#I guess??? technically an accessory I suppose

[fernsnouveau]

I actually disliked the direction where I'd recently seen a bunch of the more reasonable S5-critical ML fandom people going. Those discussions and analyses were spiraling increasingly towards demonising Marinette over time, as we were left hanging with the s5 ending for a long time, and the fandom had nothing new to talk about.

I actually liked her flaws.

But then the canon does... this...

And I do admit, it's an in-character way to push Marinette towards a villain arc. Like, if I had to construct a darkfic scenario where Marinette goes evil and try to keep it as close to her canon personality as possible, it would look something like this. Which, I guess, means that it's theoretically easier for me to accept than, for example, S5's occasional incidents of Edgy Murderboy Chat Noir (how is that the same character who had TWO guilt-based mental breakdowns about accidentally cataclysming someone completely out of his control, including the main villain??!). I'm sure there are in-character ways to turn Adrien (or anyone else) into a villain, but Murder-Noir was Not It.

Of course another reason why the writing of Murder-Noir gives me extra heebie jeebies, was how it felt like an abuse apologia excuse, validating Gabriel's accusations for Adrien to not "deserve" autonomy, nor to experience or express any negative, inconvenient emotions. Murder-Noir feels like it's a writing choice directed at child abuse victims in the audience, who related to Adrien. "See, your abuser was right, you're horrible and overly emotional and out of control, so you NEED to be rigidly controlled for your own and everyone else's good!

Anyway.

While I admit that Marinette taking up Gabriel's mantle this way is technically in character, I cannot claim to enjoy the writing choice at all. I liked Marinette's flaws. I wanted to explore them. I did not want her demonised to this extent. She could have been meaningfully flawed without becoming better at being Gabriel, than Gabriel himself was!

After this, the only justification for the lovesquare to stay together, would be as a wish-fulfillment or "reward" for Marinette, and that's not enough for me. When I think about, if there was a real-life abuse victim in Adrien's position (minus the supernatural elements), and then they were friends with, and/orstarted dating someone who repeatedly treated them the way Maribug has been doing (and "repeatedly" is important here, it demonstrates unwillingness to learn from mistakes and be sincere about apologies – S4 was brushed under a rug as soon as Chat Noir superficially forgave!), ESPECIALLY but not only siding with the abusive parent and lying to the victim that the abuse they experienced was "not really abuse" and For Their Own Good, and demonstrated this complete infantilisation and lack of respect for the abuse victim, wanting to see them only as a palatable, innocent fairytale being who's not allowed to be inconvenient, express negative emotions, make informed choices mor generally be a complete person...

Obviously the right thing to do, for the abuse victim, would be to get the hell away from that person.

It does NOT mean that the person is irredeemable. They're just... not owed the abuse victim's forgiveness and continued presence in their life.

And I can't ignore that anymore.

We failed to get an arc about Adrien surviving and escaping Gabriel and healing. He has now been put into a position where, in order to ever be okay, he would have to survive and escape Marinette in order to heal.

I don't like this. It feels very hopeless and bleak and unenjoyable. I don't even think the story is gonna go there and free/heal Adrien (Astruc made it clear that Adrien isn't supposed to be his own character or have agency, he's supposed to be Marinette's accessory and that's never gonna change).

But as far as I'm concerned, any excuse for the lovesquare relationship to get back together after this, would have the unpalatable aftertaste of propaganda to make victims return to their abusers.

I don't like this trajectory!!!

[harry-on-broadway]

Fancy Dress

Word Count: 3.4K || Rating: M

A/N: So this was supposed to be posted in time for Halloween, but better late than never I guess. It can be read on its own, but I've been thinking of it as a sequel to last year's Harryween one-shot. It's not much, but I hope at least a few people enjoy it. 🫶🏻

***

“Gonna dress up for me again this year?” 

Those words had echoed through your head since he’d whispered them in your ear as the first glimpses of dawn pushed through the cloudy London skies. His body, warming yours as he inched closer to you on your pillow, threw off heat, stronger than any radiator you’d ever encountered, and you scooted closer to him in an attempt to ward off the chill of the room. 

“What are you talking about?” Your voice was hoarse, still thick with sleep. 

“For Halloween.”

“You hate Halloween.” You twisted in his arms to roll over and face him. “You’ve made that clear many times.”

“A man can change his mind.”

You sighed. “What happened to ‘Tour’s over. Let’s do something quiet this year?’ Hmm?”

Harry traced a line down your spine and you shivered under his touch. “Doesn’t have to be a big deal. Can be just the two of us.” 

“Well, I’m planning on dressing up as ‘woman who wants to snuggle and eat candy with her boyfriend.’ Accessories include sweatpants and a hoodie, as well as candy and an Apple TV remote.” You felt his laugh against your hair. “Best news of all, it’s a couples costume,” you continued. 

“Oh is it?” 

“Mmhmm. And if you don’t want in, it’s OK. I’ll just call my other boyfriend.”

“Your other boyfriend?!?!” Harry easily flipped you so you were lying trapped underneath him and began pressing feverish kisses against your skin as he tickled your sides. “You better take that back.” 

“Giovanni would never do this,” you laughed.

“He has a name?!” 

You laughed even harder as Harry doubled down on his efforts, forgetting about Halloween all together. 

***

Harry didn’t let the topic rest over the next couple of weeks, sending pictures of costumes – some tame, some a little sexier – throughout the day, earning a fair number of eye rolls from you. 

“What? I’m just trying to brainstorm.”

You looked up from your computer. “Why is this so important to you? Halloween’s never been a big deal. And it’s essentially been a work event for you for the past two years.” 

“I mean,” he shifted in the seat. “Last year was really…nice,” he said thoughtfully. “I liked getting to spend time with you.”

“You liked having sex,” you corrected. 

“Which technically counts as spending time with you.” He ignored your glare and turned thoughtful. “I’m just kidding, but really, I liked getting to spend a fun night with you and would love to do it again. If you feel the same way.”

You softened hearing how much that night meant to him. “Doesn’t it feel less special when it’s not a surprise?”

“I’m going to be honest, love, I really don’t care how it happens as long as you’re naked in my bed.” There was a slightest hint of a blush across his cheeks, and you felt a heat flame across yours as well. You’d been together for awhile now, with no plans of leaving each other anytime soon, but such an intimate admission felt vulnerable.

“You are such a boy,” you chided, not willing to let him onto the jolt of pride you felt at being so openly desired by him. “But we’ll see how I feel.” 

“I can work with that,” Harry said, turning back to his phone, a sly grin on his face.

***

The invitation arrived a few days later. A friend of a friend who he hadn’t seen in ages was throwing a “fancy dress party,” which despite your early assumptions was not a black tie affair. You weren’t that enthusiastic about going, and you could tell Harry was forcing himself to be excited, not wanting to let a friend down. 

“It’ll be fun,” he said, sounding more like he was convincing himself rather than you. “We don’t have to stay the whole time either.”

“Whatever makes you happy, babe,” you said, kissing his cheek. “Pick out whatever costume you want and we can go from there.” 

Picking the costume was easier said than done and the two of you spent much of the next week bickering over who had the better idea. Harry’d been pushing for Barbie and Ken, but you’d dismissed the idea as overdone. And your own suggestion of Paolo and Isabella was shut down by Harry who said he didn’t get the reference. It wasn’t until you all were flicking through the channels on the couch when you all came up with your idea. 

“It’s perfect,” Harry said, grinning at the screen. 

“And super easy,” you added. 

Which is how you all found yourself walking into the party dressed as two characters out of The Notebook, thanks to the blue dress you’d found in the back of your closet and the white button down Harry had pulled from his. You’d offered to splash some water on him to add authenticity, but he declined. 

You weren’t sure what you were expecting but the party was a surprisingly low-key affair. Classic simple costumes – vampires with plastic fangs and lipstick blood stains and black cats with felt ears – mixed with some that were more of the moment, ranging from a half-assed Barbie and Ken to what appeared to be Harley Quinn and the Joker. 

“Told you,” you whispered against his ear, as he passed you a drink, looking on as a Barbie walked by looking for her Ken, earning you an elbow to the ribs. 

“Nice look,” Johnny said, fixing a drink of his own. “How did Harry convince you?”

“It was actually a group effort,” you said, with a laugh. 

“Felt a little like fate. We were watching TV one night, the movie was on and it was like a lightbulb went off,” Harry said, wrapping his arm around you. 

“It was easy too,” you chimed in. 

Even though you all had been together for a while, Harry’s circle was so vast that you still hadn’t met many of them, making the party a little nerve wracking, a bunch of faces that weren’t familiar yet. But Harry stayed by you the entire night, hand in hand, steering you around the party, introducing you to his favorite people, and shielding you from the ones he wasn’t as fond of. Going into the evening, you all had made a pact to stay for only an hour, but two had passed by the time either of you looked at the clock. 

“OK to stay a little longer?” he asked and you’d nodded, before turning your attention back to Erin and her story about a costume contest gone wrong. 

Three hours in, you found yourselves on a couch in the back of the house. The room had unofficially been designated at the quiet zone, with a few people taking calls or a breather before returning to the party. Harry flopped down on the end of the sofa, pulling you onto his lap before sighing contentedly. 

“Are you tired?” You rested your forehead against his as pressed a gentle kiss to the bridge of his nose. 

“A little.”

“Well that’s too bad,” you said softly. “Guess I won’t be able to give you your treat tonight.” 

At the mention of the treat, he perked up tremendously. “I mean I’m not that tired. I’d hate to miss it after you put in the effort.” His eyes were steely as he held your gaze. 

“You don’t even know what it is!”

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t think you could ever disappoint me.”

You grinned and shifted in his lap, causing your dress to slip up and you guided his hand up your bare leg to rest just under the hem of your dress. His fingers groped blindly and when they reached the edge of your lacy undergarments his eyes widened. 

“Oh fuck,” he whispered against your neck. 

“Do you like it?”

“Do I like it?!”

“I mean you haven’t seen it yet…” 

“I’ll bloody well be pleased with anything you wear,” he breathed against your neck. 

“Thirty more minutes and then we’ll head out?”

“Fuck that, we’re leaving now.” He gently pushed you up and out of his lap before standing and nearly dragging you to the door.

Harry made a beeline for your coats and bags, and when he had them in hand he caught your eye and nodded towards the front door. You held up a finger and signaled for him to wait before enacting the second phase of your plan. Slowly, you walked up to the first person you could see, thanking them and chatting some more about the party. You repeated this for the next person and the next and the next, until you finally found yourself reunited with Harry. 

“Ready?” you asked. 

“It’s not funny.”

“What?” you asked, feigning innocence. 

“Making me wait when I’m…” Your eyes drifted down to his pants. “How bad is it?” he asked, almost wincing. 

