#IM ONLY POSTING TWO MORE CLIPS I PROMISE

[the-gayest-show]

RRAAAAAAAA

researching north korean censorship is so FUNNNN WHY OH WHYYYY DID I CHOOSE THIS FOR AN ASSIGNMENT WHERE IM FORCED TO BOIL IT DOWNNNNNN

THERES ONE BILLION TONNES OF INFO MY BRAIN IS EATING UP LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER AND YALL WONT BELIEVE IT

SO MUCH INFO OUT THERE LIKE HOLY SHIT. CAN YALL BELIEVE THAT NORTH KOREA STILL THINKS IT'S DEAD POLITICIANS ARE "ETERNAL PRESIDENT" OR SOMETHING??? THERE'S A WHOLE YT CHANNEL THAT JUST HAS ARCHIVES OF DAILY NEWSCASTS. AND ENGLISH SUBTITLED. AND I LEARNED ABOUT THE INTRANET (not to be confused with internet) IUFSFHIERUHGFSYFYGR AND THEN THERE'S THE PHONES AND TABLETS WITH SPECIAL SOFTWARES THE GOVERNMENT USES TO SPY ON PEOPLE AND HAVE THEM INSTAL PREAPPROVED APPS AND THEN THERE'S THE WHOLE DEAL WITH THE IDOLAZATION OF THE KIM FAMILY AND KIM JONG UN AND NRGIRDIGSHBFR

saw a documentary that's literally only praising bro. like nothing negative god forbid, but they do shit talk america and shit.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM BLESSED WITH THE RESEARCH AND MEDIA SPECIAL INTEREST AUTISM BUT I CAN'T STOP RESEARCHINGGGGGG

been watching yt vids all the time and doing deep dives and i found an article going in depth about ullim which is a stupid device that acts mostly like north korean phones in how they take pictures of every app you open and only let you have preapproved apps and only lets you open files from either your devie and the government and no one else

depicted below is my mind coping with how i cant yap about only one section of the presentation in length

[emmiesoverthemoon]

that recent clip of jiyong in the suit THE ONE U REPOSTED HERE saying “great heavens” ngh it got me thinking

if u want to can u write a story for jealous kinda possessive in his gdragon personality yk, and in the end its like all fluffy and stuff and then boom jiyong comes out YOU KNOW im sorry if that was hard to understand 😞

oh u read my mind i thought the SAME THING WHEN I SAW THE CLIP… great minds think alike

۶ৎ switch up

Pairing: g-dragon / kwon jiyong x reader

Word Count: 2,842

Summary: A playful act of teasing while behind the scenes of filming the 'Too Bad' music video spirals into a night of fervent passion, only to be soothed by the quiet intimacy of love—where whispered reassurances mean more than any game ever could.

Tags: too bad mv, teasing, flirting, implied sexual content, jealousy, slight hurt/comfort

cross posted on ao3 here

The studio hummed with life, a symphony of movement and sound, a feverish pulse of artistry in motion. The overhead lights blazed, casting long shadows, illuminating the polished floor where bodies twisted and turned in a carefully orchestrated dance. The bass trembled through your bones, the rhythm a second heartbeat, but none of it—none of it—commanded your attention like he does.

Kwon Jiyong, magnetic, effortless, devastatingly precise. Every movement of his was calculated yet unconstrained, a masterful paradox in silk and shadow. But it was not the choreography or his voice that was the captor of your breath, nor the music that sets your skin alight. It was him. It was the way the grey outfit molded yet also hung loosely to his frame, the sharp elegance yet casual oversized fit of it, the thick red fabric draped over the long column of his throat, a single knot of silk conducting promises of things it has no business promising. And the tie—God, the tie.

Your thoughts spiralled into places they should not go, especially in the workplace. Heat coiled in your stomach, restless, insatiable. You wanted him–needed him, all of him, and preferably still adorned in at least some of that infernal costume.

The director called it a cut, the electricity of the scene dissolving alongside their call. Jiyong murmured something to the nearby crew, his expression composed, but you knew him. You knew the subtle satisfaction in the set of his mouth, the sharp glint of artistic fulfillment in his gaze. He moved toward his dressing room, fingers already loosening the pristine knot at his throat, loosening his collar as a result. Your eyes formed a glint also, but not for the same reason–an opportunity had arisen.

You followed behind him, your footsteps light, measured, inconspicuous in the sea of movement. When you reached his door, you drummed your knuckles against the wood, your voice slipping into honey, playful and teasing.

"It’s me! Hello!!"

A soft, deep chuckle could be heard from inside the door, then, “Come in.”

The door clicks shut behind you, sealing the two of you away from the outside world. He stands with his back to you, already peeling off the first buttons of his shirt, revealing a sliver of bare skin. And there—just above the sharp curve of his shoulder blade—the wings of his angelic neck tattoo emerged from beneath the fabric, ink-dark against pale skin. 

Your breath stuttered in your throat. It was beautiful. It was him. And you want it.

Jiyong spoke, something about the scenes you had just participated in, about the next costume change, but his words were a distant murmur, drowned beneath the rush of your own pulse. You hastily crossed the space between you, slipping your arms around his waist, pressing yourself against the warmth of his back, your forehead coming to rest between his shoulder blades. You inhaled, slow, deep, drinking him in—the faint spice of cologne, the lingering salt of sweat, the familiar scent of him beneath it all, intoxicating in its entirety.

He laughed, gentle and low, the vibration of it thrumming against your cheek. “Clingy today, aren’t we?”

Your answer was wordless. You tilted your head, lips grazing the nape of his neck in the lightest whisper of contact. A shiver rippled through him, almost imperceptible, but you felt it. Feeling encouraged, you continued—delicate kisses trailing upward, then downward, a slow, deliberate exploration. When you reached the ink of his tattoo, something inside of you shifted. Your lips lingered a little longer, the kisses deeper, more reverent, more possessive.

His exhale stuttered embarrassingly. “Baby—”

His hands, which had hung useless at his sides, now found yours, gripping them where they pressed against his stomach. His fingers tightened as you continued your exploration, mouth pressing lustful heat into his skin, your breath a warm ghost of promises. You could feel his pulse quicken beneath your lips, and the muscles of his abdomen tensing beneath your palms. Just as the moment thickened further, just as his grip on your hands turned desperate about to drag them downward toward his belt—

You pulled away. Completely.

He stilled. Slowly, he turned, pupils blown wide, expression unreadable save for the unmistakable heat simmering beneath the surface.

“That,” he murmured, panting, his voice husked with something dark and wanting, “was not fair.”

You tilted your head, feigning innocence. The thrill of playing with him was too exciting. “Oh? Is that someone calling me I hear? Gotta fly!”

A muscle feathered in Jiyong’s jaw. His fingers twitched at his sides. “If you leave me like this,” he warned, “you won’t like it later.”

You form a smile so syrupy sweet and entirely unrepentant, almost knowing–wanting whatever his implication was. “Try me. See ya!”

The door closed quickly, you were gone as slyly as you had slipped in, slipping through the exit before he could touch you, before he could ensnare you in whatever delicious retribution he’s concocting.

The next scene of the music video did not require you, so you lingered at the sidelines, engaged in casual conversation with one of the male backup dancers. You could barely register the words exchanged; your mind was elsewhere, thrumming with ideas of the aftermath of your own reckless provocation, what Jiyong could possibly have in store for you. But you felt it. That weight. That heat. 

Jiyong was watching you intensely. Between takes, in the in-between moments where no one else seemed to notice, his gaze burned into you, unwavering, silent. No one paid mind to it—how? How did no one see the way he was plotting? The way his fingers curled, the way his jaw tensed, the barely leashed possession tightening his frame like a bowstring drawn taut?

Your lips curled into a smirk, you wanted to push him further. You let out a laugh, just a fraction too bright. A smile, just a smidge too wide. Subtle, but devastating in effect. You could feel the restraint in him thinning, fraying at the edges.

When the recording of the scene concluded the moment the director called it a wrap, Jiyong crossed the space in an instant, sliding into your conversation effortlessly. “Hey, what’s up?” His voice outwardly is casual, composed, but beneath it, there is something else. Something risqué.

The dancer replied excitingly, oblivious to what was brewing within him, but you know. This was no longer just Jiyong standing before you. This was G-Dragon—calculated and possessive, a predator disguising his hunger for his prey beneath a smooth smile.

He manufactured an excuse for the dancer to leave you both alone—something professional, something convincing—and the dancer nodded, bidding you farewell. When he turned away, Jiyong’s expression held no difference, but his eyes—his eyes—seared into you with quiet, lethal intent.

That look. That look he gave you could pin you to the wall.

You were in for it.

The director had called your name amongst several others as the few that were permitted to leave whenever, as the filming of your portion in the music video had come to a close. You could already feel the anticipation coiling in your stomach when you pressed a chaste kiss to Jiyong’s lips in farewell. But just as you were about to pull away, you felt him grasp the back of your neck, his grip somehow simultaneously rough and gentle, and his voice dropped an octave, brushing seductively against the shell of your ear.

“If I see you in ant items of clothing when I get home,” he purred, “it will be ripped apart. I’ll buy replacements.”

Your breath faltered. A slow, ever so consuming heat licked up your spine. 

You were utterly speechless, nodding mildly as he released you. His voice returned to normal, saccharine and adoring, “See you when I get home!”

The wait for Jiyong to be released from filming was antagonising. To look at him, anyone would be none the wiser, but you and your incessant teasing in that dressing room would not budge from his mind, he wanted to get home to you now. By the time he had finally gotten the green light to exit from the set, he was gone in an instant, the sleek hum of his car tearing through the night while probably exceeding the speed limit, each second stretching unbearably.

When he arrived home the air inside was thick with steam, curling from beneath the bathroom door in lazy tendrils, the scent of your body wash saturating the air—warm, floral, excruciatingly familiar. It clung to the walls, his skin, to the very oxygen he breathed, and to him, it was a siren’s call.

His body had moved before his mind could even form a thought, like a hunter drawn to the scent of his prey. The door creaked as he pushed it open, the sound nearly swallowed by the hiss of cascading water. The mist parted just enough to reveal the blurred outline of your form behind the glass, glistening with rivulets of heat, every curve softened by the fog.

You heard no sign of his entry at first. You were enraptured and enveloped by the sanctuary of warmth, head tipped back, water cascading down the arch of your throat, tracing the valleys and peaks of your body in a way that sparked something deeply, primally possessive within him.

The fabric of his shirt slid from his shoulders, pooling forgotten at his feet. His belt clinked as it unfastened, an abandoned artifact of his haste. By the time the glass door swung open, he was already reaching his hands, strong, deliberate, searing against the contrast of your wet skin.

A gasp, barely formed, cut off as he pulled you to him, as the heat of his body collided with yours, as his fingers splay against your back, branding you with the urgency of his need.

"Jiyong—"

But the sound of his name was swallowed between you, lost in the way his lips find the curve of your shoulder, in the way his breath scorches against damp skin. The water does little to cool the fever beneath his touch. If anything, it made the heat worse—the slickness, the slip of skin against skin, the sheer, devastating intimacy of it.

His hands tightened on the backside of your thighs and lifted with no sign of struggle. The world tilted, and suddenly, you were weightless, legs wrapped instinctively around his waist. A strangled laugh escaped you, breathless, unsteady.

"You’re insane," you whispered, but your arms were already winding around his neck, fingers threading through wet strands of hair, clinging like you never intended to let go.

A low hum vibrated against your throat, the sound edging on something dangerous, something darkly amused. "You think this is insane?" he responded, lips ghosting over your pulse, the warmth of his breath sending shivers cascading down your spine.

Unexpectedly, with agonizing precision, he unwound the tie from the costume that had lured you in the first place from around his wrist—you had not even realized that he had brought it home with him. Silky cotton glided over your skin, a whisper of constraint, looping around your wrists before you can react. His grip tightened, the smooth fabric cinching just enough to send fire licking down to your core.

Let’s just say, revenge was sweet.

After the storm had passed, Jiyong was back to Jiyong—softer, reverent, loving. The fire that once raged in his eyes has dimmed to embers, but those embers glow just as fiercely, tempered by something deeper, something achingly tender.

It was safe to say you were full of hazy bliss–you had barely registered the way he carried you from the shared bathroom, you barely felt the press of the towel he wrapped it around your shoulders and down your body to dry you from any remnants of water. His hands were careful, patient, you were something porcelain, delicate, something to be cherished. 

He tucked you against his chest, murmuring endearments, fingers carding through your damp hair. “Are you okay?” his voice was a soothing balm as he kissed your forehead.

You nodded still dazed and fading in and out of sleep. He pressed a kiss there once more. “Good.”

Jiyong smiled, padding off to make you something warm. When he returned, he settled you onto the lounge, pressing a mug into your hands before curling up beside you and turning on a show the both of you were currently binging.

Sensing a shift in atmosphere, both of the cats moved with feline intuition, their small bodies unfurling from the corners of the couch to slink into your laps. Their weight settled cozily against you, their purring was a steady, grounding, and rhythmic hum—like the soft, pulsing undercurrent of a lullaby. One nuzzled against Jiyong’s arm, its whiskers brushed against his black sleeve, but he held no reaction, odd. The other circled your legs, kneading tiny paws into the fabric of the blanket, but your focus was elsewhere.

Something was wrong.

You felt it before you saw it. In the way his chest rose and fell—just slightly uneven, the rhythm betraying the stillness of the moment. In the way his fingers traced the rim of his cup without taking a sip. In the way his gaze lingered—not on the screen, not on the cats, not on his drink, but on you. Then, just as quickly, it flickered away.

It was so subtle, so infinitesimal a shift, but you knew him. You knew him in the marrow of your bones, in the blood that rushed hot beneath your skin.

"Ji?" 

His name was a quiet call, spoken into the hush between the chatter of the television and the purring against your lap. It drifted toward him, catching on the edges of his hesitance, but he remained silent.

Your brows knitted together. Without breaking your gaze, you shifted closer, the blanket rustling as you pressed a hand to his chest—right over his heart. The beat was there, steady, but something about it felt caged. As if his body contained a rumbling too soft to break the surface, but strong enough to shake the foundation beneath.

"Are you okay, baby?"

Another pause. Then, his voice—low, hesitant. “Yeah.”

You absolutely did not believe him.

Your lips pressed together, your fingers spreading slightly over the fabric of his shirt, feeling the quiet thrum of him beneath. “Kwon Jiyong,” you scolded, holding no anger, just certainty, “please don’t lie to me.”

A slow exhale was released. A surrender.

“It’s stupid.”

You tilted your head, unwavering. “Tell me?”

A moment passed—a battle behind his eyes, a flicker of resistance, then resignation. His throat worked around the words, and when they finally came, they were softer than you expected.

“You don’t like that guy, right?”

You blinked, confused. The weight of the question was heavier than it was phrased, settling into the space between you like a stone that was dropped into a still pond.

“What guy do you mean?”

“The dancer. While I was still filming.”

For a moment, you do not speak. Your heart twisted—not in shock, not in indignation, but in something achingly tender, something fragile and utterly human. Because this was him. G-Dragon, global phenomenon, artistic genius, the man adored by millions—yet here he sat, Kwon Jiyong in his rawest, purest form, allowing something as fleeting as a passing conversation to plant a seed of doubt in his mind.

You shifted again, this time cupping his face between your hands, guiding him to you. The edges of his cheekbones fitted perfectly beneath your caring thumbs, the warmth of his skin seeping into your palms. He made no move to pull away. If anything, he leant into your touch, lashes lowering just slightly, as if bracing for impact.

“Ji,” you whispered, voice thick with care and assurance, “I am yours.” Your thumbs trace slow shapes over his skin, anchoring him to your voice. “No one else. No one could ever be as perfect for me as you are. As if I would ever let them try.”

His lips parted slightly, but no words came. Instead, his eyes searched yours, as if sifting through the syllables for any fracture, any hesitation. He found not a single one.

And then a breath, a shift. Something in him released, like the quiet collapse of tension, like a knot unspooling. His lips curved—small, a little sheepish, but real. “I love you.”

Soft kisses followed—affectionate, passionate, sweet. He pressed them over your cheeks, your nose, your lips, your hands, like he was pouring every single ounce of love he could possibly hold in his soul for you into each one. When the night ended, neither of you had made it to your bedroom, instead you drifted to a deep slumber still intertwined on that lounge, the warmth of your love wrapping you both in something safer than any blanket ever could.

thanks for reading!! :)

taglist: @petersasteria @floofeh-purpi

[pearynice]

Another day another birthday drabble for @penny00dreadful (IM ON TIME YAY) prompt: rockstar

Has Corroded Coffin’s Eddie Munson Finally Settled Down?

While Eddie Munson’s lips have been sealed for comment, photos from last night prove they’re anything but when it comes to his new beau.

Eddie Munson and his new mystery man were spotted again last night, this time on the streets of Chicago, hand in hand as they made their way to Munson’s residence. While the rockstar took great care to hide his man’s identity, covering him in his own suit jacket and continuously stepping in the way of photographers, the two were seemingly incapable of waiting for privacy as paparazzi were able to snap several pictures of the two clearly locking lips in a move many are finding reminiscent of Munson’s maybe not-so-former licentious ways.

