#if i can get a plan in place that ensures he still interacts socially with other kids

[nicoline1998enilocin]

Love is all you knead

Pairing ⇒ Bakery Owner!Boyfriend!Tony Stark x Employee!Girlfriend!Fem!Reader

Word count ⇒ 3.5K

Summary ⇒ Today is the first day you'll be staying over at Tony's house, and he plans to make it a night you'll never forget. It all goes differently than you expected because when you meet his housemate, your attention is completely focused on him as soon as you arrive. Nevertheless, Tony will ensure you'll have a wonderful first night at his house; he'll go above and beyond to do exactly that.

Rating ⇒ Explicit (E)

Warnings ⇒ Established relationship, unspecified age gap, use of pet name (Peach), reference to social anxiety, reference to animal abandonment & rescuing

Smut ⇒ Dirty talk, daddy kink, breeding kink, pregnancy kink, oral (M receiving), unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!), squirting

A/n ⇒ This one-shot is written to fill day 18 of my Fluffcember 2023 Challenge. It's proofread, melted, and drooled over by @ccbsrmsf1, for which I cannot thank you enough! I love you 🩵

A/n 2.0 ⇒ My requests are open again! Please consider that I only have 24 hours in my day, so it might take a while to get the new requests posted, but I expect to post them around February/March. I'll be looking forward to what you will all come up with, and I can't wait to start writing requests again 🩵

Events Masterlist ⇒ @buckys-wintersoldier ⇒ ''You're so cute, you know that?''

Banners: @vase-of-lilies ⇒ Divider: @firefly-graphics ⇒ GIF: @ccbsrmsf1

Main Masterlist ⇒ Tony Stark Masterlist ⇒ AU Masterlist

Today's promising to be a beautiful winter day as you're getting ready to go and visit Tony, your boyfriend, at his house. Your outfit is lying on your bed, ready to slip into after your shower. You and Tony have the day off today, so he promised to make dinner for you. Not only is he a fantastic baker, but he is also a hero in the kitchen.

Your overnight bag is also ready to go, and you decided to bring a nice bottle of red wine to pair with dinner since he offered to make your favorite seafood pasta. It doesn't take long for you to be dressed and ready to head to his house, but the nerves are settling in slightly.

Not only will it be your first time staying over at his place, but it'll also be your first time meeting his housemate, making you much more nervous and anxious. Something you've struggled with a lot is social anxiety. Still, ever since you started working in Tony's bakery, you have become a lot better at navigating social interactions and being around people you don't know.

Right now, however, it is back in full force. Though you decide not to let it hold you back, you will have Tony by your side the entire time. In the meantime, Tony is conversing with his 'housemate,' his cat named Oliver.

''Are you excited, Buddy? It won't be just you and me tonight,'' Tony says as he's leaning against the counter, Oliver lying in his arms with his belly up as Tony scratches his soft belly. He happily purrs away while Tony keeps talking, just enjoying the attention he's getting.

''Yeah, Peach is finally coming over. Remember? I told you about her after our first night together! God, I'm so lucky to call her my girlfriend... And in the future, we will ask her to be your Mommy; how does that sound?'' he says with a content sigh when his phone gives him the notification of your message.

Peach 🍑 >> I'm just leaving now. I'll be there in 45 minutes ❤️

He quickly responds that he can't wait to see you, and after giving Oliver a few more scratches, Tony brings him to his cat tree, where he can nap as Tony finishes the sauce since it will have to simmer for a few hours.

Before he can even turn around, Oliver is already curled up into a little ball as he lets sleep take him over, and Tony can't help but chuckle at the actions of his little feline companion.

After the sauce is finished, he tidies up the last bits here and there before he hears the doorbell ring, notifying him of your arrival. During the car ride, you could feel your anxiety rising, but as soon as the door swings open, every last doubt or nervousness melts away.

''Hi, Peach,'' Tony says before grabbing your hand and pulling you inside with a warm smile, letting you put your overnight bag on the floor before his hands capture your face, reuniting his lips with yours. His plump, soft lips are a stark contrast to his rough, calloused hands holding your face, and you can't help but clench slightly to give a little relief.

''You look beautiful today,'' he whispers as he pulls away, resting his forehead against yours as you both catch your breaths from the kiss. His deep, dark brown eyes are focused on yours, making it feel like your skin is on fire. After one more soft kiss, you pull away, ready to be let into his home.

He grabs your hand before leading you into the house, showing you every room, though you don't see much of it as you mostly have eyes for your boyfriend. His broad shoulders and thick biceps are stretching the black shirt he's wearing deliciously, and his jeans are tight around his thighs, showing off his ass and bulge perfectly.

''Peach?'' Tony says as you're standing in the kitchen, Tony caging you in against the counter as he leans on it. His nose is only inches from yours as a deep blush creeps over your cheeks, knowing you've been caught drifting off in your thoughts.

''Hmm?'' you hum as a question, and the smile on Tony's face gives you butterflies in your stomach. The tiny crinkles by his eyes, the white teeth, and the way his tongue slightly pokes out between them have you melting into a puddle.

''I asked what you think of the house,'' he says with a chuckle, but before you can answer, you feel tiny feet against your leg and look down to see the cutest cat you've ever seen. Tony lets out a deep sigh before he moves back, giving you the space to say hi to Oliver.

''Oh my god, aren't you a precious, chubby little guy?'' you coo at him as he bumps his head against your hand, happily accepting all the attention he can get from you, his new Mommy. Until now, it has always been just him and Tony, but judging how he acts now, you're not allowed to leave his home ever again.

''Well, I was going to introduce you two later, but since the little devil is already awake, I might as well do it now,'' he says as he crouches next to you, but Oliver doesn't care. He only wants attention from you as he plops down to show his belly, letting you scratch it to get the ultimate purrs from the little guy.

''Why did you never mention you have a cat?! I would have come over much sooner if I knew,'' you say with a chuckle, but in all reality, he has mentioned Oliver countless times. It just never occurred to you that he was his cat.

''Oh, I did, Peach. All these silly stories about Oliver? It's all him. He had been with me since he was a small kitten, and I rescued him from behind the bakery. Someone dropped him off in a cardboard box in the pouring rain; the poor guy almost didn't survive,'' Tony says, his voice trailing off near the end.

As you listen to the story, you feel tears burning in your eyes as you keep scratching his belly. Oliver's purrs quickly make you forget all about your sadness, though, as it almost has a healing effect on your brain. And from that moment on, you and Oliver would be practically inseparable whenever you were at his house.

''But I didn't just save him; he saved me, as well. Before I had little Oliver, it was the same boring routine every day, and I was at a point in my life where I wanted to sell the bakery and move on to something else. When I found him, I started to see life a lot differently, and I am where I am now because of him, so in a sense, I owe him my happiness. It brought me to you, after all,'' Tony tells you, a blush now creeping onto his cheeks, too.

''I didn't have anyone here when I came home, so I started spending more time at the bakery until I reached the point of sleeping there some nights. But that all changed when I met this little devil. Now I have someone to talk to when I'm home, and he'll never complain when I talk too much!'' Tony jokes, making you both laugh.

''So yeah, like I said, I owe him pretty much my life at this point,'' he says softly, and you lay your head on Tony's shoulder to comfort him. It's the first time you've ever heard about this story, and even though it makes you a little sad, you're also glad that little Oliver managed to turn your boyfriend's life around.

''I'm glad he saved you,'' you whisper before capturing Tony's lips again, pouring every ounce of love into it.

You and Tony decide to watch a movie until it's time for dinner, and you're cuddled up under a blanket with Tony, and Oliver is lying on your lap as you're scratching behind his ears. You're watching one of your favorite movies: Jurrasic Park. After Tony mentioned he'd never seen them, you brought your copy, and here you are.

''So? What do you think?'' you say as you look at Tony with a hopeful look. He looks at you with a serious expression, not giving anything away before he breaks, bursting into laughter.

''I love it, Peach. It's one of the better movies I've watched in a long time!'' he says, and then it's time for dinner. Tony set the table with two plates, some candles, wine glasses, and the wine you brought, ready to dive in.

''Allow me to guide you to the dining room, m'lady,'' Tony says as he holds out his hand, and you happily grab it. He pulls it to his mouth and places a soft kiss on your knuckles, making you giggle softly in response, and then he leads you to the dining room, which is dimly lit with candles. Soft music is playing in the background as he pulls out your chair and pushes it back in as you sit down.

After taking his place across from you, he allows you to grab some pasta first, pour some of the wine before raising it, and give a small toast.

''A toast to you, Peach. To the most beautiful, caring, and loving woman in my life,'' he says before clinking his glass against yours and bringing it to his lips, allowing the taste of the red wine to coat his tongue, humming at the taste.

The conversation over dinner ranges from lighthearted topics, like the bakery and Oliver, to deeper topics, like you've always dreamt of becoming a Mom one day.

''I've always dreamt of becoming a Mom. I just never had the privilege of meeting someone who wants the same,'' you tell him, and his heart sinks a little. Not because he doesn't want them but because he has been in the same boat for the last 20 years. He isn't the youngest anymore and doesn't plan on becoming a Dad by the time he passes 50.

After this, the conversation turns light again, and after you move to the couch again, continue your earlier conversations. When it's nearly 11 PM, you start to yawn slightly, and that's when Tony lifts you, ready to bring you to the bedroom.

''You. Stay. Peach is all mine for the rest of the night,'' Tony says as he glares at Oliver, who was cleaning himself on the cat tree but is now looking at Tony with a face that says, ''Oh yeah? Let's see about that!''

He kicks the door shut behind him, and that's when he carefully lays you on the bed before undressing you carefully. First, your boots and socks, then your pants, followed by your sweater, leaving you in the red lingerie you put on for him. A soft gasp escapes his lips as he takes in your body, his eyes gliding over every dip, curve, and inch of exposed skin.

''I will never get enough of you, Peach. You look like an absolute Goddess, and I can't wait to worship you every day,'' he tells you, and goosebumps erupt all over your body at his words. He's undressing himself, too, and you can see he's already near full hardness, making you salivate at the sight.

''How about you lie back for me, Peach, and I will start by showing you just how I would do that?'' he whispers as he crawls over you, leaving soft kisses on your neck and jaw before you scoot back on the bed, your head landing softly on the pillows. You look up at him with desire coursing through your veins, and your hand snakes into his hair before pulling him closer, molding your lips together with his.

His hips rut against your core involuntarily at the feeling of how soft your lips are, and he has to try his hardest not to lose himself in you already. As he pulls away, a soft groan spills from his lips, your fingers tugging softly on his hair in anticipation of what's to come.

''I want to make you feel good, Daddy, please!'' you whine softly, and Tony has never been one to deny you anything, let alone when you beg for him like this.

''How can I say no to my beautiful Peach when she begs so sweetly? You need Daddy, don't you,'' he whispers in your ear before softly nibbling on your earlobe, making your hand move down and scratch his back down to cup and squeeze his ass, pulling him even closer as his lips follow the line of your jaw, finding their home on the sensitive spot on your neck.

Tony moves back until he's lying on his back, spreading his thick thighs to make room for you to settle in between. Your fingers hook quickly behind the hem of his boxers, pulling it down in a smooth motion as you watch his cock spring to attention with a soft splat, precum already dripping from the tip.

The vein on the bottom of his cock is on display, and the first thing you do is lean forward to run your tongue along the length of it, just the way he likes, before grabbing the bottom and taking his tip into your mouth with a suckling sensation.

''Fuck!'' he exclaims as you do so, his back arching off the bed as you take more of his length into your mouth. The stretch is already causing a slight burn in your jaw that you happily accommodate, wanting to take him as deep as you can. A deep groan falls from his lips as the tip hits the back of your throat, making you gag slightly.

You pull off him with a pop as you catch your breath, a wicked smile forming on your lips as you look at him through your eyelashes.

''Tastes so good, Daddy,'' is all you say as your hand keeps a slow, steady pace before you take him in your mouth again, but this time focussing on his tip instead, alternating between suckling and giving kitten licks over his slit that have him craving more.

''Peach, let me take care of you, please! God, you make me so hard, and I want to be buried deep inside you, fuck'' he tells you. Before you can even comprehend what's happening, you're entirely bare on your back, and Tony lines up with your entrance, growing increasingly impatient every second.

''Daddy, please-'' is all you can say before his cock breaches your entrance, slipping in with a pleasurable burn. His head rests against your forehead as he makes eye contact, making the moment even more intimate.

''Can't wait to cum inside you, Peach, especially since you told me you want to be a Mom. Can't stop thinking about getting you pregnant; you'll look so fucking beautiful with a round belly, carrying our beautiful baby we made together,'' he tells you between groans, your eyes rolling back in your head as the pleasure takes you over, moans tumbling uncontrollably from your lips.

''Will fuck you every single day, Peach, stuff you so full of my cum until you're pregnant, have to make sure it'll take and not waste a single drop,'' he pants, his pace quickly becoming sloppy as he can feel his orgasm creeping closer. Your hand sneaks in between your bodies, and you find your clit without any effort, quickly trapping him inside you as the grip on his cock becomes stronger as your orgasm washes over you.

With a loud exclamation of his name, you cum with your juices squirting out of you, soaking both Tony and the sheets right before Tony stills inside you, his cum coating your walls before collapsing on top of you, your hands gliding into his hair as you both let the moment last as long as possible. Not a word is said between you two, but the love you both feel for each other is visible, and you can't get enough of him, though he eventually has to pull out and clean both of you up.

Tony gets up to grab some clothes, and he takes one good look at your fucked out state, a thin layer of sweat all over your body, a healthy blush spreading over your cheeks as you look up at your boyfriend, admiring every last dip, curve, and muscle of his. On his cheeks is a deep blush that spreads down to his neck and chest, a dopey smile, and rough curls on his head finishing the look.

''I love you, Peach, and thank you for being here tonight,'' Tony says gravelly, your heart beating faster as you hear it. He grabs you a shirt of his and a pair of panties from your overnight bag before handing them to you, putting on a pair of his boxer shorts as well.

''Shall I let Oliver in before he gets impatient? He might want some cuddles with his Mommy,'' Tony says, the deep blush on his cheeks only intensifying as he says those words, and when you have a pair of panties and one of Tony's shirts on, you agree. As the door opens, Oliver runs in and jumps onto the bed, finding his place on your lap again for cuddles.

''Is that true? Are you Mommy's boy?'' you ask little Oliver, and he purrs loudly, letting you know he agrees.

''He is, Peach, and I am too when it comes to you,'' he says before capturing your lips with his again, sealing your love with a sweet, slow kiss. The rest of the night is spent cuddling before you fall asleep in Tony's arms, Oliver finding his place by your feet as he snores softly.

The following day, Tony got up earlier than usual to walk to the florist on the corner of his street, getting a small bouquet of red roses to surprise you with during breakfast. They're standing in a vase on the kitchen island as he's preparing breakfast. Oliver is now looking at Tony from his place atop the cat tree.

He whips up some freshly made pancakes with syrup, the smell filling Tony's house as he whips up some scrambled eggs on the side and a cup of steaming hot coffee to finish it all. The small vase with roses is put on a serving tray with your breakfast before he calls over Oliver, attaching one of the roses to his collar for an extra surprise.

''Alright, let's go wake up, Mommy!'' Tony says, and Oliver struts to the bedroom, swiftly followed by Tony, who pushes the door open with his foot, now glad he left it slightly open as he walked out. He places the food on the floor on his nightstand before gently getting onto the bed and waking you up with soft kisses.

''Good morning, sleepyhead,'' he giggles, and it's a sound you never thought you'd ever hear but that you now can't get enough of.

''You're so cute, you know that? With your soft snores,'' he says as you sit up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you smile at him, letting the reality sink in that you've stayed over at your boyfriend's house, the warm feeling of love spreading throughout your chest.

Tony goes to grab breakfast when Oliver jumps onto the bed, and you instantly spot the little rose on his collar, making you melt a little at the sight.

''Look at you! You are so adorable like this,'' you say as you give Oliver some attention before Tony places the breakfast on your lap, and you see all your favorites. A big smile spreads across your face as you grab the cup of coffee, taking a small sip to let the bitter taste coat your tongue, moaning softly as it glides down your throat.

''Thank you for everything, Tony; you truly managed to make our first time special,'' you tell him before stealing one more kiss and diving into the breakfast he prepared. After that, you're getting ready for work, and it's a good thing you stayed at his house to carpool together.

''Have a good day at work, Mr. Stark,'' you say with a wink, standing on your tiptoes to get one last kiss as you tie your apron behind your back, ready to get started on the customer orders going out today.

''You too, future Mrs. Stark,'' Tony says just loud enough for you to hear, and when you whip your head around, he winks at you with a mischievous smile. And from that moment on, it's all you can think about. Becoming Tony's wife sounds like a dream come true, and you can't wait for it to come true one day.

#fluffcember 2023 #tony stark #tony stark fanfiction #tony stark fanfic #tony stark one shot #tony stark imagine #tony stark x female reader #tony stark x reader #tony stark x y/n #tony stark fluff #tony stark smut

[minniesmutt]

☾ ━━━━━━ 𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐂𝐄: 𝐎𝐍𝐄

☾ ━━━ CONTENT: PARTIAL NON-SEXUALNUDITY, MENTION OF TATTOO GUNS, MENTION CHANGBIN TOUCHING READERS BOOBS, TALK ABOUT SEX, TOXIC MAN, CURSING, MENTION SOCIAL MEDIA STALKING, SLUT SHAMING ☾ ━━━ WC: 1.5K ☾ ━━━ 18+ work!! minors and ageless/blank blogs DNI! you will be blocked, put an indicator on your blog somewhere that you are 18+ before interacting with this work/blog ☾ ━━━ a repost from my old blog

     It only took Changbin a couple of days to develop the design for his receptionist. He’d texted her the workup and got the approval. The two talked about a few other things regarding the tattoo, then it was just a matter of getting it done. The two decided to just get it done after closing one night. 

      So while she cleaned up the front end, he set up in his room, ensuring he had all his inks and supplies and everything. “Do you want me to close the register now Bin or wait?” Y/n called from the front

     “You can close it now. Your tattoos on me tonight,” Bin called back

     “You sure?” She asked

     “Yes. Hurry up, I’m waiting for you.”

     Y/n chuckled at him closed up the register and put the money away in the safe. She grabbed her phone and her water before walking into his room. He still had his speaker on and his usual playlist still playing lowly in the background as she sat on the table.

     Changbin smiled at her as he finished prepping the tattoo gun and laying it on the tray. “Ready?”

     “Tell me what to do boss.”

     “It’s a sternum so,” Changbin handed her a couple of nipple covers, “Just unhook your bra and put those on then roll up your shirt, then lay back on the table. Are you okay with me having to roll it up more if I have to?”

     “Yeah.” Y/n agreed

     Changbin turned his back to her to let her do what he asked while he double-checked everything again. Once she okayed him to turn around he got back to work, prepping the area and then applying the stencil and letting it still on the skin for a few minutes before carefully peeling it back, a temporary version of the design being left behind.

     “I’ll do a quick line so you can get a feel for it.” Changbin turned the gun on and dipped it in the ink, “and if you need a break, let me know.”

     He did a quick line and looked at her for confirmation. Y/n nodded and he went to work. Tracing the lines he’d laid out on her skin. “Why’d you choose sternum? It’s one of the more painful places.”

     “I like how the placement looks mostly. Plus it’s easy to hide too.”

     “Why are you planning to hide it?”

     “Talking to a guy and he’s cute but isn’t super into tattoos.”

     “Fuck him then.” Changbin chuckled

     “Yeah. Cute is the only thing he has going for him.” Y/n sighed

     “Tell me about him.”

     “You sure?” 

     “Yeah. We’re gonna be here a while, might as well talk.”

     “You’re right,” Y/n agreed, “we met on Tinder and we’ve had one date so far and I didn’t feel anything. He’s been calling me pet names and shit since the date too.”

     “You don’t sound too happy about it.”

     “It was fine at first but I’m starting to think that he thinks we’re together. He asked for my location earlier today too.”

      “You should stop seeing him in my opinion,” Bin said as he went for more ink before coming back. “He sounds very possessive of someone that’s not his.”

     “I mean, some possessiveness is fine with me, but I just feel… uncomfortable with it.”

     “What else has he done?”     “Followed all my friends on social media, and requested to follow my family whom I barely talk to anyway. I’m sure he’s stalking mine. It was a hassle to even go on a date with him because he kept canceling the day off with bullshit.”

     “Do you know the amount of red flags you just told me?” Changbin pulled the gun away from her skin and looked up at her

     “That’s what my friends say,” Y/n sighed

     “They are right,” Changbin went back to work, “Did you tell him about your tattoo.”

     “Told him I was getting one. Didn’t say it was my boss.”

     “Don’t think he would take it well that you’re male boss was giving you a tattoo.”

     “Yeah, especially with my tits out.”

     The two took a moment to chuckle before the comfortable silence came over them again and Changbin worked. Y/n listened to the music and the sound of the gun as he finished the center of the piece and moved to the ribs.

     “Do you want a break before we go over the ribs?”

     “Yes.” Changbin helped her sit up and handed her the water she brought in.

     “Why’d you start talking to him.” as he leaned on his elbows against the table

     “Bored and horny and he was the first person I matched with.”

     “Valid reason I guess. Is he good in bed at least?”

     “Hell no.” Y/n sipped on her water, “He didn’t even try to get me off. Nor did it even feel good.”

     “Tell him it’s not working out and block him,” Changbin said before they got back to tattooing. Only for her phone to ring.

     “Speak of the devil.” Y/n sighed after looking at the caller ID

     “Put it on speaker.” Changbin smiled.

     Y/n answered the phone call and put it on speaker, letting it rest on her chest, “Hey.”     “Hey baby,” the man on the other end said making Y/n roll her eyes, “Are you done yet? Wanna come over?” There was hope in his voice and a hint of slyness Changbin caught on to

     “Now you wanna hang out? When I have stuff going on?” Y/n asked

     “It’s not like you need to tattoo. It’s just gonna make you look trashy.”

     Changbin’s head shot up and looked at her. Was this guy serious? 

     “Why should I give a shit what you think about it? It’s on my body not yours.”

     “I bet the girl who’s doing it has a shitty design anyways. Just stop the appointment and come over.”

     “Y/n, are you okay if I move your breasts up more?” Was it evil of Changbin to speak? Maybe. But he’d heard this guy talk for less than five minutes and he was over him and his way of trashing his work.

     “Yeah, that’s fine.” And he did need to move her boob out of the way for a couple of lines.

     “Was that a guy? You’re letting a guy do your tattoo?! And why the hell is he having to touch your tits for it?”

     “Because he’s my boss and he offered to do it and it’s a sternumn tattoo. The design goes under my boobs.”

     “Wow. Didn’t realize you were such a whore Y/n. He probably chose the placement too. He’s probably trying to fuck you.”

     “First of all, I chose the placement for my tattoo. Second—”

     “So you are a whore. Am I not enough or something?”

     “Actually, yeah. You’re barely anything for me quite honesty. And for you to just accuse me of being a whore for getting a tattoo in a certain place, says a lot about your character. So fuck you Yu-jun. Don’t fucking contact me again, asshole.” Y/n hung up the phone, “Sorry Bin.”

