#[take it as you will; if I didn't really try to live by the motto]

[duskyvenus]

444: Written in the Stars

A PAC about the person who is the one for you 💖 Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Open your eyes and choose the photo that speaks to you. Six piles left to right. This is for entertainment purposes only, take what resonates.

Pile 1

Your person likes/has cats or cats can be significant in your relationship. This person really likes nature and animals. They like listening to music and may have a record player at home. Could also be an artist. A highly sensitive person. They see beauty in everything. They like taking photos to capture memories. May have brown hair or brown eyes. March and April might be important. This person is a bit melancholic and absentminded at times (?) It can be hard to notice at first but they have a lot on their mind. Nevertheless they know that they are more sensitive than most people and try to stay hopeful. You could feel resilience and healing energy oozing from them when you talk to them. They could also be a therapist or counselor or someone who studies psychology. They have the vibes of a very calm and nice teacher who minds their own business. They know how powerful words can be and they insist on maintaining peace. A very helpful person. "I know you can do it but let me do it for you" kind of person. Numbers and signs: 33, 3, 19, 14, Pisces, Gemini, Libra, Aquarius, Sagittarius, Cancer, Leo

Thank you for reading!!

Pile 2

Your person likes coffee or tea. They like celebrating their wins. I'm seeing cakes and lots of smiling faces. They are definitely very outgoing. They like forming meaningful relationships, not just mindless networking. They have creativity and a lot of ideas, so they could be a content creator or influencer. Sharp, spontaneous and open-minded. They're also financially secure; I'm seeing a job in finance. And they rely on people a lot more than they should? Maybe because they are looking for something that they can't find in a job. I'm seeing some co-dependency. They carry a lot of nostalgia and regret in their heart; someone who feels homesick for people. They may have studied anthropology and sociology. Couple outfits or couple activities is their thing. The type of person who gets hurt by people but still cannot imagine a whole life without a partner. June or October might be significant. They collect things like stamps or shells or dried flowers. Their house could look like a museum. YOLO could be their motto. Numbers and signs: 25, 1, 11, 13, Libra, Sagittarius, Aries, Leo, Taurus, Pisces

Thank you for reading!!

Pile 3

This pile has some young energy. Someone with a competitive spirit. They have this spoiled princess/prince persona for the people that don't know them very well. In reality, they are someone who works very hard to achieve success and they could be very smug about their accomplishments which might put some people off. I'm sensing that they believe in manifestation and law of attraction. They're also a bit defensive and guarded so it's hard to get to know them. I think they are someone who just wants to have control over their own life. They might have grown up in a situation where they didn't have much control over decisions concerning them so now, they are just trying to get their power back. They learned to stand up for themselves so now the people that could no longer control them are not happy about it. They made peace with it though. They're focusing on making their pinterest board dream life come true. One of their biggest dreams is to live in a beautiful house. January and August could be important. Numbers and signs: 16, 8, 5, 4, Scorpio, Virgo, Pisces, Capricorn, Aquarius, Aries, Sagittarius

Thank you for reading!!

Pile 4

Your person is everywhere but also nowhere. They remind me of shows like my liberation notes, they feel like a warm cup of tea that comforts you at the end of a stressful day. They are the “always the artist but never the muse" trope. Similar to pile 1, they are soft spoken and kind. They fit in but they don't feel seen. They like journaling their thoughts because they feel so much. "I don't know where to put it down" Despite this, they have a small group of friends that feel like soulmates or soul family to them. Getting closer to them can be hard because they just enjoy their own solitude that they don't feel the need to be with someone all the time. Very independent. When you get to know them though, you will find that they are very accepting and funny even. A true friend and a loyal partner. They will love to share their interests and hobbies with you. They desire someone who gets them on a spiritual level and they will always be there for you. They really value loyalty and a no bs attitude. For some of you, they could be from a different culture/country. They can probably speak many languages. The type to learn your native language so that communication is never a barrier. Numbers and signs: 32, 13, 14, 5, Virgo, Gemini, Pisces, Leo, Libra, Capricorn, Scorpio, Aquarius

Thank you for reading!!

Pile 5

This person has an elusive persona. The cold and rich male lead character of a manhwa/drama. They prefer night over day; might be a night owl. They are secretly a hopeless romantic. They need someone who is like sunshine. Initially they give off this dark, serious and mature vibe but underneath they have a very soft core. They are a very caring and nurturing person but that energy has been stifled because of their environment. The reason why they act so serious is because they don’t want people to take advantage of them. To them, you are like a warm ray of sunshine that makes them feel alive again. They hate authority. They hate having all these responsibilities that tie them down and keep them busy. They are deserving of their position because of their hard work and leadership qualities, but sometimes they just want to run away from it. They feel that they have a different purpose. However, they could be hesitant to move on from their comfort zone. Out of all the piles, this pile is the most eager to meet you. They said, “you have so much light, the plants grow towards you”. Numbers and signs: 25, 8, 14, 3, Capricorn, Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Taurus, Aries, Libra

Thank you for reading!!

Pile 6

This pile has a very endearing energy. Someone who goes through all of it and yet chooses to be kind. “Memories are all I have” A very poetic or sentimental kind of person who struggles in making decisions. Also, they like humor based on their own pain. They like visiting places that are off the grid and collecting random things. They often dress up to go nowhere. They tend to do a lot of silly things that wouldn’t make sense to the average person because they are silly, duh. Quite the hopeless romantic too. Apart from all the silliness, they are avoidant of the reality because they often dissociate and have tendency to spiral into inner turmoil. They may struggle to understand their own feelings. All this is hidden under the persona of being the happy go lucky friend. In the end, they just want to bond over the little things and enjoy the mundane tasks of everyday life with someone. They may work in a field related to children or history. May, September could be significant. Numbers and signs: 26, 6, 2, 18, Cancer, Scorpio, Gemini, Pisces, Virgo, Libra, Aries

Thank you for reading!!

[soap-brain]

i think one of the nate eliot things is that they're both fucking unhinged. there's something feral about them, something that's capable of disregarding basic humanity. we know eliot is a killer, and a ruthless one at that, and he's not afraid of being in those kind of situations, which in a way dehumanises him, this inability to feel fear.

and nate. nate!! that man is terrifying! get in line, or get out of the way is his motto, and he applies it to absolutely everyone. especially in the earlier seasons, and yes he applies it to sophie (who is unarguably closest to him) too! for maggie he decides that she will get out of the way (because falling in line with him would mean that she would break the law, and she's a Good Citizen, not a Criminal or a Thief, and it never occurs to him that it's not a black and white situation... or that his ex wife matches his crazy).

and if you do neither, he ends you. simple as that. he doesn't kill you and he doesn't physically harm you, but what he does is arguably worse, because he ruins your life in ways eliot can't.

and they very quickly recognise each other as apex predators and both allow the other to use that for their crusade. eliot is a weapon that needs pointing in the right direction, that's what he's getting out of their relationship; and nate needs someone who'll have a go at him and who he can't actually hurt. because nate ruins lives by ruining their reputations, and what reputation does eliot have to lose? and conversely, not even nate ford could convince the world that eliot spencer isn't really fucking dangerous

(sidenote: that's why making moreau watch eliot spencer decrying the evil presidential dog fights is so fucking funny. there's an excellent post about it somewhere on here)

eliot thinks he's further along the path of being something inhuman, and he also thinks nate can still be saved from becoming that too. being an insurance cop, a "good guy" (btw a very laughable concept about how working in insurance makes you a good person. like. if that were the case then how come the same "good guys" let nate's son die so they didn't have to pay for his treatment?), was what kept nate on the straight and narrow before, and now giving him something to do might stop him from going completely off the rails ("how long until you fall apart again? a guy like you can't be out of the game, that's why you were a wreck. you need the chase" is what eliot's saying to convince nate to stay with the team).

unfortunately running with criminals doesn't fix nate the way eliot would like for it to, because the guy suddenly stops recognising any and all societal rules and overcompensates by trying to keep full control of everything all the time. he is so unreasonably mad at sophie for trying to help her friend teresa who got screwed over by marcone.

"she should've known what she got into, her husband working with the mob" and cpl perry from the ep before should've known what he got into, joining the military, but for some reason he's worth helping because he didn't "choose" to become a criminal. did teresa choose to get in with the mob or did she and her husband just not have another chance?

and when the entire team agrees they want to take that job, nate throws a hissy fit. tells them all to walk if they don't like the way he runs the team.

so does leverage fix nate? maybe after five seasons. but at first it makes him worse because between "not having to abide by normal human laws anymore" and the alcohol he completely loses his restraint

and eliot gets that. eliot has been there, has completely lost any and all principles (working for moreau mostly) and is now trying to glue the pieces of himself back together into something that isn't horrible. but nate isn't there yet. nate is still violent and dangerous, and eliot is the only one on the team who isn't disgusted by it. sophie certainly is. hardison and parker are too, even if they don't say it out loud. eliot may not like it, but he gets it.

and in return, nate is the only one who knows about what happened in the big bang job. he can hold eliot back with as little as a gesture or a look and it's not a slight to eliot at all. eliot trusts nate to point him in the right direction because they both need the same thing:

to be a good man.

also:

eliot: what, you think the only thing i know how to do is bust heads? nate: no... well, yeah. eliot: hold a knife like this, cuts through an onion. hold a knife like this, cuts thought like eight yakuza in 4 seconds. screams, carnage... nate: yeah good point actually

like apart from how it's funny, any normal person would react with some version of "that's so fucked up". and nate is just like yeah nah that tracks actually, fair enough, do carry on

also @scotchiegirl something about nate and eliot and violence? sorry for tagging you aslkdjfhasdlkfj i just had ThoughtsTM

[starryeyeddreamer21]

I need Vaggie and Husk to be friends SO badly. I just think they have potential like they could possibly be one of the best duos if given a chance. I actually have so many thoughts on this so hear me out:

There's so much potential JUST because of their relationships with Charlie and Angel (Charlie and Angel are siblings but we don't need to get into that right now)

But seriously short grumpy characters with wings and their extroverted beanpole partner is killing me

So basically I can see them both ranting about what their partners are doing on a daily basis but it always ends with "I love them SO much" "Cheers I'll drink to that"

I have a feeling Charlie and Angel are both the kind of people to leave lipstick marks on their partners and just not tell them so Husk and Vaggie have to check each other out real quick before going anywhere. I mean no questions asked just one of them standing in front of the other with their arms and legs spread out until the other one gives them a thumbs up or a rag to clean it off with.

I also think it would be funny if Husk was the first person to know Vaggie was an angel he just didn't mention it. He says so himself that the residents of the hotel will spill their secrets when they get drunk so Vaggie definitely got drunk and let it slip that she was an angel but didn't remember it by morning. Husk's motto is basically "That's none of my business" so he just doesn't say anything.

Also continuing with the "that's none of my business" thing, Vaggie absolutely agrees with that sentiment as long as it doesn't hurt Charlie or the hotel. Neither of them like people digging into their business and having Alastor in their lives means someone is ALWAYS digging so it's nice to be with someone who just does not care.

Oh and they both shit on Alastor 24/7 so good for them

PREENING EACH OTHER!!! By the time Vaggie gets her wings back they're close enough for this. Husk hates his wings and is shit at taking care of them but Vaggie really wants this to happen. She does miss some things about the exorcists and that's one of them. Of course she would never say that out loud but Husk gets it and they do it anyway.

Vaggie would start flying ALL THE TIME after getting her wings like she has so much time to catch up on. Angel knows that her and Husk are good friends and that Husk hates his form so he'll get Vaggie to convince Husk to fly with her. It takes a little bit but they have fun and Charlie is really proud of her so it's worth it.

They can literally sit in comfortable silence for hours and not get bored

They bicker all the time about everything like they'll say the meanest shit but they're besties and they're joking so it's fine

They are so down to kill Valentino at any time. They have multiple plans, they have lists, they're really creative about it too.

They'll just sit, people watch, and judge strangers together

They're so judgemental but also the least judgmental??? They'd be like "Why would you do that you dumbass" but also actually listen to what's being said and try to find a reasonable solution for each other

Double dates that Vaggie and Husk don't actually want to go on but unfortunately Charlie and Angel are convincing (they have a really good time)

They were both stripped from their occupations (overlord/angel). They miss it sometimes and they feel bad about it because they were both terrible people during those times. When they get like this they always seek each other's company. Sometimes they actually talk about it, sometimes they change the subject to something completely different, sometimes they have a drink and sit in silence. Either way they only acknowledge it with each other.

Husk teaches Vaggie how to make drinks. It's calming for him (even though it's annoying that he's technically being forced to do it) so he thought she might like it. She does and is actually really good at it. When they get more residents she'll help him out behind the bar.

Sometimes they'll sing together. They sound amazing and their partners love it. Husk also tries to teach Vaggie how to play saxophone it does not go as good as bartending did

They're the only ones in the hotel that can speak Spanish so yes they do use that to their advantage

Are both so tired all the time. They just deserve a stress free nap. They end up curled up together asleep and are found by Angel in the middle of the night. He takes a picture and immediately sends it to Charlie. Charlie and Angel manage to keep the picture but are not allowed to show anyone or ever mention it again.

They would never actually admit to being friends even though they're best friends and one of the few people the other can actually stand being around

JUST HUSK AND VAGGIE BEING BEST FRIENDS YOU GUYS

[chucky-vs-the-giant-tortoise]

i’ve got you

JJ Maybank x sister!reader

summary: an anxious Y/N feels overwhelmed while partying with the pogues at the boneyard, and JJ does his best to calm her nerves.

warning(s): underaged drinking, panic attack

a/n: a big thank you to anyone who enjoyed my last maybank!sister snippet. i hope to write a lot more for JJ in the future, so feel free to leave any requests if you have any specific ideas of what you’d like to read!

also please let me know if i should make these shorter. lol. i'm never sure.

Y/N screwed her eyes shut, trying and failing to keep her hands from trembling as they dented her red solo cup. Her heart was beating so fast that her head could barely keep up, the loud music and sweaty bodies that enclosed her doing nothing to ease her mind.

It was a picturesque summer night out in the boneyard, which of course meant that the Pogues just had to have a kegger. Y/N had grown used to the routine by then, tagging along as they went out to buy the keg and an insane amount of plastic cups that Kie always complained she found littered all over the beach the morning after. Y/N typically helped in the prep for whatever wild evening lay ahead, and had even served as a DD the few times that the Pogues got plastered enough to willingly allow a 15-year-old to drive the Twinkie. However, despite her brother's constant pleading and nagging, she'd never actually attended one of their infamous beach parties.

At least, not until tonight.

Y/N had always been shy, the complete opposite of her elder brother and all of his wild impulsivity. She hated big crowds and loud noises, and even though she would occasionally drink one while out on the Pogue, she wasn't even the biggest fan of beer. But JJ had begged her to join them all day long, poking and prodding at her nerves in his attempts to finally get his baby sister out of her shell.

"Come on, Y/N. You really wanna spend the rest of your life cooped up in the chateau?" he'd said dramatically, throwing his hands up in desperation. "You really oughtta live a little sometime."

You really oughtta live a little sometime.

His words had haunted her well into the evening, and at the last minute she'd finally decided to bite the bullet. JJ was right, after all. While most kids her age were busy making memories and taking risks, she spent her evenings curled up with a book in her lap.

Sure, it wouldn't be the most comfortable experience, but what was the worst that could happen? After all, like her brother always said, stupid things had good outcomes all the time.

She made a mental note to correct JJ on that stupid motto as someone pushed past her, blowing chunks into the bushes only a few feet away from rigid form.

Y/N covered her nose, averting her gaze just in time to notice a familiar head of blond hair breaking through the mess of bodies whooping and grinding on one another.

"Holy shit!" JJ hollered wildly, dimples painfully visible in his state of drunken bliss. "Tom, that's some gnarly shit, man! Trust me, you're gonna feel that tomorrow." He gave the boy a pat on the back as he retched, though thankfully the steady stream of vomit had ended.

Y/N only stood and watched. It was clear that JJ hadn't seen her, but maybe that was for the best. The last thing she wanted was to ruin his night.

"Yo, Y/N/N!"

Too late.

JJ made his way over in sloppy strides, and Y/N turned up her nose at the stench of alcohol clinging to him. He pulled her into him with an arm slung over her shoulders.

"Hi, Jay." Y/N hoped her brother was drunk enough not to notice the tremble in her voice.

"Where'd you go, kid? I've been looking for you all night." He was leaning on her now, gleefully unaware as he slowly crushed her beneath his weight. Y/N groaned with the effort it took to keep her brother upright, struggling not to remind him that it was in fact he who left her to do some shots and never returned.

"Yeah I was . . . I was j-just--"

"Shit, I didn't know you were drinking. That's my girl," he slurred with a wink, pointing at the cup Y/N was damn near close to dropping. It was all getting too much for her—JJ's weight boring into her side, the overwhelming stench of beer, the screaming mouths and dancing bodies slowly closing her in. She felt like a caged animal, her lungs tight and chest heavy.

"Hey, you seen Pope yet? I lost him an hour ago—saw him walk off with some blonde chick with a tramp stamp. Oh, you need a top-up? You should go now, 'm pretty sure the keg's getting low."

JJ continued to ramble on as Y/N crumbled underneath him, her eyes searching desperately for somewhere to go.

"Aw man, I love this song!" Y/N gasped as JJ began jerking her around, forcing her to sway back and forth with him. "Yo, Kurt! Turn that shit up bro!"

Y/N felt blood rushing to her ears, her hands growing clammy as her nerves took over. You're fine, she told herself. You're fine, you're fine. But it wasn't working—she couldn't hear herself think over the music blaring from the speakers.

"Come on, loosen up Y/N! Let's dance!"

"No!" Y/N reached her breaking point, escaping from beneath her brother's outstretched arm. JJ stumbled, just barely managing to catch himself and get a good look at the fear etched into Y/N's features.

"What? Y/N—" He held out a hand that she cringed away from, breathing raggedly as she did.

"Just leave me alone!"

"Y/N!" JJ called after her as she ran off, not knowing exactly where she was headed but intent on getting away. She wound up crouching behind a small hill across from the bustling core of the party, far enough away that the music finally fell to an acceptable volume.