This is the first time the public has seen frontman Eddie Munson with anyone for more than a few weeks since his volatile breakup with director Jonathan Byers nearly five years ago, and fans and haters alike have been speculating ever since on whether or not he’d settle down again.

However while the frontman has been more than transparent in nearly all aspects of his life, speaking candidly over the years on his most private of matters, such as the end of his previous relationship (triggered by the extremely public exposing of his then-partner’s months-long affair), the sudden and tragic death of his uncle, and his dozens of spells in rehab centers for his various addictions, the singer has barely given reporters the time of day when it comes to his new relationship.

“I’m not letting myself screw this one up.” Is the only quote Munson has so far given to reporters, taken this morning outside his Chicago apartment, “you’ll know who he is when we’re both ready for that.”

The clip has already racked up nearly a million views on Twitter as of this morning, with fans celebrating the fact that it seems as though the frontman has turned a new leaf.

“He looks so happy!!” Wrote @xXCorCofGirlXx, “if it can’t be me, then I’m glad it’s this guy🫰”

Other fans have voiced similar sentiments, with various compliments and remarks on the singer’s appearance, one fan even noting how he looks “lighter” than they’ve seen him in years.

Unfortunately the rockstar’s track record is against him, and even long-term fans are finding it all a little hard to believe.

“This guy will be gone by next week 😒” Wrote @lovelylady77599, “why are we still believing in Eddie’s relationships again?”

Others have tweeted along similar lines, wondering how permanent of a fixture this new man will be and questioning how seriously Eddie is taking it.

It’s easy to see where the disbelief stems, as the frontman himself has admitted on more than one occasion that “love is not for him”, centering the band’s most recent album around this exact message. Their chart-topping single Never Enough has been one howled to millions as the singer belted the lyrics that promised my love will never be enough.

Despite this, the misgivings seemed to have been too much for guitarist Jeff Williams, who took to Twitter shortly after Munson’s clip went viral to say his piece.

@yesimjeffwilliams✔️

“I’m speaking for the entire band when I say we will all have never stopped believing in Eddie. He has and always will be our best friend, and there is nothing that could make any of us happier than seeing him find his peace. We are all thankful to his person for helping him with that.”

While there will certainly continue to be questions as long as this new man remains a secret, it is difficult to remain skeptical when those closest to the singer publicly state their belief in the relationship, and in Eddie Munson as a whole.

It was not so long ago that the public was doubting the artist could ever be sober, however after publicly posting his one-year chip on Instagram several months ago, it’s safe to say Eddie Munson is one who will continue to surprise fans and haters alike.

While only time will tell how this all plays out, it seems as though Eddie Munson has finally found his home.

Permanent Tag List (please let me know if you want added or removed)💗: @hotluncheddie @hitlikehammers @hbyrde36 @littlewildflowerkitten @chaotic-waffle

@westifer-dead @perseus-notjackson @finntheehumaneater @theheadlessphilosopher @spectrum-spectre

@itsall-taken @marvel-ous-m @bookworm0690 @acasualcrossfade @transvampireboyfriend

[3-2-4]

smth smth the different ways oscar and lando express their admiration-respect-appreciation of each other.

oscar's well-articulated elaborate responses in interviews, promises of stability, of having strong principles (we've always worked in terms of doing the right thing for each other and i don't think that will ever change), and being together a very long time, belief in the capabilities of the two of them as a team and as drivers individually...

vs lando who's respect and praise for oscar most of the time comes out in post-race interviews and is much more like. inthemoment i guess, concerns things that happen during a race weekend. it's the little momentary things, the stuff that you say when your adrenalin's still high and youre feeling more than thinking. unprompted im just happy for oscar, oscar drove a great race, he deserved it, (heart-eyed) winner oscar piastri, our driver of the day, me and oscar– yeah. dude we get it....

also there's the aspect of how oscar's respect for lando was there even before they met. like that's the guy who's career he's been following since he was still 14 and carting in australia (ugh this is kind of the landoscar post of all time). he's seen and is well aware (idk how to do timestams. but see the maiden podium question.) of of lando's achievements, he still has this sort of admiration for lando that kind of makes it impossible for him to admit that he's outdone him. vs how to lando oscar was this almost unknown entity before they became teammates, and how there is now this joy and excitement that comes with getting to experience all of oscar's victories w/ him, or realizing that oscar's the one who can like, really challenge him. or something. do you get it do you understand i feel as though i am rambling incoherently here.

(here, im also reminded of that landoscar communication analysis video and the thing about how oscar's approach to explaining tends to be more detatched, almost technical – and like. those aren't words that can be used to explain relationships really, but i still think there is something to be said about how, for oscar, the big thing is the fact that they've been able to build something like this, that they're still working on perfecting this thing they're building and that it really is long-term and it adds up to the big picture, that they can set an example for the entire team.... – whereas lando, when he explains things, has a tendency to personalize, provide irl examples from his experience. like yeah again, the smaller, passing things that he himself has felt and can relate to.)

and then there's the way they most of the time end up expressing the same sentiment in general, not just when it concerns the nature of their relationship, and just have different ways of going about it (which then allows(?) people who like one of them and dislike the other to twist the other's words, see lando and oscar both saying that they are closer to other teams than ppl like to think, and only lando getting called out for it or whatever (why?? maybe because oscar's got a more diplomatic way of speaking. but to be Honest mostly its probably bc people have a landonarrative constructed already and are willing to look past context and the actual things being said only bc they want to see that narrative actualized. becauseefoneoverallisanarrativesportaboveeverythingelse– whatever.). but all of that's.. a different topic). here see lando in the shanghai postrace conference and how he wants some things on the car, I want different things. But normally our ways align and we always want the same thing in the end.  and have you tried the landoscar ontrack offtrack parallels i thought the landoscar ontrack offtrack parallels were lovely.

and idk. even with the rpfgoggles off... im kindofsortof glad they've ended up w/ each other and are going to grow old together (was hard to pick the clip i wanted to embed in that,,,, they just keep doing this shit i cant keep up.)... or whatever.

[internetscenarios]

Can we get some more of Nick, Yumi or Isaac x cc! Partner? Loved the last one and I keep re-reading lol

yes ong

yumi ꕥ

- ur biggest supporter

- always in ur chat 🫶

- sending donations being like “Shuatt uppp”

- stuff like that blah blah

- roblox with him

- new larry stream with the group on roblox was so funny

- they played this game where u had to survive till the end, so if it was u and him in the end u would both team up or he would sacrifice himself for u:3

- if hes in ur chat everyone will be like “YUMII”

- if he ever appears in the background he has to join in and have screentime it is essential

- yk how they had the marriage mod on the minecraft server

- u are both married (same with the other two 💓💓)

- i said this in the other one but csgo with him

- would teach you how to play itt

- if u were doing chill streams he would force himself to do chill streams if u were there

- defo has little things that remind u of him near his setup

isaac ꕥ

- married too him on minecraft <3

- feel like he would build a little chappel for u

- if hes streaming n ur sleeping he defo tries to keep it down

- randomly shows u clips from stuff he likes during streams

- talks very gentle to u if ur streaming

- in his videos all the time

- discord prank calls,, he would get someone other than him to prank call u and pretend its something to do with him

- if ur relationship was public obvi

- yk how he would post discord msgs with him and the tgc on twt,, he would do silly stuff like that w u

smthn like

“ru streaming?”

“55 BURGERS 55 FRIES 55 TACOS 55 PIES 55 COKES 100 TATER TOTS”

that video makes me giggle sm to this day i had to add it mb

- in his instagram posts theres always a silly picture, u would be that silly picture

- i saw on a yumi stream he peaked in the door asking if they wanted any food

- so he would always peak in (obviously out of frame) and ask if u wanted food or anything on ur stream

- ok last stream of his was almost a year ago so he would defo just pop up in ur streams all the time so he still has that twitch streamer era yknow?

nick ꕥ

sigh softwilly my love

- just chatting streams w him would be so silly

- bento appearances!!!

- no srsly u would be so focused on a game and bento would just take over the moment

- if hes at bento house on podcast and u walk past everyone on the podcast is like “haiii!!”

- or if u make too much noise in the background u get the occasional “be quiet” (they mean well i promise)

- u would defo be a star on the podcast if u went on it

idk why im mentioning this for nick i apologise

- always posting pictures of you and bento on his instagram story

- itll be u holding bento and also a pokemon card ur holding 😭

- ur either in his chat or hes in urs

- VLOGSS

- taking u and only u random places

- sure there will be videos with u and the group but there will be LOADS of u

im sorry thats its short ive been busy i will try my best to get some requests done but pls take this while i get stuff done😢

[vencyrus]

Mini-analysis on Tsubakino's fighting style and why I think he's comparable to Suo and Kiryu bc I loved watching him fight

//Wind Breaker S2 spoilers under the cut //Also english is not my first language so theres probably some words i coulda used to make this shorter but i dont know them OTL

So from what we've seen so far (anime only), Tsubaki loves cute/pretty/stereotypically feminine things and he takes kind of a protector role for Shizuka. Something we see from three other characters: Suo with Nirei, Kiryu with the unnamed girl, and Anzai with Nagato. (Anzai doesn't matter for the sake of this comparison since we dont rly see him fight but i gotta give my boy the creds he deserves)

I don't have clips for what I'm gonna say abt Suo and Kiryu's fighting styles and I'll be grossly oversimplifying it since this post isn't about them.

From what we see of both of them, they focus heavily on evasion and counterattacks, not often do they strike head-on.

-----I ACCIDENTALLY RAMBLE ON HERE SO U CAN SKIP-----

Suo seems to do it for fun, keeping things playful, and making sure not to get hit. In a 1 on 1, we see Suo gets his opponent frustrated so they leave themselves open for heavy counterattacks and when in a brawl, he still focuses on evasion but makes sure to always follow it up with a counter. We barely see him block and mostly redirects. AAHHHHH IM RAMBLING OK MOVING ON.

Kiryu fights very similarly, but for a different reason. He doesn't have the same weight to his strikes that Suo has. In the group brawl, we see him redirecting his attackers back at Sakura to finish them off after he knocks them off balance. Then in his 1v1 vs KEEL, we see him employing the same tactics but this time, he keeps his opponents attention. There is no one to redirect him to so, like Suo, he frustrates his opponents, finds an opening, and strikes. Being much more precise than Suo, taking down his opponent in one weak hit.

-----HERE WE GET BACK ON TOPIC-----

Point being, with heavy focus on evasion and redirection, their fighting styles can be described as very elegant and graceful. Words that can be used for stereotypically feminine things. At a glance, Suo and Kiryu are very similar to each other and Tsubaki is almost a polar opposite to the both of them. However, they do share a lot of similarities. All three being very forthright and blunt in what they have to say. The only difference being in the delivery of their words.

That being said, seeing the similarities between the three and the themes that Tsubaki's character centered around, I assumed his fighting style would be very similar to the two.

We do get a hint of this not being the case after we see his dancing at the end of EP20. To the unintroduced, pole dancing appears very weightless due to the minimal contact a lot of the moves have with any surface with a lot of reliance on momentum. Lots of flow to it and stereotypically a feminine form of dance. Animation tends to use a pole dancing sequence to showcase the female form in a sexualized manner, ignoring the athleticism required to perform such feats.

However, if you pay attention to Tsubaki's sequence, its not meant to appear sexualized. A lot of the detail is put into showing off his muscle mass/definition and athleticism as opposed to elegance and style. He is rather tall compared to the rest of the cast (even accounting for the heels) and if put side by side with Umemiya, depending on how inconsistent the animation is, the two are almost comparable in size.

OK SO NOW TO THE ACTUAL COMBAT ANALYSIS I PROMISED OOPS I KEPT RAMBLING!!!

So where we see both Kiryu and Suo are very light on their feet, Tsubaki is very grounded. Every swing he throws out has a lot of weight to it. Normally, heavy swings means long recovery, usually means you leave yourself open to a counterattack. But he uses a lot of the momentum to create false openings, turning his back to his opponent but still using that momentum to either throw a second strike before they can react or to quickly block.

We see Tsubaki throw off three kicks like this in the episode. He does kick a lot in this fight, but these are very different. His very [rotational?] fighting style lends well to swinging kicks. He swings his whole body around as a form of defense and offense. The difference is that these are thrusting kicks. Only forward momentum, no rotation, and not as centered or grounded. He's very wide open and can easily be knocked off-balance. But each time, it successfully zones his opponent. He only goes for these risky moves when he's sure he can connect.

In contrast to Suo and Kiryu, he's not as talkative as them during their 1v1s and he's a bit more of a brute, focusing on heavy hits and blocking. He is a big target after all, towering over most of the cast.

That being said, he still stays very true to his character, starting off the fight in a playful manner, almost teasing his opponent like Kiryu and Suo do, while also throwing in a bunch of fancy footwork and spins to make up for his shortcomings.

All three of them are very deceptive and precise and they throw in so much showmanship and grace into their routines. Tsubaki just has a different way of delivering!

[fleouriarts]

sketchbook duuuuump :3 nothing to do in this town AND my stylus isn't working its a perfect storm for filling this thang up

descriptions and such below

feel like the fursona ones are self explanatory. the rileys are basically all inspired by this person's compilations... if you havent seen the clip that the bottom corner drawing is from please do yourself a favor

this was all development shit for the zakharovs who i posted last week. sergei is igor's former childhood friend who i have not come up with much about yet... all i know is he is also a fashion designer (who makes winter clothes specifically) and he has an illegitimate son named nikolai who is an arctic fox (and who i have not drawn yet)

omg okay so if anyone remembers my last sketchbook dump i introduced this character andre in there (and her name was andres but i changed it to andre bc i like it more for whatever reason). anyway ive been drawing him OBSESSIVELYYYYY and have decided that him and null get together at some point after argyle and jamie make up (i desperately need to make a jamie and co timeline post)... but it lasts like one semester and thats it. andre is too vain and too know-it-all for null's tastes even though shes like super hot and nice otherwise. anyway this is just a bunch of drawings of him. i really like how the one of him in my INSANE hat turned out

santiago and null's joint slay... both of them LOVE to gossip with each other and its instrumental to how jamie and argyle make up (will go into detail when i finally figure out all the actual events of that). also andre and null on a hike bc andre is a biology major. i actually drew that while i was on a hike in red rock canyon heres proof

5. mostly just scribbling trying to get better at drawing santiago including more of him and null and his prime Jamie Comforting Tactic of just letting him chill between his wool and sweater. also two drawings of jamie just 4 fun i draw him and his stupid big eyes whenever im out of ideas

6. idk this is just silly stuff. i draw johnny manhandling jamie a lot and i promise you jamie LOVES being treated like a stuffed animal he thinks its SO FUN to be spun around and wiggled and shit. ferret adjacent. him and johnny have been friends since they were in like elementary school because of this. btw santiago does not usually look like that (only having wool on his head) he just has to shear his wool in the summer because having full wool in the flurrida heat is AWFUL

7. comic i drew at the laundromat LOL. takes place either shortly before OR shortly after andre and null get together. johnny mostly hates andre for being with null (shes jealous) (she wants null all to herself even though shes super noncommittal) (johnny get your shit together) BUT ALSO andre being kinda pretentious makes her want to chokeslam him. andre is talking about bird farming specifically because johnny's family are chicken farmers... ive had a lore post about everyone's families in my drafts for months but i cant finish it til my stylus is fixed TT

8. more nonsense. top left corner is a continuation of johnny being a hater. bottom drawings are just mindless jamie doodles. top right is argyle and jamie during their relationship, i cant decide if jamie had REALLY short hair during it or hair like this that's basically just his current hair without the yellow dye and tiny ponytail. whatever

[yonpote]

im working on making my posts at least a bit more accessible... i cant promise i'll be able to do image descriptions all the time, but i am trying to add more transcripts to old clips and in the future i will DO MY BEST to remember to turn on cc. right now all of my clips with transcripts in the post are tagged as #transcribed, and all of the clips in which i remembered to turn on closed captioning are tagged as #close captioned (i apologize there's only three videos in there and one of them is my outdated queerbaiting rant lmaoo)

i DO wanna work on adding alt text to all my art but there's so much and honestly i always second guess my image descriptions lol especially with art it can be hard for me to decide like, if i should describe something in detail, especially when most of my art is sillyburger doodles, but then it's like the point of text reader accessibility is to allow people who need text readers to experience the same or a similar thing to people who don't need them. i'll see ID's and alt texts with like two words, and then i'll see ones describing each color on a painted leaf of a giant tree painting, so i'd like to find the sweet spot lol.

