#i JUST want native wild flowers. ok?

[snekdood]

ppl who only care about the aesthetics of things do kinda drive me crazy a bit

[theysaidhush]

Ok English is not my native language so sorry if this is confusing but I really have to share.

So, the reader is a cute prey-species hybrid preferably small and adorable who has been in love with predatory-species hybrid Sunghoon. He knows how she feels about him but every time she calls him for help because of her jealousy he refuses to go for fear of losing control and not being able to be gentle and careful with her. But after hearing her beg for him and imagining her vulnerable he naturally feels horny so he goes and finds a random girl to blow off steam.

This repeats itself until no longer, that pretty hybrid is no longer following Sunghoon around begging for his attention and strutting around in her cute new skirt hoping to get a look. She believes that she is strong and fit enough to bear the pregnancy and give Hoon cute babies, but since he doesn't seem to believe it, she is already tired.

Now she's laughing with newcomer to town golden retriever hybrid Jake who is wooing her, showering her with flattery and ofering to take care of her in her next heat close. Then Sunghoon decides that it has been enough and knowing perfectly well her cycles, he appears at her house to take care of her and show her that the only one who deserves AND should breed her is him and only him.

Pd. Love your writing from the cat across the garden, that brain of yours is just ✨🤌*Cheff kiss* I swear that the issue of instincts and the upbringing of his hybrid do something to me.

Too good for you. At least, that's what he thought.

Pairing: (Past) Predator!Sunghoon x ImpliedLamb!Prey!Reader , GoldenRetriever!Jake x ImpliedLamb!Prey!Reader

A/N: Changed the trope a bit in order to be more comfortable about was I was writing, if a green flag courts you, you shouldn't go for the red one. Might have misunderstood your asks but well ? And thank you sooo much, I really tried to do the same thing here but it's a bit complicated without the proper setting.

Sunghoon was particularly hellbent on having a predator other significant. And when he met you ? He was even more hellbent on having a predator other significant. You were exactly the opposite of him, delicate, sweet and small - well, for him. You were pretty in your little flow skirt and your lace blouses, batting your eyelashes whenever he was around, welcoming him with a big radiant smile. But this was not what Sunghoon wanted. Well, it was not what he needed, because if he wanted you was another subject he wasn't about to discuss with anyone, not even himself.

Because you were a prey, you were fragile, having a certain grace to your every moves and speaking, skipping when you thought no one was around, enjoying your favorite fruit beneath the shadow of a tree when you weren't hanging with your friends at Uni. And you smelled so good, heavenly, it never failed to make his mouth water and his fists clutch into balls. You were a delicate flower in the middle of a wild field, meant to be gathered by someone caring and sensitive. He was none of that.

He was pretty sure you knew very well that something between you two was impossible. Sunghoon wasn't cocky - maybe just very confident - but he knew that even for a predator hybrid he was one of the best. He was strong, good-looking, popular, hell, he could get whoever he wanted. And he did not want you, he knew for a fact that a single flick of his hand would cause a bruise on your delicate skin, which wasn't used to such treatment. The memory of a fateful day where his and your friends were joking around was still fresh on his mind. Good memory, except for the fact that it left a bitter taste in his mouth. The souvenir of a bruise in the form of a hand on your wrist was something Sunghoon could never forget. He only wanted to help you wen you tripped on your own foot, but instead, he was graced with this horrible sight the morning after. You tried to brush it off, smiling and saying that he only help you, looking at you with those enamored eyes, choosing to ignore how he hurt you, and it made him sick.

And after that he should have stayed away from you, but there was just something about the way you smiled at him as if he wasn't the idol of the school, the deadly renewed predator, but just Park Sunghoon, that made his heart crave your presence. So selfishly he stayed by your side, fighting the urge to to rip you appart, to split you open on his dick while telling you you ate more than you could chew. But he did none of that, even wen you were asking him "Pretty please..." when you asked him to help you during your next heat. And it was your wet of courting him, because you really loved him, and Sunghoon knew it, so he declined your request - because it wasn't an offer at this point, but a request ! Little did you know, after leaving your apartment, he was going off to a girl's apartment, one he met someday, in order to ball deep her and blow off some steam. She wouldn't know that you were the reason he was rock hard right ?

But as girls come and leave, help him 'relax', as he's getting rougher with her, angrier, growing more frustrated each passing days, you, on the other hand, is slowly drifting away from him. You start wearing wet you always liked, joggers, jeans, oversized sweat, and you slowly starts to become who you were before meeting Sunghoon. Not a bimbo prey hybrid who wears mini-skirt and laugh hat everything someone's says. The you from before was caring, maybe a bit silent, smart, shy, yet strong and proud of being a prey type of hybrid. You were a sweet lamb who swore oto never change for anyone and yet. Wearing joggers and darker colors was refreshing, you were comfortable in it, why changing for a little piece of tissue for a man-whore who couldn't see you and like you for who you were ??

And oh~, see the real you was exactly what Sunghoon did, and he appreciated every minute of it, appreciated the days where you came at Uni without a single drop of make-up, appreciated your goofiness with your friends, appreciated seeing you unintentionally show off in your oversized joggers, an almost imperceptible leap in your walk. He loved everything second of it. Until him. Sim Jake, the Golden boy, quite literally, everyone loves him, hell, even Sunghoon likes him, he's a nice person and a loyal friend - probably has something to do with his genetic but don't tell him that. And he could have stayed just that, a loyal friend, but instead, he also became his rival - but the snow leopard will never admit it out loud.

Sunghoon sharp eyes caught the way he was looking at you, holding your hand with such delicacy, always making sure you were comfortable and asking you your order so your shy self did not have to do it yourself. And it was sickeningly sweet. The way he was courting you was a ten out of ten, and Sunghoon was mad at himself for even being mad at the fact that his kind friend was courting you. But what made him really angry was when he overheard you and Jake one night while you were all hanging out.

"Cutie lamb."

The sound of a kiss, a giggle. "Jake- Stop !"

"Gonna carrie my babies and be a strong mommy for my pups..."

"You're so impatient, my heat starts in some weeks."

"'You sure ? You already smell so good. Wanna eat you."

"Stop biting me weirdo."

Sunghoon was mad, crazy even. He was the top, the best of the best, an apex predator, your predator. He thought that rejecting you was the best thing to do, that you would go after a prey hybrid. He might have been a bit cocky on that matter. If only he knew that you did not wanted him because he was a predator but just because he was Sunghoon, things would have been different. But they weren't, and now you were planning on spending your heats with his friend. Like damn.

And that's how, one week later, he found himself in that predicament. Standing at your bedroom's door, his hand covering his nose as the scent of your heat, oh! so delicious, was reeking in the apartment. And he was hard. Painfully hard. He was not to blame. It was Jake's fault. All of that.

He is forced to watch Jake fuck you, again and again. Watch him push his knot into you as you are crying and grabbing his shoulders, begging for him to go slower - but they both know those are empty words, you have a safe word for a reason.

He is forced to watch Jake drink your juices like a thirsty man, slurping, licking and drinking what seems to be a puddle of water in a desert. And Sunghoon nows that he would do the same because he can practically taste you on his tongue. He can imagine how your legs would be caging his head, how you would tug as his strands of hair, whimpering almost imperceptibly.

He is forced to watch your face contort with pleasure as Jake hits all the right spot, your eyes glossy and your mouth half-opened as your struggling to breath properly, ears sagging and twitching when you feel particularly good. Your chest heaving, your pretty breasts pressing against your boyfriend's.

And Jake is cruel. Because he allows him to have a taste. He allows a delighted and out of breath Sunghoon to push his cock into your warm hole as he watches you both, tail wagging frantically because of the excitement - there's just something about watching Sunghoon's ears flattening on his head.

Sunghoon feels you wrap your legs around is waist as he stuffs you with his dick. He watches you push your hips against his, just to get a friction to feel something. And you are so desperate, so willing and needy. He can't help himself but thrust into you; fast and hard, like the predator that he is. And you don't break. You don't cry out of pain, don't push his away from you. No, you hold him closer, making grabby hands at him. And he holds them as he's ruining you, as he watches the bulge in your tummy every time he pushes himself deeper.

And he's about to mount you, to turn you around and to put his baby into you, because that's what you asked him for all those months. But Jake is quick to shove him from you with a lazy smile, to put you on all four and to fuck you like a dog. To prove Sunghoon that you are no longer - if you have ever been, his kitty. No your his puppy.

And remorse hits him hard. Even more when he realizes that those marks and bruises he feared that he would inflict to you are beautiful. Blue colors your skin, and he cums on the spot.

[heraldofcrow]

Okay, since you decided to be a chicken and not answer my super haha funny asks about aldbitch, here is a normal one: what do you think Eileen is doing outside of nights of the hunt? I mean, the question applies to every other NPC except for Gasc (obviously he is busy having family) but let's focus on her. What are her hobbies? What is her lifestyle? And socialising with the citizens, if anything?

Lmao, I WILL get to talking about Aldbitch when I am mentally stable enough to comprehend that…cursed inanity 💀

—

BUT FINALLY AN EILEEN ASK YESSS!! Ok, here are some bullet-point headcanons to keep it simple.

🔪 Eileen keeps a low profile on quiet nights when no clear targets are roaming around. She always stays on the rooftops, watching and eavesdropping, getting a feel of the city’s state in the dark. She usually sleeps during the day, but if she is awake, she keeps to the shadows. Overcast days are when she feels more comfortable actually moving around the streets.

🔪 One of her favorite pass-times is chess. She plays herself to hone her wits, but sometimes she’ll play with Crow too. If she’s feeling social, she might come down from the rooftops to find a street urchin willing to challenge her for fun.

🔪 Eileen gets tired of the city sometimes. That’s when she starts hanging out in the graveyards near Hemwick or maybe in the woodlands on the outskirts of Yharnam. She spends her time there exploring, walking around the lakes, and foraging. She’s an excellent forager and loves to collect herbs, leaves, flowers, etc..

🔪 Eileen doesn’t really need money to survive. She finds her own food/water and she sleeps where she can. However, if she sees some new knife or trinket she wants, she’ll usually find something to trade for it.

🔪 Eileen is amazing at magic tricks, and can make coins, cards, blades, etc. disappear and reappear easily. She does in this her spare time just to get her hands moving. She loves holding out shiny coins to attract crows before making them disappear to see if the crows can figure it out.

🔪 Eileen loves throwing knives and knives of any kind, really. She finds time to make them herself or trade with Henryk for new ones. Building up her little collection is a favorite pass-time, and you don’t wanna know how many blades she has hidden in her coat.

🔪 Cooking is something Eileen can actually find peaceful enjoyment in because it doesn’t involve her leaving her nest or strategizing. She makes her traditional curry and soup dishes with plenty of spices and herbs. Oh and, she’s actually really good at it. It’s something she’s secretly quite passionate about. It reminds her of her home and the family life she could have had.

🔪 A bit of a random one, but she can sew and braid really well. She can stitch up her own wounds, sew her battered clothes back together, and braid her hair in incredibly ornate styles. This she does more out of necessity, but she does still enjoy it.

🔪 Eileen has a few little flutes from her native land that she can play. She likes to sit up way above the cityscape and serenade the crows with the songs she knows.

🔪 Eileen is religious and adheres to the traditions of her homeland quite faithfully. She likes to find quiet places for prayer and incense burning when she has time. She always prays for mercy for her targets before she hunts them down.

🔪 Animals are very important to Eileen. Not just crows, but all the birds in Yharnam, the stray cats and dogs, even the little scampering mice. She tries to save any that get caught in the daily carnage of the city. She feels very at home in wild nature and its critters, so she preserves whatever she can of its presence in Yharnam.

🔪 Overall, Eileen’s social life is limited to a few close people that she trusts and knows well, like her fellow crows, the Gascoigne family, a few other hunters, and whoever else manages to break down her emotional walls. She is kind but sharp-tongued. People like her when she sometimes lingers around a pub or workshop, but they are wary of her. She keeps her distance out of necessity. Some will gossip that she is a witch or assassin, but not many know what she truly does. They often settle on the idea she is a reticent hunter draped in feathers. She likes it this way.

—

Ok, I’ll stop there before I become unable to shut up about her. I’m quieter about Eileen sometimes because she herself is a quiet character. I like her mystery and her stoic, reclusive nature as a crow-hunter. I love the idea that she was feared as a strange, black-clad guardian on the edges of society in Yharnam, but in truth, she was just a very mild, gentle figure. She was dark, grim, cynical in a sense, but she had enough self-control to not let her more violent nature subdue her dignity.

