#French Courses Kent Language Courses Kent

[possum-quesadilla]

13 for– yes

13. what languages do they speak? how fluently?

Oh boy. Long one. Hell yeah!

Loopjuice

That was answered here for LoopJuice Beetlejuice himself!

Lydia, Ash, Delia, Barbara, and Adam are all the same. Primary English, minimal bits of other languages. All fairly adept in ASL now for autism shutdowns within the family.

Charles is, of course, English and a good amount of ASL, but also some rusty, business-forward German and Japanese. Because business! (/ref)

Deb primarily uses English and is getting rusty on demonic, but she’s really fluent and conversational in French! A few members of her Cult are French-Canadian, and they’re teaching her French for funzies.

If Bela could communicate psychically, she would. She knows English and demonic well, but she hates speaking and doesn’t practice much else than what’s necessary. She’s picking up a little French from Deb. Her first language was demonic, which is actually fairly uncommon now, so she sometimes has a hard time translating her thoughts to English.

Larry is a well-read demon. They love to read and learn, and spent a lot of their youth alone with books. They know quite a few languages on paper, but in practice is a completely different story. They know English, demonic, ASL, and Spanish very very well and fluently, but everything else they would absolutely flop in conversationally. They theoretically know Latin, French, German, Korean, Russian, and Japanese, but have never genuinely practiced them with someone else.

Cyrus knows English, no demonic. Used to know Gaelic to be able to trick people when he was alive, but he hasn’t practiced it in years.

That Dog Won’t Hunt

Dakota Caldwell - English and Spanish!! Their mother was from Mexico, and although they didn’t get to spend much time with her, their father ensured they knew quite a bit about her language and culture. Also bits of Mandarin from Ms. Parks, mostly swear words she shouts at them. Some bits of different Native American languages from tribes they encounter on their travels, too!

Hunter - he’s programmed to know just about any language, but most of them have been deleted from his system for storage purposes. Only the ones deemed necessary for this mission were kept. English and Spanish, some various Native American languages and some Mandarin, as well as Gaelic and German. He kept Korean in his system as per his personal request, but he doesn’t use it.

Anton Holloway - English and Spanish. He doesn’t really have time to learn much else, nor does he care to.

Julianna Kent- Just English fluently, but learns Spanish and Mandarin from Dakota and Ms. Parks for fun! She can’t hold a conversation in either quite yet, but she’s working on it!

Ms. Parks - Mandarin was her first language, and she taught it to her kids right away. She keeps her culture and identity as an important fixture in her life. English very well, she used to try to keep out any accent, but now she does not care.

Jamie Hoffman - their father was Native American, although I haven’t fully researched what tribe / language yet. They learned that alongside English, but primarily use English now. Just learned Spanish within the last five years for their job.

Ralph Warren and Dr. Mack Ortega - boring, basic English only. Mack knows some Spanish for his patients, but not fluently.

Rowan Graves, Micah Becker, Harrison Hewitt - basic English and Spanish, but not too good in either. (Aside from Rowan, they’re very well-spoken) They’re outlaws, they don’t have time for learning and such!

Clifton Cassidy - Hindi was her first language, now she knows English and is working on Spanish. She’s more well-read than the rest of the Holloway gang.

[lunashifts]

💙 Richard John Grayson 🐦

- nickname(s): Dick, Dickie, Boy Wonder, Goldie or Golden Boy and pretty bird (mostly by Jason)

- alias: Nightwing

- birthday: 20. March

- age: 27

- height: 178cm

- hometown: gotham + blüdhaven

- race: human

- sexuality: pansexual

- pronouns: he/him

- gender: male

- occupation: cop in blüdhaven

- language(s): English, Romani, Spanish, French, Russian, Swahili, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tamaranean

- positive traits:

Loyal, cheerful, extroverted, protective, confident, charming, good mediator, leader qualities

- negative traits:

Bottles up negative emotions, hates showing weakness, there's some anger issues underneath all that cheerfulness

- likes: movies, sunshine, acrobatics, bikes, circus, summer, the color blue, dogs, birds, traveling, hugs

- dislikes: criminals, paparazzi, not being taken seriously

- hobbies: training, swimming, acrobatics, spending time with friends and family

- best friends: Wally West, Jason Todd

- other close people: Batfamily, Roy Harper, Kori'ander, Titans, Clark Kent

At first it was just Dick and Luna when they were kids and he helped her adjust living in the Manor. Then Dick, Jason and Luna were always together when they were younger. Of course as the oldest he tried to be the most responsible one and tried to keep them out of trouble but still did some mischievous stuff with them.

When Jason died, Dick and Luna helped each other through it and grew even closer together. When Jason came back as Red Hood he tried to protect Luna because he was afraid it would hurt her emotionally. But he also tried to help Jason and to convince him that they didn't forget or just replace him.

When Jason rejoined the Batfamily he and Dick grew closer again with Luna's help.

[ao3feed-superbat]

(no use) perfecting love with strangers

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/6xb0Rvu by ionia It’s much later in the evening, after Jon has told everyone about his dad’s impressive baseball card collection, when Clark is talking to one of his new neighbors by the french doors, on the cusp of outside and inside, that Bruce touches his bicep again to get his attention. "Hey, you," he acknowledges his husband. “Clark, darling,” Bruce says gently. “Some people I'd like you to meet.” Some things are constant. Wayne Manor stands lonely on top of a hill overlooking a city that is hard to leave. Clark and Bruce are happily married with 9 semi-adult children. They live at Wayne Manor, far above prying eyes, where they don’t have to worry about flying, and fights, and the general chaos that surrounds them. Until developers erect eight luxury villas next to the Manor and they’re not alone on top of their hill anymore. And what do you do with all those new neighbors? Well, you start swinging with the only other male couple on the street of course. -- (Fic is complete, chapter 2 will be up tomorrow) Words: 6541, Chapters: 1/2, Language: English Fandoms: Superman (Comics), Batman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types, Batman - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Original Male Character(s), Various Superfam and Batfam characters Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne/Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Married Couple, Married Sex, Foursome - M/M/M/M, swinging, Insecurity, Kink Negotiation, Dom/sub Undertones, Mild Cuckolding, Loaning Out, Gangbang, Bottom Bruce, Strength Kink read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/6xb0Rvu

[secondgenerationnerd]

Can you tell me about Kathy Brandon & maya ducard from Epsilon squad?

Of course!

Maya is the daughter of Morgan Ducard, an assassin that was killed by none other than Damian Wayne. She originally was going to get her revenge on Damian, but joined him instead. Her mother was Latina and died when she was young, her father being mixed (black and Caucasian). She fluently speaks multiple languages, but french is her comfort. She learned to be invisible until she needs to make an impression.

Kathy is an alien refugee from a planet that was attacked by The Krogg. Her grandfather, Kobb Branden, escaped with her. In my mind she was little when it happened, under 5yo, so most of her memories are on earth. She and Jon grew up together, and the Kent family lowkey adopted her. Her grandfather turned out to be evil, trying to turn Jon against his father. He’s killed unfortunately (see the comics for her backstory.

No joke, they met after Maya was spying on Kathy and Jon. Kathy sensed her and threw her into the pigpen

This is the exact pannel I saw that made me ship them lol

They do live together on the Ducard farm, Maya finally having a room she can decorate how she chooses to, which is baffling.

They do have a guardian living with them while they’re underage, but for the most part the girls are on their own. It’s an adjustment for both of them because, even if Morgan and Kobb weren’t good, they did take care of them.

They eventually open up a flower shop together, which brings a lot of joy to their lives. Maya learned the language of flowers so she could send messages to her friends.

Could kathy use her powers to get a lot of the farm work done? Yes, but some of the chores she does prefer to do herself.

They have a mental link, so they literally talk without words. When they join Epsilon, the all female team, they are very comfortable with each other and that helps them with the others.

Maya and Sin Lance knew of each other, both were actually betrothed to Damian at one point, but they have a deep understanding of the trauma they’ve gone through.

Maya has a life long fear of just…disappearing. Of her team, who she considers her sisters, just forgetting who she is. Like she was never there.

Kathy has a fear of losing control of her powers. She knows how powerful she is. She knows how much damage she can do. She pulls her punches when she has to, but there’s always that fear she won’t be able to stop.

Maya is a curvy queen, dressing in a lot of skirts and flowy bottoms with tighter tops. Kathy is jeans, flannel, t-shirts, etc.

They start dating when they’re 16, after crushing on each other for months. They had their first kiss after dancing in the rain. They got horribly colds and it was totally worth it.

They get married and, through an anonymous sperm donor, have two daughters—Azalea May “Aza” (Maya’s biological daughter) and Rosemary Grace “Roro” (Kathy’s biological daughter). Maya carried both their daughters and, due to a sudden hemmorage, had a hysterectomy after Rosemary.

They are their mothers’ daughters, regardless of biology 😂

Azalea ends up with Peter Kent, Jon and Mar’i’s adopted son. Roro ends up with Nerissa “Rissa” Baker-Curry, Max Baker and Artur Curry’s daughter. Their partners joke about them having royal taste

[sinterhinde]

Human Personality, Simone Weil, 1942-3

Simone Weil was born into an affluent life in Paris in 1909.  Very early, she demonstrated a strident, uncompromising compassion when she gave up sugar in solidarity with French soldiers in the First World War. While still a schoolgirl, she declared her solidarity with the communist left. Though uncompromising in her persona at school, she was also brilliant and had the best education France could offer in languages, classics and philosophy.  While at the École Normale Supérieure, her tutor set her focus on the problem of man as an active being.  To address this she took Plato as her master and Descartes as her antagonist.  These influences remained touchstones in her intellectual life.  Despite the spiritual writings for which she is best known, her training and approach was that of a philosopher. For the few years of her working life, she taught philosophy in secondary schools.  Weil’s compassion and strongly-held opinions led directly to a life of activism, which often scandalised the towns in which she taught.  Initially, her interests lay in the labour movement as well as pacifism.  Her judgment of the political weakness of the labour movement and more generally of social causes led to the qualification of her views on pacificism.  Violence, she then thought, could be a defense for human dignity against the Fascism that diminished it.  However, her exposure to the Spanish Civil War led her to contradict herself.  Force, she thought, could never be righteous.  Allowing that someone was the legitimate object of force inexorably nurtured tribalism, making murder seem natural.  Force controls those who would use it, an insight she saw in *The Iliad* which treated Greeks and Trojans alike as victims of force itself. Her views on force were a singular example of how her developed perspective was at odds with received pieties in Western Culture, both those of the establishment and those who opposed it.  She denied the importance of political rights; of justice by due process; of state or private ownership; private choice in life; and legitimation by collective, public will. Instead she elevated as primary response to affliction; the inestimable significance of a human being; the needs of the soul as the basis for government; meaningful labour; and good and evil. Weil was unafraid of intellectual isolation, nor did she seek fellows—though she did publish her essays in intellectual journals. She was not celebrated in her lifetime, though the force of her intellect was known. Many gave her a wide berth, because of her uncompromising manner, which was also evident in how she lived.  While working for the Free French in London on a manifesto for a transformed government in post-war France, her unyielding manner of living overcame her always-fragile health.  She died in Kent at 34.  Her celebrity came posthumously when her notes on Christian spirituality were published, influencing those within and without the Church.  Subsequently, her philosophical works have attracted a modest following among intellectuals and academics. (D. Levy)

I'm attaching the essay again here:

https://lib.tcu.edu/staff/bellinger/rel-viol/Weil.pdf

And, to be sure, Dr. David Levy's suggested and further readings, via The Integrity Project. The page also contains a short lecture from Levy, available as an mp3:

https://integrityproject.org/projects/portraits-of-integrity/simone-weil/

Levy has lectured on the Philosophy of Simone Weil at the University of Edinburgh and the course guide for 2017/18 can be found here.