     “No, I told you to put it on speaker. Don’t apologize.”

     “Still feel bad for fighting with him in front of you.”

     “Show me a picture of him so if he comes here I can punch him in the face for dissing my work.” The two laughed at the comment before continuing to work and just talking. Random topics came up and it took a few hours for Changbin to finish but by the end of the night, it was done and both were fairly satisfied with the design and its outcome.

     “I still feel like I should give you something for the tattoo,” Y/n said as he cleaned up the studio and she waited with her things on a stool off the side

     “How about a date then?” Changbin suggested as he tied up a trash bag

     “Did you tell me to stop talking to Yu-jun just so you could ask me out?” 

     “No, he’s an actual piece of shit. But, I am an oppurtunist.”

     Y/n smiled and giggled to herself a bit, “Alright. A date for a tattoo.”

     “Let’s head home. It’s getting late.” Changbin smiled and the two quickly took the trash out before turning all the lights off and locking up for the night. 

     Since Changbin and Y/n were always the last to leave at night, they usually walked to their cars together. Changbin had offered it her first shift and they’d been doing it ever since. He went over a bit of the tattoo aftercare as he walked her over to her car before they turned to their usual conversations of whatever the hell popped into their head at that time, usually clients and walk-ins that came about and were pissed that the very busy tattoo shop didn’t have any openings and was by appointment only.

     “Text me when you get home?” Bin asked as he opened her driver-side door for her

     “I will. Thank you for, everything tonight.”

     “You’re welcome.”

     Y/n got in her car and Changbin closed the door and walked to his car, waving goodbye to her as she started her car.

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[south-sea]

listen. cringe is dead and staying dead, but i'm still going to make some disclaimers. the multiverse is an already established/accepted thing, and is a running theme in my AUs. in fact that's kind of the whole point of them: that the multiverse exists, and its worlds/people are there to play with. second chance au exists literally just to enrich my enclosure and spoil the absolute hell out of shadow. ok? good, ok, listen

some truths in the context of second chance au:

shadow is the equivalent of an adopted child

he does not have the context of the events of his namesake game

he does not have access to his own medical/creation records on account of not being able to revisit his (or any adjacent) timeline/world. the most he knows is what gerald told him, which is effectively just "you were made (to be perfect)" (there's nuance to this fact but don't worry about it for the sake of the argument here)

this is the multiverse, remember, where several iterations of shadow already exist, and at least two of his timelines have already overlapped/split off from the other. so it stands to reason that there are other iterations of the black arms, right?

eclipse is a literal child soldier, made in a way mirroring shadow, who was mistreated in nearly the same way, and deserved better

so now let's imagine an alternate take on the black arms, where:

their diets still consist largely of meat, but they don't prey on sapient species. like, maybe they did in the past, but realized hey that kind of sucks, we should maybe not do that to things we can literally communicate with (still need to survive, though)

the paternal qualities eclipse displays is now species-wide; a majority of them are extremely protective and caring of their young. they're an incredibly social species who look out for one another. think of them as rats in that regard

while they still share an at-will hivemind, they are not a homogenous species and in fact have as much of a physical/class diversity as shown in canon. black doom and black death share one such particular class, for example, rather than black death being intentionally made to replace doom in the event of his demise. this particular class is one of "royalty", in that if the current leader dies, the next one in line takes their place

the role that black doom holds is more of a title, in that upon his demise, whoever takes his place also gradually inherits his personality/values/takes on his appearance/etc. this ensures that the person in power maintains a consistent mindset, that overthrowing the previous leader is effectively pointless, and that the concept of "black doom" always exists at some capacity, even if the "original" has long since passed

regardless of generation of black doom they're on, the guy is comparatively peaceful and practical. he's not a doormat, but he's also not going to steamroll someone/a whole species just to get what he wants. he'll attempt to find a compromise if possible (and if not, then too bad. i said he's practical, not perfect. maybe you can see where shadow gets it from) (there definitely exists a timeline where, in the context of this alternate take, he provided his DNA for shadow's creation because he was intrigued by humanity in general and wanted to see them prosper. the deal would have been "give me the chaos emeralds in 50 years because the power source we're using for the comet will be depleted by then". but predicted gerald would betray him, so they just mutually planned to destroy each other)

their names come from an old tradition of naming themselves/their young after morbid or upsetting things in attempt to ward off said things. even if they don't have this superstition anymore, they still tend to maintain the tradition

they have settled in very small pockets across multiple worlds and such, opening namely restaurants and other shops. they like to interact with other cultures and share their own, but will meet wayward other black arms/descendants/etc in particular with open arms and maybe a little too much enthusiasm

tldr i think shadow should get to meet a version of his biological father (or the closest approximation) who isn't batshit murderous, because he needs a dependable (and unequivocally caring) parental figure in his life who can help teach him things about himself not even gerald would have known, and that eclipse should get a second chance and get to be a normal kid/have a family again alright thanks for listening bye

#second chance au #sea talks #i'm on about four hours of sleep so my 'oh no i can't talk about/do this that's way too self-indulgent' meter is in the negatives

[adiabolikpastel]

Halloween is just around the corner, what do Skye, Yuuki, Rose, Calli, Yuki, Yukio, Kanaye and Rini plan to do to celebrate? 🎃 Do you have any headcanons of how they might celebrate Halloween at the Makai?

Sweet Patient Lovely Anon - I am so sorry that I have taken so long to reply to your ask. Things have been so busy for me lately, that I have just not had to time, but I thank you so much for asking and for being patient while I get it all together.

In the past I have done quite a bit of things for Halloween:

All Hallows Eve | Choosing Costumes Spooky Ask 1 \ 2 \ 3 \ 4 \ 5 The Fullest Moon Writing Prompts 1 \ 2 \ 3 Past Halloweens 1 \ 2

The blog has grown so much in characters over the years ~ So allow me to give you the 2023 Halloween Agenda! Full answer under the cut, enjoy!

[Tormented Reverie]

Yuuki

Per usual, Kanato & Yuuki love to dress up, and this year they thought it would be 'funny' to go as Dracula and his Bride. During this time Yuuki would be 4 months pregnant -as explained on her birthday. So, this Halloween would have been rather different from what either of them are used to.

Normally they would go out and get lots of candy, but this year Yuuki just wasn't up for it, which bothered Kanato. She ends up getting sick from all the sweets, and it doesn't end up being a very good night.

Yuki

I think by now Laito and Yuki would have been a 'thing' for a few years now - and still nothing official. Keeping with my addiction to 18+ Disney from last year, I would love to see them as Hook and Tinker Bell. I can see Laito parading him around to multiple human parties, before giving him a break back home. It's been long enough that I think he would allow Yuki a cuddle over a scary movie.

[Tormented Reverie: Another Daydream]

Kanaye

Isabella is definitely feeling the pumpkin head vibes this year. So she planned an entire photo shoot for her and Kanaye to do cute Pumpkin head photos. Taking a few Polaroids for her own collection as well. No parties this year for them, instead Isabella took it upon herself to educate Kanaye about the classic Halloween Movies, since has no idea what any of them are. It's a sweet and cozy night, complete with loads of decorated snacks and lots of cuddles.

Yukio

Ever the people person, Yukio drags Silas to rave after rave. He dressed the two of them up as Cruella Deville and a Dalmatian - Silas being the dog on a lease of course. While Yukio would entertain people for hours, Silas has a very small social battery. After having a talk about dragging him around last year - Yukio was supposed to stop after a certain time. Of course, he doesn't and Silas ends up ditching him.

The half-vampire does this to find peace with his less intense friends, only to have Yukio calling and texting him non-stop. Eventually, Yukio shows up to retrieve Silas, which starts a fight, which leads to a whole thing ... but ultimately leads to them in bed and the toxic cycle continues.

Rini

Not surprisingly, Kanato has planned another adorable father-daughter outfit for the two of them. While her brothers are off galavanting, Rini is taken with her parents to the Hallows Eve activities in the Makai. There she is paraded around by Kanato, who ensures that she is given extra sweets ... but Rini doesn't like sweets the same way her parents do.

While at the festivities, Yuuki doesn't interact with her much, spending most of the night entertaining the adults. Rini's night concludes with Kanato finally dismissing her off to bed with Yuuki. Her mother walks with her off to her room, tucks her in, gives her a hollow kiss on the forehead, and wishes her spooky dreams. While snuggled up with Bunny, Rini can hear the echos of the party, left wondering when she would be able to leave this place as her brothers have.

[Excruciating Duplicity]

Skye

Same as last year, Halloween is pretty much his night off - Skye loves to turn up. He has a reputation for making appearances in his full siren glory, becoming quite popular at Drag Shows, and that is something he plans to continue. Karl does expect him to perform duties to help with any festivities in the Makai, but on actual Halloween, he has the night off.

This year, things got rather spicy as a masked man approached Skye during one of his performances. It was strange that security didn't stop him, and the audience thought it was part of the act. The stranger completely altered Skye's routine, turning it into something steamer than what was normally allowed. It wasn't until the two dragged themselves off stage, breathless and wanting, that he recognized the stranger's eyes. This would be the first time Karl came to one of his shows, and the first time the two would hook up in a human world bathroom.

Rose

As the personal attending maid of the Demon King, Rose's schedule around this time of year is full. For as much as Burai had on his plate, Rose shared in every bit of it. Planning festivities for the Vibora common people, celebrations for nobility, rituals for the Makai as a whole - the Demon King has much on his plate, and as his personal Lupine, Rose was to be there for all of it.

Of course with all of this comes extra stress, and Burai makes good use of of his maid - at all hours of the day and night. Whether it's picking out his outfit for a meeting, or wearing it herself afterward, Rose experiences her true first Hallows Eve. However once it has passed, Burai does give her a few days off to recover.

Callista

Ah the glorious time of the year, when all the people of the Makai are able to be themselves among mortals. While living with her parents, Calli used to love letting her wings out and aweing the local humans with her 'master craftsmanship'. This year however, she would be spending it with her fiance - who was not the celebratory type. Despite her efforts to engage with him, Shu did not find the holiday as fun as she did but he did not stop her from indulging and decorating the mansion as she wished.

This is where Reiji, the ever-tidy, comes in. While instructing the spiders to weave webs across the mansion ceilings, the younger brother questioned her logic in creating such messes. The two exchanged in a debate of ideals, and wound up in front of Shu with the ultimate decision - as it was his house. The older vampire simply smirked and chuckled at the two, commenting that the bickering of children takes him back to when all the brothers lived together.

He would give each of them a pat on the head and say they would celebrate together. Reiji needs to loosen up, and Callista shouldn't make such a mess. Shu indulges in Callista's request for them to dress up together - the three of them - and when the night comes for the Hallows Eve ball, the two of them escort her. She dressed as a Belle from Beauty and the Beast - and the two of them as Lumiere and Cogsworth.

#ask answered #ask mun #Halloween ask #THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK #AND #FOR YOUR PATIENTS #I hope it was work the wait! #thank you for the support! #Tormented reverie #tormented reverie another daydream #excruciating duplicity

[sultanaislammow]

Use market research to conduct analysis

During her training, people who saw HE Tuber  her figure and her training photos expressed envy and the desire to exercise together, indicating that people around her have such needs and can attract a group of active core users during the cold start stage.

3) There is no need to make a profit, the project itself already has value.

This process is beneficial to both her and myself, and can earn profits, but even if it fails, it can still maintain social relationships and give the partner the motivation to persist in the long term in terms of fitness.

WHO

Host: The subject is mainly responsible for content output, and I am responsible for doing miscellaneous tasks.

Participants: Social media users, friends and family of the subject.

1.4 WHEN

Start time: It can be anytime, preferably in summer. You can use taking photos to stimulate users to exercise.

1.5 WHERE

Diversion places: Xiaohongshu, WeChat.

Where daily activities take place: WeChat group.

Offline location: Guangzhou.

1.6 HOW

If you want to make this happen, the core point lies in "stable and continuous user links."

Therefore, when executing the plan, you need to ensure:

1) Having a certain proportion of core users forms the core of the community.

Ensure that you can reach your peers and form core seed users who can actively participate in activities in the community and steadily output content.

2) Maintain high-frequency and effective social interaction.

Creating social currency is the key to keeping the community active after gathering users. According to the concepts in economics of social media, social currency in community operations can be built around a sense of belonging, practicality, knowledge and information, etc.

3) Form effective links between users and generate social compound interest.

Currently, the weight loss/fitness APPs on the market all have community-related functions. However, since they are socializing with strangers, and it is difficult for the same strangers to form high-frequency interactions to convert mature people into socializing, it is difficult to generate large-scale social interactions in this area. value.

Therefore, private communities need to make full use of the "small circle" feature to stimulate links between users to form a stable and active community.

Based on the above three points, the implementation of the plan can be divided into three major steps:

① Content design.

Driving content and active content.

Create traffic-draining content around the subject's weight loss life and Xiaohongshu hot spots, which will be used to attract users during the cold start phase and also used for topic discussions for daily community maintenance. In order to reduce production costs, the content format is mainly text and pictures.

② Community building.

Establish group rules: maintain the basic experience of group users and avoid devastating blows caused by advertisements and violations.

Design the group entry process: It is mainly used to screen users. Due to the need to maintain high-frequency and effective social interaction, it is necessary to gather groups with similar characteristics and preferences. For example, there cannot be men in the group, and the group is all groups whose current figures need to be improved.

Group activity rules: If you want to maintain a high degree of group activity, you can set up activity rules. For users who have not been active for a long time, implement the "kick out" group chat plan to ensure that the group is highly active. However, this solution requires a certain level of active users, and users need to be continuously introduced, otherwise it will be easy to get fewer and fewer users.

③ Be active.

Focusing on the topic of weight loss, design activities that allow users to participate in and continue to be active every day, thereby creating a sense of belonging to the community.

like:

Sign in and clock in.

The most important thing about losing weight is persistence. It is important to exercise as planned or control your diet every day. This process can also be shared in the group to monitor yourself on the one hand and remind others on the other.

Everyday topics.

Exercise/diet topics: Share the latest exercise methods and meal combinations learned, and learn from each other’s advanced experiences.

Goal motivation: Perseverance requires motivation, and setting goals is used to motivate yourself to persist for a long time. Share your goals and encourage each other.

Periodic activities.

Result acceptance & mutual evaluation: When certain results are achieved, positive feedback can be obtained from each other, thus entering the next positive cycle of persistence.

1.7 HOW MUCH

Cost: The target and I are both migrant workers who have to repay loans. The capital cost will definitely be zero, but it will take time and cost to prepare and operate related content.

#HETuber #Music #Gaming #Entertainment #Science And Technology

[prof-peach]

Out of all of the pokemon you have taken care of, which one do you think it was the hardest to deal with? Be cuz they were in a pretty bad shape, or just personality wise?

We get rumbunctious and rowdy Pokemon all the time, our works nature brings them to us probably more than any other issue, outside of grass Pokemon care and management. Anger and nervousness is something we have a good hold of here, and try to help iron out of various species. I do a lot of that work, and on occasion, Grey will do the odd water type with these problems, as I tend to shy away from those. For the most part, they are short stint stays, a couple months, to a couple years helping them to rewire their anger into a more productive feeling or energy. That being said, there’s alwasy the odd Pokemon who comes our way who’s just a step above the rest. So here’s some stories of the ones who have had to stay with us, for their temperament and behaviour.

On the north side of the island, we house the biggest, meanest Pokemon, and the individuals who are very timid and nervous around people. We do this to ensure they have space to live undisturbed in peace, but also to protect guests and visitors from being eaten, crushed, blasted, or otherwise harmed. Some of the northern residents are difficult yes, but most are just stroppy or uncomfortable with the majority of humans, but there are a handful that are actively engaged in harming or hunting people.

One such Pokemon is a rather nasty tempered Drampa, he came to us about five or so years ago now, kindly donated by being abandoned on our shores, it’s original trainer leaving the ball and hopping on a boat without alerting us, or letting the individual know. We figured it would be possible to rehome it, they’re usually a rather reasonable Pokemon to handle, considering their typing. We were wrong. This Pokemon when let out of the ball, went on a monsterous rampage for four days, destroying forests, toppling buildings, blasting holes in the mountain to try to burrow away, and picking fights with anything it’s size or bigger, often causing great harm to others. The island didn’t rest for that entire time, most Pokemon cowering from it, bigger species trying to halt them, all in vain. It took an entire troop of grass Pokemon using sleep powder to knock it out, the Drampa moved about so fast, one single grass type didn’t stand a chance to produce enough spores in time. It took a lot of work but we knocked the old boy out, and got a good look at him. His body was riddled with arthritis, not medicated, he would thrash about and cause himself so much pain and discomfort. He had overgrown nails, the feet hidden in the fur they have around their torso, often overlooked, and it’s ability to fly was limited because of its general condition and state. We began helping it, medicating it’s aislments, aiding it’s inflamed joints, but it never really calmed down, so now it chills out alone on the coast of the north side, left well alone, it doesn’t even like the company of other Pokemon.

We’ve done our best to interact with it, to socialise it, to generally get it use to people enough to do medical checks, but it’s still very resistant. We have decided that after two years of hard work, and it being tolerant to me, at least to check it’s health and wellbeing, that it’s best to let it live it’s life unbothered. Many would push a Pokemon to be a perfect social being, but we don’t believe it’s necessary for happiness. Some species are happy to be away from others, I wouldn’t push a human to be social, I know how awful that can be, so we didn’t force the individual to be around others either. It’s not that it’s unhappy, we spot it from time to time sitting on the rocks by the ocean, humming to itself, and the small pidgey and tailow that come by don’t bother it, and even give mild brief conversation. He seems ok, the medicine given means he’s in less pain, despite still having stiffness, and in the winter we’ve built him a unique space, rocky cover much like a cave, just above a Macargo hide where they lay eggs. The heat from those Pokemon keep its cave very hot, and help in the cold to ease the joint aches. The two species have different entrances, making sure they never meet within the hide at any point. There’s a good slab of rock dividing them, so it’s not an issue, and saves us having to pipe hot water over that far for him. He eats well, has a few items he’s kept from the labs, a toy sentret, and a large red ball, and generally is in a good place to live out his life in peace now.

Another difficult member would be a particularly timid Slazzle, gifted to us by a police member who had confiscated it from a rather mean individual close to her home town, they had been hurting the poor Pokemon, forcing it to produce an insane amount of poison liquid, throwing water on the poor thing every time it tried to ignite to retaliate, generally abusing the poor thing for its life, apparently it had been locked away since it was a young unevolved Pokemon. They’d been harvesting the poisons from the Slazzle and dropping it into various water sources to try to control the local Pokemon population, as they blamed the wild ones for the state of their land, and diminished crops yield from their allotment. Jokes on them, that water poisoning affected them too, and their garden died very quickly, and made the man quite sick through consumption of the crops he grew there. The slazzle is still very skittish, will hide at any given moment, we’ve seen her ignite an entire building in one move, and then bolt away through the flames to lose our line of sight. She managed to stay hidden for two weeks on the island, before we caught sight of her again. Generally she’s just a case fo neglect but we have been working with her now for a long while, 3 ish years, and her temperament is at least manageable amongst our staff. We have found her others of her kind to help her settle, and she’s become good friends with a Wartortle who came from the same area, they bond over memories of the place, and seem very happy in each others company.

We’ve found ways to keep her grounded, but she never goes near people when we have open days, slinks off through the big fence to the north side, and waits out the visiting hours until night. They’re not usually nocturnal but she likes the night, and spends her time looking about, foraging and feeding in the later hours. If you’re quiet you can catch her moving around the forests and the base of the mountains here, talking with the occasional individual, she seems to enjoy Murkrow too, their company seems to keep her quite social, as they usually move in large flocks here. She may never be rehomed, but for now we try to socialise her, we don’t battle her, and she has a very calm and peaceful nook to go to when she’s having a rough time. We make sure to provide support where possible, and though she’s a little skittish she’s somewhat happy to have myself and Grey, even Pari take a look at any wounds or scrapes she may gain while living here. She’s become trusting enough to come to us if we call, and who knows, maybe someone will come our way who she takes an interest in. There’s hope for her yet, we have however become quite fond of her, and she’s part of the furniture now. It may end up that she never leaves, and lives her life in peace here, surrounded by people and Pokemon who love her. Her panic makes her very difficult to pass to another trainer, and she’s prone to spitting up huge quantities of toxic liquid when spooked, and bolts at a slight bang or rumble.

One I have kept back for a number of reasons, is a rather mean tempered Aerodactyl. Normally we get Pokemon sent to us, but this one I ended up finding myself, some circus had her chained up in a box hardly big enough to turn around in, an attraction to the masses as they travelled through the area. The leader of that troop was particularly awful, treating Pokemon as commodities, items to be bought and sold, used as toys in his big performances. Boiled my blood. We called her Zeplin, and after 12 years she has still got a nasty temper on her, when not focused on a task. Her condition when we first found her was quite something, tattered wings, unable to fly straight at all, and she was littered with cuts and bruises, not in good health. Val has melted the chains that bound her, and the lock in her cage, and she just went, like a bat out of hell, flew off, blasting the tent that hid her quarters, burning a lot of the circus as she went. Little did I know, my foot was in one of the chain links, and I got dragged off with her, the ground, Val, all my other team mates, falling from my pocket, or being left on the floor where we had once been standing. She flew, and kept going, not aware I was still attached, you could see her wings were having a hard time catching the breeze, littered with holes and tears, she went for about two hours, I nearly froze that high up, trying to get a good grip on what chain was left so I didn’t come falling from that height. We came to a very sudden crash landing, she hadn’t had much chance to practice the whole take off - land thing from the feel of it, we both ate dirt, and she became very aware that I was there all of a sudden.

I had about three seconds while she assessed my presence, to get out of the chain, and dive behind a rock that gave me cover from an almighty blast of energy, chipping away bits, catching my arm a little. Trust me when I say, it’s terrifying coming face to face with something that stands a fair few meters taller than you, with more teeth and claws than you’re comfortable with dealing with, with none of your Pokemon, no weaponry, no real plan or cover other than a rock. How she didn’t eat me, I don’t know. Perhaps she knew it was me that let her go, maybe she just ran out of energy, but for whatever reason, she made a few bits and tail lashes at me, missed the lot, and gave up, turning to stomp off into the forests around us. She was still shackled with heavy irons, one on the neck, two on the legs, and was in serious condition, so I did the stupid thing and followed her, tried to sneak my way behind, though every now and then she would look towards me, and try to focus on my form in the dark of night now. It was a few days, she had stalked some prey, fed, and was starting to ooze from some wounds. Though the circus was unkind, they were providing her with medication that stopped further infections occurring, perhaps a scarred beast of great size drew more punters, maybe they were just making sure she survived to make them money, I still don’t know.

I hunted herbs, dug out roots with rocks, used river water, and common berries and managed to fashion some kind of salve, nothing amazing, especially back at that age, but it would work, I knew it would because I used it on my own wounds first. Just had to convince her it was a good thing to let me get close. Not an easy task. We physically brawled, she was clearly spent, not able to use any attacks, just thrashing about, I managed to trip her with the chains still attached to her legs, and once downed, you can jump on the head of these Pokemon to keep the jaws shut, just long enough to lather the wounds you can reach, then bolt fast. It was a small act, but she took off running again. With some wounds sort of cared for, I followed again, fishing for dinner, forraging roots to chew on. It wasn’t much but it kept me going, then one night, where I had climbed to a crook of a large tree, using my jacket to tie myself in for a nights sleep, I was awoken by loud rustling, thudding of feet, and a mighty huff.