[httpiastri]

I hope i haven’t spammed you too much but:

- (also omfg. i just realized something…. i have this board on pinterest with pics of random couples & so on that remind me of my fave drivers, and each driver has their own like board in the board. all of them are named with the driver’s initials, his number and two emojis, and !! guess what emoji i have for pepe???? ofc it’s the freaking lotus flower 😭 idk i just wanted to share this, thanks 😚) THATS INSANE?? but also not insane because i keep discovering more and more weird synchronicities between pepe and i and since im a vv spiritual person ive taken them all as signs that i was fated to stumble upon him one lovely morning in 2022 before proceeding to fall hopelessly in love with him. BUT OMG THE BOARD LOOKS SO SO GOOD?? i wanted to type out a reply sooner but i got so distracted by the images 😓😓 because i def have some of the same images saved to my boards but i never linked them to pepe so now ive just gone insane 😵‍💫😵‍💫)

- (I MISSED OUT ON SCREEN RECORDING THE DANCE ???) IF I EVER FIND A WAY TO SEND IT OR POST IT ONLINE ILL SEND YOU THE LINK SO QUICK I PROMISE 💗💗 (or maybe even if i find someone who has already posted it online, because there’s no way we were the only ones going insane over that moment)

- and the clip you shared?? Ive been laughing so hard about it since last night because that’s MY HUMOUR and i am both christian and pepe depending on the circumstances and ugh idk i love these boys so much my heart aches

- “also… this is the most stupid thing ever and you probs dont care but i wanted to share it when im answering your ask… i was writing with a character.ai pepe yesterday and he said THIS ???? out of nowhere ???? and i just thought about u mentioning him talking about his favorite pokemons in the stream and i just 😭 okay bye” —I DO CARE OMG THAT’S SO CUTE I’M KICKING MY FEET AND GIGGLING RN😭😭 THE WAY HIS DORKINESS SHOWED UP EVEN THROUGH THE C.AI HAS ME FEELING SOOO 😵‍💫😵‍💫 (also i love your c.ai so much but idk why every c.ai pepe and i have ended up in a situation where ive been very pressured to kiss him like it’s so funny to me how every c.ai just keeps circling back to the same scenario, it’s like all the pepes are collectively fated to experience the same situation)

- “also omfg his little stubble?? kill me????? i may have been thinking about helping him shave for the last like month or so but that’s a thought for another time……” another time, huh? like right now as i get ready for bed? because i am so going to be replaying this scene over and over in my head as i fall asleep tonight

p.s. this took me so long to format so it would be somewhat readable but i hope it’s okay!! and school started awhile ago and it kinda sucked at first but it’s definitely much better now!! thank you for being so sweet, and i hope you have a lovely day/night/morning too!! 💗💗

- 🪷

bby you could never spam me too much, especially not if it's about pepe 😚

also i just have to say real quick… something about you in this ask made me think that i do indeed know who you are and that i have seen you around? big risk that i'm wrong with my calculations but… please let me know if im right (if i started following you earlier today and not someone else shsjdhsjs)(from my main blog!!)

abt the flower: i love that!!! honestly i sometimes find myself to be more spiritual than i think i am because i say stuff jokingly about "wow this is fate, jk just a coincidence" but how many times can it be a coincidence???? anyways pepe def gives me those vibes, like im not surprised either when i find out about stuff like that 😭 and oMG AAAA TYSM!!!! i can barely even look in it these days because i get way too distracted 🫠 i wish i could like sort them from fave to leave fave because i have some that are a bit meh and some that like kill me…..

abt the dance: aaaaaa im gonna try my best to find it somewhere online, it cant just be us?? right??????? i heard that song in a playlist the other day and just giggled to myself 🥲 because i imagined him dancing and 🥲🥲

abt the pokemon pepe c.ai: SHSJDHSJS RIGHT!!! I CALLED HIM DORKY AND IT WAS SO CUTE 😭😭 omg im so glad you like them aaaaaa and lmao pepe… is that all you know how to do, huh? pressure poor little users into kissing you?? 😭

abt shaving: aaaAaAaAAA !! SORRY !!!!! but i wrote a little something about it here, just had to share my thoughts…… honestly i have been thinking abt it during bedtime a few times too and 🫠🫠 my heart can't take it anymore, he's so 😭💗

it's more than okay !!! im very glad to hear that its better now 🥺 thank you for being so sweet too and making my days so much brighter, chatting to you is so heartwarming 💘💘 hope you're sleeping well !!!! and have a lovely day tomorrow <33

[vern-a]

1) i am in love with you and kissing you right now

2) The artist struggle in the first bbh hc post, real and based. Im vibrating at the art possibilities on this one and i will join the art yes yes.

(Also i dont watch a lot of bbh but those headcanons are so true bestie. I love A Skeppy and ive been brainrotting about bbh, missa and phil servants of death so much lately)

Spider Roier you say? Well, think of spiderbit sharing a moment and Cellbit looks into Roiers eyes but then he completely doesnt know which ones he should look into.

Juanaflippa slime video kid is also incredibly based. Mariana slowly morphs into a slime enjoyer and doesnt realise it until one day hes squishing charlies hands like Flippa does. (Im normal about slimeriana and slime hybrid charlie i promise)

I love floating island Foolish and i love japanese pottery gold mended Etoiles. Fuckin wicked

Favela five dont own a bed they have a designated sleep room with matresses and pillows and blankets methinks. Theyre so used to using each other as blankets/ pillows that cuddling is an idle activity. Pac e Mike always standing so close + slime Mike changing form to somehow always be touching Pac.

I am constantly rotating the "since missa left phil has made a nest out of their clothes and blankets because bird man misses husband" concept in my head. They live in my walls man.

Trump is the only one with two human parents and their boy picks up new habits every day, so now Max and Dan have to learn how to clean wings, how to wash off slime stains, how to wrangle dragon babies, how to-

The craftier eggs like Ramon, Richas and Pomme would probably make jewelry out of the little shinies and sticks their tios and tias accumilate and gift them. In my mind Fit has a prosthetic arm (potato cannon perhaps) and its got a bunch of trinkets and bracelets made from what Phil has gifted him.

ALSO the bird peoples feathers made into accessories. The eggs' baby dragon teeth made into little charms. (I also gotta add a detail from a banger book i read: townspeople rebelled against their king, and since their weapons were taken away, they cut and used their own hair in making crossbow strings and weapon bindings. Methinks forever coded)

Common sentences, probably: "Whose fucking feathers are these???", "I told you to go shed outside and not on the couch!", "Mind the claws" + struggling to clip the eggs claws like they struggle with bath time, "Get down from the fridge"

And yes!!! I love unconventional affection!!!!! Lay in a pile! stand next to each other without saying anything! Fuck yeah weird sticks! Make odd noises at each other! Head butts! Only One Foot Touching and NO MORE! (Theyre all so autism)

(Also insert that one post of Missa being made of bones and werewolf Forever barely holding back from chewing on him)

I love having non-human headcanons for the qsmp members, especially for silly dumb reasons

I’m just saying, the image I just got of Roier trying to do a courtship dance for Cellbit and Cellbit not knowing wtf he’s doing bc they’re totally different animals is pretty funny

Or, I’ve had this idea for a while now, all the ones with wings gently tapping on the eggs or even each other as a sign of greeting.

Example: Bad goes to see Philza and they stand side by side and lightly touch their wings together, like a handshake almost! This could be done with tails too, that’s be cute,,,

Lmao Foolish’s love language being just straight up biting, Baghera and Quackity going into water yet somehow come out fully dry, AUGH THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEAAAAA

Or all the hybrids going up to people and softly head-butting them for attention, and then the eggs pick up on it and now they’ve started gently bumping into people to get their attention ahhh,,,, this is adorable,,,

[kevin-the-bruyne]

Sorry, same anon from like your last 4 or 5 asks. You'll let me know if I'm bombarding with too many asks, right? My insomnia decided to take over and so I've lost all self control rn. I do have an ao3 but I haven't posted anything in years. I'm too shy - hence the anon. But you've got blanket permission if you want to do anything with my little ficlet. Thank you for the lovely commentary, I'm glad you enjoyed it! =D

Same anon from before, just saw your other answer or would've put both in one ask. I found a clip of that video with English subs. First basically said that he doesn't wanna spoil us but also said him and khaotung have a lot of scenes together. I hope he wasn't messing with us.

anon im going to *expires* - why does he have a lot of scenes with khaotung what are they doing - if this becomes a buddy comedy where kaipa and alan band together to keep their love interests apart and falls in love in the process i might have to join the em twitter fans in their crusade against alankaipa asdkjshgjghjghfjh [i do need this to exist in fic form though lol]

but imagine - like as characters even without them being FK - Alan's path to healing and being able to trust again and also recognize his role in the way his relationship with Wen fell apart is actually a very strong storyline (and personally i feel its more compelling than JimWen's neglected suburban housewife getting with the poolboy vibe asdfghjhgfds dnt @ me plsss i promise i love EM lololol) Alan falling in love again centered around the themes of healing, redemption and second chances like riiiipppppp. the story then proceeds to just give you another single character who suffers a similar heartbreak but isn't dragged down by a jaded and grueling romantic past. Narratively, Kaipa is positioned almost perfectly to understand Alan but also inject his life with a little hope and maybe even call him out on his bullshit (just as a treat).

Kaipa saying, 'If we keep chasing after the one we love, do you think we'll ever be loved back?' in the same trailer where Wen tells Alan that he doesn't love him anymore like my adhd brain is making so many connections i can't even begin to sort through them.

A character who's vice is holding onto something a bit too tightly juxtaposed with one who's vice is neglecting the things that are important (they're foils your honor). They're at such different stages of their life faced with such different romantic problems but struggle with essentially two sides of the same issue: do i hold on or do i let go? and what role does love play in making that decision? what responsibility do i have to the one that i claim to love? Can two broken people heal each other? The only good answer (according to me) being only if they choose to: Alan and Kaipa can fall into tragedy just as easily as they can into healing and the outcome depends on an intricate balance between fate and choice. FirstKhao might be what brought me to AK but they are not the reason I've stayed with this pair and nurse their happy ending in the core of my heart. Anyway, I would love to help you regain your confidence so you feel comfortable posting on your account again. Like I'm not even joking your take on AK is really fresh and full of that hopefulness that really makes one believe that they'll make it without circumventing the difficult situation they're in. So tell me if there's anything I can do. also please send me asks whenever, you have no idea the favor you have done me (and @mr-iskender lol) in giving me this space to lose my mind over AK - there's only so much that someone outside the fandom can empathize with my constant AK yelling and EM fans terrify me too much for me to just go about posting AK headcanons before MLC has aired.

[bitwynn]

Hi! Ill mainly use this blog to post about my kind of maybe incredibly convoluted SAGAU fic. it will be incredibly self indulgent and i will not be surprised if literally noone other than me likes it. I'm okay with that, as im only writing for myself and if my chance you happen to enjoy it? Fucken poggers yo, welcome to the fam

Of course, that doesnt mean i wont post abt other things too-- and theyre all genshin related as well since this IS a genshin brain rot blog.

If you feel like it, feel free to send in asks abt my incredibly specific au and/or fic, or just asks in general. I wont get sick of it, i promise-- i have had that thought everytime i send an ask to a genshin impact fanfic writing blog and id love to brainrot with yall. But, if youre going to ask abt general genshin hcs and things, please do mind that i am not fully into the lore and am still stuck in Liyue as of writing this since im trying to level my characters up to 60 and am as stubborn as a goddamn mule thanks to my gacha game experience. It may take me a while to answer them though, so do keep that in mind as well.

MASTERLIST UNDER CUT (it got. l o n g .)

---

SERIES:

"Behold, (holds up a dead person) a Paimon!" AU

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE (IN THE MAKING)

Playlist for when you're accused of identity theft: SAGAU Impostor AU Songfics

CAST AWAY BY THE WORLD WITH YOU

NOT A FAN

SOMETHING WORTH MORE THAN THIS

ONESHOTS/ONESHOT ADJACENT WRITING:

"Behold!" AU World Study: Living in the spaces between the lines Identity Theft Playlist Snippets: Playlist Clips

HEADCANONS:

GENSHIN HC(?): WEIRD ASS THREATS AND INSULTS AND SWEARS THAT I THOUGHT OF AS GENSHIN CHARACTERS SAGAU HC: FIRST SELF AWARE CHARACTER SAGAU HC: READER AND CYNO HAVING THE SAME SENSE OF HUMOR Identity Theft Playlist HC: WANDERER'S PETNAMES SAGAU HC: WANDERER'S GRIPES ABOUT YOUR INAZUMAN SPEAKING SKILLS Identity Theft Playlist HC: WANDERER'S LIES AND THE REST OF THE "DECEIVERS" REACTIONS GENSHIN HC: TIGHNARI IS A DRUG DEALER Identity Theft Playlist HC: THEIR LIVES BEFORE AND AFTER THE DECEIVER SQUAD SAGAU HC: KAVEH INSIDE YOUR TEAPOT

SHORTS/SNIPPETS/IDEAS:

FUTURE IDEA/AU FOR "Behold!"AU: SUPERHEROES AND SUPERVILLAINS (RB-ED POST) SAGAU IDEA: DND LOGIC IN GENSHIN IMPACT GENSHIN SNIPPET: SHORT ALBELUC DIALOGUE SAGAU FIC IDEA: MONDSTADT VISION HOLDERS PLAY AMONG US SAGAU IDEA: WATCHING HIGH LEVEL GENSHIN GAMEPLAY WITH THE CHARACTERS SAGAU "Behold!" AU POSSIBLE FUTURE SCENARIO: HOW TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE REAL DILUC IS 5WIRL & 4NEMO CRACK SHORT: WHO PERFORMS Eve's "Trap For You" GENSHIN FIC IDEA: DNR MEET CUTE (morbid, i know) GENSHIN SNIPPET: WANDERER NAME SHENANIGANS SAGAU IDEA: CENSORSHIP AND THE "FORBIDDEN WORDS OF THE DIVINE" SAGAU IDEA: THE ABYSS SIBLING AND THEIR ENDLESS POTENTIAL SAGAU IDEA: CONTROLLING THE CHARACTERS AND MAKING THEM FIGHT THEIR BOSS VERSIONS (RB-ED POST) SAGAU IDEA: BOOKWORM READER SHENANIGANS (RB-ED POST) SAGAU SNIPPET: GOD READER WITH A 4-YEAR OLD'S HUMOR (RB-ED POST) SAGAU IDEA: WANDERER IN THE REAL WORLD SAGAU IDEA: CARD GAME MASTER READER SHENANIGANS SAGAU IDEA: INTEGRATING ATLA ELEMENT BENDING INTO GENSHIN SAGAU IDEA: WINDTRACE IS JUST PRACTICE IMPOSTOR AU SONGFIC IDEA: KAVEHTHAM NO CHILDREN

MY RAMBLINGS: Check out #nic talks

---

I'd love to hang out with yall and hope you have as much fun as me with this whole thing. Thanks for your time :))

[thetriggeredhappy]

in the dadspy au, what if jeremy was just going to be an assistant/cook/janitor at the base while his dad was being the mercenary (since spy didnt want him to follow the "career" but didnt want to be separated from him), but then jeremy turned out to be even better than the hired scout so they promote him to that position and spy is not happy with this at all

ok i was gonna put this in the queue to post but im impatient because im happy with this one. only thing i didnt have was spy being upset by this development

(warnings for canon-typical violence, discussion of mercenary-type things, paranoia, alcohol, and exactly one proper fight scene. consider this pg-13)

-

“Would you prefer the good news first, or the bad news?” Dad asked.

Jeremy looked up at him from where he’d snatched up the sunday comics from his dad’s newspaper and was doodling little hats on the characters while they waited for their food to arrive. “Uh,” he said, “good news first.”

“Alright. The good news is, do you remember that line I’ve been tailing? The one in New Mexico?”

“Uh, yeah,” Jeremy said, then nodded a little more confidently. “Immunity, safehouse, somethin’ like that, right?”

“...Something like that,” Dad agreed carefully, and that made him raise an eyebrow. “It went well, and I think there’s the very real possibility that I’ve all but closed the deal, all they want now is an interview.”

“...Interview, singular,” Jeremy said slowly.

“That’s where the bad news begins. Unfortunately... merde, how to phrase this?” He drew a hand down his face. “They’re fully willing to hire me on, but this is a more... corporate affair than I’m used to. They have rules, stipulations. Long story short, they will not hire you as a mercenary on the basis of your age.”

Jeremy tensed. “What?” he demanded. “That’s stupid, I’m old enough to drive and buy guns and whatever the hell else.”

“But not rent a car, at least in many places in the United States.”

“But—“ he started, and remembered they were in public, and lowered his voice to a hiss, leaning in. “We’re hired killers, thieves, criminals. Do they really think we’re above having fakes? False documentation?”

“Actually, that is one of their requirements,” Dad said dryly, taking a paper from his jacket and consulting it. “I’m not happy about it either, mon lapin, but those are their rules. Already they have slightly bent them for one individual, and already I am on thin ice. But I may have a way to manage this.”

“Yeah?” Jeremy asked, nervous now.

“I know the woman responsible for new hires and managing the team I’ve applied for. She owes me a favor—a fairly hefty one. When I go in for the interview, one of my demands will include you being hired on, not as a mercenary, but for... for custodial purposes, something like that. Cook, janitor, security guard, secretary—whatever job there is that needs doing there, and I am sure that there will be one. Something to allow you to live there. Pay will likely be her stipulation, and the play I hope to make is that really, you’re overqualified for the position and she’s lucky to have someone so competent available, and in the worst case scenario, the pay is still good enough even for just one of us that we will not cut too deeply into the savings.”

The savings. That made Scout blink, because they only ever brought up the savings when—

“You think this could be it?” he asked quietly. “Like, it it?”