Y/N brought her knees to chest and buried her face in them, fingers tugging at her hair as tears spilled from her eyes. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could she be dumb enough to let JJ convince her that this would be a good idea? Y/N forced her breathing to slow as her chest tightened, coughing in her feeble attempts.

Y/N had listened to a few songs run their course by the time she managed to get a grip on herself, her breaths steadying as she counted eight-second inhales and eight-second exhales. Still Y/N rested her forehead against her knees, so dead-set on staying calm that she didn't notice the sound of JJ's footsteps in the sand.

"Hey." Y/N gasped, her head shooting upright as she scrambled to back away from whoever had found her. "Hey, calm down. It’s alright, Y/N." She sighed in relief when she recognized JJ's outline in the dark, her brother crouched before her shrunken form. "It's okay. Just me."

"Oh," she mumbled. "Sorry."

"'S okay. Didn't mean to scare you." He awkwardly held out another cup to her, which she observed warily. "Don't worry, it’s just water. Figured it might help more than beer."

Y/N smiled, accepting JJ's peace offering gratefully. "You'd be right about that." She greedily drank it all in one gulp, only then realizing how dry her mouth had gotten. "Thanks, Jay."

"Least I could do, since I forced you to come her." Y/N sighed, noticing the guilt swimming in her brother's blue eyes.

"You didn't force me."

"Well, I might as well have."

"it's not your fault, JJ." He rested a comforting hand on her knee.

"Sure it is. I knew you didn't like this kind of scene and I dragged you here anyway." He ran his free hand through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut as regret consumed his intoxicated mind.

"It's okay." Y/N shuffled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. JJ ruffled her hair. "Sorry I can't be a party animal like you."

"Ah, don't sweat it. Makes my job a lot easier, anyway." Y/N giggled, shoving him lightly, and JJ couldn't help but smile. "So, what's the plan? Want me to drive you home?"

Y/N scoffed. "I don't even think you could if you tried."

"Oh, Y/N," He teased her with a smile, "you severely underestimate my driving skills."

"And you severely overestimate my willingness to die." JJ chuckled at that. "Plus, who said I wanted to leave?"

"You’re gonna stay?'

"Yeah, why not? I mean, I've made myself a pretty comfy hideout over here." JJ pouted.

"I guess . . ." He looked down at his sister with a smirk. "Or you could try the party again."

Immediately Y/N felt that skin-crawling uncertainity take over once more. She bit at her bottom lip. "I don't . . . I dunno, Jay."

"Look, I promise I won't leave you this time. We can just sit around the campfire—maybe try to find Kie or something. What'd'ya think?" He held out a hand to her. "We'll take it slow."

Y/N considered this for a moment, eventually taking hold of her brother's hand. "Okay."

"Sweet!" JJ tried his best to stand, but only wound up falling back on his ass. "I'm gonna need some help getting up, though."

Y/N laughed, hoisting her brother to his feet with a grunt, and JJ smiled as she allowed her hand to linger in his while they walked. The very same way she did when they were little.

Just like JJ promised, he found the two of them a space to sit by the blazing campfire and never left Y/N's side.

・❥・

Hours had passed before the kegger had begun to die down, their beer long gone and speakers long dead. The rest of the Pogues had finally joined the Maybanks around the fire pit, and the group listened comfortably as Kie plucked at the strings of her ukulele. "Y'know what, Jay? I wouldn't mind trying this kegger thing again."

JJ smiled. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it." She snuggled closer to his chest, absorbing whatever extra heat his body offered. "As long as you're there to hold my hand."

[fierymiasma]

➷ Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon ➷ // ominis x sebastian x f!mc

Summary: Ominis catches Sebastian and f!MC sneaking out of their shared house again, off on another dangerous adventure without him. Luckily, they know just how to make it up to him.

Tags: Fluff, Domestic Bliss, OT3, Silver Ttrio, Making Out, Aged Up! characters, Living Together

Word Count: 3.8k 🍃

|| My Other Work || AO3 ||

Ominis tapped his foot against the rug impatiently.  He'd been sitting in their living room, tea now cold at the side table, awaiting the other two's return.  He checked his magical watch again, only two minutes since the last time he'd check.

The nerve of those two.  Sneaking out in the dead of the night while he was asleep.  Doing Merlin knows what, going Merlin knows where.  Ever since the three of them decided to move in together, to make things official, he made them promise him that all of those unsanctioned not work-related adventures would come to an end.  He never wanted to be a widower at age 20 for Merlin's sake.  And yet, somehow, despite all their vows, he's been up since midnight impatiently waiting for their arrival back home.

At last, their front door open, creaking quite loudly despite their best efforts.  His two lovers had arrived back home, unaware that the real danger had just begun.

"Shhhh, sweetheart, you're going to wake him up.  Ominis will be livid if he knew what we'd been up to."  Sebastian whispered rather loudly all the way across the house.  They all were really getting older if Sebastian thought he was being sneaky.

He heard the front door gently click closed.  One of them locked it quietly. A feminine voice whisper-retorted, "Well, we would have cleared out those dungeons much sooner if someone didn't wake up the sleeping dragon."

Ominis could feel his heart in his throat.  A dragon?  Were they hurt?  If they weren't injured already, Ominis was going to make sure they were.

There was the sound of shuffling.  They were trying to take off their adventuring gear that they thought Ominis didn't know they had.  Sebastian teased.  "In all fairness, I thought our Hogwarts motto about tickling sleeping dragons was a small suggestion at best, or a defiant dare at the most."

One of them must have knocked over the umbrella stand loudly, making a rather loud crashing sound.  There was a sound of agony and swearing. 

"Shhhhhhh.  You'll wake him up!" She scolded Sebastian.  "If Ominis finds out where we've been, then we'd really be dead."

Ominis sighed, finishing the rest of his tea. Well, it seems like that was his cue.  Quietly getting out of his comfortable armchair, he strolled into the entrance room, his wand lighting his way.

"If Ominis finds out what?"  Ominis drawled announcing his dramatic entrance.

"Oh, bollocks!" Sebastian swore, knocking over the umbrella stand once again, causing a cacophony of tumbling knickknacks and overturned shoes.

"Ominis!"  She yelped.  Her voice had a nervous tone.  "Oh, darling, did we wake you up?"  She kissed him on both cheeks in greeting.  "Why don't we all go back to bed?"

Ominis has been with the pair of them too long to be distracted by placating kisses, no matter how sweet.  "And where are you two coming from?"

"-Taking out the rubbish-" Sebastian answered way too quickly.

"-Letting out the cat-" She blurted out at the same time.

The guilty duo stared at each other, now caught. 

Sebastian scowled.  Hands on his hips, he turned to their female partner.  "We don't even have a cat, sweetheart."

She frantically worried at her hands.  "You know I'm not very good at lying." 

Ominis was furious.  "I wake up, in the middle of the night, to find that our bed is once again empty.  No note, no sign of any of you two in the house."  The rid tip of his wand made angry sparks.  "You went off on one of your ridiculously dangerous, stupidly reckless adventures, didn't you?  You made a promise to me the last time this happened that you won't go gallivanting off to any more abandoned castles."

"Technically," Sebastian murmured under his breath as his girlfriend desperately jabbed him in the stomach to get him to shut up.  "No promises were broken.  I did swear, no more crumbling castles this time, Ominis.  We were in an abandoned dungeon this time.  Quite different scenarios really."

"Shut up, Sebastian!"  She whispered through gritted teeth.  "The second he finds out we had to duel a dragon; we're going to be in real trouble."

"Oh, I already know."  Ominis declared.  "I can't believe the two of you.  Fighting dragons?  Fighting trolls?  This isn't Hogwarts anymore!  You can't just floo powder your way back to the infirmary and expect everything to work itself out!"

She nodded rapidly, falling to pieces under Ominis interrogation.  "Ominis, I'm so sorry.  I didn't mean to."  Sebastian rolled his eyes.  She always folded so easily for Ominis.  "I really mean it.  I didn't want to make you upset.  I know we promised.  But this time-"

Sebastian covered her mouth with his hands before she could spout out any more damning evidence.  "Ominis, it was just an errand run.  Nothing more than that, I swear, on Salazar Slytherin himself."

Ominis narrowed his eyes not fooled by Sebastian's lies.  He could smell burnt fabric, as if someone's sleeve had been a bit too close to the dragon's breath.  The air smelled ferric, as if there was blood spilt, either theirs or their enemies.  He sighed.  "I don't even want to know what you two were up to.  Merlin knows if I knew half of the stuff the two of you did, I'd be sent to an early grave."  He walked up to Sebastian.  Ominis ran gentle fingers over Sebastian's face, trying to map out any new cuts or bruises.  Sebastian chased his fingers with butterfly kisses as if trying to apologize for scaring him.  

"Are you two hurt?" he asked.

"No."

"Never, not even a scratch on her." 

Ominis nodded, stiffly.  "Good, I’m glad to see you both in one piece."

Ominis let the false sense of security wash over them.  The relief was palpable as they relaxed their tense shoulders, seemingly having weathered the storm of one of Ominis' infamous lectures.

Now that he knew they were safe, unharmed, and uninjured.  Ominis could finally give them a piece of his mind. He exploded.

"Again!  The two of you!  Why, I've had it up to here with the two of you.  Making me worried sick.  Look at me, I'm losing my hair, sick with worried.  I stayed up all night worried that one of you will come back in a coffin.  When we decided to be together, to properly be together, we all swore an oath to keep each other safe.  And here you are again, constantly breaking our vow to me, sneaking out in the dead of the night, not knowing if you'll ever come back in one piece.  Why, I'm so crossed I'm at a loss for words."

Despite claiming to be speechless, the guilty duo had to sit and listen to Ominis' tirade for the better parts of an hour.  As Ominis stopped to catch his breath, and calm his nerves, Sebastian decided now was the best time to chime in.

"Well, I've certainly learned my lesson." Sebastian interrupted rather boldly despite his girlfriend's increasingly panicked expression.  "I'm glad we were able to come to another agreement, love.  But really, Ominis you needn't needlessly worry.  We're the two best duelists in all of England."  He bragged.  "Even the ministry's hitwizards have nothing on us.  All of your worrying is just going to give your wrinkles."

Ominis whipped around to face him.  "You are not to speak for the rest of the night.  Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."  Sebastian gulped.

"And you," The tides of Ominis' wrath turned to his girlfriend.  "Again, and again, time after time, you let Sebastian and the whole population in London talk you into doing these insanely reckless activities.  Fetching dragons' eggs, fighting a whole horde of inferi, Merlin, when will you finally learn to say no?"  She looked down at her feet.  It felt eerily similar to their first meeting together.  "I don't know what's worse Sebastian's defiance of my direct orders or your constant need to please people at the expense of your own health."

The people-pleasing Hufflepuff in question could feel the tears threatening to make their appearance.  She wrapped her arms around Ominis, paradoxically wanting to seek comfort from the very man that was angry at her.  She buried her face in Ominis' chest, trying to hide herself away from his painful words.  "I'm so sorry, Ominis."  Her words were mumbled into his soon-to-be-wet sweater.  "Please don't be angry at me….or Sebastian."

Ominis sighed.  Dating two such different people was thrilling in its own right but also quite difficult at times.  Where Sebastian has not been immune to his moments of explosive emotions, their girlfriend lived and died by Ominis praises and words of affection.  Ominis tried his best, never to raise his voice at her.  But he was only human, and in moments like these where Ominis wasn't sure if they were safe or even alive at all…it was hard.  He did feel slightly bad.  It was just like their first meeting together, when he hear the new girl with the beautiful voice step out of Sebastian and his Undercroft.  The Gaunt family's wrath was perhaps one of the only things he did inherit from them.

It was always too hard to be angry at his lovers for any amount of time.  Hugging her back, he rested his cheek on the top of her head.  He ran his delicate hands through her hand, soothing her despite still being quite cross with her.

 "Darling, I'm not angry anymore.  Just disappointed in you.  I expect much better from someone as extraordinary as you."

She hated it when Ominis yelled at her.  Somehow it was much different compared to her screaming matches that she would have with Sebastian.  When the usual level-headed, calm Ominis yelled at her, he was most definitely in the right.  Now, the quiet disappointment?  This was much much worse than Ominis being angry at her.  Sebastian came closer to the pair, rubbing her lower back in support. 

It was always the same pattern time after time.  Ominis would get furious at the two of them for something that Sebastian would convince their girlfriend to do.  A very stern talking to and lecture would be had.  It always ended up in one of two ways.  Sebastian would sweet talk his way back into Ominis' good graces (and back into their shared bed), or she would unintentionally be her charming, selfless, kind-hearted self and just evaporate any of Ominis' anger. 

"So!"  Sebastian clapped his hands cheerily.  "It's been quite a long day.  I'm knackered and would love a good sleep in between the most handsome wizard in London and the most gorgeous witch in all of England.  Let's put this poor girl to bed, shall we Ominis?  I think she's quite learned her lesson."

"Oh, don't you think you can get away so easily, Sebastian."

Drat.  He really did hope that would work this time around.

Perhaps it was time for a different approach.  He moved behind the hugging couple snaking his arms in between the others' embrace, standing on the tips of his feet to rest his jaw on the taller man's shoulder.  Embracing Ominis from behind, he used his signature Sebastian Sallow voice that would have had schoolboy Ominis wrapped entirely around his finger.  "C'mon Ominis.  We've already apologized.  It's been a tiring evening."  Sebastian's lips tickled Ominis' ears, sending shivers down the man's spine.  "Please, let the both of us make it up to you."  He playfully nipped Ominis' ears before dropping his voice down an octave.  "I can promise you that our apologies are best heard in the bedroom." 

Sandwiched between his girlfriend's kraken like embrace in the front, and Sebastian's seductive voice from behind, Ominis knew where this was going.  He extricated himself from the two of them, drying his tear-stained shirt with a quick flick of his wand.

"Don't even think about it, Sallow.  In no way, am I rewarding your bad behavior tonight.  You can start by making it up to me by doing the dishes for a week."

Sebastian shrugged.  Well, all things concerned, that could have gone a lot worse.

"Without magic."

"What!  Come off it.  What's the point in that?!"  Sebastian protested.  He shot a look at his girlfriend.  "Hang on, why do I have to the do the dishes while she gets no punishment."

She sniffed, drying her eyes with the back of her hands.  "Yes, please, let me make it up to you.  I feel so awful for letting you worry about us.  I had no idea how much our nighttime outings affected you."  Ominis could feel his shoulders soften.  "You always cook us the most amazing dinners, Ominis.  And we immediately betray your love by sneaking behind your back the moment you go to sleep.  Let me at least prepare our meals for the rest of the week.  It's the least I can do."

Ominis sighed, running his hand through his hair.  "No, darling, that's quite all right. You don't have to do that for me."

"What!"  Sebastian sputtered.  "Oh, come on, Ominis.  Are you favoring her over me?"  Sebastian's jealousy couldn't help but rear its ugly head once again.  He couldn't help but worry, once again, if he was being left behind.

The blond man scoffed.  "Hardly.  Different people need to be punished differently.  Our girl thrives off of helping other people, getting praise, and being a little bit of a doormat."  He turned to her, hands on his hips, about to deliver the final devastating blow.  "There's nothing that you could do that would make me feel better.  You've really betrayed my trust today,"

Her expression was crushed.  Tears spilled over onto her cheeks.  "Merlin, this is ten times worse than any punishment at Azkaban."

Sebastian gaped at her.  Unbelievable.  "You are such a Hufflepuff sometimes."

She wiped her eyes before sticking her tongue out at him.  "Ominis tells me you're a bad influence, and I should stop listening to you." 

Sebastian pinched her bum in retaliation, delighting in the squeal of surprise she made. 

"Enough," Ominis said before this would get out of hand.  If he didn't stop this now, sooner or later clothes would start going missing.  "You both are sleeping on the couch together."

"There's only one couch!"  Sebastian protested.

"Then I suppose you'll have to figure out a solution.  Good night, the both of you." 

For the rest of the week, Ominis gave them the cold shoulder.  He did a stunning rendition of the Bloody Baron, drifting about their shared home with an aristocratic disdain for the other two.  ("Do you think he's still mad at us" he heard her whispering in the garden.  Sebastian snorted.  "Hardly.  Ominis is just being dramatic as usual.  You'll see.  He'll come around.") 

Ominis sighed, pinching his nose.  It was hard enough trying to juggle…whatever it was that the three of them had with his job at the Ministry.  Over the past week, his paperwork as an Unspeakable had piled up on his desk.  He was lucky that he was able to finish the majority of it today. Returning back home, he couldn't wait to make a nice quick meal, something comforting and warm.  Opening the front gate of their house, he mused over which book he was going to choose to read by the fire.  As he walked to the front of the door, his cheery mood started to dissipate.  Loud clanging and clashing sounds were coming from their kitchen.  Ominis could hear Sebastian yelling something.  Oh Salazar, what were those two up to now?

"Sebastian, the stove is way too hot!  You're burning it!  Let me cook.  I actually know what I'm doing."

"Says the one who managed to injury herself twice within 5 minutes of this whole mess.  You know, for being the best duelist of the three of us, you're awfully talented at getting yourself hurt."

"That's not what happened, and you know it, Slytherin.  Oh Merlin, why on earth does it look like that?  Is it supposed to be grey?"

"You think he would notice?"

There was a hacking coughing sound.  As if someone had taste tested their food and found it rather wanting.

"Oh, Merlin's beard, he's definitely going to think we're trying to poison him.  What on earth did you put in that, Sebastian?"

"Frankly, I haven't had the foggiest clue.  Can we call Deek for help, now?  We tried your way, being all cute and romantic, and look where that got us.  We should have done it my way from the start and just taken him to bed."

"Sebastian, not every relationship problem can be solved by a romp in the sheets."

Sebastian made a noise of disagreement.  "Hasn't stopped working for me yet." 

Ominis hovered in front of their front door.  Reluctant to open it and learn of the true extent of whatever damage they did to his poor house.  Maybe it was better if he just walked away and let this one play out.  Who knows?  Maybe they could pull through and not destroy the house he worked very hard to decorate and make a home. Maybe if he came back an hour later,  his girlfriend and boyfriend would be appropriately behaved, good, model-citizens.