Below where I sat, the Pokemon had returned, being no doubt well aware of my presence, following the smell of human, she had noticed the salve do a good job on the wounds I managed to reach, but the ones I couldn’t get near had become far worse, red, inflamed and weeping terribly, no doubt hurting and itching. I’d seen her rubbing her sides in the day, itching gasinst rocks and trees, smearing blood and ooze along her path as she trudged. So here we were, alone in the woods, I veeeeery carefully climbed down, staying in cover as much as possible, and over the space of an hour or two, she let me come out into the open, teeth bared yeah, but she hadn’t attacked, and other than a very uncomfortable, low growl, she allowed me to creep closer, some more of that salve made more for my own wounds than hers, being sniffed at, she licked it too, but wasn’t happy with the taste, very bitter, and I was cautiously optimistic, allowed to help her heal the rest of the cuts she had acquired from her old home. So we began our....I want to say friendship but that wasn’t it, it was a collaboration to survive.

We had landed somewhere far from others, I missed my team, and she had never experienced anything outside of the cage, and so we banded together, tentatively. We caught dinner as a team, and climbed for fruits, foraged for berries, reapplying what loose form of medicine I managed to make, before coming to some kind of comfortable companionship together. A week passed, wandering without a clue where we were, before a path was found, she seemed to want to avoid it, and while I wasn’t keen on people much either, it was impossible not to want to find my team again. They needed me, and I needed them. If they had been found, a police officer or the likes may have sent them to my original professor, waiting to be called from the PC system again, but knowing Val, she had grabbed the balls, my things, and bolted to hide, waiting for my return. In desperation I tried to explain this to the Aerodactyl, who had not experienced a trainers care before, and seemed reluctant to return.

It was only upon mentioning revenge, to burn the circus to the ground, that I regained her attention, and we came to a slow agreement to get aid, gather items, and return to where she had been released from. She waited in the forest while I went to town, checking my PC space to see if my team had been handed in, which they had! It was lucky, I was reunited with Val (vulpix), Booker (teddiursa), and Potato (bulbasaur) who I took back, and returned to the woods with.

We had to get some revenge, and in turn we devised a plan to free the Pokemon first, sneak in and pick the locks, melt the chains and gates, and then finally, let the aerodactyl do her thing once the vulnerable individuals were loose. I did my best to hold back my own personal rage, and simply aid the demise of a group who were awful towards Pokemon through this one big flying type. I wint go into details but no one perished in the fire, they were arrested and charged for unsafe work conditions, and abuse towards Pokemon, not to mention false advertising, having no worker’s Compensation in pace for injury, which many staff complained of, and several incidents of sexual harassment in the work place that were brought to light.

Once one started to talk, the others all joined in, and the fire was put down to unsafe working conditions and a lack of health and safety. From what I heard, the whole circus worth of Pokemon were rehomed, helped and generally lived much better lives after that. However now we had one very mistrusting angry Aerodactyl on our hands, a Pokemon I had not worked with before, who had seemingly become quite tolerant of me, but would snap at just about anyone who clocked eyes with her. So I kind of just kept her, no ball, not for a fair few years, we both didn’t think it was important. She was nursed back to health, and we had to go through a lot of training together, she bit booker once quite badly, but we’ve all put that in the past, and have worked on it together.

She is still testing, she won’t be ridden by anyone else, she doesn’t care for other Pokemon much, crowds will spook her, she doesn’t like when people talk with raised voices or hostile tones, and gets real irritable if you come at her in any kind of way that isn’t open handed, calm and slowly. She’s now a very capable flier, wings healed up, spending her first half of life locked up made her long for the open sky, so now we take time together to go off and ride winds when work is slow, and she’s helped in many ways to make the island functional, by moving logs, clearing paths, helping lift building materials around, and generally being there for me when I’m full of rage, which is actually annoyingly often. We’re anger buddies hah, kind of get on the same level with it. She’s become so much part of my family, and I feel like i’m part of hers now too, so I doubt she’d be rehomed, but should she find somewhere she would rather be, we wouldn’t stop her going. She is difficult, angry, snappy, tempermental, difficult, won’t be touched by strangers, likes to fight, but I’d not change her, she’s our testing monster, who we love and adore.

Went off a bit, but I figured why not, I know her, and can write more about her life and story than the others.

#pokemon #prof.peach #peach talks #long post

[nugnthopkns]

dance me to the end of love (ii)

word count: 3.3k

warnings: fem!oc, alcohol consumption, cursing

series masterpost: here

a/n: part two baby! thanks for all the love on part one, it means the absolute world. i have so much love for this story and i hope people are enjoying it :))

Life is settling into a comfortable rhythm.

After spending a good chunk of her young adult life being incredibly studious, Magdalene can finally have the social life of someone in their mid-twenties. Though she’s still spending a fair amount of time by herself in the basements of the University of Denver’s library, Bette convinces her to go out more. Magdalene tries to fight, citing extra work or a good book as an excuse to stay home, but it doesn’t work very often. The pleas of her friend are how Magdalene finds herself currently lounging poolside at Erik Johnson’s house on a Sunday afternoon.

“How’s the new career treating you?” Tyson asks. “I feel like we haven’t seen you in a while.”

Magdalene laughs. “I’ve seen Bette plenty,” she says, “She thinks I won’t take a lunch break unless she shows up.”

“Would you?” the blonde girl questions with a quirked brow.

“Probably not.”

“I rest my case.”

A small crowd gathers around as Magdalene begins to detail the specifics of her job, but she doesn’t feel as uncomfortable as she once would have. In the month or so since graduating school she’s found herself slowly being incorporated into the Avalanche family. It’s almost certainly because Bette and Tyson championed her case, explaining that she doesn’t have much of a support system beyond the two of them, but she doesn’t mind. A few of the guys ask her questions about her work, curious as to why someone would want to spend their life combing through piles of old things. Everyone stays engaged in the conversation until there’s a shout from the kitchen that dinner is ready.

Magdalene shuffles in line behind André, filling her plate with various pasta salads and a hamburger. Once situated with enough food for two meals she returns to the pool deck, sitting on the edge and dipping her toes into the cool water. Bette comes and finds her a minute later and the two of them begin to eat.

She’s still relatively new to the group’s dynamic, but Magdalene can’t help but notice that Ryan is never around. In fact, Magdalene hasn’t seen him since her graduation party. Taking a casual sip of her wine cooler, she asks her friend about the man’s absence.

“Why is Ryan never at these sorts of things?”

Bette shrugs. “Isn’t a huge one for parties. He was supposed to come today, but I guess something came up.”

“I’m not huge on parties,” Magdalene huffs, “But that doesn’t stop you from dragging me to every single one.”

“Unlike you, Gravy gets enough regular social interaction that his absence is permissible. If Tyson and I didn’t take you out you’d talk to your cat more than normal.”

She wants to fight back, but knows it’s pointless. Bette has a point – if it weren’t for her the only people Magdalene would interact with are her boss and her cat. Instead, she grumbles under her breath and changes the subject to the trip Bette is in the middle of planning. It’s coming up in a few weeks, and Magdalene wants to hear a bit more about it before she commits. Despite what she thought about taking time off so close to starting work, it was encouraged by June, but she's refraining from telling Bette that. If it doesn’t sound like she'll enjoy it, Magdalene is banking on being able to use the excuse.

Bette explains that she’s renting a large lake house that is perfect for a relaxing week away from adult responsibilities. The property has kayaks and a hot tub, which pretty much ensures that Magdalene will want to be in attendance. She’ll hold onto that information for a little while longer though, if for no other reason to make Bette squirm a little. At some point Tyson comes to sweep his girlfriend away and leaves Magdalene at the party alone. She makes polite conversation with some other players for a while before heading home herself. Ryan never shows up, despite how much Magdalene hopes he will. At the very least she wants to properly thank him for doing her a favour, though her hoping to see him is much more selfish. He intrigues her and she wants to know more about the tall man with the dazzling smile and a proclivity for wearing all black.

☼☼☼☼

Barn Owl Book Company is filled to the brim when Magdalene approaches the store from the side street it annexes. She should’ve expected it – it’s the first of the month and their newest books are hitting the shelves. However, Magdalene doesn’t exactly have time to wait in line. June gave her only fifteen minutes to run and grab them coffee before they continue the massive task of digitizing a private collection that has just been donated to the university. She estimates it will take almost a month of extended hours to get everything done, and Magdalene believes it. There’s so much to wade through but she knows the end result will be satisfying.

Luckily the café line is fairly short, and Magdalene reaches the counter in a timely manner. “Hey,” she greets the barista warmly, “Could I just grab two medium iced cappuccinos?”

“Anything else?”

“No, that's everything. It’ll be on debit,” she smiles. Magdalene reaches into her backpack to grab her wallet only to find that it’s missing. Shit. The barista has already left to make the drinks, completely unaware that her customer is unable to pay.

Magdalene hears a voice from behind her say, “I’ve got it, don’t worry.” She turns around to find Ryan Graves standing there with a book tucked under his right arm.

“You’re a lifesaver,” she mumbles appreciatively. “I don’t know how my boss would take it if I showed up empty handed.”

Ryan laughs shyly as he pulls his card away from the machine. “I get it, everyone needs a little caffeine this time of year.” The barista comes back with Magdalene’s drinks, which she takes with a smile and a wish for a good day. The two of them head towards the exit, and Ryan pauses once they’re on the sidewalk. “Which way are you headed?”

“Back to work,” Magdalene says, nodding her head in the direction of campus. “I’ve got approximately five minutes to get there before June rips me a new one.”

“June?”

“She’s my boss,” she explains.

Ryan nods in understanding. “I’ll see you around Magdalene,” he smiles, turning on his heel and heading the opposite direction.

In a moment of bravery, Magdalene yells at his retreating figure. “Will you? We never seem to cross paths.”

“I’ll be at Bette and Tyson’s this weekend, and I’m counting on your company.”

Magdalene finds it incredibly hard to focus the rest of the afternoon. She keeps thinking about what Ryan said, which makes her a rather lousy archivist. June sends her home just after seven even though they had plans to stay until ten, citing the fact that she’s scanned the same photo three times before noticing. Caligula’s meowing for pets when she gets home isn’t even enough to distract her from the comment. The absentmindedness continues for another day or so, and it’s becoming so bad Magdalene is worried that June is going to fire her for incompetence.

It’s only when Bette calls to invite her over for dinner and drinks that her mind levels out. “I was wondering when I was going to get the call,” she chuckles absentmindedly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” is the response Magdalene receives.

“Well,” she explains, “I ran into Ryan at Barn Owl the other day and he paid for my drinks because I left my wallet on the table at work, and he said he expected to see me at your place this weekend. So if you never invited me I was just going to show up.”

Bette is smiling, that much Magdalene can infer by the lull in conversation. “I haven’t got the time to call you yet,” she concedes, “But consider this the official invitation to our house for a small party.”

“Anything we’re celebrating?”

“Nope. Have you ever needed a reason to party?”

Magdalene laughs. “Yes. Need one almost every time actually.”

The rest of the week passes fairly quickly. To make up for her blundering earlier in the week Magdalene offers to work a full day on Saturday, by herself, to get the project back on track. June accepts the proposition eagerly, and Magdalene lets Bette know she’ll be coming directly from work. Saturday rolls around and she spends most of her time getting lost in the past lives of the artefacts she’s dealing with. If someone were to ask Magdalene what her favourite part of archiving is, that’s the answer she’d give. There’s nothing more satisfying to her than holding a piece of history in her hands and imagining all the stories it would be able to tell if it could speak.

By the time she’s put in a full work day and finishes locking up the basement floor her department occupies, Magdalene is pretty sure they’re ahead of schedule on the project. She genuinely feels terrible about her misperformance and hopes June will be able to forgive her. On the way to Bette and Tyson’s Magdalene listens to the Leonard Cohen greatest hits cd that came with her car. The previous owner was presumably a big fan, and over the years Magdalene has come to appreciate the folk singer. She never got to see him in concert before his death but turns to his music when she needs to relax. Right now is the perfect time to listen to ‘Hallelujah’ on repeat because she’s seriously freaking out about the idea of spending the night talking to Ryan. Though she still wants to properly thank him and possibly become friends, something about him makes Magdalene nervous.

There’s no way for her to tell if Ryan is there when she parks in front of the house. She doesn’t know what kind of car he drives, or if he caught a ride with someone. Magdalene debates texting Bette to see if he’s there already but decides against it, knowing she’s an adult who is more than capable of pushing down nerves.

She doesn’t bother knocking and just steps into the respectably sized home. The music is loud enough that no one would have heard her anyways. It’s much more of a party than Magdalene was expecting – Bette invited her for dinner and drinks, not a gathering that could pass as a frat party. There are bodies everywhere, and she isn’t sure if she’ll ever catch a glimpse of her friend.

“You seem to be dressed for the wrong kind of party,” a voice chuckles from behind her.

Magdalene turns to see Ryan leaning against the wall, eyeing her business casual attire. “I came from work,” she explains, “And didn’t know it was this kind of party to begin with. I would’ve at least brought a change of clothes.”

“You look terribly out of place,” he agrees. “Can I grab you a drink? The hosts are too busy playing beer pong to, you know, be hosts.”

A giggle escapes Magdalene’s lips at the comment. Ryan seems to have a similar sense of humor to her, which will be beneficial for passing the time if Bette is already on her way to being wasted. “A glass of red wine would be nice.”

Ryan pushes off from his perch and heads towards the kitchen. The crowd parts for the six-foot-five hockey player, and Magdalene follows in his wake quite easily. Knowing the space as well as her, Ryan grabs a wine glass from the cupboard Bette keeps them in and pours the dark red liquid into it. He waits until Magdalene has situated herself on the island before handing her the cup. She takes it with an appreciative hum and waits until he’s grabbed a beer for himself before raising her glass in toast. Ryan does the same, and their glasses clink before each of them take a sip.

“What exactly is it that you do? I bet it’s something super cool and studious, but I seriously don’t know what the hell being an archivist means.”

Magdalene explains her job to Ryan, who is extremely interested. He asks nearly a hundred follow-up questions that she answers sincerely, throwing in a few jokes that luckily crack him up. Conversation moves to his career and then life. Magdalene learns that he’s from Nova Scotia, though he stays around Denver these days, and that if he wasn’t playing professional hockey he’d like to have a career in publishing. Ryan doesn’t press too hard when Magdalene refuses to open up about her family, which she appreciates. It’s a delicate subject that she keeps guarded close to her chest, and a friend’s kitchen in the middle of a party isn’t the place for her to divulge her deepest secrets.

The two of them get refills before exiting the room. Even more people seemed to arrive since Magdalene walked through the door, and the kitchen is no longer an empty safe haven. The music is so loud she can feel the bass thumping in her chest, giving the living room a club-like atmosphere, and it’s too much. Magdalene tugs at the hem of Ryan’s sweater to catch his attention. “Want to go somewhere quiet?”

“I doubt there is such a place,” he yells over the crowd going crazy over some early 2000s hip-hop track.

“Follow me,” she says with a smile, pointing over her shoulder in the direction of the staircase to the second floor.

It takes a minute for them to wade through the throngs of people, but it goes much faster once Ryan takes Magdalene’s hand and splits the crowd. A few boys, who don’t look older than twenty-one and almost certainly snuck into the party, notice where the pair are going and shout congratulations. Ryan shoots them a glare so sharp it could cut stone but doesn’t drop Magdalene’s hand. Once safely on the much quieter second floor, Magdalene makes a beeline for the bathroom.

“Are you coming or what?” she asks when there doesn’t seem to be footsteps following her.

Ryan hesitates. “I, uh, can just wait out here while you’re in there,” he stammers.

Magdalene’s laugh rings out through the empty hallway. “I’m not going to the bathroom. We’re going out the window.”

He isn’t sure how that’s any better, but Ryan follows the brown-haired girl into the room. It takes considerably more work for him to fit through the frame, but after some directions from Magdalene he makes it onto the roof. She sits down and pats the space beside her, encouraging Ryan to do the same. They stay out there, discussing anything that comes to their heads, until the party’s numbers dwindle drastically. Magdalene makes sure to properly thank him for both attending her graduation and spotting her coffee money, and she thinks Ryan might blush a little when she offers to get the next round. He asks about her love of The West Wing, and they launch into a long conversation about the show and cast. The sun fades to black and the cold sets in, and Magdalene finds herself wrapped in Ryan’s sweater without asking. It’s only when she notices it’s approaching midnight that Magdalene clues into how tired she is.

“I think I’m going to head out,” she yawns. Ryan nods in agreement and holds the window open for her to slip in through. Once downstairs, Magdalene goes to lift the sweater from her frame but Ryan stops her.

“Keep it for drive home. I’ll get it back next time we see each other.”

Still feeling bold from the alcohol that left her system hours ago, she reaches out to poke him in the chest. “And when will that be, hm? You seem to enjoy leaving our meetings up to chance.”

It’s Ryan’s turn to laugh. “Think you can swing an extended lunch break on Wednesday? I’ll be at Barn Owl all afternoon. Maybe you can join me for a coffee.”

Magdalene likes the sound of that and agrees. She leaves without seeing Bette or Tyson once, but she doesn’t mind. They’d be happy for her blooming friendship – or at least she’s pretty sure they will be once she calls to fill them in on the details.

☼☼☼☼

Wednesday rolls around without incident, and Magdalene is given a full hour to eat instead of thirty minutes. Walking time has to be accounted for, of course, but she should have nearly forty-five minutes to spend with Ryan if she plays her cards right. There’s no crowd this time, and it’s incredibly easy to spot Ryan sitting in the window she loves to claim as her own.

“Hey,” Magdalene greets, “Did Bette tell you to sit here?”

He shakes his head, perplexed at the question. “No, why?”

“It’s just my favourite seat in the store, that’s all. I thought she told you how to gain some extra brownie points.”

“Should I be concerned about the amount of points I have?” Ryan teases, sliding a cup and pastry bag across the table and into her hands.

Magdalene shakes her head, smiling widely. “You’re doing alright so far. Keep up the good work.”

They eat at a comfortable pace, taking breaks to engage in interesting topics of conversation or take sips of their drinks. Ryan insists his life is boring, but Magdalene is enthralled by the stories he tells. It’s completely different from hers and she feels as though she can live vicariously through the tales of walking through the historic downs of the east coast and swimming in the Pacific Ocean on days off in California. After squeezing every story possible from the man Magdalene shifts gears slightly.

“So, are you going on the trip in a couple of weeks?”

“It’s looking that way,” Ryan shrugs with relative indifference, “Nate doesn’t think he’ll be able to come back, something about a development camp he’s running having the dates switched. He’s asked me to take his spot.”

His neutral mood confuses her. When Bette mentioned his probable attendance months ago, it sounded like he was enthusiastic about spending a week with friends doing nothing to swimming and drinking. “You don’t want to go?” Magdalene probes.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but sometimes the group parties a little harder than I like to,” he sighs, raising a hand and running it through his hair. That’s something she understands completely, having spent a few too many nights being the sober one out.

“I’ll be there.” It’s Magdalene’s turn to shrug, but the comment holds an incredible amount of hope.

“Well then, that changes everything.”

Was Ryan flirting with her? She spends the rest of lunch thinking about the possibility, and truthfully, it occupies her brain for the rest of the day. However, she keeps her focus and June is none the wiser to the butterflies in her stomach. Work finishes without much fanfare, and her dinner is silent save for the few meows of conversation Caligula offers. It’s late by the time Magdalene falls into bed, cat snuggled into the pillow beside her. On a whim she decides to check Instagram and sees a message request from none other than the man who’s smile has been replaying in her mind. A follow request accompanies it.

Thought that maybe we could quit leaving our meetings to chance and plan something next time :)

He has to be flirting. There’s no other explanation for the witty banter they’ve shared this week, or why he’s reaching out to her on social media. The butterflies in her stomach multiply tenfold as Magdalene types out a reply.

I don’t know, it’s kind of fun being shrouded in mystery. However, I now have the opportunity to stalk your profile ;)

Before she can overthink her use of the emoji, Magdalene shoves her phone in the drawer of her nightstand and rolls over. A slight smile can’t help but appear on her features as she falls asleep, already curious about what his reply will be.

☼☼☼☼

taglist: @scrunchmakar @marcoscandellas @toplinetommy @samsteel @lovethepreds (add yourself to the taglist!)

#ryan graves imagine #ryan graves x oc #ryan graves fic #colorado avalanche imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #cwrites #dmtteol

[doloresdraws]

‘When I look back on my life It's so hard to face you I never wanted to fight this fight I'm ashamed of the truth No, I don't want to hurt you, baby I don't want to hurt you, baby I didn't mean to hurt you, baby

God, I'm sorry’

When I look back on my life I never wanted this fight (I don't want to hurt you baby) If I could turn back time (I don't want to hurt you baby) I would make it alright (I don't want to hurt you baby)

I love you, I love you sunshine’

Unbelievable, but I painted something new and even managed to finish it in two sittings.

Finally a proper painting of my Sabbat Nosferatu character Fox for our upcoming Sabbat game set in San Francisco. Since his story didn’t start yet I can only share something about his background.

Fox came to San Francisco from a small town in Ohio to escape a brewing unhappiness and resentment towards his mother and responsibility of caring for his two younger sisters that in his eyes slowed him down. He was tired of having to act like an adult in his family and also having to endure the looks and gossips of his classmates, because everyone knew what his mother did for a living to be able to take care of her three kids.

He had these naive dreams that living in California will bring him more and better opportunities to make good money and to live the life he often saw on tv growing up. He really wanted to become something, to prove his mother that you can get money with honest, not self-degrading work. He really hoped that he will be able to earn enough money to ensure that his sisters will never end up in the same line of work as his mother.  Of course the reality was not quite how he imagined, he struggled to find work at first, having to even spend a few nights sleeping in the park, but with his determination and eagerness to do just almost any work he was able to find various construction work and other small odd jobs to sustain his basic human needs. A lot of his colleagues were of Mexican and Venezuelan origin and through daily socializing with them he actually picked up some Spanish. He was still looking for a better, stable job but even though he often had little money to go on, he was adamant to stay clear of any criminal work. After about 6 months he was able to secure a job as the sewage treatment plant worker, it wasn’t as glorious work as he dreamed of and the surroundings were often very unpleasant, but he hid his pride and put his best efforts to do his job well. He quickly became very good at it and was even promoted, with the extra money he was able to rent a small apartment.Although far from how he imagined it, his life for the next few years was quite good, he managed to find himself a girlfriend and was planning to get marry to her, the biggest problem was that Gloria was in the US illegally, so he had to figure out how to make it happen.