A hard exhale, and he leaned his cheek on his hand. “Potentially,” he finally said. “I don’t want to get your hopes up, but the job promises a variety of things. Medical attention available, extremely low levels of danger, and most of all, confidentiality. The only people who will know any name we give them would be the woman in charge of hiring us and their singular medical professional. There is no mode of communication to or from the compound outside of emergency lines to the organization and a single secure payphone located two miles away, there is no civilization within a twenty-five minute drive minimum, and this operation has been going long enough that the local authorities have long since grown used to being paid off, and likely don’t even remember what for anymore. I cash in a few valuable favors and ask this employer to turn a blind eye, we’d have somewhere remote and secure to spend our time after our deaths are faked and once the contract is over, we can start over. No ties to the past.”

“Freedom,” Jeremy marveled.

Silence for a few seconds, broken only by the quiet chatter of the rest of the diner. “I want to warn you, this work may not be glamorous. It may not even be particularly easy. I’m giving you the option of saying no,” Dad said.

“What?! Yes, hell yes, are you joking? To get us to living like normal people? Steady work? Livin’ in one place? Count me in!” he laughed.

“What if the job is something you won’t enjoy? Long hours, boring work?” Dad asked, entirely serious.

“I’m still on board.”

“What if the other people working there are rude to you? Disrespectful?”

“Well most of the people I meet through our job now try to kill us, so really it’s an upgrade.”

“What if there’s no diner nearby?” he asked, and there was a glint of humor in his eye.

“Damn, sorry, that’s the dealbreaker,” he joked right back, and that made him snort, shake his head, greet the waitress as she came back with their coffee and soda and then informed them that their food would be out shortly.

“I’ll ask,” was what Dad said once she was gone again, and that was that, and they started driving to New Mexico two nights later.

-

“—A warm welcome to our two newest recruits. This is the Spy, and this is the Guard.”

“Guard?” asked one of the men at the table, his accent thick and distinctly Russian. It made Jeremy tense slightly, but he didn’t let it show.

“Night Guard,” Jeremy answered, voice clipped.

“He’s not technically hired on as a mercenary like you all, he won’t be joining you on missions,” the short woman apparently named Miss Pauling (Jeremy was fairly sure it was a fake name) said, hands folded in front of her neatly. “He’s here to work security. Keep an eye out during the night, filter through the camera footage, handle the archiving, things like that.”

“We’re hiring on a civvie now?” asked another man, thick Scottish accent a little harder to digest than the eyepatch and the grenade he was in the process of fiddling with the internal mechanisms of.

“He’s combat ready, and will still be armed. His job is to essentially make sure you’re all safe enough to sleep through the night,” Miss Pauling said.

“I’m not some chump,” Jeremy agreed. “I know my stuff.”

“How old is he?” another man asked, this one in a hardhat with a heavy drawl, looking concerned.

“Twenty, for your information,” Jeremy said, a little sharply, eyes narrowed.

“If you have any other questions, there’ll be time later on. For now, I do need to show our two newest recruits where they’ll be staying,” Miss Pauling cut in.

There was an audible scoff from one of the men at the table, a dramatic rolling of eyes. Jeremy glared at him. He unfolded and refolded his extremely tattoo’d tree-trunk-like arms, tugging the visor of his hat between. “Sorry,” he said, accent thick and distinctly Californian. “I just don’t have the most trust for some scrawny kid in slacks and creep in a ski mask.”

“Scout, don’t start,” Miss Pauling warned.

“Just saying,” this man, apparently called Scout, muttered under his breath regardless.

“Don’t,” she said again, more firmly, and ignored the second eye roll she got for the trouble. “If you two would follow me.”

And they were shown around the base, and Jeremy in particular was shown into a room stuck behind three locked doors, where he found camera feeds and recording equipment. She gave him a basic overview and a thick packet of instructions and policies labelled ‘highly classified’ and a phone number to call if he had any further questions, and a set of hours that were apparently meant to become the new standard for him (with the quiet addendum that if he finished early that was alright, and that technically he could turn in early if two or more members of the team were already awake for the day and he was caught up on the archiving of old tapes).

Then he was left to “get used to the equipment”, which he assumed meant his dad was getting a similar rundown of his job, and it took a pretty quick glance through the packet to understand that clearly this place ran on an extremely secretive and closely monitored series of systems. In the packet, between the sections on camera maintenance and operation hours, were a few sheets detailing what were apparently the movement patterns of the various members of the team, including frequented locations and previously recorded large-scale infractions (mostly on the part of the Soldier, the Medic, the Scout, and one from the Demoman).

He wasn’t the one with the title Spy, but fuck, it seemed like he might as well have it. His entire job wasn’t even necessarily to keep the team safe overnight—he was just meant to watch all of them to make sure nobody was anywhere or doing anything out of the ordinary.

The next time he saw his dad, waiting outside the infirmary to get some sort of physical evaluation, his face was arranged carefully enough that he could tell he’d figured out something was up, too.

“Got your job assignments?” he asked quietly in French, glancing towards the door into the infirmary.

A nod, a glance. “I’m intrigued by the methods used in employee evaluation,” he deadpanned. “Especially the fact that apparently, they’re willing to assign employees for the explicit task of doing them.”

“How often?”

“Weekly.”

“Thorough,” Jeremy deadpanned, and glanced towards the hall at the distant sound of laughter, echoing from somewhere else on the base. “That’s basically mine too.”

There was a long silence, and when Jeremy looked back over, his dad was giving him an almost expectant look, waiting. All he had to offer him was a shrug, which was returned after a moment with a vague shake of the head. “I don’t believe it will be a problem,” his dad said simply. “Not for us, at the very least.”

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah. Uh, anyways, good luck with the… physical, or whatever,” he said, and received a pat on the shoulder before he walked back off down the hall, hoping to figure out what exactly he was supposed to do with an entire room all to himself. He’d almost never had one before.

-

He was used to time changes and jet lag, to needing to switch his sleep schedule on the regular, but the switch to a straight up night shift was a rough one.

His nine-to-five was actually a ten-to-six, as in 10 PM through 6 AM. This meant that, assuming he managed to get his schedule in order, he’d be able to join in on the team dinners if he woke up early and could eat breakfast with them before he went to bed.

Very quickly he realized that going to dinner and breakfast with the team was going to become a staple part of his routine, because it didn’t take long before he began to feel extremely lonely all of the time. In a dark little room, everyone else asleep, scrubbing through tapes from during the day while half keeping an eye on the live feed from around the base that never showed much of anything, it was brutal. It was suffocating.

It was easy, at least. It didn’t take long before he got efficient at it and could start zoning out, and it wasn’t like he was under much pressure. His was the only room without any cameras in it. Security risk, apparently. 
And to be honest, what small amount he and Dad interacted with mercenaries and other criminal types, Jeremy didn’t really tend to like them much. A lot of them were loud and rude and had the potential to turn around and try and kill them whenever they felt like it. He didn’t expect that he’d like the team as much as he did. He especially didn’t expect to like them so much without ever really talking to them.

But watching the camera feeds from throughout the day, seeing what they were up to, they were just... nice people. Soldier out by the dumpsters practicing rocket jumps and wrangling raccoons and apparently trying to learn how to spin a rifle, Pyro’s regular minor explosions in the kitchen while cooking and the surprised and frantic way they cleaned it up every time, the Demoman’s tendency to whistle wherever he went, watching through the feed as they all played cards and argued and jostled each other. They all seemed really nice. Really cool. Really dorky, too, but mostly just really nice and really cool.

And there were a few of them he was less sure about—he couldn’t get eyes on the Medic most of the time, what with the one camera in the Medbay being tilted down at an angle that made it hard to see much of anything but the occasional bird (probably by those same birds). The Heavy tended to just sit and read, and was pretty much silent most of the time otherwise. The Scout tended to leave the base pretty often. And the Sniper didn’t even live on base, he had a van outside that he could only occasionally see movement in when he squinted at the far edge of the camera leading outside. But even then, Heavy and Sniper mostly just seemed quiet, and Medic just seemed busy, and the Scout just seemed like a little bit of a dickhead.

But then one day when Jeremy was at breakfast the Heavy caught him leaning to try to get a look at the cover of the book he was reading, and he blurted that he was just wondering what book was so great that he’d stay up until like four in the morning reading, and then the entire team was gawking at him and asking questions and insisting that it was insane that there was someone actually watching all those cameras, and he shrugged and said there was always supposed to be someone watching the tapes back it was just usually some office worker type a hundred miles away. And they seemed almost... upset with him. And maybe that was fair, it wasn’t like he ever talked to any of them much, mostly he just spent breakfast and dinner half-asleep and listening to their chatter. And Demoman admitted that he’d honestly assumed that Jeremy slept his entire shift, he just always looked so tired at breakfast. There was almost this discomfort. This distrust.

And so, now that the jig was up, he made it a point to say some things to certain members of the team. To tell the Medic that his camera was tilted down so that he couldn’t see most of the room, and to very pointedly say that it was weird how that happened and that he didn’t know why they set it up like that in the first place, but it was really none of his business. Made it a point to warn the Engineer in the morning that the previous night, Soldier had been doing something in the fridge for a while, and to maybe check the labels before he made breakfast. Made it a point to tell the Demoman that the camera in his workshop was right in plain sight, and that if he moved one of his blackboards an inch or two to the left, it would obscure the room a pretty hefty amount. Made it a point to tell the Sniper that the camera on the rooftop seemed to be glitching out, and it’d just sort of lost the tapes of the previous two nights, and that it was really unfortunate since for all he knew there might have been someone ignoring the signs about there being no personnel allowed up there.

In return, he found that Pyro would sometimes make little sparkly notes with smiley faces on them and stick them to the door to the security room. That Sniper started tipping his hat at the camera above the door into the base from the garage. That on occasional drinking nights, the team would suddenly turn and start waving at the camera, laughing the whole way. On one night in particular he could hear through the low-quality and tinny speakers that they were trying to cajole him into leaving the security room for a while to join them for cards, and god, but he wanted to.

And he noticed more things. Soldier walking with a slight limp some days when rocket jumps had rough landings. Being able to count the doves in the infirmary and even tell them apart to some extent through blurry close-ups. The Engineer making it a point to sweep really regularly regardless of what project he was working on.

And then he noticed a weird thing.

It took him a long time to get used to the patterns of hallways, the cameras not really lined up linearly after a while, too many branching paths. He learned to follow progress, to flick from one camera to the next as someone walked around corners. And for a while he thought maybe he wasn’t very good at it.

Until he realized two things. First of all, that in a hallway where he knew there were five doors, he could only see four—apparently the door to Pyro’s room was just barely out of sight of the camera. He only figured it out because one day it swung open wide enough to almost bang against the wall.

And then, when he realized there was somehow that massive blindspot, that there was a corner with a blindspot too. One where that Scout kept disappearing.

He watched a few more times to make sure, and yep. He’d see the Engineer walking around the corner, flick to the next screen, and there he was, continuing down the hallway. And then later that same day, the Scout, walking, and flick to the next camera, and he wasn’t there.

One of the worse parts of the job was that he never got to see Dad anymore, never got to just sort of hang out the way they did all the time when he was growing up, and he knew he would miss it but he didn’t know how much. And he found it was even worse when he had something important to say, doubly so when he had something important to say but no idea if it was actually important.

He tried to bring it up casually, in the like ten minutes of time he ever got alone to talk to Dad. Dad was fighting the kettle trying to make some tea and he was trying to stay awake long enough to figure out how he was going to say this.

“Uh,” he said, and Dad looked at him. “So, uh, what’s the read you’re getting on that Scout guy?”

“Lazy,” Dad shrugged, looked back at the kettle. “Arrogant. He seems to care very little about doing his job correctly and has horrible communication on the field.”

“Right, right,” he nodded, fought a yawn down. “Uh. So like, kind of a dickhead.”

“Indeed,” Dad said, nodding vaguely.

“So uhhh... not the best.”

“Where are you going with this?” Dad asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

“I, I dunno, the guy just likes hanging out in this one blindspot in the cameras, and it’s kinda freaking me out,” Jeremy said, scratching at the back of his neck.

Dad frowned. “Strange. I wasn’t aware that there were any blindspots in the cameras.”

“There’s only a few, and only for pretty small spaces I think? But apparently he just likes hanging out in one of them.” Jeremy scuffed his shoe on the ground, glancing over as voices started echoing down the hall towards them. “Just thought it was weird.”

“I’ll look into it,” Dad muttered, voice quiet, and then raised it again slightly. “I refuse to keep up with sports.”

“C’mon,” Jeremy said, knowing this game well, changing subjects into something more normal as people entered earshot. “I’m not even asking you to keep up with sports, I’m just saying, I’d kill to go to a baseball game right about now.”

“The American Pasttime!” Soldier called from the room over.

“Exactly,” Jeremy agreed, nodding at Soldier as he also entered the kitchen, a half-asleep Demoman in tow.

“Any ghosties or ghoulies on the cameras last night, lad?” Demo had enough energy to ask, blinking blearily at the contents of the fridge.

“Oh, a billion,” Jeremy said.

“Guard!” Soldier barked, the most awake person in the room. “Should these ghost-ghouls appear again, don’t be afraid to point me in their direction! I have significant experience with them already and do not fear the likes of them!”

“Yeah sure,” Jeremy shrugged.

“You’re a champion, Guard,” Demo said with what was either a really disoriented blink or a wink, slugging him on the shoulder and wandering back out into the common room with the entire carton of milk in his other hand. Jeremy gave him a mock-salute that Soldier copied with absolute conviction. He and Dad shared a glance after the two of them left, and Jeremy was the first one to break, snickering under his breath.

“I’ll look into it,” Dad said, and also left the kitchen, and Jeremy nodded and started trying to remember what else he’d been planning on doing before bed.

-

“So,” Dad said a few days later, materializing next to Jeremy when he was in the middle of his jog and making him almost jump out of his skin, skidding to a stop.

“You’re enjoying that new watch way too much,” Jeremy panted, out of breath and still very much startled.

“Maybe,” Dad said, and he was smiling. “But as I was saying.”

“All you said was ‘so’,” Jeremy pointed out, giving him a look.

“There’s a juvenile joke here about how I’m your father and so of course I say ‘so’, but if you wouldn’t mind it, I did have something important to say, mon lapin,” Dad replied, and Jeremy rolled his eyes hard at the horrible joke and cheesy name, fighting back a smile of his own.

“Go for it,” he said, and took the opportunity to bend and tighten his shoelaces.

“So. Regarding that Scout and his habits. You mentioned he spends time in blind spots of the cameras, oui?” Dad asked.

“Yeah. Keeps, uh, I guess he keeps getting infractions for going off base too much, too. I’ve logged him leaving like three times this week already,” Jeremy nodded.

“Indeed. Well, considering how new we are to the team, I did not want to jump to conclusions, and so contacted Miss Pauling and asked on your behalf for any older records, and I found out something very... intriguing.”

Jeremy looked up at him, blinking. ‘Intriguing’, historically, had always been a very, very bad thing.

“Apparently, it has been two years since they last had a Guard situated on base. The previous one was a much older gentleman, retired from being a full member of the team due to health complications but not entirely ready to part with the company. The previous guard was somewhat strict, and the Scout—the same as we have now—very much disliked the man. He continued acquiring near-constant infractions under the man’s watch for leaving when he was not meant to, so much so that the previous Guard proposed enstating trackers on the team when they went off-base. And before this policy could take hold, the previous Guard left the base one day and did not return, and finally was found dead a state over, one month later.”

Jeremy blinked once, twice. “Holy shit,” he said, and took note of the wary look on his face. “Okay. So we’re thinkin’ the same thing, right?”

“I would assume so. And…” Dad hesitated, moved to fidget with his cufflinks. “And I would not be particularly concerned about this, as I’m confident that you wouldn’t have gotten his attention from what you’ve been up to lately, and therefore wouldn’t be in danger yet should history attempt to repeat itself, but… he’s already taken a disliking to you.”

“What?” he asked, eyebrows shooting up.

“I believe it’s something as simple as some sort of shallow jealousy. Another American on the team, also relatively young, filling the position of someone he disliked previously. He regularly complains about the fact that you don’t need to go do the same job as the rest of us.” Dad shrugged, glanced over at him. “That, combined with the fact that you have somewhat conflicting duties, well, he tends to rather tetchy. He claims that considering he’s meant to be the first line of defense, they shouldn’t also need a guard at night.”

Jeremy had a number of opinions about that, but he stuck to the most relevant ones. “I really don’t like this guy,” he said. “Might be, uh. Worth keeping an eye on.”

“Agreed.” Dad glanced back over his shoulder towards the base, then at his watch. “Enjoy the rest of your run. Don’t forget to eat.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, hit the bricks already, old man,” Jeremy scoffed, waving him off, and Dad rolled his eyes, disappearing again in a cloud of smoke. “You’re gonna be using that thing all the damn time now, aren’t you?”

“Oui,” came a voice from nowhere, and Jeremy huffed a laugh, meandering his way back into the rest of his jog.

-

Jeremy hummed along to the radio, flicking between cameras on autopilot and wondering when exactly to take his lunch break.

He didn’t face the clock or anything, so he wasn’t sure, but he thought he had a pretty solid rhythm at that point. Click, click, click, between the camera to the road, the camera to the main entrance, and the camera in the hall towards the middle of the building, for about one second each. At just about any time after 11 or 11:30, those were the only three in real time that he needed to keep an eye on, mostly for people coming back late from bar hopping or if Miss Pauling was rolling in on a delivery. All the other cameras he could see out of the corner of his eye, and any movement he’d pick up on pretty quick, even if it was usually just the doves fluttering on the camera to the Medbay. After he cycled through those (and there was almost never anything there) he’d cycle back through to the tape he had in, put it on high speed, and watch it for about two or three minutes, get through a chunk of that time. Mostly he’d just be making sure nobody had been in the base while the team was away ni o(which indeed there never was), so there wasn’t much of a reason to take it off high speed, and the second part of the night would be watching the tapes for the time the team was back on base.

