#cats who deal with hats of magic

[fountainpenguin]

My favorite thing ever about Anti-Cosmo and the Head Pixie is that you look at Anti-Cosmo and it's like-

"Oh, this is the stereotypical evil villain who is flamboyant, intelligent, suave, and in control! All the other magical antagonists probably defer to him." And then you actually watch him and he does stuff like-

Throw away his wand

Fly in circles at record speeds

Run away from confrontation

Write with colored pens and change color every sentence

Throw paper airplanes

Crash into things

Throw tantrums

Read comic books

Fly a private jet despite being able to fly and teleport

Keep cows in his castle

Keep a cat in his pocket

Stand on the fancy dining table

Pretend to be a scone

Break character as a scone by running away laughing

Defer to H.P. even in his own castle

Defer to his son even in his own castle

Raise an anti-fairy child with H.P. for some reason that's never explained, but which Jorgen has photo evidence of ?? You raised an anti-fairy with the leader of the Pixies ??

Also, knows H.P. and Jorgen well enough to recognize when Jorgen is actually H.P. in disguise??

And there's H.P. who wears a nice suit, works at Pixies Incorporated in the big city, and talks about puppeting people, so you approach thinking "Okay, this is the strict boss who wants all the paperwork filed. He represents why you shouldn't make deals with fairies because he has all these complicated contracts and he's not going to allow wiggle room. Dull and boring; got it."

But it turns out he likes to-

Go to raves

Sing rap songs

Breakdance

Spin on his head and drill into the floor

Wear flowers

Get drunk

Hang out in the hot tub

Climb on people's shoulders

Build miniature models

Fist bumps and finger guns

Call people "Dude"

Draw skulls on things

Say "Gasp" instead of gasping

Get up from his desk and dance around, announcing in monotone "Go me, go me; it's my birthday"

Listen to someone argue with him and then respond with "No, that's hilarious"

Also fly a private jet despite being able to fly and teleport

Elbow people in the side while teasing them

Feed you pizza by shoving his entire hand in your mouth

Stand right in front of you and prank call you

Wear two hats at the same time

Hop on a flying scooter, announce "The only thing you'll be eating is my dust! Later, dude!" and peace out

Complain too many people like him

Use babies as yo-yos

Also, H.P. won a footrace against Anti-Cosmo?? This man made the conscious choice to run instead of fly and he won!?

And that's not even getting into the cross-dressing or the fact that A.C. and H.P. grab each other and hug when they're scared. 10/10 character design. They are so silly...

[hlficlibrary]

✤ Witch Fics ✤

A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find our other recs here.

- Top 5 H/L Fics -

1️⃣ the school of extraordinary lovers by stylinsoncity / @aliensingucci (M, 191)

"We keep telling the other, I love you and I love you, and we do, though we both know where the knives are." - Laura Van Prooyen

harry is a third-year witch and violinist at Laitswold, the only magical academy in the UK, with dreams of taking on the world, and hopefully breaking the centuries-old curse on his family while he's at it. he does not dream of facing off against his childhood rival and duet partner, but louis is back in town after six years abroad, so that's exactly what happens.

2️⃣ love is divine by stylinsoncity / @aliensingucci (M, 25k)

Being a witch doesn't help when it comes to unrequited love.

3️⃣ Drops of Jupiter by @itsmotivatingcara (M, 121k)

In a small, sleepy town ruled by prejudice, Louis Tomlinson runs his grandmothers shop for the occult. He finds comfort in his tarot cards, his friends, and a dog that he doesn't have room for. He thought the worst he'd have to deal with would be bigotry, until a new sheriff arrives with a headstrong little girl that's impossible not to fall in love with.

But what happens when a string of break-ins leads to a brutal attack, and the towns' darling is murdered right under their Sunday hats? A murder that just so happens to bear the same modus operandi as similar homicides in neighbouring states. Has the killer been circling Virginia, or is he a local of Lavender Hills?

And what will Louis do when the charming Sheriff Styles starts to suspect him of such a heinous crime?

4️⃣ What Good Are The Stars Above by ultravioletInk (M, 68k)

A gratuitous alternate universe where Harry is more interested in the Slytherins than a Gryffindor Muggleborn has any right to be, Louis has settled into his preordained role, and Liam just really wants to get his friends through their final year of Hogwarts without accruing any casualties.

5️⃣ House of The Rising Sun by @itsmotivatingcara (M, 101k)

“It wasn’t me.” Louis said after they’d walked a block in silence, Harry glanced over in surprise but this time Louis didn’t meet his eyes, instead looking ahead. The moonlight cast shadows under his striking cheekbones, and not for the first time, Harry thought he was eerily beautiful - though immortality would likely have a hand in that. “It was supposed to be, but I got caught up in something else.”

“Something more important than murdering a witch” Harry snarked, “Will wonders never cease.”

He felt Louis’ irritation before he spoke again, “Careful, little lamb.” He murmured.

Little lamb.

Harry despised the nickname Louis had given him when they’d first met nine months prior. Little Lamb to the slaughter, Louis had said mockingly.

Or The Originals AU that no one asked for.

HIDDEN GEMS:

💎 A Spell and A Spark by @dinosaursmate (T, 73k)

“We have something to tell you.” Louis’ eyes slowly looked around the room. He frowned at the absence of anyone else. “We? Who? You and the cat?” Louis scoffed. “Yes.” Louis glanced at Niall, unimpressed. The black cat was looking at him quizzically. “Right. Well, spit it out, Mum.” “There’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it.” She took a deep breath. “You’re a witch.” --- Louis is a teenage witch, living and attending university among mortals. He has to keep his secret whilst studying on both his degree and his witch's licence. His friends don't suspect a thing, even as spell after spell goes awry.

💎 Spinning Out Waiting for You by amomentoflove / @daggerandrose (M, 18k)

Harry Styles is a year and a half away from graduating with a masters in potions and he has one huge milestone to reach in his academy career: the Matching Ceremony.

From Halloween night until graduation, matched witches and familiars will have to create a talisman to be a physical representation of their bond. One for the witch and one for the familiar. Most pairings last an entire lifetime.

If only it were that simple.

💎 Just Your Jinx by @larryatendoftheday (T, 10k)

Harry Styles may or may not have accidentally jinxed his extremely fit new neighbor, and it's not so easy to make things right.

💎 Babe, There's Something Lonesome About You by patdkitten / @babyarcanacasey (M, 8k)

Louis is a hedge witch, who lives a lonely, solitary life. He's quite happy with his shop in Door County, selling New Age magics to the tourists. He also has his cats and his birds to keep him company. But his best friend Liam thinks he needs someone around, and he's got just the person: Liam's friend Harry is coming to the area for the tourist season and since Louis has all this space....

💎 Cookbooks and Toothpicks and One Lizard by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup (G, 3k)

If there is one thing that Harry hates about Halloween, it’s what a spectacle everyone suddenly makes around him.

Sure, he loves his friends, but he really wishes that this one, singular day of the year they could all just be chill. It’s as if for 364 days they forget what his profession is entirely, and then all remember at the same moment on the morning of October 31st. Oh yeah! I have a friend who is a witch! I should reconnect with him on this particular day, I’m sure he’s not already got plans of any kind!

Well not this year. This year he's going to the library.

[archivebottles]

Hey! The steam sale is going on now for another day as I make this post and I’ve gotten a few games from it and liked quite a bit of them and wanted to give them a shoutout! So here’s a list of some games that aren’t $50+ AAA games

Links to games on steam are in the title:

ABZU: This game is an experience. It's not very long, but it does take some time to get used to the underwater controls. If you've played journey it's very similar and very pretty

Bastion: Supergiant's first game and it's wonderful! You are in a post-apocalyptic world playing as 'the kid' trying to find other people in the ruins. The soundtrack (like every other Supergiant game) really sticks with you too.

Cat Cafe Manager: A cute cafe game where you build a cafe, serve the customers, and get to know a few of the locals! You can also help stray cats find a new home. It caught my attention more than I thought when I played it.

Celeste: This game is a wonderful platformer. Difficult, but will help you if you need it. You play as Madeline who is determined to climb Mt Celeste no matter what, and face herself in the process.

Chicory A Colorful Tale: This game is so unique and charming. You play as a little dog who is the janitor to the Wielder of a magical brush that brings color to the world. One day the color vanishes without a trace it you become the Wielder and journey to try and find the source of the problem.

Cozy Grove: A beautiful calming game where you play as a spirit scout who is sent to the island of Cozy Grove to ease the spirits bound to it by helping them out in their day to day life. This game is meant to be played in short bursts daily and will only give you a certain amount to do at a time, but there is no penalty for missing a day.

Darkest Dungeon: Note: this game is difficult. A turn based RPG with a distinct style. This is a game where your choices will matter and you must lead a band of adventurers into dungeons for treasure. Every choice will have a consequence and random events will happen when you least expect them. Prepare as much as you can.

Dorfromantik: A lovely little puzzle game where you have a select few hexagonal tiles and try to make them last as long as you can by fulfilling little quests included with some that give you more tiles to place.

Graveyard Keeper: A game where you are transported to a strange place and have to upkeep the local graveyard while trying to find a way home. The game can be a little vague in explanation so a guide/wiki to help out is recommended.

A Hat In Time: This game turned out to be one of my favorite games I played. It's a 3D platformer where you play as Hat Kid who lost all her hourglasses to fuel her ship to go home! You must travel to different places and do different quests and beat bosses to win back hourglasses. If difficulty is what you are looking for the seal the deal DLC is fantastic(both DLCs are really good.)

Inscryption: Also one of my favorite games now. A rogue-like(map changes every time you die) card game where you build your deck on the go. Loads of cards and abilities plus..and interesting mystery surrounding the cabin you are trapped in. This card game is more than it seems. If you find yourself loving the card gauntlet, Kaycee's mod is worth checking out it has even more cards and challenges.

Little Witch In The Woods: Cute little game where you play as a witch who misses her train and ends up in a mysterious place where she finds an abandoned witches house and is itching to make some potions. Collect ingredients, help out the locals, and explore the forest.

Megaquarium: A pretty straightforward game where you build aquariums! Easy to get the hang of while still being pretty extensive in what you can do.

Mini Metro /Mini Motorways: These two games are little puzzle games where you build pathways for trains/cars and see how long your infrastructure can last through daily commutes! Very relaxing and tricky at the same time.

Monster Sanctuary: A monster catching metroidvania(maze-like map where you find items to open up more areas.) You start as an aspiring monster keeper who is finally facing the trails of the monster sanctuary. There are over 100 monsters to fight and collect and many beautiful areas to explore!

Outer Wilds: A game where the less you know going into it the better. You play as a new astronaut setting out on their first flight mission. There are plenty of mysteries to solve.. and plenty of ways to die.

Parkasaurus: Another park builder game but this one is dedicated to dinosaurs!

Poly Bridge: This game asks you what sort of bridge does it take for this vehicle from point A to point B, but you only have a limited amount of materials.

Pyre: Supergiant's third game that I feel slips under the radar. Its a visual novel that has breaks with some fast paced underground sports. Very gorgeous and the characters are lovely. Definitely worth the play if you are interested.

Slime Rancher: This game you may have heard of but I love it so much so I want to give it a mention. It's very pretty and there are multiple areas to explore and plenty of slimes to collect and even combine. (part 1/2)

[butterfly-lies-chase-them-away]

Hey! Could you do a headcanon for Keanu Reeves' characters, where the (female) reader is like Nimona, in terms of powers and personality?

If not that's ok!

Thanks!

Headcanon for Keanu Reeves' Characters with a Nimona-like (Shapeshifting powers and a bit of a playful personality) Reader: A/N: Ended up doing some homework for this one, lol. I really liked Nimona's character so this was really cute. I did my best and I hope you enjoy :)

John Wick: John Wick couldn't believe his eyes the first time he witnessed your shapeshifting abilities. It was during a mission where he found himself in a tight spot, and that's when you showed up in your badass glory. He had heard whispers about someone who could change their form at will, but nothing prepared him for the sight of you seamlessly transforming from a black cat to a wolf and then into a hawk in a matter of seconds. To John, your personality was a perfect match for your powers. You had that same unyielding determination that John had, but you added a touch of whimsy and playfulness to his stoic demeanor. You loved to mess with your targets by taking on absurd or terrifying forms, keeping them on their toes. John couldn't help but be amused by your antics, even in the direst situations. Together, you formed a formidable duo, combining his legendary gun-fu skills with your shape-shifting prowess. Your teamwork was unmatched, and the criminal underworld learned to fear both John Wick and the enigmatic shape-shifting partner who toyed with their expectations.

