#[ SECONDLY let us talk about how there is the height difference and clear difference in their physical builds ]

[coldjustness-archive]

@pactheld

obligatory cuddle drawing bc I’m still obsessed with Neve and her long-suffering frenemyship situationship with Knight-Templar Rana Savas in Tevinter Nights

[thefools-journey]

So. Some of you may be wondering why we haven’t written a whole ton about the secondaries or what have you. Here’s the reason: we were waiting for them to end before we really dug into the problems we were noticing. We felt that it was only fair to wait for the routes to finish so that we had an understanding of the writers’ vision. Who knew, we thought, maybe they would see the problems themselves and course correct, maybe they are building to something we can’t quite see yet and these issues will have actual payoff, maybe-

In light of Muriel and Lucio’s endings, and the general mess that has dominated Portia’s route for a year plus now, we are breaking our silence. We are actually going to talk about this shit show.

The fandom at large has talked about a bunch of issues with the secondaries but for me, the cardinal sin, the thing that really all the issues lead back to, is this: the writers lost sight of the tarot themes which so strongly defined and held together the primary routes. Let me explain.

The primary routes each center around three thematic cores:

The Love Interest’s Major Arcana and its Reversed/Upright meanings

The MC’s Fool’s Journey, both how it can go right and how it can go wrong

A question about the MC’s identity and their relationship to said identity

Asra’s route asks: Who was the MC? How does the MC navigate a past they cannot and will not remember? What do they owe a past they cannot remember? How do they handle the revelations of what Asra, Nadia, Julian, etc did? How do you right the past? Can you?

Nadia’s route asks: Who is the MC? The MC has no past. Are they the Fool only? Are they actually the same person they were? How can they tell? Who are they, really? Are they an imposter? No one can answer these questions for them.

Julian’s route asks: Who will the MC become? How does the MC see their future? Is there anything worth fighting for for that future? What will become of them and their loved ones? 

Now, if you notice, these themes are expertly woven throughout the primaries. Asra’s past dominates his route, Nadia is also missing memories and trying to construct her identity both with her family and with Vesuvia, and Julian’s fear of the future drives his flailing for control. Asra has to learn to take a broader view of his actions to get his Upright Ending, Nadia has to learn to trust herself and those around her for hers, and Julian has to learn how to let go for his. These lessons are the issues their cards stand for. The primaries are so dang elegant and delicate in their handlings of theme it is honestly awe-inspiring.

Thematically, the secondary routes have completely lost their hearts. First of all, the MC does not have strong, core questions which need to be answered. They just don’t. I suppose the writers did not want to retread old territory (which is weird considering how tightly bound the primaries are; it really tricks you into thinking you’re living the same events but from different angles depending on your route) but they did not replace the old with anything new. Muriel’s route is, on the surface, about discovering and owning his past, the good and the bad. Why not tie MC’s self-discovery to that story? Or they could have taken the angle that Muriel’s route is about convincing him to be present and active in the world while MC builds an identity for themself outside of Asra, the shop, and the memories they cannot retrieve. Why not tie the investigation themes running through Portia’s early route back to MC and their past? Portia has the unique angle of being as in the dark as MC about all of this, why not discover the past together? And for goodness’ sake, Lucio has no future when his route begins, why not tie that to his need for growth, responsibility, and MC’s own future between the Fool, the Devil, or something mortal and in between?

Secondly, the routes lost their tarot backbone. We have a primer on how to get specific endings for each LI and it still holds, but the writers did not follow through on the thematic coherence of each secondary. The Hermit is looking for something, be it perspective, insight, a solution to a problem, whatever. The key here is that the Hermit must find or learn what they are searching for, this thing must change their understanding of the world, and finally, they must bring this lesson back to the world from which they retreated. Can someone please enlighten me as what exactly Muriel learns then teaches the world around him? Nothing Muriel learns from Morga, MC, or even the Hermit ties back into anything. The Devil warns that you are out of control and exerting a lot of manipulative, destructive behavior on the world around you. It asks you to take responsibility for yourself and your actions. So can someone tell me why Lucio’s route actively avoids any interaction or reflection on two of Lucio’s biggest victims: Muriel and Julian? Why does the route only try to make amends with the “easier” of his victims in the cast? The Star is first and foremost the card of clarity, the light at the end of the tunnel. Perseverance, if you will. Yet Portia’s route has been the muddiest of the trio; the writers drop the investigation aspect of her route in favor just handing her and MC information they could have easily found and muddying the waters with Tasya (she blows up the palace but it’s all okay bc she has a secret daughter Julian never thought to bring up or mention) and the complete removal of the Devil as antagonist. 

So that leaves just the Fool’s Journey trying to hold this stool up with only one leg. And well...it doesn’t go well. At best, the secondary route books pay the barest surface level homage to the themes of the individual cards. At worst, they ignore the cards completely. Muriel's Moon book has nothing to do with illusions or delusions or lies or even an Alice in the Looking Glass upside down world. Portia's back half is a complete and utter mess, starting with her Temperance book being so badly mangled that Muriel's aftermath book does it better. Lucio's route too bungles the Tower and the Star. There just isn't enough here to carry the routes alone.

Add to the core loss the loss of intertextuality. The primary routes are very good, even great but they too do have their moments and mistakes. What helps strengthen them when the cores stumble is how the trio is woven together. Things you learn in Asra's route can inform the way you play Nadia's, for example. Julian's route informs what is going on in Asra's route and slots some missing puzzle pieces together. Nadia's route tells you of the power struggles she is facing and informs the other two routes' handling of Julian and his trial. On and on, the three routes support each other because they are built out of the same basic plot beats, just tackled in very different ways. Now, the writers are allowed to try and write whatever they want. They apparently wanted to be more experimental and less tied down to an overarching plot with the three secondaries. Okay, fine, they are allowed to do that. The problem is that they sacrificed one of the key strengths of the primary trio and didn't replace said strength with anything else. They also, on some level, harmed the very premise of the game, which is that only the player's choices and route selected change the overall plot. Instead of feeling like legitimate possibilities or offshoots of the same timeline/plot, the secondaries feel almost like Arcana AUs. The secondaries throw out all relations to the primaries and each other as quickly as possible and for what? 

It is probably the height of arrogance to suggest fixes for works whose behind the scenes I do not know. At the same time, some small, obvious changes could have salvaged Muriel and maybe Lucio's endings (rip Portia). Instead of having the Hermit appear as a disappointing cameo, why not have him say something cryptic to Muriel, then have MC start trying to seal the Devil. Then let Muriel use his forget me mark to cloak MC and hide them from the Devil's attacks. Protecting MC by hiding them from Lucio, keeping him focused on Muriel, seems to me a simple third solution between Muriel's desire to run and his desire to never fight again. It lets him stand up to Lucio and let him have it while holding onto who Muriel has become. The Reversed End would have MC try to draw Lucio's attention at some point, disrupting the sealing, and eventually leading to Muriel killing the Devil. With Lucio's Upright End, I just have to ask: why doesn't MC fully claim the power of the Fool instead of the Devil? We don't need the other Arcana involved in this fight; we have three routes that demonstrate that. Just have MC pull Scout into the conflict, then have Lucio tell MC he believes in them, then add his power to the mix. You got yourself a full Fool who leaves Scout guarding the realm until they and Lucio's mortal bodies fail and they return to the realm to be together forever. Boom, you're done, you can even add some ambiguous lines so that players can decide how happy their MC is with this arrangement, send me the check.

Here is the bottom line. Our group is full of aroace, and several combinations therein, individuals. We are the last group who should have gotten into a dating sim of all things. But the Arcana did something with the primaries that was special; they wrote a compelling plot with dazzling lore, complex characters, and strong themes wrapped up in a dating sim bow. The writers know better and we know they know better. I do not know what happened with the secondaries, especially around books 10-11, which is where minor issues slowly start spiraling into major ones, but it is clear that Nix Hydra needed some more planning before they released these routes. Hopefully they will learn.

TL;DR: Nix Hydra fired their tarot consultants about eighteen months ago and it has wrecked their secondary routes until they were just embarrassments. They never intended for the secondary routes to even exist and once they had to make them, they scrambled and threw out everything that made the primaries work.

- Mod Telos

[wanderinginksplot]

Hello! Um, how about Wrecker with a s/o who has severe childhood trauma, and has a hard time opening up to people other than him?

Hello! First off, thank you so much for this request! It was a good challenge. Secondly, I am so sorry this took as long as it has. I had a pretty uneventful childhood, so I ended up doing a lot of research to write this right, and then I rewrote it about a dozen times... anyway, trauma is only minimally mentioned (at least directly), but I hope you like it!

Wrecker + Traumatized Reader

How did it go today, cyare?" Wrecker asked, dropping a kiss on your cheek. He had just gotten home from a shorter mission with his squad and began stripping off his armor while he waited for your answer.

You always felt silly complaining to him. The things that troopers saw and had to deal with on a daily basis were so much worse than you saw - especially since you were permanently stationed on Coruscant. Still, from the expectant look he sent over his shoulder, Wrecker was waiting for an answer.

"Well…" you started slowly, not sure how much information he wanted, "I think it went okay? The board seemed to like the presentation. The Head Commander said the lack of internal life support in the Phase II armor is an issue they've been looking at for some time. I’m supposed to work on a follow-up. I might throw together some preliminary schematics for a Phase III armor set…"

“Sounds like it went great!” Wrecker encouraged, interrupting you before you could get too lost in your engineering thoughts. You had been known not to emerge for days once you got started. “You've been practicing this presentation forever."

You grinned at him. "Thanks again for being my test audience. I know it isn't something you're really interested in. You guys don’t even wear the Phase II."

"No, but I like listening to you talk," Wrecker told you unabashedly. 

You shook your head a bit at that. "You're such a sweetheart. How did I get so lucky?"

"There's a group of Seppies in the Guard's cells who didn't think I was sweet at all," he told you, sounding mystified. "If it wasn't for Cross, I wouldn't have gotten outta there at all."

You tensed a bit at that, and not only from the reminder of how dangerous his job could be. You knew what was coming. It was only a matter of time… 

"Have you thought any more about it?" Kriff. There it was. You wanted to snap at him, remind him that he was pushing a very firm boundary, but Wrecker sounded so hopeful…

"I- I just don't know, Wreck," you admitted miserably. "I know they're your brothers and I want to meet them, but… it's a lot."

"That's okay," Wrecker said comfortingly. He was doing his best to reassure you, but you could hear the clear note of disappointment in his voice.

Your heart plummeted to your toes. Why couldn't you do this for him? Wrecker was the best, most considerate boyfriend in the galaxy. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the safety of the galaxy, for your safety.

"Okay, let's do it," you agreed abruptly. "When do you want to have me meet them?"

"Really?" Wrecker asked, a smile like dawn warming his face.

You nodded and forced an answering smile. You weren't sure how you would handle the pressure of meeting the other members of the Bad Batch, but for Wrecker? You would figure it out.

He ran off to contact the others and your smile faded instantly. From everything Wrecker had told you, Tech was nice and Hunter was quiet, but Crosshair was rarely anything other than abrasive and rude. And that was to his brothers.

You fought a shudder. Being snipped at always reminded you of growing up - and not in a good way. Sarcastic comments were always the first step, then objective-sounding remarks, and then… You didn’t want to think about what had always come next.

But still, this was important to Wrecker, and you were determined to try.

---

The next day, you were anxiously fiddling with your sleeve as you walked to the GAR with Wrecker beside you. The height difference between you always made you feel like a child being escorted around by an adult, but Wrecker normally took your teasing complaints as the jokes that they were. 

You weren’t saying anything at all that day.

“Hey,” Wrecker said gently, grabbing your hand and stilling the fingers that were slowly unraveling your sleeve. “Are you okay?”

You blinked up at him. “What if they don’t like me?”

Wrecker made a strangled sound, like he had started to laugh but thought better of it. “Of course they’re going to like you! Why wouldn’t they like you? And even if they hated you, I like you. And I’m the important one here.”

You wanted to laugh at his exaggerated pout, but the corners of your mouth felt like they were attached to weights as you gave a tight nod and refocused on walking. Wrecker, however, wasn’t having it. Using the light grip he still had on your hands, he tugged you to a stop, forcing the rest of the foot traffic to part around his broad figure as he bent to talk to you.

“Say the word, cyare, and we’ll go home right now.”

“What? No!” you denied immediately. “I said I would meet your brothers, and I meant it. Why? Have you decided you don’t want them to meet me?”

“Of course I want you to meet them!” Wrecker told you. He brushed a hand against your face, smoothing the frown line you could feel forming between your eyebrows. “But I don’t like seeing you this way. If it’s too much, we don’t have to do this. I meant what I said: we can go home right now.”

You searched his face and found only heartwarming sincerity. He meant it. If you said you weren't up for this, he wouldn't be upset or hurt. He wouldn't sulk or find ways to punish you. Nothing would change between you. 

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," you assured him.

Wrecker was your safe space - the exact opposite of everything you had dealt with growing up. He pushed your boundaries, but he made you stronger. As you tripped through the crowd by his side, the idea soothed you more and more until you couldn't stand it.

"Wrecker, wait," you pled, pulling on his arm. 

It was a surprise he had even felt the pull, honestly, but he was so attuned to you that he stopped immediately. He looked down at you with open concern. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I love you," you blurted, and your face grew hot so quickly that you felt a little dizzy.

"You love me?" Wrecker asked, sounding stunned.

"…yeah…" you said slowly. You weren't really sure why you had needed to say it right that moment, but you knew that you meant it. Wrecker was everything to you, and it had been enough to prompt an admission of feelings that you had never thought you would be able to verbalize.

He was still staring at you and you were getting nervous. "Anyway, we should probably get to the GAR," you told him, striving for a casual tone.

"Forget the GAR! You love me!" The next thing you knew, Wrecker had lifted you up and spun in a quick circle that left you dizzy for sure this time. "I love you, too! We need to go celebrate!"

He set you down and had started down the street in the direction you had come from, dragging you along by your hand as you alternated between laughing and trying to get him to stop.

"Wreck, we can't just not show up to meet your brothers," you protested. "They're waiting for us!"

Wrecker paused, glanced back at you, and heaved a deep sigh. "Fine," he grumbled, walking back toward your original destination. "They get twenty minutes, then I need you all to myself."

The dark-eyed look he sent your way made your mouth go dry. "Fifteen minutes."

He laid a searing kiss on your lips. "Deal."

---

To your shock, the Bad Batch was less intimidating than you had thought they would be. Hunter even made an effort to talk to you.

“So, what is it you do for the GAR?” he asked, dark eyes startling in his half-tattooed face.

“I- uh, I’m an engineer,” you explained. “I helped design the updates implemented in the Phase II trooper armor. Joint Kamino-Coruscant effort and all of that. I didn’t have anything to do with commando armor, though.”

Hunter shrugged. “Still, I’ve heard good things about the Phase II. You did nice work.”

“Thanks!” you said, only slightly too loud. “There are a few things that got lost in translation due to budgetary issues. One of my ideas was to add in a new scope for the larger rifles, one that would acclimate to counter visual disruptions. Brightness, direct sunlight, reflections, and so on. It had a couple other features that were popular with the ARCs and commandos who tested it. Alpha-17 on Kamino said he was keeping his, even though it was just a prototype.”

“Wish I coulda seen that,” Crosshair muttered, his first contribution to the conversation.

“You kind of can,” you offered. “I have a few prototypes left. I brought one along in case you wanted to give me any feedback. I still have hopes for the Phase III…”

Crosshair eyed the scope you were holding out to him, face full of suspicion even as he accepted it from you. He examined it closely for several minutes, dialing in and out of various features as you watched. Eventually, he nodded and you breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Looks good,” he reluctantly praised, handing the scope back.

You didn’t take it from him. “Actually, that’s a tactical prototype. If you were interested, I would love for you to use it in the field as long as you let me know how it holds up.”

Crosshair’s eyebrows shot up and he chewed his toothpick thoughtfully as he stared at the scope. You weren’t above a little bribery, and had made a few tweaks based on Crosshair’s preferences. Granted, those preferences had been relayed by Wrecker, a man whose go-to weapon was bare hands… 

To distract yourself, you looked to Tech. He had been quiet, almost silent, for most of the meeting. From everything you had been told, that was unusual. 

“Tech, Wrecker tells me that you’ve been analyzing statistical data about your squad to maximize your effectiveness. What kind of variance are you looking at?”

Tech stared at you for a long moment. “A difficult question to answer, as the variance has increased significantly since you and Wrecker met.”

“Excuse me?” you asked politely, taken aback by his implication.

“The frequency at which Wrecker is injured has increased by roughly 2.7% since the two of you started your relationship.”

“Tech,” Hunter reprimanded sharply.

“Ease off,” Crosshair said, voice low.

You glanced at Wrecker, sitting tensely beside you. “You didn’t tell me you were getting hurt on your missions.”

“Just a little,” he admitted, glaring at Tech.

“By my calculations, this places his risk of a fatal accident at 9% and growing,” Tech finished, unbothered by Wrecker’s glare or his brothers’ words of warning. “Added to the fact that Wrecker wears less armor than a trooper of his size should, he is highly at risk.”

“What is this about your armor?” you asked Wrecker, pinching his side when he avoided looking your way.

“Hey! That hurt!” he complained, finally looking down at you.

“Not as bad as a piece of shrapnel would!” you lectured him. “As soon as we get home, I’m going to start working on a better set of armor for you. I have some leftover plates from the commando armor comparison. I can use that as a basis…”

“What about your Phase III?” Wrecker asked, a bit desperately.

“That doesn’t matter!” you snapped. “If I can’t keep you safe, none of it matters! I’m designing heavy-duty armor for you, you’ll participate in extra drills with your team until you get used to it, and I want a report on every injury, minor or not!”

“Told you,” Hunter said, sounding satisfied.

“Five credits,” Crosshair sighed.

“The deal was twenty,” Tech argued, then allowed himself a small smile. “I like them.”

“Yeah,” Hunter agreed.

Crosshair, studying his new scope, just nodded. You caught only bits of their conversation, though, since you were still semi-arguing with Wrecker.

“C’mon, let’s go back to your place,” Wrecker pled.

“So I can get started on your armor right away?” you asked. “Good idea!”

“But… you love me,” Wrecker pouted.

You softened and leaned up to plant a kiss on his lips, ignoring the scoffs and smothered chuckles from his brothers. “I do, Wrecker. I love you so much that I can’t stand the idea of you getting hurt. Now let’s go.”

Wrecker sighed heavily, but clambered to his feet and waved goodbye to his brothers as he followed you out.

---

A/N - I don’t actually know if the Bad Batch wears Phase II clone trooper armor or Katarn-class commando armor, so I just went with commando armor and modified helmets.

Thanks for reading! You can see other works like it here or feel free to request something of your own!

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 35

Reverser is finally done! Ok, so this one does differ from canon. The reason why I changed it a bit is because I didn't want Nath to be a dick and I wanted to hint at Lila still been in Alya's life and influencing her plus Alya does tend to go over the top when it comes to her 'investigations'. Also the whole situation in the episode could have been avoided. Anyway hope you guys like it :D

--------------------------------------------------

Chapter Thirty-Five: Reverser

Marinette jolted as her phone vibrated, making her look away from her sewing machine. She was working on making Luka another gift to help cheer him up since he found about his father. A few days had passed since then and he appeared to be coping well but Marinette wanted to make sure he was ok. He had taken some time off from school so she hadn't seen him yet but she was glad that he was taking a bit of time to himself to deal with the shock. However, the rest of their friends might not getting it. Alya certainly hadn't but that didn't matter to her. She was annoyed at Alya's reaction to her and Luka coming into the bakery together. She had been there to walk with Marinette to the school and almost fangirled when she saw them walking into the main area together. She had demanded details and when Marinette mentioned that Luka had stayed over that night because he was upset, she ignored the whole he was upset part and squealed about how Marinette could have used it as a reason to getting closer to him. Marinette corrected her and told her that it was because he was upset and while she liked him, she had respected him enough not to hit on him while he was in clear distress. Alya had brushed off his feelings, stating that Marinette was a fool not to take up the opportunity. It reminded Marinette of how bullheaded Alya could be. She had insisted that she was right about Lila and now she insisted that she was right about how Marinette should have taken the chance to confess her love to Luka. Marinette told her to drop it, causing her to get a bit huffy but she did. Later, Juleka found Marinette and thanked her for looking at her brother. Marinette jumped again as her phone continued to vibrate, causing her train of thought to break. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Alya's face lit up as she called. Marinette sighed and pressed answer, causing to join the video call. To her horror, Alya was talking to Lila, who was bragging about something.

 "Ciao, Marinette," She smiled falsely. "I was just telling Alya about my current travels. I'm currently in Japan but I won't be able to stay on the phone for much later. As you know, it's around about midnight here,"

  "You're in Japan?" Marinette asked, clearly not believing her. There was no way Lila was in Japan. Marinette suspected that she was just hiding away in her room until everyone forgot about her defeat as Volpina. Alya rolled her eyes as she realized Marinette didn't believe her. While she understood where she came from as Lila had lied before but she had apologized for that and promised not to lie again. In fact, she was in therapy for it and her akumatization. Apparently, Marinette had yet to let it go and for give her.

 "Not this again, Marinette," She gasped, shaking her head. "Lila isn't lying,"

 "How can you say that when she got me expelled?!" Marinette gasped.

"I know and I'm sorry about that, Marinette. I thought Chloe was telling me the truth,"

 "See? We already know Chloe framed you and she even got akumatized over it," Alya pointed out, making Marinette frown. She closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten in her head. "Marinette?"

 "I'm just thinking, Alya," She mumbled before opening her eyes. "Why did you call anyway? I'm in the middle of a new piece,"

 "Oh, are you still designing Marinette?" Lila asked in her clear fake voice. "If you want, I could recommend you-"

 "No thank you, Lila," She cut her off before she could finish, causing Alya to stare at her. "Alya? Why the video chat?"

 "Oh... well, there's a new rumor going around the school. Apparently, one of the students has got hold of Anatis' diary!" She gasped, excited. Both Lila and Marinette started at her with surprise. "It said that it's the diary that he writes everything in, including his secret identity!! Now I've been looking into which student has it and I found out that it is Marc Anciel! I tried to approach him earlier today but he ran off. I reckon that either he is trying to protect Anatis' identity or he is Anatis! I suspect that he might be Anatis giving his love for the color red, his height and his hair. Now I know that Anatis has those red highlights and blue eyes but what if that's a disguise!"

 "Oh my gosh, Alya. If you got hold of that diary and posted it on your blog, it would get you so many likes," Lila encouraged, causing Marinette to look between them with disbelief.

 "That's what I was thinking!" Alya grinned before looking at Marinette. "Which is where you come in, Marinette. I know you and Marc are sort of friends so you can distract him while I grab the diary,"

 "No!" Marinette gasped, shocking Alya. "Firstly, Marc isn't sort of my friend... he is my friend, secondly, that diary might not actually be Anatis'. Marc does writing so chances are he is the author, making it his property. Thirdly, if that is Anatis' diary then we should leave it alone and not post it's context on the internet that everyone including Hawkmoth has access too and finally, that is stealing and I won't be part of that!"

 "Girl, this is a chance to find out Anatis' identity and maybe Lady Noir's! This is my chance at becoming a world famous journalist!" She gasped, making Marinette frown. "You have to help me,"

 "No, I do not,"

 "Marinette, that's really mean of you," Lila pointed out, making Marinette frown deeply. "Alya, if I was in the country, I would totally help you. It would be my duty as your friend,"

 "Thanks, Lila," She mumbled before looking at Marinette. "All you have to do is distract him long enough for me to take photos. I'll be quick and put it back,"

 "I said no, Alya!" Marinette gasped, ending the call. She flopped onto her seat and let out a sigh. Plagg flew out of his hiding place and landed on the top of her head, purring a little. "I can't believe after everything Alya is still in contact with that lying toad!"

 "I could cataclysm her," He suggested, making her sigh.

 "I wish it was that easy but we can't just murder her," She sighed, frowning. "But she's more then likely going to try and encourage Alya to try and steal Marc's work from him,"

 "Are you certain that it's his work?" Plagg asked. "What if Bugboy did in fact write a diary and this Marc boy found it?"

 "Well, firstly, Annie is not that careless and secondly, Marc has been into writing forever and he's really good at it. This 'diary' is probably his latest work and someone in his class saw him with the book and made the rumor based on that and even if it is Annie's diary, Marc wouldn't have just found it and kept it. Marc would have tried to return it to it's real owner,"

 "So it probably isn't Bugboy's,"

 "Exactly but Alya is going to try and steal it. I know it," She sighed, thinking back to when she thought that she was Ryuko or when Adrien was Anatis. "She'll probably be akumatized when she discovers it's a fake then go after poor Marc! No, we need to make sure that this doesn't happen!"

 "And how are you gonna do that?" Plagg asked, making her groan and face palm the table. He sniggered a little at her reaction.

 ~Next Day at School~

 "This is so tiresome," Marinette groaned as she splashed her face with water. It wasn't even lunchtime yet but she had already stopped Alya twice from trying to take Marc's book and had listen to her theories and ideas. She got that Alya wanted to be a journalist but what she didn't get was why she was so adamant to uncover Anatis' identity, despite him making it perfectly clear that he had no intention of sharing it. On the few interviews that they had been on, he had made it very clear that his identity or hints towards it were off limits. Not just that but Hawkmoth was still at large. She sighed and splashed her face again. "Ok, new plan! We get Marc to stay with us and then we can protect him. Sound good?"

 "Sound good to me as long as I get my cheese," Plagg grinned as Marinette dried her hands and took out a chunk of cheese. He flew over and swallowed it whole before holding up his thumb. "Sounds good, doll face!"

 "Alright!" She grinned before dusting down her top and opening her purse for Plagg to hide in. He flew in and she exited the bathroom before making a beeline for wherever Marc was. It took sometime and a good amount of searching but she finally found him hiding under the stairs. "Hey, Marc. How's it going?"