Movement on a camera made him click the pause, and he glanced off to the side. One of the doves had shuffled to face the other direction. He rolled his eyes, looking back at the bigger monitor again and pressing play.

The second half of the night was a little more interesting. He just had to look at the tapes for the time the team was there, check for discrepancies that might point to Dad messing with the disguise technology off-the-clock or the enemy Spy having infiltrated. For the most part things were straightforward, but he at least got to see his teammates up to funny things sometimes. Pyro’s antics were usually entertaining. Soldier he only caught some of, on the basis of him often walking off out of range of the cameras when he went on his excursions. Demo was funny sometimes. Honestly, just seeing the Sniper anywhere but as a fuzzy distant shape was interesting.

Movement on a camera. Same dove. He ignored it. Click, click, click, all three cameras clear, back to the fast-forward of the same empty hallway as before.

He really needed to figure something out, for the Scout. Maybe he and Dad were just being paranoid. It would be insane for him to try to outright kill anyone who inconvenienced him, not to mention reckless, and stupid to boot. Acting like that in their line of work would make him a lot of enemies extremely quickly. It would make more sense for the old Guard disappearing to be unrelated, to be honest.

Yeah. Hell, he barely knew the guy, and here he was assuming he’d straight up whacked a guy for getting a little too on his case about something. Maybe they were wrong.

Movement on a camera. He glanced over and froze outright.

It took him five seconds to come to his senses enough to pause the playback on his screen.

Figures. Shapes. Not at the front entrance, in the hallway, there next to the back way, by the garage. At least three, moving carefully, hard to make out in the darkness.

Okay. Okay, don’t panic, focus.

Jeremy ran through a few things in his head. He’d already done a headcount, the only people he wasn’t sure about were the Sniper and the Medic, but he hadn’t seen the Medic in any of the hallways out of the infirmary. Three figures were two too many to be any of the team, and besides that, they didn’t look like the Medic. Too short to be the Sniper, moving differently. Different clothes.

Three people. He hopped up, rushed over to the wall, yanked open the panel he had there. Three buttons, which he needed to hit in order. The first would send an alert to Miss Pauling, the second to whoever was assigned to be on alert that night, the third would set off the alarm.

He hit the first, hit the second, and hesitated on the third.

Okay. Technically if he didn’t hit that third button, he’d be breaking protocol, which was, according to the manual, ‘grounds for termination’. He was pretty sure that meant a long swim with some concrete shoes. And it was apparently recorded every time he hit these buttons, so they could deduct from his pay on false alerts. So they’d know if he didn’t hit this third button. He needed to think fast.

This was a different button than the alert button. The alert was more subtle, set for just one person. The alarm was throughout the entire base, over every loudspeaker. Louder than a fire alarm. If he hit this one, these intruders would hear that there was an alarm going off. Anyone smart would book it, high tail it the hell out of there. But he still didn’t know where they came from.

There hadn’t been movement on any of the screens, and he looked at the camera feed facing the road already, a few times even. He should’ve seen them. And if they found their way in once, they could do it again.

If he didn’t hit the button, on the other hand, whoever was on alert would wake up and wonder why they’d gotten an alert but the alarm wasn’t going off. If they were clever, which they probably were if they’d lasted this long, they’d come to the security room to see what was up and they could work from there.

He closed the panel again and moved to wait.

A minute later, still no movement from the hallway where most of the rooms were. That was fine, they’d just woken up, and probably needed to get dressed and grab their guns.

Another minute later, no movement, which was fair, they just needed a second to get their bearings. The intruders, meanwhile, were just lurking, slowly making their way down the hall.

Another minute later, no movement, and he opened the panel to press the button again before he continued waiting. Maybe they didn’t hear him the first time.

Another minute later and he took to standing next to the panel, mashing the button rapidly, eyes on the screen where the intruders were passing the kitchen, starting to get pretty far into the building.

Another minute later and he stomped his way into his sneakers, grabbing his flashlight and gun and guard cap from where they were hung on the wall. “Fine, I’ll fucking do it myself,” he grumbled, and carefully shouldered open the door, taking one last glance at the camera before he shut the door behind himself.

He kept his footsteps quiet, squinting into the darkness, waiting for his eyes to finish adjusting as he crept towards where he’d last seen the figures. It was near-silent in the base at night except for the distant, quiet hum of generators and occasional shift of plumbing. It was getting more and more familiar, and he found himself able to tune it out somewhat, instead listening intently for footsteps besides his own, making sure to click the safety off his gun while he was still alone and not when he was close to whoever had decided to break in.

Okay. Dad did this all the time. He could handle this.

He slowed as he approached the corner near the kitchen, peering around as carefully as he could, tugging down the brim of his cap to try and hide any potential shine from his eyes. He caught sight of a vague shape standing near the doorway, hesitating before it crept inside, into the common area.

Not ideal, on the basis of that being their goddamn kitchen, but at least there would be cover.

By the time he managed to sneak up to the doorway, he could make out the sound of vague whispering. It was far enough that it gave him the boldness to peer into the room, and just slightly lit by the glow of the clock on the oven he could see two shapes there in the kitchen, the third lingering nearer to him, there by the table.

Jeremy was only just starting to make a plan, relieved to have the jump on them, when there was the distant sound of a generator humming to life, and all the figures stopped, paused for a moment.

“Fucking spooky here,” one whispered, barely audible.

“Calm down,” another whispered. “What, scared of ghosts?”

Jeremy inhaled, exhaled, shifted onto the balls of his feet and started creeping a little further into the room. If he could just get all three of them to one side, so he wouldn’t need to pivot so much…

“You don’t know, maybe there’s ghosts here,” the first protested, and swore quietly at what sounded like their winging their elbow against the corner of the tale, and Jeremy tried to stick near the wall, managed to creep half-behind one of the chairs, trying to keep his silhouette indistinct. “These guys kill people.”

“So do we,” the third mumbled, moving out of sight in the kitchen, and Jeremy bit down on a swear, starting to inch behind the couch. “Don’t be a coward. And stop making so much noise.”

“You can’t shoot a ghost,” the first pointed out, moving a bit closer to the kitchen, giving the table a wide berth now. “Or punch it.”

“I can try,” the second said, and stopped at the sound of a rustle.

Jeremy held his breath, weight half-balanced against where he’d tried to step, newspaper trapped beneath his foot.

“That one wasn’t me,” the first whispered. There was another, more significant rustle throughout the room, and Jeremy could see a glint as the intruders drew their weapons.

Jeremy inhaled, exhaled, and just barely managed not to swear out loud.

The first one was the closest by, lingering beside the arm of the couch Jeremy was crouched in the shadow of. “Do they have a cat here?” they asked, voice quiet.

The second was approaching into the main room more carefully. From the sound of the footsteps, trying to keep a shoulder closer to the wall, clearly paying more attention to the door. “Are you stupid or something?” was the reply, voice also quiet.

The third didn’t speak, but huffed out a laugh, which was enough to tell Jeremy that he was out of the kitchen.

Jeremy inhaled shakily, exhaled shakily, shifted his grip on his handgun and flashlight, and took a split second to think. Inhaled one more time.

He leapt to his feet, swinging his flashlight like a billy club and clobbering the first figure across the side of the head, sending them tumbling to the ground. From the sound of the impact, a dislocated jaw at the very least. One down.

A shout from the other side of the room, arms moving to try to aim, clearly struggling to see him, but that third figure was in the doorway, silhouetted against the faint light from the oven’s clock, and that was enough to figure out where the head and chest were. He aimed, fired, got what he was pretty sure was the neck considering the brief spray of blood that splattered against the oven, darkening the room completely.

A swear from the second figure, and Jeremy wanted to swear too, because he’d hoped that second figure would be stupid and try and charge him, but now he was ten steps away and didn’t have time to fiddle with and cock the gun again, other hand full with a flashlight and no way to—

Oh, duh.

“Stay where you are,” the second figure ordered, but Jeremy’s eyes were a little better adjusted and besides that, he wasn’t the one talking. He lifted his flashlight and clicked it on.

The second figure cried out, recoiling at the sudden blindingly bright light in what had been near-darkness, and Jeremy had time to finagle his thumb up to cock his gun again, now able to aim with absolute accuracy, this shot connecting with the figure’s head.

He exhaled.

It took Jeremy two minutes to remember to fire a bullet into the chest of the unconscious guy, and another minute for the other mercenaries to start showing up, half-dressed and armed. Dad, presumably to prove a point, showed up pretty close to the middle of the pack almost fully dressed. Jeremy wasn’t entirely sure how long it took before Miss Pauling showed up, but he wasn’t even halfway through their questions by that time.

“Guard, headcount?” she asked before she even bothered saying hello, still wearing her motorcycle helmet and looking more than a little bit miffed.

“Uh,” he said, eyes drawn away from where Medic was assessing the bodies on the kitchen table, “seven present and accounted for. Sniper’s probably out at his van, don’t know about the Scout.”

“Alright. Pyro,” she said, and Pyro stood at attention, bunny slippers squeaking at the movement. “go wake up Sniper and get him in here.”

Pyro nodded, handing their weird unicorn plushie thing to Jeremy as they passed by, giving him a solemn nod before hurrying away.

“Okay. Guard, hit me with a rundown, then,” she said, and shot a glance around the room. “No peanut gallery needed. And Medic, please don’t take them apart too much. I gotta get rid of those later.”

“Uh. Spotted these guys on the cameras, hit the first and second alerts,” Jeremy said.

“And not the third?” she asked pointedly.

“They were, like, right next to the door, and—here’s the thing, Miss P, is I dunno how the hell they got in here,” he said, and there was a general balk from the room. “No, seriously. They didn’t come in on the main road, they were in one of the back hallways by the garage. There’s gotta be a hole in the cameras or something, because I seriously don’t know where they came from. And if they booked it, they’d take whatever vehicle they used to get here, too, and we might not figure it out. Thought I’d just wait for whoever the hell was supposed to be on alert so we could… I dunno, at least see which way they went.”

“Guard,” she admonished, and he shrank a little bit. “That was incredibly reckless. What if nobody had shown up to help you?”

“Uh,” he said, blinked, “but… nobody did show up.”

A pause. She blinked. “What? You’re the one who did that?” she asked, entirely shocked, pointing towards the three bodies on the table.

“Uh, yeah? Isn’t that my job?” he asked carefully, shifting the stuffed animal under his arm.

“No, you’re—you’re just supposed to be the Guard, you’re supposed to watch cameras, not—“ She paused, taking a second to push up her glasses and rub at the bridge of her nose, inhaling, exhaling. “Okay. Points for… going above and beyond, here, but Guard, don’t do that again.”

“Sure thing, Miss P,” he mumbled, tugging on the brim of his guard cap, and sighed to himself as Miss Pauling moved away to try and stop Medic from attempting to covertly steal a few organs from the corpses. Dad clapped him on the shoulder supportively, and that did make him feel a little better. He wasn’t expecting a clap to the other shoulder, and looked up, surprised to see Heavy there, looking just slightly less grim than usual.

“Little Guard man is credit to team,” he said simply, solemnly.

Jeremy straightened up slightly. “Oh. Hey, thanks,” he said. Heavy nodded at him.

“It’s true,” Demo called, and he looked over, got another approving nod. “Really saved the lot of us, lad.”

“I, I mean, hey, it’s… what I’m here for. Or, uh. I thought that was it, anyways,” he shrugged, glancing away. “I mean, yeah, I’m pretty cool, though.”

Dad bumped his arm for the last part, and he snickered. “My question,” Dad continued, doing his best to ignore him, “is primarily regarding who, precisely, was supposed to be present to help Guard with this. Who is meant to be on alert?”

“It’s meant to be Scout, ain’t it?” the Engineer asked from nearby, frowning. A general murmur of agreement. “Could he have slept through it?”

“Heavy doubts this,” Heavy grumbled, looking troubled.

“Why’re we awake?” asked Sniper from the doorway, and various teammates called out a greeting. Sniper seemed half-gone, and completely grumpy, but not as grumpy as Pyro, and not nearly as gone as the man leaning heavily against Pyro’s shoulder.

“Hey,” the Scout managed, grinning, speech garbled, visibly sloppy and unbalanced. “What’s up, guys?”

Groans from parts of the room. “Drinkin’ again, Scout?” the Engineer drawled, visibly irritated.

“That’s my trademark, lad, go on,” Demo laughed, but the enthusiasm wasn’t entirely there.

“Scout,” Miss Pauling said, voice firm in a way that made Jeremy almost flinch in sympathy. “Are you aware that we’ve had a situation here while you’ve been sleeping?”

“Weren’t sleeping,” Sniper murmured, and eyes turned to him. He scratched at the back of his neck. “Came stumbling in ‘round when I was heading in. He was out for the night. Bar, looks like.”

“What?” Jeremy demanded. “Why the fuck didn’t I see him leave on the cameras?”

“Alright,” Miss Pauling said, and Jeremy looked at her. Her expression was hard to read. “It’s possible he went through the back tunnel.”

“Back tunnel?” Jeremy asked, and glanced around. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t heard of it.

“For emergencies only. Scout’s the only one who I’ve given a key card to. I have one too. It’s supposed to be used for transporting especially sensitive information, most of the team isn’t supposed to even know it exists. If there’s a gap in the cameras around the back of the building, he might have been using it to… sneak out to go to town, even though he knows he’s already in hot water for leaving the base so much,” Miss Pauling said, glaring at Scout, who was looking increasingly annoyed.

“Whatever, it’s not a big deal,” he protested, scoffing.

“That tunnel is for emergencies only,” Miss Pauling stressed. “I trusted you with the privilege of knowing about it account of having worked here for so long, and you’re using that privilege and key card to mess around?”

“He was coming back from around the front of the building, at least,” Sniper chimed in, and Pyro nodded. “Not that I’d understand the point of sneaking out if he’s going to just walk back in the front door.”

“Key card?” Medic repeated from near the table, eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah, it’s, it’s a magnetized card, that can be read by a card reader, used like a key,” Miss Pauling explained, deflating a little bit.

His eyebrows furrowed further. “Would it happen to look anything like this?” he asked, picking up a lanyard from the table and holding it up, showing the room the card clipped onto the end of it.

Two beats of silence. “Spy, would you mind?” Miss Pauling asked politely, nodding towards the Scout, who had gone pale.

“Not at all,” Dad said just as politely, and walked over towards the Scout and Pyro, then circled around behind them, and sank a blade into the Scout’s spine. He promptly crumbled to the floor, dead.

“Well. At least that’s that mystery solved,” Miss Pauling sighed, and rubbed at the bridge of her nose again. “Now I’ve gotta block off time tomorrow to get rid of three bodies, and then hopefully that’s the last we’re gonna hear of this or else the Administrator is gonna kill me.”

“What about the Scout?” Heavy rumbled.

“…Scratch that. Four bodies,” she mumbled, face dropping into her hands. “And then I need to find his replacement. Ugh.”

“Can’t imagine you’d need to go far,” Demo said, and Jeremy looked up, and Demo was very obviously tilting a thumb in his direction.

“He’s proven himself to be better at this job,” Dad agreed, shrugging. “And I would say on a bad day he’s still a better runner than the previous Scout on a good one.”

“He can clearly handle a firearm well,” the Engineer noted, looking over one of the bodies.

“And a blunt object,” Medic chimed, just a bit too pleased. “This jaw is almost completely shattered!”

“Okay, okay, fine, sure,” Miss Pauling waved off, one hand still pressed to her face, clearly overwhelmed and tired. “We’ll get his paperwork in tomorrow. Congratulations, you’re the new Scout, any questions? Can the questions wait until morning? Great, thank you. Good night, everyone. Medic, have the bodies in bags for me at least, okay?”

A distracted thumbs up from Medic, and Miss Pauling was groaning, wandering back out of the room, and most of the team followed, yawning amongst themselves. Sniper half-attempted to ask again why the hell any of them were awake, but gave up halfway through. Pyro, for one, made sure to at least retrieve the plushie from Scout’s arms before wandering off, giving him an appreciative pat on the shoulder.

“So,” Dad said, and when he looked over, he was smiling. “A promotion, mon lapin. Congratulations, new Scout.”

“Do I gotta wear that stupid outfit he always wears?” Jeremy asked, entirely serious. His reply was a laugh and a pat on the shoulder before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Pops, I’m serious. Do I? Dad!?”

-

“—So that’s why I figured, y’know, might as well tell you guys,” Jeremy finished rambling, hands in his pockets, continuing down the hallway. “Because… I dunno. I could tell Miss P, but it’s nice having secret stuff, y’know?”

“You think this is how they actually got in?” Demo asked, looking dubious. “Little blind spot in the cameras?”

“Only a couple feet wide, you said?” Sniper grumbled.

“Sounds possible,” Heavy said hesitantly.

“I dunno. Maybe. But if I tell Miss P about it, they’re gonna fix it,” Jeremy shrugged, turning the corner and stopping. “There. I knew it.”

