead when you freeze.

"You don't seem sick," Zhongli says, gently taking his hand away, "but please be sure to drink ginger tea prior to sleeping to warm your body."

"...You were checking my temperature?"

He nods. "Yes, I apologize for not clarifying. I will make sure to inform you of my intentions next time, but the thought slipped from my mind." He says, "I was concerned for your health the entire night, Princess. Do let me know if you do not feel well for any lessons in the future."

And there's that embarrassment again, Zhongli notes briefly before you clear your throat and turn away. "Yes, well, I'm fine, I assure you," you say. "I-- well, I'll let you know if I ever feel under the weather." You pause and he must stop in his tracks to wait for you before he steps onto the trails of your dress. "Thank you," you say softly, "for worrying about me."

Zhongli looks at you with the wind billowing past and the lanterns lit behind you and feels his heart tremble.

"Let us leave," you say again before he can reply. "The storm is coming."

"Yes," Zhongli says finally. You look at him again and he folds his hands behind his back to stabilize his shaking hands. "It is getting cold, isn't it?"

You shoot a grateful smile at him, tugging his jacket over yourself even more, and Zhongli follows after you, his eyes never leaving your visage.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Shakespearean mc here- what are your thoughts on the different plays? Specifically twelfth night and midsummers night dream since you mentioned characters from those plays plus Macbeth (I’m studying that one in school)

*Cracks knuckles and takes a long, deep breath.* 

Fam I have written entire essays about this for my courses. I have done presentations and powerpoints, not to mention monologues. I have filled journals. You know not what sort of floodgate that you’ve opened. The doorway to my dorkish heart. 

Twelfth Night is my favorite comedy and it was actually the first one I ever saw. The premise behind the show is a farce-like situation, it’s literally one big joke. Viola has a crush, so in order to woo him, she dresses up as a man and goes off to try and convince another woman to date him. Y’know, as you do. But then here’s the kicker - his crush falls in love with the male disguise! I know it’s probably something we all just kind of accept as normal Shakespearian humor at this point, but you must understand how hard Tiny Brandon was laughing when he first saw this, especially since Olivia was played by a friend of mine. (Well I say “friend,” she was a drama coach, but I considered her a friend, so there.) Viola holds a special place in my heart, for being the first protagonist I saw, and I friggin love how she puts it all together immediately and her reaction is just, “I wonder how badly this will all go wrong by the end. Welp! No turning back now!” She’s literally such a mood, and I’m so glad to see her reunited with Sebastion by the end. Speaking of him, I like how he just kind of stumbles upon the plot and passively accepts it. Oliva throws herself at him, and he just accepts. I’ve seen this played multiple ways. In the first production I saw, the guy was bewildered and just kind of went along with it like “Uh...okay?” But later on, I saw a version where my good friend was playing him, and he made me laugh so hard, because he played it like “This total babe wants to marry me. I have no idea why or who she is, but she does NOT need to ask twice.” Also this has nothing to do with anything, but between Oliva falling for “Sezario” and Orsino continuing to treat Viola as a man until they’re married...yeah, this play had characters who were LBGT and didn’t know it. Them’s just the facts. Anyway, I love this little squad, I’d watch a sitcom about them for sure. Oh who am I kidding, the real comedy of this show, the elephant in the room...is Malvolio, and his whole storyline. What a role, and I want it. I wish to play Malvolio before I die. I wish to see fanfiction about him getting revenge on the whole pack of them. I cannot read the cross-gartered scene without laughing. He’s...he’s Percy. He’s literally Percy, right down to how he’s the punch line of the joke, and it’s treated as okay because he’s just that annoying...but y’know I don’t really mind? Like sure, he was wronged. He was most notoriously abused. But it was funny! 

Midsummers is a show that I basically know by the back of my hand by now. It’s one of the classics, it’s like Romeo and Juliet in the sense that it’s one of the shows that everyone had heard of, everyone knows on a basic level even if they hate Shakespare or know little to nothing about his work. And I used to joke that this show was following me. Because everyone was putting it on, and no matter where I went, what company I worked with...inevitably, that show would crop up. If I had any dancing ability or movement training that I hadn’t all but forgotten by now, I would love to play Puck. The ultimate trickster, the ultimate troll. He’s the best. Another classic and cliche plot of course, but that’s because it’s iconic at this point. Like a blend between a soap opera and a farce this time, everything that happens between the four humans in the woods. I love how it’s just canon that Hermia is short, and angry about this. I like how Lysander is kinda witty, “You have her father’s love, Demetrius. Would you marry him?” and y’know, he’s not a bad guy. He does try to get into Hermia’s pants before the wedding, but he backs down when she says no. Demetrius though? He’s a dirtbag. I mean, he’s not as bad as Proteus from Two Gents...but like...are we just never gonna talk about how his love for Helena was artificially induced...and that’s the happy ending? And none of the humans will ever know it? Oh well. There’s also the rivalry between Oberon and Titania, and I always love watching them onstage. They really feel like two deities waging a war, or “playing a game” with each other, with mortals caught in the crosshairs. I believe this romance, I ship it. Titania is a character that I always have high standards for. I expect an amazing performance from her, especially after seeing what my friend Chrissy put in the role. (I doubt you will ever see this, Chrissy, but if you do - shoutout!) Then there's the whole subplot about Pyramus and Thisbe. It’s a little awkward that the production is put on after the whole resolution with the four humans, but I guess it makes sense in-universe. And who cares - it’s always, always the funniest part of that whole show. I look forward to it every time. “This dog. My dog.” 

Don’t get me started on Macbeth. This is my favorite Tragedy and probably my favorite Shakespeare show overall. But it’s not just a Tragedy, it’s a Horror, the very best kind of Horror. A story where the audience is betrayed. The hero that was talked up, named in the show’s title, and introduced as a good man...he does a terrible thing, and it all spirals from there. Leaving the audience stranded, unsure if they’re supposed to still root for him. Not to mention how well this play dives into the psychology of murder. How it changes a person forever, once they’ve done something like that and have to live with it. Macbeth was an ordinary man. He didn’t want to kill Duncan for any personal reason or grudge, it was just because of the obvious reason: Power. He wanted the throne. Sure, every man wants to be king, but once the Witches made it seen attainable, once Lady Macbeth painted that picture in his mind...he made his choice. And it’s so important that he’s ordinary because anyone could fall into that kind of trap. Not to get dark for a second but like...a lot of us have people in our lives who we would probably be better off if they weren’t around. And we probably have at least one person who we could kill and probably get away with it. The monster in the back of the human mind. That is what Macbeth is all about. I know the “Out, damn spot” scene is iconic, but it really demonstrates how different people would respond to trauma in different ways. Then there’s Banquo, who basically figures out the truth but can do nothing about it other than wait for Macbeth to realize he’s a loose end. The mystery of the “third” murderer...and I’ve written essays about who that might have been, too. The hubris of Macbeth not to realize how the witches words could be twisted. I also grew so, so attached to Macduff. The poor guy lost everything, and he was the one who spearheaded the rebellion, and ultimately killed Macbeth. Reading it as a kid, not understanding the line of succession, I remember being so annoyed that he wasn’t made King at the end, because he totally deserved it. Also, as someone else who was, “from my mother’s womb, untimely ripped” I consider Macduff a kindred spirit. 

[roodllle]

Year in Review - Animal Crossing New Horizons

I started writing this review/criticism in May of 2020 but decided to update it as the year went along and post it on the anniversary of NH’s release. I would like to preface that this is mostly going to be full of questions of criticisms, I love this game. I have not been able to put it down since I got it on March 20th. My first AC game was NL and then I played HHD. I was ecstatic when they announced NH at E3 2019 and kept trying to find other games to fit in my AC shaped hole in my heart but I wasn’t able to fill it till this game came out. I feel like the pace of the game is great with how you build up to unlocking terraforming and 5 stars, and I feel like the updates are well timed especially with how crazy 2020 was for everybody. That being said there were some things that irked me. 

Some of the points I will bring up came from other people/commenters I have seen on here, Discord, Reddit, and Twitter that I also agree with. Some other points are from Youtubers such as ShayMay and ChuyPlays. And others are from me. 

With that out of the way, let’s get on with the review. Warning, I guess, don’t expect this to be an essay, this is just a patchwork quilt made up of thoughts.

Terraforming

I wish cliffs/tiers had a smaller level? Like how we’re able to make stepping stones for our rivers if we don’t want to put a bridge down/use our vaulting pole. I just wish there was a cliff alternative. 

Another cliff alternative would be if we could put bridges between cliffs. I think we’ve all been there where we see this picture 

          thought ‘we can do that!!” then realized it was photoshopped

When we go into terraforming, I wish a grid showed up on our island. It would make it much easier to avoid hitting the wrong square when I’m trying to change a river. 

Having us be able to “close” a waterfall from a lower level but not create a new on at the same spot. 

Also the fact we can add a 4th tier but can’t put anything on it is just strange to me. I know we have to have a limit to how high we can go, but at least let me put nature stuff, such as trees/flowers/bushes, on top of it instead of just a flat piece of land. 

Houses

Why no ceiling items? Find it odd they added a bunch of stuff in HHD and didn’t add that to the new mainline game

There’s no reason I can think of to why we can’t access our storage when we’re crafting inside our house. 

Buildings

Dodo Airlines

The Dodo Islands right now are very boring and barely use them. I have enough money and materials to not go farming and save up all my NMTs for when I go villager hunting, which has also become a rarity. I think it would be a good idea to make some islands seasoned themed. Have them be all rare, but have an island where it’s fall and has maple leaves falling, a cherry blossom one, one with snowflakes. I wouldn’t recommend they make Holiday themed ones, but having seasonal ones would be nice.

When I mess up a dodo code or accidentally hit ‘make a bridge’ instead of incline, etc. why do I have to restart the ENTIRE conversation instead of the characters just being “oh? did you mean “x” or “would you like to retype it?” like is it that hard??  

Resident Services

As much as I love Isabelle this game has made me very indifferent towards her. I think they gave her a role that didn’t need to exist. They could have either let us roam around without any warnings to who was roaming around our island, in the campsite, or any weather updates. Just have us rely on our villagers, the TV, and our eyeballs. OR they could have given us a social media like app and/or a weather app. Instead, they gave us Isabelle that only announces something once a month.

Nook’s Cranny

This might just be me but can they add a little DIY area in the store? Maybe just make to where you can only customize things?? This is more out of convenience than an actual problem  

Speaking of customization, since you can make medicine but also buy can we do the same for the custom kits and bait. Like make it where we can buy bait and also make our own custom kits? I just think it’s weird that they give us either/or for medicine but not for the other 2 that I honestly use way more than medicine.

Why do the Able Sisters get to have all of the colors of an item in their shop but Nook’s Cranny can’t? And why can’t we just be able to customize all items that have multiple looks/colors? Example, why can’t I just be able to change the wood type for the antique set instead of having to buy each one? I get that the furniture catalog is already small, but that’s not my fault. They’ve decided to not add past furniture sets into NH. 

Able Sisters

Let us multi select clothes instead of it just being how much we can wear. idc if it’ll just put those clothes in our personal storage and then we’ll have to run home and put it in that storage, I just hate having to walk back in and out every time I want a dress in multi colors. ALSO tell us if we already bought it, like a little storage icon or something

Why can’t we hang any article of clothing on the back wall, why do we have to either make it or have the OG qr designer come to our island? 

Why can’t we have the transparent option when designing clothes? I think it would make many designer’s lives easier instead of having to make 8 versions of the same outfit.

NPCs

I have played this game almost every day since it came out, minus 2 days. I have also been able to make friends on discord that help with trading/cataloging/etc. I have all of Saharah’s, Kicks’, Label’s, and Redd’s items. I have all of the fish/bug models I want and have no desire to “catch them all”. I haven’t talked to Wisp in months because I have most of the items and his idea of “expensive” is 10k bells. The only NPC I actively look forward to is Celeste because even though I now have all of her DIYs, she still gives out star fragments, regular large or horoscope, when I talk to her. 

What I’m wondering is if they’re planning on doing anything else with these characters. Before I speak further I’m going to weed out characters that I am actually fine with. CJ and Flick will always be there if I want a bug/fish model, I understand that Saharah/Kicks/Redd have a ton of stuff to get and w/o the help of my discord friends, I probably wouldn’t have gotten everything till late 2021. 

So that leaves Label and Wisp. I understand Wisp is there for beginners, but now that I’m at a point where I am a bell millionaire and have most of the Nook’s items cataloged, there is no reason for me to talk to him. I wish Nintendo had put in a system where depending on the person who Wisp is talking to, it determines how much money you have in your bank account/looks at your catalog, Wisp’s item’s worth goes up.

As for Label...I never saw her as viable. I also thought the tickets were dumb and you don’t even have to talk to her to have her items show up in the shop the next day. I think it would be great if when you bought all of her items, she decided to join the Able’s sisters in their shop like in NL and then have Gracie show up in her place for the weekly NPC. 

Where is Blanca? Or Brewster? Or Shrunk, Katrina, Gracie, or Kapp’n and his family? I understand we will probably never see characters like Harriet or Pete because they have been replaced by a new system, but what is the excuse for these other characters? I’m hoping they show up in year 2 of NH but...we’ll see.

Villagers

I think having your first villagers living in basic homes is a good idea but one that quickly gets annoying. I found Sherb while villager hunting for the 1st time and have had him ever since, but his house is stuck at basic lazy setup. Instead of me going back and forth on whether or not i should trust somebody enough to hold Sherb, get somebody else out, then get him to move back to my island, You can have it to where you let them leave, then just wait till he comes to the campsite to visit and reinvite him. You get his actual house and he still remembers you. This could also go for you accidentally letting somebody go or letting somebody go then regretting it. Also it’d be fun to see some old villagers again.

I was curious and looked back on past games to see how many new villagers were released each game and NH has been the least amount. NL released 112 new villagers in total while NH has released 8. I’m hoping they might release more down the line but, hella disappointing imo. Along with the Sanrio update and adding those characters to the game, I am more hopeful that they’ll be adding new characters!

Having an “event” of sorts where you visit a villager’s house and they’re looking inside their closet. They look at you in surprise when you walk in and sheepishly explain that they were going through their clothes/items. They then decide to ask you for help since they can’t decide what to get rid of/what to keep and think you have a good eye for that sort of thing. Basically, a way to get rid of any clothes/items your villager somehow received bc I guess Isabelle scolding them isn’t enough.

A big problem I feel like everybody has is the villager dialogue. Yes they added sub personality types for each personality but they are not perfectly cut in half, ex. are the Sisterly types where there are 4 B types and 20 A types, like?? How I have “fixed” this problem is by having one of each personality type on my island so I always have different conversations with my villagers, but I understand not a lot of people do that. Some people just want normal/peppy types on their island bc they’re cute as hell, I get it. I know it would be...difficult to come up with unique dialogue for all 399 villagers, including Sanrio, but....you could at least for the “gimmicky” villagers. Some examples of these villagers are Ribbot and Sprocket, Lucky and Ankha, the super hero squad, and Kabuki. 

Quality Life stuff

Why cant we sit AND wish on stars? And I don’t mean the sit emote; why can’t I sit on a bench and wish on stars?

It sucks when I’m about to hit my rocks or just do a lot of dig work and then my shovel breaks in the middle of it. To show the tool is about to break, cracks should start to form on the handle and get deeper/longer as you keep using it, starting when you have 5 uses left. You can also add an auditory element by making the tool sound like its struggling when you are using it. Net/Shovel/Axe/Fishing Pole can have cracks show up on the handle, Slingshot can have crack show up at the bottom of the 2 spokes while having 1 at the top of the handle. And the watering can have cracks at the base of the can.

If our inventory is full when I dig up a flower, why can’t I replace it with another flower to bury? And if I can dig up an item at an diagonal item, I should be able to bury it again at the same angle.