"Maybe try incendio."  Sebastian suggested.  "If you burn the evidence, it's like it never existed."

"Hmmm….unfortunately, you might be right.  I'm running out of ideas on how to salvage this."

Oh, Merlin's beard.

The front door banged open, interrupting any more awful suggestions.  Ominis strolled in, wand out, ready to put a stop to whatever mayhem was happening in his kitchen.

The pair of them frozen, like two Nifflers robbing a bank.  For once in her life, she was glad Ominis was blind.  Maybe, he wouldn't notice the dough that had somehow stuck itself to the tiled ceiling.  Or how one of the freshly painted cabinet doors was hanging off by only one of its two hinges.  Or how her and Sebastian were both covered in questionable liquids.  Maybe, he wouldn't smell the burnt food or notice how one of his favorite tea towels that they bought for his birthday had been completely vanished (along with a few more traces of their culinary sins).

"Ominis!"  Sebastian greeted brightly.  "Just in time, we've almost finished with making you supper!"

"Is that what we're calling this fiasco?"  Ominis asked drily.  Merlin, he didn't want to even use his wand as a guide to "see" his way around the kitchen.  Maybe it was better that he didn't know the full extent of the damage.

His girlfriend approached him, gently taking his outer coat, scarf, and hat from his hands to hang it up in its proper places with the flick of her wand.  Her hands found his as she rubbed soothing circles on his cold skin.  "Ominis, Sebastian and I, well, we feel downright rotten for last week."  Sebastian snorted in the background.  "We can see how much our adventures affect you.  I can't make any promises that it won't happen again.  Or that Sebastian won't convince me to do something stupid again." 

"Oi!"  The offended man said in the background, throwing his hands in the air.

She ignored him.  "But what I can promise you is that we'll communicate better with you.  We'll tell you well in advance.  We'll tell you where we go, what we're expecting, and what time we'll be home by.  No more of this sneaking around in the dead of the night.  No more lies or hiding things from you."

Ominis could feel the tension in his stomach relax a bit.  "Well, I suppose it's unfair for me to demand you stop something that brings you two so much joy."  He chewed on his tongue thoughtfully.  "I'm amendable to this new arrangement.  I only ask that I not be left in the dark.  You have no idea how awful it is waking up in the middle of the night not knowing if you'll be left alone for the rest of your life."

Sebastian was behind to them, snaking his hand around Ominis thin waist and peppering kisses on the side of his pale neck.  "You shan't be alone.  We'll always be here."  His mouth was dangerously close to Ominis's pulse.  "From now on, you have an indefinite invitation to come to any one of our outings.  Merlin knows someone needs to witness the majesty that is Sebastian Sallow."  The other two snickered.  "Now come on Ominis,” Sebastian hands made their journey towards Ominis's belt.  "Let us make it up to you."

Ominis could feel how weak he was to Sebastian's tactics.  With their sweetheart in front, now pressing soft kisses on Ominis's hands, and Sebastian behind him, chin tucked on Ominis's shoulder, Ominis could feel his will waver.  Sebastian angled Ominis's chin towards him, eyes flickering to the other man's kips.  Whatever protests Ominis had in his mind were now entirely forgotten, too busy being kissed by his boyfriend.   

They kiss for what feels like an entirety until Ominis has to pull back for air.  Then, their lover kissed Ominis, hard, before he could catch his breath.  Ominis ran his long fingers through her hair.  Her hands have worked their way up to Ominis's chest and finding Sebastian's tie.  Her hands were wrapped tightly around the necktie pulling him in, refusing to let him go.  Sebastian couldn't stop grinning marveling at his own luck having successfully wooed the two most beautiful people on earth.

When she broke apart from poor Ominis, who was entirely winded, she tugged on the green tie, pulling Sebastian forward.  He gladly met her half-way, arms curling around her waist. 

 Ominis supposed one week of giving them the cold shoulder was punishment enough.  Except-

"What about the kitchen?  Weren't you two trying to make something?"

The other two separated from their kiss, arms still around each other.  The mischievous pair blinked owlishly, their eyes too innocent and too childlike.

"What are you talking about, Ominis?  I haven't had the foggiest idea what you mean."  Sebastian tried.

"We made…a small mess." she confessed.  "I think Sebastian was trying to poison you to steal your family fortune."

Sebastian laughed, before reaching around to Ominis to kiss him on the cheek. 

"Don't get too cocky," Ominis warned without any real heat.  It was hard to be intimidating when his boyfriend was kissing the edge of his lips, and his girlfriend was leaving bruising marks on Ominis's neck.  "Just because you two try to do something cute.  My mood can change at any time." 

"Mmhmm." Sebastian agreed, before teasingly nipping at Ominis's lips. 

Ominis sighed, fully relenting to the fact that he was too easy on them.  His pants were getting tighter, and his heartbeat quicken.  "I believe, there was something you two were meaning to show me upstairs?"

He could feel the other man's grin on his cheek.  Sebastian purred.  "Now, that's the spirit."

Their girlfriend guided his hand towards the staircase, "Come on, Ominis.  Sebastian and I have something in store for you in the bedroom."  Sebastian laughed, young and carefree.

Ominis shook his head with a smile on his face.  The two of them, incorrigible.  "Lead the way." Ominis answered.

[aihoshiino]

Da Vinci Magazine Jan. 2024: A Q&A with Ai of B-Komachi!

In the January 2024 issue of Da Vinci magazine, there was an in-character interview with Ai as written by Aka Akasaka that you can read a translation of here! What I forgot to mention on that initial post is that there was also a little lightning round Q&A the original anon didn't translate at the time. Thankfully, they did post it and I just... completely forgot it existed until now. ;9 Shout out to past me who remembered to save it and kept me from having to dig thru the 4chan archives for it...

Unlike the original interview, this is my translation! So any goofs and gaffes are entirely on me lol. This is also totally spoiler safe, so you can read both this Q&A and the original interview no matter what point you are in the series.

Get to Know Ai Better! Q&A Session

Q. What motto do you live by?

A. I really like "Tomorrow is a new day." I'm one of those people who forgets all their worries after a good nights' sleep. (laughs)

Q. Tell us how you refresh yourself!

A. I like taking naps on my days off. I was saying earlier that I forget my worries once I've gotten some sleep but with this job, it can be hard to find the time to actually do it. Not just that, but lately I've been waking up in the night to take care of this and that, so when I do have the time to sleep, I really conk out.

Q. What is your routine on days off?

A. I wake up, prep some milk… oh, um - I like cornflakes so I always need milk for breakfast. Then I go for a nap (laughs). I know some of the other B-Komachi members like going to beauty salons or nail salons, but I don't do nails and I let my hair grow out so I'm usually just at home (laughs). I even cut my own bangs! I've been doing it for years so I'm pretty good at it. I've even cut other peoples' hair once or twice, though not anyone in B-Komachi.

Q. Your 20th birthday's coming up soon. What are you looking forward to doing once it arrives?

A. I want to try drinking alcohol. The president of my agency keeps saying, "I can't wait to have a drink with you!" He makes it sound like a lot of fun, so I'm curious to know what getting tipsy's like.

Q. What book left the biggest impression on you this year?

A. It's a manga, but I was moved to tears by "I'll Go With Sweet Today". The heroine is a girl who distrusts people and develops anorexia, becoming terrified of eating… I have a bit of that in me too, though not quite to the same extent she does, so I could really relate to her and her journey to recovery really moved me. If there's ever a live-action version, I'd love to play her!

Q: What would you like to do after the Dome concert?

A: I'd like to go on a trip or something. Where would be nice... Oh, I've heard of 'Mito Natto' before, so maybe Mito!

Q: What's something a fan said that made you happy?

A. You know, I didn't used to read any fan letters at all. But there was a time I was getting tired of being an idol and I was planning to quit, so the president made me sit down and read all the letters I'd gotten. That was the first time I'd ever realized just how much support I was getting and it made me go "in that case, I'll give them all my love and support in return!". I even wrote a song about it. So now I treasure all the letters and words I get from my fans. I actually got a gift from a fan recently, some 'star sand'. It was really beautiful and my real name "star" in it, it made me really happy. I've still got it displayed in my room.

Q: What is "true love" to you?

A. I guess if I had to sum it up, I'd say true love is being a genius who doesn't lie. I think maybe people lie to avoid lying. I'm not sure if that's a good answer and even I don't know if it makes sense, but it's just something I feel.

Q: Do you think you're a liar?

A: Hmm~~? That's a se~cret! (laughs)

[horizonspurple]

When it comes to mental health and taking care of yourself, there is really nothing silly or stupid

Sometimes the ways you have to do things can feel stupid, but I try to live by the motto 'if it feels stupid but it works, it's not stupid'

Because really, in the end it doesn't matter how you do it, it matters that it gets done

About 1,5 years ago I was in a really bad place mentally

I wanted to start take better care of myself again and going on walks more often, but was really struggling to motivate myself to do so

Then I decided to download Pokemon Go and give it a try

At the time it felt incredibly stupid to play a game just to motivate myself to go outside and walk

I didn't want to be buried in my phone, but it worked

After a while of using Pokemon to motivate myself, I was able to go on walks again just because I like it

So it felt stupid to me, but it worked, which made it so much less stupid

There are many more examples like this

Playing a song that lasts two minutes so you know when you have brushed your teeth long enough

Listening to specific sounds to help calm you down before bed

Setting a timer for a task so you know after the timer you have spend a certain time on it and feel more motivated

Mental Health can be such a struggle, but please know

If it feels stupid but it works, it's not stupid

Take care of yourselves 💜

[snippychicke]

For the Sake of a Smile (V.2) Chapter Seventeen

Title: For the Sake of a Smile (Revised)

Overall Rating: Mature (18+)

Chapter Rating: M for Mature. We've begun the 18+ content

Trigger warnings: Nothing beyond the child abuse hinted in the series, though we do explore the consequences a bit more.

Main Pairing: Balam Shichiro/Reader

Summary: Hell on earth was your motto for your job. Granted, you were pretty sure earth really was hell, considering the shit you had seen in your life. And the fact your coworker was a child. 

A child named Suzuki Iruma, in fact. A kid who’s life was decidedly worse than yours, but yet he smiled despite everything. It wasn’t long after meeting him that you decided you’d do a lot for his smile. Including summoning a literal demon and signing your soul away.

But as it turns out, hell (The Netherworld, actually) was a lot better than living on earth. Demons were more humane than a lot of humans you knew.

And Iruma’s smile wasn’t the only one that would change your life.

Masterlist | Ao3| Mairimashitai! Simps Discord

Music filled the air; though it was quite obvious it was a novice working slowly through a piece. Usually, you didn't mind Iruma practicing for the upcoming Music Festival. However - today was Saturday; you loved Saturday because it allowed you to sleep in.

You groaned, trying to muffle the sound of awkward piano music with your pillow, trying to sink back into the bliss of sleep. After all, your bed was the perfect temp and you had your blankets curled around you in just the way you loved. You were so comfortable, so sure you could just fade back into unconsciousness. Finish your dream....

But no luck. 

The piano tones kept you from falling back asleep, and soon you were too awake. You growled again as you shifted and blindly reached for your phone, pulling it under the pile of blankets you were buried under. You may be awake, but you didn't want to leave your bed quite yet. So instead, you planned on killing time just scrolling through the various Netherworld versions of social media.

However, your plans were sidetracked when you saw Shichiro had texted you. //Good morning! I saw this little salamander and thought you would find him as cute as I did//

Your smile widened at the attached picture of a tiny dark red lizard curled up in the heart of a bright blue flower, taking a nap.

You quickly texted back, //It's adorable!// And didn't expect a reply. After all, the time stamp was over an hour ago (making you wonder if he had woken at the crack of dawn).

Yet as soon as you switched apps, he had sent another text. //Do you have any plans for today?//

Your heart thumped in your chest despite everything, making you feel rather like a teenager. A week - and not even a full one at that - of courting Balam Shichiro, and he was proving to be sweeter than you could have ever imagined. //Well I was going to sleep in, but that has been ruined, so no. What about you?//

There was just the slightest  delay before the little dots of him typing appeared. //The last blooms are finished for the year so I was going to see if I could collect some seeds.//

//So, a stroll in the forest?// You teased with a smile to yourself. Honestly, the idea sounded lovely. Maybe you should practice your defensive runes and take one of the Nightmares out for a ride into the surrounding forest. 

//Essentially// He texted, and after a short pause sent a second one //would you like to join?//

Your heart thumped in your chest, imagination happily taking over; building an image of simply walking through an idyllic garden or forest with Shichiro, the air full of birdsong, wild flowers and other flora and fauna. He would excitedly point out anything he saw scuttling past before telling you everything about it.

//Absolutely!// Even if reality was half as great as your daydream it would be a perfect date. 

A perfect first date. 

The idea had you grinning and kicking your feet slightly beneath the covers like someone much younger. 

//I'll come pick you up?//

//Sure!//

Now that was a reason to get out of bed. You pushed away your nest of blankets and jumped out of bed dashing towards the bathroom for a shower.

A day alone with just Shichiro - was this a dream come true? No more quick lunches or catching each other before and after class. Just you and him, enjoying nature and each other's company.

You froze and stood before the walk-in closet, reality hitting hard. Time with Shichiro. Alone. Unsupervised. No students just outside, or impending classes. Or Kalego's words of being good role models echoing in your mind...

How should you dress; befitting for a long day of walking? Cute? Sexy? 

"My lady, Shichiro is here."

Shit. Shit shit shit. "A-already?! Okay, um, I just, uh, gimme a minute!"

You dove into the closet, feeling even more panicked as you flipped through the hanging outfits and rummaging through drawers. The downfall of having such a large selection meant making a decision was even harder.

--+--

While Kalego was very irritated with Lord Sullivan at times, Balam had nothing but respect for the chair demon. However - this was the first time, in a very long time, he actually felt fear when standing before him.

Lord Sullivan sat in his chair, fingers steepled together and golden eyes carefully studying Balam as if it was the first time they had met.

"I believe it is customary to talk with the head of the clan before asking to court one of their children," Lord Sullivan stated evenly.

"My apologies," Balam offered as he quickly knelt, unfolding his wings to expose them in respect. "I meant no disrespect. While the act was impulsive, my feelings and intentions for your daughter are steadfast and unwavering."

Sullivan's power filled the room, easily dwarfing Balam's own mana. The chasm between rank 8 and rank 9 was large, but Balam swore the rumors of Sullivan deserving the rank of 10 to be true.

"If you were anyone else," Sullivan crooned, "I would make sure you wouldn't do something so reckless ever again. However, as you are not only a teacher of Babyls - but one of its trusted guardians - I will forgive you."

The power eased back - slowly - allowing Balam to breathe. Still, Balam continued to bow before the demon lord. "Thank you, and again my apologies."

"Take good care of my daughter," Sullivan said, his attitude shifting back to his usual demeanor. "You know how precious she is to me!"

Balam straightened up, sitting back on his talons. "I vow that I will do everything in my power to assure she is safe and happy."

Sullivan smiled, with more than a little bit of humor tinging the expression. "Oh, I'm sure of it. And I do expect the same for any little grandchildren of mine that may come from your inevitable union."

Balam's face turned bright red as he nodded silently, words failing him. Sullivan's excited expression grew, though Opera cleared their throat before Sullivan could throw himself at the other demon.

"Our lady is ready for her guest."

--+--

As Balam would discover, you were not quite ready yet - and his Senpai had been pulling a small yet wicked trick.

You had been so preoccupied as you tore through the closet that you didn't hear him call your name as he approached, looking for you in the large room. He froze when he caught sight of your bare back.

There was something about seeing the expense of your back - with no signs of wings or tail - that got to him. He had to fight the urge to run his hands along your back; to study the structures beneath the soft smooth looking skin, to study the differences between your species and his. And then there were the curves of your waist and hips that called to him in a very non-scientific way.

Balam clenched his hands, using every bit of self control to force himself to turn from the enticing sight and walk away from the closet. Instead he tried to force his focus on something more benign --

-- Such as the multitudes of bookcases in your room, making it look like a small library with a bed more than anything. But what caught his eye was the shelf of books that he had created and given to Iruma, all carefully placed together and easily within reach of your personal reading nook.

--+--

When you finally emerged, you learned that Opera apparently allowed Shichiro in your room. You froze as you recognized the giant bird-demon standing before one of your many bookcases, his back to you as he faced your wall of books. 

"Shichiro!" You squeaked, face becoming aflame while also thanking the deities that you had dressed inside your closet. You didn't need that added to the situation.

Even if, to be fair, you had already become somewhat familiar with his own… private areas. 

Shichiro didn't turn around, but flinched as his shoulders hunched almost guiltily. "I didn't see anything, I promise!"

You flushed even more at the implication and the feeling that perhaps he had. And the slight thrill that came with it. Would… would you really have minded if he had caught you in a state of undress? Or took a moment to appreciate whatever he saw? "Good! I-I mean, I trust you anyway and wouldn't really be upset if you did, but, uh, I mean..." You groaned, covering your face in embarrassment at your rambling. "I-I'm okay now. I'm dressed."

Shichiro slowly peeked over his shoulders, his pink face contrasting the silver of his mask. Trying to ease the awkwardness, you offered a shy smile and did a little spin to show off your outfit of choice. "What do you think, Good?"

He nodded silently as he turned around completely, taking his time to study you. You fidgeted a smudge, feeling a bit self conscious before he closed the distance between you. His hand reached for your cheek, and you melted into his touch; his glove cool against your skin.

"You're absolutely beautiful," He murmured, causing you to close your eyes with an embarrassed noise as you tried to hide your face against his palm.

"Shichiro," You whined softly. "You don't need to be such a flirt this early on a Saturday."

He gently tilted you to face him, eyes full of tender warmth. "I'm just stating the truth. You are an absolute vixen."

Okay, now that really made you feel self-conscious. You whined again as you buried your face against his chest, though that only lasted a moment before his arms wrapped around you and picked you up.

"Hi," You greeted meekly as your gaze met his, and saw his cheeks crinkle as he smiled.

"Hi," He returned, his thumb stroking gentle circles on your cheek. Devi - you could just stay like this forever, to be honest. You moved and carefully undid the clasps of his mask, pulling it away so you could enjoy the sight of his smile. You shifted the mask to your other hand that was wrapped around his shoulder so you could caress his face.