They stopped with him, following his line of sight. “You’re takin’ the piss, mate,” Sniper deadpanned. “You want to tell me he’d been climbing out a window like a teenager?”

Jeremy shrugged, moving to open the window in question. It swung open easily, just large enough to push through with only a little bit of a problem, barely needing to turn his shoulders. “He’s not much bigger than me, and what the hell else would he be doing here?” he pointed out.

“Heavy cannot fit through that window,” Heavy deadpanned.

“Yeah. Sorry, big guy,” Jeremy apologized, leaning back inside and closing it again. “But hey, mystery solved, right?”

“Well, if I ever need windows to climb out of, now I know just the lad for the job,” Demo said, nudging him. “Thanks, Guard. Or, er, Scout. Och, now that’s going to take getting used to, aye? Might just stick to calling you ‘laddie’, laddie.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he laughed, nudging him right back. And as much as they ribbed him for it, he did see a kind of appreciation there. Just like he’d figured, they seemed to take note of him taking their side and not just Miss Pauling’s.

Now he just needed to switch back over to the day shift.

[kjmsupremacist]

baby, you’re my angel (chan/felix)

Mildly popular TikTok songwriter Felix meets Chan, famous on TikTok for his music and music reviews. They bond over their common ground, friendship blossoming easy and sweet. There’s two problems. One: Felix thinks he likes Chan more than just as friends. Two: Chan is almost fifteen years his senior.

Chapter 9   |   prev   next   mlist

Characters: Felix, Chan, the rest of skz

Genre: college au, romance, fluff, smut, angst

Pairing: Chan/Felix

Warnings: swearing, age gap, angst, alcohol mentions

Rating: Mature

Length: 2.4k

just a friendly reminder that i dont condone age gap in real life, this is just fiction, im just having fun, etc :)

It’s like Felix’s world has turned monochrome. There’s safety in it, certainly; after about a week of excitement, the rumors died down and the online world went back to normal. Chan still posted some of their songs; Felix promotes them as he always would. Rachel approved this with the stipulation that they don’t talk beyond sharing files, and Chan has stuck to it dutifully. 

There’s a part of Felix that’s furious about it, that it’s so easy for Chan to give him up. A particularly nasty part of him is spiteful—of course it’s easy for Chan to go back to how it was before; he’s used to heartbreak, he’s used to being alone. And maybe Felix didn’t have such a profound impact on him as he said he did. But Felix knows that’s not fair. Still, it hurts to see random clips of his other videos where he seems completely normal. When people ask about Felix, Chan doesn’t even bat an eye.

“I made him go study,” Chan says cheerfully. “He’s got finals coming up and all. Told him that just ‘cuz he’s got a job lined up doesn’t mean he can slack off now, you know? That goes for all of you out there finishing up the school year! Stop watching my videos and go study!”

It hurts like nothing else, makes Felix feel pathetic for missing him, for thinking about him all the fucking time. He wants to think it’s the same for Chan, but every day it seems like that’s less and less possible. 

For the most part, though, he does try to keep his promise to Rachel. He tries not to wallow too much, tries to stay in the world. He studies, he hangs out with his friends, he goes to parties, even when all he feels like doing is curling up in a sad little ball on his bed. Every time he laughs, it feels a little hollow. But at least he’s laughing, right? He could be worse. It could be worse.

But honestly, Felix does spend a lot of time thinking about how unfair it is. His parents have a similar age gap. Sure, they met after college, when his mom was thirty-three and his dad was twenty-three, but ten years isn’t so different from fourteen. Is it? So why do his parents get to be happy, while he has to suffer? If he and Chan had only met a year or two later, people probably wouldn’t care at all.

He gets it, you know. That’s part of what attracted him to Chan in the first place, that he was older, that it’s taboo. And honestly, if he was an outsider, he would be scandalized, too. He’d be worried for himself, and vaguely disgusted with Chan. But no one knows what it’s like inside, no one but him and Chan. It’s not that Chan was waiting around to prey on someone young and vulnerable. It’s just that most people his age hadn’t gone through something like he had, so they were in a different place than he was. And sure, with time Felix thinks Chan could find someone his own age with a similar background and similar goals, but—why should he wait, when Felix is right here?

He only texts Chan once. He doesn’t know if it’s better or worse that he’s completely sober when it happens, just up late studying, and stressed and lonely, and before he can think it over, he sends I miss you, plain and simple.

Chan responds within minutes. You shouldn’t be contacting me, Felix. We both promised your sister. And you know it’s for the best.

The worst part is, even this message makes him happy—just to see Chan’s name light up his phone, to read the words in his voice. 

I know, Felix replies. I’m just tired, and I miss you. That’s all.

I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough, Chan sends back, and Felix knows the conversation is over. He puts his phone down and lays his head on his desk, wrapping his arms around himself. Why is it so hard? If we can’t be together, why can’t I just be okay, and move on?

He sits there at least a half an hour, unmoving, and then resigns himself to the knowledge that he won’t be getting any more studying done tonight. Reluctantly, he drags himself to his feet, grabbing his towel so he can go wash up and get ready for bed.

He’s just putting his toiletries away when Hyunjin comes into the bathroom. 

“Hey,” he says quietly as he wrestles with his shower caddy. 

“Hey,” Hyunjin replies. “You okay?”

Felix is too tired to pretend. He’s tired and he feels empty and alone, and everything hurts, and he just wants comfort. He turns, dropping his hands to his sides. “No,” he whispers.

Hyujin wraps his arms around Felix, tugging him close, resting his chin on top of his head. Felix hugs him back, squeezing tight. “I’m sorry,” Hyunjin whispers back. “I’m so sorry, Felix.”

Felix can’t help it; he bursts into tears, hiding his face in Hyunjin’s collarbone. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

“No, it’s okay,” Hyunjin says. ���Wanna come sleep in my room tonight? We can watch a kid’s movie or something, and I have sour gummies that need eating.” He jostles Felix a little. “Whaddya say?”

Felix sniffles wetly, trying to get his breathing under control. “Yeah,” he says in a very small voice. “That’d be really nice, actually.”

“Okay. My door’s unlocked,” Hyunjin says, patting him on the back and then releasing him. “I’m gonna pee and then I’ll come back, ‘kay?”

“‘Kay,” Felix agrees, furiously wiping his eyes and scurrying out of the bathroom before someone else can see him crying.

Hyunjin’s room is clean and dark. His TV is pulsing through screensavers, and he has the strip of LEDs over his bed set to a soft, pleasant lilac. In the corner, a painting dries; Felix realizes it’s of all of them—him and Jisung and Seungmin and Jeongin, and Hyunjin, too, a smaller figure in the back. It’s of them on the beach during their little trip. They’re all laughing, and their hair is messy, their faces bright with sunlight. A new kind of melancholy weaves its way into the empty maze in Felix’s heart.

He hops up onto his bed, snuggling under the blankets, huddling against the wall. He pats around for the remote and starts scrolling Disney+ while he waits. Only a few minutes pass before Hyunjin returns, closing the door with a soft click. He smiles when he sees Felix, nearly buried in blankets.

“Comfy?” he asks. “Want chips, too? I have barbecue flavor ones.”

“Yes please,” Felix says quietly. “Let’s watch Tangled.”

Hyunjin giggles. “Sure, but you have to give your absolute best performance of Mother Knows Best.”

“Deal.” Felix finds himself smiling, too.

Later that night, curled up in the warm dark of Hyunjin’s bed, Hyunjin breathing deep and steady beside him, Felix has to admit that he feels better. He and Hyunjin have been like this since they were young, always close, always cuddly. It’s the familiarity of it, he supposes, the knowing that despite all the things that will change, there are some things that will stay the same. He falls asleep with his limbs tangled in Hyunjin’s, with Hyunjin’s fingers tangled in his hair.

When Jisung finds them in the morning, he laughs. “You’re like puppies,” he says, climbing into bed with them amid sleepy protests. “So cute.”

“Don’t let Seungmin hear you,” Hyunjin mumbles, and Felix giggles, even as one of Jisung’s misplaced elbows nearly collapses his lung.

They’re a couple weeks out from graduation now, and things are, despite everything, wrapping up pretty nicely. Though Felix really is at his wits’ end on all fronts, he has always been good at school, so his grades are somehow fine. On the last day of classes, he throws his work aside and heads to a big party up on the roof of one of the dorms. The air is warm and mild—summer is just around the corner, and everyone can feel it. 

Felix is dancing in a crowd when he feels a hand on his arm. He turns, surprised, and finds himself looking at Wooyoung. He’s wearing a tank top and pretty jewelry and a handsome smile. “Hey,” he says. “Haven’t seen you around recently.”

“Been studying,” Felix replies, offering an apologetic smile in return.

“What for?” Wooyoung laughs. “We’re about to graduate. And you’re smart, no way you’re failing out now.”

Felix shrugs. “What if I do, you know?”

“That’s fair,” Wooyoung concedes. “Just, you know, glad to see you now.”

“Yeah?” Felix’s heart rate picks up.

“Yeah.” Wooyoung steps closer. “I’ve been trying to get your attention all year, you know.”

“Ah,” Felix says. “What… about San-hyung?”

Wooyoung giggles, waving him off. “We’ve been on a break, since he graduated and all, right?” He nudges Felix. “Not asking you for anything serious; we’re about to graduate, too. Just wanted to see if you were interested.”

Felix really considers it for a split second. It would be nice, maybe, and Wooyoung is really hot. If it weren’t for Chan, Felix might have even gone for it in the fall. But then he stops himself. He knows in the end, it’ll only make him feel worse. Besides, it’s not fair to Wooyoung. Even if it is some casual, one-night thing, he won’t let himself make Wooyoung a stand-in for who he’s really missing.

He takes a breath, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, dude, but I just… can’t, you know? I’m sorry, it’s not—I mean, I just can’t. Not with you, not with anyone.”

Wooyoung only smiles. “Nah, it’s cool, I get it,” he says easily, and Felix nearly goes limp with relief. He didn’t think Wooyoung would try to force him at all, he just didn’t want to hurt his feelings. But Wooyoung doesn’t seem hurt. “No worries. I’d much rather you be honest with me.”

Felix nods. “Hyunjin would say yes, I think, if you asked,” he suggests, and Wooyoung smiles wider.

“Thanks for the tip,” he giggles. “I might.”

“Can I ask,” Felix begins, “why you and San decided to go on a break? You don’t have to answer, I just—I don’t know, I thought you guys were in love.”

“We were,” Wooyoung says with a shrug. “Still are, unless I’m mistaken. But, you know, I didn’t want to tie San down, and he didn’t want to pull me away from my senior year. So we agreed, a break and limited contact, so that I could enjoy the rest of college wholeheartedly, and he could get a real start on his life.”

“Do you think you’ll get back together?” Felix asks. “After?”

“I think so.” Wooyoung’s expression softens. “I think… he’s it for me, you know? But since we’re sort of in different stages of our lives, we thought it would be best to grow independently first.” He looks at Felix. “And I don’t regret it, I think it was good for us.” Felix’s heart sort of sinks. Of course they would, of course it’s natural to want different things when you’re not in the same place. Maybe he’s just delusional.

But then Wooyoung continues, “But also… I think sometimes when you’ve found something good, you just know. I think this break was good because I knew at the end, I’d still probably go back to him. It’s not that I have to spend the rest of my life with him to be happy or something. It’s just that I’d really rather it be him than anyone else.” He shrugs again, just one shoulder this time, light humor working its way back into his tone. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun in the meantime. I’m gonna go find Hyunjin, if that’s okay.”

Felix smiles. “Yeah,” he says. “That’s okay.”

He retreats into one of the rooms to get another drink, then perches on the sill of one of the open windows, soles of his shoes brushing the rooftop. He envies Wooyoung and San. They know they’ll have each other to go back to. Felix wishes he were so lucky. But the thing is, he doubts he and Chan will be anywhere as close as they were ever again. He lets out a little resigned sigh.

Around him, laughter swells, drowning out even the loud thumping of music. Felix watches his classmates and finds himself overwhelmed by emotion. Holy shit, he thinks. It’s over. Sure, they have finals still to fight through, and a couple weeks until graduation, but it’s over. The last dregs of his childhood, if there were still any left, are gone. And it’s really exciting, to be moving on to bigger things, to get to grow up and live, and he knows it’s going to be really good, but he’s also so, so, so fucking sad. 

☼ ☼ ☼

Soon, sooner than Felix could have even imagined, finals are over and the only stressor they have left is packing up their entire lives in time for move out. They’ve all started solidifying plans—Felix and Jisung start at the same label in early July, while Hyunjin and Seungmin will spend the summer continuing their job search. They try on their caps and gowns together one night when they’re all tired of packing; Jeongin comes to scrutinize.

“This is you in a year, Jeonginnie,” Hyunjin teases as he surveys his reflection.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving me,” Jeongin says. “All of you! Leaving me all alone.”

“You have friends your age,” Jisung points out lightly. “What about Sungchan, and Ryujin and Chaeryeong? You won’t be alone.”

“Yeah,” Jeongin says, “but it’s not the same. It’ll never be the same again.”

The room goes quiet for a moment.

“Yeah,” Felix says softly. “That’s true.”

“I’m scared,” Seungmin confesses, fussing with his tassel. “The real world is scary. What if we don’t survive out there?”

Jisung laughs. “Oh, come on,” he says. “I think we’re gonna be just fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” Hyunjin says, scrunching his nose. “You have a job.”

“And you will too,” Felix retorts, poking him. “And besides, I mean… it has to end sometime, right?”

“Yeah,” Seungmin agrees. “Just wish it wasn’t so soon.”

“You could’ve flunked all your finals,” Jeongin suggests. “And then you could stay another semester.”

The four of them groan. “Don’t even joke about that!” Jisung admonishes. 

The evening before graduation, Felix is putting a few final things into boxes when his phone pings across the room. Curious, he seals a box and picks his way over to his bed where his phone is sitting on the charger.

It’s a text from Rachel. Felix’s heart hammers in his chest, stomach swooping low with anxiety. He reads it again and again, frozen in fear and anticipation, fingers hovering over the glowing screen.

Hey, I know you’re busy packing, but call me before you go to bed? I have something I need to tell you.

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Betrothal Pt. 2

When Marinette receives Tikki she is freaked out at first but quickly has her explain what she can do as Ladybug, before transforming and taking the Akuma out easily without Chats help.

 She still does the speech to Paris after taking out Hawkmoth's butterfly face thingy.

Alix and Nathaniel are already in her bedroom by the time she gets back, both immediately knowing that Ladybug was their Marinette.

The next day Marinette has Alya claiming they were best friends, she decides to give the girl a chance but doesn't actually bring her into her personal friend group. Plus she really doesnt like that Alya 100% believes that she has a crush on Adrien, all because she had a picture from his recent shoot that she was going to put on her inspiration board.

Alya ignores that and gets all the girls except Alix in on trying to get them together. Marinette continuously tries to get them to stop but after a while she gives up.

Marinette also goes over footage of her fights pointing out to Tikki how under trained Chat Noir is.

"Tikki I'm not doing this because I want a new partner. I'm doing this because I don't want him to die, which he will if we don't train him properly! Stop thinking about this so-called Guardian and think about Chat Noir's life!"

Tikki relents and the next night she and Chat have a heart to heart. She explains to him that she isnt in love with him and won't be, she tells him she's been betrothed since birth. At first Chat points out that the holders are supposed to be soulmates, but Ladybug points out that if anything they are platonic soulmates. She tells him that she wants them to know each other's identities because they are partners and they need to trust each other with their lives. She tells him she'll only allow it if he agrees to begin training with her. Chat Noir agrees and they reveal themselves both a little shocked.

The next day Adrien quits Fencing without telling his father or Nathalie and goes to Marinette's house to begin training with her,  Alix, and Nathaniel.

Adrien realizes after a month that he only thinks of Marinette as a sister. He starts to get annoyed when the boys, except Nathaniel, try pushing him to ask her out.

When it's almost summer Marinette tells Tikki that she is going to Gotham for the summer. Tikki goes to the Guardian and Fu gives her Kaalki in order for Marinette to travel back and forth for attacks.

When the school year ends Marinette's mother is waiting in the car with Marinette's bags on the last day. She kisses Alix Adrien and Nathaniel's cheeks telling them to keep training while she is gone, and promises to be safe. The rest of the class quickly surrounds her asking where she's going and why she isn't spending the summer with them.

"I'm going to Gotham. I go every other year, this is nothing new. I've been doing this for years."

Alya makes a big stink about her 'bestie' leaving and the class tries to convince her to stay. This upsets Alix and Nathaniel, both know the class never cared before, they didn't even help stand up to bullies. Adrien himself wants her to stay but he can see how much she wants to see Damian, so he just kisses her cheeks gently and wishes her a safe trip before opening the door for her. Marinette thanks him as she gets in waving goodbye to her friends before they drive away.

During the school year Damian meets and befriends Jon Kent. At first they dont get along but Damian warms up to him. Damian is proud of Marinette when she becomes a hero, and that their friends are training hard to be ones as well. He even gets permission from Bruce to allow Marinette to train and patrol with them.

Dick and Damian pick Marinette up from the airport and soon everyone in Gotham is talking about Marinette being back. What's even more talked about over the summer is the small dates the two begin to go on.

