#I was not the one who noticed that though and I don't do Flower Symbolism so I can't take credit for it

[alithographica]

so many people have brilliant things to say about little details in shows, the meaning behind an artistic decision, the symbolism of flowers, hard-to-translate language concepts, things that really add to your understanding of a work

I can't do any of that

all I can offer you is that this skeleton doesn't have enough ribs

but they did get the handedness of their DNA correct (sooo much art has it twisting the wrong direction)

this means nothing, enjoy ❤️

[gr1mstar]

The type to… ( N.K )

notes: this is part 2 of the series “the type to…”, the first part was about gojo, so if you want to check it out is here. also, who should i do next? sukuna? toji?

content: nanami kento x reader | sfw :) | these are my ideas so if you don't agree please ignore it

check out my masterlist too if you liked this post

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NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO surprise you after a hard day of work. you will come home all stressed out and tired, and the first thing you’ll notice is a wonderful smell of nanami’s homemade food. then adventuring further into your shared apartment you will see rose petals all around the house.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO offer to bathe you when you are too tired to take a shower yourself, not wanting you to me uncomfortable the next day.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO just admire you when you being to talk about things you are passionate about. even though he has absolutely no idea about the subject you are talking about, he would be all ears and than at the end of the day he would search about that topic, just to know what are you talking about the next time.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO call you sweet nicknames everyday and only use your name when he is upset or disappointed. also he would calm down after a kiss on the cheek because he is so in love with you.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO carry all your shopping bags to the car and never complain about how many are there or how heavy it is. he would also never let you carry something besides your purse. a small bag with snacks? “no, a princess never carries anything”

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO learn how to braid hair just to help you create different hairstyles every day before work. he would call it “practice for our daughter”, even though he is not sure he would have a girl or a boy. and you are not even pregnant.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO always open the door for you. even though he has a lot of things on his hands, even though he is injured from his job, we would always be a gentleman.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO bring you flowers every end of the week, not skipping a week. he would buy you roses, lilies, jasmines, magnolias. he would also learn the symbolism of every flower and colour just to make things special for you.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO pick out your nail colour and actually listen to why “that shade of pink is different than this one”. he would not see the difference, but he would leave you speak and pick something else. his favourite nail colour on you is dark red or royal blue.

NANAMI IS THE TYPE TO have his hand on your thigh whenever he is driving and subconsciously move his thumb and hum when you are speaking just so you know he is listening.

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© 2024 gr1mstar — all rights reserved. please do not copy, modify, repost, translate, or claim my content as yours.

[hvtqo]

🩷 headcanons —alhaitham as your bf

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ genre: fluff, just cutesy stuff i daydream about

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ warning: nsfw at the end, afab! reader.

・❥・about:

just a bunch of hcs of how i think haitham would act as your boyfriend <33 there's some participation from kaveh as well ! (no, not a threesome or anything 😭)

↓ read under the cut ↓

❛ pre-relatioship ༉‧₊˚

haitham wouldn't be the first to give the green light in the relationship. he would definitely observe you and wait until you show signs of liking him, but he would do so very subtly, and probably wouldn't make the first step directly himself.

but i do feel like he'd be the type to make up excuses to be around you. and you'd be confused because he wouldn't be overt about it either. like a cat just being there... silently demanding attention.

he'd be specially attracted to your intellect. he'd probably ask you questions about your preferred research topics or engage in discussion with you. like sure he can think you're fine asf, but i think he'd fall for your way of seeing things and your intelligence.

you'd notice he likes you likes you when you see him more disposed to listen and learn from you than to contradict you. he's such a contrarian, sometimes just even assuming the opposite point of view from others for simple amusement, not because he actually believes what he's arguing for. but with you he gets to shut up sometimes lol

random gifts left over your desk without you asking for them. a book you've been meaning to buy but never have the chance to. the flowers you saw the other day and thought were beautiful. a keychain that reminded him of you. anything you casually comment that you'd like to have. it pops up.

and then you pretend you don't know it was him who bought those things for you. you left your desk for a minute to go for a coffee, or to the bathroom, or whatever. that's when he comes in and leaves a cute silver necklace there. it has a little ornament in the shape of the moon, which you've mentioned you adore the sight of. he doesn't really get why you find a generic spatial rock so amusing even though you've explained to him it's about the poetry and the symbolism of it, not only it's function or form in space.

he just ended up accepting that you love the moon and the stars and gave into it, associating you with them. before you come back he leaves. you find the necklace and smirk to yourself. you know it was him who got it for you, of course. the next day, you wear it proudly but don't mention it to him.

in fact, you both don't even talk to one another; the only recognition he gets for his gift is a gentle glance across the room. the silver moon glistens over your chest. you smile. he lowers his glance back to his book, and you don't notice the tiny smirk on his face after that.

of course, this subtle tension builds up over the weeks. i feel like haitham, even though he wouldn't directly make the first move, would get impatient. he'd probably scheme a way for you to end up asking him out. you'd definitely fall for it without knowing it was his plan all along to make you confess first.

another thing is that he doesn't come up with all this by himself. he's got you fooled though because he loves the praise and the light in your face when you realize he's responsible for everything.

but no, he's a liar. he definitely asks kaveh and the boys for advice. actually, all of them come up with very specific ways to win you over. kaveh is a romantic and he's always making sure alhaitham doesn't fuck up lol

“just flowers?” a grimace settles on kaveh's face. “yes” alhaitham says, “isn't that what everyone wants? a bouquet? the classic thing?”

“no” kaveh scoffs. “it's not about the flowers, it's about the intention. anyone can go up to her and give her a bouquet of flowers. also, what's special about a bouquet? the flowers will wither in a week. that can be representative of your relationship. be more original.”

so he brings you a bunch of plants instead that you can hang on your ceiling in your room. it looks quite decorative. now everytime you walk to your room and see the hanging plants, you think of him.

he also sends kaveh to ask you things. like what you're into and what type of person you'd date. and like you know he's asking for him, but you play along.

you even tease them a bit.

“i'm into people who can dance” you confess. “it's just so sexy to see a man who can move. why are you asking though? you're not planning on taking me out, are you?” you rise a brow.

“oh, no, not me” kaveh giggles nervously. later in the day he finds haitham scrolling on his phone at the couch. kaveh takes his phone away, which obviously upsets him, and shuts off his headphones.

he pulls him up, making him stand. that's when haitham notices the music. he gets a little nervous but won't show it. “what are you doing?” he asks defensively.

“teaching you how to move” kaveh replies, and the lesson begins.

❛ while dating ༉‧₊˚

so i feel like after the ordeal that making you his girlfriend was, he'd be the type to grasp onto you and not let you go. not easily, at least.

he's lasting. like if you don't end up marrying this man, at least he's gonna be one of the longest relationships of your life.

no over-the-top displays of affection, though. the subtlety continues. and it secures the duration and firmness of your bond. this man's the type to do rather than say. the way he pampers you is through the little things.

like for example, he keeps perfect track of your cycle. even if you're not regular. he knows when you're ovulating (you get it 😌) and when you're extra sensitive because your periods coming.

“did it come?” he asks casually. you frown, because you've never mentioned it. “yes. just this morning” you guess what he's talking about. “good.” he replies. “how do you know?” you rise a brow. he rests his eyes on you. “two days ago you cried because a bee stung me accidentally and died. you cried because it ‘sacrificed itself for me’. and you buried it. under plants.”

“oh”

“yeah”

of course, he also takes care that you have everything you need, because you can be a little forgetful at times. so you go to the store and while you're wandering the halls in search for candies and chocolate, he grabs a pack of pads and tea and face masks and stuff for you to relax during this time.

ON THE OTHER HAND, he's not the one to easily accept gifts from you. he appreciates them though it's just that he's the type to think of effectiveness and utility when he buys you stuff, while you only buy him things that you find cute or that remind you of him.

like you know you could get him a cute green sweater and he'd be like “i dont need this”, and you'd roll your eyes (he'd wear it nonetheless, because he loves the texture).

so over time you learn to stick to gift him things that have a purpose. books that you know he'd find interesting, perhaps, and that you've read yourself so that you can share something. utensils and tools and stuff that “works”. although you still bring him the occasional trinket or plushie at times.

alhaitham is not a morning person. most often than not you're the one cooking breakfast and cleaning up at early hours. but whenever it happens that he wakes up first and surprises you with breakfast, you appreciate it. he's not the best cook either but he's learned to prepare your favorite dishes perfectly.

i hc you spending time together doing separate tasks or being in silence. he'd be researching, writing, at one side of the room, and you'd be playing videogames or giggling at tiktoks.

“lmao you” you show him a random video, and he glances at it slightly. not a sign of amusement on his face, but you perceive a tiny smirk once you pull back.

also. he helps you with school all the time. you have an essay to deliver in two days and you haven't done a thing? he'll write it for you. *but* this is not free labour. you're gonna have to do something for him as well.

you bargain with him successfully. he writes your essay and you say you'll give him a surprise. the surprise? a candy. he's unimpressed at first, but he shakes his head and smiles and says it's exactly what he was expecting in return.

not really though, you know it. you're just teasing him. it's not like he's some sort of fairy that you can bring candies to and he'll grant your every wish.

i mean he kind of is, but no. so you end up actually paying him back some other way.

and surprise ! your essay gets the best note. alright, it's not like he did all the work. of course, most ideas are yours, he just wrote them eloquently. the teacher praises you. you feel a little bad because you're basically lying but haitham assures you to calm down. he's a scribe nonetheless, and you basically “dictated” the essay to him.

so you have this little thing that you're absolutely in love with life's casualties. whenever you saw a dog passing by you'd scream “dog!” excitedly and sometimes walk up to it and pet it, interrupting haitham mid-sentence (or yourself).

now whenever you're down or distracted at something he's the one to point “dog.” in a lower tone at you. and you rise your glance, see doggy passing by, and you smile, and feel better. “aw, dog” you repeat.

❛ nsfw ༉‧₊˚

he's very touchy, ok? that's his love language. like you're cooking and he casually comes up behind you and grabs your waist, hugs you, and slowly swings you from side to side, very subtle. he lays his chin over your shoulder and watches whatever you've got on the stove.

and then he leaves without saying a word, and you feel the coldness left behind by his absence, making you want him even more.

hes also the type to absentmindedly touch you when you're relaxing. perhaps its even become a form of stimming for him.

you'd have your legs resting on his lap as he reads a passage of his book to you, and you have your eyes close, and he caresses your leg with the other hand.

he's most often than not the one to begin things. he does it that way, making you think you're the one throwing yourself at him, but in fact he's been heating you up in subtle ways the whole day... with little glances and touches and even words.

lmao like this man is conditioning you

like over time you understand the cues and now whenever he does a move like that casually you think to yourself. “oh” and you surprise him later wearing a cute little set of lingerie for him. now who's got the upper hand?

like i feel you've got all of these secret games between you that others don't know about. like this one. who'll give in first? who'll fall first for it? it's so fun.

sometimes you take it as far as making a move in public. you know others don't understand your little cues, it's just between you and him, but you love to see him get a bit shy in front of everyone.

OF COURSE, haitham is a curious type of person. if he's gonna do something, he's gonna do it well. he's not afraid or ashamed of experimenting in the bedroom. so you can come up with all sorts of ideas and he'll probably give them a try.

he's a dom. like any type of dom you want. soft dom, hard dom, whatever. you communicate very openly with him. but it's hard for him to give up control. whenever he accepts to let you dom he's teasing you the whole time.

this man likes being in control ok that's why he's so secretive and stuff. let him be

i feel like he's got a lot of stamina but he gets so sleepy. like im sure he sleeps a lot. just in general not like just after sex.

he can be rough too. and emotional. hes a tongue type of guy. in many ways; he doesn't just love licking, he also loves conversation. praising. degrading. teasing. just words.

he'd be constantly paying attention to your body language to see what you like and dont. he becomes very communicative about this so he's prompting you to speak, approve, and tell him directly if you like something or not.

he loves the sight when you're on top though. just. your body over his. and the way the sweat rolls down your neck into your collarbones. he grasps at your thighs roughly. you feel his fingers burying. and he loves the way you bounce. he won't admit it though, but he does stare in awe when you don't see.

he also won't ask you but he's often hoping you'll give him. like also seeing you on your knees, mouth open, ready for him... he looks forward to it. and you know he loves this part so you don't make it so available to him.

he loves you biting and scratching, but specially biting. he loves the tears rolling down your eyes out of pleasure and the blush on your cheeks.

thrusts are deep and rough. he goes in all the fucking way, deep. he doesn't like doing things mildly anyway. there's also a specific rhythm, but he likes taking unpredictable variation and will sometimes begin thrusting really fast and hard just when you were expecting a slower movement.

he's always ready for aftercare as well. like i just feel like he's a very organized and prepared dude, so he wouldn't do things out of the blue. whenever you start things he's already got everything there for when you finish.

and then you cuddle to sleep and you wake up the next morning... and he's horny again. he's also the type to appreciate some cockwarming after the act.

he's got a high sex drive when it comes to you 😔

oh also i don't feel like you're his first but he's definitely not that experience when you start dating. he learns on the way and through research lol but i don't feel like he's got that high of a body count. NOT LIKE KAVEH AT LEAST.

ta-da~ you've reach the end! if you've come this far thanks for reading <3 reblogging and commenting is highly appreciated ! let me know your thoughts or any other character you want me to write about 🩷🤍

[russellsppttemplates]

Hiii girl 🪻💐! First, nice to meet you xx ! I really love your vibe. Love purple pp 💜! Can I request a small os, please? I saw you wrote monegasque reader and all cute os. Can I ask you (you choose) Lando/Charles/Oscar with inked!reader (like full arms tattoos and stuff) it’s always wag so ✨perfect clean✨, I’m tired to see the clean vibe, I want to be delulu with rockie vibe, feminine tattooed wag, normal wag 😬. Topic could be : new tattoo with driver reaction or handle with people opinion. Thanks 💜🪻 if you’re not feeling to write it, it’s okay too. Have a nice day xx

Note: hiiii! Welcome to this little corner of the Internet I made along with everyone who follows this blog! Thank you - this is supposed to be as much a safe pace for you as it is for me 🫶 I hope you had a good day, too! 🫶

"Someone spotted you when you left the tattoo studio", Oscar said as he stepped inside the apartment after having spent the day in the Center, noticing you were wearing a cardigan even though it was a warm day out, "they posted a picture online".