“Not bad, baby, but we should probably do something about that.” 

“You don’t say? Please, for the love of God, get in the car.” 

You laughed, enjoying having him beg for you. “Whatever you say.” 

What followed was the most tense car ride in recent memory. Harry’s leg bounced up and down, his hand gripped tight on your thigh as he looked ahead. His breathing was even and measured but the intensity in his eyes told you he felt anything but. You smiled, pleased with the effect you had on him. 

When the driver pulled through the gate, Harry thanked him, quickly and politely, and you did the same, scurrying along when Harry all but pulled you up the path, jamming his key in the lock and throwing the door open. You closed the door behind you, securing the deadbolt when Harry spun you around and pressed you against the door. 

He held your face, angling it to look up at him and he took a shaky breath, before pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was surprisingly restrained, almost chaste, but you savored the way he felt so close against you. Again and again he kissed you. Lips, neck, cheeks, no part of you went unnoticed. You wanted to show him the same affection, but he wouldn’t give you the chance. His hands found your shoulders, pulling your coat off, and then working the straps of your dress down your shoulders, his lips trailing in the wake of his hands. 

After a few moments, you managed to pant out a single word. “Upstairs?” 

Harry pulled back, his lips plump and pink from his efforts, his hair messed from the way your fingers had been threaded through it. “Yeah,” he managed to nod, looking dazed, and you took the lead this time, pulling him towards the stairs. 

In your haste to get to the bedroom, you tripped, over the step or your own feet, you weren’t sure, and landed face first on the carpet, Harry tumbling down after you. 

“If you wanted me on top of you love, all you had to do was ask,” Harry muttered, as you shoved his shoulder. “Are you OK?” 

“I’m fine. You?” 

“No worse for wear. Shall we try this again?” He pushed up from the stairs and offered his hand, which you gladly took. Slower this time, you all continued up the stairs and into the bedroom, where Harry sat on the bed, pulling you onto his lap. “Sure you’re good to do this.” 

You nodded. “Yes, I just need a minute to get ready.”

“Get ready?” Harry arched his brow. “Tell me more.”

“You need to close your eyes.”

“Close my eyes…OK.” He shut his eyes and you wriggled out of his grasp, walking over to your dresser and doing your best not to make a sound as you fished around for the headband you’d stashed there earlier. 

“What is this?” Harry called from across the room. “Some sort of Notebook roleplay? Do you have a thing for Gosling too?” 

“Hush, or you’re not getting your treat.”

That silenced him and you double checked to make sure the accessory was secured on your head. You shimmied out of your dress until you were wearing nothing but your second costume. If you were honest, costume was a liberal description of the flimsy Halloween store lingerie you ‘d been wearing all night. According to the package, you were a dark angel, but the only thing angelic about it was the halo that was precariously perched on top of your head. You stood in front of the mirror, surveyed yourself and tried to summon the confidence to tell Harry to open his eyes. 

“Are you taking your clothes off? I thought that was my treat!”

It was almost funny how outraged he sounded, like a petulant child robbed of a promised prize. 

“Oh I think, you’ll like what I’ve picked out for you,” you shot back. At least you hoped he would. Once you contorted yourself into the black wings that came with the ensemble, you turned to face him, still sitting on the bed with his eyes shut. You padded over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck, as you climbed astride him. Once you’d settled into his lap, you uttered the word he’d been waiting for. “Open.”

His eyes flew open and you had to fight a laugh at how comical his face was. Eyes wide and mouth open he was like a teenaged boy who’d yet to see a pair of breasts, as he glanced between yours, covered in a sheer, lacy bralette and your face. 

“Fucking hell what is this?”

“You said you wanted me to dress up…”

“Yeah, I did. I did say that,” he said, wetting his lips, his eyes transfixed on your chest. 

“And I didn’t really know what to dress up as since you weren’t doing a show this year and we didn’t really have a theme and I couldn’t think anything on my own and this was the only thing left at the store and –” 

He cut you off with a kiss, more passionate than those he’d first given you in the entryway. “It’s perfect, love. Better than I could have imagined.” 

He held you tight against him as he kissed you, his fingers tangled in your hair and yours in his. You tightened the grip of your legs around his waist as you returned his kisses with a passion you didn’t think you’d ever felt before. In the heat of the moment, you rolled your hips, dragging your center over his lap and feeling every inch of his growing erection through the flimsy fabric of your panties. You moaned at the sensation and did it again. He felt even harder than before and you shuddered involuntarily at the thought of him inside you later. 

“You like that baby,” he huffed against your mouth. “Does my angel like that?” he asked as he bucked his hips. 

“Yes. Yes, please,” you replied, practically begging for more. 

“Going to be good and let me take this off of you?” His hands were on your hips, stilling your movement. 

You closed your eyes and bit your lip, nodding, not trusting yourself to speak. Suddenly you felt Harry’s teeth against your shoulder as he used his them to pull your bra strap down, the movement scratching at your skin in the most delicious way, before Harry trailed kisses down your arm, soothing the sting away. He repeated the action on the other side before placing a kiss on the side of your breast and wrapping his tongue around your nipple. Hands still on your hips, he gently pushed you, encouraging you to rock back and forth on him once again. 

You were so sensitive that even the smallest action had a massive effect. The combination of his mouth and the rhythm of your hips moving in time together had you feeling the beginnings of an orgasm deep within you, a feeling that was only magnified as he moved across your chest to your other breast. 

“Love,” Harry said after a moment, pulling away from you. 

“Yes?”

“I-I-” He started again. “We need to do something otherwise I’m not going to last.” His cheeks were red, whether from passion or embarrassment, you weren’t sure, but you nuzzled against his neck. 

“That’s alright, baby. I’m all yours.”

“Yeah, you are,” Harry said, almost as if he didn’t believe it. “Wanna get up for me?” 

You climbed off of him with wobbly legs, nearly landing on your ass – and taking Harry with you – in the process. But Harry scooped you up in his arms, helping you get comfortable on the bed, as you all laughed off the moment of clumsiness. 

“Do you want to take this off?” you asked, gesturing to the cheap black wings that were shedding all over the white sheets. 

“No, I kind of like them,” Harry said. “It’s uh…kind of sexy,” he mumbled, against your neck. 

“Noted.” 

“May I?” He’d hooked his fingers around the waistband of your panties, waiting for your nod of consent, which you readily gave him. He slowly pulled them down your legs, tossing them somewhere behind him, before moving his lips down your body. 

It was almost a ritual at this point, the way he explored you as if you were uncharted territory each time he had you naked in front of him. You’d been told this wouldn’t last forever, that all couples eventually tired of each other, that sex became a routine thing, a means to an end. That may be the case, but you secretly hoped that you and Harry were the exception to this rule. 

He’d made his way down to your thighs at this point and you opened your legs wider, inviting him in. Your back arched when you felt his fingers inside you, testing the waters. 

“So wet for me already and I’ve barely done anything. Careful love, this will go to my head.” 

You made to kick him, but he dodged your attack and managed to hit that spot in the process, drawing a cry from you. 

“Was that good?” You could hear the teasing smirk in his voice. 

“You know it was.”

He crooked his fingers, earning another moan from you as you tried to pull him up to you. “Ready so soon?” he asked, as if he wasn’t already aware. He lined himself up with you and thrust forward with no preamble. 

His sheer size still took your breath away – quite literally – and you breathed heavily at the feeling of him, all of him, inside of you. 

“Easy, love. Slow,” he said, calming you as he gave you a moment to adjust, waiting until your breath had steadied before gently rocking forward.

You angled your hips up, meeting his pace and trying to drive him as deep inside of you as possible. You brought your legs higher around him, giving him more freedom to move and his pace accelerated. 

The sounds coming from your bedroom were, quite simply, ugly. Between the moans and groans and heavy breathing, the grunts that meant move over or shift this way that you all inherently understood, the sounds of sweaty bodies rubbing against each other. It was brutal, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Love, I’m going to come,” Harry said, words urgent against your ear. “I’m not going to be able to hold on.” 

“It’s OK baby,” you said, encouraging him. He was always so selfless, you wanted him, just once, to take a moment for himself. “Just let go.” 

His hips stuttered, once, twice, three times in quick succession and you felt the tell-tale warmth and wetness of his orgasm between your legs. 

“Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry,” he wheezed. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” 

You sighed softly, contentment radiating through you. “You don’t have to. Sometimes it’s nice to just…” 

“Yeah…” 

The two of you lay there like that for a while, ignoring the stickiness of the sweat, and for you, the itchiness of the costume pieces that were still on you. 

Finally, Harry rolled off of you, and you cuddled into his side. 

“That was a very nice treat,” he said, voice hoarse. “I think we both need more treats.” 

“I’ll second that. And I promise next year will be even better.” 

“Next year?” Harry said aghast. “I think you deserve one of your own right now.” 

***

talk to me! || master list

[accio-victuuri]

xzs vlog chapter 02 candies 🍭

once again we thank xzs and team for bringing us the wonderful vlog. cpn or not, it’s a good day! now let’s see some things turtles noticed and clowned about in this video. 🎥

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

1. We are back with more apple watch sighting. So the thing is this accessory not the most unique out there but it’s sus that they both started wearing it ( again for zz’s case ) around the same time. I really think the plausible cpn here is that GG gifted it to WYB. Web talked about watches as his favorite accessory ( SDC hotpot episode ) and for him to “give that up” would be big. I think it’s an important person like GG who could influence him into switching. Aside from communication, it has it’s benefits health wise. It’s the most inconspicuous couple watch and i’m proud of them for thinking of using it.

the photo is of yibo’s @ the airport today.

2. Now this next one is very interesting because what could he possibly be hiding? We know that XZS and even XZ himself tend to hide things in photos or videos. Either blurring it out or just erasing it. It’s could either be A. something personal they don’t wanna share. B. work related that cannot be shared yet C. an object that goes against their endorsement deals or generally a brand they do not endorse. and other things. The popular guess for this one is letter C and that this may be the Bottled Joy tumbler. He can’t really give them free endorsement 😂 and he is technically advertising the tumbler from zwilling.

But we know he uses it. They both use it. Another couple item.

3. Must wear the sunscreen! 🤣

Also some people are saying their coaches look the same but it’s hard to tell even if they look similar. It makes sense since it’s in Sanya and there may be an expert there who is in charge of coaching celebrities but who knows.

4. I don’t really know how true that XZ is going to Shanghai but WYB is in SH as per airport photos/videos. What’s interesting is he changed it three times till he got the latest flight to go. Idk how these people get the details, maybe they look at flights to SH and see if Web is on which is well, too stalker-y. but the thought is, Web seems to want to get to SH as soon as possible. Maybe because XZ is waiting. Take this as fake please. ✈️

10 o’clock on the 23rd (flight canceled)

11 o’clock on the 23rd (flight canceled)

6 o’clock in the evening on the 22nd ( his flight)...