Other

Having more...liveliness?? on the island, idk how else to say it. Example is whenever you travel by plane there's a chemtrail in the sky afterwards, maybe just seeing other planes go by throughout the day. Maybe you can get a hint Redd or Gulliver will be visiting you tomorrow if you see their boats beyond the horizon, Redd’s just crusin’ and the Gulls’ boats looking messed up. On a week where you don't have a new camper, maybe have an old villager visit. That leads me too

I wish villager’s doors could count as “exterior decorating” and we can just put any ornamental on there instead having to hope that your villager will put the wreath on their own door. 

Conclusion

If you read this whole thing holy shit, thanks!! Go treat yourself on my part lol If you disagreed with me or whatever feel free to chat with me about it! 

[1863-project]

I’m at the end of my first-ever Omega Ruby run, and I’ve honestly had a great time getting to know Hoenn. I just have to evolve some Pokemon and catch the Regis and Deoxys before I move along (I’m waiting to trade with folks to finish the Dex properly, but I can do that at any point), but I think it’s worth doing a retrospective on the characters and Pokemon I met along the way.

As a region, Hoenn is unique in that it has a LOT of water routes. You spend a large portion of the second half of the game traveling via Surf. The Azumarill in my party, Pikablue, ended the game knowing Waterfall, Surf, and Dive (it also carries Play Rough), and it was one of the most crucial members of my party for transport purposes.

When I won the Hoenn League, the team May (named ‘Hatshepsut’ in my playthrough because we love cool historical figures in this house) had with her was her evolved starter, a Blaziken named Cluck You, along with Pikablue the Azumarill, Pangaea the Groudon, Charles II the Shiftry, Friendo the Latios, and the team anchor, Bastet the overleveled Skitty. I beat Steven because Bastet dodged a Zen Headbutt from Metagross and gave me the time I needed to revive both Blaziken and Groudon in the back, and their fire moves handled the rest. Bastet went on to become the first party member to reach level 100, way ahead of everyone else. She was absolutely incredible and I love her. Her final moveset: Heal Bell (surprisingly useful, especially in Doubles), Thunder, Ice Beam, and Play Rough. She’s a Dragon Slayer.

As soon as I got my hands on the Eon Flute I started running around to check every Mirage location that came up in the hopes that it would be a Mirage Cave. I knew that was where Tynamo was, and I needed Eelektross to complete the Submas team I was building (the other nine members are in SwSh at the moment; Eelektross will hopefully someday join them). On November 30th, my persistence paid off, and I went and caught three Tynamos so I could have the entire evolutionary line in my National Dex in Pokemon HOME. As it turns out, Eelektross still hasn’t been added to HOME because Third Rail has become a vital member of my party in postgame and I love him and he loves me. (I’m just Emmet, really.) The Eon Flute is also really nice in that using it allows you to literally fly in real time over the entire region, and I prefer doing that to using Fly because it’s just so aesthetically nice. Friendo just swoops down and picks me up, and we have a nice time exploring together. It’s especially pretty at night when everything is all lit up. It’s a lovely little feature exclusive to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and it’s so great.

Character-wise, Hoenn has produced some notables. Magma and Aqua are two of the most beloved villain teams in the entire franchise, and the reboots gave them so much more personality and gave the leaders and admins some excellent updated designs. (Years ago, when the remakes were first released, my dash was filled to the brim with Hardenshipping.) I had OR, so I had Magma to contend with, and one of the single most entertaining things in the entire game is Maxie’s losing animation. It’s perfect, it suits his character so well, and it’s just really funny. Also, shout-out to the Team Magma grunt that I met in the Extremely Obvious Hideout who told me how proud he was of kicking his soda habit whilst standing next to the vending machines. I love that guy. In terms of reformation, Magma and Aqua come around very easily when they realize that they’ve had a very bad idea - they ultimately were well-intentioned but made a really horrible mistake and set out to set things right (with the player’s help, of course). It ultimately makes both teams very likeable.

In terms of other characters, not every Gym Leader from Hoenn is a complete standout, but a few are very, very popular. Flannery is a perfect time capsule of 2003 fashion and I love that so much, and I don’t think I need to say much about Wallace. He’s just Wallace. He’s so freaking entertaining. Steven is also a very popular Champion, and he plays a pretty big role in the plot, so you see a lot of him throughout the game. (He and Wallace are also a very popular ship, with Originshipping - named for the Cave of Origin which Wallace has to grant you access to - actually being referenced in Pokemon Masters on, of all days, Valentine’s Day. Make of this what you will, but I’m here for it.) The Gym Leaders all received redesigns as well, with a lot of them benefiting greatly from it - I like Roxanne’s new school uniform so much better than her old one, for example, and once again, Wallace outshines everyone with an ensemble that would go wonderfully at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. I wish we got to know the Gym Leaders a bit more as people, because they don’t get to stand out as characters as much. Galar actually did this very well by allowing us a lot of interactions with the Leaders outside the Gyms and as teammates and rivals in the Galarian Star Tournament. A big part of the reason Wallace is so popular as a Gym Leader here is that you see him outside the Gym multiple times and can even compete with him in Contests. You get to know him as a person more and not just as the eighth Gym Leader, and it makes him a much more interesting character.

In short, here’s how the League stacks up for me:

Roxanne: Benefited massively from her character redesign, which gives her a lot more personality. Would like to see her and Steven interact since they’re apparently friends, which I imagine revolves around going out and licking rocks together or whatever geologists do with their geologist friends.

Brawly: He still isn’t very distinct. He’s a surfer who trains Fighting-types, which is a bit of a subversion since you’d expect Water-types from someone like that, but nothing about him really pops for me.

Wattson: Gives off Grandpa Vibes. Wattson actually gets a lot of expository development via his work on New Mauville and Sea Mauville, where you find out he halted the projects to protect the Pokemon ecosystems in both locations. A lot of employees were angry about this and he was even investigated briefly for stopping the projects, even being called a traitor to the company (which appeared to overwork its employees and prevent them from unionizing), but it was apparently evidently clear that he did things out of environmental concerns, and the employees were able to find work on other projects elsewhere. This actually slots nicely into the themes of the game involving environmentalism and how to ensure the livelihoods of people and nature both.

Flannery: Time capsule from 2003! I was, of course, around in 2003 (I turned 14), and Flannery was at the peak of fashion back then. Flares were in, and I miss that trend so much. For that alone, she’s one of my favorite Gym Leaders in this generation, but I also appreciate that she’s shown trying to find her footing and figure out who she is instead of pretending to be someone else. There’s a certain performative aspect to being a Gym Leader, but it needs to come naturally from them and be an extension of their own personality, not be artificial. I would, however, love to know who her grandfather is. It’s still never been confirmed. (As a side note, a lot of people headcanon her to be Kabu’s niece, since he’s from Hoenn, which is cute.)

Norman: A Dad. More specifically, the player character’s dad. There’s really nothing that stands out about him except for that damn Slaking, which gives a lot of people trouble. I did, however, appreciate the conversation he had with Wally’s father as Wally and the player character departed together, because I’m actually pretty close to my own father (who I’m very similar to in many aspects). I’m 31 years old and I still get emotional every time my parents tell me they’re proud of me. Notably, Norman is the only player character father we have ever seen in Pokemon, though, which is odd.

Winona: In-game, she doesn’t feel like she has much of a personality, although she goes off on aesthetics pretty well. It just weirds me out that that’s her hair coming out from under the helmet and not wings attached to it. She could have been really cool but she gets the short end of the development stick.

Tate and Liza: The two of them intentionally playing up the ‘weird twins’ angle by completing each other’s sentences actually comes across really cutely because they’re kids. You can also run into them in the Lilycove Department Store being children and buying toys, a good reminder that they’re still very young and evidently very skilled for their ages. Battle-wise, my Azumarill knew Surf by this point so I ended things quickly because I’m into Doubles as it is and like using spread moves when I can.

Wallace: I’ve discussed him a lot above, so I don’t need to say much else, but he really is the most notable Gym Leader in the region, and not just because he’s the last one you face. He has a lot of personality and development, you meet him outside the Gym several times, his niece Lisia is also out and about in the game and the family resemblance is notable, and you find an old magazine in Sea Mauville featuring a woman on the cover who looks like Lisia - likely Wallace’s older sister, Lisia’s mother. The entire family gets more development than a lot of the other Gym Leaders in this region.

Sidney: The first member of the Elite Four you face...I’d actually like to know more about him. He seems like an interesting person, and I personally enjoy Dark-types myself so I always appreciate seeing Dark-type users not being portrayed as evil. His upbeat nature is nice, and it’s a pleasant surprise to run into him at the Battle Resort, even if he was only there to track down Steven.

Phoebe: I love how much her appearance contrasts with her Pokemon typing. She’s a Ghost-type trainer and you’d never guess that from her outfit! Her grandmother is the old woman on Mt. Pyre, which is why Phoebe has an affinity for Ghost-Types, and I’d love to see more interactions involving them together. You can run into Phoebe on Mt. Pyre after you beat the League and talk to her briefly - she was likely visiting her grandmother - but sadly she doesn’t get much development outside of that.

Glacia: An Ice-type trainer who we learn next to nothing about. Glacia is mentioned outside of the context of the Elite Four by an NPC in the Mauville Food Court who says she was slurping down ramen so intensely that she broke a sweat, but that’s all we know about her aside from that she’s originally from a different region, and she tells us that herself. Not very memorable.

Drake: Yet another Dragon trainer late in the game, and not one of the more notable ones. Lance and Clair are remembered for being cousins and for being the first Dragon trainers you really come across in the series, and later Dragon-type trainers like Iris (who becomes Champion of Unova in B2W2) and Raihan are carried by their personalities and distinct looks. Drake is just an old sea captain with Dragon-types, and he doesn’t really jump out at me much either.

Steven: A major player in the plot - one of the most active Champions we’ve had in the franchise - and a perpetually popular character. I never minded running into Steven out and about in Hoenn, even if it meant I’d have to listen to an infodump about rocks, and his Champion battle was actually fairly difficult for the team I brought in despite having two team members with Fire-type attacks to handle the Steel. As I mentioned above, it was my Skitty that made the decisive dodge to allow me to bring in the team member I needed to deliver the final blow, meaning this is now the second time in my life I’ve beaten the Champion with an unevolved house cat. (Rick Pratt the Purrloin is a vital member of my beloved Young Ones Galar Championship Team.) Overall, Steven’s a very likeable Champion, and I did enjoy the little detail of the rocks on display in his home - he has them labeled so you can see where he found them, and they’re from every region featured in the games up to that point.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire also have the Delta Episode, which features Rayquaza (which you’re forced to catch) and a character named Zinnia, who isn’t in RSE at all and is new to ORAS. Besides being named after my favorite flower, Zinnia’s personality is actually very interesting because although she comes across as cheery it’s clear she feels the weight of a massive responsibility and that the cheeriness is covering a lot of pain. Her Whismur named Aster is evidently named after someone important to her who is no longer around, and it’s never revealed in-game who the original Aster was. Whoever Aster was, though, Zinnia misses her deeply. In a 2015 interview, Ohmori Shigeru stated that the original Aster was the person who held the position of Lorekeeper before Zinnia, but we don’t know anything more than that - a shame, really, because that makes for some interesting backstory.

Overall, I had a lovely time in Hoenn, and I’ll be moving on to Kalos in the next few weeks once I finish up this Dex business first. I just wish I got to get to know so many of the characters I’ve met a little better, but I adore the team I put together and I’m super proud of them and all they’ve accomplished.

[foster-fan-club]

So I have been talking with @sophies-earbuds for awhile about sokeefe vs sophitz and I’ve wrote a little about it before, but now I really want to analyze each character in this love triangle madness->starting with Fitz:

[before I take off into the madness I would like to add a disclaimer: this is not meant to prove one ship “superior”, but at some points it will lean in favor of one or the other or both->it’s just meant to add some character analysis to the whole thing (message me if you ever want to talk more about these ships)]

Fitzroy Avery Vacker:

Fitz starts off as being an easily lovable and very cute character. Sophie falls for him, we all fall for him, and soon enough we are on the edge of our seat to see if Sophitz will happen. But just as we start saying he is our favorite, Shannon gives us a look into a trait that will soon define his character in a whole other way.

Alden’s mind breaks.

Shortly afterwards Fitz is left angry, broken, and feeling enormous loads of guilt-wishing that he could’ve been there for his father. Fitz starts to unload his frustrations onto Sophie and that is the first time Sophitz is truly questioned (besides the moment we learn how handsome Keefe is).

His anger issues are not resolved and he never truly finds closure or comes to terms with it. Instead this anger boils over into Alvar’s betrayal, Keefe’s betrayal, almost killing Alvar *twice*, the whole unmatchable drama, and more.

People argue that Shannon ruined Fitz to make Sokeefe happen. But in my opinion, she didn’t ruin him, instead she has now set him up for self growth and redemption.

By the end of Legacy, Fitz is finally adjusting to the changes in his life, he’s slowly realizing that Alvar is beyond his control, and he is working towards finding closure for his friends.

I feel like Sokeefe will eventually happen and that will present another obstacle for Fitz to endure. But Fitz has already hit his lowest point in Legacy, in my opinion. So now he is going to endure the greatest change. I feel like Fitz and Sophie both have a lot of personal growth they still need to go through apart, before they can even try to start dating again. Part of Sophie’s growth will most likely fall along the lines with Keefe’s recovery/new ability and their newish relationship. Fitz needs to refind himself and spend some more time with his family to help him heal. He will obviously depend on Sophie throughout this time and vice versa, but I don’t expect it to be in a relationship way.

Fitz Vacker is not a villain, even though some people paint him out to be. He is just as confused and as hurt and as betrayed as Keefe. He just deals with it in a not so great way. But Keefe also dealt with his guilt in a not so great way in the beginning too (I mean trying to play double agent against the Neverseen is not the smartest). Fitz and Keefe share many characteristics in common and they both have the potential to essentially make each other’s mistakes. But they don’t, instead they learn from them. They learn together, as best friends (wow I’m tearing up bc of Feefe/Kitz [idk their ship name]).

My prediction for Fitz is that he will start to branch off from the group and find his own way. Only once he has grown as a person, will he have a chance at winning back Sophie’s heart. If he does succeed with it all, Sophitz will end with a lot more value than it had in Flashback and Legacy.

So that was my overall *breif* analysis, but if you want more, just keep reading!

The change in Fitz was explained indirectly and perhaps some people missed it. Guilt is a major theme in the kotlc series and plays a big role in each character’s life. It is said multiple times after Alvar’s betrayal how getting angry is a way Fitz’s guilt is expressed. Just like how Alden’s guilt caused him to lean a little harder on his classic “no need to worry” standby. Brant’s guilt caused him to slowly go insane. The guilt Sophie felt for her human parents, eventually led her to a state of numbness. Keefe’s guilt causes him to be reckless. Grady and Edaline’s guilt caused them to shut out the world after Jolie’s death. Eventually each character finds a way to deal with their guilt. Alden eventually admitted that he was wrong to perform the memory break and was provided closure when Della and him helped Wylie and Prentice recover. Grady and Edaline adopted Sophie as a way to fill the emptiness in their home. Even Brant found closure by facing Grady and Sophie (although by then he was already too lost). Keefe is slowly finding closure by coming to terms with his dad, accepting that he isn’t responsible for his mom, and no longer trying to be the hero. He isn’t fully there yet, but Sophie is helping him get there. (This is very important for why sokeefe is such a strong ship but I already said a lot on that earlier) Fitz has never truly found closure and I think that is why he was so upset that Sophie and Keefe let Alvar go. Fitz feels responsible for being played by the Neverseen under his own roof (similar to Keefe). Fitz feels responsible for the shame he brought on his family’s *now questionable* reputation. [That is probably another reason why he wasn’t too happy about the whole unmatchable thing- not because he didn’t love Sophie but because he couldn’t bear hurting his family any more]

His direct family doesn’t blame him, but other members of the Vackers still look down on him. But most importantly, Fitz blames himself. He really wanted to be able to just finish Alvar, not because he is some dark, killing machine- but because he sees it as the only way to ensure Alvar doesn’t hurt the people he loves anymore. To me this is actually a sweeter side of Fitz that is often overlooked as just a creepy trait. Fitz would risk his own well being, he would risk breaking his mind, he would risk living with the burden of killing his brother- just because he believes he can protect his family, his friends, and Sophie. Now as creepy and weird of a justification that is- it is still a valid reason why Fitz would turn into who he is now so quickly. To me Fitz still has the same intentions in mind, but he is so guilt ridden and traumatized that he has gone to extremes.

