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the-girl-who-didnt-smile · 3 months ago

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ADDENDUM^3

Recently, I started reading Jeffery Anderson’s Voodoo: An African American Religion. Published in 2024, this probably contains the most accurate information about the historical, New Orleans Voudou pantheon (as in, pre-revitalization)

Really interesting book! It might take me a while to finish it…

Some things of note:

Anderson proposes several different origins for the deity Assonquer, arguing that the most likely origin is the orisha Osanyin. One of the alternative theories suggests he is derived from Ossange, described as a lwa with healing powers of the Ogou family.

No mention of Maitre Carrefour. He was either worshiped in secret, or the refraction Fon Legba into the lwa Papa Legba and Kalfou (Maitre Carrefour) was never transmitted to New Orleans. Notably, Anderson describes how the historical, American Papa Legba (“Papa La Bas”) was demonized, where an interview from 1940 equates him with the “devil”. In fact, this seems to be why his name is recorded as “Papa La Bas”; “La Bas” meaning “Down There”, as in “The Devil”.

Previously, I named the Damballah-inspired character “Sir Duke” / “Grand Serpent”. This needs to be changed to “Grandfather Serpent”, or “Grandfather Python”. Damballah is probably associated with Grandfather Rattlesnake, not Grand Zombi. I’m probably going to rename him “Grandfather Python”, to emphasize that he is not a venomous snake. (I gave him fangs for the sake of anime battles and making him look cool, but there is no venom in his fangs… they are just very sharp…) Actually, I’m going with “Grandfather Serpent”, since he’s not specifically a python. Just a giant, magical, non venomous snake!

One of the most important Haitian lwa is Ogou Feray. He appears in the historical record of the American South under the name “Joe Feraille”. He must have come from Haiti through the port of New Orleans, but it is unknown if he was worshiped in New Orleans specifically.

Rather than the Ezilis, there is some evidence that Lasirèn or Mami Wata was worshiped.

With regards to the second note, here is the full quote from Anderson:

“According to FWP information [sic], Alexander Augustin, celebrants would make circles in the water near Spanish Fort and throw food into the lake. The purpose, as he understood it, was to thank Papa Le Bas [sic], whose name Augustin or the FWP worker translated to mean “the Father below” and whom the informant interpreted as Satan.”

Source: Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024, p.

The interview he is referring to is found in the Federal Writers Project: Alexander Augustin, “Marie Laveau,” interview by Henriette Michinard, 15 August 1940, transcript, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Watson Memorial Library, Cammie G. Henry Research Center, Federal Writers’ Project, folder 25.

I think I found the quote from the interview Anderson described:

Alexander Augustin remembered some of the tales of old people which dated to the era of the Widow Paris.

“They would thank St. John for not meddlin’ wit’ the powers the devil gave ‘em,” he said. “They had one funny way of doin’ this when they all stood up to their knees in the water and threw food in the middle of ‘em. You see, they always stood in a big circle. Then they would hold hands and sing. The food was for Papa La Bas, who was the devil. Oldtime Voodoos always talked about Papa La Bas. I heard lots about the Maison Blanche. It was painted white and was built right near the water wit’ bushes all around it so nobody couldn’t see it from the road. It was a kind of hoodoo headquarters.”

Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983. pp. 65-66

I should note, Robert Tallant himself is infamous for his inaccurate, racist descriptions of New Orleans Voodoo.

If you were unaware, the phrase “La Bas” (Là-Bas) used to mean “Down There”, and was historically associated with the Devil. Hence, the title of French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans’ novel Là-Bas (1891), which deals with the subject of Satanism. Over time, the meaning of “La Bas” (Creole: “la ba”) shifted to simply mean “Over There”.

There are two other noteworthy interviews in Tallant’s Voodoo in New Orleans.

The first is the 75-year old “Mary Ellis”, born in 1863 (Alexander Augustin’s age is not specified). Papa Legba is associated with St. Peter. However, his name is recorded as “Laba”, the same pronunciation as “La Bas” (“Down There”, as in “Devil”):

Mary said that most of the things she knew about Marte Laveau had been told her by an aunt who had been a Voodoo.

“My aunt told me one time she had trouble wit’ her landlord. He told her to git out of her house or he’d have her put in jail,” Mary said. “He even sent a policeman after her. The next day she went to Marie Laveau and she told my aunt to burn twelve blue candles in a barrel half full of sand. She done that and my aunt never did have to move and she never went to jail in her whole life. Marie Laveau used to tell people not to burn candles in church ’cause that gived their luck to somebody else, so they burned ’em in her house instead. She’d tell my aunt, ‘If you gonna fool ’em, fool ’em good, Alice.’ She was real good to my aunt. She even taught her a Voodoo song. It went like this:

St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door,

I’m callin’ you, come to me!

St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door …

“That’s all I can remember. Marie Laveau used to call St. Peter somethin’ like ‘Laba.’ She called St. Michael ‘Daniel Blanc,’ and St. Anthony ‘Yon Sue.’ There was another one she called ‘On Za Tier’; I think that was St. Paul. I never did know where them names come from. They sounded Chinee to me. You know the Chinee emperor sent her a shawl? She wore it all the time, my aunt told me.”

Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983. P. 103

This “Mary Ellis” is Mary Washington, and this interview can be found in the aforementioned folder 25 of the Federal Writers Project.

The second is the 87-year old “Josephine Green”, born in 1853. Here, Papa Legba (called “Papa Limba”) is again erroneously identified with “the devil”.

Josephine Green, an octogenarian, recalled her mother’s stories about Marie Laveau.

“My ma seen her,” Josephine boasted. “It was back before the war what they had here wit’ the Northerners. My ma heard a noise on Frenchman Street where she lived at and she start to go outside. Her pa say, ‘Where you goin’? Stay in the house!’ She say, ‘Marie Laveau is comin’ and I gotta see her.’ She went outside and here come Marie Laveau wit’ a big crowd of people followin’ her. My ma say that woman used to strut like she owned the city, and she was tall and good-lookin’ and wore her hair hangin’ down her back. She looked just like a Indian or one of them gypsy ladies. She wore big full skirts and lots of jewelry hangin’ all over her. All the people wit’ her was hollerin’ and screamin’, ‘We is goin’ to see Papa Limba! We is goin’ to see Papa Limba!’ My grandpa go runnin’ after my ma then, yellin’ at her, ‘You come on in here, Eunice! Don’t you know Papa Limba is the devil?’ But after that my ma find out Papa Limba meant St. Peter, and her pa was jest foolin’ her.”

Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983. Pp. 57-58

This “Josephine Green” is Josephine McDuffy, and this interview can be found in the same folder 25 of the Federal Writers Project.

This is another reason I think Papa Legba probably is “The Devil at the Crossroads”, especially because of the association with music and dogs. Another strong candidate is the Yoruba deity Eshu. If Papa Legba was merged with Eshu, this would explain the “old, limping Black man” who appears in folklore of the African American South.

Sadly, Eshu and the family of related deities (including Legba) were demonized all over the world…

RE: Was Baron Samedi worshiped in New Orleans prior to the late 20th century?

This one is also about the actual lwa.

Baron Samedi can aptly be described as not just the most iconic lwa, but one of the most iconic things from New Orleans Voodoo. Ironically, I have only found inconclusive evidence that he was worshiped in New Orleans during the 19th or early 20th centuries.

In American popular media, Baron Samedi is frequently conflated with other Haitian deities, called the Gede. The real-life Baron Samedi has his origins in Haitian Vodou, as does Maman Brigitte (Gran Brijit). The Haitian lwa are derived from African deities, among the most important being the Dahomean trickster god Legba (himself, derived from the Yoruba deity Eshu). Over the course of Haitian history, Dahomean Legba was refracted into Papa Legba, Met Kalfou, and the Gede - by extension, the Bawons, including Baron Samedi. This explains why the Gede are trickster deities of sexuality and liminality, who embrace all that is taboo - just like Dahomean Legba!

19th Century New Orleans Voodoo was greatly influenced by Haitian Vodou, due to the massive influx of Haitian refugees that arrived in the Crescent City after the Haitian Revolution. Following the post-Revolution migration wave, several Haitian lwa became features of New Orleans Voodoo, including:

Papa Legba → “Papa Limba” or “La Bas”, syncretized with St. Peter

Damballah → “Daniel Blanc”, syncretized with St. Michael

Agassu → “Yon Sue”, syncretized with St. Anthony

Ogou Feray could have also been worshiped as “Joe Ferrai” (“Joe Feray”), and Ayizan Velekete as “Vériquité”. While the Erzulies were not directly worshiped per se, veneration of Mother Mary was a key feature of 19th century New Orleans Voodoo. (The Erzulies are syncretized with Mother Mary.)

(I should also note that, in New Orleans, the lwa were called “spirits”, while Bon Dieu/Bondye was simply called “God”)

During the 19th century, the two most important lwa were probably Papa Legba - the Doorkeeper - and Damballah - the most ancient of the lwa. This would explain why their names appear most frequently in 19th- and 20th-century sources, especially in large scale rituals. Damballah might have been refracted into multiple deities, including “Daniel Blanc” and “Zombi the Snake God” – a deity famously associated with Marie Laveau. Others argue that “Grand Zombi” is actually derived from the Kongo supreme deity Nzambi Mpungu, or an invention fabricated by journalists.

A third key deity – “Onzancaire” / “Monsieur Assonquer” – might have been associated with Ogou Feray – one of the most important Haitian lwa. However, the origins of “Onzancaire” are elusive. Because so many different theories have been proposed, I do not know where his true origins lie.

Other deities of non-Haitian origin were also features of New Orleans Voodoo. St. Marron (Jean St. Malo) was the New Orleanian folk saint of runaway slaves. Mother Leafy Anderson – founder of the Spiritual Church Movement in New Orleans – introduced worship of the Native American Saint Black Hawk (see: Kodi A. Roberts (2015) Voodoo and Power: The Politics of Religion in New Orleans, 1881–1940). My understanding is that “Dr. John” (Jean Montaigne) was also deified, in a similar manner to St. Black Hawk. Orisha, such as Shango and Oya, may too have been worshiped. Other deities are listed here and here.

Baron Samedi is conspicuously absent. I think this has to do with the history of Haitian Vodou. Prior to the Haitian Revolution, Haitian Vodou was less of an organized religion, described as a "widely-scattered series of local cults" (see: The Social History of Haitian Vodou, p. 134). It was between the years 1804 and 1860 that Haitian Vodou began to stabilize into a clear predecessor of its present form. (see: The Social History of Haitian Vodou, p. 139) This period of stabilization took place after the migration wave of the early 19th century, which could explain why key features of Haitian Vodou are missing from 19th century New Orleans. For example, I have yet to find evidence that division of the Petwo and Rada lwa made it over to American soil. The refraction of Dahomean Legba might have never been transmitted by Haitian refugees, which would explain the absence of Met Kalfou and the Gede/Bawons from worship.

This too explains why the Papa Legba of American history was both Doorkeeper AND Guardian of the Crossroads. It has been theorized that the legendary “Devil at the Crossroads” was actually Met Kalfou. However, this “Devil” does not match the appearance of Kalfou, described as "no ancient, feeble man...huge and straight and vigorous, a man in the prime of his life." Instead, the one at “the Crossroads” appears as a limping old man who loves music and dogs (“Hellhound on my Trail”). It’s Papa Legba!

Rather than Kalfou, I think American Papa Legba actually inherits his more menacing attributes from Eshu. This would explain why he walks with a limp (like Eshu), is notoriously vengeful (like Eshu), and is sometimes described as androgynous (like Eshu!).

In any case, the Papa Legba of American history can be clearly traced back to Haiti. His appearance as a limping old man is inherited from Haitian Papa Legba; his love of dogs and music from Dahomean Legba. 19th century sources clearly identify him with Saint Peter (“St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door;”) The same cannot be said for Baron Samedi. He was probably not syncretized with St. Expedite, because St. Expedite “did not achieve popularity until the late 1800s or early 1900s in New Orleans” – long after the Haitian migration wave.

I have found one compelling source that places worship of Baron Samedi in 19th century New Orleans. Creole author Denise Alvarado is something of an expert on this topic, her being born and raised in New Orleans. In Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans (2022), Denise Alvarado identifies a “Spirit of Death” with Baron Samedi / Papa Gede. The most convincing piece of evidence comes from the second interview, in which the interviewee describes a ceremony where attendees donned purple robes. The color purple has been historically associated with Papa Gede (by extension, Baron Samedi).