Thank you for asking me about her 🖤

[collarbonekissesandasylumwitches]

hello hi, hope y'all are doing ok :)

this is just my take on this aesthetic, my personal brand if you will, so please don't come at me if it isn't completely accurate

(i do not know where a few quotes are from so if you do, please lemme know so that i can list them)

poetcore // chaotic academia // downtown girl

vibes: grocery stores, existential poetry, psychology/english major, iced caramel lattes, old bookstores, anatomical heart emoji, thunderstorms, wired earphones, art museums, dyed hair and a nose ring, vintage posters stuck on bedroom walls, blue hour, ink stained hands, latin curses, 3 am showers, voice notes, smudged eyeliner, cocoa lotion, choco chip cookies, silver rings that clink against ceramic cups, native language nicknames, annotated books, commentary videos on youtube, forehead kisses, candles, love letters, lullabies, sunlight through curtains, libraries at night, homoeroticism, angry girl music, pressed flowers, coffee cake and coffee eclairs, glitter pens, lipbalm, dog cuddles, super specific playlists, daily outfit pictures

fashion: small shirt big pants black nailpaint mismatched earrings signature perfume hair sticks black turtlenecks cardigans fingerless gloves nose rings high waisted jeans linen shorts lipgloss cotton dresses waist jewelry heart shaped locket moss coloured bralettes bandanas tank tops crystal necklaces white eyeliner oversized earth toned sweaters cargo pants vintage band tshirts charm bracelets and anklets crop tops smudged eyeliner harem pants claw clips fairy earrings tote bags doc martens with everything lots of antique rings

songs:

ribs - lorde

coffee breath - sofia mills

movies - conan gray

how long - hadestown

sunflower - post malone, swae lee

i want you to want me - letters to cleo

bookstore girl - charlie burg

sappho - frankie cosmos

achilles come down - gang of youths

girl from the bookstore - jack jones

poet - bastille

all too well 10 minute version taylor's version - taylor swift

artists: mother mother, bon iver, girl in red, arctic monkeys, daughter, florence + the machine, hozier, the neighborhood, taylor swift [folklore and evermore in particular]

movies: shutter island, dead poets society, lady bird, 10 things i hate about you, five feet apart, potrait of a lady on fire, kill your darlings, fleabag, perks of being a wallflower, all the bright places, loving vincent, call me by your name, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

books:

crush - richard siken

a little life - hanya yanagihara

the song of achilles - madeline miller

ode to aphrodite - sappho

the bell jar - sylvia plath

and then there were none - agatha christie

envelope poems - emily dickinson

the secret history - donna tartt

the picture of dorian gray - oscar wilde

a room of one's own - virginia woolf

the robber wife - margaret atwood

the yellow wallpaper - sam vaseghi gilman

quotes:

what we love, we mention. - Marie-Helene Bertino

you said i killed you. haunt me then. - Emily Bronte

loneliness is still time spent with the world.- Ocean Vuong

let me stay tender hearted, despite despite despite.

that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. - Walt Whitman

i love you. i can't tell you. the sun on your face will do it for me. - tumblr user tturing

i will love you if i never see you again, and i will love you if i see you every tuesday. - Lemony Snicket

someone has to leave first. this is a very old story. there is no other version of this story. - Richard Siken

nothing ends poetically. it ends and we turn it into poetry. all that blood was never once beautiful. it was always just red. - Kait Rokowski

love is real. i saw it once outside my window and it stopped to look at me but kept on walking and i thought it'd come back but in the end maybe it was just passing through.

in ten years' time, i want to live in a house with big windows, i want the house to be large enough to have a kitchen table with four chairs but not too roomy to ever feel the depth of my aloneness. because i'll probably be alone. but i think aloneness won't feel so all-consuming with windows that protect me from the world but still let me watch it. - Maeve Wiley, Sex Education

male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. even pretending you aren't catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy: pretending you're unseen, pretending you have a life of vour own, that you can wash your feet and comb your hair unconscious of the ever-present watcher peering through the keyhole, peering through the keyhole in your own head, if nowhere else. you are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. you are your own voyeur. - Margaret Atwood

take care, love love >3

[pokemoncenterofficial]

had a wonderful chat with connie, a floaroman native, an employee at the pick a peck of petals flower shop, and the only person i've ever seen chug a hot cocoa in the MIDDLE OF SUMMER.

[an audio file is attached! at first, we only hear the sounds in the background. the soft music, clinking plates, people and pokémon talking, and hot liquids being poured indicate that the recording takes place inside a café.

Theo: "Hey! Thanks so much for agreeing to meet here to talk! Would it be okay if I recorded the conversation? I want to help anyone else that might be out there in a situation like me, so it'd be great to have a primary source like this."

???: "Oh, sure, that's fine!"

celeste the cleffa cries in greeting, along with a pachirisu.

Theo: "Okay, thanks so much! First things first, would you mind introducing yourself for the recording?"

???: "Of course! I'm Connie, and I work at the Pick a Peck of Petals Flower Shop in town. I understand you came into possession of a... Shaymin egg?"

Theo: "Yeah, that seems to be the case. I've had it for a few weeks, and it's perfectly healthy, but I don't think it's going to hatch for a while. Probably because Shaymin is a Mythical Pokémon and all.

Alright, it seems like Shaymin is pretty closely related to the Gracidea flower, right?"

Connie: "Yep! Legends say that Shaymin can use the Gracidea flower to undergo a sort of transformation."

Theo: "It's closer to something like Cherrim's different forms than something like Mega Evolution, right?"

Connie: "I believe so, yeah! Gracidea flowers are commonly given as a way to show gratitude or apologize after a fight. It's a Sinnohnan tradition, we've been doing it since... well, forever, I guess."

Theo: "Is Gracidea grown all over Sinnoh?"

Connie: "Oh, no. Just in Floaroma Town, actually! It's a very fussy plant, and the rich soils of the town are the only place it can grow. Well, one of very few, I guess."

Theo: "Oh, ok! You said it grows in a few places, where else could I find it?"

Connie: "Well, we don't actually know! The plant isn't native to Floaroma town, but where the flower actually comes from is a bit of a mystery. The most widely accepted theory is that it came here with Shaymin when the area was first blessed with its power. It DOES grow flowers on its back, maybe a seed or two fell off?"

Theo: "That makes a lot of sense, thank you! Has a Shaymin ever visited Floaroma Town since?"

Connie: "Yes, actually! Around every decade or so, we'll get a Shaymin visit. Ask anyone old enough to remember, and they'll tell you all about it!"

Theo: "Have YOU seen Shaymin, then?"

Connie: "Aaagh, no! Last time a Shaymin visited, I was out of town on vacation, so I'm one of the unlucky few who's never seen it in person. I think someone uploaded a video of it to MewTube, though. I'll send it to you if I can unearth it."

Theo: "Dang, that sounds super frustrating. A mythical Pokémon visits your town and you're on vacation? Do you think you'll get to see it next time it visits, at least?"

Connie: "Yeah! Speaking of, I think it's going to visit pretty soon! They're all very strict with the every-decade thing. The next visit should be this year, actually! That's what you're hoping for, right? So you can return the egg?"

Theo: "If I can find a Shaymin, that's the plan. I'm terrified of what might happen if it hatches first. I'm definitely not qualified to take care of it, and I doubt it would be able to live in the wild if it was raised in captivity."

Connie: "It might be worth picking up some Gracidea while you're here, then. Maybe it'll resonate with the egg? Ooh, what if it transforms? That'd be a sight to see."

Theo: "I'll have to swing by your shop later and pick some up! Alright, I think that's everything we need. Thanks so much for your time!

Connie: "Hey, anytime! It was fun!"

celeste and connie's pachirisu say a quick goodbye to the camera before the recording cuts out.]

[pastelracha]

Pregnancy with BangChan

☾ Title : Pregnancy with BangChan

☾ Pairing: BangChan x fem!reader

☾ Genre: fluff, established relationship, pregnangcy

☾ Prompt: just a head canon of pregnancy with your boy Christopher

☾ A/N: I was bored and my imagination went wild before going to sleep so yeah don’t forget to give me your feed back guys xox

☾ Word Count: 0.548K

masterlist | ask or request 

Look at you like a greek goddess, 24/7 

Like when you sleep shirtless so he can always feel your skin against his and if the little one kicks

Always caressing your belly before falling asleep.

Proudly shows the guys every photos of your ultrasound. 

“Look at how it grows’’, “ins’t it so beautiful ?’’ 

Sorry but the guys, are just gonna be the Extra™ uncles, buying everything, and all for this kid. 

Chan is changing his phone home screen every time your belly grows. 

Already bought a tee shirt that says ‘MY DADDY IS A SUPER HERO’ 

Ask for mini version of SKZ merch so baby can wear it.

Created a playlist just for your unborn child, and put his headset on your belly so baby can jam. 

Composed musics for his child. And sings to your belly every days, talk to it every mornings and nights, so it’ll recognize it daddy’s voice.

Went crazy when you guys knew it was a girl (imagine how cute daddy chan’ll be with a baby girl). 

No one touch her, he will kill for his daughter. 

Has a huuuuuge list of name for her. 

Her korean name would be the meaning of precious, or beautiful flower, something like that. 

Called his parents crying like a madman, telling them it was a girl. And after called Felix and asked for all the boys to be with him, still crying. 

The boys went insane at the news, protective uncles mode : activated  

Bought a rubber ducky for her future bath time and will totally sing the song. 

Even in your belly his daughter has him wrapped around her finger. 

Would totally go buy you tteokbokki at 3a.m cause you’re craving it. 

“Thank you so so much, love’’ 

“Why ??’’ You asked confused 

“You gave me the most beautiful and meaningful gift, a daughter’’ (I swear I’m not crying, imagining chan being like this)

Like imagine giving him the test as a birthday gift, the man will throw himself out of the window cause he is over the moon. 

He would find you more beautiful days by days, I mean pregnancy glow is a thing but for him it’s x59.

Even if your eating ice cream like a possessed demon at 2a.m and threatens to rip his hand if he touch it. 

This kid will speak your native language (if you have one), English and Korean. (We Stan multi language baby, and let’s not forget Changbin’s language)

She isn’t born yet, but has the full SKZOO collection (ok rich baby) Chan will do anything for WolfChan to be her fav.

Would announce your pregnancy as “ Stray Kids’ new and precious member is loading’’ 

Do a unique magnificent pregnancy photoshoot, ft the rest of SKZ on some photos, cause as Minho said “ we are the uncles and fuck it I want this photo of a 3 meter board in Gangnam’’

Chan would love to wash your hair for you, giving you massages and this kind of stuffs. 

He totally would call his mom for some tips on how to make you feel good and comfortable in any ways. 

Totally would ask Rayn Reynolds to be the godfather (I mean we know the man) but at the end Felix would gladly be. (Cause Aussie bros) 

[soranihimawari]

Fortune Favors the Bold

Alternatively, Oikawa’s Day Off

Oikawa x Reader post timeskip

Recommended: 18+ (🔞mdni)

It’s been a few years since the captain had a date. Truly, this was happening thanks to a mutual friend of Blanco’s saying he knew someone or other looking for a date to a function. What they don’t tell the famed coach is the fact the dinner party was for a hospital end of year gala for the physical therapy office one Oikawa Tooru attended frequently for his ‘jumper’s knee.’

How serendipitous it was to see your old patient on the other side of the door in a suit with a small bouquet of wild blossoms. He has a loving, teasing smirk in his lips. And you wish you could punch his perfect features and you’d curse him out because he still looks camera ready, so you don’t push your luck. Everyday he asked you if you liked pan de bono, leche flan, cafe con leche; every day you remind him you can’t see him because he’s a patient of yours. Oikawa mentions he loves challenges and he can’t wait to not be under your loving care because then he doesn’t have to hide how he truly feels.

Presently, you make a remark bout how your respective friends and mentors thought you’d be perfect for each other. Just didn’t know how well they hit the mark this time.

“These are for you, mi linda,” his voice melts over your overdressed heart. The dress pants and jeweled toned blouse compliments his color scheme really well.

“There has to be something or other about you dating your former patients,” you chuckle, thanking him for the flowers after inviting him inside. Your small studio is decorated with pressed flowers and silhouette birds with fancy lettering. There are a few books on your shelves, but one particularly catches his eye. It’s a book solely in his native language and he makes it a point to ask you about it. Oikawa hasn’t seen this novel since the Olympics when he was boarding his flight from Tokyo.

“My grand aunt married a man from Nagasaki,” you say when you walk back toward your living room area. “They moved here when I was eight. I’m not really good at speaking it, but I can write kanji really well.”

You hand him a notebook underneath some magazines. Your writing is neat and precise, sort of like his coaches back home. There is more questions he wants to ask, but you mention how the gala starts in under an hour, so off you go. You’re not entirely surprised Oikawa drives a luxury coupe, yet for an athlete, he is not the worse date you could have. He is kind, considerate, makes sure you’re ok all throughout the dinner party. You’re sure your colleagues are quite intrigued as to how this happened.

“How did you two manage to meet?” Your boss asks. Oikawa has a hand resting on your waist while you sip from a champagne flute.

“It was an accident,” Oikawa answers. He had this sheepish grin on his face. “My coach thought it would be a brilliant idea to set me up with a friend’s relative. I didn’t know it would be this delightful soul.”

You nearly choke on your champagne when the word ‘delightful’ hit your ears. Oikawa presses his lips against your temple rather quietly. Your boss’ husband chuckles.

“You remind us old men of when we had friends fix us up in a blind date,” he says.

“Miel, I’m sure they don’t want to hear that,” your boss lightly scolds his husband.

You sense Oikawa pulling you toward himself, saying “we got time. I’m not leaving without my date.”

Listening in on the dramatic retelling of their love story, you find Oikawa enamored by this tale of love your boss’ husband tells after they flip a coin as to who gets to tell it this time. You spot a waiter and ask for more champagne, this time a mimosa is handed to you, which is good enough you reason. This makes the men you’re with chuckle.

“Ah yes, where were we?”

“Your sister’s room mixup after you spent the night the second time, dearie.”

The older of the two men winks at you both and the laughter you hear is one you can’t truly forget even if you tried. It’s a genuine sound, you reason.

Oikawa wonders if you’d be like that if something develops after tonight. You laugh shaking your head at this and somewhere between the engagement story and wedding planning, your hands are held by your date. For now, you’re falling in like with the Olympian, who thanks to his day off, spends an evening with the person who challenges his perception of love.