Unfortunately everything changed when Fox got into an accident during his work when a gas pipe exploded and a fire had started. He was one of the few people injured, but unfortunately for Fox, he was the one who got the most severe burns that covered about 40% of his body, unfortunately also his lower half of the face, neck and hands. After this accident his life spiraled quickly, his company had friends in higher places, so instead of paying for health bills of their workers, they actually scapegoated Fox and sued him and his group of workers for the accident. He had no money for a fancy lawyer, so he lost the case, together with his medical bills his debts started piling up. His personality changed, he was angry or didn't speak at all for days. Gloria tried to help him and tried to be by his side, but he hated the fact that he could see the pity on her face whenever she looked at him. So he really started being mean to her so she would leave him alone, right now he didn't want anyone around. One day it got out of hand and he pushed her out of the door and told her never to come back, that she should get back to her Taco country or something offensive like that. He also managed to shout some Spanish insults at her, his words really hurt her as she ran away with tears.After a few days he felt really bad for breaking the things between him and Gloria in such a horrible way. He knew deep down that he needed her and wanted her by his side, even if it hurt to see how she looked at him, he knew that she was worth it. She actually never showed him where she lived before, so obviously the only places to look for her were the areas where she used to work. He hated to go outside and interact with people as they would always look at him the same, with pity and disgust, but he wanted to try to make up with Gloria. Yet when he asked in the bar the manager said that Gloria didn’t come to work in a last few days. He then went to ask around in the market she used to help and one of the women there told him that two days ago there was a police investigation and that they took a lot of people without proper papers away and that Gloria was among them.

Once again Fox felt absolutely helpless, she was probably detained and ends up deported back to Mexico and there is nothing he can do about it. He had no money, he didn’t even know where exactly she was. That night he bought a few bottles of tequila, drank as much as he could before he felt sick and threw up, which fucking hurt as all of his scars weren't fully healed yet. He hated himself, it was his fault she ended up on the street and now she is gonna end up back in Mexico with her last memories of him will be him yelling all this horrible shit to her face. He was ashamed of himself.

After this his life got even worse, now he had no emotional support, no friends, no job, painful scars that made him look like a monster. He usually spent his days staring at the ceiling, he couldn't really drink much as it was just too nasty, so he just existed for a while. His debts forced him to find work, but he couldn't do physical jobs he was used to anymore, he managed to find some odd jobs, probably because people felt bad for him which he resented. He even worked in 7/11 store, but all of his jobs were just temporary, he couldn’t keep any of them for more than for a week. It was not that his employers were unhappy with him, but Fox couldn’t just stand all the stares and pity looks he got from his employers, coworkers and customers. It didn't take long and he couldn’t keep up with the rent and when he lost the apartment, he became homeless. He could of course get back to his mother, but he actually didn't even notify neither him or his sister about his accident, he didn't want to be a burden and also he had too much pride to ever getting back to that shitty small town. All he wanted was to hide from people, to be spared of their pitiful glances and their talk about how strong he was. He wasn’t strong, he was a shitty, pathetic person who abandoned his family, resented his own mother, he failed his sisters and he treated the person that he loved as a Punchbag for his spite and insecurities, and now she will probably end up in some kind of human trafficking ring, because of him.

I will talk about his Embrace in more detail in some future post, but basically he was a shovelhead who somehow managed to get a chance to prove himself to the Sabbat. Although he loves his pack( some more than others) he still isn’t quite convinced by the Sabbat’s ideology, his biggest difficulty being the ever-present unnecessary violence, he still tries to cling to the last bits of humanity inside of him and that often leads to dissatisfaction from the Bishop and thus reflecting badly on his pack. He is torn between trying to fit in and wanting to measure up to his fellow Cainites and to do what feels right in his heart…

I am honestly very excited to finally play a Nosferatu. ❤

Fox © me/doloresdraws lyrics  ©  Hurt by Meg Myers

#my art #OC Fox #vtm #vampire the masquerade #World Of Darkness #ttrpg #vtm sabbat #doloresdrawsocs #digital portait #vampire art #clan nosferatu #digital painting

[justasparkwritings]

Troll In Love: Part 1

Pairing: Park Jimin x Reader

Genre: Enemies to Lovers / Exes to Lovers, Non-Idol AU

Rating: PG-17

Word Count: 4.6k

Warnings: Swearing

Summary: What happens when your work nemesis and your ultimate troll team up to flip your world upside down? 

Note: This piece is for the #thebtswritersclub fic exchange! Look out for Part 2 later this week. 

This fic is dedicated to, written for the incomparable @xjoonchildx​, who I have been lucky enough to be paired with. A major fan, this was an intimidating endeavor, and I’m kind of in love with what I’ve created for her. And if she hates it .... it’s trash okay? jk... kind of. 

Banner by me. 

Monday: Pitch Meeting

           “Everyone has an inherent archnemesis,” Claire began her presentation, eyes peering across the conference room, attempting to make thoughtful eye contact with her peers.

          Finally, a staff writer, this pitch marked her first foray into feature writing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried, in her three years at the company as a freelance writer, it wasn’t that she didn’t draft proposals, complete preliminary research, no, she absolutely did. But there was always someone in front of her, someone who always came around the corner, nicking first place with seconds to spare. Claire hated you from the moment you arrived, bright eyed and excited, a recent college graduate gunning for a position at the magazine. While it took her years to pitch a cover story feature, years to move from an assistant to full-time staff writer, you had done so in a handful of years.

          Today, Claire decided, that would change.  She had prepped and planned for weeks, laid in wait for Marissa to give her the go ahead to pitch her idea to the team. Adjusting her Dior, she shifted from heel to heel before speaking again.

          “We all have that one person who no matter what we post, they find a way to demean it, turn it negative, make it about something completely unrelated. Whether that’s politics, or religion, or sex, there is that one troll we can’t help but root against. My proposal is to use a few members of staff to find their internet trolls, to engage with them over a period of time, and if they’re willing, interview them, both separately and together. I want to discover what it is that makes them keep commenting, why they always seem to gravitate towards certain posts, who their audience is and how it relates to our greater understandings of our enemies.” Claire sighed, the heavy lifting of her presentation just beginning.

           “I like it, who do you want to use?” Marissa asked.

           “Someone from each of our most high-profile teams, or the people in our office that have the largest social media followings. For a few that overlaps,”

           “Who are those people?”

           “Y/N, Jaxson, Hoseok, Emma and Bridgette,” Claire explained. “They have an average Instagram following of ten thousand, and on Twitter it’s twelve thousand.”

           “What do you post that gets you so many followers?” Gillian questioned.

           “My ass,” Jaxson laughed. “But really, it’s Drag Race content,”

           “Good, you have a list. I need written permission from each of you to interview you and your top internet harassers.”

           “I’d like to request that my name be off the list,” You asked, hand still raised.

           Hoseok asked, knowing the answer deep in his bones. “Why?”

           “I just, I don’t think it’d be a –

           “Nonsense, you have a large following, I’m sure there’s someone who pisses you off regularly,” Marissa interrupted.

           “Yes, there is! What’s his name? Jimin?” Claire pretended to scan her page, her cursory glance perfunctory instead of practical.

           You heard the gasp leave Hoseok’s mouth before you registered what was happening.

“Fuck you!” You snapped. “I’m sorry, that was inappropriate, but the sentiment remains.”

           “It was, but it also sealed your fate.” Marissa stood. “Start assembling your team and listen to Claire, I’m sure she has a list of things she needs from you.”

           “I do!” Claire chimed.

           “Great, get me the contracts from legal and get it to each of the people you’ve listed before 5PM today, I want signed consent before you leave this building.”

           “What if I don’t want to?” You asked, your final plea.

           “You owe her for the debacle with your last interview,” Marissa reminded you.

           “It’s not my fault they were drunk both times! I got the article done and out. It was one of our biggest issues in the last year and was followed up by two other feature pieces by me that beat that record,” You countered, your success an unnecessary brag in a room full of people who feared and admired your work.

           “I don’t care, Y/N, handle it,” Marissa sauntered out, her assistants following close behind.

           Slouching in your chair, your eyes landed on Claire, glaring daggers into her perfectly straight midnight bob. She was everything you hated, a brown noser, a narcissist, a career driven monster who had been biting at your heels since you arrived. She was jealous, blinded by some lofty goal that she’d be an editor or editor in chief before 28, a feat rare in fashion, unless you were Elaine Welterwroth or Margaret Zhang, of course. They had become editors and editors in chief by ages 29 and 27 respectively. Though Zhang had begun her career blogging at 16, a fact that only infuriated Claire who was too busy popping pimples and trying to lose her virginity to her junior varsity boyfriend.

          Claire could spend days listing everything she hated about you. She hated your easy interactions with coworkers, the ability to have the entire room stop and listen when you spoke, the craft of your written work and relationships maintained with subjects years after interviewing them. She hated how you left work with Hoseok on your arm or went to drinks with the assistants and interns. How you achieved so many bylines, becoming an editor in your own right without so much as breaking a sweat, while she was scraping the barrel to be noticed. You seemingly had everything Claire wanted, and Claire was sick of it.

Monday: Your Office

           “Thank you, for your participation,” Claire said, sitting across from you in your office.

           “You aren’t welcome, I’m actually rather unimpressed with your ability to ambush not only me but the other people you’ve trapped into doing your article,” You crossed your legs, adjusting the waist band of your trousers and continued to scowl at her. Claire had only heard of your less than cheerful personality, though it remained largely rumored, she had never had it confirmed or dared to see it in person.

           “How, charming,” She rolled her eyes.

           “Look, you don’t want to be talking to me, I don’t want to be talking to you. Just tell me what you want so I can send you on your way.”

           Claire watched as you reached across your desk to grab your black and white planner, flipping open to the weeks page and holding your pen at the ready. The inside, covered in stickers and hand lettered phrases, fit the persona Claire so desperately wanted to mimic.

           “I need you to read and sign this,” Claire slid the agreement across your glass desk. “Then, I need you to identify the username of your troll, and I need to borrow an intern from your team.”  

           “You can’t have one,”

           “Marissa said I could have whatever I needed, and I need an intern to comb through your tweets.”

           “I can save you the trouble, I rarely tweet, when I do, it’s addressing the same ass hat,” You explained.

           “Well, I need their handle,”

           “Fine,”

           “And the intern,” Claire was firm.

           You rolled your eyes, before pressing the intercom. “Hey Alexis, can you send Erin to me?”

           “Sure thing,” Alexis replied.

           “Thank you,”

           Claire rolled her eyes.

           “Jealous?” You questioned.

           “Read the contract, sign it and send it back to me along with answering the Form that’s in your inbox,” Claire directed.

           “Great,”

           “I’ll be back on Friday to go over your tweets and exchanges before we decide on a tactic to reach out to them and ask them to come in for an interview,” Claire explained. It didn’t annoy you that she was prepared, but it did piss you off a little to know how much she had thought this through. Maybe you should give her a chance, professionally, not socially, Claire would remain a bottom feeder.

           “Who says they’re in the city?” You questioned.

           “If not, we’ll Zoom with them, okay?”

           “Excuse me, you wanted to see me?” Erin peered through the door; wavy bangs parted slightly to expose her forehead and freckled cheeks.

           “Yes, your projects are on hold. Claire here needs your help with her feature article, and as my intern, you are to report to her for the remainder of the project,” You explained.

           Erin’s eyes widened, never had she been reassigned to a special project, let alone with Claire who was notorious for running interns and assistants into the ground. “Who will take over my work?”

           “Can you make a list of where you’re at and send it to me? I will meet with the team tomorrow to talk about where we need to fill in the gaps,”

           “Okay,”

           “Claire, this is Erin, if you are a bitch to her, I will ensure you don’t ever write a feature piece or move past copy editor here or anywhere,”

           “I don’t know where you get off thinking you can speak to me like –

           “I am your superior, and you will respect my intern or face the consequences,”

           “Fine,” Claire turned and left, leaving Erin wondering what on earth she had been roped into.

Tuesday: Happy Hour

           “You gave the real handle?” Hoseok asked over drinks after work, a little happy hour to celebrate leaving the office before 7PM.

           “What was I going to do? She could easily look at my Twitter and Instagram and find out, why lie?”

           “What happened to preservation?” Hoseok mocked.

           “Either I give in and get Claire off my back, or I get called to Marissa’s and have consequences, like I’m a fucking child.”

           Hoseok eyed you suspiciously. “Did you give her his name?”

           “You saw in that meeting, she already knows. I blame you,”

           “Me?”

           “Yes you, always talking about dance classes with Jimin, the good old days of photographing him and styling him in college. He abandoned me to go to school with you, and you’ve taken it all in stride.” You explained. It wasn’t a new story, a new plea, a new exploration of your tempestuous non-relationship with Jimin. It was sad, really, listening to you express the hurt you’ve never let go of.

           “He didn’t abandon you to come to school with me,” Hoseok laughed.

           “Potato, Tomato,”

           “You should talk-

           “Nope, you made your once monthly ‘you should talk to Jimin’ comment a week ago over margheritas, you don’t get another for ten more days,” You scolded.

           “Fine, fine.”

           “I don’t even know where he is,” You muttered, pink liquid of your Paloma slipping down your throat.

           “That’s a lie,”

           “Can you stop calling me out and let me hate him?” You hadn’t meant to snap, but the constant chatter revolving around Jimin was too much to handle, it was too much in two days, too much in the years since you last saw him. Park Jimin was, and has remained, too much.  

           “Fine,” Hoseok resigned. “Have you looked at your tweets lately?”

           “No, I refuse to go back and read whatever horrors I wrote in 2019,”

           “You should,” He suggested.

           “I guarantee Claire will force me to read them. Probably aloud at some last-minute staff meeting she puts together on Friday to fucking fillet me,” You rolled your eyes again, the last dregs of grapefruit clumping together as they slid down the side of your glass.

           “Maybe if you weren’t so,” He starts.

           “Bitchy?”

           “Your words, then she would like you,”

           “She’s hated me since I got there, I’ve tried being nice. I’ve tried being cordial. Claire and I will never mix,” You explained.

           “He’s gone blonde you know,” Hoseok’s eyes have flittered past you, glancing down the street at the setting sun, glad he brought his latest Gucci jacket to keep him warm in the early spring evening.

           “Didn’t you hit your moratorium on how long you can talk about Jimin in a conversation?”

           “You said his name!” Hoseok argued.

           “He isn’t Trump, Hoseok. I can say his name, sometimes.”  

           Hoseok let the moment simmer, cooling gently before turning it up to a raucous boil. “I’m having a kick back next Wednesday, will you come?”

           “If he’s not there,” You answered.

           “I can’t promise that,”

           “Then I can’t promise either,” Chewing the ice from your glass, you let your mind wander to the possibilities of what might happen should you show up to Hoseok’s party and are greeted by Jimin. Blonde Jimin. Jimin with the sparkling eyes and winning smile. Jimin who harasses you on the internet weekly, Jimin who you haven’t spoken to since you were 22, Jimin whom you hated with every fiber of your being.

           Worst case scenario, you couldn’t avoid him and would be forced to speak words to him. Best case, you time it perfectly and he’s either just left or hasn’t arrived and you can doll out pleasantries before Irish-goodbying and never having to confront him.

           “Y/N, please, you haven’t seen my new place yet and it’s finally furnished,” Hoseok pleaded.

           “I’ll think about it,” You resigned.

           “Great!”

           “I fucking hate you and our friendship,” You scoffed, signaling the waiter to bring you the check. You should’ve ordered food, being buzzed and talking about Jimin was never a good idea.

           “I know you do.” Hoseok winked before picking up the tab for you both.

           “At least tell me you haven’t invited Seokjin,” You asked, slipping your coat over your shoulders.

           “Well-

           “You’re fucking with me, right?” You questioned. “You fucking invited both of my exes to a, I’m sorry, kick back? Hoseok, no.”

           “I love you, and I’m sorry, Seokjin helped me find some great pieces for the place, and you know he’s friends with Namjoon and Jungkook,” He tried to explain.

           “That doesn’t mean I want to stare at them over my tenth flute of champagne and my plate which will be piled high with cheese and crackers and pieces of salami.”

           “You and Seokjin are fine though, you ended-

           “Don’t say amicably,” You cut him off.

           “Well, close to it. Please,” He begged. Begging never looked good on Hoseok.

           Staring into his dark irises, a shade mimicking your own, you couldn’t hold the anger brewing. Being around Seokjin was always a better alternative than Jimin. Though the pity he often felt towards you, at your angered state which has never really subsided, was embarrassing. “I’ll think about it.”

           “I love you,” Hoseok pulled you into a hug.

           “Yeah, yeah, then why do you keep doing this to me?”

           “Because I love you,”

           “Tell Taehyung to call me,” You said, waving to him before stepping into the waiting Lyft you’d called at the bar.

           “I will, can’t make any promises,” Hoseok winked before turning towards the subway, where he’d pull out his head phones and scan through the photos he’d taken throughout the day, waiting to get home to Taehyung to analyze, edit and critique them.

Thursday: Claire’s Makeshift Office

           “Are you ready?” Claire asked, sifting through the papers on her desk.

           “You had me come to your office, after you scheduled a meeting to ask if I’m ready? Yes Claire, I’m fucking ready,” You snapped.

           “Erin,” Claire gestured towards your intern who tried to hold her eye roll.

           “So, I combed through your tweets, sifting through your interactions with Mochimin, which is a very creative username,” Erin began.

           “Yeah, his name and nickname combined,” You rolled your eyes.

           “And we read through them all, well mostly me… and I have to ask, are you sure these are your tweets?” Erin questioned.

           “Yes, and what should be his responses,” You answered reaching forward to grab the printed copies waiting for you. You scanned over the interactions, the subtweets, the blatant tags, the retweets and comments not just by Jimin, but a few of your friends too.

           “Why have you been telling us he’s the troll?” Erin asked.

           Her question caught you off guard, eyes wide, shock echoing in your bones.

           “What the fuck? What do you mean? Look at how he fucking responded!”

           “Y/N, you’re the troll!” Erin laughed. “It’s you, not him,”

           “I am not! This is a fucking joke! It’s not April Fools yet, way to put the cart before the horse!” Your voice radiated throughout the small conference room.

          Claire, not having an office of her own, had requested it to conduct most of her teams work. It was your least favorite of the conference rooms, colder both in décor and temperature than the others, it was situated on the corner leading to the kitchen. Glass on two walls, it was the definition of exposed. Everyone could see your outburst. Everyone could watch you fall to pieces. You guessed Claire had planned it this way, to demonstrate how focused her team was, how dedicated to the project they were, to show everyone her value as a staff writer instead of a freelancer. You also assumed she did this to ensure that whatever break down you were beginning to have, would have at least ten witnesses, ten people to side with her that your behavior was irresponsible and reckless.

           “Oh please, get over yourself,” Claire chuckled. The light in her eyes proved your assumptions, she was enjoying this. “Do you see how you interact with him?”

          “What do you mean how I interact with him? He started this!” You lowered your volume, side glances from colleagues passing by alerting you to the unprofessional decibels you’d began reaching.

          “In almost every interaction, you bait him, hook line and sinker. It’s you, Y/N,” Erin explained.

           “No!”

           “Yes, this poor man, just living his life while you’re purposefully harassing him!” Claire feigned shock, eyes widening, mouth slightly open. It was taking everything in you not to resort to physical violence.  

           “I would never,” You glowered.

           “You have! For years, it’s always you,” Erin said again.

          “I, no, that’s impossible. He started it!”

          “Admitting is the first step,” Claire’s placid smile was demanding to be smacked off.

          “Fuck you! This is ridiculous!”

          “July 10, 2020: Thinking of one man in particular, hoping the bleach in his locks burns in the summer heat.Followed by his comment: thinking of one woman in particular, hoping she knows I wear a hat and use purple shampoo.” Erin read.

          “I, I, no!”

          “October 13: Nothing makes me happier than not being invited to a birthday bash with all my friends. He responded: All you have to do is ask. On your birthday, he tweeted: Happy B-Day to the girl who … oh never mind she hates me. You responded: nobody asked for your half-hearted bullshit, next time I hope you choke on it.”

          “He started it!”

          “Why are you so awful to him?” Erin wanted to know.

          “I am not, he began harassing me first,” You tried to argue.

          “Does Hoseok know?” Claire chided.

          “Know what?”

          “About your vendetta,”

          “It’s not a vendetta!”

          “Then explain why you tweet or subtweet him at least twice a week, and then when he responds, tweet him again! You don’t even tag him, just vaguely mention discernable parts of his personality or appearance,” Erin explained.

          “I do not! How do you know what he looks like?” You tried to counter.

          “His profile picture, and a certain friend of yours doesn’t mind sharing-

          “You asked Jungkook? Or was it Taehyung? Or I’m sorry, both?” Your eyes were wide, breathing labored, anger boiling to inhumane levels.

          “Well, if we asked Hoseok you would’ve kno-

          “You called or texted or DM’ed Jungkook and Taehyung, and asked about Jimin?”

          “Yes,” Erin bowed her head, guilt written into the freckles her blush tried so desperately to hide.

          “I cannot believe you, Erin,” You spat.

          “I’m sorry Claire wanted me to,”

          You turned your gaze to Claire, who had begun to cower in her seat.

          “You did the one thing, the absolute one thing that you knew, you fucking knew, would set me off. You did this on purpose, you fucking bottom feeder, you fucking dillweed you crossed the fucking line, Claire,” You spat. Your volume had lowered into a low growl, far more deadly and intimidating than any yelling you had done.

          “We have the proof, Y/N, you can’t deny it, you attack Jimin regularly,” Claire unskillfully attempted to move the conversation away from Jungkook and Taehyung. Like you would balk at her intrusion.

          “You don’t get to violate my personal life, to violate the lives of the people I care deeply about, to expose sources and put them in danger should this article go south, poking and prodding into the lives of people who are dealing with their own bullshit to push your own fucking agenda, Claire,” You were seething, Te Fiti in Moana, Mrs. Weasley against Bellatrix, Kim Kardashian against the ocean searching for her diamond. Your wrath knows no bounds, and Claire had finally crossed the line into territory she could never come back from.

          “It’s for the job, nothing personal.” Claire shrugged. You could see it in her eyes, she wanted blood and was elated to be getting it.

          “This is entirely personal.”

          “Well, you can ask Jimin about it when we interview him,” She smiled, lips upturning revealing her veneers, red lipstick perfectly matte and shaped against her thin flesh.

          “No, absolutely not,” You shook your head.  

          “Yes, that’s part of the deal you agreed to,”

          “I take it back. I revoke my consent!”

          “It’s non-negotiable,” Marissa said. She had sauntered in during your berating, watching as you tried and failed to continue believing that you weren’t the troll. “You have agreed to this, and you will sit through the interview and cordially answer Claire’s questions.”

          “Marissa, this is crossing a line,” You stated.

          “You have to be held accountable,” Claire said.

          “Fuck you, Claire. Believe it or not, there are somethings that are beyond your understanding and a few that are not appropriate for work,” You continued to scold her.

          “Y/N, why are you being so hostile?” Claire was mocking you, with Marissa by her side, she was invincible.

          “You picked me on purpose. What have you been working with Hoseok? Is this some larger plan to get me to talk to Jimin? I don’t want to talk with Jimin or talk to Jimin, isn’t it bad enough he’s being brought into my work? Oh and let’s not forget you using Erin and Hoseok to gain access to Jungkook and Taehyung, who are beyond off limits.” You listed each of her offenses, careful to leave out indiscretions that occurred before this project of hers began.  

          “You agreed to-

          “No, I was forced to do this by you, Marissa,” You began.