5. DING DONG! That bell! Both posts from YBO were CPNd to be related to GG and for XZS to put emphasis on it— and to start the vlog is pretty interesting. Add this to similar elements that both studios have used.

All the edits ( especially this video ) combining them both in Sanya and surfing is so cute. It doesn’t help that they were both allegedly supposed to guess @ summer surf shop. It’s nice seeing them have the same interests and i only hope that they really do get to do these activities together. from surfing, skiing, exercising, playing sports and just chilling at home. There is talk that they might be attending the same event - weibo video conference, and tbh I don’t really care if they go on the same stage or interact. I just want them to be in the same place and spend time in private. 🤍

-END.

[felondese]

ugh fine i made a crow

felt bad about neglecting lucanis and also figure I'm going to get curious about the spellblade build, so i'll prepare another rook I SUPPOSE. taking inspiration from my beloved villanelle from killing eve with appearance modeled on zevran -- if bioware won't give him to us in DAV i guess i gotta make my own :<

griselda "rook" (like a crow, of course) de riva

picrews 1 2 3

city elf, mage, spellblade

zevran-coded appearance (long golden blonde hair, tanned complexion, tattoos?), delicate features, full lips, high cheekbones. big, catlike eyes

just a baby, early-to-mid twenties, but an experienced killer

trained abroad in the in the [rivain? free marcher city?] crow enclave/franchise location, hence only knows lucanis by reputation. also why she has an American accent

only recently came to antiva when she earned her place as a full member of the crows. arrived in treviso just as the antaam did

idle animation: picking her nails with a dagger, swaying a bit in place, playing with a little wisp of magic and flipping it over her knuckles like a coin, fluttering her eyelashes at the camera and biting her lip/practicing her sexy pout. on party selection: a sly smirk and nod, unsheathing her dagger and letting magic crackle in her hand for effect (show-off)

dialogue responses vary depending on who she's talking to. can be very sweet/diplomatic even if it's hollow, more aggressive with anyone she doesn't like and isn't trying to fool

demeanor is charming and playful, flirtatious. can appear innocent and childlike, surprisingly nonthreatening, to lure in her victims. all completely bullshit hiding cold brutality

spent early childhood in the [_____] circle and doesn't remember her parents or any of her life before that. when the southern mages revolted, found herself on the streets having to support herself at a very young age (8-10?).

"saved" by an enterprising crow from house de riva and taken in for training as a baby assassin at the local enclave

specializes in non-antivan jobs, most often blending in as a sex worker or household staff. reluctantly ends up having to also take jobs targeting dangerous apostate mages since she can infiltrate their ranks easily

likes to seduce her victims targets, even if it's risky

prefers to work alone and is resentful if she has to team up with other crows, feels like she's being "babysat" when she'd rather have her independence

finds poisoning to be rather dull, killing with magic too easy, and would rather look her target in the eyes while sliding a blade between their ribs, feel them struggle a little bit. prone to making bloody messes and not cleaning up after herself

genuinely Fucked Up little psycho, cruel to the point of sloppiness (believe me, she's been lectured about it plenty), takes too much pride and pleasure in killing. likes the smell of blood. little empathy for her victims and zero guilt, no sense of morality

gets bored with straightforward kills and prefers to take risks, send a message. wants to hear about her horrific crimes on the street

until recently, exclusively took human contracts, the richer the better. of course she expects to be well-paid for her work, but honestly would do a lot of it for free/fun if she didn't have a professional reputation to maintain and an expensive lifestyle to fund - in another life, would have been a great red jenny

has a grudge against the antaam. she's technically new to treviso, but antiva has been a mythical place in her life as a trainee crow living abroad, and she will protect it fiercely

likes pretty things, clothes, jewelry and accessories

prone to taking trophies, especially jewelry, from her targets, which she hoards and doesn't sell, even if they're worth good coin. likes to keep them in a little box and admire them/reflect on past jobs

"does what she always does — exploit society's misogyny by imitating a victim of it" (from new yorker review of killing eve show). "femininity is itself a sort of sociopathy, whose performance, if you truly nail it, might be the source of ultimate power"

[kaeyachi]

technically part of the last ask but I didn't want to bring down the Joke Tone, even though this is still said fun and lightheartedly ->

(Jokes aside, when a single person is complaining all of that it doesn't show his legs, doesn't give him the same silhouette as default skin, doesn't emphasize his torso or proportions in exactly the same way as his default skin, they don't like the type of boots and think it should look more like his other boots, not blue enough, uses Sumeru elements instead of an exclusively Khaenri'ah or Monstadt design... I can't take it seriously, because it sure sounds like they just want his default skin, maybe in a slightly edgier color palette. Or want to have a ✨ new skin for their fav ✨, but don't want him to look any different at all.

And of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but soo many of these people state it like these are OBJECTIVE FACTS that are OBJECTIVELY BAD traits and mistakes bc they personally don't like the design choice. When they can just use the default skin if they're upset it diverges from it 😅. Though I don't want anyone to be disappointed and it's too bad they didn't get what they want, that's... how new content works. Preferences exist, I'm afraid, and I for one am incredibly pleased!)

Anyways I think all the complaints that hinge on his legs etc are very silly bc you can switch skins and look at his sliver of boob whenever you want.

I can see why they would prefer a more Khaenri'ahn-only theme, but I think HYV is really hitting on the hints that Kaeya has Sumeru blood in him (and I still want a 5-star kaeya someday that goes all out on the Khaenri'ahn wardrobe hehe let me be delulu)

I will say that Khaenri'ahn clothing so far is very modest. Bodies are fully covered from the neck to feet, usually with loose tunics. Dainsleif just has a fitted top that lets him show the shape of his upper body. These people wouldn't enjoy the idea of a traditional Khaenri'ahn outfit on Kaeya as well if what they're after is seeing more of Kaeya's body now that I think about it...

I think Kaeya enjoys being a little extra on what he wears, like adding accessories and using various types of fabric on one outfit. If I were him and had 2 different nations with large cultural differences in style, I think I'd pick the more extravagant one too lmao (the nation of freedom told him its ok 💅✨️)

as for the complaint on the pants and lack of boobie window, well, the disappointment is fine tbh, people still have preferences, and being let down by what will be released is understandable because it does not fit their tastes. It's the way they (imo) over-reacted that made it really funny to me. I've seen some say it's not well-thought-out (despite the details and references) and is just a ploy to pull players back to genshin (it worked lol. good for hyv for knowing what sells).

I guess I don't see the need to justify what you don't like, especially if it leads to weird arguments and reasoning?

A simple "it doesn't fit my fantasies/tastes" would suffice, i think

At the end of the day, the outfit is supposed to look different from the usual attire, and it successfully did so and went beyond my personal expectations!

also the previous ask in mention

the kaeya fanclub in Mond clutching their chests in agony at the lack of Kaeya thighs and thigh gap. They are now undergoing a great depression. They are unsure if they will be able to survive for another 24 hours without the skintight leggings providing them the willpower to go on 💔 may Barbatos help them (said Barbatos is drinking in agony as well. Diluc tries not to strangle his archon)

[redjaybathood]

Honestly idle rambling on my part but the "Jason finds out Dick killed Joker" thing made me imagine like.

Stephanie and Red Hood had an understanding.

If they had some kind of common enemy, they'd be fine with collaborating, share info and the like. Jason would ensure to not make her an accessory to anything, and she'd not involve herself with cases against him.

The other didn't like it, even Cass tended to be a bit grumpy with her but barring Bruce rambling about manipulation and morality and unreliability nothing much came of it. He'd worked with Bane over a faux familial connection after all, and all of them had nominal enemies they could share a drink with, Catwoman not withstanding.

Thus, how Steph had found herself fighting King Shark to destroy some weapons shipments with Red Hood. And more to the point, how she found herself after the fact having a bobba tea with him as they wrapped up the traffickers files.

She couldn't say exactly what brought it out, something to do with gangs and wars and death led to her death and...

"It doesn't bother you? That thy let him walk? Not even a memorial in the cave." Bruce would say this was manipulation, Stephanie would say Jason picked morbid conversation topics with people he vibed with and not realize it was weird.

Stephanie threw back a cola stolen from the traffickers minifridge and answered. "I mean the last one pisses me off sure, but the others... Well I'm kinda pissy at the second one, we're vigilantes, nothing was stopping B from putting Mask in hospital once he got his shit together but that might have started another war so..." She waved her hand. "As to the first one, I made the call not to kill him, kinda regret it some days, but it was an honest decision at the time."

Jason hums, not seeming sure what to say or maybe realizing this was a weird topic to broach. "Fair enough I suppose, still always struck me as 'rude' though, not that its a surprise."

Stephanie arched her brow and without thinking said, "Hey you know Nightwing killed Joker over you right?"

Jason spat out his drink.

"wHaT!?"

"Oh shit you didn't know?"

Jason was staring at her intently, through two laters of material sure but it was still a stare.

"I was like fifteen, Joker was on some semi suicidial chaos spree and he'd caught then Robin. Nightwing beat him senseless but stopped himself till the Joker threw out your name and was all, 'I hit him harder than that, that was his name right?'" Stephanie at least had the good manners not to throw out people's real names in public.

She leaned back, arms folding, "At which point Nightwing lost his motherfucking mind. Pounced on him and just started beating him while howling like a beast, I have never seen such blood spatters outside of like, car crashes and Meta."

She shrugged, "Anyway Joker's heart gave out somehow and Nightwing sort of started having a breakdown about it. I didn't get it I was like, 'hey everyone who was alive before this is alive now and Joker's dead, cool right' But apparently I was the only one."

Jason nodded slowly, "Batman brought him back then?"

"Got it one one outlaw, some shit about not forcing him to live with it, which sounds weird to me but technically Robin the previous has killed a guy but cos he didn't actually die it didn't count I guess? I mean legally speaking sure but I figured this was always an ethics issue."

Jason shook his head not really paying attention to the forms anymore.

"You OK man?"

He shrugged, "I mean it doesn't mean anything now, Joker's still around, still killing people, but it was a nice sentiment. I definitely wouldn't have been making cracks about him if I'd known that."

"Fair enough, anyway if we're cool I'm gonna go hand these off to some worthwhile reporters."

"Sure, I got my own stuff to do, deniability for you an all that though."

"Yeah, yeah, have a good one man," She clapped him on the shoulder and he seemed steady so she left.

A week later Joker died in an Arkham break out attempt.

Also Dick got a very nice fruit basket several days before that.