Halfway through the summer Damian admits to Marinette that he is in love with her and that even if they weren't betrothed he'd still want to marry her. Marinette kisses him softly telling him that she feels exactly the same.

Marinette is excited when she first patrols Gotham with Damian and Dick by her side taking the name Bluebird. 

Bluebird mainly patrols with Nightwing, they both take on Bludhaven side by side. Bluebird patrols  with Robin and Batman every Sunday. Her mandatory night off is on Friday with Robin both of them labeling it their date nights.

Soon after making her debut as Bluebird Marinette discovers Tiktok, and a treasure trove of videos featuring the Wayne family and the Batfamily. She immediately creates two Tiktoks after getting a second phone under a fake identification. This phone is strictly for Bluebird, and so is the Tiktok.

Marinette's favorite Tiktoks are the ones saying that Bruce Wayne is Batman because the butts match. Her Tiktok blows up when her first video is posted.

It starts off with Marinette smiling at the camera with Damian and Bruce standing behind her. When Bruce turns around she gasps opening her eyes widely and whispers to the camera. "Omg...the butts match!"

Marinette continues to make videos of the entire family without any of them noticing, both as Marinette and Bluebird. Both accounts are verified within a week. She posts multiple videos a day all featuring a different member.

The most popular video of Dick is him hanging upside down from a chandelier all smiles while Damian is a few feet away looking up at him.

Damian-It's going to fall.

Dick-No after the first couple times Dad got this one reinforced so it wouldn't.

Tim walked past literally drinking from a coffee pot-No he got the one near the West sitting room reinforced.

Dick looks up when the ceil creaks and a second layer he and the chandelier are falling

Dick-Shi-!!

The video then cuts off.

Jason's most popular video is him blindfolded as he puts a gun back together in seconds not knowing Bruce is behind him.

Jason- Impressive right?

Bruce- I thought I said no guns in the manor

Jason screams before calming down- Oh its you I thought it was Alfred.

Alfred- Master Jason

Jason screams and tries to run with the blindfold still on but runs into a wall.

Tim's popular video is multiple clips of Tim right as he passes out and falls with a loud thump. After three clips people here three voices yelling Timber in the background after he faints. The last video shows Tim knocking over a bookcase only to look at Marinette confused when he hears Timber screamed from three different parts of the manor.

( @daddybats-and-babybirds Hello! So I saw your headcanon a while back and really liked it. If you're seeing this I tried to find you on Tumblr to ask for permission but couldn't. If you don't want me using this please message me and I will remove it immediately! Thank you!)

Cass's popular video is very sweet. It's different clips of her taking care of and spending time with her family. The first clip is her slowly reading aloud curled up next to Bruce, the next is her pushing a chair underneath Dick as he goes to sit down after Jason pulled the other one out without him realizing. Third is her gently cleaning a cut Jason got after falling from a tree. Fourth is her covering Tim with a blanket and moving his work onto the table. Fifth is her painting Stephanie's nails while Barbara does Stephanie's hair for a date. Six is her carefully moving Damian to his room trying not to wake him up. Seven is her helping Alfred during spring cleaning, and eighth is her posing in some of Marinette's clothes as the boys help with lighting and Stephanie takes the pictures.

Bluebird's Tiktok features a lot of videos of her flipping around and laughing wildly as a few older villains run away yelling about the second coming of the first Robin. After every  one of those videos another is posted of Nightwing bent over cackling at what the villains yelled. Everyone in Gotham is thrilled when it's confirmed that Nightwing is actually the first Robin, all recognizing the cackle. A few videos feature the Batfamily arguing through body gestures without saying anything, she'll flip the camera around to show her grinning and writing will pop up saying what they were arguing about. Most of the time is about getting food while on patrol, but one time Red Hood insulted Nightwings butt. The two most popular videos are one where she is a few feet behind Batman and all you see is his cape and head, and she has "Bruce Wayne???" written in. The second is Red Robin sitting in the back of an ambulance with a shock blanket around his shoulders.

Red Robin-  What now? I'm in shock! Look I've got a blanket!

Batman- Red Robin!

Red Robin- And I just delivered twins while stuck in an elevator! Twins Batman!!

Batman turns and walks away silently while Red Robin looks at the paramedic.

Red Robin- Im going to regret that during training tomorrow.

The only time Bluebird makes noise during a Tiktok is when she is laughing wildly. She does this because both her Tiktoks are popular and she doesn't want to take the chance of someone recognizing her voice. She is not worried about the wild laughter because she is calmer as Marinette but as Bluebird she lets herself be wild and carefree. Batman enjoys having Bluebird on patrol with him, her hero persona reminds him of when he and the first Robin started.

Marinette announces that her and Damian are finally dating in a Tiktok showing them on a date at the parks with Barbara and Dick as their 'chaperones'. The video shows her holding his hand walking behind him before she flips the camera and winks at it, in the background walking behind them is Dick pushing Barbara's wheelchair, while looking down at her lovingly.

An hour later Marinette is recording a video where they had been pulled over by Commissioner Gordon himself. Dick is pale as he nods to everything Gordon says while Barbara is groaning refusing to even acknowledge her dad. Before the video cuts out she whispers, 'I forgot a lot of Gotham officers follow me, oops…'

The family also helped Marinette master the art of coming up with excuses and slip out without being noticed, for when she has to rush back to Paris.

The family celebrates their birthday together before having a Gala the night after celebrating it for the cameras. The family shows up wearing Marinette's own designs and she is buzzing with excitement when multiple people ask for the designer's information for commissions, they turn 14.

When summer is coming to an end Marinette really doesn't want to leave but she knows she must. Marinette promises to visit for Christmas.

When she returns she is excited to see Alix, Nathaniel and Adrien at the airport with Gorilla to pick her up. Adrien smiles mischievously, telling her that his father agreed after Adrien mentioned that his friend was a rising Fashion designer, MDC. 

Marinette enjoys her first day back spending it with her friends. The next day she is slightly annoyed when Alya bursts into her room at 7 in the morning demanding details about her trip and if she met anyone famous.

Marinette decided in that moment that she was very thankful she never shared her Insta with Alya and that Alya doesn't know about Tiktok. She does however indulge the girl telling her she had a lot of fun and tells her some of what she did. Alya is quick to tell her all about what the class did together and what she did over the summer. However her tune changes when she sees a few pictures of Adrien pinned to a board, and suddenly she's once again trying to come up with ideas to get them together. At this point Marinette is thankful when her mother comes up, asking Alya to leave so that Marinette can help with chores.

The school year starts the same as always and Marinette decides to run for class president. She is surprised when she wins and names Nathaniel her vice president much to Alya's annoyance.

Marinette also meets Jagged Stone only a month into the school year after designing glasses and an album cover for him. At first Jagged doesn't realize the rockin' girl that made his glasses was MDC until at a party when someone excitedly points out the MDC signature on the side. He begins talking to her more with her parents permission and takes her in as his new niece. Soon he is only wearing clothes that she makes.

Half way through the year Lila shows up. The class sans Mari, Adrien, Alix, Nathaniel, and Chloe are all taken by her immediately. Marinette is not there the day she arrives.Lila attempts to lie her way into Adrien's graces using her Ladybug excuse. But Adrien quickly tells her that he doesn't want to hear it, because there is no way Ladybug would let her defenseless or possibly disabled friends know her Identity out of fear they'd get targeted.

Lila is outraged that her lie failed, but she wants Adrien under her thumb and starts devising a plan for it to happen.

The next day Lila tries to charm Marinette when she is upset over her desk being switched without even asking her. When everyone heads out for lunch she quickly snatches up Marinette apologizing and selling her sob story of Jagged's kitten. She is shocked when Marinette begins to laugh and tells her that it was a nice try but Jagged Stone has a crocodile named Fang because he is allergic to fur. Lila gets even madder and decides to just threaten Marinette telling her that she'd take away all of the class. Marinette just rolls her eyes and tells her good luck with that before walking away to join her friends.

When the four return from lunch they find Lila sitting and crying with the class surrounding her as Alya comforts her.

Lila is quick to claim that Marinette refused to listen to her when she tried to explain the seat switch and that instead she made fun of Lila's disabilities. Alya is upset at Marinette and tells her that she is disappointed that her best friend would act like this and that she needs to give Lila a chance.

Marinette just signs walking back to her new seat and sits down, Adrien follows her up and sits next to her while Alix and Nathaniel take the bench in front of them.

Alya huffs continuing to comfort Lila until she finally stops fake crying, the rest of the class sits down in their seats and starts talking again. However they don't talk to the four

As Lila is there she slowly learns more and more about Adrien and Marinette planning on getting Adrien under her thumb and to take Marinette out. She learns about Marinette's huge crush, Alya's words, on Adrien and that Adrien's dad is so strict that he won't even let him have a birthday party. She begins studying the two of them before making her final plans.

She attempts to get Marinette expelled but fails when the Principal insists that it must be a misunderstanding . Even when she starts crying and claiming Marinette is bullying her, the teachers do nothing. It isn't until Chloe confronts her that she finds out Marinette is the top student in the school and a certified genius. Chloe smirks, informing her that if the school even attempted to claim she was cheating they'd not only come under fire, but they'd lose their funding from having her there.

Lila decides to just make the class hate Marinette while still trying to get Adrien. She is unable to get a foothold even when she manages to get Gabriel's attention claiming  Adrien is hanging with terrible people. However the moment she mentions Marinette's name she is shut out. Gabriel telling her that Marinette has a higher standing than the daughter of an ambassador any day.

Lila's anger gets her akumatized into Volpina, she goes after Marinette determined to hurt the girl in some way. She finds her at the skate park watching Alix practice. She creates an illusion of Adrien and has the illusion walk up to Marinette. The illusion begins to tear into Marinette claiming that she is a terrible person, and doesn't deserve anything that she has, before telling her that they were no longer friends. She gets angrier when Marinette asks the illusion what her nickname for him was and smirks when the illusion doesn't answer. Volpina gets so angry she just attacks Marinette swinging at her with her flute getting angrier when Marinette blocks each hit with her arms barely flinching until Chat Noir tackles Volpina away from her. Marinette is quick to run away, Alix following her. Soon after Ladybug joins them in the fight, once they defeat Volpina. Ladybug turns to find Lila crying claiming that she didn't want to hurt Marinette but the girl had been bullying her. 

Chat Noir growls but Ladybug quickly stops him from doing anything. 

'I know you're lying Lila. I suggest you stop lying, and have that video removed claiming to be my best friends. The only friend I have while in this mask is Chat Noir. You are putting yourself in danger by lying.'

Lila however just stops crying and galres at the heros huffing and storming away.

The next day everyone is talking about Lila taking another trip to Achu to visit Prince Ali. They get annoyed when Marinette asks Rose if she is going to email the Prince asking about her.

Eventually things return to slight normalcy and they only have to listen to Lila's lies when she video chats the class.

A few weeks after she has left Adrien finds the Miraculous grimoire, he immediately brings it to Marinette and shows her. Once Tikki sees it she insists that they bring it to the Guardian so she and Adrien set off together finally meeting Fu. Half way through their conversation Adrien is called back home by Gabriel. Gabriel demands the book back and is deeply upset when Adrien says he lost it. Gabriel dismisses him and he destroys his room before akumatizing himself.

Meanwhile Marinette is tearing into Fu for giving them the Miraculous without any proper training. Soon after she gets a message from Adrien saying that Gabriel had been akumatized. She quickly transforms meeting up with Chat Noir on the way once they defeat The Collector they return to Fu and take pictures of the book. Marinette then heads to the Agreste Mansion with the book in hand. When Gabriel comes to the door she quickly introduces herself before handing the book over. 

"Adrien was really excited to share the book with me today while we had lunch at my home. However he forgot it in my room, sorry it took me so long to get the book here Mr. Agreste!"

Gabriel takes the book and thanks Marinette before questioning her and Adrien's relationship. Marinette laughs softly telling him that Adrien is like a brother to her. He then asks why brother and not best friend. Marinette grabs the ring around her necklace playing with it gently. 

"Because my best friend is my boyfriend and my betrothed."

Gabriel then issues an invite for her to come over more, saying that she is clearly a good influence on Adrien. Marinette thanks him before saying goodbye and leaving.

That night they all meet in their wearhouse to talk about it. Even though Adrien is distressed he agrees that his father is still their biggest suspect.

Marinette pulls Oracle and Batgirl into a video call as they all sort through Gabriel's dealing since Emilie's disappearance. They determine that he wants Tikki and Plagg for a wish relating to Emilie. Marinette pulls Adrien aside and they have a heart to heart.

"Do I want my mom back? Yes, more than anything, but she-My mom would never want this. She'd be so incredibly disappointed in my father for terrorizing the city she loves. She'd be disappointed in me for thinking for even a second to help my dad."

Oracle looks into every dealing Gabriel has had while Batgirl focuses heavily on going through camera footage.

Oracle points out a few months before Hawkmoth started Gabriel paid the city to remove the camera from around his mansion. Batgirl shows them footage of the house before he paid the city off pointing out the window designed like a butterfly. Showing that the small middle section is designed to open. Oracle finds something big from a few months before Emilie disappeared. She found that Gabriel hired multiple workers to come and build an underground garden, paying them off so that they would never mention it. She also found he bought a pod specially designed for those in coma to keep them from dying.

They all start planning on how to take Gabriel down. The only reason they haven't acted is for fear of his company. They don't want it to fall and have millions lose their jobs. They also want more evidence to take to the police. Oracle hires someone to install a camera facing the window in order to get confirmation.

Adrien meets Kagami much the same way except Marinette confirms that she did win. She however gets akumatized when her mother brushes off her success. After being defeated, Adrien extends his friendship to her, and they slowly grow closer. Soon after Marinette meets Luka when he drops something off for Juleka. He helps her pick up the books she dropped and they are quick friends. Marinette can immediately tell that he is a meta and Luka is surprised but tells her that he can hear people's soul songs.

A few weeks later Gorilla is akumatized after Gabriel thinks he is Chat Noir. Ladybug is easily able to save Adrien getting him to safety before defeating Gorizilla she tells Hawkmoth to watch out because they are on to him.

After this Luka invites Marinette to his family's house boat during the music festival, when his mom gets akumatized Luka is quick to help Mari escape. Afterwards he tells her that he knows she was Ladybug and Adrien Chat Noir. Marinette brings him into their fold and when she does Adrien asks to bring Kagami.

Before the school year comes to the end the class meets Clara Nightingale. Clara becomes fast friends with Marinette and tries to get her to be Ladybug in her video. However Chloe has the shoot shut down and she is akumatized into Frightningale. After the fight Marinette encourages her to have everyone in the video wearing masks showing that they are all heros in their own way. Clara agrees and Marinette is very thankful that neither of her masks in her hero persona a black.

Adrien admits to Marinette that he has a slight crush on Kagami so Marinette enlists the help of Luka and together they go ice skating. While Kagami and Adrien are skating Luka and Marinette are calmly talking about the pair. Mari asks about their songs and Luka is silent for a second before smiling softly and telling her that their songs are beautiful together.

Two weeks before the end of the school year Lila returns to school. Once again the class is listening to everything she has to say.

She quickly convinces the class to exclude the four including Chloe from class plans over the summer. She is dumbfounded when the four don't care. Once the school year is over the class only sees the four in passing and every time there is an unknown boy with them.

Lila gets pissed when Gabriel stops having her do photoshoots with Adrien and gets even more pissed when Adrien announces on Twitter that he is dating Kagami.

Halfway through summer the classes are talking excitedly about Fashion week in Paris, excited to see Adrien and Lila modeling. They are surprised when they arrive and Marinette is sitting in the front row with Nathaniel, Alix and four unknown boys and three girls. One of them in a wheelchair. When Audrey arrives she is greatly upset at the seating until Marinette and Cass politely offer her and Chloe their seats. Audrey calms down but is still upset at the slight Gabriel has given her. She accepts the seats and both girls get up, Marinette moves and sits on Damian's lap leaning back against him as he wraps his arms around her waist. Cass goes to sit behind Jason but he gets up giving her his seat before sitting behind her. Marinette greets Chloe politely before introducing her group.

"You already know our classmates Chloe but this is my boyfriend Damian and his brothers and sisters. Richard, Jason, Cass, Tim, and Stephanie."

Chloe is polite in return introducing her mother, Marinette nods politely

"Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Bourgeois, I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Some of my designs are being shown today along with Mr.Agreste's"

Audrey sniffs slightly starring Marinette down before offering a curt greeting. She then attempts to call Gabriel only for her call to go straight to voicemail. She grows more and more angry as she sits in the stands. Half way through the show she gets up and storms out angry that a girl that is unknown got a front seat but not her. When she is akumatized she goes after Marinette, she is unable to fire her because Damian jumps in the way getting turned to gold instead. Marinette is quickly pulled away by Tim who gets her to a safe place encouraging her to transform. Adrien joins them a few minutes later. After they transform Chat Noir agrees to distract Style Queen while Ladybug gets four Miraculouses

Nathaniel- Trixx- Youkai

Alix- Fluff- Bunnyx

Kagami- Longg- Ryuko

Luka- Sass- Viperion

When the fives get back they discover that Chat Noir had to change back, and after he de-transformed Style Queen found him and fired him as a way to get back at Gabriel. They launch into action fighting her. Viperion and Bunnyx sit on the back burner watching the fight. Viperion periodically shifting back using second chance and Bunnyx jumping in to grab one of the others when he tells her. Once she is taken down Gabriel comes and apologizes to Audrey telling her he fired the person that gave her a second row seat. Gabriel then apologizes to Marinette and Damian for this mistake causing her to be attacked. Adrien hurries over quickly hugging the couple telling him that he is happy they're both safe now. Audrey takes note of his clothes and comments that it's far from Gabriel's usual designs.