When you hear him blaming Sophie for bad things that happen to him, it ends up actually being Fitz blaming himself. But Fitz doesn’t have the humility to admit that yet. I used to watch this tv series as a kid that I still love now that had a character who was very guilt ridden. The character was told that to become who he really is he must let go of his feelings of guilt and shame. The character responds *very hotheadedly similar to Fitz* “I’m not guilty or shameful- I am as proud as ever!” He is then told that pride is not the opposite of shame but it’s source. That has stuck with me through reading kotlc because it pretty much describes Fitz.

Fitz is PROUD to be a Vacker, he is PROUD to be a telepath, even in the beginning of the first book he gets defensive when Sophie makes fun of Foxfire because he is PROUD to be a Foxfire prodigy. All this pride can also result in tons of shame and guilt. He feels that he can not make others proud, he can not truly earn his titles, without leaving around loose ends that could tarnish his reputation. When you think about it, Fitz is as proud as ever. He just took elite level tests and will find out soon if he will get in. He figured out how to transmit long distances to Silveny. Sophie and him have strengthened their cognate connection after getting past their feelings. He found the moonlark. He is able to get past Sophie’s blocking. He has accomplished so much, but still feels guilt. His pride causes him guilt and shame, because when something that is out of his control happens- he does not have the humility to admit it. Instead he wants to hunt down Alvar, he wants to be angry for not being there when Alden’s mind breaks, he gets mad at Biana when she gets her scars from Vespera because he wishes he could’ve taken the hits for her. He really does try to be Wonderboy and sometimes he even shocks me with how skilled and smart he really is. But he is still learning how to admit mistakes and move on. This has been his characters biggest guilt related flaw throughout the entire series, it is nothing new. Each character has their own flaws that develop throughout the series.

When Fitz apologizes to Sophie at the end of Legacy, that is when I see his first true act of humility. He apologizes to her before, but this time it just felt so much more genuine because he finally is starting to realize what his actions are doing to those who love him. This is new self growth is where I see Fitz’s character heading. The end of Legacy has given him a chance for a sort of redemption arc. He was never a bad character or evil, he just needs to grow to be his true self. Fitz needs to let go of his past grudges to be able to move forward. He needs to admit that Alvar is out of his control and that he might not be able to be the hero (similar to Keefe again). I feel like when he says he is no longer looking to kill Alvar and hunt him down, but instead is looking for information about his best friend- that really made a difference to me. He is starting to move past it and work towards the greater good. Maybe post-redemption Fitz will have another chance with Sophie. But for now we are all rooting for sokeefe to have a standing chance.

I am so sorry that this is so much to read, but I was going to post all of this eventually so I decided, why not just spam everyone at once??

Soon I will be posting analysis for both Keefe an Sophie, but it will probably *hopefully* be a lot shorter because there is already a ton of great posts about their characters and I don’t want to be too redundant. My asks are always open if you ever want to send in your own opinions/feedback and/or other characters and plots you want to see more of on here!

[userarchive]

Unexpected Circumstances Ch 10

Warnings: Language.

Early the next evening you were finally setting out, you swapped out all the cards in your wallet, triple checking that there weren’t any business cards lurking somewhere you didn’t want, securely locking your badge and gun in the safe. A brief stop at a storage locker to pick up a few more things, most importantly your burner phone, you used the cab drive over to shift your focus, breathing out the cop personality and breathing back in the undercover life. At least this time would only be a couple of weeks, and you had SVU very on your side, and fully informed, there’d be no mix ups this time and you’d finally be able to return to real life for a while.

 Alejandro heard the ping of the elevator echoing through the penthouse, glancing up from the island in the middle of the open kitchen, a wicked grin breaking across his face when you emerged from the elevator. You shot him a sly smirk, tugging off your coat to hang on the rack by the door revealing the low cut lace bodice, pushing up the swell of your chest, tucked into a shorter than normal hip hugging pencil skirt. Heels clicking on the floor as you moved in to greet him.

“You miss me?”

“More than you could imagine Chiquita.” He kissed your cheek gently, “I’m glad you came.”

“Did you really think I’d miss out on all this fun? Besides, when have I ever bailed on you before?” 

“I was worried. You stayed in New York this time, thought maybe you were out of the game. And what good is a King without his Queen?” You playfully rolled your eyes at the comment.

“I like the fall in New York. It was easy enough to lay low this time.” You plucked a bacon wrapped scallop off the plate in front of him, popping into your mouth, groaning in satisfaction of how fucking delicious it was. The added bonus of this undercover life, getting to live the high life on the Upper East Side. He chuckled lightly, 

“You want me to order more?”

“Always.” You dropped your bag on the stool beside you, pulling out a thick notebook, dropping in onto the table while he busied himself with his phone quickly ordering more food. “Have you had a chance to start organizing parties?” He tucked his phone back into his pocket, looking up at you.

“A few. I’ve started spreading the word. Lookouts are back in the clubs, contacted our regular customers, rounded up our favourite girls…they’ll be more than happy that you’re back.” His eyes shifted towards your notebook, 

“But you were always the better organizer, I’m sure you’ve got everything figured out already.” You gave him a soft giggle at that, flipping the book open. You’d outlined the hottest and best dates between now and the New Year, organizing each party with specific girls and guests that would satisfy each others needs the best, along with which nights would be best to invite other pimps to get a better circulation of party goers.

“Just a couple of fun nights before we hit New Years Eve…”

“And then we hit the big bank..”

“Exactly…” You husked, giving a cheeky wink to the man across from you, fully seated into your undercover role. You spent the next few hours going over the paperwork as you added the guest lists into the official books, reaching out to guests, pimps and the girls who you’d need, discreetly of course. It took less time than you’d expected to quickly staff your business back up, everyone eager to work at the busiest time of year when the money was at its highest. You picked over deluxe delicious foods and sipped on far too expensive wine and scotch throughout the time, filling in the large calendar between you, marking the dates in colour coded ink. You did your best to stifle a yawn, not used to working such late hours anymore, Alejandro gave you a soft smile.

“Chiquita, I think we’ve done enough for the night. Why don’t you head up to bed? Your room’s ready and waiting for you.”

“Thank you.” You gave his cheek a soft kiss, collecting your things before you made your way up the stairs, happily collapsing against the comfort of the luxury bed. You had to admit, you were saddened by the thought of curling up alone without Sonny’s body wrapped around yours, but you’d have to deal with it for the next little bit.

***

It had already been two weeks since you’d headed back to the penthouse, you’d had very discreet brief contact with Olivia to confirm on a few details, and reached out to Kat at her undercover alias to arrange ‘her girls’ for the New Years Eve party. You were more than impressed with her UC skill when you introduced her to Alejandro, combing through the regular details of working with a new supplier over an intimate 5 star dinner.

Back at the precinct things were as busy as usual, multiple cases covering the squad’s desks, Amanda had just finished interrogating a perp, exiting the room to find Sonny with a scowl on his face.

“What’s bitin’ you? This is a clear shot of a case.” She asked, it took him a minute to register she was even talking to him, giving. his head a quick shake.

“I know, I know, it’s not that…” He trailed off, half turning to her. Amanda could see the tired bags under his eyes, the little worry lines between his eyebrows more pronounced that normal.

“Carisi, she’s fine…you know that.”

“What?” Still a little lost in his thoughts he quirked a brow at the blonde, 

“Sophie…that’s what you’re worried about right?” He gave a half nod, “She knows what she’s doing, she’s been doing it for years. Kat saw her last week, said everything was right on track, there’s nothing to worry about.” She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

“Ya. I know. She’s more than capable of handling herself. It’s just…” He took a moment, sighing as he leaned up against the wall, arms crossing over his torso, “I just got ‘er back..” Rollins gave him a sympathetic smile, 

“She’ll be back by New Year’s Day.”

“Yeah…not Christmas..” It was safe to say that Christmas was always a lavish event in the Carisi household, you’d spent plenty with them before you’d gone under with this case all those years ago, but this one would’ve had a little bit of extra special to it that Rollins slowly clued into.

“Oh…oh…she went under on your wedding day…this would’ve been—“

“The first Christmas actually married? Yeah.” He pushed off the wall, following Rollins back into the bull pen, “Now she’s back undercover, in God knows how stingy of a hotel room with a sex trafficker…Not exactly an ideal Christmas.”

“Carisi..” Kat gently cut in, not being able to help but overhear, “She’s in a multi floor, 7 bedroom penthouse on the Upper East Side.”

“And I saw her with Alejandro at the bar, she’s got him so tightly wrapped around her finger, he’s not gonna lay a hand on her or let anyone get near her, believe me.”

“Thanks.” Sonny gave a curt smile, he truly did appreciate the insight from the other two, you hadn’t mentioned much about how things worked. He figured you were in some hide-a-house unless you were hosting parties, then again, this was an elite sex ring on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, it screamed luxury. He discreetly asked Kat if she could keep him as updated as possible, both for his personal sanity, and so he could try to keep up with the case before it broke on a professional level. It wasn’t until Christmas Eve he realized you were your usual uber organized loving self when Kat showed up at his door with a hand written letter from you that you’d passed off to her at the last party. On Christmas Day, he arrived at his parents place with showers of praise coming from his Ma about how you’d snuck over and dropped off an armful of presents nearly a month prior. He couldn’t help but fall even more in love with you at just how attentive you were, even when attempting to organize both major crime, and a major crime bust. At least it was only another week and you’d finally be done with this operation and you’d actually be back together again.

[3rdgymbros]

𝓑𝓲𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷

Name: Noelle Halliday

Nicknames: Ice Princess, Ice Witch

Name meaning: 'Noelle' means christmas. 'Halliday' is a seasonal surname originally given to someone born on a holy day, or a religious festival.

Gender: Female

Birthday: 25 December

Star Sign: Capricorn

Height: 147 cm

Weight: 40 kg

Age: 16

Eye Colour: Red

Hair Colour: White

Homeland: Christmas Town

Family: Mother, father, two older brothers studying at Royal Sword Academy

Quote: “I want to cry, but I can’t seem to shed a single tear . . . Have you ever felt this way before?”

𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓡𝓪𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓰𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵 𝓕𝓲𝓵𝓮

Dorm: Terrorwood ( a fandorm created by @terrors-of-nightraven​ )

School Year: First 

Class: 1-B ; Student no. 19

Occupation: Student

Club: Light Music Club

Best Subject: Potions, alchemy

𝓕𝓾𝓷 𝓕𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓼

Inspired by: Santa Claus from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Dominant hand: Right

Favourite Colours: Red, silver, white

Favourite Food: Milk and cookies, hearty food like stews and turkey

Least Favourite Food: Anything with peppermint

Likes: Cold weather, snow, the smell of winter roses, eating, rain, cute and fluffy animals, receiving affection (don’t be put off by her complaints), head pats

Dislikes: Hot weather, sweating, being forced to talk, being forced to perform in public by her parents, returning home for the holidays, insects, getting dragged into crazy situations, rude behaviour, fancy parties

Hobbies and Talents: Ice skating, ballet, singing, sewing, cooking, creating poisons, gardening, baking

Special Skill: Choosing perfect presents and being able to wrap them perfectly, non-verbal magic

𝓟𝓱𝔂𝓼𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 𝓕𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓼

Appearance: She has long white hair, elbow-length and curled at the ends. Part of her hair is braided, at the crown of her head, and she also wears red rose hairpins. Her bangs are parted to the right. She has red eyes. Many people have commented on how she resembles a porcelain doll. 

Style: Her casual attire is fairly fancy with muted or dark tones, full skirts, lace and frills. Many of her dresses are reminiscent of the gothic lolita style of dressing. Examples can be found here and here.

Makeup: None.

Body type: Slim of waist, and slight of frame, with a small chest.

𝓥𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓼

Songs to describe her: Doll by Lia, Human by Lia, Castle Walls by Christina Aguilera, The Loneliest Girl by Carole and Tuesday, Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez

Voice actress: Aiba Aina (specifically her role as Yukina Minato)

𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪

Personality: Noelle is very conscientious and quiet compared to her louder, and more eccentric dormmates in Terrorwood. She is extremely reserved, and rarely speaks to anyone; though this changes slightly when she joins Terrorwood. She is mostly willing to talk to her dorm mates (or, at the very least, scrawl out notes for them to read if she does not wish to speak at the moment), and has even cracked a smile or two at their antics, watching from the sidelines but deigning to join in. When Noelle becomes focused on something or wants it, she will stop and silently stare intently for minutes until people realize what she wants. In addition, she rarely expresses much emotion, and rarely diverts from a neutral or a stern expression.

However, as she did not have many friends growing up, Noelle is actually a rather lonely individual, which translates into her cold personality, as well as her difficulties understanding how other people may feel. Once she warms up to people, Noelle places a great deal of trust in her friends, and is also very loyal to them; she won’t hesitate to hex people who harbour negative intentions towards her friends. She has kind and generous sides to her as well, as she is perfectly willing to help the people she is close to.

Alignment: Neutral Good

Strengths: Stoic, refined, reserved, industrious, scrupulous, conservative, serious, demure, solemn, generous, kind, well-bred, forbearing, patient

Flaws: Saturnine, impassive, haughty, cold, imperious, proud, anti-social, subdued

𝓟𝓪𝓼𝓽

The youngest daughter of the Halliday family, Noelle has the features of a porcelain doll and is so quiet that she can almost pass for one. Since young, she has had endless tutoring sessions, from etiquette classes to dance and music classes, all with the intention of moulding her into the perfect socialite. Overshadowed by her siblings, Noelle is often overlooked by her parents, who are also occupied with running the family empire. Noelle was often left to her own devices when she was younger, and as a result, grew up to be largely independent. She has two older brothers, both of whom currently attend Royal Sword Academy, though her relationship with them is neutral, and founded on indifference at best. The entire family was disappointed when she announced her decision to attend Night Raven College, but Noelle was determined and refused to back down.

Noelle hates returning home for the holidays. The house is too crowded, filled with relatives and cousins who all force her into making conversation, and she is expected to be on her best behaviour at all times. She knows what will happen if she slips up; in public, her hand will be grabbed and squeezed tight to an uncomfortable degree, behind closed doors, she receives a slap to the cheek and lecture upon lecture for bringing shame to the family name. Her parents may also force her to perform at charity events or for her relatives to exclaim over, which makes her endlessly uncomfortable; if she could, she would choose to remain at school.

𝓢𝓹𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓼

Noelle mostly uses ice-based magic, which allows the user to generate and manipulate ice and snow. However, if she uses her magic for too long, she can develop symptoms of hypothermia (eg shivering, a weak pulse, slow and shallow breathing, low energy levels ).

Crystal Ice Shield: The user manifests barriers in the form of snowflakes with various shapes and sizes. These barriers are strong enough to withstand incoming attacks.

Snowmen Friends: The user creates multiple snowmen, which can be directed to attack opponents.

Ice Floe: A massive chunk of ice is created and dropped it onto an opponent, crushing them under the weight.

Icy Shrapnel: Giant spikes made of ice are created and directed at a target.

Ice Flowers: The user completely encases the target in ice, which can potentially freeze the target to death unless the spell is cancelled. The countless icicles protruding outwards prevent outside interference.

Phantom Garden of Snow: The user fills an enclosed space with enchanted snow. Those who come into contact with the snow slowly lose their senses and start to move sluggishly until they eventually fall asleep.

Unique Magic: Naughty or Nice. Noelle judges a target as being ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’. If the target is deemed as being ‘nice’, their abilities and performance can temporarily be enhanced (eg their speed, intelligence, healing). If the target is judged as being ‘naughty’, the opposite will occur; that is, the target will find their abilities and performance impaired.