Ted "Theodore" Logan: Bill and Ted were used to strange things happening, but when they met you, it was a whole new level of weird. With your shapeshifting abilities, you could turn into any historical figure or famous musician at the drop of a hat. You were always up for crazy adventures and loved to jam with Bill and Ted on their wild time-traveling journeys. With your remarkable shapeshifting talents, you seamlessly became a substitute for Ted whe he wasn’t confident about a crucial history test. Your mimicry of Ted's mannerisms and speech was so uncanny that even Bill couldn't tell the difference so taking the test would be no problem. Ted couldn’t thank you enough for helping him like that.  Your free-spirited, playful nature meshed perfectly with Ted's outlook on life. Together, you created a most excellent, time-traveling band, bringing music and laughter to every era you visited.

John Constantine: John Constantine's expertise in dealing with demons and the occult made him a formidable force. His life was filled with danger and darkness until he encountered you. Constantine was no stranger to the supernatural, but your abilities were a new kind of magic that intrigued and perplexed him. Meeting you on one of his occult investigations, he couldn't help but be impressed by your capacity to turn into different creatures. With your ability to shapeshift at will, became a mysterious and unpredictable ally in John's battle against the forces of darkness. Your transformations often surprised him, but he quickly learned to appreciate the unique advantages you brought to your dangerous encounters. Your playful personality was a refreshing contrast to Constantine's brooding demeanor. You'd change into various forms to distract John when he was particularly stress, getting a much needed laugh out of him. Over time, John Constantine found himself drawn to your free spirit, even though he'd never admit it. Your ability to bring a little chaos into his world made him question the constant darkness that had shrouded his life. Together, you faced the horrors of the supernatural realm, and your shapeshifting powers and fearless nature added a touch of whimsy to your relentless fight against the unknown.

[springdaybreaks]

score a date | l. jn.

how the captain of the hufflepuff quidditch team managed to score a date with a certain ravenclaw.

tags: hogwarts!au; hufflepuff!jeno x ravenclaw!reader; fluff; tiny bit of angst if you squint

note: another self indulgent piece that has been burried for months in my drafts😀 this one's a short one but the amount of plot holes makes me want to bang my head against a brick wall lol. no warnings besides inconsistent grammar and tenses.

so, lee jeno

everyone took one look at him and thought he'd be sorted into gryffindor

they may or may not saw him telling haechan to stop annoying renjun and smacking haechan for annoying him, so-

but the sorting hat sorted him into hufflepuff

his parents said it make sense that he's been sorted into the house

he's a hardworker and is loyal to the ones he's close with

he doesn't really seem to be ambitious, but he actually is!

he just doesn't chase after it like slytherin!haechan

the professors adore him

he's always offering them his help

not to gain their favor or save face but purely because he's just that kind

"professor sprout, let me carry that bag of soil for you"

“professor flitwick, do you need some help distributing the feathers?”

snape has kind of a soft spot for him since jeno came early most days for his potions class just to help set the cauldrons

when he doesn't have quidditch practice or urgent tasks he'd even stay behind to clean them sometimes

but of course snape would rather die than admit it

his friends told him to join the tryouts for the quidditch team on their second year as a joke

jeno: okay (.◜◡◝)

but he really got in

becomes hufflepuff team's beater along with the third year lucas

got chosen as the team captain in his fourth year by the hufflepuff head boy, taeyong, before he graduated

he's just THAT good

we all know he loves animals

so it’s natural that he takes care of magical creatures as his elective

and excels at it

even though everyone says hagrid kind of sucks at teaching

he’s sad that he couldn’t see the thestrals though

also it's not all weird that jeno wants to become an animagus

that's why he works extra hard in transfiguration

and mcgonagall loves him so🥴

people thought jeno is all brawns and no brain

but his grades are almost all outstanding

with some exceeded expectation and a couple of acceptable

he's quite smart actually

is dubbed as the 2nd cedric diggory because he’s handsome, athletic, and smart

but of course being friends with the dreamies, it’s chaotic sometimes

he's been slytherin!jaemin's friend since they were kids

but somehow became quite close with ravenclaw!renjun ever since he helped him to deal with slytherin!haechan back in their first year

and he shared a train car with slytherin!haechan on their first day

haechan loves bothering jeno, but became fast friends with him because they have the same tastes in games

everyone at hogwarts know them as the dreamies

a group of girls likes them and call them dreamies because they're "dreamy"

very original

but they don't mind being called that so-

when you see one of these four, the other three wouldn't be too far behind

although they have quite different tastes and interest, they get along well

jeno has this friendly rivalry with haechan over their quidditch games

they bicker a lot, but haechan would be the first one to defend him if someone speak ill of him

no one does

doesn't take muggle studies, but would get muggle music recommendations from jaemin who took it

and sometimes you can hear him humming along the latest muggle music

hangs out with renjun if he wants to relax and just enjoy the day

renjun invites him to paint together once every few weeks

and he thinks that it's nice he's friends with renjun because he'd make them do their homework together

doesn't really go to the library except for rare study times and looking for his cat

he doesn't read the school's rule book but he's pretty sure students can't bring their pets to the library

but his cat can be quite mischievous and would disappear often

sometimes she'd be walking next to him one second and gone the next, following merlin knows what

his cat is probably still very curious of the place since he's only got her last year

and that brings us to you

you are one of the smartest ravenclaw in your grade

some even said that you're the brightest student in hogwarts after the legendary hermione and doyoung, the ex ravenclaw prefect and head boy that graduated a few years ago

of course you're smart, your muggle iq test could attest to that

but you always pair it with hard work

although people do call you snobby sometimes just because you wouldn’t do their homework for them

it pisses you off sometimes because you declined because you sincerely want them to learn!!! and be able to use the knowledge in the future!!!

you don’t mind though

bc being smart has its perks, like how people won’t bother you being a half-blood

and somehow the professors doesn’t mind that you don’t use a quill to write

except for snape

you’re used to the muggle world so pens and pencils are more convenient

but just for compromise, you use a fountain pen your father got you instead

anw

you were trying to get your homework done before supper, opting to do them in the quietness of the library rather than the currently crowded ravenclaw common room

jaemin somehow got into the ravenclaw common room and is currently on a raging whining spree bc the house elfs in the kitchen won’t give him coffee with 8 shots of espresso in it

you can hear it across the common room

at least the library is always quiet

so there you are quietly working through your homework in your favorite corner in the library; where it was quite hidden from madam pince and always got just the right amount of sunlight whenever the weather's nice

you’ve been at it for quite some time so you’re stretching your body

and then you feel a furry thing rubbing against your legs

you don't know whose cat she is

but she often follows you in the halls when she manage to escape from the dorms

and somehow slips through the unpleasant madam pince

but she appears quite often these days

at first she'd be sniffing you

and then she started curling up near your chair

when she found you again after not seeing you for a few days, she begins rubbing herself against your legs, asking for rubs

and proceeds to make herself at home on your lap

you just let her be

and continue doing your homework while occasionally caressing her fur

it's been a few weeks of this happening but you still haven't found out who her owner is

but one day you were just doing your homework as usual with the cat curling on your lap

and you hear a rather loud sigh nearby

"bongshik, there you are!"

you look up and

there stood lee jeno

of course you know who he is, but it's not like you know him

you know that he's doyoung's favorite junior ever

and currently said to be one of the best quidditch players in hogwarts

and he and his group of friends got enthusiastic following

but being in the same house as his friend and mutual friends, you feel like you know him already

you hear things about him quite often bc you're friends with jaemin and renjun

and jaemin sometimes boasts that he has couple items with jeno

not to mention they almost go everywhere together

like twins

some of the professors even got their names mixed up sometimes

but now jeno's alone and is staring at his cat curled up in your lap

"oh, is this your cat?"

"yes," he sigh, "i've been looking for her everywhere"

you handed the cat over as he come close

"sorry if she's been bothering you"

you stroke her head and she purrs in content

"it's alright, she's just been keeping me company. she's a sweetheart"

well that's a surprise

because bongshik isn't really a super friendly cat

it even took like a week for her to get comfortable with jaemin, who's been friends with jeno since they were kids

"she must really like you then."

after that, whenever he realize bongshik's gone missing, all he had to do was find you

because wherever you are, bongshik's probably trailing after you

even when you're not in the library

one time jeno was just about to eat supper when he spot his cat walking in the great hall

but instead of walking to him, her owner, bongshik walked to you

when exam season's coming up, you find yourself holed up in the library almost every day

and jeno, who's always looking for his cat, found bongshik curled up next to you every. single. day.

and somehow, he got lazy of worrying and finding his cat

besides, it's getting closer to exam season

so he starts doing his homework with you in the library

he does it almost every day that he got questioned by his friends

when his friends learned that he's been holed up in the library, they weren't exactly surprised

because jeno's probably the smartest out of them

but they know there's something else going on

bc even though jeno's really smart and he likes to read books on his own,

he's not the type to stay in the library for long periods of time nor every single day

like he's been doing for the past week

so haechan-

being the mischievous little shit he is

persuaded renjun and jaemin to spy on jeno one day

even though jaemin refused and told him to let him be

and well oh well

they found out he's been hanging out with you

jeno thought you'd be teased endlessly by haechan and instinctively lied

"oh they're just helping me with some tricky spell for charms! anyway, thanks, y/n!"

you two weren't that close but it kind of hurt that he doesn't want his friends to know that you two were friends

if that's what the two of you are

anyway

somehow jeno's lies of you helping him with homework got around school

and now you have a few people asking you for help for theirs

you told them you'd gladly help them as long as they don't make you do them

so now even some underclassmen come to you for help

quite a lot that you had to make a time-dedicated study groups

"well it'd be nice to get paid for teaching you guys, a sickle for each session wouldn't hurt"

you really said it as a joke

but some underclassmen really paid you for your help and it spurs the others to do the same

but even as you decline to take their money, they somehow managed to slip it into your bag or intentionally left it behind near your work station

your favorite underclassman gryffindor!jisung even snuck in a few candies to the library for you

ever since you managed to turn tour tutoring sessions into a small 'business', of course you see jeno less and less

but you two still greet each other in the halls

and library, whether when he's looking for bongshik or just doing his homework

one day you were running late to your session

jeno was seated not far from where you usually do it

and heard some of the girls in it talking about you

"merlin, if i'm not failing in charms and defense against dark arts, i wouldn't have to ask y/n for their help."

"yes well, i had to act like i like them just to get into the tutoring session too. what a inconvenience."

"they even charge us for this! other people doesn't even charge and just help us with it"

"yes, she's such a bitch too. you know she refused to help at the start? and now she only do it because of the money"

it's not really his business

but he feels annoyed and kind of riled up to hear them talking bad about you

and he really heard from jisung how you always declined their money and how you were just joking about the fee

but people just paid you nonetheless and eventually you were too tired to decline because they kept insisting

jeno's annoyed and packed his things

he'd rather do the rest of his homework in his dorm than here with their chatter

but when he passed the shelves behind the tables, he saw you

standing there clutching your books

merlin, you must've heard them

but you just sucked in a deep breath and forced a smile

even greeting him before coming over to the designated tutoring spot and apologizing for running late

somehow the sight of it makes his blood boil even more

and admiration, really, because of how kind you are

the next time you saw jeno again was before his match when the crowded halls made you two bump into each other

"oh, i'm sorry!"

"sorry!"

"oh- it's you."

"i- yeah. hey. how are you?"

jeno mentally smack himself for sounding stupid. as if he doesn't know you, as if he didn't spend time with you for weeks in the library. as if the thoughts of you don't plague his mind

somehow he developed a crush on you

and now he's gonna make himself look stupid

you shrug, "eh. so so. kind of busy because of the tutoring though."

you eye his quidditch uniform and the broom clutched in his hand.