Whilst the document is primarily intended for students, it provides a massive list of general and additional texts on or written by Weil - like, 8 pages worth. It also includes a list of prospective exam questions, which may be interesting to some.

https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/the_philosophy_of_simone_weil_course_guide_2017-18.pdf

Here is an online library that holds some of Weil's texts in their original French (among 1000s of other works):

http://classiques.uqac.ca/

Finally, a lovely long essay from academic, educator, and organiser Riley Valentine, An Impersonal Liberalism: Simone Weil and the Sacred, for Epoché Magazine.

[muniator26]

9 Things You Should Not Do When Trying To Learn A New Language

Learning a new language -- whether it's for business purposes or any other personal reason -- is a great way to exercise your brain. But if you're taking up language courses Kent, there are a few no-no’s you need to know to ensure the effectiveness of your language learning experience. Here are nine of them. Don't be afraid to commit mistakes. Learning a new language isn't a walk in the park. So don’t be too hard on yourself and don't be afraid to make mistakes. What's important is that you learn from the mistakes you've committed. Don't procrastinate. Taking up French courses Kent? One of the rules you need to keep in mind is to avoid procrastinating. Take note learning something foreign to you takes time and effort -- don't rely on shortcuts (e.g. Language-learning apps) that project false progress. Don't underestimate the power of listening. Like what you can observe in youngsters and infants, they learn their native language by observing their surroundings. This is also the case when you're learning a foreign language: Sharpen your listening skills and don't push yourself too hard to speak the language immediately. Don't use just a textbook for reference. Widen your learning platforms by immersing in other possible sources, including films, TV shows, and podcasts in the particular foreign language you're focusing on. Don't simply memorise random words. In the early stages of your learning process, it's not all about impressing yourself or others by learning fancy and random words. Remember: Don't skip the basics. This way, you can get a better context of the language’s vocabulary, making you a more effective communicator. Don't forget about the context. In relation to the topic of context, one of the most common mistakes of new language learners is translating things directly. You should avoid doing this one because it will only sound unintelligent to a listener who's actually fluent in that particular language. Don't rely on translation services. As stated, when you're enrolled in languages courses like French courses Kent, you have to ditch taking the shortened route to learning. Never rely on translation services -- because, most of the time, they don't offer contextual translations of the word or phrase or sentence that you're learning. Don't focus too much on grammar. Not undermining the essence of good grammar, learning a new language is actually more than just mastering grammar rules. You have to learn listening and comprehension first -- grammar can be learned at a later phase. Don't neglect your learning strength. There's no one defining approach when it comes to learning a foreign language. If you need to visualise your lessons, make it so -- if that's the way you can easily learn, don't be afraid to incorporate your learning strength. Kent Adult Education offers a wide range of language courses Kent. They have a team of language experts with a rich experience teaching students -- whether they're a complete beginner or someone who already has an existing knowledge of a particular language. They also offer a self-assessment test to help prospective enrollees select the right language courses. Visit their website, www.kentadulteducation.co.uk/course-areas/languages-communication, for more information about their courses and pricing. You may also call them at 03000 41 40 25.

[ticular25-blog]

11 Practical Tips In Learning French Quickly And Efficiently

Learning French or any language for that matter is always a good investment. However, it won’t be easy! There’s a lot of memorization and practice, but why let these get in the way of learning a beautiful language? Kent Adult Education rounded up 11 practical tips for learning French quickly and efficiently. Activate your passive memory When it comes to French courses Kent Adult Education, we understand that it can be a bit overwhelming. With proper spelling, conjugating the tenses, and choosing the right gender of the nouns, there’s a high chance that you might get burned out. A good tip would be to activate your passive memory early in your language courses Kent. This will help you remember the right orthography, making it a lot easier to learn French Courses Kent. Be creative when learning the gender of a noun Nouns having gender is probably one of the aspects that English speakers find hard to adapt to. A good way to practice this would be to write the word and their respective article on the designated object so it’s easier for you to remember. Make sure your intonation is on point When it comes to Language Courses Kent, particularly French Courses Kent, intonation is very important. Even when your pronunciation is mediocre, properly pronouncing the French R and mastering the nasal sounds of the language will make conversing with the French more bearable because they know where a sentence begins and ends. Read your favorite books in their French version Language Courses Kent Adult Education utilizes different kinds of techniques when learning French. Another great tip would be to read your favorite books in their French version. Since you already know the story, you can take your time translating every word. Read French news Keep on reading even when you do not fully understand it. Reading the French news will help you learn new nouns and their genders. Find introductory books on topics in French Find French introductory books on simple and interesting topics. It will help you get familiarized with the basic structure of sentences in French and expand your vocabulary, too! Write on your journal in French Once you have consumed the French language in a variety of mediums, try writing in French. This is a great practice to ensure that you’ll be able to construct a response in French during a conversation. Write short summaries in French If you’re not yet that confident in writing from scratch, you can start by creating short summaries in French. This is easier for beginners because you already have the nouns and articles to come up with a full sentence. Listen to French podcasts Listening to French podcasts will help you with your vocabulary, intonation, and pronunciation. Even when you cannot understand every word they say, this is an excellent way of training your brain. Browse through the many French artists and singers Stemming from the previous point, if you find listening to people talk in French a bit boring, why not try listening to French artists and singers? Watch French films and shows Finally, watch French films and shows. This will help you understand how certain words can be used in context. Alternatively, you can watch some of your favorite movies and shows - but turn on the subtitle for French and try to compare how sentences are constructed for the two languages. Kent Adult Education is keen on making sure adults can learn a new language without getting burned out. We offer a wide range of courses suitable for everyone, from novices to experts. Call us on 03000-41-40-25.

[hutche566]

11 Tips If You Want To Learn French Quickly

Whether you're learning French because you're planning to move to France or simply want to learn, you must realise that learning a new language requires memorisation. Luckily, there are several French courses Kent that are available out there. If you want to learn French quickly, here are 11 tips you should remember. Review, review, review When it comes to learning a new language, repetition is key. One of the common mistakes you can make as a beginner is learning new material and quickly forgetting about it. Study regularly In addition to the previous point, a good tip for ensuring you do not forget things easily is that you should study consistently but only for short periods. Do not learn everything in one sitting. Write it out Several language courses Kent out there will also provide you with conversational practice exercises. As a beginner, you can start by writing these out, before vocally practising your French. Watch out for French cognates Cognates are words that are the same in two languages. When it comes to French cognates, these will always have different pronunciations. Your English brain will try to fight for dominance when you're learning French. Beware of free French learning tools online The word "free" can be very tempting but when it comes to learning French, opt for quality language courses Kent. This will guarantee that the material you get is good and is made with the users’ needs in mind. Activate your passive memory Spelling and gender can be one of the toughest challenges when it comes to learning French. The key here is to activate your passive memory. You can start watching shows in French or maybe read a book in French. The goal here is not to understand what it means but to be more familiar with orthography, vocabulary, the use of tenses, and so on. Be creative when it comes to memorising genders Find ways to integrate the lessons into your life. Use sticky notes on items around your house so you can better memorise noun genders. Focus on the intonation When it comes to learning French, you need to focus on your intonation because this will greatly matter when you're already conversing with French people. Pay attention to your French R and other nasal sounds of the language. Don’t forget about food vocabulary Speaking of getting creative, why not try translating every food you eat or see into French? A majority of French courses Kent has these types of exercises. Practice your listening skills Listening exercises are also a part of French language courses Kent. There’s no point in learning the language if you can’t keep up with someone who is fluent in French. Prioritise sentences over words Another key factor to remember is that you should prioritise sentences over words. Remember that context is crucial and learning words through sentences is far more effective. Find your learning style and capitalise on it. Are you a visual learner? Watch an English movie and turn on the French subtitle. Do you learn by listening? Watch a French movie and turn on the English subtitle. Learning a language is intimidating, especially for adults, as our memory is not as sharp as when we were younger, so do choose your French courses Kent wisely!

If you are looking for tried and tested French courses Kent or other language courses Kent, our team at Kent Adult Education is ready to help. Visit our website to learn more.

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[skelezomperman]

Revising A Tale of Star-Crossed Knights: Chapter 1

Link to Chapter 1: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39015690/chapters/97592907/

This is going to be a series of posts which is part Author's Notes, part retrospective. I've been wanting to revise my novel-length story for a while now, both to make it read better and to eventually reformat it into a good eBook format (AO3's ebook downloads unfortunately are not what I want). The first part of that was actually commissioning a lovely cover art by @racecarart; the second part is going through each chapter, revising it, and uploading the new parts to AO3.

Chapter 1 was the very first part of the story that I wrote. The first scene with the armory meeting was actually written in May 2021, over a year before the actual work on this fic began. I think my motivation for it came back in April 2022 which meant that it took about a month to produce 3000 words. This was back in a time when I had no idea what the finalized product was going to look like; I thought that I would only have eight chapters and it would be 15k-20k words (not too much longer than Divine Wind, Earth Lance). I did not have a handle on pacing and it shows.

I would estimate that the new Chapter 1 is about 35% original writing. The original plotline where Finn and Erinys go from 0 to 100 in the span of a chapter is meant to be contrived, firstly because the pairing is contrived in of itself (it's very hard to get in-game) and secondly because the plot relies on a sort of Kent/Fiora moment. But the original piece was contrived in a bad way. I especially didn't feel that there was much chemistry between the two prior to the dance. The solution to that was simple: expand on the first two scenes so they would actually show chemistry! They meet for the first time, they get to know each other and realize they're similar, and then they start becoming attracted to each other. On the other hand, I cut a short scene where Finn saves Erinys from an arrow because it didn't add much other than clichés.

The dance scene was my favorite part of the chapter so it was unchanged. I do like writing ballroom dances, perhaps to the point of leaning on it as a crutch, so I kept that. The very last scene at the end, however, did go some revision. The idea that Erinys tripped over a pebble and accidentally kissed Finn comes across as too contrived to the point of being immature. I changed it so that it's just that passion gets the better of them. I think this version of the scene also makes it more obvious that they did The Funny with each other outdoors - of course, I don't want to write anything explicit or even something that would make it rated M.