"Because it's not this outfit that was designed by MDC herself. He and I did a collaboration. She designed all the male outfits and I the female."

Audrey immediately jumps on him, admitting to knowing MDC.

"You know MDC? You know the Wayne family, along with Jagged Stone, and Clara Nightingale's personal designer?"

Gabriel nods gesturing to Marinette who Adrien was still hugging. Tell Audrey that MDC had been standing right next to them along with the Wayne's. Audrey is silent when she realizes she didn't recognize the Wayne family while she was angry. She immediately extends the offer for Marinette to come to New York with her to grow her exceptional talent. She brushes Chloe off when her daughter is upset over her mother never taking her. Marinette however refuses to go before telling Audrey off for telling her own daughter she is not exceptional.

"She may be mean and a bit of a bully but Chloe is exceptional in her own way. I will never work with someone who treats their own family like dirt. Ya know I always thought she was just a mean person, but now that I see who her mother is, I can tell you raised her to act exactly like you."

Marinette then walks away with her friends and the Wayne family following her along with Adrien. The next day Chloe shows up at the bakery and apologizes then thanks Marinette. Tell her that Audrey actually took what she said to heart and decided to stay in Paris to get to know her daughter.This starts a shaky friendship between the two

"Also why haven't you told anyone you're dating a Wayne??."

"Alya is obsessed with famous people, how do you think she'd react to finding out I'm famous in America but also betrothed to the youngest Wayne."

"You have a point but wasn't she your best friend?"

"No she was a friend but honestly she never really listened to me. I mean she thought I was in love with Adrien."

For the rest of the summer Chloe joins the group of friends and even though she is still mean they can tell she does care for them. Much like how Damian acts to the others except Marinette. Damian and Chloe actually enjoy getting into little arguments over different things.

They celebrate their birthdays at Le Grand Pairs at Chloe's place Gabriel even allows Adrien to attend, while Marinette's parents cater the party, they turn 15.

When summer ends the entire group is at the airport saying goodbye to Damian.

The school years start rather calmly with random akumas popping up but none particularly dangerous. It isn't until halfway through the year when Heroes Day comes around and Hawkmoth akumatizes Lila allowing her to create the illusion of an akumatized Ladybug killing Chat Noir.

The fight gets so bad that Fu joins in desperation to help. However at the end of the fight he realizes that his time has been shortened. He proceeds to name Marinette and Adrien Guardians, telling them that he'll shortly lose his memories and a few weeks later die. He tells him that they will not lose theirs unless they recreate the potion he was given.

A few weeks later Marinette is visited by a lawyer, Fu leaves her everything in his will. Marinette has enough money to last a lifetime.

Hawkmoth's akumas are steadily getting stronger and it seems like Lila is getting akumatized every other month. The Miraculous Team begins to think that Lila is working for Hawkmoth, and after hacking her phone Oracle confirms that she has been. 

Before the end of the year Lila convinces the class to kick Marinette as their class president. Marinette steps down without a care however in front of the class she tears apart her notebook that had everything in it for the class's end of the year trip. Telling them to have fun planning another trip, before turning to her friends. 

"Chloe, Alix, Nathaniel, Adrien, you're coming to Gotham with me this year. We'll let Kagami and Luka know when they come over today. You're gonna love it Wayne Manor is beautiful, and we all get to stay there for the whole summer!"

Lila scuffs saying that her Damiboo would never let a bully like her into her house. She then tells the class that she was asked to keep it a secret for a while but her and Damian had been dating for three months.

They are startled when they hear Dick laughing from the doorway.

"My little brother is dating you, good one, especially since my brother has been betrothed since he was born."

Alya immediately jumps to Lila's defense demanding to know who Dick is. Causing him to roll his eyes before turning to Marinette. Telling her that he was taking them to the airport and that they'd be taking the jet to Gotham one their last day. Before he leaves Alya demands to know who he is.

"Richard Grayson-Wayne, now I'd appreciate it if you stopped telling lies about my family. Damian would never go out with you, he has been dating Marinette for almost two years now. Oh and Mari, I'll let dad know your six friends will be coming with us."

The class is stuned and Lila immediately starts crying, telling them that Damian must have lied to her. However Max, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, and Mylene no longer believe her.

When the class ends the group of friends leaving ignoring everyone excitedly talking about their trip.

Once back at Marinette's they all relax talking about what they are going to do while there. The group is upset that Marinette and Batman won't let them patrol Gotham but they don't put up much fuss. Marinette tells them they'll use Kaalki to get back and forth for fights and that while there they'll be finalizing plans to take out Gabriel with the help of Batman.

[omegawolverine]

Braid Me a Home

summary:

"Braid my fucking hair, Theseus. Braid it.”

It had sounded like a plea falling from Techno’s chapped lips, blood caked under his nails as he sat in front of Tommy on a tree stump, slowly itching at his wrists.

“Wilbur told me to stop you if you ever started doing that-”

“Wilbur isn’t fucking here. Just...braid, Toms. Braid.” 

or

A story about the Sleepy Bois being family, told through braids.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: child neglect, hurt/no comfort, canonical character death, implied/referenced mental health issues (like it’s obvious but there isn’t much detail to it), brief blood mentions (ik this fic sounds kinda angsty as hell but its not? imo its light angst)

a/n: first dream smp fic and im ALREADY projecting? christ. anyways. go easy on me pls this is far from my best work i just havent written a fic in like 5 months (more if you dont count the fucking chat fics) mm also i may have posted this like a week ago on ao3 just to test the waters and its already gotten way more comments and kudos than any fic of mine usually gets this early on so hopefully tumblr enjoys it too :]

—

When Wilbur Soot was born, he came out crying, as most babies do. Covered in vernix and blood, he weighed just barely above the seven-pound mark, gasping out sharp cries that only a parent could truly stand, or worse—love. Though he was the second baby born into the family that day, he was fussed over far more than he would ever be again.

Technoblade, on the other hand, had barely made a sound when he came out, a trail of blood smeared across his forehead, almost as if it was meant to be there. He made small noises that were more akin to confused mumbles, weakly grasping at his father’s hair when he was eventually passed on for the second child to be welcomed into the world.

Only when both boys were held in their father’s grasp did Wilbur quiet down, his soft head leaning into his father’s beard as he stared wide eyed at the boy across from him. Though they looked similar enough, Technoblade’s nose was squished further back into his face, appearing almost snout-like to Philza. Of course Wilbur noted this, wiggling until their father somehow managed to get them pressed right up against each other with minimal damage done. Though Techno never stopped squinting like an annoyed old man at Wilbur, he allowed the other to press a fist against his nose, his eyebrows unfurrowing just the slightest bit at the touch.

From that day on, Philza was the father of two twin boys—a loud boy who cried easily, but always calmed down for his older brother, and a rather monotone one, who’s face seemed to be permanently stuck in a scowl, unless said face was being smushed around by the younger. And things worked like that for a while. Not forever, but...a while.

—

Philza taught Wilbur to braid on a hot Monday afternoon.

It had been a rough day for the boy, though Phil hadn’t a clue why. Maybe he had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed? Or maybe he hadn’t slept enough between bedtime and the time Tommy had started crying again, the youngest boy’s crib being right beside his head and all. Though it might’ve seemed cruel from an outsider’s perspective, Wilbur had been the one to ask for it. Something about Tommy being his little brother and how he needed to teach the boy the ways of the world in the same way Techno had taught him—because apparently that was all Techno’s doing now, not Phil’s.

Regardless, Wilbur had been a bit too snippy for Phil’s liking that day, complaining about every little thing they did until finally, the day was over.

Well, as over as it could be with Techno leaving mid foam sword fight, an annoyed shout of ‘I quit!’ leaving his mouth before he snatched up Tommy’s carrier and brought him inside for god knows what reason.

It had only been around four P.M. by that time—too early for dinner, yet too late for Phil to really demand the boy stay outside and continue to entertain himself with a brother who was clearly not entertained himself.

Details aside, Phil isn’t really sure how they got to braiding. He just knows at some point they did and by the end of their outside time, just before the clock struck six, Wilbur had made two thick, messy braids in his hair. They stuck out awkwardly, looking all too similar to Pippi Longstocking’s iconic hairdo for his comfort, but he’d be damned if he took out the braids his son had so happily rushed inside to show his older brother before demanding to do his hair as well. After all, Wilbur didn’t have long enough hair for braids, but Technoblade sure as hell did. It was only at his shoulder blades back then, brunette curls wrapping around his narrow shoulders and thin arms like thick vines.

Wilbur had always enjoyed brushing it out with his fingers and putting cute, handmade clips or flowers in it at random, decorating the waves for his brother who was more than happy to let the boy do as he pleased. Though he would never admit it, Technoblade liked how it felt when Will played with his hair. He was always careful not to tug too hard, prioritizing the comfort of his other half more than the beauty of his work, as he so often referred to it.

So when Will had presented him with the mess that was his first two braids, he wasn’t hesitant at all to let the boy practice on him. Instead, he walked to the couch with a small smile, removing his glasses gently and getting comfortable before his brother plopped down into the space behind him. Long legs draped over long legs with no warning, thighs pressed together as if they were meant to be like that all along—and they might as well have been, for how often they did this.

Phil had watched them from the doorway in content silence, Tommy sitting behind him in a wooden high chair looking bored, but not making a fuss for once. And as he left that doorway to begin dinner, he listened to their muffled conversation and soft bursts of laughter with a small smile on his lips, for he knew things wouldn’t always be this way. They would have to grow up eventually, and when they did, things would change. Phil could only hope it was for the better.

—

When Tommy turns nine, Wilbur teaches him to braid under circumstances not too different from the ones he had learned under himself.

Well. Not too too different.

Philza and Technoblade had been...busy as of late. In the house for three days, out for a week, in for a week, out for three more, over and over and over again. Wilbur had become more like a father to Tommy in recent months than he should’ve been, his fourteenth birthday fast approaching as their father took Techno out for yet another job, one that Wilbur couldn’t come on because he was too fucking weak to do anything Techno could do, too fucking stupid to learn all the techniques Techno did, lacking all the strength and agility his older sibling possessed, like the useless prick he was-

Right. This is about Tommy.

When Tommy was nine, his hair rested gently against his collarbones in the exact same cut and color as their father wore. If Wilbur was a lesser man, he would’ve hated the kid for it, but it wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t see what a selfish git their father truly was yet. All he knew was that their dad was busy a lot and that, for some reason, Techno needed to go with him. Apparently, that was enough for him to keep holding onto the idea that one day, the man would stay longer and maybe, just maybe, show him some of the same care that his older brother did.

If Wilbur was a better man, he would tell Tommy the truth. He would tell him all about the way Philza had called him useless in a fight, forcing him to instead stay home and care for a child while still being one himself. He would mention how Philza had given him no instructions on how to care for a developing child, how he left out key details to parenting on his own as a goddamn thirteen-year-old, yet remembered to tell him things would be better this way because god forbid he does his fucking job as a father for anyone but Technoblade—

Who he missed. He missed Technoblade, his other half, so fucking bad it hurt sometimes—so bad it left him gasping for breath at two A.M., his head pounding in tandem with his uneven heartbeat, lungs burning as his snot and tears soaked into his brother’s cold, cold sheets. And it made him feel fucking pathetic because the truth of the matter was that...Techno had left him behind too. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to hate the older boy, no matter how hard he tried. Couldn’t hate Philza either, if he were to be honest with himself, but it was a lot easier to pretend he did when his father was the one putting them all in this position to begin with.

So, Tommy was nine when he learned how to braid.

Phil had promised him and Techno would be back Tuesday morning.

It was Wednesday afternoon.

Tommy didn’t fucking understand, and as frustrating as it was that the prick decided to take it out on Wilbur, he couldn’t blame him. Who else was he supposed to take this shit out on? Certainly not the man who had yet to return.

Wilbur had started the braid as a way to distract him. It was simple, really—tell him you know something he doesn’t and that he won’t get to know if he doesn’t sit the fuck down and listen.

When he had started tugging the boy’s hair back from his face, his immediate reaction was to jerk away, swatting at the hands that hovered over his shoulders. This only happened once or twice more before he let it happen naturally, his posture stiff as Wilbur ran his fingers through the boy’s hair with practiced ease.

Though it may not have seemed like it, Tommy was significantly more averse to touch than Techno had ever been. The only reason Techno even seemed averse to it was because of his hesitance to initiate, something he and Wilbur had discussed in depth. Rejection was one of the few fears Technoblade truly had and Wilbur held that fact close to his heart, ready to die with it if need be. Tommy, on the other hand? He was very particular about where and when and why someone was touching him, and it had taken Wilbur a long time to get used to that fact. But, he wasn’t about to make his little brother uncomfortable just so he could be happy and, eventually, he learned the ins and outs of how to touch TommyInnit without causing issue.

Pulling a few of the shorter strands towards the front of Tommy’s face loose, Will separated the blonde’s hair into three sections. They were rather small, what with how thin and short his hair was, it just barely being long enough to even have a proper braid in it, but Wilbur knew he could make it work.

“Now, Toms, you gotta listen to me here, because I can’t show you this bit, yeah? Phil and Tech aren’t here, and my hair is too short, so you’ll just have to feel it out for now, but...this is how you braid hair-” Wilbur had said in a soft voice, brushing the pad of his thumb over the boys neck slowly to ease the tension out of his shoulders. The effect was immediate, the boy slouching forward as if he had just noticed he was holding himself so sternly. Smiling softly, Wilbur instructed him on how to weave the strands together, answering questions and pulling lightly at Tommy’s hair so he could feel exactly where everything went. After he was done, Tommy had reached back to feel the bumps in his hair, all his earlier anger seemingly gone as he gave a small smile. And then he tried it himself.

Of course he got a bit of help at first, Wilbur’s larger hands guiding his own with gentle corrections, but after that Tommy worked on it alone, his older brother watching in silence from a patch of grass beside the porch step.

That night, Tommy and Wilbur slept in Techno’s bed, a soft, blue blanket wrapped tightly around them. And if another body woke them up at some point that night, shoving its way into the mess of limbs, their chest pressed right up against the youngest boy’s back, then that was only for them to know.

—

At eleven years old, Tommy takes a pair of scissors to his hair. With flushed cheeks and salty lips, his hands shaking and his eyes foggy, he cuts, cuts, cuts, until he can no longer braid his hair—until he can no longer look like fucking Phil.

Even though Wilbur had once said he hated Tommy’s long hair—hated how similar he and their dad looked—he felt like crying as he ran his fingers through the uneven strands. He didn’t tell his brother this though, instead grabbing his face and planting a wet kiss on his freckled forehead. In a fierce whisper, Wilbur had said, “I’m so fucking proud of you, Tommy. So fucking proud.”

Tommy never forgets the way he felt that day. He doesn’t forget Wilbur’s words either.

—

When Wilbur loses his last life, Technoblade tells Tommy to braid his hair.

It wasn’t a question either, but a demand forced out between gritted teeth, his face red, his nose stuffy and his lashes wet with unshed tears. Still, his words were clear as day.

“Braid my fucking hair, Theseus. Braid it.”

It had sounded like a plea falling from Techno’s chapped lips, blood caked under his nails as he sat in front of Tommy on a tree stump, slowly itching at his wrists.

“Wilbur told me to stop you if you ever started doing that-”

“Wilbur isn’t fucking here. Just...braid, Toms. Braid.”

Tommy sniffled, but did as he was told.

Maybe it was because he was too tired to argue with the only person he even had left. Maybe it was because he could tell Technoblade was mad at their father for the first time in his life, and he knew how bad his first time had felt. Or, maybe, it was just because he knew Techno fucking cared. Nobody else seemed to, but he knew Techno did and...that was enough for him.

As long as someone else cared—as long as it was fucking Technoblade—that was enough for him.

Just as Tommy had finished the braid, curling his finger around the light pink tail that tied the whole thing off, Techno yanked it forward. Before he could even register that the hair had left his hand, the older boy had taken an axe to the top of it, letting the rest of his hair fall around his face in uneven curls. Though it was a good ten minutes of work wasted, Tommy couldn’t say a damn thing as he watched Techno pocket the braid, muttering a thank you and heading in the direction of Wilbur’s unofficial grave.

In that moment, he felt relief for the first time in a long while.

—

Wilbur Soot was born covered in vernix and blood, weighing just barely above the seven-pound mark, and he came into the world much like he left it. Everyone had heard his cries—even if they weren’t there, even if they didn’t know him well—they had saw the way he spiraled, desperate and afraid and paranoid, searching for help, but never receiving enough.

And though he was the second child born, he left the world first, returning in a yellow sweater with a small braid tucked behind his ear. He didn’t really know why he had one, but he remembered braiding Techno’s hair and he remembered teaching Tommy how to do his own and he remembered, he remembered, he remembered the braids.