That being said, I do think the evidence Alvarado provides is tenuous. Without additional context, it’s difficult to say whether the purple robes are truly linked to the Haitian lwa. The other newspaper article sounds rather sensationalized. The 19th century saw horrendous news coverage of New Orleans Voodoo, where reporters would exaggerate or straight-up fabricate details to demonize Vodouisants. The reporter’s description of the spirits of death does not align with the Haitian Gede or Bawons. It is important to remember that New Orleans Voodoo is not entirely Haitian in origin. Several other traditional African spiritualities are woven into New Orleans Voodoo. Prior to the Haitian migration wave of the early 19th century, one of the main influences was Kongo spirituality, in which ancestor veneration is central. Additionally, the newspaper cited is from the year 1890 – years after Marie Laveau’s death. The reliability of this article is therefore questionable. I think this could be a Damballah / “Grand Zombi” situation, where this “Spirit of Death” bears superficial resemblance to the lwa but isn’t actually him. It is also possible that he is simply a fabrication by journalists.

The defamation of Vodou continued into the early 20th century, as Haiti was occupied by the U.S. between the years 1915 and 1934. I don’t see how worship of the Gede/Bawons could have been transmitted to New Orleans between the end of the Haitian migration wave and year 1934. There’s a good chance that Baron Samedi / Papa Gede only properly became features of New Orleans Vodou during the revitalization movement of the late 20th century.

As such, I propose two hypotheses:

Baron Samedi was not properly worshiped in New Orleans until the late 20th century. He quickly rose in popularity, as he was easily grafted onto the pre-existing worship of the spirits of the dead (ancestors).

Alvarado has correctly identified Baron Samedi / Papa Gede with the “Spirit of Death”; however, this “Spirit of Death” was a radical departure from his Haitian predecessor, taking on a markedly different form from the lwa.

But that’s all just a Theory… A GAME THEORY!!!

…Anyways, annotated bib:

Marshall, Emily Zobel. American Trickster: Trauma, Tradition and Brer Rabbit. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.

Chapter 1 ("African Trickster in the Americas") describes Dahomean Legba’s origins in the Yoruba deity Eshu.

Cosentino, Donald. "Who is that fellow in the many-colored cap? Transformations of Eshu in old and new world mythologies." Journal of American Folklore (1987): 261-275. https://www.jstor.org/stable/540323.

From the abstract: “Myths of Eshu Elegba, the trickster deity of the Yoruba of Nigeria, have been borrowed by the Fon of Dahomey and later transported to Haiti, where they were personified by the Vodoun in the loa Papa Legba. In turn, this loa was refracted into the corollary figures of Carrefour and Ghede.” Accessed here: https://www.centroafrobogota.com/attachments/article/24/17106647-Ellegua-Eshu-New-World-Old-World.pdf

Haitian immigration : Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The African American Migration Experience. https://www.inmotionaame.org/print.cfm@migration=5.htm

Describes post-Haitian Revolution migration wave like so: “the number of immigrants [from Haiti to New Orleans] skyrocketed between May 1809 and June 1810… The 1809 migration brought 2,731 whites, 3,102 free persons of African descent, and 3,226 enslaved refugees to the city, doubling its population.”

Fandrich, Ina J. “Yorùbá Influences on Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 37, no. 5, 2007, pp. 775–91. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40034365. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Mentions worship of Ogou Feray as “Joe Ferrai”.

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 247: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT247#v=onepage&q&f=false

Mentions worship of Ayizan Velekete as (the male) “Vériquité”.

Anderson, Jeffrey E. Hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure: A handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2008, p. 15: https://books.google.com/books?id=TH7DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false

Relevant quote: "Blanc Dani, Papa Lébat, and Assonquer make the most frequent appearances in both nineteenth- and twentieth-century sources. The first two, in particular, figure prominently in large-scale rituals."

Humpálová, Denisa. "Voodoo in Louisiana." (2012). https://dspace5.zcu.cz/bitstream/11025/5338/1/BP%20Denisa%20Humpalova%202012.pdf

One of several sources that identifies “Grand Zombi” with Nzambi Mpungu.

Posits that “Grand Zombi” could be derived from Nzambi Mpungu, or "may be the invention of journalists inspired by "zombie tales" of Haiti's infamous living dead, combined with Moreau de Saint-Méry’s endlessly repeated description of a snake-worshiping ceremony in colonial Saint Domingue."

Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024, p. 46: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Voodoo/O-v3EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22assonquer%22+%22azewe%22+vodou&pg=PA46&printsec=frontcover

Describes several possible origins for the elusive “Onzancaire”, including a theory that he was a deity related to Ogou Feray.

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 236: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT236#v=onepage&q&f=false

One of several sources to describe St. Marron (Jean St. Malo).

Roberts, Kodi A. Voodoo and Power: The Politics of Religion in New Orleans, 1881-1940. LSU Press, 2015, p. 82: https://books.google.com/books?id=EWOkCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT82&lpg=PT82

Describes how Mother Leafy Anderson (founder of the Spiritual Church Movement) “found” St. Black Hawk, introducing him to New Orleans Voodoo.

Alvarado, Denise. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2022, p. 39: https://books.google.com/books?id=ktlWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false

Posits that high priestess Betsy Toledano worshiped the Orisha Shango and Oya during the 19th century.

Anderson, Jeffrey E. Hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure: A handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2008, p. 15: https://books.google.com/books?id=TH7DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false

List of deities worshiped in 19th century New Orleans Voodoo.

Alvarado, Denise. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2022, p. 126: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Witch_Queens_Voodoo_Spirits_and_Hoodoo_S/ktlWEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA126

Another list of deities worshiped in 19th century New Orleans Voodoo.

Mintz, Sidney & Trouillot, Michel-Rolph (1995) “The social history of Haitian Vodou” in Cosentino, Donald J., ed., Sacred Arts of Vodou, Chapter 4. LA: UCLA Fowler Museum, 123-47. P. 134: https://ghettobiennale.org/files/Trouillot_Mintz_LOW.pdf

Describes Haitian Vodou as a "widely-scattered series of local cults" prior to the Haitian Revolution.

Mintz, Sidney & Trouillot, Michel-Rolph (1995) “The social history of Haitian Vodou” in Cosentino, Donald J., ed., Sacred Arts of Vodou, Chapter 4. LA: UCLA Fowler Museum, 123-47. P. 139: https://ghettobiennale.org/files/Trouillot_Mintz_LOW.pdf

Describes the stabilization of Haitian Vodou into a predecessor of its current form. This occurred between the years following the Haitian Revolution and year 1860.

Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen : The Living Gods of Haiti. New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1983 (originally published in 1953), p. 101: https://archive.org/details/divinehorsemenli00dere/page/100/mode/2up

Description of Kalfou (Carrefour) as "no ancient, feeble man...huge and straight and vigorous, a man in the prime of his life."

Marvin, Thomas F. “Children of Legba: Musicians at the Crossroads in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” American Literature, vol. 68, no. 3, 1996, pp. 587–608. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2928245. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Description of “The Devil at the Crossroads” as a musical genius and “limping old black man”: “Most versions of this story instruct the aspiring musician to bring his instrument to a lonely crossroads at midnight and await the arrival of a limping old black man who will tune the instrument, play it briefly, and then return it endowed with supernatural power."

Robert Johnson’s song “Hellhound on My Trail” identifies “The Devil at the Crossroads” with Papa Legba, who is associated with dogs.

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 244: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT244&lpg=PT244#v=onepage&q&f=false

Relevant quote: "Mary Washington, born in 1863, said she was trained in the arts of Voudou by Marie Laveau. She remembered a song that was sung at the weekly ceremonies: "St. Peter, St. Peter open the door; I am callin' you, come to me; St. Peter, St. Peter open the door." Mrs. Washington explained that "St. Peter was called La Bas, St. Michael was Daniel Blanc, and Yon Sue was St. Anthony." She also mentioned a spirit called Onzancaire."

Alvarado, Denise. The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2020, p. 57: https://books.google.com/books?id=SZOMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57#v=onepage&q&f=false

Relevant quote: “Baron Samedi remains a popular and powerful force in New Orleans Voudou today, along with his wife Manman Brigit. He is syncretized with St. Expedite, among the most popular of saints in New Orleans. We do not hear of St. Expedite in association with Marie Laveau, however, because he did not achieve popularity until the late 1800s or early 1900s in New Orleans (Alvarado 2014).”

Alvarado, Denise. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2022, pp. 127-128: https://books.google.com/books?id=GsofEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127#v=onepage&q&f=false

This is the strongest evidence I could find that Baron Samedi / Papa Gede was worshiped in 19th - early 20th Century New Orleans.

Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen : The Living Gods of Haiti. New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1983 (originally published in 1953), p. 107: https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.505921/page/107/mode/2up?q=purple

Historical evidence that, since at least the 1930s, Papa Gede’s colors are “black or purple”. To this day, purple is associated with Baron Samedi and the Gede as a whole.

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 250: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT250&lpg=PT250

Relevant quote: “The religion that evolved in nineteenth-century New Orleans and was embraced by Marie Laveau and her Voudou society combined traditions introduced by the first Senegambian, Fon, Yoruba, and Kongo slaves with Haitian Vodou, European magic, and folk Catholicism. It also absorbed the beliefs of blacks imported from Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas during the slave trade of the 1830s–1850s. These “American Negroes” were English-speaking, at least nominally Protestant, and practiced a heavily Kongo-influenced kind of hoodoo, conjure, or rootwork. New Orleans Voudou is therefore not identical to Haitian Vodou, but represents a unique North American blend of African and European religious and magical Traditions.”

Describes major Senegambian and Kongo influences on New Orleans Voodoo, prior to the Haitian Revolution. Relevant quote: “New Orleans's African population was Kongo dominated with a strong affinity with the spirits of the dead…Dahomeyan influence occurred only indirectly through the Haitian refugees who "flooded" the city after 1808. In 1809 alone, more than 10,000 Haitians arrived, and doubled the city's population. They brought their Vodou religion with them, which ultimately merged with the already existing New Orleans or Louisiana Voodoo traditions. During the French colonial regime, 80% of the enslaved Africans came from one single ethnic group: the Bamana (also called Bambara) people from the Senegal River basin (today's Senegal, Gambia, and Mali), most of them stemming from one single ethnic group, the Bambara people. The majority of the remaining 20% were Kongolese and some Dahomeyans (Hall, 1992). Despite their rather different geographical origins, these two cultures blend easily into one another. Eighteenth-century Louisiana Voodoo maintained a marked Senegambian flavor, with some Kongolese elements blended in, until the end of the 18th century.”

Dubois, Laurent. “Vodou and History.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 43, no. 1, 2001, pp. 92–100. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696623. Accessed 23 June 2024.

An overview of the history of Haitian Vodou, as it pertains to U.S. history. Demonization of Vodou continued past the U.S. occupation of Haiti, until the late 20th century.

#commentary #anderson found no evidence of worship of baron samedi or papa gede #however i think it possible baron samedi made it to America and that he is the identity of the “devil” in the high silk hat...#i could be wrong...

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first-and-last-neocount · 4 years ago

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Death, the Shadow, Spreads Its Wings Around Me - Chapter 1

Yooooo, I finally finished the first chapter of my first fic! And it’s a multi-chapter Resident Evil/Supernatural crossover, so it’s not like I’m diving straight into the deep end at all! *sweats*

All thanks to the wonderful @fonulyn, who nudged me into actually finishing and posting this damn thing by luring me into squealing about my ideas over Tumblr and then drowning me in supportive comments until I gave in. You’re an absolute darling, Fon, and I hope you enjoy my contribution to our cozy little Nivannedy rowboat.

Most of it’s under a cut, since it got awfully long for a first chapter, lol. Or you can read it on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437897/chapters/64411741

Chapter 1:

The ocean looked as black as ink.

Wreckage from the underwater base was strewn through the rolling waves, pieces as small as sheets of paper up to entire sections of insulated wall nearly ten feet across; all the truly heavy material had plunged to the bottom of the bay, but the rest now bobbed and swirled on the surface. Stormclouds had rolled in, the winds whipping the bay to a frenzy and darkening the water until it was impenetrably dark. A sea of shadows, from which nothing good could emerge.

Leon should have been resting in a medical tent, but instead he was on a boat cutting its slow but steady way across the churning waves, helping the rescue teams as they searched against all the odds for survivors. The winds had grown too unpredictable for a helicopter, so they were doing it the old fashioned way – a half-dozen coastal patrol boats, spread out into as even a grid as they could manage on the open water, combing through the debris field. Leon didn't hold out much hope for survivors, but he needed to be here anyway.

Even if he only managed to find the body, it was the least he could do.