𝓣𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓪

- After finding out that she could play the guitar, Noelle was forced into the Light Music Club by Lilia, who promised her that she wouldn’t have to speak during the club sessions. She does perform on stage with the other members and has even sung in front of the school on occasion. 

- She used to dance ballet, but stopped her lessons. However, she still dances when her parents pressure her into putting on a show for their relatives during the holidays.

- Noelle is oddly affectionate and clingy when she returns home from school after the holidays. The first thing she does upon reaching the dorm is to run into the arms of the first person she sees; the dorm member will have their arms filled with a pale, sad-eyed girl struggling to hold back her tears.  

- The only other time Noelle is clingy and affectionate is when she overuses her magic and subsequently develops symptoms of hypothermia; wrapped up in blankets and lethargic, Noelle usually ends up clinging to Nyx and falling asleep on his shoulder.

- Out of boredom, Viktor taught her how to play poker, and Noelle turned out to be rather good at the game. She’s not as good as Viktor, but she’s still a champion in her own right.

- Noelle smells like cranberries, and the scent clings to her clothes and belongings as well. 

- She has a small garden. She grows a mixture of plants, ranging from poisonous plants, to herbs and fruits.

- She is in charge of cooking for the dorm, and is a good cook, provided that she does not mix the cooking ingredients with her potion-making ingredients. Her favourite person to cook for is Nyx, who falls upon her cooking with a ravenous kind of hunger.

- She tests her poisons out on herself to see their effects on the body firsthand. Thanks to this, she has built up an immunity to various types of poisons.

- She always has an abundance of money on her, and is perfectly willing to treat her friends to food at the Mostro Lounge.

- Whenever Viktor isn’t around, the duty of stitching up lost limbs usually falls to Noelle, who is good at sewing. Her stitches are neat and tiny and precise; considering that she is unfazed by blood and bodily fluids, this makes her a perfect choice.

[duker42]

Levi's S/O finds out she's pregnant right before Eren forces the SC into cooperating with him in the Liberio invasion, but she refuses to tell him for she wants to be beside Levi and make sure he'll stay fine. During the battle she becomes severely wounded (gets shockes for example) so when they arrive to the infirmary of the headquarters, his S/O still unconscious, the doctors inform him of her pregnancy, but tells him the baby is fine. Although Levi becomes so angry when her S/O wakes-

💜Bad Timing💜

Y/N listened to the doctor with something like shock. They had been so careful, she had been so careful. She didn’t really want to have tell Levi that they were going to be parents in about 8 months.

When she sat in the meeting, outlining the invasion plan for Liberio, she knew she couldn’t. There was absolutely no way that she was going to tell Levi now If she did, he would bench her for the invasion.

That night when they were laying in bed together, he held her close and voiced his concerns.

“There are going to be casualty’s, Y/N. I’m worried about this, we are going to be in a foreign place.” He whispered, running his hand up and down her bare spine.

Y/N looked up from her spot on chest and put her hand on his cheek. “We will do this together. We’ll be fine as long as we are together.”

He nodded and she settled back down against him. She hugged him tighter to her, she was going on this mission. She needed to make sure that her lover stayed safe, for herself and their child.

~~~~~

The invasion was the definition of chaos. There were Titans battling Titans in the streets, civilians were screaming and trying to run from the onslaught of debris and death.

Y/N surveyed the scene from the roof next to Mikasa and Levi. The War Hammer Titan had emerged and began its battle with Eren’s Attack Titan.

“Y/N, Mikasa! Go make sure Eren doesn’t get captured!” Levi ordered as he leap into the air to shoot off towards the Beast Titan.

Y/N deployed her ODM gear, zooming towards the battle in the center of what was a festival. She ignored the screaming and running in the streets below, knowing that she had to harden her heart because these people wanted to wipe out her home.

She came down to rest on Eren’s shoulder as he faced off against the War Hammer. “Eren!” She shouted, gaining his attention. He turned the rage filled green eyes towards her. “You need to-“

Suddenly there was a rumbling sound and the air was filled with electric static. Something was wrong. She turned the see the War Hammer bring down the mallet in her hand to the ground.

Electricity shot through Eren and hit Y/N, causing her to be blown off the Titan’s shoulder into the air.

“Y/N!!!” Mikasa cried as she flew in to grab the older woman. She was unconscious and limp in the female Ackerman’s arms.

“Jean! Connie! Come get Y/N!” Mikasa yelled to her comrade as she set the injured solider on the room and turned back to help Eren.

~~~~~

“She’s not fucking awake yet! What do you mean everything’s alright?” Levi eyes narrowed dangerously at the doctor who gulped rather nervously.

They had made it back to Paradis and the Scout’s Headquarters. They had been reeling from the lose of Sasha, who had been killed by one of the Marleyean captives they now had. And Y/N still wasn’t conscious.

Levi shoved a hand into his hair as he turned back to the bed. Y/N was so still, her complexion still grey making him worry even further. She had never been out for so long, but she had never had this kind of injury before.

“The baby is fine Captain, although I’m surprised you let her participate in the mission, given her condition.” The doctor said as he looked down at his chart.

Levi’s eyes widened and he whirled around as he processed what the doctor had said. “Baby? What baby?”

“Y/N’s baby. I confirmed her pregnancy myself just before the mission. She didn’t inform you?” He asked, confused.

“Yeah, I fucking asked because she told me.” Levi muttered as he turned back to the bed. He sat down and picked up his lover’s hand. He was going to be a father and she didn’t tell him. She was injured, and she was carrying his child. She put herself in danger, knowing she was pregnant.

He was going to kill her when she woke up.

~~~~~

She felt like she had been thrown against a building, multiple times. She groaned as she stirred, moving around as she debated opening her eyes.

That option was taken from her when she heard Levi’s voice harshly command her. “Open your eyes, brat. Now!”

She blinked several times before she could focus on Levi’s face as he sat next to him. Sitting up gingerly, she saw him scowl at her and rise to tower over her.

“You’re fucking pregnant, Y/N. And you didn’t tell me?” She grimaced. Apparently her secret had been leaked. She looked around and saw that they were back in their infirmary. Shit....her doctor must have told him.

“Levi...I...” She started but he cut her off.

“You put yourself and OUR CHILD in danger. What could your excuse possibly be?” His voice was starting to raise, something that was rare unless he was really pissed.

“You wouldn’t have let me go if you knew.” She whispered, her eyes breaking contact with his and looking away.

“You’re damned right I wouldn’t have! You’re ass would have been here, and SAFE!” He thundered, his eyes flashing with rage.

“I had to make sure you were safe! I needed to watch your back!” She yelled back, angry that he didn’t realize why she had done it.

“Fuck, Y/N. You’re really an idiot.” Levi’s voice was flat, indicating his anger had reached a dangerous level. When he yelled and then went quiet, it was time to worry.

He didn’t speak again, just turned and walked out of the door to her room, leaving Y/N there to stare after her.

~~~~~

She sat there for hours by herself. The doctor had come and checked on her again, proclaiming everything to be just fine with the baby.

Y/N sat in the bed, leaned against the headboard. She had been ordered to stay in bed for the night at least.

The time had been spent thinking about the situation. She had been wrong, she knew that. Even if she had thought she was doing the right thing at the time, it really hadn’t been. If something had happened to the baby, or if she had been really injured Levi would have blamed himself. He was that type.

Levi took his role as a leader very seriously, she knew that. Even if he hadn’t been informed, he would have blamed himself for not noticing something different about her. Felt that he had failed on some level.

She never wanted that. She had really just wanted to make sure that he came back to Paradis, came back to her. Y/N had never been the type to sit on the sidelines, one to protect those that she cared about. She hadn’t thought about the possibility of her being injured.

The door opened and she looked up to see Levi standing the in doorway. His eyes were downcast, his raven hair falling into his face. His shoulders were slumped as he stood there.

“Levi....I wanted to say-”

“I’m sorry.” He interrupted, his words were low but she could hear him.

“No, I’m sorry. I should have told you.” Y/N said. “Can you come here?”

Levi looked up, his expression hopeful. There were times that she had to remind herself that even though he was the strongest man she had ever met, he was emotionally vulnerable. Never having experienced the love she had showered him in before they had started their relationship.

He always expected the worst sometimes. Never believing that he was worthy of her love at times, he didn’t know how to handle the fights they occasionally had. While the world saw Levi Ackerman as a stoic and emotionless soldier, she saw the insecurities and sensitivity.

He came closer, her hand outstretched to him. His calloused fingers entwined with hers as he reached her. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed, as if afraid to either make the wrong move or hurt her.

She pulled his hand over to her stomach and set it down low, his warm palm on her womb. Grey orbs flickered to where his hand sat and a small smile curved his lips. “Does it feel different?” He asked.

“Not yet.” Y/N answered, shuffling over and patting the extra space beside her. He laid down beside her and kept his hand on her stomach.

“I was so worried about you while we were on our way back. You were grey and not responding. We lost Sasha, and all I could think was that I could lose you.” Levi whispered against her shoulder.

Y/N’s stomach flipped. She had loved Sasha, she couldn’t believe that the enthusiastic food loving girl was gone. She felt Levi slip his other arm around her back and roll her into his body. He buried his face in her hair, not giving a damn that she hadn’t had a bath yet. She was safe in his arms and that was what he needed.

Y/N lifted a hand to his hair and carded her fingers through his raven strands. “Levi....We’re going to have a baby.” She whispered to him.

She felt a shuddering sigh come from him. “Yeah. I’m scared shitless.” He admitted. “We’re at war, Y/N. They are going to come for us.”

She snuggled into her lover as they held each other. “Bad timing aside, I’m happy to make a family with you, Levi. I love you so much.”

“I love you to, Y/N. A family? Huh....something I never thought I would have. I don’t hate the idea of having one with you.” Levi murmured into her hair, making her smile. That was the Levi she loved.

Mobile MasterList

[anythingthatisrandom]

December 24th-26th, 2020 - Year 8

The year is almost over and again I find myself here. I know that I haven't wrote at all year, though I was tempted to a few times.

I made a decision to cut some things out of my life which opened up some time for myself. Things in which had been keeping me busy and not thinking all the time.

I'm not the writer I used to be, nor the overly positive, random, naive boy I was eight years ago. Thinking back I was quite the weird person. I won't deny that I wasn't happy, happy that I was in love and would do anything for it it. Almost anything. I would of done anything or say anything to make the one I love happy, but I realize that's a little twisted of me? If I had loved the wrong person who merely used me, I would of been more devastated than I am now.

Anyways...

I wanted things to work but it wasn't working. Seems like she didn't want to hurt me but I was just too into her. Sure I let her go without a fuss. It's what you should do when they choose to move on. I really don't know the full story from her perspective so all I can do is speculate. Maybe that's why she claim that I did what I did and insisted on it? To hurt me so I can let her go easier? Maybe she had her reasons and I just couldn't see or understand. I just remembering the last month or so of the relationship was me being a total idiot. At least I thought I was. After a fight we didn't talk for a whole week, and during that week I wanted to say something or message her every few minutes. I typically would of never argued with her but she kept saying she wanted someone who got mad back instead of just taking it and saying nothing. In her words, it was as if she was speaking to a wall. That week felt so long, and afterwards things were just never the same. If only I stayed myself?

I know I've written about this on multiple occasions, but this is the time when my world came crashing down. The time where I looked back on to be happy, the time where I looked back wishing I could of done things differently, the time when I realized that love is just not enough.

I mean, I've always known that. So much more than that contributes into a healthy relationship. I guess I thought it could just be built on it? What was I expecting. I laugh to myself now thinking I was trying to compare a normal life, a real life, and real life issues to some fairy tale like love. I wasn't expecting to be some hero in the story. I just wanted to be there in their life when they experienced everything. Their joys, their sorrows, their life.

There's no villain in my life, unless I count the toxicity of my own mentality.

----

At the time love was all that drove me. It kept me going, being active, motivated, and so on. Afterwards I flat out broke in a way since it was what I depended on. I stopped being active, shut myself in, didn't talk to anyone but family, and was unmotivated to do anything. My health deteriorated since I no longer cared bout fitness. Sure I went about my days. Did what I had to do to live a stable life so that no one would worry about me. I was alive but in reality I was more like a bottle filled with all emotions except the spice of love and affection. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I tortured myself. I'm not that mentally weak that I'd go and find a way to hurt myself or worse. I just knew she was the one for me even if I wasn't the one for her. That's the saddest part. Coming to terms that you were just a stepping stone for love of your life. You'll never forget them but in time the memory of you will fade into the back of their minds. I don't mind as long as she becomes happy. I don't mind living life alone. Maybe it was my life's role to merely be a part of peoples lives and have no other role.

For me and my mentality to only believe in one true love, perhaps I set myself up for demise in the current and modern way of thinking. Where people can truly love and love again after love. Maybe I was born in the wrong time? I've had dreams about that, that my soul mate and I kept being born in different eras in time. At the end of our current lives we would remember our past lives and leave  messages in stories or symbols in artwork for each other to find. It brought the meaning of soul mates to a whole new level once I had that dream. How many thousands of years will go by until we'll be born on the same year or close in age.

I have too many dreams that it scares me if they are all real in some way. I had a few earlier this year where the girl I love and I were together, like it was some parallel universe. Maybe my brain is just overly active when I sleep. But if, just if... If it was really me having a sneak peek at different realities, I guess I don't mind? What's strange is that I sometimes remember or have small fragmented memories of the person life that I briefly intruded on. Could it be that I'm slowly going crazy? I doubt that but who knows. Those dreams where I was with the one I love, a false, but brief happiness that I get to feel... It's enough. I know that it technically isn't me or her but another version of us.  (Getting too sci-fi, time to stop.)

-----

Animation startup with my friend is starting slow, and even more slow with everything going on. In the mean time I think I'm going to start writing stories about my dreams and drawing out what I can remember from them.

----

I'm okay. Life isn't really different besides family getting bigger. Trying to stay safe with the way the world being all crazy. Didn't do much for Christmas cause my father had to ruin it in a way for everyone. He decided to go to a funeral of someone who died of Covid-19 and stayed there chatting away for hours. When he finally got home he idiotically claimed "I don't have it. Trust me." *Sigh* Now everyone's worried over his selfishness since he's refusing to quarantine himself.

----

I miss you.

I love you.

Sweet dreams and goodnight.

[flash-impact-for-good]

“You’ve come a long way, baby”

This slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby”, was splashed across the glossy magazines of my youth, vaunting women’s progress – via their rights to consume products that had once been reserved for men only. The issue of women’s progress in the business world is another debate entirely: the proverbial glass sometimes seems to be filling gradually (e.g. , according to the French secretary of state in charge of equality between men and women, women held 45,2% of positions on SBF120 management boards in 2019); but the glass moves slowly at the top (21,4% of positions in Exco or equivalent). And these broad numbers hide huge disparities. As mentioned by Guy Le Pechon, MBA INSEAD 69, head of Gouvernance et Structure, and a data specialist on equality between men and women, three corporations among the CAC 40 don’t have any woman at their Exco; and only one reaches the ratio of 40% for this entity.

Yet forward movement is undeniable. I would like to offer here a random walk through some 15 years of experience designing, delivering, and observing initiatives to strengthen the representation of women in companies. Along the way, the useful question I hope to explore is what we have learned about fostering gender balance, and how these insights may help us move further down the road towards greater gender balance. 

When several large French companies signed the “Charte de la Diversité” in 2004, our Head of Human Resources asked me to develop a program that would support women’s career development in the organization. I looked at the market to see what was available and was struck by the way that many training firms seemed to assume that women had to be “fixed”, taught to overcome “weaknesses”, or trained in more masculine behavior. This did not feel right – how could we “strengthen” our pools of female talent by focusing on what women might be “doing wrong”? We chose instead to tackle the issue indirectly: I set up a training program led by a specialist in career management for high potentials – a brilliant older man. “Female issues” were never addressed directly in the program – it just so happened that all the (very interesting and carefully selected) participants in each session were women. (What we didn’t know then was that in this way successfully avoided triggering a dangerous unconscious bias about women’s competence, sending instead the message that anyone, and of course women, could benefit from enhancing their career management skills). My first learning: don’t “fix” people who aren’t “broken” – build their strengths. 