          It wasn’t hard to glower at Marissa, one of the most decorated editors in chief, beloved by Condé Nast, best friend of Anna Wintour… Everyone aspired to be her, but in the last year, through your promotion and growing turbulence within the magazine, her leadership had begun to falter. Her steady hand, guiding each staff writer and editor towards success and elevating everyone’s work, was crumbling at an alarming pace. Yet, no one knew why or if anything was being done to rectify the damage her wake was leaving.

          “I was coerced into this under some pretense that I owe Claire something for a so called fuck up that resulted in the biggest boon in our magazines readership in the last year, which was followed up by not one but two feature bylines and my promotion. I have done more than enough at this company, in this industry, to sit here and be forced to engage with a man who destroyed my world. I will not speak with him, or to him or listen to him. I will not, and if you force me, I will get legal involved. Should this bullshit continue, you can expect my letter of resignation next week.”

          Standing and shoving your chair in, you turned on the heels of your Oxfords and marched straight to your office. Closing your laptop and shoving your planner into your tote, you grabbed your phone.

          “Where are you going?” Hoseok asked. He moved in time with you, following down the many corridors of your office and towards the elevators.

          As you stepped in, you pressed lobby and waited for the doors to be closed before turning to him.

          “Did you tell Erin she could contact Jungkook and Taehyung?” You asked.

          “She did what?” Hoseok yelled, soundwaves bounding off the metal and plastic of the elevator, reverberating in your ears.

          “Did you?”

          “No, I can’t believe she, are you serious?” Hoseok couldn’t lie, a fundamental flaw in his design made it impossible for him to tell the smallest fib.

          “Did you work with Erin and Claire to get me involved in this feature? To get me to talk to Jimin?” You didn’t mince your words or pad your language to make him feel less attacked. You needed the answer, and you needed it now.

          “No, I didn’t know Claire was doing this until she pitched it. You think I would-

          “Hoseok, they called Jungkook and Taehyung. They want Jimin to come in to be interviewed, they won’t stop until I-

          “Until you what?”

          “Marissa has always supported me, championed me. But Claire has her number, she has her locked and loaded, aiming for me and I don’t know why,” You confided.

          “She has been slipping lately,” He agreed. “There’s only one way to stop this,”

          Together you stepped out of the elevator, moving past the turnstiles to the revolving door.

          “Am I crazy?” You asked, the insecurity beginning to overtake your bravery.

          “No, something weird is going on,”

          You clarified, “No, I mean, am I crazy for… for doing this to Jimin?”

          “I don’t know if you’re crazy, but you’ve definitely not been your best self,” Hoseok answered.

          “He makes me so-

“You still love him,” Hoseok interrupted.

          “I-

          “Go talk to him,” Hoseok encouraged. “Call me after, we can get drinks and wallow or pick out an outfit for your hot date.”

          “What if he-

          “Just, talk to him, okay?” Hoseok requested.

          “Okay,”

          “I’ll check in with Jungkookie and Taehyungie,” He assured.

          “Thank you,”

          “I’ll also scope out open positions, we can’t stay here,”

          “I love you, Hobi,” You confided, a statement that flowed so easily past your lips, you didn’t have to think or parse through the emotions that went along with it. You’ve always loved him, always will.

          “I love you too, Y/N,” Hoseok draped his arm around your shoulders before placing a kiss to your forehead, a gentle embrace, a squeeze of confidence, a gesture of love. He moved swiftly from you back into the building, and as you watched him walk away, you took a deep breath.

          Taking your phone out of your pocket, you dialed a number you had tried to forget.

          “To what do I owe this unexpected delight of a call?” He asked. His voice was the same, chipper and cunning in the same breath.

          “I need to speak with you, ASAP,” You told him.

          “Okay, I’m working from home today, come over whenever,” He invited you without hesitation.

          “You still live at the same place?”

          “No, moved up. I’ll send you the address,”

          “You know who this is?” You asked, uncertainty back in your bones.

          “What, Y/N, you thought I deleted your number?” Jimin laughed, one of only a few sounds that shot right to your knees, making any posture unstable in the docile sounds of his joy.

          “I, I don’t know, I guess. Look I’m going to hail a cab, I’ll be there in 20,”

          “I look forward to it, just tell the doorman you’re here for me and he’ll let you up,” Jimin said.

          “Okay, see you soon, I guess,”

          “I can’t wait,” Jimin was smiling, you couldn’t see it, but the lilt in his voice was all the assurance you needed. Bracing yourself for the impact of him, of his voice, of his laugh, of the way he looked at you, you hailed one of the last remaining cabs in the city and prayed for courage.  

Next: Troll in Luv Pt. 2

#thebtswritersclub #bangtanuniversity #bangtanhq #ficswithluv #btsgoldnet #park jimin #park jimin angst #park jimin fluff #exes to lovers #enemies to lovers #non idol au #BTS fic #BTS fanfic #jimin fanfic #jimin / you #jimin / reader #jimin x you #jimin x reader #park jimin / you #park jimin / reader #park jimin x you #park jimin x reader #club Jimin #jung hoseok / j hope #jung hoseok #jimin exes to lovers #jimin fluff #jimin angst #bangtanarmynet

[soranis-sunshadow]

Why Hordak and all of his brothers are cult victims suffering from Religious Trauma Syndrome

A detailed (and very, very, veeeeryy long) explanation on why I take issue with dismissing Hordak’s trauma as “daddy issues” that is frequently done as a way to hand wave his background and the context for his actions all while attributing said cultic abuse and indoctrination narrative to a character that, though has a tragic, abuse-laden past has never actually been part of a cult. *cough* Catra *cough*

Lets see how deep the rabit hole goes shall we?

First off: The Galactic Horde is based on a suicide cult, with Horde Prime as its leader.  

That is irrefutable fact. It has been stated by the show runner and there are plenty of in-show examples of religious speak, religious themes pertaining to Horde Prime and his acolytes and even the interior design of Horde Prime’s ship is that of a grandiose Cathedral.

The source of this is an article by Polygon where the show runner breaks down what went into creating Horde Prime. (link in the notes)

Onto The Etherian Horde – though totalitarian in nature, it is not a religious institution – merely a military operation. Though the argument could be made that propaganda is used to instill an anti-princess agenda, no horde members are ever seen spouting doctrine or discrimination against their very own Princess in the ranks – Scorpia. Not only is she not discriminated against, she holds the rank of Force Captain. She also has the respect of her peers.

The only person that seemed to have taken it seriously is Adora, who - due to Shadow Weaver’s personal attention – has been raised with the specific mindset of a self-sacrificing martyr. After learning of the fact that Shadow Weaver has always known about the Heart of Etheria, it is not a huge leap to assume that in her bid for more power, her plan had always been to have Adora unleash the planet’s magic, possibly sacrificing herself in the process. Shadow Weaver had groomed her for this specific purpose.  (It’s one of the reasons for which the subject of Adora’s martyrdom hurts Catra so deeply –she had been witness to the manipulation taking place but was powerless to do anything about it for most of her life)

The other cadets are more well-adjusted and don’t seem to care much about the horde’s ideology or goals, not even Catra who has suffered the brunt of Shadow Weaver’s psychological and physical abuse and has been subjected to her manipulation too.  

The above exchange proves that even if there had been any indoctrination in The Etherian Horde, it has failed in affecting Catra’s judgment. I am legitimately surprised on how little credit her own fans give her and on how her perceptiveness and intellect is dismissed to have her fit into this “brainwashed victim“ agenda for more “sympathy points”.

With that having been said I’ll start this off with a bit of a definition: Religious Trauma Syndrome is a common experience shared among many who have escaped cults, fundamentalist religious groups, abusive religious settings, or other painful experiences with religion.

The symptoms of Religious Trauma Syndrome are comparable to the symptoms of complex PTSD. The symptoms are as follows.

(link in the notes)

I will discuss all of the symptoms and causes by turn and expand upon them.

1)      Cognitive: Confusion, poor critical thinking ability, difficulty with decision-making,

negative beliefs about self-ability & self-worth, black & white thinking, perfectionism,

Hordak’s whole misguided crusade on Etheria is an act of confusion. What on green Earth had ever convinced him that it would work in proving his worth to Prime? Hordak had been confused on the reason of his rejection, self-delusional even.  Hear me out:

Despite what Hordak himself believes, he wasn’t excommunicated because he was useless, he was abandoned for being born defective, aka for existing as he was created.

His inborn defect, by nature of being an unchangeable fact was not something that he could overcome in order to earn back the acceptance of his Maker. To a certain degree, he was aware of this but had refused to acknowledge it and as such, he has framed it to himself as “his defect makes him worthless”.

By overcoming uselessness and proving his competence in furthering Prime’s goals, he had convinced himself that he would be welcome back into his brother’s flock.

He had convinced himself that by proving his usefulness, it would erase his defect. He had given himself a reason for rejection that, unlike an inborn one, could be overcome - worthlessness.  His logic being that Worthless=Defective, if he were useful, he wouldn’t be defective anymore.

He has framed his accidental stranding on Etheria as a trial of faith, not a chance at freedom or bid for power and self-actualization.

In his confused reasoning, he had not realized that by attempting to prove his worth to Horde Prime, he would be in essence, proving that Prime had been mistaken about his deficiency. This was anathema to Horde Prime’s own doctrine – that Prime is all knowing, all powerful and Horde Prime is Never Wrong. His attempts were always destined to fail from the start, the premise was flawed at the core but Hordak’s own wishful thinking prevented him from seeing the fault in his mission.

This is how Hordak sees himself:

This defect => useless => worthless mentality can be observed when he projects onto Catra. I swear, everyone projects onto everyone else in this series.

This is an example of him emulating the only leadership he’s ever known  - that of Horde Prime and exerting Prime’s judgment over a supplicant or Prime – In this case Catra (what Prime would have done to him in the same situation). He imitates Prime’s way of speaking and even his facial expression during Prime’s “speeches” (look at position of his ears in this scene and that little dimple damnit!!!)

(yes, *sigh* I did a spacebat ear position diagram)

Horde Prime has that ear position even when possessing his little brothers to give his grandiose speeches:

Hordak’s and other little brother’s “default” ear position:

It’s worth adding that perfectionism is not only part of a symptom of his cult trauma but also a tenant of Prime’s doctrine making it a double whammy.

2). Emotional: Depression, anxiety, anger, grief, loneliness, difficulty with pleasure, loss of meaning

As they say, a picture says a thousand words…

To call Hordak depressed is like calling the ocean mildly humid.

He is alone, on a planet of primitive aliens (from his perspective) surrounded by potential enemies and in an incredibly vulnerable position due to his illness with no clear end to any of it in sight. He feels nothing for this world other than irritation at his inability to leave it. His only meaning and purpose is returning to his congregation, a purpose he is no closer to fulfilling than he was when he had started a few decades ago. The only open displays of emotion he manifests are that of anger, self-loathing., frustration, fear – in the blanket scene before he comes to his senses completely and starts masking the fear with anger… at the blanket… there was nothing else in the room to be angry at… ridiculous spacebat.

After Catra deceives him about Entrapta, he openly manifests grief and apathy as well.

3).   Social: Loss of social network, family rupture, social awkwardness, behind schedule on developmental tasks, sexual difficulty (no snu snu for religiously repressed spacebats... yet  *wink wink*)  

This one is self-explanatory.  He is in essence an exile on Etheria, away from all he has ever known. He is the only one of his kind on the planet, even Imp - his attempt at replication is not a proper replacement for the community provided by the Hive mind.

From a social perspective- he is a recluse and is not seen interacting with anyone in anything but a “professional “ manner.  The only exception to this is Entrapta’s interaction to him. Due to her indifference to his posturing, she is immune to his attempts at self-isolation. “Get out!” and vague threats of reprimands don’t work on her. Their shared interest in science allows Entrapta to force the interaction on him. (At least in the beginning of their collaboration)

Later, after having become accustomed to Entrapta’s companionship and having that ripped away, he tries to form a connection – at least of commiseration – with Catra:

 Even after she did this to him:

he still tried to form a connection through their shared need to prove their own worth.  

Did you catch that little detail? : “Victory is ours” not “mine”.

4.) Cultural: Unfamiliarity with secular world; “fish out of water” feelings, difficulty belonging, information gaps (e.g. evolution, modern art, music)

…                                

Do I really need to expand on this one? *Sigh* … he is literally an alien to this world, “fish out of water” would be an understatement.

 As we have established, he fits the bill of Religious Trauma Syndrome to a T. He presents all of the symptoms.

Now let’s move onto the causes of it:

 1). Suppression of normal child development – cognitive, social, emotional, moral stages are arrested

This one is self-explanatory. The horde clones and by extension Hordak are severely stunted in their psychological development and that is by design. They are deliberately kept from developing an adult mentality so as to never become a threat to Horde Prime or ever be able to break away from his control. Prime keeps them in a child-like dependency on him as a way to exert his power over them.  Should they ever develop even a budding sense of self, their indoctrination compels them to submit to correction and erasure ensuring that they never surpass this state of learned helplessness. Horde Prime encourages this self-flagellating behavior, deeming it a mercy, even a favor to be granted – to suffer in His Name.

Hordak shows almost no emotional coping mechanisms and manifests child-like tantrums of frustration as an only outlet for his emotions throughout the show. He attempts to hide any other attempt at emotion, with differing degrees of success.

Wrong Hordak is emotionally unstable and is prone to fits of crying. (However, due to the comedic fashion in which his arc is written, I suppose that this could be taken with a grain of salt)

The clones are not only prevented from growing and maturing mentally, they are also robbed of childhoods –having been born in adult bodies and with the necessary knowledge to serve Prime literally programmed into them so as to make them able to serve efficiently from their first breath. As such, they are robbed of their formative years where one individual grows and develops naturally. Those precious experiences are replaced by Horde Prime’s literal programming through the hardware they have installed in their bodies to facilitate Horde Prime’s control over them (without their consent).  In essence, they are a people born pre-”chipped”

Regardless of their actual age, and despite the fact that they are intelligent, capable and responsible individuals, I see the clones as having the emotional maturity of toddlers.

They never had the chance to develop any emotional coping skills, they were never allowed to have emotions to begin with.

2). Damage to normal thinking and feeling abilities -information is limited and controlled; dysfunctional beliefs taught; independent thinking condemned; feelings condemned

This is The Galactic Horde’s core belief:

Along with:

Incidentally, Hordak does his version of this speech trying to puff himself up in front of his soldiers… buuut Catra pushes the Failure button and that snaps him out of his little Prime impersonation moment.  

More dysfunctional beliefs:

Condemnation of independent thinking:

Results in this:

No further explanations are necessary…

3). External locus of control – knowledge is revealed, not discovered; hierarchy of authority enforced; self not a reliable or good source

Prime exerts his dominance throughout S5 by force,

and coercion:    

He is even petty and vindictive enough to force himself into Hordak immediately after his speech and to kill Entrapta with Hordak’s own body.

As for the self not being a reliable narrator… Hordak believed this about his former position.

He is not prone to exaggeration or deception being woefully incompetent in the latter – both perpetrating and spotting it.  We have to assume that this is the way he saw his position in the Galactic Horde.

Season 5 revealed that all of the clones are equally disposable and interchangeable, there are no ranks. They are all equal tools whose sole purpose is furthering Horde Prime’s agenda. Horde Prime has no need for generals or delegating since he is able to inhabit his little brothers and be in more than one place at the same time. Hordak’s job in S5 was that of hall monitor and planetary acquisitions guy…

@cruelfeline​ goes into detail about the dissonance between what Hordak believes and what is actually his position in The Galactic Horde. A link to it is in the notes because Tumblr is being fussy. 

4.) Physical and sexual abuse – patriarchal power; unhealthy sexual views; punishment used as for discipline

Some people have seen this, ugh… form of penetration… ugh again… as rape allegory.

Not a hard thing to do since Prime himself is rape personified and he consistently forces himself onto and into his little brothers, Catra and later, the chipped Etherians.  Prime does nothing but "bad touch" people all of S5 and is particularly enjoying his disciplining of his "wayward little brother", the most unworthy and unlovable amongst his brothers. (According to the extended scene)

Here’s some more of Prime’s touching with rape subtext:

Here’s more of Prime forcing himself into his little brothers – they all seem to fight it and find it painful to some degree despite the fact that they have been conditioned to accept it and welcome it. Prime’s touch is a good thing, even when it hurts them.

Ironically, the one who fights this violation the least is Hordak himself. (this could be either because he’s extra repentant and wished not to further draw Prime’s ire or that his condition of chronic illness has raised his pain threshold)

The process of possession is not seamless and some of the clones appear to be unsettled by it after prime retreats from their bodies.

As much as this Utter Disaster of a clone wanted to finish his little speech about dirt and as much as he was gleefully enjoying it, after Prime was done with him… he just wanted his task over with…

            The very nature of their indoctrination makes them unable to escape what has been done to them nor change their whole world view without outside intervention – which is exactly the help that Wrong Hordak received immediately after being abducted from the collective by people who slowly de-indoctrinated him and offered him a supportive environment for all of that growth and healing to happen.

When the Best Friend Squad kidnapped him, he was ardent about his service to Prime and he only followed them because they deceived him in believing they were servants of Horde Prime.

By providing clear irrefutable evidence of Prime’s fallibility, deceit and the squad’s (mostly Entrapta and Glimmer)  moral support throughout this moral crisis, they (just Entrapta here *coughs* ) were able to wean him off of his programmed behavior and offer him an informed choice.

This is information none of the other clones, not even Hordak were privy to.

Even with this information, Wrong Hordak is still in emotional turmoil (though the show plays it for laughs – yuck)

The closest Hordak ever gets to walking away from Prime’s doctrine is this moment:

He was considering indefinitely putting it off to stay here, with her, and her worldview that he could be worth something, imperfect as he is. He is offered her emotional support and guidance.

Unfortunately... Catra nipped that in the bud before it could lead anywhere.

 After convincing Hordak that Entrapta betrayed him, her message of inherent worth was rendered null, to him - her unconditional affection and the notion that he could to live apart from Prime were a manipulation. This further radicalized him in his faith and need to prove his worthiness.

Not only did Catra remove Entrapta’s influence over him, she goaded him even further with this cursed little speech and her whole “yass queen moment!”. you know the one...

“Get.Over.IT! You don’t need Entrapta. You never did. You don’t need a Princess in your life telling you what to do. Look at what you’ve done without her. You’ve build an army. An empire! You and me, we don’t need anyone. Forget them all. No one matters, nothing matters but this mission. You want to prove yourself, prove your worth? Then do it! You and I are going to conquer Etheria. And then, they’ll all see!”

Both of them were in clear downfall in S4 and they amplified each other’s most negative tendencies. I will not hold this against her. 

             The last thing I want to mention is that for cult victims, it is incredibly hard, if not, almost impossible to leave their cults by themselves. The first step for leaving a cult in the real world is looking for outside assistance.

It takes enormous amounts of strength – an almost imaginable degree of resolve – to leave a cult, particularly when you may have been born into one and have no friends or connections on the outside world. Cult survivors are often ostracized by everyone they have ever known who remain within the organization. To a cultist, the world outside the cult is a hostile, sinful and dangerous place. The assistance of someone from the outside is crucial.

Only with the assistance of a “friendly outsider” or a support group can the former cultist change the world view with which they had been indoctrinated with (sometime since early childhood).

A cult and set of beliefs warps your whole world view to the point of delusion. Faith in the cultic creeds is more important than factual evidence. As  a matter of fact, the evidence in itself is evil, a contradiction to the creeds of faith and successfully denying it is an act of faith fulfilled. This mentality is encouraged in cults.

Many people in this fandom have claimed that Hordak, once pulled through the portal was free to do as he pleases. (he didn’t chose to come to Etheria – his arrival on the planet was accidental)

This is not really the case. Hordak never decided to leave the cult. He was still part of the cult when he was sent to his death on the battlefield for his defect and he was still a believer when the portal delivered him to Etheria.

In essence, Hordak didn’t leave his cult so much as he was forced apart from it, physically. In spirit, he still believed in Horde Prime’s dogma.  His experience is the equivalent of a religious man getting stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean. He is apart from his church, but his faith is still with him. Hordak’s faith hadn’t waned in the decades of separation. His purpose had always been returning to Horde Prime –hence the focus on building a portal and not on levelling towns with an arm laser cannons. He has proven in S4 that, had his main mission actually been conquest, he could have done it with not much difficulty – He wasn’t half bad at it actually. Instead, he delegated the conquest to his underlings and focused most of his attention on attempts at reuniting with Horde Prime via investigating rogue portals and trying to build one of his own.

Due to the nature of his “upbringing”, Hordak’s whole world view is warped. He has not had the benefits of a “moral” education from a human’s standpoint. Why would training cadets to become soldiers in your army be morally reprehensible when you, yourself, had been bred for war and have served your God with your first breath?

This was Hordak’s idea of a “normal” childhood:

What could he possibly know about the healthy raising of children?

Why would conquering a planet be a morally reprehensible thing when his God did this to places?

And this:

Before one ascribes evil motivation, for the sake of evil – one should bear in mind that these creeds were literally programmed into him. This is not a life he has chosen for himself– this is something he was born into, literally manufactured for, this is something that was done to him.

And for those that would have wanted him to regret his actions on screen, keep in mind that it will likely  take a lot of therapy and reeducation before he even comprehends the nature and magnitude of his crimes on Etheria.

(besides the fact that he had spent 99% of season 5 in an amnesiac daze doesn’t help with the whole remembering his crimes bit either)

The show runner has declared in one of her post show interview that he will make reparations for the damage he’s caused.

What more do people want from a person born and flung into an impossible situation besides his head on a plate?

Phew!

Long post was long

#hordak #horde prime #catra #spop discourse #spop meta #cultic indoctrination #religious trauma #will you stop calling them daddy issues now?

[rosezure]

Todoroki Family - My Opinion

MANGA SPOILERS FOR BNHA/MHA ahead!

CW: parental neglect and abuse, anxiety, therapy, Touya Todoroki/Dabi, Enji Todoroki/Endeavor, spoilers, swearing (please remind me if I forgot anything).

Disclaimer: All of the information on the Todoroki family dynamics is based on my interpretation of what’s been (so far) revealed through the anime and manga. These are all just opinions, you are free to agree or disagree respectfully. I do not wish to invalidate anyone’s opinion. Family dynamics have always been a very sensitive and triggering subject to me, so I hope that you respect that if you wish to discuss this with me.I would like to give my own two cents on the Todoroki family situation. As someone that has dealt with abuse and neglect in a (slightly) similar way my whole life, this story hits very close to home. I will try to be as thorough and objective as possible. But, feel free to call me out (respectfully) if there is anything ambiguous or if problematic. Thank you.

I am going to focus on Touya/Dabi and Enji’s story. I do not know enough to talk about Rei’s role in all of this, so I will not mention her. But, I might update this as new chapters come out.

I will talk about Dabi’s early years by referring to him as Touya since that was his identity at the time. Any comments about him as an adult will be referring to him as Dabi.

I was a psychology student for about two years, and when we learned about child development, here is what I gathered:

When you are a child, all you want is to be loved, to be safe. This is essential to a child, as it is what develops them into a healthy and independent adult. And, this is especially important concerning parents or guardians. Effective parenting practices ensure that the child will have a better chance at developing according to their age and needs. This will grant the kids skills that they will use and perfect as they grow up. In other words, children that are well-taken care of have a higher chance of being strong, healthy, and emotionally developed adults.