When Leon had made it to the emergency command centre that the BSAA had set up just outside of Lanshiang's city limits, it had been in too much chaos for him to get a meaningful report from anyone. The explosion of Neo-Umbrella's underwater base had thrown everything into a frenzy, as rescue and salvage teams scrambled to deal with the fallout and contain any potential escaping bioweapons. When Leon had found the hasty medical centre and walked into the first tent, he'd been relieved to see Chris Redfield sitting on one of the folding cots, one arm in a sling and cut and bruised to hell but otherwise seemingly unharmed. Ignoring the chaos of medical personnel rushing around them, Leon made his way over to the BSAA Captain, and even managed to dredge up a wry smile from somewhere under his exhaustion.

“Well, we did it again, I guess. You'd think someone else would take a turn at saving the world one of these days...”

Chris had looked up at him, and Leon stopped in his tracks. There was something far worse than the usual exhaustion in Chris's dark brown eyes. His face was mostly expressionless, too tired to convey what was clearly churning inside him, but his eyes – his eyes were almost black with despair, filled with the kind of pain that Leon knew all too well. He offered only a single sentence.

“Piers didn't make it out.”

The ground didn't crack open beneath Leon's feet. The sky didn't fall. There were no explosions or dramatics or apocalyptic signs; instead, the world just... stopped. The noise of the chaos around them cut off as if the audio track had simply been muted, leaving ringing silence in Leon's ears. In that moment, a grenade could have gone off three feet away and he wouldn't have heard it. His vision seemed to dim around the edges, narrowing in until he couldn't see anything beyond Chris Redfield's hunched, defeated shoulders and despairing eyes. He couldn't feel the weight of his tac vest or the aching of his own muscles, couldn't smell the lingering smoke in the air – everything was gone, leaving him unmoored and adrift, his brain no longer processing the wealth of information that his body was trying to convey.

Low and echoing, as if from down a long tunnel, Leon heard himself rasp out, “What... happened?”

“He saved my life.” Chris's expression twisted as he said it, some of the raw agony in his voice finally breaking through onto his face. “We... that thing down there... if it got out, so many people would have died. We had to stop it.” His head bowed forward, his gaze falling to the ground – yet his haunted stare was clearly seeing something else, flashes of the horror he had just lived through.

“Piers got caught under debris. Crushed his arm. We were going to lose, we didn't have a chance... then he. Injected himself, with something.” A shudder ran through the Captain's frame. “He started to mutate. Whole arm swelled, muscles, spines, the whole nine yards. Fought the creature off with some kind of electrical blast. Got me into an escape pod, even though I was barely conscious.” Another shudder, stronger than the last. “Then he... when the base blew...” He looked back up at Leon, and the mask of exhaustion was gone, fiercely held-back tears shimmering in his eyes and his handsome features warped with helpless rage. “He stayed behind.”

This time it was Leon who couldn't hold the gaze. He turned away, his gaze drifting over the walls of the tent before fixing, still not really seeing, on the view from the open flaps of the tent – on the grim orange light reflecting against the gathering clouds, the rising plumes of black smoke reaching up like grasping hands. Lanshiang was burning, whole tracts of the city turned to rubble by the wanton destruction of the J'avo mutants, and it felt like the perfect mirror to the devastation unfolding inside Leon's heart.

Piers Nivans. Leon had only crossed paths with the young sniper a few times, and always in the context of a mission, where the BSAA and DSO's interests had overlapped; they had probably only spoken directly to each other on a handful of occasions, yet that had been enough for the younger man to make a powerful impression on Leon.

Admittedly, it had been his looks that had caught Leon's eye the first time. Leon had never tried to make much of a secret of his preference for tough, muscular men who looked like they could probably bench press him if they tried; Piers hadn't only had that going for him, but also stunning hazel-green eyes, a jawline to die for, and a fierce self-confidence that he wore like the proverbial shining armor of a noble knight. After only a few brief exchanges, though, Leon had realized there was so much more beneath the surface; Piers might have acted like just another military muscle-head sometimes, but he was also kind, quick-witted, and compassionate. While other agents often shied away from Leon, intimidated by his reputation, Piers had looked at Leon with something embarrassingly close to awe in his eyes sometimes... but he'd still had the nerve to ask if Leon was okay after an intense fight, offer him a hand into an escape chopper, even once argue with him when he thought the plan to breach a building full of infected was too risky. Chris had once commented to Leon that Piers usually stayed in the background and left the detail-wrangling to others, but that when Leon was present, he seemed compelled to step into the conversation; Leon had been unexpectedly warmed by that little revelation. He'd even wondered, sometimes, if the spark of attraction he felt for the sniper might be mutual. Their line of work didn't allow much time for their private lives, and Leon had mostly given up on the idea of romance after how spectacularly his relationships with Ada and Jack had crashed and burned, but something about Piers had made him want to reconsider. Maybe someday, he'd thought. A beer after work, just the two of them, without the rest of Chris's boisterous team around – get to know each other better, see if their compatibility only existed on the battlefield or if that chemistry extended to personal interactions as well. Always, though, those ideas had come with those inherent caveats; possibly, maybe, someday.

Now, someday would never come.

The numbness was starting to wear off a little, the duller throbs and sharper aches of his body making themselves known again, but Leon couldn't fathom the thought of resting. More pressing than all the physical pains was the sudden, burning knowledge that he'd forgotten the other crucial truth of their work. That all of them spent their lives standing on the very threshold of annihilation; that all too often, someday never arrived. Planning for tomorrow was a fool's dream, because none of them ever knew if they'd even have a tomorrow – if Leon wanted something with Piers, he should have grabbed for it with both hands, when he had the chance. And the slow, collapsing hole of despair in his chest told him that whether or not he'd admitted it before, he really, really had wanted it. He'd let his own fear hold him back, though, and now the chance was gone.

“They're putting together a recovery team, to see if they can find any survivors – or remains.” The sound of his own voice was startlingly normal, but Leon didn't turn to face Chris; he didn't want to find out if his face was holding up the facade as well. “I'm going with them. I'll bring his body back if I can.”

“What?” He heard Chris shift behind him, the sudden concern in his voice. “Leon, you're exhausted, you -”

“Get some rest. I'll let you know when I get back.” Forcing himself into motion, Leon strode out of the tent, ignoring Chris calling after him. The edges of the gaping void in his chest were growing, the chasm spreading wider and wider as the reality of the situation sank in, threading tingling lines of pain through his whole body. It felt as though, if he stopped moving now, he might just fold in on himself like a dying star and crumble into nothingness.

That could come later. First, he had to do what he could for Piers – even if it was far, far too late for it to matter. Even if all he could manage was to bring his body home.

The icy spray coming off the waves as the boat cut through them barely even registered on Leon's skin; he felt just as cold inside, that black hole of pain swallowing his organs and filling his veins like tar. He wasn't alone in his focused silence – no one in the boat was talking, all of them standing rigidly at the rails and staring intently out at the waters around them, searching for signs of life... or, failing that, of human remains. So far, they had only recovered two bodies, both of Neo-Umbrella scientists who must have been working inside the facility when it was destroyed. Those bodies had been placed at the very back of the boat, tucked against the rear rail under a tarp, and were being studiously ignored; Leon wouldn't have even bothered to fish them from the water, if it were up to him. They had known what they were choosing when they signed on with Neo-Umbrella. The people who kept this interminable war going, who made it necessary for good men like Piers Nivans to give up their lives to keep their world safe... they didn't deserve burying, if you asked Leon.

Suddenly, his gaze caught something other than the smooth surfaces of the laboratory wreckage. He called it out before he even fully knew what he'd seen. “I see something! Twenty degrees left!”

The boat slowed and turned, heading toward the object he'd seen. As a wave crested and sank, Leon got a better glimpse, and his heart leapt into his throat. It was a body, alright; floating face up, half-draped across a piece of wreckage, and wearing not the white of a lab coat but camouflage military gear. They were still some distance away, and the body's face was turned away - but Leon could just make out the drape of a piece of grey-green fabric around the body's neck, sodden wet and plastered down against the tac vest but still distinguishable as a scarf, and he knew. He knew with a certainty that turned his blood to ice.

Piers.

As the boat pulled closer, murmurs swept through the boat crew; they might not have known Piers by name, but they all recognized that the man whose body they were approaching had been a BSAA Lieutenant by the insignia on his left shoulder. Leon didn't make a sound, his gaze trained on Piers, his pain-numbed brain finally starting to recognize that there was something strange about the corpse. They had almost reached their target when Leon's sluggish mind finally connected the pieces, and he inhaled sharply.

Chris had said that Piers injected himself with one of Neo-Umbrella's viral cocktails, that he'd mutated heavily enough to have spines and some kind of electrical discharge. Hell, prior to that, his arm had apparently been crushed by falling debris. And yet...

The right side of Piers's shirt was torn away, exposing not only his arm but the side of his chest as well. Even his tactical gear there had taken a beating, the vest ripped and sagging as though the swelling of the mutation had burst it. Yet – there was no mutation. All Leon could see was smooth, tanned skin. Piers's arm looked whole and undamaged, as human as it had ever been where it lay limply at his side, not even cut or bloodied as Chris had been; other than the deathly pallor under his tan, and the horrible stillness of his chest, he looked entirely uninjured.

As the boat pulled alongside the wreckage, the two men closest reached out with hooked poles and snagged the back of Piers's tac vest. With a few muted grunts, they dragged the BSAA agent's limp form closer, until they could reach down enough to grab him and haul him up onto the boat. As they lowered him gently onto the slick wood of the deck, Leon couldn't help but kneel down and reach out to touch him, mind spinning and chest aching fit to burst. He was distantly aware of a few of his companions watching him with pitying eyes, but no one tried to stop him; it was obvious that Piers was gone, but it must have been equally obvious that Leon was breaking down, and that he wouldn't fully accept it until he'd felt the sniper's cold skin and absent pulse for himself.

His shaking fingers landed first on Piers's shoulder, touching that undamaged flesh and wondering with a sick shudder what fresh hell Neo-Umbrella had cooked up, that the horrific mutation Chris had described had simply vanished as though it had never been – but the moment he made contact the muscles under his hand tensed, Piers's brilliant hazel eyes flew open, and his chest heaved as he gasped for breath and started to cough.

“Piers!” Heart suddenly pounding double-time, Leon grabbed for the sniper's wrist; even as he sought for a pulse, his other hand was smoothing the sniper's soaked hair back from his face, assessing the look of wild panic in Piers's eyes. “Get me blankets and a first aid kit, now! Piers, can you hear me? You're safe, I promise, you're going to be fine -”

“Agent Kennedy?” Piers's voice was a weak rasp, barely audible over the sudden flurry of movement around them, but his eyes had refocused and were fixed steadily on Leon. The recognition and awareness there made Leon's heart flutter, and he managed a shaky smile, smoothing Piers's hair back again needlessly. He could feel the BSAA agent's pulse with his other hand, stunningly strong and steady, and it made him smile wider despite the absolute deluge of adrenaline running wild through his veins.

“Yeah, it's me. Just stay with me, Piers, you're gonna be okay.”

Leon knew that the odds of that were not actually in their favour – hell, it was bordering on an impossibility that Piers was even alive at all, and a downright miracle that he wasn't mutated beyond recognition – but he said with all the conviction he could muster, and it was almost enough to convince himself. Piers smiled weakly back at him, then the medic was there, wrapping warm blankets around Piers and asking rapid-fire questions about where he was hurt and how much he could feel as the man began to cut away his waterlogged tactical gear. Leon moved back a little to give the medic room to work, but when he would have let go of Piers's wrist, the sniper grabbed his hand and held on; heart swelling with too many emotions to even begin to process them now, Leon mirrored that fierce grasp and stayed close, unwilling to move an inch further away than he had to as long as Piers clearly wanted him there.

As the medic did a thorough inventory of Piers's injuries, checking vital signs and testing responses while looking for any major wounds, a strange look of consternation came across the man's face. Before Leon could ask, the medic said slowly, “Lieutenant, are you in any pain right now?”

Piers blinked, then frowned. “Um, not really?” he said, looking rather surprised by that fact himself. “I figure I'm in shock, though, because I don't even feel cold and I'm pretty sure you guys just fished me out of the ocean.”

“We did, yes.” The medic was frowning too. “Yet your core body temperature is already returning to something near normal. Your heart rate is steady, your blood pressure is only slightly elevated, you have no major visible wounds, and you don't seem to be suffering any loss of sensation.”

Piers froze, and his grip on Leon's hand tightened. “Wait.” he breathed out, eyes wide, and looked down at his own arm in bewilderment. “My arm... I was...”