Interestingly, it was a member of what one could call the “old guard” – a highly successful gentleman in a very powerful job – who made another significant contribution to levelling the playing field. “We have lots of women entering the pipeline,” he told me, “but after a first role, the men all ask to lead a sales team, while the women want to move into marketing – jobs do not give them line management responsibility and credibility.” To counter this, he carefully mapped and measured something which had previously been intuitive: what were the key career steps that opened the way up the corporate ladder, and where relative to those steps were the pools of female talent? The corporate “ladder” actually looked more like a vertical maze; often several steps along a same level were necessary before one could climb to the next rung on the ladder. But like any maze, it was easy to get lost. Second learning: By providing clear experienced-based information about the critical steps on any given level, this gentleman basically “injected information” into the career management process – not to tell women what to do with their careers, but to offer more effective advice, starting early on. 

Driving for more women in management eventually began to provoke some pushback: some male colleagues would quietly ask me, “Do I have a future in this organization? Will there always be a woman ahead of me on the promotion list?” Hearing men share such concerns troubled me: if you are promoting a worthy idea and yet generating a sense of unfairness, then the idea needs to be reviewed – not rejected or reduced in ambition, but re-examined. This is when we clearly understood that we had to change not only the way that women looked at themselves in the organization, but also how the organization looked at its people. 

A conversation at a conference on diversity with a woman who held a very senior position in her organization gave me additional insight. Asked about her success, she pointed to the “pairs of eyes” that had watched her work over the years and could vouch for her. It was as though her capabilities had to be cross-checked – which was of course equally true for her male colleagues, who intuitively moved around and got themselves “seen” by several potential sponsors. Long before “sponsorship” became a popular concept, she had realized that it was easier for one person to say, “She is ready for the next job!” if someone else could back up the statement. 

Waiting for this to happen through multiple-year job rotations, we realized, would take much too long. Then I encountered a talent manager in a small financial services organization who had crafted a clever process to respond to precisely this issue: he organized “walkabouts” for talented individuals, setting up a series of meetings for each with high-level executives who might never meet that young woman (or man) until it came time to make a key staffing decision – which was too late. By putting rising potentials in front of senior management, this talent manager was transforming them from names on a CV to real humans whom the senior executives could get to know. Again, this practice plays to our human nature – no amount of data on a page can replace the power of what we learn from interacting with someone. This learning could be called, “you have to be seen to be believed”. 

Despite the value of all these approaches, these actions remain focused on shifting individual mindsets. At some point, on a topic as complex as gender balance, institutions, not just individuals, need to change. And I still did not have the answer to my vague discomfort, my concern that some people felt our efforts to level the playing field were potentially unfair. 

Interestingly, it was ideas from INSEAD research, adopted into our organization, that gave us some of the keys. Most INSEADers are familiar with Kim and Mauborgne’s work on “fair process” – the concept that a fair, well-run decision-making process will lead to better acceptance of the outcome, even by those who do not obtain what they want. This work made its way into our organization: the “fair process”, in which all the voices relevant to a decision were heard and considered before that decision was made, became institutionalized as an essential feature of our people management. A fundamental part of the fair process is feedback: because it embraces the full variety of perspectives on a topic or a person, the process makes it possible to provide feedback to the person, so that the individual can continue to learn and grow. Next learning: good process and good feedback confirm that both your intentions and your decisions are fair. 

In 2018, INSEAD celebrated 50 years of women at the school and hosted a Summit to showcase research from its Gender Initiative. One presentation by Ivana Naumovska, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, particularly caught my attention. She had performed meta-analysis of multiple diversity initiatives across companies and sectors and had teased out lessons about what did and did not work. 

The two areas identified as having greatest positive impact were mentoring programs and network-building initiatives: mentoring because it enabled the participants to understand the rules of the game, how their organization really worked (this was true for both mentees and their mentors), and network-building because it cultivated awareness in the individuals of what opportunities – for jobs, projects, useful partnerships, and even just information sharing – were available across their organizations, especially outside their silos. I was pleased to see these conclusions: they were an academic validation of the intuition which had led us to set up mentoring and networking for communities (not just individuals). In other words, by creating groups of mentors or mentees and getting them to coach each other on how to take up these roles, we let people see that this was simply part of “how we do things around here”. Next lesson: if you want to change institutions, not just individuals, give people shared responsibility to build something new together. 

Beyond creating “institutions” that support diversity, what has emerged over time is a culture shift. In the way we pursue gender balance, we are really striving to make good use of the organization’s talent to adapt to changing organizational needs. There are ongoing challenges: how well do all these changes resist a major economic crisis, or a corporate reorganization? As we move out of a public health crisis and towards a difficult economic situation, we need to remain vigilant about topics like diversity. Looking further ahead, I wonder how the “recipes” described above will stand the test of time. Traditional management is being replaced by agile tribes, collectively-managed feature teams, and networked organizations. Millennials have shifting expectations about the meaning of work. What will be the secrets to career success for women (and men) in the organizations of the future? Time will tell, but it is a safe bet that attention to individual mindsets and corporate culture will remain key.  

Jocelyn Phelps, MBA INSEAD 93D Program Director, Leadership and Organization Development at Société Générale

[the-canary]

Heartbeat, Heartbreak - B.B (7/8)

Summary: Three musketeers until you started to fall in love. But, have you been living since then? (Modern!Reader/Bucky Barnes).  

Prompt: “That’s disgusting. You’re lucky you’re cute.”

A/N: This for @notimetoblog‘s writing challenge. 2nd to last chapter ;A;

“I wanted both of them in my life,” Nat ends up telling Sharon in the middle of the night when they are laying in bed. Her voice strong but filled with emotion, “Even if it was selfish, but look at how it all turned out.”

“Were you in love with both of them?”

“I don’t really know,” Nat sighs out as she leans on the blonde’s shoulder, “Maybe with aspects of both of them that I wanted for myself.”

“So that’s when?”

“If I couldn’t have both of them, then they couldn’t have each other,” Nat admits with an aching sigh as Sharon rubs the top of her knuckles softly, telling the love of her life that she can move forward with whatever she is feeling, but Sharon was also firm in her own beliefs.

“And how has that worked out for you, for them?” Sharon explains as she feels a brief coldness on her shoulder, “Sometimes people aren’t meant to be there our entire lives, Natasha. I think you know that.”

Natasha says nothing, as Sharon finally moves forward with the last step.

“Maybe it’s time you to let them both go.”

Four months is a very long time for changes in life to come your way. The year ends and you take an extended holiday abroad. You try to forget about everything that had happened the later half of the year, though it’s a little hard when you always answer Pepper’s email -- a mix of personal and professional as she tells you that Phillips will move into a consultant role and you and Sam will take over certain aspects of his job -- the mergers/acquisitions (Sam) and the R&D and other lawyer aspects of Stark Industries (you). She mentions that Rumlow was fired too --multiple offenses on various levels--  but you don’t pay much mind to that.

The new year brings so much change and you are ready to face it all, as you head back from London to New York. Though, some things are harder to let go of.

During your extended vacation, you end the meeting and having dinner with Loki in London. Always one for theatrics, he was currently helping with the customing of various shows by the West End. However, your heart --like it had been for most of the trip-- wasn’t in the right place at that moment.  

“You’re thinking about them again,” Loki states in annoyance as he takes a sip from his wine glass. You turn to look at him with a confused stare. He simply gives you a weary smile.

“Who?”

“Whoever it is your thoughts can’t stop moving towards,” he answers backs, as you blink before going back to your meal, “So, who this person is that is stealing your attention from me this evening?”

“Nobody,” you answer a bit too quickly as Loki smirks and shakes his head like he is dealing with a child, but he doesn’t quickly call out on your lie.  He lets you fester in your thoughts as green eyes watch you every once and awhile, Loki had known you as long as Thor had been with Jane and while he wasn’t exactly very close, after that one disastrous date you could call him a friend.

“...A boy... man from my childhood,” you end up explaining towards of the end of dinner as Loki leans in with his hand underneath his chin like he’s a snake catching his next meal. You go on explaining your current dilemma.

However, unlike everyone else who has sympathized with you, Loki scoffs at the end of your story: “If you want him so much, keep thinking about him so much…then just go after him already.”

“It’s--”

“It’s not that easy,” Loki mocks what you were trying to explain, “You’re afraid being hurt, of how the past will creep up on you again.”

“Yes,” you breathe out and stare at him with wide eyes.

“If you can truly let the past go and be fully aware that the boy who hurt you before and the man you know now aren’t at the same place when you knew them, I can see you having a chance,” Loki explains while tapping his nails irritated on the glass table, “If not, then you have to let it go and move on, truly from now on.”

“And Natasha?” you question, as Loki laughs at his own thoughts.

“A relationship is a two person deal unless you both consent to it,” he quirks in with a chuckle thinking about his own former escapades, “But, set your boundaries and I’m sure it could work out . Trust me, it’s better not to live with regrets.”

“Are you thinking about that sugar daddy from Morocco again?”

“Maybe.”  

However, one thing that doesn’t change, even as the years go by, is that you are still constantly thinking about one Bucky Barnes, even if your mind tells your heart to stop. It’s so illogical, but here you are.

There is one thing that Pepper fails to mention with your new job in the R&D aspect of things -- that there’s a new hire. That one Mr. Stark was so impressed of and at awe with one man’s expertise in regards to prosthetic and metal development that he was immediately offered a position there. And how could James with all the potential technology, latest medical improvements, and being able to work with the greatest minds of this age and various fields refuse?

His only point of contention was that you were there, that he might see you one day walking down those halls and you would outright ignore him, though it wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it. He asked everyone he knew for their opinion -- his ma, his sisters, Steve and Peggy, and they all told him the same thing.

If he believed in your professionalism, you would do the right thing when the time came. And he did, he knew you loved your job, everything you had done was for the merger to go smoothly even if he had acted like a child. James knew that you could separate your personal and professional lives if need be, you had done so once before Nat and himself came pushing you into a situation that you pushed them back on -- you weren’t a child that cried when things got tough, you stood your ground and fought back.

It was one of the new things-- well, nevermind that.

He had even tried asking Nat with some reservation, but the redhead never answered any of his calls or messages. He eventually asks Sharon what is going on with his best friend, it’s then that Natasha finally answers him. They end up meeting at that little bar they go to every so often.

“It’s a great opportunity, James,” she declares while nursing her drink. Her green eyes are on him completely, “But, I want to tell you something before you make that decision.”

Bucky’s eyes widen as Natasha tells him everything -- her own feelings at the time, when she came to realize what she felt, how she used Rebecca to get closer to him, how she realized that they were falling in love with each other, and how she loved them both in different ways, but choose Bucky in the end in order to keep at least one of them in her life in some way -- all because she was scared. It didn’t work out the way she planned it and while James understands that with all his heart, there is still a deep sense of betrayal that he feels from all of this.

He wonders if this is how you felt all those years ago, how you felt back when talking to him in that old ice cream parlor you had loved so much. It’s in that moment that James realizes how toxic the three of you had been for each other -- there was always a sense of dread from the 3rd one that the other two didn’t need them, it was a sense of paranoia that shouldn’t be in a friendship or any type of love -- and Nat had played off that and while she ended up getting married and had a beautiful baby girl.

Where was he in life? He had pushed off girlfriends and countless futures for the sake of friendship and various other reasons. Where were you in all this?

This wasn’t right for any of you -- holding onto a past that was never going to come to fruition once more, but unlike you and James, Nat had something to live for, to strive and be a better person for. He lets a bitter smile bloom onto his face and he knows what he has to do.

“I think we have to let this go, Nat,” James shakes his head and there are unshed tears in Nat’s eyes as she understands what this all means.

They drink one last time and their friendship comes to a soft end.

It’s mid-January when you finally come back. A new workload and office are greeting you as Sam and Pepper welcome you with bright smiles. You spend the entire morning laying down the groundwork for how you guys are going to work together and what are the expectations for you in your new position. After a lunch and quick get-together with Sam, you end up heading to the large labs that will host most of the people whose work you are going to be looking over for ethical and law-based purposes and while you could have taken the Phillips’ route and never meet with them unless it was important or you needed to yell at Mr. Stark -- that wasn’t how you wanted to start these new relationships off.

Tony ends up leading you to the labs late in the afternoon, as he shines while explaining everything that each team is trying to do and all their current projects. Somethings go over your head, but you do your best to understand, knowing that you will need to read up on this and some other things later for a more direct understanding. However, as Tony reaches the medical section. he freezes which causes you to raise an eyebrow as he gives you a bright smile that you sends you on high alert, but that’s when you hear it.

How was your date last night?

Fine, but…

You freeze at the sound of that voice as you turn your head slightly to meet Tony’s nervous brown eyes. He gives you an awkward smile and while he could have given you a million excuses as to why James was there. However, at the end of the day, you understood that James was one of the best if he had caught Tony’s attention. So, you shake your head and press down on your blouse a bit more before motioning for Tony to show you the way. He blinks and shakes his head in defeat before doing so.

“I’m just saying, I don’t think--” you see the back of his head and white coat before anything else though you know he is talking to Bruce, as the shorter man stops and smiles at both of you entering the room. Tony can’t help but grin as James turns around to look at the both of you.

“Gentlemen,” Tony declares while pushing you forward just a bit, as you wave at Bruce, “This is the new head lawyer for anything and everything R&D, so if you are questioning the legality or morality of your project she’s the one to go to.”

You laugh at Tony’s way of trying to lighten the air as Bruce makes his way to your side of the room, gives you a hug, and questions you on how you have been since the last time you had seen each other. After a quick talk, you turn and your eyes meet blue ones -- there isn’t any hesitation on your part as you extend your hand out and introduce yourself.  

“Dr. James Barnes,” he states with a bright smile as he wipes his hand on his coat before extending it to you, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

It wasn’t going to be the same anymore, but it was a good start for something else.

[lrcanscams-blog]

BOOBOO STEWART? No, that’s actually LORCAN SCAMANDER from the NEXT GENERATION ERA. You know, the child of ROLF SCAMANDER and LUNA LOVEGOOD-SCAMANDER? Only 21 years old, this GRYFFINDOR alumni works as a MAGIZZOLOGIST and is sided with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. HE identifies as CIS MALE and is a MUGGLEBORN who is known to be HOT-HEADED, WORKAHOLIC, and RECKLESS  but also, COURAGEOUS, OPEN-MINDED, and EMPATHETIC. — &&. ( TORI, EST,  SHE/HER/HERS, 24. ) 

Aes: reading on rainy days, tall grass blowing in a sea breeze, the smell of old books that haven’t been opened in years, colored ink, detailed lists and notes, baring your teeth to protect others, your friends holding you back from a fight, humming to yourself as you browse through the stacks at the library, sunny sunday breakfasts while your parents tease each other.

TW: Body horror, abandonment and fear of, bullying, and bigotry.

Headcanons

01. Lorcan is older than Lysander by four minutes and holds this over his sibling's head constantly. While being practically the same age, Lorcan still feels like the need to play into the whole “protective older brother” role. This protectiveness carried over into their time at Hogwarts and if anyone said a bad word about Lysander or their family, Lorcan’s wand would be at the ready. He was easy to anger in that regard, didn’t want anyone feeling like they could get away with being a bully (this carried over with his friends as well). He would stick up for anyone, regardless of house or blood status or any other factors. He’s not entirely sure where he got this trait from, certainly not his mother, but Lorcan likes to think that hearing stories about her time at Hogwarts rubbed off on him. He’s never cared about the enemies he might make or the people who would hate him just because he didn’t like anyone being looked down on.