Some time later, you make your way to the balcony of the ballroom. Your date is left inside talking to other fans of his. They work with you in the next office since the practice opened up several in your city of Còrdoba. The mountain breezes makes your hair bounce every time a guest leaves or enters your reclusive balcony. You notice how animatedly Oikawa speaks with them, how his smile is always dazzling for the photos they take. That is, until you see him mouth out your name since what you could only presume the office chismosas (gossips) were inquiring about who he came with. Those people wore the gowns that made them seem like they belong in his world or at least married to one of the team players overall. A pang of jealousy and self-doubt makes you tilt your head up to the sky when you lean back against the railing when you notice the girls become a little too friendly with your date.

You open your eyes again only to see chocolate-caramel eyes stare back into your own. You really weren’t expecting to step out when he did, so when you feel like you’re being watched by the world behind the glass, he insists on telling you you have interesting women at the office. When he creates some distance between your bodies, you reach out to grab his hand.

“Stay out here a little while,” you smile.

“For you, I’ll stay all night,” he replies.

“Smooth Oikawa, smooth.”

He chuckles again, calling you sweet names typically reserved for cute ex-lovers from another part of the world. Well, except for this one.

“Estrella mia?” his brows pinch together when you hold his hand a bit tighter.

“Yes?”

This time, instead of stepping to the side, Oikawa takes a step forward. Your other hand fixed his jacket’s lapel. Your forehead bumps into his chest and for a split second, he uses his free hand to tilt your face up.

“I’m not your patient anymore,” his voice is low when he admits this fact.

“I know,” your eyes read his bluff the minute he leans forward to kiss you.

As far as first kisses are concerned, you have thirty seconds to remember this gesture: his touch is electric, sending a positive charge to your somewhat neutral ones. There is a vibrancy you don’t see right away, except he plunges you into it whole body and soul; there is sunrises and sunsets he feels you give him. You see in him a universe of infinite possibilities when you choose to kiss him back. You kiss him purposefully with all the peace in your heart. Both your lips are curled upward in a short grin. You pull him more foreword to inhale his scent in the crisp night air. He tastes the mimosa and tarte champagne. You smell the stronger cinnamon notes of his cologne; he caresses your hair and calls you by your first name like you did when you warn him the last time he was your patient. Only for him to return to the office with a bronze medal picking you up in a hug thanking you for helping on his recovery.

You hear him hum when he feels your hand from earlier press against his shirt instead. You’re pushing him away? You just begun entertaining this idea of being together, don’t push his love away. Not yet anyway. Did he do something to upset you? That surely must be it right?

“We should go,” you suggest, tapping the shoulder of the man in front of where you stood.

“Y-yeah,” he chuckles, then whispers. His nose nuzzles against your temple before he playfully bites your earlobe before offering: “My place or yours?”

A few party goers were snapping photos of you who seemingly claimed that being single isn’t so bad earlier last month when the invitations were sent out. You know they mean well, except for like two people, but it’s ok. Your boss said add a plus one, confident you’d find and bring someone along in that time frame.

You give him another quick peck on the lips before he hears you say, “yours.”

When you were back inside the party hall, you make quick rounds to your friends saying you were going to be headed out on a few. A small handful of those who snapped a photo of you and oikawa were offering to send it to you via text and you warn them about the celebrity policy if they go source it somewhere quietly for those who were looking to make a quick dollar.

Your boss and his husband are the last to see you off while you thank them for the party invitation.

“My dear, young love is just as strong as old love, so go pursue yours, we already found ours,” he pats your shoulder when you notice Oikawa has long since been inside saying good bye to a few of your coworkers he pleasantly had a decent time with.

“See you Monday,” you say, laughter behind your eyes. You began to walk toward the elevators.

What you don’t hear when Oikawa finally catches up to your boss is the way the old man says: “they work hard for what they have, which makes them a lot stronger than you think. son you better take good care of the rough cut gem, they are the hardest (but most beautiful) to find.”

Hours later, you find yourself in the thick of Oikawa’s wonton touches. You each left bruising splashes of color with your lips. There are discarded clothes everywhere but the bed and even when you both consent to what would eventually happen, even when you ask him where his box is (while you were halfway undressed, you realize he was telling you the truth). Oikawa never lies about how he feels, even now with your back pressed against the pillows and a leg propped up for balance.

Your hair is messily tousled about, a thin layer of sweat makes you glisten, but his eyes are blown wide with a lustful need to make sure he heard you right. You’re flirting with a fire you can’t placate nor do you have the time to. The rhythm is steady, unyielding, at first. And now? Now it’s a battle of how fast can you handle his onslaught of touches. Does he even know where his hand is traveling…?

“Fuck!” you yell at him, with your eyes closed, the bed creaks slightly. He chuckles when he presses his forehead against yours.

“That’s what I’m doing,” he punctuates every word with a resounding thrust that makes you growl out his name. Your hips buck up when he readjusts his hold on your ankle.

“I like it when your voice does that,” his hand moves further north and slips between where you’re conjoined and you whine when you feel a familiar sensation.

Your eyes roll to the back of your skull for a sit moment.

“That way too, huh?”

You give him a look of anger, but it’s replaced by slight rage when you tell him to look you in the eyes when he removes his hand from there for a second. You suddenly turn the tides of this tantric love so you’re no longer facing him: he faces you. Your thighs rest on his hips and you sort of do a barrel roll, forcing Oikawa to turn the way you intended.

His hands are now on the globes of your ass, making you give him an impish grin.

“Y-you shoul~ah~lie down. Now,” you aren’t taking no for an answer and on his bed does he lean back to make sure you’re able to let him give you what you were robbed off a second ago. “It wasn’t a suggestion sweetheart.”

Your secondary high was snuffed by his need to let his hands to some work. His first on the other hand was shortly after yours, which both of you didn’t really break a sweat since no hands were involved at that point. However, with you sinking back on to his stiffened member, he notices how you cared for him on the long term. The position of you looming over him, makes him loosen his grip.

“You’re incredible,” he whispers. He keeps your helps steady when you feel a little more balanced. You roll said hips against his and he throws his head back in pleasure. You are not who he thought he’d be taking home, you’re better. He lets you work out whatever frustrations you have on him with him, yet you yield for a moment when you pull him to sit up, your legs wrap around his waist. This comes after a final mutilated scream of having pleased some sort of deity. And even if you stay joined for a little while longer, neither of you care to look at the damage done. Thankful for the house, not apartment building, you’re staying the night in.

Oikawa’s calloused fingers do little as they trace over the marks he left behind when you inhale sharply.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” you bashfully confess in the process of exhaling.

“You even can’t if you tried,” he tells you, kissing your temple.

“Tooru,” your eyes observe the distant gleam. “Why’d she let you go?”

“Because I love to play too much,” he sighs. He can’t lie to you and that’s one thing he hates to admit at three in the morning when he calls an old friend as you turn in your sleep later in the morning.

Beats of silence passes, and you two laugh a little. You mention you wouldn’t hold him back because to you, he looks the most alive on the court. His arms hug you tighter when you confess this to him and you’d swear this is the softest you’ll witness him after sex; you don’t tell him you find it to be sort of endearing.

“We should clean up,” you suggest. Your hair tickles his cheek.

“We should, but my cockhead is still buried in you,” he earned a slap to the chest and you gasp at the lewd truth. He groans when you help lift each other to sit up at anymore comfortable angle for this part of the evening. You unceremoniously separate yourself from him and he has the audacity to feign the scoff of hurt he always does: it’s a sound you find endearing enough.

There is a soreness settling in between your legs when you whine about how hard he gripped you. Your thighs are torn with the imprints of his teeth and you notice his aren’t fairing any better when you teasingly decide enough foreplay and your lips met his inner muscle. You’re not one to be shy, and to be frank, Oikawa’s grateful you’re not as demure as he once thought. You can hold your own and keep him entertained with or without sexual opulence oozing from your mouth and body. Oikawa shakes his head saying you of all people were worth it. He watches you slip out the barrier (from your body) that protected him from going overboard, and it’s tied to be discarded in the trash next to his side of the bed. You make it a point to ensure you refill your own box of sensual items like the lubricant you saw at the bodega on fifth and amistad.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he muses when he catches the way your eyes notice the box on the floor. It forces him to add one more replacement box soon at the pharmacy down the road.

He tells you to stay still on the side of the bed you inhabited as he went to the master bathroom and came back with warm towels to help clean up on and and around you. His hands are kinder this time: they move slowly up and down your thighs to your ankles. When he concludes this, he kisses your forehead before asking if you could stand. You mention you want to take a shower with or without him, it didn’t matter, after you used the toilet.

“Do you need my help?” Oikawa, in all his nude glory, asks you extending a princely hand.

“Maybe to get off this bed,” you say, holding the duvet like a make-shift toga. He holds you steadily against him when your feet touch the ground. You grip his hand like a crutch every couple of steps before you cross the threshold of the lavish bathroom.

Oikawa chooses to give you some privacy mentioning he’ll join you after he finishes stripping his ruined bedsheets (and thereby replacing them). You shake your head allowing him to do what else’s needs to be done and you don’t tell him how much you admire is dedication to ensuring you’re comfortable around him. Sex changes things and you know this; he pretends he’s the same throughout. There is a change happening regardless of who started what. Just know when Oikawa chose to pursue you, he will ambitiously do everything he can to make you feel worthy. You shake the uneasiness of new love out of your mind, but whatever that has transpired is now transparent. You tilt your neck hearing the cracks of the excess CO2 being released and you readjust your world back to technicolor: you, subtly, wholeheartedly, fell for his charms and wit way before this. Making a mental note to send Blanco and your family friend a thank you card when you order more stationary. Through the closed door, oikawa’s voice grounds you a title more than before as he directed you where the towels are and how to work the shower closing the ornate door behind him.

You finish using the toilet and as you wash your hands, your lover for the night enters. He mentions the bed is remade with new sheets as he takes his time to admire the way you seem a bit unreal in doing the mundane task. You pat your hands dry, asking him if he prefers warm or piping hot water. In his hands, he has a spare set of overnight clothes he thinks would fit you and some old joggers for him. You quirk an eyebrow at him since he hasn’t answered the water temp question yet. His answer always defaults to, “my dearest chooses.”

Something about being called sweet names makes the fiery embers burn in your blood. It rises to the surface of a blush that covers your neck to your ears. He has this look of confused smugness, knowing a new piece of information about you. He calls you his star, you call him the sun. You sort of nickname yourself Icarus like the fables of old. Oikawa promises he won’t let your wings melt. His hair is a bit disgraced, spiking in places still from where you held him close by the back of his neck when you first arrived back to his second home. His hands aid you in washing your hair, you have your head steady looking ever forward with him supporting you and you give him a lending hand.

Oikawa Tooru is an athlete with money to spend, so why not spoil the one person who helped him heal in the off season? Was sex always on the table between you two? Perhaps, but for now, when he joins you in the shower, the steam rises and surrounds you in a haze of post-coital desire. The wonton, greedy touches are replaced with slower sensual moves in this act of respect and service. With the suds smelling of orange groves and pomegranate Oikawa makes you you look into his eyes, staring at your reflection. You feel your shoulders being held again when you press your hands against his broad chest; you lean forward making sure your kiss under the running water lasts just as long as you both needed. You don’t need to express how you feel with words especially if after all that noise, he still doesn’t believe you’re surrendering to his love, then you’d just remind him day after day.

“Tooru?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t take us for granted.”

Oikawa looks at you with a twisted frown before his eyes communicates he doesn’t ever want to.

“We’ve just begun and I don’t think I could handle it if I did.”

For once, the athlete stares at you with all the wonder in his world. He has seen all parts of you except this innocent tonality graces your figure, he sees the grown adult in you who hasn’t had much experience in lasting in long term relationships. Oikawa loves to challenge the Furies, so with a final declaration sealed on your lips, he promises he won’t ever take this heart of his away from you.

Sometimes, all it takes for people to fall in love is a leap of faith, other times it takes a mentor (or two) to be a damn good matchmaker; tonight though, both of you figure out as the steam hangs in the fragrant air, it’s fortune who truly favors the bold.

[liaswritesrobots]

Fluffy sceanario request for human S/O finding Naga!TFA Optimus in the woods?

It was well into Spring, the flowers were blooming, bees were coming out and buzzing around, the sun shined down through the vibrant green trees, the perfect day for a little hike in the woods. You can't remember the last time you got to wander around the forest, despite living so close to it, and you were quite excited to take a stroll through it and take pictures of the wild life there. You made sure your mini-backpack had everything you needed, cell phone and ID in case you got lost or had an emergency, a camera to take pictures with, your water bottle, and some crackers and fruity granola bars in case you needed a snack. You also made sure to slip some pepper spray into your pocket, just in case.

You headed out, making sure to first let those closest to you know you probably wouldn't be back until it was close to dinner time.

Once you reach the forest you pull out your camera, immediately taking a picture of the scenery. The light shown through little spaces from the tops of the trees, giving the forest a magical look to it. You soon spot some daisies that a bumblebee is resting on and slowly point your camera closer to get the perfect shot of the bee on the flower. After you take the picture you decide to get a shot of the flowers together, that's when you hear a rustling from behind you.

You turn your head to the right, hand ready to slip into your pocket for the pepper spray, and slowly stand up, "Hello? Is someone else here?" you ask, rather quietly.