"So it's not a surprise, is it?", you slumped your shoulders slightly, shrugging the cardigan off.

"I don't know what you got, so it's still a surprise, sweetheart", he smiled, hugging you and being mindful of the wrap around your arm.

Oscar sat on the sofa and allowed you to model the new tattoos for him. Your right arm didn't seem to have any new ink to it, the same three tattoos you had in there still looking beautiful after two years. You like the idea of having one arm slightly more bare than the other so your right arm only had those three on the inner side of it, peeking through whenever you were sleeveless tops. Your left arm was the one where the tattoos were the most noticeable, the ink pieces scattered along the extension of the limb.

"I got this one, it's a bee", you pointed to the inner part of your arm, "it represents my safe hive, the people who are always there for me even if I'm not there in person", you explained. You had moved in with Oscar a couple of months ago and, more than ever, you spent long periods of time away from your family since you travelled to see your boyfriend race as much as you could, "I know I can fly away, but no matter how far and how hard times can be, I'll always be able to come back".

"It looks so pretty, the detail on the wings is so precise", Oscar pointed out.

"I chose the artist at that studio because she is great at doing the fine line tatoos with red ink", you began again, smoothing out through wrap so Oscar could see, "it's a heart with some flowers blooming from it", you pointed to the anatomical drawing, "whenever I set myself to do something, I pour my heart and soul into it, and my intuition hasn't failed me, so it's a little symbol to that".

"The red is somehow both subtle against your skin and so eye catching as well, I think it's the contrast with this one here", Oscar lightly touched an older tattoo you had next to the new one.

"Then I got this one, which I am quite nervous to show you, actually", you admitted, looking at your right wrist and covering it for the mean time, "I know people are really fussy with having a relationship tattooed on you because things can change so fast, but I don't like to think like that - my tattoos represent times of my life and things that happened - and if anything happens and I can't absolutely tolerate it, I can always remove it", you shrugged your shoulders before uncovering it.

Oscar held your hand and inspected it gently - the thin knot was both black and red, symbolising you and Oscar with the different colours but tied together seamlessly.

"I had to get it on my right one because I wear my watch on the left", you mumbled and a little twinge of nervousness could be spotted in your tone given that he hadn't said anything, "do you like it?", you bit the bullet.

"I love it, it's so beautiful, delicate and feminine too", he smiled, kissing around it.

"I also got a lightning bolt here", you twisted your wrist, "this one is just black and it's quite tiny, but it's about all the times I insisted and persisted - my stubbornness too - and how much I value that in people", you smiled.

"You're stubborn? Never would have guessed it", your boyfriend teased, earning your giggles and an eyeroll from you, "the line is so beautiful, she did an amazing job!", he complimented.

"I also got my first neck tattoo", you mumbled, "well, it's the first time I do it there, not sure if that means I'll do another because it hurt a bit more than I expected", you blushed, letting Oscar pull your hair back so he could see it.

The red inked word was aligned with your ear, "I chose the word rare because it's a devotion to myself, my self-love - accepting that I'm not perfect and that that is okay - I love myself the way I am and it's also a lot thanks to you", you tried to keep the tears pooling on your eyes from falling, "you loved me for me, all of me, no matter how many times people liked to point out any of my tattoos or how I don't fit the 'wag role', and I want a reminder of it everyday", you smiled.

Oscar cupped your jaw gently, careful of the sore area as he kissed your lips in a hard, long, searing kiss, joining your foreheads afterwards, "I love you, Y/N, all of you", he whispered.

(Thank you for sending this in ✨️)

[lixzey]

Almost A Love Story

September 1, 1977

The sun slowly crept through the curtains, peering over the young witch, who was comfortably sleeping in her bed. Rosalie Evans stood by the door of her only daughter's bedroom, a small smile on her lips as she admired her. She slowly crept towards the side of Y/n's bed, taking a seat in the empty space beside her daughter.

“Darling, get up. It's September first, your last year at Hogwarts.” Rosalie kissed her daughter's forehead before nudging Y/n slightly. 

“Five more minutes, Mum,” Y/n mumbled, turning away from her mother and throwing a pillow over her head.

“No can do, darling. It's already half past eight, and we still have a long way to King's Cross.” Y/n groaned, making her mother chuckle. “Breakfast's ready; I made your favorite chocolate chip pancakes with bacon on the side.”

At the mention of her favorite, Y/n turned to face her mother with bleary eyes. “Fine, give me ten minutes, Mum.”

The older woman chuckled before planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead. “Okay, take your time, my little daffodil.” 

Y/n slowly got up and rubbed her eyes as her mother left the room. A loud yawn escaped her lips as she tore the covers off of her body. “Last and final year at Hogwarts, Y/n/n. After this, you won't have to deal with loud, squealing roommates anymore. You'll get a job, and you'll be able to help your Mum.” Y/n sighed softly, gazing over the photo on her bedside table. She got out of bed and opened the curtains, letting sunlight in. “You can do this.” 

Y/n Evans was never a standout student. She was, in every sense of the word, average. She never considered herself extraordinary; the only thing she ever considered remarkable about herself was the fact that she had magic running in her veins. Despite all that, she was never one to consider herself, in any way, exceptional compared to most of the magical and muggle population. 

Y/n spent her years at Hogwarts as one of the background characters, never the main character, always one amidst the sea of red, green, blue, and yellow. It was alright; she wasn't complaining, though, because she never really liked being the center of attention. Y/n only had one friend, Emily Roswell, who's another muggle-born witch like her. Y/n Evans liked her life just the way it was, being one of those people who just seemed to blend into the background—uninteresting enough to even notice.

Unbeknownst to her, all that was about to change in her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. 

The young witch started to get ready for the first day back at Hogwarts. After a while, Y/n descended into the kitchen, clad in a white shirt and denim bell-bottom jeans. Rosalie smiled at the sight of her daughter. “Looking good, my little daffodil.”

Y/n chuckled, sitting at the other end of the table in front of her mother. “Thanks, Mum, so breakfast?” Rosalie nodded, pushing a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of the young witch, who immediately dug into the fresh stack. 

“What's an Auror again, darling?” 

"So, sweetheart, what are your plans after you finish Hogwarts?” Rosalie asked.

Y/n looked at her mother, shrugging her shoulders. “I honestly don't know yet, Mum. I guess I'll apply for a position at the ministry. Though, I'm leaning more towards being an Auror.”

“An Auror is like a policeman, Mum. Aurors catch dark wizards.” 

Rosalie's eyes widened. “Are you sure you want to be an auror, darling?” 

“If I could, I would, Mum. But I haven't taken my N.E.W.T.'s yet, and that will determine if I'm eligible,” Y/n explained, noticing her mother's worried look. “If not, I'll find a job here, in the muggle world.” Y/n smiled, grabbing her mother's hand. “Don't worry, Mum, I'll be alright.”

Y/n loved her mother's nickname for her. Though she wasn't named after a flower, Rosalie nicknamed her after one. Daffodils symbolize new beginnings, hope, and joy. Rosalie found it fitting for a nickname for her little daughter because Y/n was her new beginning after everything that happened in her life. Y/n is the light of her mother's life—like how daffodils emerge each spring to light up barren landscapes with cheerful colors. 

Rosalie sighed, gripping her daughter's hand. “You know I won't stop worrying about you, my little daffodil.”

Y/n gave her mother an assuring smile. “I know, Mum. But I promise to steer clear of harm's way.” 

“I mean it, Y/n. You stay out of harm's way; do you hear me?” 

“Promise.” 

After breakfast, Y/n packed up her trunk with her mother, making sure she didn't leave anything important behind. Y/n grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before dragging her large trunk out of her bedroom door and down to the car. As soon as everything was checked and done, the mother-daughter duo drove to King's Cross station. 

Y/n sang Dancing Queen while on the way to the station, at the top of her lungs, while her mother laughed at her. “You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen!”

Rosalie smiled at her daughter. She could light up a room with that infectious smile and her bright eyes—full of life and passion. “You're turning seventeen soon, little daffodil.” Rosalie turned to face her daughter. “What do you want this year, love?”

“I dunno, I have everything I could ever want.” Y/n shrugged, lowering the radio volume. “I guess a new book?” 

Rosalie chuckled. “You always ask for a new book.”

Y/n raised a brow at her mother, a small smirk on her pink lips. “Well, what should I ask for?” 

“What about a camera? You could make a journal full of memories from your final year, so one day, when you have kids of your own, you could show them.” 

Y/n scoffed, “Really, Mum? Kids?” 

Rosalie chuckled. “You should ask God for a boyfriend for your birthday this year.” 

“Mum!” Y/n's eyes widened, her cheeks flushing. “I do not need a boyfriend!” 

Rosalie stifled a laugh. “You need a little love in your life.” 

“Oh, please, Mum. I get plenty of love from you.” Y/n rolled her eyes. “And besides, I'm not interested in getting a boyfriend anytime soon. I'm focused on my studies; a boyfriend will only be a distraction.” 

“When love comes, love comes.” 

Y/n rolled her eyes again at her mother. She wasn't interested in falling in love—for now, at least. “Whatever, Mum.” 

The car finally stopped in front of King's Cross. Y/n stepped out of the car, grabbing her bag, before walking to get a trolley for her trunk. Rosalie helped her daughter place her trunk on the trolley before accompanying her.

The mother-and-daughter duo eased their way through the bustling crowd of King's Cross, making their way over to the platforms. As the two stopped in front of the familiar platforms nine and ten, Rosalie turned to her daughter, beaming with pride as she cupped her face. “Go on, my little daffodil, go make memories.” 

Y/n turned to her trolley, gripping the handle. She cast one last look at her mother, who smiled and urged her to go on. Y/n took a deep breath before running through the barrier that separated platforms nine and ten. The young witch grinned at the sight of the familiar scarlet train greeting her, smoke billowing out of the engine. 

Y/n wrapped her arms around her mother. “I love you, Mum.”

Rosalie placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. “I love you too, my little daffodil. Go on then.” She pulled away from her daughter's embrace. “You go ahead. Be sure to write, alright? I'll have that camera for you by your birthday in December.”

Y/n strolled through the platform, her eyes searching for her best friend in the sea of chattering students. She ducked away from the students and rushed forward to the nearby door of the train, tugging her trunk behind her. When she made her way aboard, Y/n made her way down the aisle in search of an empty compartment and her best friend. 

While wandering through the train in search of an empty compartment, Y/n heard a loud crash. She turned around and saw the Marauders running away from Severus Snape, who was currently sporting bright red hair. The boys sped past her, knocking her over in the process. 

“You prat!” Y/n shrieked angrily as she fell onto the floor. 

“Sorry!” The boy with messy raven hair that stuck up behind his head in weird directions, also known as James Potter, abruptly stopped and apologized with a cheeky grin before turning back and running away. 

In some cases, Y/n was mistaken for Lily Evans. Y/n was not, in any way, related to the redheaded girl. The last name Evans was not uncommon in the muggle world, though only she and Lily were the only known Evans' in Hogwarts—and both did not know each other well. Y/n was adopted at the young age of three, never knowing who her biological parents were or whether they were purebloods or what. 

Y/n rolled her eyes before standing up and stepping into a nearby compartment, settling inside. The first day of her final year, she gets knocked over by four idiots. What could possibly go worse? Y/n sighed as she watched from the window as parents waved to their children when the train pulled out of the station as the clock struck eleven. She always got jealous of those who had their parents hug them on the platform and wave them off as the train left. How she wished that her mother got the chance to see her off, but her mother couldn't step on Platform nine and three quarters, being a muggle and all. Y/n brushed the feeling off, opening her bag and pulling out her favorite book. She might as well enjoy the peace and quiet before the Marauders get another idea, causing mayhem on the train—again.

Being in the background meant she saw each and every time the Marauders pulled something off. Like that one time in their third year when Potter and Black nearly set the train on fire when they set off a firecracker inside the compartment. Or that one incident in their fifth year when the whole train got flooded because of Ligare Pluviam cast on Severus Snape. Those boys never pass on a chance to pester Snape, the usual target of all of their pranks. Not that Y/n could blame them; Snape was really insufferable and a bully—Y/n was a victim of the Slytherin a few times. Snape made it his mission to insult people who got in his way, sneering and looking down at muggle-borns—except for Lily Evans.

Lily was famous; everyone in Hogwarts loved her, with the exception of Slytherins. She was smart, the brightest witch of her age, always top of the class. In other words, Lily Evans is everything that Y/n Evans was not. Though Y/n didn't mind, she'd rather be invisible than have boys flocking all over her. Lily had boys fawning over her, and one of them was James Potter. 

James Potter had been in love with the redheaded witch since their first year. Y/n didn't quite understand why James kept on asking Lily Evans out when every time he did, she'd turn him down. What was so special about her? Besides being pretty and smart, why does James Potter worship the ground she walks on like some kind of goddess? He looks like a lovesick puppy chasing after her, always doing something to catch her attention. 

Suddenly, the door to the compartment opened, snapping Y/n out of her thoughts. Emily stood by the door, a huge grin plastered on her face as she sat down beside her. “Hey, Y/n/n.”

Y/n smiled at her friend. “Hey, Ems. How was your summer?” 

“Absolutely awful. I was forced to attend a debutante ball.” Emily grimaced. “They forced me to wear this frilly white ball gown.” 

Y/n cringed. “Ugh, I can see it.”

Emily chuckled.  “Well, that was my summer. I mean, I literally just stayed in my room all summer, apart from that bloody ball. So anyway, have you heard who the head boy and girl are? ”

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows, scrunching her nose. “Why do I need to know who? It's not like I care, and besides, they may be as shitty as the last.” 

“It's Potter and Evans—Lily Evans.” 

“So? Potter will probably try to woo her like always, and she'll hit him with anything within reach. Honestly, it's getting pretty old seeing him shamelessly flirt with that girl who doesn't even give him a second glance.” 

“Well, you have to admit that Lily is one lucky witch.” 

Y/n scoffed. “I wouldn't call her lucky.”

Emily cocked a brow at her friend. “Oh? And why is that, Miss Evans?” 

Y/n rolled her eyes at her friend. “Have you tried getting pestered every bloody day for the last six years?” Though she hadn't experienced getting pestered by the opposite sex, Y/n knew it wasn't the best feeling. “That bloke's nutters when it comes to her.” 