Stephanie was the only one who knew the connection, but she kept her peace.

Things that I love: Stephanie and Jason partnering up, Joker dying, and this. Thank you for sharing!

[tadpolesonalgae]

is azriel ever going to regret the things he said/did and try to make it up for it because after reading some of your answers i'm really close to giving up on him 😭 like how is he the endgame but still... the way he is??? at this point reader is better off alone in my personal opinion because he literally showed no improvement whatsoever, he just keeps driving her away from him and he's not even aware of it in the slightest

like he still thinks "why does she feel scared? why does she feel like she can't talk to anyone?" idk man you tell me, is the spymaster title just there as an accessory omfg HE'S SO FRUSTRATING

i totally trust you but idk if i can view azriel as a love interest after everything because i feel like there's no hope for him i'm sorry

i'm really curious how he's going to develop romantic feelings for her because it feels impossible with the way he is right now, he needs to open his eyes and understand her situation first before anything

Oh my gosh there’s so much I want to tell you but I can’t 😭😭😭

If it’s any consolation, I’ve been viewing cbmthy in roughly two parts (I suppose it’s technically three but 🤐), chapters 1 to 15 being the first part, 16 to probably 18 maybe 19 as a transition section, then 20 onwards as the ‘recovery’/‘live life to the fullest’ part so it makes sense that you’re feeling that way about Azriel still? I am, obviously, nervous to get onto the ‘recovery’ (emotional recovery, that is, for all the stuff that’s happened) section of the story since if part one of cbmthy has been her and Azriel (and the rest of the IC) growing apart, then part two should be about the gap being bridged? But I don’t want to give anyone false hope that it’s going to suddenly turn into sunshine and rainbows, I think there’ll probably always be an undercurrent of angst until the last chapter or two but just hopefully not in a way you can guess 😭😭😭 I’m scarred from some of you guessing the plot points in future chapters 😭

[frowningfox]

(Yunuen) favorite: Does your OC have a favorite article of clothing or accessory? What is it? What's the meaning behind it? Do they wear it all the time or do they wear it sparingly to keep it safe?

Fantastic! This is the absolute best character to ask this question.

His lizard-leather coat. He ALWAYS wears it. He found it in a leather shop and immediately fell in love. It reminds him of home, or rather what vague impressions he has of what home is supposed to be like. He's been in the overbright for most of his existence and lizard leather isn't common up-top, it's more of an underdark staple. He has a severe longing for the underdark and traditional dairau culture.

The only time he isn't wearing the jacket is if he's performing completely armorless and shirtless

2. NOT PICTURED HERE BECAUSE THIS WAS A REDRAW FROM BEFORE IT EXISTED (WHEN HE AND ASIM WERE THE SAME PERSON) AND WANTED TO KEEP IT SOMEWHAT THE SAME

HIS MASK. He wears a mask over the right side of his face so all people can see on that side is his mouth and a glowing turquise and gold eye.

It's a gnoll mask, looted from a Big Bad who I beat way too early on account of a technicality. He cut the mask in half and now it's his and is slowly altering through fey magic to represent Prince Daoinrai, who Yunuen is the herald of.

He only ever takes it off to uh. Give people a closer look at his eye :). Totally normal not at all suspicious or scary thing to do. Don't worry about it.

He is also very fond of the beads and such in his braid and each piece has deep cultural significance but I don't know if you want to sit through reading all of THAT.

He always wears the armor in that picture too but the armor itself has no significance and was a random lootdrop, BUT the star on its chest is a Zajah, a star of the underdark. It's not really a piece of clothing or accessory but I guess it counts. Normally it upcasts and unlocks new heritage spells for dairau, but this particular Zajah is tethered to the soul of a loved one.

Yunuen keeps the Zajah very close to him at all times and would not give it up for the world even though he was tricked into owning his loved one's soul. It is also fused with a religious talisman that he sacrificed to save the loved one and bind them to this world at their own request - the talisman was very dear to him and was given to him by his uncle who passed away. It was a Stone of Kas'ha(Unknown), a god lost to time but still worshipped by travelers though they don't know why. Yunuen had always hoped to join his uncle's caravan and the stone was his most cherished possession for much of his life.

Despite the lack of knowledge on Kas'ha... Due to the shenanigans of a PC I'm DMing for... well, in a little crossover episode the PC gave Yunuen the ability to remember who Kas'ha is and holds onto the Stone and in turn the Zajah even closer now.

(Kas'ha is at the center of the campaign I'm DMing and the PC is trying to bring back remembrance of them)

[dandelionflowery]

... Wtf

Give each other meaningful gifts

Well I guess my friends and I are all dating, bc friends don't crochet frogs or flower crowns for each other

Pay attention to the other's likes and dislikes

Ok so I may be a bit too invested in others but I could tell you at least one thing pretty much all of my classmates like and something each of them doesn't like, not to mention my friends

Like I can recognize characters from games (Ellie and Dina (??) The last of us or Leon Kennedy Dead by Daylight (?) for example) despite having never interacted with the games only because two of my friends like them

And would I be able to tell you anything about them? Of course not, I barely know their names. But if I see anything even vaguely mentioning them, I'll send it to the corresponding friend so that they can nerd out about their favorite characters in a 100% platonic way

Look at one another in a certain way

WHAT WAY?? Am I just now allowed to look at my friends??

Match clothes/accessories

Aside from the fact that we all have very different styles, if two of us (or more but between one who dresses all in black and me the explosion of color we're going to struggle to match lol) wanted to wear matching shirts, then we just... Would?

Hold hands for too long

Ok so a teacher did tell two of my friends to stop holding hands (as they entered the room mind you, it wasn't even in class) so apparently there's a time limit but I'd say the time limit is when one of you needs to go to the bathroom you might let go of the other (although not necessarily ?🤔)

Hug for too long/too close

... Wtf has that person ever experienced human contact?

Cuddle (too intimate)

...again, have they experienced human contact

Not want to pull away during a hug/holding hands

If your friends disgust you so much that you don't even want to touch them why the fuck are you friends

Lean into the other emotionally and physically

If your friends aren't also your chair, are you doing friendship right? /hj (ok so technically I don't really do that but that's just a personal thing, and I know that 90% of my friends would be thrilled to both use me as a chair and let me use them [one of them isn't huge on contact either hence the 90% and not 100%])

Smile in one another's presence

Uh wtf

I'm not even with them rn and i'm smiling like an idiot in the bus thinking of them

Laugh at each others jokes

Again wtf

Isn't that a key point of being friends??

And if they make a really funny joke are you just supposed to ignore them??

Give genuine advice

"No I will not help you, people I eat lunch with, people I hang out with in the hallways, people towards whom I automatically turn when teachers mention groupwork. I have ideas that could help you friend but I will not share them with you"

Text to catch up/say hi

Dude random people in the class groupchat text us merry christmas and happy new year's and stuff

Yet am I dating all... 33? Other kids in my class? Gods no

Also i wonder what this person would think of the Tumblr booping bc that's literally just "hey, I was thinking of you, here's a random notification from me :)"

Ask how the others are doing

... These people have never had friends??

Things friends can't do according to allos!

(these are all things I have been told with 100% sincerity, and not stuff that I myself believe.)

Give each other meaningful gifts

Pay attention to the others likes and dislikes

Look at one another in a 'certain way' (???)

Match clothes or accessories

Hold hands for 'too long' (???)

Hug for 'too long' or hug 'too close' (???)

Cuddle because it's 'too intimate'

Not want to pull away during a hug or holding hands

Lean onto the other emotionally and physically

Smile in one another's presence

Laugh at each others jokes

Give genuine advice

Text each other 'good morning' 'good evening' 'good night' 'happy birthday' 'happy new years' 'merry Christmas' etc, etc

Ask how the others doing

I'll add more once I think of things I've forgotten

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

FUCK IT

This is still a work in progress, but I’m really excited about how it’s coming along, so!

Ita Bag progress pics!!!

Long story short, I’ve been collecting pins for Years, thinking I would have the spoons to put a pin on every day to Express Myself, except I barely have the spoons to put on shoes most days. I Really Want To Express Myself, but between sensory issues with Being Poked and not wanting to stab myself when I’m half-asleep in the morning to put one on, I’ve just kind of been... keeping them around. Not doing anything with them.

Enter: A Friend. They introduced me to the concept of an ita bag, and helped me find a bag with a protective cover for the pins!

Now I’m gradually figuring out how to arrange my pins, and super excited! Finally, the massive amounts of self-expression I want in an effortless grab-and-go accessory!

Pictures of how it’s coming along are below the cut.

It’s midnight and I’m very zzzz so for some things I’m just going to copy what I put on a server earlier tonight. (Server that Friend Who Introduced Me To These Bags In The First Place is in!)

Here's the Main Concept arrangement. A couple of them are stickers that I don't have the guts to fully remove and Commit to a Placement On, like the "Support Trans Witches and Pagans" raven+banner and the voting sticker, so they still have their papers on the back! I'm probably going to trim them and use a few tiny safety pins to get them to stay in place. Or I might laminate them because we have a laminating machine, I'm just not sure if stickers can withstand the heat of that process... hmmm. 

First row: - a pair of swirly Celtic knotwork ravens - blue and black wings - “Pigeon Person” pin that came with a book about pigeons - pair of Pidgeys cuddling in a nest. (Yes, Pidgeys, the Pokemon. The entire right-hand side is Pokemon!)

Just below: - Ninth and Sixth House pins because Locked Tomb hyperfixation - you can’t see it well but the blackish gold one says “Optimistic Empathetic Nihilist” - Penzey’s Spices “Kind” heart pin - Mimikyu keychain dangler

- Ohio voting sticker - another heart pin from Penzey’s that says “Embrace Hope” ( + I decided to pin it with the paper Penzey's sent it on, which says "The hopelessness of despair has always been the wall what's indefensible hides behind. With your fresh Hope, finally a different outcome is possible. In your Hope is your strength. Please be strong for all of us." It Struck Me To My Core!) - chinchillas sticker - “Lavender Town” pin with the Kanto ghost Pokemon - Mismagius and Misdreavus pin (my FAVORITE Pokemon!)

- “THE CYCLE ENDS HERE” patch that I’ll have to safety-pin down - “Support Trans Witches and Pagans” ( + a raven wearing a witch hat!) - “Witches cast ballots” sticker from the Buckland Museum - Mismagius keychain dangler - Phantump and Trevenant Pokemon pin

SOMEWHERE, I have a few Random Pull Bin buttons from a comic shop and Hot Topic where I grabbed Every Single ‘03 Teen Titans Button I Could Find, but I don’t know where those are atm. But they are DEFINITELY being put on this bag SOMEWHERE. It’s a TRAVESTY that there’s nothing Titans-related on here yet.