One last thing is that I'm cutting out a worldbuilding thing where real-world European languages like French filtered into the fic. That got dropped after around Chapter 9 and I don't want to leave a vestige of something that gets dropped out. A couple OCs will probably face a similar fate...Ah well, editing does mean you have to cut things you like.

---

For posterity's sake, here are the original author's notes:

Welcome to my Finn/Erinys longform fic. I'm finally getting around to doing this journey, charting the relationship from when they first meet to the end of the game when Finn is with his kids. I don't intend to novelize the entire thing but I want to try to get as much as I can think of on paper, from start to finish. I'm going to incorporate the four previous fics I've made so far as well. At the moment my outline has eight chapters, but I might add more if I feel a need to split up chapters or add more content. Targeting for one chapter a week but I'm not completely sure, depends on my motivation ebbing and flowing.

This chapter is basically an introduction; a fluff if you will. There's not really that much development because it's just Finn and Erinys falling in love. Probably rushed but that's okay because the idea is that they let their emotions take over eventually - they have a Kent/Fiora moment, if you will. At first they deny they're in love even though Lewyn and to a lesser extent Quan are egging them on, but later on they go from 0 to 100 because they're young. I refuse to write them doing the actual act but yes, they do the thing at the end of the chapter. We'll see that it has consequences in the next couple chapters, and it's not going to be completely clean. But I can promise that there will be a bit more fluff in the next chapter with a proper date or two.

Also if you're curious, the currencies are real life references. *Denier* is French for denarius and it was the currency used by the Franks in the early Middle Ages. *Marka* was an obscure currency used by Poland during the first years of the II Rzeczpospolita before it was replaced by the złoty. I didn't want to be too on the nose with those.

[al-mayriti]

María de Maeztu

María de Maeztu y Whitney (Vitoria, 1881 - Mar del Plata, 1948) was a Humanist and Pedagogist, renowned for her work in education, especially in women's education. She was the daughter of Juana Whitney, a British teacher, and Manuel de Maeztu, a Cuban engeneer with Navarran roots; as well as the sister of the author Ramiro de Maeztu, member of the Generation of '98. After her father died in 1898 in Cuba, her mother opened an Anglo-French Academy in Bilbao, where she taught alongside her daughers Ángela and María.

Maeztu was a teacher in Bilbao, Santander and finally Madrid, where she will reside until her exile. There, due to her exceptional knowledge of various languages as well as her character, from 1908 onwards she started working alongside the Junta de Ampliación de Estudios e Investigaciones Científicas or JAE (Board for the Extension of Studies and Scientific Research), an organism within the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (The Free Institution of Education). While she continued working as a teacher, she got a degree in Philosophy by the University of Salamanca in 1915. She also got to further her studies visiting other places, such as Brussels (1910), Germany (1912), where she got to be a student of Paul Natorp and Nicolai Hartmann at the University of Marburg; and the Smith College (1919), where she became close friends with Susan Huntington Vernon.

She was part of the Centro de Estudios Históricos (Center of Historical Studies), being close friends with José Ortega y Gasset; she was head of one of the departments of the Instituto-Escuela (School-High School) from 1918 till 1934; alongside Clara Campoamor she co-founded the Federación de Mujeres Universitarias (Federation of University Women) in 1921; and she co-founded and was head of the Lyceum Club Femenino (Feminine Club Lyceum), similar to the other women-only clubs in the rest of Europe, where Federico García Lorca read his poemary Poeta en Nueva York and had conferences, courses, concerts, expositions and many other activities. However, her main project and the one that made her legendary was her work as the head of the Residencia Internacional de Señoritas (International Ladies' Residence) from 1915 till 1936.

This institution was created by the JAE, and she was selected to be its director and organizer. The Residence was open to all women above the age of 17 that were studying in Madrid, wanted to study in higher education institutions (Escuela Superior de Magisterio, Escuela Normal and Escuela Hogar) or wanted to gain more scientific knowledge after receiving instruction in other places. Foreign women were also allowed to study here. In the Residence, apart from, well, provide residence, they also had classes and different courses that depended on their specialties. Maeztu herself taught classes in Pedagogy and Philosophy, and some conferences where given by José Ortega y Gasset or Juan Ramón Jiménez, among many others.

Some of the prestigious alumni of the Residence were the poet Concha Méndez, the lawyers Victoria Kent and Matilde Huici, the politician Francisca Bohigas, the journalists María Luz Morales and Josefina Carabias, the physicist Felisa Martín Bravo, the artist Maruja Mallo, and the doctors Cecilia García de Cosa and Elisa Soriano.

Many important women from the time stayed at the Residence as well, mainly to give conferences or courses; Gabriela Mistral would become a close friend of Maeztu after her visit to the Residence in 1924; Marie Curie stayed at the Residence in 1931, as well as Victoria Ocampo, who visited the building again in 1935. Finally, Maria Montessori also gave a conference there in 1934.

During the Primo de Rivera dictatorship she was one of the 13 women part of the Asamblea Nacional (National Assembly), and later on she became part of the Consejo de Instrucción Pública (Council of Public Instruction, 1930) and the Consejo Nacional de Cultura (National Council of Culture, 1933). She eventually became a professor in 1932, as a member of the Central University Philosophy and Letters department.

When the Civil War striked in 1936, she resigned from all her positions after her brother Ramiro was executed by Republicans, and exiled herself from the country, staying in Buenos Aires until her death, in the company of Gabriela Mistral and Victoria Ocampo, giving conferences and writing articles and books. After her death, her corpse was repatriated to the family mausoleum in Estella (Navarre).

In her tomb you can read "Maria de Maeztu, she gave up her life in sacrifice for women education".

After her death, three of her ex-students from the Instituto-Escuela, Jimena Menéndez-Pidal, Ángeles Gasset, and Carmen García del Diestro, founded the Colegio Estudio (Study School) in Madrid to continue her legacy, an institution that is still active in the present day and bares the same pedagogical elements María de Maeztu defended.

[lauraluna98]

Diana Cavendish is Scottish

Yeah you read it right Diana Cavendish is Scot and here I'm going to present you some proofs that she isn't English like how people make some mistakes thinking that British = English

First of all let's acquire a little knowledge

The basic difference between British and English

British is basically anyone who comes from the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales

Great Britain is the name of the region that contains England, Scotland and Wales and some surrounding territories (such as the Isle of Man)

Britain is the name of the main island of Great Britain, where the three countries are located

After the geography knowledge

Let's get to the facts

First of all we have the information from Wiki

It is written she's from Britain

The Cavendish family lives in Wedinburgh

What could be a name change for Edinburgh capital of Scotland

Something very common to do in anime is to change the name of cities.

It is literally the same name but with a W in front

If you google it you will find Edinburgh

A good example of a renamed city is in the anime itself

The town where Akko arrives to go to the Ley lines is called Blightonbury

But in real life the city is called Glastonbury

It even looks very similar (but I will talk about that later).

What is the symbolic animal of the Cavendish family?

The snakes?

Yes and no

It is a reference to the asclepius rod

Which is a reference to the fact that the Cavendish family is connected to medicine

The symbolic animal of the Cavendish family is the unicorn, a symbol of healing, but also the national animal of Scotland

LWA has a whole mythology based on Gaelic and Celtic mythology (and even more in the Light Novel with Scottish mythology)

Both were where today regions of northern England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are located

"But Cavendish is an English surname"

O'Neill is an Irish surname and Amanda is American

This surname has been present since Beatrix

Beatrix exists since the 5th century, she was one of the nine witches founders of Luna Nova (which was founded on 420AD) that is older than the countries of the United Kingdom, at that time even the West Roman Empire is still there.

And about the languages well the English language would still take some time to appear like a lot of centuries

"But what about the accent?"

Diana has no accent in any dubbing, not even the American one

That's right, American

A British character dubbed by an American

Diana would probably have a sophisticated Scottish aristocratic accent to resemble the English, since they could see the Scottish accent as something barbaric and rude

plus the fact that people from Edinburgh don't have that much of the "Scottish accent"

"The Japanese don't know where Scotland is"

Of course

The Japanese don't know geography other than their own country

So everything from LWA had to be in London, since they don't know anything.

Which is another roundly wrong statement

If the Japanese are extremely stupid

Then why did they have the slightest detail in choosing Glastonbury to be Blyghtonbury the city that gives access to the Ley line

The places are extremely similar

And just to finish this

Scottish Diana is way better than the generic English one which most people think she is, Scotland is one of the best cultures on the British isles, we could have Diana playing bagpipes, saying about the Loch Ness monster, wearing a kilt and more Scot stuff and even give her a proper Scottish accent at some moments

plus that is a cool representation that most people like to think that the british are only the English and people from London

Edit:

Diana's accent is also conffirmed by Tattun one of the Trigger producers

so Diana had an Scottish accent

This puts even more proofs that Diana is Scot and not English

"Oh okay but what about Diana's place"

Well another aurgument that I've seen some people saying is that about the Cavendish manor being based on the Leeds Castle

Yeah the places are pretty simillar I'm going to agree that but that means that the Cavendish manor is located where the Leeds Castle is located?

No

It's like saying if some character lives on the eifel tower that is located on the city of Monetrealy, Canada and this tower didn't even had the name of eifel tower and is named X manor and the same character have an Montreal accent instead of French. This didn't make X character French because his house is inspired on the eifel tower

The same goes for Diana

The Cavendish manor is based on the Leeds castle and some of Britain castles but this didn't make her being from Kent, indeed that we have the location of the Cavendish manor and also the family animal, the accent and even some of her origins, so what is needed to make Diana being even more scot? Bagpipes? Kilts? Golf?

[smxsonic]

A Maribat WIP that I started.

I Wanted to try my hand at Maribat as a NaNoWrMo Challenge, but things kept happening. Here’s what I came up with. It’s more a Super Sons Fic and it hadn;t even gotten to any Miraculous stuff. 

Damian Wayne used to know who he was. A former Assassin, The heir to the most powerful secret organizations on the planet, The son of Batman. He had given all that up to be a Hero, a peace keeper, and still The Son of Batman. Though it seemed futile, fighting supervillain after supervillain, only for said super villains to escape and start the cycle anew. With the ability to act as their executioner off the table, Damian had been content to imprison them himself. His team did eventually catch wind of this and he took his leave of the Teen Titans… and as Robin, well in an official capacity. Right now he was as much Robin as Thomas was. 

The one anchor Damian Wayne had left was Jonathan Samuel Kent. As opposed to Damian’s childhood training to be an assassin, Jon had about as normal as any kid could have being the Son of Superman and Lois Lane. Of course that changed when he and his grandfather went into space for what was essentially a field trip. What had been years for Jon was just weeks on earth. Making him a teenager when his parents had barely aged. Then he had some adventures in the 31 century with the Legion of Superheroes. None of which he’s allowed to remember because of spoilers. He had gone back to the present day because he heard about Damian’s underground prison and needed to straighten him out. During which, he had been de-aged to 13 because of some supervillain shenanigans. Not that his parents minded, and it said a lot about The Life when ‘Supervillian’ was ample enough explanation for Spontaneous De-aging. 