“I suppose so.” Emily chuckled. “Anyway, how was your summer?” 

The Marauders—James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew—sat inside their self-proclaimed compartment. Boxes and wrappings of sweets scattered around while Sirius and Peter played Wizard's Chess—Sirus losing against Peter, who was grinning smugly at him. Remus sat beside the window, his eyes glued to his copy of Advanced Potions.

“Prongs, what are you doing?” Sirius eyed his friend, who had slumped on the floor right beside Remus' leg, pulling out a quill and parchment from his bag. James looked up at Sirius, who was peering over his shoulder. 

"I'm going to write Evans a letter," James said with a proud smirk. 

“Again?” Peter raised a brow at James, who scowled at him. 

James has loved Lily Evans since the day he laid eyes on the fiery redhead. He has asked her out multiple times, and each time he did, he ended up getting hexed or hit with an object within Lily's reach. Though James did not mind, he was persistent and had already set his eyes on his goal. 

“She'll love me; I just know it. Evans will be my witch by the end of the year.” James grinned proudly before turning back to scribbling his letter for his precious lily-flower. 

Evans, go out on a date with me? Meet me at the Astronomy Tower tonight?

- James Potter, your future husband. 

Remus looked down, his eyes landing on James' wonky handwriting on the parchment. “Your future husband? Really?” He snorted, closing the book in his shut. “Merlin, you're hopeless.” 

Sirius and Peter burst out in a fit of laughter, both nearly breathless. “She's going to burn that as soon as it reaches her,” Sirius said, clutching his stomach, still laughing.

James scowled and glared at his friend. “Shut up, Pads," He huffed before slipping the parchment into an envelope. “I'm going to find an owl to deliver this to my future wife.”

Emily Rosswell made her way through the halls of the Hogwarts' Express in search of the Trolley Witch for some sweets for herself and her friend, Y/n. Suddenly, she bumped into someone, making her stop in her tracks. 

James stood up, straightening his robes and making sure he was presentable before stepping out of the compartment. “Wish me luck, boys.” Sirius and Peter snickered at their friend, while Remus just shook his head, knowing that James' plan would fail miserably again.

“Sorry, I-” she said, looking up to see James Potter giving her an apologetic smile. “Alright there? Sorry 'bout that; I wasn't looking my way.”

Emily chuckled nervously. “It's alright, uh, I'll go ahead.” Emily turned to leave, excited to tell Y/n what had just happened. But James stopped her, his hazel eyes shining with mischief. 

“Can you do me a favor? Miss?” James asked with an amused smile.

“Roswell. Emily Roswell.” 

“Emily, yes, so can you do me a favor, love?” 

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Emily accepted the letter in her hand. 

Emily arched her brow, confused as to why James Potter was asking her for a favor, but nonetheless, she nodded. 

James grinned before fishing for the letter inside his robe pocket and giving it to the blonde witch in front of him. “Can you give this to Evans?” 

“Thanks,” James smiled before turning his back and walking back to the compartment he shared with his friends. 

Emily stood there, flabbergasted. James Potter had just given her a letter to give to her friend! She quickly ran back to the compartment, abandoning the search for the Trolley Witch. 

Y/n was peacefully sitting in the compartment, her legs tucked behind her knees and her nose stuck in a book. 

“Y/n!” Emily squealed, “I have something for you!” Emily giggled as she sat beside her best friend. 

Y/n arched her brow, eyeing her best friend with a skeptical look. “What is it? I thought you were going to get some sweets.” 

Emily waved a hand, dismissing her friend. “Sweets can wait!” She pulled out an envelope from her pocket and passed it over to Y/n. 

“Who's it from?” Y/n asked, her brows furrowed in confusion as she ran her thumb over the envelope.

“Open it to find out!” Emily urged her friend, a wide grin on her face. Y/n rolled her eyes, sighing, before opening the letter.

Evans, go out on a date with me? Meet me at the Astronomy Tower tonight?

-James Potter, your future husband. 

“What the fuck?” Y/n said, confused, her eyes wide as she read the wonky penmanship of James fucking Potter. 

@helens3amstuff @gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl @lovemelikecrazyiloveyoucrazy @tchalamss @lilmaymayy @ashlynnmalfoy @crazycat-ladys-blog @michakune @mxltifxnd0m @spencerr3idd @dangelnleif @sthkate @ferrjulie @imnotoverlyobsessive @mel-vaz @elsagreeer @lovely-maryj @meowmeowmau @bobthe-turmpetman29 @saintcosette @reg-arcturus-black @kurtboydrarry @ttulipwritezz @idli-dosa @remussbitch @mauverickk

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[riding-the-sunset-bird]

It's time for Step 4 Cove's posts, and first up is what choices change his look!

As before, my first post on Step 2 Cove's appearance modifiers will tell you a lot of what you need to know if you haven't already read it, but to summarize:

The things that your MC notices/favors/picks up/focuses on influence Cove's look, though there are some exceptions.

In some cases (though there are none in this step), a choice that changes Cove's appearance may also affect his coldness/warmness as well as his studiousness/sportiness. This is coincidental, so Cove's personality doesn't largely impact his look.

If you want a different Cove without using the Cove Creator, try choosing different aesthetic/taste-based options.

Specific to Step 4, however, there are a few key things to note.

Firstly, similar to Step 3 where some earrings would not be visible on Cove depending on what hairstyle he has, the same applies here. The black stud earrings will not be visible with the fluffy hair and the silver huggie earrings will not be visible with the tied-back hair. Ergo, Cove could be wearing earrings in one of your playthroughs if you have either hairstyle on him, but you just might not see them.

Also, the dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with the white anchor symbol and the yellow shirt with the orange flower pattern hide the silver ring necklace, so that's another thing to keep in mind.

Secondly, and I'll have to rip off the bandage for any poor person who wants their Cove to have a tattoo, but there are no choices that will give Cove a tattoo. It's something you can do only with the Cove Creator, which I imagine may be because one of Cove's tattoos can trigger people's trypophobia.

Third, it appears that the modifiers for Step 4 Cove's pants in Step 3 are not the ones actually used in Step 4. In all of my tests, Cove's pants always defaulted to the tan shorts with the gray trim and blue polka dots. If anyone has any evidence to the contrary, then I can test them out, but it appears that the plan was originally for Cove to have six different pairs of pants rather than four - with two of the pairs having color variation like Step 2 and 3 Cove have - but it was changed by the time Step 4 was made.

Below is what you would get if what I presume to be the original intent was kept in place:

Hang (Cove's Version)

If the MC decides to have a drink:

base flavor

An iced green tea. [Pants #4]

A black tea. [Pants #2]

A milk tea. [Pants #2 (Alternate Color)]

An iced coffee. [Pants #1]

A strawberry smoothie. [Pants #2]

A banana smoothie. [Pants #3]

A mango smoothie. [Pants #4]

A coffee frappe. [Pants #1 (Alternate Color)]

A vanilla milkshake. [Pants #1]

A chocolate milkshake. [Pants #1 (Alternate Color)]

mix ins & toppings

You chose to add whipped cream. [Pants #2 (Alternate Color)]

You chose to add chocolate syrup. [Pants #4]

You chose to add caramel syrup. [Pants #1]

You chose to add boba pearls. [Pants #3]

You chose to add condensed milk. [Pants #2]

-

There are two other types of pants - an alternate color version of both Pants #3 and #4 - but these aren't attached to any choices so they may have been scrapped even earlier.

In addition to this, though this is nothing the player themself needs to worry about, there is unused code in the game for Step 4 Cove's swimming trunks. This may have been for the scene where Cove strips down to his boxers to take a swim in the ocean, though he would've had swimming trunks on instead.

These are the choices that would've changed them:

Boating

If the MC was sick/scared and was brought downstairs by Cove, who asks if they want a drink (if non-Indifferent):

"Water?" [Swimming Trunks #2]

"Juice?" [Swimming Trunks #1]

"Seltzer water?" [Swimming Trunks #2]

"I don't want anything." [Swimming Trunks #1]

"I don't want you to go." [Swimming Trunks #2]

If the MC stepped up to make drinks for the group:

if the MC put only one ingredient in the drink

[Swimming Trunks #1]

if the MC's drink is "berry dominant" (meaning either the drink has two ingredients and all are berry - grape/cranberry/strawberry/mixed berry - juices, or if the drink has more than two but less than six ingredients and more than two are berry juices)

[Swimming Trunks #2]

if the MC's drink is "common" (meaning either the drink has two ingredients and all are common - apple/orange/pineapple/mango - juices, or if the drink has more than two but less than six ingredients and more than two are common juices)

[Swimming Trunks #1]

if the MC's drink is "uncommon/mixed" (meaning either the drink has two ingredients and there is only one or zero each of berry juice and common juice, or if the drink has more than two but less than six ingredients and there are no more than three each of either berry or common juice)

[Swimming Trunks #2]

if the MC's drink has more than five ingredients but less than ten

[Swimming Trunks #1]

if the MC used all the ingredients in the drink

[Swimming Trunks #2]

-

There are additional unused articles of clothing for Step 4 Cove, but these weren't attached to any choices (similar to the two pairs of pants mentioned above): two pajamas shirts and two pairs of pajama pants, as well as two formal shirts.

Cove also has code for a fourth pair of earrings, wristwear (for both wrists), and glasses, the latter two being connected to choices, but the game will simply change it to nothing. Cove's hair doesn't have an extra option exactly, but weirdly there are options to disable all of his hair (this won't give you a bald Cove, but default to the tied-back hair). I wanted to mark these just for the sake of being thorough, so if there's anything that says "[nothing]" rather than "[no change]" then just note that it's because the code is different for those options for the reasons above (so they might be calling for all hair to be disabled, for the fourth wristwear accessory, or fourth pair of glasses).

Keep all that in mind while checking out this list of chances you have to change Cove's look:

Step 3 Intro

After the MC's initial thoughts on Cove having to go away for a while almost every year (if not Indifferent by Step 1/2):

You sent him letters the entire time he was away. [rainbow shapes necklace]

Your moms helped you ship out care packages to him and his mom. [silver ring necklace]

You gave him special treasures to take with him before he left. [no necklace]

You kept an eye on his house for him while he wasn't there. [rainbow shapes necklace]

You were incapable of doing anything until he was back. [silver ring necklace]

If the MC decides that they want further education:

Attend a community college. [slim body type]

Attend a public university. [buff body type]

Go to a private college. [buff body type]

Join a trade school. [slim body type]

Take online classes. [slim body type]

If the MC decides that they want to work:

Find a company to work at. [buff body type]

Work online. [slim body type]

Do contract work. [slim body type]

Start your own business. [buff body type]

If the MC wants to do something that isn't school nor work:

Work on self-improvement on your own. [buff body type]

Take some time just to relax. [slim body type]

Try to figure out what you truly want. [buff body type]

When the MC can decide where they want to go when they move out:

Stay local. [buff body type]

Go to a different part of the state. [slim body type]

Go out of state. [slim body type]

Go abroad. [slim body type]

Travel around to different places. [buff body type]

Hang (Cove's Version)

If the MC decides to have a crepe:

base flavor

Plain. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Strawberry. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Chocolate. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Green tea. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Lemon. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

fillings & toppings

Whipped cream. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

Condensed milk. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Cream cheese. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Chocolate chips. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Chocolate syrup. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Caramel syrup. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Powdered sugar. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Strawberries. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

Mango slices. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Mixed berries. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

Banana slices. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Errands

When the MC spots a fudge stall at the market:

You got closer to the stall. [no change]

But soon your gaze drifted elsewhere. [sideswept hair]

(following above choice) If the MC chose to approach the fudge stall:

You didn't want to get any. [nothing (this will default to the tied-back hair in Step 4)]

You wanted to get yourself a box. [no change]

You wanted to get a box to share with everyone. [no change]

You wanted to get a box just for Cove. (if non-Indifferent) [no change]

And that was all. [no change]

If the MC chooses to get fudge for anyone:

Milk Chocolate. [sideswept hair]

Dark Chocolate. [middle-parted hair]

White Chocolate. [fluffy hair]

Cookies and Cream. [tied-back hair]

Caramel swirl. [fluffy hair]

Chocolate Peanut butter. [fluffy hair]

Dark Chocolate Mint.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [tied-back hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Red Velvet.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [middle-parted hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Maple Walnut.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [nothing (this will default to the tied-back hair in Step 4)]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

White Chocolate Peppermint.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [tied-back hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Chocolate Toffee.