So that’s all the things I plan to display in the Main Area.

But wait, there’s more!

I bought these wings that were Feathered, Blue, AND had Bones (they're not anatomically accurate for any birds I know, but it's the Aesthetic that counts here), and that's three Major *** Vibes there. I thought the order was for a couple of patches that would be 1.3 inches... I MISREAD THAT. These things are 13 FULL INCHES big!!! If I tried to put these things in the display area, they’d cover everything else up. So I have a Project in mind where I'm going to use some crafting wire and figure out how to turn these patches into attachments on the sides of the bag.

That’s how I’m hoping to affix them.

Detail Shot of the wings!

They’re meant to be iron-on patches, but I have some crafting wire I can use to stabilize them. I’m just.. not.... entirely sure how I’m going to affix the Stabilized Wing to the Side of the Bag... (The bag fabric’s not super thick, so worst case scenario, I could hand-sew it?)

And then I found a few keychains and attached them to the loop of the zipper pull! "Bibliophile", Shinedown keychain that I got at the concert in April, and an Epica keychain I got at my first Epica concert! (Gods, that was more than ten years ago... but it's from my very, very favorite album of theirs, and an important concept in my life, "Design Your Universe"!)

Still-to-be-attached are the EvClub banner keychain (Evanescence's official fan club, which doesn't exist anymore but of COURSE I was a member while it lasted), and a Taemin one that I can't find right now but it's from a virtual concert I "attended" with my sibling last year.

Also, I’m only SORT of holding my breath about it, but I DID submit pre-order proof to hopefully get that Officially Licensed Locked Tomb Pin with my pre-order of Nona the Ninth! Their supplies are limited and the fandom is Large, but if I get that, it’s DEFINITELY going on this bag.

[lebenspurpur]

AN: Helloo, wrote this because I spent today suffering through my post-drunk-vandalism hangover. Guess it's deserved but still, it sucks. After eating chicken broth my dad made, unsalted if I may add, for an hour straight I am now ready to be creative. I really don't know what this is.

Have the link to my Larry playlist while we're at it:

Pairing: Larry Johnson x reader

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of alcohol

Wordcount: 1744 words

🤍🧷💀⛓🔪🏁🕷🤍🧷💀⛓🔪🏁🕷🤍🧷💀⛓🔪🏁🕷🤍🧷💀⛓

Larry looks really, really stupid right now. Stupid and sick.

His tall form slumped over in defeat, big blanket wrapped around him but not too tight, otherwise he'd feel too hot, too feverish, he still needs some air. There are tissues scattered across the couch as well. Fucking hell.

Usually, this would disgust you but it's Larry, you think you've seen worse.

Small sniffles come from where he's laying, whenever he clears his throat hoarse croaking leaves his mouth and he cringes every time he hears it. He can feel your judging gaze on his body, hear your arched eyebrow without even lifting his head.

His radio is blaring some kind of metal music, you don't recognize the band. Technically, the music is useless since the TV in front of Larry's bed is playing an old horror movie, bloody screams only adding to the grimy ambiance in the room.

"I-", you start but Larry lifts his hand before you can even consider continuing.

On any other occasion, you would've noticed the rings adorning his slender fingers, the metal accessories leaving a trail of dark smudge on his hands. Damn, did he have some nice hands.

Thankfully today wasn't a normal occasion. The metalhead in front of you had worse problems than you drooling over his fingers right now, one of them being the sickness he caught.

"Don't you dare say 'I told you so.'", he croaks out while he finally lifts his head, bloodshot eyes meeting yours. He looks immensely tired. You can sense his annoyance at this sickness, this hellish treatment he's in and can't seem to escape.

You take a deep breath in and drop your bag next to his opened front door.

"Alright. I won't."

You close the door quietly and deposit your jacket as well as boots next to it.

His mom always screams at Larry to finally get something for visitor's shoes and bags but he never does. Too busy, too lazy, he figures his visitors get it. Who even visits him, anyway?

The floor is, as usual, covered in stuff he hasn't cleaned yet. Unfinished drawings, sketchbooks, take-out cartons, empty booze bottles, you keep wondering how he manages to create that kind of mess in a timespan of not even two days.

You tiptoe over them, careful as to not to step into something. Earlier experiences have taught you to never mistake one of these seemingly empty cartons as really empty. Just last week you stepped into a fucking pizza the man in front of you didn't finish.

You sigh as you sit down next to him and Larry tiredly raises an eyebrow.

"Dude, I know you don't want to move but Jesus, we really need to get you to bed.", you then state, voice comforting yet firm. You use the moment to stare into his eyes, adore the brown, thick, deepness of them.

Larry groans loudly, voice breaking from how raw his throat is. His head falls back and he closes his eyes, a pained expression on his features.

"Don't wanna.", he grumbles quietly and you involuntarily crack a smile. Larry always managed to do that, even in the most unbelievable moments.

"I'll join you if you do."

One of his eyes slowly creaks open, observing your face to look for any kind of sarcasm or irony. As soon as he doesn't find any, the other eye opens as well and he leans forward again, blanket clutched tightly in his fists.

"Alright."

You grin at his quiet answer, hand reaching over to pull him with you. He obliges, warm, slightly clammy hand tightly grabbing yours. He follows you through the messy room, his blanket leaving a trail of destruction behind the two of you.

You kick open the door leading to his bedroom. Immediately, the familiar images of various album covers greet you. The air in his room is colder and less damp and you hear him take a deep breath.

Turning around, you mention for him to wait while you walk over, grabbing the blanket on his bed. You shake it a bit, readjust the sheets as well the pillow, all while Larry's eyes never leave your back.

"There you go, sweets.", you add as you finish, quickly turning around to see Larry standing the same way you've left him. Tired, slumped, and emotional. The need to hug him starts boiling inside of you but you try and hold yourself back. First, you have to make sure he gets into bed.

Larry slowly stumbles past you. During the last few baby steps, he drops the blanket around his shoulder, faceplanting right into the freshly made sheets. He's not even wearing a shirt and you huff at his stubbornness.

Larry's back looks strong like this, muscles contracting beneath his skin as he tries to get more comfortable. Your eyes glide over his spine, his wide shoulders, the small bumps where his ribs encase his organs. His olive skin is sweaty and long, brown hairs cling to it.

You cringe at that, knowing the feeling all too well.

Softly placing a hand on his back, you move closer, forehead scrunched together.

"Larry, darling."

He grunts into his pillow, a muffled questioning sound.

"I got a hair tie here. Mind lifting your head real quick?"

Larry obliges and lifts his head quickly, taking a deep breath while he does so.

Your fingers find his scalp and start collecting all the strands, securing them afterward with the tie around your wrist.

The man beneath you hums in appreciation as the cold air hits his neck, sweaty skin finally being able to breathe. You kiss the small space beneath his neck real quick, a short sign of comfort before you stand up again, hands leaving his skin.

Larry whines the second you do so, all while quickly turning around, sending you a pleading look.

"You said you'd stay.", the whiny tone only makes his voice sound more hoarse and you can't help the small grin from appearing on your features.

"In a second, sweetie. You need some water and medicine first, alright?"

He whines again but the thought of something fresh and cold going down his throat is enough to soften the pleading look in his eye. You blow him a kiss and then quickly walk into the kitchen, which is right across from the brunette's room.

It's surprisingly clean but what did you expect? Larry never uses his kitchen unless he has to. Which isn't all too often.

Grabbing a water bottle and placing it on the counter, you keep searching for the small broth packets you'd bought exactly for this kind of scenario. You find them in the fridge, the only thing in this room that Larry actually uses.

Chuckling you get some water cooking, all while pouring the powder into one of the giant cups Sal has gifted Larry a while ago. According to the masked man, everything tastes better if it's being eaten out of a cup and so, everyone has their own sets of cups, a premium gift from Sal Fisher.

Soon, everything's done and you maneuver your way back into Larry's room. Said man is awaiting you, eyes still opened as he watches you creep towards his bed, hands full with water, soup, and medicine.

First, you feed him the medicine. Normally he'd do this himself but you know that he'll just ignore the bitter juice unless you force it down his throat. Stubborn motherfucker.

Larry's sitting up now, back propped up against one of the many big pillows he has. You hand him the broth and he inhales it in less than two minutes, apparently, this is the first thing he's eaten today. Shaking your head at the thought, you tug a few strands of hair out of his face, smiling at your lover's appetite.

Finally, after gulping down half of the water bottle, the brunette leans back and smiles, for the first time this evening.

"Thank you.", he croaks out and you touch his arm as an appreciative gesture, "Does that mean you're allowed to join me now?"

You're about to nod as you notice the faint traces of eyeliner on his skin.

"Did you take off your makeup when you got home?", you ask, throwing a teasing smile his way.

Larry clears his throat, embarrassed that you caught him. A faint blush raises on his cheeks and you feel your heart swell at the sight.

"I might have forgotten about it.", he answers, gaze slowly meeting yours again, "But please, let's just do this later, dude. I am so fucking tired."

Huffing, you roll your eyes at his answer but you nod anyway. He'd be fine with the makeup for a few more hours. You just have to remember taking it off tomorrow.

"You're lucky I love you."

Larry grins at that, the usual wide, blinding grin, that makes your stomach tingle with fuzzy feelings inside of it. His fingers find your arm and he tenderly pulls you down to join him. Soon, your head is placed on his chest, and his arms cradle your shoulders, pulling you into his body.

You can hear his relaxed breathing as he finally settles down, nuzzling his face into your hair.

His skin is warm against your cheek and you smile into it. It doesn't matter how often you've done it, laying on his nude chest always makes you flustered.

Larry's fingers start to draw stuff on your back, the feeling more than a delight for you. Humming, you snuggle closer and the metalhead next to you smiles.

His eyes already start to close slowly, lack of sleep finally catching up to him. The quiet sound of the ongoing movie in his living room, as well as the metal music, make for a great background sound and you both listen intently.

You notice the way his heart beats, slow and steady, beneath the tanned skin. Unknowingly, you start to synchronize your breaths with his. In and out. In. And out.

Soon, your eyes close as well. Damn it, you don't want to fall asleep. Though, you suppose it doesn't matter as the man next to you pulls you closer, his breath warm against your ear. He wouldn't let you leave anyway.

The thought makes you feel giddy, excited, in love. Smiling widely, you try to press yourself closer into him, and soon, you too, fall asleep, enveloped by the arms of the boy you love most. Your favorite boy.

[alectology-archive]

"some day” I said, but I had a burst of inspiration so I typed it up - I’m posting plotlines that I thought were foreshadowed or how I personally imagined them playing out in my mind while I was reading the series. I’m putting them under the cut because it got long-ish:

- Egwene playing a bigger role in the black ajah hunt around the TDR era - she only got a single book of hunting black ajah and she was still a baby channeler then.