 "Oh, hey Marinette..." He mumbled, looking up from his writing shyly and waving a little. It made Marinette want to gush over how adorable he was before she noticed the book in his hands. She wondered if that was the subject of Alya's desires. 

 "Where's the rest of your class?" She asked, concerned about him been alone.

 "Oh, we're done with classes for today," He mumbled, looking around. "The others probably went home,"

 "Perfect timing!" She grinned, clapping her hands together. "Our class has a spare hour so some of us are heading over to the art room. You should come check it out,"

 "Sure. Why not?" He mumbled, looking down. Marinette smiled a little. If she could get him to the art room then she could protect him for the last hour of the day. She moved a little bit closer to him, trying to see if she could read a bit of his book to determine if it was the 'diary' but he jumped a little and moved it away from her line of sight. 

 "Maybe you'll find let me read some of your writing," She smiled softly, making him blush a little. 

 "Yeah... I don't know... Maybe..." He mumbled, looking at it. She could tell he felt like it wasn't good enough but she was hoping to prove him wrong and of course to protect him from Alya's plan. She grinned and gave him a thumbs up. She wouldn't drag him up with him as right now, he was safe. Alya was in the library, working on a new plan but giving him the idea won't hurt.

 "Awesome!" She grinned before running up the stairs and heading to the art room. She walked in and waved to Rose, who was sat listening to music and writing lyrics for Kitty Section. Nathaniel looked up and smiled as she waved at him while Alix continued to spray her wall. Marinette stopped and looked over at it before grinning. "Look good, Alix,"

 "Thanks, Marinette," She grinned back as she kicked up a spray can and began to work. Marinette smiled and set up her little area, taking out the guitar strap she was working on for Luka. She was hoping to finish it tomorrow as he was coming back to the school then. Luckily, it was mostly done, apart from a little bit of embroidery which she could finish today. She began to work on it, sticking her tongue over as she pressed the needle through the material. The Art teacher moved over to her and smiled.

 "That's some of your finest work, Marinette," He commented as she continued, thanking him as she did. "A guitar strap? Do you play?"

 "Oh, no, sir," She replied, looking at him. "It's a gift for my friend,"

 "Well, I'm sure he'll love it," He smiled, leaving her to it before he moved over to Nathaniel. "How are you drawings coming along?"

 "They're coming along great, sir," The red haired smiled, grabbing one of them and handing it to him. "This is a team up between Anatis, Lady Noir and Mightyllustrator fighting Queen Wasp together,"

 "You mean Evillustrator?" The Art teacher asked, making Nathaniel shake his head.

 "He changed his name after Anatis deakumatized him and became a superhero," He explained, smiling as he did. The art teacher nodded impressed.

 "A bad guy who comes over to the good side," He smiled, handing the paper back to Nathaniel. "Great idea. You should make a comic book about that,"

 "Yeah but I'm only good at drawing stories, not writing them," Nathaniel sighed as he sat back down and rested his hand against his head but the art teacher smiled.

 "Then you should team up with a creative writer," He suggested, making Nathaniel sigh.

 "Maybe but I don't know anyone who is in that," He replied, looking up at him. Marinette looked over, interested in their conversation.

 "Don't worry about it," Alix stated, taking down her mask and turning around. "There's gotta be someone out there, just waiting to meet you. Red, please?"

 She held up her hand as Nathaniel grabbed a spray can and tossed it over to her. She caught in and smirked, just as Marinette saw Marc lingering in the doorway. She jumped up and rushed over.

 "Marc, you made it!" She grinned, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. "Come meet everyone,"

 "Uh," He gasped as she dragged him over to the teacher, who smiled kindly at him.

 "Marc, this is Mr Beauregard, our art teacher," She grinned, gesturing to the older man before she gestured to Marc. "And this is my friend, Marc. He loves writing and is very creative,"

 "Uh... I'm sorry..." He gasped, hunching in on himself. "I didn't want to disturb you,"

 "Welcome to room 33," Mr Beauregard smiled, stepping forward a little as Marc looked up at him. "You're never disturbing anyone here. You come whenever you want, outside of classes or after school. Anyone can create what they want, anyway they want,"

 He gestured to the whole room before walking over to Rose, who was happily writing with her head phones on.

 "Rose is writing lyrics for her rockband," He explained, lifting one of her headphones and gesturing towards Marc. "Rose, I'd like you to meet Marc,"

 "Hey there! It's nice to meet you, Marc!" She yelled, making him jump a little before she went back to her lyrics. Mr. Beauregard turned to Alix, who grinned and flipped her can in her hand, catching it as she did. "Alix is our expert in street art and Nathaniel-"

 "He likes to draw people in skinny outfits," Alix grinned, causing Nathaniel to throw a ball of paper at her. She laughed as he turned around to face Marc. 

 "Welcome, Marc," He smiled as the shy boy stared at him. "As you'll find out, the good thing about this place is you can say whatever you want and no one will judge you or only in good fun,"

 Marc gasped as he noticed Nathaniel's drawings and walked over to them, surprising Nathaniel a little bit.

 "I s-saw your drawings on the school website," He mumbled, staring at them and soaking in the details. His fingers itched to turn them into stories as he took them in. "but they're nothing compared to the real thing. The movement, the expressions, the attitudes. They're also so..."

 He went quiet as he saw how close he was to Nathaniel, causing him to blush. Nathaniel smiled softly as he looked back at the shy boy.

 "Thanks... that's nice," He smiled, causing him to go redder before he gasped and stepped back.

 "Sorry but it's true," He mumbled, holding his arm across his waist and looking down. "I've never seen drawings so amazing and uh... just ignore me,"

 "No need to be shy, Marc," Mr Beauregard smiled as someone cleared their throat, making them look towards the door. Chloe was stood there with Sabrina next to her. "Ah, Chloe, are you here to show us your own art project?"

 "Actually, I came looking for Dupain- I mean.. Marinette.." She gasped, surprising everyone as she walked up to her. "I want you to make me a dress for a party that my mother is hosting. Of course, I'll pay you for your time and effort,"

 She was looking at her nails as she talked, making Marinette blink in surprise before she looked over at Nathaniel.

 "By the way, while your drawing is pretty good, Anatis is a good couple of inches taller then Lady Noir," She grinned, making him blink. "And if you need any information of Queen Wasp, I will happily tell you what I remember,"

 "Oh... um... thank you?" He asked, unsure how to take Chloe's behavior. She nodded and moved over to Marinette.

 "Anyway, Dup- I mean Marinette... I have drawn out some designs to help you work out how to do it," She mumbled, clicking her fingers. Sabrina rushed over and handed Marinette a couple of pieces of paper that showed the kind of dress Chloe wanted. "Now the party isn't until early spring but since my mum works in the fashion world, I know how long these things take. I want your best work, Dupa- I mean Marinette and we can come up with an official contact to make sure both parties get what they want,"

 "Um... ok?" She asked, surprised and causing Chloe to smile. 

 "Excellent. I'll arrange a meeting for us to sort it out," She grinned, turning on her heel before stopping. "Oh, Cesaire is looking for you,"

 "Oh... thanks," She smiled as Chloe walked out, followed by Sabrina. Marinette looked down at the paper as she was still unsure of what happened. She knew that Chloe had seeked help after the whole Queen Wasp incident and she knew she was trying to be nicer to people but she was expecting a repeat of the aftermass of Despair Bear, where Chloe returned to her old ways but apparently, she wasn't. Sure, she had far to go but whatever Anatis said to her... it must have gotten through. She even corrected herself when she called her Dupain-Cheng and she was even offering to pay her to make a dress and had seeked her out early to ensure she had time. Mr Beauregard smiled and gently patted her back to encourage her before he turned to Marc and smiled.

 "You know you shown up at the perfect time," He smiled before gesturing towards Nathaniel. "Marinette mentioned that you're a writer and it just happens that Nathaniel needs a script writer,"

 "Me? A script writer?" Marc gasped, feeling overwhelmed. Especially with the look that Nathaniel was giving him. "Oh no. I don't write that kind of stuff! I mean I don't write anything interesting honestly... sorry! Gotta go!! Thanks for everything!!"

 "No! Marc!" Marinette called out as he bolted out of the room. She ran after him as he accidentally bumped into one of the poles, dropping his book before running off. "Hey! Wait!!"

 He kept running as she noticed the book. She picked it up and called his name as he ran off but he was too far ahead and her eyes drifted back to the pages. Her eyes widen in surprise as she read the title, realizing it was the subject of the current rumor. She bit her lip and closed it before running towards the direction he went in. She followed him down the stairs, trying to capture up with him but before she could, she saw Nino talking to him while Alya was trying to sneak up on him. She went to step forward but Marc manages to get away from them and rushed out of the building, making her gasp but Alya saw her and waved at her.

 "Yo, Marinette, I thought you were in the art club!" She yelled, causing Marinette to gasp. The last thing she wanted was to alert Alya to the fact that she had the so called Diary of Anatis.

 "Um I am... just nipping to the bathroom!" She gasped, grinning before she rushed to the bathroom and locked herself in a cubical. She let out a little sigh as Plagg floated out. She looked at him and held up the book. "I need to get this back to Marc before Alya realizes I have it,"

 "Or we could just keep it and protect it from her," He suggested, placing his paws behind his head. "Alya can't get hold of it, Marc isn't harassed and no akumas. Everyone wins,"

 "Expect Marc because I have his work, which he has worked hard on," She pointed out, making Plagg make a thoughtful look.

 "You have a point there, Doll face," He admitted. "But... at least read it before you give it back!"

 "Oh no, I couldn't!" She gasped but her eyes glanced at it before she shook her head. "Marc wouldn't want me too,"

 "But you want to..." He grinned, diving into her purse and flying back out with a chunk of cheese. "We both know you'll regret it if you don't,"

 "Plagg, you're a terrible influence," She scolded but she knew he was right. She could feel her fingers inch to turn the pages. She closed her eyes and carefully opened it on a random date before she began to read it out loud. "I saw that Evillustrator again today. Now that he's freed from Hawkmoth's control, he's been trying his best to become a true superhero. He even assisted with Kung Food's capture and put up with Lady Noir's little puns. I have to admit I'm impressed. Maybe I should ask him to join me and Lady Noir's team. Since he has his own powers, I wouldn't need to loan him a miraculous and he clearly knows how to fight. He could be extremely useful against an akuma like Queen Wasp. I'll have to talk to Lady Noir about it... Wow, this is so good! I really can imagine Annie writing this!! Marc is so talented!"

 "Eh. He's ok," Plagg stated, making Marinette glare at him. He held up his paws in defense. "Hey! I'm the kwami of destruction, not creation! That's Tikki's area and as her old friend, I can tell you that she would love this. Anyway, we now know that the rumor is completely bogus,"

 "Not completely, Plagg," Marinette replied. "Technically, Anatis' diary does exist but it's not the real deal, it's fan work. Marc is creating stories based on Nathaniel's drawings. Someone must of seen him reading over it and saw the title then spread the rumor around.... that means we have good news and bad news..."

 "Good news first,"

 "Well, it isn't real and Marc writes the kind of stories Nath draws... which means they would make an amazing comic book if they worked together..."

 "And the bad news?"

 "Alya is still gonna try and get her hands on this," She sighed, frowning. "And like I mentioned before she could get akumatized once she realizes it isn't real,"

 "So we need to keep Alya away from the book as well as help Marc and Nath work together?" Plagg asked, getting a nod of her before she suddenly jumped up.

 "I have it!" She gasped, shocking him before she turned to him. "We convince Marc to let Nath read the book! Nath sees how talented Marc is and Alya doesn't get her paws on the book because she won't realize Nath has it and not Marc! Come on! We need to find Marc and convince him!"

 With that, she rushed out of the bathroom to find him. Only she heard the sound of books hitting the floor. Curious, she moved over and saw it was Marc raiding his locker. She realized he was trying to find his book so she opened her purse for Plagg, who flew it and walked over to him as he muttered to himself. She gently cleared her throat, making him jump.

 "Looking for this?" She asked, holding out the book as he closed his locker door. He took it and hugged it to his chest, closing his eyes in relief before they snapped open again with fear and worry. He moved back at little as he looked at her.

 "Did you read it?" He asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.

 "Oh, no!!" Marinette gasped, waving her hands but she couldn't lie. She sighed and looked to her left before slouching her shoulders. "Yeah... sorry, it was too tempting,"

 "Oh, how embarrassing," He gasped, turning away from her. "It's so, so lame,"

 "No, it's not!" She gasped, making him look at her. "You should turn it into a comic book. In fact, why do you team up with Nathaniel?"

 "Uh... I'm sure he won't like it...." He muttered, looking down but Marinette edged closer.

 "You should have him read it before you jump to conclusions," She smiled, making him bite his lip and look down.

 "But... what if he doesn't like it?!" He gasped in clear distress before he hid his face in the book. "I'll be so embarrassed! I'll have to change schools so I never run into him again!!"

 "Now you're been silly," She stated before smiling. "Look, he draws Anatis and Lady Noir all the time and you write about Anatis and Lady Noir... just let him read it..."

 "But..."

 "Would it help if I gave it to him?" She asked, making him bite his lip.

 "Y-You do that?" He asked, nervously. She nodded and gave him her best smile.

 "I know it's scary doing new things but your writing is really good and I think Nathaniel would really enjoy it," She suggested, making him bit his look. He still seemed unsure. "How about we don't tell him you're the author and get him to read it first? That way it's a win-win. If he likes it, great but if he doesn't, we just won't say anything. Sound fair?"

 "O-ok..." He mumbled, carefully handing it to her. "I... I trust you..."

 "Thank you, Marc," She replied before grinning. "Just leave it to me,"

 He nodded and she took the book back to the Art room. Mr Beauregard asked her if Marc was ok and she told him he just got overwhelmed due to his anxiety issues before she took her seat and carefully erased his name from the book. She walked over to Nathaniel and trapped his arm. He looked up at her and smiled as she sat down.  

 "Is your friend ok?" He asked, making her nod. 

 "Yeah, he's just not use to been around some many people," She explained, making him nod. "Anyway, I need a favor,"

 "What is it?" He asked as she placed down the book.

 "I want you to read this over. A friend of mine wrote it but they wanted a second opinion on the writing. I suggested you since I'm gonna be busy with my commissions and other things," She asked, sliding it over to him. He carefully opened it and gasped, looking at her. "It's not... it's not the real thing... this person is not Anatis... they're like you and a fan of his... but where you draw, they write..."

 "I see," He nods, looking at her. "Sure, I'll read over but can tell me who the author is?"

 "I can't just yet. They're really shy and-"

 "It's your friend Marc, isn't it?" He asked in a hush voice, making her eyes go wide. "It is, isn't it?"

 "I- he- yeah...." She admitted. "I suggested not telling you because he's convinced you'll hate it but you'll give it a read right?"

 "Sure," He smiled. "And don't worry. I won't tell Marc I know it's his work ok? I get what it's like to have anxiety,"

 "Thanks, Nath!" She grinned before skipping back over to her part of the desk and continued work on the guitar strap.

 ~Next Day~

 "Girl, I need that book!" Alya groaned as she walked next to Marinette, who was trying her best to tune her out. "It's like the scope of the century!"

 "And it probably is just a rumor," Marinette pointed out, making her frown. "Alya, let it go. Seriously. I don't think it's the real deal. Anatis is so careful about his idenity so why would he write a diary that could easily be found and more importantly, why would he give to a random student that has no connection to him?"

 "Or so we know!" She pointed out, making Marinette frown. "Marc could be Anatis' confident and that's why he has the diary or as I've pointed out, he is Anatis!"

 "Or it's a work of fiction," Marinette countered, noticing Marc walking in. She waved at him and excused herself from Alya to walk over to him. "Hey, Marc. How are you doing today?"

 "I'm nervous..." He gasped, playing with his hands. "What if he hates it? What if he thinks it's really Anatis who wrote it and then hates me when he discovers I'm the author?! Oh god, I can't do this! This was a bad idea!"

 "Hey, it's ok. Just take slow, deep breathes," She smiled, helping him calm down. "Now I don't think Nath will hate it and he won't think Anatis wrote it. The only person who seems to think that is Alya bu-"

 "What?!" He gasped, panicking again. "No... how does Alya know about it?! Oh, god! That's she been following me!!"

 "Marc, it's ok... calm down..." Marinette gasped, taking his hands in her. "Alya heard a rumor that you have the diary of Anatis and that it's the real deal. However, I'm trying to get her to stop seeking it ok?"

 "R-Really?" He asked, getting her to nod. "O-ok..."

 "Why don't we go see Nath?" She suggested, making him gasp. "Well, not going up to him directly but go see how he's doing with the reading,"

 "F-From the other side of the courtyard?" He asked, hopefully. It's not that he didn't want to be near Nath. He did. He was just too shy. Marinette smiled and nodded before leading him there. The two of them saw him on the other side of the courtyard, sat on the stairs. He was reading the book and clearly hooked on it. The two of them hid behind one of the opposite staircases and watched him. "Do you think he likes it?"

 "He's completely enchanted by it," She grinned, making Marc smile a little.

 "It's rude to spy on people," Adrien's voice made Marinette jump and spin around, causing her to flush and shake her hands in defense. 

 "N-No! It's not what you think!" She gasped, panicking. One, Adrien was in front of her and two, Marc wouldn't want her to tell him that it's about his book. "Uh... it's Nathaniel's birthday soon and me and Marc are planning a surprise!"

 "Cool... very typical of you, Marinette," He stated, going to leave before snapping his fingers. "Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Luka was looking for you. Anyway, see ya... oh and if you need any help, let me know,"

 "Sure will!" She gasped as he waved and walked off. Marc cleared his throat a little as she waved back.

 "Who's Luka?" He asked, causing her to blush. "Is he your boyfriend?"

 "Oh! What?! Nooo!" She gasped, going bright red. "I mean he's amazing, super cute and really cool but he's way out of my league...."

 She sighed and slouched a little, making Marc chuckle.

 "You're just as shy as I am," He mused, causing her to look at him.

 "Just do as I say and not as I do," She smiled as they looked back at Nathaniel, who was still read. "Would you mind if I went to find Luka? I actually have a gift to give him and he hasn't been at school for the past few days..."

 "S-Sure," He smiled before biting his lip. "B-But could I come with you?"

 "Sure, I'm sure Luka would love to meet you," She smiled, taking out her phone and texting him. A few seconds later, he replied. "He's in his home room and it's a good while before class starts so we can go say hi,"

 "O-ok," He mumbled, following her as they headed upstairs and to Mrs Mendeleiev's classroom. The two of them entered and saw that only Luka was in the room. He was sat at the back with his head phones on and hunched over a notepad. There was no else in the room so Marinette grabbed Marc's hand and walked over to him, who paused his pencil as soon as she walked over and looked up, taking his earphones out.

 "Hey, Lu," She grinned, making him smile before she gestured to Marc. "This is my friend, Marc... Marc, this is Luka..."

 "H-Hi..." Marc mumbled, causing Luka to smile.

 "Hey, it's nice to meet you, Marc," He smiled in a welcoming way before he tilted his head to the side and smiled a little amused. "Huh..."

 "Huh?" Marc repeated, confused as the worst case scenarios came into his head but he was taken back when he noticed Luka's expression change to one of concern.

 "Oh god, I'm so sorry," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as Marinette giggled, making Marc between him and her with confusion. "That must have seemed really rude... uh..."

 "Luka isn't great with words," Marinette explained, making Marc look at her. "But he is amazing with music. Right, Lu?"

 "Y-Yeah...I mean... it's just easier then words..." He mumbled, shaking his head. "I wish I had my guitar,"

 "W-what did you mean by huh?" Marc asked, playing with his hands.

 "Oh... I was interested by your song," Luka replied, making Marc blink. "It's nice... reminds me of the fluttering of a butterfly's wings... not like an akuma but as in a real, nice butterfly... sorry, I'm gonna shut up now,"

 "My song?" Marc asked, confused. "Like... my theme tune?"

 "Not quite," Luka explained as Marinette smiled. "Melody, you're so much more better at explaining these things then I am,"

 "Lies, you're excellent with words," Marinette grinned before turning to Marc. "Luka has the ability to hear people's emotions and the songs in their hearts,"

 "Oh wow... so you're a musical empath?" He asked, looking at him. Luka smiled and nodded. "T-That's cool..."

 "Thanks," Luka smiled as Marc bit his lip shyly. Marinette turned to Luka and opened her bag.

 "I made you something," She mumbled, taking out a wrapped gift. "It's not much but I wanted to cheer you up and I was worried... you are ok right?"

 "I'm ok," He nodded before looking up at Marinette. "But you didn't have to make me something, melody. You've already done so much for me,"

 "I k-know..." She blushed as Marc watched how to the two interacted. Luka had this soft look on his face when ever he looked towards her and Marinette was all blushy and cute. He honestly felt like he was intruding so he cleared his throat, making them look at him.

 "I'm gonna head to my home class," He mumbled before turning to Luka. "It was nice to meet you,"

 "Likewise," Luka smiled, making him feel calm and welcome. Marc smiled shyly and waved again before leaving. "He seems sweet,"

 "He is," Marinette smiled back before facing him. "But seriously, are you sure you're ok?"

 "I'm dealing with it as best I can and I'm better then the other day," He admitted, looking to the side before he glanced at her. "But I mean it. You didn't have to make me anything. You just been there for me was enough,"

 "Good but I wanted to so here," She mumbled, pushing it towards him. He opened it and stared at the guitar strap that had little music notes embroided in it in his signature colour. Tears filled his eyes as he stared at it, making her panic. "Oh god, you hate it... I'm such a klutz and now you're probably aware-"

 He suddenly stood and engulfed her in a hug, making her blush but hug him back.

 "I love it, Marinette," He mumbled before letting go and wiping his eyes. "Sorry... I almost cried on you again..."

 "That's ok... I mean it's not ok that you'd be crying because I don't want you to be upset but I'm not gonna judge you for crying cause that's totally normal," She smiled as he traced his fingers over the music notes with a small smile on his lips. "So...."

 "I'm lucky..." He mumbled, making her look at him.

 "Well, yeah... everyone knows you're literally the luckiest guy ever,"

 "Not what I mean..." He mumbled, looking up at her. "I'm lucky to have you in my life,"

 A blush came across her face as he looked at her with such a gentle and loving look but before she could do anything about it, the bell rang causing her to jump. Luka chuckled a little before smiling at her.

 "Better head to your class, Melody," He suggested, making her nod. "See ya at lunch?"

 "S-sure..." She gasped, running over of the room and waved him at him. He waved back before looking down at the guitar strap and smiled a little again before carefully placing it in his school bag, where Tikki gave him a thumbs up when she saw it. He smiled back at her before looking up as the rest of his class came in. Aurora and Kagami rushed over to him and welcomed him back to the class, making him smile as he chatted to them.

 ~End of School~

 Marinette let out a sigh as she rushed over to Nathaniel, who smiled at her. She was still tired at Alya's rants about the diary but now was the time to get Nathaniel and Marc to work together. She waved at him and smiled as he looked up from the book.

 "How's it going?" She asked, walking over to him. He smiled and closed the book. "Did you like it?"

 "Like it? I loved it!" He gasped. "It's seriously amazing! I can't believe how well he writes. Oh that scene about how they defeated Animan!! Amazing!!"

 "Excellent... would you be willing to meet... you know who?" She asked, looking around in case Marc was around. Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "Brilliant. Ok, go to the Place des Vosges fountain in an hour. He'll meet you there,"

 "Sounds great, Marinette," Nathaniel smiled before the two walked off, completely unaware that Alya had overheard the whole thing. Marinette rushed home and dropped off her bag before grabbing some snacks for herself and some cheese for Plagg before she called Marc and let him to know to go to the Place des Vosges fountain as soon as possible. With that done, she headed up into her room and used her phone to watch them. Four o'clock roll around and Marinette smiled as she saw Nathaniel approached Marc. The two of them chatted and Nathaniel handed him the journal back. Marc gave him a shy smile and the two of them shook hands before Nath walked off. Marinette squealed happily before she noticed Alya heading into the park but she looked angry. Marinette frowned and got up before rushing downstairs. She left the bakery and frowned when she heard shouting. She ran to the park and gasped at the sight in front of her. Marc was trying to pull his book out of Alya's grasp.

 "Give me that!!" Alya screamed as she yanked it.

 "Give it back! That's mine!!" He shouted as Marinette ran towards them but to her horror, the book ripped apart as Alya kept pulling at it. Marc cried out as he began to try and grab the pieces. “My writing!!”

 "Your writing?! No, this is Anatis' diary!" Alya snorted, causing Marc to shake his head.

 "No, it isn't!" He shouted, making her blink. "It's a story I wrote based on Nathaniel's drawings! I just called it that because I thought it would be clever!"

 "You mean this isn't real?!" Alya gasped, clearly annoyed. "What the hell?! Why did you lie?"

 "I didn't!" He cried back as Marinette rushed over.

“I tried to tell you that it wasn't real, Alya," She stated, making Alya frown. "And you still tried to steal it off him. What is wrong with you?"

 "I thought it was Anatis' actual diary!" Alya argued, crossing her arms. "It's not my fault that he was pretending to be someone he's not,"

 "Marc was never pretending! It was obvious from the beginning that it wasn't real," Marinette gasped. "But you just refused to listen to anyone again. This is the same as when you thought Adrien was Anatis and I was Ryuko. You refused to listen to reason and tried to get the 'proof' no matter who got hurt and now you've hurt Marc!"

 "I was just trying to get the scope!"

 "By hurting people and trying to steal their stuff?!" Marinette shouted back, failing to notice the butterfly that was fluttering by. "God, Alya. I've said before and I'll say it again! It wasn't real! And even if it was, you should have respected Anatis' choice to hide his identity!"