That smile, so open and happy.... was for you. Just for you. Just like that soft look in his eyes. How did you manage to get this lucky?

"What are you thinking about?" He asked after a moment.

"How lucky I am to have such a handsome demon as yourself," You answered, grinning as he blushed this time and averted his eyes. "If you get to call me beautiful, then I get to call you handsome, agreed?"

He looked back at you, debating for a moment before brushing his lips against yours in a soft chaste kiss. "Agreed, my little vixen."

You kissed him again, definitely unwilling to turn down an opportunity. Sure - you had caught chaste kisses here and there through the week, both of you agreeing after the incident of him being late to his own class a second time to keep it short and sweet.

But now... You were here, he was here, and there were no real time constraints.

You presumed he had the same train of thought as his tongue carefully brushed against your lips, so soft and gentle like the demon himself. There was no hesitation as you parted your own, eagerly accepting him.

A deep groan reverberated from his chest as his grip tightened fractionally, the soft-sweetness fading into hunger. His control seemed to slip as the kiss turned passionate, his tongue invading your mouth - seemingly intent on familiarizing himself with every curve and nook.

You wanted so badly to melt into him, to forget everything outside of Shichiro; his taste, smell, how tightly he held onto you as if you would somehow disappear.

But a little voice in the back of your head reminded you that Opera, Sullivan - and maybe even Iruma at this point - were trying to snoop just beyond your bedroom door. So as much as you hated it, you broke the kiss; resting your forehead against his.

"Let me fix my hair and we can go," You muttered, still catching your breath.

"May I help?" He asked, surprising you for a moment before you recalled the whole molting thing and how much he enjoyed it when you played with his hair.

"O-okay," You agreed before he set you back down. You led him to the vanity dresser Sullivan had gifted you, settling on the bench. It had been a long time since someone brushed your hair - especially someone other than a hairdresser - so you had to admit, you were a little nervous even though you trusted Shichiro explicitly. 

His gloved fingers threaded through your hair, being so careful as if he would hurt you somehow. You could see how focused he was on being gentle that you had to bite back a smile. "I'm not glass," You reassured, "I won't mind if you pull my hair a bit."

You only realized how that sounded once his face turned red once more. "Sorry," He muttered, though continued to be overly careful as he accepted the brush and started to work at the end. "I'm not sure how sensitive human scalps are, and I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

"I'll let you know if it hurts," You reassured, watching him in the mirror. He had that look of intense concentration; eyebrows furrowed, and the unscarred side of his face pulled into a frown. Honestly, it was rather cute - and you had to admit - it felt nice between the brush and his fingers running through your hair; to the point you eventually closed your eyes and leaned back into him. You were only partially aware when he set the brush down, though still playing with your hair.

"Do you have a hair tie?" He asked after a moment, pulling you from drowsing. You reached into the vanity instinctively and pulled out the small box of hair ties. He took them from your hand the same time you looked in the mirror.

"I didn't know you knew how to braid," You admitted, studying the small braids he used to pull your hair back.

"My mother taught me; our kind typically wears long hair, so...." He shrugged as your attention drifted to his white hair. It was just past his shoulders now, looking rather messy - though nothing like it had been that first day.

"Are you going to start pulling your hair back then," You asked, "Or let it get wild again?"

A blush graced his face once more. "I'm not sure. Before, I didn't pay much attention since I was by myself most of the time doing research."

That... explained so much, actually. That wild look when you first met, his social skills seemingly rusty. Granted - he was still rather shy, but not nearly as awkward as it had been at first.

"I bet you would look even more handsome," You admitted as you tried to picture the long hair he had before, neat and pulled away from his face.

The faint blush darkened significantly as he looked away, rubbing his neck - though he couldn't hide the smile tugging at his lips.

Oh yes, he would be absolutely beautiful with long fluffy white hair no matter how he styled it - and you couldn't deny you really wanted to play with it should he grow it out to the length it was before.

--+--

The meadow that Shichiro wanted to venture into wasn't too far from your home. Granted - before becoming used to walking everywhere in the Netherworld, (if not riding a nightmare) it would have seemed daunting. Now, it hardly bothers you.

Of course, part of that might have been because you were walking hand-in-hand with Shichiro, enjoying the contrast between how warm he was and the cool autumn air. He was walking slow for your sake, but also pointing out anything of interest.

Which - for your biology nerd, was virtually everything. Birds, insects, little lizards, a few larger versions of deer whose name escapes you; even lichen on a rock (which he then carefully scraped some into a small bottle while explaining it was very useful for various potions). You soaked up every little word he said, indulging in the ability to see him talking excitedly without his mask. You really loved seeing his smile, especially when there was no hint of reservation or self-consciousness.

Then you reached a meadow that had likely been once full of flowers, but was now mostly wilted and had gone to seed, with just a few still vibrant.

"I bet this is beautiful in the spring and summer," You muttered, taking in the sight; imagining the grass more vibrant green, bursting with colorful flowers of all kinds.

"I'll be more than happy to show you."

You grinned up at him, squeezing his hand slightly. "I would love that."

--+--

Shichiro supplied you with a small leather pouch to gather seeds and pods from the meadow before you both set to work. At first you both stuck close together; so close that there was the whole cliche of hands occasionally brushing as you reached for the same pod, evoking blushes from both of you.

But the meadow was rather large and the plants spread out. Somehow you had drifted away from Shichiro's side, caught up in plucking the sharp pods he had admitted were rather valuable. When you looked up after who-knew-how-long, you saw the tall demon across the meadow, knelt down and studying something. You took a moment to appreciate the sight, and even snag a picture with your phone. 

You were tempted to see if you could sneak across the field unnoticed and surprise him, but before you could act on the thought you heard something: a desperate little cry. 

You paused, waiting for such a long moment that you started to think that you had been hearing things when you heard it again. So very faint that the wind was just as loud. It was a pitiful, desperate cry of some kind of animal, and it kicked your maternal instincts into overdrive.

You didn't even think as you followed the cries. Everything else like your safety - or even calling out to Shichiro - fled your thoughts as you ran into the forest. You were guided by instinct alone as you followed the cries of some small animal.

Just a few meters in, you found a mass of vines wrapped around several trees, and trapped in them like a fly in a spider's web was a dark fluffy... thing trying to claw its way out. Without hesitating, you clambered over more vines that covered the forest floor to reach the poor creature. You struggled at ripping and pulling apart the tangled mess to reveal a small kitten (or a hell-kitten). Its bright golden eyes looked up at you as it cried, pawing at you as it tried to escape its prison.

The obvious plea for help had you digging internally for more strength as you ripped a few more vines away. As soon as the kitten was free, it lunged for you, landing on your chest with another desperate cry.

"I got you," You reassured the small thing while holding it close to your chest. It was shaking in either fear or stress, so much smaller than any other hell kitten you had seen. You couldn't be completely sure, but something seemed wrong with one wing as it held it at a weird angle. "It's okay, I got you."

You turned to step off the pile of vines, and stumbled to your knees instead. Somehow, the vines had shifted without you noticing and were wrapped around your ankles. A growl escaped your lips as you tried to get loose, going as far as shifting the kitten into one hand so you could pull the vine with your other.

Only for the vine to move, a new tendril reaching from the tangled mess in an attempt to wrap around your wrist. It was only then you remembered that the plants of the Netherworld were nothing like those of Earth.

They could - and would - happily kill and eat you.

In other words, you were in deep trouble.

---

Where were you?

Balam's heart began to race when he looked around the meadow and didn't see you. You knew better than to go into the forest after what happened during the Harvest Festival, so surely you had to be around here somewhere. But while the plants were tall, they weren't that tall. Even if you were sitting, taking a small break, he should have been able to see you amongst the dried stalks.

He reached out with his mana in search of you. Hopefully, he was just being irrational and you were just behind a tree, or somewhere else just out of sight. Maybe laying down and enjoying the warm sunshine…

Except he couldn't feel your strange mana in the meadow, and reached out beyond the trees in a panic.

And he found it just as he heard your scream cut through the silence.

No. No!

His wings unfurled as he flew in your direction, barely dodging the trees while fear and anger gripped his heart and threatened to trigger an evil cycle.

His intended - his mate - was in trouble. Instincts warred with his logical side as he hunted for you. 

He was going to slaughter whatever made you scream. If there was even a scratch on you, your attacker would pay with their life. 

He had allowed you out of his sight for just a small moment. How could this happen? 

You had to be okay, you just had to be. Shichiro wasn't sure if he could handle anything different. 

It wasn't long before he found you struggling against a drooling vine, its tentacle-like vines wrapped around your legs and body despite you fighting against it while the main part of its body was descending from the trees, its teeth bared and the venomous drool raining down on you. 

Shichiro shifted mid-air and caught the creature's body with the talons of his feet, ripping it from the tree and slamming it into the ground.

Without missing a beat his own vines formed - fed by both mana and rage - quickly ripping through the creature until virtually nothing was left.

Yet destroying it did nothing to ease the maelstrom inside him. Shichiro tried to control his breathing as well as his emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him. 

---

You had felt the first drop of slime fall on your shoulder and had begun to panic even more when you looked up at the gaping maw above. A terrified scream had ripped from your throat as you continued to struggle against the vines that were wrapping higher up your arm and leg. 

Nigyul’s vines wrapped around your wrist had responded to your fear and had sprouted once again, quickly growing and wrapping around the monster’s vines that had been trying to strangle you and was able to at least hold them back, but little else, leaving you in quite the bind. 

In your panic, your mind was filled with a confused mass of thoughts. Would Shichiro even hear you? Or had you wandered too far? 

Why hadn't you worn any of your protective runes? You should have known better! You shouldn't have wandered so far in the first place! Even if the kitten was curled safely against your chest, all you had managed to do was delay the inevitable…

And Devi, poor Iruma. How would he be affected if you met your end like this? Sullivan would take care of him, right? 

But who would comfort Shichiro? Would he blame himself even if it was your fault? 

There was a snarl and a flutter of wings, causing you to look away from the snaring vines, but all you saw was a blur before Shichiro was slamming the vine-creature down next to you. The massive talons on his feet gripped the creature’s body while his own vines brutally ripped it apart.

Instantly, the vines wrapping around you fell away - including the ones from your bracelet. Yet your gaze couldn't leave Shichiro even as you stood on wobbly legs. His back was still turned to you, his deep green wings spread wide, shoulders heaving as he caught his breath.

Some deep, instinctual part of you was furiously waving red flags in your mind, warning you of danger. The same part was screaming for you to turn and run. That you had gone from being in the grip of one predator to becoming prey of an even larger, deadlier one.

But, no. This was Shichiro. He would never harm you.

Yet there was something very different in his expression as he slowly turned towards you, his wings slowly folding and fading into his back. You instincts went from waving red flags to hitting you with them and screaming 'you are so fucking dead if you don't run now!'

Despite the instinct, you stayed still as he stalked towards you, his taloned feet silent against the forest floor despite their size. You couldn't look away from his eyes; usually so full of warmth were now.... 

Predatory. Cold.

He stopped just inches in front of you, his talons brushing against your boots.  His hand slowly reached up to touch your cheek and you barely contained that deep instinct to flinch in fear. 

But his fingers were gentle, his touch light. It reassured you enough that despite the look in his eyes and the intrinsic fear you leaned into his touch. 

"Thank you," You whispered, offering a shaky smile. "I-I didn't think I was going to get out of that alive." 

That seemed to break whatever spell had a hold over him. In a quick movement, he pulled you close, his arms wrapping tight around you as he pressed you against him.

"I thought..." He muttered, voice broken as he buried his face in the crook of your neck, taking a deep breath in, holding it before releasing it slowly, the warm air ghosting over your skin. "Are you okay?" He asked after another moment. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," You said automatically despite everything, and earned a dark look from Shichiro as he pulled back ever so slightly.

Ah. Right. Not only were you nearly shaking in his arms, woozy from the vines' venomous drool, but he also had his bloodline ability no doubt ringing in his ears after that statement. 

"I'm sore and feeling a little shaky, but nothing serious," You reassured and could feel as much as see the tension leave his shoulders. 

Still, he stepped back to give you a once-over, wanting to reassure himself you were actually fine. Only to frown when he saw the ball of fluff still nestled in your arm. "What is that..."

"Oh, uh… the reason I was in this mess?" You answered as he trailed off, looking down at the kitten. The small kitten was curled up in a tight ball against your chest, regarding Shichiro with wary eyes. "I heard him crying for help, and well, I didn't even think."

Shichiro sighed heavily, though it was as exasperated as it was full of fondness. "I swear, between you and Iruma..." He gently scruffed the kitten, his large hands making the creature seem even smaller. It instantly started yowling and trying to claw at Shichiro, the tiny bat-like wings flaring proving one was likely broken. 

But despite the kitten's dramatics, Shichiro seemed unbothered as he carefully examined the kitten. "Are all humans so compassionate?" He asked as he gingerly tried to move the kitten's deformed wing. 

"Not all, but quite a few," You answered distractedly, itching to take the kitten back as it cried. But, Shichiro was the biology teacher, as well as a fan of all things cute and fluffy. So he knew what he was doing....

You just wanted to cuddle the damn thing instead of allowing him to check it over. Those mothering instincts had you gritting your teeth and clenching your fists in self restraint. 

The kitten hissed as Shichiro held him at eye level, baring its tiny sharp needle teeth. To which Shichiro raised a lip in a slight silent snarl, showing off more of his large fangs. The kitten instantly quieted, its tail tucking between its legs as if sufficiently scolded.

"It is rather cute... and fluffy." He admitted before shifting his grip to cradle the kitten instead of just holding him by the scruff. The babe looked even tinier cupped in Shichiro's large hand, one finger carefully smoothing down its dirty matted fur. "It's definitely a runt, and with wings this small it will never be able to fly, though I don't know if this one is broken or merely deformed. I presume its mother abandoned it because of such either way."

"Poor baby!" You coo'd as you crossed the small gap between you and joined in giving the kitten scritches. "Don't worry baby, I promise to take good care of you."

Shichiro paused, giving you a skeptical look. "It's not exactly a domestic hellcat. It's a feral of some kind, not a pet."

You huffed as you pouted before stealing the kitten away on impulse, cuddling it close to your chest once more as you scratched the dark markings between its ears. "Bull, he just needs some TLC."

"T...L..C?" Shichiro repeated, sounding confused. Which made you realize the idea probably wasn't as commonplace in the Netherworld as it was on earth.

"Tender love and care," You explained looking up towards him with a smile. "You would be surprised by the kind of wonders kindness can bring." 

"Even as a runt, it could grow and become dangerous." He tried to argue, though you could see a hint of warm fondness in his dark eyes. "And it wouldn't think twice about trying to hurt you."

"Well, if that day comes and he's more wild than tame and he's able to care for himself, I'll bring him back here to release into the wild. How about that?"

You could see him process your words, weighing the pros and cons before he sighed. "Will humans really try to care for anything?" He asked, both incredulous as well as curious.

"Pretty much, yeah." You explained with a proud smile, causing his expression to soften even more. "Especially cuties like him. And you."

That made him blush, his hand cupping your cheek once more. "Then all I ask is that next time, don't wander off by yourself. Let me protect you."

It was your turn to blush, though this time in embarrassment as you avoided his gaze. "I, uh, suppose that's fair." 

You were surprised by his soft kiss against your lips. "Let's get you home then. Even if it didn't bite you, the drooling vine's venom can affect you. It'd be best for you to wash it off as soon as possible." 

--+--

Iruma absolutely adored the kitten as soon as he saw it, and had fetched a bowl of warm water and washcloths to help clean the dirt and gunk out of its thick fur while you showered. (which had been a torturous ordeal for Shichiro. You hadn't refreshed Sullivan's scent after your shower, and your scent was distracting to say the least.)

It still surprised Shichiro how compassionate humans were. It was far from typical for demons, yet at the same time such an alluring trait that it was no wonder you two had drawn in everyone's loyalty.  

but it was the fact that the compassion was paired with little to no sense of self-preservation that worried Shichiro. Both of you would risk everything - including your lives - to help others. And while Iruma was proving he was able to hold himself against the dangers of the Netherworld as well as any other demon his age, the same could not be said for you.

"Did you two have fun?" Sullivan asked as the older demon suddenly appeared next to Shichiro, making him jump. Especially as the other demon's mana weighed heavily in the air like a threat, feeling like a thick oppressive cloud ready to wring the life out of anything that caused Sullivan any kind of displeasure.

"Er, well, for the most part," Shichiro answered meekly, unsure if he was talking to Lord Sullivan, the most powerful of the Three Greats, or the cheerful Chairdemon he was more used to dealing with.

"Oh good," Sullivan continued with a cryptic smile, further perplexing Shichiro. "Then, perhaps, you can explain to me why my daughter is covered in bruises that look like they're from vines...?"

Shichiro froze before his eyes darted to you. So caught up in ruminating over your nature and how to protect you from your own rashness, he hadn't really looked too closely before, but now… yes. He could see the faint shadowing of long thin bruises beginning to form along your arms and neck. 

He knew the drooling vine had been squeezing you firmly, but he hadn't been aware that it had that tight a grip on you. Were you really that fragile? Why hadn't you said anything? You said you ached, but that was it.

He glanced over to Sullivan, who had an accusatory look in his golden eyes; the shadows of the room darkening and shifting around him.

Balam Shichiro realized two things at that moment; the first being that the Sullivan he was talking to was Papa Sullivan. 

The second fact was that Papa Sullivan thought it was Balam's own vines that had caused the marks.

"She was caught by a drooling vine!" Shichiro quickly explained as soon as he pieced the thoughts together. "I-I would never use my vines on her, I swear!" He couldn't even fathom hurting you, or his vines causing damage. 

"Not even if she asked?" Opera half mused, half teased as they appeared quietly on his other side. It took Shichiro a long moment to realize what they were implying, making his face heat up quickly beneath his mask

"Opera!" Sullivan complained as he caught the innuendo as well, shifting from intimidating to dorkish. "As much as I want more grandchildren, I don't want to think of my sweet princess like that!"