When a parent or guardian is ignorant of how they can impact their child’s growth, it has many negative effects. In Touya’s case, Enji Todoroki was clueless. This does not mean Enji should not be held responsible just because he was ignorant. Enji knew he was not being the best parent, but he did not know how exactly. And, at the time he was blinded by his greed and ambition, so he would not have been paying attention to that. Even so, (personally) I do not think parents are afforded the luxury of ignoring their bad parenting if they are made aware of it. They are responsible for another human’s life and growth. They should be held accountable if the child develops issues and hurts themselves or even others.

With that being said, Enji Todoroki was a horrible but clueless parent. From what I have understood from the manga and the anime, at first, he had no idea why Shoto was so "rebellious" (in his opinion). He also seemed to not understand Natsuo and Fuyumi. So I am led to believe that he was, at the time, oblivious to how much he negatively impacted Touya. 

Touya just wanted his father’s affection. If that meant grueling training and preparing to become a hero to defeat All Might, then so be it. It was the attention and affection he knew. He was not led to believe otherwise. Touya's sole positive interactions came from him showing he could fulfill his father’s sick dream. In a child’s mind, that was the only way to secure parental love and approval: To train as hard as possible and become what his father so desperately wished for.

Then his hair started turning white. He started getting injured because of his quirk. His only source of positive attention, his only hope for affection, was killing him. And it had to be stopped. I am sure in Touya’s mind, this meant he would not be loved anymore. 

And then Enji stopped training him. Natsuo was born. Shoto was born. And Touya felt that his source of love was directed to that baby. The baby that Enji saw as a success. Enji made Touya feel like a failure, a broken toy. And he was being replaced by a newer, shinier one: His brother.

When he tries to attack Shoto, he is trying to take back his place. Touya was trying to gain back his father’s love and attention.

Enji wanted to prevent Touya from hurting himself more. But he failed to communicate that. Instead, his words made it seem like his plan was foiled. Touya wasn’t enough, so Enji’s chance of using him to end All Might vanished. Touya wasn’t what Enji needed anymore.

Touya’s world didn’t collapse all at once. It didn’t even crack all at once. From what I understood, it was a collection of hairline fractures that never healed. It was a dislocated shoulder that was never put back in its place and was left to hang. It was a pounding headache that only grew more and more painful over time. 

When Dabi was born, Touya had been buried in bruises, paper cuts, minor broken bones, chronic illnesses. Touya was killed by exhaustion and pain. He didn’t die at one point, he was dying all along. 

As someone who suffers from chronic issues, I know that the somatization of symptoms and other sources of pain can turn a simple illness into something much more serious. Think of it as a butterfly effect, but all inside one person: Every single negative experience, from both outer and inner sources, all summed and turned into one massive festering wound. 

Touya’s mind was a living open wound, it seems.

So Dabi was born. To seal the wound shut. Clean it? No. Protect it? Maybe.

But this particular type of wound (the psychological, emotional one) if left untreated can become infected. And infected wounds are harder and more painful to clean and treat. 

Dabi’s mind is a bandaid over an infected wound. It seems objectively okay, maybe even sane. But he’s clearly in pain. He’s not in his right mind. His decisions all stem from the pure rage and anger of a child that was abandoned. 

What chapter 300 brought was the perspective of a child that just wanted to be loved. That's all he wanted. And the only love he knew was when Enji Todoroki trained with him, no matter how gruesome and painful it must've been.

I'm gonna briefly and superficially compare his situation to mine. Of course, I didn’t suffer half of the pain he did, and I won't go into any detail as to not trigger myself. But, I only got attention when I was either extremely sick or I was needed as a trophy child of some sort. Even then, if I was ill, the attention I got was so I could get well soon and go back to being "useful". I was an extension of them, at best. But I still craved their attention. I still do in a way to this very day. It's not something that just goes away once you realize how toxic and abusive it is.

No matter how much pain I’m in, no matter how love-starved I am, I still want their approval. Inside me, there’s still a scared child, crying out for her parents to love her. That child is now my responsibility. I have to give her love, nurture her so she can grow with me.

Does that make sense?

I have no idea how Dabi is feeling. And I don’t think we’ll ever truly know. He is fictional, after all, and there’s no telling if Horikoshi will be delving into that.

But maybe Touya is still inside Dabi, crying, screaming to be loved. And Dabi is trying his best to tend to that child, but he never truly grew up to know how to take care of another being. Dabi doesn’t know how to take care of himself emotionally. 

I’m learning because I, thankfully, have access to therapy. But it hurts. It hurts to realize the ones that were meant to take care of you, didn’t. It hurts to look into yourself and see a shaking, teary-eyed child begging for crumbs of love.

Now, with the whole "redemption" thing being debated, here's my own personal opinion. You don't have to agree, and I'm not asking you to. Again, this is just how I view it. As a survivor, I'd be relieved to see my parents try. The damage is done, true. I'll never regain my childhood. I'll never have what people with different, better, parents have. The past can't be reversed. And I'm seeing it repeat itself with my little brother. But, if there's a minimal chance that my parents can own up to what they did, that they open themselves up to changing their behavior and learning, then maybe we can build something new.

Build. Not rebuild. The foundation of our past relationship was rotten from the beginning. A new one must be built. A new foundation must be developed if we ever hope to make something of our relationship.

If the Todorokis, really want to reconcile, reconnect, rebuild, then they must start from scratch. If Enji Todoroki wants that, he’s gonna have to start from zero, from nothing. And I'm not entirely sure if Endeavor is doing that, but he is trying, somehow. We don't know for sure if he even has the emotional skills to do so. We can't say for sure that he's got what it takes to man up, own up and learn. But, he seems to be trying.

And that's something I've accepted I'll never have.

So if there's at least a 1% chance that he is truly trying, that Enji wants to redeem himself, then let him. Let their family try and heal together if that's what they want.

I'm not sure about the Japanese culture when it comes to family. But where I come from, a family is an important base of our personal and social development, to the point that reconciliation more often than not is the best route.

Still, I know it's not for everyone. So I respect you if you believe he doesn't deserve a chance. I understand if you say Enji Todoroki should be kept far away from his family. You're right, and you're valid.

But, please, please, if the author decides that he redeems himself and does try his best to start a new relationship with his family, let him. Let them heal. Together. Let them try and make up for the lost time in the best way in the present. Let them rebuild.

I know I'd give anything to rebuild my family.

Let Touya be healed and put Dabi to rest. Touya needs to be loved, he needs to be taken care of like he never was as a child. Dabi needs to be told he tried. He needs to be told he did what he could. 

But Dabi is also an adult now. He’s got legal responsibilities. The pain and devastation he’s caused and helped cause can’t be overlooked. He needs help, but he also had to be held accountable. 

Touya/Dabi needs to face himself and start over. He needs to face the man he’s become and at the same time take care of the child he wasn’t able to be. 

If the Todoroki family is reconciled, I dearly hope he gets to be a part of this new book. Not a new chapter, they need to throw that whole book away and start a new one. And, if possible, I’d love to see someone like me get the ending I won’t be getting. 

I hope this made some sense at least. Again, if anything is unclear, ambiguous, or problematic, let me know and I’ll do my best to correct or remove the bad parts. If you’ve read this far, thank you. If you share a similar experience, I’m sorry, and I’m here for you. 

#bnha #mha #bnha 300 #bnha 301 #bnha spoilers #bnha discussion #touya todoroki #dabi #enji todoroki #shoto todoroki #todoroki family #fuyumi todoroki #natsuo todoroki #rei todoroki #touya #shoto #endeavor #endeavour

[shadow-scenarios]

Date Headcanons | Everyone

Thought I’d write something for everyone so that I can get used to it & you can see my style of writing.

- Nexus.

Joker { Akira Kurusu }

✧ Akira is definitely the type of partner who indulges in more casual dates. Although he has the money & resources in order to do something more classy due to his moonlighting as a Phantom Thief, he prefers more quaint locations where both himself & his partner can enjoy each other’s company instead of the location.

✧ He fundamentally believes that if he can enjoy himself around his significant other without needing to spend vast amounts of money, he’s found someone he can rely on for life. His life is naturally very very stressful so he finds solace in moments where he can simply be himself.

✧ During the date itself, he is the epitome of a gentleman { he does have max Charm, after all! }. Offering to pay for the meal; blatantly flirting but not crossing any unspoken boundaries; Casual touches of affection to fluster them. All in all, Akira simply enjoys having company that’s not related to Phantom Thief business & having someone who doesn’t only want to see him in order to seek out comfort.

Skull { Ryuji Sakamoto }

✧ Another one who likes casual dates. However, he is much less formal about it. Although confident on the outside, on the inside he is very nervous about a date. Ryuji is of the opinion that if he cannot be himself during a date, it would not feel natural. So, he takes his significant other places that seem like fun.

✧ Being the athletic type, Ryuji encourages his significant other to run with him. It is rather cathartic and good training. Starting out with shorter routes, they would be encouraged by him all throughout. Afterwards, there’s a high chance that the two of them would head out for ramen together as a ‘ treat ’.

✧ Other ideas would include the arcade or simply heading to his house. Introducing his partner to his mother is a key part of the relationship, since he desperately wants them to like each other { it wouldn’t be difficult, Ryuji’s mother is just as sweet as his son!! }.

Panther { Ann Takamaki }

✧ There are two types of dates with Ann: Food dates & Fashion dates.

✧ Food dates are usually more common. They consist of going to a restaurant she recommends or finding a dessert and ordering two. Ann encourages her significant other to try new things & expand their horizons much like how she’s trying to strengthen her heart.

✧ Fashion dates occur when Ann’s side job as a model comes into play. If she is in need of new clothes for a particular style or wants to try something new, it is likely to be turned into a date.

✧ Ann knows exactly what fits the body type of her partner & clothes that would make them look good. She wants them to be able to express themselves and feel good about it at the same time!!

✧ In return, all that is asked of them is that they honestly critique the clothing choices she has selected out for herself { she looks great in everything though }.

Fox { Yusuke Kitagawa }

✧ Yusuke’s interpretation of dates is... Strange. No matter what, it has to be visually stimulating & help inspire him in his career of art. He would die for art without a second thought and that reflects in his choices of location.

✧ For example, Inokashira Park is a perfect spot. It costs little money, has beautiful scenery & has a relaxing atmosphere. Throughout the entire experience, there is small gestures of casual affection. Not enough for people to be staring but just enough for it to be noticeable by them.

✧{ After his scuffle with searching for true beauty with Akira, he learns a little more about social ettique & how the boat ride they took could have been misinterpreted as a date. }

✧ However... Sometimes he forgets that going to places costs money. If a local art museum has a special showing, Yusuke will buy two tickets impulsively & invite his significant other to the event. Then he’ll be crushed by the reality of the train fares.

Queen { Makoto Niijima }

✧ At first, Makoto has no idea how to plan a date. She would definitely flunk a test about love, so to speak. However, it is very endearing. Study dates would be the most common, where they could go over any material either of them didn’t understand in classes. She prides herself over being able to assist her significant other.

✧ Once she becomes more adapted to stereotypical teenage life, there is a higher likelyhood of more outdoorsy dates. Her favourite spot is Chinatown because of all the vastly different stores and foods.

✧ She finds it a relaxing experience to people watch. Usually it’s done through the window of a cafe where she offhandedly comments about how different people are dressed & how they interact with each other. Makoto is very insightful.

Oracle { Futaba Sakura }

✧ Going anywhere is mostly out of the question. Futaba struggles with socialising & although she is trying her best to open up a little more, it will be an ongoing process.

✧ Playing video games until 3am or talking about the latest manga edition released from the comfort of her bedroom is one of her favourite things to do with a significant other. It is the one time where she feels comfortable to talk & even if they do not quite understand every thing she is saying, she is very happy to go into depth and explain.

✧ However, there would be one or two occasions where Futaba wants to push herself & go out somewhere. Beforehand, Sojiro would be lecturing her partner about keeping her safe & making sure she’s okay but wishes the two of them a good time.

✧ Although there’s moments where Futaba is overstimulated & needs a break, it is a fun experience! Akihabara is definitely a good place to start & buying a game as a reward for braving it will earn them a beaming smile of sunshine.

Noir { Haru Okumura }

✧ Haru has very few qualms about spending extravagant amounts of money on a single date. She thinks like a celebrity & aims to impress her significant other. Just because she spends a lot of money does not mean she is not thoughtful, though. Most dates will be something her significant other has mentioned interest in. She pays attention!!

✧ Throughout the entire outing, she is not afraid to initiate physical contact. Holding hands is a common & subtle gesture that she never really achieved with her previous marriage so she cherishes gentle intimacy.

✧ However, it eventually becomes known that she prefers cheaper & more heart-to-heart style dates. Making a picnic for her partner with the vegetables / fruits from her garden brings unparalleled joy. Especially when they give advice and talk about the taste & how they could improve. Her dream is to run a homegrown café after all!!

Crow { Goro Akechi }

✧ Akechi is either the most gentlemanly man anyone has ever been on a date with or he wants to unwind from a stressful day. Dates are few & far between with his particularly busy schedule, alongside the influence of his female fans bothering him particularly turns him off the idea most of the time.

✧ So, there are two solutions: Dates that are indoors so that no one knows where they are & incredibly extravagant dates that the media cannot gain access to.

✧ Indoor ones usually involve attending the Jazz Club in Kichijoji. It is a relaxing place with few people to bother his significant other, since there are few that know about the place. Throughout the entire occasion, he makes light conversation and is hesitant about accepting physical contact for fear of his reputation but eventually settles on taking his gloves off and interlocking hands with them.

✧ The other solution is usually reserved for special occasions. Although Akechi is wealthy due to his work as a detective, he is more deliberate with his purchases and understands the value of money. In these situations, he intentionally plays up his role as a detective prince & is even more suave than Akira. There is a lot of flirtation in a very polite manner, almost as if testing the waters.

✧ Although he genuinely enjoys these sessions, it is his job to play the role of a prince, even for his significant other. Akechi is practised at pretending.

Violet { Sumire Yoshizawa }

✧ Incredibly flustered at first, no matter what happens. Every step with her is filled with stuttering & a face the same colour as her hair but she’s willing to try her best!!

✧ Absolutely wants her significant other to come to her routines & competitions. If they are not there, she feels incomplete. It throws her game off which in turn creates more issues in the future.

✧{ At some point, her coach comes to speak to them and essentially demands they be at every session so Sumire can achieve her best. }

✧ Sumire also really likes different scenery. The aquarium in Shinagawa is a breathtaking sight from her perspective. No pressure to perform & the ability simply be herself allows for a much more natural date.

{ Yuuki Mishima }

✧ Mishima is much like Futaba in that he would prefer a date indoors. Although he is more confident after everything that happened with Kamoshida, he is still more shocked that he actually has a significant other.

✧ Most of his spare time when not doing schoolwork is spent on running the Phansite so when Mishima wants to spend time with them, he prefers low energy activities at home such as watching a movie with snacks or sitting & talking together.

✧ If he ever attempted to take them out somewhere, it would be adorable. There would be a lot of doting on them and ensuring that they’re having a good time & he needs this validation because of his self esteem issues. { Telling Mishima that the date was fun or that they enjoyed it will result in an adorable smile & red face }.

{ Hifumi Togo }

✧ Much like Yusuke, Hifumi enjoys dates with her significant other that are practical. If there’s a new book on some of the lastest Shogi techniques, she’ll take them to the bookstore in Jinbocho & make a date out of it.

✧ Although she sometimes struggles to articulate her feelings properly, it is often made up for with the purchase of a gift. Nothing expensive since she is still a high school student but instead something deeply personal that will mean a lot, such as a piece of jewellery or a particular book they are interested in.

✧ Also loves going to the church in Kanda for a practice game. Even if they are not very good at Shogi, she’ll teach them how to play and encourages them to develop their own style of play. After each game, she analyses all of the different moves used in that game & how they changed the game.

Word Count: 1.7k

Publish Date: 25.09.20

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p5r #persona 5 x reader #akira kurusu x reader #ryuji x reader #ann x reader #yusuke x reader #makoto x reader #futaba x reader #haru x reader #akechi x reader #sumire x reader #mishima x reader #hifumi x reader #persona 5 imagines

[kim-ruzek]

To build a life, let us share our past

Summary: Adam takes Kevin with him to pick out an engagement ring, wendy and Nicole comes up and Kevin tells Adam he needs to tell Kim about her.

Fix-it, technically.

Word Count: 3.5k

Read on AO3

Notes: So many little things would be better solved is Burzek just communicated, so I'm writing fix it fics for them all! I hope y'all enjoy!

“You’re going to ask Kim to marry you?” Kevin stares at Adam, with shock and disbelief. Adam likes to think he can read his best friend’s face expertly—maybe not as well as Kim, who has known Kev for longer, but well enough—and if Adam knows Kev, then he knows there is also amazement and love in his expression as well.

Adam hopes there is, at least. He hasn’t been with Kim long, just a year, as of last week. This is fast, Adam knows that. But it’s real, and he knows more than he’s ever known anything else that Kim is his future, his ‘One’. And Kevin’s their mutual best friend, his approval means more than anyone else’s to Adam and Kim, and Adam knows an engagement wouldn’t feel right to either of them if Kevin had problems with it.

“I love her, man. She’s it.” Adam says simply, hoping to infuse the words with all his love, respect and care for Kim.

“I know you do, bro. The two of you together... You know you two are my family and I couldn’t be happier,” Kevin is a man of little words, but every one is from the heart, and Adam knows how earnest he is.

“I’d say congratulations but that’d involve Kim having said yes, so I know you’re not just telling me this.” No one could say Kevin Atwater is not a smart man, or a quick minded one.

“I need you to help me pick out a ring.” Adam tells him.

“Me?” Kevin blinks.

“Yeah. I don’t, this ring stuff is confusing. And you know Kim, you’ll know what she likes.” Ensuring that Kim gets the ring she deserves, the ring she’ll wear for years to come, the ring she’ll love, is something that is important to Adam, is needed. And so much jewellery looks the same to him, but he knows, knows, that Kevin has more of an eye for this stuff.

“We did used to window shop, on our slower patrol days,” Kevin muses. His words rings a bell inside his mind, a vague recollection of Kim telling him that when she was talking about stories from patrol. He had forgotten all about that, but now he feels even more confident in his decision to ask Kevin for his help.

“So you’ll help me?” Adam smiles hopefully at his friend. Kevin grins back, pulling him into a hug.

“Yeah, of course I’ll help you! Let’s go pick out a ring for our girl.”

The ring shop feels daunting, glass cabinets everywhere, jewellery of all kinds inside, and well dressed employees standing, waiting. The store feels delicate, and Adam feels way too out of place. Too tall, too broad, to masculine.

Deciding to go on a quiet day that they’re on call feels like a mistake now, Adam being way too aware of his gun on him, and how clunky it makes him feel. The only times Adam’s, really, been in a jewellery shop has been after a robbery, and without glass broken everywhere and no cops swarming the place, he feels like an imposter, like he doesn’t belong.

Of course, he’s been in shops like this before not related to work. The times he’s gone to buy his sister, or mom jewellery, and of course when Wendy’s best friend, Sara, dragged him to the store to point out which ring Wendy wanted. Those times didn’t feel as tense, as suffocating, as if everyone is staring at him like this does, and Adam can only attribute that to being because this is so much more important than those times, that he’s aware this could put a spanner into an otherwise good relationship, that he has so much more to loose.

Kevin is beside him, and Adam’s glad once more that he invited Kev to come along with him as his presence is calming. Logically, it feels like he shouldn’t, Kevin is taller and broader than Adam, and his presence also feels too big and clunky for this delicate store. But Kevin doesn’t seem the slightest bit fazed, and that calms Adam’s nerves.

“Here,” Kev leads him to a counter with rings on display underneath. Adam tries not to focus on the worker giving them a look.

Kevin had picked out what store to look at, saying of course they could look at several, but that Kim has mentioned she’d want a ring from a smaller, more ethical shop. Adam recalls conversations like that as well.

Adam looks down at all the different rings, feeling overwhelmed by it all. He has a roundabout idea of what to get, nothing too big or flashy—that’s not Kim’s style, especially in their line of work, you don’t want something like that while interacting with criminals—but something simple in its beauty. Like Kim, Adam thinks. To him she’s flawless, effortlessly, and so, so beautiful.

“This is so hard,” Adam groans to Kev, running a hand through his hair.

“Take your time, bro. It’s a process, just don’t stress.” Kevin calmly says back. Adam looks at his friend, speaking again as he remembers the whole purpose of him inviting him along.

“You seen anything?”

“I’m here to help you. And I will. But you know her better than anyone, even me, so just look yourself first. We have time. We can come back.” Kevin reasons.

“Right, right. I don’t know, man, it was easier with Wendy. She had already picked out the ring herself, and her friend told me which one. But this? Kim deserves the best, I just don’t want to get it wrong.” He laments.

The experience of picking out the ring for Wendy wasn’t exactly a magical experience or anything particular special. He showed up, rung his card, and that was that. And at the time he was grateful for the simplicity of the whole matter, and although right now a part of him wishes this was that easy, Adam knows, deep down, that as stressful as this is, he prefers this experience more. That he’s involved, that he’s excited, that he knows beyond everything that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Kim. This is everything that experience wasn’t, and Adam knows he would take on all this stress a million times over for Kim.

“Nikki was even easier. I mean, 40 dollar ring, impulse proposal? Guess though, this just says I’m getting it right this time.” Adam continues to muse out loud. Kevin gives him a strange look.

“Nikki? Were you engaged to another girl?” He questions and Adam is reminded that although it feels like he’s known his best friend forever, they haven’t even known each other two years yet, that there’s things he wasn’t around for. Adam’s social circles up until he was pulled from the academy was the same he had for years, and Kev’s met a few of his mates, so Adam forgets that Kevin and his friendship is still so recent.

“Yeah, I was. When I was like twenty, for like three months. It was a train wreck. A drunken thought took seriously,” Adam explains.

“I get you, bro.” Kevin says, but still, he’s looking at him curiously, a thought clearly on his mind. “Does Kim know?”

Adam raises an eyebrow at him. “Uh, I don’t think so? We don’t really talk about that stuff.”

“Do you think you should?” Kevin asks pointedly. Adam frowns.

“It was years ago, why should I? There’s no point just randomly bringing exes up,” he dismisses.

“Bro.” Kevin gets in front of him now, redirecting his attention from the rings. “You’re picking out an engagement ring for her. She needs to know you’ve been engaged twice before you propose. Because it will not go well if you don’t, trust me. I know you don’t mean anything by it, but this can quickly become a big deal.” Kevin’s tone is loving, caring, but firm.

“Just think about it. You were engaged when you met. You propose after a year. She finds out you had another fiancée. I know you love her, I know you’re meant to be, but just think about it from how it could look from her perspective.”

Oh.

Kevin’s words are wise, and realisation, and understanding of what Kev’s getting at, dawns on Adam.

“Yeah. Yeah, good point. I’ll tell her tonight.” Adam immediately agrees. “Just need to make sure not to tip her off to why I was thinking about my exes,” he grins at him.