- I personally thought Elaida could have been better-written - it would have been fun to lean more into the tragedy aspect of her character. I think I thought she would vehemently oppose the idea of Rand being the true Dragon Reborn until it was too late (which would discredit her greatly with the aes sedai who’d allied with her) which would lead Rand to ally with the rebels.

- honestly I did expect a small-ish group of Aes Sedai to be more opposed to the need for them to follow the Dragon Reborn.

- Nynaeve and Elayne going to Amadicia/Amador proper in book 5 to really hook into and dig up the whitecloak plotline, where they meet Galad. Possible additional black ajah shenanigans. 

- More science from Lanfear! More horrifying acts committed by Lanfear! I can’t say I was completely betrayed because nothing in the books was as satisfying as the scene where she skinned Kadere.

- Asmodean staying as Rand’s toxic best friend who makes him worse quite a way into the series (potentially late book 7/early book 8) but I suppose he had to be killed off because of the establishment of the black tower.

- I thought Asmodean and Rand would join Valan Luca's circus for some reason at one point tho.

- Rand’s book 6 plotline being tackling Sammael in Illian. I thought Dumai's Wells took place during this war and a forsaken would capture him in the middle of it (hence the Box), setting off a rescue sequence.

(I briefly thought Rand would be stuffed in a stasis box) 

- Scenes set in Seandar where we actively get to see how the Shadow/Forsaken manipulate the High Blood with the possible reveal that the Shadow has been responsible for making the Seanchan worser than they already were to start with (a la how they are responsible for the all of the worst institutional rules that are in place in the White Tower). We do technically get a peak of this when we see Semirhage’s undercover scenes with Tuon.

- Mat returning to Caemlyn with Elayne & co and offering the Band to help her with the Succession

- pre-WH I thought Mat and Tuon would end up being either a political marriage or an enemies to lovers kind of relationship minus the circus arc (I think I imagined Tuon arriving at Caemlyn or Carihien, maybe, with an embassy to discuss the war with the Shadow) where they would eventually bond over managing to defeat an army with their combined forces, I guess?? 

- Myth told me about Tuon while I was still reading book 2/3, I think, lol, and I wasn’t really familiar with the Seanchan then and didn’t expect her to be Seanchan either, so I thought she’d probably be a highborn lady from the borderlands who was a skilled military leader.

- Rand confronting Taim/Demandred/Taimandred in the latter half of the series, and I’ll be forever upset about it not happening.

- Nynaeve and Moghedien having more homoerotic scenes + Nynaeve’s books 10-13-ish era plot being all about dealing with her and potentially Semirhage too, instead of being Rand’s accessory.

- The 13 black ajah sisters from TGH being properly confronted and defeated in the books 9-11 era but including Liandrin specifically

- Tuon actually confronting the side of her that could channel, and later being released by Mat when she starts to decide that the empire, as it is, should be destroyed and replaced by another governing body. The books made a point to say that she treated her slaves kindly so I was hoping she was a victim of the empire’s cruelty and conditioning and played along to its rules to protect herself, so I guess it wasn’t very fun to leave KoD knowing that she’d accomplished none of those potential character arcs before returning to her power base. 

I did remember making a couple of posts about how I enjoyed how antagonistic her relationship with Mat was - it just Feels Right that Mat would marry somebody who annoyed him in return which is why I’m a Mat x Elayne enthusiast - so my issue wasn’t really the romance, but her lack of a character arc.

Also I just feel Mat is tragedy’s (unwilling) best friend, so I kinda vibe with the idea that he never gets to be happy happy until later in life - so I don’t really mind the Seanchan plotline RJ had probably planned for him in the outriggers. I just lost my taste for it after Tuon renamed him in AMoL.

- Some sort of council meeting in the borderlands which Rand attends to persuade those nations to ally with him? 

- Rand being actually kidnapped by Semirhage and being taken to the borderlands (I don't know why, don't ask, I assumed RJ would want to worldbuild more and would take advantage of the opportunity by giving her a convenient reason to be there) just before the armies need to start marching to shayol ghul

- Moiraine and Siuan being reunited in the book 12 era and Moiraine being a source of consultation for Rand. I did NOT see the weird Gareth/Siuan romance coming - I always thought she’d stay single permanently.

- I did kind of think Siuan would be re-installed as Amyrlin, honestly. Or that she would play a greater role in advising Egwene.

- The Black Tower potentially being taken over by darkfriends and traitors completely to the point where it became a Forsaken stronghold, maybe.

- me legitimately thinking Mat and Rand would like. Kiss in book 5 or 12, lol. I think this thought occurred to me after the Rhuidean sequence.

- I thought Mat and Talmanes would probably sleep together, honestly.

- I was actually surprised by how homoerotic avilayne was so... no criticisms there, I suppose, but I kind of really did expect Elayne and Min to kiss after their lord of chaos scenes.

- Mat joining up with Rand after book 11 and using his skills to thwart the seanchan forces in almoth plain after promising Tuon that he would meet her on the battlefield next.

- Egwene and Egeanin actually communicating a bunch and Egeanin playing the part of Egwene’s knight, in a way. I learned Egwene would bond her as a Warder in AMoL all the way back when I was reading TSR and was falling in love with Egeanin + Egwene had such a homoerotic relationship with Avi + Egwene’s trauma after she was made a damane set up a great potential for a nuanced relationship.

- Egeanin playing proper traitor to the seanchan and giving up important secrets

[sonkitty]

@drconstellation

See above if you missed my first reblog/reply.

I was entirely too curious to research it for you.

(Threshold Tricks Main Link)

The Door Trick messes things up since I am reasonably sure it is supposed to be considered simultaneous when completed even if a clothing touch is seen first. That was already my own guess, but I took a look at my screenshots from each cut, again out of curiosity. The touch subtly changes between each cut it is seen. So, that just makes me think yes, it is indeed supposed to be simultaneous. But if one determines it is not simultaneous since it's not like we have an active referee here, then a parallel could be found between it and the pub going multiplicative-adjective-by-multiplicative-adjective. You just add 2 to my "MA" notes below and sort it as you see fit.

...

Going touch-by-touch and considering The Door Trick simultaneous, the parallel to the pub is here:

That's the Single of The Pocket Trick, when Crowley returns from escorting Maggie and Nina out.

....

Going multiplicative-adjective-by-multiplicative-adjective and considering The Door Trick simultaneous, the parallel to the pub is here:

That's the Double made of two Doubles for The Sunglasses Trick, finishing things up as the last complex trick of the season and the first of the last three for The Final Fifteen.

...

Saying screw it, The Door Trick is not simultaneous, the parallel is somewhere in here, which is The Door Trick, going multiplicative-adjective-by-multiplicative-adjective:

...

Full notes, for reference, will let you know of any corrections since I make mistakes all the time:

Touch #1:

Perfect Entrance Single

(one foot to the sidewalk)

Touch #2:

Perfect Entrance Double

(four fingers on the car door panel and window frame)

Touch #3:

Perfect Entrance Triple

(three digits on the coffee shop threshold)

Touch #4:

The Sunglasses Trick Double #1

(one hand, both end pieces, dark horse statue, both doors are opened)

Touch #5:

The Sunglasses Trick Triple-to-Eventual-Single 1

(summoned to Hell, blurry mirror)

Touch #6:

The Sunglasses Trick Triple-to-Eventual Single 2

(returned to bookshop, desk, bell)

Touch #7:

The Bigger Thresholds Trick Double

(pub, two posts)

Touch #8:

The Sunglasses Trick Single-to-Eventual Triple 1

(different sunglasses and hissing, Jane Austen book)

Touch #9:

The Sunglasses Trick Single-to-Eventual-Triple 2

(different sunglasses and hissing, , crows to goats)

Touch #10:

The Pocket Trick Triple Part 1

(short sideburns, between building windows, before encountering Nina)

Touch #11:

The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2

(short sideburns, between cars, after encountering Nina, "Do you need a lift somewhere?")

Touch #12:

The Pocket Trick Double

(music shop, two pockets, between door frames and papers)

Touch #13:

The Bigger Thresholds Trick Single

(music shop, one sign)

Technically, #12 and #13 are happening at the same time but since The Pocket Trick Double has some preparation before entry, that's why I put it first.

Touch #14:

The Pocket Trick Triple Part 3, Triple is done

(short sideburns, between car windows, inviting Justine)

Touch #15:

The Sunglasses Trick Single-to-Eventual-Triple 3, now a primary Triple

(different sunglasses and hissing, glass of red wine)

Touch #16:

The Bigger Thresholds Trick Triple

(Heaven elevator, three buttons)

Touch #17:

The Pocket Trick Single

(astragal; between door windows)

Touch #18:

The Sunglasses Trick Triple-to-Eventual Single 3, now a primary Single

(held, no earthly objects touched)

(not hissing, present day, no earthly objects touched when removed)

Touch #19:

The Sunglasses Trick Double #2, now a primary Double

(put on, both doors are closed)

Touch #20:

The Door Trick Single, Double, and Triple are simultaneous, I believe.