“Chris said you got hurt pretty badly down there.” Leon murmured, cutting Piers off – he didn't know how the medic would react if Piers admitting to having been infected, but he knew it wouldn't be in any way good and he wasn't anxious to find out specifics. There were absolutely no signs of mutation or mental alteration in evidence, and unless and until Piers started showing worrying symptoms, Leon wasn't going to let them lock him up in quarantine when he'd somehow managed to survive what should certainly have killed him. “You look fine though. Maybe... Chris just got it wrong, yeah? Heat of the moment and all that.”

Piers looked up, met Leon's gaze – and whatever he saw there, it made his eyes go wide, and Leon could have sworn he saw the sniper's cheeks flush, ever so slightly. “Right.” Piers said, voice still slightly hoarse. “Yeah. I... it was pretty chaotic there, for a while. I got thrown against the wall, and I just assumed my arm was broken and I was powering through on adrenaline. Can't stop to assess injuries mid-fight, you know? But maybe I – maybe it was just a little bruised after all.”

“It appears so.” The medic still looked perplexed, but he shrugged. “You're damn lucky, then, Lieutenant – we thought we were out here on a recovery mission only, and I'm damn glad we were wrong.” He stood up then, and cast a pointed glance at Leon. “He needs to stay wrapped up in those blankets until we get back to shore, and one of us needs to get back to helping with the search. You wanna stay and keep an eye on him, make sure he stays awake and responsive?”

Leon usually put a lot of work into maintaining his aloof persona, but right now he'd just been handed a miracle of a second chance and his facade of cool indifference was the last thing on his mind. He nodded gratefully, and the medic nodded back before striding off to rejoin the rest of the crew at the rails.

“Agent Kennedy...”

The soft words brought his gaze back to Piers, and Leon smiled down at him, squeezing his hand gently. “Call me Leon, please.” He said quietly, and got to watch a little smile tug at the corners of Piers's mouth. “Are you really okay?”

“I think so.” Piers held his gaze steadily, hazel eyes open and honest. “The Captain told you what I did, didn't he? You know that I was...”

“He did, and I do.” Leon replied, still keeping his voice low – the recovery crew didn't need to hear this exchange. “Don't particularly feel the need to spread it around, though. You look completely fine, and I don't know how that's possible but I'm not inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm just incredibly glad you're alive.”

Piers was definitely blushing now, but he was also looking at Leon with dawning confusion. “Wait a second, weren't you in the city when everything went sideways? What are you doing out here with the recovery crew? And where's the Captain?”

“Chris is at the medical tent back at command. He's a bit battered, but he's going to be fine.” Leon said soothingly. “As for why I'm here, I was looking for you.”

Piers just stared at him as if he didn't understand what he was hearing. Leon bit the inside of his cheek a bit, trying to force back the nerves; it had been a long time since he'd opened up to anyone, to any degree, who wasn't Claire or Chris. Even with them, he usually just put a bit less effort into making himself appear 'fine' and let them draw their own conclusions about how he felt. He'd just been given a very sharp and painful confirmation, though, that what he felt for Piers was more than a passing fancy – and even he wasn't stubborn or emotionally constipated enough to ignore that kind of a warning, so he took a deep breath and made himself continue.

“Look, I know we haven't really spent all that much time together, but – I like you, Piers. A lot. And when Chris told me you were dead, I realized what an idiot I was for not saying anything. I let my own fears and hang-ups get in the way, and if you weren't somehow here and alive and safe, I'd have regretted that for the rest of my life.” Piers's eyes had gotten rounder and rounder as Leon spoke, and he was looking at the DSO agent like he had hung the damn moon, and they were still holding hands, so Leon smiled weakly and said, “I guess, what I'm saying is – once the trauma team back at command clears you for real... do you wanna go grab a drink together?”

For a second, Piers looked like he'd frozen in place – then he started nodding vigorously, and a broad smile broke across his face like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. “Yes.” he said fervently. “Hell yes, I – honestly, it's kind of a running joke with the guys on the team at this point, but I really, really like you too, Agent Kennedy.” If anything, his grin only got wider then. “Leon.”

Leon grinned back at him, a light, giddy feeling bubbling up in his chest; it had been far too long at this point, so long that Leon had almost forgotten, and it took him a moment to identify that feeling as joy. For once not tempered by loss, or anger, or bitterness. The city was still burning and the war against bioterrorism might feel like an unwinnable uphill fight, but Piers was alive and safe and they were going to get a drink after debriefing and maybe this once, just this once, Leon could actually get to keep something good in his life.

Their boat finished its section of the grid and turned back toward shore a few minutes later, one survivor and two dead bodies retrieved from the wreckage. It took about a half hour to get from the debris field back to port, and then another ten minutes to make the trek back to the emergency command centre.

Piers didn't let go of Leon's hand until the medical team came to whisk him away for a proper examination, and neither one of them had stopped smiling.

#resident evil #leon s. kennedy #piers nivans #chris redfield #nivannedy #i'm only going to tag characters as they appear #because holy shit my tags on AO3 got long fast #supernatural #eventually anyways #the bits of it that are spn right now aren't really obvious #the neocount writes #holy shit look at that #i used my writing tag again already!#thanks fon :P #and thanks to everyone else #in this nivannedy rowboat with us #it might not be a spacious ship #but we're all having fun paddling like hell XD

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ciaossu-imagines · 2 years ago

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Oh the love languages is such a cute ask! May I request one for the arcobaleno if you haven’t done that already?

It was such a cute ask and this one is as well! I adore this and thank you for the request, my lovely anon! I hope you enjoy! This actually got too long so I'm going to answer the first four here and post the last three in a follow-up post!

Reborn definitely shows his love or care for a person through quality time. If he cares about someone, he freely gives them his time and attention. Those aren't small things either, given how important he is and how busy or how in demand he is. But he makes the conscious choice and effort to do so. However, a lesser known or shown love language he has as a giver is actually words of affirmation. It's not as obvious because he simply isn't obvious about it. It's not like he's handing out praise or lavishing his loved ones with honeyed words. But when he does give praise, even though it's typically love-key, because of his exacting nature and his high-standards, and definitely because of the infrequency of it, the words tend to mean more and have more of an impact. As far as how he prefers to be given care and love, Reborn does best with people whose love languages are quality time or acts of service. He expects the best from the people in his life and if you work hard for him and give him your time and effort freely and unselfishly, it goes a far way in making him feel loved or cared about.

Fon actually has this really odd blend of gift-giving and acts of service as his primary love language as a giver of love. To explain what I mean further, it's actually really important to Fon to be able to take care of or provide for the people he loves and cares about. However, he's also the least materialistic man you could ever meet so while giving his loved ones gifts is so huge to him, the gifts won't be things you find at a store or largely materialistic things. He gives gifts that take his time and effort to make for his loved ones - he adores cooking or preparing tea for his loved ones, for example; it's really important to him to be able to make them happy, to provide for them, and to make their day easier or happier through things like that. As far as how he prefers to be shown love, the thing is that Fon doesn't have a particular love language that makes him feel most loved. He's an incredibly intuitive person, able to read people fairly well pretty quickly. He's quick to discern others actions and often the reasoning or motives behind them, especially so if he spends a lot of time with the person and, even if it's not how he would choose to show his care and love, he'll be able to recognize and appreciate the often small ways that others do show their love for him, regardless of what that person's love language is.

Verde is so hard to write this for because honestly, his love language, both given and receiving, is not any of the listed. His love language is science, let's be real. Pure and simple. However, if I really had to narrow it down, I would say that his love language, both giving and receiving, would be acts of service. It should surprise no one that someone doing things to make his life easier or being of use to him will make him feel loved and cared about, especially given the fact that he never really takes care of himself and is always insanely busy in his pure drive for scientific knowledge and creation. However, it's also how he shows his care and love...while science matters to him and a lot of what he does is simply for the pure love of it, there's also a part of him that drives himself so hard, works so insanely hard, and pushes himself to the brink because he feels like the more he knows, the more things he creates, the better he makes the world, the more it will help those he truly cares about.

Colonello's another one with a mixture of love languages. Now, let's make this very clear - Colonello actually hates being touched by just anybody. He has a very strong personal bubble and invading it is one of the closest ways to piss him off. Strangers touching him or people he barely knows? Not going to happen, especially considering he's usually very heavily armed. Makes it a bit surprising then that one of his primary love languages is physical touch. He's not flamboyant about it by any means, but if he truly cares about someone, they get to be in his personal space, touch him...they get hands on the head, high fives, an arm around the shoulder or, in his baby form, they get to hold him. He makes it a point to connect physically in small ways with those truly important to him. Additionally, much like Reborn, he shows his care and love through words of affirmation and in almost the same way - his praise is hard to earn, the caring words so incredibly rare that when he gives them freely, they're always well-earned and always seem that much sweeter. Honestly, while he tries very hard, Colonello has trouble truly understanding those much different from himself on a deep level, so he honestly feels best receiving love in the ways he shows it himself as well, because it just resonates with him more and leaves less confusion in his mind.

#replies #katekyo hitman reborn #khr #khr imagines #arcobaleno #reborn #colonello #fon #skull #skull khr #yuni #mammon #viper #mammon khr #verde #headcanons

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lingthusiasm · 3 years ago

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Lingthusiasm fifth anniversary: new website, and help share the show

We’re turning five! November is our anniversary episode of Lingthusiasm and we’re celebrating with our annual tradition of asking you to introduce the show to people who would be totally into a linguistics podcast, if only they knew it existed!

We always see a jump in the stats thanks to your anniversary recommendations: thank you! We also love being recommended as guests on your (other) favourite podcasts. Every podcast is in a language, and we love chatting about the link between linguistics and your other favourite topics (food? fiction? chemistry? put us to the test!).

What’s Lingthusiasm like?

Ever find yourself distracted from what someone is saying by wondering about how they say it? Lingthusiasm is a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics as a way of understanding the world around us.

From languages around the world to our favourite linguistics memes, Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne bring you into a lively half hour conversation on the third Thursday of every month about the hidden linguistic patterns that you didn't realize you were already making.

"Lauren and Gretchen know their stuff, have an easy rapport, and are skilled at pitching linguistic concepts to a general audience." —Sentence First

“Joyously nerdy.” —BuzzFeed

"I checked out Lingthusiasm by playing a random episode and it was funny and fascinating and educational AND it had a shout out to Dinosaur Comics!" —Ryan North

Which episode should I start with?

You can start listening to Lingthusiasm anywhere! See what grabs your attention from this list of episodes that came out this year:

Who you are in high school, linguistically speaking – Interview with Shivonne Gates

How translators approach a text

Climbing the sonority mountain from A to P

Small talk, big deal

Writing is a technology

Listen to the imperatives episode!

How linguists figure out the grammar of a language

R and R-like sounds – Rhoticity

Not NOT a negation episode

Making machines learn Fon and other African languages - Interview with Masakhane

A Fun-Filled Fricative Field Trip

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Theory of Mind

That’s the kind of episode it’s - clitics

Corpus linguistics and consent - Interview with Kat Gupta

Cool things about scales and implicature

New website

To celebrate the show turning five, we’ve built a brand new website to help make it easier for prospective listeners to learn more about Lingthusiasm and for current listeners to find our longstanding resources, including links to all the episodes, transcripts and bonus episodes, as well as links of cross-overs to other shows, an FAQ and the list of episodes by topic.

As part of the new website, we have new Lingthusiasm-themed icon art! We particularly love the new ‘about’ icon :D

Want to travel back through time with us to previous anniversary posts?

Fourth anniversary post

Third anniversary post

Second anniversary post

First anniversary post

#linguistics #language #lingthusiasm #anniversary #2021 #5th anniversary #5 years

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ichika27 · 3 years ago

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Tales of the Abyss -Rewatch- 12

I’ve put this off for a bit and then forgot I haven’t posted it yet :P

They finally made their way to Grand Chokmah, The Floating Capital. It looks beautiful and refined but Jade explains that in times of war, it also functions as a fortress (they have weapons ready around the place as well). Guy tells them the ports are closed which might mean that the relationship between Malkuth and Kimlasca is getting worse. Jade adds that since the Tartarus is listed as missing (plus people think they're dead), they'd get attacked as a hostile force if they continue on this way.

And so the Tartarus is docked somewhere and the group walks the rest of the way.

The group walks the path through Theor forest. With Jade in the lead, the soldiers guarding the gate can be convinced to let him have an audience with the emperor but since the capital is on high alert, the others aren't allowed to follow (not even Ion). The others have no choice but to wait outside and trust that Jade could get permission for their entry.

As they waited, Luke ponders on what the situation between the two countries are especially in Kimlasca and blames himself for it as it got worse due to the fall of Akzeriuth. Guy reminds Luke that he should focus on what they must do next instead of blaming himself for the past which made Luke feel a bit better.