To Shichiro's distant horror, his imagination had taken the innuendo to create a rather explicit image. His vines snaking across your body, carefully wrapped around your limbs. Your skin flushed as they snuck beneath your clothing and pulled the fabric away, revealing that delicate human flesh. 

Would you squirm as he took his time studying and memorizing your body? Or would you instinctively freeze? Would you beg for him to touch you after being teased with the vines, or would you enjoy the sensation and allow him to do whatever he wanted with them? 

A sharp pinch made Shichiro jump, his thoughts slamming back to reality as Opera gave him a meaningful look.

"I, uh, um, what was the question again?" He stammered, acutely aware of his face feeling like Ifrit's own fire was trapped beneath his skin. 

"The bruising on her ladyship?" Opera repeated, raising one brow, though the slightest sign of amusement teased their lips. 

"Right! The drooling vine that had captured the kitten," Shichiro quickly explained. "It caught her as well when she was rescuing the kitten. But otherwise she's unharmed."

"...She faced a monster stronger than her to save that feral kitten?" Opera mused, sounding as mystified as Shichiro had been. "Didn't Master Iruma do the same back at Walter Park?"

"Humans are amazing creatures," Sullivan added, his mana and anger disappearing. "Full of love and compassion for others, and often very selfless. Especially our two, it seems."

That was the truth. He had dreamt all his life what a human would be like, but none of them compared to what you were truly like. And never had he imagined falling so deeply for one, and feeling so protective over you both. 

"Well, before you steal my daughter away permanently, I should go enjoy what innocence she has left," Sullivan teased with a playful wink. 

Shichiro couldn't hold back a groan as he covered his face, wishing he could just disappear. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder… How were his parents going to react to you? He had admitted to them that he was… interested in someone, but hadn't said anything further since the Harvest Festival. 

They were so happy and excited to hear he was interested in someone. He should call them and let them know he was actually courting.

Devi, they would likely love you as much as he did. 

But the mountains of his childhood home were far more dangerous, and taking you up there to meet his parents filled him with anxiety. 

"Senpai?" Shichiro suddenly said, causing Opera to tilt their head slightly.

"You haven't called me that in a while," Opera stated calmly, turning towards their Kohai. They studied the larger demon and the anxiety virtually rolling from him. It reminded them sharply of when they were younger; while Balam excelled in biology, as well as some of the arts - there were still subjects (both scholastic and not) that Balam would nervously ask for help with. "What's bothering you?"

"I... wanted to ask your thoughts on her learning martial arts," Balam answered, gesturing towards where you, Iruma, and Lord Sullivan were playing with the kitten. "To go along with the rune magic she's learning. For self defense."

"Hmm," Opera tapped a finger to their cheek as they thought. Shichiro did have a point; it was obvious that while runes were helpful for defensive, they weren't the best at offensive. Plus you had to have them ready, since you were unable to manifest the symbols with your mana as a typical demon would.

Your natural strength was lacking, to say the least. But martial arts training would at least help you in some situations - especially if you used it in conjecture with rune magic.

"I mean, she was almost taken out by a drooling vine," Shichiro continued, his panic bubbling to the surface. "Usually anyone above Bet has no issue with them. But she's... unranked. Powerless."

"Being a human in the Netherworld is virtually a death sentence," Opera agreed. Iruma had the ring full of Lord Sullivan's magic (though Opera had suspicions that there was more to the gluttonous ring than that). You, however, had no such thing.

They knew that Lord Sullivan had plans for Iruma, while you had been more or less a fluke. Yet the chair demon quickly grew fond of you as well, forming the familial bond within a month. 

And so many other demons had begun to bond with you, thanks to your mothering instincts.  

If you fell victim to the various dangers of the Netherworld, the consequences could be severe just between the grief of Sullivan and Balam combined, not to mention the rest of the demons who cared for you. 

Opera supposed that it was their duty, as Lord Sullivan's security demon and Balam's Senpai, to do their due diligence in preventing that tragic fate.

"I will discuss it with Lord Sullivan" Opera agreed with a nod. "And then with my lady as well. Granted, she won't be happy about taking the time away from reading..."

--+--

//Are you still awake?//

You glanced at your phone, surprised at first by Shichiro's message, and then the realization that it was already one in the morning. //yes. My lil buddy is being kneady// 

You took a video of the kitten kneading your stomach while buzzing like an engine, his stomach full and round after you fed him a mixture that you would rather not think about. 

Netherworld kittens apparently needed more than just milk. Kind of like the Nightmares. 

//he looks like he's adjusting well.// Shichiro texted back after a moment, reacting to your video with a heart, making you smile. //I know it's late, but I made some salve to help with your bruises.//

The bruises left by the drooling vine around your legs and arms looked harsh, but thankfully they weren't as painful as they looked. Your heart still warmed brightly at his gesture as well as the concern behind it. Never in your previous life could you imagine a demon being so kind and loving. Or anyone, really.  //thank you, but I don't want to wake everybody else up. Maybe tomorrow?//

There was a pause before he responded, and you could almost imagine the soft pleading in his voice. //I could bring it to your window, if you don't mind.//

You looked over at the balcony doors that opened to a modest-sized balcony that overlooked the surrounding forest. You had never given them much thought besides the obvious, but now you realize they would be very convenient for demons since they had wings. 

Which would mean Shichiro could stop by without anyone noticing. 

Probably. 

Part of you wondered if this is how teenagers felt whenever they snuck over a romantic partner, but you chatized yourself quickly afterwards; here Shichiro was just trying to be thoughtful, and your mind was trying to jump in the gutter. 

Still, the knot in your stomach was more than just simple excitement about seeing him as you quickly typed back //yeah, sure!//

You hopped from the bed, the kitten tucked in your arms as you unlocked the doors and opened them. The night air was cool and refreshing against your warm skin. You enjoyed the exotic view of the moons in the dark sky filled with stars before the air proved too chilly and chased you back inside.

Kitten (you really needed to name him) complained as you set him down in the rather decadent pet bed that was far too big for him, but quieted after you set a few stuffed toys around him, making it cozy and warm. He finally seemed happy to fall asleep just as a breeze swept through. 

You startled when you looked back, and Shichiro was suddenly standing there, folding his wings back into non-existence. He looked rather sheepish at startling you and offered a small glass jar filled with some off-white lotion, a simple wooden lid covering it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." 

You quickly crossed the distance before reaching up and wrapping your arms around his shoulders (as best as you could) in a hug. Automatically, one of his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer as he pressed his face to the crook of your neck. 

"I just can't get over how silent you can be," You muttered into his chest. "Maybe I should put a little bell on you." 

That made him chuckle, the vibrations rumbling from his body to yours. "I'm sure some of the students would be grateful for that. I tend to spook a few of them as well." 

Was it a bad thing that you could easily imagine a small bell wrapped around his wrist or neck with a ribbon far too delicate for someone of his stature, tinkling softly with every step? 

You allowed the small day dream as you sunk against him, feeling the stress ease out of your body. He was always so warm and gentle, making you feel safe and loved. The thoughts that had been partly responsible for keeping you awake quieted now that you felt calmed, allowing exhaustion to finally catch you. 

"Come on, my little vixen," Shichiro murmured, realizing you were on the verge of falling asleep against him. He easily scooped you up, one arm beneath your knees and the other around your back as he cradled you close to his chest. "Let me apply the salve, and then you can get some sleep." 

"Mmnh," You whined, though your protest went ignored. Shichiro carried you to your bed and sat you on the edge, all-but-hovering by your side before he was sure you weren't about to fall off. 

Apparently, you looked more exhausted than you felt. Which, okay, you didn't feel up to trying to insist he didn't have to help as he knelt before you and carefully cradled your foot in his hand. The embarrassment that usually would creep in as he treated you so carefully was oddly diminished, allowing you to indulge in the feeling of being cared for. 

"So, this may be a bit cold," He warned you moments before the salve touched your skin. And it felt like ice against your ankle, making you jump - suddenly wide awake. 

His grip tightened to hold you in place out of reflex. "Sorry," You apologized, face becoming warm as you blushed, trying to beat back the feelings caused by his firm grip on your leg. 

The corner of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, though it was hidden by his mask. Thankfully, he seemed oblivious of your traitorous thoughts as he wordlessly went back to rubbing in the salve, which slowly began to warm beneath his touch. 

Or, maybe that was just you quickly feeling more flushed. His touch was less like merely rubbing in lotion and more of a slow and gentle massage, which honestly felt amazing after the events of the day.  You fell backward into your bed as his fingers rubbed firm, small circles into the muscles of your calf, ankle, and then the arch of your foot. 

 You were more sleepily focused on not letting the groan in your chest escape than to remember there wasn't any bruising on your feet. Not as he worked out the ache that had settled in your bones.  

"They're so small and flat," Shichiro murmured to himself. "But I believe a few demon species have a similar structure..."

You blinked a few times, slowly realizing what he was saying as your mind woke up. "...are you studying my feet?" 

Shichiro froze, a guilty look crossing his face as he met your gaze. "Maybe? To be fair, I've never had the chance to study this aspect of human anatomy before..."

You laughed despite his guilty look. Of course, he would take the opportunity to study something as basic (to you, at least) as your foot. After all, you were more than familiar with Shichiro's fascination in the differences between demons and humans. That is partly how you had grown so close together. And while you felt a bit awkward at times, it was never necessarily in a bad way.

And there was no denying that one very obvious difference between you were your lower legs. 

You wiggled your toes, trying to be playfully inviting. "Have at it, if you really want to." 

His face lit up, and he quickly resumed his work. You couldn't even feel self-conscious this time as he massaged your feet and legs, taking his time to study the bone structure underneath. Your eyes fluttered close as you relaxed into your bed. Between the salve and his gentle ministrations, you were only partially aware of the increasing risk of drifting to sleep. 

--+--

Shichiro was well aware of you relaxing into his touch, and could hear your breaths becoming slow and deep. After the day you had, it was no surprise. Honestly, he was more surprised you were still awake despite the hour, and had expected his text to go unanswered. 

He supposed he could leave. The salve applied and you were obviously no longer in any kind of pain or discomfort. 

And yet, he found it hard to even try and convince himself it would be for the best. Being able to caress and study your legs, bare from any fabric below the knee, was oddly tantalizing and alluring 

Or maybe that was just you. The scent from earlier that had merely distracted him before now had him captivated, to the point he could feel himself near-drooling. It was just… you. Different yet welcoming. Alluring and mysterious despite being bright and sweet. 

Just… just a little taste, he rationalized as he undid the clasp of his mask and set it on the floor beside him. To see if you tasted any different without Sullivan's cologne masking your true nature. After all, smell and taste were closely linked…

"Shichiro!" You gasped as his lips pressed against the tender skin of your inner knee. He groaned against you, able to smell your arousal spicing the air. The one kiss became two, then more as his tongue joined his scarred lips in worshiping your skin. 

Devi, you tasted divine. "You smell, you taste, delicious," He all but growled against your skin. He just wanted to lose himself in you. Your soft noises and the faint aroma of your arousal only encouraged him as he gripped the soft part of your thigh, trailing higher with hot open-mouth kisses. 

"Y-you're not going to eat me or anything, right?" You breathed between heavy breaths, making him finally pause. 

The stories of demons' appetite for human flesh paled in comparison to this. How could he even dream of hurting you?  

"Never," He swore, his gaze meeting and holding yours as his tongue ran along your skin at the edge of your clothes. "As much as I want you... Tell me to stop, and I will."  

He would. He would stop right now despite how bad he wanted more - he'd find the will to leave despite wanting nothing more than to remain in between your legs. 

You hesitated for a moment before glancing away, and for a moment his stomach dropped and he feared that he may have overstepped.

But then you spread your legs for him as a silent invitation. He breathed your name as if you had offered him something priceless and he couldn't believe it. "Are you positive?" He asked, meaning to read your expression to be sure, but he couldn't tear his attention away from the apex of your legs.

To be able to taste you… to be able to have his face buried between your soft thighs, feeling you shake and quiver in ecstasy… he had to be dreaming. 

"Very much so," You answered with barely a quiver.

Despite the near-feral expression on his face, he was gentle as he helped you strip the clothing covering your lower half before his hands ran up your legs slowly towards your hips. So small compared to him, so soft. The thick of your thighs squished beneath his gentle grip. But as enticing as they were - as well as the sounds you made as he kissed and left little love nips to them - they were not his goal. 

He encouraged you to open your legs even wider until you were fully on display for him. He swallowed thickly as he studied the pink folds that were glistening, thankful human anatomy seemed comparable to those of demons in this sense. 

Not that he had ever seen an actual female demon like this before, or had even really wanted to. But his studies had overlaps of basic types of demon bodies. 

"Shichiro," You whispered as you gripped the sheets, looking both aroused and nervous. Even in the haze of lust, he could admit he was probably staring for a little too long. 

His kisses were his way of apologizing as he crept higher up your leg, enjoying the difference in taste as he drew closer to your sex where the proof of your arousal was smeared on your thigh.  He tried to be gentle and careful, though he would occasionally graze his teeth just to hear you whine and gasp.

"Please. Please," You were quietly begging by the time his mouth reached the end of its journey. And oh, hearing you gasp and arch into him was about as delightful as finally tasting your juices. 

His actions were slow and deliberate, studying your reaction to every movement of his tongue, lips, and teeth. He was quick to realize the pleasure your clit brought you and quickly lavished it with attention. Your fingers were soon grasping his hair instead of the bed, legs locked around him as you grinded against him, noises escaping your throat despite your best attempts to stay quiet. 

Devi, you were so fucking perfect. He could feel his cock become even harder, verging on painful, but he didn't dare stop touching you. How could he? He wanted to memorize every part of you. 

Including that sweet hole that was dripping your juices. Running his tongue along your opening assured he could at least slip a finger in you, though it may be tight. 

And hellsfire, you were. "Tight," He breathed, pausing briefly to feel your walls clamp around him. Just one finger and he was stretching you out. "Devi, I never imagined you'd be this tight." 

"Please, Shichiro," You whined after a moment, your thoughts disjointed judging by your words. "More. Please. Move. Something. Just…" 

"Like this?" You didn't even have time to wonder if he was being serious or teasing as he crooked his finger and pulled. Not as he rubbed against that blissful spot as if he knew exactly where it was. 

"Fuck, yes, please!"

Ever eager to please you, Shichiro continued to pump his finger slowly, his mouth returning its attention to your sensitive nub. Your gasps were mixed with pleading whines as you chased that high, too lost in the feeling to notice how Shichiro watched you with rapt attention. 

He had never been so aroused in his life; nothing in the universe could compare to watching you come undone in a mix of pleasure and pain as you cried his name. 

He wanted to watch you break and crumble. He wanted to hear you scream his name in ecstasy. He wanted you in such a primal way it was almost like an evil cycle of its own. 

It wasn't long until his wish came true. A sharp cry cut from your lips as your body tensed; back arching off the bed and your heels digging into his upper back. Your hands dug and pulled his hair as your walls tightened around his finger even more. He drank you in, pulling you through tremor after tremor until you fell boneless against your bed. Your skin glistened with sweat, your hair and clothes in utter disarray and a hazy look in your eyes speaking of pure satisfaction. 

You had never looked so beautiful. 

Shichiro couldn't ignore his own need any longer, slipping his hardened cock from his pants and using your slick on his glove as lube as he took himself in hand. It wasn't you, or your warm, tight walls beckoning him to oblivion, but it was nearly enough. He could still taste you on his lips. Your scent, his scent, melded in the air with that heady smell of sex. 

Your gaze met his, and he could tell you knew what he was doing. And you smiled. Filled with satisfaction, pride, and more than a hint of lust. It was enough for him, gasping out your name as he came into his hand, wishing it was you. In you. On you. In your hand. Or maybe in your sinful sweet mouth.

You licked and then bit your lower lip as if you were wishing the same thing. And Devi, he was never going to get that image out of his mind, nor would he ever want to. 

"Shichiro," You called, beckoning him with a soft gesture. He quickly complied, and soon you were gathered in his arms as he settled into your bed. His body was curled around yours, as if trying to hide you from the world as he buried his face in your hair.

"I... didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked after a long moment of silence, the haze of lust and sex fading from his mind and allowing rational thought to return. 

Devi, that had been such a risk. Yet, he couldn't muster up enough guilt to feel shame or regret. Not when your scent mixed with his, making that instinctual part of him satisfied. 

You were his. 

"Not in the least bit," You reassured as you snuggled ever closer, face nuzzled in his chest. "Besides, even if you did, I'd happily deal with a little pain for that." 

He knew you would, but the dawning realization of what you just did underneath Lord Sullivan's roof, along with his Senpai probably somewhere nearby, was starting to weigh down on his shoulders. 

He would be dead if there was a single scratch to be found. 

You pressed soft kisses to his neck, shifting to trail your way up to his lips. He allowed those fears and anxieties to float away as he captured your lips, threading his fingers through your hair. 

He'd happily face both high-ranking demons for you.  

--+-- Su-Ki-Ma--+--

One minute you were blissfully asleep, the next you were rudely awakened by being pressed firmly between your bed and something else. Something else that was making some type of growling noise that rumbled through their chest and into you. 

"Really, Shichiro?" Opera's voice was tinged with amusement. "And here I thought you were an early bird…" 

Oh. Oh devi. You quickly realized it was Shichiro pressing you into the mattress, arms wrapped around you protectively and his wings spread as if to hide you from view. 

And apparently Opera was witness to the whole thing as well. 

You felt Shichiro pause for a moment before his grip on you lessened, his wings retreating and allowing the light of morning to greet your eyes. 

Along with Opera's amused expression, looking exactly like the cat that caught the canary. 

And in a way… they kind of had. You pulled the sheets covering you even closer to your body as you carefully sat up. "Uh, good morning Opera?" 

"Indeed," They agreed, a smile pulling at their lips which was more than any emotion you had seen them express. "I wasn't aware you were entertaining a guest last night, my lady. Otherwise I would've waited to wake you up." 

Yep. You just wanted to sink into the bed and just disappear, and by Shichiro's expression, he wanted to do the same. Both of you were speechless, though your hand found his amongst your nest of blankets (had you really tossed and turned that much?) and threaded fingers. 

