#I’m surprised tumble app didn’t crash when I keep going on an off for the past hours writing this long as oc fiction

[rocketandonuts]

Trying to figure my characters out short fic:

“Just making sure” you asked the boy next to you, who’s currently tangling his arm around yours, resting his head on ur shoulder, “… you’re not making a move on me, are you?”

You guys were sitting on your bed. Before this moment, he was just comfortably curling up to you as he watches his little video on his phone. It was an animated video explaining smth biology, and you can tell that he was really trying to watch it by the way he kept rewinding repeatedly whenever smth came up that he didnt follow.

Now the video is paused. And he’s looking at you. His eyes. Widened. Whatever he was trying to consume probably all got thrown outta the window bc of your impromptu question. You feel a little bad.

Next moment, he let go of your arm.

“S-s-sorry! Am I too close? Am I gross??”

“No no it’s fine it’s fine! Im just asking!”

He hopped off your bed, panicked. You followed by, grabbed him, and sit him down back to your bed again.

“I’m just curious… cuz it always seem like you really like to touch me? A lot?” It’s hard to not make that sounds hella awkward. He gets what ur saying tho.

“I-I’m just a touch-starved dumb loser dude! I really like you you’re my friend and I thought you’re fine with it-“

“I Am fine with it!” You pull him into a hug to reassure. You really are fine with it. More than fine, actually. It’s kinda adorable. Like a puppy.

“Im not grossed out, alright? See? Not one bit. Was just wondering.”

“Heh… heheheh…” he laughed nervously. “Silly! Ofc i wouldn’t be making a movey move on you when- … you know! I-I told you about th-the-the guy from work-“

“Yeah yeah I know about that guy. Jules. That guy is srsly wayyy too old for you!”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Your lovely friend here kept developing fruitless crushes at his part time jobs. So far there’s been 2 straight guys, a lesbian, and now this “Fine gentlemen who shows up on Sunday mornings and one time accidentally spilled his coffee.”

“I know I know! I just think he’s kinda cute! I’m not making a move on anybody! You know I never had done that anyway!”

“But… Idk I just wonder...” if he likes you and likes to touch you, then what really makes it different? “Like, why aren’t you into me the same way? Am I not your type? Not into fat chicks?”

“Y-you’re my best friend, Ricky! And you’re great! You look good… okay fine! Since you wanna know so bad I’ll tell you!” He cracked, flustered.

“I-I probably did have a lil bit crush on you before! But it’s not like you’d actually like that…!”

“Huh.”

“And I wouldn’t wanna risk changing anything between us, okay?? I like being friends with you!”

“Aww hehehe” you went in for another tight hug “That’s so sweet of you, bud”

“… I really like being friends with you, Ricky.”

“Me too” your best friend is so warm. You decided to turn the fan on for both of you. “Tbh I wouldn’t be too mad if you like me that way. It’s just would be a shame that i don’t think I can reciprocate it.”

“Pffft yeah yeah you like being the charming asshole don’t you? You know you would be uncomfortable if I’m still harboring that type of feelings towards you!”

“Huh? Why would I be uncomfortable?”

“Cuz you’re not into me, obviously! Dumbass! You just said it yourself!”

It’s strange. There’s nothing “romantic” going on between you two, but you kinda get the feeling that he may be hurt a little by your wording earlier. The air is feeling kinda dense.

Even more strangely, you’re also feeling a little heartache.

“… But here’s a thing, man” you’re a bit bothered by this… idea. You don’t want anything between you two to change, either. But you’re willing to share a little bit more of yourself to heal this thing as for right now. “I think I could kiss you. Probably.”

“…W-W-WHA-!”

He’s once again trying to squirm his way out of your hold. You make sure he couldn’t.

“STOP PLAYING WITH ME YOU BITCH!!”

“I mean what I said! Geez chill! I think about kissing you sometimes jules what about it!!”

“But-but- … why…???”

“Idk. Why do you watch science videos when you often get outta them still totally confused and unsatisfied?”

“C-cuz I’m curious…?”

“There you go.”

You smile at him. His face is all flushed. You felt the air has shifted to another kind of denseness. The kind that you don’t really hate that much. The kind that somehow would put even more smiles on you when you’re already smiling. Maybe you are a little bit of an asshole indeed.

Not to mention the positions you’re currently taking. Thats pretty damn cliché.

“So do you… do you w-wanna… t-try it? … Now?” He said hesitantly, eyes closed, wrinkles between his eyebrows. This would be a hell of a time to pull a godawful prank, but you managed to hold it back.

“…Nah man, as much as it’s tempting. Hehehe~” instead you helped him sit up again. “I don’t have the heart to steal your first kiss out of pure curiosity. I know how much you’d value those junk.”

“… Ha. Haha.” He laughed nervously. Half-relieved, half-disappointed, but didn’t look too upset “Coward.”

“Ah Jules. My man my buddy. I hope one day you’ll get your first time with someone you have a hell ride of a romantic crush on with each other.”

“Hey let’s not get our hopes up…” this time, he took ur hand. “Hey wanna still try smth?”

“Hm?”

“Im curious too!” He said as he started to play with your hand. He made u do a finger gun gesture, with ur index & middle finger aligning together.

Then he pressed his lips on them horizontally, giving them a peck.

“Haha dude! what was that??”

“A simulation of kissing on the lips, obviously!”

“Couldn’t u just do that with ur own hand?”

“Then you wouldn’t be able to get a feel of my hot juicy mouth! …how did it feel?”

“Dry and scratchy.”

“Oh really? Oh now let me rate yours then you ass! Close your eyes!”

Sure. Why not. You closed your eyes and waited for his groundbreaking virtual reality romance simulation game.

And that son of a bitch pinched your mouth.

[mini-moongi]

Notification [REVAMPED] || 1

Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Story prompt: What if you got an alert on your phone every time someone thought of you? They tell you their thoughts in the form of text messages.

Summary: Alert!AU, School!AU; A mysterious app appeared on your phone and you can’t get rid of it?? It texts you people’s thoughts. One day, you accidentally send the star basketball player, Min Yoongi, to the nurse’s office.

A/N: I got the sudden urge to revamp this old fic of mine bc it has SO MUCH POTENTIAL I just sucked at writing :,)) Anyways it’s been a good few years since my last written fanfic so--

Chapters: 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 coming soon!

series masterlist

──��� ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You tapped tirelessly on your phone; your eyes so dry you can hear yourself blink. It’s 3 am and you have school tomorrow, but you just have to download this new album you found whilst “studying.” After it finishes loading into your playlist, a notification popped up. You thought that maybe your years of illegally downloading music has finally caught up with you.

“ALERT: Unauthorized app: E C H O downloaded. [ERROR_606_RESET] LOG DELETED.”

You panicked, what if it’s a virus?? Going onto your home screen, you find an app called E C H O. Nothing else was out of the ordinary, except for the cryptid new app. After that fateful night, you’ve learned that it texts you the thoughts that people have about you. You couldn’t delete it, no matter how hard you tried, and you tried for weeks. Not many people think of you anyways, so it’s no biggie.

Thinking that was your first mistake.

Your friend, Byeol, was chasing you down the hallway with a dead roach she found on the floor. “Ew look, it’s guts are oozing out!!” She’s never been afraid of icky things, and will not hesitate in poking a dead organism with her bare hands. She’s a madman, and she knows you’re about to gag when she squeezes the guts of the roach between her fingers.

You’re running away from the horrifically explicit roach Byeol is holding, and as you turn your head to spew out an insult, you crash into another body. It sends you tumbling on top of them with no support to stop the fall. He lets out a deep guttural groan from the impact, and a loud “Fuck!” escapes the stranger’s lips.

Bumping into him was your second mistake.

You don’t even look at them, too scared to make eye contact as you blurt out,” I’m so sorry!!” You hastily try to recollect yourself and offer your hand to the poor victim. When you finally glance at him, you almost freeze up. You just whammed yourself into the school’s best basketball player, Min Yoongi™.

Min Yoongi is one of the seven guys at the top of the High School tier class. Some fan club even started the name, “Bangtan Boys” to address the seven handsome guys. He’s an excellent pianist, a fantastic composer, a basketball star, and unmistakably a bad boy. Guys and girls swoon over him, but he’s given them all the the cold shoulder. You recalled a friend of yours who said that his glare was so piercing, you literally feel your body tense and freeze up. You also happen to remember that he had to sit out on the last basketball game because he sprained his ankle. Ouch.

You look back over your shoulder, and of course, Byeol was pretending not to know who you were. She picked up conversation with a nearby stranger, hoping that they didn’t see the cause of this destruction. You didn’t blame her though, no one wants to get on Yoongi’s bad side. You were sure your phone had a ton of messages from ECHO, even though you’ve put it on “Do Not Disturb.”

Your guilt sinks in and it weighs heavy on your shoulders at the thought of you being the reason he’s in pain. “..Are you alright? Here, let me take you to the nurse.” You help him up and wrap his arm around your shoulder. “You can lean on me, it’s okay.” On the inside, it was definitely not okay. He accepted your offer, but he hasn’t said a single word to you this whole time. The air was thick and the silence was fueling your uneasiness.

You check him into the nurse’s office and explain the incident. Good thing it’s your lunch period, or your teacher would’ve chewed you out for being late. You check ECHO while the lady logs Yoongi into the records.

[11:37pm] Woah!! Did that girl just slam into Min Yoongi? She’s got balls..