Breaks never really last long as they get attacked by Largo. If that wasn't enough, the curse slot on Guy activates as well. He gets visions of his traumatic past and attacks Luke. As Luke defends himself from Guy, Natalia shoots arrows at Largo to help defend Luke. Largo praises Natalia for her ability.

An earthquake occurs in the middle of battle which let them figure out where Sync is hiding. Natalia shoots Sync with an arrow making him fall from the tree and severing his control of Guy. The two God Generals inform them they're after Ion but the arrival of Jade and some soldiers made the two retreat.

Luke asks for help regarding Guy's situation but is told it won't be easy to life the curse slot due to it being deeply rooted in Guy. Ion asks Jade for a place where they could rest and tells the rest he will lift the curse off himself. He explains that curse slots are Daathic fonic artes only known by Fon Masters so he's probably the only one who can lift it. This raises a bit of suspicion with Jade but didn't comment on it.

They finally get to a place where Ion could treat Guy. Before anything else, Ion explains something to Luke: curse slots don't automatically let it's caster control a person easily. The curse slot uses the victims memories and own emotions for it to work which meant Guy wouldn't have attacked Luke if he didn't already want to kill him.

This surprised and upset Luke but when he thought about it, he had seen the murderous look in Guy’s face before when they were younger.

Luke waned to think by himself outside but Tear and Mieu followed for a talk. Tear explains to Luke that Guy may have held some resentments over the years of serving him but also reminds Luke that Guy did come back for him later on anyways. Luke replies that he knows Tear is saying this to try and make him feel better but its not working well and he just feels worse but at the same time, he thanks her for trying.

Guy is finally awake and healed of the curse slot. Luke immediately apologized to him for anything he could've done that made Guy angry at him. Guy tells him it's not his fault and explains why. He explains that he was originally from Malkuth - specifically, he lived in Hod. On Guy's 5th birthday a war broke out - the Hod war lead by Duke Fabre - and with his entire family there to celebrate his birthday, all of them were killed right in front of him (even the servants). Guy then became a servant for the Fabre family to one day get his revenge on the man who took everything he loved away.

Jade tells them that he figured it out by doing his own research and calling Guy by his real name: Count Gardios, Gailardia Galan. Jade says one of the things that tipped him off was Guy's use of the shieldless Albert sword style which was unique to Hod.

Luke realized Guy must still hate him for being a Fabre but Guy tells him it's not the case. Guy asks Luke if it was okay to stick around a bit longer as there's something he wanted to make sure of. Luke of course says it is and says that he not only still trusts Guy, he wanted Guy to trust in him, too.

The next day the group was granted an audience with Emperor Peony Upala Malkuth IX. After a bit of banter with Jade, Emperor Peony tells them he understands the situation and had been informed that Saint Binah might be in danger. Unfortunately there's reluctance from the parliament so they can't just evacuate people.

The group is also informed that Kimlasca had also issued a proclamation to punish Malkuth for the destruction of Akzeriuth and the apparent death of Natalia and Luke who are of nobility. On the other side, Malkuth thinks the fall of Akzeriuth is a plot by Kimlasca to start a war. They explained that the parliament thinks that any relief forces sent to Saint Binah would just be wiped out by incoming Kimlascan soldiers.

Luke tells the emperor he'd want to help however he can as he was responsible for the problem at hand and that he wans to save everyone. Jade suggest he and the others help with the evacuation while someone else handle the incoming Kimlascan forces. The emperor takes this suggestion and asks them to help save his people.

The group was later invited by Emperor Peony for something. When they get there, they're greeted by a bunch of rappigs! They're the emperor's pets and they're named after people he knows - Nephry, Saphir, General Aslan (who was with Jade earlier in the episode who helped them with the God Generals), and of course, Jade.

Jade is not happy about this lol.

Onto important matters, the emperor has something to tell Guy. Guy apologizes for not showing up regarding the situation of the Gardios family since he's the heir and it was his duties. The emperor says he understands and isn't gonna punish Guy for this rather, he says he could give back Guy's title (and remaining fortune) if Guy wanted it. Guy declines for now as he says he has other things he needed to do at the moment and the emperor say alright, it can wait. The emperor adds that he also has some other plans that could help them in their work.

The Citadel, Saint Binah is finally getting evacuated. Field Marshall McGovern thanks Jade for their help and Jade informs them that reinforcements will arrive soon. Another earthquake then occurs destroying the streets and making a chunk of the land fall with Mr. McGovern and the rest of Saint Binah’s residents still in it.

As the group try to figure out what to do to save them, something appears in he sky.

I also think Grand Chokmah looks pretty. Baticul is fine but due to it being structured to go high up, it looks kinda cluttered. Plus Grand Chokmah’s building and the water are shiny.

I dunno why I think it’s kinda funny that everyone basically thinks Luke and the rest are dead. I like the other characters looking at the group and saying that they were told the group are dead.

Anyways, Guy backstory! The truth about him is finally revealed although there’s still a bit more that hadn’t been said yet but will be mentioned at a later episode.

Guy wanted to kill Luke as part of his revenge plan but he changed his mind. He did mention before that when Luke was younger, Luke told him he didn’t need the past and that those words stuck with him. In a way, Luke helped him slowly move on with those words.

Luke accepting that maybe Guy did have a reason to want to kill him even before knowing what exactly it was is kinda sad in a way. His opinion of himself is low enough that he barely questions why someone would hate him and just thinks its understandable. On the other hand, I really like that Luke told Guy that he wants Guy to trust him. It’s part of him wanting to become better and worthy of people’s trust especially those who are close to him.

And Largo and Sync appeared in this episodes with some hints of their own backstory. Jade at least is close to figuring out Sync’s.

Emperor Peony is finally properly introduced! He seems like a nice and chill guy but also responsible as he just doesn’t make any random decisions. His rappigs were also introduced! I personally think its kinda weird naming your pets after people you know who are still around. Like isn’t it confusing and awkward when talking about them (both the person and the pet)? Especially if both are in the same room. Also, there are things you’d say to pets that you’d never say to an actual person (I uwu speak my pets lol I’d never seriously do that to a person).

Speaking of the rappigs, one of them is named after Dist (his real name at least). I guess even if Jade says he doesn’t consider Saphir to be his friend, Peony did. I think that’s kinda nice. Anise did say Dist just seemed like a lonely, friendless guy.

Guy might not have taken it yet but he’s still technically nobility. I guess if I’m remembering this correctly, with the exception of Tear and Anise, everyone else in the team is high ranking. I’m not saying Tear and Anise are nothing special as Tear is a soldier and Anise is the guardian of one of the high ranking members of their group. None of them are regular citizens.

One of the tropes I really like is when characters who are of nobility or royalty are active in doing work to help others either by being fighters when needed (bonus is they’re the ones leading in the front) or being there to lead or protect their subjects. There are only a few ways stories handle nobles/royals: either they’re useless and spoiled (maybe even evil) or you know, the above I mentioned. I grew up with fairytales where the princess is always saved by the prince so whenever I see something different, it amazes me.

Back to the story, a deadly earthquake finally occurred and while most of the citizens of Saint Binah are out of the main danger zone, there are still those inside who could fall down to Qliphoth. Luke wanted to go and save them but Jade pulled him back as they don’t exactly have a plan on how to get them out of the sinking part of the ground. I think it’s a scary phenomenon to be in that situation. I’ve heard about many large sinkholes appearing in real life in unlikely places and one of my fears is that it could happen here. Someone’s coming next episode that could save them however, they would still lose their homes which is sad itself.

It’d be a few more days til next episode and were halfway through the anime. When ToA finally finishes being posted, I wonder what anime I’d be watching weekly then.

#Tales of the Abyss #sana_post

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seijuurouxryuu · 3 years ago

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Of Death, Of Time

Title: Of Death, Of Time Author: Shiro (TeitoxAkashi [AO3]/ seijuurouxryuu [tumblr]) Rating: T Pairing: Death/Tsuna; Reborn/Fon Event: @khrrarepairweek Prompts: Necromancer AU | Unknowingly Flirting Tags/Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warning

Day 5: Rain Day

Tsuna was a witch—a necromancer in his first mortal life. He didn’t know how he became one, but one day he became aware that he was one. One who steals from Death, one who forces the souls it reaps to work for him. And that was all he does.

Every life he went through, every reincarnation—he called upon the dead souls, and called upon Death. He was the unrest of the world.

AO3

“P-please,” The boy rasped. “S-save her. Just her, please don’t take her away too.” Death looked down at the boy expressionlessly, face half humane half bone. “It’s her time.” It whispered, ghastly and solemn, time ticking in the background like a countdown, like a reminder. “It’s both of yours.”

The boy sobbed, tears mixed with red as he coughed out blood, head bleeding all the same. He couldn’t move, couldn’t scream, only whisper. To the reaper of souls, to the one who looked far sadder than he who would soon die. He was unwilling, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Clutching on his sister’s hands, as cold as his, unmoving, pulseless. He could only resign to it—resign to fate.

He was unwilling, but seeing Death’s boney hand clutching against the scythe tightly, he relented.

“W-where will we go next, then?” The boy tried to smile, tried to relief Death’s sadness. Ah, how many has it seen, the pleads of those whose time were up? How many times had Death seen the rage, unwillingness, sorrow, fear? How many times had Death went through such events that even it felt such overwhelming sadness for humans?

The boy could only wonder as he felt his strength slipping, sleepiness and darkness slowly engulfing him. For a moment, he felt as though he was home with his sister beside him, safe.

“… Home,” Death said as it watched the child relented to eternal sleep’s grasp. “You both are going home.” It tilted the tip of the scythe down gently and reaped the souls, watching both the boy and girl, two glowing children, pulses and disappear to where they would reincarnate; to be siblings once more.

‘Thank you.’ They both whispered.

Death watched as they went, and it disappeared into thin air.

Tsuna was once a bird, a tree, a child, a father, a mother, a fish, a dragon. He was once a lot of creatures, and was once nothing. He was once air, and he was once the ground.

He was everything.

Tsuna never knew how he came to be, but he knew he was what he was. He was the universe itself. He remembered of vague changes, shifts, and stutters of the world. He experienced those changes, helped the build up of civilization, watched life came to be and left.

He remembered mostly of Death, at every step he took.

Every life he went through, every reincarnation—he called upon the dead souls, and called upon Death. He was the unrest of the world.

“My lord.” Tsuna opened his eyes, glowing orange as he looked at Death who stood by his bed, looming and blending into the darkness. He saw him all the same, as clear as daylight. He smiled.

“Welcome home.” He reached out and encircled his arms around Death.

The boy and girl had a long dream during their journey home. It was but a blur, but they saw; of their past, present and future. They remembered, of those they forgot. And they yearned, to see their home sooner.

Lambo and I-pin.

They wanted to see Tsuna.

Tsuna woke up again the next day in Death’s embrace. He didn’t mind, he loved it even. He smiled at the half humane half bone face, kissing the white skull and whispered a greeting. Death was never asleep, it remained awake even as Tsuna slumbered. The humane part of its face crinkled in silent delight at that as it let go of Tsuna.

Tsuna stretched, back arching as the blanket that covered his naked upper torso slipped down, letting Death sees every part that it knew oh so well. Tsuna stepped out of their bed and got dressed. He picked up the ring of Time on the desk and slipped it onto his right middle finger, playing with the chains around it.

“They are here.”

Tsuna smiled, relieved. His shoulders relaxed as he felt for the souls of his family, warm and burning in the ring. He could feel the youngest two were restless, all but wanting to see him again. He would, soon. He would get to them soon.

Not just yet.

“You would be the harbinger of blood in next life.” Death piped out from where it was.

Tsuna barked out a laugh. “When am I never, Death?” He teased. “I am your reflection, after all.”

It shook its head, walking over to caress Tsuna’s cheeks, feeling the warm radiating to its bones. “You may be my representation, but you are you. You are yourself; not me.”

Tsuna sighed, nuzzling against its hand. “I know.”

“… And I don’t think you are allowed to summon the dead souls next life.” Tsuna raised an eyebrow at that.

“Why not?”

Death’s lips were pursed, disgruntled yet resigned. “… Life reincarnated.”

Tsuna paused and stare at it.

“… It will be your tutor next life.”

“… Fuck.”

When Tsuna remembered, he was 34 and the Vongola Neo Primo of Vongola Famiglia. That night, he went to sleep drunk from the party of his 34th birthday, and he woke up with a splitting headache from the rum and gin the Varia and Reborn chugged down his throat.

And as he groaned, he remembered everything. Life fucked him up so badly this lifetime.

“Rise and shine, Dame-Tsuna!” Tsuna snapped his fingers and the shadows of undead shot straight towards Reborn. The hitman—Life—merely snorted at the weak attempt and squashed all of them, straight away sending them to reincarnation.