"I will inform Lord Sullivan and Master Iruma that you won't be attending breakfast this morning, and wish to sleep in." Opera spoke after a long pause. "... I do recommend keeping the noise to a minimum, and that you join us for lunch. You know how your father will fuss if he believes you're ill." 

He bowed slightly before heading to the door, only to pause before leaving. "Of course, you're welcome to join us for lunch as well, Shichiro. But perhaps enter through the front door to avoid suspicion. Unless you plan on having another conversation with Lord Sullivan…." 

[transpanda-1]

I think I'm plural. Where do I go from here?

🌓There's a couple different avenues you could go down, but we have a few pieces of advice that might help:

EDIT: Our friend also mentioned that it's okay to not know everything at first! Alters might take awhile to come out and switches can be random/suppressed for a bit. Know that figuring this stuff out is literally rewiring how your brain works a little, ya know? :P

Check out plurality groups or places of information. You can either find a system/singlet more experienced with knowledge about the topic, or check out infographic websites like this one:

2. Try to find a place where you can feel comfortable AND safe just trying out being plural. This has honestly been why we've been so successful at detangling systems: We just let them try it out to see how they feel about it. Our DM's are usually open for this kind of behavior. We hold a very personal opinion that it's better to live in a world where you can try out being plural and it turns out its not you, then a world where you don't get that chance. There's no harm in just feeling the edges out to see where you land. This can be either over text, or in person, or something else!

3. Think about your past experiences with identity. For example: If you're trans, did you have a period before realizing that you attached in similar ways? Did you feel similar arguments sprouting up to try to deny it? And if not that, how about just how you've acted around people? Being plural can define a lot of past interactions you didn't think about before. The "moods" you might have, if you speak in different voices sometimes, etc etc etc.

4. Understand you're not alone. Studies show that DID has a 1~1.5% estimated percentage of the world population (though we're not sure if that includes OSDD 1B, traumagenic systems with no memory loss). Although it's described as "rare", it's actually a fairly common condition in the grand scheme of things.

A community is forming (hah!) as more and more plural people come to accept their existence. There are many more plural people out there living their best lives! And you can too!

5. Know that therapy, while it can help, also has a tendency of dealing with psychologists who are taught the only way to "cure" plurality is to have alters integrate. Many systems now are trying to co-exist together because it's becoming more understood that you kind of *can't* cure plurality? So know there's no harm in self diagnosing.

6. Read up on plural fiction, if you can! There's nothing more important or validating than to see other's experiences with plurality! Unfortunately we can't really recommend most mainstream stories, as plurality seems to be more a growing movement in fanfiction spaces. Here's some links to plural stories that made us feel good or were written by us (Yeah bitch of course every word is a different link, gotta go extra as Pandora :P )

And of course, we could say more, like understand c-ptsd (a lot of little trauma over time) can make you plural, find outside sources to reaffirm you, etc. etc. etc.

But we just wanna say that no matter where you end up, take this motto to heart, a message to every alter that might be in there, from us: Thank you for existing! ❤💚🖤🤍🧡💜💖❣💙💔💗🫶🏽💟🤎

[straycalamities]

Idk if you ever answered this before but why did Spook talked differently than others? As like why it sounded like it was stuttering or mixing up slight words

i don't think i've answered it on this blog actually. i don't talk about it much in general.

so when spook was originally Spooktre. he had carved up his face and it was still in tatters, never to heal, because of a curse. so when he spoke, he couldn't get his lips to move right to form lip-heavy sounds because of the physical damage. that's why he held Fs and Vs longer. the Ss were just to make him sound spooky

he also spoke in italics to emphasize...spooky. yaknow. he also spoke in rhyme but obviously teen spook did Not do that

anyeeways i kept the vibe with teen spook obviously just to like..yknow it's teen!spooktre! and then deoncelerization happened and then it mostly became for the Brand. i did have in mind it had nerve damage because of its own older wounds and that's why the F and V thing stayed, but not the S. ...idk why the italics stayed. #aesthetic or smth

also!!! it makes me really happy you noticed it mixes up words sometimes!!! that's something i decided to put in mainly when i was thinking of deehawken!spook because i was thinking a lot about its trauma with its dad n all that. it was straight up mute for a lonngg time and when it started getting therapy for that, it still didn't like talking much (or at all) and decided "why say many word when few word do trick" was its motto. and that was especially clear with deehawken spook because its age woulda placed it in active speech therapy. so it's working on it, but not quite there.

i didn't do great showing it on regular teen!spook's blog (there's a lot of times i look back and read something and i'm like damn..can you shut up this is so ooc to be saying so much), but. that was supposed to continue to be a thing. that spook always tries to find the shortest and most blunt way to say anything when speaking to not have to say too much because saying too much = bad feels/vulnerability/just doesn't like to + it has issues keeping up with what its saying vs. what the other person's saying vs. the noise in its head + i didn't go full word salad but that was always something in the back of my mind when i was writing it having a hard time with dialogue and i always thought it'd struggle with trying to make sense + use the right words

Obviously i wasn't the best at trying to represent spook's mental issues and disorders fully and i definitely wrote and made decisions i wouldnt make today that were uhhh... cringe. but not in the cool-cringe way. in the. i'm actually cringing bro how old are you writing this. kinda way. but i did do a lot of research and reading into stuff for it so i knew??? the ideas?? but for some reason i let old cringy takes take over sometimes. but. ya live n learn

but yeah, basically the speech stuff was a mix of physical damage + neurodivergence

for uhhh..spook now? i don't keep anything but the bluntness + issues with words. the italics, long Ss, Fs, and Vs are all phased out because, to be honest, it's tacky LMAO. i get why i did it, but i don't like it anymore.

so none of the latter is relevant anymore

[langernameohnebedeutung]

I'm not trying to start on you, but the only one of the 'creepy guy' characters I'm familiar with is the Big Bang Theory guy, and he's only presented as non-threatening because of the historical emasculation of Jewish men. It's his perceived femininity that allows him to be gross without repercussion, not the privilege of his masculinity. (Once again, I'm not trying to start an argument, sorry if it seems that way)

No, that is probably a fair point that I didn't think of!

As a gentile + with a lot of specific cultural barriers when it comes to portrayals of Jewish people, I will not and I CAN not make a determined statement on this simply bc it's not something I'm very knowledgeable in regards to. (In fact, I only learnt that this was actually a stereotype about Jewish men a few months ago in a post about how parodies of Ben Shapiro often invoke this narrative.) So this is especially hard for me to have an educated opinion or valuable take on bc my memory of watching that show in my teens is very blurry and I never watched it with that stereotype in mind to look out for and analyse the show in regards to.

Though (leaning very far out of the window just from what I remember on the show and my framework for how stereotypes work) it also feels like a bit of a chicken-egg question that I really cannot answer:

Is the character presented that way BECAUSE he's Jewish (a lot of aspects of the way Howard was written, like other running jokes about his mother or his allergies, definitely feel like they're coming from that point: They decided to 1) write a Jewish character AND then 2) wrote a bunch of antisemitic jokes to go with that)

OR was the jumping-off point that they were making a show about a group of male characters who fail to live up to standards of masculinity - and BECAUSE of this historical and cultural portrayal of Jewish men, they felt like it would be funny to make one of them Jewish (and to be clear, I don't think it's necessarily or even just likely just either of these options, they probably both play into different aspects of the development of this character, - and quite frankly, I doubt the jumping-off point was/is a particularly relevant question in comparison to the general impact of doing this in a show that is/was as successful as the big bang theory.)

It is definitely a very different portrayal from the way e.g. How I Met Your Mother portrayed (and excused) the actions of Barney Stinson. Because one of them works, as you say, through emasculation - "if you're not a real man, you're not a real threat to women, so it's funny and we should feel sorry for these guys secretly filming hot women in their own house" (e.g. Penny's Evul boyfriends, the foils to Leonard's Nice Guy, being portrayed as very masculine and actually threatening).

Meanwhile, How I Met Your Mother didn't work that way - Barney Stinson was definitely portrayed as Cool and his predatory behaviours were not just as excused as him being harmless, it was glorified as him having "game" or "flirting strategies" and irl, men actually felt inspired by him and while stuff like the Play Book were partially tongue-in-cheek, the idea was that "it's okay because it works and is funny and the women who fall for it probably have it coming BECAUSE they fall for it and Barney is considered hot and masculine - so women are probably into it." For example, when I graduated, my year literally had a How I Met Your Mother motto and like...half the guys in my year would try to emulate Barney Stinson and quote him and quote the Bro Code or other stuff from the show and misogynistic stuff he said. And while people also loved to quote Sheldon back then, it came from a different place and not so much one of admiration.

Though, I feel compelled to point out that on the "how does this portrayal treat women" bottom line, we always end up at "it's okay to treat women badly to get what you want"

Also, an extra note for context, I would also point towards the '90s and the 2000s generally having a very different attitude regarding what media at the time considered funny and what was considered predatory - they were at a very specific point in tv and movie history in terms of a) what they could portray and talk about and b) the public conversations at the time on matters like consent and dating and sex.

Like, at this point we can almost speak from the "historical context" because mindset changed so much since then - you see this on a lot of shows, e.g. if you follow me, I'm rewatching House right now and it's very prominent there and while I never watched Friends, I know there is a lot of discourse happening there and I remember watching Buffy being genuinely surprised when in one episodes, they called out a group of nerds (!) for being insane fucking predators.

And that's not even just something to do with men and women and gender but just generally, a lot of things that we talk about today and that we make progress talking about in terms of consent and sexual autonomy were really not something that was part of the major discourse - and this was actually why I considered the addition that "women in the 2000s cartoons (!) acted creepy in a way men couldn't so it's all a different-sides-of-the-same-medal kinda thing!" rather disingenuous:

Because...men in 2000s films and shows definitely got away with acting like fucking creeps - and women too - and that didn't take "privilege of masculinity" or anything, it just took it being the 2000s. (Privilege of masculinity was the insane degree to which characters like Barney Stinson were idolised for this)

[summermil]

𝑡𝑤𝑜 ❀

𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑥 𝑓𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑐

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑡𝚑𝑒𝑟, 𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡𝚑.

𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ꕤ

𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑ೀ

her hair danced in the wind. the cooling feel of the sea breeze hitting her face was enough to distract her from her current predicament. in her room. grounded. for two whole weeks.

it was monday now, and after spending the rest of the weekend in her bedroom, she decided she'd had enough. she was going to disobey her dad's orders and sneak out.

she knew he'd gone to work, but since this was his new job, she had no idea when he'd come back. she wasn't even sure what he did. but she didn't bother worrying about that, as long as she doesn't bump into him during her escape plan, she'll be good as gold.

her room didn't have a lock on it yet, luckily, so she gently pulled open the door. the awful creaking sound echoed through the whole hallway, and she hoped she hadn't disturbed her mom.

the girl danced across the landing and down the stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible, but when she rounded the corner in the kitchen, she was met with a fright. someone was stood in the kitchen.

she clambered backwards, knocking into the wall in the process, letting a small "ow" slip from her mouth.

"angel?" a small voice called out.

"mom?" was that really her mother calling for her, or had she gone insane?

the blonde peaked round the corner, and sure enough, leant on the kitchen island - was her mom.

"mom!" she exclaimed in shock "what are you doing down here. god, you scared me" a deep breath escaped from her lungs. 

"i was down here the whole time, honey." she chuckled slightly, though it sounded painful.

"i thought you should be resting?"

"yeah well.. your dads out. thought i might get some exercise before he comes back and locks me back up again" angel knew she was joking, but deep down she also knew - it was the truth. 

5 years ago, the doctors diagnosed angels mom, isabelle, with pancreatic cancer. it was rare, she was only young. they didn't know how she developed it, they said she was healthy, so the chances of her becoming cancer free were large. but quickly, they descended. 

every doctor's visit, every hospital appointment, all told them the same thing. they couldn't help her. the cancer had spread too far, and as much as the family pleaded with the doctors, they just couldn't do anything to help her. that was nearly 3 years ago. the hospital warned the family of the life expectancy. so, that's why they moved to the outerbanks.

her dad said it was a fresh start, her mom had always loved the beach. when angel was growing up, she was given the nickname jelly. her mom had started it, taking inspiration from the jellyfish that always washed up on her home town beach.

angel took that as a motto in life. she never let anyone close enough to sting her. maybe that wasn't good for her. that's why she liked this fresh start, new experiences, new people, she hoped it would be better than the last.

deep down though, she was upset. she knew the only reason they moved here was because her mom was dying. she didn't have very long left to live, and she wanted to be by the beach for her final months.

angel was angry. angry at the world for trying to take her mom away from her. she knew she'd have to live with her dad, but she had hope her mom would hold on, she had hope that they would run away together - her, tommy and her mom- then start a new life somewhere away from all the pain. but that was more of a dream.

the days we're getting closer and closer, the ticking sound of a clock echoed in her head when she thought about it. but, it wasn't happening now, her mom was alive, in fact, she was stood right in front of her.

"hey" the same voice snapped her out of her trance. "didn't your dad say you were grounded? i heard something along those lines, but i was so dosed up on pain meds.. i didn't really understand"

"no...no" the girl denied it. "he might have been talking to tommy, definitely wasn't talking to me" her voice went higher at the end. she knew her mom suspected something, but alas - she let her off.

"alright.." the older woman yawned, stretching her joints and wincing slightly when she pushed them too far. 

"i'm gonna go out, mom. is that okay?" angel asked, praying the slight waver in her voice wasn't a giveaway. 

"now?"

"yeah..i.. ya know, i just thought i'd explore the island" 

her mom snorted "well, maybe if you didn't spend all day in your bedroom yesterday, you could have gone out then"

angel thought she'd caught on to her lie, she was ready to accept defeat and head back to her bedroom.

"but, of course, you can go out jelly, just be safe.. okay?"

she almost cheered. "yes mom, thanks, i love you, bye" the rushed string of words left her mouth as she grabbed the house keys off the rack and practically sprinted out the front door. finally free.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the sound of the waves crashing were comforting. when she was little, the only way she could fall asleep was with the sounds of the sea echoing around her room. she grew out of it, but the noise always seemed to bring her comfort.

so did the feeling of sand on her feet, the wind in her hair, the salty taste of the ocean. 

perched on a rock, angel began thinking. how her life could have been different. she wished she could turn back time, undo her mistakes and maybe even fight for her mother a bit more. she always believed it was her fault she was dying. she's dying. her mom is dying and there is absolutely nothing she can do about it.

salty tears rolled down her face. she just wanted life to be normal- why couldn't anything go her way? she wrapped her arms around herself in comfort, shaking on a rock in the middle of the beach.

"hey" it was quiet, barely there. angel ignored it at first, probably just another voice her head had made up. 

"hey, are you alright?" it was louder this time, whoever was speaking was close.

the girl turned around cautiously, but instead of a threat being behind her, it was another girl. her brown eyes locked onto angels blue ones, the girl's eyes were caring, kind. she had dirty blonde hair and as angel recognised she was not a threat, she also noticed her mouth moving.

everything seemed to come crashing back on her then. the sound of the waves, the chill of the air and the question that was coming out of this stranger's mouth. angel shot up onto her feet, frantically wiping the tears from her face and forcing a fake smile. 

"are you alright? you didn't answer for a second" the girl asked.

"uh, yeah I'm o-okay" she winced at her voice cracking, scolding herself for showing vulnerability to a stranger.

"I'm sarah" she gave a friendly smile. "i don't think I've seen you around before"

"uh no, i- we just moved here" for fucks sake angel, speak like a normal person "im angel, nice to meet you"

"cool... where do you live?" sarah responded.

angel thought it was a bit strange to give a stranger her address, she hadn't even known this girl for a minute. but she trusted her for some reason. her mom's words swam around in her head.

'don't let them get too close angel, they'll leave you with a horrible sting'

"i know that's a strange question" the other girl laughed, taking angels silence as an answer. "you don't have to answer if you don't want to"

fuck it, she decided. she wanted to make new friends? well, she had to start here. so, she told the stranger her address.

sarah looked shocked for a second, before her face lit up in excitement. "are you serious?" she had a hint of a smile pulling at her lips.

angel couldn't help but feel a small smile form on her face as well. maybe the people around here were nice, maybe moving here was a good decision. 

"yeah, we moved in about.. 3 days ago"

"we're neighbours!" sarah exclaimed, happily.

"oh my god, really?" angel matched her energy.

"yes, how did i not notice" she threw her hands in the air.

"do you- do you have a brother?" angel couldn't help but ask, the guy she'd seen on the motorbike that night, had to be part of her family, right?

"yeah, i live with my dad, his wife, my brother and my younger sister" 

"i think i saw your dad.. and your brother" angel hoped sarah didn't think she was trying to pry out information about him. 

"yeah.. they don't get along well" the girl's mood changed slightly and angel noticed a shift in the air.

"i don't get along with my dad either, he favourites my younger brother more" 

"is it just you, your brother and your dad?" 

"no.. my moms with us too, she's just... ill at the moment"

sarah gave a sympathetic smile, "i hope she gets better"

"thanks" her words hit angel like a ton of bricks. she won't get better, she's dying, she won't survive, she won't li-

"hey, me and my friends are hanging out down the other end of the beach. wanna join?" the brown eyed girl asked, extending her hand for angel to take.

new people? maybe she could make some more friends. "sure, why not" she smiled, grabbing her newfound friend's hand and letting her drag her down the beach.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the two girls had made it about halfway back down the beach when sarah noticed angel was shivering and had her arms wrapped around herself for warmth, she wondered if the new girl just wasn't used to the coastal wind chill. so she offered up her jacket. 

"take this" she said after she slipped off the jacket to hand it to her new friend.

"are you sure?" angel asked, "i don't want you to get cold."

"I've lived here all my life angel, I'm used to it"

"okay, thanks" angel took the jacket with a small smile, slipping it over her shoulders. she then noticed something in the distance, a bright orange glow. almost like a fire? she looked around realising just how long she had been out. the sun was setting, leaving a beautiful reflection on the water. but it was getting dark, hence the fire in the distance. 

"do you see that?" she asked sarah, pointing her shaky hand in the direction of the light, realising that she'd been out so long and forgotten to have breakfast that morning.