 "I just-" Alya stated but Marc suddenly stood up, making both girls look at him with surprise. Marinette gasped in horror as she noticed one of the torn pages was black and he had a purple butterfly mask around his face.

 "Nothing will ever be the same, Hawkmoth," He declared, causing Alya to take out her phone but Marinette grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the scene as Marc threw his book, causing it to grow large. He jumped on it and turned into his akuma self before he flew over to where Alya and Marinette were running. He landed in front of them, causing Marinette to push Alya behind her. "Move aside, Marinette! I don't want you! I want her!"

 "Marc, please, this isn't-"

 "I'm not Marc anymore!! I'm Reverser!" He roared, surprising her. "You're always so sweet and helpful! Well, not anymore! Reversion!!"

 He summoned a paper plan and threw it towards her but she dodged it and hit someone else. She grabbed Alya's arm and began to run with her again, causing Reverser to growl and chase them as Alya began to film. However, Officer Roger blew his whistle in annoyance. 

 "Hey you!" He called, causing Reverser to notice him as he gestured towards his glider. "What is this thing?! Vehicle registration please!"

 "You're all about law and order? Well, we're all done with that! Reversion!" Reverser shouted as he summoned another plane and threw it at Roger, giving Marinette a chance for her and Alya to escape. She grabbed Alya's arm and ran off with her, shoving her into the bakery to her parents' surprise. She ordered Alya to stay there before she closed the door, ignoring their protests. Officer Roger ran past her a few seconds later, shouting and acting like he didn't care. He ignored her as she slipped into the alleyway and transformed into Lady Noir, jumping up on the roof and looking for Reverser. She wasn't sure where he had disappeared to so she jumped across a few roofs and spotted him flying through the street. She jumped towards where he was going and threw her baton between the buildings and walked across them. She stopped in the middle, causing him to come to a stop.

 "Reverser, listen to me," She started, trying to reason with him. "I get that you're upset but-"

 "Upset?!" He growled. "Upset doesn't even cover it, you mangy cat! Alya destroyed my work then had the nerve to call me a liar! Well, everyone will see how useless she is when I get hold her off!"

 "We don't have to fight!" She argued, making him growl. "I agree that Alya was in the wrong but this isn't justice. It's revenge!"

 "Then let me change your idea of justice! Reversion!" He shouted, summoning a plane and throw it at her. She jumped down and spun around her baton, dodging his paper plans. He growled and kept throwing them at her but she kept dodging. A yoyo wrapped around his arm, stopping him from firing another plane at her and causing him to look at Anatis. "You just had to interfere, didn't you?!"

 "I'm not sure what the problem is but Lady Noir is right," Anatis pointed out as Reverser glared at him. "We don't have to fight so make the right choice and give up. Besides, I couldn't let you change her sense of justice!"

 "You sure talk a lot, Anatis," Reverser growled. "But what will you do without your powers?! Reversion!"

 He threw paper plans at him but Anatis dodged them, jumping around as he did. Reverser glared at him but stopped firing his planes. Instead, he smiled as if he was amused by the turn of events.

 "You can't keep still, can you bugboy?" He asked, making Anatis raise an eyebrow. "Well, let's go for a ride then,"

 "Wait what?!" Anatis gasped but Reverser suddenly flew off at a fast speed, dragging Anatis along with him. Lady Noir gasped and grabbed her baton before she began to chase them. Anatis held on for dear life as Reverser sped through the city, laughing as he did. They flew past a traffic jam and Anatis looked back in confusion as he saw Officer Roger running down the street and shouting something about doing whatever you wanted. He also had a two dufflebags full of money. Anatis assumed that he got hit with one of Reverser's plane. He began to try and climb up his yoyo to get closer to Reverser as they flew over the Seine but Reverser began to throw more planes at him, causing him to dodge. A butterfly mask briefly covered his face, causing Anatis to dread what Hawkmoth suggested. Reverser smirked when it disappeared and summoned one of his planes.

 "You used to be quick on your feet? Well, now you've got two left feet! Reversion!" He shouted, throwing the plane at Anatis but he dodged again. However, the plane continued to fly and hit a nearby cyclist, causing him to forget how to ride a bike. "Oops,"

 "Whoa! Sorry!!" The cyclist cried out as he attempted to try and ride the bike but he was moving around, almost hit people as he did. "How do I ride a bike?!"

 "Oh no!" Anatis gasped as he accidentally turned towards the edge of the bridge and flew over the side. Anatis freed his yoyo from Reverser's arm before diving towards the man as he flew. He threw the yoyo and caught him, using it to swing and jump back onto the bridge. "Are you alright?"

 "Yes... Thank you, Anatis but I don't know what happened," He gasped, confused but before Anatis could answer, he heard the sound of the plane. He used his arms to protect him, causing it to his forearm. Reverser smirked at the success. 

 "Got ya," He declared, causing Anatis to take out his yoyo and throw it towards him. Only it didn't work. Instead, it hit the fence, bounced back and hit him in the face, which in turn caused him to trip over the bench and fall down. He pulled himself up but his yoyo then landed on his head. Reverser laughed and moved closer to him, causing almost everyone run off in fear. "How do you like your new role, Klutzy bug?"

 He smirked as the purple mask appeared around his eyes again before it disappeared.

 "Your miraculous will be mine!" He declared, reaching out towards Anatis but before he could, Lady Noir landed in front of Anatis and whacked Reverser's hand back before spinning her baton.

 "I don't think so, Reverser!" She declared, getting into a fighting position. "Sorry I'm late, Annie. I ran into some trouble on the way here but now I'm ready to cause our new friend some trouble,"

 "It's fine..." He muttered, trying to get up and failing.

 "You ok, Annie?" She asked, glancing back at him a little.

 "You think you're so brave, Lady Noir? Well, we can change that!" He declared, summoning a plane. "From puss to wuss! Reversion!"

 He threw it at her but she dodged it, causing it to fly over the edge and into the Seine.

 "Oh, I'm so scared," She teased, flicking her braid as Anatis pushed himself up. "You'll be the one afraid when me and Annie are done, Reverser!"

 "Lady Noir! Wait!" Anatis called out as she charged towards Reverser before he lost his balance and fell over the bench again. Lady Noir stopped, turning to Anatis with worry but while she was distracted, Reverser hit her with his plane, causing her jump back in fear as Anatis was trying to get back up. She accidentally knocked him, which caused both of them to fall over the railing and straight into the Seine. Lady Noir began to panic and swam up to the surface. She broke through, taking a breathe and looked around. Reverser wasn't around but neither was Anatis. Her eyes widen in fear as she realized he must still be under the water so she placed her baton into her mouth and dived back under, her fear for Anatis's drowning was far greater then the fear of the water. She swam him near the bottom of the Seine, struggling badly to swim. Luckily, he had put his yoyo in his mouth so he breathe underwater but he was struggling to swim. She swam over to him and grabbed his arm, helping him move through the water. He tries his best to move as well but it was mostly Lady Noir doing the work. She pulled him to the side of the Seine and towards the surface. She helped him grab onto the edge of the shore before pulling herself out of the water then helping him. He crawled on the ground and let out a sigh as she shivered.

 "Even swimming is impossible with this curse," He muttered, shaking his head before looking up at her. "You ok?"

 "I'm gonna catch a cold!" She gasped, shivering as he crawled over to the stairs and used a concrete block to get himself to his feet.

 "We need to find a way to defeat him," He stated, making her gasp and look at him.

 "You want to face him again?!" She asked with a fearful tone. Anatis nodded, making her whimper. "But I don't wanna face that bad guy again.... he looks so mean..."

 "We don't have a choice, Lady Noir," He muttered before sighing. "Besides, he's gonna come looking for us sooner or later. Hey, you were fighting him first. Do you know why he got akumatized?"

 "Well, he had wrote this story that he called the Journal of Anatis but people in his school believed it was your journal and one of the students... Alya... tried to steal it off him but in the attempt, the book the story was in got destroyed and then she called him a liar when she found out it wasn't real," She explained, shivering. Anatis frowned a little. "T-that's why I was late to the fight on the bridge. Alya was heading to where he was to film him, despite been his target! So I grabbed her and took her to the Grand Paris hotel. Her mother is watching over her,"

 "My journal? She really believed that?" He asked in disbelief. "Wow... hmm... well, at least we know she's safe from Reverser so let's focus on moving away from here. Once we've gotten up those stairs, we can try and track down where Reverser would look for her,"

 "I can't! Those stairs are way too high!!" She cried, making him frown before he held out his hand to her. She blinked and looked at it before looking back at him. He gave her his best reassuring smile.

 "Come on, kitten," He stated in a gentle tone. She pouted a little as she looked at his hand again. "It's ok, kitten,"

 She carefully took his hand and he began to gently pull her towards the stairs.

 "That's right," He encouraged as they moved closer. "See? You're gonna be just- ah!"

 He knocked into the block and fell over it, letting out a sigh before carefully getting back up. He eyed up her baton and formed an idea.

 "Can I use your baton as a walking stick?" He asked, causing her to give it to him. He tried to extend it to the right size but hit himself in the chin. Lady Noir helped him, making it the right size. He leaned on it before gesturing for her to come over. He offered her his arm and smiled to her reassuringly. She hooked her arm into his and moved closer to him. "Ok, we're gonna do this one step at a time,"

 "O-Ok," She nodded. It took them almost ten minutes to get up the stairs but they managed it. Of course, Anatis almost fell once they were on street level. Lady Noir was able to help him plus he used her baton to regain his balance. He let out a sigh before looking at her. "W-what now?"

 "We go to Dupont High. If Reverser is after Alya, chances are he'll look there... right?" He mumbled, causing her to nod.

 "S-She goes to the art club to work on her blog... but how are we gonna get there?! You're in no state to fly around on that dangerous thing!" She gasped, pointing to his yoyo. He looked at it and sighed as she was right before he looked to the street and noticed a cab.

 "We're getting a taxi," He mumbled, pointing towards one. Lady Noir gulped but helped him move over. He carefully knocked on the window, causing the taxi driver to wind down his window and gasp in surprise. "Hi, how much would it be to get to Dupont High? We need to get there as soon as possible,"

 "Um... why don't you just swing there with your yoyo?" He asked, confused. Lady Noir gasped and let go of Anatis, causing him to fall.

 "Are you insane?! He could kill himself if he did that!" She gasped, placing her hands on the car door. The taxi driver blinked at her in surprise before looking down at Anatis, who was on the floor and rubbing his spine.

 "Ouch," He mumbled before trying to get up but failing again. "This is getting old!"

 "Yeah, you're right. He would die," The taxi driver mumbled as Lady Noir tried to help him up. He got out the car and helped get Anatis inside the backseats. He put on his seatbelt as Lady Noir climbed in next to him. She was shaking as she did up her seatbelt. "So Dupont High right?"

 "Yeah," Anatis replied, looking to Lady Noir. "Kitten?"

 "I'm scared of small spaces," She whimpered before let out a cry as the car began to drive.

 "It's ok, kitty," He tried to calm her down.

 "There's a blanket next to you, Lady Noir. You can wrap it around yourself for comfort," The Taxi Driver stated, causing her to do so. "So what happened?"

 "Got hit by the latest akuma," Anatis sighed as Lady Noir shivered. He took one of her hands in his to calm her down. "He has the power to reverse people's personalities and abilities. Hence my lack of ability and her crippling fear,"

 "Ah, well wherever you need to go, I'll take you there... free of charge as well," The driver stated, surprising Anatis. "It's the least I can do, given how you and the little lady save Paris from that maniac and his freaks almost every day,"

 "Thank you, sir," Anatis smiled as the car pulled up. Lady Noir undid her belt and got out, shaking and muttering to herself that he was driving too fast. Anatis shook his head and apologized to the driver before he got out. He went to close the car door but trapped his yoyo in it. He sighed in annoyance and opened the door again, taking out the string then closing it before he walked forward. Only the rope got caught around his legs, causing him to trip and fall. He groaned before forcing himself up. He made sure his yoyo string was no where near his leg and then walked extremely slow and careful into the school. He literally pulled himself up the stairs and almost knocked into Lady Noir. "Kitten?"

 "I think Reverser got here first," She mumbled as paintings got thrown out of the art room. They heard the art teacher shout about how he hated art and music. He ran out and slammed a painting to the ground, followed by Rose who threw her lyrics down. Juleka followed them and slammed her guitar against the ground, breaking it. Anatis flinched at the instrument's destruction. He carefully moved toward the guitar but slipped on a piece of paper, causing him to fall down and the paper to flutter down onto his face. He frowned and picked it up. However, his eyes widen at the picture. It showed him and Lady Noir facing Queen Wasp and possibly Evillustrator but it honestly looked like Evillustrator was actually helping them. Lady Noir rushed over and helped Anatis sit up. "Are you ok?"

 "Yeah, I just slipped over this," He mumbled, showing her. 

 "Oh, that's one of Nathaniel's!" She gasped, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "He was Evillustrator. They're on the school's website,"

 "How do you know that?"

 "The Ladyblog linked it and I checked them out," She admitted, making him nod. "Anyway, he drew himself as a hero. That's not Evillustrator but Mightyllustrator, who helps Anatis and Lady Noir fight the bad guys. It was these drawings that inspired Marc to write the journal of Anatis,"

 "Mightyllustrator hmm?" He muttered before an idea pop into his head. Apparently, his natural luck was still working. He looked up at Lady Noir, who was holding her blanket around her shoulders. "I have an idea,"

 "You do?"

 "Yeah," He nodded, looking up at her. "We need help,"

 "But you can't get a miraculous like this. You can barely walk so I can't leave you. If I do, I'm afraid you'll end up badly hurt," She gasped but he shook his head.

 "Not that kind of help," He mumbled, tapping the picture. "Now where does Nathaniel hang out?"

 "I'm not sure," She mumbled, playing with her blanket. Anatis sighed a little before looking over at the pictures on the floor. A lot of the battles that he had drawn seemed to take place at the Louvre museum. Anatis clicked his fingers, causing Lady Noir to jump and hiss.

 "Sorry... but I think I know where Nathaniel hangs out," He smiled, pointing to the pictures. "The Louvre is in almost all of Nathaniel's drawings and while I can't be sure he's there, it's a start,"

 "Does mean we have to get another cab?" Lady Noir whimpered, causing Anatis to nod before the two of them carefully made their way to the cab. They climbed inside, causing Anatis to let out a sigh. He was really getting annoyed with this curse. He shook his head and turned to the driver.

 "Can you take us to the Louvre please?" He asked, getting a nod of the guy as Lady Noir's baton vibrated causing her to jump. She calmed down and checked the notification, showing him the video. He frowned as he watched the video. It was of Nadja Chamuck reporting on the protest about the space dumpster program but thanks to Reverser, the mayor had ordered the dumpsters to return back to Paris, meaning the city will be covered in a pile of trash. Naturally, Reverser was using the situation to make a threat. Lady Noir turned up the volume so they could hear what he was saying.

 "Anatis! Lady Noir! I demand that you bring Alya Ceasire to me right now!" He growled, making Lady Noir quake. "And I demand you give me your miraclous!"

 "He's so scary," She mumbled as the taxi pulled up at the Louvre. Anatis and her quickly got out and carefully made their way into the museum. They made their way through the areas before they came across where Nathaniel was. He sat on one of the benches, drawing while Alix skated around him. They seemed to be talking about making a comic. 

 "Nathaniel," Anatis called, getting both of their attention. "We need your help. It's an em- aah!"

 Both Nathaniel and Alix stared as Anatis proceeded to trip over himself, knocking Lady Noir down in the process. He groaned and threw up his arms.

 "Seriously?!" He yelled, clearly frustrated. "This is getting annoying!"

 "Are you two ok?" Nathaniel gasped, rushing over to them with Alix. The two of them helped the heroes up to their feet. Lady Noir instantly pulled her blanket around her while Anatis leaned on Nathaniel. "What happened?"

 "Reverser," Anatis mumbled, causing both of them to look at them with confusion.

 "Who's that?" Alix asked, frowning.

 "Only the meanest akuma we've ever faced!!" Lady Noir gasped, her ears twitching. "He turned Annie into a total klutz!"

 "um..."

 "He has the ability to reverse people's personalities and abilities," Anatis sighed. "I got hit by one of his planes that took away my natural abilities. I'm not even sure if I can use the miracle cure yet and Lady Noir got hit with a plan that made her a literal scaredy cat.... which brings me to why we're here. We need help. Reverser is after a girl called Alya Ceasire-"

 "Why is he after Alya?" Alix asked, concerned. Anatis frowned before sighing.

 "She tried to steal a book from him, thinking that it was my diary but it was actually a work of fiction. Anyway, when she was trying to take it, it got destroyed and then she got annoyed that it wasn't real," He explained, frowning. "And now he's after her. He probably wants to destroy her reputation,"

 "Marc is Reverser?!" Nathaniel gasped, making both Lady Noir and Anatis look at him. "Marc Anciel. He's usually this really shy boy who Marinette introduced to the Art Club. I'm suppose to be making a comic book with him as my writer. Honestly, his story is amazing but why would Alya think it was real?"

 "Cause it's Alya," Alix snorted. "She's obsessed with getting the next scope and doesn't think about her actions. I mean she did try to take a photo of Adrien's locker because she thought he was Anatis and she's been akumatized twice because of her 'hunches'. Not to mention she doesn't exactly check her facts before posting stuff,"

 "Ok, I get the point but how can we help you?" Nathaniel asked. "I mean he wants Alya, not me. Won't he just attack you when he sees Alya isn't there?"

 "I don't think we'll have to worry about that," Anatis answered, typing on his yoyo before showing them. Alya was already at the scene and filming. "Now we're gonna grab her but we'll need help which is why we've come to you. You're one of the few people who isn't reversed right now,"

 "I'll help however I can but... does this mean I get a miraculous?" He asked, curious. 

 "Not right now... I think I'll need Nathaniel the artist," Anatis smiled.

 "In that case then I'm coming," Alix declared, making Anatis look at her.

 "No, I'm already taking a big risk bringing in Nathaniel so you're staying,"

 "You know, Annie, I could totally stay here and keep Alix company," Lady Noir suggested, clearly not wanting to fight Reverser. However, she didn't pay attention to Alix, who moved closer to her then shouted boo, causing her to scream and jump on Anatis. He tried to catch her but due to his lack of ability, he fell to the floor. He groaned as Alix offered him her hand as Nathaniel helped Lady Noir to her feet. He took her hand and Alix helped him to his feet.

 "It looks like to be you both need a hand," She grinned, making him sigh in defeat. "And I'm not leaving Nathaniel alone. He's my friend,"

 "Alright," Anatis nodded. "You can help,"

 "Alright! So how we getting to the Eiffel Tower?" Alix asked, causing Lady Noir to whimper.

 "We're riding in that death trap again, aren't we?" She asked, causing Alix and Nathaniel look at each other as Anatis nodded. "I don't wanna,"

 "It'll be fine, Kitten," He smiled, making her look at him with big eyes. "You know I won't let anything bad happen to you,"

 "A-Alright," She stated as Alix and Nathaniel helped them outside and into the taxi. They got in after them and told the driver to take them to the Eiffel Tower. Lady Noir hid her face in Anatis's shoulder for the whole ride. He gently patted her head to reassure her. 

 "Stop here!" Anatis called out, making the Taxi driver stop. Nathaniel opened the door, causing Alya to look behind her. Anatis narrowed his eyes at her, making her gulp as Lady Noir hissed. "Get in,"

 "Uh... is there even room?" She asked. Alix climbed out and grinned. 

 "Now there is," She stated. Alya frowned and got in, allowing Alix to close the door. "I'll meet you guys at the tower,"

 "Ok," Anatis nodded as the car drove off again. Alix skated towards the tower. Alya turned to the two heroes and Nathaniel as they drove to the tower.

 "Um... so would this be a bad time to ask for an interview?" She asked, gulping at the looks the heroes were giving her. They didn't answer her as the taxi pulled up. Lady Noir got out first and pulled out Alya, muttering about the speed of the driver again. Nathaniel helped Anatis out of the car as Alix arrived. "What's wrong with you two?"

 "That's strange," Alix stated, looking up into the sky and ignoring Alya. "The stars are out earlier,"

 "Those aren't stars, Alix," Anatis replied, looking up as well. "The trash is entering the atmosphere. In a few minutes, it will be like a meteor shower but with dumpsters instead,"

 "You can fix that right?" Alya gasped as Lady Noir whimpered. She moved the blanket over her head and was shaking. Anatis looked over at her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him with big, fearful eyes.

 "Don't be afraid, kitten," He smiled, gently moving the make shift hood down. "We can do this,"

 "Y-You're right as usual, Annie," She mumbled, giving him her best smile. "Our powers might be messed up but we still make a great team,"

 "Exactly," He smiled, patting her head before he winked at her. "Now I think it's time I changed our luck,"

 He took out his yoyo and threw up in the air, summoning his lucky charm. To his surprise, it actually worked and created a bamboo roll. It dropped down and hit him on the head then bounced into his hands. He frowned before he began to look around. His luck vision highlighted a safety cone, Lady Noir's blanket, his yoyo and his belt. He smiled as he formed a plan before handing Nathaniel the roll. He took off his belt and grabbed Alya's arms, securing them with the belt as she protested.

 "Alix, pass me that cone please," He asked, making her grab the cone and hand it to him. He held it up to his mouth. "Reverser! Listen up, I've got a deal for you! I'm sending Lady Noir up to you,"

 Lady Noir gasped as a terrified look came over her face. 

 "In exchange, you'll reverse the mayor to order the dumpsters back into space!" He shouted as Reverser looked at him. "Only then will I give you my miraculous and Alya,"

 "I'll only reverse the mayor back if I have Lady Noir and Alya!" He shouted back. "Then I'll reverse Alya and everyone will see what a horrible creature she really is. Her reputation will be irreversible by the time I'm done with her!"

 "Um... Anatis, you're not gonna let him do that right?" Alya asked but Anatis frowned before holding the cone up again.

 "Deal!" He shouted back, making her gasp before he lowered the cone and helped take Alya and Lady Noir to the lift, along with Nathaniel. "I have a plan. Use Lady Noir's blanket and the bamboo roll to make a kite,"

 "A kite?" Nathaniel asked, surprised as Alya glared at him. "How will we fly it?"

 "Use this," He stated, giving him his yoyo before he turned to Lady Noir, who is shaking. "Kitten, I need you to be really brave. This plan relies on you to make it work,"

 "W-What do you need me to do?" She asked, looking at him.

 "I need you to ride the kite," He stated, making her look at him with shock and fear. "I know how it sounds but you need to destroy his glider,"

 "I... I can't do it," She gasped, tears in her eyes. "Don't make me,"

 "I'm sorry, Kitten but you're the only one who can," He replied before leaning closer to her. "Use my belt as a blindfold. That way you don't have to look down,"

 "I'm too scared," She admitted but he smiled at her.

 "Trust me," He winked before closing the door and heading back to the street with Alix. He grabbed the traffic cone again. "Lady Noir and Alya are on their way up. I've sent Nathaniel with them to make sure they don't try anything! Now reverse the mayor!"

 "If you try to trick me, it'll cost you,"

 "Yeah, I get it but what tricks do you think I could actually pull off?" Anatis shouted back. "I'm a super klutz and Lady Noir is now scared of her own shadow. We don't stand a chance against you, Reverser,"

 He smiled at that answer and turned round, summoning a plane to reverse the mayor. He stopped as the lift came to a stop and opened, revealing Lady Noir holding onto the kite. She had Anatis' belt around her eyes and his yoyo in her mouth but she was shaking.

 "Go, Lady Noir!!" Nathaniel yelled as Alya began filming again. Lady Noir gulped but broke out into a run, stepping off the tower. She let out a scream, dropping the yoyo. Anatis reached for it but it missed and hit him on the head. Alix, however, grabbed it and yanked it. With Anatis' direction, she steered the kite and dodged Reverser's planes. Anatis moved her arms, directing Lady Noir to fly directly under Reverser's glider. He grabbed the cone and held it up again.

 "Lady Noir! Now!" He shouted, causing her to hold out her hand.

 "Cataclysm!!" She shouted, tracing her fingers across the bottom of the glider. It turned to dust and released the akuma as Alix yanked the kite, causing Lady Noir to let go and fall. It fell to Anatis and Alix, causing them to grab it. Alix helped him through up in the air and call out the magic words, releasing the cure as Lady Noir and Reverser fell towards the ground. Reverser let out a scream as he turned back into Marc and Lady Noir was already screaming. The magic ladybugs swarmed around her, making her blink before she took out her baton and threw it between the legs of the Effiel tower. She grabbed hold off it and caught Marc as the cure fixed everything else. Finally, they swarmed around Anatis, giving him back his balance and ability.

 "Hey, Anatis, you're gonna need this," Alix grinned, throwing the yoyo to him. He grinned as he caught before he opened it and threw it, catching the corrupted butterfly. He snapped it closed then released it as Lady Noir brought down Marc, who had reverted back to his shy self. He was looking down and holding onto his left arm. He took a small step forward and went to open his mouth but the mayor, Nathaniel and Alya came over. Marc instantly stepped closer to Lady Noir as Alya grinned and held up her photo.

 "So got time for a quick interview?" She asked but flinched at the look he gave her. "Um... is that a no?"

 "Miss Ceasire, do you know why this young man here got akumatized?" He asked, crossing his arms. Alya bit her lip with a guilty look. 

 "Uh... his book got ripped..." She mumbled, causing Marc to look down. "But he shouldn't have been claiming it was your diary!"

 "I didn't..." He mumbled but Anatis shook his head.

 "You shouldn't have gone after it, even if it had been real," He stated, making her frown. "I've made it perfectly clear that I don't want my identity revealed but you insist! Do you realize what would happen if my identity was revealed to all of Paris, including Hawkmoth? He would target my family, Alya and that would be on you! Do you understand? Back off from my identity!"