[11:37pm] Should I pretend I don’t know her? Y/n will forgive me, right?

[11:38pm] What the fuck was that??? Why am I on the floor? And in pain??

[11:45pm] ...now what am I going to do? Who is she?

The nurse lady sets him up on one of those bed thingies, and you take this opportunity to apologize again. “I’m so sorry Yoongi, I should’ve been paying attention. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, just let me know.” The desperation must’ve been obvious in your voice.

“...What’s your name?” Yoongi stares at you. His eyes don’t waver when you look at him in surprise. He stays unmoving, waiting for your answer.

“My name? Oh, uhm... it’s Y/n. L/n Y/n,” You were not expecting a response from him, since he seemed uninterested when you tried conversing earlier. Yoongi asking for someone’s name is considered to be something really honorable; people would pay anything to have him say that to them. But then again, they would also pay Yoongi to step on them...

“I have a request for you then, Y/n.” He lulls his head to the side, thinking his decision over. “I want you to...” He looks at you with a gaze that you just can’t shake. Your breath is caught in your throat at his stare. What is he going to say? “Be my substitute.”

“Like a substitute teacher? I’m sorry but--” You try to quickly intervene. Does he think you’re an old hag?? You didn’t think you looked that old.. or maybe he means something else? “Or did you mean a substitute as in like for your basketball game because I don’t even know how to play basketball I just--”

“No, calm your tits. I meant you’ll act as my replacement for school and go where I usually go. I need you to be my eyes and ears while I’m stuck here and at home.” He draws out a long sigh,” You just need to collect my assignments and give them to me everyday after school until I get better. If you can, fill me in on what that day was like. It’s not that hard to do, right?”

You let out a sigh of relief. Just then, you hear a knock at the door. Three boys shuffle into the clinic, giving a casual greeting to the nursing staff. Your eyes widen, how could you forget? Of course the other Bangtan Boys would come check up on him. Kim Taehyung, Park jimin, and Jung Hoseok smile to acknowledge you and turn their eyes to Yoongi.

“Are you alright?” Hoseok asks him. He’s bubbling with energy as he speaks. “We were wondering where you went. I almost had a heart attack when they said you were here!!” Hoseok grabs at his chest like he’s in more pain than Yoongi.

Jung Hoseok is known for his positive energy and “legendary” hip work. He’s a street dancer who knows everybody, and everybody knows him. He’s also in medical class for vets, and he does charities in his free time. He’s super sweet and will sometimes send flowers to the fan club.

“Are you still eating lunch with us?” Jimin pipes up. He’s leaning on the nursing bed as he drapes himself dramatically across Yoongi’s shoulders. He whines,”What will we do without you? Please tell me you’re eating with us today..”

Park Jimin is also a dancer, but he does contemporary work. When he dances, he’s graceful, like a mythical creature. He’s shy and shorter than the rest of the guys, which makes people want to dote on him. If he dances with Hoseok though, he flips like a coin. He’ll act like a playboy and tease his audience when given the chance.

“Yah, You know I can’t.” Yoongi gestures to his ankle, and his inability to move due to the immense pain. “The nurse said I should stay in here for at least an hour or two.”

You don’t know if you should leave or stay. You were about to excuse yourself because your conversation with Yoongi ended a while ago. You shouldn’t expect them to talk to you when they don’t know who you are or why you’re there. You pick up your bag and sling it over your shoulder.

Taehyung mentions you, stopping you from escaping so easily. “Who is that?” He points to you. Leave it to Taehyung to point out the elephant in the room...

He’s popular for his charming personality and ethereal looks. Taehyung is in agriculture, and he often helps Hoseok out with the animals. He plays the saxophone, which combined with theatre class, drives the fans nuts. Taehyung also seems to be super observant, and he will point out small details other people seem to miss. If he was doing a police report, he’d probably be able to tell you the exact time the incident happened and what colored crocs the perpetrator was wearing. 

As if Yoongi just remembered that you were still here, he makes another request.” Oh, as the new Yoongi, can you also keep an eye on these guys? They’ll cause chaos if I’m not there.” 

“New Yoongi?” Jimin looks incredulously at you. “What do you mean--”

Yoongi retorts,” She’s my stand in, my understudy, my alternative, my stunt double, ecetera. Need I say more?” His cold demeanor doesn’t hesitate with the response. He talks as if it was a natural request, but what part of this is natural?

"How would I...” You trail off. You find yourself stammering, unable to voice your concerns. All of the guys, attractive ones at that, were staring at you.”..How would I even do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? For starters, we all have the same lunch period, so just eat lunch with them or something.” Yoongi shrugs his shoulders,” Do I need to plan everything out for you?”

You’re quick to object,” No!! I’m.. I’m fine. It’s okay.” It’s bad enough that he’s injured, so you shouldn’t worry Yoongi anymore.

Taehyung’s eyes light up. He speaks as if he had a eureka moment. “We have the same forensics class, don’t we? No wonder I recognized you..” You were really hoping he wouldn’t have remembered that. If people see you hanging around these guys, they’ll get the wrong idea. 

“Well I guess that settles it. I’ll sit next to you in class, and we can be partners for that new project he’s assigning.” He takes you by the hand. His touch was so sudden and warm that it takes you a minute to realize you’re in the cafeteria already. He looks down at you and smiles. “This is our spot.”

Only when you part from him to grab your bag that you realize he held your hand this entire time. You start to miss his warmth, but you shake out any of those thoughts from your head. What were you thinking? Your heart pounds in your chest, and your cheeks grow hot. You breathe out a shaky breath, trying to calm down. Anyone would feel this way if they were you. You go from being an average joe to suddenly sitting next the the Bangtan Boys? It’s almost like you’re in a fanfiction. You shouldn’t fall in love with one of them, that would be too cliché and very, very dangerous.

You finished settling down your things and find that Taehyung was still waiting for you. Hoseok already rushed to the pizza line, and Jimin was swarmed by girls who made him bento boxes. He smiles politely to them all, unsure of how to decline. His eyes glance at you like a plead for help, but a girl starts to scold him so he looks away.

“What did you want to eat? Noodles?” It was pretty loud in the cafeteria, so Taehyung walked closer. He leaned down and whispered in your ear. “..Or do you want to eat me?” His hot breath tickled your ear. It was a deep and husky voice, one that sent shivers down your spine.

Shocked at his words, you jumped back. “W..What?” You never thought Taehyung was so bold. You’ve heard of him being flirty, but this was cutting it close. It was like dirty talking, but you’ve barely met him!!

He tried to suppress his laugh as he looked at you. “I said: Or do you want to eat meat?” He raises an eyebrow at you. He knows you’re flustered, and feigns innocence. “There’s a rice with two meat deal today. What did you think I said?”

You could’ve sworn he said “me” and not “meat,” but maybe you were thinking into it too much. You decided which one you wanted and Taehyung walks to the line with you. Whilst waiting for your turn, you check ECHO.

It was what you expected. Many of them were like:

[12:03pm] Wtf??? Who is that girl?

[12:03pm] Is she their girlfriend? No-- it has to be a cousin, right? But she’s so plain looking...

[12:04pm] Why is she holding Kim Taehyung’s hand? Don’t tell me--

[12:05pm] Y/n?? What did that girl do now.. ((((゜д゜;))))

Oh yeah, you should probably tell Byeol that you kind of have to sit with Bangtan during lunch now. Good to know that everyone is gawking at you now, I guess. There are hundreds of messages screaming about “who is that girl!1!1!!!!” so you scroll past most of them. One however, catches your eye.

[12:10pm] She’s so cute lol

You don’t think ECHO has ever sent you a compliment like this before. Someone thinks you’re cute? The thought warms your heart. This is the first time you’ve had an admirer.

“Hey, what are you looking at on your phone?” Taehyung rips you to reality. “How do you have so many messages?” He starts to lean over your shoulder to get a glimpse.

Antsy, you turn off your phone and press your hand to his chest to give some distance. “It’s.. It’s my online friends! They wanted to play the new game with me.” 

He stands back up, no longer breathing on your neck. “Oh? The one that was released just last week? What was it called...” He ponders for a minute,” Animal Crossing?” 

You nod. Conversation starts from there, and you let out that breath you’ve been holding in. You both pay for your meals and head over to the table. You could see Hoseok stuffing his face with pizza and sprite while he scribbles down answers to a worksheet. Jimin is desperately trying to get him to eat some of the bento boxes, but all of his attempts were futile. 

“...So I know you’re the New Yoongi or whatever, but what’s your real name?” Hoseok asks you. “If you don’t know me already, I’m Jung Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi!” 

Jimin and Taehyung look at each other. You hadn’t even thought to introduce yourself earlier, how much more embarrassing can this day be? Quick, be cool!!

“I’m L/n Y/n, but just Y/n is fine.”

“You probably know us already, but you can call me Tae or any various nickname you can conjure up,” He laughs,” The more creative the better.”

Jimin nudges his shoulder,” Like Spoiled Yogurt Kid?” It’s hard for the smaller one to contain his laughter.

“It was one time!!” Taehyung playfully shoves him away, clearly embarrassed. “It’s not my fault my sleep paralysis demon told me to eat the 3 month old yogurt at like 2 am.” He grumbled,”Ugh, it’s not like I tell everyone about your weird impulses..”

You couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. Hobi notices and adds fuel to the fire,”Yeah, get a load of this guy. He’s blaming all of his mistakes on his sleep paralysis demon. Poor demon, honestly.”

Jimin continues to mock Taehyung teasingly, getting him worked up.“You know what??” Taehyung growls as he whips his head around to face you. His soft brown hair falls over his eyes, and his jaw is clenched as he looks at you with an emotion you can’t quite read. His face is flushed, but he tilts his head up in a cool manner. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he was serving up some bedroom eyes. 

He runs his fingers through his hair and speaks with a voice that oozes sex appeal without meaning to,“If you don’t know what to call me, just say Oppa.” Taehyung’s eyes widen as if he realized what came out of his mouth. He covers his lips with the palm of his hand and instinctively looked at how you’d react.

 It was your turn to flush from embarrassment. Before your brain could process what just happened, the words croak out,”..o..okay?” 

Hobi is choking on his sprite,”Damn, what the--” He continues to try and suppress his coughs,” Who the hell taught you that? Namjoon? Jin?” Hoseok shakes his head in disappointment. You thought it was because he ruined his drink, but then he said,” Ah, I told them to stop doing stuff like that.. If Yoongi were here he probably wouldn’t even know how to scold you.”

Jimin’s mouth is agape in shock. He suddenly doubles over the table, unable to contain the fit of laughter inside of him. “Wha- that was so smooth!” He’s holding onto his stomach for dear life, and his shoulders shake up and down. He gives suggestive eyebrows to Taehyung, whose ears are scorching red. “I didn’t know Taehyung was such a player.”

Taehyung is trying to hide himself with the sleeves of his hoodie. He’s silent at first, but eventually he speaks barely above a whisper. “...I don’t know what came over me..” His words tremble and tread lighter than a feather so scared it might step on another bomb.

"Was it your sleep paralysis demon?” You make a witty remark despite the blush dusted across your face. 

Tae sinks farther into his chair,” Oh my god...” He can’t help but laugh a little at your joke. “..Please forget about what I said today.” 

Jimin’s laughter dies down as he looks at you. His smile is soft and reassuring. “Don’t worry, Y/n. He’s usually not like this. I swear, we’re all gentlemen.” The bell suddenly rings, signaling that lunch was over. Jimin starts to clean up his spot, stuffing the unfinished bentos into his bag for later. “Ah, Taehyung, you’re saved by the bell this time, but next time you have got to show me some moves.” He winks before leaving for his next class.

Hoseok waves to you and Taehyung,” I’d walk with you two if I could, but my next class is across campus. I gotta dash, but good luck with Forensics!”

You’d almost forgotten about Forensics with Taehyung. Unfortunately, Tae seems to stay unmoving from his spot. You would be like that too if you were him, but you really can’t be late for class. It’s better if you approach him now rather than later, so it’s not as awkward during class. 

“Hey...” You start out. He doesn’t respond as his head is till buried in his arms. You hesitate at first, but you put your hand on his shoulder. “...Taehyung Oppa?” 

Immediately he shoots up, his eyes are wide and he’s as stiff as a board. He brushes your hand softly away and grabs his bag. He avoids your gaze as he packs up, but he returned his gaze when you started walking in the hallway. His eye’s remain forward, but he speaks to you,“...I didn’t think you’d actually call me that.” He chuckles. 

“Oppa?”

He rubs his hand across his face and he licks his lips,” Yeah, that.” He sneaks a glance at you, but since you were already looking at him, he turns his face away. 

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

-A/N-

oof it’s been AGES since my last bts fic. If y’all are following me bc of my text au, I’m going to try and update that soon too! I... did not expect to have such a flirtatious Taehyung,, but honestly I’m kinda into it. (  ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[authorlmfletcher]

Poisson d’Avril

Just some April Fool’s Day shenanigans.

Ao3  |  FFnet

---

Out of all the days of the year, one particular cat-like being looked forward to April Fools' Day with an unusually strong excitement. Considering the only thing Plagg usually got excited about was cheese, Adrien wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. The toothy grin that greeted him when his alarm sounded on April 1st left him feeling unsettled.

A faceful of water from a rigged tap, getting locked in the closet, and discovering all the underwear in his drawer replaced with a colourful picture of a fish left Adrien irritated while Plagg simply snickered with delight while floating out of reach.

Tearing his room apart proved pointless, other than to fuel Plagg's laughter, forcing him to wear nothing beneath his usual school attire in order to make it to breakfast on time.

7 am and already Adrien was tired of April Fool's Day.

Sitting uncomfortably at the dining table as Nathalie droned on about schedules and plans for the day, Adrien mused about how much cheese he could remove from the kwami's stash in punishment for the feeling of stiff jeans against sensitive skin.

The moment she left, Adrien growled at Plagg. "Where did you hide them?" The cat just grinned smugly. Even the threat of cheese loss didn't knock the smirk off.

Nathalie returned to the dining room, forcing Plagg to slip into Adrien's shirt collar. An order to get his school books sent Adrien running to find his bag. A quick glance inside assured him that his kwami hadn't messed with his books. Phone. Wallet. School books. Check.

"Come on, Plagg. Please. I have school today. Commando is fine for photoshoots but not for class! What if someone notices?"

Plagg snickered in response, leaving Adrien without a clue what to do. That kwami definitely was going to regret this decision at cheese time.

Gorilla waited in the car, grunting in greeting as Adrien slid into his seat with a frown. The car pulled away from the house slowly, leaving Adrien to check on his phone for any messages. A quick glance at his screen made him groan loud enough to get an eyebrow raise from his bodyguard.

Cats. Plagg had changed every single app icon to a picture of a different cat.

It was going to be a long day.

----

School, at least, started off better than his morning. The over-exaggerated set of morning affections from Chloe. The secret bro handshake with Nino. The sharp-witted comment from Alya. The flailing arrival by Marinette which he barely managed to prevent from turning into a nasty tumble. The soft feeling he got in his chest when she would blush at him for helping. It almost felt normal.

“Too bad you don’t have anyone to play pranks on today, bro,” Nino drawled, “I got Chris good today. Froze his cereal last night. Totally hilarious.” Adrien forced himself to laugh, still annoyed at his own prankster.

Surprisingly uneventful, math class finished without a single prank or sign of Plagg mischief. Adrien felt suspicious, nerves on edge for whatever his kwami might have planned next.

Pulling his books from his bag for science class, Adrien dropped them on his desk before grabbing his phone to see if he could figure out how to change the icons back.

"Dude, what is that?" Nino hissed from Adrien's side. Thinking his friend had caught sight of the cat faces (and one exceptionally unnecessary butt) on his phone, Adrien scrambled to come up with a reason for the change.

"Oh, it's just a-" Looking up at his friend, Adrien realized Nino's eyes were elsewhere. Following his gaze, Adrien found himself staring at his own notebook, tossed carelessly open on his desk. The page, which should have been blank, instead featured sketches of.... Marinette?! Hearts of various shades and sizes framed the doodle of her face. Adrien blinked for a moment, stunned by the randomness of the drawing but the feeling that he wasn’t completely opposed to it. At least until the subject of the drawing herself came walking into the classroom.

A flush burnt his cheeks as he slammed the book closed with a frantically pleading stare at Nino. His friend simply looked confused, shrugging as he sat back into his seat. Eyes turning back to Marinette, he took in her startled expression at his loud and unexpected action. Trying to ease her, he threw out what he hoped was a casual and friendly smile, despite the fact that he felt a little wild. She smiled back nervously, sliding into her seat behind him.

Adamantly avoiding opening his notebook, Adrien slid it back into his bag, hoping that somehow it landed straight on Plagg’s little obnoxious head.

Phones placed on desks and in school bags rattled and buzzed throughout the classroom.

“Akuma!” cheered Alya, already on her feet and rushing out the door to catch the latest scoop. Adrien followed in her footsteps, waving his arms in some pretense of needing to run for safety. Finding a place to hide, he called for Plagg, making sure to glare at his black cat friend before transforming.

Instantly, Chat knew something was wrong. His usually comfortable suit felt… different. A quick glance down revealed what appeared to be a tutu around his waist. Tulle bracelets wrapped his wrists and ankles, the usually sturdy boots on his feet replaced with black satin slippers. His zipper was gone—replaced with a thin black collar that housed the ever familiar golden bell at his throat. He could practically hear Plagg’s laughter. There was no way Adrien was going to give his kwami the satisfaction of begging off another of his stupid pranks.

“You think you are hilarious, don’t you, annoying little pest? Well, watch me stun the world as Chat Noir with a Tutu.”

His feet slipped slightly in the unusual soles of his temporary footwear, but he found himself making his way to where the Akuma wreaked havoc on the city of Paris. Skidding to a halt beside his partner, he posed for a moment with a grin as she stared at him in surprise.

“That’s… new,” she muttered, poking the ruffles around his middle.

“It’s not tutu much is it?” Ladybug’s annoyed glare made him laugh sharply. “Plagg decided April Fools’ Day would be a great time for a costume upgrade. So I’m proving him right.”

The akuma was simple - a man angered by a stupid prank done to him by some youth, armed with a toilet paper gun that covered the city in streamers of white cotton-y soft fabric. Chat simply danced around happily, avoiding getting tangled into the paper shot in his direction, while goofily exaggerating pirouettes and grand jetes. It took every ounce of effort not to let crass jokes roll off his tongue while they found the akuma and freed the butterfly.