○ (if buying for self/everyone) [middle-parted hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Key Lime.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [sideswept hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

When the MC can buy groceries:

Apples. [average red glasses]

Oranges. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Peaches. [no glasses]

Strawberries. [rounded gray glasses]

Onions. [rectangular brown glasses]

Peppers. [no glasses]

Lettuce. [average red glasses]

Tomatoes. [rounded gray glasses]

Cucumbers. [no glasses]

Carrots. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Lemons. [rounded gray glasses]

Limes. [rectangular brown glasses]

Spinach. [average red glasses]

Potatoes. [no glasses]

You didn't get anything. [no glasses]

When the MC can buy honey and/or jam:

Clover Honey. [rectangular brown glasses]

Orange Blossom Honey. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Spring Wildflower Honey. [no glasses]

Honey Butter. [average red glasses]

Strawberry Jam. [rounded gray glasses]

Raspberry Jam. [rectangular brown glasses]

Blackberry Jam. [no glasses]

Apricot Jam. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Blueberry Jam. [rounded gray glasses]

Plum Jam. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Rhubarb Jam. [rectangular brown glasses]

You didn't get anything. [no change]

Talks

[NONE]

Charity

[NONE]

Drive

[NONE]

Reflection

[NONE]

Late Shift

When the MC can order at the fast food place:

A hamburger. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, or pollotarian) [layered blue and maroon bracelets on right wrist]

○ With cheese. [no change]

○ With no cheese. [no change]

A vegan veggieburger. [multiple colored bracelets on right wrist]

A chicken sandwich. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian) [black bracelet on right wrist]

A spicy chicken sandwich. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian) [no change]

French fries. [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the right wrist in Step 4)]

Onion rings. (if the MC is not vegan) [no change]

A salad. [no wristwear on the right wrist]

Chicken nuggets. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian) [layered blue and maroon bracelets on right wrist]

Jalapeno poppers. [multiple colored bracelets on right wrist]

A soda. [black bracelet on right wrist]

A milkshake. (if the MC is not vegan) [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the right wrist in Step 4)]

A soft serve sundae. (if the MC is not vegan) [no wristwear on the right wrist]

A chocolate chip cookie. (if the MC is not vegan) [layered blue and maroon bracelets on right wrist]

An apple pie. (if the MC is not vegan) [multiple colored bracelets on right wrist]

Nothing. [no wristwear on the right wrist]

Serendipity

When everyone is discussing their plans for what sweet treat they want:

"A popsicle." [silver huggie earrings]

"An ice cream cone." [black stud & silver huggie earrings]

"An ice cream sandwich, too." [black stud earrings]

Boating

[NONE]

Happiness

If the MC decided to make food for Cove (if Shopping happened, Growing happened, or the MC bought fudge for Cove in Errands):

You chose to bake cinnamon rolls. (if Shopping happened) [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the left wrist in Step 4)]

You were going to make banana, peanut butter, and honey sandwiches. (if Growing happened) [pale yellow watch on the left wrist]

You'd make him homemade fudge. (if the MC bought fudge for Cove in Errands) [ridged slate gray bracelet on the left wrist]

If the MC decided to get food for Cove that didn't require preparation:

(if Drive happened) [thick brown and tan bracelet with white helm on the left wrist]

(if Drive did not happen) [no wristwear on the left wrist]

Step 3 Ending

If the MC chose to make jewelry with Lee and the others:

"I wanna find some sea glass too." [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the left wrist in Step 4)]

"I'm gonna hunt for a handful of shells to pick from." [pale yellow watch on the left wrist]

"I'm gonna look for some driftwood." [ridged slate gray bracelet on the left wrist]

"I wanna use some stones." [thick brown and tan bracelet with white helm on the left wrist]

"I'll just wait and see. I don't have a plan." [no wristwear on the left wrist]

-

Aaaand that's everything! It's really a shame about Cove's tattoos and pants, and I can't help being curious about the potential unused content (there aren't image files or anything for them, unfortunately), but I hope this helped anyway!

[jounossloverr]

BSD NEW COVER 25 ANALYSIS

Bsd chapter 114.5.+ chapters from volume 23 spoilers

the first thing I noticed were these red flowers. These are the "striking red Camellias", in japanese "Tsubaki".

This is the symbol of the flowers:

ABOUT FUKUZAWA AND FUKUCHI

This really is interesting because Fukuzawa and Fukuchi are on the cover with these flowers. Fukuzawa is a samurai, and Fukuchi is a warriour, and Fukuchi died. It also represents love. They both cared for eachother.

Fukuzawa's sword is in the flower. Reminder that this flower also represents love. I think it's in there, because the one he cared about and loved is dead.

ABOUT FYODOR

I noticed that in his hand there is this flower too, but its rotting. His whole body is with this black shadow "smoke?".

And the red flower symbolizes death. And because Fyodor is kinda immortal, the flower who symbolizes death is rotting. And there is this black "smoke?" around his body, I think its also the flower who's rotting. I find this cover really interesting, how they put these details in.

About Dazai

The Camellia is on Dazai's heart. It doesn’t have to mean that he's going to die, so don't worry Dazai fans. I know that in the cover he looks like from the season 1 opening where he is falling from the building but I wouldn't worry too much. Or should I..?

The flower is on Dazai's heart maybe because, this cover wants to show that he cares about the ADA, who are in trouble. And that he would die to save the world or to save the ADA. (Or maybe he will die, but if that happens, it wont be soon.) And that flower represents death and love.

About Atsushi

So I noticed that the flowers are on the water, close to Atsushi. I looked threw every cover from bsd and these flowers only appeared in this cover and on the 23rd cover. (Well im not sure if these are the same ones.)

It shows his love for the ADA. And it also maybe shows that his life is in trouble. But I don't think he'll die.

In volume 23, we could see that Atsushi was struggling because he didn't know what to do, how to help the ADA. It shows his love for them.

This is not related to Atsushi, but this can be helpful for the next analyse when these flowers appear again.

Kenji was in this cover too and in this volume. He was fighting against Techhou and almost died. And we've seen how he truly cares about the ADA too.

So when the flowers appear in covers, it means love and death. It doesn't have to mean that the characters will die though.

And I don't know if I'm tripping but is this Ranpo in the water?

[jacaerysgf]

Flowers | The Series | Chapter Three | The Garden

Summary | You come to find it's hard to avoid someone when the one person they want to talk to just so happens to be you. especially when that someone just so happens to be the prince this whole event is for.

Pairing | Jacaerys Velaryon x Fem!reader

Warning’s | Rose (flower) slander ? not proofread

Word count | 2.5k

Series Masterlist

The gardens of the keep are gorgeous but you can barely notice that now as there's so many people. many ladies standing around looking bored waiting for the prince to show up. Other lords scattered around, some entertaining the other ladies, others conversing amongst themselves.

you feel overwhelmed. especially with the glares of some of the ladies, still anger about the events occurring earlier in the day and this older lord breathing down your neck as he rambles about something about horses, you're barely paying him any attention just mindlessly nodding along and adding a curious hum every once and awhile.

You notice a large group of gasps and many people turn and towards one of the entrances, the prince has arrived, his brothers in tow. The prince looks around with a smile on his face and his eyes lock with yours, you swear you see his smile grow before he turns away.

You must not engage with him, you already have enough if the ladies hate you with the amount of glares you get you turn to now face the older lord as he drones on and on.

Out of the corner of your eye you notice him moving his way through the crowd, gradually making his way towards you.

"Ser''" His face perks lights up, "would you mind if we walked around a little? I feel the need to stretch my legs?" you give the man whose name you can't remember a smile as he nods and offers you his arm and you take it and walk away before jacaerys is able to come near you and hope he doesn't notice this. He does.

While you two continue to walk around you skillfully avoid jacaerys as he is walking around the garden place, you swear you could see the irritation growing on his face every time you lead this old man around. The old negative is that the old man was still. talking.

"I'm sorry , ser, do you mind if I borrow her for a while?" the old man nods before bidding you farewell and you sigh in relief at your savior.

"Thank you I don't know much longer I could have to hear about horses-" you start, surely it had been your father who had come to your rescue while your mother conversed with other lords trying to get you some suitors. Yet when you turn your eyes widen in shock, "Prince Lucerys!"

He laughs as you bow, "I'm happy to have saved you, my lady." you notice joffrey is also next to him and greet him as well and he gives you a grin. "Did you need something from me, my prince?" Lucerys grin grows, you notice a hint of mischief behind his eyes, "I'd like to show you around the garden, if you are yet to see it my lady."

He was also royalty, you shouldn't be conversing with him either, it would only make your reputation worse. People would assume you were desperate to get into the royal family even though the boy was already betrothed.

"I was actually just shown around though i appreciate-" "No no i insist, that lord doesn't know the keep like i do." he was insistent. it would be rude to deny the request of a prince so you nod your head reluctantly and take his arm.

He is leading you now to a different era of the garden and you gasp. Roses. Many many rose bushes line the garden in a beautiful display. Of course they would grow roses in the keep. One of the most standard and beautiful flowers, don't they give a rose crown during tournaments?

You can't remember and right now you can't be bothered to remember as you walk down the rows and rows of rose bushes. "They're beautiful."

"Yes they are aren't they?" Roses weren't your favorite, sure they were beautiful and you loved the meaning, the symbol of love but there were others you enjoyed more. You run your hand along the wall, feeling the petals with your fingertips. Lost in your thoughts you barely notice he's leading you to somewhere, no more like someone but by the time you notice it's too late and lucerys arm has disconnected from yours.

"Ah dear brother there you are. Oh hello my lady." you freeze and turn to see jacaerys standing with two other ladies, he gives you a smile as the ladies next to him frown. "My prince." His smile only grows as you finally address him. He turns back to the ladies and says goodbye as he now moves towards you. The nasty glare they give you reminds you exactly why you need to not be talking to him.

you aren't worried, he'll say his proper hellos then he'll leave just like he did for everyone else- "You wouldn't mind if i joined you three?" "Of course not brother." Based on the grins on all three of their faces you notice something.

They planned this. Of course they did but why? Why did they want you to speak to jacaerys so badly? "My lady." Prince charming offered you his arm, it would be rude to decline of course but you're already thinking of the ways you could get yourself out of this situation.

As we begin to walk around lucerys stops, "Oh i think i see something come on joffrey." He definitely planned this with a smirk on his face. Now you two are alone, well not really alone but it's as alone as you can get. "Are you enjoying the garden my lady?"

He's smiling at you, it suits his face. "I am my prince, it's very beautiful." "I'm glad you are enjoying it." for a moment you allow yourself to bask in his presence, forgetful of your place as you take glances of him.

As you two continue to walk he clearly is about to ask you something else before another lady comes over, "Prince Jacaerys, do you have a moment?" Cassandra baratheon. A lady from a great house. A pit forms in your stomach as you remember who you are. You're embarrassing him, a lower lady walking around with a prince on her arm. He must feel ashamed knowing Cassandra saw the sight because you know you're feeling it for him.

you release yourself from him and he gives you a look you cannot recognize, "I shall be off your grace." He opens his mouth to say something but you rush away before he has a chance. It's embarrassing, for the first time in your life you are wishing you were someone else, you wish you were a lady born to a great house so you won't feel shame for wanting to know him, maybe if you were a lady from a great house he wouldn't feel shame for being around you.

You rush through the garden passing by many lords and ladies who give you odd looks but you can't be bothered to care. You end up in a more secluded place and look around aimlessly, you're lost.

You can't even be bothered to care, you're defeated, so you lay on the ground and stare at the sky. Yes, your dress is getting ruined but the view is worth it. The sky is so clear, blue and bright and the smell of flowers reminds you of home and how you could spend just laying on the grassy hills and admire the clouds as they go by.

Your father would join sometimes and you two would point out what the clouds looked like for hours just laughing and chatting together. You'd pack a picnic the morning of and would stay out there until your mother yelled at you two to come inside for the day. You miss home.

Your mind is filled with thoughts and your eyes are cloudy with tears. You don't register someone calling out your name from behind you until his worried face is blocking your view. "My prince!" you sat up quickly. "Are you alright? did you faint?" "No. I mean yes I'm alright…. im sorry." he offers you his hand and you stare at it, you shouldn't you know you shouldn't but you take it anyway. It feels nice, it's warm, it must be true, the blood of the dragon runs hot. You notice it's slightly coarse must be from all the training he does.

Once you're up you quickly let go and look down, "I'm glad you're alright i was- i mean your mother was very worried about you when she saw you were no longer roaming around the main area, i decided i would come looking for you." Ah your mother of course she was worried, she knew you were failing the one reason you were supposed to be here.

And now you've ended up inconveniencing the prince. "I'm so sorry, there's just so many people and I just-" "There's no need to apologize to me, I'm just glad you're feeling okay." He sounds so genuine that you look up and he smiles, when you finally look him in the eyes you swear his smile grows, "I didn't get to finish showing you around, i'd like to finish showing you if you do not mind."

You should tell him no, you should run and stay away from him until this whole ordeal is over and you can venture home and forget all about the beautiful dark haired prince. "Of course my prince." but you cannot.

You notice your dress is surprisingly not ruined, only some grass and rocks that easily come off with a quick brush of your hand. You mumble another quick apology before turning back to him and you notice he's watching you with a smile, your face burns as he offers you his arm.

The two of you begin to walk back the way he had come from, "I didn't get to ask you this earlier my lady," You turn towards him curiously you note he's already looking at you, "You seem rather knowledgeable about flowers, am i correct?" "Yes my prince." "Do all flowers have meanings?" You're shocked by his question, apparently it shows on your face, "Is there something wrong with my question?" you shake your head, "no no no my prince it's just, men aren't usually interested in flowers." he turns his head back forward with a thoughtful look on his face, "i've always admired flowers."

He admits this to you like it's a dirty secret he just shared "I've always enjoyed coming out here and admiring the roses, they're very beautiful. Yet i have no clue of their meaning or if they even have one." He refuses to look at you, like he feels you would be disgusted of his words. "I'm glad you enjoy flowers." He stiffens up slightly at your words, "Flowers are very beautiful, many men don't appreciate them only ever caring to grab a pretty bunch and present it to a lady. I find it very honorable you wish to know the meanings, I always found it funny when a man is confessing his love to a woman when giving her a bunch of yellow carnations. You giggle slightly as you recite the memory in your mind.

"Yellow carnations?" "Yes, most flowers mean good things but some can be interpreted negatively. Yellow carnations for example can mean disdain and are usually given to those you do not wish to be with anymore. Once when I was walking around one of the local towns I saw a man professing his love to the town's local seamstress. ended up even asking her to many of her in the same speech. The woman looked overjoyed and said yes." You laugh before continuing "The two did not last, broke off their engagement right before the wedding."

He turns to you before he begins to laugh as well. "That is ridiculous." "I know!" you two laugh as you continue walking through the rows and rows of bushes. Once you two stop laughing he looks at rose bushes. "What do roses mean?" You look over to the beautiful red roses on your side.

"Roses mean a different thing depending on this color. Red roses mean new love or love at first sight. When you give someone a singular red rose it resembles giving them your heart. It's a rather beautiful sentiment." You don't notice he is staring at you while you are staring at the roses until you turn back to him with your two locked eyes.

His face is slightly red and he has a look on his face you cannot place. Your face burns as well, you want to lock this moment in a locket and wear it around your neck so it's close to your heart forever. you two enter a more crowded part of the garden and he turns away from you.

You are once again reminded of who you are and where you are, you always seem to get lost in the moment with him. you move to remove your arm from his but his arm tightens, keeping you in place. "I'd like to know more about flowers ' meanings." you turn to look at him once more, "like what?"

he's at a loss for words, he tries to come up with something but he is too late as someone already comes up to him, yet another great house lady though you do not know her name. "I have not been able to greet you yet my prince."

the lady is glaring at you, you rip your arm away from jacaerys and turn to leave once more. "Goodbye my prince." and just like earlier you slip away before he can speak.

You meet up with your mother who fuses over you before you tell her you aren't not feeling well and wish to return to your room. She walks you there as if sensing your negative mood she does not question you. As you walk through the halls of the keep you think to yourself, You failed this afternoon.