The two were sitting in a Wayne enterprises private jet. Though Damian was estranged from his father, that didn’t mean he couldn’t take advantage of the various connections that came with being the Son of Bruce Wayne. 

“Does your Dad know that we’re doing this?” Jon asked. 

“Tt,” Damian made his distinctive clicking sound with his tongue, “Whether father knows about our excursion or not is irrelevant.” 

Jon lowered his eyes in bewilderment.

“Although, if you’re asking if this excursion is known to the Justice League, then yes, yes it is.” 

“I guess that explains why Dad asked me to come along.” 

Damian scoffed, “Please, Kent. You’re only along since I’ve not finished training you, and right now you’re my only backup in the unlikely event I even need backup.” 

Jon sighed. He knew that it was Damian-speak for ‘You’re the only one I trust right now.’ Even so, why did the bat-family have to be so weird with their feelings? 

“Where are we going anyway?” Jon asked, “You’ve been sketchy about that for hours.” 

“We’re investigating some magical surges in Paris. I’ll give you a full brief when we land, but apparently for this and other reasons, Constantine refuses to step foot in Paris.” 

Jon rolled his eyes, “And look at me, late on all my french lessons.” 

Damian huffed, “Don’t take me for a fool, Kent.” 

He fished a small device out of his pocket and tossed it to the half kryptonian. 

“This translation device can decode some of the most convoluted alien tongues, It should help you fine with something as paltry as French” 

Jon affixed the device to his ear. He was the only one who actually needed it. He knew Damian’s family, and one didn’t become a bat family member without learning one or two languages at least. He knew that Damian himself had like 5 languages under his belt. 

[jinxedpanda4life]

Criminal Investigator AU HC

I would first like to start off by saying thank you to everyone. 

I honestly did not expect the response I got to my Damirae Hospital AU HC list. 

When I first woke up and checked tumblr ~13 hours after posting I had a holy shit moment. 

I felt powerful, should I? Probably not. 

But! Since I am noticing a lack of AUs in the fandom, whether on Tumblr, AO3 or FanFiction.net, whatever AU comes to my mind I shall jot down some hcs for! 

Thank you all once again!

(Also trying format changes for easy reading)

(Also Also, I am thinking the story is less fluid but more episodic)

Let’s get started:

- So I’m thinking this is some FBI, SVU, and FBI BAU mixture or whatever. Basically all the great shows we know in love shoved together. From Bones to Criminal Minds and everything in between.

- Special Agent (Dr.) Raven Roth is a lead interrogator and is the resident psych consult. 

She’s been educated in interrogation, behavioral science, psychology, forensic pathology, and criminology. 

She has combat training (hand to hand), she carries (for her job) a gun and at all times has a knife/dagger on her person (people have stopped trying to figure out where she keeps them). 

Her father was/is crime boss T. Trigon who is currently imprisoned. 

Was born in the states but fled with her mother to Romania when she was a newborn.

When Trigon found them he killed Arella and took Raven, she was abut 9 - 10 years old.

She took her mother’s last name when she turned 18. 

Knows two languages besides English; French, Romanian, Romani (various dialects but knows multiple), Greek and Latin

On more than one occasion some goon of her father’s tries to recruit her, every time she kicks their ass. (Damian was there for the most recent (he was still green though))

Lives by herself in a decent sized apartment, has a gun safe (gun safety is important!), a cat (Nevermore), and is a regular at a 24/7 bookstore &/ cafe

Can usually be found wearing some kind of jacket, sweater, cardigan

She once helped save some kids (Melvin, Tommy & Teether) and is now their surrogate aunt, she has photos of them at her desk @ work. (Damian assumes/ed that they were her kids)

She also, when she can, hangs out and babysits them on occasion.

Raven is part of a team consisting of Dick Grayson (unit leader), Kori Anders, Garfield Logan, Jaime Reyes, and very recently Damian Wayne 

- Special Agent Damian Wayne is a lead investigator (he is still a bit fresh to the unit), translator, sniper and combat coordinator

He’s been educated in martial arts, explosives, hand to hand combat, close range combat, and combat (basically he knows how to kill you 9 ways to Sunday), also, behavioral science, computer science, criminology, linguistics and language. 

He can easily translate (into English): Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Bengali, French, Polish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, he can also learn any language you put in front of him and know the basics within a day

(Having lived in many places around the world he needed to be able to speak and understand in order to survive) (wow dramatic much?)

His father is currently the director (or deputy director, whatever floats ya boat) of the FBI.

His mother was essentially a secret agent who worked for various agencies around the globe. (deceased)

His grandfather was the leader of a, um, well to be honest, terrorist agency. (deceased)

Was sent to live with his father when he was 15 (when his mother died) and has been in the states ever since

Lives alone, he has an upscale apartment that he truthfully spends little time in, has multiple locations in the home where various weapons are stored, his place has a very cold atmosphere

Is either in proper work attire or in work out clothing, there is no in between

Tries and fails not to take work home with him

He sees a therapist (who says he should probably try investing in relationships with the people at his job)

His only “friend” (he hates calling him that, more like close acquaintance) is Jonathan Kent who was in his class at the FBI Academy, Jon works in a white collar crime department in Metropolis

The only person he actually kind of sort of doesn’t dislike is in fact Raven Roth, she’s a no bull shit person, he likes that

He may know Grayson because of how he’s Bruce’s kind of son but it does not mean he likes him

He finds Logan annoying as all hell, even if he is somewhat useful

He picked a fight with Reyes first day and regretted it (he will never admit that), he respects him

Anders is overly friendly in his opinion, kind of acts like a secretary with all that positivity and grates his nerves, he tolerates her

(Unlike last time I am not going in detail about the rest of the team, this will be brief)

- Supervisory Special Agent Dick Grayson (Unit Chief) is basically Dick Grayson with a big fancy title but all the same skills

He is also obsessed with Slade Wilson and Red X (who is Jason in this)

- Supervisory Special Agent Kori Anders is a lead investigator and is also a go to for undercover work

- Special Agent Garfield Logan is a lead interrogator, is head of the unit’s K-9 unit and kind of has a thing for Roth (which she does not reciprocate) 

- Special Agent Jaime Reyes is a tactical analyst, tech analyst and is head of the unit’s SWAT team, he does not do well with talking with people, or change

The Scarab is a computing program that Jaime created himself

STORY START:

- When Damian first joins the team there is another member, Special Agent Terra Markov, she is revealed as a sleeper agent but she aligns herself with the team and sadly is shot and killed in a fire fight

- A couple weeks after Agent Markov’s death everyone is talking about what they are doing for an upcoming holiday, Damian says probably nothing, Raven invites him to spend it with her and her “niece” and “nephews,” he declines

- About a day after the holiday Damian is home looking through case files when someone knocks on his door

-- It is Raven. He asks how she knew where he lived, she says she asked Dick, she also says that she knows how it feels to be alone and that he may be insufferable but it doesn’t mean he can’t have a friend

-- His response is saying he isn’t the kind to make friends with co workers

-- “I’m not asking to be your friend Damian, I am asking you to be his,” She reveals a small black great dane puppy “I know that other people aren’t really your thing, but having someone in your corner and waiting for you is always nice, even if it isn’t human.”

-- Damian invites her in, names the dog Titus and thanks her

-- “Just make sure no one tries to kidnap and kill you, we don’t need you to go full blown John Wick.” Damian has no idea who that is. Raven tells him it is an action movie series that he should watch. She leaves. He does watch them that night with Titus on his lap. (after having gone to the local pet supply store to get everything he needs) The action is inaccurate but he enjoyed the movies none the less, and decides that he probably would go into John Wick mode if someone hurt Titus.

- SA Roth and SA Wayne are sent to a high security federal prison to interrogate a prisoner, who refuses to speak

-- When they get into the interview room the prisoner does start to speak, but not in English and not in a language Damian is fluent in

-- Raven on the other hand immediately responds to the prisoner (shocking the prisoner and Damian) “He is speaking Romani though not the dialect of those overseas, he learned it here.” 

-- Damian is fascinated by it and they are essentially switching roles the entire time

-- They leave having successfully interviewing the prisoner, and Raven leaves behind a written list of common words in Romani so that they can possibly communicate with the prisoner better

-- As soon as they are on the plane back Damian asks her a myriad of questions from “How many languages do you know?” to “When did you learn that?” and even “Are you a spy? Sleeper agent? Part of a terrorist cell?”

-- “Not as many as you, when I was a child, if I was part of any of that you wouldn’t be asking.” The rest of the trip is spent with her teaching him Romani and even some Romanian

- Dick & Kori eventually get together and after a while they break up. Kori takes some vacation time. At the same Dick has been temporarily reassigned to another unit.

-- Chaos ensues

-- Garfield thinks he should be the interim unit chief, Jaime thinks the same, as does, you guessed it, Damian (Raven doesn’t want to she is comfortable with her role on the team)

-- In the end they are assigned an interim unit chief, SSA Jason Todd, who usually works overseas on covert op missions (not gonna lie this could easily flow into a Jayrae thing)

-- Everyone kind of falls into line, except Damian, Damian doesn’t like him for two reasons

1) He doesn’t act serious about the job 24/7

2) He has been flirting and hitting on Raven the moment he stepped into their sector 

-- Damian hates the names he gives her; “Little Bird,” “Sunshine,” “Princess,” “Rae,” (no one calls her Rae, not even Garfield, at least not after the incident) etc.

-- (Little does Damian know, Jason and Raven have worked together before and are actually friends)

-- This all comes to a head when Damian and Jason are the only ones still in the office after a tiring case.

          “You shouldn’t do that you know.”

           “Do what? All I am doing right now is contemplating where Grayson                    keeps the liquor.”

           “Call Raven all those names, she doesn’t like it.”

           “Really? Because if you haven’t noticed she hasn’t exactly asked me to                stop.”

           “She gets uncomfortable, maybe not to the extent of asking you to stop,              but she tenses up and her body language becomes slightly more                        agitated.”

          “You seem to pay a lot of attention in how she reacts to thinks baby brat.             Seems to me that you like her.”

           “Of course I like her, she is a good friend and reliable teammate.”

           “No, you like like her.”

           “That presumption is juvenile.”

           “But you don’t deny it.”

           “Tch.”

-- If anything after that conversation Jason seems to doubled his advances. Which confuses both Damian and Raven. Damian because it is inappropriate and HR will be hearing about this. Raven because she was under the assumption that she and Jason were just friends. (Jason actually does have genuine intentions but is like 60% just egging Damian on)

-- Eventually (far too long for Damian’s tastes), both Dick and Kori return. At first it is sooooooo awkward. Like mom and dad divorced have shared custody but don’t hate each other but also cannot look each other in the eye. ((Was that a mouthful? Good)) No one can really look at each other the same? Though they do have a meeting to sort it out, get everything out in the open.

- Raven’s annual kidnapping/attempt to convert her/torture comes almost exactly one year after Damian joined the team (this is his 2nd time dealing with this)

-- This time Damian is prepared. By prepared I mean Raven doesn’t even leave her apartment before she is taken to safety. 