The rustling sound happens again, this time happening to the left of you. You turn and ask once again, "Is someone here?" 

You notice something quickly go into one of the bushes. It was just a glimpse of something, something that looked like a tail, so you calm down a bit, knowing that it's an animal. Still, you're on alert, you know well enough that just because it's a little animal doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. You're hoping it's just a little opossum hunting some food, or maybe a stray cat roaming around. You figure since it's an animal you'll probably be fine if you don't mess with it, so you start to walk away. You'll find another area to photograph, one where you won't be bothering a little creature just looking for something to eat.

You stop at a place not too far away from the rustling bush that has a fallen tree, taking a picture of it. It looks like it's fallen pretty recently, probably from one of the storms you had a couple of weeks ago. You hear a rustling behind you again and turn around. You spot the same tail quickly hiding itself behind a very big tree, but this time you get a good enough glance to notice it's blue and red.

Weird… you can't think of any animal around here that had that kind of tail. Well… other than maybe a snake or some other reptile, since they can be very colorful at times. You start to get a bit creeped out, almost like whatever that is… is following you. You put your camera away and press forward, not stopping until you come across a huge rock that you immediately duck behind.

You peek out from behind the rock but all you can see is the tail disappearing behind the other side of the rock. You do a small gulp and take out your pepper spray as you turn back to face forward. So it is following you. And whatever it is it's far too close for your own comfort right now. 

You peek around again, this time on the other side, and yet you still don't see what this thing could be. You turn back, only to be met with an azure, somewhat metallic face with sparkling turquoise eyes peering at you upside-down from the top of the rock. 

You let out a scream and the creature screams as well and retracts as you fall forward and shuffle to your feet, shakily gripping the pepper spray as you aim it at the creature.

"WHAT ARE YOU?" You shout.

"What are you?" The creature asks back, peering over the rock at you.

"YOU CAN TALK?!"

"So can you!" The creature hesitates for a moment, before slithering back to the top of the rock, "At least that'll make this easier I guess." He says coming down from the rock in front of you.

You can see it clearly now, this thing looks like it's half snake, half robot, and it towers over you. It's metallic in some areas and looks like a snake in others, it's lower half is that of a snake, a San Francisco Garter Snake from the looks of it, and the top part is more man- er, machine, and it's voice is somewhat robotic.

"Stay back!" You say pointing the pepper spray.

"Hey, it's ok! I'm not gonna hurt you!" He says putting his hands in front of his torso, palms forward, "Look, I kind of crashed my ship and got stuck here but… I'm not exactly sure where here is."

"Ship?" You ask, tilting your head a little and lowing the spray a little.

"Yeah. I tried asking some other native creatures for help but… they couldn't really speak any language I could download."

You stare at this creature, so many thoughts racing through your mind. 'This is an alien? Certainly looks like it could be one. Am I going to die? Is it going to eat me or dissect me? What does it mean by downloading language?'

"Hey are you-" The creature slithers closer but stops when you raise the pepper spray again. He stares at you for a moment then backs up, "I swear I'm not here to cause trouble, I just want to repair my ship so I can go back to Serpentron."

"Serpentron?"

"It's my home planet."

"So you are an alien." You look down at the ground for a moment, 'Holy shit, a real live alien! It's in front of me! Crap I put my camera away…'

"Can you help?"

"Huh?" You turn your attention back to the creature.

"Can you help me repair my ship?" It asks again, a pleaful look in his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't think I'd know how..." You say.

"Oh," the creature gets a sorrowful look that almost makes you feel sorry for him, "Ok. Maybe someone else in the forest can. Sorry for scaring you by the way." He says before he starts to turn around.

"Wait!"

He looks back at you.

"I don't know if I'd go around just showing myself to anyone around here if I were you." You tell him. You're not even sure why you're giving advice, but there's something about this creature, now that you really look at him, that you feel is trustworthy and good, something worth protecting, "Since you're not from this planet some people might try to hurt you… they might try to experiment on you or something to learn how you work."

A look of shock crosses the creature's face, "Oh! Well, thanks for letting me know that. So some of the people here are hostile? I guess I'll have to be more careful from now on. I guess I'm lucky you're one of the good ones then." He smiles, and it's such a pure, sweet smile that you feel at ease.

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Sorry again for scaring you," He says.

"It's alright," you say, slipping the pepper spray back into your pocket, "Is your ship in this forest?"

"Yeah, it's closer to the end of it on the west side though."

"I uh… I doubt I could actually do repairs, but I might be able to bring you some tools some time." You offer.

"That'd help a lot!" He smiles that cute smile again.

"I'm y/n, by the way." You say inching a bit closer to the creature now that you realize he's not a threat.

"My name's Optimus Prime," he responds, "It's nice meeting you."

[schleierkauz]

Q&A Highlights

Ok so bad news first: My questions were ignored. Cornelia did not clarify any of our death-related theories. Maybe next time.

There was A Lot of other stuff, though so... Enjoy!

- The stream starts with everyone wishing us a happy women’s day! Usually women in Erfurt (where the bookstore people are) get flowers but not today because... you know. Cornelia says America is starting to go back to normal, meanwhile Germany... :| Anyway. Don’t look over here.

- Cornelia says she probably won’t get the vaccine anytime soon because she’s just chilling on her farm anyway and people who have to be out in public/are vulnerable should get it first

- Question: When will Cornelia visit Germany again? In response to this, she gives us some exclusive news, not official yet, heard it here first: She’s gonna move to Italy! Apparently she bought an olive farm there which is cheaper, better for the environment (her current farm will be sold to some people who want to turn it into an organic farm) and obviously closer to Germany so she’ll be here more often. :)

- The 4th Reckless book will be released in English at some point this autumn

- There’s no definite release date for TCoR because she’s busy with Dragonrider but she hopes she’ll have finished writing it by the end of this year

- If she’s still alive after all that to work on Reckless 5, it’ll be the last book of the series... probably. She’s also working on a bunch of smaller projects with her artists in residence

- Question: What are Cornelia’s favorite stories by Jane Austen, the Brontë sister and Shakespeare? She’s not a huge fan of Austen or Brontë because she finds all those repressed emotions too exhausting to read about. With Shakespeare on the other hand she struggles to name a favorite because there’s so much greatness to choose from (she does name MacBeth and Romeo and Juliet though)

- The Black Prince’s legacy in the Reckless timeline may play a role in the next Reckless book or it might evolve into a whole other story. Either way, she’s thinking about it  👀

- Someone asks about Reckless characters and Cornelia says that Kami’en and the Dark Fairy felt very familiar to her from the start in that she always knew who they were as people. She’s not sure why that is. She thinks the Dark Fairy represents many aspects of womanhood, like the ancient forgotten Goddess. Same with Fox, who embodies different sides of that.

- If Cornelia had to date a man from the Mirrorworld, Kami’en would interest her

- Rainer Strecker randomly joins the chat to say hi and everyone is delighted

- Cornelia’s favorite book series is still Lord of the Rings

- Question: Why has the Black Prince never found his true love? Cornelia says she’s not sure that’s true - maybe he did found true love at some point and then lost it again? ‘...and they lived happily ever after’ isn’t a guaranteed outcome after all. Since he’s such a passionate man, she’s pretty sure he’s had at least one big lovestory at this point. She hasn’t asked him about that yet but hopes she’ll find out when she continues writing his story.

- Jumping off that question, Cornelia says she respects her characters’ privacy and lets them keep their secrets until the time comes to ask about them, just as she would with real people.

- Someone asks if Cornelia has ever written herself into a story and she says a part of her is in all her characters. Except the villains because she hates them. She feels closest to Fox because she also always wished she could shapeshift

- The bookstore lady jumps in and asks about Meggie, is she similar to how Cornelia was as a child? Cornelia says yes, especially because she also had a very close relationship with her father and they would bond over books. However, she always envisioned Meggie with dark hair and as a different kind of girl than she was. (Ok sidenote from me on that, I wonder what she means by ‘dark hair’? Because Meggie is explicitly blond, so like... dark blond? Or did we just unlock brunette Meggie in 2021? Cornelia-)

- Continuing the conversation, Cornelia says she doesn’t consider herself the creator of any of the characters in her stories, she feels like she met them and wrote about him but she would never say something like ‘I invented Dustfinger’ because that’s absurd. How would that even work. That’s disrespectful. No.

- Some characters pretty much demand to be written about and are very impatient (like Jacob), others are more shy and elusive and take effort to understand (like Will or Dustfinger)

- There probably won’t be another book like The Labyrinth of the Faun because it was created under such unbelievable circumstances. Cornelia does enjoy writing film scripts, though, like she did for the Wild Chicks recently

- Question: How does Cornelia come up with character names? She has a bunch of encyclopedias and when she knows where a story takes place she checks if there are any artists from there whose names she can steal. She always wants names to have meaning and to paint a picture of whatever character it belongs to. However, she says that sometimes the vibe of a name is a tricky thing: When she wrote The Thief Lord (which takes place in Italy), she thought ‘Mosca’ was the perfect name for a big strong boy. However when the time came to translate the story into Italian, the Italians told her that ‘Mosca’ sounds like the name of a tiny little fly. Oh well.

- Cornelia says a lot of readers have written to her about The Thief Lord because at one point Victor (the detective) calls Mosca (who is black) a “Mohrenkopf”. Context: ‘Mohrenkopf’ is a German slur towards black people and also an outdated name for this goddamn marshmallow cookie:

Fuck this cookie.

- Cornelia says yeah, Victor is being racist in that moment but that doesn’t mean that she, the author, is racist. Similarly, she used the term ‘Indians’ in Reckless and a lot of readers were upset which she did not anticipate. To her it’s a positive word since she admires ‘Indians’ so deeply and finds terms like ‘Native/Indigenous Americans’ very complicated. She wonders how much longer she’ll be allowed to say ‘Black Prince’

- She thinks it’s right to be vigilant about bigotry but simply searching for problematic words is dangerous because context matters

- Bookstore lady brings up Pippi Longstocking and how the N-word has been removed from modern copies (think Pippi’s father). She think’s it’s wrong because the original text is part of the cultural heritage and shouldn’t be hidden from children but instead explained. 

- Cornelia says that in America she sees the hurt that’s connected to that word but she doesn’t think it’s right to simply remove the slur and expect everything to be fine. After all, the text in which it was used is still the same so any harmful ideas would still be in there and that needs to be discussed. Simply whitewashing things doesn’t make them any less racist.

- Cornelia brings up a visual example: The Asterix comics. She always liked them but the fact that the only black character is drawn as a racist caricature is harmful and wrong. It’s time to listen when black people express how hurtful depictions like that can be. Many white people never noticed racism growing up because it never affected them and that’s why it’s important to learn

- The ‘from rags to riches’ American dream was usually reserved for white people and Cornelia thinks a lot of (white) people are waking up to that fact. The way black people are still being criminalized and the way prisons use inmates for cheap labor is horrible and like a modern kind of slavery

- The bookstore people try to say something but Cornelia is not done: We Europeans are not off the hook either because the sins and wounds of colonialism are still felt around the world, not to mention the way other countries are still exploited today. Our wealth rests on the shoulders of poorer nations. Many doors are opening and it’s difficult to step through but we have to do it and admit to the things we may have been blind to due to privilege.

- The three of them agree on that and go back to reading questions

- Question: What are Cornelia’s tips for young authors? She advises to never start writing a story on a computer, always get a notebook and collect ideas & pictures for your story. Don’t rush things. If you have more than one story, give each story its own book and feed whichever one is hungry. It’s important to follow the idea where it leads, if you use cliches your readers will recognize them. And then it just takes time and passion. And trust in your own unique voice. She paraphrases a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson who once said no one cares about stories or characters or whatever, people read books to see the world through the goggles the author puts on them. I’m sure he said it prettier, I’m paraphrasing the paraphrase.

- That said, Cornelia thinks authors who say things like “I’m writing to express my innermost turbulences” are kinda dumb. She thinks it’s important to write about the things that happen everywhere else and around yourself and to try to find voices for others, not just yourself. Just like how carpenters build furniture for everyone else, a writer should use words to build things for others, whether it’s a window or door or a hiding place.

- Speaking of notebooks, as most of us probably know Cornelia has a lot of those and occasionally publishes them on her website. She says she’d love to let people look through them in person, maybe at the new farm in Germany (Cornelia sure does love farms)

- Speaking of writing things on paper, all three of them stress that everyone should write more letters because one day they’ll be old letters and curious people will want to read them, just as we like to read old documents now.

- Last question: How come both the Inkworld and the Mirrorworld feature a character called Bastard? Cornelia thinks that’s a good question and she should probably think about that. (Am I stupid? Are they talking about Basta? I’m confused)

...And with that, the livestream ends. They’ll get back together to do this again two months from now, until then: I’m going tf to sleep

[bugmomwrites]

Animal Crossed Lovers (Tamaki Amajiki)

Alrighty so I haven't put any finished work on here in a hot minute, that’s my bad. ANYWHO my mom got me ACNH as an early birthday gift since my birthday (April 5th) just missed the supposed quarantine cutoff date for our area (7th). I may be be stuck inside while everything’s closed, but hey- at least the island of Escapism hardly rests 😉

(SW-3129-0651-5422)

Tamaki Amajiki x GN! Reader

Tamaki was never one to play video games, but he had to admit there was just something...soothing about Animal Crossing that melted much of his anxiety away. Nejire had initially preordered a copy for his birthday weeks ago, but her friend who worked at the local (s/n) (who he may or may not have been crushing on since their second year after they joined them at lunch one day) was able to pull a couple strings and get it on the fourth of March instead of the twentieth. Of course he had no idea, but he was so stunned when he opened it that it didn’t even occur to him that the game wasn’t even out yet until Mirio had reminded him. He didn’t question it though- his friend group was one wild card after another, so he guessed he shouldn’t have been too surprised.