You were supposed to avoid him but instead spent way too much time with him. you would do much better next time you have too. This cannot continue; you cannot allow yourself to be deluded with impossible thoughts and scenarios.

as you arrive at your room your mother turns to you, "Remember tonight is the opening feast i shall come collect you from your room when it is time." she gives you a kiss on the forehead before she leaves.

The opening feast. Yet another place where you shall have to see the prince. Dread filled you as you entered the room, maybe you could play sick and miss it but your mother would never allow it. You attempt to come up with any other ideas while you get undressed but none would work.

You decide to take a nap before the events of later tonight. You cannot allow what happened today to happen again and this time you're sure you will succeed.

[gottawriteanegoortwo]

Mayor Attorney - The Charity Gala

Tonight was the night of the charity gala, one that had been highly anticipated for some time now. There had been a large drive across the city to organise small events to raise money for a good cause, and this gala was no different. The organisers had put a lot of care into making sure everything would go just right. The guest list included both the Mayor and the District Attorney, along with names that Damien eagerly reminded you of. People that had supported him in his campaign, patrons, and not a single person that would give him a stress headache trying to avoid for the entire night.

It was strange to know it was one that Damien had no direct involvement in, but that was a nice relief knowing that he might actually be able to enjoy himself. As Mayor, he would have to socialise and make his presence known, but you hoped he would have time to just be Damien for a little while.

It would be nice. The previous few weeks were too busy for both of you to find time for a date, and you had already agreed to attend this event together. Would it be wrong to make the most of the night?

-

You stood in front of the bathroom mirror so you could make the final adjustments to your hair. Your choice of outfit was a simple one - neat and black, plain and simple. It had been Damien's idea to co-ordinate with only black, but you couldn't ignore the suspicion bubbling up. Damien, a man who loves the chance to dress up nicely, the man who had once confessed that doing so was a 'guilty pleasure', opting for something ordinary? He had something planned.

But what? Damien wouldn't want to do anything that would throw him in the spotlight when he didn't want to be. He also wasn't someone who would add a flamboyant flair to his outfit. 

Before you could mull further on what said 'plan' could be, there was a knock on the door. He was here. Your hair would have to do. A coat with money in a buttoned-up pocket was plucked off a chair on your dash to the door.

Damien stood in the doorway like a lingering shadow. He had kept his side of the deal. His black suit was pristine, with barely a crease in sight. The mayoral ribbon he wore for public events was the perfect shade to blend in with the material. His shoes were barely visible thanks to your shadow obscuring them. Even his shirt and bowtie were barely discernable from the jacket. What you did notice was the lack of accessory on the right lapel. He was known for wearing a flower, and you had expected him to find a black blossom.

The cane was neatly tucked under his left arm so he could carefully hold a small bouquet of white roses with both hands, as though afraid a mere breeze would damage them.

"I'm sorry," he smiled bashfully when he noticed your eyes drop down to the flowers, "I know we had agreed that we weren't to give any gifts ahead of our 'date' but… they were in their prime, and I couldn't help but be reminded of your sweet smile. You look perfect tonight, my love." 

Ah, Damien. Roses might be a symbol of love, but you knew they were one of Damien's favourites, even before you two started dating. Once you let slip that you preferred the white blooms over the red ones, they became a reminder of you. You playfully rolled your eyes, accepted the bouquet, and invited him in so you could fetch a container of water to house them in. You would never be forgiven if they were left to dry out in the open air all night.

As you began placing the stems into their temporary, watery home, your gaze drifted over to Damien. He had stayed near the entrance, staying quiet so you could focus on your task and occupying himself with admiring the pictures on the wall. It was a common tactic he used for the sake of good manners. You waved a rose to get his attention, joking that you thought he had long lost 'guest' privilege by now.

You hit the nail on the head as he sheepishly chuckled and scratched his cheek.

"Ah. Yes. Well… This is a date, and I don't wish to behave so casually when it is the first time we've been together in a while." He paused as he noticed your wave beckoning him over. Who was he to argue with that? Slowly, he crossed the space to where you were working. "I simply want to make this a special night, and make sure you know how thankful I am that it is me you love." Your hands were preoccupied, and he took advantage of this to kiss your cheek.

The wall of formality was finally lowered, as Damien relaxed enough to engage in casual conversation about how the day went for both of you. His cane

For those few moments, you had forgotten the purpose of the night, until you glanced in his direction and was reminded of the empty lapel. You were quick to point this out.

"I did think one of my flowers would be a little too 'much' for a night that I have no involvement in. However, I did have an idea." He put his hand inside his jacket and pulled out two small, heart-shaped pins. One was red, the other was green. "A little gesture to show support, wouldn't you say?"

You flashed him a knowing smile. Your hunch was right, but you never would have expected how simple the act would be. He handed you the green pin so he could set to work putting the red one on your outfit.

"Sometimes, we have to remember the purpose for an event like this. It isn't merely to show how 'good' we are, or to make ourselves feel better. It's to help those who need it, and show that they aren't alone when it feels otherwise." With both pins in place, Damien stepped back to admire his handiwork. "There. Perfect."

You had a playful grin as you shook your head. You couldn't go just yet. His pin wasn't perfect, you claimed, as you reached back to the pin you had just put on him. He believed you, and that was his mistake. It left him open for your hands to swiftly move to either side of his face and pull him toward you for a kiss. When you leaned back, you saw a familiar lovestruck expression plastered on his face that you adored.

You asked if you should both get going to the gala. He nodded, leaning forward to close that gap between you one more time before it was time to go.

-

-

Do you want to help make a charity gala a success? Why don't you go check out Heropliers4Palestine, a week-long event dedicated to raising money to help the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF). Click here for more information on how you can support a good cause or help raise awareness, and get yourself something special and made just for you in return!

[the-whispers-of-death]

stone x florist!reader?

Stone was staring at all of the flowers in the flower shop, overwhelmed. It was Soap's birthday and the entire 141 had the day off because there were no missions, so Stone needed to get a present for Soap's birthday. He had settled on flowers, because the flower shop was the closest shop to the base.

But he had no clue what to get and you, the florist who was manning the front of the store while your coworker worked on putting together orders in the back, could tell. You watched as this mammoth of a man stared at the flowers, not the faintest idea what to get. You looked around the shop, noticing that there was only him around, so you decided to help him out.

"Hello, sir," you said with a soft smile, looking up at him as you walked over. You stopped next to him, noticing his huge arms and how he was covered in battle scars. "Do you need help?"

Stone hesitated at the offer of help, his instinct was to brush you off. But he really did need the help, so he nodded.

You hummed in response, glancing at the flowers on display. "I'm assuming you don't know what type of flower whoever you're buying a bouquet for likes?" You took in the way he shook his head as an answer. "Alright, who is this person to you? A friend? A lover?"

To anyone unassuming, you were just asking in order to help him. Deep down, you were curious about him and well, there was no denying he was hot. Even with his intimidating aura.

"He's a coworker," Stone said, his deep, cold voice sending shivers down your spine. His eyebrows furrowed in thought. "But I want him to be my friend."

"Oh, well in that case, you should pick a yellow flower," you responded, leading him over to where all of the yellow flowers were.

He frowned at that, but followed you nonetheless. "Why a yellow flower specifically?" he asked, the smallest hint of curiosity seeping through his cold and stoic demeanor.

You picked up a yellow flower, showing it to him. "Yellow flowers symbolizes friendship and joy. You want him to be your friend, so perhaps a bouquet of yellow roses. Or a bouquet of sunflowers."

You put the flower back where it came from and left him to think on the advice you had given him.

Stone stared at all the yellow flowers, eyeing each one and wondering which type of flower Soap would respond to the most. He ended up settling on a bouquet of sunflowers, simply because Soap was the sunshine of the group, along with Gaz. He picked up the bouquet and brought it to the register where you were waiting.

"Excellent choice," you said, ringing up the price for him.

The conversation had died down now, Stone just being quiet as he handed you the money and you wrapped up the bouquet properly. You also gave him instructions on how to properly care for the flowers, how much water to put in the vase, how much water the flowers needed in general, and how to cut the stems off the flowers to ensure the best plant life.

"I hope your friend likes the flowers!" You called out to him as he was leaving. Stone merely grunted in response, though it seemed like he wasn't much of a talker anyways.

Maybe he'd come back, maybe to get flowers for a holiday.

Reblogs are welcomed & appreciated! Asks are open, feel free to pop in and talk or request something! (SFW requests only, please and thank you)

[csolarstorm]

The Eternal Flower Files: The Sun King

Let's talk about King AZ, the king that became a wanderer.

Pokemon X and Y draw a lot of connections between King AZ and King Louis XIV of France. Remember that portrait in Parfum Palace? The one that reminds our player character of AZ?  Well, Parfum Palace is based on the Palace of Versailles, and the painting looks a lot like like Louis XIV. He called himself the "Sun King" for reasons that will be clear later in the post.

Screenshots from Pokemon Generations Episode 18: The Redemption

Notice how in AZ's last scene at the end of Pokemon X and Y, the sun is beating down hard on him in nearly every shot, including during the battle. Then when when Floette appears, she descends down from the sun.

While X and Y compare AZ to the Sun King, here it seems like the sun symbol...is Floette herself, as if the sun is Floette watching AZ. Floette's Eternal Flower is likely associated with light, but the sun itself? I don't have a full theory about this. Not yet anyway.

Another symbol associated with King AZ is the inchplant, historically known as "Wandering Jew".  It's a vine that shares some similarities with the Eternal Flower, especially the reddish-violet variants.  It even has three-petaled flowers, like the trillium.  The zebra-like stripes on the leaves especially remind me of the black triquetra markings on the Eternal Flower's petals. 

Sources: Succulent Depot, OrchidWeb: Tradescantia zebrina

If you've listened to Z-A theories lately, you might have heard of AZ's widely agreed on other inspiration, the story of the Wandering Jew, or "Eternal Jew". This is the antisemitic folk tale of a Jewish man who was cursed with immortality after mocking Jesus on the morning of crucifixion, and made to wander the earth until the end of days. This story has fueled centuries of antisemitism, even being used by Nazis for propaganda in WWII. 

We know anime can't resist playing with European history and western religious symbols. Pokemon wouldn't be the first anime to be inspired by Ahasuerus (Fate/Requiem), Xerxes (Fullmetal Alchemist), or Cartaphilus (Ancient Magus' Bride), which are all names associated with various versions of the Wandering Jew.  Personally though, I imagine this story catching GameFreak's attention because of the plant, considering how much flower symbolism runs the Pokemon franchise.

Sources: (1) Getty Images, via History.com, (2) Internet Archive via Wikipedia

So here we have a set of conflicting inspirations for AZ: the Sun King, and the Wandering Jew.  "Conflicting" is an understatement, because Louis "the Sun King" XIV actively persecuted French Jews. He called himself the Sun King because he considered himself God's representative on Earth.  Not only did he expel the Jews from the French West Indies, he stripped Calvinists of their religious liberties, and sometimes even went after other Catholics. (Source: History.com)

What do we make of these conflicting inspirations? Well, fiction can be cathartic. I think GameFreak switched the roles of the Sun King and the Wandering Jew for their story. In real life, the Sun King enjoyed a nice, long reign, unscathed by the people he persecuted and exiled. But in Pokemon X and Y, it's not the innocent religious minorities that wander the earth. It is the Sun King himself, forced to live eternally with the crimes he committed as the ruler of Kalos.

...

Multiple drafts of this post were reviewed by @fluffybunnybadass, who helped me cut straight to the substance. Thank you!

Want to know more about Eternal Flower Floette's connection to sacred geometry? Or how about all the Pokemon characters named after the fleur de lys? Ever since the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, I've been serving up lots of Gen VI theories, so check out them out below:

The Eternal Flower Files: Flowers of the Fleur de Lys

Eternal Flower Files Short: Thismia

The Eternal Flower Files: Sacred Geometry

Xerneas and Yveltal are Fungi: Let Me Explain

Poll: What Does the Λ in Legends Z-A Symbolize?

Pokemon Legends Z-A: What Is the Λ?

Aaah, it's an A! Is the A in Z-A the Tree of Life?

How much longer am I going to have to wait for a freakin' Unova remake?!

[krafterwrites]

Rows Of Roses

All the way back in October 2022, I held a raffle to celebrate hitting 500 followers, and promised the winner that I would write a fic for them. It may have taken a long time to get back enough energy to write again, but I stuck to my word, and now I've finally finished making a fic based on the prompt that my friend @4filen0tfound4 gave me. Hope it was worth the wait

Summary: Amy invites Silver over to her garden, where he learns about the many meanings that different colors of roses can hold

Words: 2847

In the city of Station Square, Amy's home stood out a bit. Unlike the apartment she had moved out of some time ago, which was no different than the rest in terms of its exterior, this small house situated close to the edges of the metropolis served as a small beacon of greenery through its yard and the garden contained inside of it. Amy was waiting in that yard when she heard a faint sound slice through the typical ambience, an ethereal humming sound. A second later, what she had suspected to be the source of the noise hovered into view

"I'm here! Hope I'm not late," Silver said as he dispersed the field of energy that had been carrying him and softly dropped onto the ground

"Nope, you're right on time," She reassured him. "Do you want anything before we start? I just got some tea from the store"

She gestured towards the front door of the home as she asked, and Silver couldn't tell if this meant she had planned to have a snack before they started, or if she was just being very inviting. He did really want to get to gardening right away, since he knew it would be fascinating to learn more about the plants of the past from someone who knew a lot about them, but he didn't want to accidentally mess up her plans after she'd been nice enough to invite him over. He hadn't known Amy for as long as her other friends, but she had always been just as sweet to him as everyone else during that relatively short period, so he decided that something little like this didn't matter

"I'd like to start right away, if that's alright," He told her with a slight bit of uncertainty. "Tea does sound great afterwards, though"

"Sounds good to me," She answered, beginning to turn and move towards the back of the plot's land

Silver internally relaxed a bit, and then began to follow Amy as she walked to her garden. The walk was very brief due to the small size of the yard, but even so it was still pleasant because of the perfectly maintained grass, and the perfect weather that was looking down on it. Once he had caught up with her, his eyes were caught by the centerpiece of the place. Laid out in a rectangle formation were what must have been at least a hundred roses, not just red, but in all sorts of new colors that he didn't even know were possible. White, yellow, green, even blue. The pretty display and the realization that even one of the few plants he thought he knew relatively well had so much more to it excited him a lot, which she noticed

"I see you like the roses I planted," Amy said joyfully

"I love them! They're all so beautiful, I didn't know that they came in colors other than red," He exclaimed

"Oh, yeah, there's tons of different colors they can have. Most people just think about the red ones when they hear roses, so romance is commonly associated with them since that's the meaning the reds have, but each color symbolizes different things"

He was intrigued even more by this revelation than the previous one. Each of the differently colored flowers in front of them all had meaning to them, like hidden messages of some sort. He began to wonder if the other flowers he'd seen up until this point represented things as well, if they might have been giving him signs that he hadn't been aware of

"Can you tell me about all of them?" Silver questioned

"Well, there's a lot of colors here to go through, and they can each have quite a few things associated with them," She explained. "Why don't you pick out one for us to start with?"