Cameras out and people laughing at his silly costume made his day. At least Plagg’s inane prank gave the people of Paris smiles. With a wave to the crowd, Chat threw himself up to the rooftops as his ring chirped in warning, Ladybug hot on his tail.

“I hope that Plagg hasn’t been too hard on you today. Sounds like he’s enjoying April Fools’ Day a little too much.”

Chat grimaced. “It’s been a mess of a morning. He’s certainly going all out.”

Her hand on his arm made him smile. Taking her fingers in his, he raised them to his lips.

“Of course, not having the chance to share Plagg’s antics with you would have made the day pointless.” Wiggling his eyebrows, he kissed her knuckles before pulling away to dance on his toes. Another chirp of his ring made him toss her a quick salute before vaulting off the roof with a grin.

At least he had a chance to see her. Any day with Ladybug was a wonderful one, even if it meant being dressed in a tutu.

-----

A quick transformation around the corner from the school led to a wildly laughing Plagg and a mildly cussing Adrien before racing back to the front door. Crashing into Marinette was a completely unexpected event, one that knocked her clean off her feet and onto the sidewalk while he flailed about trying to maintain his own balance. Instantly, Marinette began a wide-eyed, panicked flow of words, scrambling to her feet and nearly knocking her head into his face—an incident he missed only by letting himself fall backwards.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien. I didn’t see you and I was just trying to get back to class and-” He could barely keep up with her rambling words. Standing up, he took hold of her arms and forced her to stop flailing around and look at him.

“It’s ok, Marinette. Calm down. We’re both ok, right?” She relaxed in his grasp, the relief in her eyes tangible. Taking a step, he realized his tumble had skewed his clothing, the waist of his jeans slipping dangerously low on his hips while his shirt sat crooked. Marinette’s eyes dropped to the sudden evidence of bare skin, her face flushing a brilliant scarlet red before she snapped her eyes back to his face. A sheepish grin hit his own face as he quickly pulled himself together, unable to deny the slight tingling feeling of pride he had at her reaction.

“I thought it was socks that people knocked off,” he joked, trying to make light of the moment but cringing on the inside at his near wardrobe malfunction. He gave her a smile to help reassure her before grasping her elbow and walking her up the stairs. Plagg deserved another earful and a definite cutback on his allotment of cheese today.

 Slipping back into class together while everyone attempted to settle down after the akuma chaos provided no challenge. Adrien just prayed that the rest of the day would go Plagg-prank free.

Soft chuckles from Adrien’s school bag that thankfully seemed audible to only his over-sensitive ears left him cringing in worry. Breathing through his nose to keep his cool until the end of class, Adrien scooped his bag at the sound of the bell and nearly raced to the waiting car for lunch.

Flipping back the cover, he glared at a grinning Plagg lounging inside in a manner that was anything but innocent.

"No more Camembert for you." Plagg didn't even bat an eye, grinning silently to himself.

"That's what you think," the whiny little voice from deep within his bag purred. "I think tomorrow will  be a wonderful day of cheese heaven."

Punctuating his statement with a satisfied thump on his stomach, Plagg flashed his teeth in a way that made Adrien excessively nervous.

Lunch break didn't last long, just long enough to shovel food into his mouth and tear apart his bedroom in a continued search for his missing underwear. His father would have a fit if he found his room in such a state but Adrien pulled things apart anyway.

A sharp rap on his door forced him to call off the search and head back to school. Only a few more hours of April Fool's Day hell from his kwami and then he could finally rest.

Thankfully, Plagg seemed to settle for the afternoon, not making any trouble or noise during both his afternoon classes. Suspiciously quiet, actually, Adrien thought, eyeing his school bag with some trepidation and a growing sense of impending bad luck. He felt on edge, considering kicking his bag to give Plagg a silent warning.

With only half an hour left of history, the sound of Marinette's phone buzzing in her backpack made Adrein nearly jump out of his seat. Turning around to see her, he watched as she scrambled to stealthily pull it from her bag. Her eyes grew wide as she read whatever was on her screen, flashing up to look at him in gaping surprise with a quickly growing spread of adorable blush across her cheeks.

He just smiled, turning his attention back to his notes. The sound of his own phone buzzing made him frown. Reaching down, he yanked it out of his bag to see a message from Marinette on his screen.

A quick swipe had it open, his eyes tearing over the contents in shock and a shiver of excitement.

"Really? You want to kiss me?"

It took all of two seconds to see why she had sent him that text, why she had looked so surprised.

Sent from his phone to hers was a text message combined with a GIF. In a brilliant, flashing yellow neon style script, the image simply said, "I woke up this morning wanting to kiss you." Beneath it, text added:

 <<and I have been thinking about it all day.>>

Adrien internal visualization instantly took to imagining what it would be like to kiss Marinette. Soft and sweet, with lips that tasted like cookies. He would be lying if he didn't admit that there was… something… between them. Something that he very intentionally shoved way, way down to avoid ruining the preciousness of their friendship and because of his feelings for Ladybug.

All his careful insistence that they were only friends despite the fact that he always felt strangely drawn to her had been single handedly blown out of the water due to a certain little black cat kwami who was definitely losing all his cheese privileges.

He didn't know how to answer, thumbs hovering over his keypad. An elbow in his ribs by Nino reminded him to pay attention and hide his phone from the still rambling teacher.

Twenty minutes left. What could he say that could get him out of this situation without hurting her or making everything an awkward mess? Silently he cursed the whole premise of April Fool’s Day and his kwami’s need to be an infernal pest.

He left her hanging for the rest of the class, tempted to just bolt at the bell. Very intentionally, he tossed the phone into his bag right on Plagg’s head as he quietly gathered his school supplies still unsure what to do.

The classroom emptied quickly, other than Nino who drawled on about some jam that he’d been listening to between classes. His chatter ended abruptly with a yelp at being dragged out of the classroom by Alya’s grip on his collar.

He didn’t need to turn around to know that the only other person left in the room was Marinette. He could practically feel her standing nervously behind him.

A fortifying breath brought his pounding heart under control. He could do this - apologize that something strange had happened and that he didn’t send her that message. That he valued their friendship more than anything. That his heart belonged to someone else.

At least, he believed he could do all that until his eyes connected with hers and it felt like he was struck by lightning, pulled to her by the shocking blue of her eyes. Her lips were parted just enough, trying to breathe, he supposed - just like he was.

“Did you really want to kiss me?” she whispered, searching his face for something. He blinked, frozen in response. Yes? No? Maybe? He didn’t know. “I want to kiss you.”

Suddenly, she was there, breathing his air, closing her eyes as she leaned in and he couldn’t do anything but respond in kind. Her lips were just as soft and sweet as his brain had expected, pressed against his in a gentle, innocent kiss for little more than an instant. When she pulled away, he thought maybe his brain was broken, watching in slow motion as she gave him a shy little smile before grabbing her bag and rushing out the door.

--

Plagg still laughed when Adrien shoved him into a locker for fencing practice. He needed some kind of distraction to force his brain back into some level of functioning. All he could think of was the look in her eyes the moment before she shut them, the feel of her lips on his, and that smile before she ran away. Over and over.

Resting his forehead against the cool metal of his locker, Adrien took a moment to reset himself before facing his teammates and Mr. D’Argencourt. If his kwami could just give him some time to successfully make it home without causing any more trouble, he could do this.

With a nod, he stepped back, swishing his foil back and forth. Only an hour of fencing, then he’d be safe at home. It was the look on Kagami’s face that tipped him off that something was wrong, the frown she gave a second before she asked what was on his mask. Ripping it from his head, he groaned as he discovered a smiley face drawn to the front. ---

Homework done, phone returned back to normal icons, smiley face scrubbed off and underwear recovered from some unknown place - Adrien stretched before flopping face first onto his bed with a sigh of relief. Somehow, he had survived an entire day of Plagg’s foolishness.

How he was going to face Marinette tomorrow, he wasn’t completely sure, but at least it hadn’t gotten any weirder. The memory of her lips and that sweet smile would probably haunt his dreams in the most fantastic of ways. He pulled the pillow over his head with a soft moan.

A ping from his phone made him check it again. Maybe it was Marinette. Instead, the text he read made him throw his phone and glare at the kwami curled up on the pillow beside him.

  <<Delivery Notification: Your order of 210 cases of Camembert cheese will be delivered by noon on April 2nd. >>

"PLAGG!"

[aerinmelina]

Give me an a super fluffy Warrenessa fic!

I am sooooo sorry about the delay with this one. The muses were not particularly helpful. And then this idea popped up quite a while ago, and it took a lot of careful thought and refinement before I could make it work out. This oneshot didn’t really turn out the way I’d initially imagined it would, but I think I’m happy with it. I hope you enjoy my late submission for Warrenessa Day!

Thank you to @fairyprincesskendra for being my beta!

*Spoilers for Dragonwatch 3.*

You’ve been warned. Because I couldn’t resist a little bit of backstory behind That Line™️ from Vanessa in MOTPI. I’m posting this from my phone, and the tumblr app isn’t cooperating with a “click to read more” link at the moment, so I’ll try and figure that out on my laptop tomorrow.

——

All it took was one misstep, and voila - everything changed.

Vanessa and Warren had been trying to carefully scout the islands in search of the Sunset Pearl - or find evidence of its location - when they realized they were being tracked. Unsure of what predator may have been following them, exactly, they’d decided to try and seek shelter somewhere secluded and cramped in order to (hopefully) avoid an unwelcome confrontation with something potentially nasty and dangerous.