"yeah" she replied back, happily. "that's my friends, come on" she chuckled before jogging in the direction of the fire.

angel could see them now, there was 4 other people sat on logs around a mini camp fire. she didn't run to catch up with sarah. she just picked up her pace a bit, letting her feet drag through the sand. 

the warmth from the fire was much appreciated by angel when she walked up next to the log sarah had sat herself on. she had sat by a boy with grown out shaggy hair, he was wearing a shirt and by the looks of how cosy him and sarah seemed, she could only assume that was her boyfriend. there was no room on that certain seat so angel casted her eyes around. the next available space was by the only other girl. she had darker skin and her hair held beautiful curls.

"guys this is my friend, angel, i met her.. just now, we're neighbours!" sarah beamed out to her friends. nobody said anything, but now all eyes were on her.

"uh, hi im... yeah, I'm angel" she gave an awkward wave cursing herself for not being able to talk to people at all.

"so.. you're a kook" the girl with the curls asked, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"kiara!" sarah scolded, giving her a look.

"what's a.. kook?" angel was confused, what was a 'kook' and why did this kiara girl seem so bothered?

"you don't know?" the blonde guy sat farthest away spoke up. angel shook her head.

he sighed. "pope, get up" he guided the guy next to him to sit down next to kiara, patting the, now empty, log bedside him. "sit" he ordered angel, looking her in the eyes.

"okay.." angel was scared about this strange group of people. hell, she met sarah about half an hour ago and she thought she could trust her just because they're neighbours? shit. what have i got myself into? her eyes darted around nervously as she took a seat.

"jj" sarah warned, "be nice". 

be nice?  angel thought, suddenly panicking, looking around for any escape or another human who could save her. she was convinced they were going to kill her, on this secluded part of the beach where nobody was around. these thoughts quickly put a chill through her bones, making the warmth from the fire practically useless. she wrapped sarah's jacket around herself tighter, basking in the slight warmth it gave her.

a hand nudged against her arm, snapping her out of her daydream. once again she had gotten to overwhelmed and zoned out. the guy with messy blonde hair who sarah called 'jj' started speaking to her again. "are you good? you looked scared. c'mon, we're not that scary" he laughed a little.

angel, despite her thoughts, felt the corners of her mouth turn up a tiny bit. although she thought they might murder her, her flight or fight wasn't kicking in, she didn't have butterflies in her stomach and her gut instinct wasn't telling her to run. maybe she was okay. so, she muttered out an apology and reverted the conversation. 

"so.. what's a kook?"

everybody sighed, finally realising she actually didn't know what a kook was. they all drew their eyes to jj, he sighed before speaking up.

"there are two sides to this island, figure eight and the cut. the kooks.. and the pogues."

"okay? i still don't understand" angel didn't get any of this.

"the kooks are the rich families. they have nice houses, nice cars, big parties and lots of money"

"so your a kook" kiara spoke up. "and so is sarah" from the expression on her face angel could tell nobody in this circle liked the kooks.

"is that a bad thing?" 

"ye-"

"no!" sarah shouted over kiara. "being a kook is... fine."

"see the pogues and the kooks don't like each other.. it's like, a rivalry" jj carried on his explanation.

"why not?" the blonde girl asked.

"man, because-"

"because the kooks are stuck up pigs who have too much money and only care for themselves" kiara interrupted again, abruptly standing up from her seat and stomping off the beach. angel opened her mouth in shock. is she going to be known as a 'kook' now. she hoped not, how hard would it be to get people to like her after this reaction?

the boy who was addressed as 'pope' stood up and turned in the direction kiara had gone. "uh.. i better go.. check on her" he stuttered out, walking in her direction.

"yeah.. me too" jj said standing up to follow his friends. he waved awkwardly before scurrying off in the same direction.

angel turned back to sarah, bewildered at what just happened. sarah opened her mouth quickly to try and stop the hurt that washed over her new friend's face. but it was too late, as a tear had already fell from her eye. she untangled herself from john b and ran over to sit with the other kook.

"it's okay" she whispered, slinging an arm around angels shoulders. "she just.. overreacted, that's all" 

"i don't understand" tears ran down her face but her features kept expressionless, eyes glowing in the ambers of the fire as she stared into it. "why don't they like me"

"they do like you" the boy exclaimed from the other side. "they just.. don't trust new people"

angel's head fell into her hands, missing the look sarah had gave him. this day had gone worse to good to shit all over again. 'they don't trust new people'. what does that even mean?

"I'm sorry" she sniffled.

"why are you apologising? we should be saying sorry to you" sarah said

"you only met me like, half an hour ago.. now I'm crying into your arms"

sarah held her closer, rubbing her shoulder in a comforting manner. "it's okay, besides, i think I've known you longer than that. it's getting dark... we should go home, c'mon i'll walk you" she gave angel a friendly smile, guiding them both to stand up. 

"ill see you tomorrow john b.. bye" she bid goodbye to her boyfriend and, with her arm still around angel's shoulders, began walking back home. they walked back in a comforting silence. with sarah being slightly taller than the other girl, she was able to rest her head on her shoulders.

the walk wasn't long, so they arrived back quite quickly. sarah stopped them at the gates of angels house. she laughed slightly. "my dads gonna be pissed"

sarah looked at her with sympathy. "quick, go inside then, before he sees you"

"okay.. can i see you tomorrow?" angel asked, sheepishly.

"of course" sarah beamed. "come round whenever, okay" she searched for something in her pocket, pulling out a phone and handing it to her. "type your number in, ill text you" 

"okay.. here" angel typed in her number quickly, bidding goodbye to her new friend before scurrying up to her house.

the front door didn't squeak, luckily, considering the building was quite new. she tiptoed across the foyer and up the wooden staircase. at the top of the staircase, there was a table. a table with a vase. a table with a vase that she managed to bump into, creating a ringing sound across the house. she wasted no time bolting to her room, opening the door and collapsing on the bed in exhaustion. luckily, her mom and dad's room was up another story, although she was sure that wouldn't be for long, considering her mum was struggling to get up and down the first flight of stairs as it was.

she unwillingly pulled herself off the bed to change into something more comfy, realising she still had on sarah's jacket. as sleep engulfed her, she made a mental note to take it back tomorrow.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

outside her window, the bird chirped happily, angel woke up peacefully. then remembered the shenanigans that happened last night. letting out a loud groan, she pulled herself up from her bed and trudged to the bathroom, turning on the shower. she let the warm water engulf her body as she zoned out. eventually returning back to her room after she'd done her hair care, skin care and beauty routine. 

"angel" she heard from outside her door. 

she rolled her eyes "just a minute tommy" quickly throwing on some random clothes, she hesitantly twisted the door knob and cracked open the door, pondering what her younger brother was up to. but to her surprise, he didn't try to hit her with a hand full of whipped cream, or throw a ball at her face.

"yes? what do you need" she eyed him suspiciously.

"i saw you last night" he responded, cheekily.

"tommy" she scolded, dragging him by his shirt into her room. earning a series of 'ows' as she shut the door in a hurry. "keep your voice down, he'll hear"

"what?" the boy furrowed his brows. "he's at work, what are you talking about"

"huh?" angel picked up her phone, checking the time to see that it was indeed, one in the afternoon. she let her eyes scan down the screen. seeing a text from an unknown number. oh, it was sarah. she remembered she'd given the girl her phone number last night. but that also reminds her. the jacket. 

"tommy, I'm going out now okay, so..keep your mouth shut and be good" she pointed a finger at him.

"what's it for me" he asked

she sighed "what do you want"

he stood with his hands on his hips "i want to go to...that basketball court mom was telling me about!"

"alright, ill take you there" she begrudgingly agreed, not even thinking about the fact she was still grounded for 2 weeks. "now get out"

the boy sassily walked out, not before sticking his tongue out at his older sister, typical. she rolled her eyes and started picking out an outfit to go see her new friend again. also remembering to chuck the jacket over her shoulder to return.

she got down the stairs to the front door, hesitating before she opened it. "bye" she shouted into the house, hoping that her mom could hear her if she was awake. angel waited a minute but got no response, so she sighed and stepped out of the house, gently shutting the door behind her.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

the walk over to sarah's front gate was less than a minute. she'd walked quite fast though, itching to get away from her own house. she punched in the code that sarah had texted her, watching as the front gate peeled open to reveal a beautiful house with a wide balcony looking over the town. angel admired it as she wandered up to the front door.

when she arrived she spotted a small bell on the wall to the side, deciding to ring it instead. she doubted a small knock would be heard in a house like this. the bell echoed around the walls of the building. through the glass door, she could see a figure approaching, not clearly though - since the panels were frosted.

but the figure looked quite tall, she was confused for a second. until the door handle twisted and swung open to reveal a tall boy in a polo shirt with khaki shorts on. she craned her neck slightly to look up at him and her eyes widened in shock.

oh my god...

[spinnysocks]

i've been sucked into a RDR2 fixation at the same time as my Lion Guard one. naturally, my mind crossed em over and BOOM! i present: The Outlanders in a human au where they're COWBOYS!!! buckle up >:)

also you don't have to know anything about rdr2 for this au! it's based loosely on some of the events and dynamics of the game, but i mostly wanted to develop a cool human au :3

under the cut cuz long post!

setting things up:

jasiri takes the role of dutch essentially. she is the leader of the "gang", as i'm gonna call it! although she was supposed to be head of the Hyena family, she and madoa rejected the town lifestyle and started their own together, the 'cowboy' life i suppose haha. their motto is something like 'Free, but Good'. their original gang (jasiri's clan in canon) has changed a bit over the years as the members slowly joined, and some died - the two of them have looked after wema and tunu together ever since their mother passed away

as the cowboy life appears pretty sketchy to most of the prideland townsfolk, jasiri and madoa started helping people wherever they could, however big or small. they gained the trust of the towns and started to move on to harsher parts, a desert called the Outlands. eventually, their smaller jobs transformed into the much bigger and more impactful goal of trying to help/see the good side of the land's notorious gangs. jasiri realised that's what she wanted overall - to help people, even if they hurt others, and hopefully change their ways. she wanted to help them live "Free but Good". obviously janja's gang was her first target....

janja's had a rough life. his mother and her infamous gang dropped off the face of the earth one day, so he and his friends were raised by mzingo's gang. seeing it as their means to survival, janja led his gang in town raids, stealing whatever they needed, even if it sometimes ended in the gang getting hurt or killing townsfolk. though it took a lotta standoffs between them, jasiri eventually got them to see eye-to-eye. she showed him how she was surviving without the need to kill innocent people, and with time they became the first gang she reformed! janja reminisces a lot about when he led his gang, but he wouldn't change his new life for anything, and he would defend his new gang till the end

mzingo and his gang followed janja's joining. it didn't take them much convincing- despite a few conflicting moral values- as it was a hard time even in the towns and they were pretty much going to starve without jasiri's help. the former Vulture gang members kinda work as spies for jasiri, specialising in being swift and able to spy from high vantage points on horseback. i'd say jasiri and mzingo have a decent friendship and work pretty well together on strategy; mzingo likes being able to put his brain to use and jasiri likes him not using his questionable strategies to kill people lol

the Jackal family were basically forced to absolute poverty. the only thing reirei and goigoi could really do to get enough for all of them was steal for money, food, travel, etc. it was the only way they thought they could survive, believing there was no help for them, and there wasn't for a while. with janja's gang- who somewhat threatened their livelihood- reformed, it was much easier for reirei and her family to take what they wanted from people, but jasiri's offer to her was pretty convincing... so after a few hard and lonely years, reirei accepts jasiri's help. she promises them food, warmth and community- kind of the only thing reirei ever wanted for herself, her husband and her children, and they get to live free too! she's just happy that her husband and children are happy, and that she can be too, even if she can have arguments with the other former gang leaders lol

kiburi's gang..... yeah they were definitely the hardest to convince. jasiri wasn't acquainted with them at all. they'd were a bit newer to the Outlands, coming there after some failed riot kicked them out of their town. but janja, mzingo and reirei knew them well. kiburi was very adamant that he didn't care for jasiri's lifestyle, that it was "too soft" for he and his gang, that they didn't want or need their help and that violence was just "what they did". jasiri had just about accepted defeat. that was until one night kiburi's gang were attacked by strangers who were too much for them, but jasiri's gang swooped in to save them, both from the attack itself and their bad wounds. if it wasn't for them, kiburi's gang would be dead. he doesn't have much of a choice but to sign off his leadership in exchange for the protection of his friends, which he decided inwardly matters more to him than being leader anyway. in joining the gang his personality doesn't change much from the outside, but you spend a little time with him and you realise he's a good guy beneath it all

the same sorta thing went for ushari and the Skinks. ushari grew up in the stuffy towns and he liked it well enough when he was left alone, but he just kept getting disrespected by people. it only took a few months for him to snap, and then it was him who was disrespecting by plotting against the different towns in the lands. his plans were pretty genius, especially with his acquaintances shupavu, njano and their gang called the Skinks, who just so happened to be the best spies in the lands. despite their lack of brawn and being far from well-off, together their plans were dangerous and could cause lots of townsfolk casualties. people also just kept getting tricked and robbed by the skinks. no one wanted anything to do with them, ushari, or anyone associated with them (ahem, kenge and sumu, ahem ahem)

there was a massive, brutal shootout between the Prideland townsfolk and the Outland gangs before they reformed. jasiri tried to stop it and reason with the gangs, but all hell broke loose as everyone started shooting. ushari was shot as jasiri was talking to him. he was genuinely considering being the first to join her side, as she'd shown him genuine kindness like no one else, but it ended in the shootout (you can guess who shot ushari. i am glaring at you bunga). jasiri and her gang tried everything but the wound was untreatable :( the guilt weighs on jasiri's shoulders as well as the skinks. initially they tried saving ushari themselves- finally putting someone else over being in a fight- but were surprised and inwardly thankful that jasiri tried so hard to save him, even if it was futile

after the shootout and ushari's death, shupavu's gang spent a few weeks aimlessly wandering, realising that stealing wasn't so fun or as easy now that ushari was gone. they kinda awkwardly shuffled into jasiri's gang when she next came to see em. they found it really hard to fit in or do 'good'. like most of them, they joined because they kinda had no choice but to. eventually they find their place, especially when kenge and sumu join

only ushari and the skinks knew, but kenge and sumu were at that shootout too. they went because ushari, shupavu and njano told them about it and What Else You Gonna Do In The Wild West lmao. it was pretty tragic when they found out ushari died, they didn't know bc they were caught up in the shootout and weren't really on the main scene until the shooting started. realistically they probably caused the most carnage; kenge is insane and sumu is a sniper. they left once it was all over, expecting to hear from their acquaintances, but shupavu and njano had to break the news to em. they were also completely unaware that the skink gang joined jasiri

almost forgot to talk about their history! sumu doesn't come from the pridelands/outlands, he travelled a long way bc he pretty much worked as a hitman sniper for criminals who wanted townsfolk killed. he wouldn't stay long in each place to avoid getting caught by law, but he stuck around the outlands because ushari was a cool guy he actually made friends with, and kenge too. in kenge's case, he's that guy who could like. crack your skull if he wanted to. he's really antagonistic and has been in loads of bar fights before being run out of towns, but they could never kill him because he's too good of a fighter and too strong. i guess like rasputin without the lust lmfao??

but yes! kenge and sumu were eventually convinced to join the gang when jasiri finally met them, in her eyes she saw another two misunderstood individuals on the wrong path and managed to reach out to them. she probably called them "friends" and that was the first time they'd ever heard any stranger be that kind to them. both of em were definitely the most uncertain and antsy about being in the gang, as they'd lived solitary before, but no one was really going to bother or push them. sumu's the almost-silent one who has cleaned up a mess before you even notice there was one (perks of being a sniper) and kenge's the guy ordering the best drinks for the camp (perks of being a former bar fighter)

speaking of what everyone does in the gang, i will be talking about that in a follow up post 👀 because i didn't realise how long this was!!!

i have loved building this au!! :3 there might be a few tweaks along the way as i try to find a good balance between the outlanders being from a kids show and the brutality of rdr2 lol. i think i'm starting to develop a story i like tho, just going to flesh out important events as i go along :)

[justbrainrot]

It’s time for my Legendborn characters' sexuality headcanons to be out into the world:

(Disclaimer: yes some of these characters are underage. I know. Folks’ preferences don’t come in the mail with their voter registration though. Don’t come for me about these entirely fictional characters because I’ll just block you and that’s not gratifying for either of us, ‘kay?)

That being said there is a cut this is all gonna live under lol

Bree: Our girl’s motto is, “I’ll try anything once. Or twice! Maybe it’s an acquired taste.” I mean listen, she has almost no experience prior to meeting these dudes, but she does have her big big brain & Alice. So she’s well read iykwim. And has an inherently queer sensibility when she thinks about relationships, despite how things may look from the outside. She really enjoys the negotiation prior to a scene, which makes her a natural at this poly thing. Also, she’s a switch.

Identifies as: Queer

Sel: Baby boy is a service bottom. I mean if this isn’t obvious to you maybe we can’t be friends lol. He enjoys both lightly applied sensation & some pretty heavy pain on occasion. He will definitely top & top well when told to. Sensory deprivation is 100% his jam because it turns his brain off just a li’l bit.

Identifies as: Pansexual (this is canon btw, I didn’t make this part up)

Nick: Oh my darling! Nick is the most vanilla of our trio, but that’s not saying much because, well, have you met the other two lol. He is a natural dom but is also patently disgusted by all the trappings of dominant white cishet dudes in our culture. So he’s also a unicorn, bless ‘im. He is deeply in love with Bree, which is obvious to anyone with eyes, but his feelings for Sel have been clouded by the Kingsmage Oath for so long that when it’s removed, it takes him a minute to work out that he’s in love with Sel also.

Identifies as: Bisexual

Alice: First I need to say that Alice rocks a sick lesbian manicure seven days a week & if that isn’t the hottest way to flag I don’t know what is. She is solidly femme4femme, & knows how to top from below so smoothly you’ll have no idea it’s happening until you are wondering if you forgot to set your face because it’s dripping into your eyes all of a sudden.