    “Damian what is going on?”

    “Christmas came early this year that’s what.”

    “Christmas? What in gods name are you talking about.”

    “God has no dealings in this matter.”

    “You do realize you are sounding like a bad action movie? It is not even 6 am and I am in your car going somewhere, I have had little to no sleep and I am barely dressed. What is going on?” Damian hadn’t payed attention to what clothing Raven was wearing. His mind was on one goal. Find Raven, keep Raven safe. His eyes glanced off the road enough to realize she was indeed not properly dressed. Her body was merely adorned with an oversized tee-shirt, tiny barely there shorts and a pair of fluffy socks.

    “I apologize, it appears in my haste I did not leave you time to properly clothe yourself. As to why you are here, it seems your father and his people have shortened their waiting time this year from one year to a little more than ten months.” Ravens hands fisted her shirt. “This time I was prepared,” last time he was still new to everything, last time he made mistakes, this time there will be no mistakes. “Since our last encounter with your demon, so to speak, I have been setting in place precautions and safety measures to ensure Nevermore and yours’ safety. I have also been tracking the movements of his big players. If any came close I would mark it down. Multiple are entering the city at this moment. Seeing as you we taken last time I have made plans to ensure that will not happen again.” The car made a snap turn down an unfamiliar street pulling Raven from her clouded gaze.

    “So I am going to be okay this time?” Her voice was faint and restraining against hope.

    “You’re going to be okay.” His hand lightly held hers. Only to stop the shaking, they told themselves, only to make everything better. “Nevermore is with Titus at my place being watched by a friend of mine. I have already walked Grayson through everything we will not be expected at work this week, but we can work remotely.”

     “We?”

     “I’m not going to leave you. Ever.”

-- ((Sorry for the blocks of text))

-- As Raven finds out they are at one of Damian’s safe houses. The one least likely to be tied to her. It is fully stocked with food, has security cameras and if needed weapons. The only problem is that the only clothes there are Damians.

    “Thought of everything huh?”

     “I was following their pattern, I expected to have more time to acquire clothing for you.” (he was looking away and blushing, you cannot tell me he wasn’t)

-- Raven just resigns herself to wearing Damian’s clothes, yes his brain does stop working for a hot second when he sees her in only his clothes.

-- All attempts to try and retrieve codename: Gem of Scath are foiled (like some good math)

-- So many bonding moments happen. Cuddling (pure accident *rolls eyes*), eating together, inside jokes, etc. At one point Damian answers her phone (he disabled and disconnected the tracer) to one of the mob guys after them.

    “Hello?”

     “You can hide the gem but we will find her.”

     “I’m sorry, is there a jewel you are looking for? I don’t think I have and any jewels that I am coveting.”

     “We know you are with her! It is but a matter of time until we collect her.”

     “I hope you do eventually find whatever you are looking for sir, but I haven’t the slightest idea the gem you speak of. If you could give me a physical description? Is it a ruby, diamond, onyx? Is it round or more of a pear shape?”

    “...”

    “Well, I will look for it here, but I do not believe I possess what you speak of. Will you give me your number so I can call you back?” (The line cuts dead, and Raven can be seen laughing in the background, the phone was on speaker)

-- Once the team tracks down, arrests and interrogates all of the parties working for Trigon; Raven and Nevermore can go home. Though both are reluctant in their own way. Nevermore has grown attached to Titus, and Raven well Raven has feelings. Sadly, as Raven knows, feelings are dangerous to have in their line of work. 

-- Look at Dick and Kori they were together and then they fell apart and the team almost imploded.

-- What about Trigon if he finds out about Damian and how she feels towards him? What kind of danger will he be in then?

-- Like all of her feelings Raven puts them in a box and locks the box away. Not just figuratively, in her safe there is a box with: post its, torn papers, journals, etc. That box has a lock on it. Whenever she has a new feeling that she cannot ignore, like her feelings towards Special Agent Wayne, she takes out the box and writes her feelings down. They can range from a single sentence to pages worth. (Her feelings towards Damian fill a small notebook she has on hand). Once she has written all of her feelings out she places them in the box, locks said box and then places the locked box in her safe, which she then locks.

-- Is this a healthy way to cope with her feelings? Maybe not. But, it is way better than how Damian deals with his. Violence. Also art but violence comes first.

- At this point both Damian and Raven have caught the feelings (highly contagious I hear), which makes this a little awkward and a little not awkward. For one everyone but Raven knows how Damian feels towards her. He does things for her and with her that no one else gets the privilege to.

-- To list a few:

--- He brings her tea whenever he gets himself coffee or tea

--- He talks to her about what he does outside of work, even about his kind of friend definitely not enemy, Jon.

--- They socialize outside of work. Watching bad movies (some of them are not that bad), going to the park with Titus (they once got Nevermore in a leash and walked her), meeting each other before and after work to get breakfast or dinner.

--- He doesn’t glare at her

--- He allows physical contact between the two

--- He worries about her (hello he created an entire plan so that she wouldn’t get kidnapped, with contingencies and everything, garfield would be lucky to get a plan)

--- His eyes light up when she talks, or enters a room, or you know exists in his vicinity

--- He actually smiles around her (Dick caught him smiling once at Raven and he though Damian was having a stroke)

-- Even though everyone knows Damian likes Raven, very few know that Raven likes Damian back. (this only includes; Kori, Dick, Jason, Titus, Nevermore, and Melvin) She does do certain things that give herself away just like Damian.

--The list:

--- When Damian gets frustrated or angry she puts a hand on his arm, or holds his hand

--- She laughs at things he does (light chuckles, or little giggles)

--- She will talk to him about his interests and actively tries to have conversations with him about things unrelated to work.

--- She blushes when he does something unexpected (like a compliment)((Mostly she tries to hide it until he isn’t looking at her))(((Kori has caught the blush before)))

-- Luckily for them it does not take some cliche ‘One suddenly becomes in danger and the other one saves them only to be close to death and then they admit their love for one another and promise to go on a date when the other is healed’ situation. 

-- Damian actually asks Raven out after being tipped of by Jason and Dick that she may like him back. Damian finds out when they have days off at the same time and asks her while leaving work.

   “Raven, you have this weekend off correct?”

   “Yeah I do. I wasn’t planning on doing anything though. Did you have something in mind?”

    “Um, yeah, heh, I was wondering if you would do me the pleasure of going to dinner with me tomorrow.” *Awkwardly rubs back of neck*

    “Like a date or two friends going to dinner?” *Thinks she sounds harsh* “I am honestly fine with either since we are friends.” *nervous smile*

     “Like a date if that is okay with you of course.”

     “Yeah, yeah totally that is totally okay with me.” *Starts sounding like a teenage girl who only knows about 10 words, because she’s nervous*

      “Good, I’ll be by your place around 1830, if that is okay?” *nerve central, the central nervous system could never*

       “Yup that is totally fine with me.”

       “Great.”

       “Good.” The elevator opens in the knick of time.

       “See you tomorrow evening Agent Roth. Have a good night.”

        “You too, Agent Wayne, you too.”

-- When Damian does pick her up he feels like his brain is going to explode. She looks absolutely breathtaking. This is just like all the other times they’ve gone to dinner, except this restaurant is slightly fancier and they are on a date.

-- Raven feels as though all her emotions are leaking out at once, she has no idea what she is doing.

-- In the end they have a good time and decide to do it again. Damian does bring up that all of the breakfasts and dinners they regularly do could now be considered dates. Raven does not oppose that switch at all.

- Fast forward a handful of years (like 3?), Damian and Raven are moved in together (Nevermore and Titus are happy about this, they even allow the humans to adopt another pet, a cat named Alfred). Damian is now Supervisory Special Agent Wayne and is in charge of their unit. Raven has retired from field work and now works at the FBI academy and at Virginia State University. In about 6 months Damian is going to propose and Raven will say yes. Their wedding will be small but happy and full of life.

Once again I would like to thank everyone and all the support the previous post got.

Like last time if anything is disjointed, out of place or seems wrong, please go ahead and tell me. I have been working on this since the last one, but have finally had the time to finish it.

I hope the new year will bring us all some good. Possibly more head canons to come.

[pushspacetocontinue]

Russell TF2 Verse Fact

Since becoming a Spy, Russell ‘Clark Kents’ his career. When he’s not on the job or on the field, he dresses in his off duty clothes, doesn’t have his mask on, and speaks in his normal voice. Those who don’t know about him being a Spy might not have a clue from his off duty attire and attitude.

However, on the field, he has his mask and spy get up on, he uses his disguise kit to make his voice sound deeper, raspier, and to make the French accent he uses more pronounced. He also keeps his sentences and instructions brief, and often uses silent gestures or sign language to communicate to a teammate. Some might believe him to be a ‘quiet, calculating, or even sinister’ type, which he doesn’t mind having, if only because he finds it interesting, and because it means they’re less likely to try and get close to him and figure out who he really is. 

Of course, this could have the potential to be juicy for when those who don’t know about this (but perhaps just know him in his off-duty role) possibly find out. 

[comeoncomeout41]

I just watched the Elf episode of The Holiday Movies That Made Us on Netflix after remembering that I started writing an Elf supercorp AU for Christmas in 2018 (don’t judge me) and found my old notes app first draft so Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! MAYBE I’ll finish it this year... (she said as a lying liar who lies.)

*The fic in which Kara’s pod crash landed at the North Pole, 13 years later her adopted elf mother Eliza and her elf sister Alex tell her about her cousin Kal now Clark Kent and she decides to go to Metropolis to meet the only other person like her. She meets Lena “naughty list” Luthor. And Clark and Lois are Jewish.

🔥🎄🎄🎄🧝‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Some elves are born to work in Santa’s workshop. Kara Zor-El, however, was not born an elf or even from this earth for that matter.

When her pod crash landed at the North Pole thirteen years ago, she had no memory of a lost planet, no recollection of a cousin she was sent to protect who had already grown up to become Superman, and no idea how to be an alien living with elves. Santa was perturbed as to what to do with a skittish teenaged alien who cringed at the sound of tiny hammers building toys.

The elf doctor, Eliza Danvers, having a daughter around Kara’s age, naturally stepped in to help raise her, teach her elf culture, and attempt to control her powers. There were several mishaps of course.

Kara’s eyes lit up the first time she saw a Christmas tree. Literally. The green pine was burned to a crisp with her heat vision. But she quickly uprooted another tree from outside the elf village and helped Alex redecorate the new tree. And spent several hours carefully placing the new lights and ornaments, after breaking several of the glowing strings of light and the ornate red and blue colored bulbs. When Alex had trouble reaching the top of the tree, Kara swooped her up under her arms to help her place the star on the tree. And she managed to only break one of Alex’s ribs in the process.

After years of being at the North Pole, Kara was actually a wonderful toy maker once she learned to control her strength. When other elves managed to meet their five hundred toy quotas, Kara would have five thousand toys completed. The workshop wouldn’t need any teddy bears for another century, but finding storage for all of the toys Kara built was becoming difficult.