 "But... Paris deserves to know?"

 "Oh well by that logic so does Hawkmoth!" He shouted, making her flinch. "I don't want my identity known or anyone else on my team and you will respect that! Is that understood?!"

 "Y-Yes, sir..." She mumbled, looking down.

 "And while we're at you, you can apology to this young man for wrongful destroying his property and accusing him off been a liar," He declared, glaring at her. She looked up at Marc. "I also expect you to buy him a new notepad,"

 "But your cure fixed it," She gasped, pointing to it. However, Anatis glared at her. "O-ok... I'm sorry, Marc... I jumped to conclusions and I blamed you when it was me in the wrong. I should have done my research,"

 "Exactly," Lady Noir added in. "I highly recommend you get into the habit of fact checking,"

 Anatis went to add something but his earrings beeped, along with Lady Noir's ring. The two heroes ran off as Alya turned back to Marc, who was joined by Nathaniel.

 "I really am sorry,"

 ~Next Week at School~

 "The art room is great! You'll love it there!!" Marinette grinned as she and Luka walked up the stairs. "Everyone is so friendly and you already know Rose and Juleka!! Since you have a free period, you should come with me! I'm heading there now!"

 "I don't know, Melody," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want to intrude,"

 "You won't be," She reassured before giving him her best puppy dog look she could. "Please!!!"

 "... Alright..." He sighed in defeat but he had a little smile on his face. She let out a happy yell before grabbing his face and dragging him into room 33. As soon as she walked in, Mr Beauregard looked up and smiled at her.

 "Found another stray, Marinette?" He asked with a smile. Marinette giggled as Rose waved at Luka. He waved back

 "This is Luka, the guitarist I told you about," She smiled, making Luka blush at the fact that she mentioned him to people. Mr Beauregard turned to Luka and smiled as Marinette began to talk to Rose.

 "Welcome to Room 33, Luka," He smiled. "You can come here anytime you want between classes or after school. Marinette told us you play guitar and Rose mentioned you were in her band,"

 "Yes, sir," He mumbled, nodding. "I'm Juleka's older brother..."

 "Ah, another Couffaine huh?" He smiled. "Then you're definitely in the right place. We have a lot of different equipment here so I'm sure you'll be able to find a guitar somewhere. Ah, Marc, Nathaniel. This is Luka, Marinette's friend,"

 "Hi," Nathaniel smiled, waving.

 "I remember you. You're the musical empath that Marinette made the guitar strap for," Marc mumbled, playing with his hands. "It's nice to meet you again,"

 "So you're the lucky person who got that guitar strap?" Mr Beauregard asked, making Luka smile shyly and nod. "Well, feel free to look around as much as you want, Luka. You're always welcome here. Now, boys, how is your comic coming along?"

 "It's great, Mr Beauregard," Nathaniel grinned. "We based it off Marc's akumatization and had Mightyllustrator help Anatis and Lady Noir deakumatized him! Once he's been saved, he joins their team!"

 "Wow! That sounds great, boys," Mr Beauregard grinned as Luka felt Tikki's song beat with excitement. He smiled a little before walking over to the musical instrument area. He found an acoustic guitar. He strummed the strings and listened carefully before tuning it. Tikki peaked up at him and smiled, hidden behind the guitar before he smiled and began to play, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and listen. Once he finished the song, they all clapped, causing him to blush a little. "Wow, that's some talent there, Luka. Marinette wasn't kidding when she said you were the best guitar she knows,"

 "I never lie, Mr Beauregard," Marinette grinned as Luka went bright red. 

 "I'll say," Nathaniel smiled as Marc clicked his fingers.

 "Oh, Marinette... we just want you to know that we dedicated the first issue of our comic to you," He smiled, making her go bright red. "Since it wouldn't exist without your help, we thought it would be a nice thank you,"

 "R-Really?" She gasped, getting a nod of the boys. "Thank you,"

 "Aww, now they match!" Rose gasped, causing both Luka and Marinette to turn a brighter shade of red that caused everyone, including them to laugh.

-----------------------------------------------

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/636532022128574464/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-36

[pokegifstudios]

Heya, folks! Welcome to the first in a series of tutorials I'll be making for gifs. Please note that I do not claim to be a professional, or even good at these--I'd just like to share my experience and process with you, so hopefully you can go forth and create whatever your heart desires!

If you'd like to learn how to make gifs straight from the Pokemon games using Adobe Photoshop, take a look under the cut!

PLEASE READ FIRST! First of all, I would like to note that I am using Adobe Photoshop 2020 as my image editing program. I've used CS5 and CS6 before, but unfortunately I don't have any experience with other programs. There may be similar ones to create the same kind of image!

Secondly, I am using an emulator at the time. The specific emulator I use in this tutorial is DeSmuME, linked here. However, the same process applies to GameBoy Advance and GameBoy (Color) games with the VBA emulator, linked here!

Lastly, I will not be linking any ROMs at the time. You can do some careful Googling and find some, though. ;)

Alright, let's get on with the tutorial!

☆ ☆ ☆

Have your ROM loaded up and at the point where you'd like to make a gif out of. For the sake of this tutorial, I will be playing Pokemon White 2, making a gif out of the Mareep that run around in Floccesy Ranch! The easiest way to start the process of this is to PAUSE your emulation at the point you would like your gif to start.

Excellent! Now, this is up to you, but to cut down on some editing, I like to make a mental note of where things started, especially if this is a looping gif (one that just goes on forever seamlessly). For this tutorial, I've made a note of the Mareep positions!

In the emulator, you'll want to go to File > Record AVI. You can choose wherever you'd like to save this recording. The recordings are generally smaller in size. Just save it to the easiest place you'll have access to.

You'll also get a popup about Video Compression. By default, it will be the full frames, uncompressed. Go ahead and hit 'OK.'

NOTE that your recording will technically not 'start' until you play the emulator again, which makes it great for cutting down on editing later on. I'll go ahead and hit play and record what I'd like.

Once you're satisfied, PAUSE the emulator again. Go to File > Stop AVI.

That's it on that end! Let's head to your image editor and let it work its magic.

Once again, I am using Adobe Photoshop 2020, and will be following the setup there.

You'll want to go to File > Import > Video Frames to Layers...

Navigate to where your AVI recording is, then click to open it.

You'll now get this pop-up window. This is where you can mess around with the settings and how you'd like your gif to look/run. Since we recorded just the bit of the game we'd like to gif, we can go ahead and select From Beginning to End. This will make a gif of the entire video. You CAN do Selected Range Only if you want to tinker with it, but we can also edit the gif later on.

You may also Limit to Every ___ Frames. Once again, this is up to you and how you'd like your gif to look and run. If it's a shorter animation, I typically like to leave this unselected, and Photoshop will import every single frame from the video. This may take some time. If it's a longer gif, go ahead and mess around with the settings. As a tip, I do not personally recommend limiting it to more than two (2) frames. It may end up looking very choppy and not running as smoothly.

Lastly, make sure you already have Make Frame Animation selected. Then hit 'OK!'

So now Photoshop has worked its magic! Technically, you can actually go ahead and export and save the gif from here, and it'll be fine. If that's the case, go ahead and skip 'till the end!

However, if you're not satisfied...

Let's go ahead and mess around with this image. Mostly what I do when I make these kinds of gifs is cropping and resizing, cutting out frames that I don't need, and coloring.

Cropping. Let's go ahead and select the Crop tool to edit our image to how we'd like it to appear. For example, I don't want the bottom screen of the DS to be in this gif, so I'm going to edit it down to just the top screen.

The Crop tool will work differently depending on your image editor. Don't be scared to mess around with it and find something you'd like!

I'm going to go ahead and crop the image to this, so just the top screen is the image.

Yay, it’s all cropped!

Resizing. Actually a very simple step, and not at all necessary, but I personally like it! Let’s go ahead and resize this image so it’s larger. Go ahead and go to Image > Image Size.

I went ahead and resized to 540px width. It should automatically adjust the height as well. If it does NOT, please make sure that Constrain Proportions is selected. In Adobe Photoshop 2020, you’ll be clicking on the little link icon to the left of Width/Height as seen below:

I personally think it’s also important to properly Resample your image. To get a crisp, clear image, much like how the original DS games look when properly enlarged, go ahead and select Nearest Neighbor (hard edges) from the drop down menu.

Go ahead and hit ‘OK.’ And now it’s nicely sized and looking crisp!

Editing. This is all depending on YOU! I’m going to keep it simple for tutorial’s sake. What I’m going to do is go through the frames of the gif down here--

--and make sure it all loops correctly and seamlessly! Delete layers by using the handy Trash button down at the bottom:

You can also select multiple layers by holding Shift and clicking on what you’d like to delete.

You may also change the timing of the gif. You can do this on an individual frame basis, or just change every frame at once. I won’t be doing it for this gif as I like the speed it plays at just fine, but for reference:

The button that I clicked on is the three lines right above Frame #20. Hit Select All Frames, then click on ANY frame’s timing here:

(It’s the arrow pointing DOWN next to the 0.02)

You most likely want to hit ‘Other...’ and set your own delay. The longer it is, the longer the frame will stay on the screen for (if that makes sense). This part is a bit difficult to explain over text, so hopefully I’ve made it clear!

Coloring. Absolutely NOT necessary--Pokemon games look amazing in their original colors, after all! But if you’d like a bit of added flair, you can always add a fun coloring PSD, mess with the Hues and Saturation, etc.

For this tutorial, we are actually going to SKIP the coloring step. If you’d like to see a more in-depth tutorial about it though, please let me know!

Assuming you’ve edited it down to what you’d like, we can now export and save the gif. Unfortunately, saving a gif isn’t very much like saving a still image at all. We’re going to head to File > Export > Save For Web (Legacy).

Next is the tricky part. You will get a pop-up that will look similar to this:

Typically, Pokemon gifs won’t have too many colors, so there shouldn’t be a whole lot of “bad”-looking parts! However, you can mess with the settings to the right in case there is something that you’re not satisfied with. Basically, you can only have so many colors in a gif--256 colors, I believe. (Please correct me on this if I’m wrong!) Because of this, your gif may not look like intended if there’s too many colors. I’m definitely no expert on the science of this, but I notice with brighter and more saturated colors, my gifs can look grainy and not what I want them to look like at all.

These are the settings you want to mess around with. For Pokemon game gifs, I do recommend trying to set the Dither % all the way down--I’ve noticed it helps in some situations. Again, I’m not an expert, nor will I pretend to be, but just try to mess around and see what you can come up with if you’re having any issues!

If everything looks good, there’s one more step before saving. Just double-check that your Looping Options are on ‘Forever’ instead of ‘Once.’ In the bottom right corner, you can change this.

And that’s it! Hit ‘Save’ and name your gif!

That’s really all there is to it, quite honestly! I’m sure there’s more in-depth steps, but this is the simplest way that I can find. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! My ask box is always open, and I love talking about stuff like this! Have a great day, and happy gif making!

[fafulous]

The Maiden’s Touch

Pairing: King!Bucky Barnes x Reader (Royalty AU)

Word Count: 2.4k

Summary: The King is sick and you’re there in his quarters at the wrong time.

A/N (EDIT): I AM turning this into a series! (Happy Birthday @padmaaavati)

The King is Sick. This was the constant statement that was chanted under everyone's lips as they carried on with their works.

You reached the corridor that leads to the King's chambers. As you neared the huge sliver encrusted door, your heart sped faster. After all, you were going to enter the King's bedchambers for the first time. But the only thing that calmed your senses was the absence of the King.

Clear instructions were given by Sir Rogers that you were to change the Bed linen and sheets of the King's bedding. The past 12 hours have reeked of the King's sickness, and you were assigned to Sanitize before the King returns from his bath.

You've never seen the king for you were new to the Kingdom of Barnes. But you have heard from Natalia and Wanda that he is everything a woman would want. You even heard Sir Samuel mention how his appearance melts any woman who sets her eyes on him.

But most importantly you heard that he was a kind, generous king who always took an interest in smaller things in life.

You found refuge here thanks to the kind Sir Steven and Dame Margaret. Soon to be wedded, both of them found you in a distressed, traumatic state while they were frolicking around in the forests like any other couple would. When you recovered, thanks to the Kingdom's finest healers, you confided to Margaret and Steven about your past. Empathising with you, the pair ensured you could start a fresh, new life at the kingdom as a common helper.

Snapping out of thoughts, you came back to reality as you stood in front of two guards, loyally and fiercely guarding the door of their King. The door itself was glorious, intricate veins of silver spread throughout the dark wooden door.

"I was sent to change the linen of his Majesty."

They moved their ginormous physique to let you in and you slowly pushed the heavy door with your shoulder, linens being held by you with both your arms.

Before you could even take in the grandeur of his Majesty's room, two handmaidens came running out of the king's bath with straight faces, heads low. You stood there, in an expectation for any order perhaps?

You heard them quickly mumble to you that his majesty wished to be left alone in his bath, followed by a questionable look.

"Well, don't just stand there! Do your work and get out!"

Sighing, you began carrying out your duties once you reached his huge bed. It could fit a family of three you wondered.

"It's a mighty fine bed. Let's get to work Y/N," you whispered softly to motivate yourself.

While removing the sheets you noticed how they were soiled they were with probably sweat and vomit. Poor King, you wondered.

But you were used to it back at home. No. Your former home, fortunately. Now your home was at the Servant quarters along with Natalia and Wanda.

You were so immersed with work as you took care of the final tucks of the pillow covers, you began humming with no clear intentions as to who was watching you.

---

James Buchanan Barnes remembers clearly mentioning that he was to be left alone by those annoying handmaidens. He felt irritated by their presence, maybe perhaps of the sickness.

He came out of his luxurious bath and made his way to his bed, putting on the finest white linen cloaks that he wore when he resumes to slumber every day.

But he was so dizzy, it took him some time to realise that it wasn't one of those handmaidens but someone else standing near his bed.

Someone new. Someone foreign.

In an act of defence, before haze and dizziness took over him, he shouted: "Who are you?"

You let out a small yelp in fear and turned around to see a tall, muscular figure with eyes half-closed, who kept leaning forward. The minute you realised he was the King who was going to faint, you ran towards him to catch him.

Instinctively, you held on to his sides, his head falling on to your shoulder and his black hair tickling your chin. The height difference was much for the King was well built. You could feel the outline of his muscles on your chest, while you involuntarily took in the scent of his freshly bathed self. Lavenders and Rose oils maybe?

Meanwhile, James realised quickly realised he was about to fall unconscious on this woman. He tried to grip on to anything but her.

And he failed, miserably.

He held her by the hips, trying not to exert too much of his weight on her for he was frightened about the prospect of hurting this woman.

You don't know how you did it, but you slowly stumbled backwards, step by step. The only goal you could focus on now was to land the King on to the bed safely. It was considered easy, for the King was clearly trying to cooperate with you.

Turning around at the right time, you seated the King on to his bed and immediately took a few steps back. It's the first time you're getting to see the King, that got you jittery alright. But to touch him? While he touched you? You thought you were going to melt any moment from his possible anger.

"Y-Your majesty? Are you well? Can I get you something?"

James just nodded his head in sideways, trying to get rid of the haze that clouded his eyes.

"Please accept my apology, your majesty. I was sent here to change the dirty linen. I did not mean to intrude on your private space and time."

James took his time to regain sense and took in your stature. You had your head bowed down as if you committed a mistake. He realised he was gazing you for too long for he noticed how your skin tone glistened in the morning sunlight; Those lashes of yours blinking towards the ground, James silently pleading for them to look up and meet his gaze.

He noticed you wore the beige apron tied around your waist, realising you were after all not a handmaiden but a helper. A newly appointed helper perhaps?

"No no, you see I made a false conclusion looking at you. I um- nevermind," he nodded sideways, the heels of his palms rubbing his eyes "I apologise for startling you and falling on you too, didn't quite see you there."

"Please don't apologize, your majesty," you nervously stated with your head down, "I should have made my presence known," you uttered, not able to ignore the lingering grip of the King on your hips. It didn’t hurt, but he made a fine impression alright.

You looked up slowly taking a glance of his freshly bathed state and bowing down quickly. He still looked terribly weak. Its been a day since the King was announced sick. Gosh was no one taking care of him properly?

After a while, James looked up to see the woman still standing there. He broke the silence for he could clearly see how discomforted you were and he hated that he was the reason for it. Stupid King Status.

"So you said you came here to change the sheets?"

"Yes, your majesty,"

"You can look at me and talk to me, my lady. I wonder what is so fascinating about the white carpet."

Not expecting that reply, you looked up at him with confusion etched on your features. Firstly he called you "my lady". Secondly, to look at the king? What a blasphemous act you wondered.

"I thought I have asked Peter to be sent to clear the sheets?"

"If you didn't mind Majesty, Peter is too young and Dame Margaret thought it would be unwise to send a young boy to be exposed to this kind of sickness," you stated, hands fidgeting for it was too alien to speak to your King with straight eye contact.

"And it was okay for a fine, young woman like you to be exposed?"

Heat rushed to your face as you couldn't stop grinning. Was it normal for the men of this land to talk such sweet words casually? Fine young woman. 

"It's alright your majesty. It's my duty to do so and besides, I have done this before."

James wanted to ask more about her. Her name at least for starters. But he noticed something that made his heart stop. A circular burn with a cross in between was ingrained on the back of your right hand, resembling a hot brand pressed on to the supple skin.

The king couldn't even implore on the subject for a fit of coughs caught hold of him. He held on to his chest and covered his mouth, trying to subdue it. There was no use, the pain was too much.

He felt a palm running down his spine, trying to soothe the pain he was already facing. He could've reacted for no one was allowed to touch the king as per his orders. It did soothe him, unlike the mundane help and comfort offered by the healers, nurses and handmaidens.

James came to senses that it was this very same girl was trying to alleviate his pain. He focused on her feather touch for a while but it was too much. He pitied himself, for he couldn't take that touch anymore.

Cursed. That's what he thought he was, for any personal or intimate touches after a certain amount of time immediately triggered unwelcoming memories.

The minute you felt the King flinch, you realised you made a terrible mistake. The intention was to offer comfort to the struggling king. Even apologising seemed too late.

They were interrupted by the doors being opened by a disgruntled Sir Steven, accompanied with the handmaidens. Steven looked shocked upon your proximity to the King but didn't dare open his mouth. But the handmaidens on the other hand-

"Good gosh you woman how dare you?”

"I-I'm sorry,” you just couldn’t find your words, “I was j-just...his m-majesty was-"

"Fool don't you know? You're not supposed to touch the King?"

"Are you alright your majesty?"

"How dare you, you little wen-"

"ENOUGH!”

Sir Steven looked extremely livid. You had no idea what to do, for you had never seen Steven react with such intensity. You didn't dare to look him into his eyes, but you did.

But instead, you were welcomed with warm eyes, for Sir Steven took you as a sister. He would never ever find an excuse to be angry at you, albeit even trespassing an informal order.

The two handmaidens gave you a snarky look, making you feel like a speck of dust in this grand, glorious room. You didn't know them personally apart from flaunting how they get to enter and exit the Kings quarters without any qualms. They approached the King with deft steps and helped him lie back on the headboard with adequate cushions.

You took this as an opportunity to leave, for it was too much to bear. You noticed how the King kept looking at you to as if he was displeased by this dramatic interruption.

James wanted to apologize again. It wasn't your fault that he was cursed to feel that way. Cursed to flinch forever when someone touched him for too long. No one knew why, except for his dear confidant.

You curtsied low to your King and Sir Steve and walked away with the dirty sheets before the tears decided to make an appearance in front of these people. Before you did so, you uttered an apology to the King so quickly, that he couldn’t react.

James wanted to call her back and shut these two handmaidens out immediately. To tell her, and to comfort her that it wasn’t her fault at all. She was definitely new. What was she going to think about him, the King?

How dare they raise their voices at her?

But his energy levels didn't permit him to voice out his feelings. He did, however, catch his energy after a minute.

"You've done your job. You both can leave now."

"B-but your majesty. You look so weak-"

"You dare disobey me?"

That was enough to tame these two. He wondered if they couldn't find anyone else to be his helper. Glaring at them, with his half-lidded eyes, the two of them decided to leave but were stopped by Steven.

"I have given Margaret certain instructions. Report to her and return before noon with the King's meal."

The two curtsied low to both of them and made their beeline towards the Kitchen.

Steven made his way closer to James. He was not only his King but his confidant. James and Steven knew each other since they were toddlers. James would sneak out of the castle and into the town to meet his dear friend. Of course, Steve's family were a part of common folk but it never stopped James from befriending him.

James loved Steven so much that he refused to undergo the swordsmanship training during his youth unless he accompanied him as well. As years passed by, Steve received Knighthood from James' father right before his demise.

Their friendship could move mountains. That's what the bards would say. James and Steven truly believed so, that's how much they trusted each other.

"Buck, they're supposed to be with you at all costs," he instructed, "What if you had fallen unconscious?"

I almost did you fool.

"Its no difference to me. I don't need them," he argued back. Frankly, he was just irritated that he was in a compromised state thanks to the flu. He was further irritated for the ill-treatment of that dear woman who was helping him out.

"Bucky-"

"Everyone is just running around in the name of my sickness and not getting anything done,. Especially what I want," he whispered hoarsely with amused, his eyes opening and closing from the tiredness. Except for her, she was comforting me like a normal human. "I don't want to argue with you pal."

Steven nodded and announced that he'll see him at noon to ensure if he had eaten.

"By the way, Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Umm, who is she?"

Seeing Steven's smirk, James realised that he stated his question out loud.

--

Part 2

--

Taglist (OPEN): @padmaaavati @scarsout @xbabykookiix @butimthekingofhell @urbanbts @lookinsidemyhead @minimoose23 @the-real-smol-bean @delicatecapnerd

[singularityhacker]

7 Power Laws of the Technological Singularity

When people talk about the technological singularity they usually do so exclusively in the context of Moore’s Law. But there are several Moore’s Law-like laws at work in the world and each of them is equally baffling. I’m referring to this list of trends as “power laws” because of the nature of their incredible rate of growth and because they independently work as pistons driving the engine of the singularity. A few things to note about these power laws. Firstly they are just observations. There are no, known, deeper physical principles in the universe that would lead us to believe that they must hold true. Secondly, we’ve observed these trends long enough to warren their recognition as power laws and there is no evidence or signs of their stagnating. We’ll start with the most famous and well-known power law and work our way through the others.

1. Moore’s Law

Moore’s Law states that transistors on a chip double about every two years and that the cost of that doubling halves. This is a double-edged sword. It means that the next model computer will be way faster than the previous but it also means that the value of your existing computer is dropping rapidly. The end of Moore’s Law has been proclaimed for a long time but there seems to be no end to its progression.

As we reach the physical limits of transistor sizes, entirely new hardware architectures are developed that sustain the progression. Things like 3D chips, specialized chips, and non-silicon based chips like photonics, spintronics, and neuromorphic chips are being developed and will ensure that this law continues.

“Regular boosts to computing performance that used to come from Moore’s Law will continue, and will instead stem from changes to how chips are designed.” — Mike Muller, CTO at ARM

What this does not mean is that a user’s experience of computer speed will increase. We tend to be more sloppy with application development when it’s cheap to make up for it with hardware horsepower. There is a standing joke that the same amount of computing resources that were used to send astronauts to the moon in the ’60s is now accidentally used by a sluggish browser tab.

2. Kryder’s Law

The second law driving our propulsion into the technological singularity is Kryder’s Law. It states, loosely, that digital storage doubles every year. It specifically has to do with magnetic storage but the principle is applicable to all digital storage as you will see. While you may not see this law exactly played out in the price of external drives in your local Best Buy, you can see it if you consider the price of cloud storage services.

Let’s look at the current top cloud storage providers. Apple offers two terabytes of cloud storage for about $10 a month. Google offers the same space for the same price as well as 10 terabytes for about $100 a month. After that, users can get 20 terabytes for $200 a month, 30 terabytes for $300 a month, and so on. Dropbox offers yet a similar package but with extras like full-text search for $20 a month. Lastly and most competitive is Amazon offering an incredible $0.004 per gigabyte per month through its Glacier storage service. When you take these cloud providers into account and consider that they will only grow via economies of scale, you see that Kryder’s law is in full effect.

Note that this also doesn’t even take into consideration innovations like Filecoin that actually distribute Kryder’s Law by allowing anyone with storage capacity to rent that space out. You could look at it like Uber or Airbnb for digital storage. This highlights the idea that this digital power law, like the others, should not be strictly tied to a hardware implementation. Similar to how Moore’s Law continues but not strictly through cramming more transistors on a chip but through new engineering architectures. The same principle applies.

3. Nielsen’s Law

Thirdly, we have Nielsen’s Law. If the previous laws could be summarized as computation and storage, this one is summarized as throughput. It states that bandwidth grows by 50% a year. More precisely, it states that the bandwidth of high-end users grows by 50% a year. That’s just 10% less annual growth than Moore’s Law.

In practice, we don’t see this linear growth and there are three reasons for it. One, Telecom companies are conservative. It cost billions of dollars to update their sprawling hardware. Two. The immediate impact of the end-user is not a guaranteed faster experience if they do upgrade their infrastructure. You can have the fastest hardware in the world on your street but that doesn’t automatically make the rest of the countries hardware faster. That slow loading web page may only be imperceptible faster after your area’s hardware is upgraded. Lastly, as new people get online, it’s more likely they are using older slower devices so the average expected speed is kept pressed down by these newcomers.

Since 1G was introduced in the 1980s, new wireless technology has been released every ten years. The advent of 1G introduced mobile telephony. Than 2G in the ’90s brought about global roaming and SMS. The 200’s saw 3G and smartphones with data. 2010 introduced 4G and mobile broadband. The year 2020 will be the year of 5G and the realization of the fully ubiquitous cloud. To put this in perspective, let’s say you wanted to download the newest episode of your favorite television show. At 800MB it would have taken 8 hours hrs to download in 1998, 5 hrs in 2001, 45 minutes in 2009, and 1 second with the new wireless protocol.