“Fuck you, Life.”

It rolled its eyes at Tsuna, grinning ferally. “Good morning to you too, Time. By the way, stop playing with those dead souls every time you remember. It’s so annoying.”

“My business.” Tsuna hissed. He shook the hangover gone and gathered the rest of the undead souls from every corner of the house. Soon, shadows and silhouettes of those once alive gathered in his room. He looked through each and one of them, pelting a few at Reborn who punt them into reincarnation, and breathed, keeping the rest in his indispensable space for those dead.

The pocket watch in him ticked. And stopped.

Life leaned back and started floating to the air like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. It pouted, black obsidian eyes turning white as it stared right through Tsuna’s space.

“Why keep such untasteful bunch of souls? Why not just let them reincarnate and suffer in the mortal world?”

Tsuna knew that it was trying to make him let the souls go, but he wouldn’t. Not like he needed those souls, but he knew keeping them would piss Life off, which it deserved for throwing Tsuna all over around for almost two decades of his mortal life.

“Whatever that is you're doing, it’s not working.” He huffed as he clenched his right fist. Opening it up, there sat on his palm was the ring of Time, sealed. He smiled and pull off the chain, and it glowed as Tsuna’s sealed powers returned to him.

“Worth a try.” Life muttered, too used to Time’s chaos that rip the balance of life and death apart just to keep Death in its track. “It took you long enough to wake this time.” During last lifetime, it remembered that Tsuna woke up the moment he was nine in mortal world.

Tsuna shrugged. Maybe because he overworked Death this lifetime, with the number of people he had to kill. Or maybe because he was just lazy, who knows. Time did not have such concept as long or short. It just knew when to continue or stop.

Tsuna blinked and his eyes turned bright orange. Standing by his side was Death, still half humane half bone. Tsuna smiled up to it and reached over. Death easily took him into its arm.

“I missed you.” Tsuna hummed, nuzzling.

Death whispered of the same as they kissed.

Life rolled its eyes at the two sappy being of unrest and disappeared off to its own beloved.

Tsuna soon pulled away and blinked cheekily at Death. “Time to start summoning to piss of Life.”

Death’s lips tugged up into a smile. “It is no longer disturbed by such moves.” Tsuna rolled his eyes. “I don’t care. I’m going to make it a bigger event this lifetime. Reborn screwed me inside out for almost two decades, I’m angry.”

Death stroked his fluffy hair and shook its head resignedly, letting Tsuna do as he liked. It didn’t matter anyway, because whatever Tsuna did would mean lessening its workload and it could spend more time with Tsuna.

“Whatever you are happy with, darling.”

Two years later, a zombie apocalypse happened.

Reborn almost shot Tsuna to death if not for Fon stopping him.

----------------------------------

A/N: Death is Death! Tsuna is Time! Reborn is Life!

Yes this is Death/Tsuna + Reborn/Fon fic :3 although Reborn and Fon didn't have much screen time uwu

First part is during their previous life before Vongola; Tsuna and the others left earlier than I-Pin and Lambo, who were last of them to leave the mortal world. Timeline's a bit wonky, but ye. They are always the youngest. ALWAYS.

A bit of lore, which is Tsuna or Time was the first existence of the universe, but remained asleep when Death and Life appeared. Then somehow he woke up when civilization started, and forcefully wedged himself between the balance Death and Life created. He hated how Death has to go through all those sorrow when he reaps humans' soul so he made it a goal to at least screw Life up once every time he reincarnated into a human. Which is a handful of time.

But yeah, Time Tsuna who is also a necromancer since he could just isolate-turn back time of the soul right after Death reap it and before it gets noticed by Life, and make it his minions or something. Always hits up Life's workload :3

Anyways this is a sudden plunny that popped out so have a short impulsive story from me :D

[I apologize for any grammar, spellings, etc. etc. mistakes]

#KHR #Katekyo Hitman Reborn #khrrarepairweek2021 #Sawada Tsunayoshi #Reborn #Death #Life #Fon #My Writings

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nunoxaviermoreira · 4 years ago

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Wattled Cranes (Endangered) and Spur-winged Geese by cirdantravels (Fons Buts) The Wattled Crane is Africa's largest crane. The Spur-winged Goose is a large dark goose Taken in the Okavango Delta, Botswana in 2009 Wattled Crane Grus carunculata or Bugeranus carunculatus lelkraanvogel grue caronculée Klunkerkranich Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis spoorwiekgans oie-armée de Gambie Sporngans Many thanks for your views, favorites and supportive comments. All rights reserved. ButsFons©2021 My photos may not be used on websites, blogs or in any other media without my written and explicit permission. https://flic.kr/p/2kXBgPY

#IFTTT #Flickr

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hypnotixstorm · 4 years ago

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* to do list *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Key

Normal Text = Have NOT started working on the request

Bold and Pink Text = I am CURRENTLY working on the request

Once I have completed a request it will be REMOVED from this list

Can I get an imagine of Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho? Maybe an AU hundreds of years ago where he ends up caring for a human woman and teaching her how to defend herself. If you don't like that one, anything you think of.

Character: Kanda from DGM NSFW Prompt: "Make me." Love youuuuuu 😘

How about a NSFW scenario of Kakashi coming home to his sweet little naughty civilian S/O? 😜 A bit of role play where they call him sensei while he's doing them on the kitchen table?

Thanks for the Soi Bean Post! This gonna be my last Soi Fon request. Sorry for being quite a Soi Queen freak. For my request can you Soi after shower decides to wear s/o clothes. S/O tries to take picture of her. Then she tells that she has falling in love with you. You have changed let me take care of you. You can be very very very sluff on this one. Thanks!

ok ok so i have a few requests 🥺🥺 so! first could you maybe do an “I missed you.” with Rukia? 🥺💗 just fluff for my baby girl aaaa

Ichigo kissing his s/o in the rain 😆😆😆 Headcanons or scenario is up to you! 💙

ANYTHING SHIKAMARU. Deadass anything

Hey! I was wondering if I could request some Rukia x fem!reader relationship headcannons? Only if you're able to! Tysm! 💖

I hope requests are open but I was wondering if you could do something with byakuya and his s/o being like a very intimidating couple but his s/o is actually very sweet to everyone?

Kakashi x reader and instead of team 7 its now y/n tryna see whats under the mask and eventually she just asks and he actually reveals it adfhsjjs

Can I please get rat dad Ging being seduced by a younger woman who refuses to take “no” for an answer until he finally gives her what she wants? NSFW please! 💖

ok so please don't feel pressured to write this birthday imagine 🥺 i know u have a lot of requests rn ah. but! if you're able to i really would love another toshiro one bc i'm a sucker for him 😭 maybe one where he's really overworking himself so the reader helps him relax and it just ends in cuddles 🥺💓 only if you're able to! ilysm 💓💖💓💖💓💘💓💘💓

ok i swear this is the last one i feel bad requesting sm 😭 but maybe a “Do you wanna, maybe, go out sometime?” with toshiro bc he really is best boy 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

OKAY SO ANOTHER ONE WITH SABURO WITH UHHHH GOING ON A FIRST DATE WITH HIS S/O ICIXHAJGSSHSSUSKSU he'll probs driving his van around with the music blasting out 👀👀

honestly i would kinda die if u wrote some renji smut 😳😳 literally in any situation, i'm just needy rn 😭

ok ok i'm here hehe. how about, the reader gets really injured during a battle and shiro's kinda blaming himself for it. kindaaa angst into a super fluffy ending if that's ok hhh 🥺

Hi 🥰 Can I get a headcanon for Kakashi with a really seductive s/o, like she likes to tease him in public and whispers dirty things in his ear and calls him daddy? Nsfw pls? 😊😁

“make me” and hisoka??? thank you

hehe this is for the 🦋🦋 event! congrats on 200 bb!! so, i saw attack on titan on your list and i'm experiencing a severe lack of my best boy marco 🥺🥺 if you don't write for him that's fine hehe, but if you do, could i please maybe get a lil scenario where marco helps the reader out with her training and then they accidentally confess their feelings and it's just rlly fluffy and cute? 🥺 i need marco being happy in my life rn sbdjdhdjr 💓💓

“If you keep biting your lip like that, I’m holding you accountable for my actions.” for Kakashi please! I love him 🤤

If your requests are still open, can i ask for some domestic kakashi fluff? Ty

Hi mommas❤️❤️ CAN I PWEASE request some Guren (seraph of the end) relationship headcanons ? Not nsfw but maybe a little steamy 🥺🥰 I LOVE UU -🍒

Hi Chloe 🥰 Can I have some spicy nsfw headcanons for Yami where his s/o is acting really bratty during sex and he puts her in her place? 😪😂😊

Kageyama wirh Oikawas sister reader? there just chillin Nd stuff and toru comes over and picks y/n up and they hug and kageyama is like “eXcuSe mE???” forgive my spelling im on mobile lmao

Hiii❤️❤️ Can I request an imagine where you live in a small town and work at a cafe and Bakugou is your cliche small town boyfriend? Or headcanons! The idea is so cute and I love your writing 😊

okay so uHHHHH you can just go for Mephisto sharing some food with his s/o owo;; take your time on it too because i know it's gonna be really great either way!

A reader insert saved by vampire! main YYH crew from a pack of werewolves

Since you said requests are open maybe.. suga subbing for you? Idk he's just always appeared like someone who would love to please you in anyway possible.

V A M P I R E LAVI!!! DO IT GIRL!! 👌👌♥️♥️♥️

Fake dating with Lavi!!!!! Need more of the DGM boyz!! 😂

can I get an itachi x reader fic where it's itachi's birthday and the reader decides to give him a special night (👀), wearing lingerie, lighting candles, etc. for him to come home to? I love your work (and you!!) sm btw 🥺💞 - nina!! (@kunoichihatake)

hello ✨💕 it’s me, ryn 😘 if it’s okay, can i request a nishinoya x female!reader? perhaps a first date at the boardwalk with like the rides and carnival stuff? then at the end of the date he kisses her and it turns out the karasuno squad was following them the whole night hehe?

Hi! Can I request a prompt of some soft Kakashi, maybe some cuddles, perhaps it gets a little heated... a lil' Nsfw never hurt nobody👀👅 Thank you so muuch!~😍❤️

If I had kakashi in front of me I would tell him “aren’t you tired of being the most handsome man here?”

Hi! I saw that requests were open for the Haikyuu!! boys so here I am! I was wondering if I could request a Tsukki x reader where Tsukki has a crush on the reader but doesn't know how to express his feelings other then throwing insults. it can be angsty or fluffy I just really love Tsukki as a tsundere lol. (also btw I LOVE your theme and blog aesthetic its very pretty!)

Hey wifey😚 so Ichigo has stolen my heartttt can I get the strawberry boy with an S/O who gets super shy with with physical contact? Tyy💗💗

Fake dating with Lavi!!!!! Need more of the DGM boyz!! 😂

NSFW Vampire Squall (FF8) for very obvious reasons because UUUUUUGH

Hello there miss, my name is kandaxxx. Nice to meet you since I have definitely never requested from you before and this is definitely my first time and i am definitely not taking advantage of your bomb writing skills to ask you to write a “Choke me, daddy.” for Seymour from FF (love you forever and always!!!!!!)

hey butterfly 🥺 can you please write a story where the reader and (any character) are fighting and it turns out it was just about something stupid? like chicken nuggets? thank you 🥺💗

Eek! DGM! I was wondering if you would do a request for a general Allen Walker relationship HC? I don’t see him on the character list, but I’m just curious *bows* Thankyou senpai!

Spin The Bottle with any of the DGM characters that you're comfortable writing????? (but like obviously when Kanda spins the bottle it has to land on the reader [me] because YOU KNOW WHY OK????????) ilysm!!! 😍

I’m thinking a smut scenario of some kind that uses the prompts “Perhaps I need to remind you of your place.” and “Let me show you what happens to little brats who don’t follow the rules.” I feel like those are very Nozel Silva things to say. 😈 -bakubabes-hatake

Omfg HI mommy, Can i request really fluffy and soft itachi after he comes back from a mission? Non-massacre AU and you’re on the same team as sasuke lolol thirsty for them age gaps ❤️ thank youuuu ily -🍒

Can I get a fake dating with Kand--Roy Mustang (hahahaha) 👉👈🥺

Is this okay to ask for? Egor taking care of s/o who has period cramps... Ty!

Hello! Can I please request some headcanons for Kiba with a S/O with a praise kink? And for Shikamaru with a S/O with a choking kink? Thank you so much.