So from there, Kara’s primary job became Elf Master of Letters. She spends several hours each day answering letters for Santa as Santa’s tight schedule and the millions of letters he received each year became too much for the old bearded man. And although she always needed a little proofreading as the different Earth languages were sometimes difficult and much different than her native alien tongue, she enjoyed writing and speaking to children all over the world, bringing them the joy of Christmas.

Alex read over the letter Kara had just finished typing. Her younger but much bigger sister looked to her with a twinkle in her eyes and waited patiently. When Kara saw the red ink marked all over Kara’s letter she cooed and gasped, “That red is so pretty Alex. I know Raymond in Denver will love it! He told me red was his favorite color. I wanted to tell him that’s Santa’s favorite color too! But I didn’t want to give all of the big man’s secrets away, you know?”

Alex sighed and rested her hand on her sister’s shoulder, “Kara, these are your typos. Look here.”

Alex pointed to the last line, “Beleiving isn’t singing. Singing is beleiving.”

“He asked if he could see what the North Pole looks like. I set him straight. Believing isn’t singing. Singing is believing. That was in that one Santa Claus movie you had me watch, which I know isn’t historically accurate or based on true events, but I still,”

“Kara, remember your English spellings. I before e except after c? And it’s seeing not singing.

“Except in some cases like neighbor and weigh. And I just thought! It’s a play on words because ‘the best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!’”

Alex smiled at her then, “You’ll get the hang of it.“

“Yeah, okay so I can’t spell that great, but the writing was good right?” Kara looked hopeful.

Alex shoved her shoulder, “You know you have more Christmas spirit than any other elf. Now come on and fix these typos, so we can go drink hot chocolate with Mom.”

That night when Kara had gone to bed, belly full of twelve drumsticks, eleven pickled peppers, ten cups of hot chocolate, nine hams glazed, eight glasses of milk, seven strudel pastries, six white chocolate goose eggs, five onion rings, four carrot cakes, three French bagels, two turtle chocolates, and a chocolate pecan pie, she curled up on her elf sized bed. Eliza had knit a fourth blanket onto her elf quilt the previous month when her toes started peeking out at the bottom. Alex had tucked her in tonight, making certain she was snug as a bug in a rug in the tiny bed, wishing sweet dreams of sugarplums dancing in her head.

She was content, happy, home and tomorrow would be her thirteenth birthday at the North Pole. What more could her life possibly be, what could be more rewarding than being apart of the magic that brought Christmas to children all over the world? And still Kara thought of that world and all of the little lights that wrote those letters to Santa, the gleaming eyes of all who opened presents on Christmas morning, and she wondered if any of them were like her. If they could hear the faintest sounds of snow falling or reach up and touch the clouds. If they could roast chestnuts with their eyes or see through all those pretty presents wrapped neatly under the tree. If the people of this world could believe that Santa would come every year to bring them gifts, then she had to believe that somewhere out there, there was someone else who was just like her.

That night Kara dreamed of a beautiful red sunset and little baby boy named Kal. It all felt so real, seeing him jet across the sky in a similar pod to the one Kara had found in an abandoned workshop years ago, knowing it must have been how she found her home. She wrote a letter to Santa as soon as she woke up, asking him to find a home for Kal for Christmas.

_____

Kara had been in trouble a bit, always an accident, because really how was it her fault if Blitzen couldn’t keep up with her? He could have flown faster if he hadn’t eaten all of that maple syrup and maybe then he wouldn’t have been left behind! She carried him back the whole way anyway! After she found him three days later in the Swiss Alps.

But this time when she was called to Santa’s office and Eliza and Alex sat patiently waiting for the charges from the big boss, Kara didn’t know why she was here at all, or rather, now she was on the floor with wood debris around her rear because the little chair was a lot lower than she had anticipated. That was the tenth one this month.

Santa cleared his throat and rubbed his white bearded chin, “I read your letter, and I spoke to your mom and sister. I think they have something they’d like to tell you.”

Kara widened her eyes and looked to her mom, “Are we going to adopt Kal? Like you adopted me? Please say we can Eliza. I promise I’ll teach him myself how to control his powers, and I can build him a crib myself. I’ll even chop down the tree for the wood and we can,”

Eliza cupped Kara’s face and kissed her forehead, a tear prickling at the corner of her eye, “Do you remember Kal now sweetie? Do you remember Krypton?”

Kara blew out her breath in bewilderment, “Krypton? What’s that? Is that where I’m from? Is it in Canada? I’ve always felt I was probably a Canadian because I don’t get cold at the North Pole, and I make the best maple syrup every year during the elf Christmas party.”

Santa nodded, “Its true, you really do.”

Alex gasped, “you know you’re not an elf?”

Kara chewed at her fingernails, “Well I’m not, am I? I’m bigger than all of you and I can lift a Christmas tree over my head like it’s mistletoe and fly with reindeer and all sorts of stuff. I’ve known for awhile I’m not from here, but this is still my home. You two are still my family.”

Alex held back all her unshed tears, “But you have other family out there, and we can’t keep you from knowing about Kal anymore.”

So that day Kara cried when Santa showed her the picture of Kal, or Clark Kent as he was called on Earth, glasses askew and a beautiful woman on his arm. Clark without the glasses bearing what she was told was her family crest, the House of El, taking up the mantle of Earth’s greatest hero, Superman. She had crafted thousands of figurines of her only living blood relative, and yet she hadn’t the faintest idea that she had been sent to protect him for all of these years. He had grown up, not alone at least. He was raised in Kansas on a farm, and now he lived in Metropolis with his wife Lois Lane and their son Jonathan Kent.

“Does he even know I exist?”

_____

Kara changed into her best elf attire and her bright red boots that Eliza had made her for Christmas, letting her open one present before she left. Today was the day that she would fly to Metropolis and meet her cousin for the first time. She couldn’t wait, but the dread at leaving Alex and Eliza settled deep in the pit of her stomach. And all of the letters to Santa she still wanted to respond to sat neatly at her desk in her room.

She was leaving behind her entire life at the North Pole. She told herself she wasn’t losing her home, but it still felt like it. Santa’s workshop, Eliza and Alex, it was all she had ever known or could remember. Would it be the same when she came back? Would her room still smell like a gingerbread house and would her stocking still hang by their chimney with care? Would Kal come with her or would she split her time between Kal and Alex and Eliza like some children who get double presents when their parents divorce?

Alex knocked on her door and waltzed in, “Hey Kara, mom made you something to take to Kal. There’s a winter storm over Greenland, you should probably get going soon.”

Kara wiped the tears from her eyes and her sister rushed to hug her. She had to bend down a little and lift Alex off the ground, but no way was she leaving without giving her sister a proper hug.

“I’m going to miss you and mom so much, Alex. I’ve never been away from home for more than a few hours, how am I going to make it to Christmas without you both? Will you even still want me back?”

Alex nuzzled closer, “You better come back because I don’t want to imagine this place without you. Who’s going to lift the fridge so mom can sweep under it hmm? Who’s going to change all of the light bulbs in the workshop when they blow out? Who’s going to drink hot chocolate with me and watch Hallmark movies in July?”

Kara laughed, shaking her head and deposited Alex on the floor, “I thought you hated the Hallmark channel.”

Alex simply rolled her eyes, “But I love spending time with my sister, and I love you, you big sap. I swore I wasn’t going to cry.”

Feeling slightly better Kara shoves her sister’s shoulder, a little too hard and catches her before she falls, “I love you too, dork. Don’t open the present I got you until you get back, pinky swear?”

Alex locks pinkies with Kara and kisses her thumb, “I’ll miss you. Please be safe. No breaking the sound barrier, watch out for pigeons because there’s a lot in Metropolis or so I’ve read. And when you see Kal remember to call him Clark Kent.”

“Got it, and don’t eat anything I don’t buy myself or anything not given to me by Clark, Lois, or Jonathan because there’s a high chance it’s not candy.”

Kara hugged Eliza for thirty minutes after that, and then Alex for another ten minutes before waving goodbye to Santa and all of the elves at his workshop. Metropolis wasn’t so far for her to fly, and she’d be home in no time.

She coasted through the peppermint sparkled glaciers, touched the northern lights, sailed through the skies above the Arctic Ocean, grazed the top of the Daily Planet, and landed atop the small two bedroom apartment building on the rent controlled side of town. Inside the windows of the corner apartment on the top floor, Kara saw Kal with his family, lighting candles, looking happy and calm. She decided to wait until morning to meet Kal, Clark, alone.

She listened into the city around her, all of the heartbeats like a million tiny hammers beating together, all except one. Kara flew the city, pinpointing the sound, admiring all of the lights on all the trees in all of the buildings and all the shining multicolored bulbs lining the streets. And it was there, in the tallest tower of the tallest building, one light shone through the wall to wall window, a small desk lamp in the large office. At the desk a woman with jet black hair and skin as white and fair as snow sat, typing away at her computer, nibbling on the pen in her mouth. She strained her long elegant neck, and stretched her arms above her head before getting back to work.

Kara glanced below the balcony to the street corner, finding what she knew the young woman needed. She floated down to the alley and walked into a coffee shop, took some time figuring out how to pay for a cup of coffee with the paper and coin money that Santa had given her before she left. Smiled and thanked the cashier for helping her, put one of the bills in his tip jar (it was a hundred.) She quickly flew into the woman’s office, left the coffee on her desk, and flew out of sight, feeling a little like Santa herself in the moment.

The woman grabbed the coffee absentmindedly and sipped, not expecting it to be so hot Kara sees her fanning her mouth and frantically searching the room with her eyes. When she turns to peer out her balcony, Kara sees her face, hard jaw line, soft endearing green eyes. She smiles as the woman screams and locks her balcony door as the windows go pitch black.

[lycheepocketwitch]

how i met your queen (pt. 2)

backstory of how each queen met & moved in together in my fake dating x college parrward au.

also on ao3.

part one. two. three. four. five. +one.

HOW I MET YOUR QUEEN

two. anne boleyn

When Catalina started studying in England, she went by Catherine because it was easier to pronounce for the English, but Jane refused to call her that. “Your name’s Catalina. It’s not hard. Even if it was, it’s your name. Why would I call you anything other than your name or your nickname?” Jane said one day.

So, the blonde girl was the only person at school who would ever call her by her birth name. Others had called her that way too, but after years of being called ‘Catherine’ by her peers, it never felt right to be called ‘Catalina’ unless it was Jane.

There were also two other people outside of Catalina’s family who still called her by her birth name. One of them was Anne Boleyn.

Born in Kent, Anne soon moved to France with her family because of her father’s job. The Boleyns went back to England to visit family every once in a while, but once the leaves turned orange, it was time for the three Boleyn children to return to France for school. Anne’s academic journey continued in England as she entered secondary school, and her performance was definitely affected by the switch.

Anne wasn’t exactly failing her courses, but the transition from the French system to the English one didn’t help her lack of motivation in school. She tried to get good grades, but being the middle child meant that her parents paid more attention to her older sister and younger brother. So, she often got away with less than decent grades, whatever that meant.