"match day?"

"yeah." he hesitated before asking you, "you coming to watch?"

you tilt your head in confusion, "me?"

oh hell, he is in so deep for you. how could you look cute looking confused like that.

jeno feels his ears warming

"well, i am talking to you, aren't i?"

you raise your eyebrows in surprise.

"huh."

now it's his turn to be confused, "what?"

you just shake your head and laugh

"didn't know you could sound like a jock, lee."

"come on lee!"

his teammates are waiting for you at the end of the corridor. lucas are wiggling his eyebrows at the two of you with a teasing smile. haechan, who have somehow blend in with his team, shoots him a teasing look

as if to say 'mhm, i knew you liked her'

jeno ignored them and turns to you instead

"so will you come?"

"mmmm, i dont know. what if you suck?"

you teased

well- you know you are kind of flirting rn but ssssttttt

jeno's eye light up in amusement

and challenge

"you gonna give me anything if i win?"

you shrug nonchalantly, well- tried to, "i think you already have everything you want, captain. don't think i can give you anything else satisfactory."

a smile tugd the corner of his lip

"what about a date then?"

your eyes snapd to his in surprise.

"i- you... date? what?"

"yeah. a date. with me. next hogsmeade trip?"

you gape at him stupidly, "you want to go on a date with me?

he laughs, "well, i wouldn't be asking you right now if i wasn't."

"hurry up lee!"

his teammates roars. although some did snicker when haechan made kissy face at the two of you

"so, what do you say?" he keeps his eyes on you

"you want me to say yes?"

"badly."

a shy smile tugs your lips

hell jeno would take haechan's relentless teasing any day if it meant you'd give him that smile again

you steel yourself and look at him in the eyes

"then i guess you better win, captain."

© 2023 springdaybreaks.

[anxiously-sidequesting]

I apologize for not posting about Malorn Ashthorn in like three months SO 👏🏾

Here are some small ☠️Malorn Ashthorn headcanons☠️ I came up with like three weeks ago but didn't post until now because of mental illness 💖💖💖

Malorn frequently talks to himself/thinks out loud without even realizing he's doing it. Something that really helped him with his job was being more descriptive and elaborative with his words and demonstrations so that his students could easily follow along with what he teaches them. It's a little out of his comfort zone, since as a person Malorn is more of a listener than a talker, but if he gets into it Malorn has a lot of fun with his lessons and enjoys delving into the subject matter more.

Malorn fiddles with his hat a lot. You can tell he's embarrassed if he huffs and tips it downward and runs his fingers along the hem. He also really likes the bells on the ends and will absentmindedly jingle them from time to time if he's in a bit of a mood.

One of the only students Malorn has a true affinity with even during his teaching career is Ceren Nightchant. He was an enjoyable peer when they were both child prodigies in Ravenwood together and due to Ceren having certain permissions from the Headmaster because of his immensely powerful Life magic (hc that Ceren was the Headmaster's errand boy before the wizard 🥲), Ceren is the closest Malorn can get when it comes to feeling equal with a peer. The adults are too old and his students are his students so having someone his age, who's also a good friend, who also understands the pressure of being perfect, who also can match his power level is a godsend to Malorn. He and Ceren still go out for lunch and break times whenever they can.

Malorn is secretly jacked. He only looks scrawny until he actually does this 💪🏾 and you can see and feel the muscles that's as hard as a stone table. Malorn was actually the one who cleaned up some of the debris (boulders, large planks of wood) surrounding the Death school when Ambrose was neglecting to do so himself.

Malorn claps a lot. Whenever he comes up with an idea, when he remembers something, or when he's excited, it's one loud CLAP. He scares people.

Speaking of being scared! Malorn does not scare easily.

Outside of Death, Malorn's favorite school is Life. That may be cliche but Life magic gives him a feeling he's missed for a while that he doesn't feel otherwise: being cared for. He loves to give but his position as a school professor, a DEATH school professor feels a bit more of a thankless job on some tough days. Life magic is a bit of an escape for him, and Malorn can feel as if he's giving without hurting himself in the process.

Malorn has an irrational fear of Fire and Storm magic. He does not like destruction. He realizes on the inside that this is irrational, and that there is much more to these magics than simply breaking things, but Malorn can help but jump at a crack of loud thunder or an accidental spark in his classroom.

Malorn is a bit of a people pleaser. He doesn't like to see people upset, or fighting, and making people happy means that it's safer for him and everyone else involved. It makes him feel good when people are happy. He's not completely spineless (he's had to deal with some tough students in his care after all), but Malorn has to swallow back some things he'd truly like to say more often than not. He says, "Okay, then!" and, "I'm doing fine!" much more than he says the opposite.

Malorn is a cat person! He loves dogs too, but he prefers cats. He has a winged catastrophe pet named Cleopatra that visits his house every night for dinner.

[faline-cat444]

An image of what seems to be the main cast for Wonderful.When it comes to the little bit of details being expressed so far it's a mix of weirdness but I generally have a good feeling over the upcoming season's theme and execution.The main idea is showing us that our leading Cure is actually a dog who gains the ability to transform into a human girl and of course a Pretty Cure.I can excuse her name being Cure Wonderful thanks to that,if anything thanks to the pun it might be better off calling her Cure Wan-Derful.

For past experiences her voice actor has taken credit for that's a character I know she's supposed to be Kanna from Dragon Maid.So using that for reference this isn't her first time dealing with what I think can classify as "Shapeshifter".Her dog genetics also say she's the Papillon breed which being more of a cat person I don't really have much experience to but a page on the American Kennel Club website did provide some handy statistics that might be worked into her character.

As I said already the naming scheme for the initial Cure Status Quo feels a bit weak compared to the motifs of previous seasons but I can excuse that when your team leader is an actual dog most of the time.

Bringing us to our next most major Cure we have a bit more info on,Iroha Inukai aka Friendy.Her name in magical girl form is likely rooted to how dogs get referred to as "Man's Best Friend".

Design-Wise I'm not quite sold on her default outfit and hope the fashion she'll get later on(When the seasons change or similar) and I think the hat would look better if it covered her whole head rather than being a tiny thing on the side.Her voice apparently being who does Anya [Forger] among a few other characters makes me really want her to be worthy of my ever expanding list of favorites and shows this isn't her first time being a magical girl or dealing with a weird dog.

Similar to the season we're closing off on we don't have true details for Nyammy and Lillian but it isn't too hard to put the clues together.

"Nyammy" contains Nya which is how Japan tends to express what English would call "meow".There is a white cat named Yuki present along with her owner,Mayu Nekoshiyama.

The pink ribbon placements sort of remind me how Blake concealed her cat ears in the first volumes of RWBY.With how order is place in the quartet Yuki is going to be the one who transforms first followed by her owner.Not too sure how much of a time skip this will be in the grand scheme but the little bit of info presently given on Mayu says she recently moved into the town."Lillian" might also be an odd choice of name considering the limited knowledge at the moment for it's a name that seems rather human instead of descriptive or constructive(Then again,Laura just used her last name) and seeing the meaning of it as a girl's name it's supposed to give a sense of peace and passion but at the same time it's based on lily flowers...Which I have seen several informative sources say are HIGHLY TOXIC TO CATS and it might be very telling that a cat is possibly implied to have assisted in her owner's Cure name.

Our last duo in the visual is currently more for the hypothetical theories right now than outright stated from initial visual choices.If it's going the way they're wanting us to think they're who I am really pinning the money on.

Glasses Boy is Satoru Usayama while his bunny's name is Daifuku

The former is definitely hinting to have a lot of those marks I said I'd want for a male cure successor for Tsubasa:

Classmate to one of the main characters(So he does attend the school)

Outfit hints he's going to fill the niche of the yellow/orange/gold member to the team

Ends up needing to be a secret keeper about the girls' being Pretty Cure

If he keeps his glasses or they turn into a monocle when the time comes and everything checks out that's perfection in my book.In regards to his rabbit...

Apparently that's one brave bunny not that I can read that going by the facial expression the first impression is giving.Need to wait for the show proper to truly see the loppy lapin in action.

Now for the final shreds of detail that more-or-less are "public"...

Whatever role these animals will be serving they very much seem a bit like an extended cast including recolors of the animals from Healin' Good

Lastly is our first shot at one of our monsters of the episode which this time around are starting out with the name of "Garugaru"

This might very well be best viewed as the Pretty Cure spin on some subject matters Animal Detectives Kiruminzuu dealt with and all we have to do is wait for the fourth of February to see it start to unfold

[avephelis]

Plz tell me all about your dunmesh party!!! Also can I try to draw some of them???

OF COURSE YOU CAN?? I'D BE HONOURED!! and they're actually all sonas! came about in an aggie voice call. there is a little bit of lore though let me remember it-

basically the gist of things is that they venture into the dungeon to aquire. erm. "monster and adventurer stock". which is totally normal and moral and definitely doesn't involve hacking limbs off of living or dead bodies.

i think there was a bit of stuff on each of us if i can remember it? i'll put that under the cut

top left: mine! he's a tall-man. mainly does a lot of melee fighting and survivalist stuff (would definitely know his way around a monster cookout and freak biology autism session too), but his competence is nerfed by an insanely stupid lack of impulse control or concentration. has definitely died the most times. also, we decided the dungeon meshi equivalent of contact lenses would be a spell that enhances vision but comes with the drawback of keeping your eyes open unless you conciously make an effort to close them. so not only does he have my freaky predator stare he definitely sleeps staring at you.

top middle: goober's (@liverteeth)! dwarf who specialises in healing magic, but she tends to use it less for helping people and more for uh. body horror fucked up science medical malpractice. they and my guy are definitely the most invested in the "party business", so to speak.

top right: cam's (@craftycalico)! tall-man/beast-man (calico cat), if i remember correctly they were going to be mainly specialised in tracking and trap-laying, in a very classically ranger sense. a lot of experience with the outdoors.

bottom left: term's (@t3rm1n0s)! half-foot who TRIES to specialise in elemental/combat magic, but considering as far as i remember half-foots don't have a whole lot of mana, he'd probably just. blow himself up lmao? the weird little propellor hat twig thing could be some sort of monster parasite that helps with that, though. regardless he's excellent emotional support! height-stunted heart of the party.

bottom middle: andy's (@bandy-andy)! kobold weaponsmith and the party muscle! he actually doesn't care at all about the party's limb-hacking deal and just tags along with them to use the chance as an excuse to study dungeon architecture, which he has a vested interest in, and otherwise wouldn't be able to study venturing into the dungeons on his own.

bottom right: ari's (@arieava)! half-elf who ACTUALLY acts as the party's cleric in a more traditional sense. specialises less in healing the body though and more in spiritual protection and rituals. not super sure about the whole limb-hacking thing but he's kind of in too deep at this point.

i think that's everything i remember but i might've recalled something wrong in which case one of these freaks i have tagged will maybe beat the shit out of me. OH WELL! anyway. chaotic evil ass failparty let's be honest here.

[blu3cl0v3rs]

Badly Summarizing Njnjago

Season 2 Rewrite Edition

TW: SUICIDE ATTEMPT MENTION

the sentences are surrounded by "—"

stay safe :]

"The Ninja" work mininum wage while Meow and Gandalf motorbike off into the sunset. The Devil forces the sneks to work for him, and the snek leaders don't like that, so they try to kidnap Trauma Child. Don't worry, with the magic of ✨️plot convenience✨️, Gandalf and Meow save Trauma Child, and "The Ninja" all get fired. The Devil uses magical lava goop to turn the weapons into a Big Gold Stick-Thing. "The Ninja" meet Brownie, who owns a dojo, and beats Brownie up so they can train there.

The Devil summons pirates, evil Ninja doubles, and a Grundal, and somehow still fails. What a loser. Trauma Child gets aged up with magical tea. The Devil and "The Ninja" time travel and fuck around in the past. The Big Gold Stick-Thing and god's gold weapons from the past are shot into space. For some reason.