The impact and roll out of 5G will be enormous. With current networks, it takes about 100 milliseconds for information to travel across a network. With 5G, that latency will be reduced to 1 millisecond. We are talking about downloading full-length 5k movies in less than a second, surgeons controlling surgical robots in real-time from across the country, smart cities, and smart car-to-car communications.

4. Koomey’s Law

Koomey’s law has to do with the efficient use of energy and states that the number of computations per joule of energy dissipated has been doubling approximately every 1.57 years. This trend has been stable since the 1950s and has been faster than Moore’s law. Jonathan Koomey reframed the trend as follows: “at a fixed computing load, the amount of battery you need will fall by a factor of two every year and a half”. You can see the effect of this law in today’s newest generation CPU’s (Apple’s M1 chip) that are pumping out incredible amounts of processing power at significantly reduced levels of energy consumption.

5. Metcalfe’s Law

This power law with its closely associated cousin, the network effect, asserts that the value of a network is proportional to how many users are a part of it and that the addition of a new member adds value to all the existing members. A good example of this power law at work are social media sites like Facebook and YouTube. These sites had no revenue model in the beginning and were very expensive to run but grew to have so many users that the value grew directly from the value of the size of the network itself. Not too many years ago, software products had to packaged on physical media and shipped through the mail to users. Now, the same products can be built and deployed to one of any number of app stores and have a global audience with little to no overhead.

6. Hendy’s Law

Next, consider Hendy’s Law. Hendy’s Law states that the number of pixels per dollar in a digital camera doubles every two years. We can generalize this trend to encompass the idea that our ability to capture images and video of the world is exponentially improving year over year. This improvement opens the door to such high-fidelity VR and lifelogging that our human senses begin to find synthetic media and real-life indistinguishable. This already exists in the form of gigapixel photography where images are used instead of real specimens in biological study where we can’t tell the difference even under a microscope. Imagine being able to photograph a group of people and then zoom in so close later that you can identify properties of their cellular biology.

7. Bell’s Law

Last on our list is Bell’s Law. It says a new class of smaller, cheaper computers comes along about every decade. With each new class, the volume shrinks by two orders of magnitude, and the number of systems per person increases. The law has held from 1960s’ mainframes through the ‘80s’ personal computers, the ‘90s’ notebooks, and the new millennium’s smart phones. This is likely manifesting in the realm of wearable right now with the wild success of smart watched and wireless intelligent earbuds.

To wrap this up and summarize, while there may be temporary or geographically isolated stalls in the progression of these laws, they are still holding steady. You might compare them to walking up a set of stairs. At various points in your travel up the stairs, you rise up very high and then drop low. You do not move at a constant linearly increasing height. You go up and down but the trend is a clear move upwards. Through that up and down, you are converging on a net increase. The same is true of these digital laws. The overarching result is that software is eating the world and eating itself, recursively accelerating the process even further. One doesn’t need to theorize about potential advances in machine intelligence to see that we are accelerating into an unimaginable future. A clear technological singularity.

If none of the above convinces I will leave you with this chart illustrating the grown of the global economy. Assuming the continuation of these power laws, where are we 50–100 years from now?

[blake-belladonna-defence-force]

73

Here you go, mate. One serving of height difference bees to go 😊

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The dorm room that they had been placed into had a bathroom with a double sink and two shower stalls, allowing for quicker efficiency, as Weiss had called it. Or, as Blake had called it, for the sake of being anal retentive.

Yang let out a soft sigh as she and Blake waited for their turn in the bathroom. She couldn’t wait to get changed and relax. She glanced at her partner who was sitting on the desk, examining her broken blade.

“Blake?” She called gently. “You okay?”

“I… really don’t know, Yang. I feel kind of numb?” Blake sighed wearily. “I just want to rest.” Yang made a soft, sympathetic noise in her throat as Ruby and Weiss came out.

“Bathroom’s free for team Bumbleby!” Ruby exclaimed before climbing up to her bunk and flopping down on unceremoniously. Yang watched as a small, fond smile crossed Blake’s face.

“Oh? I couldn’t tell.” Blake said, a tired, albeit cheeky smirk on her face. It was very endearing.

“Hush your up.” Ruby grumbled before throwing her pillow at Blake. Blake caught it and threw it back, earning a slight grunt of surprise. “Gah!” Blake rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom, followed shortly by Yang. It wasn’t long before Yang was in her boy shorts and tank top and heading over to join Blake at the sink to brush her teeth. A glance at Blake revealed two things; the first being her yukata. It suited her as well as it did on orientation night. And secondly? That Blake was short. She had gotten so used to Blake constantly being in her heels, that she had forgotten that she was a good few inches shorter than Yang. Yang bit her lip for a moment and proceeded to brush her teeth.

Blake, who was brushing her own teeth, quirked an eyebrow at her partner before rolling her eyes and leaning forward to spit in her basin.

“I will put toothpaste in your hair if you don’t stop being smug.” Blake quipped playfully, raising a tired eyebrow before continuing to brush her teeth. Yang, who knew that the threat was empty, leaned over her own basin to spit.

“What are you talking about? I’m not doing a thing!” Yang said, thoroughly (and playfully) insulted. She returned to brushing her own teeth as Blake spat again.

“I can practically feel you mentally teasing me.” Blake grumbled before finishing up her teeth. Yang narrowed her eyes.

“I would never tease you about anything.” She spat the last of the toothpaste out before talking, a smirk plastered on her face as she turned to face Blake. “Especially not about how vertically challenged you are.”

“Excuse me?” Blake gasped, playfully outraged. “I’m only a few inches shorter than you! You’re just as much of a short ass as I am!” Blake stared up at her stubbornly. The two had a small staring contest before they both let out amused giggles.

“Gods. I don’t know how you do it, Yang.” Blake murmured, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear, giggle dying away. When Yang cocked her head curiously at her adorable partner, Blake cleared her throat and continued. “Even when I feel the absolute worst that I’ve ever felt, you somehow know just what to do to cheer me up.” Blake reached up and gently tugged on Yang’s shoulder to pull her down while raising up on her tiptoes and placed a quick peck to the corner of Yang’s mouth shyly, lingering for a moment. “Thank you, Sunflower.” Blake murmured against her skin before pulling back turning to grab her toiletries and walked around Yang and into their room, ducking her head and hiding behind her hair shyly. But it didn’t stop Yang from seeing the smile that Blake bit her lip in an attempt to stop.

Yang raised her hand to her the side of her mouth and looked into the mirror. What she saw reflected back at made her realise why they call it “lovestruck.”

Cupid hadn’t hit her with an arrow. He was firing a whole goddamn armada at her.

[datarevived]

   -- Ⅷ : ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʟғ's ᴅᴇɴ ( PT.1 )

Dusk wasted no time as the orange setting hues of the sky collapsed over the Tower. The humming sounds of returning patrols, exchanged with the well-rested who'd swap their place. The smells of the Bazaar were at their peak, and in the fade of the night, the City slowly but surely began to illuminate with fashioned lights and flame to the gentle breeze.

A constant source of work and noise, not even the nightfall could silence the moving parts of the Hanger. A well-oiled machine, rolling the in's and out's of ship repairs, armor, weapons and more. No rest for the wicked, they say -- no wonder it had been the hot-line for Hunters and the like.

" Hold on there partner. "

The ringing tune of one's voice was common amidst the equipment and bolts. It's southern tint, something curved by the nature of of the City and those who occupied it. Cooped with a demeaner that stood as tall as the Tower itself, as if practiced as a child and through the eyes of a leader. 

It's directed at a man clad in white and blue -- hazel eyes turning in his height to peer down at the approaching sneer that would greet him honest.

" Holliday. "

" Val. "

" Is there's a problem? " 

" Only if you plan to board yer' girl, " the shipwright smiled. A steady movement between resting a hand at her hip and eyes towards the others' ship -- giving a moment in pause before returning lighter greens upon the opposing blonde. " Boss's orders... can't let ya' leave I'm afraid. "

" I wasn't aware that the Vanguard deemed itself notable to suddenly take possession of my property, " the Titan responded dryly. A noticeable irritation across his face as his jaw tightened up and eyes began to slit. Unmoving in his stance as he merely offers a look over his shoulder, her head just as tall as armed plate. " Last I recall, my ship is not authorized through your family's gatekeeping. "

" Gatekeepin'? First I've heard of it, " the woman laughed, her tone holding a tint of played shock. Hand moving from hip to chest, crossing over the other as she slants her weight in favor of dominant foot. " Can't tell you you're wrong, though. She's a work of art, but I ain't her painter. I'm jus' tryin' to follow orders. "

A deliberate ‘ tch ‘ snaps out of the corner of his mouth. A heated glare towards the shipwright, then back to the horizon in front of him before muttering his speech. 

" To think even in this day and age we deal with the complications of War Lords, " the man snarls, half under his breath before quickly receiving an offensive jab to his side. The jolt of motion causing him to half-step, now examining the woman more carefully. 

Amanda Holliday, treasured face of all recent Golden Age tweaks among ship and sparrow, alike. 

" You really tryin’ to go there? " she glared, face having scrunched in disbelief at the comment. " You're suppose to try'n win me over if you wanna leave -- not givin' me more reasons to nail yer' feet to the ground. " 

Such threat having come met with a sigh, followed by rolling irises as the Titan bared his teeth -- the next few moments presenting a silence between the two. One, unwilling to argue, while the other carried an itch to please. 

How disastrously stubborn this man was -- he'd have no right to talk little of Hunters. A knot in her own stomach to question, whether it would be the right or wrong thing to do when deep down, she knew there was only one option here. She'd hear it from Zavala, later. But at the least - perhaps she could ring out of him an ultimatum.

" Look, I don't know all the details... the who or the why, but, " she started, unraveling arms and waving a hand in her speech, " Y'gotta give me somethin'. I can't just put on the report that you decided to ship out on your own. Too many consequences for the both of us, and I ain't good with lyin. "

The least he could do was give her some poor excuse. Something. Anything.

" ...On-field training. "

" On field... trainin'? With who? Yer’self? " she quirks a brow.

" A Hunter and apparent guest, " Valdourin responds blankly -- eyes having narrowed upon his ship in the distance as his Ghost materializes at the dock. It's black, diamond-esq shaped shell halted in the visible hull outside, scanning the ship with a crimson glow from singular light that specified the Ghost's vitals. " A plenty enough reason to leave a few hours, I'd assume. It seems his orders were fairly clear that I not leave alone. "

Sharing his gaze over towards the jumpship, it was a brief moment in idle thought before she exhaled out a sigh, causing her shoulders to waiver. It was the best she was going to get out of this one -- and so help the Traveler that it wouldn't come to  bite her later. There was no use in trying to power over Guardians - especially the stubborn breed. A curious matter in why she even tried, somedays.

" You win this one... but you better come back with those plus twos, " she points, extending an index finger towards his person. " Else, the logs will keep you at on-field training til I get two look-alikes to walk off that ship with you enough to sell the job. Understand? "

" A matter only important whether or not I return to this accursed place, " he turns a shoulder, feet immediately picking up where they left off towards the ship. Numb to the glaring daggers behind, it wasn't as if he'd bond with those of the Tower any more than necessary to earn their regards in the first place. This was merely a convince.

--

Two hours had gone by since the departure.

The jumpship lingered between the endless cataclysm of space, no provident destination in place unless it had been somewhere past the Sol of which they knew thus far. It was the only reasonable explanation that came to mind, why Commander Zavala would have been so against another enduring a solo-mission, and why it would have taken so long to get there. 

Something clearly uncoordinated by a chaotic duo, two bodies wheezing shoulder to shoulder for air and desperate need to stretch. Whether it'd be the death of them to be revived in a wooden crate. God forbid this man pull aside a planet for a pit-stop or piss break --

" I thought you said he was going to Io?! " " Th-That's what I heard! He definitely mentioned -- " " Mentioned?! You said he was. There's a difference! " " Shhh --! Maybe his jump-drive is just broken! You know, things we take for granted? " " How would you know? You don't even own a ship - " " I'm poor, not stupid! " " Oh? coulda fooled me! " " SHHH! You're gonna get us caught! " " And whose fault would that be, hm? Getting caught in a cargo lift. "

" Oh come ooon, " the Hunter groaned, surrendering over the fight. A complicated scenario of not having the energy to exert, and yet, it was all the energy that was driving her mad with knees pressed to her chest and butt cheeks numbed to the wooden bottom of the crate. 

It wasn't even fair for Bex to complain -- not when he didn't have nerve endings in his toushe that were deflating by the minute. If only he'd take a second to imagine it - what it'd be like sitting in one place for two hours straight, all because he was stressed. Try being uncomfortable and stressed! - -

Preoccupied by her own inner monologue, it takes the Awoken in shock when the Warlock's glove is quickly clamped over her own mouth. First reaction being offense, secondly being that of caution -- narrow eyes demanding an answer as head switches over toward the Exo, only to follow a shy pointed finger at in-between the lines of the crate. A familiar red hue patrolling the hall, this diamond shadow that hovered at waist-height. 

Valdourin's Ghost, they had both assumed earlier. One that hadn't made any noise or notation thus far that it had been aware of their presence.

How quickly that was about to change.

The metallic tap of boots on steel echoed off the interior of the ship, the Titan having made his way back. That despite the pallid aura of his armor, stood dawned in a critical shade of silhouette black, courtesy of the narrowing lights from the cockpit and lack there of in the hold. He's still for a moment, his attention held direction in front of him -- before a peculiar sound begins to pop. 

Brief visual catches of white sting against the air -- static, as charges surge indefinitely, highlighting traveled sections of his armor and through his hair. Like a wolf bearing its' canines, so does the Titan pulling back his lips as grit teeth catch against visible force. If smoke could hold such a straight shape -- as if lightning, itself, breathed from this very body.

They were like moths to a flame --

Their attention is held in awe, unable to process what was about to happen. Selene even so much as scooting her face closer, captivated. She could feel it -- the hair at the back of her neck, and the goosebumps beneath her own wears. And she wonders if Bex feels it the same -- the raw power this man held in his frame. 

The very presence that would ignite the cargo into a violent ray of blue and white lines -- cracking open each and every non-metal structure as the electricity ran through the cargo bay and their bodies like a fluid current. 

A jarring scream is let out from the Awoken -- Bex having collapsed temporarily from the surge, body sprawled against the splintered wood as he focused all concentration to remain optics open. Selene's own, stunned in a staggered movement before collapsing not too far off from her knees. Trials of time and experience still relatively new to her skin, and thus, the pain was just that much more.

" You stalk me, then proceed to poach upon my territory. "

His voice was far more stern in person. 

The bravado lingered in his chest as the Titan turned, facing the wall left of him where the cargo revealed its' carry. Two unknown faces, both in equal shock and pain. He inhales a single breath -- sparks still igniting against the air closest to him, before taking the effort to walk over towards the two.

" I care not who sent you, or what you want. But you've made a critical error in thinking you forgo consequence. "

Before Selene can manage her way back into a sitting position, her face is met with the toe-tip of one's boot. A swallowed chance for air as panic suddenly rose in her stomach, eyes widen in such a fear before hand the size of her face wraps roughly at her throat and pulls her upward. A crushed squeak hissing between her lips before her backside hits against the ship's wall, pinned by single hand as both of hers instinctively clamped around the man's wrist, trying desperately to make space between fingers and neck.

Looking down in between the blurred vision of building tears -- it's the first time she's looking at the Ward in person. One on one, cyan-eyes melting against hunted hazels that glared at her as if some sort of parasite. It's the first time she's realizing the details of this one's face -- a deep scar across the nose with brows that rested pensive. How strangely clean his hair was, despite being a Titan and male. That certain strands set aside from the rest, curving the contorts of his face as if having rested for decades to frame.

A bizarre contrast in comparison to what he was viewing -- an Awoken deer in the headlights, attempting to beg for her life if it hadn't been for the crushing force on her windpipe. Frantically her eyes move from person to person -- once at him, then down at the partially-conscious Warlock to his left. Back to him -- pleading.

Begging.

Praying.

" D-Don't -- "

It was a struggle in itself to stay aware of the situation. 

" D-Don't hurt her. "

Whether it had been because of previous issues -- or that they were simply caught off guard. It was taking longer than a moment for him to get his bearings back in place.

" It was -- it was my idea, " the Warlock churns out, his chest taking in deep breaths as he brought himself 'pon hands and knees. His own optics glaring now, processing -- readying himself to get back in the picture. He will not stay down. " L-Let her go. And you can deal with me, instead. "

In the moments the Exo took to speak, not a second of it was lifted off of the Hunter. Valdourin's attention remaining ever still, his grip unchanging but the whimpers of the other growing in pace. It isn't until the body of the third meets his peripheral does he bother giving a side-eye glance over his shoulders, blue-lining trim of his shoulder pads lining up with the Exo's staring hue -- a vibrant orange shaped into that of scowl -- posture resting weakly against his weight.

" Chivalry is a dead mannerism. And those who wield it bound to follow its' ancestry, " Valdourin speaks dully, releasing the grip from the Awoken's neck, proceeding to drop her back to the floor in a coughing fit. " You have limited time to plead your case, machine. 

I implore you to use your words efficiently. "

[likesomekindofcheese]

At the Opera (Part one)

Pairing: Brian May x F! Singer! Reader.

Fluff! Lot’s of fluff! A bit of angst!

Word Count: 2,000

Content warning: swearing, mentions of boners, Reader and Brian being twice shy, nervous little beans

Context: Brian see’s you make your first big opera debut at school. He falls immediately in love with you. He’s scared of seeming like a creeper, though, and hopes he doesn’t...Switches between his perspective and yours.

Note: I am so excited about this fic I can’t stand it!!!!

First off, I imagine this takes place in the early seventies after Queen I or Queen II and before A Night at the Opera (heh) is released. Secondly, though is written to identify as female, use she/her pronouns, an opera singer, a student, and a soprano, if requested, I can make and send a different version to you. Maybe a reader who is in a musical! Or a straight play! Or is singing a mezzo role! Or a male reader! (etc.). Message me ASAP and I will message a version to you! with your desired version! A second part will be up in time and will probably stop there unless another idea comes. Enjoy and please leave feedback!

Brian had absolutely nothing else to do on a Friday evening except go by himself to an opera by a local University. It was a night where nothing was happening. No work. No papers to grade. No rehearsal. Nothing planned between the band members or his friend. He had those nights before. He was unusually restless. Instead of dwelling in his loneliness he thought he might as well go out. Get his mind from any sadness. And something a little different then heavy drums would be appreciated.

He looked down at the program once he got his seat. “Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.” According to the summary in his encyclopedia it was only an hour long. If he didn’t like it, it would be over in a wink. After all, when he visited Freddie’s place once he noticed a record of it standing on top of a pile. If it was good enough for Freddie, then it was worth the ticket.

 (You)

“Five minutes until the top!”

“Thank you, five!”

You stay still. You don’t really feel like talking to the other cast members. You smooth some of the white skirt and pray that the food crumble from the pre-performance snack doesn’t show. You were nervous. Tonight you were singing Lauretta in Schicchi for the first time- Lauretta! All of the sopranos in the school who it could have been and it was you! It didn’t matter that it was  not one of the mainstage operas put on with a budget of millions and the biggest stage offered. It was one of your first major roles and you were doing everything you could not to burst. You had barely slept last night from the anticipation and the toll of exhaustion mixed with excitement were bubbling. 

Any wishes of good luck from the cast and crew were forgotten.

“What if the high c’s at the end sound like crap because I was stupid enough not to be able to sleep last night and what…”

“Places for top!”

You took a deep breath, listened to the slow beginning of the overture, and did your best to focus on the story and telling it.

You could still smell the hairspray from your curled hair. The director asked for a more “natural” look to contrast Lauretta from the more exaggerated commedia-esque stock characters and yet it took you longer to do your hair and make-up because your hands were shaking so bad. You wanted to look like the flawless ingenue, but you felt briefly that you were just a toad in lipstick. How could anyone onstage believe you?

It was a while before you entered. Yet you stayed backstage, focusing on the meaning of every last note and word. The singer playing your onstage father, the titular Schicchi, walked up to prepare for your first entrance.  You both didn’t appear until twenty minutes in, but it was getting close.

He smiled and winked at you and then went into character with his smart, cynical frown. You took my place next to him, held the skirt of your white medieval gown as demurely as you could muster, and prepared for the sound cue to enter.

Once you entered, you carried on, just like in rehearsal. Reacting in the moment and singing with the clearest Italian you could and with as much focus on breath as possible. At one point, when Rinuccio, your onstage lover, held your hands, you both began to wail beautifully about how you both could not be married on May Day. You indulged a look away from the conductor to the audience. 

 It was a smaller theatre-actually the smallest theatre on the campus that could still allow a piano and a string quartet.  Plenty of old couples, college girls with long hair and red lips, and close to the middle, there was a very tall, thin, young man with a lion’s mane of curly, brown hair. Ironically, he seemed to be more into the opera than anyone else.

You were back in a second to the opera. You heard  Schicchi’s “Non! Non! Non!”

Naturally, you begin singing your aria, “O mio babbio caro...”

(Bri)

Though Brian was delighted by the opera by the first note and laughing at the onstage family’s antics and allowing the music to charm him.

Then you entered onstage.

“Her eyes are so pretty and expressive…and she’s so small, she’s like a baby bird, oh, if only she was a little bird or even a cat I could hold in my hands for just a minute and her hair seems so soft, and, oh…that smile, oh she’s smiling, that fucking smile, she’s so beautiful and adorable, oh hell, oh hell. Oh fuck, and that voice, oh fuck, that voice. It’s so gorgeous and warm and genuine, oh, I’m so sorry Fred, but oh fuck, that voice, if only she could look at me, please look at me, please look at me and sing for me, just one word, please”

You crossed to a man - who was supposed to be her lover. Brian suddenly felt his stomach drop and his face twist to a frown.

“You git, it’s make believe. They aren’t together in real life...I hope they aren’t

He tried to peel his eyes away to another cast member to see what else they would do onstage that would amuse him. But he kept finding he was stealing quick glances.

When you began your aria, he felt tears well up in his eyes. It was so sweet sounding. 

“O mio babbino caro! Mi piace, e bello, bello!”

He looked down at the translation program:

“Oh my dear papa! He pleases me, he is handsome!”

Brian had a sudden wish he was that boy. He felt the tears fall once he heard of Lauretta’s wish to die if she could not marry him.

“No , no, not you, the boy…”

(You)

You finished the aria. Looking into the audience, You were shocked to see a standing ovation.

Well, that is, one standing ovation. From the tall man with curly hair. And he was applauding like his life depended on it. A few others decided to follow suit and stood up to applaud and cheer. You did your best not to smile. Then once it had died down, Schicchi continued with his line- “Datemi il testamento!”

(Bri)

Brian sat down. He was flushed with embarrassment. How could he have been so…so much? But it was just so wonderful. 

He was sighing once Schicchi sent Lauretta away and you left the stage.

He kept staring at the space where she left. He liked the plot of the opera well enough, but he felt himself leaning forward in his seat with impatience.

Once you  appeared onstage for the last duet of triumph with Rinuccio, He was wondering if that man realized how lucky he was. 

 “I would wrap my arms around her l. I would hold her so tight that she would know she is safe, and everything is alright, now. I would look into those eyes looking up at me, I would pull her in, and then I would lean down so I can reach her lips and kiss…”

He pinched his own hand. “Focus, focus, the story is ending…wait…oh god, what if I have a stiffy! Shit! Shitshitshithshitshit!”

He looked down at his pants. Nothing was showing…that was obvious, at least. He had stopped himself before letting his fantasies go further. Still, he undid two buckles on his belt, just to be safe.

He looked down at the program, flipping to the cast list on the second page.

“Lauretta…(Y/F/N Y/L/N)”

(You)

The cast and crew gathered in the lobby for everyone to say their congratulations. You felt a ping of sadness that your family and friends could not make it. The most they could do was send some flowers, dangling in your arms.

You saw him stand a little in the corner, awkardly. He seemed very quiet. You glanced up at him and felt him glance up at you and your eyes shot back down. Then you looked back up and saw him look down. He was definitely close to your age. 

Finally, you locked eyes for a bit. He swiftly walked to you and the flowers trembled in your arms. You wanted to run behind the stage door and slam it shut, yet at the same time you didn’t.

He walked up and said “Hi, I’m Brian, Brian May.”

“Hi Brian, I’m Y/N.”

Is someone actually approaching me???? And starting the conversation?? 

“ I just wanted to let you know, you were astounding. Your song was my favorite part…and this was my first opera!” Brian said

“Oh wow! Schicchi’s a great first opera.” you say, swallowing. “It’s a comedy, after all, and most people don’t think of opera’ as funny.”

“I loved it! I laughed so much! How do you keep from laughing onstage?”

“I breathe really slowly and focus, Brian.” You dropped his name and froze.

Wow, I must seem forward. But I don’t want to forget it...

“That’s wonderful, and the music is just, just incredible! What is it like to sing it?” he asked.

Your brain began to spiral from your shyness and desperation to seem confident.

“It’s very…it’s, I don’t know, it’s intimidating. My voice is rather small for Puccini, he likes bigger voices, so I was really nervous doing this role. My legs were shaking all the time onstage.”

 It struck you how handsome Brian really was. His height and hair made him seem intimidating, but his smile and eyes were soft, nonthreatening. His hair framed his cheekbones in a way that made him beautiful, in his own way. And when he reached his hands out and stretched out his fingers, they moved as fluidly as a dancers. His speaking was gentle, almost quiet, but clear. Like a kindly fairy prince.

“I couldn’t tell!” he said. He added a smile that made you feel like you were hit by a train.

“It’s the dress! Really! Our costume people were geniuses” you say.