He looked at the arrangement of flowers intently, and tried to think about which ones caught his eye the most. Yellow and orange were such great colors, they reminded him of the sun and how its light felt on his fur, and the flames that Blaze could conjure. However, after thinking about it for some time, Silver decided that the most interesting shade was blue. It reminded him of the ocean, and one of his most precious memories that had been made there

"What about those blue roses?" He asked

"These can symbolize uniqueness, or things that are impossible. It's like they were made for Sonic," Amy replied as she crouched down to the earth to get a closer look at them. "Heh, but that's just my opinion. What do you think of them?"

While the color of the flowers had immediately brought water into his mind, hearing about the impossible made him think of the fact that he was standing here in this moment, thinking about this at all. Not just because of the miracle of time travel, but also because of how harsh the world he'd been in for so long was. All it would've taken was for one of Silver's many near misses to have not been a near miss, and he never would've been able to see the past. Surviving for long certainly seemed impossible at the time, let alone changing the world. But here he was, able to relax, with his future no longer desolate. Telling Amy all of what he said verbatim would probably drag the mood down a little, so he decided to just state the last part instead

"It seemed impossible for things to ever change," Silver began explaining. "But once I was brought back here, I was able to fix everything. Now my future is just as beautiful as this place is"

"That's amazing to hear, Silver. It's good to know that even 200 years from now, this world will still be full of life," Amy complimented him. "Are the plants from your future anything like the ones here?"

"Uhh, I think so? I haven't seen too many from either time yet, so it's hard to know if anything I see is unique to that period or not"

"I see. Next time, you should describe some of your future plants to me, and I can tell you if they're ones that exist in this time. Maybe you could even bring one back, it would be fascinating to see"

"Oh, um, I'm not sure if I can, it could mess things up. I guess I could fix things even if they did go wrong, but-"

"No, you're right, I wasn't thinking about it. Let's get back to the flowers that are in front of us now, which ones are catching your eye?"

The green roses were the first ones that Silver thought of this time around, they almost looked like immature sprouts that hadn't finished growing yet, but they were the same size as everything else. A flower lacking the vibrant splash of color that it usually had at the top, and instead having the same color as its less treasured parts such as the leaves, had a lot of potential for interesting meanings. Plus, in the event that his thought about the green roses not being finished growing was true, it would lead to the just as interesting revelation that these ones would end up being much larger than all of the others

"What's up with the green ones?" Silver asked, phrasing it so that the answer would tell him which one of his assumptions about them was right

"They mostly mean life and abundance. Perfect for a day like this, right?" Amy remarked

He took a second to look up into the sky as well as into the street behind him, and saw that she was very right. Life stretched far past Amy's yard, it was in the skies above them as Flickies flew overhead, and in the streets behind them as people went about their day walking to who knew where

"Abundance… yeah!" Silver exclaimed. "That's the perfect word for what the past is like, there's so much stuff here. Every day I'm here, I see a bunch of new things"

"Did you see anything new today on your way here?" She asked

"I did! I passed by a bakery, and I saw these little colorful things that had cream in the center, and the outsides were kind of like little cookies"

"Oh, you mean macarons? Those are really good, did you get to try one?"

"I actually did, I asked the person eating them if I could have one, and they handed it to me. It was super sweet, I wish I could've had more, but I didn't want to be rude"

"Well, if you want to have more, we could always go to there ourselves and order some next time"

"That would be fantastic, I love visiting restaurants! It seems like there's infinite choices, and all of them are delicious"

"Yeah, the places here all have a lot on the menu, even I haven't tried all of them yet. Say, what's your favorite thing you've had so far?"

"It was this amazing apple pie I ate at a bakery. Back in the future, I ate a lot of old ration bars, the best ones were the apple flavored ones. The closest I ever felt to being in a natural world was when I ate one of them, but then when I had that pie, it was like experiencing that times a million. It was the first time I felt something familiar in a new way, instead of something completely new"

"Wow, if I'd only gotten to have things flavored like fruit my whole life before getting to eat the real thing too, it would probably have been as magical as you were describing. Did you have anything with the pie?"

"Nope. What do people usually have with it?"

"The most popular toppings are vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It's actually kind of funny, since they're both like you"

"Huh? How are they like me?"

"They're both white like your fur, and they're both really sweet"

"Aww, thank you!"

"No problem!"

Since Silver was now thinking about things that looked similar to him, when he looked back to the garden after the conversation had died down, he immediately thought of the white roses. Like vanilla ice cream and whipped cream (supposedly), the petals did look a lot like his fur, he would probably be able to hide pretty well behind all of them if he needed to. While their potential hide and seek applications were fun to think about, Silver was also even more curious about what they could mean than he'd been about the other two. If they looked like him, would they have meanings that reflected him?

"What meanings do the white roses have?" He chose, silently beginning to get a bit excited as his anticipation grew

"These can stand for a lot of things, but some of the most prevalent meanings are innocence, loyalty, and new beginnings," Amy shared. "They're mostly used at weddings, but I think with meanings like those, they're good for a lot of events"

"New beginnings, huh?"

"Yep! I bet that makes you think of traveling back here for the first time, doesn't it?"

"How did you know that?"

"Oh, I just guessed based on what you've told me before. Good to know my guess was right!"

"Well, you only guessed half of it"

"Hm?"

"My other new beginning was meeting you"

The answer caught Amy off guard. She hadn't thought that she'd had that much of an impact on Silver, she just treated him the same way she did to everyone else. Knowing that her meeting with him was apparently so important that he considered it the start of a new chapter in his life made her feel a deep happiness, followed by a small bit of curiosity

"Really?" Amy asked, still a bit shocked

"It's true," Silver began. "The first person who I ever felt a real connection with was Espio, but since we were working together to save the future, I thought it was just because of our shared goal. But then, the next time I went back here, you saw me. You didn't know why I was here, or even who I was, but you were so nice to me… It made me realize the truth. Espio, Shadow, everyone else; they weren't being kind for the sake of the future, it was because they cared about me"

"Wow. That's… really something. I'm glad that I was able to help you"

"I'm glad about it too"

As Silver reminisced about the change that his meeting with Amy had brought to him, he was facing her, since he had just finished a conversation. However, since it was followed by a short period of silence while both were busy thinking about that information, his eyes went back to the flowerbed

It was just a default position at this point, since he had previously looked at it a lot in order to make his choices for rose variants to learn about. Spending time in silence instead of asking about that, though, made him notice a part of the rose other than their colors: their thorns

The first time Silver saw a rose, he'd grabbed it with his hand in his excitement, and it pierced through his glove into his hand. Even though it had drawn blood, it still had the same gorgeous appearance that had drawn him to it in the first place, so he chose not to leave it behind. Instead, he grabbed it gently with his psychokinesis, and carried it beside him as he walked and floated across the land

Everyone he'd met during his times chasing Eggman Nega, he'd been rude and harsh to at one point or another. While Espio was the only one who had brushed it off and followed him at the time, he had seen all of the others at later points, and they all seemed to at least tolerate him. Maybe it was because they had been told he wasn't actually that bad by Espio, or maybe it was because his urgency during his first time saving the future had faded, and no longer forced him to push everyone out of his path. Maybe it was both

Suddenly, Silver snapped out of his thoughts when he realized that Amy had moved over to the garden in front of them again. Unlike last time, though, she was plucking a rose from the dirt instead of just looking at them. It was yellow, close to his bracelets and eyes, although not exactly like either of them

"Oh, you're picking them now? That's fine, I wanted to hear about the yellow ones next anyways," Silver said as Amy turned around to face him, slightly confused

"I'm giving it to you, silly!" She explained as she stretched out her arm for Silver to take it. "Yellow roses symbolize friendship. You looked so happy seeing all these roses here, so I figured this would be a great gift for you"

"You'd… really do that for me? We're friends?" He asked, sounding very touched

"Of course we are! I know we haven't known each other for so long, but every time we talk, it's so enjoyable. You just have so much love for this world, and you share it with everyone you're around. Whenever you talk about how amazed you are by something I see everyday, it reminds me of just how great this place really is, of what I fight to protect"

Silver didn't respond verbally at this point, as he was a little overwhelmed by just how kind Amy had been to him, but tears welling up in the corners of his eyes showed he appreciated it very much. Remembering the lesson he had learned before, he held his hand forward and gently encircled the flower with his psychokinesis, lifting it out of Amy's hand and bringing it close to his side

"Thank you," he managed to choke out. "Thank you so much. I'm going to take the best care of this as I can"

"Maybe you could even start your own garden someday," Amy suggested.

"That would be fantastic," He replied, before turning to look at the lone plant. "But for now, I've got to take care of this"

"I understand. It was great hanging out with you today, hope I can see you again soon!"

"Me too. Bye, Amy"

"Bye, Silver!"

With that, Silver flew off similarly to how he had arrived. Amy was left in her yard next to the garden that she had just taken her gift to Silver from, and thought about the future. There was no way she'd be alive to take care of it in Silver's time, so it would likely have disappeared long before then. However, even if the garden she was standing next to would eventually fade away, she knew there would still be one like it 200 years from now. A very beautiful, and very yellow, garden of roses

[blueepink07]

Yuno phone case analysis

(mentions of pregnancy, death and abortion)

First and foremost, let's just admire this phone case and how, despite being simple, is very pretty! Yuno has great taste!

Okay, now into the analysis!

~Flowers~

Ar first, I had a quiet hard time deciding if these flowers were daisies or chamomile, due to the fact that both look pretty much alike. However, I noticed that on Yuno's phone case, the flowers don't have just one layer of petals as a chamomile would have, so that means that these should be daisies.

~Daisies 🌼 - meanings~

Based on this we can already make the correlation with Yuno. The fact that even the phone case showed us that she was pregnant as though the DNA stairs and balloons weren't enough amazes me!

The "innocence and purity" are the traits that Yuno is putting up for her clients. The facade she is putting up front in hopes that she will find "warmth". Although the literal implications this word has, for example physical intimacy, because of how complex Yuno character's is I always associated it with more. Yuno desires to find someone with who she can be herself, she wants honesty and compassion. Despite that by doing compensated dating she receives some warmth, this is all temporary and she knows it too. That's why she continues to do it in hopes of finding someone that will knowledge her wishes and will make her truly happy.

She dislikes people that tell others what to do and judge their peers constantly when they are not themselves perfect. In her second VD she opens up this topic and tells Es that she only kept a secret that she participates in compensated dating, because it is not morally accepted by others. Again, it points out at her facade and the fact that she can't be herself, because of the fear of being constantly judged or, worse, treated coldly.

The legend depicted in the picture below makes a reference to the abortions that Yuno had. Daisies are a symbol of sorrow for the dead infants or children.

(It refers to the Victorian era; sorry for not putting the complete picture, but the contents there were quiet boring to read)

This likely refers to how Yuno has hidden from the rest of her acquaitances that she is participating in compensated dating, but also to the fact that she didn't tell anyone that she was pregnant. The purse on her stomach at the amusement park, and the glass of water instead of wine, are great examples for that!

I think this paragraph is an indicator to the fact that Yuno let go of her "past"(abortions) and after each abortion she is "renewed" and can continue with her compensated dating and be happy again(at the end of the first MV she is facing forward looking at the destroyed stairs, welcoming a new beginning in her life) . Also, it shows that Yuno doesn't care that much about her verdict. She forgave herself for what she has done, and that's all it matters. Es's verdict will not cause any changes in how she acts or what she is doing with her life.

"It is believed that the word "daisy" is derived from the Old English saying, "day’s eye." This is because many of the flowers that we commonly call daisies close at night and open in the early morning sunlight."

This is me overanalyzing stuff, but it can be interpreted as Yuno "opening up" for her clients to come at her, she welcomes them giving affection. All the moments during the day are shown as her being "happy" and doing fun activities with her clients. Also it could mean that during the day she enjoys more of this superficial love and warmth. During the night though, Yuno is "closing up". It's a moment when she actually contemplates and thinks if she is satisfied with her life so far. The second MV portraits this very well, because during the night she is shown sad and alone. The colours are no longer warmth, but instead cold and depressing.

"Several species of daisies produce a high amount of nectar, making them attractive to pollinators. You can expect the garden favorites, bees, and butterflies, as well as a host of other pollinators in your daisy patch."

Thinking of Yuno as the daisy and the pollinators are the clients it basically explains us the compensated dating part. The clients are attracted by her, while she is waiting for them with open arms. Also, most flowers need pollinators so they can reproduce, daisies being no exception, so it could be again a symbol of pregnancy.

Also a legend if anyone is interested! I thought it made a good reference to the beginning of Yuno's second MV, due to the teardrop part! But it's just something additional so you can skip it!

"The ancient Greeks also associated their goddess Astraea with daisy flowers. According to one Greek legend, during the Iron Age, humans began to make a lot of weapons and warfare increased. Incensed with the violence, Zeus decided to destroy the world of men with a great flood. But before he did, the gods, who had been living on Earth, left. The goddess Astraea was the last to leave. Heartbroken at the loss of life, she asked Zeus to turn her into a star.

Eventually, the flood waters receded. But all that was left of the world was mud and slime. Seeing the destruction, Astraea wept, and her tears fell as stardust. When they hit the land, they turned into daisy flowers."