Wow. Here is me putting in a request. Shocker, right?? 😂 I want some Greed, baby 😈 as for the prompt, it's not in your list, but could you maybe do something based off of "Oh my god. Did we just break the bed?" ???? 👉👈

It's a shame u only have one ling request, so could I request some Ling x Reader where they're both absolutely oblivious until Lan Fan or Ed or someone finally just tells them for them? Sorry if I didn't make any sense ❤️❤️

ok idk if you write threesomes but 😳😳 if you could write one with daichi and suga n maybe some dp, i'd probably die 🥺💓 only if you're comfortable with that tho ♡

Tyki flirting with his crush in his native language of Portuguese? I really love your work and please have some candy 🍬🍭🍫

hi butterfly! 🥰 i hope you're doing well! you already know what i'm going to ask you for — a request! i just feel really down in the dumps lately. can i request headcanons for an s/o that takes graduation pictures on their grandmother's 3 year death anniversary with kenma, nishinoya & kuroo? i hope you can do my request! you don't have to do it if you don't want to!

hehehe kuroo, tsukki and kageyama headcanons of their s/o sending them a nude while they at training and them making an excuse to get home and fUcK yOu SeNsELeSs - 🌊

Hello may I request itachi x reader. People learned the truth and he can finally return to his wife and children in the village 🥺 and they don’t have to be in secret anymore

holy shit,, i am starved for the squall content,,, if you don't mind, catching you wearing their clothes?

S/O walking in on kakashi masturbating? 👉👈 💕

#this is a lot longer than i thought it would be #holy hell #i have so many requests #a bit frightened now #but oh whale #i hope you guys are excited for all these requests #i know i am #although im intimidated #by their sheer numbers #IVE GOT THIS THO #FOR MY CUTE #LIL #BUTTERFLIES #I LOVE YALL

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misc-headcanons · 5 years ago

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Request: NSFW Alphabet (Yoruichi)

(A while back, there was an anon that requested NSFW headcanons for Soi Fon, Yoruichi, and Rukia. Since there was only one slot left at the time, I opted to just do Yoruichi and save the other two for another time!)

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Very cuddly, and she enjoys just lounging in bed with you after sex and playing with your hair, stroking you or tracing little shapes into your skin

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Yoruichi’s very confident in her body, but if she had to pick one part of herself she likes the most...probably her thighs/legs. The inside of her thighs are pretty sensitive, and thanks to centuries of training she’s got some strong-ass thighs (she can easily break open a watermelon with them). As for her partner, she likes their ass and she is not afraid to show it. Expect a lot of groping, playful spanking, and pinching.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

She’s a squirter, but only on occasion. Sometimes it happens when she cums, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s more likely to happen during oral sex, though.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

One night after drinking with Kisuke, she had a horrifying sex dream/nightmare about sleeping with a strange amalgamation of Soi Fon’s body...with Yamamoto’s head. She still has no idea where the fuck that came from.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

She’s one of the most sexually experienced characters in Bleach, with the only person more experienced probably being Shunsui and a few others.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

She likes any position where she can show off her flexibility. In her mind, if she’s got the talent to get into those positions then she might as well show it off! She prefers being on top, but no matter what position she’s in she’s going to either be dominant or the two of you will have equal control.

http://sexpositions.club/positions/248.html

http://sexpositions.club/positions/240.html

http://sexpositions.club/positions/311.html

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

She’s a mischevious little minx in and out of bed, and she tends to laugh/giggle during sex (especially during foreplay). If you two have been together for a long time, she’s more serious; for the most part though, she’s still more humorous.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

She keeps things fairly well-trimmed, but it’s not really high on her priority list. She’ll shave it on a whim, and sometimes she thinks about trimming it into a random shape just for fun (she once shaped it into a little lightning bolt just for the hell of it). Her hair’s the same shade as on her head.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

She’s very intimate and very intense. Rough kisses and gripping the sheets one second, and soft feather-light touches and nibbling on your ear the next. Sex is always an adventure with Yoruichi, and you never really know what to expect next.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

She does it pretty frequently, up to three times a week. Her sex drive is fairly high, so if her partner isn’t there she just takes care of it herself. She usually sticks to private places so nobody walks in, but if someone does she’s not flustered by it in the slightest.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Femdom

That thing where you’re covered in warm oil during sex (she’s fond of patchouli oil because of the scent, but she’s down for whatever her partner has)

Bondage (her or her partner) and shibari. How do you think she got so good at using that wire/string during the Blood War arc?

Threesomes/Group sex

Minor petplay. She likes wearing cat ears and a tail, but if anyone’s gonna wear a leash it’s you. She’s a wild kitty.

Seeing her partner get overstimulated (drooling, talking incoherently, doing that ahegao face~)

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

When she was captain of Squad 2, she was fond of having sex on that chair/throne in her barracks. She likes having sex in semi-public spaces; if you’re a Soul Reaper, she’s going to sleep with you in your Squad’s barracks. If you’re an officer, you can damn well bet that she’s gonna bend over that desk and ride you in your chair.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Seeing her partner get flustered

Sparring with her partner

If her partner is wearing something more revealing than usual, she can’t keep her hands off of them.

Like I said before, her thighs are very sensitive but that’s not the only place that will get her riled up if you touch her there. Her earlobes, her collarbone, and her hips are also very erogenous zones.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Watersports and scat. She wouldn’t do that to her partner, and she doesn’t want to be that submissive towards her partner in turn.

Consensual non-con and/or dub-con. She’s not going to relinquish control like that, even if it’s just pretend.

Anything like fisting. She knows her limits, and while she’s had some...larger partners, she doesn’t want to risk hurting herself. If you want to be fisted, she’d be reluctant and she would make sure you’re lubed up as much as possible before she’d even attempt it.

Electrostimulation. It makes her hair stand up for like, weeks afterwards and it’s really annoying.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

She likes both, but she thinks that there’s no better end to a long day that getting eaten out by her partner. She also likes to ride your face, too! She’s quite skilled with her tongue, and her record for making a partner cum is forty six seconds (though to be fair, she cheated a bit by using her Shunpo abilities to flick her tongue around at the speed of light towards the end)

P = Pace (Are they fats and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

She keeps a fairly quick pace, and since she has a high amount of stamina she can keep any pace her partner wants for as long as possible. She tends to overstimulate her partners because of how fast and rough she can get, so if she can see it’s getting to be too much for you she’ll slow down a bit.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

She likes quickies quite a bit. Like I said, she has a high sex drive; so if it’s the middle of the day and you’ve got work in an hour, she enjoys having a quick session to satisfy her urge without going for too long.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

As long as it’s not one of the kinks in her N/No section, she’s open to it. Even fisting, if she’s not the one receiving, she’ll try if you’re really into it.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

ENDLESS STAMINA. She can go for three rounds minimum before she starts to get even a little tired, and if she knows you’re not doing anything the next day she’ll make sure to fuck you so hard that you can’t leave bed for a while.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

She’s got a few vibrators that she uses when she’s masturbating, and if her partner is into it she’ll use them on them as well during sex. If she’s having sex with her partner, she’s usually so good at making you cum/overstimulating you that there’s no real need for a toy.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

VERY BIG TEASE. The only time she lets up is if you’re so overstimulated after a few rounds of sex that you’re crying and begging for some rest. If you’re not at that level, you’re going to get nipped/stroked/edged/mercilessly teased and you’re gonna love every second of it.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Gets louder and moans quite a bit when she cums, and after a few rounds she’ll start panting a bit with every thrust. She also enjoys dirty talk, whispering in your ear about how good you make her feel and moaning for what she wants you to do to her.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

She’s had a threesome with Tessai and Urahara. A few of them, in fact. They’ve got a chill thing going on, and if she got a partner she wouldn’t mind introducing them to their “get-togethers” if they were okay with it.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Her labia and inner walls are a darker shade of brown compared to her skin, but her clitoris has a pinker undertone to it.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Quite high, as previously mentioned. Shunsui may have more experience, but Yoruichi has the highest sex drive of any Bleach character. Due to her catlike abilities, her sex drive gets even higher in the spring in a sort of “heat”. If she had it her way, you two would have 24-hour sex sessions in the spring. But she doesn’t want to kill you, so she uses her vibrators if she knows you can’t go another round.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

It depends on how many rounds she went through. If it was just one or two, she won’t be that tired but she’ll fall asleep if you cuddle her for a long while afterwards. If it’s four rounds or more, she falls asleep more quickly (within about ten minutes or so).

#bleach #bleach headcanon #bleach headcanons #yoruichi #yoruichi shihouin #ns.fw alphabet #ns.fw #mine #yoruichi shihoin

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vecino420 · 5 years ago

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pompadourpink · 7 years ago

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Genderfluid nouns

(Okay this is clickbait but there are words in French that don’t have the same definition depending on their gender)(here they are)

MOULE /mul/

une moule : a mussel (also, rare/teenish : p*ssy)

un moule : a tin (ex : un moule à tarte)/a mould (baking), a cast (sculpture)

PARALLÈLE /paʁalɛl/

une parallèle : a parallel (maths)

un parallèle : a comparison (ex : faire un parallèle entre x et y)

MANOEUVRE /manɔœːvʁ/

un-e manoeuvre : a labourer

une manoeuvre : manoeuvre/maneuver (when you try to park)

TOUR /tuːʁ/

une tour : a tower

un tour : a stroll/drive (ex : aller faire un tour en voiture), a magic trick (ex : un tour de magie), something’s circumference (ex : le tour de taille)

PHYSIQUE /fizik/

la physique : physics

le physique : the body/appearance (ex : il a un physique inhabituel)

MANCHE /mɑ̃ʃ/

la manche : the sleeve, the english channel, the round (game)

un manche : a handle (ex : un manche à balai), a violin neck

VOILE /vwal/

une voile : a sail (the fabric piece on a boat) + sailing (sports)

un voile : a veil (clothing, mystery)

MÉMOIRE /me.mwaʁ/

la mémoire : the memory (skill, computer ; ex : avoir bonne mémoire)

un mémoire : a memorandum, a 10+ p dissertation

POSTE /pɔst/

la poste : the poste office

un poste : a job, the police station

MODE /mɔd/

la mode : fashion (ex : les crop tops sont à la mode en ce moment)

le mode : the mood (linguistics, computer, music), instructions (ex : un mode d’emploi - direction leaflet, un mode d’affichage - display mode)

SOLDE /sɔld/

une solde : salary (rare)

un solde : balance (finances), sales (ex : ce sont les soldes)

CRÊPE /kʁɛp/

une crêpe : a crepe (thin pancake that you don’t eat the same way)

un crêpe : a crepe (fabric)

MORAL-E /mɔ.ʁal/

la morale : morality (literature), moral code (ethics)

le moral : general mood (How’s Carl? Since Ellie died il n’a pas le moral)

LIVRE /livʁ/

une livre : a pound (weight, money ; ex : une livre de beurre)

un livre : a book

PENDULE /pɑ̃.dyl/

une pendule : a clock

un pendule : a pendulum

PAGE /paʒ/

une page : a page (book), a moment (ex : les plus belles pages de notre histoire ont eu lieu pendant ce voyage)

un page : a pageboy (history)

POÊLE /pwɑl/

une poêle : a frying pan

un poêle : a stove

SOMME /sɔm/

une somme : an amount, sum (finances, maths)

un somme : a nap (fam)

VASE /vaz/

la vase : sludge (the greeny/browny shit in swamps)(not Shrek, focus)

un vase : a vase (flowers)

MOUSSE /mus/

la mousse : moss (nature), lather (soap), mousse (food)

un mousse : a ship’s boy

ESPACE /ɛs.pas/

une espace : a space between the words

un espace : a space between two things, space (science)

PAIR-E /pɛʁ/

une paire : a pair (ex : une paire de ciseaux)

un pair : a peer, even (eight is an even number)

MERCI /mɛʁ.si/

la merci : mercy (ex : il est à la merci des anglais)

merci : thank you (ex : mille mercis pour cette fabuleuse soirée)

CARPE /kaʁp/

une carpe : a carp (fish)

un carpe : a carpus (bones)

CRITIQUE /kɹɪ.ˈtik/

une critique : criticism, review

un-e critique : a critic (job)

FAUNE /fon/

la faune : fauna (animals)

un faune : a faun (mythology)

AIDE /ɛd/

l’aide : assistance (ex : au secours, à l’aide)

un-e aide : assistant

GARDE /ɡaʁd/

la garde : custody (ex : la garde des enfants), babysitting (ex : nous cherchons quelqu’un pour garder les enfants), watch (ex : I’ve got the next watch)

le garde : the guard, guardian, warden

FINAL-E /fi.nal/

la finale : finale (sports, entertainment ; ex : la demi-finale de l’Eurovision)

le final : finale (music)

MORT /mɔʁ/

la mort : death

le/la mort-e : a dead person

MI-TEMPS /mi.tɑ̃/

la mi-temps : half time break (sports)

un mi-temps : a part-time job

OEUVRE /œvʁ/

une oeuvre : a work (literature), bonnes oeuvres (good deeds)

le gros oeuvre : the shell (construction)

ROSE /ʁoz/

une rose : a rose (flower)

le rose : a shade of pink (c’est un rose poudré)

GESTE /ʒɛst/

une geste : a medieval song of heroic deed (ex : la chanson de Roland)

un geste : a gesture (ex : un geste symbolique), a move (ex : brusque)

VAGUE /vaɡ/

une vague : a wave

le vague : the undefined (ex : il est resté très vague)

#vocabulary #gender #homographs

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valloryr · 6 years ago

Text

One Page Lost

Author: Vallory Russups

Rating: T

Pairing: Byakuran/Sawada Tsunayoshi, Bluebell/Yuni, Bluebell & Byakuran, Sawada Tsunayoshi & Arcobaleno

Prompt: Sky Day (Dragon AU / Royalty AU) for @khrrarepairweek

Tags/Warnings: N/A

Summary: Byakuran saw Tsuna at the library and fell in love.