You began feeling self-conscious-didn’t want to appear weird or snobby or ugly to him.

“But you seemed so…so calm and confident. I’m a musician, but uhm…I’m not a classical musician, you could say. But my friend loves opera, so I decided to try it. So I know what it’s like to be nervous about how you do, you were incredible.” Brian adds, folding his arms.

“A musician! Do you play anything or sing!?” You say, it would be polite to steer the conversation towards him.

“Both…uhm…” he crawled in a little “I do sing, and there’s a lot I play, but the guitar is my favorite.”

Guitars, guitars, what can I say to him that would be interesting about guitars? 

“I…I like guitars. It’s such a soothing sound.”

Brilliant, you idiot girl 

“Do you play?” you add, hoping for a save.

He just said he played, crap,  he’s gonna laugh at me.

“Er, yes, yes I do!” He smiled genuinely  

“I play in a band, and I do lots but usually it’s electric guitar. Is there any instrument you play, Y/N?”

“I struggle with piano. I love the sound, but I don’t know how to really play it. Most of the time, I pluck out melodies. It’s partly how I learned this role.” you say. Your face got hot and you felt red as an apple.

“I could maybe…”

There were some clicks, the lights in the back were going out. People were clearing out of the lobby. 

“Well, it’s closing…we have another performance tomorrow.” you add on.

“Any others?” Brian asked. He began to stroke his chin in fascination.

“No, just two… You could tell your friends about it.” You said,

“I will” Brian said.

“Same time, same place.” You remind him, feeling a tiny, shy grin on your face.

There was a little pause.

“Thank you for talking with me, Brian, it means a lot, since it’s my first big role” you blurt quickly. You didn’t want to get locked out of the theater by accident.

“I enjoyed tonight a lot, Y/N...”

“Goodbye, Brian.”

Goodbye Y/N.”

You turned around and walked out.  You realized you were the last to turn in your costume, change, and leave the theater. You were happy with how you sang, but you felt sad. You wished you could see that kind, handsome man again...Maybe you never would. 

(Bri)

Brian couldn’t go to sleep and kept tossing and turning in his bed.

Just one more performance…

He had to go. But he was… was frightened. You were so beautiful and  caring that he didn’t know if he could survive a second meeting without exploding from nerves. You would think he was a creep and the thought of it made him nauseous. He couldn’t go.

At least, not alone.

There was rehearsal tomorrow. He could leave a little early and still arrive to the theater on time. There was enough time to talk one of them, at least, to go...

Deacy would shy away. He would be too worried and his worry would pile onto Brian’s worry until they were a mess.

Roger?

- rather be shot than go to an opera.

 Besides, Roger would guess the real reason Brian wanted to go. The thought of Roger wolf-whistling at you during your aria made him want to crawl under a rock.

That left only one member of the band, then. The one that could help him.

And naturally, the opera fan among them.

[high5nerd]

Alone Together---Chap. Nineteen

A second reminder that this fic is 100% abandoned, apologies in advance if that puts a downer on my fellow Pitch Black fans.

Sadie was the only source besides calendars that told me that time had passed. Not only would she vocally shout all over the house what holiday it was or what special occassion was going to happen, but the little girl at age ten overtime turned fourteen.

And boy what a brat she can be.

She gave me that sigh with the roll of the eyes teenage girls do. Alice thought it was hysterical but me? I just wanted to smack it off of her! Giving me attitude, why, if I gave my parents attitude I'd be spanked with a paddle or hit with the back of my mother's hand.

But other than her attitude I can understand where she's coming from. She's wanting more independence, she's growing up.

Why does that remind me of Jack Frost? Ugh…

Luckily her age hadn't deterred her belief in me, because she told me straight up one Sunday afternoon, "It's a known fact you're real. Why wouldn't I believe in you?"

Sadie still retained that childlike demeanor, however. White was still her favorite color, she got excited over the smallest positive thing, she still begged for things like she did when she was ten, and once or twice I'd catch her playing with the mirror by making faces to it. To the point where it was actually sort of amusing.

...Don't tell Alice Sadie and I both were making faces in the mirror. It was raining outside and we were bored.

Sadie had grown into a smart young lady, and unlike Alice where patience was her center, Sadie...was a nutcase. Okay, that's putting it harshly. Her center clearly revolved around passion. I'm not meaning the romantic type, I mean passion for things like freedom and equality and justice.

One night after a snowstorm, a few weeks into January, Alice and I were in her room-don't think too hard on that-and Sadie was in the living room watching television. Out of nowhere, she started screaming in fury, "Damn right you're sent to prison! For corrupting your fellow politicians and bringing your town to shame, you asshole! Go to jail so some big guy with an ugly tattoo will make you his bitch!"

Alice looked at me with narrow eyes and folded her arms after Sadie's rant, "Now. Where did she learn that language?"

"The school bus." My response was a little too quick.

I think Sadie has heard me drop a few phrases of curses here and there. Bitch is her favorite word. Alice heard her swearing up a storm once she actually slapped the back of her head with a magazine and told her if she didn't stop she'll kick her outside until dusk.

Having a teenager around certainly was different than a child, despite keeping some childish traits. Sadie no longer was short and no longer had those cheeks with baby fat. She was slender, almost like Alice but not exactly her height yet. Sadie let her hair grow all the way down her back, preferring to have it in one long braid or just loose. She grew an interest in what's called...boho? No. Bohemian? I can't recall, but her choice of apparel was very grunge and artist like, and she loved clothings from different cultures, like Nepal and India.

Tooth would like her for her interest and passion in other cultures. Sadie would grow up to be a fine worker of international relations and activist. But so far Sadie's only interest is her family, friends, and her art and history classes at school. Good thing she's keen on her studies. As long as I'm around, no student's going to be slacking off in my presence.

Sure enough, Sadie's birthday would be rolling around and she'll be turning fifteen, and older and older she'll get along with Alice.

That scared me to death, knowing that they're aging and I'm not. What will I become when they're in their sixties? Just...just a memory? A daydream that they wish was still around? Even if I was I would feel so guilty for not doing something. It's not like I could give them immortality.

Or maybe...or maybe I can!

I was walking through the woods when I was deep in thought, waiting for the girls to come home from a party. I physically stopped at the idea.

"That's it! That's exactly what I could do! I could go to one of the older spirits and beg for them to become immortal! They'd have to agree to that!" I almost jumped in a circle with excitement and started gloating to myself, "Oh, you've done it now, Pitch! Wait until they hear this plan, it's brilliant!"

"Not so brilliant, I'm afraid."

...That better not be who I think it is.

Sure enough, it was. Jack Frost. Jack...Fucking...Frost. Whoop dee doo. I rolled my eyes as I saw him lying on his back on a tree branch, freezing autumn leaves solid with his toes.

Now it's time to take my leave.

Just as I was about to head out of the forest and to the house again, I heard Jack call, "Wait, Pitch!"

"What?!" I turned to snarl at him.

He wasn't phased by my bite. He looked awkward with his shepherd's crook behind his back as he walked towards my place. He looked pitiful. What an idiot.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to barge in on your thoughts." he tried holding out his hand, but I hid mine behind my back. No way am I touching him. No.

"Why are you even here? Spying on me…" I grumbled, looking away.

Jack sighed and switched his grip to his left hand with the wooden staff, kicking up leaves as we walked towards the house. I really didn't want him following me. I'd rather have Sandy around griping at me than this mixed bag of nuts.

"Well, I wanted to see what you do on a daily basis with Alice and Sadie. Since Jamie's all grown up and goodness knows where, I thought I'd observe how you-"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" I stopped him, staring at him in horror, "Who told you?! My business with the girls was only known between me and…"

Jack grinned, liking the look on my face that went from confusion to absolute anger. I growled and looked up at the sky, "That little dust bin is dead."

"Pitch, it's okay," Jack hopped into the sky and flew in front of me as I started storming forward, "He explained everything. I mean it, everything. Sure, North wasn't too pleased and Bunny was pretty pissed, but I get it."

I looked at him oddly, "You...you do?"

Now I know Jack Frost. I think you know I know Jack Frost. He's my enemy, of course, and nothing would change that. Yes, I was very skeptical and very guarded by his odd sense of kindness he was showing me. I thought any second he'd whip out a snowball and pelt me, or make some snide comment about my defeat and then take off before I could break his spine in half. I knew he was capable of immense power if he summed up enough of it, I knew he makes a mess wherever he goes, I knew he was trouble, a mischief maker, and adores children.

But I didn't know he'd side with me on the fight Sandy and I had.

"Sure," he shrugged, "Granted, you're a lying, slimy asshat and I could never forgive you for nearly destroying us," that made me cringe, but he continued, "But I understood where you were coming from when you stood up to Sandy."

"Really." I asked doubtfully, giving him a suspicious eye.

He held up his hands honestly, "Really. There are times I wish I had connections like you have with them. I get it, caring about family. You love them. It's not that hard to understand."

I must've given some sort of look that I still wasn't trusting him, that he could freeze me any second because he sighed in defeat and dropped back down to the ground, putting his hands in his hoodie.

"I suck at apologies, alright? I'm not going to say it. But because you've helped us gain some belief by Alice...well, we're neutral. Ish."

I scoffed, folding my arms. "Fine. I only did it for Alice, not for you."

"And Sadie." Jack grinned widely.

That made me smirk. "Yes, and Sadie."

"Hey, speaking of Sadie, how's she doing? Sandy's missed her a lot. He's changed these past couple of years."

I folded my hands behind my back as we walked towards the house, the lights all on and noises of cookery sounding inside. Frost walked along side, a hidden smile on his face that I hadn't noticed yet.

"She's doing well. She's grown up, very independent," I smirked at him, "Like you."

"Cool," Frost grinned up at me, "Does she know I exist?"

I nodded slowly, and that made him excited. Can't say I blame him, the euphoric feeling of belief was always welcome no matter what age someone was at. He continued to show interest in my girls, mostly about what they do on a daily basis. I told him Alice's job, Sadie's excellent skills in school, and Alice's support of the family. She was like the roman pillar that held up the roof when the other two cracked to ruins, and how she was allowing me to help her with some of the weight. Especially since Sadie's a rowdy teenager, it was more hectic than ever. Her energy was like dealing with three crazy triplets of little Sadie's.

"So, back to your 'immortality' thing," Frost started, swinging his staff over his shoulder.

"Yes, you bluntly said it wasn't a good idea. Shouldn't I know that better than you?" I sneered at him, but he shrugged.

"You should, but I get that you're desperate."

I glared at him, "I'm not desperate."

Frost gave me a knowing look, clearly stating that I was. I growled and looked away, muttering, "Fine. What's your reasoning? Not like I want to hear it."

Frost simply started anyways despite me making it clear I didn't care what he thought, "Well, for starters you don't want to go around telling other spirits you're in this predicament. Secondly, there's no spirit besides Man in Moon that can do that, and I doubt he'll listen to you since he's the one that made the rules."

"Damn…" I muttered, looking up at the sky. No moon out, but that didn't mean he wasn't watching.

"How long have you and Alice been together? Like, four years?" he asked.

I groaned, wishing his incessant chattering would stop. Now I was glad he never joined my side against the Guardians because this little brat talked up a storm, more than Sadie could ever in a lifetime. He continued on about how I was wasting my breath and time, and that sooner or later Alice is going to find someone else that won't be immortal.

Well that topic made me panic again. Hey, I had a reason to snap at him.

"Will you shut up already?!" I snapped at him.

But at the last moment, at the edge of the forest, I saw a sight that could never be erased from my memory. Jack stood still, looking between me and the two people outside. He finally rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, as if he knew the entire story I was watching.

Sandy was there. So was Sadie, and by her face she was genuinely surprised seeing him.

Jack wasn't kidding. Sandy really had changed. Mostly in physical appearance. He was taller, just inches taller than Sadie herself. He must've morphed his form during those four years, and believe me that metamorphosis for a spirit takes ages to do. How he was able to gain energy while transforming his body in just a minimum of four years, I had no idea.

His face was less round than before and his nose was more humanly sculpted, but nonetheless he was still recognizable. His sand body gave an appearance of Indian trousers and the signature folded jacket he had, and his shoes curled.

He...he didn't do all this for Sadie...did he?

I looked at Jack, who winced. "You don't mind I was a distraction, right?"

I growled, "I'll kill you later."

Not wanting to watch this display, nor embarrass Sadie with whatever she was discussing with Sandy, I melted into the shadows. Finally, away from Jack Frost.

Sadie stared, open mouthed. She looked Sandy up and down for the third time. Despite being known as a loud talkative person, no words could describe how she was feeling or what she wanted to say to him. She wanted to hug him and cry because she's missed him so long, she wanted to laugh because of the absurdity of her silence, she wanted to punch Sandy in the stomach for skipping out on her for four freaking years when she needed him most.

"You're...you're back." she stammered, looking into his golden eyes.

He shyly smiled and nodded, looking up through his lashes like a puppy. Sadie found it too adorable for her own good.

I never really left. He touched her hand, but she withdrew. She couldn't look at him, just at the wooden fence of the patio.

"No. You left. Four years and I was alone when I needed you most," Sadie said, looking at the ground with bitterness, "I told you how I felt when I was ten years old and you left because you were disgusted with me."

His fingertips touched her mouth, silencing her. She looked up at him, still angry. He looked mournful, like four years of regret and guilt were finally pouring out of him.

I left for bad reasons that I thought were in the name of your safety. It's bad for humans to love spirits-

"Big excuse," she muttered under his fingertips, "Pitch broke that rule and he's still around. Why couldn't you?"

Because you were young. There were other boys more worthy than me, and I misjudged your feelings as just childish crushing. Sadie, I really did care about you. Do. Why do you think you've never had a single nightmare despite practically living with the Boogeyman?

Sadie couldn't think of a response fast enough for Sandy's liking, so he continued. Now he wasn't just signing or having text float above his head, he was mouthing it. Sadie knew how to lip read, thank goodness for Sandy. She knew sign language as well, mostly from school, but Sandy was too desperate to sign everything that was on his mind.

I never left, Sadie. Physically I did but I would never leave you in any other way. I kept my promise that you would be safe. I always will-

"That's not enough, Sandy," Sadie broke away from him, fighting back tears, "You left for four years. I missed you. I almost gave up on you. But I couldn't, because I really did care about you."

Sandy stepped forward, But-

"But nothing!" Sadie yelled, tears building up in her blue eyes, "You hurt me worse than you thought, Sanderson. I needed you around. I'm still that outcast at school with minimal friends because I still believe in childish fantasies. You never kept me safe in daylight, only when I was asleep! At school I'm harassed by jocks and ridiculed by the teachers for being too liberal and independent. Who was I to go to when I cried? Who could I have possibly gone to that knew how to comfort me and be there?"

Sandy looked down at his slippers, ashamed.

"I couldn't go to Pitch because he'd be angry. Not at me, but he'd go after people and punish them, and the last thing I would want is for people to get hurt because of me. I couldn't go to Alice because she'd try to reason with me why maybe I'm the victim and she ends up sounding like the teachers. You were the only one I knew that let me cry on your shoulder when I needed it, you were there every moment I needed you…"

Sadie's voice fell...she couldn't go on. She didn't have the heart to. Tears were running down her face, and she stubbornly wiped them away, angry at herself for being so weak. Selfish! Self centered! She scolded herself, You make this all about you! How DARE you! How could you do that to him!?

She cried. She tried holding it back, but those four years of loneliness came rushing forth in the form of her tears, and she couldn't stop it. Horrible flashbacks of her lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for those dreamsand images to come hurt her. The images of her writing letters to Sandy she'll never send before throwing them into the trash, of drawing his face until it burned into her brain, thinking that if he had a voice what would it sound like? Lulling and soothing? Musical? Gravely and tough?

Gentle hands touched the sides of her cheekbones, and she looked up, not expecting to see Sandy's face close to hers, noses almost touching.

Without a warning, he softly kissed her, soft as a butterfly's touch. It was one of those kisses that was so gentle it made her heart soar that her wish was fulfilled.

His kiss lingered before he pulled away, looking into her eyes and letting his thumb wipe away her tears.

Do you accept my apology?

Sadie stared at him, not fully processing what was happening. When her brain finally comprehended Sandman's kiss, she clung to him in a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her, gently rubbing her back in circles.

"Don't leave me again. Promise."

Under Man in Moon's watch, I promise.

[daddyzarc]

But wait. What about Don Thousand? He's a barian too. AND cleraly a predator.(Although, you could argue that's because he was originally an Astral being). But what about Fearsome Four? They have mouths too in their barian forms.(Although, Kaninja and Semimaru's mouths are that of the insects they are based on.) So not all barians are innocent. Only the Seven Emperors.

(you asked for this anon ~ love Dyzarc)

I apologize for not delving into Don Thousand in my previous analysis, but in my experience, I was strictly taught that my papers should get to the point with the arguments being clear and concise. This includes omitting irrelevant information that adds nothing to the thesis. Don Thousand is certainly an interesting case in the Barians (and I’ll gladly talk about him this time) but originally, he didn’t fit into the analysis. Every point I wanted to cover was better done using the Seven Emperors — the acid sea, the predator, carapaces, molting, ect — and throwing Don Thousand into the mix would have bloated up the analysis with redundant data. Furthermore, if I wanted to talk about Don Thousand, the analysis would end being twice as long. And I’m sure none of you want to read that.

However, anonwhoshouldrevealthemselfsowecanmeetbehindadarkallyway, I take the full blame of overlooking the Fearsome Foursome as you will take the full blame of allowing Dyzarc to do this. This particular group of feral Barians are a very unique case in Barian Biology since, well, look at these ugly fuckeroos

And since they differ from the Seven Emperors to a high degree, I will certainly go in-depth on these Barians.

DISCLAIMER: If you didn’t read the previous post, please feel free to do so. I’ll expand and refer to certain points in there, so you might be scared confused if you don’t. Also, I will not be primarily addressing their incapability or capability to vore. Everything I mentioned previously continues to hold true for the most part, and it can be applied to all five of the unaddressed Barians. However, there are some abnormalities present that I wish to discuss (Chironex and Mr. Heartland, for example). This post will mainly be explaining their anatomy and so-forth rather than focus on why they absolutely cannot vore. Furthermore, these Barians do function a tad bit differently than the other ones, and I’ll talk more about this later. There will be a section at the bottom that focuses on the vore issue since I KNOW that’s what you folks are here for, but other than a sprinkle of discussion (mostly in relationship to their predator) throughout the passage, it will be vore-free. 

Forthemostpart so let us begin

Zarc N’ Pals Installment 1, Detour 1 GO!

So now that I am given the opportunity to talk about Don Thousand, I’ll fucking talk about Don Thousand. I have a lot to say about Donny, so if you only wanna see my discussion on the Fearsome Foursome, move your cursor to the scrollbar and pull down because you won’t see the end of this for miles. 

Don Thousand is the Gustave of Barians. He is HUGE. An absolute unit. I’m not even joking.

These are some standard-sized Barians:

This is Don Thousand:

Ho-leey shit

So Don Thousand…

Don Thousand is one of the most mysterious Barians mostly attributed to his large size. Since sightings of Don Thousand are far and few between, there is actually an on-going debate in the Barianologist community centered around his true height. Here are some assumed height based on previous encounters:

Smol Don, approximately 10ft or 3m tall, larger than a standard Barian but not by much:

Tol Don, approximately 40ft or 12 m tall much larger than the standard Barian:

Big Boi Massive Don, approximately 150ft or 45m tall, outed as a hoax at the moment but possible if Don Thousand is given more time to grow:

So far, the most agreed-upon and plausible size for Don is the “tol” variant for a number of reason. First off, the few people that encountered this Barian noted that he was much larger than the average Barian, but not towering by hundreds of feet tall. (plz for the love of god, imply square-cubed law doesnt apply for my sake im so tired) Secondly, despite not having consistent sightings of Don Thousand, there have been evidence of his carapaces, or the outer coverings:

Depending on when and where the carapaces were discarded, along with the usage of other trace evidence, such as tracks on the sand or cleared pathways among the crystal forests, safe estimates could be made about his size. 

Okay, but why is there even a debate on the size of a Barian? Especially if he is so large, shouldn’t it be a lot easier to spot him than the other, much smaller Barians?

Yes, Don Thousand is huge, but it is incredibly important to consider the type of environment he lives in. Earth is covered in cities and civilization, as well as satellites that keeps in eye on Earth’s surface. There are eyes everywhere, human or otherwise. If you plop a creature as large as Don Thousand onto Earth, he will be detected in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, Barian World is barren. The only thing on it is the vast acid sea, large crystalline structures, deserts, caves, and clumps of the dwindling Barian population. Not a lot of equipment is readily available to find Don Thousand either. He could be hidden within the acid sea or burrowed deep underground in molt. He could also be hidden in the fields of crystal trees, which are still large enough to hide a Barian his size, or buried under a layer on sand in the desert. Not to mention that Barians could grow, although rare, Don Thousand’s actual size could be changing as we speak. He may as well be a big boi massive since the last sighting. Unless we constantly send expeditions onto the hostile environment, Don Thousand will remain forever elusive and cryptic. 

There is also a plethora of other factors that make this more complicated. His size, again, contributes to this. Going back to my previous analysis where I mentioned that Barians grow or repair using molts (in this case, the rock cycle), molting is a process where its usage and speed depend on the size of the molting creature. Look back to the hermit crab, who I relate the Barians to often, for the size disparities.

Like Barians, hermit crabs have large and small sizes as well, which isn’t strange for most arthropods. A mature hermit crab could be much smaller than another mature but older hermit crab. In the case of the Barians, a Barian like Nasch is mature but he isn’t large like Don Thousand. This isn’t to say that Nasch can’t grow large like Don Thousand, and he might as well in the future, but Don Thousand went through hundreds of molt cycles before he reached that size. He may continue to grow until his size becomes a major deterrent to his survival. 

What makes this hard for us is that molting tends to be a process that gets longer the larger the creature is. For example, hermit crabs (Coenobita clypeatus) average molting times relative to their size in inches:

Micro/Teeny: Less than 1.0″ -  1 week

Small: 1.5″ - 3 weeks

Medium: 2.5″ - 6 weeks

Large: 3.0″ - 8 weeks

Jumbo: Greater than 3.0″ - 16 weeks

As you can see, the larger the crab gets, the more time it takes to complete a molt. Now if we consider that a Barian undergoes a similar process, ie the larger Barians take much longer to complete the rock cycle, it isn’t hard to believe that Don Thousand could take decades, perhaps centuries to molt. Which, may I remind you, is a very long time in the eyes of a dragon. It is easy to understand why Don Thousand is seldom seen or studied. But assuming that he stays above ground between molts (which means he stays above the crust for three times as long as he stays under), there should be a long period of time where he can be easily found, right?

This is where things get a little muddied. Due to his massive girth and thick, rocky shell, Don Thousand can stay submerged in the Sea of Ill Intent for a much longer period than a regular Barian (their shell could still be dissolved, yet the thickness relates to how long they can stay). This means that even if he finishes molting, he can remain hidden within the acid for an indisputable amount of time.  

So all of this discussion about his size… What does this have to do with his ability to vore?… 

Why plenty, in fact.

In nature there are certain animals that have natural predators when they are small/young (sally lightfoot crabs, elephants, rhinoceros, alligators, ect.) but as they grow larger and larger, they slowly lose that disadvantage. And guess which Barian is the biggest one around — yup, Donny K

By nature, Don Thousand is just an absurdly large prey creature.

His size alone is a deterrent against predators that want to challenge such a massive beast (except astrol). Even if an Astral Being, or many Astral Beings, attempt to harm him, he can easily swat them off since he is so big. And as previously mentioned, he can stay within the Sea of Ill Intent to avoid the deadly predators if he really don’t want to be bothered. To summarize, Don Thousand is highly undesirable prey who is much more trouble than he’s worth. 

Understanding this, the other Barians do not follow in Don Thousand’s footstep for a couple of reason:

1) Consistent shape and size means they don’t need to constantly get new carapaces. Every time a Barian makes a drastic change to their body, they must find or create new carapaces that will fit their new form, either by carving a completely new piece or altering their old one. Unless they prepared it before going underground to molt, the Barian will be without carapaces (which protects them from predators) for an unreasonable amount of time, increasing their chances of being killed.

2) Cost of maintaining a body that large is very high. We do not know what fuels a Barian, but the cost of making/transporting energy through a lengthy body, moving high-density limbs, and molting is very high for such a large Barian. If they expend all the energy inside their core without replenishing it somehow (solar power?), they might die of exhaustion.

3) Molting is dangerous but necessary to an extent. It consumes a lot of energy to dig down, melt, reform, rack-build, harden, and dig up, and this process is only harder as the Barian grows bigger. They can also face other dangers in mid-molt, such as being uplifted or disturbed by another Barian, and as the longer they have to stay underground, the chances of being disturbed only increases. For arthropods, interruptions during molt could be fatal or leave them deformed until their next molt. For Barians, molting should only be deployed if they need to repair their shell or work on their rack to ascend in their pecking order. Larger size is not a necessity nor is it worth it most of the time.

The large size is useful as a defense mechanism and trait for the pecking order, yet overcoming the threshold to reach that size is difficult and more trouble than it’s worth, especially since most Barians already have an adequate defense mechanism. Don Thousand is one of the few, perhaps only, Barian that chose to go the “larger size” route. This is made possible for one very critical reason — where he chooses to molt. It is difficult to pinpoint this incredible fact, but Don Thousand molts under the Sea of Ill Intent. 

The image below shows a crack on the seafloor, exposing a hotspot that Barians could use to burrow into and molt.

And the most conclusive evidence that Don Thousand specifically molts around here:

See that thing at the bottom of this hole? That is one of Don Thousand’s carapaces, located under the ocean, hidden in a whirlpool of acid and lava. Most Barians leave their carapaces close to them while they molt, usually several kilometers above the melting point to preserve it or prevent its destruction. The fact that a Don Thousand carapace can be found under the sea strongly suggests that Don Thousand is located very closely to this spot, several kilometers deep into the ground. 