(single accessory touch with the watch, double clothing touch with the jacket and pants, double multiplier due to legs being crossed, triple skin contact touch with the wrist and hand, triple multiplier due to middle, ring, and pinky fingers collectively together)

Touch #21:

The Window Trick Double Part 1

(Nina's window, Step 3 averted)

Touch #22:

The Window Trick Single

(middle finger on edge between door panel and roof, magical lens flares, partial rainbows, possible eventual rainbow)

Touch #23:

The Window Trick Double Part 2

(Maggie's window, step 3 averted)

Touch #24:

The Window Trick Triple

(open car window combined with sunglasses, step 3 cancelled)

~~~

These are ordered by completion, not when started. Even if re-ordered by when started, the parallel then ends up as the Single in The Pocket Trick, as going by touches did.

MA 1:

Perfect Entrance Single

(one foot to the sidewalk)

MA 2:

Perfect Entrance Double

(four fingers on the door panel and window frame)

MA 3:

Perfect Entrance Triple

(three digits on the door panel)

MA 4:

The Bigger Thresholds Trick Double

(pub, two posts)

MA 5:

The Pocket Trick Double

(music shop, two pockets)

MA 6:

The Bigger Thresholds Trick Single

(music shop, one sign)

Technically, #5 and #6 are happening at the same time but since The Pocket Trick Double has some preparation before entry, that's why I put it first.

MA7:

The Pocket Trick Triple

(short sideburns)

MA 8:

The Sunglasses Trick Triple

(different sunglasses and hissing)

MA 9:

The Bigger Thresholds Trick Triple

(Heaven elevator, three buttons)

MA 10:

The Pocket Trick Single

(astragal; between door windows)

MA 11:

The Sunglasses Trick Single

(not hissing, present day, no earthly objects touched when removed)

MA 12:

The Sunglasses Trick Double

(both doors opened/closed)

MA13:

The Door Trick Single, Double, and Triple are simultaneous, I believe. (single accessory touch with the watch, double clothing touch with the jacket and pants, double multiplier due to legs being crossed, triple skin contact touch with the wrist and hand, triple multiplier due to middle, ring, and pinky fingers collectively together)

MA 14:

The Window Trick Single

(middle finger on edge between door panel and roof, magical lens flares, partial rainbows, possible eventual rainbow)

MA 15:

The Window Trick Double

(Nina and Maggie's windows)

MA16:

The Window Trick Triple

(open car window combined with sunglasses)

Mr. Fell has just been telling me how much he's looking forward to hosting our monthly street association get-together.

GOOD OMENS - "The Clue" (2.02) requested by @procrastinating-about-life

[br-disaster]

Nie Huaisang’s outfits appreciation post

After the terrible loss of our second best dressed cultivator and fashion icon Nie Mingjue, the cultivation world now lacks one of it’s pillars. But little did they know, our fashion king had a disciple, someone capable of honoring his legacy in many ways.

While we all grief, a new icon rises.

And I’m here to prove that Nie Huaisang deserves his late brother’s title not only because Mingjue’s no longer serving looks -may his fashionable soul rest in peace-, but because Huaisang has always been a stylish icon on his own.

I mean, this look right here is enough proof:

 Huaisang has quite a lot of robes, and they are all so different, I decided to compile them chronologically:

1. the “assigned fashionable at birth”one

Look at this small bean with his cream-colored robes. Whoever chose this color for him did a great job, though it’s a bit weird that they looked at baby Mingjue and went “all you’ll wear is dark gray from now on” and then Huaisang was born and “cream it is!” And we don’t really see anybody else from the Nie sect wearing this color, I wonder if it has anything to do with Huaisang’s mom, or if it’s just for the dark\light color contrast,  the two young masters can’t possibly wear the same colors, it would ruin the aesthetic.

 It looks just like his main-possibly-stay-at-home-robes, like he just really loved this especific set and had a lot of other robes that looked just the same growing up.

Really small, really cute, makes you want to carry him around saying: look at my baby, he’s so stylish!

2. the “good old Gusu days” one

This is like a uniform, there’s nothing really special about it. But I’d like to point out two things:

One: the silver embroidery on the shoulders and the silver on his waist belt matches the pristine white of his robes really well.

Two: look how wide his shouders look, there you go, Huaisang, keeping the Nie shoulder game strong!

3. The “it’s called fashion, dage” one

Cream-colored again! It embodies teen!Huaisang’s aesthetic perfectly: it’s expensive, it’s pretty, it looks comfortable, but it’s minimalistic.

I mean, I have no idea if it is actually expensive, but it surely looks expensive.

It has no discernable patterns, but the fabric just looks so good, look at the texture. It looks warm and heavy (rip Ji Li). And it’s pleated, look at him! Everything about this one screams rich-carefree-spoiled-delicate-pretty-gongzi.

And well, we see him strolling around and getting in trouble instead of going straight home in this robes, then on Fatal Journey we see him painting landscapes instead of practicing and claiming he doesn’t want to become the Nie sect leader in this very set of robes. Maybe he has indeed been wearing similar robes since his childhood and wants to, you know, go back to when things were as simple as taking the long way home coming back from Gusu.

4. the “didn’t really engage on the war but needed to look good regardless” one

This one is so pretty, y’all. It’s silver and white and gray, the brothers  are matching with their disciples’ robes, you won’t find a Sect with a superior fashion sense.

I can totally understand why he didn’t change to some post-Sunshot robes. Imagine looking this good at home, with none of your friends or disciples or brother to see you. Nope. This robes belong to a banquet, even one as unpleasing and akward as this one.

(They technically saw him, since he wore the same robes while they were planning the whole Sunshot thing, but no one was paying attention to it, right? And you can’t let such a nice look go to waste)

One of my favorites, for sure. It even matches his fan. It’s peak aesthetic.

5. the “I’m only here for the food and the drama” one

I didn’t really like this one at first. It looked kinda futuristic in my head, you know? It’s probably just the really structured fabric and the color, but It was a bit too much.

But now, looking at it as I take screenshots, I like them. It’s bold and fierce and remember the shoulder accessories being a code for battle? Well, I doubt Huaisang shot a single arrow that day, but he was supposed to be competing, so it makes a lot of sense that he’s dressed like this while his brother is wearing his pretty, dark yet lighter civillian robes to watch him.

He’s even wearing epaulettes (well, I trust that that’s the name) that matches the ones Mingjue wore with his Sunshot robes! Are they the same pair? Did he borrow it? Or do they secretly comission the same robes and accessories  and wear them on alternate occasions?

These are the most battle-coded (and at the same time is not battle-coded at all, it’s too ostentatious) robes we see him wearing until now, and he is representing his sect at the hunt, he has to look like a proper heir that is capable of fighting, whether he likes it or not - and judging by how unenthusiastic he was during the opening shoot-the-wen-prisioners ceremony, I’d say he was not enjoying it at all-.

But it’s such a cool look, I really like it now.

6. the “he will throw hands with a non-corporeal entity while giving his big brother all the love and understanding he deserves” one

 This may look like the same robes we usually wears at home, but they lack the pleated part and I don’t think his long sleeves would fit inside his wirst thingy, which I now know it’s called a vambrace or a bracer,  they were quite wide sleeves.

Anyway, we again have his minimalistic aesthetic. No patterns, the only addition being the outer robe that realy looks like the one Mingjue wears with his stay-at-home robes, except with no sleeves; and the bracers\vambraces.

But look how different this looks in comparison with the previous one; he wasn’t fighting shit in those pompous silver robes, but he was so determined here, ready to face anything. This is the difference between a battle-coded look and a battle-codded Huaisang.

It’s practical, it’s pretty, looks comfortable and it’s perfect for scolding your older brother then comforting him because he gets emotional when people argue with him, ok?

Huaisang is the best younger brother, fight me

8.the “sad, sad” one

I’ll just say that the inner robes are really similar to the one Mingjue wears with his stay-at-home robes, though they are not the same. Perhaps my theory that they did comission a lot of similar itens is correct after all.

I don’t think this look is particularly good, and the context surely doesn’t help at all, but it’s interesting to see him in gray and black.

 Overall, I hate it here.

9. the “somehow even worse” one

Look, if I had to compile all his outfits, I had to include this one. But there’s nothing to say about it except just looking at him wearing it makes me sad.

10. the “you didn’t see that coming, did you?” one

This one here is a trick, ok? At this point of the story we have no idea of what’s going on and if this misterious person is important or not; all we know is that he is quite fond of patterns and dark clothing. And that he has some money.

But damn, once we find out who this is, it instantly becomes something else entirely. 

It’s so fucking DARK!! It’s Wei Wuxian’s kind of dark, it’s crazy to think our boy Huaisang, who’s been wearing light grays, white and cream all his life would come up with something like that. It doesn’t even look Nie, and that’s probably what he was going for, y’know, so no one could recognize him and all of that.

But jesus, this look is just wow.  It’s perfect for a scheming mastermind, even though we don’t really know about it yet. The scales pattern is really nice and I love when he wears this sort of robe, with the fitted sleeves and the extra fabric at the shoulders. The flame (I think) pattern is nice too, though it’s a bit too much here, just a bit. But he seems to like this pattern a lot, so let him have it

And the craziest part is: we know these robes. And i’ve seen a couple of posts about them, it’s the same inner robe he wore at the Phoenix Mountain night hunt competition, almost 16 years ago. 

Like what are these robes made of??

11. the “sneaky, sneaky” one

The famous Nie pattern, am I right?

I love all theories about this one and as I took the screenshots, I noticed how his inner robe is the same as robe number 8. Huaisang says no to excessive buying, please reuse your clothes!

I’m particularly fond of the theory that Nie Mingjue comissioned robes for both his didi and his boyfriend Xichen, but I can accept that Huaisang just inherited his brother’s robes, though the flame pattern (once again proving we won’t guess Huaisang is behind everything not even after seeing him wearing the same patterns as in episode one twice) at the bottom is definetly a Huaisang thing.

I really like how heavy it looks, and the black thin stripe.We know it’s the same pattern as Xichen’s robe but seeing it combined with the back and light gray of the Nies really gives it a distinct identity.

12. the “and the oscar goes to...” one

Look at him, all innocent-looking placing all the chess pieces on their right places. Gotta love director Nie.  And it makes so much sense that he would wear something as light as this robes for this moment. He wore light colors for most of his youth, when he was carefree and naive and harmless; he cultivated a reputation of being dependent, fearful and stupid even. In this moment, more than ever, he needs people to believe this is exactly who he is, and what’s the best way of doing it?

Yes, reminding them of your old self. All he does is pretend and lie while he cries and faints.  A director and an actor too!

Throw yourself at your brother’s sworn brothers trying to look harmless while annoying the hell out of them? check.

Faint conveniently as your brother’s murderer lies at your face about killing said brother because even you have limits and you can’t watch that fuckery and not want to murder him right there? check.

Pretend to be stupid while conducting the protagonist and pretty much everybody else to ask the right questions and therefore unmask the terrible things your nemesis did?  also check.

And the robes are really pretty, look at the texture at the bottom right!! Silver and white go really well together. Wide, wide sleeves and this heavy-looking fabric. Superb, really, one of my favorites again.

And look at him carrying his saber (which he  probably left at Pier Lotus later)!

13. the “...and cut!” one

Look at these robes and tell me they don’t absolutely look like something Nie Mingjue would wear. You know he would. 

And it’s such a contrast to his previous robes. The white and silver one for looking innocent and lost and funny; the dark gray to look like a serious sect leader who will endorse the accusations against his enemy (Ok, he did act confused and lost and innocent in these robes, but he also showed real shock and grief and sadness, he did show his true feelings too)