Identifies as: Lesbian

William: This dude is a gentleman first & foremost; he ofc redefines making enthusiastic consent sexy as hell. He is uncomfortable having sexytimes when he has Gawain’s strength at noon & midnight, so he has deftly avoided it thusfar. Dating Lark might change that, though, I’m thinking. He’s not dated within the Order before, after all. Pretty vanilla guy, all things considered, but that does not mean boring!

Identifies as: Gay

Mariah: at first I didn't think I had a handle on Mariah, but now I'm thinking she is either ace or just isn't in a place where sexuality is all that important in her life atm and she's fine with it. She's def down to be a soundboard for her friends though, and is wicked smart, so for these reasons she knows the most about what's going on with everyone else but is the soul of discretion.

There will be a part two because this hellsite gets buggier the longer my posts get, apparently.

Edit: part two ✨here✨

[riririnnnn]

Most of all, hello again! And before you ask, no, I'm not a telepath or a psychic. I mean, I was a psychic for a mini time to steal— I mean, make money fairly. :D

Back here again… I'm glad you've found some new hobbies and are doing other things! Of course, I'm also very sad when I see that you're stopping writing because maybe you feel like it's becoming more of an obligation than something cool that you're doing to share. I'm really feeling like a balance, I'm happy and sad because you really are one of the few creators of quotev that I like and you were also the one who gave me the starting point to start writing my Blue lock povs. <3

So what I'm really going to say here now as a young Brazilian who accidentally took a six bloody month psychology course is; Don't try too hard or force yourself to do something you no longer want to do. If that second one is the case then I just wait for a post like "It's over, I'm done writing, Bye and Lol."

And one more thing, I'm like air. You may not see me or smell me, but sometimes you hear me and feel me— :D

Ily, bye-bye darling.

—TJ. 🇧🇷

PS; Don't worry, I probably won't actually kill someone and I'm sorry about the accidental double ask.

Ah, well, I consider myself as a lawful good, but I don't mind the idea of, y'know, stealing money from the rich. Like, I don't condone the idea of stealing—that's a bad manner, but stealing from the rich? I understand that.

And you are scaring me now..

Like, be honest, do you have any special supernatural power? Do you have a camera in my room or something? 'cause how do you know that yes, writing indeed started to feel like an obligation to me—I lost the sparks—especially during those times when I, out of the blue, started to lose motivation to write.

You see, personally, I think the most important thing for a Fanfic writer is that you should have fun while writing! I mean, it's not a job, so you should enjoy it! And I've been living by this motto ever since I, myself, became a Fanfic writer.

But lately, I wasn't able to feel the same, y'know.

Whenever I do random things, I think of my books, the potential future plot and stuffs, and I always have this stupidly big smile on my face during the whole time—you might even think I'm mentally ill or something because I'm feeling that much of happiness!

However, you can say a couple of weeks to be completely honest, I wasn't able to feel the same joy, y'know, Instead of smiling and giggling like an idiot, I ended up frowning whenever I opened the books. My face used to be like: >:( It started to feel more like a chore of something, and I couldn't confess it truthfully until now because, well, haha, I thought it was very rude of me to say so.

I kinda don't have any idea why I started to feel this way, but I'm sure that the book Cliché had a pretty big hand behind this—I think I did vent about it to you some months ago (?).

I mean, it's very arrogant of me to say this, but I took (maybe take?) pride in the fact that I never suffer(ed) from writer's block and that my imagination power is very strong—ideas always keep flooding in my mind and story automatically formed on its own as I typed. However, I never realised that having so many ideas can also mean that they may not connect very well to eachother, y'know.

And that's exactly what happened while I was writing the book Cliché. I had abundance of ideas for the story to proceed, but they just didn't link up which frustrated me and, I guess, also damaged some of my ego.

I won't say I'm done with writing though :) I still like it a lot, and I'm, slowly, getting back into the track—it may take a while, I think.

Oops, I ranted a lot :p

Thank you so much! You are very, very sweet <3

Also, "You may not see me or smell me, but sometimes you hear me and feel me," hm? That's scary, hehe :p

And LMFAOOOO! Glad to know you won't actually kill someone, lol.

Take care <3333333333

Sending you lots of love!!

[empressofthesunwriter]

Kill La Hero: 12

In the lottery of Quirk’s Michi got on really special and annoying one. A living, sarcastic ribbon named Ares, who puts her into superpowered revealing outfits. But this won't stop the girl from fulfilling her dream of being a hero! Just watch her!

(But not too closely please!)

MHA MEETS KILL LA KILL!

Chapter 12: The Sports Festival begins! 

Michi crossed her arms and shared a look with Ares.

Whether they made more enemy or not, didn't matter, they would crush anyone!

Then they looked at their friends, who had also determined looks on.

Especially Izuku.

Even...even if it means crushing them all...even Izuku, you, my love, I won't hesitate...

The girl gripped her arms tighter and felt how Ares got stiffer too.

Because this is my chance to be seen! 

Mine and Ares!

We will be the greatest Pro-Heroes ever...I can't consider any of you.

At the Sports Festival...we all will be rivals! 

Two weeks.

Michi and Ares had exactly two weeks to push themselves beyond their limits.

With the motto "Plus Ultra," in their hearts, they decided to train in normal activities with their friends.

Often, the four friends could be seen running together at the beach, followed by stretching and lifting weights.

After this, each of them trained with their Quirk alone.

Michi and CO. had agreed that this was the best approach.

If they were to face off against each other at the Sports Festival, it was only fair that they had surprises up their sleeves.

Normal training was going well, but... the new suit still didn't work!

Ares insisted that it was because she was a prude.

Sorry if she didn't like that everyone could see nearly her breasts and behind!

So to show her stupid ribbon she wasn't a prude, Michi visited an Onsen.

For woman.

For mixed Onsen, she didn't have the courage right now.

The young girl enjoyed the warm water and looked at the other women.

How carefree they were.

A lot of them didn't wear a towel.

Maybe she should try it too?

Shyle she took away her towel and...nothing.

Nothing happened.

Yeah, okay, these were other women, they all had the same parts.

Sigh, maybe she really should go to a mixed one and see if she could handle it.

Did they even allow 15-year-olds in?

That's when a splash beside her was heard.

Surprised Michi turned around and found an older girl sitting near her.

Michi would say the blue-haired beauty with the turquoise eyes was maybe 17 or 18 years old not much more.

"Aww, this hits the spot.", purred the older girl and shamelessly stretched herself in the water. Then she noted Michi and gave her a friendly smile. "Hi, you are a new face. I'm a regular, my name is Takako, who are you?"

Wow, even if this Takako was butt naked she acted normal. Like if they had met at a coffee.

"I'm Michi, as you guessed it's my first time here."

"Oh, cool, how are you liking it so far?"

"The water is really nice."

Takako gave her an amused look.

"You know Michi-San, you look really tense, like you don't want to be here."

Maybe it's because Takako was a stranger and older, but Michi found herself spilling her Quirk-related problem.

Takako listens, nodding at some parts.

"I see, I see. Don't take it wrong, but maybe you are a bit prude."

"Would you want to walk around nearly butt naked in public?!"

"Honey, you don't know what I wear. I prefer mini-skirts and love lingerie. I would like to try your Ares out."

For that, Michi splashed her with water.

"Forget it, also Ares works only with my DNA, but really Takako-San what should I do? The Sports Festival is tomorrow and I still can't transform my suit."

Takako hummed in thought.

"You know.", she began. "Maybe it's not that you are prudish, maybe you need more confidence in yourself."

This... sounded better than being called a prude.

"Are you still a virgin?"

Michi shook her head.

"When was the last time you had sex?"

"About a year ago.", admitted Michi blushing. "I was really, really horny and needed a quick fuck. So I had a One-Stand with a classmate."

The blue-haired girl raises an eyebrow at her. As she said it seemed like she felt bad for it.

"Why are you giving off the vibe of someone who betrayed their lover...you didn't betray your lover or?!"

With a red face, Michi told her about Izuku, and how long she had been in love with him, but somehow they couldn't go the next step.

Or was it on Michi or on Izuku who didn't seem ready for a relationship, the salmonhaired girl didn't know.

Takako let out a breath and stroked her wet hair.

"Ah, love is a bitch. Or are you sure this Izuku doesn't feel for you the same way?"

"My flirts always go over his head."

"Maybe just be direct and tell him, hi yes I wanna suck your dick and be your girl!"

"Takako-San!", laughed Michi and splashed her with water.

In revenge, Takako splashed back.

Then both girls started to giggle.

"I think what you need is a confirmation, that you are indeed a hot girl and can walk around your supersuit with pride.", told Takaro. "If you go and get this confirmation from Izuku or someone else, you have to decide."

"Mmh, I think I get what you mean."

"Good, well I have to go now, sorry."

With that, Takako stepped out of the Onsen.

"It was nice meeting you Michi-San, good luck at the Sports Festival and with your Izuku and another thing..."

"Mmh?"

Takako gave her a sincere look from her turquoise eyes.

"I think you are a really beautiful girl and shouldn't feel ashamed of your body but celebrate it, alright."

Lost for words Michi thanked her and started to play absentminded with the water.

Never saw how Takako side-eyed her with a look of pure rage before she walked to the changing rooms.

Michi was simply more occupied with her thoughts.

A grand error this would turn out in the future…

*/*

And then the day was finally there.

The Sports Festival began!

Like any other class, class 1A had its own Waiting Room.

Mina was currently fixing her sports uniform.

"Man, I wanted to wear my costume."

"To keep everything fair, we can't.", reminds her Ojiro. "Only Michi can wear her supersuit with the pants since Ares is part of her Quirk."

"Oh girl, you have it so good!"

Normally Michi would say yeah I have it good walking around like a floozy, but after her talk with Takako-San yesterday she tried to think differently.

If courage was the key to wearing the suit and changing it how she wanted she needed to embrace it.

So she simply said thanks and changed the subject: "What do you guys think will be our first discipline?"

"No matter what comes, we have no choice but to deal with it.", said Tokoyami and Shoji agreed.

Then the door busted open and Tenya entered.

"Everyone, are you ready? We will be entering soon!"

All got excited.

That's when Shoto called for Michi and Izuku.

Both best friends turned to the boy in surprise.

Shoto had never talked to them.

What could he want?

"Todoroki.", nodded Michi in gretting.

"What is it?", asked Izuku.

"Looking at things objectively, I think I'm stronger than you, Midoriya.", said Shoto it like a fact.

Sadly Izuku agreed.

"But All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he? I'm not trying to pry about that. And you Massaro."

The girl frowned at him.

"You are probably the only one who is on my level, but I will beat you both!"

Stupifeid Izuku and Michi stared at him.

"Is this a threat?", growled Michi.

"No a warning.", said Shoto simply. "I think it's only fair."

"Hey, hey, hey!", called Kirishima and lay a hand on Shoto shoulder. "Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? Not now, we're about to start!"

Shoto shrugged his hand away.

"We're not here to play at being friends. So what does it matter?"

The boy with the white-red hair walked away from them.

"Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me and Michi, but of course, you're better than me.", declared Izuku "I think you're more capable than most people. Looking at it objectively-"

"-Midoriya, you probably shouldn't talk so negatively-", interrupts Kirishima, only to get interrupted by Izuku.

"But, everyone-- The students from the other courses are aiming for the top with everything they've got! I can't afford to fall behind. I'll be going for it with everything I have, too."

"I have only one thing to say.", began Michi. "It's high time that the female superheroes surpass the males, if you all want to go to the top you have to go through me. And Ares and I will not make it simple for you, oh no! It will be hell!"

Shoto accepts their declarations of war.

Then it was high time for them to enter the sports arena.

Present Mic, who was the moderator for the event, made an awesome entrance speech for them.

Michi could just stare in wonder at all the people who celebrated them.

It was amazing!

"Th-Th-There are so many people...", mumbled Izuku nervous.

"It will be okay Izuku, just imagine them as ants.", suggested Michi.

The old trick with the underwear wouldn't work for Izuku.

"Will we be able to give our best performance being watched by so many people? This is also part of the training required to become a hero.", mussed Tenya.

Then the other courses came out and they walked all over to the stage, where the referee for the games would appear.

"Time for the player pledge!", declared the referee who was no other than the R-rated Hero Midnight!

All talked about what she was wearing and if she was R-rated was it okay to be a teacher.

"Quiet, everyone!", shouted Midnight, whipping her whip. "Representing the students is Massaro Michela from Class 1-A!"

Suprised all turned to her.

"You Michi-Kun?"

"Don't forget I was first in the Entrance Exam.", reminded him Michi, then she walked up to the stage.

Midnight gave her a kind smile, as Michi stepped towards the microphone.

Taking a deep breath Michi said into the microphone: "I pledge- that all the students here be it hero course or general will do their best. We are the future of this land, the future of the superheroes and we will not bring shame up an us and our mentors."

Everywhere people applauded and whistled in admiration.

"Ah, Michi-Chan is so cool!" Ochaco

"Good speech, good speech, bravo!" Tenya

"At least the other course seems calmer thanks to her speech!" Kirishima

So Michi stepped back beside Izuku who whispered: "You were awesome."

She gave him a brilliant smile.

"Now, let's get started right away.", took Midnight to the microphone. "The first game is what you'd call a qualifier! Every year, many drink their tears here! Now, here is the fateful first game! This year, it's this! An obstacle course race. All 11 classes will participate in this race. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium--about four kilometres! Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do! Now, take your place, everyone!"

So they walked up to the big red arena door with the three green lights.

Slowly one light after the other got out.

Till the last one and Midnight screamed start.

All ran into the tight tunnel, which caused a mass blockade.

Michi already lost all her friends from sight, but now friendship wasn't important.

Important was to get out of there and win!

So Michi concreted her power into her legs, she jumped high in the air and then pushed herself off her schoolmates, using them as stepping stones.

She heard a lot of hey and watch it but, she was nearly out!

That's when Shoto froze anything, good thing Michi was in the air at that moment and the ice didn't catch her.

Also, Kirishima, Momo, Aoyama and Bakugo manage to get out of the ice.

Fast Michi skated over the ice trying to reach Shoto.

They came to a halt when they saw the big robots from the entrance exam.

The salmon-haired girl just smirked, ran up to them, jumped high in the air and destroyed one of them as she did it with the one from the exam.

Then she runs along.

She heard how Shoto behind her used his ice to destroy a robot and now they were running nose to nose.

"Not bad, but I will win!", told her Shoto and tried to freeze her feet.

In the last second Michi managed to jump away and then skate again over the ice.

"That trick doesn't work on me! My shoes may look like normal boots but they can walk over any substance!", explained Michi smugly.

They reached soon an area with holes, platforms and robes that connected them.

With his ice Shoto just surfed over the robes, while Michi jumped from platform to platform.

Both reached a red stair and noted how Bakugo was behind them, flying with his explosion quirk.

Seems like they were currently in the top three.

They finally reached the final obstacle.

Mines!

"If I didn't know better, I would think, they want to kill us.", mumbled Michi to Ares.

Her suit let out an agreening sound.

Shoto and her walked slowly over the mines, it showed that now they were at a disadvantage, as Bakugo came flying towards them.

"This doesn't affect me! Bastard, don't declare war on the wrong person!", yelled Bakugo to Shoto as he reached them.

Now a brawl started between the three, all while they tried to not step on the mines.

Good, Michi wished she could fly away from this situation!

How should she be first when these two attacked her and the mines explode around her?

Suddenly they heard and felt the biggest explosion ever.

They turned around, their brawl forgotten and saw Izuku riding on a piece of metal in the wave of the explosion!

"Izu-Chan!", yelled Michi shocked and turned on.

Wow, this was smart.

"Michi, move, don't drool over him or he will win!", remind Ares.

But she just stayed still watching, like Shoto and Bakugo, how he flowed away from them.

Izuku was now in the lead!

Oh-Uh! Ares was right!

And Bakugo and Shoto where behind Izuku!

Well, at least she could skate over Shoto ice and reach them again.

Now the three were nose on the nose again, while Izuku still flowed over them.

But slowly he sinks down and then...smashes his piece of metal into the ground, making her and the other boys fly thanks to the active mines!

Michi should have been angry, however, she was proud of how Izuku handled the situation.

After she got her bearing back she ran after him.

Shoto and Bakugo behind her.

They reached the stadium and Izuku was the first.

Izuku had won!

One part of her wanted to celebrate him another was disappointed in herself for only making second.

Yeah, she may have punched Bakugo and kicked Shoto too hard, but whatever.

It was legal.

"Izu-Chan!", she called for him, who cried because he won.

He turned towards her and she hugged him tight.

A loud aww could be heard all around them.

"Aww, young love isn't it amazing, Eraser-Head?!"

"They are just hugging, they do it all the time."

"I should kick your ass that you beat me.", mumbled Michi in Izuku's ear. "But I'm so, so proud of you!"

This made Izuku just sniffel more.

He had been worried Michi would hate him if he beat her, yet she still was here, in his arms.

"I just had luck!", mumbled back.

Smiling Michi took his face in her hands and declared: "No this was smart thinking. You earned this Izuku."

Happily, he smiled back at her.

After a while, the rest of the winners entered but Present Mic told them they would tell them later the classification.

They should rest for now.

Ochaco came towards them: "Deku, Michi-Chan, first and second place! You two were amazing."

"Thanks, Ochaco-Chan.", said Michi for them, while Izuku held her hand. "But what's wrong with Tenya?"

A dark cloud was over the taller boy's head.

"I think he can't believe he isn't first place with his Quirk."

"Oh.", said Michi and Izuku together.

They could understand this. 

If it had been a normal race, Tenya surely would have won.

Poor him, hopeful he would feel better soon.

"The first game of the first-year stage is finally over.", declared Midnight on her stage. "Now, take a look at the results!"

The top four were Izuku, Michi, Shoto and Bakugo, in this lineup.

The first 42 people who enter the stadium would now participate in the second round.

"The real competition begins next! The press cavalry be all over it! Give it your all! Now then, here is the second game.", said Midnight, while the monitor behind her did his thing. "I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be? Cavalry battle! Let me explain. The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different is based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value."

The point system was simply from the last place 5 till to the first which was Ten million!

All eyes zeroed in on Izuku because if you managed to get his points it didn't matter if you were in last place in the first game, you could win!

Izuku got scared, even Michi stared at him in hunger and not the kind he wished for.

All wanted his points!

How should he survive the next round?!