Satan's Wife shows up. Instead of actually being a mother for Trauma Child, she's been researching the Green Ninja's destiny. Everyone slow claps for the Best Mother of the Year /s. The Serpentine commit a coup d'etat by literally shoving The Devil out of a helicopter, and Bloo Snek Leader takes over.

Satan's Wife gives a history lesson, and introduced god's greatest mistake: Evil Liquid Cat. Evil Liquid Cat is stranded on the other half of Ninjago that god broke off, which we call the Dim Landmass. Evil Liquid Cat created some indestructible warriors out of stone that we're gonna call the Rockies. Also, you remember the big boi snek that The Devil smacked on the head? Well, the author forgot to mention that it caused big boi snek to fucking explode, and the gooey green remains can animate things. Anyways, the gooey green stuff brings one of the Rockies to life that Satan's Wife found underneath the museum she works at. "The Ninja" trick it into falling into a bottomless pit.

Meanwhile, after the devil got shoved out of a 'copter, he found the Dim Landmass, and Evil Liquid Cat strikes a deal with him. The Devil unlocks a new level of Dim Landmass, now it's not mostly underwater! Satan's Wife hits on Gandalf. The author is disgusted. A bunch of the Rockies are reawakened, and the sneks get locked underground again as the Rockies wreak havoc upon Ninjago City.

—

Gandalf and Satan's Wife literally attempt suicide via jumping out a building window, but "The Ninja" go "nuh uh" and save their asses by catching them on their flying boat the author forgot about last season.

—

The boosters broke, so they sail to the Dim Landmass like how you're supposed to use a ship. Freezy's bird friend gets shot down. Demonic starfish eat some of the boat, and they crash land onto a not-lighthouse prison. SURPRISE! Freezy's dad is somehow alive, fixes their ship, and they fly away to the Dim Landmass.

Meanwhile, Evil Liquid Cat and The Devil scoop up a bunch of evil galaxy mud, and are using it to create a super weapon. "The Ninja" get caught trying to sneak in and escape, then they go there with Satan's Wife to try to get the devil's fancy new hat and escape, but not before Meow gets kidnapped and experimented on.

One dramatic hero speech later, and "The Ninja" try to defeat the devil again.

They fail. The devil gets possessed by Evil Liquid Cat, and Trauma Child gets physical trauma as well as emotional trauma! I would say baby's first traumatic experience, but Satan's Wife abandoning him and his entire time at Darkley's takes that title.

Ninjagoans(?) get turned evil, and the possessed devil and his army of Rockies go to Ninjago. Turns out the possessed devil has worse aim than the Storm Troopers and somehow manages to miss Brownie like 20 times. Then, the possessed devil decides to fuck it and uses Russian bombing tactics of "if you have shit aim, just shoot bigger ones in the general area" and launches evil mist everywhere.

The color coded dumbasses have their hero speech as the author spends way too much time looking at the sand physics, and holy shit god had a mech??? Anyways, "The Ninja" fly back to Ninjago, fight the Rockies, and get evil-possessed??? All except for Trauma Child, who unlocks God's fighting style and light beams the everloving shit out of his possessed satan father, which literally blasts the demonic purple blob AND the devil out!

Now, we're left with the world saved, a DILF, and said DILF's brother's dumbass students.

The End.

Or is it?? You'll see next time when I post Season 3!

First | Previous | Next

[gsstories]

what’s joan’s civilian life like?? (both regularly and häxa) and her ref if u don’t mind…….def not planing things :3c

Okay, first things first, first question about Joan, holy shit!!

Ahem, anyway, lil bit of backstory, before the whole Bishop thing (Häxa Joan’s life be almost the same as Kuno Joan’s honestly-) and her sisters dying, back in Sweden, Joan used to be a pretty active member in the town she and her sisters lived in. She was still pretty temperamental but fair and collected most of the time. She sometimes trained people who wanted to learn how to protect the town and she did damn well doing so! She helped out often with chores like carrying heavy stuff since she is the most physically strongest of the sisterhood, get things from high places cause she tall (lol-) and often went to grab ingredients that her sisters needed for potions and stuff. She also took care of kids even if she wasn’t the most fond, they were better than some travelers she had to deal with. Her life was mostly calm until that day with the Old Faith.

Post-Bishop times, Häxa rarely takes off her hat, afraid that if she lets her guard down, someone will get hurt. Months, maybe even years pass and she is still wearing the identity of Häxa every day. She is still grieving and is angry at herself for not saving her sisters so you may always see the golden cat-like slit glowing in the dark due to said rage. So, as Häxa, she is just a very angry lady who almost forgets who she is outside the hat and forgets that sleep is needed. However, once meeting First Ninja and Miori and starting to cope with the loss of her sisters after years of grieving, she starts going out as a civilian more, not often, but at least sometimes, she spends more time in her hut. She is cold and more temperamental than before, the littlest things can set her off but she trying to work on that. One thing is for sure, she makes sure never to blow up at a child. Never to a child, they don’t know any better…

Also, she probably got into a pub fight after someone wanting a fight broke a bottle of sake on her head. Didn’t really hurt due to Häxa magic and stuff but she was PISSED!

Here the refs and a drawing close up of Joan, she so tired and mad lol-

[best-fictional-cat]

Finally, what you've all been waiting for (probably):

Round 2+ brackets!!!

(randomised - with very slight adjustments - using a wheel; possibly subject to change in the further rounds but very unlikely)

Group 1

Coco Grimalkin (Purrfect Apawcalypse) vs Miyuki (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Slugcat (Rain World) vs Catbus (My Neighbor Totoro)

Behemoth (Master and Margarita) vs Amp / Anp / Anpu (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K)

Kitty Softpaws (Puss in Boots) vs Pixie (Pixie and Brutus)

Chi Yamada (Chi's sweet home) vs Rum Tum Tugger (Cats the musical)

Tabby Slime (Slime Rancher) vs Tangy (Animal Crossing)

Cringer / Battlecat (He-man) vs Cinderpelt (Warrior cats)

Blaze the Cat (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs Scourge (Warrior cats)

Group 2

Mae Borowski (Night in the Woods) vs Natsume Soseki (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Domino (Amphibia) vs Shoe + Wagahai (Ace Attorney)

808 (Hi-Fi Rush) vs Niko (Oneshot)

Squirrelflight (Warrior cats) vs T'Ana (Star Trek: Lower Decks)

Hong + On (Trash of the Count's Family) vs Alpine (Marvel comics)

Jaspers (Homestuck) vs Mao Mao Mao (Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart)

Thomas Kincade Brannigan (Doctor Who) vs Caroline Coughs (Sparklecare hospital)

Mewo (Omori) vs Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (The Cat Returns)

Group 3

Greebo (Discworld) vs Aldwyn (The Familiars)

Simba (The Lion King) vs Leona Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland)

Jenny Linsky (Jenny Linsky, Esther Averill) vs Findus (Pettson and Findus)

Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) vs Mad Mew Mew (Undertale)

Felix the cat (Paramount) vs Burgerpants (Undertale)

Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket) vs Ghost (The Owl House)

Rosie (Animal Crossing) vs Talking Cat (Rick and Morty)

Hiili (Fox Fires) vs Mew (Marvel comics)

Group 4

Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes) vs Tom Kitten (The Tale of Tom Kitten)

Meowthra (Lego Ninjago Movie) vs Jonesy (Alien)

Vodka Mutini / Dr.Meowgon Spangler (Homestuck) vs Lucifer (Cinderella)

Charmmy Kitty (Sanrio) vs Puppycat (Bee and Puppycat)

Nermal (Garfield) vs Lion (Steven Universe)

Spot (Star Trek: The Next Generation) vs Diana (Sailor Moon)

Midnight (Castle in the Air, Diana Wynne Jones) vs Scout (Cattails)

Sakamoto (Nichijou) vs Ankha (Animal Crossing)

Group 5

Periwinkle (Blue's clues) vs Fluffal Cat (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Salem Saberhagen (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) vs Frumpkin (Critical Role)

Ember (Cattails) vs Nyanky (Taiko no Tatsujin)

Heinkel (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs Amanojaku (Ghost Stories)

Khoshekh (Welcome to Night Vale) vs Catty (Undertale)

Kuro (Blue Exorcist) vs Catra (She-Ra)

Juan The Small Magical Latino Cat (Monster Prom) vs Tigger Sugden (Purrfect Apawcalypse)

Bungle the glass cat (Oz) vs Potato (Cat loaf adventures)

Group 6

Chairman Meow (The Shadowhunter Chronicles) vs Finley / Jelly Donut (Hustle Cat)

Cattail (Plants vs Zombies) vs Nameless evil white cat (James Bond)

Thomas O'Malley + Aristocats (Aristocats) vs Panther Lily (Fairy Tail)

Yoruichi Shihoin (Bleach) vs Jellie (Double Life SMP)

Blake Belladonna (RWBY) vs Tigress (Kung Fu Panda)

Invisible cat (The Invisible Man, H.G.Wells) vs Haru (My Roommate is a Cat)

Pusheen (Pusheen) vs Yellowfang (Warrior cats)

Kirjava (His Dark Materials) vs Kuroneko-sama (Trigun)

Group 7

Gary the Snail (Spongebob Squarepants) vs Skitty (Pokémon)

Bob (Animal Crossing) vs The Kitty (The Bad Guys)

Garfield the Deals Warlock (The Adventure Zone) vs Capper (My Little Pony)

Jiji (Kiki's Delivery Service) vs Izutsumi (Dungeon Meshi)

The Black Cat (The Black Cat, E.A.Poe) vs Nyako / Meowy (Chainsaw Man)

Tabby Von Meow (Webkinz) vs Tom (Tom and Jerry)

Solembum (Inheritance Cycle) vs Lil' Judd (Splatoon)

Bagheera (The Jungle Book) vs Gatomon (Digimon)

Group 8

Plagg (Miraculous) vs Luxor (Tutenstein)

Meowth (Pokémon) vs Remlit (Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword)

Leafpool (Warrior cats) vs The Cat in the Hat (The Cat in the Hat)

Maurice (Discworld) vs Jemima (Cats the musical)

Xiaohei (The Legend of Hei) vs Artemis (Sailor Moon)

Puss in Boots (Puss in Boots) vs Ichigo Momomiya (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Shrödinger's cat (you know the one) vs The Cat (Coraline)

Pasty (Neko Atsume) vs Pangur Bán (Irish poem)

This round will start in a few days, I need a bit more time to make the pictures and arrange the polls ^~^

I think I'll be posting them similarly to round 1 except now each group will be out every 12 hours! I will update you on the exact time this round starts when it's done :)

[by-glass-and-waves]

So in progress information on Sir Amenthes (Prince Narinder's) identity after renouncing his title/county, letting Darkwood and Anura to accept it)

Actually yeah was thinking his lands would be along the waterways of the Kingdom of the Old Faith

because the Gateway > mouth of a river > waterways would be a way of travel > reminds me of the River Styx?

The identity: Sir Amenthes

Upper class gentleman in Darkwood

Investor of Ratau and Ratoo's Trading Company

Had been traveling around, sailing, investing, whatever the heck

decides to go to Halcyon Harbor to work more closely with Ratau and Ratoo

People who know who he is

The Royal Family (obvs)

Leshy is the only one who actively visits

goes with a few trusted attendants

possibly the bosses and Witnesses? but they're also nobility idk

Shamura calls him to the capital often to try to convince him to come back

Midas

Recognizes him like immediately

Gets bribed with the Royal Family wallet to keep quiet

Allani

eventually

probably by accident lol

Owns a cane made by Kallamar

decorated with crystal - handle akin to a scythe's shape?

has a blade hidden in it

owns it just to be extra af

obtained it pre-renouncement

always admired Kallamar's work and wanted to keep a piece

kept heckling Kallamar because he wanted to be extra af even though Kallamar said he doesn't fucking need it

able to use it to keep his hands/arms steady when he has an episode where they spaz out

things for Prince Narinder to hide:

hands/arms - markings/scars/something

gloves + long sleeves. always.

use of magic to hide obvious features

only the Crowns give the Royal Family to change appearance

other black cats exist (Forneus, the Twins, etc) so he doesn't care that much

Narinder uses it to hide his third eye and red sclera

can use hat to cover third eye outdoors, lessening mana drain

then uses magic to conceal third eye when he takes it off

still drains mana, still don't know how extensive it is

when using other magic there is a risk of revealing his other features so gotta be careful

so usually able to use it throughout the day, hope to god he ain't got shit to deal around people late night

concealing red eyes is higher priority than concealing third eye

[vilandel]

Silver Cats & Black Roses

Chapter 19 – Flaws of a Ball

A/N Nobles are being jerks, Charlottes aunt is one of the worst and Nozel confides FINALLY to his Vermillion aunt... who has her own wonderful words to describe papa Silva 💙💜

Ao3 link

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

“Are you serious?”