He was thrilled, and just the fact that no one else had a copy yet made it feel all the more personal. Of course he knew in sixteen days it would be all anybody ever talked about, but for the time being it felt like the game, the little world he had created in the past few days with its gentle music and soft, wholesome theme, was his and his alone. The fact that it was a gift from his friends made it all the more special, and even if he had a hectic day at school he could turn on the console and water pretend flowers on a pretend island, and for those few moments, all was right with the world.

He was pulling weeds to sell to Timmy for bells when his screen pinged in the corner that made his blood run cold.

(Gamertag) is online

Playing: Animal Crossing New Horizons

That’s right, you had friended him on the switch after realizing all his friends had one, and now with a fourth person they could have a full team online. Mirio has suggested everyone exchange codes, and you had taken the liberty of showing him how to punch in the code and adding yourself while he sat there trying not to melt into his seat at how excited you got, or how nice you smelled up close. You had passed it back with a beaming grin, telling him you couldn’t wait to do co-ops. At the time he could only nod, speechless as the rest of his friends made idle chatter until the bell rung, and everyone scurried back to class.

He quickly realized he had left the terminal gate open when he was poking around the various features, learning about what each thing does in game. He tried sprinting to the airport to close the gates, and he made it to the dock before a big green banner flashed across his screen reading “you have a visitor!”

Out of the threshold popped your avatar, and for a moment he was grateful he could hide behind a screen. He wanted to be mad, upset even, that you had wandered onto his digital sanctuary, but couldn’t find it in himself because, then again, it was you.

The Nookphone in the top left corner buzzed to life, and he opened up the chat log with shaky hands. In a cutesy, pastel speech bubble was your message, and he wondered how something that was once so therapeutic to him could do a 180 and suddenly become the source of his anxiety.

G/T: Hello! Sorry to pop in unannounced, I hope you don’t mind^^

Tamaki felt his mouth go dry, reading it in your voice and after steadying his breathing, he painstakingly typed out a response.

Suneater: its ok.

G/T: It’s kinda hard to find others to play with when the game isn’t even released yet >~<

Suneater: Oh?

He should have known it was too good to be true. You were only visiting him because no one else was on yet. He sighed, trying to keep the dread from crawling back in before another note popped up.

G/T: The game doesn’t actually release until the first day of spring, but working at (s/n) has its perks. I saw the trailers and the hype and figured it would be the perfect game for you.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him upon reading that. So he wasn’t the last choice- rather, the game simply wasn’t out to the general public yet. But if that was the case, how did you also get a copy?

Suneater: thats nice of you

G/T: And then a little birdy told me you had a birthday coming up, so since I have a couple connections after I got my copy, I asked my manager if they’d set aside one more.

Suneater: you

Suneater: you were the one who helped get it early?

Boy did he feel stupid now. You worked at (s/n), (as you had literally just mentioned in your previous notes), Nejire got him a game that wasn’t out yet, you guys were all mutual friends- how did he not put two and two together?!

G/T: Yes lol that would be me^ you liking it so far? You picked a good name for the island too.

“Sunshine Island” may have seemed a little cliche to most people, but Tamaki had so many things in his life linked to it that by this point, it was just routine. Mirio was his sun in dark times. His nickname Suneater, even the sunflowers he had received from his parents for his birthday each year was tradition. He knew not everyone would see it the way he did, but to him, it was perfect, and he was definitely chuffed when he thought it up and punched it in for the first time.

To hear you loved it too sent a swell of pride through him, and he wondered if it was possible to love someone as much as he did just then.

Suneater: you really think so?

G/T: Absolutely

And with that, the two of you explored Sunshine Island together, he showed you his tent, the shops, and the little orchard of peaches he had arranged. You were impressed by the amount of detail and care that went into arranging everything, and asked if he’d be willing to help you with your island sometime, to which he obliged. 

You guys did some more walking, and he told you to feel free to shake theres and take a couple fruits with you. His native fruit was peaches, and in exchange you dropped a couple of your own fruits from your island on the ground for him to pick up so he could have more variety in his world.

G/T: There’s six different kinds, and each island is assigned one main type of fruit. the more you visit with friends, the more biodiversity you’ll get. Pretty cool right? I have some spare (F/N), and if you take and plant those, they'll grow and multiply!

His avatar hesitantly wandered over to the offering after yours stepped back a little to let him take them. Your generousity was surely appreciated, and even though you couldn't see it, he smiled softly before typing out a new message.

Suneater: Thank you. I’ll go plant those.

The game might have been synced up with real time, even getting darker after a certain hour- yet despite it being outside, neither one of you noticed just how much time had passed between all the bug catching, fishing, exploring and talking. When your screen loaded up a clock that read 2:54 AM, you blinked a few times, as if that would change the reading. But lo and behold, it was going for 3am on a school night, and you knew you both had to get to bed.

G/T: Ah beans its 3am, I gotta get to bed soon. Thanks for letting me hang out on your island, and sorry for keeping you awake >~<

Suneater: don't be sorry, i had a lot of fun. can we play together again sometime?

G/T: Of course! I can't wait to meet up again. Maybe we can visit my island next time? I should have those peaches planted by then, and you can teach me your ways, oh master landscaper.

Tamaki chuckled out loud at that, blushing, as he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Suneater: That would be nice. Wait here a second.

He scurried off to a patch of flowers he had blooming, and with a shovel, picked up a few in your favorite color before making his way back over and dropping them in front of you.

Suneater: You can start by planting a few of these around your island. It is your favorite color, right?

Now it was your turn to blush as you picked up the (f/c) flowers he dropped in front of you, smiling like a goon at his burst of confidence. How he remembered your favorite color is beyond you, but hey- you weren’t complaining.

G/T: They’re perfect, thank you Tama!

Suneater: You're welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow?

G/N: You know it! Goodnight <3

And on that note you walked down to the airport, his avatar following close behind as if to see you off. It was a simple gesture, but appreciated nonetheless. Both of you powered down your switches for the night before plugging them in, and promptly hopping into your respective beds with racing hearts. It was the perfect end to your digital “date” and you couldn’t wait to log in again.

Thank you for reading! Feedback and reblogs are appreciated. Hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. The inbox is always open for future ideas, so don’t be afraid to drop in. 

Also gonna tag @katsukisprincess​ cause I mean...Animal Crossing and wholesome Tamaki fluff. ‘Nuff said.

[llendrinall]

So i once read a fic where Draco had a small pet and now i really wanna read something where he just keeps getting small pets. He's got an Elf owl, a rusty spotted cat, a small snake (Dk any small snake breeds), a squirrel, a guinea pig, a Pygmy Rabbit, 2 SUGAR GLIDERS, a Fennec Fox, a ferret. Like ik this makes no sence but i legit wanna read a gaint crack fic where he just keeps getting small animals and everyone is just like "????"

But, but, but, Draco is not collecting tiny animals. There is a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Draco has an elf owl because a respectable independent wizard must have an owl, and after the eagle owl from his youth he wanted something different. Nothing else to it.

He does not have a rusty spotted cat. It is a wild animal, a threatened wild animal, and it would be irresponsible to have one as a pet. Aramis’ previous owner (Aramis is Draco’s rusty-spotted cat) was an idiot and Draco took great pleasure in winning Aramis in a bet. He tried to move Aramis to an adequate environment, but by then time he figured out how to contact the zoo Aramis had grown too used to Draco and it would be cruel to part from him.

There are merely three native snakes in Britain: the adder, the barred grass snake and the smooth snake. Cora, at 55 cm is a bit short for a smooth snake, but she is still lovely. Draco found her by chance in a basket of motted goldcrest eggs he had ordered at the apothecary and what was he supposed to do then? Kill her? She is not poisonous, she mostly eats mice and small lizards and, according to Harry Potter, calls Draco “Sun”. Cora thinks that Draco is made of the sun, that he is some sort of Sun God. Of course Draco will behave accordingly. Not many people believe in him, so he will take Cora’s admiration any day.

Draco does not have a squirrel. Renata belongs to herself. She just likes to sit with Draco when he is reading in the manor’s garden. Sometimes, if she has something to tell him, she climbs to his window and knocks. No, there is not a parseltongue for squirrels, that’s stupid, and Draco is not a squirrel-tongue, he just understands her very well. He also suspects that Hermione’s gift of a hat is some sort of stupid hidden joke, but Renata and Draco are above such childish humour.

The guinea pig belongs to Teddy. Only Teddy, odd child that he is, is terrified of rodents. Draco doesn’t know why he is the one stuck with Roderick when Teddy has a perfectly nice godfather right there who should take his responsibilities more seriously. It’s preposterous.

(Did he call Harry perfectly nice? Draco is sure he did not).

The pigmy rabbit might be Draco’s fault. After Roderick’s fiasco, Draco decided to acquire a properly fluffy and cute pet for Teddy. But apparently pygmy bunnies have enough rodent-like qualities to scare Teddy, so Draco has Ferdinand’s wardenship until such a time when Teddy is grown past his silly rodent aversion and realizes how cute Ferdinand is.

The sugar glides were a fashion accessory of some witch or another in a Ministry gala. (Ok, they belonged to Felicity Bullstrode-Greengrass). They jumped from her shoulders into a passing drink tray and from there to the floor, scampered under a table, climbed up a pillar, glided beautifully across the hall miraculously avoiding any and all spells trying to catch them, landed on Justin Finch-Fletchley’s head, jumped into a flower arrangement and scurried between the decorations until they arrived near the balcony door where Draco was standing, bored out of his mind and debating whether or not he should take up smoking or if he should jump out of the balcony instead to see what would happen.

(The Ministry of Magic is underground, so the panorama in windows and balconies is the result of a spell).

The sugar gliders couldn’t escape through the balcony route and after all that effort, how could Draco not offer them shelter under his coat? It’s practically his duty as a Slytherin to secret away two living fashion accessories and later train them into becoming criminal accessories. Ha. Haha.

Draco won Sana, the cheeky fennec fox, from the same arrogant wizard who used to own Aramis. This time Draco also got him arrested because that was his actual purpose in meeting him, to get him to confess where he was keeping the cargo. The bet was a distraction until the Aurors arrived, and Draco won fair and square. He asked Ron Weasley what was he supposed to do with her, but apparently they were busy, Draco, some of them had to break a poison curse before they could even begin to move the cargo, Draco, just take the weird rabbit cat and go.

So Draco took Sana in his arms and left. She likes Aramis well enough and they spend their days napping under a sun ray in the library.

Oddly enough, Draco will admit that he has a pet ferret, but only because that’s preferable to admitting that one idle summer he got it in his head that he should try becoming an animagus (unregistered, of course, because he might not be a dark wizard but he is far from reformed) and it turned out that is his animagus form.

So, as you can see, Draco doesn’t have any pets. He has a ferret, but that’s a lie.

[stillchaoticlogic]

Stumbling Chapter 7

Pairing: Raihan X Reader X Leon

Your life hadn’t gone exactly as you planned…

This is why when an old rival walks into the coffee shop you work at he gives you an offer you just can’t refuse. Finally, a chance at the League. Suddenly you are thrust into the spotlight and a world you thought you had left behind. Dreams aren’t always what they are cracked up to be though, especially when you find yourself the tangled up with the champion and a certain gym leader.

Has all your dreams come true?

Or is this your worst nightmare?

Masterlist!

No Mercy

You are woken by a yelp and practically leap out of your sleeping bag. You turn around in enough time to see Leon pry his hand out of Hades’ mouth. 

“Hades!” you yelp as you get up and rush to Leon. 

“Did he get you good?” you ask as you grab his hand to inspect it. 

You don’t notice the blush on Leon’s face or the way he smiles at your concern. 

Leon chuckles as he inspects his own hand, “I don’t think so… I guess that’s what I get for trying to feed him…”

“He’s a little overzealous with food… I don’t know that they properly fed him in that ring…” you say forlornly as you gaze over at the dragon behind you. He has burrowed his head under a blanket in an attempt to hide from you. Even though it’s been two weeks since the attack and you’ve been working with him and Davine the two dragons have a long way to go. 

Leon shakes off the bite before he walks over to the young dragon and pats him on the back. 

“It’s okay buddy… You didn’t get me too bad…” he says softly as he soothes the dragon. 

Hades pulls his head from under the blankets and nudges Leon happily. You smile at the two of them before you look around the mostly empty tent. 

“Where’s Raihan?” you ask noticing his empty sleeping bag. He’s usually the last one up, but he’s nowhere to be found. 

“He’s taking his Pokemon out. His Flygon was being a little antsy.”

“Ahh… I see…” 

The two of you clean the camp up quickly, you’re pretty excited to get on the road. Today you leave the Wild Area and head up towards Route 3 in order to get to the Mines. After two weeks of training, you were ready to win a gym badge. 

Once Raihan returns the green dragon comes fluttering up to you and nuzzles you. You chuckle as you pet the top of his head. 

“Alright...alright… stop sucking up to the lady! She needs her space,” Raihan says with a laugh before calling the dragon back. He walks over to you and hands you a flower he found on his walk.

“For the lady,” he says with a smile as he presents it you. 