02. He’s very much like his mother in the sense that he’s very open-minded. Not just when it comes to people, but when it comes to learning. Lorcan loved school and loved learning about different potions and spells and creatures. He loved spending time in the library figuring out why certain ingredients had a certain effect. However, Lorcan also enjoyed the study of magical creatures, just like his parents. He would follow his parents into the study of Magizoologist, including traveling to different parts of the world to study creatures. [INJURY//BODY HORROR TW] This, unfortunately, has caused Lorcan to lose his left thumb and pointer finger, along with his right middle finger. [END TW] He’s been told to be more careful, but his best work (in his opinion) has come from taking risks. 

03. Following along his great-grandfather, Lorcan is working on a book about magical creatures. It’s still in the very early stages, he’s still gathering research and working alongside his parents. So far, it’s a lot more work than Lorcan was expecting it to be. But he’s been pulling late nights working on research and analyzing data. This has led his social life to being tossed to the side. He’s trying to get better about not locking himself away, but...his work and research is very important to him.

Character Inspo

Steve Rogers (Marvel) + Alison Argent (Teen Wolf) + Jim Kirk (Star Trek) + Finn (Star Wars) + Cosima Niehaus (Orphan Black) + Ninth Doctor (Doctor Who) + The Winchester bros (Supernatural) 

[Warnings for: abandonment, bigotry, body horror]

Pre-Hogwarts

Lorcan and his sibling were born on August 29, 2008 to muggles Sophia and Umar Baker.

What he does know, is that they were just teenagers when they had him and Lysander. 

And the two teenagers tried to take care of these twins. 

Lorcan remembers the house being chaotic at times. And at five years old, he overheard his parents arguing over whether they could continue to take care of them.

And even now, he still has that small fear of people abandoning him.

So, in 2013, at five years old Lysander and himself were dropped off at an orphanage, despite both of his parents being very much alive. 

Lorcan soon found his voice, standing up for Lysander and himself when the other children would make comments about their appearances or how they acted.

(Most of this included Lorcan using the names small children call each other, but dammit Lysander was all he had.)

And then, just two years later, a couple came in and soon enough, Lorcan and Lysander took on the last name Scamander.

The house was filled...with so much more joy and happiness and love than Lorcan had seen in his entire life. 

His new parents read to them and sang them songs and told him about grand adventures that Lorcan wasn’t sure if real or made-up at the time. 

He was kissed and hugged and told “Good job!” when he was able to control his magic or created an artwork with his small hands. 

They taught him about Hogwarts and the school they would be attending soon. 

(And Lorcan did his best not to cry, to put on a strong face for Lysander.)

They told him to be brave, to be kind, to work hard. And Lorcan was ready to do all of those things.

Hogwarts

The hat took a minute to decide where exactly the elder twin would go before finally declaring “GRYFFINDOR!” and was only slightly disappointed to not be in his mother’s house.

(whether Lysander also ended up in Ravenclaw is up to that player, for now im going to write this as if they are in the same house. This can be edited!) 

Having his sibling beside him, gave him some comfort in this very different world. 

Bullying/Bigotry TW

He learned, through other students and some teachers, and even some from Luna herself, the stories of his mother and her friends during her time here. 

He learned about the bullying she and so many other students faced.

And soon, Lorcan learned about the bullying first hand. 

For being muggleborn, for how they looked, for who his parents were. 

This would be enough to drive Lorcan to be...a bit of a wild card. To stand up for the Scamanders. For the other students who got laughed at or called names. 

And to stand up for himself, of course. 

He hated the names they gave him and glances in the hallways between classes.

END TW

This would land him in trouble, getting points docked off his house more than once, but Lorcan wasn’t about to just sit back and do nothing. 

For the most part, Lorcan was a fantastic student. He loved learning about this world that he wasn’t born into, all the history and the spells and potions and, of course, the magical creatures. 

He worked very hard on his OWLs to get into multiple NEWT-level classes (Potions, Charms, Herbology, DADA and Care of Magical Creatures). 

He wasn’t a very social student, but had a few close friends (Connection wanted) that he would regularly spend time with. 

In his 5th year, 2024, he became a Prefect.

While he enjoyed being at Hogwarts and everything that came along with it, he truly loved nothing more than being around his parents. He loved listening to them talk about magical creatures and showing him what they’ve discovered and written about. 

Post-Hogwarts/Pre-Clash

After Hogwarts, Lorcan wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to do.

He did like the idea of the “traditional” jobs that his classmates were going into.

So, he followed his parents around for a bit in their travels and joined them in studying different creatures

And he realized he loved being around magical creatures and studying them.

Has so many notebooks dedicated to notes on them 

They’re organized of course. 

With his parents discovering new creatures, Lorcan decided to try to write a book about them.

He’s still doing a lot of research (a lot) and still sometimes travels to the places where the creatures are native.

Big lover of languages too!!

Really is throwing himself into his research and working on the book.

(I’m sure his parents would tell him to take a break, but then he ends up going to sleep at like two in the morning)

When going to other places to do research about the creatures, Lorcan doesn’t really like following the safety guidelines. 

He just does his own thing, because he thinks that’s how he gets the best information.

[INJURY/BODY HORROR TW]

Because of this, Lorcan has lost a few fingers to magical creatures. He’s missing his thumb and pointer finger on his left hand and his middle finger on his right.

This makes things like writing and typing a bit more difficult.

He gets very frustrated at himself for not moving fast enough, which is why he spends so many hours dedicated to the research/writing.

[END TW]

Still very protective of his family and loved ones. 

Hearing about the 2nd Wizarding War makes him so angry and despises those who look down on others.

The Clash

The Clash was terrifying. 

Suddenly his parents were just gone. 

Leaving him and Lysander behind. 

It honestly stressed him out a lot (he’s still pretty stressed about it tbh) 

When he found out that other people came back from the past...he immediately went to find his mother and father.

Only, they weren’t his mother and father. They were so young. 

Younger than him. 

He’s trying to focus back on his work, his research and his book.

But now he finds himself reading books on time traveling to see if there’s a fix

And the death eaters are back. Which is worrying. 

Personality

Can be quick to anger when someone insults his family or people he cares about

Or even if he just sees someone bullying someone else, Lorcan has to step in.

His dedication to his work and things he cares about can cause him to be reckless

Sometimes doesn’t always think before he acts when he gets worked up or passionate about something

Even when it comes to the magical creatures, he can make bad decisions, but Lorcan has always thrown himself into whatever he’s doing or passionate about

Is very empathetic, almost too empathetic. 

He cares so much about other people that when he sees that they’re hurting, he hurts too

Is very good at making people feel valid and comforted. 

Just like his parents, he’s quite open-minded

Especially when it comes to different theories and people’s experiences

Understands he doesn’t know everything and welcomes other people talking about what they know/believe/experienced

Not so much when it comes to death eaters/blood purists/etc

[nextcassie]

Your Scent 5

Summary: Nothing could have prepared you for the shit storm that was your junior year of college. Discovering you were an omega was only the first discovery in a long line of complicated ones. Thank goodness Min Yoongi was there to help.A story about college and discovering what you like and don’t like in both romantic relationships and friendships.

Abo Au - University AU

Pairing: Main-Min Yoongi/Reader ; OT7/Reader

Chapter words: 5128

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

Omega Biology

Females Female omegas are known to be incredibly fertile. They are known for being homemakers traditionally, but now are seen in a variety of different roles in society. When it comes to heat their bodies produce a lot of slick. Female Omegas are said to experience the worst waves during their heat, meaning that they tend to experience incredible moments of want and need before becoming incredibly tired.

Males Male omegas are a bit more complicated than female omegas. They were never looked down upon by society and were normally seen as incredibly useful in the work force for being receptive to emotions and male. They hold multiple reproductive organs. They have the ability to produce fertile sperm to impregnate females and they hold reproductive eggs. The eggs are located in a passage way off the rectum. However, male omegas can only get pregnant during heats when this passage way opens up and produces an ample amount of slick. While out of heat male omegas produce slick it is usually not enough to make anal sex completely comfortable and the use of lube is needed.

Warnings: Smut. It's so long because I got carried away with the smut. I guess there's dirty talk too. Be warned, it's kinky up in this story and will probs only get kinkier as we continue.

OO00OO

To say that Jimin was ecstatic about your agreement with Yoongi would be the understatement of the year. The other omega was practically skipping around your apartment in joy, claiming he was cupid. He hadn’t shut up about it all week. He was constantly hovering over you eagerly waiting for Yoongi to message you. It made you wonder if you were Yoongi’s heat partner or if Jimin was.

You were working on your laptop when an email popped up from Yoongi. You clicked on it and tried not to gasp. It was a long list of everything that the two of you could try together. It was slightly shocking at just how long it was and just how much of it you didn’t really understand.

 That meant you could either go through the trouble of translating it yourself or ask someone.

 You got up from the sofa in the living room and knocked on Jimin’s bedroom door.

 Jimin opened the door and when the two of you made eye contact he began to grin. He knew exactly why you had knocked on his door.

 “Do come in.”

 He opened the door and gestured for you to come inside. He moved to sit on his bed and leaned back against the wall before patting the space next to him with a knowing grin on his face. You moved to sit next to him with your laptop.

 “I can’t really understand this.”

 You showed him the email from Yoongi and watched as Jimin’s eyebrows raised as he read through the list.

 “I would say that this isn’t usually need to know Korean vocabulary,” he replied. “Actually, I’d be slightly concerned if you knew all these words as a non-native speaker. I’d question your reasons to coming to South Korea.”

 “Got it… So are you going to explain it to me or not?”

 Jimin dramatically cleared his throat.

 “He says that he is an experimental dom. If he doesn’t know about something he is willing to try it once before making a decision about if he likes it or not. He wants to keep things mellow for your first heat though. He’ll keep these things in mind if you guys decide you want to continue your relationship. Which you will.”

 “Jimin focus.”

 “Fine.” Jimin eyes the list again before continuing. “I feel so awkward reading this to you.”

 “I know it’s like some Fifty Shades of Grey shit,” you replied.

 “Yoongi is a way better dom than Christian Grey.”

 “So, you’ve slept with Yoongi?”

 “I’ve slept with all of my friends except for you. So yes, but if it makes you feel better he’s never helped through my heats. Actually, it’s not something Yoongi does too often…”

 “When was the last time you think he had a heat partner?”

 “Two years ago, I think.” Jimin seemed to think it over. “She was a nice girl and I think they may have had a thing that they never made official. He never let her help him through his ruts. Despite the fact that he’s incredibly liberal he still sees sex as an intimate act. He’ll go to Jin and Namjoon’s parties, but he won’t take someone home unless he knows and trusts them. It’s sort of a big deal that he agreed to this arrangement. I’m not surprised, but it���s not something that happens often. Don’t sell yourself short.”

 “Thanks for the confidence boost. It’s just sort of weird… I mean I’ve never been so attracted to another individual before.”

 “Physically or emotionally?”

 “Physically for sure, but I don’t know about emotionally. I haven’t really talked to him a lot. It’s just whenever I’m near him I just feel this sense of comfort wash over me. I just feel safe. I think it’s because he saved me at that party. I don’t want to rush and say I have feelings for him because there is a possibility that maybe that’s the only reason I’m attracted to him. I don’t want to be attracted to someone by who I think they are, but I want to be attracted to someone for who they really are. If that makes sense? I might have worded that weirdly.”

 “No, it makes sense.” Jimin smiled to himself a bit. “I think that once you get to know him, you’re going to realize how perfect you are for each other. Those words actually sounded like something Yoongi would say.”

 You thought about it and it did seem that the two of you had quite a bit in common when it came to attitudes. Neither of you were exactly high energy nor were the two of you overly affectionate. Yet you had a feeling that both of your friend groups would describe the two of you as caring people.

 “Okay, Park Jimin,” you stated with a smile. “In your expert opinion as Min Yoongi’s good friend what can I do to make him happy?”

 Jimin hummed as he rubbed his chin in thought. You had posed the question half joking, but you were curious to find out the answer he would give.

 “I guess the number one thing you can do is not to wake him up when he is sleeping. Hyung tends to keep weird hours because he writes at all hours of the day. Sometimes he forgets to eat and sleep when he gets really into writing. We all sort of take turns checking in on him. We’ll add you to the rotation now that you’re his heat partner now.”

 “That’s right… He’s a pretty successful composer. I forget about that sometimes because he just seems so down to earth about it. He just started working for some entertainment company, right?”

 “Yeah, he was doing mostly freelance because no one would meet his conditions for hiring him until now. Which leads me to number two, respect his music. It’s truly everything to him. If he asks you about something give your honest opinion. Hyung hates people who lie to him.”

 “That’s another thing the two of us have in common then,” you stated.

 “Number three, he’ll never admit it, but above all hyung is an alpha. I mean obviously, but he is high on the dominance spectrum and I think he feels like it’s something he should be ashamed of because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He’ll never ask you to, but sometimes just indulge his inner alpha.”

 “Okay, but what does indulging an alpha entail?”

 “In my experience, a lot of scent marking and letting them give you back hugs. It’s a bit different for every alpha though.”

 “I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks Jimin.”

 “Any time (y/n).”

 OO00OO

 Yoongi felt a bit awkward about all of this. It was time for his weekly review with his company. Normally, it entailed him getting feedback on the songs he was writing as well as talking about demos with the different trainees that he wanted to produce. He only worked with three of them because he worked mostly on hip hop tracks and there were only three of them that could rap to a tolerable level. Two of them were still a work in progress though.

 This time though, the conversation was going to have to be a bit different. He was going to have to turn in a heat partner form with your name and expected date of heat as well as the date of his next rut. Although it was now illegal to dismiss employees for things related to heats and ruts, it was still often looked down upon if someone took too much time off for them.

 Yoongi happened to feel comfortable at this job. He got his own small studio and found all the employees tolerable. He didn’t want to jeopardize any of that. In all honesty though, he thought you might be worth it.

 Yoongi’s father had always talked about how he knew from the second he met Yoongi’s mother it was her that he was going to mate with. While Yoongi wasn’t sure yet if he felt that strongly about you, but this was the closest he could remember to ever feeling this way.

 He knocked on the door and was told to come in. He opened the door to see his boss, Bang Shihyuk sitting at his desk. He preferred to be called Bang PD-nim instead of the CEO, but he almost completely ran the entire company.

 “Yoongi, it’s good to see you. How have the songs been coming along?” he asked, as Yoongi moved to take the seat in front of his desk.

 “They’re slowly coming along. I think I should have something for the trainees to record in about two weeks…”

 “I thought you would have something done by next week?” the main said with a furrowed brow.

 “About that, I’m going to need to take some time off,” Yoongi said. He slid the document he had filled out with the proper information over to the man.

 The man took it and his eyes scanned over it. Yoongi watched as a smile started tugging over his lips.

 “I thought you were single?” Bang asked.

 “I was. I just recently met her. We’re not dating yet.”

 “You said yet.” Yoongi kept a straight face as the other man smirked before looking over the sheet. “I am looking forward to hearing your music after you begin your relationship. The sound will probably change.”

 “Hmm… I don’t know about that, but I would call her interesting to say the least.”

 “By the name I’m guessing she’s foreign. Does she speak Korean?”

 “Almost fluently. Sometimes she gets a few words mixed up, but her Korean is really good. More standard than mine if you want to get technical.”

 “I like your Daegu accent though. It was one of the reasons you stood out to me as an applicant when you were applying. Bring her by for a tour one day. I’d love to meet the woman that’s melted your heart.”

 “No one said she’s done that.”

 “You’re a very sincere person. If the two of you are just heat partners it won’t stay that way. You’d never make a move on the girl if you weren’t going to follow it up with something serious.”

 “She’s a difficult one to read.”

 “So are you. The two of you are perfect for each other.”

 “You haven’t even met her.”

 “I’m your boss, so I’m always right.” Yoongi held himself back from scoffing at the statement. The other man was always like this when it came to certain things. “Now let’s talk about your songs.”

 OO00OO

 You felt anxious sitting in class waiting for the lecture to be over. Yoongi was sitting in the front of the room like he always did. He seemed to be grading some assignments for the professor like usual. Taehyung was doodling on his notebook and you were trying to listen, but it was sort of hard.