“That’s a difficult task. She’s a quick one, Burgess is.” Kev replies, grinning himself. “But I’m sure you’ll find a no doubt disgustingly cute way to distract her.”

As his best friend, Kevin has unfortunately heard way too much about the inner details of their lives, details that since Kim is basically like his sister he’d have rather not known. But Adam can only focus on feeling sorry for him for a second, as he’s distracted, his eye catching sight of a ring in another counter.

“Kev. Look. This one.” Adam points it out to him, knowing, feeling, deep in his heart, that he had found The Ring, the one perfect for Kim. And by the looks at Kevin’s expression, his awe and smile, Adam thinks his friend agrees with that.

“That’s perfect.” Kevin grins at him.

“So, movie or tv?” Kim asks him as she adjusts the temperature on the oven. It’s the evening, and they’re at home—at his place, technically speaking, but he’s here and she’s here, which makes it home.

Kim had beat him home as usual, had let herself into his apartment like she always does, like they always plan, like they do automatically now without so much of a thought as their lives become more and more entangled with each other. She had already showered and gotten out of her work clothes by the time he had gotten home himself.

Kim’s dressed casually, lazily, only in some of her leggings and one of his old shirts with her hair tied up in a bun that’s coming undone. It’s a simple look, a no thought look, a behind the scenes, after look, a look for when Kim just wants to relax, to not be officer Burgess or even really a person, just Kim. A look for when she’s just her, unwinding from the day—a look only he is privy to.

Intimacy isn’t just knowing what the other likes in bed, how to make them blush, or what their favourite colour is. It’s this. It’s how they are with you in down time, the simple and unguarded way they are around you, how you’re not really no longer another person but almost an extension of themselves, that they can be who they are with no doubts or anything needing to be held up or any illusions to be set. Just them.

Adam wouldn’t exactly class himself as a romantic, far from it. And before Kim, he had seldom noticed these thing, not taking much note of the significance of it. It wasn’t important before, now it is. Maybe perhaps because Adam’s a cop now, he sees such things and it’s given him an appreciation for these sorts of things. Maybe because Kim was shot, Kim was kept captive and beaten, and being with her as she healed gave him a whole new look on what intimacy and love truly meant. And maybe it’s because Kim is his one, his reason for being, the beat of his heart.

Kim is an over thinker, in the most adorable of ways, and Adam thinks that if she was in his mind right now, her thoughts would be churning, trying to pinpoint the exact moment he started to appreciate things like this, because that’s who she is. Adam, he’s an over thinker in his own, different kind of way, but not this, this, Adam spares no real thought on it.

He doesn’t care about the whys, just what is, and he’s just grateful that whatever the reason is that these are things he notes now because getting to embed this memory into his mind, embed how his heart flutters at the thought of their causal intimacy with one another forever into his memories, is something he’s so, so appreciative of.

“Adam?” Kim calls to him, bringing him out of his mind, and to where she stands, still in the kitchen, waiting expectantly. “Movie or tv? And don’t think you’re going to be able to pull the tired card, you know the rules. One of us picks movie or tv, the other picks what it’ll be. Not one of us deciding both.”

This is how their evenings go now. When Adam was in his early twenties, the thought of having such a routine, of staying in most nights, of this normality, would be a suffocating one, but now the thought of spending his days like how he did is the suffocating one. That the thought of spending the rest of his days like this, with Kim, eating their dinner together and just cuddling, is one that fills him with content and his mind how back to the purchase made earlier, of the ring they picked for her, of how he imagines it’ll look on her finger.

“I’m not trying anything,” Adam replies, smiling at her. Anyone else, perhaps, that would make them let it go, but Kim narrows her eyes at him, questioningly, as if trying to suss him out.

“But darlin’, today, I was thinking,” he begins, his heart beating quickly as he hopes this will come across as casual as it’s meant to be. Hoping that she won’t realise there’s a deeper reason behind his sudden curiosity, of him bringing this up.

“That’s dangerous,” Kim has a glint in her eye. And Adam, despite himself, despite how she’s teasing him, smiles at that because goddamn, he loves this woman.

“Ha ha,” he replies dryly, before adjusting himself as he prepares to say his next sentence. He’s sitting on the sofa, but facing backwards, leaning his arms of the top of it so he can look at her as he speaks.

“I was thinking, with how we got together and all, you know we didn’t exactly go through the typical new relationship stuff. Like the ex talk and whatnot,” Adam hopes, prays, that his tone remains stable, casual, that he hasn’t activated that excellent cop instinct of hers and that she’ll sense there’s something deeper driving this conversation.

He wants to halt, to stop this, to not go near any topics that will tip her off to him having brought a ring, but Kev’s words echo in his mind and he knows he has to. Has to, if he wants to make sure that when he puts that ring on her finger, it stays on. Kevin is her best friend, the man Adam went to for help with the ring because no one else knows her this well, and so Adam takes what he says, his advice, very seriously.

“Hm. I guess we haven’t.” Kim says. There’s a slight guardedness to her tone and Adam wonders if there’s perhaps a deeper reason behind them not having this conversation before, besides them beginning the relationship in the way they did.

There’s a part of him that’s curious, that needs to know everything about this incredible woman, but there’s also a part that hurts, aches, at the thought of what possible bad experiences she could’ve had with exes, that has made her tense slightly in such a way. A part of him that wants to just reassure her that his bringing this up is not to dig into her past, but for him to share his, so that they can build a future.

“Well, you know about Wendy, obviously.” Adam cringes at having to mention his most recent ex, at the memory that he was in a relationship when he first got into her. Wendy is seldom mentioned, a part both of them would prefer to forget about, him particularly, with his assholeish behaviour—not his finest moments, that’s for sure. But he has to, has to start the conversation so casually like this is just what he thought while at work.

“Hm. Yeah.” Kim is just mindlessly reorganising things in the kitchen now, a tale-tail sign that she does not appreciate the reminder. Adam focuses on keeping himself calm, casual, so that he doesn’t accidentally start an argument.

“What about you? Did you date when in the academy?” Adam asks.

“I was busy. I’m a woman and all, I had to be the best.” Kim replies and he almost flinches at the edged tone to her words. Adam wonders if it’s still because him bringing up Wendy, or something else, and everything in him screams abort mission but he needs to, needs to, tell her about Nicole.

“What about when you were a flight attendant? Did you date much?” Trying to keep his tone light and not too curious, too pressing is proving hard, especially when this has nothing to do with her, and everything to do with him.

“A little.” She’s reorganising the cabinets now. Her tone is guarded, cool, and Adam’s split between whether to continue from where he is or if he should go hug her. Not wanting to make her think that he’s wondering about her clipped responses—knowing Kim, that’s even more dangerous territory—Adam decides to stay put, no matter how much his arms ache to have her in them.

“What about high school? At work, seeing all these teenagers insist their adults just remind me of my own teenage antics,” Adam offers up his own past a little, putting the attention back on him. There’s a lot of ‘teenage antics’ in his history, not much of which he’d particularly like to get into, but if Kim asks, he will. Because she’s clearly uncomfortable, and he’s doing that, and so he’ll be uncomfortable instead. He’ll do anything for her.

“I bet, canaryville,” Kim turns to look at him, smiling, her tone light for the first time in this whole conversation. Adam seizes the opportunity.

“God, the things I got up to. I wanted to be a cop, even back then, although I didn’t think it was in the cards. But you wouldn’t think it. I was canaryville through and through.” He reminisces. “The Beverly in me came out in my twenties, although canaryville, I’ll always be a canaryville boy. Got me the job, so there’s that. There was a time though that I really could’ve became very canaryville.” This is all stuff he’s touched on before with Kim, but she’s listening, intently, to him, because she always regards as whatever he says as important, just another reason he so desperately wants her to be his wife.

“I was even engaged at one point. Not Wendy, to this girl when I was twenty. You know, real puppy dog love. But marrying young isn’t uncommon in canaryville and well, I was young.” Adam casually drops. Kim was leaning against the counter, just listening, but at that, she pushes herself to stand up straight, staring at him.

“You were engaged? Before you were engaged?” She stares at him, shocked.

“Yeah, for like three months. Got engaged in the summer, we’d called it off by Halloween. We were young, thought we were in love, her mom was pushing her to move to Canada with her and wasn’t taking our relationship ‘seriously’ so we thought hey. I proposed with a 40 dollar ring,” He keeps his tone casual, even still, making sure to avoid details like they had only dated a year. Kim needs to know this, but she’s an over thinker, and if he tells her that and then proposes after they’ve been together only a year themselves, she’ll go into overdrive. That is not what he wants.

“I can’t believe you’ve been engaged not once, but twice,” Kim, thankfully, sees the humour in all this, all her defences dropping again. Adam feels a weight lifted off his shoulders that this went well, that she’s not mad at him.

“Third time’s the charm, hey?” Kim then says, grinning at him. Only for a second, before what she said registers and the grin has gone, replaced with a deep blush and wide eyes. “I mean, I didn’t mean, like us, not that I, uh—” Kim stumbles over her words, her adorably anxious mind in overdrive.

“Darlin’. Relax. I know what you meant,” Adam reassures her, standing up now to go to her. He kisses the top of her forehead, calming her thoughts, and smiling into her, allowing himself to feel happy that it appears that Kim’s at least briefly imagined them getting married, and that she seems open. His heart feels a little lighter, less nervous and more excited, and more confident in his decision to buy the ring.

“Now, is our food nearly done? Because we’ve got to choose; a movie or tv,” Adam diverts the conversation back, needing Kim to not focus on the thought of marriage too much, not when they’re a few weeks away from the surprise.

A surprise that Adam cannot wait for, which he notes as he watches Kim, smiling at her as she moves and talks to him, feeling more and more in love with her with every passing second.

#burzek #kim burgess x adam ruzek #burzek fic #Chicago pd #chicago pd fanfiction #ree writes #ree's.writing

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.32}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 5.7k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

Half an hour after dinner had been over with, Robin made her way to the foot of the astronomy tower with Cas, Melissa and Lisa in tow. The latter hadn't been part of the original plan, but due to circumstance Robin had spontaneously decided that six eyes might yet see more than four. Thus the three younger girls were babbling excitedly all along the way now, each wrapped into their warmest robes upon Robin's insistent command, and they did not falter to chat even as Robin wordlessly unlocked the door that led to the tower's staircase. 

It was sealed with the same spell as all the other classrooms, and once again she wondered why none of the students had figured out the spell to unlock either just yet… But then again, perhaps it was one of those spells that couldn't be discovered without the permission to have such knowledge in the first place. The castle seemed to have a sentience in that regard, that much Robin could tell from just her limited experience with ancient magic. That however was a topic for another day, and Robin went on to usher her company up the stairs ahead of her now, or else they would never arrive on top of the tower before Morgan was prone to leave. Otherwise, things were all set by now, at long last and after a whole lot of unwanted social interactions.

In the past thirty minutes, Robin had gone on to make another minor change to her plans. Instead of having Snape write them a note to have them stay out past curfew, Robin had simply sought out the professor who was on patrol duty that night and let him know –in her usual intimidatingly neutral manner– that the girls were to be excluded from curfew, and were very well supposed to be up in the astronomy tower on their own for the next few hours. Unsurprisingly, the man had simply taken Robin's word for it, and nodded his understanding and compliance without questioning her non-existent authority in this matter. Nobody questioned her these days; it was as if an unspoken rule had made rounds among the staff of Hogwarts that Robin was sheer unimpeachable, and the occasional un-student-like matters she concerned herself with were either to be supported or overlooked.

Really, if Robin had to guess, she would've said that this was entirely Dumbledore's doing. It had to be, because not even Snape's authority stretched far enough to warrant such a universally easy acceptance of any and every of her unusual behaviours. And giving the patrolling professor instructions on who and who not to hold accountable to curfew tonight, without even as much as mentioning Snape or anyone else of actual authority in the conversation, certainly was such a behaviour.

"Are you sure we won't get into trouble for being up here, and staying here past curfew?" Cas asked as if on cue, right when Robin's string of thought came to a momentary conclusion. "I mean… we're technically breaking more than just one rule right now, aren't we?"

"You aren't breaking any rule at all currently, nor will you if you do as I say." She replied with a half smile, almost a little out of breath when they finally reached the top of the stairs. "And you've always wanted to 'do fun things like me', isn't that what you said last week? This right here is something of the very likes of that."

"True. If you say we're good then we're good." Cas sighed, and the usual wide smile spread on her face as she skipped ahead to the large window that overlooked the landscape beyond the school. It really was a marvelous sight one had from up here… but Robin had no time to dwell on it.

In as few words as possible, she explained to the girls that – supposedly because of her challenge with the boys – she needed to be alerted when Morgan left the castle, as well as when he returned here. To Robin's surprise, all three girls seemed beyond eager to help her with this endeavour, and they agreed to let her know of Morgan's movements as soon as they could. Content with that, Robin left them to themselves and the night as she made her way back down the tower, and further down into the dungeons. Should Cas and her friends do the waiting and watching up there… Robin was only too happy to wait down in the office with Snape instead, where they could let their guards down without anyone getting in the way. She deserved a little break before the inevitable nightmare that was this endeavour with Morgan continued. Before they would have to deal with all those unanswered questions, and the prospect of perhaps inevitable death.

Once Robin let herself into the office as always, she was more than happy to see that Snape was waiting for her already, and he in return wasted no time before locking the doors back up even more meticulously than usual. He obviously hadn't run into Morgan either then… Good. Robin let out a long breath in the knowledge that she could finally relax for the first time in hours. At least for this fleeting moment.

While she went on to make them coffee first of all, Snape explained –upon her insistent request– how exactly he had ensured that Morgan would be leaving the castle tonight. In the end, it had been a simple work of manipulation and deceit to him, and Robin was in awe as ever at both the sheer brilliance and power that came so naturally to Snape it would never cease to impress her. Especially since he had done the exact same thing she had, but around way more edges and corners. To think that he so easily could get anything he wanted… it made her skin tingle, and her mind take incessant pride in the fact that he still had chosen her to be his equal. The shivers of delight that rolled over her upon the thought were a sweet torture, but a distraction from the topic at hand. She placed his coffee in front of him, then sat down across from him in her usual seat and listened on.

First of all, Snape had convinced McGonagall, through saying and not saying the right things at the right time, that there recently had been severe tensions between the teaching staff that were having a negative impact on the students. That much was only too true, after all. Of course his scarce words to the woman had been a mere complaint about the facts, not a notice or suggestion for improvement, but he had precisely known how they would be understood and acted upon nonetheless. McGonagall, good-hearted as she was, had of course sought to take immediate action by herself, seeing as Snape had as always shown absolutely no interest in the issue. And as predicted, there had been only one person the deputy headmistress would be going to in such a situation that was far below the headmaster's reach of interests; McGonagall had gone to Professor Sprout. And Sprout, as talented as she was with her plants, had one of the most unguarded and manipulable minds of all the professors. Therefore she had been the easiest target for Snape's long line of manipulation in return. All it had taken was a few hints strategically dropped into the woman's mind, and she had suggested an evening in Hogsmeade for the staff who wasn't needed in the castle tonight. McGonagall had trusted her colleague's Hufflepuff intuition when it came to groups of people, and thereby it had been settled. The majority of the staff had the night off to go to Hogsmeade. Lastly then, all it had taken was for Snape to see to it that Sprout pitied Morgan enough for his black eye to offer to buy the man a drink, to ensure that Morgan really would be coming along. That's how Damion Morgan had been tricked into going on a colleagues' night out, without being any wiser of the long line that had led up to this point. Brilliant, really.

"And how did you get out of it?" Robin asked with a partially humoured, partially admiring smile, then emptied the last of her coffee and set the mug down on the table between them. "Out of coming along, I mean."

"I did not have to get out of anything." He replied easily, while leaning back in his chair across from her with a not-smirk. "Because I wasn't asked to come along in the first place."

Robin's brows furrowed into an incredulous frown in an instant, while the subtle humour that was currently painted on his face was entirely absent from hers. "What do you mean? I thought you didn't have any official duties tonight… you shouldn't be needed at school."

"True, but I believe my colleagues were well able to anticipate my answer to such an invitation, and therefore simply spared themselves the vanity of asking."

"Well, they should have asked nonetheless. I very well remember what it's like to be left out of everything all the time, it sucks no matter if you actually would've wanted to go or not."

"Would you have wanted me to go, if it hadn't been for the ordeal with Morgan?" He quirked an eyebrow at her in question, even though he already seemed to know the answer she would give. He was merely making a point with this question. Robin let out a sigh.

"I would have wanted for you to have a choice." She finally replied, then leaned as far across the table as she had to in order to catch his hand and hold onto it. If he was making a point, so could she. "I would never choose to spend the evening without you if it can be helped, you know that. Of course I wouldn't want you to go anywhere I can't follow. But I'm not selfish enough to put my own happiness over yours."

In a heartbeat the small table between them vanished, the very table Robin had been leaning her entire weight upon for the last minute, and she let out a quiet yelp when she fell forward until the hard wood's support was replaced by Snape's arms that pulled her up and closer. An instant later she was seated in his lap, straddling his legs while her heartbeat exploded in a sudden intensity and a wild rush of adrenaline carried both waves of tingles and desire through her body. How did he keep doing that?! How did he unravel her so softly?

Still, she met his expression of well hidden amusement with an obviously feigned glare. That much was almost tradition by now, for moments like this happened a lot lately; he always found a reason or opportunity to pull her into his lap when they weren't working, or to trap her against a shelf or bookcase when they were, and it was positively driving her insane. In the best ways possible, the most allconsuming ones. And while he had never openly admitted it, Robin knew that he craved their affections just as much as she did, and needed them perhaps even more. It was a thought to marvel at, really… such a powerful being, so entirely at the mercy of her love.

"You are getting lost again, and I am curious to know what could be so fascinating to think about that it surpasses the current predicament." He said so softly only and yet succeeded to draw Robin out of her mind in an instant. Or perhaps it was his fingers that traced along her back, caressing the sliver of bare skin right beneath the hem of her jumper. The former brought a smile to her lips, the latter a line of goosebumps to cover her skin.

In a haze of her own thoughts as well as the liquid warmth spreading through her veins in that moment, Robin took a leap of faith and tried something she had always been careful to avoid before. She reached out to his mind for once, in the same gentle request for entrance that she usually was subject to herself. The humour faded off Snape's face in an instant, and his eyes widened oh so slightly while yet never parting from her own. Another shiver overtook Robin, leaving even more goosebumps in its wake. She couldn't help holding her breath.

But then, eternities and broken seconds later, the barriers fell, and she found herself surrounded by an overwhelming mixture of emotions. A mind as complex as to truly do him justice, a chaos that yet seemed as perfect to Robin as anything in existence and beyond could ever be. His thoughts were as graspable to her as her very own, everything in his mind was, and to experience that was absolutely breathtaking. Bloody hell… his emotions were a mess. Her own however, the ones she chose to share with him right then, were as simple as love and gratitude. His response to that, the frenzied rush of both relief and adoration she felt immediately in his mind, and the joy this entire process sparked within her brought a radiant smile to her lips in an instant.

'You let me in…' She phrased in words like he had earlier that evening, careful not to squeal in her excitement nor let all too much astonishment shine through. The slightest tug on the corner of his lips told her that this was only a partial success.

'I did.' He answered in thought out words in return, a gesture that was accompanied by a hint of humour, a dash of pride, and still a lot of nervousness. Really, Robin had known that he was way more afraid of certain matters than he let on on the outside, but seeing it so clearly laid out in front of her still brought over her a rush of fierce protectiveness.

'You don't have to let me do this, you know that, right?' She couldn't help asking out of concern though, glad that she didn't have to rely on the tone of her voice to convey precisely what she meant. She would still love him no less if he had his boundaries, if he didn't give her everything she ever asked for. Sharing all that as emotions was far easier than with words. And it allowed for a far more elaborate answer in return.

The nervousness now entirely at ban, Robin found herself dropped amidst an ocean in his mind, an unfathomable depth where she was hit by a multitude of emotions with the crushing force of mountainous waves. A force that took her breath away and brought tears to her eyes at the same time. Yes, he certainly knew both depth and maddening passion to keep up with her very own by far. And in the very same, his reply to her question washed over her and dragged her under.

He would give anything to her, anything and everything, over and over and over again. Not because he had to, but because it was part of the way he loved. Part of the ocean. The way he loved her, an unfathomable depth, a force impossible to resist. Devotion that was a perfect mirror of her own.

For a moment Robin's head was spinning with sheer overwhelm, until she remembered faintly that she had to share her thoughts with him this time. Intentionally, purposefully. Yet, the first thing she tried to convey ended up a jumbled mess of both 'I love you' and 'You are everything' in a string of arbitrary repetitions, that however still served to bring a smile to his face. Then she shared her feeling of overwhelm, but also the deepest adoration of all she had seen, and surprisingly enough was met with a rush of self-consciousness in his mind in return. She found that beyond endearing, but decided better not to show him that in return, only to take delight in it herself. An instant later, he thought that she should stop smirking already, and that made Robin laugh both on the inside and the outside. Something in his mind relaxed, while something else roared up in joy and pride upon having made her laugh. Again, Robin could only marvel at how his mind responded to absolutely everything she did in such a breathtaking way.

'Does it also feel this intoxicatingly pleasurable and yet entirely calming when you let me into your mind?' He asked after a moment, in distinct words once more that Robin now discovered were far easier to decipher than the emotions and ordinary thoughts.

'Obviously.' She thought, but the accompanying smirk came onto her lips for real nonetheless. 'Has no one ever been in your mind before?'

'People have tried, but of course never nearly succeed. The attempts however were always quite painful, actually.'

'It's only painful if you try to keep someone out. The more you accept them into your mind, the better it feels to have them there. But I assume it's also about the connection you have to that person, how close your minds are and how much you trust them.'

'How do you know that so well?'

'Seven years of experience and practice with you.' The smirk on Robin's lips turned into a grin as she showed him brief flashbacks of the countless examples of how the feeling of having him in her mind had changed over time. She saw curiosity and a hint of awe in his own thoughts in return, as well as the uproaring desire to kiss her breathless even though they were still in the office.

Curiosity was precisely what struck Robin then as well, an ineffable desire to discover more about the ways and possibilities of this mental connection, and she found herself unable to resist both this temptation and the unintentional invitation his mind was almost shouting at her now. Therefore, she gave in to either. Leaning in through the distance between them that was minimal in the first place, she touched her lips to his only lightly for now, and yet the result was no less explosive than being dropped into his ocean in the first place. With a tiny gasp she pulled back again, and immediately felt his confusion alongside a little spark of fear.

"That was… indescribable." She breathed with real words of sincere astonishment for once, while yet the thoughts she showed to him were full of reassurance. The negative emotions in his mind became replaced by curiosity and even a little amusement in an instant, and she was immediately pleased with that. Was her own mind quite that responsive as well?

"Would you kindly elaborate?" He quirked an eyebrow at her with an almost straight face, and Robin had to snicker at the echo loop of amusement that followed between them.

"Have you ever tried looking into my mind while kissing me?" She asked, after deciding that they might as well use actual words for now, since she was the one doing the explaining anyway.