AO3

For Byakuran, the world was a book. A well-read one, but not a book you open again and again to discover new sides and angles, new perspectives and old secrets. Rather, the type you pick up because it's comforting, familiar, and there is nothing better anyway.

Lounging on a cushioned sofa as white as everything else in the room, Byakuran frowned at the marshmallow between his fingers. Kikyo would be annoyed with him if he went through all their stocks of marshmallows in a single day yet again. which was the perfect reason to cheerfully finish off the last packet.

"Bya-nii!" Bluebell's sweet voice signalled her presence before the girl burst through the doors, leaving wet footprints on the plush white carpet. She latched onto him and pouted into his stomach.

"You should come when you don't smell like sea-weed, dear." Byakuran patted the head of his 'little sister'. "Went out for a bath in the sea?"

"She dumped me."

"Well, I've been telling you it won't work out between the two of you. You're the sister of the man who murdered everyone she loved, after all."

Byakuran rubbed Bluebell's shoulder consolingly. Honestly, he didn't understand why Yuni had to be so difficult about some things.

Bluebell shook her wet hair and glowered.

"Not like this, dummy. She dumped me into the water, nyu. We quarrelled, and she pushed me. This hasn't ever happened before!" Bluebell intertwined her cold, slightly scaly fingers with Byakuran's warm ones and looked down. Mumbling, she added, "What if there is something wrong with her? Are you sure that tea you're feeding Yu-chan is... safe?"

Byakuran sighed.

Everything would have been so much easier if people had less morals. Even his closest and dearest ones fell prey to this fate.

Touching Bluebell's cheek gently, Byakuran said, "Safe or not, without that tea you wouldn't have Yuni-chan at all."

Bluebell bit her lip to stop it from trembling.

"But this way, I have to wonder whether it's really Yu-chan I'm with or someone I've made up myself."

Smiling, Byakuran told her a joke to keep her mind off such useless things, and then chattered a mile a minute, switching to more interesting topics. Scruples were so boring, and he was already bored by so many things he wondered how he functioned. Probably out of pure spite. People would be much happier with him gone.

Yuni was a disappointment.

After Byakuran's country of Gesso crushed the Vongola Empire and created the Millefiore Empire, his first action was to secure the family of the Giglio Nero prophets. The mother was too strong to be contained by his magic, which was the reason Byakuran killed her along with everyone who protected the prophetess. He drugged her daughter Yuni, keeping her at hand just in case, but she didn't See what he needed her to, so Byakuran easily discarded the girl.

She was lucky Bluebell took interest in her.

In a world where everything was a book, there was just one page torn out. A single page Byakuran didn't know the contents of.

That 'page' was an old story, almost a myth. It told about a group of mystical ancient dragons controlling the keystones of the world.

The Arcobaleno.

Byakuran desired that page more than he had ever desired life.

"And what are you doing here?" Byakuran purred into the ear of an unfamiliar figure in the royal library.

"HIEEE!"

The figure - it was a young man, almost a boy, no matter how high-pitched his scream - shuddered and stumbled away from the White Emperor. He managed to bump into two oak desks and almost bash his head into a bookshelf.

Quite a bemusing reaction. Usually people just bowed, threw their money at him, and fled the country.

The boy rubbed his head. He was a cute little thing, all scrawny knees and brown doe eyes and fluffy hair Byakuran longed to brush. The oversized robe hanging off his frame only emphasised his small stature. It had seen better days. Several necklaces of golden beads festooned his neck, so thin Byakuran could snap it with one hand, and they rattled every time the boy moved. Very bad for stealth.

He might have even been interested in romancing the boy, had Byakuran not known how those things unfold. Boring, like everything else.

"Scared of me?" he asked with his usual smile. The boy looked to the side before taking a deep breath and looking right into Byakuran's eyes, a feat unheard of even among Byakuran's most loyal servants.

His heart skipped a beat.

"I know the things you've done, Your Highness," the boy - who looked too young to be there - said in an endearingly direct way even though his shoulders trembled. "But I'm not scared."

"How delightfully suicidal."

Byakuran swept past the boy to drop into a chair, furrowing his eyebrows at the fact that it was gilded with gold. Why gold? He had told them he only welcomed silver.

"Now, who are you? I haven't seen you here before. And where is Mammon. It's not like them to eschew their duties."

Mammon was the Keeper of the Books and the one in charge of the special archive that contained precious information on such things as the world before Byakuran's reign as well as the legends of the old - The Seven Arcobaleno Dragons.

"I'm Tsuna," the boy told him. When he wasn't shrieking, he had a soft, soothing voice. Byakuran wouldn't mind listening to this boy lecturing him in Kikyo's stead. "Master Mammon took me in and told me to help clean everything up." Tsuna scratched his cheek. "They... aren't fond of that."

"Well, they weren't hired for their cleaning skills."

Byakuran took a nearby book in hand. Indeed, it wasn't dusty - a rare event in Mammon's library. They were lucky they were incredibly knowledgeable about languages as well as had a gift of repairing frail pages and charred tomes. Then again, Byakuran might still get rid of them in the future. To spice things up.

"Th-this is my first day," Tsuna spoke up nervously, unable to bear the silence. He fiddled with the beads on his chest. "Everything is fine, right? I haven't done anything wrong, right? Master Mammon is... very easily irritated." He added under his breath, "At least they don't shoot me with a musket."

Byakuran let Tsuna's ramblings wash over him.

He didn't remember hearing about Mammon taking anyone in - they were not the charitable kind - but to be fair he generally skipped reading reports because he could guess everything written in them, both complaints and praise. He left such mundane things to Kikyo and Zakuro.

This was a minor surprise, but even small surprises were the reason Byakuran made it that far.

He returned the next day.

He returned yet again, with Mammon nowhere to be found all the while.

Byakuran would have liked to torture them a bit for lazing about in their work hours, but when Tsuna greeted him with a shy grin and a wave of his feather duster before falling off a step-ladder, he laughed and found himself actually grateful.

"Ouch." Tsuna jumped to his feet, wincing when his movement pushed the step-ladder to the ground with a loud clatter. He ignored it and braved on, "P-please don't punish Master Mammon for not being here. I tried to rope them into helping. They escaped."

"Probably drinking fairy-dust essence with that meditation master from the Oriental District."

"Actually, no. Really, no. Master Mammon hates Fon-san. I think they teamed up with Skull to go bother Master Magician Verde."

"Skull? Ah, the messenger from Carcassa."

Tsuna hummed, leaning down to right the step-ladder. Byakuran appreciated the view of the round behind. Such a shame the boy insisted on those horrid clothes. Honestly, even if you have no money, just go and steal it!

He should send some underlings out for a present. Even Byakuran hardly ever managed to shove Torikabuto out of his tower, but Daisy would appreciate a work-out. He should send him somewhere remote though - Daisy had interesting hobbies like carrying around a bunch of torture tools and trying them out on citizens to see if he met anyone as immortal as him, and people were oddly judgemental of that pastime.

"Your neck is very lovely," Byakuran whispered in Tsuna's ear, enjoying the poor boy's blush. He trailed his finger down the his Adam's apple before wrapping his hands around it.

"Thank you, but, um." Tsuna pushed Byakuran's hand down firmly. He righted his jiggling necklaces, this time with charms on them - a present from Byakuran. "I'd like to keep it."

"Tsu-chan, don't be a meanie. Of course I'll let you keep your neck, I don't want to snap it or cut it off. Just... strangle it a little."

"Hiee!" Blushing to the roots, Tsuna coughed into his fist. "That's... No. Not my fetish. But..." His voice lowered. Byakuran leaned in even deeper to hear it, inhaling the scent of dust, honey, and musket powder. "But I may not be opposed to trying out something else."

With that he used a burst of magic to blast Byakuran out of the library.

Rubbing the back of his head, the Emperor laughed. He hadn't expected little sweet Tsuna to have magic.

Byakuran found out that Tsuna was bullied by some of the other servants in the castle.

He was pleased.

After all, how else would he find an opportunity to show his Tsu-chan just how much he treasured him?

He gathered the bullies and their families and executed them in the most brutal ways possible, aided by the imagination of the torture masters Lal Mirch and Colonello. By the end of it, even Bluebell trembled, clutching Yuni's hand and shielding Yuni's eyes from the gruesome sight - sparing her lover in the only ways she could afford to.

Tsu-chan watched the proceedings solemnly. Unlike Byakuran or Daisy, he didn't laugh a single time. His eyes glowed strangely orange, and Byakuran didn't hold himself back from kissing his sweetheart on the eyelids once the show was regrettably over.

"You didn't find it cruel? Their death?"

Byakuran caressed Tsuna's lower lip with a curious thumb. It was soft, like a petal of a toxic flower.

His Tsuna grasped Byakuran's hand, the one adorned with the rings both his own and those of fallen enemies'. The boy's fingers lingered on the Vongola ring.

"Perhaps I did. But it was also necessary."

In Tsu-chan's eyes Byakuran read mourning but not regret.

It was then that Byakuran decided that he loved him.

"So, you didn't change your mind, kora?" Colonello asked him. His eyes showed he would respect any decision Tsuna made, but the spherical Dragon Amulet on his chest shone bright blue, anticipating blood-bath.

Tsuna glanced down at his hands. Noticing their trembling, he curled them into fists - even though Reborn pretended to just sun himself on the stones, he was watching, and his teacher would release a stream of scorching fire any second to 'help Tsuna deal with stress'.

"No, I didn't. Why would you think so?"

"That's pretty obvious, Tsu," Skull chimed in. Unlike half of them, who took on their dragon forms since their secret meeting place allowed them to let loose, he remained a human. He was the biggest dragon, after all. Besides, he would get an opportunity to fly freely soon. "You've been getting quite chummy with that albino bastard."

Viper, a beautiful indigo dragon happy to shed their Master Mammon disguise, huffed out fumes of black mist. Their equivalent of pursing lips.

"Mou, I didn't lose so much money by playing translator just for it to end up useless."

"There are things more important than money," Fon preached, still sounding calm and peaceful even as a long red dragon twining around trees. "Self-discovery, for one."

"Thank you, Fon, but I think I've discovered enough about myself to want to bring down the man who has made my people suffer for so long," Tsuna said.

On his neck, his amulet glowed, the orange gold of his eyes not concealed by the magic of the beaded necklaces he wore in the human form. The power inside the little sphere was ancient and beautiful, reminding Tsuna of times long past, when he founded the Vongola Empire with Giotto. Giotto then became the First Emperor, while Tsuna kept his identity concealed - he was the leader of the immortal Arcobaleno dragons and what would he do if he broadcasted who he was to everyone he met?

Lal Mirch wrapped the end of her navy blue spiked tail around Tsuna, while Verde abandoned his heap of research papers to make the tea he awkwardly presented to his boss.

Tsuna smiled at all of them.

A pity that the human whose company brought him so much enjoyment had been twisted before they even met, but Tsuna would never be alone.

Tomorrow they would be sieging the castle, freeing Yuni (who told him she wanted to bring a tagalong, and Tsuna didn't mind - he always listened to his friends' requests), and Tsuna would see Byakuran one last time. He wondered what expression the man would make.

Tsuna's heart ached briefly, but he had seen a lot of death, some caused by Byakuran himself.

Some things were cruel but so necessary.

#khrrarepairweek #khrrarepairweek2018 #KHR #sawada tsunayoshi #byakuran #10027 #arcobaleno tsuna #dragon au #royalty au #Sky Day #oneshot #complete #mine #fanfiction

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