 You had a printed-out version of the email Yoongi had sent you and for some reason you felt incredibly nervous about having to return it to him. You were also sure you had only understood about seventy percent of the Korean on it, even with Jimin’s help. In the same folder was the paperwork that Yoongi needed to fill out to grant him temporary access to your dorm building and apartment for your heat. The two of you had agreed to get coffee after your class before heading over to your dorm together to turn in the paperwork.

 You had been so lost in your own thought that you had barely registered that class was already over. Taehyung was grinning at you. He had probably been getting the play by play of what was happening from Jimin.

 Everyone started packing up their things.

 “Bye (y/n) have fun with hyung,” Taehyung said before leaving.

 You packed up your things, but weren’t in a hurry. Normally, Yoongi stayed to chat with the professor a bit before he left. You moved to wait outside for him. About five minutes later, Yoongi came out of the room and offered you a small smile.

 “Ready to go?” he asked.

 “Yeah, are we going to the same place we met up last time?” you asked, walking over to him. He nodded to you and the two of you began walking together.

 It felt weird. Not a bad weird, but weird. You didn’t really know how you should act around him yet. You didn’t actually know Yoongi all that well. You only really knew about his preferences in bed, which was something, but not exactly what you start a conversation with.

 “How was your day?” he asked.

 “It was pretty uneventful. I just went to class. What about you?”

 “I had a graduate course in the morning and then had to student teach. Overall, it was pretty boring.”

 “Ah I see…” You paused for a minute. “You write songs for an entertainment company, right? How is that going?”

 If you weren’t mistaken you watched as he seemed to perk up with something like pride at the mention of it. He seemed more relaxed than before as well.

 “I’ve got a good start on some new demos. I work for a smaller agency that’s getting ready to debut a new idol boy group in probably the next six months. They’re all pretty young, but they’re good kids.”

 “Do you like it? I mean I’ve heard a lot of good and bad things about the Korean entertainment industry.”

 “I like it, but I’m also at a smaller company. From what I hear some of the bigger ones are pretty problematic. I know for a fact that this company is taking good care of them. If I didn’t I would have never signed with them.”

 The two of you continue in conversation about his job. You had never realized how much work truly went into producing music. So far in class you had only covered the basics of music theory and just started writing scores. The things that Yoongi did though went beyond what you thought you could ever be capable of.

 Yoongi ordered the two of your drinks and filled out the rest of the paperwork while the two of you waited. When you got your drinks you both decided to drink them while walking back to the dorm. It was a pretty nice day outside. Fall was truly just beginning and there wouldn’t be too many nice days left before the weather started to cool down.

 The two of you finished your drinks by the time you arrived at the dorms. You went to the small office where the building manager was during the day. When you arrived, she was looking down at her phone screen with a look of displeasure across her face. You had only talked to her once when you had moved in on such short notice, but she was a nice omega woman in her early thirties. She had been helpful and caring, but a little stressed out at the time.

 “Umm… I want to turn in a heat partners form,” you said, drawing her attention away from her phone.

 She looked up and smiled at you before taking the form and glancing it over.

 “Is that your alpha?” she asked.

 “Yes?” you said hesitantly. You weren’t really sure if Yoongi was your alpha or not, but on paper he was for the time being. The building manager just chuckled.

 “This is only for one time correct?” she asked.

 “For now,” Yoongi answered from behind you.

 “All right, I just want to make the two of you aware that we’ll keep this form on record for the next three months. If you want we can give him extended access to the dorms if you choose to after your heat this month. That decision is completely up to the two of you though. Min Yoongi, your ID card should be updated over night with the new security information.”

 “All right thank you,” he said.

 “Thank you,” you added.

 The two of you left the office and you realized that this is where the two of you might part. Until you got an idea.

 “I know you’ve seen the dorm before, but do you maybe want to go over some stuff before you leave.”

 Yoongi gave you a small smile and nodded his head before following you up to your dorm.

 When the two of you got there Jimin was lounging on the sofa, watching something on his laptop. He glanced up and saw the two of you together before grinning.

 “Well what do we have here?” Jimin teased.

 “Some embarrassing excuse for a college student watching… is that Korea’s Next Top Model?” Yoongi asked.

 “The fact that you recognize it says something about you too hyung.”

 “I’m just going to show Yoongi some of the stuff I have prepared for my heat. Don’t mind us.”

 “Oh I don’t.”

 You rolled your eyes and led Yoongi to your room. You were thankful that you had been trying to keep it clean because you knew he would inevitably see it at some point.

 “Okay, so I know we did the whole… to do list thing.”

 Yoongi let out a bark of laughter at that. He couldn’t help, but smile at the embarrassed yet confused look on your face.

 “I’m sorry, but calling it a ‘to do list’ was an unexpected pun coming from you.”

 “Well sorry…”

 You seemed to be pouting in a way that Yoongi found endearing. You weren’t trying to be cute, but you just ended up being that way.

 “I’m sorry please continue.”

 “Okay, well before I was so rudely interrupted.” You gave him a look and Yoongi fought back a grin at how you seemed to be seriously reprimanding him. “I bought a few things for my last heat that I found helpful. I have a fridge that I’ll have stocked at the time with some food and cookies.”

 “Cookies?”

 “I was craving them my last two heats for some reason, so I bake them and put them in the fridge to eat. It will also have drinking water. Last time it was to abrupt, so I didn’t get a chance to use them, but I bought a small water basin and some wash cloths in case I get sweaty. I also have extra sheets blankets and bed linings at the bottom of my closet.”

 “(y/n),” Yoongi said, stopping you from your rant. You turned to find him suddenly closer than you remembered him being. “I know you’re nervous. Honestly, I am a bit too. I don’t want you to be worried. I’m going to take care of you through this heat. I’m going to make sure you have everything you need and that you’re as comfortable as possible, okay?”

 “Okay…” you mumbled.

 Yoongi moved slightly closer, bringing his hands to naturally rub soothing circles into your shoulders.

 “I mean it. I don’t make commitments I don’t intend on keeping.”

 You were a commitment? He was committing to you. For some reason the thought had your stomach in somewhat pleasurable knots at his words.

 “I believe you,” you said, this time more firmly.

 “Can I kiss you right now?” he asked. You blinked in confusion shocked upon his request. You hadn’t seen it coming. “Sorry I just…”

 “No it’s okay. I mean yes, yes you can kiss me. You just sort of caught me by surpri—”

 Yoongi cut of your awkward rambling with a gentle kiss that he pressed to your lips. You had just barely closed your eyes to savor it before he was pulling away.

 “I have to get to work, but I’ll message you soon. Don’t hesitate to message me if you need anything.”

 “I won’t.”

 You should have walked Yoongi out as he said goodbye, but you had become rooted to the spot in awkward giddiness. Your stomach was flipping with warm excitement. You just barely caught Jimin yelling out at Yoongi.

 “Hyung, I know exactly what you did in there!”

 “Shut up.”

 OO00OO

 You had baked cookies yesterday and were getting ready to go to one of your classes when it happened. The clenching of your gut followed by a burning sensation engulfing your whole body. Your heat had come only about twelve hours before it was due to show up.

 You messaged Yoongi right away before crawling into your bed. You had to do something, you had to make it more comfortable for the two of you. You began to adjust the comforters and searched for more pillows to make sure the two of you could get lost in the cushiness of the bed. It wasn’t the largest bed and you somehow felt stressed at the thought of it not being big enough.

 You didn’t stress very long though. You found yourself getting wet with slick and overcome with heat. You could hardly wait for Yoongi to get here. You wanted him here so badly. You knew he could help, knew he would help.

 You tried your best, you really did, but you couldn’t take it anymore. The clenching in your core was too much to ignore. You peeled of your pants and underwear, making sure to toss them off the bed. You had just begun to massage your clit when you were hit with smell of fresh pine. With a whine you looked at your doorway to see Yoongi entering your room.

 Yoongi was dressed in tight jeans and a leather jackets. He was wearing a beanie probably to try and make his messy dark hair seem neater. You let out whine that had him instantly coming to your side.

 “It’s okay, I’m right here,” he said. “Do you still want me here?”

 “Yes,” you said. You tried to keep your voice from sounding as desperate as you felt. You couldn’t tell if you were successful.

 “Okay I need you to watch me for a bit. Look at me, okay?” You nodded your head at him. “Use your words.”

 “Okay,” you said.

 You kept your eyes on him as he revealed himself to you. First, he took off his beanie, revealing that you had been right. His hair was an utter mess. Then he removed his jacket, dropping it to the floor before lifting his t-shirt over his head. It revealed his milky torso, but you barely had anytime to dwell on it because he went straight to removing his jeans wasting no time in pulling them off equally milky legs. You thought he would stop there, but he kept going. He took off his plaid boxers to reveal his already half hard cock.

 You let out a desperate whine at the sight, suddenly remembering that you were very much in heat. You heard Yoongi mutter something in Korean before dropping to the ground and digging something out of the pocket of his leather jacket.

 “Can I come on the bed?” he asked.

 “Please do,” you said, with a huff of laughter.

 Yoongi climbed onto the bed, placing whatever was in his hands further up on the bed. He was being very formal. You heard him inhale thought he might have growled just a little bit.

 “Can you sit up? I’m going to help you out of the rest of your clothes.”

 You gave him a small yes and sat up and let him help you out of your sweater and bra. He gently helped you lay back on the bed and you realized your body was going crazy. His scent was amplified to your senses and all you wanted to do was surround yourself with it.

 “Are your sure this is what you want?”

 “Yes,” you found yourself snapping impatiently. He just gave a deep chuckle at that.

 “Okay. If you want to stop at any point in time just tell me and I will. Don’t feel like we have to keep doing something because it seems like I’m enjoying it. You need to let me know is something hurts or makes you uncomfortable, all right?”

 “All right. I mean this in the nicest way, but can you hurry up.”

 This time Yoongi let out and actual laugh his lips upturning into a brief gummy smile before leaning down to capture your lips. This kiss, much like the first one you shared, was feather light and sweet. However, the second you began to kiss him back it changed. It became much more heated. He bit your lower lip and you gasped as his tongue took the opportunity to invade your mouth in the most delightful way. He was very much in control of the kiss, but somehow it wasn’t rough. You found yourself succumbing to the way it felt, arms moving to tug his body closer to you.

 Yoongi growled and broke away to place soft kisses on your cheek trailing them to underneath your jaw and sucking lightly at the skin.

 “Can I scent mark you?”

 “Please do,” you replied.

 The moment you felt Yoongi rub his scent gland against yours an overwhelming sense of calm washed over you. The scent of pine seemed to comfort you as much as the scent of peppermint was making him feel refreshed.

 Yoongi was trying so hard not to rush. He didn’t want to rush your first time for you even if it was your heat. You were making it so hard for him when all he wanted to do was completely wreck you. The need to claim had never been his strongest alpha instinct, but suddenly it felt like it was the only one he could remember.

 “Yoongi…”

 Your voice stirred him from his thoughts and he looked down at you to see you rubbing your thighs together. Your dilated eyes connected with his and he smelt a fresh wave of peppermint go through the room. You were probably more than ready for him, but he wanted to take it slow.

 He went back to work trailing kisses over your scent gland, but not marking you. That would come later. The kisses moved to your chest and when one of his hands came to cup a breast you rewarded him with a breathy sigh. He caught your eyes as he moved his mouth over to suck your nipple into his mouth and you let out the sweetest moan for him. He moved to the other and was given the same reward. He loved you like this.

 Yoongi moved to put kisses between your breasts before once again moving up to capture your lips in a sweet kiss. He then repositioned himself, finally parting your legs, so that he could move his body in between them. His hand teasingly trailed up your thigh feeling the wetness that had managed to seep out and you were absolutely soaking for him.

 “Tell me, what’s been down here baby?” he asked. His dark eyes searching yours for discomfort at his words. He saw confusion before he saw a spark of excitement run through them.

 “Just fingers,” you replied. Yoongi trailed his hand over to your core just teasingly coming into contact with it.

 “Who’s fingers baby?” Yoongi finally pressed his fingers to your clit, giving you some sort of relief.

 “Mine,” you answered. You let out a moan of protest when he stopped. He was giving you a stern look. “And Jimin’s…”

 Yoongi’s fingers pressed to your clit once again, but this time rubbing tiny circles that had you whimpering for more. The way his finger felt cold on your hot skin was so good. You didn’t want him to stop.

 “Do you want something better than Jimin’s fingers?”

 “Yes,” you replied. You let out a whine of protest when Yoongi removed his fingers from your clit. “What?”

 “I’m going to give you something better baby. I’m going to give you my tongue.”

 You felt your cheeks flush at the bold statement, but Yoongi didn’t give you much time to be embarrassed before pressing a soft kiss to your clit. He started slow and the sensation felt odd. It was weird when he licked a stripe up your slit before flicking at your clit with his tongue. You weren’t really sure what to think, but before you knew it the sensations were overwhelming.

 He pulled your clit into his mouth, flicking at it quickly with his tongue making your body jolt in surprise at the sensation. The tightness in your core quickly building as he passionately devoured your core. Your hands gripped onto the blankets surrounding you as your hips involuntarily bucked up at a particularly strong suck.

 “You can grab onto me.”

 No sooner than when he said the words you found your hands raking through his dark locks, not sure whether to push him away from the overwhelming sensation or to pull him closer.

 You were completely blindsided by your sudden orgasm. You let out a loud moan as you came, hands tugging on Yoongi’s hair as he continued to lap up the new slick dripping out of your core.

 You felt the heat still thrumming through your body as Yoongi sat up. You watched as he wiped the excess slick from his chin biting back a groan as he looked you over. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on your neck.

 You wanted him so badly. Your core was greedily clenching around air as the aftershocks of your orgasm left you. You wanted nothing more than to get Yoongi inside, wanting to feel the way he’d fill you up. The way he’d drill into you and make you cum.

 “That was so good baby.” He brushed a hand comfortingly through your hair before placing more kisses by your jaw.

 “Yoongi… Inside,” you whined. “Please I can’t take it.”

 “Baby…” he said, moving back so he could look at you. “I’m not going to rush. We’re going to go nice and slow. I’m going to open you up really good okay?”

 “Yoongi please!”

 He shushed you. Yoongi trailed a hand back to your core and slowly inserted a finger into you. It went in no problem. It didn’t surprise him with how wet you were. He wanted to make sure though that you came enough to get out of this wave of your heat though. He added another finger beginning to stretch you open, even with your heat you were tight.

 “How’s that feel?”

 “Good. It feels good…”

 Yoongi groaned at you. You were an absolute vision right now. You took his finger so well and your eyes looked at him just pleading for him to make you cum. He didn’t want to disappoint you either.

 “Can you cum on my fingers and I’ll give you my cock? Can you do that for me baby girl? Does it sound good?”

 “I can do it,” you replied.

 Yoongi felt you clench and unclench around him trying to get more stimulation. With a chuckle he added a third finger before beginning to move them in and out of you. When you gave a particularly loud moan he began to target that spot over and over again. Until you shut your eyes and threw back your head, letting out a whine. He felt the way your body tried to suck his fingers in as it released fresh slick.

 “That’s my good girl.” Yoongi felt your body shiver at that. He would keep that in mind for later. “You ready for me baby?”

 You nodded your head at him. Desperate eyes pleading with him and he frowned.

 “I need your words baby. I need to hear you want me.”

 “I want you Yoongi, alpha please.”

 That word sparked something primal in him that he had been trying to hold back. His hands moved to grab a condom on the bed ripping it open and quickly rolling it onto his painfully pulsing cock.

 He kissed you again. It was much rougher and more urgent than before and you instantly responded, hands coming up to tangle in his hair as you opened your mouth for him. He groaned in satisfaction before he lined himself up with your core.

 “Are you ready?”

 “Yes.”

 Yoongi firmly buried himself in you, making sure to not go to fast. He let out a groan in surprise as he noticed you with your head thrown back eyes closed and blissfully moaning out. Your core trying to suck him in.

 “Did you just cum baby?”