Doing this solves some of the issues stated above:

1) Consistent shape and size means they don’t need to constantly get new carapaces. With Don Thousand’s size, he is able to stay in the acid for a long time without feeling substantial damage to his vital organs. Since the acid will protect him from being attacked while he is carapace-less (not that he has to worry about that), he is given plenty of time to make new ones before he needs/wants to emerge.

2) Cost of maintaining a body that large is very high. The cost of maintaining the body is still high. However, I believe that the effect is mitigated since Don Thousand may be a Barian with a lot of energy to begin with. His core energy (or rate of photosynthesis) may be unnaturally higher than the rest of the Barians, thus he is able to grow large to begin with. Furthermore, Don Thousand doesn’t need to worry about predators at that size. He wastes little energy dealing with them (fleeing, defending, fighting, ect.) and this is the trade-off he chooses.

3) Molting is dangerous but necessary to an extent. The acid sea deters offensive Barians and Astral Beings from harassing him while he is molting, unless they want to venture far and deep into the ocean, risking their life in the process. Uplifting will also only bring him in contact with the acid, where he can promptly dig back down. This is much safer in comparison to being exposed to predators on land.

^The above ends up creating a simple positive feedback loop where his large size prevents the acid from harming him, allowing him to molt into a larger size, which in turn protects him from the acid even more.

(Smaller Barians have a hard time breaking into this loop.)

Taking into account that his massive size will quite easily place him on top of any pecking order based on that alone, where exactly does Don Thousand fit? I’ll get into the idea of “Barian Colonies” in my discussion of the Fearsome Foursome later, but adding Don Thousand into a pecking order isn’t as simple as it seems. Actually, it is really simple, but there are some factors that complicate the issue. 

Due to his large size and the circumstance of his molting, Don Thousand seldom spends any time with the other Barians. If he isn’t in molt, he most likely spends his time within the sea. It takes a lot of energy to move around and if there isn’t an urgent need to emerge from the acid, he will stay submerged until the next molt (the only reason I can think of as to why he would emerge would be to photosynthesize, if Barians do that, or maybe harass the local Barian population). This means that Don Thousand is severed from the Barian pecking orders for the most part, but I assure you that if he does show up, he could effortlessly establish himself into the society for more than just his ginormous girth.

So this brief overview covers a couple of things about Don Thousand that is, in my opinion, highly fascinating. Although it isn’t clear yet, Don Thousand’s rocky shell and carapace borrow certain unique elements from the other Barians. Examples of shared defense mechanisms include:

”SWISH” mechanism* —> Scritch, Erazor, Mr. Heartland (FF)

Talons capped with carapace —> Scritch, Mr. Heartland (FF)

Insignia* —> Unique to Seven Emperor Barians (SE)

Center eyeball —> Mr. Heartland (FF)

This tells us a couple of things. Either the smaller Barians adopt traits from Don Thousand and incorporate it into their own body plan… OR Don Thousand incorporated some of the best defense mechanism of the smaller Barians into his form, thus increasing his overall fitness by being the best of the best, drastically reducing any chance he has of being killed. The implications of this is that Don Thousand doesn’t belong to one Barian group but to many Barian groups, and he reigns over all of them whenever he emerges from the ocean. Think of Don Thousand as a “God of the Barians” if you will. He will always be at the top of the pecking order (although the presence of an Insignia* suggests that he is closest to the Seven Emperor Barians).

*Further explanation in latter half 

Final Consensus: Despite being as intimidating as a predator, Don Thousand is still a prey Barian who utilizes his large size and in-common traits to avoid predation. He’s just very large.

heyyo fearsome fucksome time mothertruckers

Moving on from the God that is Don Thousand, let’s examine the Fearsome Foursome.

I know what you want to hear. “Dyzarc! What the fuck are you doing. Where in the world does the Fearsome Foursome fit into the Barian pecking order?? Does Nasch get dethroned by these buggy barbarian bozos?” 

To begin, upon looking at the two groups below:

I do not believe it is logical to integrate the Fearsome Foursome into the Seven Emperors pecking order. 

Why?

Simply put, these Barians groups do not belong together. Barians are similar to orca pods on Earth.

^^Example of different orca types due to regional differences. The same concept applies to Barians, but they show more severe variation due to the differences in their environments as well as natural variation as a direct result of unique rack-building and inconsistent molting environments. Different cultures also mean that the groups are not exactly equal to each other*

*This is not to say one group is inferior or superior to the other, but they are built for different purposes and thus are not comparable 

To be frank, the Seven Emperor Barians are actually very easy to distinguish from other groups by examining their physical appearance alone. The most concrete evidence of a Seven Emperor Barian is to look on their chest for a distinctive carapace, an Insignia, seen here:

SIDE-NOTE: Another Barian with an Insignia is Don Thousand. This provides further evidence that he may be a part of the Seven Emperor colony or allude to the idea that Don Thousand is truly the “Barian God” that presides over every Barian colony, thus adopting the customs and traits of each group (Ex. Wings and Needle (swish) of the Fearsome Foursome) in order to better his survival rate. 

Habitat and behavior also plays a major role in separating the groups, which applies more to the Fearsome Foursome due to their unique circumstance, but to simplify the topic, a general rule of thumb is: 

Insignia = SE

No Insignia = Not SE

The Fearsome Foursome Barians all lack an Insignia and therefore should not be included within the Seven Emperor pecking order. Instead, they have their own pecking order established, which relies on different traits than the ones of the Seven Emperor Barians.

Of course, a difference in body structure doesn’t inherently discern a Fearsome Foursome Barian from a Seven Emperor Barian, but these physical characteristics (just look at them and you can see that something is amok) tells us that the Fearsome Foursome Barians are reacting to something that Seven Emperor Barians are not. However, since their body plans stem from the presence of Astral Beings, a rather uniform factor all things considered, this tells us that the Fearsome Foursome Barians are tailoring their form in response to the Astral Beings specifically.

But how could this happen? A Barian is a Barian is a Barian. Shouldn’t they all be a single entity/rely on the same mechanisms since they live on the same planet?

It isn’t completely clear what truly distinguishes a Fearsome Foursome Barian to a Seven Emperors Barian (and any other colonies) aside from the Insignia or why the Barians separate themselves into colonies — although it could be due to a high territorial drive, since Barians need a lot space to molt, and the more populated the group, the harder it is to find a good spot to repair and regrow their form; creating colonies is a good way to ensure good molting locations or a safer place to live — but the best place to look is:

A) Where they live and What is the end goal of their body plan. These two are not mutually exclusive to each other.

(Note: SE has more territory due to being a larger colony than the FF; larger colony = more space required for molting)

For the Seven Emperors, their habitat range is located here:

Along with residing in the enclosed forest, the biggest takeaway from this is that the Seven Emperor Barians live very close to the Sea of Ill Intent. As previously discussed, the acid sea allows for the Barians to effectively retreat into the acid from a pursuing predator. Once in the acid, they are generally safe from harm and it is highly unlikely that they will get killed. For the Seven Emperors, since they reside very close to the Sea of Ill Intent, when they are in danger, they can easily flee into the acid to protect themselves. As long as they do not wander too far from the sea, their primary defense mechanism is the Sea of Ill Intent.

This also supports how Don Thousand, a Barian who frequents the Sea of Ill Intent, has an Insignia that belongs to the Seven Emperors on his chest. Since Don Thousand and the Seven Emperors live in the same general area, by being in close proximity alone, Don Thousand is most integrated into the Seven Emperors colony and uses the Insignia (which does little for protection; used more for aesthetic/pecking order) for no other discernible reason than to just have it.

Now note where the Fearsome Foursome live:

They are not near the sea. They live further inland within the crystal pillar forests or at the edge of the great Barian Desert, therefore they do not have a go-to “safe-zone” to retreat to if they are attacked. Their defense mechanism comes from whatever ingenious way they designed their bodies to protect themselves. I will cover these mechanisms later. 

(Think of these as the differences between bonobos and chimpanzees. Different species, yet they are very closely related. The discussion of these two species is intriguing on its own, but what I want to get across is that bonobos are less aggressive than chimpanzees. This is mainly due to the environment they evolved in, where the bonobos’ ancestors came from a place of “paradise” or abundance in food while the chimpanzees’ ancestor came from a place of scarcity. To survive in the hostile and tough environment, the chimpanzees became more aggressive/ingenious, as in they have territorial fights, engage in hunting activities, and use tools to find food.)

The analogy above can be used to describe why the Fearsome Foursome are so different compared to Seven Emperors.

For the Seven Emperors, the end goal is to create a body for placement in the pecking order. They use a rack system to establish pecking order (which is more for aesthetic when compared to the utter shit the FF put onto their bodies). Although they can use the racks to protect themselves, the usage of a huge rack shows that they devote valuable resources (or have resources to spare) to make themselves more aesthetically pleasing. In a sense, the Seven Emperors are living in a more calm, less hostile environment.

For the Fearsome Foursome, the end goal of their body plan is to make anything worthwhile in terms of defense to make up for the lack of Sea of Ill Intent. Most of their molting energy is devoted into creating a body that will protect them from a gruesome death, which means they have less resources for rack-building. In a sense, the Fearsome Foursome are living in the more hostile environment.  

Now that we covered why the groups are different, let’s examine what these differences are starting with a commonly shared trait among the Fearsome Foursome.

Aside from living in the same range, the clearest answer that links this diverse cast of Barians (Scritch, Chironex, Mr. Heartland, and Erazor) into the same category would be their usage of an elaborate Defense Mechanism. The Seven Emperors have a rocky shell and carapaces as their defenses against Astral Beings, and so do the Fearsome Foursome. Yet, the Fearsome Foursome Barian include those basic characteristics with the addition of something else. This could be seen in the carapaces alone.    

Even when excluding the Duel Disks, notice how heavily fortified the Fearsome Foursome Barians are compared to that of the Seven Emperors Barians. The Seven Emperors usually have smaller, one-sided pieces covering their shoulders or torso while the Fearsome Foursome’s carapaces tend to wrap around their entire body and more. This is one example to show the difference in defense mechanism between the two groups, but obviously the Fearsome Foursome goes further with this concept. 

So back in the Don Thousand breakdown, I mentioned something called the SWISH. Swishing is a type of defense mechanism.

To “swish”, one will need a frontal protection and a dorsal protection. In the case of the Fearsome Foursome, they use a frontal needle and dorsal wings. Barians are extremely heavy and do not require food to survive, so it is very unlikely that the needle belongs to a mouth piece and the wing pieces aid with flight (so far, there has been no accounts of True Barians in flight). Therefore, the wings and needles serve another purpose.

Okay. So how does SWISH work? 

(Simulation; no Astral Beings were harmed in the video above)

Standing for SWord/needle and SHield/wings as well as the noises it makes when a Barian starts flapping or stabbing (use your imagination) and found in ¾ of the Fearsome Foursome Barians + Don Thousand, this is a basic but effective defense mechanism witnessed mainly in the vulnerable Fearsome Foursome Barians. The wings on the back provide backside protection. The Barian can also rapidly flap the wing pieces in order to shake off any Astral Being latching onto its backside. If the Astral Being tries to attack the Barian from the front, it must deal with a piercing needle constantly jabbing at it. This means that if an Astral Being wants to access the Barians’ core at all — which is located at the center of their chest — they must deal with the swish. Compared to the defense mechanism of the Seven Emperors, this is a very elaborate gimmick.

And speaking of elaborate gimmicks, I am going to focus heavily on Scritch and Chironex’s gimmicks for two reasons: they both have fascinating defenses, and  Erazor and Mr. Heartland main defense strategy is “cover in spikes and carapaces” along with the swish mechanism. Overall, they are far less complex than Scritch and Chironex. 

(Also I am a duper lazy dragon and feel like this torture is long enough and I really dont want to stare at barian heartland and erazor for another 2 hours.)

Let’s first look at Scritch, who is my new adopted son btw. Scritch is one of the most intriguing Barians out of this group, and this isn’t my personal preference towards him playing a role into this. Despite not being the most complex Barian, he certainly employs an interesting tactic (if my theories are correct). 

Taking a glance at his coloration reveals a couple things about his mechanism, especially if we compare him to some similar species found on Earth. 

This banded coloration is a product of a variety of things, such as the Barian utilizing disruptive coloration or warning colors. In this case, the Barian environment consist mainly of shades of reds, thus the disruptive coloration may not be very useful to this Barian. But what is useful? Warning colors. This is a commonly-used tactic in animals with brightly colored or flashy skin, such as poison dart frogs. The bright and striking bands on Scritch will make this Barian an easy target to spot and kill in the reddish tint of the planet, yet it could also be a signal to the predators that he is “not a good meal to eat”. 

On one hand, the colors could be nothing more than a bluff, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if Scritch used the colors as a facade to scare off predators. But I think otherwise. If it was a bluff, Scritch wouldn’t have survive this long against bold or unaware Astral Beings, nor will his facade last if enough predators keep pestering him. My theory, and it is only a theory with no other evidence to back it up other than logic maybe, is that Scritch has pockets of some Alkali metals (pure sodium, for example) located in parts of his body like behind the mask carapace or within the bright red claws. For those unaware, Alkali metals are highly reactive to water, which is what the Astral Beings are made of, and can explode if they make contact with it. If an Astral Being attacks him, he can deploy the metals, harm the Astral Being, then skedaddle away while the predator is disorganized. 

This could heavily damage the Barian in the process, but since they could always molt: temporary losing a limb > death. The banded coloration on his body signals to the Astral Beings to back off or else they’ll eat a face-full of sodium. This is only a theory however, and I cannot prove it unless we throw water at Scritch to see if he can explode. Which I absolutely cannot legally do because the Fearsome Foursome Barians are critically endangered (some problem with an invasive species, but the less we talk bout those three hooligans, the better) and I should not make Scritch explode. 

Lastly, let us discuss a Barian who most likely won’t explode if water touches him.

Chironex is another Barian with the presence of a fully-mechanical mouth. As with the other Fearsome Foursome Barians, Chironex doesn’t follow the body plan of a Seven Emperor. His body is covered mostly in thick carapaces, which is similar to the other Fearsome Foursome members. However, his physical appearance is drastically different than the other Fearsome Foursome Barians as well, such as the lack of protective wing pieces and needle-nose for effective swishing. At first glance, it’s difficult to tell where this one belongs. Based on his physiology, he doesn’t look anything like Fearsome Foursome or a Seven Emperor. He could’ve belonged to his own colony altogether. 

This is a case where the similarities goes beyond their physical appearance. Take Canis lupus familiaris, for example, where the physical differences among each breed can look drastically different from one another yet they still fall under the same species (for dogs, they are considered the same species since most breeds can produce viable offspring if mated and they still have an exceedingly similar genome). 

Like a breed of dog, Chironex is a Fearsome Foursome. Chironex lives within the boundary of the Fearsome Foursome range, interacts with the other Fearsome Foursome Barians, and his behavioral patterns follows that of a Fearsome Foursome. He also has a valuable place in the Fearsome Foursome pecking order. Despite not looking like one, Chironex is most certainly a Fearsome Foursome.

So knowing that, about his gimmick…

Chironex has a gimmick alright. And boy is it a gimmick. I want you to look at this image. 

Note what the carapaces cover and what lies underneath the carapaces. 

Now here’s our high-quality artist rendition of Chironex without his thick carapaces:

And here he is standing next to an Astral Being for comparison:

Notice something peculiar about this situation? 

As you can see, the base form of Chironex (aka a Chironex without the layers of carapa—naked, i mean hes utterly nude) looks strikingly similar to the form of an Astral Being. Very smooth with a bluish tint, and a mouth, which is an extremely important body part on an Astral Being. And it is absolutely no coincident that Chironex looks like an Astral Being. 

It is completely deliberate because Chironex uses a very advance form camouflage — mimicry. Not only does his defense mechanism involve mimicking another species but he is mimicking his predator species. This means his facade has to be very convincing if he wants to survive. Impressively enough, the behavior of this Barian also changes in order to aid his survival, such as his fascination with water and so-forth. Furthermore, Chironex’s base form has a very “jellyfish” feel to it. This is noteworthy because jellyfishes are comprised of 95% water, give or take, and basing himself around jellyfishes add more layers onto his mimicry. 

The change in behavior coupled with well-done mimicry is one of the most elaborate defense mechanism in the natural world, so Chironex obviously has a good place in the Fearsome Foursome pecking order.

*In my opinion, I find the idea of exploding Scritches to be a lot more interesting than mimicry but y’kno how it is.

Here is the pecking order of the Fearsome Foursome:

And here is the pecking order of the Fearsome Foursome + Seven Emperors + Don K. for those curious on how the Barians compare to each other (if they had to beat each other up or sumthin idk)

And here’s the pecking order based on what I think the pecking order should be. No bias or anything, just based on logical progression

OKAY. If you’re still reading this, congrats! I love you.

We are on the final topic of this discussion. The VOREeee. Or are all Barians innocent or are only the Seven Emperors innocent?

Let’s look at the candidates for this:

Seven Emperors - Previously discussed 

Scritch and Erazor - SAFE*

Don Thousand - SAFEish** 

Chironex and Mr. Heartland - UNSAFE feel free to vore with em you sick fucks i know i will***

* Scritch and Erazor lack a visible mouth like the rest of the Seven Emperors, so they do fall under the “innocent” Barians.

**Don Thousand is a strange case due to one specific scene.

Right here, Don Thousand’s lowest eyeball turns into a gaping hole and proceeds to inhale Vector into it. This is clearly vore in some sense of the way, which I will not deny. HOWEVER, this opens the door to the concept of eye vore (not strange considering that anal vore, navel vore, cock vore, you-name-it exists) and since all the Barians have eyeballs, or what appears like functioning eyeballs, they are all capable of performing eye vore. wtf i didnt think of that and I do not know what to do with that information except say go nuts.

***With Chironex, I am willing to let him off the hook since he is involved in the act of mimicry, so the mouth could be false. This doesn’t let him off the hook for vore, of course, but my explanation is that the mouth is non-functional because it is the sole result of a mimicking disguise.

With Mr. Heartland…

uh his mouth is a…

oh god jesus chrisus hold up,, let me check my notes

[cat-with-glasses-and-pen]

School sucks

A/N: I know, I know I should do part 5 of "your ghost roommate". I just don't know how to do it. But I WILL make it, I swear.

So, this is a little something to read until part 5.

I did a lot on this and then Tumblr had an error and all got deleted! Why Tumblr!? Why do you do this to me!?! I was almost done with it too! I don't wanna write it all again;;;;

(If you want, you can send me a request for a one shot.)

Summary: Virgil and Roman are one the bus home, from school.

Pairings: platonic Prinxiety and romantic Monxity

TW: maybe slight mention of bullying and fighting???

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Virgil is in the bus home from school. His headphones on and his bag on the other sit. A clear signal.

'Fuck of! I want to be alone!'

Yes, yes, the emo loner is alone in the bus and doesn't want to be bothered. Not completely true. He is one of the more popular kids in school. How come he is one of the popular kids? Well,... First of; he does not only out sass Demion almost all the time (what saves a lot of students there asses) but also out smarts Logan Blue (the smartest guy in the school!) Secondly; he is Patton Kindly's boyfriend. Patton has so many friends, it is a wonder he can keep track of them all. That he was able to see something like this in Virgil was a surprise. But everyone soon knew that both would physically fight you if something is to happened to the other. Lastly; Virgil is the only one to shut up Roman Queenz! Not even the teachers are in the capability of keeping him quiet. What had the following had, that the teachers sited, paired and put Virgil in the same classes as Roman. Just so Roman keeps quiet.

Said student took Virgil's school bag from the sit and shoved the bag into the emo's arm's and as soon as he was sat, he started ranting about something that happened in theater class. When the theater kid starts ranting about theater, no one can stop him. Not even Virgil and normally he doesn't. Roman is like a little child when he talks about things he love. It is like telling a child that there dreams are nothing. You don't do that. But today Virgil didn't even had the energy to ignore him and not giving the theater idiot attention was a death wish on itself.

"Yes, yes you looove theater I get it but if you wanna sit here, then shut up. If not then move your royal pain in the ass and annoy someone else. Got it?" With that he turned back to the window and for good measure shoved his bag back into Roman's arm's.

***

Roman looked shocked at Virgil's back. Yes, Virgil was the one to shut his rants sometimes even just with one word but the other always made sure not to be personal or offensive. That on the other hand stung.

'Royal pain in the ass'

The emo normally is only this mean with Demion and that only when the asshole crossed the line. For Virgil that takes a lot until someone crosses his line. Roman did it ones and that was when they weren't friends yet. Roman was scared for a hole week.

He had heard that Virgil and Demion had a fight again this day and even had to go to the principal. Demion even became that aggressive that he tried to hurt Virgil physically. That would at least explain why Virgil is now like this. When Roman took a closer look at the emo, he also noticed that the other was exhausted and that more than he normally was.

Moving the bag into his right hand and using his left hand to move his hair out of the way. Roman used that movement to look over his shoulder. Being in front of the bus and behind the bus driver means that Virgil can hide from the others with ease. His height helped with that too and Roman also hided him a bit with his body now. So he moved his left hand behind the emo's head and tapped the others left shoulder, waiting for the emo to diside the next move.

***

Noticing that he was tapped, he first thought it was someone from the back but when there was no one he knew it was Roman. Looking over to the theater idiot, Roman had the same reassuring smile as Patton whenever he had a bad fight with Demion. The cheerful teen would cuddle with Virgil and let him stay at his place for the rest of the day. Not that something was wrong with his own family but sometime they where a bit too much. And of course this week of all weeks, Patton had to be sick of all the weeks he could have picked. The week where Demion was back in school after his suspension. What he probably will get right away again after this stund today.

He was too tired and exhausted to question Roman and just moved his head onto the theater kids left shoulder. Crossing his arm's in the act as well. He also closed his eyes, a little nap wouldn't hurt. He did argue with Roman a lot but it is all in good fun. Roman is loyal and trustworthy and will always protect his friends. So he could trust that Roman would wake him up at his stop.

***

As soon as Roman felt the weight of Virgil's head on his shoulder, moved he his arm around the emo in a safe and warm side hug. Petting his hair and wow, the emo's hair is so soft! He understands now why Patton loves to move his hands through the emo's hair. He has to ask Virgil sometime what hair products he is using.

"How about I bring you to Patton?" Roman knew that the emo needed Patton right now. Being hugged by him is different then being hugged by Patton. Virgil just let out a sigh and nodded. "Okay then." With a soft voice let Roman Virgil fall asleep for the rest of the bus ride. Before Virgil fell asleep completely Roman heard the emo murmured a "..School sucks..."

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A/N: I swear I'm gonna do the fived part of your ghost roommate and the third part of unknown nightmare!

Taglist:

@quoth-the-sparrow @sleepysnail @toolazytothinkofcreativename @ooor-are-they @smilingwiththeworlddestroyed @ccecode @asleepybisexual @altruistic-skittles @beach-fan @notalwaysthevillian @nyxwordsmith @awkwardmazard18 @stabbinggoodtime @apologetically-anxious @galaxy-warping @gamamaro @royallyanxious @lacrimorathedark @v-doodles @ebony-wolf @cats-with-blogs @phander-trash @otakugirl11300 @secretlyanxiousperona @silent-violet-echos @blue-wolfbane @podeastsandcoffee

[darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts]

Enter the Kitsune - Prologue pt5

Warnings: Strong language

Masterlist

—

Prologue part 5

“Aerion! Where are you!? Come out!”  A familiar angry voice barked into the night. Hideyoshi?

Sasuke’s expression turned grim as he also heard the call along with the sound of approaching horses. He dropped his hand saying nothing and slipped into the shadows of the forest as if he had melted. Huh? Great, you get to play ninja and I get to what? Take one for the team? This is seriously so not my night. Just as I let out a deep sigh in resignation two horses crashed through the undergrowth appearing near me. One of the riders was clearly a less than impressed Hideyoshi. “I searched the whole forest for you.”

“Did you? I would ask you how you enjoyed your trip but from the look on your face, I’d say it was self-explanatory. Besides that, I never asked you to search for me.” Any sympathy I may have had was dissolved like my vanishing ninja ally, leaving behind it frustrated sarcasm.  

“You really are an outspoken woman. Hiding yourself from Lord Nobunaga for no reason whatsoever as well. How insolent can you get?” He looked to be a little relieved to have found me but I seriously don’t think it was out of concern for me.

“How can you say I had no reason? You were there he asked me to conquer the world with him. Apart from that sounding like the start of a very generic movie villain’s dialogue. It didn’t exactly look like him asking me was anything more than a fancy way to just order me into submission!” I barked back at the puffed up Hideyoshi who was giving me a look that could have crushed me from his height on that horse.

The man on the other horse cackled in amusement his laughter sounding out of place given the mood.

“You’re Aerion? A stalwart lass indeed. I’ve no doubt you’re the woman who defied Lord Nobunaga.” The jovial stranger was wearing a golden moon motif that adorned blue and black armour. He had messy short chestnut coloured hair and a singular electric blue eye. The other must have been damaged or missing as he had an eye patch over his left side.

“And who are you supposed to be? Bit early to be playing dress up for Halloween.”

“I’d love to hear more and I’d be happy if you did know who I was, but now’s not the best time to talk.” He reaches down for me smiling without a care for my words.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Let me go!” I wriggled in his grip but the man had still effortlessly scooped me up. I was now sitting uncomfortably on a horse. There were two reasons for that, one was I was sitting quite far up on the horse and the saddle was sticking into me and the other was how close I now was to a complete stranger. From the gap he had put me in, I was locked in place between two strong arms and nestled against his strong chest. I could feel the warmth from him wrapped around me like a shroud. I gripped my bag tight to my chest attempting to distract myself from the much closer view I had of his domineering smile.