They’d quickly scrambled up a semi-steep hill of grass and sand when they noticed that the terrain started to become rather rocky. The next area to climb consisted of layers of loose shoal and sharp rocks which jutted out of the ground at odd intervals; a very interesting geological formation which Vanessa would have loved to spend more time studying and exploring if they weren’t in a hurry to shake off whatever was on their tail. They climbed the hillside as quickly and carefully as they could, neither of them feeling particularly safe while exposed on the side of a rocky hill.

Maybe it was the fact that they were rushing. Maybe she hadn’t been paying close enough attention. Maybe it was purely physics.

Whatever the cause… she lost her footing and fell. Hard.

Vanessa cried out in pain, then bit down on her lip and tongue to try and silence herself. Not that there was much point in that effort; the rocks she slipped on had made quite a bit of noise as they started a chain reaction and caused a slide of additional rocks to cascade downhill. Warren turned around and grabbed hold of Vanessa‘s arm before she completely lost her balance and tumbled to the bottom of the hill along with the rest of the rumbling ground. Tears instinctually sprang to her eyes in reaction to her pain. She forced her eyelids open after a moment to assess the damage and found that her right calf had a very large and nasty gash running from nearly the back of her knee to about four inches above her heel. Blood was everywhere. Panic began to swell within her. She wasn’t used to that feeling.

We’re sitting ducks in broad daylight, and I can’t move.

Warren shifted until he was in a better position to examine Vanessa’s wound, then smiled at her.

A forced smile.

“Can you stand?” he asked.

She doubted very much that standing was within the realm of possibilities, but said, “I’ll try.” She twisted carefully to her right and cringed when she realized that her hips, hands and arms were also scratched up pretty well. Her calf was by far the largest and most concerning injury, but the additional cuts and scrapes didn’t make the situation any easier to deal with.

Warren helped her up, then caught her before she could hit the ground for the second time that afternoon. “That’s a no,” he stated. He looked around the area; Vanessa could tell that he was nervous. “We have to get off the side of this hill. Here… climb on.”

“Climb on what, exactly?” she bit out. Her leg was screaming at her. Blood continued to seep out of her wound.

“My back,” Warren replied as if stating the obvious. Maybe he was being obvious, and she was simply in so much pain that she couldn’t properly assess the situation. She watched as he removed his backpack, turned it around, and then placed his arms through the straps so that the bag itself rested against his chest.

Vanessa took a few deep breaths, then nodded her head. “Okay. Okay.” Warren crouched down next to her and she somehow managed to clamber onto his back. When he stood up, she noticed that he was taking care to be aware of the huge gash in her leg. “This is dangerous,” she said. “How are you supposed to get both of us out of this?”

“Shut up and let me think.” After a couple of quick seconds, Warren seemed to decide something and nodded his head sharply, readjusted Vanessa’s weight on his back, and slowly started climbing to their right instead of further upward like they’d initially been doing.

Vanessa wanted to ask him a million questions, but didn’t want to distract him. She wanted to tell him to put her down and run for help, but could then promptly hear him telling her ‘absolutely not.’ And when her leg began to sting and burn, she held in her tears and and thanked whatever God existed that she wasn’t alone.

Progress was very slow. The ground was unstable, and Warren was trying to move as carefully as he could. After perhaps fifteen minutes of grueling climbing, they reached a fairly level shelf of rock which appeared to be at least partially protected from the elements. Warren helped Vanessa down from his back, then took off his pack and fumbled through it for what she assumed were medical supplies. Sure enough, he wound up removing a roll of medical tape, several unopened packages of gauze, wound cleaning solution, a bottle of water, a small container of hand sanitizer, and some sort of thick paste Tanu had sent with them before they’d even left for this preserve in the first place. Vanessa, for her part, couldn’t stop shivering even though she wasn’t cold.

“Your body is in shock,” Warren informed her.

‘Tell me something I don’t know’ was the thought which immediately popped into her brain, but she swallowed those words. He didn’t deserve that. “I’ve lost a lot of blood,” she said instead.

Warren looked down at his side where her leg had been dangling. His pants were very wet with her blood. “I know,” he replied. “I’m going to clean your leg. Hold still, this is probably going to sting pretty bad for a while.” He cleaned his hands with some of the sanitizer, wet a piece of gauze with water from the water bottle, then set to work.

She hissed in pain when he started trying to clean the gaping wound on her calf. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know this sucks.”

“You would know,” she retorted as she continued to scream internally at just how much her leg hurt.

“You should be grateful. Experience makes me an expert at wound care.”

Vanessa lost track of time. She tried to just focus on breathing while Warren worked on bandaging her up. Her body continued to tremble, although the shaking eased up a little by the time he was done. She only realized he was finished when he held a water bottle out to her, along with a couple of pills he’d apparently found from somewhere; his backpack, probably.

“Ibuprofen,” he explained. “Take it.”

She swallowed the pills as instructed. “How are we going to get out of here?” she asked. “I can’t walk, and the treehouse is too far for you to carry me. I’m amazed you made it this far with me on your back.”

“I’ll carry you to the treehouse,” Warren said.

“Did you not just hear me? The treehouse is too far!”

“Have some faith in me, will you? I know what I’m doing. You and I have been in enough tight situations that I would hope you’d know that by now.”

She let out a loud exhale. “Our best bet is probably for you to go run for help.”

Warren glared at her, which quite honestly surprised her. “I’m not leaving you by yourself, behind enemy lines, with something actively tracking the two of us. You’d be the obvious target. I won’t let that happen to you.”

“Warren-“

“Don’t ‘Warren’ me. I’m not leaving you alone, so stop suggesting it.”

She knew the effort was futile, but between the pain still radiating from her leg, the hot sunshine in her face, the threat of some unknown creature probably wanting to eat them for dinner, and Warren’s obstinate attitude, she couldn’t help but argue.

“Why?”

“What? Why?”

“Yes. Why? Why did you keep me from falling to my death? Why did you carry me all the way over here? Why aren’t you leaving me to go get help, when you and I both know that’s the best option to save at least one of us? Why? Why?”

Warren tugged at the hair on his head. “You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met.”

“You’re doing this because I’m infuriating? That sounds like a good reason to push me off of this ledge.”

“Vanessa! I’m not going to hurt you, and I’m not going to leave you!” he shouted.

She made eye contact with him. They stared at each other for a while before she spoke again.

“Maybe you should,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Maybe you should,” she repeated with a little more volume.

He set his backpack to the side and then sat down in front of her. “I heard you the first time,” he said. “And I’ve already said no to that option.”

“Why?”

Why won’t you save yourself? Please. Please save yourself.

She watched as he ran his hands over his face. He looked at her for a few seconds, then spoke. “Why?” he asked. “Because, probably against my better judgment by now… I still love you, Vanessa. And I’m not going to leave the woman I love to face death by herself. Like it or not, I’m sticking with you. You’re not dying on my watch.”

Vanessa threw rationality out the window, grabbed the front of his shirt, and crashed their lips together. The kiss was short-lived, but it’d have to do for now. “Say it again.”

“You’re a little full of yourself, aren’t you?”

“You like kissing me.”

Warren shrugged. “I love you.”

She smiled. “I didn’t ruin everything?”

“Well, there was that whole ‘oh crap my girlfriend is trying to kill my family’ thing, but you kinda redeemed yourself for that one. But Vanessa?”

“Yes?”

He looked at her seriously. “I’m trusting you. Again. I wasn’t playing last time, and I’m pretty sure that what we had then was real for you, too, but this time… I’m… This is it.”

Vanessa nodded and reached for his hand, then squeezed it. She understood his unspoken message.

Don’t hurt me again.

For at least the millionth time since she’d been sent to the quiet box all those months ago, self-hatred and regret started to creep into her heart. She brushed the emotions aside for the moment and focused on their current predicament. “How are we getting back?”

“You climb onto my back and I carry you to the treehouse.” Warren started re-gathering their items.

Vanessa looked over the edge of the ledge they were sitting on. Climbing back down wasn’t going to be easy. The loose rocks would pose a huge threat to their wellbeing.

“Hey,” Warren said, grabbing Vanessa’s attention. “Look at me, not the ground. I’ll get us out of this mess. Trust me.”

“I do.”

“Well, then stop looking so nervous.”

“Easier said than done, Warren. It’s a long walk down, and the ground isn’t solid. Climbing this hill in the first place has got to be one of the dumbest ideas we’ve ever thought of.”

Warren shrugged. “You’re forgetting Bolivia.”

“Bolivia wasn’t a dumb idea. Your execution of it was dumb.”

“My execution-? Wow, you and I must have very different recollections because I distinctly remember that that plan was your idea.”

“Like I said, the idea itself wasn’t dumb. The actuality of it was.”

Warren rolled his eyes and stood up. He held a hand out toward her; she took it and allowed him to help her stand. Vanessa placed no weight on her bad leg; Warren had bandaged her up very well indeed, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to stand on it.

“We should ditch one of the backpacks,” Warren said. “Get rid of as much weight as possible.”

Vanessa gestured to hers, which still rested on the ground. “Leave mine,” she said. “There’s nothing in it worth keeping anyway.”

“You probably have blow darts or throwing knives in yours,” Warren reasoned. “If I’m doing the walking, you’ll have to be on the lookout.”