You giggle as you take it and quietly thank him, you stick the flower in your hair before you show it off.

“Beautiful! I’ll have to get you more flowers to put in your hair…” he says with a sly glance over to Leon. 

The three of you set out towards Motostoke so you can pass through the city. You’re pretty excited to be heading that way since you’re a little tired of curry. You end up stopping at the battle cafe to eat lunch and you’re relieved when no one seems to pay the two celebrities with you any attention. The visit is quick, you all take your teams to the Pokemon center and stock up on supplies while you wait for them to be ready to go. 

It’s around one in the afternoon when you start out on route three. The sound of Rookidee chirping fills the air and you chuckle as you notice trainers battling along the trail. It’s not long before a girl about seventeen asks for a battle and you indulge her. She sends her Vulpix out and you send out Axel, your Toxel.

The baby Pokemon is pouty and honestly isn’t that great at battling yet. He really just spits out acid and flails around. Even after you win against the vulpix, by some miracle, he just runs up to you and begs to be held. You pick him and let him ride on your back while you continue down the path. 

“You’re spoiling him…” sighs Leon.

“He’s a baby! What do you expect!” You say in defense. 

You’ve been walking for a few hours, casually battling other trainers when it begins to sprinkle. You glance up at the sky in annoyance, but otherwise, keep walking. Suddenly the sky opens up and a torrent of rain falls down upon you. You gasp and attempt to throw your hands over your head to protect yourself from the rain. A moment later, a piece of clothing is thrown over your head and you pull it up noticing the familiar smell of Raihan. He had thrown his hoodie over you to protect you from the rain. 

You’re surprised when you hear laughter coming from behind and look back to see Leon laughing as he runs through the rain. His mane is soaked and plastered to his shoulders. Raihan is running along beside him and you aren’t surprised when you hear Raihan challenge Leon to a race. You roll your eyes as the duo takes off down the pathway racing one another as they go. 

You slow to a jog as you watch them show off ahead of you, but the sound of raindrops hitting the ground is soothing in and of itself. You stop and gaze up at the sky and just enjoy the moment of freedom. You’ve won several battles today and your team is growing stronger. You’re thankful…

A soft whine cuts the air and you glance around at your surroundings. It takes a moment but you recognize huddled up under a bush is a Charmander. Your eyes widen as you notice the way he clutched the end of his tail where his flame was growing smaller by the minute. 

“LEE! RAI! Set up the tent! We have a problem!”

The guys stop and glance back down the trail at you as they watch you rush over to a bush. You hear them yell various questions as they run back to you. 

“Hurry! He needs to him dry!” You yell as you indicate the Charmander you are shielding from the rain. 

“We have to hurry! He won’t last long!” Leon yells over the rain.

The wind begins to pick up and you aren’t surprised when the guys unleash a few of their Pokémon to help set the tent up in the nearby clearing. They have it up in record time and you scoop the tiny lizard up in your arms careful of his flame and run into the tent. The wind picks up and the once calm rain is now an actual monsoon. 

You grab a couple of blankets out of your pack and start drying him off. He gazed up at you in confusion, but you already know he isn’t from the wild. There weren’t any wild Charmander in the area, he is either lost or he was released. 

You dig around in your pack and pull out several berries and allow him to eat his fill. He does so happily giving little grumbles of happiness as he munched on them. 

“How do you think he got here?” Questions Raihan as he rubs under his chin.

“Do you think he has a trainer? They aren’t native to this area… they aren’t even in the wild…” Leon says in worry, obviously thinking of his own friend at his side.

“You don’t think he was abandoned do you?” You ask as you gaze down at him.

The Charmander looks up at you forlornly and turns to face away from you. He gives a soft cry before he takes a bite of the oran berry clutched in his little claws.

“Did someone release you, buddy?” You ask softly.

The tiny lizard nods as he looks down at the ground and curled his tail closer to himself. You frown in confusion, who would release a Charmander? Especially when Leon has a Charizard… The demand for the little fire lizard skyrocketed after he became champion several years ago.  

“Ok… Let’s just wait out the storm okay and we can decide what needs to happen in the morning.”

You all end up eating sandwiches because the storm never lets up. It’s at this point you are incredibly grateful to Raihan and his industrial-grade tent. The water doesn’t seep into the tent, so you are all able to get changed into dry clothes and be comfortable. You’ve let your team out of their Pokeballs and they are roaming around the tent, being adorable nuances. Serenity and Arum are curious about the Charmander and meander over to him to keep him company. Hades is rather fond of Raihan and is spending this evening getting spoiled by the dragon trainer. You are forever amused by the fact that Queenie enjoys hanging out on Leon’s snapback, balancing herself perfectly so she can watch whatever it is that he is doing at the moment. Currently, he’s polishing his Aegislash and Queenie is happily keeping him company. Davine’s favorite place is usually curled up next to you and Axel enjoys rolling the ball back and forth. You aren’t surprised when Serenity comes bounding up to you and takes her usual spot on your head; Arum and Charmander aren’t far behind. They end up making themselves comfortable near you and you curl up to read, happy for a minute to relax before you hit the Mines and eventually the gym.  

“Getting nervous?” Raihan asks as he pets your ecstatic Deino under the chin. He sprawls himself and lays his head in your lap before he grins innocently up at you. 

“Not really… Queenie can handle anything that gets thrown at her. She’s come a long way in a short time.” You say as you raise a brow at the dragon tamer before you give him and allow him to use your lap as a pillow.

“Bug types do grow and adapt quickly. It’s what makes them so invaluable early in your adventure, but they are also amazing at beating obscure types like psychic types,” Leon says as he looks up from this task, frowning at the position Raihan is in.

You nod at Leon, “I’m glad I caught Queenie that day. She’s going to be my secret weapon for this gym!” 

You notice Charmander gets up and walks away, sitting himself down in a corner facing the wall. You narrow your eyes as you gaze at the fire pokemon. You glance over at Lee who looks concerned for the little guy as well. The two of you lock eyes and he just nods. 

“You know if you had a fire Pokemon it would be so much easier for you to beat Milo…” Leon says as he smirks at you. 

You watch as his little head perks up, “It would… A fire type would be a wonderful addition to my team… especially a Charmander…”

He turns back around and happily trots over to you, a happy smile on his little face. 

“Charmander?” he asks as he points to himself.

“If you want to,” you say with a soft smile. 

He cheers along with your other Pokemon who seem to be quite pleased by the new addition. You pull a Pokeball out and chuckle when he taps his new home. He pops back out a moment later with a happy cry and begins to chat animatedly with the rest of your team. You know you’re going to have to send someone to the box, but you will do that in the morning before you head out. 

The next day dawns far more quickly than you expected. Arum whines as you decide to send her to the box for the battle. 

“Think of it as a vacation… Plus Nessa is next and you’re going to be my shining star for that battle!” She hums happily after your explanation and agrees as she gets sent to the habitat she will inhabit while you train up your new Charmander for the gym battle. 

“Why did you choose Arum?” Leon asks as he gazes over your shoulder at your pokemon information. Raihan is still asleep, so you and Leon have some time to get your things ready before he wakes up and you all head out. 

“The sooner that Axel evolves into a Toxtricity the better…” you grumble as you gaze down at the device, “Plus Davine and Hades need to build up more trust before I can send them off with a good conscience. Davine still has to build her confidence and Hades needs experience getting his senses under control.”

“What about Serenity?” he asks innocently. 

“What about Charizard?”

“Point taken…” 

“Charmander will do well in this battle. We need to get used to each other before I send him straight into a gym battle. I’ll take a day when we get Turffield and train with him. That will also give me the chance to capture an Eevee!”

“He chuckles, “An Eevee? And what will you evolve the Eevee into?” 

You give him a Cheshire grin.

“Don’t you dare say it…”

 “It’s a secret!”

You squeal as Leon wraps his arms around you and begins to tickle you, “I told you not to say it!”

“You don’t tell me what to do!” you exclaim between laughs. 

“Tell me!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“NEVER!”

You end up collapsing on the ground to catch your breath and he sits down beside you.

“I will evolve it into the type I need to round out my team,” you say as you roll your head to face him. 

“So you don’t know yet.”

“I kind of want a Vaporeon.”

“To take on Kabu…”

“To round out my team,” you say as you gaze up at the sky, “Plus everyone always wants a Sylveon, but the other evolutions are cool too…” 

“You really are a collector of misfits aren’t you?” he asks as he glances over to you.

“Well… I’m kind of a misfit… So I know what it’s like to be rejected and to hurt and to pull yourself out a hole so deep you could see the stars during the day…” you say as you lift your arm into the air and gaze at the sky just past your fingertips. 

He pauses for a moment, unsure of how to react. 

“Was it that bad?”

“Some days… That’s why I got Serenity… negativity affects her, so if I know that what I’m feeling will affect her then I strive to feel better…”

“Did it work?”

“I’m here aren’t I?”

“Yeah… you are… I’m glad you are… I’m glad you decided to take on the gym challenge.”

“...Me too…”

The two of you lay there for a few more minutes as the morning dew creates a mist in the air and the quiet lulls you into a sense of peace. Raihan steps out of the tent with a stretch and a yawn. 

“You guys about ready?” he asks as he looks down at the two of you in confusion. 

“To the Mines!” you say pointing in the general direction of the Mines. Raihan chuckles and turns away, hiding his blush, as he starts collecting the bags from the tent, so he could take it down. Leon gets up to help and you grab Raihan some breakfast that you set aside before you clean up the breakfast things. The pokemon were already fed and in no time you were all ready to head out. 

You make quick work of the mines and before you know it you are getting rooms at the inn in Turffield. You spend the rest of the day training your pokemon so you can take on your first gym tomorrow. 

Night had fallen as you continued to train and search for an Eevee when Raihan comes out to check on you. 

“Hungry?” He asks as he hands you a plate of food from the Inn. 

“Yeah!” you say as you sit down beside him on a rock. 

“You don’t have any reason to be nervous, you’re going to do great.”

“That’s easy for you to say… You do this literally all the time…” you grumble as you take a bite. 

“Yeah… but I still remember my first gym battle… I was terrified at first, but the moment the battle started everything just flowed. I loved it and I knew that it was where I wanted to be. That’s when I decided to dedicate myself to battle. That rush is unlike any other. You’re going to love it.”

“I hope so…”

Raihan scoots closer to you and wraps an arm around your shoulder pulling you against him. You rest your head under his chin as he wraps himself around you.

“You know… I’m glad you came on the journey too…” you hear him mumble as you snuggle closer to him and close your eyes. 

“I’m glad too… I didn’t realize how badly I needed it… I guess Leon getting lost all the time isn’t such a bad thing…”

He throws his head back and laughs but agrees with you. 

The next morning you walk into the gym to challenge Milo before you could talk yourself out of it. There were a couple of challengers in front of you, but at this point most had already challenged the first gym leader and moved on the Nessa. You watch the battles and get a feel for his battle style. 

Before you know it they are calling your name and you enter the challenge. 

“I have to do what?” you ask as you cross your arms and look at the League official in confusion. 

“You have to herd the Wooloo across the field.”

Stepping up to the entrance you just mutter under your breath, “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

The whistle sounds and you’re off rushing towards the sheep pokemon. They begin rolling down the field as you herd them this way and that way. When you finally get all 20 sheep into the designated area you about lose it when they plow through the hay barrels and onto another part. You frown as you look down the field and see the Yamper running amuck. 

“Ahh...shit…” you groan. 

After several of the Wooloo scatter around the field you manage to get them to the end. You roll your eyes as they collectively plow through more hay barrels. 

Once the challenge was completed and you caught your breath you walk down the dim hallway. You could hear the yells from the crowd and you heart begins to pound in your chest. Your fingers run over your friends’ home, each one vibrates with excitement and anticipation. 

This is what you have been working for. You’ve waited for this moment your entire life and finally, you feel ready. 

Stepping out onto the field the crowd goes ballistic. You don’t remember it being this loud when the other competitors stepped onto the pitch. 

“It seems we finally have the challenger we have all been waiting for!”

You look around the field in confusion.

 ‘They’ve been waiting for me?!’ you think in a slight panic. 

You shake your head to will the thought away, you’ll deal with this later, right now you have a badge to win. 

You meet Milo in the center of the field and give him a hesitant smile, he beams back at you.

“I was wondering when I was going to see Leon’s special challenger.”

“It seems there has been a lot of anticipation for this battle… I didn’t realize I was making the world wait on me.”

“You haven’t been keeping up with the news? You’re everywhere.”

“Ah… no… I’ve been training.”

Milo gives you a knowing smile, “That’s good, that drive is going to take you far. Are you ready?”

“Born ready.”

With that, you throw your Pokeball releasing your Charmander. He lets out a small cry as he takes his place on the battlefield. Milo’s Glossifleur is his first pokemon out. 

“Glossifleur! Magical Leaf!”

“Charmander! Ember!” 

You are rather impressed when your Charmander sent out a couple of fireballs hurtling towards the flower. The first one incinerated the leaves while the second one hit. Charmander dives out of the way while Glossifleur sends out a another way of leaves using its rapid spin to scatter them around. 

Charmander is back on his feet in an instant, “Charmander! Smokescreen! Then hit it with a Dragon’s Breath!”

Glossifleur looks around in confusion as it’s enveloped in the smoke. The next thing you know it’s hit with the attack and thrown from the cloud of smoke. You heave a sigh of relief when it doesn’t get up. 