“I wish I wasn’t, but sadly, I’m not in a goofy mood right now.”

Most of the time when the Wizard King said that, he was actually acting goofy, either to everyone’s amusement or everyone’s annoyance, especially Marx the mushroom.

But as if the serious look in his eyes wasn’t enough, Yami could tell from his Ki that old man Julius was serious. Gosh he would have preferred if it was a bad joke. Heck, even Mushroom Head looked like he would have preferred a stupid prank for once. That was just how fucking upsetting those news were.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Fuegoleon said, again speaking for all the captains. “The war with Spade was just six months ago, there are still some lingering aftermath and not only from this raid, but also from the whole ordeal with the elves and the Eye of the Midnight Sun and even a bit from this affair with the Devil Believers. Not to mention that we still have to deal with those thievery acts in the Common Realm and that most nobles still don’t trust the Magic Knights. So, why do they want to celebrate the victory with a ball already?”

“I agree with Fuegoleon,” Kaiser added calmly. “Most nobles these days don’t trust the Magic Knights and it’s not anything new. We could give the benefice of doubt, of course, and hoping they came to accept that we do anything to protect this kingdom. But we all know that this isn’t the case, houses from high nobility especially have lately taken many offenses from the decisions we made as Magic Knights. And isn’t this ball suggestion coming a bit out of the blue?”

“Yeah, what that moustache grandpa just said,” Yami sighed. Since Kaiser helped him to realize his love for Prickly Queen, Yami was rather unusually willing to support his purple colleague when he made a good point.

“If ya all ask me, this noble ball victory bullshit sounds fishy.”

“It does, as it wasn’t offered like a peace offering or anything like this,” Marx said with a deep frown. “More like a threat, maybe? No, this is a too harsh word. I can’t really call it a warning either.”

Goldie Guts had taken a look at the so-called offer, looking down at the parchment with a frown, as if he was trying to get the words right. Weird, William was usually one of those who could get behind a true message between the lines quite easily. Yami had to admit that this wasn’t his forte. Besides, written words didn’t had any Ki, so he could never tell if they were genuinely true or a blatant lie.

“Hm… At first sight, it looks like a banal and even overly polite offer or suggestion ask to Magic Knights. But those are mostly about trouble in some areas, about new dungeons appearing or any difficulties people wish to have be better. A ball of victory isn’t really something you turn towards Magic Knights.”

“You are right, William,” old man Julius answered, pensive. “And in this case, it’s not like a ask for help or a suggestion for a mission, like we usually get. I wouldn’t have talked about it if this so-called offer didn’t sound like a decision already made, giving us no other choice than to accept it. It might be just nothing to worry about, but the way it was handled to us, the choice of words and with all that happened even in the last two years, it concerns me. Besides, could anyone of you tell me what Three Leaves Glory mean?”

Yami shrugged, he clearly had no idea what this shit meant. The Beanpole and Miss Sleepy Hat also looked like they had no fricking clue what was about this fuss.

But the captains who were either nobles or royals, they seem to know.

And that bothered Yami. He, Jack and Dorothy were the captains that didn’t come from noble and royal circles. As a foreigner, a commoner and a witch, they mostly have no idea how all the things of nobility worked.

But the other six captain, they seemed to knew… And given their looks, it wasn’t some good shit, it seemed. Rill looked he still tried to remember what this stupid term, though. But the rest? Nozel looked like stiffer than usual, Fuegoleon let his left hand glide down his face, William just sighed, Kaiser just shrugged, and Charlotte…

Yami almost flinched when he took a look at her. She was stiff, her mouth was thin line, her fist were trembling and resting on her lap.

She knew what that three leaves whatever shit meant and she didn’t like it at all. Okay, when she was reacting like that, then Yami just couldn’t shrug it off and move on to new cigarette. Her reaction actually worried him more than he would have before being with her.

Discreetly, he laid his hand on her leg. It seemed to calm her down a bit and Charlotte even put her own hand on his. Yami almost smiled that she was taking his comfort immediately now. She never would have before.

But at the same time, they were a couple now. A secret one, there was no denying that, but still a couple.

In the end, it was Fuegoleon who finally explained what this three leaves whatever shit actually meant, translated from noble language.

“The Three Leaves Glory is basically a term for a ball where nobles and royals are deciding betrothals between any kind of house and any kind of people. Long ago, the Three Leaves Glory was a ball of three days, in honour of the three leaves of the Clover.”

Yami grinned when Fuegoleon put this much emphasis on the word honour. Hard Nose might explaining the topic as factual as possible like he always did, but even someone like him couldn’t entirely hide what he truly thought about this whole shitty mess.

“During the first day, the future spouses met each other for the first time. The second, they were betrothed. And at the last day, the marriages were celebrated at this ball. It was basically multiple weddings at once. That tradition was annulled over fifty years ago, due to various and complex reasons.”

“But the term of Three Leaves Glory Ball still remained, am I right?” Marx asked cautiously.

Fuegoleon only sighed, which practically an answer already.

“Yes. It’s more or less like a standard ball, now multiple weddings at once anymore. But… it’s still an important event on the marital market. Not official, but still very important. And decisive and final. It’s often decided between the future spouses back or at least one of them, only for them to learn it way later.”

“That sucks,” Beanpole groaned, sitting impossibly on his chair. “What was the use of forbid the original idea if it’s still practically some forced contracts?”

“Because noble house preferred to be in the centre of the attention at a wedding and multiple weddings at once takes the spotlight away from them.”

The cold disgust in Nozels voice was pronounced that each person present turned towards him in surprise. Yami as well.

Okay, he was more than used that Braids was strict royal with a stick up his ass who adores discipline, something a lot of nobles seemed to lack. But never did Yami heard that kind of disgust in his voice before. Either Bird Braid started to change his mind about nobles after the elves or after Spade. Or he hold his disgust for years and now he was so done to care and hold it back anymore.

Damn, if it was the latter, Nozel must have been using a lot of inner strengths for years dealing with hated nobles. Maybe he had not such a big stick up his ass after all. Yami would have thought that Braids would defend the intention of the nobles. But from all the people present at this table, Nozel seemed like the most offended about this perspective.

Along with Charlotte.

“So this is what my mother warned me about,” she whispered, so that only Yami was able to hear her.

Crap. He actually forgot about that. Auntie Dea, like most of the Black Bulls called Charlotte’s mother now, did warned Prickly Queen about some ball like that.

Was this what Dea meant with that warning? Knowing her, that poor Blue Rose Mom certainly had nothing to do with it, but she must have heard bits here and there, at least enough to warn her daughter about it.

Yami remembered how angry he got when his girlfriend told him that for the first time. Well, the mere thought that some people would want to marry off his Prickly Queen for their own schemes, as if she was an empty cup of a trophy, made him raging, wanting to destroy a wall over their heads or something.

Charlotte was the most wonderful woman in the kingdom on many levels. And she was his. No one had the right to decide over her future like that!

Charlotte must have felt the angry tension within him, so she put a hand on his leg, in an attempt to calm him down. And it worked. Who would have thought that a simple hand on a leg could be enough to calm someone?

The anger was still here, but thanks to her, it was now calm.

For fuck’s sakes, he really needed her on so many levels.

Charlotte seemed to have calmed down a bit herself, as she said, “But that kind of nonsense hadn’t been organized since five or six years. Why starting again with this and why using the victory against the devils in Spade as an excuse?”

“Because nobles are desperate, maybe,” Nozel said again in a cold, disgusted tone. Damn, what was wrong with him? Yami tried to read his Ki, but it was a mix of so many things he couldn’t recognize. Did nobles killed his favourite eagle or something?

“Who signed this so-called offer, by the way?” Kaiser asked and Yami admitted that he really wanted to know that too, for once. Just to put some nobles on his disgust list and making them potential candidates for a dimension slash.

Marx took the parchment again and said, “Well, we have of course a good bunch of Évantails on this list, the house head Bianca Évantail of course and Reginald Évantail as well.”

“Which Reginald Évantail?” Charlotte asked, a slight smirk on her lips. “Last time I checked, this house has two Reginalds. At least, for all I know, maybe there are some more cousins with that name.”

Yami couldn’t help but grin. This comment was definitely his influence on her and it made him proud of his Prickly Queen.

“It’s the father and the son,” Marx replied. “There is also a Prudence Évantail and… oh, Nozel, one of your knights has signed as well.”

“Samuel?”

“Exactly.”

Bird Braid let out a groan that was definitely not proper for a royal. Yami would have laughed if Nozels Ki wouldn’t have let out so much disappointment. Gosh, did he always had problem with this particular knight?

“Wizard King, I think my vice-captain and myself already made you aware of the annoyance Samuel gives, as well as the Silver Eagles squad. I can talk to him about this and scold him, but at this point there’s only as much Agatha and I can do with him. If he’s going too fast…”

“Then I will take the necessary measures. If Samuel Évantail continue to be this bold with his unknightly behaviour, we ‘ll have no other choice than to definitely kick him out of the Magic Knights, the arrangement between the Silver Eagles and house Évantail won’t change that. But are you sure about this potential measure, Nozel? Won’t this affect the Silver Eagles in some way or another?”

“Trust me, given Samuels deeds since he became a knight of my squad, him being not a Magic Knight anymore won’t change anything for the Silver Eagles.”

Crap, really? Yami felt kinda bad for Nozel, if he had to deal with that kind of knight, to a point that he would be happy to have him kicked out of his squad.

Were all the damn Évantails such assholes nobles, when even someone like Nozel Silva of all people was fed up with them?

“House Évantail has a lot of members and some are knights as far as I know,” Julius said thoughtfully. “What about the Évantails who are members of your squads, if you have some? We better make sure that they won’t do us any problem one way or another.”

“I don’t think we have to fear Marguerite on that matter,” Goldie Guts said. “She is not an easy person, but that is because she follows the rules strictly and point to point. She is unyielding about it, but she is loyal to the Golden Dawn and the Magic Knights In fact, Marguerite is the type of woman who would finish to write the rapports during a hurricane or a terrorist attack.”

“I have no complaints about Othello,” Fuegoleon said with a shrug. “He is old, but is still in his best shape and just enjoys of being a knight.”

Jack just laughed like crazy. “Nothing to worry about noble arrogance from Hannibal. He’s a perfect Mantis, just enjoying slicing things with this wind magic.”

Yami didn’t find that very reassuring, but okay.

“I have nothing to worry about Grenadine, she is one of the best knights I could wish for the Silver Eagles. And since she’s a bastard, there is no chance she would play a part in such schemes.”

“Hm, I have no complaints about Daphne,” Dorothy said with a peace sign. “She has her pride, that’s for sure, but her principal hobbies are romance novels and dresses from the modiste Soie Velours, not conspiracy. Besides, Daphne is not on good terms with most of her family since she became a knight of squad with a captain as witch, so no probs.”

Sleepy Hat wasn’t even upset about the prejudice that asshole noble house had against her. Damn, she had a lot of inner strength and good mood in order to do that.

“Belinda is not a problem either, she is way too kind for this. Besides, I think she is on a vacation right now.”

“Not exactly, Rill. Belinda is on maternity leave right now.”

“Oh yes, that’s it! Thanks, Marx!”

“I have no Évantail in the Black Bulls, so don’t ask me.”