Thank you for reading! ~🌼

[xalygatorx]

Worthy (2015) | Chapter 10, "Your Own Hero"

Disappearing sporadically in public spaces quickly becomes Cora Dempsey's least concerning problem when suddenly she captures the attention of the forming Avengers Initiative, the World Security Council, and Asgard's fallen prince all in one week. And the universe is only just getting started with her.

Worthy is a slow-burn SFW Marvelverse (films) romance between Loki and a female OC. For additional details on what canon is used, see the Prologue post.

Summary: Cora prepares herself to be cryogenically frozen while Fury and Coulson seek a compromise with the World Security Council. Steve Rogers levels with her about what she can expect. In a darker corner of the galaxy, Loki attempts a pact with the Chitauri and, too late, realizes the price. 

Pairing: Loki x Fem!OC

Warnings: Descriptions of tattooing and thusly needles; description of a panic attack

Word Count: 3.5k

With a slip of the hand and a fumble of fingers, coupled with the merciless force of gravity, her alarm clock fell victim to the wrath of the hardwood floor before it ever had a chance to ring. Cora opened one eye and grumbled at the bits of clock on her floor before pushing herself upright, having to glance at her phone to see what time it was. She had to get ready for work. 

She went through the motions of a shower, putting together something to wear, forcing herself to eat something when she didn't want anything she had in the kitchen, and making sure her purse and work bag were packed. Still though, she felt like she was forgetting something. A breath of cold air maneuvered through her window, bringing with it a few magenta petals from a flowering redbud tree nearby. She walked over and shut the window calmly, figuring her roommate, Lacey, had left it open and then headed over to her boyfriend's.

Cora picked up her stuff and headed out, glancing around the vacant apartment before shutting the door behind her and walking down the stairs. She paused on the second floor stairwell, craning her head back to look up at a black symbol high on the wall, fashioned with spray paint. It was a long, straight line with an adjoining triangle at the center, the apex facing eastward from the line. "How did anyone even get up there…," she wondered aloud before shaking her head and continuing down the last two flights of stairs. 

The sidewalk was packed by the time she reached the lobby doors and she uttered a growl as she maneuvered her way into the flow of traffic, getting bumped and shoved around by other pedestrians who didn't seem to realize she existed. She finally broke apart from the jumble and went down the next block, pausing as she noticed snowflakes descending. It was May… Why was it snowing? 

An icy wind buffeted against her as a sudden flurry swept in, causing her to shudder and quake with discomfort. "N-No, I have to—" She ducked against another blast of wind, starting to trek forward through the continuously building snow, which was now up around her ankles. "I can't get caught in this, I… Where am I?" 

Cora had just looked up and the city around her was no longer New York. In fact, it wasn't even a city. It was a frozen wasteland. Sheer, jagged spires plunged from the icy earth, snow as far as the eye could see and it was positively freezing… Her gaze scaled up the highest rock spire, catching on a symbol carved near the peak; the very same as the one in the stairwell…

"You do not belong here," a voice said and she turned to see a man with blue skin and red eyes glaring at her from afar, though something was familiar about him. "Return to your home." 

"Where is home?" she asked, her question a cry as she tried to be heard above the fierce winds whipping at her from all sides. "I don't know how I got here! Who are you?"

"Leave now, woman!" he ordered and she recognized him that time, her eyes widening in disbelief. Before she could say his name, she convulsed from the cold and fell to her knees in the snow, buried in a matter of seconds.

Bolting upright from her stiffly made bed, Cora panted violently, her eyes flickering wildly about the tiny room before she made herself calm down, falling back against the bed again as she put her hands over her face, blocking herself into her own mind until she was able to tell herself everything was all right.

However, everything was not alright. Her subconscious knew that as well as the rest of her.

Cora glanced toward the clock on the bedside table, which read eight. Two hours until she was little more than a block of ice in storage. She tried to make a joke of it to will away the anxiety she'd all but woken up with, but it was getting more and more difficult to tame. The time was drawing nearer and she felt more crazy than ever that she was preparing to willingly allow the government to essentially end her life. Just because the World Security Council wanted to feel "in control."

"Good morning, Miss Dempsey," came a female voice over the intercom, causing Cora to frown and glance around for cameras in the room.

"Um… Good morning," she murmured. "How did you—?"

"Your pulse jumped," the woman—assumably a secretary—informed her pleasantly.

Cora squinted at the intercom box before turning to glance at her pillow and then muttering, "I don't even want to know."

"Is there anything we can get for you?"

Yeah, a waived death sentence, Cora thought sarcastically. This hotel-like service was pretty sick. Thanks for cooperating with your own frosty imprisonment, would you like fries with that? The thought actually made her hungry. Good thing my priorities are still spot-on as always… "Maybe some breakfast?"

Cora started to shift the covers off herself before pausing as her eyes caught on a red patch decorating her forearm, her brow creasing as she drew back the sleeve of her nightshirt to reveal light scratch marks in the shape of the symbol she'd seen briefly in her dream. Unnerved, she checked under her fingernails, surely enough finding small remnants of her own skin there as the woman replied, "Of course. Anything else at this time?"

"Yeah," Cora murmured distractedly, skimming her fingertips over the fading red lines. "Someone handy with a tattoo iron."

"Of all things before it happens," Fury murmured as he wired the machine, testing the pedal lightly to be sure it was still in working order, "another tattoo?"

"Well, I already talked to Phil for a bit, so this is what's left. And I probably won't get another chance to add on, will I," Cora murmured as she listened to him snap the latex rims of the hospital-blue gloves he was pulling over his hands. "Besides, being covered up and cool is good for a new tattoo… Looks like it'll have all kinds of time to heal up."

"Wondered what took you so long. Why this though?" he murmured, looking at the sketch she'd done on a Post-It. "It's just a line with a triangle on it."

"Wait, you seriously don't know what that is?" Cora asked incredulously, making Fury pause and reconsider it before she admitted, "Quit staring at it, I don't know what it is either. I just have a very finite time left to be a smart-ass."

Fury smirked lightly as he tore open the package containing the needle and secured it to the gun. "Point taken. Why are you getting a tattoo of it when you don't even know what it means?"

"Because it's important," Cora murmured, watching him attach the ink casing. "I dreamt about it last night. I know, it sounds nuts, but I'm trusting my intuition."

"I didn't say a word," Fury said, forcing down a smirk. "Here?" he confirmed, taking her right hand and indicating the side of her ring finger. When she nodded, he leaned forward a bit and engaged the pedal, beginning to work as he put the needle to her skin. Cora winced a bit at the bite of the iron, soon getting to a point where she grew used to the pain and was able to ignore it for the most part. He finished in a timely fashion, drawing back and suggesting, "Take a look at it. Bolder or is that good enough?"

Cora raised her hand and glanced down at the fresh ink, nodding in approval. "Looks good, thanks." Fury nodded, wiped off the excess ink, and then turned off the machine, disposing of the needle and putting the equipment back in its case. Just as he'd shut the final case and pulled off the gloves, a familiar figure appeared in Cora's peripheral.

She looked up to see Steve Rogers walking in, offering her a smile when their eyes met though his expression was one of slightly forced optimism. "Getting a tattoo?" he asked with a chuckle, a bit surprised at how she was spending her last hour.

"Got a tattoo," Fury corrected as he shook Steve's hand and then left the room. "I'll be back."

Steve nodded and sat down in the chair Fury had been using. He seemed to shift a little uncertainly under Cora's unwavering stare, finally murmuring, "So, how did—"

"They call you?" Cora interrupted quietly.

He hesitated, caught off-guard. "What?" he seemed to stumble over his words to find that small, bewildered response.

"To pep-talk me for dying. Did they call you?" she elaborated with false calm.

"No, I… Well, I asked what the verdict was and when Director Fury told me, I chose to come here. Myself."

"Why?"

"Because no one really understands what you're about to go through," he said seriously. "Not even you." Cora's jaw clenched noticeably as he continued, leaning forward, "I've been submerged in freezing waters and am only alive now because I froze before I drowned. I didn't have more than a minute to comprehend what I was moving toward, I just knew I was going to die, all in order to save tens of thousands of people. But that minute felt like hours, it felt longer than the entire span of time I'd been alive—"

"Stop it," Cora murmured, her teeth gritting from the tension in her jaw.

"No, Cora, you need to hear what I'm going to say," he persisted evenly. "I didn't know what to expect, how it would feel, I didn't know if I'd see a light or God or both at the same time, I just knew I had a date that I would never make—"

"You had a—"

"But the difference was in another voice, hearing it—"

"Steve, please don't get preachy on me now, I'm not—"

"I'm not talking about anything like that," Steve said a little more loudly. "I'm talking about Peggy Carter."

Cora frowned, drawing up short at that and vaguely realizing her fingers had curled up into fists. Her anger wasn't at him, she knew that much; it was the injustice of this. Of both their downfalls. "Peggy Carter?"

"Peggy Carter," he repeated, a tinge of sadness in his otherwise patient gaze. "I'd call her a doll and mean it in the most complimentary way, but that wouldn't do her half the justice she deserves."

"Was she your girlfriend?"

Steve smiled faintly, seeming distant. "Not officially. I did get a kiss though."

Cora laughed. "Look at you. You're blushing."

"I love her," he chuckled embarrassedly, as if it were that simple. "I may have only half-realized it at the time, when it mattered more, but it's true."

"It's been a long time," she commented.

He smiled wistfully. "Not really. It doesn't feel like a long time. It was like being asleep," he said quietly. "There was that weird emptiness of being unconscious, waking knowing you had lost some time, but knowing only the moments just before your eyes shut and then the ones ticking away after you open them again. I lost seventy years in there. Seventy years, but here I am."

Cora's features contorted slightly as she looked down at her hands, swallowing hard. "Did you dream?"

"Only when I was starting to resurface. Weirdest dream I ever had."

She felt moisture fall from her eyes the next time she blinked, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Why did you tell me about her? About Peggy?"

"Because she's what I remember. I remember feeling sure about what I was doing and I remember feeling afraid, but more than anything, I remember her telling me she'd teach me how to dance. Next Saturday at the Stork Club, eight o'clock," he said, nostalgia an undertone in his voice. "She was there for me. And I'm going to be there for you."

"Just so you know, I can't dance either," she murmured, hiccuping softly as she wiped tears from her face.

He laughed, smiling that golden-boy smile at her. "Glad I'm not the only one." Steve pursed his lips as he looked at her before standing up, holding a hand out to her. She glanced up at him, her eyes red and sore from crying, and let him help her up, not surprised when he pulled her into a firm hug. Cora returned the gesture, shaking with anxiety and fear and the sobs that had been well under control until this moment.

When she pulled herself together a little, she took a small step back, the shift in location bringing the doorway back into her vantage point, where Fury stood silently, the lines in his face aging him under the fluorescent lights. "It's time," he told them quietly.

"It's not really your color, you know."

Clint gave her a disapproving glance as he handed her purse—which had been pilfered from the warehouse along with her—to one of the nearby lab technicians, who set it in one of the drawers adorning the side of her capsule, which she could only see as a casket.

"Anything to add in here?" the technician asked her and she wanted to punch him just to see if there was any humanity in him. He was looking at her through his beady little eyes like a project. Despite that, Cora pulled her phone out of her pocket and stepped forward to place it inside her bag. He then pushed the drawer closed and there was a mechanical sigh from the body of the capsule as it locked into place. She got a first look inside the tube in that moment as well; it wasn't even turned on yet and it looked cold.

"You sure you can't put me under?" she asked quietly as Fury stepped up beside her to look down at the machine, his expression a bit grim.

"Sorry, kid," he murmured, glancing over as Steve joined them. "That doesn't begin to cover it, but I'm truly, sincerely sorry."

"It's not you," Cora murmured, her throat tight. "Any of you." Her eyes darted toward the mousy technician with muted spite. "Except maybe you."

Fury gave a half-hearted smile as he nodded for the lab tech to start the final preparations, walking over to supervise, needing to feel like he was helping in some way at the moment.

"The last ten seconds are the worst," Steve told her honestly. "You won't be alone, but you'll feel alone. You have to be your own hero during that time."

Cora couldn't take her eyes off the capsule. "That is without doubt the cheesiest thing I've ever heard," she teased him quietly, her heart not in it to give it ample bite.

He smiled slightly and looked down at her. "I mean it though. Cora?" He waited until she looked up at him. "You're going to be okay. You can do this."

The lab tech pulled the release on the capsule lid, a fog of cold air softly sweeping through the crack as it parted from the rest of the machine. She could feel the chill raise bumps on her skin from where she stood. Her mouth felt dry as she looked to Fury and he gave a faint nod toward the opening.

Taking a deep breath, Cora stepped closer to the capsule, pausing as she looked to him again and asked, "So, I get the anesthesia not being an option, but what about a blunt weapon to the head?"

"You'd hit me right back, even if you asked for it," Fury smirked and Cora couldn't exactly disagree.

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the chill seeping from the interior of the capsule as she climbed into it, her heart raging against her ribcage and every survival instinct which existed within her screaming for her to stop. Cora sat inside the capsule a moment, trying to focus on the small things, the certain things: her ring finger throbbed with newly injected ink and there was a rhythm to it almost like a waltz. She was going to lie down and be put into a state of deep freeze, likely to never wake up again. Director Nick Fury was there, Steve Rogers was there, Clint Barton was there until just a moment ago, and the lab tech monitoring their progress was there. She could be woken up any time between tomorrow and never. She was terrified. 

And she was going to do it anyway.

"Make something up," she stammered quickly, her teeth chattering. Fury started to ask what she meant when she looked at him, shivering as she said, "Make something up to tell my grandmother. That I was moved to someplace high on security in London or Tibet or someplace she'd never be able to go. Tell her I'm getting help, that I'm happy. That I'm safe, that I love her. Will you do that for me?"

His brow creased as he nodded and watched the trembling girl, braver than a good number of soldiers he'd dealt with in his years and years of work, lie back into the capsule, the best soldier he'd ever known leaning in toward the lid so she could still hear him inside as he told her to breathe and close her eyes, to go somewhere else in her mind.

Once again, she calculated what was certain as the temperature began to plummet: for one thing, it was cold as hell. For another, she'd been using that expression for a long time, whenever winter came to New York or the temperature dropped below 60 in California, and it made absolutely zero sense. Next, she could hear and feel her body panicking. Her blood rushed through her veins, making her twitch with discomfort, her heart pounded into her breastbone, her pulse alarmingly loud in her ears. She felt nauseous and when the convulsions hit, she could only think that she'd be damned if the last thing she did in this life was vomit.