“Front pockets,” she instructed. Warren bent down and fetched an assortment of small weapons from Vanessa’s bag. “And the sides. Everything else can stay here.”

He handed her the items, which she found hiding places for on various parts of her person. “Just like Bolivia,” Warren remarked as he watched her tuck a couple of small throwing knives into her shirt.

“This is nothing like Bolivia.”

“Says the woman with knives in her bra.”

“Can we leave yet? Or are you going to stand here and falsely reminisce all day? Because I’d rather be sitting if that’s your plan.”

Warren smirked at her, then placed his backpack over his chest like he had earlier and motioned for Vanessa to climb onto his back. She did so with caution, not wanting to injure herself or cause him to topple over.

“I’m ready,” Vanessa said once she was confident in her ability to maintain a solid grip on his shoulders and waist. “Slowly, now.”

“Yes, Princess,” Warren teased.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, although she knew he couldn’t see her. Curse him. Him and his stupid sense of humor, trying to lighten the mood.

She had to admit, though… he was great at it. He was great at a lot of things, actually. Like climbing down steep rock faces with loose footing and a passenger, and then carrying said passenger all the way back to their home base.

They never did find out what had been tracking them; whatever it was, it seemed to lose interest in them when they drew close to the Lagoon. Vanessa was grateful for that; Warren was very obviously worn out from their trek by then, although he stubbornly continued forward until they reached their destination.

Her stalwart companion. Her irreplaceable man.

Her love.

[bravonovel]

Mated to The Dark Lord novel read online- by Lovelivelust - Arkae - Bravonovel

Mated to The Dark Lord

Mated to The Dark Lord novel is a Erotica story about Arkae.

Blurb : He was cursed by a sorceress to hell where he exhausts decades of his life crawling his way up until he becomes the king that rules the dark lands in the pit of hell. For hundreds of years, he longed to be human again, to breathe in the fresh air of the earth above. He was waiting until the right time, the right key that could set him free back above the pit of darkness. But he was not ready when that key turned to be a very beautiful innocent woman that was mated to him, the descendant

You can read this novel online on Bravonovel and keep track of the latest chapters

Read novel Mated to The Dark Lord chapter 1

Hundreds and hundreds of years ago

"Arkael my king, please do not this to us, we have been following your order...you can not take our livelihood away. How are we supposed to fend for our needs? our children, our elders, please my king, I beg you..." she was kneeling down begging him.

"You have been warned shaman, we do not take lightly on witchcraft in our kingdom. Enough! I've heard plenty from my advisors. You and your people are to leave the kingdom, and search for another place to live." The handsome king Arkael stood up, and was about to leave his throne when the old woman took out her hand.

She held out an old dirty pouch, and took out a hand full of what looked like dust and blew it onto his face, then drop the rest to the floor. It blew up in smoke, his guards were suddenly holding her down but her voice was loud and threatening when she chanted her words and cursed him to damnation.

King Arkael vanished into thin air, and she was decapitated on the spot.

"Arrghhh...ughh..." what did she just do to me. My body felt hot, my skin was burning, like hot flaming fire was licking all over my body. I could still hear her, chanting the words of a language that I did not even recognize. I could feel myself falling fast to a never-ending black pit, where is she sending me to?

She cursed me, I told her to leave my kingdom and she cursed me. I had defended her, I had spared her and her people's lives and let them walked away from my kingdom and she cursed me to..where am I?

It was not until my body crashed to the black soil I could see my surroundings, vast deserted land of nothingness, sky tinted in a deeper shade of red in a much darker color than the evening summer sun. It was a hot surrounding but somehow I feel cold like I was dead inside.

Am I dead? did she kill me? am I in hell?

I winced as I felt the hurt in body, I tried to move but it seems that all of my bones had been crush from the fall, I looked up but see nothing but black sky.

This is it you're done Arkael, your reigning days of ruling your kingdom is over.

"Arrrgghhh....what the...aarrghhh...goddamn...uughhh...."

Bones were cracking I could hear it, it felt like they were adjusting, fixing, mending themselves. I've had broken bones before, and this felt a hundred times worse than when you were popping your broken bone back in place for the healer to fix.

I was groaning, growling in pain, my tears fall from the pain, my throat was sore from my screams. I was sweating bullets, tears and sweat rolled down my face, my fingers and toes curled trying to hold the pain. I was in a fetal position then quickly adjust, as my back was cracking in places I never knew existed. I was truly in immense pain, I was hoping that I could faint or even die.

I thought I was already dead?

"Welcome..." a blackened creature that looks like a small man with a tail greeted me. His face looked like one of the gargoyles from one of the ancient books that I read.

"Whe...where...am I? am I ...arrghhh...dead...?" I was struggling with my words. The cracking of my bones was still happening, I was ready to die if I wasn't dead already.

"You are in hell my human friend, you have been sent down here by the sorceress. Just like me and a couple of others, don't worry about the pain it'll be gone soon enough. We all went through that, it's how our body evolved to the surroundings it's part of their magic tricks." He shrugged while I was still tearing up on the inside.

So, I was not the only one sent down to this hell hole.

He was right, moments later the pain subsides, I was feeling better but more and more confused. "So, we are not dead? but yet we're in hell? why?"

"Come on let's get you away from this barren land, other creatures might smell you and confuses you with dinner." He waved his hand signaling me to go with him.

I had no choice, rather than to go with him. I didn't see the benefit of me staying put at my original place. I didn't even know if there would be any more creatures that might come my way and offered me any hints just like this gargoyle look-alike man.

Slowly I tried to get myself up, I was surprised when I felt my body was all better, I felt stronger than ever, but I choked when I look at my hand. It all looked and smell like burnt skin, and I had just realized that I was bucked naked, with chaffed skin all over my body, my hands went to my face feeling the same harsh skin.

"Yup, you're not as pretty as you used to now aren't you? at least you still got your height. Me? she freaking cursed me as a midget gargoyle complete with a fucking tail. Maybe she has mistaken me with cupid, but lately, I knew it was her ways of taunting with my destiny." He gruffly said while walking his little feet in front of me, I caught up to him in no time.

"I'm Arkael...how long have you been here?" I said to him lowly, still trying to adjust with my body and the flow of information that flooded my brain.

"Savaric, it has been too many decades for me, the next decade will be my first hundred-year here, while the longest one in our camp is over one twenty ..." he said lightly.

"You mean one hundred and twenty years?"

Damn...

"Yes and he likes to rub it off in our faces saying he'll be out in the next few decades..."

"So, this is like our jail time? But I spared her life and her people's, don't we get a say before any of her rulings?"

"Woah there...this isn't a kingdom, this is a pit of hell where you try to survive daily, and get out of harm's way. Unless you got caught, then you will endure the punishment. And under here all things game, pfft ...you will thank yourself that you're no longer a pretty boy. At least with your height, you can defend yourself nicely."

I still didn't know what he meant by that, when out of nowhere two muscular giants appear before us.

"Goddamn it! Me and my smart mouth...run Arkael! Follow me!"

I was about to do so when one of the giants grab Savaric by his tail and picked him up easily. I was looking for something to defend myself with when I saw that the giant had a single sword on one of his legs. He must've used it as a knife, but to me, that looked like one heavy-looking sword.

My heart was beating faster as I fear for my life. I was hoping that I could pick it up, and smirked on the inside when I managed to swiftly take it away from him. I quickly climbed up to his back and slit his throat. He tumbled down with a loud thud, then the other ogre look-a-like giant turned in my direction and lift up his leg trying to squash me. But I quickly ran up to him and jumped him from the back and slit his throat too.

I couldn't believe that I had this kind of power surged inside my body. I was dumbfounded with my strength and my agility, even my reflexes were more in tune than when I was above ground.

"Wow, what are you before? A king?"

I didn't answer him, I was still baffled by my own power.

......

Continue to read the chapter 2 of the novel Mated to The Dark Lord

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[another-chorus-girl]

“Erik House” Chapter 10

Jones paced uncomfortably back and forth, "Are you sure this is a good idea? This feels like a bad idea."

Meanwhile Crawford was in the process of dethorning rose stems, having freshly picked them. Despite Cherik being the caretaker of rose garden he'd grown on the roof-with Erik's approval of course-many of the residents tended to pick a few flowers here and there. Mauer had been up on the roof a few days ago plucking some for Elizabeth.

"Yes, I'm quite sure."  Crawford nodded

"But I'm not like you, I don't have such authority of the others or respect like they do for you." Jones shook his head.

Patting his friend on the shoulder, the older Merik chuckled.

"Nonsense, you'll do just fine. Besides I'll only be away for two nights, and if you must you know how to reach me."

Crawford didn't like the strange little contraption the others insisted he get, but they insisted his previous phone was quote 'A prehistoric relic'. He hadn't quite grasped the concept of half the 'apps' on this thing.

After the mishap in the pool a week ago, the older Merik felt it was high time for a break. He hated losing his temper, and concluded a dosage of too much stress was to blame.

Sarah was free when he'd contacted her and like that had an overnight bag and a bouquet of vibrant red roses.

As the Meriks exited the roof heading down to the main floor, Jones was a bundle of nerves. It was one weekend sure, but alot could happen in one weekend.

Adjusting his cloak and fedora, Crawford sighed.

"Please my friend, you'll do just fine while I'm away." He smiled at Jones, "I trust you."