“Églantine is not a problem either on that matter. In fact, she is one of the best Blue Roses I ever had and she keeps contact to her house to the strict minimum. I think that if she could, she would cut ties with them entirely, if it weren’t for her youngest brother and a great-aunt she’s very fond of.”

Kaiser stroked his moustache while saying, “Galahad is a shy, nice boy and a very loyal Purple Orca. But he is also rather afraid of his family. I will talk to him later and make sure he knows it’s okay to not follow his house in conspiracy.”

Yami looked at each captain, stunned. Fuck, were the Black Bulls the only squad with no Évantail? It probably wasn’t such a bad thing, given that most of Évantail nobles were asses. But still, Yami felt left out a bit. Maybe he should search for an Évantail as a new recruit. Would be nice to have newbies since Asta and Noelle.

But nice Évantails were apparently a rarity. Would he be able to find one, if there would be one not taken by a squad? He almost got one at the last selection exam, but Nozel decided to not be an arrogant jerk and give Grenadine a chance as a Silver Eagle.

“Good. In this case, we shall mostly pay attention to members of house Évantail who aren’t Magic Knights. Who else signed, Marx?”

“House Taliss, of course, as well as some members of house Lys. And house Vitrail, especially lady Athénaïs.”

Fuegoleon and Nozel made a face at that name, which made Yami grin. Gosh, that lady Athénaïs must be an awful noble to make those two made a disgusted face like that. He almost wanted to meet her.

“Are there also some relatives from the captain, Marx?” Julius asked.

“Let’s see… Ah, yes, there is a certain lady Rosamund Roselei.”

Oh no! Not Prickly Queens bitch aunt who wants to marry her to an old guy like Reggie! Why was that wench always on their way again and again?

He felt Charlottes hand again on his leg, as she said, “I have a very distant relationship with my aunt and I have no intention to change it, despite her trying it. Rosamund signing this kind of conspiracy offer is very like her.”

“And there is also… Oh. Lord Lac Silva.”

“Wait, he’s back in the country?” Julius asked, but he was the only one to comment. Everyone else slightly turned towards Nozel again. His face had now movement, except for the twitching eyebrow, proof that he was upset.

But his eyes. Damn, never before had Yami seen such a raging storm in those cold purple orbs. This wasn’t Nozels usual style of being upset, like when he was mocked by Yami and Jack. Now, this right now was deeper, harsher, probably lingering for years. He clearly had no good bonds with his old man.

“I have nothing to say to him.”

The tone was calm and cold, but you had to be a completely clueless idiot to not hear that Nozel didn’t have any affection for his father. Damn, Yami already knew that most noble and royal daddies weren’t really fathers to their kiddos. Prickly Queen and her old man was a good example of it. But Bird Braids case seemed to be a special one.

Geez, what did that man do to be such a bad father? Yami wondered if this Lac Silva dude was just as worse as his own old man or maybe even worse.

“Understandable,” Julius just said.

Yami frowned. Julius sounded like he excepted this answer from Bird Braid. Did he know this Lac dude? Well, it wouldn’t be surprising, Julius had been captain at the same time as Braids own mother. What was her name again? Something like Alice or Alicia, a sound like that. He certainly knew something about the Silva family drama.

Next to Yami, Glowing Hair looked like he was thinking really hard. But then he squealed for some reason, making every other person flinched or jumped up. Except for Dorothy, who just giggled.

“Oh my, Rill. Do you have something important to tell us?”

“Yes, Wizard King! Although it’s more like a spontaneous thought and it’s maybe too far-fetched. But… is it possible that the thievery organisation in the Common Realm have something to do with this Three Leaves Glory ball offer?”

There was silence. A long silence, which made the captain of the Aqua Deer visibly nervous.

“What? Is this really a stupid idea?”

“No, actually not. Given how little clues we have about this affair, we should consider each possibility,” Fuegoleon immediately said to calm down Rill.

“Not to mention that it is really a strange coincidence. Even if it’s nothing in the end, we should keep this possibility in mind until we have more proof about those thievery acts. That would be all for today’s meeting, you can now go, captains. As for me, I will-“

“Work on the belated paperwork instead of wandering of again, exactly.”

“Ugh, really?”

“You’re behind for like three months, no excuse.”

The nine captains actually chuckled at this little conversation, while Marx took Julius by the wrist to drag him out of the reunion room.

Maybe Mushroom Head deserved a raise, Yami decided. He was very loyal and worked his butt off to keep this country in shape. Maybe he was too harsh on him with the teasing?

Well, that was future Yamis problem. For now, he walked silently besides Prickly Queen, slowly so that their colleagues would be off soon. That captains meeting was as always hours long and he needed his Prickly Queen Comfort Time.

Nozel left immediately. Geez, the mention of his father must have upset that Bird Braid a lot. William was looking out of the windows, pensive. Kaiser and Fuegoleon were discussing something, either the whole affairs or it was about their beloved. Jack, Rill and Dorothy were in a heavy discussion about something like axes, porcelain cups and canvas.

Did he really even wanted to know what those three weirdos were talking about?

It didn’t take long for the other captains to follow Bird Braids lead and leave the hallway. There was no one else right now. Perfect.

Yami grabbed Charlotte wrist and lead her through the first door he could find. Just a small room with a couch, a small table and two paintings with winter landscapes on the wall, with only one window and lacy curtains. Probably a little break room. Good, no one would disturb them.

“Yami, really?”

“Come on, Prickly Queen. Hours sitting next to you while holding back, with only occasional touches? I was agonizing!”

Charlotte surprisingly didn’t complained too much, kissing him immediately. Gosh, she must have been on edge too during this meeting.

But maybe it was mostly because about this whole ball bullshit and that her aunt is one of those organizing this crap.

“You’re okay?” Yami asked they break from the kiss. “With that… ball bullshit? With your aunt?”

Charlotte smiled. “Thank you for worrying about me, Yami. Well, I’m strong, I won’t let her and the others decide about my future and my life. But… I would lie if I say that I don’t care about it. It really… gives me stress.”

“In that case, what about some stress relieving sex?”

Prickly Queen blushed, but she didn’t protested. She must be really needing this right now. And to be fair, he needed it too.

Charlotte nodded and the hunger in her eyes was enough proof how eager she was. Damn, how much did he love this miracle of a woman!

Yami promised himself to invite her to take a bite afterwards. He just hoped to have enough money on him this time.

They made out passionately as they lied down on the couch. Charlotte was on top of him, slowly getting rid of her robe and her upper clothes while kissing him deeply. Damn, she really became a master at this kind of multitasking.

Yami grinned against her lips. Nobles didn’t deserved someone like his Prickly Queen, as she was way above them with everything. But she was his and he would rather stop taking dumps than giving up on her.

♣♣♣

It was evening, but the sun still let it last rays shine on the Silva flower garden, bathing it in a soft golden light with sparkles of red. The Silva flower garden was always beautiful, even in November, but today it was especially stunning.

Nozel looked over at his aunt, who was walking beside him. Given the look in her blue eyes, she was delighted as well by the sight.

“Ah, it had been while since I was here, but this garden is still gorgeous as ever,” Océane Vermillion smiled, focusing on each flower she could see, on each tree they passed by.

Nozel was glad to get a grip on himself and for the first time in years, personally invited his aunt over at the Silva palace. Having her here, so casually, as if she just left the castle for the Vermillions yesterday, was a proof what a fool he was.

Océane would have helped him dealing with all the house affairs from the start. She would have let him grieve while dealing with it herself, then step by step teached him to do all of this. No one would have teached him all of those matters than his aunt.

Océane Vermillion was a master at gossip and politics, even though she wasn’t in the parliament and didn’t had such a position like Lac Silva. But this was exactly her strength. The power Océane had was subtle, masked behind smiles, love for pastries and a simple life. She was able to make a stubborn and corrupt noble change his mind with just compliments and facts she made sound like spicy rumours, even the most boring ones.

Yes, his Vermillion would have helped him the best he could. If only he hadn’t been so stubborn, convinced that he had to do everything alone. Not to mention that Océane was one of the last persons that had a direct and very close connection to his mother. It was also the case with the Wizard King or his knight, Julia Ambrosia. But Acier and Océane had been sisters, which made her connection the closest and most precious.

Nozel took a closer look at his aunt. She was almost closer fifty than forty, but she didn’t look like it. There was still a youth in her traits. He wondered if it would have been the same for his mother, if she would have lived to that age.

Océane and Acier were sisters, so they were also very similar physically. The same nose, the same soft face and the same frown when they were very focused on something. But Océane had curlier hair, her eyes were blue and not purple, the smile was also completely different. How strange, Noelle got most from their mother’s looks, but she got her smile from their aunt. Same for Nebra. She had started to smile more often and more genuinely after Spade and it was only then that Nozel had realized that his sisters had the same smile.

Nozel sighed. He certainly had a lot to say, but no word seemed appropriate. Still, there was one thing he needed to finally say.

“I’m… I’m sorry I never let you help me back then, when mother passed away. I should have let you help me.”

“Do you really think I blamed you, dear nephew? You were a grieving teenager, too young for all of this duties. You weren’t ready for all of this and no one let you properly grieve. I’m sorry I haven’t tried more to reach out. True, Achilles, that oaf, hold me back. But I should have tried more and don’t let the Vermillions hold me back. As well as my own grief and loss.”

“But you lost your sister.”

“And you lost your mother.”

There was a silence, filled with some memories of Acier Silva. How much she loved walking through the Silva flower garden, especially at the rose belvedere or the water lily pond, with the swing chair hidden by flowers and little birches.

“I’ve made many mistakes… I should have acted differently.”

“But you were still a child, you were fifteen when you took over the house, Nozel. You weren’t ready, you never were ready. Anyone would have made mistakes in such a situation, especially alone. And you were terribly alone. Long story short, you did the best you could and believed you could in those circumstances. And don’t forget that your parents’ marriage wasn’t stable back then, never really was. You know that as much as I do.”

He knew, of course he did. He knew it for long and before that, he already had a feeling. Even when he was a little boy, he knew without knowing that the marriage of his parents wasn’t a happy one.

“You had some burden already, as the oldest child and then everything that happened to Acier… You became an adult too quickly. A lot of people should have prevented it. Me, of course, but also your father…”

“You at least wanted to help me. Father… Lac never would have.”

“Oh yes, we agree on that. Helping his grieving son to carry a too heavy burden? No, that doesn’t help him with his own ambitions, why would he?”

Océane always had a very specific way to talk about Lac and it always made Nozel smile a bit.

“It doesn’t change the fact that it was a too heavy burden for you and that you had no one to help you. You might have not asked for help, that’s true. But you were just following the example of your mother. She also did everything alone.”

“Mother made it look so easy. For years, I thought I was doing wrong. It’s only lately that finally realized that… she might have struggled as well.”

“She made it look so easy, right?”

“Yes.”

“You also made it look so easy, my dear nephew. To be honest, Nozel, I was worried about you for years. You practically sacrifice yourself for house Silva, for the Silver Eagles, even more for your siblings. You never asked for anything in return. No normal Head of House, noble or royal, would have dealt with everything that way. I don’t say that you were wrong by putting your own interests behind for others. It shows how good of a heart you have and other house heads should take some examples on you. But… you did the very same mistake as your mother. You forgot to care for yourself, you forgot to have your own life. Not to mention your guilt issues. I was really scared you would sacrificed yourself to a point that it would be too late to save you from your pain.”

Suddenly, Océane smiled brightly. “But then, you came back from Spade. You had a spark in your eyes that I haven’t seen since your mother died. You spend more time with Noelle and your sisters were closer. But I think that this wasn’t what saved you from your cold. There is something that filled your heart and your soul. I saw it grow over the past few months and I see it in your eyes in this very instant. Something saved you and freed your kind heart from the golden cages.”

Nozel looked at her wide-eyed. Something in her tone made him suspect that his aunt might know. Maybe not about Vanessa directly, but that he had someone. But how? Well, his aunt was very observant, but there was no way she could-

No, not true. It wasn’t like Nozel and Vanessa took all the necessary precautions to hid their relationship. Not at the café, not at the willow in the parc, not when they were walking arm in arm in town. But this had been things they done together long before they were a couple.