“My name is Masamune Date. Remember it, Aerion.” He was clearly having fun with this. If I was in the mood to play games I might not mind but right now all I actually want to do is be left alone.

“Masamune is head of the noble Date family of Oshu. He’s also allied with Lord Nobunaga, so show some respect.” Hideyoshi added more details as he pulled his horse alongside.

“Thank you both for the introduction and the random bit of trivia I am sure will come in very handy during a pub quiz at some point. Can you put me down now?” I tried to move a little but all that happened was the horse whinnied and clopped its hoof. Well hello to you too.

“Settle down. You’ll spook the horse.” Masamune chuckled and moved one hand from the reins bringing it around my shoulder to steady me as he kept me in place on his lap. I suppose to other people seeing this kind of thing in a movie it might look like a romantic prince and princess or the stuff of fairy tales type of thing but honestly, in reality, it’s not.

“Spook the horse!? That’s what you are worried about?” I whipped my head up to glare at him and instantly locked eyes with his singular optic and regretted doing so. I could feel my body tense. If I wasn’t really careful I could so easily get lost in that depth of blue.  

“Come to think of it, you look a little spooked to lass.” Masamune teased, urging his horse to move with a snap of the reins and shouting out a command. I was right, he is having fun with this. The horse broke into a run, picking up the pace as the terrain became clearer. The motion forced me back, pressing me towards Masamune. My knuckles turned white holding on to my bag and the saddle as I tried to prevent myself from falling off. My earlier request to be put down and left alone had fallen on deaf ears and my protests were ignored in a similar fashion.

“Don’t lose her, Masamune.” Hideyoshi called out from behind. He wasn’t moving as fast but was still clearly in sight.

“I won’t. Hold on tight, Aerion.”

“I suppose me saying I’m not going is pointless right now?” I tried again to reject the ride to where ever we were going.

“Nobunaga has already departed camp. He ordered you be brought to him.” Hideyoshi’s face hid nothing of his apparent dislike of this order.

“We need to ride fast if we’re gonna catch up. Don’t fall off, now.” Masamune sounded like a kid playing a good game as he gave me a small squeeze on my shoulder talking directly into my ear so I could hear him over the thundering hooves and wind whistling past us.

“Catch up? Catch up to where? Where are we going?” Complaining met nothing but a wall of silence or changes in the subject. Who would have thought the stereotypical “nice weather we’re having isn’t it?” conversation used to pass time in polite society was used back 500 years ago and in a completely different country? Masamune was relentless in his mission. Spurring his horse forward faster and faster, riding through the night until we had apparently reached our destination.

“We’re here, Aerion. Azuchi Castle, home of the Oda forces.” Masamune waved one of his arms out in a grand gesture. I was shaky and saddle sore but I still raised my head to look at where I had been brought. It was a lively place.

The labyrinth of streets was teaming with movement from the inhabitants even at this early time of day. The further we went the more it looked like we were marching forward into a fortress. I hadn’t actually seen a complete one before. I did some summer vacation trips with my parents when I was younger and saw some medieval castle ruins and things but this was something different. I don’t know if its because it was complete and in use or if its because it's in a different country but this place was like a castle in a city encased in a fortress. Fortified stone sheer-faced stone walls wrapped around the large architecture. Water that was forced by man-made manipulations to create a moat and direct clean water supply to the general public. It was actually breathtaking, too bad I was in no mood to enjoy it. As I looked around a yawn snuck up on me before I could cover my mouth.

“Don’t show yourself to Lord Nobunaga with that expression. You look like a gaping frog.” Hideyoshi quickly admonished me.

“Firstly, I was yawning. Secondly, I didn’t agree to see him or anyone else for that matter. And besides all that Hideyoshi you’ve been on my case about every tiny thing since yesterday. I get it you don’t like me so you can drop the constant nitpicking.” I had reached my limit, again. Every time I told myself to just not rise to him, I couldn’t help it. He was so unconstructively critical I just ended up feeling myself bristle at him.

“So, you’re a morning person. I’ll keep that in mind.” Thanks to Masamune’s little joke in my ear I suddenly remember he still had me locked in the saddle in front of him between his arms.

“If we are here you can put me down now.”

“Actually, I think not. I’m pretty happy with you right here.” Masamune moved so he was pressing even closer to me in the saddle.

“Jeez… Well, I’m not!” I lightly slapped his arms which did nothing really but make him chuckle. I guess this guy is the joker in this deck of cards.

“Masamune, our Lord Nobunaga has taken an interest in her. Keep your hands off her.” Hideyoshi spoke up in my defence. Alright, it wasn’t so much in my defence as it was insuring Nobunaga got what he wanted but I was still slightly relieved to have someone else tell Masamune to keep his hands to himself.

“Why does that matter? I like her too. Men don’t thrive in the shadows of other men. In battle, or in love.”

“How poetically obstinate of you. Listen, you two—” I grabbed Masamune’s hand that was snaking its way around my waist holding it in place so it couldn’t wander further. Masamune’s eye flashed like he was completely delighted with my reaction. Great, why do I think this one enjoys a good chase to get his kicks? It's like looking at a predator enjoying playing with its food. Before I could think too hard about that a group of women rushed towards the gates. Speaking of predators…

“Hideyoshi! Welcome back!” The women lined up straining past each other to get a clear view. Excited calls, broad smiles… they practically have hearts popping out their eyes. “Over here, Hideyoshi!” A few were waving their arms their kimono sleeves catching the breeze like flags. “Oh, Masamune, you’re dashing as ever! Who’s your friend?” The women were all clamouring for attention. Seriously what is this Sengoku’s answer to your favourite boy band arriving in an airport?

“How can you get this welcome every single time, Hideyoshi? Break a heart or two, will you?” Masamune looked a little put out. It’s not like you weren’t getting your fair share of glances you know?

“What do you take me for?” Hideyoshi shrugged and dismounted his horse looking for all the world like a knight in a fairy tale. Then made his way to the crowd of hysterical women. “I’ve told you there’s no need to come all the way to the gate for me. What about your work?” His voice was a lot softer than when he spoke to me.

“I finished early so I could see you when you came back.” The replies were accompanied with demure looks and hesitant giggles. Honestly, Can you be any more obvious? “Hideyoshi, will you be staying long? I hope we’ll have time to catch up.” Ok, apparently you can.

“Don’t let me keep you waiting. I’ll send a letter as soon as things settle down.” Hideyoshi gently took one of the women’s hands in his. It was probably a completely innocent and caring gesture but it was being received in a completely different way. Woah what is with that smile and shift in attitude?

“Of course! Take as long as you need!” The women were practically swooning.

“So basically Hideyoshi is a big softie and a heartbreaker and not just a grumpy overbearing paranoid pain in the ass?” I muttered as I watched the scene.

“That is how he normally is. I guess you’re just special.” Masamune shrugged and removed himself from the horse with practised agility.

“I’m sure I’ll remember that later when my head finally stops ringing from his endless lecture on why Lord Nobunaga is great and how he doesn’t see why he is so interested in a wayward little girl like me.” I said sounding bitter.

“Well, Lass it’s not every day you see it. But there aren’t many women who don’t fall for Hideyoshi at first sight. I’d say that makes you different.” Masamune was standing to the side of the horse looking up at me with curiosity. “So, who are you, really?” He moves suddenly removing me from the horse and I’m once more trapped in his arms. His face was close enough for me to feel him breathing on my skin. If this is his idea of a game and he wants to play I’m in no mood.

“Welcome back, Lord Hideyoshi, Lord Masamune.” Mitsunari appeared next to another man. I guess he had travelled back with Nobunaga from the temple. Masamune smiled broadly at the two members of the castles own welcoming party, putting me down so I could stand on the ground properly.

“Even Ieyasu came out to say hi. That’s rare. That sourpuss standing next to Mitsunari is Ieyasu. Why don’t you say hi Aerion?” I felt like I was walking into a setup. Feet finally touching the flat ground it was hard to stop my muscles from screaming at me and the subconscious memory of the lurching movement from riding for so long. Masamune took my hand without a care in the world and walked in front of me clearing a path through Hideyoshi’s throng of admirers stopping by the two men.

“I’ve been expecting your arrival, Lady Aerion.” Mitsunari said smiling like a sunbeam. It’s a shame I have to cast a shadow over it.

“Mitsunari. I don’t have anything further to say to Nobunaga –”

“She looks pitiful.” The surly words cut me off and I looked at the short fluffy blonde-haired man. He had emerald eyes and was dressed in cream and yellow colours. It gave him a much warmer appearance than his biting words. Well, aren’t you a lovely little walking contradiction?  He gave me a disapproving frown. “You’re Aerion?”

“That’s right.”

“Ieyasu, that’s no way to greet someone. Can’t you give them a smile, at least?” Hideyoshi addresses Ieyasu with a wry smile. I can only think that he is still stuck a little in his performing monkey role from dealing with that crowd of women.

“Can he? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him do that. Hey Ieyasu. What does your smile look like?” Masamune had his playful teasing tone back.

“Why is that important?” Ieyasu huffed.

“Don’t be unsociable. You need to let loose. Learn to smile and laugh.” Hideyoshi was still smiling as he spoke to the younger man. Ever think to follow some of that advice yourself. Honestly that smile of yours back there was such a shock to me I thought I was having an out of body experience.

“Come on I’ll help. Hideyoshi, you take his left.” Reacting faster than Ieyasu could pull away Masamune grabbed him and began pulling an arm to expose Ieyasu’s side.

“S-stop it! You’re both just annoying me.” Ieyasu scrunched his doll-like face up into a contorted grimace as he scrambled to free himself from Hideyoshi and Masamune’s tickle assault. As amusing as this is the sight of Hideyoshi actually doing something other than a frown or complain is still unsettling. I was watching the three men act like school kids when Mitsunari spoke again.

“Like Lord Masamune, Lord Ieyasu is also allied with Lord Nobunaga. He came at once, hearing the news of the assassination attempt.” Mitsunari’s voice was low enough for me to hear, smiling happily watching the interaction.

“Makes sense. I mean if your Boss is going to be hurt you’d want to be there to prevent it if you could.” I nodded slightly as I spoke still a little lost in whole split personality situation I was seeing.

“Everyone? Shall we save the happy reunion until after our new arrivals get some rest?” Mitsunari called out and clapped his hands together once to gain attention over the ruckus.

“Save yourself, Mitsunari. I’m not remotely happy about any of this.” Ieyasu spat as he was freed from the other two men and was straightening up his clothes. Really because I’d never have been able to tell from your face.

“Oh. My apologies. Then let’s simply not stand around and talk outside.” Mitsunari was apparently oblivious to other people’s use of tone. Happily, clueless he turns to me. “Lady Aerion, the room you’ll be staying in is already prepared. Please, get some rest.” Refusals and protests ignored again. The too sweet to directly say no too Mitsunari ushered me into the castle.

---

[stayforsure]

Your personal space is mine (Seo Changbin & y/n)

Changbin x y/n short scenario

request: Changbin and his s/o being taller than him

a/n: I’ sorry, I feel that I mix a lot of tenses, prefixes and wrote it worse than usually, but I have a fever, my nose is full and it could make my brain works slower. XD rly, forgive me

So you did it again.

You’ve drank your afternoon coffee after an active day and tear dropped on your light yellow shirt. You’ve tried to take the spot off, but you used a lot of soap and water and it needed time to dry. You couldn’t walking like that, especially when the dorm was full of boys.

So you opened your boyfriend wardrobe without asking, because he went to the shop to buy ingredients for your dinner. You would do it anyway without hesitation - he would definitely let you open his wardrobe and won’t being angry at you - you know him enough. So when you found random, black shirt with a small pocket on the left side, you put it on and go back to their kitchen and put pasta to boiling water.

Changbin got back as fast as he declaimed and put all bags on the table. He take out all bought stuff and gave you salt to seasoning the meal.

Ten minutes later your dinner was ready. Changbin told you that he will wash the pots and asked you to impose food on the plates. It required reaching the dishes from the third shelf above the sink and due to you were taller, it was obvious that it will be better job for you than him. 

He feels okay with it, even if he was intimitated at the beginning. You’ve got to know each other on your common friends meeting for the first time and talk a lot, what quickly transformed into messages and got stable contact. He felt for you first, knowing that you must be someone special, but your height difference was one of the things that stopped him, afraid of rejection or not being destinated to each other.

Until you gave him clear signal. 

‘You know, sometimes life gave us a fake signs. I don’t know why, it’s hard to say, but it’s true. I think it’s because it wants to take the best of us to see what kind of people we are deep inside. So we should just take what we really need or truly wants, no matter what. And the way how you handle with that defines you as a human.’

And it just pushed him. Your words give him mental wings - from confessing to adapting to this fact in your relationship.

Now he doesn’t care about this anymore,  

He also used to asked Hyunjin to help before, but now you were here, so he wasn’t needed, even sitting only a few meters away on the sofa, watching film and eating some snacks with other members. 

But when you’ve tried take two bigger plates, one of them seemed to fall and you made some noises while trying to save them. Completely focused, luckily you did that and no one and nothing get hurted. Anyway Changbin and boys turned around to check is everything okay with you and stuff you kept.

‘Hey, y/n, you’re alright?’ you’ve heard your boyfriend’s low voice. He saw how you’ve flexed your body and so his eyes automatically comes to you.

But he wasn’t the only one who noticed it.

Other boys also didn’t miss the fact your waist was fully exposed. Hyunjin’s eyes jumping constantly from Changbin to you and Minho sliding his eyes all over your body, probably doesn’t even controling them.

It wasn’t rude, it was just natural and he completely understood that man habit - your light skin, of course, attracts every human eyes and the reason was obvious to him.

But it didn’t mean he agreed with that. You were his.

Only h i s.

‘Yeah, I’m fine’ you answered.

You put dishes on table, closed the locker and touched a pot - yeah, only touched, because Changbin’s hand clamped on your wrist. He held it really tight, standing behind you and blowing onto your neck accidentally.

‘Come with me, y/n’ he whispered to your ear, didn’t want to get the rest of members attention.

‘Where do you mean now? The dinner is ready’ you asked, but he just waved, sugesting you to follow him.

‘Just for a moment, come on’ he said, walking into his own room.

So you went after him, checking kitchen stuff after leaving. And when you came in, he quietly closed the door.

‘Take it off’ he recomended, pointing at your shirt and making a few steps on his room.

Firstly you couldn’t believe you ears.

Secondly - exactly the same.

Heat took over you body just in one second and you were wondering how it’s even possible. It’s not like he didn’t made you like that before - he did, but in completely different way. This time was a little bit too intense, a little too fast and a little embarrasing.

The blood in your veins went faster and your heart beated so loud. Your checks were scalded you. You want to peel them from your face and throw away, especially when they’re getting more red with every second. You took a deep breath and gulped.

Then you realised that maybe this one shirt is one of his favourite or he have some special memories with them. Maybe he doesn’t wear it even once and it wasn’t addict to wearing. Maybe he recognized it just a moment before and want them back in his wardrobe, not on you. Or maybe he gets mad because you took it without his permission, even if it doesn’t fit him, because you know him well and he has never been that kind of person, because he used to give you anything on this world you wished for.

But now you were just confused and started getting nervous about this situation.

‘Now?’ that was the only thing you could stammer from mouth. You knew nothing. Eyebrows rose automaticaly and you looked at him with misapprehension on your face.

‘Yes’ he answered quickly and shock hits you again.

He looked like he didn’t said anything strange or unexpected. He looked like he doesn’t care a lot, searching for something in his wardrobe.

‘I’m...’ you stared, but couldn’t finished.

You didn’t know what to say. You didn’t even know how you’ve already felt. He saw you shirtless, yes, but it was occasionally and only few times. He touched your belly, he kissed your collarbones, he squished your hips, but you didn’t get further yet. It was already only few months while you were togheter, being careful and soft to each other. He was so caring about you and never pushed you to anything you didn’t want - next steps comes time after time, on their own pace and that make your bond such beautiful. You two just celebrated having each other.

So why does it broke right now?

‘I don’t want to, Changbin’ you muttered at least.

He finnaly looked at you. His eyes opened wider than before. A few seconds ago he looks a little bit mad, doing everything in chaos - now he finally looks like your boyfriend. The most precious, sweetest and beloved human ever exist in this world.

‘You want them to look at you like this? Because I don’t. I can’t let them.’

What you asked yourself.

‘What?’

He shaked his left hand with black material in it - the right one was pointing at you again.

‘This one is to short for you. I’ve got a lot of longer shirts, I don’t know why you didn’t take one like this.’

‘Oh...’ you started. ‘You mean this...’

You felt completely awkard. You covered your face by hands, looking in his eyes, directly but shyly.

‘What’s happend?’ Yes, he completely doesn’t have an idea what already comes to your mind and that made you feel embarassed even more.

You can’t say this. There was no possibility to do that. And it wasn’t even about you, it was about him - realising you let this idea came into you mind could really hurt him.

‘I just catched the first one from the top. I spotted my own’ you pointed at your yellow shirt, laying on chair to dry.

‘It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’m just taking care of your personal space and self-serving’ he admitted.

You looked at your waist and realized what he means. The shirt was tight and covered only the hightest part of you hips - not all of them. When you put your hands up, it shows your navel.

And it unexpectedly made you soft. Vision of Changbin being jealous and protective over you causes your inside euphoria. You smiled joyfully.

‘Did they see something they shouldn’t?

He nodded, coming to you closer.

‘Those parts are definitely already reserved’ he pecked your belly once. You can’t help bursting out laughing to let all your extreme emotions go away.

And you were melting. Like usually you do, you were dissolving like a block of ice in front of open fire. Changbin doesn’t truly know how delicate you were if it comes to his affection on you - he thought he was the weaker one. He was almost sure about it.

‘I got it. And you’re right’ you added, letting his hands embrace you.

‘I know I am’ he said surely. He laid his fingers on your chin and kissed your lips five times, subtly and slowly, biting his own bottom lip while backing off.

‘Just change it. I’ll bring our meal here.’

When he came back, your new shirt hooded even parts of your laps and was two times wider than you. There was no option to see anything to anyone, not even you. And he loves the way you were like at this moment - loosely, a little tomboyish and mostly - natural, like you have nothing to hide from him.

And he loves it, just loves it. Because he completely loves you.

[birth-fic-lover]

The sperm bank has a info leak

Max was sitting in front of his tv, he was making his way though a bowl of cereal watching the news. He didn't usually watch the 7am news, but this morning was different. Max worked as an electrician so was used to early starts, but today was his day off. He didn't know why or how but he sensed it being different, usually if he woke at half 6 on a rest day he would roll over in bed. But this morning there was something in him that told him to get up and start the day.

He decided to watch tv until he finished eating then he would get washed, he listened to a segment about Fox's. Then just as he put a large scoop of cereal in his mouth he saw a logo he recognised, it was the logo of the sperm bank he had donated too a few times.

"This sperm bank is one of the most populer in the city, known for it's efficiency and privacy. But late last night someone hacked into the system, this person has been then passing on the details of donors to the users of the sperm. This means the donor's anonymity is now gone and the families can now track down the donor."

Max dropped his bowl, he wondered if he would be contacted. Could he be contacted? He only startes donating a year or two ago so any children from his donations would only be babies, he knew he had no fear of them trying to track him down. He breathed a sigh of relief, all he had to do is make sure that his info was erased from internet before the kids were old enough to use google. There would be people from the centre who would make sure the leak was contained surely.

He decided to not even think about it, he decided to get dressed and go to work. Wait no today was his day off, he would get dressed and go out. Where he didn't know, but he would be productive. He had a shower, got dressed and tidyed the flat.

3 hours later he felt very productive, maybe he should leave the flat now. Get some fresh air, maybe text his friends see if they want to grab a beer later. Maybe he could spend the rest of the morning shopping for new jeans or looking at those headphones he wanted. Either way he was going into town, he put his hand on the handle of his front door when there was a sharp knock on from the other side of it.

It made him jump out his skin, he let go of the handle like it was red hot. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he looked though his peep hole on the door. He could see a lady, even though though the tiny bit of glass it wasn't very clear he could tell she was pregnant. She knocked again. Almost automatically he stepped back and open the door, the women had her hands on her hips.

He quickly took in the women in his doorway, she was very angry and very pregnant. He saw there was a print out in her hand with his picture and other details, it seemed that though no children from his donations would be trying to contact him there mother certainly could. “Are you Maxwell Lowe?” the women asked not keeping the anger out her voice.

Max thought this was ridiculous firstly because she knew he was since she had his address and picture, secondly because she seemed angry like he had personally knocked her up rather then her purposely getting pregnant and thirdly no one ever calls him Maxwell. But he stayed calm “Yes that’s me, I’m guessing you used one of my donations.”

“Yes” she said angry “yes I did, under false pretences it seems”. 

Max felt like this was going to take a while and he didn’t want his neighbours to over hear this, “would you like to come in? you can tell me all about this over a cup of tea”. 

“Yes, yes I would” she said with a nod and comes straight in. Max goes into his kitchen, while he is boiling the kettle he starts to think over his application. He can’t think of anything he said that could of mislead anyone, he hadn’t pretended to have any extra qualification's or added extra cm’s to his height.  

He brought the tea to his living room and placed it on the dining table in front of where the women was sat, he got the milk out the fridge and put it on the middle between them. “Right” he said calmly “so obviously you have gone to a lot of trouble coming to see me, so what seems to of not added up?”.

“It seems someone was able to access the files at the sperm bank I used, and then distributed the information to the patents who successfully got pregnant. Well this morning the I was sent an email with your details saying you were donor 55928, now I thought this must be a mistake since I purposely chose donor 55928 because it said he was American.” 

“It says that because both my parents are American, I moved over here when I was a baby. I told the clinic this and thought I have never lived there they decided to put I was American because biologically I am” Max explained.

The women seemed the flinch then starts rubbing her belly, “well that’s a problem for me, I wanted someone who lived on the other side of the world so that when my child turns 18 I don’t have to worry so much about sharing her”. 

“So it’s a her?” Max said.

“I didn’t want you to know that” the women said quickly.

“Listen, I have no interest in being a dad. If your daughter even tracks me down I would be happy to meet once so she can tick it off her bucket list but that’s it” Max said trying to reassure the women “I promise you, sorry what’s your name?”

“Ruth” she says automatically “dam I didn’t want you to know that either”.

“I promise you Ruth this baby is all yours” max said with a smile “you don’t have to worry about sending me pictures or updating me. I am sorry if I miss lead you or worried you.”

Ruth seemed satisfied “Well I’m glad we got things sorted, thank you for clarifying everything. I have to go, sorry I didn’t drink my tea.” She said in a rush as she stood. 

But then she let out a low moan “ooooohhhhh” and she sat down again.

“Is everything alright?” Max said confused with what just happened. 

“Sorry I woke up having contractions this morning, but I didn’t want to go into labour worrying about this. That’s why I rushed over this morning”. Ruth explained while soothing her belly.

“Weren’t you worried about not making it to the hospital in time?” Max said.

“No no, I have plenty of time. Labour takes hours to progress, just seems that the contractions are getting a little more intense and it caught me off guard. Anyway I will drive myself to the home now everything has been sorted.” But as she finished talking a look of surprise took over her face and she looked down. 

“Another contraction?” Max asked

“My my waters just broke hooo hooooo oh my goodness, I need to go home now” Ruth said standing up but Max could tell she looked unsteady on her feet as she clutched her belly.

“Ruth I don’t think you should be driving in your condition, let me call you an ambulance” Max said reaching for his phone.

“NO” Ruth yells “no hospitals, I have a midwife that will come to my house. I just need to call her and tell her to meet there”.

“Really Ruth, what if you have a crash. It’s just not safe, if I had a car I would drive you myself. I could call you a taxi” Max said trying to stay calm.

“Nnnnnnaaaaaaa no” Ruth gasps leaning against the table “hooooo hoooooo hooooooooo, I don’t want to give birth in a taxi. I’m such a fool it’s too late, I don’t think I would get home in time hooooooo”.   

Max placed the chair behind her and she sat gingerly “Why don’t you call your midwife, get her to come here. I know this isn’t where you want to be, but I think I have a CD with whale noises.” 

“I hate whale noises, but yes thank you. Could you fill your bath with warm water in case I need it?” Ruth asked rubbing her back.

Max took his time filling the bath wanting to give Ruth her space to call her midwife. When he returned she was sat on his sofa, all she had on was a smock and her knickers.

“The midwife is on her way, but I checked I’m almost dilated and I can feel the baby moving down already.” Ruth said rubbing her belly.

Max got some towels and put some over the sofa and also dried the floor, Ruth keep having contractions and moved around the room trying to find comfort. “Hooooooooooo I need to push, I can’t hold her in she’s right there”. She leans over the table and widens her legs. “Ooooooooooo oooooooooo OOOOOOOO, MAX take me to the sofa take me to the sofa”. 

Max rushes over and helps her to the sofa she tries to lie down, but doesn’t seem able to. She drops to a crouch holding onto Max with one hand and the other is on her belly. Max could tell she was pushing hard, he didn’t know what to say as she moaned and complained about the pressure. 

She gripped the sofa and pulled herself up and then let go of Max, he could see that the head was now bulging out her underwear. She leans over and puts her forearms on the back of the sofa and stretches her legs wide to make room for the baby’s shoulders. “Max pull them down and tell me how far out is she”. 

Max knew what she meant and pulled her knickers down, just then the first shoulder popped out “Ruth she’s almost there one more push and she’s out”. 

Ruth put her hands on her baby let out a scream and as she brought her arms towards her chest a baby was in them. Max supported her and sat her down on the sofa.

“Thank you” Ruth said “I am sorry that I came here to tell you to stay away only for me to give birth to her in your flat”.

Max chuckles “I think it’s fair to say that this will be quite a story when I see her again in 18 years time, if she wants to see me”.

Ruth “maybe I can keep you in the loop about her after all, now where’s that midwife”.