When A levels came around, she couldn’t slack off anymore. Her family belonged to the upper-middle class, but Anne couldn’t bear the idea of wasting her parents’ money were she to flunk her exams. She also hated the idea of disappointing them. Anne didn’t think of herself as someone who sought the approval of others, but she did want to make her parents proud. At 16, she had had her fair share of critiques from her parents. “That boy will do you no good. You could do better in school. We think you could have become friends with better people.”

Though, it wasn’t like she was going to fail her exams. Well, maybe one of them.

Anne didn’t know why she found Spanish so hard. She already learned French when she was younger because she went to boarding school in France before secondary school. French and Spanish shared Latin roots, so many words were similar. Yet, Anne was seriously doubting whether she’d be able to pass her exams in a few months.

That was how she met Catalina. Or Catherine, as her parents first told her.

There weren’t that many Spanish tutors around in England, but her parents managed to find a small tutoring group who did have a native Spanish speaker who worked with them. The moment Anne revealed she was struggling with the new language, her parents contacted Catherine and hired her as Anne’s tutor.

Anne cared about first impressions, so when she arrived nearly 15 minutes late to her first tutoring sessions, she apologized profusely the moment she was facing Catherine. “I’m so so so sorry. I swear I don’t usually arrive late to things. And I would’ve called you to tell you about it, but my phone died. And I’m really not trying to give you excuses because I know how annoying that is—”

“Anne,” Catherine interrupted her. “Let’s just get on with the lesson, yeah?”

She winced at the blank expression she received, but agreed to proceed anyway. As time passed, Anne tried her best to warm up to her tutor, but it was like that girl made it her duty to let Anne know that she didn’t like her.

No, that wasn’t fair. Her tutor didn’t make her feel like they were on bad terms, but Anne was used to people being friendlier with her. Not to sound arrogant, but she knew that she had a certain charm to her. Everyone she had ever met got along with her, and gravitated towards her. She couldn’t say the same about her tutor though. Anne tried making jokes as Catherine went over the ending of verbs in the present tense, but Catherine gave no reaction to her pleasantries. She simply stared at her in silence.

By the end of her first session, Anne hadn’t given up on winning Catherine over, but she decided that she’d continue her quest next time. For now, she’d settle with just not falling on Catherine’s bad side. She was just leaving the library when she realized she left one of her books behind.

Anne quickly ran back inside to the table where she and Catherine sat. Upon her arrival, she overheard Catherine whispering to someone on the phone. For a moment, she wondered if the other person on the line was speaking way too loudly or if Catherine had dialled the volume on her phone all the way up because she could very clearly hear the other person talking.

“Mija, you will come back home for your brother’s party,” said the other person on the line.

“Mamá, can’t I come another time? I have an exam soon and I really can’t—”

“Catalina De Aragón,” the person, that Anne figured was Catherine—or Catalina’s mother said.

Catherine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine. Cuídese, madre.”

“Didn’t know people still addressed their mothers as ‘mother’,” Anne said, making her tutor jump.

“Anne!” She whispered-shouted with her hand on her heart.

“Sorry, I thought you saw me walk in. I was looking for my textbook,” she explained and gestured to the cleared table.

“Oh yes, you forgot it here. I was going to call you, but you told me your phone died. So, I figured I’d bring it to you during our next session.” She leaned down to take out the book from her bag, and handed it to her tutee.

“Thanks. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop by the way… The volume on your phone is really loud,” Anne said meekly.

The older girl waved it off. “My mother’s the one who talks loud. I could keep my phone on the lowest volume and you’d probably hear her in America. And you didn’t overhear anything important, so it’s fine really.”

Anne nodded and thanked her tutor one last time. She started to leave before turning back and asked, “I thought your name was Catherine?”

“It…is.”

“Then why did you mom…” Anne didn’t want to finish that sentence. They both knew Anne have overheard her conversation, but saying it felt more intrusive.

“I’ve been going by 'Catherine' ever since I started secondary school in England. People find it easier to pronounce than Catalina.”

Anne frowned. “It’s literally four syllables. How can people mess it up?”

Catalina let out a laugh. “You’d be surprised how many people used to call me by the wrong name. I’ve heard Carina, Catrina, Karen, Carla.”

“Camilla?”

“Ah, haven’t gotten that one yet, but I’ve gotten Carter.”

Anne couldn’t help but laugh at that one. “Carter? People truly are idiots. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’ve gotten used to it.” Catalina shrugged.

“But you shouldn’t have to. It’s your name… I know I called you Catherine earlier, but is it okay with you if I call you by your actual name?”

Catalina smiled. “Of course.”

Anne grinned. “Then, I want a restart. Mostly because I would rather forget the fact that I arrived 15 minutes late to our first tutoring session.” Catalina laughed and nodded. “Hi,” she said and held out her hand, “I’m Anne.”

“I’m Catalina,” she replied, shaking the teenager’s hand.

From then on, Anne felt like she had unintentionally won Catalina over, which she was glad about. Not because she was a suck-up, but because that was how she gained a new friend. A friend she could never imagine a life without.

Catalina was her tutor, yes. But even after Anne finished her A levels with flying colours, they kept in contact. Upon exchanging social media handles, Catalina realized her ex (and Jane’s future) ex dated Anne right after they’d broken up. Anne was so young when they had gotten together, but he was already nearly an adult. She’d never realized how predatory he had been until she opened up to Catalina about their relationship.

Catalina was the one who suggested she go to a therapist to process this because even though she wanted to help Anne as a friend, she wasn’t a professional and didn’t have the tools to properly help her. Anne agreed to go, and it was the best experience of her life. She probably wouldn’t have been to heal from those scars without Catalina because she’d never felt comfortable enough around anyone to talk about it.

The only other person she felt a strong connection with was her younger cousin, Katherine, but she was too young to listen to Anne’s relationship troubles. And she had bigger issues she had to face at her young age. She’d lost her mother at the age of 5 and now at 16, she was losing her father.

Katherine was the youngest of 11. There a significant age gap between most of her older siblings and herself. So, she never got to truly bond with them. Even if her closest sister, Mary, was the same age as Anne, Kat and Mary weren’t that close either because the older girl spent a lot of time at school, hoping for a better future.

Anne was Kat’s only blood-relative who seemed to care about her. When her father fell ill, Kat’s older siblings had all moved out by then. It made sense. Most of them were adults by then with lives of their own. Then, there was Mary who was just 20, and had moved across the pond to the State to study. Her siblings did their best to check on their baby sister, but she couldn’t blame them for having busy lives.

Her cousin, however, was furious that her siblings didn’t try harder to take care of Kat. So, she talked to Kat’s father, and got all the paperwork necessary to become Kat’s legal guardian once he passed away. Edmund easily agreed, knowing that he didn’t have many options for Kat. Either ways, Anne had pretty much been the one to take care of his youngest daughter for the past year.

Anne hadn’t really given much thought to becoming Kat’s legal guardian. She dove headfirst in everything she did, but she never regretted signing those papers. Kat was her baby cousin. They’d only met when Anne was 9 and Kat was 5, but she’d loved and cared for that little ever since they met at Kat’s mother’s funeral.

It felt like it was a natural progression for Anne to take on the role as Kat’s legal guardian. But when it finally happened, Anne started to freak out. She was only 20 years old. She had just taken a gap year to travel around Europe and was starting drama school in the fall. She barely considered herself an adult. How was she supposed to take care of a 16-year-old? Granted, Kat was fairly autonomous for a teenager, but Anne still felt the need to be a good parent-like figure.

Her intuition told her to call Catalina for advice. They’d kept in touch after she’d finished tutoring Anne, and they’d talk a bit every year to catch up, but it had been years since they’d last seen each other, much less have a conversation that exceeded ‘what have you been up to’.

Anne was grateful that Catalina was ready with open arms to help her younger friend out. Catalina had a motherly nature to her and succeeded in calming Anne down. “I remember you telling me about Kat, and your relationship. You already seem to have taken the role of a legal guardian before the papers made it official. The only thing that’s changed is that the government recognizes it now.” She told Anne as she rubbed her back.

“It’s normal that you’re feeling nervous, but I’m confident that you’re going to be just fine. Maybe you’ll have a few mishaps, but mistakes are bound to happen. Just make sure to talk about it. You know how important communication is. And remember that you are her cousin, but you’re also her legal guardian now. Sometimes, you’ll need to be more authoritative. It’ll feel weird, but it’s going to be okay,” Catalina said.

Anne thanked her former tutor as Catalina paid for their coffee before leaving the shop. “You know you can always call me, Annie.”

“I know, and I probably will now,” she replied. “What with Kat and all that.”

“Hey,” she called her and put a hand on Anne’s shoulder, “you’ll be alright.”

She nodded and melted into Catalina’s arms. Anne was convinced Catalina’s hugs were a gift sent from heaven. They never failed to make her feel at home. Thankfully for Anne, she would get to hug Catalina more often because they decided to have supper altogether every month. Catalina, Jane, Anne, and Katherine.

The first one they had was at Catalina and Jane’s home. Anne noticed there were still a few boxes left to unpack and Jane quickly tried to block Anne’s view. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about that, honey.” Catalina giggled at Jane’s antics.

“We’ve been here a year and we still have things left to unpack,” Jane told Catalina.

“You’re busy women, I get it.” Anne shrugged.

It was the first time Anne (and Kat) met Jane, but she had heard plenty of the lovely woman from Catalina in the past. Jane and Anne got along just fine, but from the get-go, Jane had this instinct to look after Kat who didn’t mind at all.

Catalina had prepared a delicious meal for them, nicely seasoned chicken with some rice, but she still had to finish roasting some veggies, so Anne helped her out. Meanwhile, Jane sat with Kat and told her about the brownie recipe she was testing out. As they ate, the four women shared various stories relating to what was going on in their lives. Catalina told them about this new kid in her class that she was having trouble with because he refused to speak in Spanish even though that was pretty much the most important rule of her classroom (other than respect). Jane continued with a story about the same boy who paid her a visit in her office for a fake bloody nose, and then she saw him the next day when she worked a shift at the hospital for an actual bloody nose. Kat realized that she knew the kid because he was her classmate’s brother and proceeded to tell them about the two boys’ strange behaviour.

For the first time in a long time, Anne felt at home, with those three other women surrounding her, all laughing at a joke she’d just told. She glanced around the dinner table, observing Catalina and Jane listening carefully to Kat talking animatedly about this stray dog she kept seeing near the schoolyard that she’d nicknamed Wolfie. This felt right, like she should have been doing this much sooner.

Back at the flat, she and Kat shared meals pretty much every night, and they talked, but she couldn’t deny that from time to time, it felt forced. They couldn’t just sit in comfortable silence, because that didn’t exist in their household. Not since they became a household. And some night, Anne wondered how their relationship changed when Kat started living with her. Was it a mistake?

No way.

She loved living with Kat. So, what was the uneasy feeling about? Anne didn’t get to figure it out during dinner because the night was over as quickly as it started. Anne almost wanted to ask to stay a bit longer because she thought this, the group, felt more like home than just her and her Kitkat back at her flat. Kat had moved in with her just a few months ago, and everything was going smoothly, but Anne couldn’t ignore that there was something that didn’t feel quite right.