Still, there were some moments when they have been careless. Vanessa and himself were actually lucky that no one witnessed them yet so far. At least, as far as he knew.

“So, what’s the name?”

Nozel managed to practically choke on air. It was unexpected.

“Don’t be so secretive with me, my dear nephew. Please tell me, what is the name of this amazing person that made this happy.”

Nozel hesitated, but not much, if he was honest. He knew he could trust his aunt. It was just… no one knew about him and Vanessa yet, so he wanted to protect their bond. Especially since his father was still out there and their whole situation.

But at the same time… Nozel was tired of secrets. He had secrets since the age of fourteen, he went through so much to keep it safe and look where it had brought him. Being with Vanessa made him happier than ever before in his life and he didn’t want to hide it. Vanessa was a witch, sure. But he wasn’t ashamed of loving her with all his heart. He wanted to show her at his side through the world, he finally wanted to share his happiness.

So, maybe telling his aunt wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It was just… difficult to put in words.

“Her… her name is Vanessa Enoteca.”

“Vanessa Eno… Oh, the Black Bull witch? One of Noelles squadmates?”

“You… you know her?”

“Silly nephew, I don’t know know her. It’s just that there was some talks about the Black Bulls during those last two years. I’ve seen her for the first time at the wedding of lady Finesse and lord Finral. If I remember correctly, you even danced with her that day. I must say, Nozel dear, you got quite the catch. She is a beauty.”

Nozel had no other choice than to agree. In fact, Vanessa was for him the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.

“She’s not just her beauty.”

“Oh, that soft tone in your voice… You’re hopelessly smitten, it’s so clear as crystal.”

“Hopelessly describes is it well. I… We talked for the first time in Spade, when the battle had been over, but when everyone was still resting and recovering. Vanessa needed some time alone and it was a coincidence that I ended up at the same spot she was. Or was it Fate? I don’t really know. Then we talked… we opened up, in a way. I was too tired to give her the illusion that I was cold and she seemed fed up with a delusion she had for a while.”

“A delusion?”

“I won’t tell you more about it, I don’t believe I have the right to spill her secrets to anyone. I apologize, aunt Océane.”

“Of course not. You were always a gentleman deep down. What happened after?”

“After Spade, at the beginning, we mostly talked over the communication device and occasionally at the Silver Eagles base, when she had to bring a rapport from the Black Bulls. Actually… it was more that she talked to me and called me on the device. I… I never tried to reach out at first, mostly because… I was convinced I never deserved that kindness she was so casually giving me.”

Océane only nodded, looking at him with compassion. Of course she knew about his guilt issues. Was there something in the kingdom Océane Vermillion didn’t know or at least didn’t suspected?

“But it changed after the royal wedding. We started to spend more time together. We talked, we enjoyed to be in each other’s company. It took some time, but I realized that I fell in love with her. It just took me some time to act upon it. For weeks, it was just Vanessa and me spending time a bit like friends, but with a tension between us. A comfortable tension, yes, but a tension still. But then… Lac reappeared.”

“Oh, that asshole! What did he say?”

“Aunt Océane! Didn’t you always told us to always watch our language?”

“In most cases, yes. But my sickening brother-in-law is just the exception that confirms the rule. So, what did that wannabe cockroach wanted from you?”

“First off, he wanted me to stop seeing Vanessa. Of course he couldn’t believe that I just enjoyed being in her company. For some reason, he thought she was my… my… that I used her as…”

Gosh, why was it so difficult to say? But of course, his Vermillion aunt understood him immediately.

“So typical of that elephant shit. Even lust shouldn’t be just a time to spend, but a tool to use in his schemes. I lost count about how many times this shitty rat moustache cheated on your mother for the sole reason to reach more power and influence.”

“Vanessa left soon after. At least, I thought so… and Lac, well, he wanted to talk about marrying me off. I… can’t…”

“You don’t need to put his speech into words, I can perfectly imagine what he told you. That conservative anarchist is sadly very clever to use the truth in his manipulation and not lies. Oh, my poor Nozel, he hopefully didn’t force you to a marital deal by threatening you! I’m gonna kill this butt face!”

“He tried, honestly. He also suggested that I can choose my own spouse, but only if I would accept help from him considering the thievery affair in the Common Realm.”

“What a backhanded deal. He would have been the winner in any case.”

“I know. After that, I… I actually fled like a coward.”

“You’re not a coward, Nozel dear. In this case, fleeing was probably the best option to get out of his grasp.”

“What I didn’t know was that… Vanessa didn’t really left. She stayed nearby and so, she heard the whole talk I had with my… with Lac. And when I fled, she followed me. I was so surprised to see her on my balcony all of a sudden. I thought she would have find me pathetic, for how I handled that talk with my… with Lac. But she didn’t find me pathetic, She was just so terribly worried about me. And…”

“You weren’t used for people worrying about you. Am I right?”

“Yes. Vanessa practically allowed me to be vulnerable in front of her. I was surprised about how… liberating it felt.”

“Ah, yes, I get that. Showing vulnerability is still wrongly considered as a weakness, but the truth is different, as it is a strength, since it takes a lot of courage. You’re lucky to have found someone like her, my dear nephew.”

“I know… That night, we talked. And we kissed. Actually… we spent the night together.”

Nozel blushed. The memory of their first night together was still so clear in his mind and filled his heart with a blissful joy. But telling anyone about it, especially a member of his family, this was difficult. He couldn’t say more than that he and Vanessa spend the night together.

And of course, his aunt immediately understood what this implied, as she started to laugh.

“Oh my, you both didn’t lose any time. That must have been a heavy tension you had for weeks. But at least, you’re happy with your beloved witch, am I right?”

“Yes. It’s like, she not only let me vulnerable in front of her, allowing me to trust her. She trusts me as well, she… Vanessa is always so full of joy and optimism. But she also had her own past pain. Different than mine, but somehow still similar? At least, she told me about it, she trusted me with it. It’s like… we’re healing together, as if we needed what we have now to start to come to terms with our past and moving on together.”

“Seems like a very healthy and loving relationship, if you ask me.”

“Honestly, I don’t think words can be enough to describe our relationship. Or maybe it doesn’t need words. I am happy with Vanessa, there is no doubt about that. Every worries I have seems either not important anymore or not impossible to come over when I’m with her. I feared that I didn’t deserved that kind of kindness, but it didn’t felt that way. It feels more like something so precious that I can’t give it away, that I need to protect to keep it save, but still letting it free because it deserves to be free. Aunt Océane, I’m… I’m even ready to give up on my royal status if I need to, if it means I can be with Vanessa.”

Océane just smiled at his speech, putting some strands of his hair behind his ears. Just like when he was a little boy. Nozel let her. His childhood had been taken too early from him and he was tired of always acting like a heartless adult. Vanessa often acted a bit childlike and she always encouraged him allow himself a bit of childhood.

Another miracle Vanessa has done to him…

“You’re just as romantic as your mother, my dear nephew. But unlike my poor sister, you’re not completely blind in love. And you are loved in return. That’s one of the greatest gift someone can get.”

“I never believed it before. But now I do. It’s just… our situation isn’t ideal.”

“A prince and a witch… Oh yes, the different circles. Status sadly still plays a role in our society when it comes to relationships. And you’re with a witch, that would be considered worse than a commoner or a peasant.”

Océane went silent, looking like she was thinking.

“You’ll have my support, Nozel. I would be a really bad auntie if I don’t help you and your lady love. It’s good that you realize that the situation isn’t ideal, it will help you to face the hurdles better. Over the years, I saw a bunch of nobles who fell in love with someone out of their circles and who didn’t pay attention to the hurdles and the consequences… which lead to tragic ends. But you’re not like this, thankfully. So I don’t need to pop your fluffy bubble to make you understand the situation.”

“But what can you do? It’s not like Vanessa and I are together for long at this point.”

“First lesson to learn, my dear nephew. Consequences and influences can last very long, especially when they’re subtle. And that is one of my specialties. You know I have my entries in practically every noble circles in the kingdom. If subtly and gradually start to talk about witches, the Black Bulls and royals being in love slowly in a more positive way, it can work miracles. Nobles are stubborn, but they also have double standards. It’s always good to use if you want people to change their minds. It’s a slow process, I’ll admit, but if you don’t want more hurdles to deal with than necessary, it’s one of the safest road. Besides, with that Three Leaves Glory ball on the way, it’s better to start early.”

“You already know about that ball?”

Why did he even asked? Of course Océane Vermillion knows about it already.

“Oh my, they already send the suggestion or offering or order, whatever it is? Nobles are really bold these days. Or desperate. No wonder, what happened those last two years in the kingdom show them how fragile their power can become. It’s sad that instead of questioning themselves, they cling more on their beliefs.”

“My father was one of those who signed it.”

“Oh. That fricking asshole of a wannabe mosquito!”

Nozel couldn’t help but chuckle. His aunt definitely had a very unique way to describe and insult Lac Silva.

“It’s clearly a trap to force into an arranged engagement. I will never understand how much hopes he has on your potential marriage, even though he hates you in particular and even though you’re the only one who didn’t got his magic affinity.”

Oh yes. Nozel just couldn’t forget that if he would have a magic based on water, he most possibly would have stay an only child. After all, Lac Silva was ambitious but never was appealed on fatherhood.

“Listen Nozel. I will tell you something you might don’t know yet. There is a dance that is always put on the program during this Three Leaves Glory balls. It’s very originally called the Three Leaves Waltz. Long before, it was the waltz that made each new betrothed official. It is way more subtle today, of course. But this dance is subtly put in place to make each dancing couple practically officially engaged. For those who haven’t any idea or who aren’t given any other choice, it’s a trap. I wouldn’t be surprised if your father is indeed intending to trap by forcing you to dance with the noble lady of his choosing and by that, trapping you into a betrothal.”

Nozel clinched his fists. This sounded like something his father… no, Lac Silva would do. He probably counted on the fact that Nozel isn’t well aware of all the complex and subtle details hidden in noble etiquette, making him easy to trap. Nozel was even certain that he would have trapped into this trap.

Never had he been so grateful that his aunt knows the world of nobility and royalty like the back of her hand.

“Then… what should I do until then? And when it’s the time for this trap waltz during the ball, how shall I react?

“Nozel, we don’t know every detail yet, there is no point to plan fifty step ahead, especially since some details can change at any moment. But I can tell you what you can do when it’s the time for this dance. It’s a good thing that Magic Knights will be invited as well. So, you will go directly to Vanessa and invite her for this dance. It would be even better if you only dance with her for all the other dances. A bit like Fuegoleon did with Lital back at the royal wedding. It will give everyone a clear message.”

“But… How can I know when it’s the time for this Three Leaves Waltz?”

“You’re smart, Nozel dear. I’m sure you’re going to recognize the signs easily.”

Well, that didn’t help him a lot. It was nice that his aunt trusted him so openly, but Nozel still would have preferred some more details.

“Nozel, I will help you so that you won’t be trapped into an arranged marriage. Heaven knows how much I’m aware how awful this could be. I might not have the worst husband, more or less and thankfully I had my children, a sister-in-law and most of my nephew and nieces to help me to make the best out of it. But not everyone is as lucky as me and I owe it to Acier that you won’t know this hell. Even more so, you’re in love, you have the best reason to fight for your happiness.”

Nozel looked at his aunt, stunned. He would argue that she owed it to his mother, but given how close Acier and Océane were, maybe his aunt had promised something like this to her sister before she died.

And why would he deny Océanes help, no matter the reasons? She was his aunt and she cared about him and his siblings, this was enough a reason for her to help.

“You seem tense, my dear nephew.”

“Well… the news about this ball and with my father involved, it’s not a good news for me. Especially in my romantic situation.”

“Of course. Will Vanessa be with you tonight.”

“Well… we spend practically every night together at this point.”

He wasn’t ashamed of his nights with Vanessa. But it was still embarassing to admit to his aunt that his beloved was with him basically every night.

“Thought that much. At least, this means that you’re certainly going to relax afterwards. And we both know how much you need that in general.”

This was true, but Nozel wasn’t ready to admit that yet. At least, not to people who weren’t Vanessa. And even with her, she needed to push and tease him a bit before he forgot his pride and admitted he needed to relax and to rest.