Jones watched Crawford depart, heaving a heavy exhale. "I do hope you're right." -- "How about this one?" Cherik asked, handing Karimloo another mask. Since his was broken, Cherik was more than happy to offer some help.

Karimloo tried another on, it felt a little tight around his face and nose-The West End man being unaccustomed to wearing a full mask. Aside from the the black lines drooping down from the eye piece, it was the best option. Elsewhere on the second floor Panaro was working on a little project of his own. 

He just hoped his craftsmanship wasn't too shoddy. 

--

Gerik opened his door, creeping downstairs. All was silent on the second floor, almost deftly silent. In an attempt to avoid a fuss from the Meriks, Jones had taken the sea of porcelain masks to a new production of 'Magic Flute' being performed at the opera.

Not just the Meriks, a majority of the residents were absent.

Normally Gerik would see what Mr. Y was up to, but the older man was out today enjoying a visit with his son to a local fair that was in town.

Destler-and astonishingly-Winslow had left together earlier, the latter rarely leaving the house.

Cherik was still around but was tending to the rooftop garden. Between the roses and the assorted taxidermy creatures he'd placed up there it'd become a new dreamery of sorts.

Taking full advantage of the quiet and solidarity, Gerik made his way down to the parlour room on the main floor. He sighed happily getting the chance to play.

Though he didn't have very long to sing.

"No stop STOP," Gerik flinched realising he wasn't alone. But he was surprised to see Erik standing behind him. "Just what was THAT?"

"I was just doing a warm up," Gerik said.

Behind the black mask, Gerik could see Erik's piercing golden eyes widen in disbelief.

"A warm up? My God..." Erik shook his head. "You can't continue, not like that at least."

Gerik hung his head shamefully and got up to make his leave, only to be blocked by Erik's long, skeletal hand.

"And just where do you think you're going? I didn't say leave." Erik sighed.

Gerik blinked confused. "I just-?"

Suddenly he felt Erik grasp his wrist, tugging him along as he turned toward the basement.

"Wait! Where are we going?" The film adapted man asked.

"If you're going to wear the mask, you need a half decent voice, but I'll be damned if it's only half of it's potential."

Erik had forgotten just how delightful teaching was. And if he could turn Christine's screeching into that of a graceful songbird, he could certainly retune Gerik's poor tenor.

It was the start of a strange partnership.

--

So for Friday night came and went and they were into Saturday. Jones was feeling at ease, the opera went splendidly last night. Granted Carpenter and Cudia made him nervous staring up at the chandelier every so often. But the crystal light fixture went untouched and the Meriks thoroughly enthralled.

Maybe things would be ok after all.

Jones was reading the L'Epoque that morning when he heard the first warning sign of trouble.

"What's that you have there?" Kerik inquired, snatching the open box Panaro held.

"Hey!" The Merik scowled

The novelised man seemed to scrutinise whatever it was before tossing back the box. "Not bad. I mean not up to my level but not bad."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Panaro snapped, "I'll have you know I've been working hard on this!"

"Not enough it seems." Kerik chuckled before turning his back to him, only the just miss an object woosh past him.

Judging by the pattern and breadcrumbs the shattered remnants were Panaro's breakfast plate.

Kerik made an about turn.

"Did you just throw a plate at me?" He scowled yellow eyes at Panaro.

"Quite the unseen genius you are!" The Merik bit back.

Kerik held a glass in his hands and gave it a toss, also missing his target. Jones folded up his paper. 'Uh oh'

"Now gentlemen. Let's wrap things up before things-"

A whoosh of fire came next.

"-Worse." -- Crawford smiled listening to Sarah sing. She had been working on several new arias, and his reprieve from the others seemed like an ideal time to practice.

"Bravisimi my darling! That was wonderful," He praised.

"You really think so?" The brunette asked.

"My dear, I would not give you false hope. Our past lessons have quite clearly paid off."

Sarah smiled sweetly up at him with a light peck on the cheek of his mask.

They then heard a whistle from a separate room.

The curly haired brunette stood, "That'll be the tea."

As Sarah went off to check on the kettle, Crawford took a moment to check the phone. No messages since last night about the trip to the opera.

While the older Merik had much faith in Jones, he was concerned seeing no new update.

Punching in Jones number he hit dial.

"Hello?" Jones sounded a little tense. But then again, he usually sounded like that.

"Just checking in. So, how are things?" Crawford asked.

"O-Oh! Fine! Yes, everything is fine,"

The older Merik raised a brow hearing the sound of garbled French and Persian swearing in the background.

"You're sure?" He asked as Sarah came back with two steaming cups of tea.

"Oh yes yes! Hey now, stop that!"

And then the sound of shattered glass.

"What was that?" Crawford asked.

Jones sounded a little more uneasy, "Oh that! I was clumsy, dropped my glass in all the commotion! WELL I MEAN! Not commotion! I uh...."

"I'm feeling a little better now if you need me back."

"No no! Enjoy the rest! I have it all. UNDER. CON- WAIT, SEE HERE NOW! I'll call you later, got to go!"

The older Merik set the device down as the call ended.

"Is everything alright?" Sarah asked.

Crawford sighed, "At this point I'm honestly afraid to find out."

She pouted, "Do you have to go back?"

He shook his head, "It sounded a little...off putting what I heard but nothing Jones can't handle for a day. He's a decent man, if he were in imminent trouble he would tell me."

The brunette leaned back, resting her head on the Merik's shoulder, "Alright." --

In the meantime however, Jones had thought he had everything under control once he took away Panaro staff and had some help keeping he and Kerik separated.

He knocked on Panaro's door.

"What?" He could practically feel the Broadway man's scowl as he opened the door.

Jones cleared his throat, holding out a box. "You left this on the couch."

Panaro's eyes wide immediately yanked the box from Jones outstretched hands.

"Do you, do you think it's good?" He asked.

Jones smiled kindly, "I'm sure he'll love it."

“What? How did you know-?"

The slightly older Merik chuckled, "He has a particular facial structure, what with the cheekbones he has. Don't let what Kerik said get the better of you."

Panaro sighed, "Fine. Thank you for returning this."

Jones left Panaro to his solitude and sighed.

Just one little setback and he fixed. He was doing just fine. And everything was just fi-

And that all came crashing down seeing Harley and Gerik tumble down the stairs toward the main floor-being kicked down by a rather rage induced party of six.

"Oh not again! Jones groaned. "What is all this about now?"

He tried to ask but the Meriks seemed too intuned to kicking the men whilst they were down.

"Sadly I know how this came about," Mr. Y said regretfully, going on to explain why the outcasted Phantoms were receiving such a swift beating.

It wasn't Gerik or Y's intent to join Harley's little scheme this week. Ever since what happened at the pool, the what could have been Merik was plotting out more plans against Crawford and any way to make a fool out of him.

None of these plans going anywhere. At least he thought one might work once he'd heard the older Merik would be away.

"I'm not doing it," Gerik said bluntly. "I'm not risking another throat punch now."

Harley scoffed, "Come now, I just need a lookout is all!"

"While you destroy the room of someone who stands at 5'10 and had ME in a chokehold?" Y asked flatly.

"I didn't say destroy it, just a little.....redecorating."

Gerik shook his head, "Forget it. I'm done with revenge schemes I don't even play a part in."

Harley smirked behind the metallic mask, pulling something out of his breast pocket. "Not even for these?"

Gerik glanced up at him and gasped.

In his gloved hand Harley held out for him photographs. More specifically snap shots of a certain Merik whom enjoyed lifting at the gym.

Gerik snatched up the Karimloo photos, from the angles he could clearly tell the Merik hadn't outright posed or known there was a camera nearby.

"How did you?" Gerik asked somewhat dumbfounded.

Harley shook his head, "Not important. So, you help me trash the old man's room and I let you keep the photos. Deal?"

Y shook his head, "You're going to get yourselves hurt."

Harley scowled, "Thanks dad, now come on Gerik it's a fair trade!"

Gerik sighed, feeling Y's disapproving glance, "Deal. But only a lookout! If I see one of those masked madmen coming I had nothing to do with this." But neither man was successful with either plan.

Harley only had a solid two minutes and six seconds in Crawford's room after picking the lock before he and Gerik were jumped from behind yet again.

"I just followed them to make sure they wouldn't get into trouble." Y exclaimed trying to help Jones pull Mauer off Gerik.

"And it didn't occur to you to tell me of this plan?!"

"For all I knew you were as insane as the others!" --

It took far too long to subdue them but at least Y helped Jones fend off the Meriks.

Jones tired and feeling his breath hitched and uneasy glanced at his pocketwatch.

It was just passed four. Still a whole night to go. Part of him desperately wanted to call Crawford back and plead for help. But he saw what sort of stress the older Merik went through each day, he deserved at least a short period of R&R.

But how was he to tame the others for one more night until morning? Jones was not a drunkard by any means but he would strangle a stagehand for a drink right about now.

Then the thought occurred to him.

He knew Destler had enough spirits in his room to intoxicate a tavern of sailors. 

Jones had one idea, it could surely be either brilliant or backfire horribly. But he decided to take that chance. --

Gerik's assault wasn't anywhere near as bad as last time, he had escaped with a few bruises but nothing that wouldn't fade away by tomorrow.

He decided to play it safe and stay upstairs. Though when he started hearing music blare from the second floor, it peaked his interest. More specifically because this music was not the monotone sad groans of a pipe organ or screeches of a violin. It was a bit more...eccentric.