Charmander comes running up to you happily and he jumps into your arms. You laugh as you swing him around yelling, ‘you did it!’ After your moment of celebrating you call him back into his Pokeball and pull out Queenie’s.

“Let’s win this!” you exclaim as you release her. 

Milo sends out his Eldegoss and your eyes grow the size of saucers when he dynamaxes his pokemon. 

“Let’s show them what you’ve got!” Milo yells as he chucks the giant Pokeball over his shoulder. 

“Oh… boy…”

You and Queenie watch in slight horror as the Eldegoss grows to over twenty times its normal size. 

Queenie glances back at you and you just nod at her, “Soon.”

She dodges the move by the giant Eldegoss, but she can’t dodge the next one. You watch as she’s thrown back and you yell encouragement to her as she flutters her tiny wing in order for her take to the air again. She’s hit by another of the Dynamaxed pokemon’s moves while she’s still dazed from the first one. She lays on the ground for a moment and you feel like your plan backfired and you put her in unnecessary danger. 

You can hardly believe your eyes when a bright light emanates from her and shoots out all around her. Suddenly a Vespiquen takes to the air and zips around the stadium as the Eldegoss begins to shrink back down to size. 

“Queenie! LET’S GO!” You waste no time in summoning her back into her Pokeball and giggle with glee as it grows in your hands before you throw it behind you. Queenie reappears in her Dynamax form and as an ominous buzz haunts the stadium you smile happily. 

“Alright, Queenie! Show them what you’ve got!”  

Queenie unleashes the attack and you can’t help but whoop in excitement when the Eldegoss falls to the ground after the first attack. The stadium erupts into deafening screams as Queenie returns to her normal size and flies over to you. You give her a gentle hug and laugh as she uses her claws to hold onto you happily. 

“I think you’ve earned this,” you turn towards Milo and hold out your hand to shake his before he hands you the badge. 

“Thank you…” you say with an embarrassed smile. 

“I look forward to battling you in the finals tournament.”

“I’ll meet you there!” you say with a smile.

Once off the pitch, you are swarmed with reporters. 

“How does it feel to win your first badge?!”

“Have you had any more trouble from the Pokemon thieves you helped to capture?”

“Are you still training the Jangmo-o?”

“What’s been most challenging on your adventure?”

You feel an imposing presence behind you and turn to see Milo there.

“This is a private area, you all need to leave the challenger alone.”

“Just one question!”

“Okay… one,” you relent with a look of annoyance. 

“What do you have to say to Champion Leon right now?”

“No mercy,” you say with a shrug and a smirk. 

Notes:

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you would like to be on the taglist make sure you send me an ask! You are welcome to send a message as verification since I update the taglist before I post the next chapter! So if you don’t hear from me right away that’s why! 

We need a name for Charmander! Also, go ahead and be thinking of a name for a Vaporeon! Who doesn’t love that little water baby?

And as always I love to hear from you all! BTW we are getting dangerously close to 500 followers! Help me get to 500 and I’ll I shall reward you all handsomely! Maybe a oneshot with our favorite man? I’ll even let you choose!

Taglist: @Ichigokage @pinktowne @marina-and-the-memes @ssskeletonsoffun @secretly-a-weeb @duizhangdeluxe @swiftly-heart @invaderbekk​ @crowkie @narees17 @skinklady @nerdyeldritchhorror @wthyuta @serendipityseoul @crescentrax @ninjarose23

[emeraldragonfly]

The Cycle of the Seasons in the Desert

The pagan Sabbats follow the cycle of the seasons, and often, this cycle is easy to visualize. In terms of temperature, of course, we generally have:

Winter/Cold --> Spring/Warm --> Summer/Hot --> Fall/Cool

We go from cold to warm to hot to cool and repeat. In terms of how the plants and animals respond to the seasons, we tend to think of it like this:

Winter/Death/Hibernate --> Spring/Mate/Birth/Growth -->

Summer/Birth/Mature/Growth --> Autumn/Fade/Hoard Food

We say the seasons follow the cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth. 

That’s all pretty straightforward. The problem is . . . those concepts don’t apply equally well to all climates on earth.

Now that I’m in the southwest US desert, some of the pagan holidays seem a bit, well, out of step with what’s going on outside. It’s taken me some time to ponder these differences. I’m going to summarize some major ones now.

The Desert Simply Isn’t Well Suited to Farming

A lot of the cycle of life metaphors used are ones about farming. You ‘sow’ new ideas and projects in the spring, nurture them over the summer, ‘reap’ the fruits of your efforts in the fall, and rest in the winter and plan the new year. Also, the pagan holidays often feature feasts that involve crop foods that are in season for those times of the year. 

Here’s the thing though-- I’m in the middle of Utah. This is not a great place to grow crops. It never has been. Do we grow some crops here? Sure, of course. Mostly hay for cattle, in fact. Also certain grains like corn and barley. But really, most of Utah’s agriculture comes from cattle, who can free-graze on the local, desert-tolerant brush. The fact is, the soil and climate are not suited for most typical crops. And growing them requires expending a lot of extra resources.

There’s a reason why the Native Americans who were here long before white people didn’t farm extensively. They mostly relied on hunting and gathering, with some supplemental farming near rivers (which allowed for irrigating crops). So, the idea of huge harvests of typical crops, full of lush fruits and vegetables, and feasts organized around them, isn’t very meaningful here.

A Yearly ‘Death’ or Winter Hibernation Is Not Universal

Many, many animals do indeed hibernate or otherwise enter some sort of state of decreased acitvity during the winter. They do this to conserve energy when resources are scarce. In plants, this can be seen very dramatically when plants die off entirely and go to seed, or when deciduous trees shed their leaves and remain as dormant, bare-limbed creatures for a time. 

The thing is, while a winter hibernation is very common in a lot of plants and animals . . . there’s also a lot who don’t follow that rule. 

Plenty of animals remain active year-round. They may simply shift the emphasis in their diets during winter. For example, the cute little white-tailed antelope squirrels eat a lot of vegetation in spring and summer while it’s growing, but in fall and winter they focus more on fruits and seeds. Cottontails and jackrabbits eat fresh vegetation in spring and summer but focus on woody plants and dry vegetation in fall and winter. 

Other animals may travel back and forth between spring and winter feeding-grounds within their home range. Mule deer feed at higher elevations during the spring growing season and then switch to lower elevations during winter (where there’s much less snow). 

Other animals might migrate greater distances to warmer, wetter places during winter. Birds are especially known for having a lot of species that migrate, and a lot of our ducks are only seasonal residents here.

Whatever method used, for many animals winter is not a time of rest at all, but of steady activity.

This holds true for plants, as well. Many plants are “evergreen.” In the desert, many of the shrubs, cacti, succulents and trees are evergreen. They do not undergo that dramatic death or dormancy, and instead just steadily go about doing their planty business. Many of the typical “signals” to people that winter is coming-- the leaves are falling, animals are vanishing or going to sleep-- just aren’t here. Many of us are just carrying on as usual.

Summer is a More Complex Season Here

The typical view of summer is that it’s a celebration of the power of the sun, of the vitality and abundance of life, a time of handfasting, and of enjoying early harvests. 

It has a different flavor in the desert, though. While summer is certainly a time of growth and power, it’s also other things, too. Summers here are intense. Absolutely scorching, in fact. Temps climbing into the triple F digits is pretty normal-- expect something in the 90s or 100s. It’s genuinely a life-threatening risk for hyperthermia and dehydration for people who don’t take appropriate precautions. Summer needs to be taken seriously. Outdoor activities are . . . pretty hard to enjoy in these conditions. Especially when the windstorms kick in, blasting scorching hot winds and sharp sands and red dirt into your face. Even when the sun sets it can take a long time for the place to cool down. If you want to go for a comfortable walk outside during summer, you pretty much can only aim for a very short window of opportunity in the very early morning-- but better be quick, because it won’t last long.

This isn’t difficult just for people. Animals face the same challenges. How do they deal with it? By being very selective about when they are active during summer. Almost every single animal in the desert avoids midday entirely, staying hidden the shade of shrubs or in underground dens, where things are cooler. (I think the only animal here that braves the raw sun are the ants-- remarkable little creatures.) Animals will be active either in early morning and evening or are completely nocturnal. Many, many desert creatures come out at night, when the world is at a much more tolerable level.

In fact, the summer heat and dryness can be so intense that some animals will even enter into a special type of summer hibernation. This is called estivation. They bury themselves underground and await cooler temperatures and rainfall.

In any case, the point is that summer is a time of rest and sheltering for desert inhabitants. This is normally only associated with winter, but our summer extremes are often a reason to conserve energy and shelter from the sun as well. 

The funny thing is, summer is not just a time of rest and shelter. It’s also a time of growth and activity. Animal breeding is often in full swing during the summer, as well as plant growth and plant reproduction. Why is that?

Our summer has two faces because while it’s our most extreme time of year in terms of heat and dryness, it’s also the growing and monsoon season. Deserts, as you know, get very little precipitation. That’s what defines a desert. A lot of our water comes from melted snow that gathers in the mountains over the winter, which then runs into rivers. But the rest comes from what little rain we do get. Most of our rain occurs in spring, paving the way for a busy summer: Plants grow in the spring, ensuring there’s food available in summer, and thus, it’s a good time for animals to breed. Additionally, there are the summer rains.

The summer rains or “monsoons” (really just thunderstorms) come suddenly and with little warning. They then will dump incredible amounts of water onto the ground. The soils here are very poor at absorbing the water, so we get what we call “flash floods.” There’s this sudden overabundance of water in a place that’s normally starved for it. Animals and plants RUSH to take advantage while they can. Plants suck up as much as possible (cacti and succulents are designed to be huge sponges for these events), as do animals. Frogs and other amphibians, as well as arthropods like dragonflies, quickly breed in temporary puddles while they have the chance. It’s a great frenzy of activity. They don’t have much time because not long after the flood, things will dry up again.

So, in conclusion, our summer has two extreme sides: lots of rest and sheltering from the raw power of the sun, and a rush of activity, fertility and relative abundance. 

Ok. So I’ve rambled on about all these differences in the desert. But what’s the take-away from all this? How can we incorporate it into our pagan or Wiccan practice? 

I have a few ideas.

Reduce Farming and Feasting Metaphors: Replace With Foraging

We aren’t usually wandering along plentiful apple orchards here, or fields of potatoes, or filling our larders with cheeses, or slaughtering loads of lambs, or any of that. The traditional Celtic foods and feasts don’t really fit in here-- nor does the lifestyle. Does that mean you can’t be a pagan in the desert?

No, I don’t think that’s what it means. I think it just means maybe adjusting things a little. Maybe lean less on these farming metaphors for sowing and reaping, and less on those traditional foods. 

They can be replaced with the kind of story that this desert tells us. This is a different story, a lot less about the hard labor of planting large quantities of crops, all the anticipatory waiting for it to grow, the praying for good rains and sun to nurture the crops. A lot of the story of living in the desert comes from foraging. Foraging in an arid desert is not an easy affair. Survival itself in the desert is often not an easy affair. Life is more scarce in the desert because resources are more scarce here. Things are more spread out and scant. You must forage and eat what you can find, often traveling and working quite a bit to gather up enough food. 

Native Americans found things such as roots (wapato, wild onions, sego lily bulbs), seeds (bulrush, goosefoot, pine nuts, sunflower), grains, and other plant parts (wild rice, ricegrass, pickleweed, thistles, cactus flower buds, cactus fruits). There also were berries (raspberries, chokecherries, strawberries) and insects-- a very healthy source of protein (grasshoppers, crickets, ants). Of course, there was also small game (rabbits, mice, squirrels, waterfowl) and occasionally larger game. 

This may not sound very glamorous to you, or very tasty. But it is very resourceful, and sometimes the focus was more on survival than on being gourmet. 

What I propose is that desert pagans think about foraging metaphors and not just farming ones. The steady work of gathering up lots of little bits here and there-- that’s a useful metaphor too, in my mind. Sometimes projects aren’t just about sowing, nurturing and reaping. Sometimes projects are about the steady daily work of foraging, making progress bit by bit. Making use of what you can find, crafting useful things out of them, and ultimately accomplishing something surprisingly huge at the end. Remember, Native Americans even in this harsh desert built incredible, massive apartment-like structures into the cliffs. The “slow and steady” work of foraging (or of erosion!) is a useful metaphor too.

As to celebratory foods . . . why not draw inspiration from Native Americans or early white settler’s ideas on cuisine? Here’s a link to a great article about some Native American recipes (from, you know, an actual Native American). Of course I am not suggesting you treat these things like you “own” them. These inspirations may not come from your personal direct ancestors. But it’s still valid to respectfully borrow cuisine ideas from others! These are foods that grow naturally here or are more easily farmed here, so it makes sense to celebrate with foods that connect you to the land here.

Consider Alternative Seasonal Cycle Ideas

I have been trying for months now to develop an alternative to the traditional season cycle. The traditional one is something like this:

Winter (Death/Rest) ---> Spring (Birth/Growth) ---> Summer (Birth/Growth) ---> Fall (Mature/Wane)

What if we consider our ideas on how many plants and animals here are “evergreens,” and the fact that summer here is a little bit different? Maybe it would look more like this:

Winter (Rest/Forage) ---> Spring (Birth/Growth) ---> Summer (Birth/Growth/Rest) ---> Fall (Mature/Forage)

This suggestion gives two seasons of rest, during the most extreme times of year; winter and summer. It gives two seasons of growth and fertility, during the “light seasons” of spring and summer. And it gives two seasons of “foraging” during the “dark seasons” of fall and winter.