“Well, I better go now, otherwise my dearest father-in-law is going to try and to put me on time-out. Don’t worry too much, Nozel dear, we’ll find a solution. And it’s not only me, you might have more allies than you realize.”

Nozel just looked at his aunt with surprise.

“We might discuss some things, if you want. But make sure that I can properly your beloved Vanessa soon. I’m rather curious to meet the woman who the spark of your childhood back in your eyes. Until next time!”

Nozel just watched his aunt leaving the flower garden and disappearing back in the palace. Sometimes he couldn’t fully understand Océane and her motives, as she never liked to talk too much about her own past, how she was in away sold to the Vermillions and watched all of her siblings die, being the only one to probably grow old.

Océane certainly never had an easy life. That much Nozel knew, even though he wasn’t aware about all details. But his aunt cared and she helped, probably more than anyone could realize.

He certainly regretted to not have let her help during all those years. But today, she was at his side and despite his worries about the situation, it was at least a relief to know that he had at least one ally. And according to Océane, he might have more of them than he realized.

The sun was now completely down, only some red and orange lights were lingering over the horizon, the rest of the sky already in a dark blue, some stars appearing already. It was time to go back to his room.

Nozel knew that Vanessa would be there. A few days ago, he had let made a double of his balcony key, for her. So that she could enter at any time she wanted instead of waiting for him to open.

And indeed, when he opened the door, a flash of rosewood moved like a lightning before he felt her embracing him only one second after.

“I missed you, my handsome eagle.”

“The last time we saw each other was this morning,” he replied, quickly closing the door.

“Too long if you asked me,” Vanessa laughed, leading him to the bed and sitting casually on his lap. “So, how did the meeting with your auntie go?”

“Much more relieving than I imagined.”

“Told you so!”

“But you need to know that… she knows about us. To be fair, Océane has observed me and came to the conclusion that I… that I’m in love. There’s no use to deny anything with her and… I didn’t want to keep it a secret. So I told her. She’s giving us her full support.”

“That’s good news. We certainly need support, but it’s not like we won’t have people to help us. Also, speaking of, Yami mentioned something about a shitty ball when he came back to the hideout… Something happened at the captains meeting?”

Nozel couldn’t help but sigh. “Sadly yes. Something occurred and it’s a turn of events I really don’t appreciate. Especially since my father… no, Lac Silva has something to do with it.”

“Tell me everything, honey. But first… try to relax a bit. I know how worked up you can be when you’re tensed and burdened. I’ll help you.”

She really knew him better than anyone would realize. Nozel couldn’t help but smile.

He had no time to answer though, as Vanessa crossed her arms behind his neck and put her lips on his, pulling them both into a deep kiss. Nozel put his arms firmly around her waist, holding her closer.

It wouldn’t be an easy fight. But he wanted this more than anything else. He might lose some of his pride and his reputation in the process. But who cares, Vanessa was worth it.

[raptorsaurusmelain]

Let me show you... Youtube - chapter 23

I think I want to post it on AO3, is this a good idea ?

Warning : no proof reading, English is not my mother tongue.

Trigger warning : once sentence speak about unaliving themselves.

If you are interested in reading this fic, the tag "#twst lmsyy" will give you all the chapters.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

The woman didn’t understand the sentence really well. She turned her head. No one. [Strange… I was sure someone was there.]

Victoria looked at Crewel with her eyes full of questions. “Did you speak to me ?”

Crewel patted her head. “No. Hearing voices ?”

Victoria frowned. “... Maybe.”

Like magic, she received a text. about the painting. She smiled “I am sorry, I gotta go. Thank you for spending all this time with me.”

The man coveted her. He feathered the back of her hand with his mouth. “No big deals, it was wonderful to spend all this time with such a beautiful woman.”

Victoria reddened. “Thank you for the compliment… Goodbye.”

She flew to the art room. She was panting by the time she arrived. “I am here for the painting !”

A teenage boy greeted her. “Hello, I am the painter ! Nice to meet you.”

Victoria looked at him from head to toe. He seemed near a good burn out. They had the same dark circles and pasty white complexion, indicating the unhealthy lifestyle they lived. They even had the same fake smile plastered on their face. Damn it was like looking at a gender bending mirror.

The boy spoke first “Mh, about the canvas… Do you really want to buy it ? It is a depressing one… Ladies normally prefer bright paintings with flowers and cute animals on them…”

Victoria nodded. “No, I want this one. It is really a melting pot of raw emotions, I like it. It reminds me of myself.”

He seemed troubled. “Oh… Ok… Then for the price..”

They discussed the price. Once she gave him the money -after insisting to pay him rightfully- she asked. “This painting feels like something you already experienced. Is it you ? Or someone you know ?”

The boy had a faint smile. “I am the one in this painting…”

Victoria felt tears coming out. “You know… If you have help, everything will get better. I know it for sure.”

The poor teenager squeezed her hand before she went away. “Thank you..”

She turned around with her new addition when she heard a faint whisper. “Whore.”

She turned her head as fast as a human could to see who was speaking. No one again. [I don’t like this at all.]

When she was in the corridor she was stopped by a voice she knew. “Mrs Devi ? What are you doing here ? You should be watching the games.”

She smiled facing the man. “I could tell you the same professor Trein.”

He coughed. “I was merely patrolling inside the school.”

The cat in his arms meowed. He added/ “What do you have here ? A painting ?”

She nodded and showed him. “Indeed ! A fellow student made it. I think he has a lot of talent, the emotions are so raw. I love it.”

Lucius seemed intrigued by the canvas. He sniffed it. Trein frowned. “It is… an unusual taste in painting.”

Victoria shrugged. “Well you need a little bit of everything to make a world… I don’t critique people’s taste in food, don’t critique my taste in paint.”

The duo was stunned by her comeback. “I am not criticizing your taste, I just find it original.”

Victoria, deadpan, looked at him. “‘Original’ often means ugly. Like when we say that a hat is ‘original’ when it is just plain old ugly. In short, I have a painting and I am going to hang it, if you excuse me. Humpf!”

Trein was left speechless. Lucius meowed. Trein asked the cat. “What do you mean I screw things up ?”

Victoria came back quickly to the dorm to hang her painting in her bedroom -after watching a quick tutorial on how to hang a frame on old wood wall-. No one had good taste in paintings here. She could spend hours looking at it without getting tired of it.

She heard noises then a good “Victoria we are hoooome.”

The woman welcomed the duo. “Hello dearies ! How were the games ? I filmed your game of course !”

Yuu became shy while Grim boasted confidence. “Nya ha ha !!! We were awesome, no ?”

Victoria applauded, smiling. “Of course ! Everyone has witnessed the great Grim in action !”

Grim continued to laugh. This time it was Yuu’s time to speak. “You… Aren't you going to ask us about what happened before the match ?”

Victoria looked at the Child and asked. “Do you want to speak about it ?”

Tears filled Yuu’s eyes. The woman guided the Child to the sofa and Grim said. “You are a cry baby, subordinate !”

Victoria clicked her tongue. “Shh Grim if you want tuna later.”

Grim shut his trap and Yuu began to speak. The fear they had when Ruggie was hurt, the disaster it was to escape the attacks,... They had a lot to unpack, like last time.

She let them cry all they needed. It was to a point they fell asleep on the couch. Victoria covered them with a duvet before preparing dinner. She made tuna mayo onigiri for everyone and left a plate covered with cellophane on the table. She wrote ‘For Yuu <3’ in her best penmanship.

She was in a dire need of sleep.

Tag : @boba-tea-fish @hipsterteller

[magpiesbones]

Oh no I have had a Thought about witch hat themes okay so. Hear me out.

the first part of Witch Hat was setting up the world and characters, and now we’re Firmly into the second part, which is showing how these systems fail, and who they fail.

and every single time a system fails someone, it is because knowledge was withheld.

coco’s mom? Coco didn’t have the knowledge of what she was doing or know to be careful. I’m not sure if this was an intentional parallel, but to apply Olruggio’s fire metaphor from ch43, Coco was touching real fire because she didn’t know it would burn. Coco is a child but she has sense and, had she known What That Spell Did I have no doubt she wouldn’t have done that or would have done that with safety measures on.

Qifrey’s Whole Deal? Caused by forbidden experimentation which it is both unknown and forbidden to heal. His lack of knowledge of both exactly what happened to him and exactly what is going to happen to him is causing him to implode.

Coco’s fever? Only helped by creating an accommodation so that Tartah could access knowledge that he could not get due to his disability. And then they were stopped from self medicating by An Actual Nurse who is presumably more knowledgeable than two teenagers, but still. Still!!

Richeh and Eunie’s Romonon arc? Saved by knowledge of the self and healing from past educational abuse. Richeh learns that she can do things her own way and therefore gains emotional knowledge, and so does Eunie even though he’s a wolf for like half of it yes I know this one’s a bit of a reach

Coco and Tartah verbally express regret that they could not give Coustas more knowledge than they did aaand this is in fact where my ability to put relevant details stops actually

What about the brimhats who possess the forbidden knowledge and are obviously Not Good?

okay but like. Do They Though? Do they actually possess a significant amount of forbidden knowledge or are they just ducking around with things they don’t understand? If the cat-headed witch knew a significant amount of forbidden magic I’m almost Certain he would have figured out a way to remove the cat head. Also hm basic osha compliance would have gained you significantly Less fuckups. Like Yes they know more than Coco, but do they know what they are fucking around with? Not really.

i got kind of distracted by my argument so this isn’t as poetic as it out to be but witch hat constantly reinforces that people benefit from knowledge, and suffer from ignorance.

[midnightfire830]

Was the blood possibly from one of the angels working at hat’s casino? What were some of the other drawbacks from cup’s power? Does having the blood impact their cup abilities at all? And also, did they get any kind of magic sickness from the blood at first?

Possibly. But Hat never told them who it was from. And quite frankly it would freak them out if they knew the person the blood came from.

General drawbacks? Pretty bad headaches, nosebleeds, and disorientation switching between irl and his visions. There are times were he can’t distinguish a vision from what’s happening in real life. Or he thinks he still in a vision.

Major drawback? It’s SUPER uncontrollable. He can kinda sense when a vision is about to come on (he gets pretty spacey, dizzy, and the beginnings of a headache) but he can’t purposefully trigger any. In fact it leads to a lot of his anxiety and paranoia.

The one thing he’s noticed that sometimes triggers his visions (and this is my favorite part) is bad luck. So, Cup in this AU is very superstitious. Any time he spills salt, crosses paths with a black cat, does something in numbers of 13, breaks a mirror, etc etc he gets visions seeing the effect his bad luck does to him. Usually that bad luck doesn’t cause anything bad, oftentimes making him trip and drop stuff.

HOWEVER, what he doesn’t realize is that it is his paranoia and anxiety that are actually causing those visions. Every time he causes himself some kind of “bad luck” its his WORRY that actually triggers it and his worry over what IS going to happen makes him see the first sign of “bad luck” in his future, which really is just some normal thing happening to him.

If he isn’t paying attention to however number of times he does something or what he’s stepping on, he doesn’t have visions. Like, for example, during some kind of a fight, he could break a bunch of cussing mirrors or step under a billion ladders but if his attention is on the fight and he doesn’t notice what he’s doing, his visions are never triggered.

(Keep in mind that sometimes his visions just randomly happen to him. His worry triggers others.)

Anyway, dish magic remains the same.

After they were injected with the blood and nothing happened within the first hour, the two went about their days per normal. Until a little while later and the cupbros were bed ridden. It wasn’t bad, but boy they felt like crap. Like a bad cold. A headache and a fever at worst. Pretty soon their eyes were glowing gold and Hat knew the angel blood worked. They developed their abilities maybe 2 to 3 days in. And THEN they had to deal with knew psychic abilities which was a whole separate thing going for them. Man. The first cussing week was absolute HELL for them, trying to get adjusted to the new abilities. Mugs was vomiting left and right plus a major headache. Cup felt like he was having visions every goddamn second.

I hope that answered your ask!

Thanks for the ask!