 Yoongi watched as a flush covered your cheeks in embarrassment, giving him your answer. The shy girl he was used to seeing reappearing beneath him and further igniting his want.

 “I couldn’t help it…” He moved to give you a soft kiss.

 “It’s okay cum as many times as you want.”

 You nodded your head at him and prepared yourself for him to start moving. Yoongi started gently at first. He just grinded the two of your bodies together, getting you used to him being inside you. However, you let out a pleased moan when he finally pulled back before thrusting in. Yoongi set a steady pace. His hands pressing themselves on either side of your head caging you in and surrounding you with his warmth and scent. It felt good.

 “More…”

 “More what, baby?”

 You opened your eyes to see a teasing look on his face as he watched you.

 “I don’t know just whatever you’re doing.”

 He hummed before his hips snapped with more force than before into you, causing you to let out a whine of approval as he continued his new pace. Each thrust seeming to make that knot in your stomach tighter and tighter. You knew you were going to cum again. You tried to tell him, but found that this time your Korean failed you. Your words coming out in a jumbled mess that seemed to please him. Your head tipped back as you went over the edge, bearing your neck to him.

 “Can I still mark you?”

 “Yes.”

 You brought your hands up to guide Yoongi to your neck as began to suck at the gland on your neck sending a new wave of pleasure through your body as he left the mark on your skin. You could feel the knot in your stomach winding tighter again quickly as he kept thrusting into you.

 “Alpha, I’m going to… <em>again!</em>”

 “It’s okay omega.” The name sent a tremor through your body and you felt yourself building up too quickly again. “I’m going to cum too. Do you still want my knot?”

 “I want my alpha’s knot!”

 Yoongi’s hips suddenly picked up speed to slam into you with force you hadn’t known he had and you felt yourself building up again. You were just on the edge of your release when you felt the sensation of Yoongi growing in you. You didn’t dwell on it as you felt yourself cum once again, your core trying to suck Yoongi in.

 You fought to keep your eyes open as you felt Yoongi’s pace turn into grinding as his knot grew too large to pull out of you. He buried his face into your neck as he let out a loud groan as he came his body covering yours protectively as he shook from his orgasm.

 The two of you held onto each other as your bodies began to calm. The heat no longer incessantly eating away at your body as the wave died down. The only sound in the room was the two of you panting.

 “Do you want to mark me?” Yoongi asked.

 He pulled his face away just enough to look into your eyes, hand coming naturally to stroke at your cheek. You were surprised. Most alphas didn’t like to be marked by their partners, it showed some sort of submission. The thought of marking up his milky skin was very tempting though.

 “Can I?”

 “Of course you can (y/n),” he responded.

 Yoongi bared the right side of his neck to you and you carefully moved to it. You placed kisses along it until you came to his scent gland where you sucked delicately at the soft skin, making Yoongi produce a sound that sounded almost like a purr of satisfaction. You pulled away to see him smiling softly at you.

 “You look tired,” he stated. “You should get some rest before your next wave.”

 He carefully pulled you up, trying to make sure that his knot didn’t make it too uncomfortable for you to move. He positioned the two of you in a more comfortable position to lay down in.

 “But your knot?” you asked. “Are you comfortable?”

 “I’m fine, it will go down in about ten or fifteen minutes. You need to get some rest before then okay.”

 “Okay.”

 Yoongi placed a gentle kiss on your lips as he pulled you closer to him. In no time you were able to fall asleep to the relaxing scent of pine surrounding you. Yoongi found himself drifting off shortly after as he listened to the rhythmic beat of your heart.

[libra-kirishima]

So you know the last headcanons you did for Nejire ? Can you please make a fanfic out of it ? It was so cute and awesome ❤️

You bet the fuck I can. And it's long as all hell, because I don't know how to stop, so it's gotta be split into multiple parts.

I love my wife!! Thank you for requesting this.

(A link to the headcanons that inspired this fic)

(A link to part two)

-

A single lily, baby pink in colour and prettier than any lily she had ever seen before sat at her desk. A ribbon in the same colour as the flower was wrapped around the stem into a beautiful bow, with a hole-punched notecard attached.

Heard you liked lilies.

Hope this smile as much as you make me smile.

She hadn't seen who had left it for her, but she desperately wished she had. Especially as the months continued, and at least once a week she would find flowers of all different types and colours left somewhere she would find them. By the time two months had passed, there had been nineteen. Four at her desk in homeroom, four in her locker, three taped to her dorm room, and eight in her gym locker before hero training.

"So they have to have training the same period as you, right?" Yuyu reasoned, looking over the handwriting.

Congrats on being crowned the most beautiful girl at UA.

Of course, I already knew you were, but I'm thrilled everyone else is starting to recognize it.

Another quick scan of the handwriting to one specific conclusion. "Hey, 'jire," Nejire's eyebrows raised. "The handwriting looks kinda... feminine? And they have access to the girl's locker room, so mayb-" Yuyu stopped once she saw her best friend's face shift to convey clear worry. She had a good idea about what was going through her head. She was her best friend. What kind of best friend didn't know the sort of things their best friend was going through. She seire she had a sixth sense dedicated solely to Nejire.

Though she decided to leave it alone. That's something Nejire needs to work through on her own, she decided.

-

The next big moment in Nejire's investigation came by total accident.

Less an accident of her own and more of a beginner's mistake on the behalf of her peer and Big 3 counterpart, Mirio Togata.

"Mirio?"

"Oh, hey!" He called cheerfully, before recognizing how much he fucked up. He dashed the flowers behind his back, taking the time to regret every second he's been alive in the time Nejire spends staring him down with curious eyes. "Uh, what are you doing here?" He chuckled nervously, immediately coming to regret his choice of those words in that order.

"This is my room." She answered. Nejire tried to peek what was behind his back, but the fact that he kept turning them away from her, and the sheer size difference he had on her made it nearly impossible. She did, however, catch a familiar glint of various shades of green. "Were you the one leaving me all those flowers?" She asked. She didn't know why she sounded disappointed, or how she could be disappointed in the outcome when she had no idea who was behind them in the first place, but she felt her face fall as he nodded.

"I was," He answered, though before Nejire could state how she just didn't feel the same way, he elaborated on his answer. "But they aren't from me. I'm just the delivery man." Nejire felt the hope and curiosity rise back within her.

"Why you?"

"Because I'm the only person who can sneak into places and leave them there without you noticing or getting suspicious."

"Oh," She nodded, applauding the person behind these flowers for being so smart about this. "Wait, have you been sneaking into the girl's locker room?"

"Nah, that's all them." He chuckled. "I mentioned you were having a bit of a rough week, so they gave me this and asked me to leave it somewhere you would see. I was going to leave it on your dresser so when you got back to your dorm at the end of the day you'd see these and maybe feel better." He finally pulled them from behind his back to reveal to Nejire a huge bouquet with white Jasmine and the biggest, most beautiful lilies she'd ever seen. She gasped out loud at the sight of them, feeling her heart rate speed up as Mirio put them in her hands.

"Well, I'll be going."

"Wait, Togata!" She caught his wrist before he had the chance to flee. "Who is it?"

"That's confidential information, Hadou." He joked. "She's already gonna tear me apart for getting caught by you."

"She?" Nejire wondered, only realizing afterwords that she was thinking out loud. Mirio cringed, realizing that he let his friend down, and far worse than either of them had expected.

"Fuck."

-

"Yuyu..." Nejire called out in a tired daze. They were having a sleepover in the form common room, and finally decided to call it a night after four consecutive hours of Netflix binging.

"Yeah?"

"I think the person that sends me those flowers is a girl." She stated drowsily. It had been about two weeks since she had seen Mirio outside her door delivering these flowers for her on behalf of a friend of his. A female friend, apparently.

"I had a feeling." Yuyu stated simply. They stayed silent for a good while, with only the sounds of their breathing being left for Nejire to think about. She wanted to think about anything but the person behind those flowers. "Are you, uh... Are you, like, into that?"

"Like into girls?" Nejire asked in return. She felt a knot develop in her throat, still with no idea why.

"Yeah..." More silence filled the atmosphere. Even in the pitch blackness, she could feel Nejire's tension. "You know, 'jire... There's nothing wrong about it either way." Nejire hummed in thought. She attempted to swallow the lump in her throat before she spoke.

"Y' sure?"

"Yeah. Whether you're into boys or girls or both or neither, you're still my same Nejire. And if you start to think one thing but you find out somewhere along that path that you were wrong, then there's nothing wrong with that either. It's normal, it's healthy, and it's a natural part of figuring out who you are."

"It is?"

"Yeah, of course it is. I didn't always know I was gay."

"But I thought that was a thing..." She mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Like when you talk to lesbians they're like 'I always have known I liked girls... I've never liked guys... I've been in love with girls since elementary school. I never ever had a doubt about it ever, and this is something I've known my entire life.'" Yuyu giggled at the way Nejire's voice raise as she was voicing her nameless lesbian.

"Well sure, there are some that are like that, but it isn't every time. In fact, I think more often than not girls that like other girls have a hard time recognizing it because they don't really know that they can feel that way about girls. Coming from a bisexual woman, I feel like girl crushes feel really different from crushes on guys, because there's like a societal thing with the way boys and girls behave and typically girls are just... Supposed to be friendly and sweet in terms of, like, societal gender roles? That's a discussion for a different time, but the fact of the matter is that men and women just generally act different. So because at the most basic level your brain is in this mindset of how men and women do these different things, it can be hard to process sometimes that the feelings you have towards girls are crushes and not just wanting to be someone's friend or thinking someone is too cool for you." Nejire nodded, thinking over her best friends words for a long while. A soft hum finally escaped her throat. "What's going through your head?" Yuyu questioned.

"Yuyu..."

"Hm?"

"Yuyu, I think I might be a lesbian..."

-

You went to place another flower on Nejire's desk before class started, but found a folded slip of paper already present, with a lily drawn in pink glitter pen. Against your own better judgement, you picked it up, unfolding the paper and reading its contents.

If you're reading this, and you're the person who's been leaving me flowers, please meet me outside of the northern courtyard entrance at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. ❤

- Hadou Nejire

(And if you're reading this and you're not the person who's been leaving me flowers, this note isn't for you. Please fold it back up and return it where you found it. Thank you.)

-

"Should I go?"

"I don't know, (Y/N)."

"What do you mean you don't know?" You whined, flopping yourself down onto his bed right beside him. "You're supposed to provide the voice of reason here. It can't be my job all the time." You pulled one of the pillows from his bed over your face and let out a long muffled groan. Once you pulled the pillow from your face, you saw a pair of dark blue button eyes staring back at you from directly above you.

"Now you're just being ridiculous."

"Probably."

"I think you should go meet her. What's the worst that could happen?"

You paused, taking time to think over every possible worst-case scenario. "You're ovethinking and I can tell you are. Stop that." He scolded. He continued to speak while he returned to doing his homework. "The worst thing that could happen is she rejects you, which sucks, yeah, and it'll hurt for a little while, but then it's over and you now know for sure whether she was into you. No more wasting your time." You pulled Mirio's pillow back to your face and muffled another long groan. He didn't speak again until he knew your ears were free. Words of encouragement seemed to be all he could provide. He watched you pull the pillow away from your face again, chuckling to see little daisies popping out between strands of your hair. "But I really think you should go meet her. Hadou's really been loving those flowers..."

"Yeah, I guess, but she's gonna be disappointed when they come from a sad lesbian instead of the man of her dreams."

"She might as well be writing you 'hey, if you like Piña Coladas and gettin' caught in the rain, meet me!' and I can't believe you're still debating it. Just go." You giggled at his Nejire impression, following it all with a heavy sigh. "The worst that could happen is rejection. She'll even let you down easy, but I'm willing to put 2000 yen on it right now that she won't. It'll be fine. You know how she is."

"Yeah, alright, I guess..."

-

"North courtyard entrance, North courtyard entrance, north courtyard entrance. Don't fuck this up. Six o'clock. Six p.m. What time is it now?" You stopped muttering to yourself to pull your phone out of your pocket and check the time. "5:53. Okay, I'm not going to be late. I still have some time. Don't fuck this up. Should I have brought something? Flowers? Is that overkill?" You stopped in place to debate with yourself over it. Two flower buds sprouted from the skin behind your jaw, wrapping over the shell of your ear as you grew more and more nervous. "I've gotta call Mirio..." With nervous hands, you scrambled to pull your phone from your pocket once more and dial his number while you still had time. He answered on the second ring.

"If you're calling me to say that you're not going because you chickened out, I'll go over there-" His voice grew softer. He was talking to someone in the room with him. "What? No, you have to come with me. Please? (Y/N) needs us, Tam- Yeah, us. Both of us. Me and you. Hadou needs us too. It's importa-"

"Mirio," You whined.

"Yeah? You can't change your mind last minute. You've come this far-"

"No, I'm gonna do it. I just had a question."

"Oh, what can I do for you?"

"Would bringing her flowers be overkill?"

"Nah, I don't think so."

"You don't?"

"No. If you're gonna meet her, might as well go big or go home. She'd appreciate it."

"I'm not really the 'go big' type. Actually, I wanna go home..."

"Nope, sorry. It's too late."

"Mirio, this is-"

"(Y/N)," He started faking static noises through the reciever. "You're breaking up-" more fake static. You swore you could hear Tamaki's voice ask him what he's doing. "I've gotta go-" fake static. "Call me back- I can't hear you- tell me how it goes." He hung up the phone.

"Dork." You grumbled. With a soft sigh, you lowered yourself to the ground, growing a decent bunch of baby pink lilies and cutting them at the base of the stem. "There. I'm identifyable, I'm presentable, I'm decent, I just need to assure I'm on time and I don't embarrass myself. No problem. No problem at all." You muttered. "What time is it anyways." You checked the time for what felt like the 16th time in the past ten minutes. "6:03." You nodded, slipping your phone into your pocket once more. Not even a moment later your brain finally processed that number's significance. "Shit, I'm late."

-

Nejire was waiting patiently when you spotted her, sat at the far edge of a bench with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. She was out of her school uniform, wearing something bright and summery in its place, and her hair was up for once, with half of it in a bun at the top of her head and the other half down.

She looked beautiful.

No turning back now...

Careful steps were taken in her direction. You became hyper-conscious of every move your body made. All in the name of keeping from embarrassing yourself. She locked eyes on you as you drew closer. Time almost seemed to stop in that moment. Your body was still moving, but your brain was frozen in that moment. The way her hair blew in the breeze, with a few loose strands blowing across her face. The way her skin glowed in the light of the setting sun. How bright her smile became as her eyes moved from your face to the lilies in your hand, and back to you once again.

Her eyes.

So warm and inviting, and the most beautiful shade of blue you had ever seen.

It was easy falling in love with Nejire.

So easy that you did so from the first time you locked eyes with her.

-

Nejire would have never thought that the she would think so much about the sweet, bubbly, mystery girl from 3-B in her entire life. The competitor she'd lost against in the sports festival her first year, damaging her pride and bringing her to tears, now made her happier than she ever knew she could be with one person.

And yet there were countless nights where she would lie awake at the earliest hours of the morning, playing over the day's events with you, and dreaming of any possible way her time with you could continue. How she could take you out for dinner at this cute Italian restaurant downtown, and how you'd fight with her over who pays the bill. She'd end up taking it when you'd look away and handing it to the waitress with a smug smile on her face. It would be cold out when you finally step outside, and you probably wouldn't hesitate to remove your jacket around her shoulders. You'd insist to buy her desert since she payed for dinner, just like you did the last time she payed. And she'd quickly agree, wanting to spend as much time as she possibly could with you. She'd never want that night to end.

But of course, even in Nejire's fantasy it would have to end eventually. So you'd take her home, walk her to her door. She'd kiss you, and finally get to tell you what she'd been meaning to for months. The words she'd had on her mind since the day she met you in the courtyard. The words she's waited patiently to say since you first began dating.

"(Y/N), I love you."

Nejire sighed hopelessly, realizing she had gotten so lost in her own daydreams that she'd said those words aloud. If only she could finally bring herself to do it in person.