She originally thought it was because the place was too cramped for two people. Anne had transformed her office into a bedroom for Kat, but she had to admit it was quite a small bedroom. It barely had enough space for a bed, never mind a desk. Kat assured her that it was perfect. She preferred staying in the living room with Anne anyways. Well, when Anne was home.

Anne was a familiar face in the college party scene. Before Kat, Anne would go out with her friends every weekend, but she stopped the moment Kat moved in. Though, her younger cousin urged her to go out from time to time. “I’ll be fine if I’m alone a few Fridays here and there, Annie,” she said with a smile. “It’ll give me some time away from you too,” she teased.

So, Anne felt comfortable going out again. She often bumped into this one German girl, Anna. She was a bartender, and when she wasn’t working, she was partying at the same places Anne was. She was one of the rare people who actually stuck around after discovering that the alluring Anne Boleyn was actually just a regular girl.

“Oh, cut it off, Boleyn,” Anne said loudly, fighting with the music. “Stop being so self-deprecating. You’re an amazing gal. Yeah, people approach you because you have an enchanting aura, but people should also know that there’s so much more to you than just a mystery to unravel.”

“I don’t think you’re talking about me,” Anne said, head resting on the bar. “If I was all that and more, tell me why I’m here getting drunk instead of taking care of my baby cousin.

“First of all, get your head off of that. Who knows how filthy that surface is. Second of all, your ‘baby cousin’ isn’t a baby. She’s nearly 17. Stop talking about it like you’re an alcoholic mother abandoning her newborn daughter. Third of all… if you really want to be with Kat, why don’t you just go home then?” Anna said in a more tender voice.

“Because,” Anne whined. “Because… because it doesn’t feel like home!” She grunted and rested her head in her hands. “I’m trying so damn hard to make Kat happy, and bless Kitkat’s heart, she’s being the absolute best kid anyone could ever ask for. She helps with chores, she goes to school and is doing well, she tells me that I’m going a good job at taking care of her and I should go out to let loose more. It’s like I’m the kid and she’s the parent.”

“She says she’s happy and that she doesn’t need anything else. But I know she deserves more. She deserves a home, but I don’t know how to give her that.” A crestfallen expression appeared on Anne’s face.

“Why don’t you tell her that?” Anna suggested. “Tell her everything you’ve just told me. Maybe you two can figure it out together instead of you kicking yourself for something you probably can’t change alone.”

“I’m drunk. I probably won’t even remember this tomorrow morning,” Anne explained.

She was right.

The next morning, the only thing Anne remembered was that Anna had brought her home and she and Kat tucked her in bed after making her drink a glass of water. With the sunlight hitting her face, Anne squinted and struggled to sit up. She felt terrible, but at least she wasn’t nauseous. She had a hint of a headache, but it was nothing ibuprofen couldn’t remedy.

She would get up soon to do something productive, but for now, Anne wanted just a few more minutes in the comfort of her bed. Kat didn’t seem to care about that because she knocked harshly on Anne’s door just as she started to fall back asleep. “Annie?” She stayed silent hoping the teenager would leave if she thought she was sleeping. To her dismay, Kat just barged in the room. “I know you’re awake, I heard you flop back down on your bed.”

“What is it, Kitkat?” Anne asked, her face buried in her pillow.

“We need to start preparing dinner for tonight.”

Anne’s head shot up, her eyes wide open. “Oh fuck!”

“You forgot, didn’t you,” Kat said. Even though Anne couldn’t see her face, she could hear the smile in her voice.

Anne tried to untangle herself from the mess of her bedsheets to get up as quickly as possible. She had never gotten out of bed and ready to leave her flat as fast as she had that day. And it was all because she forgot she had planned to have dinner at her flat with Catalina, Jane, and Kat.

Anne wasn’t as great of a cook as Catalina was, but she had managed to survive these past few years without ordering too much takeout. And with Kat under her wing now, she had pushed herself to learn more recipes. Kat, on the other hand, had learned to cook young because she and Mary didn’t really like their father’s cooking. So, when she moved in with Anne, she helped out a lot.

In the grocery store, Anne was trying to remember whether they needed to restock their paprika when Kat asked her, “is it true you don’t feel at home with me?” Way to start off a casual conversation on a Saturday morning.

Anne turned to study Kat’s face. “Kat…”

“Anna told me last night that you said you felt like something was wrong, that you were trying, but that it didn’t feel like home. Did I do something wrong?” She asked in a small voice.

“Oh, Kitkat, no of course not. You haven’t done anything wrong,” Anne replied and rushed to hug her younger cousin. “Honestly, I don’t really remember what I told Anna… but I just…” She sighed. “I don’t know. It’s not about you or living with you. I’ve sort of felt like something was off even before all of this. I thought that when you moved in, it would all change. I thought I was just missing the presence of more family. And in some way, I was right because living with you is so much better than living alone!”

“You’re like this ball of sunshine that’s entered my life. And everything is better when you’re around… Yet, I have this feeling that something’s missing, and I can’t place what it is.”

“Do you want to live with Catalina and Jane?” Kat suddenly asked.

“What?”

“Jane stopped by the café I work at last week, and we talked a bit. She offered us to move in with them. She heard that your flat is quite small, and she thinks their house feels too big for just the two of them. She’s talked to Catalina about it, but she doesn’t want to pressure you into anything because she knows how much you love the flat we currently live in,” Kat clarified.

Catalina was right. That flat had a special place in Anne’s heart. Sure, it wasn’t the best flat. At certain times of the year, she could hear her upstairs neighbours’ footsteps. And there was a specific way to turn on the faucet unless they wanted to hear the pipes squeak for hours. It had its flaws, but that place held so many memories. It was the first flat Anne had moved into after leaving her childhood home. Following her gap year, she’d welcomed friends over from various countries she had visited in the past. She’d rehearsed so many lines for auditions in front of the mirror in her bedroom. It was the place where she took Kat under her wing.

So, leaving that flat wasn’t an idea Anne was fond of, but living with Catalina, Jane and Kat? That was something she could get behind. Catalina had never asked her though. She had told Jane that it was because she cared about Anne’s feelings, but what if she was lying? What if Catalina didn’t actually want to live with her? Just like that, Anne’s insecurities got the best of her, and she started to doubt every little thing that had ever happened between her and her former tutor.

The part of her that was hyper self-conscious kept running past scenarios in her head the whole day. Kat noticed that her older cousin seemed a bit out of it, but she attributed it to nerves. She probably wanted to impress Catalina and Jane. But even throughout the dinner, Anne seemed to have a small permanent frown on her face. It wasn’t until Catalina pulled her aside that she realized everyone could tell she wasn’t feeling well.

“Annie, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she squeaked.

“That’s what you said when I asked you if you understood what difference between ser and estar… Just in case you forgot that painfully long session, you lied,” Catalina retorted, crossing her arms. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.” She knitted her eyebrows, clearly worried about the younger woman.

Anne kept quiet, but Catalina didn’t budge. She stood there in front of Anne who sat on the edge of her bed. Anne may be stubborn, but so was Catalina. She would wait as long as she had to until Anne was ready to talk about what was tormenting her. Anyways, Kat was busy showing Jane her collection of small puppy-plushies in her room. So, they weren’t going to be interrupted anytime soon.

It turns out, Anne was no match when it came to Catalina’s stubbornness. Anne sighed and let her shoulders drop. “I feel like I’m doing this whole thing wrong.”

“With Kat?” Anne nodded. “What did she say?”

“Nothing. She actually thinks she’s done something wrong, but it’s not her. It has to be me. I’m always messing up. I mean just look at my whole life. I dated the first guy who showed interest in me and he turned out to be a jerk, not to mention a massive creep. I’m supposed to good in languages, yet I couldn’t pass that Spanish course for the life of me. And I decided that I was fit to take care of a teenager when I’m barely an adult myself. I make dumb decisions after dumb decisions. I can’t do anything good in life. I’m a fuck up.”

“Anne Boleyn, you stop that,” Catalina said sternly. She crouched down to grab Anne by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “I need you to listen to me carefully. You are not a fuck up. You make mistakes, yes, but so does everyone else on this Earth. That Spanish course? You passed it. So what if you needed some help along the way? That is perfectly fine. Plus, that’s how we met. Don’t tell me you regret meeting now.” She winked, but returned to her serious tone right after.

“Deciding to take care of Kat when nobody else would? It wasn’t an impulsive decision. It may feel like it, but deep down, you know that this was the best thing that could’ve happened to her. You made that decision because you have an instinct to take care of Kat, and you do a damn good job at it. Kat knows it, you know it, we all do,” she told her, never breaking eye contact.

“And don’t even get me started on the whole Henry thing. He took advantage of you. You were a literal child. He was nearly a legal adult. How were you supposed to distinguish right from wrong when he’d pretty much been grooming you?” Catalina sat down next to Anne to hold her in her arms. “I thought you were working on this in therapy.”

“I stopped going a while back,” Anne admitted. “I’ve been so busy trying to take care of Kat and juggling that along with school and work. There are only so many hours in a day, and I have to start preparing for my final third-year showcase. It’s still a year away, but you know how many opportunities I could get from that. You can never start practicing too early.”

“Oh, Annie,” Catalina cooed and stroked her hair. Anne hadn’t realized she had been crying until she felt the dampened fabric of Catalina’s shirt against her cheek. She let Anne cry against her, recalling a memory of Jane and her being in a similar position just a few years ago.

Catalina pulled away for a moment and said, “I have something to propose to you, but I don’t want to force you to do anything you do want to.” Seeing Anne being attentive and open, she continued, “Jane and I have been talking ever since we had dinner last month. We’ve known each other for years now, the two of us. I haven’t known Kat for all that long, but I’d like to think that the four of us get along quite well. Jane, especially, has taken a liking to Kat. Sometimes, I think she sees Kat as her daughter even though she’s just a few years younger.” Both chuckled at that.

“And I have noticed how relaxed you were during that first dinner, which I think is vastly different from tonight or even when I bump into you in the streets. Now, that you’ve told me how you’ve been feeling. Everything kind of makes more sense. I’ve been meaning to ask you this, but never found the right moment to do so. If I don’t ask now, I feel like I might regret it down the road. So, again, you don’t have to say yes, or even give me a solid response right now, but would you consider moving in with us? Both you and Kat?”

“I think it could really help you feel less stress—” Anne wrapped her arms tightly around Catalina’s body.

“I’d love that,” Anne breathed out.

Catalina grinned and repositioned herself to be more comfortable. “I need you to do something for me though if you’re going to live with us.” Anne braced herself for the request that was coming her way. “Please, go back to therapy.”

“I will,” Anna promised with a smile.

“Guess what?” Catalina asked a moment later. “Someone called me Camilla today.”

Anne laughed, and in that moment, she knew that Catalina was right all along. Everything would be okay.

part one. two. three. four. five. +one.