I’m using the word “foraging” as a moderate word that can fit in-between the life energy extremes of “death/rest” and “growth/reproduce.” For animals, foraging is the calm, steady work of searching for and gathering food. It’s a time when you are not hibernating but you also are not putting out the explosion of energy that comes with new growth and reproduction. For evergreen plants, “foraging” is the steady work of photsynthesis that continues even in dark seasons. You’re not doing much new growth or blooming flowers/etc., but you’re not in total dormancy either.

Ultimately these suggested changes are not huge. But I think they’re tweaks that help us connect more! We can see winter as a time of rest for some, enjoying the old traditional metaphors of winter. But we can also see winter as a time of steady progress for the ‘evergreen’ among us. For summer, we can see it as a time of much growth and vitality, but we can also acknowledge that resting and recovering in between moments of intense energy is a good thing and a part of the desert’s cycle.

[soaringsearingphoenix]

Top 5 bugs!

Bugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Uhhhhhhgdhagfkfh ALL of them? I really love bugs but, okay, gotta say most of my favorites are gonna be hymenoptera, so like, bees, wasps, ants. Here's a handful that I like

1. Blue carpenter bee, xylocopa caerulea. I mean, it's my icon on this account right now. Honestly there is not a lot of research on this guy, or not that's available, but it's native to southeast Asia and its BLUE. So cool.

2. Hunt's bumblebee, bombus huntii. I met some of these friends when i was in Arizona, very pretty, very opinionated. One of the first bees i learned about and THEN identified in the wild. I walked up to a flowering tree, fragrant in the warm sunlight of early evening, where they and some other bumblebees were landing and just observed them for a while. They would occasionally decide i was getting too close (and i mean, i was right up against the tree) and zip past my face, wavering there sometimes, clearly telling me to back off. So i did... and then gently approached again, slower. I got some good pictures but i've gotten a new phone since then and didn't transfer them all over.

2.5 Side note, just assume all bees are up here. And also that i appreciate honeybees in a different way than I appreciate native and generally solitary bees.

3. Ants that grow fungus, and really any ants with a sense of agriculture, like the ones that herd aphids. Also ants that create "Devil's Gardens" in the Amazon, those little monoculture patches of forest that are like the ants' version of a big city. I don't know all their names by heart but i get so excited about ant technology and culture, the sort of ideal demonstration of emergent behaviors that they represent. I could spend a whole hours-long road trip just talking about ants, mostly parroting from youtube videos (and i have spent parts of drives talking about them but my mom's attention span for a fascinating-topic-but-not-her-field-of-interest is about the length of a ted talk or podcast episode, which is to say, significantly less than an hour.) I am just so proud of ants. They've accomplished so much.

4. Wasps have really grown on me in the past year. I don't know what species it is that I have been pulling out of my birdbath, but they have really helped me get over my fear and prejudice for wasps. I've only ever been stung by a wasp once in my life and it was because i'd accidentally carried it on my shirt into a math classroom where i was going to talk to the teacher because i thought i had failed the class so that was neither of our best moment. Anyways, specifically the two most prevalent species in my backyard take this slot, but like the ants this is as much a category as a specification. I also have a soft spot for tiny specialized parisitic wasps, as their recent discovery is part of the reason scientists now think hymenoptera species may rival or even outnumber beetle species so like. Go team?

5. Orchid mantises. Mantises are such chill dudes a lot of the time. Everyone wants to talk about the cannibalism, and it's like, calm down, a lot of species do that. Octopodes, lots of species of spiders, it's pretty common for more solitary species. I mean if you want someone to carry your kids the least you can do is give them a meal, it takes a lot of energy to bring new life into being. Anyways I love orchid mantises specifically because they are bright pink and they stand like they mean business. They're like the ballerinas of the insect world. They're poised, they're ornate, and they WILL kick your ass without breaking a sweat. Which is honestly goals. If i am observed and considered beautiful, I want it to be in an intimidating and vaguely unsettling way.

Honorable mentions:

-hoverflies. These little guys look like bees kind of if you don't know what you're looking for, and they tend to hang out in the same spots, and i respect their contribution to pollinating. Underappreciated friends.

-dragonflies also. Y'all test my patience, being fast and hard to photograph. Like your friend who brags about being hard to take candid photos of. Their flight control is a marvel of physics. I know little else about dragonflies

-butterflies and specifically painted lady butterflies because they migrate through here, so the first butterfly migration i ever saw was right over my elementary school

-ladybugs. There are so many kinds. We had a book on them when i was little, which had these transparent pages that would like overlay the pictures on the pages on either side, it was really cool. I used to catch them on the playground, just to hold them. They have a really distinct smell and when i tell people that it feels like no one knows what im talking about. Their larvae kept crawling on me in the park recently i do not know why but they were incredibly persistent about it

-crickets and grasshoppers. There were a lot of these guys in arizona too. Sorry i was such a menace. I didnt mean to startle you i swear

-stick bugs. Once again, saw these in Arizona, for the first time in the wild in person. I held one and it was absolutely magical.

Ok now i am just listing bugs i know. But i love them all!!! Anyways this list is constantly changing but that's it for now!

[sarasfm]

Sarauniya “ Sara ” Davies, 24, pansexual, cisfemale, ISFP Enneagram 9w1; Pisces sun, Sagittarius moon, Pisces rising 1st year Advanced Encryption Major; did not go to a spy prep hs

Imma keep it real with you, chief, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on. I mean, obviously, I know what espionage is ; I’ve read books and articles, and I’ve seen Spy Kids and all the Charlies Angels and James Bond movies, but I genuinely think I need a minute to wrap my head around everything. Make that two weeks, because what’s this I hear about two murders ?  I literally just got sent here to be safe, I — I’m sorry, I’m freaking out. Give me five seconds, and we can start again, because I promise I can totally pretend this is all normal. @gallagherintro​

full name: sarauniya “ sara ” davies

dormitory room: 105

birthday: 20 march 1995

soundtrack: “ go gina ” by sza

favorite dish: efo riro

aesthetic:  when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of light reflecting from her earrings, eyeglasses perched on top of her head, and a caviar iphone always in her hands

Bio Points

her mom’s a nigerian baddie billionaire & her dad’s a soft academic brit

she grew up between london and abuja where their family’s business is based. it’s a trading enterprise, the largest industrial conglomerate in sub-saharan africa

she’s the eldest of three siblings, was raised to be prim & proper and groomed to run their family’s business. her family’s not pushy though and they’re really cool. very healthy dynamic so she doesn’t mind ; she loves her fam and would do it w a smile !

Coding is her Passion though. total dork. stayed up all the time just sleuthing and being an internet geek since she was a youngin’

loves education and is the type who would willingly stay in school to learn. has a degree in economics from harvard and was almost done with her mba when her littlest sister got abducted !  was it about business ? money ? who knows ! the sister’s fine now but her family sure is Scared especially since sara’s alone in the big bad united states

her mom made some calls and went “ gimbiya, look, u aint safe n we sorry. we’ll work something out to make sure u get ur mba degree somehow but shit is wild so we gotta get u somewhere near that’s safe asap. u like studying & ur a geek with computers right ? cool beans, go back to school & welcome to gallagher, babe ”

she enters gallagher in the middle of the spring semester very overwhelmed & inwardly ignoring how unhappy she is about having to be here bc she is not & does not want to be a spy. she just tryna distract herself by looking at this entire thing as a weird vacation where she can do stuff she wasn’t able to before because it’s literally detached from the world. she is mostly probably in way over her head, but let’s see ! 

Other Information

Nicknames: Sara (to everyone), gimbiya (to family, means princess in Hausa)

Languages: English (native), Hausa (native), Arabic (C1), French (B2)

Strengths: is money a strength ? also coding. and being the sweetest. and a general smartypants but that’s in a university setting & gallagher probably doesnt give a fuck

Relationship History: only has one (1) experience. ( well,,, 2 if a three-second drunken kiss w kass counts ) his name’s royce and they’ve known each other since their bougie secondary school back in britain. started dating at sixteen and went to harvard together. they’re long term as fuck. he’s like her best friend and their families adore the couple & each other. got engaged last september and sara broke it off before leaving for gallagher, oof. she deadass milked the opportunity but lbr she wasnt rlly Feeling It so she’s kinda glad for the ‘valid reason’ to appear bc it rlly wasn’t Love for sara so boy bye

Physical appearance: 1.76m, 55kg, long black hair, slim and toned build

Classes: GEN 105, GEN 206, AE 101, AT 101, PE 101

Personality

the sweetest. v charming & sensitive to others & curious about things. enthusiastic too ! loves adventures & is very passionate. queen of empathy. 

she’s not stuck up even tho she loaded. she doesnt rlly talk abt her family having 12B or the fact that she’s an ivy league girl, bc she’s just generally very uwu 

easily stressed and flustered and overwhelmed ! man, gallagher’s gonna shook this goddamn academic dork to her core for the love of god someone pls get the aed ready

rlly fun !!! can be a lil unpredictable bc it b lyk dat for rich girls. loves her independence which she hasn’t maximized bc of her ex fiancé & responsibilities but it’s chill so chill totally chill, no ounce of further longing exists in the crevices of this girl’s heart

she is so not good with confrontation and is so allergic to conflict ok. she will sweep discomfort under a rug and lie on it ‘til it’s flat which makes her a queen of repression & conforming

is she easily overwhelmed & stressed ? yes, but she’ll try not to show it so much. it’s all mostly an internal monologue so don’t underestimate her pls. she’s v smart and competent. can be so competitive ( albeit mostly inwardly ) and a boss ass business bitch like her business momma bc that’s what she’s been training for altho she is still generally a soft bab so ... yeah, if u would be so kind as to Estimate her, that’d be grand

she needs to always be on top of her game. maybe not the best in the class, but definitely pushes herself to be her best, so a lot of late nights studying & won’t settle for bad grades ever. gonna be rough in gallagher bc she is not spy material ok, she’s just a pretty rich geek behind a computer

just imagine her as the nice girl in ur ap classes who’s a lil awkward & just so happens to be super hot & stinking rich

Fun Facts

has a six-month old rescue pup named sooty ! who kinda looks like a sheparnese

has a tendency to ramble if she’s comfy w u enough or mayhaps if it’s too much man 

is v diligent w keeping a journal & does it everyday 

likes to dance ! not super good but she likes it. hits da clubs for dat shit 

is a lil instagram famous bc she’s a gorgeous rich harvard girl & all that jazz. queen of selfies & of looking hot but doesn’t actually get to play around rip ffff 

doesn’t drink much bc she is an extreme lightweight and 2 is her tap out limit

if she’s had more than 2 drinks, she is Very Honest but still very ramble-y 

she is physically active but mostly just runs and does yoga. knows very basic self-defense. is not sporty, definitely not a fighter, may god have mercy on her soul

isnt a virgin but is not sexually experienced lmao lbr she kinda Itching to get out there 

don’t ask me what her accent is because i have no clue it’s all over the place

Established Connections — just bc i think y’all would like to know

kassandra sutton — internet friends ! loves kass to bits. have known each other since sara was 14. when kass was 18, sara took her on a grad trip to montreal and became a lil lowkey into her. doesn’t help that kass drunk kissed her & doesn’t remember lmfao. poor sara told her then-bf & they had a lil fight but they made up bc sara didn’t talk to kass for months. eventually they became friends again & now sara’s in gallagher w no idea that kass is a mf sutton & honestly, my girl is just very shook w everything 

Possible Connections

crushes — she does not know how to flirt. she is ,,,, p pathetic tbh but a real heckin cutie. will be super nice to ur bab ok  

flirtationships — sara and i r gonna continue to keep it real w u chieves, her ex fiancé royce was vanilla and bland as fuck. can u believe she has not been single in a decade ? ? someone give her love & attention & fluster this soft innocent child. get her Experienced but also dont hurt her

enemies/angst !!! —  or maybe do ! maybe hurt her. maybe obliterate her. maybe smash her poor heart to pieces, because tbh i would love that.  so someone pls for the love all things holy and divine, someone hurt her !!!!

fwb — probably just one (1) bc she’s still a romantic ? and she’s probably gonna want something exclusive even if it’s no strings attached and will surely want to ,.,. get to know them a little bit more first ,,, at least ideally , idk , maybe impulse & thirst gets the better of her one of these days who knows lets find out !

friends !!! — sara will love u ok. she may be a lil easily flustered but she’s doesn’t rlly give up on ppl quickly. as i’ve said, queen of empathy. probs feels v sorry for majority of the gallagher & georgetown kids bc, .,.,., this environment just screams highkey Trauma to her and she’s valid bc she’s right

mentors !!! — she hates feeling dumb ok she Always has to be on top of her game, so u can bet ur ass after her first meetings in her classes she goes to ppl going “ hey could u help me out w working out ? boxing ? firing a gun ? literally everything & anything ? ”   

anything & everything — meaning just come @ me & let’s talk about it uwu 

( did i just create georgina’s antithesis ? fuck yes, and i am sooo excited to have a child that’s not always plotting & scheming & being mean like y’all have no idea ;_; nywy, that was long bc shutting up and brevity are things i do not possess. whats up it’s ur og flower garden girl rose here aka bugleweed aka fiancée of many and lover of all, and i am open to anything and everything ! just drop an IM or hit dat like & ill slide in ur dmz w love, plots & sanitized hands x )