Creaking the Meriks door open Gerik found the cause to be a small sound system rewired to work as a router for a karaoke machine-never mind who karaoke machine it was or where it came from.

Many of the Meriks were there out in the parlor hooting and hollering like young men out at the town.

Karimloo was laughing with them, holding his mic dominantly, an arm around Panaro holding another microphone. 

Wilkinson blinked surveying the scene, turning to Jones

"You got them drunk?!"

Jones scratched the back of his head, "Well it's distracting them right?"

"And making a mess of the parlour," He retorted.

True, while the Meriks were highly inebriated they weren't causing too much trouble. While anyone else would be worried about a noise complaint the only one had was Lerik beating a broom handle on the ceiling as Panaro and Karimloo sang 'My Prerogative'.

"Another! Another!" Karrie jeered.

"Well?" Karimloo asked Panaro.

The Broadway man felt his face go warm, "Well I actually had something prepared."

Stepping forward to change the track-and accidentally spilling his glass while doing so-Panaro cleared his throat gazing back at Karimloo.

It only takes a moment

For your eyes to meet and then

Your heart knows in a moment

You will never be alone again

Perhaps it was the wine triggering his boldness stepping closer to the West End man.

I held you for an instant

But my arms felt sure and strong

It only takes a moment

To be loved a whole life long...

The whole room seemed to fall silent when Panaro pulled Karimloo by his loosened bowtie and felt his malformed lips against his own.

Pulling away Panaro's eyes widened, seeming to just now realise what he'd done. Before Karimloo-whom was just as dumbstruck-could say anything, the Broadway man took off.

"Why? Why did I go and do that?" Panaro mumbled woefully to himself, locked up in his room. "I'm such a fool..."

A short time later he heard a soft knock on his door.

"Go away!" Panaro grumbled.

"It's me," His head lifted up hearing Karimloo's velvety voice. Slightly hesitant, Panaro opened the door revealing Karimloo at the door.

"About earlier," The Broadway man sighed, "You don't need to worry about it. It was a mistake, I've had alcohol and I just-"

But he was silenced when he felt Karimloo pull him to him by the shoulders, kissing him back. Panaro felt his eyes flutter closed unintentionally leaning in closer. 

Both seemed frozen in place before Karimloo pulled away, "I hope you still don't think it was a mistake."

Holding something out for Panaro, the latter gently accepted the offered rose.

"I went up to the garden after you left, that's why it took me awhile."

“T-Thank you...” And then Panaro remembered, "Oh, I actually have something for you!"

Opening his nightstand drawer he pulled out a black box handing it to Karimloo.

He opened it and felt his lips curve in a smile. In his hands he held a new mask, he already knew it was handcrafted.

"I lined it as well, so it shouldn't scratch at your face as the other one did." He lifted a hand to the full mask on Karimloo's face, "May I?"

He nodded, shutting his eyes as the mask was pulled away.

Karimloo felt Panaro's digits roam along the ridges and twisted flesh of his deformed half. And then he felt the mask gently pressed in place like a perfectly aligned puzzle piece.

Karimloo's dark eyes opened and found himself smiling, "Thank you."

Pulling Panaro close once more they shared another kiss.

“Do I get to hear the rest of the song?” Karimloo mumbled against his lips.

“Of course...”

Taking Karimloo’s broad hands in his, Panaro cleared his throat.

I’ve heard it said, that love must grow

That to be sure, you must be slow

I saw you smile, and now I know

I’ll sing to just my heart

That smile made me trust my heart

Panaro’s eyes beamed, singing as Karimloo gazed back at him. Karimloo joined his companion, creating a duet.  

For it only takes a moment,

For your eyes to meet, and then.

Your heart knows, in a moment.

You will never be alone again

I held you for an instant,

But my arms felt sure and strong

It only takes a moment,

To be loved a whole life long

Their arms went around the other, the Merik’s just inches away.

And that is all that love’s about

And we’ll recall when time runs out

That it only took a moment

To be loved a whole life long

Unbeknown to either of them, a nosy Gerik was peaking through the doorway, hearing and seeing everything as he could feel his heart shattering. The film adapted man knew from the way Panaro kept looking at the West End man that it was only a matter of time before they would be together.

Yet again Gerik found himself pining for someone already taken.

Heartbroken and slightly tipsy-the other Meriks were so intoxicated they barely registered his foreign forbidden presence on their floor-Gerik staggered away to make his leave. Only to be intercepted by Kerik's hooked arm.

"Tut tut, not a wise idea to see you here," The novelised man grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "But I shouldn't be surprised you'd be spying since seeing your face go red as a tomato at the pool party."

"Leave me be," Gerik mumbled woefully.

"Come now, no reason you can't stick around a little longer, have a bit more fun." Kerik said, a hand rubbing along Gerik's broad shoulder. The man couldn't sing his way out of a paper bag, but he was physically well developed. "Might take your mind off West End and bread boy down the hall. Just a night?"

Gerik barely registered they'd entered Kerik's room until the door shut behind them. -- Crawford awoke early on Sunday to an annoying repetitive beep.

He sat up, noticing Sarah was blissfully sound asleep. He glanced around noticing the infernal black rectangle called a phone was flashing. Picking it up the older Merik was wide eyed to see several missed calls.

"Oh my..." He mumbled, noticing one message in particular.

ERIK: Home now, urgent.

Mismatch eyes wide, he stood dressing promptly and quietly gathering his belongings. Leaving a note of apology for Sarah, Crawford adorned his cloak and fedora, making his way back to the house.

When the Merik arrived he was surprised to see Erik sitting patiently in the main parlour, hands clasped together.

"Ah good, you're finally here," Though the Merik could hear a slight edge of annoyance. "While I understand your boys can be more than a handful I think it's best you not leave the House for so long."

"So long? What's happened? I was only gone two days!" Crawford was suffice to say surprised. Sure he expected a few hiccups, but how bad could it be?

"Why don't I show you?" Erik mumbled behind the black mask as they walked up the second floor.

"Sweet music's throne, what the bloody hell happened?" Crawford gaped.

Their parlour looked like a tornado had come through it. There was broken glass, some pieces of furniture flipped-though his heart calmed when he saw the organ was thankfully untouched-he could even see scorch marks on the wall. There were a few Meriks still present-passed out but present-a few clutching empty wine bottles to themselves.

Erik wanted to be angry (and when he discovered this he most certainly was), but seeing the shock and confusion on Crawford's face-well half of it-made him feel some pity. Some.

"Where's Jones?" The older Merik asked fearfully, to which Erik pointing a finger to the other side of the room, where it looked as though Jones was asleep. His suit a mess, and his wig untamed and wild.

"The poor fellow was close to going up the wall trying to tame this. Apparently there was a dispute between three of them wanting to sing the same song or some similar ridiculous notion."

Crawford sighed, "I can't carry him, help me with his legs?"

Erik and the older Merik lifted Jones up and carried him down the hall to his room, so as he was more comfortable than on the floor. Unfolding a nearby blanket, Crawford draped it over Jones, trying to slick the wig back so as it was more manageable. Plucking Jones earphones off the adjacent table he placed them in the unconscious Merik's ears before making his leave.

Closing Jones door behind them, Erik asked, "Just what do you plan to do about this?"

Crawford's mismatch eyes narrowed, "What I must."

In a loud booming tone that the entirety of their floor could hear, Crawford shouted.

"ALL OF YOU, IN THE PARLOUR. RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME I WILL DRAG YOU LOT OUT HERE."

All at once doors flew open, Meriks half asleep and still dressed in dishevelled suits came barrelling out hearing that familiar authoritative voice. Crawford's brow rose, noting Karimloo and Panaro exited together out of the latter's room. Kerik calmly stepped out of his room yawning, "Could you be any louder?"

The novelised man walking passed Crawford so as to go downstairs, only to be yanked back by his wrinkled shirt collar.

"Not so fast." Crawford said.

"Oi, let go of me old man! I'm not even one of you guys!" Kerik grumbled, but the older Merik just dragged him with him to the parlor.

"No but I have a strong feeling you had something to do with this mess,"

As Crawford began giving the Meriks an ear ful no one seemed to notice Gerik, whom was half dressed and his wig discarded tip toe out of Kerik's room and up the stairwell towards his floor.  

-In this story Mauer also gets his Christine, whom in this case was Elizabeth Southard whom in r/l he is currently happily married to as well.

-There is much Actor Allusion I’m using here. As Crawford’s Merik originated in the 1980′s I of course am making his Merik quite clueless by result of present 2010+ technology. So yes, the Meriks made him get a smartphone. And of course not knowing how to use it had it on silent mode!

-The mask Karimloo borrows is the sort of clown mask Cherik wears over his own mask at one point in his adaptation, I believe in part two of Cherik’s special.

-Yes Panaro was shooting fireballs at Kerik with the skull staff from the ‘Bravo Monsieur!’ scene in the ALW musical

-In the novel “Phantom of the Opera” Christine’s voice was rather screechy and flat before Erik started teaching her. 

-I picked “It Only Takes a Moment” From Hello Dolly! as A) The Meriks in this story love musicals and B) Hugh Panaro has sung this song for the album “Tap Your Troubles Away! The Words and Music of Jerry Herman” look it up it’s quite lovely!

-I should hope everyone’s well aware of the “Hugh Panera Bread” joke by now hence bread boy XD