She knew when those final ten seconds set in. Incoherent, but she could feel them start to tick away.

Ten.

She was being put down for being different.

Nine.

The probability of her being revived was slim to none.

Eight.

She'd never see her grandmother again.

Seven.

Her grandmother would never know what had really happened to her.

Six.

She was so grateful for that.

Five.

She hoped Loki found his place, wherever it was.

Four.

She hoped Steve learned how to dance.

Three.

She didn't want to die.

Two.

But, if she was lucky, she might see her parents again.

One.

Fury glanced away from the capsule, the glass now frosted over entirely, and put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Come on. It's over," he said wearily as he guided the equally sullen man out of the lab.

The craggy rocks scattered through the desolate area seemed to crawl as plated beings slithered in their ranks, peering out at their leader consulting the stranger who had come to their home, a bargain in mind.

"You come here presuming to secure an army," the most ancient and intelligent of the Chitauri creatures mused as he stalked a consistent radius around the caped Jotun at the center of the clearing, "yet I fail to hear in your proposal what is our benefit from this venture."

Loki's eyes shifted over the lurking beings nearby as he replied, "Midgard. My rule is yours as well. You seek power, elder…" He turned to face their leader, a smirk crossing his lips. "I can help you get it."

"The Tesseract…," the elder groaned, its voice rasping and hungry. "You, our puppet, will use it to allow us entrance. Do you understand?"

"I am no being's puppet," he said darkly, his gaze shooting around as the leader laughed.

"You come into our dark, unforgiving lands without aid, without a soul knowing you are here. Without a soul knowing you still live. Jotun swine wearing the skin of an Asgardian prince, you will receive the aid of my kin as a disciple, not as a commander. This is your only choice."

Loki glanced around him as he heard the creatures around him begin to laugh, chorusing higher and higher, even as he attempted to hold them off with short blasts of power which stemmed from his palms to no avail. He disappeared within the writhing mass of Chitauri monsters, his first desperate shout of regret and pain enough to split the sky, yet reached no further than those who drew it forth again and again.

Next chapter: Chapter 11, "To See Her Again"

[raxistaicho]

Heggiegard needs to cover dem tiddies

With a title like this, you know it's Fantasy Invader.

Who else could it be?

(Also, by Heggiegard I mean Hegemon Husk Edelgard. "Heggie" is a nickname some of us for her.)

Thinking about the Hegemon Husk again today.

Oh no. He was thinking again.

It's a monster-class unit,

Yup, same as the Immaculate One. This'll be important later.

What is it that Dimitri says in Houses when seeing it?

Ah, yes, Dimitri, one of Edelgard's staunchest enemies, the house leader who thinks with his heart and not his head, and the one who thinks ends don't justify the means. Surely he will give a nuanced, balanced assessment of her activities.

“To be changed beyond all recognition... That is what lies at the end of the ideals you served so diligently.”

Yes, that sounds about right for him: a moralizing condemnation of his enemies, and a hypocritical one to boot given he benefits from and doesn't try to stop his own soldiers using Crest Stones to turn into Demonic Beasts to try to gain an advantage at Tailltean.

And yes, I know Dedue gave that order behind his back, Dimitri still had time to countermand the order and save some of his men. He decided instead to just make the most of it, because at the end of the day his true chief concern at Tailltean was revenge.

Cipher also titles the card version of it as Hegemon Edelgard: At the End of the Ideals She Served.

I can't speak for Cipher because I have basically no experience with it, but almost certainly that was just quoting Dimitri. Also, aren't Cipher cards all in Japanese, or are some of them translated?

And I can't help but feel that this is what is hinted at in Safflower,

I wonder if FI thinks calling it Safflower instead of Crimson Flower is a gotcha? I know he thinks the flower symbolism is spoopy, even though Safflowers have positive symbolism.

where Dimitri calls out Byleth and Edelgard on walking the path of the beast in the Japanese text.

Yes, when the man who destroys everything in his path and is out for revenge says you're going to hell, you should believe him.

Through Chrom Translate: Teacher. Why did Edelgard... choose the path of a beast, trampling on people's lives?

Also, he's still using machine translation, but that's basically close enough so eh.

So, Dimitri calls Flower the path of a beast, while fighting alongside Dimitri results in Edelgard transforming herself into a beast unit for greater power.

And fighting against Rhea involved her transforming herself into a "beast" unit for greater power. I thought Edelgard was the racist one, Fantasy Invader? I mean heck, the Immaculate One looks way more wicked than Heggie:

And that's just in her natural form, her Silver Snow - the route FI thinks is truest - form she's glowing red and looks like she's made of thorns.

I don't think the Hegemon is supposed to represent how far Edelgard will go for those ideals, nor is it TWSITD's corruption of her. I think it is meant to be representative of Edelgard's ideals themselves. Notice how Dimitri and Cipher both paint the Hegemon Husk as the end point of what Edelgard wants, it's symbolic of what she's actually trying to accomplish.

No, it absolutely does represent the first of those things. And given Dimitri accuses Edelgard of wanting to be a goddess, I think we can safely discard his assessments of Edelgard's actions.

Take the flavor text for the card."My progress cannot be stopped. The war's end will spell destruction for one of us. There can only be one ruler of the world..." Is that Edelgard out of her mind?

It's certainly her at her most dramatic!

Don't think so, not when Caspar's endings in Flower mention expeditionary warfare, Edelgard is invading other countries following the unification of Fodlan. Arundel also mentions that the world will be under Imperial rule following the war, with Edelgard saying she will do what she can. So ruling the world? That's something Edelgard is going to work towards after she has destroyed all those who oppose her, don't believe in her or support these ideals in Fodlan.

(sigh) No.

And also, now that Houses Datamining's search feature is back up, here's all the times "world" comes up in the 3H script:

Just look at how many times "the world" is used to refer to just Fodlan.

Meanwhile, Claude and Dimitri both have endings that talk about Fodlan improving foreign relations.

Dimitri has one: his own. Dimitri's ending really is just a pile of vague "Dimitri did real good-like" platitudes since his story doesn't really say anything about the kind of ruler he's going to be or what kind of world he wants to create other than, "the weak should be protected from the strong (but never become the strong)".

Likewise, remember her introduction as the Flame Emperor? That she will be the one to reforge the world? We know Edelgard wants to put the world back to what it was, due to the Japanese saying “Let's meet again someday. My name is Flame Emperor... I am the one who will return the world to its original state,”

No. She says return it to the way it should be. This is important, because he's going to try to argue Edelgard wants to return Fodlan to how it was with Nemesis, even though she doesn't in CF. She does not create a ruling class of warrior-elites like he did with his Ten Elites.

Anyways, FI goes on to babble for a little while about how Nemesis's time was really really bad, how Edelgard supposedly sends Caspar on invasions of other countries, and how Edelgard wants to bring Nemesis's days back, and also how,

Then consider that Engage used Nemesis, the guy who killed the Goddess and committed a genocide against the Nabateans to gain his power, for it's final battle...

Nemesis is evil because of his genocidal actions, not because he's a Dark Emblem in Engage. If we followed this logic then Duma, Iduun, and Ashera are the ultimate evils of their settings. And while Duma's pretty fucked up, Iduun's a victim and Ashera has no legitimate agency of her own.

Meanwhile, Dimitri's endings talk about giving the commoners a voice in government

Whatever the hell that means. His defenders like to argue he deadass establishes a House of Commons in his lifetime!

while Claude tells Cyril in their support that he wants to end oppression.

Oh, so incidental dialogue is sufficient evidence for things, then?

All right, there we go: Edelgard improves foreign relations, too.

FI then babbles about Claude for a while, saying he starts like Edelgard before "letting go of his hatred". That's one of his more recent memes: Claude's personality flaw is he hates the Church of Seiros, so I guess he's not ignorant and "animalish" at the start of the story anymore. It has to do with FI needing to twist the game to suit his terrible Buddhist symbolism.

Verdant Wind also uses a lot of the same symbolism that Silver Snow uses to say it's a path of enlightenment rather than one of the beast.

VW uses the same "symbolism" as Silver Snow because it's Silver Snow with a yellow coat of paint slapped over the top.

Dimitri is given the title of Saviour King by the people in his ending which is supposed to represent Oudou, benevolent rule.

Only in Azure Moon, his best route. In Crimson Flower he's given the title of "Tempest King" because he leaves nothing in his wake:

And considering how all the fighting he'd be getting involved in in Crimson Flower is in Faerghus... that doesn't paint a good picture, honestly. Dimitri's such a mindless berserker in CF that he's destroying his own land. See why I argue he's more boar-like in CF than his fans care to admit?

Edelgard represents Hadou, rule through force. Edelgard's ending title is... Flame Emperor, the same thing she called herself at the start of the game, and referred to as a hegemon by Byleth's ending title.

In Crimson Flower, Edelgard reclaims the title of Flame Emperor to mean something better than it used to: the revolutionary who saved Fodlan from divine control without losing her heart. Byleth becomes the hegemon's wings, lifting her out of the dark time in her life.

It's better than a meandering flame, wandering through life without purpose or attachment.

Likewise, her Emperor class also hints towards the Hegemon Husk form. She still has her curved horns

Well done, Fantasy Invader, you've noticed the ironic ram horns in Edelgard's post-skip design.

and clearly visible boobs,

Oh, shit. Don't worry, I can make her SFW! I can fix this!

Okay, we're good now.

she has feathers on her shoulders rather than the wings,

Okay, but the problem here? Hegemon Edelgard's wings sprout from her waist, not her shoulders!

Did FI even double-check the design?

Also, as you can clearly see there's very little in common between her emperor and Heggie designs. Heggie has big pauldrons, an enclosed "skirt", those... red lights, the head-back... thing... while the emperor armor has none of those.

and she's bearing a Crest-stone weapon equipped with the Crest of Maurice

You really are your own breed of dumb, FI. Hegemon Husk Edelgard's power derives from her twin Crests of Flame and Seiros. The game is very explicit about this: it has nothing to do with Aymr or the Crest Stone of the Beast.

tying her to the Devil Arcana

Which is no more inherently evil than any other Major Tarot.

which depicts the goat-horned,

Edelgard wears ram horns. Totally different kind of horns, dude.

They aren't even the same animal!

winged,

The traditional design of the Devil Arcana has back-sprouting, bat-like wings. Edelgard either has black feather decorations on her shoulders, or vaguely wing-shaped protrusions appearing from her waist.

boobs on full display

He's also got a bit of a gut on him. Edelgard, on the other hand, is slim.

demon

Baphomet's actually seen as a deity in some circles.

Baphomet.

He got the name of the figure right, at least.

In Azure Gleam, Edelgard transforms into the Hegemon Husk halfway through the route

For about five seconds, then she yields the position of villain and instigator of events to Thales.

and at the end of Scarlet Blaze, if the extra chapter was done the reward is the aforementioned Crest-stone weapon.

Which you get for sparing the goddess's host. So I guess it's a bad thing that Byleth is alive, now?

So, yeah. I think the grotesque Hegemon Husk is supposed to be a visual metaphor for Edelgard's ideals.

No, it's a metaphor for how far Edelgard will go to see them done without Byleth's positive influence. Just as she's willing to make monsters out of people, she's willing to make a monster out of herself. It's the ultimate irony that she espouses a world for humanity while symbolically and literally giving up her own.

But FI never let facts get in the way of a terrible analysis.

[todayinmagicalgirlhistory]

Hello I am a black electric witch and I was wondering how do you in particular enter the fae?

If you're talking about how to enter Faerie itself:

There are various methods. I personally use astral travel, but there's lucid dreaming, meditation, ecstatic dance, etc. that you can also use as methods for entering this realm. Some may rely on a faerie to take them there and I can only stress that if you are going to rely on that particular method, this faerie needs to be someone you'd trust with your social security number and your credit card details. Don't trust a random person with that information and don't trust a random faerie to take you to Faerie without stipulations.

But if you meant specifically how to begin interacting and working with the fae:

Methods can vary depending on the fae local to your area and/or the faeries you're trying to attract to your space. A close non-practicing friend of mine accidentally invited a brownie into her home when she got really into baking and would leave her freshly baked goods out to cool overnight. Then stopped doing it when she lost the time for baking and subsequently, accidentally pissed that brownie off.

If you're interested in sea-faring fae, then leaving out coral, sea glass, pearls, etc. will be appealing to them. Or if you're interested in death fae like banshee or dullahan, then the best things you can leave out are grave dirt, apples (Irish symbol of the dead), bones and things of that nature.

If you're interested in a specific kind of faerie but you're sincerely doubtful that you live in an area where those kinds of faeries would frequent, then I'd recommend a spirit attraction spell that essentially acts as a 'HEY, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED COME OVER TO MY PLACE' beacon. A good one I know of, not made by me, is to get a white candle, carve a sigil into it that's something along the lines of 'attract (insert kind of spirit) to my home' and then let the candle burn through the sigil.

The creator of that spell does have a major disclaimer though that this doesn't control how many will stop by your place so they recommended to immediately blow out the candle the moment it burns through the sigil.

If you're not interested in the specifics, then leaving fae-favored gifts out in a spot for local fae to take interest as a sign that you are hoping to establish a relationship with them. In one particular case, I left a dried rose petal filled with honey and cinnamon under a flower bush and that was how I met the faerie from my Hair Toucher story.

In all my advice to attract faeries to your home though, I of course stress that your home is well-warded and you have very set and established house rules that won't have any chance of getting loopholed.

I will also advise that, if you establish a relationship with a faerie where they will expect regular gifts then make it one that you know you can manage. If you're like my friend I mentioned who was pretty much baking every night, that brownie built up the expectation that they would be receiving new baked goods in exchange for looking after my friend's home every night. Then that stopped because my friend didn't even notice she had a brownie in her home and she started losing things around her house and having nightmares on the regular.

Not all relationships with the fae are that... transactional, for lack of a better word. It all completely depends on the standards you set for the relationship. For instance, with my selkie and banshee friends, there's no regular gifts at all. Just pure companionship.

If the way you attracted fae to your home was by leaving cream out every Friday, the fae you invited into your life will be expecting cream left out every Friday. So if you go that route, I would recommend setting a schedule that is easier for you to work with and if something comes up to let the fae know you'll have to skip your usual day.