"I have not, seeing as I was rather distracted at those moments. I had better things to do than thinking about advanced magic." He rolled his eyes while he answered, but Robin could for once undoubtedly tell that the gesture was directed at himself. Indeed, he was minorly irked by the fact that he himself had never before had the idea to try just what she was suggesting now. Again, Robin found his thought both endearing and relatable.

"Do you think you can look into my mind while I'm inside yours? I still haven't understood that part of the thing we're doing here, if it's a two way street or not." She gave him an encouraging smile, and was met by a really fast string of thoughts and contemplations in return as he tried to give any other answer than that he didn't know either. Funnily enough, his lack of an answer didn't seem to embarrass him in the slightest, not in front of her at least, but only to encourage him to do better and be of help to her in finding an answer together. Oh, Robin loved that beyond measure, and she decided to share the resulting wave of adoration with him in return. It brought his mind to an immediate halt, as if he had forgotten that she could see his every thought in the first place.

"Perhaps we can just try?" She suggested calmly, curiously. "If it doesn't work, we can still look for other options."

Agreement. He didn't need to speak for her to understand that much. A second later, the comfort of his presence was again inside her mind, and for two breathtaking seconds they really closed the circle of their shared thoughts and emotions. A firework of feelings, doubled in every prevalent intensity, a heightening of all their senses. Indescribable indeed. Then however Robin felt her grasp on the spell quivering, faltering, and finally vanishing entirely, with the result that she was abruptly thrown out of Snape's mind completely. At least she could still feel his presence inside her own, or she would have pouted in sheer disappointment. Not that he would have needed the gesture now, the mere thought inside her mind sufficed to make him smirk. Right… beautiful mind, but still an insufferable idiot.

"I can hear your thoughts again, you do realize that, yes?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, and now it was Robin's turn to grin.

"Yes, I'm well aware." She chuckled, then finally moved her hands from his shoulders to caress the skin on his neck beneath the soft curtains of hair. Too bad she couldn't hear his reaction to that anymore. "Any idea why I got kicked out of your mind? And don't say I just messed up, because we both know better than that."

"I believe it might be more difficult to uphold the former connection once the latter is established. Seeing as I am more practiced in the art, perhaps we should try again now that I am in your head first." He suggested easily, and Robin inwardly rolled her eyes, while however she obviously had to admit that he of course was way more practiced in it indeed. Really, he was better at mostly everything if she was being honest now, but she regretted that thought immediately when she saw the smirk tugging on his lips. "I do feel rather flattered, while yet I am inclined to disagree."

"And why is that?"

"Didn't you want to return into my mind anyway? I would hate having to praise you out loud." He quipped, and Robin tugged on a strand of his hair in return, which earned her a small glare. Yet, she only smirked at Snape and took a deep breath before trying and being allowed into his mind once more.

Again, the fireworks and heightened senses overtook them both body and mind, but while still difficult to uphold, the connection this time lingered on. The subtle touches on her back, his fingers tracing her skin, as intense and real as her hands on him, the same feeling, the overwhelming exciting comfort. Only now it all seemed doubled, different, part of a shared existence. And still he wanted her to know his answer to what she had asked, what he would always answer in any way. Robin saw precisely what he had said once before, the utmost belief that she was so much better than him in every way. Her mind replied with instant adoration and sincerest doubt, not of him but of herself. She wasn't perfect. He knew. She wasn't perfect, but everything he wanted in the world and still far more.

Robin's immediate reaction was a roaring wave of love that echoed straight back to her once it reached his mind and was met with its equal, while the thought of how much she adored that he could be so accidentally romantic at times was met with a huff and a growl. She couldn't help but chuckle at how subtly, secretly her thought pleased him nonetheless.

'Are you going to kiss me now or do I have to woo you any longer?' He suddenly thought in actual words, but this time around she could hear his voice inside her mind in its near natural depth, every colour and faintest subtone it always had. All the times before, without the circle closing in their minds, it had never been so real, so close. This was new for either of them.

For half a moment Robin laughed at his words and marveled at the sensation, then she smiled, and finally leaned forward until their lips touched in a crescendo of emotions. Indescribable indeed. Addictive, as always, and they found themselves unable and unwilling to stop. Time stood still in perfection like this, just holding each other close while their lips danced to the music of their passion. This was how the world ended, this was how it was reborn.

And this was why they avoided losing themselves in the office, for three feeble knocks on the door startled them both so suddenly that their surprise toppled over inside their shared mindspace. Gasping they pulled back from each other in an instant, while the joining of their minds quivered so strongly that a second later it disappeared altogether. Only then when Robin was alone in her mind once more, she realized how difficult it had been to uphold the connection in the first place, and she almost gasped again at the slightly sore feeling somewhere in her mind. Like an unpracticed muscle, almost, that had suddenly gotten a lot of exercise. Going by the look on Snape's face, he seemed to be experiencing something similar in that moment, and that made Robin smile in contentment. At least they knew now that it wasn't quite a normal mode of legilimency. But it certainly was something to experiment with.

When three slightly louder knocks echoed from the wooden door through the entire office then, Snape immediately rose up from his chair while pulling Robin along and setting her down on her feet in front of him. For a brief moment his mind reached out to her again almost instinctively, sharing a rush of awe that he felt when he looked down at her, taking in her lush lips, stained red from his kisses, the lovely flush on her cheeks and the breathtaking display of lightness and darkness in her eyes. To him she was an emblem of life and passion like this, and Robin inevitably had to smile. He really was accidentally romantic sometimes, or rather his honest sentiments were, while his actions on that basis were usually everything but. For the majority of people it was the other way around, and she couldn't help marveling at that. Perhaps romantic was the wrong word for it after all… he simply was being himself in a way she found absolutely perfect. A beautiful mind on the inside, an insufferable idiot on the outside. Ambivalent and yet oddly fitting as ever. That thought earned her another mostly feigned growl and glare, as well as a subtle hint of pride and amusement he still chose to share with her. Then he finally went to answer the door, and his presence left her mind when he put up his usual public facades.

Robin had exactly three seconds to take a deep breath, to force her appearance back into a normal state with the help of a little charm she cast over both of them for good measure, and finally to return the small table back to where it belonged. Then reality and the events of the day caught up with her, and she sighed at the realization that of course they still had to deal with the Morgan situation, still had to be more than careful and double-check every single step they took. As far as she could tell, Snape seemed to do just that when he opened the door just a gap and with his wand at the ready.

"I, uh, I'm sorry to-, uh… but Robin said…" Unlike what Robin had been expecting, it was Lisa's voice she heard on the other side of the door. The girl's small frame however stayed hidden behind both the door and Snape, even as Robin approached them with a frown. "Robin said that we, I mean I… could find her here?"

There were no words spoken in reply, but instead Robin could feel a hint of warmth, an imprint of Snape's magic barely brushing over her senses in a way she had never noticed before. How odd… Whatever spells he had used, they hadn't been directed at her and yet she had been able to feel his magic, even if only just barely. She didn't get to dwell on how that came to be when he opened the door entirely a few seconds later, motioning for Lisa to get into the office already with a scowl plastered onto his face as always. While the girl complied immediately, Robin made the educated guess that Snape's spells had been a row of security screenings that Lisa however seemed to have taken no notice of. No surprise, his magic was as brilliantly subtle as it was strikingly effective. Perhaps the fact that she could feel it now was a side effect of their previous joining of minds.

"Hey Robin." Lisa's features relaxed the moment her eyes fell onto Robin, who had now taken a perch on the edge of the table. Three steps later, the younger girl came to stand in front of her with a weary expression on her face as she kept glancing over to Snape who had closed the door and was now mirroring Robin's position on the edge of his own desk. Lisa's eyes kept darting between the two of them nervously. "I, uh…"

"We don't have all day, Miss McLain." Snape taunted after a moment of silence, looking both indifferent and annoyed as ever, and Robin gave him a glare before focusing on the girl in front of her.

"I must say I was expecting Cas to come find me herself, but it's alright either way." She started, upon which Lisa seemed to somewhat relax again.

"Yeah, well, Cas did the… spotting, and she said she'd set up the entire thing in the first place, so it was Melissa or I who had to go and well, I was cold anyway and also didn't really mind since it all was so important to you and so, here I am now." The girl rambled, and Robin felt tempted to roll her eyes, not at her but at Cas. Typical as ever, letting others do the work she had no interest in.

"But he did leave now, yes?" Robin still asked to make sure, and Lisa only nodded in return, glancing over at Snape who listened attentively as ever while looking just as bored on the outside. Right… Lisa didn't know that Snape knew of this endeavour, and breaking into a professor's classroom usually wasn't something one wanted the other professors to know about. It didn't matter now, not really.

"We, uh…" Lisa spoke up again at last, focusing back on Robin. "We'll keep watch and let you know if he comes back. Or just… wait until you come and get us, whichever happens first."

"Thank you." Robin gave the girl a half smile, then stood up straight and accompanied her back to the door. "Enjoy the stars for me, yes?"

After giving a court little nod and a shy smile, Lisa scurried back out into the hallway and vanished in the darkness to the right, upon which Robin closed the door again with a sigh. Morgan was gone. And that meant they had to get going.

"If I'm not entirely mistaken, sending someone else was a very Cassandra thing to do." Snape commented after a few seconds of silence, and Robin just had to snort in return.

"Are you still peeking into my mind? Because I was having much the same thought." She replied in subtle amusement, then watched as he got up from the desk and approached her instead. Before she could help it, a smile came to her lips. "I could feel your magic, you know… The screening spells, or rather what I think were screening spells. But I could feel it as unmistakably you."

"Curious…" He mused, while they stepped out into the hallway together. Before locking the office back up however, he halted and motioned for Robin to do it instead. "Would you mind? I'd like to know if I can sense yours as well."

With a huff in both humour and curiosity she did as he suggested, first locking and then warding the door, before looking back up at Snape with her eyebrows raised in question. "And? Feel anything?"

"You. Unmistakably you, precisely as you said." He answered just as they started making their way through the dark hallways. "And yet, had I not seen what you were doing, I wouldn't have known what kind of spells you were using."

"Exactly. I think it might be an aftereffect of what we did before we were interrupted… you know, of connecting our minds like that. Or at least I have never been able to feel anyone else's magic like this before."

"Neither have I." Snape's tone was thoughtful, but Robin could tell that he was no less intrigued by this than she was. After a moment of walking in silence, he finally spoke on with a not-smirk on his lips. "We should continue practicing that connection. I'm curious to discover how far we can go, and what it is capable of."

"And it felt pretty amazing." Robin added with a smirk of her own, glancing up at him to see the sentiment perfectly mirrored in his face.

"Indeed."

______________________________

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#snape #severus snape #severus snape x oc #snape x oc #snape imagine #severus snape imagine #pro snape #snapedom #snape fanfic #severus snape fanfic #snape fic #severus snape fic #snape fanfiction #severus snape fanfiction #young snape #snape fandom #severus snape x ofc #snape x ofc #snape x robin #professor snape #voluptas noctis aeternae #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fic #harry potter imagine #harry potter fanfic #professor x student #hogwarts #slytherin #severus x oc

[incorrectshantaequotes]

Shantae Headcanons - The Half-Genies

This is a bit of a weird one for me, not gonna lie. Mostly because, well...you've kinda seen some of my headcanons already! Aside from Harmony, the half-genies don't really get that much screentime (well, Shantae does, but she's in a different post), so I've had to figure out their characterization myself for their quotes. Don't worry, though, that's not all I'm covering here. In any case - onto the headcanons!

Harmony

Harmony is a lot of things. A mentor figure, a guide, a gentle hand - she does great in a crisis, and does wonders helping others through their own. It's no wonder the other half-genies looked up to her. She does have one glaring weakness, though...she cannot do casual social interactions. At all. The other half-genies figured this out rather quickly when they went into the Half-Genie Festival; she did spectacularly with her performance, but during the afterparty? Harmony was doing her best to either not be seen, and what conversation was sparked between her and the partygoers was rather stilted and awkward. The reason for this? Well, it actually ties back to how well she does as a calm and collected leader...

Harmony's mother was well aware of the dangers of Quake Magic. Used without thought or care, it can cause mass devastation, as Shantae herself can attest to. So, to help Harmony when she was gone, she slipped in some instructions into the scrapbook to tell Harmony how to train herself. The catch was, she had to completely isolate herself from civilization first, to avoid any potential harm to innocents while she was still learning to control her magic. Harmony followed said instructions to the letter, only coming out of her training when she felt she was ready to fulfill her role as Guardian Genie. As a result of this nomadic lifestyle, Harmony's calm, disciplined, and can use her magic incredibly well, but it doesn't really make for a good social life.

Thankfully, the other half-genies have been able to help with that, letting Harmony loosen up and enjoy herself. She's still more naturally introverted, but she is rather open around the other half-genies. She has a lot of time on her hands, as very few actually want to be on the other end of her Quake Magic, so Harmony rarely has to actually step up to defend her town. That's not to say it doesn't happen, of course...

Harmony's town is completely landlocked, so she hasn't had to deal with Risky Boots. Instead, the main threat she deals with is Ammo Baron and his army. See, Harmony's town is in a similar position to Scuttle Town in that it's a great tactical position to launch an assault on the palace of Sequin Land. Unlike Scuttle Town, however, Harmony's town has a mayor who's never even considered firing Harmony, meaning that it's never been in the vulnerable position that let Ammo Baron take over Scuttle Town. As a result, 85% of Harmony's job has mostly consisted of dealing with Ammo Baron's plan B: brute force. Thankfully, her Quake Magic helps tremendously in this effort, frustrating Ammo Baron to no end. It's why he switched targets to Scuttle Town in the first place, and why he was investing in a flying armada in Half-Genie Hero. Easier to deal with earthquakes if you're not touching the ground!

Zapple

Zapple is very impulsive. You'd think that her paranoid streak might make her a little more cautious, but no. If anything, a common reason for her to head off on some crazy quest is whatever conspiracy happens to be in her mind. Thankfully, Vera's always been there to help bail her out when she gets in over her head, with the other half-genies helping in this endeavor as they've gotten to know Zapple better.

As the Guardian Genie of Armor Town, Zapple is an expert blacksmith. Who do you think made that armor? She actually ended up forming an unexpected friendship with Bolo because of this, thanks to their similar backgrounds. She also managed to figure out that Bolo's mom is the Squidsmith (more on that in the post I linked earlier) thanks to her spending some time on Siren Island for the Half-Genie Festival, and thinks it's absolutely hilarious that Shantae hasn't connected the dots yet. She's definitely not telling anytime soon, that's for sure.

After the whole Empress Siren thing, Zapple's relationship with Shantae ended up becoming...something between inspiration and friendly rivalry. Like everyone else, Zapple saw the fight between Shantae and Empress Siren's giant form. Like everyone else, Zapple agreed that it was impressive. So much, in fact, that it made her think, "Well, damn, I better step up." And soon after the dust settled, Zapple started training herself and her magic, hoping to do just as well defending her hometown someday. This also lead to challenging Shantae whenever she visited, as a benchmark of how far she'd come since they first met. Shantae was fine with this, knowing it was all in good fun...even if it was a bit unnerving how intense Zapple could get about it. However, after the return of the remaining Sirens (read here), Zapple's need to prove herself significantly died down, so the "rivalry" part of their friendly rivalry has been kinda phased out.

Vera

As the other resident half-genie on Siren Island, she and Zapple have been friends since childhood. Though from completely different walks of life, they get along very well, with Vera helping to ground Zapple's more manic moments, and Zapple always being there to cheer Vera on with her electric pep. Though Vera's been relieved to have some relatively subdued people in her life with the other half-genies, she does still gets along best with Zapple - even if her spontaneous plans and adventures can be a bit much. Someone has to be there to pull her out of the way of angry Bonk Tortoise, after all.

Beyond Zapple, though, Vera gets along very well with Lobster Siren, helping her understand the surface world better and come out of her (metaphorical) shell. This may have something to do with her Refresh Magic and connection to life making her one of the best at understanding Siren, second to only Shantae herself. She serves as a great translator for Zapple and Harmony, as their Spark Magic and Quake Magic provide little or no help understanding Lobster Siren.

Vera is an excellent dancer, knowing all the traditional dances from Tree Town and beyond. She and Shantae actually had a dance-off during the Half-Genie Festival when Vera saw how good Shantae was at it. Though, at the end, both were so impressed with the other that they couldn't decide a winner, and ended up calling it a tie (although a certain zombie and a certain electric genie were a bit vocal on who they thought won).They agreed to send each other tips when they had the time.

Plink

With her psychic powers, the threats Plink protects her town from tend to be ones they can't see. Specters, wraiths, curses - her Seer Magic gives her a better view on all of them, and she combats it by either seeing if she can talk to the haunting entity or warding off the area to ensure no one goes in by accident and causes something they might regret. It's not really flashy or spectacular, but Plink does her job well, and is one of the best people to talk to regarding the supernatural.

Runs a fortune telling booth in her spare time. She doesn't use her magic or anything, she's just well-versed in the world of fortune telling and thinks it's fun, even if she can't exactly predict the future. Plink does try to make it explicitly clear that she's not an actual fortune teller to those who come by, though, as she doesn't want people to come based on false advertising. It's definitely made for a fun party trick to show the other half-genies, though.

Plink knows Poe and Abner, running into each other when the latter two briefly rejoined the zombie caravan. The zombie brothers were a bit surprised to see another half-genie, to say the least, but were able to laugh it off. They talked a bit, ended up exchanging notes regarding what they knew about the supernatural, and going their separate ways. Ironically, though, Plink didn't connect the dots between Rottytops and the little sister the two mentioned until the Half-Genie Festival was nearly over. She really felt compelled to indulge in a facepalm when she did.

#shantae #harmony #zapple #vera #plink #not a quote #headcanons

[fe-semi-decent-scenarios]

How would felix, claude, ignatz, and sylvain react to getting the silent treatment?? Pre-timeskip please

Felix: 

He figures that it’s just another phase that will pass. It’s not that rare for you to get angry with him after all 

He’s a tough person to deal with. Of course he’ll never admit to it but being with him does take a ‘special’ kind of person 

If the treatment comes after a fight then he’ll back off. To be honest he does so more for himself than you. Felix has a lovely habit of letting his temper run loose when he gets worked up and it’s best that you stay away until he’s calmed down

Otherwise he might lash out even more to which the cycle of fighting will continue. He doesn’t want that, he hates it. He hates arguments with you and reliving them in his memories. 

He’ll wait for you to come around afterwords so that you both can work things out. In this kind of circumstance he gets it, everyone needs space sometimes. 

If it’s just out of thin air then he’ll call you out  

“What’s the problem now? C’mon, I don’t have time to play your games (Y/N)” 

It’s harsh but he means it. Felix doesn’t have the patience for a battle of wits. He thinks that if you have an issue then you should just say it. He also makes it known that doing otherwise is childish 

I’m serious. Don’t even try it with him, he won’t cave in the slightest. Being ignored may hurt him, but Felix doesn’t want you to think that the silent treatment will help you win arguments.

If you’re a couple then act like it. Communicate with him or else clearly it isn’t something worth worrying about 

“I’m not a mind reader. If I was then we’d never fight since I would know how to make you happy...but I can’t. I need you to tell me otherwise I won’t ever understand. Come find me when you’re ready to talk” 

Ignatz:

He doesn’t take well to being ignored. Despite his shy nature Ignatz needs his daily social interactions. He would rather you scream at him than pretend he doesn’t exist. At least then there isn’t a sense of dread 

Anything but that, seriously. He doesn’t like to be shut out. 

He doesn’t know how to handle it either. He wants to somehow pull answers from you but at the same time he doesn’t want to force anything. You might not even be ignoring him on purpose for all he knows. 

He wants to know why, but can’t if you won’t tell him. He wants to ask the others for help but won’t because he doesn’t want to drag them into personal issues. It sends him into overdrive. 

Ignatz is a highly emotion driven person. He’s someone you need to be up front with or else he’ll overthink, assume, and flee. So don’t confuse him like this, please. 

Eventually he’ll end up confronting you about it. Ignatz knows that living life passively is a luxury...so, he’ll try to be assertive. Someone has to take the first step. 

“Wait! Just one moment of your time, please. I don’t know what I may have done. I-I don’t know if I d-did anything at all!? If I have then I’m sorry for not realizing. This silence is driving me insane. I beg of you to tell me so that i can understand-” 

It’s just a bomb of emotions. He rambles on exasperated but won’t give in until you respond. 

Claude: 

You want to be that way? Fine. Claude has methods to make you talk. 

He practically knows everything about you. Granted that everyone has their secrets but Claude is no fool in the ways of working the social roulette table. He landed you as his partner somehow, so obviously this is just a pot-hole in the road. A quick fix. 

He makes his presence exceedingly annoying to test your patience. Just how strong was your resolve? 

Could it withstand...oh, I don’t know...him stealing all your clothes while you're in the sauna? You need your pajamas so you’ll have to come get them. 

Could it withstand being forced into having Lorenz as your training partner? Listening to him go on and on about how he cuts his hair? He pulled strings with the professor to ensure it was either him or Lorenz as your options. 

Just how far were you willing to go

If you somehow don’t cave in then Claude will take a more direct approach. You know, treat the matter seriously. If you weren’t genuinely upset then his gimmicks would have cracked your shell by this point so he steps his game up

He completely understands that sometimes personal problems are hard to talk about...but he also can’t let your relationship go on like this. If you won’t talk to him then he’ll be the only one to speak. 

“While I do love the opportunity you’ve given me to test my detective skills...I love it even more when you’re in on the schemes too. I haven’t pried because I respect your privacy, but we need to talk. You always listen to my problems so let me do the same” 

Sylvain:

If you want to give him the silent treatment then he’ll do it right back.

Except he does it better. Sylvain is p e t t y

He will purposefully hang out at places he knows you frequent. If you leave then he’ll follow you too. He won’t do so in hopes of you talking to him--no. He does it to that you can see him having a good time without you. Ignore him as much as you want but Sylvain will always be within earshot

In fact, he will speak up more than normal just so you can hear him. Laughing with friends, making plans, maybe even a joke or two about you if times get desperate. 

It can get aggravating on both ends. You get upset because he won’t give you space and he gets frustrated that you’re still not acknowledging him  

Not to mention the tension that follows you both. If it goes on long other students might make the issue their business since it’s affecting the overall atmosphere 

Sylvain actually only wants your attention. He just didn’t think through the right course of action to get it. Then somehow trying to figure out what caused you to be upset turned into him trying to out-do your behavior 

It leaves him lonely. You two are more than partners, you’re friends. He misses talking with you 

At some point he’ll give in. Most likely after taking things too far and upsetting you even further. Definitely if you end up crying or storming off.

Then he’ll let it go and go find you. Even if you say nothing or tell him to leave, Sylvain will stay. 

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been a very good boyfriend to you and I should have tried fixing the problem some other way. It’s just- you weren’t talking and I didn’t know what to do, okay? Can’t we talk about this...?”

#fe3h #fe3h imagines #fe3h scenarios #fe3h fanfic #claude von reigen #claude x reader #felix hugo fraldarius #felix x reader #ignatz victor #ignatz x reader #sylvain jose gautier #sylvain x reader #blue lions #golden deer #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem three houses imagines #fire emblem imagine #fire emblem scenarios #fe: three houses