He’s honoring his brother here, he did it, he brought justice to him, he defeated his brother’s murderer.  He spent years wanting and waiting for this moment, it’s only fair he would do so while looking so much like his beloved older brother.

I love everything about this look. The color palette is almost the same as the one robe his brother wore to the post-Sunshot campaign banquet. The dark,shining gray, the black, the thin bronze\golden stripe at the collar. Even that extra overlaid fabric at the bottom front of his robes is the same as Mingjue used to wear. Beautiful, really.

He would be really proud of you, I hope you know that, Huaisang.

14. the “I may or may not steal your chief cultivator status, watch out Wangji” one

I know he would never steal Wangji’s post, cql!NHS doesn’t even want it; but like, we deserved Chief cultivator!Huaisang, right? So it was worth the joke, I think.

The inner light gray robe yet AGAIN, I suspect this is his favorite inner robe.

We have some bold patterns here, so elegant. I really like when he wears this kind of outer robe, accentuating his shoulders, suits him really well, And this is such a Nie color palette, just like the previous one. In fact, Huaisang wears way more dark colors than we give him credit for. Especially after becoming sect leader. 

Sleeve game on point too, really long. And it matches his fan as well.

Lovely look, I wish we could have seen more.

In conclusion: 

King of versatility, resusing 16 year-old robes AND looking damn good while doing it! He looks good scheming, he looks good lying, he looks good fainting, he even looks good tricking people into stabbing other people!

 Name a more iconic king, I’ll wait.

[night-fallz]

XY’s Muse

Based on this prompt

It was raining and it was just the perfect atmosphere for me to write in. I hope you guys like this chapter. And like I have previously stated in the previous chapters, any criticism will be welcome.

uploaded on 01/28/21

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

Ao3 // Wattpad

previous II next

Chapter 3

Marinette was sitting on a bench waiting for XY to arrive. She was nervous. Their conversation last night would not leave her head.

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up. 

He called me princess.

When Chat Noir called her that she just felt annoyed. But with XY, it only made her heart beat faster.

"Marinette!" she heard a familiar voice yell. Marinette turned around and noticed XY running up to her. When he finally reached her, he was out of breath. "I've been looking all over for you." He managed to say between gasps.

Marinette looked at him up and down with a bit of disgust. "What kind of disguise is this!" she yelled at him.

XY was wearing a sage-green crewneck that says 'NIKE' in the middle with baggy jeans and black converse. His outfit wasn't the worst. In fact, Marinette liked it. But what she didn't like were the accessories she chose. He was wearing an obnoxious cowboy hat with huge sunglasses that almost covered the upper part of his face. To make it worse, XY was also wearing an obnoxiously fake mustache.

XY winced at her reaction and meekly said, "A disguise?"

Marinette let out a huff. "I can not believe I am being seen next to you right now. The fashion gods must've cursed me or something."

XY let out a laugh and Marinette had a feeling that he was rolling his eyes at her. Of course, she couldn't be sure because of those hideous sunglasses. XY tugged her arm, "Come on." he smirked. "The faster we get to your house, the faster you won't be seen with a so-called fashion disaster like me."

Marinette scrunched her nose and started walking towards the bakery. "Hurry up." She exclaimed, letting out a small laugh. "I already know that you can't come up with a subtle disguise, but I hope that you aren't slow as well."

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

XY was out of breath, yet again, when they arrived at the front door of the bakery. "You're fast." He let out a breath. “That wasn’t fair. I literally ran to the park so I could hang out with you, then you make me run even more.”

Marinette pulled the door open and winked at him. "I know." She gave her parents a quick hug and turned back to XY. "Do you want anything?"

XY looked at the baked goods and scrunched his eyebrows. "Can I have a croissant and a strawberry macaroon, please?"

He was about to reach for his wallet when Marinette quickly stopped him. "It's on the house." She said reassuringly. XY opened his mouth to protest and Marinette narrowed her eyes and gave him the items he wanted. "It's on the house," she repeated, this time glaring at him..

XY looked at Mrs. Dupain-Cheng for help but she only gave him a smile. "Don't argue with her, dear. She does this for all her friends. She won't take no for an answer."

"My mom's right." Marinette agreed. "Now come on” Marinette tugged his sleeve. “We have plans to make."

Before he could reply, Marinette led him upstairs to her bedroom.

"Woah," XY exclaimed in surprise.

Whatever he was expecting Marinette’s room to look like, it was not this.  

"Why are you so sho-" Marinette stopped talking right when she turned so she could face her room and her face went bright red. She let out a scream of embarrassment. "I swear I thought I put all of this away! I can't believe I forg- UGH!" she let out a huff of frustration. "You think I'm creepy now, don't you." she said, her eyes on the ground.

XY gave her room another quick glance before facing her. She had Adrien Agreste's face everywhere. There were posters with Adrien's face all over her wall. The wallpaper on her desktop was Adrien. Her room was basically an Adrien Agreste shrine.

Yet, XY had seen worse. Seeing her room, it was obvious that she has a crush on Adrien Agreste. He held in a scoff. Of course, she does. He thought. Why would she ever like me anyways. I’m a nobody when compared to the so-called sunshine boy of Paris.

XY could feel Marinette's eyes staring at him. He's been silent for a while.

Marinette probably assumed that he hated her and thought she was a creep. "Nope," XY said, a bit louder than necessary. He winced before he added, "I don't think you're a creep." his voice a bit softer this time.

"Yes, you do," Marinette stated, her hands hiding her face. "You took way too long to respond."

"I was taking in the scenery."

"What scenery?" Marinette asked. Though, XY could hear a teasing tone behind it. "My embarrassed face or my even more embarrassing room." Marinette plopped down on her bed. "I thought I took down all the posters and got rid of his face on my desktop." She faced him and smiled sheepishly, "I guess I was so excited to meet up with you that I forgot to take all this-" she gestured around her room "off."

"If it helps," XY tried to say. "This really isn't that bad." When Marinette stared at him as if he grew a tail, he added. "Trust me, I've seen way worse."

And just like that, the tense and awkward atmosphere was gone.

It was silent for a few seconds when Marinette spoke. "Me and my friend Alya” Marinette wouldn’t meet his eyes again. “We were supposed to take down all my posters and burn them." It was XY's turn to stare at Marinette as she was the one who grew a tail, but Marinette didn’t notice it or she just ignored him. "I'm over him. I actually can't believe I ever liked him in the first place."

"What changed?"

Marinette waved the question off. "I'll tell you later. Now, let's start planning the photo shoot."

XY stared at her for a few seconds, trying to see if she was telling the truth or not. "Okay.” He surrendered. “But you're telling me everything later."

"Maybe Marinette teased. "Now come on XY-"

"Xavier." he interrupted. Marinette scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Call me Xavier."

"Oh." Marinette looked at him with a cute smile on her face. "Well come on Xavier," she said his name in a teasing tone. "Let's get planning."

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Planning her 'I'm back cause I didn't realize that I somehow have over 200,000 followers on insta' photoshoot took a lot faster than Marinette thought it would.

XY, no, Xavier was a natural at it. She guessed it was because he was used to this kind of thing.

Marinette looked at her pink notebook. It was where she wrote down all the plans they made and the suggestions he gave her. "Thank you so much for helping me!" she exclaimed in excitement. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Xavier took a bite out of his macaroon, "You're welcome. It wasn't that hard anyways, so it's all good."

Marinette studied him. Technically, she couldn’t take her eyes off of him, but same thing.

He took off that horrible disguise of his so she could actually see his face.

Like Marinette said before, Xavier was hot. He had a sharp jawline, which brought out his ocean blue eyes and his golden blonde hair was shining in the sun.

If Xavier ever asked Marinette who she believed his godly parent was, she would definitely say Apollo. Apollo was often described by Percy as hot. Someone with blonde hair and blue eyes. It also helps that Xavier was a musician.

Marinette let out a dreamy sigh before quickly widening her eyes. She tried to make it look like she wasn't staring at him but it was too late.

Xavier caught her. He gave her a smirk that practically made Marinette melt and raised an eyebrow. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

Marinette wanted to take him up on that offer. Instead, she forced out a laugh and threw a pillow at him. "Wow. How original."

Xavier rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

Could this guy get any hotter?

"So." Xavier said.

"So?" Marinette replied with confusion.

"What's up with you burning down all the pictures of-" he gestured at her posters.

"Oh," Marinette couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes. "That."

"Are you alright?" His voice was soft.

Marinette looked at him in surprise.

Should she lie?

Marinette couldn’t bring himself to lie to him. He asked her that question with such sincerity. As if he actually wanted to know if she was okay

Instead, Marinette scoffs. "Did you know that you’re the second person who ever asked me that question?"

He didn’t reply.

Stupid. Marinette scolded herself. Why did she say that to him? Now he was going to hate her and think she’s just looking for attention.

Marinette stiffened. Xavier’s arms were around her.

He was giving her a hug.

Usually, Marinette would be freaking out about someone like him hugging her.

But right now, all she could do was hug him tighter and finally let go of all the tears that she's been holding in.  

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Note: I suck at writing sad scenes. So don't end up being surprised if my attempted angsty chapters end up being cringy.

Also, how do you guys want me to address XY? Do you want me to keep addressing him as XY or Xavier outside of Marinette's dialogue? I tried to address him with his actual name, Xavier, in this chapter. But I don't really know if I like it or not, so please give me your feedback on that.

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[hellslittleprince]

Kian knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would do anything Quinn asked of him, and that was another slightly terrifying prospect. Given who he was, what he was supposed to be, he probably shouldn't be so easily under someone's thrall. But with every smile that Quinn gave, every laugh, every little quirk or bounce or word from his mouth, Kian knew more and more that he would do anything. That meant agreeing to whatever accessories and... case? that Quinn thought best.

"I will trust your judgement on those too," he laughed, blinking just a little at the weight shift on his arm, not quite realising it was Quinn but... oh. Signal. That he did know about, because his parents had mentioned it when talking to Sprink. "I'm... not quite sure," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing at the side of his neck, "I'm sure I'll work something out." Like a quick trip to the human realm, but again... kept to himself. You could technically walk straight into the fae realm as a human too, if you were lost enough, so maybe signal would be possible? "I guess we can only find out. I hope so, though. Truly."

Quinn was already enjoying Kians company, more than he should even probably. How sad will it be when they will have to part ways... Quinn didn't want to think about that. Not one bit, especially when he was gifted with that laugh, and oh... weak in the knees. Literally so, his leg did that awkward bend but he managed to keep himself up, maybe a lot thanks to Kian and the arm he offered. And it was time to feel stupid again because that's what he gets for acting like that. Karma. "Ah well, there are a lot of pretty things to take photos of... the park for example and well... the buildings are nice." Quinn gestured a little around himself with his hand, trying to brush the fact that Kian found it pleasurable to take photos of him and that he was currently out to get a phone... just for him. At least he made it sound like that.

"You can get one just like mine, then we will match! Maybe a cute accessory as well and a cute case." Oh all was bunnies and rainbows for this man. Quinn was weak for cute things just as much as he was weak for Kian at the moment it seemed. "Do you think you might not have signal there?" That would be a bummer, because how else could they plan a second date? Not like this was a date! Right...